Ralph McTell Song Lyrics Needed
Tim
Could someone give me the lyrics to "From Clare to Here" and/or "Barges".
Thank you.
Tim step...@rosenet.net
Nancy Hauser
I'll give it a shot, although I confess that I can't catch every word.
Anyone want to jump in and fill in the blanks for us?
From Clare to Here
There's four who share this room and we work hard for the craft (?)
And sleeping late on Sundays, I never get to Mass
It's a long way from Clare to here
It's a long, long way; it growns further by the day
It's a long way from Clare to here
It's a long way from Clare to here
When Friday comes around Tara's only into fighting
My Mom would like a letter home But I'm too tired for writing
It's a long way from Clare to here...
It almost breaks my heart when I think of Josephine
I told her I'd be coming home with my pockets full of green
It's a long way from Clare to here...
The only time I feel alright is when I'm into drinking
It sort of ease the pain of it and levels out my thinking
It's a long way from Clare to here...
I sometimes I hear a fiddle play, or maybe it's a notion
I dream I see white horses dance upon that other ocean
It's a long way from Clare to here...
Barges
Me and my brother return to the water
I saw a pike that was two feet long
Two small magicians, each with a jam jar
Cast spells on the water with hazel twig wands
And the country boys catch tadpoles
Dive into water; made shy by their laughter
We wandered downstream
And summer rolled over us with no complications
Sat thinking of mama, sometimes in dreams
We'd stand by the drawbridge waiting for barges
Waiting around for smiles from the men
Lifting the bridge ??? watching the horses
Dragging the slow boats up the canal
And I do remember the times but no number
After the day but before evening comes
Waiting for castles and kettles with roses
Painted on barges that sailed into the sun
??? seen the river run that was by a man begun
Open the locks and let the boats sail on
Taking the castles and kettles with roses
With summers of childhood leaving smiles on the land
He is such a poet... I like "Tequila Sunset" and Mr. Connaughton" a
lot, too.
Nancy
Barrie McCombs
Tim (step...@rosenet.net) wrote:
: Could someone give me the lyrics to "From Clare to Here" and/or "Barges".
This version is what I had. Ralph sings it slightly differently on "The
Songs of Ralph McTell".
- Barrie
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| Barrie McCombs, MD, CCFP | Family Physician by day |
| bmcc...@acs.ucalgary.ca | Folk Musician during full moons |
| Calgary Folk Music URL: http://www.ucalgary.ca/~bmccombs/calfolk.html |
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FROM CLARE TO HERE Time: 2/2 Tenor: D(Bm) Bass: C(Am)
- Ralph McTell, 1963, on: The Songs Of Ralph McTell
INTRO: 1, 2m, 5, 6m, 1, 2m, 5, 6m
4 5 1 5
There's four who share this room, and we work hard for the brass (crack)
4 5 1 5 *
And sleeping late on Sundays I never get to Mass____
CHORUS:
2m 57 5 1 3m 6m
It's a long, way_____ from Clare to here________
2m 57 6m *
It's a long, way_____ from Clare to here____
4 5 1 6m *
It's a long, long way, it grows further by the day____
2m 57 6m *
It's a long, way_____ from Clare to here____
4 5 1 5
When Friday comes a-round, Tara's only into fighting (????)
4 5 1 5 *
My ma would like a letter home, but I'm too tired for writing
4 5 1 5
It almost breaks my heart, when I think of Jose-phine
4 5 1 5 *
I told her I'd be coming home with my pockets full of green
4 5 1 5
The only time I feel all right is when I'm into drinking
4 5 1 5 *
It eases off the pain of it, and levels out my thinking (modified)
4 5 1 5
I sometimes hear a fiddle play, or maybe it's a notion
4 5 1 5 *
I dream I see white horses dance u-pon that other ocean
ENDING: fade on last chorus
NOTES:
*****
SYMBOLS:
- Asterisk (*) = new measure, play same chord
- Period (.) = 1/8 note rest at start of a measure
- Underline(_) = sustain note into next measure
CHORDS (Number System):
- The numbers are the notes of the diatonic scale (do-re-me-fa-so-la-ti-do)
- The system lets you play a song in any key, using the same chart
Common Keys: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Key of C C D E F G A B (no sharps)
Key of G G A B C D E F# (1 sharp)
Key of D D E F# G A B C# (2 sharps)
Key of A A B C# D E F# G# (3 sharps)
- From: Barrie McCombs (bmcc...@acs.ucalgary.ca)
Stephen L Suffet
On Wed, 8 Jan 1997, Geoff Rodgers wrote:
> The 'crack' is an Irish expression for a good time.
>
> Listen to Van Morisson on Coney Island from Avalon Sunset.
> '...and the crack was good'
> or Christy Moore in the song 'the crack was ninety in the Isle of Man'
> which describes a visit by a group of irishmen.
>
> Often of a Friday night at the 'New Inn' we have a good 'crack', it can
> simply be a good talk, some good music, or both, somewhat like a celiedh,
> [I can never spell it] is it music, dancing, both or more?
>
[snippity doo dah]
Greetings---
The word which sounds the same as "crack" is neither slang nor a
regionalism. It is in fact the Gaelic word "craic" which survives in such
English expressions as "wisecrack" or "cracking wise."
"Craic" literally means "informal conversation" or "chat." It has
nothing to do with faults in the masonry, female genitalia, or crystals of
cocaine -- other than the obvious fact that any of those could be the
subjects of the conversation! :-)
The word for a social evening and/or Irish dance and music session
is usually spelled "ceili" with accent marks above the "e" and the final
"i" in modern Irish Gaelic. The final silent "dh" were dropped during the
modernisation of the Irish language earlier in this century. But what do
the traditionalists of this newsgroup care about modernisation! :-)
Anyway, I believe in Scots Gaelic the older spelling persists, but
I am not certain. I have a feeling this is going to become a thread on the
differences and similarities of the two branches of Gaeilge. :-) :-)
Regards again from New York,
Steve Suffet
Geoff Rodgers
The 'crack' is an Irish expression for a good time.
Listen to Van Morisson on Coney Island from Avalon Sunset.
'...and the crack was good'
or Christy Moore in the song 'the crack was ninety in the Isle of Man'
which describes a visit by a group of irishmen.
Often of a Friday night at the 'New Inn' we have a good 'crack', it can
simply be a good talk, some good music, or both, somewhat like a celiedh,
[I can never spell it] is it music, dancing, both or more?
Regarding 'Terry', in the book 'the guitar and songs of Ralph McTell' he
writes the following about the song which may throw some light on it for
you.
'In between trips to Europe I worked on building sites and wrote this song
about some of the lads I worked with. It is a song in a minor key. I love
Irish traditional music and i tried to get the feel of an Irish ballad into
this melody. This is one of those occasions, unusual for me, where I
started with the words and then added the tune.
Thanks to noel Murphy and the Furey Brothers, most people sing a slightly
different tune in the chorus to the one i wrote. Here it's set out in the
way I play it.
This is another clawhammer song which has a pretty regular pattern. Try to
vary your pattern to suit your interpretation though, rather than sticking
slavishly to what is written.'
Hope that's more help.
Tell me about the white horses though 'cos I dont know about them.
Cheers
--
Geoff Rodgers
rodger...@msn.com
Geoff Rodgers
Ralph McTell has three song books that I am aware of.
[a] Ralph Mctell - a very old brown coloured book with the songs from his
frst couple of albums, Nana;s song, Mrs Adlam's angels etc. Published in
1972 by Essex Music International, almost certainly out of print. No tab,
just melody and chords with a few notes by RMc
[b] Ralph Mctell [again] - the music to Streets, Easy and Not till Tomorrow
with full music and tab for some songs. Published in 1976 by Essex Music
and Misty River Int.
[c] The guitar and songs of Ralph Mctell - published in 1984 by Misty River
Musicand contains a selection of songs as follows
i am not a rock, wtaer of dreams, weather the storm, terminus, clare to
here, one heart, tequila sunrise, geordie's on the road, london apprentice,
streets of london, kew gardens, clown, joseph, willoughby's farm, first
song, rizraklaru, nettle wine, autumn, barnes morris, ferryman.
This is by far the best if you want to learn fronm the playing of RMc as it
also contains notes and comments about the songs and playing them by RMc.
--
Geoff Rodgers
rodger...@msn.com
Michael Daly
Nancy Hauser <nha...@pcsrus.mv.com> wrote:
>I'll give it a shot, although I confess that I can't catch every word.
>Anyone want to jump in and fill in the blanks for us?
Ok, I'll give it a whirl.
>From Clare to Here
>
>There's four who share this room and we work hard for the craft (?)
Well, there's four who share this room and we work hard for the craic
(not to be confused with "crack"!)
>
>When Friday comes around Tara's only into fighting
When Friday comes around Terry's only into fighting
>My Mom would like a letter home But I'm too tired for writing
Me Mum would like a letter home but I'm too tired for writing
(Ok, pedantic of moi).
>Barges
>Sat thinking of mama, sometimes in dreams
'cept (??) thinking of mama, sometimes in dreams
>
>Waiting around for smiles from the men
Waiting around for smiles from the man
>Lifting the bridge ??? watching the horses
Lifting the bridge whilst watching the horses
>??? seen the river run that was by a man begun
And oh see the river run that was by man begun
>With summers of childhood leaving smiles on the land
With summers of childhood leaving smiles on the man.
>He is such a poet... I like "Tequila Sunset" and Mr. Connaughton" a
>lot, too.
Can't disagree with you there :)
Michael Daly
Deranger
I ran McTell as a search at http://www.deltablues.com/dbsearch.html
(hey I am an electronic sort of person) they only have the lyrics to
"Streets of London"
Deranger
Mark Young
Now in his song, "My Jenny Taylor", is he really _trying_ to make his
chorus sound like "My genitalia"? ...'Cause it sure does with his
British or Celtic accent "R"'s almost absent in the tune.
m.y.
George Hawes
Stephen L Suffet <sl...@columbia.edu> wrote:
>On Wed, 8 Jan 1997, Geoff Rodgers wrote:
>> The 'crack' is an Irish expression for a good time.
>>
<snip>
>Greetings---
> The word which sounds the same as "crack" is neither slang nor a
>regionalism. It is in fact the Gaelic word "craic" which survives in such
>English expressions as "wisecrack" or "cracking wise."
> "Craic" literally means "informal conversation" or "chat." I
<rest of interesting and learned discussion snipped >
But Geoff's statement remains true thou' using the wrong
spelling. Often rendered as 'the craic' and in the sense of the
spirit of having a good time, and generally involving music in a
very social setting. It's one of those words that's easier to
feel than to explain.
All IMHO, of course!
Regards
George
Stephen L Suffet
Dear George---
Your humble opinion is correct, as usual. Good point.
I had to correct my spelling of "Gaelic" in the header, as you had
repeated my erroroneous "Gaeilic." Of course we could both plea that we
had "Gaeilge" in mind, but in reality it was only a typo.
Kindest regards,
Steve
dji...@aol.com
In article <5av6at$8...@ds2.acs.ucalgary.ca>, bmcc...@acs5.acs.ucalgary.ca
(Barrie McCombs) writes:
>There's four who share this room, and we work hard for the brass (crack)
>
>
I haven't heard Ralph McTell do his own song, but I've heard Nancy
Griffith sing it on "Other Voices, Other Rooms". To my possibly
inaccurate ears, she seems to sing:
"The four who share this room, we were caught up in the crack"
Jeri
Living in a hotel in Maryland
I *hate* suitcases!
Michael Daly
Mark Young <ma...@up.net> wrote:
It has always sounded like that to me; he seems to be struggling not
to burst out laughing in some parts of the chorus.
BTW, the accent is British (born in Kent, raised in London).
Although he has written many songs that have been adopted by
Irish artists, he is not Celtic; "McTell" is his stage name (after
Blind Willie McTell), real name Ralph May.
Michael Daly
Niall Madden
George Hawes wrote:
> > The word which sounds the same as "crack" is neither slang nor a
> >regionalism. It is in fact the Gaelic word "craic" which survives in such
> >English expressions as "wisecrack" or "cracking wise."
> > "Craic" literally means "informal conversation" or "chat." I
> <rest of interesting and learned discussion snipped >
>
> But Geoff's statement remains true thou' using the wrong
> spelling. Often rendered as 'the craic' and in the sense of the
> spirit of having a good time, and generally involving music in a
> very social setting. It's one of those words that's easier to
> feel than to explain.
middel English. The word was then lost to English but was assimilated
by Irish/Gaelic. The correct spelling in that case would be "crack".
However, given the context of the current common usage, either spelling
should be accpetable.
(Here endeth the pointless message of the day)
Niall
n.ma...@ucc.ie
Craichead
<<It is in fact the Gaelic word "craic" which survives in such
> >English expressions as "wisecrack" or "cracking wise.">>
Well well. I learn something everyday!