songs about law
Anne Hartridge
Can anyone think of any relatively well-known songs with lyrics
about the law in them? The only line that comes to mind isn't
really aphoristic enough:
"She was thinkin' about Rosemary, she was thinkin' about the law"
-Dylan, "Lily, Rosemary..."
Thanks,
Anne
John Lane
my way out)
Joe Hill
The Lonesome Ballad of Hattie Carroll
I Fought the Law and the Law Won (OK, a little off-genre)
There must be a million others... Please, let 'em roll here...
Mark
Anne Hartridge wrote in message <79qid5$fkq$1...@mark.ucdavis.edu>...
Hodagg
> about the law in them?
Lawyers, Guns,and Money............by Warren Zevon
Lawyers In Love ,,,,,,,Jackson Browne
Stephen Suffet
>
> Can anyone think of any relatively well-known songs with lyrics
> really aphoristic enough:
>
> "She was thinkin' about Rosemary, she was thinkin' about the law"
> -Dylan, "Lily, Rosemary..."
>
> Thanks,
> Anne
Greetings:
"The lady's name was Susan Moore, her daddy read the law,
She didn't know that I was poor and lived outside the law..."
---From THE LADY CAME FROM BALTIMORE by Tim Hardin
"I did then stand my trial and nobly made my plea,
A flaw was in my indictment found which quickly set me free.."
---From LILY OF THE WEST (traditional Irish version)
"The judge said, 'Son, what is your alibi?
Had you been somewhere else then you won't have to die'..."
---From LONG BLACK VEIL by Mason & Dixon
Regards,
Steve
Gerry Myerson
(Anne Hartridge) wrote:
-> Can anyone think of any relatively well-known songs with lyrics
-> about the law in them? The only line that comes to mind isn't
-> really aphoristic enough:
->
-> "She was thinkin' about Rosemary, she was thinkin' about the law"
-> -Dylan, "Lily, Rosemary..."
A keyword search of the Digital Tradition database for "law" turned up
about 160 songs; a search for the phrase, "the law", found about 80.
It looks like you'll have a lot to choose from.
If you want to stay with Dylan, there's always "to live outside the law,
you must be honest."
Gerry Myerson (ge...@mpce.mq.edu.au)
JesiAna
But I guess those are about lawyers, not "the law," exactly...
Jesiana
"If you can walk, you can dance. If you can talk, you can sing."
Neil Donley
I Fought the Law - don't know who did it originally off the top of my
head, but the Oyster Band did it a while back.
Alice's Restaurant - Arlo Guthrie
1 Million Lawyers - Tom Paxton
Jailbirds in the Big House - John Gorka
Sent Me To The 'Lectric Chair - David Bromberg
Steve Earle has a few - Billy Austin, Justice in Ontario, Tom Ames'
Prayer
Anne Hartridge wrote:
> Can anyone think of any relatively well-known songs with lyrics
> about the law in them? The only line that comes to mind isn't
> really aphoristic enough:
>
> "She was thinkin' about Rosemary, she was thinkin' about the law"
Michael Black
Guthrie's whole album about Sacco and Vanzetti.
Phil Ochs has a song entitled "The Trial" about the trial of the Chicago
Seven (/Eight). It's on "A Toast to Those WHo Are Gone" (it's not on the
record, which just might be the last record I bought; but it is on the
CD). Of course, Phil song his testimony at the Trial.
Graham Nash has a song called "Chicaga" which is about the same trial.
Michael
On 10 Feb 1999, John Lane wrote:
> Good Lord, this ought to be a good thread. How about, for starters (I'm on
> my way out)
>
> Joe Hill
> The Lonesome Ballad of Hattie Carroll
> I Fought the Law and the Law Won (OK, a little off-genre)
>
> There must be a million others... Please, let 'em roll here...
> Mark
>
>
> Anne Hartridge wrote in message <79qid5$fkq$1...@mark.ucdavis.edu>...
> >
Brett Weiss
It sends chills up your spine.
--
Brett
David Palmer <dpa...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:36c3228a...@nntp.ix.netcom.com...
>"Talk To The Lawyer" David Lindley
Lucy Kemnitzer
Kelly Harrell? Somebody like that.
Lucy Kemnitzer
Stephen Suffet
>
>
> Phil Ochs has a song entitled "The Trial" about the trial of the
> Chicago Seven (/Eight).
Greetings:
Even more interesting, and certainly more chilling, is Phil Ochs'
song "The Confession." It tells of how the police extract a murder con-
fession some someone who may or may not have been the killer. What is
most unusual is that it is told in the second person -- "you" this and
"you" that -- a very difficult literary device, but one which Ochs used
effectively in that instance. To wit, here's the first line:
"There's nothing as cold as the freeze in your soul at the moment
that you are arrested..."
Ochs wrote "The Confession" in 1964, but it never made it onto one
of his LPs. Elektra finally released it on the "Farewells & Fantasies"
CD set.
Regards,
Steve
SLHinton17
>Can anyone think of any relatively well-known songs with lyrics
>about the law in them? The only line that comes to mind isn't
>really aphoristic enough:
*******************************
"The Warranty Deed" was collected in Missouri and published as long ago as
1919; it's about a lawyer and a particular poiunt of contract law. Here are
the words:
THE WARRANTY DEED
I once knew a lawyer, I'll call Mister Gray,
Who had but few clients -- and they wouldn't pay.
At length of starvation he grew so afraid
That he courted and married a wealthy old maid.
At the wedding the lawyer made one big mistake:
'Twas not in omitting the cards or the cake.
The ring was well chosen, the parson well fee'd --
But the groom did not ask for a warranty deed.
That night in their chambers, the bride, she arose,
And began to prepare to retire in repose.
Her husband sat near, to enjoy the dear charms
That gave him such pleasure to hold in his arms.
She went to the wash-stand to wash her fair face,
But the process destroyed all its beauty and grace.
The rose in her cheeks, whether ruby or faint,
When displayed on the towel, it was nothing but paint.
She went to the mirror to take down her hair,
And when she had done so, her scalp it was bare.
She took out her false teeth with fingers and thumbs
And said "I'm accuthtomed to thleep in my gumth!"
She loosed the fair robe that enveloped her waist,
And then took out something that in there was placed.
Her waist was then thicker, her bosom quite flat,
And she said "What a pleasure to get out of that!"
The bridegroom he sat there in stupid surprise
To see such strange doings before his own eyes.
Then he jumped up, and he ran out the door --
And poor Mistress Gray never saw him no more.
Now, all you young men who engage for a wife,
'Tis the most binding contract you'll sign in your life.
Don't trust what you see; to my warning take heed,
And always insist on a Warranty Deed!
Sam Hinton
La Jolla, CA
xxxx
Hadn't a been for [Sheriff] Grayson, I'd been in Tennessee
Take down this old violin, and play it if you please
at this time tomorrow, it'll be of no use to me.
On 10 Feb 1999 00:03:49 GMT, ez06...@catbert.ucdavis.edu (Anne
Hartridge) wrote:
>
>Can anyone think of any relatively well-known songs with lyrics
> about the law in them? The only line that comes to mind isn't
> really aphoristic enough:
>
Gary J. Ehrlich
-- Gary
--
"Gorgeous" Gary Ehrlich, P.E.
Visit Electro's Hideaway
http://www.erols.com/hyperion/electro.html
Come to Consonance! March 5-7, 1999
Jon-Jon
jon-jon
Jim Lesses
Peace, man
Jim _\ | | /_ Lesses
O / O
\_/
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Anne Hartridge wrote in message <79qid5$fkq$1...@mark.ucdavis.edu>...
>
xxxx
"Geordie's lost his pECKEr
Doing the double rock...
[phonetic] as done by D. McLean
Anybody know that one?
JesiAna
an arrest of the venerable old activist
Jim Lesses
>YOU Mean like,
>"Geordie's lost his pECKEr
>Doing the double rock...
>[phonetic] as done by D. McLean
>
>
>Anybody know that one?
>
>On Thu, 11 Feb 1999 11:26:16 +1030, "Jim Lesses"
><jle...@senet.com.au> wrote:
>
>>The trad song 'Geordie' and surely many of the other Childe Ballads.
>>
No, I mean this one covered by Joan Baez on one of her first LPs.
GEORDIE
As I walked out over London Bridge
One misty morning early
I overheard a fair, pretty maid
Was lamenting for her Geordie
Oh my Geordie will be hanged in a golden chain
Tis not the chain of many
He was born of the king's royal blood
And lost to a virtuous lady
Go bridle me my milk white steed
Go bridle me my pony
I will ride to London's court
To plead for the life of my Geordie
Oh my Geordie never stole cow nor calf
He never hurted any
He stole sixteen of the King's royal deer
And sold them in Boeny
Six pretty babies have I borne
The seventh lies in my body
I'd freely part with them one and all
If you'll spare me the life of my Geordie
The judge looked over his left shoulder
He said, Fair maid, I'm sorry
Said, Fair maid, you must be gone
For I cannot pardon Geordie
Oh my Geordie will be hanged in a golden chain
Tis not the chain of many
He was born of the king's royal blood
And lost to a virtuous lady
Child #209
sung by Baez, Carthy, MacColl
Jim Lesses
154 hits for the word "law", and 124 hits for "judge". Of course, not all
references were completely relevant, and sometimes both words occurred in
the same song, but there are more than enough to start with.
Stephen Suffet
Greetings:
If you are willing, try making these changes from Joan Baez's ver-
sion shown above:
> Oh. my Geordie never stole a cow nor a calf.
> He never murdered any,
> He stole sixteen of the King's royal deer,
> And sold them in Kilkenny.
Comment: I don't know what "hurted" means, but I do know what "mur-
dered" is. And where's Boeny, or Bohenny, or whatever? Poaching some of
King's deer and selling them in Kilkenny, where they will end up as some
tasty venison stew, is certainly immediately understandable.
> The King looked over his left shoulder then,
> And said, "Fair lady, I'm sorry."
> He said, "Fair lady, you must be gone,
> For I shall not pardon your Geordie."
Comment: Heck, send her straight to the boss. Why piddle around
with a judge when it's just as easy to have her beg the King to spare
Geordie's life? Besides, if she cuts a deal with a judge, she may turn
up like Anathea: both literally and figuratively screwed. And with her
pregnant belly and six little ones, she's obviously not a "maid" any-
more. "Fair lady" works much better.
New verse, to be inserted next to last (i.e. after the one I just
discussed):
> If I lived down in yonder woods,
> And I were an outlaw merry,
> I'd take a broad sword in my hands,
> And I'd fight for the life of my Geordie.
Comment: I learned that verse many years ago. It really gives the
lady a lot more spunk, even if only in her angry fantasy, and makes her
a lot less whiny.
Take 'em or leave 'em, but I like 'em!
Regards,
Steve
Paul Draper
>>YOU Mean like,
>>"Geordie's lost his pECKEr
>>Doing the double rock...
>>[phonetic] as done by D. McLean
>>
>>
>>Anybody know that one?
>>
I believe it should go more like
"Wor Geordie's lost his penker
Doon the double raw"
The penker was a particular type of marble, the double raw was the double
row of houses (perhaps the alley along the backs?) and Geordie's penker
rolled "doon the cundy" ie. the drain.
--
Paul Draper
0171 369 2754
Ron Natalie
ending After the "King looked over his left shoulder" verse
came:
Then up and spake the royal queen.
And yea she spoke bonnie.
Tell down, tell down
500 hundred pounds
And ye shall have your geordie.
Some gave her marks, some gave her crowns,
Some gave her ducketts many.
500 guineas did she lay down
and won the life of Geordie.
My wife and I used to sing various versions of this song.
Our young daughter one day when walking through the local
home center found some "golden" chain for sale and loudly
proclaimed "That's the chain they hung Geordie with."
Nigel & Nancy Sellars
by some folklorists to be a distinct song from the English "Georgie,"
despite the similarities. I recall reading somewhere that the Scots
song is traceable to a real incident involving either a murder or
treason, whereas the English song maybe be connected to the tradition of
criminals' "goodnight songs." But who's to say? I do know that June
Tabor sings the Scots version on the first "Silly Sisters" album and to
my ears it is really is an entirely different song. Both are really
good, though.
Nigel Sellars.
Baltimore Jack
Absolutely Sweet Marie--Bob Dylan
"I fought the law and the law won"
--Sonny Curtis (the hit record was by Bobby Fuller)
Simon van Dongen
>
>Can anyone think of any relatively well-known songs with lyrics
> about the law in them? The only line that comes to mind isn't
> really aphoristic enough:
>
>"She was thinkin' about Rosemary, she was thinkin' about the law"
> -Dylan, "Lily, Rosemary..."
>
>
>Thanks,
>Anne
Billy Dalton staggered on the sidewalk
Someone said he stumbled and he fell
Six squad cars came screaming to the rescue
Hauled ol' Billy Dalton of to jail
'cause the Law is for protection of the People
Rules are rules and any fool can see
We don't need no drunks like Billy Dalton
Scaring decent folk like you and me
No Sirree
Kris Kristopherson
One million lawyers, Tom Paxton
Philadelphia Lawyer, Woody Guthrie
Cryderville/Carterville Jail
And of course many, many others about breaking many laws, starting
with 'Mail myself to you'
--
Simon van Dongen <sg...@xs4all.nl> Rotterdam, The Netherlands
As he reclined there he sang ballads of ancient valour, from
time to time beating a hollow wooden duck in unison with his
voice, so that the charitable should have no excuse for
missing the entertainment. -Bramah, Kai Lung's Golden Hours
Jim Partridge
Hartridge) wrote:
>
>Can anyone think of any relatively well-known songs with lyrics
> about the law in them? The only line that comes to mind isn't
> really aphoristic enough:
>
>"She was thinkin' about Rosemary, she was thinkin' about the law"
> -Dylan, "Lily, Rosemary..."
Steeleye Span did a song called "Ten Long Years," which is about
someone being sentenced "for another man's crimes." It's probably
trad., but I haven't ever encountered it other than by SS.
Jim.
Chris Conway
One Million Lawyers (Tom Paxton)
Break the Law (Doug McArthur, Garnet Rogers)
I Fought the Law and the Law Won (sorry, there's too many brain cells
gone between now and then)
The Law (Leonard Cohen)
Outlaw (Connie Kaldor)
Amy DiNolo
of my favorite songs (ok, it's not exactly folk) is "I'm Not The Man" by
10,000 Maniacs on their album "Our Time in Eden"
-Amy
Adchas
also "Long Black Veil"
Tom
Richard L. Hess
wrote:
>If you're going to bring up Joe Hill, then you might also bring up Woody
>Guthrie's whole album about Sacco and Vanzetti.
>
Then, of course, there is the Joan Baez, Enrico Morricone soundtrack
for the film about Sacco and Vanzetti.
Richard
Richard L. Hess rlh...@mindspring.com
Glendale, CA USA http://rlhess.home.mindspring.com/
Web page for folk and church music, photography, and satellite navigation
Richard L. Hess
Phil Ochs "The Highwayman" (on the Sliced Bread Phil Ochs collection
by Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen
"Anathea" (Lydia Wood-Neil Roth) (On Judy Collins 3)
"Deportee/Plane Wreck at Los Gatos" (Guthrie-Hoffman)
On Judy Collins 3; Priscilla Hedman "Seasons of Change"
and on the bonus disc in Joan Baez's "Blessed Are"
"It Isn't Nice" Malvina Reynolds and Barbara Dane
On Judy Collins's Fifth Album
"The Hostage" by Tom Paxton
On Judy Collins "True Stories and Other Dreams"
"Rice and Beans" by U. Utah Philips and Priscilla Herdman
On Herdman's "Seasons of Change"
JesiAna
up like Anathea: both literally and figuratively screwed.>>
Steve, interesting that you mention Anathea here...I was about to add "Anathea"
to this thread of songs about the law...and then there is Gilbert & Sullivan's
"Mikado," what is the song about the Lord High Executioner or something?
Stephen Suffet
>
> << Besides, if she cuts a deal with a judge, she may turn
> up like Anathea: both literally and figuratively screwed.>>
>
> Steve, interesting that you mention Anathea here...I was about to add
> "Anathea" to this thread of songs about the law...
Greetings:
I now realize that Anathea was only figuratively screwed, but in two
different meanings of the term. Unless, of course, that judge was into
S&M and spent that one night with her dealing out some Star Chamber
justice. :-)
Anyway, a woman from England sent me a long private e-mail regarding
the ballad "Geordie." She took issue with some of the changes I make, in
particular my having the young lady beg the King, rather than a judge,
to spare Geordie's life:
"Sending her to the judge is an important and awesome bit of history:
it marks the shift from direct justice from the king to the Courts of
Assize. She, poor woman, still thinks that the old system of justice,
whereby good testimony of a man's repute may turn the case around, will
have some weight. The judge is part of the newer and harsher system of
law which is evidence-based. It's a key issue that she is an anachron-
ism; the ballad is part of the English North-South divide..."
I think I'll go back to singing "judge" rather than "King"!
The same English woman pointed out that "Bohenny" is probably a re-
ference to Bo'ness, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Maybe so, but I'm still
going to have Geordie peddle those stolen deer in Kilkenny. I love to
think of 16 of the King's Royal deer ending up as Irish stew. :-)
Regards again,
Steve
Abby Sale
wrote:
>Just out of interest, a keyword search of the Digital Tradition turned up
>154 hits for the word "law", and 124 hits for "judge". Of course, not all
>references were completely relevant, and sometimes both words occurred in
>the same song, but there are more than enough to start with.
>
And that should settle that! BTW, unless you used "law*" your search
wouldn't have given one of the modern classics I don't think yet
mentioned, Guthrie's "Philadelphia Lawyer." Like "Warranty Deed" (later,
"The Unfortunate Man") that Sam posted, it's not so much about the law as
it is our feelings about lawyers. Maybe that's the same thing, though.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ---
I am Abby Sale - abby...@orlinter.com (That's in Orlando)
Jean Katherine Rossner
>and then there is Gilbert & Sullivan's
>"Mikado," what is the song about the Lord High Executioner or something?
Oh, yes! (IIRC sung by Pooh-Bah rather than Ko-Ko, though)
Our great Mikado, virtuous man,
When he to rule our land began
Resolved to try a plan whereby young men might best be steadied.
So he decreed, in terms succinct
That all who flirted, leered or winked
(Unless connubially linked)
Should forthwith be beheaded.
And I expect you'll all agree that he was right to so decree--
And I am right and you are right and all is right as right can be.
This stern decree, you'll understand
Caused great dismay throughout the land
For young and old, and shy and bold were equally affected.
The youth who winked a roving eye
Or breathed a non-connubial sigh
Was thereupon condemned to die:
He usually objected.
And you'll allow, as I expect, that he was right to so object,
And you are right, and I am right, and everything is quite correct.
And so we straight let out on bail
A convict from the county jail
Whose head was next, on some pretext, condemned to be mown off.
And made him Headsman, for we said
Who's next to be decapited,
Cannot cut off another's head
Until he's cut his own off!
And we were right, I think you'll say, to argue in this kind of way,
And you are right, and we are right, and all is right--toolooralay!
I'd been thinking about Gilbert and Sullivan throughout this thread
but thought they might be too far from folk. Of course, there's the
Lord Chancellor's song in _Iolanthe_ (the one that reportedly
"inspired" Rehnquist):
The Law is the true embodiment
Of everything that's excellent,
It has no kind of fault or flaw--
And I, my lords, embody the law.
Or the Judge, in _Trial by Jury_:
When I went to the Bar as a very young man,
Said I to myself, said I.
I'll work on a new and original plan,
Said I to myself, said I.
I'll never assume that a rogue or a thief
Is a gentleman worthy implicit belief
Because his attorney has sent me a brief,
Said I to myself, said I.
I'll never throw dust in a juryman's eyes...
Or hoodwink a judge who is not over-wise...
Or assume that the witnesses summoned in force
To Exchequer, Queen's Bench, Common Pleas, or Divorce,
Have perjured themselves as a matter of course,
Said I to myself, said I.
And the points of law on which _Ruddigore_ and _Pirates of Penzance_
both turn...but I can't think of particular songs from either of
those. Will have to go find my collection of the libretti and check.
Katherine (a G&S fan almost as long as I've been a folkie)
You've got to sing like you don't need the money,
Love like you'll never get hurt.
You've got to dance like no one is watching,
It's gotta come from the heart, if you want it to work.
-- Susannah Clark
Andrew Ross
>> about the law in them?
In addition to what's already been mentioned...
Gilbert and Sullivan have dozens. Offhand, I can think of the Lord
Chancellor's songs from IOLANTHE ("Said I to myself, said I" and "I
milords, embody the law"), the police songs from PIRATES OF PENZANCE ("A
policeman's lot is not a happy one"), and several from THE MIKADO ("Let
the punishment fit the crime"), to say nothing of the entire mini-opera
TRIAL BY JURY.
Bob Dylan wrote several rebel songs about perceived miscarriages of
justice. "Hurricane" and "Percy's Song" (Turn turn to the rain and the
wind, also covered by Fairport Convention) come to mind.
There's Murray Porath's "Kentucky Witch Trial". I believe Porath also
wrote several other legal songs.
Country music has a wealth of songs about people going to jail. "The
Lily of the West", "Wishin' She was here instead of me"...you get the
idea. Same with Irish songs about fallen martyrs in the war against the
English, although many of these deal with deeds and executions, without
much mention of the trials...
Eric Bogle, "Poor Bugger Charlie"
Gospel song, "Jesus dropped the charges" (unfortunately, whenever I hear
this one, I get the image of Christ in a battleship, trolling for
submarines. I'm so impious!)
Finally, there are a few that I wrote/filked myself. "The Skinner Butte
Cross", about the 30 years of Establishment Clause wrangling that took
place in Eugene, Oregon over a cross erected on public land; "Garrett's
Second Years"(ttto: Barrett's Privateers), about Constitutional Law
professor Garrett Epps; and one more ttto "The Prickly Bush" that pretty
much sets several law school final exams to music. One verse goes:
Alford and Charlie
Are partners in a bar
Alford hires a bouncer
A notorious wrestling star
David pushes Eddie
Into Frank, and breaks his knee
For remarks Ed made about Dave's sex life
and his Simian ancestry
The bouncer injures both of them
While ejecting them from the room
Please analyze every lawsuit brought
And who can recover from whom?
(other lyrics, songs available by request)
Best,
Andrew Ross
Michael Black
On Fri, 12 Feb 1999, Richard L. Hess wrote:
> Great Threads!!!!
>
> Phil Ochs "The Highwayman" (on the Sliced Bread Phil Ochs collection
> by Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen
>
> "Anathea" (Lydia Wood-Neil Roth) (On Judy Collins 3)
>
> "Deportee/Plane Wreck at Los Gatos" (Guthrie-Hoffman)
> On Judy Collins 3; Priscilla Hedman "Seasons of Change"
> and on the bonus disc in Joan Baez's "Blessed Are"
>
> "It Isn't Nice" Malvina Reynolds and Barbara Dane
> On Judy Collins's Fifth Album
>
> "The Hostage" by Tom Paxton
> On Judy Collins "True Stories and Other Dreams"
>
> "Rice and Beans" by U. Utah Philips and Priscilla Herdman
> On Herdman's "Seasons of Change"
>
>
>
I think the thread's morphing. I took "law" to mean trial or lawyer,
so Deportee and The Hostage didn't come to mind.
But if the thread is broadening (which is fun though maybe not so useful
to the original poster)
Phil Ochs "The Ballad of Alferd Packer" well known cannibal
Phil Ochs "Christine Keeler" it was a famous scandal in Britain, but
wasn't there also a trial?
Both of the above are on Phil Och's The Broadside Tapes 1
Phil Ochs "Ballad of William Worthy" He went to Cuba and had his
passport taken away Not sure if there was a trial (On All the News
That's Fit to Sing)
Phil might have some more, if I just went through the albums one by one.
Joan Baez's "Prison Trilogy" on Come From the Shadows.
Joan Baez's "Fifteen Months" on Blessed Are... I've always assumed it
was about her then husband David Harris and the time he was in jail for
draft resistance.
Eric Anderson has a song about being in a prison cell on "Bout Changes
and Things Take 2 (maybe the original too) but it's too late for me to
figure out which song. The whole album is great.
There are others.
Michael
Michael Black
On Fri, 12 Feb 1999, Richard L. Hess wrote:
> On Wed, 10 Feb 1999 00:44:03 -0500, Michael Black <blac...@CAM.ORG>
> wrote:
>
> >If you're going to bring up Joe Hill, then you might also bring up Woody
> >Guthrie's whole album about Sacco and Vanzetti.
> >
> Then, of course, there is the Joan Baez, Enrico Morricone soundtrack
> for the film about Sacco and Vanzetti.
>
Did that come out as an album? She sings The Ballad of Sacco & Vanzetti
on From Every Stage but I never thought about the soundtrack being a whole
album.
Interestingly, years ago a book was published of letters of Sacco and
Vanzetti. I've had a copy for years, and if I recall correctly, I was
able to find the letters where the words were taken from.
Michael
JesiAna
about the law:
"By a lonely prison wall I heard a young girl calling,
Michael they are taking you away.
You stole Trevelyan's corn so the young might see the morn,
now a prison ship lies waiting on the bay.
By a lonely prison wall I heard a young man calling,
Nothing matters, Mary, when you're free.
Against the famine and the crown, I rebelled, they ran me down,
Now you must raise our child with dignity
By a lonely harbour wall, she watched the last star falling
As that prison ship sailed out against the sky.
Sure she'll wait and watch and pray for her love in Botany Bay,
It's so lonely round the fields of Athenry."
"Trevelyan" refers to Lord Trevelyan, one of the big landowners at the time of
the Great Potato Famine in Ireland. Most will know that Botany Bay was a prison
colony in Australia.
TRisner52
Tom from Texas
James N. Stewart
David Palmer wrote in message <36c5072...@nntp.ix.netcom.com>...
>about _being_ the law
There is a fine song by Bernard Boland, a part time Australian folkie of a
few years ago, about his Uncle Fred, the lawyer. Maybe someone in Oz can
find the complete text. I recall:
Uncle Fred is 82 today
Time put his books up and give the game away.
Time to say farewell to Torrens Title and the Courts,
And no more thinking complicated excize duty thoughts.....
PAULSBANJO
And of course there is "Poor Boy" (in Sandbergs Songbag)
"Oh cruel, kind judge, oh cruel, kind judge
What will you do with me
If the jury finds you guilty, Poor boy
Gonna send you to the penitentiary"
Ch.
" Gonna send. etc.
"Well the jury found me guilty, Po' Boy
The clerk he wrote it down
The judge pronounced the sentance, Po' Boy
Ten long years in Huntsville Town.
Ch.
"Ten long etc.
Paul
Andrew Ross
>I'd been thinking about Gilbert and Sullivan throughout this thread
>but thought they might be too far from folk. Of course, there's the
>Lord Chancellor's song in _Iolanthe_ (the one that reportedly
>"inspired" Rehnquist):
> The Law is the true embodiment
> Of everything that's excellent,
> It has no kind of fault or flaw--
> And I, my lords, embody the law.
>Or the Judge, in _Trial by Jury_:
> When I went to the Bar as a very young man,
> Said I to myself, said I....
That was the Lord Chancellor again. The Judge's song in TBJ went like
this:
When I. ggod lads, was called to the Bar, I'd an appetite fresh and hearty
But I was, as many young barristers are, an impecunious party
I soon grew tired of third class journeys and dinners of bread and water
So I fell in love with a rich attorney's elderly, ugly daughter...
Best,
Andrew
Richard L. Hess
I've had that as a CD for a couple of years. It's on OMEGA OCD 3015
Please see my web site:
http://rlhess.home.mindspring.com/music/joan250.htm
Happy album hunting.
Cheers,
Richard
On Sat, 13 Feb 1999 00:51:47 -0500, Michael Black <blac...@CAM.ORG>
wrote:
>
>
>On Fri, 12 Feb 1999, Richard L. Hess wrote:
>
>> On Wed, 10 Feb 1999 00:44:03 -0500, Michael Black <blac...@CAM.ORG>
>> wrote:
>>
>> >If you're going to bring up Joe Hill, then you might also bring up Woody
>> >Guthrie's whole album about Sacco and Vanzetti.
>> >
>> Then, of course, there is the Joan Baez, Enrico Morricone soundtrack
>> for the film about Sacco and Vanzetti.
>>
>Did that come out as an album? She sings The Ballad of Sacco & Vanzetti
>on From Every Stage but I never thought about the soundtrack being a whole
>album.
>
>Interestingly, years ago a book was published of letters of Sacco and
>Vanzetti. I've had a copy for years, and if I recall correctly, I was
>able to find the letters where the words were taken from.
>
> Michael
>
Richard L. Hess rlh...@mindspring.com
Al Christians
"Once there came from Austin City,
A young dude reported witty,
Out of Bean he thought he'd try to get a rise,
So acting very frisky, he up and orders whisky,
Shouting out, 'Now hurry up, gol durn your eyes.'
"Then down he slams ten dollars,
Which Roy Bean he quickly collars,
And Roy, he holds the nine and gives back one,
The dude he gave a holler,
When he saw the single dollar,
And right then began the merriment and the fun.
The dude he slammed the table,
Just as hard as he was able,
The price of whisky was too high, he swore,
Said Roy Bean, 'For all your fussin,
Your most outrageous cussin,
You are fined the other dollar by the law.'
"On this place I hold a lease, sir,
I'm the Justice of the Peace, sir,
The law west of the Pecos is all here,
And having acted very badly,
The dude he walked out sadly,
While down his handsome cheek there rolled a tear."
Al
Gerry Myerson
<jnst...@prairienet.org> wrote:
> There is a fine song by Bernard Boland, a part time Australian folkie of a
> few years ago, about his Uncle Fred, the lawyer.
The name is Bolan, he's alive & well & still an Australian part-time folkie,
in fact I believe he's president of the Folk Federation of New South Wales
and will be performing at the National Folk Festival in Canberra in April.
It's a great song. Sorry I can't help with the lyrics.
Gerry Myerson (ge...@mpce.mq.edu.au)
Piers Cawley
> Greetings:
<
< If you are willing, try making these changes from Joan Baez's ver-
< sion shown above:
<
< > Oh. my Geordie never stole a cow nor a calf.
< > He never murdered any,
< > He stole sixteen of the King's royal deer,
< > And sold them in Kilkenny.
<
< Comment: I don't know what "hurted" means, but I do know what "mur-
< dered" is. And where's Boeny, or Bohenny, or whatever? Poaching some of
< King's deer and selling them in Kilkenny, where they will end up as some
< tasty venison stew, is certainly immediately understandable.
But highly unlikely. It's a bloody long way from the North East of
England to Kilkenny, there's a big lump of water in between 'em for a
start.
< > The King looked over his left shoulder then,
< > And said, "Fair lady, I'm sorry."
< > He said, "Fair lady, you must be gone,
< > For I shall not pardon your Geordie."
<
< Comment: Heck, send her straight to the boss. Why piddle around
< with a judge when it's just as easy to have her beg the King to spare
< Geordie's life? Besides, if she cuts a deal with a judge, she may turn
< up like Anathea: both literally and figuratively screwed. And with her
< pregnant belly and six little ones, she's obviously not a "maid" any-
< more. "Fair lady" works much better.
Except it doesn't scan. Scansion is something that I personally like
to stick to.
--
Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
TS Eliot -- The Wasteland
Piers Cawley
> Come to think of it, the old Irish famine song, "The Fields of Athenry," is
> about the law:
> [Snip]
Not that old. It's by P. St. John (can't remember what the P stands
for, sorry.)
Stephen Suffet
>
> Stephen Suffet <Suf...@worldnet.att.net> writes:
> > Greetings:
> <
> < If you are willing, try making these changes from Joan Baez's
> <
> < > Oh. my Geordie never stole a cow nor a calf.
> < > He never murdered any,
> < > He stole sixteen of the King's royal deer,
> < > And sold them in Kilkenny.
> <
> < Comment: I don't know what "hurted" means, but I do know what
> < some of King's deer and selling them in Kilkenny, where they will
> < end up as some tasty venison stew, is certainly immediately
> < understandable.
>
> But highly unlikely. It's a bloody long way from the North East of
> England to Kilkenny, there's a big lump of water in between 'em for a
> start.
>
Greetings:
Yes, very unlikely. So that's why I sometimes have the young lady
ride to fair Dublin town. :-) There are only a couple of piddling lakes
and some skanky rivers bewteen there and Kilkenny. :-) Heck, I some-
times even change the poor fellow's name to Rory. :-)
In all seriousness, what I could never find was Bohenny or Bo'enny
or whatever. But a woman from Oxford recently informed me via private
e-mail that Bohenny is probably a reference to Bo'ness, which is not far
from Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
I have also learned that there had once been a thriving market in
ill-gotten venison throughout all parts of what is now the UK. Deer were
the property of the Crown and one could only hunt them by Royal license,
which was rarely, if ever, granted. The venison-hungry nobility paid
good money for the contraband meat, and if apprehended, the penalty fell
solely on the vendor, not the consumer.
Geordie was undoubtedly some distant cousin of the King and he cer-
tainly had an elder brother to whom the family estate went. Landless but
of Royal birth, he was essentially a hustler. Poaching those sixteen
deer was not his only offense, but it was the one for which he hanged. A
common would not have been permitted such a quick death, the figurative
meaning of being "hanged by a golden chain, 'tis not the chain of many."
Regards,
Steve
Steve Ashton
> common would not have been permitted such a quick death, the figurative
> meaning of being "hanged by a golden chain, 'tis not the chain of many."
>
> Regards,
> Steve
I rather think that it is referring to being hanged on a gibbet until he
rotted, which would happen after he had been killed by the usual length
of rope. It was a good way of letting the populace know that they were
being watched and prevent a Christian burial, which was important at the
time.
Steve
Stephen Suffet
>
> > A commoner would not have been permitted such a quick death, the
Greetings:
Yes, I agree that the line literally refers to Geordie's body being
hanged in chains after his execution. But certainly that chain would be
iron, no matter what his station. But in the figurative sense, "by a
golden chain" and "'tis not the chain of many" mean that Geordie would
suffer the quick death afforded Royalty. A commoner, or even a lesser
noble, who poached sixteen of the King's deer could expect a long and
drawn out death, probably involving molten lead, boiling oil, burning
pitch, and various other instruments of torture.
Regards again,
Steve
James N. Stewart
Gerry Myerson wrote in message ...
>In article <6Dkx2.1955$YN3...@news5.ispnews.com>, "James N. Stewart"
><jnst...@prairienet.org> wrote:
>
>> There is a fine song by Bernard Boland, a part time Australian folkie of
a
>> few years ago, about his Uncle Fred, the lawyer.
>
>The name is Bolan, he's alive & well & still an Australian part-time
folkie,
>in fact I believe he's president of the Folk Federation of New South Wales
>and will be performing at the National Folk Festival in Canberra in April.
Actually, if one is interested in legal references one should look into the
Australian material. One could name;
1. Botany bay (Farewell to the well known old bailey...etc.)
2. Farewell to all judges and Juries
3. Jim Jones (the jury said he's guilty sir and saind the judge said
he...etc.)
4. Broken down squatter (when the big wigs are brought to the bankruptcy
court....etc)
and so on. (sorry, but all this is off the top of my head)
Ronny
>
>Some with a somewhat legal theme:
>I Fought the Law - don't know who did it originally off the top of my
>head, but the Oyster Band did it a while back.
>Alice's Restaurant - Arlo Guthrie
>1 Million Lawyers - Tom Paxton
>Jailbirds in the Big House - John Gorka
>Sent Me To The 'Lectric Chair - David Bromberg
>Steve Earle has a few - Billy Austin, Justice in Ontario, Tom Ames'
>Prayer
Steve also have "Hometown Blues", "Devil's Right Hand", "Copperhead Road", "The
Week Of Living Dangerously", "Billy And Bonnie" ......
PAULSBANJO
Paul
Ronny
>
>In article <36C11928...@redrose.net>, ndo...@redrose.net says...
>>
>>Some with a somewhat legal theme:
>>I Fought the Law - don't know who did it originally off the top of my
>>head, but the Oyster Band did it a while back.
The Clash
Abby Sale
wrote:
>Piers Cawley wrote:
>>
>> But highly unlikely. It's a bloody long way from the North East of
>> England to Kilkenny, there's a big lump of water in between 'em for a
>> start.
>>
>
>Greetings:
>
> Yes, very unlikely. So that's why I sometimes have the young lady
>ride to fair Dublin town. :-) There are only a couple of piddling lakes
> Geordie was undoubtedly some distant cousin of the King and he cer-
There's really a distinct difference between English & Scottish versions
and there are so very many altogether that details vary considerably too.
Hunting (especially in English versions) may not be mentioned at all.
American version take them even further afield.
I think most often she does save him, pay off the fine (or bribe) and he
doesn't die. Sometimes _she_ dies. I think Scots versions (ie, "Gight's
Lady") are a bit more consistant. Child (Duncan agreeing) says:
"Kinloch and others incline to take Geordie to be George Gordon, fourth
earl of Huntly, who incurred the Queen Regent's displeasure for failing to
execute a commission against a Highland robber in 1554. Huntly was
committed to Edinburgh Castle and some of his many enemies urged that he
should be put to death. The Earl of Cassilis, though a foe to Huntly,
resisted these measures on grounds of patriotism and proposed that he
should be deprived of certain honors and offices and fined. A fine was
exacted, and the places which had been taken from him were restored. With
regard to this hypothesis, it may at least be said, if it should be
accepted, the ballad would be quite as faithful to history as many
others."
Greig isn't as concerned about speculating on historical details. Ballads
are not the best source for such accuracy. Anyway, the details & the
crime committed _and form of execution_ vary too much to bother trying in
this case. As to "Gight:" 'Bog o' Gight' is Gordon Castle near Fochabers.
There's another Gight Castle in Fyvie that is often confused with this
one. (And _I_ certainly would!) Both belonged to Gordons, anyway.
Almost always a fine text & singable tune in any guise, I think.
John Sessoms
Originally by the Bobby Fuller Four