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@martin-carthy
This blog is a place to post and reblog things I enjoy and to interact with any other Martin Carthy fans out there.
I will probably post about other folk and trad artists here as well. If you have any suggestions of what you’d like to see on this blog, please let me know.
Blog title comes from this track recorded live in France
Maddy Prior & Martin Carthy
Liner notes from “Transform Me Then Into A Fish” album released June 2025
Transform Me Then Into a Fish
The digital release is now available 🐟
one of my favorite lesser-known ballads is the famous flower of serving men, and some little thumbnail doodles i made got away from me so here is the full ballad illustrated
Kevin Bourke sits down with the English folk legend to chat about a new album marking 60 years since his debut, why it sometimes takes him s
Steeleye Span - The Original Lineup
Gay and Terry Woods, Ashley Hutchings, Maddy Prior and Tim Hart
Liner notes from “Transform Me Then Into A Fish” album released June 2025
Transform Me Then Into a Fish
ethan signer, eric von schmidt, martin carthy, bob dylan and richard farina, troubadour club, london, england, january 12, 1963. photos by alison chapman mclean
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Presenting the results of my latest hyperfixation
Tam Lin is a Scottish folktale, usually presented in ballad form, dating back to at least the 16th Century. It has been summarized and re-told by different people over the years, including Overly Sarcastic Productions. It is the subject of a one-act opera, and was the inspiration for a 1970 movie that updated the story to the present day.
The fairy queen yells at Tam Lin in every version analyzed except for the Anais Mitchell version. Her version is an outlier in many respects, since the entire parade is left out, Janet simply grabs hold of Tam Lin mid-conversation.
Another oddity is Pentangle's version, which was written for the movie and consists of a jumble of images meant to complement scenes from the film, without a coherent narrative.
The biggest surprise to me is how few versions mention Janet seeking an abortion, something that I had always thought of as a central part of the story.
One thing I wish I could have looked at in more depth is the balance between versions that describe Tam Lin's transformations before he goes through them, and versions that describe them as they happen. As they happen is more common, but some songs will do the entire sequence twice.
Going into this, I had two versions prominent in my mind: Anais Mitchell's pop-folk version that leaves out much of the story, and Anne Briggs' very traditional (and very long) version. Because of this, I thought perhaps we would see a decrease in the complexity of the story over the years, but that's not the case, it's basically flat. I think a better comparison might be to separate into traditional and revised versions, although that is something of a judgment call.
There were so many minor discrepancies I couldn't even keep track of them all, but these four stood out because they are so oddly specific. Even the main character's name and the setting aren't consistent across versions, if they're even mentioned at all. Some versions don't even give the main character a name!
My data collection process leaves a lot to be desired, as well as the way in which I decided which events were major or minor, and which things to leave out altogether. This was mainly just a fun way to explore different versions of my favorite folktale, listen to a lot of different people sing different versions of the ballad, and rotate the whole thing in my brain.
Lucy Wan - Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick
Lucy sits at her father's door Weeping and making moan. By there come her brother dear, "What ails thee, Lucy Wan?" "I ail, I ail, dear brother," she cries, "I will tell you for why. There is a child between my two sides That is from you, dear brother, and I." He's took out his good longsword Hanging down by his knee, And he has cutted off poor Lucy Wan's head, Oh my Lord, how she bleeds. Outen come her thick heart's blood. Outen then come the thin. He is away to his mother's house. "What ails thee, Georgie Wan?" "What's that blood on the point of your sword? Son come tell to me." "That is the blood of my greyhound. He would not run with me." "Greyhound's blood was ne'er so red, Son come tell to me." "That is the blood of my grey mare. She would not hunt with me." "Grey mare's blood was ne'er so clear, Son come tell to me." "That's not the blood of my grey mare, but 'tis the blood of my sister, Lucy." "Oh, what'll you do when your father comes to know? Son come tell to me." "I will set foot in the bottomless boat, And I will sail the sea." "And when will you come back again? Son come tell to me." "When the sun and the moon dance on yon hill And that may never be."
Swarb sketch from last night :)
'VACANCIES For Name Band. The long-established pop group Fairport Prevention have the following situations vacant (Yes folks, you must be vacant to apply):
AN EVIL LOOKING, SPACED-OUT FIDDLER (No, this is not an advert for a manager). No applicants over 3' 6" need apply. Wages: 26 ounces of duff grass per week.
BASS PLAYER with that twangy adenoid sound. man. Must be able to consume 18 pints of beer per night.
WHIZZ KID LEAD GUITARIST. Must be capable of wheedly-whooping at 140 miles per hour and chasing spotlights around the stage at the same time.
SARCASTIC PERCUSSIONIST. Should be able at all times to play cross-rhythms, poly-rhythms, quadruple flam-paradiddles, triple beat dim-flarapiddles and all that flashy stuff what the plebs can't follow. Strictly no straight 3/4 please (Only Buddy Rich and Dave Clark need apply).
HUSBAND AND WIFE SINGING DUO. She should: Sing like an angel, look like a dream on stage, possess that indefinable charisma, and be able to start the chorus at least 16 bars before anybody else. He should: Croak dem ole familiar folk songs in the 15 cycles per second range, sport; tell a good story, be able to concert tune 43 guitars in 6 weeks and be not less than 7 feet tall in his drainpipe trousers.
FAIRPORT PREVENTION is protected by the Ancient Monuments Act 1956. P.S. Soundchecks our speciality (about once every vernal equinox!)'
– Advert for 'Fairport Prevention', December 1975
1972
Anne Briggs, Bert Jansch, "Blackwaterside"
A gorgeous voice with masterful accompaniment. If you like Sandy Denny, Anne Briggs is the OG. She recorded little—only two solo albums in 1971 and one other that was recorded in the early '70s and only released 25 years later.
A keening voice. She didn't really gaf about fame or a career in music and behaved accordingly, either absenting herself to places like the Hebrides or, earlier in life, partying hard (English folk-rock luminary Richard Thompson "recalled that he only ever encountered Briggs twice and on both occasions she was drunk and unconscious."). But there are a few other places where one can hear her voice, including a few tunes on this recording of British "traditional erotic songs" such as "The Whirly Whorl," the story of the sexual incompatibility between a young bride and an old groom:
"Well, first she modestly turned her back And then she turned her front, And long she wished for kindliness But kindness she got none. So at last she’s grabbed him all in her arms And shoved him against the wall, Saying, 'Are you there, you silly old devil? You’ve lost your whirly whorl!'"
one of my favorite lesser-known ballads is the famous flower of serving men, and some little thumbnail doodles i made got away from me so here is the full ballad illustrated
