TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

Anyone got any background on this song?

Its a anon 16th century English song. I like the Steeleye version as well.

http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/love-in-the-arts/western_wind.html

http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/medlyric/westron.php

http://poem-of-the-week.blogspot.com/2007/06/o-western-wind.html

The Dick Gaughan version. 'Now Westlin' Winds' is bl**dy tremendous.
It's on Handful of Earth. Every home should have one.

The Fairport version (one of my favourite tracks from the current line-up incidentally) is actually a combination of two songs.

The opening lines - repeated at the end - are, as stated above, an old English trad fragment. The rest is actually from Scotland's national bard himself - Robert Burns (this is the portion of the song which can be found on the Dick Gaughan album 'Handful of Earth')  You can find the words in any edition of Burns' Complete Poems usually under the title (Now Westlin winds and slaughtering guns).

I love Simon's singing on this track & Ric's superb fiddle breaks give the whole thing a lift.  

Dick Gaughan's song is his own arrangement of a poem by Robert Burns. You can find an mp3 sample of him singing it  here  (http:// http://www.dickgaughan.co.uk/songs/texts/westlin.html)

You're right Nick, every home should have 'Handful of Earth' (http://bestsmileys.com/thumbs/7.gif)

"Not vernal showers to budding flowers
Not autumn to the farmer
So dear can be as thou to me
My fair, my lovely charmer"

Some of the greatest lines ever written.  :)

And a stunning revisit of the song after 25 years on Dick's new live album, Live at the Trades Club.

Every home should have one of those as well.

I didn't know he had a new live cd. Handful of earth is one of my top ten. It and bones of all men are under the radar over here. So underated. Both sides of the tweed sounds like a trad song. The whole album is so strong. I think he would be a good guest at cropredy, but I've heard rumors he can be difficult. Still a fantastic musician with a great voice.

Back to western wynde. Am I imagining Steeleye doing it, or is it just Maddy and Hart solo?

John Renbourne also has another version.

Not sure about that.  I've met him a couple of times and he was the very antithesis of a prima donna, unlike others who are mentioned occasionally on this board.  Last time was Chester folk festival a couple of years ago - he was entitled to be irritable at that time as airport baggage handlers had succeeded in smashing his favourite old Martin D28 beyond repair but he was playing with a brand new instrument, very professional, very relaxed and philosophical about it all.

Brian MacNeill said that Dick Gaughan went from being an angry young man to being a bad tempered old bastard  ;D

Aha, he's a fellow grumpy old man...that's why I liked him!

meanwhile, back on topic...

Yes, it was Tim Hart and Maddy Prior on Summer Solstice.  27 seconds of it!