Avatar feed
Responses: 5
LTC Stephen F.
7
7
0
Edited >1 y ago
Thanks TSgt Joe C. for sharing Solas' version of A Sailor's Life.
My favorite since the 1970s has been Fairport Convention's version of this classic ballad.
"Fairport Convention's version of this poignant traditional song marks a pivotal point in the development of folk-rock, representing as it does a brilliant fusion of a traditional form with all the dynamic, exploratory approach of modern rock playing. The song had been a part of Sandy Denny's repertoire when she joined Fairport. As a traditional song it had been known in many forms.
A Sailor's Life starts as a plaintive lament on the fickleness of sailors and the agonised waiting endured by their sweethearts until their return. The terrible irony of her rather bitter condemnation of the sailor's life as 'merry' is brought home by the subsequent tragedy. The singer extols her beloved's virtues before she sets off to find him. She hails a passing ship and is told that he is feared drowned. Beside herself with grief and despair, she runs her boat against a rock. This could be seen as a metaphor for another tragedy as she takes her own life.
The song then echoes the stormy course of the bereaved woman's grief, as it takes off into a passage of terrific ensemble playing, all instruments interweaving, building to an overwhelming intensity, before settling to a sombre resolution. There are echoes of everything from dirges to hornpipes in an extraordinary composition."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szrGtFxtWXU

FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Orlando Illi Lt Col Charlie Brown Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. "Bill" Price CPT Jack Durish Capt Tom Brown MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SGT (Join to see) Sgt Albert Castro SSG David Andrews Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. CPL Dave Hoover SGT Mark Halmrast SPC Margaret Higgins SrA Christopher Wright
(7)
Comment
(0)
Avatar small
SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth
4
4
0
Thank you for the SOTD.
(4)
Comment
(0)
Avatar small

Join nearly 2 million former and current members of the US military, just like you.

close