Welcome back to the Randomizer!
So it has been a while since I’ve done a music feature,
almost over 8 months ago since my Irish Traditional Music post last August (and
no Disney doesn’t count. Sorry!). I had been racking my brains wondering what
to talk about this month, and thus talking about music again popped into my
head, to talk about one band in particular that a good deal of you won’t know
or heard of, because you don’t really listen to Radio 2 that much. To be honest
either do I, but beside the point. The band I will talk about is a two piece
folk band called Show of Hands.
Show of Hands were formed in the West County in 1991,
consisting of Steve Knightly and Phil Beer, and have become a big name in Folk
Music over the past 20 years. Winning Best Live Act at the BBC Radio 2 Folk
Awards in 2004, a double award in 2010, appearing on the Andrew Marr Show last
year to promote their latest release Centenary: Words and Music of the Great
War, they are still continuing strong and hearty to this day, with lots of West
Country beers and scrumpy cider in their bellies. I think so anyway, I don’t
know what their drinking tastes are.
Anyway, why am I talking about this band today? Well, partly
because this did pop up in my head to talk about. This is The Randomizer after
all. But on the other hand, to talk about Show of Hands is to talk about a view
of what is wrong with the country at the minute (Conservative Party withstanding),
to show a mixture of songs that are traditional and inspired by international
events, and what I have taken away from what they have played, by extension
what you can take away too. They are a band that show what is going on at home,
in the local community of villages, what poachers get up to the woods, the
feelings of those living in exile, and many more songs that I will share with
you today. I will be posting the songs on here as well, so you can hear the
awesome music they have. Some of these are live shows, so I apologise for any sound quality issues that may occur.
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First, a bit of personal experience. I got into Show of
Hands thanks to my dad owning a compilation CD of folk songs, one of which had
‘The Man in Green’ from their album ‘Lie of the Land’.
I had listened to some traditional folk songs before, but
this was the first song I had that brought me into the band’s fold. The
strumming of that guitar and the fast playing of the violin, just really makes
that song very memorable and fun. I’m not sure if I have the story of the song
right, but for me personally now, I believe to this day that it is about Robin
Hood. Just listening to the lyrics again, it just feels like a modern
interpretation of the main ideal of Robin Hood in general. Shaking the throne,
marching men approaching and hunting horns are blown, how is this not about our
favourite outlaw in anyway? As a little inside joke for me, I like to change a
couple of lyrics: ‘The Man in Green’, to ‘The Woman in Green’. Writing a book
about a female Robin Hood does that to me. In fact I wouldn’t mind if they did
a reworking of that song if a TV series ever took off. I can dream a dream, of
time gone by. Oops, wrong subject.
What really got me into the band was listening to their own
compilation album, ‘Roots: The Best of Show of Hands’, released in 2007.
Honestly, this is the only album I have really listened to, not even their
studio albums. Dad would be disappointed in me, and probably Mibs Bayliss too.
I can imagine her shaking her head at me. Dad more so then her! But I digress.
One of the bands most popular songs, ‘Roots’ was the first
real song that got me listening to them, and it is an interesting song in its
own right. The violin and guitar gel well together in sync, and the backbeat is
nicely done, though I’m not sure what instrument it’s meant to be. I’m sure Dad
will let me know.
However, the more interesting thing about the song is the
story. The lyrics, written by Knightley, talk bluntly how the English people
have lost a connection with their heritage, giving way to worldwide imports
that are considered popular: Overpaid soccer stars, American rap music,
Australian soaps are some examples he notes. He also wrote how without knowing
about our own heritage in stories or songs, we might have no idea about our own
national identity, and this is while people from India, Ireland and Africa are
still managing to keep their sense of identity partly through music, but also
through their past. Does that remind you of anything that I talked about last
time in music?
 |
| You have no songs about your country like we do!! |
My view is: Yes, we have in a way lost our sense of
identity. Like I talked about in my Irish Traditional Music article, through
song we as a country don’t have any relevant connection with our heritage, at
least in popular culture. We have horded in so much from the outside world, in
becoming almost like a beacon of internationalism, and trying to keep up with
what’s popular, we have lost a part of our own sense of community.
I don’t mean to say that we are totally lost, far from it. We
do have an identity in the form of our food, history, film/TV and sport that
many people around the world do recognise and take part in. But perhaps it is a
mind-set we have developed without realising it, and it’s something I noticed.
By focusing on what is popular now, more so with American influence in a
manner, we have in some ways become uncaring of our own identity, becoming
America 2.0 in respect. Where song is especially concerned, we don’t have
anything that really express our identities properly. I’d be hard-pressed to explain what English
culture is like, apart from the usual sterotypes we are saddled with. So
perhaps Knightley does have a point!
In fact, it could be argued that Knightley shows through his
writing the anger of many characters, concerned with the social issues that do
affect this country, which I will come to in a moment. His blunt manner shows
that emotion off nicely, and you can hear the anger in the song despite his
calm demeanour in his voice. While there have been articles from The Guardian
and other blogs that have expressed whether we NEED to go back to our roots,
and what he has written is crap, I’d have to disagree to an extent. In not
looking back to our roots and continuing to focus on what is popular and moving
forward, we will be continuing to ignore our identity as a nation and our own
connection might eventually be lost anyway, as if Nigel Farage isn’t twisting
that already.
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| Twist? Never...............I have policies you know. |
That anger is also present in the next song I want to talk
about, ‘Country Life’. I wasn’t fond of this song at first, but it has grown on
me bit by bit as I’ve listened to it every year. Might be one of my favourites
in time.
The song shows deep bitterness at how the countryside has
become a plaything for the rich. In some ways, the song is justifiable in what
has happened to the country at different points. Foot and Mouth crises have
been on and off for many years. In 2001 an outbreak led to the cost of 8
billion pounds, and led to many popular tourist sites closing down temporarily.
Because of the culling of many animals, the farms are brought to heel, as
Knightley put it. As well, the number of pubs that closed down in recent memory
have been well reported. In York as far as I know, at least around 5 have
closed down, one of which closing and reopening seemingly every year on
Gillygate. Whether so many have closed in villages around the UK I can’t really
say, though the number of owners in my village changing hands over the years
has been pretty mad I tell you, 7 in the past 7 years.
But what’s interesting is that Knightley’s character in the
song says it’s not just the rich snobs at fault. It’s also that no one in the
villages or otherwise, has stood up for the ‘country way of life’ as it’s
falling apart before their eyes. Its disillusion, challenging a perception of an
idyllic countryside view of green grass, happy people and good beer. In some
ways this can be related with some people I’m sure, maybe even some reading this
article at this moment, more so likely with culling and pubs closing down in
villages then being demolished.
From my personal experience, there have been few
developments that had people stand up for something they felt threatened their security,
such as a mobile signal being set up at the top of our hill, which I think was
set-up but never activated, and more recently an enquiry involving a strip of
road that a landowner wants for his own purpose. I think that’s right. Either
way, I can’t speak for many other villages that might be suffering worse.
These two songs are just two examples of how Knightley tells
stories. They are angry, with a sense of tragedy about them, showing how in
some places people do feel disillusioned by what social issues are happening in
their lives, even if the song isn’t about them. I wouldn’t say every Show of
Hands song is angry, on the contrary. They can cover a wide range of emotions
and stories, it’s just that in perhaps not just with Show of Hands, but maybe
other folk bands and songs too, that folk songs in general have that kind of
presence to move you. There’s a connection to appeal to what we believe in, to
show another side of social life that we perhaps have little understanding of.
That’s what folk music can do for you, to connect and understand a bigger
picture of life.
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| See, he's not so angry. I got a picture with him......after asking nicely because I'm afraid :P |
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Of course, being interested in folk music doesn’t mean you
always get different material from bands. Traditional songs have been sung over
and over again, by passionate people like my dad and his friends in pubs, halls
and festivals, celebrated by old and young alike, me included. Those songs have
lasted through time orally, and will continue to do so for generations to come,
among a good pint obviously.
In the case of Show of Hands, they are no exception, and
kind of are at the same time. They don’t just sing from folk backgrounds, but
also from the likes of Billy Joel, Stereophonics, and even Knightley doing a
live version of Pink’s ‘Leave Me Alone (I’m Lonely) when he did a tour of
village halls last year….at least I believe it was that. While I’m talking
about covers, whereas Knightley is the main lyricist for the band, it would be
completely unfair to not talk about the instrumentalist powerhouse Phil Beer.
 |
| Quite a bit to drink of course :P |
The first cover song is one of my favourites from them,
‘Crow on the Cradle’.
There’s just something about the violin playing that Beer does,
that it just sounds near perfect in a mixture of happiness, yet tragedy.
Knightley plays guitar in the background, and matches the tune of the song very
well. Sometimes I find myself just simply tapping to it in my mind. There’s
just something about the song that really takes you to another plain, and gives
you an idea of how songs can survive through the stories they tell.
So what is the song about in the first place? Originally
written by Sydney Carter from an older source, it’s debatable to know what the
song is actually about. So I’ll go with my own personal interpretation for the
moment, and say it’s about the destiny of death. Because the song is adapted
from an older song, it’s impossible to accurately say which year it was made.
To my mind it always had a Victorian feel to it, especially with listening to
the lyrics.
Something to remember is the crow. The crow is regarded as
an intelligent creature, but also can be known as a symbol of death. In our
house, it’s a symbol of coming down our chimney and being a fucking nuiscence.
But that’s not the main concern, yet. A crow on a cradle in time’s past wasn’t
always a good sign, especially in a world where death was more commonplace than
nowadays. As it speaks about a child growing up to be what it might be, it
could come across as being quite sarcastic, almost teasing the parents what it
could be, and how they could save up to dig a grave before it even has a chance
to grow. I’d argue that the song is more likely about the prospect of child
death, and a total chance to see if the child would survive into adulthood.
 |
| I'm not that bad...I just have bad luck when it comes to kids |
With regards to sheeps in meadows and cows in corn, I’d say
the parents are living in the countryside, or have an idealist idea of what the
world is like. The reference to a boy carrying a gun, that would mean he would
grow up to go to war. The bomber above the girl literally means a bomber plane,
hovering above her wherever she may go. So where would the bomber planes come
in? World War I or II, or even during the threat of nuclear attacks during the ‘Cold
War’ period. Considering the many times Britain had been bombed during those
times, and nuclear bombs in the 50s and 60s, it is very plausible that the song
was re-treaded as an anti-war song. Sydney Carter was alive around that time, so
that may seem the likely conclusion.
So to conclude this part, the song is anti-war with the
destiny of death hanging in the air, and there’s nothing that the parents or
otherwise will be able to do anything about it, whatever colour, creed or sex
their children are. If the song was taken from an older source, it’s
interesting to hear how some songs can change overtime, either through contemporary
means at the time to match the mood of a country or character, or keep the
spirit of the song intact but also to give it a new identity, allowing that
version of the song to become relatively popular, until such time it changes
again in future, and mean something entirely different.
The next cover I will talk about is again done by Beer, and
is simply called ‘Innocent’s Song’, written by Cornish poet Charles Causley. I’m
very sure that has no connection on Show of Hands at all! Again, tragedy hangs
in the air on this song, this time completely played on the violin, and it is
quite haunting to hear from Beer’s frankly superb playing. Just listen in a few
seconds to the song, you can really hear a sharp swish quickly go in and out. I
don’t know about you, but to me it sounds like a sword being sharpened, and I
think it matches perfectly in the context of what the song is about. There is
an instrumental part of the song called ‘Gwithian’, where Beer increases the
tempo faster almost spontaneously after he finishes singing. It’s one of the
most fantastic violin pieces I have ever heard in my life, all while
maintaining the haunting fixture of the piece. I really can’t think of many
other words to describe the essence of it.
The song is undeniably about Christmas (I can hear Mibs
Bayliss’s voice go ‘yay’!) and more specifically King Herod, who you might
remember from your childhood as the King of Judea, around the time when a
certain saviour was born.
 |
| He'll need all he can against Ben Affleck |
No of course I mean Jesus. When the birth of the new King of
Jews was announced by the three wise men, Herod wasn’t very impressed on
hearing, and was in a very bad mood at the time because he’d lost his Justin
Bieber CD. Good logic to decide on murdering all the boys under two years of
age in the town of Bethlehem. It’s also good logic to blame Bieber too, if he
hadn’t started in music in the first place! (I can now hear Mibs go, ‘booooooo’.
I have that good hearing)
Whether any of that is true….the Massacre of the Innocents I
mean, it’s scarcely mentioned in history at all. The only facet of evidence is
from the Bible, in the Gospel of Matthew. Nowhere else in history has there
been much mention of it, and as far as I am aware personally there isn’t any
kind of date to remember the deaths of those children. In addition, the Gospel
of Matthew is part of the New Testament, a wholly Christian creation compared
to the Old Testament based from the original Hebrew Bible. It’s not as if the
Christian church would have a specific date to remember death in that regard
for over 2000 years. Before you say it, I don’t think Easter counts because
Jesus is resurrected and ascends to heaven. So maybe it’s just story-telling,
Joffrey style.
 |
| Ahh...my novel is complete....though might need a little more blood |
These couple of covers show not just the beauty in which
they are composed and sung, but also show a variety of reasons why they are
continued to be sung in the first place.
With ‘Crow on the Cradle’, it seemed to have remained strong
in traditional roots, yet most likely has been revised into a different context
with its anti-war message. I’d say it would still be sung a great number of
times throughout the years by many folk fans in general, because the song still
sticks to those roots, allowing people to see that it is part of that genre of
music, in tune and perhaps in story too.
‘Innocent’s Song/Gwithian’ isn’t as traditional as I think
it is and more likely isn’t played by many people. Worth a try to get it to
Christmas Number One this year though. Still, because it was written by a
Cornish man, it’s ultimately interest in what a home-regional poet has written.
It could even be a tribute to him since it was released 3 years after Causley
died in 2003, and it pays a point of respect to a fellow Cornishman. But of
course I am speculating.
This is essentially what folk music is to a point. These
kind of songs, traditional or otherwise, just somehow stay with us to this day,
because for many people there is that love of the traditional, to see what
songs are about underneath the lyrical artistry, and the musical tune that just
brings a beat to your mind. Show of Hands just do that brilliantly, but there
are other musicians to listen to who cover traditional songs. Coope, Boyes and
Simpson do a great cover of the ‘Rufford Park Poachers’, and Yorkshire born Kate
Rusby is one of the most popular folk musicians in the country today, my
favourite song being ‘The Goodman’. Get yourself onto Google and check them out
for yourself.
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So what has been given back to me by listening to Show of
Hands in the last few years?
Well apart from being quite smug about actually meeting
them, and getting a drive in Knightley’s van (mwahahahahaha), their music
really got me into listening to folk at the start. Yes there have been times
when I have listened to other songs and just really moved on in life, but
listening to Show of Hands and beginning to understand the meaning behind their
lyrics by reading up, had brought my interest to a bigger plain. Many of their
songs show different situations in life, and how those characters in the songs are
seeing their circumstances, which gained my interest to see what is happening
from their viewpoints, both original and traditional material. ‘The Man in
Green’ was really the start of my love for these two people, these two great
musicians who deserve attention of the highest point.
What Show of Hands can give to you is another viewpoint of
the world, how these different songs might be able to connect with you in some
way or another. They can show how some people in the world ARE angry, ARE sad,
and ARE happy due to the circumstances they find themselves in, and how the
songs show that emotion through the lyrics and composition. It could be even
you may come to enjoy the music they play, either through their jaunty upbeat
tones, or haunting ballads, or from having too much beer to drink (You know I was
wondering when the word ‘beer’ would fit in a sentence somewhere! Although this
way, it might come across as a bit rude. Oops). All I can say is, if you enjoy
what music was on offer today, go and listen to more of their stuff.
Let’s keep the music going!
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| Phil...I know that was a good night...but how did we end up at the side of the river? I'm not drinking Koppaberg again. |
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That’s it for the Randomizer in April.
Next month is May, and in regard to the 25th
Birthday Special about Autism last year, I will be giving a more in-depth
perspective about my own autism, and what particular traits I have shown over
the years, as well as bitching about friends and family. Because that’s just
how I go!
Randomizer out.
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