Fairport Convention: 45th Anniversary Concert

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

We'll start off with a song

that's set in the frozen wastes of Northwest Canada,

a place called Mercy Bay.

# £10,000, the price was set

# To find the Northwest Passage

# Go down, go down, go down

# So many ships had tried

# And yet the ice floes will not let them through

# 1850 was the year We sailed out of Plymouth

# Go down, go down, go down

# On a mighty ship with a little fear

# With steel in our hull and our hearts

# We set a course for old Cape Horn

# And out across the ocean

# Go down, go down, go down

# And I worked the night watch dusk till dawn

# While many a man had his dream

# From Bering Strait to the Beaufort Sea

# The air was growing colder

# Go down, go down, go down

# The sea like rock in a mighty freeze

# This winter will just have to stay

# And the snow came down

# From an endless sky

# To the gods on high

# I did pray

-# Turn the ship around

-Turn the ship around

-# From these frozen grounds

-From these frozen grounds

# And let's be homeward bound

# Find a way

# Summer came and the waters moved And the wind blew in our freedom

# Go down, go down, go down

# But the end of the strait had not improved

# So to the north of Bank's Isle we did steer

# Crushed and held by the frozen cold In a candlelit prison

# Go down

# With a hot meal worth its weight in gold

# McClure says we mustn't give in

# But the snow came down

# From an endless sky

# To the gods on high

# I did pray

-# Turn this ship around

-Turn this ship around

-# From these frozen grounds

-From these frozen grounds

# And let's be homeward bound

# Find a way

# Months go by and we walk and sleep

# Rations getting smaller

# Go down, go down, go down

# It's enough to make a grown man weep

# Well, the ice won't be melting this year

# McClure set out for the Melville Isle

# In search of our salvation

# Go down, go down, go down

# And his bulldog spirit mile on mile

# Made up for him landing us here

# In April 1853, the Resolute sailed

# Go down, go down, go down

# And at Melville Isle they found the note

# That told of our place and our plight

# We left that ship in the frozen cold

# We buried the poor men who died

# Three mounds that looked out to the sea

# The names writ in copper on wood

-# And we sailed away

-And we sailed away

-# On the Northern Star

-On the Northern Star

# Back to England's green once more

-# Held in high esteem

-Held in high esteem

-# By our MPs' words

-By our MPs' words

# And £10,000 reward

# Go down, go down, go down

# Go down, go down, go down

# Go down, go down, go down. #

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Thanks very much. Gerry Conway on drums.

Chris Leslie, author.

He wrote it.

Thanks.

It's great to be back in the Union Chapel

and we're going to play you a song now from way back in 1970,

written by Richard Thompson and Dave Cyril Eric Swarbrick,

two people who wised up

and left our band at an early age.

This is track one, side one on the Full House album

which was the very first track I played on

all those years ago, when I joined Fairport.

You probably know it, if you know it, join in on the chorus.

It's called Walk Awhile. Thank you.

# A one, two, tickety-boo

# Walk awhile, walk awhile

# Walk awhile with me

The more we walk together, love

# The better we'll agree

# We'll agree

# One hand in your mouth and your finger in your eye

# Undertakers bow their heads

# As you go walking by

# Walk awhile, walk awhile

# Walk awhile with me

# The more we walk together, love

# The better we'll agree

# We'll agree

# Well, here comes another Sunday

# Ringin' on the bell

# Here comes your own dear child

# With another tale to tell

# Walk awhile, walk awhile

# Walk awhile with me

# The more we walk together, love

# The better we'll agree

# We'll agree

# "Bring along," the brewer said "And bring the cuckoo tree"

# Bring your lady mother along

# To keep us company

# Walk awhile, walk awhile

# Walk awhile with me

# The more we walk together, love

# The better we'll agree

# We'll agree

# Two miles down the road

# Henry Tompkin's wife

# Three miles down the road And he's running for his life

# Walk awhile, walk awhile

# Walk awhile with me

# The more we walk together, love

# The better we'll agree

# We'll agree

# Oh-oh

# Walk awhile, walk awhile

# Walk awhile with me

# The more we walk together, love

# The better we'll agree

# We'll agree. #

APPLAUSE

Thank you.

APPLAUSE

Albert and Ted!

Thank you!

The next song appeared on a Fairport album in the early 1970s.

It was on what we called a concept album.

This was a particular album about a man called John Babbacombe Lee.

He was a man from Devon, accused of a dreadful murder down there

and sentenced to be hung at Exeter Prison.

This song we're going to do next is a snapshot from the story.

It's the moment where John is in his prison cell

for what he believes to be his last night on Earth

before he's taken out the next morning.

# There's a tiny little window

# Where the sun comes shining through

# Dancing with the dust that's in my cell

# There's a sparrow sitting on the sill

# He stays for a minute or two

# But he's frightened by the ringing of the bell

# There's a bed that I must lie on

# When at night I take my rest

# And a chair for me to sit on through the day

# The men who wait beside me

# Always know what's best

# For a man who doesn't have too much to say

# Throw a laugh into the corner

# Blow a tear against the wall

# Learn a game to play

# Improve the mind

# Confess your sins, you sinner

# And see how the seconds fall

# Leave all earthly cares and woes behind

# And when my short affair with life

# Is ended and I'm gone

# Will you tell the world the story of John Lee?

# All you see is nothing

# And yet everything lives on

# I was born to pay the hangman's fee. #

APPLAUSE

Chris Leslie!

# John Gaudie was a fine young Man

# In Shetland so it's told

# Many's the crowd in Lerwick town his fiddle and he did hold

# They've danced it up They've danced it down

# As he fiddled the tunes around.

# Of all the players in Shetland Isles

# No better could be found When John broke the prison door

# The jailer hadn't seen his like before

# He ran back to the Levenwick shore And wrote himself a tune

# John had his eye on a fair young girl

# That lived not far away

# His were not the only eyes So the rumours say

# It happened down the Sandwick mines hewing the copper bed

# His rival dropped a hammer down which struck John on the head

# When John broke the prison door

# The jailer hadn't seen his like before

# He ran back to the Levenwick shore And wrote himself a tune

# It struck him such a fearful blow Weakening his mind

# Left him with his fiddling still But a job he couldn't find

# For now he was prone to a fearful rage like the heat of the blazing sun

# He would warn friends nearby I find her coming on

# One day while in Lerwick town on Commercial Street

# Between the trance and the half napkin

# He felt this terrible heat

# He was seized by many hands and locked in the tolbooth

# Under Sergeant Nicols' eye his fury tried to soothe

# When John broke the prison door

# The jailer hadn't seen his like before

# He ran back to the Levenwick shore

# And wrote himself a tune

# Waking up on the prison floor His temper got much worse

# Kicking and stamping behind the door

# He began to swear and curse

# Pushing then with all his strength

# The door at last gave way

# He ran and ran across the fields

# At home he meant to stay

# When John broke the prison door

# The jailer hadn't seen his like before

# He ran back to the Levenwick shore

# And wrote himself a tune

# When John broke the prison door

# The jailer hadn't seen his like before

# He ran back to the Levenwick shore

# And wrote himself a tune

# When John broke the prison door

# The jailer hadn't seen his like before

# He ran back to the Levenwick shore And wrote himself a tune. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Thank you very much!

Chris Leslie, author!

The one we're about to do now,

which was written by Sandy Denny

before she joined the band, is about Mary, Queen of Scots.

And its title comes from her last...

Well, the place where she drew her last breath,

which is a village in Northamptonshire called Fotheringay.

# How often she has gazed from castle windows all

# To watch the daylight passing beneath her captive walls

# With no-one to heed her call

# The evening hour is fading within the dwindling sun

# And in a lonely moment, those embers will be gone

# And the last of all the young birds flown

# Her days of precious freedom, forfeited long before

# To live such fruitless years behind a guarded door

# But those days will last no more

# Tomorrow, at this hour, she will be far away

# Much farther than these islands, for the lonely Fotheringay. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Simon Nichol!

Thank you!

This is a little song

that was written by a lady called Carolyn Evans,

who's half of a duo called Red Shoes.

Her and her husband, Mark.

A couple of years ago invited Chris and myself to play on their CD,

and we had such a good time making the record with them

that we stole this song and put it on our Festival Bell album.

Here it is. Celtic Moon.

Thanks very much.

# There's a lady who carries a burden

# And the lines on her face tell it all

# She remembers hearing sad stories

# But still dances that memory home

# And the stars would come out just to see her

# And the clouds blew away all too soon

# Her face lit the heavens above her

# She was helped by the Celtic moon

# The Celtic moon

# The Celtic moon

# Once a young girl with rings on her fingers

# Given to her by a boy she once loved

# Barefoot, they sat by the river

# Sharing secrets with God up above

# And the stars would come out just to see her

# And the clouds blew away all too soon

# Her face lit the heavens above her

# She was helped by the Celtic moon

# The Celtic moon

# The Celtic moon

# The Celtic moon

# The Celtic moon

# On a cold night by the roadside she rested

# And pale was her skin Tired and worn

# Her beauty had faded from grieving

# She was too tired to weep Too tired to mourn

# And the stars would come out just to see her

# And the clouds blew away all too soon

# Her face lit the heavens above her

# She was helped by the Celtic moon

# The Celtic moon

# The Celtic moon

# The Celtic moon

# The Celtic moon. #

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Dave Pegg.

# We are a proud land We stand for freedom

# We've got the franchise on how to lead them

# We've got the history and books to prove it

# Give us the mountain and we will move it

# We rule the waves and seven seas

# We bring the mighty to their knees

# We offer hope and inspiration

# A fine example to lesser nations

# We are Britannia the jewel in the crown

# We brought a system to the masses

# Divide a nation into classes

# It's in our breeding and on our faces

# At least we're all born knowing our places

# We stay within our social borders

# We only take what our class affords us

# It doesn't matter that it's not even

# This is the nature of the demon

# We are Britannia the jewel in the crown

# We are Britannia

# We crowned an empire

# We came and conquered

# We tore their borders down

# We need no conscience

# God is on our side

# We are Britannia

# The jewel in the crown

# We are your friendly liberators

# We'll free you countries from their dictators

# And for a small slice of your oil wells

# We'll send our boys in with their gun shells

# We are a refuge for the needy

# Always caring never greedy

# Whatever gesture could be finer

# We ceded Hong Kong back to China

# We are Britannia The jewel in the crown

# We are Britannia

# We crowned an empire

# We came and conquered

# We tore their borders down

# We need no conscience

# God is on our side

# We are Britannia

# The jewel in the crown

# The jewel in the crown

# The jewel in the crown

# The jewel in the crown. #

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Thank you.

# I went down to the hiring fair for to sell my labour

# I noticed a maid in the very next row

# And I hoped she'd be my neighbour

# Imagine then my delight when the farmer picked us both

# Though I spoke not a word on the cart to the farm

# My heart beat in my throat

# My lodging was dry My master fair

# And I gave him full measure

# like the corn in the field My envy grew

# For in his house was my treasure

# I'd watch her carry water Or drive cows from the byre

# And the heat from the sun made the corn grow strong

# And with it my desire

# I'd see her in my dreaming and in my dreams caress

# Her lips, her eyes Her long, brown hair

# The curves beneath her dress

# When harvest time it came at length So heavy was our task

# That the women and the men worked side by side

# So I had her near at last

# I swung harder with my scythe Few words between us passed

# And I cursed my tongue-tied youthfulness

# And hoped that she'd hear my heart

# When all was safely gathered in and we sat down to rest

# My trembling fingers brushed her arm

# And she placed them on her breast

# She turned to me as the sun went down

# And all my senses reeled

# And we lay there on the scented ground

# Till the moon rose over the field

# She was safely gathered in my arms when from the barn

# Drifted the sound of the violin and we hurried to the farm

# Where all were dancing in the lantern light

# And the music filled the air

# And I thanked the Lord and the harvest moon

# For the girl from the hiring fair. #

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Thanks to Ralph for the song.

Thank you.

So, yeah, 40, 45 years of Fairport.

45 years. Incredible, isn't it, really?

I can't believe it.

This is a tune from the Festival Bell CD

and it's called Danny Jack's Reward.

I did especially write this tune with a wonderful rhythm section in mind.

You cannot give them too many rounds of applause as far as I'm concerned.

On the drums, Gerry Conway. On the base, Dave Pegg.

Yeah, they deserve that.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Mr Ric Sanders.

Blame him!

Here is a song about misadventure.

It's a story which has not been out of the repertoire really much

since it joined back on the Liege & Lief album in 1969.

Several people have sung it in succession,

frequently using the same words.

LAUGHTER

But it's a story of upstairs downstairs misadventure.

Love gone wrong.

Trouble in paradise, castles, cuckoldry, and cutlasses.

# A holiday, a holiday And the first one of the year

# Lord Arnold's wife came into the church and the gospel she did hear

# And when the meeting It was done

# She cast her eyes about

# There she spied little Matty Groves

# He was walking through the crowd

# Said, Come home with me Little Matty Groves

# Come home with me tonight

# Come home with me Little Matty Groves

# Sleep with me tonight

# Oh, I can't come home and I won't go home

# Sleeping with you tonight

# From the rings on your fingers I can see

# That you are my master's wife

# And what if I am Lord Arnold's wife?

# He is not at home

# He has gone to the far cornfields and he's bringing the yearlings home

# And a servant who was standing by and hearing what was said

# He swore Lord Arnold, he would know Before the sun did set

# But in his hurry to carry his news He bent his breast and ran

# When she came to the broad millstream

# Well, he took off her shoes She swam

# So little Matty Groves He lay down

# And he took a little sleep

# When he awoke, Lord Arnold was standing by his feet

# Saying, how do you like my feather bed?

# How do you like my sheets?

# And how do you like my curtains that I got in IKEA last week?

# Oh, well, I like your feather bed Better I like your sheets

# Best of all I like your lady wife who lies in my arms asleep

# Get up! Get up! Get up! Lord Arnold cried

# Get up as quick as you can

# For it'll never be said in fair England that I slew a naked man

# Oh, I can't get up and I won't get up

# I wouldn't get up for my life

# For you have two long beaten swords While I've got a pocket knife

# It's true I have two beaten swords and they cost deep in the purse

# But you will have the better of them and I will have the worse

# And you must strike me the very first blow

# Strike it like a man

# I will strike the very next blow and I'll kill you if I can!

# So Matty struck the very first blow and he hurt Lord Arnold sore

# Lord Arnold struck the very next blow

# Matty struck no more

# Lord Arnold took his own dear wife

# And he sat her up on his knee and he said

# Who do you like the best of us now That Matty Groves or me?

# And then up spoke his own dear wife Never heard to speak so free

# I would rather one kiss from dead Matty's lips

# Than you or your finery

# At that Lord Arnold He jumped up

# Loudly did he bawl

# He struck his wife right through the heart

# And he pinned her up to the wall

# A grave, a grave Lord Arnold cried

# To put these lovers in

# But you bury my lady at the top for she was of noble kin. #

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd