|
Reflection (1971) |
||||
 |
|
|
|
Hey, my little Doney girl
Don't you guess better be making your wedding dress
Wedding dress, wedding dress
Better be making your wedding dress
Well, It's already made
Trimmed in brown stitched around with golden crown
Golden crown, golden crown
Stitched around with golden crown
Well, It's already made
Trimmed in red stitched around with golden thread
Golden thread, golden thread
Stitched around with golden thread
Well, It's already made
Drimmed in green prettiest thing you've ever seen
Ever seen, ever seen
Prettiest thing you've ever seen
Well, It's already made
Trimmed in white gonna be married on Saturday night
Saturday night Saturday night,
Gonna be married on Saturday night
Well, she wouldn't say yes
She wouldn't say no all she do is just sit and sew
Sit and sew, sit and sew
All she do is just sit and sew
|
2. Omie Wise |
She promised to meet him
At Adams's Spring;
Expecting some money,
Or some other fine thing.
No money, no money,
To flatter the case.
"We'll have to get married,
So there'll be no disgrace."
"She jump you up, Omie,
And away we will ride.
To yonder fair country
And I'll make you my bride."
She jumped up behind him,
And away they did go
To yonder far country
Where the deep waters flow.
"Now, jump you down, Omie,
And I'll tell you my mind.
My mind is to drown you
And to leave you behind."
"Oh, no, oh, no,
Please don't take my life,
Oh, I will deny you
And I'll not be your wife."
Well, he kicked and he cuffed her
To the worst understand
And he threw her in deep water
That flows through the land.
They found her poor body
The following day
Run up on the river
Down the banks full of clay.
And up spoke her mother
With a voice such a-sting,
"No one but John Lewis
Could have done such a thing."
They traced him up the river
To Dutch Charlie's Bend,
For they found him in jail
For killin' a man.
"Go hang him, go hang him,"
Was her mother's command,
"Throw him in deep water
That flows through the land."
"Go hang him, go hang him,"
Was the judge's command,
"Throw him in deep water
That flows through the land."
I was standing by my window
On a cold and cloudy day
When I saw that hearse come rolling
For to carry my mother away
Will the circle be unbroken
Bye and bye, Load, bye and bye
There's a better home a-waiting
In the sky, Load, in the sky
Load, I told that undertaker
Undertaker please drive slow
For this body that you're hauling
Load, I hate to see her go
I followed close behind her
Tried to hold up and be brave
But I could not hide my sorrow
When they laid her in the grave
I went home, my home was lonely
Now my mother she has gone
All my brothers, sisters crying
What a home so sad and alone
|
I don’t know what my baby's gonna say when I get
home, |
Non so che dirà il mio tesoro quando rientrerò a casa |
|
My sweet woman and the dreams stop to tease me with
your smile |
Dolce tesoro, smettila di tentarmi con quel tuo sorriso. |
|
Now dear old I’m glad and had it right, baby, from
the start, |
Ora, vecchio mio, sono felice e ho fatto bene sin
dall’inizio, |
Well I married me a wife
She gave me trouble all my life
She ran me out in the cold rain and snow
Rain and snow, rain and snow
She ran me out in the cold rain and snow
She came a running on down the stairs
Combing back her long yellow hair
And her cheeks were as red as a rose
As a rose, as a rose
And her cheeks were as red as a rose
Well I ain't got no use for your red
apple juice
And I'm not gonna be treated this a way
This a way this a way
And I'm not gonna be treated this way
I see you sitting in the shade counting
every dime I've made
I'm so broke and I'm hungry too
Hungry too, hungry too
I'm so broke and I'm hungry too
I'm so broke and I'm hungry too
|
6. Helping Hand |
|
Once a day seemed so endless |
| Trascrizione © Nicole D'Eliso, con integrazioni pervenute via e-mail da Don C. |
|
7. So Clear |
|
|
|
|
It was in the rainy season |
Era nella stagione delle piogge |
|
Sad lady and her portmanteau |
La signora triste e il suo baule |
|
Saving that it’s only something that can happen any day |
Però è solo qualcosa che può sempre succedere |
|
Toulose, circles rider turn on your childish grin |
Tolosa, motociclista, volgi il
tuo ghigno infantile |
|
Your eyes are stars that twickly twinkle |
I tuoi occhi sono stelle che scintillano dolcemente |
|
And anyhow it’s only something sure to come down with the rain |
E tuttavia è solo qualcosa che stai certa verrà via con la pioggia |
|
Would I can hear a song so clear |
Potrei sentire una canzone così chiara |
|
Even now I do remember one thing more that is not told |
Persino ora ricordo bene una cosa che non è stata detta |
|
Trascrizione e traduzione © Nicole D'Eliso |
|
|
|
|
Last night
the sky |
|
|
I heard the guns of heaven |
|
|
I reached out my hand |
|
|
I’m gonna climb my tower |
|
|
People told your mother |
|
|
And as you sail away |
|
|
I've seen the devil's face |
|
|
I've got a notion |
|
|
Trascrizione © Nicole D'Eliso, con integrazioni pervenute via e-mail da Don C. |
|
|
I brani dove è indicato come autore "Pentangle" sono registrati a nome di tutti e cinque i componenti del gruppo. |
Musicians Instrument Terry Cox: Drums, Percussions Bert Jansch: Guitar, Vocals Jacqui McShee: Vocals John Renbourn: Guitar, Sitar, Vocals Danny Thompson: Bass |
|
|
Su questo album, forse il
migliore dei Pentangle per l'equilibrio tra le diverse fonti di ispirazione,
riportiamo una ottima recensione a suo tempo pubblicata su Epinions (da un
anonimo autore) e ora non più disponibile sul sito. |
Pentangle's Reflection - an
understated masterwork Apr 27 '05 (da www.epinions.com ) The Bottom Line Pentangle's "Reflection" is a stark and beautiful folk album of the most immaculate, yet memorable performances. The pinnacle of one of the best folk-rock groups. Pentangle were always a distinctive part of the late 1960s English folk/rock scene. Unlike Fairport or Steeleye, their music was understated, sparse, and atmospheric, in its early days entirely free of electric instruments and at times incorporating influences (and songs) from jazz. Their second, third and fourth albums, Sweet Child, Basket Of Light and the beautiful Cruel Sister, showed them honing their unique approach with ever-increasing clarity. At the same time, Basket of Light has reached the UK Top 5 and just dented the Billboard Top 200, though Cruel Sister only reached #51 in the UK. Jacqui McShee, the lead singer of the group, was developing into an extremely touching singer who never sang a single harsh note: the clear beauty on "When I Was In My Prime" and "Cruel Sister" already reached remarkable heights. Bert Jansch and John Renbourn had both shown themselves to be exceptional guitarists with a touching beauty even when playing an electric, and Danny Thompson's amazing bowed double bass always identified them very clearly. However, Reflection, if surprisingly overlooked both critically and comercially, stands as the record on which Pentangle honed their unique blend of folk, jazz and a little blues to greatest effect. This is apparent from the lively, twinkling opening track "Wedding Dress" where McShee's joyful voice gives a song that is catchy yet amazingly melodic. If you listen carefully, one can see some Thompson more prominent than ever with his double bass. The second track "Omie Wise", takes time to get used to because of the rather throaty vocals, but it is even more melodic than most of Cruel Sister. However, it is the third track, their rendition of the traditional American hymn "Will The Circle Be Unbroken", which stands as Pentangle's pinnacle. Much sparser even than previous Pentangle albums, the band shows its style perfectly suited to maintaining the spiritual quality the song's lyrics possess. McShee's voice and Terry Cox's seemingly at-ease percussion are simple yet so memorable - the sound hasn't dated at all in the last thirty-four years. "When I Get Home" is the closest of all the tracks on Reflection to the atmospheric sound of previous albums, yet the chorus possesses a level of dynamics previously unknown amongst the plaintive moods that were a trademark of the band previously: they seem to go from quiet to a fiery staccato (still not loud)almost spontaneously. The last track on side one of the original vinyl, "Rain And Snow" is very similar to "Wedding Dress" but features the surprising refinement of a piano. The first track on side two, "Helping Hand", was stately and beautiful, even more so, in fact, than the amazing "Lyke Wake Dirge" from Basket Of Light. Whilst the lyrics might date the recording back to the sixties ("we might need a revolution") the way in which the beautiful music still resonantes more than a third of a century later is very surprising. "So Clear", the seventh track, opens with an acoustic guitar line reminiscent of their very earliest works, but then develops into a quiet folk ballad with some of the most understated singing in folk music and a barely audible piano in its later parts - it feels like the pianist was only playing the left hand but is still heartfelt. The interplay on the guitar solo that finishes the song, however, sustains it superbly for its full length. The final track, the epic "Reflection" stands as a remarkable illustration of how skilful Pentangle could be at the most subtle variations of musical sound to keep a song interesting. Seen on "Jack Orion" from their previous album. The really dark double bass line of Thompson in the first two minutes almost puts sparks into the ears of an attentive listener at first, but then seems to move into several voices at once during the second minute. McShee's bell-like voice sounds, in the verses, almost as beautiful as on "Will The Circle Be Unbroken". The high pitches she reaches might seem inappropriate for a lyric that says "watched the whole world disappear", but the players seem to think that such an apocalypse would not be as bad as people think - a conclusion reinforced by the more hopeful lyrics of the rest of the piece. It is amazing on "Reflection ("and some other tracks here) how Thompson manages to make his double bass possess the tonal quality of a brass instrument. After a simple electric guitar solo, the song changes tone with what sounds like a drum solo from Cox and several more verses. The amazing thing about this track is that all the band members play seemingly equal roles in a way rarely found in any form of music: with most songs one cannot judge how able some of the performers actually are just by listening. For all the excellent music it contained, Reflection was overlooked both by the critics and the public (though it was their best-selling album in the US at a mere #183 on Billboard) and was the last of their original six albums to be remastered. However, the fact that Pentangle had made their sound sparser and less
cluttered had, as the songs mentioned above so, made their music even more
touching and tuneful than the best folk or folk/rock usually is. Together
with some of Jacqui McShee's best singing, this is ample reason to recommend
Reflection to all interested in folk-rock. |
|
|
Published 1971 Transatlantic Records Ltd. / Swiggeroux Music Ltd: 1,2,4,5,6,7,8 |
|
©
Musica
& Memoria |
Revisioni: Giugno 2007 (So Clear), Novembre 2007 (Reflection), Marzo 2008 (Reflection), Aprile 2008 (Helping Hand revisione) |
Questa opera è pubblicata sotto una Licenza Creative Commons.