Finally the first video from my trip to Canada last month! Playing with Emilyn and John is always a blast, and this time we recorded a bunch of tunes. More to come!
I couldn’t find the lyrics for all of the tracks collected together in one place, so here are as many as I can find or figure out.
00:00
Bells are ringing dinga linga linga linga ling-a linga linga linga ling
dinga linga linga linga ling-a linga linga linga ling
dig all the kids who carry bells, merry bells
who are they?
why they're the
hippies
01:21
Voices of spring were in chorus
each voice was singing a song
I could not sing in that chorus until I wrote me a song
I wrote my song and joined the throng (source)
03:10
What’s the most exciting thing about life?
tell me or I’ll tell you
come on come on
I know you know what I know it’s in your eyes
I’ll have to tell you, I can’t wait
it’s L O V E it’s love
and I’m in love; I’m so happy
it’s L O V E it’s love
I’m incoherent my dear
oh happy happiness
in love
in love
in love
oh happy happiness, happiness
Darling the answer is love (source)
05:43
All is loneliness before me
loneliness before me
loneliness
07:12
My tiny butterfly butters my bread
my briny flutterby keeps me well fed
why should I mutter?
08:26
Why spend a dark night with you?
what a fearful price to pay
other nights nights would but be
lonely dark ages for me
09:37
Coffee beans make the finest coffee of all
it’s time to take
a coffee break
to sit a while and savour
the rarest coffee flavor
of bean coffee
I make with bottled spring water
is my day (source)
11:50
Down is up and so up is down because the earth is round
there is no such thing as up or down
12:58
Be a hobo and go with me
from Hoboken to the sea
14:08
Remember, remember, remember, memeber
to vote the way
the way we say
or else
or else what
I won’t
16:03
I love you
for your lovely still small voice
I will love your still small voice
till my voice
is still
17:14
Nero’s expedition up the Nile
failed
because the water hyacinth
had blocked the river
denying Nero’s vessels passage through
the Sud of Nubia
19:08
No, the wheel was never invented.
no, no, no, no
your legs are spokes of a two legged wheel
and your hips are knobbly axles
the world was always on wheels
20:28
With my wealth I wish I had lived when great genius lived
what I would not have done
Fool, the writings of your dying beggar reveal that he is
by far the greatest one
22:05
This student of life
has enrolled
as that student for life
his Alma Mater
is all the world
with father time as mentor
23:31
Some trust all
some trust some, ho
some trust one
I trust none, ho
not even myself
25:01
Wine, woman and song are too, too much for me
I am contented with the latter two
for
woman and my song are simply
wine enough you see
27:25
Sadness was so mixed with gladness
that she wept with joy
she was so sad
tears filled but enhanced the smile on her face
she was so glad
28:48
Maybe, maybe, maybe someday
I’ll be recognised for what I am
before I’m dead and gone
or if not before then after it all
30:53
Each today is yesterday’s tomorrow which is now
now is all I have
now is all I need
now is all I want
now
32:32
Imagine what it's like to have a long suffering
night walker walking on you
I’m standing there barefoot, facing the meadow
oh, oh, something is crawling on my muddy foot
what the, it's a wet worm
I tell you I started walking, too
I mean we parted company
maybe we think it safe enough to say,
we had quite enough of us that night
34:51
You, the vandal
plunder the village as you will
the earthworm will pillage you
the vandal
when you are under
37:01
Trees against the sky
fields of plenty
rivers to the sea
this
and more
spreads before me
38:22
Behold the willow bows before me
but not the oak I’m uprooting
remarked the wind
39:51
Sparrows wake me in the morning in Gotham where I live
except when I’m up to Tioga
other birds wake me there
so fair their singing
Happy 2017! Here’s what Emilyn Stam (fb) and I got up to as the year changed:
Emilyn Stam (5 string fiddle) and Barnaby Walters (hurdy gurdy) playing some tunes in the basement at Folk Marathon 2016 Tübingen. 2016 changed into 2017 half way through the third tune (in our timezone, at least).
High Park Schottisch (John David Williams) Squat Waltz (Barnaby Walters)
Kathryn’s Yellow Schottisch (Emilyn Stam)
Thanks to all those who danced last night in the Klein Jasedow Klanghaus! It was great fun to bring some regional music and dance to the Oya meeting :) I hope to visit again some time!
This year’s klangrausch earworm: the first part of Altländer 31. I wonder what scandinavian doodle will stick in my head at Vaka next week…
In a week’s time Philipp and I and Duo Zeller/Suchanek play for dancing in Haus der Sinne, Berlin. There’s even a beginner’s dance course at 19:00 before the concert! Bring your friends, enemies, associates, accomplices, acquaintences and so on.
New music from Solarference! Not only amazingly innovative sounds but solid artistic and cultural goals:
“…songs that carry a collective theme of freedom: freedom from the constraints of relationships, gender, poverty, imprisonment and working conditions.”
Initial draft of some musical experiments using puredata live with blockflute:
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Barnaby Walters:
Event: Tanzimpro/Balfolk Workshop in Múltí Kúltí
https://waterpigs.co.uk/img/kreistanz.jpeg
When: Saturday the 26th of March 15:00 until 18:00
Where: Múltí Kúltí, Barónsstígur 3, Reykjavík
What:
Tanzimpro (“Traditional European Dance-improvisation, also known as “balfolk” or “eurodance”) is a form of music and dance which has evolved all over Europe for centuries, and continues to do so today. Casting aside the nationalism, gender roles and silly costumes so commonly associated with “folk dance”, tanzimpro focuses on the intense, flowing connection between dancers, music and musicians as everyone involved improvises and reacts to each other.
If that sounds like fun, come along and learn the basic grooves for a variety of common dances (wickler/slängpolska, schottisch, polka, waltz, mazurka, polska… if we have time!) as well as techniques for building connection with your partner and the music, and ideas for improvisation and variations.
No need to bring a dance partner along if you don’t have one, you’ll probably end up dancing with everyone anyway :)
Entry is free, donations for the musicians and dance leader are gladly accepted.
Who:
Barnaby Walters (Hodgepig, Buzz, Duo Gerhardt & Walters) is a hurdy gurdy player and builder who, after spending ten years playing various folk and traditional music, discovered tanzimpro two years ago and wondered what he had been doing with his life for the previous eight years. Trying to make up for lost time, he has since danced and played for dancing in Iceland, Turkey, France, England, Germany and Austria, most recently as half of Duo Gerhardt & Walters.
Benjamin Bech (Bech and Bomholt, PÚLK, Vildspil, Tyrolerband) is an excellent dancer and clarinet player from Denmark, currently researching Icelandic traditional dance music.
Thanks to everyone who came to the workshop on Saturday! It was great fun to dance with you all, and to get some international perspectives on polka traditions :) I hope you all had as good a time as I did!
If you missed it, didn’t hear about it or want to do it all over again, we’ll be running a similar workshop at this year’s Vaka festival in Akureyri (15th-18th June), and there’ll be all sorts of other nice stuff going on too.
Until then, keep up the nice music and dancing in Reykjavík, I’m looking forward to being back :)
P.S. if anyone took photos, it’d be great to have copies — posted here is fine, emailed in high resolution to barnaby@waterpigs.co.uk is even better!
Event: Tanzimpro/Balfolk Workshop in Múltí Kúltí
When: Saturday the 26th of March 15:00 until 18:00
Tanzimpro (“Traditional European Dance-improvisation, also known as “balfolk” or “eurodance”) is a form of music and dance which has evolved all over Europe for centuries, and continues to do so today. Casting aside the nationalism, gender roles and silly costumes so commonly associated with “folk dance”, tanzimpro focuses on the intense, flowing connection between dancers, music and musicians as everyone involved improvises and reacts to each other.
If that sounds like fun, come along and learn the basic grooves for a variety of common dances (wickler/slängpolska, schottisch, polka, waltz, mazurka, polska… if we have time!) as well as techniques for building connection with your partner and the music, and ideas for improvisation and variations.
No need to bring a dance partner along if you don’t have one, you’ll probably end up dancing with everyone anyway :)
Entry is free, donations for the musicians and dance leader are gladly accepted.
Who:
Barnaby Walters (Hodgepig, Buzz, Duo Gerhardt & Walters) is a hurdy gurdy player and builder who, after spending ten years playing various folk and traditional music, discovered tanzimpro two years ago and wondered what he had been doing with his life for the previous eight years. Trying to make up for lost time, he has since danced and played for dancing in Iceland, Turkey, France, England, Germany and Austria, most recently as half of Duo Gerhardt & Walters.
Benjamin Bech (Bech and Bomholt, PÚLK, Vildspil, Tyrolerband) is an excellent dancer and clarinet player from Denmark, currently researching Icelandic traditional dance music.
Jelängerjelieber played on solo gurdy as a wickler/slängpolska for an epic eight minutes (it feels like much less on the other side of the instrument!) — so grab the nearest person and wickl some time away :)
This lovely tune is Matthias Branschke’s Säckpipa version of what was originally a Sorbish song from the Kralsches Geigenspielbuch called “Fa ßym ta jena hubena ßryota”, and was given a new name by the Verein zur Förderung traditioneller Musik des deutschsprachigen Raums (who need a new name themselves, phew), and published in 2015 in “Neues aus alten Büchern 2” — full of nice tunes and highly recommended.
The instrument is a 2nd generation Vio gurdy from me, recorded with an AKG C1000S and the internal pickup.
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Mallory Ortberg:
Oh my god ok everyone send me your best dad music stories @khalkeus3d
@mallelis my dad genuinely, unapologetically enjoys listening to Chaz and Dave. Perhaps you have not come across this uniquely British act in the states. Here is a sample of their work, listen at your own risk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1fOZjiDaw4