Bruton Town (with mandolinquent) by Rebsie
Genre: Folk (contemporary)
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Keywords:
english (32), traditional (75), folk (413), mandolin (46), fiddle (27), acoustic (562), ghost (31), murder (30), bruton (1), somerset (1), british (30), rebsie (47), mandolinquent (20), revolving doris (11)
Description:
An old English song with the usual themes: forbidden love, murder and the odd ghost.
Bruton is in Somerset in south west England ... the story goes back to at least the 14th century and a long version of it is inscribed on the wall of a pub there.
Rebsie: vocals
William: mandolin, fiddle, MDF desk top, PETI software harmonium, software bass
Words and music: traditional, arranged by William and Rebsie (well, mostly William actually)
**Note: we had to repost this because of a technical fault on the mp3. Apologies to those of you who had already left comments!**
Bruton is in Somerset in south west England ... the story goes back to at least the 14th century and a long version of it is inscribed on the wall of a pub there.
Rebsie: vocals
William: mandolin, fiddle, MDF desk top, PETI software harmonium, software bass
Words and music: traditional, arranged by William and Rebsie (well, mostly William actually)
**Note: we had to repost this because of a technical fault on the mp3. Apologies to those of you who had already left comments!**
Lyrics:
In Bruton Town there lived a farmerWho had three sons and a daughter dear
By day and night they were contriving
To fill their parents' hearts with fear
One told his secret to no other
But to his brothers this he said
I think our servant courts our sister
I think they have a mind to wed
They asked him then to go a-hunting
Without any fear or strife
But these three bold and wicked ruffians
They took away this young man's life
And in the ditch there was no water
Where only bush and briars grew
They could not hide the blood of slaughter
So in the ditch his body threw
When they returned home from from hunting
She asked them for her servant man
We've lost him when we've been a-hunting
No more of him we could not find
As she lay dreaming on her pillow
She thought she saw her heart's delight
By her bedside as she lay weeping
He was all dressed in bloody white
Don't weep for me my dearest jewel
Don't weep for me or care or pine
For your three brothers slayed me cruel
In such a place you may me find
So she went early the next morning
To where the bush and briars grow
The only love that she admired
She found the ditch where he was thrown
Three days and nights she did sit by him
Till her poor heart was filled with woe
Then cruel hunger came upon her
And to her home she had to go
When she returned to her brothers
Sister, why do you look so wan?
Brother, don't ask the reason of me
For his sake you shall be hung
Hardware:
iBook, G5, mandolin, violin, furnitureSoftware:
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Tom Atwood
What struck me most about this arrangement is the restraint
throughout. Understated vocal (lovely), spare instrumentation (what is
an MDF?), and the fiddle-playing and mandolin were excellent. The
mandolin on the verses sounds almost like a ghostly harmony, thought
for a minute mando had died and come back singing in tune (just
kidding). Gallows humor.
Ok, great job. Difficult I think to make a long song like this interesting,
but you have done it with what I think is an astounding, inspired
arrangement. 9's & 10's as usual.
Rebsie
MDF (medium density fibre) is a type of fibreboard commonly used in office
furniture. I expect you have it in the US and call it something different.
William made the percussion track by beating on his desk and the back of the
mandolin. No namby-pamby software drums for us, hehe!
thetiler
Thii has very nice melody. What I like especially is the way the manoline is
strummed. You have nice style there. A fun feeling and sounds hip folk,
maybe I just coined a new phrase word :)
The singing is very nice, I think this is one of my favs for enjoyment that
I've heard you two do. Not that all your others are not real good. But there
is a very folk jazz feel that sounds quite pleasing.
Thanks for shiarning
Rebsie
Thanks Tiler! This song has an odd kind of bounce in its rhythm which helps
it to swing along nicely. Glad you enjoyed it.
Rebsie
Purist heaven!
Authored by: jiguma on Thu, 13 Oct 2005 18:32:40 -0500
I think you should be more specific regarding the furniture credit - I
for one would like to know the type/s of furniture involved :)
Seriously, you do this stuff so very well - it sounds like it could have
been played like this at any time in the last few hundred years. Rebsie,
your voice is so pure, and William's mandolin and fiddle are perfect -
restrained, simple and evocative.
Did I mention that I really like this??
Thanks, Neil
Wonderful
Authored by: jgurner on Thu, 13 Oct 2005 21:35:40 -0500
It doesn't get any better than when you two team up, whether it's a
classic folk tune or something you all dream up on your own. I've
always loved the tales of the lost love (especially when the surviving
party spends the rest of their life pining away for their love lost too
soon.) Ah, tragedy.
Very nice Rebsie and Mando. I greatly appreciate the work you guys
do.
Lovely
Authored by: stevel on Fri, 14 Oct 2005 00:26:26 -0500
You both do these traditional songs so nicely. Shades of Sandy Denny
and Vashti Bunyan in the vocal performance, very tasteful instrumental
backdrop. Very enjoyable
Steve
Lovely
Authored by: Epileptic Gibbon on Fri, 14 Oct 2005 01:24:39 -0500
I'm glad someone else said that Rebsie's voice sounds like Vashti
Bunyan. I'm new to her work (& so is Rebsie, I think, so it's not like
she's consciously trying to emulate her) but when I heard her I thought,
there's definitely a vocal resemblance there. Ironically I know that
Rebsie is a huge Sandy fan but I don't notice any resemblance with her
vocals whatsoever.
Girt lush job!
Authored by: eltopo on Fri, 14 Oct 2005 01:19:47 -0500
Wassson, m'dears? Roight then - this is proper lush, loike. Noice how
you get bit really oo'd culture vrum zummerzeh in cyderspace. Oi
reckon it be clever how you combine the compu'er an instruments an
'at - loike merlyn or summat, inner?. S'pose we'll get larts o voraners,
lundunners and grockles now. Cheers m'dears.
jiguma
I'd still like more info on the furniture! :)
Neil
Rebsie
Thanks jiguma, much appreciated. The furniture got a credit for its
contribution to the drum track ... we've found the GB drum loops to be pretty
useless for folk music so we had to do our own. In this instance it was a desk
top made from medium density fibreboard.
Rebsie
Eltopo:
Aa! Tah for thik comment. We'm glad you loike it m'dear. Noice to see they
words in Zummerzeh lingo ... me mother do come from they parts, round
Burrrnham. I year you'm from the levels - girt reens down they parts – fall in
they, get drownded.
Girt bit o' fun this yere internettin' lark an' all they cyder bytes. As for they
lundunners, thees don't wanna stand for none o' their ol' buck. Cheeky
mommets. Shove they in the reens an' all.
Peter Greenstone
I love the all-live, real deal instrumentation. It sounds great. Very nice
production. Rebsie, your lovely, willowy voice sounds particularly nice
and clear on this recording. I enjoyed the song the whole way through.
Can't sing enough about forbidden love and overreacting kin. :)
Rebsie
Thanks Peter, delighted you like it. I recorded this closer to the microphone
than usual, which probably gives the vocal more clarity ... I had to get some
power into it to compete with that wild mandolin.
Cori Ander
I am moved some hundred years back. This is a very great and
admirable strengt you have; seems to me like you can put your mind
back in time, catch up the moods of our ancestors, and make these old
songs like they were recorded around when they were originally
made ...
It is not difficult at all for me to believe that this song actually DID
sound something like this on the 14:th century.
Musically I liked a lot the verses where Rebsies voice were almost
alone, and I believe that the tune would benefit if some more space
were left also within the other verses, like in the verse that starts "So
she went early the next morning..."
I also much liked the short final instumental part!
Strong story too... This is a song that doesn't pass by to be forgotten...
Rebsie
I'm very pleased you said that about the ancestors, because that's exactly
what I try to do ... to connect with them in my head and feel the same things
they did when they wrote and performed the songs centuries ago.
You may be right about having more instrumental space between verses to
give it - and me - more space to breathe. Certainly if I ever sing it live it
would help me to avoid passing out from oxygen deprivation.
Joanna
This is a delicious recording, you two. Rebsie's voice, as always, is just
so perfect for this type of music. I love your phrasing and the timbre of
your voice. Mando, you really did an amazing job insrumentally here.
Love the mandolin, of course, but when that violin was carrying things
so softly against the vocals, that was just marvelous. Adore your
homemade drums, too! Great job, both of you.
Rebsie
Thank you Joanna! It's always a pleasure to hear from you. Much
appreciated.
jesushairdo
>forbidden love, murder and the odd ghost
no wonder Eastenders is still popular! hehehe. kidding.
well, i certainly enjoyed the song. great story-telling lyrics
and beautiful over all sound.
i really loved the mandolin here.
Rebsie
We're more Westsiders than Eastenders, hehe ... but yes, I know what you
mean. I don't think human nature (and the instinct for storytelling) has
changed very much over the centuries. It just finds different ways to
manifest. Thanks for your nice comments!
bronco
Love the retro drums! Takes me back to my cassette recorder days
when I used an empty Oatmeal box and a pencil to drum. This one has
a real dance feel to it which is great. Much enjoyed, Willsie or is it
Rebman? In any case, I will leave you with an old southern saying, "This
is as right as rain and as sure as sh*t!" and always is when you two get
together.
Rebsie
Thanks bronco, we always enjoy your charming comments. Oatmeal box
and pencils ... now there's an idea...
Komrade K
This has come on a long long way from the demo I heard earlier this
week and I'm very pleased that you've kept the restrained
accompaniment.
It's quite a long song but doesn't seem it which I guess is both down to
the quality of the singing and the subtly building arrangement.
Occasionally the mandolin cuts through just a bit too much and there's
something not quite together with the ending. However these are
minor points and the overall effect is stunning.
Furniture provides some of the most interesting percussion - is it a
table and is it looped? I find kitchen sinks (and indeed bathroom sinks)
provide fantastic sounds...
There seems to be a number of 'voice from beyond' songs in the
English repetoire - unquiet grave is another (Rebsie - do you collect
spooky songs?) This one is however the first I've come across involving
potential fratricide.
dwwave
Another fantastic collaboration
I enjoy hearing the songs of old
Furnitre can make a nice tool sometimes!
Intersted in what PETI software instruments are
I imagine ? a name of a company
I am always interested in adding software instruments myself
all in all a very beautifyl piece
Though I am in the US, I imagine it being played
in a pub in a small town with the patrons enraptured.
Well done!
mandolinquent
PETI instruments do a great harmonium software instrument for AU and VST.
It has lots of very natural sounding presets, and you can adjust the bellows
speed and even the clack-ing noise the keys make. I love it and it makes a
great bass for my trebly-sounding mando.
lot249
I just don't really have to much to say other than wonderful.
I think Oktober Project with a higher voice.
Nice arrangements, and lyrics.
Thew
Rebsie
Thank you! Very glad you like it.
Fine playing, Mando, and fine singing, Rebsie.
I brought Richard Thompson's latest and some Chieftains to listen on
vacation I just got back from and this would have fit right in. Well done.
Noel Project
The Project frowns upon this kind of brotherly behavior. However, we
found this arrangement charming and pleasant.
ktkblok007
I like the song and the and the over all sound is great
ceilidh
the rythm is just brilliant. story is great and for the violin i lost my heart. guys, everything you do together is a wee jam. great. thank you a lot :)
Peter Bauckham
Great arrangement of a wonderful song. Lovely vocal performance and instrumentation (I'll have to get some MDF)! Peter
cover of a favorite trad tune. I've always loved the Pentangle's version of
this one. You too have done it justice! Rebsie's vox is positively lovely
throughout. Thanks for this one!
Be well!
Feter
amazining ... all around my hat ....all around my hat !! this song wont leave my ears ... I love it !
well done !!
Sunbeam
otrolikt bra song jag tyker att det var en av det besta songerna i hela mac jams
Cori Ander
Hi Rebsie, You mailed me today for a translation of Sunbeams comment, after reading what she has written I feel the translation should be public instead. Here it is:
'unbelievable good song I think it was one of the best songs in the whole of mac jams'
---
Johannes Curry
Rebsie
Awwwwwwwww ... ! And that has to be one of the best comments in the whole of MacJams.
Thank you Sunbeam, I can't reply in Swedish but I'm very happy with those lovely words and very happy that you enjoyed the song.
Rebsie xxx
LunaTrick
I'm getting a mandolin!
My favourite dog, a border collie named Gem, came from this area in Somerzet.... I spent many summers there as a child!
Rebsie
I'd send you my mandolin if I could ... can't get a bloody tune out of it meself. And this song is so ripe for re-working.
I spent many childhood summers in Somerset too ... it's where me mum comes from. I have ancestral connections with it going back centuries. And I always wanted a border collie! Maybe one day.