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I've long been fascinated by traditional ballads, and I've been collecting and singing them since I was fourteen - more years ago than I like to count! I've performed off and on, professionally and semi-professionally, since the seventies and I've often been urged to do more "contemporary material" that "people can relate to". I've never taken that advice. I have to sing from the heart, and I feel like the traditional songs have drawn me to them, and not the other way around. But really, I can't see why anyone couldn't relate to traditional music. It's deeply imbedded in our collective human psyche - I'm convinced of that, and the essential human condition hasn't changed that much over the centuries. We still fall in love, we experience joy and regret, longing and laughter, solitude and friendship. And all of these situations and more are expressed in the song tradition, often more exquisitely than any classically constructed poem or polished contemporary song. I don't think ballads such as these need a lot of arranging and special effects - they speak for themselves and I hope that, through me, you will hear the voices of the countless others who have lovingly sung and cherished these songs over the years. Don't forget that the point of a ballad is to tell a story, and some of the stories in these songs are very moving. In "Andrew Lammie" a love affair ends tragically because of class prejudice - Annie was a miller's daughter and Andrew Lammie was merely Lord Fyvie's trumpeter, considered by her parents to be below her station. She compounded her troubles by showing disrespect for Lord Fyvie when he intervened, and was killed by her brother. "The Bonny Boy" (also known as "Lang a Growin') dates from medieval times when marriages were arranged with little regard for the compatibility of the couple. In this case, a twenty one year old woman is married to a boy of sixteen, whom she considers to be too young. She eventually comes to love him, but by the age of eighteen he is dead, a victim, perhaps of war or disease - life was often all to brief in those days. The Appalachian ballad "Come All Ye Fair and Tender Maidens" captures perfectly the pain of love and betrayal, and I challenge any modern songwriter to compose anything as succinct and poignant as: "If I had known when first I courted That love it was such a killin' thing, I'd have locked my heart in a box of golden, And fastened it up with a silver pin". But gaiety and exuberance are also part of the human condition, and some stories do have happy endings. In the title track "Mary and the Solder", young Mary succeeds in persuading her gallant soldier to marry her. "The Jolly Tinker" is seduced by the lady of the house and scandalizes the servants, and "The Little Beggarman" goes on his merry way - one of the fun things about telling stories through ballads is that you get to use your imagination and visualize the characters. If you like "Mary and the Soldier" you'll probably also like my second CD "Two Strings on Every Bow" which is also a collection of traditional ballads and is also available on CD Baby. Check out the artist's website: http://www.maryfsmith.freeservers.com Track List: 1. Mary and the Solder 2. House Carpenter 3. Andrew Lammie 4. Sweet Carnloch Bay 5. P Stands for Paddy 6. Mick Maguire 7. The Bold Grenadier 8. Farewell to Whiskey 9. Come All Ye Fair and Tender Maidens 10. The Lark in the Morning 11. The Bonny Boy 12. The Jolly Tinker 13. The Little Beggarman 14. Wraggle Taggle Gypsies 15. Whiskey You're the Devil Suggested CDs:Other Genres:
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