Comments on: Barrett’s Privateers

By: Matthew

Matthew — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:52:19 +0000

Not broken, removed. I take everything down after a month or so. I don’t want to become some sort of online mp3 library, partly for legal reasons and partly because I couldn’t afford the bandwidth. I’ll email you.

By: Hector

Hector — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:13:59 +0000

Barrett’s Privateers is one of my favourite songs. I’d love to hear the 2 versions but the links are broken. Can you see if they can be fixed.

I saw both Weddings, Parties, Anything and The Men They Couldn’t Hang together at Mariposa Folk Festival in Barrie, Ontario back in I think 1984. It was both bands first time in Canada and was an amazing performance. It was in a outdoor tent and was packed. We sat right in front of the stage and were blown away. I’ve been a fan ever since.

By: Doug

Doug — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:51:29 +0000

Wow, great tributes I have loved the song for years but was not aware of those versions. I am Canadian and I live in the U.S. and my American born 7 year old son loves that song and others by Rogers (Northwest Passage a big one too). He goes to sleep listening to it on his ipod singing the lyrics out loud. His mother is always a bit put off when he comes to the ‘god damn them all’ part but I love it, its all art and just little subversive for him to sing such a passionate Canadian nationalist song in the flag loving mid west.

For those who don’t know, Stan Rogers died at the age of 35 (I think in 1980) when his Air Canada plane bound for that ‘Halifax Pier’ caught fire on the runway at the Cincinnati, OH airport. A tragic loss and a horrible death. Someone needs to write his song now.

Doug

By: Bart

Bart — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:11:59 +0000

The Wee Rogue and Randan Discotheque actually do a cover of this song at live shows. I had always assumed it was a Scottish folk song, as they adapt the lyrics to include ‘Edinburgh’ (I suspect this comes from the Corrie’s version of the song).

They don’t do it a cappella though – perhaps from fear of people surmising they were homosexual.

By: Dylan

Dylan — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:00:46 +0000

Now, you see, there’s something about this sort of stuff that just doesn’t sit right with me.

I like a bit fiddly-diddly-dee probably more than the average punter, and I’m a fan of The Men they Couldn’t Hang (not familiar with Weddings, Parties, Anything, although the distinctive name is ringing a bell somewhere.)

I think my problem is that this is a new song (relatively – 1970s as opposed to 1770s) written in an old style. It’s something of a facsimile.

I’m reminded of Phil Collins writing Two Hearts in a contrived 1960s Motown-esque style. Collins’ excuse being that the song was written for a movie set in that era.

Equally, I’m sure that Stan Rogers is fascinated with the era of tall ships and sea shanties, but I’m not sure that the canon of traditional folk songs needs bolstering in this way.

Perhaps it’s just me, but I can’t escape the notion that the songwriter is writing from vastly outside his own experience, and for that it just doesn’t ring true for me.

By: boyhowdy

boyhowdy — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:04:21 +0000

Nice covers! I posted a bit more about the same song over at collaborative music blog Star Maker Machine a few weeks ago, for our Boats theme week; tracks there include an acapella/unaccompanied live version of the song from Rogers and company, and a great John Gorka cover of another Stan Rogers song.