Whilst we are on a trad folk bent, I shall return again to Kate Rusby (who, if you have been reading for a while / have looked back in the archive, you will know that I have blogged about before). She is another folkie with an amusing and endearing repartee...and surely what simply must be the best voice in the business! She is so good that I can't really find the words (and that's saying something!).
I found a great video, whilst browsing YouTube, of her song My Young Man. Elfman101 is, I think, responsible for the photo montage that accompanies it, which is just stunning.
Coal mining (the subject of the song) was a massively important industry in the region in which I live; it was the backbone of local communities, from which the heart was ripped when then pits were closed, resulting in massive unemployment and economic depression, not to mention the toll it had taken on miners' health. It's something I wrote a poem about (a very quickly-written poem, I hasten to add) on 27/01/05...The Day The Last Pit Closed:
The day the last pit closed -
Like prisoners released
into the big, wide world.
Blinking and unable to adjust,
the freedom too much to bear.
So unnatural.
60 years passed since the Holocaust.
Harold Shipman's inquest.
They hardly get a look-in,
this community torn to shreds.
This industry.
Our industry.
Deceased.
And only on the local news.
Kate Rusby puts it, ahem, somewhat better!
Here's the song...and thanks for the brilliant video Elfman101:
4 comments:
Paid another visit this morning when I couldn't sleep.Gosh,loads more stuff to read...and more links to people I like.Never knew Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donnely were related..(have you listened to the former's early album of 'dark'folkie songs 'Murder Misery and Goodnight'? Might like it if you haven't)My Jury's still out on Kate Rusby (great voice buta bit 'sweet' for my taste)I enjoyed your clip tho' and will give her another go. Keep up the good work!
I haven't heard 'Murder, Misery and Goodnight'...I've been trying to get my hands on it for a while, but it was only limited release, therefore is pretty hard to get hold of (certainly within my budget, anyway!). It's on my eBay 'watch for items' list though! Kate Rusby is excellent live...really nice girl. But yes, as you say, her voice is pretty crystal clear. Personally gives me shivers. You heard Rachel Unthank? A Geordie folkstress (Rusby is from Barnsley), singing Northumbrian songs...worth a listen is you can, e.g., find a clip on the internet.
Don't short sell yourself with the poem - gave me shivers!
Hey, thanks :o) x
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