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The Cruel Mother

from The Confluence by Stray Hens

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    The Confluence is a 12 track album featuring Sally Taylor, Richard Grace, Ryan Tews, Carmen O'Brien and Mandy Connell.

    Each artist leads a song (Vocals) and the CD features

    Tom Paine's Bones (Graham Moore
    Mad Tom of Bedlam (Arr Stray Hens. Tune by Nick Jones and Dave Moran)
    Diamantina Drover (Hugh McDonald)
    Song of the Inland Rain (Roger Montgomery / Jack Sorenson)
    (With Tune "The Confluence" by Ryan Tews
    The Dreadful End of Mariana For Sorcery (Karine Polwart)
    The Cruel Mother (Trad Arr Mandy Connell)
    Pot & Tinker (Mandy Connell)
    The Handweaver & THe factory Maid (Trad/ A L Lloyd)
    Riddles Wisely Expounded (Trad)
    Ballad Of Accounting (Ewan MacColl)
    The Recruited Collier (Trad Arr Mandy Stray Hens)

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Confluence via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.     ... more
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about

A traditional song, Mandy Connell brought this ballad to the band to arrange for Sally Taylor's vocals.

The riff, basic melody and tone are Connell's brainchild, and the final arrangement was worked up by Connell, Ryan Tews, and Carmen O'Brien. They like to joke that the bridge has a 'prog rock' feel to it.

The influences f(or Connell) come from versions of the song performed by Chris Wood (England) Kerfuffle (England) and Karine Polwart (Scotland).

Further information on the traditional song "The Cruel Mother" can be found by researching the Child or Roud collections. There's some great summary information here on Mainly Norfolk website.

mainlynorfolk.info/lloyd/songs/thecruelmother.html

lyrics

I went walkin in the woods one night
All alone and aloney O
I saw two babies playing at the ball
Down by the Greenwood Sidey O

Oh Babes Oh Babes If you were mine
I’d dress you up in Scarlet Fine
I wouldn’t go walking by the river side
Down by the Greenwood Sidey O

Oh Mother Mother we were thine
You didn’t dress us coarse or fine
You went walking by the riverside
Pushed your back against a thorn
Pushed and you pushed ‘til we were born
Put the rope around our neck and you
Pulled on the rope ‘til we were dead

Oh Babes Oh Babes what am I to do
For the cruel thing that I did you you
Bonnie Boys come tell to me
What kind of death I’ll have to die

Seven years as a fish in the flood
Seven years as a bird in the wood
Seven years a tongue in the warning bell
Seven years in the flames of hell

Ooooooooh Oooooooh
Ooooooooh Oooooooh
Ooooooooh Oooooooh
Ooooooooh Oooooooh

I went walkin in the woods one night
All alone and aloney O
I saw two babies playing at the ball
Down by the Greenwood Sidey O

credits

from The Confluence, released December 2, 2016
Ryan Tews (Drums)
Mandy Connell (Vocal and Guitar)
Carmen O'Brien (Fiddle and Vocals)
Sally Taylor (Lead Vocals)
Richard Grace (Double Bass

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Stray Hens Melbourne, Australia

Three stunning frontwomen, on fiddles, vocal and guitar, backed by drums & double bass. No one in Australia is arranging folk revival songs with such passion. Complex harmonies, jazz & old-timey inspired rythms, & anceint anglo ballads create a theatrical show.
Formed in March 2013, & already booked for some of the country's Premier festivals, their debut EP has us anticipating the full album! ... more

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