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I have known and loved many of these songs since I was a child, but a few were found in the recent gathering. (Pontchartrain, False False Fly, As I Roved Out were learned in Ireland and completed this musical painting with their particular roundnesses.) I have stayed as true to the originals as possible. Any changes were made as respectfully as possible, trying only to tidy, not impose.
Jacob's Ladder and Swing Low, learned beneath the stars watching the campfire dance ... All Through The Night, a piano duet with my mother, sitting oh-so-straight beside her, her Welsh father's favourite lullabye. The harp played on this song was made in Wales long ago, brought back carefully in blankets, but could not hold its tuning in the Canadian weather. This lullabye was a chance to let the harp sing out after so many years of graceful silence ... Streets Of Laredo, poor cowboy, wrapped up in white linen ... As I Roved Out, from the times of famine when land meant survival (thank you to FH for the ancient form 'three diamond rings' instead of 'one') ... False False Fly, purity in the form of a solemn little girl on her way to school ... Pontchartrain, an Irishman lonely in New Orleans ... Ol' Man River, the beauty of the dialect, the surprise, wonder when the eyes are raised for a moment from the heaviness of suffering to see a symbol of endurance nearby ... in this case, the great river that 'just keeps rollin' along' ... And finally, O Shenandoah, a song that has wended its way into the hearts of so many with its sense of longing.
Produced by Siberry
Recorded in Toronto, Canada, Autumn 1999 and Spring 2000
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Jim Zolis at Zolis Audio Productions