te

>£.

^

Vol. 2, No. A-

nñ ®

W O O D & W A T E R Volume 2 , n o . 4 . L A M M A S 1982 .

P¿2£: Jan Henning David Potter

Frankie Armstrong Olwen Pete Hannah

5 11

13 16 19

CONTENTS :

"Onion Skins" The Bird Sings in the Tree of Life "Out of the Darkness" - and how

it was written Passion of the Corn The Chanters Song

Plus: Reviews; Miscellany; Letters

COPY AND COPYDATES

Please send subscriptions (see below) and contributions (articles, poems, reviews, letters, information, drawings etc.) to: Wood & Water, C/o Jan, 4, High Tor Close, Babbacombe Road, Bromley BRI 3LQ, Kent. Letters addressed to W&W will be assumed for publication unless stated otherwise.

Copyright of articles, poems and songs is with the author, unless otherwise specified; of all other written work with the editorial collective. Copyright of illustrations and decorative work is with the artist. Write to W&W to ask permission to reproduce material.

COPY DATES FOR SAMHAIN ISSUE

September 7th - for items needing typing (retyping) September 14th - for camera-ready copy i.e. drawings, or material typed

single spaced with one-inch margins on single side of white paper with fresh ribbon. Do NOT send ready prepared stencils.

CREDITS

Typing and stencil cutting: Jan. Duplication, collation, distribution: Jan, Olwen, Stuart.

Artwork: Front cover by Janet McCrickard. Page heading for "The Chanter's Song" by the author, Pete Hannah. "Mrs Thatcher Beating Drake's Drum" by Charles Shepherd. All other artwork by Olwen.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

SUBSCRIPTIONS

If there is an X in this box this issue; we hope you'll

your subscription has run out with renew.

RATES : Annual basic subscription (4 issues) £2.70. US $6 (surface), $8 (air). Please send money order if possible. Annual Supporting Subscription £5 or $12 (more if you like). Single copies 50p plus postage (approx 65p total).

Subscriptions paid in part or wholly in stamps is welcome.

Free to prisoners.

Thanks to all our current Supporting Subscribers.

5 P ' y^ ft^% "X:t:''":: -e.i\ !;1 "' /'•' -^>-;'/>V^él;^^S^i '--'•C* u.í-ee i-e ¿_vN \e.etC;-;;;:^r Lcecji '-".,•• ec-Vïr.-'^tOA^-Vv^W^Y^^Vi* e;J~ «-='--- --,lt^ -' !•_.,; ,, -?k;XX^'cy^^k*

¡^ i.j; .-•-- '->';:i"*;---t.v'->ivÄv*Sit iy//SM!S

"I have lams, 1 have hoœrs, I have fr-'it, I iisve flowers".

Lassaas sees the precaataticn of r.ç.-.' o ¿ n ar,.d first fruits within many parish churches, a revival of the sediev-e! of feting-of bread from the new crop quite distinct iirova-the later 'Esrvest Festival', Lsiaroas being mors related to the earliest reaping.

Laííisas if. a tinrs of Ir.;' c - the harvoat is not yet gathered; and of thanks -it has begun.. The future r-r-n he sein.

The word probably äecivcsö erre the -.-.nglo-Sason hlaf-ntaes, the first feast oc sacrifice using sccrcxartal bresci cade freu that new year's corn.

Janet's lovely cover sre-.s us the Go5Je;,K with harvest of fruit and cereals. Appropriately She is nested within tri circular frcme of a bodhran, the traditional Irish ôx'ïn. Thin issue is c -coted to music. We little thought when we called for i'eir.3 '-;ct\ a musical bias, what an exciting collection would result. Please- ~-.X on.-Ke will add no more here, except to say that there has been so much «raterial for -hit- issue, that we have had to slightly c u t down or. the number of items appearing in 'Miscellany' which fol]owe (below).

r_, %oul<3 xjlîe to th?.r.!; ell c-cr.tributcrs for their enthusiasm and range of invention and recrear eh, e- ecial thinks ço to FranUic Ar ¡«strong, who has kindly taken 'circe freo r. -.•---. y e-uey scheOule to sake the tape the transcript of which appears hero c.:. "Cut ex the' r cchner:. - and how it was written".

* *.• J- - fr * i! * 4 * -i t ir * * * * * * * *

I « I !

./"> » 5 t s

2,or- SRXHAZH ll&W we shell be returning co cur roots, particularly Wells (is thTs~s"mixed metaphor:??). Already planned are articles by Hilary Llewellyn-Williams cr. wall.i of Brittany: by i-iark Valentine on 5 Cornish wel'Js; and by Olwen on veils of SelicXry Plain (plus the White Horses). Contributions welcome ar. ever,

J. # ñ ,. £ ¡V ,!- .V ;,• ;- ,* í ff ft it í * îï £ * >í *

;,;v([- and Mogas t o Spnlwir?.

A'iiC i Larscas '•>'--.? 2* Acteen Ecuinox Tj.vg i fv . i t laoon :..«Ur'.' > f« .3 f u i ! ooan 1.03 Acó 13 ne» r een l , c " So- 1"? i-«'v -toon 0.04 S:fcç 3 f u l l neon ',.2.22 S»? A ßaiahain Reo 17 new scot1. 12„CÍ î-"t>' 1 f u l l nc©n 12.57

Walls Saved1

The city of Walls, Somerset iß safe again as spending cuts have caused the indefinite postponement of a by-pass scherte that would have changed the character of Britain's smallest city.

ftftftftftijftftftftftftft.'fcAiÍAiiftvrftr;*****

Within our Samhair. issue and in time for Yule, we would like to give a list of those amongst you wüo offer some craft or service e.g. bookshop that might be of interest to the rest of us. So, all of gov. printing alternative Yule cards etc. please send a line or two about things, plus name and address. NB: If you have previously had a mention in the OYEZ feature we will include you without any further notice - so you only nj.ve to worry if there has been a change {e.g. address) of some sort.

* * * * * * j ; - * * * * : ' ; * * : . - * * * * ! ! • * * * * * * * *

Essex Landscape jester iss

Sel note,, with "Issue 5!t^ received by the editorial Group. Aj-.-arently this may be the last ELM." Jira Eimmin feols that ELM is failing in its original intentions, which he now feels were tco ambitious. Also - and how we feel for him - printing end distribution is consuming energy and resources.

Any messages of support,- help, or other cheery things can be sent to Jim at 14, East Mill, Balstead Essex COI 2.1L.

* •» i: ft A * * -.ï :> vr * * *- * í: * * * * * ft ft A ft * * * S i-

Fairp The period between Lammas/Harvent and Ilich eieeas has alts?.ys been popular for fairs and gatherings» there being a lull in the farming year and a need to celebrate the monumental achievemr.st of Harvest, Also,- the Earth is perhaps at her bent VQVI, in full itsaturity and splendour.

The Editorial Group has a lifting of some of thene fairs which you can A tain by sending SAE to the usuel address.

If any group concerned with conservation, ecology, crafts, ClîD or similar", folk theatre and music ote v;ishes to advertise fchsir meetings or fairs held - »fe'll oo our fco3t to fit them in - Just let us know I

* t * * -S f: -.1 i * * * * * 4 * i * ö Ä * * * Í * * * * * * *

Rising Wave

Thic Jornal of 'Kew Age8 Paganism, began life with the Summer Solstice isrue. The Editors state chat the articles "have a similar theme running through them, that of optimism for the future and a break with tradition and dogma. This is whet the future of Paganism is ail about, the forging ahead of new, fresh i cees a>.l venys of verging net a slow stagnation till the- Pagan r*ovenie.ic valleys in a deep pool of apathy and sterility". Strong stuff 1

They invite articles and cxxr.er.ts fresa ell Pagan traditions "„. providing you have something mrv to say freu herbs to trancas, fro¡n atona circles to the ecology of whales!".

Furt, er details fror?, SíR,O¿. ar.cl 31ay-e, 53, Football.. Yeaccn, LS19 7QF, West 'i'orks.

Excavating British and Transatlantic Folk Ballads.

What is folksong? What is a ballad? Reams of paper have been expended on answering these two questions. Therefore, for the purposes of this article, I shall ask you to assume, with me, that 'folksong' is that body of songs which have been bequeathed to us by various means, by many, many forgotten ancestors - women and men who, in all times and places, felt the need, to sing, and to create as they did so. Many still do, but of course, since the media explosion, these people's voices have become buried. These songs of the people have no„recognised author - they sprang up from many communities, and travelled mainly by word of mouth. Their committal to paper came at a much, much later •tag«. Folksong, then is communal and pre-literate (I bate this term -it merely means that the people did without the mediation of paper and ink - their songs sprang direct from their lives and the symbols which meant most to thera).

And ballads? Well ballads are a particular subsection of folksong. Not all folksongs are ballads, but all (traditional) ballads are folksongs. Generally, we can characterise ballads as being a particularly vivid and special way of telling a story. Most great ballad singers that I have heard, are rot primarily the greatest singers (though they can be, of course), but are great storytellers.

Ballad stories throughout the world range from the commonplace to the mystical; the terrifyingly violent to the unbearably beautiful. I am looking at the billads of the British Isles, and their transatlantic counterparts, because they are what I know best. The greatest collector of these bailada is undoubtedly Professor F. Child, who did a great deal of "armchair" collecting in the States (five volumes-worth to be precise). There are also collections by such worthies as Sir Walter Scott. It is not ray intention here to go into the ethics of collecting folksongs - Tibbie Shiels' tart quote to Scott - "it was never written before now by you, and you have spoiled it altogether" should explain some of the reservations felt. However, without them it is likely that some of these fine songs would have died away.

Some ballad stories can be dated - "The death of Queen Jane" refers to Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII; but others have a more uncertain and mysterious provenance.

In fact, ballads are very like onions - strip away layer after layer and you will find older things beneath. This comesvabout because successive generations have war keel on the stories, adding bits here, dropping other bits which, maybe, became meaningless to the current singer following changes in social custom. A good example of this comes in "The ballad of Lord Thomas and Fair Eleanor" -

He's taken her by the lily-white hand And led her through the hall, He's taken her into the drawing room And set her above them all.

Here, right in the middle of a very medieval-feeling ballad of fair ladies and gallant knights (living in a "hall" where a marriage is being celebrated) is a reference to the Victorian "drawing room". Obviously a singer has not understood a reference to some earlier type of room, and has substituted something that (s)he knows better.

-5-

Of course, it is the very oldest layers of the onion that interest me most. My theory is that, particularly in some of the more magical ballads, there may be some traces of very early society indeed, and possibly there are some remnants of ritual among the story-lines.

Let us look at some of these magical and mysterious ballads. There are many, all containing fascinating snippets of folklore and past beliefs, from the blue "corpse light" that shines around the ghost in "Cold blows the wind" to the stock ballad ending of the twined rose and briar growing from murdered lovers* tombs.

.Four or five of these are very important to r.e. Partly they.appeal ,3 ^ç directly to me as a folksinger - I love them and th?ir haunting tunes.

(Hever ignore the ballad tune in "favour of the wordj, as Professor Child did. It shears them of three quarters of their atmosphere, and turns them into those dreary "poems" by "Anon" which we all sat through at school). Also, I love them for the unexplored potential. They are like the unexcavated tcmb of Tutenkhamon or Hissarlik mound. They could yield an thirv;. The treasure is inexhaustable. Every rendition by all and any si» ger could 3how something new. Thsy can be approached intuitively, through the senses, or academically, or via folklore, or by all these methods.

These four or five ballads, which mean so much to me personally are:

Thomas Rhymer; Tarn Lin; The Bonny Hind; Jellon Graeme; The Wife of Usher's Well.

There are many, many more, but these are the special ones for me.

Thomas Rhymer (Child No. 37)

True Thomas (a historical personage, Thomas of Ercildcvune) lies on Huntley Bank near the Eildon Hills on the Scottish Harder, He sees coming towards him a wom?n who is so beautiful and splendid that he hails her as "mightyQueen of Heaven" (the ballad singar assumes he means the Virgin Mary here). She explains that this is not her title, she is "but the Queen of fair Elfland" and that una is on earth solely on his account. She binds h:m with a kiss (in sciae versions there is more), and takes him to Elf land v.'ith her for sever, years, cautioning him that he must not speak while he is there, on pain of never returning to earth again. They set off. They arrive at a three-cross roads. One (the broad way) leads to hell, another (the thorny narrow way) to heaven. But the third, spiral, ("that winäs atout the ferny brae") way le,ad to Elf land. They see neither sun ncr meen. They wade through streams of blood ("all the blood thatäs rhed en earth-*) .Finally they come to an apple orchard, where the Lady offers Thcsses seme of the fruit ("It will give you the tongue chat will never lie"). Thoicas demurs, saying this gift is of doubtful value en earth, where lying 'is a necessary art fï dice neither spea': nor to prince nor peer, nor ask of grace of fair lo¿y"). However, the Lady insists, Thomas remains with her for seven years, then returns to earth.

There are many recognisable well-known elements in this ballad. The bindinç kiss; the spiral road ¡probably into a hill - "they saw neither sun nor moon"); the seven year sojourn; the apple orchard; the gift of "true" speech. Themas appears to me to be a seven-year king or consort of the Goddess. In some versions he is sent away after ¿even years to avoid the "tythe to hell" (ritual sacrifice.-). But ha afterwards appears as Her prophet. Lots to thinK of here.

\ & g-*, û ,". s I f\ "\ of* ^ rf S% BÄ *._ is-fx •• >) ' A i\ ^ s ^ • Cé:-. N V ^^ -~—r

. *:•' -^-<, :-" KW r . - i - - '

/ i S-r.-t, ,« S: ÍM j

• B C-'cV, tí < *r Ä fí. V ^cíí¿ € i \\9iA m ft i , •••31

«v

Tarn Lin (Child N0.J9)

The ballad opens with a warning to all maidens not to visit "Carterhaugh" since Young Tarn Lin is there. He demands a toll from all who pass through this wood - "either their rings or green mantles, or else their maidenhead". However, Janet (Margaret in some versions), rides to Carterhaugh, claiming it is her own ("my daddy gi'cd it me"). Tarn Lin rapes her ("he's laid her low upon the grass, and asked of her no leave"). Later her father's courtiers notice that she is not well, and rumours spread that she is pregnant. She defies them ("There's not a lord in all your halls will get the bairnie's name"). She then rides again to Carterhaugh, and pulls a plant (in some versions it is an abortant, in other versions the pulling of c rose acts as a signal to call Tam Lin). Tarn Lin appears, and confesses at her urging that he is not, in fact, an Elf, but a human, who, falling from his horse, was taken by the Queen of Elfland to dwell with her. However, he is not averse to being rescued in spite of the fact that the fairy court is "a pleasant place to dwell", because the seven-year "tythe to hell" is drawing near - "And I'm so fair and full of flesh, and fear t'will be myself". He outlines to Janet what she must do. She should wait at Miles Cross at midnight on Hallowe'en, until she hears the sound of horses. She must let alone the riders on the black and brown horses, but run to the white and pull the rider down. This will be Tam Lin. He will then be transformed in her arms to various fearsome beasts, but she must continue to hold him until he regains his true shape - "a mother-naked man". She must then cover him with her cloak, and the spell that -holds him will be broken. Janet obeys these instructions to the letter, and breaks the spell. The Queen of fairy then calls out from a bush close by saying "Oh, had I known Tam Lin (She said) what this night I do see, I would have taken your two grey eyes and put in two from a tree".

In some ways this is a nasty and violent ballad. The rape at the beginning is dealt with almost casually, and the ballad-attitude is that of course Janet (Margaret) will need to marry the ravisher. However, there are overtones here, I think, of two cultures in conflict. Janet's father's court is patriarchal. So is Tam Lin's attitude. (Janet is also obsessed with Tarn's christian baptism -had he ever received one?). But - it is she who confers the name on her unborn child (although again, she is later obssessed with getting it a father - hence her "redemption" of Tam). On the other hand, the court of the Queen of Fairy is matriarchal, and there is the hint of Tam as the seven year consort, and, as with Thomas, the tythe to hell. The Queen's threat about taking out Tarn's eyes indicates that Tam has now seen things which he will reveal in the world to which he is going - the patriarchy of Janet's father. A disturbing ballad, somewhat alleviated by the fact that the main actor:-, are both women (or Goddesses??). All the men (apart irom Tan'., original act) are passive. Taking the two ballads together (U.L buckground feels very similar), one feels that True Thomas, with his reverence to his Lady and acceptance of all that happens to him with Her, comes out far better, and wiser, than Tam.

-7-

— Ô*""

?hs ¡Benny Hind (Child tío. 50)

A young nan, coming ashore from a foreign land, meets a young girl "beneath yon hollin tree". They make love. She then asks his name, which ha gives her - Jock Randal. In two terrifying brief verses, they discover that they are both Lord Randal's children, each thinking themselves to be the only one ("I am Lord Randal's only daughter, he has no one but me".) They are brother end sister and have committed incest, without a further word, the girl pulls out a knife and kills herself. The boy buries her, and then "hies him o'er the dale" to see his father. He cannot bring himself to tell his news directly, but laments that he has lost his "Bonny Hind". The father, taking this ctatement at its face value, comments that he has "aught score hinds in yonder weed". "Four score of them are silver £hod, of the» you »ay take three". But the boy continues to lament. The ballad ends on a note of heartbreaking irony, when the old man tries to comfort hia with good news:

Ch, were you in your sister's bower Your oister fair to see, You'd care no more for your bonny hind Beneath yon hollin-tree.

The taboo against incest, particularly brother-sister incest, while not enforced by any overt moral code in the ballads (moral codes of all kinds are totally absent from most ballads), is nonetheless absolute. There is no explanation following the revelation to the yourj Randals. The sister forthwith stabs herself.

This ballad is one of the most beautiful (again, try and listen to it sung) and also most agonising in Child's whole collection. It is difficult for me co discuss it in any way dispassionately - it has to be taken with the heart before the head. Because of this, I found it easy to apply to it a technique developed by Bob Stewart in his book "Where is St. George - pagan imagery in English Folksong". In order to look -losely at the images in folksong, he suggests that one should try tc visualise the ballad as it is sung. I have found this technique (a distinctly intuitive one), very useful in getting the "colour of each ballad". I see this one as overall pale green, with many darker undertones. Further I have noticed (e~, I think did Bob also), that often the "pictures" that the ballad invokes go contrary, or differently, to the story the words are telling. The layers of the onion become immediately clearer.

Because of this I ar> convinced that what we have in this ballad, is a reference to the Goddess in her white doe (hind) form. She appears in this form in "The Two Ravens" carrying the souls of the dead to thî otherworld - "Then down there ca.i.e a fallow doe .... She got him up upon her back, carried him to Earthen Lake". The Bonny Hind uallad may therefore be akin to some of the Celtic tales (notably in the Finn mac Curaball cycle), where the hero is wooed by the Goddess in the forn of a deer (often at a hunt), wins her, but, by the breaking of somj taboo or geis, loses her again. This is an example of a ballad functioning extremely effectively on a mysterious, but also tragically human level. jjjbafcfáku

S^Ä^^Öi^^iiiuÄ* -

-9-

Jelion Grasas (Child No. 90)

Jellon Greene, seen first in the "Silver Wood" sends to his lover, Lily Flower, to come to him. She comes, despite a presentiment that he bodes her ill. In the wood, she comes across a new made grave, whereupon Jellon Graeme springs "from out a bush hard by", and informs her that he intends to kill her. She pleads with him, saying that their child is about to be born. He replies that should he spare her life until the child is born, her father will hangT^T~He~"¿tabs _ her. As she dies,,. the¿childris^-born, ellone*Gráteme rai*e$2the'í;feoy as his sister's"son. Some years laterfGraeie attdsthe boy ¿re hunting

. zi in Silver Wood/ The boy asks him ("And I pray you, do not lie") why his sother never comes to take him home. Graeme replies that this is because he buried the boy's mother on this very spot. The boy thereupon takes his bow, and shoots Graeme, finishing the ballad with a fearsome curse on Graeme:

Lie there, lie there now Jellon Graeme, And rot where'eer you be, For the grave my Mother lies buried in Is far too good for thee]

This is ahideous ballad, which, like the Bonny Hind, I find difficult to talk rationally about. The colours overall appear dark - black, purple, red. On the face of it, there is little of the otherworld here. Yet Jellon Graeme appears to function only in the oddly named silver wood "beneath yon green oak tree". Is he a wood demon?

The vengeful son rever« s the Mother he has never seen to the extent that be unhesitatingly shoots his "uncle" (father), the man who has raised him, as soon as be hears of his crime. It is also worth noting that under some Celtic succession systems, the king's "sister's son" would be the heir - descent beinn through the female line.

The Wife of Usher's Well (Child t.o.79)

The Wife has three sons who are sent "o'er the sea" (in one version, to Spein, to leern their "grammerie"). word coses beck to the Wife that they ere deed. She calls a great spell -

X wish the wind would never cease — . Nor fishes in the flood Till my three sons come back to me In earthly flesh and blood -

end oo— they do, at Martinmas time. The ballad notes their odd hats, •eds of birch which grew "at the gates of paradise". The Wife prepares e feest to welcome their return, (which in one version they et« unable to eat), end herself makes their bed. But when the cock crows, the sons spsek to one another, and remind themselves that they must return whence they case, since "the channerin' «form doth chide". They bid farewell to the sleeping household. In one version they warn their mother that her tsars heve disturbed them at their rest.

This ballad is overtly otherworldly. We know immediately the sons reappear that they are no longer human, although .they have returned, as the Wife specified "in earthly flesh and blood". But they are walking corpses {mm siso in the dead lover in "Cold blows the wind"). However, there srs still some hidden layers of the onion. One underlying theme, not mads entirely clear in the long version of The Wife, but stressed in another, shorter version, is the belief that excessive mourning on the part of the living disturbs the rest of the dead. Another point to not« is that whenever a ballad character comes from abroad, and particularly "from Spain" (or goes to there, as in this case), we should

-lu-

suspect this means the otherworld. The Doctor in the Christmas Mummers Play, enters on the lines "Here comes IJ an Italian Doctor, just lately come from Spain", which could be just another laugh-line, until we hear him continue - "I can cure the sick, and raise the dead to life again1" Also, this otherworld, this "paradise" which grows birch trees around its gates, seems to be more of a Celtic or fairy otherworld, than the christian paradise. In that case, the "worm" might not be the same sort as the one in "the worms crept in, and the worms crept out, they came in the mouth and went out the shout" of the children's rhyme. This might be the wingless dragon or snake C"worm" in North Eastern English folklore) that guards the gates of Tir Nawcg.

Well, these are my five top ballads, but there are many, many more. You can meat Sir Patrick -Spens and Lord Franklin, surely two of the world's worst sai lor3. There is Lady Diamond, the Nut Brown Maid, Lady Sarn*E¿, and a host of strong women, acting out their tragedies and dramas against strong, stark backgrounds. There are Laily Worms, Border Reivers, Kings, Queens and peasants.

And, of course, there's Robin Hood.

Bat that's another story. JAN HENNING

I

*m¿aam¡SL

BBONSON, B.H. The Singing Tradition of Child's Popular Ballads. (Paperback). Princeton university Press. 1876.

CHILD, F.J. The English and Scottish Popular Ballads. 5 Vols. (Paperback). Dover Publications. 1965.

ST2ÜART, Bob. "Where is Saint George?" Pagan imagery in English Folksong. Moonraker Press. 1977.

Discography

•for THOMAS RHYMER;

HcCOLL, Swan The English and Scottish Popular Ballads.(series) Folkways. FG 3509. 1961. Side 2; Track 6.

for TAM LINt

FAlEPORT CONVENTION Liege and Lief ...Island Records Ltd. ILPS. 9115. 1969. Side 2: Track 2.

ARTHUR, Dave t Toni Hearken to the Witches Rune. Trailer. LER 2017. 1971. Side A: Track 2.

«for THE BjOjtttt HIND:

EQSE, Tony On Banks of Green Willow. Trailer. LER 2101. Continued on page 15 1976. Side BJ Track 3

^ I ^ ^ S ö ü ^

M^iX

fe<

£>rvid fetter, who is responsible for both words end isusic of this lovely song, writes that he thinks it speaks (or sings) for itself. He adds that he was inspired by'Holywood Well, by the Palace in Edinburgh - neglected, but not as much as some.

" .. it has a lovely tree for company (in which I have often heard a single uird sing). Although it is neer a busy park not many people actually take much notice of the Well - there's no sign or anything, so it is often possible to be still by it without much disturbance, especially early morning or nightfall". David points out that we made a transcription error in his poem "Leylines under barbed wire" (Wsvr Vol. 2, No. 3; Beltane), me very last line of this should read " a ritual to realise upon the awesome plain" (not "savage" as we had it). Apologies, David. As you say, there is quite a difference!

The water from the well, the well just by the-hill By the tree of life standing so still. The fountain of blood, into the heart it springs The music from below that moves the bird to sing -

CHORUS : The bird sings in the tros of life The tree just by the hill Tha nest of eggs she lays for peace So come here and be still.

The tree is of a holy wood that once spread far and wide Now they cut them everywhere but the weed grevs on inside And in the centre of the wood in the dark and fallen leaves There's someone there you cannot see whispering with the stream

Chorus

By the stream within the wood there lives a silver fish And it can tell you anything, that is if you wish And it drinka freo the water, the water from the well By the tree of life that stands - a tree that can't be felled

Chorus

It's woe to the axemen that walk our world todey catting down all Nature's tongues so we can't hear what She's sayingi 'The water from the well, the tress all in the woods, Keep them pure, let them endure and peace will be understood.

* r

Iff fi

¡pi L r", ' Wf

*'Vw m* mm f, n

Chorus

DAVID POTTER

mM&zxxM

i r A

f U i Xá 1 c ¿ -

i j>n^r „ ¿a . iae V. oi*<is cu-A i í K á C {. 3 -

Ö <*•

:ÍEE§3 3 :

fe 0 ^ _Cx_ -2 .

J3L

• 7 r i n -i M n i

, n& S _L1 4-

t± ±=3 S 3: -3¡ a £ Bu vta b ^ t of l i $* _

A

•5T.

,. fe

*» 'v -o-so TK«.

3ü XZXTC-4 -sir- -»*»* ¿z*: M - t -

4=0=) • i » u n - t i \ « \ e£ b\o<sc\

_ 2 É*

^ -¿—#-t=±=fczr=£^ A cj . »i , L - J 1

&-__T -fc

fol i-o ->K<i Kcor^:^ i * «pH». Jé

'S* TÎ.3.

4 d Í^ t^^^3^^s i^=^H=p:c±=^SJ

M __'J r r g — _ ^ _ z 2 z z — í Z J ^ í Z Z Z Z J I — J è—g=z: b'xr¿. sir.as _ l*> * k t Í?C4»*. l i > £ -í-WP . U - P O ¿ w i Lu v.,e k l * l

* g i —*t>

lis - í i t c - f í ' í l .^e tWc. - i r ee j«»í-> b « o-

Gt— « 2 i e ?=>-A -r«3 =g ^

£=T _CC ^ ^ ^ .A

,c"~»T f T ° t

**-c3—bfczzszz*

{ Q,—E— j

-Mía _ **_ , —

i . .L «rA, «^*, - . ->

FR :Bfí t ¿ A ^ — S L .

m 3>

- t s i ± S 3 " -Moi i«dsniJUsss>

Sr "D I fea

^=4=!^=^4=$=^ •r

»•ee is «•£. r.

ífe- ^ L _ l

r f r l ^ i

= 3 r r i ; -.8 « H t i ^ ^ wTcjreri _ + L a v once. ;p»"eo<i ^ « f cjyà u j í i e - .

ft •,--, J t ^ r t

i Z ^_ ^ H

X H o w + l ^ f ve cu=5. t k c tn c / : - t - M - ^ t r u ¿ ^ " ^ v / f e ^

T=*m i Z

P J2_ J£c_ Oí-DV^ 0(t\ i n - t í ¿ 4 «

X2L And

fe i=+ ívci-4 — « ^ = » — i v *

=ü T í c i - - • • " ¿ 1 - X 4

in -í- ct cer, - Vr^ f * K e í U ^ A í f t l ^ ¿orí< «mi f s n - t n l e * v « _ rl - o TíierKÍJ

Pi i i-H^^^ ^H—4-

i o w c - o** t ku -e ^cw c r . f t - rm^ j i t -ár ,:*L *L

& íeT"

cfV,Í3f.,-í-ÍTvci W'^H tW I t r i o * ! _ TK«

Frankie Armstrong is a folksinger of extraord nary power ana presence. She is well known on the folk scene tor her v rkshops on voice production. Here she tells us how, during during work on an anti-nuclear record with a group of friends (see below for details), ;he was inspired to write the song "Out Of the Darkness". She kindly tapec speech, song and explanation for WSW.

Speech to Apollo & "Out of the Darkness"

"Oh Lord Apollo, God of prophecy, wliat is to come? What lies in the future? Careful I It is dangerous to listen to Apollo. His light blinds like the sun does if you look at it too long. Do you know the story of his oracle up at Delphi? When he was a baby he killed the dragon there, that guarded the ancient cracle for Old Mother Earth, and as soon as he won the oracle he began to prophesy, and to tell tales of gods and of heaven to mortal men. He taught them to trust reason, truth that is clear and plain. But. Mother Earth was outraged, and She taught us that truth could come disguised, and She gave us dreams at night, full of pith and meaning, to tell us the truth of things past, present and to come. But when Apollo -oaw his tame and fortune dimmed, he went to Zeus and begged him take the dreams away, lest women become too wise. And so Zeus took away the elusive gift and power, half light, half dark; the power of understanding that comes through dreams. And now our aching hearts no Jonger understand the trutlt in the night. We only listen now to Apollo and the light. **

Out of the darkness comes the fear of what's to come. Out of the darkness comes the dread of what's undone. Out of the darkness comes the hope that we can run; And out of the darkness comes the knowledge of the sun.

Out of the darkness comes the fear of the unknown. Out of the darkness comes the dread of bleaching bone. Out of the darkness comes the hope we're not alone; And out of the darkness grow the seeds that we have sown.

Out of the darkness cone the fear, revenge and hate. Out of the darkness comes the dread of indifferent fata. Out of the darkness comes the hope we're not too late; And out of the darkness come the songs that we create.

Darkness is the place oi birth, darkness is the womb. Darkness is the place of rest, darkness is the tomb. Death belongs to life, half oi" day is night.

*%8ämJEmaä&

-14-

This song came about very much through two different routes.

I was involved with Leon, Roy Bailey, Brian Pearson, Chris Foster, Sandra Kerr, Alison McMorland - well the people who are on the record -in thinking about the material for an anti-nuclear album. At first we weren't sure whether it would be addressing itself both to nuclear power and nuclear weapons. But in a way the songs we had, actually determined, in the end, the direction the record actually took. The best songs that we had available address themselves to nuclear power or, in a sense to both issues. I mean rather like "Mock auction", or my song, that in a way are talking more broadly about the issues.

I knew that I wanted to write a song for this record, and I knew that I wasn't either capable or qualified to write a song about the technological, scientific, safety aspects. I know what I feel about it. Leon's song, "I don't trust experts" - there's enough evidence in the history of the world for us to be sceptical about what experts tell us. So I felt clear about my feelings about the whole risks and environmental and political problems created by nuclear power, but, as I say, knew I couldn't write a technical-type song.

I also knew I wanted to say something different from that anyway; which was much more about the denial of the Feminine by our kind of Judeo-Christian, white, patriarchal - well we all know the words. They all run into a meaningless slogan. Somehow I just feel that the whole way in which women are seen and treated - or the Feminine is seen and treated -is a kind of paradigm for the whole way that men - well I mean men in power - see Nature (have chosen to see Nature) as something to be controlled, to be tamed, to be exploited.

In a way it's a difficult one, because I'm not per se anti-science. The Einsteins of this world were some of the greet intuitive thinkers« And now with people like Capra; and the way in which physicists and mystics are exploring very similar grounds, I think the potential for something very exciting and truly revolutionary may come from the greatest scientific thinkers.

But nevertheless - it's the out-of-balance-ness of our kind of society; what we value, what we hold to be valid, what we deny and repress.

And so I felt that was what I wanted to write about.

While this was mulling around in my mind, I went to see John Barton's production of "The Greeks" at the Royal Shakespeare Company, and the Speech to Apollo really just haunted me. It really just struck me as being another mythic attempt at saying the same thing. So it must have been that speech along with the other thoughts I'd been playing with that produced the first verse.

We'd been having a meeting of the group of us, so we'd been thinking about the record - thinking about songs for the record. I went into the bedroom after everybody had gone, and was just putting a few things away; and the first verse just literally appeared. There it was - tune, words. I went into the backroom, into my office area, got hold of the dictaphone and just put it straight down, before I forgot it. I went back and listened to it about half-an-hour later, and thought "Oh, yes, that actually is saying something; that's actually the beginning of what I was trying to say". I played it to Brian; he said "Oh, yes, there's a song there"; and so I went to sleep with it in my mind. Then I started consciously thinking

-15-

about it walking to the tube on my way to college the next day; and I virote the othar three verses - or at least the draft for the other three verses - on my way into college. I think the last verse is the best verse, probably the best thing I've ever written, and it simply appeared as I walked up the Grays Inn Road; and that whole idea of juxtaposing the dark and the light in the way that I do in the last verse. So r got in and said to one of ray colleagues "Have you got a few minutes before the students come in - can you just type something down for me?" - and I literally just took it cut of my memory and she typed it onto a piece of paper. Then I worked with a couple of other friends on the text as I had initially got it down, until about three to four weeks later I had the song as it exists now.

So it's a really strange combination of the song actually reflecting what it's cayir.g about songs coaing out of the unconscious; because bits of it -y«a, I did consciously work on (I think, the two middle verses). But the first and last verses appeared in a way that, on occasions, songs or poeras have com« to tee - literally they've just appeared almost whole - whole iraagt3, whole phrases; and yet they were done on a tube train and walking up the Grays Inn Road, surrounded by all this rush hour traffic and people. It was a very odd experienca.

To summarise: it was an attempt to try and relate what I see as the inner landscape ar.d the outer landscape; the much more intangible areas of our psyches, with the social and political issues that are no central to us today, end to try and find some way of exploring how they may be related.

I'm not sure what people hear when they hear the song - whether they hear the same thing as me, or not; but no writer can ever be responsible totally for how their work is interpreted. But I hope by u3ing the Speech from "The Greeks" before, that what I intended to say does come over.

FRANKIE ARMSTRONG

tù The Speech to Avollo is from "The Greeks" and is copyright John Barton "and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The Speech, and "Out of the Darkness" is on the album "Nuclear Power, No Thanks". Plane Label/Impress IMP2. Available from alternative record and book shops.

1 " ' —•- ' ' " m— • " , . 'i • '.' , - ; . . • Continuation of "Onion skins", page 10.

J ELLO?. GRftEME • » m — m > — • • n i l I M — — • —

I have never found this on record (although it might be worth checking Steeleye Spem, who at one point rushed through all 5 volumes of Child,

'-trailing their electronics after them). I collected my version from the singing of GRAEAM S EILEEN PRATT, who arranged the words to the tune of 'Isabella of Loch Royale*,

for WIFE 0? USHERS WELL

STEWART, Bob (& Friends) The Wraggle Taggle Gipsies Oi Crescent Records. ARS. 105. 1976. Side 1: Track 2. (Sung by Laraine Stewart).

Also, for further good ballad singing, chect. other records by all the above, plus any you can find by:-

Wic JONES, Dick GAUGHAN, Martin CARTHY, Frankie ARMSTRONG, June TABOR, Chris FOSTER, A.L. LLOYD.

K. iawnea« aCCïCW' e-TT-f^

mBfcfSSttï n i ' . SgSS ! Ä^sr . w. i e--, £feV« I O-3 fe ^r*»e »Mf/c II í •M t* sa ic'-<**•' N^cffMÎ

HEW« Œ ^./ K i

V mai "T* »r. r-A ^ , # »'< ..< ' C i i t ; / / | ^

Kf-. • i C w a i _ _ ¿ a ^ j

There were three 'kings come from the West Come from the West Their fortunes for the try And they have ta'en a solemn vow John Barleycorn must die.

So begins one variation, The Barleycorn. You have probably heard this song and thought it no more than the brewing process set to verse and tune. There are some other ways of looking at it though .......

Described by all versions so far heard is the death (or attempted death), growth to maturity, death (second?) and eventual rebirth of the corn. Barleycorn is a lament, sometimes a dirge, of much power and usually sung as such. It echoas the myths of Osiris, Attis, Adonis, Tammuz (and Persephone to soma extent), connecting the rhythms of human and agricultural life.

Barley was the first cereal cultivated by the Aryan race, used in ancient Hindu as well as Greek ritual. It is possible that Dametar derived her name from the Cretan for barley. Cerridv,*en was called the Grain Goddess by Welsh bards and equated with Demeter. «îa remember Ceres when we use all grains or cereals.

Why should this song be lament or plaint?

Th3 reapers of ancient ¿.gypt would chant in sorrow as they began to cut the * corn, invoking Isis who was also Sachit { - the cornfield), discoverer and giver of the gift they cut down. More intense midsummer mourning followed the Harvest, for cut down with the corn was Osiris, the consort and sibling corn spirit of Isis. The rising Nile was thought to hold the tears of Isis. These songs were called by the Greeks 'Juaneros' after one of the phrases sung - 'M^S-ne-hra' meaning 'Ccme to the house' (of the dead) found in the dirge of Isis in the Egyptien Ecok of the Dead.

Phoenicia and West Asia heard the lament as 'ai lanu' or 'woe to us' which the Greeks turned into Ailinus or linus for the generic song title. In Bithynia, Bormus or Borimus was the name given by foreigners and came to be explained by the death of a young king or man of royal blood on the cornfield and a river, for whom the people mourned. Perhaps the dying corn spirit/consort r.ras represented by an annual king? Graves, Frazer and many others suggest that annual sacrifice to the Grain Mother of the Queen/Priestess' consort in a place and time sacred to che Goddess was common in many parts of the world.

In Phrygia, songs known as Lityerses were sung, commemorating a king who would challenge a passing stranger {hopefully with corn-red or yellow hair) to a reaping match (which the stranger usually lost), then wrapt him within a sheaf prior to beheading with sickle, and throwing him into the river. Eventually Lityerses lost and shared the fate of his victims.

Why should John Barleycorn die?

Many of the ancient (and not so ancient) Worth and South Americans, Africans,. Asians and Europeans believed that the giving of a human life at sowing and/ or harvest time promoted fertility of the ground and crop, augmenting the vigour f the grain so seriously weakened by harvest.

Methods of choosing a victim (and tha degree of bloodiness involved) varied according to the people involved. Much gruesome detail may ba found within the pages of 'The Golden Bough' by J.G. Frazer.

_ 1 C-

The honour of helping the corn spirit or representing the Gcddess's consort night go to a ehancG atran-or, a specially purchased 'victim', a handy slave, white lepar or captive, the loser/winner of a competition cr the God]3C3ss earthly consort - the king or substitute. These would bear some sympathetic reaemblance to the grains state if at all possible, the Mexicans being particularly thorough i.e. babies at sowing, young men later on followed by nature \icssm, and old men at harvest.

Those offerings ware usually ploughed itito the ground, having often met their death by means of r.pades, hoes, flails and other agricultural implements.

Such customs are perhaps echoed by the second verse:

They ploughed, they cowed They harrowed hin in Threw clods all on his head.

As an aside, an alternative second verse begins:

They laid him in Three furrows deep -

which just might hara something to do with Demeter conceiving/giving birth to plutus (abundance) on a thrice ploughed field if it is not the sane as the former voirse.

No», is that it? Can we forget John Barleycorn? 3ut, like the dismembered St. George or the beheaded Green Knight (who is the Green Man - who is also the corn -) 3arleytorn springs up again, to amase them all ...

Little Sir John grows a beard and becomes a man when the sun reaches its zenith at Midsunmar. Thereafter, like the sun life takes a downward turn.

They've hived men With the scythes so sharp To cut hin off at knee They've roiled are. they've tied him about the waist They've served hi*1 barbarov.sly.

These .Tines link with the rough treatment citen ending with soakir.g or inversion in a river that v-as often accorded to the last (in exchange for 'danzar iiîcaey1) reaper¡. prior to Harvest mechanisation. This Harvest horse-ploy was very similar to the charming Phrygian custom aireacy centicned. Decapitation did not play a pert this tine thought

John Barleycorn aire undergoes drowning at the end of his suffering - like his kingly¿ard labouring counterparts.

Then, like ¿ha corn spirit who has sought refuge in the last grain standing cr the nearest person^ or been preserver' within the usually fjanwle form of a dolly an is reborn in the new corn, John Barleycorn is reborn as :well -usually as b«er (Osiris is supposed to have taught brewing to the world) but the end result cauld as logically be bread or seed corn.

The Christians have also seen their Christ in the corn in the carol 'Leve is come again" which begins:

ïSow the greon blade riseth, from the buried grain,

and inciuoec such linen as:

Forth ha cane at Easter« like the risen grain. .

The repeated last line:

Lc.vo is ccme again, like tho wheat that springeth green -i

must coma from the Adonis and Attis type myths where these young dead kings/ gods were consorts of the Goddess and represented bodily love as much as bcdilv corn, while Deleter I other Coddasc figures wore•actuelly in charge.

X sing the above song ana »11 the writing«- reading and listening I've dons for this article has Ruddied tha pictures I have for this song - and I suspect that the s«rae will cao day happen for the rjords and/or tune.

Another interesting siieiight on this song is that the links made between human and plant life (on which we all depend), tho death, transformation and rebirth aspects, stó.o it a fairly accurate description of the average initiation ceremony-whether that cf the Iho's divine icraortal king in Africa, or the neophyte in Eaasdon. If one looks at the John Barleycorn entire, the binding, going about in circles, pricking, cutting, flailing and wetting or ¿.ravening of the crag* nay be found within Gardner's standard entry procedures as well as in such places as Eosan wall paintings.

John Barleycorn also acecœ?ania3 the Sasey Eiod Garas of Jan 6th (Old Kstas Day), a rather violent "aeon against toon' ball game that has been suggested to be a retenant of a cereachy to change the earth with energy during the earth's lew tine. John Barleycorn would, seen to fit rather well.

I don't think that I've come to any grand conclusions. I've just unravelled things a little end nadu sone links. ~f thsy seem fanciful, well, I've documentary evidence fcr just about everything ard have not included ecse of the more peripheral matters discussed.

I do think that Barleycorn is noce than brewingthough - if only because every version I've heard does rot actually çp through the brewing process (bar Fred Jordar« who doas includa 'the Maltster'), of which I. do havs some experience so would expect to recognise more easily than I've done so far. It is really only the very last one or two versas that relate corn to ale so it is possible that these are sensible rotionaiisatioas and we nay have beer rather than bread due to its more spectacular effects although bread is the more necessary form - and as said before, would suit just as wall.

CLBEN

Bibl iography

GRAVES, Rober t . The iShitejTodâess. Faber Paparhac::3. Amended and enlarged E d i t i o n . '¿¿fa&'O 571 CSi3fiI <5. '•>.

BURLAKD, C c t t y . tiptlifs of Life and iteacft.Macmillan, London Ltd . SBS 333 17325 2 . MOîTAGHi-ej, P a t r i c i a . tKxäenJji JRfertft «ref Legend. J u n c t i on Books, London.

Testi ñ<T^?X ñ'XrT ~~j~— HOLZ, C h r i s t i n a a A pictionaru of British Folk Customs.Paladin, Grenada Pub l i sh ing .

ÏS333 Ö £56 G8233. FR£i33R,-.J>£. ZSe_Gqlc^_Pc:^gh ( ab r idged) . Macai l lan fi Co. Ltd . Paparmac. P . 54 . TREECE, Eenry. The Green lían.

Notes to Topic Songs of Ceraraeu (¿oe belox-r).

Disco^raphv ;

Vers ions of John Barleycorn ; i pear on the fo l lowing: THE S3&3?2KSGH3. Frost and Fire. S s p i c . THS RCGGAMS. Soags c f Ceremony. Topic . 12TI9?. (Recording of Harney Hood Game). CARTHY, Mar t in . This is itertin Ca.Tthu.- "Xry Rlp.ck Base S Other Songs.

K h i l l i p f t ' T n t e r n a t l o n a i . S?é¿2'.«22. CT3 JO2H6Z0Î33. Ye Jacobites Jn¡ ¿feme. Contour. 2C70 373. •' JOSDAN;. F red . Sengs of a Shropshire Farm tfozkßr. Topic . ;

Continued on P . 2 5 .

fa&n% TS @

4a^ fi>gS@ li^ßjiosl $%} o

Inspiration: Seamus Ennis, Willie Clancey, Billy Pigg, Liam O Flynn and Alan Stivell, to name but a few.

'Their rich mellow drones blended trill and chirrup chanter-finger like congested groves of blackbirds, thrush and honeybee and was everywhere -from room by day and kitchen by night, aye, and from open door and window in the sun, when passers-by bestrode our high roadside wall betimes-enraptured'.

Uillean Pipes - Mary Josepliine Ennis of Co. Dublin. 'Humming in the air - This is a natural occurrence to be met with upon the highest part of the Downs in hot Summer days, which always amuses me without giving me any satisfaction in respect to the cause of it; and that is a loud humming as of bees in the air, though not one insect is to be seen. The sound is distinctly to be heard the whole common through. Any person would suppose that a large swarm of bees was in motion and playing about his head',

Gilbert White (1769). 'The Natural History of Selbourne'. This 'humming in the air' noticed by Gilbert White in 1769 was a phenomenon mentioned by many natural historians of the time. It was a cause for wonder in later times to the Victorians who named it - unpdetically - The Hummadruz, and strove vainly to pin a scientific explanation onto it - 'The sound of the earth rotating' being one of them.

I, myself in the 1970s, experienced the phenomenon on an uninhabited Scottish island (Holy Isle). It manifested as a loud angry buzzing from under my feet. Strangely enough, I was to hear the sound exactly reproduced a few days later - at point blank range - from a set of Highland war-pipes!

S.L. Birchby, writing in 'The Ley Hunter' concerning the Hummadruz, made the point that "some of the hearers are musically trained, others are poets and authors" - also - "some reports near prehistoric sites or green-roads".

Some interesting comments come out of these reports as well:

"continuous musical minor murmuring strains" "sounds usually continuous but at times as musical as the Aeolian Harp" "a very shrill piercing continuous music - no air, no melody, but the expectancy of an air"

Drawing from my own experience, I know that due to the influence of a hot sunny day and the effort of staring overlong at a still, clear sea, I was in a very receptive state of mind; you might say 'tuned into the landscape'.

This brings me on to a report taken from a book on Fairy lore:

"It was a fine sunny day about the middle of June an' the bees war hummin' .. an' everything smelt so fresh an' sweet an' I felt so happy that I hardly knew whare I was I"

The lady then hears a 'Tick-Tack' sound and goes to investigate. To her surprise, she discovers a Leprechaun. To cut a long story short, she grabs the poor creature and demands to know the whereabouts of its 'Pot o' gold' - whereupon:

"So I wint still houldin' him fast in my hand and keepin* my eyes fixed upon him whin all o' a suddint I heard a Whizzz-z behind me. "There there" cries he "Theres yer bees all swarmin' and goin' off wid themselves like blazes". I like a fool as I was, turned my head around and see nothin' at all and when I luked at the Leprechaun, found nothing at all in my hand".

-20-

This tale led me to connect the sound with the Fairies, or, more precisely, the Fairy-Piper.

There are many legendary tales of Fairy Pipers and of their dealings with mortal musicians. Invisible pipers, pipers appearing from the earth itself or out of 'Fairy mounds'. Fairy pipers that 'gave' tunes to mortals in return for favours or drove mortals made with their music (a feat which the Hummadruz has also reputedly achieved) or abducting mortal pipers to play at their dances.

'Many times he hath been seen Withe the Fairies on the green And to them his pipes did sound As they danced in a round Mickle solace would they make him And at midnight aften wake him" BROWN.

Hundreds of people gathered at the Criocan (mound) Thorn in the Slieve Bloom mountains of Ireland on the last Sunday of July to dance to the music of the Uillean pipes. And lone thorns, like this one, were always considered to be the dwelling place of 'the little people' to the Irish.

One can imagine in ancient times that the Celts were completely at one with their environment and the attendant 'nature-spirits'. To them, the air must have been full of this continuous musical drone. It is not surprising therefore that they should seek to create a musical instrument that would reproduce what must have been to them the very sound of nature.

This instrument was the bagpipes. The chanter mimicking the obvious sounds -many old tunes being named after them - 'The Lark in the Clear Air', 'The Dogs Among the Bushes', 'The Cuckoo', 'The Kid on the Mountain' etc. and the all-pervasive drones - the Hummadruz.

The connection with the Fairies is a natural one and it is fitting that these beings - so at-one with the earth as to be almost invisible - should be the undisputed maestros of this most primal of instruments.

The Aeolian Harp, mentioned earlier, is really another drone-type instrument -this would be set in an open place so that the wind could play over the strings and create a musical drone. The Australian Aborigines still play the Digeridoo - these long tubes, often decorated with magical signs and used in rituals, create a persistent, rhythmic and hypnotic buzz.

In Europe many instruments were built to imitate the pipes themselves - the Hurdy-Gurdy, Concertina, Appalachian Dulcimer (Based on an Austrian instrument I believe) and many conventional instruments were either tuned in an open tuning to get the 'drone effect', or were played in a deliberate 'piping-style' as many Irish fiddlers are taught to play.

This primal sound, I believe, is still with us today in the buzz of the electric guitar and the drone of the synthesiser. Those musicians, I suspect, would not welcome any suggestion that their music had a connection with the FairiesI

I would like to add a postscript, which may or may not be connected with this subject, but is nevertheless intriguing food for thought. The Japanese made a record recently designed specifically to lull restless babies to sleep. It was unique in the fact that it was recorded inside the womb of a pregnant woman. The sounds were of course the expected gurgles and pops and the heavy thumping of the heart - but pervading all this was a persistant and musical drone - the sound it would seem is everywhere.

'Resounds the living surface of the ground Nor undelightful is the ceaseless hum to him who muses through the woods at noon*. THOMSON- "The Seasons'.

SOURCES : 'The World Guide to Fairies' Thomas Keightley (Avenal). 'Historic Thorn Trees' Vaughan Cornish (Country Life). 'Hummadruz' S.L. Birchley (Ley Hunter 84). 'N.H. Selbourne' Gilbert White.

1 m *¡m „-•'-«•-^¡jggwsB** . o - JlllU^i '*/.'.'IWT^W))[^ I» ¿w —

i r a ¿%K>- ï 1 ec; •*x - c; I U« t !:/T i Ér>^! /-;r x. ! '• i ' ^ - X ^ , * ^ i/i:ftJ§ m -« i t cl fcf ^'%X : S - N e fcC tSi 1 . » ^ fe

! / >: ñ Í 5 -e, m Um gg />>>¥

ïi ^ S K! sua r« c^ *. :s * ' < % ^ ; ->, ;H y /; i'eé i * h r, a)mm i •* ^c ^r ry . fe jy i ' . . i . * ^ fi -v. *-4\ y- •ut'.*?*'"* -••v A 1

**W. ^ü;r^¿*^ú: ¿a¿a «-..¿Vat *•> •Ti.iii.WV* *-«.

"No Real Changes": editorial Note.

It is not-/ almost a year since Part 1 of Monica Sjoo's article appeared in WSW. Since then, there has been a steady flow of correspondence about i t , and the Editorial Collective are now calling a halt. Copies of recently received letters may be obtained for those of enquiring mind, on receipt of SAE to the W&W address, and any letters to Monica herself will be forwarded. As a final blow to this correspondence, we publish here one last letter on "No Real Changes". May we take this opportunity to reiterate that views expressed in the Letters column do not necessarily reflect those of the Editorial Collective. Indeed, each individual member of the Collective probably takes entirely individual views on any given topic - that's the way we work. Our overall policy was stated cher, tve tooJc over from Hilary and Tony in the Autumn of last year (See WGW Vol 2. No. 1: Samhain 1981). One other point - if there is a delay in publishing your letter, we are not censoring i t . We are merely short of space in that particular issue!

Dear W&W

Re: Monica Sjoo*s remarks in the Beltane issue of W&W on the "battle between the sexes", I agree with much of what she has to say regarding the oppression of women by oar patriarchal culture but people of both sexes have suffered equally. In the Middle Ages the torturers took their, sadistic pleasure on prisoners of both sexes. When she talks of the persecution of alleged "witches" (the wise ones) she neglects to mention that men were accused of witchcraft as well and died just as terrible a death as their female counterparts. Although the pseudo-mythology of the witch hunts wan based on the fundamental wickedness of women as the "Devil's creatures" (a belief dating back to the Hebrew myth of the Garden of Eden et. al.) the persecution destroyed men, women and children in its madness.

Presumably Monica shares with other pagans our coraron objective i.e. the restoration of the Old Religion. She evidently seeks this goal through the liberation of womankind and the worship of the Goddess aspect of the Life Force exclusively. Althcugb completely valid in its own right this is not obviously the path followed bu all pagans. However I am sure that Monica possesses the tolerance and broadness of spirit necessary to recognize this fact of life and accept that others may have ways of approaching the old gods and goddesses which are different from her own. It is essential that v.Te (pagans) recognize that our religious beliefs are composed of many differing facets which make up the whole. Within this broad spectrum of religious and spiritual belief the needs of individuals (men and women) are varied. There is no such animal as a stereotyped pagan as anyone who has read past issues of W&W ;or any other specialised pagan publication) will have realized by now. If we accept this then we shall be a step forward towards the true understanding of the God and Goddess which exists within each person and an erd to sexual warfare.

Blessed Be

MIKE HOWARD

rv^m mm 5 T T .

•O

.'-s

1982. £12.50 Erica Jong ranada Witches

In this her latest book Ms. Jong keeps herself in the public eye by turning her attention to that so frequently sensationalised topic -witchcraft, and, if her text is sensible, the illustrating by J.A. Smith is sensuous and beautifully done as befits a coffee table book. The reader is taken a Cook's tour of, among other things, torture, witchlore, poisons and cures, sexual union with the Devil, flying ointments and love spells; all printed in bold typescript on A4 size pages using both poetry and prose which helps the eye to veritably dance through the book from cover to cover. Her book she states "aims to be a poet's and artist's evocation of witches rather than an historical treatise about them" (p.54) and I feel she succeeds in her task. Yet Ms. Jong appears familiar enough with the works relevant to a study of witchcraft drawing as she does on anthropology, literature and myth as well as the recent field of feminist theology but happily her learning rides lightly over the text. Wisely, she avoids the trap of holding to any version of the golden age of matriarchy viewpoint 3nd shows historical awareness if a little harshness in suggesting that -

"in truth, goddess worship in its time may have inflicted as many abuses as any organised religion, while today it perhaps seems a quaint oddity and the tool of female rebels", p. 170.

But we are advised to drop our preconceptions and our prejudices and acknowledge that the witch figure's heritage lies deep at the roots of civilisation in the images of strong, powerful goddesses from all over the world. For the witch figure today has survived most significantly'as a powerful archetype in the psyche of both sexes. To be in touch with it is to be in touch with our inmost selves and this 'message' is of prime importance to women at the moment suffering from the many restrictions of operating in a patriarchal society. All in all, 'Witches' is a well-balanced book accepting that all one can do in so much of this large and confused field is to speculate and not hold to any one theory too dogmatically. A select bibliography is supplied with each book listed having a brief comment on it And is a boon to any reader wishing to pursue their own research further.

KENNETH I. REES Positive Magic - Occult Self-Help

y.arion Weinstein 'Phoenix Publishing Co. $7.95. 320 pp. It is difficult to find anything derogatory to say about this book. A thorough section of basic occult information is followed by a do-it-yourself primer on magical techniques. Unlike many books offering 'instant answers* this one is well rooted in a balanced perspective. Cautionary advice is given on one's own approach to magic and how to recognise and avoid the sometimes subtle varieties of negative magic. Its answers however, are not 'instant' as this is a book to be read slowly and used practically to discover and develop one's powers, with rare beauty and wisdom the reader is lead througn history, the seasonal festivals, planes of existence, what witchcraft is and is not, karma and reincarnation and the composition of words of power for magical workings. Specific techniques are also given for astrology and divination both with the Tarot and the I Ching which may be a bit too much for a primer especially if the reader is more inclined to meditative disciplines. An excellent bibliography is provided but the index could have been fuller as most topics are adequately discussed -.J.I-" but could be difficult to find. I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone wishing to develop their own magical potential or just seeking a balanced description of the subject. STUART FYFE

I was very excited to read the article on mummers' plays (W&W Vol 2 no.2), as I have"been trying to rewrite them. I have felt the need for a long time, for a performance around which to base a ritual for the sacred days of the year. At Lauristan, where we devised ceremonies from time to time, with visitors or on our own, they often felt chin to me, as if it was a struggle to keep up the right atmosphere, to move from the everyday to the timeless. I find a performance makes a more concentrated impact; and is also, I think, more accessible to children. Certainly when we did our winter solstice play here, Nicky was keen to re-enact all the parts herself, and to learn the song, and asked to be written into the next one.

I feel very strongly though, that a sacred play should be performed only on the correct day, not spread out over several weeks as in your performance in London. I think that it is another example of the decay in understanding of the real meaning of the plays - which isn't at all surprising - but I would like to change that.

I think it was from reading starhawk's "Spiral Dance" that I got the idea of a cycle of mummers' plays, rather than one play to be performed at the death-rebirth point of the year, as mummers' plays are usually performed. Apart from the problem of deciding when that is, for there are traditions involving sacrificial death from midsummer through harvest to midwinter, even if we ignore Christian Easter. I find that I no longer think that way. It suits me better co think of life as a continuous succession of sacred moments, continual death and rebirth., or, a continuous dance or play, which I find easier to represent a. a cycle of plays, none of which are entirely complete in themselves.

So at the winter solstice I started to write and perform plays with Chris, partly based on the witch cycle of the sacred year from Starhawk's book and partly based on the mummers' tradition, We got as far as the spring equinox and then both got hepatitus (which is why I didn't finish this letter for the May issue) .

I enjoy trying to understand and recreate the texts of the mummers' plays and I also find that che use ce humour allows people to take a play at whatever level they feel capable of, even if they do not share my beliefs. Perhaps you'll say 'Why bother?', hut it' is important to me to be able to be open about my beliefs and share celebrations with the people I live with. To some extent I am unresolved about whether wo ought to use humour in this way. Perhaps tbo addition cf a humourous aspect in mummers' plays represented a decay in the tradition, cor exactly the same reasons as I now want to put it in; three people were uncomfortable when taking it seriously. For I know chore are many sacred plays in the world which are performed seriously. Per: of it comes perhaps from the exclusion of women, so that the Bessy has always in the performances I've seen, been acted by a huge bearded man with balloon tits. We have tried to make people laugh at things we find more acceptable.

I found a book called "The English Mummers' Play" by Alex Helm very helpful. It divides the plays into 3 types - che sword dance, the hero-combat and the wooing plays, and gives examples of each.

I have felt uncomfortable about recreating the most common type, the hero-ccmbat vee^ion, as a result of my other beliefs, non-violence and feminism, especially n 3 the plays include children as participants and audience.

It was therefore a relief to find other types that stress other parts of the cycle and also to read other versions of the hero-combat type which do not exalt battle. Two examples arc given from Branston and Plumtree, both said to be typical cf their area. At Branston the Seargeant "prods the King with the sword and down he goes", and at Piumtree, Beelzebub hies Jane with a club and she falls down. Helm says Its method suggests ritual killing rather t»"-« ~<«-»*l combat. This

would -coord with the central theme of the action, thax. .:.o c h a m a n must die for the benefit of ehe community".

Helm considers that the mummers' play may have consisted of a wooing, implied marriage, death, resurrection and birth of a baby to complete the life cycle. This fits in with more complete versions that have been reported from Europe, particularly Greece, Yugoslavia and Portugal.

I believe that the hero-combat version became separated from the other important themes and became popular in itself as a reflection of the ideals of that time, ideals which are unfortunately not outdated yet, but which I do not share. So death takes another course in our plays.

I have also been much influenced by Welfare State, whose interpretations and bringing to life of traditions I much admire. So although the traditional way to act a mummers' play is in fact to stand in a semicircle, with each person stepping forward to speak his lines, we prefer to act and bring it more to life. We have also used Norman lies' "The Pagan Carols Restored", to provide us with suitable songs to sing, which are easy for people to join in with as they know the tunes already.

We are not yet satisfied with what we've written. We keep on finding out more as we write the next one, so next year we'll start revising them in the light of the completed cycle. For example the play we performed at the spring equinox involved the children who live here as main characters and had ways for the audience to participate too, which everyone felt was an improvement on what we had done before. There is also a local women's morris team, one of whom would like to perform with us, so perhaps eventually we will become more public.

Love from Catriona

•Dear W&W Many thanks for the very enjoyable "Beltane" issue of W&W, and for the "bit of fluff" or lambswool enclosed with it; it gave pleasure to an old man's heart.

I enclose a Greetings Card designed- by Janet McCrickard and a symbolic sketch of Mrs Thatcher rampant! (opposite - Eds.) h><3 is the Germanic Rune symbol for D in

their 24 Runic letter alphabet.

It means DAEG or DAY, and stands for LIGHT, or FRUITFULNESS and PROSPERITY.

Also for "A change for the better" in divination. It is comparable to DALETH "A DOOR", Tarot Trump No. 3, "The Empress" and the 14th Path of the Qabalistic Tree of Life.

Incidentally, I was very impressed with the poem by Robnet Dunrena, with its 22 verses which consciously or unconsciously can be related to the 22 Tarot Trumps in their meanings; with the 1st verse refer-ring to "The Magician", 1. and the last 9-lined verse to "The Fool" - Tarot Trump 0. I wonder if readers have detected these correspondences.

Looking forward to your next issue.

Charles Shepherd.

:e

V

s:

Mrs. Thatcher beating Drake's Drum

I i l l u s t r a t e d / d e c o r a t e d t h i s poem around Yule l a s t y e a r and w h i l e d so p u z z l e d a b i t ano found m i s t l e t o e in v e r s e 11 b u t d i d n o t t a k e t f u r t h e r . C h a r l e s S h e p h e r d ' s t h o u g h t s have made me r e t u r n and I ' v e s een so mu more - b u t a l l h a s been T r ee - n o t T a r o t . T h i s i s p r o b a b l y b e c a u s e c . , r e c o g n i s e s what one knows someth ing of - for me t h i s i s t h e l o r e of growing t h i n g s ; b u t I ' v e been a t t r a c t e d t o t h e T a r o t e s p e c i a l l y by *-u^ m a r v e l l o u s images t h a t s t u d y of t h e T a r o t has e n a b l e d some p e o p l e t o p r o d u c e . My mind i s p r e s e n t l y n o t open enough - I t h i n k t h a t I ' l l come t o T a r o t one day t h o u g h .

Anyway, so f a r I ' v e o n l y made v e r s e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s , u s i n g t h e g i v e n c o r r e s p o n d e n c e s . I ' v e n o t found t h e w h o l e .

V e r s e : 1 11 M i s t l e t o e 2 (?) H e a t h e r 12 Vine 3 Rowan 13 Ash

. 4 14 5 Hawthorn 15 6 Haze l 16 Reed 7 ivy 17 Oak 8 18 9 (?) Yew 19 B l a c k t h o r n

10 20 Apple

The above a r e a l l t h r e a d s t h a t have y e t t o be woven t o g e t h e r . There have been vague t h o u g h t s on t h e c o l a r / l u ar r e l a t i o n s h i p b u t v e r y v a g u e . I e x p e c t i n s p i r a t i o n t o s t r i k e in t h e n i g h t b e f o r e I r e a l l y s e e what t h e poem i s a b o u t - which c o u l d be many t h i n g s . I f t h e r e a r e T a r o t c o n n e c t i o n s / i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s p e r h a p s i t would a l s o work w i t h o t h e r d i v i n a t o r y s y s t e m s ? Like C h a r l e s , I ' d a l s o l i k e t o henr from o t h e r s . The p o e t a s w e l l , p e r h a p s ?

Dear W&W . 0 1 w e n ' Many t h a n k s fo r t h e B e l t a n e is:sue and COTFH. I r e a l l y do en joy t h e c o n t e n t of t h e t r u l y p a g a n , f e m i n i s t Goddess o r i e n t a t e d m a g a z i n e . Many t h a n k s a l s o for t h e b e a u t i f u l f lower and l e a f e n c l o s e d . Your h e a r t r e a l l y d i d have t h e l o v e o f M a y t h e r e . Mick B a s r i .

The very l a s t words re "Mo Real Changée" " I admire the stand made by Monica , she has a l o t of courage . Since the advent of .Vomer.s Lib . , p a t e r n a l i s t i c men have f e l t t h r e a t e n e d . . « p u b l i s h l e e s by women. . . .keep them out of e d i t o r s h i p s » e x h i b i t i o n s e t c . , and pass them over when dea l ing out g r a n t s . This i s my impress ion . " I t h e l l Colquhottn , K.emow. " I so agree with h e r . n Cass , Glasgow, (Both women w r i t e r s ) . And from Pe te Hannah (who wrote i n Beltane) rtI see h e r point" ' FAIRS : nA Ce leb ra t ion Of Ea r th* ,Eas t Berghol t ,Suffo lk .August 20-22 . D e t a i l s - Ipswich 3"' '064. ""Rougham Tree Fai r* ,The Spinney,Rougham, Suffolk.September 3 - 5 . D e t a i l s - Beyton 70265„ FOLK . Chris F o s t e r (o f t mentioned t h i s i s s u e ) with Leon Rösselson and Roy Bai ley Sept .8 a t St.Edmunds Ar ts Cen t re ,Sa l i sbury .7 .30pm. and £2. P o s s i b l e accom. f o r n i g h t - con tac t Jan (who i s KOT? to blame fo r t h i s face)

"The P a s s i o n of t h e Corn" - D i s c o g r a p h y c o n t i n u e d from Page 1 8 .

STEELEYE SPAN. Below the Salt. C h r y s a l i s . CHR 100C.

WEDLOCK, F r e d . Home-Made. The V i l l a g e T h i n g .

YOUNG TRADITION. The Young Tradition Sampler. Vol. 2. T r a n s a t l a n t i c . TRA SAM 3 1 .

and t h ; n k s t o t h e many c l u b s i n g e r s c f t h e B a r l e y c o r n !

#@©/®©/©j@\®@/©®®

- rr* m^M^ f. i / e • v ^ a ? * r i \ ••-; -> -•?"•' .•A mWMWti mm —•s-

•-'-. ffffgi« W& •>. t/Xi^ • ^ % •Uli ?<*>*-CÄV - X \ '..-. rSË! £«& I < .-i i'.: 5J tzm&f sw M lœÉIr ! tii-Kê'a > _Í.-V-7 Sri b£&ékJS*#rx¿ • o •<•- >í.*m

CAMBRIDGE ANCIENT MYSTERIES 142 Pheasant Rise, Bar Hill, Cambridge C"i $?P. Maçazine into research into local earth mysteries, geomarcy and lost Know-ledge. Quarterly. £2 p.a. »»»CLARION 18 Artnandalo Rd., London SE10 ODA. Voice of the Womens Ecology Croup. Animal welfare, psychic healing, with a touch of feminist. Ed. H.A. Heard. £'j v.a. »»»THE CAULDRON }3CM Box 1633, London WClN 3XX. Pagan journal of the Old Religion. Ecologically aware, thought provoking. Single copy: 25p; sub. £1.20 (4 issues); £2 (7 issues). Blank POs or cash only. *«»CIRCLE NETWORK NEWS PO Box 9013, Madison, WI, 5315 USA. Q'rly journal of positive witchcraft, paganism and Magick. Highly recommended. Sub: $13 USA funds or equivalent via air mail. Sample issue $3. *»*ESSEX LANDSCAPE MYSTERIES Editorial address: Box Cottage, 14 Faut Mill, Halstead, Essex. Subs G orders: 9 Ashwin Ave., Copford, Colchester C06 IBS. Q'rly magazine of Essex folklore, antiquity £ phenomena. Varied, interesting. Single copy by post: 50p; Sub £2 p.a. inc. occasional papers. »o»IGNEWS Independent geocrytologists newsletter. Bimonthly. Copy 30p; Sub: £2 p.a. BM Bulletin, London WCIV ÙXX. ***ISIAN NEWS Cesara Publications, Huntingdon Castle, Clonegal, Enniscorthy, Eire. Journal of the Fellowship of Isis, dedicated to spreading knowledge c experience of the Goddess throughout the world. Q'rly. EOI members only (membership free).Copy 50p; Sub £2.50 ($5.50 USA, $7.75 air mall). »»»LAURfSTON HALL NEWSLETTER LaurisL^n Hall, Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbrightshire. Oca. publication of a collective that runs courses ¿, events in Scottish atansixjti i.e. Solstice events, shoe-making, organic gardening, Lesbian summer camp, men S children week. »»»THE' LEY HUNTER PO Box 13, Weld^pool, Powys, Wales. Technical E.M. research. Copy 90p; Sub £4.50. US $11.50, UK £3.00. »»»THE LINCOLNSHIRE DRAGON 16 Packhorse Lane, Swineshead, Boston, lines. Lines. E.M. research. Q'rly £2 p.a. »»»MAGIC SAUCER 8 Ely Close, Habberley Estate, Kidderminster, Worcs. Magic & mystery of strange things in the skies. Ecologically aware, ó issues p.a. Sub £2.43. US $22.50. air, $b surface. Single copy 41p. »»»MERCURY BOOKS Suppliers of occult books & artifacts including classic athames, swords, white-handled knives, silver-plated chalices, candles, statues, incense, tarot, perfumed oils etc. SAE for list to Cliffe House, 2 Creen Lane, Dronfield, Nr. Sheffield, Derbys. Sie 6LJ. (Open every 1st ¿ 3rd Sunday in month for browsing etc. 2 pm - 6 pm). »*»NORTHERN EARTH MYSTERIES 170 Victoria Ave., Hull HU5 3DY. Journal of the Northern E.M. Group which meets regularly. Interesting, lively, intelligent. £2 p.a. 6 issues. »»»THE PIPES OF PAN Pagans Against Nukes - P.A.N. - is an activist organisation dedicated to the banishment of nuclear teclmoloyy from our Mother Earth £ the re-establishment of a culture that lives in harmony with Her. PAN seeks to unite the pagan & magickal traditions of all lands, each according to their own ways,^in action to achieve '-his end; SAE for details: 69 Cranberry Rd., Reading, Berks. »»»PAGANA ¿130 Piper Drive, #5 San Jose, Calif. 95117. USA Editor Valerie Vogt. Contact tor details. ***PENDRAGON 27 Roslyn Rd., Redlands, Bristol. Arthurian history & archaeology, mystery & mythology of the Matter of Britain. Fascinating stuff. Sub: £3 p.a. USA $9. 4 issues. »»»SPIRALS PO Box 29472, San Francisco, Calif. 94129. Now Aye magazine of psychic & metaphysical experience, healing, spirituality & E.M. Bimonthly. Sub $4.50 p.a. »»»WOMANSPIRIT Box 263, Wolf Creek, Oregon 97497. Very radical, positive feminism. High standard of writing & production. Q'rly. $9 p.a. »»»BALEFIRE BM Box 8640, London WClN 3XX. Journal of the coven of Rhianron- £ Merlin covering coven events, Witchcraft, Magic er :. Pub. 3 issues p.a. at Festivals. Sample 40p. Sub: £3.50 p.... **-ROUND MERLIN'S TABL." Servants of the Light, PO Box 215, St. Melier, Jerjey, CI. Yearly Sub: £2 ce $0. Overseas sterling areas: £2.50.

-26-