The Ballad of The Black Swan - Original by beejay56

Community Recordings Originals (Not Covers)
1

This is the last outing for my Kiso Suzuki FE150 guitar: this recording is just me and the guitar. The Black Swan in York is a famous folk club and open mics venue. I sang there a few times at the end of the 1990s and saw some really good performers, amateur and professional.
The folk fraternity are sometimes accused of taking themselves too seriously and possibly not listening to what else is out there: this song is my attempt at a humorous reponse to, and recognition of that; I hope you enjoy it.

Lyrics

Ballad Of The Black Swan c. beejay56

Chorus

Pity those ears bent by rock, pop and country:

Of drugs, sex and swearing, thereā€™s too little for us

fal-de-ree, fal-de-ra, hey nonie hey no

real words and real music, a real singing chorus

Verse 1

welcome to our singersā€™ night

where woeful tales we tell

of sadness, heartbreak, loves un-won

brave deaths and living hell

cheery, dreary, happy, sad

the rich, the mean, the broke

feel so good to feel so bad

join in, weā€™re singing folk

Verse 2

courts, castles, honour, chivalry

crusaders, kings and counts

fair, buxom wenches yearning

bold knights astride their mounts

damsels gasp at weapons drawn

pray shy and coy, donā€™t poke

heroic maids, so good, so bad

join in, weā€™re singing folk

Verse 3

tonight my spouse bid this farewell

ā€œgo pluck yourself in York

Iā€™d rather watch the grass grow

or eat soup with a forkā€

as oft before I offered stay

but heard away to folk

my one true love, so good, so bad

join in, weā€™re singing folk

Brian

11 Likes
2

That was awesome, Brian. I truly admire your songwriting and singing abilitiesā€¦ I used to sing in a small club, too, years ago it was, though (my favourite song was ā€œSixteen Tonsā€).
Your voice mixes so well with the sound of the acoustic guitar, and the recording is loud and clear.
Fantastic job, thanks for sharing :slight_smile:

3

Brian, I really enjoyed this. Thatā€™s some nice guitar playing and vocals youā€™ve done.
I can picture you playing OMs or in a pub. Good stuff!

4

Great tune, Brian! :slight_smile:

I totally get the folk and pub open mic vibe from it and it would just fit greatly in such an event. Thatā€™s some great finger picking, too. Also, It was enjoyable how you ā€œtoldā€ your story just like a balladeer in the old times. It immediately created some pictures in my mind getting me into to Black Swan. :smiley:

5

Really enjoyable piece Brian - ā€œgo pluck yourself in Yorkā€ nice :rofl:! Love the chord progression and your fingerstyle is class.

6

Love originals, esp. when combined with a dollop of humour :smiley:
Fine picking and vocals to match :sunglasses:
An excellent 'swan songā€™ for your Suzuki; I look forward to when your Breedlove gives birth to ā€˜Oregon-originalsā€™ (ā€¦Iā€™ll get my coat :roll_eyes:)
Tiny niggles: It was quite an abrupt start and it took me towards the end of the song to make out the first word of the chorus (Pity). Maybe a bar intro? Also, we have many non-native English speakers who might liketo follow the lyrics. I always encourage people to share them when they post (They can also be ā€˜hiddenā€™ using the Settings button)
Bravo!

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@Coda Tomasz, @oldhead49 Dave, @Lisa_S Lisa, @twistor59 Phil, @brianlarsen Brian, @sairfingers Gordon

Thank you all for listening and liking. A lot of clubs have never recovered from covid shut-downs. ALmost all my playing is done at home. Iā€™m hoping to sing in America again next year.

Iā€™ve added the lyrics, Brian. Your the second listener - and it was a different song - whose commented on my lack of intro. Iā€™ll try a couple of extra bars before the next song.

Brian

3 Likes
8

Great stuff Brian, I love a good story song. Well played and sung with a real ā€˜folk clubā€™ vibe that totally suited the humour in the lyric. You canā€™t beat a good hey nonie no! Super fingerstyle play too. Well done.

9

I read them again, although I understood them first time round, and the lighthearted humour and lists combined with performance and diddly-aye-de chorus reminded me of this Irish folk singer :smiley:

10

Brian

Loved the link. I like Tom Paxton, John Prine, John Denver and many other folkies whoā€™ve crossed several musical boundaries in their careers.

As anyone reading my posts will know, my hero is Mickey Newbury. The song below is one of the greates ā€˜story songsā€™ ever written. The guitar lick is played by Chet Atkins. I have all the records shown during the video.

Brian

1 Like
11

Oh Brianā€¦this is so good!!!

I related and smiled at this one :blush:

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Silvia

Thanks for listening and the feedback. Nice to know it ā€˜strikes a chord!ā€™

Brian

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Brian, that was a great song and performance. I closed my eyes and thought I was at a local restaurant (I live in Raleigh, NC) that has a stage where aspiring professional guitarists play for tips. The fingerpicking was clear and interesting to me and the lyrics were humorous. My first guitar lessons were folk guitar and I grew up in the folk guitar era in the US of Peter, Paul and Mary and Bob Dylan, so I understand the references. I hope to write a few songs myself someday, so this gives me a lot of inspiration.

14

Steve

Thanks for the listen and the kind appreciation. You and I may be similar ages: I too grew up at the tail end of Dylanā€™s folk revival and just as he went electric. I admire many singer songwriters. The song was a tongue-in-cheek assessment of my Open Mic experiences in The Black Swan in York and elsewhere.
Good luck with the songwriting.

Brian

1 Like
15

That was great Brian and I could imagine myself listening to that in an Irish :shamrock: pub back home. Beautiful song!

16

Eddie

Thanks for the appreciation. I hope many open mic attendees would identify with the humour of the song. As many others, the song may sound better after a few drinks have been shared!

Brian

1 Like
17

Thanks for sharing. Love the lyrics.

18

David

Thanks for the appreciation. Writing the lyrics was fun: I donā€™t usually do ā€˜funny songsā€™ but this one seemed to work.

Brian