A Sailor's Life tells the story of a desperate young woman whose sweetheart sails to sea. She can't stand life without him so she sails off on her own to look for him....Sandy Denny sings with poise and pathos, a beautiful interpreter of English folk music, one of the best. That sort of ruddy strength of spirit, the ability to hone in on the emotional edges, sharpen them up and march into battle between your ears.
Fairport Convention first released a recording of this song on their album Unhalfbricking. That one is good, but it's got that dang violin mucking about during the epic solo. See, Sandy Denny has her own sweet vocal strings, and let's face it, I want the pure electric guitar solo without a pesky violin flashing alongside it. This alternate version from Richard Thompson's Watching the Dark has a whole lotta that, don'it guv'nuh?
The story builds in chapters. The first part is the introduction. People are gathered on the docks to bid farewell to their loved ones. The music sounds like the water lapping at the sides of the ship, maybe it's raining a bit. One sailor in particular is valued among all others by the woman he leaves behind, to weep and mourn.
The second chapter begins at 2:23, the woman asks her father to build for me a bonny boat, so she can go off looking for her sailor boy. I don't think that's a very good idea, but the father doesn't have a problem with it. He's probably like, 'and honey, will you try to find your mother as well? I think she's with them.'😆
The third chapter begins at 3:57, following a 0:45 musical interlude during which the guitars start preparing themselves for the finale. The drums during this section are really cool, lots of precise rolls, military-like. The drama is building, and after a short time a Queen's ship they chanced to meet. The young woman believes it to be the one that carries her sweet William, so she pulls up and asks the crew if he's there. They tell her
no, fair maiden, he is not here
For he's been drownded we greatly fear...
The final chapter begins right after this at 5:45. The fair maiden did not like hearing this, for then she wrung her hands and she tore her hair. Then she ends up crashing her boat against a rock and dying. How can I live now my sweet William is gone?
Too bad, lady. Anyhoo, at 6:45 or so, Richard Thompson untangles his guitar from the fishing nets with over four and a half minutes remaining. He prepares to unleash the raging spirit of the young woman upon the world. The drums and rhythm guitar are coming along, too. Is there any land on the horizon? yes! See over there at 7:56. This is when they all lock in together and head for the shore. Richard Thompson takes over here and blasts away at everything in their path. I frickin love this solo, it's so wiry and buzzy, like an electric dragonfly. On and on it goes, freaking out the kindly natives waiting for them on the beach. Oh, sorry, don't worry, I'm calming down, I'm tired of all this paddling through the ocean.
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