The song Now I'm Easy by the Scottish-Australian folk-singer Eric Bogle is a case in point.
The 'voice' is of a dying Australian farmer (the 'cockie' referred to in the first verse and final verses). Both of his sons died as soldiers in Burma, his wife died in childbirth and his only daughter married and moved away. He scraped an existence from the parched soil but the song never descends into sentimentality......'but it's nearly over now and now I'm easy'.
Give yourself a treat and listen to it here.
Saturday 16 January 2010
I like sad songs
In liking sad songs I am definitely excuding bathos and the sentimental and mawkish. This does not mean that I enjoy being miserable; quite the contrary but I like genuine emotion.
The song Now I'm Easy by the Scottish-Australian folk-singer Eric Bogle is a case in point.
The 'voice' is of a dying Australian farmer (the 'cockie' referred to in the first verse and final verses). Both of his sons died as soldiers in Burma, his wife died in childbirth and his only daughter married and moved away. He scraped an existence from the parched soil but the song never descends into sentimentality......'but it's nearly over now and now I'm easy'.
Give yourself a treat and listen to it here.
The song Now I'm Easy by the Scottish-Australian folk-singer Eric Bogle is a case in point.
The 'voice' is of a dying Australian farmer (the 'cockie' referred to in the first verse and final verses). Both of his sons died as soldiers in Burma, his wife died in childbirth and his only daughter married and moved away. He scraped an existence from the parched soil but the song never descends into sentimentality......'but it's nearly over now and now I'm easy'.
Give yourself a treat and listen to it here.
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5 comments:
Bazza,
One of my more popular posts discusses Harry Dean Stanton's rendition of Cancion Mixteca.
Unfortunately, I can't provide a link to that particular recording, but for mournfulness, I believe Stanton's rendition beats those of seasoned performers such as Placido Domingo and Linda Ronstadt.
Can it be said that it "never descends into sentimentality"? I'm not sure, but Stanton sounds so genuinely sad when he sings it.
Hi Stephen. I did try to find a link to that version but failed although I did find some other versions. I will try again because it sound just like my kind of thing.
If you listen to that Eric Bogle song and like it, there are plenty more. Is he well known in Australia?
I never heard of him! What a tragic life and uplifting story. I'll check him out!
Hi Mimi. I only just discovered this comment "waiting for moderation"! (Feb 13th):
Do take a listen to this song. Eric Bogle in not well-known anywhere even though each of his compositions are like diamonds.
That's quite a haunting song by Eric. I love a good story song. I came across one the other day by an unsigned artist called Barnaby Griffin. It's called 'Sad Eyes' and seems to last an eternity and despite poor production and not the greatest voice, I think it has some merits. Although, it may be deemed as too sentimental, I suppose. It can be heard here along with his other sad songs.
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