A Silk Purse
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Track List
"A SIlk Purse from Pig's Ear" was our 1st album, originally produced on cassette tape in 1991, digitally remastered 2001, complete with addition of wind accompaniments from daughter Lyndsey
1. North Sea Holes (Ewan MacColl/Harmony Music Ltd)
2. In Safe Harbour (Sue Rule)
3. The Winner's Song (Sue Rule)
4. The Miner's Lifeguard (Trad arranged)
5. A Florin a Day (Sue Rule)
6. All in a Row (Trad arranged)
7. Benjamin Bowmaneer (Trad arranged)
8. Jolly Broom-man (Trad arranged)
9. Rules of the House (Keith Rule)
10. Sir Thomas Tildersley (Trad arranged)
11. Sylvie! Sylvie! (Trad arranged)
12. The Exciseman's Brasle (Sue Rule)
13. The Wind Blows (Sue Rule)
14. The Execution of Montrose (Trad arranged)
15. Cunning Old Traitor (Trad arranged)
16. Poor Man's Labour/Hares on a Mountain (Trad arranged)
17. Take Down the Walls (Sue Rule)
18. Harvest Home (Trad arranged)
Sleeve Notes
Pig’s Ear is a family based group that has been entertaining audiences since the late 1980’s. A Silk Purse was our first recording, originally released on cassette in 1991. It includes lyrics and tunes by both Sue and Keith, with some of our favourite traditional tracks and one from the acknowledged master, Ewan MacColl. Our repertoire has grown since the release of the original tape, but as many are among our audience’s favourite songs, we decided to re-master and re-release the recording on CD.
In 1991, one member of Pig’s Ear was only 9 years old. But having visited Croydon Folk Song Club since the age of 2 months, she never really had a choice but to be a folk musician. So on many tracks the re-mastered recording contains new contributions from our wind section, Lyndsey. We hope you will agree her accompaniments on recorders, flute, oboe, Northumbrian smallpipes and vocals greatly enhance the original arrangements. We trust they will add to your enjoyment of this bigger and better Silk Purse from Pig’s Ear.
We start with Ewan MacColl’s North Sea Holes from his 1960 radio documentary ‘Singing the Fishing’. The maritime theme continues with In Safe Harbour, a traditional style tale of sex, booze & violence involving sailors on shore leave. In a gentler vein The Winner's Song casts a philosophic eye on today's standards of worldly ‘success’. The Miner's Lifeguard concerns itself with organised labour, drawing a tenuous parallel between the dangers faced by seamen and in the mines. The anonymous author seems to give up this idea after the first verse but none-the-less came up with a fine vehicle for this unionist message… In 1866 the laying-off of the workforce constructing the Surrey & Sussex Railway in favour of cheaper foreign labour led to troops being called in to quell riots in Edenbridge, Kent. A Florin A Day records this incident of our local history. It is not intended as an anti-EU slogan! Rather more contented workers are featured in All In A Row. This harkens back to an age when backbreaking work and a prosperous harvest supposedly brought their own satisfaction… The origins of Benjamin Bowmaneer are lost in obscurity, but one gets the impression that this bizarre nonsense about a tailor on a flea-hunt must have had some political or social significance! The Jolly Broom-man obviously meant to increase his sales of besoms by portraying himself as a veteran of every campaign of the preceding few centuries! Naturally hoping for a few free drinks along his way. The tune is ‘Jamaica’. A 1786 innkeeper's policy statement provided the inspiration for Rules Of The House. This features a dreadful pun on our surname, together with strange instruments such as ‘the giggle’, ‘the tankards’, etc! We had a bit of fun recording this one…
A forgotten hero of the losing side, Sir Thomas Tildersley, died in 1651 at the Battle of Wigan, toward the end of the English Civil War. It's a sad fact that building a monument to the vanquished is no way to guarantee them a place in the nation's memory. However, the songsmith occasionally succeeds where the stonemason fails, as this stirring song testifies… Sylvie! Sylvie! represents the tradition of the female highwayman. No doubt she would have felt a little less ‘contented’ if her lover had turned her over to the authorities… On the subject of banditry, The Exciseman's Brasle celebrates one of the less successful exploits of a notorious group of Kent & Sussex smugglers, the Hawkhurst Gang. The words were adapted from a poem in the ‘Ingoldsby Legends’ which records their history. The tune, in French ‘brasle’ style (pronounced ‘brawl’), permits another pun!
Inspired by the autumn storms of 1987, The Wind Blows considers the serious issue of those more chilling winds currently sweeping our planet. The message is clear!
It is with regret we announce the death of James Graham, Earl of Montrose. In 1650, The Execution Of Montrose was connived at by the scheming ‘Master Fiend’, Archibald Campbell, Duke of Argyle… not that we hold grudges or anything. Moving from one Cunning Old Traitor to another sly fox, we’d like to note that we prefer those hunting songs in which the quarry ‘gives 'em the slip’. This one originates in the Peak District… In Poor Man's Labour/Hares On A Mountain we couple a cautionary tale of a premature marriage with the reminiscences of an ageing womaniser. A trifle sexist maybe, but then the ladies had their turn with that insufferably smug Sylvie! … The enigmatic contemporary feel of Take Down The Walls has never detracted from its popularity as a chorus song; and who knows? Now that its on CD someone may discover what it means! Finally we bid you ‘farewell & goodnight’ with the traditional Harvest Home. We hope this bumper crop brings as much pleasure to the listener as its recording & performance has to us. We hope to see you all soon... Cheers!
Copyright 2002-2005 PG Rule. All rights reserved.