Wife of Usher's Well - Music Video feat. the Peasall Sisters!

[bennetjones]

Hey Y'all,

The new official video for the song "Wife of Usher's Well" sung by the Peasall Sisters is now on youtube. It's from the album, Pale Imperfect Diamond, which was produced by John Carter Cash & Jack Clift.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCHNJi5tCmM

Enjoy!

Ben

[Ivan Kelsall]

I just had a listen to it & found it to be very lovely indeed - however- the lyrics are waaaaay different to the original English folk song.That in no way diminishes it's qualities,but i wonder how long it's taken for the lyrics to become so different,or has somebody deliberately re-composed them ??,
Ivan :popcorn:
http://youtu.be/WjFn-PMl51Q
http://youtu.be/EbdTHqlZMZI

[allenhopkins]

Wife of Usher's Well is Child Ballad #79; it's described as a "border ballad," and many printed versions I've seen are of the Scottish version. The linked version is of Appalachian origin, and has been changed by a century or two of oral transmission. Compare the late Hedy West's version, recorded 1965 (I think) on Topic:

yZBDZn73m8E

The Cedar Hill Refugees version linked above has some very interesting "world music" instrumentation; always fascinating to hear a traditional British Isles/American song with instruments from different traditions.