Like their peers The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and Jefferson Airplane they were blessed with several considerable individual talents and produced music that -at least initially- was eclectic, as well as exploratory. This side of the band may best be heard on Heyday, a collection of tracks broadcast by the BBC. The move to a more British form of folk rock came primarily as a result of the enthusiasm of bassist Ashley Hutchings and producer Joe Boyd. Original singer Judy Dyble was replaced on their second LP What We Did On Our Holidays by Sandy Denny, an experienced folk singer and excellent composer in her own right. Fiddle virtuoso Dave Swarbrick joined, initially as sessioneer, on their third, Unhalfbricking. That LP has arguably their first two bona fide masterpieces. One is their version of the Sandy Denny song, Who Knows Where the Time Goes, popularized by Judy Collins, but characterised on their version by a perfect balance between Denny's vocals and the exquisite support of the group as a whole, and lead guitarist Richard Thompson in particular. The other is A Sailor's Life, the first to demonstrate the potential power of folk rock, the song exploding in an improvised and sophisticated instrumental coda that reaches beyond the words through the impassioned interplay of the whole band, led by the virtuosity of Thompson and Swarbrick in particular. Thompson also soon showed that he could create his own distinctive songs, notably the anthemic Meet on the Ledge, on Holidays.
The following LP Liege and Lief is perhaps Fairport's finest hour. Liege and Lief is generally remembered for its virtuoso versions of traditional folk songs but it also contains beautiful originals by Thompson and Denny. However the next, Full House -deliberately rockier in tone- has its particular gems, most notably Sloth, for its extended guitar/ fiddle duel and Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman, a perfect expression of Thompson's mordant humour; along with the sleeve notes, surely amongst the strangest and funniest ever.
The band continued with a series of personnel changes and albums, all with at least some high points, until it was temporarily disbanded in 1979, but played annual reunion concerts until it reformed in 1985. Since then, it has enjoyed stability and continues to tour and record regularly.
In part, the continuing success of Fairport Convention is due to the annual music festival it organizes. Cropredy Festival has been held every year since 1974 near Cropredy, a village five miles north of Banbury, Oxfordshire and can attract upwards of 20,000 fans.
In 2002 the band was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. In 2006 Radio 2 listeners voted their 1969 album Liege & Lief as the Most Influential Folk Album of All Time. A mass reunion of living Fairport members performed at the ceremony.
Crazy Man Michael
Fairport Convention Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Crazy man Michael was walking
He met with a raven with eyes black as coals
And shortly they were a-talking
Your future, your future I would tell to you
Your future you often have asked me
Your true love will die by your own right hand
And crazy man Michael will cursèd be
Michael he ranted and Michael he raved
And beat up the four winds with his fists o
He laughed and he cried, he shouted and he swore
For his mad mind had trapped him with a kiss o
You speak with an evil, you speak with a hate
You speak for the devil that haunts me
For is she not the fairest in all the broad land
Your sorcerer's words are to taunt me
He took out his dagger of fire and of steel
And struck down the raven through the heart o
The bird fluttered long and the sky it did spin
And the cold earth did wonder and startle
O where is the raven that I struck down dead
And here did lie on the ground o
I see that my true love with a wound so red
Where her lover's heart it did pound o
Crazy man Michael he wanders and calls
And talks to the night and the day o
But his eyes they are sane and his speech it is plain
And he longs to be far away o
Michael he whistles the simplest of tunes
And asks of the wild wolves their pardon
For his true love is flown into every flower grown
And he must be keeper of the garden
The lyrics of Fairport Convention's "Crazy Man Michael" tell the story of a man named Michael who was cursed by a sorcerer, causing him to go insane. Michael had a conversation with a raven that predicted his future, which included the death of his true love by his own hand. Michael becomes angry, ranting and raving, and attacks the raven with a dagger. As a result, his true love is wounded and dies, leaving Michael to wander and seek forgiveness from the natural world around him.
The imagery in the lyrics is vivid and haunting, reflecting the theme of insanity and the overwhelming power of fate. The raven, which is often associated with death and the supernatural, represents Michael's dark fate and the curse that has been placed upon him. Michael's actions represent his inability to escape his own destiny, as he is controlled by his madness and by the sorcerer's curse.
Line by Line Meaning
Within the fire and out upon the sea
Amidst chaos and calm alike
Crazy man Michael was walking
A man named Michael, who had lost his mind, was walking
He met with a raven with eyes black as coals
He encountered a black-eyed raven
And shortly they were a-talking
They began conversing soon after
Your future, your future I would tell to you
The raven offered to divulge Michael's future
Your future you often have asked me
Michael had asked about his future many times before
Your true love will die by your own right hand
The raven prophesied that Michael's own hand would bring about the death of his true love
And crazy man Michael will cursèd be
As a result, Michael was cursed
Michael he ranted and Michael he raved
Michael began to rant and rave
And beat up the four winds with his fists o
He beat up imaginary foes
He laughed and he cried, he shouted and he swore
He went through an intense range of emotions
For his mad mind had trapped him with a kiss o
His madness had taken hold of him
You speak with an evil, you speak with a hate
Michael accused the raven of speaking with malice
You speak for the devil that haunts me
He accused the raven of being possessed by the devil
For is she not the fairest in all the broad land
Michael believed his true love to be the most beautiful woman in the land
Your sorcerer's words are to taunt me
He accused the raven's words of being meant to hurt him
He took out his dagger of fire and of steel
Michael drew a flaming steel dagger
And struck down the raven through the heart o
He killed the raven with a fatal blow to the chest
The bird fluttered long and the sky it did spin
The dying raven caused chaos
And the cold earth did wonder and startle
The earth was in awe and shock
O where is the raven that I struck down dead
Michael wondered where the dead raven was
And here did lie on the ground o
He found the bird's dead body on the ground
I see that my true love with a wound so red
He realized that his true love had been mortally wounded
Where her lover's heart it did pound o
Her heart was pounding due to the severity of the wound
Crazy man Michael he wanders and calls
Michael now roams aimlessly, calling out
And talks to the night and the day o
He speaks to both day and night
But his eyes they are sane and his speech it is plain
Despite his madness, he appears to be sane
And he longs to be far away o
In reality, he wishes to be far from his current situation
Michael he whistles the simplest of tunes
Michael now only whistles simple songs
And asks of the wild wolves their pardon
He seeks forgiveness from the wilderness around him
For his true love is flown into every flower grown
He believes his true love's spirit is in every flower around him
And he must be keeper of the garden
As a result, he feels responsible for preserving the garden
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: THOMPSON RICHARD JAMES, DAVID ERIC SWARBRICK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
KvanEgten
Within the fire and out upon the sea
Crazy Man Michael was walking
He met with a raven with eyes black as coals
And shortly they were a-talking
Your future, your future I would tell to you
Your future you often have asked me
Your true love will die by your own right hand
And crazy man Michael will cursèd be
Michael he ranted and Michael he raved
And beat up the four winds with his fists-o
He laughed and he cried, he shouted and he swore
For his mad mind had trapped him with a kiss-o
You speak with an evil, you speak with a hate
You speak for the devil that haunts me
For is she not the fairest in all the broad land
Your sorcerer's words are to taunt me
He took out his dagger of fire and of steel
And struck down the raven through the heart-o
The bird fluttered long and the sky it did spin
And the cold earth did wonder and startle
O where is the raven that I struck down dead
And here did lie on the ground-o
I see that my true love with a wound so red
Where her lover's heart it did pound-o
Crazy Man Michael he wanders and calls
And talks to the night and the day-o
But his eyes they are sane and his speech it is plain
And he longs to be far away-o
Michael he whistles the simplest of tunes
And asks the wild wolves their pardon
For his true love is flown into every flower grown
And he must be keeper of the garden
Songwriters: Thompson Richard John / Swarbrick David Eric
Robert Cope
This wonderful track simply amplifies the already known fact that Sandy was the finest, purest, most exquisite and sublime singer the UK ever produced. What adds to the brilliance of the band who were at their absolute pinnacle in 1969 and 1970. As they say CLASS will always win. Sandy absolutely did so.
Lord Protector
What about Annie Haslam and Jaquie McShee?
Peek-A-Moose
@Lord Protector Not even close to Sandy Denny.
Lord Protector
@Peek-A-Moose I liked Sandy, but the other two are actually way past her.
Michael Devaney
Definitely the best version i have ever ever heard of this song
Rob
I discovered this album in 1972 and it just left me speechless. Like others on here I had simply no idea that music this wonderful even existed; haunting, ethereal, beautiful. Add to that the amazing vocals of Sandy Denny and you have pure magic. RIP Sandy Denny and Dave Swarbrick.
syzygy123
Sandy Denny's voice and Richard Thompson's guitar pulled me into the world of British folk rock in high school in the late 1960s. Pentangle, Steeleye Span, Silly Sisters and others would follow. I still listen to Sandy and her perfect inflection all the time -- nothing like the superficial overemoting of most pop singers.
I almost consider it a badge of honor for Fairport, Sandy, and Richard that they have not been added to the RR Hall of Fame. They were/are much more accomplished and influential than some of the dregs that have been inducted.
hoshen
this comment is so underrated.
thank you for saying it...
Husky Fan in Mass
How can anyone consider this music "rock"?
Chinietzche
Sandy was inducted into the Folk Hall of Fame in 2016.