The band expressed Denny's vision of the potential of folk rock to express complex meaning and deep personal emotion, using traditional ballad forms, but with the power of a rock band. Their self-titled first album (Fotheringay) was also only one of two albums, as they broke up a year later, in January 1971, while working on their second (recently released). The cause appears to have been personal difficulties, made worse by lack of success and thus income! Oddly for such talented musicians the band were widely reported to have been poor in live performance, which may well have also contributed to their short life as a band. Tracks later surfaced on her three-disc compilation.
The rhythm section was formed by Gerry Conway and Pat Donaldson, lauded by Denny as the best in the business. In the absence of Richard Thompson, who was prepared to tour with her, and act as session musician but wanted to follow his own career, lead guitar was taken by Jerry Donahue, whose transatlantic country roots and softer personality brought a different, less edgy feel to the music. However he was a skilled technician, with great feel, as he showed on their album, and later Fairport Convention records. The group was completed by rhythm guitarist and second lead vocalist Australian Trevor Lucas, whom Denny was to marry, and who also later accompanied her back into Fairport.
Fotheringay contains a majority of tracks by Sandy Denny, with one each by Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot and Trevor Lucas, as well as the atmospheric trad arr. Fotheringay, The Banks of the Nile.
In 2007 the BBC announced that Donahue would be attempting to complete the abandoned project (which he accomplished using previously unheard takes from the original archived tapes). Permission had finally been granted and the work was completed by summer of the following year. The resulting album, titled Fotheringay 2, was released by Fledg'ling Records on 29 September 2008.
Gypsy Davey
Fotheringay Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He sang so sweet and gaily.
He sang beneath the wild wood tree
And charmed the great lord's lady.
The lord he did come home
Enquiring for his lady
"She's gone, she's gone," said the serving man,
"Go saddle me my black mare,
The grey is ne'er so speedy.
And I'll ride all night and I'll ride all day
Till I overtake my lady."
He rode all by the riverside
On the grass so wet and dewy.
And seated with her gypsy lad
It's there he spied his lady.
"Would you forsake your house and home,
Would you forsake your baby?
Would you forsake your own true love
And the promises you gave me?"
"What care I for my house and home
Or even my wee baby?
What care I for my own true love
For I love the gypsy Davey."
"Well it's fare thee well my dearest dear,
It's fare thee well forever.
And if you don't return with me
I swear you'll see me never."
And the lord he did go homeward
And kissed his own wee baby.
And ere six months had passed away
He'd married another lady.
Fotheringay's song Gypsy Davey tells the story of a mysterious gypsy man who comes to town and enchants a noblewoman with his sweet music. Despite the initial disapproval of the lord of the house, the lady follows the gypsy Davey and abandons her husband and child for a new life on the road. The lord is heartbroken and sets out on a journey to find his lady. He rides all night and day and eventually arrives at a riverside where he sees his wife with the gypsy man. He pleads with her to come home, but she rebuffs him, saying that she loves the gypsy Davey more than anything else in the world. The lord sadly returns home and within six months, he marries another lady.
The song can be interpreted in many ways, but at its core, it's about the power of love and the search for freedom and adventure. The gypsy Davey represents something exotic and new, drawing the lady away from the stifling life she has always known. The lord, on the other hand, represents the old and familiar, but ultimately is unable to compete with the allure of the unknown. In the end, the lady's desire for freedom and passion leads her to a new life, but at great cost to those she leaves behind.
Line by Line Meaning
There was a gypsy came over the land,
A wandering gypsy man arrived in the area
He sang so sweet and gaily.
He sang in a cheerful and pleasant manner
He sang beneath the wild wood tree
He sang under a tree in a forested area
And charmed the great lord's lady.
He delighted the lord's wife with his music
The lord he did come home
The lord returned back home
Enquiring for his lady
The lord asked about his wife's whereabouts
"She's gone, she's gone," said the serving man,
The servant informed him that she had left
"She's gone with the gypsy Davey."
The servant told him that she had run away with the gypsy man
"Go saddle me my black mare,
The lord ordered his horse to be prepared
The grey is ne'er so speedy.
The lord felt that his other horse wasn't as fast
And I'll ride all night and I'll ride all day
He planned to ride continuously to find his wife
Till I overtake my lady."
His aim was to catch up to his wife
He rode all by the riverside
He followed the river while riding his horse
On the grass so wet and dewy.
The ground on which he rode was damp with dew
And seated with her gypsy lad
He found his wife sitting with the gypsy man
It's there he spied his lady.
He saw his wife there with the gypsy man
"Would you forsake your house and home,
He inquired if she would abandon her home
Would you forsake your baby?
He also questioned if she would leave their child
Would you forsake your own true love
He wanted to know if she would leave him as well
And the promises you gave me?"
Also, if she would break her commitments to him
"What care I for my house and home
She replied that she didn't care for her home
Or even my wee baby?
She showed a lack of concern for her child
What care I for my own true love
She further revealed that she didn't care for her husband
For I love the gypsy Davey."
She declared her affection for the gypsy man
"Well it's fare thee well my dearest dear,
He bid her farewell
It's fare thee well forever.
He told her goodbye forever
And if you don't return with me
He issued an ultimatum
I swear you'll see me never."
He warned her that he would never see her again if she didn't go back with him
And the lord he did go homeward
The lord returned back home
And kissed his own wee baby.
He reunited with his child
And ere six months had passed away
Before six months had gone by
He'd married another lady.
He had married another woman in that time
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Gerry Conway, Jerry Donahue, Patrick Donaldson, Sandy Denny, Trevor Lucas
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@gerontocrazia
extraordinary
@anneniliam3911
Such a loss to folk
@paulkuijer8129
Wich type of guitar we hear from 2.05?
@mpgmittelgebirge3529
Fender Telecaster, neck pick-up
@nancyrowina
You've misspelled Gypsy there mate.
@karenmcdonald7801
How do you spell it?
@karenmcdonald7801
Tinker
@src4526
it's the hillbilly spelling. BTW you have a real purty mouth....
@muffinman9462
@Karen McDonald KNACKER
@anneniliam3911
yep should be didicoy