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.
Late November
Fotheringay Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The shot it was dead, all the sorrows were drowned.
The birds they were clouds, the brides and the shrouds
And as we drew south the mist it came down.
The wooded ravine to the wandering stream,
The serpent he moved, but no-one would say.
The depths of the waters, and the bridge which distraught us
The temples were filled with the strangest of creatures
One played it by ear on the banks of the sea.
That one was found but the others they went under.
Oh the tears which are shed, they won't come from me.
The methods of madness, the pathos and the sadness,
God help you all, the insane and wise.
The black and the white, and the darkness of the night,
I see only smoke from the chimneys arise.
The pilot he flew all across the sky and woke me.
He flew solo on the mercury sea.
And the dream it came back, all about the tall brown people,
And the sacred young herd on the phosphorus sand.
Late November by Fotheringay is a song that captures the essence of emptiness and despair experienced by someone who has lost a love interest, probably to death. The opening lines of the song, "The wine it was drunk, the ship it was sunk, the shot it was dead, all the sorrows were drowned" depict someone trying to drown their sorrows in alcohol after losing their love. The reference to a ship being sunk and a shot being dead suggests that the loss may have been as a result of a violent crime or accident.
The second verse of the song paints a picture of someone lost in thought, wandering aimlessly, and struggling to come to terms with their loss. There are references to serpents, deep water, and a bridge that distracts the singer and brings back memories of the ill-fated day. The singer also sees strange creatures in temples and someone playing an instrument on the bank of the sea, which may be a reflection of the confusion and disorientation they feel.
The third verse of the song is more introspective and philosophical, as the singer reflects on the different experiences that make up the human condition. There is a reference to the insanity and wisdom that coexist in the world, and the darkness that can envelop our lives. However, there is also hope in the form of the vivid dream that the singer experiences, which suggests that there is still beauty and wonder to be found in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
The wine it was drunk, the ship it was sunk,
We drank wine, and the ship we were on sank.
The shot it was dead, all the sorrows were drowned.
Someone was killed, and we drowned our sorrows in alcohol.
The birds they were clouds, the brides and the shrouds
The birds in the sky looked like clouds, and there were symbols of life and death around us.
And as we drew south the mist it came down.
As we traveled south, a mist descended around us.
The wooded ravine to the wandering stream,
We came across a wooded area near a wandering stream.
The serpent he moved, but no-one would say.
A serpent moved nearby, but no one wanted to acknowledge it.
The depths of the waters, and the bridge which distraught us
We saw the deep waters and a bridge that caused us distress.
And brought to me thoughts of the ill-fated day.
Those sights made me think of a day that ended tragically.
The temples were filled with the strangest of creatures
There were unusual creatures inside the temples we visited.
One played it by ear on the banks of the sea.
Someone played music by the shoreline.
That one was found but the others they went under.
That person was found, but others were lost or left behind.
Oh the tears which are shed, they won't come from me.
I won't shed any tears, even though others might.
The methods of madness, the pathos and the sadness,
There were crazy methods and deep emotions all around us.
God help you all, the insane and wise.
May God help all of us, whether we are crazy or wise.
The black and the white, and the darkness of the night,
There was contrast between light and dark during the night.
I see only smoke from the chimneys arise.
All I can see is smoke rising from the chimneys.
The pilot he flew all across the sky and woke me.
A pilot flew above us and woke me up.
He flew solo on the mercury sea.
He flew alone over the shimmering sea.
And the dream it came back, all about the tall brown people,
I had a dream about tall, brown-skinned people and it came back to me.
And the sacred young herd on the phosphorus sand.
There was a sacred young herd of animals on the glowing sand.
Writer(s): Sandy Denny Copyright: Warlock Music Ltd.
Contributed by Matthew A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Brian E. Reinecke
Thank you for this! Such a wonderful singer and performer was Sandy. A fine song and group performance. Yay!!!
shag e
Without a doubt the finer version of the better known ones. The one on The North Star Grassman And The Raven has some totally unsympathetic guitar across the top of the instrumental break. The VERY best, though, is on a rather hard-to-find compilation called El Pea, which was an album sampler. Her vocals have perfect feel on that one.
Michel Vignères
incredible musicians .. the best rock and pop have produced !!!! many that spend all their spare time listening to Led Zep, Stones, Who, Beatles or Deep Purple believes they know the best rock bands... But they will have never heard about FOTHERINGAY ! How we can trust them ?
DNKOTOR
Wow a lot more energy than Sandy's North Star version!
Roger
The best version I would say..
Tim Skelton
Jerry Donahue on lead.
mike robinson
nice song
in1213
"God help you all, the insane and wise"
in1213
I want to recommend :
We The Kingdom : Free Amen (Acoustic)
koukouvania
this is a different version or just mix? i guess that's TL on lead guitar instead of RT the drums sound quite different