It is a strange mix of themes ranging from the American West to the ballads and jigs of Celtic ancestors that somehow seems to make sense in the musical world Jack Hardy has created. And it is a separate world to which the listener is transported; a timeless place inhabited by tinkers and cowboys, saints and sinners, elves, virgins and crones. From his extensive travels and reading he has forged an endearing non-academic approach to literature, one that is more at home in the pub than in the classroom. "He clearly seems to enjoy making his listeners think. He may dare his audience to figure out what he is saying, but he also credits them with the intelligence to do so" (Tom Nelligan, Dirty Linen, 1998).
In Europe, where Hardy has toured extensively for over 20 years, he is accepted as an ambassador for American music. In an Italian encyclopedia of rock Jack has a larger entry than many prominent rock stars.
"Nothing adventuresome is created in a vacuum," Jack says, "you get people together and the creative sparks fly." The weekly songwriters workshop which he has hosted for many years taught and nurtured countless songwriters, not the least of which are Suzanne Vega, John Gorka, Shawn Colvin, Richard Shindell and David Massengill. The Fast Folk Musical Magazine, which he founded and edited, released the first recordings of most of the artists currently headlining folk festivals. This collection of over 100 compilation albums has now been taken over by the Smithsonian.
Gregarious and outgoing when talking about his songs and songwriting in general, Jack fiercely guards the privacy of his personal life. Jack Hardy was born in Indiana, his father a musician, his mother a painter. He grew up in New York, Colorado, and Connecticut, studied opera and literature in college.
In 1998, Prime CD reissued his first ten albums in a box set as well as his eleventh album The Passing. In 1996, BCN Records released a tribute album The Songs of Jack Hardy: Of the White Goddess, a collection of his Celtic ballads (all sung by women). In 1997, Jack was the recipient of The Kate Wolf Memorial Award, given yearly to "an artist who makes a difference through his music" by the World Folk Music Association. In 2000, Prime CD has released Jack's twelfth album Omens.
Omens was recorded live to 24 track analog in two days, using the vintage recording equipment of Prime CD's Theater 99 recording studio in New York City, with no overdubs. The fourteen songs range from the uptempo Celtic "Sile na gCioch" where a tinker finds a dress on the side of the road and gives it to a young lass, to the majestic "West of Dingle" where a woman faces a choice between her lover and her fiddle; from the biting barrage of juxtaposed media images of "I Ought to Know" to the romantic ballad "Only One Sky" and back to the uptempo humorous Clancy Brother-ish "The Boney Bailiff." This album takes you on quite a musical voyage with some of Jack's best poetic imagery, but it is the sweeping beautiful melodies that carry these songs directly into your memory. The players include Jack's current touring band: Tom Duval on electric guitar and harmony (also heard on Jack's albums The Hunter and Civil Wars), Mike Laureanno on Hofner bass and harmony, Dave Anthony on Drums (also heard on Jack's album The Passing), and Kate MacLeod on fiddle. The album also features a buried bonus track containing 19 minutes of Suzanne Vega interviewing Jack on the subject of songwriting. Hardy's 16th album, Rye Grass, arrived on Great Divide in 2009. Jack Hardy passed away on March 11, 2011.
source and more infos: http://www.jackhardy.com/
The Boney Bailiff
Jack Hardy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the crooked fuchsia'd walls
But with the sow killed for a belly full
How could this a home we call?
With heavy hearts bundled in wool
Was it worth fightin' for?
When it come from the sheep that graze the land
That belongs to some distant lord
Until the boney bailiff
The shrew-eyed boney bailiff
The silk-pursed boney bailiff
Came a-knockin' at the door
At the time the geese were flyin'
Honk over the hoary frost
Till road and church and cable knit
All were double-crossed
And neighbor gathered with neighbor
'round rubble a house no more
With the money spent they raised the rent
Said "you'll always have the poor"
Until the boney bailiff
The hackneyed boney bailiff
The horsy boney bailiff
Came a-knockin' at the door
Well met at the well of loneliness
Where the dark trees used to grow
Before our time but within the time
Of the stories that we all know
Well fortified with whiskey
And a barrel for one last wake
Tonight we'll drink to dear darlin' death
Which never made a mistake
And wait for the boney bailiff
The knock-kneed boney bailiff
The dumbfounded boney bailiff
To come a-knockin' at the door
Did not wait for the benediction
Nor wait for the battering ram
We took what iron was in it
To reflect the iron in man
Sharpened for one last harvest
Then it's off to a distant shore
Forgive me father for I have sinned
Now I'll go and sin no more
But curse the boney bailiff
The cantankerous boney bailiff
The cadaverous boney bailiff
Who came a-knockin' at the door
But curse the boney bailiff
The pleadin' boney bailiff
The beggin' boney bailiff
Who came a-knockin' at the door
Jack Hardy's song "The Boney Bailiff" tells the story of a home that was loved by its inhabitants until the arrival of the "boney bailiff" who came knocking at the door. The lyrics describe the crooked fuchsia'd walls and the heavy hearts bundled in wool, emphasizing the emotional attachment of the people to their humble abode. However, the reality of their lives with the sow killed for a belly full and the sheep grazing on land owned by a distant lord raises questions about the worthiness of the fight for their home. The arrival of the boney bailiff signifies the end of their struggle, as they are unable to pay the rent for their home and face eviction.
The second stanza portrays the bleakness of the situation with the geese flying over the hoary frost and the road, church, and cable knit being double-crossed. The people grieve their loss of home and a community is formed around the rubble of a house no more. Whiskey is consumed in bulk and death is celebrated as the only mercy in life. The arrival of the boney bailiff is inevitable, and though the people curse him, he remains an unyielding force.
In the final stanza, the people arm themselves with iron to reflect the iron in man, and in a final act of defiance, they leave their home and struggle behind. They hope for forgiveness as they leave their sins behind, but they curse the boney bailiff who brought them such distress. The lyrics achieve a universal poignancy by showing how the struggles of common people are sedentary and often futile, in the face of an indifferent and uncaring bureaucracy.
Line by Line Meaning
Well loved for the home that was in it
The house was cherished due to the happy memories and love shared within it
And the crooked fuchsia'd walls
The walls were adorned with fuchsia flowers, but were also uneven and imperfect in design
But with the sow killed for a belly full
Despite having enough food in the past, the family now must kill their livestock for sustenance
How could this a home we call?
The lack of basic survival needs makes it difficult to still call the place a home
With heavy hearts bundled in wool
The family carries a heavy burden emotionally, symbolized by the wool they wear
Was it worth fightin' for?
The family questions the worth of fighting for the house and their previous way of life
When it come from the sheep that graze the land
The products that once made life comfortable were from land controlled by a distant landlord
That belongs to some distant lord
The family's survival relied on land that was not their own, but instead owned by someone wealthy and far away
Until the boney bailiff
The arrival of the boney bailiff is the turning point of the story
The shrew-eyed boney bailiff
The bailiff is described as having a suspicious or unpleasant gaze
The silk-pursed boney bailiff
The bailiff is able to hint at wealth with his clothing or actions
Came a-knockin' at the door
The bailiff comes to the door to collect money owed
At the time the geese were flyin'
Describes the time of year when the events occur
Honk over the hoary frost
The geese fly over a frosty landscape
Till road and church and cable knit
All normal parts of society are disrupted
All were double-crossed
The family's trust is betrayed
And neighbor gathered with neighbor
The community comes together to mourn the loss of the family's home
'round rubble a house no more
The house is completely destroyed, leaving only ruins behind
With the money spent they raised the rent
The family is unable to pay their debt and their rent increases
Said "you'll always have the poor"
The landlord's remark implies that the family will never escape their impoverished state
The hackneyed boney bailiff
The bailiff is tired or overused in some way
The horsy boney bailiff
The bailiff has a horse-like appearance or demeanor
Well met at the well of loneliness
The gathering place is symbolic of a hopeless and isolated existence
Where the dark trees used to grow
The location is no longer a thriving natural environment
Before our time but within the time
The location has deep roots in the past and the stories that have been passed down
Of the stories that we all know
Implies that the community shares a history of pain and hardship
Well fortified with whiskey
The community uses alcohol to steel themselves for what is to come
And a barrel for one last wake
The community will mourn the loss of the family's home as if it were a death
Which never made a mistake
The community raises a toast to a fictional character that always made the right decisions
And wait for the boney bailiff
The family and community know that the bailiff will return
The knock-kneed boney bailiff
The bailiff is described as unsteady or frail in some way
The dumbfounded boney bailiff
The bailiff is taken aback by the community's response to his arrival
Did not wait for the benediction
The community does not wait for a blessing or permission from a higher power
Nor wait for the battering ram
The community does not wait for the bailiff to use force to collect their debt
We took what iron was in it
The community salvaged what metal was left from the ruins of the house
To reflect the iron in man
The metal will be used to make weapons, emphasizing the theme of survival by force
Sharpened for one last harvest
The weapons are honed and prepared for an upcoming confrontation
Then it's off to a distant shore
The community is prepared to leave and start over elsewhere
Forgive me father for I have sinned
The singer is ready to admit to wrongdoing in the face of their desperate situation
Now I'll go and sin no more
The artist wishes to start anew and leave their sins behind
The cantankerous boney bailiff
The bailiff is described as disagreeable or argumentative
The cadaverous boney bailiff
The bailiff is so skinny or shrunken that he appears dead
Who came a-knockin' at the door
The bailiff's arrival brings the community's struggle to a head
The pleadin' boney bailiff
The bailiff begs for mercy or assistance in some way
The beggin' boney bailiff
The bailiff pleads for help or forgiveness
Contributed by James E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.