Swan Arcade was led by Yorkshire native Dave Brady, who began singing traditional folk songs in local pubs while still in his teens. After losing an arm in a motorcycle accident at age 19, he was forced to abandon the guitar but was still able to play the concertina. At a Leeds folk club Brady met his future wife, Heather, and together they began performing as a duo. With the 1970 addition of bass singer Jim Boyes, the couple launched Swan Arcade, taking the name from a Bradford-area shopping district recently demolished per the order of city officials.
Considered direct descendants of the unaccompanied close-harmony approach of mid-'60s acts like The Young Tradition and The Watersons, Swan Arcade nevertheless presented an eccentric and confrontational interpretation of folk traditions, including in their repertoire such rock & roll hits as the Beatles' "Paperback Writer" and the Kinks' "Lola" alongside more conventional protest anthems. Upon signing to the Trailer label, Swan Arcade issued their self-titled debut LP in 1971. Despite critical acclaim the record fared poorly, and when relocation forced Boyes to resign, the group's continued future looked dim.
Instead, former Young Tradition bass Royston Wood agreed to assume Boyes' position, exiting a year later to make way for Brian Miller. Despite the admiration of the influential BBC Radio DJ John Peel, who played Swan Arcade regularly and hosted three live broadcast sessions, their sophomore album, Matchless, was not released until 1976, by which time Boyes had returned to active duty. The trio split two years later.
Swan Arcade reunited in 1983, releasing Together Forever to critical favor and commercial shrugs. The trio nevertheless remained a fixture of the folk festival circuit, and during an August 1986 appearance at Whitby Folk Week teamed with members of The Watersons as the Boggle Hole Chorale, delivering an impromptu charity performance for a local school. The gig proved such a success that in 1987 the Bradys and Boyes agreed to revisit the experience, teaming with The Watersons and Martin Carthy to form the folk revival supergroup Blue Murder.
Upon releasing the LP Diving for Pearls later in 1987, Swan Arcade dissolved for good, and as the Bradys began channeling more of their time and energy into politics, they did not contribute to subsequent Blue Murder performances and recordings.
The Bradys ended their marriage in 1998.
Shortly after retiring from being transport manager for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Brady died of a chest infection in London on May 29, 2006.
Band Members:
Dave Brady (died 2006)
Heather Brady
Jim Boyes
as well as...
Jack French
Kevin Hingston (died 2011)
Brian Miller
Chris Taylor
Royston Wood
lots more : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan_Arcade
Lowlands of Holland
Swan Arcade Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And on my marriage bed
There came a bold sea captain
And he stood at my bedhead
Crying, 'Arise, arise, young married man
And come along with me
To the low lowlands of Holland
To fight the enemy.'
"Oh, I held my love all in my arms
Thinking he might stay,
But the captain he gave an order
They were forced to march away,
Crying, 'There's many a blithe young married man
This night must go with me
To the low lowlands of Holland
To fight the enemy.'
"Oh, Holland is a wondrous place
And in it grows much green
It's a wild inhabitation
For my true love to be in
Where the grasses grow and the warm winds blow
There's fruit on every tree
But the low lowlands of Holland
Parted my love and me.
"Oh, they took my love to a lofty ship
It's a ship of noble fame
With four and twenty sailors bold
To sail across the main
And then the seas begin to roar
And the winds begin to shout
And it's then my love and his lofty ship
Is sorely tossed about."
Said the mother to the daughter,
"What makes you so lament?
Is there not a man in all England
Can heal your discontent?"
"There are many men in old England
But none at all for me;
I only love the one lad
And he's across the sea.
"No shoes nor stockings I'll put on
Nor comb run through my hair
Nor shall no coal nor candle light
Shine in my bower fair
Nor will I lie with any young man
Until the day I die
For the low lowlands of Holland
Parted my love and I."
The Swan Arcade's song "Lowlands of Holland" is a lamentful story about the separation of two lovers due to the forceful recruitment of the male partner to fight against the enemy in Holland. The song begins with the description of the night of the singer's marriage, where a bold sea captain arrives and demands the young man to join his forces in the low lowlands of Holland to fight against the enemy. Even though the singer holds his love close to him, the captain's orders demand their separation. The lyrics evoke emotions of sadness and despair as the singer's love is forcefully taken away from him.
The song then describes the beauty of Holland where the trees bear fruit, and the grass grows lush green, but it's also a wild place where the mighty sea-roaming ships struggle to stay afloat. The lyrics demonstrate the tumultuous nature of the sea as the singer's lover is fiercely tested on the ship. The song then switches to a daughter's story, where she mentions that she cannot find love after her lover was parted due to the lowlands of Holland, and she decides not to adorn herself with any beauty nor find a new lover.
Overall, "Lowlands of Holland" is a poignant ballad that touches the listener's soul with its melancholy lyrics and portrayal of love's bitter fate.
Line by Line Meaning
On the night that I was married
When I got married
And on my marriage bed
On my wedding night
There came a bold sea captain
A confident captain appeared
And he stood at my bedhead
He stood at the head of my bed
Crying, 'Arise, arise, young married man
Shouting, 'Wake up, wake up, newly married man
And come along with me
Come with me
To the low lowlands of Holland
To the lowlands of Holland
To fight the enemy.'
To join the battle against the enemy
Oh, I held my love all in my arms
I hugged my love tightly
Thinking he might stay,
Hoping he would stay
But the captain he gave an order
But the captain gave a command
They were forced to march away,
They had to leave
Crying, 'There's many a blithe young married man
Shouting, 'Many happy newly married men
This night must go with me
Must join me tonight
To the low lowlands of Holland
To the lowlands of Holland
To fight the enemy.'
To join the fight against the enemy
Oh, Holland is a wondrous place
Holland is a wonderful place
And in it grows much green
And it has a lot of greenery
It's a wild inhabitation
It's a place of wilderness
For my true love to be in
For my true love to live in
Where the grasses grow and the warm winds blow
Where the grass grows and the warm wind blows
There's fruit on every tree
There's fruit on every tree
But the low lowlands of Holland
But the lowlands of Holland
Parted my love and me.
Separated me from my love.
Oh, they took my love to a lofty ship
They took my love to a tall ship
It's a ship of noble fame
It's a famous ship
With four and twenty sailors bold
With twenty-four brave sailors
To sail across the main
To sail across the sea
And then the seas begin to roar
Then the sea started to roar
And the winds begin to shout
And the wind began to howl
And it's then my love and his lofty ship
And that's when my love and his tall ship
Is sorely tossed about.
Were badly tossed.
Said the mother to the daughter,
The mother said to her daughter
"What makes you so lament?
"Why are you so sad?
Is there not a man in all England
Isn't there a man in England
Can heal your discontent?"
Who can make you feel better?"
"There are many men in old England
"There are many men in England
But none at all for me;
But none of them are for me
I only love the one lad
I only love one guy
And he's across the sea.
And he's across the sea.
No shoes nor stockings I'll put on
I won't wear shoes or stockings
Nor comb run through my hair
Nor comb my hair
Nor shall no coal nor candle light
I won't light any coal or candles
Shine in my bower fair
In my lovely home
Nor will I lie with any young man
I won't sleep with any young man
Until the day I die
Until I die
For the low lowlands of Holland
Because of the lowlands of Holland
Parted my love and I.
Separated me from my love.
Contributed by James C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@philipferguson8570
I've discovered quite a bit in recent years from that era - Fairports, Steeleye, Sandy denny solo stuff, Mr Fox, Shirley (and Dolly) Collins, Pentangle, June Tabor, Martin Carthy, Anne Briggs, Bert Jansch, John Martyn and much, much more.
The most albums I have of any one artist would be Bert.
The only band from that era that I was familiar with growing up was Pentangle. I bought their first album in the 1970s because a friend of mine had it and I used to listen to it a lot at her place.
She was also big into Incredible String Band - I tried but never really got into them.
]
These days my favourite performing/recording artist is Seth Lakeman, fantastic guy; I have all his albums and also have seen him live a couple of times. Also really like his oldest brother Sean Lakeman & Kathryn Roberts. Quite like the middle brother (Sam Lakeman) and his wife Cara Dillon, but they are often a bit too twee/MOR. I prefer Seth's more muscular version of folk.
I also really like Imagined Village, a great folk project.
I'm just about to buy June Tabor's 'Ashore' and also one of her and Oyster Band.
@user-bh4rx8mf8g
This song of Scottish origin dates to the time of the Seven Years War, fought in the Low Countries and Prussia/Silesia in the mid-eighteenth century but, as with many British folksongs, it has been borrowed, updated and bastardised many times. At the Battle of Minden, 1759, various English regiments advanced to meet the enemy. As they echeloned forward, they passed through rose gardens, where yellow and red roses grew. The flowers reminded the soldiers of home and, soldiers being a sentimental lot in their own way, they plucked them and wore them in their hats (so the story goes).
"Minden Day" is celebrated to this day by numerous British Army regiments. One such is the 1st Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment, successor to the 12th Regiment of Foot (Suffolk Regiment), who were one of the regiments at Minden. On Minden Day, they wear decorate their colours with red and yellow roses.
A version of this song exists in Suffolk, which has a verse which refers to the roses of Minden:
"My love across the ocean
Wears a scarlet coat so fair,
With a musket at his shoulder
And roses in his hair"
@davidmcc8727
2024 and this song never ages. Brilliant
@lindsayheywood7195
I vividly remember the first time I heard this song. I was already a Fairport Convention fan, but when my brother put this album on for me and Lowlands of Holland started playing, I was blown away by how much I loved it instantly. 50 years later, it’s still an incredible song.
@reginaldrusin9412
50 years ,wow is long time...
@johnanderson8046
Music like this from those "folk-rock" British bands of the late 60s - Steeleye Span, Fairport Convention, Pentangle etc. - remains fresh and vital today when so much of the "rock" music of that era is forgettable.
@donutthump5089
I’m not articulate enough to express why I love this so much. Let’s just say it takes me “there”
@christrinder1255
Who’s listening to my favourite and very beautiful steeleye span song in December 2022 xx
@silverarrowslk
This version is better
https://youtu.be/4VRRlOsj9JE?si=f-mSwBg8xkP8jUG6
@glynnarogers2634
I am. Been a fan of theirs and Maddy Pryor for YEARS. Great and timeless!! Saw them in Houston in the 90's. Waited for 2 hours because of rain, but they came inside the Biergarten and we had a great concert inside! Fabulous!👍💖
@EmmettHoops
This song, and others on the same album, have aged very, very well. IMHO this was the pinnacle of folk/rock.
@pauldasen5868
Who's listening to this beautiful song - 2020.