The obituary in the UK's "The Independent" newspaper for Tony Rose said "A beautifully relaxed interpreter of traditional song, with rare warmth and intimacy, Tony Rose made an indelible mark on the British folk scene. Emerging during the 1970s when folk clubs were still a force to be reckoned with, he was wholly committed to the grass roots scene, eschewing the seemingly sexier terrain of folk rock bands, modern song and political material that seduced so many of his contemporaries.
He loved traditional music and while it never brought him riches – indeed he returned to his first job as a teacher when the folk clubs themselves hit a recession in the late 1980s – he saw no reason to deviate widely from it. Accompanying himself on guitar and English concertina, he established an easy style that was instantly identifiable, putting him on a par with such giants of the era as Martin Carthy and Nic Jones.
Born in Exeter in 1941, Rose was smitten by folk song at Oxford University in the early 1960s, where he had won a scholarship to study Modern Languages at Queen's College. He first heard the British folk pioneers Louis Killen, Shirley Collins, Alex Campbell and Johnny Handle at the university's Heritage Society. He was also profoundly influenced by another West Country singer, Cyril Tawney, the ex-Navy man turned songwriter. Rose cut his musical teeth at his local folk club, the Jolly Porter in Exeter, where he became an occasional member of the resident band the Journeymen.
He moved to London to become a teacher in 1965 but, offered more and more gigs on the burgeoning folk scene, he became a professional singer in 1969. His first album, Young Hunting, in 1970 had a huge impact, mixing West Country songs like "The Bellringing" and "Tavistock Goosey Fair" with comic ditties and testing ballads like "Golden Vanitee" and "Blackwater Side".
With his rich, lyrical voice, a repertoire of largely unfamiliar material and erudite introductions, the long-haired Rose swiftly became an important member of the second wave of the folk revival. The subsquent albums Under The Greenwood Tree in 1971 (with more complex arrangements and also involving Dolly Collins and Peter Knight) and On Banks Of Green Willow in 1976 enhanced his reputation further. On Banks Of Green Willow particularly confirmed his status as a great singer, tackling epic ballads like "The Bonny Hind", "Lord Randall" and "Fanny Blair". Of all his recorded work this was his tour de force.
In the late 1970s he formed a folk "supergroup", Bandoggs, with Pete and Christine Coe and his close friend Nic Jones, in which Rose played, among other things, mouth organ and performed a storming version of Loudon Wainwright's "Swimming Song". Despite acclaimed live work, the group suffered financial and logistical problems, and split up without recording.
Rose returned to his solo career, releasing the 1982 album Poor Fellows (the title track was drawn from Peter Bellamy's groundbreaking folk opera The Transports). This encompassed contemporary song for the first time with thoughtful arrangements of Bob Dylan's "Boots of Spanish Leather" and Richard Thompson's "Down Where The Drunkards Roll". While the album also featured traditional material like "The Yarmouth Tragedy" and "Clerk Saunders", Rose's sense of the absurd was illustrated by the inclusion of his grave interpretation of the kitsch pop standard "The Three Bells," a song he was even occasionally prevailed upon to sing in French as an encore at gigs.
But as the folk scene constricted, artists relying exclusively on the club circuit struggled and Rose ultimately returned to teaching. However, he remained a familiar figure on the scene, gigging occasionally and regularly turning up at West Country folk events such as the Padstow May Day celebrations and Sidmouth Folk Festival. He also worked as a folk journalist.
In 1999 he retired from teaching and made an unlikely return with a new album, Bare Bones, released on his own Boneshaker label, which largely featured new versions of old songs no longer available. Sounding as good as he ever did, he was still easing himself back into the circuit when he was diagnosed with cancer in 2001. He died in June 2002."
He recorded several LPs for the Trailer label in the 1970s, which outrageously have remained unavailable since Trailer's bankruptcy.
John Blunt
Tony Rose Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And Blunt it was their name o.
And they had a good beer and ale for to sell
And it bore a wonderful name o.
John Blunt and his wife drank free of this ale
Till they could drink no more o;
Then up to bed the old couple went
So they a bargain, bargain made,
They made it strong and sure o:
That which of them should speak the first word
Should go down and bar the door o.
And there came travellers, travellers three,
Travelling through the night o.
And no house, no home, no fire had they,
Nor yet no candlelight o.
They came straightway to John Blunt's house
And quickly opened the door o,
And the devil of a word the old couple said
For fear who should bar the door o.
They went to his cellar and drank up his drink
Till they could drink no more o;
And they went to his cupboard and ate up his meat
Till they could eat no more o.
It's first they'd eaten the white puddings
And then they'd eaten the black o.
The old woman she listened and said to herself,
"May the devil slip down with that o."
Then quickly they procured a light
And quickly went upstairs o,
And then they threw the old woman out of her bed
And they laid her on the floor.
Up spoke John Blunt, "You've eaten my meat,
And laid my wife on the floor o."
"You spoke the first word John Blunt, she said,
Go down and bar the door o."
The song "John Blunt" by Tony Rose starts off describing an old couple who live under a hill and have beer and ale for sale. John Blunt and his wife drink the ale freely, but after they retire for the night, they forget to lock the door. Three travelers come across the house, and they are in need of shelter and food. They decide to go into John Blunt's house and consume all of their food and drink until they cannot eat or drink any longer. They then proceed to go upstairs and lay John Blunt's wife on the floor. When John Blunt finds out what has happened, he is angry and confronts the travelers who have eaten his food and disturbed his wife's sleep. His wife reminds him that he forgot to lock the door, which leads to his responsibility for the entire ordeal.
Line by Line Meaning
There was an old couple lived under a hill,
There was an old couple living in a house under a hill.
And Blunt it was their name o.
Their name was Blunt.
And they had a good beer and ale for to sell.
They sold tasty beer and ale.
And it bore a wonderful name o.
The beer and ale had a great name.
John Blunt and his wife drank free of this ale
John Blunt and his wife drank the ale for free.
Till they could drink no more o;
They drank so much that they couldn't drink anymore.
Then up to bed the old couple went
The old couple went to bed.
But forgot to bar the door o.
They forgot to lock the door.
So they a bargain, bargain made,
They made a deal.
They made it strong and sure o:
They made sure the deal was strong.
That which of them should speak the first word
Whoever spoke first in the morning had to lock the door.
Should go down and bar the door o.
Whoever spoke first had to lock the door.
And there came travellers, travellers three,
Three travelers came to their house.
Travelling through the night o.
They were traveling at night.
And no house, no home, no fire had they,
They didn't have a house, a home, or fire.
Nor yet no candlelight o.
And they didn't have any candlelight either.
They came straightway to John Blunt's house
They went straight to John Blunt's house.
And quickly opened the door o,
They quickly opened the door.
And the devil of a word the old couple said
The old couple didn't say a single word.
For fear who should bar the door o.
They were afraid to speak first and have to lock the door.
They went to his cellar and drank up his drink
They drank all of his beer and ale in the cellar.
Till they could drink no more o;
They drank so much that they couldn't drink anymore.
And they went to his cupboard and ate up his meat
They ate all of his food in the cupboard.
Till they could eat no more o.
They ate so much that they couldn't eat anymore.
It's first they'd eaten the white puddings
They ate the white puddings first.
And then they'd eaten the black o.
Then they ate the black pudding.
The old woman she listened and said to herself,
The old woman heard what they were eating and said to herself,
"May the devil slip down with that o."
"I hope the devil takes it away."
Then quickly they procured a light
They quickly got a light.
And quickly went upstairs o,
They went upstairs quickly.
And then they threw the old woman out of her bed
They threw the old woman out of her bed.
And they laid her on the floor.
They laid her on the floor.
Up spoke John Blunt, "You've eaten my meat,
John Blunt said, "You ate my food.
And laid my wife on the floor o."
And you threw my wife on the floor.
"You spoke the first word John Blunt, she said,
"You spoke first, John Blunt," she said.
Go down and bar the door o."
"Now go lock the door."
Contributed by Declan I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@peter5485
Fabulous album! Thank you.
@user-dx7we2xd3u
懐かしく感じていてグローバルミュージックなどにも永遠に不滅ですよ。だから新しい人へ引き継がれて行きますよ。
@Twyfall
Merrie merrie england
@PIPEHEAD
Great album, thanks very much. Looks like it's actually 1971 ? .................
@kokorasliratos2741
You are right my friend Paul Peers. Thanks for the help. I fixed it! Greetings!!!