Wishbone Ash can trace its origins back to Torquay, Devon, England, a seaside resort in the southwest of the country. It was there that Martin Turner and Steve Upton first performed together; Turner on bass, Upton on drums, before moving to London in 1969 to seek fame and fortune. In the capital the decision was made to place an advertisement for a keyboard player and a lead guitarist. The resulting audition threw up two guitar leads, but nobody could decide who to choose and the trademark twin-lead sound of Wishbone Ash was born.
Ted (David) Turner and Andy Powell soon went through the poverty and growing pains of a new band, but were fortunate that Miles Copeland was championing their cause and a fairly rapid progression was achieved. The first Album, Wishbone Ash, was released in December 1970 and their second, Pilgrimage, surfaced just six months later to reach #6 in the NME charts. Great things were just 11 months away with the release of Argus (1972) -- possibly the band's best album; certainly their most commercially successful -- which reached #2 in the UK charts and went gold. Argus is considered to be one of the great rock classics of all time. The next album, Wishbone Four, only 12 months later, went silver.
After these early highs, Ted Turner decided that he had had enough, and left the band to be replaced by Laurie Wisefield. Although Laurie’s style was not to everyone’s taste, he was generally well liked by the fans and brought a slightly harder edge to the folk-tinged progressive rock that was the Wishbone Ash formula. Wisefield was a dynamic player and became an excellent partner to Andy -- they were to play together for a very successful 11 years and the MKII version of the band is very well thought of for most of its output. About this time the band became more influenced by America and would eventually move there.
The next album, There's The Rub (1974), was recorded in Florida and produced by Eagles producer Bill Szymczyk. Once again it was to do well, achieving silver disc status. There's the Rub included the instrumental piece F.U.B.B. Steve Upton was arrested in New Zealand for announcing at a concert it's full title. In New Zealand, swearing in public is a criminal offense, and when Upton announced the title at an outdoor concert, a woman sunbathing in her garden nearby complained to the mayor. Upton spent the night in jail, and the album reached #3 in New Zealand due to the publicity.
It was inevitable that a turkey was due and to fans Locked In (1976) fit this bill. This record was not released -- it escaped! Fortunately things were much better with the quality of the following albums and although the high chart positions were gone, the fans were enjoying some competent, well-crafted output.
After 11 years in the band, Martin Turner decided to leave. This move began a period of frequent changes of bass player with the likes of John Wetton and Trevor Bolder being two of the better known; however, Wishbone Ash always has attracted musicians of the highest order. A much more controversial move was the introduction of Clair Hamill to fill in some of the vocal talent Martin had taken away with him. Clair was not popular with the fans which was perhaps a little unfair. She had contributed backing vocals on Just Testing (Turner's last album (1980), which he had also produced) and had co-written the excellent Living Proof, which is still a crowd favourite today. Her stay was short-lived with Andy Powell taking on more vocal duties. Wisefield left in late 1985 and the band continued to tour with various replacements, but were very much in limbo until 1987 when a miracle occurred. Miles Copland persuaded the original lineup to reform for a project for a music charity that he was helping, and a Hammersmith Odeon concert which the BBC recorded resulted. The project produced an instrumental album Nouveau Calls (1987), which was very well received. Even better received was the fact that three years of the original lineup were to follow.
Just when things were going so well, Steve Upton decided to quit the business entirely in 1990, to be replaced by Ray Weston. Martin Turner carried on for another year before leaving to pursue a solo career, and Ted left two years later. The next five years saw lots of personnel changes, but eventually resulted in a good period of stability with Ray Weston returning and Bob Skeet joining on bass in 1998.
The new millennium has also seen stability in respect of Andy's guitar partner, with the last 6 years being filled by Ben Granfelt and subsequently Muddy Manninen, both of whom come from Finland. 2005 saw Wishbone Ash celebrate their 35th year. 2006 heralded the new album Clan Destiny (the first featuring Muddy as guitarist). 2007 saw the exit of long-term drummer Ray Weston, due to the increasingly hectic pace of band life. Joe Crabtree (formerly of The David Cross band) stepped up to fill his place. With regard to new releases, 2007 saw First Light, which features original recordings of the songs featured on their debut album, as well as some outtakes. Also released that year was the new album The Power of Eternity (partly featuring Joe Crabtree on drums), which coincided with the Autumn tour.
Wishbone Ash are still performing 150 gigs a year in the U.S. and Europe. They get very supportive crowds with good numbers turning out all over Europe -- the U.S. tends to attract smaller audiences, but very committed fans. If you want to hear classic Wishbone Ash, get ahold of Argus. Visit their web site www.wishboneash.com, where tour dates and albums, etc. can be obtained.
Throw Down The Sword )
Wishbone Ash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Throw down the sword
The fight is done and over
Neither lost, neither won
To cast away the fury of the battle
And turn my weary eyes for home
There were times when I stood at death's own door
[Chorus]
There were times when I stood at death's own door
Only searching for an answer
The lyrics of "Throw Down The Sword" reflect the singer's weariness with the seemingly endless battles he has had to fight. The lines "The fight is done and over/Neither lost, neither won" suggest that the singer has come to realize that conflict doesn't always result in clear-cut victory or defeat. Rather, the cost of battle is paid by all who are involved, and the only thing left to do is to accept it and move on. This is reinforced in the lines "To cast away the fury of the battle/And turn my weary eyes for home", which suggest a longing for peace and stability.
The second stanza suggests that the singer has come close to death, but ultimately survived. The line "Only hoping for an answer" implies that the singer was seeking some greater purpose or meaning to the violence he had endured. The repetition of the stanza reinforces the sense that the singer has been through numerous trials and tribulations, but has persevered.
Line by Line Meaning
Throw down the sword
Let go of the aggression and animosity, the battle is over.
The fight is done and over
The conflict is at an end, it is time to move on.
Neither lost, neither won
There is no clear victor or loser, both sides were affected.
To cast away the fury of the battle
To release the anger and resentment caused by the fight, to let it go.
And turn my weary eyes for home
To look towards a place of rest and comfort, to be at peace.
There were times when I stood at death's own door
I faced situations where my survival was uncertain.
Only hoping for an answer
In those moments, I was desperate for a solution, a way out.
There were times when I stood at death's own door
I confronted difficult and perilous situations.
Only searching for an answer
In those moments, I sought a resolution, a way to resolve the conflict.
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ANDREW POWELL, DAVID TURNER, MARTIN TURNER, STEVE UPTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@primeracalledelasoledad8439
Throw down the sword,
The fight is done and over,
Neither lost, neither won.
To cast away the fury of the battle
And turn my weary eyes for home.
There were times when I stood at death's own door
Only hoping for an answer.
Throw down the sword,
And leave the glory -
A story time can never change.
To walk the road, the load I have to carry -
A journey's end, a wounded soul.
There were times when I stood at death's own door
Only searching for an answer.
@zombiezoo837
This was my Dad's funeral song. He chose this when he knew he was losing his battle with lung cancer. It means a lot!
@kamakirinoko
Wow, an awesome choice. RIP your dad . . . may he rest in Argus Heaven, where I hope to someday lie in state . . .
@iandocherty5278
what a warrior that man must have been to come to terms with his own fate. I tip my cap to the soldier
@TheJohn501
Cast away the fury of the battle... And turn my weary eyes to home.. Rip
@alanmcclelland5245
God bless him. I know he's still rockin out with WA
@stefanveatch2
I am so sorry. I love your dads choice. Some of us music people want to go out that way with song. ----I think this one might be it for me too. So much music, but this one is special. The solo is one of the best in rock -n-roll. Might be the best with the words, and the song. ---I hope to meet him one day out there in music land. ---I will tell him you love him, but he already knows that. I still will take a bit of what you said to him with me.
@gonzoii148
I can't believe this song and the whole album is almost forgotten now and will probably never make it to the ears of the younger generation. This is an absolute masterpiece.
@viktordickinson7844
I can assure you, it has reached our ears.
@malcolm2637
Who says it's almost forgotten , the brilliant Andy Powell is still touring.!!🏴❤️🏴🏴🏴☮️☮️😁😊🎸🎸🇺🇲🇺🇲🙂🙂👍👍🇦🇺🇦🇺❤️❤️
@gradybird3336
I share your concern. This album beat out "Machine Head" by Deep Purple for album of the year in England that year. "Argus" is incredible, yet no airplay in the U.S. I've heard "Blowin' Free" once on U.S. radio, that's it. Never anything else. A travesty.