Escape From Clinch Mountain, by The Bara Bara Band (2024)

1.

Like the rolling Russian seasThere's too many fish in the seaYet there's not enough to go roundSo we stay strong and stand our groundWhen I'm called up to protect my nestI know I must fight to the deathYet I know that I can relyOn my sister, to be on my sideLately I've been involvedLately I've evolvedAnd yet there's been no compromiseAnd yet there's been no need to terroriseAnd I forget how many many timesI've come to relyOn my sister, to be on my side

2.

They crossed the Atlantic OceanThe boats were made of woodThey landed on the eastern shore and found the land was goodMost of them settled downThe others pushed on across the AppalachiansThrough the wildernessSome on wagon, some on foot and horses for the restMost of them settled downThe others pushed on across the MississippiAbout a mile wideTo face the Great Plains, thirst and hunger, many many diedYes some got left behindThe others pushed on across the Rocky MountainsThe salt flats of UtahThe wastelands of Nevada and the high Sierras sawThat some got left behindThe others pushed on into CaliforniaThose men who knew no restThe Pacific Ocean stopped the restless movement westMost of them settled downThe others turned aroundSome turned to the southDown to MexicoBut the people of whose blood I am they said we'll goAnd settle OregonThe people I come from, they settled OregonThe people I come from

3.

One night as I lay sleeping I heard a tap tap tapYou were at the window praying like a catReady to jump on me your claws all spread right outThought you'd swallow me whole I tried to scream and shoutOh lo-lo-lo-lo lonely where did you come fromI know know know know know you from somewhere once uponA time, I rememberYour face, I recallRound and round in circles round and round we goCome in through the window when you've nowhere else to goI will let you in tonight while I'm aloneYou will leave as soon as my true love is homeOh lo-lo-lo-lo lonely where did you come fromI know know know know know you from somewhere once uponA time, I rememberYour face, I recallYou saw me leaving with your friend a long time agoYou saw me leaving but you never said helloAnd what's become of a life so lonelyWhat's become of a life so bareOh lo-lo-lo-lo lonely out there in the wildI know that I am yours now for I shall have your childOh lo-lo-lo-lo lonely where did you come fromI know know know know know you from somewhere once uponA time, I rememberYour face, I recall

4.

Never mind the waves on the seaYou and I were made to beNever mind the boats on the waterI'm gonna give you a little son or daughterWho really cares about the world and its wondersYou and I shall never be a sundersI would cross the main or any deadly oceanCos you are magical than any magic potionI'm gonna lay my cards on the tableYou'll be the horse, I'll be the stableRide with me now, bareback through the valleyI promise not to lead you up any blind alleyNever mind the waves on the seaYou and I were made to beNever mind the boats on the waterI'm gonna give you a little son or daughterAnd though I dream of Texas and the Appalachian mountainsI'm waiting for nothing, not even countingHard times, hard times yes they will comeBut my leg's tied to yours and with our three legs we shall run run runNever mind the waves on the seaYou and I were made to beNever mind the boats on the waterI'm gonna give you a little son or daughterNever mind the stars in the sky I will always love you even after I dieYou and I were made to beYou and I were made to be

5.

Mary lay sleeping, her love came creepingTo her bedroom door so slowSaying rise up Mary my lovely MaryIt's your charming Willie-oMary arose she put on her clothesAnd to the bedroom door did goAnd there she saw her own trueHis face was as pale as the lily snowWillie dear where are the blushesThat you had some time agoMary dear the clay has changed themI'm but the ghost of your Willie-oThere they lay in deep conversation'Bout their courtship years agoThey kissed they held each other and sorrowfully partedJust as the co*ck began to crowAnd as they lay in deep conversationDown her cheeks the tears did flowMary dear now I must leave youI'm but the ghost of your Willie-oWillie dear when will we meet againWhen the fishesAnd the seas they run dryAnd the rocks they melt in the sun

6.

What Johnny Booker wouldn't do do doWhat Johnny Booker wouldn't do

7.

The city sings the saddest tune merging sounds through a tube,A tune of sorts, a sort of truce, swallowing a bitter pill, Everyone calling it off, a coup.I see a man in front of me. He doesn't hear. He doesn't see.He plays a pretty melody and sings in harmony, Noisily telling us of his love, and it's all about you.Whether its the saddest song with people all singing along,I don't know why the words that fit into songs are true and all about you.Whether its playing, or lies dressed up as the truth, I don't know why they all know what's there between me and you.All about you.A dissonant story through verse and through poetry, A cauldron of melody and words, a word symphonyPulling out all of the stops, and rules.My headphones are singing, stinging and ringing,Changing my moods through rhymes and through tunes,Hastening to warning me off the blues.And they're all about youWhether its playing, or lies dressed up as the truth, I don't know why they all know what's there between me and you.All about you.Whether its the saddest song with people all singing along,I don't know why the words that fit into songs are true and all about you.Yes pull me out, tell me off, tell me what I should and shouldn't doI don't know why the words that all fit into blues are true

8.

Instrumental

9.

One morning in the midst of springA crowd came for himthey locked him up in a distant towerTo repent his sinThey took him to the trial after flogging him with grimeThey smeared his face and asked him what was the cause of his crimeIt was the girl with the raven hair my friends, the girl with the raven hairIn the light of the day he was made to walk soberThrough the midst of the townHis face was still wet from the evening dew and his clothes were a dusty brownHis family were told of the news and they quickly moved to another townAnd his friends all discussed what could it have been that turned this boy's life aroundIt was the girl with the raven hair my friends, the girl with the raven hairLa la la la la la la la laLa la la la la la la la laOn the eve of his execution the jailers spoke about his fateTried for protecting this young girls honour the stories they did relateBut when they went to fetch him from his cell no body could they findSomeone had swapped his body with clothes from the laundry lineIt was the girl with the raven hair my friends, the girl with the raven hairLa la la la la la la la laLa la la la la la la la la

10.

It was on the fifth of AugustThe weather fair and mildWas born a maiden full of lifeSo wicked and so wildCome 1941 she was driving An ambulance in the warBy night she stayed out quite so lateShe'd climb in over the barrack wallA few years on she went to learn to teach The children abcThere she met a man so fairJust a bit younger than sheWell soon they were wed and out poppedOne sprog and then anotherOne of who was to becomeMy very own motherSo Grandma here's a song for youYou jolly jolly girlYou make the best Yorkshire pudsIn the whole wide world

11.

We'll go to our cave And sit where the lightWhere the light pours in like the rainWe'll look down at the wavesAnd wave to the manIn the lighthouse over the wayWith our fire at nightThe smoke going outWhere the light pours in like the rainWe'll sit in the cave lightIn the cave in the cliff by the side of the seaThat man he will see The light pouring inAnd the smoke that floats rightAnd he won't feel aloneHe'll know that we're homeHis cave family in their homeHe'll shine his light To the sky once againAnd his ship will sail right inWe'll sit in the cave lightIn the cave in the cliff by the side of the sea La la la, la la la, la la la la la la la la laLa la la, la la la, la la la la la la la la laWe'll sit in the cave lightIn the cave in the cliff by the side of the sea

12.

I'm a wolf, I'm a wolfAll dressed up like a sheepDon't come near me, on the full moonOr ne'er again shall you sleepHear me howling, hear me howlingMorning, noon and nightCome and stroke me, some and stroke meFeel my sharp teeth as I biteI'm a wolf, I'm a wolfAll dressed up like a sheepDon't you try me, on the full moonOr ne'er again shall you sleepSometimes I hear a, another cryingIt's my unborn childCrying mama, crying mama Let me out into the wildI'm a wolf cub, I'm wolf cubI'm a wolf cub, I'm a wolf cubI'm a wolf, I'm a wolfAll dressed up like a sheepDon't you try me, on the full moonOr ne'er again shall you sleepI'm a wolf cub, I'm wolf cubI'm a wolf cub, I'm a wolf cub

13.

What'll I do with my herring's head?Oh what'll you do with your herring's head?I'll turn 'em into loaves of breadHerrings headLoaves of breadAnd all manner of thingsOf all the fish that live in the sea, the herring is the one for me.Oh what do you say to such a thing, have I done well with me jolly herring?Oh what'll I do with my herrings gills?Oh what'll you do with your herring's gills?I'll turn 'em into window sillsHerring's gillsWindow sillsHerrings headLoaves of breadAnd all manner of thingsOf all the fish that live in the sea, the herring is the one for me.Oh what do you say to such a thing, have I done well with me jolly herring?Oh what'll I do with my herring's fins?Oh what'll you do with your herring's fins?I'll turn 'em into wedding ringsHerrings finsWedding ringsHerring's gillsWindow sillsHerrings headLoaves of breadAnd all manner of thingsOf all the fish that live in the sea, the herring is the one for me.Oh what do you say to such a thing, have I done well with me jolly herring?Oh what'll I do with my herring's bones?Oh what'll you do with your herring's bones?I'll turn 'em into telephonesHerring's bonesTelephonesHerrings finsWedding ringsHerring's gillsWindow sillsHerrings headLoaves of breadAnd all manner of thingsOf all the fish that live in the sea, the herring is the one for me.Oh what do you say to such a thing, have I done well with me jolly herring?Oh what'll I do with my herring's brains?Oh what'll you do with your herring's brains?I'll turn 'em into model trainsHerring's brainsModel trainsHerring's bonesTelephonesHerrings finsWedding ringsHerring's gillsWindow sillsHerrings headLoaves of breadAnd all manner of thingsOf all the fish that live in the sea, the herring is the one for me.Oh what do you say to such a thing, have I done well with me jolly herring?

The album was recorded at Propagation House Studios in Cornwall with engineer Mark Ellis (who has worked with Seth Lakeman and Steeleye Span amongst others), in February 2014 in the middle of the great storms. It was mixed by Ben Walker.

Line-Up:
Ruth Jacob – banjo, vocal, harmonica, tin whistle
Rupert Browne – guitar, vocals, bass
Will Dobson – cajon, percussion, vocals
Boris Ming – fiddle, vocals, percussion, keyboards

Songs

The album opener is Sister, written by Rupert Browne.

The second track, Oregon, was taken from a recording by Ruth’s banjo idol Derroll Adams, and was written for him by his friend Tucker Zimmerman. The song is a story of the migrants who took what became the Oregon Trail.

A Boy Named Lonely was co-written by the recently wedded Browne and Jacob, and tells a sorrowful tale of love, lust, seduction and loneliness.

Nevermind, written by Jacob, is a love song drawing on folk imagery and dreams of the Old West.

Willie-O is a traditional song collected from Nora Cleary. Arranged by Browne and Ming. It tells the tale of a nighttime visit by the ghost of a dead lover.

Johnny Booker and Old Jimmy Sutton are old-time fiddle tunes which Ruth learnt on banjo and convinced the band to go down that road. It’s now one of several medleys of old-time tunes performed by the band.

Track 7, All About You, is Browne’s exploration into how music and songs can reflect life and the inner psyche.

The title track, Escape From Clinch Mountain, is a tune composed by Jacob and Browne by accident – Jacob was trying to learn Clinch Mountain Backstep from banjo legend Pete Stanley but she couldn’t remember the tune so this came out!

Following on is The Girl With The Raven Hair, written by Browne. It is a ballad about a man being rescued from jail and ultimately execution by his lover, who was the cause of the crime.

The Fifth of August is the melody and first two lines of the well-known Brigg Fair, and then proceeds to tell the story of Mavis Goodman’s life - Jacob’s maternal grandmother, who was born on 5th August 1920 and is still alive today.

Cavelight, co-written by Jacob and Browne, is a dreamy tale of what it might be like living in a cave.

The penultimate track, Wolf, takes the listener into a world of pre-menstrual rage, illustrating mood swings with the classic wolf in sheep’s clothing metaphor. It goes on to tell of how a motherless woman yearns for a child, hears the child crying, or in this case, the wolf cub.

And to round it all off is Jacob and Browne’s rendition of the Herring Song, a traditional ‘list’ song about what to do with the different parts of the herring. Browne and Jacob added in some of their own lines, like the herring’s bones being made into telephones.