House Carpenter Obsession
I have a mother who's spent years singing folk music. She has a few albums sitting in the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. I grew up surrounded by storytellers and folk music. It influenced my creativity, and I have always gravitated towards the dark side of Appalachian music. It's a breed of sonic juice unlike any other, as it mixes some ominous lyrics with Celtic and some English influences. The most iconic piece of equipment tying it all together was introduced by African American slaves as far back as the 1700s... the banjo. If you dive into the lyrics of these old ballads, you'll find everything from murder to jealousy to devils. These are tragic stories still living in the music of the oldest mountains in America.
There was one I became particularly obsessed with called House Carpenter. It first appeared around 1685 (yeah, it's old), and has taken on many forms since. It was originally called "The Daemon Lover", and the lyrics have been ever-changing. The story is about a demon in the disguise of a man who comes back for his former lover after a long absence, finding her married with child. He talks her into leaving her baby and husband behind to sail away with him. The ship eventually sinks, she dies, and goes to Hell.
While there have been quite a few versions, namely by Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, my favorite is from a man named Clarence Ashley. The way he sings it is so old and darkly fitting that it sends me into another world. I've literally played this on loop for an hour at a time when I've been alone. Here's his version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Op9j7X5BPGw There's just something about that that sticks to my heart.
Funny enough, I was introduced to his version of that song when I was living in Brooklyn. New York actually has a healthy folk music community, believe it or not. There was a time during the sixties when Greenwich Village was thick with folk artists and free music. In any regard, I became obsessed with this song and poured over many versions of lyrics and short stories based on it until I wrote my own little excerpt in its honor. I wanted to conjure visuals of a devil in the sea, coming to wreck tall ships and cause a storm after he hears the cries of a lonely woman abandoned by true love. She sees herself as a witch with power, but she's actually just been manipulated by the wiles of an old demon. He hears her loneliness and it sparks him to kill some men at sea (I've also always been obsessed with tall ships and oceans).
I had no instruments for this, and I thought that was kind of fantastic. It was nice to use only my voice and overlay it with my own harmonies. It's chaotic and pure. So here is my little song, "Witch".
https://soundcloud.com/christine-greyson/witch
There was one I became particularly obsessed with called House Carpenter. It first appeared around 1685 (yeah, it's old), and has taken on many forms since. It was originally called "The Daemon Lover", and the lyrics have been ever-changing. The story is about a demon in the disguise of a man who comes back for his former lover after a long absence, finding her married with child. He talks her into leaving her baby and husband behind to sail away with him. The ship eventually sinks, she dies, and goes to Hell.
While there have been quite a few versions, namely by Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, my favorite is from a man named Clarence Ashley. The way he sings it is so old and darkly fitting that it sends me into another world. I've literally played this on loop for an hour at a time when I've been alone. Here's his version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Op9j7X5BPGw There's just something about that that sticks to my heart.
Funny enough, I was introduced to his version of that song when I was living in Brooklyn. New York actually has a healthy folk music community, believe it or not. There was a time during the sixties when Greenwich Village was thick with folk artists and free music. In any regard, I became obsessed with this song and poured over many versions of lyrics and short stories based on it until I wrote my own little excerpt in its honor. I wanted to conjure visuals of a devil in the sea, coming to wreck tall ships and cause a storm after he hears the cries of a lonely woman abandoned by true love. She sees herself as a witch with power, but she's actually just been manipulated by the wiles of an old demon. He hears her loneliness and it sparks him to kill some men at sea (I've also always been obsessed with tall ships and oceans).
I had no instruments for this, and I thought that was kind of fantastic. It was nice to use only my voice and overlay it with my own harmonies. It's chaotic and pure. So here is my little song, "Witch".
https://soundcloud.com/christine-greyson/witch
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