Blackwaterside / Black Mountain Side

[Rudy4]

Blackwaterside occasionally gets posted, so I thought I'd throw yet another hat into the ring, and a bit about its origins.

I came to the tune by way of Led Zeppelin's "Black Mountain Side" from their early 1969 album of the same title. I was intrigued by the tune (no lyrics) and found the tune to be almost identical to "Blackwaterside" as popularized by Bert Jansch a few years earlier. There are various versions of the "creation story", but Page's guitar work is unmistakably similar to Jansch's earlier playing of the song.

If you want to hear the source material for Page's version there's a very nice version played by Jansch and available as an NPR's All Songs Considered story:

"The song was so good, Jimmy Page borrowed it"

Youtube has some of the earlier versions if you want to trace back Jansch's source material, most likely coming from Anne Briggs, who sang the song publicly in the early 60's. She in turn had picked it up from earlier versions.

Here's a quick video of my version, which I took liberties with changing a few of the lyrics to make it more appropriate to sing as a male vs. the female perspective of the original song which Jansch covered. Since it's trad material I feel no misappropriation. My outro tag is similar in form to Jansch's (and Page's) version of the melody portion of the song.

It's not sonically among my best recording, but I'm experimenting with an easy method of capturing vocal and guitar to combine with smartphone video. It is recorded directly to my Zoom R4 recorder, the pickup of my Cordoba Cadete and a $20 Pyle omni headset mic. A bit more about the process is posted in the Record area in the "R4, Anyone Else?" topic.

When I normally play it I put longer rests between phrases but removed those to be more agreeable with shorter attention spans.



Blackwaterside Traditional via Jansch F 3DD 80

One evening fair when I took in the air
Down by Blackwaterside
When gazing all around me
That the Irish lass I spied

All through the first part of the night
We did lie in sport and play
Till the young lass arose and gathered up her clothes
Saying 'Fare thee well today!'

That's not the promise that you gave to me
When I first laid my head upon your breast
You could make me believe with your lying tongue
That the sun rose in the West

Go home, go home to your father's yard
Go home, go home and weep your fill
And think upon your misfortune
That you brought with your wanton will

There’s not a lad in this whole **** town
As easily led around as I
When the sky does fall and the seas all dry
You’ll marry me and I’ll not cry

(Page outro)

[Maxwell Garces]

Cool rendition! I like this take, has more of a folky singer songwriter vibe to it than the other fingerstyle versions (more emulating the Jansch tradition). Thanks for sharing

[islandguitar]

Really nice job......!! I agree with the first responder.........very Jansch vibe going on there!!
Thanks for sharing!!

[FrankHudson]

I've always loved the song in Briggs' and Jansch's versions. I like that you're back to emphasizing the song and the song's story more than some performers who are concentrating on the instrumental parts.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by FrankHudson

I've always loved the song in Briggs' and Jansch's versions. I like that you're back to emphasizing the song and the song's story more than some performers who are concentrating on the instrumental parts.

Thanks, Frank.

It's just a cool song and if I can do a small part in encouraging folks to perform it or put it into their rotation of at home play then that's good. It's possible that some might feel uncomfortable singing it in its original form, so that's why I massaged it a bit.

It would be a shame if it was avoided because anyone felt the need to use Jansch's melodic playing style.

[FrankHudson]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

Thanks, Frank.

It's just a cool song and if I can do a small part in encouraging folks to perform it or put it into their rotation of at home play then that's good. It's possible that some might feel uncomfortable singing it in its original form, so that's why I massaged it a bit.

It would be a shame if it was avoided because anyone felt the need to use Jansch's melodic playing style.

I'm a firm believer in the "folk process," which holds that changing songs to fit the singer's intent or to meet the audience is allowable. As to the mix of singing and instrumental passages: I could be wrong but as I recall the story is that Briggs introduced the song to Jansch, and that Briggs learned a simplified acoustic guitar accompaniment (she originally sang the song unaccompanied) from Jansch. Fair exchange I'd say.

[Glennwillow]

That was well done, Rudy. This is a song I was not familiar with it, but I enjoyed your take on it.

- Glenn