minstrel: Witches and Owls

Mon Nov 18 10:48:24 PST 1996

At 3:10 PM 11/18/96, Matthew Allen Newsome wrote:
>Hi, all.  I have a general question.  I have heard the song "The Witch of
>the Westmuirlands" once on the radio and several times at events, and was
>wondering about the history of that song.  I can tell it is modern (most
>likely written within the last few decades), but I would like to know who
>the authour is.  I heard it sung on NPR once by Barbara Dixon.
>Also, I'd just like to point a few things out about the song.
>I have seen the title written down as Westmerelands, or Westmeerlands.  I
>have a feeling that it should be Westmuirlands, as in west muir lands,
>"Muir" being Scots for moor.  It's pronounced similar to mere, but the
>meaning or muir and mere is different, and it might affect the way some
>poeple sing the song.
>Also, one verse mentions an owlett.  I keep thinking "owlett? Is that a
>baby owl?"  The word should be (I'm pretty sure, as I said I know little
>about the song), "howlet," which is Scots for owl.  Just a few nit-picky
>things, but I've heard the song over and over (and over and over) again
>at events, and when it rolls around in your head for so long, you can't
>help but question.
>Aye,
>Eogan

I play Witch of the Westmorland, I do it on my 12-string guitar, capoed at
the third fret, and I use a variation of the tune that Stan Rogers came up
with (he does it in DADGAD capoed at the 5th fret) and recorded on "Between
the Breaks - Live!".  I've heard several other professional folk performers
do the song, my favorite being Golden Bough which I heard during a live
performance at the Palms Play House in Davis, CA a few years ago (which was
GREAT!  Maggie, the harp player blanked on the words in the middle of the
second verse.  I was sitting in the front row, 3 feet away at most, she put
her face in her hands, then looked right at me.  I said "Green moss and
heather bands", she picked it up and ran with it.  I spent the next week
telling everyone I knew "I got to prompt Maggie Butler"!).

Anyway, Stan's music is a lot faster than the music Archie wrote, and in my
experience most people like it a little better.  Stan also deleted verses 3
and 4, saying that the song in it's original form was just too long. I
disagree, but I do take an instrumental break between verses 9 and 10, and
again between verses 16 and 17. Not only does this give me a chance to
catch my breath, but it adds (I think) a nice dramatic pause.

Looking at the liner notes for "The Man With A Rhyme" (Folk-Legacy Records,
Inc.), the Archey Fisher album (yes, I too am old enough to own vinyl) I
see that "houlet" is in fact the original word, and it has been dutifully
noted that "houlet" means "owl" and the title is listed as "THE WITCH OF
THE WEST-MER-LANDS" and carries a copyright date of 1976.

Thomas

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Karen A. Allen and JP Andrews
Mistress Angelina Nicollette de Beaumont, O.L. and Lord Thomas Bordeaux
e-mail for either to: Ngelina at earthlink.net
Check out the Gyldenholt Circle of Bards web site at
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/3145/index.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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