Sunday, August 30, 2009

Barrett's Privateers

One of the great privileges of my job was the ability to visit many parts of Canada I would never have seen otherwise.
One night in Halifax I was stunned to witness college students in Halifax dancing to "Barrett's Privateers", an a capella sea shanty, something I am sure I would never see in Ontario (Upper Canada).
There is a delicious irony in that the song was written by a guy from Dundas, Ontario, about as deep into Upper Canada as one can get.
It turns out I can find the song, in a great version, on YouTube:

This video has another loveliness - Stan Rogers' younger brother looks so young! Garnet is a great performer and songwriter, and this is SO touching to see.

3 Comments:

At 6:16 PM, Blogger EclectEcon said...

I saw Stan Rogers live at the London Folk Festivals back in the late 70s. What a tragic loss.

This YouTube version sent shivers up my spine. Tremendous, though technically not as good as the performance on his Fogarty's Cove album.

Visiting Nova Scotia and sitting around a table singing is a great experience. I wish I'd known more of the songs the one time I had the opportunity.

 
At 6:32 PM, Blogger Alan Adamson said...

Garnet still performs, and he is excellent. We should go see him next time he comes through the London area.

 
At 6:34 PM, Blogger Alan Adamson said...

PS I will bet the table they are sitting around is nearer Hamilton than Nova Scotia. Stan and Garnet were from Dundas, and he mentions the Friends of Fiddlers' Green, one of my favorite exits from the 403.

 

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