Tricky Pixie (Alexander James Adams, Betsy Tinney, and SJ Tucker) perform Tam Lin at Archon in St. Louis 20151002. All rights are reserved by their original owners. Please support them.
If anyone wonders, the definition of kirtle - a long gown or dress worn by women. Mantle - a loose sleeveless cloak or shawl, worn especially by women. I've listened to this song since the 70's and never knew. And Carter Hall? No. Carterhaugh is a wood and farm near the confluence of the Yarrow Water and the Ettrick Water near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. This real location is the fictional setting for the meeting between Tam Lin and Janet in the ballad "Tam Lin". A haugh is a low-lying meadow by the side of a river.
I LOVE this version of the song! Like THIS version! I’ve listened to SJ Tucker’s official cover of this song and.. I don’t know… it’s lacking something. Maybe the bells and the drop of beat when the faerie court rides in were missing , or the intensity and volume of the sound effects, but this video is the best version of the song!!
Yes I listened to a bunch of different versions. Whenever they leave out the faerie Queen I feel like something is missing. Don’t get me wrong, I love the other versions especially the more traditional ones, but I just love this one in particular!
I have heard many of the versions of this ballad, and I love them all. They are all so different. The poetry is remarkable. It is one of the great magic ballads. Others are "The 2 Magicians", Sung by Tony barrand & Jon Roberts, "Willie's Fatal Ride" sung by Ray Fisher,
The definitive version will always be Sandy Denny with Fairport Convention, but it's great to see current groups keeping this tale alive. Shared it with my college students for Halloween.
I wonder what happened to Tam Lin and Janet after this. He just appears out of thin air years after he disappears, and Janet comes out of the woods with him as her baby daddy and they have a wild story about a faery queen
