And for your boatman choose old John O'Dreams

[sovay]

I realized that I don't think I ever heard Bill Caddick sing any of his own songs. I learned my first one as a lullaby, as though it were the folk tune it was often mistaken for, and started paying attention to his name somewhere between Priscilla Herdman and June Tabor. I just sang "John O'Dreams" to spatch as I remember learning it from my babysitter because I just read that Caddick has died. In a week of artists dying—Rob is mourning Ricky Jay—this is the one that caught me. The song frightened me as a child even when I loved the sound of it, I think because I heard in it the same likeness that makes sleep the sibling of death: sleep is a river and there are other rivers to cross. It haunted me and I have sung it as a lullaby. There are echoes of Housman and Stevenson and Sappho in it. I wonder if it will be the song people sing for him.

Comments

[genarti]

Clearly I need 1) more Priscilla Herdman albums and 2) more versions of "John O'Dreams"! I only have one of each.

The Priscilla Herdman is Darkness Into Light, which I bought after hearing her by chance at a Vermont folk festival and falling immediately in love with her voice; somehow I'd never thought to see out other albums, though! I guess it's because I'd never run into anyone who talked about knowing her stuff or recognized her voice when a song came on in the car, so I mentally filed her with the more obscure of the folksingers I heard at random points in the '90s or early aughts: beautiful voice, love the songs, probably has no web presence, may well have no other albums. If I'd thought to think about it for any length of time, of course, I'd have realized that googling would answer all these questions in very few seconds, but I didn't. So thank you for the tip!

And "John O'Dreams" I know from the Cherish the Ladies version. Another lovely rendition from a lovely album by a band I only have one cd of, although in this case I knew they'd done other stuff and just haven't gotten around to acquiring more. I definitely didn't realize so many others had covered that song, though. First, time to listen to this one on loop, now that it's on my mind...

(And I've never heard Bill Caddick at all. I will remedy that.)

[sovay]

If I'd thought to think about it for any length of time, of course, I'd have realized that googling would answer all these questions in very few seconds, but I didn't.

It makes sense to me: I very often don't think to internet-search for artists I discovered before the advent of Google even though it's not like they've stopped existing. I grew up on Herdman's The Water Lily (1976), so for years I thought she was Australian; I've collected a handful of other songs by her over the years and I just now saw that she features on Fred Small's No Limit (1985), which makes me want to listen to that formative album all over again even though we've only ever owned it on cassette. I envy you hearing her live!

the more obscure of the folksingers I heard at random points in the '90s or early aughts

Oh, yeah? Who else? (No guarantees.)

So thank you for the tip!

You're very welcome!

And "John O'Dreams" I know from the Cherish the Ladies version.

I don't think I know them at all! I've heard different versions on the radio, but the only one I actually have is Herdman's, and that only since 2010. I learned it first from the babysitter who used to sing with me before bed, which feels appropriate.

[jesse_the_k]

Spotify shows five Priscilla Herdman discs!

There are altogether too many vinyl records that never made it in to my current rotation. Thanks for poking me to search again on their names:

Huxtable, Christensen, and Hood's first album, WALLFLOWERS made life in 1980 much more bearable, and they released a new one in 2016!

https://www.hchmusic.com/Music/AllMusic