” …but she has come down to condemn that wild ocean for the murderous loss of her man.”
“The Fisherman’s Song” by Silly Wizard reflects themes of loss and longing, particularly the emotional struggles faced by a fisherman and his wife. The song conveys a sense of melancholy and the hardships of life at sea, emphasizing the deep connection between the fisherman and his family.
Lyrics
By the storm torn shoreline
A woman is standing,
The spray strung like jewels in her hair.
And the sea tore the rocks
Near that desolate landing,
As though it had known she stood there.
For she has come down
To condemn that wild ocean
For the murderous loss of her man.
His boat sailed out on Wednesday morning,
And it’s feared she’s gone down
With all hands.
Oh and white were the wave caps
And wild was their parting.
So fierce is the warring of love.
But she prayed to the gods,
Both of men and of sailors,
Not to cast their cruel nets
o’er her love.
Now she has come down
To condemn that wild ocean
For the murderous loss of her man.
His boat sailed out on Wednesday morning,
And it’s feared she’s gone down
With all hands.
There’s a school on the hill
Where the sons of dead fathers
Are led toward tempests and gales.
Where their God-given wings
Are clipped close to their bodies,
And their eyes are bound round
With ship’s sails.
And she has come down
To condemn that wild ocean
For the murderous loss of her man.
His boat sailed out on Wednesday morning,
And it’s feared she’s gone down
With all hands.
What force leads a man
To a life filled with danger
High on seas or a mile underground?
It’s when need is his master
And poverty’s no stranger,
And there’s no other work to be found.
But she has come down
To condemn that wild ocean
For the murderous loss of her man.
His boat sailed out on Wednesday morning,
And it’s feared she’s gone down
With all hands.
_____
Silly Wizard were a Scottish folk band that began forming in Edinburgh in 1970. The founder members were two like-minded university students—Gordon Jones (guitar, bodhran, vocals, bouzouki, mandola), and Bob Thomas (guitar, mandolin, mandola, banjo, concertina). In January 1972, Jones and Thomas formed a trio with their flatmate Bill Watkins (guitar, vocals, fiddle) and performed (occasionally unpaid) under various band names in Edinburgh folk clubs. In September 1972, the trio recruited Johnny Cunningham (1957–2003) (fiddle, viola, mandola, vocals)[1] and Silly Wizard started to take off.
In July 1972, this newly formed trio were offered their first paid booking at the Burns Monument Hotel, Brig O’ Doon, Scotland, and needed a band name in a hurry. The name “Silly Wizard” was chosen and the continuing stream of bookings ensured that the name became permanent. In September 1972, the trio recruited Johnny Cunningham (1957–2003) (fiddle, viola, mandola, vocals)[1] and Silly Wizard started to take off.
Jones, Thomas, and Cunningham began touring as a trio in January 1974, and went on the first of many French tours in April 1974.
The band added Neil Adam (bass, harmonium) in September 1974 and Andy M. Stewart (vocals, tin whistle, tenor banjo) in December 1974. In March 1975, Silly Wizard began work on their next album. The band was then joined by Freeland Barbour (accordion, bouzouki) and Alastair “Ali” Donaldson (1955-2013) (bass, flute), who replaced Neil Adam in July 1975 when the latter decided to return to university. Their eponymous LP Silly Wizard was released on the XTRA label and the band began touring throughout the UK and Europe.
They continued recording until the late 1980s, when the band decided to dissolve after performing for seventeen years and releasing nine albums. The band played its final performance in Voorheesville, New York in April 1988. Johnny Cunningham died on 15 December 2003 in New York.[4]
Andy M. Stewart, lead singer, died in hospital in Melrose, Roxburghshire, Scotland on 27 December 2015 as a result of medical difficulties that arose after failed spinal surgery in 2012.[5] —Wikipedia
