'Lord Franklin' from 'Eight August Songs'
Here’s a spontaneous cover of the folk song ‘Lord Franklin’ I recorded a few weeks ago for my latest release, ‘Eight August Songs’ available through Bandcamp and Patreon now.
‘Lord Franklin’ (or ‘Lady Franklin’s Lament’) was written around 1850 and tells the story of the 1845 expedition to find a passage between the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific. Two ships and their crew were lost and the wife of Franklin sponsored many expeditions in an effort to locate her husband. The song is told from the point of view of a sailor at sea who actually dreams Franklin’s story into the song, thinking it true, which it is. It’s frames within frames, songs within songs and a very strange and beautiful text. Naturally, Wikipedia has more information on the origins and various versions here.
I’ve always loved the melody of this song and thought I’d try to understand the structure, which is actually very simple and in fact likely originates from a much earlier instrumental Irish tune ‘Cailín Óg a Stór’. This, in turn, was the basis for ‘The Croppy Boy’. As is often the case, start looking into a folk song and the rabbit hole opens up.
I had never tried this song before this take but have since played it at most of the concerts I’ve played this month. All of these shows were recorded and I’m posting songs from them on my Patreon and, along with other recordings I’ve just made, they’ll likely turn up for the next month’s subscription release.
Thanks for listening,
Stephen