Strictly limited edition of 1000 copies of 12-track CD. Songs by Leon Rosselson performed by Nancy Kerr, includes sleeve notes in accompanying digipak and booklet with photography by James Fagan and illustration/design by Lizzy Doe.
Includes unlimited streaming of The Poor Shall Wear the Crown: Songs by Leon Rosselson
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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Streaming + Download
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Leon’s work over many decades as a songwriter of rare skill and insight represents probably the most significant influence on me as a composer, outside my family. Without his layered, evergreen re-telling of Aesop’s moral nature-fable and its dancing tune, for example, it’s unlikely that my songs Queen of Waters or Dark Honey would sound the way they do.
lyrics
The ant and the grasshopper, everyone knows how the story goes,
How the ant was diligent, never spent
Anything lightly, he laboured wisely,
And gathered his store for tomorrow.
As for the grasshopper, glad of the summer sunshine,
Light as the wind on the broken water,
His song he gave to the summer days,
Singing, “Where the dance leads I'll follow.”
Then came a hard winter, nothing grew, and the cold wind blew,
But the ant was safe and sound, underground.
Carefully counting his pile around him,
Dividing his time until tomorrow.
As for the grasshopper, blown by the north wind's fury,
Hungering for the easy summer,
Comes to the ant and says, “My brother, give me bread,
Now's the dance that I must follow.”
“Why did you waste the summer, summers don't last forever,
You're just an idle beggar, you must pay the price, sacrifice.
You would not heed me, you took life easy -
Take the punishment that follows.”
Now see the grasshopper reel like a dry leaf falling,
Weaving a dance that will last forever,
Back goes the ant to his nest to work, to feed, to rest,
For him there will always be tomorrow.
"Outstanding chamber folk" (The
Guardian) "Folk's Poet Laureate" (FRUK) "One of the UK’s foremost composers of modern folk and social commentary songs” (Royal Shakespeare Company).
Photo credits: James Fagan, Elly Lucas
Album design: Lizzy Doe...more
supported by 93 fans who also own “The Ant and the Grasshopper”
Darling Charms - Would've thought NK would have learned her lesson after the Port 'n' Brandy 😘 xx
This whole EP is bangin' btw. Beautiful work xx Gill Loomes-Quinn
Irish singer-songwriter Oisin Leech's acoustic folk music is characterized by its muted beauty and intimate, solitary quality. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 16, 2024
The haunting new record from Canadian folk artist Avi C. Engel bridges old and new traditions with a minimalist approach. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 24, 2024
supported by 68 fans who also own “The Ant and the Grasshopper”
Such a broad range of roots music styles; trad English, modern Scottish, Americana.
The first track is fabulous, took me right back to teenage years listening to Fairport.
Hope it gets the recognition it deserves Derrick Turner