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The Watersons
A Yorkshire Garland

Album UK 1966 on Topic Records label
Folk (Folk)

First Published by Topic 1966. Blue Topic centre labels. Sleeve Notes "The Watersons come from Yorkshire and they're proud of it. So they thought they would make this, their third LP, a record of Yorkshire songs. But it's more than simply an anthology of local pieces. The songs are too good for that. All these versions come from Yorkshire, sure enough, but most of them are songs that were spread all over the countryside because singers and listeners found them fascinating. In some countries, the folk music is in clearly marked regional styles, so that passing from one district to another is almost like crossing the frontier into a foreign land, so different are the musics. That's usually a sign of isolation, of poor communication between one area and another. Not so with England. For centuries our roads have been too good, our population too mobile for the best folk songs to stay at home. Outside of the north-east (where a certain peculiar kind of melody has been stabilised by the use of the Northumbrian small-pipes) we have no clearly differentiated regional music-dialects. A Lancashire version of a tune may sound much like an Essex one, the run of a Lincoln song-text may be very similar to one in Devon. Usually, if a song remains tied to a locality it's because outsiders haven't found it interesting enough. Not always though; one or two of the pieces on this record are strictly local and have it in them to charm the wide audiences. Still, we repeat, most of them are songs of nationwide currency. But they are Yorkshire versions; and the Watersons are Yorkshire men and women (two of each), so they sing them with a special affection." [a. L. Lloyd]

Musicians

	The Watersons , GB album by
	John Harrison vocals
	Lal Waterson voc, 1943-1998 GB vocals
	Mike Waterson voc, 1941-2011 GB vocals
	Norma Waterson voc, *1939 GB vocals

Producers

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Acknowledgements

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