An
introduction to "Broadsword And The Beast"
(working
on it right now)
Annotations
Ian Anderson's comments
below are quoted from the 'Chrysalis Biography' (1982), a
press release announcing this album. I'm very grateful to
Andy Jackson who sent them to me. Apart from his
ilucidations, Ian talks about working with a producer for
the first time, and how the release of the album was delayed because
they couldn't find a suitable guy to work with. Then a couple of pages
follow with information about Gerry Conway and Peter
Vettese. The
whole press release was written by Ian (Buckinghamshire,
March 1982).
Beastie
"All of us
have some kind of private fear that we don't like
to talk about, and this song is about those
fears. When I was a boy growing up in Scotland, we
called anything that was particularly nasty that
we didn't like a Beastie".
* Ian Anderson,
Chrysalis Press release, 1982.
Clasp
"A song about
people who shy away from physical
contact. The word 'clasp' is used in the sense of a
handshake, and the song is just exploring some of
the ideas and attitudes behind the embrace of
shaking hands, and saying wouldn't it be amusing
and perhaps a little profitable to go up to a
complete stranger and shake hands with him and
say, "Hello, how are you, pleased to meet you." Ironically the
handshake, when it is offered, is very often a
forced gesture, far removed from its origin which was a
way of demonstrating that you had no weapon in your
hand and that you were offering your open hand to someone in
peace".
* Ian Anderson,
Chrysalis Press release, 1982.
Fallen
On Hard times
"This song is
not meant to be a political statement, but merely
expresses the disillusionment that most people
feel at some time or other with our political
masters. The tune is a Scottish folk melody in essence, but
it is given a slightly funky rock 'n' roll
treatment which gives it a light-hearted feel".
* Ian Anderson,
Chrysalis Press release, 1982.
Flying
Colours
"This song
came about after witnessing several couples who were going
through a bad patch with their relationships,
taking delight in showing each other up in public.
I'm sure we've all come across them in some sort of social
gathering; they revel in digging up the dirt in
front of an audience".
* Ian Anderson,
Chrysalis Press release, 1982.
Slow
Marching Band
"I don't
write many songs about human relationships in the boy/girl
context, but this is one that deals with the
sadness of parting. But I hope it
contains a hint of optimism!"
* Ian Anderson,
Chrysalis Press release, 1982.
Broadsword
- It seems that Ian - when writing this song - was
inspired by an important theme in Britain's
history: the invasion of the British isles by all
kinds of tribes and peoples, especially from
Northern Europe. In the opening verse this theme
is seen from the perspective of the coastal
inhabitants, somewhere in Scotland. They see
enemy ships approach from the sea "I see a
dark sail on the horizon",
the defense is organized and women and children
are hidden in a safe place, possibly in the roundhouse.
Then in the second verse the perspective
changes: we see the invaders approaching the
coast, preparing themselves mentally for the
battle to come. Their first intention is to
establish a beachhead "Hold fast by the river." The
verseline "Put our backs to the
northwind." indicates they
are sailing south, coming from a Scandinavian
country. The necessity of their operation is
emphasized by their thinking of the people they
left behind: "Bless the women and children
who firm our hand" and
"Sweet
memories to drive us on for the motherland".In
the last verse these two perspectives come
together, as for both the defendants and the
invaders as well only one thing really matters in
the end: surviving and finding c.q. maintaining a
steady place to live for their families. I assume
that the invaders in this song are Vikings
("Danes"), since a "cross of
gold" is used as a talisman.
As the spread of Christianity reached England in
the fourth century and Northern Europe in the
sixth, I'm quite sure that the invasion in this
song cannot have taken place earlier.
* Jan Voorbij
The Mousa Broch, one
of Scotland best preserved brochs.
Courtesy of the
Shetland Museum: http://www.shetland-museum.org.uk/
"Get
up to the roundhouse on the cliff-top standing". The here
mentioned roundhouses are by archaeologists known
as 'brochs', towerlike buildings made of stone.
The word 'broch' derives from the Old Norse word
'borg', meaning 'fortification'. (Compare the
Dutch ' borg' or ' burcht' , the German ' burg'
and ' burcht' , the French ' bourg' ). More than
700 brochs are known to have existed along the
north coast of Scotland, the Hebrides, the
Shetlands and the Orkney Islands, from where they
probably originate. They are without exception to
be found near fields and arable land, built on a
cliff or hill, overlooking the sea. In most cases
little settlements were established near these
brochs. Excavation has revealed, that these
towers are in fact defensive structures and most
of them were built during the late Iron Age (600
BC - 100 AD). Their structure and position in the
landscape leads one to think they were erected
for defense against dangers coming from the sea,
probably the Roman fleet. There is evidence that
Romans raided the islands and Scottish coast
frequently between 100 BC - 100 AD, hunting for
people they could take away as slaves. It is
assumed that people would take refuge in a broch
when a raiding party was sighted, possibly taking
some of their valuable live stock with them. In
later centuries these stongholds played a modest
role in the defense against invaders: the Vikings
from Scandinavia for instance. In
1974 Maureen Mollie Hunter McIlwraith published
'The Stronghold", an interesting historical
novel about the genius who 'invented' the concept
of the broch. She was awarded for it with the
Carnegie Medal.
* Jan Voorbij
"Set in
historical times, lyrically as well as musically,
this song is about a man's responsibility to
protect the family unit".
* Ian Anderson,
Chrysalis Press release, 1982.
Pussy
Willow
"A song about
a girl in an unrewarding job who fantasises about a more romantic,
ideal sort of existence, but she still has to
face the reality of catching the train to work in the
morning".
* Ian Anderson,
Chrysalis Press release, 1982.
Watching
Me Watching You
Seal
Driver
"This song is
deliberately ambiguous. It could be about a
boat, or it could be about a girl, but since
ships and boats are always female, it seems quite a nice
fitting sort of analogy".
* Ian Anderson,
Chrysalis Press release, 1982.
Cheerio
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