The shoals of herring ewan maccoll biography

British folk singer-songwriter and activist (–)

James Henry Miller (25 January – 22 October ), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a British folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as one of the instigators of the s folk revival as well as for writing such songs as "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Dirty Old Town".

MacColl collected hundreds of traditional folk songs, including the version of "Scarborough Fair" later popularised by Simon & Garfunkel, and released dozens of albums with A.L. Lloyd, Peggy Seeger and others, mostly of traditional folk songs. He also wrote many left-wing political songs, remaining a steadfast communist throughout his life and actively engaging in political activism.

Early life and early career

MacColl was born as James Henry Miller at 4 Andrew Street, in Broughton, Salford, England, on 25 January to Scottish parents, William Miller and Betsy (née Henry), both socialists. William Miller was an iron moulder and trade unionist who had moved to Salford with his wife, a charwoman, to look for work after being blacklisted in almost every foundry in Scotland. Betsy Miller knew many traditional folk songs such as "Lord Randall" and "My

"The Shoals of Herring" (Roud ) is a ballad, written by Ewan MacColl for the third of the original eight BBCRadio balladsSinging the Fishing, which was first broadcast on August 16, Ewan MacColl writes that the song was based on the life of Sam Larner, a fisherman and traditional singer from Winterton-on-Sea, Norfolk, England.Liam Clancy, who performed the song for decades, tells a more nuanced story, saying that MacColl "tape recorded all the old fisherman up along the east coast of England. And he never used one word of his own. He rhymed the lines that the fishermen had given him, and he made it into a song"

It has been recorded by The Spinners, The Dubliners, The Clancy Brothers, The Corries, Three City Four (Martin Carthy, Leon Rosselson, Ralph Trainer and Marian McKenzie), Astrid Nijgh (in Dutch, as De scholen haring),Schooner Fare, Patrick Clifford and Breabach, The Longest Johns . It was also featured on the soundtrack for the film Inside Llewyn Davis, performed in the film by Oscar Isaac (accompanied on the soundtrack by Punch Brothers).

Being a well-documented song publicised by Mudcat, and Mainly Norfolk, the song was recorded by Jon Boden and Oli Steadman for inclusion in their respective lists of daily folk songs "A Folk Song A Day" and " Days Of Folk".

In an example of the folk process, the song's title and refrain have altered to "The Shores of Erin" when sung by some Irish traditional singers.

References

External links

> Ewan MacColl > Songs > The Shoals of Herring
> > Songs > The Shoals of Herring
> Louis Killen > Songs > Shoals of Herring

[ Roud ; DT SHOALHER ; Mudcat , ; Ewan MacColl]

The Shoals of Herring was written for the third of the eight BBC radio ballads by Ewan MacColl, Charles Parker and Peggy Seeger, Singing the Fishing (first broadcast on 16 August , released on an Argo LP in and now available on a Topic CD). It was about the herring fishery and fishermen, and the song was designed specifically to highlight the life-story of Sam Larner, who had spent a long life as a herring fisherman, but was retired at the time of the recording. He first went to sea, he said, in , when he was just a boy. In this moving documentary, the song is sung partly by Ewan MacColl and partly by Bert Lloyd, all skilfully interpolated among the spoken words of Mr Larner. An extract of this with A.L. Lloyd and Sam Larner is on the last track of the first side of Karl Dallas’ brilliant 4 LP anthology, The Electric Muse: The Story of Folk Into Rock.

(A 12" LP of Mr Larner was later produced: Now Is the Time for Fishing: Songs and Speech by Sam Larner of Winterton, England, collected and edited by Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger; Folkways ; Topic )

Ewan MacColl sang The Shoals of Herring in on his Folkways album New Briton Gazette Volume Two and again in on his album Black and White; the latter recording was also included in on the 3 CD anthology The New Electric Muse: The Story of Folk Into Rock.

Bob Davenport sang The Shoals of Herring on the Hullabaloo ABC Television programme broadcast on 7 December

The Ian Campbell Folk Group sang The Shoals of Herring on the LP Edinburgh Folk Festival Vol. 2, and Nigel Denver recorded it in the same year for his eponymous LP Nigel Denver.

The Three City Four (Martin Carthy, Leon Rosselson, Ralph Trainer and Marian McKenzie) sang The