Silver Dagger (song)
Encyclopedia
"Silver Dagger", or "Katy Dear", is an American
folk
ballad
. It likely traces its roots to the British Isles of late 19th century, though possibly much earlier; the first published version appeared in 1907.
In "Silver Dagger", the narrator turns away a potential suitor, as her mother has warned her to avoid the advances of men, in an attempt to spare her daughter the heartbreak that she herself has endured. Arguably the most famous recording is the 1960 recording by Joan Baez
; it features only a few of the many verses in the 1907 version contains many additional verses.
"Katy Dear" uses the same melody but different lyrics, telling a similar story from a different perspective. The most famous recording may be that of folk duo Ian & Sylvia in 1964.
The disagreement of the title and some lyrics are a result of the song being handed down through the unwritten, oral tradition for several decades, where each performer would undoubtedly and sometimes unknowingly add their own nuances to the song. However, the melody and events depicted in the song are so similar that most musicologists believe that these two songs trace back to one original source.
"Katy Dear" as sung by Ian & Sylvia
film Dogfight
.
The song is sung by one of the characters in William Gibson
's novel Count Zero
.
's song "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)
" includes the line "I been Mick Jaggered, been Silver Daggered," likely referring to the Baez recording of the song, given the impact it and Baez had had on the folk-rock genre at the time.
American folk music
American folk music is a musical term that encompasses numerous genres, many of which are known as traditional music or roots music. Roots music is a broad category of music including bluegrass, country music, gospel, old time music, jug bands, Appalachian folk, blues, Cajun and Native American...
folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
. It likely traces its roots to the British Isles of late 19th century, though possibly much earlier; the first published version appeared in 1907.
In "Silver Dagger", the narrator turns away a potential suitor, as her mother has warned her to avoid the advances of men, in an attempt to spare her daughter the heartbreak that she herself has endured. Arguably the most famous recording is the 1960 recording by Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
; it features only a few of the many verses in the 1907 version contains many additional verses.
"Katy Dear" uses the same melody but different lyrics, telling a similar story from a different perspective. The most famous recording may be that of folk duo Ian & Sylvia in 1964.
History
Numerous versions of the song were performed and recorded by the early baladeers in the genre now known as "old-time music", though certainly these songs did not achieve the fame or widespread renown that was possible in later times. It is very likely that the versions popularized in the 1960s were learned directly from these old-time baladeers via field visits and recordings in rural Appalachia, which was popular activity of the more 'musicology-minded' of the 1960's folk revival.The disagreement of the title and some lyrics are a result of the song being handed down through the unwritten, oral tradition for several decades, where each performer would undoubtedly and sometimes unknowingly add their own nuances to the song. However, the melody and events depicted in the song are so similar that most musicologists believe that these two songs trace back to one original source.
Lyrics
"Silver Dagger" as sung by Joan Baez
Don't sing love songs; you'll wake my mother
She's sleeping here, right by my side
And in her right hand, a silver dagger
She says that I can't be your bride.
All men are false, says my mother
They'll tell you wicked, lovin' lies
The very next evening, they'll court another
Leave you alone to pine and sigh.
My daddy is a handsome devil
He's got a chain five miles long
And on every link a heart does dangle
Of another maid he's loved and wronged.
Go court another tender maiden
And hope that she will be your wife
For I've been warned and I've decided
To sleep alone all of my life.
"Katy Dear" as sung by Ian & Sylvia
Oh, Katy Dear, go ask your father
If you might be a bride of mine
If he says yes then come and tell me
If he says no, we'll run away.
I cannot go and ask my father
For he is on his bed of rest
And by his side there's a golden dagger
To pierce the heart I love the best.
Oh Katy Dear, go ask your mother
If you might be a bride of mine
If she says yes then come and tell me
If she says no, we'll run away.
I cannot go and ask my mother
For she is on her bed of rest
And by her side there's a silver dagger
To pierce the heart I love the best.
He picked up a silver dagger
He pierced it through his wounded breast
Farewell Katy, farewell darling
I'll die for the one I love the best.
She picked up the bloody weapon
She pierced it through her snow-white breast
Farewell Momma Farewell Poppa
I'll go with the one I love the best.
Recordings and performances
The song has also been widely performed and recorded by bluegrass musicians, as many songs thought of as traditionally bluegrass songs actually trace back to what is now known as "old-time" music.- "Silver Dagger" also appears on Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's The Bootleg Series Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic HallThe Bootleg Series Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic HallThe Bootleg Series Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic Hall is a complete recording of Bob Dylan's October 31, 1964 "Halloween" show at New York's Philharmonic Hall. It was released in 2004....
album, with Baez singing what she refers jokingly to as "one of Bob's earlier songs". Dylan does not sing, but plays acoustic guitar and harmonica in accompaniment. - The song appears, in the long version, on Dino Valente's (Chet PowersChet PowersChester William Powers, Jr. was an American singer-songwriter, and a member of the rock group Quicksilver Messenger Service. He was also known by the stage name "Dino Valenti" and, as a songwriter, as Jesse Oris Farrow...
) album, Get Together. - During their concerts in the early 1970s, The Eagles usually prefaced "Take it EasyTake it EasyTake It Easy is an abstract strategy board game created by Peter Burley. It can be characterized as a spatial bingo-like game, and has been published by Ravensburger and subsequently by several other publishers since 1983. Each player gets a board with places for 19 hexagon tiles to place in a...
" with an a cappellaA cappellaA cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
version of four lines from "Silver Dagger", beginning with "My Daddy is a handsome devil..." Glenn FreyGlenn FreyGlenn Lewis Frey is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as a founding member of the Eagles. Frey formed the Eagles after he met drummer Don Henley in 1970 and the two eventually joined Linda Ronstadt's backup band for her summer tour. The Eagles formed in 1971 and...
, Bernie LeadonBernie LeadonBernard Mathew "Bernie" Leadon, III is an American musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the Eagles. Prior to the Eagles, he was a member of two pioneering and highly influential country rock bands, Dillard & Clark and the Flying Burrito Brothers...
and Randy MeisnerRandy MeisnerRandy Herman Meisner is an American musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member of Poco and the Eagles...
would harmonise around one microphone at the front of the stage with Don HenleyDon HenleyDonald Hugh "Don" Henley is an American singer, songwriter and drummer, best known as a founding member of the Eagles before launching a successful solo career. Henley was the drummer and lead vocalist for the Eagles from 1971–1980, when the band broke up...
also contributing from behind his drum kit. - "Silver Dagger" was also recorded from a live performance by Rick Summer Droit and found on the Live at Cousin Andy's CD released in 1995.
- Dolly PartonDolly PartonDolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
recorded the song in 1999 for her The Grass Is BlueThe Grass Is Blue-Chart performance:-External links:*...
album. - Old time revival string band Old Crow Medicine ShowOld Crow Medicine ShowOld Crow Medicine Show is an old-time string band based in Nashville, Tennessee. Their music has been called bluegrass, Americana, and alt-country, in addition to old-time. Along with original songs, the band performs many pre-World War II blues and folk songs...
has a version of the song on their 2001 album Eutaw. - Roger McguinnRoger McGuinnJames Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
, the lead singer and guitarist on many of The ByrdsThe ByrdsThe Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
' hits, released a version of the song on the four-CD box set The Folk DenFolk DenFolk Den is a folk music website founded in 1995 by Roger McGuinn, former front man of The Byrds. Hosted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's ibiblio, the site is intended to preserve and promote folk music and offers a new folk song on a monthly basis...
Project 1995-2005. - Irish-American Celtic group Solas recorded it for their 2006 album Reunion: A Decade of Solas.
- Bluegrass band The Gruff from Victoria, BC, Canada, recorded "Silver Dagger" on their 2006 self-titled album on Goat Tea Records.
- In 2007 it was recorded by Scottish singer Maeve MacKinnonMaeve MackinnonMaeve Mackinnon is a Scottish folk singer. Originally from Glasgow, she performs primarily in Scottish Gaelic, but also in English. She is also one of two Gaelic singers who share the same name.-Early life:...
and appeared on her album Don't Sing Love Songs. - The song has been recorded by White Antelope aka Robin PecknoldRobin PecknoldRobin Noel Pecknold is an American singer, guitarist and principal songwriter for the band Fleet Foxes.-Biography:He formed Fleet Foxes with guitarist and friend Skyler Skjelset while the two were at school...
of the Seattle band Fleet FoxesFleet FoxesFleet Foxes are a folk rock band which formed in Seattle, Washington. They are signed to the Sub Pop and Bella Union record labels. The band came to prominence in 2008 with the release of their second EP, Sun Giant, and their debut full length album Fleet Foxes...
. - Jim MorayJim MorayJim Moray is an English folk singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer.-Recording artist:While studying classical composition at the Birmingham Conservatoire, Moray released the home-recorded I Am Jim Moray EP. During 2002 he appeared at the Glastonbury festival and the Cambridge Folk...
has recorded a version of this song which is available on his 2010 album In Modern History. - The song is sung by Marideth Sisco in the 2010 film Winter's BoneWinter's BoneWinter's Bone is a 2010 American independent drama film, an adaptation of Daniel Woodrell's 2006 novel of the same name. The film was written and directed by Debra Granik and stars Jennifer Lawrence...
.
Adaptations
- Dame DarcyDame DarcyDame Darcy is an alternative cartoonist. Her comic book, Meatcake, has been published by Fantagraphics since 1993. Darcy has also released several graphic novels, Frightful Fairytales, Dame Darcy's Meatcake Compilation, The Illustrated Jane Eyre, Dollerium , Comic Book Tattoo, and Gasoline .-...
recorded a quite different version of the song, found on her Greatest Hits album. - British band Saint EtienneSaint Etienne (band)Saint Etienne are an English Pop group comprising Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs. They are named after the French football team AS Saint-Étienne.-History:Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs were childhood friends and former music journalists...
's song "Like a MotorwayLike a Motorway- 12": Heavenly / HVN 40 12 :* also available on CD - 12": Heavenly / HVN 40 12 P II :* UK promo- CD: Warner Bros. / PRO-A-6962 :* US promo...
" is based on the ballad. It was featured on their album Tiger BayTiger Bay (album)- CD: Warner / 9 45634-2 :- CD: Heavenly/Sony / 01-475962-11 :- CD: Heavenly / HVNLP8CDDE :-Personnel:* Sarah Cracknell - vocals, snowboard, scaremonger* Bob Stanley - keyboards, wulfren, Scouse wit...
(1994), an homage to folk music presented in a modern style. The melody follows the original closely, but new lyrics paint a darker picture of the suitor's fate.
In other media
The 1960 Joan Baez recording was featured prominently in the 1991 Lili TaylorLili Taylor
Lili Anne Taylor is an American actress notable for her appearances in such award-winning indie films as Mystic Pizza, Say Anything..., Short Cuts and I Shot Andy Warhol, and the acclaimed TV show Six Feet Under....
film Dogfight
Dogfight (film)
Dogfight is a 1991 film set in San Francisco, California, during the Vietnam War , stars River Phoenix and Lili Taylor and was directed by Nancy Savoca....
.
The song is sung by one of the characters in William Gibson
William Gibson
William Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.William Gibson may also refer to:-Association football:*Will Gibson , Scottish footballer...
's novel Count Zero
Count Zero
Count Zero is a science fiction novel written by William Gibson, originally published 1986. It is the second volume of the Sprawl trilogy, which begins with Neuromancer and concludes with Mona Lisa Overdrive, and is a canonical example of the cyberpunk sub-genre.Count Zero was serialized by Isaac...
.
Influence
Paul SimonPaul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
's song "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)
A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara'd Into Submission)
"A Simple Desultory Philippic " is a song written by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. Originally recorded for Simon's 1965 UK-only debut, The Paul Simon Songbook, it was recorded soon after by Simon and his partner, Art Garfunkel, for the duo's third album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme...
" includes the line "I been Mick Jaggered, been Silver Daggered," likely referring to the Baez recording of the song, given the impact it and Baez had had on the folk-rock genre at the time.
External links
- "Silver Dagger" at Roger McGuinn's Folk DenFolk DenFolk Den is a folk music website founded in 1995 by Roger McGuinn, former front man of The Byrds. Hosted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's ibiblio, the site is intended to preserve and promote folk music and offers a new folk song on a monthly basis...