Truth be told, I now give my mother many thanks that were left unsaid when she was alive. My mother died at 72, and she may have had a premonition. When I was on the faculty of the University of Houston, one day she visited me with the sole purpose of conveying a message. She said, “I am late in life, but you are not yet. If there is something you want to do, then do it now.” I sensed she had regrets and did not want me to someday feel the same.
I had played guitar when in high school, mainly by myself or with my dad and sister. Being a poor musician trapped in the body of well-to-do economist, it was a no-brainer. I knew I wanted to be more involved with music.
From the late 1970s to the mid-1990’s I wrote and recorded songs, and I managed the business side of a popular Houston band, in which I also played.
I kept my economics profession intact, consulted, spent time with family, but one only has so much time. This was my glory music period, or my misspent years, depending on your perspective.
During this time, Doug and I wrote about 50 songs together. I have sometimes wondered, “Which of these songs make the short list that I would take to that illusory desert island?” The list varies, but “Blow Ye Wind” is always on it. To me it is a work of art.
Here is a link to the video of “Blow Ye Wind,” which displays Doug’s poetic lyrics. My thanks to Darrel Stilwell, a friend in Colorado, for creating this video for me.
BLOW YE WIND Dr Fry’s Texas Band – YouTube
If you are in an experimental and fun mood, watch the video and then watch or just listen again after reading our “writers’ views of the birth of this song, and see if you acquire a different listening perspective of the song. Also available on YouTube and streaming services is the song sans video, which encourages your imagination to take flight.
A Reflection, with the Luxury of Time
D.A. Sharp
Recently, Cliff Fry, my friend and writing partner of many years, asked me to share my recollections and insights on “Blow Ye Wind.” As I remembered and reflected it became clear that my thoughts needed to be viewed through the filter of time. The video version that is the song’s final form is an essential part of the way that I view it. The “whole” furnishes my greatest source of pride, yet the beginning “part” may be of interest.
The lyrics came before the music. The intent was to create a scene. If one watches a young person color, the child’s favorite colors become apparent very quickly. I am no different. My intentions are best realized when “night,” “cold,” and “wind” frame the verses. I also have a fondness for candles. It seems to me that intimacy is invited when one is lit.
The intent was to create a scene. When the writer succeeds, far more is suggested than was ever intended. “Her grandma’s spread” is very likely a memory of a quilt my great grandmother made for me. That is a very good memory and belongs in the scene.
The Song
C.L. Fry
When I first read “Blow Ye Wind” I considered it one of Doug’s most beautiful poems. Also, the stanzas seemed to be embedded with music. Before long the music was fully formed in my mind.
I have always liked a dose of Scottish, Irish, or Celtic sounds when listening to music. Many of our nation’s “folk” songs, such as those from Appalachia preserved by the Carter Family, had roots in the European folk music. I wrote the music to “Blow Ye Wind” in that tradition.
The music is a waltz, ¾ time, which can be a romantic rhythm. One stanza of the poem is repeated as a chorus, but the music is the same for the chorus and verse. There is no musical bridge to provide a variation in sound. The uninterrupted repetition forces the lyrics to the forefront, providing a hypnotic feel for the listener.
When you write a song you are the only who knows it. I recorded a version with rhythm guitar and vocals in Night Train Studios, which was my garage studio in Houston where my musician friends gathered every Thursday night. The period was the early 1980’s. I thought that once the other players heard what I was doing we could rerecord it. I recorded some lead acoustic guitar to show them the feel I wanted.
I had the idea that bagpipes should be on the recording. At the Renaissance Festival outside of Magnolia, TX, I asked a guy playing bagpipes if he would help me record my song. I wanted bagpipes for their boldness. I had never heard a beautifully written love song with an underpinning of the power of an Irish/Scottish military sound. Of course, if it did not work, on to something else.
What I did not know was that each set of bagpipes is designed to play in a specific key. The guy brought his bagpipes to Night Train Studios that next Thursday evening, and they were made to play in the key of B. “Blow Ye Wind” was in the key of E. Since the man was kind enough to bring his bagpipes to my studio, we tried to make the bagpipes work.
Night Train studios had two sections, one where the musicians played, and a second section separated by a wall with framed multiple glass barriers that included the recording equipment. Many of the players were gathered in the musician section eagerly awaiting the main event of the night.
Let me tell you. When that guy cranked up those bagpipes in that closed room, about 60% the size of that two-car garage, the shock wave about blew everyone against the walls. It was SO loud.
We could never get those bagpipes to play the proper chords. I included the guitar-based version on a 33 1/3 vinyl LP album that we produced in the mid-1980’s. Check out the LP on Ebay. It has a great cover. Armadillos walk under sprays from bottles of Lone Star Beer that hang in the sky, at which point the armadillos sprout wings and fly away.
Dr. Fry’s Texas Medicine Vinyl LP Record New Sealed Night Train Records 1984 | eBay
Fast forward from the mid-1980’s to 1999 or 2000, and I decided to record in Ken Bujnoch’s studio. Ken was our band’s keyboard player, but he operated a professional recording studio which contained A+ equipment. Along with other songs to record, I wanted to revisit “Blow Ye Wind.” Modern keyboards can produce a multitude of different sounds, and I asked Ken to play keyboard reminiscent of bagpipes behind my guitar.
Some days later he sent me his work on the song. I was amazed. He not only put in a sound suggestive of bagpipes but, also, something like a pennywhistle sound that added a great deal to the music. However, the most wonderful and surprising additions were the drum sounds. They provided exactly the military type underpinning that made the song what I envisioned. The drums sounded like they came from a drummer boy encouraging the ancient Scottish soldiers on to battle.
Of all the songs we recorded, “Blow Ye Wind” was one where we obtained in recording exactly what I wanted the song to be.
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