Hello, S.H.Forums! Can somebody help me ID this lovely unknown folk-song?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Cherryrxse, May 29, 2021.

  1. Cherryrxse

    Cherryrxse Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Spain
    TL: DR - An unknown song recorded from a Chicago-area radio station in the 1970s. Nobody has yet been able to ID this song, and not a single one of the music-recognition apps recognize it. Trust me; we've tried more than Shazam.

    I need help in identifying an unknown psychedelic folk song.

    YouTube's copyright algorithm doesn't detect it. Shazam and other programs are just as clueless as I am, and searching up the lyrics only turns up forum threads discussing the mystery.

    Does anybody know the title and artist of this song?



    Vocaroo link if you prefer over YouTube: Vocaroo | Online voice recorder

    This psychedelic (folk rock) song was previously believed to be 'Take Me Home' by Keith James after a Discogs user misidentified it. However, that was disproven after somebody in the community bought and digitized the album allegedly containing this unknown song... It turned out to be a different track.

    So far, there doesn't seem to be any information on the song online beyond the poor quality radio-to-tape recording.
    All we know is that it was taped off a Chicago-area radio station in the 70s.

    Currently, it is referred to as 'The Fishes' (based on an early mishearing) or 'Take Me Home' as working titles, but nobody knows what the actual title is. There's a bit of organ at the end, which is from the song "Rare Bird - Bird on a Wing" and not related to this song.

    Any ideas or help identifying this song would be greatly appreciated.
     
  2. Cherryrxse

    Cherryrxse Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Spain
    Lyrics:

    As I came unto the village square,
    I saw a lady standing there
    I can take you to a tavern if you drive
    And she thanked me with a twinkle in her eye

    Tavern master saw that I was with a friend
    My guitar was strapped within my shoulder bag
    I can earn my keep for meal and a bed
    Tellin’ tales of all the villages I’ve passed

    Playin’ my song was much to my surprise
    Sufficient in the tavern keeper's eyes
    Listen to me sing the days of long ago
    And the lady wants to take me to her home

    Take me home (take me home)
    Take me home
    On my way
    On my way
     
  3. Mr. Siegal

    Mr. Siegal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sitting on my sofa
    I won't click, sorry.
     
  4. Cherryrxse

    Cherryrxse Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Spain
    It's fine. No worries, I guess.
     
    somnar likes this.
  5. John Fever M.D.

    John Fever M.D. Forum Resident

    I can't help solve the mystery but I do like it. Reminds me a bit of Christine McVie melodies. Probably the Rhodes piano that does it.
    Good luck and now I'm curious! :-popcorn:
     
    Jimmy B. likes this.
  6. Cherryrxse

    Cherryrxse Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Spain
    I appreciate it. I am curious, too. This mystery is still relatively new, so I am confident that somebody will hopefully recognize the song. It sources from the same OP as the one from the mystery song "I Keep Looking."

    The thread which you can find here: "I Keep Looking For That Sunset" Can anyone identify this '70s rock song?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 11, 2022
  7. John Fever M.D.

    John Fever M.D. Forum Resident

    Awesome crowdsourced mystery solving! I have a song like that I've been trying to find for 30+ years. Maybe I should start a thread about it.
     
  8. Cherryrxse

    Cherryrxse Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Spain
    Please do! You taped it off a radio, I assume? If you make a thread, do leave a link here so I can see! I'll share it around forums and with a couple of mates who are into these sorts of mysteries - of course, if that is fine with you! (-:
     
  9. Synthfreek

    Synthfreek I’m a ray of sunshine & bastion of positivity

    What does that even mean, it’s just a YouTube clip.
     
    Jimmy Jam, tkl7, drift and 6 others like this.
  10. John Fever M.D.

    John Fever M.D. Forum Resident

    Sadly only the chorus remains in my head. The recording I made off the radio disappeared long ago. I guess I would have to make a recording of what I remember. Hmmm... Food for thought.
     
  11. Cherryrxse

    Cherryrxse Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Spain
    I can only guess they think this is a marketing ploy or an advertising strategy of some kind and believe that they are contributing to it by viewing it. This is not the case, and I sincerely don't want to cause any drama, but only to request help solving this song. I edited my thread with a Vocaroo link; hopefully, that's a safer alternative for them.

    Link here: Vocaroo | Online voice recorder
     
    Last edited: May 29, 2021
    asdf35 and John Fever M.D. like this.
  12. Cherryrxse

    Cherryrxse Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Spain
    Do you recall the station this was recorded from and what the song's genre was? Sounds intriguing.
     
  13. John Fever M.D.

    John Fever M.D. Forum Resident



    Well this is kind of crazy and a bit embarrassing but I haven't searched for it in years and just for fun googled the words I remember just now and found two other inquiries of people who remember the chorus but couldn't find it. An updated Google groups post from 2017 solved it. I assumed the song would be called something like 'Too Far Away From My Beer' but it's just called 'The Beer Song'.
    It's not a masterpiece but the chorus is something my friend and I would sing at parties all because I had an old tape that cracked me up and I couldn't get it out of my head. Also I'm a sucker for a pedal steel.

    I absolutely would not have searched for this today if not for your post so thank you! A 30 year mystery of mine solved and I feel a bit like a thread hijacker. I'm sorry I can't help with your mystery but I'll keep an eye on the thread. Cheers!
     
  14. Cherryrxse

    Cherryrxse Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Spain
    :cheers:
    Quite an obscure gem! It seems like people had discussed this song on an old Google Groups thread from 2003. For some reason, this reminds me a lot of the country-rock band "Free Beer" from 1975. Glad I was able to help, and thank you so much for bringing this to my attention! I'd put this in my wish list if I could, it sounds wonderful! It seems like I can barely find anything related to this release on the Internet besides this Discogs entry, though: https://www.discogs.com/Bobs-White-Gazebo/release/4880855.

    I do wonder if our "Tavern" song from this thread suffered the same fate. I believe it is somewhere on YouTube with the actual song's title and author, waiting to be found. Unfortunately, it doesn't have much of a chorus, and for what it's worth, the title might not even be in the lyrics.
     
    Last edited: May 30, 2021
  15. John Fever M.D.

    John Fever M.D. Forum Resident

    Yeah, that's like trying to find an instrumental without knowing the title. "it goes mmm mmm doo laa". lol.

    Yeah I'm all over that discogs entry. I must get it. The pic of the cover in the youtube video looks like a CD jewelbox insert and has more songs listed than the discogs LP pic even though discogs has no listing for a CD so maybe it was self made or something.
     
    Cherryrxse likes this.
  16. Cherryrxse

    Cherryrxse Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Spain
    Oh, I didn't even see that they are selling it on Discogs. The cheapest one is 1.99$ with shipping fees.
     
    John Fever M.D. likes this.
  17. folkfreak

    folkfreak The cold blooded penguin

    Location:
    Germany
    I don't know who that is, but when we find out I will immediately try to buy it as it is exactly my kind of music.....
     
    Jimmy B., Sean, speedracer and 2 others like this.
  18. Cherryrxse

    Cherryrxse Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Spain
    Please, anybody has any suggestions on who the singer might be? It would be a shame for this song to remain unknown.
     
  19. asdf35

    asdf35 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin TX
    Saw this thread yesterday, but didn't notice the detail of this song being from that previous mystery Jim Dawson tape from radio broadcast. That's really cool.

    I'm confident it will get solved, and solved here.
     
  20. Cherryrxse

    Cherryrxse Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Spain
    Yes! After the Jim Dawson mystery was solved by forum user SteelyNJ, the OP submitted 11 more songs that were unidentifiable.
    These are the songs in question, provided from the spreadsheets:

    left side: unofficial titles; right side: official title/author

    I Keep Looking - Jim Dawson - The Livin' & The Dyin'
    • First Stone in a Pyramid: Gabriel Bondage - First Stone in a Pyramid
    • Won't Matter in a Hundred Years: Gabriel Bondage - You And The Wind
    • Bird of Paradise: Free Hot Lunch - Bird of Paradise
    • Fly Away: Henry Gross - Fly Away
    • State of our Union: Mariah - Reunion
    • Leavin' Idaho: Allen Dobb - Leavin' Idaho
    • Wide-Eyed: Allen Dobb - Watkin's Man
    • Ladies & Gentlemen: Gabriel Bondage - Ladies And Gentlemen
    • Under Your Wings: Rare Bird - Bird On a Wing
    • Open Spaces: Xit - Beginning / At Peace
    • The Fishes: Unsolved
     
    Lost In The Flood and asdf35 like this.
  21. asdf35

    asdf35 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin TX
    ^ I think that whole tape information might help, context clues.
     
  22. Probably from ‘68-‘72 something nowadays considered psych folk, probably independent/private press, ala Perry Leopold, etc.,


    Kinda stuff in the acid archives or deep in Rate Your Music (RYM)
    Acid Archives
     
    Cherryrxse likes this.
  23. Cherryrxse

    Cherryrxse Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Spain
    I don't think we have much information about the tapes in general. I could ask, though. Sadly, we do not know what other songs were on the same side (assuming it is the same tape) that contains this track. We made further contacts with the OP, but they seem to be busy as we speak.

    We do, however, still have the whole digitized side of the tape containing "I Keep Looking" along with some of the other former mystery songs discussed in this thread. If links such as this one are not allowed to be posted on this forum, please alert me, and I'll remove it right away.

    83.11 MB file on MEGA
     
    asdf35 likes this.
  24. Stone Turntable

    Stone Turntable Independent Head

    Location:
    New Mexico USA
    These music treasure hunts are fun!

    One of my favorite music/counterculture authors, Jesse Jarnow, is currently working on “an alternate history of music told through grey area recordings, live tapes, bootlegs, mixes, & other secretly influential non-releases from the 19th century to the present” that undoubtedly will feature lots of lost/obscure/buried mysteries like the song this thread is pursuing.

    https://twitter.com/bourgwick/status/1249761297052434432?s=21
     
    Cherryrxse likes this.
  25. bRETT

    bRETT Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA

    Yikes! Didn't this radio station ever play the Beatles or anything?
     

Share This Page

molar-endocrine