Silver Dagger (song)

"Silver Dagger" (Roud [http://library.efdss.org/cgi-bin/query.cgi?cross=off&index_roud=on&query=711&field=20&output=List&length=150 711] ) is an American folk ballad, likely dating to the late 19th century though possibly much older; the first published version appeared in 1907. In the song, 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. The 1960 recording by Joan Baez, arguably the most famous version of the song, is a fragment of a much longer song, as the 1907 version contains many additional verses.

Silver Dagger also appears on Bob Dylan's "" album, with Baez singing what she refers to as "one of Bob's earlier songs." Dylan does not sing, but plays acoustic guitar and harmonica in accompaniment.

British band Saint Etienne's 1994 song "Like a Motorway" is based on the ballad. It was featured on their album Tiger Bay, an homage to traditional music presented in a modern style. The melody follows the original closely, but new lyrics paint a darker picture of the suitor's fate.

During their concerts in the early 1970s, The Eagles usually prefaced "Take it Easy" with an a cappella verse of "Silver Dagger."

Dolly Parton recorded the song in 1999 for her "The Grass Is Blue" album.

Roger Mcguinn the lead singer and guitarist on many of The Byrds' hits released a version of the song on the four-CD box set "The Folk Den Project 1995-2005".

It has also been recorded by Irish-American Celtic group Solas on their 2006 album "Reunion: A Decade of Solas".

In 2007 it was recorded by Scottish singer Maeve MacKinnon and appeared on her album "Don't Sing Love Songs".

Lyrics

;Joan Baez version

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.

G D G Don't sing love songs; you'll wake my mother.

D Em She's sleeping here, right by my side.

C D And in her right hand, a silver dagger.

G C D She says that I can't be your bride. [cite newsgroup
title = Re: Silver Dagger....
author = Jon Berger
date = 15 Oct 92 20:19:54 GMT
newsgroup = rec.music.folk
id = [e-mail]
url = http://groups.google.com/group/rec.music.folk/msg/1af71ca1e4a800c5?dmode=source&output=gplain
accessdate = 2007-05-01]

Appearances

The 1960 Joan Baez recording was featured prominently in the 1991 Lili Taylor film "Dogfight".

References

Simon and Garfunkel's 1966 song "A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)" included the line, "I've been Mick Jaggered / '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

* [http://www.contemplator.com/america/sdagger.html lyrics] (Public domain) at "The Contemplator's Folk Music Site"

References