I played this at my dad’s funeral. And I can’t tell you how beautiful it sounded and how much it brought a bit of much-needed soothing ‘magic’ to an otherwise thoroughly awful day. I guess if you can write an elegy as moving as this, your work as a songwriter is done. Thank you Roy Harper for making a difference 👍
I hope that you still find solace and strength in this beautiful song, and much more. Only our eyes say goodbye. Our hearts and souls know not the meaning of the word. And it is they who carry the greater truth. From one bereaved human to another, bless you and yours.
This masterpiece really doesn't get the recognition it deserves , at least the late , great dj , John Peel recognised its genius by choosing this track to be the last ever tune he would play on the radio , unfortunately he never got the chance. The whole arrangement and production is so captivating portraying a quintessentially English village cricket scene which is gradually dying out along with a brass band evoking a sense of nostalgia and serious reflection of times past and the fleeting existence of life.
!00 per cent agree. Look at some of the luminaries who sought Roy out and took his influence. Zepplin, Bowies the Stones, and maybe even St, Bob to name but a few, Stand alone genius songsmith. Still moves me to tears.
Ah the really good old days when we didn't need people to tell us that races differentiate between one another, and those whose religion forbids alcohol did not need our consideration.
Is this not the greatest sports song ever written ? Ok our American friends might not realise how poetic, sensitive and downright glorious this is (for a cricket-loving Scot like me....)
Thanks for all the great memories I have to enjoy old England, I wonder what, if any, memories new England will leave for the unfortunate kids of today.
Roy Harper everyone. What an incredibly emotional song. It almost makes me depressed thinking about how many other masterful songs from other unknown artists have fallen through the cracks in time. People need to hear this (nott that Harper is unknown but most people definitely don't know about him). People need to think about what it means to be a human. In the long term. Think about emotion
so evocative ...of times gone by ...but the sentiment remains true whatever time you hear this melancholic quintessentially British song ....capturing village fetes and community cricket grounds... weekend amateur cricket matches ....the nostalgic local pub teams... the ale to take the tinge off things and it's what the men drink in Blighty after all and who proudly champion their local brews and community..harks back to sepia tinged sunshine halcyon days long gone yet ever present ...somehow captures moments and souvenirs of bygone days yet still real world pockets in time ever continuing that ebb and flow like the tides and there's nothing quite like the sound of willow smacking ball on a balmy sunshine sunday afternoon in old england ...
Me and a friend- both of us quite certain that we were well schooled in the rock ‘canon’ had a conversation about famous (or cult) acts that we’d never actually heard. The Grateful Dead was our starting point and Roy Harper was one of many we knew of but had never heard. I was reading David Hepworth’s book about Abbey Road and he said of this track ‘one of the greatest pieces of music ever recorded in that studio’. He’s right - it’s near perfection. A beautiful, moving song.
I once sent him a spliff onstage at a gig in Liverpool uni. I'd written my name on it and he thanked me - of course he thought I was a man, cos of my name but still, nice name check from an amazing artist.......
Nice. Thanks. It said all the time, and I'm sure he didn't mean it when he wrote it, but there is no better song for the old funeral; it will be played at mine. It's even in the will!
You may have to be English (or at least a Brit) to get the whole feeling generated by Roy singing this song. Adding the brass band was an amazingly good idea that puts the song a notch higher than it already is. I followed Roy around London at thend of the Sixties, and he even let me perform a couple of songs using his Bailey guitar. (There's no doubt, his brilliance is not just down to that instrument...)
Damn this song is so good. The first couple of minutes I was like, “alright this is pretty good” and then the horns came in and it completely sucked me in.
Horns?....well, actually, it is THE GRIMETHORPE COLLIERY BAND.....to this day the finest sonic recording of a brass ensemble. 30 tracks across 2 x studer machines at Abbey Road STUDIO ONE
Atmospheric! Especially the very final section (6:36), where the various brass instruments always remind me of the colours of a sunset all blending together. The day after a friend of ours died there was a stupendous golden sunset which really looked like the gates of heaven being opened. In that case though it was a young cricketer leaving the crease because he was only 29. RIH Mike see you again at the hallowed strip.
As a lifelong both sportsman and musician this song brings me to tears in a way nothing else truly can. What are some other great songs about athletes? Bob Dylan’s “Hurricane” and Warren Zevon’s “Hit Somebody” come to mind but would love to add to the playlist!
an amazing sing I listened to today regarding Stuart Broad.."The Ashes: Stuart Broad hits last ball in Test cricket for six before his retirement" what a way to go
I love this song. When I'm entering heaven it will be playing, and you know that sublime moment when the horns come in (about 2:20 in), that's when our chihuahua, little Punky, will realize it's me coming to join her and she will be jumping over and over in love and in joy, tears down my face. Wait a minute. Am I allowed to say shit like that? I just did. Don Fiasco
Roy harper was so well known by british musicians but never chased the limelight of popular music. Stormcrow is still one of my most loved all time pieces of work. he also acted in a great little Movie called Kes. just hunt the webs for it you will not be dissapointed.
David Hepworth's new book about Abbey Road Studios (highly recommended!) brought me to hear this. While I am an American-born super-Anglophile, a lot of the band harmonies are popular with late 19th to 20th century Northeast American tonal composers like Charles Ives, Aaron Copland, and Leonard Bernstein.
Discovered Roy after Have a cigar on the Wish you were here album, I remember listening and loving this album back in 75, still enjoy it today almost 46 years later. Very moving and timeless.
beautifully put. one need not know a damn thing about cricket to get the fathoms-deep emotion here. I'm about to use Roy's birthday to quote you on Twitter!
I probably have said this before, but, when MY ashes are spread at Lake TAHOE I want a non stop loop of music to play for ETERNITY....... one of the ALBUMS has to be HQ👍🙏
@@batfudgie Glad to hear some Scots play cricket, hope you enjoy it as much as I used to and as much as I enjoyed some of your good ale when I was in Scotland around 25yrs ago.
I wanted Song to the siren by This Mortal Coil played at my funeral,but changed my mind when I heard George michael had recorded it...this would do instead.At least G M left it laone.
I played this at my dad’s funeral. And I can’t tell you how beautiful it sounded and how much it brought a bit of much-needed soothing ‘magic’ to an otherwise thoroughly awful day. I guess if you can write an elegy as moving as this, your work as a songwriter is done. Thank you Roy Harper for making a difference 👍
I hope that you still find solace and strength in this beautiful song, and much more. Only our eyes say goodbye. Our hearts and souls know not the meaning of the word. And it is they who carry the greater truth. From one bereaved human to another, bless you and yours.
@@larryfroot well what lovely words, thank you so much, very thoughtful and very true. All the best to you
This masterpiece really doesn't get the recognition it deserves , at least the late , great dj , John Peel recognised its genius by choosing this track to be the last ever tune he would play on the radio , unfortunately he never got the chance. The whole arrangement and production is so captivating portraying a quintessentially English village cricket scene which is gradually dying out along with a brass band evoking a sense of nostalgia and serious reflection of times past and the fleeting existence of life.
Couldn't have put it better myself, top comment
John Walters played in on the day J P died.
@@dillongstaff5625 John Walters expired more than 3 years prior to John Peel's death. I'm afraid you are mistaken.
one of the greatest songs ever
and it was not meant for just any1
This is magnificent but when he comes alive in Highway Blues! Well another matter. I was a young hippy but this was regarded as Holy Grail suff!
Anyone trying to discover the secrets to expressing yourself , with writing, should listen to Roy Harper.
Roy Harper doesn't get enough recognition....period. One of our greatest songwriters. Come out fighting Genghis Smith.....A masterpiece.
!00 per cent agree. Look at some of the luminaries who sought Roy out and took his influence. Zepplin, Bowies the Stones, and maybe even St, Bob to name but a few,
Stand alone genius songsmith.
Still moves me to tears.
Yes it is. I heard the whole album recently after 50 years. Stunningly good.
Played for my Dad at his funeral almost 1 year ago now. A masterpiece, heart-wrenching beautifully English music. Thank you Ron.
Ah the really good old days when we didn't need people to tell us that races differentiate between one another, and those whose religion forbids alcohol did not need our consideration.
Roy, even. You're probably thinking of Ron Geesin, also on Harvest Records.
Just hearing this at the news that Graham Thorpe has died. Floods😢. Memories of childhood and teenage years, now long gone.
Same here, gutted.
Know what you mean. And this is one brilliant piece of music . . .
My late brother Doug’s favourite artist. This song gets me bawling every time. Brilliant 🥲❤️
Is this not the greatest sports song ever written ? Ok our American friends might not realise how poetic, sensitive and downright glorious this is (for a cricket-loving Scot like me....)
Yes
I agree. very haunting and emotional.
Totally agree my friend.
The sting in the ale indeed.
😢
Thanks for all the great memories I have to enjoy old England, I wonder what, if any, memories new England will leave for the unfortunate kids of today.
Sharia law
John Peel described this as genius and said it would be the last song he played on the radio. Sadly he never got the chance
John Peel - now there's a bloke that left a massive void when he died. Nothing like him since and never will be.
Genius! Geoff and John
@@JamesStannage-zd1li ....with the new ball sting in his tail. Although neither Geoff (Boycott) or John (Snow) would have come in as nigh watchman,.
@ night watch man not mentioned in lyrics
@@JamesStannage-zd1li You're right.......ooops.
Just came here again. This is a wondrous evocation of grief and nostalgia. It seems very apt on the passing of Michael Parkinson.
Hat's off to all the old cricket 🏏 player's who still especially the over 65 and over is wonderful 😀 👏
Hat's of to Harper
Roy Harper everyone. What an incredibly emotional song. It almost makes me depressed thinking about how many other masterful songs from other unknown artists have fallen through the cracks in time. People need to hear this (nott that Harper is unknown but most people definitely don't know about him). People need to think about what it means to be a human. In the long term. Think about emotion
so evocative ...of times gone by ...but the sentiment remains true whatever time you hear this melancholic quintessentially British song ....capturing village fetes and community cricket grounds... weekend amateur cricket matches ....the nostalgic local pub teams... the ale to take the tinge off things and it's what the men drink in Blighty after all and who proudly champion their local brews and community..harks back to sepia tinged sunshine halcyon days long gone yet ever present ...somehow captures moments and souvenirs of bygone days yet still real world pockets in time ever continuing that ebb and flow like the tides and there's nothing quite like the sound of willow smacking ball on a balmy sunshine sunday afternoon in old england ...
Classic.when you begin listening you have to see it through to the end
Just an excellent piece of music.
Me and a friend- both of us quite certain that we were well schooled in the rock ‘canon’ had a conversation about famous (or cult) acts that we’d never actually heard. The Grateful Dead was our starting point and Roy Harper was one of many we knew of but had never heard. I was reading David Hepworth’s book about Abbey Road and he said of this track ‘one of the greatest pieces of music ever recorded in that studio’. He’s right - it’s near perfection. A beautiful, moving song.
Roy is the only artist that I can't remember how many times I've seen. Of course, I was always pretty stoned...
I once sent him a spliff onstage at a gig in Liverpool uni. I'd written my name on it and he thanked me - of course he thought I was a man, cos of my name but still, nice name check from an amazing artist.......
On the day when we have lost both Rodney Marsh and now Shane Warne this song has so much more meaning and resonance, God rest them both...
I came here to post those exact thoughts
As a kid, I saw Rod Marsh in a one day match in the mid 70s v Middlesex at Lords- 66644out .
Strange watching The Ashes & no Warnie about :(
@@Warp75 So many excess deaths just lately.
@@rogerbennett9641 First thing I thought of when I heard. Biggest crime against humanity of the 21st century.
The sheep do nothing
Always makes me cry
So lovely, just perfection 🌷
Me too
He's a musician's musician !
Nice. Thanks. It said all the time, and I'm sure he didn't mean it when he wrote it, but there is no better song for the old funeral; it will be played at mine. It's even in the will!
Totally agree, having it played at my fathers funeral on 26th November.
@@keithperry5700 Kind regards in sympathy for your loss
Maybe meet you one of these old afternoons, M, on a better Astral Plane.
Stay free. R 🍻 😎 🏏 🌠
To use a phrase from 1969 "this song is the most" don't even try to explain how good this is.
You may have to be English (or at least a Brit) to get the whole feeling generated by Roy singing this song. Adding the brass band was an amazingly good idea that puts the song a notch higher than it already is. I followed Roy around London at thend of the Sixties, and he even let me perform a couple of songs using his Bailey guitar. (There's no doubt, his brilliance is not just down to that instrument...)
Nice Bill
I have a passing interest in cricket, am Irish not British but I think it’s a great song . Think I understand the vibe too !!
Only Roy could write such a beautiful song. No wonder he is admired by so many top musicians.
John Peel described this as genius and said it would be the last song he played on the radio. Sadly he never got the chance
an epic piece of song and art and a poignant comment on our mortality, one of my all time favorites- john craig holland
Evocative. Simply beautiful. Thank you Roy Harper
a masterpiece !! listened to that at the age of 16 and it blew me away (so did Referendum) ! best wishes from an old german fart ...
Damn this song is so good. The first couple of minutes I was like, “alright this is pretty good” and then the horns came in and it completely sucked me in.
Horns?....well, actually, it is THE GRIMETHORPE COLLIERY BAND.....to this day the finest sonic recording of a brass ensemble. 30 tracks across 2 x studer machines at Abbey Road STUDIO ONE
Just wonderful what else can one say strains of life passing and witness. Just downright wonderful.
Atmospheric! Especially the very final section (6:36), where the various brass instruments always remind me of the colours of a sunset all blending together. The day after a friend of ours died there was a stupendous golden sunset which really looked like the gates of heaven being opened. In that case though it was a young cricketer leaving the crease because he was only 29. RIH Mike see you again at the hallowed strip.
harper's favourite, and another of his greatest paeans to englishness.
As a lifelong both sportsman and musician this song brings me to tears in a way nothing else truly can. What are some other great songs about athletes? Bob Dylan’s “Hurricane” and Warren Zevon’s “Hit Somebody” come to mind but would love to add to the playlist!
an amazing sing I listened to today regarding Stuart Broad.."The Ashes: Stuart Broad hits last ball in Test cricket for six before his retirement"
what a way to go
And tookd a winning wicket with his last ball in Test Cricket
@@alanoneill3065 yes, what a way to go out, and England have missed him.
Glorious..poignant....thank you.
"One of the dozen greatest recordings ever made at Abbey Road", according to David Hepworth.
Hat's of to Harper
Go well, Warney 😢
Such a marvel of a song. Thank you Roy for opening hearts, minds & souls with your stunning music 😊❤
Hats off to Roy
I love this song. When I'm entering heaven it will be playing, and you know that sublime moment when the horns come in (about 2:20 in), that's when our chihuahua, little Punky, will realize it's me coming to join her and she will be jumping over and over in love and in joy, tears down my face. Wait a minute. Am I allowed to say shit like that? I just did. Don Fiasco
I also played cricket day to night when i was young and i can't imagine how it was played in beautiful England counties in 1700 and 1800.
Roy harper was so well known by british musicians but never chased the limelight of popular music. Stormcrow is still one of my most loved all time pieces of work. he also acted in a great little Movie called Kes. just hunt the webs for it you will not be dissapointed.
Roy wasn’t in “ Kes “ mate . The film you are thinking of is called “ Made . “ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Made_(1972_film)
Stormcock my friend
David Hepworth's new book about Abbey Road Studios (highly recommended!) brought me to hear this.
While I am an American-born super-Anglophile, a lot of the band harmonies are popular with late 19th to 20th century Northeast American tonal composers like Charles Ives, Aaron Copland, and Leonard Bernstein.
Brings tears to my eyes
Discovered Roy after Have a cigar on the Wish you were here album, I remember listening and loving this album back in 75, still enjoy it today almost 46 years later. Very moving and timeless.
I seem to remember being so happy back then. Listening to Roy harper sing this song makes me realise we probably weren't. We were just being British.
I was the watching The Ashes today & was thinking how much I miss Geoff Boycott on the commentary.
🏏
Beautiful arrangement on a stunning song. I could imagine CSN singing this too.
Playing today for Deadly Derek. RIP Legend.
Beautiful game
The Welsh have a word for this song. Hiraeth. A heartfelt longing for a time that may only live in that ache towards it.
beautifully put. one need not know a damn thing about cricket to get the fathoms-deep emotion here. I'm about to use Roy's birthday to quote you on Twitter!
@@michaelshore2609 Go for it!
2 wakes at my local alehouse yesterday, life and people is all there is.
Da iawn I chi bach. Arbennig
❤ 🏴❤
I probably have said this before, but, when MY ashes are spread at Lake TAHOE I want a non stop loop of music to play for ETERNITY....... one of the ALBUMS has to be HQ👍🙏
I'm here Roy. Thanks for the music.
See you on the other side, Shane.
Beautiful!
Thank you Jimmy Anderson
Roy walks on water 😉✌🏻
He sure does.
Love you dad ❤
the beauty in this
I always thought this album was not his best work. Damn if this song isn't though.
This
Is still as good now as as it was when I first heard it first time Hat's of to Roy
Great song ! very moving... THANK'S
John Peel was right to recognize its genius.
Love him...
Lovely, Bye for now love Alan 👨🏫️
Doctor: You only have 7 minutes and 30 seconds to live
Me: 0:00-7:22
Why this meme here?
Ah, nostalgia 😢
Ain't what it used to be
I have same PTSD Marcus has documented
He was called John ❤
and it could be John
This song would be pefect for Sir Michael Parkinsons funreal
Ray Illingworth RIP today.
All out
NOT YET
With 💕my old friend RIp who got me into this
Johns Song
RIP Shane Warne.
RIP Warnie
You made me cry dammit...
👏👏👏👏👏
I happen to think about zeppelin and remember hats off so was wondering
Was it Blackdyke Band who palyed on this?
For Des.
💖 🏏 🌠
💛💚
Uncanny how similar to Roger Waters he sounds at points, especially when double tracked.
No wonder Have A Cigar worked so well..
I was one time the 12th man at silly mid-on.
I hope u like this
Rod Marsh and Shane Warne have, sadly,just left the crease
Evokes memories of when being English in England felt like being at home with the family. Should be banned, probably will be soon.
sorry, we Scots play cricket too (and have captained England) and love this song as the quintessential cricket song......
@@batfudgie Glad to hear some Scots play cricket, hope you enjoy it as much as I used to and as much as I enjoyed some of your good ale when I was in Scotland around 25yrs ago.
I’m ready to break for tea time.
I wanted Song to the siren by This Mortal Coil played at my funeral,but changed my mind when I heard George michael had recorded it...this would do instead.At least G M left it laone.
George Michael was a good man
Liked Harper for over 50 years but never rated this song at all.
Really?
Yeah, I never liked this one much. Always thought it dragged.
On HQ, Hallucinating Light conquers all
Well I'm not dead yet...