“He wrote in double entendres, and sometimes triple. And there's enough to keep you thinking. I think his music was really to keep you thinking and start up a conversation.” »read more
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This is a bittersweet poem about a friendship that didn't last very long. When Ewan MacColl wrote it in 1968, he was inspired by a line from the classic Disney Movie Mary Poppins: "I shall stay until the wind changes." At the time of the song's initial release in 1968, there were only 9 verses. By 1970, when the British press got a hold of Ewan's song, rumors in the tabloids reported that it was about a love affair that Ewan was having with another woman while still married to his wife Peggy. In 1972, a new version was published, this time, having been extended from 9 verses to 15 verses. The person who published the extended version was a local Londoner who read the rumors in the tabloids about the song. It was also noted that this song was part of a play made in London and loosely based on William Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet.
The 9 verse version of this song was Ewan MacColl's original version of the poem. However, it is the 15 verse version that has been recorded by many artists, such as The Dubliners, Planksty, Allison Brown, The Johnstons, The Clancy Brothers, as well as many other rare artists. However, it is the 9 verse version that is most well-known in Ewan MacColl's hometown of Salford, England. (thanks, Annabelle - Eugene, OR)
More songs inspired by movies
Comments:
And Queue to Islewood is a bit odd!! Its actually
'Kew to Isleworth' Up stream just before the first Thames Lock .
- Terry, London, United Kingdom
It is not: " of that silver town" It is "Made a brooch of Silver Town" - Silver Town being a famous place on the river - that is thames just in case you were forgetting the title of the song
- Wilf, Bury St Edmunds, United Kingdom