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Matty Groves
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A traditional English folk song performed in thrash dramatic fashion with the help of a heavy strung guitar tuned down to AEADF#B!
singer songwriter acoustic folk british guitarist song celtic traditional fingerstyle scottish scotland guitar kelso
Artist picture
Solo singer-songwriter and tunesmith playing British fingerstyle steel and nylon string guitar, and historic instruments. Scots and Irish influences.
I've been writing and playing songs and tunes since teenage years in folk clubs and pubs. I co-organise the Kelso Friday night live music sessions at the Cross Keys (hosted singaround 7.45-10pm) and Cobbles Inn (10-12pm open mic with The Cobbles Band) with the help of many friends. All welcome! Visit us at kelsofolkandlive co uk. It is worth clicking on the tab because the sound quality of my tracks is far higher than the auto player on this page. Many can be streamed or downloaded at 320KBps and the enhancement for solo guitar/voice far exceeds the benefit you get for highly compressed band recordings. My recordings are full dynamic, not compressed. Just select Hi-Fi for the first song, and an MP3 high bitrate window will open - you will still get a sequence of songs. Most of my downloads are free, but some 320KBps tracks are paid-for. These are selected because they make up my main instrumental album. I now have a YouTube page and have started doing some video recordings for fun: @daviddkilpatrick I have mainly played Lowden guitars since 1999. I current play a 1985 S5FN (nylon string), 1986 S22 (jumbo O-size mahogany/cedar), and 1995 S32 (small body rosewood/spruce). I also play my own 1997-built Martin 'kit' Grand Auditorium rosewood/spruce, a Sigma OM-T, Furch Little Jane, Tacoma Papoose, Guild 8-string baritone, Vintage V880 parlour guitar and Gordon Giltrap signature model, a Troubadour mahogany/spruce classical and an Adam Black 12-string. And that's just the guitars... also viola, mandolin, mandola, waldzither, bouzouki, Appalachian dulcimer, low D whistle, keyboards.
Song Info
Genre
Acoustic • Acoustic Folk
Charts
Peak #28
Peak in subgenre #3
Author
Trad. Arr. David Kilpatrick
Rights
David Kilpatrick
Uploaded
November 24, 2003
Track Files
MP3
MP3 5.1 MB • 128 kbps • 5:35
Story behind the song
've always done Matty Groves like this - with a lot of variety in presentation. It is, after all, a bit of a performance and needs some expression, even a two or three different voices. Here, I was testing my 'fake baritone' guitar - a cheap $60 Chinese dreadnought fitted with nickel strings gauged 17 to 63 in weight, and tuned a full string lower than a normal guitar (BEADF#B, with the bottom string also dropped one to A in this case). It just seemed the right song to do with this guitar and vice-versa.
Lyrics
A holy day, a holiday The first day of the year! Lord Arnold's wife to the church has gone The service for to hear And when the service it was done She's cast her eyes around And there she's spied little Matty Grove Walking in the crowd Little Matty Groves, Little Matty Groves Come home with me tonight! And you shall lie with me in my arms Until the morning light! Well I won't come home and I can't come home And I won't come home for my life! For I see by the rings on your fingers that You are Lord Arnold's wife! So what if I be Lord Arnold's wife? Lord Arnold's never at home! He's away in the far corn fields Fetching the yearlings home. But a servant who was standing near Heard every word was said He vowed Lord Arnold should be told Before the sun had set And when he came to the far fellside He bared his breast and he ran And when he came to the millstream wide He took of his shoes and he swam Well Little Matty Grove he laid him down A little while to sleep And when he woke in the morning light Lord Arnold stood at his feet. Well, how do you like my feather bed? And you do like my sheets? And how do you like my lady gay That lies in your arms asleep? Well, it's fine I like your feather bed And fine I like your sheets But better I like your lady gay That lies in my arms asleep? Get up, get up! Lord Arnold cried Get up while you still can! It'll never be said in England wide That I killed a naked man! Well I can't get up, and I won't get up! And I won't get up for my life! For I see you have two beaten swords And I but a pocket knife! It's true I have two beaten swords And they cost me deep in my purse But you shall have the better of them And I shall have the worse And you shall strike the very first blow And strike it like a man And I shall strike the second blow And I'll kill you if I can! Well Matty he struck the very first blow And he wounded Arnold sore And Arnold he struck the second blow Then Matty struck no more Lord Arnold took his lady wife And set her on his knee Saying, which do you like the better of us? Little Matty Groves or me? And up then spake his lady wife And spake she never so free! I'd rather a kiss from dead Matty's lips Than you in your finery! And up than sprang Lord Arnold And loudly he did bawl He ran his wife right through the heart And pinned her to the wall! A grave, a grave! Lord Arnold cried To lay these lovers in! But lay my lady on the top For she was of nobler kin!
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Comments 1
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Rosie Clare
Aug 21, 2008
Nothing like a good folk story backed by good music!! Loved it. Rosie