LIVE 124 • Bantry Girl’s Lament (912ce)

The Bantry Girl’s Lament is a traditional Celtic song which dates back to the early 1800’s.  The ‘lament’ is for the soldiers who were called off to fight in the Napoleonic wars, but I find the melody is more wistful than maudlin.  My fingerstyle version is based on Martin Simpson’s version from his fine album “Leaves of Life.”  While Martin used a Drop D tuning for the song (or rather its equivalent on Baritone guitar), I play it here in open G6: (D-G-D-G-B-E).  To me, this is a peaceful, meditative song that gives pause.  Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 912ce (Rosewood/Spruce, with Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD Light strings) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.