I was so very sad to learn that Scottish folksinger Jean Redpath has died, August 21, 2014 — here in Arizona at a hospice. She was easily the most powerful voice of my childhood — and her album "Skippin' Barfit Through the Heather" with its achingly beautiful traditional Scottish songs, and her gorgeous voice, slow and unhurried, mostly accapella completely captivated me. I think I wore down the grooves on the record, playing and replaying songs that I still sing today when I am tasked at work, driving, or just on my own. Here are two of my favorite songs from the first album:
"Rue" — the cautionary song of man's feckless love.
"Skippin' Barfit Through the Heather" — the title song of her first album and so embedded in my ear that I sing it often to myself, half under my breath but always imagining that brief, poignant encounter on the hills between the nobleman and the country girl.
It is so worth getting her other albums again — for her renditions of the child ballads and traditional Scottish songs are the best — just that amazing voice. This album (Skippin' Barfit Through the Heather" doesn't seem to be available any more, but Amazon does carry "The Song of the Seals" which simply gorgeous, along with "Frae My Aine Countrie" –also fabulous.
I just noticed that her music is on Spotify .. if you go there …
Thanks Karen. I did go ahead and purchase a few albums from Amazon — so my ears will be full of her songs for the foreseeable future! It’s amazing though, because as soon as I hear one, I am transported back about forty years when I used to see them All. The. Time. I think I drove my family crazy.
I think I first heard her on a Celtic Christmas radio program on WUWM maybe — when I was working in my store — 79-80 … – and that takes me back to Downer Ave at Christmas whenever I hear her!