The First Time (Ever I Saw Your Face) (Ewan MacColl)
The first time ever I saw your face,
I thought the sun rose in your eyes,
And the moon and the stars were the gifts you gave
To the night and the empty skies, my love,
To the night and the empty skies.
The first time ever I kissed your mouth,
I felt the earth turn in my hand,
Like the trembling heart of a captive bird
That was there at my command, my love,
That was there at my command.
The first time ever I lay with you,
And felt your heart beat close to mine,
I thought our joy would fill the earth
And would last till the end of time, my love,
And would last till the end of time.
The first time ever I saw your face,
I thought the sun rose in your eyes,
And the moon and the stars were the gifts you gave
To the night and the empty skies, my love,
To the night and the empty skies.
####.... Written by Ewan MacColl for his wife, Peggy Seeger, and originally recorded by the Kingston Trio on their album New Frontier in 1962, ten years before Roberta Flack made it into a super hit on her debut album First Take ....####
DIRTY OLD TOWN
I met my love by the gas works wall
Dreamed a dream by the old canal
Kissed a girl by the factory wall
Dirty old town
Dirty old town
Clouds are drifting across the moon
Cats are prowling on their beat
Springs a girl in the street at night
Dirty old town
Dirty old town
Heard a siren from the docks
Saw a train set the night on fire
Smelled the spring on the smoky wind
Dirty old town
Dirty old town
I'm going to make me a good sharp axe
Shining steel tempered in the fire
Will chop you down like an old dead tree
Dirty old town
Dirty old town
Dirty Old Town (Vx2)
Father's Song
The First Time (Ever I Saw Your Face)
Joy Of Living
Manchester Rambler (V)
Net Hauling Song ~ Traditional
Shoals Of Herring (V)
Up The Pond
Biographical Notes
Ewan MacColl was born James Miller and was a noted folk singer, actor, playwright, musicologist, and songwriter. His parents were from Scotland and relocated to Salford, Lancashire, England, where he was born. His parents were laborers and socialists, well-versed in Scottish, Irish, and English folk songs. MacColl left school to work as a laborer and mechanic when only 14, and became a strong union supporter which showed in his songs over the years. He changed his name in 1949, and, after moving to London in the 1950s, became an important figure in the emerging British folk song revival. He founded the Ballads And Blues Club (later renamed the Singers Club) and was active in promoting folk music in Britain. In 1962, MacColl was refused a visa to enter the United States because of his political leanings. This caused a furor in the folk music community, and he was eventually allowed into the country.
