Bridie Jackson and the Arbour “Scarecrow”
Bridie Jackson and the Arbour where the house band for Radikal Words, a night I ran at Northern Stage in Newcastle. Then they became famous and I couldn’t afford the fee
they rightly deserved and we parted. I also had the pleasure of working with Bridie on the “RiverRuns” a stage show we wrote and performed with a group of poets, writers and singer songwriters. The song I have chosen is “Scarecrow”. A wonderful haunting song from the pen of Louis Barabbas. Sadly, The Arbour are no more but Bridie continues to perform and record her music’
I have been to and indeed taken part in a few weddings in my time but in that strange way the muse can sometimes take you, as I listened to the track, I was also thinking of the Labour Party (stay with me on this one). In the 1970’s I was a member of the Labour Party Young Socialists and also an enthusiastic supporter of the Militant. The relationship fell apart following the Miners Strike and what I felt was the betrayal of the Labour leadership and factional politics of the left.
It has taken a long time for the wounds to heal but the revitalised and reinvigorated Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn have got me once again handing out leaflets and knocking on doors. Jeremy stuck with the party rather than going off in a sulk like I did. From the back benches he fought what must at times seemed like a hopeless task but he prevailed. Marriage is a bit like that for it to work you have to work through the tough times as well as enjoying the good ones (there… got there in the end).
The Red Wedding
You dressed in a red flag for our wedding
I was wore faded jeans and a slogan t-shirt
You were older but I loved where you had come from
I promised you my undying devotion
You offered me the full fruits of my labour
I became more demanding eager for change
You slandered my friends and then expelled them
I walked out disillusioned and bitter
You started dressing like a bank manager
I reluctantly supported you at the ballot box
You went to war and rained death on civilians
I cynically sulked on the sidelines
You found a new voice and rediscovered your heart
I want you to give me a second chance
© Jeff Price October 2017
