> Martin Carthy > Songs > His Name Is Andrew

His Name Is Andrew

[David Ackles]

David Ackles sang his own, bleak song in 1968 on his eponymous album David Ackles (reissued in 1971 as The Road to Cairo). Martin Carthy sang it with somewhat different words in 1971 on his album Landfall. This recording was also included as a bonus track of the CD reissue of David Ackles's fourth and last album, Five & Dime. Martin Carthy commented in his album's sleeve notes:

The three modern songs here, His Name Is Andrew, The January Man, and Dust to Dust, were written by David Ackles, Dave Goulder and John Kirkpatrick. David Ackles is an American who writes songs sounding very like the French chansonniers. Dave Goulder runs a sort of doss-house-cum-mountain rescue service up in Ross-Shire, when he's not writing songs and poetry or singing in clubs. John Kirkpatrick used to (and, I think, still does) play piano accordion for the Hammersmith Morris Men, as well as doing solo folk club gigs singing.

Jon Boden sang His Name Is Andrew as the 2 November 2010 entry of his project A Folk Song a Day.

Lyrics

Davis Ackles sings His Name Is Andrew	Martin Carthy sings His Name Is Andrew
His name is Andrew He works in a canning factory He doesn't have a friend He chooses to wait alone for his life to end	His name is Andrew He works at the canning factory He doesn't have a friend He chooses to wait alone for his life to end
When Andrew was just a little boy He knew all the words to all the hymns of joy And he sang them on Sunday And he sang them on Monday And in April and in May And he heard them say God is love, God is love And he believed them	When Andrew was just a little boy He learned all the words to all the hymns of joy And he sang them on Sunday And he sang them on Monday And through April and through May And he caught them say God is love, God is love And he believed them
This child was Andrew He lived in a world of innocence On him the lion grinned He sang in the arms of God as he strummed	This child was Andrew He lived in a world of no sense On him the lion grinned He sang in the arms of God as he strung along
When Andrew was tall and twenty-one He wandered from God and wondered what he'd done For he still sang on Sunday Though he muddled through Monday With a silence in his head Till in jest it said God redeems, God redeems And he believed it	When Andrew was tall and twenty-one He wandered far from God and wondered what he'd done For he still sang on Sunday Though he muddled through Monday With a silence in his head Till in jest it said God redeems, God redeems And he believed it
This man was Andrew Hearing a voice he thought was stilled Back to the arms of grace He stumbled through darkened woods to a lighted place	This man was Andrew On hearing a voice he thought was stilled Returned to the arms of grace He stumbled from the arms of night into a lighted place
When Andrew returned to love and light He lifted his voice and sang away the night And the preacher from Sunday Heard him singing on Monday And he stopped him with a word From the dark he heard God is dead, God is dead And he believed him	When Andrew returned into the light He lifted his voice and sang away the night And the preacher from Sunday Heard him singing on Monday And he stopped him with a word From the dark he heard God is dead, God is dead And he believed it
My name is Andrew I work in a canning factory I do not have a friend I choose to wait alone for this life to end	My name is Andrew I work at the canning factory I do not have a friend I choose to wait alone for this life to end

Acknowledgements

Transcribed by Reinhard Zierke. Thanks to Jean-Pierre Cheval for some essential corrections.