FOLIO TWO



TROUBADOUR THEME

When the wind is blowin', and the clouds are rainin',
sometimes it seems like gravity's gaining'.
But I keep movin' on, 'cause I've got a long way to go.
Don't carry much, just my heart and its rhythm.
They set the pace, and I try to stay with 'em,
and move down the Road, whether it's fast or slow.

(Chorus)
I sing a little ditty, when the weather's fine.
I sing a little blues, when it suits the time.
Sometimes I sing a song, like a hymn of the heart,
that flows on the wind, like the song of a lark.

When the night is cold, I move in a sleep.
When the song gets old, I just hear the beat.
I keep movin' on, and I try to stay on course.
Sometimes I see a Light, shinin' on the Way,
Dawn beckons on to a brand-new day.
The song flows free, and the pace is swift as a horse !

(Chorus)
I sing a little ditty, when the weather's fine.
I sing a little blues, when it suits the time.
Sometimes I sing a song like a hymn of the heart,
that floats on the wind, like the song of a lark.



Copyright 1996-"Future Folk" Music- Lyric by Betty Curtis - Music has been composed for this lyric by Steve Lester-New Moon Publishing- P.O.Box 203 - Joshua Tree, Ca. 92252


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TROUBADOUR MYSTIQUE

Lest I invite a scolding from the Academic community, I must clearly state that my use of the word Troubadour is in a broadly Archetypal sense. It refers to the Archetype of the singer/songwriter/performer on the Long Road of the Ages. It refers to a figure beyond limits of eras, ethnic cultures, nationalities, race, gender, or creed.

These are not formula figures. They are highly adaptable to current need, and futureward flow, of any time in which they appear. They are both the voice of their times, and of the Timeless. Their attitude toward their role is that of fellowship in shared human experience in the world.

There are many scholarly works on the period and place of Troubadours,in which that specific term was used. I am not unappreciative of such works, as it is a very interesting period. However, it is the Time-spanning Mystique of the role to which I now refer.

In the Troubadour Archetype, we instinctively sense a Presence larger than the individual person, and different from the singer-performer who focuses on their personal expression as unique to themselves.

The former is a Voice consciously rooted in that collective sometimes called the "World Soul", in which we all share, and consciously linked to a Spiritual Archetypal level in an interactive role. They remind us of our 'togetherness'.

The latter is the voice of the individual aware of their individuality, often in a lonely way. They too reach us with a companionship of that place we all pass through. They too render a great service on the Long Road. They remind us of our individual difference, which we must come to understand and accept. We cannot genuinely 'feel' the aware togetherness of the former until we understand the Purpose of our true individual nature.


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Both are important to us on that Long Road. I write lyrics expressive of both. However, I focus on the Voice of shared experience in our Time-Space Spiritual Journey through the world. This is because I believe it has been a neglected form of expression in our everyday life, via popular sharing. I think that the thoughtful lyric is valuable as an aid to healthy assimilation of experience.

It isn't that I feel one is more important than the other. I just feel we need an equal-time expression for our inner needs, as well as our outer needs. I'm weary of hearing such expression referred to as corn, and the disdain for message songs. Until we can share our inner Journey in respectful fellowship, we will have a schism of body and spirit to delay our travel on the Long Road.

This Voice of inner longing is something we all share, though it is often consigned to silence. It is the Voice of our togetherness, even in our capacity to feel separate and alone. It is an old human characteristic, and should be able to walk the Way with us in accepted fellowship. Not just times when external conditions lead to extremes and breakdown. This sense of being together in experience, bonds us in a mutual support relationship, much needed in times of great change.

The Troubadour representative is very active in our world today, because they are greatly needed. This is no figure left somewhere in the distant past. This is the bearer of a vital, healing, comforting Mystique, busily involved in the world today. I could name many such Archetypal representatives on the World Stage today, but there is not space to do adequate mention of all. You probably know them anyway. They work in every musical genre. They always offer the feel of continuing fellowship - as Companions on the Long Road.

Whether they appear as old friends, entertainers, prophets, counselers, lovers, or comforters, it is Inclusiveness, Dedication, and Caring, that identify them. The effect they have on the social climate should never be underestimated, or unappreciated. They help us all face our problems feeling less alone. And remind us that we all travel the Long Road - together.

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TROUBADOURS - PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE


As you have surely seen by now, I have a great respect for Troubadours. In fact, that is what lies at the very root of "Future Folk" Music. Our long range goal is to set up a Troubadour Scholarship. There are several steps before that goal can be reached. Until "Future Folk" Music has reached an income producing state, we cannot fund the early stages of that goal: nor can we offer the song collection to act as source of future fund-raising. For that we must reach the composers. musicians, and performers, who value the concept enough to aid in its development. As this is uncertain,we offer the Scholarship Concept freely to any who may apply it to their specific need.

What follows here is to present a view of the importance of the Troubadour role. If one could gather a complete, inclusive history of Troubadours, it would be voluminous. However, much of it pre-dates recorded history, and the name applied to them varies with time periods and specific cultures. The title "Troubadour" most readily conveys the idea of the Archetypal figure to us today. Here is a brief passage from Encarta On-Line about the origin of that specific title.

"Troubadours were lyric poets and poet musicians, who flourished in France from the end of the 11th century, to the end of the 13th century. They were active in Southern France. Written in Provencal, the lyrics of the Troubadours were the first to use native language, rather than Latin, the literary language of the Middle Ages. The majority of known Troubadours were Nobles, and some were Kings.

Verse forms used by the Troubadours included the canso (stanza song), tenso (dialogue or debate), sirvente (a political or satirical canso),planh (a complaint or dirge), alba (morning song), and serena (evening song). Musical accompaniments were played on stringed instruments, the lute, or viele."

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Doesn't that sound a lot like our present-day Country or Folk artist ? Even the song types are still basically the same. We don't call them by those names, but the description fits.

Not every singer of songs is a Troubadour in the sense that we are discussing. There is a conscious spirit of dedication that identifies the Troubadour Archetype. There is a representative position in Time-Space experience, which is essentially Timeless, yet is intimately reflective of the time in which the Troubadour is working. The Troubadour is always aware that they walk the Road of Life as only a successor in a long Procession. This is why the true Troubadour stands out as an Archetypal presence, and is recognized through Ages as an Old Friend. There is a 'marriage' of mutual feeling between the Troubadour and the people, whose Voice they represent.

Although the term "Troubadour" is not always used for present-day representatives, we instinctively sense them when they appear. They often are performers who continue through an entire generation, and have a very loyal following. Whenever you hear it said of a performer at their death that it "marks the end of an era", you can know that a representative of the Troubadour Procession has been with us, and departed.

They speak in every language, and are found among every ethnic culture. They always weave us together in root-deep, seed-solid, Faith-high, human fellowship, linked in a Spiritual bond. It is a noble calling, answered by a noble breed, however varied origins and styles may be. They travel the Long Road with us, take the same falls, make the same human mistakes, know the same heartaches and joys, and always filter it all through song. They show us that we are not alone in our Journey. It is Humanity's march, and it is Spirit's song.

This is just part of why I have such respect for the Troubadour, and believe we must ensure that this Comforter continues with us into the future. Folio Three explains our concept of one way to do that.

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Folio Three