Upon first look, Black Velvet Band appears to be about a party in Belfast, but it soon becomes apparent that the song has an ulterior message. It’s as though the warning is tagged on as an afterthought because it has nothing to do with the story. I thought her the queen of the land The Black Velvet Band is an Irish quartet led by singer/songwriter/guitarist Kieran Kennedy, also featuring singer Maria Doyle, bassist Shay Fitzgerald, and drummer/vocalist Dave Horner. When they are drunk they will led into some mishap and the next they know, they will be bound for Van Diemen’s Land – modern Tasmania. This was a very common practice for the British in the 18th and 19th century. A traditional Irish folk song, “Black Velvet Band” was originally recorded in the 1950s and has since been covered many times. 00: 59: 54. Tied up with a black velvet band”. 00:00 / 00:44. Also in 2012, the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards bestowed them with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Well I knew she meant the doing of him, by the look in her roguish black eye She was both fair and handsome, her neck it was just like a swans Far away from my friends and relations, betrayed by the black velvet band, Her eyes they shone like diamonds Learn more about the conductor of the song and Piano Solo music notes score you can easily download and has been arranged for. With limited lands that could be devoted to the housing of prisoners, the British created the penal system. “Well, in a neat little town they call Belfast, apprentice to trade I was bound She was plyin' her trade in a bar. Printable Traditional PDF score is easy to learn to play. Songs similar to or like The Black Velvet Band Traditional folk song collected from singers in Ireland, Australia, England, Canada and the United States describing how a young man is tricked and then sentenced to transportation to Australia, a common punishment … Yet in no version, certainly no widely used version, does the woman in the song use drink to trick the young man into being an accomplice. Browse Community. The judge he says to me: “Young man, your case it is proven clear Belfast is the capital of modern day Northern Ireland, and the nature of the song means that it must be listened to with regards to the tensions between Northern Ireland and the Republic. Perhaps he is too smitten with her beauty to do more. Off. The story these lyrics tell allow bands to use the song for their political purposes. Irish folk group The Dubliners with legendary folk singer Luke Kelly live in Stockholm (Sweden), 1973. Black Velvet Band – betrayal and penal servitude There are several versions of the Black Velvet Band to be found all across the world from Ireland to America and on to Australia. And the very next thing that you’ll know is you’ve landed in Van Diemens Land, Her eyes they shone like diamonds It is still known to many folk singers in Ireland, in the North at any rate, and a version collected in England can be heard on Wattle recordings A9 and B2, where it is sung by Ewan MacColl. The Black Velvet Band is featured on the album The High Kings (February 26, 2008) The Black Velvet Band by The Dubliners is featured on the album Seven Drunken Nights (Jan 1, 1967). And her hair it hung over her shoulder The first thing to be noted about this song is its location – the city of Belfast. Ironically, perhaps, transportation sentences helped to spread songs like the Black Velvet Band all across the world where they were modified and reshaped to suit their new environment. 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