Donovan - The Hurdy Gurdy Man - SXSW 2007

[dyad2r1]

For lyrics to the song, google "lyrics hurdy gurdy man"

[tmoverbeck]

I wonder if Donovan ever heard the Butthole Surfers' version of HGM and what he thought of it... he is playing in their backyard, after all. :)

[LittleSweety]

This song was in the top 10 in the world charts in 1968

[paolablade]

Amooooo!!!

[paolablade]

Adorooooooooo...

[tomrasely]

I love this song, and Donovan has always been one of my all time biggest musical influences. This is a great performance, although I have to admit that I am missing Led Zep in the background! Thanks to whoever posted this.

[LynseyWells83]

Google "Donovan Unofficial"

What a great site!

[LittleSweety]

This song was no.18 in the world-year-end-charts in 1968

[banjojambo]

this is why I do not like produced music it takes peoples ears away from real human sound this is the real hurdy gurdy raw

[KiraBianca]

Anyone who tries to imitate Donovan, should at least be able to sing.

This video is just terrible!

[7188181]

Anyone who knows Donovan's work at all would have immediately recognized his voice here. He's in pure form and sounds as good or better than the 60s. People like you know nothing of music and shouldn't even bother making such ignorant comments.

[cindyshealed]

This IS Donovan Leitch.

[nativelad]

Wow.He kinda sucks live.

[smartkart]

Why do you say that? He sounds better than ever and sounds exactly like he did in the 60s. If you're talking about that quiver in his singing, it's his trademark and he always did it without the use of recording tricks. You're just another idiot who has zero taste in real talent. Donovan was on the Smothers Brothers show during a musician strike and managed all his music with no other musicians. Donovan's a true musician and sounds better than ever.

[spaceword]

it has to be one of the interesting stories of poopular music that Don actually wrote the song for somebody else but then allowed others to manipulate it to their own end and the guy who it was written for received no gift whatsoever. This will go down in history as one of those injustices that will never quite go away.

[mjk450]

he played part of this in india and george harrison made up a verse on the spot but it was never used to many years later when donovan told the story at a concert about them all sitting together in india and proceeded to sing the george h verse

[Axloooo]

is that man donovan??

[wrafter]

Very much was himself.

[cinderiffic]

i agree

[buelligan123]

No insult intended, but that was pretty crappy. That really wasn't Donovan was it?

[amateurshooter]

Those people who left at 1:18 can go to hell! lol wow was that friggin rude!

[JimiHendrixWasGod]

I'm sure they are sorry.....

[jwalshson08]

awesome

i hope i can go this year

=D

[neucat]

WoW... Fanstastic

[ratkillerinparadise]

I love it!

[bb97js]

what complete shite why the wobble voice sounds fuckin arwful

[ratkillerinparadise]

It's old 60's hippie stuff man. They did that!

[maryjanemars]

Beautiful People!!!!

Please Sign the Petition to induct Melanie into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Please Visit...

Flower Power Lives! on MySpace !!!

IT'S ABOUT TIME!

[mugwamp4]

WHY????

[waynealarsen]

Melanie was a customer of mine. I wound up with her Goya guitar she played at Woodstock and Carnage hall. in the '80's she was always going to Europe where people were bigger fans.

[Tremmenthina]

viva butthole surfers

[rockybert]

Page, Bonham and Jones all played on the original recording of Hurdy Gurdy Man. Page and Jones did other session work for Donavon; Jones also did arrangements.

[adammmiles]

Urban legend. Jones produced it and played on it, but Bonham and Page weren't on it.

[rockybert]

It may be urban legend, but I am going by the credits on the CD.

[Lamurias]

really? so i assume you were there, because that's like the only way you would really know better than donovan himself

[bewaremylove]

the lead was for Jimi and George H was involved with a verse. This song is about Sexy Sadie

[Gorniac]

Jimmy was there and helped figuring out the guitar, but he is not the one who played...

[lpbms11]

is this man donovan ?

[nhbright]

Is he currently performing? Interesting to hear this in a church.

[tboid]

it was jimmy page

[reptilicus]

Alan Parker did the solo. Not Jeff Beck.

[tomrom7]

Jeff Beck played guitar on Barabajagal, not Hurdy Gurdy Man, which was Jimmie Page.

[Zappfrank]

Please, hear version with Jeff Beck's guitar solo...

[rclark14]

kudos to Donovan - great songwriter and great singer

[RobinofSactown]

I read that Donavan wanted jimi to play on this when D got backfrom India, but JH wason tour in America, might have done otherwise, who knows? I love "Barabajagal" w/ D and Jeff Beck.

[bakshay]

Here's a verse written by George Harrison but not recorded in the "hit" song:

When truth is buried deep

Beneath 1,000 years asleep

Time demands a turnaround

And once again the truth is found

That's when the hurdy gurdy man come singin' songs of love

Hurdy-gurdy man...maharishi..love...medita­tion..transcend and seek enlightenment....

[sailorladpeadar]

He did sing that live.

[bubajim]

Listen: I want to understand what these lyrics mean.

Could someone enlighten me? What is it all about???

[walrus108]

When he was in India with the Beatles, every morning a man would come buy playing a hurdy-gurdy singing and begging. Remember that from an old radio show interview.

[bubajim]

That is incredable. I own two hurdy gurdys. noone has ever mentioned what you have said. The only reason that otehrs will surely doubt this is becasue the hurdy-gurdy pretty much never exists in India... excpt: you (or he) could have meant the barrel organ with the turning crank. That could be--named the same.

[bubajim]

Hurdy Gurdy is a classical, and folk, and church instrument. However, it is strongly associated with any turning crank, and also with beggars and/or blind people. The turning-crank option opens a wider variety of possiblities.

[backoftheq]

watch,listen,appreciate

[ceresmary]

For those who don't know, Donovan had Polio when he was a kid, this affected his "vibrato", and range, this is why he and Joni Mitchell could sing such high notes! So, to those who appreciate him, he is one of a kind! And deserves to be in the Rock and Roll hall of Fame! Thanks! Ceresmary.

[RobinofSactown]

Ceresmary I didn't know that, but another great singer songwriter had polio as a child.- Neil Young.

[ceresmary]

And Joni Mitchell! Just another one... This she attributed to her high notes. It affects the vocal cords.

[vchele]

It's amazing that his voice singing this is almost exactly the same as it was in 67-68

[alexriegelman]

is it just me or has his vibrato gotten much more pronounced as hes gotten older?

[PATTISMITHROCKS]

amazing-his voice sounds exactly like it did when i first heard the song on am radio--thanx SOOOO much for this video!!!!!!

[proflight2000]

he sounds like he is sitting on a mains powered vibrator, wobble wobble wobble.

[smartkart]

That vibrato was a part of the song and is supposed to sound that way. He does it without any technical effects as he always has. People who make ignorant comments like yours know nothing about Donovan and should just move on to some crap music. It's easy to find on youtube.

[FTarquin]

@proflight2000 Yeah you know a lot about Donovan.... but you didn't know this was him...?

[groens]

i haven't been to sxsw in a decade, but if i knew donovan was to appear, i'd have really made an effort to go see it! this song REALLY reminds me of my college years!  (and is reflective of present day as well)

[militaryfirearmsdude]

Wheres the studio version?

[jbe14]

Brilliant.

[mart52]

he is a genius i love him &this song

[cesare58]

I'm completely with you!

[mart52]

hello

thank it's great have people like you

[cesare58]

hello,

good to know we are not alone on the spaceship Earth!

Donovan has many fans but is underrated by the rest (the majority,unluckily). To me, he's always meant a lot.

[zenarcade64]

Who were the idiots who left during his performance?

[wrafter]

They weren't leaving, all the movement was as a result of SXSW volunteers asking people sitting/standing in the walkway to keep it clear.

[SteeringKnuckle]

John Paul Jones played bass and strings. Jimmy Page played backing guitar on the original studio version of this song for Donovan. They met as session musicians prior to forming Led Zeppelin.

[waxwall]

there are no strings on the recorded version,

although Jones did play bass.Alan Parker also played guitar & Clem Cattini on drums. Besides guitar Don played tamboura, a drone instrument.Jones & Page

played on several Donovan sessions in the sixties.

[SteeringKnuckle]

oh damn. ok,thanks. It depends on what you read I guess. It came from a story in Guitar World.

[isandrich]

Love this song!

[longneckshorty]

Wow,he is amazing even in 2007.

I remember seeing him in the 1960's and his guitar had the sign"this machine kills" stuck on it.

Keep on playing buddy

[ledzepboy3]

Donovan the best folk singer...

(my Opinion)

[wrafter]

He played at least twice. But he was one of some 1735 acts playing in four days, so you can be forgiven!

[shreveyboy]

omg! I didn't know he was there!