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From: RT83
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  • My all time favorite artist - so natural. Couldn't read music and didnt care to. Check out the documentary of him which is on youtube.

  • Ah yes, back in the days when people actually went to the trouble of miking up acoustic guitars instead of just plugging them into the desk along with that farty electro-acoustic sound. JM's guitar always sounded natural, this is great.

  • John always seemed a little embarrassed by his talent - I can't think of many artists whose between-song persona was so far removed from the gentleness and intense beauty of his performance. Check out his self-conscious looning right at the end of this clip - it's almost as if he's saying it's all a send-up.

  • Is this the video of the version on BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert? (With the black and white photo on the cover) It sounds very similar.

  • That missed note at the start sounds awesome. John Martyn was one of a kind His music was always the first thing I thought of when I was feeling hurt or downhearted taking comfort in the knowledge that someone knew how I felt. He was one of the deepest musicians ever.

  • Nothing will ever come close to the genius and the soulful music of the great John Martyn. It saddens me everyday I think that he is no longer with us, but he left beautiful music for us to live our life by, and for that we can be eternally happy. I love you John, and I miss you.

  • Actually, this vid cannot be played in my country (Netherlands). I might just hit the 'dislike' button too, if only to give those old fashioned record companies a warning. Nah, I know it won't help. Still, it sucks!

  • @puckduim Can you not copy and paste the link into keepvid [dot] com? That'll save it to your computer as flv or mp4 etc. Hopefully ye can view it then

  • @evad6832 For some reason I can play it now. Awesome!!! And thank you for the tip ;-)

  • @puckduim is there a good tab for this somewhere? Would love to learn it.

  • @ecojot There is an instructional video on youtube that shows the tuning and fingerpicking sequence, as John plays it. There is also another video that shows how to lay it in standard tuning.

  • @TheJaytnt Standard tuning?! Heresy! :p

  • love it cheers Dave

  • i'm a carpenter, i have a beard, im a surfer and surf when theres ice on the ground, i cut wood in my spare time, and consider my self a man. and right now, watching john, hearing him, i'm reduced to tears. rip my man, wish i could have met you.

  • @WillBrawnmusic modest too :)

  • I love you John...

  • I go every time I hear thisone,it cuts deep,one of my Blub like a girl songs.Utter beautiful perfection.

    I'll confess to- I Used To Know You by Johnathan Kelly and Percy The Penguin by Stackridge as my other blub songs..Yes 'Im an old freaky softie, but what the hell,good music is good musc.

  • Pure gold.

  • Achingly beautiful

  • delivered with so much soul it hurts.

  • This is wonderful, brings a tear to the eye, for the quality of the music, and for what we have lost. Thanks for posting this gem.

  • This was the first John Martyn tune I ever heard and I am so grateful to havebeen shown it. What a mood he creates

  • English folk at its best.

  • correction, THIS is MUSIC at its best.

  • "He got so reduc-ed he caused great confusion, and that was the reason he stared to roam"

    I know he didn't write it, but it is sounds much more immediate than when the Copper family did it! He know of what he sang!

  • I was once homeless - and now happily settled with my second wife - and this song - especially the way John sings it - has a special poignancy for me.

  • @sionnyn Nice one mate, hope you and the wife will be eternally happy.

    John holds a lot of meaning for an awful lot of people for many many reasons.

    He changed my life for the better when I first heard his music too.

  • I get so into this song I listen to it over and over sometimes.

  • Ouch - JM uses Gaffa-tape to fix the pickup ont the guitar. That hurts! Nevertheless a great picker!

  • There is only ONE God, and in my music world John is it...loved him then, love him now ..and for ever, every song records part of my life...one day we will all be with you again...John

  • His voice in those days was truly beautiful. Then gradually he piled on the weight & it got even better. One of the defining songs of my youth. I also love the fact that he's completely toasted here and enjoying hearing himself play as much as the audience are. What a wonderfully debauched soul he was. A true child of the 60s.

  • Must be the only song in existence that mentions the town of Rotherham, the neighbouring town to where I live.

    Great song, beautifully sung.

  • brother dransfield brothers

  • wow;wow;wow; wonderfull;R.I.P. AND THANKYOU SO VERY MUCH!!

  • Cannot believe 1 person does not like this.

    They must think Lady Gaga is relevant.

  • @niallvan *yawn* Comments about people pressing the dislike button seem to be the new "FIRST!" on youtube these days.

  • @RT83 Sadly true...and btw there is 2 now lol

  • @RT83 Well looks like you are the first dislike to my comment about dislikers therefore you're the first second dislike.

  • @niallvan I find this humorous and true

  • @niallvan Well I think Lady Gaga is great and have to say that this is also fantastic, just, beautiful. So there. it is possible to like both. x

  • @niallvan She is relevant!!! As a comparison. She's a total pain in the ass, whereas the music of JM is quality..

  • @niallvan Lady Gaga IS relevant: in order for heaven to be fully appreciated we must know hell!

  • @niallvan

    hey don't knock our lady ga ga ooh lah lah.

    i was lucky to see jm 3 times in my life,it's all music... well except for michael jackson that is.

  • Thanks very much for uploading!

    Greets from the NL

  • What words can convey to others the brilliance of this man .....just listen to his music no words needed. Thanks for touching my soul !

  • Beautifull! xx

  • A man you w'ont meet every day .

  • "He'd been much reduc-ed , and he caused caused great confusion - and that was the reason he started to roam! "

    I know it well!

  • One of the greatest without a doubt.

  • Spencere the Rover by the Great man himself, followed by Nick Drake's When the Day is Done. My god, I love YOUtube sometimes.

  • That has got to be the most captivating, honest, wonderful performance I've ever seen. If you want to see the strength a person can muster from looking inward........look no further than John Martyn.

  • John your music is poetry. R.I.P.

  • Sorely missed without doubt the finest singer songwriter this country has produced since robert burns.still amazes me that "run honey run " was written when he was seventeen technical ability is not the phrase, genius is closer, nite john and thanks ya wild big headcase you'll never be forgotten YOWZAA!!! You were john wayne (every thursday) !!!lol

  • Surely John's signature tune? When I think of him - this is the song. Even have a friend knicknamed after the subject of the song!

  • solid air? those albums, mainly london conversation were amateur compared to his later stuff.

  • saw you alive in genoa (italy) many years ago

    R.I.P.

  • Love this song. Saw him perform it firt time I saw him in 1979. I was fortunate to see him amny times after that and I even saw him and spoke briefly to him when he played his last in Dublin shortly before his sad passing. Love you John.

  • Try and get hold of the BBC sessions version, the best (might be this one)

  • Awesome.... saw him a month before he died in cambridge.

  • I miss you John

  • this is the first time ive ever heard this song...im a huge fan of solid air and know a couple of others but this has simply blown me away, emotion passion dynamics. i feel hard done by never to have seen john but ill always be greatful that i can hear him when i need to, his sound will never die rip john

  • perfectly beautiful, thanks kindly for sharing,cheers

  • i interviewed him once for the croydon guardian, and being a big fan of solid air completely forgot that he'd done a lot since then, so i panicked and got my facts confused.. ended up telling him that he'd inspired eric clapton to experiment with free jazz. not my finest half hour. he was pissed too (drunk), but laughed throughout the interview. lovely guy

  • I think I overflowed on bliss at around "prittle prattling stories"

  • i wish i had got a chance to see john live

    these videos closest i can get

  • I was lucky i saw him many times always a Religious experience. First time i saw him was at the Imperial Collage London when he had released Sundays Child, you could cut the atmosphere with a knife as they say, just blew me away, remained a fan of everything he ever did, but saddly i never made it to his last tour, and it was a great one, such a great loss, but he's still with me in my heart. God bless you John and thanks.

  • just doesn't get better than that , beautiful performance , a lot of young up and coming singers should study this and see how he slips in to his own world to get the performance across . I wish he was still around , I only got to see him once live, thank heaven for these recordings.

  • the best song and the best songwriter.

    this song always makes me so sad

  • the finest songwriter most people have never heard!!if you ever met him you'll know he WAS john wayne r.i.p bigstuff the thought your gone still draws tears sorely missed an never to be repeated

  • I was a huge Status Quo fan back in 1980. Then a friend played me One World.. my (musical) life has never been the same since. Thank you, John. R.I.P

  • Oh Man, the thought of missing him hurts.

    Just listened to his "Singing in the Rain", and my life smiles a bit more

  • anyone know the june

  • it "spencer the rover" off the album sundays child , its a very old traditional folk song that he did a fantastic adaptation of..

  • absolutely stunning

  • A Unique Artist ~ A Truly Brilliant Musician ~ Sadly Missed

  • that is why he is my man! Everybit of him is on the button....What a man. Proper doings

  • Right on (-:

  • HAS TO BE (-: fact of facts i don't do those face things....but i jus did. never again

    X

  • Then I feel privileged (-: (oops!). I liked your expression "proper doings".

    As for the face things. . . I made a compromise: I'll use the basics to avoid being too long-winded, but emoticons. . . NO WAY!

  • spill them out everyday. you will soon be gone! All the bad stuff happens when things arn't done.

    emotions are pure

    and tricky

    tread lightly

    pon

    X

    new comings is

  • A true legend!

  • such prolific reality, heartfelt passion and talent

    the music world owes a lot to john martyn,

    bet he`s booked out every night in the great gig in the sky!

    his body was letting him down, it was time for him to move on...

    see ya soon john boy,

    peace

    E

  • one word for jihns music, and this goes for every song...

    captivating

  • wowowowowow

  • a wonderfully beautiful rendition by The Master's Voice!

  • Salut l'artiste !

  • What a bloody GENIUS!

  • so long as men need music... So long as men can breathe or ears can hear,

    So long lives this and this gives life to thee.

  • What a VOICE, what a musician. I love you John. You live on.

  • Oh John miss ya man,

  • What a stupid thing to say you Knobjockey, Music is timeless and I too only discovered John Martyn after he left us and I look foward to listening and buying all his fantasic music. So you're saying just because people alive now were'nt around when Mozart was alive they can't listen to classical stuff......? Arse!

  • Comment removed

  • Goodbye John-you made so many of us so happy.Thankyou and Bless you.

  • @Hellishhorse

    I agree.

    His wife and four children perhaps a bit less, as he was a rambler.

  • @cocochanelleke wow, you are officially out of line on that one. How dare you say that, he didn't even write this song too if that why your referencing the rambling remark. Just unnecessary, sorry but its the same as if you said this in person, i would have to speak up.

  • Bless you John- whacked out on wonder-weed and just groovin' with it... And what a voice!

  • wan man an his guitarr, it disna get ony better than this! everyother musician whae ever lived sit doon an listen, .............so damn fine, god bless ye John

  • Really old English folk song resurrected by the John. Rather lovely.

  • if i was to hear this song only, for the wrest of my life .. i would be happy :)

  • nicely put!!!!

  • a scottish genius up with law and dalgliesh.....................­.pitty the world was unaware

    unworthy

  • John you were a fucking genius... Your voice will last as long as we will.

  • I hear this song again after 28 years and I cried. Thank God for youtube. His voice is really the best voice I've ever heard. Now I can listen to Spencer the Rover everyday. Hooray!

  • Listened to this one a number of times today driving around. Jings it gets to you :)

  • Great song!

    does anyone know where i can get the chords from?

    thanks

  • Yep. Just go to johnmartyn (dot) com, and click articles, then guitar scores.

  • @RT83 a lot of the scores on that site are wrong

  • @MrMarko890 Because of your pointless nitpicking of a piece of advice I gave two years ago, I had a look at the site again and found out that John's final album was completed and released a short while back. Thanks :)

  • @RAPM2591 copy john.............good luck.

  • beautiful....thankyou.

  • thank you sir, for going to all the trouble of combining the audio and video here. it was certainly worth it. a lovely version of one of my favourites.

    gratefully yours, wordofgord

  • No probs. It was well worth the effort.

  • does anyone know where i can find the version of "one world" that ends at the start of this video?? cheers

  • Not sure what you mean. The video comes from the VHS tape "In Vision" (with audio taken from a CD release, since the sound on the tape is very faint), and the song that comes next on the tape is Dealer, not One World.

    Waggonerslad uploaded that performance here: watch?v=ew6P_KoEPzc

  • Oops. You said "ends at the start", but I read it as "starts at the end" :p

    That performance of One World is on the "At The BBC", which is an absolute must-buy for any John Martyn fan.

  • i have actually ordered it but it hasnt come yet! and bbc iplayer has stopped playing it i was hoping it would be on youtube. oh well i will just have to wait

  • FUKIN EXCELLINT BIG YIN!

  • Did you mean to put this comment on one of my Billy Connolly videos, or did John Martyn get the same nickname as well?

  • I got in JM in the 70's. Saw him play at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon. Just him, his guitar and a guest appearance by Paul Kossof - truly amazing experience.

    Loved him then, love him now. Gawd bless 'im.

  • makes you want to leave your band and go solo.......!! and i'm not even the singer..... hehe hehe.....nah this guy was class this is a fav along with 'small hours'....and the album 'solid air'...defo gonna check out the rest of his stuff from the 70's......

  • Cabronosidad thank you so much didn't know anything about the doc on BBC4 gonna take a gander on the iplayer now..(and your right the man was truly magnificent)

  • as valiant a man as ever left home

  • Truly magnificent. JM at his best!

    BBC4 are re-showing the documentary on 20th. March as a tribute to him.

  • Utterly perfect. Such a big heart to sing such a song. John pours out every ounce of feeling.

  • RIP John Martyn.

    Quite a lot of your songs are absolutely amazing; some of them are not so good.

    But even if ALL of them were perfect and wonderful, I couldn't love you more.

  • up ya bum :) this geezer helped me through life and all its horrid pitfalls, and at the end, he still makes me smile

  • Sadly missed, what wonderful music he gave us. Thank you for this.

  • Brilliant!!!

  • RIP John Martyn. You have brought me much joy

  • Hypnotic tempo, such a clever working of the song - the mark of a genius to make it his own.

    I saw JM at Battersea Arts Centre, I think it was 77 or 78. Everyone sat on the floor, John with a spliff lodged in the head of his guitar. He even used the pearl button on the sleeve of his Levis shirt to provide a rhythm against the body of his guitar.

  • ..Great song! Great singer! *****

  • I love this song...xxx his waxy voice flows right through me - Specialy when he sings about the "prittle prattling stories drive care away" - Just Marvellous! He was a law unto himself and lived life to the absolute maximum - Fair play but still very very sad....

  • Indeed. Although the song dates back to long before John's time, its as if the words were written for his voice. The line that gets me is "there he dreamt about sighin', lamentin' and cryin'".

  • I could sit and disect his words all day long....! I had a JM moment last night. Got myself a bottle of splosh and had an absolute ball listening to many many of his extrodinary songs.....It never ceases to amaze me how John can go from the truly romantic to absolute vehemence! What passion he had.....

  • Spencer the Rover was not one of John's songs it was a traditional song but probably never sung so well as when John did it!!.........I think you'll find that the

    "bum note" 10 seconds in is intentional!!

    As it features in most recordings of this song!. Probably a little joke on John's behalf.... I agree with the guy below who

    says it's a little sad to see John here in his heyday looking slim & handsome...

    when he gained weight in his latter years

    But we all get Old...We know not how!!

  • I got a mate like JM he's one mean player but he likes a punch up it's like a completely different side to him. Dave Sutherland check him out. His music is real similar. But not as famous unfortunately.

  • As is the way of things, it took more than bread and cold water to refresh Mr Martyn.

  • Whether you are on the biggest high or on the most complete downer- he had a song which captured the moment for you. He had been through it all. Genius is a word which is used too often these days- John- you WERE a genius- people will study your music in the years to come. RIP

  • It's so sad to see John here and the bloated figure he cut before he passed away. Absoloute beaut of a song!

  • The best song by one of the best singer-songwriters EVER.

    Big Man, may you find the peace you never had here.

    Richard oxoxoxox

  • I'll miss you John

    have a pint above the clouds!!

  • Love the smile when he hit the wrong chord at 10 seconds,.......... I'll say it again "As good as it gets" I cant get him out of my head for the last few days.

  • Me too. He was fantastic.

  • Even though I was expecting it any day, when the first "RIP John" hit my inbox, the news really got me down. He has been - and will continue to be - one of the biggest influences on my own guitar playing, and his unforgettable songs will be an integral part of my repertoire for many decades to come.

  • Goodbye John, thanks for all the music and the kiss on the cheek in Brighton in 87!!

  • Thanks for soothing me throughout my crazy youth.

    There are people we never meet who give us more than scores of those who we do.

    So long, Sir John

  • 30 years ago I saw John Martyn at Brunel University in West London --I still remember the concert. Bought albums and remember this song and many others. I've played the songs for my kids.... timeless. RIP

  • r.i.p.

  • Spencer the Rover.......John Martyn in one

    He was a lovely lad & will be sadly missed by me & all those who heard his

    Music I saw him live many times & he brought great Joy to us as students....he liked to live Life in the fast lane & eventually it has caught up with him........

    May You Never...........was such a lovely

    song & summed him up!

    Doug Reid

  • how to say goodbye.....

    wonderful wonderful music and soul!

  • a true genius!

    I saw him twice in Leicester.

    RIP Johnny boy....

  • So, John Martyn, my hero and old friend, died yesterday. 60, seriously diabetic and had one helluva lifestyle.... so no real surprise, but I feel great sadness.

    Here he is, long ago and in very much better days, singing what is possibly the loveliest version of "Spencer the Rover" ever recorded (it's an old English folk song). Here's to you, my friend.

  • He´d been on the ramble. RIP

  • A real loss to music. Wish id seen him live.

  • RIP. I love 'Sunday's Child'.

  • Blessings on you John, go in peace

  • Ah! Poor John,He did it the hard way.

  • beautiful!! i told people today at work, he died. they said*who*? their loss .

  • Not often I get emotional about things but this got me today, and yep, no-one at my workplace knew him either! Roisin Dubh around 98 would be the highlight for me

  • I was there too! Great gig. Apparently it was his favourite venue (before the rebuild of course)

  • Curse the Weather that takes you away.

    You will not be forgotten John. A unique talent. Your music will live on.

    Thankyou John for enriching my life.

    R.I.P.

  • bless the weather that brought you to me

    that line caught my eye

  • One of his most beautiful songs.... a very sad day

  • Very sad day.

    RIP John.

  • so sad.. really sad. R.I.P John

  • God bless you John. Thank you for your music. RIP.

  • There is a BBC CD of a live version of Spencer the Rover it is simply brilliant. I love this song it is so beautiful

  • John Martyn is a legend and this is one of his finest. Thank you for sharing this...x

  • one of the best best best songs ever !

  • Thank you...great ...first song to listen when i wake up in the morning .:)

  • Well! That as good as it gets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • agreed!

    x

  • Ooooooooo to have that singing at the end of yer bed.........

  • One of the most amazing things happened to me whilst listening to this very song walkman. I was in a dep lounge in LHR going to Dublin in 1986. Who walked into the lounge to board the same flight only Mr Martyn himself. I walked up to him and asked him to listen and he was pleased. I was only 17 at the time. The mans pure genius..

  • That is a great story!

  • Pure Velvet. Love it!