Ian McShane (Al Swearengen) - "The Unfortunate Rake" (a cappella)

[MrBastilleDay]

Imagine someone stupid enough to walk in and critique Al's singing.

[ahabdelta]

SWIGEN! WU, SWIGEN, HANG DAI!

[reddoor01]

i feel this sould be sung in this tone. in respectful sense with some drums. and respect of the song. the makers that is

[jackwhitfield]

This is actually a song that morphed into "st. James hospital" over time and seas. Ewan MacColl put together a collection of versions for a programme called "Song Carriers". Amazingly, it also became "The Streets of Laredo" too, as it was adapted to suit the situations of the singers.

[Sama3ll]

badasses don't go see plebs entertainment

[sinskater123454]

I love how everyone was outside doing Amateur Night while Al is in his bar showing us what he would have sang if he was on stage. Al Swearengen is like no other.

[tommygun6644]

I watched this episode the other day, what was the significance of the song though?

[shadowshaker]

Deadwood was such a brilliant show, and it was the many inflections and small moments of the characters that made it so. This scene is perhaps one of the best examples of that. Ian McShane is a rare breed of actor and I deeply missed his incarnation as Swearengen once Deadwood was canceled. Thank you for uploading this.

[conspir8or]

In its way, one of the saddest scenes in the show.

[twelvemotion]

One of my favorite scenes. Best show ever!

[rushtoball]

A very deep scene if you understand the situation.

[samfilmkid]

@rushtoball explain possibly?

[MichaelHeroin]

I loved this scene, thanks so much for uploading it!

/fav'd

[norskwizard]

lovely song, the cowboys lament I thought it was.

[thechrisoutlaw]

I hate to be the guy who corrects someone on their post but this song is actually called "the Unfortunate Rake". I apologize if this makes me an asshole.

[EuchridEucrow1]

Correct you are.

It has some lyrics in common with a folk recording of a called "St. James Hospital" that Pete Seeger did (including the hospital's name), so I assumed the producers of "Deadwood" had found an earlier version of that song.

It has much more in common with "The Unforunate Rake," though. I'll correct that momentarily.