High Germany - Pentangle (1972)

Title: High Germany
Artist: Pentangle
Album: Solomon's Seal

Oh Polly love oh Polly the rout is now begun
And we must march away at the beating of the drum
Go dress yourself in all your best and go along with me
I'll take you to the cruel wars in High Germany.


I fear the treacherous journey bitter cold and burning heat
Rough roads and stony mountains they will wound my tender feet
To your kinsmen I might prove untrue if from them I do go
For maids must bide at their parents' side while the men do face the foe.


I'll buy for you a horse my love and on it you will ride
Then all of my contentment will be riding at my side
We'll stop at every ale house and drink when we are dry
So quickly on the road my love we'll marry by and by.


Oh Billy love oh Billy now mind what I do say
My feet they are so tired I cannot go away
Besides my dearest Billy I am with child by thee
Not fitting for the cruel wars in High Germany.


Oh Polly love oh Polly I love you very well
There are few in any place my Polly can excel
And when your babe is born and sits smiling on your knee
You will think on your Billy that's in High Germany.


Oh cursed be the cruel wars that ever they began
For they have pressed my Billy and many a clever man
For they have pressed my Billy likewise my brothers three
And sent them to the cruel wars in High Germany.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• British
• Folk
• Pentangle
• Jansch
• Renbourn
• High
• germany
• Solomon's
• Seal
• 1972

[neavampire13]

I'm planning to buy a cd of them, but does anyone know what's their best cd/ are their best songs?

[balchoth]

In my humble opinion, it's "Basket of Light", though "Cruel Sister" and "The Pentangle" are awesome too...

[remindbender]

*SCHACH* der Ob ... "unter den liedern"

unter den blinden

ist der einäugige könig

unter den einäugigen

ist die blinde königin

dreiäugig

[balchoth]

häh????? Oo

[IrishJV]

Thanks a million for posting this song. I'd never heard it before. Pentangle were truly musical geniuses.

[lynettekomidar]

cheers, really enjoying Pentangle

[trilobite3339]

@neavampire13 This album is great...Check out Jansch's "the black swan" too

[jederfri11]

Balcoth, i would agree, 1. Basket of light, 2. Cruel Sister 3. Solomons Seal

[cottageorgan]

@balchoth Couldn't agree more. This was kind of the end of the road for The Pentangle. It's still a great album, but more inconsistent than the earlier stronger stuff, but nearly everything they did was gold dust in my humble opinion. RIP Bert...A

[joeheadblues]

@neavampire13 try their 20 CDs...all are of great level!

[pirbird14]

@IrishJV Judy Collins did a version of this song but gave it a very different treatment. It's called "The Wars of Germany". You can find one version of the lyrics at mudcat . org.

[Nordis]

@tombstonehand1 Indeed. Nowadays the public just associates pentangle with satanism even though the satanists themselves use only the inverted version of it while the original is used mainly by wiccans and neopagans. Very few know the difference between the pentangle with one arm pointing upwards and the one that points down and I guess that confused herkyjerky here in the first place. Pentangle isn't as widely known as cross, I think no-one would confuse an upward cross with an inverted one :P

[tombstonehand1]

@Nordis

It does predate Christianity, but so does the cross. That doesn't mean the cross isn't a Christian symbol as well.

[Nordis]

@tombstonehand1 Pentangle is an ancient symbol predating christianity, let alone King Arthur's legend, by several millenia. While it's not a satanic symbol, it's definitely a pagan one. Like other ancient symbols (swastika, seal of Solomon, sunwheel...), it's been used by different groups for different purposes in the history. Nowadays inverted pentacle is adopted mainly by satanists, so unfortunately many people associate it with them because they simply don't know about it's history.

[barfoneandonly]

I prefer the Dubliners version mesel