Sunday, February 22, 2009

Classic Dusty III

Something very special this evening at The Wild Reed – the legendary Dusty Springfield singing the traditional ballad, “The Water is Wide.”

It’s actually a segment from her second BBC television series, Dusty (1967), and is simply beautiful. Enjoy!



The water is wide,
I cannot cross over.
And neither have I wings to fly.
Give me a boat that can carry two,
and we both shall row,
my love and I.

A ship there is,
and it sails the sea.
It’s loaded deep as deep can be.
But not so deep as the love I’m in.
And I know not
if I sink or swim . . .


Notes
Paul Howes in the liner notes of the 2007 DVD, Dusty Springfield: Live at the BBC:

Each programme [of Dusty’s 1966 BBC series] followed the same format - five or six songs with a guest spot in the middle. Simply called Dusty, the series was described as “the musical world of Dusty Springfield,” succinctly acknowledging the fact that Dusty was more than just a one-dimensional pop singer. Her taste in music was eclectic and there was almost nothing she couldn’t sing. By the end of the series, she had run the gamut of musical styles from pop to standards, soul to swing, show tunes to folk songs. Each song had been performed with deceptively consummate ease. Just as in the recording studio, Dusty was a perfectionist and demanded a great deal from her musicians. But they gave her what she wanted and the high standards she set herself she achieved.

The shows attracted healthy audience figures and were sufficiently popular for the BBC to invite Dusty back for a second series in 1967 . . .


For more of Dusty at The Wild Reed, see:
Remembering a Great Soul Singer
Classic Dusty
Classic Dusty II
Shelby Lynn Celebrates Dusty Springfield
Time and the River
Soul Deep

Recommended Off-site Link:
Woman of Repute - My website dedicated to the life and artistry of Dusty Springfield.


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