Mary Hampton has released a new song called ‘Gold Hat’, on Bandcamp; it is a setting of the epigraph from the opening of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel ‘The Great Gatsby’. The words are attributed to Thomas Parke D’Invilliers, a pen-name of Fitzgerald’s.
The track opens to mysterious off-kilter keyboards and light cymbals before brightening with Flugel horn, cello and violin. Mary Hampton’s other-worldly vocals cast their usual siren like magic with her regular band ‘Cotillion’ forming the perfect graceful union. The band are Seth Bennett on double bass, Jo Burke on violin, Alice Eldridge on ‘cello and Alistair Strachan on flugel horn.
lyrics
Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her;
If you can bounce high, bounce for her too,
Till she cry “Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover,
I must have you!”
Grab the track here on bandcamp
Mary and her band are playing this coming Saturday, May 11th in Derbyshire at EDALE FOLK FESTIVAL (tickets)
Mary is also the co-host of this week’s Simple Folk Radio which can be heard again tonight at 9:00pm on Folk Radio UK. Details of the show can be found here.