On 2nd September, English traditional folk singer Jackie Oates will release her 8th solo album, Gracious Wings.
She says: “I have once again been working with producer and sound engineer Richard Evans in Bath, to produce an 11 piece album of traditional English folk songs, self-penned material and the odd unexpected cover version! The album features collaborations with John Spiers, Mike Cosgrave, Jon Wilks, Megan Henwood and John Parker, with cover artwork by the wonderful puppet maker and illustrator, Jo Elizabeth May.”
Of the album title, she adds: “The title ‘Gracious Wings’ refers to a chance conversation that I had with a friend, about the nature of music and songs and songwriting. Through the telling of a true story, the teller may gain access to another world in which they are unburdened by their past.”
Jackie’s last solo album was The Joy of Living, released in 2018. Folk Radio UK’s Thomas Blake referred to the album as a “…compelling, spirited emotional rollercoaster of an album, it is quite perfect.” In our follow-up interview, Jackie touched on how music is something that binds families together, and folk music in particular. She told us, “I find that folk songs have an incredible power to remind me of who I am and where I’ve come from and of the things and people who I value the most…” This seems to be something that is strongly reflected in the collaborative nature of the album.
Her lead single, La Llorona, co-written with Megan Henwood, was the main theme to Amy Mason’s one-woman show, ‘Hollering Woman Creek’, in which Amy explored the themes of first-time pregnancy, withdrawing from antidepressants and travelling around Texas. On this country-tinged waltz, aided by John Parker on double bass, Jackie and Megan sing:
The blue cross display must be a mistake
And I’m too young to get old this quickly
As my middle grows my secret will show
And they’ll know it was made accidentally
The song is shaped by Amy’s narratives and a legend – La Llorona is a creek in Central Texas where a woman, after giving birth, was said to have drowned her newborn in the river because the father of the child doesn’t want it. The mother’s spirit, ‘the weeping woman’, haunts the spot forever more, mourning her loss.
The song’s lyrics continue:
La Llorona, you howl and you scream and you holler
La Llorona, a monster who posed as a mother
Down by the hollering creek,
You scrub your red hands and you weep
Oh, the guilt and the grief
La Llorona
The test positive, but in danger she’ll live
For his only soft spot is for whisky
No domestic bliss as he clenches his fists
This is no place to raise up a baby
Two vertical lines should bring me delight
But I’m cold to my bones and exhausted
As I try and sleep by the banks of this creek
I feel cursed by the woman who haunts it.
In September and October 2022, The Jackie Oates Trio, featuring Mike Cosgrave (piano, accordion, guitar) and John Parker (double bass), will commence a UK tour in which we’ll perform material from the new album.
Tour dates and ticket links can be found here: https://www.jackieoates.co.uk/live/
Pre-Order Gracious Wings: https://jackieoates.bandcamp.com/album/gracious-wings-2
