When sadness fills your heart And sorrow hides the longing to be free When things go wrong each day You fix your mind to ‘scape your misery
Your troubled young life Had made you turn To a needle of death
How strange, your happy words Have ceased to bring a smile from everyone How tears have filled the eyes Of friends that you once had walked among
Your troubled young life Had made you turn To a needle of death
One grain of pure white snow Dissolved in blood spread quickly to your brain In peace your mind withdraws Your death so near your soul can’t feel no pain
Your troubled young life Had made you turn To a needle of death
Your mother stands a’cryin’ While to the earth your body’s slowly cast Your father stands in silence Caressing every young dream of the past
Your troubled young life Had made you turn To a needle of death
Through ages, man’s desires To free his mind, to release his very soul Has proved to all who live That death itself is freedom for evermore
And your troubled young life Will make you turn To a needle of death
Bert Jansch, the influential Scottish folk guitarist and member of Pentangle, performed on BBC Radio’s “Country Meets Folk” show, most notably a live solo session on January 25, 1969. While his solo performance was broadcast, Pentangle also appeared on the show, with a performance recorded on June 15, 1968. These broadcasts featured Jansch’s unique fingerstyle guitar and were significant appearances during the British folk revival of the 1960s
Originally broadcast September 9, 2025, on WRIU 90.3 FM.
By Michael Stevenson, host The Kingston Coffeehouse
PLAYLIST “Katie Cruel” (traditional) – Karen Dalton “Bashed Out” (K. Stables) – This Is the Kit , 2015 Bashed Out “God Loves a Drunk” (R Thompson) – Norma Waterson, 1996 “I’m Waiting For You to Smile” – Katell Keineg, 1994 O Seasons O Castles “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (Ian Curtis) June Tabor & Oysterband, 2011 Ragged Kingdom “People’s Faces” – Kae Tempest, 2019 The Book of Traps and Lessons “Train Song” – Vashti Bunyan, r. 1966, Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind “Anachie Gordon” (traditional) The Unthanks, 2010 Here’s the Tender Coming “Henry Lee” (traditional) Nick Cave & PJ Harvey, 2011 Murder Ballads “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” (Ewan MacColl) – Offa Rex, 2017 The Queen of Hearts “She Moved through the Fair” (traditional) – Anne Briggs, 1963 Edinburgh Folk Festival Vol. 1 “Banjo Player of Aleph One” – Gwenifer Raymond 2025 Last Night I Heard the Dog Star Bark “Wheely Down” (R. Thompson) – Ivor Cutler, 1993 The World is a Wonderful Place “Roundabout” – Ryley Walker, 2017 Golden Sings That Have Been Sung “Brighter than the Blues” – Joan Shelly, 2016 Over and Even “Three Ravens” (traditional) – Jake Xerxes Fussell, 2019 Out of Sight “Lullaby” (from the film Wicker Man) – Magnet (Paul Giovanni) 1972 “Rivers Run Red” (Ella Oona Russell) – The New Eves, 2025 The New Eve is Rising “Witches Reel” (traditional) – Starheid Gossip, 2015 Step Sisters “Entertaining of a Shy Girl” – Donovan 1968 Hurdy Gurdy Man “The Hedgehog Song”(Heron/Williamson) – Incredible String Band, 1966 The 5000 Spirits or Layers of an Onion “Lay it Down” (G. Thomas) – Bonny Prince Billy with The Trembling Bells, 2014 New Trip On Old Wine “Conch Shell” Katell Keineg, 1994 O Seasons O Castle “Into My Arms” – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, 1997 Boatman’s Call “Place to Be” – Nick Drake, Pink Moon “How Wild the Wind Blows” – Molly Lee, 2018 The Tides Magnificence “The Sweetest Decline” – Beth Orton Central Reservation “The Wagoner’s Lad” (Traditional) – Bert Jansch, 1966 Jack Orion “Nottamun Town” (traditional)- Fairport Convention, 1969 What We Did on Our Holidays “Masters of War” – Bob Dylan, 1963 The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan “Needle of Death” – Bert Jansch, 1965 Bert Jansch “Golden Brown” – The Stranglers 1982 “Meet On the Ledge” (R.Thompson) – Fairport Convention, 1969 What We Did on Our Holidays “Anji” – Davy Graham “Green Are Your Eyes” (b.Jansch) – Marianne Faithul, 1966 North Country Maid “The Water” – Johnny Flynn & Laura Marling, 2010 Been Listening “The Parting Glass” (traditional) – James Elkington 2017 Wintres Woma “Katie Cruel” (traditional) – Agnes Obel “Blues Run the Game” – Jackson C. Frank, 1965 Jackson C. Frank “Home Sweet Home” (Bishop /Payne)- The King’s Singers 1993 Folk Songs of the British Isles “A Heart Needs a Home” – Linda & Richard Thompson, 1975 Hokey Pokey “Goodnight World” – Lisa O’Neil, 2023 All This Is Chance
