At The Tavern: A Renaissance Faire PLaylist

Songs frequently heard at a Renaissance Faire vary from traditional and melancholy to modern and downright dirty, but no matter what the words or melody, half the fun of hearing faire songs is singing along with them! With that in mind, and with the knowledge that much of the cast for this year's living chess match at The Orlando Renaissance Festival are new to RenFaires in general, I have compiled a Spotify playlist of my favorite tunes for your listening pleasure!

That's Carl Asch as Giacomo the
Jester and Lynda Kavy as
Looney Lucy!

It's worth noting that half of Empty Hats, one of the bands featured prominently on this playlist, will be performing at ORF is year! Watch for their shows and be sure to say hello to them in the lanes. They are lovely people! 

The Dubliners and The High Kings are very popular for their renditions of traditional Irish ballads, and the rest of the musicians on this playlist either wrote the song they're singing or else performed my favorite version of it. As a warning, some of the songs have questionable language and saucy themes, so they may not be totally safe for work.

There are a bunch of great tunes on this playlist, and many that I have loved since I was a child, but arguably the most important song on this playlist for LANCE members is The Parting Glass, a traditional song that probably originated in Scotland in the 17th century. It is a song sung at the end of a gathering of friends. It's a bittersweet song about parting ways.

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You see, it is a long-standing tradition among many stage combat troupes to choose a final song to sing together to signify their bond at the end of a show. After all the rehearsals, after the bruises and aching joints from running fights for the hundredth time, after accidental stabbings with pins while slaving away over costumes, after getting to know dozens of characters and interacting with them for days at a time, after stumbling over lines and forgetting blocking and coming up with brilliant one-liners on the spot and laughing and yelling and stage fright and inside jokes, there is an end. And when we as a cast reach that end, it feels important to mark it somehow, to put a stake down in our memories and say, "This was it. We were here together as one thing, and after this moment we part as something else." That is what a final song is for, and that is what The Parting Glass will be for LANCE Orlando. 

It took us a long time to choose a final song we felt was worthy of our troupe. When we finally did, it seemed fitting to begin our version of this tradition after our biggest show ever, the living chess match at ORF. 

​No one has to sing, of course. Sometimes it's just as powerful to listen. But in case you do want to give singing our final song a go, there's a version in the playlist by The Wailin' Jennys, and below is a version by Ed Sheeran (my personal favorite), another by Glen Hansard, and another by fan favorite The High Kings. I've also included the lyrics LANCE will be using below. Enjoy!

THE PARTING GLASS

Of all the money that e'er I had
I've spent it in good company
And all the harm that e'er I've done
Alas it was to none but me
And all I've done for want of wit
To memory now I can't recall
So fill to me the parting glass
Good night and joy be with you all

Of all the comrades that e'er I had
They are sorry for my going away
And all the sweethearts that e'er I had
They would wish me one more day to stay
But since it falls unto my lot
That I should rise and you should not
I'll gently rise and I'll softly call
Good night and joy be with you all

A man may drink and not be drunk
A man may fight and not be slain
A man may court a pretty girl
And perhaps be welcomed back again
But since it has so ought to be
By a time to rise and a time to fall
Come fill to me the parting glass
Good night and joy be with you all
Good night and joy be with you all

What's your favorite faire song? Share it in the comments section below! If it's not on the playlist already, I'd love to add it!

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy listening to the playlist! See you at the faire!
--Casey, Webmaster