The Weaver's Answer

Last updated
"The Weaver's Answer"
Song by Family
from the album Family Entertainment
ReleasedMarch 1969
Recorded1968-1969
Genre Progressive rock, hard rock
Length5:35
Label Reprise
Songwriter(s) Roger Chapman, John "Charlie" Whitney
Producer(s) Glyn Johns, John Gilbert

"The Weaver's Answer" is a song by the British progressive rock band Family. It is the first track on their 1969 album Family Entertainment and became the band's signature song in concert.

Contents

History

"The Weaver's Answer" was composed by the two leaders of Family, guitarist Charlie Whitney and lead vocalist Roger Chapman. It was performed live frequently before being properly recorded in the studio. Family also performed "The Weaver's Answer" for BBC Radio 1 in July 1968, broadcast that September. [1] A studio version was recorded for the album Family Entertainment , issued the following February.

Once it was widely available, "The Weaver's Answer" became Family's signature song, becoming their most popular stage number. When the band performed their final concert on 13 October 1973, "The Weaver's Answer" was the last song in the set.

Lyrics

"The Weaver's Answer" is one of Family's more straightforward songs; it's about an old man asking for the "weaver of life" to show him "the patterns of my life gone by upon your tapestry". As the song gets underway, the old man recounts his childhood, his first love, and the day he took a wife; he wonders aloud how it looks on the fabric from the weaver's loom. He goes on to ruminate about his sons and how they grew into adulthood to take wives of their own.

After an instrumental break (see below), the old man grows more sorrowful, remembering the day his wife died and being unable to see his grandchildren after age has robbed him of his sight. Suddenly, he regains his sight to see the weaver's loom drawing closer. Realizing that he's about to see his life as a tapestry, the old man understands the reason why - because he's about to die.

Commenting on the meaning in his own web guestbook, Roger Chapman said "The 'Weaver' in question comes from mythology, folklore and a bit of acid! Include any Marvel hero, Aesop's Fables, anything simply written with a moral and a story I could understand and make sense of. All the stuff I was interested in as a kid, read about and later included in my story telling."

Live performances

Whitney and Chapman were unsatisfied with "The Weaver's Answer"'s studio arrangement. When bassist/violinist John Weider and multi-instrumentalist John "Poli" Palmer respectively replaced Grech and King, Family re-arrangedThe Weaver's Answer as a loud, violent song in concert. Palmer offered a flute solo in the instrumental break that replaced King's saxophone, and Whitney's guitar became more vicious. The most notable differences were Chapman's voice, as he punctuated his delivery with bloodcurdling screams, while Townsend's drum patterns became more devastating. A live performance from 1970 was used in the documentary Message to Love . Subsequent personnel changes after 1971 forced Family to alter this arrangement slightly - Weider's departure that June precluded them from employing the violin that had become integral to the song - but "The Weaver's Answer" never lost its popularity with Family fans.

In June 2006 Roger Chapman performed the song with a new orchestral arrangement. It was specially written by the German composer and arranger Ingo Laufs for the open-air concert Bridges to Classic at Haendel-Festival in Halle/Germany.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Carrack</span> British musician

Paul Melvyn Carrack is an English singer, musician, songwriter and composer who has recorded as both a solo artist and as a member of several popular bands. The BBC dubbed Carrack "The Man with the Golden Voice", while Record Collector remarked: "If vocal talent equalled financial success, Paul Carrack would be a bigger name than legends such as Phil Collins or Elton John."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Revolution (band)</span> American rock band

The Revolution is an American band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1979 by Prince, serving as his live band and later as his studio band. The band's sound incorporated rock, pop, R&B, funk, new wave and psychedelic elements. Along with Prince's other projects, the Revolution helped create the Minneapolis sound. By the time of their 1986 breakup, the Revolution had backed Prince on two studio albums, two soundtracks and two videos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Hodgson</span> English singer and songwriter

Charles Roger Pomfret Hodgson is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the former co-frontman and founding member of progressive rock band Supertramp. Hodgson composed and sang the majority of the band’s hits, including "Dreamer", "Give a Little Bit", "Take the Long Way Home", "The Logical Song", "It's Raining Again", and "Breakfast in America."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family (band)</span> English rock band

Family were an English rock band, active from late 1966 to October 1973, and again since 2013 for a series of live shows. Their style has been characterised as progressive rock, as their sound often explored other genres, incorporating elements of styles such as folk, psychedelia, acid rock, jazz fusion, and rock and roll. The band achieved recognition in the United Kingdom through their albums, club and concert tours, and appearances at festivals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Chapman</span> Musical artist

Roger Maxwell Chapman, also known as Chappo, is an English rock vocalist. He is best known as a member of the progressive rock band Family, which he joined along with Charlie Whitney, in 1966 and also the rock, R&B band Streetwalkers formed in 1974. His idiosyncratic brand of showmanship when performing and vocal vibrato led him to become a cult figure on the British rock scene. Chapman is claimed to have said that he was trying to sing like both Little Richard and his idol Ray Charles. Since the early 1980s he has spent much of his time in Germany and has made occasional appearances there and elsewhere.

Richard John Whitney, also known as John "Charlie" Whitney, John Whitney and Charlie Whitney, is an English rock guitarist and a founder member of the rock bands Family, Streetwalkers and Axis Point.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syd Barrett</span> English musician (1946–2006), co-founder of Pink Floyd

Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his whimsical style of psychedelia, English-accented singing, and stream-of-consciousness writing style. As a guitarist, he was influential for his free-form playing and for employing effects such as dissonance, distortion, echo and feedback.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Streetwalkers</span> Musical artist

Streetwalkers were an English rock band formed in late 1973 by two former members of rock band Family, vocalist Roger Chapman and guitarist John "Charlie" Whitney. They were a five piece band which evolved from the Chapman Whitney Band.

John Weider is an English rock musician who plays guitar, bass, and violin. He is best known as the guitarist for the Animals from 1966 to 1968. He was also the bass player for Family from 1969 to 1971.

James Cregan is an English rock guitarist and bassist, best known for his associations with Family, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel and Rod Stewart. Cregan is a former husband of the singer Linda Lewis and worked with her as a record producer. He has also worked with London Quireboys, Glass Tiger, Katie Melua and formed Farm Dogs with Bernie Taupin.

No Mule's Fool is a song by the British progressive rock band Family released in October 1969. It was the group's first single to chart in the United Kingdom, reaching number 29.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Weider</span> American guitarist

James Jeffrey Weider is an American guitarist, best known for his work with the Band. He joined the reformed version of the Band in 1985 to replace original guitarist Robbie Robertson.

<i>Old Songs New Songs</i> 1971 compilation album by Family

Old Songs New Songs is a budget-priced compilation album by the British progressive rock band Family, released in March 1971. The title is taken from the title of a song that appeared on the band's 1968 debut album Music in a Doll's House, although that song does not appear on this record.

<i>Anyway</i> (album) 1970 studio album / Live album by Family

Anyway is the fourth album by the British progressive rock band Family. Side one was recorded at a concert at Fairfield Halls in Croydon, south London; side two is a collection of new studio recordings.

<i>Bandstand</i> (album) 1972 studio album by Family

Bandstand is the sixth studio album by the British progressive rock band Family. Released in 1972, it was their second and last album to chart in the United States. The original album cover was die-cut in the shape of a Bush TV22 television set, with a black-and-white image of the band onscreen.

<i>A Song for Me</i> 1970 studio album by Family

A Song for Me is the third album by the British progressive rock band Family, released on 23 January 1970 on Reprise Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ric Grech</span> British musician (1945–1990)

Richard Roman Grechko, better known as Ric Grech, was a British rock musician. He is best known for playing bass guitar and violin with rock band Family as well as in the supergroups Blind Faith and Traffic. He also played with ex-Cream drummer Ginger Baker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Tench</span> English musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter

Robert Tench is a British vocalist, guitarist, sideman, songwriter and arranger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucky Man (Emerson, Lake & Palmer song)</span> 1970 single by Emerson, Lake & Palmer

"Lucky Man" is a song by the English progressive rock supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer, from the group's 1970 self-titled debut album. Written by Greg Lake when he was 12 years old and recorded by the trio using improvised arrangements, the song contains one of rock music's earliest instances of a Moog synthesizer solo. "Lucky Man" was released as a single in 1970 and reached the top 20 in the Netherlands. The song also charted in the United States and Canada. The single was re-released in 1973 and charted again in the U.S. and Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fanfare for the Common Man (Emerson, Lake & Palmer song)</span> 1977 single by Emerson, Lake & Palmer

"Fanfare for the Common Man" is an instrumental piece of music adapted and played by the English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, from the group's 1977 Works Volume I album. Adapted by Keith Emerson from Aaron Copland's 1942 piece of the same name, it is one of their most popular and enduring pieces.

References

  1. "BBC - Radio 1 - Keeping It Peel - 29/07/1968". BBC Radio 1. Retrieved 7 February 2019.