Asha Elijah ~ The raggle taggle gypsies

Asha

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Asha Elijah (aka Asha & Asher Quinn) sings 'The raggle taggle gypsies' from his album "Falling Through Time". CD/download here: http://www.ashaquinn.com/FallingThrou...

This song is over 200 years old, a song about gypsies but not a gypsy song. It's a romance about how a woman falls for the spell of the gypsy song and dance, and leaves her life behind to go with the 'raggle-taggle gypsy', pursued by her Lord and master. It's a sensual song of freedom for the soul... the call to follow your true heart rather than cultural protocol. It seems it was an arranged marriage, not a love marriage. The gypsy's are God's musicians, and there is a large Roma community here in Hungary where I now live. Sadly, they are considered an underclass except when it comes to music, dance and colour. The song paints a romantic picture, but life is far from romantic for Hungary's Roma. They were politically championed by one of their own, a beautiful soul called Bogdán Laci, who died this week in mysterious circumstances. I felt the hurt and the loss, even though I'm an immigrant here. He was one of the good guys. That was a gloomy monday, but the sun soon shone and I felt inspired to make this film, partly as an offering to his spirit.

He did so much to integrate the Roma here with great verve, swagger, and political responsibility. He was a seriously handsome guy and humble too. He said recently of his life and work: "I am just a dry leaf that falls in autumn". Something moved me to try some improvised gypsy dance in the golden sun for this film, and heaven knows I'm no dancer... I'm a 'Dad dancer'; I dance like your Dad ! But I've just seen the footage, and it's plausible enough. It's kind of a bit 'Zorba the Greek' and a bit 'My Big Fat Jewish Wedding', but it works. I'm no gypsy either, romantically as it has been portrayed. But I'm a musician, and everywhere in Budapest one comes across the great gift of gipsy music. On the street; in the subway; serenading tourists at restaurants; on a bad day in the gutter; violins, double-bass, accordion, clarinet, flamenco-flavoured guitar... Loud, colourful, frenetic, passionate, irrepressible, and sometimes liltingly poignant, many of Hungary's traditional folk-songs have gipsy spices, and somehow it cross fertilises with Jewish, Balkan & Turkic musical cuisine, too. The sound of the gypsy violin and the sweet aroma of kürtõs kalács (chimney cake) greets me everyday on the streets and in the metro. I went out to film at my favourite field. I have a name for this favourite field of mine; I call her 'field'. She lies between Vörösvár (Red Castle) and Pilisszánto in Hungary's Pilis Mountains, just to the north of Budapest. It's very 'local' to me, I can be there by car in 25 minutes from the city centre. I love this field because there's such a big sky there, and lovely contoured hills all around; very feminine shapes. In the distance is the sacred chapel above Pilisszánto which has a strangely Egyptian feel, and which is twinned with Csiksomlyó in neighbouring Romania on the Via Mária, a pilgrimage route of huge significance, like the Camino de Santiago in Spain. But the field is also friendly; magically icy in winter, dusty and golden in high summer. Children play on the bales of hay, and people walk their dogs here for miles. Nearby there's a dog training school and a riding stables. Looking the other way from the chapel is my favourite couple of hills. I call them the breasts of Mary! Everywhere there are peachy shapes! I sunbathe here sometimes, with a picnic. Little blue butterflies tickle my toes. I had a great day! The dance came into me... creative rhythmic ideas abounded... and I had the field to myself, except for two small girls and a collie dog. I explained to them that I was making a YouTube, and they didn't giggle at my 'Dad dancing' so I figured I had made the next round of X-Factor! It was hot, over 30 degrees. I had melon, and some old scarves to keep the sun off my head and to mop my brow with... that was my gypsy costume. Actually Roma men tend to wear crumpled suits and lots of bling, and I couldn't compete with that, but my knee-hole jeans did for the raggle taggle bit. This song has been covered by Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger, The Waterboys and Alison Moyet amongst many others, sometimes in its more modern incarnation "The gypsy Davy". I recorded this version back in 2010 for my album "Falling Through Time", with Shaun Britton engineering brilliantly; it was he who created the sound of the woman's flamenco foot-stomping by 'playing' an old pair of shoes on a wooden box! As a small child in repressed, suburban London, if I was naughty I was frequently told that unless I behaved I'd be given to the gypsies. I used to think: "Great... when do we begin?" Blessings on your soul, dear Bogdán Lászlo .