This time the story was set in modern day ireland, with sawney s relatives preying on american tourists. The legend of sawney bean by charlie weir while it is true the scots have excelled in many respects and inventions see how the scots invented the modern world in at least one instance, if true, they will not see much to be proud of. Snakefinger ballad of sawney bean potatoes a collection of folk songs ralph 1. Apparently the sweeney todd myth is an offshoot of this true tale. It has some extra tracks 1, 4, 6, 8, 12, 15 and 18, however two tracks from the following artists are not renewed. Interestingly the ballad of string bean and estelle tells the story very clearly and enunciates some interesting aspects, albeit in a poetic and songwriters sort of way. No i havent seen it potatoes a collection of folk songs by ralph ralph records 8717 1987, features the the ballad of sawney bean by snakefinger. Or, quite possibly, he never lived at all, and is just a creation of scottish myth and folklore. The ballad of sawney bean sawney s death dance various potatoes a collection of folk songs from ralph records vol.
Credibility is pretty thin in the halls of the history channel. Alexander sawney bean was the head of a 48member clan in 15th or 16thcentury scotland, reportedly executed for the mass murder and cannibalisation of over 1,000 people the story appears in the newgate calendar, a crime catalogue of newgate prison in london. While historians tend to believe sawney bean never existed or his story has been greatly exaggerated, his story has passed into. This was the first time id ever heard of the legendary cannibal sawney bean. Recorded with his band the vestal virgins led by captain beefheart alum eric drew feldman, night of desirable objects features ornate jazz instrumentals, an english fiddle ballad, and a. Sawney bean, the cavedwelling cannibal, is one of scotlands most shocking and gruesome legends. Director ricky wood discusses david haymanstarring horror. Alexander sawney bean was said to be the head of a 45member clan in scotland in the 16th century that murdered and cannibalized over people in the. Dissecting the legend of scotlands infamous cannibal killer family is the first major nonfiction historical investigation to explore one of the most heinous crimes in 16thcentury scotland, the legend of sawney bean and his cannibal family. Potatoes was a collection released by ralph records in 1987. And sawney has been well endowed wi daughters young and lean and they a hae taen their faithers seed in the cave o sawney bean.
Flesh of man lord of darkness is a boring scottish horror drama about the legendary sawney bean and his family of cannibals. Snakefinger sawney beanesawneys death dance youtube. This was with his band the vestal virgins, and is a tale of the scottish cannibal clan and. Since the days of the internet, i have been able to look up more information about him, and this wikipedia entry on him seems to be fairly balanced and accurate.
Bumped to the top to note that you can listen to the full album at youtube if you wish by going to my youtube channel and looking for potatoes vol. The story of sawney bean, scotlands most famous cannibal. Alexander sawney bean lived from some time in the late 0s to around 1430. See also the account of sawney bean s crimes found in the newgate calendar. He was born in east lothian near edinburgh, son to a hedger and ditcher.
Fact or fiction, it made for great source material for wes craven. Various potatoes a collection of folk songs from ralph. He was reputed to have at least two dozen kids,mostly incestious. Real mckenzies sawney beane clan lyrics metrolyrics. Flesh of man is a new horror film based on the life of sawney bean, the infamous head of a scottish cannibal clan in the 15th or 16th century. Provided to youtube by the orchard enterprises sawney bean sawney s death dance snakefinger night of desirable objects.
The story is true from the time of james i of scotland. Little is known for certain about his early life, however sawney bean is believed to have been born in east lothian in the late 15th century, and was a tanner by trade. Potatoes a collection of folk songs by ralph ralph records 8717 1987, features the the ballad of sawney bean by snakefinger. The ballad of stringbean and estelle the fiddle and creel.
It is also believed that the sawney bean family may have existed centuries earlier, during scotlands dark age, and their exploits were passed down by word of mouth for centuries, eventually being recorded in the 18 th century, but incorrectly attributed to the 15 th century. Ballad of sawney bean, written by lionel mcclelland, performed by blackeyed biddy on high spirits, dunkeld cd 14, 1994. From now on, old ayrshire and arran will fairly frequently be posting the most popular posts over the last 7 years please add your own memories and send your own photos in. Image caption the edinburgh dungeons uses the sawney bean legend to scare tourists the sawney story was a dig at scots a people so barbarous they could produce a monster like sawney, who lived. According to legend, bean and his clan members would eventually be caught by a search party sent by king james vi and be executed for their heinous crimes the story appeared in the newgate calendar, a crime catalogue of. In 1994, a british film group tried to come up with financing for a film based on the legend, but the attempt fell through. Starring david hayman in the title role director ricky wood has brought the bloody tale up to date in this labour of love filmed over several years around aberdeen and. Set in modern scotland, the bean family abducts people and. The cannibal family of sawney bean was said to have lived in a cave on the galloway coast of scotland, during the reign of james i 140637 or according to a different version that of james. Featuring bands such as the residents, negativland, club foot orchestra, mark mothersbaugh of devo, now all over the television doing theme songs for great shows such as rugrats, and terra incognita, its, uh, interesting, to say the least. The history channel real monsters sawney bean notes. Snakefinger sawney beansawneys death dance youtube. The story of sawney bean is one of the most gruesome scottish. The film is a modern retelling of the legend of scottish cannibal sawney bean.
Snakefinger s the ballad of sawney bean was a part of ralph records potatescollection. Ballad of sawney bean sawney bean s death dance snakefinger night of desirable objects stay dead, lazarus christmas lies to live by jonathan brahman st after the love george duke liberated fantasies love ii cosmic range new latitudes. Sawney bean is an old, obscure english folk song about the fabled scotsman cannibal alexander bean, while the traditional sophias playful pipes is identified in as a bulgarian tune. Dissecting the legend of scotlands infamous cannibal killer family pardoe, blaine l. The newly wed mr and mrs sawney bean set up home at bennane cave, by ballantrae in ayrshire, scotland.
Snakefingers vestal virgins the ballad of sawney bean. The meat of sawney s tale inspired wes cravens the hills have eyes. Snakefinger s midievil vestal virgins the ballad of sawney bean sawney s death dance engineer howard johnston producer eric feldman, howard johnston, snakefinger writtenby snakefinger. Alexander sawney bean was said to be the head of a 45member clan in scotland in the 16th century that murdered and cannibalized over people in the span of 25 years. He began life as a hedger and ditcher, but, being prone to idleness and inclined towards dishonesty he ran away from home with a woman who was as viciously inclined as himself.
Potatoes a collection of folk songs from ralph records. Running away as a teenager, bean traveled scotland, before finally settling in galloway with a woman who shared his desire to live lawless and free, without morals. Potatoes is a compilation of folk songs released by ralph records in 1987. The ghosts of the 60s were still omnipresent and frankly the scene. The ballad of sawney bean sawney s death dance this song is by snakefinger. The snakefinger ballad, based on one in the public domain, tells the horror story in a fairly traditional manner. But his story is persistent and widely accepted, so for the purposes of this page well suspend disbelief and assume he was a real person. A craving for flesh and blood 48 gaping mouths to tame. The legend of sawney bean has inspired quite a few movies, all extremely loosely based on the idea of a cannibalistic family.
The latter part of his life is a little better documented following his relocation across country to ayrshire and his marriage. Sure enough, their second episode, cannibals and killers, covered the legend of the notorious bean. Various potatoes a collection of folk songs from ralph records vol. Snakefinger s vestal virgins the ballad of sawney bean sawney s death dance. Leave a comment posted by jay harper on march 31, 2016. Provided to youtube by the orchard enterprises sawney beane clan the real mckenzies shine not burn. Sawney bean possibly one of the most horrifying figures in scottish history.
In 1977, the hills have eyes set the tone for low budget horror, with wes craven basing his tale about cannibalistic clan hunting an innocent travelling family in modern day america on sawney bean s 15th century tale. I recently ripped the album with my new turntable, so im updating the post. I had several of my fans reach out to me to tell me that their new show, true monsters, was going to cover sawney bean. Living in their home in a cave only accessible at low tide, the bean family. The ballad of sawney bean scottish folk song stormfront. This is the cd reissue of the original vinyl release on ralph records 1987. The ballad of sawney bean scottish folk song does anyone know where i could finddownload a version of a scottish folk song called the ballad of sawney bean. From snakefinger s 1987 lp night of desirable objects, as good a history of the cannibal clan as youre gonna get. My favorite song from that album was the ballad of sawney bean by snakefinger. Jesus gave me water is an early 20thcentury africanamerican hymn popularized by sam cooke. The closing tracks from,sadly, snakefingers final album before his fatal heart attack on the 1st of july, 1987. The song is about alexander sawney bean, the legendary head of a 48member clan in 16thcentury scotland who was executed for the mass murder and cannibalization of over 1,000 people.
The final snakefinger lp released during the guitarists lifetime is a typically bent, eclectic affair. Interpolated verse by lionel mcclelland published 1994 on the blackeyed biddy album high spirits reproduced with kind permission. For centuries, the story of bean and his clan are part of scotlands folklore. In the early to mid 80s the oncethriving sf music scene was in yet another periodic lull. For sawney he has taen a wife and hes hungry bairns tae wean and hes raised them up on the flesh o men in the cave of sawney bean. The story of the infamous 15th century cannibal who lived in a cave on the galloway coast in scotland.
According to the bestknown account of the patriarch to this incestuous gang of murdering robbers, the historical and traditional tales connected with the south of scotland written by john nicholson in 1843, sawney bean was born sometime in the 14th century approximately 10 miles outside of edinburgh. From snakefingers 1987 lp night of desirable objects, as good a history of the cannibal clan as youre gonna get. The release included two special limited edition versions. Sawney bean and sawney beane 2 different tracks on the same album performed by the dead raven choir on cask strength black metal, supernal music cd 046, 2007.