Back to Iona: 72
I recall arriving back on Iona for a long extended summer in 1973, and feeling exited at the prospect of a 'Party' being held on the Machair. Iona can be dark at night, and for the young lad, freshly back from a visit to the streetlights and fog of a dirty old Lancashire town found the slight re-ajustment to the Machair road in the moonlight 'dark to say the least'.
Walking down the moonpath that evening towards the machair gate I could hear the faint sounds of guitars and laughter. A pushbike passed me with two strange lookng characters huddled on the seat and crossbar the rear one had his big jumbo styled guitar dangling down his back. They stopped a little distance ahead and waited for me to catch them up.
Their appearance put the fear of god into me and easpecially when one of them asked 'Have you got any dope man?'
To be honest I did not have a clue what 'dope' was in those days.The scene changed when this guy unslung his guitar and began to play it..a very bad rendition of Neil youngs 'Tell me Why' from 'After the Gold Rush' Album.
'Can you play the guitar?' he asked. 'come on down to the party man and listen to some far out music!
That evening I sat a little distance away from the 'hippy group' and watched as they built their large beach fire higher and listened as they strummed on their battered acoustic guitars. The music drifted across the machair and seemed to become entangled in the moonlight. For me it was magic!
Our croft was situated in the centre of the island more or less and the track which ran past the croft gate led to the four roads and the Machair. One morning I was clearing the byre out when a voice shouted from the gate..
'Hey am I on the right road to Columba's Bay man? ' I looked up and responded. The stranger shouted again 'Hey man have you a place for tonight? ' 'Don't know ' i said 'Need to speak over at the croft house'.
The stranger was dressed in a blazing yellow and red shirt with a smattering of other colours in between the colour seams.
He had on a shammy leather waist coat and velvet gold bell bottom trowser's with a twisted leather throng holding them up and knee length leather boots into which the bottom of his trowsers were tucked into. His hair was blond and short he had a beard and sported an outsized pair of tinted sunglasses.
'Hi there my names Dilly John man whats yours? ' ' Nigel ' I said. ' You staying long ? ' 'No not long man i'm just here for the vibes and to write a few new songs.' Again I'd noticed a battered twelve string guitar slung over his back which he seemed to lean on with one arm. Later Dilly told me his story.
He was in a group of 'Hippy Dillies' who all lived on Kings Cross Station in London. they all had individual names which all began with the prefix 'Dilly' ' He could play the guitar well and soon began showing me some new chords. We sat outside on the small hillock that evening in the sunset while Dilly crooned some gentle folk songs his roll up tucked neatly into the side of his lip. He then began to weep gently. He told me his woman had left him and she'd had a baby.
Then Dilly looked at me and muttered. 'Hey your a song writer? ' ' Yea ' I said. ' Then you can write a tune to my words ok? ' ''Ok' I said. Dilly reached into his waistcoat pocket and pulled out a dirty slip of paper. He passed it to me. The words read:
' Sit down beside me my lady fine I'll give you loving like honey and wine I'll tell you I love you I'll tell you I care But tommorrow I'll be gone! I'll find a ring for your left hand and adorn your hair with a golden band I'll lie beside you the whole night through but tomorrow I'll be gone. And you will will bear me a baby boy and it will be my pride and joy and I will love you truly still but still tomorrow I'll be gone.'
I wrote some music for the words that evening and performed it for him on his battered old guitar the following day. When I'd finished he was emotional and he embraced me 'Far out man that's just far out!' This was the last time I ever saw Dilly John and the first 'song' I had ever written properly. I was twelve years old at the time.
Walking down the moonpath that evening towards the machair gate I could hear the faint sounds of guitars and laughter. A pushbike passed me with two strange lookng characters huddled on the seat and crossbar the rear one had his big jumbo styled guitar dangling down his back. They stopped a little distance ahead and waited for me to catch them up.
Their appearance put the fear of god into me and easpecially when one of them asked 'Have you got any dope man?'
To be honest I did not have a clue what 'dope' was in those days.The scene changed when this guy unslung his guitar and began to play it..a very bad rendition of Neil youngs 'Tell me Why' from 'After the Gold Rush' Album.
'Can you play the guitar?' he asked. 'come on down to the party man and listen to some far out music!
That evening I sat a little distance away from the 'hippy group' and watched as they built their large beach fire higher and listened as they strummed on their battered acoustic guitars. The music drifted across the machair and seemed to become entangled in the moonlight. For me it was magic!
Our croft was situated in the centre of the island more or less and the track which ran past the croft gate led to the four roads and the Machair. One morning I was clearing the byre out when a voice shouted from the gate..
'Hey am I on the right road to Columba's Bay man? ' I looked up and responded. The stranger shouted again 'Hey man have you a place for tonight? ' 'Don't know ' i said 'Need to speak over at the croft house'.
The stranger was dressed in a blazing yellow and red shirt with a smattering of other colours in between the colour seams.
He had on a shammy leather waist coat and velvet gold bell bottom trowser's with a twisted leather throng holding them up and knee length leather boots into which the bottom of his trowsers were tucked into. His hair was blond and short he had a beard and sported an outsized pair of tinted sunglasses.
'Hi there my names Dilly John man whats yours? ' ' Nigel ' I said. ' You staying long ? ' 'No not long man i'm just here for the vibes and to write a few new songs.' Again I'd noticed a battered twelve string guitar slung over his back which he seemed to lean on with one arm. Later Dilly told me his story.
He was in a group of 'Hippy Dillies' who all lived on Kings Cross Station in London. they all had individual names which all began with the prefix 'Dilly' ' He could play the guitar well and soon began showing me some new chords. We sat outside on the small hillock that evening in the sunset while Dilly crooned some gentle folk songs his roll up tucked neatly into the side of his lip. He then began to weep gently. He told me his woman had left him and she'd had a baby.
Then Dilly looked at me and muttered. 'Hey your a song writer? ' ' Yea ' I said. ' Then you can write a tune to my words ok? ' ''Ok' I said. Dilly reached into his waistcoat pocket and pulled out a dirty slip of paper. He passed it to me. The words read:
' Sit down beside me my lady fine I'll give you loving like honey and wine I'll tell you I love you I'll tell you I care But tommorrow I'll be gone! I'll find a ring for your left hand and adorn your hair with a golden band I'll lie beside you the whole night through but tomorrow I'll be gone. And you will will bear me a baby boy and it will be my pride and joy and I will love you truly still but still tomorrow I'll be gone.'
I wrote some music for the words that evening and performed it for him on his battered old guitar the following day. When I'd finished he was emotional and he embraced me 'Far out man that's just far out!' This was the last time I ever saw Dilly John and the first 'song' I had ever written properly. I was twelve years old at the time.
posted by Nigel H Seymour at
10:36 AM
<< Home