Sweet Sir Galahad
Encyclopedia
"Sweet Sir Galahad" is a song written by Joan Baez
that she performed at the Woodstock Festival
in August 1969. She first performed it on Season 3, Episode 23, of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
earlier that year and included it on her album One Day at a Time
(1970). The song tells the story of Baez' younger sister Mimi Fariña
and her second marriage to music producer Milan Melvin. Mimi and Milan were married at the 1969 Big Sur Folk Festival
. Baez was inspired to write the song, after hearing of Melvin's courtship of Fariña, during which he came into her bedroom at night through the window. It has since become one of Baez's best-known compositions.
In 2006, Baez contributed a "re-tooled" version of the song to Volume 1 of the XM Artist Confidential CD series, available at Starbucks. In the new version, Baez briefly changes the lyric "Here's to the dawn of their days" to "Here's to the dawn of her days," a tribute to the song's subject, Baez's sister Mimi, who had died in 2001. Milan Melvin, aka "Sir Galahad", also died in 2001.
A live version of the song appears as a bonus track on the 2006 reissue Baez' 1995 live album Ring Them Bells
.
It should not be confused with the Sir Galahad song by Rick Wakeman
.
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
that she performed at the Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
in August 1969. She first performed it on Season 3, Episode 23, of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour is an American comedy and variety show hosted by the Smothers Brothers and initially airing on CBS from 1967 to 1969.-History:...
earlier that year and included it on her album One Day at a Time
(I Live) One Day at a Time
One Day at a Time was a 1970 album by Joan Baez. Recorded in Nashville, the album was a continuation of Baez' experimentation with country music, begun with the previous year's David's Album...
(1970). The song tells the story of Baez' younger sister Mimi Fariña
Mimi Fariña
Mimi Baez Fariña was a singer-songwriter and activist, the youngest of three daughters to a Scottish mother and Mexican-American physicist Albert Baez .- Early years:Fariña's father, a physicist affiliated with Stanford University and MIT, moved his family...
and her second marriage to music producer Milan Melvin. Mimi and Milan were married at the 1969 Big Sur Folk Festival
Celebration at Big Sur
Celebration at Big Sur is a film of the 1969 Big Sur Folk Festival in Big Sur, California, featuring Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young , Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell and others....
. Baez was inspired to write the song, after hearing of Melvin's courtship of Fariña, during which he came into her bedroom at night through the window. It has since become one of Baez's best-known compositions.
In 2006, Baez contributed a "re-tooled" version of the song to Volume 1 of the XM Artist Confidential CD series, available at Starbucks. In the new version, Baez briefly changes the lyric "Here's to the dawn of their days" to "Here's to the dawn of her days," a tribute to the song's subject, Baez's sister Mimi, who had died in 2001. Milan Melvin, aka "Sir Galahad", also died in 2001.
A live version of the song appears as a bonus track on the 2006 reissue Baez' 1995 live album Ring Them Bells
Ring Them Bells
Ring Them Bells is a live album taken from Joan Baez' April 1995 shows at New York's Bottom Line. In addition to her own solo set, the album featured collaborations with Mary Chapin Carpenter, Mimi Farina, Dar Williams, the Indigo Girls and Mary Black...
.
It should not be confused with the Sir Galahad song by Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman
Richard Christopher Wakeman is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes...
.