The Keach i the Creel
Encyclopedia
Synopsis
A young woman tells a man that her parents keep her too close for them to meet. The man has his brother make a ladder and a reel; the ladder takes him to the chimney, and by the reel, he is lowered into her bedroom. Her mother guesses there is a man in her bed and sends the father. She hides her lover and persuades her father she was praying. Her mother, still suspicious, goes herself. She is caught in the reel and tossed all about on it.Performances
This ballad has been performed by:- Ewan MacCollEwan MacCollEwan MacColl was an English folk singer, songwriter, socialist, actor, poet, playwright, and record producer. He was married to theatre director Joan Littlewood, and later to American folksinger Peggy Seeger. He collaborated with Littlewood in the theatre and with Seeger in folk music...
on "The English and Scottish Popular Ballads vol 2" (1956) - Ian Campbell Folk GroupIan Campbell Folk GroupThe Ian Campbell Folk Group were one of the most popular and respected folk groups of the British folk revival of the 1960s. The group made many appearances on radio, television, and at national and international venues and festivals. They performed a mixture of British traditional folk music and...
on "Cock Doth Craw" (1968) - Jean RedpathJean RedpathJean Redpath MBE is a singer of folk songs and Scottish music.Redpath was born in Edinburgh, to musical parents. Her mother knew many Scots songs and passed them on to Jean and her brother; her father played the hammer dulcimer. She was raised in Leven, Fife,Scotland, and later returned to...
on "Ballad Folk" (1977) - Martin CarthyMartin CarthyMartin Carthy MBE is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon and later artists such as Richard Thompson since he emerged as a young musician in the early days...
and Dave SwarbrickDave SwarbrickDave Swarbrick is an English folk musician and singer-songwriter. He has been described by Ashley Hutchings as 'the most influential [British] fiddle player bar none' and his style has been copied or developed by almost every British, and many World folk violin players that have followed him...
on "Skin and Bone" (1992) - Eliza CarthyEliza CarthyEliza Carthy is an English folk musician known for both singing and playing fiddle. She is the daughter of English folk musicians singer/guitarist Martin Carthy and singer Norma Waterson.-Life and career:...
and Nancy Kerr on "Shape of Scrape" (1995) - Paul BradyPaul BradyPaul Joseph Brady is an Irish singer-songwriter, whose work straddles folk and pop. He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age...
, on "The Liberty Tapes"