''The Well Below the Valley'' is the second album by the

Irish folk Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there w ...

group

Planxty Planxty were an Irish folk music band formed in January 1972, consisting initially of Christy Moore (vocals, acoustic guitar, bodhrán), Andy Irvine (vocals, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, hurdy-gurdy, harmonica), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki, guitars ...

. It was recorded at Escape Studios in Kent, England, from 18 June 1973 until the end of the month, and was released later that year. It takes its title from the sixth song on the album, "

The Well Below the Valley "The Maid and the Palmer" (alternate versions are known as "The Maid of Coldingham" and "The Well Below The Valley"; original title in Percy "Lillumwham") (Roud 2335, Child ballad 21) is an English language medieval murder ballad with supernatural ...

Track listing

All titles are Traditional, arranged by Planxty, except track 12. #"

Cúnla "Cúnla" is an Irish folk song, originally composed in the Irish language. History Cúnla is a sean-nós children's song believed to have been composed sometime in the 14th century. The song is still well known and widely sung in Ireland and rec ...

" (song) – 3:54 #"Pat Reilly" (song) – 3:15 #"The Kid on the Mountain"/"An Phis Fhliuch" (

slip jig Slip jig () refers to both a style within Irish music, and the Irish dance to music in slip-jig time. The slip jig is in time, traditionally with accents on 5 of the 9 beats — two pairs of crotchet/quaver (quarter note/eighth note) followed by ...

s) – 3:49 #"As I Roved Out (Andy)" (song) – 5:19 #"The Dogs Among the Bushes"/"Jenny's Wedding" (

reels A reel is an object around which a length of another material (usually long and flexible) is wound for storage (usually hose are wound around a reel). Generally a reel has a cylindrical core (known as a '' spool'') with flanges around the ends ...

) – 2:37 #"

" (song) – 5:30 #"Hewlett" (waltz) – 2:30 #"

Bean Pháidin "" ('Páidin's Wife') is an Irish folk song, in the Irish language. The song takes the point of view of a jealous and angry woman who yearns to be married to Páidin (Paddy), who already has a wife. The song is known for containing some rather ha ...

" (song) – 3:42 #"The Fisherman's Lilt"/"Cronin's Hornpipe" (

hornpipe The hornpipe is any of several dance forms played and danced in Britain and Ireland and elsewhere from the 16th century until the present day. The earliest references to hornpipes are from England with Hugh Aston's Hornepype of 1522 and others r ...

s) – 3:14 #" As I Roved Out (Christy)" (song) – 3:49 #"Humours of Ballyloughlin" (jig) – 2:11 #"Time Will Cure Me" (song) – 5:23
(Andy Irvine)

Personnel

Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first album, ...

- vocals,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'' or ''bodhráns'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or othe ...

* Andy Irvine - vocals,

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

Dónal Lunny Dónal Lunny (born 10 March 1947) is an Irish folk musician and producer. He plays left-handed guitar and bouzouki, as well as keyboards and bodhrán. As a founding member of popular bands Planxty, The Bothy Band, Moving Hearts, Coolfin, Mozai ...

- bouzouki, vocals *

Liam O'Flynn Liam Óg O'Flynn ( ga, Liam Ó Floinn, 15 September 1945 – 14 March 2018) was an Irish uilleann piper and Irish traditional musician. In addition to a solo career and as a member of Planxty, O'Flynn recorded with: Christy Moore, Dónal Lun ...

uilleann pipes The uilleann pipes ( or , ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Earlier known in English as "union pipes", their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the elbow"), from their ...

tin whistle The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Well Below the Valley, The 1973 albums Polydor Records albums Planxty albums Albums produced by Phil Coulter