Sandy Denny Trivia

1. The title of this quiz, "I've Always Kept a Unicorn", is also the title of a biography of Sandy Denny by Mick Houghton. But which of her songs does the lyric come from?

From Quiz I've Always Kept a Unicorn

Answer: Solo

All four songs appear on the compilation; "Bruton Town" is a traditional track and "Sail Away to the Sea" was written by Dave Cousins. Dave Cousins is a long standing member of the Strawbs. Prior to joining Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny also sang with the Strawbs. The remaining two songs were written by Sandy Danny. The subject matter of the song "Solo" follows a common theme for songwriters, a relationship breakdown due to lack of communication. The verse that contains the line consists of several impossible things that the singer can do, but communicating with the other party is the one they are unable to achieve. The third verse, the one that contains the quoted lyric, starts: "I've always lived in a mansion, on the other side of the moon. I've always kept a unicorn, and I never sing out of tune." Then ends "But I can't communicate with you, and I guess I never will." The title of the song comes from refrain where the last word of each of the three lines is "solo".

From Quiz She Moves Through the Fair

Answer: Fotheringay

"...Much farther than these islands, for the lonely Fotheringay". From "What We Did on our Holidays" (1969). When Sandy Denny left Fairport and started her own band with her future husband, Trevor Lucas, she named it Fotheringay. The self titled 1970 release was the only album put out by this band.

From Quiz I've Always Kept a Unicorn

Answer: Red and Gold

All of the options are titles of Fairport albums but the only one that fits is "Red and Gold". The first words of the song in question are: "Red and gold, and Halloween have passed us by". Although Sandy sang with Fairport on several albums, "Red and Gold" was released ten years after her death and has no connection with the song "After Halloween". The album "Red and Gold" instead takes its name from a song by Ralph McTell. The song "After Halloween" does appear on the Fairport album "Rising for the Moon", which was the last of their albums to feature Sandy Danny.

From Quiz I've Always Kept a Unicorn

Answer: That we really care

The last stanza of the song runs: "You can run for cover, run for cover like a frightened hare, Till it's all over, all over and there's no-one there, 'cos you daren't discover, daren't discover that we really care." Of the other options, the song includes the line "Hazards are risks and risks are chances". There is no mention of Morris dancing in the song and the line about fickle friends is from another Sandy Denny song, "Who Knows Where the Time Goes".

From Quiz She Moves Through the Fair

Answer: The Strawbs

This was originally a Danish-only release, not being released in the UK until several years later. Judy Collins' version of the song was the B side to "Both Sides Now", and later that year the title track to her eighth album.

From Quiz I've Always Kept a Unicorn

Answer: Kentucky

The lyrics relating to the question are contained in the second verse; "I put a bet on, with a bookie, For the race they put on over in Kentucky. It's lovely at this time of year, so they say, And I've got to get away." A song of escapism, as explained in the last verse which starts; "I'm a dreamer" and ends "And the truth is, I don't think I'll ever go." Another example of escapism that springs to my mind is the song "The Moon over Milford Haven" by the Oysterband.

From Quiz She Moves Through the Fair

Answer: "Led Zepplin IV" Led Zepplin

Her vocals on "The Battle of Evermore" are probably her biggest exposure outside the folk/rock world. The "three pyramids" symbol on the album's inner sleeve is apparently Denny's symbol.

From Quiz I've Always Kept a Unicorn

Answer: Golden

Although all of these are possible descriptions of a heart, the second verse starts with the line: "The lady she had a golden heart". Silver and gold, a silver tongue and a golden heart, these seem to go together rather nicely. The silver tongue for singing, the golden heart for loving, possibly it describes Sandy herself. The version on the compilation has Sandy as a solo performer, playing the piano and singing the lyrics.

From Quiz I've Always Kept a Unicorn

Answer: Fortune Teller

Another song about dreaming of a better life, to be taken away from the current mundane existence. The lyrics relating to the question are: "I am a traveller by trade, I only have what I have made. A fortune teller too they say, And I can take you all away." This also illustrates the way that all the verses end, a line finishing with the words "take you all away." Sandy also recorded a French language version of this song as "Ecoute Ecoute" which can be found on compilation album "A Boxful of Treasures".

From Quiz She Moves Through the Fair

Answer: Unhalfbricking

This album was the beginning of Fairport's move towards the British folk/rock which they are credited with inventing - in large part due to Sandy Denny's influence. A lot of people put "Unhalfbricking" on their "Best of All Time" lists. Personally, this album has always left me a little cold, though. The only track that really stands out for me is "Who Knows Where the Time Goes".

From Quiz I've Always Kept a Unicorn

Answer: Long

The song opens with the lines: "Then came the question, and it was about time. The answer came back, and it was long." A lovely song but identifying the meaning is not so easy. According to the Sandy Denny website this song was written about Sandy's former boyfriend Jackson C. Frank. Jackson was an American singer-songwriter who came to England for a couple of years in the 1960s. His legacy includes the song "The Blues Run the Game", which has been covered by a large number of musicians. The only direct reference to him in the song that I can identify is the lyric "And do you still live there in Buffalo?". Buffalo in New York state was where Jackson was born and grew up, and where he was in a serious incident that killed many of his class at school. His life went downhill after he returned to America, he married, it broke up and he was institutionalized. He then ended up sleeping rough on the streets of New York while searching for Paul Simon. Later he lost an eye to a random shooting incident and died in 1999. Tragic is probably the best description of his life.

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