Henry's Songbook

He would sing about joy, sing about pain
That the people wished they had
How they heard the voice of Jesus
When the rolling sea got mad
He's a boat in the harbour, he's safe in that love
You know some day you'll be sailing above

When they looked at Joseph's hands
They said, They're the hands of a carpenter
They're big and they're powerful and they're strong
They're the hands that should work in wood
And they're the hands that should work a long day
Joseph he did all those things
But he also learned how to play

When they looked at Joseph's hands
They said, They're the hands of a stonemason
They're big and they're powerful and they're strong
They're the hands that should work with stone
And they're the hands that should work a long day
Joseph he did all those things
But he also learned how to play

When they looked at Joseph's hands
They said, They're the hands of a fisherman
The musician and the mason-carpenter
And he's happy all the time
He's still working every day
And those old hands of Joseph
Oh how they can play

[1991:] Dedicated to Joseph Spence. Apart from being a wonderful guitar player he was also a carpenter, a stonemason, and a fisherman. Remarkably, when he died a couple of years ago he still had all the fingers on both hands. (Ralph McTell, intro Tønder)

[1991:] First 'discovered' around 1958 [and died in 1984,] the music business didn't really catch Joseph Spence, nor did the fame and fortune associated with it, indeed he was a night watchman at a local primary school up until 1980, when he took sick. The choice of fame or an ordinary existence seems to have been one that he obviously made himself, preferring his home and family to the wider world. This album [...] is almost exclusively made up of religious material, but is performed with so much joyful spirit it's hard not to be affected by it. Ry Cooder described Spence's guitar style as 'physical and syncopated' which sums it up nicely. He simultaneously appears to play the lead and bass on guitar and then growls a melody. (Sean McGhee, review Joseph Spence, 'Glory', Rock 'n' Reel 11)

[1992:] It is dedicated to the hands of Joseph Spence a unique guitar player who has had a big influence on McTell's guitar style. (Notes Ralph McTell, 'Silver Celebration')

http://home.bluemarble.net/~deno/spence/
http://www.stropes.com/htmlout/aspence.html

Folk Roots (June 1998 No. 180) for an interesting article on the legacy of Joseph Spence

On the Rolling Sea