Bert Jansch "Blackwaterside"

Last year, acoustic legend Bert Jansch performed at Relix while on the road with Neil Young. Here we share his famous arrangement of "Blackwaterside"
For more great music, check out these links:
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[@dougieconnor2046]

I was teaching History in Edinburgh , Scotland and , one day, I read out the register to a year two class . I read out the name ' Jansch' and it stopped me right there. I said ' that is an unusual name . are you related to Bert?' He said ' Mr C , he is my uncle;. I got to meet him many times thereafter - a great and modest man .

[@melissa2531]

That's really cool! What awesome memories!

[@paghob]

Who was it, Neil Young who said, Bert Jansch is the Jimi Hendrix of the acoustic guitar? Bert Jansch a true musical genius, left us too early. People may or may not realise but this man was/is at the top of the tree in his field. Period!!! I don't believe there was nobody above him (Davey Graham? I think he took Davey Graham's creation to the nth degree)). If his wizardry on the guitar was not enough in my opinion he gave DEFINITION to the English Male Folk way of singing. The body of work he has left behind for us to relish is massive and regularly complex. One can ask where do people like Messrs Jansch, Page, Howe, Blackmore get it from? They are like a template between our world and the musical ether. Back in about 1984 in my student days I attended a concert of Bert's in a place called Hanley near Stoke on Trent in England. After the concert I strolled into a local pub for some refreshment. And there he was with a few of his crew sitting there having a pint like any regular. Yep this was one of the greatest guitarists of the 20th century sitting there like an ordinary citizen having a wee drink in a local pub!!! There were no air and graces about him, no desire to be a star, just extremely modest. There were not many others in the pub so I cautiously went up to him to see if I could just get to say hello to my hero. We got talking and talked for a few minutes. I told him was trying to learn Angie on the guitar. I could tell he was tired though so I politely said bye but not before he gave me encouragement to learn Angie. Wow!!! The humility of this genius is awe inspiring. RIP gentle GENIUS!!!!!!

[@DavidMFChapman]

This brings tears to my eyes, knowing he’s no longer with us. I’m a fan from the early days.

[@JennySutcliffe]

RIP Bert. You won't be forgotten. I am keeping your memory alive x

[@boosh90]

Jenny Sutcliffe Sings and me too, in my own sloppy way :P

[@JennySutcliffe]

Connor Hutcheon nothing wrong with that! :P

[@boosh90]

+Jenny Sutcliffe Sings thank god someone finally appreciates my sloppiness SUCCESS!!!!!!!!

[@01270211136]

Jenny Sutcliffe Sings . Go girl. I have just started learning the guitar track. Doing our little bit.

[@sophieWilde-po4pj]

Well he'll always be played in my house ,so will Sandy Denny,John Renbourn ,Nick Drake and let's never forget John.Martyn..I'm English & musicians like this fiill my heart with pride ..We've truly produced amazing musicians in the UK & Ireland x

[@rogeriusrex1]

Such power and delicateness all at once. So dynamic. And how the hell does he manage to sing on top of that? It's always baffled me. Legend.

[@7125Mhz]

God I loved him so much. I bet that guitar misses him, too.

[@artdecco8617]

anyone know what Model and year that Yamaha is ?

[@ShadowHerder]

Led zepplin called and said sorry here is some $ Great beautiful song and more than the zepplin rip. Love it. Thanx you for the music my friend. Forever you will be remembered. As my 7 year old son likes it too!

[@tago69mago]

I made the mistake of saying a similar thing concerning plagarism on a Led Zepplin youtube page and for the last 6 months have had nothing but hate e-mails! I'm not particularly bothered but I suspect that most of their fans don't realise how bad they ripped people off. So bad in fact that they have had to settle in and out of court on many occasions. But hey-ho!

[@torreydunn8114]

I’m with you! And it’s not the only time page used jansch’s stuff, gallows pole is just another example

[@traggat]

What a privilege to have the guy in your place. always the the master. R.I.P Bert.

[@scaredypicker]

He makes that 6 string sound like a 12 string. Amazing technique and full bodied sound

[@jimmessina]

true...he play octaves very easily without any effort...He is WAAAAAAY better than Jimmy Page!

[@artdecco8617]

@@jimmessina Agree !

[@justMe-rd4sw]

well I've found my way here courtesy of Johnny Marr, so thanks for introducing me to this wonderful artist.

[@xyzxyz997]

Me too, Johnny Marr has inspired me in so many ways

[@mussie302]

Fantastic. There's a lot we can learn, and a lot of inspiration we can draw, from watching masters like Bert at work. I, for one, am grateful to get the chance to see this.

[@bscepter]

a brillant player. and such a great arrangement. so sad that he's gone now.

[@jtpinnyc]

These are amazing videos. I tabbed a bunch of Bert's tunes back in 2004 and uploaded them to Usenet - my name is J Phillips - and they've done the rounds since then (some of better quality than others!). I used to get loads of emails related to the tabs but a while back the email address on the tabs was hacked into and I can't get it back. On the off chance anyone reading this has mailed me and never gotten a reply, that's why!

[@thomasmccormack1183]

you got a new email? Thanks for putting those out.

[@TheChinared8]

Even at his advanced age, Bert could still play rings around anyone else.

[@dannydine5263]

+TheChinared8 Yeah this is a particularly good version of this.Even for Bert.

[@mikedickman9623]

and sick as a dog at the time too... total fuckin genius

[@PaulTasker]

What a legend Bert was. His playing inspired generations and still does :-)

[@michaelmckenzie8356]

Paul Tasker 9

[@Kurufinwe13]

You can most certainly hear this was the inspiration for Page's Black Mountain Side....beautiful!

[@StillAliveAndKicking_]

Inspiration? It was a blatant rip off.

[@AnthonyMonaghan]

I feel privileged simply to use the same Capo as Bert. My guitar hero.

[@assassinskater321]

You just made me imagine Nick and Bert duetting this song and the thought sent shivers down my spine.

[@ichwilldasvideo3]

Nick Drake?

[@jeanniecampbell1374]

never forgotton ..loved by so many we carry your voice and music in our hearts .

[@zootszabo2415]

simply brilliant

[@andydixon2980]

I love this song, and his beautiful guitar arrangement. Its a bitch to try and learn. A whole step up from playing something like 'Angi', mainly the time signatures are the challenge for me.

[@themachinist1000]

Look up Bert Jansch's 'Avocet'. Really nice instrumental in DADGAD. A great song in DADGAD he does is 'Bird Song', which is of a similar style to the 'Blackwaterside' arrangement. He was for the most part a standard tuning/drop d man though. Ooh by the way for something that has a remarkably similar riff to 'Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp' look up Bert Jansch and John Renbourn doing 'The Waggoner's Lad' ;)

[@efcgarv]

One of the trad songs Bert composed in his own way I need to learn, love it.

[@TullesP]

a wonderful, inspirational piece! Really sad he's gone, RIP Bert. But thanks for sharing this vid.

[@derkgently969]

Beautiful.....

[@ZitherBeast]

Yeah, Awesome Stuff...... Awesome!!!!

[@donnlarossa9173]

NEVER TIRE OF HIS BRILLIANCE!

[@Cabronosidad]

Excellent! Thanks for the upload.

[@lughlongarm76]

And now I remember that this is a Bert Jansch video and not a Led Zeppelin video... for the record, I like Jansch's version of "Blackwaterside" more than "Black Mountainside." I do love the tabla drums Page added to the track though. The thing is I never would have known about Jansch, who I really admire now, had it not been for Page. It's done that much, at least.

[@greglarry11]

Amazing.

[@efcgarv]

It took my am age to trawl through these comments to find someone say what a great version this is. And it is! People saying his playing had gone down hill. I was lucky to see him twice in the early 90s and he was great. Lets not big ourselves down with the jimmy page black waterside debate.

[@russkkay]

Made in Scotland from Girders!!! There's more to us than just Tartan & Shortbread>

[@MontyCantsin5]

...and Irn Bru.

[@silasbohen659]

Not any more rip Bert

[@notvalidcharacters]

Atlantic Records had been around 25 years already -- I don't think they're going to suddenly forget how to list proper credits after 25 years in the business just because Led Zeppelin comes along. "Oversight"? Nooo, don't think so. Had they listed the titles as "trad" we could have just called them lazy, but they went to the extra step of claiming they actually WROTE them --even when Page knew the real writers personally. And for several years they actually got away with it.

[@gregshirley-jeffersonboule6258]

F LZ

[@lughlongarm76]

Your covers are awesome. Listening to your performance of "Bransle Gay" now.

[@mussie302]

Wonderful.

[@lughlongarm76]

Oh, I actually meant that I heard he played Blackwaterside itself in DADGAD, but hadn't found confirmation of that. I knew he used the tuning. I like "Jack Orion" and he uses it for his instrumental arrangement of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face." But thanks a LOT for those recommendations! I love Avocet and Bird Song, both of which I'd never heard before. I'm going to try and learn to play Bird Song soon. Seriously, as a fellow guitarist I'm immensely grateful for those suggestions.

[@gaconnochie]

"this wasn't a traditional song. it's an original" It is traditional. Jansch seemingly learned the song from Anne Briggs who supposedly learned it from Isla Cameron a 1950s singer who later adapted her own version to sound more like the Briggs' version. Fellow Scottish folkie Al Stewart (Year Of The Cat etc) then learned the tune from Jansch and supposedly taught it to Page. Jansch tried to sue Page for stealing his arrangement not for the song itself.

[@lughlongarm76]

Page's arrangement is in DADGAD. Jansch plays it in drop d.

[@briandunstan3503]

Bert played the original black waterside in d.a.d.g.a.d. in fact he called the album jack Orion the dadgad album,

[@MsVOICES1]

Very Nice~

[@connorfullerton2626]

Fab!!!

[@lughlongarm76]

I've watched it before. My favorite songs of theirs, and the ones which I think were most progressive and groundbreaking, are things like "Achilles Last Stand", "Battle of Evermore", "No Quarter" (virtually all of Houses of the Holy), "Kashmir", "Ten Years Gone" (that one especially) and others. Those are all totally original. They were an amazing band. I was very saddened to learn of all the plagiarism, but I stand by my statement that it's an exaggeration to call "most" of it plagiarism.

[@ThunderboltWisdom]

The art of making one guitar sound like two!

[@MedievalRichard]

Legend.

[@finkployd58]

You can't steal a traditional irish folk song, it has no copywright.

[@hafer88]

🌿🌻🌿

[@IlGattonero13]

Oh, to have been in that room.

[@lughlongarm76]

I'm not just talking about the tunings (I actually have heard that Jansch played in DADGAD sometimes too, but I haven't seen this or found any confirmation). The notes are not "EXACTLY" the same as a lot of people keep saying. The melodies are the same, but this is finger-picking. A lot of it involved plucking two strings at once, playing bass notes along with the melody, etc. There are subtle variations on voicing. Still plagiarism, I just wanted to point that out.

[@notvalidcharacters]

Finally --if all these tunes are not directly stolen, then how come all these writing credits have been changed from the original Page-Plant fable to the actual writers? Buy a LZ CD today and read the credits, and compare that to those on the original vinyls. Busted.

[@brucegor]

WOW!!! rest in peace

[@mauimig380]

Rest in Peace Bert.

[@lughlongarm76]

I didn't limit it to only Houses of the Holy. I mentioned material from Physical Graffiti ("Ten Years Gone" is one of my favorites) too, and all of that is original, I believe. I also mentioned "Achilles Last Stand" from Presence. "Ramble On" is a great example of their folk-inflected style. The only song from Led Zeppelin IV you mentioned was "When the Levee Breaks", which is plagiarism, but their rendition is totally different and awesome. If you stopped at Houses of the Holy, you're missing

[@Zepster77]

genius!!!

[@lughlongarm76]

Albert King got famous on songs like Crosscut Saw and Born Under a Bad sign. He didn't write either of those. I'm not sure if he gave credit or not, but either way, I know a lot of people who had no idea they were covers. Page and Plant loved the blues. It's not like they meant disrespect. It was about the music and nothing else.

[@justinponde8657]

They didnt 'steal' those other songs. They are blues songs. Muddy Waters and all the others did the same things. Every blues artist back then would take old popular songs and do their own version of it. Its just what they did.

[@user-yk7dc9hu2k]

This song makes me Irish blood flow

[@Deebemc]

This is a great song , done by a man with magic in his fingertips. I prefer -Annie Briggs singing it! A great song or tune is exactly that . We are the lucky recipients whoever plays it.

[@lughlongarm76]

I researched it a bit more, and apparently the only reason the lawsuit wasn't pursued was because Jansch couldn't afford it, and it would be a huge task to take on such a giant force in music. Pretty sad, really. I'm curious; you mentioned you were a musician--what instrument do you play? I've taken the time to learn a bit of both versions and they are actually quite a bit different. The same melodies but different chord voicings and octaves.

[@notvalidcharacters]

As a musician I agree with you about Stairway/Taurus. I don't consider that one of the examples, but it's what happens when a pattern is established-- people start stretching. I don't think that one amounts to plagiarism; I do think Taurus inspired Stairway as a starting point but it's not enough to deem it plagiarism. In that one case anyway.

[@stagehand9002]

is that an open d or drop d or dadgad?

[@hangingrock57]

If it were not for Bert, Jake Holmes, Anne Breden, Eddie Cochran, Traffics "Dear Mr Fantasy" and other black blues artists Zeppelins first album would have never been made.Berts "egg" came before Zeppelins "Chicken"

[@lughlongarm76]

out on a lot of great music, dude. Before I forget, "Over The Hills and Far Away" and "The Rain Song" are both amazing. Music is pretty subjective, of course, but you should at least give all this stuff a chance.

[@notvalidcharacters]

I play string things, including guitar, including alternate tunings, though I haven't tried this one. Somebody else mentioned that Page and Jansch used slightly different tunings to play the same thing. It's the end result that matters, not what fingerings you use for each tuning if that's what you mean. I could play the same song in open G that somebody else plays in standard; it's still the same song. Could be that JP used a different tuning to make it different, but it wasn't enough.

[@jmirr69]

Burt played in drop d tuning with a capo on the 3rd fret. Jimmy played in alt tuning ( dadgad )

[@oldtimetinfoilhatwearer]

@@jmirr69 Jimi played in DADGAD because he was also copying Davy Graham's "she moved through the fair"

[@lughlongarm76]

really like about their sound. They are credited for pioneering heavy metal and hard rock, but they had a softer acoustic side to them. Still, as I said before, I'm not discounting the possibility that the crediting problem was an oversight. Maybe "Page/Plant" was just added to everything not written by Jones or Bonham without a thought. I can't know. Technicalities are not going to stop me from enjoying the works anyway, along with their totally original work.

[@lughlongarm76]

Yeah considering that Spirit opened for Zeppelin at one point, I'm sure Page heard Taurus. So "inspiration" is definitely a more accurate description.

[@amalt37]

The words of songs are sung in notes hence the words = music. It's not impossible to have an istrumental version of a traditional song.

[@gaconnochie]

"exact arrangement" though they are very similar the arrangement isn't exactly the same. Jansch seemingly plays it in drop D tuning (that is DADGBE) whilst Page played it in DADGAD. Though they are very very similar arrangements!

[@lughlongarm76]

You replied to yourself so I didn't see this comment. I did NOT know that. That is definitely pretty damn hypocritical. I still love Led Zeppelin for their original stuff, though. And I do think their "covers" which is what we should start calling these (I am of the opinion that it is the musical work itself that is important. If they had called it a cover, it'd still be the same piece of music for us to enjoy.) are unique. Page had a vision of "light and shade" in music and it's something I

[@whisper6969twice]

Jimmy Page's rendition of this song is my favorite acoustic song EVER. It's an old traditional tune done by many other musicians. Jimmy Page just did a wonderful arrangement with Tabala drums and a second guitar. Jim produced and mixed it so well. But I love Berts as well.

[@pelicanstatepiper2916]

JP classless con

[@ShadowHerder]

For those of you who dont know this is the song that Led Zeppling stole. I can see why page was like.... Wow robert, listen to this.

[@mnc3428]

La Chitarra Folk,fine.

[@greyforge27]

The man Jimmy Page wished he could play like

[@nickc2523]

And Neil Young, Donovan, Nick Drake, Johnny Marr, etc etc. Jansch was one of a kind, a master of the acoustic guitar in the purist sense.

[@dantaylor98dt]

But did Bert Jansch write Kashmir? No he didn’t.

[@lughlongarm76]

It's not the exact same notes. The introduction is completely different. I'm not saying it's not plagiarism, just that people blow it out of proportion. It's all very technical. There are worse plagiarisms Zeppelin pulled... but I still love them.

[@Bigkahkistan]

indeed the lyrics are the only part of the song that Jansch didn't compose himself. Ireland has no folk guitar tradition of its own, this was all acapella music.

[@GDuBMuSiCk]

no way that any version of anything is an exact arrangement

[@LibertwinsBR]

is it standart tuning?

[@cybertruckerdriverbr]

***** thanks bro, have a nice week.

[@BarntProductions]

Actually, I believe he's in Drop D.

[@rhymeocerous]

***** No, just the bottom E dropped to a D - DADGBE

[@lughlongarm76]

I hope you realize you're exaggerating with "most of their material." All of Houses of the Holy is original. Ramble On is mostly original, Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp, and a lot of their folk-type songs. Stairway to Heaven is not a rip-off of Spirit. Many people will claim that but all the two passages have in common is a chromatic descending bassline. Tons of songs have that.

[@lughlongarm76]

Again, he named it "Black Mountainside." I still think it's homage to Jansch, not an actual attempt at getting away with it. Naming it something like that and thinking no one will notice is just stupid. It's still illegal and unfair to not credit these artists; that I am not denying. I just don't think it means Page was some total asshole.

[@notvalidcharacters]

That's just the beginning. Take "In My Time of Dying"-- taken directly from Dylan's 1962 version, which was lifted from Blind Willie Johnson's 1927 record (which was uncopyrighted). Dylan at least called it "traditional"; Zeppelin credited themselves and ran off with royalties. THAT's dishonest. Here's the hypocrisy: when Little Roger & the Goosebumps put the lyrics of Gilligan's Island onto Stairway to Heaven, LZ sued them within weeks of the release and demanded the product be destroyed.

[@notvalidcharacters]

Oh no, no exaggeration at all. Once again, put "Led Zeppelin plagiarism" in the search bar - there are WAY too many to list. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You (ripped off from Anne Bredon) I Can't Quit you Baby (Otis Rush) Bring It On Home (Willie Dixon) Nobody's Fault but Mine (Blind Willie Johnson) Dazed and Confused (Jake Holmes) Since I Been Lovin' You (Moby Grape) When the Levee Breaks (Kansas Joe McCoy) -- many many more. Try (watch?v=2AhPZx7AedE&list=PLCED74A2A5E594E76) and watch the series.

[@notvalidcharacters]

Oh no, they stole 'em, often note for note and lyric for lyric, and not just trad songs. There are several KZbin videos listing huge numbers of LZ plagiarism, with the originals side by side. Dozens of songs. It was chronic.

[@MrBluePsych]

funny, it's only technically a song if it has words, so the music was what was ripped off, therefore it has no claim to being traditional, only contemporary.

[@lughlongarm76]

He is sloppy, especially in recent years (I feel like drugs have affected his motor abilities or something...). But the solo on the studio version of "Since I've Been Loving You" (not the song itself, the solo is totally original as far as solos go) is one of the best solos of all time, in my opinion. My scale knowledge isn't too extensive, but from what I've worked out, he uses a combination of the blues and Aeolian scale for that solo.

[@notvalidcharacters]

If you dig somebody's song so much you do it yourself, that's homage. If you pass it off as your own, that's dishonest. And when you do it over and over, it's chronic. We can only speculate on the personal character of a guy we've never met so yeah that's useless, but suffice to say what they did was grossly unethical. Doesn't affect Page's guitar ability, just his character. Not to single out JP individually;*their* character. Who knows who came up with the idea but they won't talk about it.

[@samuelshepard]

this wasn't a traditional song. it's an original. and jimmy page(i can't believe we're STILL ON THIS) stole it from him. he was obsessed with him, and has admitted it in several interviews. he wanted to be him bad enough. he was just a kid and kids do dumb shit sometimes. please, let it go...

[@bloodletter3400]

samuel shepard Even Saying that Bert was the Acoustic Version of Jimi Hendrix

[@silasbohen659]

It’s actually taken from an original Celtic folk song

[@establishmentblues]

just one song? they also stole songs from muddy waters, skip james, blind willie johnson and joan baez to name a few.

[@notvalidcharacters]

"Most" of course is relative and dependent on which body of material we speak of. Clearly they began as near-total ripoffs, which I guess is why you're limiting comment to "Houses of the Holy". I admit by that album I had stopped listening and got bored, but the ethical lapse had already been committed. This is subjective too but having seen and heard LZ, I always thought them vastly overrated, even before the plagiarism revelations. Jimmy Page has great ability but he's damn sloppy.

[@notvalidcharacters]

... so it wasn't about the music; it was about getting rich off the work of other people, who got nothing for their creations. Sorry but that's the way it is.