Richard Dawson has shared the video for ‘The Felon’s Song’. The video follows his album, Peasant released earlier this year.
‘The Felon’s Song’ was filmed in HMP Durham and is one of five songs from This Liberty, a collaboration between Matt Stokes and Richard Dawson, commissioned for Hexham Old Gaol as part of part of Meeting Point2 led by Arts & Heritage, funded by Arts Council England’s Museum Resilience Fund.
Dawson says of ‘The Felon’s Song’:
“I wrote five songs for Matt Stokes’ film ‘This Liberty’, all of which were based on and around the lives of people who inhabited Hexham Gaol (Britain’s first purpose-built jail) between the 13-1600’s. This song is about a common prisoner (If you had money in those times you could buy yourself a much more comfortable stay, even pay someone else to do your time!). In this case a lad of twelve or thirteen is jailed for stealing some eggs. He has a torrid time in the dungeon. But there are at least some shafts of light shining down on him there. Many people in a similar predicament would have had a much worse time. Think of the squalor, disease, violence, abuse and fear a poor prisoner in those times endured. It must have been awful. The song we present to you now is terrible in parts but ultimately hopeful…… I hope.”
Richard Dawson live dates:
November 22nd | Whelan’s | Dublin, Ireland | TICKETS
November 23rd | Black Box | Belfast, UK | TICKETS
December 18th | Arts Centre | Norwich, UK | TICKETS
December 19th | Band On The Wall | Manchester, UK | TICKETS
December 20th | Islington Assembly Hall |
