Voice That Lives Inside You
The closing
song on I Didn't Mean It was written for (and performed at) the Vancouver Folk Festival the
previous year, with Roy Bailey and Frankie Armstrong helping arrange the vocal
sections. This appears to be the first actual recording of the song, which rouses the listener to resist the gloomy destiny which authority lines up for them, and believe that they can achieve a level of emancipation if they follow the true spirit they are born with. Roy and Frankie are back to recreate the chorus in the studio, and Leon has said that the tune for this section is based on a Hungarian folk song, although he is not specific as to which.
"Written for Frankie, Roy and myself to sing when we closed the 1987 Vancouver Folk Festival. Always finish on an upbeat. Or so I'm told." - LR (sleevenotes to Guess What They're Selling at the Happiness Counter, 1992)
”I was a frequent guest at the Vancouver Folk Festival during the 1980s. With Gary Cristall as its administrator, it was unusual in not having any alcohol or corporate funding and in giving everyone, big and small, equal billing. In 1987, Frankie, Roy and myself were honoured to be given the final spot on the Sunday night main stage concert. I wrote this song for us to sing to close the festival. Anyone who knows Hungarian folk will recognise the tune of the chorus. I’d been carrying it around in my head for thirty years before I found a use for it.” - LR (sleevenotes to The World Turned Upside Down (CD box set), p48)
”I was a frequent guest at the Vancouver Folk Festival during the 1980s. With Gary Cristall as its administrator, it was unusual in not having any alcohol or corporate funding and in giving everyone, big and small, equal billing. In 1987, Frankie, Roy and myself were honoured to be given the final spot on the Sunday night main stage concert. I wrote this song for us to sing to close the festival. Anyone who knows Hungarian folk will recognise the tune of the chorus. I’d been carrying it around in my head for thirty years before I found a use for it.” - LR (sleevenotes to The World Turned Upside Down (CD box set), p48)
Recordings
Version 1 (1988)