Spencer the Rover

Martin tackles an old classic folk tune with idiosyncratic aplomb. Spencer is the story of the prodigal son: the wanderer returned from the wild beyond. The song starts strangely in that the singer, who is not Spencer, claims that 'this tune was compos-ed by Spencer the Rover', yet the song proceeds in the third-person. The origin of the song is unclear, like a lot of folk songs. But it is certainly northern English , as evidenced by the content (Yorkshire, Rotherham). Martin uses his guitar sparingly, as an accompanying drone, much in the style of classic English folk accompaniment, such as that of Martin Carthy, which is unusual given Martin's normal predilection for acoustic pyrotechnics. Nick Cave has covered the song . The song has also been covered by Bob, John and Jill Copper and Jon Dudley on their Coppersongs3 CD.