"Heavy Disguise" is a song by English band

Strawbs The Strawbs are an English rock band founded in 1964 as the Strawberry Hill Boys. The band started out as a bluegrass group, but eventually moved on to other styles such as folk rock and progressive rock. They are best known for their hi ...

written by

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

. The track first appeared on the '' Grave New World'' album and features just John Ford from the band singing and accompanying himself on the

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

backed by "The Robert Kirby Silver Band" – i.e. a brass section arranged by Robert Kirby (who later became a Strawbs keyboard player). Ford has said in interview that the song was inspired by the rhythm of a Jethro Tull song he heard on the radio. The lyrical content was inspired by him seeing a news report of a Vietnamese demonstration at the US embassy, but also draws heavily from the situation prevalent in Northern Ireland at the time (in the same way that "

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

" does). The song was originally entitled "IRA Meeting Blues".

Personnel

–

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

with *The Robert Kirby Silver Band

External links

Lyrics to "Heavy Disguise" at Strawbsweb official site

References

*Sleeve notes to album CD 540 934-2 ''Grave New World'' (A&M 1998 Remastered)
John Ford interview on Strawbsweb
Strawbs songs 1972 songs Songs written by John Ford (musician) {{1970s-song-stub