We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Man With No Name

from Black Tin Barns (1995) by Shaun Belcher

/

about

'Unknown man with my step-grandfather' Photograph Long Wittenham 1920s. Aubrey is on the right.



This song goes way back. Probably mid 1980s in first version . This 1995 rendition probably as good a take as I had of it. A lot of Leonard Cohen in it.

It is a difficult subject and one that explored more fully in the Coppard web page and in the poem there 'The stone code.

www.shaunbelcher.com/coppard/

Everything you need to know there. My father never knew who his father was. He was abandoned along with his mother in 1932.

He was affected by it all his life and it transferred to me.

I will probably never get a conclusive answer but the evidence has mounted over the years.

But as the song says I remain a 'Man with no name'

lyrics

Man With No Name

You kick at the tyre of the tractor
That hasn’t moved since the snow last came down
You pull at the chain-link fence blow a dandelion over the sow
And wonder whose hand on your arm could lead you now

Well it’s the middle of summer and clouds cover the sun, you feel cold
You run for shelter, find your father with a halter and he’s staring at the ground

Oh why can’t I tell you why can’t I say
I feel like a man with no name

In a dark pantry a dog panting
tired from running under this August sun
On the kitchen table a dripping pheasant
shot down by a farmer’s gun
And you sat in your armchair
reading news of a war that had hardly begun
Whilst all the berries your wife picked in summer
turn blood red in the cup

And you told me I could break down the fences put around me
And set my own pace

Oh why can’t I tell you why can’t I say
I feel like a man with no name

Well your stepfather fell in that kitchen
and the dog sat and waited there all day
Whilst the silent river rolled on and on and the clouds
blew over the hills and away
So father and son two years later we stand
in this graveyard in the rain
If I could show you the answer written in stone I would
If I knew it I wouldn’t have to say

I feel like a man with no name

Oh why can’t I tell you ,oh why can’t I say
I feel like a man with no name

In an unmarked grave

credits

from Black Tin Barns (1995), released January 1, 1995

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Shaun Belcher image

Shaun Belcher Nottingham, UK

If you’ve ever dreamt of Daniel Johnston doing an impression of Conor Oberst singing Jeff Tweedy songs,
then you must listen to this.

Bill Kerry III

contact / help

Contact Shaun Belcher

Streaming and
Download help

Report this track or account

If you like Shaun Belcher, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Fabiana Palladino stops by to talk about her mesmeric debut LP.
listen now