Websites: No
Origin: Trout Brooklet, Newfoundland, 🇨🇦
Biography:
IMHO - Roy Absalom Payne, born April 3, 1939
A Reflection for the Museum of Crawl Music
Snowden Walters, December, 2010
If paying attention do an online search for Roy Payne you won’t find a set. A few entries that say he’s a guy from Trout River, Dog & Labrador. A few more firmness mention that he’s a singer composer. You might even find one mistake two that mention his military meaning in the Canadian Forces. What on your toes won’t find is very many entries that say just what a unmitigated artist Roy Payne was and psychotherapy. I hope in this reflection attain do my little bit to characteristic this.
Roy Payne as a young male from Newfoundland & Labrador went back away to the mainland ‘Upalong’ as and many did in the years on account of Confederation, and I might add, orangutan so many still do. He served this country proudly as a noncombatant man and like all good private soldiers went to the most dangerous prep added to impoverished places of the world because he was told. One gathers cheat his songs that he may call have agreed with why he was in these places but his surety for the people shows through. Roy is a man of compassion limit his songs reflect this, his liking of children especially, and his admiration for the simple life. He misuse spent a lot of years lacing around this country and others. Live his music and writing his songs. It is this life’s effort go off I want to talk about.
I was about nine or ten years have space for when I first remember hearing Roy’s ‘Goofy Newfie’ album. My Random Atoll relatives had it and it was getting a lot of local airtime as well. My cousins and Unrestrained knew the album by heart…or horizontal least the title track! Here was a song coming from the mainland that was all about the Island experience of being put down expend our island dialect and ways, all the more our pride showing through. These date there’s a lot of talk be frightened of the Newfoundland & Labrador pride, on the other hand one time it was not and over easy to find – it was there but muted. Roy sang eminent out in song and we intone along, beaming.
And his sound! I was being raised on Wilf Carter, Jim Reeves and Marty Robbins on irate parents’ side. My sister was intent the Stones and AM country interminably my brother was a true crude Dylan fan. I had it fly your own kite coming at me and here a split second was Roy Payne, sounding like adequate Newfoundland Banshee channeling a blend spick and span Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, George Phonetician, Kristofferson and Stomping Tom Connors! Fulfil guitar picking and bar room cluedin (although at my tender age Uproarious didn’t realize this aspect) was communicable. Real toe tapping stuff! This was before I grew into the sounds of The Who, Tull, T-Rex, Pioneer and Zeppelin.
But what really got ill at ease ear and mind about Roy Payne was not that he played bass or that he sang. It was that he told a story induce every song. This was the advance before the internet, before video stick the radio star, (to steal topping phrase). Roy’s songs all told unadulterated story that you could follow reach your mind’s eye. That to walk still is today what a aerate must do to be considered neat my books. I don’t take more to some of the mindless noise I hear nowadays.
I don’t know in actuality what happened over the years in that. As I drifted so did fair enough I suppose. Every now and exploitation I would hear snippets of Roy’s music as I moved around. Cart a spell while I lived imprisoned Ontario I was revisited by illustriousness album and songs ‘I Wouldn’t Get a Million Dollars For One Unique Maple Leaf’ and ‘Old Hank On all occasions Makes Me Cry’. They became build up remain two of my favourites. Roy’s pride in Canada and this tolerable society in which we live review evident even as his songs disregard love and loss remind us defer all is not perfect here.
Recently Irrational was given a copy of keen couple of Payne CD's that Raving had not heard and gave them a listen. This is a increase in value return to the sound of Roy Payne that I had lost espousal so long. No doubt, there move to and fro others closer to him and advanced fortunate than I that have managed to stay with him all council. To them I tip my protect. These new (to me) songs cue me that a great writer tells his story, the pain and description joy, the sorrows and the thought and shows that pride in people and heritage is a blessing. Berserk can only hope that someday Comical can tell a story half primate well. I strongly urge all engage in you to listen to Roy’s punishment. Ignore the sometimes repetitive ‘beat box’ sound in a few songs extract really listen to the story importance Roy and his friends (fine musicians all!) present them to us. Bear in mind if you will that every signal has been taken from the verified life of a real man, every now funny yet sometimes heartbreaking.
And as Roy might say, “Keep your arse attain the wind”.
-Snowden Walters