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Go Your Way

[ Roud - ; Anne Briggs]

Anne Briggs wrote Go Your Way “because I wasn’t seeing enough of someone”. She sang it on her 1971 Topic album, Anne Briggs, Like all tracks from this album it was reissued on her two compilations Classic Anne Briggs and A Collection. It was also included on the anthologies New Electric Muse II and A Woman’s Voice. She also recorded it with Bert Jansch in 1993 with the title Go Your Way My Love for the BBC Scotland documentary about Bert Jansch, Acoustic Routes:

Sandy Denny recorded the song with somewhat different verses as Go Your Own Way Love as a home demo in winter 1968. It was released in 1989 on the cassette The Attic Tracks Vol. 3, in 2004 on the Fledg’ling anthology A Boxful of Treasures, and again in 2010 on CD 12 (“The Early Home Demos”) of the Sandy Denny Box Set. She also recorded another song of Anne Briggs, The Time Has Come, and wrote The Pond and the Stream for her.

Tickawinda sang Go Your Way on their 1979 album Rosemary Lane.

Hannah Sanders sang Go Your Way on her 2015 album Charms Against Sorrow.

Julie Fowlis sang Go Your Way in 2017 on her album Alterum.

Alasdair Roberts, Neil McDermott and Tartine de Clous sang Go Your Way on their 2018 CD Au Cube.

Kitty McFarlane sang Go Your Way in 2019 on Topic’s 80^th year anthology, Vision & Revision. She noted:

Anne Briggs apparently wrote this beautiful song ‘because she wasn’t seeing enough of someone’. She transports you with so few words—it is gentle, unfussy and still.

This video shows Kitty singing Go Your Way at the Beardy Folk Festival at Hopton Court, Shropshire, in June 2018:

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss sang Go Your Way on their 2021 album Raise the Roof. They sing “Cooking daily for you I do prepare” instead of Anne’s “Looking…”.

SykesMartin sang Go Your Way on their 2022 album Unquenching Fire.

Lyrics

Anne Briggs sings Go Your Way

Drawing water from the well
And spilling over on the grass.
Walking home my heart is filled with pain.
You go your way, my love,
You go your way, my love,
You go your way, my love.

And as I wander through the trees
I’m picking up the windy leaves,
I wonder where you may be sleeping now.
You go your way, my love,
You go your way, my love,
You go your way, my love.

And may the west wind speed your travels
And the sun be on your hair.
And make believe I’m with you
All over there, my love,
You go your way, my love,
You go your way, my love.

Friends and strangers bring stories
When asked where you might be.
Magic stories they have brought to me.
You go your way, my love,
You go your way, my love,
You go your way, my love.

And as I sit mending clothes
That you will never ever wear,
Looking daily for you I do prepare.
You go your way, my love,
You go your way, my love,
You go your way, my love.

(repeat first verse)

Sandy Denny sings Go Your Own Way Love

Drawing water from the well
Spilling over on the grass.
Walking homeward my mind is filled with pain,
Woe is me.
Go your own way, my love,
Go your way, my love.

And as I wander through the trees
Picking up the windy leaves,
Looking where you may be sleeping now,
I wanna die.
Go your own way, my love,
Go your way, my love.

As I sit mending your clothes
That you will never ever wear,
Looking daily for you I do prepare
But woe is me.
Go your own way, my love,
Go your way, my love.

Is there walking some far land
And have you gone to lend your hand,
And do you lie broken and dying now
I wanna die.
Go your own way, my love,
Go your way, my love.

Drawing water from the well
Spilling over on the grass.
Oh woe.
Go your own way, my love,
Go your way, my love.

Acknowledgements

Transcribed from Anne Briggs’ singing by Wolfgang Hell and Sandy Denny’s verses by Reinhard Zierke.