”Dave Cousins” of The Strawbs.
l had not heard he had died. So sad.
He was the soul of The Strawbs. When you read his 60s and 70s lyrics they are like poetry. He had that way with words and wrote about his relationships and places with observations and life’s personal experiences.
l was lucky to have had many fleeting conversations with him over a 35 year period. The most recent was in 2019 at one of the last acoustic Strawbs concerts in Honiton England, 10 miles away from a cottage he had owned during the height of his writings. He lived in many houses quite close together near the coast in East Devon, one being an old school house (Hence “Old School Records”) That’s why he wrote so much about the countryside rivers and sea.
“Glimpse of Heaven”
Newborn lambs that sweetly played
Speckled eggs all newly laid
But for you l would have stayed
l think l must have caught a glimpse of heaven
The fields of East Devon viewed from a hill. “If heaven exists, it would look like this” Speckled eggs… he noticed them as a boy in a butchers shop in Branscombe. In London they were all white
“Witchwood”
The interwoven branches
Where laden deep with snow
A rainbow shone so softly
To show which way to go
Possibly Wistman’s Wood, High altitude dwarf oakwood with lichens and mosses on Dartmoor. Spooky at night or day.
“The Shepherds Song”
There was no need for discussion
It was surely no disgrace
Her soft skin had the texture
Of the finest silken lace
Waiting moist and trembling
It was just the time and the place
l never asked him who the girl was for obvious reasons.
”Shine on Silver Sun”
Once I sat upon a hill
To watch the world go by
My friend the young musician
Had forbidden me to cry
But l was the comedian
With the laughs in short supply
The young magician was his “new love” (documented) after a marriage breakup.
After the concert l waited until he graciously had signed all the autographs sat down with his glass of white wine and we talked about those summer days. He was becoming very frail at this time but still enthusiastically answered all my questions. I reminded him about the Sidmouth “reunion concert” in 1984 at the Radway Cinema and the documentary filmed by local TV. I wondered at the possibility of finding the videos from the defunct TSW network. He thought the project could work with a donation to charity for the rights to release it on disc. That will probably never happen now….. unless the great man had started the resurrection.
One thing that struck me very hard was his resilience even with declining health. He still worked right up to the end with a final Electric Strawbs concert in 2023. A real showman.
David Joseph Cousins R.I.P.