Track 1 - Almond Sorters

Here is the original field recording that inspired the arrangement:

This song has such an incredible melody and back story! It was used by the Sicilian women that would sort the yearly almond harvest. As they would go about doing their work they would sing these long, drama filled ballads to help keep themselves entertained as they engaged in such a mundane task. On the live album Amanda’s perfornance is absolutely stunning and the whole group’s improvisations were just incredible!
(We have a version of this song on our first album as well that is instrumental.)

Lyrics:

In pruvincia i Catanzaru, na famigghia rruvinata,

una figghia din massaru cundannata epoi ammazzata.

Ora spiegu ul mutivu, comu fu ca cuminciau,

chistu fattu cusì vivu ecu fu ca ci ncurpau.

Omassaru don Giuvanni, ch'era morta la mugghieri, ci lassò na figghia granni, ul trionfu dô quartieri.

Dopu un annu stu mischinu si vuleva maritari eci fun granni fistinu pi al figghia rispittari.

Adu anni ca cumpiu, lu mischinu si spusau, fici comu voli Diu, iddan figghiu ci purtau.

Lu vuleru sta famigghia, lu maritu e la mugghieri, era un figghiu cu la brigghia, si stimavunu sinceri.

Lu fratastru chi pinsau senza farisi aspittari, comu chidda lu guardau non puteva arrispusari.

Translation:

In the province of Catanzaro, A family was disgraced.

The daughter of a householder was condemned and then executed.

Now I will explain the reason that all this happened.

This very brutal incident and whose fault it was.

The house- holder, Don Giovanni, had lost his wife, she left a grown-up daughter,

The beauty of the neighborhood. After a year the wretched man thought of marry- nig once again,

And he had agreat celebration for the sake of his daughter.

Two years after the death he did [of his wife], the wretched man remarried, as God wills, and she bore him a son.

He had wanted this family, and his wife also had wanted it.

The son brought them together, they esteemed each other truly.

[There was a] stepbrother who thought, without wa iting any longer, when that girl looked at him, he couldn't re-marry.

(Photo, Lyrics and translations provided by the Alan Lomax Digital Archive)