“He didn’t deserve her. She was grand company and never moody. I’d say she was a good person. And I’d say a good wife. She never complained about him, well, except that she was kept short of money.”
Hunter Davies , Wainwright the Biography, 1995, p 187
The above quotation is attributed to Ruth’s Kendal friend Beryl, who used to regularly dog walk with her. Yet, as Hunter Davies points out, Wainwright and Ruth could hardly stand each other and for many years had both been making the best of a bad mistake. Perhaps they were equally culpable, but in those days divorce was not an easy option.
Maybe I have been a bit hard on Wainwright when writing this balad, but I wanted it to reflect Ruth’s perspective.
lyrics
Since we moved to Kendal
He's always on the fells
Silent evenings at work on his guides
Not talking for days on end
Non of my friends can come to the house
When he is working here
It is an empty marriage
Except for my son so dear
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