Steady as she goes

Newport Transporter Bridge
(Photo: Simon Meeds)

Last week's Dragon Folk Club session can be described as solid. After a slightly slow start due to traffic issues we had a good evening of song, still managing a creditable 34 performances. It was notable for adding only one song (or rather different version of an existing song) to the database, but we still heard some that hadn't been sung at the club for quite a while and in some cases by different singers.

Colin, in the MC's chair, started us off with Roger Watson's The pick and the maltshovel. I pointed out that I knew Roger a little in the 1980s and that we are Facebook friends. Roger gave up performing for a long time due to ill health, but has recently been persuaded to pick up the melodeon again, which is great news. Colin expressed doubt as to the precise words of the last verse of the song, so I promised to link an early recording of Roger singing the song, and here it is.

Simon's first song of the evening was Mike Harding's Jimmy Spoons.

Denny gave us Percy French's Mountains of Mourne and Paul sang Jonathan Kelly's Ballad of the cursed Anna.

While researching this report I found that Nelson's death (roud 18837), sung by Paul, had been significantly rewritten by Richard Grainger and set to a tune of his composition.

The one new song, or rather new version, of the evening - and new to the Dragon database, definitely not new to the club - was Denny's singing of Good ale (roud 203).

Colin perhaps came up with two surprises  during the evening. The first was Wimoweh or The lion sleeps tonight. Did you know that the original song, before Alan Lomax, Pete Seeger and others had their way, was Mbube (meaning "lion" in Zulu), written and originally performed by Solomon Linda.

Colin's second surprise was delivered in the form of My last cigarette: surprising both for having been written by Sydney Carter and for having been performed by Sheila Hancock.

Denny sang Teeside bridges (Erik Gooding) which I am mentioning for two reason. The first is that the linked recording features Richard Grainger, already mentioned above in relation to Nelson's death, and the second is that it indirectly inspired this week's featured image. One of the bridges referred to in the song is the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge which "shuttles back and forth a hundred times a day." I didn't have a photograph of it to hand, but you will find here the similar Newport Transporter Bridge.

Simon finished off the evening with Graham Moore's rousing Tom Paine's Bones.

Now listen to a selection of songs sung during this session.

(Number of people present - 4 of whom 4 performed)