New faces

Sheep shearing at the North Somerset Show
(Photo: Simon meeds)

We're doing really well for new faces at the Dragon Folk Club recently and last week was no exception. I don't believe either Kevin or Sarah had been to a folk club before. Sarah decided not to sing, but after observing the first rotation Kevin offered us a song on the second and on each subsequent one. Well done Kevin! You efforts were appreciated.

Colin, our regular MC, started off with a song previously sung at the club by our friend Terry Cock, but not previously recorded in the Dragon database: John Willie's ferret (* Larry Kearns, Gerry Kearns). Larry conceived the idea for the song after John, a deer-stalker friend of the Oldham Tinkers, told how he used to take his ferrets to parties and of the havoc they caused. It is a fun song, a bit of aural slapstick. Larry wrote the words and Gerry wrote half the tune but adapted the chorus from Sur le Pont d’ Avignon (the linked version is an interesting mix of French and German).

Paul gave us Thousands or more (roud 1220) and Denny contributed Byker Hill (roud 3488).

Simon followed Colin's example by singing My grandfather's ferret (Derek Jolly) about another mischievous mustelid.

Bob's first of the evening came from his blues repertoire and was Brownie McGhee's So much trouble. Sue thought she would cheer us up with Swinging on a star (Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke), and so finished the first rotation.

Denny sang a version of the Sheep shearing song (roud 812) collected quite locally, in the Mendips which I assume to be the version collected by Cecil Sharp from William ‘Farmer’ King.

As usual I will mention all the songs of a newcomer to the Dragon, and Kevin's debut was Drill ye tarriers drill (roud 4401 - Thomas Casey, Charles Connolly).

Sue sang Low bridge, everybody down (roud 6598 - Thomas S Allen) "I've got an old mule and her name is Sal, Fifteen miles on the Eerie canal". Colin assures us that he had already planned his next song, which was therefore coincidentally The Ee-rye-ee Canal (roud 6599).

Kevin's second song transported us to Botany Bay (roud 3267).

Denny, like Colin earlier, sang a song from the repertoire of Terry Cock without knowing it; I believe she has come across Terry only once. The song was Ted Edwards' Weepin' and wailin' (*).

Kevin's third song introduced us to Henry Russell's last words (* Diana Jones), a mining disaster song made famous by Joan Baez. His final song of the evening was Carrickfergus (roud 17556 - Dominic Behan).

The final song of the session, coming from Denny, was Good English ale (roud 1512).

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

(Number of people present - 8 of whom 7 performed)

In the above report songs new to the Dragon database (though no always new to the club) are marked with an asterisk (*) and any songs not included in the "a selection" playlist are marked with a hash (#).