Blue and Gold

(Photo: Simon Meeds)

What last week's Dragon Folk Club session lacked in number of singers it made up for in the eclectic selection of songs. Yes, we knew in advance that we would be a couple of regulars down and this time we didn't have any visitors, but that didn't affect the keenness with which we attacked our respective repertoires.

Colin, MC as usual, started the evening with The man in the moon (roud 21397), which Simon followed with Scarborough fair (roud 12, child 2).

Bob was straight into his genre of the blues, asking Blues stay away from me (Alton Delmore, Henry B Glover, Rabon Delmore, Wayne Raney). Sue cheered us up a bit and completed the first rotation with Sting's Fields of Gold. It was obviously this juxtaposition that gave us this week's report title.

There were only two songs this week that were new to the Dragon database:

• Colin - Everything glows (Les Barker)
• Sue - You've got a friend in me (Randy Newman)

And the only song not available for the playlist linked from "a selection" below was Sue's own Recycled teenager.

Other blue and gold songs (in some cases loosely) included:

• Colin - Midnight special (roud 6364)
• Bob - You got gold (John Prine, Keith Sykes)
• Simon - Blues run the game (Jackson C Frank)
• Bob - Matchbox (Carl Perkins)

Colin finished off the evening with George Papavgeris' Friends like these.

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

(Number of people present - 4 of whom 4 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 (#).

Mining at the song-face.

Mine cage winding equipment at Beamish Museum
(Photo: Simon Meeds)

It was great to see one new face and one second time (I think) visitor at last week's Dragon Folk Club session. Jackie was the superb newcomer while Dominic was the excellent singer we had heard before.

Colin, as MC, started us off with Flying high, flying free (Leon Rosselson) and Roger followed him with Ed McCurdy's Last night I had the strangest dream.

Dominic's first of the evening was The coast of Malabar (* roud 24566) and Jackie's Dragon debut song was Rap her to bank (roud 1786), learnt during her time living in the North East of England. This was the first of quite a number of mining songs we heard during the evening. “Rap ’er te bank!” is the cry of men at the bottom of the mine shaft, waiting to come up in the cage. The onsetter would rap, and the winding man, hearing the signal would draw the cage to the surface (the ‘bank’).

Paul continued the mining theme with The old miner (roud 1136) and Denny didn't let it drop, singing The collier laddie (roud 3787 - Robert Burns).

Simon completed the first rotation with Elizabeth Padgett's The plover catcher.

It's perhaps surprising that Colin's second song, a shanty not only from the Hugill, but it seems commonly sung in school and at home for at least 90 years, is new to the Dragon database. Of course that doesn't mean it has never been sung at the club before. The song in question is Fire down below (* roud 813). I have it in a 1930s book of popular songs; perhaps I should get that book out and trawl it for some of the less sung, yet still singable, songs.

During the evening Roger sang two of his own compositions: Together we fight (*# Roger Stanleigh) and Fifties child (# Roger Stanleigh).

As always, I will mention every song sung by newcomer Jackie:

• Song of myself (* Peggy Seeger)
• West Virginia mine disaster (* Jean Ritchie)
• Loch Tay boat song (* roud 38364)
• Green grows the laurel (roud 279)
• The moon and St Christopher (* Mary Chapin Carpenter)

To quickly wrap up this report, here is a list of songs not mentioned so far that were either new to the database or or do not appear in the YouTube playlist linked from "a selection" below:

• Dominic - Geraldine's thinking of Galway (* Pat McKernan)
• Paul - Dead knight behind the hedge (# Jon Heslop)
• Dominic - Isle of Innisfree (* roud 29758)

It fell to Simon to wrap up the session with other joining in on When all men sing (Keith Scowcroft, Derek Gifford).

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

(Number of people present - 7 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 (#).

A poor report of a promising evening

(Photo: Simon Meeds)

Sorry that the report of last week’s Dragon Folk Club session is rather late appearing, Blame it on the usual scribe being out of the country.

It wasn’t technically the greatest session since an Oasis tribute act was playing in the bar. This sort of thing happens from time to time, but isn’t a frequent occurrence. No doubt it was made worse by the ladies’ toilets still being out of action and therefore a steady stream of women making their way through our room. Nevertheless, every cloud has a silver lining and at least two of them contributes a song to the session.

I can assure you that we will be there again this Friday as we are almost every Friday from 8:15pm in the barn (just past the toilets) at The Bridge Inn, Bridge Road, Shortwood, Bristol (UK), BS16 9NG.

You will always find FREE ENTRY, a warm welcome, excellent acoustics, and a reasonably priced bar. Anything goes as long as it’s acoustic: a song, a story, a tune, a poem, a joke, a monologue, whatever you can come up with, and if you don’t feel up to performing eve in front of a small, friendly, crowd, then you are welcome to just listen, and maybe join in the odd chorus and some friendly banter.

Come and try us, we don’t bite.

(Number of people present - 9 of whom 8 performed)

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...and now for the addendum...

As usual, mentioning all songs sung by Dragon newcomer Amy:

• Wild mountain thyme (roud 541 - Francis McPeake)
• Who knows where the time goes (Sandy Denny)
• Follow the heron (Karine Polwart)
• Don't wanna fall in love (* Jane Child)
• Detectorists (Johnny Flynn)
• Who will sing me lullabies (* Kate Rusby)
• Dancing on my own (* Robyn, Patrik Berger)

Finally for now, here are the songs sung by others which were new to the dragon database:

• Colin - Goodbye to the sea (* Dave Boulton)
• Colin - Robert Whitworth (* Roz Kimber, Neil Kimber)
• Roger - Thinking of letting go (*# Roger Stanleigh)
• Helen - America (* Johnny Borrell, Andy Burrows)
• Helen - Bring me sunshine (* Arthur Kent, Sylvia Dee)
• Paul - The Galway drawl (*# Liz Draper)
• Unknown singer - Grace (* Frank O'Meara, Seán O.Meara)
• Unknown singer - I see the light (* Alan Menken, Glenn Slater)

Now listen to a selection of songs sung during this session (this week not in the order in which they were sung).

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 (#).

Roger Wilco

Fishing boat with attendant gulls on Loch Hourn
(Photo: Simon Meeds)

We initially thought we would be four singers at the Dragon Folk Club last Friday, but then Roger turned up to make a perfectly quorate fivesome. It was Roger who added the most "new" songs to the Dragon database as you will see in this report.

Colin, our regular MC, started us off with The fox and the hare (roud 1140) followed by Denny who gave us Wings (Brian Bedford).

Paul proposed The Farmer's Toast (roud 1603) and Simon reprised his signature King of Rome (Dave Sudbury) after being disappointed with his own showing the previous week. And so ended the first rotation.

Second time around Colin sang the Song of the digger (* Neil Colquhoun with chorus words from a poem by William Satchell). Before it came round to Colin again Roger arrived and his first song of the evening was Flora (roud 957, laws P29).

It was Roger who sang Blueberry Hill (* Vincent Rose, Larry Stock, Al Lewis) followed by Colin with Sailing on the briny sea (# Miles Wootton).

Roger gave us two of his own songs: Goodbye I'll Try (*# Roger Stanleigh) and Dry your eyes (# Roger Stanleigh).

Colin added to the database a comedy song: The Dundee cat (* Matt McGinn) and the last "new" song of the evening came from Roger with The air that I breathe (* Albert Hammond, Michael Hazlewood).

The final song of the evening, The Mingulay boat song (Sir Hugh S Roberton) came from Paul.

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

(Number of people present - 5 of whom 5 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 (#).