...to a different tune

Leading the bear to The Boat
Whittlesea Straw Bear Festival 2014
(Photo: Richard Humphrey)

Wow! Thanks to everyone who came along to last week's Dragon Folk Club session. Given the last minute change of venue we did really well to get eight people performing at The Fox, Easter Compton. There were even some other people around the pub listening (or at least hearing) what we were doing. Immense thanks go to our hosts for the evening, Lu and John, who went above and beyond to look after a temporarily homeless folk club. They're not totally new to our sort of performance, because they have occasional shanty festivals, based around the Severn Whalers local shanty group, but also with visiting groups from around the area.

Only three of our regulars were able to make it on the night: Colin, Denny and Simon. We were also joined by Stuart, who has been to the club before, and by newcomers Rebecca, Kim, Richard and Sandra. It was the last four that really set the tone for the evening. While we are usually de facto a singing club, musicians are always welcome and indeed this session became as much a music session as a sing-around and a refreshing change it was at that.

As always I'll try to mention all performances by newcomers, and all songs (and tunes) which are new to the Dragon database, but since there are so many I will not labour the point.

There is one last thing I need to say before getting down to business. That is our usual venue, The Bridge, Shortwood, Bristol (UK), BS16 9NG. Is closed as I write, getting some refurbishment. We believe it will be back in action by Friday with interim management. What we can't be sure of yet is whether the management will welcome our presence on Friday night (25th August 2023). I will post updates here and on Facebook as soon as I know more, but there is a possibility that we will just have to turn up and see what happens - we have contingency plans which may work, but don't be too disappointed if we end up just having a drink and a chat in the bar.

Back now to last Friday, when Simon arrived first (The Fox is his local pub after all) so he started proceedings by singing Dave Sudbury's King of Rome.

Colin, MC as usual, followed up with My old man's a farmer by Neil Andrew.

Stuart's first song of the evening was By the time I get to Phoenix (Jimmy Webb).

Rebecca (recorder) and Kim (melodeon) gave us a set of two tunes: Salmon tails up the water and Maggie in the wood. Because I'm not used to having so many musicians around at a session I'm not quite sure of the etiquette. Unless there's a good reason to do otherwise, I will just mention the person who started the tune. It can be taken as read that one or more others joined in.

Richard (violin) took us down the Road to Lisoonvarna and Denny sang The year of the drum (Wendy Joseph).

Sandra (clarinet), having just arrived, wasn't quite prepared to play, so Simon slipped in a second song in the first rotation: Welsh Back quay (Ian "Nobby" Dye). Sandra followed up with a tune the name of which she unfortunately didn't know.

In the second rotation Rebecca admitted that she could sing after all and gave us Sydney Carter's John Ball. Stewart sang Lancashire lads (roud 588) which, contrary to opinion on the evening, is traditional, not written by Mike Harding though he has performed it.

Kim played Hunt the squirrel, Richard gave us Harper's frolic, and Sandra played Stranger on the shore (Acker Bilk) as requested.

In the third rotation Rebecca, whose father-in-law was instrumental forty years ago in reviving the Whittlesey tradition of the straw bear, sang Penny for the ploughboys (Colin Cater). This week's featured image is of the straw bear although, being a winter tradition, it's not exactly seasonal.

Kim gave us Speed the plough and Richard decided to sing for a change: Boston Harbour (roud 613).

Sandra played Newcastle to bring the third rotation to an end.

The fourth rotation saw Stuart singing Um, um, um, um, um, um (Curtis Mayfield).

Rotation number four saw Rebecca unseasonal again with Sweet chiming bells from the tradition of Sheffield carols. She was followed by Kim with Enlist for a sailor. We decided there wasn't quite enough room to dance a polka. Richard's contribution at this stage was King of the fairies.

Sandra talked about playing Arkansas traveller, but in the end settled for Turkey in the straw.

Simon started the last complete rotation with his own song, The story of John Twigg: the true story of an eccentric chap of that name who lived in Alford, Lincolnshire.

Stuart's last song of the evening was Shady grove (roud 4456).

Rebecca and Kim rounded off their contributions with a set of two tunes: Jamie Allen and the Curly headed ploughboy. Richard sang Geordie (roud 90, child 209).

It fell to Colin to finish of the evening with Over the hills and far away (John Tams).

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

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

New faces

Medieval drawing of John Ball
giving hope to Wat Tyler's rebels

There was no theme at last week's Dragon Folk Club session. We were very pleased to be able to welcome two first-time visitors: Paul and Denny who offered us some fine songs and singing. They seemed to enjoy the evening and promised to come again, which is always good to hear.

In Colin's absence, Simon was MC for a change and started things off with Tom Paine's Bones (Graham Moore).

Thomas Paine (1736-1809) was one of the most significant figures of the 18th century. Took part in the American Revolution, writing a series of pamphlets, Crisis in America and Common Sense, which played a large part in that Revolution. He went on to write a forceful defence of the French Revolution, The Rights of Man, and was elected to the National Assembly. His Age of Reason caused outrage and he was widely ostracised.

Ten years after Paine's death, William Cobbett, a journalist, loyal Englishman and at one time Paine’s bitterest enemy, found his neglected grave and dug up the skeleton. Cobbett shipped the bones to England and they remained in his possession until his death. The bones were passed to a day labourer, then to Cobbett’s secretary, then to a furniture dealer, and no more is known of their fate.

Rob followed on with his own song, Ballad of Reynardine, which may or may not be related to the traditional ballad (roud 397, laws P15) of similar name; even Rob doesn't seem sure. In the traditional song Reynardine is a werefox who attracts beautiful women so that he can take them away to his castle. What fate meets them there is usually left ambiguous.

Paul wanted to warm himself (and maybe us) up with some chorus singing and therefore gave us Fathom the Bowl (roud 880).

Denny followed with a song with its roots in American minstrelsy, being written in 1879 by James Alan Bland - The Chickens in the Garden (roud 2552). Published in 1883, it quickly became popular and found its way into the tradition, mostly in the USA and Canada, and found its way across the Atlantic, eventually becoming a favourite of Norfolk singer Walter Pardon.

And so ended the first circuit of the room. As is traditional, I will go on to mention all the songs sung by our newcomers, Paul and Denny:

• Paul - Tracks in the Snow (Steve Thomason) - the only song from the evening not in the YouTube playlist linked from "a selection" below.
• Denny - When Yellow's on the Broom (Adam McNaughton)
• Paul - Waking Dreams (roud 22620)
• Denny - Down in Your Mine (Colin Wilkie) - inspired by a mining accident in Lengede, Germany, in 1963.
• Paul and Denny - John Ball (Sydney Carter)
• Paul - Love Farewell (roud 1301)
• Denny - The Lion and Albert (Marriott Edgar)
• Paul - Thousands or More (roud 1220)
• Denny - Willy 'Ole Lad (Keith Marsden)

Simon finished the evening with everyone singing along to When All Men Sing (Keith Scowcroft, Derek Gifford).

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

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

A song and a story

Softcover book catalogue of The Family of Man exhibition

We were low on numbers again but not on singing. It was not our fault that we got through only fourteen songs. Just before 10 o'clock the landlady knocked on our door and said we were the only customers, so they were clearing up early. We agreed to sing two more songs and get out. If only we had more people we may have been able to justify them keeping the place open for the remaining hour.

Colin was MC and started the evening with Steve Knightley's All at Sea.

Simon remained at sea or at perhaps returned to harbour with The Last Farewell (Roger Whittaker, Ron A Webster). Whittaker hosted a radio programme in 1971, backed by a full orchestra with arrangements by Zack Lawrence. Whittaker is quoted as saying that "one of the ideas I had was to invite listeners to send their poems or lyrics to me and I would make songs out of them. We got a million replies, and I did one each week for 26 weeks". Ron A Webster, a silversmith from Birmingham, England, sent Whittaker his poem entitled "The Last Farewell", and this became one of the selections to appear on the radio programme. It was subsequently recorded and featured on Whittaker's 1971 album New World in the Morning.

Colin gave us Sydney Carter's John Ball. John Ball was an English priest who took a prominent part in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381.

Simon sang The Galway Shawl (roud 2737). Simon mentioned that when he sang it at another gathering a few months ago, someone had suggested it was a non-political Irish song. Another of the people present proceeded to work through the song showing that by the use of more or less obscure references it was in fact possibly one of the many political Irish songs.

Colin brought us The Ballad of Seth Davy. The song was written by Glyn Hughes in the late 1950s. Seth Davy was a popular street entertainer during the 1890s in Liverpool.

He was originally a sailor from Jamaica but Seth Davy became a fixed character on the streets of Liverpool where he entertained people, and especially young children, with his three dancing dolls which he made himself. The famous dancing dolls were attached to the end of a plank which Seth Davy would tap with his hand to make them dance while he crooned his minstrel songs. Seth Davy’s stage was the street outside the Bevington Bush Hotel on the north side of the city of Liverpool. He was known to sing minstrel songs and his most popular one which he was often heard singing was called ‘Massa is a Stingy Man.’ It is an old minstrel song from across the Atlantic and it contains the lines which would go on to form the later ballad about the street entertainer: ‘Sing come day go day, god send Sunday, we’ll drink whiskey all the week, and butter milk on Sunday.’

The song has particular interest for us since our friend Tom Mossman remembers his grandfather having dolls which danced on a plank. Sadly when he died the dolls were thrown out before Tom had a chance to save them.

Simon sang Sugar in the Hold Below which he got from the singing of The Longest Johns. Simon is visible in the audience in the linked video. It was a river steamboat song the earliest record of which occurs in 1924, but it probably predated that. The JM White in the song was a steamboat famed for its technological advancements that travelled the New Orleans to Greenville trade route, and was supposed to have been the fastest ship to have steamed that line.

The Family of Man, sung by Colin, was written by Karl "Fred" Dallas after he saw the exhibition of the same name. It was an ambitious exhibition of 503 photographs from 68 countries curated by Edward Steichen, the director of the New York City Museum of Modern Art's Department of Photography. According to Steichen, the exhibition represented the "culmination of his career." The title of the exhibition was in turn taken from a line in a Carl Sandburg poem.

The Wizard of Alderley Edge, written by Pete Coe, was sung by Simon. It tells a story relating to the supposed sleeping knights of Alderley Edge in Cheshire. Nell Beck, mentioned in the song, refers to a legend about an unfortunate servant girl, Ellen Beck, who like the Wizard, knew where to find the iron gates which gave entry to the underworld. She saw the iron gates and described them as a pair of folding iron gates situated not far from the holy well, but when she returned to show another person the gates were nowhere to be found. After this the tale of her life is a sad one. Apparently records show that an Eleanor Beck was baptised at Wilmslow church on 13 February 1721.

Roger Davies' song, Brighouse on a Saturday Night, tells more recent tales of that town in West Yorkshire. The Richard Oastler pub referred to in the song was previously a Methodist chapel. Our friend Richard Gillion used to tell us that his grandparents were married there. In November 1977, The Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band, also mentioned in the song, reached number two in the UK Singles Chart with its recording of The Floral Dance (1911 - words and music by Kate Emily Barkley 'Katie' Moss), where it stayed for six weeks.

Simon gave us I Am a Rock (Paul Simon). Paul Simon first recorded the song in May 1965. It was included on his solo-acoustic The Paul Simon Songbook LP released in the UK in the summer of 1965. Until 1981, this initial recording remained unavailable in North America partly because Paul Simon himself was dissatisfied with the album.

Colin referred to Mike's singing of Keith Marsden songs and presented his own version of Marsden's Prospect Providence. 'Prospect' and 'Providence', along with 'Albert', 'Valley' and 'Crank', were the names of some of the mills that dominated Morley (near Leeds) in the boom years of the Industrial Revolution.

While Northwest Passage (Stan Rogers) clearly refers to John Franklin's ill-fated 1845 attempt to traverse the Northwest Passage, as well as to other explorations, its theme is really to compare the songwriter's own travels to those of men in history.

Famously, many people mistakenly think that Dirty Old Town (Ewan MacColl) which Colin sang, is an Irish Song. Not only is it not Irish, but it is about Salford in the North West of England. Simon pointed out that some of the rough areas mentioned in the song are now taken over by MediaCityUK, mixed-use property development on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal. Tenants include the BBC, Granada TV and ITV studios.

Closing the evening fell to Simon who sang When All Men Sing (Keith Scowcroft, Derek Gifford).

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

(Number of people present - 2 of whom 2 performed)