May Day 2025

(Photo: Simon Meeds)

Last week's Dragon Folk Club session was our first one of May, so our optional theme was that very month, and certainly there are lots of songs which mention it.

This week's theme will be VE Day and everything that goes with it. No doubt songs of war and anti-war will emerge.

We were pleased to see Stan who has been an occasional visitor for some time, as well as Stuart and Carrie who are become more frequent which is great. Denny was without Paul who was apparently biting his nails over the snooker on television.

Stand-in MC Simon, while not late, was last to arrive and so was relegated to the graveyard shift on each rotation. It was Stuart and Carrie who kicked things off with Bonny light horseman (* roud 1185).

As usual with a duo Stuart and Carrie (or should that be Carrie and Stuart?) were asked to sing again immediately and they gave us Hills of Shiloh (Shel Silverstein, Jim Friedman).

Denny started the May theme with Rosabella (roud 21134) "One Monday morning in the month of May...".

Singing I'd never find another you (* Gerry Goffin, Carole King), Stan referred to the version by Billy Fury, but here we have the original version by Tony Orlando.

Simon finished off the first rotation with Lady Franklin's lament (roud 487, laws K09). Stuart mentioned that he had been asked by someone to sing this song and wanted to play along. Simon suggested he might play the same tune again later (which he did).

On the second rotation Stuart and Carrie sang Joni Mitchell's Urge for going (*). If you watch the video, please bear with the first minute because it's worth the wait for this less-well-known of her songs.

It was on this second time round also that as promised Simon gave Stuart a chance to try his accompaniment, this time to Les Barker's Lord Franklin. Stuart continued, joined by Carrie to sing Mark Knopfler's Why worry (*).

Carrie was very pleased when Stan introduced one of her favourite songs, Don MacLean's Castles in the air (*).

Stuart and Carrie introduced yet another new song for the Dragon database in You've got to walk that lonesome valley (* roud 7098), represented here by the earliest recording of the song with The Jenkins Family singing it in 1925.

Carrie performed Jake Bugg's Country song (*) alone followed by Stan introducing us to Hier encore (Georges Garvarentz, Charles Aznavour), but in its English version: Yesterday when I was young (*), with words by Herbert Kretzmer.

Stan's final song was Always on my mind (* Wayne Carson, Mark James, Johnny Christopher). He was thinking of Willie Nelson's version, but here we have the original recording by Brenda Lee.

Simon finished off the session with Big rock candy mountain, claimed to have been written by Harry "Haywire Mac" McClintock. This version is a bit harder-hitting than that sung by Burl Ives and a mainstay of BBC Radio's children's programmes.

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 songs not to be found in the playlist linked from "a selection" are marked with a hash (#).

I'm sure we could squeeze some more in

Squeeze Guts Alley, Truro
(Photo: Simon Meeds)

There was no theme at last week's Dragon Folk Club session. Eight singers met and sang the night away.

MC Colin started things rolling with The Bristol ship the Matthew written by local shanty singer Maurice Flay, obviously about John Cabot's and his voyages to America. The song is set to the tune of Bonnie Ship the Diamond (roud 2172).

Simon open his account with Dave Sudbury's King of Rome, though he later went on to follow Colin's lead with local shanty singer Ian "Nobby" Dye's Welsh Back Quay.

Rob's first song of the evening was The Golden Glove (roud 141, laws N20), a new song to the Dragon's database, but I can't say for certain one that's never been sung here before - surely most indexed traditional songs have been.

Geoff sang Gone to America (Peter Knight) from the Steeleye Span stable. Paul reclaimed Rosabella (roud 21134) after Denny borrowed it the week before for our May theme. Denny went on to give us Willy 'Ole Lad (Keith Marsden).

Sue cited Mary Hopkin when singing Those were the days (Gene Raskin, Boris Fomin). Simon pointed out that it was originally a Russian song called Дорогой длинною (By the long road - Boris Fomin, Constantin Podrevsky) - listen to the linked performance of Those were the days by Daria Kulesh as she sings it in four languages.

Bob finished the first round with Matchbox (Blind Lemon Jefferson). While I've previously credited Carl Perkins, I think Bob's version may owe at least as much to Jefferson's Match Box Blues, so I have linked that this time.

Later in the evening Rob's Squeezy Belly Alley (Maggie Duffy) is of interest here mainly because it provides a link to this week's featured image. Simon mentioned Squeeze Guts Alley in Truro; Squeezy Belly Alley is in Port Isaac and both are in Cornwall.

Apart from The Golden Glove, already mentioned above, the new entries in the Dragon Database this were were:

• Paul - Bye Bye My Roseanna (roud 12380)
• Bob and Sue - Things (Bobby Darin)
• Bob and Sue (a work in progress) - Upside down (Paloma Faith, Andrew Nicholas Love, Jos Hartvig Jorgensen, Belle Sara Humble)
• Bob - My Girl Josephine (Fats Domino, Dave Bartholomew)
• Colin - Six Feet of Mud (Cyril Tawney)
• Paul - Nelson's Death (roud 18837)

The evening was closed with Simon singing When All Men Sing (Keith Scowcroft, Derek Gifford).

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

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

May the force be with you

Stokes Croft, Bristol
Not too far from Gloucester Road
(Photo: Simon Meeds)

We had another cracking session at the Dragon Folk Club last week. Despite five of the previous week's eight singers being absent we still met as six and managed to sing a whopping forty two songs. It's not quite a record, but it was a very good effort.

We were a little late getting round to our annual "May" theme this year because of some little royal event or other. We sang a reasonable number of songs about the month of May before we started to move to songs about people called May and songs including the word "may". I won't try to work out which were which because I would no doubt fail somewhere.

In the absence of Colin, Simon was MC and started the evening with Claudy Banks (roud 266, laws N40).

In his absence Denny took as her own one of the songs Paul usually sings with Rosabella (roud 21134). Geoff borrowed Galway Shawl (roud 2737) from Simon. No, we don't really own songs, but he did make an unnecessary apology. Steve C gave us Just as the tide was a-flowing (roud 1105).

Steve and Sue opened their account with Maggie May (roud 1757), closely followed by Nobody knows you when you're down and out (roud 18521 - Jimmy Cox). And so ended the first of seven tours of the room during the evening.

I'll mention the songs new to the Dragon database although that doesn't necessarily mean they haven't been sung here before. Unsurprisingly, most of them come from relative newcomers to the club, Steve and Sue whose repertoire is not yet a matter of record.

• Steve and Sue - Run for home (Alan Hull)
• Steve and Sue - Roll me up and smoke me when I die (Willie Nelson, Buddy Cannon, Rich Alves, John Colgin, Mike McQuerry)
• Steve and Sue - Gloucester Road (Andrew McGillan - "inspired by John Denver")
• Steve and Sue - Walking back to Blueberry Hill (Billy Mitchell - about Fats Domino)
• Steve and Sue - Killing the Blues (Rowland Salley)
• Steve and Sue - My walking shoes (don't fit me anymore) (Paul Williams, Jimmy Martin)
• Steve and Sue - You ain't goin' nowhere (Bob Dylan)
• Steve and Sue - Corinne, Corrina (roud 10030 - first recorded by Bo Carter)
• Geoff - I did what I did for Maria (Mitch Murray, Peter Callander - recorded by Tony Christie)
• Steve and Sue - Further on up the road (Bruce Springsteen)

The only song of the evening not on the YouTube playlist linked from "a selection" below was Steve C's When Adam was first created (roud 728).

The session was completed by Steve and Sue performing Bob Dylan's I'll be your baby tonight.

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

(Number of people present - 6 of whom 6 performed)

Surprise, Surprise!

In the knowledge that the Regular Scribe would be absent on a mission of mercy, your Substitute Scribe came to the club door, depressed by the idea that the death that day of Derek Fowlds signified bad news for all Dereks, and anticipating a thin attendance. Instead he was met by three of our favourite Irregulars.

One person who did not attend was the one who the day before had stumped up a million pounds for a gold sovereign. He might well have been worried by Gary's first, self-penned, song King David Hartley which recounts the activities of the eponymous Hartley and his gang of counterfeiters and coin clippers in the area around Heptonstall in the 1760s.

The Leaves of Summer

[Having been absent myself from last week's session, this report has been ably written by the deputy scribe for which I am very thankful. It has been a week of turmoil and strong discussions across the country. When I write these reports I try to keep them balanced or at least an objective report of the events of the evening. I hope you will agree that Mr Deputy Scribe has also achieved this. This should be taken against a background that by the nature of folk music individuals will sing songs including strongly worded views with which they may or may not agree themselves, and with which the assembled crowd may or may not agree. The Dragon Folk Club however seeks to be an inclusive venue for any acoustic music. We can be very non PC in what we sing or recite, either because of strongly held personal views or, at least as often, simply because much of our material is historical in nature and some of our members are reasonably keen to maintain authenticity - we will not apologise for this. Do not however be put off; we try and I hope succeed to be very welcoming and to accept anyone who comes along to our sessions for themselves. So now I hand over to the deputy scribe for his report.]

This week's session was marked by the absence of the regular Scribe, which meant that not only do you have to suffer my account of the proceedings, but many of us were forced to make up wholly imaginary cricket scores to get us through the evening.

May Day 2015

Our latest session was actually on May Day, so songs of May, summer and red flags were well in evidence. Colin was MC for the evening and asked Mike to start off, which he did with Hal An Tow (Roud 1520); a song from the Helston Flora Day tradition.

Derek continued with Giles Collins (Roud 147, Child 85 - "Giles Collins walked out on a may morning..."). In fact most singers this week managed to follow the theme to some extent.