A little bit folky, a little bit country

(Source: library of Congress)

At last Friday's Dragon Folk Club session Geoff got out his cowboy songs, so that became a bit of a theme together with the usual eclectic mix of folk and not-so-folk.

Colin as MC started off with Ewan MacColl's The Manchester Rambler (roud 26771). This prompted Simon to inform the gathered singers that our previous week's blog report had gained "likes" from both Peggy Seeger and Davey Arthur. A quick side-note to Colin: Davey Arthur is younger than you.

Rob gave us the first of two songs from the singing of The Pogues which was The Irish Rover (roud 4379) - are we surprised that one is traditional? The second was the definitely non-traditional Navigator (Phil Gaston). Gaston was manager of Shane McGowan's first band, The Nips.

Next was Simon singing Blues run the game by Jackson C Frank.

After Simon came Sue with the gospel song, This Train (roud 6702), followed by her partner Bob with California Cotton Fields (Dallas Frazier, Earl Montgomery).

And so we got round to Geoff and the first of his cowboy songs, Marty Robbins' Big Iron. Geoff told us how Robbins went into a gun store and found a Colt revolver that had been converted with a rifle barrel and was labelled "Big Iron". This is apparently just one of several origin stories.

Just for the sake of argument I will list the remaining songs that were sung and exist in the Roud Folk Song Index to prove that we do sing folk songs.

• Colin - The Battle of New Orleans (roud 17913, Jimmy Driftwood)
• Rob - Santianna (roud 207)
• Sue - The owl and the pussy cat (roud 30935, Edward Lear)
• Colin - The water is wide (roud 87, child 204)
• Rob - Sally Brown (roud 2628)
• Bob - Fireball mail (roud 28855, Fred Rose, Floyd Jenkins) - note that Floyd Jenkins is a pen name for Fred Rose.
• Colin - The bold fisherman (roud 291, laws O24)
• Rob - Rosemary Lane (roud 269, laws K43)
• Simon - The tailor's breeches (roud 1610)
• Geoff - Only the hangman (roud 2, laws B01, Wayne P Walker)
• Rob - The Winnipeg whore (roud 8348)

Simon finished the evening off with the non-roud song The Plover Catcher (Elizabeth Padgett).

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

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

Little links

Part of Welsh Back Quay
(photo: Simon Meeds)

It was certainly a skeleton staff at the Dragon Folk Club last Friday, but we got through 25 songs which isn't a bad effort. With a bit of luck we will be at least two up this week, so why not surprise me and come along yourself to make it even more. The more the merrier, the louder, the more satisfying.

In Colin's absence Simon was MC, but having arrived moments earlier Geoff was the first to sing with Tom Paxton's The last thing on my mind.

There were no major themes that emerged but links can sometimes be found.

Simon sang Ian "Nobby" Dye's Welsh Back Quay and Mike followed it with Paris here I come, which he learnt from Nobby. The latter is a translation of the French song En passant par Paris.

The only song we had which doesn't find it's way into the YouTube playlist linked below is Mary McCloud's parody House of the rising damp.

Geoff's singing of the Ballad of the Alamo (Dimitri Tiomkin, Paul Francis Webster) prompted Mike to bring out Santianna (roud 207). The Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna's forces killed 189 Texan insurgents on 6 March 1836 at the Battle of the Alamo and executed more than 342 Texan prisoners at the Goliad Massacre on 27 March 1836.

When Simon sang Suzanne Vega's Tom's Diner and Geoff gave us Paul Simon's Slip-slidin' away, they were of course both using the works of people who grew up in New York. Tenuous link? I'll get my coat.

Simon closed the evening with Stan Rogers' Northwest passage.

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

(Number of people present - 3 of whom 3 performed)