New lease of life

The Jacobite Steam Train approaching Glenfinnan Viaduct
(Photo: Simon Meeds)

Your usual scribe wasn't at the Dragon Folk Club for last week's session and yet there was a decent turn-out including one very welcome newcomer, Joe, a very good guitarist and singer. Because I wasn't present please forgive any inaccuracies in this report. While I was provided with some good notes, there's nothing like being there to avoid having to make certain assumptions.

Paul Kicked off the 

Paul Kicked off the evening with Louis/Louisa Killen's The last Leviathan (*): a version of Andy Barnes' The Last of the Great Whales. This was not only the first song of the evening, but also the first new entry of the evening into the Dragon database and like all of them is marked with an asterisk (*). Denny followed Paul with The good old way (* roud 23864)

Next came Colin with Leonard Cohen's Suzanne, followed by the first pair of songs from Stuart an Carrie performing as a duo: Dink's song (* roud 10057) and On broadway (* Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller).

Bob's first song was John Prine's New train and Sue's was Swinging on a star (Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke).

Steve gave us The Blarney roses (roud 6329) before newcomer, Joe performed a set of three tunes: Hector the hero (* James Scott Skinner), Merrily kissed the quaker (*), and a third the name of which he had forgotten. This brought the first rotation to a close.

It was Joe who had the next "new" song: Radiohead's No surprises (* Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Colin Greenwood, Philip Selway).

Stuart sang what I assume was Daniel Babin's Bryson city (*) and Carrie followed that with Gordon Lightfoot's Daylight Katy (*).

Joe's third performance was of The Lakes of Ponchartrain (roud 1836, laws H9).

Stuart brought us another "new" song in the traditional American Willie Moore (* roud 4816). Carrie also kept us on our toes with Ventura highway (* Dewey Bunnell).

Sue's own Recycled teenager is the only performance (apart from Joe's unnamed tune) that doesn't appear in the playlist linked from "a selection" below.

Joe's last song of the evening was also a self-penned song, but one that can be found on YouTube: Over and over (Joe Boon).

It fell to Paul to finish off the session with Dave Webber's The parting song.

We hope that Joe joins us again very soon, and that you, dear reader, also come and sing to us, with us, or simply listen.

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

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

Raised on songs and stories

Last week's Dragon Folk Club session was a refreshing change. We thought it was going to be a game of "to me to you" with our version of the Chuckle Brothers the only performers present, but no we were blessed with the only slightly late arrival of Steve C and Jane. Steve would join us with some singing and Jane would give us some of her excellent stories.

Colin started the evening with Ted Edwards' Coal hole cavalry which certainly got us warmed up in the vocal department. Simon brought to mind the very recent death of Bernard Cribbins with Right said Fred, written by Ted Dicks and Myles Rudge.

Steve C gave us The Blarney roses (roud 6329) and Jane's first story, which she gave the title "The Violinist" introduced us to the reaction of an elderly violinist to a new preacher who condemned "the devil's music" and what that led to years later.

As some of you know, I keep a database of songs which have been sung at Dragon Folk Club sessions. It goes back a few years now but isn't complete even over that time. This week there were four songs which I had to add to the list.

1) I remember The Shan Van Vocht (roud V33975) being sung at the club before, but it hadn't previously found it's way into the database. On this occasion it was sung by Colin. The title seems to be a phonetic rendering of the Gaelic "An tSean bhean Bhocht" - "The Poor Old Woman". The song dates from the Irish rebellion of 1798. It gained notoriety in nineteenth century Ireland as a seditious text. In the 1890s it was adopted as the title of a popular historical novel and of a nationalist magazine, both of which, in the face of the growing sectarian division over Irish Home rule, sought to vindicate the republican legacy of the United Irishmen.

2) Steve C sang The bold poachers (roud 1686).

3) Colin sang Dougie MacLean's Rescue me.

4) Steve C, clearly a fan of Steeleye Span, was familiar with their version of Mantle of green (roud 714). He wasn't entirely happy though with the version of the words they used so he had researched other versions. Those however didn't seem to fit Steeleye's tune, so Steve made his own version of the words based on several other versions.

Colin asked Simon to finish the evening which he did by singing Stan Rogers' Northwest passage.

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

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

Halloween 2017

Gustave Doré, Depiction of Satan,
a central figure in John Milton's Paradise Lost
c. 1866

Last week's Halloween themed session brought out only four singers. Let's ee if we can make this week's Bonfire themed evening more populous.

Colin was MC and he started us off on-topic with Fish, Tin And Copper, a song which has Old Nick visiting Cornwall and being frightened away by a pasty.

Steve C made his first appearance at the Dragon Folk Club for a while and was understandably the only one not prepared with songs in theme. His songs for the evening were The Jeannie C (Stan Rogers), Lunenburg Skies (Terry Young), The Blarney Roses (Roud 6329), White Squall (Stan Rogers), The Rare Ould Times (Pete St John), Ranter's Wharf (John Conolly, Bill Meek), Candles (Jon Heslop), Guard Your Man Weel (Johnny Handle) and Mantle Of Green (Roud 714, Laws N38).