Burns Night 2023

What a great session we had last Friday, and a total contrast to the week before. There were six of us, including two newcomers who both sang. This is definitely a result. The newcomers were Alan and Paula. Alan is a member of the Barnacle Buoys shanty group.

The theme was Robert Burns since we were meeting just a couple of days after Burns Night. Though there were quite a few Scottish songs there weren't many actual Burns songs in evidence. In fact I only counted two, but I may have missed others.

Colin, in his usual role as MC started us off in pseudo-Scottish mode with Haggis Season (Jeremy Lloyd, Jim Parker).

Simon's single Burns offering was Ye Jacobites By Name (roud 31021). Bob and Sue wisely stayed off topic, Bob singing John Prine's You Got Gold (writing credits shared with Keith Sykes), and sue bringing out Homeward Bound (Paul Simon).

Talking of Paul Simon, we probably all know about the historical tension between Simon and Martin Carthy over Scarborough Fair (roud 12, child 2). That's all well known, but just this week we found out that Martin's daughter, Eliza Carthy only heard Paul Simon's version of the song for the first time a few weeks ago.

Alan's first song is perhaps called Why Did They Take Them All. I can't find anything about it, so I suspect it may be his own work. Paula skipped the first round, but she will be mentioned since it is traditional to mention all songs sung by newcomers.

Alan gave us two more songs which were definitely at least partly his own work: When The Shanty Men Come Steaming In and Queen And Country. He also sang some more familiar fare: Johnny Come Down To Hilo (roud 650), Wave Over Wave (Jim Payne), The Mermaid and I Wish They'd Do It Now (roud 1401).

Paula started off a little later than the rest but in fine form with The Fisherman's Lassie going on to sing The Yellow Handkerchief (roud 954), Pleasant And Delightful (roud 660, laws O30) and Rosabella. That last linked video is of the Barncale Buoys singing Rosabella and Alan can be seen bottom centre, so there's a bonus for this blog report.

There were a few points that need to be cleared up on other songs sung during the evening where discussion on the night was inconclusive or misleading:

• For House Of The Rising Sun (roud 6393) which Sue sang, I have linked a video of Dave Van Ronk's version because he seems to have coined the popular tune made famous by The Animals. While the song has its origins in England, the current song crossed the ocean and was known by American miners in 1905. The oldest published version of the lyrics is that printed by Robert Winslow Gordon in 1925 and started "There is a house in New Orleans, it's called the Rising Sum, It's been the ruin of many poor girl" (rather than boy).
• Bob's Empty Bed Blues is a rather raunchy, maybe even bawdy song written by J C Johnson and first recorded by Bessy Smith.
• Colin's Campbeltown Loch wasseems to have been written by Alan Cameron. The tune is The Glendaruel Highlanders.
• Sue's Something was of course written by George Harrison.
• Colin had what I believe was the second and final Burns song of the evening with Parcel Of Rogues (roud V31022).

It was indeed Colin who finished the evening with Air Fa La La Lo, which is a traditional Gaelic song translated into English by Hugh S Roberton.

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

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

Burns' Night 2022

Robert Burns

It was a cosy early Burns' Night before a blazing fire. Who am I kidding, but with unseasonably mild weather I'm not complaining either. I've had my haggis and tatties and neeps since then, have you? We met on Friday to sing Scottish songs, and with a little poetic licence here and there that's what we did.

MC Colin went against tradition and asked Simon to start the evening which he did, with an actual Burns song, or at least one of those he collected and changed to be his own, Ye Jacobites by Name (roud V31021). Colin kept it Burns with Such A Parcel Of Rogues In A Nation (roud V31022 - sequential roud numbers no less!).

Most of the remaining songs were Scottish, though not all Burns by any means. I will mention some of the more eccentric or less Scottish ones.

Colin brought out his customary ode to the chieftain of the pudding race, no not Address to a Haggis (Robert Burns) but Captain Beaky's offering: Haggis Season (Jeremy Lloyd, Jim Parker).

Simon's regular song, The Handweaver and the Factory Maid (roud 17771) is generally accepted to be from either Lancashire or Ireland. The version Simon got from the singing of Sylvia Barnes is clearly based in Glasgow. Whether it is traditional or Sylvia's own rewrite we do not know, but Roud doesn't list a Scottish version.

Colin borrowed from the repertoire of The Smothers Brothers the song Eskimo Dog (Dick Smothers, Tom Smothers), replacing "North Pole" in the first line of the first verse with "Scotland". The song is a parody of Whiskey in the Jar (roud 533).

Colin's A Scottish Holiday (JW "Bill" Hill) is a parody of The Road to the Isles (roud 32843). We learn that Bill is a retired local government officer who also worked in the field of education. He wrote some of the funniest songs to have come out of Scotland before retiring from the music circuit due to family commitments. He is now an Edinburgh tour guide.

It fell to Simon to close the evening which he did with what on the face of it is an Irish Song. Wild Mountain Thyme was written by France McPeake, but it is based on The Braes of Balquhither (roud 541) by Scottish poet Robert Tannahill (1774–1810) and Scottish composer Robert Archibald Smith (1780–1829).

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

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

Burns' Night 2019

Broadside ballad entitled
'A Huy and Cry After Sir John Barlycorn'
by Alexander Pennecuik, 1725

Last week's Burns' Night session led to the singing of many Scottish or Scottish-related songs, and some Burns could even, however debatably, hang his name on. This Friday there doesn't seem to be an official theme though the start of the rugby internationals may give inspiration to some.

Also last week, we enjoyed the company of first time visitors Stuart and Pete, regulars I believe at FAF (Folk Around Fishponds) who mostly performed together, some well-knows songs, and some self-penned.

Colin, our regular MC, started the evening off with Captain Beaky's take on Scottish Tradition, The Haggis Season (Jeremy Lloyd, Jim Parker).

Stuart and Pete were reasonably unprepared for our theme and started off their contribution with the surprisingly old The Cat Came Back written by Harry S Miller, which was published in 1893. Colin persuaded them, as is the tradition with duos, to sing two songs per round, at least in the first part of the evening. Their second was Ukelele Man, telling, in the form of Jerry Reed's Guitar Man, of Pete's challenge of finding places to play his instrument.

Burns Night 2018

Robert Burns

Yes, last Friday was our annual Burns Night session. Almost all of the songs sung had a Scottish connection. I won't nit pick over the ones which were tenuous because they were few.

Some even had a Robert Burns connection though Mike informed us that opinion is turning to the position he has long believed, that Burns was more of a collector and editor than a songwriter. Therefore I will not note here the Burns connections of any particular songs, and I'll leave it to the reader to work out which were by him, which were rewritten or augmented by him, and which were simply collected.

First the usual announcement. There was discussion about a theme for this Friday's session. Colin suggested the rugby, and Geoff said he would be marking the anniversary of the death of Buddy Holly. That gave Simon some ideas which he didn't share. So as usual, take these suggestions if you like or come and share something totally different with us. And if you don't wish to perform, it's fine to be an audience too.

Burns' Night 2017

reconstructed head of Burns

Finally a respectable quorum for this year's Burns' Night session. That is it was our Burns and Scotland themed session which took place two days after Burns' Night. In fact the attendance was so numerous that it even deserved three raffle prizes!

As always at The Dragon Folk Club, the theme was optional, so there was plenty of variety. Colin was MC and he started off proceedings with a comic offering from Captain Beaky: The Haggis Season (Jeremy Lloyd, Jim Parker).

I won't get into the debate about which songs and poems Robert Burns wrote, which he collected and which he stole, so please read anything in this blog post which claims to be by Burns as being any one of those options.

Roger recited The Banks O' Doon (Roud 13889 - Robert Burns) as a poem and Chris gave us the Eriskay Love Lilt (I grew up to that version by Judith Durham).

Burns' Night 2015

Robert Burns (1759-96)

A fine turn-out for our pre-Burns' Night session with 19 humans and three dogs including Gertie, who could possibly be described as a "Wee, sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie" if she wasn't listening. There were plenty of Scottish, psuedo-Scottish and debatably Scottish songs in evidence. I won't comment too much on their relationship to Burns unless it's reasonably obvious or was stated.

Richard was once again MC for the evening - it's becoming quite a habit. We were pleased to see Maggie S for the first time in a few weeks, but she and Mike still had to leave at half time.

A couple of other notable anniversaries were mentioned. Derek pointed out Ewan McColl's 100th birthday on Sunday 25 January, and Keith G mentioned the 50th anniversary of Winston Churchill's death on Saturday 24 January.

Keith G proposed as appropriate to Churchill, Leonard Cohen's First We Take Manhattan (then we take Berlin).