St Patrick's Day 2019

The Giant's Causeway, County Antrim
(Photo: Simon Meeds)

Last week's St Patrick's Day session saw a wide variety of songs with more or less connection to Ireland. This Friday there will be no theme so we'll look forward to at least as wide a variety.

Last Friday Colin as MC started off well on theme with Tom Lewis' St Patrick's Song.

Mike told us that Simon's Paddy Lay Back (Roud 653) was associated with Liverpool. There is a long quote from Stan Hugill on the subject of the song here. Mike's own first song was Red Haired Mary (Sean McCarthy).

Derek tried, for the first few rounds anyway, to pick songs which actually mentioned St Patrick. His first contribution was How Caesar Was Driven From Ireland (Dominic Behan).

When is a Croppy Boy not a Croppy Boy?

Charlotte Schreiber's painting
The Croppy Boy (The Confession of an Irish Patriot)

Colin was back in action as MC at last week's session. There was no theme but several people performed their leftovers from harvest.

Derek started off the session with The Croppy Boy (Carroll Malone) which was straightforward enough it seemed, except Mike, returning from a walk with his dog Indy challenged Derek about the version. Derek said it was what came of sitting in an Irish club for a long time, to which Mike said in Irish clubs around Bristol they sing a version which they know as McCafferty. Derek looked a little put out and I assumed he was thinking that Mike meant McCaffery, a song which Derek also sings. Anyway that was that until, on the second round Derek challenged Colin and me with the open question of what we would call his next song. With some deft Googling I had the answer, and shared it with Colin for the club's official record... and the song was... The Croppy Boy (Roud 1030, Laws J14).

Saint Andrew, Scotland and the sea

The Beauchamp - the lifeboat
involved in the Caister disaster of 1901

Last Friday people were very thin on the ground at the session. I suggested that we might get more people in if we removed the poster from the door; not because people are discouraged by the folk club poster, but because removing it would reveal the sign showing the way to the alternative toilets.

I can't quite remember the reason, but it may have been this comment that started Maggie singing Seven old ladies locked in the lavatory. Well, I say she started singing... No, I don't mean there was anything wrong with Maggie's singing, it's just that although it is officially her folk club, Maggie almost never sings, and she tried to stop the fact that she had sung being recorded. Well, it went into the official book, and it's recorded here on the blog as well!