Almost normal

After a few weeks of ups and downs we were back to some sort of normality last week. The environment was acceptable, and all the usual people were present. All we were missing was a selection of welcome visitors, but we can't have everything and we have enjoyed a good variety of those in the previous weeks and months. Let's hope there are many more to come.

Colin, our usual MC, got the session going with Smith of Bristol. One source I've found claims that the song can trace its roots back to the 17th century and relates it to Spanish Ladies (roud 687), but I'm not so sure because I can't find that in any of my usual, mostly authoritative, sources. It is in Ireland sings: An anthology of modern and ancient Irish songs and ballads (Dominic Behan) [song number 83]. It doesn't have a roud number though it seems to be traditional.

Simon sang his own song, The story of John Twigg (Simon Meeds): the true story of an eccentric chap who lived in Alford, Lincolnshire.

Denny followed that with Young banker (roud 3321) and Paul gave us Adieu Sweet lovely Nancy (roud 165) which is related to Swansea town.

Sue promised something uplifting and sang The crawdad song (roud 4852) before Bob predictably brought us back down with Blood red river (roud 15807). Was Sue thinking of this later when she sang Red river valley (roud 756)?

Denny sang the first song of the evening new to the Dragon database with Charlotte Oliver's Idle women of the waterways about women who worked on the narrow boats during the Second World War in a similar way to the more familiar Women's Land Army whose members worked in the fields.

The next new song to the database was Colin's rendition of Ewan MacColl's Browned off. While this song may be new to the database it certainly isn't new to the club having been sung by our late friend, Pat. Pat was from the North East of England, so it was fitting that the songs which followed were too: Simon with The Lambton Worm (roud 2337), and Denny with Teeside Bridges (Erik Gooding), another song new to the database. Erik, a mathmatics student, worked a holiday job with the Dorman Long Company in Teeside as steel stocks piled high. Erik also worked for a year in Australia as a maths teacher at Scotch College in Melbourne.

Paul suggested that Country life (roud 1752) was first sung by music hall artist Harry Linn. Linn certainly wrote a related song, also categorised as 1752 by roud, but his song: Eggs for Your Breakfast in the Morning is rather different. What I don't know is which song came first. The Watersons got Country Life from Mick Taylor, a sheepdog trainer of Hawes in Wensleydale.

Bob added one to the database with Gram Parsons' Luxury liner and the last new entry of the evening was for Denny with Icy Acres (Colin Wilkie).

Sue closed the session with Ian Tyson's Four strong winds.

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

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

Forward planning

(Photo: Simon Meeds)

Thanks to everyone who came along to our Dragon Folk Club session last Friday. I believe a good time was had by all. We just need to keep up the flow of new or visiting performers and audience members. Don't be afraid. We meet every Friday in the pool room of The Bridge Inn, Shortwood, Bristol (UK), BS16 9NG. Anything goes as long as it's acoustic, but we have some optionally themed sessions coming up:

• 17 February - Valentine's Day (Love, Affianced couples, against fainting, beekeepers, happy marriages, mentally ill, plague, epilepsy - even a massacre)
• 3 March - St David's Day (Wales, Pembrokeshire, Naas, vegetarians, poets)
• 17 March - St Patrick's Day (Ireland, Nigeria, Montserrat, Archdiocese of New York, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Boston, Rolla, Missouri, Loíza, Puerto Rico, Murcia (Spain), Clann Giolla Phádraig, engineers, paralegals, Archdiocese of Melbourne)
• 21 April - St George's Day (England, agricultural workers, farmers, field workers, soldiers, archers, armourers, equestrians, cavalry, saddle makers, chivalry, peacekeeping missions, skin diseases, lepers and leprosy, syphilis; sheep, shepherds, scouting)

Don't forget we are still there on other Fridays, just without a theme... unless one crops up by accident.

Back to last week, Colin was as usual the MC and he started things off with Billy Edd Wheeler's Coal Town Road. Simon followed with Elusive Butterfly (Bob Lind).

Bob's first offering was Sing Me Back Home which was written and first recorded by Merle Haggard, and Sue gave us Take Me Home, Country Roads (Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert, John Denver).

Colin went off on a maritime theme of his own, starting with Stan Rogers' Mary Ellen Carter, one from the repertoire of our friend Mike Starkey, and a fine one to get everyone singing. Meanwhile Simon tried to out-miserable Bob with Tracy Chapman's Behind the Wall and Bob and Sue, performing together, went off in their own direction entirely with Spanish Harlem (Jerry Leiber, Phil Spector).

One of only two songs from the evening not represented in the linked YouTube playlist (see "a selection" link below) is Sue's own song Recycled Teenager, which tells of the goings-on at a ukulele jam.

The other unrecorded song is Simon's Story of John Twigg which tells of an eccentric chap who lived in Alford, Lincolnshire. The singing of this song was brought about because Colin mentioned our fried Derek's assertion that any folk song could be sung to one of two tunes: Blow the Man Down or Villikins and his Dinah. John Twigg is put to the latter, but a conversation ensued that few people seem to sing Villikins and his Dinah (roud 271, laws M31), so Simon gave it a go.

Colin followed this with Dick Darby The Cobbler (roud 872) and so Simon finished off the evening with Michelle Shocked's Memories of East Texas.

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

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

Midsummer session

Cornish Hilltop bonfire on Midsummer's eve 2009
(Photo: Talskiddy)

It was great to welcome Rob back to last week's Dragon Folk Club session. It was unfortunate we could only muster three more singers, but we had a pretty good time of it.

Colin was back as MC and he started proceedings with Steve Knightley's Cousin Jack.

Through the evening Rob gave us a variety of songs including one he wrote himself. I think I'll list the ones where I found Rob's own videos because I always like to show you the actual singer performing where possible:

• Magic on the wind (Rob Winder)
• Rio Grande (roud 317)
• Crawdad song (roud 4853)
• Old Jack Jones (Adey Shaw)

The only song of the evening you won't find in the playlist linked below is Simon's own song The story of John Twigg about an eccentric character from Alford, Lincolnshire.

It was Simon who finished the evening with When all men sing (Keith Scowcroft, Derek Gifford).

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

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

Homeward bound

Ruins of downtown Hinckley after the 1894 fire

Last Friday's session was the last time we shall see Gabe, at least in the near future, as he will soon be heading home to the USA. I'm not sure we can really say a theme emerged from the evening, but if there was one it might have been American songs of various sorts with a couple of local West Country dialect songs thrown in to challenge Gabe.

I'm a bit short on time to write the report, so I will concentrate here on mentioning those which I was not able to find on YouTube. For the rest, please refer to the "a selection" link below. Despite quite a lot of chat, initially on the subject of beer, we got through a healthy number of songs: 36 if my count is correct.

Colin, MC as usual, started us off with You can't get petrol, written by Jimmy Crowley. While there doesn't seem to be a shortage of fuel at the moment the prices have certainly gone up so there may be some self-rationing going on.

Simon's self-penned song, The Story of John Twigg to the tune of Villikins and his Dinah (laws M31A/B, roud 271) tells the true story of an eccentric of the town of Alford in Lincolnshire who got up to all sorts of mischief during his life.

Gabe sang Charlie Maguire's The Hinkley fire. The entire town of Hinckley, Minnesota burned in a giant forest fire in 1894. The song tells of James Root and his Afro-American fireman Jack McGowan in one episode of bravery that was previously "unsung". They rescued nearly 300 people by backing up a train nearly five miles to Skunk Lake, where the passengers escaped the fire.

Geoff finished off the evening with The City of New Orleans written by Steve Goodman. Gabe recalled that his father, when a student in Chicago, often saw Steve Goodman performing.

And so, we wish Gabe good travels through Europe and on home to Minnesota. Let's hope we see you and your lovely wife Sarah again in the future.

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

(Number of people present - 5 of whom 5 performed)

Raffle discussions

The Liver Building, Liverpool

Tonight's session had no theme. Apart from a selection of regulars, we were joined by Paul, who was at the session two weeks ago, performing in public for the first time in twenty years. A first-time visitor was John who was known to Robin and Derek.

At one stage the topic of conversation turned to raffles, and in particular folk club raffles. John said that he is very unlucky with raffles and the last but one time he won one was in the 1960s. The prize on that occasion was a 45rpm record of the Maple Leaf Four singing Old Shep. Derek told of a folk club which was sponsored by a butcher, and the raffle prize was always a huge tray of meat - not much good to him as a vegetarian! He proceeded to sing a song about "A ticket for the meat draw".