Incomplete recall

We were back to a skeleton staff at the Dragon Folk Club last Friday, but we had a good evening nevertheless. This week we will be one core man down - Colin, our usual MC - so all being well Simon will be MCing. Please make an effort to come along and sing, play, tell a story or even just listen.

Back to last week, MC Colin started us off with Stung Right with words by Joe Hill. The tune (written by by Winfield S Weeden) comes from an evangelical hymn called Sunlight, sunlight (words by Judson W Van De Venter) and was later used by Ewan MacColl for Browned off. Stung right was a new one for my database, but Colin had sung here it before.

Mike sang two songs which can both be known as Tom's gone to Hilo: Tom's gone to Hilo (roud 481) and Johnny come down to Hilo (roud 650). Simon didn't remember having heard roud 481 before, but Mike assured him he had previously sung it here.

Colin didn't remember Simon having previously sung Mike Harding's A small high window though he had done so.

Simon finished the evening slightly early since we were the only people in the pub and the staff wanted to close. It's always good to close with a joiner-inner. In this case The Galway Shawl (roud 2737).

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

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

Mining disasters and yet more May

Shirley and Dolly Collins

The May theme continued this week for some people, joined with some mining disasters following the news this week of the disaster at the Soma mine in Turkey.

Mike started us off with Cape Cod girls, which I have also seen called the Codfish Shanty.

The mining disaster theme was taken up by Derek with The Blantyre explosion. This song is about the Blantyre mining disaster, which happened on the morning of 22 October 1877. At Blantyre Colliery, William Dixon's pit, numbers 1 and 2 were both blasted, killing 207 miners of which the youngest victim was a boy of only 11. The accident left 92 widows and 250 fatherless children.