A record breaking performance

At last week's Dragon Folk Club session we didn't seem particularly rushed, the songs weren't particularly short and we certainly weren't devoid of chat, but nevertheless we seem to have broken the accepted previous Dragon record of 47 songs sung in an evening. We sang a total of 49 songs!

It all started off with Colin performing Dance ti thy daddy (roud 2439), possibly better known as When the boat comes in, having been the theme tune to a TV programme of that title. Simon sang Strike the bell (roud 4190) and Steve completed the first rotation with Sam Hall (roud 369, laws L5).

With so many songs I am sure you will forgive me if I pick out a bare minimum and invite you to listen to the rest via the YouTube playlist linked from "a selection" below.

There are four songs not included on that playlist:

• Colin - Convict's complaint
• Steve - When Adam was first created (roud 728)
• Colin - The bos'n, the gunner and me (Francis Barron, Henry Trotère)
• Colin - Windy old sailors (Chris Sugden - assumed) - sung by The Kipper Family and found only as a title on an obsolete version of the Sid Kipper website - I'm still not sure where Colin found the words, because it doesn't seem to have been recorded

Six songs were new to the Dragon database, though not necessarily in all cases new to the club:

• Simon - Percy Shaw (Roger Davies)
• Colin - Waiting for wages (Jill MacLean, Michael Raven or more likely traditional)
• Colin - Wicklow hills (Pierce Turner)
• Colin - Heaven's a bar (Tim Laycock)
• Colin - Drinking rum and raspberry
• Colin - Roots (Steve Knightley)

Colin returned to Steve Knightley for the last song of the evening, which was Cousin Jack.

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

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

May there be more

(Photo: Simon Meeds)

We had a fun Dragon Folk Club session last week. There was no official theme but a few emerged. This Friday again there will no theme, but bring you own if you like. Anything goes as long as it's acoustic.

I'm running out of time to get this report out when I like to do so it will be brief this week.

Colin as MC started us off with the Padstow May song (roud 305). Yes Colin adopted May as his theme for most of the evening.

For the first few rounds Simon had a personal theme of the Eurovision Song contest, singing some entries from the 60s and 70s and starting with Dana's winner for Ireland in 1970 All kinds of everything (Derry Lindsay, Jackie Smith).

Steve came in with Just as the tide was flowing (roud 1105).

There were two songs sung which aren't available on YouTube and therefore aren't in the playlist linked from "a selection" below:

• Colin - The maypole - Apparently a Norwegian song ("Gay is the maypole...")
• Steve - When Adam was first created (roud 728)

Simon finished the evening with The L&N don't stop here anymore (Jean Ritchie).

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

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

Tiny fish in a small pond

MV Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin passing through Lock 7
of the Welland Canal between Lakes Ontario and Erie
(Photo: Simon Meeds)

The numbers at the end of this report are a bit misleading. On the one hand there were two singers who met for the Dragon Folk Club session last week. On the other, due to the gents toilets being out of action, there was a constant stream of people passing through. Most, but not all, were respectful. Some were complimentary. One performed. A drunken Irishman (apparently) was effusive in his praise. We were even joined briefly by our friend Allie who was very appreciative and gave a few brief snippets from her folk repertoire.

Things started off early as John, having visited the facilities borrowed Simon's guitar and played a few riffs including Wonderwall (Noel Gallagher) for which his unnamed friend joined in with vocals.

Once we got underway properly, Simon, the stand-in MC, started things off with Windmills (Alan Bell).

Remarkably, the two singers, that is disregarding John, who appeared again later with some more riffs, and Allie with her brief medley of songs, sang a total of 39 during the evening. It was almost 11pm by the time it all finished, but the main reason for stopping at 39 was that Steve said he'd run out of songs, and almost out of voice.

You can follow the link from "a selection" below to a playlist of all the songs we sang except one. That one came from Steve and was When Adam was first created (roud 728).

No new songs were added to the Dragon database this week, although it was the first recorded singing of Steve's version of roud 369, laws L5, that being Sam Hall rather than Jack Hall which was already there.

Steve sang a couple of other songs which hadn't previously been recorded in the database for him: Adieu sweet lovely Nancy (roud 165) and The leaving of Liverpool (roud 9435).

Of course we had a few Stan Rogers songs from Steve: White squall, Tiny fish for Japan, and The field behind the plow. I also see that Rogers recorded Cyril Tawney's Sammy's bar.

The evening was completed by Simon singing Jackson C Frank's Blues run the game.

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

(Number of people present - 4 of whom 3 performed)

Valentine's Day 2017 and Trimdon Grange + 135

Tommy Armstrong

The report will be short and sweet this week since I've ended up writing at the last moment. Last week's session was themed Love and Lust for Valentine's Day. While we were small in number we were strong in voice, and joined as we were by our friends Joe and Josci, who we hadn't seen for some time.

Colin was MC and started off with a version of Clementine which was sung as Valentine. I haven't found any mention of it on the web, so all I can say about it with any confidence is that the first line is "In North Walsham by the cobbler's".

As you might expect there was some smut, including Colin's Bell Bottom Trousers (Roud 20105) and Simon's Big Bamboo.