Deep breath

Ashton Court, December 2010 (Photo: Simon Meeds)

Yes, it wasn't quite Christmas at last Friday's Dragon Folk Club session, in fact there wasn't an official theme, but that didn't stop people singing Christmas songs, Heather because she won't be with us this week, and Denny because she felt like joining Heather. Even Paul got in on the act at least once.

This Friday (19th December) will be our Christmas themed session although our themes are of course always optional. The following week (26th) we will have a break and then we'll be back for our New Year session on 2nd January. Various appropriate themes and sub-themes come to mind, but I'll leave that to your imagination for the moment.

Back to last week, in Colin's absence Simon was MC and he kicked us off with Tom Paine's bones (Graham Moore).

Heather took up her Christmas theme with Cliff Richard's 1988 festive hit Mistletoe and wine (* Jeremy Paul, Leslie Stewart, Keith Strachan).

Denny started her contribution with When yellow's on the broom, written by the recently deceased Adam McNaughton, and Paul finished off the first rotation with Tending the sheep (*). This last song was probably written by Ruth Tongue.

Although Tongue's songs were presented as having been collected from various (pseudonymous) singers in Somerset in the early part of the 20th century (in this case ‘Old Shepherd’ from The Blackdown Hills), most have never been found anywhere else, and evidence suggests that many of them were written by the same person, quite possibly by Miss Tongue herself, though it is impossible to be sure.

Only two songs sung during the evening was not found on YouTube and therefore not in the playlist linked from "a selection" below:

• Denny - A tribute to the drowned (Samuel Laycock)
• Paul - Tracks in the snow (Steve Thomason)

Due to Heather's self-set Christmas theme, there were a few more songs (and a poem) new to the Dragon database:

• Heather - The Christmas truce (* Carol Ann Duffy)
• Heather - Little donkey (* Eric Boswell)
• Heather - Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow! (* Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn)
• Heather - Rockin' around the Christmas tree (* Johnny Marks)

Simon left us with a good sing and something to warm us up ready for the Christmas session proper next week: When all men sing (Keith Scowcroft, Derek Gifford).

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

(Number of people present - 5 of whom 4 performed)

In the above report songs new to the Dragon database (though no always new to the club) are marked with an asterisk (*) and any songs not included in the "a selection" playlist are marked with a hash (#).

Heading into winter with a smile

Brandon Hill, Bristol (Photo: Simon Meeds)

Last week's Dragon Folk Club session had no theme, but several emerged. Simon tried to keep us smiling through the foul weather to come, while others reflected the season to some degree. We heard some new songs, some old songs, some borrowed songs, but in the absence of our friend Bob, not so many blue songs.

This Friday's session (12th December) will also have no official theme, but we have already had three or more Christmas songs as well as others pointing towards the season, so if your mind drifts that way we're not going to stop you. 19th December will be our official Christmas themed evening, and then we will have a break on 26th ready to hit the ground running for the New Year on 2nd January.

Colin, back in the MC's seat this week, started us off with The maid of Amsterdam (roud 649). Denny sag her new favourite November drinking song (Bryan Hawes, Martin Graebe), but in an attempt to keep it going changed it to the December drinking song.

Helen took us off to a Christmas scene with Winter wonderland (* Felix Bernard, Richard Bernhard Smith), and Paul followed Denny's theme of varied persons out drinking with Jones's ale (roud 139).

Simon completed the first rotation with a humorous take on winter: Down our street (roud 32257).

Colin's second song came from the pen of Gilbert O'Sullivan. It surprised everyone how early in his career he had written Nothing Rymed (*), but in fact it was even earlier than we believed at that time. It was released in 1970! I am however quite pleased that my guess was correct that he released Clair in 1972.

Helen introduced us to the singing and songwriting of TikTok sensation Rose Betts by giving us Irish eyes (*). In fact all the evening's remaining songs new for the Dragon Database came from Helen: Solstice Evergreen (* Adrienne Piggott)  from the Australian pagan folk rock band, Spiral Dance, and a surprisingly landward song, There are no lights on our Christmas tree (*), from the pen of Cyril Tawney.

The only song of the evening not found on YouTube and therefore not in the playlist linked from "a selection" below was perhaps unsurprisingly, Colin's The war junk Tennessee (# Willis - A quarter-gunner on the USS Tennessee and nephew of Nathaniel Parker Willis).

Paul finished the session with Bold Riley (roud 18160).

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

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

In the above report songs new to the Dragon database (though no always new to the club) are marked with an asterisk (*) and any songs not included in the "a selection" playlist are marked with a hash (#).

St Andrew's Day 2025

(Photo: Simon Meeds)

Our faithful MC Colin was otherwise engaged during last week's Dragon Folk Club session so Simon took up the pen, ledger and metaphorical gavel. Theme accuracy was not 100% given that Paul and Denny, who had been absent the previous week, both started by harking back to Remembrance before honouring Denny's native county on Lancashire Day and eventually joining us in Scotland. Roger on the other hand took the opportunity that our themes are always optional and sang a wide variety of styles, but of course since St Andrew is the patron saint among other things of singers, nothing was truly off-topic this time anyway.

Roger had been first to arrive at The Bridge so he was called upon to start the evening, which he did with Proud Mary (* John Fogerty).

Simon was first to take us to Scotland with Dougie MacLean's Caledonia.

As already mentioned, Paul and Denny started off in a remembrance theme with Poor murdered men (*# Jon Heslop) and A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square (Eric Maschwitz, Manning Sherwin) respectively. The latter was Denny's late father's favourite song and was sung at his 90th birthday party by her late sister-in-law. Denny's singing of the song also marked both of their birthdays.

And so we came to the end of the first rotation.

Having already mentioned two above, there were a further two songs new to the Dragon database this time, both sung by Denny. The first was November drinking song (* Bryan Hawes, Martin Graebe). The second gave me a little more of a problem. The only trace I could find of Drink to the Laddies (* Sue West) on YouTube (and therefore the version I included in the playlist linked from "a selection" below) was this slightly raucous and badly recorded "Drink to the lassies". But we don't give up so easily here, and a more respectable version, sung by Dutch shanty choir De Kaapstander, was found here in the middle of a longer video.

LATE ENTRY: Another version of Drink to the laddies has been found.

It also fell to Denny to round off the session with a Scottish version of Rolling home (roud 4766).

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

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

In the above report songs new to the Dragon database (though no always new to the club) are marked with an asterisk (*) and any songs not included in the "a selection" playlist are marked with a hash (#).

Remembrance 2025

Avro Lancaster "Just Jane"
at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre
(Photo: Simon Meeds)

Last Friday's Dragon Folk Club session had our delayed Remembrance theme; delayed due to a conflicting room booking the week before. Was it because of the gap in service that we were short of singers? Never mind, we had fun singing a total of 36 songs during the evening.

This Friday (28th November) this scribe will your MC for a change so your presence and performance (optional) would be especially encouraged. I propose a theme (optional as always) of St Andrew's Day. As you know St Andrew is patron saint of Scotland. If that isn't scope enough, you may like to know that he is also patron of:

Barbados, Georgia, Ukraine, Russia, Greece, Cyprus, Constantinople, Romania, Patras, Burgundy, San Andrés (Tenerife), Diocese of Parañaque, Candaba, Masinloc, Telhado, Sarzana, Pienza, Amalfi, Luqa (Malta), Fontana, Gozo (Malta), Manila and Prussia; the Diocese of Victoria and Canada; fishermen, fishmongers, rope-makers, textile workers, singers, miners, pregnant women, butchers, farm workers, the Russian Navy, the US Army Rangers; protection against sore throats, convulsions, fever and whooping cough.

Get your thinking caps on and we'll see you there.

Back to last Friday, Colin was MC, but Simon who had arrived first started us off on theme with The band played waltzing matilda (Eric Bogle). And I'm afraid to say that Colin completed the first rotation (more of an alternation) with our friend Gary Hopwood's White poppy (*).

Being a bit short of time I will simply list the songs sung which are new to the Dragon database:

• Colin - Red and Gold (* Ralph McTell)
• Colin - I just wanna stay at home (*# Irwin Silber)
• Colin - Christmas in the trenches - (* John McCutcheon)
• Simon - Brothers in Arms (* Mark Knopfler) to the tune Monk's Gate (Ralph Vaughan Williams, traditional)

Two other songs were sung which couldn't be found on YouTube and therefore doesn't appear in the playlist linked from "a selection" below:

• Colin - The kriegie ballad (Robert Garioch)
• Colin - Falklands song (sung by Mabsant)

Colin rounded off the evening with Only remembered (Horatius Bonar, Ira D Sankey).

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

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

In the above report songs new to the Dragon database (though no always new to the club) are marked with an asterisk (*) and any songs not included in the "a selection" playlist are marked with a hash (#).

Bonfire Night 2025

Last week's slightly belated bonfire night session at the Dragon Folk Club saw the usual mix of Guy Fawkes, bonfires, and campfire songs as well as general winter themes and some serendipitous performances mixed in. more importantly it brought an impressive turn-out of singers including three first timers: Ander, Rebecca and Johan who all sang excellently.

First, and importantly, there will be no Dragon Folk Club session this Friday (14th November 2025) so we will delay our Remembrance themed evening (war, anti-war, remembrance, etc.) until the following Friday (21st November). In the meantime some of use may visit Folk at Frampton Cotterell this Friday.

Colin, MC as usual, set us a rhythm by starting the evening with Running bear (Jiles Perry Richardson "The Big Bopper"). Roger said it was the first record he bought.

Roger invited us to Keep right on to the end of the road (roud 23917 - Harry Lauder). Perhaps this was an early Remembrance contribution since Lauder wrote the song in honour of his son, killed in the First World War.

Heather gave us Wild mountain thyme (roud 541 - Francis McPeake).

Paul invoked his inner child with Michael Finnegan (roud 10541) and Denny made some of those assembled squirm with Nobody likes me (roud 12764).

Simon sang The ballad of Patch Eye and Meg (Michelle Shocked), relevant because it was first recorded as part of The Texas Campfire Tapes.

Sue sang of The leaving of Liverpool (roud 9435) and Bob brought the first rotation to an end with My girl Josephine (Fats Domino, Dave Bartholomew).

For now our visitors, appropriately to Bonfire Night, kept their powder dry, but that wasn't to last long.

Rebecca's songs were:

• The little beggarman (roud 900)
• Poor Guy (* Peter Christie) from the singing of Instant Sunshine
• Woad (roud 24978 - William Hope-Jones)

Ander sang:

• I wish I was back in Liverpool (Leon Rosselson, Stan Kelly-Bootle)

We also heard a duet from Rebecca and Ander on Queen of Waters (Nancy Kerr).

Johan gave us a traditional Swedish drinking song about Noah leaving his ark and growing vines to make wine: Gubben Noak (* Carl Michael Bellman). The tune reminded Denny of Come landlord fill the flowing bowl (roud 1234), and so she sang it.

There were just two songs which are not on YouTube and therefore not in the playlist linked from "a selection" below:

• Roger - Together we'll fight (*# Roger Stanleigh)
• Colin - I love to go a-gorging (#)

The remaining songs new to the Dragon database, but not necessarily never before sung at the club, were:

• Roger - Don't ever change (* Gerry Goffin, Carole King) - Rejected by The Everly Brothers, recorded by The Crickets and performed by The Beatles
• Heather - A winter's tale (* Mike Batt, Tim Rice)
• Colin - My leader (*)

It fell to Paul to finish the evening which he did with Cockles and mussels (roud 16932).

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

(Number of people present - 12 of whom 11 performed)

In the above report songs new to the Dragon database (though no always new to the club) are marked with an asterisk (*) and any songs not included in the "a selection" playlist are marked with a hash (#).

Halloween 2025

(Photo: Simon Meeds)

It was Halloween  (quite literally on the 31st) last week at the Dragon Folk Club and everyone joined in on the theme for at least part of the evening, which was great. This week's theme, optional as usual, is for Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night if you prefer. Consider songs, poems, monologues and stories on themes such as Guy Fawkes, fire, fireworks and campfire songs along with anything else appropriate that you can think of.

Back to last week, and I'm keeping this report brief, Heather was asked to start us off. She was obviously looking forward to this week as she read her own poem "What, no fireworks?" (*#).

Simon got into the current theme with Zombie jamboree (Conrad Eugene Mauge, Jr or Winston O'Conner (Lord Intruder) - disputed). The linked version by King Flash is the first to change the original "Jumbee Jamboree" to "Zombie Jamboree".

Stuart and Carrie gave us Ghost (Kate Rusby) followed by Long black veil (roud 18510).

Colin, also on topic, sang Hallows Eve (Chris Hoban).

Paul read a poem, So many different lengths of time (* Brain Patten) and Denny completed the first rotation with Davey Dodds' The magpie (*). Brian Patten, on of the Liverpool poets, died in September.

Now with limited time I will simply list those remaining songs (and poem) which have been added to the Dragon database this week, though as usual it doesn't necessarily mean that none of them haven't been performed at the club before:

• Heather - NWR Halloween (*# Heather, poem about the National Women's Register, Chipping Sodbury branch)
• Stuart and Carrie - I wandered by a brookside (* Words by Richard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron Hougthon; tune by Barbara Berry - Ed: I knew Barbara and I heard her sing it at least once, see the video for the full story)
• Paul - Sweet William's ghost (* roud 50, child 77)
• Stuart and Carrie - Wonderful life (* Black, real name Colin Vearncombe)
• Denny - The coal and Albert Berry (* Ted Edwards)

Stuart and Carrie closed the session with A horse with no name (Dewey Bunnell).

See you this week, 7th November, for (metaphorical) fireworks!

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

(Number of people present - 8 of whom 7 performed)

In the above report songs new to the Dragon database (though no always new to the club) are marked with an asterisk (*) and any songs not included in the "a selection" playlist are marked with a hash (#).

Nose to tail

(Photo: Simon Meeds)

Thanks to serious traffic disruption we didn't attain our full strength until well after half way through the evening, nevertheless a total of forty two songs were sung. Second-timer Heather ran out of songs she had prepared but valiantly sang with the help of words found on her mobile phone for the rest of the evening without missing a beat.

Don't forget that this Friday (31st October) is our Halloween-themed session. As always, themes are optional, but it's nice to come up with something appropriate, however tenuously. Watch out for more upcoming themes.

MC Colin was first up with The nutting girl (roud 509).

Heather introduced the club to Scarlet ribbons (for her hair) (* roud 45048 - Jack Segal, Evelyn Danzig), and Simon completed the first rotation with John Conolly's The Punch and Judy man using Tony Capstick's version of the chorus.

Here are some more performances which need to be mentioned.

Heather sang Blanket on the ground (* Roger Bowling) which was first recorded by Billie Jo Spears and Grandfather's clock (* roud 4326 - Henry Clay Work). Heather's friend Hazel was not there to sing, but it was noted that she joined in enthusiastically with the "tick-tocks".

The Oxford English Dictionary says that the song Grandfather's clock, written in 1876, was the origin of the term "grandfather clock" for a long-case clock. It is said that the clock in the George Hotel, Piercebridge near Darlington inspired Work to write the song. The tradition was that the clock had been owned by two brothers named Jenkins. When one brother died, the clock began losing time, and it stopped for ever upon the death of the other.

Colin found what must have been a low hanging fruit to add to the Dragon database in Foggy foggy dew (* roud 558, laws O03).

Heather contributed Crazy (* Willie Nelson), made famous by Patsy Cline and that was soon followed by Colin with Reynard the fox (* roud 1868, 358).

After a couple more songs Paul and Denny made their entrance. While they are our most distant regulars, it doesn't usually take them anywhere near the two and a half hours to reach The Bridge for a session that it did last week due it seems to two road closures: one maybe for an accident and one for the planned replacement of a bridge. Anyway, arrive they did and Paul was immediately invited to sing. His first song was Bold Riley (roud 18160) and Denny followed that with The forsaken mermaid (roud 466, laws K17). And with that our complement was complete for the rest of the evening.

Helen channelled her inner Louis Armstrong for What a wonderful world (* Bob Thield (as George Douglas), George David Weiss).

Colin sang The Liverpool barrow boy (*), a song written, we are told, by Mollie Armstrong whose job it was to collect money at the door of The Spinners' Folk Club.

Heather had us singing along to Time after time (* Cyndi Lauper, Rob Hyman).

We were also able to sing along with Paul although I don't think any of us had previously heard Keith Donnelly's shanty parody Lever Johnny lever (*).

It fell to Simon to close the session with Nancy whisky (roud 883).

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

(Number of people present - 6 of whom 5 performed)

In the above report songs new to the Dragon database (though no always new to the club) are marked with an asterisk (*) and any songs not included in the "a selection" playlist are marked with a hash (#).