Cohen and Sands

Leonard Cohen

This week Maggie was absent, apparently packing for a holiday with Mike in nearby Somerset. Mike was around for the first half but left early, declaring that next week should be the now customary "sing Mike's songs" evening, and will be led by Richard, who ably managed the last part of this week's session.

This week's unfamiliar face was Paul, who has visited several times in the last few months, and before that turned up at the club about twenty years ago. Paul played some of his own guitar instrumental compositions: Peppermint Nile, recalling a holiday on the river where stewards had a ready supply of peppermint to combat stomach problems, and an unnamed tune which, when Richard asked what it was called, was quickly named "Richard's question".

Richard set a theme for himself of Friday 13th, or rather superstitions with two self-penned songs: Superstition's game and Over my shoulder.

Steve G spoke highly of a recent Leonard Cohen gig in Cardiff which he attended. It lasted about three hours, with many encores. Paul vouched for this, having been to a similar Cohen gig about eight years ago. Steve G went on to sing what he thought must be one of few Cohen songs not sung that night: Hey that's no way to say goodbye.

Colin sang Back home in Derry. It was later confirmed that while this song was made popular by Christy Moore, it was written by Maze hunger striker, Bobby Sands. This also seemed to answer a question previously posed by Derek, that Gordon Lightfoot's song The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, whose tune Back home in Derry uses, came first.

Before he left, Mike sang Bristol Channel Jamboree. I only mention it because it gives me a chance to link to that recording of the Bristol Shantymen, of which Mike is a member, though he doesn't appear on this occasion.

When Mike announced that we should sing his songs next week in his absence, Derek was somewhat put out because he likes to be topical where possible, and he has several songs for 20 September that have nothing to do with Mike, and he couldn't possibly sing them at another time. To compensate, it seems, Derek immediately started next week's theme by singing What's the life of a man. Apparently the last time he sang that was in June 2001, at his first wife's funeral.

Richard closed the session with Cape Cod girls.

Here's a selection of these songs plus some others sung during the session.