Bonfire Night 2016

NOBODY LOVES ME
'Nobody loves me. I'm going into the garden to eat worms.
Yesterday I ate two smooth ones and one woolly one.'

Before proceeding with the report of last week's session I will get the parish notices out of the way.

This week's session is on 11 November, so it is obviously going to be our Remembrance event. Whetehr you want to sing of war, anti-war, banning bombs, remembrance, poppies (red or white), or anything even vaguely related, this is the week to do it.

A slightly early notice to make sure as many people as possible are aware of it. We will not be at our usual venue of The New Inn on 2 December. Instead we will be at our previous venue, The Bridge, Shortwood. Those of you who have been coming to The Dragon Folk Club for a while will know that we can expect some good acoustics in the stone-walled room at the side of the pub.

So, back to last week. The theme was Bonfire Night and Campfire Songs. With Colin as MC, Derek started us off with the Nottinghamshire / Derbyshire version of a Guy Fawkes night rhyme: "All the little angels are dressed in white".

Mike was going to struggle with songs to fit the theme, so we persuaded him to start with Firing The Mauretania, which at least included "fire".

Geoff kicked off his contribution with a poem, The Cremation of Sam McGee (Robert Service).

Colin was not short of scout related songs and songs that might be sung around campfires. His first was Richard Digance's Boy Scout Song.

Simon's first effort, The Ballad Of Patch Eye And Meg, was first recorded by a campfire on Michelle Shocked's album, Texas Campfire Tapes. And so, with the small turn-out, our first tour of the room was complete.

Derek chose a song which he learnt from "Jack Elliot's kids", who he recalls, are older than him! It was a slightly less polite version than the one linked here of My Good Old Man (Roud 240).

Geoff, following a camping theme, surprised us with a rendition of that Junior Choice favourite, Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah (words Allan Sherman, music Amilcare Ponchielli).

Mike sang The Prickle Holly Bush (Roud 144, Child 95), which Derek said was the first song he ever sang in public, having been in a school play which made the song into a story. He presumed the song was chosen because once you've learned one verse you have pretty much learned them all.

Colin's American version of Pop Goes The Weasel (Roud 5249) caused a little discussion as did Simon's Lukey's Boat (Roud 1828), a rare sea song in that Mike claimed never to have heard it before (Shh! Don't shout to loud but Simon has sung it at The Dragon Folk Club before).

Mike's last contribution before exiting stage right with Indy was There Were Five Constipated Men In The Bible.

Colin sang Nobody Likes Me (Roud 12764), which it seems is difficult to trace in terms of history. This is a pity because Derek remembers his grandmother having a picture up in her house. I've found someone describing what I believe is the same picture as "a sad child with the caption reading: NOBODY LOVES ME 'Nobody loves me. I'm going into the garden to eat worms. Yesterday I ate two smooth ones and one woolly one.'". Another reference says that the song was "mentioned in print by Charles Scriner's and Son, Copyright 1906".

It was one of those Dragon Folk Club coincidences when Geoff sang The Zoological Gardens. Derek asked if there was any particular reason he sang that song and Geoff indicated it was just a random choice. Derek explained the reason for his question was that he had thought about the song that very morning, he believed for the first time in thirty years and wondered whether they had both heard it on the radio.

It fell to Derek to finish off the evening which he did with She Was Poor But She Was Honest.

Here's a selection of songs sung during this session.

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