Royal Wedding or When Harry met Meghan

The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan
(Photo: Implausibleblog)

Last week's session had no official theme but Colin, as MC, immediately declared that he would be singing some wedding songs to mark the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan. Despite some mutterings from our republican contingent everyone present in the end contributed to the theme.

Colin started us off in a wedding direction with Here's To The Couple (JN Maselwa, Pete Seeger) and carried on despite no one initially joining him, with Mairi's Wedding (John Roderick Bannerman, Sir Hugh Roberton), modified for the occasion to Harry's Wedding.

Derek's first obvious contribution to the marriage theme was Lord Thomas And Fair Annet (Roud 4, Child 73) which could be said to have some relevance in including a "brown girl" though that would originally have meant a lady less desirable because she works outdoors. Once on the theme though there was no stopping Derek, whose next song was False Lover Won Back (Roud 201, Child 218).

Keeping up the run on Child ballads, Simon claimed a tenuous spousal link in Geordie (Roud 90, Child 209).

Mike finally capitulated with an apparently naval parody of Side By Side (original by Harry M Woods). Colin continued in a similar style with Get Me To The Church On Time (Frederick Loewe, Alan Jay Lerner).

Derek soldiered on, singing Another Man's Wedding (Roud 567, Laws P31). He may use another of the many titles, including possibly Orange And Blue, but the closest version I found to the words he sang unfortunately doesn't include that line.

Mike referred to Prince Harry's support of the Invictus Games by singing Martin Graebe's song, Peter's Private Army as Harry's...

Geoff maybe first dipped his toe into nuptials, or rather the reverse with Billy Connolly's parody of the Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman song, D.I.V.O.R.C.E. but he got well stuck in with Flash Bang Wallop (David Heneker).

Simon mangled one of his Michelle Shocked repertoire to give us The Ballad Of Patch Eye And "Meghan".

By the time he sang The Keeper (Roud 1519) Colin seemed to think he had run out of wedding songs but Derek cited a theory that the song is about the fates of Henry VIII's wives. I haven't managed to confirm that nor the other question, of its geographical origin, that was raised, but I have traced the earliest known reference to the song in a Broadside of between 1689 and 1709. The next reference to the song introduces the well known call-and-answer chorus. As for the wives of Henry VIII, most who comment seem to think the song is about women rather than deer and that it was at least bawdy enough to be censored by 19th and early 20th century collectors, becoming as it did eventually a song sung by even the youngest school children.

Talking of bawdy, Derek's last song was Nine Times A Night (Roud 18411) and this was followed by the last hurrah of the evening in the shape of Simon singing She Moved Through The Fair (Roud 861).

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

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