Mind your language

The Rosetta Stone (Photo: Tony Hall)

I'm afraid last week's session was marked by a very low turn-out - only four of us to keep the tradition going. Nevertheless we got through a good selection of songs: 37 in total; nowhere near a record but pretty creditable.

Colin, the MC, started off with a song often sung by our friend Gary H: Sea Dog by Bob Zentz, from a poem by Burt Franklin Jenness. Only later did Colin tell us that his personal theme was miserable songs, a theme which Derek, by his own admission, is able to follow anytime without any particular intention and to prove it before it had even been mentioned sang The Twa Brothers (Roud 38, Child 49).

Simon marked the Last Night of the Proms with Isabel Makes Love Upon National Monuments (Jake Thackray - "On the last night of the Promenades she waved to the conductor").

Mike said that his first song, Twankdillo (Roud 2409) was one he learned at school.

Much later, Colin started another theme of foreign language songs (sort of) with Mein Vater Vos Ein Dutchman. Derek met him with Bandiera Rossa and Simon rose to the challenge with Chevaliers De La Table Ronde. Colin returned with the dodgy Welsh of Hob Y Deri Dando and Derek with Sag Mir Wo Die Blumen Sind (the German version of Where Have All The Flowers Gone by Pete Seeger).

Only Derek was left standing on this particular theme by the time he got round to singing a song in Norn, which I think was The Unst Boat Song. In fact he carried on right to the end, closing the evening with As-Tu Connu Le Père Lancelot.

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

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