Digging deep

William Keating being recorded in the Pottsville Public Library
(Photograph from the George Korson Collection,
American Folklife Center, Library of Congress)

After a Friday where snow stopped play for the players of the Dragon Folk Club, we were back at the folk face again last week though somewhat depleted in numbers.

Colin, the MC, started the session off with Midnight Special (Roud 6364), a song made famous by Lead Belly. There followed Simon's opener which was King Of Rome (Dave Sudbury).

Derek pointed out that I had incorrectly linked in a recent report to Ewan MacColl's Jamie Foyers rather than the traditional Jamie Foyers (Roud 1941). Apparently in an attempt to annoy me, this week Derek sang the MacColl version but I remain cool. The traditional song is set during the Peninsular War of 1807-1814, whereas MacColl's song, based on the original, is set during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939.

Mike continued on the war thread with Mrs McGrath (Roud 678). Note that the correct pronunciation is more like "McGraa" rather than Pete Seeger's "McGrath", and certainly not the fully Americanised "McGraw".

It probably shows my lack of knowledge of the folk revival of the 1960s (I was only a baby) that it took me ages to trace Colin's second song but I got there in the end. There was a short conversation about sex toys and possible similarity to parts of the spinning wheel but that didn't help me. Finally I worked out that it was the Droylsden Wakes (Roud 3290).

We didn't have a theme for the evening but as often happens, one emerged quite unintentionally. At least when Derek sang Farewell To The Monty (Johnny Handle) I'm pretty sure he hadn't meant to start something but one mining song just led to another. First it was Mike with The Miner's Lifeguard (Roud 3510) then it was Colin with Ian Campbell's Canny Lad The Miner. Then Simon came up with Merle Travis' Dark As A Dungeon and before we knew it we had done a round of the room underground.

Of course it didn't stop there, with Derek singing The Coal Owner And The Pitman's Wife written by William Hornsby of Shotton Moor on the occasion of a miner's strike in Durham in 1844. The song was unearthed by a miner from Whiston in Lancashire in 1951 and popularised by A. L. Lloyd.

mike went for went down Morley Main to tell of a mining disaster in the words of Keith Marsden and Colin went stateside to Oak Hill for Down Down Down (William E Keating - Roud 4758). Follow the link to Keating for an interesting account of his life.

Derek was the last man standing on the theme, contributing two fro the pen of Roger Watson: The Invalid Miner and Number Two Top Seam.

With our numbers diminishing even further and the night being cold, Simon finished off with the appropriately chilly Northwest Passage (Stan Rogers).

So we come to this week's session (15 February) and being just the day after Valentine's Day, there will be the usual Valentine's theme of love and lust so get out your appropriate songs whether sweet, lusty or bawdy and come down to The Bridge on Friday.

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

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