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| The Giant's Causeway, County Antrim (Photo: Simon Meeds) |
Last Friday Colin as MC started off well on theme with Tom Lewis' St Patrick's Song.
Mike told us that Simon's Paddy Lay Back (Roud 653) was associated with Liverpool. There is a long quote from Stan Hugill on the subject of the song here. Mike's own first song was Red Haired Mary (Sean McCarthy).
Derek tried, for the first few rounds anyway, to pick songs which actually mentioned St Patrick. His first contribution was How Caesar Was Driven From Ireland (Dominic Behan).
Since so many of the songs had justifiable Irish connections, I will proceed to mention them all.
- Colin - The Galway Farmer (Steve Knightley)
- Simon - Paddy McGinty's Goat (Bert Lee, RP Weston)
Paddy McGinty's Goat isn't really Irish, havign been written by two Englishmen initially for an American called The Two Bobs, but the theme is certainly Irish in a comic Irish way.
- Mike - Nancy Myles (Kevin Sheerin)
- Derek - Three Flowers (Norman G Reddin)
- Colin - The Reason I Left Mullingar (Pat Cooksey)
- Simon - Muirsheen Durkin
- Derek - Shall My Soul Pass Through Old Ireland (Kevin Barry - Roud 6955)
- Colin - Nelson's Farewell ("Galway Joe" Dolan)
- Mike - The JCB Song (Seamus Moore)
- Simon - All For Me Grog (Roud 475)
- Mike - Wild Rover (Roud 1173)
There was some discussion at this point. Derek, who maintains the view that this song originates in East Anglia, asked mike where he got his version from. Derek thought it might be Sam Larner's version from Norfolk. Mike explained that at one time he decided to collect recordings of as many versions of the song as he could find. He knew that someone he encountered in a local club at the time sang it regularly and he thought it may have been from him, though he couldn't remember his name. Alternatively, mike said he had visited Norfolk for folk festivals many times and it could have been there. In fact he thought the "local" singer himself may also have been originally from that part of the world. Mike's words aren't quite the same as Sam's in the linked recording, being "And it's now or never, never no more..." but it's probably close enough.
- Derek - Croppy Boy (Carroll Malone)
- Colin - The Old Turf Fire (Roud 8215)
- Simon - Down By The Sally Gardens (WB Yeats - Roud V28639)
- Mike - The Parting Glass (Roud 3004)
William Cole lists this The Parting Glass as an Irish song (Folk Songs of England, Ireland, Scotland, & Wales). It was well known in both Ireland and Scotland. Before Robert Burns' Auld Lange Syne, this song was the most popular parting song in Scotland.
At this point Derek started playing with the official keeper of the club's records, Colin's mind, singing Croppy boy, but a totally different song to the one he sang on the previous round. This wasn't the end of Derek's fun, read on...
- Derek - Croppy Boy (Roud 1030, Laws J14)
- Colin - Dicey Reilly (Brendan Behan)
- Simon - A Bunch Of Thyme (Roud 3)
- Derek - Fáinne Geal An Lae
- Colin - Whiskey In The Jar (Roud 533, Laws L13A)
I will point out that it is not without justification that I linked to the Thin Lizzy version of Whiskey In The Jar because Colin specifically mentioned that he thought it a travesty when he first heard it but that it grew on him. Now, I like that version and indeed I once saw Phil Lynott play live, but if you aren't so keen, just be pleased that I didn't link the version from Metallica. Non-folk trivia fact of the week - Phil Lynott was Leslie Crowther's son-in-law.
Whiskey In The Jar was also the first of several songs sung that had previously been suggested to and rejected by Mike as Irish songs that he might sing when he thought he was running out of material. By now though Mike and trusty canine companion Indy had left the building.
- Simon - Black Velvet Band (Roud 2146)
- Derek - The Minstrel Boy (Thomas Moore - Roud 13867)
- Colin - The Curragh Of Kildare (Roud 583)
- Simon - Bucketful Of Mountain Dew (Roud 938)
- Derek - Dawning Of The Day (Brian O'Higgins)
Dawning of The Day was another of Derek's tricks on Colin though not as obvious as Croppy Boy. Derek correctly guessed that, as usually happens, Colin had recorded Fáinne Geal An Lae from two rounds earlier as Dawning Of The Day because its English words contain that phrase - an easy mistake to make but this is the song that goes by that title. On previous occasions when Derek has sung it I have been able to link to a recording but that recording has now been taken off YouTube and I'm afraid I haven't been able to find another.
- Colin - Monto (Take Her Up To Monto) (George Desmond Hodnett)
- Simon - Cockles And Mussels (Roud 16932)
Finally, Derek finished off the evening by singing Finnegan's Wake (Roud 1009, Laws Q17) at breakneck speed - really, it has to be heard to be believed. Happily, no necks were broken in the process.
Here's a selection of songs sung during this session.
(Number of people present - 4, of whom 4 performed)
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