The lonely singer

(Photo: Simon Meeds)

"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

Last week's session was unfortunate in two ways. First and most importantly Jan N, an excellent performer, singer and guitarist, turned up slightly early to The Bridge Inn and because of a misunderstanding was turned away by the landlady. We have been trying to get Jan to come down to the Dragon Folk Club for several years and for this to happen is awful. There is a lesson to be learnt. We must tell newcomers, if it isn't obvious how to find us in the pool room, or if we aren't there yet, please tell the staff you are there for the Dragon Folk Club.

That unfortunate incident led to the second... Simon, who was due to be MC for the evening, was on his own. He sang some songs to himself before calling it a night at about 10pm. This leads to the philosophical quote above. Did he really sing? Trust me, he did, and he sang some songs he hadn't previous sung in public... errr, well he still hasn't really, so you'll have to take my word for that as well. Let's call it a practise session.

All of the songs he sang are in the linked playlist (see "a selection" below) except one. It was written about Simon by our friend Richard Gillion - The dodgy Doombar.

Let's hope for more people next week. In theory there should be at least three of us. We'll be able to raise the roof anyway, so why not come along to sing, play, recite or even just to listen (I'm sure we'll get you singing along to choruses) and we can absolutely smash those roof tiles.

Now listen to a selection of songs sung during this session.

(Number of people present - 1 of whom 1 performed)

Two men went to sing

Glen Etive (Photo: Simon Meeds)

Sorry for a very brief report this week. I seem to have run out of time with various other jobs to do.

Last week's Dragon Folk Club session was again depleted to a total of two singers yet we managed plenty of chat and still had time to sing 19 songs between us. As usual you can find an indication of those songs in the playlist linked below.

Your presence and voice are really needed for this Friday's session otherwise it could be a very lonely sing. If one man sings to himself in a room and no one is there to hear, has he really sung at all?

Now listen to a selection of songs sung during this session.

(Number of people present - 2 of whom 2 performed)

Ray remembered

Last week's session mustered only two singers, but they each sang thirteen songs, which isn't bad going. Twenty three of them are represented in the playlist linked below.

Colin started the evening by singing Granny's old armchair (roud 1195) which he said he knew from the singing of our late friend Ray Croll and nowhere else. It turns out that it was written around John Read 1879 by John Read and was popular in the music halls. It returned to fame in the folk revival of the 1960s having been being kept alive among others by traditional singers Fred Jordan and Walter Pardon.

Simon had been listening to Radio 4. One programme was about people who have been influenced by the singing of Kate Bush, one of which was Bristol singer Katy J Pearson. Although her styl;e may resemble Bush, Simon thought Pearson's voice was more like that of Nanci Griffith. Another programme was Last Word which featured an obituary of Loretta Lynn. Simon brought these two (and indeed listening to the radio albeit talk rather than music) together by singing Griffith's song Listen to the radio.

Colin continued by consciously and unconsciously singing songs from the repertoire of Ray Roll and his wife Vee. I won't catch them all, but the next, from Vee, was Get a little table (Harry Linn, William Sim - 1882). Another from Ray's singing was Girl from the hiring fair (Ralph McTell).

Colin sang Come by the hills (W Gordon Smith) which we thought may have been one in Ray's repertoire, but we weren't sure.

Simon had been notable in not singing any Ray Croll songs. He often sings Rudyard Kipling's The smuggler's song, but wasn't prepared. When asked to close the session it was only after deciding which song to sing that he realised it was in fact from Ray's repertoire: Wee dark engine room (Harry Robertson).

Now listen to a selection of songs sung during this session.

(Number of people present - 2 of whom 2 performed)

Harvest 2022

(Photo: Simon Meeds)

Last week's Dragon Folk Club session had our annual Harvest theme. The theme is no longer compulsory as it once was and wasn't this year accompanied by a feast and a vegetable auction, but harvest and autumn songs were in evidence from at least two of our singers.

Colin, MC as usual, started us off with All of a row (roud 1474). Geoff declared himself off-topic and sang Keith's hit song, 98.6 (George Fischoff, Tony Powers). Simon followed that with Alan Bell's Windmills.

We had at least three songs from the singing of The Yetties: Colin sang Dorset is Beautiful (Bob Gale) and All the good things (Bonny Sartin), and Simon sang Buttercup Joe (roud 1635).

Simon pointed out that the closest Geoff came to a harvest song may have been Golden Brown (Hugh Cornwell, Jean-Jacques Burnel, Dave Greenfield, Jet Black), which is about heroin (not cocaine as suggested on the night).

By that time Simon himself had moved temporarily into the "harvest of the sea" with The Candlelight fisherman (roud 1852) and The Bergen (Jez Lowe).

Colin sang two versions of John Barleycorn: Steeleye Span's version of (roud 164) and later roud 2141.

It seemed that Simon had peaked too early, singing his usual finishing-off song When all men sing (Keith Scowcroft, Derek Gifford), but he kept one in the bag for the end of the evening: Wild mountain thyme (Francis McPeake - roud 541).

Now listen to a selection of songs sung during this session.

(Number of people present - 3 of whom 3 performed)