Halloween 2023

Stanton Drew stone circle and church
(Photo: Simon Meeds)

Last week's Dragon Folk Club session was our annual Halloween themed evening. This Friday (3rd November) will be Guy Fawkes, Bonfire Night, Campfire Songs and anything else related that you can think of. Yes, we really are in theme season with more to come very soon.

Back to last week, there were seven singers, which isn't too shabby. A good variety of songs were sung including plenty on theme or close to it. I won't attempt to comment on who hit the theme and who didn't because in some cases it would be debatable anyway. In any case I'm short of time so it's a brief report this week and I suggest you give the playlist linked below from "a selection" a listen and see for yourself what we did.

A brief run-down of the first rotation gives us:

• Chris - The lark in the clear air (roud 24791 - Sir Samuel Ferguson)
• Roger - Woad (roud 24978 - William Hope-Jones)
• John - Satan, your kingdom must come down (roud 5737)
• Colin - The devil's nine questions (roud 161, child 1) - a version of Riddles wisely expounded
• Paul - Sweet William's ghost (roud 50, child 77)
• Denny - The wizard of Alderley Edge (Pete Coe)
• Simon - The souling song (roud 304)

Songs new to the Dragon database, but not necessarily to the club were:

• John - Into the mystic (Van Morrison)
• John - Where the streets have no name (Bono, U2)
• Colin - The cockroach that ate Cincinatti (Doug Drill)
• Colin - Farmer's curst wife (roud 160) - an American version of The devil and the farmer's wife

Simon finished the evening with the challenging sing-along which is The burning times (Charlie Murphy).

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

(Number of people present - 7 of whom 7 performed)

Harvest 2023

(Photo: Simon Meeds)

There was a great turn-out for our 2023 Harvest themed session at the Dragon Folk Club. Our traditional spread of food was supplied with great thanks to Sara, our late friend Geoff's daughter, who arranged to leave the left-overs from his wake for us. Four of our number had attended the funeral and wake earlier in the day.

We welcomed occasional visitors Carrie and Stuart as well as a good complement of eight of our regulars.

This week's session will once again have a theme. This time it is Halloween.

Colin was MC, but it was Carrie and Stuart who stared off the evening with Come all you fair and tender ladies (* roud 451). I'll mark songs new to the Dragon database with an asterisk (*) and songs on the theme with an at sign (@).

Carrie and Stuart being a duo were, as usual, required to contribute two songs per rotation and their second was Yellow (* Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman, Will Champion).

Colin was first on theme with All of a row (@ roud 1474). Sue hit the target with Fields of gold (@ Sting).

Bob, self-declaring as "miserable as usual", gave us Livin' with the blues (Brownie McGhee).

Paul referred us to the upcoming 218th anniversary of Admiral Lord Nelson's demise by singing The death of Nelson (roud 18837).

We'll give Denny credit for her Good English ale (@ roud 1512) on the basis it mentions various types of produce.

Chris gave us a very sweetly sung rendition of The Eriskay love lilt and Roger seemed to be Doin' what comes natur'lly (* Irving Berlin).

Simon returned to the theme, taking a leaf out of our friend Mike's songbook with John Barleycorn (roud 164) to the tune Wir pflügen (We plough the fields and scatter).

And so the first marathon rotation came to an end.

I will list the further songs which hit the theme (sorry for any I miss) together with a few others which didn't:

• Carrie and Stuart - Ghost (* Kate Rusby)
• Colin - Man in green (@ Steve Knightley)
• Bob and Sue - Tina Louise (* Kevin "Blackie" Farrell)
• Paul - Country life (@ roud 1752)
• Denny - Hey John Barleycorn (@ roud 2141)
• Simon - Buttercup Joe (@ roud 1635)
• Carrie - Autumn Leaves (@ Joseph Kosma, Johnny Mercer)
• Colin - All the good things are dead and gone (* Bonny Sartin) - The only song of the evening not in the linked "a selection" playlist
• Paul - The farmer's toast (@ roud 1603)
• Denny - I can hew boys (@ Dave Dodds) - Denny claimed it was about a "mineral harvest".
• Simon - Windmills (@ Alan Bell)

Colin finished the evening with Flying high, flying free (@ Leon Rosselson)

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

(Number of people present - 10 of whom 10 performed)

Absent friends

Geoff Gammon (Photo: Simon Meeds)

As you may have seen in the previous week's blog report, we heard last week of the recent death of our friend Geoff Gammon who had been coming along to the Dragon Folk Club since September 2016. Last week's Dragon Folk Club session included quite a number of songs from Geoff's repertoire.

Remember that this week's session on Friday 20th October 2023 has the optional theme of Harvest. So if you have any songs of farming, the countryside, plenty, even about fishing, now is the time to bring them out. All following of the theme, however tenuous, will be considered, and if you can't follow the theme then come along and sing, play or otherwise perform anyway.

As usual, I've tried to mention songs new to the Dragon database (*), though not necessarily to the club as well as those songs from Geoff's repertoire (@). So in order to avoid repetition, those are the symbols I will use to indicate them.

With Colin as MC we set off with the first song coming from Chris: She's like the swallow (roud 2306).

Roger sang Ramona (* roud 25739 - L Wolfe Gilbert, Mabel Wayne) in the style of the Bristol accent (complete with the Bristol "L").

John's first song was Lou Reed's Oh! Sweet nuthin'.

Colin, unwittingly, was the first to contribute to the selection of songs from Geoff's repertoire with Being a pirate (@ Don Freed).

Denny sang The bunch of thyme (roud 3) and Paul followed with Love farewell (roud 1301).

Simon sang only songs from Geoff's repertoire throughout the evening, starting with All around my hat (@ roud 22518).

Starting the second rotation, Chris gave us The banks o' Doon (roud 13889 - Robert Burns).

Former guardsman Roger took out his harmonica and spelt out his day with Reveille (*) and Sunset (*).

Colin referred to Geoff's performances of Pat Cooksey's The sick note by giving us Stanley Accrington's Sicknote: the reply (*). Sorry, there's no recording of it either here or in the playlist linked from "a selection" below.

Denny didn't claim that Geoff had sung Fiddlers' Green (John Conolly) and I can't find any record that he had, but she said it reminded her of him somehow. Paul however sang Lament for the fishing (@), written by former Dragon Derek Brinkley, which Geoff certainly sang. Sorry this is another with out a recording, and indeed one without a definite agreed tune (see Derek's 'Young Buchan' comments at the linked Mudcat thread).

Simon's next song was Battle of New Orleans (@ roud 17913 - Jimmy Driftwood).

Roger acknowledged that he risked a forfeit for singing Wild Rover (@ roud 1173). Don't worry, we don't do forfeits here.

Simon sang Robert Coltart's jingle for his confectionery business, Coulter's candy (@ roud 19019).

Chris surprised and amazed us all by reciting Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky (*). It seemed Roger was following in a similar line of thought with an excerpt from John Donne's Meditation XVII (*), but he followed that short piece with Ralph McTell's Streets of London (@).

Colin sang Peter Sarstedt's Where do you go to my lovely (@) and Simon gave us Bob Dylan's Blowin' in the wind (@).

Colin's next song, new to the Dragon database, was Soon may the Wellerman come (*). This song from New Zealand was popularised in 2021 when Scottish postman, Nathan Evans, published a video of him singing it on TikTok. The video went viral, and despite the song not being a shanty, a new wave of popularity for shanties was born. The Wellerman of the song is an employee of the Weller brothers, Englishmen of Sydney, Australia, and Otago, New Zealand, who were the founders of a whaling station on Otago Harbour and were New Zealand's most substantial merchant traders in the 1830s. New Zealand–based music teacher and folk music compiler Neil Colquhoun claimed to have collected the song around 1966 from one F. R. Woods. Woods, who was in his 80s at the time, had allegedly heard the song, as well as the song John Smith A.B., from his uncle.

Simon's last contribution of the evening was Black velvet band (@ roud 2146).

Colin finished off the evening with Stan Rogers' Mary Ellen Carter.

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

(Number of people present - 7 of whom 7 performed)

Sad news and happier

Geoff Gammon
(Photo: Simon Meeds)

It was an excellent turn-out at the Dragon Folk Club last week. That's not to say we wouldn't welcome more, but it was a refreshing change to have so many people to bounce ideas and songs off.

Before we get to the report proper I have two important pieces of news.

We have heard this week of the recent death of our friend Geoff Gammon who made his first appearance at the club on 9th September 2016 and quickly became a regular. While doctors had managed to keep his long-term illness at bay for several years it had recently caught up with him and he had become only an occasional visitor to The Bridge. Our thoughts are with his daughter Sara and all his family.

A happier, piece of news is that we are entering the autumn/ winter theme season for the club. While we will continue to meet every Friday with the possible exception of one or two around Christmas and New Year (watch this space for news on that) there are some particular dates for your diary. These themes are entirely voluntary. If you can find a few songs to fit then that's great, if not then turn up anyway and do whatever you fancy.

• 20th October - Harvest (gathering, plenty, agriculture, countryside)
• 27th October - Halloween (All Saints, spooky, horror, etc.)
• 3rd November - Guy Fawkes / Bonfire Night (including campfire songs)
• 10th November - Remembrance (war, anti-war, etc.)
• 1st December - St Andrew (Scotland, etc.)
• 15th December - Christmas (including bah humbug)

(Songs new to the Dragon database, though not necessarily always new to the club are marked with an asterisk "*")

As usual Colin was MC and started the session, this time singing Games people play (* Joe South).

John was next up with Bob Dylan's Blind Willie McTell about the Piedmont blues and ragtime singer and guitarist of that name and the prejudice experienced by African Americans such as him in the first half of the 20th century.

Stan introduced us to Marty Robbins' Man walks among us (*).

Simon sang Leon Rosselson's song of the diggers, The world turned upside down.

Rob often takes traditional ballads and writes an alternative version of the story or one which explains missing links in the original. His riff on Long Lankin (roud 6, child 93) is Lord Weary and the mason. The linked video is entitled "Lord Murray and the mason" because a friend of Rob's persuaded him that might be less confusing, but Rob later reverted to the original title and lyric.

Chris sang the first traditional song of the evening with The three ravens (roud 5, child 26).

Roger briefly sang what I believe was an extract from Paddy McGinty's goat. It's worth noting that this song, while seeming to be Irish, was in fact written by two English music hall composers, Bert Lee and RP Weston, for an American vaudeville act performing in the UK, The Two Bobs.

Denny offered up Pretty Saro (roud 417) followed by Paul bringing the first rotation to an end with Waking dreams (roud 22620).

Colin recalled our late friend Phil by singing from his repertoire Plastic Jesus (Ed Rush, George Cromarty).

Chris sang David of the white rock (*), the English version of Dafydd y Garreg Wen with tune by Welsh harpist David Owen and (Welsh) words by John Caeiriog Hughes.

Roger followed this, referring to the jazz funerals of New Orleans and singing When the saints go marching in (* roud 13983).

Colin gave us Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger's Nova Scotian mining disaster song The ballad of Springhill (*).

Chris added to her tally with The spinning wheel (* roud 17647 - John Francis Waller).

Colin sang the only song of the evening not in the YouTube playlist linked below as "a selection", and that was Graeme Miles' The Whitby girl's lament.

Stan reminded us of Elvis by singing The wonder of you (* Baker Knight), first recorded by Ray Peterson.

Rob has recently spread his net beyond his usual ballads and shanties to include some Americana, which he demonstrated to us with Poor Wayfaring stranger (* roud 3339). And finally, it also fell to Rob to finish the evening which he did with Nassau Bound (roud 15634), the original version of the well known Sloop John B from the singing of Tom Lewis.

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

(Number of people present - 9 of whom 9 performed)

Rhubarb, rhubarb

Rhubarb (Photo: yems Dinn)

We're managing quite well at the Dragon Folk Club under the new management of The Bridge Inn. We had seven singers last week and the usual varied mix of songs... and one poem. You can listen to all but the poem by following the "a selection" link below, but first a few scant details of what went on.

Colin, the MC, started off the singing with Tom Paxton's Bottle of wine. This was the first of several songs new to the Dragon database - though as usual, not necessarily new to the club. Subsequent songs new to the database will be marked with an asterisk (*).

John followed on with U2's I still haven't found what I'm looking for (* Bono).

Simon's first song of the evening was Drill ye tarriers drill (roud 4401 - Thomas Casey, Charles Connolly).

Sue brought us Island in the sun (Harry Belafonte, Irving Burgie) and Bob followed her with Went to the river (roud 469).

Chris ventured Cockles and mussels (* roud 16932) and Roger sang Mountains of Mourne (Percy French).

And so the baton returned to Colin, who sparked memories for at least two of the other singers with Malvina Reynolds' Little boxes (*).

If it need to be proved, John showed how eclectic we could be with You can't always get what you want (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards).

Bob and Sue followed up on Sue's Gatherin' rhubarb of the previous week with John Fogerty's Rhubarb pie (*). With a Kipper Family song (Not sixteen til Sunday) from Colin, and Simon diddling the theme from Roobarb and Custard, I think we could almost have ourselves a rhubarb theme.

Chris gave us the one item of the evening which is not on the linked YouTube playlist: a peom which she wrote herself entitled evening. Roger meanwhile was Makin' whoopie (*) with the song written by Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn, and originally performed by Eddie Cantor.

I'm not sure how Chris' The lark in the clear air (* roud 24791 - Sir Samuel Ferguson) had managed to stay out of the Dragon database until now.

It was Colin who finished off the night with the sing-along Air fa la la lo (a traditional gaelic song translated by Hugh S Roberton).

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

(Number of people present - 7 of whom 7 performed)