Lancashire Day 2023

The flag of the historic county of Lancashire

It wasn't meant to be an official theme at last week's Dragon Folk Club session, but the suggestion of marking 27th November's Lancashire Day was so well followed that the title has been adopted for this report. For the purposes of the evening we assumed "Lancashire" to mean the historic county, including therefore the cities of Manchester and Liverpool, which made things a little easier.

This Friday's session (1st December) will have an official theme, which will be St Andrew's Day. The actual event falling just one day before on 30th November. Scotland is the obvious direction to go, but bear in mind Andrew's other patronages, which include: Barbados, Georgia, Ukraine, Russia, Greece, Cyprus, Romania, and Prussia; fishermen, fishmongers, rope-makers, textile workers, singers, miners, pregnant women, butchers, farm workers, and the Russian Navy. He is also said to offer protection against sore throats, convulsions, fever, and whooping cough. That should give you plenty to go on.

As always the theme is something to aim for, but it's better to sing off-topic than not to sing at all.

Back to last week's session Colin was MC over a good crowd of nine singers and it was Simon who started things off wholly on topic with Uncle Joe's Mintballs (Mike Harding). Colin also followed the theme with Fivepenny Piece's Ee by gum (* John Meeks, Colin Radcliffe, Eddie Crotty). This latter song was the first of a whole eighteen performances of the evening not previously entered into the Dragon database - though some may have been sung at the club before. These are all marked with an asterisk (*).

Sue and Bob had both penned their own songs earlier in the day, contemplating how much they enjoyed coming to the Dragon, but how cold it could be through the winter. If you're coming to the club around this time of year do wrap up well. Sue's song from this effort was A chilly song (* Sue) which understandably clearly isn't available on YouTube.

Bob sought to warm us up a bit with Fireball Mail (Fred Rose, Floyd Jenkins). Note that "Floyd Jenkins" is a pseudonym for Fred Rose.

Stan reintroduced us to Jim Reeves with Welcome to my world (* Ray Winkler, John Hathcock).

Paul returned us to Lancashire with Old Pendle (* Milton Lambert, Allen Lambert, Ted Edwards) and Denny moved us on to Blackpool with The Lion and Albert (Marriott Edgar).

Stuart and Carrie performing as a duo were asked to sing two songs so they gave us When the levee breaks (* roud 21698 - Kansas Joe McCoy, Memphis Minnie) and Rain and snow (* roud 3634).

This brought us to the end of the first rotation. I will list some of the songs that need to be mentioned, but you can listen to most of these and the rest via the YouTube playlist linked from "a selection" below.

• Simon - The transplant squad was written by Richard Stilgoe, who was brought up in Liverpool. The song is not yet on YouTube
• Bob had just written Polar bear blues (*), another song obviously not available on YouTube
• Stan - I can't help it (if I'm still in love with you) - (* Hank Williams)
• Paul - The Wyre Waterside (* Alan Bell)
• Denny - Albert's return (* Marriott Edgar) - like its prequel, based in Blackpool
• Stuart and Carrie - I almost lost my mind (* Ivory Joe Hunter)
• Colin - Last train (* Stanley Accrington)
• Stan - I'd really love to see you tonight (* Parker McGee)
• Carrie - Johnny has gone for a soldier (* roud 911)
• Colin - If you ever go across the sea... to Liverpool,  a parody of Galway Bay which is not available on YouTube
• Sue - Eleanor Rigby (* John Lennon, Paul McCartney)
• Bob - Sweet little Lisa (* Hank DeVito, Donivan Cowart, Walter Cowart)

Stan was asked to finish off the evening, which he did with You don't know me (* Eddy Arnold, Cindy Walker).

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

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

Children in need 2023

The original BBC Children in Need
Pudsey Bear (1985)

Last week's Dragon Folk Club session didn't have an official theme, but I had suggested in the previous week's report that people might like to take some inspiration from the BBC Children in Need appeal which would hit its climax on that day. There was some ambivalence in the room about the appeal itself, but no problem for most people of considering childhood an influence for the session.

Again there is no official theme this week (Friday 24th November 2023), but it has been suggested that Lancashire Day which falls on 27th might be a suitable inspiration.

Colin was MC as usual at last week's session, but the first to sing was Chris with To a wild rose (*) which is the first piece from Woodland Sketches, Op. 51 of Edward MacDowell. This was also the first song of the evening not previously in the Dragon database. As usual this doesn't necessarily mean it hasn't been sung before at the club. All such songs are marked here with an asterisk (*).

Roger followed on, with help from Chris, singing I'll see you again (* Noël Coward).

Colin was on theme with Teach your children (Graham Nash).

Sue's first of the evening, on theme at least by being in an edition of Singing Together, was Yellow bird (Michel Mauléart Monton, Oswald Durand). Bob followed up with Hawaiiian Blues (Sid Tepper, Roy C Bennett), the first of three songs of the evening from the singing of Commander Cody And His Lost Planet Airmen.

Simon finished off the first rotation with Michelle Shocked's The ballad of Patch Eye and Meg.

Other songs which must be mentioned are:

• Denny - I wan'na be like you (the monkey song) - (* Robert and Richard Sherman)
• Roger - My dearest dear (* Ivor Novello, Christopher Hassall)
• Sue and Bob - Rose Garden (* Joe South)
• Sue and Bob - Teddy Bear (* Kal Mann, Bernie Lowe)

Paul sang his own Close the dentist's door, based on Alex Glasgow's Close the coalhouse door lad.

• Denny - White horses (* Michael Carr, Ben Nisbet)

Chris recited Pam Ayres' poem Like you would (*), which unfortunately doesn't feature in the YouTube playlist linked from "a selection" below.

• Bob - Orange Blossom Special (* Ervin T Rouse)
• Denny - As tears go by (* Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Andrew Loog Oldham)
• Colin - The jeely piece song (* Adam McNaughtan)
• Bob - Back to Tennessee (* Billy Ray Cyrus, Tamara Dunn, Matthew Wilder)
• Denny - How much is that doggie in the window (* Bob Merrill)
• Denny - Teddy bears' picnic (* John Walter Bratton, Jimmy Kennedy)

The evening was drawn to a close with Simon singing Flanders and Swann's The hippopotamus song.

I make that a total of 45 performances during the evening (44 songs and a poem), which must be close to the Dragon Folk Club record - I have a feeling the record is 47, but I may be wrong.

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

(Number of people present - 8 of whom 8 performed)

Remembrance 2023

Thumper and Vera (Photo: Simon Meeds)

Last week's Dragon Folk Club session was our annual remembrance theme. We now have a couple of weeks' hiatus in the theme season before it returns with St Andrew's Day on 1st December (the actual day is 30th November). Meanwhile though we can always manufacture unofficial themes. This Friday, 17th November, is for example BBC Children in Need, and next week, Friday 24th, is the closest Dragon session to Lancashire Day which is on 27th.

Back to last week, we had many offerings on or close to the remembrance theme. I won't pick them out for fear of missing some or misidentifying others. You can listen to the YouTube playlist linked from "a selection" below and make up your own mind. I will however mention those, identified with an asterisk (*), which are new to the Dragon database if not necessarily to the club.

Colin was the MC as usual and started us off with Salonika (roud 10513).

Roger's emotional first song, despite being by popular American singer songwriter, Don McLean, was new to most of us with the simple title of 1967 (*). Roger dedicated it to a former police colleague killed in the line of duty.

Chris gave us Pete Seeger's anti-war song, Where have all the flowers gone. It was Joe Hickerson who added to the lyrics to give it a circular theme.

Denny sang one of those old songs where the chorus is several hundred times more well known than the verses, and therefore keeps its light under a bushel until we get there, appropriately in the case of Keep the home fires burning (roud 25763 - Ivor Novello, Lena Guilbert Ford *).

Simon had come prepared with two more anniversaries which he wanted to get out of the way first. He brought the first rotation to a close with The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (Gordon Lightfoot), about the ship of that name which sank in Lake Superior on 10th November 1975. His second anniversary was the 80th birthday of Joni Mitchell on 7th November, which he marked by singing her 1969 song Woodstock.

The remaining songs new to the database were:

• Roger - Roses of Picardy (roud 25454 - Frederick Weatherly, Haydn Wood)
• Colin - As if he knows (Eric Bogle)
• Roger - Kohima Epitaph (John Maxwell Edmonds), more correctly labelled as For a British graveyard in France. Roger combined this with The last post on the harmonica.
• Colin - The Malvinas (Dave Rogers)
• Colin - Full moon over Mozambique (Garth Hewitt) - the only song performed that arenisn't in the "a selection" playlist
• Colin - War without bangs (Geoff Pearson)
• Denny - The shores of old Blighty (Graeme Miles)
• Colin - The sun is burning (Ian Campbell)

Simon completed the evening with Phil Ochs' There but for fortune.

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

(Number of people present - 5 of whom 5 performed)

Bonfire Night 2023

NOBODY LOVES ME

'Nobody loves me.

I'm going into the garden to eat worms.

Yesterday I ate two smooth ones and one woolly one.'

Once again I have limited time to complete the blog report for the Dragon Folk Club last week, so pardon me if it is slightly shorter and more terse than usual. Since we are in theme season last week's was Bonfire Night including campfire songs, community songs and anything else vaguely connected. This week's session (10 November 2023) also has a theme which is Remembrance. That could be songs, tunes, poems, stories or whatever on war, anti-war, remembrance, songs used in wartime by soldiers, sailors or airmen, or to keep the spirits up of the civilians back at home. Pretty much anything goes with the usual proviso that it must be acoustic.

Back to last week, I won't single out which songs were or were not on theme. I'll leave that to you to decide. That may be easier if you watch and listen to the videos in the YouTube playlist linked from "a selection" at the end of the report.

Colin was MC, but he deferred to Neil for the first song which turned out to be Galway shawl (roud 2737) after which it was back to Colin for Oh, how the money rolls in (* roud 10143). The latter was the first song of the evening which was new to the Dragon database. Subsequent such songs are marked with an asterisk (*). They may or may not be new to the club, but most songs sung here since August 2018 are in there - the club has been going since 1969.

Next was Denny with Land of the silver birch (* roud 4550), which is new to the database but definitely not to the club. Paul continued with Here we sit like birds in the wilderness (* roud 19557) - more of that later.

Simon subtly joined the theme with John Denver's Rocky mountain high.

From Bob we got See see rider (* Ma Rainey, Lena Arant) and from Sue Riders in the sky (Stan Jones).

After a light aberration of ordering Rob actually sang between Bob and Sue, but we can bring our record of the first rotation to an end with his own song, Magic on the wind, which in his own words "is distantly related to child 39", which is Tam Lin.

I'll continue with a list of the remaining songs new to the Dragon database:

• Neil - Twa Corbies (* roud 5, child 26), a Scottish version of The three ravens which was in the database, so this is only a half score
• Rob - You will burn (* Peter Knight)
• Neil - Sunday after the war (* Daniel Kahn)
• Denny - Kookaburra (* roud 36114 - Marion Sinclair)
• Rob - Martinmas time (* roud 54, child 84)
• Denny - Nobody likes me (* roud 12764), new to the database but last sung at the club for Bonfire Night 2016
• Neil - Cable Street (* Michael Hughes, Sean Cooney, David Eagle)
• Paul - gave us another version of Here we sit like birds in the wilderness (* roud 19557) where the waiting is specifically to be fed

Rob saw us off with his own pet version of The herring song (roud 128), which I think we can categorise as a mash-up of the version sung by Mikeen McCarthy and a chorus based on the version sung by John Roberts and Tony Barrand.

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

(Number of people present - 8 of whom 8 performed)