New face, new songs

A plover catcher on Cowbit Wash in the 1890s

It was great to have a new singer join us at last week's Dragon Folk Club session. Perhaps you could be the new face this week if you join us on Friday at The Bridge. Even if you've been before you will be very welcome.

Colin, back in the MC's chair, started us off with The times they are a changin'... not Bob Dylan's famous song, but a parody written by Garrison Keillor in honour of Dylan's 60th birthday in 2001. Colin sang it on the occasion of Dylan's 83rd birthday.

Simon, caught slightly on the hop, resorted to the unseasonable Down our street. Bob followed with Matchbox which is listed as written by Carl Perkins, but I suspect Bob was influenced more by the earlier Match Box Blues which I've linked.

We were soon joined by the newcomer of the evening, Roger, and as is customary, I will mention all of the songs which he sang, four of which are new to the Dragon database (though not necessarily new to the club) as indicated with an asterisk:

• If I were a carpenter (Tim Hardin)
• Flora, lily of the west (roud 957 *)
• Morning train (Elaina Mezzetti *)
• 500 miles (Hedy West *)
• Stagger Lee (roud 4183 *)
• What have they done to the rain (Malvina Reynolds)

I'll just briefly mention three other songs we sang and call that it for this week's report.

First I'll mention Simon's singing of Elizabeth Padgett's The Plover Catcher for no reason other than that I have acquired a new photograph appropriate to be used in the feature spot (see above).

Next, the only song of the evening not to appear in the YouTube playlist linked from "a selection" below is Colin's singing of Fred Wedlock's Bums and boobs. This was another song new to the Dragon database.

Finally, the last song of the evening came from Simon and was Stan Rogers' Northwest Passage.

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

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

Ne'er cast a clout

(Photo: Simon Meeds)

We weren't too sure last week whether we would get a good session at the Dragon Folk Club with our usual MC, Colin, being away, but Simon stepped in and we had a pretty good time.

Simon started the ball rolling with The moonshine can (roud 9949). This was followed with the Swinton May song from Denny. Paul thought he might have a new song for the database with Blackbird (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) but that one was just pipped to the post by Colin a few short weeks ago. Steve first song was the Jolly waggoner (roud 1088).

My usual criteria for making special mention of songs doesn't really get me anywhere this time. All thirty six songs we sung were available on YouTube and are therefore included in the playlist linked from "a selection" below, and there was only one sing that was new to the Dragon database (though not necessarily to the club) and that was Lisbon (roud 551, laws N8) which was sung by Denny.

Although we didn't have any more new songs, we did have a few first performances by specific singers to be recorded in the database:

• Paul - The aforementioned Blackbird
• Simon - The keeper (roud 1519)
• Simon - Hotel California (Don Felder, Don Henley, Glenn Frey)
• Simon - Hal an tow (roud 1520)

In pre-database times Simon had definitely sung The keeper and Hotel California, and probably also Hal an tow.

And so we kept on with the singing and the banter until Steve closed the evening with Cyril Tawney's The ballad of Sammy's Bar.

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

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

May there be more

(Photo: Simon Meeds)

We had a fun Dragon Folk Club session last week. There was no official theme but a few emerged. This Friday again there will no theme, but bring you own if you like. Anything goes as long as it's acoustic.

I'm running out of time to get this report out when I like to do so it will be brief this week.

Colin as MC started us off with the Padstow May song (roud 305). Yes Colin adopted May as his theme for most of the evening.

For the first few rounds Simon had a personal theme of the Eurovision Song contest, singing some entries from the 60s and 70s and starting with Dana's winner for Ireland in 1970 All kinds of everything (Derry Lindsay, Jackie Smith).

Steve came in with Just as the tide was flowing (roud 1105).

There were two songs sung which aren't available on YouTube and therefore aren't in the playlist linked from "a selection" below:

• Colin - The maypole - Apparently a Norwegian song ("Gay is the maypole...")
• Steve - When Adam was first created (roud 728)

Simon finished the evening with The L&N don't stop here anymore (Jean Ritchie).

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

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

May-be, may-be not

(Photo: Simon Meeds)

We had a fine session last week at the Dragon Folk Club. There was no official theme so we had plenty of scope for variety. This Friday too there will be no theme so as always anything goes as long as it's acoustic.

In the absence of regular MC Colin, Simon took up the reins, but he was narrowly beaten in his arrival, so the opening song went to Paul who gave us Too old to go back to sea (Rod Smith).

For her first song Denny decided to try some thing new. I think she might have called it Old May song. She had "collected" it the previous week from Jenn Reid who was the support act for Eliza Carthy at Bristol Folk House. Denny spoke to Jenn who told her that the song had been sung by The Oldham Tinkers, a group with which Denny is familiar.

Digging a little further into the song I quickly found that Roud gives it the number 305 in which it is grouped with a number of other May songs. It seems that the song is indeed very old so I think it's worth pointing out a few versions of it and some more information.

In his book "Lancashire Sketches" (1869), Edwin Waugh wrote:

By the way, that phrase, "the drawing near of spring," reminds me of the burden of an ancient May song, peculiar to the people of this district [between Stretford and Flixton, now in Greater Manchester]. In the villages hereabouts, they have an old custom of singing in the month of May; and companies of musicians and "May-singers" go from house to house among their neighbours, on April nights, to sing under their chamber windows this old song about "the drawing near unto the merry month of May." An old man, known in Stretford as a "May-singer," an "her-gatherer," and a "Yule-singer," who gets a scanty living out of the customs of each season of the year as it comes, furnished me with a rough copy of the words and music of this old "May Song." In one verse of the song, each member of the sleeping family is addressed by name in succession,-

Then rise up, Sarah Brundrit, all in your gown of green;

 and as each appears at the window, they are saluted with a "Merry May." Since the time of my visit I have been enabled, through the kindness of John Harland, Esq., F.S.A., to give this old May song, in complete shape, as it appears in his first volume of "Lancashire Ballads," recently published by Mr. Edwin Slater of Manchester.

Waugh goes on to give the full words of the song, which are also available on mudcat.org.

Here are some versions of the song:

• Old May song (The Oldham Tinkers) - included in the "a selection" YouTube playlist linked below because it was Denny's reference
• Swinton May Song (The Watersons)
• Drawing nearer to the merry month of May (The Copper Family)

...and here are two other songs under the roud 305 umbrella from the Dragon database (both sung at the club by Colin):

• May day carol
• Padstow May song

After singing a few verses of the above song Denny stopped because she wasn't happy with her grasp of the tune. Bearing in mind we aren't too fussy about how people stick to tunes and that it sounded OK, there really was nothing to worry about, but she didn't want to continue. Simon suggested that the tune she was singing was reminiscent of "The <fill in colour> cockade", so Denny proceeded to sing The white cockade (roud 709).

The only song of the evening not available for the YouTube playlist linked from "a selection" below was also sung by Denny, and was Wayhill fair. This song comes from a tape she has of The South Bank Grunters. It seems to be related to Weyhill Fair (roud 1086), but isn't so much about horses at the fair.

Having spent a lot of words on one song I will skip straight to the end of the evening. The last three songs were:

• Simon - No sir no (roud 146)
• Paul - Country life (roud 1752)
• Denny - Pleasant and delightful (roud 660, laws O30)

So that's it for another blog report. Remember to keep music live and we'll hope to see you at The Bridge on Friday!

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

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

Saint George's Day 2024

Saint George slaying the dragon
(AI image by Stable Diffusion)

Last week's Dragon Folk Club session had Saint George's Day as its theme. Unfortunately we were still in the midst of a period of absence of some of our stalwarts and so just two singers met to celebrate England's patron saint.

Colin took the obvious, but more challenging approach of singing songs of Saint George, England and dragons. Some were funny, some were irreverent, but all were definitely on topic.

Meanwhile Simon took a broader approach, singing songs on those topics, but also incorporating some of Saint George's other patronages, including soldiers, shepherds, scouting, syphilis and skin diseases (all the "s"s in fact!).

Colin as MC started us off with John Kirkpatrick's Saint George. You may note that the linked recording isn't of John Kirkpatrick, but of Waterson:Carthy. The reason is simple: Colin, mostly like Waterson:Carthy, sang the version of the song from Kirkpatrick's Going Spare album, but all YouTube recordings I've found of him singing his own song it is the later version from his Make No Bones album.

Simon followed with Fathom the bowl (roud 880).

There were a four songs from the evening which don't appear in the YouTube playlist linked from "a selection" below. First came Raise the white dragon of England written by our friend Gary Hopwood and sung by Colin. This is a campaign song for recognition that George was not the original patron Saint of England and that according to Gary the honour goes to Edmund the Martyr. Edmund's cult flourished during the Early and High Middle Ages, and he and Edward the Confessor were regarded as the patron saints of medieval England until they were replaced by Saint George in the 15th century.

The next unrecorded song to be sung was brought to us by Simon from the pen of our friend Richard Gillion, the song being Puff and bold Saint George which has the dragon being a local chap who ends up in the service of the council.

Colin sang a Kipper Family treatment of the theme, The old Saint George (Chris Sugden), and the final un-tubed song was The perils of a carnivorous diet from Colin's own pen.

Simon finished off the evening with Rout of the blues (roud 21098).

This Friday's session will have no theme, so as usual that means any type of performance is just fine as long as it's acoustic.

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

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