St Patrick's Day 2026

At the Dragon Folk Club last week we were just three days late to celebrate St Patrick with an evening of mostly Irish or Irish-connected songs. Despite small numbers of singers and Colin forgetting to bring the words to most of his Irish songs we kept it going with some gusto.

This Friday and for the next couple of weeks it will be reserve MC Simon in the chair. He would very much like it if you could make a special effort to come along whether to perform (anything goes as long as it's acoustic) or to listen, take part in the banter, and maybe join in the odd chorus. To get you thinking here are some suggested optional themes:

•  27th March - Spring and the coming of summer (BST starts on Sunday)
•  3rd April - Good Friday - Anything related to Easter (death, resurrection, rabbits, eggs, etc.)
• 10th April - Numbers (100th day of the year)
•  17th April - World Voice Day - songs about singing?
•  24th April - St George's Day, by which time Colin should be back as MC

Feel free to bring your own theme or none.

Last week Colin started traditionally with Galway farmer (Steve Knightley). Colin had sung exactly this song the week before because, unusually, Cheltenham Festival week did not coincide with St Patrick's Day this year, but he couldn't resist repeating it and that's fine by us.

Paul took us from Cheltenham to Dublin with Cockles and mussels (roud 16932).

Simon completed the first rotation with Ride on (Jimmy McCarthy).

There was just one song sung in the evening that doesn't appear to be available on YouTube and is therefore not included in this week's playlist. That was Liz Draper's Galway drawl (#), clearly a parody of Galway shawl, sung for us by Paul.

Despite many of the songs being the usual suspects, and some so called "folk cheese", which in former days would have gained a black mark from our erstwhile MC, there were a couple that were new to the Dragon database:

•  Colin - The harp without the crown (* roud 7989)
•  Simon - Fisherman's blues (* Mike Scott, Steve Wickham)

Colin finished the session, not literally, with Seven drunken nights (roud 114, child 274) - although more accurately, just the first five of them. 

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

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

In the above report songs new to the Dragon database (though no always new to the club) are marked with an asterisk (*) and any songs not included in the "a selection" playlist are marked with a hash (#).

Mothering Sunday 2026

At Thornbury Carnival 2019
(Photo: Simon Meeds)

Last week's Dragon Folk Club session marked Mothering Sunday so any mention of mothers gained imaginary brownie points.

In our house we are sticklers for "Mothering Sunday" which is a church festival falling on the fourth Sunday in Lent (see % below).

As I am writing this we have just passed St Patrick's Day so this week's Friday theme will be just that. With Denny not available this week, we saw some Irish songs creeping in last week, often also mentioning mothers.

Speaking of last week, Colin was MC and started the ball rolling with Get a little table (roud 3201 - Harry Linn, William Sim) and Simon followed him with Buttercup Joe (roud 1635).

Denny sang I'll tell me ma (roud 2649).

Paul's first contribution was a version of The "fish" cheer /I-feel-like-I'm-fixin'-to-die rag (* Country Joe McDonald) where he replaced "Vietnam" with "little I-ran". This was both to mark the recent death of the author and to demonstrate that the lyrics, although almost 60 years old, are still somewhat applicable to current events.

It was great to welcome Helen back to the club after a longer absence than any of us realised. She completed the first rotation with Poor wayfaring stranger (roud 3339).

There were several "new" songs for the Dragon database:

• Colin - Mother (* roud 10293) - A parody of Mother (written by Howard Johnson and Theo Morse, and recorded in 1916 by Henry Burr). That was a hard one to track down because it turns out to have been recorded by Oscar Brand as half of a track called Correspondence on an album called Bawdy Songs Go To College. To add to the confusion my old friend Terry "Leadfingers" Silver was the only person to mention it (on mudcat) where he called it "Letters to and from a Young Man" after the lyric rather than using its advertised title.
• Simon - Mother and wife (*) from the singing of The Jolly Boys among others.
• Helen - Driving myself home (* Rose Betts)
• Colin - Don't swat your mother boys (* roud 15690 - Brian Hooker, Porter Steele)
• Simon - Mama don't allow (* roud 11793)
• Colin - Momma (* Bob Seger)
• Colin - Mother Machree (* roud 23523 - Rida Johnson Young, Chauncey Olcott, Ernest Ball)

It fell to Paul to finish the evening with Farewell shanty.

% Traditionally people returned to their mother church for Mothering Sunday and by extension mothers were honoured. This is different to Mother's Day, which is an annual holiday celebrated in the United States on the second Sunday in May that was was established by Anna Jarvis in 1908. I believe it is the British greetings card industry that blurred the difference between the two to the point that cards sold for the former are about 80 or 90 percent "Happy Mother's Day" and thus avoided by my wife and me.

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

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

In the above report songs new to the Dragon database (though no always new to the club) are marked with an asterisk (*) and any songs not included in the "a selection" playlist are marked with a hash (#).

RIP George Papavgeris

George Papavgeris (1953-2026)

Your scribe wasn't present at last week's Dragon Folk Club session, but it sounds as though it was a varied and enjoyable affair albeit with one sad message, that being the death of singer/songwriter George Papavgeris, who I didn't know, but whose songs I had often enjoyed.

An appropriate theme for this Friday's session would seem to be Mothering Sunday, so songs of the mother church, and of mothers will be on topic, as well as anything else tenuously linked, but as always the theme is optional and anything goes as long as it's acoustic.

Last week Colin, MC as usual, kicked off with Dona Dona (Sholom Secunda, Aaron Zeitlin. English lyrics by Arthur Kevess and Teddi Schwartz).

Paul followed with Friends like these in honour of the recently deceased writer, George Papavgeris.

Denny completed the first rotation with The road to Dundee (roud 2300).

There were five songs new to the Dragon database last week:

• Paul - The bard (* Steve Thomason)
• Denny - Kitty Kane (* John Warner)
• Paul - Mollymauk (* Bob Watson)
• Colin - Lady Jane (* Mick Jagger, Keith Richards)
• Paul - I mean to get jolly well drunk (* roud 3466)

Colin finished the evening off with a good sing-along Roll the old chariot (roud 3632).

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

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

In the above report songs new to the Dragon database (though no always new to the club) are marked with an asterisk (*) and any songs not included in the "a selection" playlist are marked with a hash (#).

St David's Day 2026

Llwyn Celyn, Cwmyoy, Monmouthshire
(Photo: Simon Meeds)

It was that time of year to celebrate St David and by association to sing songs with some connection, however tenuous, with Wales or the Welsh. Bearing in mind that our singers had less notice than usual of the theme, and some hardly any notice at all, we didn't do too badly. As sometimes happens, some songs had their words mangled to fit, but we didn't quite get to the point of singing of whaling songs!

It was good to see Heather again, as usual with her non-singing companion Hazel. We did however have a newcomer to the Dragon. Angela has been following us on Facebook for a while and while she didn't perform, she was definitely seen singing along and should she return, which we hope she does, I suspect she may find something to sing now she knows we are a friendly audience.

Colin, MC as usual, started the ball rolling on theme with Hob y deri dando.

Heather's first song was The bunch of thyme (roud 3).

Simon referred to Welsh traditional singer Phil Tanner before singing The Gower wassail song (roud 209).

Paul sang When Jones's ale was new (roud 139), an English song which has its origins in the 16th century.

Denny brought the first rotation to a close with the much more modern Day trip to Bangor (Debbie Cook), a song which appears to tell the story of a seaside trip to Bangor in North Wales, which while in a coastal position is not renowned as a resort. Rumours spread that the song was inspired by a trip to Rhyl, 30 miles East along the coast, but "Rhyl" didn't scan and was replaced, much to the angst of the councillors of that town. Cook however stated that the song was specifically written about Bangor.

The only song of the evening not found on YouTube and therefore not included in the linked playlist was Colin's Children born to the valleys (# Dawson Smith). The song was included on a frustratingly elusive album of songs based the epic Welsh novels of Alexander Cordell.

There were just two songs sung during the evening which were new to the Dragon database. The first was The jovial man of Kent (*), sung by Paul to the same tune as When Jones's ale was new. This song was written by Charles Dibdin (1745-1814).

The other "new" song came from Heather and was Caravan song (*) written by Mike Batt for the 1978 film Caravans in which it was sung by Barbara Dickson.

The evening was finished by Colin singing the unofficial national anthem of Wales, Land of my fathers (Evan James, James James).

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

(Number of people present - 7 of whom 5 performed)

In the above report songs new to the Dragon database (though no always new to the club) are marked with an asterisk (*) and any songs not included in the "a selection" playlist are marked with a hash (#).