Mostly mines and railways

Teeside Transport Bridge (Photos by Helen Pitt)

Last week's Dragon Folk Club session had no official theme, but it turned out to be largely about mining, railways and other things industrial.

Two of our number were slightly late because of traffic difficulties, so we fitted them in in a way that meant we all sang the same number of songs, hence the slightly different way of presenting the start of the evening here.

One important piece of information: there is a possibility that this week's session (Friday, 9th October) may start a little late. If you turn up and find the usual room MC-less, please get a drink and make yourself at home; someone will turn up to lead the evening in due course.

Back to last week, Colin started off from the MC's chair with The saucy Arethusa (roud 12675 - Prince Hoare (attrib), Tune: Turlough O'Carolan) and Simon continued with The transplant squad (Richard Stilgoe).

In the absence of anyone else to continue, it went back to Colin singing Drunken sailor (roud 322) and Simon followed that with Drill ye tarriers drill (roud 4401 - Thomas Casey, Charles Connolly).

At this point Paul and Denny made their entrance, freed from traffic purgatory. Not only did they agree to sing immediately, but they agreed to sing twice in quick succession. Paul started with My lady of autumn (Dave Webber) followed by Denny with Denny with Teeside bridges (Erik Gooding). Then with Paul singing Peggy Gordon (roud 2280) and Denny Coal hole cavalry (Ted Edwards) the opening double rotation was complete.

Performances new to the Dragon database were:

• Colin - All along the South coast (poem by Jeremy Taylor)
• Simon - Grand Dad's cracket (poem by Tom Mossman)
• Denny - Ware out mother (roud 2551 - Traditional, Charley Yarwood, Tom Brown)

There was just one song sung that was not found on YouTube and is therefore not included in the playlist linked below and that was sung by Denny: King of the railways (Roy Duffield).

It also fell to Denny to finish off the evening, which she did with The miner's lifeguard (roud 3510).

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

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

In the above report songs new to the Dragon database (though not 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 (#).

The joy of chorus singing

Henry Joy McCracken

Five of us met last Friday to sing. While there was a charity event on in the bar and, shock horror, there was no hand-pumped ale, we proceeded with little disruption except when the barbecue was retrieved from the forecourt through the carriage doors in our room. Colin even received a complement for his performance at that stage!

Indeed Colin was back this week and returned to his customary role of MC, starting off the evening with Keith Scowcroft and Derek Gifford's When All Men Sing: a good way to get everyone singing.

Mike is trying to prepare us for being his chorus on 25 September at Tormarton (see the previous week's blog report), so he sang Outward And Homeward Bound (Roud 18905) which has a chorus made to fool the careless joiner-inner, changing several times through the song. Simon incorrectly thought he remembered Mike saying the song was not a shanty, though he had the right idea in that a shanty "should be" either an outward bounder or a homeward bounder and this song can't make its mind up. Nevertheless, it is apparently not the only only shanty to introduce such confusion. Note that the linked version is based in Liverpool whereas naturally, Mike's is based in Bristol.

Geoff's first song was The Limerick Rake (Roud 3018).

There had earlier been a comment that Colin, who had not found his usual table (we later worked out it had been taken outside), was sitting on a bar stool to better reach the pool table. Simon joked that he was "young and still growing", which Derek took as a request to sing The Trees They Do Grow High (Roud 31, Laws O35).

Simon's first song was Elizabeth Padgett's The Plover Catcher. It didn't go quite to plan because he found himself singing it closer to the way Elizabeth sings her own song than the way he usually does it. Having restarted in something approaching the usual vein it was only much later he worked out what had gone wrong... he doesn't usually use a capo on the third fret as she does.

Mike continued our chorus practice with Spanish Ladies (Roud 687). He asked us why this isn't a shanty. The answer is that the version he sings is from the Royal Navy. The Royal Navy did not allow the singing of shanties, and apart from the national anthem this was the only song allowed on board.

Derek wasn't put off by the fact that it was 3 September and in any case sang The Donibristle Mine Disaster (Roud 3509) which starts "On the twenty sixth of August the fatal moss gave way".

Mike's continuing chorus tutorial brought us Drunken Sailor (Roud 322). He seemed disappointed that most of us chose to attempt to sing harmonies.

It was Colin's singing of Linstead Market (Roud 16397) that impressed the lady who came to bring in the barbecue.

Derek started a trend with Henry Joy (Roud 10612) which Colin followed with Tom Paxton's Ramblin' Boy ("So here's to you my Rambling Boy, May all your rambling bring you joy."), and Simon concluded with Bob Dylan's The Mighty Quinn (But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here, Everybody's gonna jump for joy"). Geoff broke the pattern with Copper Kettle (Albert Frank Beddoe).

It was Geoff also who gave us the penultimate song of the evening. From the second single he ever bought, presumably sung by The Everly Brothers, it was Bird Dog, written by Boudleaux Bryant.

Our final song of the evening was the second part of a pair sung by Derek. The earlier component was The Volunteer Organist (William B Gray, George Spaulding) and the second part was a parody of it from Jack Elliott of Birtley, called The Volunteer Putter. In Northumberland, "putter" was the local term for the person who brought empty coal tubs up to the coal face and took loaded tubs to the pit bottom.

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

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

School’s out! Oh no – it’s back in again!

Imitation, as my old granny and Charles Caleb Colton used to say, is the sincerest form of flattery, and the Regular Scribe had barely packed his little bag and set off on his hols, when the rest of the scavenging pack were picking through his repertoire. Derek began with the Belfast version of Johnny Todd (Roud 1102), and at various times of the evening came Kipling’s Smugglers’ Song (Geoff), Oh no sir no (Roud 146) and When All Men Sing (Keith Scowcroft/Derek Gifford) (both Colin).

What shall we do with a drunken folk club?

Sperm Whale

A slight increase in numbers over last week was united in creating a better evening by the silence from last week's rogue speaker. In fact the only unexpected accompaniment was occasioned by Ray's phone, and since Gary was forced to admit that its warble tone was in the right key, this did not constitute a serious problem.

Those non-attenders who had their windows open and heard peals of laughter from the area of Shortwood may like to know the story of its origin. After a mention of whores, Colin was asked to raise the tone, and seemed genuinely convinced that he was about to do so. Hint to readers – when attempting tone-raising, try to avoid a song like New Zealand Whales / Coast of Peru which opens with the words “Come all of you whalermen who are cruising for sperm” (let alone the mention of se[a]men in the next line). In the absence of any other theme for the evening Robin proceeded to give us Dave Oakley's Clonakilty Whaling Song, in which they 'prefer minke to sperm', and Derek could not resist Cruising Round Yarmouth.