Drama in the sing-around

Paul and Denny making up
(Photo: Simon Meeds)

Last week's Dragon Folk Club session was quite a contrast to the one that came before with what we would consider a decent crowd, and the singing wasn't too bad either. It was great to see Helen for the first time since March, but otherwise it was all regulars except for... well' I'll come to that in a minute.

This Friday though we are likely to be a bit thinner on the ground with regulars, so you are strongly urged to come along and see what what we do. While we'd love you to perform it's fine if you don't feel like doing so this time, we'd just appreciate your company, your chat, and maybe you can join in with a chorus or five!

Last week Simon had arrived first, but was preempted by a slightly drunk pub customer who came into the room and asked whether we knew King Billy's on the wall (*). We didn't, so he gave us a chorus of it and thus found himself on the official record as the first singer. Unfortunately we didn't catch his name.

Simon sang I don't like Mondays (Bob Geldof) and Colin lightened the tone with Fred Wedlock's parody of English country garden (roud 29760).

Paul got us singing along to Shallow brown (roud 2621) and Denny continued that trend with Down by the sally gardens (roud V28639 - W B Yeats).

Helen gave us Poor wayfaring stranger (roud 3339) and Heather followed that with When you walk in the room (* Jackie DeShannon).

Simon had just started on You need skin (Leon Rosselson) when Sue and Bob arrived. By the time Simon finished singing it was Sue who ready to perform, so she went straight into Something (George Harrison). Bob therefore completed the first, slightly extended, rotation with Blood red river (roud 15807).

Colin gave us the first of three songs from the evening not found on YouTube and therefore not included in the linked playlist:

• Colin - 7TV Nights (*# Stanley Accrington)
• Heather - They don't play rock of ages on the juke box (*# J Spencer)
• Colin - Columbus' song (*#)

The remaining songs new to the Dragon database were as follows:

•  Helen - Hazel eyes (* Sabrina Jordan)
•  Colin - Don't cry for me Argentina (* Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice) - possibly influenced by the recent exit of the England team from the football World Cup
• Sue - Yesterday (* Lennon-McCartney)
• Bob - You can't judge a book by its cover (* Willie Dixon)
• Colin - Come my little son (* Ewan MacColl)

Meanwhile a comedic soap opera (at least I hope it was comedic) played out between our married couple, Paul and Denny. It started when Paul turned his back on Denny and sang Bonnet and shawl (Dave Webber) to their friend, Helen (a definite chat-up song). The rest of the conversation went something like this:

• Denny -  Let him go, let him tarry (roud 1034) - "He don't care for me, and I'm sure I don't for him"
• Paul - Peggy Gordon (roud 2280) - "Oh Denny..., you are my darling. Come sit you down upon my knee"
• Denny -  Love is pleasing (roud 1049) - "If I had known, love, before I courted, I never would have courted none"
• Paul -  Green grows the laurel (roud 279) - "I once had a sweetheart but now I’ve got none"
• Denny - Young banker (roud 3321) - "It pierced her through the very heart, To think that young banker and her should part"

To avoid any confusion "young banker" is not someone of the financial profession but rather a strapping lad involved in making walls and ditches.

So I hope they made up before Paul was called upon to sing the last song of the evening. He pointed out that John Ball was hanged on 15 July 1381 so the anniversary of his death had just passed, and therefore sang John Ball (Sydney Carter).

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

(Number of people present - 10 of whom 9 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 (#).

Make way for Fred

Fred Jordan

That's more like it... we were definitely quorate last week with the return of Geoff from a chessing sojourn, and a visit from Tom. Unfortunately, Rose, the reason for Tom's visit, wasn't with us, concerned as she was about the promised extreme weather. It wasn't really that bad on Friday night in the end. Anyway, we hope to see her sometime in the not-too-distant future.

Colin, taking his usual seat as MC, started us off with The Son Of A Gambolier (Charles Ives). As predicted, Mike walked in with Indy the dog while he was singing.

Tom gave us Across The Great Divide from one of his favourite singer-songwriters, Kate Wolf. Kate died in 1986 at the age of 44, Tom says, towards the end of what had seemed a successful course of treatment for leukaemia.

A random selection - almost

Pecker Dunne

Another themeless session last week which I think remained pretty much that way, no major themes emerging through the evening. Tom was a very welcome visitor, ahead of his spotlight set at Chipping Sodbury Folk Night on 1 June.

As usual, Colin was MC, and as often happens he started off the evening, this time with George Papavgeris' As Long As Someone Sings A Song.

Derek continued his ongoing May theme well into the evening, starting with The Verdant Braes Of Skreen (Roud 419).

Geoff challenged me to find the version he sang of his first song. Derek suggested looking up Elizabeth Cronin but I'm afraid I failed, so here is Séamus Ennis' version of As I Roved Out which seems similar enough. Apparently Ennis recorded Cronin's singing, so perhaps this isn't such a surprise.

Bits and Bobs

The Richard Oastler pub, a former chapel, in Brighouse
mentioned in the first song of the evening

Last week's Dragon Folk Club session had no theme so the songs reasonably ranged widely. It was good to see John P come along for his second dose of the club - we obviously didn't frighten him too much the previous week, and it was good to see Gary for the first time in a while.

Colin was the MC and he started us off, before Gary's arrival, with a song from his repertoire as well as that of the late Alan Mitchell: Brighouse On A Saturday Night (Roger Davies).

Geoff won't be with us for the St Patrick's Day session this Friday (take a note for your diary), so he took Ireland as his personal theme for the night, his first being The Patriot Game (Dominic Behan). John P was also in Irish mode with Star Of The County Down (Cathal McGarvey).