Mixing it up

Friday's Dragon Folk Club session was rather enjoyable. Denny and Paul brought along their friend Helen. As I warned last week, this will be an abbreviated blog report with no YouTube playlist, written quickly before this dragon disappears in a puff of smoke for a few days.

As far as I am aware there will be no official theme next week (20th June), but we will be short of a few regular bodies, so I would be grateful if you can make an extra effort to turn up and help Colin to sing up a storm.

Back to the recent session, the ladies' toilet was out of action so we had an intermittent stream of them through our room, but all were quiet and respectful to the singing that was going on and caused no trouble at all.

Paul kicked off proceedings with Tom Lehrer's The Irish Ballad, to be followed by Denny with Samuel Laycock's A tribute to the drowned. The latter was about a disaster at sea where 27 volunteer lifeboatmen from St Annes and Southport died on 9 and 10 December 1886 while attempting to rescue the crew of the German barque Mexico, which ran aground in a gale on the Main Bank off Southport, Lancashire, while en route from Liverpool to Guayaquil in Ecuador.

Helen had only prepared one song to sing, but it was a good joiner-inner, being Sandi Thom's I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair) (* Tom Gilbert, Sandi Thom). While this was her only solo performance of the evening, Helen proved a strong support with her chorus singing. She promised to return with more songs another time. We can't wait!

Colin's first song of the evening was The old A1 (* Pete McGregor). Stan followed that with Plaisir d'amour (* Jean-Paul-Égide Martini, Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian).

Simon completed the first rotation with The Lambton worm (roud 2337 - Clarence M. Leumane).

Keeping it very brief, here are the remaining songs new to the Dragon database:

• Colin - Rainbow warrior (* Patricia Middleton, Douglas Dinn)
• Stan - That silver-haired Daddy of mine (* Gene Autry, Jimmy Long)
• Colin - Condoleezza's Cowboys (* Pete McGregor)
• Stan - The end of the world (* Arthur Kent, Sylvia Dee)
• Stan - I will always love you (* Dolly Parton)

Denny finished the evening with Pleasant and delightful (roud 660, laws O30).

(Number of people present - 6 of whom 6 performed)

In the above report songs new to the Dragon database (though no always new to the club) are marked with an asterisk (*).

Almost normal

After a few weeks of ups and downs we were back to some sort of normality last week. The environment was acceptable, and all the usual people were present. All we were missing was a selection of welcome visitors, but we can't have everything and we have enjoyed a good variety of those in the previous weeks and months. Let's hope there are many more to come.

Colin, our usual MC, got the session going with Smith of Bristol. One source I've found claims that the song can trace its roots back to the 17th century and relates it to Spanish Ladies (roud 687), but I'm not so sure because I can't find that in any of my usual, mostly authoritative, sources. It is in Ireland sings: An anthology of modern and ancient Irish songs and ballads (Dominic Behan) [song number 83]. It doesn't have a roud number though it seems to be traditional.

Simon sang his own song, The story of John Twigg (Simon Meeds): the true story of an eccentric chap who lived in Alford, Lincolnshire.

Denny followed that with Young banker (roud 3321) and Paul gave us Adieu Sweet lovely Nancy (roud 165) which is related to Swansea town.

Sue promised something uplifting and sang The crawdad song (roud 4852) before Bob predictably brought us back down with Blood red river (roud 15807). Was Sue thinking of this later when she sang Red river valley (roud 756)?

Denny sang the first song of the evening new to the Dragon database with Charlotte Oliver's Idle women of the waterways about women who worked on the narrow boats during the Second World War in a similar way to the more familiar Women's Land Army whose members worked in the fields.

The next new song to the database was Colin's rendition of Ewan MacColl's Browned off. While this song may be new to the database it certainly isn't new to the club having been sung by our late friend, Pat. Pat was from the North East of England, so it was fitting that the songs which followed were too: Simon with The Lambton Worm (roud 2337), and Denny with Teeside Bridges (Erik Gooding), another song new to the database. Erik, a mathmatics student, worked a holiday job with the Dorman Long Company in Teeside as steel stocks piled high. Erik also worked for a year in Australia as a maths teacher at Scotch College in Melbourne.

Paul suggested that Country life (roud 1752) was first sung by music hall artist Harry Linn. Linn certainly wrote a related song, also categorised as 1752 by roud, but his song: Eggs for Your Breakfast in the Morning is rather different. What I don't know is which song came first. The Watersons got Country Life from Mick Taylor, a sheepdog trainer of Hawes in Wensleydale.

Bob added one to the database with Gram Parsons' Luxury liner and the last new entry of the evening was for Denny with Icy Acres (Colin Wilkie).

Sue closed the session with Ian Tyson's Four strong winds.

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

(Number of people present - 6 of whom 6 performed)

Transport of delight

Sometimes the trials and tribulations of our singers are almost as newsworthy as the songs we sing and that was the case at last week's Dragon Folk Club session. I had just started my journey to the club when I received a message to say that Denny's car had suffered a puncture on the motorway, and that Paul and Denny were waiting for the AA.

When I arrived at The Bridge I found five others already there and informed them of the predicament.

Colin as MC started the session with David Diamond's Folksinger's lament.

At this stage I received another message from Paul to say that they had been sorted by the AA and were on their way home. We were pleased for them, but also slightly sad that they wouldn't be joining us.

Steve continued with the Galway Shawl (roud 2737) and John was next with Leon Payne's Lost highway.

Simon sang of the Lambton worm (roud 2337) and Bob gave us Junior Parker's Mystery train, made famous by Elvis Presley.

Sue rounded off the first rotation with Messing about on the river written by Tony Hatch and most famously recorded by Josh McRae. Hatch wrote the song under the pseudonym Mark Anthony.

Soon after the start of the third rotation Paul and Denny made their entrance, having taken Denny's car home and set out again in Paul's. We were very pleased to see them and they took up their place at the end of the line with Denny's first song being Down in your mine by Colin Wilkie, and Paul's was Bold Riley (roud 18160).

There were a few songs new to the Dragon database, though not necessarily all new to the club:

• Colin - Joy to the world (Hoyt Axton)
• John - Belfast Child (Jim Kerr, Charlie Burchill, Mick MacNeil)
• Bob and Sue - I love to boogie (Marc Bolan)
• Colin - The gnome (Miles Wootton)
• John - Blind Willie McTell (Bob Dylan)
• Sue - Smile (Charlie Chaplin)

John's singing of Simple Minds' Belfast Child was prompted by Sinéad O'Connor's recent death. The song's tune is based on that of She moves through the fair and in the linked recording O'Connor provided a break with that traditional song. She also sang the song for itself and therefore Simon followed up by singing She moves through the fair (roud 861).

This week's heading photo is chosen for Steve's singing of Cyril Tawney's Ballad of Sammy's Bar. Sammy's Bar was in Valletta, Malta and was apparently a favourite of British sailors. The second refrain "Call away the dgħajsa" refers to a local water taxi (pronounced "di-so" by British sailors). Dgħajsa is in fact simply "boat" in Maltese, and the full name of the taxi is "dgħajsa tal-pass". The photograph, which shows several dgħajjes tal-pass in Grand Harbour Valletta with naval ships in the background comes from my father's photo album created while he was in the Royal Navy. He may have had a drink at Sammy's Bar or he may have moved other sailors on from there in his occasional role as a Naval Provost.

Paul fittingly finished the session with Dave Webber's Parting song.

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

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

St George's Day 2018

We had an excellent turn-out for last week's St George's Day themed session. This Friday's theme (4 May) will be appropriately themed for May songs.

Last week we were pleased to see semi-regulars, Steve C and Jane and it was great to welcome again Malcolm and his lady, whose name I'm afraid to say I still haven't captured, on one of their occasional visits to Bristol from their home in Yorkshire.

Colin was, as usual, MC and he started the evening off with Richard Thompson's The New Saint George. This wasn't the only Thompson song of the evening for John P gave us Albion Sunrise.

Whilst the Rest of Us are Back at Work…

The Monument was erected by
Sir Christopher Wren, to commemorate
the fire of London

Your regular scribe was still on holiday this week, thereby allowing Mike to appropriate Spanish Ladies (Roud 687), albeit in a non-Newfoundlandic format, and subjecting you all once again to the rantings of the Substitute Scribe.

In fact, my last week’s RANT (Railing Against Nonat Tenders) proved to have had an effect, having been read by John, who had attended many sessions at the Bridge in ye olde dayes, and came to sample the new venue.

Our number of performers was also swollen by two newcomers: Geoff, who performed a wide range of predominantly Irish songs, and Zenara who brought with her not only a fine unaccompanied singing voice, but also that scarcest of all folk club assets – an Audience!

When Derek opened with False Lover Won Back (Roud 201, Child 218) one would probably have given reasonable odds that it might turn out to be the longest song of the night. But next to Courting in the Kitchen (Geoff - Laws Q16) and Bruce Campbell’s The Roman Gladiator (Mike) it soon paled into insignificance.

England, St George and dragons

St George and the Dragon, Bryn Mawr, c1910-1915

This week was our St George's Day session (one day late), so there were songs of England, knights and dragons. We were all pleased to see Maggie back with us, albeit with her right arm in plaster. She still managed to sell the raffle tickets at the interval with some help from the customers with tearing tickets. In expectation of Mike and Maggie leaving early, Colin took up the mantle of MC for the evening. We were joined by two audience members, more of which later.

Mike mistakenly suggested that his only song to mention St George was one which he will sing next week for May Day, so he started off the session by commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the start of the Gallipoli Campaign with The Band Played Waltzing Matilda (Eric Bogle).