Harvest 2024

(Photo: Simon Meeds)

Last week at the Dragon Folk Club our Harvest themed session bore fruit. We started off strongly with the theme with plenty of bucolic ballads and songs, migrating to songs of the harvest of the sea, and from there to poaching and eventually to the harvest of mineral deposits. You know how it goes.

Colin sowed the seed with John Barleycorn (roud 164) to the tune Wir Pflügen (We plough the fields and scatter). Denny followed him in the same furrow with Hey John Barleycorn (roud 2141) and Simon, not one to go against the grain, sang Windmills (Alan Bell). You'll be pleased to know I can't keep this up beyond the first (crop) rotation.

It wasn't the first time Colin had sung Linstead Market (roud 16397), but it's worth a mention as something a bit different, being in the mento style.

Both songs from the evening not found on YouTube and therefore not included in the playlist linked from "a selection" below, were sung by Colin and from the pen of Chris Sugden: All things dark and dangerous, and The stick of rhubarb.

At risk of monopoly, Colin sang both songs of the evening not previously recorded in the Dragon database, though quite possibly previously sung at the club: Our Sarah (roud 16652) and The harvest supper song (roud 1379) - the linked recording of Sheepshearing sung by The Watersons is the same song though the words may not be identical.

Possibly the first to break from country pursuits and head for the fishing grounds was Denny with John Conolly's Fiddlers Green. Hot on her heels was Simon with Candlelight fisherman (roud 1852).

Colin threw in a curve ball with Forever Autumn (Jeff Wayne, Gary Osborne, Paul Vigrass). Too late for the playlist, but I have now found the original Osborne and Vigrass recording of Forever Autumn from their 1972 album Queues. Actually, the real original was Jeff Wayne's jingle for a Lego advert before the words were added by Osborne and Vigrass.

Simon was the champion of poaching with The Lincolnshire poacher (roud 299) and Geordie (roud 90, child 209). Denny's Cadgwith anthem (roud 3314) may also just qualify.

Colin's tenuous link at this stage was Goin' Home (William Arms Fisher) set to that part of Antonín Dvořák's New World Symphony later used to advertise bread in Hovis commercials.

Denny was first to take us harvesting the black stuff with I can hew boys (Dave Dodds), but Simon soon followed her down the mine winging Dark as a dungeon (Merle Travis).

It fell to Simon to bring in the sheaves with When all men sing (Keith Scowcroft, Derek Gifford).

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

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

Tiny fish in a small pond

MV Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin passing through Lock 7
of the Welland Canal between Lakes Ontario and Erie
(Photo: Simon Meeds)

The numbers at the end of this report are a bit misleading. On the one hand there were two singers who met for the Dragon Folk Club session last week. On the other, due to the gents toilets being out of action, there was a constant stream of people passing through. Most, but not all, were respectful. Some were complimentary. One performed. A drunken Irishman (apparently) was effusive in his praise. We were even joined briefly by our friend Allie who was very appreciative and gave a few brief snippets from her folk repertoire.

Things started off early as John, having visited the facilities borrowed Simon's guitar and played a few riffs including Wonderwall (Noel Gallagher) for which his unnamed friend joined in with vocals.

Once we got underway properly, Simon, the stand-in MC, started things off with Windmills (Alan Bell).

Remarkably, the two singers, that is disregarding John, who appeared again later with some more riffs, and Allie with her brief medley of songs, sang a total of 39 during the evening. It was almost 11pm by the time it all finished, but the main reason for stopping at 39 was that Steve said he'd run out of songs, and almost out of voice.

You can follow the link from "a selection" below to a playlist of all the songs we sang except one. That one came from Steve and was When Adam was first created (roud 728).

No new songs were added to the Dragon database this week, although it was the first recorded singing of Steve's version of roud 369, laws L5, that being Sam Hall rather than Jack Hall which was already there.

Steve sang a couple of other songs which hadn't previously been recorded in the database for him: Adieu sweet lovely Nancy (roud 165) and The leaving of Liverpool (roud 9435).

Of course we had a few Stan Rogers songs from Steve: White squall, Tiny fish for Japan, and The field behind the plow. I also see that Rogers recorded Cyril Tawney's Sammy's bar.

The evening was completed by Simon singing Jackson C Frank's Blues run the game.

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

(Number of people present - 4 of whom 3 performed)

Harvest 2022

(Photo: Simon Meeds)

Last week's Dragon Folk Club session had our annual Harvest theme. The theme is no longer compulsory as it once was and wasn't this year accompanied by a feast and a vegetable auction, but harvest and autumn songs were in evidence from at least two of our singers.

Colin, MC as usual, started us off with All of a row (roud 1474). Geoff declared himself off-topic and sang Keith's hit song, 98.6 (George Fischoff, Tony Powers). Simon followed that with Alan Bell's Windmills.

We had at least three songs from the singing of The Yetties: Colin sang Dorset is Beautiful (Bob Gale) and All the good things (Bonny Sartin), and Simon sang Buttercup Joe (roud 1635).

Simon pointed out that the closest Geoff came to a harvest song may have been Golden Brown (Hugh Cornwell, Jean-Jacques Burnel, Dave Greenfield, Jet Black), which is about heroin (not cocaine as suggested on the night).

By that time Simon himself had moved temporarily into the "harvest of the sea" with The Candlelight fisherman (roud 1852) and The Bergen (Jez Lowe).

Colin sang two versions of John Barleycorn: Steeleye Span's version of (roud 164) and later roud 2141.

It seemed that Simon had peaked too early, singing his usual finishing-off song When all men sing (Keith Scowcroft, Derek Gifford), but he kept one in the bag for the end of the evening: Wild mountain thyme (Francis McPeake - roud 541).

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

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

Sweeter than wine?

Last Friday was our last session before Christmas... no I don't really mean that, it was our last session before our Christmas themed session on 13 December, which will be the usual mix of celebration, bah humbug and a few seasonal culinary treats.

It was good to have Steve C join us for the evening, making a happy quorum of five singers.

Colin was first to sing with Jez Lowe's The Lazarus Dance. Jez describes it as in a dream, the sort where all the dear-departed heroes, friends and legends come together for a knees-up and a sing-song, Geordie-Irish style. It began its life under the Radio Ballads umbrella.

May Day 2019

May Pole (Photo: klndonnelly)

Last Friday's session had the theme of May and we were just two days late for May Day itself. This week (10 May) there will be no theme but if you have any May left-overs I am sure no one will mind the scraps.

In fact last week's session was amazing or at least unexpectedly well peopled. Tom made his first appearance of the year, John and Chris O, usually only very occasional visitors, made their second within a month, and Steffan, who I've been working on, he says, for four years, finally made a welcome appearance.

Colin, MCing as usual, started off the evening not particular in the May theme but marking the occasion of Derek's team, Glamorgan beating Gloucestershire in the cricket. He did this with the first of several Kipper Family songs of the evening: The Cricket Match.

Mike wasn't feeling to well so his contribution before an early exit was just one song, but a fine May song it was, Hal An Tow (Roud 1520) which is from the Helston May Day celebrations. There will no doubt be a follow-up from Derek and from just down the road at this week's session.

More June Fun

Tommy Banner and Pete Budd of The Wurzels
performing at the 2011 Wychwood Festival

I arrived slightly late to the session last week and I initially thought that there were only five of us there but in fact Lesley was just outside walking Mike's dog, Indy. So, we were six, which is a workable number for a session but it would have been nice to have had at least a couple more.

Being late I missed Derek's first song which was in honour of Dave Swarbrick who died on 3 June. The song was The Cuckoo's Nest (Roud 1506 , 5407), which naturally Derek sang but Dave had played on the violin. I think this was also the start of talk about bawdy songs.

Mike's first contribution was Blow The Man Down (Roud 2624). Having left early the previous week, Richard probably didn't realise that Derek finished the session with the June-themed The Jug Of Punch (Roud 1808). Not that it really mattered and anyway Richard's was a slightly different version.

Lesley sang Spanish Lady which gave me an opportunity to correct Wikipedia while writing this report. The online encyclopaedia showed the song as Roud 543 when it should have been 542 (incidentally, there is no Roud 543).

Simon had been practicing Alan Bell's Windmills. He still struggled to get started but finally found his stride.

Colin gave us a curve ball with He's Dead But He Won't Lie Down (Will E Haines, Maurice Beresford, Jimmy Harper) which was made famous by Gracie Fields. In fact Colin must have been in a funny mood since he also sang Gather In The Mushrooms from Benny Hill, and Combine Harvester, marking the fortieth anniversary of The Wurzels' appearance in the UK charts (they go to number 1) with the song. I didn't realise until researching this report that Combine Harvester, of course based on Melanie's (Melanie Safka) hit Brand New Key, was written by and was a hit in Ireland (also a number 1) for Brendan Grace. Colin even returned to The Wurzels near the end of the evening with Adge Cutler's Chitterling - a celebration of a West Country delicacy that Colin doesn't even like!

Although we were a small band we were lucky that only Mike gave up and went home before the end, so the circles we followed round were not so much ever decreasing ones as they have been on some recent occasions.

Colin asked Simon to finish up the evening which he did recalling a question on that day's Radio 4 News Quiz about delays in opening a new airport on the island of St Helena. Simon's song was Boney Was A Warrior.

There is no official theme again next week, so let's see if we can get some more bums on seats to sing, play and join in. We really don't bite and you might even enjoy it.

Here's a selection of songs sung during this session.

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