A curious title this one and Jon says, “A special one this for me as it was written by a C19th resident of my village. It’s funny to think of people writing carols – they always seem so timeless when you sing them as a kid.” I’ll confess I’ve more or less drawn a blank on this song, but there is this link through to more information about the village carol tradition, where you will find this on the list.
You can buy the December digital album now from all good download stores.
Jon and Fay sing this one that I’ve seen attributed to Doc Watson, although I’m not convinced he actually wrote it and Jon says, “A bit of wintery Americana for you. I had been toying with recording Sweet Baby James but I’ve just realised that I’ve missed the boat (‘the first of December was covered with snow’) so this will have to do.” As I’ve recently written in my Alternative Advent Calendar, this shares much in common with Red Red Rose, although it’s the reverse of love’s endurance and a broken heart in the grip of winter is the subject here. There are also some words floating in from Should I Prove False To Thee or similar root, so perhaps Doc Watson compiled this one.
You can buy the December digital album now from all good download stores.
A macronic that Jon introduces by saying, “Very much an Oxford carol – from Queens College I believe. I have sung this a lot with Ian Giles and the Oxford Waits – Ian providing a slightly dubious Latin translation service for the audience…” It’s been recorded by Maddy Prior with her Carnival Band and also Steeleye and John Kirkpatrick, who apparently contributed the arrangement for the latter as you’ll see here at Mainly Norfolk. This Wiki page makes fascinating reading and points to what seems to me a rather obvious pagan origin involved in this tradition. The tale of the college student’s act of valour is plainly humorous fantasy. Quite how you’d get a book down the throat of a notoriously deadly animal in full charge doesn’t bear a moment’s contemplation. I’ve recently, quickly started to learn how complex the Christmas season is, with so many overlapping strands of belief, ritual, celebration and so on. I guess I’d just never really thought about it before, but at its most basic level lies the change through the seasons and the desire for a good harvest in the coming year. With that comes the desire to be at one with or to control nature. Dressing as animals or being covered in greenery quickly follows, but the most useful way to absorb the powers of nature is to feast. Be it Yol or Yuletide or in honour of Freyr or Ingwi, or with the spread of Christianity across the Roman Empire St. Stephen, there’s always been something going on at the end of December. Anyway before the boar’s head brings out the bore in me, let’s just luxuriate in this carol and imagine the procession, which I note seems to be common on both sides of the Atlantic.
You can buy the December digital album now from all good download stores.
Another of Bellamy’s Kipling settings and Jon explains its presence in this month’s repertoire by saying “For the Christmas haters amongst you we will include a few none seasonal numbers this month. This is one of my favourites from Kipling’s Barrack Room Ballads (tune by Bellamy).” I suppose it might fit in with the seasonal over indulgence, but as Bellamy’s original notes, that you’ll of course find on Mainly Norfolk, suggest the typical remorse here is tempered by the damage inflicted on the arresting officer. So hardly your average post party regrets then! Well personally speaking anyway…
You can buy the December digital album now from all good download stores.
I agree with Jon when he calls this, “A brilliantly gruesome number, sung by the wonderful Will Noble at the Royal. We also did this with Bellowhead for the BBC 4 Christmas show – may be still on i-player?” Not on the i-player, but some naughty person seems to have put the whole thing on YouTube in six segments and you’ll find the first of them here, which will then give you the rest of it as well. You can of course watch it on BBC4 this Friday evening as Muzza has already pointed out. I went, all dressed up, but was clearly deemed too ugly for the cameras. Anyway, this Wiki page seems to be quite specific about a song sheet (or broadside) from the 1830s and the link at the bottom of the page would suggest a match. I note that this looks like one of those popular tales that’s done the rounds, with lots of venues claiming the true event that inspired it.
