I heartily agree with Jon when he says, “A great song that binds the layers of history together. It’s well worth seeking out the original Pete Coe recording with its massed voices and brass. Marvellous!” Stirring stuff indeed, but curiously elusive and although Pete has a website, it’s not the best and lacks vital information on track listings for his various CDs. Apart from that, there’s nothing of substance that I can find on this, which is a shame. It backs up the fact that despite a long and active professional career he may not have had the exposure he deserves. Sad to say that it also appears that some of his work is caught up in contract disputes, so good luck in tracking this down.
One form the West Country and Jon says, “This wassail is traditionally sung on Twelfth Night apparently. I’m joined here by Sam Sweeney, Paul Sartin and Lucy Farrell (recorded on the Bellowhead tour bus!)” It’s one from the Watersons and can be found on their For Pence And Spicy Ale CD, which Mainly Norfolk covers here. Despite the title and the note on the Watersons’ version that this could be sung “at the orchard Man’s door or in front of the trees”, it has more of a feel of a house visit song, starting as it does with “…please to come down and let us all in.” The practice of wassailing the trees to ensure a bountiful harvest and to drive away evil spirits quite possibly involves more action and incantation than singing, although I’d be interested to hear from anyone who has witnessed it. Here’s a Wiki page on wassailing. I note the suggestion that the orchard wassailing took place on old Twefth Night or January 17th although once more I’d welcome some input. Twelfth Night in itself is one of those peculiarities of the festive season that seems to have its roots in a mixture of traditions and it’s worth a quick Wiki stop here as it ties back into the ideas of driving evil away and the whole wassailing, feasting and partying tradition. There’s more to it than just taking the decorations down.
As an aside, how many of you made it to the South Bank for New Year’s Eve? It was immense and I can only report that I had a great time, although was excessively enthusiastic in the jumping up and down stakes due to a more than ample sampling of the Hedonism ale. I felt like I’d run some sort of beer marathon the following day and my legs have only just unsiezed. What a great night though! You can buy the January digital album now from all good download stores.
Jon says, “Here’s one of the least sympathetic narrators in folksong, but a great tune.” Bellamy called this Peggy Bawn and with all of the crossover with Molly Bawn or even Polly Vaughan as an interchangeable name, it makes it hard to come up with anything much on this. Mainly Norfolk at least covers the Bellamy angle and again notes the source as Walter Pardon, who apparently tried to claim a copyright. Strange! It seems to have an obvious Irish/Scottish location to it, so how it ended up in Norfolk is another point of conjecture. Perhaps those with the knowledge or simply the patience to pick through the red herrings and dead ends can offer a little enlightenment. You can buy the January digital album now from all good download stores.
This is one of those Music Hall/ folk song crossovers and Jon says, “Ultimately this is from Bellamy although I first heard it sung by Damien Barber on the Voices album. It’s very sentimental but there’s also something quite believable about it.” This certainly has a modern slant to it and I note from this Wiki page that the author is G.W. Hunt circa 1878, with the suggestion that it was absorbed into the folk tradition of Newfoundland. Mainly Norfolk shows that Bellamy credits Walter Pardon from the Norfolk village of Knapton as his source, as it was part of his family repertoire. You can buy the January digital album now from all good download stores.
Another cracker and Jon says, “From Barry Dransfield’s Be Your Own Man album – there are so many good songs on that album. Somehow I always have Quentin Blake illustrations in my head when I sing this.” Mainly Norfolk again has this covered and refers back to The Young Tradition’s version. I love the sleeve notes suggesting Peter Bellamy learning it at the knee of his Great-Aunt Henrietta, albeit with an American twist. I also note Cyril Tawney’s hand in the version that they sang and this Mudcat thread and branches off thereof, suggests there are many versions of this song to be found with many different tunes being used. I must say I really like this version and the foxes triumph in this case is one for the, erm, underdog. You can buy the January digital album now from all good download stores.
