A Folk Song A Day

Jon calls this one “A bizzarre little ditty from the Coppers that feels like it may have started life as a poem with a very peculiar meter.”

I’ll agree that it has something of the poetic about it and seems almost too thoughtfully structured to be anything but a very specific composition. For me it seems more of a song than a poem, although I’m not a singer and should probably defer to Jon’s judgement, but there’s almost something of the stage to it and perhaps not enough elaboration to be truly poetic. Still that’s pure speculation and it’s a jaunty little tune that obviously caught Bellamy’s ear as you’ll see ay Mainly Norfolk. Beyond that I really can’t offer anything more, other than having picked the title up as the name of a C 18^th ship, not that I’m suggesting there’s anything of the maritime about this.

Jon recalls “I remember my Gran (who died recently) singing me this as a child. If it had only been traditional I could get lots of folk points for that! I often sing this at festival soundchecks when the audience are watching (an awkward arrangement!) – the audience normally finish the chorus off.”

Sounds like a winner to me. Whatever you think of the merits of the song there’s a strange coincidence here. The song is the opening number of the musical Oklahoma and according to Wiki the show grew out of an unsuccessful play, which was adapted by a theatre group to include folk songs. It inspired the musical and Rogers and Hammerstein compositions that turned the fortunes of the flop around to become one of the longest running stage hits of all time and one of the landmarks of the Musical genre. There isn’t  much else to say about it although there’s an extensive Wiki entry for the stage show should you wish to know more.

Jon says, “Such a beautiful tune this. Steeleye borrowed it for a chorus for Wife Of Usher’s Well, and who can blame them? Lovely lyric as well. I’ve decided to drop the last verse though because I’m less keen on it.”

Another from the Child collection (#219) and a rather strange, poetic song. This Mudcat thread immediately makes the point that seems a more natural Scottish rhyming scheme to this. That’s probably true, but if you follow the thread down, it’s not quite as straightforward as you might think. It’s interesting to see Bert once again associated with ‘adapting’ songs, in this case to fill in what he regarded as the lapsed gaps in the English tradition. I think in truth that having tried to research this year’s worth of material, that notions of national ownership aren’t especially useful. For every song that has a definite regional identity there are several others that have moved with ease being ‘adopted’ and ‘adapted’ to suit the singer’s location long before Bert intervened. Still, you may also like to see the versions as collected by Child here, which also links into this that gives you a run through his collection. I must say I rather like that last part, although it carries with it the sense that the lady has firmly rejected the Gardner’s overtures and is perhaps as cold hearted as she is haughty in her stance. You can also compare the modern versions of Maddy Prior and Tim Hart, June Tabor and more recently, Rachel McShane at Mainly Norfolk. Another cracker.

Jon calls this “A gentle little song with a great chorus. We sing this at Royal Traditions nights at the Royal in Dungworth.”

Everywhere I look this seems to come up as being a Cornish song, but things are slightly confused as there is also a version that involves a soldier or ‘bold grenadier.’ It seems Sandy Denny,  Lou Killen and Peter Bellamy have all covered this version, however, so check out Mainly Norfolk, although there seems little to add. It’s another nice song that fits the courtship and romance of the month of May. Mind you she has a very sudden change of heart here! I wonder why?

Jon attributes his source as “From Silly Sisters,” also confessing that it’s “Sung with great enthusiasm around staff camp fires on Forest School Camps.”

That Silly Sisters album again, which I can happily say I now own, having found a very nice vinyl copy in Bristol for a reasonable price. I haven’t had the chance to play it yet, hardly having been at home since, but I took your collective recommendation and look forward to getting to grips with it this coming weekend with a bit of luck. I guess the song needs no explanation and Martin Carthy, Bert Lloyd and Lou Killen have all had a crack at this as well as Maddy and June and you can catch up with several of those at Mainly Norfolk. You can also start a dabble at Mudcat over here. I note that the link claiming a version dated 1638 is sadly broken although there seems to be an C18th version available in the Bodleian.