A Folk Song A Day

Topic Records have given us special permission to add Fay Hield’s version of Yellow Roses for you as a little extra.  I mentioned it in the post on 14th of July and it raised considerable interest. I also incorrectly referred to Fay as Jon’s wife – they aren’t married – not that it makes any difference, but let’s get the story straight. Anyway Jon’s partner, Fay, is set to release Looking Glass on September 6th and this is track five on what proves to be a lovely record. I asked Fay for a word about the recording and she wrote, “Jon took me to a Forrest School Camps weekend a coupe of years ago.   I heard Little Yellow Roses being sung round the campfire and simply fell in love with it.  I had planned to record it unaccompanied, but when I tried singing with Sam Sweeney on the nyckelharpa I felt it created such a desolate, ethereal atmosphere that suited this song so well, it just had to be.”

I think you’ll like this a lot…

Jon attributes Anne Briggs as his source for this with the observation, “One of the nice things with the oral tradition is the way stories get whittled down to their simplest forms. This is a small but perfectly formed saucy, little ballad.” This link also mentions a version recorded in 1966 by A.L. Lloyd, the same year that Briggs released it on the LP Bird In The Bush (a collection of traditional erotic songs.) You’ll find her version on Anne Briggs A Collection and the sleeve notes on that push the point that although “Cecil Sharp noted a version but never printed it; perhaps because to polite people of his day, the idea of girls actually enjoying sexual intercourse was offensive. Too good for the working classes?”  I can’t even give you a Mudcat link here as the only ones I can turn up are a debate about whether folk music is sexy  and one about Next Market Day, an entirely different song that makes a more codified reference to the same kind of liaison (well, that’s how I read it). If anyone can add anything, therefore, I’d be grateful. There may be lyrical or title variants that have slipped me by.

The buy links should now work properly. We had some problems with a duplicate track and everything needed to be updated, but I’ve just tested them and they are now OK!

You can buy the digital album now from the following stores:

Here we stray form the traditional again, but as Jon explains, “The words are about 60% Shakespeare 40% me. I know several Shakespearean directors who would consider this a hanging offence, but I figure if Shakespeare borrowed from the oral tradition, why shouldn’t we borrow it back again?” Those familiar with the Spiers & Boden Vagabonds CD, will know the song, but that jaunty treatment is turned somewhat on its head. Jon and his guitar give the song a melancholy that brings out the lyrical theme more obviously. For anyone needing  a reference of the lyrics, you’ll find them here.

The buy links should now work properly. We had some problems with a duplicate track and everything needed to be updated, but I’ve just tested them and they are now OK!

You can buy the digital album now from the following stores:

Jon attributes his source on this one to Peta Webb and as she works at the EFDSS library she got wind of the project and this post…

Dear Jon,

I hear you are going to feature my version of Go And Leave Me, so thought you might like to know the sources. (I recorded it on the Fellside compilation Voices: English Traditional Songs (FECD 87.)

I first heard it in Suffolk in the early 1970s (where it was commonly song in pubs) sung by Percy Webb from around Framlingham (no relation, but a great character!). He sang it in straightforward style, verse and chorus the same tune.

I then heard Sarah & Rita Keane (Co. Galway) sing it, on their beautiful LP for Claddagh  Once I Loved, (available on CD CC04CD.) This is their title for it (in Ireland it is claimed as an Irish song). I gathered extra verses from them and use their more elaborate tune for the verse, retaining Percy Webb’s straight chorus tune as being easier to join in with. I changed the key line to “Go and leave me if you wish LOVE” (instead of “to”) so she’s directly addressing the runaway lover. I also introduced a sense of scorn for him and pride in herself rather than keeping to the pathos of the Keanes’ delivery.

I heard a wonderful tune variant from traveller Anne O’ Neill, with a country & western twist, so I inserted that particular variant just once at the end of the “Here’s the ring love” verse. I didn’t consciously set out to do any of this, the song just evolved over five years or so as I sang it then heard other versions.

All the best,

Peta.

How good is that!? It comes direct from someone Jon describes as a “singer of great note,” and shows both how slippery provenance is and how songs continue to evolve. Fantastic! Interestingly, just to add to the confusion, Mudcatters point to this being of American origin and you can follow this link to dive into that should you wish.

The buy links should now work properly. We had some problems with a duplicate track and everything needed to be updated, but I’ve just tested them and they are now OK!

You can buy the digital album now from the following stores:

Asked for his thoughts on this Jon simply said, “Dark.” I don’t think I can add to that, although this particularly creepy tale comes via Martin Carthy, who in turn got it for A.L. Lloyd. This link is instructive and points to our penchant for the macarbre. You can also Mudcat to your hearts’ content here.

The buy links should now work properly. We had some problems with a duplicate track and everything needed to be updated, but I’ve just tested them and they are now OK!

You can buy the digital album now from the following stores: