A Folk Song A Day

Jon calls this “ A nice bit of timeless satire from Kipling with a tune by Bellamy as usual. It’s interesting that so fervent an imperialist could be so scathing about idle class hypocrisy. He was nothing if not a complex character, as was Bellamy by the way.”

From Barrack Room Ballads and as you’d come to expect Mainly Norfolk has this one covered. I’ll ad the use of the name Tommy, short for Tommy Atkins as a generic term for a soldier is quite interesting and you can Wiki here. Typically not as straightforward as you might think, but the truth is in there somewhere.

Jon admits, “This is one of my favourite songs from James Fagan and Nancy Kerr’s repertoire. James and Nancy were the first professional musicians I ever met and I was somewhat in awe of them. I still am, truth be told.”

I’d count myself as a fan too although on the strength of the last CD in particular which is superb, so not with the same longevity as Jon. I’ve managed to track down their version, which is rather basic in the recording, but features James’ voice clear and strong and Nancy’s insistent fiddle, suggesting it might have been a bit of a live classic. I’ll refer to Mainly Norfolk for the fact that both Bellamy and Martin Carthy have recorded this, although I’d note that both are markedly different to this version, which seems to have the verses about shoes, gloves and cheeks floating in from elsewhere. You may want to dabble over at Mudcat where there’s a world of alternatives to take on board, indicating a wider family of songs that have at least passing acquaintance with this one. I suppose the theme of lovers parting is a fairly common one that never went out of fashion. That said I don’t imagine menfolk are much called upon in the foot shoeing department these days.

Jon confesses, “This is one of those songs it’s never really occurred to me to learn because it’s so famous. All Around My Hat being another. Unlike All Around My Hat, this is a great song.”

We’ll let the Hat business lie, especially in light of the Bad Shepherds’ version and get straight into this song that is really a variation on Riddles Wisely Expounded ( Child #1) or The Elfin Knight (Child #2) theme. It’s another where the riddle/impossible task element is set to test the lovers suitability or commitment. If you follow those links through you’ll find several variations in the Child collection and interestingly there are two elements of the” Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme” refrain that crop up. In one variant of #1 there are the daughters “Jennifer, Gentle and Rosemary” and in #2 “Sober and grave (or every rose) grows merry (bonny) in time.” I mention it as Martin Carthy in his notes (courtesy of Mainly Norfolk) attributes a magical or mystical connotation to the combination of herbs. Whilst that may well be reasonable per-se, it doesn’t necessarily sit in context here. Wiki here for more, but the suggestion is that the well known refrain is a  C19th addition, late in the songs life and of no special significance. As a final note you might want to trawl this Mudcat thread that adds some speculation about the various elements of the song, Scarborough and the fair, with some interesting thoughts as to whether this is actually rather bitter. The truth is we’ll never know for sure, although I don’t suppose it much matters as this is a truly lovely song and I’m guessing instantly familiar to all. Martin Carthy taught it to Paul Simon, Art added the counterpoint: a couple of million Radio 2 plays later, it’s so hard wired that I suspect if you severed one of my limbs, you’d find Simon & Garfunkel written right through. Mind you it’s also interesting to see Ewan MacColl’s name crop up at that end of the song’s story. I’m pleased it made the cut and the concertina adds a melancholy note that resonates through the hopelessness of the tasks…  It quite brings a tear to the eye.

Jon calls this “A funny little nursery rhyme from Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. I’m sure the first verse must have some profound metaphorical significance…”

I think it’s destined to remain a mystery if it does, as there seems very little I can find to add to this. Goggling simply brings up a mass of religious stuff and adding nursery rhyme to the search only makes matters worse. Mainly Norfolk at least has Maddy and Tim’s notes with the obvious reference to Oliver Cromwell and King Charles, although that says nothing about the miller’s identity and what he’s got to do with anything. I don’t know whether any of you have any special insight into this but I am very wary of attributing meaning to nursery rhymes and in that respect this Wiki page makes for quite interesting reading. Still please add below if you can, but I caution against Googling as you’ll need the patience of granite to wade through the guff you’ll find.

Jon admits, “This is arguably a bit of a cheat as it’s essentially Derry Gaol, but I’m quite fond of the chorus, and it works well in a session. I wrote the chorus for a production of The Juniper Tree a few years back, and we’ve performed this a few times with the Remnant Kings.”

Fair enough I say, after all we’ve had a few bonuses down the line and I’ll also agree that the chorus adds nicely to this. I’m also grateful as having fallen somewhat behind,  I can simply refer you back here and vow to get myself ahead tomorrow. There are some extras to look courtesy of EFDSS and I’ll also note our anticipation of the Bellowhead album.