A Folk Song a Week

I’ve been singing the Copper Family’s version of ‘Cupid’s Garden’ for some years now – I posted it here as Week 178, back in 2015.

Here’s a fine carol from George Dunn, Quarry Bank, Staffordshire.

The short version… Download ‘Shepherds Arise’ from https://andyturner.bandcamp.com/track/shepherds-arise All proceeds will be donated to Cancer Research UK.

50 years a folky?

The title track from the 1974 Topic LP, featuring Mike Yates’ recordings of George Spicer, and one of several songs which I learned when I first heard the record, circa 1979 (had it not been for this version, I’d have almost certainly learned the Harry Cox

For some reason, I’ve never had a version of Roud number 1 in my repertoire, despite having been familiar with the song for many many years – from the classic Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick LP Prince Heathen, the first Planxty album, and John Kirkpatrick

I would have first heard this song in the late 1970s on the Leader LP Our Side of the Baulk, which alongside the first Walter Pardon LP A Proper Sort, was included in the stock of the record section of Ashford public library.

Ten and a half years ago I posted a recording of the song ‘The Gentleman Soldier’ which had been collected by Anne Gilchrist from a Mr Thomas Coomber, at Blackham in Sussex.

Following on from yesterdays’ post about KentTrad.org, here’s a song which you’ll find on the site: ‘Bold Fisherman’, collected by Cecil Sharp at Warehorne, Kent, on 23rd September 1908.

Regular visitors to this site will be aware that I sing quite a number of songs collected in my native county of Kent.

I’ve been spending a lot of time recently looking at songs collected in my native county of Kent.