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Riddles Wisely Expounded (Child Ballad #1)
Here’s another one of Anais and Jefferson’s re-imaginings of the old Child Ballads: Here are the lyrics as Anais and Jefferson sing them: There were three sisters in the north Lay the bend to the bonny...
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Two by Martin Carthy
I hope to see Martin Carthy live one day; there are very few performers for whom I have a greater respect. Here’s his take on a couple of traditional songs: ‘The Trees They Do Grow High’ and ‘My Son...
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Tam Lin
Here’s another one of the Child Ballads reinterpreted by Anais Mitchell and Jefferson Hamer. Here are the lyrics as Anais and Jefferson sing them: Janet sits in her lonely room Sewing a silken seam And...
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Dance to Your Daddy
Excellent live track from the wonderful James Fagan and Nancy Kerr!
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Anne Briggs – Willie O Winsbury
Anne Briggs was a huge star on the English folk music scene in the sixties and early seventies, and then dropped out and never really performed very much again. She had listened to the old folk singers...
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‘Folk Songs and Renovations’ is here!
My new CD, ‘Folk Songs and Renovations’, arrived from the manufacturer this afternoon. I’m very excited! Recording was done at the excellent Sound Extractor studios here in Edmonton with the brilliant...
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‘The Enigma Of Nic Jones: Return Of Britain’s Lost Folk Hero’
I’m really looking forward to seeing this: Nic Jones is a legend of British folk music. His 1980 album Penguin Eggs was widely acknowledged as a classic and he was poised for international stardom –...
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‘Folk Songs and Renovations’ now available for Digital Download
I’m pleased to announce that ‘Folk Songs and Renovations’ is now available for digital download through the ‘Band Camp’ website. Here’s the link.
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Two by Maddy Prior
Here is the wonderful Maddy Prior singing two songs: The first song is a traditional folk song, sometimes called ‘Sheath and Knife’; it is Child Ballad number 16. Maddy’s lyrics are very close to...
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My CD, ‘Folk Songs and Renovations’.
There have been a lot of new folks following my blog over the past couple of months, so I’d like to draw everyone’s attention to the fact that I have a CD available for sale. It was recorded in...
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Jim Moray – The Golden Glove
This is a traditional song, which Jim has recorded on his latest album, ‘Skulk’. Jim’s website is here.
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Peter, Paul and Mary – Hangman
This is a 1965 performance of the traditional song ‘Hangman’ by Peter, Paul and Mary. This song has many variants in the folk tradition, including ‘The Prickly Bush’ or ‘The Prickle-Eye Bush’. ‘The...
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Tim O’Brien: ‘Fiddler’s Green’, and ‘Pretty Fair Maid’
Here are two of my favourite Tim O’Brien songs: ‘Fiddler’s Green’ (a Tim O’Brien original), and ‘Pretty Fair Maid’ (a traditional song). Both these songs can be found on his album ‘Fiddler’s Green‘....
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Kate Rusby: The Blind Harper
The oldest version of ‘The Blind Harper’ in Francis Childs’ ‘The English and Scottish Popular Ballads’ dates back to 1791, but there are undoubtedly older versions. Nic Jones recorded his version on...
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Megson: ‘Tally IO the Grinder’
This traditional song exists in various versions – some, like this one, are comic songs about marital disharmony, while others are more serious, concerning misfortunes suffered by cutlery grinders and...
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Megson: ‘Take Yourself a Wife’
Here’s a bonus from Megson, who we first heard yesterday!
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Tim O’Brien: ‘The Buffalo Skinners’
This song first appeared in John Lomax’s Cowboy Songs, and Other Frontier Ballads in 1918; I think Woody Guthrie may have been the first to record it. Tim O’Brien’s version, though, is my favourite;...
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Canadee-I-O
Listen to Nic Jones singing one of his most recognizable songs – and listen to Joe Jones just nailing the guitar part, with a few little twists of his own to boot! I didn’t actually think I’d ever get...
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Paul Brady’s brilliant take on ‘Arthur McBride’
This is an old traditional song, but Paul Brady significantly reworked it and added some verses to it.
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