Tune of the day: The Road to Durham

Subject: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: Johnny J
Date: 24 May 20 - 07:18 AM

Need I say more?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJe70NQ91Es

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: GUEST,Roger
Date: 24 May 20 - 07:34 AM

Cummings and goings??

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 25 May 20 - 07:19 PM

Thought it might have been this one: song of the day?
Durham Gaol

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: GUEST,jim bainbridge
Date: 26 May 20 - 05:31 AM

You got in before me Tattie! Tommy Armstrong wrote the old version after a short term in Durham Gaol for allegedly stealing a pair of socks

Maybe Mr Cummings' trip north should have been one-way- especially with such an ideal lockdown spot on hand?

Can I dedicate the old reel 'Durham Rangers' to the intrepid couple on a 60 mile round trip from Durham, with a driver with dodgy eyesight and a 4 year old in the back?

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: Noreen
Date: 26 May 20 - 07:38 AM

John Spiers's Isolation Pub Session Week 10- Durham Special features The Great North Run and Durham Rangers :)

Have a look in - it's great fun!

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: Johnny J
Date: 26 May 20 - 10:35 AM

Little Musgrave only had "eyes" for Lord Barnard's wife. Visiting the castle was just a welcome bonus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUTfv2P5oW4

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 26 May 20 - 10:59 AM

Frank Callery has just posted a brand new Dom song on his SoundCloud page: also on the Whitby Folk Week Facebook page.

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: Johnny J
Date: 26 May 20 - 11:03 AM

Not folk music but does anyone remember this one?

" Dee doodee Dom Dom,
Dee doodee Dom Dom,
Dee doodee Dom Dom Dee
All together now, one, two, three
Keep your mind on your driving
Keep your hands on the wheel
Keep your snoopy eyes on the road ahead"

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 26 May 20 - 11:06 AM

Thought this was as good as I've seen yet
Jim Carroll

Dom is Back in Durham (Song from a Northern Lass)
Our Dom is back in Durham, he’s away from all the hassle,
Though his eyesight’s failing, he can still see Barnard Castle.
An’ it’s great to have him hyem, we can shout across the hedge —
But the fact that he brought Covid, has us all here on edge.
Chorus
Yes it’s great to have ye yem — my wee bairn, bonny lad,
An yer business at the Castle will make your wee heart glad,
And you sister will be happy when you get that business done,
We’ll all be in the clover when the money boat comes hyem.
Oo he was gan propa radge when they spied him at Barnard,
That nebby bugga caught him — waved his small red card.
But he’ll bluff his way around it, of that I have no doubt
I’ve often told our Dominic, “Shy bairns, they get nowt”.
Never mind that lot in London, the press, those slimy cads,
They’ve got a down on Gordies and other Northern lads!
They’re just jealous of yer prowess, yer power, they can’t handle,
And to your wit and aptitude, they couldn’t hold a candle.
Chorus
Yes it’s great to have ye yem —an’ to see how well ye drive —
With the way yer eyes were looking, it’s a wonder yer alive!
Though you risked a lot in driving, we’re happy that you’ve come
And we’ll all be in the clover when the money boat comes hyem.
— © Frank Callery, May 26th 2020.

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: GUEST,Starship
Date: 26 May 20 - 11:14 AM

Johnny J, is this the song you mean?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1cjaheraq8

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: Johnny J
Date: 26 May 20 - 11:22 AM

That's the one. I remember The Avons version though.

:-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDYpr99FgEk

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: GUEST,Ray
Date: 26 May 20 - 11:24 AM

Surprised nobody has noticed but from North Lodge on Darlington Road, where he was staying, the centre of Barney is over 25 miles - the river, where he said he stopped is out the other side of town. According the the AA, the journey to the centre of Barney would take 43 minutes - i.e. 50% more than the half an hour he claimed!

The interview with Alastair Campbell, whatever you might think of him, earlier this afternoon on the BBC News Channel was a classic - I hope (but doubt) it’ll be repeatsd.

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: Johnny J
Date: 26 May 20 - 11:27 AM

At least he didn't spend "Six days on the road".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDYpr99FgEk

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: leeneia
Date: 26 May 20 - 12:10 PM

Hi, Johnny J. Thanks for posting the link to "Road to Durham". I enjoyed listening to it.

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: GUEST,frank callery
Date: 26 May 20 - 12:45 PM

https://soundcloud.com/frankcallerysongs/dom-is-back-in-durham

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: GUEST,Peter Laban
Date: 26 May 20 - 01:19 PM

In the spirit of this thread:

Liam O'Flynn playing 'The Humours of Castle Bernard' (I know, proper spelling should be 'Barnard', maybe my eyesight was failing me)

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: GUEST,Rob Mad Jock Wright
Date: 26 May 20 - 02:52 PM

And he cannot remember if he stopped to fill up with petrol on the way back.
Surely he can figure that one out after all he managed to construct a wierd and wonderful excuse to over ride the first principle if lock down ...STAY AT HOME.

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: GUEST
Date: 26 May 20 - 03:37 PM

and listen to Nicola, who talks more sense than the lot of them in London

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 26 May 20 - 06:24 PM

And another new one - today - from Grant Simpson from the group North Sea Gas:
Cummings Went to Barnard Castle
Tune; Willie’s gane tae Melville Castle
Oh Cummings went to Barnard Castle
Wife and son an' a'
To test his eyes and tell some lies
Whilst spreading Co-ro-na
Cummings and these other toffs
Can do just as they please
Stay at home is not for them
Let’s go spread some disease...

The first day, well he felt quite rough
Perhaps it's just the flu
It can’t be this Covid 19
That's for the many, not the few
The second day it was quite clear
That something wasn't right
"To hell with this, let's drive up north.
Get away from all this *****."

He grabbed his wife, his son as well
And packed up his big car
We must away and isolate
But Durham is quite far
The rules are there, we cannot go
But to us, they don’t apply
We're rich, we do just what we want
If caught, we'll simply lie.

Afterwards in London Town
There was a big stramash
An interview in Downing Street
A bloody great car crash
We'll blame the press, we'll blame the plebs
We'll fight them, wait and see
And if they still won't go away
I'll bribe the BBC!

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: Joe G
Date: 26 May 20 - 07:22 PM

A great addition to the tradition of recounting actual events. We live in interesting, if depressing, times. People will still vote for the them though :-(

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: Felipa
Date: 31 May 20 - 01:24 PM

I haven't yet read most of the posts added since I first saw this post, so apologies for any duplication. I listened to Altan on youtube to refresh my memory of the tune (I'd heard it before, but never knew the title). Thereupon I came across lots of newly written parodies re Cummings travels. My favourite video was The Dash to Durham, loosely based on the Monster Mash. There was a song re Barnard Castle and as you may expect, parodies of "I can see clearly now", "my way" and at least two different remakes of the Proclaimers "500 Miles".

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: GUEST,Observer
Date: 31 May 20 - 05:45 PM

"I came across lots of newly written parodies re Cummings travels"

Basically how did you view them Felipa?

"The Dash to Durham" for instance. Any mention in this parody about the likelihood of a four year old autistic child finding himself being cared for by people who were complete and utter strangers?

The police investigated this journey and according to them no guidelines were breached or broken - so please tell me who are those and what exactly is their authority to state that that is not so. The person who "reported Cummings most certainly did break the guide lines and the other "witness" for the rest of his life will be condemned as a self confessed LIAR - doesn't matter if he only did it for a joke - take a good look at the baying crowd of idiots outside Dominic Cummings house in London to see how funny that was! I dare say had it happened to you you would have found it hilarious.

I actually wonder when common sense and decency will surface regarding this matter. The longer it goes on the more MSM and the gullible fools who fell for it will be made to look the complete and utter clowns that they undoubtedly are.

And the songs and the parodies will disappear completely from view as they are based on lies and the "testimony" of hypocrites - please do not take the people of this country for fools that was Labour's mistake in the run up to 12th December 2019.

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 31 May 20 - 06:42 PM

I don't think people who write topical songs necessarily expect them to last - maybe what Tom Paxton used to call "short shelf-life songs", but they are a comment on the happenings of the times we live in. People have done it for as long as anyone has been writing songs. They will disappear as they are no longer topical, not because they were inherently bad!
Between social media, biased TV reporting and newspaper journalists having their own axes to grind, who is to know what is "false news" or "false false news" or - heaven forbid, no really? - the truth???

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: Hagman
Date: 31 May 20 - 08:48 PM

He was obviously researching Vaughan Williams' 1911 collection from the workhouse at the Castle, that included a verse or two of the Holmfirth Anthem. A folkie at heart - surely we can forgive him?

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 01 Jun 20 - 10:12 AM

And as an aside to this: it's possible that "The Road to Durham" was written about another Durham, in New York State, when Altan were on their way to an Irish-themed festival there.

I had also heard a rumour about Cummings' child being autistic, but no confirmation of that. The Durham Police said that the lockdown regulations "may" have been broken, but chose to take no further action: sitting firmly on the fence then....

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: Johnny J
Date: 01 Jun 20 - 12:44 PM

Yep,

According to the notes in "Altan The Tunes"
( one of the more expensive tune books I've purchased but well worth the money. The lovely Mairead and her colleagues even signed it for me),
the tune was composed by Seattle based musicians david Molk and Armin Barney on the way to Durham in the catskills region of New York State.

Apparently, the band first heard the tune played by Cathal McConnell who learned it from Liz Carroll.

It's a good tune.

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 01 Jun 20 - 01:34 PM

Oooo, lucky you! That's more or less what I'd read about the tune on The Session website.

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: Johnny J
Date: 01 Jun 20 - 01:47 PM

Yes, I bought it at Stonehaven Festival two years ago. Sadly, I'll not be there this year.

Subject: RE: Tune of the day: The Road to Durham
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 01 Jun 20 - 06:38 PM

Nor will we! Accommodation booked for next year, in hopes!