From Lincolnshire Poacher to St. Thomas

Subject: From Lincolnshire Poacher to St. Thomas
From: Will Fly
Date: 24 Feb 12 - 07:56 AM

Prompted by seeing Sonny Rollins on UK TV the other evening, I thought I'd revisit his classic "St. Thomas", which I used to play rhythm guitar to many years ago in a jazz outfit. Checking up on the song's date (1955) on the Blessed Wikipedia, it said that the tune's origins lie in the English folk song "The Lincolnshire Poacher" which got to the Virgin Islands, where it acquired a "Caribbean vibe" through the "folk process". Sonny Rollins's mum, who came from the islands, used to sing it to him.

Well I never! Good old folk process, eh?

Will Fly - "St. Thomas"

(I actually couldn't sleep last night, so spent an hour lying in bed, working out the guitar arrangement in my head. It's the second best fun you can have without your clothes on...)

Subject: RE: From Lincolnshire Poacher to St. Thomas
From: fat B****rd
Date: 24 Feb 12 - 03:49 PM

Outstanding, Will, outstanding.
I also watched the Rollins programmes and was well impressed.
Charlie (who was nearly bound apprentice............)

PS Did anybody watch the programme about Barbara Thompson?

Subject: RE: From Lincolnshire Poacher to St. Thomas
From: Will Fly
Date: 24 Feb 12 - 04:09 PM

Yes, I watched the Barbara Thompson programme. What an impressive lady as well as an impressive musician. Her marriage to Jon Hiseman must be one of the most loving and enduring partnerships in music.

And what an interesting and revealing insight into Parkinson's Disease.

Subject: RE: From Lincolnshire Poacher to St. Thomas
From: GUEST,keberoxu
Date: 18 Feb 25 - 07:54 PM

I have just read the authorized biography of Sonny Rollins, called
Saxophone Colossus, with exhaustive accounts of his many recordings and appearances.
"St. Thomas" figures large and often in the book.
The book itself is a doorstopper, a huge thing, some 700 pages.