Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: The Sandman
Date: 10 Apr 25 - 12:09 AM

original carter family songs?

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: GUEST,Keith Price
Date: 09 Apr 25 - 03:46 PM

If we go down that road Mike, there won't be an awful lot of trad songs left to sing.
Maybe that's why I'm hearing less and less traditional songs in my neck of the woods.
If I were to sing a song I think is no longer socially acceptable, I would try to put it in context. If I couldn't I wouldn't sing it.

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: The Sandman
Date: 09 Apr 25 - 10:55 AM

whaling songs describe what happened, they do not necessarily glorify whaling, they also show the mistaken attitude of the past that resources were infinite. it depends how they are sung and how they are introduced

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: GUEST,Mike Yates
Date: 09 Apr 25 - 09:28 AM

Any song to do with Whaling (and rightly so).

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 09 Apr 25 - 09:12 AM

> spare me Caledonia sung in a trans atlantic accent

As it happens, I tried out The Mountains Of Mourne for the first time in a Zoom session last night, and was thanked by someone for not perpetrating the ususal offensive Stage Oirish accent. That's what comes from getting songs from hard copy, rather than listening to recordings .... whence the equally offensive Murkin accent I get annoyed at in alleged folk sessions these days.

End of rant. We now return you to your more measured comments.

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 09 Apr 25 - 07:41 AM

Aha! The care home repertoire - yes, mainly different from what is sung in folk clubs. Here in Scotland, it would be unusual, for example, to hear songs such as Skye Boat Song, Loch Lomond (in its usual version), Mairi's Wedding, Donald, where's your trousers, sung in folk clubs, though very popular for care homes. But bearing in mind the current "vintage" of care home residents (some of them younger than us performing!), other stuff from the 50s-70s goes down well - Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Beach Boys, Lonnie Donegan, and yes, Beatles.
There is a good mix of songs sung in folk clubs and sessions - looking through the list of songs sung in a recent session (yes, we are asked to write down what we are singing, just for the record), at least half were traditional or "in the tradition", but one Beatles song did creep in! And there are a couple of clubs and several festivals that specialise in Traditional song, e.g. Fife Traditional Singing Weekend, Cullerlie.

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: GUEST,Peter Cripps
Date: 09 Apr 25 - 06:16 AM

We love them! And so do our audiences!

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: Hesk
Date: 09 Apr 25 - 05:58 AM

Peter, you have certainly hit the nail on the head. The songs you mentioned are seldom if ever heard in folk clubs, either now or in the past, (Going back to the seventies). However, they were heard on BBC radio programmes such as Singing Together, and appeared in piano music, and popular song books and heard from our parents and grandparents. I think there was a general move away from these well known songs in preference to the lesser known songs from the tradition, especially songs collected in England. Just to be clear, I am talking about clubs in the south and west of England. I am sure different rules apply in Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: GUEST,Peter Cripps
Date: 09 Apr 25 - 04:11 AM

This is not a new complaint! Martyn Wyndham-Read had the same issue 50+ years ago - he made an LP (remember those?) called "The Old Songs" which was a collection of songs no longer heard in folk clubs! Early One Morning, Lavender Blue, Ash Grove, No John No etc! The residents in the Care Homes where we perform certainly know them!

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: GUEST,Duncan McNab
Date: 08 Apr 25 - 04:17 PM

Looking through the suggestions already made I am happy to say I regularly sing, Martin Said to his Man, The Barley Mow and The Old Dun Cow.

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: The Sandman
Date: 08 Apr 25 - 03:54 PM

But people come up to me and say they do not hear many people [guests] singing traditional songs.I am repeating what audience say to me. You too live in Ireland.

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: Raggytash
Date: 08 Apr 25 - 02:26 PM

Depends very much on the club, as you are an occasional visitor to the UK I don't think that you are really in a position to make pronouncements on the state of the clubs or the songs/music performed there.

In Manchester for example, albeit years ago, some clubs where predominantly tradional, some where predominantly contemporary. I would suggest the same could be said of Leeds, Birmingham, London etc etc

Several of the songs you suggested where not being performed are being performed and by posters on here.

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: The Sandman
Date: 08 Apr 25 - 11:08 AM

spare me Caledonia sung in a trans atlantic accent,
but Trad songs seem to be out of fashion in folk clubs. personally i am happy with a mixture of trad songs musichall and contemporary. Ihave had a number of audience say tome nobody very much are singning trad songs these days

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: Fred
Date: 08 Apr 25 - 10:51 AM

Heights Of Alma, a rousing Scottish folk song. YouTube if you haven't heard it. There's a wealth of stuff out there just waiting to be sung


Fred

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 08 Apr 25 - 10:30 AM

> "not the Fields of Athenry again"

*Agree*: it's taken me perhaps a year to persuade Herself that I may have learned it, but can no longer stand playing it. I've had to substitute Down by the Clareen's Mossy Banks, which I haven't worn out yet, to defend myself against earworms.

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: GUEST,Derrick
Date: 08 Apr 25 - 09:54 AM

One reason many songs are no longer heard is they have been over exposed. The songs are good but if repeated too frequently they become stale. Many singers have a limited number of songs and don't make the effort to learn new songs.
I've heard people say things like "not the Fields of Athenry again"
it gets sung about once in 18 months in our club and is treated like an old friend, not that song we've every three weeks for the last year and are bored to death with with

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: Fred
Date: 08 Apr 25 - 06:54 AM

Rambler even :)

Fred

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: Fred
Date: 08 Apr 25 - 06:51 AM

Manchester Ramblet I often include at my gigs, along with Dirty Old Town.

Fred

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 08 Apr 25 - 05:56 AM

I sang 'The Old Dun Cow' last week at Louth Folk Club.

DC

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: The Sandman
Date: 08 Apr 25 - 05:47 AM

Moving Day? Manchester Rambler?

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: The Sandman
Date: 08 Apr 25 - 05:45 AM

Spencer The Rover? 24th of february?The Old Dun Cow?

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: GUEST,Lang Johnnie Mor
Date: 08 Apr 25 - 05:06 AM

Anything traditional, and I can only speak about a few Scottish clubs.
I went to a "singaround / session" last year. The first guy sang "a song by Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues" - unaccompanied, and no, it didn't work, for me at least. Next was a lady from Holland who recited one of her own poems. Followed by "Yellow Submarine", accompanied by ukelele. I would have been up next, but left. There was a total number of 12 people in the room - I think there are 7 on the committee. I did go back a few months later, and it wasn't any better.
How the once mighty have fallen.

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: Hesk
Date: 08 Apr 25 - 03:12 AM

"Martin Said to His Man" is occasionally sung by myself and others in Hampshire UK. it is the kind of song that needs to be given a rest between each rendition, as it quickly loses its appeal without a long gap in between. Nevertheless it goes down well if performed robustly, and it is fun if the singer leaves the door of the room as the song comes to its end.
Other than that, most songs previously heard in our local folk clubs are still heard occasionally. However, no one wants to be the singer who is known as always singing the same song, and for that reason they all need a rest from time to time!

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 07 Apr 25 - 11:38 AM

Anything by Cliff Richard

Subject: RE: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: The Sandman
Date: 07 Apr 25 - 11:34 AM

The Barley Mow?

Subject: Songs no longer heard in uk folk clubs
From: The Sandman
Date: 07 Apr 25 - 10:44 AM

Martin sAid to his Man