Lyr Req: Earsdon Sword Dance Song /Calling-On Song

Subject: Calling on song
From: A Wandering Minstrel
Date: 01 Dec 00 - 09:12 AM

The thread about sword dancing put me in mind of a calling on song that I used to hear sung at the Mayflower in Cambridge, This was called something like Earlsdon or Eldons I can't remember much but a few fragments

It began

Now all you good folk give attention
We have called in to see you by chance
....

One of the verses featured Lord Nelson! and the last line ran

Now you'll see how we handle our swords"

Anyone know whatthis might be or where the lyrics are to be had?

Minstrel

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Calling on song
From: BigDaddy
Date: 01 Dec 00 - 10:27 AM

Try: http://wwwmcc.murdoch.edu.au/~gillard/watersons/frost.html Once there, click on "Earsdon Sword Dance Song." It's available on The Watersons' album, "Frost And Fire."

Or just click here: Earsdon Sword Dance. --JoeClone, 4-May-02.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Calling on song
From: AndyG
Date: 01 Dec 00 - 10:36 AM

And it was me wot sung it ;)

lyrics are here.

AndyG

Subject: Lyr Add: EARSDON SWORD DANCE SONG
From: MMario
Date: 01 Dec 00 - 10:39 AM

and now here:

EARSDON SWORD DANCE SONG

Come people give ear to my story
We have called for to see you by chance
Five heroes I bring blythe and bonny
Intending to give you a dance
For Earsdon is our habitation
It's the place we were all born and bred
There are no finer boys in the nation
And none are more gallantly led

It's not for your gold or your silver
Nor yet for the gain of your gear
But we come for to take a weeks pleasure
And welcome the incoming year
My lads they are all fit for action
With spirits and courage so bold
They are born of a noble extraction
Their fathers were heroes of old

Now I shall tell of brave Elliot
The first youth to enter the ring
And so proudly rejoice I to tell it
He fought for his Country and King
When the Spaniards besieged Gibraltar
T'was Elliot defended the place
And he soon made their plans for to alter
Many died others fell in disgrace

Well the next handsome youth who does enter
Is a boy who is both straight and tall
He is the son of the great Bonaparte
The hero that conquered them all
He went over the Lowlands like thunder
Made nations to quivver and quake
Many thousands left standing in wonder
At the havoc he always did make

Now you see all my fine noble heroes
My fine noble heroes by birth
And they each bear as good a character
As any such heroes on earth
If they be as good as their fathers
Their deeds are deserving records
It is our whole company desires
To see how they handle their swords

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Calling on song
From: A Wandering Minstrel
Date: 01 Dec 00 - 11:58 AM

AndyG!

good to hear from you old mate!

Remember the happy days of Flatt, Capp and Muffler? Are you still at the Sinclair? Is Bernie still Flatt?

Minstrel

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Calling on song
From: A Wandering Minstrel
Date: 01 Dec 00 - 12:03 PM

And thanks to all the other lyrics suppliers too I shall be giving this an airing forthwith

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Calling on song
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 01 Dec 00 - 12:04 PM

This is the song on which Ashley Hutchings based his "Calling On Song", which was written for the first lineup of Steeleye Span.  Through one of those little quirks of punctuation, there are two transcriptions of this on the DT:

Calling On Song

Calling-On Song

Neither is entirely accurate, though the second is better, in spite of the fact that it doesn't mention Earsdon (which is in Northumberland) or Hutchings.  I sent a midi of the tune to Alan of Oz for the  Mudcat Midi Pages a while back; it will appear there in due course.  It was made by ear from the S.Span recording, but is pretty close to the original melody.  I hope you don't think me churlish pointing out that it's Earsdon, not Earsden!  The Earsdon Sword Dance is a Rapper Dance, incidentally; short, flexible steel strips of the kind formerly used to scrape down pit-ponies, rather than the "longswords" still used here in Yorkshire.

Malcolm

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Calling on song
From: A Wandering Minstrel
Date: 01 Dec 00 - 12:28 PM

Malcolm

Your correction duly noted (and me a Geordie lad an all!)

One of the reasons I recalled the song was that I did do some rapper in my distant youth and still have the welts over the small of my back to prove it.

For those who dont know a rapper is a metal strip about 1.5" wide by about 2' 6" long with a handle at each end.

most of the dances require you to start in a circle holding one end of the rapper behind and one end of the rapper ahead. You then have to dance the measures without letting go until the squire calls out "Lock" when the blades are locked into a star pattern and held aloft (to admiring applause!)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Calling on song
From: Leadfingers
Date: 19 Nov 06 - 08:00 AM

Alan Taylor also wrote a song by that name ! It was 'our' Signature tune when I was in 'Fools Gold' back in the good old days !

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Calling on song
From: Bunnahabhain
Date: 19 Nov 06 - 08:29 PM

I'll see if I can get Crystal to post Gairsach rappers calling on song. They're Aberdeen based, so have altered it somewhat.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Calling on song
From: GUEST,Crystal-cookieless
Date: 20 Nov 06 - 01:24 PM

The GAORSACH Calling On song: (Bellowed at the top of the voice rather than sung!)

Good people pay heed to me story,
We've come here not mearly by chance,
Five lassies blithe, bright and bonny,
Intending to give you a dance.
Aberdeen it is our habitation,
And it's were we was Educated
There are nae finer lasses in t' nation
And none are more gallently lead!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Earsdon Sword Dance Song /Calling-On Song
From: GUEST,S
Date: 07 Mar 07 - 08:08 AM

wrapper hasn't gotten any easier... although our calling on song is a lot shorter and we're based in monkseaton... we just summerised the whole thing

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Earsdon Sword Dance Song /Calling-On Song
From: Einsetumadur
Date: 09 Sep 14 - 07:04 AM

I've once transcribed the lyrics of a version of "Earsdon Sword Dance" which Ashley Hutchings with his Albion Country Band Mk.2 in The Howff, London, on December 29 1972. Since there are some minor differences to the versions appearing here, I thought I'd post it here.

Line-up:    Ashley Hutchings (bass), Simon Nicol (lead vocals, electric guitar), Richard Thompson (electric guitar), Roger Swallow (drums), Shirley Collins (lead vocals), Linda Thompson (lead vocals)

The ACB version is fairly grungy and sombre, plodding along heavily in a very slow 6/8 rhythm as R.Thompson's and S.Nicol's electric guitars weave into each other in finest "No Roses" fashion.

In his book "THE SWORD DANCES OF NORTHERN ENGLAND" (1911-1913) Cecil Sharp refers to Simon Nicol's verse as "The Short-Sword Dance", whilst all other verses are attributed to "Earsdon Sword Dance".


Verse1 ("Earsdon Sword Dance"):
[Shirley Collins; D Major]
Good people, give ear to my story,
we have called for to see you by chance;
Five heroes I've brought blithe and bonny,
intending to give you a dance.

For Earsdon is our habitation,
the place we were all born and bred;
There are not finer lads in the nation,
and none are more gallantly led.

Verse 2 ("Earsdon Sword Dance"):
[Shirley Collins; D Major]
'Tis not for your gold or your silver,
nor yet for the gain of your gear.
But we just come to take a week's pleasure,
to welcome the incoming year.

My lads, they are all fit for action,
with spirits and courage so bold;
They are born of a noble extraction,
their fathers were heroes of old.


Verse3 ("The Short-Sword Dance"):
[Simon Nicol; D Major]
And this is the son of brave Elliott,
the first youth to enter the ring ;
and So proudly rejoice I can tell it,
how he fought for his country and king.

"When the Spaniards besieged Gibraltar,
bold Elliott defended the place,
And he so caused their plans for to alter;
some died — others fell in disgrace.


Verse4 ("Earsdon Sword Dance"):
[Shirley Collins; D Major]
Now my next handsome youth that does enter
is a boy of ability bright;
Five thousand gold guineas I'd venture
that he like his father would fight.

At Waterloo and Tarryvary,
Lord Wellington made the French fly ;
You scarcely can find such another,
he'd conquer or else he would die.


Verse5 ("Earsdon Sword Dance"):
[Linda Thompson; C Major]
Oh this one's the son of Lord Nelson,
that hero that fought at the Nile ;
Few men with such courage and talent
the Frenchmen he them did beguile.

The Frenchmen they nearly decoyed him,
but the battle he managed so well.
In their fortress he wholly destroyed them,
scarce one did get home for to tell.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Earsdon Sword Dance Song /Calling-On Song
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 09 Sep 14 - 10:17 AM

Here's a video of five men (with two fiddlers) doing a rapper dance. It's fascinating to watch. The formations are geometric, and nobody ever lets go of the rapper.

It helps that all are about the same height.

fascinating

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Earsdon Sword Dance Song /Calling-On Song
From: GUEST,guest
Date: 10 Sep 14 - 05:20 PM

The Five men are of part The Kingsmen rapper team associated with the university of Newcastle upon Tyne

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Earsdon Sword Dance Song /Calling-On Song
From: GUEST,Visiting Kingsman
Date: 10 Sep 14 - 05:55 PM

Hello on behalf of the Newcastle Kingsmen! I was going to sit out of this, but as I've just seen myself in that video, I'll chuck my hat into the ring briefly. Glad to see people are aware of the song's origins. The dance from Earsdon is the Rolls-Royce of sword dancing. Earsdon's last captain (Mr Pearson) is very much on the go and judges the annual rapper championships. You do well to research your words.

Good health!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Earsdon Sword Dance Song /Calling-On Song
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 11 Sep 14 - 09:09 AM

Hello to you also. It's nice for me to hear from one of the dancers I was watching just last night. I showed the video to my husband, and he was impressed, too.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Earsdon Sword Dance Song /Calling-On Song
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 11 Sep 14 - 10:06 AM

I have, BTW, always felt that some error in oral transmission has occurred at some stage in the line

"some died — others fell in disgrace"

"Fell" is surely, in the context of battle, synonymous with "died"; to "fall in battle" means to be killed. I think the words must originally have been "fled in disgrace"; 'fleeing from the battle might have been regarded as a disgrace; but I don't think falling would.

Anyone agree?

≈M≈

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Earsdon Sword Dance Song /Calling-On Song
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 29 Sep 15 - 05:49 PM

Time marches on. Anyone have sheet music for any of these?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Earsdon Sword Dance Song /Calling-On Song
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 30 Sep 15 - 11:09 AM

It's been a year, but I agree with you, MGM Lion. "Fled" seems more likely.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Earsdon Sword Dance Song /Calling-On Song
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 30 Sep 15 - 01:00 PM

Thank you. leeneia.

≈Michael≈