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04 Oct 09 - 10:07 PM (#2738501) Subject: Folk Fraternity...my 'extended family' From: Soldier boy Hello people. I have started this thread by carrying over sentiments I expressed on the "What song do you finish with?" thread. On this thread I supported a suggestion for the song "Will the circle be unbroken" and backed this up by saying: "This is a special song and it has a special meaning to me. For me it kind of sums up the feeling I have that the folk fraternity and all my folkie friends are one big, vibrant, close and loving "Extended Family"; where the bonds I have formed over the years will never be broken. Bless them all, because I feel blessed to have gotten to know them and count them as very special people and very special firm friends in my life. I treasure them all and I am so taken and feel so moved at the moment by this thought that I might just start a new thread to celebrate such relationships formed on the folk circuit and invite you good people to say what such relationships mean to you....." So here it is and that is why I started this thread. I have met and gotten to know so many brilliant people on the folk circuit by attending over 10 folk festivals in the UK each year; usually 7-8 are regular fixtures in my calendar, with 2-3 or more thrown as new festivals to explore. I meet up with the same regular festival-goers at every event and it is like a grand re-union on every occasion. So as time goes by I meet the same familiar faces and it is that familiarity and recognition that draws people together and forms very loyal and close friendships. I feel now that I can go to any folk festival and that I will not feel alone or left out, because of the many folkie friends that I have got to know. This gives me a real sense of 'belonging' and a warm swelling of pride and love in my heart. I really do love and fully appreciate all my folk friends and it really is like I have a very special "extended family" in a very close-knit fraternity. I find that the folk scene attracts like-minded people who are very young at heart and just want to have a good time and enjoy each others company. You might get the odd bad apple, but on the whole, they are a thoroughly decent lot and you rarely get any trouble. Every year, my "extended family" just gets bigger and bigger, as I bump into familiar faces and we introduce ourselves and strike up a friendly conversation. It just keeps on getting better and better as the years progress. I do feel incredibly blessed and fortunate to have so many close and very special friends; and all because we share a love of folk music and the folk experience. I am so glad that I caught the folk 'bug' and know so many great people who feel the same way. So, how is it for you? Do you share the same sentiments as me? Have you made many friends in the folk scene? Do you feel that it is like a special "extended family" and does it also generate a warm glow in your heart? Like me, do you feel blessed because of this? Many thanks. Chris. |
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05 Oct 09 - 04:29 AM (#2738617) Subject: RE: Folk Fraternity...my 'extended family' From: Mo the caller Yes indeed. Ten years ago I spent half of my time in Beverley (Yorkshire) caring for MIL. Went to a folk dance club in Hull and the next morning someone stopped me and chatted when I was shopping. Also went the 'Neliies' folk club and again met a load of people who said hello in the street. It was a lifeline in a stressful time, and I made friends that I keep in touch with, and more that I chat to once a year or whenever we meet. |
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05 Oct 09 - 04:33 AM (#2738620) Subject: RE: Folk Fraternity...my 'extended family' From: Mo the caller And nearer home. We celebrated our Ruby wedding last year. The wdding itself was small (just 8 of us). For the Ruby we had a folk dance, invited all our dancing and musician friends as well as family. About a hundred people turned up carrying plates of food, and we had a whale of a time. |
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05 Oct 09 - 06:07 AM (#2738669) Subject: RE: Folk Fraternity...my 'extended family' From: Allan C. I can scarcely come up with the words to describe my feelings toward the folk community - most especially that portion of which I have found here at the Mudcat. As many of you know, I was so very much in love with these folks that I, along with Bill Sables, set out in 2000 to meet as many as possible along a 10,000 mile route. I envy those of you, (especially those in the UK,) who have such a menu of folk festivals from which to choose. This is something that is sorely lacking in the USA. Or at least it seems so due to the extreme distances between the locations of our best known folk festivals. I have been fortunate enough to be able to attend some in such far flung places as Dallas, Jacksonville, and Oklahoma City as well as the Old Songs festival in New York. I've been equally fortunate of course, to have attended many of the Getaways along with numerous less formal gatherings (if one can say "formal" and Getaway in the same sentence!). At all of these the feeling of camaraderie and singularity of purpose knit the "strangers" there into either friends or at the least very approachable acquaintances. I feel a genuine lacking inside of me when circumstances prevent me from attending such events. I can say little else about my encounters with the folk community but: What a lovely feeling! |
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05 Oct 09 - 10:25 AM (#2738821) Subject: RE: Folk Fraternity...my 'extended family' From: nutty Many of the songs I've written embrace this subject and the feelings that folk gatherings engender. Here's one I wrote some years ago ......... FRIENDS I don't care where I lay my head Be it floor or feather bed As long as there are friends around like you I don't care what I have to eat Or what I wear upon my feet As long as there are friends around like you As long as I can sing my song As long as you will sing along And share in almost everything I do I may not be a a millionaire But I'll be rich beyond compare As long as there are friends around like you I don't care if my hair turns grey Or if the family come to stay As long as there are friends around like you I don't care if the kids get cross Or if I argue with my boss As long as there are friends around like you As long as I can sing my song As long as you will sing along And share in almost everything I do I may not be a a millionaire But I'll be rich beyond compare As long as there are friends around like you And when I'm growing old and frail My spirit it will never fail As long as there are friends around like you And when these earthly days are done The memories will linger on As long as there are friends around like you For then I know you'll sing my song For then I know you'll sing along And talk of all the things we used to do I may not be a millionaire But I'll be rich beyond compare As long as there are friends around like you Copyright H. Bolton 2000 |
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05 Oct 09 - 10:35 AM (#2738827) Subject: RE: Folk Fraternity...my 'extended family' From: Mr Happy Ditto sentiments above - I'm one've the lucky folk in UK with piles've fests & do's near & further every w/end! |
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05 Oct 09 - 06:12 PM (#2739179) Subject: RE: Folk Fraternity...my 'extended family' From: Soldier boy Those are beautiful sentiments nutty. |
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05 Oct 09 - 07:23 PM (#2739211) Subject: RE: Folk Fraternity...my 'extended family' From: Herga Kitty Chris - I agree with your original post. And I was so lucky to find such an amazing folk club when I was 16, which is still going and which inspired George Papavgeris to write "Friends like these"! Kitty |