Category: songs

Lal Waterson 1971

Mike Waterson 

The Melrose Quartet: Melrose Quartet “Scarecrow” – Official Video animation by Lal’s daughter Marry Waterson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dZBTlH0skc

As I walked out one summer’s morn, I saw a scarecrow tied to a pole in a field of corn. His coat was black, his head was bare, And when the wind shook him the crows took into the air. Ah, but you’d lay me down and love me, Ah, but you’d lay me down and love me if you could. ‘Tis only a bag o’ rags in an overall That the wind sways so the crows fly away and the corn can grow tall. As I walked out one winter’s day, I saw an old man hanging from a pole in a field of clay. His coat was gone, his head hung low, Until the wind flung it up to look, wrung its neck and let it go. How could you lay me down and love me? How could you lay me down and love me now? ‘Tis only a bag o’ rags in an overall That the wind blows and the kids throw stones at the thing on the pole. As I walked out one fine spring day, I saw twelve jolly dons dressed up in blue and gold so gay. And to a pole they tied a man new born, And then the old sang, and the bells rung, as they sowed the corn. Now you can lay me down and love me, Now you can lay me down and love me if you will. You’re only a bag o’ rags in an overall But the wind blew and the sun shone too and you in the corn stood tall.

 

 

John Pole 1973

 

Roy Bailey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmnpbZfHLos

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

In the house where I was born, first home I knew There’s corrugated iron blinding all the windows In the garden Dad made round the lawn Where green grass grew There’s muck and rubble and mud, half bricks and cinders For the developers have come to town And soon I’ll see it, see it come down See it come down My old mum they moved her to a high rise flat Where she misses her mates and hopes we’ll see her Sunday She lives alone with a lovely view and a clean doormat Afraid that death will catch her napping some day The lady with meals on wheels, the one friend she’s found Though she cries for the old place, she won’t see it come down See it come down Cloud of dust like smoke round a demolition site where I drive my crane Swinging the big steel ball that smashes walls in Winch it back careful, get the cable right, let it swing again There’s a little more no-man’s-land as each brick falls in A car park and an office block when I’ve cleared the ground They’ve paid me to see it, and now I’ve seen it come down Seen it come down We was all one where we lived, wish we were now We had debts and dole and kids but we did have neighbours Where the street was they want to build a tombstone tower Like a monster concrete moneybox for strangers Every last square foot of it worth a hundred pounds Some day we’ll see that come tumbling down See it come down

 

 

trad 

 

Nancy Kerr assembled this version from “less well-known versions of this archetypal gardener-as-lover song, based around a melody collected by Ella Mary Leather in Weobley, Herefordshire.”

The Melrose Quartet: https://melrosequartet.bandcamp.com/track/the-seeds-of-love

https://melrosequartet.bandcamp.com/track/the-seeds-of-love

I sowed the seeds of love It was all in the spring In April May and in June likewise While small birds they do sing (x2) My garden was planted well With flowers everywhere But I hadn’t the liberty to choose for myself The flowers that I loved dear My gardener he stood by And I asked him to choose for me He chose me the violet the lily and the pink But those I refused all three In June there’s a red rose bud And that’s the flower for me For often have I plucked at the red rose bud Til I gained the willow tree Come all you false young men Don’t leave me to complain For grass that has often been trampled underfoot Given time it will rise again

 

 

Peter Smith 2020

 

Melrose Quartet: https://melrosequartet.bandcamp.com/track/sheffield-wassail

https://melrosequartet.bandcamp.com/track/sheffield-wassail

It is so many weeks since we’ve seen the evening sunÿ And solstice time has sung its rhyme and wassail time is comeÿ Chorus Here’s to you and your families, young lovers and old friends,ÿ We’ll welcome in the New Year now we’ve seen the old one end.ÿ So here we come a wandering, upon this wintry nightÿ And here we come a-wassailing to make the future brightÿ God bless the old and weary whose times is nearly runÿ And all the unsung carers who are paid a paltry sumÿ And God bless the young and hearty, whose futures are unclearÿ We wish them work and plenty and a prosperous New Yearÿ So think on those who have no home who sleep from door to doorÿ And damn the rich and famous, who greed for more and moreÿ God damn the politicians who lie and cheat each dayÿ And damn the institutions who help them on their wayÿ God bless the keepers of this pub and all who dwell withinÿ So raise your glass and raise your voice and sing the New Year inÿ The old year’s gone forever, God bless it and good cheerÿ I’ll raise my glass and wish you all a happy New Year

 

 

trad 

 

Earliest recording on Mainly Norfolk 1966 was “originally from a Gloucestershire set printed by Lucy Broadwood in her English County Songs published in 1893. Cecil Sharp found the song being sung in Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Gloucestershire; the Hammond Brothers found it in Dorset and George Gardiner heard the song in Hampshire and Sussex. More recently, Gwilym Davies has recorded versions from singers in Devon, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.”

Melrose Quartet: https://melrosequartet.bandcamp.com/track/shepherds-song

https://melrosequartet.bandcamp.com/track/shepherds-song

We shepherds are the best of men that e’er trod English ground When we come to an alehouse we value not one crown We spends our money freely and we pay before we go For there’s no ale on the wold where the stormy winds do blow A man that is a shepherd does need a valiant heart He must not be faint-hearted, but boldly play his part He must not be faint-hearted, be it rain or frost or snow With no ale on the wold where the stormy winds do blow When I kept sheep on Blockley Hill it caused my heart to beat To see the ewes hang out their tongues and hear the lambs to bleat So I plucked up my courage, and o’er the hills did go And penned them in, in the fold, where the stormy winds do blow As soon as I had folded them I turned my back in haste Unto some jovial company, good liquor for to taste For drink and jovial company, they are my heart’s delight While my sheep lie asleep all the fore-part of the night

 

 

trad 

 

The Teacups wrote in 2020: “As far as we know, this shanty was only collected in one place: in 1886 by James Taft Hatfield on a crossing from Pensacola to Nice, aboard the Ahkera.”

The Teacups: https://haystackrecords.bandcamp.com/track/shiney-o

https://haystackrecords.bandcamp.com/track/shiney-o

Captain, captain, you are a dandy Way-ay-ay-ay, shiny-o Captain, captain, you love your brandy Way-ay-ay-ay, shiny-o Won’t you ferry me over to Dover Won’t you ferry me over to Dover Queenstown to Dover’s a hundred miles or over Queenstown to Dover’s a hundred miles or over Captain, captain, how deep is the water? It measures one inch, six feet and a quarter Captain, captain, I love your daughter Captain, captain, I love your daughter Shiny-o is the captain’s daughter For her I’m sailing across this water Rivers, rivers, rivers are a-rolling Rivers are a-rolling and I can’t get over Captain, captain, you are a dandy Captain, captain, you love your brandy

 

 

Nancy Kerr 2014

 

Nancy Kerr: https://nancykerr.bandcamp.com/track/sickle-and-harvest

https://nancykerr.bandcamp.com/track/sickle-and-harvest

Oh the trees they grew tall in my garden Lush were the leaves so ambitiously springing When the mistletoe fallen from heaven Ushered in love so deliciously clinging Chorus: Sickle and harvest; fiddle and bow Sing to my heart and play at your courting Now look at me falling Freed like a miracle; seed where I land I might never let go How unwary the love that confesses For morning undresses us sweet as a feather But a melody never trangresses And whiskey’s caresses might bring us together Well all the bones in the clay are embracing Facing eternity chasing each other And all the trees with their branches unlacing Bracing for mistletoe’s miracle lover Oh for youth is a crow at the harvest Beauty is bound to be fickle and flee us Now the moon is a sickle in darkness Kiss me whilst only true lovers might see us

 

 

Fred Small 

 

Fred Small: Simple Living

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

Too many words too many sounds Too many attractions turn me around Too many miles in a chrome cocoon I never get anywhere I can’t see the moon Too many commercials too many lies Too many celebrities I don’t recognize Too many brand names too many magazines I got so much sensation I can’t feel a thing Chorus: Simple living Got to get to simple living Simple living Simple Simply living Too many things we just throw away If we put it in the garbage we’re gonna eat it someday We turn on the lights and a river dies We turn the TV on to see an eagle fly Bridge: Too much work with nothing to do Too many dreams that never come true Too much hurting without a second glance Too much desperation they call romance Gonna take this life pare it to the bone Baby when you knock baby I’ll be home I’ll make my breakfast sweep the floor Open the window unlock the door Gonna turn off the video the audio too Open my eyes take in the view See the divine in the veins of a leaf In the hands of a beggar in the eyes of a thief

 

 

Nic Jones 1978

 

Chorus and tune published by John Piersol McCaskey in 1892, attributed to Sir Walter Scott as Minstrel’s Request.

Chorus Dark the night and long till day, Do not bid us further stray. Now the sun it doth decline, Pour the beer and pour the wine; Let us lead your thoughts astray From the world and from the day. We bring songs from history, Love and war and mystery. We can lead you from despair Or can chill the darkening air. You can choose to pass us by With a cruel or scornful eye. We will see the ending through; Then we’ll turn and say to you

 

 

Utah Phillips 2003

 

According to Mudcat, Phillips wrote it for the homeless shelter in Nevada City, and the tune is by Paul Kamm & Eleanor MacDonald.

Sometimes our living gets so dark and lonesome, It seems like there’s nothing we can do. So we reach out to each other, and raise a song together, And let our voices carry us through. CHORUS: We are singing through the hard times, Singing through the hard times; Working for the good times to come. We are singing through the hard times, Singing through the hard times; Working for the good times to come. And when the war clouds gather, it’s so easy to get angry, And just as hard not to be afraid; But you know in your own heart, no matter what happens, You just can’t turn your back and walk away. So hand in hand together, we help each other carry The light of peace within us every day; If we can learn to live it, to walk and talk and give it, That world of peace won’t be so far away.