________________________________________________________________
Drive The Cold Winter Away (2025)
An album of winter songs released on 29th November 2025. Available for pre-order from the Folk London shop.
An album of winter songs released on 29th November 2025. Available for pre-order from the Folk London shop.
Track listing
(click titles for more information on each song, including lyrics where permissible)
1. I Heard a Bird Sing (Words: Oliver Herford; music: Dave Camlin)
2. Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn (Jack White)
3. Drive the Cold Winter Away (Words published by Henry Gosson; music: John Playford; arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
4. Cherry Tree Carol (Traditional, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
5. Halsway Carol (Words: Iain Frisk; music: Nigel Eaton)
6. I Saw Three Ships (Words: William Sandys; music: traditional, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
7. I Wonder As I Wander (Annie Morgan/John Jacob Niles)
8. Joy (Tracey Thorn)
9. Cloudy Sunday / Patapan (Tanja Kucan Floyd, arr. Horace Mouse Band / Bernard de la Monnoye, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
10. Ding Dong Merrily on High (Words: George Ratcliffe Woodward; music: Jehan Tabourot; arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
11. Hark the Herald Angels Sing (Words: Charles Wesley; music: Felix Mendelssohn, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
12. Come On! Let’s Boogey to the Elf Dance! (Sufjan Stevens)
13. Ring Boys Ring / Old Joe Clark (Words: Stu Hannah; music: traditional)
14. So Much Wine (Brett Sparks & Rennie Sparks)
15. There is Always Love (Words: Iain MacDonald; music: Michelle Woolfenden)
16. Good King Wenceslas (Words: John Mason Neale; music: Thomas Helmore; arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
17. Tar Barrel in Dale (George Unthank)
18. Here We Come A-Wassailing (Traditional, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
Released November 29, 2025.
Singers: Tom Albu, David Armitage, Ali Ball, Rosie Barnes, Chrissy Baxter, Anja Beinroth, Fiona Clark, Eleanor Dale, Charis Enga, Simon Franklin, Mary Gillard, Seth Gillman, Alex Graham, Jake Hacker, Patsy Hans, Viki Hemmingway, Rachel James, Michael Joseph, Tanja Kucan Floyd, Angie Lacey, Caroline Lawton, Iain MacDonald, Ginny Page, Ellie Pitt, Frieda Schicker, Neil Sinden, Alicia Tomsett and Kathryn Willgress.
Musicians: Tom Albu – descant & sopranino recorders; David Armitage – melodeon, harmonica, whistle; Mary Gillard – shruti box; Seth Gillman – bodhrán; Alex Graham – guitar; Tanja Kucan Floyd – banjo; Iain MacDonald – guitar, shruti box; Ginny Page – descant recorder; Alicia Tomsett – shruti box; Michelle Woolfenden – bass & treble recorders, violin, mandolin, accordion, digi bells.
Arrangements and direction by Michelle Woolfenden.
Recording and mixing by Glenn Keiles.
Cover art: Michelle Woolfenden.
Track notes: Fiona Clark.
Morris logo: Elsbeth van der Poel.
This album is dedicated to our wonderful friend Elaine Hoctor (1954-2025). Elaine was a long-time choir member who sang beautifully, and brought us all closer by making cakes and writing cards for everyone’s birthdays. We miss you, Elaine.
---
Michelle Woolfenden, Director of Morris Folk Choir:
Winter is a special season for singers. As a choir, we are always busy in the winter months with Remembrance services, busking to raise money for charity, Christmas concerts and ceilidh dances, and, of course, singing in pubs and at parties.
Morris Folk Choir sing a huge number of winter songs spanning the centuries and our collection grows every year. Many songs make us dance. Some make us laugh. Others make us cry.
This album is a chance for us to share the songs we most love singing at this time of year. Well-known carols have been reimagined and rearranged in a way that hopefully invites participation. There are songs here for celebration, songs of worship, songs of nature and more.
The tracks on this CD include traditional folk songs and newer numbers, two of which were written by members of the choir. Our own Horace Mouse Band accompany many of these songs and feature violin, guitar, banjo, melodeon, shruti box, bodhrán, harmonica, mandolin and various whistles.
The mix of sacred and secular has long been embraced by the folk tradition and reflects the religious and pagan festivals of winter. This is perhaps best summed up by Sufjan Stevens’ wonderful Elf Dance, with its mash‑up of “Away in a Manger, no crib for a bed” with “Santa Claus is coming, hear the banjo strumming …”
Everything is here in this season.
As Tracey Thorn writes in Joy:
“It’s because of the dark
We see the beauty in the spark
That’s why, that’s why
The carols make you cry …”
Cry by all means, but I do hope you enjoy listening, singing, and hopefully dancing with us this winter.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Song Information & Lyrics
(Quoted notes from CD booklet compiled by Fiona Clark)
1. I Heard a Bird Sing
(Words: Oliver Herford; music: Dave Camlin)
'Dave Camlin composed this round for Sing In! and Sing Owt! community choirs, using a poem by Oliver Herford. It returns to our repertoire each winter, reminding us that spring is on its way.'
---
I heard a bird sing in the dark of December
A magical thing and sweet to remember
We are nearer to spring than we were in September
I heard a bird sing in the dark of December
---
2. Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn
(Jack White)
'A song celebrating Scotland’s national flower (the thistle) and patron saint (St Andrew). Both members of the White Stripes have Scottish ancestry. Our YouTube channel (youtube.com/user/morrisfolkchoir) includes a version of this song that Morris recorded remotely during the 2020 lockdown when we missed singing together. We like singing it around the time of St Andrew’s Day, 30 November, and hope you’ll join in with the punchy chorus!'
---
3. Drive the Cold Winter Away
(Words published by Henry Gosson; music: John Playford; arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
'The text comes from a 17th-century broadside ballad entitled “A pleasant Countrey new Ditty, Merrily shewing how To driue the cold Winter away”. Broadsides were large, printed sheets, sold on the street or by travelling “chapmen”, generally containing the words of ballads. It has been suggested that Playford included it because of his opposition to the Puritans’ abolition of Christmas in 1647.'
---
4. Cherry Tree Carol
(Traditional, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
'This song is both a Christmas carol and a Child ballad (number 54). The choir are sometimes bemused by the family dynamic on show – Joseph’s mistrust of Mary gets the better of him but his jealousy is quickly rebutted by Jesus performing a miracle from his mother’s womb! The story may come from the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew. Versions have been collected on both sides of the Atlantic. Michelle fell in love with this carol after hearing Peggy Seeger’s version (one of the songs in her mother Ruth Crawford Seeger’s book American Folk Songs for Children).'
---
5. Halsway Carol
(Words: Iain Frisk; music: Nigel Eaton)
'Nigel Eaton wrote this tune in 2011 to suit a schottische (a type of Bohemian country dance, popular in the Victorian era). He then taught it in a hurdy-gurdy workshop at Halsway Manor. Iain Frisk was one of the workshop participants, and he added lyrics and altered the tune a little to make it easier for singers. It’s a song to celebrate the winter solstice on 21 December.'
---
6. I Saw Three Ships
(Words: William Sandys; music: traditional, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
'This carol was published in the 17th century, but is likely to have been around for longer. The tune may derive from Derbyshire and the lyrics we sing were written by William Sandys in 1833. It’s been observed that Bethlehem is inland, making it tricky to sail into. Plus, Mary and Joseph arrived on a little donkey (unless that song is also historically inaccurate?). Perhaps the Three Ships are a reference to the travels of the Wise Men on their “ships of the desert”? Or to (Good) King Wenceslaus’s “azure three galleys argent” coat of arms? As a folk choir, we sing this in the style of a call-and-response sea shanty.'
Solo vocalist: Ginny Page.
---
7. I Wonder As I Wander
(Annie Morgan/John Jacob Niles)
'John Jacob Niles explains in his autobiography: “A girl had stepped out to the edge of the little platform attached to the automobile. She began to sing. Her clothes were unbelievably dirty and ragged, and she, too, was unwashed. Her ash-blond hair hung down in long skeins … But, best of all, she was beautiful, and in her untutored way, she could sing. She smiled as she sang, smiled rather sadly, and sang only a single line of a song.” Niles got the girl, Annie Morgan, to resing it seven times, paying her 25 cents a time. He left with “three lines of verse, a garbled fragment of melodic material – and a magnificent idea”. This was one of the first carols ever sung by Morris Folk Choir, way back in 2008.'
Solo vocalist: Tanja Kucan Floyd.
---
8. Joy
(Tracey Thorn)
'This featured on Tracey Thorn’s 2012 Christmas album Tinsel and Lights. Niall McMurray said of it in his Into the Popvoid blog: “It’s a small, quiet song … which pulls ever so gently on the loose thread of why we love this time of year, picking it apart just enough to understand, it but not so much that the whole thing unravels.” This song has become a firm favourite in the Morris repertoire and invariably makes at least one of us cry when we sing it.'
---
9. Cloudy Sunday / Patapan
(Tanja Kucan Floyd, arr. Horace Mouse Band / Bernard de la Monnoye, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
'Tanja is a longstanding member of the choir who has recently been studying music, which emboldened her to start writing down some of the many melodies that swirl around her head. One of them is Cloudy Sunday, which sounds like it was waiting to emerge for several centuries, until Tanja learned about the Dorian mode. Patapan is a French carol, first published in 1720. It’s another one that’s been in the choir’s repertoire for a long time. Wikipedia claims that it inspired the “pa-rum-pa-pum-pum” chorus of The Little Drummer Boy.'
---
10. Ding Dong Merrily on High
(Words: George Ratcliffe Woodward; music: Jehan Tabourot; arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
'The earliest carols were circular dances, often involving communal singing. This famous carol was first written down by Frenchman Thoinot Arbeau (the pen name of the French cleric Jehan Tabourot) in the 16th century. It was originally a folk tune known as Branle de l’Officiel. It was then transformed into the carol we know today by George Ratcliffe Woodward, a 19th-century Anglican hymn writer. He invented some preposterously archaic words (“Let steeple bells be swungen”) to suit this ancient melody. We have added a choral peal of bells to the refrain.'
---
11. Hark the Herald Angels Sing
(Words: Charles Wesley; music: Felix Mendelssohn, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
'Charles Wesley’s original words, written on Christmas Day 1739, were set to a different tune and were later refined by at least two other preachers (George Whitefield and then Martin Madan). It wasn’t until 1855 that organist William Cummings set the lyrics to the tune of Felix Mendelssohn’s Festgesang, a piece composed to celebrate Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press. After many years of individually singing the traditional version of this carol, our choral version has evolved into a celebratory dance tune.'
Solo vocalist: Fiona Clark.
---
12. Come On! Let’s Boogey to the Elf Dance!
(Sufjan Stevens)
'Sufjan Stevens has A LOT of Christmas songs but this gem covers all of the elements of the festive season: the nativity, families spending time together, shops closing, snow, banjos, trees, mistletoe and presents (although I have to take issue with the notion that “mittens and socks” are “good gifts”). This is our “Marmite” song! Some choir members love it and others hate it. I have a theory that people like either Patapan or Elf Dance – which side are you on?'
---
13. Ring Boys Ring / Old Joe Clark
(Words: Stu Hannah; music: traditional)
'Old Joe Clark is a well-known American folk tune and square dance, with many variants. Hedy West’s sleevenotes say: “Of the verses of Old Joe Clark, one Indiana farmer said: ‘There’s thousands of ’em. Everyone has his own version.’ Scholars set the number more modestly at 144.” We learned this version from Stu Hannah, who added new words to it for the first album by the folk supergroup A Winter Union.'
---
14. So Much Wine
(Brett Sparks & Rennie Sparks)
'A cautionary tale from the Handsome Family. Its mention of Christmas led to its inclusion in our festive repertoire, with a nod to those for whom the season can bring extra challenges.'
---
15. There is Always Love
(Words: Iain MacDonald; music: Michelle Woolfenden)
'This song was created by our own Michelle and Iain for a competition. Iain says: “I wanted to write about Christmas being a celebration not of how great everything is, but of the coming of Christ as light into darkness. But I also wanted to write something which could be sung from the heart by those who believe and those who don’t, singing of the Friend who came at Christmas – using words associated with Christmas and Christ – or of a dear friend in their own life.”'
---
16. Good King Wenceslas
(Words: John Mason Neale; music: Thomas Helmore; arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
'This has always seemed to me to be the carol that is most like a traditional folk ballad. It tells the story of an act of kindness by St Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia. Hymnwriter John Mason Neale was keen to promote saints’ days within the church and published Deeds of Faith: Stories for Children from Church History, which includes a chapter on Wenceslas. The tune is based on that of a 13th-century spring carol, Tempus Adest Floridum (Eastertime Has Come).'
Solo vocalist: Neil Sinden.
---
17. Tar Barrel in Dale
(George Unthank)
'This song was written by George Unthank after he witnessed a peculiar local ritual one snowy New Year’s Eve. At Allendale in Northumberland, the Tar Barrel Festival has been a tradition of welcoming the New Year for at least 160 years. Men in disguise parade around the village carrying flaming tar barrels on their heads. The fiery procession swarms through the streets, illuminating them with the flames, then returns to the main square just before midnight, where the barrels are thrown on to the bonfire. Probably not one to try at home ...'
---
18. Here We Come A-Wassailing
(Traditional, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
'This song brings together elements of two traditions around Twelfth Night in early January – singing and wassailing. The Anglo Saxon greeting “waes hael” translates as “good health”. Singing (and hanging toast) in orchards was a way to ensure a good harvest. Wassailing involves going from house to house with a bowl, offering a drink, a song and good luck in exchange for money or food. We learned this from the version sung by the Watersons on their album Frost and Fire.'
---
________________________________________________________________
Loud and Proud: Ten Years of Morris Folk Choir (2018)
An album recorded to mark our 10th Anniversary. Some copies of the CD are available, at time of writing, from the Folk London shop; if they have gone, it is still available for download from the Folk London Bandcamp page.
An album recorded to mark our 10th Anniversary. Some copies of the CD are available, at time of writing, from the Folk London shop; if they have gone, it is still available for download from the Folk London Bandcamp page.
Track listing
(click titles for more information on each song, including lyrics where permissible)
1. Ho Ro Haradala/Yenamanoa (Traditional puirt-a-beul songs, arr. Michelle Woolfenden after Dolores Keane and John Faulkner)
2. Three Little Babes / Motherless Child (Traditional, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
3. Raggle Taggle Gypsy (Traditional, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
4. King of Birds (Karine Polwart, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
5. Sumer is Icumen In (Medieval English Round, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
6. Roseville Fair (Bill Staines, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
7. Raise Your Voice (Jess Arrowsmith, arr. Melrose Quartet/Michelle Woolfenden (with additional verse by Ginny Page))
8. St Giles Bowl (Tim Jones, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
9. Mingulay Boat Song (Roberton/Traditional, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
10. Haul Away Joe (Traditional Sea Shanty, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
11. Eli the Barrow Boy (Colin Meloy, arr The Decemberists/Michelle Woolfenden)
12. Paddy on the Railway (Traditional, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
13. This Old Hammer/Cluck Old Hen (Traditional, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
14. Tar Barrel in Dale (George Unthank, arr. The Unthanks/Michelle Woolfenden)
15. Wren in the Furze (Traditional, arr. The Chieftains/Michelle Woolfenden)
Bonus Track: My Son John (Traditional British shanty, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
Released 1st January, 2018.
Singers: Alison George, Anja Beinroth, Belinda Moore, Elaine Hoctor, Elise Baerd, Fiona Clark, Ginny Page, Hannah Crowe, Iain MacDonald, Jane Perrott, Jen Charon, Jo Ackerman, Marian Carty, Mark ter Telgte, Mark Wakeling, Matthew Garrett, Michael Dewar, Michael Joseph, Neil Sinden, Phil Weight, Rachel James, Rosie Barnes, Russell Parton, Ruth Ryder, Sarah McDermott, Seth Gillman, Simon Franklin, Sue Monk, Suzanne Gailey, Suzanne Olsen and Tanja Kucan Floyd.
Instrumentalists: Matthew Garrett – guitar; Iain MacDonald – guitar; Tanja Kucan Floyd – banjo; Julia O’Hanlon – concertina, fiddle; Mark ter Telgte – harmonica; Hannah Crowe – clogs; Michelle Woolfenden – fiddle, recorders, triangle.
Recording and mixing by Glenn Keiles.
All tracks recorded 2018 at St Barnabas Mission Hall, Dalston. Bonus track My Son John recorded at Christuskirche, Knightsbridge in 2015.
CD package designed by Jen Charon; Singing birds artwork by Elsbeth van der Poel; Choir photo by Rosie Barnes; Sleeve notes by Fiona Clark.
Dedicated to our friend and comrade in singing, Mandy Eldridge (1967-2017).
Song Information & Lyrics
(Quoted notes from CD booklet compiled by Fiona Clark)
1. Ho Ro Haradala/Yenamanoa
(Traditional puirt-a-beul songs, arr. Michelle Woolfenden after Dolores Keane and John Faulkner)
'This wonderful rhythmic piece combines non-Gaelic renderings of three different puirt-a-beul (aka mouth music) pieces, which were used in place of instruments when bagpipes were banned in a heavy-handed act of cultural repression. Allegedly.'
---
Ho Ro Haradala
Ho Ro Haradala
Ho Ro Haradala
Hindye Handan
dance to your shadow
when it's good to be livin' lad
dance to your shadow
when there's nothin better near ye
hin hin haradala
hin hin haradala
hin hin haradala
hin haradala ho
there are tunes in the river
otter pools in the river
water pools in the river
and the river calls him
Yenamanoa manoa
Yenamanoa manoa
Yenamanoa manoa
boanama fullawitha
Dadanasha adusha
Dadanasha adusha
---
Here is a Youtube clip of Dolores Keane and John Faulkner performing their version of this with The Chieftains. The Haradala/Dance to your shadow sections are from a song collected and anglicised in Marjory Kennedy-Fraser's Songs Of The Hebrides Vol III, and the Tunes in the river section from a song collected and printed around the same time (according to this thread on the Mudcat folk lyrics and knowledge site). The Yenamanoa section is based on the puirt a beul called Fionnghuala; here are the Gaelic words for that, with an English translation, and there are several old field recordings on the excellent Tobar an Dualchais site. For more on puirt a beul, here are articles on Wikipedia and Silicon Glen (the latter written by Craig Cockburn, a former member of our choir).
---
2. Three Little Babes / Motherless Child
(Traditional, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
'Three Little Babes tells of a mother whose grief at the loss of her children is so strong that she summons them back to earth, albeit briefly and not wholly successfully. There was a belief that mourning should not extend beyond "twelve months and a day" and that tears cried for the dead would wet their winding sheet (the material in which the body was wrapped). Motherless Child is a traditional Negro spiritual, sung by US slaves. Both parents and children were considered as "property", and they were commonly sold separately.'
---
There was a knight, and lady bright
And three little babes had she.
She sent them away, to a far country,
To learn their grammerie.
They hadn't been gone but a very short time,
About three months and a day,
'Til the lark call o'er this whole wide world
And taken those babes away.
It was on a dark, cold Christmas night
When everything was still
She saw her three little babes come running,
Come running down the hill.
She spread a table of bread and wine,
So they might drink and eat;
She spread a bed of winding sheet,
That they might sleep so sweet.
"Take it off, take it off," cried the oldest one;
"take it off, take it off," said she,
"I can't stay here, in this wide wicked world
When there's a better one for me."
"Cold clods, cold clods, down by my side,
Cold clods, down at my feet -
The tears my dear mother shed for me
Would wet my winding sheet."
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child,
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child,
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child,
A long way from home.
---
3. Raggle Taggle Gypsy
(Traditional, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
'A Scottish/English Border Ballad that dates back to at least 1740. It's said to tell of an affair between Scottish gypsy Johnny Faa and Lady Jane or Jean Hamilton, wife of the 6th Earl of Cassilis. Versions of the song with a variety of titles - such as Black Jack Davey, Seven Yellow Gypsies, and Gypsy Davy - have been sung and recorded by many well-known bands and performers, including Steeleye Span, Shirley Collins, Bob Dylan, Nic Jones, the Waterboys and the White Stripes.'
---
There were three auld gypsies came to our hall door.
They came brave and boldly-o.
And one sang high and the other sang low
And the other sang a raggle taggle gypsy-o.
It was upstairs, downstairs the lady went,
Put on her suit of leather-o,
And it was the cry all around her door;
"She's away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o"
It was late that night when the lord came home,
Enquiring for his lady-o,
And the servants said on ev'ry hand;
"She's away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o"
"Then saddle for me my milk-white steed
Go and fetch my pony-o,
That I may ride and seek my bride,
Who's away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o
O he rode high and he rode low
He rode east and west also,
Until he came to a wide open field
It was there he espied his lady-o.
"What makes you leave your house and land?
What makes you leave your money-o?
What makes you leave your new wedded lord,
To go with the raggle taggle gypsy-o?”
"O, what care I for my house and my land?
What care I for money, O?
What care I for my new wedded lord?
I'm away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o"
"It was there last night you'd a goose feather bed,
With the sheet turned down so bravely-o!
But tonight you lie in a cold open field
In the arms of the raggle taggle gypsy-o"
"O, what care I for a goose−feather bed,
With the sheet turned down so bravely, O?
For tonight I'll sleep in a cold open field,
I'm away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o"
"For you rode east when I rode west,
You rode high and I rode low.
I'd rather have a kiss of my gypsy's lips
Than all of your cash and money-o"
There were three auld gypsies came to our hall door.
They came brave and boldly-o.
And one sang high and the other sang low
And the other sang a raggle taggle gypsy-o.
She’s away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o!
---
They came brave and boldly-o.
And one sang high and the other sang low
And the other sang a raggle taggle gypsy-o.
It was upstairs, downstairs the lady went,
Put on her suit of leather-o,
And it was the cry all around her door;
"She's away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o"
It was late that night when the lord came home,
Enquiring for his lady-o,
And the servants said on ev'ry hand;
"She's away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o"
"Then saddle for me my milk-white steed
Go and fetch my pony-o,
That I may ride and seek my bride,
Who's away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o
O he rode high and he rode low
He rode east and west also,
Until he came to a wide open field
It was there he espied his lady-o.
"What makes you leave your house and land?
What makes you leave your money-o?
What makes you leave your new wedded lord,
To go with the raggle taggle gypsy-o?”
"O, what care I for my house and my land?
What care I for money, O?
What care I for my new wedded lord?
I'm away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o"
"It was there last night you'd a goose feather bed,
With the sheet turned down so bravely-o!
But tonight you lie in a cold open field
In the arms of the raggle taggle gypsy-o"
"O, what care I for a goose−feather bed,
With the sheet turned down so bravely, O?
For tonight I'll sleep in a cold open field,
I'm away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o"
"For you rode east when I rode west,
You rode high and I rode low.
I'd rather have a kiss of my gypsy's lips
Than all of your cash and money-o"
There were three auld gypsies came to our hall door.
They came brave and boldly-o.
And one sang high and the other sang low
And the other sang a raggle taggle gypsy-o.
She’s away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o!
---
The always-reliable Mainly Norfolk site has a good page of information, links, videos and lyrics on this song and its variants. If you want to delve deep into email discussion and information threads, there is much on this song and its variants in the Mudcat folk lyric and knowledge site. There is also a Wikipedia page.
---
4. King of Birds
(Karine Polwart, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
'The song appears on Karine Polwart's album Traces. The sleeve notes say "This comes with a big nod of thanks and respect to the Occupy Movement, especially at St Paul's in London, for ringing a bell that needs ringing. The king of birds in mythology is The Wren, a motif for Sir Christopher. The song tracks the symbolism of St Paul's cathedral set against the backdrop of The Great Fire of London, the Blitz and The City of today". Some of us had the pleasure of seeing Karine Polwart singing on the Cutty Sark a few years ago. It was a solo show and she hadn't planned to perform King of Birds, but Mandy from the choir persuaded her that she should and that we'd fill in the harmonies.'
(Our album is dedicated to Mandy Eldridge (1967-2017), our friend and comrade in singing.)
---
The lyrics for King of Birds (and Karine's original version of the song) can be found here on her own website.
---
The lyrics for King of Birds (and Karine's original version of the song) can be found here on her own website.
---
5. Sumer is Icumen In
(Medieval English Round, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
'This song dates from the mid-13th century and is possibly the oldest example of counterpoint and one of the earliest known examples of English poetry. It celebrates the arrival of summer, with the cuckoo's song heralding the new season. The manuscript in which the song appears, Harley 978, also contains medical texts, recipes and a glossary of herbs - like a medieval Wikipedia. You may be familiar with the song from its inclusion in the film The Wicker Man. Or recognise it as the basis for the Bagpuss Mice Mending Song.'
---
Sumer is icumen in, lude sing cucu.
Groweth sede and bloweth mead and springs the wood anew.
Sing cucu.
Yow now bleteth after lamb, loweth after calve cu
Bullock starteth, buck now verteth, Merrye sing cucu.
Cucu, cucu, well singest thou cucu, nor swick tha naver now.
---
6. Roseville Fair
(Bill Staines, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
'A song by Bill Staines about falling in love.'
---
Groweth sede and bloweth mead and springs the wood anew.
Sing cucu.
Yow now bleteth after lamb, loweth after calve cu
Bullock starteth, buck now verteth, Merrye sing cucu.
Cucu, cucu, well singest thou cucu, nor swick tha naver now.
---
6. Roseville Fair
(Bill Staines, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
'A song by Bill Staines about falling in love.'
---
The lyrics for Roseville Fair, and more information on the song, including a video of Bill Staines performing it himself, can be found on Mainly Norfolk.
7. Raise Your Voice
(Jess Arrowsmith, arr. Melrose Quartet/Michelle Woolfenden (with additional verse by Ginny Page))
'A Melrose Quartet song from their album Dominion. The sleeve notes dedicate this "For everybody who has ever been told to mime at the back of the choir, or finds singing in front of others mindblankingly terrifying". We feel it sums up Morris' ethos excellently, with many of us singing in front of others for the first time at our folk club (last Tuesday of every month apart from December - see website for details!).'
---
The lyrics for Raise Your Voice can be found here on Melrose Quartet's website. And here is an official Youtube video of Melrose Quartet singing it.
Our additional verse, written by Ginny:
Once there was a choir and it started small;
Now it's ten years later and we're in this hall.
In friendship and in song - loud and proud, wrong and strong.
So join us in our singing, one and all.
---
8. St Giles Bowl
(Tim Jones, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
'Written by former Morris member Tim Jones - listen out for mentions of his favourite London pubs. St Giles in the Fields was the last church on the way to Tyburn's gallows, and the churchwardens paid for the condemned to have a final drink in the pub next door. This became known as the St Giles Bowl.'
---
St Giles Bowl is the title track on Tim Jones & The Dark Lanterns' debut album. The lyrics (and guitar chords) for St Giles Bowl can be found here on their website.
---
9. Mingulay Boat Song
(Roberton/Traditional, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
'This was written in the 1930s by Sir Hugh Roberton, with a traditional Gaelic tune. The song reflects the emotional pull of a once populated but now deserted island, and the importance of the sea to island people. Mingulay is a very small island in the Outer Hebrides, abandoned by its Gaelic speaking population in 1912. The Minch is the area of sea which separates the Outer and the Inner Hebrides. It can be very rough, generating waves with white tops.'
---
Heel y'ho boys, let her go boys
Bring her head round into the weather
Heel y’ho boys let her go boys
Sailing homeward, to Mingulay!
What care we how white the Minch is?
What care we boys of windy weather
When we know that every inch is
Sailing homeward to Mingulay?
Wives are waiting on the pier heads
Gazing seaward from the heather.
Pull her head round and we’ll anchor
'Ere the sun sets on Mingulay.
---
10. Haul Away Joe
(Traditional Sea Shanty, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
'Stan Kelly and A.L. Lloyd commented: "This was a favourite short-drag shanty, used almost exclusively for hauling aft the foresheet or sweating-up halyards to take in the slack - jobs that called for a short pull but a good 'un... the tune carries a whole anthology of verses, some decorous, others not".'
---
Now when I was a little lad,
and so me mother told me,
(way haul away, we'll haul away Joe)
That if I did not kiss the girls
me lips would grow all mouldy.
(way haul away, we'll haul away Joe)
Way haul away, we'll haul away together.
Away haul away, we'll haul away Joe.
Way haul away, we'll haul for better weather.
Away haul away, we'll haul away Joe.
King Louis was the king of France
before the revolution.
And then he got his head chopped off:
it spoiled his constitution
Saint Patrick was a gentleman.
He came from decent people.
He built a church in Dublin town
and on it put a steeple.
Once I was in Ireland
a'digging turf and taties.
But now I'm on a Yankee ship
a'hauling on the braces.
Way haul away,
rock and roll me over
Way haul away,
well roll me in the clover.
---
11. Eli, the Barrow Boy
(Colin Meloy, arr The Decemberists/Michelle Woolfenden)
'Eli, The Barrow Boy was written by Colin Meloy, and features on The Decemberists' album Picaresque. It is the tragic tale of a poor barrow boy who drowns himself after the woman he loves dies in poverty. They are buried apart - she in a pine grove and he in a churchyard - and, having committed the mortal sin of suicide, Eli is compelled to push his barrow for eternity, crying out his wish that he'd been able to buy his love the fine clothes she deserved.'
---
and so me mother told me,
(way haul away, we'll haul away Joe)
That if I did not kiss the girls
me lips would grow all mouldy.
(way haul away, we'll haul away Joe)
Way haul away, we'll haul away together.
Away haul away, we'll haul away Joe.
Way haul away, we'll haul for better weather.
Away haul away, we'll haul away Joe.
King Louis was the king of France
before the revolution.
And then he got his head chopped off:
it spoiled his constitution
Saint Patrick was a gentleman.
He came from decent people.
He built a church in Dublin town
and on it put a steeple.
Once I was in Ireland
a'digging turf and taties.
But now I'm on a Yankee ship
a'hauling on the braces.
Way haul away,
rock and roll me over
Way haul away,
well roll me in the clover.
---
11. Eli, the Barrow Boy
(Colin Meloy, arr The Decemberists/Michelle Woolfenden)
'Eli, The Barrow Boy was written by Colin Meloy, and features on The Decemberists' album Picaresque. It is the tragic tale of a poor barrow boy who drowns himself after the woman he loves dies in poverty. They are buried apart - she in a pine grove and he in a churchyard - and, having committed the mortal sin of suicide, Eli is compelled to push his barrow for eternity, crying out his wish that he'd been able to buy his love the fine clothes she deserved.'
---
12. Paddy on the Railway
(Traditional, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
'A song about Irish labourers working on the railway, from the 1860s or earlier and collected by Alan Lomax in 1938. Such navvies built canals as well as railways, and there are claims that Camden is home to four castles - Edinboro, Dublin, Windsor and Pembroke - to keep apart different national groups of such workers, to prevent them from fighting (although the dates of their construction suggest otherwise, sadly).'
---
In eighteen hundred and forty-one
My corduroy breeches I put on
My corduroy breeches I put on
To work upon the railway
Tiggery oo-ree oo-ree ay,
Tiggery oo-ree oo-ree ay
Tiggery oo-ree oo-ree ay,
working on the railway.
In eighteen hundred and forty-two
From Hartlepool I moved to Crewe
Trying to earn a bob or two,
Working on the railway
In eighteen hundred and forty-three
I broke me shovel across me knee
And went to work for the company
On the Leeds and Selby railway.
In eighteen hundred and forty-four
I landed on the Liverpool shore
My belly was empty me hands were sore
From working on the railway
In eighteen hundred and forty-five
I said my prayers to stay alive.
I was lucky I survived
Working on the railway.
In eighteen hundred and forty-six
I changed my trade from carrying bricks
I changed my trade from carrying bricks
To working on the railway
In eighteen hundred and forty-seven
Paddy was thinking of going to heaven
Paddy was thinking of going to heaven
And working on the railway.
In eighteen hundred and forty eight
I landed at St Peter's Gate.
St Peter said 'You're very late -
You must be from the railway!'
---
13. This Old Hammer/Cluck Old Hen
(Traditional, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
'A mash-up of a late-19th century Appalachian tune and song, "Cluck Old Hen", and a work song, "This Old Hammer". The latter references John Henry's efforts to compete with a new-fangled steam drill, to demonstrate that machines could not replace people (sound familiar?). John Henry managed to beat the drill, but died shortly afterwards (so don't try it at home).'
---
My corduroy breeches I put on
My corduroy breeches I put on
To work upon the railway
Tiggery oo-ree oo-ree ay,
Tiggery oo-ree oo-ree ay
Tiggery oo-ree oo-ree ay,
working on the railway.
In eighteen hundred and forty-two
From Hartlepool I moved to Crewe
Trying to earn a bob or two,
Working on the railway
In eighteen hundred and forty-three
I broke me shovel across me knee
And went to work for the company
On the Leeds and Selby railway.
In eighteen hundred and forty-four
I landed on the Liverpool shore
My belly was empty me hands were sore
From working on the railway
In eighteen hundred and forty-five
I said my prayers to stay alive.
I was lucky I survived
Working on the railway.
In eighteen hundred and forty-six
I changed my trade from carrying bricks
I changed my trade from carrying bricks
To working on the railway
In eighteen hundred and forty-seven
Paddy was thinking of going to heaven
Paddy was thinking of going to heaven
And working on the railway.
In eighteen hundred and forty eight
I landed at St Peter's Gate.
St Peter said 'You're very late -
You must be from the railway!'
---
13. This Old Hammer/Cluck Old Hen
(Traditional, arr. Michelle Woolfenden)
'A mash-up of a late-19th century Appalachian tune and song, "Cluck Old Hen", and a work song, "This Old Hammer". The latter references John Henry's efforts to compete with a new-fangled steam drill, to demonstrate that machines could not replace people (sound familiar?). John Henry managed to beat the drill, but died shortly afterwards (so don't try it at home).'
---
This Old Hammer rings with silver
But it won't kill me, won't kill me
My old hen's a good old hen,
She lays eggs for the railway men
Sometimes one, sometimes two,
Sometimes enough for the whole damn crew
Cluck old hen, cluck and sing
Ain't laid an egg since way last Spring
Cluck old hen, cluck and squall,
Ain't laid an egg since way last fall
My old hen, she won't do
She lays eggs and 'taters too
This old hen, she's raised on a farm
Now she's in the new ground digging up corn
Cluck old hen, cluck and sing
Ain't laid an egg since way last Spring
Cluck old hen, cluck and squall,
Ain't laid an egg since way last fall
My old hen's a good old hen,
She lays eggs for the railway men
Sometimes one, sometimes two,
Sometimes three an' sometimes four
Sometimes five an' sometimes six
Sometimes seven an' sometimes eight
Sometimes nine an' sometimes ten…
An' that’s enough for the railway men
---
14. Tar Barrel in Dale
(George Unthank, arr. The Unthanks/Michelle Woolfenden)
'Tar Barrel in Dale was written by George Unthank (a founder member and singer in Tyneside shanty band The Keelers and father of Rachel and Becky Unthank of The Unthanks), after he witnessed the ritual one snowy New Year's Eve some years back. At Allendale ("Dale") the Tar Barrel or "Fire" Festival, held in all weathers, has been their way of welcoming the New Year for at least 160 years. Men known as "guisers" wear fancy dress as a disguise and parade around the Northumberland village carrying flaming tar barrels on their heads. The "fiery procession" swarms through the streets, illuminating them with the flames, then returns to the main square just before midnight, where the barrels are thrown onto the bonfire. Again, probably not one to try at home.'
---
But it won't kill me, won't kill me
My old hen's a good old hen,
She lays eggs for the railway men
Sometimes one, sometimes two,
Sometimes enough for the whole damn crew
Cluck old hen, cluck and sing
Ain't laid an egg since way last Spring
Cluck old hen, cluck and squall,
Ain't laid an egg since way last fall
My old hen, she won't do
She lays eggs and 'taters too
This old hen, she's raised on a farm
Now she's in the new ground digging up corn
Cluck old hen, cluck and sing
Ain't laid an egg since way last Spring
Cluck old hen, cluck and squall,
Ain't laid an egg since way last fall
My old hen's a good old hen,
She lays eggs for the railway men
Sometimes one, sometimes two,
Sometimes three an' sometimes four
Sometimes five an' sometimes six
Sometimes seven an' sometimes eight
Sometimes nine an' sometimes ten…
An' that’s enough for the railway men
---
14. Tar Barrel in Dale
(George Unthank, arr. The Unthanks/Michelle Woolfenden)
'Tar Barrel in Dale was written by George Unthank (a founder member and singer in Tyneside shanty band The Keelers and father of Rachel and Becky Unthank of The Unthanks), after he witnessed the ritual one snowy New Year's Eve some years back. At Allendale ("Dale") the Tar Barrel or "Fire" Festival, held in all weathers, has been their way of welcoming the New Year for at least 160 years. Men known as "guisers" wear fancy dress as a disguise and parade around the Northumberland village carrying flaming tar barrels on their heads. The "fiery procession" swarms through the streets, illuminating them with the flames, then returns to the main square just before midnight, where the barrels are thrown onto the bonfire. Again, probably not one to try at home.'
---
15. Wren in the Furze
(Traditional, arr. The Chieftains/Michelle Woolfenden)
'Another song about the king of birds, the wren, this time exploring the ancient tradition of its hunting on St Stephen's Day (26th December), from the singing of The Chieftains - complete with diddling. The "chattering" wren is said to have betrayed St Stephen to his enemies when he hid from them in a bush, leading to a tradition where the bird is hunted down and stoned to death. This charming ritual continues in Ireland, with bands of musicians going from door to door entering private and/or public houses as they "hunt the wren" (pronounced "ran"), entertaining the occupants in exchange for food, drink and/or money. No wrens were harmed in the making of this CD.'
---
Oh the wren, oh the wren; he's the king of all birds,
On St. Stephen's Day he got caught in the furze,
So it's up with the kettle and it's down with the pan,
Won't you give us a penny for to bury the wren?
Well it's Christmas time; that's why we're here,
Please be good enough to give us an ear,
For we'll sing and we'll dance if youse give us a chance,
And we won't be comin' back for another whole year!
We'll play Kerry polkas; they're real hot stuff,
We'll play the Mason's Apron and the Pinch of Snuff,
Jon Maroney's jig and the Donegal reel,
Music made to put a spring in your heel!
If there's a drink in the house, would it make itself known,
Before I sing a song called "The Banks of the Lowne",
A drink with lubrimacation in it,
For me poor dry throat and I'll sing like a linnet!
Oh please give us something for the little bird's wake,
A big lump of pudding or some Christmas cake,
A fist full o' goose and a hot cup o' tay,
And then we'll all be goin' on our way!
The wren, oh the wren; he's the king of all birds,
On St. Stephen's Day he got caught in the furze,
So it's up with the kettle and it's down with the pan,
Won't you give us a penny for to bury the wren?
---
The Chieftains' version is on their Christmas album, The Bells of Dublin: this seems to be an official posting of their version on Youtube. And here's a Wikipedia article on Wren Day.
---
My son John was tall and slim
He had a leg for every limb
But now he's got no legs at all
For he run a race with a cannonball
To me roo dum dar, faddle diddle dar
Whack for the riddle to me roo dum dar.
Oh were you drunk, or were you blind
When you left your two fine legs behind
Or was it sailing on the sea
Wore your two fine legs right down to the knee
I was not drunk, I was not blind
When I left my two fine legs behind
Nor was it sailing on the sea,
Wore my two fine legs right down to the knee
Each foreign war I'll now denounce
'Tween the King of England and the King of France
For I'd rather my legs as they used to be
Than the King of Spain and his whole Navy.
Well I was tall, and I was slim
And I had a leg for every limb,
But now I've got no legs at all,
They were both shot away by a cannonball.
---
He had a leg for every limb
But now he's got no legs at all
For he run a race with a cannonball
To me roo dum dar, faddle diddle dar
Whack for the riddle to me roo dum dar.
Oh were you drunk, or were you blind
When you left your two fine legs behind
Or was it sailing on the sea
Wore your two fine legs right down to the knee
I was not drunk, I was not blind
When I left my two fine legs behind
Nor was it sailing on the sea,
Wore my two fine legs right down to the knee
Each foreign war I'll now denounce
'Tween the King of England and the King of France
For I'd rather my legs as they used to be
Than the King of Spain and his whole Navy.
Well I was tall, and I was slim
And I had a leg for every limb,
But now I've got no legs at all,
They were both shot away by a cannonball.
---
We know this song from the version by Tim Hart and Maddy Prior on their album Folk Songs of Old England Vol. 2. Here's the Mainly Norfolk page on the song.
We recorded our version of My Son John in summer 2015 as part of Deutscher Chor London's traditional song CD project, Der Mond Ist Aufgegangen. Our thanks to them for that opportunity, and this recording.
We recorded our version of My Son John in summer 2015 as part of Deutscher Chor London's traditional song CD project, Der Mond Ist Aufgegangen. Our thanks to them for that opportunity, and this recording.
---
________________________________________________________________