This is a collection of some of the trad songs I sing, along with one NZ song by the late Chloë Anson that deserves to be trad. If you only download one of my songs, please make it this one (or if you're after another one, download this as well). See below for notes on the tracks. I regard myself now as a traditional singer - many of the songs I've gathered over the years are traditional and they have lasted this long because they're good to sing with friends. I also sing a number of newer songs that work in the same way. I like to sing in sessions, with friends around me joining in the choruses. The majority of my songs have a chorus or a reprise of some sort to tie everyone in, the exceptions have a strong storyline. I far prefer singing unaccompanied; it's more inclusive and lets you bend the tune and the phrasing to suit the tale. Once I stumbled across the singing of Peter Bellamy I found the way of taking the way I like singing onto the stage as a solo performer - he had a talent for making his songs conversational. I have performed at clubs and festivals around New Zealand and in Australia, run a trad unaccompanied singing session in Wellington from time to time, host the home brew and singing workshop at the Wellington Folk Festival (I was President for some 6 years) and run the pace-Egging ceremony at Hamsterfest (The Hamilton Easter Festival). The traditional folk scene in NZ is just a small village, stretched the length of the country! We catch up to sing in the sessions at the various festivals, with all the newer singers who get what this is about. There are trad singing sessions in Auckland, Wellington and Hamilton from time to time, and of course at any party. 1. On Board a 98 (Trad/Bellamy) From the singing of Peter Bellamy, originally collected by Vaughan Williams from Mr Leatherday in Kings Lynn. Peter tweaked it somewhat, and I adjusted it further. I open my sets with this. 2. Seeds of Love Sung from a woman’s viewpoint, this is a hugely important song. It was the first one collected by Cecil Sharp, from John England, and led him into his work collecting traditional English songs and morris dances. He gathered these in the period leading up to World War 1, when the loss of so many young men and the acceleration of the drift to the cities could so easily have caused so much of the music, song and dance to be lost. 3. Waipara (Chloë Anson) This is a real New Zealand folk song, and a spur to me getting on to recording this CD. In January 2011 Chloë travelled up to Waipara in South Canterbury, after the Whare Flat Folk Festival just outside Dunedin, and was struck by the parched landscape and the contrast to her home city. She texted me to say she felt a song coming on, again next day to say she had lyrics and a tune for the chorus, then the next day she emailed me a recording. She returned home and was enjoying developing it, writing further songs and performing, but then two months later died out of the blue from a brain aneurysm, aged just 16. I sing this in sessions and as my closing number. 4. Grey Mare I got this from Peter Bellamy (as Young Roger Esquire), tweaked it a bit more and added verse 2. Collected originally from Phil Tanner. 5. Yarmouth Town Another Peter Bellamy one, collected from Pete Bullen of Norwich. 6. Recruited Collier From the singing of Anne Briggs, and subsequently Kate Rusby and Kathryn Roberts, I fleshed out the last verse. 7. Frankie’s Trade (Kipling/Bellamy) I am indebted to Tamara Duran for introducing this song to me – she’d got it from John Boden’s singing, and fortuitously just as I was digging around looking for the original Peter Bellamy recording it was re-issued by Talking Elephant on Oak, Ash & Thorn, his work on Kipling’s Puck stories. It reckons that Sir Francis Drake, having cut his teeth sailing the North Sea was unlikely to be daunted by other oceans. Peter sang it to a variation of the tune to Blood Red Roses. 8. John Blunt I got this from Martin Carthy, Child Ballad 275. A cautionary tale! 9. Landlord Fill the Flowing Bowl So familiar, but not sung recently in NZ, I heard this in quick succession from two recent arrivals, Nigel Parry in Wellington and Bethany Fox in Dunedin, from different parts of UK. And it was so easy to learn; some verses may not be quite so traditional. Britannic Bedlam Morris Gentlemen dance Landlord (Adderbury) while singing this unaccompanied. 10. Babes in the Wood From the Copper Family of Rottingdean in Sussex, I added verse 2 based on the nursery rhyme. 11. Sweet Swansea From John Kirkpatrick and Sue Harris, collected by Fred Homer from May Bradley of Shropshire. 12. Donkey Riding I got these words to this shanty from John Jones who sang it with the Maritime Crew. And in case you were wondering, donkey refers to an engine used on board ship. 13. Greenland Whale Fishery Now that ruthlessly efficient factory ships roam the seas armed with modern gadgetry to find and kill, whales have been driven to the point of extinction, but it wasn’t always so one sided. From the singing of the Watersons, I reprise the last line of each verse. 14. Pace-Egging Song A song to accompany the traditional Pace-Egging ceremony, now performed at Easter in NZ in Wellington and at Hamsterfest. I got this from the Watersons, and also from a recording collected by Peter Kennedy in 1962. 15. Spencer the Rover A classic from the Copper Family. Whenever Graham Tearle and I meet up at a festival we sing this. 16. Wild Rover Judy Collins at her lovely concert, or chat, here in Wellington said "don’t lose your early songs". This is the first song I sang with my mates when I were a lad back in South London. 17. Parting Glass Originally Scottish, such an evocative song.