Track index

In the band’s words

Although we have recorded this on 'The Musical Heritage of Thomas Hardy' double CD we were told in no uncertain terms, by some of our friends, that we just had to include it on this recording. Maybe Hardy has done some embellishing but I can't help thinking that he is just passing on a yarn that his Father, Uncle or Grandfather told him.

In the band’s words

Back in the days of The Yetminster & Ryme Intrinseca Junior Folk Dance Display Team a lovely lady called Mrs. Brooker used to help keep us under control. She now lives in Tasmania and some while ago she sent me a tape of Australian songs. I really took a fancy to one of the tracks which was called 'Cootamundra Wattle' and took the liberty of Anglicising it. 'Apple Blossoms' is the result.

In the band’s words

An excellent piece of advice for young ladies which we first heard from a member of the Yeovil Folk Dance Club when we were impressionable teenagers. It was usually performed on our journeys to dances when there were no females present and was the cleanest song from his repertoire of 'Forces Favourites'.

In the band’s words

Ken Ramsay, a friend and keen accordionist passed on the Banjo Breakdown to us.

In the band’s words

Eric Bugle is better known for his anti-war songs such as 'Willie McBride' and 'The Band Played Waltzing Matilda' etc. but his writings cover a wide range of subjects and he has a wonderful sense of humour. The original words of Barbecue are very Australian so I have Anglicized them somewhat Apologies Eric but it was too good a song to miss and I hope the royalties roll in.

In the band’s words

For years we just knew this as Gwen's Carol for the simple reason that it was a friend called Gwen who gave it to us. We popped a chorus in for the purposes of our Singalong shows and audiences have been raising the roof with it ever since.

In the band’s words

When we were the Ranters Dance Band our fee was ten shillings each and 10/- for petrol, (£2.50 in today's money for the whole band!) and I remember that we played regularly in Bournemouth for this princely sum. Then one night the organiser said "We've made enough money from your dances to hire the Ranchers (they were a top band charging probably ten times as much as us) and we were gutted. However as the years went by we became very good friends with the Ranchers and played many festivals and shows together. This tune were given to me by their leader Bryan Willcocks, as a bit of a test.

In the band’s words

Lovely tune this which I suspect is familiar to most people. The words are definitely from the 'Drawing Room' or 'School' version of the song, but the message is still the same. There were times when the man didn't get away with it and is left to feel a fool by the maiden.

In the band’s words

This was the first tune I ever heard played on an accordion. It was when I was a kid staying at my grandmother' home. She used to have the wireless on all day and one of the most popular tunes at that time was Jimmy Shand's Bluebell Polka. I loved that sound. Many years later, staying in Fife, I was invited to his home in Auchtermuchty and spent a pleasant afternoon sitting in his front room nattering and playing. A charming and most unassuming man with a fascinating history and well-deserving of the knighthood he received.

In the band’s words

It is said that The Holy Family visited Glastonbury in Somerset when Jesus was a boy and that is the theme of this song written by Alan Bell a few years ago. It is one of our most requested numbers and we had the pleasure of performing it on Harry Secombe's 'Highway' programme recently. (1990)

In the band’s words

There are quite a few 'boy meets girl on fair day' songs. Well, it stands to reason you would feel a bit light hearted and light headed on such occasions. In this song the boy promises undying love (and so he should); in many others though he says thank you very much and waltzes off into the sunset.

In the band’s words

Bulgine is American slang for a railway engine so the origins of this shanty are not known for sure. Most experts think that it started in the sailing ships, was then adapted for other hauling uses and sent back to sea again. It was very popular with the Yankee Clipper ships, they seem to have had their own versions.

In the band’s words

Now here's a man who has life well and truly sussed. If the wind is strong enough to blow his candle out then it's too rough to go to sea and, of course, if it's not strong enough to blow his candle out it won't fill his sails and he can't go to sea.

In the band’s words

This tune comes from The Fiddlers Tune Book, published many years ago by the EFDSS.

In the band’s words

The Swing Riots were a major headache for the powers that be in the 1830's. The farm labourers were on starvation wages and in the end some of them rioted, burning corn ricks, smashing up threshing machines and threatening the farmers that if they didn't pay up they would get a visit from 'Captain Swing'. In fact. Captain Swing didn't actually exist he was the labourer's version of the bogey man.

The song comes from the musical play 'The Tolpuddle Man' written by Graham Moore. It's sometimes performed by local singers in the courthouse at Dorchester where the Tolpuddle Martyrs were tried. If you ever get the chance, go and see it I can guarantee a very moving experience.

In the band’s words

The tune, of course, is better known as 'Morning Has Broken'. I have tried to find out which came first but to no avail. It doesn't really matter because they are both beautiful songs.

In the band’s words

I'm not sure whether this was written with Scotland or Ireland in mind, but I don't care. I'm very happy to sing it while walking the beautiful hills and dales of Dorset. The sentiments apply just the same.

In the band’s words

'The Common A Took In' was first published in The Dorset County Chronicle on the 2nd February 1834. It was William Barnes' attempt to prick the conciences of the landlords of Dorset and to make them aware of the awful plight of their labourers.

In the band’s words

There are two kinds of wassailing. Down in Somerset, in January, they wassail the apple trees to encourage them to produce a good crop but this particular song has a much more practical use. Just as carol singers do today wassailers toured their village collecting cash for Christmas. In hard times this gave an essential boost to labourers finances.

In the band’s words

Another happy carters' sang to go alongside 'Jim Carter's Lad' and 'The Jolly Waggoner'. They all seem to have been very contented with their lot.

In the band’s words

It's always been my ambition to write a song containing many of the Dorset village names but Tim Laycock has well and truly beaten me to it. Get your Ordnance Survey maps out and your walking boots. You can spend many a happy holiday just finding the villages and hills mentioned following the route. You might even meet one of them 'Girls from Dorsetshire' on your travels.

In the band’s words

Just before the D-Day landings Lady Astor accused the 8th Army in Italy of being D-Day Dodgers. The 8th Army veterans who had fought all across Africa and up through Sicily and Italy did not take too kindly to this remark and to this day her name is guaranteed to make them go red in the face with fury. This is their answer to her, written with just the right amount of vitriol and sarcasm. When we perfom this song on the radio we always get letters from 8th Army men and I have several versions of the song which they have kindly sent me.

In the band’s words

There are many versions of The Derby Ram or Derby Tup and many more verses to go with them. Just about every part of the Rams anatomy was used in some way. The song also crept down as far as Dorset and we have our own variant 'As I was going to Dorchester' etc.

In the band’s words

In America at the turn of the century Ragtime or 'Ragged Music', as it was originally called, was the new musical sensation much to the horror of some critics. The Musical Courier of 1899 reported that 'A wave of vulgar, filthy and suggestive music has inundated the land . . . nothing but ragtime prevails'. If this is filthy and suggestive then I'm all for it.

In the band’s words

Clever song this and very reminiscent of the young farmers' dances in our youth. It's also just the sort of story my father used to tell about dances in Yetminster and Bradford Abbas back in the late 20's and early 30's Author Dave Evardson has used the tune of our most famous folk dance 'The Dorset Four Hand Reel'.

In the band’s words

Most of us carry pictures of our childhood which have perhaps mellowed with age but my sister, when she first heard this song, immediately recognised it as a description of our family life style. We did indeed scour the countryside for food. We knew where to find wild red currants, raspberries, strawberries, bullances and, of course, the more common things such as mushrooms, crab apples, nuts and blackberries. There were also one or two abandoned cottages with plum and damson trees in their gardens. I still gather fruit from one of these but I'm not telling you where.

In the band’s words

There's not much to say. You all know this one so join in.

In the band’s words

I wrote 'Ee Weren't All Bad' after listening to a conversation about a likeable but light fingered landlord who ran off with the money for the Christmas Thrift Club.

In the band’s words

It gives me great pleasure to record this song which was collected from Marina Russell of Upwey by the Hammond Brothers in 1907. She was born Marina Sartin and came from the village of Corscombe which was our family home for about 300 years. When she started to sing she was, apparently, unstoppable. She had a huge repertoire but unfortunately the Hammond's seem to have arrived 5 years too late. Marina was on the wain when they met her. Of the 100 or so songs she sang there are few that she could manage all the way through. 'Farewell She' is one of the best and it has been recorded by several people. I wonder if I could claim family royalties?

In the band’s words

Farmers aren't 'careful' with their money; they are as kindly and generous as the good old man in this most popular of English songs. (Ask any farmer and he will tell you this is true.)

In the band’s words

In the north east of England when the fishermen die they reckon they don't go to Heaven or Hell but to their own particular Valhalla which is called Fiddlers Green. One of the very best songs written in the folk style in the last 20 years and extremely popular.

In the band’s words

It wasn't until I cam to write the notes that I remembered who had written this song. It was me. The character reminds me of Charlie Wills the old Dorset folk singer from Chideock. He always reckoned he ate nothing but cheese and drank nothing but cider. He was fit enough at the age of 91 to make his first LP so the diet must have suited him fine.

In the band’s words

Cyril Tawney, the writer of this song, was out hero when we first got involved in folk music. We used to sit at his feet at the Sidmouth Folk Festival and record everything he said and sang. Then we would go away and learn it all. This caused a certain amount of panic later on when we were booked to perform at the came concert as him. He is not only a great exponent of traditional songs but he has written many gems.

In the band’s words

A lot of traditional songs of seduction were watered down for public consumption by the collectors in the ealy part of this century. It's probably just as well the Victorians didn't get involved otherwise they would have disappeared altogether.

In the band’s words

Another one from our schooldays when the whole class (16 of us) used to gather around the wireless for 'Singing Together'. I have to admit I thought some of the songs were awful (well, would you want to sing about planting your cabbages in a row) but I always liked 'The Fox'.

In the band’s words

The idea for this song came to me after I, and my two small sons, had scraped together enough snow to make a little snowman. The weather quickly did a U-turn and after a couple of days there was just a grey/white blob on the lawn. Boo!Hoo!

In the band’s words

You can put the lyrics of this song down to my warped sense of humour because our family Christmas gathering weren't like this at all. They were dangerous though. Dad used to light real candles on a real Christmas Tree, without a fire engine in sight, just before he handed out the presents at tea time. Yes, TEA TIME!!!!

In the band’s words

One of the best and most influential musicians involved with the E.F.D.S.S. was a wonderful violinist called Nan Fleming-Williams. The first time we saw her she was leading the Waggoners Dance Band for a B.B.C. radio recording in Yetminster. I was about 15 then and we were all in complete awe of these posh B.B.C. folk. Some years later we attended some of Nan's music workshops and I'll never forget her leading a band of a hundred or more musicians from all over the country (who had never played together before) at a festival in The Royal Albert Hall. Her great fiddle style and diminutive body swaying in time to the music kept this big, unruly amateur band together. We were very fortunate and pleased in the 70's when Nan invited us to be part of her band for an international festival in Bucharest, Rumania. We had a great time playing, drinking, and telling dirty jokes! She knew some good'uns. This is one of the tunes we played then.

In the band’s words

We first heard a vesion of this song performed by a duo from Oxfordshire called The Portway Pedlars. We thought it was good but how could we from Dorset sing about the Girls of Oxfordshire However, a little furkle around the archives of the Dorset County Museum produced this local variant. Anything the girls of Oxfordshire can do the girls of Dorset can do better!!!

In the band’s words

Eldridge Pope, the Dorchester brewers, have been making 'Good English Ale' for many a year. They have also helped us in many ways so this song is dedicated to them. 'Ale, ale, glorious ale, served up in pewter it tells it's own tale.' Ah! They don't write choruses like that any more. I suppose we have to count out blessings that there are still people who can produce a good pint.

In the band’s words

There have been very strong links between Dorset and Newfoundland for hundreds of years and we've been lucky enough to travel there a few times. Prior to our first trip we were asked to do some concerts in this country with a group of Newfoundland players. This was when we first met Rufus Guinchard, a unique fiddle player who was then in his eighties. We had some good times together both here and in Newfoundland, and Granny's Waltz is one of his tunes.

In the band’s words

Over the years we have been lucky to work with many dance callers. One of the best in the country is John Chapman from Stratford-on Avon. We still play for John occasionally, and this polka have come from him.

In the band’s words

A tune played upon the 'Bowed Psaltery', an instrument that causes a great deal of interest wherever we go. We first used one in the late 60's when recording some music for a trilogy of plays about the Peasants Revolt for the BBC. Since then it has become quite popular around the folk scene. It is a very simple triangular box with 24 strings. Each string is stroked separately to produce the notes. You can make your own psaltery if you are a handy person. Borrow a book called 'Instruments Made To Be Played' from your local library and you will find all the instructions inside. It was written by Robin Roberts and is published by The Driad Press.

In the band’s words

This may appear to be a strange inclusion and there must be literally thousands of recordings of the tune but I guarantee this is the first arrangement for the bowed psaltery.

In the band’s words

A traditional Carol with many variations. It's Christmas with pagan connections, the holly and ivy being fertility symbols. The holly is male and the ivy female.

In the band’s words

The Sailor who has travelled the world was undoubtedly a more interesting and attractive proposition for the young maids than the boy next door. Love 'em and leave 'em songs are very common but most of them have some sort of moral last verse. The sailors in any case didn't have it all their own way, some of the girls had a rather nasty way of hitting back as in 'The Sailor Cut Down In His Prime'.

In the band’s words

'I Aint Got Nar Nother' was gleaned by us many years ago from a Dorset farmer who we met in a hotel up on the A66 not far from Scotch Corner.

In the band’s words

In the Digby Tap in Sherborne this used to be simply known as 'Walt's Song' because Walt Watts was the only one allowed to sing it there. It was his party piece and, after a couple of pints, he could usually be persuaded to give a rendition. When he did, the pub would go quiet and everyone would listen in reverential silence as old Walt sang with that cheeky twinkle in his eye. I doubt if the song has been heard in the Tap since Walt passed on but we still sing it in memory of a great little character.

In the band’s words

During the 60's Ewan MacCoil wrote many good songs for a radio series called 'The Radio Ballads'. He took various subjects, Mining, Fishing etc., and through the songs and readings described the lifestyles and work of the people of Britain. Freeborn Man was written for 'The Travelling People'

In the band’s words

Our audiences get well and truly stuck into this one and, I admit, we have been known to strike up the chorus on our way home after the last Christmas concert of the season. There's no place like home for Christmas, when you're with the ones you love.

In the band’s words

Everybody associates this beautiful carol with Christina Rossetti but her poem was set to music by Gustav Holst and published in the English Hymnal in 1906, some 12 years after her death.

In the band’s words

Pete, in particular, has always been fond of Irish Jigs and Reels so here's a sample to set the feet tapping. Of course our theory is that all the Irish Music originally came from Dorset. Centuries ago some Dorset blokes set out to look for the Americas and turning right a bit early found Ireland instead. Well, it was such a lovely place that they decided to stay and naturally their music stayed with them. If you believe that, you'll believe anything.

In the band’s words

One of the songs we gleaned while touring Newfoundland. There's a great mix of traditional influences over there. West Country, Irish, French, etc. They do love their music.

In the band’s words

The folk music of Newfoundland is a fine mix of West Country, Irish, French, Portuguese and Spanish with American and mainland Canadian thrown in. They still make a lot of their own entertainment over there and you will find performers in many cafes and bars. Jack is Newfoundland's best known song and we also ran into 'April in Portugal' numerous times when we were last there so we decided to combine the two.

In the band’s words

No I did not write this one, it's way out of my league. Dave Goulder is now better known for his railway songs but this, one of his earlier efforts, is a real gem.

In the band’s words

One of those songs that we had forgotten and that many of you asked us to record again. It was a pleasure.

In the band’s words

John Peel hunted in the Lake District for 50 years and was immortalised by this song after his death in 1854. He was renowned for his long chases and is said to have sometimes followed a particularly evasive fox a couple days.

In the band’s words

Here's another country chap who's contented with his life. He undoubtedly has more reason to be jolly than the labourer; I would imagine his job for 9 months of the year was not too bad. Winters though, must have been hard to bear.

In the band’s words

I expect you sang this at school, joining in with the 'Rhythm & Melody' or 'Singing Together' programmes on the jolly old steam radio. What would teacher and the BBC have done if they had realised the song is actually about an orgy in the woods?

In the band’s words

The bowed psaltery is a simple stringed instrument that we have used for many years. There are horses for courses and tunes for instruments and of all the melodies Pete has played on the psaltery this is the one that suits it best.

In the band’s words

Our friend Cyril White, who quite a few of you have seen at concerts playing trumpet and post horn, hired a cottage by the name of 'La Glinais' in France last year for his family holiday. He obviously enjoyed himself because he was inspired to write this delightful waltz.

In the band’s words

So many young men were killed during the 1st World War that it was often left to the bereaved to carry on the traditions of the countryside such as Morris Dancing. Many of these customs would have been lost to us otherwise.

In the band’s words

We're getting to an age where we can associate with this song. Leanin' on the gate watching the world go by. Tidn't all bad.

In the band’s words

This is a traditional French Carol set to one of their typical driving tunes which they play on the hurdy gurdy. This is not everyone's favourite instrument. I have heard it described as sounding like a wasp trapped in a jam jar by a certain accordian player.

In the band’s words

I wish I'd known about this song years ago. I would have sung it with feeling after a particular arduous tour of Norway in 1984. The only difference was we stagged off a plane not a ship.

In the band’s words

One of the first songs learnt by any singer or group back in the Folk Club days of the 60s and 70s. No matter where you went the audience knew the chorus and the harmonies.Lovely 'twere.

In the band’s words

The words of this song make it very suitable for funerals and we have been asked to perform it many times in memory of old friends. On one such occasion, in Taunton Crematorium. I was nicely into the second verse when my new watch (one of them fancy ones with a musical alarm) decided to play 'Dixie'. It was very embarrassing at the time but since I have come to the conclusion that the chap whose funeral it was would have laughed his socks off.

In the band’s words

Liliburlero or The Farmers Cursed Wife. If you've ever listened to the BBC World Service you will recognise this tune. It's also the Regimental March of REME. The story is a beauty. I always imagine the poor dishevelled devil taking the farmer's wife back home and the look on the farmer's face when she is once again dumped on his doorstep.

In the band’s words

A jig that I remember learning from Bryon Bonnett.

In the band’s words

This song crops up all over the place although this is the best known version. Just swap Northamptonshire or Dorsetshire for Linconshire and you have it. Poaching is generally treated as a bit of a country lark, and we certainly dined off illicit rabbits when I was young, but there are many stories from the last century of policemen and gamekeepers being beaten up by poachers and vice-versa. If the poachers were caught they could be hanged or sent to Australia.

In the band’s words

William Barnes most famous poem which was later set to music by Vaughan Williams. Barnes verses are beautiful descriptive pieces of life in Dorset at the end of the 18th century. At first the dialect is difficult to read but work at it a bit and you will find the effort well worth the while.

In the band’s words

Sidney Carter's best known song. Every schoolchild in the land must have learnt this song in the last few years and at concerts our audiences immediately turn into choirs when it is introduced.

In the band’s words

Thomas Hardy, writer and poet, was also a musician. He played the fiddle, following the tradition of his father, grandfather and uncle who all played in the church band at Stinsford, just outside Dorchester. As well as playing church music they also played around the area for dances and other local festivities. This is one of tunes from the 300 or more tunes in their collection.

In the band’s words

Tom Paxton was very forward looking when he wrote this song. Nowadays every child seems to expect at least one toy every Christmas that will do all of these things and more.

In the band’s words

In the late 60's when we were doing folk clubs up in the North East we used to kip down in E.P.D.S.S. office in Darlington. All their sales stock of music books and records was there and we used to tape all the L.P.'s we fancied. One of these was a superb Dubliners album from which I learnt the Mason's Apron although I could never get my head around all their variations.

In the band’s words

Every other year we do a weekend for Marlow Dance Club and part of the proceedings is a music workshop. One of our friends who always joins in is Maggie Fletcher, (who I reckon is the best folk pianist around). Anyway Maggie has played a lot in the states and gave me a tape of an American band called Yankee Ingenuity and this tune was on it. Some time later another friend, Jane Spooner, gave me some sheet music entitled 'A French Tune', and when I played it through, it was the same tune. So I thought "right, better learn this".

In the band’s words

I first remember singing this song in the late fifties when it was a hit. Mac, Pete and I, along with three others from the 1st Yetminster St. Andrews Scout Troop, had our first trip abroad, when our Scoutmaster drove us through Belgium and Luxembourg to Heidelberg. We hired little boats and messed about on the River Rhine doing our best to imitate the record.

In the band’s words

One of the best and most influential musicians involved with the E.F.D.S.S. was a wonderful violinist called Nan Fleming-Williams. The first time we saw her she was leading the Waggoners Dance Band for a B.B.C. radio recording in Yetminster. I was about 15 then and we were all in complete awe of these posh B.B.C. folk. Some years later we attended some of Nan's music workshops and I'll never forget her leading a band of a hundred or more musicians from all over the country (who had never played together before) at a festival in The Royal Albert Hall. Her great fiddle style and diminutive body swaying in time to the music kept this big, unruly amateur band together. We were very fortunate and pleased in the 70's when Nan invited us to be part of her band for an international festival in Bucharest, Rumania. We had a great time playing, drinking, and telling dirty jokes! She knew some good'uns. This is one of the tunes we played then.

In the band’s words

Years ago I was messing about on the penny whistle and came across the Morning Star but never played it in public. I have heard it played as a fast reel but I prefer this more lyrical treatment

In the band’s words

Over the years we have been lucky to work with many dance callers. One of the best in the country is John Chapman from Stratford-on Avon. We still play for John occasionally, and this polka have come from him.

In the band’s words

Mr. Bloom was the character in 'The Twilight Zone' who had the power to rejuvenate the old folk and make them sing and dance again. We can't quite manage that but we do our best.

In the band’s words

For many years we only played the country dance tunes that we started off with but over the years, through meeting different players, I've come to like a lot of other types of accordion music. When I first heard 'My Florence' I thought it must be a French waltz written about a girl called Florence. Apparently it's not, it's Italian and written about the place.

In the band’s words

Another bit of nostalgia for us. In 1972 we made an LP with a chap called Bob Arnold (Tom Forrest of The Archers to you). He learnt some very good songs, including 'Needlecases', when he was a young man and performed them around the village halls of Oxfordshire before he found fame and fortune with the BBC. He passed away not so long ago and it's great to be given the chance to keep his songs alive.

In the band’s words

The stories of robbery, violence, drunkenness and Shanghaing in ports such as New York, Liverpool and Callao during the days of sail are numerous. If you ask me this sailor escaped with a very minor grievance.

In the band’s words

One of the very few old songs left that 80% of the population can join in with immediately. Tucked away in the back of your memory you will find 'For to hear the fond tale of the sweet nightingale as she sings in the valley below'.

In the band’s words

This song actually slipped past the censors and was included in our music lessons at primary school in Thornford. I admit the words were a little different but the theme was the same.

In the band’s words

There are numerous folk songs warning maidens to beware lusty young farmers. This one has a good bouncy tune which is also used for Morris Dancing. Over the years we have performed at numerous 'Dorset, My Dorset'. Young Farmers gatherings and it seems to me that although nutting may be out of fashion nothing else has changed. I reckon the message is just as relevant today as it ever was.

In the band’s words

A very popular song between the wars and there are still quite a few faces that light up when they hear it.

In the band’s words

We quite often finish our concerts with this medley or one very similar so that everyone goes home singing.

In the band’s words

What makes the average Englishman drive for hours along shark-infested motorways so that he can walk hand in hand on the beach with the lady of his choice? It doesn't matter if you are on the Chesil Bank in a force 8 with the breakers thundering or on Weymouth beach in glorious sunshine there is something which touches off the romantic in us all.

In the band’s words

Oslo Waltz is a tune that's been in my head for years. When we were kids and used to go to Socials or Shilling Hops, as they were called then, in Yetminster church hall, one of the popular dances was the St Bernard Waltz which was always done to this tune. So when Ken Ramsay, a friend and keen accordionist passed on the Oslo Waltz I recognised it immediately.

In the band’s words

This song was gleaned from Mac's father-in-law and his brother at Mac's wedding reception. They were in good voice, having eased their thirst a trifle, and sang some songs we didn't know (well they come from Bristol which is foreign parts to us). Most of the ditties they rendered were lost next day but this one stuck.

In the band’s words

We come from the last generation of kids in Dorset to spend their summer holidays out in the fields helping the farmers with their harvest before all these new fangled combine harvesters came on the scene. We tied the sheaves missed by the binder, stooked the corn to dry, helped load the wagons, build the ricks and, in between times, chased rabbits.

In the band’s words

An army recruiting song much used in the 'Sharpe' TV series. The words differ from regiment to regiment, campaign to campaign and from monarch to monarch.

In the band’s words

There's an old belief in these parts that on the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve all the animals in their stables go down on bended knee. This is the core of Thomas Hardy's well-known poem. In the background is Vivaldi's winter played on the bowed psaltery to add that icicle effect.

In the band’s words

When we were the Ranters Dance Band our fee was ten shillings each and 10/- for petrol, (£2.50 in today's money for the whole band!) and I remember that we played regularly in Bournemouth for this princely sum. Then one night the organiser said "We've made enough money from your dances to hire the Ranchers (they were a top band charging probably ten times as much as us) and we were gutted. However as the years went by we became very good friends with the Ranchers and played many festivals and shows together. This tune were given to me by their leader Bryan Willcocks, as a bit of a test.

In the band’s words

I love the sentiments of this song I don't know who wrote it or where it comes from although I suspect it migrated across the Atlantic. Anyway, we first heard it sung by Jim Couza when he guested on one of our radio programmes. Thank you Jim.

In the band’s words

This is another great favourite of mine. It's usually played as a waltz but I like to do it my own way as an accordion solo.

In the band’s words

There are many Irish tunes with the prefix 'Planxty'. This one, always popular with players and listeners, is one of my favourites.

In the band’s words

When we first started to sing in folk clubs back in the early 60's everyone knew this song and the chorus and harmonies were wonderful to hear. I suspect there was a touch of overkill at the time and it disappeared from sight but a good song is well worth reviving. The proof of that is in the singing of our audience in Sherborne. Just listen to them go.

In the band’s words

I first heard thus song when we did an LP years ago with Bob Arnold (Tom Forest of The Archers). I've always liked it, so much so that I didn't have to lean as such, it just seeped in through the pores.

In the band’s words

Praise O' Do'set was written by William Barnes and set to music some years later. It is the anthem of The Society of Dorset Men and is always sung with great gusto at their dinners.

In the band’s words

The name Frank Crumit probably doesn't mean a lot to most people but I'm sure the songs he made famous in the Twenties and Thirties are still remembered. He never performed in Britain but he sold millions of records here. 'Granny's Old Arm Chair', 'My Grandfather's Clock', 'Abdul Abulbul Amir', and 'Little Brown Jug' were all made popular by him. 'The Prune Song' is another classic Crumit.

In the band’s words

Written by some friends of ours up in Cleethorpes some years ago when the Punch & Judy Man disappeared from the beach. It's a great song and I hope it has done something to encourage the Punch & Judy Show to return.

John says he wrote this to conjure up the melancholy feel of a seaside resort in Winter-time and the thoughts of childhood joys departed. He certainly succeeded. Audiences love it and requesting it time after time.

In the band’s words

It would be an exaggeration to say we had rabbit to eat every day when we were kids but it certainly formed a goodly percentage of our diet After all there were thousands of them running around for free and most of the farmers were only too pleased for my father to go out and catch them. Pete's dad had much the same arrangement in Ryme Intrinseca. Occasionally the odd pheasant would wander into dads wires as well but the most unusual catch was a large male tabby cat which he quickly released and brought home. 'Stripes' stayed with us for years and became a much-loved member of the family.

In the band’s words

A jig that I remember learning from Bryon Bonnett.

In the band’s words

Cecil Sharp was the most inspirational figure within the folk movement in the early part of the 20th century. He was a great collector and between 1903 and 1907 he noted 1099 songs from the labourers, sailors and gypsies of Somerset. He gave the songs piano accompaniments and adapted the words so that they were suitable for singing in the drawing rooms and schools thoughout England. The Red Herring is one of his gleanings from Somerset.

In the band’s words

This is from the singing and playing of the Village Gallery Choirs of years ago. I'm sure their music was not of the best quality. How can you possibly keep a fiddle in tune when out touring the village on Christmas Eve or you are sat in a damp church gallery? To get the real background you must read Hardy's 'Under the Greenwood Tree'.

In the band’s words

Back in 1972 we recorded an LP with Bob Arnold who is better know as Tom Forest of 'The Archers'. He included this song in his repertoire and I can remember admiring him for learning the lyrics. Since then, with much cursing, I have endeavoured to do the same and my admiration has grown and grown. Perhaps I mean groan!

In the band’s words

The phrase 'Rock and Roll' has been around for a long time. Any sailing ship does a fair bit of both and it was a common shout at both capstan and halyards to encourage the pushing and pulling.

In the band’s words

This song wasn't written with the Tolpuddle Martyrs in mind but we sing it for them and because it's great for finishing a concert and indeed a recording.

In the band’s words

There's something about this song that doesn't ring quite true but it apparently well know by sailors and translated into other languages. It's not a work song, or shanty, but was sung when the sailors were off duty. It was a great favourite of Bob Roberts, one of the last commercial Thames bargees, and he recorded it not long before he died.

In the band’s words

This is exactly what we have been doing for the last 24 years so this would seem to be an appropriate song to kick off with. A lot of people seem to recognise it and join in the chorus with ease but we hadn't heard it until an 82 year old chap from Hampshire sent a tape of himself singing the first verse and chorus in his living room to the accompaniment of his grandfather clock

In the band’s words

A perfect example of a song that was taken across the Atlantic by settlers and changed by them . This is the original 'Streets of Laredo' which was exported back to us by Burl Ives some years ago.

In the band’s words

Santa Ana in real life led a wild and rained army of marauding Mexicans. Quite a few English sailors jumped ship to join him in his campaign and from then on he was naturally made into a folk hero by the shantymen who had him winning battles against all sorts of unlikely enemies.'He beat the Prussians fairly, He whacked the English nearly.'

In the band’s words

This was written for a BBC TV series called How Down about 20 years ago and has since been used for BBC Schools Radio programs. I must say the thought of thousands of kids all over the country singing one of my songs delights me.

In the band’s words

John is best know for his serious songs such as 'The Punch and Judy Man' but he does have a wicked sense of humour which is well and truly demonstrated in this song

In the band’s words

The Sergeant's Song is from Thomas Hardy's book The Trumpet Major and was set to music by Pete.

In the band’s words

Thomas Hardy, writer and poet, was also a musician. He played the fiddle, following the tradition of his father, grandfather and uncle who all played in the church band at Stinsford, just outside Dorchester. As well as playing church music they also played around the area for dances and other local festivities. This is one of tunes from the 300 or more tunes in their collection.

In the band’s words

I don't know if the Bowed Psaltery is used much on the folk scene but back in the seventies it was very popular. I do know, though, that we were the first group to introduce it. We were doing the music for two radio plays about the Peasant's Revolt and were looking for the right sounds when an old friend, Bob Bradbury, came along one night with this funny little instrument. Bob Common, who was in the group then made a copy of it, and that's the one I still play today. This tune is also known as 'A Rosebud by My Early Walk'. Too long for me!

In the band’s words

I do believe that this is the first tune that Pete has written and recorded.

In the band’s words

I think everyone must know the Skye Boat Song. I remember learning it at primary school in Yetminster.

In the band’s words

Shanties were the work songs of the sea although this one is a bit of an oddball in that normally sailors didn't mix their heaves with their hauls. Don't try working to this recording, you'll do yourself an injury. Sit back and listen.

In the band’s words

Another song that has travelled. We came across it in Newfoundland where, of course, they 'Rant and roar like true Newfoundlanders'. By the time Maud Karpeles went to Newfoundland collecting in 1929 the singers in the outports obviously had no idea of the geography of England. In their version, when sailing up the Channel, the first place they visit is Philadelphia. That's a little island just off Land's End!

In the band’s words

Several years ago we were given the privilege if opening an old chest which used to belong to the orginal 'William Barnes Society' in Shaftesbury. It contained 27 of his poems which had been set to music. This, we felt, was the best marriage of peom and tune.

In the band’s words

One of the best and most influential musicians involved with the E.F.D.S.S. was a wonderful violinist called Nan Fleming-Williams. The first time we saw her she was leading the Waggoners Dance Band for a B.B.C. radio recording in Yetminster. I was about 15 then and we were all in complete awe of these posh B.B.C. folk. Some years later we attended some of Nan's music workshops and I'll never forget her leading a band of a hundred or more musicians from all over the country (who had never played together before) at a festival in The Royal Albert Hall. Her great fiddle style and diminutive body swaying in time to the music kept this big, unruly amateur band together. We were very fortunate and pleased in the 70's when Nan invited us to be part of her band for an international festival in Bucharest, Rumania. We had a great time playing, drinking, and telling dirty jokes! She knew some good'uns. This is one of the tunes we played then.

In the band’s words

The story of a young couple living in the middle of a grotty city and determined to make a break from it all and start a new life in the country. Who can blame them.

In the band’s words

I wrote this for a video we made in 1993 in conjuction with Swanage Steam Railway. It tells the story of the fight my enthusiasts to save and restore the old Swange Branch after it's closure by B.R. on the 3rd January, 1972.

In the band’s words

We first heard this version of 'While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night' in the village pub at Worrall, a village just north west of Sheffield. It was great to hear local carols being sung with such obvious enjoyment and enthusiasm. Occasionally there was a break in the proceedings so that the men could go and practice their harmonies in the Gents loo because the acoustics in there helped them hit the right notes.

In the band’s words

This is a funny old route up the Thames but then love is like that. I must say I have always found the river Yeo more romantic myself but years ago, before the M25, we used to drive through the middle of London to get home, after working down the A20 corridor, and the Thames Embankment at 2am on a balmy summer's night did have a certain something.

In the band’s words

Many traditional songs of crossed love and seduction use the names of various garden herbs to disguise the action, pain and problems. John Connolly and Bill Meek took up this theme when they wrote this much requested song a few years ago.

In the band’s words

A jig that I remember learning from Bryon Bonnett.

In the band’s words

'Talent' was snipped from a local paper by my father many years ago and is supposed to be a genuine advertising sign outside a village shop.

In the band’s words

Cyril Tawney, the writer of this song, was our great hero when we first became involved in folk song. We used to sit at his feet at Sidmouth Folk Festival and take in every word and note and this gave us our early repertoire. Cyril's knowledge of West-country folk song is unmatched and he is still performing, and delighting audiences wherever he goes.

In the band’s words

Trelawney or The Song Of The Western Men. Most people think that this song refers to Bishop Trelawney who was locked up in the Tower of London in 1688 by King James. However, Bishop Trelawney's grandfather also did time in the Tower courtesy of Charles I. Nothing but trouble them Trelawney's! Here's an example of a song still in use today. Should you go to a Cornish rugby match you might well hear a raucous rendering.

In the band’s words

This tune was written by Micheal Raven, a fine singer and musician from the Midlands.

In the band’s words

Collected by Lucy Broadwood in Oxfordshire and published in 1893 this song was sung with the great gusto by Bob Arnold (Tom Forrest of The Archers) on an L.P. we recorded with him in 1972. Despite sometimes working in foul conditions for very little money there are lots of songs about country labourers enjoying their lot in life. It makes you wonder who orginally wrote them

In the band’s words

Stirring Stuff this from the Civil War. Sherborne, where we live, has an old ruin that Cromwell knocked about a bit and to stand under the remains of the ramparts and let the words of this song run through your head brings a shudder to the backbone.

In the band’s words

It may not be a classic song but it certainly has a classic title. They say that if you play pleasant folksy music to plants they thrive (heavy rock makes them curl up and die) so perhaps the theory behind this song is right and Trevor Crozier was way before his time when he wrote, 'Play your cows our rhythm and blues you'll get three times more milk than usual'

In the band’s words

'Where's 'Er To Then' was written by the late Frank Goldsack who was Rural Science Adviser for Schools for Dorset. He obviously enjoyed his job wandering the lanes of Dorset visiting the village schools.

In the band’s words

As is usual with shanties there are various versions, some of which you couldn't get away with today. Dan Lowries's was a popular playhouse in Paradise Street, Liverpool near the Waterloo Dock.

In the band’s words

Here's another chorus to jog your memory as you jog along with Uncle Tom Cobleigh and all. There's certainly no possibility of this song dying out. I think half the population of Devon make a living from it in the summer months. Good luck to 'em say I.

In the band’s words

There is no doubt in my mind that William Barnes, the Dorset dialect poet, was a great man. He wife a linguist, teacher, musician, cleric, wood carver, historian and most of all a very caring person When his wife died he wrote this poem, which in its simple country way, has far more depth of feeling in it than verses penned by men of greater fame.

In the band’s words

We used to book all sorts of acts for the folk club we ran in Yeovil from 1963 to 1967. One such was a family group called the McPeakes. They came from Belfast and always included 'The Wild Mountain Thyme' in their show. Soon the song spread around the country and a lot of clubs rounded off the night with it We frequently still do at our Music Nights in Sherborne.

Rod Stewart adapted it for the Scottish National Football Team in 1996 to aid their bid for the European Cup. Sad to say, it didn't help them very much.

In the band’s words

Thomas Hardy, writer and poet, was also a musician. He played the fiddle, following the tradition of his father, grandfather and uncle who all played in the church band at Stinsford, just outside Dorchester. As well as playing church music they also played around the area for dances and other local festivities. This is one of tunes from the 300 or more tunes in their collection.

In the band’s words

This is from the singing and playing of the Village Gallery Choirs of years ago. I'm sure their music was not of the best quality. How can you possibly keep a fiddle in tune when out touring the village on Christmas Eve or you are sat in a damp church gallery? To get the real background you must read Hardy's 'Under the Greenwood Tree'.