The Cuckoo's Nest - Utter Filth!

The Cuckoo’s Nest is a very naughty song, and it’s not alone. Suggestive songs are popular in the folk tradition, but can they be entirely distinguished from out and out filth? Well! That’s a very interesting question as it turns out and I’m inclined to propose a spectrum of sung naughtiness.In this episode we’re musing on the innocence (or not) of rural communities and taking a good look at a very cheeky London songbook. Along the way we bump into Robert Burns and later immerse ourselves in the oldest known erotic song. You'll hear historic versions of The Cuckoo's Nest, and a bonus song that is proper rude.This episode was inspired by the sad death of Barry Dransfield who sang The Cuckoo’s Nest to perfection.Content note: There isn’t really any explicit content in this episode, thanks to the many creative euphemisms in the songs. Nonetheless you might not want to listen to it with young children around, due to their tendency to ask awkward questions and/or repeat things at school – you have been warned!Thanks to Stones Barn and the Barnstoners community who helped me get started, and Greg Pritchard for fixing my woeful vocal technique!MusicTheme Tune – Man of Green (Jenny Shaw)The Cuckoo’s Nest song tune – Treble RecorderThe Cuckoo’s Nest tune – country dance tune, possibly from Rutherford (but probably not Playford) – Irish WhistleBonnie Brier Bush verse 1Scottish version of Cuckoo’s Nest as sung by Jeannie RobertsonThe Cuckoo’s Nest song (1850) version verse1The Cuckoo’s Nest song from Fanny Hill’s Bang-Up Reciter verse1The Cuckoo’s Nest song (1780) from “The Entertaining Companion” The Cuckoo’s Nest tune Woburn Fife Manuscript c. 1807-40 – Irish WhistleLove Song for Shu-Sin – Harp and vocalsThe Cuckoo’s Nest full versionBonus: The Thatched Tenement – Guitar and vocals ReferencesJeannie Robertson sings Cuckoo’s Nest: https://archive.culturalequity.org/field-work/scotland-1951-1958/jeannie-robertson-i-1153/cuckoos-nest Love song for Shu-Sin: https://www.worldhistory.org/article/750/the-worlds-oldest-love-poem/ Fanny Hill’s Bang-Up Reciter: https://www.horntip.com/html/books_&_MSS/1830s/1836--1965_fanny_hills_bang-up_reciter_friskey_songster_(PB)/1836--1965_fanny_hills_bang-up_reciter_friskey_songster.pdf Gammon, V (1982) Song, Sex, and Society in England, 1600-1850. Folk Music Journal 4(3) pp108-145. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4522105 Thanks as always to Mainly Norfolk, the Traditional Ballad Index and the contributors to Mudcat. 

A wealthy young man thinks he's found some easy pickings, but he doesn't reckon with Joan who is not just lovely, but feisty and athletic. She's more than a match for him, and the winner takes all. He's not happy about this but takes it well... just kidding, he rages and cries in the middle of a field.Joan is one example of women in folk song who do the unexpected. They turn the tables on the predatory man and give him his just desserts.This is another song that owes a lot to the medieval Pastourelle, but as you'll hear the style of argument is still live and kicking.Music performed by Jenny Shaw:- Tune of Lovely Joan as collected from William "Dubber" Hurr from Southwold, Suffolk in 1910 by Ralph Vaughan Williams and George Butterworth.- Verse from the version collected by Vaughan Williams from Christopher Jay of Acle, Norfolk, in 1908.- Verse from Sweet Lovely Joan, a bowdlerised version published by Cecil Sharp.- L'autrier Jost' Una Sebissa (Marcabru, 1129-1150)- Handsome Joan the Dairymaid, sung to a spontaneous tune  References and linksLovely Joan collected from Christopher Jay for Acle, Norfolk by Ralph Vaughan Williams https://www.eatmt.org.uk/lovely-joan-roud-592-acle-april-1908/ Handsome Joan the Dairy Maid in Newcastle University’s archives: https://cdm21051.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p21051coll54/id/111/rec/290 Lovely Joan on Mainly Norfolk: https://mainlynorfolk.info/lloyd/songs/lovelyjoan.html Lovely Joan on the Traditional Ballad Index: https://balladindex.org/Ballads/ShH57.html The Merchant’s Son of York and the Begger Wench of Hull: https://yorkshirefolksong.net/song.cfm?songID=65

It's not often that I'm stumped by a folk song, but this is one tricky little character. It is also beautiful, graceful and weirdly catchy... and extremely elusive. Nonetheless, there's quite a bit to say about land, class and medieval shepherdesses, though surprisingly little about parted lovers. Given the setting and context, romantic heartbreak suddenly doesn't feel like the end of the world.Somehow we end up in Scotland, though only tentatively, and discover a mystery. But then we get to hear the song itself which, as ever, is balm to the soul.MusicA clip of Bridget Tunney singing As I Roved Out. See and hear the full version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOlZhqrVrQUMy Lagan Love (traditional, Donegal)The Frost is All Over (traditional, Donegal)L'autrier Jost' Una Sebissa (Marcabru, 1129-1150)The Airy Bachelor (Traditional, Donegal)All music performed by Jenny Shaw unless otherwise stated.Referenceshttps://balladindex.org/Ballads/K150.htmlDavid Hammond (1979) Review of “The Irish Song Tradition” by Sean O’Boyle. The Canadian Journal of Irish Stories, 5 (1) pp124-127Land hunger, unemployment and poverty in pre-Famine Roscommon, Galway & Mayo | Divergent Pathshttps://faculty.washington.edu/petersen/lba/marcabru.htm Text of Robene and Makyne:  https://ia600308.us.archive.org/29/items/robeneandmakynea00henruoft/robeneandmakynea00henruoft.pdf 

George Collins is a handsome young man with his whole life ahead of him, so why does he die within a few short verses and leave a trail of devastation in his wake? Today’s episode takes us back to supernatural legends from medieval Northern Europe, in which brave young men are easily seduced. We also travel across the Atlantic to meet a dying hobo who wandered into this song sometime in the late 19th Century.In the end, these legends are a legacy of the things we didn’t properly understand. Nonetheless, if you do meet a beautiful maiden by the riverside it’s best just to back away, jump on your horse and ride home as fast as you can.MusicVerses from two different versions of George Collins as recorded in the Folk Song Society Journey 1909: https://archive.org/details/sim_folk-song-society-journal_1909_3_13/page/300/mode/2up Traditional Breton TuneFaroese Folk Tune  –  Grímur á MiðjanesiIncidental music – Rosebud in JuneThe historic American recording, and many others, can be found here: https://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/collins.htm Final song: This is the version sung by Shirley Collins on The Sweet Primroses, 1967. I’ve slowed it down and recorded it with a guitar accompaniment which is somewhat inspired by Dolly Collins’ beautiful organ arrangement. ReferencesBluegrass Messengers - George Collins- Barbara M. Cra'ster 1910https://archive.org/details/englishscottishp22chilrich/page/278/mode/2up?view=theater https://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/collins.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwerz_an_Aotrou_Nann https://balladspot.blogspot.com/2016/03/sir-olof-and-elves.html https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=xlIJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA161&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false https://archive.org/details/sim_folk-song-society-journal_1909_3_13/page/300/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/folksongsofsouth00coxj/page/110/mode/2up 

What a time we had, talking about the bones and the spirit of the Wassail. The Lunatraktors, Carli and Clair, get right to the heart of things with their "Broken Folk" which provides an anchor, a refuge and solace, a shamanic art and a collective experience. They are experts at asking questions of our tradition, and passionate about telling the stories that have been hidden or lost.The Wassail is about apples and cider and community and collectivism and so much more, and Lunatraktors' embodied approach to folk turns this an intense experience. We explore both the light and the dark of recent history and ask: what will be left when the apocalypse comes? Folk. The answer is folk, and it can be deeply healing.But in the end you have to laugh. Their music can be dark and tragic but it is also playful and fun and, after we'd unpicked the state of everything, we were all gurning.Content warning: This episode includes a discussion about suicideMusicNow The TimeRigs of the TimeUnquietApple Tree WassailSongs are all from Lunatraktors, and if you want more please visit their website: https://www.lunatraktors.space/ or find all the points of connection on linktr.ee/lunatraktors 

After all the festivities of Christmas Day are over, what could be better than to run around the village and hunt a tiny little bird with all your neighbours. This special St Stephen's Day episode explores the strange custom of wren hunting in the British Isles. Hang on to your hats, it's going to be a weird one.MusicHunt the Wren, a Manx songMedieval French tune (known to me as 'Dancing Bears' but YMMV)The Cutty Wren, to the tune of Green Bushes (thanks A. L. Lloyd!)ReferencesMany thanks go to two websites: Mainly Norfolk and the Ballad Index, for such detailed information about this song.Other references include:Mona Melodies: https://www.manxmusic.com/media/History%20photos/MONA%20MELODIES%202020%20full%20transcription.pdfCharles Barrow (1820) Mona Melodies https://www.manxmusic.com/media/History%20photos/MONA%20MELODIES%202020%20full%20transcription.pdf A W Moore (1891) The Folklore of the Isle of ManGeorge Waldron (1744) The History and Description of the Isle of ManVallancy, Charles (1770) Collectanea de rebus hibernicis. T. Ewing, Dublin https://archive.org/details/collectaneadere09vallgoog/page/n1/mode/2up https://mainlynorfolk.info/ian.campbell/songs/thecuttywren.html John Aubrey’s Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme https://archive.org/details/remainesgentili01aubrgoogMuller, S. (1996). The Irish Wren Tales and Ritual. To Pay or Not to Pay the Debt of Nature. Béaloideas, 64/65, 131–169. https://doi.org/10.2307/20522463 

This little Irish love song has quite a back story. To trace its origins, we have to travel back in time to a very subversive harp festival, dig into the Irish harper tradition and follow the fortunes of some proper characters. There’s a tiff between an Irish and an English poet, a moody watcher on a hillside, and what does Judy Garland have to do with it all? Find out in our brand new episode!MusicThe Airy Bachelor, tune collected in Donegal by Herbert Hughes The Coolin, traditional Irish tuneThe Pretty Girl tune as arranged by Edward Bunting in A General Collection of the Ancient Music of Ireland, 1796 Dinogad’s Smock, 12th Century Welsh tuneEleanor Plunkett, Turlough O’CarolanJudy Garland sings The Pretty Girl in “Little Nellie Kelly” (1940): Judy Garland: A Pretty Girl Milking Her CowPercy Grainger’s version of The Pretty Girl: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPpQ4h26lBMBeethoven, "Sweet Linnet": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Zpz94lzCoE Song: The Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow / Lament for Owen Roe O’Neill (according to Clannad) Sources and referencesA general collection of the ancient Irish music: containing a variety of admired airs never before published, and also the compositions of Conolan and Carolan. Edward Bunting (1796) https://archive.org/details/generalcollectio00bunt/page/n11/mode/2upThe Song of O'Ruark, Prince of Breffni https://www.musicanet.org/robokopp/eire/thevalle.htmThank you to the contributors to the Mudcat Café whose discussions 25 years ago gave me most of the research I needed for this podcast: mudcat.org: Info: Pretty Maid (Girl) Milking a CowThank you to Stones Barn in Cumbria and the Barnstoners who set me on this course and kept me going.

When a Christmas carol is also a folk ballad you know it's not going to be the usual angels/shepherds/kings extravaganza. This one doesn't disappoint, with a lovely garden, a jealous Joseph and a fruit-related miracle.But, as ever, all is not as it seems. Continuing the theme of weird Christianity from last month's episode, we get to explore medieval mystery plays and alternative gospels, and in 5th Century Syria we discover a scholarly and forthright Mary who doesn't need an angel to fight her battles for her. Have a wonderful Christmas!MusicVerse from Jean Richie’s recording of The Cherry Tree Carol, Kentucky The Cherry Tree Carol, collected by Maud Karpeles and Patrick Shuldham-Shaw from John Partridge of Cinderford, Gloucestershire (Verse 1) Verse from a Jean Richie version, Kentucky, recorded by Joan Baez Instrumental: Version arranged by D Gilbert and W Sandys (19th Century) Benedicamus Domino (Plainsong, anon) The Cherry Tree Carol, version sung by Shirley Collins, 1959 Orthodox Chant and Ney (flute) from FreeSounds ReferencesRoyston, Pamela L (1982) "The Cherry-Tree Carol": Its sources and analogues https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2022/1762/15(1)%201-16.pdf?sequence=1 https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/post-biblical-period/the-origins-of-the-cherry-tree-carol/ https://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/sugano-n-town-plays-banns-proclamation https://www.academia.edu/29076122/The_Origins_of_The_Cherry_Tree_Carol_How_a_Christmas_carol_links_the_modern_Middle_East_and_medieval_England https://dokumen.pub/mary-and-joseph-and-other-dialogue-poems-on-mary-9781593338398-2011007425-1593338392.html https://mainlynorfolk.info/lloyd/songs/thecherrytreecarol.html https://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/Notes_On_Carols/cherry_tree_carol-notes.htm https://balladindex.org/Ballads/C054.html

This unusual song was a feature of the 60s and 70s folk revival - a real show stopper and something of a curiosity. But underneath it lies a thousand years of European folklore, and a further thousand years of vivid theology.So, my friends, we're going on a metaphysical journey to the underworld. Have you been charitable in your life? Did you give a cow to the poor, or 'hosen and shoon' to a beggar? Did you judge rightly? Have you been moving your neighbours' boundary stones? Better take stock, because the journey is long and dangerous.We're going over the thorny moor and the high Gjallarbrui; we're glimpsing heaven and hell and as for the final judgement, we've got a ringside seat. There are angels and ghosts and, surprisingly, gossip.This is a song that has to be experienced rather than studied, so follow me. We're going to have a weird time.MusicL’Homme Arme, 15th Century song by Johannes RegisSainte Nicholas, 12th Century song by Godric of FinchaleMarglit og Targjei Risvollo, traditional Norwegian songDraumkvedet, traditional Norwegian balladChiamando, un’astorella, 14th Century Italian songLet All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence is based on the Cherubic Hymn in the Orthodox Christian tradition and dates back to least 275 AD. The English translation from Greek was made by Gerard Moultie and set to a traditional French tune, Picardy.The Lyke Wake Dirge (traditional version)The Lyke Wake Dirge, tune by Harold Boulton, arranged by Malcolm LawsonThe Lyke Wake Dirge, set to the 14th Century song Ad Mortem Festinamus ReferencesMainly Norfolk: The Lyke Wake Dirge (Roud 8194; TYG 85) (mainlynorfolk.info)Draumkvedet in translation: https://lyricstranslate.com/en/draumkvedet-dream-poem.htmlHarald Foss - Draumkvedet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k7ne8YMIIsGardiner, E. (2021). Visions of Heaven and Hell: A Monastic Literature. The Downside Review, 139(1), 24-43. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0012580621997061#body-ref-fn107-0012580621997061 Isaacson, Lanae H. “‘Draumkvædet:’ The Structural Study of an Oral Variant.” Jahrbuch Für Volksliedforschung, vol. 25, 1980, pp. 51–66. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/849056. Accessed 31 Oct. 2023Carlsen, C (2012) Old Norse Visions of the Afterlife (PhD Thesis, University of Oxford) https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:9b3b8518-912e-4425-8748-dea135e695d0/download_file?file_format=application%2Fpdf&safe_filename=THESIS02&type_of_work=ThesisJohn Aubrey’s Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme https://archive.org/details/remainesgentili01aubrgoogDante’s Divine Comedy: https://www.owleyes.org/text/dantes-inferno/read/canto-13 The Lyke-Wake Dirge: the revival of an Elizabethan song of the afterlifehttps://earlymusicmuse.com/lyke-wake-dirge/Hurdy Gurdy sample, battle sounds, stormy ambience and various owls from FreeSound

The sheep are all sheared and we’re dancing and drinking in the warm June sun. We’re transported back to simpler and more innocent times with more than a whiff of nostalgia for the loss of our connection to the land. And yet nothing is ever quite as straightforward as it seems, and this song is no exception. While delving into its theatrical past I once again get into that most thorny of issues – what is a folk song, and what should we do with them today?But mostly I have lots of fun singing about sheep.MusicInstrumental version was collected by John Broadwood in c.1843The original stage version, The Sheepsheering Song: https://www.vwml.org/search?view=search&q=rn812Sheep-shearing song, collected by the Hammond brothers: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4434118 Cecil Sharp – Folk Songs from Somerset: https://archive.org/details/FolkSongsFromSomerset/page/n3/mode/2up (my version takes a few liberties)The Horses Go Fast: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4434118?read-now=1&seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents  ReferencesMainly Norfolk on The Sheep Shearing Song: https://mainlynorfolk.info/steeleye.span/songs/thesheepshearingsong.html Eric Saylor: Folksong revival in the early 20th Century https://www.bl.uk/20th-century-music/articles/folksong-revival-in-the-early-20th-century https://www.efdss.org/learning/resources/beginners-guides/35-english-folk-collectors/2446-efdss-cecil-sharp Shudofsky, M. M. (1943). Charles Johnson and Eighteenth-Century Drama. ELH, 10(2), 131–158. https://doi.org/10.2307/2871662 John Francmanis (2002) National Music to National Redeemer: The Consolidation of a 'Folk-Song' Construct in Edwardian England. Popular Music 21 (1) 1-25As always, I’m grateful to the contributions of those who have posted on Mudcat over the years.