Havering Folk Club 17th September

Was last Wednesday the 17th? I think it was, anyway we went along to Havering Folk Club as usual and I took along my 12 string guitar that I've been playing quite a bit recently. It was an ordinary singers night so I played two songs in the first half - Puddles and Back in The Field. Then in the second half there was time for one more so I fulfilled a lifetime ambition by playing a Captain Beefheart song in a folk club - Grow Fins.









Ok, so the Wednesday must have been the 23rd of September but I'm not going to change the title now after Ive already published it .... doh.

Saturday was the 26th which meant that Havering Folk Club had the first "Club In The Pub" night with guests "Triangle" and support from "Kiss The Mistress", a great night out.

Deep River Blues

I use to play Deep River Blues once in a while but never got around to learning all the proper words so here they are. This is the Doc Watson version rather than the Wizz Jones version which is where I first heard the song.


Let it rain, let it pour,
Let it rain a whole lot more,
'Cause I got them deep river blues.
Let the rain drive right on,
Let the waves sweep along,
'Cause I got them deep river blues.

My old gal's a good old pal,
And she looks like a water fowl,
When I get them deep river blues.
Ain't no one to cry for me,
And the fish all go out on a spree
When I get them deep river blues.

Give me back my old boat,
I'm gonna sail if she'll float,
'Cause I got them deep river blues,
I'm goin' back to Muscle Shoals,
Times are better there I'm told,
Cause I got them deep river blues.

Let it rain, let it pour,
Let it rain a whole lot more,
'Cause I got them deep river blues,
Let the rain drive right on,
Let the waves sweep along,
'Cause I got them deep river blues.

If my boat sinks with me.
I'll go down, don't you see,
'Cause I got them deep river blues,
Now I'm gonna say goodbye,
And if I sink, just let me die,
'Cause I got them deep river blues.

Let it rain, let it pour,
Let it rain a whole lot more,
'Cause I got them deep river blues,
Let the rain drive right on,
Let the waves sweep along,
'Cause I got them deep river blues

Talk Like A Pirate Day

As its Talk Like A Pirate Day today, September the 19th I thought I'd post my version of Captain Coulston an old pirate song, that I played last week at Havering Folk Club as well as the previous week at Crail Folk Club.

Crail Folk Club

Singaround at Crail Folk Club

I've been away for two weeks in Scotland, more precisely the East Neuk of Fife, so that meant I missed two sessions at Havering but managed to make a visit to Crail Folk Club on the second Thursday.
Crail Folk Club meets at the Golf Hotel in Crail, Fife on the second and fourth Thursday in the month unless it's the mid summer season when they move to Crail town hall. I think there's also a session at the pub in Largo Ward on the other Thursdays but that may not be published. Ayway, Crail turned out to be another very friendly club with a large pool of talented regular singers out of whom different combinations are likely to turn up on any one given week. The specific venue is in one end of the restaurant section of the Golf Hotel, just opposite the small bar area. With the doors closed and about two dozen people present it soon became rather warm but we'd got kind of used to that. The format was that of a singaround, which is new to me but not uncommon. Seated around the room facing inwards, an imaginary baton is skillfully passed around clockwise by the MC, so everybody gets the chance to either sing or pass, as many times as it takes. In this case, four times by closing time. Many people sang acapella and there were also about seven guitars, and later one violin. Not a ukulele in sight.

There was a mixture of Scottish folk songs, old music hall songs, Irish and American songs and one or two I wouldn't presume to describe acurately.

Not having a guitar with me, I was dependent on somebody volunteering to lend me one which they did and I'm very grateful to John for letting me play his fine instrument. To start with, I really ydidn't know what to expect so I sang one song unaccompanied - "Going Up Camborne Hill Coming Down"

Then one of my own - "The Wreckers Prayer"

Followed by "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out"

and "Captain Coulston"

We enjoyed our evening at Crail folk club with new friends and felt like a home from home so if we end up in Fife again next year, which would be lovely, I'm sure we'll return to see what's going on in Crail or Largo.