The Askew Sisters and Craig Morgan Robson: The Axford Five WGS364CD
01 The Gypsy LaddieThis song was very common all over the country, also known as the 'Raggle Taggle Gypsies', or 'Draggle-tailed Gypsies'. The appeal of the gypsy way of life probably helped its popularity – the romance of living a wandering, independent existence would have appealed to anyone bound to work and place.
02 He Was Under My Window
A delightful waltz, albeit with rather sad words. So far we have
not been able to trace any other information about this song so
if you know any, please get in touch! Alternatively, take your partners
and dance...
03 Long Lankie
In some versions of this ballad, we hear of how Lord Wearie hires
Lankin (a mason) to build his castle, but then refuses to pay his
fee. This brings down a terrible revenge on the family, which is
often told with far more gory detail than Mrs. Goodyear includes.
The song appears in Child's ballad collection (Child 93).
04 Down in Fleet Street
Another murder tale, this time warning of the dangers of jealousy.
Versions of this song were collected all over the country, often
known as 'Oxford City' or 'Poison in a Glass of
Wine'. Percy Grainger made a famous recording of Joseph Taylor
singing a version in 1908 known as 'Worcester City'.
However this rather jaunty version is set in London's Fleet
Street, the historical centre of the printing and publishing worlds
(and also the home of another murderous young man, Sweeney Todd!)
05 Bold William Taylor
This is a very widely known song, noted by many collectors. In 1908
Percy Grainger made a famous cylinder recording of Joseph Taylor
singing the song, though to a completely different tune. The tale
of the adventurous girl, who takes matters into her own hands after
being jilted, would surely appeal to many women singers, ensuring
the song's continuing popularity.
06 Lord Derwentwater
James Ratcliffe, third Earl of Derwentwater, was beheaded in 1716
for his part in the the 1715 Jacobite rising. The song is sometimes
also called 'Lord Ellenwater' (Vaughan Williams collected it under
that name in Cambridgeshire). The song describes the ill omens that
foreshadow his untimely end at the hands of the executioner. It
also mentions his generosity. We doubt that he really had "fifty
thousand pounds all in one pocket to be given away to the poor",
but you get the general idea...
07 An Old Man Came Courting Me
This song seems to have been particularly popular all across the
UK, with some versions even as far spread as America and Canada.
Emma Hopkins's version seems to be fairly concise and lacking
some of the ruder details found in other versions (or perhaps she
just didn't want to sing them in front of Gardiner!) For a
while we thought she was married to an older man, which seemed rather
apt, but we eventually found out she was in fact married to a young
man, so she had obviously taken the advice of the song! An Old Man
Came Courting Me is also among the words which Emma wrote out and
sent to Gardiner by post.
08 The Lowlands of Holland
Gardiner collected other versions of both text and tune in Hampshire.
The song exists in many forms. It appears in Herd, Ancient and Modern
Scottish Songs, II, 1776, p 2; and Johnson, Scots Musical Museum
II, 1788, p 118 (No.115). The song may have been based in part on
a broadside ballad, The Seaman's Sorrowful Bride, printed in London
for J Deacon, Guilt-spur-street, c. 1683.
09 Abroad as I was walking
Gardiner lists this as Down by the Riverside. Mrs Goodyear remembered
the tune and the last verse, and Gardiner obtained the rest of the
text from Alfred Porter of Basingstoke. It is a song of innocence
betrayed, and must have reflected the bitter experience of more
than one young woman of the time.
10 Beautiful Nancy
At the time Gardiner was collecting in Hampshire, this song seems
to have been very popular in the county and versions of it had started
to spread to other counties in the south. Marty Munday's 'strong
instinct for the beautiful in music' is particularly prevalent in
this lovely version of the song.
11 Tarry Trousers
This song shows a timeless discourse between a mother and daughter
over the suitability of a prospective husband. It was particularly
popular in the south of England, as well as in America and Canada.
Frank Purslow also notes that mother/daughter dialogues were very
fashionable around the early 1800s and probably even later than
this as Dickens shows Captain Cuttle singing the second half of
the third verse in 'Dombey and Son'.
12 Down the Lane: From Mrs. Hopkins
Vocals: Carolyn, Moira and Sarah
This is one of many adaptations of a song found on late eighteenth
century broadsides titled 'The Maiden's complaint for
the Loss of her Shepherd'. Copies can be seen in the Madden
Collection in Cambridge University Library and in Manchester Central
Library in The Warblers Garland. The most famous version is Yorkshire's
'Holmfirth Anthem', but the other versions of the song
crop up in different parts of the country, sometimes known as 'Through
the Groves' (They all have in common rather flowery language
and magnificent tunes).
13 A Famous Farmer
The story of the unfortunate young man, murdered for the 'crime'
of being in love with a woman of a higher rank, has overtones of
an 'honour killing'. Who says folk song does not deal
with contemporary issues? The story goes back to the 14th century
and maybe even earlier. It is found in Boccaccio's Decameron,
and was even put into a poem by Keats (Isabella and the Pot of Basil).
14 Sweet Lovely Joan
Lovely Joan became very well known after Vaughan Williams collected
a version in Norfolk in 1908 and used the tune for his 'Fantasia
on Greensleeves', as well as publishing it in the Penguin
Book of English Folk Songs. However, there were in fact a variety
of other versions sung all over the UK, including this beautiful
one from Charlotte Hall.
15 The Trooper's Horse
A version of 'The Trooper Watering his Nagge', which was printed
in "Pills to Purge Melancholy" in 1720. We wonder what
Gardiner's reaction was when Mrs. Goodyear sang this for him, and
have a mental picture of the other women egging her on..."Go
on...sing 'im the one about the nag..."
Sleeve notes by Hazel Askew, Sarah Morgan and Bob Askew