The Old Songs Podcast

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? But, like buses, you wait ages for an Old Songs Podcast episode and then two come along in quick succession. Because this edition is the first in a two-part thing. Today, we’re chatting to Jim Moray about passing the two-decade mark as a professional musician, about one of my favourite of his traditional arrangements, the ballad 'Lord Douglas' [Roud 23], about a new album coming soon, and about an upcoming festival in his name. The second part to this podcast is ...

Episode 8 of the second series of The Old Songs Podcast, supported, so very kindly, by the English Folk Dance and Song Society, is an unusual one as it focuses on an old tune rather than an old song. Prepare yourself to delve into the background of one of the most well-known Morris dancing tunes, 'Princess Royal'. Joining Jon Wilks to discuss the tune is one of the country’s finest melodeon players, John Spiers, or "Squeezy" as he’s fondly known as on the English folk scene. Many of you ...

This Christmassy episode of the Old Songs Podcast turns the tables slightly, as Nick Hart interviews Jon Wilks about a traditional folk song of wintery note, 'The Gloucestershire Wassail' [Roud 209]. The pair chat about the history of the song, where it was collected, where it travelled to, what the lyrics might refer to, the definition of wassailing, and its connection to Britpop (or all things). Everything you ever wanted to know about 'The Wassailing Song' is right here in this episode, so...

Roud 2 goes under so many titles, it might be easier just to stick with 'Roud 2' and be done with it. Whether you know it as 'When I was on Horseback' or 'The Unfortunate Rake', or any of the other titles you may find, it's a grizzly old song with a fascinating history. And who better to discuss it with than Debbie Armour of Burd Ellen, always a fun person to chat with, not to mention an absolute font of folk knowledge. Debbie discusses the fact that it appears to be more than one song, the g...

Emily Portman, Rob Harbron and Jon Wilks discuss the traditional ballad, ‘The Trees They Do Grow High’ [Roud 31], a song that Emily and Rob have recorded for their new album, Time Was Away. Subjects covered include the duo’s first encounter with traditional folk music, their work with the English Folk Dance and Song Society, Emily’s interpretations of the song’s themes, its history, the source singer that Emily learned the song from, the modes and the melody, and how Rob goes about creating a...

'Shallow Brown' [Roud 2621] is a much-loved and rather mysterious traditional folk song. Collected on both coasts of the United States, as well as the South coast of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Canada, the most common versions of this mesmerising sea shanty hint at heart-breaking experiences of the transatlantic slave trade. In this, the fourth episode of the second series of The Old Songs Podcast, folk singers Angeline Morrison and Jon Wilks discuss the song's known history, the si...

'The Brisk Lad' [Roud 1667] was collected from Edith Sartin by the Hammond brothers in 1906 in Corscombe, Dorset. Also known as 'The Sheepstealer' and 'All I Have is My Own', it has been performed and recorded by many traditional folk singers over the ensuing century (and a bit). Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith chose to speak about the song here for its political content, and will be singing it at their Cecil Sharp House gig on October 5th (tickets are available here). Jimmy and Sid chat her...

'Sweet Lemany' [Roud 193] is a traditional folk song that has entranced countless singers, not least Hannah Martin of Edgelarks, SykesMartin, Gigspanner and Saltlines. The song is an aubade (a piece of music for the morning) and features mystical lyrics that may (or may not) refer to a druidic figure and the magic of early summer. Ahead of her performance with SykesMartin at Cecil Sharp House on September 29th, 2022, Hannah joins Jon Wilks on the Old Songs Podcast, supported by the English Fo...

Everything you ever wanted to know about the traditional ballad, ‘Lucy Wan’ [Roud 234] can be found in the first episode of the second series of The Old Songs Post, featuring the English traditional ballad singer, Nick Hart. On this page you’ll find all the notes, links, track listings, etc, mentioned in the podcast itself. It can be heard by clicking the player below, or on the majority of podcast platforms, from Apple to Spotify to Mixcloud.The Old Songs Podcast is supported by the English ...

The voice you hear at the beginning of this episode is the voice of the late, great traditional singer, Cecilia Costello, one of Birmingham’s finest, explaining how her father would present this week’s song back in her childhood in Victorian England. ‘The Cruel Mother’ is a huge song, and even that’s an understatement, but it’s also a song that really underlines exactly how an old song can remain relevant to a modern audience. It’s one of my favourite songs, so I was delighted when my gu...

Episode 12 of The Old Songs Podcast opens with the earliest known recording of this week’s Old Song, The Banks of Green Willow [Roud 172]. It’s the sound of David Clements, singing in either 1906 or 1909 – we’ll come to that later – recorded on wax cylinder by either Charles Gamblin and George Gardiner, or the legendary composer, Ralph Vaughan Williams at Basingstoke Workhouse. The origins of the recording are fittingly obscure, given that the origins of the song itself throw up plenty of sim...

In the last episode, number 10, we chatted with Jim Moray, so I thought for a bit of consistency I’d use his version of this episode’s song to kick us off. That’s off his album The Outlander, and that’s the wonderful Josienne Clarke – who we must get on this podcast one day – singing with him. So, the song is Lord Gregory, and my guest this week is Debbie Armour, one half of the Scottish drone folk outfit, Burd Ellen. There’s a reason why I’ve not kicked off this episode with her version...

OK then. This one’s an epic. In this episode, Jim Moray and Jon Wilks discuss the traditional song, “The Leaving Of Liverpool” [Roud 9435], where it came from, and the fascinating journey it went on to become one of the best-known songs in the cannon.Along the way they touch on the history of sea shanties, the idea that songs can have a nationality, the concept of “composition in performance”, how ballad singers remember all the words, how traditional songs can alter even while in one person’...

“Every song needs an address.” So quotes Owen Shiers of Cynefin later on this in podcast – a sentence, I think, that sums up so much of what The Old Songs Podcast is all about. I lived for several years in North Wales, and perhaps I was too young and too busy being a young person to develop any serious interest in Welsh culture – something I’ve regretted as I’ve got older – but I’ve realised in recent years that I was there long enough to develop an ear for the language, much as you migh...

I’m writing this intro at 11:45pm on April 30th, desperate to get the podcast done in time for the very start of May. Why? You’ll see why over the next hour or so. In the traditional calendar, no month quite rivals this one. From the perspective of traditional song, it’s also the calendric home of one of my favourites. ‘Hal-An-Tow’, or Roud 1520 to give it its official numbers, is one of those songs that everyone involved in the traditional folk scene will know, but seems inexplicably un...

‘Dives and Lazarus’ may seem like an odd song to look at in early April, given that it’s commonly thought of as a carol. But that’s the nature of The Old Songs Podcast. If the guest wants to discuss Christmas carols in April, then who am I to question their motives?It’s another unusual episode, recorded in the confines of coronavirus lockdown. My guest today is one of my favourite natterers – a man who could talk the folkie legs off Martin Carthy’s donkey, and also one of the chaps who helped...

An Old Songs episode for these hard times, and one featuring a legend I’ve long admired: Mr Billy Bragg.I had been meaning to record something on “Hard Times Of Old England” for some time, but hadn’t had the time or contacts to do it justice. The coronavirus situation offered me time in abundance, and it just so happened that my ideal interviewee had some time spare, too.‘Hard Times of Old England’ was a very important song to me as it was a real gateway into traditional music. For a song wit...

I didn’t have to travel far to meet this week’s guest, my friend, kinda neighbour and fellow Whitchurch Folk Club organiser, Paul Sartin. In the wider folk world he’s probably best known as a member of Faustus, Belshazzar’s Feast and, or course, a former member of Bellowhead. But it’s Paul’s encyclopaedic knowledge of traditional folk music, and, in particular, songs from in-and-around Hampshire, that make episode 5 of The Old Songs Podcast particularly special. Regular listeners will no...

In the fourth episode of The Old Songs Podcast, we’re going on a journey. For an hour or so of your time, we’ll be exploring unaccompanied singing, and we’ll doing so in the company of one of my favourite traditional ballad singers, Jackie Oates, and the traditional Cornish song, ‘The Sweet Nightingale', collected by Sabine Baring-Gould (amongst others). For more info on the episode, head to: https://jonwilks.online/the-old-songs-podcast/ep4-the-old-songs-podcast-the-sweet-nightingale-ft-jack...

In this week’s episode, Jon chats to virtuoso guitarist, Ben Walker, about “On Humber Bank”, an old song that was collected aurally in 1877 and purports to be the suicide note of an abused woman. Ben came to the song via a collector called Ken Stubbs, known for recording traditional singers such as George Maynard and, in this case, Ern Baxter, and a recording housed on the Yorkshire Garland Group website sung by Maggie Graham. In particular, Jon wanted to chat about the processes that Ben goe...

In this episode of The Old Songs Podcast, traditional folk musicians Jim Moray and Jon Wilks geek out about "Tam Lin". For more info on the episode, head to https://jonwilks.online/the-old-songs-podcast/ep2-the-old-songs-podcast-tam-lin-ft-jim-moray

Traditional folk musician, Nick Hart, discusses 'Lofty Tall Ship' (or 'Henry Martin') with singer/presenter, Jon Wilks. For more info on this episode of The Old Songs Podcast, head to: https://jonwilks.online/the-old-songs-podcast/ep1-the-old-songs-podcast-henry-martin-lofty-tall-ship