Thursday, January 29, 2009

Andy Roberts Sampler

Work is underway for a sampler CD of Andy Roberts songs.

Here's an early prototype of the Artwork by Linda.



As you can see the track listing will be as Follows:

Andy Roberts Sampler

The Wreckers Prayer

Winter in Andalucia
Gernika
Back In The Field

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Highway Blues interpretation

I learned to play Highway Blues in my own way when the Lifemask album first came out, using a load of bar chords which made it harder work than is really necessary. More recently, I've started using a different technique barring the bass string of a dropped D tuning.


Highway Blues

Take a look down your highway
Tell me what d'you see
Well if you're down my way
It could well be me
Stood on your corner
I'm nearly down on one knee
Can you hear me calling for you
So damn easy to see
And it can't be forever
And it won't be for long
So don't you think
that it's better
We speak the same tongue
Out here in this weather
We must surely belong
Birds of a feather
Whatever the song:

Please give me a lift man
It can't be for far
The way that you shift man
In your empty car,
I've got the highway blues
In my holey shoes
And I cannot choose
What I look like
Out on the streets or where my drum beats
in between the clean sheets of my love life

And I got here from yesterday
On porridge and bait
Swallowing sorrow
Following fate
Poaching tomorrow
From God and the state
Of homo his shadow
The well known long
haired straight
But I've got a good reason
For being this way
I'm happy for certain
And hoping to stay
Travelling trust
Across the new day
Gathering dust
Down your highway

Please give me a lift man...

And I need little Margaret
Out here again
Screwing some traffic
From the shaven insane
With thumbs like a dragnet
She pulls like a train
And she looks like a magnet;
And she comes like a warm rain

Please give me a lift man, etc

By Roy Harper

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Andy Roberts Music - Mozambique by Dylan

Andy Roberts sings Mozambique from Bob Dylan's 1970's Desire album at the Havering Folk club, recorded back last summer and just put up onto youtube by Peter.


Also blogged at Havering Folk Club Andy Roberts Mozambique

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Friday, January 23, 2009

Ça sert à quoi, tout ça?

By Maxime Le Forestier


Un beau matin,
On vient au monde.
Le monde
N'en sait rien.
Puis on grandit,
On recommence
La danse
De la vie,
Et puis on use nos mains
À continuer le chemin
Qu'avaient commencé nos ancêtres.
Je sais qu'un jour va venir
Où ce chemin va finir.
Ce jour viendra bientôt, peut-être.

[Refrain:]
Ça sert à quoi, tout ça ?
Ça sert à quoi, tout ça ?
Ne me demandez pas de vous suivre.
Ça sert à quoi, tout ça ?
Ça sert à quoi, tout ça ?
Il nous reste si peu à vivre.

On se connait.
On dit quand même
Je t'aime
Pour toujours.
L'éternité
N'est plus en siècles,
Des siècles,
Mais en jours.
Si tu me donnes un enfant,
Aura-t-il assez de temps
Pour arriver à l'âge d'homme ?
S'il reste seul ici-bas
Avec une fille à son bras,
Trouveront-ils encore des pommes ?


Cette chanson,
Quand je la chante,
Je chante
Pour du vent.
C'est la chanson
Du glas qui sonne.
Personne
Ne l'entend.
Tu as beau me répéter
Qu'on n'a jamais rien changé
Avec des notes et des phrases,
Je continue de chanter,
Les doigts en forme de V,
En attendant que tout s'embrase.


Pour le peu qu'il nous reste à vivre

Thursday, January 22, 2009

The Song of the Volga Boatmen

Peter Walters sings The Song of the Volga Boatmen in Russian at Havering Folk Club's weekly meeting.

Good to be back

Good to be back at Havering Folk Club in the Golden Lion, Romford again so I played Back in the Field which was a repeat since I'd played it before back in August ( two-more-andy-roberts-songs ) and then for the first time, just for fun, The Truro Agricultural Show

It was interesting that Gary had already heard that one by somebody who is playing the other Romford Folk club in November later this year. Never say "This is song none of you will have heard before" was his advice!

In the second half I had a chance to play something else and did a short medlay of two beatles song snippets I feel Fine and Every little thing

Friday, January 16, 2009

Folk Radio Station

Thanks to Sandie Ritter on the Stormcock list for posting a link to this web radio station:

http://st1.webradioworld.net/tunein.php/fruk/playlist.ram

They play some interesting stuff but it's hard to find out who some of the singers are. Occasionally makes mistakes like playing Dido, but on the whole it's a nice station to have on for an hour or so while working.


Update:

Via Paul Davison at stormcock.net from Alex Gallacher

Hi

This was the only way of contacting members so forgive me if it's wrong. Andy Roberts posted a listen link to my station in his blog which he mentioned was listed on Stormcock. I stumbled across the link in my website stats.

He mentioned it was difficult to work out what was playing....All the info can be found at www.folkradio.co.uk. There are two radio streams, one playing Celtic and Trad British Folk, the other playing Alt-Folk and Indie Folk. There are many listen links as well.

I've never played Dido...but his comment did make me laugh...

I hail from Romford originally, changed a lot last time I visited.

All the best
Alex

The Truro Agricultural Show (Agericultural)

The Bath and West of England Show visited Cornwall in 1861. The Royal Cornwall Show was merged with it and the combined event held at Truro. This must have been a HUGE event and the song seems to have been written as a kind of way to get the news out and gather in the crowds. A Nineteenth century equivalent to the youtube viral video.

The Truro Agericultural Show



Good people all who hear my voice, you now have reason to rejoice;
For off to Truro you may go, to see the Agricultural Show;
But don't go kissing the girls you know, at Truro Agericultural Show.

A motley crew you will see there, fat farmers and their wives so rare
Their bounc'n daughters neat & clean, wi' a porkpie hat &a crinoline
So don't go kissing the girls you know at Truro Agericultural Show.

From Newlyn east and Saint Columb too, there's Humpback'd Jim
and Carroty Joe; and a special train upon the rail,
to bring all the thieves from Bodmin Gaol.
So don't go kissing the girls you know at Truro Agericultural Show.

They've got a band from Plymouth down, the best that ever was in the town;
And all the gentry will be there -'tis most as pretty as Whitsun Fair!
But don't go kissing the girls you know at Truro Agericultural Show.

There's horses, ponies, cows and calves, for Truro don't do things by halves - there be Devon bulls, sheep, pigs, and geese;
You can see it all for a shilling a piece!
But don't go kissing the girls you know, at Truro Agericultural Show!

There's things up there that'll make you laugh,
there's a two-legg'd cow and a nine-legg'd calf;
A billiy-goat that comes from Wales, with 16 eyes & 17 tails.
So don't go kissing the girls you know, at Truro Agericultural Show!

Now all around I hear you say, "we'll see that show this very day..
So off we go, all in a row, to Truro Agericultural Show!"
And don't go kissing the girls you know, at Truro Agericultural Show

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Hold On Below

So last night was the second and final Havering Folk Club at the White Horse. Next week we return to the reopened Golden Lion. Good.

last night I played Hold On Below for the first time in a few decades, a fast and loud song from my teenage years. People who think they should be able to learn how to play the guitar in a couple of months in their spare time should take note.

Then from out of the recent Dylan fest I selected Tomorrow is a long time

Also yesterday, I've started looking through my songlists that I began compiling at the beginning of my recent trip to Spain. That led to the collection of lyrics I brought back from the solo trip a few years back. There are still two or three more to come out of there, then it's a question of selecting half a dozen for the first set on April 1st.


Hold On Below Lyrics 

Hold on below I'm coming down
Wind up  the sluices I'm going to drown
open up the hatches I'm on my way down

They've covered up the beauty the meaning can't be found
There's creases in the picture distortion in the sound
so hold on below, I'm on my way  down

Your pictures are all empty there's nothing left to draw
Your face it is all faded and you're smaller than before
you walk on your children they won't take it anymore
you move to close the window as they're walking out the door,

The mountains all around me are getting louder every day
they close all around me though they've nothing left today
and they bear down upon me so I can't get away
their grass has turned brown and their skies are all grey

Hold on below I'm coming down
Wind up  the sluices I'm going to drown
open up the hatches I'm on my way down





So clear out the gangway I'm coming down below
making my way down there;s nowhere else to go
and there's another lot behind me there's row upon row,
ad they all want to leave, sit back and watch us go

They've covered up the beauty the meaning can't be found
There's creases in the picture distortion in the sound
so hold on below, I'm on my way  down

Hold on below I'm coming down
Wind up  the sluices I'm going to drown
open up the hatches I'm on my way down

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Tangled up in blue

Early one mornin' the sun was shinin',
I was layin' in bed
Wond'rin' if she'd changed at all
If her hair was still red.
Her folks they said our lives together
Sure was gonna be rough
They never did like Mama's homemade dress
Papa's bankbook wasn't big enough.
And I was standin' on the side of the road
Rain fallin' on my shoes
Heading out for the East Coast
Lord knows I've paid some dues gettin' through,
Tangled up in blue.

She was married when we first met
Soon to be divorced
I helped her out of a jam, I guess,
But I used a little too much force.
We drove that car as far as we could
Abandoned it out West
Split up on a dark sad night
Both agreeing it was best.
She turned around to look at me
As I was walkin' away
I heard her say over my shoulder,
"We'll meet again someday on the avenue,"
Tangled up in blue.

I had a job in the great north woods
Working as a cook for a spell
But I never did like it all that much
And one day the ax just fell.
So I drifted down to New Orleans
Where I happened to be employed
Workin' for a while on a fishin' boat
Right outside of Delacroix.
But all the while I was alone
The past was close behind,
I seen a lot of women
But she never escaped my mind, and I just grew
Tangled up in blue.

She was workin' in a topless place
And I stopped in for a beer,
I just kept lookin' at the side of her face
In the spotlight so clear.
And later on as the crowd thinned out
I's just about to do the same,
She was standing there in back of my chair
Said to me, "Don't I know your name?"
I muttered somethin' underneath my breath,
She studied the lines on my face.
I must admit I felt a little uneasy
When she bent down to tie the laces of my shoe,
Tangled up in blue.

She lit a burner on the stove and offered me a pipe
"I thought you'd never say hello," she said
"You look like the silent type."
Then she opened up a book of poems
And handed it to me
Written by an Italian poet
From the thirteenth century.
And every one of them words rang true
And glowed like burnin' coal
Pourin' off of every page
Like it was written in my soul from me to you,
Tangled up in blue.

I lived with them on Montague Street
In a basement down the stairs,
There was music in the cafes at night
And revolution in the air.
Then he started into dealing with slaves
And something inside of him died.
She had to sell everything she owned
And froze up inside.
And when finally the bottom fell out
I became withdrawn,
The only thing I knew how to do
Was to keep on keepin' on like a bird that flew,
Tangled up in blue.

So now I'm goin' back again,
I got to get to her somehow.
All the people we used to know
They're an illusion to me now.
Some are mathematicians
Some are carpenter's wives.
Don't know how it all got started,
I don't know what they're doin' with their lives.
But me, I'm still on the road
Headin' for another joint
We always did feel the same,
We just saw it from a different point of view,
Tangled up in blue.

Bob Dylan

Monday, January 12, 2009

I Shall Be Released

I Shall Be Released

They say ev'rything can be replaced,
Yet ev'ry distance is not near.
So I remember ev'ry face
Of ev'ry man who put me here.
I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east.
Any day now, any day now,
I shall be released.

They say ev'ry man needs protection,
They say ev'ry man must fall.
Yet I swear I see my reflection
Some place so high above this wall.
I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east.
Any day now, any day now,
I shall be released.

Standing next to me in this lonely crowd,
Is a man who swears he's not to blame.
All day long I hear him shout so loud,
Crying out that he was framed.
I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east.
Any day now, any day now,
I shall be released.

Bob Dylan

Tomorrow is a long time

If today was not an endless highway,
If tonight was not a crooked trail,
If tomorrow wasn't such a long time,
Then lonesome would mean nothing to you at all.

- Yes, and only if my own true love was waitin',
if I could hear her heart a-softly poundin',
Yes, and only if she was lyin' by me,
I'd lie in my bed once again.

I can't see my reflection in the waters,
I can't speak the sounds that show no pain,
I can't hear the echo of my footsteps,
Or can't remember the sound of my own name.

There's beauty in the silver, singin' river,
There's beauty in the sunrise in the sky,
But none of these and nothing else can touch the beauty
That I remember in my true love's eyes.

Bob Dylan

One Too Many Mornings

Down the street the dogs are barking
And the day is a-getting dark.
As the night comes in a-fallin'
The dogs, they'll lose their bark.
And the silent night will shatter
From the sounds inside my mind
And I'm one too many mornings
And a thousand miles behind.

From the crossroads of my doorstep,
My eyes start to fade.
And I turn my head back to the room
Where my love and I have laid.
And I gaze back to the street
the sidewalk and the sign.
And I'm one too many mornings
And a thousand miles behind.

It's a restless, hungry feeling
That don't mean no one no good.
When everything I'm saying,
You can say it just as good.
You are right from your side,
And I am right from mine.
We're both just one too many mornings
And a thousand miles behind.

Bob Dylan

Goodnight Irene

Irene goodnight, Irene goodnight
Goodnight Irene, goodnight Irene
I'll see you in my dreams

Sometimes I live in the country
Sometimes I live in town
Sometimes I have a great notion
To jump into the river and drown

Irene goodnight, Irene goodnight
Goodnight Irene, goodnight Irene
I'll see you in my dreams

Quit ramblin' and quit gamblin'
Quit stayin' out late at night
Stay home with your wife and family
Sit down by the fireside bright

Irene goodnight, Irene goodnight
Goodnight Irene, goodnight Irene
I'll see you in my dreams

I asked your mother for you
She told me you was too young
I wished to God I'd never seen your face
I's sorry you ever was born

Irene goodnight, Irene goodnight
Goodnight Irene, goodnight Irene
I'll see you in my dreams

I love Irene, God knows I do
I'll love her till the seas run dry
And if Irene turns her back on me
I'd take morphine and die

Irene goodnight, Irene goodnight
Goodnight Irene, goodnight Irene
I'll see you in my dreams

You cause me to weep, you cause me to mourn
You cause me to leave my home
But the very last words I heard her say
Was "Please sing me one more song"

Irene goodnight, Irene goodnight
Goodnight Irene, goodnight Irene
I'll see you in my dreams

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Havering Folk Club Temporary Venue

Havering Folk Club Venue


Due to the sudden closure of the Golden Lion pub in Romford, the Havering Folk club met in a new venue last night. The little stables building at the back of the White Horse in Chadwell Heath was most acceptable as a means of keeping the continuity of this group going, though about half the size of the function room in the old place, and with nowhere for larger groups of musicians to put their instruments down or tune up. It was easy enough to make the journey, just 5 minutes walk from Chadwell Heath station and with a large car park for drivers. The hope remains that the town centre Golden Lion pub will reopen under new ownership soon and that the function room will remain available so the Havering Folk Club will be able to return to the most popular venue and able to accommodate larger audiences as are more likely to turn up regularly.

Last night we were treated to a performance by Gemma Salter and friend from the cast of Come Dancing who sang a lovely song that she wrote during the early days of the show.

Havering Folk Club Songs



I played an instrumental for the first time, a very old tune of mine called Narrowboats which was actually composed on the roof of a narrowboat during a Kea Youth Club expedition to the Midlands and river Severn a long time ago. Then I sang my version of Wonderwall , the traditional Mancunian folk song by Oasis, dedicated to Frankie whose birthday it was yesterday.

In the second set I managed to get a request for The Cormorants Song aka London Bridge

Listen to Cormorants on Last.fm - free download



Havering Folk Club News



update:

Havering Folk Club is now back at the Golden Lion as usual on Wednesdays at eight o'clock sharp.

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

I feel fine

I feel fine

Baby's good to me, you know
She's happy as can be, you know
She said so
I'm in love with her and I feel fine

Baby says she's mine, you know
She tells me all the time, you know
She said so
I'm in love with her and I feel fine

I'm so glad that she's my little girl
She's so glad, she's telling all the world

That her baby buys her things, you know
He buys her diamond rings, you know
She said so
She's in love with me and I feel fine, mmm

Baby says she's mine, you know
She tells me all the time, you know
She said so
I'm in love with her and I feel fine

I'm so glad that she's my little girl
She's so glad, she's telling all the world

That her baby buys her things, you know
He buys her diamond rings, you know
She said so
She's in love with me and I feel fine
She's in love with me and I feel fine, mmm, mmm

(Lennon/McCartney)

Every Little Thing

When I'm walking beside her
People tell me I'm lucky
Yes, I know I'm a lucky guy
I remember the first time
I was lonely without her
Can't stop thinking about her now

Every little thing she does
She does for me, yeah
And you know the things she does
She does for me, oooh

When I'm with her I'm happy
Just to know that she loves me
Yes, I know that she loves me now
There is one thing I'm sure of
I will love her forever
For I know love will never die

Every little thing she does
She does for me, yeah
And you know the things she does
She does for me, oooh

Every little thing she does
She does for me, yeah
And you know the things she does
She does for me, oooh
Every little thing
Every little thing

(Lennon/McCartney)

Sunday, January 04, 2009

String Winder for 12 string Guitar

I bought a string winder yesterday from a guitar shop in Romford called "Professional Music Technology" - PMT

A string winder is a little gadget that hooks over an individual tuner peg so that you can quickly unwind an existing string for removal or wind up a new one to operation tension. Simple but time saving especially with a 12 string guitar getting a whole new set of string. To do it by hand you have to grip the peg between thumb and finger and turn it one half of a rotation at a time which gets pretty tedious when it takes 20 or more rotations to go from slack to taught.

I saw a cheap plastic one in Selfridges but for some reason failed to buy it at £4 then decided that decision had been foolish and went into PMT in Romford only to find teh same thing ( the last one in the shop ) for £2.

If I'd gone to Amazon online I would have been spoilt for choice however:

** Buy one of several kinds of stringwinder online via amazon.co.uk **


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