On this week’s podcast which is episode number 18 we have mostly Any Roberts own compositions and one classic Roy Harper song which hasn’t been covered here before at all, or by Andy Roberts ever, in fact.
Here’s the stuff:
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18 Andy Roberts Podcast Episode 18.mp3
Andy Roberts Podcast Episode 18 Show Notes
- “The Nutmeg Tree” – Music and lyrics by Andy Roberts, from Album 1
- “The Show Carries On” – Music and lyrics by Andy Roberts, from The Andy Roberts Tapes
- “Joan of Arc” – Music and lyrics by Andy Roberts from The Andy Roberts Tapes
- “How Does it Feel” – Music and lyrics by Roy Harper
- “Change Is” – Music and lyrics by Andy Roberts from The Last Nail
Some youTube Videos of the same songs
The Nutmeg Tree
The Show Carries On
Joan of Arc
How Does it Feel
Change Is
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
Andy Roberts Podcast #18
Sunday, October 03, 2010
Live at Havering Folk Club
Mostly I’ve been documenting which songs I’ve played at Havering Folk Club on which dates over on the Andy Roberts Music blog on blogspot but I decided a short while ago that I’d start putting those posts here instead, I just haven’t stuck to it very well! The idea was that by tagging posts with song titles, I’d be able to look up very easily and keep track of which songs I’m playing mor often than others, and help me seek out those elusive numbers that I’ve forgotten about for long enough that they suddenly seem fresh and new all over again. But the tagging system never works out quite as tidily as you might imagine, and the dates become a bit blurry as the habit of reporting promptly wears off.
So one date that was remarkable was the date when the Australian duo Cloudstreet came to the Golden Lion to do a long awaited guest spot for Havering Folk Club. Wednesday 15th September. They didn’t disappoint, it was one of the most enjoyable evenings we’ve had there over the years, and I even managed to track down their own blog afterwards so I can keep up with where they are touring, ready for next time they are in the local area.
As one of only a small number of floor spot artists I had the chance to play two songs, and these were:
Sometimes this happens, and my voice hadn’t warmed up in time for the first song, so I’ve trashed the video and instead here is the song as performed for podcast episode 10. I think I’ll leave this one for a while now.
Followed by The Cajun Cooking Cajun Music song.
There’s a nice bright image on that video, thanks to Linda innovating with the video settings on her relatively new stills camera.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Podcast #13 : 3 Andy Roberts Songs
Episode #13 brings three Andy Roberts compositions, two of which are longer than average songs. The first is the almost completed song which has undergone some serious birthing difficulties, but I hope you will think it’s been worth it eventually… “Change Is” began life as two separate songs appearing ten weeks ago in Podcast #3 provisionally entitled “Trevellas” and “Summerhouse”. So that’s just one track now, coming in at still only about seven minutes long, which is a lot shorter than fourteen verses of The Lincolnshire Poacher. A fair comparison, I’m sure you would agree.
The second song is a rare live rendition of “Gernika” which I’ve written about elsewhere, and is the title track to my album of songs all written during one week in Spain.
Then I attempt to lighten up with a little ditty from 2009, Yellow Boat.
Here’s the web player, download link, tracklist and show notes for Podcast Episode 13:
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You can also download the MP3 audio file which is 20.9Mb in size and 22 minutes 15 seconds in duration from this link
13 Andy Roberts Podcast Episode 13.mp3
Andy Roberts Podcast Episode 13 Show Notes
Show notes and information for Podcast Episode 13 broadcast on September 28th, published on September 30th 2010.
1) Change Is
Words and Music by Andy Roberts, from the album “The Last Nail”
2) Gernika
Words and Music by Andy Roberts, from the album “Gernika”
2) Yellow Boat
Words and Music by Andy Roberts, from the album “The Last Nail”
Friday, September 17, 2010
BBC Four launches month-long celebration of the singer-songwriter
BBC Four today announces an exciting month-long celebration of the singer-songwriter, led by a new series of specially commissioned concerts titled Songwriters’ Circle.
The celebration, which starts on Friday 1 October, presents an insightful and varied array of programming and features some of the world’s best pop and rock singer-songwriters, including Richard Thompson, Suzanne Vega, Lyle Lovett, Joe Ely, Chris Difford, Elton John and Cat Stevens amongst many others.
The channel celebration also includes, Singer-Songwriters At The BBC, alongside classic BBC In Concert shows and recent concert acquisitions such as James Taylor & Carole King at The Troubadour.
Richard Klein, Controller, BBC Four, says: "BBC Four is the home of contemporary music and to have some of the best singer-songwriters playing for us in specially created concerts is a real delight"
In the new series, Songwriters’ Circle, the singer-songwriters perform their classic songs in turn, while helping each other out musically with harmonies and the odd guitar part. The four shows are filmed live in a small London concert venue, with the artists only meeting an hour or two before going onstage. In between performances, the artists take the viewer inside their work, chatting about their songs, their history and background.
Richard Thompson, Suzanne Vega and Loudon Wainwright kick off the series, swapping songs at West London’s Bush Hall, including signature tunes like Thompson’s "Vincent Black Lightning", Vega’s "Luka" and Wainwright’s "The Swimming Song".
Thompson helps out with acoustic guitar fills throughout and Wainwright and Vega duet on a ’countrified’ song on the impact of the recession on failing marriages and couples who can’t afford to divorce, in "House".
Loudon Wainwright and Richard Thompson together in concert.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
UK Podcasts - Andy Roberts
UK Podcasts - Andy Roberts
Saturday, August 21, 2010
New Videos from Andy Roberts music 21 August 2010
Posting a selection of new videos that have been published on the youTube channel in the last week or so. two of them are from Havering Folk Club taken with the canon camera and the others are edited out from the Ustream recording which is taken directly from the built in webcam.
* The Last Nail - Andy Roberts boat building folk song
* Wrecked Again - Michael Chapman cover Andy Roberts hfc
* You Can't Say "NO" to that Woman
* Deep River Blues + Nobody Know You When You're Down And Out
* You Can Count On Me | Andy Roberts
* Doing it all alone
* Hesitation Blues - Andy Roberts Podcast Episode 6
Three of the songs are Andy Roberts original songs and the rest are covers or traditional
Andy Roberts Weekly podcast at http://andyroberts.me
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Beginning August Havering and Romford Folk Club
Both folk club events were member's special nights which I didn't want to miss.
Romford Folk Club
Clive and Linda aka Ploughman's Lunch guested at Romford Folk Club which is held every Tuesday downstairs at the Sun pub, not all that far from the Golden Lion really.
THE SUN
Address: 47 London Road
Romford Essex
RM7 9QA
Since Clive and Linda sing mostly traditional agricultural folk songs I played one of my own that's kind of in that style, The Rowan Tree
So it was the first time I'd ever been to that venue, due to Tuesday's not being a good night fr us usually, but it was interesting that we managed to get there after the podcast show finished at home around 7.30 and arrive in Romford and find the place still in plenty of time before the evening kicked off.
Havering Folk Club
Wednesday 3rd of August was a special members night for Phil Duffield which gave him a chance to show a wider repertoire than we normally hear from him. There was a new song Phil has written as a proposed new national anthem for Wales, which is a fine ambition to have, and the song certainly has a lot of potential become something like that with the right sort of take up.
I played a song of my own which Phil has asked me to make sure I do a bit more often so this was the perfect opportunity, the song is called "The Dream is Over" and here's the video taken with Linda's new camera:
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Havering Folk Club July 21st 2010
Havering Folk Club July 21st 2010
I went along to Havering Folk Club last Wednesday after a week away on holiday and tried to do a vesrion of one of the new songs I haven't finished yet. I know It didn't work out very well, partly because I don't have the lyrics memorised yet and I tried reading from a crib sheet on the music stand, which has never worked out for me in past and probably never will. I can sing and play at the same time, sometimes I can sing, play and read at the same time, but not it seems in front of an audience, standing up and without reading glasses. So I've uploaded the podcast versions of the unfinished songs to youTube instead. The one called "Untitled 1" in the episode 3 shownotes is provisionally called "Trevellas" now, and unfinished 2 is called "Summerhouse" but I also have a plan for combining the two songs into one single work that would be longer and more complex. We'll have to see.Sitting On The Bank
To recompose my composure, finding myself with a capo on fret 4 I decided on the spur of the moment to sing "Sitting on the Bank" which is a simple song I wrote when I was about 15 or 16 and thinking about leaving home soon. While uploading I noticed that the melody is developing slightly even now, I'm not sure it's correct to call it a revival though, as it's never really been out of the repertoire.The Mighty Quinn
After the break and with the list of floor singers completed there was a little time left and Pep kindly asked me to do another, so after 3 pints I decided to do a singalong that everybody knows though it turned out not everybody at Havering Folk Club knows that the Mighty Quinn was a Bob Dylan song. The Manfred Mann cover version was better known in the UK in 1960s and afterwards.Thursday, July 08, 2010
Quake and Tremble
I took along my six string guitar and played a couple of songs to start off the second half, after the break. Linda's camera battery failed again so I don't have any fresh video capture of that particular performance but I can post alternative versions from my ever growing collection on youTube in order to maintain the record of which songs were performed when.
Yellow Boat
If I had a Yellow Boat I'd sail it to St Martin's
Moor it off the white sand bay
Bobbing in the turquoise sea
Wonderwall
Wonderwall is a very famous song from Mancheser band Oasis, in the 1990s
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Two Roy Harper Covers
Highway Blues - by Roy Harper
Evening Star - Roy Harper
It was a quietish week and I had time for one of my own as well:
Swimming Pool ( or "Searching for Venus")
Thursday, July 01, 2010
Big Eyed Beans From Venus - Captain Beefheart
And we're down to the dozens, and this is why:
Big Eyed Beans from Venus! Oh my, oh my.
Boys and girls,
Earth people around the circle,
Mixtures of man alive.
Big eyed beans from Venus,
Don't let anything get in between us.
Beam in on me baby,
and we'll beam together
I know we always been together,
but there's more.
Mister Zoot Horn Rollo, hit that long lunar note,
and let it float.
Men let your wallets flop out,
and women open your purses,
Cause a man or a woman without a big eyed bean from Venus
Is suffering with the worstest of curses
Yeah, you're suffering, with the worstest of curses.
Put 'em out in the sun, and when the night come
You don't have to go out and get 'em
They'll glow with you
They'll go with you
They'll show with you
Ain't no losers
Cause they're on the right track
Cause they're on the right track
You can be on the right track, woman,
Of course, of course
Ain't no SNAFU, no fol-de-rol
Check these out, Big eyed beans from Venus
Oh, let a few out, let 'em pass in between us
Distant cousins, there's a limited supply.
And we're down to the dozens, and this is why...
Don't let anything get in between us!
Big eyed beans from Venus
Big eyed beans from Venus.
Isis - Bob Dylan Desire Album with Jaques Levy
But I could not hold on to her very long
So I cut off my hair and I rode straight away
For the wild unknown country where I could not go wrong
I came to a high place of darkness and light
The dividing line ran through the center of town
I hitched up my pony to a post on the right
Went in to a laundry to wash my clothes down
A man in the corner approached me for a match
I knew right away he was not ordinary
He said, “Are you lookin’ for somethin’ easy to catch?”
I said, “I got no money.” He said, “That ain’t necessary”
We set out that night for the cold in the North
I gave him my blanket, he gave me his word
I said, “Where are we goin’?” He said we’d be back by the fourth
I said, “That’s the best news that I’ve ever heard”
I was thinkin’ about turquoise, I was thinkin’ about gold
I was thinkin’ about diamonds and the world’s biggest necklace
As we rode through the canyons, through the devilish cold
I was thinkin’ about Isis, how she thought I was so reckless
How she told me that one day we would meet up again
And things would be different the next time we wed
If I only could hang on and just be her friend
I still can’t remember all the best things she said
We came to the pyramids all embedded in ice
He said, “There’s a body I’m tryin’ to find
If I carry it out it’ll bring a good price”
’Twas then that I knew what he had on his mind
The wind it was howlin’ and the snow was outrageous
We chopped through the night and we chopped through the dawn
When he died I was hopin’ that it wasn’t contagious
But I made up my mind that I had to go on
I broke into the tomb, but the casket was empty
There was no jewels, no nothin’, I felt I’d been had
When I saw that my partner was just bein’ friendly
When I took up his offer I must-a been mad
I picked up his body and I dragged him inside
Threw him down in the hole and I put back the cover
I said a quick prayer and I felt satisfied
Then I rode back to find Isis just to tell her I love her
She was there in the meadow where the creek used to rise
Blinded by sleep and in need of a bed
I came in from the East with the sun in my eyes
I cursed her one time then I rode on ahead
She said, “Where ya been?” I said, “No place special”
She said, “You look different.” I said, “Well, I guess”
She said, “You been gone.” I said, “That’s only natural”
She said, “You gonna stay?” I said, “If you want me to, yes!”
Isis, oh, Isis, you mystical child
What drives me to you is what drives me insane
I still can remember the way that you smiled
On the fifth day of May in the drizzlin’ rain
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Two Revived Songs at HFC
Unfortunately these songs don't really go together back to back very well, being both in the same key and also having some of the same words in each's title so I sandwiched something else in between each time.
The War is Over
Yesterday
The Dream Is Over
Future Music Blogs
In the future most of these little blogs recording which songs I played where are going to be posted over at the new site I've set up for the podcasting, andyroberts.me
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
The Same Old Rock
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Podcast Prototype Number 1
So instead I'm blogging here about what's happening with the Tuesday evening live streaming music show that I've been doing for almost a year now, most weeks. I've decided to turn it into a podcast as well. That means you don't have to be there live at 7.00pm on a Tuesday in order to hear the show. You should be able to subscribe with iTunes or similar feed reading software, and have each episode downloaded as an mp3 file to listen to as and when you have a spare moment.
The show itself is pretty much the same unrehearsed music and chat as always except that I don't stop to mess about with the record/stop button and saving the description and tags etc in between each song. The whole thing gets recorded as one block and then the audio is stripped out and distributed through the podcasting channel via one of my websites called andyroberts.me
We're still in the prototyping stage so this could change but for the present the new url for the podcast feed should be at
http://andyroberts.me/?feed=podcast
Try putting that into your iTunes subscriptions . In my version you have to go to the overhead top go to the top of page drop down menu and select "Advanced" then "Subscribe to Podcast" and paste the url http://andyroberts.me/?feed=podcast into the box which pops up. Your mileage may vary.
I can still edit out individual songs for uploading to youTube so there's nothing lost in that respect and here are the five songs from last week's Andy Roberts podcast prototype number 1
The Wreckers Prayer
People Are Strange
Cormorants
Here Comes The Sun
Narrow Boats
Sunday, May 30, 2010
May 26th People are strange, When the Waters Rise
People Are Strange - The Doors
A cover of the Doors song People Are Strange
When The Waters Rise
When The Waters Rise
San Francisco
After the interval at Havering Folk Club there was time to do one more song each and I decided to play San Francisco the song by Mazime Le Forestier
Friday, May 14, 2010
May 12th HFC The Last Nail, Sitting on the Bank
Sitting on the Bank and The Last Nail
May 5th - Golden Brown
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Golden brown
Lays me down with my mind she runs
Throughout the night
No need to fight
Never a frown with golden brown
Every time just like the last
On her ship tied to the mast
To distant lands
Takes both my hands
Never a frown with golden brown
Golden brown finer temptress
Through the ages she's heading West
From far away
Stays for a day
Never a frown with golden brown
Never a frown
With golden brown
Never a frown
With golden brown
Sunday, May 02, 2010
The Drugs Don't Work
C
All this talk of getting old
C2 Am Am7
It's getting me down my love
Em F
Like a cat in a bag, waiting to drown
G C C2 C
This time I'm comin' down
C
And I hope you're thinking of me
C2 Am Am7
As you lay down on your side
Em
Now the drugs don't work
F
They just make you worse
G C C2 C
But I know I'll see your face again
Em
Now the drugs don't work
F
They just make you worse
G C C2 C
But I know I'll see your face again
C
But I know I'm on a losing streak
C2 Am Am7
'Cause I passed down my old street
Em
And if you wanna show
F
then just let me know
G C C2 C
And I'll sing in your ear again
Em
Now the drugs don't work
F
They just make you worse
G C C2 C
But I know I'll see your face again
F
'Cause baby ooh
G Am
if heaven calls
G
I'm coming too
F
Just like you said
G Am
if you leave my life
G
I'm better off dead
C
All this talk of getting old
C2 Am Am7
It's getting me down my love
Em
Like a cat in a bag
F
waiting to drown
G C C2 C
This time I'm comin' down
Em
Now the drugs don't work
F
They just make you worse
G C C2 C
But I know I'll see your face again
F
'Cause baby ooh
G Am
if heaven calls
G
I'm coming too
F
Just like you said
G Am
if you leave my life
F
I'm better off dead
Em
But if you wanna show(want a show)
F
then just let me know
G C C2 C
And I'll sing in your ear again
Em
Now the drugs don't work
F
They just make you worse
G C C2 C C2
But I know I'll see your face again
C C2 C C2
Yeah, I know I'll see your face again
C C2 C C2
Yeah, I know I'll see your face again
C C2 C C2 C
Yeah, I know I'll see your face again
C C2 C C2 C
Yeah, I know I'll see your face again
C C2
I'm never coming down, no I'm never coming down
C C2
No more, no more, no more, no more, no more
C C2
never coming down, no I'm never going down
C C2
No more, no more, no more, no more, no more
C (Arpeggio up(let ring))
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
People Are Strange - The Doors
People are strange when you're a stranger
Faces look ugly when you're alone
Women seem wicked when you're unwanted
Streets are uneven when you're down
When you're strange
Faces come out of the rain
When you're strange
No one remembers your name
When you're strange
When you're strange
When you're strange
Saturday, April 24, 2010
21st April Mazet
Mazet - Andy Roberts music and lyrics
Northcountry girl
This video is in fact from another occasion because I kind of messed up last week and forgot one and a half verses, not sure why that happened exactly, just a bit unprepared I suppose.
Shifting Sands, Wrecked Again, Dead Skunk
Shifting Sands - Andy Roberts music and lyrics
Wrecked Again - Mike Chapman
Dead Skunk in the middle of the road
Dead Skunk by Loudon Wainwright
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Two More Andy Roberts Songs
Blue
Sitting On Top Of The World
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Wednesday March 31st Havering Folk Club
Open Night, 2 Andy Roberts songs
The Rowan Tree
The Last Nail
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Truro Agricultural Show
Interestingly four seperate people made enquiries to me about the origins of the song, having some sort of Cornish connections.
The lyrics are published earlier on the Andy Roberts music blog somewhere down there...
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The Last Nail - Andy Roberts boatbuilding folk song
The Last Nail by Andy Roberts
Recorded live at Havering Folk Club
Friday, March 19, 2010
The Last Nail
Hers is the video of the first live performance of The Last Nail at Havering Folk Club on Wednesday March 17th, St Patrick's Day as it happens.
These are the Lyrics to The Last Nail:
Above the stone walled harbour, or down the winding hill
That's where they built the boatyard, and the structure stands there still.
Not much boat building happens now, just repairs and fitting out
but when the wind rattles the boatmasts, you can hear the old boatbulders shout:
Will you pass the last nail over and I'll knock it into place,
Then with four more coats of varnish, she'll be ready for the race.
Our grandfathers put up the boatyard, to build the fishing fleet,
more than fifty boats in the harbour, and shops all down the main street
then the steam age brought in the drifters,
boat builders became engineers
Now the wind blows straight through the boatyard,
there'll be no more boat building here
Will you pass the last nail over and I'll knock it into place,
Then with four more coats of varnish, she'll be ready for the race.
With a keen eye for staying in business, they switched over to build leisure craft
And the weekend yachtsmen snapped them up, no expense spared fore or aft
Then wooden hulls went out of fashion, the order book emptied last year
So the bankers foreclosed on the boatyard,
and there'll be no more boatbuilding here
Will you pass the last nail over and I'll knock it into place,
Then with four more coats of varnish, she'll be ready for the race.
Now the Vikings invented the clinker for both strength and shallow seas
and the herring boats followed the coastline, until the canning ships found the key
There's a regatta here every August, and the whole village turns out again
But the Sea Queen's no real competition, and it's guaranteed to rain
Will you pass the last nail over and I'll knock it into place,
Then with four more coats of varnish, she'll be ready for the race.
Above the stone walled harbour, or down the winding hill
that's where they built the boatyard, and the skeleton stands there still.
No more boat building happens now, not even fitting out
but when the wind rattles the boatmasts, you can still hear the old boys shout:
Will you pass the last nail over, we'll knock it into place,
Then with four more coats of varnish, she'll be ready for the race.
Why are we sleeping
It begins with a blessing, it ends with a curse
Making life easy by making it worse
"My mask is my master", the trumpeter weeps
But his voice is so weak, as he speaks from his sleep
Saying: "Why, why, why... Why are we sleeping?"
People are watching, people who stare
Waiting for something that's already there
"Tomorrow I'll find it", the trumpeter screams
And remembers he's hungry, and drowns in his dreams
Saying: "Why, why, why... Why are we sleeping?"
My head is a nightclub with glasses and wine
The customers dancing or just making time
While Daevid is cursing, the customers scream
Now everyone's shouting, "Get out of my dream!"
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Back In The Field - Norwegian Wood - Wreckers Prayer
So the date was Wednesday 10th March at Havering Folk Club and the songs I played last week were Back in The Field and Norwegian Wood.
If I remember correctly there was also time for one last song at the end of the evening and I played The Wreckers Prayer.
Not to self: Must be more prompt when writing up these music blogs. According to youtube I seem to have played The Rowan Tree recently as well and that may well be a missing week.
Monday, March 08, 2010
Listening to the 12 string Guitar
I played "The Nutmeg Tree"
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Fred Wedlock RIP
(Fred Wedlock)
I am just a folker and my story's seldom told
I have massacred folk music with a yard of German plywood and a capo
I do requests--just the ones that have two chords in them and I disregard the rest
Na na nya na na na na na na nya etc . . .
In the Seabeen Pub I clean forgot the 42nd verse,
So I sang the 27th twice as loud and in reverse and no one notice.
I laughed for hours the tears ran down me trouser leg
I thought I'd wet me drawers
Well, I stand on stage the hero a martyr to me trade
And carry the reminders of all the gigs I've played in like the Irish Club
Where I fled in mortal fear—with the imprint of a Guinness bottle stamped across my ear
Na na nya na na na na na na nya etc . . .
Seeking twenty with expenses I went looking for a gig
But I got no offers--just a come on from a groupie up in Boulder
I do declare--I was feeling rather randy and I had her then and there
Na na nya na na na na na na nya etc . . .
Na na na-ya Na na na na na na na-ya
Na na na-ya Na na na na na na na-ya
Na na na-ya Na na na na na na na-ya
Well, I've sung the folk tradition with my finger in my ear
Cause half the stuff I'm singin'—I just can't bear to hear—it's a load of cobblers
Bar after bar--to the rhythm of an out of tune Japanese guitar
Na na nya na na na na na na nya etc . . .
Well, I met this great guitarist and I asked him for advice
But the message that he gave me--wasn't very nice or even civil
Stick it where--and if I did how could I tune it with it shoved way up there
Na na nya na na na na na na nya etc . . .
Now I've got my thing together, man, I'm really freaking out
Reading “Melody Maker,” mainlining on draught stout and having hang ups
And like the rest, I'm having trouble with my sex life since I fell and broke my wrist
And my other songs are twice as bad as this
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Playing the Saz at Havering Folk Club HFC
On arriving at Havering Folk Club, upstairs in The Golden Lion pub, Romford, I was pleased to find teh Saz was still in tune and signed up for a floor spot.
I played a tune which I call "Istankoy" and then another which segues into a version of Buddy Holly's Rave On.
Istankoy is in fact the Turkish name for the island known as Kos in Greek.
Istankoy
Rave On
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Rave On
They make me want to be with you-oo-oo
Rave on, rave on and tell me
Tell me not to be lonely
Tell me you love me only, rave on to me
Rave on, it's a crazy feeling and
I know it's got me reeling when you
Say, "I love you," rave on
The way you dance and hold me tight
The way you kiss and say good-ni-hi-hight
A-well rave on, it's a crazy feeling and
I know it's got me reeling I'm
So glad that you're revealing your love for me
Rave on, rave on and tell me
Tell me not to be lonely
Tell me you love me only, rave on to me
Sunday, February 14, 2010
The House Is An Allegory For The Mind
There was even a spot left in the second half so I played Leadbelly's Goodnight Irene
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Time for The Music
I played early, no video from this session but the songs were Time for The Music and The Biggleswade Stomp.
Time for The Music
The Biggleswade Stomp
Monday, February 01, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
On the video clip, there's also the main part of another song, "Waiting" which is an old Andy Roberts song.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Pink Floyd - See Emily Play | Andy Roberts Guitar Music
First outing to Havering Folk Club this year, it's been a while due to various things.
Pink Floyd - See Emily Play | Andy Roberts Guitar Music
I decide to leave the video in one piece rather than edit out the two songs in this one, so you get See Emily Play first, followed by another version of "Yellow Boat".
Right at the end I got a chance to do one more which was "Mozambique"
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Thankyou Mr Hubble - Loudon Wainwright - Andy Roberts
Thankyou Mr Hubble - Loudon Wainwright - Andy Roberts
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Andy Roberts sings Close Your Eyes by James Taylor
Andy Roberts sings Close Your Eyes by James Taylor at Havering Folk Club. Video by Linda for Andy Roberts Music channel on youTube.
Friday, December 04, 2009
Winter in Andalucia
Back at Havering Folk Club
For my own spot, I played Winter in Andalucia and then a short James Taylor song called "You can close your Eyes"
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Last Chance Saloon
Songs are:
1) I don't love you know more - Loudon Wainwright
2) Lay Lady Lay - Bob Dylan
3) Knocking on heaven's Door - Bob Dylan
4) Redemption Song - Bob Marley
5) Now that I'm living here - Andy Roberts
6)
7)
8)
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Twitcam Norwegian Wood
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Don't you grieve - Andy Roberts song by Roy Harper
Don't you grieve by Roy Harper song. Andy Roberts music guitar and vocals, here during one of the regular Tuesday evening live streaming sessions or webcasts.Baby dont you grieve after me, as on Roy Harper's LP Flat Baroque and Beserk.
A staple in the Andy Roberts repertoire for 35 years
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Havering Folk Club Halloween Night
Last year's Halloween Night event was choreographed by the Hillbilly Express and this year was similar but even more chaotic, with Simon and Pep dual MCing.
Music and Poetry....
Having already rehearsed The Rowan Tree at the beginning of the month without video capture I was prepared to have another go especially for Halloween night and this was after my version of Loudon Wainwright's Be Careful There's a Baby in The House.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Be careful there's a baby in the house
Be careful there's a baby in the house,
And a baby will not be fooled
It will think and do what it wants to
until you get it schooled.
Be careful there's a baby in the house,
And a baby will play it for real
if your I love you is an IOU don't expect to get a good deal
look out momma, look out dad
your bundle of joy will not be had
if the blanket is blue if the blanket is pink
you'd best watch what you do you'd best watch what you think
Be careful there's a baby in the house,
And a baby can spot your schtick
all the coochy coochy coo is a lot of poo poo when you spread it on that thick
Be careful there's a baby in the house,
And a baby is better than smart
it can waddle through all the stuff you do never mind your big head start
Girl from the north country Trad/Dylan/Roy Harper
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline,
Please remember me to one who lives there.
She once was a true love of mine.
If you go when the snowflakes storm,
When the rivers freeze and summer ends,
Please see for me she has a coat so warm,
To keep her from the howling winds.
Please see for me that her hair's hanging long,
That it rolls and flows all down her breast.
Please see for me that her hair's hanging long,
That's the way I remember her the best.
I'm wonderin' if she remembers me at all.
Many times I've often laid,
In the darkness of my night,
In the brightness of my day.
So if you're traveling in the north country far,
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline,
Remember me to one who lives there.
She once was a true love of mine.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Thankyou Mister Hubble - Loudon Wainwright
unrecorded
Am................................Dm..............Dm7
Thankyou Mister Hubble, for your telescope
E............................................................Am.....................
We learned there's more than double now , the amount of rope
Am...................................................F....................................
We have with which to hang ourselves, things are so much worse
E..........................................................Am..........................E
There's so much more that's out there,I'm talking universes.
Thankyou Mister Hubble, for your telescope
Why go to the trouble now to push the envelope?
We're just so insignificant what the hells the point?
We're not handfuls but specks of dust in this gigantic joint
C..............................G.................C...................G......
We used to thing that jupiter and mars were pretty large
E............................Am...................E...........................Am......
and though our little world was small somehow we were in charge
The milky way so miniscule despite what we pretend
It's hardly worth looking at through your giant lenses
Thankyou Mister Hubble, for your telescope
I hate to burst the bubble but god there's not much hope
or faith that such a thing exists what is religion worth?
What in god's name would waste six days to make this puny earth?
Monday, October 19, 2009
If by Roy Harper
Could be this weeks Roy Harper song for the Tuesday Night Andy Roberts Webcast
If it was right to be believing,
And write his name in blood
And then I met him when I died,
Well I'd have it out with god
But if it means
Degrading scenes
And sanctioning crusade
I'd know we couldn't stand man to man
Without feeling afraid, feeling afraid.
If it was wrong for not believing,
In fairytale facade
And then I met him when I died,
Well I'd apologise to dog
But if it meant
I went down on my knees
Well where's the spirit gone
Where's the love you're all talking of
When you can't stand man to man?
Man to man
When you can't stand man to man.
I find it hard to believe,
In these 'gospels' that I've heard
The forked tongue of the bible belt,
The ayatollah's word
I don't believe most anything
Spoken by anyone
As hell's fanatic paranoids
Fire heaven's loaded gun
If it was right to be believing,
Then it must be in this
That difference is beautiful,
And living it is bliss,
There are no teams
There is no side
That life on earth is done
By living the love you're only talking of
By standing man to man
Man to man
Saturday, October 17, 2009
One More Cup of Coffee ( Valley Below ) Bob Dylan cover by Andy Roberts
One More Cup of Coffee ( Valley Below ) Bob Dylan cover by Andy Roberts
Another of my favourite Bob Dylan Songs - One More Cup of Coffee from the Desire album, here performed at Havering Folk Club by Andy Roberts on the same night as When the waters rise, posted earlier
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
When The Waters Rise - Blog Action Day
When the waters rise
When the waters rise, when the waters rise,
It's started to rain, could go on forever
The puddles grow then join together | As the waters rise
With energy a change of current
The trickle soon becomes a torrent And the waters rise
We'll have to move abandon camp,
where once was desert now is damp And the waters rise
The balance kept by plants and sea
has pushed beyond the boundary
Now the gas surrounds us like a cloak
a million years gone up in smoke
The climate's changed, the world's in motion,
Then the ice caps melt and join the ocean And the waters rise
In the short term we can head for the hills,
In the longer run we'll all grow gills and the waters rise
The weather warnings made no mark,
Now there's no time left to build the Ark As the waters rise..
Here's another version of the same song recorded at the previous Tuesday Evening 7.00pm Live Webcast
Andy Roberts Music on Sound Awesome!
I don't know if it's worth it but it doesn't take long to join one of these sites, create a profile and upload a track - in this case The Wreckers Prayer.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Drinking Song by Loudon Wainwright
Drunk men swear and that's not all,
Quite often they will urinate outdoors.
Like widowed women, drunk men weep,
Like children curled up, drunk men sleep,
Like a dog, a drunk will crawl around on all fours.
Be he broke bum or rich rake, his dinner be it bread or cake
His beverage be the worse of whiskey, finest wine.
Puke it stinks and so it seems that drunkards go to great extremes
But there has yet to be a perfectly straight line
Drunks talk strong when drunks are weak,
It's easy for a drunk to speak -- straight from the heart
Yeah, drunks will fight they're not afraid
To kiss the mistress, make the maid
It's a manly art.
Oh but the drink a toll will take, blood vessels in the nose will break
Bags beneath the eyes another sign
Drunks get ugly, so it seems that drunkards go to great extremes
But there has yet to be a perfectly straight line.
Drunks are friendly when they're drunk and
Drunks are hostile when they're drunk
Which drunk it is, it all depends upon.
When drunks aren't drunk, they thirst for drink,
Elephants are grey not pink
When the drink evaporates the man is gone, gone , gone, gone
Back to the yachts and the subway cars
The hip-flasks and fruit jars
Flat on the face and flat on the behind
Oh, drunks get drunk and so it seems that drunkards go to great extremes
There has yet to be a perfectly straight line.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
One More Cup Of Coffee
Your breath is sweet
Your eyes are like two jewels in the sky.
Your back is straight, your hair is smooth
On the pillow where you lie.
But I don't sense affection
No gratitude or love
Your loyalty is not to me
But to the stars above.
One more cup of coffee for the road,
One more cup of coffee 'fore I go
To the valley below.
Your daddy he's an outlaw
And a wanderer by trade
He'll teach you how to pick and choose
And how to throw the blade.
He oversees his kingdom
So no stranger does intrude
His voice it trembles as he calls out
For another plate of food.
One more cup of coffee for the road,
One more cup of coffee 'fore I go
To the valley below.
Your sister sees the future
Like your mama and yourself.
You've never learned to read or write
There's no books upon your shelf.
And your pleasure knows no limits
Your voice is like a meadowlark
But your heart is like an ocean
Mysterious and dark.
One more cup of coffee for the road,
One more cup of coffee 'fore I go
To the valley below.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
The Rowan Tree Folk Song
The Rowan Tree
Last Week at Havering Folk Club I tried out a new song called "The Rowan Tree" which is a song about four witchee witches I wrote when I was in Scotland recently. There really is a rowan tree in my front garden which I planted myself some years ago and it is a matter of folklore that the Rowan tree is supposed to help keep witches away. It's a suitable topic for the Halloween night session coming up later in October but I thought I'd give it an airing first, and the feedback was very encouraging. You can never tell with a new song if the initial enthusiasm is going to die away to nothing or if it's going to become a lasting part of the repertoire. There wasn't a video from the Havering Folk Club performance but we do have a recording from the previous Tuesday night session which was a lively one too. Here's The Rowan Tree video:
The lyrics to the Rowan Tree have been posted both on the Andy Roberts blog and on the youTube video so there's no need to reproduce them here.

Deep River Blues
Earlier at the session I played my version of "Deep River Blues" and then afterwards, John from Foxen showed me the proper chords :-)
I play it in C for some reason:
Next week it's the turn of Smolowik to have his members featured evening at Havering Folk club so I'm looking forward to that.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Havering Folk Club 17th September
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
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
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Talk Like A Pirate Day
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
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.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
San Francisco - Andy Roberts song by Maxime le Forestier
San Francisco by Maxime le Forestier has been a favourite for me to play for a long time now, I learned this song when I was staying with a friend in Poitiers, France in 1974. I used to play it in the Paris metro whenever somebody complained about me singing in English. Uploaded to Andyrobertsmusic account on youTube from the live session on Tuesday evenings at 7.00pm on uStream.tv
http://www.youtube.com/user/andyrobertsmusic
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/andy-roberts-music
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Singalong Night at Havering Folk Club
I took along my 12 string guitar of unknown origin in the big black bag but didn't get a chance to make sure it was in tune and warm it up until the interval. Being a bit later than usual to arrive, I was orginally put on the performers list at number 12 and ended up being the last act at the end of the second half. I played Norwegian Wood with the guitar and then put it down and sang unaccompanied to get the audience joining in with an a capella version of the old Cornish song, Going up Camborne Hill Coming Down
not much like this version below, but I like the steam engines
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Live Broadcasts Every Tuesday Night 7.00pm
Andy Roberts Live Broadcasts
I don't seem to have mentioned this here before but I've started doing live broadcasts every Tuesday evening at 7.00pm UK time. That's GMT + 1 at the moment, because of British Summer time, daylight saving.The broadcasts usually last about half an hour or less but could be longer if I'm in the mood. That's about 5 songs. I've written more about it on my other blog here:
ustream.tv tuesday nights andy roberts music 7-00pm
and the actual link to watch the broadcasts and take part is here:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/andy-roberts-music
So it's been three weeks now and I'm enjoying it already. I've let a few friends know about it and put out a little bit of publicity, but I'm really expecting the audience to grow very slowly week by week, and that's why I've set the time and day to be as regular as clockwork - every week on Tuesday at 7.00pm. Starting from nothing we've had a maximum number of live viewers at five, eight, and now twelve last night so it's a very small elite group attending this nascent online folk club. One even logged in and joined the chat last night which is a first apart from Linda who does her best to keep anybody company who might wander in. It's nice when somebody logs in and has a name and leaves comments instead of just being a number of invisible 'Guests'.
The nice thing about ustream as well, is that apart from the live viewers, you can also make recordings which are then kept on the site for posterity and can also be uploaded to youTube. So I'm building up a collection of very rough and ready videos with no editing, so sound production just raw footage from the webcam shows. What this lacks in quality is made up for by building a comprehensive collection of my repertoire, if I keep it up adding up to five new videos every week. Some will be duplicates of the same song of course, and I'll have to decide what to do about that.
I think I should probably simply list the songs played here each week, and link to the YouTube or Ustream video, and if I want to embed one or two because I have something to say about them, then I'll do that in a separate post named after the particular song.
So this week, last night August 18th, I played:
San Francisco - Maxime le Forestier
The Wreckers Prayer - Andy Roberts
Mazet - Andy Roberts
Don't You Grieve - Roy Harper
Captain Coulston - Traditional, Steeleye Span
The week before, August 11th it was
Motel Blues - Loudon Wainwright
Narrowboats - Andy Roberts
Blue - Andy Roberts
Highway Blues - Roy Harper ( Havering Folk Club version )
Winter in Andalucia - Andy Roberts
And the first week August 4th I sang
The Wreckers' Prayer - Andy Roberts
Hold On Below - Andy Roberts
Angi Variation - Bert Jansch
Grow Fins - Captain Beefheart
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Havering Folk Club 12th August
Anyway, the interesting thing about the songs I played this week was the reaction from a handful of my friends in the audience. My stuff usually goes down well but when four seperate people make a point of telling me they particularly enjoyed it this week then it makes me think about what differences there might have been in my performance this time to tip the balance. Maybe I played more like I do when I'm at home, a bit more relaxed improvisation or else they just like a bit of guitar playing instead of just songs. It was a quietly attentive audience, more so than some weeks so that may have had something to do with it, or just wondering why I got up to go home during the interval!
Luckily Linda managed to record the two songs on video before taking ill so I'll post them in under here.
Long Andy Roberts version of Colours by Donovan
Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Wednesday 5th August Havering Folk Club
I played "Sitting on the Bank"