British Folk Revival and Contemporary Folk Songs
As in many countries and traditions, while in the past folk music has been a commonplace pastime for the masses, as technology developed and mass culture became more attainable, folk music quickly diminished in popularity. An art form which has previously been used as a form of communication, spreading of news, personal identification within social situations and a strong part of many communities. With the development of technology and communitation, it became redundant.
As this was primarily a time before recording equipment, and music was aurally transmitted, many traditional songs were lost before they were recorded either on an audio device, or in written notation.
In a similar fashion to any countries folk music, variations of the same songs could be found throughout the country or region with small differences in each town or county. This is a matter that shall be explored later.
There were a small number of English composers and song collectors that were brought to prominence for their work in the English folk revival.Percy Grainger, one of the most important men in spearheading the documentaiton, collected songs until his death in 1960. Vaughan Williams was also an avid collector of folk songs, and both composers were well known for their orchestral arrangements of traditional folk songs. Vocally, Benjamin Britten was another classical composer who arguably was an important contributor to the beginning of the 1980s folk revival in England. His collection of folk songs include the impressive fifty-one traditional songs, reformatted with his own accompaniments. Bringing this traditional music into formal concert halls is a very similar format to which Finnish composer and folk musician Valkeapää used in order to bring the Sami folk music back to prominence within the Scandinavian and Finnish mass musical culture.
However, arguably the single most important original contributor is Cecil Sharp, and his personal collection of books and manuscripts is still one of the most prestigious and thorough collections of traditional song and dance material from within the United Kingdom to date. It is often commented on by folk musicians that the 1980s revival would not have happened had Cecil Sharp not spent previous years so meticulously recording and documenting the folk songs that were still being sung and remembered by those to whom the songs had been passed down throughout the decades. It is interesting to note that although the folk revival was not officially recognised until the 1980s, Cecil Sharp lived between the years of 1859 and 1924. There were few collectors of this calibre however that were recorded and recognised until much later in Scandinavia.
Not only did Cecil Sharp write down many folk songs, he also arranged accompaniments and recorded as many original examples of these songs but he created an image for himself that has been the cause of years of debate as to how many traditional songs Sharp wilfully left to be forgotten due to his own prejudices, and has his ‘preservation’ of traditional folk music been forged and shaped in the image of one single man, whom stayed in England in the years many other folk musicians and collectors were fighting in the trenches in France and Germany. This leaves the potential that the glorious folk revival of the 1980s omitted huge quantities of music which will never be found.
The modern ‘fathers’ of the folk revival have gathered to try and resolve this issue or at least begin to unearth and unravel some of the extent to which our views and understanding of folk music has been disrupted by the potential villain in disguise that is Cecil Sharp.
These 1980s musical pioneers spearheaded the British Folk revival and still continue to dominate the UKs folk scene to this day. Key figures within this revival include Martin Carthy, Ashley Cutting, Dave Swarbrick and their respective ensembles. Folk ‘supergroups’ such as ‘Fairport Convention’, ‘Steeyle Span’ and ‘Show of Hands’ paved the way for a new generation of folk musicians exploring and performing traditional music. It is interesting to note that as in the original tradition, the music is passed through families. Martin Carthy regularly performs with his daughter Eliza Carthy at the worlds most prestigious folk venues, Ashley Cutting’s son is a successful folk musician and has taken over the Fairport Convention.
The music broached by these ensembles are a conglomeration of traditional songs, many of which were collected by Percy Grainger and Vaughan Williams. Within these groups they also wrote and collected new songs. The original songs are often repurposed, some being used for new political agendas and some purely being brought back into the repertory for the purpose of entertainment.
These groups spurred the next generation of folk musicians, some of them being the children of the band members who instigated the folk revival, but many others simply new musicians who embraced the rebirth of the British folk song, and both continued to perform traditional songs, but also repurpose these traditional songs to give them new meaning.
An excellent example of an artist and group making use of old songs is ‘The Imagined Village’, this group is made up of some iconic English folk musicians, including Martin Carthy and his daughter Eliza. The group also includes well known musicians from other traditions, such as Johnny Kalsi, from the Dhol Foundation. A particular song performed by the group is a repurposed version of ‘My son John’, a traditional song from Norfolk. The song is from a mother’s perspective, lamenting her sons loss of a limb in the Napoleonic wars. As folk songs had so popularly been used as a medium in which the general populace could pass their opinions on popular issues, this song became an iconic commentary on the effects of war on every day life. The Carthy’s picked up in this musical vein and managed to repurpose the old song and remodel it to continue the commentary into the twenty first century. It is interesting to compare the two sets of lyrics. The original being;
My son John was tall and slim
He had a leg for every limb
But now he's got no legs at all
For he run a race with a cannonball
With me roo rum rar, faddle diddle dar
Whack faddlle liddle with me roo rum rar.
Oh were you deaf, were you blind
When you left your two fine legs behind
Or was it sailing on the sea
Lost your two fine legs right down to the knee
With me roo rum rar etc.
Oh I was not deaf, I was not blind
When I left my two fine legs behind
Nor was it sailing on the sea,
Lost my two fine legs right down to the knee
With me roo rum rar, etc.
For I was tall, I was slim
And I had a leg for every limb,
But now I've got no legs at all,
They were both shot away by a cannonball.
With me roo rum rar, etc.
And the ‘Imagined Village’ rendition being;
My son John was tall and slim
He had a leg for ev'ry limb.
But now he's got no legs at all
For he ran a race with a cannon ball,
He ran a race with a cannon ball.
Jack the lad, he went off to war,
Waved bye-bye as he ran out the door.
Says 'bye bye John when I see you again,
You'll be back from Iraq, from Afghanistan, from the Taliban,
You'll be back from Iraq and Afghanistan.
I sat down on the shore,
For the space of seven long years or more
Till a big transport come across the sky,
I shouted aloud, 'clear the way, clear the way'.
I shouted aloud, 'clear the way, clear the way'.
I shouted aloud till the Captain said,
'Are you here with the living, are you back with the dead?'
Do you see anything of my son John?
Is the boy living or is he gone, is he gone?
Is the poor boy living or is he gone?
Up comes John and he's got no legs,
Got carbon fibre blades instead.
She smiled, she kissed him over the lore,
Bet you run quicker than you did before, did before.
Bet you run quicker than you did before.
Well were you deaf, were you blind,
When you left your own two legs behind?
Or did you go walking along the sea,
To shrink your two legs right down to the knee, down to the knee.
To shrink your two legs right down to the knee.
No I wasn't deaf, I was not blind,
When I left my own two legs behind.
But a thundering landmine jumped in the way
Wore these legs right down to the knee, down to the knee.
Wore these legs right down to the knee.
I was tall, I was slim,
I had a leg for ev'ry limb.
The chicken-horse come knocking at the door,
Call for Britannia, call for war, she calls for war
Call Britannia, call for war.
Call Britannia, call for war,
when all those chicken-ox stood at the door.
.....
You better run a mile from the harvest home, the harvest home.
You better run a mile from the harvest home.
My son John was tall and slim
He had a leg for ev'ry limb.
But now he's got no legs at all
For he ran a race with a cannon ball,
He ran a race with a cannon ball.
This rendition of the song follows an interesting academic commentary on the folk genre. The mention of the seven years sitting on the shore echoes the themes of a ‘waiting’ song. These songs often revolved around the relationship between a sailor or soldier and his love interest. She would be required to wait by the seashore for seven years until her true love’s return. This type of folk song is one of many categories found in the English collections. There is also an interesting link between the categories of songs to be found in the English Tradition alongside that of Scandinavia, where although there is a much smaller population, the folk tradition is rich and follows a similar time frame to that of England.
These folk ‘supergroups’ have paved the way for a myriad of small groups and solo artists to emerge since the 1980s. Whereas previously, folk music had become very much a pastime for the older generations, it has become more popular for the younger generations to become involved and explore folk music.
One of the most famous groups to emerge from the English folk revival was ‘Bellowhead’, they were one of the first groups to break into the mainstream music charts.
“Since their formation in 2004 Bellowhead have occupied a unique place in Britain’s musical landscape: a blistering 11-piece band fusing folk, funk, rock, world, jazz, music hall and classical music, they have placed themselves at the cutting edge of the contemporary music scene while harnessing all the power and mystery of ancient English and European musical traditions.”
The band skyrocketed to international success at a speed rarely witnessed in the development of a folk ensemble. They achieved international success up until their disbandment in 2016
‘Their third album, ‘Hedonism’, was the highest-selling independently-released traditional folk album of all time, sold a staggering 60,000 copies and was awarded a ‘Silver Disc’. Their fourth album ‘Broadside’ entered the UK album charts at number 16, spawned an A-listed single on BBC Radio 2 and won ‘Best Album’ at the 2013 Folk Awards.’
Bellowhead brought about a unique new sound world to the folk scene. They blended new and old songs in a manner unheard before. Popular traditional songs such a New York girls and London town received a glitzy make over, and expertly crafted new folk songs from front man Jon Boden laid the groundwork for a series of vital albums in the development of folk music.
As an individual musician, Jon Boden in his own manner can be described as one of the pioneers of the new folk revival. He takes themes and idea’s from old tradition yet each song is very relevant to today’s society, in a manner that so many of the traditional songs he sings in his other projects were relevant upon their writing.
“Songs from the Floodplain’ is Jon’s first solo album, he brings the mythical element that is so popular in traditional ballads to the setting of a post apocalyptic wasteland brought about by nuclear war and global warming.
‘Sweet wrappers in the whirlpool, aluminium shining bright…
Trinkets I bring to my sweetheart, among the leaves so green,
Build her a throne like a magpie’s nest,
Crown her the April Queen’ .
And while some of Boden’s songs are political and display strong comments on society, as most folk songs in the English tradition, a large proportion of his repertoire is given over to songs about love. While most traditional songs speak of courtship and the old manner of forging and developing relationships, Boden comments on the ins and outs of contemporary relationships in a simple yet eloquent manner. Lemany is an excellent example of this. Recounting late night drunken texts and the jealousy of the casual dating scene and True Love recounts a modern break up and is relatable for today’s contemporary audience.
I feel that it is important to include this chapter in order to contextualise my references in my fieldwork and recordings chapter. These musicians influenced me hugely in finding the voice I wanted to represent in my recordings. While the songs are no longer functioning work songs I wanted to create a recording with an influence of the new collectors since they have had such an effect on my performance style, especially Jon Boden. The speechlike quality in his singing brings the storytelling in his performance to the forefront. As mentioned this has always been a problem in my classical singing, performance anxiety removes a lot of the personal touches in classical music that I found infinitely easier in folk singing. To also study the songwriting and band construction thought out by Boden was a big influence in my research and concept to create a mixed style performance of the Britten arrangements.