Handed Down

It's May. The meadows and hedgerows are in bloom, the sun is ablaze and the lark is on the wing. Song: The Lark in the Morning - CS Poem: The Lark Ascending (extract) by George Meredith Tune: The Lark Ascending by R Vaughan Williams/The Lark in the morning (jig) Poem: The Green Cornfield by Christina Rosetti Song: All Things Are Quite Silent - Carys Poem: Extract from The Night's Tale by...

When I interviewed The Haar about the song Wild Rover, we had such a great chat about music that there was just too much to fit into a single episode! So, for all you music lovers out there, here are Molly, Cormac, Adam and Murray talk about their musical backgrounds and why they love traditional music so much. Do buy their new album Where Old Ghosts Meet because it's excellent, and while you...

The Wild Rover is a sailors' song, known in most of the places where seafarers from these isles gathered.  But I can guarantee you've never heard it done like this before! In today's episode I'm with The Haar, shortly before the release of their new album Where Old Ghosts Meet. We chat about this song, described as being like a handshake for sailors meeting in far away places,...

We're diving even deeper into this Lancashire favourite, thanks to today's guest Colin Ormston. His research uncovers an enigmatic pair of brothers and a treasure trove of songs and local lore, and we get to hear the original tune and arrangement of this popular song. You can find Colin's research and copies of the two original songbooks here and his folk website here . You can also...

The Doffin' Mistress was the overseer in a linen mill who took care of the young mill girls. Jennie Higgins shares her early memories of singing this Northern Irish industrial song with her sister, and the importance it has as an early song of female empowerment. In the same vein, we talk about Jennie's important work in supporting female artists through the Folky Union of Women, and her...

In 1845, Sir John Franklin set off on his doomed voyage to find the North West Passage and was never seen again. Said to be written by his wife Jane, it's the tragic love story that makes it a stand-out song to this episode's guests, Reg Meuross , David Harbottle and Freya Jonas . Featuring tracks from their album Songs of Love and Death , we talk about how the project developed from a l...

This short ballad fragment from New England is a remnant of a lively strand of folklore going back 850 years. The characters are real but the stories are fanciful, so buckle up for a wild ride and a gratuitous quantity of early music. Music The Lamentable Ballad of Fair Rosamond on the English Broadside Ballad Archive - to the tune of Chevy Chase Sainte Nicholaes by Godric of Finchale (11th Centur...

There's a lot going on in this American folk song  - a lost love, a fight, jail and a miscarriage of justice. This is a song that has wandered its way around the Southern and Western states of the US and was popularised by Burl Ives. It's found in several versions, including one sung by Vikki Appleton Fielden 's mother, which has some unique features. Vikki and I talk about memories...

How did an English song of love and loss vanish completely, only to pop up in a remote part of the Appalachian mountains as one of their many "love songs"? In tracing its story we come across the colourful characters who played a part in bringing it to the wider world. We cross the water in the cramped steerage quarters of a transatlantic sailing ship, and fly back over the ocean on the...

A selection of songs and tunes from Season 1, to take you through to the New Year. 1. The Airy Bachelor, collected by Herbert Hughes (Episode 5) 2. Rondo Minuet in Gm, Purcell (Episode 3) 3. John Barleycorn, traditional, sung by Lynne Morley (Episode 2) 4. En amours n'a si non bien, anonymous (Episode 3) 5. Nine Herbs Charm, written and performed by Henry Parker (Episode 7) 6. Death and the L...

This song is traditionally sung  on Christmas Eve in the Outer Hebrides. Here, we have the full text of this long outpouring of Christmas joy, of which only three or four verses are usually sung today. The introduction is a variant of the tune, a lovely version of which can be found here . For the long reading of the full text, I've made some stylistic edits to the English translation found o...

The Brisk Lad is a 19th Century Dorset song of defiance in the face of poverty. Henry Parker transports it to the bleak moors of his native West Yorkshire in spectacular folk-rock style. We talk about the song's origins and significance, and about the influence that the landscape and the seasons have on his own song writing. Along the way we discuss his journey from heavy metal to folk, the g...

When a feisty young lady squares up for a battle with Death there can be only one winner, and therein lies the essence of tragedy. But just as importantly, what does Death's voice sound like? DOES HE TALK LIKE THIS? Chris and I talk about this most unsettling of English folk songs and discuss plagues, from the Black Death to the impact of Covid on folk musicians. We also chat about the folk s...

Is She Moved Through the Fair really a folk song, or is it an early 20th Century parlour song?  The answer to this question takes us deep into Irish social and cultural history and we meet some colourful characters along the way. But our journey's end is a cottage fireside where, in the space of just a few minutes, a woman and two men unwittingly sparked a musical phenomenon. Music In additio...

It's our spooky Halloween special featuring a notorious coven of witches, but today's song is also about a hill that dominates the landscape, a brooding character in the daily lives of those who live beneath its shadow. Peter grew up under Pendle Hill and it's been with him throughout his life, so this song has a strong personal connection. We talk about the Pendle witches and some...

Barbara Allen is the most widely travelled ballad in the English speaking world and exists in many different versions. In today’s show we follow the story of this remarkable ballad, finding its roots in colonial America, Transylvania and Ancient Greece, and listening to just a few of its many versions. Ancient lyre music is included by kind permission of Michael Levy. Do visit his website at https...

In today’s episode, Lynne Morley and I chat about learning folk songs at school, modal music and the legend of Beowulf. Today’s song is perhaps the ultimate English folk song John Barleycorn and we have a good go at teasing out its origins. Is it an ancient pagan myth, a Christian hymn of death and resurrection or a good old drinking song? We may never know, and perhaps it’s a bit of all three. In...

In our first episode we delve into the mystery of that enigmatic song fragment, Flandyke Shore. Made famous in modern times by the wonderful Nic Jones, this song has a long history going back to the 17th Century, and draws on even older themes. Handed Down is written, presented and performed by Jenny Shaw. Thank you to Stones Barn, Cumbria, and the wider Stones Barn community for starting me on th...

Handed Down is launching soon! Here's what we've got in store...