Folk Music: The music of the Common People
Years back the letters pages of Melody Maker would be troubled from time to time by people writing to complain that they turned up at their local folk club only to be sung at by some left wing folkie spouting socialism. It was a debate that raised hackles of various hue...
...both red and blue and that still to some extent causes ruffles today. Yet it has always seemed to me that, since folk music is mostly, as pointed out, the music of the Common People, you ain't going to get too many songs in praise of Lord Nose or General Discomfort. You are, I'm afraid, more likely to get songs about strikes, lockouts, rapacious landowners, mass-trespass and the doings of soldiers, sailors, pit men and factory workers. All this of course is alongside the usual songs about love, drinking, pregnancy, loneliness, incest and murder. There aren't too many songs I can think of about setting the right silverware for a seven course dinner or the great weekends to be had at Cliveden.
Which brings me in a roundabout way to the songwriters. As well as that great bloke or lass Anon, there were of course the named writers; people like in
You can see some of the performers I've mentioned above at the Fri 19 - Sun 21 September 2008 at The New Picket,
If you can't get there you can tune in to my programme on 8 October when I'll be talking to Roy Bailey about his long life as a political singer and performer.
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Comment number 1.
At 30th Aug 2008, Keith wrote:As Jarvis Cocker wrote
"Well I can't see anyone else smiling in here
Are you sure
you want to live like common people
you want to see whatever common people see
you want to sleep with common people
you want to sleep with common people like me?"
But she didn't understand
she just smiled and held my hand"
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Comment number 2.
At 2nd Sep 2008, The Mighty Montagu wrote:Worth a mention too for William Barnes and his poems protesting about the neglectful treatment of Dorsetshire farmers during the times of agricultural enclosures: The Lotments and The Common A-Took In. The latter was published in The Dorset County Chronicle in 1834 and was an attempt to prick the consciences of the landlords of Dorset and to make them aware of the awful plight of their labourers. It can be heard on the CD In Praise Of Dorset by The Yetties.
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Comment number 3.
At 7th Sep 2008, lazylawrence wrote:I would be interested to know what people think about the policy of fRoots Magazine of not reviewing Singer/Songwriters. - although a few younger, attractive females do slip through ! - Their guidelines say they do not review writers who are not perceived - presumably by the editor - as being 'in the tradition' and yet many significant singer/songwriters who are continuing the tradition of singing about the common man and the common cause are being ignored by this elitist magazine. Isn't the role of The Troubadour 'in the tradition' ?
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Comment number 4.
At 12th Sep 2008, petecockermouth wrote:we've had long and enjoyably bitter arguments about this on the message boards. and have concluded -the left have all the best songs and inspiration and heart. the rich and powerful cannot make music (or art) - their role is to buy and sell it. you may hear more on this topic from a strange character from argentina called 'boko' - just humour him.
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