Tag Archives: Pete Coe and Alice Jones

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New Notes On Old Tunes 01 – The Sprig of Thyme

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Categories: Blog Posts, Charles Lolley, New Notes On Old Tunes, The Sprig of Thyme, Tags: , , , , , , , ,

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“Notes On Old Tunes” was a series of articles written in 1886-7 by Frank Kidson for the Leeds Mercury Newspaper. He was known to many as “the musical Sherlock Holmes” for his forensic investigation into the origins of folk songs. Aided by his vast collection of books, broadsides and manuscripts Kidson was able to trace a song’s passage through time and uncover the oldest, and what he regarded to be the truest version of an air.

This series of blog posts “New Notes On Old Tunes” focuses primarily on the songs, taken from the Frank Kidson collection, that feature in “The Search For Five Finger Frank” CD and show by Pete Coe and Alice Jones.

It is perhaps fitting that the first song featured in this series of blog posts should be “The Sprig of Thyme” as this song was obtained from Mr Charles Lolley, a key contributor and collaborator of Frank Kidson’s. Lolley first made contact with Kidson in response to the ”Notes On Old Tunes” articles. They corresponded extensively on the matter of folk songs and the collecting of them and they soon developed a firm and longstanding friendship. Indeed, Lolley submitted a large number of songs and tunes to Kidson’s vast collection.

This version of “The Sprig of Thyme” came from Mr Charles Lolley and seems to be a variant of the song hailing from the East Riding. This is, indeed, where Lolley was born and raised; in Hemingbrough and later Howden, but he also acquired many songs from his mother (who was apparently born in Brompton, London) and he also later moved to live and work in the north-east of Leeds. In light of this information and the scant detail given by Frank Kidson in his book ”Traditional Tunes”, it is impossible to identify this particular version of the song as originating from one specific geographical location.

“The Seeds of Love”, “Let No Man Steal Your Thyme”, “Garner’s Gay” are seemingly all variants of “The Sprig of Thyme” although this would appear to be a matter still very much up for debate amongst folk song scholars today. Many argue that the differing symbolism and language utilised in ”The Seeds of Love” and “The Sprig of Thyme” sets them apart, making them distinct from one another. It is also suggested, for various reasons, that “The Seeds of Love” is a song from the male perspective whereas “The Sprig of Thyme” is from a female perspective. In the Folk Song Society Journal Vol 1 (1902) Frank Kidson, himself, writes: “The air and words of ”I Sowed the Seeds of Love” are so entangled with those of “The Sprig of Thyme” that the two ballads are often regarded as identical”.

This version of the song features thyme, rue and an oak tree. In this instance it is likely that the thyme symbolises virginity and that rue is a symbol of regret. The oak tree, interestingly, appears to have been entirely edited out of the version printed in ”Traditional Tunes”. Between the 4th and 5th verse Kidson has inserted only a line of dots which appears to indicate an omission. Since becoming familiar with his workings, I am of the opinion that this is an act of censorship. Kidson genuinely seems to be disapproving of obvious sexual symbolism and it is possible that, to him, the overtly suggestive image of the oak tree was an unnecessary inclusion in the song’s narrative. In “The New Penguin Book of English Folk Songs” Steve Roud and Julia Bishop include this additional verse, taken from a very similar version of the song from a broadside printed by Forth of Hull.

In “Traditional Tunes 1891″ Frank Kidson writes:

“There are several ballads extant in the same strain of allegory. The better known one, “I Sowed the Seeds of Love,” is an instance; they appear to date from the latter end of the century. The tune is pretty, and, I think, is not much corrupted from it’s original form.”

The Sprig of Thyme

Come all you pretty fair maids,
That are just in your prime,
I would have you weed your garden clear,
And let no one steal your time.

I once had a sprig of thyme,
It prospered both night and day,
By chance there came a false young man,
And he stole my thyme away,

Thyme it is the prettiest flower
That grows under the sun,
It’s time that brings all things to an end,
So now my thyme runs on.

Now my old thyme it is dead,
I’ve no room for any new,
For in that place where my old thyme grew,
Has changed into a running rue.
………………………………………………………..

I’ll put a stop to that running rue,
And plant a fair oak tree,
Stand you up, stand you up, you fair oak tree,
And do not wither and die.
………………………………………………………..

It’s very well drinking ale,
And it’s very well drinking wine,
But it’s far better sitting by a young man’s side,
That has won this heart of mine.

(the 5th verse is not printed in Frank Kidson’s Traditional Tunes 1891)

“The Sprig of Thyme” features as track 7 on disc 1 of “The Search For Five Finger Frank” by Pete Coe and Alice Jones.

“The Search For Five Finger Frank” CD and the book “Traditional Tunes” by Frank Kidson are both available to purchase online. You can also buy them directly from us at one of our gigs; have a look here to see where we’re playing!

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Charles Lolley and The Lolley Family

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Categories: Blog Posts, CD Launch Event, Charles Lolley, Source Singers, Tags: , , , ,

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Whilst reseraching the material for “The Search For Five Finger Frank” Album and Show we have drawn extensively on contributions from one of Frank Kidson’s key collaborators: Mr Charles Lolley. He first established contact in response to a series of articles by Kidson in the Leeds Mercury 1886-87 entitled “Notes on Old Tunes”.  They began to correspond regularly on the subject of folk song and folk song collecting.

Charles and Jane Lolley

Charles and Jane Lolley

Charles Lolley 1857-1935 was born in Hemingbrough, East Yorkshire. He was a fine fiddle player and a bricklayer by trade, later becaming a Builder’s Foreman for a building company in Leeds. Like Kidson, Charles Lolley also took inspiration from his own mother’s singing and collected a number of songs from her. Indeed, the sheer quantity of material submitted by Charles Lolley strongly indicates that he too, was a folk song collector in his own right. It appears that they struck up a firm friendship and there are many fine songs and tunes from Charles Lolley contained within the Kidson collection.

We feature many songs collected from Charles Lolley in our CD and Show: “The Search For Five Finger Frank”. Many of these songs still hold a prominent place in the folk repertoire of today: “Young Banker”, “Outward Bound” and “The Sprig of Thyme” are all examples of this. However, a number of the songs contributed by Charles Lolley also offer most unusual versions of popular classics, sometimes differing substantially from what later became the more commonly established melodies. “The Bonny Bunch of Roses”, “Captain Glen” and “My True Love Once He Courted Me” are all distinctive for their haunting melodic twists and turns.

At our CD Launch event on Sunday 13th April 2014, we were very honoured to have descendants of Charles Lolley in the audience;

Jessie Hall (Lolley’s grand-daughter), Ruth Trousdale (Jessie’s daughter and Lolley’s great grand-daughter) and Edna Lolley (Lolley’s grand-daughter)

From L to R: Pete Coe, Jessie Hall, Ruth Trowsdale, Edna Lolley, Alice Jones

From L to R: Pete Coe, Jessie Hall, Ruth Trousdale, Edna Lolley, Alice Jones

It was an absolute privilage to sing the songs that Frank Kidson collected from Charles Lolley to members of his own family. We would like to say a huge thank-you to them for coming and also to genealogist Gill Baldwin for all her time and energy spent on tracing Charles Lolley’s relations and for researching Frank Kidson and the other contributors to his collection.

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The Search For Five Finger Frank CD Available Now!

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Categories: Announcements, Buy Online, CD Launch Event, Video, Tags: , , , , ,

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We are delighted to announce that our new CD “The Search For Five Finger Frank” is now available to purchase online!

Cover Art by John Crane

Cover Art by John Crane

We had a fabulous night at Square Chapel on Sunday to celebrate the release and we’d like to say a huge thank-you to everyone that came along to the CD Launch and made it such an enjoyable evening.

If you’d like to sample a track from the album “The Search For Five Finger Frank” take a look at our new YouTube video

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The Search for Five Finger Frank CD Launch Event

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Categories: Announcements, BBC Radio Leeds, CD Launch Event, Tags: , , , ,

There are only 4 days to go until the release of the new double album:

“The Search for Five Finger Frank” by Pete Coe and Alice Jones!

THE SEARCH FOR FIVE FINGER FRANK

illustration by John Crane

illustration by John Crane

CD & SHOW

There will be a full performance of the show and official CD launch held at Square Chapel Centre for the Arts in Halifax, on the 13th April 2014. Tickets are still available at £13 (£11 concs).

The CD Launch event at Square Chapel will be recorded by BBC Radio Leeds.

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Brand New Website!!

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Categories: Announcements, CD Launch Event, Tags: , ,

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WELCOME TO OUR BRAND NEW WEBSITE:

THE SEARCH FOR FIVE FINGER FRANK

“The Search for Five Finger Frank” is a brand new, double disc album and stage show by Pete Coe and Alice Jones. It showcases ballads, broadsides and dance tunes from the collection of Frank Kidson 1855-1926, a folk song collector from Leeds.

Discover what the Show and CD are all about. Find out about Frank Kidson and his collection. Check the Live Show Dates for performances in your area.

Keep checking the website for regular blog posts:

“Notes on Old Tunes” – information about the songs from the CD and show including; info about the source singers, full lyrics, tune notation, research into origins of the song.

Watch out for the early release of a couple of tracks from the album on our YouTube channel and you can follow us on Twitter @Fivefingerfrank.

Don’t forget to book your tickets for “The Search for Five Finger Frank” CD Launch and show performance at Square Chapel Centre for the Arts in Halifax on the 13th April 2014.

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