Down In The Fields

An Anthology of Traditional Folk Music from Rural England

Jeff Wesley (Northamptonshire) Bob Lewis (Sussex) Scan Tester (Sussex) Archer Goode (Gloucestershire) George Spicer (Sussex) George Fradley (Derbyshire) Bob Blake (Sussex) Mabs Hall (Sussex) Bampton Traditional Morris Dancers (Oxfordshire) Will Noble (South Yorkshire) George Withers (Somerset) Charlie Clissold /Bob Cross (Gloucestershire) Billy Bennington (Norfolk) Gordon Hall (Sussex) Bob Cann & Mark Bazeley (Devon) Charlie Bridger (Kent) Hubert Freeman (Suffolk)

These recordings embody the spirit of country life, whether it be in praise of the rural idyll, or just home brewed beer. There are comic songs tracing the perils of a simple visit to the farmyard and the more complex dangers of courtship and marriage, and the type of music you would expect in a village pub, at a barn dance or for Morris dancing on the village green. These are traditional performers recorded in their locality whose songs and tunes have been passed down to them by their families and communities.

CD Listing

  1. All Jolly Fellows who Follow the Plough - Jeff Wesley (2.32)
  2. A Sweet Country Life - Bob Lewis (4.50)
  3. A Country Schottishe - Scan Tester (2.06)
  4. Jan’s Courtship - Archer Goode (2.59)
  5. Cock-a-Doodle Do - George Spicer (1.58)
  6. Last New Year's Eve - George Fradley (1.52)
  7. John Barleycorn - Bob Blake (3.08)
  8. The Farmer out of Gloucestershire - Mabs Hall (2.37)
  9. Constant Billy - Bampton Morris Dancers (2.49)
10. The Suckling Pig - Will Noble (3.22)
11. The Old Man and his Wife - George Withers (1.57)
12. 3 Old Crows /2 Old Crows - Charlie Clissold /Bob Cross (2.50)
13. The Bonny Labouring Boy - Jeff Wesley (3.09)
14. Thrashing Machine - George Spicer (1.52)
15. Rose Cottage - Billy Bennington (2.30)
16. The Squire of Tamworth - Will Noble (4.18)
17. Trip unto the Fair - Mabs Hall (1.59)
18. The Two Sisters - George Fradley (2.57)
19. The Sussex Pig - Bob Lewis (3.14)
20. Green Broom - Gordon Hall (10.31)
21. Family Jig - Bob Cann & Mark Bazeley (1.55)
22. Three Maids a Milking did go - Charlie Bridger (2.55)
23. The Jolly Woodcutter - Bob Lewis (3.15)
24. Down in the Fields Where the Buttercups All Grow - Hubert Freeman (2.55)