Old Uncle Tom Cobleigh and all

Folk songs sung in the West Country

Bob Cann (Devon) Tommy Morrissey (Cornwall) Charlie Pitman (Cornwall) George Withers (Somerset)

These recordings embody the spirit of West Country life with singers from Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. There are of course songs about the two famous fairs at Widdecombe and Tavistock but there are also rarer songs which tell of the problems of courtship, praise rural life or even warn of the perils of eating kippers! Bob Cann is probably better known as one of the great English melodeon players who has now passed on his family tradition to his grandson Mark Bazeley,  but Bob was also known as a singer particularly of local songs from his beloved Dartmoor. George Withers is still singing and is much in demand in his locality. His repertoire reflects the sort of songs Cecil Sharp noted down in rural Somerset one hundred years ago.The harbour town of Padstow in North Cornwall has for years been renowned for it's pub singing and Tommy Morrissey and Charlie Pitman were well known characters in the area. Here they are recorded with a gathering of family and friends giving us both serious and comic songs but all with an eye on entertainment.

CD Listing

  1. Widdecombe Fair - Bob Cann (3.20)
  2. Richard of Taunton Deane - George Withers (3.29)
  3. Maggy May - Tommy Morrissey (3.13)
  4. I'm an old Donkey Driver - Charlie Pitman (1.47)
  5. Peter the Miller - George Withers (2.20)
  6. The Watercress Girl - Tommy Morrissey (2.39)
  7. Brimbledown Fair - George Withers (1.40)
  8. Nobody Noticed me - Bob Cann (3.44)
  9. The Fly be on the Turmit - George Withers (3.54)
10. As I was a-Walking - Charlie Pitman (3.10)
11. Someone in Somerset - George Withers (3.14)
12. The Robber's Retreat - Tommy Morrissey (2.14)
13. My Meatless Day - Charlie Pitman (1.27)
14. Joe Muggins - George Withers (4.34)
15. The Craftsmen on the Moor - Bob Cann (4.09)
16. Golden Kippers - Charlie Pitman (3.24)
17. Forty Five Miles - George Withers (2.32)
18. I be Terrible Shy - George Withers (4.24)
19. Goodbye Beer - Charlie Pitman (0.56)
20. Pleasant and Delightful - Tommy & Charlie (4.03)
21. Jack the Jolly Tar - George Withers (2.55)
22. Cocktail Joe - Charlie Pitman (2.22)
23. Tavistock Goosey Fair - Bob Cann (2.54)
24. The Seeds of Love - George Withers (3.49)
25. Pass Around the Grog - Tommy Morrissey (2.40)