THE ROSE OF ALLENDALE
SONGS FROM THE BALCONY Widely believed to be a trad folk song (is it Scottish, is it Irish? Jim thought it was from East Anglia), Charles...
top of page
The Kimberleys
A unique and modern approach to traditional British folk music
ALL POSTS
Jun 5, 2020
THE DOFFIN MISTRESS / BROOM BEZZUMS
SONGS FROM THE BALCONY A doffing mistress was the woman in charge of a room of mill-workers; an early instance of health and safety...
Jun 3, 2020
MY FAITHFUL JOHNNY
SONGS FROM THE BALCONY This song has, we've read, a strange provenance though the possibility that the melody may have been written by...
Jun 2, 2020
I AM A DANCER
SONGS FROM THE BALCONY An original song written by Isobel Kimberley, arranged by Jim Kimberley and released under the name of BRUISE on...
Jun 1, 2020
FAREWELL TO THE GOLD
SONGS FROM THE BALCONY In fact, an original song written in 1968 by New Zealander Paul Metsers, but a fully fledged part of the folk...
May 29, 2020
THE BEGGING SONG
SONGS FROM THE BALCONY The earliest version of The Begging Song, or A-Begging I Will Go, was printed on a black-letter broadside (a...
May 28, 2020
THE WILD ROVER
SONGS FROM THE BALCONY Historically, the song has been referred to in Irish folklore and, since the late sixteenth century, it has been...
May 27, 2020
THE ROLLING HILLS OF THE BORDERS
SONGS FROM THE BALCONY Written by Matt McGinn (1928-1977) this feels like a love song, written to the beautiful border country of...
May 26, 2020
THE BALLAD OF ELEANOR DE MONTFORT
SONGS FROM THE BALCONY Eleanor De Montfort was a political pawn for most of her life, niece of Henry III and Richard I, she fled to...
May 25, 2020
POOR OLD HORSE
SONGS FROM THE BALCONY Popularly known as a Sea Shanty, the land-variant, which Cecil Sharp found as a part of the hobby-horse drama in...
May 15, 2020
THE JOHN B SAILS
SONGS FROM THE BALCONY A 1647 colony in the Bahamas included a Welshman named John Bethel. The folk ballad of his crew is believed to...
May 14, 2020
ALL AROUND MY HAT
SONGS FROM THE BALCONY "All Around my Hat" (Roud 567 and 22518, Laws P31) is of nineteenth-century English origin. In an early version,...
May 13, 2020
THE STREETS OF LAREDO
SONGS FROM THE BALCONY "The Streets of Laredo" is a classic Cowboy Ballad, a dying cowboy tells his tale and the final chorus sees us all...
May 12, 2020
THE HANDSOME CABIN BOY
SONGS FROM THE BALCONY Cecil Sharp noted a version of The Handsome Cabin Boy in 1905, a fine old song which Isobel first heard sung by...
May 11, 2020
THE BELLS OF PARADISE
SONGS FROM THE BALCONY "Down in Yon Forest" or "The Bells of Paradise" is a traditional English Christmas carol dating to the Renaissance...
May 9, 2020
NEVER CAME HE
SONGS FROM THE BALCONY Bonnie James Campbell or Bonnie George Campbell is Child ballad 210 (Roud 338). The ballad tells of a man who has...
May 8, 2020
THE GREAT SILKIE OF SULE SKERRY
SONGS FROM THE BALCONY (Child 113) In this song of love and transformation a selkie (part seal part man) takes human form, woos a...
May 7, 2020
THE HUMPBACK WHALE
SONGS FROM THE BALCONY Scottish born, Australian folk singer Harry Robertson wrote The Ballina Whalers in 1970 and Nic Jones recorded...
May 6, 2020
SMUGGLERS
SONGS FROM THE BALCONY We haven't been able to find out much about this wonderful, rollicking song. We found The MacCalman version on a...
May 5, 2020
WALTZING MATILDA
SONGS FROM THE BALCONY Written in 1895 by Banjo Patterson, Waltzing Matilda is possibly the most famous Bush Ballad. With a smattering of...
bottom of page