Running Water Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Pogues

'The Broad Majestic Shannon' is a track on the Pogues' third album, 'If I Should Fall from Grace With G-d', which also contains 'Fairytale of New York'. It takes its name from an Irish folk song, 'Will You Come to the Bower'. The melody for the verses comes from another Irish folk song, 'Sean Dún na nGall' ('Old Donegal'), which is mentioned in the lyrics.

The Shannon is a river in Ireland, and the longest river in the British Isles. It starts in a pool known as the Shannon Pot in County Cavan, runs though eleven counties and ends at the Shannon Estuary in Limerick.

Answer: Kathryn Tickell

'The Water of Tyne', or 'Waters of Tyne', is a Newcastle folk song, published in 1812, about a woman whose lover lives on the other side of the river. It has been covered by Sting and Max Boyce, amongst others. Kathryn Tickell was born in Walsall but grew up in Northumbria and plays the Northumbrian pipes - a type of bagpipe - and fiddle. Her version of 'The Water of Tyne', featuring vocals from Hannah Rickard, appears on the 2015 album of the same name, credited to Kathryn Tickell and Friends.

The Tyne is a river in the northeast of England, made up of the North Tyne and South Tyne, and is mainly associated with the city of Newcastle. As well as 'The Water of Tyne', it is also the subject of 'Fog on the Tyne', a single and album by the Newcastle folk band Lindisfarne. English football fans may remember that Geordie footballer Paul 'Gazza' Gascoigne appeared on the 1990 remake.

Answer: Tori Amos

'Tombigbee' is one of the songs on 'Scarlet's Hidden Treasures',an EP released to accompany Amos' sixth album 'Scarlet's Walk'. All the songs on the EP are outtakes from the 'Scarlet's Walk' recordings, and the EP was accompanied by a live DVD, 'Welcome to Sunny Florida'. During the 2007 'American Doll Posse' tour, when Amos performed half of the sets in character as one of the 'Dolls', 'Tombigbee' was one of the songs featured in the sets where she performed as Isabel, the Doll representing her political side.

The Tombigbee is a tributary of the Mobile River, and is located in Mississippi and Alabama; the song of the same name is set there (as 'Scarlet's Walk' is supposed to represent a journey around the USA, with different songs set in different states and cities). Its name comes from a Choctaw word meaning 'box maker' or 'coffin maker'. The upper reaches of the Tombigbee were home to the Chickasaw nation, until they were forced to move to Oklahoma.

Answer: Nina Simone

'Mississippi Goddam' was written by Nine Simone in 1964 and she considered it to be her first Civil Rights song ('all I want is equality/For my sister, my brother, my people and me'). It originally appeared on 'Nina Simone in Concert', an album consisting of performances from three concerts at Carnegie Hall. It was inspired by the racist murders of Emmett Till and Medgar Evers, and the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Alabama, which killed four young black girls.

The Mississippi is North America's second-longest river, running through ten states, including the state with which it shares its name. During the American Civil War, it was an important strategic area for Confederate troops, but captured by the Union side. In the 18th and 19th centuries, steamboats travelled up and down the river, carrying goods and passengers.

Answer: Johann Strauss II

'The Blue Danube', or 'An der schönen blauen Donau' in the original German, is one of Johann Strauss II's most famous waltzes, and the only piece of classical music in this quiz. Although it does have lyrics, the instrumental version, composed for the Paris World's Fair in 1867, is more well-known. Johannes Brahms is said to have written down the first bars of 'The Blue Danube', followed by 'unfortunately not by Johannes Brahms' on the fan of Strauss' stepdaughter, Alice von Meyszner-Strauss, when she asked for his autograph.

The Danube runs through Central and Southeastern Europe, rising in Germany and emptying into the Danube Delta in Romania. It is the second longest river in Europe, surpassed only by the Volga in Russia. Four capitals are located on the banks of the river: Vienna (Austria), Bratislava (Slovakia), Budapest (Hungary) and Belgrade (Serbia, formerly the capital of Yugoslavia).

Answer: Vanessa Paradis and Sean Ono Lennon

'La Seine and I' (or 'La Seine' in the original French) appears on the soundtrack to the 2011 French animated film 'A Monster in Paris', a compilation featuring various artists. Both Lennon (who plays Francoeur, the titular monster, in the English version) and Paradis (who plays Lucille, the heroine, a cabaret singer) sing multiple songs on the English version of the album. Lennon does not appear on the French version. Paradis co-wrote the album with Mathieu Chedid, aka '-M-', who plays Francoeur in the French version of the film.

The Seine is one of the key landmarks of the city of Paris - cruises along it are popular with tourists - and runs through much of northern France. It rises in the commune of Source-Seine, near Dijon, and empties into the English Channel at the port of Le Havre. An ancient Gallo-Roman temple has been found at the Seine's source; the river was worshipped as a goddess in ancient times.

Answer: Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar

'NILE' is a collaboration between Beyoncé Knowles and Kendrick Lamar on 'The Lion King: The Gift', the soundtrack to the 2019 remake of the Disney classic. While Elton John sang on the original soundtrack, 'The Gift' featured a wide range of artists, including Childish Gambino, Pharrell Williams, Jessie Reyez, Nigerian singer Burna Boy, South African singer Moonchild Sanelly, and Beyoncé and Jay-Z's daughter Blue Ivy.

The Nile is one of the world's biggest rivers and the longest river in Africa, running through multiple countries, from Uganda to Egypt and into the Mediterranean Sea. For centuries, it was the centre of both ancient Egyptian and Sudanese civilisation; both countries depended on it greatly for agriculture and trade. The ancient Egyptian god Hapi was the god of the Nile floods.

Answer: Half Man Half Biscuit

'On Reaching the Wensum' is a track on Half Man Half Biscuit's seventh album, 'Four Lads Who Shook the Wirral'. The cover is a parody of the Beatles, as is the album title, the Beatles being known as 'four lads who shook the world'. The song mocks both the British comedy 'Red Dwarf' and the New Deal, a workfare scheme introduced by Tony Blair in 1998 (I'm not going to quote the lyrics as this is a family site!)

The Wensum is a river in the county of Norfolk, a tributary of the River Yare, and the river on which Norwich, the county's most notable city, was founded. It runs past Carrow Road, home of Norwich City FC, and joins the Yare in the town of Whitlingham. (Norfolk is also home to the market town of Swaffham, also mentioned in the lyrics.)

Answer: Gerry and the Pacemakers

'Ferry Cross the Mersey' is one of Gerry and the Pacemakers' most famous songs, along with the Liverpool FC anthem 'You'll Never Walk Alone'. It was originally released in the UK in 1964 and appeared on the soundtrack for the musical film of the same name, featuring Gerry and friends essentially playing themselves. It can be considered as their counterpart to the Beatles' 'A Hard Day's Night'. A cover by various Liverpool artists, including Marsden, Paul McCartney and Holly Johnson, was recorded in 1989 to raise money for the survivors of the Hillsborough Disaster, and the families of the (then 95) victims.

The Mersey runs through the cities of Manchester and Liverpool, although it is mainly associated with the latter. It runs into the Irish Sea, and ferries to Ireland use Liverpool as a starting point. The old docks are now a tourist attraction. Today, when tourists take the ferry between Liverpool and Birkenhead, the song is played on the ferries.

Answer: Enya

'Orinoco Flow' is one of Enya's most famous songs and appears on her second album 'Watermark'. It's a geography lesson of a song, mentioning places from Cebu in the Philippines and the Ross Delta in Antarctica, to the Pacific island of Palau and the Hebridean island of Tiree. Although the song was generally used on soundtracks for ironic purposes, 'South Park' being an example, Bo Burnham used it seriously on the soundtrack for 'Eighth Grade', even writing to Enya for permission.

The Orinoco is in South America and mainly runs through Venezuela, with approximately a quarter of the river in Colombia. It starts in the Parima Mountains of Venezuela and discharges into the Atlantic Ocean at the Orinoco Delta, and is home to a variety of dolphins. Fans of 'The Wombles' might remember that one of the furry Wimbledon litter collectors was named after the river.