Bellowhead Trivia

1. In the song "Rigs of the Time", what is all out of fashion?

From Quiz The Burlesque Bellowhead

Answer: Honesty

The chorus of this song reveals the answer. "And honesty's all out of fashion These are the rigs of the times, times m'boys These are the rigs of the times" One of the meanings of the word "rig" refers to being dishonest. Examples of modern usage with this meaning include jury rigging or a rigged game. Here it saying that these (the stories in the verses) are the con tricks of today. The song is a litany of dishonest tradesmen. This version uses the older tradesmen such as the butcher, baker and tailor. To give one verse as an example: "And here's to the butcher, I must bring him in, He charges four pence a pound and he'll think it no sin. Slaps his hand on the scale-weight to make them go down He'll swear it's good weight yet it wants half a pound." Longer versions exist and of course some updated ones referring to more recent events. The final verse in most suggests a solution of letting all these crooked tradesmen be blown away in the wind.

From Quiz The Burlesque Bellowhead

Answer: Four blind horses

According to the lyrics, "Jordan is a hard road to travel I believe" but I don't believe that the Jordan referred to is really a road. I think that the reference is to the River Jordan. The album notes say that the song was originally written in the middle of the nineteenth century by Daniel Emmett. Other sources indicate that this gentleman simply updated an older song with more topical verses. That is the way of folk music. This song has been updated again and again since the Daniel Emmett version, with various topical references. This version isn't that recent with no hot topics or identifiable references to twenty or twenty-first century politics. The answer to the question is to be found in the first verse: "I looked to the East, I looked to the West I saw John Ball a coming a calling With four blind horses riding in the clouds To look on the other side of Jordan"

From Quiz The Hedonistic Bellowhead

Answer: Monarch

A traditional song which contrasts the easy life of a beggar with that of a king; "I've got no tax to pay and I heed no master's bell Who would be a king when a beggar does so well?" Martin Carthy has an updated version of this song that includes the lyrics; "For I'm a great Victorian value I'm enterprise poverty Completely invisible to the state and there for all to see" A similar song of the same theme is "The Beggars Song" recorded by Fairport Convention on the album "Red and Gold".

From Quiz The Burlesque Bellowhead

Answer: New Zealand

The spellings used are those in the lyric's booklet, which also claims that "The words, possibly Australian, are half-remembered from a miscellaneous shanty album". But checking on these terms we find that there are no Kaori trees, but there are Kauri trees native to New Zealand. Dusky Sound is another name for Tamatea fjord on the south west extremity of New Zealand. Port Cooper is an old name for what is now Port Lyttelton, which is found in New Zealand, while "Tom Cane's Bay" is found in Port Underwood, also in New Zealand. Allowing for phonetic spellings, these all support the only possible answer as being New Zealand. Another version of the song, which is close to the lyrics sung by Bellowhead, is found on a New Zealand folk song site. Here they refer to a version recorded around Auckland in 1913. The lyrics given are: "Eastward round by Dusky Sound, and Pegasus - through the Strait, Port Cooper, Ocean, Tom Kain's Bay, for that is the coaster's fate." The same site (folksong.org.nz) supplies the additional information that: "Port Cooper (Lyttlton Harbour, near Christchurch), Tom Kain's Bay (O'Kains Bay near Akaroa) and Ocean Bay (near Blenheim) are on the east coast." So although there may be other versions of this song, the particular one is clearly from New Zealand.

From Quiz The Hedonistic Bellowhead

Answer: His father

The song is "The Hand Weaver and the Factory Maid". A battle of old ways versus the new. A hand weaver represents the traditional weaving method, but the shuttles of the factory loom are the new technology. The second verse starts: "My father to me scornful said How could you fancy a factory maid" The rest of the song is the singer's statement that the factory maid is the one he loves and that he will go and work where he finds the women to be. There are many recordings and different versions of this song but the two that I have to hand are by Brass Monkey and Steeleye Span

From Quiz The Hedonistic Bellowhead

Answer: Grey Horse

The song is about a bet, if the maid can come to the hill and return still a virgin. She wins the bet by using a spell, in this version of the song she has asked a witch, in others she is a witch. The spell she casts sends the man into a deeper and deeper sleep. The consequence is that she can say she arrived but didn't lose her maidenhead. The answer to the question posed is in one of the later verses when the man has finally awoken and found the evidence the maiden came and went. "Oh where were you, my good grey steed That I have loved so dear? Why did you not stamp and waken me When there was a maiden here? " The horse is most indignant and replies that he did all he could; "Oh I stamped with my feet, master, And all my bells I rang, But there was nothing could waken you Till she had been and gone." Versions of this song from around Europe are thought to date back as far as the twelfth century, it is found in the Child Ballads and has been recorded by many singers under various titles.

From Quiz The Burlesque Bellowhead

Answer: Betty

A sad tale of being slow and not bold enough, the first verse ends: "But I lost my pretty Betty by courting too slow." The second verse ends with the phrase "by not being bold", then the remaining verses refer to "courting too slow" again. As a consequence, Betty falls for the sailor who kisses and flatters her. Another song which seems to encourage sexual harassment, "And when you go courting now don't you be too nice But kiss all them pretty girls and let them for to know That you don't mean to lose them by courting too slow" The song is identified as being from a broadside in the "Madden Collection". These are the papers and manuscripts collected by the nineteenth century palaeographer Sir Frederic Madden, that are kept at the Bodleian library in Cambridge.

From Quiz The Hedonistic Bellowhead

Answer: Riddles

The Earl of Rosslyn's daughter is walking through the woods alone. Next, she is accosted by a military man who chats her up. Before she agrees to get into bed she says: "But," said the pretty lady, "before you me perplex It's you must answer questions yet and that is questions six. It's questions six you must tell me and that is three times twa Before I'll lie in your bed at either stock or wall." Riddling contests seem to have been an in thing in history, although the lady here must think she is a cut above in the intelligence stakes, as she feels the need to explain that six is three times two. (Twa is the spelling used in the lyrics, simply a Scottish word for two.) Another song which seems to have similar roots begins "I gave my love a cherry that had no stone". Though the version I remember (possibly by Alan Sherman) ends with the lines "When you give a baby there is just one thing You ought to give at least an engagement ring." The title track of Steeleye Span's album "Now We Are Six" also consists of riddles. Maybe this is where Professor Tolkien got the idea for the riddle contest in "The Hobbit". He was a professor of Anglo Saxon with interests including mythology and folklore. If such riddling was common in traditional folk song it is plausible to suggest this.

From Quiz The Hedonistic Bellowhead

Answer: Her lover is dead

From the start of the song the woman is weeping at her lover's graveside. After twelve months of this he gets up complaining about the noise. The lady asks for a kiss from his white lips but the deceased points out that if he grants such a wish, she will shortly be joining him in the grave. It then briefly moves into a verse from the riddle songs referred to elsewhere: "Go fetch me a flower from the dungeon deep, Bring water from a stone. Bring white milk from a virgin's breast That baby never bore none." Looking at the history of the song, the site Mostly Norfolk quotes the Kenneth S. Goldstein, editor of the album "The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) Volume 1", that "this ballad is notable for its exhibition of the universal popular belief that excessive grief on the part of mourners disturbs the peace of the dead". I don't have access to this album for verification but the quote is said to appear in the album's booklet. There is also a quote in Cecil Sharp's Collection of English Folk Songs volume 2 which states: "...refer to the ancient belief that a maiden betrothed to a man was pledged to him after his death, and was compelled to follow him into the spirit world unless she was able to perform certain tasks or solve certain riddles." This version seems to combine both of these traditional beliefs in the one song.

From Quiz The Burlesque Bellowhead

Answer: Yellow handkerchief

The final verse starts, "So take this yellow handkerchief in remembrance of me". This line gives the traditional song its alternative name. The version presented here is one of the shorter ones in terms of the number of verses. All versions agree that the singer has had the misfortune to meet with "Flash Company", those good time friends who are good at spending someone else's money. As the end of each verse reminds us: "If it hadn't have been for flash company I should never have been so poor."

From Quiz The Hedonistic Bellowhead

Answer: Accordion

For a change this song isn't listed as traditional but is a translation of a song by Belgian songwriter Jacques Brel. The song focuses on the antics of sailors in the "Port of Amsterdam". The relevant lyric is: "And they turn and they dance And they laugh and they lust Till the rancid sound of The accordion bursts." Not sure what it is about Amsterdam that attracts songwriters. In addition to this in my music collection alone I can find Michelle Shocked with her song "5am in Amsterdam", Christy Moore singing "Weekend in Amsterdam" while Richard Thompson gets in on the action with his song "Beatnik Walking". The latter includes the refrain: "Amsterdam, where good things come in threes Ease your troubled mind and shoot the breeze"

From Quiz The Burlesque Bellowhead

Answer: Nightingale

All fine songbirds, but only one of them is mentioned in the lyrics. The second verse starts: "At the end of the grove, I sat myself down And the song of the nightingale echoed all around." A traditional song, other recordings are under the name "The Birds in the Spring" and "Down By the Green Groves". The Bellowhead version is based on that of the Copper family from Rottingdean, Sussex, who call it "By the Green Grove". The best description of the song is from Ian Robb who is quoted as saying "the simple pleasure of a springtime walk in the countryside". I have been assured by the raven lady of Knaresborough Castle in Yorkshire, that ravens are the largest British songbird. At the time she told me I had a raven on my forearm and I wasn't going to argue with her or the raven.

From Quiz The Hedonistic Bellowhead

Answer: Little Daisy Dawson

According to the bosun that is. "Little Daisy Dawson She's got flannel drawers on So says our old bosun" All of the verses of this song follow the same format. Little Sally Racket, the title character, appears in the first verse where she has pawned the singer's coat but sadly lost the ticket. This is a shanty that also goes by the names of "Haul her away" and "Cheer'ly Men". Both Richard Thompson and Maddy Prior have recorded versions that I am familiar with, but there are a lot more recordings available.

From Quiz The Burlesque Bellowhead

Answer: Parrot

To explain this, first a summary of the song is needed. The Lady Margaret is at home. Along comes a knight, the outlandish one of the title, who convinces her to grab her father's gold and fastest horses, then to ride away with him. These are the "black black horse" and the "dapple-grey mare". They get to a place where he informs her that she is going to die, as he has killed six pretty maids previously. But the lady gets the better of him and rides home again. Now we get to the parrot. When she gets home her parrot asks where she has been; "Oh where have you been my pretty mistress, so long before it is day". The lady then bribes the parrot to keep quiet. "Don't you prittle don't you prattle, my pretty Polly, don't tell no tales of me, And your cage shall be made of the glittering gold and your perch of the best ivory." Lady Margaret's father has heard the parrot, and asks what is up. The parrot keeps its side of the bargain by saying that a cat had appeared and that he was calling for his mistress to frighten it away. The moral of this story is, if you want to murder a serial killer, don't forget to bribe the parrot.

From Quiz The Hedonistic Bellowhead

Answer: Plump with golden hair

The first verse of this little ditty gives the young ladies description. "In Yarmouth Town there lived a man, He kept a tavern by the sand. This landlord had a daughter fair, A plump little thing with the golden hair." The plot of the story is that she rejects an offer of marriage with the words: "I get all I want without being wed." However then the saucy lady adds that if you are interested in a good time, "I'll tie a bit of string all around my finger. As you pass by, just pull on the string". This works out fine for the lothario. The word gets round and the next night she is happy to open the doors to fifteen sailors. Although the song is listed as traditional I feel it should just be anon. The oldest listed sources are twentieth century, possibly it is based on an older song with a twist to the tale added more recently.

From Quiz The Burlesque Bellowhead

Answer: Liverpool

The verse, "When I get back to Liverpool Town, I'll cast a line to little Sally Brown" tells all. The song itself appears to have two possible origins. Firstly, that it is a rope hauling shanty, the other claim is that it refers to cotton screwing. I'd never heard of this but the website Mainly Norfolk, quoting the cover of an EP by The Young Tradition informs me that "Cotton screwing was about the hardest shipboard task there was: the bales of cotton were forced into the hold until they were packed solid." Wikipedia adds some information as well. "Cotton-screwing involved the use of large jack-screws to compress and force cotton bales into the holds of outbound ships. Work gangs consisted of four men, who timed their exertions in turning the jack-screw to songs called chants."

From Quiz The Hedonistic Bellowhead

Answer: Parson's Farewell

Parson's Farewell is described in some places as a bourre. The original tune is listed as "trad" but this recording has been adapted in various ways by Sam Sweeney. The wrong answers are all instrumental tracks on the Bellowhead album Burlesque.

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