A DIY project recorded, played and sung by myself alone.

This is a selection of songs collected around the Calder Valley that fall within the English musical tradition that I am familiar with. I would like to note that within the Calder Valley there is a wealth of musical tradition originating from other cultures, brought mostly by waves of immigration over the last half of the twentieth century, largely from Pakistan, Bangladesh and eastern Europe. These, as living musical tradition in England, are no less forms of “English traditional music” than the songs that I sing on this EP.

The following are miscellaneous notes that don't pertain to one individual song, notes on each song can be found on the tracks. Happy listening!

The Calder Valley-

The River Calder begins on Herald Moor, Lancashire, and flows down into West Yorkshire, through the nearby town of Todmorden. It then flows through Hebden Bridge, Sowerby Bridge, Elland, Brighouse, Dewsbury, Mirfield, Horbury Bridge and Wakefield, among other smaller settlements, and joins the river Aire near Castleford. The Calder Valley,
roughly speaking, stretches from Todmorden to Brighouse.

Albert Dobson-

Albert/Bert/A. Dobson (his first name varies between records) is the source singer from which I learnt the Noah Dale Anthem (Roud 16910), the Yorkshire Wassailing song (Roud 209) and the Gray Goose and Gander (Roud 1094), via the transcriptions of Mary and Nigel Huddleston.

The other songs recorded from Mr Dobson are “Guy Fawkes song” (Roud 16916), “Joe the Carrier Lad” (Roud 1080), “Loin Ender’s Lament” (Roud 23553), “Bold Robin Hood” (Roud 1303), “The Holmfirth Anthem (Pratty Flowers)” (Roud 1046), “May Song from Todmorden, Yorks” (Roud 305), “The Chorus in the Old Green Lane” (Roud 16918), “I’m a Collier By Me Trade”, “I’m Always Glad to See a Man Like Thee” (Roud 16920), “When I Were Rich” (Roud 16921), “As Tommy Was Walking” (Roud 8723), “Father’s Will”, “Up Yon Hill” (Roud 21178), “Good Health to the Bridal Pair (Fragment)” (Roud V38947), “The Maypole Song” (Roud 21188), “Mick Mcooligan” “Old John Bull” (Roud 21124) and “Todmorden Pace Egg Song” (Roud 614).

According to the VWML website, the song collector Fred Hamer (1909-1969) collected many songs from Mr Dobson in Heptonstall, just above Hebden Bridge, in the early 1960s. The Huddlestons, who also collected many of Mr Dobson’s songs, place their collections in Todmorden, and do not give a time, but the couple collected largely around the 1950s and 60s. Aside from these records, I have been unable to confirm any more information about this singer.

Mary and Nigel Huddleston-

Mary (1918-1986) and Nigel (1915-2006) Huddleston were prominent folk song collectors over the last half of the 20th century, largely in Yorkshire and Ireland. The 2001 book “Songs of the Ridings” (found through the VWML website) is a compilation of 240 songs and tunes that they collected across Yorkshire, and is where I learnt the Albert Dobson songs on this EP. Their extensive collection of songs, as well as documentation of traditional dance, drama, customs and folklore is currently housed in the University of Sheffield.

Harry Greenwood-

I found out about Harry Greenwood from the book “Memories” (found through the VWML website), in which Bob Pegg arranged Greenwood’s recollections of his life. He was born in 1892 in the village of Blackshaw Head, just above Hebden Bridge on the Long Causeway leading to Burnley. He spent most of his life around there, except from serving in the army during the first world war, when he visited Sierra Leone, South Africa, India and “Mesopotamia”, as well as the south of England. Pegg first interviewed him in 1976, when Greenwood was living between Colden and Heptonstall.

The book contains fragments of the songs “Trouble in My Native Land” (Roud 5386) and “Mary Across the Wild Moor” (Roud 155), a seemingly complete version of the “Noah Dale Anthem" (Roud 16910), and an abridged pace-egg play script. It’s also noted that Mr Greenwood knew “Three Men Went a-Hunting" (Roud 283), “The Farmer’s Boy” (Roud 408) and “Grandfather’s Clock” (Roud 4326), though there wasn’t space to print them.

Thanks to Bob Pegg for giving me permission to use content from the book.