Recorded by Bill Leader in Walter Pardon’s cottage in Knapton, Norfolk, on 11 May, 8 and 15 June, 3 August and 7 December 1974;
Produced by Bill Leader;
Thanks to Peter Bellamy for making this project possible;
Album designed by Janet Kerr

Musicians

Walter Pardon: vocals

Tracks

Side 1

1. The Poacher’s Fate (Roud 793; Laws L14)
2. Let the Wind Blow High or Low (Roud 308; G/D 5:946; Henry H711)
3. Old Brown’s Daughter (Roud 1426)
4. The Rambling Blade (Roud 490; Laws L12; G/D 2:260; Henry H691)
5. Van Diemen’s Land (Roud 221)

Side 2

6. The Dark-Eyed Sailor (Roud 265; Laws N35; G/D 5:1037; Henry H232)
7. The Trees They Do Grow High (Roud 31; Laws O35; G/D 6:1222)
8. A Ship to Old England Came (Roud 1424)
9. The Miller and His Sons (Roud 138; Laws Q21; G/D 3:703)
10. The British Man o’ War (Roud 372)
11. Jack Tar Ashore (Roud 919; Laws K39)

Notes by Bill Leader

The recordings for this disc were made on the afternoon of 12 July 1975 in Walter Pardon’s house at Knapton, Norfolk. I had recorded Mr. Pardon on six occasions during the previous year. Early in July I wrote to Mr. Pardon asking him to choose twelve songs he would like to re-record for this album and I have reproduced all but the first song he recorded (The Pretty Ploughboy) in the order in which he sung them. The Pretty Ploughboy has been omitted only because of the restrictions imposed on the playing time of a disc of unaccompanied singing. The text of the songs given below were written out for us by Mr. Pardon and we have printed them as written, marking the few places where the text varies from Mr. Pardon’s recorded performance.

All the songs except The Miller and His Sons were learned by Mr. Pardon from his uncle Billy Gee: “The first I can remember was when he used to sit me on his knee. Too small to climb up. I learned them very near up to the time he died, 1942. I think I was about 28 when he died, but I got a lot of them when I was a schoolboy. The Dark-Eyed Sailor was learned early. The Poacher’s Fate was number one … I was about seven. It was the first one I remember learning from Billy, number one. That’s a long time ago now, fifty four years. I had to write it to learn it. Perhaps he’d never sing them right through. I used to get the tunes and then write out the words afterwards. That’s how they were usually done.”

Of The Miller and His Sons he said:  There was a soldier sung that in here, Christmas 1914. I was only nine months old. He never would write it out so I never did get it all. The time is right but I completed it out of a book that Clifford (Godbold) got, Marrow Bones. It was in there very much the same. That’s how I completed that one. They (i.e. Uncle Billy and grandfather Tom) partially knew it, but the soldier never would tell them all the words you see. It never was wrote down.

Recorded by Bill Leader in Walter Pardon’s cottage in Knapton, Norfolk, on 12 February 1977;
Produced by Bill Leader;
Thanks to Peter Bellamy for making this project possible;
Album designed by Janet Kerr

Musicians

Walter Pardon: vocals

Tracks

Side 1

1. The Pretty Ploughboy (Roud 186; Laws M24; G/D 1:170; Henry H105)
2. Up to the Rigs (Roud 868; G/D 2:299)
3. I’ll Beat the Drum Again (The Female Drummer) (Roud 226; G/D 1:182; Henry H497)
4. Down by the Dark Arches (Roud 1442)
5. Grace Darling (Roud 1441)

Side 2

6. Generals All (Roud 233)
7. I’ll Hang My Harp on a Willow Tree (Roud 1444; G/D 6:1203; Henry H155)
8. The Wreck of the Ramillies (Roud 523; Laws K1; G/D 1:28)
9. Jones’ Ale (Roud 139; G/D 3:561)
10. The Old Miser (Roud 3913)
11. Balaclava (Roud 1443)

Notes by Bill Leader

The recordings on this disc were made during the afternoon of 12 February 1977 at Walter Pardon’s cottage at Knapton, Norfolk.

For my previous session with him (Leader LED 2063), I had written in advance to Walter, asking him to choose twelve songs that he would like to record. This he did and the released record contained eleven of these songs. The first, The Pretty Ploughboy, was omitted because of the limits of playing time on the record. For the present session I had not written to Walter in advance to select his songs and on the day he welcomed suggestions from Peter Bellamy, who was present with his wife Anthea. The sequence of titles recorded on the 12 February was: The Pretty Ploughboy; Up to the Rigs; Balaclava (take rejected because of microphone popping); I’ll Beat the Drum Again; Down by the Dark Arches; Grace Darling; Generals All; I’ll Hang My Harp on a Willow Tree; The Wreck of the Ramillies; Jones’ Ale (first of two takes rejected because of microphone popping); The Old Miser; Lord Lovell (performance abandoned because Walter was not happy that he was remembering the words correctly); Bonny Bunch of Roses (two takes rejected because of microphone popping); Balaclava.

Most of the songs that Walter sings were learned from his uncle Billy Gee. Of Jones’ Ale, Walter says: “They used to always put in after each verse, ‘They all sat down for to be merry / They call in for a bottle of sherry’. That used to come after every verse and everyone joined in. What used to happen was there was hardly any of these had any chorus, so they used to sing part of the verse over again. So everyone joined in. In The Dark-Eyed Sailor they used to go over the last two lines and everyone used to join in. Generals All and all those old songs, they generally went back on to two lines. As they were familiar to the rest of the company, they used to sing them as the chorus.”

Grace Darling was a song sung by his mother and this and Beat the Drum Again; Down by the Dark Arches and The Wreck of the Ramillies were songs the words of which he only partly remembered and arrived at the versions recorded with the help of folk song books. The text of the songs printed here were written out for us by Walter Pardon. Because they are neither transcripts of the recorded performance nor words that he referred to during the recording, there are discrepancies between text and performance. These differences are few and minor.

Recorded by Mike Yates at Walter Pardon’s home in Knapton, Norfolk, in 1978-80*;
Produced by Mike Yates and Tony Engle;
Sleeve notes by A.L. Lloyd;
Booklet notes and photographs by Mike Yates;
Design by Tony Engle

* No recording dates are given on the album but Mike Yates wrote in the booklet of the Musical Traditions anthology Put a Bit of Powder on it, Father: “I first met Walter in the Spring of 1978. […] Walter invited me to visit him in June, 1978, and I began to try to record as many of his songs as possible. […] I spent a total of two years visiting and recording Walter. In 1982 Topic Records issued fourteen of these recordings on their album A Country Life (Topic 12TS392) and the following year I issued a further fourteen pieces on my own label, Home-Made Music (Home-Made Music LP301).” Now, the recording dates of the songs on LP301 are between June 1978 and January 1980, which fits the two years range, plus one from March 1983.
Note that the Voice of the People series booklets give for the reissues from A Country Life recording dates of c.1975, years before Mike Yates met Walter Pardon.

Musicians

Walter Pardon: vocals, melodeon

Tracks

Side 1

1. Raggle-Taggle Gypsies (Roud 1; Child 200; G/D 2:278; Henry H124) (2.44)
2. Peggy Bawn (Roud 661) (3.11)
3. The Bold Princess Royal (Roud 528; Laws K29; G/D 1:47) (4.14)
4. One Cold Morning in December (Roud 1745) (4.22)
5. The Devil and the Farmer’s Wife (Roud 160; Child 278; G/D 2:320) (2.52)
6. An Old Man’s Advice (Roud 1482) (2.57)
7. Uncle Walter’s Tune melodeon (1.14)

Side 2

8. A Country Life (Roud 1752) (2.29)
9. Cupid the Ploughboy (Roud 986; Laws O7) (2.29)
10. The Dandy Man (Roud 15129) (4.37)
11. Jack Hall (Roud 369; Laws L5) (3.11)
12. I Wish, I Wish (Roud 495) (1.14)
13. Broomfield Hill (Roud 34; Child 43; G/D 2:322; Henry H135) (4.22)
14. The Hungry Army (Roud 1746) (3.32)

Recording Walter Pardon - Notes by Mike Yates

Gimingham, Trimingham, Knapton and Trunch,
Southrepps and Northrepps lay all in a bunch.

For some reason it was always raining, the wind always blowing inland from the direction of Mundesley and Bacton, always leaving the taste of salt on my lips. Knapton lies a few miles from the small Norfolk town of North Walsham in a rich farming area of wheat and barley fields, of potato and sugar beet plots divided by small woods and copses; a land where red brick farm buildings break the skyline. From Knapton the fields dip gently down to the sea. The weather cock on the church tower must be visible from miles around.

Waiter Pardon’s cottage stands to the side of the North Walsham road. He was born there on 4 March 1914 and has been a carpenter since 1928 when he began work in the nearby village of Paston. His uncle, Billy Gee (borm 1863), shared the cottage and it was from Billy that Walter learnt most of his songs.

I keep in my memory the love of the past,
With me ’tis bright as of old.
For deep in my heart it was planted to last:
In absence it never grows cold.

He’d either sing them at night, here by the fire, or else, if it was raining and he couldn’t work, we’d sit in the toolshed singing to one another. You see that big dram hanging up there … that was from the Knapton Drum and Fife Band. Uncle Billy played the fiddle with them. We didn’t sing much in the pubs. Uncle Billy had done, in his youth. He picked up some songs in the ‘Mitre Tavern’ in North Walsham. But not me. I only sang at home.

Uncle Billy told me that his father used to play the clarinet in the Church Band and that he had the words and music of the songs printed on sheets—broadsides you call ’em—but I never saw them, not that I can remember. Like you say, a lot of the songs are Irish. Peggy Bawn, The Bonny Bunch of Roses and I think that when they built the North Walsham to Dilham canal in 1812-1827, that’s when those songs came in around here, brought here by the Irish navvies.

Most of the songs on this record come from Uncle Billy Gee. Raggle-Taggle Gypsies, Peggy Bawn, One Cold Morning in December, The Devil and the Farmer’s Wife, An Old Man’s Advice, A Country Life Cupid the Ploughboy, Jack Hall, I Wish, I Wish and Broomfield Hill. The Hungry Army was also sung by Uncle Billy, although Walter’s text has been augmented from a published copy. Similarly The Dandy Man was also sung by Uncle Tom Gee and Walter has again used a printed text to complete what was, for him, an incomplete song. The other song on the record, The Bold Princess Royal, was learnt from John Fish, an old gamekeeper from Trunch, when Walter was about 14 years old.

The family sang it, but it was just like The Old Miser, same tune see, so I never bothered until I heard John Fish, and he taught it to me. No one else sang it that way—not round here, anyway.

Seamus Ennis came by here in the 50’s looking for music for the radio, but he missed me, ’cause nobody outside the family knew that I had the songs. I didn’t know that any body was interested in ’em … didn’t even know that there was a festival in Norwich, the local reports didn’t mention it. But then I got to thinking, sitting here by myself, and trying to remember ’em. It was years since I’d sung some of ’em. A Ship to Old England Came, The Dark-Eyed Sailor: there were some verses I just couldn’t remember. Then Roger Dixon, who’s related to me, gave me a tape recorder and I sang some of them on to the tape. I reckon it took all winter to get them down, ’bout twenty of ’em. Roger gave the tape to Peter Bellamy and that was how I got known. A lot more songs come back to me since then.

The recordings heard on this record were made as part of a project to document and study Walter Pardon’s complete repertoire—a project which, I am happy to say, has been enthusiastically welcomed by Walter Pardon himself.

Usually Walter and myself have spent some time talking about his life and songs before beginning to record the songs in question. It seems to me that he has often become so absorbed in the memories surrounding these songs that when he begins to sing his voice takes on an added quality and intensity. It is almost as though past and present become merged into one.

Further details of Walter’s life can be found in “Folk Review” Vol. 3, No. 10 (August 1974) and “Folk News” Vol. 1, No. 3 (August 1977), whilst other songs can be heard on Walter’s two previous albums, A Proper Sort (Leader LED2063) and Our Side of the Baulk (Leader LED2111).

Recorded and produced by Mike Yates;
Notes and back sleeve photograph by Mike Yates;
Front sleeve photograph: Walter Pardon seated second from the left on the front row

Musicians

Walter Pardon: vocals, melodeon

Tracks

Side 1

1. Caroline and Her Young Sailor Bold (Roud 553; Laws N17; G/D 1:176) (4.46)
2. Blow the Winds-I-O (Roud 1778; G/D 6:1102) (3.45)
3. Naughty Jemima Brown (Roud 1776) (4.47)
4. Old Joe the Boat is Going Over (Roud 1777) (1.58)
5. Come Little Leaves (Roud 1775) (0.58)
6. The Parson and the Clerk (Roud 1154) (3.40)
7. Bright Golden Store (Roud 1638) (3.23)

Side 2

8. Two Jolly Butchers (Roud 17; Laws L4; G/D 2:186; Henry H185) (3.55)
9. Thornaby Woods (Roud 222) (3.30)
10. Rakish Young Fellow (Roud 829) (2.45)
11. Uncle Walter’s March melodeon (1.18)
12. Poor Smuggler’s Boy (Roud 618) (1.56)
13. Hold the Fort (Roud 1774) (1.50)
14. Rosin-a-Beau (Roud 1192; G/D 3:698; Henry H698) (4.00)

All tracks trad.

Track 12 recorded by Mike Yates, 24.6.1978;
Tracks 1-2, 4, 6, 8, 14 recorded by Mike Yates, 25.6.1978;
Track 11 recorded by Mike Yates, 2.8.1978;
Track 13 recorded by Mike Yates, 2.11.1978;
Track 10 recorded by Mike Yates, 2.12.1978;
Track 9 recorded by Mike Yates, 5.12.1978;
Track 3 recorded by Mike Yates, 26.10.1979;
Track 5 recorded by Mike Yates, 18.1.1980;
Track 7 recorded by Mike Yates, 12.3.1983

Notes by Mike Yates

This record was made in an old red brick cottage in the village of Knapton in Norfolk; in the home of Walter Pardon, retired carpenter and probably the best rural folksinger left in England today.

Unlike Uncle Billy Gee—who taught Walter most of his songs—Walter was never a pub singer. Indeed, it is unlikely that his family even considered Walter to be a singer at all. It is only recently that folksong enthusiasts have prompted him to dig deep into his remarkable memory.

Walter’s background is now relatively well-known. Following his discovery in 1975 by Peter Bellamy, Bill Leader recorded and issued the first of Walter’s record albums (A Proper Sort - Leader LED 2063). This was followed two years later by further Leader recordings (Our Side of the Baulk - Leader LED 2111). I began a program to record Walter’s complete repertoire in 1978 and a selection made from these sessions appeared in 1982 (A Country Life - Topic 12TS392). Other undated recordings made by Sam Richards and Tish Stubbs can be heard on an American double album (An English Folk Music Anthology — Folkways FE 38553). Now we have this album, issued to coincide with the award to Walter Pardon of the English Folk Dance and Song Society’s Gold Badge—the highest award that can be made in the folkmusic world.

What makes Walter so good? Well, for a start, there is his fascinating repertoire of some 150 odd songs. Then there is his gentle singing style; hands clasped firmly behind his back, eyes half closed, his voice letting the song proceed at its own pace so that the listener is always left asking for more. He loves a song with a story, especially one that carries a sting in the tail. And he is sufficiently intelligent and well-read to appreciate the value of what he carries with him.

The late A.L. Lloyd once called Walter “the best of the bunch”. What more can one say?

Recorded live at Torquay Folk Club

Musicians

Walter Pardon: vocals, melodeon

Tracks

Side 1

1. The Rich Irish Lady (Roud 180; Laws P9; G/D 6:1219; Henry H72)
2. The Pretty Ploughboy (Roud 186; Laws M24; G/D 1:170; Henry H105)
3. The Rakish Young Fellow (Roud 829)
4. Van Diemen’s Land (Roud 221)
5. At Rambling Green (Roud 490; Laws L12; G/D 2:260; Henry H691)
6. The Maid of Australia (Roud 1872)
7. The Parson and the Clerk (Roud 1154)

Side 2

8. Balaclava (Roud 1443)
9. Up to the Rigs of London Town (Roud 868; G/D 2:299)
10. I’ll Hang My Harp on a Willow Tree (Roud 1444; G/D 6:1203; Henry H155)
11. Down by the Dark Arches (Roud 1442)
12. The Reason Why (Roud 1745)
13. Old Brown’s Daughter (Roud 1426)

All tracks trad.

Recorded by Bill Leader, Peter Bellamy and Reg Hall / Mike Yates / Reg Hall, Pat Mackenzie and Jim Carroll at Walter Pardon’s home in 1974-80;
Production: Tony Engle;
Researched by Reg Hall;
Notes and photography: Mike Yates;
Sleeve design by The Art Surgery

Musicians

Walter Pardon: vocals

Tracks

1. The Rambling Blade * (Roud 490; Laws L12; G/D 2:260; Henry H691) (4.02)
2. The Lawyer (Mowing the Barley) (Roud 922) (3.16)
3. The Bold Fisherman (Roud 291; Laws O24; G/D 4:834) (4.22)
4. The Dark-Eyed Sailor * (Roud 265; Laws N35; G/D 5:1037; Henry H232) (4.42)
5. Talk about ownership of songs (1.40)
6. The Bush of Australia (Roud 1872) (4.55)
7. Female Drummer * (Roud 226; G/D 1:182; Henry H497) (5.05)
8. The Bold Princess Royal (Roud 528; Laws K29; G/D 1:47) (4.14)
9. The Banks of Sweet Dundee (Roud 148; Laws M25; G/D 2:224) (4.21)
10. The Deserter (Roud 493; G/D 1:83) (2.03)
11. The Trees They Do Grow High * (Roud 31; Laws O35; G/D 6:1222) (4.10)
12. Two Jolly Butchers (Roud 17; Laws L4; G/D 2:186; Henry H185) (3.56)
13. The Loss of the Ramillies * (Roud 523; Laws K1; G/D 1:28) (2.14)
14. The Handsome Cabin Boy (Roud 239; Laws N13; G/D 1:181) (3.52)
15. The Pretty Ploughboy * (Roud 186; Laws M24; G/D 1:170; Henry H105) (4.40)
16. The Cunning Cobbler (Roud 174) (4.25)
17. The Devil and the Farmer’s Wife (Roud 160; Child 278; G/D 2:320) (2.52)
18. The British Man o’ War * (Roud 372) (3.17)
19. The Jolly Waggoner (Roud 1088) (2.06)
20. The Rakish Young Fellow (Roud 829) (2.46)

Tracks 1, 11, 18 recorded by Bill Leader, Peter Bellamy and Reg Hall, 11.5.1974;
Tracks 4, 6, 15 recorded by Bill Leader, Peter Bellamy and Reg Hall, 8.6.1974;
Track 3 recorded by Bill Leader, Peter Bellamy and Reg Hall, 15.6.1974;
Track 7 recorded by Bill Leader, Peter Bellamy and Reg Hall, 3.8.1974;
Track 13 recorded by Bill Leader, Peter Bellamy and Reg Hall, 7.12.1974;
Tracks 10, 12 recorded by Mike Yates, 1975;
Track 5 recorded by Pat Mackenzie and Jim Carroll, 28.8.1977;
Track 17 recorded by Mike Yates, 24.6.1978;
Track 14 recorded by Mike Yates, 25.6.1978;
Tracks 2, 8-9, 19 recorded by Mike Yates, 2.8.1978;
Track 20 recorded by Mike Yates, 2.12.1978;
Track 16 recorded by Pat Mackenzie and Jim Carroll, 24.8.1980

Songs marked with an asterisk are alternative takes of the same songs issued on Leader albums above.

Recorded by Mike Yates;
Cover photo by Sylvia Pitcher

Musical Traditions booklet notes by Rod Stradling and Mike Yates;

Musicians

Walter Pardon: vocals, melodeon

Tracks

CD 1

1. Cupid the Ploughboy (Roud 986; Laws O7) (4.01)
2. A Country Life (Eggs for Breakfast) (Roud 1752) (2.33)
3. The Poor Smuggler’s Boy (Roud 618) (3.15)
4. I’m Yorkshire Though in London (Roud 1640; G/D 2:298) (5.28)
5. Seventeen Come Sunday (Roud 277; Laws O17; G/D 4:791; Henry H152) (2.52)
6. The Parson and the Clerk (Roud 1154) (3.34)
7. Blow the Winds I-O (Roud 1778; G/D 6:1102) (3.49)
8. Hold the Fort (Roud 1774) (1.53)
9. All Among the Barley (Roud 1283) (2.19)
10. Black-Eyed Susan (Roud 560; Laws O28) (4.39)
11. Caroline and Her Young Sailor Bold (Roud 553; Laws N17; G/D 1:176) (4.50)
12. Lord Lovel (Roud 48; Child 75; G/D 6:1232) (4.10)
13. The Skipper and His Boy (Roud 2680) (2.33)
14. Thornaby Woods (Roud 222) (3.50)
15. An Old Man’s Advice (Roud 1482) (2.59)
16. If I Were a Blackbird (Roud 387; Henry H79) (3.52)
17. The Bonny Bunch of Roses-O (Roud 664; Laws J5; G/D 1:155) (3.52)
18. The Green Bushes (Roud 1040; Laws P2; Henry H143) (2.27)
19. Polly Vaughan (Roud 166; Laws O36; Henry H114) (1.09)
20. The Saucy Sailor (Roud 531; Laws K38; G/D 1:49) (1.31)
21. Little Ball of Yarn (Roud 1404) (2.17)
22. The Huntsman (Tally Ho, Hark Away) (Roud 1182) (2.32)

CD 2

1. Put a Bit of Powder on it, Father (Roud 10671) (3.55)
2. The Cuckoo (Roud 413; G/D 6:1157; Henry H479) (0.58)
3. Old Joe the Boat is Going Over (Roud 1777) (2.00)
4. Cock-a-Doodle-Do (Roud 3464) (2.49)
5. The Harland Road (Roud 13654) / Wheel Your P’rambulator (Roud 1496) (fragments) (1.02)
6. Ben Bolt (Roud 2653) (2.10)
7. Uncle Walter’s Tune melodeon (1.18)
8. Two Lovely Black Eyes (Roud 13631) (2.26)
9. Alice Grey (Roud 13755) (2.10)
10. Rosin-a-Beau (Roud 1192; G/D 3:698; Henry H698) (4.06)
11. Not for Joseph, Not for Joe (Roud 13681) (0.19)
12. The Old Armchair (Roud 1195; G/D 3:705) (3.17)
13. The Marble Arch (Roud 13635) (3.42)
14. Wake Up Johnny (Roud 13646) / When the Cock begins to Crow (Roud 12895) / Saving Them All for Mary (Roud 15130) / Down by the Old Abbey Ruins (Roud 13629) (fragments) (1.39)
15. The Mistletoe Bough (Roud 2336) (3.08)
16. On a See-Saw melodeon (1.17)
17. Your Faithful Sailor Boy (Roud 376; Laws K13; G/D 1:66; Henry H543) (3.24)
18. Here’s to the Grog (Roud 475; G/D 3:580) (2.34)
19. Nancy Lee (Roud 5014) (3.13)
20. Up the Chimney Pot (Roud 240) / Slave Driving Farmers (Roud 13645) / Bound to Emigrate to New Zealand (Roud 13637) (fragments) (2.04)
21. Husband Taming (Roud 13627) (5.04)
22. Uncle Walter’s March melodeon (1.18)
23. If I Ever Get Drunk Again (Roud 15131) (3.45)
24. Naughty Jemima Brown (Roud 1776) (5.03)
25. The Dandy Man (Roud 15129) (4.40)
26. For Me, For Me (Roud 5393) (2.56)
27. While Shepherds Watched (Roud 936) (2.23)