Most of the songs I sing are traditional but I like to include a few by contemporary songwriters. The ones I choose to sing are those which sit comfortably alongside the traditional material and which would easily slip into the oral tradition...if we still had an oral tradition.
Cyril Tawney wrote this song and it certainly fits the criteria above as far as I’m concerned. Cyril had a great voice and was one of the foremost singers who drove the folk revival which got underway in the 1950’s. He was very influential on the expanding 50’s and 60’s folk scene, especially in the South West and in later years he became a respected elder statesman.
Cyril had a deep interest in traditional song and a very extensive repertoire and this enabled him to write songs which sounded almost traditional, even though you knew that they weren’t. Many of his best known songs reflect his experiences during his service in the Royal Navy but this one is about the tedious treadmill of life back in Civvy Street. It will ring true with many people.
Sadly Cyril is no longer with us but I believe we’ll be singing his songs for many years to come... a true legend.
Cyril Tawney wrote this song and it certainly fits the criteria above as far as I’m concerned. Cyril had a great voice and was one of the foremost singers who drove the folk revival which got underway in the 1950’s. He was very influential on the expanding 50’s and 60’s folk scene, especially in the South West and in later years he became a respected elder statesman.
Cyril had a deep interest in traditional song and a very extensive repertoire and this enabled him to write songs which sounded almost traditional, even though you knew that they weren’t. Many of his best known songs reflect his experiences during his service in the Royal Navy but this one is about the tedious treadmill of life back in Civvy Street. It will ring true with many people.
Sadly Cyril is no longer with us but I believe we’ll be singing his songs for many years to come... a true legend.