FTX-046 - BALLADS OF BAWLENGRO -2-

FRED ROOKE'S GYPSY SONGS

Born in Norfolk in 1935, Fred is a farm-worker with an ability to make songs mainly about the countryside, and especially Romany gypsies. This has come about, first through his contact with them, while working on farms, but then later by reading up the scant literature he could find.

1. THE PILGRIMS (talk beforehand) - 3'28"

2. THE HOOKY PIN (talk bef about Charles Leland) - 3'29"

3. JOBIE LEE (talk about Gordon Boswell) - 1'40"

4. THE HOLLY AND THE IVY SONG (talk about folklore legends) - 3'45"

5. BIRTH OF THE FIDDLE (talk before mentioning "Binorie") - 2'55"

6. CREATION OF MAN (talk about an unusual creation origin) - 2'09"

7. LO LAMKIN (talk before mentioning "False Lamkin") - 4'42"

8. LOVERIN LOVELL (talk about Francis Hindes Groom) - 3'56"

9. SAMMY (talk before about "the devil") - 2'16"

10.NEVER KILL THE BEES (talk bef about children's rhyme) - 1'00"

11. JACK AND THE SHEEP (talk before about Sampson and Welsh harpist) - 3'09"

12. JACK GOES TO BED (talk bef about continuation of original story) - 2'29"

13. JACK IN THE SACK (talk before about continuation of sstory) - 3'42"

14. 'APPY BOS'ELL'S LURCHER (talk before about truth and lying tales) - 2'33"

15. UNCLE WALLACE (talk about origin of song from Gordon Boswell) - 2'51"

16. LINEY SILK'S COCKFIGHT (talk before about another Boswell tale) - 2'39"

17. WHAT ARE THE WORMS FOR? (talk before about George Borrow) - 1'43"

18. MERCHANT'S DAUGHTER AND THE RING (t/b: Bulgarian origin) - 4'16"

19. MERCHANT'S DAUGHTER AND THE ROBBERS (tb: continuation) - 4'23"

20. THE MAN IN THE MOON (talk about magic property of the moon) - 1'49"

Recorded by Peter Kennedy and Chris Hardwidge, October 1974. Edited by Peter Kennedy and first published by Folktrax Cassettes 1975.

Fred's first recording, FTX-044, featured his early Norfolk "dialect songs" about many different aspects of country life. His first album of gypsy ballads is on FTX-045.