Graham Irwin: my music; folk songs - traditional and contemporary

I guess all songs is folk songs. Leastwise, I ain’t never heard no horse sing ’em. Big Bill Broonzy

I am producing booklets with the words, melody lines and chords for some of the songs I have recorded, and some I have not (?yet) recorded. Here is the first: Songbook 1.

I have also developed a simple script to aid transposing chord sequences for songs and tunes. You can try it here.

See what ChatGPT has to say about British folk music.

Graham Irwin: My music

Here is a selection of videos of some of my music (latest additions first). My musical taste is mostly, but not exclusively, British and Irish folk, both traditional and contemporary. I have taken inspiration from Steeleye Span, John Kirkpatrick, Ian Campbell, John Conolly, Shirley Collins, The Albion Band, Fairport Convention, Strawhead, Martin Carthy and many others. I shall be adding a new video each week.

More recently I have been creating music tracks for meditation, relaxation, massage, yoga and therapy, as well as creating electronic pieces. These are included here, too.

Cam Ye O'er Frae France - A witty and sharply satirical Jacobite song ridiculing King George I. (2:13) : Watch on YouTube

Tom Bowling - A synth version of a tune by Charles Dibdin. (3:18) : Watch on YouTube

Linden Lea - A Dorset folk song; words by William Barnes, music by Ralph Vaughan Williams. (2:10) : Watch on YouTube

Polly On The Shore - A ballad about a young man who was pressed to join the navy only to be killed in his first encounter with the enemy. (3:00) : Watch on YouTube

Matt Hyland - A traditional Irish song of parents disapproval of their daughter's choice of suitor. (3:57) : Watch on YouTube

The Postman's Knock - A Morris song-dance from the Adderbury, Oxfordshire tradition. (1:55) : Watch on YouTube

Matty Groves - A popular ballad from northern England dating from at least 1607 when it was published by Henry Gosson. (4:36)

I Love Little Pussy - A little nursery rhyme sung in the style of Pink and Perky. (1:29)

The Nutting Girl - A traditional song of seduction. (3:09) : Watch on YouTube

The Dalesman's Litany - Words by Frederic William Moorman (1872-1919), tune by Dave Keddie in the 1960s. (4:38) : Watch on YouTube

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You can also view these videos on my Youtube channel.

And I'm on Bandcamp

Coming soon...

Forced To Be Contented - Words from the Harkness Ballad Collection; the tune is understood to be by Ron Flanagan c. 1973.

The Burial Of Sir John Moore After Corunna - A poem by Rev Charles Wolfe (1791-1823) in 1816 as a eulogy to Sir John Moore set to music by Strawhead to a variation of the tune for 'Tom Bowling' written by Charles Dibdin (1745–1814).

Ye Jacobites By Name - Originally written an anti-Jacobite song, this was substantially rewritten by Robert Burns to be more of a general anti-war song.