The First Of May

chestnut

Get Flash to see this player.

Description

This traditional English song is from my home area of East Anglia and is part of the annual celebrations to welcome in the month of May. The customs (there are many variations) are hundreds of years old and never quite died out despite the best efforts of various authorities.

The podcast page on my website has more about the tradition.

Leave a Comment

You must be registered and logged-in to comment.

Lyrics

Traditional English

Song Stats

Hits: 406
Comments: 14
Fans: 6
Plays: 28
Downloads: 0
Votes:
Uploaded: Apr 30, 2009 - 05:15:48 PM
Last Updated: May 10, 2009 - 04:52:45 PM Last Played: Nov 08, 2009 - 11:12:06 AM

Song License

Creative Commons License:
Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial

Song Actions

Hardware:

Wheatstone English concertina,Martin M38 guitar, Bodhran

Software:

GarageBand

Comments

Feter	Feter said 205 days ago (April 30th, 2009)
	The First Of May How awesome ....so authentic ...great great arrangement ..how cute this concertina ...a true treasure you shared here my friend ...Kudos ... thnx alor for sharin !!!! Check out my latest song called A Night With Feter feat'(Roxylee sloparts crissew johnwhitehead and Yamin AL Yamani )

chestnut	chestnut said 205 days ago (May 1st, 2009)
	First of May Thanks a lot, Feter, for your comments and for the help in deleting the double-posting! Ken Check out my latest song called The Fair

johnwhitehead	johnwhitehead said 205 days ago (April 30th, 2009)
	May pole Love the earthy folkie feel. Very tuneful. Thanks for sharing this. Check out my latest song called I'm Pluggin' In

chestnut	chestnut said 205 days ago (May 1st, 2009)
	First of May Many thanks, John. Earthy is an excellent word for the feel of the song! Ken Check out my latest song called The Fair

Komrade K	Komrade K said 205 days ago (May 1st, 2009)
	Fine performance There were morris dancers dancing on the beach here at 5am (I didn't go to watch however!) Nicely performed - liked the canine harmony vox! KK Check out my latest song called Ye Mariners All

chestnut

chestnut said 204 days ago (May 1st, 2009)

First of May
Thanks indeed, Komrade. It was fun making the recording, especially getting the timing just a bit out now and then so that it sounds like a real open air sing with people who haven't played together since the year before! (My own experience of May morning!) The hounds invited themselves. There's nothing doing in this part of Shropshire as far as dancing at dawn's concerned. I'd love to have seen the morris on the beach.
Ken

Check out my latest song called The Fair

Moviz

Moviz said 204 days ago (May 2nd, 2009)

I have
a special liking for the month of May since my birthday is in that month. I love the traditional oldie world style of this and your performance too a real May 'opener' LOL. A Long long time since I saw a maypole though and I think we should keep these traditions alive here in the UK. regards M ('M' being for Maurice not 'Morris ' LOL)

Check out my latest song called A Soldiers Dream (Remix/record)

chestnut	chestnut said 203 days ago (May 2nd, 2009)
	First of May I'm glad you like the song and the singing, M! Thanks so much for the comments. I enjoyed the bio on your profile page just now! I'll have a listen to your music when the visitors go home on Monday! Ken Check out my latest song called The Fair

Roxylee	Roxylee said 203 days ago (May 3rd, 2009)
	Everyone is celebrating- even the dog. What a happy little tune! I think it's so cool to have a traditional song written for the area you live in. I really enjoyed this.:-) Check out my latest song called Sweet Grace

chestnut

chestnut said 202 days ago (May 3rd, 2009)

First of May
I have several versions of the words in some of my folklore books dating back a couple of hundred years. Most of them are 'visiting songs' and include verses asking for ale, food or money in return for their blessing on the house. An early sort of insurance policy!

It's strange that even now after all the centuries those songs and customs have generally stayed in or near the villages where they originated. If there ever was an original writer their name will never be known. It's different now that MacJams is here!

Many thanks and many blessings, Roxy!
Ken

Check out my latest song called The Fair

Livingstone	Livingstone said 198 days ago (May 7th, 2009)
	LOVE the concertina!! something I always loved to hear.. it has such a shanty town seaside soul sound!! great version of a classic!1 thanx for this!! Check out my latest song called Satisfied eric sardinas/harry manx mishmash

chestnut	chestnut said 198 days ago (May 7th, 2009)
	First of May Thanks indeed for your words, Scott, it's good to know the sound's right! I'm only sorry that I had to sell the concertina to buy a guitar with a wider neck for my poor ol' fingers! They're great little instruments. Maybe I'll come across another one day...! Ken Check out my latest song called The Fair

Relic67	Relic67 said 195 days ago (May 10th, 2009)
	Applause What a great song. And the singing, guitar and concertina go together so well. A really wonderful post! Check out my latest song called Novis Libris

chestnut	chestnut said 195 days ago (May 11th, 2009)
	First of May I'm pleased you like it. A real fiddle would have gone well in there too! Your style is the kind I particularly like: not flashy, but earthy and with a good rhythm. Many thanks, R. Ken Check out my latest song called The Fair