Help finding music/chords for Bellamy Tunes

[YankeeConcertina]

Hi all, concertina newbie here.  listening to Peter Bellamy inspired me to pick up my own 20 button anglo.  I've found quite a bit of wonderful material for beginners mostly from Gary Coover.  (I'm an American Civil War reenactor so his Civil War Concertina book has been invaluable)

 

The reason I'm posting is I would love to find music or at least chords for the Bellamy songs I've fallen in love with.  Mostly the ones from his Barrack Room Ballads album (But I love just about all of his work).  At the very least I'd like to find suitible chords as I mostly just use the concertina to accompany myself while I sing anyway.

 

So far online I've had just about zero luck finding anything.

 

Any help is greatly appreciated.  Very excited to have started this instrument! 

[Roger Hare]

2 hours ago, YankeeConcertina said:

Hi all, concertina newbie here.  listening to Peter Bellamy inspired me to pick up my own 20 button anglo.  I've found quite a bit of wonderful material for beginners mostly from Gary Coover.  (I'm an American Civil War reenactor so his Civil War Concertina book has been invaluable)

 

The reason I'm posting is I would love to find music or at least chords for the Bellamy songs I've fallen in love with.  Mostly the ones from his Barrack Room Ballads album (But I love just about all of his work).  At the very least I'd like to find suitible chords as I mostly just use the concertina to accompany myself while I sing anyway.

 

So far online I've had just about zero luck finding anything.

 

 I too am an admirer of PB - I was never lucky enough to see him live - it must have been a fabulous experience.

 

I have only found one of the songs he did on his LPs in ABC format. I think the problem is that the Kipling estate

still retain copyright on Kipling's material, and many of the tunes written for the songs are also still copyright, so

they simply don't appear in the internet ABC repositories.

 

Look in your PM box, I'll send you the one tune/song I have found (though I can't remember where I found it)...

 

Some of the songs are quite easy to work out (they must be if I can do it!!!). I have got 'The Way Through the

Woods', 'Rolling Down to Rio', 'Back to the Army Again', and 'The Run of the Downs' more or less knocked off, and

all on a 20-button too, though I haven't written them down. Maybe I should try writing them down in ABC format...

 

Some of the early LPs have true traditional songs for which you probably can find ABC - 'The Nightingale' and

'German Musicianer' spring to mind...

 

 

Edited June 13, 2018 by lachenal74693

[gcoover]

Yes, Peter Bellamy was an awesome live performer - none of his recordings do him justice. The power and the energy were something to behold. Also wouldn't be surprised if he went through at least one new bellows every year! Yet, he was always lamenting the fact he never had many gigs in England. Too opinionated? Too right wing? Too manic depressive sometimes? Regardless, sad to have lost him. I don't think anyone has ever posted any of this songs with chords.

 

Assuming you can figure out what the chords are, or try some serious trial and error, here are some chord charts that might help for the 20-button Anglo. You're pretty limited, but you don't always need to play every note of every chord. Open fifths often work much better. Hope this helps!

 

Gary

56-Anglo-123-LHS-20-Chords.pdf

[Roger Hare]

1 hour ago, gcoover said:

...I don't think anyone has ever posted any of this songs with chords...

 

They have now - a cleaned-up concatenation of two very old posts on Mudcat. Chords

generated automagically by EasyABC:

 

%%MIDI program 23 % (standard instrument value - 1) - forces Tango Accordion

X:1
T:Oak and Ash and Thorn
%Peter Bellamys tune (cleaned-up a little), and Rudyard Kiplings words concatenated from two very old posts on Mudcat.
%Chords generated automagically by EasyABC.
C:Tune:Peter Bellamy
C:Words:Rudyard Kipling

M:6/8
L:1/8

Q:1/4=120
K:D
 "F#m" F | "Bm" B,2 C D2 E | "D" F2 D E2 F | "Bm" B2 BABA | "F#m" F6 |
 "Bm" BBc d2 c | "Bm" BAB F2 D | "Em" E2 D E2 D | "Bm" B,3- B,2 F |
 "Bm" B,2 C D2 E | "F#m" F6 | "Bm" BBB ABA | "F#m" F6 |
 "Bm" BBc d2 c | "Bm" BAB F2 D | "Em" E2 D E2 D | "Bm" B,5 ||
W:
W: Of all the trees that grow so fair,
W:    Old England to adorn,
W:Greater are none beneath the Sun,
W:    Than Oak, and Ash, and Thorn.
W:Sing Oak, and Ash, and Thorn, good Sirs
W:    (All of a Midsummer's morn)!
W:Surely we sing of no little thing,
W:    In Oak, and Ash, and Thorn!
W:
W:Oak of the Clay lived many a day,
W:    Or ever Æneas began;
W:Ash of the Loam was a lady at home,
W:    When Brut was an outlaw man;
W:And Thorn of the Down saw New Troy Town
W:    (From which was London born);
W:Witness hereby the ancientry
W:    Of Oak, and Ash, and Thorn!
W:
W:Yew that is old in churchyard mould,
W:    He breedeth a mighty bow;
W:Alder for shoes do wise men choose,
W:    And beech for cups also.
W:But when ye have killed, and your bowl it is spilled,
W:    And your shoes are clean outworn,
W:Back ye must speed for all that ye need,
W:    To Oak, and Ash, and Thorn!
W:
W:Ellum she hateth mankind, and waiteth
W:    Till every gust be laid,
W:To drop a limb on the head of him,
W:    That anyway trusts her shade:
W:But whether a lad be sober or sad,
W:    Or mellow with ale from the horn,
W:He will take no wrong when he lieth along
W:    'Neath Oak, and Ash, and Thorn!
W:
W:Oh, do not tell the Priest our plight,
W:    Or he would call it a sin;
W:But—we have been out in the woods all night
W:    A-conjuring Summer in!
W:And we bring you good news by word of mouth—
W:    Good news for cattle and corn—
W:Now is the Sun come up from the South,
W:    With Oak, and Ash, and Thorn!
W:
W:Sing Oak, and Ash, and Thorn, good Sirs
W:    (All of a Midsummer's morn)!
W:England shall bide till Judgment Tide,
W:    By Oak, and Ash, and Thorn! 

 

It probably needs a bit of 'cleaning-up'.

Edited June 13, 2018 by lachenal74693

[Lofty]

4 hours ago, lachenal74693 said:

 

 I too am an admirer of PB - I was never lucky enough to see him live - it must have been a fabulous experience.

 

I have only found one of the songs he did on his LPs in ABC format. I think the problem is that the Kipling estate

still retain copyright on Kipling's material, and many of the tunes written for the songs are also still copyright, so

they simply don't appear in the internet ABC repositories.

 

Look in your PM box, I'll send you the one tune/song I have found (though I can't remember where I found it)...

 

Some of the songs are quite easy to work out (they must be if I can do it!!!). I have got 'The Way Through the

Woods', 'Rolling Down to Rio', 'Back to the Army Again', and 'The Run of the Downs' more or less knocked off, and

all on a 20-button too, though I haven't written them down. Maybe I should try writing them down in ABC format...

 

Some of the early LPs have true traditional songs for which you probably can find ABC - 'The Nightingale' and

'German Musicianer' spring to mind...

 

 

I was lucky enough to see him live a few times.

Once, my wife and I arrived very early at the pub where he was performing and he was in the bar. We had a long chat and played darts before his performance.

He was amazing live, although he didn’t do well enough to make me change from English to Anglo...

 

Steve