The Old Songs Podcast explores the stories behind traditional songs – where they came from, who sang them, how they've changed and where they're going.
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11/11/2021
Some of you may have noticed that the Old Songs Podcast episodes are gradually making their way onto streaming services like Spotify and Apple. Click follow and get involved. More news to follow...
Listen to The Old Songs Podcast on Spotify. The Old Songs Podcast explores old songs – traditional, industrial, street ballads – one at a time. Learn where they came from, where they've been, who sung them and who sings them still. Most of the series is available on Mixcloud. Presented by tradit...
24/04/2021
The Old Songs Podcast WILL return in the not-too-distant future. In the meantime, I've just published a blogpost exploring the song 'John Riley', where it comes from, who else has recorded it, why it had significance to Cecil Sharp. You can find the post on the link below. I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks! jonwilks.online/john-riley
John Riley is a common title in the traditional folk song cannon. In this article, we take a look at who he is and where he came from.
03/04/2021
Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne chats to Jon Wilks about rakes, misfits, old Birmingham songs and his love for traditional music.
Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne discusses his new album, Rakes & Misfits, with fellow singer of traditional Birmingham songs, Jon Wilks.
Definitely too late for Christmas, but here's Jon Wilks modelling a t-shirt fit for middle-aged men of a similar geeky persuasion. You can get it for their birthdays via his website (link below). There are versions for geeky women, too. https://jonwilks.online/merchandise
13/12/2020
If you're looking for a last-minute Christmas present, we have Old Songs Podcast t-shorts for men and women on the Dizzy Jam website. Stylish, and a wonderful way to help us spread the word. Go to it! You'll find it at this link: https://jonwilks.dizzyjam.com/
29/10/2020
Episode 13 of The Old Songs Podcast – 'The Cruel Mother', ft Rosie Hood. Guaranteed chills. Not one for late nights in old houses.
Rosie Hood and Jon Wilks discuss 'The Cruel Mother', a traditional song that surely continues to have relevance in these modern times.
19/09/2020
It has been a while between episodes, but the latest is up. Here's Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne and Jon Wilks discussing "Banks Of Green Willow". Strap on your ear goggles and get to it!
Episode 12 opens with the earliest known recording of this week’s song, The Banks of Green Willow [Roud 172]. It’s the sound of David Clements, singing in either 1906 or 1909, recorded on wax cylinder by either Charles Gamblin and George Gardiner, or the legendary composer, Ralph Vaughan William...
30/08/2020
Today we're recording a new episode of with the brilliant singer and box player, Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne. This is not a picture of Cohen, obviously. It's a picture of one of the song's source singers. Anyone out there who can name the singer and guess the song?
17/08/2020
I was very kindly invited to talk like an absolute geek on this podcast, out now. Apparently I've talked so much that they're going to put out a special extra bit of talking later in the week. I hope I've said useful things.
We pick up the conversation about Geordie with writer, musician and self-confessed traditional music geek Jon Wilks (https://jonwilks.online/). Then we discuss our takes on this desperate tale of one
16/08/2020
This. Tomorrow. Get involved!
11/08/2020
I've been researching a song for a thing, and it led me back to this interview I did with Martin Carthy two years ago. I rarely read interviews back once they're published, but this is really quite something. Covered a lot of ground.
"You have to know what the song means to you, otherwise why are you singing it?" On the day of his debut album release, Jon Wilks sat down with Piers Cawley to discuss the wonderful, somewhat daring world of unaccompanied ballad singing. Interview here...
"You have to know what the song means to you, otherwise why are you singing it?" Piers Cawley discusses the daring world of unaccompanied ballad singing.
Hey OSPers! The latest episode of is now live, featuring Burd Ellen chatting to Jon Wilks about the vast and almost unfathomable ballad, "Lord Gregory". Have a listen on the link below and share with all your besties!
This episode's song is Lord Gregory, and my guest this week is Debbie Armour, one half of the Scottish drone folk outfit, Burd Ellen. Of course, Lord Gregory has its numbers. Roud 49 (we’ve spoken a lot about what a Roud number is in previous episodes), and Child 76. Possibly. I’ll let Debbie ex...
12/07/2020
Prepping for the next Old Songs Podcast episode...
03/07/2020
At the end of nearly every episode of The Old Songs Podcast, the interviewee records an accompanied version of the song we've been discussing. Today, the brilliant Iona Fyfe has released a 6-track EP of songs sung in exactly that style – unaccompanied and beautiful. Perfect for fans of traditional songs completely unadorned. Get stuck in!
It's been 6 months since was launched. You can listen to all 10 episodes on the page linked below, but here's a thread looking at each one so far. How many have you managed to listen to? Any 10/10 listeners out there?
Episode 1 was recorded with Nick Hart back in December, 2019. Mince pies were present. Jon & Nick chatted about "Lofty Tall Ship" and properly geeked out over their mutual hero, Sam Larner. Listen back here...
Episode 2 saw the first appearance of Jim Moray, who dropped by to chat about all things "Tam Lin", and gave everybody a bit of a masterclass in the process. A classic episode. Yours to listen to here...
For episode 3, Jon Wilks went down to Brighton to catch up with Ben Walker - Musician. Ben told us all about "On Humber Bank" and its relation to several other old songs, often found miles from the Humber. Such is the way with the old songs.
In episode 4, we chatted with Jackie Oates and got stuck into the deceptively charming "Sweet Nightingale", a gorgeous but suggestive song from the West Country. Have a go on that here...
Episode 5 saw Paul Sartin discussing one of his personal favourites, a Hampshire song most commonly known as "An Acre of Land". Hear what he had to say here...
In what was initially a special for subscribers (but now available to everyone), Jon Wilks took us on a very brief journey to The Black Country, to explore a song collected by "One Man And His Dog" presenter, Phil Drabble.
In Episode 6 of , Jon Wilks chatted to the legendary Billy Bragg about a song they've both recorded, The Copper Family's "Hard Times Of Old England". Jim Moray also popped in to help on the music side of things. Listen to that here.
Episode 7 of saw the return of Nick Hart, and the second episode recorded in lockdown. Jon and Nick chatted about "Dives & Lazarus", with exquisite music from the likes of Martin Simpson. Have a listen here...
Episode 8 was all about the month of May, and who better to discuss that with than Lisa Knapp Music? Lisa and Jon took on "Hal an Tow", and delved into much of Lisa's "May Garland" album. A history buff's delight. Listen back on this link.
In episode 9 of , Jon Wilks caught up with Cynefin to begin learning about the history of Welsh traditional songs. Still so much to uncover, but the first lesson starts here...
The most recent episode, number 10, is the longest. Once again, Jim Moray returns, this time to follow the twists and turns of "Leaving Of Liverpool", a song with a fascinating past. Have a listen here...
The Old Songs Podcast is on Mixcloud. Listen for free to their radio shows, DJ mix sets and Podcasts
21/06/2020
The 10th episode of is up and out. This week, it's all about "The Leaving Of Liverpool", in the company of Jim Moray, and it's EPIC! Perfect for a lazy Sunday evening's listening. Get stuck in!
OK then. This one's an epic. In this episode, Jim Moray and Jon Wilks discuss the traditional song, "The Leaving Of Liverpool" [Roud 9435], where it came from, and the fascinating journey it went on to become one of the best-known songs in the cannon. Along the way they touch on the history of sea s...
20/06/2020
Regarding subscriptions to the Old Songs Podcast... It's now entirely free. Anyone who wants to support Jon in creating it can join his new Bandcamp subscription, which was opened this morning and we're really quite excited about. Check it out here.
Hi all. Some of you may have received emails saying something about the Old Songs Podcast no longer being a Mixcloud account. I want to assure you that this is not the case. There has been some confusion regarding subscribers and payments, but the next episode is on its way.
22/05/2020
Here's a beautiful piece of writing on "folk memory", put together by David Abbott at Seasons Round Presents. The more I read of David's stuff, the more I like it. I can't say I subscribe to the "folk memory" theory – I've not given it much thought, really – but expression is lovely. Well worth a read if you're interested in folk songs and their journey down the generations.
Folk memory is the idea that immaterial things, such as songs, can be passed between generations. Resonance down the years. I experienced it myself the first time I heard Shirley Collins sing 'The False Bride'.
18/05/2020
Hope you're enjoying . Remember that, although it's free, you can support it for as little as £2.99 per month. Doing so ensures that we can maintain the quality and pay the royalties on the songs we include. Click below to subscribe!
Episode 9 of is up! A perfect Sunday listen discussing the folk bards, storytellers, altered states, clashing religions and black spots of Welsh traditional music. Join Cynefin and Jon Wilks for a fascinating journey, featuring the music of Lleuwen Steffan, 9Bach, Osian Ellis and Ar Log.
When I started the Old Songs Podcast, I knew very quickly that I wanted to find someone who could come and talk in depth and with passion and enthusiasm about Welsh traditional songs. When a Twitter friend of mine, Rob Kingsbury-Barker, recommended Cynefin earlier this year, I dropped the artist, Ow...
16/05/2020
“Every song has an address”, and this week’s song lives in Ceredigion. Episode 9 takes in “Myn Mair”, and an exploration of Welsh traditional music. Huge thanks to Cynefin for being our guide, and for introducing us to the likes of Lleuwen Steffan. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much we enjoyed making it.
An introduction to Welsh traditional music, recorded in the company of Owen Shiers of Cynefin, focusing on the traditional song, Myn Mair.
07/05/2020
For those of you that use Spotify, the Old Songs Playlist is now up-to-date, so you can have a listen to (almost) every track we've included in the show so far. Have a listen here, and follow along!
Busy morning. We were up, long before the day-o. To celebrate May Day, we did an with Lisa Knapp Music about Britain’s May traditions and the song, ‘Hal-An-Tow’. Everything you ever wanted to know about maypoles, Beltane & how Lisa made her amazing May album.
Busy morning. We were up, long before the day-o. To celebrate May Day, we did an Old Songs Podcast with Lisa Knapp about Britain’s May traditions and the song, ‘Hal-An-Tow’. Everything you ever wanted to know about maypoles, Beltane & how Lisa made her amazing May album.
28/04/2020
The Old Songs Podcast is entirely free to listen to and will remain so, but when people sign up as a supporter, the artists and the creator gets a little something extra. It's only £2.99 per month. If you feel you can help out, sign up here. Many thanks. https://www.mixcloud.com/TheOldSongsPodcast/select/
These are hard times, indeed. So we thought we'd investigate this rather fitting old song, which ends on a note of hope, and do so in the company of the legendary Billy Bragg. Wash your hands, get comfy, strap on your ear-goggles and let's get stuck in.
An Old Songs episode for our times. I had been meaning to record something on "Hard Times Of Old England" for some time, but hadn't had the time or contacts to do it justice. The coronavirus situation offered me time in abundance, and it just so happened that my ideal interviewee had some time spare...
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Introducing The Old Songs Podcast
Hopefully this news will please some of you – mainly those that were once fans of the Grizzly Folk blog that I used to publish. Having not done anything particularly journalistic or traditional folkish for a long time, and having been told multiple times by so many of you that I really ought to, I’ve decided I’m gonna.
However, it’s going to be a bit different this time. I’m going to podcast it rather than write it all out. And it’s going to have a very specific focus.
What’s this all about?
When I interviewed Steve Roud back in 2017, we talked about the idea that there’s no such thing as a folk singer, as “folk singers” (or source singers, as we might also know them) weren’t consciously singing folk songs. They were just singing songs they knew and loved. The concept of a traditional singer specialising in traditional songs came later.
That’s obviously a controversial opinion, and we won’t go into it here. However, one thing that struck me and really chimed with my own experience and enjoyment of traditional folk songs was the idea that the songs are more important than the singer. For a brief moment of time, the singer essentially looks after the traditional song. It has existed before them and will continue to exist after them. For that period, the song comes to stay with the singer and their audience, and then it’s off somewhere else.
Isn’t that lovely? The timelessness and egoless-ness of that concept is something I completely fell in love with, and I know many other singers of traditional song who feel exactly the same way.
Of course, the singer is still important. Their attraction to the song and their interpretation of the song is what allows it to reach larger audiences.
So, the idea for The Old Songs Podcast is to focus on the songs – where they came from, who originally sang them and where they might be heading – but to do so by interviewing some of the current crop of singers to try and get to the bottom of what makes each song special.
At the same time, I hope to introduce new audiences to the world of traditional music. I know through personal experience that it’s a vast and daunting mountain to be stood at the foot of, and if you’re new to it all, it can seem a bit too niche for comfort.
However, once you step into the traditional folk world, it’s incredibly welcoming and there’s so much to explore. With this podcast, I hope to help people take that first step.
Why ‘The Old Songs Podcast’?
One of the stories that most appealed to me when I was starting to read about the collectors of traditional songs came from George Gardiner, collecting in North Hampshire around 1906/07.
While the words “no money to give for old songs” resonated on a number of levels, I particularly liked the idea that “The Old Songs” were already old over 100 years ago, and even then people didn’t really have a good grasp of what “the old songs” might mean.
Hence, “The Old Songs Podcast”.
A little help required
The Old Songs Podcast will launch in January 2020 and it’ll be made free on as many digital channels as possible. In order to do it real justice, I will need to travel to the singers to interview them, and I want to improve the equipment I’ll be recording on. I will also have to pay to host the podcast.
So I’m setting up a Mixcloud Select page (see below). If you’re interested in supporting this idea, please consider supporting the podcast in this way. It costs £2.99 (you can choose to pay more if you like) and the artists featured get royalties properly paid.
If you’re perhaps involved with a record company or organisation that might be interested in sponsoring the podcast, drop me a line at [email protected] and we can have a chat.
To support this podcast, please head to the Mixcloud Select page. Please read the instructions regarding tiers, choose the one that suits you best, and I’ll be with you as soon as I’ve got something recorded.
Jon Wilks
