Does anyone write caving songs anymore?  I've re-written a few and here a cheerful one I like: called 'Caving' based on 'Sailing' by Mike Oldfield (see what I did there), lyrics below.  Original here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgpS6dQVHbg to put the lyrics & pace in context and hopefully probably make more sense. I can write, but can't sing or arrange - hopefully there's someone out there who can.


Must get down, I won't survive
Hate daylight towns, I need a hole
I'm Hunter'd and I'm wrecked
I need to cave free with no Crow control

Rig the ropes that way
From the bolt to the first belay
All Crow worries fears and stress
Are belayed and put away
'Cos I'm caving, abseiling
Yay, I'm abseiling, caving

A closed in space, it's pretty dire
Banging my light along a long low crawl
Cave has gone and oh so long
Note was left but MRO'll never call

Rig the ropes that way
From the bolt to the first belay
Mud and dark to play
And the draught is going that way
We'll go abseiling, caving

'Cos I'm caving, abseiling

Rig the rope that way
From the bolt to the first belay
There's no judge no hassle no Crows
And the draught is going that way

We'll go abseiling, caving
Yay, I'm abseiling, caving

You know that if you want to come
surely baby we can cave away
Rig the line
All out of time, cave with me baby

Caving, caving
Caving, caving

There is a book ...

I doubt it will ever catch on in the Hunters, but a good effort anyway.

THEY WORDS, THEY WORDS THEY 'ORRIBLE WORDS / An Anthology of caving Songs colleted and compiled by Nik Cornwell-Smith 1993  248 pp over 250 songs, many are really vulgar and offensive.  I must record these on a D for my fan club.

http://www.harmonieii.co.uk/caving/cavingsongs.html

Or for "only" ?50:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B007SF01SQ/ref=tmm_other_meta_binding_used_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=used&qid=&sr=

& more reasonably:
http://www.moorebooks.co.uk/-USED-The-Caving-Songs-of-Mendip.html

Alternatively, check out the rest of this website:
http://caveinspiredmusic.com/rubriques/world_music/pdf/Caving_Ballads_Great_Britain.pdf

Mike

Ken Dawe used to sing an alternative Cornish National Anthem.  The first line was:

"We will cross the Tamar hand in hand with pork swords at the ready"

Can anybody fill me in with the rest?

rhychydwr1 said:

Ken Dawe used to sing an alternative Cornish National Anthem.  The first line was:

"We will cross the Tamar hand in hand with pork swords at the ready"

Can anybody fill me in with the rest?

Click to expand...

You could ask Ken Dawe...
You might even get him to recount "The Boatswine" if you were lucky.

I did ask Ken Dawe, but denies all known of it.

Some one out there must remember the words?

I doubt it will ever catch on in the Hunters, but a good effort anyway.

Click to expand...

Thanks - I shall grow a beard now and dive into a vat of very rough cider and see what emerges...     

Another thought: what if I recorded a tune and then got my mobile phone out in the sacred bar and pressed play and .... 

Mike of MooreBooks has very kindly obliged me with a copy of some caving songs which is very much appreciated.

Across the pond here in Canada we have Dangerous Dick and the Duckbusters... http://www.cancaver.ca/music/TheBand.html

Excellent link - the songs are rather funny and it was sooo easy to send $25.00 to Canada via paypal for the CDs.

Bought myself a tenor ukulele last week to have a go at some of the old stuff.  Give it a year or ten and I might even be able to play it  :-\  In the meantime I reckon it'll be a good cat scarer.

3 CD's arrived from Canada this morning.  Absolutely awesome and highly recommended.
I still can't play though, perhaps I should grow a beard which may help 

ZombieCake said:

Does anyone write caving songs anymore? 

Click to expand...

Guess you didn't witness Rostam's talk at EuroSpeleo then!!! 
http://eurospeleo.uk/sessions/session.php?id=160

The British Caving Library has just acquired some copies of a book of caving songs produced by the late Bob Leakey. 

There is no actual title or date on the cover of the duplicated publication but the introduction says , "... These songs are issued for the enjoyment of potholers,  ...".  There are 17 songs in all and each song is printed opposite a hand-drawn page of music; all the tunes are well-known songs, such as the Skye Boat Song, She'll be comin' round the Mountain, The Lincolnshire Poacher, etc.

Some of the songs are credited to "B.S.A.", others have an author listed: e.g. Mossy Powell, E.J.Mason, George Butterworth, etc.  The introduction also thanks Tom Crossley for "... undertaking the tedious business of copying the music into stencils."

If anyone else has come across this and knows more about it, such as the date it was produced, we'd really like to know.

ZombieCake said:

3 CD's arrived from Canada this morning.  Absolutely awesome and highly recommended.
I still can't play though, perhaps I should grow a beard which may help 

Click to expand...

My copies arrived yesterday morning, two months after ordering. Well worth the wait from what I've listened to so far. Anyone who enjoys folk or country music will love them for the quality of performance alone; the caving theme just improves them.

Vin Garbutt, one of the funniest men you could ever meet but who would sing about topics that others would not dare talk about, never mixing or letting one interfere with the other, passed away a few days ago. Despite knowing much of Vin's work I did not know that he had written a Caver's Song. This song can be found on Youtube Vin Garbutt @ Fylde Festival 2010 and is his opening song, following a typical Vin introduction. A really good song and of particular interest to Mendip Cavers. 

Thanks Tripod for posting this. I too am a big fan of Vin's songs but had not heard this one before. A classic.

We sang and played a fair few of Vin's songs at my local folk club on Tuesday night.

A great loss the the folk scene.

Mark

Brilliant    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvOdXzNkdpU

Sorry I never met him,  looks like he was a great character and entertainer.