Bus Pass Buskers' arrangement of "Lord Franklin"(also known as "Lady Franklin's Lament"  and "The Sailor's Dream") is a traditional folk ballad indexed by George Malcolm Laws (Roud 487) (Laws K9).[1] The song recounts the story of a sailor who dreams about Lady Franklin speaking of the loss of her husband, Lord John Franklin, who disappeared in Baffin Bay during his 1845 expedition through the Arctic Ocean in search of the Northwest Passage sea route to the Pacific ocean. The song first appeared as a broadside ballad around 1850 and has since been recorded with the melody of the Irish traditional air "Cailín Óg a Stór" by numerous artists

Lord Franklin

Our take on another lovely traditional track, about which mudcat.org offers the following information - "Often attributed to the McPeake family, but the origin of this song is uncertain. Peter Kennedy (folktrax-archive.org) says the words were written by Edith Wheeler and set to a Munster air".
lyrics
MY SINGING BIRD 

I have seen the lark soar high at morn 
Heard his song up in the blue 
I have heard the blackbird pipe his note 
The thrush and the linnet too 
But there's none of them can sing so sweet, 
My singing bird, as you 
Ah ah ah 
My singing bird, as you 

If I could lure my singing bird 
From his own cosy nest 
If I could catch my singing bird 
I would warm him at my breast 
For there's none of them can sing so sweet 
My singing bird as you 
Ah ah ah 
My singing bird, as you 

Ah then I will climb a high, high tree 
And I'll rob that wild bird's nest 
Aye, and I'll bring back that singing bird 
To the arms that I love best 
For there's none of them can sing so sweet 
My singing bird as you 
No, not one of them can sing so sweet 
My singing bird as you

My Singing  Bird

Traditional song extracted from a live home recording - Dougie Mathieson - Keyboards, Mags Macfarlane - Vocals 

She  Moves  Through  The  Fair

50 Ways To Leave Your Lover

Cover version made for practice purposes only

Go Your Own Way

Back in August, the photo of a young boy - Omran Daqneesh - covered in blood and dust, symbolised the hopelessness and despair of the countless thousands of people killed, maimed and displaced from their homes by the brutal conflict in Syria, where superpowers play their games of power and control, regardless of consequences.

Over the following days and weeks, Mags and I, during our regular musical rehearsals, recorded a series of improvised pieces, in part reflecting our reaction to that image, but also mindful of subsequemt events, such as the possibility of an extreme right-wing xenophobic administration taking control of the USA, and, more recently, the razing of the "Jungle" refugee camp in Calais.

As we approach the darkest days of the northern hemisphere Winter, let us remember those who are unable to celebrate Christmas, who will spend the festive season in tents, and who will not be flocking to well-stocked shops in search of gifts for friends and loved ones. We can, however, give the gifts of understanding, of compassion and of support...

Omran Sketch #3 Through the Darkness

Omran Sketch#1 Permission to Grieve

Omran Sketch #5 Hope

Omran #2 Comfort in your Touch

Omran Sketch#4 Call from the Shore

This is a Child ballad from Aberdeenshire. It alludes to the feud between the Gordon and Huntly families. The Gordon family take their revenge by hiring one Wullie MacKintosh to burn the Huntly's land at Auchindoon.

Mags Macfarlane

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