Handed Down

Dec 22 2023 39 ep. 22 mins 17

Handed Down Podcast artwork

Handed Down celebrates traditional songs and the people who sing them. The show is presented by Jenny Shaw, an amateur musician and professional writer. Each episode is full of music, tales and curiosities as we delve into the history a single song, often with the help of a fellow folk musician, to uncover the strange stories and colourful characters that lie beneath.

These are the songs that have been handed down from our ancestors. This podcast and the people involved in it help keep them alive so that we can hand them down in turn to future generations.

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The Cherry Tree Carol - Biblical Fanfic

Dec 22 2023 18 mins

When a Christmas carol is also a folk ballad you know it's not going to be the usual angels/shepherds/kings extravaganza. This one doesn't disappoint, with a lovely garden, a jealous Joseph and a fruit-related miracle.But, as ever, all is not as it seems. Continuing the theme of weird Christianity from last month's episode, we get to explore medieval mystery plays and alternative g

Lyke Wake Dirge - Dream Visions and Necrodestinations

Nov 25 2023 30 mins

This unusual song was a feature of the 60s and 70s folk revival - a real show stopper and something of a curiosity. But underneath it lies a thousand years of European folklore, and a further thousand years of vivid theology.So, my friends, we're going on a metaphysical journey to the underworld. Have you been charitable in your life? Did you give a cow to the poor, or 'hosen and s

The Rosebud in June – Seduced By A Rural Idyll

Jul 02 2023 20 mins

The sheep are all sheared and we’re dancing and drinking in the warm June sun. We’re transported back to simpler and more innocent times with more than a whiff of nostalgia for the loss of our connection to the land. And yet nothing is ever quite as straightforward as it seems, and this song is no exception. While delving into its theatrical past I once again get into that most

Staines Morris - Then to the Maypole Haste Away!

Apr 30 2023 6 mins

It's the first of May and we have a May Mini episode about the song Staines Morris, also known as the Maypole Dance. But did you know it started life in a puritan era farce? It was a joy to find out more about one of my favourite songs, and I hope you'll like it as much as I do.Thanks as always go to Mudcat Cafe and Mainly Norfolk websites without which I hardly know where I would

Banks of the Sweet Primroses - A False Young Man

Mar 30 2023 22 mins

A chance meeting in a meadow, a false young man and a philosophical ending… it’s that folk favourite the Banks of the Sweet Primroses, beloved of collectors and Broadside publishers alike. In fact it’s part of the history of so many folk song collectors that we’ve taken the opportunity to follow one of them on their collecting expedition.But what really happened in that mea

The Wexford Carol - Old Singing Traditions

Dec 22 2022 13 mins

The Wexford Carol - also known as the Enniscorthy Carol - is said to be one of Europe's most ancient Christmas songs, but the truth is even more interesting. In this festive episode I take a look at the singing traditions that produced this lovely song, and put out a little theory of my own.Thank you for following the podcast during 2022, I'll keep making episodes while people keep

Willy O' Winsbury - The Princess and Johnny Foreigner

Nov 03 2022 19 mins

You don't find many traditional songs where the woman becomes pregnant out of wedlock and yet it all turns our wonderfully. But then Willy O' Winsbury is not your run of the mill folk song. King’s daughter Janet knew what she wanted… and it seems that her father wanted it too. Once he’d established that Willy wasn’t too foreign that is. He especially noticed his blond hair

The Keeper with Andrew Burn

Oct 13 2022 39 mins

Many of us know The Keeper as a slightly odd - but fun - song from our school days. All together now:JACKIE BOY!MASTER!No need to shout! reprimands a weary teacher.But away from the sanitised and bowdlerised versions of our childhoods lurks a dark song of sexual pursuit. You didn’t really think all those does were female deer, did you?We talk about Camus, the band Andrew has been

Handed Down Live at St Nicholas Church, Gloucester

Sep 15 2022 38 mins

Our first ever live show was recorded on 4th September 2022 as part of the Folk at the Folk Festival. This is a field recording of an acoustic show in a beautiful but very echoey space with the bells of Gloucester Cathedral occasionally in the background, so the audio is a little different from usual.Features the following:Sainte Nicholas by Godric of Finchale (12th Century)Account

Shrewsbury Shorts #8 Jo Garvin

Sep 03 2022 4 mins

Sitting in a quiet(ish!) part of the site, near the river, Jo tells us why The Castle of Dromore is so special to her and her daughter.