A series of articles in the Old Cornwall Journal between 1939 and 1942 carried recollections of the Red Herring / Herring Song. Stanley Pascoe recalled a version given to him by his grandfather, William Pascoe (1838 -1911) who was “born and bred” at St Mawes. Stanley Pascoe explained “there was something of a tune for the chorus only, but my grandfather was no musician”. (1)
Martha Woods (2) was commissioned to re-work the a song with a new tune for the 2024 Music of the Roseland Project
This song was premiered at a Cornish Troyl held at St Mawes in April 2024 to celebrate the traditional music of the Rosleand Peninsula.
Martha Woods re-working of the Herring Song based on the traditional lyrics with a newly composed melody.
Download:
Martha Woods’ Lyrics
Old Cornwall 1939 Vol. 3, No. 9, p.145
Old Cornwall 1941 Vol. 3, No 10, p.43
Old Cornwal 1942, Vol.3, No.11, p.470
Notes
- Baring Gould also collected versions of this song with different tunes from James Olver of Launceston and John Collins of Fowey see Vaughan Williams Memorial Library: https://www.vwml.org/record/SBG/3/4/11C. –
Inglis Gunry published an arrangement of James Olver’s version in Canow Kernow, (Federation - Martha Woods is a composer, songwriter multi-instrumentalist from Cornwall. Having grown up immersed in Cornish folk music and dance, she studied Folk and Traditional Music at Newcastle University with a year abroad at the University of Limerick. Martha draws inspiration from folk traditions across Britain and Ireland, combining them with more contemporary genres. See https://marthawoods.bandcamp.com
See Also :
Music of the Roseland Home Page
The Music of the Roseland Project is a collaboration between the Roseland Music Society, the Gerrans and Porthscatho Old Cornwall Society, and the Cornish National Music Archive.
We are grateful for funding and support from FEAST which has made this project possible.