American | Australian | Beatles | Canadian | Ceilidh | Childrens' | Chinese | Dutch | English | French | German | Gospel | Irish | NZ | Norwegian | Other | Platt | Pub | Sacred Harp | Scots | Sea Songs | Tyneside | Welsh | Yorkshire |
 
All Around my Hat
Last updated: 07.01.24
I found "All around my hat" in Songs and Dances of England by Liz Thomson (1982) and had never heard it before. I like the lyrics very much and the story is somewhat unusual in that it deals with the devotion of a young man to a young lady who is convicted of theft and transported, supposedly to Australia, for seven years. He swears eternal love, will wait for ever and never be downhearted. I sing it slowly and deliberately and gently increase my voice strength as the song progresses. This is at odds with Liz Thomson who proposes that the song should be done vigorously. For my taste, the lyrics (which for a folk singer are always of the most importance) are ill-served if done too fast. Her opinion appears to be the prevailing one however as I learned in New Zealand in 1994. When I sang this song to my sister-in-law, Kirsty, and brother Peter, who had heard this song in London in the sixties, they both were surprised at my singing it so slowly. They expected it to be done at high speed.
  Composer Performer Instruments
       
  MP3 Samples from DBE      
audiodbemp315.gif Unknown Geoff Grainger Voice, Concertina
     Performer CD Title Supplier
       
cd15.gif Geoff Grainger Ditty Box dbe15.gif
cd15.gif Various Artists Troubadours Of British Folk: Vol. 2 flag15us.gif flag15uk.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif flag15ca.gif flag15it.gif flag15es.gif
cd15.gif Steeleye Span All Around My Hat CD(s) & MP3 Album(s) flag15us.gif flag15uk.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif flag15ca.gif flag15it.gif flag15es.gif
cd15.gif Steeleye Span Portfolio CD(s) & MP3 Album(s) flag15us.gif flag15uk.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif flag15ca.gif flag15it.gif flag15es.gif
cd15.gif Steeleye Span Spanning The Years CD(s) & MP3 Album(s) flag15us.gif flag15uk.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif flag15ca.gif flag15it.gif flag15es.gif
cd15.gif Steeleye Span Live! Tonight's The Night CD(s) & MP3 Album(s) flag15us.gif flag15uk.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif flag15ca.gif flag15it.gif flag15es.gif
cd15.gif Cyril Tawney Live at Holsteins: Chicago 1981 flag15us.gif flag15uk.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif flag15ca.gif flag15it.gif flag15es.gif
     Title Performer Composer
       
youtube15.jpg All Around my Hat (2:59) Steeleye Span