ABOUT THIS PODCAST 🔗
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.
Hosts:
Update frequency:
every 82 days
Average audio length:
24 minutes
English
United Kingdom
44 episodes
since Aug. 7, 2021
episodic
LATEST EPISODE 🔗
It's not often that I'm stumped by a folk song, but this is one tricky little character. It is also beautiful, graceful and weirdly catchy... and extremely elusive.
Nonetheless, there's quite a bit to say about land, class and medieval shepherdesses, though surprisingly little about…
PREVIOUS EPISODES 🔗
George Collins is a handsome young man with his whole life ahead of him, so why does he die within a few short verses and leave a trail of devastation in his wake?
Today’s episode takes us back to supernatural legends from medieval Northern Europe, in which brave young men are easily seduced. We a…
What a time we had, talking about the bones and the spirit of the Wassail. The Lunatraktors, Carli and Clair, get right to the heart of things with their "Broken Folk" which provides an anchor, a refuge and solace, a shamanic art and a collective experience. They are experts at asking que…
After all the festivities of Christmas Day are over, what could be better than to run around the village and hunt a tiny little bird with all your neighbours. This special St Stephen's Day episode explores the strange custom of wren hunting in the British Isles. Hang on to your hats, it's…
This little Irish love song has quite a back story. To trace its origins, we have to travel back in time to a very subversive harp festival, dig into the Irish harper tradition and follow the fortunes of some proper characters. There’s a tiff between an Irish and an English poet, a moody watcher on…
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 Chr…
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 underwor…
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…
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 …
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 on…
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jenny Shaw, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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