Harp And A Monkey - War Stories

  by Nicky Crewe

published: 21 / 7 / 2016

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Review

Based in Lancashire, the trio Harp and a Monkey work within the folk tradition. Timed for release on July 1st, the anniversary of the start of the Battle of the Somme, 'War Stories' challenges assumptions about the First World War, whist exploring some previously unknown stories through its choice of songs. This follows on from an Arts Council funded project they undertook in 2015. Martin Purdy is a writer, researcher and historian specialising in the First World War. With fellow musicians Simon Jones and Andy Smith, Harp and a Monkey are part of a movement to explore and interpret social history through new and traditional music and archives. Look back to Joan Littlewood’s 'Oh What a Lovely War'. More recently think of Michael Morpurgo’s 'War Horse', and the work he has done with Lester Simpson on his other WW1 story, 'Private Peaceful'. Sam Sweeney’s Fiddle also used music and storytelling in a dramatic way to tell the true story of one man’s wartime experience. In these centenary years of the Great War, archives have been digitised and released, a rich source of photographs, diaries, oral history interviews and letters. These sources can show the other side of the Dead Man’s Penny, including the experiences of conscientious objectors, the scanty provision for the disabled and broken men who came home and the censorship and propaganda that made it difficult for men to share the horrors they had been through. This aspect of World War One history is something close to my heart. I spent a year on an archive project that shared stories from the Greater Manchester area, the area that Harp and A Monkey are based in. Reading diaries and letters, and studying family photographs was an emotional experience. The songs chosen for the collection take in music hall influences, Rudyard Kipling’s poetry and spoken word interviews. Traditional songs are rearranged and reworked – 'Soldier Soldier', 'Charlie Chaplin', 'A Young Trooper Cut Down', 'The Long Long Trail' and 'Flanders Shore'. A new song, 'The Postman’s Song', is one of the most heartbreaking, based on the experiences of a postman, condemned to deliver bad news to those he knew well. 'Ghosts Round The Table' is similarly poignant. The empty seats at the annual dinner for veteran survivors eventually outnumber the living. This is a fantastic way of informing, educating and entertaining. Great songs and performances are interwoven with voices from the past, bringing their experiences into the present.

Track Listing:-

1 Banks of Green Willow
2 Soldier Soldier
3 Broken Men
4 Charlie Chaplin
5 A Young Trooper Cut Down
6 Raise a Glass to Danny
7 The Long Long Trail
8 The Postman's Song
9 Ghosts Round the Table
10 Flanders' Shore

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/Harpandamonke
http://www.harpandamonkey.com/
https://twitter.com/harpandamonkey
https://www.youtube.com/user/harpandam
https://plus.google.com/11152478335819