Joe told my mate that the song was offered to the actor Terry Thomas as a potential novelty hit, and when that never came to pass, Joe and his mates helped Trevor Crozier perform it on the album mentioned above, a live record consisting largely of covers (“I like Bananas”, for example, is an old music hall number done in the 30s by George Formby among others). One of Trevor’s originals on the album is “Don’t tell I, tell ‘ee”, but even that was co-written with Adge Cutler, founding father of The Wurzels, who died just before his group found their huge 70s fame..

Joe, the writer, has sent my mate the lyrics to “Trouble Over Bridgwater”, but he (Joe) only had the LP and no cassette facilities, so still neither of us has actually heard the song. A white label copy of the LP was for sale on eBay at £30 as of about a week ago, but neither of us could afford that tidy sum just to satisfy our curiosity. And Trevor Crozier died in Malawi, 3 decades ago I think, so we’ll never hear his version of the story.

But the point is that creative minds often think alike. NB57 couldn’t know that the title had already been used for this obscure “Live at Poynton Folk Club” record, and nor could the mate of his on the Wirral from whom, Nigel told me once, he got the idea in the first place. “Trouble Over Bridgwater” has no doubt been dreamt up as an ‘original’ joke title by many other people over the years, just as “CSI Wherever” has too, and it seems that more than one of them actually got round to using this one as a title.

.

I hope the curse of HMHB hasn’t struck…

And just when I got me to a-thinkin that “Tavistock Goosey Fair” must be a trad arr. tune, up googles this thread to tell me the lyrics are (c) C. John Trythall, 1912

http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4976&messages=27

Note the ‘original’ lyrics two thirds of the way down the thread (wheras the lyrics one third of the way down the thread seem to be a more recent version, remembered and written down by someone else ), with their ‘orrible attempt to transcribe the Devon accent. I suppose this could still have been Mr. Trythall’s version of a trad arr., especially if he was a folk song collector.

Anyway, ‘ere it be sung in stripped-down scrumpycore-style, courtesy of the British Library:

http://sounds.bl.uk/View.aspx?item=025M-C1002X0090XX-4000V0.xml

Tune not dissimilar to Lord Hereford’s Knob …but then nor are most English folk song tunes I suppose !

Except that it had already been done……. http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/9495/trevorcrozier.jpg

“Slight reprise” is often used in describing symphonies, operas, shows, etc., and doubtless the Jimi Hendrix ensemble were so stoned that they ended up with “Slight Return” instead.

Deep meaning: none.