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Sleeve Notes
Row Bullies Row (Tommy) — This fine sea-song with its simple chorus line has proved an ideal starter in many a club. The sailor ends up with nothing as usual!
Freedom Come-All-Ye (Ian) — Hamish Henderson's masterpiece set to, it's now familiar pipe-tune 'the Bloody Fields of Flanders' says more about Scotland and freedom than a thousand tartan tear-jerkers from Tin Pan Alley!
Three Scottish Reels — We often play at the beautiful Culcreuch Castle in Fintry for visitors from overseas and always start our set with these foot-tapping reels — the Cornriggs, the Drunken Piper and Miss Forbes Farewell to Banff. They have that special "snap" which distinguishes Scottish fiddle music.
Three Score and Ten (Bill) — This is our favourite from the many fine songs written by Ewan MacColl about the dangers faced by our fishermen.
March, Strathspey and Reel — The march, the 93rds Farewell to Edinburgh and the strathspey, the Laird o' Drumblair are from the pen of the legendary James Scott Skinner, the 'Strathspey King'. The reel, the Lass o' Paties' Mill is traditional.
Three Nights and A Sunday (Tommy) — Matt McGinn died tragically in January 1977 but his songs have gone on working the same magic with audiences everywhere. The message of this one could hardly be more appropriate than at present.
No Use for Him (Robin) — This Eric Bogle song dates from the Beeching railway cuts when they invented a new way of giving people the sack — redundancy. It feels just as bad but sounds nicer.
All For Me Grog (Tommy) — Poor old Jack once again ashore with his "tin" to spend and coming a cropper as ever. Another great chorus song probably of Liverpool-Irish origin.
Irish Polkas — The first of these lively Irish tunes has the unlikely English sounding title of Captain Byng but the source of the Ballydesmond Polkas which follow is rather easier to identify!
Band 0' Shearers (Robin) — This well-known work song from the North-East of Scotland was in circulation for more than a century before it appeared in John Ords "Bothy Songs and Ballads"
No Man's Land (Ian) — Eric Bogle visited the World War 1 cemeteries in Northern France before writing this haunting and powerful anti-war song.
Most Tuesday evenings you can find Chapter 4 hanging around Stirling's Golden Lion Hotel the meeting place of one of Scotland's longest running and most successful Folk Song Clubs. Here in the mid-seventies the five man group began to play and sing together before taking their highly entertaining blend of music and song to clubs and concerts all over Scotland and beyond to England and France.
This their first album contains a selection of the material which has proved most popular with their audiences and though much of it is drawn from traditional sources they have included the work of four of Scotland's most distinguished song writers — Hamish Henderson, Ewan MacColl, the late Matt McGinn and Eric Bogle.
Though they now travel far and wide Stirling is still home base for the group and this record (and any profit it might make!) is dedicated to the Folk Club and its members.