Cyril Tawney
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Cyril Tawney (born October 12, 1930, Gosport, Hampshire; died April 21, 2005, Exeter.) was an English singer-songwriter, proponent of the traditional songs of the West of England and traditional and modern maritime songs.
Perhaps due to Tawney's family tradition of Naval service, Tawney joined the Royal Navy at the age of sixteen, serving for thirteen years, several of which were spent in submarines. During his service he developed a lifelong interest in English traditional music.
While still in the Navy in 1957, he performed on an Alan Lomax radio show broadcast on Christmas Day, "Sing Christmas and the Turn of the Year." Shortly thereafter on Easter Sunday, he appeared on television. It went well, and soon he had a weekly television spot and a networked show "Watch Aboard." Encouraged by these successes, he left the Navy early in 1959 to become a full-time professional musician and broadcaster and earned his living in this way for 44 years, making him Britain's longest-standing professional folksinger.
He continued to work in broadcasting, and had a weekly radio show, "Folkspin." Meanwhile, he researched traditional songs of southwest England and 20th century Royal Navy songs. In the early 1960s he established his first folk club in Plymouth where he met his wife Rosemary. He founded the West of England Folk Centre and was instrumental in setting up folk clubs in other places in the region. He is often referred to as the Founding Father of the West Country folk revival.
In addition to studying traditional songs, he composed a number of his own songs, the majority being written when he was still in the Royal Navy and relating to that period, for example "Chicken on a Raft", which is in the call and response style of sea shanties. The song makes reference to an unpopular dish served in the Royal Navy, consisting of fried egg on fried bread, called "chicken on a raft." The chorus is as follows:
Chicken on a raft on a Monday morning,
Oh, what a terrible sight to see,
The Dabtoes forrard and the dustmen aft,
Sittin' there a'pickin' at a chicken on a raft!
The song was recorded by The Young Tradition, on their 1967 EP, also titled Chicken on a Raft.
Beginning in 1972, Tawney studied English and History at Lancaster University. After he graduated, he obtained a master's degree from Leeds University Institute of Dialect and Folklife Studies.
In 1987, Tawney's unique book "Grey Funnel Lines: Traditional Song and Verse of the Royal Navy 1900 to 1970", was published by Routledge.
Tawney's last public performance was Easter 2004, at the Lancaster Maritime Festival. He died of a bacterial infection after a long illness.
[edit] Songs
A few of the songs written by Cyril Tawney include:
- Cheering the Queen
- Chicken on a Raft
- Five-foot Flirt
- Grey Funnel Line
- Sally Free and Easy
- Stanley the Rat
- The Lean and Unwashed Tiffy
- The Suit of Grey
[edit] References
- Obituary, "Cyril Tawney: Singing songs of land and sea," The Guardian. Manchester (UK): April 27, 2005. Page 29.
- "Obituaries: Cyril Tawney (1930-2005)," Roy Palmer. Folk Music Journal. London: 2006. Vol.9, Issue 1; page 141.
