Menu Script
home
news
band
gigs
releases
songs
somerset
faq
links
credits
please visit our sponsors |
Wurzel
Songs - Part 1 (A - C)
The
Wurzel Songs pages list in alphabetical order as many of
Adge Cutler & The Wurzels' songs as I have been able
to find, and gives brief notes about each. This part covers songs
beginning with A to C. Obviously there is no substitute
for hearing them, but at least this might give readers who have
not had that privilege some insight into the West Country
humour unique to Scrumpy 'n' Western music.
For
some of the songs I haven't been able to make out all the words.
I've pinpointed where this is the case in the descriptions below.
Also I've never heard some of the songs and don't know the composers
of some of them. So if anyone can enlighten me with any of this
missing information, or knows of any other songs not in the list,
then please Don't Tell 'Ee - Tell
I!
| Song
Title & Composer(s) |
Notes |
Albert's Funny Farm
(Tony Baylis)
|
On
the other side of the Wurzels' single I Shot JR.
Fairly light-hearted song sung by Tony Baylis.
45
rpm single (b-side) |
All Fall Down
(Pete Budd, AJ Smith) |
Issued
as a single in 1985 - song about the effects of scrumpy drinking!
45
rpm single (a-side) |
All Over Mendip
(Adge Cutler) |
This
song describes a celebration day out on the Mendip hills involving
nearly everyone in the surrounding villages. Issued as a single
on Columbia in 1967 (but failed to chart), and then later
in 1969 on the Carry on Cutler! album. I've discovered
that the 1969 version is clearly different from the 1967 single
version, but the date 1967 is given on the album for this
track. Can anyone confirm that the album version was recorded
in 1967? The album version is the one used on the CD and every
other compilation I've heard.
45
rpm single (a-side); LP:
Carry On Cutler!, LP:
The Very Best Of Adge Cutler, LP:
Adge Cutler's Cider Drinking Favourites, LP:
Freshly Cut; CD:
The Wurzels and Adge Cutler & The Wurzels; CD:
The Finest 'Arvest of The Wurzels featuring Adge Cutler (2000);
CD: The Finest 'Arvest
of The Wurzels featuring Adge Cutler (2001);
CD: The Wurzels
Live; video:
The Wurzels Live |
Aloha Severn Beach
(Adge Cutler)
|
Adge's
Hawaiian song, complete with Hawaiian guitar and backing vocals
by the Wurzels. It describes "a little corner of heaven, down
there by the River Severn". Does anyone know who played the
Hawaiian guitar on this? I don't think it could have been
Reg Quantrill as he played the banjo on the same track...
The
song was issued as the b-sider to ther 1968 single Up
The Clump and then reappeared on the 1969 Carry
On Cutler! album. The two versions are not identical,
although they're very similar and could have been recorded
at the same session. The track is dated 1968 on the album
so this would seem likely.
45
rpm single (b-side); LP:
Carry On Cutler!, LP:
The Very Best Of Adge Cutler, LP:
Adge Cutler's Cider Drinking Favourites |
Avonmouth Mary
(Adge Cutler)
|
A
fairly romantic number - by Adge's usual standards, anyway.
It's a sort of tale of a lost love.
LP:
Adge Cutler's Family Album |
to top of this page
Back Of My Old Car, The
(Tony Baylis, Tommy Banner, Pete Budd)
|
Sung
by Gaffer Baylis; he describes the
dubious goings on in the back of his old car. The chorus goes:
In the back of my old car, we won't be travellin' far,
We'll 'ave a cuddle in the moonlight, in the back of my old
car.
We won't tell your ma-ma', she won't know where we are,
You'll be all right if you get inside, I'll give you an economy
ride -
Everybody's been satisfied in the back of my old car!
...which should give you an idea!
This
was the b-side of I Am A Cider Drinker,
and so arrived in numerous record collections of children
who really ought not to have been listening to such naughty
lyrics! Incidentally, Pete Budd and Tommy Banner
tell me they've never performed this song live.
45
rpm single (b-side); LP:
I Am A Cider Drinker; CD:
The Finest 'Arvest of The Wurzels featuring Adge Cutler (2000);
CD: The Finest 'Arvest
of The Wurzels featuring Adge Cutler (2001) |
Barcelona Blues
(Adge Cutler)
|
Based
on Adge's experiences when he spent some time in Spain, a
country he loved. Includes the immortal line "Vino tinto,
vino blanco, makes me feel like General Franco".
LP:
Adge Cutler's Family Album |
Base Over Apex
(Bob Barratt, Tony Baylis)
|
Issued
as a track on the Golden Delicious
album by the Wurzels. Song about a woman who keeps falling
down; sung by Tommy Banner in waltz time.
LP:
Golden Delicious, LP:
The Wurzels; CD:
The Wurzels |
Blackbird, The
(adapt. Pete Budd, Tommy Banner, Tony Baylis) |
The
Blackbird is an old West Country folk song. A version of it
was sung by Bernard Miles in the Goon Show
The Rent Collectors, but The Wurzels couldn't
find the original words so they wrote their own. This was
issued on the flip of Combine Harvester -
as well as being on the Combine Harvester 2001 Remix
CD single, and remains a firm favourite with fans today.
45
rpm single (b-side); CD-EP:
Combine Harvester 2001 Remix; LP:
The Combine Harvester, LP:
The Wurzels Greatest Hits, LP:
Mendip Magic; CD:
The Wurzels and Adge Cutler & The Wurzels;
CD: The Wurzels
Collection; CD:
The Finest 'Arvest of The Wurzels featuring Adge Cutler (2000);
CD: The Finest 'Arvest
of The Wurzels featuring Adge Cutler (2001); CD:
The Wurzels Live; video:
The Wurzels Live; CD:
Top Of The Crops;
CD: The Wurzels
Greatest Hits |
Bridgwater
Town
(George)
|
The
Wurzels recorded this song for their A Taste of the West
album; the only 'new' Wurzels song on the album.
CD:
A Taste of the West |
Bristol Song, The
(Bob Barratt)
|
Written
by The Wurzels producer Bob Barratt, this appeared
on the Cutler of the West album. The lyrics
contain references to many places in the Bristol area - Seamills,
Horfield, Redcliffe, etc - and sung as 'a sort of Clifton
Calypso' (in Adge's words).
LP:
Cutler Of The West, CD:
Cutler Of The West, LP:
Vintage Zider |
to top of this page
Cabot Song (Big 'Ead), The
(John Christie, Pete Lawrence)
|
The
song is about the Bristolian explorer John Cabot going off
to discover America - only to have trouble with his headwear.
One line is "Thee's never get a girt big 'ead like
thine in a tiny little 'at like this". At the end
of the song the words are "I got a good idea, said John's
ol' man - why don't you discover Portishead instead".
LP:
Golden Delicious, LP:
I Am A Cider Drinker;
CD: The Wurzels
Collection |
Call Of The West
(Sammy King)
|
On
the Combine Harvester album, sung by Pete Budd
- about how wherever he goes, he still feels drawn back to
the West Country. The album cover wrongly gives the title
as "Call of the Wild".
LP:
The Combine Harvester, LP:
The Wurzels; CD:
The Wurzels |
Champion Dung Spreader, The
(Adge Cutler) |
Champion
Dung Spreader was Adge's answer to Lonnie Donegan's
1960 UK hit My Old Man's A Dustman and describes
his old dad's occupation spreading dung far and wide with
a "girt big blackthorn stick".
The
song was originally recorded on 2nd November 1966 at the Royal
Oak in Nailsea, and inclused on Adge Cutler & The Wurzels'
first album. It was also the a-side of the band's follow-up
single to Drink Up Thy Zider, but didn't chart.
45
rpm single (a-side); LP:
Adge Cutler & The Wurzels, LP:
The Very Best Of Adge Cutler, LP:
Adge Cutler's Cider Drinking Favourites, LP:
Mendip Magic; CD:
The Wurzels and Adge Cutler & The Wurzels; CD:
The Finest 'Arvest of The Wurzels featuring Adge Cutler (2000);
CD: The Finest 'Arvest
of The Wurzels featuring Adge Cutler (2001);
CD: The Wurzels
Live; video:
The Wurzels Live;
CD: Top Of The Crops
|
Chandler's Wife, The
(adapt. Butch Kinsey)
|
Sung
to the tune of The Lincolnshire Poacher, and
previously recorded by (among others) Phil Harris,
under the title The Thing in 1950.
LP:
Cutler Of The West, CD:
Cutler Of The West, Don't
Tell I, Tell 'Ee (1978), LP:
Vintage Zider |
Charlton Mackrell Jugband, The
(Kevin Sheldon, Trevor Crozier)
|
The
tale of the trials and tribulations of forming a band - and
what happened when they finally get some success (topping
the charts in the Farmers' Weekly). Recorded by Adge and the
lads for their 1968 Cutler Of The West album, The
Wurzels subsequently re-recorded this song for their A
Taste of the West album.
The
song has been recorded in various local versions, Trevor
Crozier's original The Piddletrenthide
Jug Band was based in the Dorset (subsequently
also recorded by The Yetties), while
The Plonkers' relocated it to Hampshire
with their Dibden Purlieu Jug Band.
And as the location is only mentioned in the title anyway,
the song lyrcis don't change wherever the singer bases it.
LP:
Cutler Of The West, CD:
Cutler Of The West, LP:
Vintage Zider; CD:
A Taste of the West |
Cheddar Cheese
(Tommy Banner, Pete Budd, Tony Baylis)
|
The
Wurzels' tribute to the most famous cheese in the world, originating
from Zummerzet, but now, it seems, made everywhere.
This
is the first mention of Bristol City Football Club in a Wurzels
song, and as a result Cheddar Cheese was selected
as the b-side to One
For The Bristol City on its original release in 1977.
45
rpm single (b-side); LP:
The Wurzels Are Scrumptious! |
Chew Magna Cha-Cha, The
(Adge Cutler)
|
A
dance number; in Adge's words a "song with a Spanish
twinge". Reg Quantrill used a pick on this number.
The chorus goes:
"No jumped-up Tormarton tango,
Little Farrington Gurney fandango,
'Tis the dance they do oh-ah,
'Tis the Chew Magna cha-cha-cha!".
LP:
Adge Cutler & The Wurzels |
Chewton Mendip Love-In, The
(Whitehead, Gardner)
|
Another
favourite with Bristol City fans which appeared on
the album Carry On Cutler! album. Describes
the goings-on at a "love-in" - an' if thee can remember what
one o' they be, thee's older'n thee's look...
LP:
Carry On Cutler! |
Chitterling
(Adge Cutler)
|
A
song extolling the virtues of that wonderful delicacy, otherwise
known as a pig's smaller intestine (it says in my dictionary):
"You can buy it soft or 'ard, by the pound or by
the yard...". This was released as the b-sider of
Poor Poor Farmer in 1971. I don't know when or where the original
release was recorded.
45
rpm single (b-side); LP:
Don't Tell I, Tell 'Ee (1974), Don't
Tell I, Tell 'Ee (1978), LP:
Mendip Magic; CD:
The Finest 'Arvest of The Wurzels featuring Adge Cutler (2000);
CD: The Finest 'Arvest
of The Wurzels featuring Adge Cutler (2001);
CD: Top Of The Crops |
Combine Harvester, The
(Melanie Safka, Brendan O'Shaughnessy) |
A
parody of Melanie's hit Brand New Key,
this rocketed The Wurzels to the pinnacle of the UK
music industry in 1976, with the band spending two
weeks at #1 in the British singles charts. Unfortunately
The Wurzels have never equalled that early success...keep
trying lads!
The
song was orginally a #1 hit for Irish singer Brendan
Grace, who topped Irish Charts with the song in autumn
1975, so perhaps it is no surprise that it prove such a success
for The Wurzels. The
Wurzels single originally credited just Melanie Safka,
but the reissued version credits her as joint writer with
Brendan O'Shaughnessy - Brendan's real name - as author
of the parody lyrics.
The
single was re-isssued in 1980. A live version of Combine
Harvester also appears on Mendip Magic.
The
original song was remixed and reissued as Combine
Harvester Remix 2001 as a single where it charted
for a second time - with the original song also included
on the CD single. The remix also appears on the 2001 re-issue
CD of Finest 'Arvest (alongside the original) but
not the original 2000 version, so if you are looking for this
song, make sure you buy the right version! Both versions appear
on the The
Wurzels Greatest Hits CD. The
Wurzels also manage to perform the remix version at their
live shows - with help from some clever technology from the
sound guys!
45
rpm single (a-side); 45
rpm single (a-side); CD-EP:
Combine Harvester 2001 Remix; CD-EP:
I Am A Cider Drinker 2007; LP:
The Combine Harvester, LP:
The Wurzels Greatest Hits, LP:
Mendip Magic; CD:
The Wurzels and Adge Cutler & The Wurzels;
CD: The Wurzels
Collection; CD:
The Finest 'Arvest of The Wurzels featuring Adge Cutler (2000);
CD: The Finest 'Arvest
of The Wurzels featuring Adge Cutler (2001);
CD: The Wurzels
Live; video:
The Wurzels Live;
CD: Top Of The Crops;
CD: The Wurzels
Greatest Hits |
Come On Santa (Get Your Act Together)
(The Wurzels, George D. Allen, Louie Nicastro, Sil Willcox) |
Issued
as a single for the Christmas 2001 market, two versions of
the song appear on the CD - Come On Santa! (Get Yer Act
Together) - Radio Edit and Come On Santa! (Get Yer
Act Together) - X-Rated Version. The song was credited
to The Wurzels, George D. Allen and Louie Nicastro (who produced,
arranged and directed The Wurzels Never Mind The
Bullocks album) and Sil Willcox, the band's
manager.
CD-single
(a-side); CD:
Never Mind The Bullocks - 'Ere's The Wurzels |
Coughin' Song
(Peter Knight)
|
Song
about the evils of smoking, issued on a single - Pete Budd
told me it was recorded as part of an anti-smoking campaign.
45
rpm single (a-side) |
County
House
(Albarn, Jame, Rountree, Coxon) |
A
re-make of the Blur hit single, all Wurzelled
up, and released on their Never Mind The Bullocks
album.
CD:
Never Mind The Bullocks - 'Ere's The Wurzels |
Crabapple Hill
(Sammy King)
|
A
cheerfully nostalgic sort of song sung by Tony Baylis
- not typical Wurzels material, but very rural.
LP:
The Combine Harvester, LP:
I Am A Cider Drinker |
to top of this page
|
