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Wurzel Songs
- Part 3 (G - J)
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 G to J. 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 |
Give Me England!
(Bob Barratt, Ed Welch) |
This
was the theme song from the film Confessions from a
Holiday Camp and extols the virtues of taking your
holidays in England rather than France, Spain, Italy... Sadly
the film (starting Robin Askwith) was so much of a flop that
the follow-up was cancelled. As a single release, it failed
to chart.
45
rpm single (a-side); LP:
Give Me England!,
LP: The Wurzels Greatest
Hits; CD:
The Wurzels and Adge Cutler & The Wurzels;
CD: The Wurzels
Collection;
CD: Top Of The Crops
|
Good Old Somerset
(Tommy Banner, Pete Budd, D. Wright)
|
Another
homage to The Wurzels' home territory released as a track
on the Golden Delicious album, and is the
only song ever to have been co-written by the band's studio
drummer Dougie Wright.
The
Wurzels then re-recorded the track for their 2004 CD A
Taste of the West, and planned to release it
on a CD-EP which never saw the light of day. On
different releases this is also spelt Good Ol Somerset
and Good Ole Somerset.
CD-EP
Ferry To Glastonbury; LP:
Golden Delicious, LP:
The Wurzels; CD:
The Wurzels; CD:
A Taste of the West;
CD: The Wurzels
Greatest Hits |
Gotta Have Tenderness
(Mitchell Torok, Ronnie Redd)
|
Issued
by The Wurzels as a track on The Wurzels Are Scrumptious!
album. It's a C&W (as opposed to S&W) song - also recorded
by Glenn Campbell.
LP:
The Wurzels Are Scrumptious!, LP:
I Am A Cider Drinker |
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Haggis Farewell
(Tommy Banner)
|
An
interesting song written by Tommy Banner, sung and arranged
in the style of Tommy's birthplace in the extreme north of
Somerset (Penicuik, near Edinburgh!). In the song Tommy reminisces
about his early days down in Somerset when he came down expecting
to join a pop group in 1967, only to find he had to dress
up in Wurzel gear as one of Adge's backing band, drink scrumpy
and learn the local lingo.
LP:
Give Me England;
CD: The Wurzels
Collection |
Hark At 'Ee, Jacko
(Adge Cutler)
|
An
Adge Cutler song about a teller of tall tales in the pub;
based on a bloke called "Old Dan'l Windell" - anyone
know anything about him?
EP:
Scrumpy & Western; LP:
Adge Cutler & The Wurzels |
Harvest Of Love, The
(Benny Hill, Mark Anthony)
|
Written
by English comedian Benny Hill and Mark Anthony
(a pseudonym used by the famous British songwriter/musician
Tony Hatch), this song was a UK top twenty hit for
Benny in 1963. Adge's version is fairly similar, and to be
honest, not really an improvement on the original - but the
song suits Adge down to the slurry and might have been written
for him.
LP:
Carry On Cutler! |
Hey, Come With Me
(Tony Baylis)
|
Sloppy
- sorry, sentimental - song written and sung by Gaffer
Baylis, about the West Country.
LP:
Give Me England |
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I Am A Cider Drinker
(Hans Bouwens; new lyrics by The Wurzels) |
A
parody of the pop song Una Paloma Blanca (a
hit for Jonathon King) - this was The Wurzels' follow-up to
Combine Harvester and their second biggest
hit to date, reaching #3 in the
British pop charts. Still a favourite at Wurzels gigs,
it has become almost as much of a scrumpy-drinking anthem
as Adge's Drink Up Thy Zider.
The
single was also the b-side of the re-isssued Combine
Harvester in 1980 and the 2002 single Don't
Look Back In Anger. There was also a version
of the song performed by British Sea Power
on the double a-side single release Remember Me
in 2006. A live version of the song appears on Mendip
Magic.
The
song was remixed and reissued again as I Am A
Cider Drinker 2007
with BBC DJ Tony Blackburn on vocals where
it charted for
a second time. Both versions appears on the The
Wurzels Greatest Hits CD.
45
rpm single 1976 (a-side); 45
rpm single 1980 (b-side); 45
rpm single 2006 (aa-side); CD-single
2002 (b-side); CD-EP:
I Am A Cider Drinker 2007; LP:
Golden Delicious, LP:
I Am A Cider Drinker, 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 |
I Couldn't Spell !!**&@&**!!
(Wayne Carson Thompson)
|
More
a country & western song than scrumpy & western. The
word "!!**&@&**!!" is pronounced a bit similarly to
the sound you get when you strangle a duck. The recording
on Carry On Cutler! features a guest appearance by
one of Adge's old Pillite mates, Rowley Ansell. The song was
originally a US hit for Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs
in 1968, and has also been recorded by Fred Wedlock.
LP:
Carry On Cutler! |
I Got Me Beady Little Eye On Thee
(Pete Budd, Rod Owen) |
Sung
by Pete Budd, on the b-side of the 1978 I'll Never
Get A Scrumpy Here single. About an owl in an tall oak
tree - catchy song with a sing-along chorus. Lovely job. Rod
Owen (who wrote this with Pete) was The Wurzels'
musical director at the time.
45
rpm single (b-side); LP:
Never Get A Scrumpy Here, LP:
The Wurzels Greatest Hits; 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
Greatest Hits |
I Hate JR
(Tommy Banner, Pete Budd, Tony Baylis)
|
Of
course, we all hated JR Ewing, but The Wurzels really hated
him! A sort of C&W song about the star of the US TV series
Dallas. Issued as a double a-side with I
Love JR single on John Miles' label.
45
rpm single (a-side); LP:
Freshly Cut |
I Keep Smilin'
(Bob Barratt)
|
Issued
as a track on The Wurzels' Golden Delicious album.
Written by their producer Bob Barratt and sung by Tommy Banner.
About a bloke who keeps on smilin' no matter what trials and
tribulations he suffers - must be the scrumpy that does it!
LP:
Golden Delicious, LP:
I Am A Cider Drinker |
I Love JR
(Ed Welch)
|
One
side of a single (other side being I Hate JR).
Wish they'd made their minds up...
45
rpm single (b-side) |
I Shot JR
(Ed Welch) |
The
follow-up single to I Hate/Love JR...I suppose they
must have meant it!
45
rpm single (a-side) |
I Want To Be An Eddie Stobart Driver
(Jim Andrews, Tim Barker) |
Released
as the title track of a four-song EP dedicated to the Cumbrian
Eddie Stobart haulage company. The title says it all, really
- about a bloke who wants to drive a truck for "the finest
firm in 'aulage 'istory".
CD-EP
I Want To Be An Eddie Stobart Driver |
I Wish I Was Back On The Farm
(Roger MacDougal) |
This
song was originally sung by George Formby in his 1940
film Spare A Copper. Adge Cutler & The Wurzels'
version was issued as their third single. It tells the tale
of a country lad up in the big city getting caught up in trouble
- and the difference in behaviour between the pigeons in town
and back on the farm...
45
rpm single (a-side); LP:
Don't Tell I, Tell 'Ee (1974), LP:
Don't Tell I, Tell 'Ee (1978), 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 |
If You Got Nothin' On Tonight
(Geoff Stephens, Roger Greenaway)
|
One
side of a Wurzels' singles - a sort of Country &
Western style song, reminiscent of the Bellamy Brothers'
song If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body Would
You Hold It Against Me?.
45
rpm single (b-side); LP:
Freshly Cut |
I'd Love To Swim In The Zuider Zee
(Stark, Christopher)
|
This
has a good cider-drinking chorus:
I'd love to swim in the Z(u)ider Zee
Breast stroke and dive in the Z(u)ider Zee
Butterfly, backstroke, American crawl -
It don't matter, I can't swim at all!
Full to the gills, with pints, quarts and gills
Of the Z(u)ider Zee!
This
was originally released on the compilation album Don't
Tell I, Tell 'Ee.
LP:
Don't Tell I, Tell 'Ee (1974), LP:
Don't Tell I, Tell 'Ee (1978); CD:
The Finest 'Arvest of The Wurzels featuring Adge Cutler (2000);
CD: The Finest 'Arvest
of The Wurzels featuring Adge Cutler (2001) |
I'll Never Get A Scrumpy Here
(Ed Welch) |
Sad
tale of a Somerset man on holiday in France who realises he
can't get his home comforts there - such as a hot meat pie,
a pint of mild, and worst of all, a pint of scrumpy! Released
as a single in 1978.
45
rpm single (a-side); LP:
Never Get A Scrumpy Here, LP:
The Wurzels Greatest Hits; 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: Top Of The Crops |
I'm The Captain Of A Dredger
(Adge Cutler, Henry Davies)
|
Another
of Adge Cutler's previously unreleased songs recorded by The
Wurzels on their The Wurzels Are Scrumptious!
album.
The
end of the chorus goes:
So let the farmer till the land and the clerk stick to
his ledger
Yo Ho Ho an' a grubble griddle-oh! I'm The Captain Of A Dredger.
I was previously unable to make out the words, but Pete
Budd came to the rescue - probably the only person who
could have. Thanks Pete!
LP:
The Wurzels Are Scrumptious!;
CD: The Wurzels
Collection |
In The Haymaking Time
(Adge Cutler) |
One
of Adge Cutler's few sloppy and sentimental (I mean,
'romantic') songs, about a lost love...
LP:
Cutler Of The West, CD:
Cutler Of The West, LP:
Vintage Zider |
It Wasn't Me
(Burrell,
Ducent, Pizzonia, Thompson, Allen, Briown, Dickerson, Jordan,
Miller, Oskar, Scott)
|
A
re-make of the Shaggy featuring Ricardo hit
single, all Wurzelled up, and released on their Never
Mind The Bullocks album.
CD:
Never Mind The Bullocks - 'Ere's The Wurzels
|
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Jubilee Day, The
(Banner, Baylis, Budd, de Sylva)
|
Issued
on the 1977 album Give Me England!, this relates to
Her Majesty the Queen's Silver Jubilee of that year.
LP:
Give Me England |
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|
