Menu Script
home
news
band
gigs
releases
songs
somerset
faq
links
credits
please visit our sponsors |
Wurzel Songs
- Part 5 (P - S)
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 P to S. 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 |
Peter
Crouch In Lederhosen |
The
Wurzels teamed up with Bristol GWR FM DJs
Bush and Troy jumping on
the bandwagon to record a charity World Cup song released
to coincide with England's attempt to win the 2006 World Cup.
CD-single
(a-side) - with lyrics! |
Pheasant Plucker's Son
(Doug Taylor)
|
Sounds
like it might be difficult to sing after a few pints of cider...
LP:
Golden Delicious, LP:
The Wurzels; CD:
The Wurzels;
CD: The Wurzels
Collection |
Pill, Pill
(Adge Cutler)
|
This
is Adge's song about the Pill Ferry, which used to run from
Pill in North Somerset across the River Avon to Lamplighters
and Shirehampton on the eastern bank. This was a vital line
of communication across the river - in the days before the
M5 viaduct - which had probably run since medieval times,
and was eventually discontinued in 1973 (several years after
Adge wrote the song). The ferry has gone but the two pubs
mentioned in the chorus (the Duke [of Cornwall] and
the Star) are still there. There is a nice article
about Pill with pictures of the ferry on the Dorset
Rare Books website.
Pill,
Pill was recorded at the Royal Oak session
in 1966, and included on Adge's first album. The second verse
goes:
Take me where it's warm and cosy
Down there with those happy boys
Where the cheeks are red and rosy
Cobblers, hobblers, hobbledehoys
When the stinging winter sleet
Creeps along the riverside and chills your feet
For miles around, you'll 'ear this sound
Comin' down Pill Street
The
Wurzels subsequently re-recorded this song for their A
Taste of the West album.
EP:
Scrumpy & Western; LP:
Adge Cutler & The Wurzels, 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:
A Taste of the West;
CD: The Wurzels
Greatest Hits |
Poor, Poor Farmer
(Regan)
|
A
tale of woe about the financial hardships faced by farmers
released as a single in 1971. I don't know when or where this
was recorded.
45
rpm single (a-side); LP:
Don't Tell I, Tell 'Ee (1974), Don't
Tell I, Tell 'Ee (1978), LP:
The Very Best Of Adge Cutler, LP:
Adge Cutler's Cider Drinking Favourites |
Pub With No Beer, A
(Gordon Parsons)
|
A
well-known humorous country song. Adapted by Gordon Parsons
from the original poem A Pub Without Beer by Australian
Dan Sheahan, the song became a hit single for Australian country
singer Slim Dusty in 1957 - and was the biggest-selling record
by an Australian at that time. Various other artist have recorded
it, some adapting it to suit their audiences - including Johnny
Cash, Richard Clayderman, Rolf Harris and Midnight Oil! Adge's
1968 version gives the song a happy ending - who needs beer
if the pub still has cider!
LP:
Cutler Of The West, CD:
Cutler Of The West, LP:
Vintage Zider |

to top of this page
Remember Me |
The
Wurzels re-make of a track by the Brighton-based post-punk
indie band British Sea Power. Released as
a double a-side limited edition single with BSP performing
I Am A Cider Drinker on the other side.
45
rpm single (aa-side) |
Rig Jig
(Geoff Betsworth, Tommy Banner, Pete Budd)
|
An
instrumental track on the Eddie Stobart EP,
played by Tommy on accordion. Actually a reel, not a jig,
but who cares?! Somewhat similar to Tommy's popular Somerset
Jigolo, which he still plays at gigs today.
CD-EP
I Want To Be An Eddie Stobart Driver |
Riley's Cowshed
(Stanley J. Damerell, Robert Hargreaves)
|
A
"bit o' the old gold of the music-hall, or a colour summat
like it", on the Carry On Cutler! album.
LP:
Carry On Cutler!, LP:
The Very Best Of Adge Cutler, LP:
Adge Cutler's Cider Drinking Favourites |
Rock Around The A38
(Tommy Banner, Tony Baylis, Pete Budd) |
A
Wurzels song about the A38, the major trunk road that runs
through Somerset connecting the West Country to Bristol and
beyond. Now quieter since the M5 was built it is still a trap
for unwary drivers with its plethora of tractors trundling
along. The song has a great hookline - "Let the cider
flow!"
This
song appeared on the 2000 CD released of Finest 'Arvest
but was dropped from the 2001 re-issue, so if you are looking
for this song, make sure you buy the right version! The Wurzels
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.
45
rpm single (b-side); CD-EP
Ferry To Glastonbury; LP:
Golden Delicious, LP:
The Wurzels Greatest Hits; CD:
The Finest 'Arvest of The Wurzels featuring Adge Cutler (2000);
CD: A Taste of
the West;
CD: The Wurzels
Greatest Hits |
Rock DJ
(Williams, Chambers, Andrews, Pigford, Paris)
|
A
re-make of the Robbie Williams hit single,
all Wurzelled up, and released on their Never Mind The
Bullocks album.
CD:
Never Mind The Bullocks - 'Ere's The Wurzels
|

to top of this page
Sally-Army Teacher
(Doug Taylor)
|
About
a Salvation Army lady and the effect she has on the lads...
ooerr!
LP:
Give Me England!,
LP: I Am A Cider Drinker |
Saturday Night At The Crown
(Joe Henderson, Bob Barratt) |
A
pub singalong song on the Carry On Cutler!
album. Previously recorded in 1968 by the impressionist and
comedian Mike Yarwood - both his and Adge's versions
were produced by Bob Barratt, who co-wrote the song.
45
rpm single (b-side); LP:
Carry On Cutler!, LP:
The Very Best Of Adge Cutler, LP:
Adge Cutler's Cider Drinking Favourites; CD:
The Wurzels and Adge Cutler & The Wurzels |
School Days, Young Days
(Sammy King)
|
Issued
as a Wurzels album track on Golden Delicious,
this song features an attractive-voiced young lady, presumably
Sue Martine who is credited on the album.
LP:
Golden Delicious, LP:
The Wurzels Greatest Hits |
Shepton Mallet Matador, The
(Adge Cutler) |
A
tales about what happened to Jacko when he got back from his
holidays in sunny Spain. According to the lyrics, the song
Jacko is serenading the farmer's wife with is Cielito
Lindo, as recorded by Acker Bilk. The
Shepton Mallet Matador was originally recorded live at
the Royal Oak in 1967 for the Family Album.
The
Wurzels re-recorded it in 1975, and even did a promotional
video to accompany it featuring the band dressed at matadors
dancing around the Shepton Mallet Market Cross. The
Wurzels then re-recorded the track again 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.
CD-EP
Ferry To Glastonbury; LP:
Adge Cutler's Family Album, LP:
The Very Best Of Adge Cutler, LP:
Adge Cutler's Cider Drinking Favourites, LP:
The Wurzels Are Scrumptious!, LP:
I Am A Cider Drinker; CD:
The Wurzels and Adge Cutler & The Wurzels; CD:
A Taste of the West;
CD: Top Of The Crops;
CD: The Wurzels
Greatest Hits |
Sheriff Of Midsomer Norton
(Dwayne Detroit)
|
A
real Western song (with cowboys and indians) written by the
mysterious Dwayne Detroit. Sounds like a non-de-plume
to I! Does anyone know who he is?
LP:
Adge Cutler's Family Album |
Short Time Livin'
(H. Spiro, A. King)
|
Issued
as a track on the Golden Delicious album. Song about
making hay while the sun shines.
LP:
Golden Delicious, LP:
The Wurzels; CD:
The Wurzels |
Shovel It Here
(Tony Baylis, Tommy Banner)
|
Issued
on the b-side of Coughin' Song single released
in 1982. I'll only give you one guess as to what "it"
is!
45
rpm single (b-side); LP:
Freshly Cut |
Sniff Up Thy Snuff
(John Macey)
|
On
Adge Cutler's Family Album, Adge offered the other band
members a chance to bring their own songs to the table. This
is a John Macey composition (he also co-wrote Drunk
Again on the same album). The chorus runs:
"Sniff, sniff, sniff up thy snuff,
There's a mine down in Yatton got tons of the stuff".
LP:
Adge Cutler's Family Album |
Somerset Born And Proud
(Pete Budd)
|
Pete
Budd wrote and sang this on the Combine Harvester
album. As the title says, it's a homage to Pete's native county
- and remains in the band's live set today.
LP:
The Combine Harvester, LP:
The Wurzels; CD:
The Wurzels |
Somerset Jigolo
(Tommy Banner)
|
On
the album Never Get A Scrumpy Here. An instrumental
played on the accordion by Tommy Banner - and before
anyone complains, the title's spelling is deliberate! Tommy
still includes a similar instrumental medley in the stage
act.
LP:
Never Get A Scrumpy Here, LP:
Mendip Magic, LP:
The Wurzels; CD:
The Wurzels;
CD: The Wurzels
Live; video:
The Wurzels Live;
CD: The Wurzels
Greatest Hits |
Somerset Space Race, The
(Adge Cutler)
|
Written
in 1967, two years before the moon landing, Adge penned this
tale about Somerset's entry into the space race. The chorus
is:
Somerset's joined in the space race
We'm all reachin' out fer the stars,
A cow can calve or bust,
Wwe'm gonna get thur fust
We'm off, off to Venus and Mars
LP:
Adge Cutler's Family Album |
Sousaphone Sam
(Bentley, Orchard, Shaw)
|
On
the 1977 Wurzels album Give Me England! about
a bloke who "wants to be one of the band".
LP:
Give Me England!,
LP: I Am A Cider Drinker |
Speedy Gonzales
(Buddy Kaye, David Hill, Ethel Lee; new lyric by The Wurzels) |
This
is a parody of the 1962 Pat Boone hit single of the
same name. The
band 'wurzelled-up' the song for their 1975 The Wurzels
Are Scrumptious! album, changing the words to give it
a West Country feel. This shows a new direction for the band,
something which would be more evident on the subsequent 1976
Combine Harvester album, and would give rise to their
massive chart successes.
The
Wurzels recorded two different versions of this song for different
albums - each with different lyrics; the latter also being
the b-side to the Give Me England!
single release.
45
rpm single (b-side); LP:
The Wurzels Are Scrumptious!, LP:
Give Me England!, LP:
The Wurzels Greatest Hits; CD:
The Wurzels and Adge Cutler & The Wurzels |
Springtime
(Banner, Baylis, Budd, De Sylva)
|
Issued
as the b-side to Farmer Bill's Cowman,
but only on compilation albums. This is a lively song celebrating
spring that Pete Budd tells me it was recorded for an Esther
Rantzen TV show (presumably That's Life).
45
rpm single (b-side); LP:
I Am A Cider Drinker;
CD: The Wurzels
Collection |
Super
Rooster |
LP:
Freshly Cut |
Sunny Weston-Super-Mare
(Tom Hammaerle, Pete Budd)
|
Issued
on a single as a homage to the Somerset seaside resort. The
b-side was an instrumental version of the same song. The Wurzels
subsequently re-recorded this song for their A Taste of
the West album.
45
rpm single (a-side); CD:
A Taste of the West
|
Sweet Violets
(Cy Coben, Charles Grean)
|
This
song appeared on the second Adge Cutler album, recorded
at the Royal Oak in Nailsea. Has an interesting structure,
where the word at the end of each line is "oversung" by the
first word of the next line - if you see what I mean!
LP:
Adge Cutler's Family Album |
to top of this page
|