A Way With, And Without, Words

Listening Post 302. The Teacups have etched a high profile on the United Kingdom’s folk landscape these past ten years and the a cappella quartet’s third album is an epic journey that adds to their stellar reputation. The collection’s 19 traditional and modern songs encompass seafaring, hunting and drinking, tilled gardens, street vendor cries, love, loss and class inequality, all delivered with elegant timing and breathtaking harmony. The ensemble—Alex Cumming, Kate Locksley, Rosie Calvert and Will Finn—weighs anchor with Agamemnon, an ode to Lord Nelson’s favorite ship and a reminder of life’s evanescence (video 1). They hit land in Man of the Earth, a poignant tale of forced retirement, meager pension and resilience (video 2). Their animal-rights cred is secure in songs like The Valentine’s Day Hunt, with many a “Tally-ho!” and nary a creature in serious peril (video 3). And after a decade of running their name on an empty cup they serve Celestial Tea (video 4). The artists’ voices never waver but perhaps the pinnacle is Morris Set, a triptych of Cotswold Morris tunes: Stripping away dance, bells, instruments and defined lyrics, they sing six minutes of vocables with joyous, hypnotic perfection (video 5). The wordless medley also reflects how much The Teacups communicate with such economy. Even as we savor In Which…, the title’s pregnant ellipsis suggests a melancholy footnote: This is the last album the quartet, whose members met while studying folk and traditional music at Newcastle University, plan to  make together. Evoking a story attributed to Solomon, they also chant the album’s shortest track—four words—about finding a gift that would bring both happiness when the king was sad and sadness when he was happy; the result was a signet ring with an inscription—This Too Shall Pass—that speaks equally to pandemic or golden age. Long may these four voices ring out. (Haystack Music)

The Teacups: In Which…
Alex Cumming, Kate Locksley, Rosie Calvert, Will Finn: Vocals

Agamemnon
Lyrics: Hamish MacLaren/Music: Paul Davenport

Where is Henry Adams now, that planned the Agamemnon?/Foundered on the River Plate, in Maldonaldos Bay
Oak and iron blood of her, his fine one, his darling/Sink him in his hammock boys, he’s gone far away
Oak and iron and blood of her, his fine one, his darling/Sink him in his hammock boys, he’s gone far away

Where are all the beauty boys that built the Agamemnon?/Let them lie ‘neath waving grass, contented where they lay
Saws and swinging riveters, their sounds will not be waking them/Sink them in their hammocks boys, they’ve gone far away

Where is Captain Nelson now, that sailed the Agamemnon?/Fought and beat the Spanish crews in Cape St. Vincent Bay
Oak and iron and blood of her, his fine one, his darling/Broach the keg of brandy, boys, and send him far away
Oak and iron and blood of her, his fine one, his darling/Broach the keg of brandy, boys, and send him far away

Where are all the jolly tars that crewed the Agamemnon?/Men for whom the carronades were less hard work than play
Oak and iron and blood were they, and every girl a darling/Sink them in their hammocks, lads, they’ve gone far away!
Oak and Iron and blood were they, and every girl a darling/Sink them in their hammocks, lads, they’ve gone far away!

Sing the shanty loud, my boys, we’ll raise the Agamemnon/Stamp it round the capstan and her anchor we will weigh
Where are all the wooden walls, their cloud of sails a-bearing?/They’re foundered, sunk or broken and they’ve gone far away

Where is Henry Adams now, that planned the Agamemnon?/Foundered on the River Plate, in Maldonaldos Bay
Oak and iron and blood of her, his fine one, his darling/Sink him in his hammock boys, he’s gone far away
Oak and iron and blood of her, his fine one, his darling/Sink him in his hammock boys, he’s gone far away

Man of the Earth
Lyrics & Music: Bernie Parry

Each day as I go through the old shanty town/Where the sheds and allotments all stand
I see an old man on his land/With a fork or a spade in his hand
He’s there in all weather, in sunshine and rain/And I hesitate as I walk past
Is he happy or sad with his task/Oh, I haven’t the time for to ask.

Chorus
A man of the earth, a man of the soil/In his lonely allotment he labours and toils
And he’s not much to do since he turned sixty-five/So he took to his garden to keep him alive
And I think it’s his joy and his pride

Fifty years in the iron works broke his will/And his back and shoulders are round
There was no other work in the town/So they had him both fettered and bound
Then all of a sudden he turned sixty-five/And the bosses said, “Thank you my man”
And they stuck a gold watch in his hand/And behind him the door quickly slammed

Chorus

Each Saturday evening he’s down at the pub/And he sits by himself at the bar
Slowly sipping a solitary jar/Oh, a pension won’t go very far
So he sells a few things to his neighbours and friends/Some things from his garden he grows
But he’s got to watch how he goes/Or they’ll stop all his pension, he knows

Chorus

Each day as I go through the old shanty town/Where the sheds and allotments all stand
I see an old man on his land/With a fork or a spade in his hand
But I cannot linger, no I must be gone/For I work in the iron works too
I started there five years ago/Only forty-five more years to go…

Chorus

The Valentine’s Day Hunt
Traditional

Last Valentine’s Day, bright Phoebus shone clear/And we hadn’t been a-hunting in the space of one year
Well I mounted Black Clover, that horse of great fame/For to hear the horns blow and the words “Tally-ho!”
Hark forward! Who cries, “Tally-ho, Tally-ho!”/Hark forward! Who cries “Tally-ho!”

“Hark! Hark! Into cover!” Colonel Wyndham he cried/He had no sooner spoke than a fox he espied
“Tally-ho!” were the words and then, “Crack!” went the whip/And that being our signal, our hounds we let slip
Hark forward! Who cries, “Tally-ho! Tally-ho!”/Hark forward! Who cries, “Tally-ho?”

Then up stepped Jim Norris, he cared not a pin/When he paused at the stream and his horse tumbled in
And as he crossed over, he spied the bold Ren/With his tongue hanging out heading back to his den
Hark forward! Who cries, “Tally-ho, Tally-ho!”/Hark forward! Who cries, “Tally-ho!”

Our hounds and our horses they were ever so good/As did ever break cover or step through the wood
So fill up your glasses and round let us drink/For while we are hunters we never shall shrink
Hark forward! Who cries, “Tally-ho, Tally-ho!”/Hark forward! Who cries, “Tally-ho!

Celestial Tea
Lyrics & Music: Alex Cumming

Come ladies and come gentlemen, and do gather round/I’ll tell you of a substance that’ll make you feel sound
It keeps you feeling solid and awake, you do see/And when you take a sip, yes, it will fill you with glee!

Chorus
Oh, drink it in the morning and the a-afternoon!/And drink it in the evening by the light of the moon
Oh, get that teapot ready and you will see/You cannot go wrong with a cup of celestial tea!

When you’re waking up from a night on the toon/You need to feel alive as you have work very soon
So go and get the kettle on and set it to boil/With a teabag empty cup you will be feeling royal!

Chorus

When you get home from work and you are so full of stress/You try to relax, but you feel like a mess
TV shows are rubbish cause the mutt drives you mad/So put the kettle on and diminish the sad!

Chorus

The sun is shining bright, you have a picnic prepared/With Sonny’s cakes and biscuits that are all to be shared
But everybody knows that picnics just cannot be/Without your thermos flask full of your favorite tea!

Chorus

Black tea, white tea, green tea, fruit tea, rooibos as well/Just so many flavors, it is so hard to tell
Do you have honey and ginger, masala chai, or just builder’s best?/Or chamomile, peppermint, lapsang souchong, or some lemon zest?

Chorus

Oh, drink it in the morning and the a-afternoon!/And drink it in the evening by the light of the moon
Oh, get that teapot ready and you will see/You cannot go wrong with a cup
To lift your spirits, up, up and up/You cannot go wrong with a cup
Of celestial tea!

Morris Set is a medley of Cotswold Morris tunes. The first is a waltzified version of Orange in Bloom from the Sherborne tradition, the second is based on the Adderbury version of The Black Joak, and the third is a version of Blue Eyed Stranger from Mary Neal’s The Esperance Morris Book.