‘Wheels Of The World’ is the title track of the new album from English folk trio Granny’s Attic.
A song of Irish origin (Roud 16901), it takes the listener on a vivid tour of the early 19th-century European political landscape. The song presents some key figures as “spinners”, referring to the spinning wheels of the mills that changed the face of textile manufacture with the Industrial Revolution. The penultimate verse describes a situation that is still familiar in the 21st century:
They don’t give a fig for the poor; they hear not their sighs or their moans
They don’t care a pin if you work ‘til you spin all the flesh off your bones.
For a song written so long ago, it remains unfortunately relevant in today’s political climate. It reflects the ever-widening divisions in society between those with money and power and those without them.
George Sansome (guitar) first heard a version sung by Len Graham on his 1983 album Do Me Justice. George followed it back to the Bodleian Library’s online collection of Broadside Ballads, and after a few tweaks came up with this. In this lively arrangement set to a traditional Irish slip jig (Maire Rua), he trades lead vocals with Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne (concertina).
Lewis Wood (fiddle) said: “This song has been getting a fantastic response from audiences. It has a simple yet strong message and seemed an obvious choice for the title track. We can’t wait for everyone to hear the studio version in September!”.
Watch the video below which was shot by John Breese in Mad Bess’ Woods, Ruislip.
It comes as no surprise that the trio have had such a strong response to the title track and I expect that to rapidly multiply when the album is released. I’m not alone in such sentiments as reflected in Peter’s recent review of the album (read it here) in which he concluded:
Wheels of the World is a remarkable achievement: an album that not only sounds like a classic folk album of many years vintage, but it can also stand head-and-shoulders with the best of them too. And it seems like they’ve only just started…
Upcoming Tour Dates
Lake District Folk Weekend / 3rd-4th August 2019 / More info
Sidmouth Folk Festival / 7th-9th August 2019 / More info
Broadstairs Folk Week / 13th-14th August 2019 / More info
FolkEast / 16th-18th August 2019 / More info
Whitby Folk Week / 20th-22nd August 2019 / More info
Shrewsbury Folk Festival / 23rd-24th August 2019 / More info
Cornwall Folk Festival / 25th-26th August 2019 / More info
Bromyard Folk Festival / 5th-8th September 2019 / More info
Burton Folk Club / 20th September 2019 / More info
Huddlesford Boat Gathering / 21st September 2019 / More info
Folk at the Froize, Suffolk / 22nd September 2019 / More info
Chaffcombe Village Hall, Somerset / 27th September 2019 / More info
Cork Folk Festival / 4th-6th October 2019 / More info
Folk at the Grove, Leeds / 11th October 2019 / More info
Costa Del Folk, Portugal / 16th-17th October 2019 / More info
Huntingdon Hall, Worcester / 19th October 2019 / More info
Nailsea Folk Club / 8th November 2019 / More info
Conwy Folk Club / 18th November 2019 / More info
Folk at the Fold, Worcester / 30th November 2019 / More info
St Neots Folk Club / 3rd December 2019 / More info
The Ram Folk Club / 6th December 2019 / More info
https://www.grannysattic.org.uk
Photo Credit: Maria Alzamora