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badger
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The Liar's Bench
...the times of our lives....
yellowfiddler image A Prayer for Leadership
...and so deliver Albion....
yellowfiddler image One Penny A Tune
I'm scraping a living.....
yellowfiddler image The Head Gardener
In his little red weskit....
yellowfiddler image Five New Heads
A Music Hall style song
yellowfiddler image The Migrant
The fate of Charlotte Kimpton in 1845
yellowfiddler image The Melancholy Wreck of the Gossamer
The sad story, as described in a display at the Salcombe Maritime Museum.
redfiddler image Down In The Dark
The song of the badger
yellowfiddler image Nothing that's left but the Squeal
Celebrating the role of the pig in UK culture
yellowfiddler image Dark Ember
A country style song of unrequited love
yellowfiddler image The Devil in York
Traditional style chorus song based on a true story
yellowfiddler image So Far From Home
The Marching Song of the ghosts of the Ninth Legion
redfiddler image Steam Again in Goathland
Written at the time of the re-opening of the North Yorkshire Moors railway
yellowfiddler image The Tale of the Christmas Tree fairy
An epic seasonal monologue

Down in the Dark

      When the fox slinks silent from his lair,
      The robin sings a final air,
      And the moonlight wakes the sleeping hare,
      Its then we take our part..

                 Down in the dark where no-one can see us,
                 Down in the dark through the sand and the loam,
                 Down in the dark where no-one can hear us,
                 Old Brock he's a digging, digging, digging.
                 Old Brock he's a digging, digging his home.

      We spend the daytime in the deep
      Then walk abroad, while others sleep.
      We to ourselves our counsel keep,
      For that's our ancient way.....

                 Down in the dark where no-one can see us,
                 Down in the dark through the sand and the loam,
                 Down in the dark where no-one can hear us,
                 Old Brock he's a digging, digging, digging.
                 Old Brock he's a digging, digging his home.

      One by one we venture out,
      For any danger cast about.
      Then turn again if there's any doubt,
      For time is on our side......

                 Down in the dark where no-one can see us,
                 Down in the dark through the sand and the loam,
                 Down in the dark where no-one can hear us,
                 Old Brock he's a digging, digging, digging.
                 Old Brock he's a digging, digging his home.

      There's no top table in our hall,
      We favour none but care for all.
      If you can't climb then you can't fall,
      And so we keep our law......

                 Down in the dark where no-one can see us,
                 Down in the dark through the sand and the loam,
                 Down in the dark where no-one can hear us,
                 Old Brock he's a digging, digging, digging.
                 Old Brock he's a digging, digging his home.

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This song has taken on a new life as the very talented Rowan Piggot has arranged it for 3 voices, and it is currently wowing audiences as part of the performance set of 'The Wilderness Yet' (as 'Old Brock'.) Their interpretation is wonderful! I couldn't hope for it to be in better hands, and look forward to it appearing on their next CD. © Tim Brooks March 2015

About this Song

It occurred to me that there weren't any folk songs about badgers, so I undertook to write one. (I have since learned of two others!)

My first plan - to research folklore about badgers and use that as a basis for a song fell flat - as I couldn't find any useful material - there seems to be very little folklore about badgers.

- so this gave me something to write about - the seeming privacy of badgers.

More ideas came from the wildlife on line web site, where their observations give a great insight into the social behavior of badgers, in particular the following text which I have reflected in the fourth verse.

" Interestingly, countless hours of direct observation have failed to demonstrate any dominancy hierarchy among badgers - many badger biologists consider that there is a hierarchy, and observations by amateur enthusiasts seem to support this idea, but that it is probably our finite methods of observation fail to detect it." (I reflect this in the fourth verse!)

In the 'Love Life' online magazine there is a well written, shortish, article describing the life of badgers in the UK.

Media files

Audio and Video files

  mp3 - solo acapella performance of Down in the Dark

Printable Song Sheet

  Here is a printable pdf file of the lyric-with and without the chords I use