200px, Fred Wedlock Scrumpy and Western refers humorously to music from England's West Country that fuses comical folk-style songs, often full of

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...

, with affectionate parodies of more mainstream musical genres, all delivered in the local accent/dialect. The name, taken from the title of the 1967 ''

Scrumpy & Western EP ''Scrumpy & Western EP'' was the second record released by Adge Cutler and The Wurzels, containing the two tracks from their original 1966 hit single, "Drink Up Thy Zider" and "Twice Daily", with two further tracks "Pill, Pill" and "Hark At 'Ee Ja ...

'' by

Adge Cutler Alan John "Adge" Cutler (19 November 1930 – 5 May 1974) was an English singer best known as the frontman of the comic folk band the Wurzels. Cutler was known for his songs, but also his dry, West Country humour, and gained the unofficial ...

and

the Wurzels The Wurzels are an English Scrumpy and Western band from Somerset, England, best known for their number one hit "The Combine Harvester" and number three hit "I Am a Cider Drinker" in 1976. They are known for using British West Country phrase ...

, refers to

scrumpy Scrumpy is a type of cider originating in the West of England, particularly the West Country. Traditionally, the dialect term "scrumpy" was used to refer to what was otherwise called "rough", a harsh cider made from unselected apples.Leeds, W. ' ...

, strongly alcoholic cider produced in the West Country; it is a play on the American genre of

country and western music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, old- ...

. Styles vary by band or musician, and very few are known outside their native county. The main exceptions to this are the Wurzels (originally "Adge Cutler and the Wurzels"), a

Somerset Somerset ( , ; Archaism, archaically Somersetshire , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in South West England which borders Gloucestershire and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east and Devon to the so ...

group who had a number one hit in the UK Singles Chart with "

The Combine Harvester "The Combine Harvester" is a novelty song which was a number one hit for Brendan Grace in Ireland in 1975 and then also for The Wurzels in the UK in 1976. Written by Brendan O'Shaughnessy, the song is a parody of Melanie Safka's 1971 hit, "Bran ...

" in 1976. This followed an earlier UK hit single with "Drink Up Thy Zider", an unofficial West Country anthem, especially among supporters of

Bristol City Football Club Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

. This gained notoriety when the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

refused to play its

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

song, "Twice Daily", due to concern about the unseemly subject matter (a

shotgun wedding A shotgun wedding is a wedding which is arranged in order to avoid embarrassment due to premarital sex which can possibly lead to an unintended pregnancy. The phrase is a primarily American colloquialism, termed as such based on a stereotypical ...

). "Combine Harvester" itself was a reworded version of

Melanie Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark".Brand New Key "Brand New Key" is a pop song written and sung by folk music singer Melanie. Initially a track of Melanie's album ''Gather Me'', produced by Melanie's husband Peter Schekeryk, it was known also as "The Rollerskate Song" due to its chorus. It was ...

". Other songs borrowed the style and made fun of the themes of

Country and Western A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while th ...

, and other US and British popular music. Other artists whose music is Scrumpy and Western in flavour include

The Yetties The Yetties (John "Bonny" Sartin, Pete Shutler, and Mac McCulloch) were an English folk music group, who took their name from the Dorset village of Yetminster, their childhood home. In 1975, they released an album entitled '' The Yetties of Yet ...

from the village of Yetminster in Dorset, The Golden Lion Light Orchestra from Worcestershire, Fred Wedlock, Who's Afear'd (also from Dorset), the Skimmity Hitchers (who rose from the ashes of Who's Afear'd), the Surfin Turnips (more punky folk), Trevor Crozier, the Yokels (from Wiltshire), Shag Connors and the Carrot Crunchers, and the Pigsty Hill Light Orchestra.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scrumpy And Western English styles of music Music in Somerset West Country

See also

References