The Bonny Labouring Boy

A fine ballad from the singing of the great Harry Cox. Harry Cox (1885-1971) was a farm worker from north-east Norfolk and one of the most important figures in the revival of folk music in Great Britain & Ireland. He was a compelling character, a fine singer of traditional songs with a huge repertoire, and an accomplished melodeon and fiddle player. In 1921 he was first visited in Catfield (to where his family had moved from Barton Turf in the 1890s) by the composer/ folksong collector Ernest J. Moeran, who used some of his song as material for his own compositions. Moeran later arranged for Harry to be recorded at Decca in 1934, resulting in the release of two songs as a 78rpm single by the English Folk Dance & Song Society (EFDSS), the first commercial recording of a folk song by a folk singer. In the 1950s & 60s he was again recorded by collectors Alan Lomax and Peter Kennedy, and featured in a TV film, The Song and the Singer, along with fellow Norfolk man Sam Larner, in 1964. As well as the impressive size and depth of his repertoire (about 150 songs, which included sea songs, farming songs and ballads), Harry Cox was much admired for his skill and delivery as a singer. Many of his versions became standard within the folk revival repertoire, such as The Spotted Cow (recorded by Steeleye Span 1072) and The Black Velvet Band (an international hit for The Dubliners 1967).

Added 25 Sept 2026