John Roberts & Tony Barrand is the pairing of English folk singers John Rob… Read Full Bio ↴John Roberts & Tony Barrand is the pairing of English folk singers John Roberts and Tony Barrand, both resident in America. The duo are also members of the four-man act Nowell Sing We Clear.
Widely acclaimed for their lively and entertaining presentations of English folk songs, Roberts and Barrand have performed at major festivals, colleges, clubs and coffeehouses throughout the United States, Canada, and their native Britain. They sing the ballads and songs of the sea, of rural pursuits, of social and sociable situations, of industrial toil and strife, and much more, typically arranging their material thematically to better illustrate the lives and the social history of the people who made and sang the songs. Their songs are punctuated with tales, monologues, dances and tunes, giving a more complete appreciation of the wealth, diversity, and vitality of the English folk tradition.
Roberts and Barrand met at Cornell University in 1968, as fellow graduate students in psychology. They discovered that they shared a common interest in folk song, and started performing together the following year. Unaccompanied two-part singing was always a primary staple of their repertoire, and the stark harmonies of their well-balanced voices soon brought them to the attention of the folk music community. They also draw upon a variety of instrumentation: Roberts is a leading exponent of both Anglo and English concertina, as well as being a fine banjo and guitar player; Tony Barrand is a skilled percussionist, on drums, bones and spoons.
Both are active in the folk dance arena as well as in song. Barrand is a well-known Morris and clog dancer, and his teaching is in demand across the United States. His book, Six Fools and a Dancer, was as the definitive work on Morris Dance in the United States. Roberts, an able dancer himself, is more often found providing the music on concertina. When not singing or dancing (and often when he is), Tony Barrand teaches folklore and aesthetics via the University Professors Program at Boston University; Roberts is a freelance music engraver and desktop publisher.
In their many years together as a professional team, Roberts and Barrand have recorded with a number of companies including Swallowtail, Front Hall, Folk Legacy, National Geographic, and, most recently, Golden Hind. These recordings include a critically-acclaimed album of authentic sea shanties, an album of drinking songs recorded live in a Chicago tavern, An Evening at the English Music Hall, and four albums of songs from their celebrated Christmas pageant, Nowell Sing We Clear. Their release in August '92 was a program of English folk songs entitled A Present from the Gentlemen. They have also recorded a selection of the songs that the composer Percy Grainger collected in Lincolnshire during the early years of this century, to be released as "Heartoutbursts" in 1998.
Other releases include Naulakha Redux (1997), Twiddlum Twaddlum (2003).
Widely acclaimed for their lively and entertaining presentations of English folk songs, Roberts and Barrand have performed at major festivals, colleges, clubs and coffeehouses throughout the United States, Canada, and their native Britain. They sing the ballads and songs of the sea, of rural pursuits, of social and sociable situations, of industrial toil and strife, and much more, typically arranging their material thematically to better illustrate the lives and the social history of the people who made and sang the songs. Their songs are punctuated with tales, monologues, dances and tunes, giving a more complete appreciation of the wealth, diversity, and vitality of the English folk tradition.
Roberts and Barrand met at Cornell University in 1968, as fellow graduate students in psychology. They discovered that they shared a common interest in folk song, and started performing together the following year. Unaccompanied two-part singing was always a primary staple of their repertoire, and the stark harmonies of their well-balanced voices soon brought them to the attention of the folk music community. They also draw upon a variety of instrumentation: Roberts is a leading exponent of both Anglo and English concertina, as well as being a fine banjo and guitar player; Tony Barrand is a skilled percussionist, on drums, bones and spoons.
Both are active in the folk dance arena as well as in song. Barrand is a well-known Morris and clog dancer, and his teaching is in demand across the United States. His book, Six Fools and a Dancer, was as the definitive work on Morris Dance in the United States. Roberts, an able dancer himself, is more often found providing the music on concertina. When not singing or dancing (and often when he is), Tony Barrand teaches folklore and aesthetics via the University Professors Program at Boston University; Roberts is a freelance music engraver and desktop publisher.
In their many years together as a professional team, Roberts and Barrand have recorded with a number of companies including Swallowtail, Front Hall, Folk Legacy, National Geographic, and, most recently, Golden Hind. These recordings include a critically-acclaimed album of authentic sea shanties, an album of drinking songs recorded live in a Chicago tavern, An Evening at the English Music Hall, and four albums of songs from their celebrated Christmas pageant, Nowell Sing We Clear. Their release in August '92 was a program of English folk songs entitled A Present from the Gentlemen. They have also recorded a selection of the songs that the composer Percy Grainger collected in Lincolnshire during the early years of this century, to be released as "Heartoutbursts" in 1998.
Other releases include Naulakha Redux (1997), Twiddlum Twaddlum (2003).
The Rainbow
John Roberts & Tony Barrand Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'The Rainbow' by these artists:
Apples in Stereo Oh when my battery It just runs out on me I like…
Ben Kweller Why do I sing these songs All of these mixtures of…
Corson Who do you call when you're all alone? Who do you…
Debra Cowan As we were a-sailing down by the Spanish shore Where the…
Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high There's a land that…
Justin Hinds In the middle of the raindrops I see the rainbow In the…
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high There's a land that…
KITCHEN - Talk Talk Oh yeah, the world's turned upside down Jimmy Finn is out We…
Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick Oh as we were sailing down by the Spanish shore Where…
South Park Many colors in the homo rainbow Don't be afraid to let…
Talk Talk Oh yeah, the world's turned upside down Jimmy Finn is out We…
Talk Talk [Spirit of Eden - 1988] Oh yeah The world's turned upside down Jimmy Finn is out …
Talk Talk/Talk Talk Oh yeah, the world's turned upside down Jimmy Finn is out We…
TEN Rainbow Colorful zindagi hogi, rainbow Paiso ki baarish hogi…
The A.M. Experiment can't seem to understand why so many children are losin' the…
The Apples In Stereo Oh when my battery It just runs out on me I like…
The Teenagers Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high There's a land that…
Trembling Blue Stars I am the girl from your dream - You know you…
Various Artists Somewhere over the rainbow Way up high In the land that I…
Vickie Winans Verse 1 This is a forecast of a storm For some it…
Ween Many colors in the homo rainbow Don't be afraid to let…
We have lyrics for these tracks by John Roberts:
I Every time I think of you It always turns out good Every…
Six In the middle of the night Six strings down On…
This Is Goodbye This is the moment This is the day When I send all…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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