"How many C&W singers does it take to change a lightbulb?" Three: one to change the light bulb and two to stand around singing about how much they miss the old one!
I thought Garth Brooks used to play for Spurs. Now he's flying around in the US, singing. Wow, that's a helluva career change Garth. Don't you worry about the criticism. Let's see other singers scoring 10 goals a season in the Premiership, eh.
I don't know why they showed the English folk clip when folk has nothing to do with country music. They just know back then country music in England was and still is not as big as American stuff. Now we have the Shires and few others gracing the charts but back then we didn't have country singers who charted, only Irish ones and they don't have a sound like American country unless they record it in an American style sound. Maybe they could have showed a clip of Daniel O'Donnel or Brendan Shine etc and said this is closest thing to British country music. I rather like modern country aswell as old stuff
Speaking of Garth Brooks, they just canceled two of the five gigs he was going to have in Ireland, I had no idea he was so popular in Ireland, but the tickets sold out more or less instantly.
This is true -- 80,000 at each gig. I would like to apologise on behalf of Ireland, but we've just had a week where members of our parliament tried to introduce emergency legislation to save the gigs. Mr Brooks has declared that his heart is breaking. Our Taoiseach and the Mexican ambassador (don't ask) have got involved. And an appeal was made to Obama to intervene. I'm not making any of this up. Please kill us
Yes she is, the storyline of the song is that the girl is being hassled by a bloke, so she tells him to come to her father's house and she'll give him money (and sex) but then she tricks him and locks him out. The song is originally sung by a man it seems, and ends with some advice to other men, that if you encounter a pretty girl, just have sex with her there and then. Song is "Clear Away the Morning Dew"
@rhysdegnan 'may i just say that woman is oviasly irish not english ' - firstly, the word is OBVIOUSLY. Secondly, she is clearly english, she doesn't sound irish in the least. She is using the standard voice and tone for english folk music. Clearly you've never heard any before, so don't talk about things you know nothing about. Ape.
@rhysdegnan To be perfectly honest when I first heard Bob Dylan he sounded Irish (I already knew he was an American), so I figured out it was probably just a silly accent for the song. So I reckon she was putting on the Irish accent to make the song sound a bit more folky, however in reality she probably speaks like some chav xD
I was more irritated at how they consider 'midget' to be so offensive when 'shit' is a far worse term, I agree completely that censorship is useless and causes more problems than it solves. It's completely obvious what word they blocked, and they've achieved nothing but drawing attention to it, whereas leaving it uncensored would've drawn little to no attention at all.
country music actually came from the celtic type folk music they showed anyway....cuz mainly all of the southern white people are of irish or english stock (the south has more english like traits than the rest of america anyway) and it just morphed into what it is now from that, both versions are shit imo though =p
English Folk/Country's got an undeserved reputation for being naff and shit. There are some naff and shit songs but there are also some great ones. Ewan MacColl's Manchester Rambler for instance is brilliant, so is Cousin Jack by Show of Hands and anything done by Fishermans Friends.
much as i dislike country music, i can see where rich is coming from in this. i don't really see anything to identify with in country music, but i can see what he's talking about with the lack of authenticity in the new stuff. i guess i just didnt grown up listening to it and it's not my thing
Rich is right. Anyone who has seen the Ken Burns' documentary Country Music will know what a wonderful and sincere form of music it is. But today's so-called Country Music is truly awful pop in a cowboy hat. Wearing a cowboy hat don't make it country.
100% agree with Hall regarding the "new country music". Garth Brooks et alia are pop garbage. Bring back bluegrass (Ole timey) and let American Idol foist the 'Billy Ray Cyrus' shyte on the tone deaf and gullible.
'If you come down to my father's house there you may lay me down, And take away my maidenhead, likewise ten thousand pounds.' We strolled down to her father's house, where she quickly locked me out, She said 'Young man I'm a maid within, and you're a fool without!'
Hes right on about modern country music. That stuff is just re-packaged pop rock garbage that hateful ppl use to make themselves feel better. Really enjoyed this espisode.
@TopGearFanForever She has a west country accent, it's not irish in the slightest. 90% of english folk sounds like this, and it sounds nothing like irish folk music.
Hang on a second! The BBC'll let you say Siamese twins , but not midget? Seeing as there's no Siam anymore I guess you're not offending anyone? Maybe they should change the word to Thai twins.
The great thing is that the clip they showed of Garth Brooks isn't even the weirdest shit he's ever done. I'm referring to the whole Chris Gaines fiasco.
It's actually called dwarfism. Man can be short without having it, I knew a guy who was about 5 foot 4 and he was just a short man, not a man with dwarfism. It tends to be the REALLY short ones who have it, and sometimes their bodies can look quite out of proportion. The really politically correct term is "little person" but I guess it depends on the dwarf as to which they'd be least offended by.
To those who don't get why we Americans are confused by the "midget" bleep it's because in the US its the other way around, where "midget" is considered more acceptable than "dwarf". I was confused by it too until I saw a lot more British TV and started picking up on the fact that this is one of the linguistic inversions across the pond - like what "public school" means.
The song she's singing is "All Hail the Dewy Morning": I went out one May morning to see what I could shoot, I there a-spied a fair pretty maid a-rowing in a boat. Chorus: Singing hail the dewy morning, Blow the winds high-ho, Clear away the morning dew, How sweet the winds do blow.
I've seen him and he is absolutely awesome. He did the first half as himself and then was Otis for the second half. I had an argument with Otis. He improvises a song about a person in the front row and their job, which would have been me but I was unemployed. I told him I was a music student. "How am I doing then Nick!" and I had also played on that same stage a week before (End of year concerts happen there) to which Otis took great offense and he screamed at me!
No it doesn't. It's sideshow at best and very small minority at worst, especially for people living in Maidenhead. Even Acid Rain Garage Punk Funk is more popular.
I see your comment was two years ago so you probably already know about Rich's musical alter ego Otis Lee Crenshaw, but if you don't then check it out.
yea when i watched the simpsons i thought he looked and sounded like rich, then i found out he is actually based off him. Matt Groening knows/knew him.
Folk music is not shit Paul. Glad Rich put him right on that. :)
Hear hear!
I live in a town called Maidenhead, read into that what you will.
I like Garth Brooks!
The song he was singing sounds like Alice Cooper ;>>
It's Minnie Pearl, no?
Rich Hall, letting you know there are genuine Americans out there. God Bless.
Hall trounces Merton's ( well the producer's) dissing of British folk. Good on yer, Hall!
+theonlyantony Yes I was glad of that.
"How many C&W singers does it take to change a lightbulb?" Three: one to change the light bulb and two to stand around singing about how much they miss the old one!
I thought Garth Brooks used to play for Spurs. Now he's flying around in the US, singing. Wow, that's a helluva career change Garth. Don't you worry about the criticism. Let's see other singers scoring 10 goals a season in the Premiership, eh.
I love Rich Hall, both as a comedian and as an original person. You can always count on him to come up with a great spontaneous joke.
I just discovered Rich Hall, he is amazing....
Please upload Linda Smith if you have it!!! Thanks in advance.
The girl singing Blow The Winds Hi Ho was Chris Coe,and she is French.She married the English folkie Pete Coe.
I don't know why they showed the English folk clip when folk has nothing to do with country music. They just know back then country music in England was and still is not as big as American stuff. Now we have the Shires and few others gracing the charts but back then we didn't have country singers who charted, only Irish ones and they don't have a sound like American country unless they record it in an American style sound. Maybe they could have showed a clip of Daniel O'Donnel or Brendan Shine etc and said this is closest thing to British country music. I rather like modern country aswell as old stuff
You do realise that country is just a different kind of folk music, right?
Saw this when it first aired and haven't seen it since - been looking for it for a while, so happy to see it again! It's as brilliant as I remember
Rachael Wilson same. :D
Rachael Wilson Same!
rich hall's uncle is tom waits.
Speaking of Garth Brooks, they just canceled two of the five gigs he was going to have in Ireland, I had no idea he was so popular in Ireland, but the tickets sold out more or less instantly.
This is true -- 80,000 at each gig. I would like to apologise on behalf of Ireland, but we've just had a week where members of our parliament tried to introduce emergency legislation to save the gigs. Mr Brooks has declared that his heart is breaking. Our Taoiseach and the Mexican ambassador (don't ask) have got involved. And an appeal was made to Obama to intervene. I'm not making any of this up. Please kill us
I had no idea either nor do I know why. Seriously. It must be the lyrics, sort of a modern inferior Tom Lehrer?
He always reminds me of Moe from the Simpsons!
Moe was based on him.
Yes she is, the storyline of the song is that the girl is being hassled by a bloke, so she tells him to come to her father's house and she'll give him money (and sex) but then she tricks him and locks him out. The song is originally sung by a man it seems, and ends with some advice to other men, that if you encounter a pretty girl, just have sex with her there and then. Song is "Clear Away the Morning Dew"
@rhysdegnan 'may i just say that woman is oviasly irish not english ' - firstly, the word is OBVIOUSLY. Secondly, she is clearly english, she doesn't sound irish in the least. She is using the standard voice and tone for english folk music. Clearly you've never heard any before, so don't talk about things you know nothing about. Ape.
@rhysdegnan To be perfectly honest when I first heard Bob Dylan he sounded Irish (I already knew he was an American), so I figured out it was probably just a silly accent for the song. So I reckon she was putting on the Irish accent to make the song sound a bit more folky, however in reality she probably speaks like some chav xD
I was more irritated at how they consider 'midget' to be so offensive when 'shit' is a far worse term, I agree completely that censorship is useless and causes more problems than it solves. It's completely obvious what word they blocked, and they've achieved nothing but drawing attention to it, whereas leaving it uncensored would've drawn little to no attention at all.
country music actually came from the celtic type folk music they showed anyway....cuz mainly all of the southern white people are of irish or english stock (the south has more english like traits than the rest of america anyway) and it just morphed into what it is now from that, both versions are shit imo though =p
English Folk/Country's got an undeserved reputation for being naff and shit. There are some naff and shit songs but there are also some great ones. Ewan MacColl's Manchester Rambler for instance is brilliant, so is Cousin Jack by Show of Hands and anything done by Fishermans Friends.
much as i dislike country music, i can see where rich is coming from in this. i don't really see anything to identify with in country music, but i can see what he's talking about with the lack of authenticity in the new stuff. i guess i just didnt grown up listening to it and it's not my thing
Rich is right. Anyone who has seen the Ken Burns' documentary Country Music will know what a wonderful and sincere form of music it is. But today's so-called Country Music is truly awful pop in a cowboy hat. Wearing a cowboy hat don't make it country.
100% agree with Hall regarding the "new country music". Garth Brooks et alia are pop garbage. Bring back bluegrass (Ole timey) and let American Idol foist the 'Billy Ray Cyrus' shyte on the tone deaf and gullible.
Haha Merton swaying his head reminds me of Alan Partridge in his Knowing Me, Knowing You "chat show".
'If you come down to my father's house there you may lay me down,
And take away my maidenhead, likewise ten thousand pounds.'
We strolled down to her father's house, where she quickly locked me out,
She said 'Young man I'm a maid within, and you're a fool without!'
Hes right on about modern country music. That stuff is just re-packaged pop rock garbage that hateful ppl use to make themselves feel better. Really enjoyed this espisode.
@TopGearFanForever She has a west country accent, it's not irish in the slightest. 90% of english folk sounds like this, and it sounds nothing like irish folk music.
@numbersabcdefg yes I listen to tons of Country music and not one mentions a pickup truck.
Hang on a second! The BBC'll let you say Siamese twins , but not midget? Seeing as there's no Siam anymore I guess you're not offending anyone? Maybe they should change the word to Thai twins.
The great thing is that the clip they showed of Garth Brooks isn't even the weirdest shit he's ever done. I'm referring to the whole Chris Gaines fiasco.
I think it's mostly because of the old fashioned and to modern ears therefore silly sounding singing style that some people don't like it.
If hes from Virginia and North Carolina, why does he have such a northern accent?
agree abour Billy Ray Cyrus, not only did he "give" the world Achy Breaky Heart, he's also responsible for Hannah Montana eugh
maidenhead? nice, neva realised. I guess it makes sense as maids are meant to be virgins hence brides "maids" at weddings
I agree.its not the best i've heard but its not bad, and certainly better than any of the country music mentioned
He says as much himself, and I doubt anyone here would shoot him in the head. Waste of talent if they did ^_^
anyone know the name of the song rich sings? can't find it in any of the otis lee crenshaw stuff on youtube
And what, exactly, is wrong with the English folk music example, other than the singer's dated haircut?
same here, first time i saw him was on QI, didn't like him at first but now i kinda do. ihs stand-up is pretty good.
from what I can gather she is singing about losing her Virginity, and then waking up in the morning.
i hate ppl who get offended by words like that, i am a small person and i don't care wat ppl call me
Rich Hall = Legend!
Who was the english folk singer that sang that song halfway through? Or a song name at least?
Rich is right about modern country music..it's become Disneyfied and lost it's true grit.
Has anyone else noticed that both Paul and Rich are both wearing jackets with flowers on?
They think that saying midget would offend people with dwarfism but shit won't offend anyone. :/
Never knew Rich was a bit of a musician, sounds a bit like tom waitts dont ya think?
that english "country singer" sounds more like a very bad irish folk impersinator
to me i think real country music is great but modern is just horrible, mass produced shit.
Country music = maple syrup?
Rich, I think you've been doing the UK too long.
That Garth Brooks clip is hilarious. Its so cheesy it almost made me throw up!
Anyone else look at Garth Brooks on the ropes thinkin "snap snap snap snap"
They'll censor 'midget' but not 'shit' =\ yeah, that makes perfect sense.
@somerandomer how could you not like country music?
why was it even censord?
anyone could tell what he was saying....
@duckingforcover09 I love all English folk, you're not alone.
I thought for sure that #5 was going to be that second moon.
@amazingrandy900
It wasn't the BBC that muted it, it was Virgin.
isn't it basically the rhythm section of heart and soul?
And to think, this is before the advent of Taylor Swift!
@DayveIsh Yeah, I thought he was funny, when I was 10.
They say the word shit, but they bleep the word midget?
@maureenOWW I don't know. I hate folk music anyway xD
It's actually called dwarfism. Man can be short without having it, I knew a guy who was about 5 foot 4 and he was just a short man, not a man with dwarfism. It tends to be the REALLY short ones who have it, and sometimes their bodies can look quite out of proportion. The really politically correct term is "little person" but I guess it depends on the dwarf as to which they'd be least offended by.
Am I the only one that liked the English Folk Music?
Last song sounds like a Those Poor Bastards song...
She's still singing and teaching,Google Chris Coe
@maureenOWW "oviasly" you got to be kidding me!
Honestly, Rich's song doesn't sound half bad. :|
yeah you didnt watch him at the Apollo did you lol
Paul Merton appears to be wearing a couch...
i wonna buy this song, what is it called?
heh, couldn't dis Johnny Cash; who would?
To those who don't get why we Americans are confused by the "midget" bleep it's because in the US its the other way around, where "midget" is considered more acceptable than "dwarf". I was confused by it too until I saw a lot more British TV and started picking up on the fact that this is one of the linguistic inversions across the pond - like what "public school" means.
The song she's singing is "All Hail the Dewy Morning":
I went out one May morning to see what I could shoot,
I there a-spied a fair pretty maid a-rowing in a boat.
Chorus: Singing hail the dewy morning,
Blow the winds high-ho,
Clear away the morning dew,
How sweet the winds do blow.
wait they censor fuck in QI dont they?
He seems like a dashed decent fella :o)
just love Rich Hall real honest sweety
Yes it is. It's a character he plays.
You mean the lass from Steeleye Span?
Tell it like it is about the country music industry. I don't listen to country made past 2000.
mertons enjoying him-self at the end
yeah but midgit it's that bad a word
That woman singing 'Blow Away the Morning Dew' is awesome. That's a classic Sam Larner song. Why are English people so down on their indigenous music?
Why do we care about the racial diversity of a concert crowd? Some ethnicities of people ilke certain types of music, nothing wrong with that.
and with the british folk music....
I love Rich Hall, probably my favourite American comedian :)
I've seen him and he is absolutely awesome. He did the first half as himself and then was Otis for the second half. I had an argument with Otis. He improvises a song about a person in the front row and their job, which would have been me but I was unemployed. I told him I was a music student. "How am I doing then Nick!" and I had also played on that same stage a week before (End of year concerts happen there) to which Otis took great offense and he screamed at me!
No it doesn't. It's sideshow at best and very small minority at worst, especially for people living in Maidenhead. Even Acid Rain Garage Punk Funk is more popular.
2 Garth Brooks did not like this
I see your comment was two years ago so you probably already know about Rich's musical alter ego Otis Lee Crenshaw, but if you don't then check it out.
yea when i watched the simpsons i thought he looked and sounded like rich, then i found out he is actually based off him. Matt Groening knows/knew him.
So surely as he's already put Disney into Room 101, there's no need to put modern country music in too.
More an observation about the likes of Garth Brooks rather than Country Music proper, backing up Rich Hall's comment.
I first saw Rich on QI a few weeks ago and I thought, Man he's weird. But he's really been growing on me ever since. :)
saw rich hall perform at Latitude, i mean Otis Lee Crenshaw wink wink