"The Llandoger" is a Longest Johns original, written by Robbie Sattin. It was debuted during the Johns' Jingle Jam performance on 4 December 2023, and released as the opening track on Voyage.
The song pays tribute to the Llandoger Trow, a historic pub in Bristol dating back to 1664. The pub's name references the Welsh village of Llandogo, a former port on the River Wye, once renowned for building trows: a type of flat-bottomed barge used to transport goods on the Rivers Wye and Severn.[1] The first landlord of the Llandoger, a Captain Hawkins, was a retired sailor who may have been from Llandogo and/or captained such a trow (sources differ).[2][3]
Factoids[]
From its early days, the Llandoger Trow was a popular hangout among sailors of all sorts. Though its claim to have been a favored watering hole of Blackbeard himself may be apocryphal,[4] renovations in the 1960s did uncover the remains of secret tunnels beneath the building, hinting at some possible extralegal connections.
The song references two reputed literary associations of the establishment: Daniel Defoe is said to have met Alexander Selkirk, the real-life castaway who inspired his novel Robinson Crusoe, within its walls; and Robert Louis Stevenson allegedly based the pub in his novel Treasure Island, the Admiral Benbow, on the Llandoger Trow.
Jack can be a dull, dull boy is a reference to the proverb, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy", first recorded in 1659.[5]
The pub currently hosts a twice-monthly shanty singing night, one gathering of which provided backing vocals for the song.
The tune quoted by the banjo and fiddle after each chorus and in the outro is a traditional piece called "Soldier's Joy", which seems to be Scottish in origin; its earliest known print appearance is in a 1756 collection of country dances, and it crops up in folk traditions in such widely varying locales as Scandinavia, the French Alps, and Appalachia.[6]
Lyrics[]
Provided very kindly by the band
Good evening, aren't we lucky to be here right now?
And I can't remember when the sun went down.
We'll all be surprised if there's a bar in town
That welcomes us tonight, that welcomes us tonight,
But there's money in our pockets, and the Llandoger's in sight.
Heave and ho! A roving we will go,
Down the roads of cobbles to the everlasting flow
Of ale and cider, whisky boys, it's flowing like the wine,
We'll all be well tonight, we'll all be well tonight,
While there's money in our pockets, and the Llandoger's in sight.
Stand and sing! The walls begin to ring
With the sound of centuries gone past and history in the beams.
Where Defoe and Stevenson both put the world to rights, and
We'll all be well tonight, we'll all be well tonight,
While there's money in our pockets and the Llandoger's in sight.
Your time, it is precious,
And there's plenty to be done,
But I hear that Jack can be a dull, dull boy,
So drink with us tonight, drink with us tonight,
'Cause there's money in our pockets, and the Llandoger's in sight.
Well the spirits have got us in every way, I know,
I see angels in the rafters taking in the show.
The smartest fool, the dumbest sage are singing in the back,
And we'll all be well tonight, put your troubles in the past.
We'll all be well tonight, ah we've found heaven at last.
We'll all be well tonight, we'll all be well tonight, [x4]
'Cause there's money in our pockets, and the Llandoger's in sight.
Recordings[]
Stream/Purchase[]
YouTube Videos[]
Gig Videos[]
- The Waterfront, Norwich (27 Mar 2024)
- The Limelight, Belfast (27 Apr 2024)
- Buckhead Theatre, Atlanta (14 May 2024)
- The Majestic, Dallas (12 Oct 2024)
- O2 Academy2, Liverpool, UK (3 Feb 2025)
Full Band Streams[]
- Jingle Jam 2023 | Day 4 (4 Dec 2023)
- JINGLE JAM DAY 8! The Longest Johns Live Jingle Jam Concert (8 Dec 2023)
- It Was Christmas Stream Babe (20 Dec 2023)
- 20,000 Streams Under the Sea (13 Feb 2024)
- The Strims (9 Apr 2024)
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Stream (18 Dec 2024)
- ↑ https://www.visitdeanwye.co.uk/information/products/llandogo-llaneuddogwy-p1313101
- ↑ https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/famous-bristol-pub-reopens-after-5551593
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/apr/21/last-orders-for-bristol-pub-linked-to-robinson-crusoe-and-treasure-island
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/apr/21/last-orders-for-bristol-pub-linked-to-robinson-crusoe-and-treasure-island
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_work_and_no_play_makes_Jack_a_dull_boy
- ↑ https://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Soldier%27s_Joy_(1)