The Llandoger

"The Llandoger" is a song from the upcoming album Voyage, with a planned release date of 9 February 2024. It is a Longest Johns original, written by Robbie Sattin. Though not yet officially released, the song was debuted during the Johns' Jingle Jam performance on 4 December 2023.

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. 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).

## 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, renovations in the 1960s did uncover the remains of secret tunnels beneath the building, hinting at some possible less-than-savory 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.

The tune Andy quotes during the banjo solo is a traditional piece called "Soldier's Joy", which he appears to have discovered through its association with the American old-time music tradition, but it seems in fact 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 Newfoundland.

## 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,
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> Down the roads of cobbles to the everlasting flow
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> 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.
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> 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.
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> 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

#### 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)

1. ↑ https://www.visitdeanwye.co.uk/information/products/llandogo-llaneuddogwy-p1313101
2. ↑ https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/famous-bristol-pub-reopens-after-5551593
3. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/apr/21/last-orders-for-bristol-pub-linked-to-robinson-crusoe-and-treasure-island
4. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/apr/21/last-orders-for-bristol-pub-linked-to-robinson-crusoe-and-treasure-island
5. ↑ https://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Soldier%27s\_Joy\_(1)