Lyr Req: Canute (Oldham Tinkers)

Subject: Lyr Req: Canute - Oldham Tinkers
From: Andy Jackson
Date: 20 Oct 07 - 03:52 AM

Anybody got these words to hand?
Also perhaps the one that includes "one fine day she danced away with the Calico printer's Clerk"

TIA

Andy

Subject: Lyr Add: CANUTE (Harvey Kershaw)
From: Bernard
Date: 20 Oct 07 - 06:33 AM

Canute
(Harvey Kershaw)

Chorus:Yer can talk of yer 'istries, and yer legends t'boot,
But there's nowt to compare with the tale of Canute,
As he sat near to t'sea, wi' tide comin' in,
Cos he thowt he could tell t'waves to 'utch up fer 'im.

1. He ordered his servants to fotch him a chair
    And place it on t' beach, lads, as watter drew near
    Then he sat there in state wi' his hand held aboo'
    As if he were making a grab for the Moon.

2. So far, but no further, now turn back! He growled
    He were talking to t' waves, but they wouldn't be towd
    He might just as well, like, have kept his mouth shut
    Cos watter drew for'ard and laped o'er his foot.

3. Well he got to his feet and he trumpered wi' rage,
    But that made no difference, 'cos sea weren't his page
    Then he turned round about and gi' t'servants a shout
    For he didn't like th'idea having his feet weshed for nowt.

4. Then back in his castle how he fumed and he kicked
    Cos he didn't like th'idea of having been licked
    Well it just goes to show that even a king
    With all his palaver can't boss everything.

5. There's nobbut Britannia can rule the owd waves,
    And who has a job on, at times, with some knaves.
    Tha can't bully nature with threat'nings and rods,
    For turning o't' tide's in the lap of the Gods.



One version of words for Calico Printer's Clerk... PM Mark Dowding for more, and the original tune!

1. In Manchester, that city
    Of cotton twist and twill,
    Lived the subject of my song,
    The cause of all my ill,
    She was handsome, young and twenty,
    Her eyes were azure blue,
    Admirers she had plenty,
    And her name was Dorothy Drew.

Chorus:She was very fond of dancing,
But allow me to remark
That one fine day she danced away
With a calico printer's clerk.

2. At a private ball I met her
    In eighteen sixty three,
    I never will forget her,
    Though she was unkind to me,
    I was dressed in the peak of fashion,
    And my lavender gloves were new,
    We danced the waltz Cacathian,
    Myself and Dorothy Drew.

3. We chassied and we polka'd
    With strange abandoned flame,
    We waltzed and we mazurka'd,
    Till she waltzed my heart away.
    I whispered in this manner
    As round the room we flew,
    During the waltz Lavinia:
    I love you, Dorothy Drew!

4. It was on one Monday morning,
    To breakfast I came down,
    A smile my face adorning
    Soon turned into a frown,
    For in the morning paper
    A paragraph met my view
    Jones, the calico printer's clerk
    Had married Dorothy Drew.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Canute - Oldham Tinkers
From: Bernard
Date: 20 Oct 07 - 06:34 AM

Erm... 'laped' (v2) should be 'lapped', of course!!

Subject: Lyr/Chords Add: THE CALICO PRINTER'S CLERK
From: Sky Sailor
Date: 20 Oct 07 - 07:05 AM

This version appears in Mike Harding's Collection of Folk Songs Of Lancashire. (Whitehorn press, ISBN 0 9506055 3 0)

I have added the chords that I use.
^^^
The Calico Printer's Clerk

In [G]Manchester, that city of [C]cotton [G]twists and [D]twills,
There [C]lived the subject [G]of my song, the [D]cause of all my [D7]ills.
She was [C]handsome, young and [G]twenty and her [D]eyes were azure [D7]blue.
Ad[G]mirers she had [C]plenty and her [D7]name was Dorothy [G]Drew.

CHORUS
She was [C]very fond of [G]dancing, but [C]allow me to remark,
[G]One fine day she [C]danced away with the [D7]calico printer's [G]clerk.

At a private ball I met her in 1863,
I never can forget her, though she proved unkind to me.
I was dressed in pink of fashion, my lavender gloves were new
And I danced the Valse Circasian with charming Dorothy Drew.

We Schottisched and we Polka'd to the strains the band did play
We Waltzed and we Mazurka'd, til she Valsed my heart away
I whispered in this fashion as round the room we flew
Doing the Varsovinia, "I love you, Dorothy Drew."

For months and months attention unto her I did pay,
'Til with her condescension, she led me quite astray;
For the money I expended, I'm ashamed to tell to you
I'll inform you how it ended with myself and Dorothy Drew.

I received an intimation she a visit meant to pay
Unto a near relation, who lived some miles away
In a month she'd be returning, I must make a short adieu
But her love for me was burning, oh, deceitful Dorothy Drew!

At nine o'clock next morning, to breakfast I sat down
The smile, my face adorning, soon turned into a frown
For in the morning paper, a paragraph met my view
That Jones, the calico printer's clerk, had married Dorothy Drew.

Subject: Lyr Add: CANUTE THE GREAT (Marriott Edgar)
From: Susan of DT
Date: 20 Oct 07 - 07:35 AM

Also, another song , actually a recitation, about him:

CANUTE THE GREAT
(Marriott Edgar)

I'll tell of Canute, King of England,
A native of Denmark was he,
His hobbies was roving and raiding
And paddling his feet in the sea.

By trade he were what's called a Viking,
Every summer he'd visit our shore,
Help himself to whatever he wanted,
And come back in the autumn for more.

These trips always showed him a profit,
But what stumped him to know was this 'ere...
Where the English folk got all the money,
He came and took off them each year.

After duly considering the matter,
He concluded as how his best course,
Were to have an invasion of England,
And tap the supply at its source.

He got other Vikings to join him,
With a promise of plunder and spoil,
And raked up atrocity stories,
To bring all their blood to the boil.

They landed one morning at Weymouth,
And waited for fight to begin,
While their foe, Ethelred the Unready,
Found his army and got it fell in.

When the battle were done, Crown of England,
Changed heads, so the history book states,
From Ethelred's seven-and-a-quarter,
To King Canutes six-and-five-eights.

The Vikings was cheered as the winners,
Ethelred, he went somewhere and died,
And Canute, to his lasting atonement...
Made the widow, Queen Emma, his bride.

She started to teach him his manners,
To drink without wetting his nose,
Put his hand to his mouth and say "Pardon!",
Every time the occasion arose.

She said his companions was vulgar,
His habits more easy than free,
Made him promise no more to disgrace her,
By paddling his feet in the sea.

At the time this 'ere promise meant nothing,
It were made in the cool of the spring,
But when summer came in with a heat wave,
T' were a totally different thing.

He moved his court down to the seaside,
Where they took off their shoes and their socks,
And rushed to the water and left him,
Alone on his throne on the rocks.

Said one, "Come on King, have a paddle,
I'll look after your sceptre and crown."
He replied, "Nay, I promised the missus,
And I can't let the old... lady down."

"No need to do that," said the Tempter,
"The tide's coming in, as you see;
You promised you wouldn't go to it,
But you can't stop it coming to thee!"

And that's how it happened... that later,
When Emma came over the sands,
She found Canute knee deep in water,
Trying to shush the sea back with his hands.

For not letting on that he'd seen her,
He was chiding each wave as it came,
Saying, "Thus far, my lad, and no further!"
'Til Emma said, "What is this game?"

He replied, These 'ere flatterers told me,
That the sea would obey me, and so,
I'm giving them this demonstration,
To show what a fat lot they know."

"You're doing quite right," shouted Emma,
"It's time someone made them look small!"
Then she took off her shoes and her stockings,
And started to paddle an' all.


@recitation @history @royalty
filename[ CANUTGRT
SOF
Nov07

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Canute - Oldham Tinkers
From: Mark Dowding
Date: 20 Oct 07 - 08:22 AM

If you look at the sheet music for the Calico Printer's Clerk you'll find it's actually called "'She was very fond of dancing' or 'The Calico Printer's Clerk'". The two examples in the ballads in the bodleian library both title the song The Calico Printer's Clerk.
It was written by Harry Clifton with the original tune by C. Coote jr.
Clifton was a prolific writer of music hall material including "On board of the Kangaroo" which has made its way into the folk world.
Chris Harvey and myself recorded the original version on the CD "Manchester Ballads"

Cheers
Mark

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Canute - Oldham Tinkers
From: Andy Jackson
Date: 21 Oct 07 - 04:57 AM

I dunno you turns yer back for two minutes and the answer to the world the universe and everthin just appears.

Thanks everyone.
Andy

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Canute (Oldham Tinkers)
From: Snuffy
Date: 24 Oct 07 - 09:03 AM

Shouldn't it be "And hoo has a job on, at times, with some knaves"?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Canute (Oldham Tinkers)
From: Bernard
Date: 24 Oct 07 - 09:57 AM

Yup... it used to say that! Didn't notice... must have been a Micro$haft Chel Specker... weren't me, onnist!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Canute (Oldham Tinkers)
From: Bryn Pugh
Date: 25 Oct 07 - 09:53 AM

I thought Julia Jones, Nic Jones's wife, had set the tume for 'The Calico Printer's Clerk' ?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Canute (Oldham Tinkers)
From: Greg B
Date: 25 Oct 07 - 10:08 AM

Let's not forget that brilliant Bernard Wrigley
song, 'When Your Clogs Let Water In' which manages
to tie leaky clogs with Canute, the Titianic as well
as the Battle of Hastings in to one gigantic and
fun non sequitor

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Canute (Oldham Tinkers)
From: Bernard
Date: 25 Oct 07 - 12:32 PM

Not THE tune, Bryn, just A tune... Mark Dowding's research dug up the original tune written by C. Coote jr. to Harry Clifton's words...

Now I'm a bit of a stick-in-the-mud (shurrup, Mark!), and tend to prefer the first tune I've learned to a song... but the original tune for Calico is far better than the more well-known one by a long chalk. It has a bounce that brings the lyrics to life.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Canute (Oldham Tinkers)
From: Bryn Pugh
Date: 28 Oct 07 - 08:48 AM

Thank you for this. Any chance you might introduce me to the original, please ?

Kind regards, Bryn

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Canute (Oldham Tinkers)
From: Mark Dowding
Date: 28 Oct 07 - 09:14 AM

Hi Bryn

I've put a couple of verses HERE
More details of the CD "Manchester Ballads" is HERE

Cheers
Mark