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Who really sings 'occupational songs'?
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Subject: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Jim Dixon Date: 08 Mar 08 - 09:02 AM This collector of folk songs makes an interesting point, which surprised me, and yet seems plausible. From Finger, Charles Joseph. Frontier Ballads. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Co, 1927, Introduction, page 5f:
At the time of writing this, I seized and opportunity to see and hear some craft workers from the Gaspé peninsula. They were the real thing, unsophisticated and single minded, singing as they carved, or weaved, or spun. But their songs were not of the things they did, but were all about love and marriage, and brave foresters and postillions and prisoners. You may possibly imagine that those of a calling which seems romantic because unfamiliar to you, do sing about their trade, but men are much the same everywhere, and at the end of a day of search you would be in a considerable state of exhaustion before you found a man yielding himself to harmony in praise of his own occupation. Consider. Does your banker? Does the newspaper editor? Does the college professor…? He does not. They do not. Neither, I assure you, do sheepmen on the plains sing about ewes and lambs and fleeces. Nor do hoboes fall into recitative about vagabond life. Neither prisoners given to lyrics about stone walls not making a prison nor iron bars a cage. Nor did sailors of my acquaintance sing about Midshipmites, or about "long, long pulls and strong, strong pulls." Neither do shanty men seek a musical atmosphere redolent of forest and lake. Nor do grocers…. …[I]t is safe to say that, as a rule, men in their singing, as in their reading, get as far as possible away from that which reminds them of their own working hours. For most men wish to grasp experience firmly, and too great a preoccupation with their own affairs prevents the doing of that. |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Murray MacLeod Date: 08 Mar 08 - 09:08 AM ...." policemen, who, full of fragrant memories at the end of a day's patrol, might be supposed to gather themselves together to carol about crime and criminals..." A little Bit of Burgling on the Side ... |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Charley Noble Date: 08 Mar 08 - 09:37 AM Jim- This seems to be one of those "yes" and "no" questions which will go unresolved. I would agree that it would be rare for any cowboy, lumberjack, or sailor to sing of the joys of such work while they were doing it, and might prefer to sing of the joys of doing something else. However, in their off-hours they certainly would sing ballads about work-related incidents, some amusing, some tragic, as well as various "escape" ballads. I don't think Finger's generalization holds water, now or in 1927. I would suggest that every trade had its songs, full of jargon, and most of them set to well known popular tunes. They may not have been great songs and may not have lasted much longer than an evening or a special event in terms of being passed on in oral tradition. But enough examples were written down in letters or diaries to make an impressive record. My most recent find of such an occupational song was a special event ditty composed by a worker to commemorate the end of the ice-cutting season on the Kennebec River in the early 1900's, regaling the exploits and mishaps of the season. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Big Al Whittle Date: 08 Mar 08 - 10:18 AM the sort of people who think this is original and/or entertaining:- I'm a rattlin' roaring fisher laddie (collier, weaver, navvy, soldier, farmer's boy, IRA hitman, etc) I drink a lot All the lassies love me or there is another variant:- I travel the land, playing the guitar I'm a miserable sod, cos I'm so lonesome nobody really loves me however all the women find me strangely interesting and irresistable One's called traditional folk music, the other's called contemporary folk music. According to experts on another thread, there is a process involved - apart from the obvious one of being bored shitless. |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: The Mole Catcher's Apprentice (inactive) Date: 08 Mar 08 - 12:14 PM "I'm a miserable sod, cos I'm so lonesome" the full "traditional line" is I'm a miserable sod, cos I'm so lonesome, because I'm a miserable sod *LOL* Charlotte (thinking up a melody to these immortal words) |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Ernest Date: 08 Mar 08 - 12:33 PM What about drinkers singing drinking songs? Wouln`t that be occupational enough? ;0) Ernest |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Jon Bartlett Date: 08 Mar 08 - 12:40 PM What Charlie said, certainly for loggers here in BC, many of whose songs are jammed full of jargon. Jon Bartlett |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 08 Mar 08 - 01:16 PM "There's a run upon the Bank--Stand away! For the Manager's a crank and the Secretary drank, and the Upper Tooting Bank Turns to bay! Stand close: there is a run On the Bank. Of our ship, our royal one, let the ringing legend run, that she fired with every gun Ere she sank." Chesterton's "occupational song" for bankers. |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Stringsinger Date: 08 Mar 08 - 02:38 PM Soldiers. "Left my wife and a can of beans, way back yonder in New Orleans" Sound Off!!! Frank Hamilton |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: artbrooks Date: 08 Mar 08 - 03:33 PM I yam a Fed-er-al bureaucrat A'settin' at my desk, jest gittin' fat. Thinkin' about startin' to do this or that By the end of the day ...I ain't done nothin'. |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: GUEST,Chicken Charlie Date: 08 Mar 08 - 07:31 PM Jim--You're right (or whoever you're quoting is right) to a large extent, I suppose. Some "sailors's songs" and "prison songs"--where prison included being on a work gang, were used to keep time doing manual tasks like weighing anchor by hand, or cutting one tree with two axemen or driving a spike with two guys with hammers. See Leadbelly's "Rock Island Line," e.g. The more we automate our lives, the less we need that sort of thing. On the other hand, some individuals did, or we wouldn't have these songs. We have Leadbelly's prison songs because he was in prison; and Bob Nolan's cowboys songs because he was a cowboy. I think that's where Charlie Noble was going with his comment on jargon. You would practically have to be a logger to know all the trade jargon to put into "Little Brown Bulls," a song about two bull-whackers competing to see who can skid more logs to the mill in a day. I'll tell you who else sings occupation songs, though, and that's broken down old folkies who go to open mics on Labor Day. Can't imagine who would do that .... Oh, and it was either Chris Christopherson or somebody in his circle who wrote the one that goes, "You can spend your time a-talkin' to the people who don't listen ...."--an occupational song about: folk singing. Piano Man. Sultans of Swing. Oh, Susanna. Nicodemus Johnson. Etc. Songs by singers about the occupation of singing. Chicken Charlie Not Otherwise Occupied |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Joybell Date: 08 Mar 08 - 08:25 PM An interesting discussion. Thanks Jim. For various reasons -- here it was the cost of recording equipment -- collectors often avoided recording, or even mentioning, songs that came from a marketed source -- sheet-music, touring performers, and later - records, and radio. This limited the collections somewhat. Some collectors deliberatly looked for "workers' songs". (For example, among the shearers and drovers). It's in old diaries and newspaper articles that you sometimes get an idea about who sang what. Just for the record "Ring Down the Curtain I Can't Sing Tonight" is an occupational song for those of us who perform the old 19th century "theatrical" songs. Cheers, Joy |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Charley Noble Date: 08 Mar 08 - 09:27 PM Jim- Even Stan Rogers composed "White Collar Holler" although I'm not sure if he ever knew what a punch card was. Woody Guthrie was not a banker but he composed a song "I'm a Jolly Banker," And landlords all over the world should be greateful to Barnet Woolf for composing his empathetic ditty "Pity the Downtrodden Landlord." My favorite more contemporary song was composed by ex-trawleman Vince Morash from Nova Scotia: Words & Music by Vince Morash © 1997 Adapted by Charlie Ipcar 1997 Tune: The Campanero D(C/2) Haul Away the Nets Chorus: C Haul away the nets! F--------------------C Strain your bloody guts! -------------------------------------G There's lots of fish below to be rais-ed; C Fishing is great fun, ----------F There's blood and guts and rum, ---------G-----------------G7--------------C And we work and drink and work until we're paid! C-----------------------------F I'm ankle deep in fish and if I could have me wish, --C---------------------G I swear by the tail of a cod; ----C-----------------------------G If I had another chance I'd be working at a bank, ---G----------------------G7------C Or maybe just a farmer tossing sod. (CHO) I'm knee deep in mackerel and I don't need a tackle, Just a great big net and some men; You see, the fish trap is a bowl, the fish swim in the hole, And they never ever gets to swim again. (CHO) Now I'm waist deep in this mess and me stomach's gonna retch And a squid just shot me in the eye; Fish slipping down me pants, makes a fellow wanna dance, So I guess we best be home before the tide. (CHO) Yes, fishing is great fun, if you like dark rum, For it's the fuel that drives us along; But if the winds do blow, you can betcha we won't go, We'll just sit around and drink, and sing this song. (CHO) It's a fine song that no trawlerman would be ashamed to sing, assuming there were fish left in the ocean to trawl. I have wondered if occupational songs have continued to be composed. I have no idea what the funeral directors sing at their annual meetings, or the plumbers and pipe fitters, or the electrical contractors. The last time I sang occupational songs was at a meeting years ago in Michigan for workers compensation, and I sang Si Kahn's "Gonna Work on Monday One More Time." I was pleased with the absolute silence after I finished that song, and then the applause. There's that great song, "Canning Salmon," from the Pacific Northwest by Linda Chobotuck. We're not talking about pop songs here, although years ago "Sixteen Tons" would have been a good example of an occupational song that went Top Ten. I was always fascinated with the occupational songs that Pete Seeger, Malvina Reynolds, and Ewan MacColl came up with. There were country western singers who composed in that tradition. Remember "Lord, Mister Ford" and (was it Jim Reeves?) "One Part at a Time." I have no doubt that the tradition continues. I'm just not monitoring what is being produced. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: reggie miles Date: 08 Mar 08 - 11:44 PM I've written several occupational songs. Regarding the first few listed below, I don't know if you can call busking an occupation but I suppose anything that one occupies their time with should be fair game. Some might consider those that don't have a formal or traditional occupation as being occupationless but even those that have no visible means still try to make their way through life one way or another. These stories often make colorful tales and in my estimation what folk songs are all about. You Can Be A Street Musician These Are A Few Of My Favorite Blues I'll Do Anything To Make A Buck Blue Collar Blues 65 Newport Ragtop Blues Homeless Broke and Hungry Chasin' The American Dream War Mongerin' Man Pepper Jelly Lady The Ace of Spades The Reptile Man The Devil |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Ross Campbell Date: 09 Mar 08 - 01:28 AM Charley White Collar Holler was by Nigel Russell. Stan Rogers sang it on "Between the Breaks - Live" In the DT - White Collar Holler Somewhere else in the forum I came across this in the last couple of days- 99 bugs in the code, boys, 99 bugs in the code:- Fix the problem, recompile - 100 bugs in the code! Repeat if bugs exceeds 0 I used to do that for a living! Couldn't look at a computer for ages after I finished - OK now, though. Certainly never sang about my work (though I did and do like White Collar Holler). That reminds me - I did promise some time back that I would start a thread to include the songs that Ron Baxter collected at sea in the British Merchant Navy (Clan Line and associated companies). In his time at sea (1966-1974), Ron collected a number of songs that he heard on board the various ships he sailed on, some just fragments, but many complete songs, some about incidents that happened at sea or ashore, some "complaint" songs about skippers, owners, conditions or general circumstances, some "brag" songs celebrating the different shipping lines and their relative merits. Roy Palmer included a couple of examples from Ron's collection in his update of the Oxford Book of Sea Songs. Ron notes that most of the songs sung by seamen in their brief leisure time were the popular songs of the day. But he did hear the odd item that had to do with the sea-going life and started writing them down. Eventually people would bring other such songs to his attention, knowing his interest. Some years ago Ron and I put together a set of these songs, together with songs from some contemporary writers, linked by Ron's narrative and stories from his sea-going days, in a programme entitled "Farewell to the Clan Line". I'll dig out the material and talk to Ron in the next couple of days. Ross |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 09 Mar 08 - 08:40 AM Canberra's Shiny Bum Singers are a vocally inspiring and visually entertaining group of mostly public servants who sing their own wicked parodies about the working life of the Australian Public Service. |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: GUEST,Volgadon Date: 09 Mar 08 - 09:30 AM What do you expect? A policeman's lot is not a happy one! |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Charley Noble Date: 09 Mar 08 - 10:32 AM Ross- I couldn't agree with you more! Oh, another fine occupational song from the West Coast fisheries is Mary Garvey's "Cannery Shed." Here's the chorus: I've worked all my life in the cannery shed,_ And if I'm dying or you think I'm dead,_ Don't bury my bones; put me instead,_ In a can in the cannery shed. Jon Campbell also has composed an intriguing (to me) set of contemporary occupational songs, such as "Frederick's of Galilee." Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: GUEST,Volgadon Date: 09 Mar 08 - 11:23 AM Things like chanteys had a role, so they were sung on the job. |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Charley Noble Date: 09 Mar 08 - 12:15 PM Volgadon- Very true, and sometimes the shanties had verses that mentioned the specific job at hand (up aloft this yard must go!). Other times they had random verses about drinking, sprees ashore, and speculations about the heredity of the captain and his mates. If we consider occupational hazards, the range of available songs expands considerably. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: gnomad Date: 09 Mar 08 - 01:53 PM The late Keith Marsden spent his working life at the Midland Bank [now HSBC] and became manager of some of their branches. He wrote Mr Midland for a manager's dinner, and jokingly claimed that he never achieved further promotion thereafter. I never met Keith, though I worked in the same business, the same towns, and even for the same company (though after his time) I was sort of 10 years behind him. As a result his song certainly rings bells for me. I never met another folk performer in banking, and only a handful of folk fans. We certainly never sang any account-balancing shanties. Mr Midland Keith Marsden Mr Midland yesterday, do you remember when He made an honest living lending brass to honest men, His watchword was integrity, his business was to lend, He made a decent profit and sometimes he made a friend. Mr Midland yesterday, a fair impartial guy, Did not abuse his client's trust, could look him in the eye. Mr Midland nowadays is of a different race For ethics are old-fashioned now you're in the market place. Sell 'em some insurance or a loan they can't repay An Access Card they can't afford – for targets rule today. Mr Midland nowadays, your judgement counts no more, Don't ask too many questions, just make sure they credit score. Mr Midland nowadays, no more you can stand off, You're just another salesman with your snout stuck in the trough. So at least one banker did sometimes sing of his profession, but I suppose that the just reinforces the point made in the opening post. |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: RobbieWilson Date: 09 Mar 08 - 02:31 PM The late Cyril Tawney was a submariner and wrote a song or two about life on the grey funnel line |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Barry Finn Date: 09 Mar 08 - 02:41 PM Here's one I wrote about my own occupation (Roofing). I was a perticularly hard winter (96') & the conditions for Ice Damning were perfect. Let me explain what an Ice Dam is & how it occures. The heavy winter snows pile high on the roof. When the temp is below freezing & the snow won't melt off the snow it stays, right? Wrong! The heat that escapes from the atic through the roof melts the under layer of the snow closest to the roof. The top layer of snow does nothing. As the snow melted water runs under the layer of snow & down towards the eaves (lower roof edgae) where the roof overhangs the side of the house it starts to freeze right there cause there's no attic for the escaping warmth to keep the melted snow from frezzing. When the temps above freezing that's not a problem unless a dam has already been set up. So this running snow melted water frezzes at the edge of the roof. If there's a constant freeze thaw cycle the ice dam builds up & grows not only taller but wider & backs up the roof (no more usually than 3 ft from the outside warm wall, cause that's when it starts leaking in & through the house). So you can have a dam that looks like a triangle. The face of it can be 2' thich at the bottom edge, it can run 3' past the warm wall of the house, so that can be up the 5' depending on the overhang of the roof & it can run flat from the top of the face of the dam to the roof's slope, so that can be around 4', we often work the dam standing on this now icy platform. Now that's an ice dam that can run the whole length of the roof (I admit that's a big dam, but not all that uncommon) 50'-80'. Once the dam is in place & the next thaw cycle begins the running water that runs under the snow will at the bottom want to run under the ice but now it's trapped. With a dam that high & there's no rubber membrane under the shingles (or sometimes if there not a wide enough layer of rubber membrane) the water level builds up & backs up until it finds it's way under the shingles &/or membrane & starts leaking down the walls of the house sometimes unseen until it's flowing out in the basement, sometimes it's flowing out over the ceiling, usually it's seen running down the walls. Anyway the way to relieve the dam & stop the water from flowing in is to break the dam with hammers, picks, axes, ice melt & then once broken let the water flow out & over the roof. To prevent this from reoccuring you have to remove all the ice & snow at the very least 3' up from where the warm outside wall of the house meets the roof. You 1st have to break a hole in the wall of the dam & get out of the way of the water when it start's to burst. There's a bit of ventalation & insulation invovled too but there's to much of that to go into here. Anyway here's the song. Ice Damming by Barry Finn It's winter in New England and throughout the land The trucks will start rolling with all available hands It's a party, a picnic, a past time, a plan Over mountains of snow they attack the Ice Dams Chorus: And you hear everywhere the cry Ice Dam Down the flue like a fever it spreads through the land Man your pickups, your axes, every woman and man And answer the call and the cry Ice Dam Blaze a path round a house in snow that's waist deep Take a snow rake or shovel, clear up 3 feet Crawl the edge of a dam on a roof that's too steep And start pounding on ice and let nobody sleep On a 40 foot ladder that slides on the ice Out comes the homeowner who tries to be nice I like what you're doing but I won't pay you're price For a few dollars less would you still risk your life Some shingles may break & the ice will sure fall But no more will the water run down your walls So pay us in cash & don't call our hall Is it legal to be paid cash & to have such a ball Like ants, like termites we're all over your roof We sing ice dam and drink 100 proof It's our tough winter windfall & that's the dam truth When ice damming is done we're a winter recluse Copyright, Barry Finn 1996 (winter) |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: The Mole Catcher's Apprentice (inactive) Date: 09 Mar 08 - 03:41 PM somehow The Ballad of the Bold Woman in the Legal Trade doesn't quite scan *LOL* Charlotte (hear ye...hear ye!) |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Bert Date: 09 Mar 08 - 03:53 PM We never used to need to sing to keep time when two guys were hammering together. You take your rhythm from the guy who starts hammering first and start your swing just after his hammer has hit. Of course in a boiler shop you couldn't hear it if someone was singing;-) |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Murray MacLeod Date: 09 Mar 08 - 04:22 PM yo, Barry, love the song, and just reading it I have put my own melody to it,(it's in 3/4 time right ?) I would love to hear your version, (and it may not be that long before I come back over, and have a chance to hear it ...) but seriously, are all the households in New England that deficient in loft insulation ? I would have thought it would be one of the most important considerations for any house-owner in New England, but obviously not ... |
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Subject: Lyr Add: THE PULLING-IN SONG From: Betsy Date: 09 Mar 08 - 04:52 PM When I was in my late teens a Trainee Electrical Engineer working on the building of Lindsey Oil Refinery in the 60’s, (Humberside UK) a Site Manager who didn’t like me, sent me to work with the labourers in the Cable Gang “to get some all round experience”. He actually did it to sicken me / piss me off. The gang turned out to be a great set of lads (albeit with dodgy social backgrounds) but we worked f***ing hard, played hard at night and had more laughs than you could or the Site Manager could imagine. On top of all that, we got a song out of it - which has been recorded by a few people including the Fettlers, and if all that isn’t enough, the Fettlers sang it on a concert in the Royal Albert Hall in London. It would take too long to explain all the terminology (at my typing speed), but many of these electric cables were 4 to 6 inches in diameter, containing huge copper conductors and covered with steel wire outer protection so you might appreciate they were very heavy to pull. Yes you do sometimes see machines doing the puling these days on long straight runs, but on this job there where many changes in direction so it had to be done by hand, the technicalities of which would take all night to explain. Jokingly I use to call it my Industrial Shanty. Cheers Betsy THE PULLING-IN SONG If you’ve got time, I’ll sing a song, an’ me story I will tell, Of the good times and the bad times of a job I know quite well. You’re working in a trench, me lads, eight long hours a day, And when the whistle blows, it’s then you’ll know, it’s time to pull away. CHORUS: Way-hey! The whistle blows. Never mind the rain. Shut your mouth and get spread out. We’re pulling-in again. As I’ve said, I’ll tell the hard times, and the winter’s worse bar none, With your wellies leaking water and you’re frozen to the bone, Your donkey jacket’s soaking, thick with mud and clay, And when the whistle blows, it’s then you know, it’s time to pull away. CHORUS And when the rains of spring arrive, the cold soon disappears, But the trenches fill with water, that’s the worst of all our fears. We work the water-pumps flat out, both the night and day, ‘Cos when the whistle blows, it’s then you’ll know, it’s time to pull away. CHORUS Now when the rains of spring have gone and summer’s come at last, There’s a chance to make some money - make your bonus quick an’ fast. We’ve greased the rollers and the drums, and, needless to say, When the whistle blows, it’s then you’ll know, it’s time to pull away. CHORUS And, now your contract’s over. You’ve got time to sit back, With a couple of weeks on the dole, enjoy the booze and crack, Then off to find another job, and the first thing they’ll say Is, when the whistle blows, it’s then you’ll know, it’s time to pull away. CHORUS |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Bill D Date: 09 Mar 08 - 05:50 PM I know a woman who works in Pediatric Intensive Care in a N. Mexico hospital. She was explaining a few years ago how they have some very ...ummm.... indelicate songs to deal with the stresses of the job. Very much "laugh so you don't cry". I heard a couple, but can't remember much beyond one with the line "12 little preemies, lying in a row...." and going on to describe various problems. Not exactly what you sing while DOING the job...but... |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: GUEST,Shimrod Date: 09 Mar 08 - 06:59 PM The passage quoted by Jim Dixon at the start of this thread made me laugh out loud! How, very, very true! But there will still be people starting threads on this board asking if anyone knows any Nottinghamshire pheasant pluckers' songs from the 1840s? Those who are new to folk song always seem to think that, somewhere, there are collections of very specific songs on very specific subjects. Very often it turns out that no such songs exist. |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Ross Campbell Date: 10 Mar 08 - 12:27 AM "I'm not the pheasant plucker, I'm the pheasant plucker's son, And I'm only plucking pheasants till the pheasant plucker comes." ie, "This is not my normal occupation, and if you think the pheasant-plucker's going to sing for you when he gets back, you've got another think coming!" A friend of my father's retired from his consultancy job in the confectionery industry, a job that had taken him all round the world, even the Middle East where his taste for a wee dram must have been difficult to assuage. He and his wife bought a small-holding in Stirlingshire, raised hens for meat and eggs and grew tomatoes and other vegetables, all for sale from their roadside cottage. At New Year our house in the middle of the village seemed to become the last resting-place for first-footers roaming the district. Andrew and his wife turned up towards the end of festivities, having visited several other houses and having been hospitably treated at each. My father, although teetotal himself, presented the usual libation, and as soon as Andrew had settled into the comfy chair, he proceeded to regale us with a description of the latest acquisition for their business - an automatic pheasant-plucker (in reality an ordinary poultry-plucking machine). Andrew's wife began to look worried, and I could see the beginnings of a frown on my mother's face. But Andrew never faltered, managing to cram more "pheasant-pluckers" and "plucking pheasants" into the next five minutes than you would believe possible. With a knowing twinkle in his eye, he finished his oration with the rhyme above. The general relief when he moved on to a less risky subject was almost palpable. Ross |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Charley Noble Date: 10 Mar 08 - 05:41 PM What fun! Nice songs, Barry and Betsey! Reminds me of such classics as "The Chemical Worker's Song" by Ron Angel and "Down Below" by Sydney Carter. Then there are songs composed by Australia's John Warner: Words by John Warner, © 1991, As recorded on John Warner: The Sea and the Soil, Feathers & Wedge, FARRIER'S TRADE Chorus: Here's to the farrier's trade, May their anvils ever ring true, May the Pritchel and Butier still find employ, And proud, strong horses to shoe, brave boys, Proud, strong horses to shoe. The anvil rang like an old church bell, And the forge it roared like a gale, And down the wind came a pungent smell, That told an immortal tale; A tale well known to the black and the bay, To coachman, carter and carrier, For the smell was the hoof and the burning shoe, And the trade was the craft of the farrier. (CHO) A blue flame lept from the crackling coals, At its heart was a flare of gold, And out of its heart came a red-hot steel, In the farrier's tongs firm hold; Onto the anvil's face it swept, And a hammer bit into its edge, It curved to the farrier's swift hard blows, And it squared to the striker's sledge. (CHO) And many a draft horse, hack or cob, Stood fast at the hitching rails, While the farrier bent to the fetlock's hair With a mouth full of squarehead nails; And offered up the shoe to the waiting hoof, With a sizzle, a smoke, and a smell, Pritchel and quench, hammer, clip and clench, And file down the clenches well. (CHO) Though the motor roars out across the world, Its message of haste and greed, Though the horse has gone from the highway side, With its danger, noise and speed; Yet down at the fence waits an ancient friend, That progress will never unseat, And while there's a horse, there's a need for shoes, And farriers to tend its feet. CHO) Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: melodeonboy Date: 11 Mar 08 - 06:50 AM In answer to the thread question: The Shiny Bum Singers from Australia! |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Charley Noble Date: 11 Mar 08 - 08:19 AM Melodeonboy- As Sandra has already mentioned (and thoughtfully provided a link above) the Shiny Bum Singers from Canberra compose and sing some great topical songs from their experience as government workers. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: GUEST,Suffolk Miracle Date: 11 Mar 08 - 10:01 AM They once asked the old Suffolk fisherman Ted Quantrill why he knew so few sea songs. He replied along the lines of 'That's the last thing I want to sing about. I get enough of that all bloody day!' |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: GUEST,Suffolk Miracle Date: 11 Mar 08 - 01:44 PM And on that subject: I've lived a sailor's life far away from home and wife; I've been sick in every one of seven seas. I've been drenched and I've been floored, seen my mate washed overboard, And I've shared my bed with weevils, rats and fleas. So sing to me a soldier's song with deeds of derring-do, Or sing to me a love song like those happy people do; But don't sing me a sea song about sailing oceans blue 'Cos I get enough of that all blooming day. I have lived a soldier's life midst the bullets and the strife When your only thought is reaching your next leave; I've crawled my way through mud and many times through blood, And I've wiped my best friend's guts from my own sleeve. So sing to me a sailor's song of the places where he goes, Or sing to me a love song of some tender English rose; But sing the British Grenadiers and I'll punch you on the nose 'Cos I get enough of that all blooming day. I have lived a lover's life (kindly don't inform the wife!); I've had women till my head and body's sore. It runs me off my feet making sure that they don't meet And I've fathered kids some thirty times or more So sing to me a sailor's song, how he leaves the girls behind, Or sing to me of barracks where no women you can find; But don't sing about that widow that wants it a hundred times 'Cos I get enough of that all blooming day. |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Charley Noble Date: 11 Mar 08 - 04:58 PM Suffolk Miracle- Never ran across that song before. What's it called and where did it come from? Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Bill D Date: 11 Mar 08 - 06:42 PM ..and what is the tune? |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Ned Ludd Date: 11 Mar 08 - 07:43 PM I worked in mills for many years and like to sing songs about them, though I don't write them. Other people do it better. |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: GUEST,mg Date: 11 Mar 08 - 07:51 PM I think many people do. Some jobs lend themselves better of course..if you are doing work that allows you to make noise and talk back and forth, and there is a rhythm to the work that helps. Also, people might not sing about their own experiences..public health nursing, laundromat owner, many white collar occupations that are actually quite mentally draining as opposed to more physically tiring...and where you might be crowded together in bullpens rather than out in the open air... You might want to sing of your ancestors. Or the community you are in. Or you might like the songs because they are often extremely powerful..and there is perhaps a there but for the grace of God go I down in the coal mines or in a shipwreck or something. Who knows...but they are great...and often a window into other times and places. mg |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Charley Noble Date: 11 Mar 08 - 08:34 PM mg- Thanks for posting in! How did you come to compose "Cannery Shed"? Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: GUEST,Suffolk Miracle Date: 12 Mar 08 - 04:24 AM Sorry. It's only one of mine. It's just that it was inspired by yhe Quantrell quote. I'll try and put the tune on here some time but I'm not very musical. |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Charley Noble Date: 12 Mar 08 - 08:32 AM Suffolk Miracle- I really find it an interesting song. It probably should have a title or I'll never be able to find it again in my database. You probably get too many requests to sing this song at your regular session, at least nine times a session I would imagine! Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: GUEST,Suffolk Miracle Date: 12 Mar 08 - 09:00 AM It's so long since I sang it that I had to rewrite the first half of verse three because I couldn't remember what I'd written. I long ago gave it to Barry and Ingrid Temple, and since they use it in their act I'd stopped bothering. |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: john f weldon Date: 12 Mar 08 - 09:14 AM The fact that cowboys wrote and sang cowboy songs is well established. The songs were often written out in longhand, and exchanged on the trail, which is why the same lyrics often have several different tunes. Rhythmic chants to accompany repetitive tasks were commonplace; they've died out as the tasks have disappeared. On the other hand, cowboys also sang anything that was popular at the time; even Gilbert and Sullivan! Nowadays every job is the same, it all involves a keyboard and a screen. Sigh. |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Charley Noble Date: 12 Mar 08 - 02:41 PM John- There still are possibilities for new verses to old songs: Boot 'im up an' wipe his hard-drive, Boot 'im up an' wipe his hard-drive, Boot 'im up an' wipe his hard-drive, Earl-ie in the morning! Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: GUEST,mg Date: 12 Mar 08 - 04:03 PM Cannery shed...I think it is one of those waiting at the bus stop songs..I would never ever have thought it would get around but I guess it has...I grew up a few miles from Stella and my father and his friend, Ole Olsen, had a little salmon kippering and maybe smoking side business when I was very young..I guess maybe canning too as I remember going to a cannery in Kelso. We almost moved to Stella because my father was a postman in the area at one time. It is an extraordinarily beautiful place..was an old high train trestle there..the whole town ...not a town, just a few buildings..was on pilings over the river...mg |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Barry Finn Date: 12 Mar 08 - 04:37 PM Doesn't explain much on how you came to write it MG, but it gets sung & aired in these parts fairly often (Portsmouth, NH & Gloucester, MA). Nice job on it. Barry |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: GUEST,mg Date: 12 Mar 08 - 04:40 PM Trust me, I only have words going through my head and then I type them up and usually put a tune to them...I am so lazy I don't do anything that requires brain time etc. mg |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Herga Kitty Date: 12 Mar 08 - 05:04 PM I think that the Shiny Bums' tour to England (and Cornwall) last year demonstrated that Oz occupational songs about working in public service reflect that the experience of working in the public service is fairly (or unfairly) universal... Kitty |
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Subject: RE: Who really sings 'occupational songs'? From: Nerd Date: 12 Mar 08 - 08:10 PM What John Weldon said is correct; we know Cowboys did indeed sing many songs about the cowboy life. We also know that sailors sang a lot of songs about the sailor's life. I spent part of today listening to tapes of a real professional sailor who really sang songs about being a sailor. In fact, he sang seventy-nine of them for William Doerflinger in 1942. The quote from Charles Finger seems quite wrongheaded. He seems to be saying that although we THINK cowboys would sing cowboy songs, this is as absurd as a newspaper editor singing newspaper editing songs. But he misses a social point about the people we know, historically, sang many occupational songs: sailors, soldiers, cowboys, miners, fishermen, etc: their main opportunities to socialize were with members of the same occupation; on the drive, cowboys only saw other cowboys, in the camp, lumbermen only saw other lumbermen, etc. On the other hand, they often had widely varying backgrounds...in a ship, lumber camp or cowboy camp, you'd have all kinds of folks from all over the country and the world thrown together. Fishermen and miners often lived in towns almost totally given over to the fishery or the mine. Because of this, much of the experience people shared with their singing friends WAS work experience. By contrast, the newspaper editor is likely to spend his evenings with a bank manager, a college professor and (say) a doctor, because they're all mates from school or university. They probably don't sing together, but if they did, it wouldn't be about their jobs because that's not a shared area. What they share is...love, drink, leisure activities, school stuff, etc. And so they sing about that...the "old college song" and so forth. This is all pretty well known to folklorists nowadays. It is, to use an occupational metaphor, "not brain surgery." But in the 20s, a lot of the collections had not yet been made, let alone published, so what Finger was saying may have seemed logical to him. |
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