Don Hirst in Australia has bee trying to get hold of these lyrics but we seem to have problems with e-mails!so please firgive this use of mudcat for a personal e-mail as I am not sure of his mudcat name. Prospect's Old Lady was the huge chimney for the Prospect Mill that stood at the end of the Colne Valley in Longwood up until 1997 when it was demolished. The song tells the history of the Colne valley cloth trade that had already begun to disappear when I moved to Huddersfield in 1987. The valley was full of factories and smoking chimneys now only one remains in use most have been knocked down and houses built in their place. I live in the hill above the valley and the chimney dominated the valley and poked its head up above the sky line of the hill. The village was shut down and the schools in the valley all came to watch the old lady fall as they dynamited her base to get her to fall. Only the old water tower remains of the mill amongst the new housing development which was the only part the villagers could get designated a listed building. ********************************************************************** PROSPECTS OLD LADY Sue Haithwaite 2002 CHORUS: Down, down tumbling down to the ground To the ground Down down tunmbling down to the ground Whats that sound At the foot of the Pennines twixt the Colne and Pole Moor Where a grit-stone escarpment makes Longwood Edge Wall The valley was once filled with oaks strong and tall And in autumn the leaves tumbled down The weavers they worked in their cottages small Then the landowners came and they built their great halls The waulker mills grew; there were changes galore And the trees came tumbling down Huge watermills powered the first factories A beautiful landscape then brought to its knees The river diverts from its course to the sea And the water came tumbling down Then you came along to watch over us all Majestic old lady you stood straight and tall In your dark smoky shadows children sparked clogs, played ball And laughed as they all tumbled down 'Twas hard graft for all those who worked in the mill The bosses grew rich as the workers grew ill But when there's no profit then there is no will And the trade came tumbling down Queen of the valley for years standing proud The rain drizzled down as the siren screeched loud And a reverend silence fell over the crowd As you came tumbling down I listen but now no more factory sounds No smoke fills the air; there's no cloth to be found And where you once stood, houses spring from the mound Where your bricks came tumbling down (Repeat chorus twice at end changing last line second time to) There's no sound
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