Lyr/Chords Req: The Day We Went To Bangor

Subject: The Day We Went To Bangor-Lyrics
From:
Date: 06 Nov 98 - 09:48 PM

Does anyone know the lyrics to the song"the day we went to bangor"? I believe the artist is Fiddler's Dram. Please e-mail me if you can help.Thanks

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Also see: Riding Down From Bangor

Subject: RE: The Day We Went To Bangor-Lyrics
From: mike cahill
Date: 07 Nov 98 - 09:09 AM

i'll dig out the album and post the words soon, ok

Subject: Lyr Add: DAYTRIP TO BANGOR
From: mike cahill
Date: 10 Nov 98 - 02:13 PM

A couple of days late because I've not been able to get onto the cat all weekend.

this is the best I can manage off an LP as some bits are a bit garbled, hope it's what you are looking for.

DAYTRIP TO BANGOR

Didn't we have a lovely time the day we went to Bangor
A beautiful day we had lunch on the way
And all for under a pound you know
Then on the way back I cuddled with Jack
And we opened a bottle of cider
Singing a few of our favourite songs as the wheels went round

Do you recall the thrill of it all as we walked along the sea front
Then on the sand we heard a brass band that played De Diddle De Bum Ta Ra Ra
Elsie and me had some cups of tea then we took a peddler boat out
Splashing away as we toured round the bay as the wheels went round

Didn't we have a lovely time the day we went to Bangor
A beautiful day we had lunch on the way
And all for under a pound you know
Then on the way back I cuddled with Jack
And we opened a bottle of cider
Singing a few of our favourite songs as the wheels went round

Wasn't it nice eating chocolate ice as we strolled around the funfair
Then we ate eels on the big Ferris wheel we sailed above the ground but then
We had to be quick because Elsie felt sick and we had to find somewhere to take her
I said to her lad "what made her feel bad" ‘twas the wheel going round

Didn't we have a lovely time the day we went to Bangor
A beautiful day we had lunch on the way
And all for under a pound you know
Then on the way back I cuddled with Jack
And we opened a bottle of cider
Singing a few of our favourite songs as the wheels went round

Elsie and me we finished our tea, and we said goodbye to the sea side
Back on the bus Flo says to us oh isn't it a shame to go
Wouldn't it be grand to have cash on demand, and to live like this for always
Oh it makes me feel ill when I think of the Mill and the wheels going round

Didn't we have a lovely time the day we went to Bangor
A beautiful day we had lunch on the way
And all for under a pound you know
Then on the way back I cuddled with Jack
And we opened a bottle of cider
Singing a few of our favourite songs as the wheels went round

^^

Subject: RE: The Day We Went To Bangor-Lyrics
From: mike cahill
Date: 10 Nov 98 - 07:39 PM

thanks mike,can you tell me somrthing though? was the word cider replaced by the word tizer in Britain to apease the church?

Subject: RE: The Day We Went To Bangor-Lyrics
From: mike cahill
Date: 13 Nov 98 - 03:13 AM

I doubt it we're not hung up about alcohol over here, but I'll check.

one day I'll post the joke about the priest and the bottle opener ( it isn't rude)

Subject: RE: The Day We Went To Bangor-Lyrics
From: Gordon
Date: 13 Nov 98 - 05:18 AM

ok Mike I would appreciate that. I am a Scotsman in exile in Oz. It is actually my father in law who wants to know. He is having an argument with someone at work about the word cider replaced by tizer.

Subject: RE: The Day We Went To Bangor-Lyrics
From: Brian Hoskin
Date: 13 Nov 98 - 08:22 AM

The version out in Britain definitely used the word cider. In fact it would probably have caused more trouble if they had used 'Tizer', because the BBC might have seen that as advertising!

Brian

Subject: RE: The Day We Went To Bangor-Lyrics
From: mike cahill
Date: 13 Nov 98 - 03:38 PM

Tizer is a serious subject in uk. It brings back memories of long hot summer breaks when I was 7 or 8. It was a special treat that we got (but not on days that we went home covered in tar from the roads. We used to collect the semi molten stuff and see who could get the biggest ball of it. It usually got all over our clothes, and hands, and everywhere, (we'd even walk it into the carpets). We had to desolve the tar off our hands with margerine. If that doesn't start a load of tales of "when I were a lad" then I'll go to the foot of our stairs

Subject: RE: The Day We Went To Bangor-Lyrics
From: Mo
Date: 13 Nov 98 - 06:13 PM

Tizer? Pah, a pale, insipid concoction compared with Irn Bru (Iron Brew if your not familar with gutteral Scots) - now that puts hairs on your chest! Marketed for kids, but drunk by loads of adults as to this day its anti-hangover qualities are the stuff of legend. (In other words it doesn't really work, but you hope to God it does, and it's worth a try for the sugar rush alone!) Cheers! Mo.

PS - for the hangover cure to work it has to be full-strength or "fat" Irn-Bru, none of yer diet stuff here....!

Subject: RE: The Day We Went To Bangor-Lyrics
From: mike cahill
Date: 14 Nov 98 - 06:15 AM

made in scotland from girders, and it taste's like it too the only "real" drinks were Tizer and vimto (and lukozade when you were poorly, in a bottle covered in cellophane). Oh, and Dandilion and Burdock cordial that was delivered in 1/2 gallon demi-john bottles to your door by a horse drawn dray

Subject: RE: The Day We Went To Bangor-Lyrics
From: Mo
Date: 14 Nov 98 - 10:59 AM

I'm with you on the Vimto and D& B!!! Never did take to Lucozade though... Glad you approve of the taste of Irn Bru (!)!

Mo

Subject: RE: The Day We Went To Bangor-Lyrics
From: Gordon
Date: 15 Nov 98 - 07:07 PM

Hey Mo! You're talking to a Glaswegian here(but live in Aussie),so of course i know what Iron Brew is. I swore by it for hangovers. I found a place in oz that sells it,but double the price,so now i dont drink anymore,ochone,ochone

Subject: RE: The Day We Went To Bangor-Lyrics
From: Mo
Date: 16 Nov 98 - 06:54 AM

Gordon - that's pure dead brilliant, by the way!!! (Just thought I'd give you a wee taste of dialect nostalgia there). Shame that importation puts up the price so much, but I suppose you could buy it on special occasions - like the Saturday morning after Fair Friday - just for old times sake!

have you ever heard Billy Connolly's story about the time he was sharing a sleeper from London to Glasgow with a total stranger and as they were approaching Central Station with a bit of a "morning head" on him, this hand appeared from the man in the top bunk, offering his bottle of the fluourescent nectar? Love it...

We've had the first frost here and the sky is glorious so of course, the place is looking at her best. Cheers,

Mo

Subject: RE: The Day We Went To Bangor-Lyrics
From: Celtic-End Singer
Date: 16 Nov 98 - 07:33 AM

The weather isn't that glorius Mo. I walked it home from the pub last night and it must have been -10. But at least it's not damp or wet (Yet!) Incidently, does anyone remember tangerine crush? I had a real penchant for it as a kid and would regularly buy a bottle wish my fish supper from this real olde-worlde chippie in Cathcart. The chippie's under new management now and the tangerine crush is gone. What a tragedy! And to develope the subject a little, whilst Barr's Irn Bru is the undisputed King of The Brews I contend that Garvie's "Auld Scotch Ginger Beer" is the best money (or returned bottles) can buy. I recall Robertson's made the best Limeade, or "Jungle-Juice" as we used to call it at Parkhead. Any more ginger-related nostalgia?

Subject: RE: The Day We Went To Bangor-Lyrics
From: Gordon
Date: 17 Nov 98 - 04:47 AM

hated Garvies. theyre huns. i painted one of the garvie bros house in Bearsden,he threw out my mate coz he turned up on a freezing morning with a celtic scarf! so they were boycotted. i also painted billy connellys house out in drymen before he went with pamela (aussie) stephenson. he is playing here in newcastle ,nsw in jan next year,and the tickets sold out in an hour. Hail,Hail

Subject: RE: lyrics--riding down from bangor
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 29 Sep 02 - 08:32 AM

The Barron Knights parodied "Day Trip To Bangor" in their 1980 hit "Never mind the presents". Something along the lines of
"Didn't we have alovely time at the office Christmas party.."

Nigel

Subject: Chord Req: Day we went to Bangor
From:
Date: 29 Nov 03 - 11:56 AM

Anyone know the chords to Day trip to bangor.

Subject: RE: Chords/Lyrics: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: Joe Offer
Date: 29 Nov 03 - 05:59 PM

Note the request above for chords. I see the song was recorded by Fiddler's Dram, but does andybody have background information, or know a songwriter name, or have a tune?
-Joe Offer-
[e-mail]

Subject: RE: Chords/Lyrics: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: cobber
Date: 29 Nov 03 - 06:35 PM

We were in England in 1979 and went to a folk club with Karl Dallas who used to write a folk column in Melody Maker (Ithink)The main act was Fiddler's Dram and it was to be their last performance as the group was breaking up. They had recently recorded the Day we went to Bangor but it didn't seem to be going anywhere and, talking to them afterwards, they were all pretty disappointed and disillusioned about the whole scene. Four months later when we got back to Australia, it was playing on the radio and we heard that the record had eventually "taken off" and the band had got back together and were touring. They were a good band but most of their material was more "folky" than Bangor so it would have been interesting to see who went to their concerts after that.

Subject: RE: Chords/Lyrics: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: Peter K (Fionn)
Date: 29 Nov 03 - 07:44 PM

The singer was Cathy Lesurf, who has performed at rarefied heights in the folk scene, with bands like Fairport Convention as well as Fiddlers Dram. She is of course still around, and runs a yearly "World in one County" festival near here (Sherwood Forest) featuring traditional dance and music from various parts of the globe,including her own a capella renditions of latin songs. I'll emsil her about Joe's query.

Subject: RE: Chords/Lyrics: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 30 Nov 03 - 04:46 AM

That great Scottish singer Tich Frier also does a wicked parody.
By the way it is Barrs Irn Bru that is made in Scotland from girders.
Eric

Subject: RE: Chords/Lyrics: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: TheBigPinkLad
Date: 30 Nov 03 - 05:31 PM

I seem to remember my Scots cousins call all pop 'ginger.'

Subject: RE: Chords/Lyrics: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 30 Nov 03 - 06:46 PM

It was recorded by Dingles record company and I think funded Roger and Helen Holt's (who ran Dingles Folk Club and played with the Reelists) move from Edgware, London, to the West Country.

Kitty

Subject: RE: Chords/Lyrics: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: Hamish
Date: 01 Dec 03 - 04:42 AM

Ah: Kitty - not (quite) the West Country. They have a B&B in Swanage, cos I stayed there at the folk festival in 2002. They still live on the memories of Dingles. And they dispense free drinks if you play/sing late into the wee small hours for them.

Subject: RE: Chords/Lyrics: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 01 Dec 03 - 09:20 AM

As far as I can remember, Fiddler's Dram was basically a re-hash of The Oyster Band.

I remember the Holts well from both Dingles Folk Club days and also serving on EFDSS committees. Does Roger still sail ? - I can remember him launching his catamaran at Sidmouth.

Subject: RE: Chords/Lyrics: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: Skipjack K8
Date: 01 Dec 03 - 12:30 PM

Kathy sang on the first two Oyster LPs, but she'd split with them when I first came across them in Canterbury in the early '80s. My flatmate taught at the same school as John Jones, and the band used to congregate in the Royal Dragoon in Canterbury, most nights. They played a couple of benefits during the miners' strike in the social clubs of the doomed pits at Snowdown and Tilmanstone. Great days, if you weren't a miner.

Subject: RE: Chords/Lyrics: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: Anne Lennox-Martin
Date: 01 Dec 03 - 12:31 PM

Hi everyone,
Fiddlers Dram were the precursor to Oyster Ceilidh Band and then the Oyster Band. They used to stay with us in London and we introduced them to Roger and Helen Holt of Dingles records and with Packie Byrne and Bonnie Shaljean, convinced them they were worth recording.
The song was written by Debbie Cook from Whitstable and was originally much slower than the hit on the first FD album.
When Roger & Helen decided to try for a single they engaged a more pop guy to produce who speeded it up.
They were a great band and made two albums before the Oyster Ceilidh Band album and then subsequent Oyster records. A great bunch of people and my family and I have great memories of them all kipping down on our floor and various towing away stories on their duff transit before "Day Trip" gave them the finance to make life easier.
Hope this is of interest.
Anne

Subject: RE: Chords/Lyrics: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 01 Dec 03 - 07:03 PM

Anne

Thanks - Dave Bryant's post confused me, because I'd always thought FD preceded OB!

This thread has stirred loads of memories of Dingles folk club, the ceildhs in the crypt at St Martins in the Fields, Cathy Le Surf teaching Renaissance dances at Sidmouth in the Drill Hall.....

And duff Transits (Puddleduck had one too....)

Kitty

Subject: RE: Chords/Lyrics: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: ard mhacha
Date: 02 Dec 03 - 03:35 PM

Didn`t the late Joyce Grenfell record this song?. Ard Mhacha.

Subject: RE: Chords/Lyrics: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 04 Dec 03 - 08:10 AM

Henry's Songbook has an attribution, an additional verse, and some interesting notes:

DAY TRIP TO BANGOR
(Debbie Cook)

Can't you still hear the noise on the pier
As we took a breath of sea air
Having a go at every side show
We passed along the way, we had
Our fortunes told, when it turned a bit cold
And a go on the tombola
It was such a surprise 'cause I won a prize
When the wheel went around

Susanne´s Folksong-Notizen
[2000:] I'd heard that the song was really about Rhyl, which does have funfairs, beaches etc, but that Bangor sounded better! (Allison McGurk, uk.music.folk, 7 Jan)

[2000:] There isn't a seafront [...]. The nearest brass band is Porthaethwy (Menai Bridge) [...]. a) there are no paddler boats and b) you certainly wouldn't want to take one out on the Menai Straits at the time this was written - it was "lumpy" [...]. There isn't [a fun fair -] well, a little one in autumn with about four rides. [...] Eels? Not in Bangor [...]. There IS a pier, and a very good one too. Completely renovated to an excellent standard in early 80's, thanks almost totally to the efforts of the town clerk, Mr Gibbs(?). Worth a visit. (Steve Ashton, uk.music.folk, 7 Jan)

[2000:] An ex-pat Ulsterman wonders, mightn't it really refer to Bangor, the seaside resort in County Down? (Alan Crozier, uk.music.folk, 8 Jan)

[2000:] I grew up there, and always enjoy pointing out to the English that the Bangor in County Down is bigger than the Welsh one, which is usually the only one they know. BUT ... there isn't a pier in the seaside-resort sense, or a ferris wheel or side shows (not normally anyway), or eels, or paddle boats in the bay (bit choppy, it opens out into Belfast Lough). In fact the bay has now been filled in to make a marina but that wasn't the case when this song came out. No. I never thought of the song as referring to Bangor, Co Down. I reckon she was probably thinking of Rhyl, but it didn't fit the song (or Pwllheli which would be even worse). (Marjorie Clarke, uk.music.folk, 10 Jan)

[2000:] You are right it was Rhyl which does not fit the tune so it got moved along the coast a bit. […] How do I know this? Folk knowledge: "everybody" knew this at one time but most of us forgot! (Roger Gawley, uk.music.folk, 10 Jan)

From a Guardian article, What becomes of the one-hit wonders?:

Fiddler's Dram
Day Trip To Bangor
No 4, December 1979

Line-up: Cathy Lesurf (vocals, bodhran, bells), Chris Taylor (banjo, guitar, mouth organ, bouzouki, dulcimer), Alan Prosser (guitar, bass, bones, dulcimer), Ian Telfer (fiddle, psaltery, English concertina), Ian Kearey (bass)

Chris Taylor: Bangor was written by Debbie Cook, who went on to write scripts for The Archers and EastEnders. When we did Top of the Pops, each member of Boney M turned up in their own stretch limo. There was a flurry of activity after the hit, but the novelty soon wore off. We returned to playing with the Oyster Band, our main group. I made about £8,000, but had to pay off my ex-wife. I also drank a lot of it away. I teach music at Canterbury College. Alan Prosser and Ian Telfer are still with the Oyster Band. Cathy Lesurf sang with the Albion Band and Fairport Convention. She lives in Nottingham and still does gigs. Ian Kearey is married with children and works as an editor and writer.

Subject: RE: Chords/Lyrics: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: GUEST,Sooz (at work)
Date: 05 Dec 03 - 08:20 AM

Theres another parody sung in this neck of the woods "The day we went to Blackpool" I'll try to hunt out the words when I get home.

Subject: RE: Chords/Lyrics: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 05 Dec 03 - 11:54 AM

I will post the chords if necessary, but I would prefer if somebody else could find them somewhere on the 'net.

Subject: Chords Add: DAY TRIP TO BANGOR (Debbie Cook)
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 06 Dec 03 - 01:55 PM

(G)Didn't we(D) have a lovely(C) time the(G) day we(D7) went to(G) Bangor
A(C) beautiful day we had(G) lunch on the(Em) way
And(A) all for under a(D) pound you know
Then(G)on the way(D) back I cuddled with(C) Jack
And we(G) opened a(D7) bottle of(G) ci(G7)der
(C)Singing a(Gdim)few of our(B7) favourite(E7) songs as the(A7) wheels(D) went(G) round

Subject: Lyr Add: THE DAY WE WENT TO BLACKPOOL
From: Sooz
Date: 07 Dec 03 - 04:24 AM

THE DAY WE WENT TO BLACKPOOL

Didn't we have a miserable time the day we went to Blackpool?
An 'orrible day! We got drunk on the way and spent our money on chips and bingo.
Hour after hour, we sat in a bar and we drank a barrel of cider.
On the way back, I was sick over Jack and the rain came down.

Oh, do you recollect the havoc we wrecked as we vandalised the seafront?
Sydney the punk he lost a chunk of his head when he nutted a parking meter.
I'll never forget all the fish that we ate as we staggered round the fairground.
We distributed ale from the big Ferris wheel and the rain came down.

Oh, do you recall the thrill of it all as we organised a gangbang?
Under the pier a bottle of beer and an inflatable doll called Vinyl Vera.
It ruptured the two at the front of the queue and then it came to my turn.
I couldn't begin 'cause the tide had come in and the rain came down.

Well, Eric and Sid they said for a quid they'd climb the Blackpool Tower.
Newcastle Brown made Eric fall down so we carried him into a Wimpy Bar.
Sidney threw up right into his cup and we had to call the waiter.
Eric was ill all over his bill and the rain came down.

Well, Eric and me we wanted a pee so we climbed up on the bandstand.
Recycled booze all over our shoes and some all over the band as well.
We got in a car. We didn't get far 'cause the policeman waved us down.
Well, we must've been out of our brains 'cause we came down by train and the rain came down.

Well, didn't we have a miserable time the day we went to Blackpool?
An 'orrible day! We got drunk on the way and spent our money in magistrate's fines.
We stood in the dock till at least three o'clock and the jury found us guilty.
We were charged two and six 'cause the judge was all pissed and the rain came down.

Subject: RE: Chords/Lyrics: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: GUEST
Date: 08 Dec 03 - 03:37 AM

refresh

Subject: RE: Chords/Lyrics: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: GUEST,GerMan
Date: 08 Dec 03 - 08:10 AM

Sorry to hijack this thread but in response to Gordon's misguided comments above...........


Full credit to the Garvies who deserve a medal for trying to prevent the wonderful parish of Bearsden being tainted by the appearance of a beggar's scarf.

Not only do they make great "pop" but also support God's team.

We are the people.

Subject: RE: Chords/Lyrics: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 06 May 04 - 02:03 PM

Just spotted this in an old BBC Schools broadcasts book (words slightly sanitised: "I chatted with Jack"), but includes full melody line & chords (slightly different from those above).
The book "Singing Together" is dated 1990, so somewhat after Fiddler's Dram's hit record (No 3 in hit parade, December '79)

If someone still wants the melody I can scan it & email. Please let me know by PM


CHEERS

Nigel

Subject: RE: Chords/Lyrics: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: GUEST,Help please
Date: 29 Nov 04 - 05:14 AM

I am desperate to try and obtain a copy of fiddlers dram day trip to bangor it is for my mother to send to her sister in Newzeland as a Christmas gift but i cannot get a copy of it any where i HAVE HUNTED ALL DOWNLOAD PAGES AND CANT GET IT IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE WHO CAN HELP ME PLEASE

eMAIL [e-mail]

Subject: RE: Chords/Lyrics: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 29 Nov 04 - 02:15 PM

As above, I don't have a recording, but I can e-mail a scan of the music if required.

Nigel

Subject: RE: Chords/Lyrics: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: GUEST,Kees
Date: 29 Nov 04 - 04:36 PM

Coopers,

Tried to mail you the song. But AOL sais there are fatal errors in your email address so the mail was not delivered.

Kees

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: GUEST,andi
Date: 15 Sep 07 - 10:45 AM

The parody of The Day We Went To Bangor... I heard it from the Two Ronnies. It went something like this:

Didn't we have a lovely time at the office Christmas party. We finished our work and all went beserk And grabbed the nearest secratery Mr McKay he threw a mince pie and someone dropped a stink bomb We all said 'phoowar' and ran out the door till the pong died down The cleaner called Girt she lifted her skirt and did the hokey kokey Old Mrs Smith got stuck in a lift; it wouldn't go up or down you know The manageress, she lifted her dress as she fell into the trifle Said something obseen on the telex machine and the shares went down A knock on the door and in came the law and we all went 'ome...

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: Irene M
Date: 15 Sep 07 - 02:21 PM

Bill Hill wrote a magnificent "Day Trip Tae Hampden", about of course, football, booze and hooliganism.
"and on the way back I fell oot wi Jack and gave him the dandruff decider..."

Ah my mis-spent youth (in folk festivals!).

Irene (older but no wiser).

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: GUEST
Date: 05 Jul 11 - 11:01 AM

Hi, I know this thread is quite old now, but I don't suppose anybody has an instrumental version of Day Trip To Bangor? It would be much appreciated, thanks.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: The Day We Went To Bangor
From: GUEST,Geraint Smith
Date: 25 Apr 12 - 12:37 PM

Now a VERY old thread, but does anyone have any idea how to get in touch with Helen and Roger Holt, or indeed any of the other members of their band The Reelists? I played drums with them in 1979/80 - including at least one gig in the St Martin's Crypt incidentally - the same year that Day Trip was going up the charts. (Indeed I remember sitting in their living room in Edgeware - or was it Enfield? - listening to the first pressing of the single pre-release and being told that "If you'd been around a couple of months ago you'd have been on it......" which always seemed rather cruel!) It would be nice to say Hi to them, if they remember me.