Lyr Req: Bring the Sea to Manchester

Subject: Lyr Req: Bring the Sea to Manchester
From: Ian Hendrie
Date: 16 Dec 09 - 10:27 AM

I've been trying to transcribe this song from 'The Bold Navigators' CD (Fellside Records) for inclusion on the
'Songs of the Inland Waterways' web-site. I've got most of it but there are some words, marked (?), which I am unsure about. There may well be other errors as well. Can anyone put me right on these nautical and Mancunian references?

We're fair on the job and 'tis taking people down
I mean the ship canal from Liverpool
Manchester's a city you know of renown
and go ahead now what would be the rule
The sea is far away which promises to stay
And we cannot move our city to its shore
But if we can't move the town
we can bring the sea down
And fetch the cotton pang(?) up to the door

We've got the money, we've got the men
We'll soon have the ships and we'll tell 'em then
Where there's a will, there's a way as you must know
To bring the sea to Manchester and Yo-heave-ho!

You'll soon see the sailors a-walking through the streets
With the miners and the winers they'll agree
With each pretty face they'll splice the main-brace
And every girl they'll christen Nancy Lee
Bills and Sands(?) and Jacks will be hauling up the slacks
As they're a-coming down the ship canal
Who'd a thought they'd all say
That we should come this way
And drop anchor to the sound of city bells


We're bound to have more trade when the ship canal is made
We can send our goods to India straight away
To China and Peru, New York and Timbuctoo
Our ships they will be sailing every day
Independence we shall get of all the lot you bet
Who've tried so often mills and looms to rod(?)
They must let us pass while we've got the brass
To make a start and finish up the job


Sailors homeward bound, their voices will resound
If they meet another vessel on the way
Let the winds blow as they will, we're bound for Shudehill
Where all the folk are Irish so they say
Another on the main may be bound for Ancoats Lane
And one for Rochdale Road or Brighton Trim(?)
Liverpools knocked out we have put our ships about
And Liverpool will have to do'est the glim(?)


To Salford you can go when the tide is running low
And pick up shrimps and mussels by the score
Fish for eels and soles all in the old bog-hole
Or with Sally take a walk along the shore
So we'll hoist them all success, may they shall not get no less
The gentlemen who're doing this so well
Another gill we'll fill and drink all with a will
Here's a health unto the bloody ship canal

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Bring the Sea to Manchester
From: Brian Peters
Date: 16 Dec 09 - 11:18 AM

Aha! I think this would be my recording...

Here's what I remember, off the top of my head (the proper words are in the facsimilie broadsides of Manchester Ballads - Mark Dowding would be the man to ask about that).

v1
and go ahead now ought to be be the rule

and fetch the cotton bang up to the door

v2
With the minders and the winders they'll agree

Bills and Sams and Jacks will be hauling up their slacks

v3
Who've tried so often mills and looms to rob

v4
And one for Rochdale Road all bright and trim

And Liverpool will have to do us the glim

v5
So we'll wish them all success, may their shadow get no less

I don't really know what 'do us the glim' means, but assumed it was something like 'admit to being second-best'.

In the original I seem to remember that the line in v4 went "all the pigs are Irish", which maybe meant simply that it was such a large Irish community that even the livestock spoke with an accent, but I decided to change it anyway to avoid any offence.

The last line of v5 was originally
"A health to Manchester and her new Ship Canal"
but Harry Boardman's wife Lesley , who was typing out a whole pile of lyrics from Harry to give to me (I was learning songs for a radio documentary) had got so fed up by that point that she inserted a little protest of her own. I only found out about it years later.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Bring the Sea to Manchester
From: Phil Edwards
Date: 16 Dec 09 - 11:40 AM

Just listening to Mark Dowding's recording & I can clarify the last line of v4. It's "Liverpool will have to douse the glim", i.e. put out the light - or stop acting as if the sun shines out of...

There's also another verse, between verses 4 and 5 as given here - I'll transcribe it when I get a moment, if nobody else supplies it.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Bring the Sea to Manchester
From: Ian Hendrie
Date: 16 Dec 09 - 11:52 AM

Brilliant! So much help so quickly. Many thanks.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Bring the Sea to Manchester
From: Brian Peters
Date: 16 Dec 09 - 11:52 AM

"I can clarify the last line of v4. It's "Liverpool will have to douse the glim", i.e. put out the light - or stop acting as if the sun shines out of..."

That makes much more sense. Either Lesley mis-transcribed the word or I misread it. And sound advice, as well...

I probably omitted that other verse because the song was long enough already.