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Subject: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Joe Offer Date: 12 Apr 11 - 07:20 PM
-Joe Offer- I know this won't be entirely about songs from Ron Baxter, but for now I'm going to crosslink it to the Ron Baxter threads. Here's the introduction from Ross, subject to editing:
I've been meaning to ask about setting up another Permathread for some time. Ideal title:- 'Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade'. The initial purpose of the 'Fleetwood & Fishing Permathread' would be to represent the body of work that has arisen over the last thirty-odd years in Fleetwood (Lancashire, NW England), from the pens of Ron Baxter (Sailor Ron on Mudcat) and others, connected with the history of Fleetwood's fishing industry, the trawlers, trawlermen and all the supporting land-based trades and businesses that made the town what it was. Ron's latest estimate is that he has written perhaps fifty songs just on this subject alone. As I keep finding items in forgotten computer files and re-discovering paper files containing things I don't even remember, the total could be far higher. Ron's first effort was a song called "Lord Middleton", inspired by hearing of an old trawler being dismantled at the breaker's yard. Alan Bell added the tune and a verse, and performed the song with the Taverners for many years. For some time that was Ron's sole claim to song-writing fame. But in the early eighties, when he was running Fleetwood Folk Club, Ron came up with an idea to commemorate the then-disappearing distant-water fishing fleet. Borrowing some songs from the east coast fishing traditions and elsewhere, Ron added a script and a few songs, allocated them amongst the team of singers from the club and set up a fund-raising performance for the local Fleetwood lifeboat. The success of that small show fired up enthusiasm amongst the club members, drawing forth some amazing efforts. Further songs and poems came from Ron, Dick Gillingham and Dave Pearce, with the latter two calling on connections in Fleetwood's fishing community to produce a collection of slides which were used as a back-drop to a much-expanded show entitled "The Final Trawl", by this time featuring almost entirely locally-based material, songs, stories, poems and sketches. Presented in Fleetwood's North Euston Hotel as Fleetwood Folk Club's contribution to the town's series of Maritime England events in 1982, the show got a great reception, with many of the audience still having a direct connection to the events, ships and individuals described. During the couple of years when the club performed the show locally and further afield, the last distant-water trawler did indeed land its final catch at Fleetwood's Fish Dock. Since then, Ron and a varying team of singers, story-tellers and musicians have presented many themed programmes based on the history of Fleetwood and the industry which once gave the town its character, always with fresh songs from Ron and the others. Some of these shows were recorded, variously on reel-to-reel tape, cassette tape, video-tape, and latterly direct to computer hard-drive. The 'Final Trawl' was recorded for us by Dave Howard (BBC/Oldham Tinkers) in 1983. When the last cassette sold out, he kindly provided a CD master from the original tapes, re-mastered over two CDs (the show lasted 95 minutes) by the late Dave Ryan, so I still have CD-R copies available for sale. Other shows I still have to do some work on, and the state of the original recordings may mean some re-recording would be necessary before audio versions could be provided. The range of material could later be extended to include Hull, Grimsby and other places with a similar history. I know many other songs that would fit well with the Fleetwood material. Many fishing families came to Fleetwood with the expansion of the industry from 1900 on, and there were always strong business and family links among the various fishing ports, and much shared experience. Happy to have the Ron Baxter links, Joe. There will be more in the Merchant Navy Songs Permathread. I can be contacted directly by PM on Mudcat or by email at rossjcampbell(at)excite.com Ross |
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Subject: Lyr Add: LORD MIDDLETON (Baxter/Bell) From: Ross Campbell Date: 12 Apr 11 - 09:25 PM LORD MIDDLETON (Ron Baxter & Alan Bell) She lies there in the old scrap-yard - two hundred tons of rust; She's obsolete and out of date - be broken up she must. But spare to her a kindly glance, if e'er you're passing by; For over there in the old scrap-yard, the Lord Middleton must die. For thirty years she caught the fish and roamed the Arctic seas; She fought the winds and the terrible ice as she struggled to be free. But ne'er again will the trawl come in - nor the gulls around her fly; For over there in the old scrap-yard, the Lord Middleton must die. She earned her fame in the war-time game of sweeping mines and death; On the long patrols through the ice and snow, she never paused for breath; She dodged the steel torpedoes and heard shells whistle by; Now over there in the old scrap-yard, the Lord Middleton must die. No more will she pass the Morecambe Light - no more will her siren sound; No more will her engine pound the night - no more will she be outward bound; No more will she wander the icy seas, nor her smokestack smear the sky; For over there in the old scrap-yard, the Lord Middleton must die. This was Ron's first song-writing attempt. Hearing about an old trawler about to go to the breaker's yard, Ron dug out a bit of its history and put together a few verses. Unable to fit a tune to what he had, he approached Alan Bell (who had already written a number of songs for the Taverners to cover a scarcity of local traditional material) to see if he had any suggestions. Alan added a verse, set a tune and went on to perform the song with the Taverners for many years. I'm not sure of the date of composition, but it would have to be early '70s. I'll check with Ron and Alan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMT_Lord_Middleton_%28FY219%29 attributes the song to Alan Bell, but Alan has always credited Ron Baxter as the originator. The Bosun's Watch - ST Lord Middleton - FD67 Both sites give 1964 as the date the Lord Middleton was scrapped - perhaps the song had a very long gestation period! Ross |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Charley Noble Date: 12 Apr 11 - 09:37 PM A fine launching of this thread. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Jack Blandiver Date: 13 Apr 11 - 04:40 AM I once heard this sung in a a singaround in Somerset and when I asked the singer if he knew who wrote it, he said as far as he was concerned it was Traditional. I wonder, can some songs be traditional to some & not to others depending on who knows, or for that matter doesn't know, who wrote them? I think, perhaps, Ron might like the idea of people passing his songs off as Traditional... |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Sailor Ron Date: 13 Apr 11 - 10:38 AM Lord Middleton was writen in 1967 on board the M.V. Clan Malcolm [my 2nd trip to sea] |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Eric the Viking Date: 13 Apr 11 - 02:14 PM Ron. Did you know Albert Shorrock? |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Sailor Ron Date: 14 Apr 11 - 05:50 AM Sorry Eric, can't bring him to mind. Was/is he a Fleetwood man? |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Eric the Viking Date: 16 Apr 11 - 12:40 PM Yes. he was onshore wireless operator/technician for Wyre trawlers. A grand bloke who died just over a year ago. |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Spleen Cringe Date: 16 Apr 11 - 04:12 PM Ross, if you're interested in putting some of the older recordings up at Lost Folk Tapes, PM me or email me at contact@lostfolktapes.com... |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: GUEST Date: 24 Apr 11 - 09:56 AM Please could you tell me if it's possible to obtain a copy of "The Final Trawl" I had it on audio tape but over the years it has been badly damaged |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Ross Campbell Date: 24 Apr 11 - 11:12 PM GUEST, if you sign in to Mudcat (own name or alias, whatever you like as long as nobody else picked the same one!) I can send you a Personal Message (PM) via the PM clicky that you see against poster's names in the thread above, or you can PM me with your address details. The answer to your question is "yes". I can supply a 2xCD-r version of the Final Trawl which contains the full 95-minute show as you had on the original cassette, or a single-CD-R version containing only the songs (just under 60 minutes). We originally charged £10 for the double-CD version in a double-CD jewel case, which replaced the cassete version. I am currently asking £3 per CD-r, so £6 for the double-CD, £3 for the Final Trawl Songs. £1 for postage. My email address is rossjcampbell(at)excite.com [replace (at) with @] Through the good offices of Spleen Cringe at Lost Folk Tapes, it looks like I should be able to upload audio versions of songs as and when I post them here. I may need to look at other options when I run out of pre-recorded material, or the archive material isn't good enough to use. Sorry for late reply, I just got back from the Easter Shanty Festival at the Ellesmere Port Boat Museum (a resounding success) - shantys a-plenty, but much, much more. Heard Hissyfit's beautiful arrangements for the first time, lovely songs from Hazel and Linda (whose song "The Luckiest Sailor" was posted on Mudcat almost ten years ago). Hope to include more of Linda Kelly's work here eventually. Also put faces to the names of Dave and Julie Evardson, first time I've seen and heard them, though Dave's "North Wall" I have heard from various sources before. Again, their material meshes in perfectly with the Fleetwood experience, covering the shore-side trades as well as the trawlermen and I hope to include their songs here as well. A great week-end. Ross |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: GUEST Date: 25 Apr 11 - 11:17 AM Really a huge pleasure to meet you and Ron, and a delight to realise that some of my favourite songs are your compositions!. Just let me know if you need further info as happy to oblige. Linda |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Charley Noble Date: 26 Apr 11 - 08:04 AM refresh |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Ross Campbell Date: 27 Apr 11 - 02:03 PM About time I added a song! The opening song in "The Final Trawl" wasn't one of Ron's, but a traditional song from Sam Larner - "The Smacksman", sung by Dick Gillingham. There's a thread here:- "The Smacksman" with the words and a midi link, and a fourth verse from Chris Amos. We picked this song to begin the show because smacks were the original means of getting away from the shore to where the fish were in abundance - out in Morecambe Bay or the Irish Sea waters off the Fylde Coast. There are variations of this type of boat all round the British Isles, from Bawleys in the Thames Estuary to Fifies on the east coast of Scotland. The local version is the Lancashire Nobby. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_fishing_boat :- "Throughout history, local conditions have led to the development of a wide range of types of fishing boats. The Lancashire nobby was used down the north west coast of England as a shrimp trawler from 1840 until World War II. The bawley and the smack were used in the Thames Estuary and off East Anglia, while trawlers and drifters were use on the east coast. Herring fishing started in the Moray Firth in 1819. The Manx nobby was used as a herring drifter around the Isle of Man, and fifies were used as herring drifters along the east coast of Scotland from the 1850s until well into the 20th century." From the intro to "The Lancashire Nobby" by Nick Miller (Amberley Publishing, 2009. ISBN 1848684908):- "Telling the story of the once-ubiquitous Lancashire Nobby, a handsome sailing trawler that was once found in every harbour from West Wales to the West Coast of Scotland. This inshore boat worked as a shrimper in Morecambe bay working from the fishing ports of Barrow, Morcambe, Fleetwood and Heysham. It was also worked on the Lancashire coast and Liverpool bay, operating from Lytham St Annes, Southport and the port of Liverpool. The Nobby also worked from Rhyl and Colwyn Bay on the North Wales coast, through the Menai Strait and down into Cardigan Bay, operating as far South as Cardigan and Fishguard." "Ploughboy" , built at Crossfield's yard in Arnside, is a typical Morecambe Bay Prawner, currently for sale and looking great. Follow the link (courtesy of the Wayback archive - the original page has disappeared) for a great story, pictures (sadly absent from the archive page) and a poem about her sister ship the Cock o' the North, lost on her maiden voyage. Ross |
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Subject: Lyr Add: THE SMACKSMAN (from Sam Larner) From: Ross Campbell Date: 27 Apr 11 - 02:03 PM The Smacksman (Trad, from Sam Larner) Once I was a schoolboy, And I stayed at home with ease; Now I am a smacksman, and plough the raging seas. I thought I'd like sea-farin' life, But very soon I found - It wasn't all plain sailin' boys - when out on the fishing ground! Chorus:- Coil away the trawl-warp , boys, let's heave on the trawl; When we get the fish all in, we'll have another haul; Straightway to the capstan - merrily heave her round - That's the cry in the middle of the night - "Haul the trawl, boys, haul!" Every night in winter as regular as the clock We put on our old sou'westers likewise our oilskin frock, And straightway to the capstan and merrily spin away, That's the cry in the middle of the night: "Haul the trawl, boys, haul." Now when we get our fish on board We have them all to gut; We put them all in baskets and down the ice-locker put. We ice them down, we size them, We ice them all quite well; We ice them and keep them safely like an oyster in his shell. As sung by Dick Gillingham and the chorus in "The Final Trawl", 1982. And that fourth verse from Chris Amos, which he attributes to Tony Hall:- When the eight weeks are over Hard up the tiller goes Off we set to Yarmouth Pier With the big gear on her nose When we get to Yarmouth Town Those Lassies they'll all say Here comes our gallent fishing lads That's been so long away If eight weeks seems a long time to be out in a small boat, in the North Sea fisheries it was considered more effective to keep on catching once the fish had been found. The catch would be transferred to other boats to be brought to market, the fishermen would only return to shore when they or the gear were worn out. Ross |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Ross Campbell Date: 27 Apr 11 - 06:32 PM As I plan to list the songs from "The Final Trawl" in the order that we used them in the show, the track-list from the CDs can act as an index for what's to come. The split across the two CDs was made at the half-time point in the live performance:- CD One The Smacksman (Trad.) The Fleetwood Fireman (R. Baxter)* Old Dinas (Coll. by M. Huntington)* Bobby Nash's Song (Nash)* Our Cook's Tater Pie (Coll. from R. Smith) Don't Marry a Lumper (R. Baxter) Best Stuff i' Lancashire (R. Gillingham) Two o'clock Artillery (poem - R. Baxter) Tell Me Skipper (Coll. Mike Waterson) The Silent Walkabout (R. Baxter)* Oh, Mr Thompson (R. Baxter)* The Blue Flamingo (R.Baxter/R.Gillingham) CD Two Windy Old Weather (Trad) Deckie Learner (Coll. R.Baxter/R.Gillingham) Why Are You Crying, Mam? (R. Baxter)* Lament for the Red Falcon (poem - R. Baxter) Pull for the Shore (Moodey and Sankey Coll.) Old Man Vic (R. Baxter)* Lord Middleton (R. Baxter/A. Bell) Up on the Chatsworth Estate (R. Baxter) The Arctic Grounds (R. Baxter)* Iceman and Lumper (R. Baxter/R. Campbell) Three Day Millionaire (Mike Waterson) My Brian (R. Baxter from an idea by Owen Hand) Strike Boys, Strike (Trad. arr. Baxter) Fighting the Cod War (D. Pearce)* Flowers of the Sea (R. Baxter)* The Trawlerman (poem - D. Pearce) (* indicates that a traditional tune was used) Ross |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Charley Noble Date: 27 Apr 11 - 10:22 PM Ross- Thanks for the preview and the notes. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Joe Offer Date: 28 Apr 11 - 01:31 AM I listened to "The Final Trawl" on my weekly trip to Sacramento yesterday, and it made the trip a pleasure. It really gave me a feeling for the life of the fishing industry of Fleetwood. It's a wonderful recording. -Joe- |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Ross Campbell Date: 28 Apr 11 - 09:36 PM Google Books has "The Gaff Rig Handbook: History, Design, Techniques, Developments" by John Leather. Page 202 (in case the link gets lost!) gets you to Chapter Eighteen: The Fishing Boats of North West England which gives a good history of the shrimpers, prawners and early trawlers of Fleetwood and the surrounding area. Ross |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Ross Campbell Date: 28 Apr 11 - 09:56 PM Google Books also has "Working boats of Britain: their shape and purpose By Eric McKee" which looks at how different local conditions affect the shapes and usage of boats around the coast of Britain. Ross |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Spleen Cringe Date: 08 Jun 11 - 04:49 PM I've set up a page at Lost Folk Tapes to link into this thread, primarily to put up sound files (and in future possibly images) linking in with Ross's posts here. Subject to any editorial changes Ross may want to make, the text at LFT simply repeats what he's written on Mudcat. To start off, and linking in with Ross's post above, I've put up a sound file of Dick Gillingham singing The Smacksman, taken from the 1983 recording of The Final Trawl. More to follow as Ross adds to this thread. |
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Subject: Lyr Add: THE FLEETWOOD FIREMAN (Ron Baxter) From: Ross Campbell Date: 09 Jun 11 - 02:00 PM The Fleetwood Fireman (Ron Baxter) I am a Fleetwood fireman, And I work on Hewitt's fleet; I spend all my time way down below; There I'm stoking up the fire, To get the steam up higher, For without me, the trawler will not go. I'm stuck down in the stoke-hold, With coal up to my knees, Black with the dust from head to toe; And I'm sweating out my soul, Just shovelling tons of coal, But without me the trawler will not go. Oh the work it is so hard, I've got muscles on my arms, That would really make Charles Atlas proud, you know; I've got coal dust in my blood, And let it be understood That without me, the trawler will not go. And through my working life, Well I've fired for many ships; I've worked with Dinas, Sun and Cevic, Iago. Down below their fires do roar, From their funnels smoke does pour, And without me the trawlers will not go. But my time is running out, For the rumours I have heard Say that future trawlers will not run on coal; Diesel oil is on the way, And from what I've heard 'em say, They won't need me to make the trawlers go! Tune Traditional* Sung by Ged Higson RJC From the era of steam trawlers - these vessels formed the bulk of Fleetwood's trawler fleet for about sixty years, from around 1890 to 1950. Here's a link to FLOAT (Fleetwood Library On-line Archive of Trawlers):- http://float-trawlers.lancashire.gov.uk/index.php?a=fishingsteamtrawlers * Been trying to think what that tune is - the nearest I can get is "Living on the Hallelujah Side" from Joseph Spence - but there's got to be a more familiar variant? |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Ross Campbell Date: 09 Jun 11 - 08:01 PM Thanks to Nigel for making the Lost Folk Tapes website available for posting sound-links for the songs. Planning to add more this week-end. I could just do all the songs at once, but I'm hoping to add some back-ground info to each as I go along, so bear with me if it takes some time for everything to turn up. Ross |
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Subject: Lyr Add: OLD DINAS + OLD FAITHFUL From: Ross Campbell Date: 10 Jun 11 - 08:05 AM Old Dinas Old Dinas, We sail the seas together; Old Dinas, In any kind of weather; When your trawling days are over, And the crew are all in clover; Through you, old faithful pal o' mine. Hurry up, old fellow, for the cod sets in tonight; Hurry up, old fellow, for the hake is there all right. The Skipper's chasing the crew around; Another good haul, and we're homeward bound - Through you, old faithful pal o' mine. This fragment was collected by Mike Huntington (who also sings the song in the Final Trawl) in the Strawberry Gardens pub, Poulton Road, Fleetwood (co-incidentally the new home of Fleetwood Folk Club); his tune follows his anonymous source's rendition. The original song on which Old Dinas is based is "Old Faithful Pal of Mine", a country song adopted as an anthem by supporters of the Hull rugby team. Mike's tune is slightly different from the original, which I later got from Jim Eldon on a rare visit to Fleetwood. "Old Faithful" cropped up in the introductory sequence to John Byrne's BBC TV series "Your Cheatin' Heart", so I'm assuming the song had a fairly wide popularity in the '50s/'60s. If I still have recordings of that, they'll be on Betamax and possibly out of reach. Original version of "Old Faithful":- OLD FAITHFUL (HORSE'S PRAYER) (Michael Carr - Jimmy Kennedy) « © '46 Shapiro-Bernestein Co, ASCAP » Old faithful we rode the range together Old faithful in every kind of weather When your roundup days are over There'll be pastures white with clover For you old faithful pal of mine Hurry up old fellow cause the moon is yellow tonight Hurry up old fellow cause the moon is mellow and bright There's a coyote howlin' to the moon above So carry me back to the one I love Hurry up old fellow cause we gotta get home tonight Old faithful we rode the range together... For you old faithful pal of mine And the Carter Family version:- OLE FAITHFUL Ole Faithful, we've rode the range together Ole Faithful, in every kind of weather When the roundup days are over There'll be pastures white with clover For you, Ole Faithful, pal of mine Hurry up, old fellow For the moon is yellow tonight Hurry up, old fellow For the moon is mellow and bright There the coyotes howl at the moon above Oh, carry me back to the one I love Hurry up, old fellow 'Cause I got to get home tonight Ole Faithful, we've rode the range together Ole Faithful, in every kind of weather When the roundup days are over There'll be pastures white with clover For you, Ole Faithful, pal of mine And the Hull FC (Rugby League) anthem:- Old Faithful Old Faithful we roam the range together, Old Faithful in any kind of weather, When the round up days are over, And the Boulevard's white with clover, For you old faithful pal of mine. Giddy up old fella cos the moon is yellow tonight, Giddy up old fella cos the moon is mellow and bright, There's a coyote crying at the moon above, Carry me back to the one I love, And you old faithful pal of mine. (The Boulevard is the Rugby Club's ground) Ross Just (7th Jan 2013) found tapes of John Byrne's "Your Cheatin' Heart" (6 episodes on VHS) so may be able to recover the recorded version of "Old Faithful Pal o' Mine" eventually (no recorder hooked up at the moment). |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Spleen Cringe Date: 10 Jun 11 - 09:02 AM Sound files for The Fleetwood Fireman and Old Dinas at the Fleetwood page of Lost Folk Tapes. Ross - I'll keep an eye on the thread and add links as and when you put up new posts and I can grab a few spare minutes. You can decide whether to delete my posts and add the links to the relevant posts you've put up or leave them as they are. I have no opinion either way! |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Ross Campbell Date: 10 Jun 11 - 12:17 PM Cheers, Nigel. Quite happy to leave things as they are for now. You did the work - you get the credit! Ross |
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Subject: Lyr Add: SKIPPER BOBBY NASH'S SONG From: Ross Campbell Date: 10 Jun 11 - 10:28 PM Skipper Bobby Nash's Song Your Fleetwood skipper's a terrible man, Gets a huge bag o' 'docks, then drops down to a "Dan". And then he will tow till his deckies are through, Then he'll put into dock and get a fresh crew. When the fish are all gutted and put down below, You can't go to a dance, you can't go to a show; For your world is confined to a very small space, And the fo'c'sle's your only amusement place. When the miner goes home, and his day's work is done, He can dress himself up and go out for some fun. The same with the weaver, with his eight-hour day, Still he grumbles and growls in his own tin-pot way. And when for a drink to the galley you go, The tea's all been supped by those buggers below! And when to the fo'c'sle you go to turn in, The lazy old fireman hasn't kept the fire in. When into your bunk, wet and weary you roll, Then the skipper sings out, "Now we're going to haul!" You folks, snug on shore, don't know how hard life can be For the good-natured deckies 'way out on the sea - They're gutting and mending from morning till night, While the dynamo sheds its flickering light; But for all that they get there, they might as well be Where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea. Tune: The Mountains of Mourne (Carrigdhoun) The lyrics are taken from the book "Red Charger, A Trip on an Arctic Trawler" by George Goldsmith Carter, Constable, 1950. The book describes a fishing trip to the Arctic Waters on a typical Fleetwood trawler, the "Red Charger" , then owned by the Iago Steam Trawler Company. The words are said to have been written into the trawler's log by Bobby Nash, skipper at the time. If indeed he wrote the words, they display a remarkable sympathy with the hard life of the deckies who worked under extremely arduous conditions and lived in very cramped quarters while on board. bag o' 'docks - a catch of haddocks Dan - dan buoy, a temporary marker buoy with a pole for a light or flag for visibility Ross |
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Subject: Lyr Add: OUR COOK'S TATER PIE From: Ross Campbell Date: 11 Jun 11 - 10:10 PM Our Cook's Tater Pie 'Twas the crust of our Cook's Tater Pie: 'Twas a crust that no deck-hand would try; In a fit of hate, they gave it the mate And he ate it all up in one try! Well, now he's an angel on high If he only had wings he could fly Still, that's what he got When he ate all the lot Of the crust of our Cook's Tater Pie! Collected from former deckhand Bob Smith, Fleetwood Sung by Dick Gillingham |
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Subject: Lyr Add: DON'T MARRY A LUMPER (Ron Baxter) From: Ross Campbell Date: 11 Jun 11 - 10:27 PM Don't Marry A Lumper (Ron Baxter) Don't marry a lumper, never a lumper wed; For except when you're on your honeymoon, He'll never take you to bed; Just when you are ready, for kissing and cuddling so; He'll put his clogs and oilskins on, And down to the docks he'll go. I married a lumper, at least he's not at sea; Though he works all through the night, At least his days are free; But I forgot; he has to sleep, until I shout out "Joe! It's time to put your oilskins on!" - And down to the docks he'll go. My Dad he was a lumper, my Mam gave me advice; "Don't marry a lumper!" - Not that my Dad weren't nice! She said she hardly knew him, there was only me and our Flo; They'd just have a kiss, on with his kit, And down to the docks he'd go. Sung by Liz Gillingham and Sue Bousfield to their tune. The lumpers were Fleetwood Dock's casual labour force, called in at any hour of the day or night to unload a catch of fish from a newly arrived trawler, or to load a departing ship with fuel, ice and supplies for the trip. Ross |
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Subject: Lyr Add: TWO O'CLOCK ARTILLERY (Ron Baxter) From: Ross Campbell Date: 11 Jun 11 - 10:46 PM Two O'Clock Artillery (Ron Baxter) Two o'clock each morning, hear the cobbles ring; Clog irons sparking in the dark, hear the voices sing; "Morning, Harry - Morning, Joe", as they go down to the quay, Hear the streets re-echo to the "Two O'Clock Artillery". Two o'clock artillery, off to the docks once more; Go down to that damn fish-hold, lump that fish ashore; Frozen fingers, frozen toes, up to your knees in ice, Oh, to be back home again, in bed 'longside the wife. Two o'clock artillery, stinking with the fish, Getting in your gear and hair, and in your heart you wish - That Vernon's Pools would come, and set you up for life; Then you could spend each night, in bed, 'longside the wife. Spoken in the show by Charles Penfold, a thumb-nail sketch of the lumper's life. Ross |
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Subject: Lyr Add: BEST STUFF I' LANCASHIRE (Gillingham) From: Ross Campbell Date: 12 Jun 11 - 04:41 PM Best Stuff I' Lancashire (Dick Gillingham) It's eight o'clock in't morning, clogs on the cobbles ring, As from the trams and buses down the Sidings Road they cling; They chatter in the morning mist, last night's stories they all tell, And there are no girls in Fleetwood like the girls from B.S.L. Chorus:- In a world of ice and boxes, cheerful those girls appear; In aprons and their clattering clogs, As they toil and sweat to clear Your Fleetwood fish from B.S.L.; "Best Stuff I'Lancashire". The fish comes from the market, from the boxes ice does spill; There's haddock, coley, whiting, there's cod and hake and brill; There's flat-fish, plaice and roker, there's halibut and skate, And dogfish, called "rock salmon" in London's Billingsgate. Their knives they flash like lightning, heads and tails they separate; There's skin and bone and fish'eads, for gulls waiting at the gate; Prime fish cut into fillets, into boxes packed with ice, And the phone is always ringing, merchants asking for a price. Chorus & tune And lunchtime now it's over, all the girls the boxes shift, There's nailing lids and labelling, from the benches fish they lift; There's lorry engines running, and auto trucks as well, All waiting for the Fleetwood fish that comes from B.S.L. And now the trucks are loaded and the train does hiss and sway, And the guard he blows his whistle and the driver pulls away; Over t'junction, past the Loco, and on its way to Crewe, To Nottingham and Norwich, to Swindon, Bristol, Looe. And afternoon it's over, factory floors to sweep and swill; There's hoses flowing over, kits and boxes standing still, At B.S.L., near Ash Street, full nine hours they have passed; And Harry Brown's clog ladies they can say "Goodnight" at last. Tune & Chorus Sung by Sue Bousfield and Liz Gillingham to their tune. Lancashire and Cheshire Clog Dancing Champion Sue Bousfield performs the clog dance in the middle. One of Fleetwood's many fish processing companies, Brown, Sinclair and Laugharne used the company's initials to create a unique selling slogan, "Best Stuff in Lancashire". Many of the ladies wore clogs to work. Ross |
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Subject: Lyr Add: TELL ME SKIPPER From: Ross Campbell Date: 12 Jun 11 - 04:45 PM Tell Me Skipper (Collected Mike Waterson, tune "Bye Bye Blackbird") Tell me, Skipper - is it true? You can't get a crew to sail with you? Bye-Bye, Skipper! And tell me Skipper, is it right, You can't get a crew to sail tonight? Bye-Bye, Skipper! Or is it 'cause, when we're on deck a'workin', You're in between your blankets, bloody shirkin'? Well, I'll pack my bag, pack my grip; You won't see me back here next trip; Skipper, Bye-Bye! Sung by Mike Huntington During the 1950s conditions at sea as well as on shore continued to improve, but despite this, there was still friction between skippers and crewmen. Some skippers had such a reputation that they couldn't muster a crew, or if they did, the men signed off the log after just one trip. Ross |
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Subject: Lyr Add: SILENT WALKABOUT (Ron Baxter) From: Ross Campbell Date: 12 Jun 11 - 04:56 PM Silent Walkabout (Ron Baxter) Tune: Traditional (Our Sarah's Geeten a Chap) I signed off the "Broadway" - before I got the sack! I told the ruddy Skipper I wasn't coming back. Told him he was a bastard, a web-footed one as well - An' before I'd sail wi' him again, I'd see him roast in hell. Chorus:- Now it's "Any work today, Mister, Any work today? Don't give us the 'walkabout' - Any work today?" Had a week or two ashore, till my money it had gone, But when I went down for a ship, I found summat was wrong; Found that I'd been given the "Silent Walkabout" - No-one wanted to know me, they wouldn't hear me shout. Went down to the Labour b'roo, to sign there, on the roll; "Out of work? But you signed off! I'm sorry, but no dole!" So I wandered down to Deaduns, to try and cadge a beer; But the landlord turned and said to me, "Gerrout, no bumming here!" After fourteen days of trying, then the word it went around; My walkabout was over, and a berth for me was found - On a rotten old coal-burner, built in 19-God-knows-when, So I picked up my "donkey's breakfast", and went trawling once again; No more "Any work today, Mister, Any work today? Don't give us the walkabout, Any work today?" Sung by Mike Huntington. Fishermen could be punished for any manner of indiscretions by being banned from going to sea and thus prevented from earning a living for weeks on end. This was known as the "silent walkabout". If you fell out with one skipper, you fell out with them all! Ross |
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Subject: Lyr Add: OH MR THOMPSON (Ron Baxter) From: Ross Campbell Date: 12 Jun 11 - 05:11 PM Oh Mr Thompson (Ron Baxter) Tune: Traditional Please, Mr Thompson, Dad's home in the morn, So mi Mam has sent me round to you, to get his suit from pawn; She says she has no money, can you wait till he's back at sea? And that if you want a pledge, instead of t'suit, keep me! Please, Mr Thompson, here's mi Dad's gold watch; Mi Mam was counting on mi Dad, but the fish he didn't catch. The rent man he is coming, we're three weeks overdue; Please, Mr Thompson, won't you give us a bob or two? Please, Mr Thompson, can you help us out? The housekeeping brass it is all gone, mi Mam's been on the stout; The grocer and the coalman won't wait till next payday; And if mi Dad finds out, well, there'll be hell to pay! Please Mr Thompson, Dad's gone back to sea, So Mam has sent his suit again, please give the brass to me; He'll be back home in a fortnight, but the night before he's due in - I'll be back with your brass, to get his suit for him. Sung by Sue Bousfield Fishermen's wives would get a weekly subvention (an advance on expected wages)from the trawler agents while their husbands were at sea. The pawnshop could also cover a gap in finances, but woe betide the wife if the best suit wasn't hanging up at home when the man of the house returned. Ross |
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Subject: Lyr Add: BLUE FLAMINGO (Baxter/Gillingham) From: Ross Campbell Date: 12 Jun 11 - 05:59 PM The Blue Flamingo (Ron Baxter/Dick Gillingham) Kicked out of the "Gas Tank"; banned from the "Bug", Fleetwood Arms won't have him, nor any other pub; Staggered down old Dock Street, one more place to go; So I went into the place that's called the "Blue Flamingo!" Chorus:- Watered beer and whisky; meths if that's your sup; Fag-ash there it's two feet thick, it's never been swept up! VP Wine and Sandeman's, served by a bloke called Joe; He's the only sober fellow in the "Blue Flamingo!" The atmosphere is lurid, with smoke and language too; Some of the ladies' comments 'ud make your hair turn blue; And if you try to speak to them, they tell you where to go! (But that is not so bad a place as the "Blue Flamingo!") Take a look at the women (if that's what they are!); Tattoos on each hand and arm, and on their faces scars. A mate of mine tried to pick one up, she gave him the old heave-ho - She kicked him in the kneecaps in the "Blue Flamingo!" All the fellas are ugly, always spoiling for a fight; Not the sort you'd like to meet on a cold and rainy night! They look at you, growl at you, their fists to you they show; If my "DAD" don't get you, me "MAM" sure will,in the "Blue Flamingo!" Sung by Dick Gillingham and Mike Huntington The "Gas Tank" is the Gas Workers Club, one of many working men's clubs in the town which offered social and sporting opportunities, entertainment facilities and cheap drinking without the normal pub licensing restrictions. The difficulties of running such operations on a co-operative basis has meant that many have transferred to private hands. The "Bug" is the nickname of the "Prince Arthur" pub on Lord Sreet. Another trawlermen's pub which features in several of Ron Baxter's songs is the "Royal Oak" aka "Deadun's". The explanations of that particular alias are many and various. My friend John Warner of Sydney incorporated as many of these as I could remember for him into a song which I will try to track down and include later on. The "Fleetwood Arms" was known as "The First and Last" because of its proximity to the dock gates - after struggling along for the last few years, it finally closed its doors last year and is currently being converted for use as a dentist's practice and training centre. Many other favourite watering holes for trawlermen have disappeared over the years - the "Broadway", the "Cutty Sark", "Gullivers", the "Ship" and the "Victoria" - which claimed to be Fleetwood's oldest pub, although Ron insists in his sometimes role as pub quizmaster that the oldest licence was held by the Fleetwood Arms, transferred fom another Dock Street hostelry. The notorious "Blue Flamingo" club disappeared many years ago, but there are still a couple of places around that seem to be vying for its reputation! "DAD" and "MAM" in the last line are the letters tattooed on the knuckles of the fists offered in the previous line. When I moved to Fleetwood thirty years ago it was said that you could find a place to get a drink at almost any hour of the day or night. (Honest, that's not why I came here!) Ross |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Spleen Cringe Date: 12 Jun 11 - 06:06 PM Skipper Bobby Nash's Song Our Cook's Tater Pie |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Spleen Cringe Date: 12 Jun 11 - 06:08 PM Don't Marry A Lumper Two O'Clock Artillery |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Spleen Cringe Date: 12 Jun 11 - 06:11 PM Best Stuff I' Lancashire Tell Me Skipper |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Spleen Cringe Date: 12 Jun 11 - 06:12 PM Silent Walkabout Oh Mr Thompson |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Ross Campbell Date: 12 Jun 11 - 07:02 PM Thanks, Nigel - not keeping you up , I hope (it's midnight already!) That was the first half of the show - more tomorrow. Ross |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Spleen Cringe Date: 13 Jun 11 - 02:48 AM The Blue Flamingo |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Ross Campbell Date: 15 Jun 11 - 10:36 PM I promised to add more "tomorrow", but my primary laptop has developed possibly terminal problems. All the Final Trawl sound clips are already uploaded to the Lost Folk Tapes site. Lyrics I can recover from a backup drive, but it may take some time to organize that. Apologies in the meantime. Ross |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Charley Noble Date: 16 Jun 11 - 08:20 AM Ross- You've been very busy! Thanks so much for posting the lyrics to "The Blue Flamingo." I was having some difficulty, believe it or not, transcribing them. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: Lyr/Chords Add: THE SPECTRAL FISHING FLEET From: Charley Noble Date: 16 Jun 11 - 09:17 PM Here's my own tribute to Fleetwood's derelict fishing fleet and their crews (copy and paste into WORD/TIMES/12 to line up chords): Words and tune by Charlie Ipcar, © 10/21/10 THE SPECTRAL FISHING FLEET Am---------------------------G----------Am By the River Wyre, from years gone by, ---------------------------G Fleetwood's boats left high an' dry; Am------------------G---------Am In the marshlands there they lie – ---------C-----G-------Am They'll go to sea no more. Dm--------------Am Florentine and Our Jo-anne, -----G---------------C--G-Am Eu-reka, Clarain an' Ze-gan, Dm--------------Am Slowly sinking on the strand – -----G----------------Am We call the Tiger's Tail. Chorus: Am------------------------G----------Am So here's to the lads of Fleetwood town, -----------------------------G Here's to their boats of high re-known; ------Am------------------G-------Am Let's raise a glass for a-nother round, -------C---------G-----Am Drink to those glory days! There they lie an' there they'll stay, Rusting, rotting, by the Bay, No one knows what they say When the sun goes down. The moon comes up, the sun goes down, Do you hear a whispering sound? Or just the tide as it swirls around The spectral fishing fleet? (CHO) Through rusted ribs an' planks awry The windsong hums a lullaby; Shadows dance beneath the sky – In the pale moonlight. The fleet's all in; there's naught to say But yarn about their glory days, When they sailed beyond the Bay – In search of fishing grounds. (CHO) From the Dogger Banks to Iceland's shore, They sailed ten thousand miles or more; They trawled along the ocean floor, Brought home the silver darlings. But now the fish they are so few, There's no work left for boats to do; They're all laid up, an' lost their crews – They'll cross the bar no more. (CHO) Reprise: Dm--------------Am Florentine and Our Jo-anne, -----G---------------C--G-Am Eu-reka, Clarain an' Ze-gan, Dm--------------Am Slowly sinking on the strand – -----G----------------Am We call the Tiger's Tail; -----G----------------Am We call the Tiger's Tail! Here's a link to a MP3 sample of how I sing it: click here for MP3 sample! Thanks again to Ross and Sean for taking me and Judy out to the marsh where the fleet lies abandoned. Charley Noble |
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Subject: Lyr Add: WINDY OLD WEATHER From: Ross Campbell Date: 30 Sep 11 - 07:23 AM Windy Old Weather (Trad) Then up gets the codfish with his great old head He jumped on the foredeck to get a cast of lead. Chorus:- Windy old weather, stormy old weather, When the wind blows, we'll all pull together. Then up gets the gurnard with spines on his back; He jumped on the poop deck to work on the jib deck. Then up gets the herring the king of the sea; He says to the Skipper, "Look out to your lee!" Then up jumps the sprat he's the smallest of all, He says to the Skipper, "Haul, haul the men's trawl." Then up jumped the coley, as black as the coal, He says, come on Skipper, "Ice me down below." Sung by Dick Gillingham. Not sure where he got this version, it's different from the one in the DT (coll MacColl) and from Bob Robert's (Hapsborough Banks) version. |
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Subject: Lyr Add: DECKIE LEARNER From: Ross Campbell Date: 30 Sep 11 - 08:33 AM Deckie Learner Anon/Ron Baxter It was there 'neath the Bear Island Island Where most of the fishing was done. It was there that a poor deckie learner Lay down and died under the sun. They were twenty-one days out of Fleetwood When the gilsun it gave such a crack; The rope it did break and the strands they flew out, And hit that poor lad 'cross the back. O they lifted his head from the pound-boards, With the blood from his wounds running red; They lifted his head to the Skipper, And these were the last words he said. "Don't bury me out on the ocean, Don't bury me out on the sea; Just take me on ice back to Fleetwood For all of me family to see". "And when you get back to dear Fleetwood And you're drinking your whisky and rum - Remember the poor deckie learner Who lay down and died under the sun." So when they got back to dear Fleetwood In "Deaduns" they all had a round. They drank to that poor deckie learner Who died on the Bear Island ground. Yes when they got back home to Fleetwood, In "Deaduns" they all had a "crack". They drank to that poor deckie learner Who sailed out but never came back. Sung by Mike Huntington. Collected by Ron Baxter and Dick Gillingham from a fisherman (name unknown) in the Strawberry Gardens pub, Poulton Road, Fleetwood. Vicki Lewis sang a song at the Moorbrook (Preston) session about a year ago which had very similar roots to this song. "I'll tell you a tale of Benghazi, Where most of the fighting was done: And where a poor British Tommy Lay down and died under the sun." She had the song from her father, who had heard it during WW2. There are equivalent songs featuring dying airmen, seamen and others, mostly with a similar structure. I thought I had added Vicki's song to the Benghazi thread, but it's not there and I can't find it in my files - possibly lost in my old laptop? |
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Subject: Lyr Add: WHY ARE YOU CRYING, MA'AM? (Ron Baxter) From: Ross Campbell Date: 01 Oct 11 - 10:05 AM WHY ARE YOU CRYING, MA’AM? Ron Baxter Tune: Lord Derwentwater's Farewell Why are you crying, Mam? That's a thing you never do. I'll tell me Dad when he comes home, someone's been hurting you. He's coming home for Christmas, he'll be here in an hour or two, For Red Falcon will be landing in the morning. He said he'd buy me a cowboy suit, and then on Boxing Day, We'll take a tram to Bloomfield Road, to see Stan Matthews play; Oh, please, Mam, do stop crying, for Dad's only hours away, For Red Falcon will be landing in the morning Why did the Mission man come round, with his face so sad and grim? He's usually so cheerful, now what is wrong with him? I'll have to ask my father in the morning when he's in, For Red Falcon will be landing in the morning. Mam! - Billy has just told me that she's lost with all her crew! I told him he was lying, so I've run back home to you. Oh, please Mam, please, Mam, tell me; tell me it isn't true, And that Red Falcon will be landing in the morning. His mother goes and embraces him, as they both share their pain; She's lost her husband, him his Dad, all her comforts are in vain. He's crying for his father, who he'll never see again, For Red Falcon never landed in the morning. Sung by Dick Gillingham The story of the loss of the Red Falcon was always the most poignant part of "The Final Trawl" show. Even among the cast who had heard it many times before, Dick's rendition of this song never failed to draw an emotional response. I was ten years old when the tragedy occurred, and living in Scotland, but I can still remember the newspaper coverage that followed, and the appeals that brought responses from all round the country. More information here:- http://www.lifeinfleetwood.co.uk/2008/02/06/red-falcon/ And here:- http://www.fleetwood-trawlers.info/index.php/2009/01/st-red-falcon-lo4/ Ross |
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Subject: Lyr Add: LAMENT FOR THE RED FALCON (Ron Baxter) From: Ross Campbell Date: 01 Oct 11 - 10:17 AM LAMENT FOR THE RED FALCON Ron Baxter You highlands and you islands O why won't you say That you saw my own Red Falcon A-passing by your way? For she was a-flying homeward, Her young ones for to fill; When in your cruel Minches My Red Falcon you did kill. O long will her young ones From the shore go looking forth; Ere they see my own Red Falcon, Come flying from the North. Oh you saw her and you heard her, As she cried out as she died; But you wouldn't even tell me Where her broken body lies. You wouldn't even tell me Where she went beneath the waves; So I can't cast my flowers Upon Red Falcon's grave. Performed as a poem in the show, read by Charles Penfold. I believe Ron had the tune for "The Bonny Earl of Moray" in mind when he wrote this. Ross |
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Subject: Lyr Add: PULL FOR THE SHORE / THE LIFEBOAT (Bliss) From: Ross Campbell Date: 01 Oct 11 - 10:54 AM PULL FOR THE SHORE (THE LIFEBOAT) P.P. Bliss Light in the darkness, sailor, day is at hand! See o'er the foaming billows fair Haven's land. Drear was the voyage, sailor, now almost o'er; Safe within the lifeboat, sailor, pull for the shore. Chorus:- Pull for the shore, sailor, pull for the shore! Heed not the rolling waves, but bend to the oar; Safe in the lifeboat, sailor, cling to self no more; Leave the poor old stranded wreck and pull for the shore. Trust in the life-boat, sailor; all else will fail. Stronger the surges dash and fiercer the gale, Heed not the stormy winds, though loudly they roar; Watch the "bright and morning star," and pull for the shore. Bright gleams the morning, sailor, uplift the eye; Clouds and darkness disappearing, glory is nigh; Safe in the lifeboat, sailor, sing evermore, "Glory, glory, hallelujah!" Pull for the shore. Sung by Liz Gillingham and the chorus. Used in the show to mark the importance of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) to all who go to sea, its origins are in the 19th century evangelical movement. "Moody and Sankey" evenings were still a feature of church life when I was growing up in Scotland fifty years ago. The lively tunes and rich metaphorical imagery were in sharp contrast to the usually sober material of the regular church hymnal, and this presumably accounted for their continued popularity. It's not in the DT, but there's a Mudcat thread thread.cfm?threadid=10721 with the same lyrics listed by Joe Offer. Ross |
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Subject: RE: Fleetwood & Fishing: Songs of the Trawling Trade From: Charley Noble Date: 01 Oct 11 - 12:34 PM Ross- Keep 'em coming. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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