Lyr Req: The Song of the Staffordshire Men

Subject: Lyr Req: The Song Of The Staffordshire Men
From: lemurjim
Date: 23 Apr 11 - 08:18 PM

I would like the lyrics to this song, which was on this album. http://www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/~zierke/john.kirkpatrick/records/balladoftheblackcountry.html

Regards,
Piers

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Song Of The Staffordshire Men
From: Anglo
Date: 24 Apr 11 - 01:19 AM

Words: Glimpses of Bygone Staffordshire, F.W. Hackwood.
Tune: Song of the Western Men.

Sorry, I don't have the time to transcribe the lyrics right now.

(Possibly in Google Books? - or maybe not).

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Song of the Staffordshire Men
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 27 Apr 11 - 06:55 PM

Here's an excerpt pieced together from snippets viewed at Google Books:


There's many a task for the English folk,
And a man's a man alway,
Who delves the coal and iron ore,
And shapes the potters' clay.

CHORUS: For this is the song of the Staffordshire men,
In forge, in kiln, in mine.
Our fires shall burn, and our mill-wheels turn
And the Knot shall be our sign.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Song of the Staffordshire Men
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 02 May 11 - 10:48 PM

Here's the rest of the song, from The Folklore of Staffordshire by Jon Raven (Totowa, N.J.: Rowman and Littlefield, 1978), page 163:


There are forty shires that light their fires,
And bless the iron strong,
And the china bake the potters make,
As they sing the Stafford song.

We come of a race of yeomen bold,
Whose drink is the best of beer;
Our fields feed beasts for the Christmas feast
And you may share our (Staffordshire) cheer.

We marshal our ranks on the grey pit banks
And our lads on the football field,
If the cause be right, we are game to fight,
We never were known to yield.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Song of the Staffordshire Men
From: lemurjim
Date: 06 May 11 - 06:28 PM

Thanks a lot.