Lyr Req: 'Watch Her Twigger'

Subject: Lyr Req: 'Watch Her Twigger'
From: GUEST,Bob the Shantyman
Date: 03 Aug 23 - 09:54 AM

A regular singer in clubs in Shropshire, sang a song that may have come from the trawling trade around Grimsby. I only remember the chorus which was:
"Watch 'er, Twigger, she's a proper joo-bee-joo,
Give 'er some sheet and let her rip, we're the boys to push her through.
You should have seen us rally, the wind a-blowin' free.
A Passage from the Dogger Bank, to great Grimsby."

Can anyone identify the song and its origin?
Thanks.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'Watch Her Twigger'
From: cnd
Date: 03 Aug 23 - 10:11 AM

Looks like The Dogger Bank, Roud 18836.

See here for more info.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'Watch Her Twigger'
From: cnd
Date: 03 Aug 23 - 10:12 AM

Oh, and an existing Mudcat thread, here

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'Watch Her Twigger'
From: Lighter
Date: 03 Aug 23 - 10:40 AM

"Twig 'er" was a common expression meaning "Look at her."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'Watch Her Twigger'
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 03 Aug 23 - 02:12 PM

No doubt you'll discover on the other threads that the likely original was a New York song 'The Knickerbocker Line'. The chorus and tune were appropriated for a number of other trad songs, 'The Cruise of the Bigler' on the Great lakes, and others. 'The Grimsby Fishermen' appeared on a broadside.

Subject: add: Littlehampton Collier Lads
From: vectis
Date: 05 Aug 23 - 10:45 PM

There's also this local variant:


LITTLEHAMPTON COLLIER LADS
Trad arranged P Jarrett

Come harum-scarum collier lads, for 'Hampton town we steer,
We face all kinds of weather and we likes a drop of beer,
Some people say how rough we are, but merrily are we,
The money we earn so hard at sea we spend on land so free.

CHORUS
Watch us, twig us with a popular jou-bi-jou,
We'll give her some sheet to make her rip,
we're the lads to pull her through.
You ought to see us running with our square sails all a-full,
From the passage of Newcastle to the town of Whitstable.


Our old skipper's a roosteroo, he likes a drop of ale,
The second division has been in prison and seen the inside of a jail,
The third he is a bushranger, he comes on deck with a smile,
And as for the cook, you can tell by his look that he comes from an African Isle.


When our coal is all on board, for 'Hampton town we steer,
And nothing else is in our heads but old George Oliver's beer.
We face all stormy weathers and we batter through every gale,
When the outer light is out of sight, it's then we set our sail.


People say we're a noisy lot when we come home from sea,
We call for liquor merrily and cheerily are we,
But when our money all is gone, to sea we'll go again,
We are the boys to rough it, though we never do complain.

Repeat CH to end.


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