Correction: Waters of Tyne

Subject: Correction: Waters of Tyne
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 13 Feb 02 - 06:28 AM

Digitrad has this classified as Scottish. Surely it's from NE England, isn't it?

Subject: Lyr Add: WATERS OF TYNE
From: masato sakurai
Date: 13 Feb 02 - 06:54 AM

The version in the DT is THIS.

Here's a Tyneside version.

THE WATER OF TYNE

I cannot get to my love, if I should dee,
The water of Tyne runs between him and me;
And here I must stand, with the tear in my e'e,
Both sighing and sickly, my sweetheart to see.

O where is the boatman? my bonny honey!
O where is the boatman? bring him to me--
To ferry me over the Tyne to my honey,
And I will remember the boatman and thee.

O bring me a boatman--I'll give any money
(And you for your trouble rewarded shall be),
To ferry me over the Tyne to my honey,
Or scull him across that rough river to me.

(UNKNOWN. Bell's "Northern Bards," 1812)

From: Allan's Illustrated Edition of Tyneside Songs (1862 etc.; reprinted Frank Graham, 1972, p. 31; no music) [The title is in the singular.]

~Masato

Subject: RE: Correction: Waters of Tyne
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 13 Feb 02 - 07:19 AM

Any good folk song tends to have travelled around the country.

I'm sure that "Waters of Tyne" has to be originally from the Tyneside area, but versions didn't have to travel very far to reach Scotland from there.

There's a scottish version of "Four Drunken Maidens" on DT, but the maidens still come "from the Isle of Wight" - I find that more remarkable !

Subject: RE: Correction: Waters of Tyne
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 13 Feb 02 - 08:42 AM

Thanks, both of you. I have the Tyneside version in a book, but with 'hinny' the first time, not 'honey'. That's also in the 'Scots' version. I understood 'hinny' to be Geordie dialect, not Scots.

Subject: RE: Correction: Waters of Tyne
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 13 Feb 02 - 09:31 AM

No - I was wrong. Hinny is also Scots.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE WATERS OF TEES
From: Gillie
Date: 13 Feb 02 - 02:30 PM

A parody of:-

THE WATERS OF TEES

I cannot get to my love, if I would dee,
The waters of Tees run between her and me,
And here I must stand with the smoke in my eye,
I can't get across, but least I must try.

Don't bring me a boatman, I haven't any money,
If I ask him for credit he'll think I'm being funny.
I could hijack a dingy, but they've all been wreaked,
And a tunnel's no good cos the council object.

If I wasn't so lazy I'd go get a train
But it's cold and it's windy and starting to rain.
I could cycle around, but I've broken my bike
And I can't send a letter cos the postman's on strike.

I could go by bus, but I don't really dare
For I'd go the wrong way and end up God knows where,
And I haven't the change to pay the exact fare
So I'll sit here in sadness, dismay and despair.

I've tried semaphore and I've tried the morse code,
But I can't stand here flashing in the middle of the road.
There's no way to span those cold waters of Tees
Except swimming across and then I'd catch some disease.

Oh, the water is choppy, the water is wide
And I cannot get to my love, even though I've tried.
So if she really wants for to be my bride
She can get off her arse and come over this side.

Subject: RE: Correction: Waters of Tyne
From: Gillie
Date: 13 Feb 02 - 02:31 PM

Yer, got the line breaks!!!!!!!!!

LOL

Subject: RE: Correction: Waters of Tyne
From: GUEST,Boab
Date: 14 Feb 02 - 04:02 AM

GILLIE---like something Vin Garbutt might have dreamed up! "W

---

Duplicates deleted. --JoeClone

Subject: RE: Correction: Waters of Tyne
From: GUEST,Boab
Date: 14 Feb 02 - 04:05 AM

Holy sh--! The things my muckle spatulate digits cause! As I was saying when I so rudely interrupted my sel', "Waters of Tyne' is definitely Northumbrian.A real nice song, too.

Subject: RE: Correction: Waters of Tyne
From: KathWestra
Date: 14 Feb 02 - 12:31 PM

Norman and Betty McDonald have written an additional verse to this song, which they sing as a final verse. I like it (makes a good song last longer!):

And when I am over upon yonder shore,
And the Water of Tyne runs between us no more,
I'll remember the boatman who ferried me o'er,
And I and my hinny will never part more.

Subject: RE: Correction: Waters of Tyne
From: GUEST,MCP
Date: 25 Apr 03 - 06:03 AM

The version with hinny replacing honey in the first verse was published by Bruce & Stokoe in the Northumbrian Minstrelsie (1882) and by Stokoe in Songs of Northern England (1893). (The song is otherwise as in Bell's version given above by Masato; honey in verse three remains).

Mick

Subject: RE: Correction: Waters of Tyne
From: paulo
Date: 25 Apr 03 - 07:10 AM

Gillie - Who did write that parody

paulo

Subject: RE: Correction: Waters of Tyne
From: GUEST,MCP
Date: 25 Apr 03 - 07:38 AM

paulo - parody written by Geoff Pearson.

Mick