Lyr Req: Land of the Pennine God (Mike Donald)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Land of the Pennine God (Mike Donald)
From: GUEST,David Burbidge
Date: 06 Oct 11 - 09:31 AM

Sorry Kathy, I didn't see your name the first time I looked at this thread. Glad you enjoyed the Settle Carlisle weekend, we have started doing it on the first weekend of October now to coicide with the Ingleton folk festival which worked very well this year. We walked in hot sunshine on Saturday from Dent station via the Settle Carlisle railway to Ribblhead - after visiting Garsdale station and singing Mike's song there - and also on the train, to some apprehension from the passengers who we reassured it was unlikely to happen again! Cheers, David

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Land of the Pennine God (Mike Donald)
From: GUEST,David Burbidge
Date: 06 Oct 11 - 09:22 AM

My Lakeland Voice singers sing this song - as well as other songs about the Settle Carlisle railway on our Singing Settle Carlisle weekend in October near Ingleton.
I live near Sedbergh at the bottom of the Garsdale valley and in answer to one of your questions - I sang Mike Donald's song Land of the Pennine God at Garsdale Station (which used to called Hawes Junction) in the evening of Christmas eve 2010.
We also sang Dave Goulder's song Nineteen Hundred and Ten, Christmas Eve at Hawes Junction, which I believe is a better song and this terrible train crash.
Another singer songwriter who wrote about this railway is Ken Pope who lives in Dentdale and wrote a number of songs to go with the Dent Players' play Settle Carlisle which tell the story of this magnificent railway.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Land of the Pennine God (Mike Donald)
From: migginz
Date: 02 Jan 11 - 01:40 PM

I sang it the other week at The Sportsman just under one of the viaducts at the head of Dentdale, which is when I was reminded of the date;

If you fancy learning the songs try the Settle Carlisle weekend: Lakeland Voice Singing its how I learnt

and, before you ask, I didn't sing it on Christamas Eve. Shame on me!!

Kathy

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Land of the Pennine God (Mike Donald)
From: GUEST,Swaleman
Date: 31 Dec 10 - 08:05 PM

Dear Jim
Just a few corrections to the 'Land of the Pennine God'.

Verse 1 line 3 and 4 should read
"Stopped at Settle then on again
Thro' the land of the Pennine God".
Chorus line 1 and 2 should read,
"Travelling the land of the Pennine God,
Thro' the cotton grass and the brown peat bog".
Verse 3 first two lines should read,
"The night was wild with grapeshot hail,
Driver straining guard looks pale".
Verse 4 line 2 should read,
"A whistle shot from wild Aisgill".
Verse 5 line 1 should read,
"The shepherds saw the gaslight blaze".
Verse 6 line 2 should read,
"When all around the Dales do sleep".
Hope that helps to a better understanding of the lyrics.
Paul.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Land of the Pennine God (Mike Donald)
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 31 Dec 10 - 03:12 PM

Just found a couple of his songs behind photo slideshows on Youtube.

Mike Donald. Visions of Cumbria

Mike Donald. Settle-Carlisle

Quack!
GtD.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Land of the Pennine God (Mike Donald)
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 31 Dec 10 - 01:23 PM

The Settle to Carlisle Railway crosses wild bleak moorland and was a major feat of construction. My first thought when I read the thread title (It isn't a song I was previously aware of) was that the "Pennine God" would be a harsh, unforgiving one. Much in the way that ancient gods might be vengeful or arrogant or spiteful.
To back up my thoughts, I was going to link to another song, Settle to Carlisle Railway, but when I found the Mudcat thread, I discovered it was also written by Mike Donald.
I thought I would see what the interweb turned up and found some photos of places mentioned - Sections of Line : Garsdale to Ais Gill.
Elsewhere brought a mention of the song (look near the bottem of the first item on the page) - easter-saturday-2009-at-garsdale. The blog entry seems to suggest a link between poet W. H. Auden and the idea of a Pennine God. I don't know if it is a line from a poem or just a concept inferred by the blogger (Auden wrote a lot about the moors of North Yorkshire and lead mines found there). Can't find anything on the web to answer the question.
I also found pages devoted to Mike Donald on Facebook. Someone there may be able to answer your questions about the song, or whether any of his recordings are still available anywhere.
Quack!
Geoff the Duck.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Land of the Pennine God (Mike Donald)
From: Darowyn
Date: 31 Dec 10 - 04:36 AM

"God's own country" is often used as a phrase to describe Yorkshire.
The land of the Pennine God, is poetic paraphrase of that, I would guess.
Cheers
Dave

Subject: Lyr Add: LAND OF THE PENNINE GOD (Mike Donald)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 30 Dec 10 - 09:40 PM

I have listened several times to the song (in the archived radio program mentioned above; the song begins 1:10:10 from the beginning of the program), read the Wikipedia article and some other articles it links to, and even looked up some place names on a map, but I am not at all satisfied with my transcription. A lot of it doesn't make sense. To begin with, what does "Pennine god" refer to? Can anyone make sense of this song, either by correcting my mistakes, or by explaining his obscure metaphors and tangled syntax?


LAND OF THE PENNINE GOD
Mike Donald

Christmas Eve, nineteen-ten
Very bad time for travellin' men
Stuck to the Settle then on again
To the land of the Pennine god

CHORUS: Travel in the land of the Pennine god
Through the cut and grass and the brown peat bog
Through the land of the ice and fog,
Land of the Pennine god

Up the long track breathin' steam
Signals changing red to green
Ghostly buildings silent scene
Land of the Pennine god

Night was a wild and grapeshot hail
Drivers straining god looks pale
Night express with the Glasgow mail
Land of the Pennine god. CHORUS

Two light engines caused the spill
A whistle shot from a wild day's kill
Between Lunds and Shotlock Hill
In the land of the Pennine god.

Shepherds saw that ghastly place
From Garsdale Junction they did race
Buried nine souls in a line-side grave
In the land of the Pennine god. CHORUS

There's a warning mist on the fellside steep
Where all around the dales do sleep
Ghosts walk in silence deep
In the land of the Pennine god. CHORUS


[From the album "North by North East" (1972).]

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Land of the Pennine God (Mike Donald)
From: greg stephens
Date: 27 Dec 10 - 03:54 PM

The Observer today has a bit referring to this in the reprints from the Observer 100 years ago.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Land of the Pennine God (Mike Donald)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 27 Dec 10 - 03:45 PM

I think this must be the disaster referred to: The Hawes Junction rail crash of Dec. 24, 1910, at Wikipedia.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Land of the Pennine God (Mike Donald)
From: migginz
Date: 21 Dec 10 - 02:35 PM

The train crash was one hundred years ago

So who will be singing it on Christmas Eve 2010

??

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Land of the Pennine God (Mike Donald)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 17 Apr 05 - 11:27 PM

Here's an archived radio program that you can listen to that contains LAND OF THE PENNINE GOD by Mike Donald.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Land of the Pennine God
From: Peace
Date: 16 Apr 05 - 10:51 PM

Mike Donald.

Subject: Lyr Req: Land of the Pennine God
From: GUEST,Liz
Date: 16 Apr 05 - 12:17 PM

Hello, does anyone know the lyrics for 'Land of the Pennine God" by Mike McDonald????

Also, is it still possible to get a recording of this and other songs by him?

Thank you!