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12 Jul 02 - 05:29 AM (#747021) Subject: Blaydon Races From: GUEST,Keith Hudson Being a Geordie I hold our own National Anthem very dear and am proud to be one of the few of our breed who actually know all the words. I do have a blind spot as regards to the 4th verse and looked the song up on the site to remind myself. Imagine my horror when I not only found that the order of the 5th and 4th verses had been reversed but it read.... "We flew across the Tyne Bridge and into Blaydon toon" a geographical impossibility even given the new western by-pass which wasn't there in 1862. Paradise is on Scotswood Road about a mile before the place the old "Chiney Bridge" or Chain Bridge used to stand until the 1960's. There used to be in excess of 200 pubs in a three mile stretch of Scotswood Road including The Cushy Butterfield, The Forge Hammer, The Crooked Billet, The Gun, The Moulders' Arms, The Hydraulic Crane, The Truss (Deleval Arms) and the Robin Adair. These are the ones I actually drank in in the 70's and none of which are left now. |
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12 Jul 02 - 08:08 AM (#747088) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: GUEST,Ritchie Keith, It's worse when you're at the match and everyone starts singing the 1st verse and chorus and they manage to get it wrong ...oh the youth of today ! regards Ritchie |
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12 Jul 02 - 06:31 PM (#747422) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: Noreen Keith, will you post the 'correct' words then, please? |
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13 Jul 02 - 12:23 AM (#747551) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: katlaughing |
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13 Jul 02 - 03:34 PM (#747732) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: A Wandering Minstrel You are right Keith, it should be the Chain bridge
We flew across the chain bridge and into Blaydon toon I think the Mechanics Institute is still standing. |
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13 Jul 02 - 09:06 PM (#747819) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: C-flat 'Twas on the 9th of June Eighteen Hundred and Sixty Two On a summer's afternoon I took the bus from Balmbras And she was heavy laden Away we went along Collingwood Street To see the Blaydon races Chorus:Oh me lads, you should have seen us gannin Passing the folks along the road And all of them were starin' All the lads and lasses there They all had smilin' faces Gannin' along the Scotswood Road To see the Blaydon races We flew past Armstrongs factory And up the Robin Adair But gannin'ower the railway bridge The bus wheel flew off there The lasses lost their crinolenes And veils that hide their faces I got two black eyes and a broken nose In gannin' to Blaydon races CHORUS Now when we got the wheel back on Away we went again But them that had their noses broke They went back ower hame(home) Some went to the dispensary And some to Dr. Gibbs And some to the infirmary To mend their broken ribs CHORUS We flew across the Chain Bridge Reet into Blaydon Toon The barman he was callin' then They called him Jackie Broon I saw him talkin' to some chaps And them he was persuadin' To gan and see Geordie Ridleys show At the mechanics Hall in Blaydon CHORUS Now when we got to Paradise There were bonny games begun There were four and twenty on the bus And how we danced and sung They called on me to sing a song So I sang 'em "Paddy Fagan" I danced a jig and swung me twig The day I went to Blaydon CHORUS The rain it poured down all the day And made the ground quite muddy Coffee John had a white hat on The old wife stole a cuddy There were spice stalls and monkey shows And old wifes selling ciders And the chap on the ha'penny roundabout Sayin' Any more lads for riders? CHORUS PHEW!!! |
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14 Jul 02 - 06:58 PM (#747992) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: GUEST,NSC = Geprge Henderson C-Flat A couple pf small corrections. a) You missed the 1st line " aa went te Balydon races. 'twas on the 9th o' June" b) The Geordie word for homw is "Yem" This is a word borrowed from the Norse language. C) Geordie ridley, who wrote the song, had you verse 5 as verse 4 and vice versa. d) The barman in your verse 4 should be "the Bell man". He was the man who rang the loud handbell and yelled out the news. e) Coffey johnny had a white hat on. He yelled "Whe stole the cuddy" (which means "who stole the donkey" f) Aa danced a jig and tworled me twig (twirled) g) and finally the last two lines An' the chap with a happenny roondaboot Shootin' noo me lads for riders.
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14 Jul 02 - 09:04 PM (#748040) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: Nigel Parsons Can we have dates and sources, or are all these versions "As Remembered", They don't match with my memories, but I'm Welsh. However, I source it from the "Hackney Scout Song Book" originally published about the time of WW I. Nigel |
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14 Jul 02 - 09:05 PM (#748042) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: C-flat Thanks for the corrections, I did indeed miss the first line off. As for the other discrepancies, this is how it was taught to me and how I've always heard it sung. You're correct in saying that "yem" is a Geordie word for home and ,coming from the region myself, one I'm very familiar with. It's also often sounded with the "H" as "Hayem", hence my "hame". I've looked up the song on a couple of sites and both show verses 4 and 5 as I've posted, Keith Hudson makes the same point in his opening post. Someone in the dim and distant past, either by design or error, changed it and this version is the one currently in circulation. Thanks for the input C-flat. |
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14 Jul 02 - 09:11 PM (#748046) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: C-flat Here's the song again with a few slight variations. Click here |
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15 Jul 02 - 01:30 AM (#748128) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: GUEST,Keith Hudson Thanks folks, does this show that pedantry can be constructive. There's an old, apocryphal story about a Norwedgian ship sailing out of the Tyne and a local on the quayside shouts "Where're ye ganin'"? And the Norwedian Skipper shouts back "Ganin' hyem". Keith |
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15 Jul 02 - 08:17 AM (#748223) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: Hrothgar Not wanting to pick a fight, but "Up BY the 'Robin Adair'"? ...which I think was a public house? |
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15 Jul 02 - 08:50 AM (#748240) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: GUEST,NSC George Henderson My version was culled from TYNESIDE SONGS compiled by C.E. Catcheside-Warrington of Gosforth in 1911 The book is in four volumes and is still available through J. G. Windows, Central Arcade, Grainger Street, Newcastle upon Tyne. The song was written by Geordie Ridley and his show at the Mechanics Hall in Blaydon was supposed to be one of the highlight side show attractions at the 1862 meeting. the song was probably written to get some publicity for the show (concert). It was indeed written in 1862. Ridley also wrote the words of that other famous Geordie song Cushie Butterfield and set to the air of Pretty Polly Perkins a cockney music hall song. There is no indication of a date for that song in Tyneside songs. Bob Davenport told me a few months ago that Geordie Ridley was his Great Uncle. nice to know there is still a living connection. I, too, am a proud but exiled Geordie. George Henderson |
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28 Apr 10 - 10:32 PM (#2896375) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: GUEST,Jim Davis I used to run the Hydraulic Crane in the early 80's for my sister and brother-in-law--We had a great folk club on a Monday neet (which used to be one of our quiet nights) but when the regulars of Scotswood heard about the folk club, they used to come on a Monday, sit in the bar, get pissed and try to drown out the folk club with horrendous singing--Oh happy days haha |
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29 Apr 10 - 07:09 AM (#2896552) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: alex s I used to play at the Monday folk night in Balmbra's Music Hall in the Bigg Market (Newcastle)in the early 70's. It was a small but very atmospheric music hall complete with red velvet booths etc. There was a street gas lamp (full sized) in the bar entrance! |
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29 Apr 10 - 08:01 AM (#2896588) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: *#1 PEASANT* Here it is in my song beuk http://mysite.verizon.net/cbladey/sang/geordiesang.html#races Blaydon Races About George Ridley http://mysite.verizon.net/cbladey/sang/bards.html#ridley George Ridley Here is a great video sing-along http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PrMaVjHS74 Blaydon Races Video |
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29 Apr 10 - 08:14 AM (#2896601) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: Dave Sutherland Alex, I too used to attend the Monday night sessions at Balmbra's Music Hall but while it certainly was an impressive and imposing building I never really found the atmosphere within the club matching the surroundings. Perhaps it was down to the insipid Worthington E on sale there. |
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29 Apr 10 - 09:02 AM (#2896625) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: alex s Could be, Dave, but I'm a Guinness man meself. Do you remember Tony Cable? |
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30 Apr 10 - 03:39 AM (#2897127) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: Lady Nancy And, of course, it was a dog track and not horse-racing! |
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30 Apr 10 - 08:08 AM (#2897244) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: GUEST,HughM What does "swung/twirled me twig" mean"? |
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30 Apr 10 - 10:06 AM (#2897302) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: MGM·Lion Surely means he flourished his walking-stick as he danced ~~ think of Fred Astaire, with necessary variations of image! ~Michael~ |
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04 May 10 - 05:02 AM (#2899639) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: GUEST,HughM Somehow I hadn't imagined anyone fit enough to dance a jig needing a walking stick to go to Blaydon on the bus, but you could be right - maybe it was fashionable to carry one in 1862! |
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04 May 10 - 12:56 PM (#2899883) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: alex s Think Fred Astaire, Frankie Vaughan...... |
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04 May 10 - 03:13 PM (#2899988) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: GUEST,Dave (Bridge) Lady Nancy, I think you will find that it was horse racing on an island in the middle of the river, long since dredged away by Lord Armstrong to make it easier to navigate coal down the river. There was indeed a pub on the island. A bridge was erected using boats to get the horses across. On the occasion of the song it had rained so hard that the horses could not be taken across hence the call about the cuddy (horse/s) being stolen? Coffee Johnny was the blacksmith responsible for shoeing the horses and was a very tall man who was frequently goaded into a fight. |
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05 May 10 - 07:14 AM (#2900464) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: GUEST,dm refresh |
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05 May 10 - 11:05 AM (#2900575) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: Dave MacKenzie There is still a drinking establishment called the Robin Adair on Scotswood Rood, but it's not the original building. I went in once, and "it's enough to make you an ex-beer drinker". |
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05 May 10 - 01:17 PM (#2900669) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: GUEST,Dave (Bridge) That must have been a long time ago |
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07 May 10 - 02:19 PM (#2902202) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: Jim Dixon Lyrics are posted here: Lyr Add: The Blaydon Races (Allan's Tyneside Songs) |
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07 May 10 - 02:24 PM (#2902205) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: Lady Nancy Hiya Dave Bridge, Research shows that it was most definitely a dog track - and not just greyhounds but any sort of lurcher/running dog. Perhaps later they raced horses, but that was far too rich-a sport for most racegoers. This was working-man's stuff. LN |
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07 May 10 - 02:31 PM (#2902213) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: GUEST,Dave (Bridge) Sorry LN you are mistaken. Don't know where you got your information but it was definitely horse racing. Why else would they need a black smith, for one thing. Thousands of opounds were bet on racing in those days especially the rowing races on the Tyne about the same time. |
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07 May 10 - 03:04 PM (#2902230) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: GUEST,Dave (Bridge) Ridley sang the song at a concert in Balmbra's Music Hall on 5 June 1862. It is likely that on this occasion the song ended with the exhortation to see Ridley's show on the 9 June, and that the final verse was added for that later performance. Although the account of the trip to Blaydon is a fiction, the heavy rain and missing cuddy (horses) were reported in the local press. |
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08 May 10 - 03:29 AM (#2902542) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Blaydon Races From: Dave Hanson I have an LP called ' Keep Your Feet Still Geordie Hinnie ' recorded at Balmbaras Music Hall by Bill Leader in 1970 Tommy Gilfellon and Johnny Handle sing ' The Blaydon Races ' Dave H |