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29 Jan 99 - 03:34 PM (#56306) Subject: Oakey Strike Evictions From: dougie mcquillan I require th words for the song "Oakey strike evictions" the opening track of the "Jack the Lad" CD Old straight track, anyone? many thanks dougie mcquillan @ freeserve.com.uk. |
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30 Jan 99 - 09:36 AM (#56420) Subject: RE: Oakey Strike Evictions From: Bill Sables (Inactive) Dougie, Oakeys strike evicitions was written by Tommy Armstrong (the Pitmans Poet)from Tantoby near Stanley in Co Durham it concerns the mine on the north east corner of Stanley which was closed probably 60 or 70 years ago I will send you the words later Bill |
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30 Jan 99 - 03:33 PM (#56464) Subject: RE: Oakey Strike Evictions From: Joe Offer Sounds like a good song, Bill. I hope you'll post the lyrics here, too. -Joe Offer- |
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31 Jan 99 - 08:29 AM (#56578) Subject: Lyr Add: OAKEY STRIKE EVICTIONS (Tommy Armstrong) From: Bill Sables (Inactive) Dougie, I wasn't sure whether you were able to decipher the Durham dialect or not. You usually have to be born in Durham to understand it so I have written the song in dialect with phonetic pronunciation followed by a version in plain English, which will probably be handy for any singers in the U.S.A. It was orly in Novemba, Ah niver will forget The polises an the candy men at Oakey's hooses met Johnny the bellman he was there squinting roond aboot He put three men on ivory hoose te torn the pitmen oot CHORUS: Oh, what wad a dee if aw'd the poower mesel Aw wad hing the twenty candymen an Johnny we carries the bell There they went from hoose te hoose an put things on the road But mind they didn’t hort theorsells wi liftin' heavy loads Some wid carry the poker oot the fender or the rake But if they carried two at once, it was a great mistake Some of these dandy candymen was dressed up like a cloon Some had hats wivoot a flype and some wivoot a croon Some had ne laps upon their coats but there was one chap warse 'Cos ivory time he had te stoop the wind blew up his arse There was one chap had ne sleevs or buttons on his coat Another had a bairnies hippin lapped aroond his throat One chap wore a pair of breeks that belanged tiv a boy One leg was a sort o tweed the uther was cordyroy Next there comes the maisters aw think they shud think shem Deprivin wives an familys of a comfortable hyem But when they shift fre where they live aw hope they gan te hell Alang wi the twenty candymen an Johnny that carries the bell Non-Dialect Version It was early in November I never will forget The polises and the candymen at Oakey's houses met Johnny the bellman he was there squinting round about He put three men on every house to turn the pitmen out CHORUS: Oh what would I do if I had the power myself I would hang the twenty candymen and Johnny who carries the bell There they went from house to house to put things on the road But mind they didn't hurt themselves with lifting heavy loads Some would carry the poker out the fender or the rake But if they carried two at once, it was a great mistake Some of these dandy candymen were dressed up like a clown Some had hats without a peak and some without a crown Some had no lapels upon their coat but there was one chap worse 'Cos every time he had to stoop the wind blew up his arse There was one chap had no sleeves nor buttons on his coat Another had a bairn's hippin wrapped around his throat One chap had a pair of breeks that belonged to a boy One leg was a sort of tweed the other was cordyroy Next, there comes the masters I think they should think shame Depriving wives and families of a comfortable home But when they move from where they live I hope they go to hell Along with the twenty candymen and Johnny who carries the bell Polises....Police Candymen... Bailiffs henchmen hired in for their ability to use force if need be. Their usual job was rag and bone men or scrap metal merchants who used to give sweets or candy to children in exchange for rags or scrap, hence the name candymen Bellman...The Bailiff Squinting... Looking around, being nosey Bairnies Hippen...Childs nappy or diaper Breeks.. Pants Maisters.. the mine owners Poker.. Iron tool used to move coals in a fire Fender..Surround for a fireplace Rake..Iron tool used to pull out ashes and dust when cleaning a fireplace The events occurred during the 1885 stoppage in the North West Durham coalfield when striking miners could be evicted from their mine-owned houses. Tommy Armstrong wrote this song as a duel with another miner poet William Maguire in the Red Row Public House Tantoby. Maguire's song is long forgotten. |
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31 Jan 99 - 11:05 AM (#56583) Subject: RE: Oakey Strike Evictions From: Bill Sables (Inactive) Dougie, give me a call at bill@sables48.freeserve.co.uk |
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13 Jan 06 - 12:05 AM (#1647486) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oakey Strike Evictions (Tommy Armstrong) From: GUEST,roguebert@hotmail.com If anyone's interested, there's a version of this on Lenahan's "Hooligans In Suits" album. |
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13 Jan 06 - 05:43 AM (#1647591) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oakey Strike Evictions (Tommy Armstrong) From: shepherdlass Try to find the Bob Fox and Stu Luckley version (not the re-recording on the Hush album, which is fine but lacks the bite of the earlier track) from the late 70s or early 80s - it's fantastic. Bill S - great translation of the dialect! But I think the Red Row pub is actually in Beamish. It's now called the Black Horse and lies between Beamish Museum and the Tanfield Railway. |
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13 Jan 06 - 07:39 AM (#1647663) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oakey Strike Evictions (Tommy Armstrong) From: Splott Man There's a fine version by The Happy End who are/were a collective of brass players. Vocals by the woman who sang on Don't Leave Me This Way by The Communards whose name escapes me. |
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13 Jan 06 - 07:54 AM (#1647674) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oakey Strike Evictions (Tommy Armstrong) From: Charley Noble It's a fine song about a hard time. Charley Noble |
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13 Jan 06 - 10:16 AM (#1647800) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oakey Strike Evictions (Tommy Armstro From: Ferrara Bill Sables, Thanks! Norman and Betty MacDonald recorded it on their "Doon the Lang Stairs" CD. I've always loved it and of course couldn't quite decipher a lot of the words. Rita Ferrara |
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13 Jan 06 - 10:21 AM (#1647810) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oakey Strike Evictions (Tommy Armstro From: Ferrara Hmmm.... Just realized that Bill's post was in 1999. Still very happy to have it! Never understood the "Candymen" reference, use to wonder whether Betty and Norman were singing "county men" or what? Good to know. |
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14 Jan 06 - 04:06 AM (#1648451) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oakey Strike Evictions (Tommy Armstrong) From: GUEST Quoted from "One Hundred Songs of Toil" by Karl Dallas: Tradition has it that this song was written by Tommy Armstrong, the redoubtable Tyneside bard,as part of a bardic "cutting contest" in the Red Roe public house in Tanfield. The subject set for the contest was the situation of the men at Oakley Colliery in nearby Annfield Plain, who had been evicted during the strike then in progress. Tommy won and this is the last we hear of his opponent, one William McGuire. A Candyman is a specially recruited bailiff. In his "Northumberland Words", R.O. Heslop explains: "During the great strike of 1884 men were served with notices of ejectment all round. To do this, the services of 'vagrom men' were impressed. In these the pitmen recognised several as the itinerant vendors who called "Dandy-candy, three sticks a penny". Thus the term Candyman became generally applied in pit villages to those who served and carried out notices of ejectment." |
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18 Sep 06 - 07:41 AM (#1837265) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oakey Strike Evictions (Tommy Armstrong) From: GUEST,Guest I've heard this song on the Tommy Armstrong of Tyneside CD, which was put together by some of the High Level Ranters with Louis Killen and Maureen Craig. The tune sounds familiar - does anyone know what it is (Tommy tended to use existing tunes...) Thanks, Andrew |
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18 Sep 06 - 09:11 AM (#1837346) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oakey Strike Evictions (Tommy Armstro From: Dave Hanson Maureen Craik actually. eric |
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24 Sep 06 - 07:37 PM (#1842443) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oakey Strike Evictions (Tommy Armstrong) From: GUEST,GUEST Sorry Erig, typo! |
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22 Jan 09 - 06:49 PM (#2546520) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oakey Strike Evictions (Tommy Armstrong) From: GUEST,colin reay a great version of this song is available by a local north east band beggars bog http://www.cycast.co.uk/mp3.php?par=Yj03NTc2 |
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28 Sep 09 - 01:01 PM (#2733293) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oakey Strike Evictions (Tommy Armstrong) From: Jim Dixon THE OAKEY STRIKE EVICTIONS can be found in The Urban & Industrial Songs of the Black Country and Birmingham by Jon Raven (Wolverhampton: Broadside, 1977), page 71, where it appears with musical notation for one voice. Here's the credit, as it is given there: "Source: From the singing of Tommy Armstrong. A. L. Lloyd, Folk Song in England, pub. Lawrence & Wishart, 1968. Noted A. L. Lloyd, Durham, 1952." |
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28 Sep 09 - 01:12 PM (#2733306) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oakey Strike Evictions (Tommy Armstrong) From: Jack Blandiver The source note is misleading as Tommy wrote the song. I would think it highly unlikely A.L.Lloyd heard him singing it, as Tommy Armstrong died in 1920 when A.L.Lloyd would have been 12. According to the 1954 Definition Oakey Strike Evictions is not a folk song, though of course Tommy was a master of his vernacular craft. Credit where credit is due! |
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24 Feb 12 - 10:22 AM (#3312695) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oakey Strike Evictions (Tommy Armstrong) From: bill\sables Regarding the Guest post on 14th Jan 2006; Oakey's colliery was not at Anfield Plain it was between Stanley and Tanfield. Perhaps he was thinking of another song "Oakey's Keeker" also by Armstrong. Oakey's Keeker worked at Oakey's pit but was nicknamed "Maiden Law Joe" from where he used to work, and Maiden Law is situated between Anfield Plain and Lanchester. The pit at Anfield Plain was called the "Morrison Busty" Shepherdlass the "Red Row" pub prounounced "Reed Raa" was in Tantobie but has closed many years ago in the 20's I believe. |
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29 Mar 21 - 07:11 PM (#4099871) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oakey Strike Evictions (Tommy Armstrong) From: GUEST,henryp shepherdlass; Bill S But I think the Red Row pub is actually in Beamish. It's now called the Black Horse and lies between Beamish Museum and the Tanfield Railway. Red Row remains in Beamish Burn, two miles from Tantobie. The Red Row public house is now The Black Horse, and has become a boutique hotel and restaurant! Behind it is the Aston Martin restoration workshop. |
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30 Mar 21 - 09:09 AM (#4099951) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oakey Strike Evictions (Tommy Armstrong) From: Steve Gardham The 06 question, what tune is it. Nearest I can get is 'The Jolly Tinker' (Irish version) Twas down a shady lane I walked, at a door I chanced to knock, Is there any pots or kettles here with rusty holes to block? Oh, indeed there is, don't you know there is, To me right faloora laddie, aye, indeed there is. (or something like.) Also used for Clifton's 'Hot Asphalt' which may be what Tommy had in mind. |
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30 Mar 21 - 09:16 PM (#4100031) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oakey Strike Evictions (Tommy Armstrong) From: GUEST,# https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhP9sTfhBHc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhP9sTfhBHc There's the song being sung. |