THE PEDLAR
I was driving through Sleights, near Whitby on my way to the funeral of an old friend that had encouraged me in my writing in the late 1970s. As I drove, the chorus of this song popped into my head. I passed the signpost to the village of Grosmont and I then knew the story that would go with the chorus, a story about a man with a phenomenally strong neck, the Grandfather of a man I knew who occasionally sang at folk nights in my local pub and whose Great Grandson is a well-known professional musician. I first sang it in my Local during Whitby Folk week and it was well received, the chorus being taken up immediately by those present.
THE BOY FROM AUSTRALIA
While researching my family’s history, I discovered that my Grandmother had a Brother of whose existence I was previously unaware. He had been born in Australia and was drowned at Egton Bridge in North Yorkshire aged 10 while bathing in the River Esk, in 1866. I went to have a look to try and work out how it might have happened. As I looked from the Bridge downstream where there was a deep pool, what appeared to be an arm rose out of the water and beckoned to me before sinking back. After a moment I realised that what I had seen was the underside of a large salmon as it rose and turned over. I then remembered a Native American tale about a drowned boy. With a little further unravelling of a Family story truth and myth became the song.
MR KNOW-BUGGER-ALL
The least said about this the better but it is a song that can be changed to include people who upset me!
COUNTRY DAYS
I really do remember these days on North Yorkshire Farms.
GROSMONT MINER
This is in effect a re-write of ‘Wagon Rule’ which appears on the ‘Trappy Lad’ CD. I did the re-write in my head on the way to Saltburn Folk Club one evening and then sang it and wrote it down afterwards.
I was driving through Sleights, near Whitby on my way to the funeral of an old friend that had encouraged me in my writing in the late 1970s. As I drove, the chorus of this song popped into my head. I passed the signpost to the village of Grosmont and I then knew the story that would go with the chorus, a story about a man with a phenomenally strong neck, the Grandfather of a man I knew who occasionally sang at folk nights in my local pub and whose Great Grandson is a well-known professional musician. I first sang it in my Local during Whitby Folk week and it was well received, the chorus being taken up immediately by those present.
THE BOY FROM AUSTRALIA
While researching my family’s history, I discovered that my Grandmother had a Brother of whose existence I was previously unaware. He had been born in Australia and was drowned at Egton Bridge in North Yorkshire aged 10 while bathing in the River Esk, in 1866. I went to have a look to try and work out how it might have happened. As I looked from the Bridge downstream where there was a deep pool, what appeared to be an arm rose out of the water and beckoned to me before sinking back. After a moment I realised that what I had seen was the underside of a large salmon as it rose and turned over. I then remembered a Native American tale about a drowned boy. With a little further unravelling of a Family story truth and myth became the song.
MR KNOW-BUGGER-ALL
The least said about this the better but it is a song that can be changed to include people who upset me!
COUNTRY DAYS
I really do remember these days on North Yorkshire Farms.
GROSMONT MINER
This is in effect a re-write of ‘Wagon Rule’ which appears on the ‘Trappy Lad’ CD. I did the re-write in my head on the way to Saltburn Folk Club one evening and then sang it and wrote it down afterwards.