1. |
My Sweet Teredo
04:09
|
|||
On dockland sand
Our future’s father
Surveyed a sunken ship
His hand upon its beams
Some seaborne soul
Some sweet Teredo
Turned trusted oak to bone
Turned oceans into dreams
That little friend
Through great invention
Grew to iron size below the riverbed
Now fortune fair
And great Teredo
Keep the air above my miner laddie’s head
I feel the stones
Below us rolling
Shifting shale and industry
Let life prevail
My sweet Teredo
Keep him whole and bring my miner lad to me
Brave engineers
And all their credo
May lose a hundred men or launch a dozen ships
Fortune and you
My sweet Teredo
Keep the breath between my miner laddie’s lips
I feel the stones
Below us rolling
Shifting shale and industry
Let life prevail
My sweet Teredo
Keep him whole and bring my miner lad to me
Oh Mother Thames
Beware our lovers
For they’re the ones who coax your London clay to part
When rivers rage
My sweet Teredo
Keep a cage around my miner laddie’s heart
I feel the stones
Below us rolling
Shifting shale and industry
Let life prevail
My sweet Teredo
Keep him whole and bring my miner lad to me
On dockland sand
Our future’s father
Surveyed a sunken ship
His hand upon its beams
Some weary soul
Some little sailor
Turned trusted oak to bone
Turned oceans into dreams
That little friend
Through great invention
Grew to iron size below the riverbed
Fortune and you
My sweet Teredo
Keep the air above my miner laddie’s head
When waters rise
My sweet Teredo
Keep the light within my miner laddie’s eyes
When rivers rage
My sweet Teredo
Keep a cage around my miner laddie’s heart
When ships come in
My sweet Teredo
Keep the breath between my miner laddie’s lips
Your steady heart
My little traveller
Warms the blankets on my miner laddie’s bed
I feel the stones
Below us rolling
Shifting shale and industry
Let life prevail
My sweet Teredo
Keep him whole and bring my miner lad to me
I feel the clay
Below us rolling
Ragged shale and industry
Let life prevail
My little traveller
Keep him whole and bring my miner lad to me
Words and music © Nancy Kerr 2021
|
||||
2. |
Gettin' a Rise
01:48
|
|||
As I was going to Dartford all on a winter’s day
Those lads of Kent were downward sent
With the pilot underway
And we were gettin’ a rise, gettin’ a rise
With a tee i ee i o
We were gettin’ a rise, gettin’ a rise
With a tee i ee i o
Well we were feeling jammy
Gone down to 8-hour shifts
Then the foreman cries
You’ll be gettin’ a rise
Every time you take the lift!
We were gettin’ a rise, gettin’ a rise
With a tee i ee i o
We were gettin’ a rise, gettin’ a rise
With a tee i ee i o
The craic was up to ninety
But the foreman’s face was drear
“There’s industry in the old country
But beggar-all happening here!”
We were getting’ a rise, getting’ a rise
With a tee i ee i o
We were gettin’ a rise, gettin’ a rise
With a tee i ee i o
And it’s oh the cruel compressor
And oh the miners’ moans
And oh the shock of the medical lock
When the wind gets in your bones
But we were gettin’ a rise, gettin’ a rise
With a tee i ee i o
We were gettin’ a rise, gettin’ a rise
With a tee i ee i o
Well love can move a mountain
But we could shift the moon
We could shovel to hell
Then sleep so well
That we wouldn’t wake up till noon
We were gettin’ a rise, gettin’ a rise
With a tee i ee i o
We were gettin’ a rise, gettin’ a rise
With a tee i ee i o
Well some say digging’s lousy
But miners know it’s grand
When you’re down the hole you’ll bless the soul
Of a Dartford tunnelling man
We were gettin’ a rise, gettin’ a rise
With a tee i ee i o
We were gettin’ a rise, gettin’ a rise
With a tee i ee i o
Words and music © Nancy Kerr 2021
|
||||
3. |
||||
4. |
Tunneller's Hymn
03:38
|
|||
When fortunes are uncertain
And we are growing old
We need the art of a sturdy heart
To keep us from the cold
We search for resolution
In heroes far and wide
And seek in love the courage of
The tunneller and the tide
For neither shall surrender
Or ever be denied
Let all revere in voices clear
The tunneller and the tide
Since pasture turned to piston
And shipworm turned to shield
The miner’s cheer and the engineer
Have caused our rocks to yield
From Tideway to the Medway
From Blackwall up to Clyde
Though sirens sing they’ll not give in
The tunneller and the tide
For neither shall surrender
Or ever be denied
Let all revere in voices clear
The tunneller and the tide
Great kingdoms break their borders
With lagan, steel and tether
Since hopes arise in a miner’s eyes
To clasp all hands together
Britannia takes our galleons
And lays them side by side
Though nations fall they shall not stall
The tunneller and the tide
For neither shall surrender
Or ever be denied
Let all revere in voices clear
The tunneller and the tide
You miners of all nations
Who strived at our behest
We call each friend for to commend
Your hearts in peace to rest
Let stumbles not deter us
And distance not divide:
We’ll rise above with the courage of
The tunneller and the tide
For neither shall surrender
Or ever be denied
Let all revere in voices clear
The tunneller and the tide
For neither shall surrender
Or ever be denied
Let all revere in voices clear
The tunneller and the tide
Words and music © Nancy Kerr 2021
|
||||
5. |
Walk My Boots Clean
04:20
|
|||
I’ll walk my boots clean someday
Sure as a pool in a valley of clay
I’ll walk my boots clean someday
My brothers they are all underground
We shovel and fill ‘til we come to the crown
From the river to the sea
St Johnston wait for me
I’ll walk my boots clean someday
I’ll walk my boots clean someday
Sure as a pool in a valley of clay
I’ll walk my boots clean someday
I laid the ground for the new Jubilee
The Mersey and Thames owe their soundness to me
From the river to the sea
Botallack wait for me
I’ll walk my boots clean someday
I’ll walk my boots clean someday
Sure as a pool in a valley of clay
I’ll walk my boots clean someday
I’ve blasted for rails and canals
Cheek with the pit boss and craic with me pals
From the river to the sea
Buncrana wait for me
I’ll walk my boots clean someday
Our girls of the great TBM
Strata or sleech, they mean nothing to them
From the river to the sea
Sweet Rhondda wait for me
I’ll walk my boots clean someday
I’ll walk my boots clean someday
Sure as a pool in a valley of clay
I’ll walk my boots clean someday
I’ve witnessed the fall of the face
When you labour in fear for the lives of your mates
From the river to the sea
Oh Trimdon wait for me
I’ll walk my boots clean someday
I’ll walk my boots clean someday
Sure as a pool in a valley of clay
I’ll walk my boots clean someday
Soon this shift will be done
I’ll lie with my lass and I’ll stand in the sun
From the river to the sea
Gdynia wait for me
I’ll walk my boots clean someday
For our crew, we’re the pick of the crowd
We are strong, we are bold, we are wild, we are proud
And from Brno to Bray, to the Wild Atlantic Way
We’ll walk our boots clean someday
I’ll walk my boots clean someday
Sure as a pool in a valley of clay
I’ll walk my boots clean someday
Words and music © Nancy Kerr 2021
|
Nancy Kerr Sheffield, UK
Folk Singer of the Year BBC Folk Awards 2015
"Outstanding chamber folk" (The
Guardian) "Folk's Poet Laureate" (FRUK) "One of the UK’s foremost composers of modern folk and social commentary songs” (Royal Shakespeare Company).
Photo credits: James Fagan, Elly Lucas
Album design: Lizzy Doe
... more
Streaming and Download help
If you like Nancy Kerr, you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp