"Byker Hill" is a traditional English folk song about coal miners, Roud 3488 [1] that has been performed by many contemporary acts. [2] There are at least three different tunes to which the song is sung.
Byker Hill is in the east end of Newcastle, as is the adjoining district of Walker, also mentioned in the song. "Byker Hill and Walker Shore, Collier lads for ever more"
The earliest versions of this song use the title "Walker Pits" as in the publication Rhymes of Northern Bards (1812) where it is song number 36. [3] It was included in A.L. Lloyd's collection "Come all ye bold miners", still with the earlier title. [4]
I
If I had another penny
I would have another gill
I would make the piper play
The bonny lass of Byker Hill
Chorus:
Byker Hill and Walker Shore
Collier lads for ever more
Byker Hill and Walker Shore
Collier lads for ever more
II
The pitman and the keelman trim
They drink bumble made from gin
Then to dance they do begin
To the tune of Elsie Marley
Chorus:
Byker Hill and Walker Shore
Collier lads for ever morе
Byker Hill and Walker Shore
Colliеr lads for ever more
III
When first I went down to the dirt
I had no cowl nor no pitshirt
Now I've gotten two or three
Walker Pit's done well by me
Chorus:
Byker Hill and Walker Shore
Collier lads for ever more
Byker Hill and Walker Shore
Collier lads for ever more
IV
Geordie Charlton, he had a pig
You hit it with a shovel and it danced a jig
All the way to Walker Shore
To the tune of Elsie Marley
Chorus:
Byker Hill and Walker Shore
Collier lads for ever more
Byker Hill and Walker Shore
Collier lads for ever more
I (again)
If I had another penny
I would have another gill
I would make the piper play
The bonny lass of Byker Hill
Chorus:
Byker Hill and Walker Shore
Collier lads for ever more
Byker Hill and Walker Shore
Collier lads for ever more
Chorus:
Byker Hill and Walker Shore
Collier lads for ever more
Byker Hill and Walker Shore
Collier lads for ever more
Martin Dominic Forbes Carthy MBE is an English singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in English folk music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, and later artists such as Richard Thompson, since he emerged as a young musician in the early days of the folk revival in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s.
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4 time signature, but has also been played in 3
4.
David Cyril Eric Swarbrick was an English folk musician and singer-songwriter. He was one of the most highly regarded musicians produced by the second British folk revival, contributing to some of the most important groups and projects of the 1960s, and he became a much sought-after session musician, which led him throughout his career to work with many of the major figures in folk and folk rock music.
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