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"Hard, Hard Times" (Roud 876) is a traditional Newfoundland folk song/ballad, adapted from an earlier English song, "Rigs of the Times" by William James Emberley. The song has been sung and recorded by a number of Newfoundland musicians.
William James Emberley (June 26, 1876 – June 10, 1937) was a Newfoundland and Labrador fisherman who grew up in Bay de Verde, Newfoundland Canada, the son of Joseph and Jane (Russell).
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, because of the collapse of the international economy, fishermen, including Emberley, were unable to sell their fish; many were reduced to living on the government dole, which was six cents a day. In 1936, Emberly adapted the English song, "Rigs of the Times", to reflect the fishermen's plight. He called it "Hard, Hard Times". [1]
Emberley's verses reflect a style commonly found in the 18th-century English broadside which made fun of various occupations and made light of difficult circumstances. The song soon became part of the Newfoundland historical tradition. [2] [3] The Emberley version was recorded by Dick Nolan, [4] and was published in Edith Fowke's The Penguin Book of Canadian Folk Songs (Harmondsworth, England, 1973).
As "Hard, Hard Times" or "Rigs of the Times", the song has also been recorded by Shirley Collins, Martin Carthy, Maddy Prior and others. Steeleye Span recorded a related song from England after the Napoleonic Wars: "Hard Times of Old England".[ citation needed ]
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Come all you good people I'll sing you a song,
About the poor people, how they get along;
They'll start in the Spring, finish up in the Fall,
And when it's all over they got nothin' at all.
And it's hard hard times.
Go out in the mornin', go on if it's still,
It's over the side you'll hear the line knell;
For out goes the jigger and freezes the cold,
And as for the startings all gone in the hole.
And it's hard hard times.
The fine side of fishing we'll have by and by,
The fine side of fishing we'll have a good buy;
Seven dollars for large and six-fifty for small,
Take out your West Indie, you've nothing at all.
And it's hard hard times.
When you got some spearin' they're hung out to dry,
It'll take all your time to brush off the flies;
To keep off the flies it is more than you'll do,
Then out comes the sun and she all splits in two.
And it's hard hard times.
Then next comes the carpenter to build you a house,
He'll build her so snug you'll scarce find a mouse;
With holes in the roof and the rain it will pour,
The chimney will smoke and it's open the door.
And it's hard hard times.
Then next comes the doctor the worst one of all,
Saying what is the matter with you all this Fall;
Says he will cure you of all your disease,
When the money he's got you can die if you please.
And it's hard hard times.
The best thing to do is to work with a will,
For when it's all finished you're hauled on the hill;
You're hauled on the hill and put down in the cold,
And when it's all finished you're still in the hole.
And it's hard hard times.
Are Ye Right There Michael is a song by the 19th-century and early 20th-century Irish composer and musician Percy French, parodying the state of the West Clare Railway system in rural County Clare. It was inspired by an actual train journey in 1896. Because of a slow train and the decision of the driver to stop for no apparent reason, French, though having left Sligo in the early morning, arrived so late for an 8pm recital that the audience had left. The ballad caused considerable embarrassment for the railway company, which was mocked in music halls throughout Ireland and Britain because of the song. It led to an unsuccessful libel action against French.
"The Banks Of Newfoundland" is the earliest Newfoundland composition set down in music notation. It was composed by Chief Justice Francis Forbes in 1820 and published in a piano arrangement by Oliver Ditson of Boston. Originally composed as a dance, it was treated as a march by the soldiers of Royal Newfoundland Regiment during World War I; it later became the Regiment's authorized march.
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Here We Come A-wassailing, also known as Here We Come A-Christmasing,Wassail Song and by many other names, is a traditional English Christmas carol and New Year song, typically sung whilst wassailing, or singing carols, wishing good health and exchanging gifts door to door. It is listed as number 209 in the Roud Folk Song Index. Gower Wassail and Gloucestershire Wassail are similar wassailing songs.
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Edith Fowke, (néeMargaret Fulton; 30 April 1913 Lumsden, Saskatchewan – 28 Mar 1996 Toronto) was a Canadian folklorist. Fowke was educated at the University of Saskatchewan. She hosted the CBC Radio program Folk Song Time from 1950 to 1963. She wrote numerous books in collaboration with folklorist and composer Richard Johnston, including Folk Songs of Canada, Folk Songs of Quebec, Chansons canadiennes françaises, and More Folk Songs of Canada. She is particularly noted for recording the songs of traditional singers O. J. Abbott, LaRena Clark, and Tom Brandon. Edith Fowke died in Toronto in 1996.
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Canadian folklore is the traditional material that Canadians pass down from generation to generation, either as oral literature or "by custom or practice". It includes songs, legends, jokes, rhymes, proverbs, weather lore, superstitions, and practices such as traditional food-making and craft-making. The largest bodies of folklore in Canada belong to the aboriginal and French-Canadian cultures. English-Canadian folklore and the folklore of recent immigrant groups have added to the country's folk.