BARRY GOODMAN |
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01462 456811 |
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ON THIS |
BARRY’S SONGS |
ON THIS |
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SONG LIST
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Iced In †† A Light At The End Of The
Tunnel †† Little Italy
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INDUSTRIAL |
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TRADITIONS
& CUSTOMS |
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THE
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RECORDINGS
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† †† ††† * |
Recorded
on Charivari Wixamtree
Recorded
on Where The
Working Boats Went Wixamtree
Recorded
on Marston
Vale Recorded
on Sands Of
Time Wixamtree WIXD104 (2010) Some
songs can be heard at www.myspace.com/broadsidesrevisited
and …and www.reverbnation.com/lifeandtimesuk#!
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SONG DETAILS
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A Bit Of A Do
Canalside pubs were important watering holes and
social stops for the boatmen and their families. Some pubs had little or no connection
with anything but the canal, being isolated from any public roads. This song
relates some of the stories of boatmen’s lives when they had time to relax. This song
appeared on the FATEA Showcase Session CD |
THE CANALS |
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Narrow
Boats To Tow
The
Poor Old Horse (or sometimes donkey
or mule) of the canal towpaths had a life of heavy work. This song is from
the point of view of the horse, looking at his lot and considering his alternative
work options, had he been given the choice. |
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Carrying
The Load
The
canals’ domination of transport for industry lasted until the coming of the
railways, when cargoes could be transported much faster. Many canals were bought
up by the railway companies and used alongside their new goods lines but, in
many cases, canals were just bought up and closed down. |
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Iced
In
Winter
on the canals could be very hard. Boats could be stuck in ice for weeks on
end and the boatmen would be unable to work and earn money to keep their
families. Sometimes boaters were forced to find work away from the canals to
see them through the period of severe weather. Special boats called ice breakers could be used to try and
clear a path through the ice. Men would stand on the deck and rock the boat
from side to side to crack the ice. |
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A Light At
The End Of The Tunnel
The
work of the canal restoration societies has been invaluable in restoring canals
that have fallen into disuse and reopening derelict and long-forgotten
canals. Their work is still far from done if they are to restore all the
original 4000 miles or so of canal that crossed the country. |
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The Engine
Boy
In
2009, Life & Times were asked to produce some songs for the Greensand Trust’s Sands
Of Time oral history project, which was intended to
record people’s experiences, working in the sand industry of Leighton Buzzard,
Bedfordshire. The intention is to use two songs on their virtual museum
website when it goes live in March 2010. This song is about former engine
boy, Ray Gurney’s, experiences on the narrow gauge railway that was used to
transport sand from the pits to the mainline railway depot where it could be
sent anywhere in the country and even the world. The railway still works
today as an enthusiast’s line. |
RAILWAYS |
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Little
The
brickworks at Stewartby, Bedfordshire, (once the world’s
largest) set up recruitment centres in |
BEDFORDSHIRE |
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Follow The
Straw Bear
(PLOUGH MONDAY) Traditionally
on Plough Monday (now the nearest weekend) a ploughboy would dress up in a straw
costume and, led by a handler with a rope or chain, would dance through the
town of |
TRADITIONS & CUSTOMS |
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Jack
Valentine’s Song
(VALENTINES’S Jack Valentine or Father
Valentine is a traditional character from |
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The Olney
Pancake Race
(SHROVE
TUESDAY) Olney
in is Buckinghamshire and this was the ‘original’ pancake race. It was said to
have started in 1448 when a woman, who was frying her pancakes, suddenly
heard the shriving bell calling her to church on Shrove Tuesday. Without
thinking, she ran out of her house with her frying pan still in her hand and
dashed to the service. The tradition only briefly ceased during WWII before
being revived shortly afterwards by the local vicar. A pancake race in |
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Dance For St George Again
( A
song written with the intention of having the verses and choruses punctuated
by dancing from Redbornstoke Morris although it could easily be sung as a song
in its own right without the dance. It forms part of Life & Times &
Redbornstoke Morris’ show The Singing,
Dancing Year. |
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Ampthill
Sunrise
(MAYDAY) Many
Morris sides celebrate the traditional first day of summer by dancing at dawn
on May 1st each year, regardless of which day of the week it may
fall upon. Ampthill’s Redbornstoke
Morris have been doing this for many years and the
scene is captured in this song. Another very important part of the event is
that a pub in Ampthill opens at |
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Dance It
Away Up The Street
(WAKES WEEK –
AUGUST BANK HOLIDAY) Wakes
Week is the time when all the |
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Stir-Up
Sunday
(LAST SUNDAY
BEFORE ADVENT) Stir-Up
Sunday was traditionally the day when households would make their Christmas
puddings and this song takes up through the story, using an old rhyme about
the event as its chorus. The stir up
originally didn’t refer to cooking but came from the book of common prayer
and meant rouse yourselves, as
Christmas was approaching and preparations should be made. |
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Boxing Day
Song
(BOXING Boxing
Day was traditionally the day when traders would go to the big house to ask
for a Christmas Box. It was also
the time when the local Lord or Squire would provide a box of suitable provisions
and tools for all his estate workers for the new year. This day was also the
day when the poor box in the church would be opened to provide some help for
those who had no work and no money over the Christmas period. |
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All In The Wintertime
(CHRISTMAS TO
12th NIGHT) Ampthill’s Brafront Guizers (from Upper
Brafront In The Hedges) present a Mummers Play
at this time of year to celebrate the turn of the year. Although it’s great
fun, the play often baffles audiences so this calling on song was written to introduce the characters in an
attempt to help the audience get a better grip on what was going on! |
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Nelson’s
Victory
A
retelling of the classic historical tale of Nelson’s success at the Battle of
Trafalgar. |
THE |
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CONTACT
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www.facebook.com/people/Barry-Goodman/100000727337592 www.myspace.com/musocallersinger
01462-456811 |
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