Harry the Tar
by Mal Edwards
Recorded by Mal Edwards
Down at Shrewsbury Gas Works
They call me Harry the Tar
I've a horse as fat as butter
To pull us near and far
Oldbury town’s three long days away
By the time we get back up here
We sure have earned our pay
Chorus :
We work for Thomas Clayton
We've an old tar boat
She's covered in tin patches
To keep herself afloat
Do a trip to Shrewsbury Gas Works
Once a week
In the summer when it's warm
In the winter when it's bleak
Start early next morning, I drives the horse
Molly's at the tiller to keep the boat on course
Crossing Pimley aqueduct we've made good time
Then we got to Berwick tunnel
Where I coiled up the line
Chorus
Molly walked the horse across the top
I poled the old boat through
Walking along the deck top, the best way to do
After an hours hard slog I got round the dog-leg bend
Then I saw a beam of light from the Berwick Wharf end
We crossed the Tern at Longdon went up Eyton locks
Stopped at Whappenshall Junction
For we'd had our lot
Put the horse in the stables where I fed him corn and hay
Oldbury town is now two long days away
Chorus
Went along the Lubstree valley past the Humber Arm
Up Edgmond’s lock then through Newport town
At the top of the 17
Norbury we did stay
Oldbury town is now one long day away
Went up through Wheaton Aston, turn right at Coffin lock
Up Anderson’s 21 then through the gauging lock
Got back to Oldbury, picked up our pay
Pumped the tar from the boat
Start back to Shrewsbury next day
Chorus
The song lyrics were transcribed from Mal Edward’s 2001 CD recording. In 2021 Mal was interviewed in three
YouTube videos which can be found on the Hidden Waterways website. The video in which he sang a slightly different
version of this song features here.
Recorded on :
Harry the Tar
by Mal Edwards
Recorded by Mal Edwards
Down at Shrewsbury Gas Works
They call me Harry the Tar
I've a horse as fat as butter
To pull us near and far
Oldbury town’s three long days away
By the time we get back up here
We sure have earned our pay
Chorus :
We work for Thomas Clayton
We've an old tar boat
She's covered in tin patches
To keep herself afloat
Do a trip to Shrewsbury Gas Works
Once a week
In the summer when it's warm
In the winter when it's bleak
Start early next morning, I drives the horse
Molly's at the tiller to keep the boat on course
Crossing Pimley aqueduct we've made good time
Then we got to Berwick tunnel
Where I coiled up the line
Chorus
Molly walked the horse across the top
I poled the old boat through
Walking along the deck top, the best way to do
After an hours hard slog I got round the dog-leg bend
Then I saw a beam of light from the Berwick Wharf end
We crossed the Tern at Longdon went up Eyton locks
Stopped at Whappenshall Junction
For we'd had our lot
Put the horse in the stables where I fed him corn and hay
Oldbury town is now two long days away
Chorus
Went along the Lubstree valley past the Humber Arm
Up Edgmond’s lock then through Newport town
At the top of the 17
Norbury we did stay
Oldbury town is now one long day away
Went up through Wheaton Aston, turn right at Coffin lock
Up Anderson’s 21 then through the gauging lock
Got back to Oldbury, picked up our pay
Pumped the tar from the boat
Start back to Shrewsbury next day
Chorus
The song lyrics were transcribed from Mal Edward’s 2001 CD
recording. In 2021 Mal was interviewed in three YouTube videos
which can be found on on the Hidden Waterways website. The video
in which he sang a slightly different version of this song features
here.
Recorded on :