Joe and Rose Skinner
by Mal Edwards
Recorded by Mal Edwards
Joe Skinner was up at Myer, 'Friendship' loaded down with coal
Bound for Croxley paper mill or the old jam ’ole
Hauled by a mule named Dolly and steered by Rose his wife
Scruffy was a dog on the cabin top; that's how they spent their life
Chorus :
Joe, Rose, Scruffy, Dolly and the boat 'Friendship'
Loaded down with coal, a strong and sturdy ship
You'd see then down at Banbury or tied at Sutton Stop
Or passing Napton windmill along the Oxford cut
As Dolly was ex-military she was trained and smart and strong
She worked from morn to sunset, pulling the boat along
She never bothered or panicked as she lent into that collar
And when the line became tight, the old boat began to follow
Chorus
Joe, Rose, Scruffy Dolly and the boat 'Friendship'
Loaded down with coal, a strong and sturdy ship
You'd see then down at Banbury or tied at Sutton Stop
Or passing Napton windmill along the Oxford cut
Chorus
Little Scruffy was a scruffy dog that's how she got her name
I don't know how they'd come by her or from where she came
She'd tear up and down the running planks then round the cabin top
You’d see her, Joe and Rose, tied up at Five? stop
Chorus
Now the years are gone and skills and knowldege of the working boating folk
But my song’s like a history book will keep them all afloat
Come sing out loud; let's drink a toast and reminisce with me
Of Joe, Rose and Dolly and their little dog Scruffy
Chorus
The words above were transcribed, to the best of my ability, from a track on Mal Edward’s CD ‘Songs from the Cut’.
The 'Number Ones' were boat people who owned and operated their own cargo-
carrying narrowboats. Joe and Rose Skinner were the last of this ‘elite’ band and hold
a unique position in canal history. The book ‘The Last Number Ones’, first published
2007 by Waterways World Ltd., brings together their story, along with their long-
serving horse-boat Friendship. Edited by Hugh Potter, it includes a free audio CD-ROM
featuring captivating interviews with Joe and Rose.
This song was recorded on :