Rough Neck Navvy Band by Sue Lee and John Meleady Recorded by Keepers Lock I'm a common sort of working chap 'Young Banker' is me name And I've joined this band of ruffians Navigation is our game We tramp the countryside all over Digging ditches up and down With pick and shovel, shifting spoil Connecting town with town Our very first job was for some Duke Up north, over Worsley way To give the 'townies' cheaper coal But by God we earned our pay! The work was hard and the hours long The 'gaffers' mean and tough They pushed us 'til our bodies aching Cried out "Enough's enough!" For six weeks at a stretch we worked 'Til pay day came around Then pick and shovel layed away And in our hoards - hit town! "Into the nearest alehouse lads To quench this mighty thirst And then perhaps a pretty lass ... But we'll down ten gallon first!" With bodies bruised and heads all aching Next day we're on the 'tramp' Working now for Thomas Telford And our home's another camp A hundred tons of spoil we lift In barrow-loads each day Digging, delving, loading, tipping To our necks in mud and clay Ten thousand miles of navigation We've dug with our bare hands We've sweated blood, paid with our lives But still England demands A better system for her commerce Canals throughout the land So we're off to dig another cut With our rough neck navvy band Recorded on :
Rough Neck Navvy Band by Sue Lee and John Meleady Recorded by Keepers Lock I'm a common sort of working chap 'Young Banker' is me name And I've joined this band of ruffians Navigation is our game We tramp the countryside all over Digging ditches up and down With pick and shovel, shifting spoil Connecting town with town Our very first job was for some Duke Up north, over Worsley way To give the 'townies' cheaper coal But by God we earned our pay! The work was hard and the hours long The 'gaffers' mean and tough They pushed us 'til our bodies aching Cried out "Enough's enough!" For six weeks at a stretch we worked 'Til pay day came around Then pick and shovel layed away And in our hoards - hit town! "Into the nearest alehouse lads To quench this mighty thirst And then perhaps a pretty lass ... But we'll down ten gallon first!" With bodies bruised and heads all aching Next day we're on the 'tramp' Working now for Thomas Telford And our home's another camp A hundred tons of spoil we lift In barrow-loads each day Digging, delving, loading, tipping To our necks in mud and clay Ten thousand miles of navigation We've dug with our bare hands We've sweated blood, paid with our lives But still England demands A better system for her commerce Canals throughout the land So we're off to dig another cut With our rough neck navvy band Recorded on :
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