There’s Something in the Cutting
(c) Dusty Miller 2009
I was boating south from Ellesmere Port, aluminium was my load,
I’d started out before the dawn, along that Shroppie road,
It was a sultry summer’s day, the sun was passed its height,
But thunder rolled around the clouds as I climbed the Audlem flight.
Then a tiredness over came me as the sky turned dark as night,
I stopped for a brew and get some sleep, as the lightning flashed so bright,
I drank my tea, took off my boots, so I could get some rest’
List to this tale and I’ll relate, what happened to me next.
Chorus;
There’s something the cutting, at the top of Coxes Bank,
Don’t know what to call it but it’s odour’s really rank,
A ghostly apparition glowing in the gloom,
If you should ever see it, you’ll think you’ve met your doom.
As I laid my head upon the bed, I felt the timbers creak,
Like someone stepping on the deck, then I heard this banshee shriek,
“Who is out there” I bellowed loud, “Get off me boat” I cried,
I grabbed my windlass off the floor and eased back the cabin slide.
Then this frightful creature I did see, it had one big red eye,
It must have been near eight feet tall, that really is no lie,
It’s fangs were black, it’s breath was foul, it’s body thick with hair,
When it lunged at me with a massive paw, I had and awful scare.
Chorus:
As I fled back in the cabin quick, I must have cracked my head,
When they found my curled up in the morn, they thought that I was dead,
So if you boat the Shoppie Cut, through cuttings dark and dank,
Don’t ever stop to rest at night, till you’re clear of Coxes Bank.
No don’t you ever stop at night, till you're clear of Coxes Bank.
From the repertoire of DPN+1, this was kindly supplied by Dusty Miller. To quote Dusty:- "This song was inspired by
an old superstition that the cutting above Audlem Locks was haunted. No boaters used to tie overnight in that
cutting."