Twas On The 9th Of June ...

Last updated : 09 June 2009 By Footy Mad - Editor
The Blaydon Races

I went to Blaydon Races
'Twas on the 9th of June
Eighteen Hundred and Sixty Two
On a Summer's Afternoon
We took the bus from Balmbras
And she was heavy laden
Away we went along Collingwood Street
That's on the Road to Blaydon
Chorus:
Oh me lads, you should've seen us gannin'
Passing the folks along the road
just as they were stannin'
Aal the lads and lasses there
aal wi' smilin' faces
Gannin along the Scotswood Road
To see the Blaydon Races
We flew past Armstrong's factory
And up by the Robin Adair
gannin ower the Railway Bridge
The bus wheel flew off there
The lasses lost their crinolenes
And the veils that hide their faces
I got two black eyes and a broken nose
gannin t' Blaydon Races
Oh me lads...
Now when we got the wheel back on
Away we went again
But them that had their noses broke
They went back ower hyem
Some went to the dispensary
And some to Doctor Gibbses
And some to the infirmary
To mend their broken ribses
Oh me lads...
Now when we got to Paradise
There were bonny games begun
There were four and twenty on the bus
And how we danced and sung
They called on me to sing a song
and I sung 'em 'Paddy Fagan'
I danced a jig and I swung me twig
The day wi' went to Blaydon
Oh me lads...
We flew across the Chain Bridge
And into Blaydon Toon
The bellman he was calling then
They called him Jackie Broon
I saw him talking to some chaps
And them he was persuadin'
To gan and see Geordie Ridley's show
At the Mechanics' Hall in Blaydon
Oh me lads...
The rain it poured down all the day
And made the ground quite muddy
Coffee Johnny had a white hat on
Shouted 'Whi stole the cuddy?'
There were spice stalls and monkey shows
And owld wives selling ciders
And a chap on a ha'penny roundaboot
Saying 'noo me lads for riders?'
Oh me lads... (to fade)

Words: The immortal Geordie Ridley