CROSBY ROAD CD – Dave & Julie Evardson “The whole gamut of emotions and life recollections is represented in Dave’s songs – there’s thoughtful nostalgia, and songs in celebration of the part each of us plays in life’s working tapestry, side by side with often quite desperately wistful reflections on working life, or sharply-observed reminiscences of working practices and conditions, sometimes told in a nicely chirpy way that stoically plays up the human scale and the more humorous side. Dave’s gift is to write in an accessible style, yet with an appealing poignancy that quite naturally sidesteps easy sentimentality.” (David Kidman – Folk Roundabout) TRACK LIST & NOTES 1 CROSBY ROAD – A song about the futility of going back. I spent a large part of my childhood on this street right at the edge of the Nunsthorpe council estate on the south side of Grimsby. Admittedly a self-indulgent backward glance but, as they say, nostalgia’s not what it used to be. 2 THE DOGGER BANK – One of many versions of this popular song vividly describing the colourful crew of a Grimsby fishing smack around the end of the 19th century. Verses 1, 2 and 5 are from Part One of the wonderful Yellowbelly Ballads collection of Patrick O’Shaughnessy, who in turn credits a 1904 Great Central Railways publication. All we know of the song’s author is that he was supposed to have been a blind fisherman-fiddler. Verses 3 and 4 are from other versions we’ve heard over the years. Altogether a rollicking song that captures the ironic bravado of your typical Grimsby crew. 3 THE GALWAY SHAWL – Oranmore sits just outside Galway City and is immortalised by this lovely tale of a platonic encounter between an itinerant musician and a farmer’s daughter. A wonderfully crafted song in which leaves us wondering how a couple so obviously attracted to each other could so easily let a romantic opportunity slip away. Was she already betrothed perhaps? Could there be some unspoken social barrier to their communion? Or were the pair really so painfully shy that neither dared give voice to the simmering passion that in the end could only be symbolised by a plain and simple shawl? Oo-er!! 4 THE HAYMAKING – We first heard the Ian Campbell Folk Group perform this in 1972 on a terrific ATV social history series called “Something To Sing About” From the Copper Family collection, it seems to depict a golden age when rural communities were able to mix work with pleasure and celebrate one of the high spots of the farm labouring year. Very Thomas Hardy. 5 THE OLD VILLAGE FOOL – One of my several unplaced songwriting contest entries. Just another slant on the question: Who’s the fool now? 6 KNIGHT OF THE A16 – This (supposedly true) story appeared in Peter Chapman’s column in the Grimsby Evening Telegraph several years ago. It was crying out to become a song, so here it is – sorry if you already know the punchline! 7 ON THE ROAD TO DUNMANWAY – This happened a few years ago when Julie and I were returning from the West Cork coast to our Irish holiday cottage. We perhaps naively interpreted this encounter as a lesson in peaceful co-existence. I accept there is a more cynical interpretation, viz: “Peace? You interrupted a fox about to kill a heron, for God’s sake!” Oh well, I suppose symbolism, like beauty, must be in the eye of the beholder. 8 THE COCKIES OF BUNGARRY – A song Julie picked up in Western Australia in the 1980s, sung by the Mucky Duck Bush Band at the folk club in Perth. A bothy type song, about the misfortunes of itinerant farmworkers who had to work exceptionally long hours for the outback farmers or “Cockies”. 9 SPANCIL HILL – On first hearing, the author appears to be an old Irish-American emigrant recalling his childhood in County Clare. In fact the writer of the original 11-stanza poem “Spancilhill” – Michael Considine – was only about 23 when he wrote it shortly before his death in 1873. He had planned to make his way in America, then send for his childhood sweetheart Mary MacNamara whom he intended to marry. But it seems he suffered both ill luck and ill health, stifling his plans. It’s believed Mary survived to an old age but never married. Michael’s tragic young life might not have amounted to much, but his word and sentiments now span 3 centuries, and for us, that’s the power of folk song. 10 HEART’S GONE OUT – Tells of how I feel about the desecration of Grimsby’s old town centre, comprising the Bull Ring and Old Market Place, both swept aside to make way for a modern supermarket and hotel. 11 THREE SCORE & TEN – Probably the best known folk song that mentions Grimsby. From an original broadside by William Delf, written to raise funds for the relief of bereaved families following the terrible gales of 8/9th February 1889. 12 THE RATS’ NEST – Local historian George Black passed me the ammunition for this song. Even today the behaviour hinted at here would make your mother’s hair curl, but in 1940 we can only imagine the affront to public decency caused by the debauched goings-on at the Sheffield Arms dockland pub in Grimsby. And the fact that sailors and soldiers could go there for a bit of fun amidst the chaos of war meant, of course, that it must close down. As sadly it did. And, as George points out, Grimsby could ill afford to lose a popular watering hole, as there were only 180 other places where you could get a drink in the town! 13 BERT’S FIRST TRIP – Fishermen thought little of risking their lives at sea to put fish on the nation’s tables, often for little reward. I penned this bit of nonsense to reflect their humour, and pay homage to the men who built the towns of Grimsby, Hull, Fleetwood and the rest out of their blood, guts and sweat. 14 COLD & RAINY ROAD – Another song based on a newspaper story. The paper in this case was the Reveille, which my Dad used to buy in the 1960s. It also contained pictures of scantily clad young ladies, but I was only interested in its literary content. Honest! 15 JIMMY LOWE (UNITED IN THE MORNING) – Based on a few words of poetry by Julie’s late Mum, Dorothy. In a reflective moment she shared some memories of a wartime acquaintance who was lost when his ship the Vanessa was torpedoed early in WW2. 16 I’LL BE UP YOUR FLUE NEXT WEEK – An early 20th century music hall song that we’ve attributed to Dan Leno as it’s in his style. We heard it at a party sung by a well-oiled old girl whose name we never found out. Here the art of imagery is stretched to its limit, producing extreme clarity out of vague innuendo. Chimney sweeps, sticks up flues, nudge nudge, wink wink, know what I mean? 17 MY DARLING GIRL – A song for Julie. First you grow up together, then you grow old together, but if you’re lucky, you’re still that starry-eyed young couple underneath it all.