Charlie Brown
Gerry Kearns vocal & guitar; John Howarth vocal & banjo; Dave Howard mandolin
CHARLIE BROWN / HOW DOES A BROWN COW / LITTLE SAMMY SHUNTER
I went for a drink up town;
I went out last night;
I met good old Charlie Brown,
Charlie Browns all right,
We got talking politics,
We rambled on for miles,
I got wet through, missed my last tram too,
But I still got home with smiles. REPEAT.
How does a brown cow make white milk?
When it only eats green grass,
That’s the burning question!
Gives me indigestion,
don’t know! You don’t know!
But still I’m going to ask,
How does a brown cow make white milk?
When it only eats green grass.
Little Sammy Shunter laboured on the railway,
His work he was very clever at.
One day little Sammy was polishin’ up the rails,
With a lump of mouldy fat.
Sammy stood upon the track,
He fairly believed he could push the
locomotive back.
More work for the undertaker,
Another little job for the tombstone maker
At the local cemetery
They’ve been very very busy
On a brand new grave for Sammy Shunter
CHARLIE BROWN / HOW DOES A BROWN COW / LITTLE SAMMY SHUNTER
I went for a drink up town;
I went out last night;
I met good old Charlie Brown,
Charlie Browns all right,
We got talking politics,
We rambled on for miles,
I got wet through, missed my last tram too,
But I still got home with smiles. REPEAT.
How does a brown cow make white milk?
When it only eats green grass,
That’s the burning question!
Gives me indigestion,
don’t know! You don’t know!
But still I’m going to ask,
How does a brown cow make white milk?
When it only eats green grass.
Little Sammy Shunter laboured on the railway,
His work he was very clever at.
One day little Sammy was polishin’ up the rails,
With a lump of mouldy fat.
Sammy stood upon the track,
He fairly believed he could push the
locomotive back.
More work for the undertaker,
Another little job for the tombstone maker
At the local cemetery
They’ve been very very busy
On a brand new grave for Sammy Shunter
The first little ditty is ‘Good Old Charlie Brown’ and was given to the Tinkers by Ed Budding, an old friend, fiddler and astronomer . Ed said that his grandfather used to sing it after a gill or two.
The next chant, ‘How does a brown cow make white milk’ is one John remembers Uncle Jack singing on family occasions, also after a gill or two; a fairly common pantomime song at one time.
The last little song, Sammy Shunter, is a short poem given to the Tinkers by an elderly lady from North Lancashire, some forty years ago, who wrote to the Tinkers after a concert.
Gerry put a tune to the poem
The next chant, ‘How does a brown cow make white milk’ is one John remembers Uncle Jack singing on family occasions, also after a gill or two; a fairly common pantomime song at one time.
The last little song, Sammy Shunter, is a short poem given to the Tinkers by an elderly lady from North Lancashire, some forty years ago, who wrote to the Tinkers after a concert.
Gerry put a tune to the poem
CHARLIE BROWN
‘A LANCASHIRE GRACE’ LFCD031
THE OLDHAM TINKERS
LIMEFIELD
Recorded by Dave Howard at his studio in Bury, Lancashire
Mixed and mastered by John Ellis and Will Falkiner at Limefield Studio, Middleton, Manchester
Words: Traditional
Music: Traditional, Sammy Shunter Gerry Kearns
Instruments: John Howarth banjo, Dave Howard mandolin and Gerry Kearns guitar.
‘A LANCASHIRE GRACE’ LFCD031
THE OLDHAM TINKERS
LIMEFIELD
Recorded by Dave Howard at his studio in Bury, Lancashire
Mixed and mastered by John Ellis and Will Falkiner at Limefield Studio, Middleton, Manchester
Words: Traditional
Music: Traditional, Sammy Shunter Gerry Kearns
Instruments: John Howarth banjo, Dave Howard mandolin and Gerry Kearns guitar.