Seaur pies
John Howarth banjo & vocal; Larry Kearns whistle; Gerry Kearns guitar
Come Bill and Jack and Bob, and Tom,
And listen to my story,
My wife declares she’ll warm my back
If I vote for a Tory.
Yes, if I do, she does declare
Their plans she will defy, sirs.
And Keep me, as I do deserve--
Oh, dear! Upon seaur pie, sirs.
She says that any man who dares
To touch her sweet-- her sugar--
Like Bendigo, she’ll box his ears,
And make him cry out blubber!
If Alick, the dustman, ever dares
Our privilege deny, sirs,
She’ll take the spectacles from his eyes
And feed him seaur pies, sir.
There’s Jack at Mumps --- the doctor boy ---
He wants to physic you, lads;
But don’t be humbugged by his pills,
So long as their dyed blue, lads.
For if he gets you in his grasp,
With a bolus made of lies, lads,
He’s sure to give you “bally warch,”
By giving you seaur pies, lads.
There’s Bendigo, that nondescript,
The pugilistic parson,
With Alick at his heels, my lads--
They’ll do to make a farce on.
We’ll have them stuck in th’ Museum,
Like jays that roar and cry, lads;
And all the town, at their request,
Shall feed them on seaur pie, lads.
All men who’ve got a wife to please,
Come, join us in the fight, lads;
We’ll set the tyrants quite a case,
And put them all to right, lads;,
The Stockport lads, they will rejoice,
And they, with us, will cry, lads;
Old Slays and Healds shall be no go,
No go for old “Seaur Pie,” lads.
Then Oldham lads, and lasses all,
Come join us in the struggle;
And Fox, our friend, to London send---
In spite of all the rabble.
Free Trade, and Free Trade men we’ll have,
Our banners we have unfurled, lads;
Truth shall prevail, and never fail,
Till it spread o’er the wold, lads.
Come Bill and Jack and Bob, and Tom,
And listen to my story,
My wife declares she’ll warm my back
If I vote for a Tory.
Yes, if I do, she does declare
Their plans she will defy, sirs.
And Keep me, as I do deserve--
Oh, dear! Upon seaur pie, sirs.
She says that any man who dares
To touch her sweet-- her sugar--
Like Bendigo, she’ll box his ears,
And make him cry out blubber!
If Alick, the dustman, ever dares
Our privilege deny, sirs,
She’ll take the spectacles from his eyes
And feed him seaur pies, sir.
There’s Jack at Mumps --- the doctor boy ---
He wants to physic you, lads;
But don’t be humbugged by his pills,
So long as their dyed blue, lads.
For if he gets you in his grasp,
With a bolus made of lies, lads,
He’s sure to give you “bally warch,”
By giving you seaur pies, lads.
There’s Bendigo, that nondescript,
The pugilistic parson,
With Alick at his heels, my lads--
They’ll do to make a farce on.
We’ll have them stuck in th’ Museum,
Like jays that roar and cry, lads;
And all the town, at their request,
Shall feed them on seaur pie, lads.
All men who’ve got a wife to please,
Come, join us in the fight, lads;
We’ll set the tyrants quite a case,
And put them all to right, lads;,
The Stockport lads, they will rejoice,
And they, with us, will cry, lads;
Old Slays and Healds shall be no go,
No go for old “Seaur Pie,” lads.
Then Oldham lads, and lasses all,
Come join us in the struggle;
And Fox, our friend, to London send---
In spite of all the rabble.
Free Trade, and Free Trade men we’ll have,
Our banners we have unfurled, lads;
Truth shall prevail, and never fail,
Till it spread o’er the wold, lads.
Songs of political satire were not, of course, confined to Lancashire, but the county must have produced more then its fair share of songs of this kind. The technique was to teach the words to groups of children, who must have been just as effective, in election campaigns, as vans with amplifiers.
Seaur (Sour) Pies is taken from Memory Sketches by Benjamin Grime, a collection of reminiscences of Oldham parliamentary elections 1832 – 1852. It concerns the questions of import duty on sugar. James Heald, the Tory candidate, supported the duty, arguing that the sugar was produced by slave labour, whilst his free trade Whig opponent W.J.Fox, strongly opposed all forms of import duty. Seaur Pie (because sugar was too dear) became the election slogan of the Whigs, who produced leaflets and posters bearing an illustration of sour pie. Bendigo, was in fact, W.H.Mellor, a local Tory who bore some resemblance to the famous pugilist of the time.
“Jack at Mumps” was John Earnshaw, a Tory doctor, also known as the “Hobbling Quack”. “Alick the Dustman” (Alexander Taylor) was a left radical known as the shirt-sleeved orator. The Stockport lads are brought into the piece because Heald had been the member for Stockport until he was defeated on the sugar issue. He was, incidentally, defeated at Oldham.
Seaur (Sour) Pies is taken from Memory Sketches by Benjamin Grime, a collection of reminiscences of Oldham parliamentary elections 1832 – 1852. It concerns the questions of import duty on sugar. James Heald, the Tory candidate, supported the duty, arguing that the sugar was produced by slave labour, whilst his free trade Whig opponent W.J.Fox, strongly opposed all forms of import duty. Seaur Pie (because sugar was too dear) became the election slogan of the Whigs, who produced leaflets and posters bearing an illustration of sour pie. Bendigo, was in fact, W.H.Mellor, a local Tory who bore some resemblance to the famous pugilist of the time.
“Jack at Mumps” was John Earnshaw, a Tory doctor, also known as the “Hobbling Quack”. “Alick the Dustman” (Alexander Taylor) was a left radical known as the shirt-sleeved orator. The Stockport lads are brought into the piece because Heald had been the member for Stockport until he was defeated on the sugar issue. He was, incidentally, defeated at Oldham.
First issued by TOPIC 1968
Deep Lancashire TOPIC 12T188
Songs and Ballads of the Industrial North – West
Recorded by Bill Leader 1968
TOPIC RECORDS LIMITED
Re-released on C.D. by Pier Records in 2002 under licence from Topic Records Ltd, England.
The C.D. The Oldham Tinkers, ‘Sit Thee Down’ PIERCD 505
A classic Lancashire folk album, available for the first time on CD, with four bonus tracks and full song notes.
Deep Lancashire TOPIC 12T188
Songs and Ballads of the Industrial North – West
Recorded by Bill Leader 1968
TOPIC RECORDS LIMITED
Re-released on C.D. by Pier Records in 2002 under licence from Topic Records Ltd, England.
The C.D. The Oldham Tinkers, ‘Sit Thee Down’ PIERCD 505
A classic Lancashire folk album, available for the first time on CD, with four bonus tracks and full song notes.