Toddlin' Whoam
by Edwin Waugh
Vocal Larry Kearns chorus Oldham Tinkers
Toddlin’ whoam fro’ th’ market rant;
Toddlin’ whoam, content an’ cant;
Wi’ my yed i’ my hat, an’ my feet i’ my shoon;
I’m toddlin’ whoam lad none to soon;
I’m fain to be toddlin’ whoam.
Toddlin’ whoam, for th’ fireside bliss,
Toddlin’ whoam, for th’ childer’s kiss;
God bless yon bit o’ curlin’ smooke;
God bless yon cosy chimbley nook;
I’m fain to be toddlin’ whoam.
Toddlin’ whoam for twitterin’ songs;
Toddlin’ whoam for prattlin’ tungs;
Toddlin’ whoam, to sink to rest
Wi’ th’ wife an’ little birds ith’ nest.
I’m fain to be toddlin’ whoam.
I’m fain to be toddlin’ whoam.
Vocal Larry Kearns chorus Oldham Tinkers
Toddlin’ whoam fro’ th’ market rant;
Toddlin’ whoam, content an’ cant;
Wi’ my yed i’ my hat, an’ my feet i’ my shoon;
I’m toddlin’ whoam lad none to soon;
I’m fain to be toddlin’ whoam.
Toddlin’ whoam, for th’ fireside bliss,
Toddlin’ whoam, for th’ childer’s kiss;
God bless yon bit o’ curlin’ smooke;
God bless yon cosy chimbley nook;
I’m fain to be toddlin’ whoam.
Toddlin’ whoam for twitterin’ songs;
Toddlin’ whoam for prattlin’ tungs;
Toddlin’ whoam, to sink to rest
Wi’ th’ wife an’ little birds ith’ nest.
I’m fain to be toddlin’ whoam.
I’m fain to be toddlin’ whoam.
Notes from the L.P. ‘Owdham Edge’ 12T204 by Harry and Lesley Boardman.
Toddlin’ Whoam literally means walking home, but there is often far more impact in a single dialect expression than appears at first sight. Most Lancashire poets have reflected in their work the deep attachment to home and family, which seems particularly strong in times of unemployment and poverty among working people in the nineteenth century.
Edwin Waugh was undoubtedly the greatest the greatest Lancashire poet of all time and although ‘Toddlin’ Whoam’ may not be one of his best pieces it seems to convey an easy going simplicity which captures the sentiment, without sentimentality.
Birds in t’ nest, by the way, means children at home.
Notes from the CD ‘ That Lancashire Band’ PIERCD 504 by Larry Kearns.
Edwin Waugh is regarded as the spiritual father of the dialect poets. As well as writing ‘Toddlin’ Whoam’ he wrote ‘Come Whoam To Thy Childer an’ Me’.
Folk could be forgiven for thinking he was obsessed with the family and its abode but in those times a husband and father who came straight home from work was a jewel. Poverty was the norm for Lancashire millworkers in the nineteenth century and it was abetted by the alehouse.
Cleverly, Edwin Waugh doesn’t dwell on the evils of the public house but on the joys
and anticipation of the journey home, presumably not having stopped for a jar.
The Oldham Tinkers also rendered this song for Colin Welland’s award winning play
‘Kisses at Fifty’, which sold internationally.
Toddlin’ Whoam literally means walking home, but there is often far more impact in a single dialect expression than appears at first sight. Most Lancashire poets have reflected in their work the deep attachment to home and family, which seems particularly strong in times of unemployment and poverty among working people in the nineteenth century.
Edwin Waugh was undoubtedly the greatest the greatest Lancashire poet of all time and although ‘Toddlin’ Whoam’ may not be one of his best pieces it seems to convey an easy going simplicity which captures the sentiment, without sentimentality.
Birds in t’ nest, by the way, means children at home.
Notes from the CD ‘ That Lancashire Band’ PIERCD 504 by Larry Kearns.
Edwin Waugh is regarded as the spiritual father of the dialect poets. As well as writing ‘Toddlin’ Whoam’ he wrote ‘Come Whoam To Thy Childer an’ Me’.
Folk could be forgiven for thinking he was obsessed with the family and its abode but in those times a husband and father who came straight home from work was a jewel. Poverty was the norm for Lancashire millworkers in the nineteenth century and it was abetted by the alehouse.
Cleverly, Edwin Waugh doesn’t dwell on the evils of the public house but on the joys
and anticipation of the journey home, presumably not having stopped for a jar.
The Oldham Tinkers also rendered this song for Colin Welland’s award winning play
‘Kisses at Fifty’, which sold internationally.
First issued by TOPIC 1970
‘OWDHAM EDGE’ 12T204
Popular Song and Verse from Lancashire
Recorded by Sean Davis 1970
Notes by Harry and Lesley Boardman
Re-released on C.D. by Pier Records in 2000 under licence from Topic Records Ltd, England.
The CD ‘That Lancashire Band’ PIERCD 504
Notes by Larry Kearns
‘OWDHAM EDGE’ 12T204
Popular Song and Verse from Lancashire
Recorded by Sean Davis 1970
Notes by Harry and Lesley Boardman
Re-released on C.D. by Pier Records in 2000 under licence from Topic Records Ltd, England.
The CD ‘That Lancashire Band’ PIERCD 504
Notes by Larry Kearns