John Howarth vocal & banjo; Gerry Kearns vocal & guitar; Larry Kearns vocal & mandolin
Chorus:
We’re off, we’re off, we’re off in a motor car,
Sixty bobbies are after us an’ we don’t know where we are.
A wer standin’ on the corner eatin’ apple pie,
A policeman asked for a skinny bit so I poked him in the eye.
He went an’ told mi mother, mi mother wouldn’t come,
So I went an’ got a lollypop an’ stuck it up his bum.
Chorus
Th’night wer dark an’ stormy, t’ rain fell down in lumps,
Th’ tram wer on its journey from Hollinwood to Mumps,
A dog ran in the tram lines, the driver rang his bell,
T’ dog didn’t here the signal, now he’s on his way to Halifax.
Chorus
Mi father wer an ‘ero, ‘is bravery made me blush,
They wer givin’ free beer up at t’ Roebuck, an’ mi dad got killed in t’ crush.
Chorus
Chant
Beavers Bulldogs sittin’ on a wall,
Sellin’ ‘orsemuck penny a ball
Traditional
Arrangement © Oldham Tinkers.
Chorus:
We’re off, we’re off, we’re off in a motor car,
Sixty bobbies are after us an’ we don’t know where we are.
A wer standin’ on the corner eatin’ apple pie,
A policeman asked for a skinny bit so I poked him in the eye.
He went an’ told mi mother, mi mother wouldn’t come,
So I went an’ got a lollypop an’ stuck it up his bum.
Chorus
Th’night wer dark an’ stormy, t’ rain fell down in lumps,
Th’ tram wer on its journey from Hollinwood to Mumps,
A dog ran in the tram lines, the driver rang his bell,
T’ dog didn’t here the signal, now he’s on his way to Halifax.
Chorus
Mi father wer an ‘ero, ‘is bravery made me blush,
They wer givin’ free beer up at t’ Roebuck, an’ mi dad got killed in t’ crush.
Chorus
Chant
Beavers Bulldogs sittin’ on a wall,
Sellin’ ‘orsemuck penny a ball
Traditional
Arrangement © Oldham Tinkers.
The great anthem of kid’s coach trips. Likewise for toboggan rides when the winter’s right. Most youngsters of the street playing class knew this one, yet mysteriously it’s missing from the Opies’ compendium of children’s home-made rhymes. These days children’s songs on school outings are often limited to football chants; unless, that is, they are encouraged by somebody in authority. Singing for fun is not so readily indulged in by the kids of today. When the Oldham Tinkers were kids “We’re Off in a Motor Car” was the overture to all coach trips and two hours later, on their arrival at Southport, the same singers would be on their ninety-ninth verse of “Don’t Throw Your Muck in Our Dustbin” or still mowing a meadow with seventy-nine men plus “one man and his pet Pomeranian poodle pup – Spot, bottle of pop, fish and chips, old Mother Riley and her cow
First published by Topic Records 1971
Oldham’s Burning Sands TOPIC TSDL206 STEREO
The Oldham Tinkers
Ballads, Songs & Daft Ditties
Recorded at TPA (Tin Pan Ally) Studios 1971
Produced by A L Lloyd
Sleeve design Humphrey Weightman
Photography by Benny Kearns
Re-released on C.D. by Pier Records in 2003 under licence from Topic Records Ltd, England.
The C.D. The Oldham Tinkers, ‘Best O’ T’ Bunch’ Back Street Songs of Lancashire. PIERCD 506
A classic Lancashire folk album, available for the first time on CD, with four bonus tracks and full song notes by the band and A. L. Lloyd.
Oldham’s Burning Sands TOPIC TSDL206 STEREO
The Oldham Tinkers
Ballads, Songs & Daft Ditties
Recorded at TPA (Tin Pan Ally) Studios 1971
Produced by A L Lloyd
Sleeve design Humphrey Weightman
Photography by Benny Kearns
Re-released on C.D. by Pier Records in 2003 under licence from Topic Records Ltd, England.
The C.D. The Oldham Tinkers, ‘Best O’ T’ Bunch’ Back Street Songs of Lancashire. PIERCD 506
A classic Lancashire folk album, available for the first time on CD, with four bonus tracks and full song notes by the band and A. L. Lloyd.