Oldham Burning Sands
Gerry Kearns vocal & guitar; John Howarth & Larry Kearns vocal
Foreign tongue intermezzo
‘Twas on the plains of Oldham’s burning sands,
That I was born with fingers on both hands,
And down below the orange groves at Werneth,
I was made the premier dancer of them all.
In the harem, where they wear ‘em pretty low,
And sometimes when they wear ‘em none at all,
When the sultan saw me do my cowheel glide,
Well I blushed and dropped my eyes onto the floor.
In my quaint Egyptian style, my quaint Egyptian style,
How I wriggled, twist and twiggled like a crocodile,
Hear my Egyptian language flow, Eeny, meeny, miny moe,
Penny on the water, out goes she,
Hit—chy Koo it’s treat skinney Lizzy is the harem queen.
More foreign tongue intermezzo
Well the harem clock had just struck ten-to-four,
When the sultan met me at the harem door.
He said “mi sugar-plum, th’as captivated me
And I blushed an’ I dropped m’ eyes onto the floor.
In the harem, where they wear ‘em pretty low,
And sometimes when they wear ‘em none at all,
When the sultan saw me do my cowheel glide,
Well I blushed and dropped my eyes onto the floor
In my quaint Egyptian style, my quaint Egyptian style,
How I wriggled, twist and twiggled like a crocodile,
Hear my Egyptian language flow, Eeny, meeny, miny moe,
Penny on the water, out goes she,
Hit—chy Koo it’s treat skinney Lizzy is the harem queen.
LP notes
Oldham’s Burning Sands
On those dull damp doleful South Lancashire days, many a millhand’s meditations take on exotic colouring, a kind of Wilson, Keppel & Betty Orientalism, as in this masterpiece, learnt from an Oldham business man, Laurie Cassidy. On the dream-coin, it’s the flip side to Valentino’s sheik.
CD notes
OLDHAM’S BURNING SANDS (Cassidy/G.Kearns)
Vocal & Guitar – Gerry Kearns, Group chorus.
One of the northerner’s greatest social assets is that he is not afraid to laugh at himself or any predicament in which he finds himself. This metaphor in song, in which Oldham is compared to a desert paradise with all the associated trimmings such as the Sultan and the harem with its languishing maidens, was taught to the Oldham Tinkers by their two friends, Laurie Cassidy, alas now deceased and Francis Connor over a crate of Guinness late one Sunday night some thirty years ago
Oldham’s Burning Sands
On those dull damp doleful South Lancashire days, many a millhand’s meditations take on exotic colouring, a kind of Wilson, Keppel & Betty Orientalism, as in this masterpiece, learnt from an Oldham business man, Laurie Cassidy. On the dream-coin, it’s the flip side to Valentino’s sheik.
CD notes
OLDHAM’S BURNING SANDS (Cassidy/G.Kearns)
Vocal & Guitar – Gerry Kearns, Group chorus.
One of the northerner’s greatest social assets is that he is not afraid to laugh at himself or any predicament in which he finds himself. This metaphor in song, in which Oldham is compared to a desert paradise with all the associated trimmings such as the Sultan and the harem with its languishing maidens, was taught to the Oldham Tinkers by their two friends, Laurie Cassidy, alas now deceased and Francis Connor over a crate of Guinness late one Sunday night some thirty years ago
First published by Topic 1971
Oldham’s Burning Sands LP TOPIC TSDL206 STEREO
The Oldham Tinkers
Ballads, Songs & Daft Ditties
First published by Topic 1971
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 1999 under licence from Topic Records Ltd, England.
The C.D. The Oldham Tinkers, ‘A FINE OLD ENGLISH GENTLEMAN’, The best of TOPIC YEARS. PIERCD 501
Pier Records is a Wooden Hill Recordings Ltd label.
This album features remastered original recordings of the very best or the Oldham Tinkers. Compiled by B.B.C. presenter ANDY KERSHAW with a booklet including extensive new sleeve notes by Larry Kearns.
Oldham’s Burning Sands LP TOPIC TSDL206 STEREO
The Oldham Tinkers
Ballads, Songs & Daft Ditties
First published by Topic 1971
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 1999 under licence from Topic Records Ltd, England.
The C.D. The Oldham Tinkers, ‘A FINE OLD ENGLISH GENTLEMAN’, The best of TOPIC YEARS. PIERCD 501
Pier Records is a Wooden Hill Recordings Ltd label.
This album features remastered original recordings of the very best or the Oldham Tinkers. Compiled by B.B.C. presenter ANDY KERSHAW with a booklet including extensive new sleeve notes by Larry Kearns.