Fourpence a Day
Contributors
Fieldworkers
Date
1953
Track ID
7946
Part 1
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1953.241.A2
Original Tape ID
Summary
This song was collected by Ewan MacColl and Joan Littlewood at a pensioners' club in Teesdale, Yorkshire.
The song tells of a boy rising at five o'clock on a snowy morning to go and wash lead for fourpence a day. His father wanted him to stay at school but could not afford the fee. The song ends with the hope that the Turk [i.e. the boss] will soften and give him the legal rate of ninepence.
Item Notes
3 verses and choruses. Recorded at the 3rd People's Festival Ceilidh in Edinburgh in 1953.
Recording Location
County - Midlothian
Parish - Edinburgh
Village/Place - Edinburgh
Language
English
Genre
Collection
Classification
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Good