> Danny Spooner > Songs > Crooked Jack
Crooked Jack
[ Roud - ; Mudcat 80492 ; Wolfe Stephens (Dominic Behan)]
Al O'Donnell sang Crooked Jack in 1972 on his eponymous Trailer album, Al O'Donnell.
Dick Gaughan sang Crooked Jack in 1978 on his Topic album Gaughan. He commented:
Written by Dominic Behan, this is very self-explicit. I learned it from Al O'Donnell, a personal hero of mine.
Danny Spooner sang Crooked Jack in 1986 on his Sandstock album I Got This One From…. He noted:
Melbourne played host for a number of years to one of the best singers I have ever heard, Jerry Fennel. Jerry taught me a number of songs including Crooked Jack. Written by Wolfe Stephens, this song tells of the fate of many a fine Irishman in England. Fortunately Jerry wasn't one of 'em.
Bodega sang Crooked Jack in 2006 on their eponymous Greentrax CD Bodega. They noted:
Norrie [MacIver], Gillian [Chalmers] and Tia [Files] first heard this song, sung by John Doyle at Celtic Colours 03 in Canada. Dominic Behan wrote the song about the men who came from all over Britain and Ireland to work in the Scottish Highlands to build the Hydro-Electric dams. The workers were promised good money and outdoor work surrounded by stunning scenery, the reality saw them working in dangerous and poor conditions.
Broom Bezzums sang Crooked Jack on their 2007 CD Arise You Sons of Freedom….
Greg Russell sang Crooked Jack in 2017 on his Fellside CD Inclined to Be Red. He noted:
I've heard this song on so many records by people whom I very much enjoy, Dick Gaughan, Al O'Donnell, John Doyle. My great pal, Findlay Napier, even does a version on rare occasions. Here's my offering to that club.
The song is based on the accounts of appalling working conditions for Irish and Scottish workers on a hydro dam project as well as of their experience of working more broadly. ‘The Ganger” was the foreman of a group of working men.
Dominic Behan wrote the song to a variant of the traditional tune The Star of the County Down which I have varied even more.
Lyrics
Dick Gaughan sings Crooked Jack | Danny Spooner sings Crooked Jack |
---|---|
Come Irishmen both young and stern |
All you Irishmen both young and bold |
Chorus (after each verse): |
Chorus (after each verse): |
The ganger's blue-eyed boy was I |
The ganger's blue-eyed pet was I |
I've seen men old before their time |
I've seen men old before their time |
I curse the day I went away |
I curse the day that I went away |
They say that honest toil is good |
They say that honest toil is good |