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Fourpence a Day

[ Roud 2586 ; Master title: Fourpence a Day ; TYG 107 ; Ballad Index FSWB130A ; trad.]

Karl Dallas: One Hundred Songs of Toil Peggy Seeger, Ewan MacColl: The Singing Island

Ewan MacColl sang Fourpence a Day on the 1955 Columbia anthology The World Library of Folk and Primitive Music: England, and on his 1957 10" Topic album Shuttle and Cage. This track was also included in 1965 on his extended 12" Topic album Steam Whistle Ballads, and on his anthologies The Definite Collection (2003) and An Introduction to Ewan MacColl (2018). It also appeared in 1993 on Topic’s CD reissue of The Iron Muse. It was printed in Peggy Seeger’s and Ewan MacColl’s 1960 book on English and Scottish Folksongs, The Singing Island. The second Topic album’s notes said:

Still current in North-East Yorkshire, this song is attributed to Thomas Raine, lead-miner and bard of Teesdale. The washing rakes, where the lead bearing rocks were separated from the clay and gravel, were usually operated by young boys or old disabled miners. The mine owners are said to have become so incensed by the song that they closed the pits and imported lead miners from Germany.

The song was collected by Joan Littlewood and Ewan MacColl from John Gowland, retired lead miner in Middleton-in-Teesdale, in 1948.

The Packmen sang Fourpence a Day in 1976 on the Fellside album The Best of BBC Radio Carlisle’s Folk Workshop.

Jo Freya sang Fourpence a Day in 1992 on her Saydisc album Traditional Songs of England. The liner notes commented:

Young boys or disabled miners usually worked at the washing-rakes to separate the lead-bearing rocks from clay and gravel. The song is attributed to local Teasdale leadminer, Thomas Raine. Local legend has it that the mine-owners reacted to the song by temporarily closing the pits and importing leadminers from Germany.

Cross o’th Hands sang Fourpence a Day on their 2003 CD Saint Monday, and Doug Eunson and Sarah Matthews returned to it in 2006 on their album Proper Swell. They noted on the first albun:

Evidence of the proliferation of lead mining is clearly visible around the Derbyshire countryside, but the life was a hard one. Sarah learned Fourpence a Day at a Whitby Festival song swap and felt an instant affinity with the theme, although this song actually hails from Teesdale. With a new tune and time signature, the Derbyshire version was born.

Megson sang Fourpence a Day on their 2008 album Take Yourself a Wife, and live at Hitchin Folk Club, Hertfordshire, in November 2012 on their 2013 album Live.

Jackie Oates sang Four Pence a Day on her 2011 album Saturnine.

Lyrics

Jo Freya sings Fourpence a Day

The ore’s a-waiting in the tubs, snows upon the fell.
Canny folks are sleeping yet but lead is right to sell;
Come, me little washer lad, come, let’s away,
It’s very hard to work for fourpence a day.

It’s early in the morning, we rise at five o’clock,
And the little slaves come to the door to knock, knock, knock.
Come, me little washer lad, come, let’s away.
It’s very hard to work for fourpence a day.

My daddy was a miner and lived down in the town,
’Twas hard work and poverty that always kept him down.
He aimed for me to go to school but brass he couldn’t pay.
So I had to go to the washing-rake for fourpence a day.

My mother rises out of bed with tears upon her cheeks.
Puts my wallet on my shoulders which has to serve a week.
It often fills her great big heart when she to me does say:
“I never thought thou you’d have to work for fourpence a day.”

Fourpence a day, my lad, and very hard to work.
And never a pleasant look from a gruffy-looking cur.
His conscience it may fail and his heart it may give way,
Then he’ll raise us all our wages to ninepence a day.

Cross o’th Hands sing Fourpence a Day

The ore is waiting in the tubs, the snow’s upon the hill
And canny folk are sleeping yet, but lead is reet to sell
O come me little washer lad, oh come let’s us away
We’re bound down to slavery for fourpence a day
    Fourpence a day my lads, for fourpence a day
    We’re bound down to slavery for fourpence a day

Me father was a miner and lived down in the town
’Twas hard work and poverty that always kept him down
He aimed for me to go to school, but brass he could not pay
    Fourpence a day my lads, for fourpence a day
    I had to go t’ washing rake for fourpence a day

It’s early in the morning, we rise at five o’clock
And little slaves come to the door, to knock, knock, knock
O come me little washer lad, oh come let’s us away
It’s very hard to work for fourpence a day
    Fourpence a day my lads, for fourpence a day
    It’s very hard to work for fourpence a day

Me mother rises out of bed with tears upon her cheeks
She puts me wallet on me back, which has to last all week
It often fills her great big heart when she to me does say
I never thought that you’d ’ve worked for fourpence a day
    Fourpence a day my lads, for fourpence a day
    I never thought that you’d ’ve worked for fourpence a day

Fourpence a day me lads, and very hard to work
And never a pleasant look from a gruffy looking turk
His conscience it may fail and his heart it may give way
And then he’ll raise us wages to nine pence a day
    Ninepence a day me lads, for ninepence a day
    And then he’ll raise us wages to ninepence a day