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about

From Australia to the "shores of Americay", the Irishman has often been portayed in song as an unwilling exile, forced to seek work far from home and from his beautiful but desperately poor country. The words of lan's song were written by
Ewen MacColl, and are a moving recent portrayal of this perennial problem. Though the song itself is not traditional, MacColl with his usual good sense of a tune has set the words to the splendid air of Tramps and Hawkers.

Glossary: Broo - Dole (from bureau - labour exchange)

lyrics

Come me little son and I will tell you what we'll do;
Undress yourself and get into bed, and a tale I'll tell to you.
It's all about your daddy, he's a man you seldom see
For he's had to roam far away from home, away from you and me.
But remember lad, he's still your dad, though he's working far away,
In the cold and heat, eighty hours a week, on England's motorway.

When you fall and hurt yourself and get up feeling bad,
It isn't any use to go a-running for your dad,
For the only time since you were born that he's had to stay with you,
He was out of a job and we hadn't a bob; he was signing on the broo
But remember lad, he's still your dad, and he really earns his pay,
Working day and night, upon the site of England's motorway.

To buy your shoes, your dady built a length of railway track;
He built a hydro dam to put clothes upon your back.
This motor highway pays the bills, but the money soon is spent,
And though we have to live alone, it helps to pay the rent.
But remember lad, he's still your dad, and he's toiling night and day,
But there's food to be had, and it's thanks to your dad on England's motorway.

Sure, I miss your daddy, oh and sure it would be fine
To have him working nearer home, and to see him all the time,
But beggars can't be choosers, and we have to bear our load,
For we need the money your daddy earns, a-working on the road.
For remember lad, he's still your dad, and he'll soon be here to stay,
In a week or two, here with me and you, when he's built the motorway.

credits

from This Side Of The Ocean, released December 28, 2021
lan - Lead vocals, concertina • Grit - Northumbrian pipes, guitar

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about

Laurence Stevenson image

Laurence Stevenson Brighton, Ontario

Having been born in Scotland and moved to Canada in my high school years, my life has followed parallel (but musically related) paths.
A career in radio, firstly as a radio news tech then a sound effects guy to creator of the CBC Radio Experimental Audio Room and finally as an international award winning radio producer for the popular show, Outfront, has been tracked alongside a life as a fiddler. ... more

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