Saturday Night at the Shoulder

Old Shoulder of Mutton.
Upper Road, Batley Carr

As my search for local songs continued in the early 70s, someone at the Vic Sunday night session informed me there was sing-a-long, complete with a pub pianist, at the Old Shoulder of Mutton, Batley Carr on a Saturday night. I stored the knowledge in my memory banks, and vowed to pay a visit there at the first available opportunity.

The Old Shoulder of Mutton was in a prominent corner position at the junction of Halifax Road, and Upper Road, Batley Carr.

It was a large, imposing, double-fronted stone built pub serving Tetley’s Ale. No one seemed to know anything about the history of the pub, and all my research could turn up was a transcript of the entry of 'professions and trades' for Batley in Baines's Directory and Gazetteer
Directory of 1822, in the register of ‘Miscellany of trades’ was listed "Lister Thomas, Victualler and Butcher, Shoulder of Mutton, Batley Carr". ‘Anyone fancy a pint and a pound of pork sausages?!’

The Saturday night sing-a-longs were very popular with the locals, and the lounge was usually filled to capacity. A lady pianist, called Ivy, was employed to entertain the clientele, she played all the popular pub sing-a-long favourites and they all joined in wholeheartedly.

For the last half hour she would close the piano, take her piano accordion out of its case and play the instrument for the remainder of the evening.

Old photo of band members in tuxedos with plaque and concertinas

Heckmondwike Premier English Concertina Band in 1909

Quite often, the virtuoso concertina player Mrs. Nellie Power would turn up on the night and she always got a warm welcome. Then the company would be entertained to a selection of marches, waltzes and hymns played on the concertina.

Nellie had been a leading player in the Heckmondwike Premier English Concertina Band, when her father was the Secretary of the band. She still had many of the band's original instruments in her home, which she played regularly to keep them in good condition.

(A recording of Nellie playing the Silver Wedding March can be found on the Free Reed Records box set "This Label is Not Removable - A Celebration of 25 years of Free Reed".)

As the evening drew to a close, invariably ‘He sat by the Roadside’, and ‘My Brother Sylvest’, would be sung. Always, just before closing time, to finish off the night, 'The Batley Carr Anthem’ was sung with great gusto by all present and everyone went home happy.

In the mid 1970s Dewsbury Folk Club moved from the town centre Station Hotel, and made ‘The Shoulder’ their new home. It ran there successfully until the early 1980s.

In the mid 1990s my old club, the ‘Bag of Shoddy Folk Club’ took up residence there, shortly afterwards changing it’s name to the ‘Shoddy Doggie Folk Club’. By then I'd moved to Whitby.

Songs

He Sat by the Roadside

He sat by the roadside and played his guitar,
Played his guitar, played his guitar,
He sat by the roadside and played his guitar
Played his guitar-ar-ar-ar!
Um-plinka, plinka, plinka Um-plink, plink, plonk!

He sat by the roadside and smoked his cigar
Smoked his cigar, smoked his cigar
He sat by the roadside and smoked his cigar
Smoked his cigar-ar-ar-ar!
Um-plinka, plinka, plinka Um-plink, plink, plonk!

He married a widow, but she went and died
She went and died, she went and died
He married a widow, but she went and died,
He went and died-ied-ied,ied!
Um-plinka, plinka, plinka Um-plink, plink, plonk!

He went to her funeral, but just for the ride
just for the ride, just for the ride
He went to her funeral, but just for the ride
Just for the ride-ide-ide-ide!
Um-plinka, plinka, plinka Um-plink, plink, plonk!

He sat on her tombstone and laughed till he cried
Laughed till he cried, laughed till he cried
He sat on her tombstone and laughed till he cried
Laughed till he cried-ied-ied-ied!
Um-plinka, plinka, plinka Um-plink, plink, plonk!

The tombstone fell on him and squashed him inside
Squashed him inside, squashed him inside
The tombstone fell on him and squashed him inside
Squashed him inside –ide-ide-ide!
Um-plinka, plinka, plinka Um-plink, plink, plonk!

He's gone to the place where the fish are freshly fried.
Fish are freshly fried, fish are freshly fried
He's gone to the place where the fish are freshly fried.
Fish are freshly fried-ied-ied-ied!
Um-plinka, plinka, plinka Um-plink, plink, plonk!

He sat by the roadside and played his guitar,
Played his guitar, played his guitar,
He sat by the roadside and played his guitar
Played his guitar-ar-ar-ar!
Um-plinka, plinka, plinka Um-plink, plink, plonk!

My Brother Sylvest

Have you heard about the big strong man?
What lives in a caravan.
Have you heard about the Jefferies-Johnson fight
Where the big black man fought the white.
You can take all the heavy weights you've got (what you got?)
I've a lad to beat the lot
He plays the organ in the belfry and he wants to fight Jack Dempsey

CHORUS
That’s my brother Sylvest (What's he got?)
He’s got a row of forty medals on his chest (Big Chest!)
He killed forty Zulus in the west
He knows no rest, don't push, just shove
Plenty of room for you and me
What’s yours, mines a pint
He's got an arm, like a leg (a ladies leg!)
And a punch that can sink a battle ship (Big Ship!)
It takes all the Army and the Navy to put the wind up (Who)
Sylvest.

Well he'd thought he'd take a trip to Italy (Italy)
He thought he'd go by the sea (the sea)
He dove in the harbour at New York
And he swam like a man made of cork
He saw the Lusitania in distress (What'd he do?)
He swallowed all the water in the sea (Big Sea)
He put the Lusitania on his chest (Big Chest!)
And marched, right back to Italy.

Well he thought he'd take a trip to old Japan (old Japan)
So they brought out the big brass band
He played every instrument they’d got
An he swallowed the whole bloody lot
Well the old church bells were going Ding Dong
And the parson he was singing a song,
And when they came out they all began to shout
For my big, big brother Sylvest .

Old black and white photo of two heavyweight boxers fighting

Jefferies-Johnson Fight

This song appears to be Irish/American in origin looking at the evident clues in the song. The Jeffries-Johnson fight took place on 4th July 1910 in Reno, Nevada. At the time, it was dubbed ‘The fight of the Century.’ Jack Johnson, the first African/American to become the World Heavyweight Champion, fought James J. Jeffries.
The fight was stopped in the 15th round after 45 seconds. Johnson was declared the winner by way of a ‘Technical Knock Out’, and retained his heavyweight title.

Lusitania in distress

RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner and the world’s largest passenger ship at that time. It was launched in 1906 and a year later, entered service on Cunard Lines Liverpool-New York Route. For a short while it held the ‘Blue Riband’ for the fastest Atlantic crossing by a steam ship. It was sunk, in the 1st World War, on 7th May 1915 by a German U-boat, 11 miles off the southern coast of Ireland.

C & J Stubley Limited, Bottom Mill, Batley.

Batley Carr Anthem

Good morning, Mr. Stevens, It’s a lovely day to day,
We’ve been working very hard
Down in Stubleys Yard
Hurrah for the CRE
Oh, you make fast, I'll make fast
Make fast, together, Make fast together, Make fast together
Oh, you make fast, I'll make fast
Make fast together, Make fast together for me
For we're marching on to Batley Carr
To Batley Carr, to Batley Carr
For we're marching on to Batley Carr
Where they cant tell sugar from
Tissue paper, tissue paper
Marmalade or jam.
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!

Old Photo of King and Queen with royal car and a crowd outside a town hall building

The reception at Batley Town Hall, 1912.

‘The Batley Carr Anthem’ is based on the song ‘Hurrah for the CRE’ which was adopted as an anthem by the Corps of Royal Engineers (CRE). The song originated in the South African (Boer) War, and was usually sung in a mixture of English and Zulu.

G & J Stubley Limited, Woollen Manufacturers of Bottoms Mills and Hick Lane Mills, Batley was established in 1850.
They specialised in the weaving of blankets and cloths.
During the Crimean War 1854/1857 they secured a large
government contract to supply army blankets. On the 10th July 1912 His Majesty King George V accompanied by Her Majesty Queen Mary visited the Mills on their way from
Dewsbury to a reception at Batley Town Hall.

About Mick

Mick Haywood is a traditional folk singer & folk song collector who has run and organised folk clubs and festivals for many years. He now lives in Whitby, North Yorkshire.

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