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Sheffield Made

by Steel Songbirds

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1.
1. T’Internet Dates © Emily Eastwood and Marilla Homes 17th April 2017. Sheffield. There comes a time in a single’s life when friends are settling down; They’re getting married, having kids, they’re moving out of town. So what to do, to find a mate, to have a go myself? Somebody suggested t’internet to climb down off this shelf. Chorus: I’ve had a go at Tinder, I’ve tried my hand at Match. Ok Cupid! Don’t be stupid, where do I find my catch? I’ve tried to flirt with Roger, I’ve batted my eyes at Matt. I’ve met every Tom, Dick and Harry – My efforts have all fallen flat. Peter was getting quite desperate so eHarmony was his game. He answered the questions and surveys but forgot to put in his name. So Rachel suggested Speed Dating, but 3 minutes is never enough! It’s far too infuriating to sift through the bluster and bluff. Elite Singles gave Liz a good challenge, she met a young man name of Rick. Turns out he quite liked taking photos, which starred his … old coin collection. She turned to LinkedIn for some solace, and tried to apply for a job – But Rick was there ready and waiting, with plenty more pics of his … coins. Dave checked out Guardian Soulmates, but it turns out he’s too cheap to pay. So he stalked his fair maiden on Facebook, but good news, the bub’s on the way. I’ve thought about Christian Connections but he might not forgive me the lie! I do like to be a good sinner – Oh God! Oh Jesus! I cry. So when you’re single in your thirties – or forties or fifties or more… I’ve tried young and old, shy and bold, skinny and fat, enough of that… I’ve had it! I’m done – no more crap! … Oohh, sod it I’ll just get a cat!!!
2.
Maud Butler 03:05
2. (What will we do with) Maud Butler © John Thompson (cloudstreet) Maud Butler had a brother in the army, and so she made her way to Sydney town. At 17 she knew her mind – she wouldn't just be left behind. And so Maud tried to join the army. Chorus: What will we do with Maud Butler? She dresses as a soldier and she wants to go to war. She jumped a ship to cross the foam, Better than any stay-at-home. The prettiest little soldier-boy the army ever saw. A lovely farmer's daughter from old Kurri Kurri town, she tried to sign on as a nurse, they turned the poor girl down. She bought herself some soldier's gear, cut her hair, and dried her tears, and climbed up a rope to board a transport. Three days in a life-raft without a bite to eat, 'til bold as brass she walked the decks, the sailor-boys to meet. An officer saw her walking about – Her boots were wrong, they found her out. Poor Maud was put ashore in dear old Melbourne. Only two months later Maud was back on board again. Another attempt to see the front, in the company of men. “I'll do my bit to help the war” she said when she was back on shore, "I just want to be a soldier." This young girl's an example to all of those who shirk. While others would have given up, Maud Butler went to work A lesser girl would have had enough but Maud was made of sterner stuff so raise a cheer and sing of Miss Maud Butler (hooray!)
3.
3. Settler’s Wife © Marilla Homes 2012 Pain and sorrow, trouble and strife, All just part of a settler’s life. Weave and spin in the dust and tin – Spare a thought for the settler’s wife. Hey ho for the settler’s life Hey ho for the settler’s wife [x2] Clear the scrub and till the land – See the callous on the settler’s hand. She cooks for four and she eats for two – She doesn’t get much with the settler’s band. Hey ho for the settler’s hands Hey ho for the settler’s band [x2] Shearing sheep will break your back, Pass it on to the settler’s jack. Keeping house while the settler’s out, Wond’ring if he will ever come back. Hey ho for the settler’s jack Hey ho will he ever come back? [x2] Going to the bank after fire and flood, A bullet through the skull of the settler’s stud. Sifting through the ash and the dust and mud All but covered in the settler’s blood. Hey ho for the settler’s stud Hey ho for the settler’s blood [x2] Pain and sorrow, trouble and strife, All just part of a settler’s life. Weave and spin in the dust and tin – Spare a thought for the settler’s wife. Hey ho for the settler’s life Hey ho for the settler’s wife [x2]
4.
4. Old Tinsley Pots © bEx (Rebecca) Neale 2010 There was something a-missing this morning as by the canal I walked round; the breeze it were colder, blowing over my shoulder, for the Old Tinsley Pots had come down. For seventy years they’d been up there standing two-fifty foot high. An aesthetic alarm but not doing no harm between the horizon and sky. They opened up Meadowhall car park and the motorway closed on that day, and thousands joined in as the count did begin, and the Pots they awaited their fate. The crowd held their breath, it were silent – Before one loud crack and a fall. Then a sad distant rumble as the Pots took their tumble, but a big concrete finger stood tall. T’was the north tower standing for Northern. Take that! to your power plant boys. But one more ignition to complete demolition, and the finger come down with no noise. As the dust settled over the viaduct the crowd they all cheered, then stopped. They’d been there so long, now this skyline had gone, and we thought of the mem’ries we’d got. We called them the Gates to South Yorkshire. No sea front, no big fancy dome. Now we’ve cancelled our trips on planes and on ships, for fear that we’ll never get home Come down, come down, the Old Tinsley Pots have come down.
5.
5. I Stand Before You © Marilla Homes I stand before you, heart whole. Heart once broken, now restored. You come with armour, wounded and in fear. What will it take? What will draw you near? I stand before you, heart whole. Heart once broken, now restored. In innocence and honesty, I can see your pain. What will it take for you to trust again? I stand before you, heart whole. Heart once broken, now restored. I can see your beauty, despite the armour strong. Hiding deep inside, and I trust it won’t be long Til YOU stand before me, heart whole. Heart once broken, now restored.
6.
6. Sheffield Made © Alec Thompson, May 2011 In a back reach of Sheffield, on the banks of the Don, lies the cold, quiet grave of a giant long gone. In that dark, silent pit, there once turned a wheel, bringing power and life in the city of steel. Chorus: Ah, but where are those days, when wheel after wheel, ground out Sheffield’s edges and shone Sheffield steel? When no man worth his trade lacked a good Sheffield blade, and the knives of the gentry all shone “Sheffield Made”. Then the forgemen and grinders worked the power of the wheels, and the names of the mesters found fame far afield. So when the great bridge of Brooklyn, New York was conceived, they sent out to Sheffield to furnish the steel. But the wheel it turned round and fortunes turned down. The forges fell silent, they were pulled to the ground. And the cold men of money turned their gaze overseas, and an old iron bag smote the city of steel. Then I heard of a man with a star-spangled dream, to breathe back new life to that tired old stream; On a dank river bank, where the work was long gone, to build a new Brooklyn Bridge, striding over the Don. [And I thought of those days ….etc] For if the great bridge of Brooklyn could stride o’er the Don, what more might we see from those days we thought gone? Might the forgemen, the grinders, the buffers return, and might new little mesters trade blades with the world? Might we see brand new days, when wheel after wheel grinds out Sheffield’s edges and shines Sheffield steel? When no woman worth her trade lacks a good Sheffield blade, and the knives of the gentry all shine “Sheffield Made”.
7.
Flying Isaac 03:06
7. Ballad of Flying Isaac © Sally Ironmonger & Brian Carter Have you heard of Flying Isaac, the queen of New Brompton? She was the sailor’s joy! She’d ask ‘em for a shilling, and she would be willing with a captain or a cabin boy. She’d take them to a churchyard, she’d lie down on a tombstone – the Chatham girls’ romance. When she'd satisfied their cravings she would have away their savings without a second glance. Chorus: Oh, up and down the brook she goes, ‘Hello sailor, what do you know?’ Flying Isaac bold as brass. Oh, up and down the brook she goes, ‘Hello sailor, what do you know? Do you want to buy a lady a glass?’ The landlord of The Crown said he didn’t want her custom – She had no means to pay. She said she’d pay in kind but he kicked her behind and told her ‘Just go on your way.’ But she was unbowed as she turned to the crowd, like a ship that was in full sail. She was hard to handle, she’d become a bloody scandal, so they put her in the gaol. Chorus When Flying Isaac came before the judge in all her glory to pay for her disgrace, the judge sat way up high and she looked him in the eye and said, ‘Don’t I know your face?’ Well, the courtroom was amused at the sight of the accused watching Old Judge Brown’s shame. She got off with a warning and was on the street next morning playing the same old games. Chorus All you’ve got to do is ask…
8.
8. Gifford and Spey © Emily Eastwood and Marilla Homes (Steel Songbirds), 2017 Chorus: Bopping along on old Gifford and Spey, two old dames of the waterway. Built at Braunston and Uxbridge yards, for Thomas Clayton they worked real hard. Spey’s an old lady turned eighty this year. Her Bollinder beat’s a delight to the ear. If you get her warmed up and you treat her with care, she'll carry you safely wherever you dare. Old Gifford the butty was drawn by a horse, and now spends her days down at Ellesmere Port. With one cabin up front and another behind, for families to sleep and to cook and unwind. Both oil tankers all sealed up with tar, these two wooden beauties have travelled so far. Their hard wooden decks once the place of hard work, now bring pleasure and joy to all those who don’t shirk. Bow-hauling, winding and locking all day. Winching through scours the old fashioned way. These working class dames leave you dirty and sore, but you’ll polish their brasses and come back for more.
9.
9. Child of the Library © Words: Piers and Gill Cawley (with additions by Emily Eastwood) Music: Piers Cawley CHORUS I’m a child of the library, it made me who I am. It taught me about freedom and the fellowship of man. A sea of story waits for you inside the library door, don’t say we can’t afford it anymore. The library’s where I’ve made some friends I’ve known my whole life through – The Walkers and the Blackats and the Pevenseys so true, Magrat, Granny, Nanny Og, Galadrial the Fair, the daughter of a pirate king, and Paddington the Bear I’ve travelled south with Shackleton and all his gallant crew, through the African interior that Mary Leakey knew. I’ve rode the trackless prairies where the bison used to roam and I’ve flown around the universe not half an hour from home. And as I grew the library fed my curiosity. All there for the asking, and all of it for free. It’s there I found the stories I couldn’t find at home. It’s there I found I was myself and not my mother’s clone. So make friends with your library don’t let it fade away. Teach your kids the library’s where they go on Saturdays. Don’t let the bastards tell you they’ll cost too much to save, whilst they’re shovelling our taxes down the hole that bankers made. So make a stand for your library, stand up while you can. Stand up for your freedom, stand for your fellow man. Ignorance is never bliss, don’t close the library door, for a library lost, is lost forever more.
10.
10. Carry the Black Beast © Marilla Homes 28th October 2014 Dunkeld, Perthshire, Scotland Some days a black beast lies over my shoulders. Its slavering hunger bring sorrow and pain. I do not know why – it's here uninvited, so I just carry on til it leaves me again. CHORUS I carry on walking, I carry on working, I carry on living, while the sadness remains. I carry on loving my friends and my family, I just carry on til it leaves me again. Some days even music can't summon my laughter. A big empty room still feels crowded and stained. I stand in the sunlight, yet shiver and hunger, so I just carry on til it leaves me again. Some days go forever, while others fly past me. Time stretches and warps til I think I'm insane. No rhyme and no reason for feeling so lonely, so I just carry on til it leaves me again. Some days a black beast lies over my shoulders.
11.
Drop Hammer 02:38
11. Drop Hammer © Chris While (Circuit Music Ltd) There's a pounding in the city And a beating in the air And a foundry making cold steel You can hear it everywhere Chorus Hear the drop hammer Hear the drop hammer Hear the drop hammer All day and all of the night The men have all gone marching We'll see them who knows when? So the women here will keep the factories running until then There's me and my three sisters And seven cousins too And my old mother will mind the kids while we our duty do We sing while we are working That Tipperary song Depending on each other till the working day is done It's the sound of the heart of Sheffield It's the arm that's never still And I bet my heart will stop before that hammer ever will There's a pounding in the city And a beating in the air And a foundry making cold steel You can hear it everywhere
12.
12. Too Old To Care © Brian Bedford (Bedspring Music) I’m too slow to be chasing But I’m too fast to be chaste I’m much too much to handle And I’ve no time to waste ‘cos I am too old to be hot And I’m too young to be square I’m old enough to know better But I’m too old to care I’m too late for the first time And I’m too early for last I’m too good to be missed though And I’m too bad to be past ‘cos I am too old to be hot And I’m too young to be square I’m old enough to know better But I’m too old to care Folks say I should grow up and maybe act my age But I’m still sixteen and I’m still green and age is just a mind cage I’ll wear a frown if I slow down that’s really not my way I’ve had enough I’m breaking free You youngsters better watch out for me ‘cos I’m too young to be mellow And I’m too ripe to be stored I’m too good to be wasted And I’m too bright to be bored ‘cos I am too old to be hot And I’m too young to be square I’m old enough to know better But I’m too old to care Spring is wasted on the young and wisdom on the old Too young to know too old to do too bad is what we’re told Don’t plan to just roll over don’t plan to drift away And if I’d known then what I know now I’d do it all again and again and again and how But I’m too slow to be chasing And I’m too fast to be chaste I’m much too much to handle And I’ve no time to waste ‘cos I am too old to be hot And I’m too young to be square I’m old enough to know better But I’m too old to care (Repeat)
13.
Rattling Bog 07:11
13. Rattling Bog Trad – arr. Steel Songbirds Row row the rattlin’ bog and the bog down in the valley oh Row row the rattlin’ bog and the bog down in the valley oh In that bog there was a hole, a rare hole, a rattlin’ hole The hole in the bog and the bog down in the valley oh In that hole there was a tree... On that tree there was a limb… On that limb there was a branch… On that branch there was a twig… On that twig there was a leaf… On that leaf there was a nest… In that nest there was an egg… In that egg there was a bird… On that bird there was a wing… On that wing there was a feather… On that feather there was a flea… On that flea there was a fly… On that fly there was an eye… In that eye there was a sty… In that sty there was a pig… On that pig there was an ear… In that ear there was a hole…

about

This is the debut album from Sheffield based acapella duo Steel Songbirds.

Steel Songbirds are Emily Eastwood and Marilla Homes - Dug from the soil of Australia and England, forged in Sheffield, tempered in the swimming pool of life and sharpened on the wit of singledom in the folk/pub/archaeology worlds!

T’Internet Dates is the song that brough the duo together. Marilla was singing in the John Birmingham Cup and Emily was cheering her on. At the end of the session, Emily had an idea for a song, and asked if Marilla would like to write it with her ... cue much giggling and a surprisingly easy musical partnership.

"We would like to thank everyone who made this album possible - Brian Bedford, for his patience and advice with the recording, Piers Cawley for giving us our first gig, along with Gill Cawley, John Thompson, Rebecca (Bex) Neale, Alec Thompson, Chris While, Sally Ironmonger and Brian Carter for allowing us to record their wonderful songs.

Last but not least, we would like to thank our families for everything they have done, and continue to do.

Much love, Em and M."

credits

released February 15, 2019

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Brian Bedford at Park Head Studio
Album artwork, Marilla Homes
All songs arranged by Steel Songbirds

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Steel Songbirds Sheffield, UK

Steel Songbirds are Marilla Homes and Emily Eastwood. A comic and poignant musical duo based in Sheffield UK. Blending acapella voices, with occasional fiddle or bouzouki, these girls know how to laugh!

Steel Songbirds were dug from the soil of Australia & England, forged in Sheffield UK, tempered in the swimming pool of life & sharpened on the wit of singledom in the folk/pub/archaeology worlds.
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