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William Brown

[ Roud - ; TYG 102 ; DT KEEPWHEL ; Mudcat 52527 , 129994 ; Arthur Hagg]

William Brown was written by Arthur Hagg to that ubiquitous tune So Early in the Morning aka In and Out the Windows. It was first published in 1927 in the Independent Labour Party’s ILP Songbook. The sentiments are pretty obvious, that the endeavours of the skilled working man can be easily manipulated, so every worker should be careful not to be exploited!

Bob Davenport and the Rakes sang William Brown in 1965 on their eponymous Columbia album Bob Davenport and the Rakes and on 1973 on their Trailer album Pal of My Cradle Days.

Megson sang William Brown in 1972 on their EDJ album The Longshot. They noted:

This is thought to have been written by a member of the Woodcraft Folk—although its origins are not certain. It is a song that warns of the dangers of working too hard. Poor William works so hard s“‘he turns out much more than the boss can sell” and as a result loses his job for creating surplus stock.

Richard Thompson recorded William Brown for the BBC radio programme 6 Music’s Hub on 9 January 2009. This recording was included in 2011 on his Universal box set Live at the BBC.

Lyrics

Bob Davenport sings William Brown

Chorus (after each verse):
Keep that wheel a-turnin’,
Keep that wheel a-turnin’,
Keep that wheel a-turnin’,
And do a little more each day.

Now, a right young lad was William Brown,
He works for a wage in a Yorkshire town.
Turned a wheel from left to right
From eight in the morn till six at night.

Now, the boss one day to William came,
He said, “Look here, young… what’s your name?
We’re far from pleased with what you do,
Hurry that wheel, around you go.”

So William turned, and he made her run
Three times in the place of one.
He turned so hard he was quickly made
The Royal High Turner of his trade.

Well, William turned with the same sweet smile,
The goods they grew to such a pile,
Filled the room and the room next door,
Overflowed to the basement floor.

Well the nation heard of the wondrous tale,
The news appeared in the Sketch and the Mail,
Railways brought excursion stops
All for to gaze on William Brown.

But sad the sequel now is to tell,
He turned out more than the boss could sell.
Market fell and the price came down,
Seven more days and they sacked young Brown.