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Copshawholme Fair
Copshawholme Fair
[
Roud 9139
; Ballad Index RcCpswFr
; David Anderson]
Copshawholme Fair was written by David Anderson who was what
English literature academics like to call a
‘labouring class poet’ from Newcastleton—or
Copshawholm/Copshawholme, the old name of the lands on which the
Duke of Buccleuch built the planned village of Newcastleton or Castleton in
1793. Anderson published Copshawholm Fair in his poetry collection
Musings by the Burns and Braes of Liddesdale
(C. Thurnam & Sons, Carlisle, 1868),
in which he noted that he composed the song some 38 years before, i.e. 1830,
and that the hiring fair was an annual event. In fact, according to an 1880s
Gazetteer hiring fairs were held here three times a year: second Friday of
April, and Fridays before 17 May and 8 November. Another source says the
last hiring fair was held in 1912.
[Note by Sue Allen in
the Mudcat Café thread
Lyr Add: Copshawholme Fair; edited]
Willie Scott, who was born 1987 into a shepherding family in the Borders, quite conceivably attended the Copshawholm Fair before it was last held in April 1912. I don't know of a recording of him of Copshawholm Fair—it isn't on his 1968 Topic album The Shepherd's Song—but his words as shown below are from Alison McMorland’s book Herd Laddie o' the Glen (1988).
Robert Forrester sang Copshawholme Fair in a field recording by Jack Little in Low Hesket, Cumberland on 26 August 1953. This recording was published in 1982 on the Reynard Records album Pass the Jug Round. It was also included in 1998 on the Topic anthology Come All My Lads That Follow the Plough (The Voice of the People Series Volume 5). Sue Allan commented in the original record's sleeve notes:
This story of a country hiring fair is set in Copshawholme, now called Newcastleton, just over the Scottish border in Liddesdale. The tune is The Wild Hills of Wannie, a border tune well-known from the playing of Northumbrian piper Billy Pigg. Hiring fairs were held twice yearly at Whitsuntide and Martinmas, and were in effect a rural labour exchange as well as being great social occasions. Those servants and farm hands wishing to be hired for a half year term would line the streets of the town, and wait for the ‘maister’ to come along and engage them. After the negotiations were completed, the hired man or woman was given a shilling ‘earnest money’ to seal the bargain. This shilling would then very often be spent at the many stalls and booths of the fair, or on street entertainment, dancing and drinking. The young girl in the song is hired for £5 for the half year, which suggests that this hiring took place in the first half of the 19th century, as by 1900 the wage for women was £13 to £18. Hiring fairs largely died out after the First World War although a few in Cumbria continued into the 1940s.
Tim Hart and Maddy Prior sang Copshawholme Fair on their second duo album, Folk Songs of Old England Vol. 2. The record's sleeve notes comment:
In earlier times fairs were not only places for fun and enjoyment but were long established meeting grounds where trade dominated the proceedings. Hiring, or Mop fairs as they were sometimes called, were usually held once a year and seem to have survived to a much later date in Cumberland fulfilling their function even after the First World War. After the serious bartering of the day was over music, dancing and other merry-making prevailed. Geoff Woods found this song in the archives of the Cumberland County Library in Carlisle. It had been collected on disc from the singing of Norman Alford and the late Robert Forrester.
A year later, both were with Steeleye Span and recorded a much shorter version for their first group album, Hark! The Village Wait, basically verses 1-4 and 10 of the duo version. It features Maddy Prior and Gay Woods step-dancing very audibly. The album's sleeve notes commented:
Geoff Wood, a song collector from Leeds, found this hidden away in the Cumberland County Library in Carlisle a few years ago. It had been recorded directly onto a 78rpm record sometime during the 1930s and then filed away for posterity. The song tells of the annual hiring or “mop” fair that was held at the small village of Copshawholme in Cumberland until quite recently.
Paul and Linda Adams sang Copshawholme Fair in 1978 on their Fellside album Among the Old Familiar Mountains. They commented in their sleeve notes:
A song from the border. Copshawholme is the old name for Newcastleton and this song was collected by Frank Kidson in Dumfriesshire. It is a classic description of one of the old Hiring Fairs once common throughout England, but dying out finally in Cumbria and The Borders about 30 years ago. Agricultural workers would offer themselves for hire for a six month period. We learned the song for a radio programme.
Danny Spooner sang Copshawholme Fair with interspersed reading by recording engineer Ian Ball, on his 1978 album Danny Spooner and Friends. He noted:
I got this one from a collection by Frank Kidson who unfortunately was more interested in the tunes for folk songs than the words, and in many instances he only gives the tune, though happily that is not the case here.
Copshawholme is a local name for a small village in Roxburghshire called Newcastleton, and if the song is in the least accurate, the yearly ‘feeing market’ must have been great fun for one and all.
The reading is from A.G. Street's novel The Gentleman of the Party.
Isla St Clair sang Copshawholme Fair on her 1981 soundtrack to the BBC television series, The Song and the Story.
In 2003, John Spiers and Jon Boden recorded a most entertaining version of Copshawholme Fair for their album Bellow and a year later with their group Bellowhead for their album, E.P.onymous. Jon Boden sang it also as the 15 April 2011 entry of his project A Folk Song a Day. They commented in the former album's notes:
A wonderful insight into the world of the hiring fair—a mixture of malevolence and youthful exuberance—perhaps not so different from their descendants, the modern-day fun fair.
but he also noted in his AFSAD blog:
Having performed it a couple of times with Maddy Prior I now realise that there are a good few mondegreens in my recorded versions, particularly ballad singer = balancer!! Still it’s a great song that really brings out the excitement and drama of the annual fair.
Similar themed songs
Cathal McConnell and Robin Morton (of The Boys of the Lough) sang The Hiring Fair at Hamiltonsbawn (Roud 2890) in 1970 on their duo album An Irish Jubilee.
The Irish Country Four sang Magherafelt Hiring Fair (Roud 366; G/D 7:1424; Henry H748) in 1971 on their Topic album The Irish Country Four: Songs, Ballads & Instrumental Tunes from Ulster.
Eddie Butcher sang The Daysman or The Hiring Fair (Roud 2942) on his 1976 Leader album Shamrock Rose & Thistle and on his 1976 Free Reed album I Once Was a Daysman.
Paul Brennan sang Strabane Hiring Fair (Roud 2516; G/D 4:883) in 1993 on his Fellside CD Fire in the Soul.
See also Ralph McTell's song The Hiring Fair which was a steeple of Fairport Convention's programme; they recorded it first for their 1985 album Gladys' Leap, but also played it e.g. live at The Mill, Farnham in 1987 on their album In Real Time, at Cropredy '87 on their bootleg cassette The Third Leg, and at Cropredy '98 on their CD Cropredy '98 and video Beyond the Ledge.
Lyrics
David Anderson's poem Copshawholme Fair | Willie Scott sings Copshawholm Fair |
---|---|
On a Friday it fell, in the month of April, |
On a Friday it fell in the month of April, |
They are seen coming in frae the mountains and glens, |
They were seen comin in frae the mountains and glens, |
'Tis a day when old courtships are often renewed, |
Tis a day when auld courtships are often renewed, |
There are lads for the lassies and toys for the bairns, |
There are lads for the lassies and toys for the bairns; |
There’s pethers an potters, and gingerbread stan's, |
There’s pethers an potters an gingerbreid stans, |
Noo next 'bout the hiring, if you want tae hear tell, |
Noo aboot the hirin if you want tae hear tell |
Only and I saw hired, a strapping young queen, |
Only yin A saw hirin a strappin young quine, |
At first the young lassie a wee while stood dumb, |
At first the young lassie a wee while stood dumb. |
Says he, but my lass, that’s a very big wage, |
Says he, “But my lass that’s a verra big wage,” |
He held out the shilling to arle the bit wench, |
He held out the shillun tae arle the bit wench |
Now the hiring is done, and off they a' spang, |
Noo the hirin wis dune and aff they aa sprang, |
There is one in the corner sits drinkin his gill, |
There’s one in the corner sits drinkin his gill, |
Noo this is the fashion; they thus pass the day |
Noo this is the fashion they thus passed the day |
Tim Hart and Maddy Prior sing Copshawholme Fair | Steeleye Span sing Copshawholme Fair |
On a Friday, it fell in the month of Avril, |
On a Friday, it fell in the month of April, |
I've seen 'em a-comin' in from the mountains and glen, |
I've seen 'em a-comin' in from the mountains and glen, |
There's lads for the lasses, there's toys for the bairns, |
There are lads for the lasses, there's toys for the bairns, |
There are peddlers and there're potters and gingerbread stands, |
There are peddlers and potters and gingerbread stands, |
And now about the hiring if you want to hear tell | |
Just the gal I have seen she's a strapping young queen. | |
Just then the pit lass stood a wee while in gloom | |
Says he, “But m'lass, that's a very big wage.“ | |
He took out a shilling for to hold the pit wench | |
Now the hirin's o'er and off they all sprang |
When the hirin's o'er, off they all sprang |
Now this is the fashion they thus pass the day | |
Spiers & Boden sing Copshawholme Fair | |
On a Friday it fell in the month of April, | |
I've seen them coming in over mountain and glen, | |
There's lads for the lasses, there's toys for the bairns, | |
Oh but now about the hiring if you want to hear tell, | |
Justielle I have seen, she's a strapping young queen, | |
Just then the big lass stood a wee while in gloom, | |
He says, “But my lass that's a very big wage”, | |
He put his hand in his pocket, took a hold of bit wench | |
Now the hiring is over and off they all gang, |
Acknowledgements and Links
Thanks to Catherine Legg and Sue Allen.
See also the Mudcat Café thread Lyr Add: Copshawholme Fair.