Pat works on the railway

AKA	Paddy works on the railway Paddy works on the railroad

Lyrics

JB Geoghegan

Music

JB Goeghegan

Roud

208

As sung by Cisco Houston

In eighteen hundred and forty one
They put me corduroy britches on
They put me corduroy britches on
To work upon the railway.

Filli-me-oo-ree-aye-ree-ay
Filli-me-oo-ree-aye-ree-ay
Filli-me-oo-ree-aye-ree-ay
To work upon the railway.

Now in eighteen hundred and forty-two
I left the old world for the new
Bad cess to the luck that brought me through
To work upon the railway.

Well, it's pat do this and pat do that,
Without a stocking or cravat
And nothing for an old straw hat
While working on the railway.

Now in eighteen hundred and forty-three,
Twas then i met sweet biddy mcgee.
Ah, an elegant wife she's been to me,
While working on the railway.

Now in eighteen hundred and forty-seven
Sweet biddie mcgee she went to heaven
If she left one child she left eleven
To work upon the railway.

Now in eighteen hundred and forty-eight
I learned to drink me whiskey straight
It's an elegant drink that can't be beat
For working on the railway.
 

This is a song appears regularly in the repertoire of both North American and British folk singers, sometimes as a shanty. It is often referred to as being “traditional” or written by an anonymous author. However there is some evidence that it was originally written and/or performed by JB Geoghegan,.

Norman Cazden in Folksongs of the Catskills suggests a song of this name “was popularised by the Irish stage singer JB Geoghegan” and that sheet music was published by Oliver Ditson in Boston 1854-56. I have not been able to find a copy of this…

We know that JB Geoghegan came from Salford, and lived in the North of England for most of his life. I can find no evidence that he visited America, but he may well have performed this song in a way which played up the stereotypes of Irish labourers which were prevalent at the time. It may be this which led him to being described as “an Irish stage singer”.

I have found articles in British newspapers showing that a song called Paddy on the Railway was being sung by amateur and professional singers from the beginning of the 1860s. I have at least one report of it being sung as a sailor’s work song . The earliest reference I can find is 1858, from the evidence presented at a prosecution of an unlicensed Music Hall:

Sources:

• VWML records
• Mainly Norfolk gives a flavour of its history in folk..

Cisco Houston sings:

Last Updated on October 25, 2020 by John Baxter | Published: February 28, 2020