{"id":26257,"date":"2025-02-20T10:06:13","date_gmt":"2025-02-20T10:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/?page_id=26257"},"modified":"2025-02-21T10:29:34","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T10:29:34","slug":"durham-jail","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/index.php\/durham-jail\/","title":{"rendered":"Durham Jail"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
AKA<\/strong><\/td>Dorham Jail
Durham Gaol
Nae Good Luck in Durham Jail<\/td><\/tr>
First Published<\/td>1909<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Writer\/composer<\/td>Tommy Armstrong<\/td>Roud<\/strong><\/td>RN42806<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Music Hall Performers<\/strong><\/td>Tommy Armstrong<\/td><\/tr>
Folk performances<\/strong><\/td>Collected from the singing of:<\/strong>
Raine, Thomas ; England : Durham ; 1951
Modern performances<\/strong>: Megson, Louis Killen, Doctor Socrates, many others<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Tune: Nae Gud Luck about the house<\/em>

Wy'll aal hev hord o' Durham Gaol,
But it wad ye much surprise,
Te see the prisoners in the yard,
When they're on exercise,
this yard is built aroond wi' waals,
Se noble an'se strang.
Wheiver gans in haas te bide their time,
Be it short or lang

O there's ne good luck in Durham Gaol,
There's ne good luck at aal;
what's bread and' skilly for,
Burt just te make ye smaal?<\/em>

When ye gan inte Durham Gaol
The'll find ye with employ,
They'll dress ye up se dandy
In a suit o' corduroy;
They'll fletch yer a cap wivoot a peak,
An' niver ax your size,
An' like your suit it's corduroy,
An' it comes doon ower your eyes.

The forst month is the worst of aal;
Your feelins they will try
There's nowt but two great lumps o' wood,
On which ye hev to lie.
The after that ye get a bed,
But it's as hard as stanes;
At neet ye dorsen't mek a torn,
For fear ye brek some banes.

Aal kin's o' work there's gannon on,
Upon them noble flats,
Teasin okum, makin baals,
An' weavin coco mats.
When ye gan in ye may be thin,
But they can mek ye thinner,
If your oakum isn't teased,
They're sure to stop your dinner.

The shoes ye get is often tens,
The smaalest size is nine;
They're big enough to mek a skiff
For Boyd upon the Tyne.
An' if ye should be caad at neets,
Just mek yorsel at yem;
Lap your claes aroond your shoes,
An'get inside o'them.

Ye'll get yor meat an' claes for nowt,
Yor hoose an firin free;
Aal you meat's browt te the door-
Hoo happy ye should be!
Thor's soap an' towel an 'wooden speun,
An' a little bairnie's pot;
They fetch ye papers every week
For ye te clean your bot<\/pre>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
A song written by \u201cThe Pitman Poet\u201d Tommy Armstrong<\/a>, to be sung to the tune of Nae Luck about the house<\/em> (RN3717).  It was collected from the singing of Thomas Raine by Alan Lomax \u2013 you can hear the recording in the Lomax Digital Archive<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The song was<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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 based on Tommy\u2019s actual experience of Durham Gaol where he was sent for stealing a pair of stockings from the Co-op at West Stanley. He says he was drunk at the time and the stockings seemed from the way they were displayed, the only pair of bowlegged ones he had come across. Being small and bowlegged they seemed ideal for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Graham,1971, p3)<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A version by Newcastle folk-rock stalwarts, Doctor Socrates:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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