"Come Geordie ha'd the bairn" or "Aw wish thy Muther wad cum" is a famous

Geordie Geordie () is a nickname for a person from the Tyneside area of North East England, and the dialect used by its inhabitants, also known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English. There are different definitions of what constitut ...

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

written in the 19th century by Joe Wilson, in a style deriving from

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

. The song was written in a satirical style which was based on his own brother’s discomfort at nursing their little baby sister.

Lyrics

Joe Wilson was probably the most prolific of all the Geordie songwriters of the time.
Many of his works were published in his book of ‘Songs and Drolleries’ which is a feast of

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...

materials. This version is as follows:- Come, Geordie—ha'd the Bairn or Aw wish thy Muther wad cum.
Air – “"

The Whistling Thief ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

".” Come, Geordie, ha'd the

bairn ''Bairn'' is a Northern English, Scottish English and Scots term for a child. It originated in Old English as "bearn", becoming restricted to Scotland and the North of England c. 1700. The word was included in the English Dialect Dictionary ...

,
Aw's sure aw'll not stop lang;
Aw'd tyek the jewel me sel,
But really aw's not strang.
Thor's floor an' coals to get,
The hoose-wark's not half deun,
Sae--haud the bairn for fairs,
Thou's often deun't for fun.

Then Geordie held the bairn,
But sair agyen his will;
The poor bit thing wes good,
But Geordie had nee skill;
He haddent its Muther's ways,
He sat byeth stiff an' numb;
Afore five minutes was gyen,
He wish'd its Muther wad cum.

His wife had hardlys gyen,
The bairn began to squall,
With hikin't up an' doon
He varry neigh let it fall.
It nivver wad ha'd its tung,
Tho' some aud teun he'd hum--
"Jack and Jill went up the hill"--
"Aw wish thy Muther wad cum." What weary toil said he
This nursin' bairns mun be;
A bit on't's well enough,
Aye, quite eneuf for me.
To ha'd-a blubberin' bairn,
It may be grand to some;
A day's wark's not as bad--
"Aw wish thy Muther wad cum.

" Men seldom give a thowt
To what their wives endure;
Aw thowt she'd nowt to dee
But clean the hoose, aw's sure,
Or myek my dinner an' tea--
(It's startin' to sook its thumb;
The Poor thing wants its tit)--
"Aw wish thy Muther wad cum." What a selfish world this is!
There's nowt mair sae than Man;
He laffs at Wimmin's toill,
An' nivvir 'll norse his awn--
(It's startin' to cry agyen--
Aw see tuts throo it's gum;)
Maw canny bit pet, O dinna thoo fret--
"Aw wish thy Muther wad cum." But kindness dis a vast-
It's nee use gettin vext--
It'll niver please the bairn,
Or ease a mind perplext.
At last it's gyen to sleep,
The Wife'll not say aw's numb--
She'll think aw's a real good nurse--
But--"Aw wish thy Muther wad cum."

Recordings

* Denis Weatherley (bass–baritone) was born in Ryton in 1912. He took a science degree at Armstrong College, Newcastle and began a career in teaching, as well as delighting audiences with his renditions of North East songs. His E.P. entitled “A collection from the 1950s” (ref MWMCDSP27) included Geordie Haad The Bairn together with 15 other titles.

References

{{Reflist English folk songs Songs related to Newcastle upon Tyne 1850s songs Northumbrian folklore

Lyrics

Recordings

See also

References