The Keel Row

 

The Keel Row

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

 Thinking about the Kiel Canal brought to mind the song, ‘The Keel Row,’ only because Kiel and Keel rhyme! As with most folk songs, there are variations.

https://youtu.be/qZ8u1ZE-reo?si=K4q7Tg8YnvL8OzA6

As I came thro' Sandgate,
Thro' Sandgate, thro' Sandgate,
As I came thro' Sandgate,
I  heard a lassie sing:
      "O, weel may the keel row,
      The keel row, the keel row,
      O weel may the keel row
      That my laddie's in.

He wears a blue bonnet,
Blue bonnet, blue bonnet,
He wears a blue bonnet
A dimple in his chin.
      And weel may the keel row,
      The keel row, the keel row,
      And weel may the keel row
      That my laddie's in.

‘The Keel Row’ is a traditional folksong based on the work of the keelmen of Newcastle upon Tyne. Keels were flat-bottomed boats, which carried coal from the shallow banks of the river to small wooden coal-carrying ships called colliers. The colliers waited in the Tyne to transport the coal down the east coast to London.

Each keel carried a skipper, two crewmen called ‘bullies’ and a boy. ‘Bully’ meant brother or comrade.

The keel row was a huge oar used to propel the boat and was manned by the bullies and the boy. In lieu of a rudder, a ‘swape’ or steering oar at the stern determined the direction of travel. Presumably, the skipper worked this oar.

The life of the keelmen was hard. They had to load the coal, row the heavily laden keel to the collier, navigating the currents and the shifting sandbanks, and unload it. That was made more difficult because the keel lay lower in the water than the collier. In addition, the men were exposed daily to coal dust, often resulting in respiratory problems.

The job was passed from generation to generation, sons taking over from their fathers when they were thought strong enough. Most men were unable to continue working after their forties because of the arduous nature of the labour.

In 1702, the keelmen built the Keelmen’s Hospital in Sandgate, an almshouse for sick and ailing keelmen and their families. It was supported by contributions from each keel’s crew.

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

The mention of Sandgate in the song refers to the fact that the keelmen lived in Sandgate, an impoverished, overcrowded area outside Newcastle city walls.

Traditional pursuits in January in UK

 

Traditional pursuits in January in UK

First-footing is practised in the Isle of Man, Scotland and Northern England on New Year’s Day and may take place immediately after midnight on New Year’s Eve. The first foot is the first person to enter the house on New Year’s Day and is the bringer of good luck.

Ideally, he should be tall and dark and should not have been in the house when the bells strike midnight. He may step out before the chimes and come back in or he may be a completely new visitor.

Traditionally, the first-footer brought a gift of coal to symbolise warmth for the household.  In modern times, the bearer might bring whisky and shortbread, warming in a different manner. Fair-haired men were thought to be unlucky first-footers perhaps because of their association with blond Viking invaders of yore. Women had no place in the proceedings, being thought to presage ill fortune. 

Magpie Tales #64 Black gold

Thanks go to Willow who organises and hosts this meme J To read more Magpies please click here.

Smoldering Fires, Clarence Holbrook Carter, 1904-2000
Columbus Museum of Art
Image courtesy of Tess Kincaid

Black gold

They had been born in the village, the daughters and granddaughters of miners, the wives and mothers of more. They had learned forbearance and endurance. The distant boom of explosives was the background to life. When the slag heaps smouldered on the mountains, the pungent smoke choking and stinging, they turned their backs and continued their chores.

Their men would return at night, blackened and weary, seeking food and oblivion. Each morning they watched as their fathers and brothers, sons and grandsons trudged back to their labours. Unspoken fears gnawed at them all. The mines were nearly worked out, the men having to burrow deeper where the air was stale. They mined naked in narrow tunnels, chipping at the coal face and breathing in the dust, laying explosives and retreating to safety until the blast released more seams.

The siren at the end of the shift was a signal to the women to hasten - hot water to fill the baths, a hot meal to grace the table – and to give thanks that another day had passed without incident. Sounded at any other time it signified disaster.

The women flocked to the mine entrance, dread twisting their hearts and robbing them of coherent speech. They prayed, automatically, desperately. They beseeched deliverance for their men – ‘Let him live, let him live’, ‘Let him die quickly, let him not suffer.’ They begged strength for themselves and forgiveness for all sins large and small. They promised impossible purity and faith if only their men could be spared.

Their entreaties were futile and seventy-five families were changed forever.

Trapped underground, generations lost, all in the pursuit of black gold.