The Blaydon Races; A Geordie folk song. Sung at Newcastle United Football
Matches...HOWAY THE LADS!
I went to Blaydon Races
D
Twas on the ninth of June
A7 D
Eighteen Hundred and Sixty Two
G D
On a summer's afternoon
E7 A7
I took the bus from Balmbras
D
And she was heavy laden
A7 D
Away we went along Collingwood Street
G D
That's on the Road to Blaydon
A7 D
Oh me lads, you should've seen us gannin
D A7 D
Passing the folks along the road
G D
And all of them were starin'
G E7 A
All the lads and lasses there
D
They all had smilin' faces
A7 D
Gannin along the Scotswood Road
G D A7
To see the Blaydon Races
D
We flew past Armstrong's factory
D
And up by the Robin Adair
A7 D
But gannin ower the Railway Bridge
G D
The bus wheel flew off there
E7 A7
The lasses lost their crinolines
D
And veils that hide their faces
A7 D
I got two black eyes and a broken nose
G D
In gannin to Blaydon Races
A7 D
Oh me lads, you should've seen us gannin
D A7 D
Passing the folks along the road
G D
And all of them were starin'
G E7 A
All the lads and lasses there
D
They all had smilin' faces
A7 D
Gannin along the Scotswood Road
G D A7
To see the Blaydon Races
D
Now when we got the wheel back on
D
Away we went again
A7 D
But them that had their noses broke
G D
They went back ower hyem
E7 A7
Some went to the dispensary
D
And some to Doctor Gibbses
A7 D
And some to the infirmary
G D
To mend their broken ribses
A7 D
Oh me lads, you should've seen us gannin
D A7 D
Passing the folks along the road
G D
And all of them were starin'
G E7 A
All the lads and lasses there
D
They all had smilin' faces
A7 D
Gannin along the Scotswood Road
G D A7
To see the Blaydon Races
D
We flew across the Tyne Bridge
D
And came to Blaydon Toon
A7 D
The barman he was calling then
G D
They called him Jackie Broon
E7 A7
I saw him talking to some chaps
D
And them he was persuadin'
A7 D
To gan and see Geordie Ridley's show
G D
At the Mechanics' Hall in Blaydon
A7 D
Oh me lads, you should've seen us gannin
D A7 D
Passing the folks along the road
G D
And all of them were starin'
G E7 A
All the lads and lasses there
D
They all had smilin' faces
A7 D
Gannin along the Scotswood Road
G D A7
To see the Blaydon Races
D
Now when we got to Paradise
D
There were bonny games begun
A7 D
There were four and twenty on the bus
G D
And how we danced and sung
E7 A7
They called on me to sing a song
D
So I sang 'em 'Paddy Fagan'
A7 D
I danced a jig and I swung me twig
G D
The day I went to Blaydon
A7 D
Oh me lads, you should've seen us gannin
D A7 D
Passing the folks along the road
G D
And all of them were starin'
G E7 A
All the lads and lasses there
D
They all had smilin' faces
A7 D
Gannin along the Scotswood Road
G D A7
To see the Blaydon Races
D
The rain it poured down all the day
D
And made the ground quite muddy
A7 D
Coffee Johnny had a white hat on
G D
Shouted 'Wee stole the cuddy?'
E7 A7
There were spice stalls and monkey shows
D
And old wives selling ciders
A7 D
And the chap on the ha'penny roundabout
G D
Saying 'Any more lads for riders?'
A7 D
Oh me lads, you should've seen us gannin
D A7 D
Passing the folks along the road
G D
And all of them were starin'
G E7 A
All the lads and lasses there
D
They all had smilin' faces
A7 D
Gannin along the Scotswood Road
G D A7
To see the Blaydon Races
D