"Geordy Black", also known as "Geordie Black" and "I'm Going Down the Hill", is a 19th-century Geordie folk song by Rowland "Rowley" Harrison, in a style deriving from music hall.
The song tells the tale of an old miner, reminiscing on his experiences. Harrison would routinely dress as Geordie Black when performing the song on stage.
Contents
Variant versions
As this was a very popular song, it appeared in numerous editions. The many versions published show considerable variations in the spelling of the words, including:
aa, aw and I
aad and awd
aad, aud and old
aaful and awful
aa'm and aw'm
a'and aal
always and aalways
bairn and just a lad
baith and byeth
coal and coals
come and cum
dinnet and divent>
'em and them
eneuf and enough
father and fethur>
Geordie Black and Geordy Black
good and gud
greeves and grieves
i' and in
just a lad and yung
ma, maw, me and my
monny and mony
name and nyem
o' and of
others and uther lads
pass and while
roond the pit and throo the pit
rummel'd and rummelled
tak, yyek and tyuk
varry and very
warked and worked
warld and world
youngster and yungster
Specific differences
Verse 3, line 1 - "Aa'll bid ye a' gud neet" is replaced "Noo aa'll say good neet"
Verse 3, line 1 - "Aw shure aw've tried te please" is replaced by "An' aa've done me best te please"
Verse 3, line 6 - "te see places slack" changed to "te see the place se slack"
Verse 3, line 7 - "ne coal cums te day" changed to "ne pay-note comes teneet"
Publication
A small book of over 50 pages and sized about 5” x 7½” (125mm x 190mm) entitled Rowland Harrison’s Tyneside Songs containing local songs composed by Harrison (and with an illustrative sketch of "Geordy Black", was published around 1871. It includes "Geordie Black" and many other songs.
In modern times, the song also appears on the compact disc The Bonnie Gateshead Lass - Gateshead Songs by various artists on MWM Records (reference MWMCDSP43).