title: Dunbar's local songs and recitations 1874
text: # Dunbar's local songs and recitations 1874
  
  Dunbar's local songs and recitations 1874 (full title: “Dunbar's Local and other Songs, Recitations and Conundrums, A Local Tale, &c. Composed by the late William Dunbar, Wardley Colliery, who died February 23rd 1874, aged 21 years. Printed by Stevenson and Dryden, St Nicholas' Church Yard, Newcastle upon Tyne 1874”) is a chapbook of Geordie folk song consisting of over 40 pages, published in 1874, after the author's death.
  
  ## The publication
  
  William Dunbar wrote all the songs and a set of the original documents are retained in the archives of Beamish Museum.
  
  The front cover of the book was as thus :-
  
     LOCAL AND OTHER
     SONGS, RECITATIONS,
     AND CONUNDRUMS,
     A Local Tale, &c COMPOSED BY THE LATE WILLIAM DUMBAR WARDLEY COLLIERY
     WHO DIED FEBRUARY 23RD 1874, AGED 21 YEARS
  
  NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE PRINTED BY STEVENSON AND DRYDEN, ST. NICHOLAS' CHURCH YARD
  
  1874
  
  ## Contents
  
  In alphabetical order are as below :-
  
  | | title | tune | brief description |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Best way to feel for a man | Wait for the turn of the tide | |
  | 2 | Billy Baker | The Handsome Page | |
  | 3 | Comic medley | Who's for the bus | |
  | 4 | Deeth o' Jimmy Renforth | Castles in the air | famous local rower Jimmy Renforth |
  | 5 | Doing all things for the best | Take care of the peace | |
  | 6 | Don't take offence | Act on the square | |
  | 7 | Forester's song | Oxford Joe | Ancient Order of Foresters at Wrekenton in 1872 |
  | 8 | Geordy's pay | Barbara Bell | |
  | 9 | If ivvor aw cease te speak | If I ever cease to love | |
  | 10 | Imitation | Just to show there's no ill feeling | |
  | 11 | Joe the barber's boy | Imensicoff | |
  | 12 | Joseph Arch | The Marble Arch | Joseph Arch was the president of the newly founded National Agricultural Labourers' Union |
  | 13 | Maw bonny Bess. (or A dog fancier's musings) | | |
  | 14 | My A B C (or items alphabetically arranged) | Bow, Wow,Wow | |
  | 15 | North Durham election, 1874. A dialogue between Tommy Stobbs and Sally | | |
  | 16 | Nothing venture, nothing win | Par excellence | |
  | 17 | Nowt se Queer as Foaks | Castles in the Air | |
  | 18 | Playing the troon | A t'yel wiv a seekwil, an' monny an eekwil | |
  | 19 | Pull that wins the day | Pull, pull together, boys | |
  | 20 | Robin Ramsay; or, what aw'm puzzled wi' | The whole hog or none | |
  | 21 | She greets me wiv a smile | I am so volatile | |
  | 22 | Shiftin' – (The) | | |
  | 23 | Wardley Band – (The) | The pawnshop bleezin | |
  | 24 | We hevvent lang te be sober noo | I wish I was a fish | |
  | 25 | Wellesley lads – (The) | Imminsicoff | one of the first schools set up to train sailors |
  | 26 | We're seldom what we shud be | The country cousin | originally printed in Chater's Diary and Local Remembrancer |
  | 27 | Woman charmin' woman O | Try, try again | originally printed in Chater's Diary and Local Remembrancer |
  | 28 | Would you like to see | Down among the coals | originally printed in Chater's Diary and Local Remembrancer |
  