# The Tyneside Songster by J. W. Swanston

The Tyneside Songster (or to give it its full title – "The Tyneside Songster containing a splendid collection of Local Songs by popular Authors, in the Northumbrian Dialect Printed by J W Swanston, 67 & 69 St Andrews Street, Newcastle and may be had at all Booksellers, Newsagents, &c" is a chapbook of Geordie folk song consisting of 39 songs, crammed into its meagre 16 pages, and published in the 1880s by J. W. Swanston, a Newcastle printer and publisher.

## The publication

The contents include a general collection of, either at that time or sometime earlier, well known and popular, local songs written by a collection of songwriters. A set of the original documents is retained by the Tyne & Wear Archives and Museum Service. This is the record office for the cities and districts of Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, South Tyneside and North Tyneside.
The front cover of the book was as thus :-
THE Tyneside SONGSTER CONTAINING A splendid collection of Local Songs by popular Authors, in the Northumbrian Dialect – - – - – - – - – - – -
– - – - – - – - – - – - NEWCASTLE Printed by J W SWANSTON, 67 & 69 St Andrews Street and may be had at all Booksellers, Newsagents, &c – - – - – - – - – - – - One, two, or three copies of this Song Book may be had direct from the Printer, for the published price, with an additional halfpenny for postage,
and will be sent to any address in the United Kingdom. Larger numbers at the same rate.
On the top right, above the title, is printed the price, “One Penny”

## Contents

are as below :-
| | title | songwriter | tune | comments |
| 1 | Front cover | | | |
| 3 | Sandgate Lassie's Lament (The) | Henry Robson | | |
| 4 | Bewildor'd Pitman (The) | | The King of the cannibal Islands | |
| 4 | Howden for Jarrow. Loup oot | Harry Haldane | | The pseudonym of Richard Oliver Heslop |
| 5 | Bonny Clock Feyce (The) | Robert Nunn | Cole Hole | |
| 5 | Sweet Tyneside | T Kennedy | Kelvin Grove | |
| 5 | Lizzie Mudie's Ghost. Or the Jenny Howlet | W Armstrong | | |
| 9 | Cappy or the Pitman's dog | W Mitford | | |
| 9 | Cum an' stand a Jill | | The moon behind the hill | |
| 12 | Jemmy stops lang at the fair | Joseph Skipsey | | |
| 12 | Coaly Tyne | | Auld Lang Syne | |
| 12 | Sairt failed Hinney | ?? | ?? | |
| 13 | Sandgate Lass on Ropery Banks (The) | Robert Nunn | The Skipper's Wedding | |
| 13 | Hey ye seen wor Cuddy | George Guthrie | The King of the cannibal Islands | |
| 13 | Elsie Marley | ? | ? | |
| 14 | Pitman's Dream (The) | | Newcastle Fair | |
| 14 | Half-Drowned Skipper (The) | | Cvhapter of Donkeys | |
| 14 | Waggoner (The) | | | |
| 15 | Honest Working Man (The) | | Runaway Jack | |
| 15 | Muther's best, iv a, (A) | | Newcastle is my native place | |
| 15 | Wor Charlie's a Medium | | Cappy's the dog | "Wor Geordy's a Medium" in index |
| 16 | Pitman's Happy Times (The) | J P Robson | In the days when we went Gipsying | |
| 16 | D'ye ken John Peel | John Woodcock Graves | | |
| 16 | advert for "The Sailor's Songbook" | | | |
| The following songs also appear in the book, but the page numbers are unknown |||||||
| | Beggar's Wedding (The) | William Stephenson | Quayside Shaver | |
| | Blyth Camps (or The Girl I Left Behind Me) | unknown | | |
| | Cliffs of Old Tynemouth (The) | | Leitch David Ross | |
| | Dance To Thy Daddy | | Watson William | |
| | Give me life's largest cup | | | |
| | I attempt from Love's Sickness to Fly | | | |
| | (Weel May) The Keel Row | | | |
| | Marsden Rock | John Peacock | Jockey to the fair | Marsden Rocks in index |
| | Noodle – (The) | John Brodie Gilroy | Jeannette and Jeannot | |
| | Peter Waggy | Henry Robson | | Written in 1826 |
| | Pitman's Courtship – (The) | William Mitford | The night before Larry was stretched | |
| | Pound of tea (The) | John Stobbs | Dame Durdon | |
| | Rifleman Sowljor (The) | J P Robson | | appeared in his book "Evangeline" or The spirit of progress – Which contains his rather lengthy poem of the same name together with many more shorter works |
| | Sandhill Monkey (The) | William Stephenson | Drops of Brandy | |
| | Till the Tide cums in | Henry Robson | | |
| | Washing-Day – (The) | Thomas Wilson | There's nae luck aboot the hoose | actually entitled "The Weshin'-day" in this book |
| | X. Y. Z. At Newcastle Races, 1814 (or Pitmen's Luck) | William Mitford | | |