“Down at the Wangan”
Description
"Down at the Wangan across the street From Gifford's Corner the fact'ry boys meet, Waiting for Johnny come down and pay, Down comes old Matthew, 'No pay today.' Stick to the fact'ry boys ...."
Notes
Manny/Wilson: "This is a fragment of a song made up in Newcastle in the 1880's or early 1890's. A wangan is a storage house ... where supplies are stored for the use of a lumber camp. By extension, used of any storage place. The song told of Matthew Russell, who ran a spool factory.... Workmen often had to wait a long time for their pay in the 1880's, though it wasn't so much of a hardship in those days, since business was done mostly on credit." - BS
References
- Manny/Wilson 11, "Down at the Wangan" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
- Roud #9200
- BI, MaWi011