Byker Hill
Introduction '''"Byker Hill"''' is a traditional English folk song about coal miners, Roud 3488  that has been performed by many contemporary acts. There are at least three different tunes to which the song is sung.Byker Hill is in the east end of Newcastle, as is the adjoining district of Walker, also mentioned in the song. "Byker Hill and Walker Shore, Collier lads for ever more"The earliest versions of this song use the title "Walker Pits" as in the publication Rhymes of Northern Bards (1812) where it is song number 36.It was included in A.L. Lloyd's collection "Come all ye bold miners", still with the earlier title.
Notable versions of "Byker Hill" * Martin Carthy on his 1967 album "Byker Hill" * Dave Swarbrick on "Swarbrick" (1976) * Tempest - on ''Shapeshifter'', re-released on ''Prime Cuts''* Dave Van Ronk - on ''Going Back To Brooklyn'' (contemporary rewrite titled "Luang Prabang")* Patrick Sky - on ''Songs That Made America Famous'' (Dave Van Ronk's "Luang Prabang")* The Barely Works - on ''The Big Beat''* Australian Chamber Orchestra with Danny Spooner, Mike Kerin & Richard Tognetti* The Imagined Village* The Cottars - on ''Forerunner''* The Young Tradition - on both their self-titled album and ''Oberlin 1968''* Sportive Tricks - on their album ''Old Dogs New Tricks''* Pete Coe* Bellowhead on ''Broadside''*Philip Wilby*Boiled in Lead, on the 1985 album ''BOiLeD iN lEaD''* Brian Johnson, on the 2002 album ''From Tyne to Tweed - The Northumbria Anthology''* Chanticleer, on ''The Anniversary Album''* Steve Goodman - ''Live at University of Illinois'', November 10, 1969* The Lawrence Arms (Dave Van Ronk's "Luang Prabang")* The Longest Johns - Byker Hill (2023)
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