A song inspired by the keyworkers who went about their business every day while we were protecting ourselves and the NHS at home.

Here's To The People -

A song inspired by the ordinary keyworkers who kept the country going during lockdown

The story of Constantine a fisherman from Lampedusa , who went out fishing one night and instead of catching fish, rescued half of the people on a stricken boat. The vessel sank so quickly that all the women and children on the lower decks perished, the men survived because they were on deck. One among a thousand tragedies playing out weekly  in the mediterranean.

Lampedusa

In the days of steam ships, scores of men were employed down in the bowels of the ship shovelling coal, trimming it to the stokers and keeping the coal level and safe in the bunkers. It was a horrible job. Even worse was the job of cleaning out the boilers when the ship docked. Small boys were used, working naked, often burnt by the hot boilers becasue the bosses wouldn't wait till the boilers cooled down.  it was a form of abuse, that went on well into the 20th century. This song tells the story of one such scaler lad who grew up to become a trimmer.

The Scaler Lad

Recorded live with an audience  of 110 people just before lockdown in January 2020, this song is about the speedy passage of time.   Two concertinas provide  the backing music to create a deliberatel nostalgic-sounding song about thte mysteries of time passing. .

Gerry ffrench