Global InformationCushie Butterfield information
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| "Cushie Butterfield" | |
|---|---|
| Song by George "Geordie" Ridley | |
| Language | English (Geordie) |
| Written | 1800s |
| Published | 1862 |
| Songwriter(s) | George "Geordie" Ridley |
"Cushie Butterfield" is a famous Geordie folk song written in the 19th century by Geordie Ridley, in the style of the music hall popular in the day. It is regarded by many as the second unofficial anthem of Tyneside after Blaydon Races.[1]
This now famous local piece pokes fun at one of the many (at the time) whitening-stone sellers. The stone, made of baked clay (or "yella clay") was used to clean and decorate the stone steps leading up to the front door of the many terrace houses in the area (The material, or similar, was in common use throughout the country). Ridley had to leave the area for a while when the song initially caused consternation with the real live stone sellers. It is apparently the last song written by him. [2] [3]
The song was featured, along with a number of other Geordie folk songs of yesteryear, in "Geordie The Musical" which premiered at the Customs House in South Shields in 2015 and was recommissioned in 2017 at the Tyne Theatre & Opera House as part of their 150-year anniversary celebrations.
- ^ Watts, Richard J. , Morrissey , Franz Andres Language, the Singer and the Song: The Sociolinguistics of Folk Performance, Cambridge University Press, 31 Jan 2019 ,PAGE 299 , ISBN 1107112710
- ^ Geeson, Cecil , A Northumberland and Durham Word Book: The Living Dialect, Including a Glossary, with Etymologies and Illustrative Quotations, of Living Dialect Words ·Publisher H. Hill, (1969) ·– PAGE 119 , ISBN 0900463058,
- ^ Davison , Peter Songs of the British Music Hall, Oak Publications, 1971 PAGE 33, ISBN 0825600995