Creating social harmony through song
Life along the Line - Shildon in Song
Phase 1: Creating original songs about Shildon
During April - July 2021, Citizen Songwriters partnered with the Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway and Shildon Railway Institute to create a set of original songs all about Shildon - the world's first railway town - and it's place within the wider Stockton & Darlington Railway story. The project involved two storytelling events (one on Zoom, the other in and around Shildon) and a community songwriting workshop at the Shildon Railway Institute with people who either once worked, or currently live, in Shildon to explore what the railway means to them.
The songs were performed at Locomotion Museum on 15 July 2021 with Timothy Hackworth Primary School (Year 4) along with some of the participants from the community workshops.
Phase 2: Recording and performing song
In 2022, we received further funding from Durham County Council Culture, Sport and Tourism Service to professionally record the songs from the project with Xtrasonic Media, along with the Shildon Institute Singers - a newly formed community choir run by Rosie Bradford from Happy in Harmony. The songs were then re-launched at a performance at Shildon Railway Institute on 1st April 2022. The CD will be released later this summer - watch this space!
Have a listen to the songs on the YouTube clips below along with the lyrics.
You can find out more about the project here.
Music
Lyrics
Shildon My Home
Welcome to Shildon my home,
Where locos and heroes are known,
We cradled the railway and made it our own,
Welcome to Shildon my home.
Our forefathers built up the lines,
So wagons could get to the mines,
Our bright engineers are the pride of our town,
Our history’s known all around.
Welcome to Shildon my home,
Where locos and heroes are known,
We cradled the railway and made it our own,
Welcome to Shildon my home.
Our history is rich in this land,
In the footsteps of giants, we stand.
Their legacy’s passed down to you and to me,
Our future is bright don’t you see.
So welcome to Shildon my home,
Where a new generation are grown,
And when we are older one day we may roam,
But Shildon is always our home.
Welcome to Shildon my home,
Where locos and heroes are known,
We cradled the railway and made it our own,
Welcome to Shildon my home.
Written and sung by: Alex Summerson, Sam Slatcher & Timothy Hackworth Primary School (Year 4)
Wonderful Giants of Old
In Witton Park they dug the coal
To power the life of man
Take them up by Phoenix Row
By the ticket stand
They were wonderful giants of old
With only five miles to go
On the slopes of Etherley they sang
A song of victory
There’s a haulage drum that brings them up
And down by gravity
They were wonderful giants of old
With only four miles to go
As the sun comes up on Greenfield Road
A thousand are here today
They loaded up the sacks of flower
And soon were on their way
They were wonderful giants of old
With only three miles to go
They headed o' the Gaunless Bridge
Horse drawn on the flat
But up to Brusselton they’ll need
Something stronger than that
They were wonderful giants of old
With only two miles to go
They were at the top by 10 o’clock
13 wagons proud
Drop them down by 90 feet
And head to Shildon Town
They were wonderful giants of old
With only a mile to go
In Shildon Town, there was a plan
They’d be making history
Locomotion on the tracks
In a bellow of steam
They were wonderful giants of old
Almost ready to go
Stephenson the fireman
And the guard was Timothy
Hackworth shouts “all ready now”
And they set off to the sea
They were wonderful giants of old
And now they’re ready to go!
Written and sung by: Sam Slatcher, Alex Summerson and participants of the workshops
Set the World on Track
Arise from my bed at 6.30
Put on my hobnail boots
Step into the streets so lonely
To follow my father’s routes
Soon, one by one we’re marching
Heading for the Wagon Works
Every door a shaft of light,
Another joins the fight
Til a sea of blue of overalls
Trickle becomes stream
The boy becomes a man
Iron forged to wheel
The day has just begun
Set the world on track
Set it all into motion
Set the towns a-dancing
You and I will be the ocean
And boy we are the graft
Of steel, strength, togetherness and pride
My grandfather walked with way before me
And his father was a blacksmith son
They grew mighty with success
Hardship and distress
From the pit until they came up black
Put away my old school blazer
I’m off to learn my trade
Nerves take hold, a strange new world
Fifty lads hope to find their place
The siding feeds the branch line
And branch line feeds the main
A sea of blue went marching through
No prouder could we be
Set the world on track
Set it all into motion
Set the towns a-dancing
You and I will be the ocean
And boy we are the graft
Of steel, strength and pride
And let the world come back
To find a place called Shildon
See what it’s all about
From the Wagon Works to Locomotion
And come to the source of the trickle
And let the river flow again and turn the tide
Though 40 years have past
Since I worked my last
Not a day goes by
Without the question on my mind
“Can you every lose your place in history?”
Without knowledge of one of history
You’ll never find your destiny
Trickle becomes stream
And stream becomes a river
River meets the sea
And turns the tides of history
Some days we may be a trickle
But we will become a stream
And the people will find the sea
And they’ll become like the wave
That turns the tides on Shildon’s legacy
Written and sung by: Samantha Townsend, Alex Summerson, Sam Slatcher, Colin White and participants of the workshops
Shildon Town
It’s Shildon where we’re heading
It’s coal dust that we’re shedding
We’re off to somewhere new
Weardale, we’re leaving you
Behind us birds are flying
Our little train is climbing
To the heart, Shildon we’re coming
Laughing, dancing, meeting
Everybody’s celebrating
All the sounds of life beginning
As our train comes rolling in
Come down, come down,
Come down to the railway town
There’s always a smile around
That you can rely on
Come down, come down,
Come down to Shildon town
Where the gift to the world was found
As we ride down the railway line
Now those pioneers from Darlo
Brought the wagons and the cargo
With a flash of inspiration
Built a brand new steam creation
And though the works are now gone
It’s legacy still lives on
Climb on board now, for our next ride
Over the bridge on the riverside
Filling its people with joy and with pride
Down to the ocean that’s opening wide
As our train comes rolling in
Come down, come down,
Come down to the railway town
There’s always a smile around
That you can rely on
Come down, come down,
Come down to Shildon town
Where the gift to the world was found
As we ride
From the coal face, to the Tees
Oh we still dream
Of endless possibilities
Though life moves on
Not the spirit, nor the song
For the railway carries on!
Come down, come down,
Come down to the railway town
There’s always a smile around
That you can rely on
Come down, come down,
Come down to Shildon town
Where the gift to the world was found
In the cradle of the railway line
Written and sung by: Alex Summerson, Cindy Luo, Sam Slatcher, & Timothy Hackworth Primary School (Year 4)