| Author | Topic: Add: Cosher Bailey | |
| dmcg | Posted - 30 Jan 05 - 07:20 pm | |
Cosher Bailey had an engine, It was always needing mending, And according to her power She could do four miles an hour (Chorus) Did you ever see, did you ever see, Did you ever see such a fun-ny thing before? On the night run up from Gower She went twenty miles an hour, As she whistled through the station, Man she frightened hald the nation. Cosher bought her second hand And he painted her up so grand When her driver went to oil her Man she nearly burst her boiler. Now Cosher Bailey he did die, And they put him in a coffin, But one night they heard some knocking Cosher Bailey only joking. Source: Singing Together, Autumn 1984, BBC Publications Notes: The source is identified as 'Wales', but no further detail is given. | ||
| Mr Happy | Posted - 31 Jan 05 - 12:58 am | |
versions i recall always head chorus as 'was you ever seen....etc' | ||
| Crane Driver | Posted - 18 Jan 06 - 11:37 pm | |
Crawshay Bailey of Merthyr Tydfil was an iron master in the 1700s. He was the first man in Wales to use a steam engine (manufactured by Trevithick of Cornwall) to pull trains of iron ore waggons at his factory. The first journey by the new train was a great event, many hundreds turning out to watch. The train broke down, much to the amusement of the crowd. The song now has many hundreds of verses, mainly due to its popularity with rugby football players and supporters - Cosher Bailey's brother Rupert He played centre half for Newport In the game against Llanelli, Someone kicked him in the (stomach) . . . In Wales, the chorus is usually sung - Did you ever saw, Did you ever saw,... etc | ||
| Snuffy | Posted - 20 Jan 06 - 02:00 pm | |
Andrew, It was not Crawshay Bailey, but his uncle, Richard Crawshay (d.1810), who had the Penydarren tramway. Crawshay Bailey's ventures were initially further east at Nantyglo, although he later spread almost everywhere in South Wales. See this thread Barford Hatches for discussion on the Bailey/Crawshay families | ||
| Jon Freeman | Posted - 28 Mar 10 - 02:52 pm | |
Wikipedia article on Crawshay Bailey here. | ||