The Spinners - Manchester Rambler

Written by Ewan MacColl for a mass trespass organised by the Manchester Rambling Association across fell land scheduled to be closed to the public.

[@bluemancs]

I was born in 64, I remember my dad & his friends singing this, every time they came back to our house for a drink after closing time. Brilliant memories, miss so many of them lovely people.

[@stevev238]

Born in 72 myself. The Spinners were my late gran's favourite group, though I was the one who took to buying a few of their cassettes when I was in Halls as a student, always warms me to hear one of their old numbers at a jam session.

[@Peter-tu1qp]

Born an bread in Manchester. A brilliant song by a great group. Spinners music will live 4ever.

Saw them at the Sports Guild last century. The train stops at Crumsall across from where My parents lived.

[@tomc6407]

God be with the days when you could hear all the words. Thank you, Spinners, jonatkin and, of course Ewan.

[@robertrowe3709]

Brings back lovely memories of the 1960s folk revival. Great days.

[@barbaracollier4131]

Played this at my beloved Wilfie's funeral,he was on the mass trespass of kinder,and apparently wrote two of the verses of the song!!!! It summed up his life beautifully,RIP WILF COLLIER,14/07/1923-29/12/2014 A TRULY UNIQUE LOVELY MAN. Your Barb xxx

[@AB0VETHALAW]

Barbara Collier bless xx

[@seannamadra5675]

Barbara Collier was that Wilf Collier of Reddish ?

[@julielowe7462]

I Love this Song and I will defend to the last the Right to Roam !

[@lawriemorritt3492]

Good on you Ewan McColl. The rambling situation in Britain has really taken off since his day, and even Dr. Beeching has provided lots of routes for people who want to get out into the countryside. Long live the ramblers. You know what life is all about.

[@martinlyons7373]

Long live Lancashire ,England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 And Britain 🇬🇧 ❤❤❤

[@philipashbourn1538]

Happy memories of hiking with the Manchester RA during ten years living in the city. Great hikes with wonderful tea stops and a few pints on the stopper bus home. One walk I will never forget finished in Keswick on a cold winter's night at 7pm with the last three hours in complete darkness. Led by hard men and women.

[@remlenomis]

This is a protest song, written by the 17 year-old Jimmie Miller, later to become Ewan MacColl, to commemorate the mass trespass of Kinder Scout in 1932 by the Ramblers Association and the Manchester branch of the Young Communist Group, of which Miller was a member, in protest against the refusal to allow public rights of way over land privately owned by the Duke of Derbyshire. This censored and de-politicised version of the song removes the two stanzas that refer to this act of civil disobedience, which was met by violence from gamekeepers employed by the Duke, and which cost six ramblers between 2-6 months in prison, but would eventually lead to the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949, the creation of the Peak District as Britain’s first National Park in 1951, and the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. Our access to land was fought for, not granted, and removing the reference to this struggle from this song shows how little the group understood its message. Here are the two missing stanzas: The day was just ending and I was descending Down Grindsbrook, just by Upper Tor, When a voice cried ‘Hey you!’ in the way keepers do, He’d the worst face that ever I saw. The things that he said were unpleasant, In the teeth of his fury I said: ‘Sooner than part from the mountains, I think I would rather be dead.’ He called me a louse and said: ‘Think of the grouse!’ Well I thought, but I still couldn’t see Why all Kinder Scout and the moors roundabout Couldn’t take both the poor grouse and me. He said: ‘All this land is my master’s.’ At that I stood shaking me head: ‘No man has the right to own mountains Any more than the deep ocean bed.’

[@Charminglecat]

Yes, those stanzas are the vital ones. My parents spent much of their youth avoiding gamekeepers in the Peak District and as a young child I was taught about the mass trespass.

[@MyOutdoorsUK]

@1504trevor kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y6vGkpmIr9KeaZI

[@1PhoenixRising]

Those stanza were also in The Spinners version I heard growing up as a kid. I'm not sure it's "the group" who didn't understand the message so much as it's been watered down (for Y-tube?). Thanks for the reminder!

[@whocalledyou5621]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJbIm6Nspa10ibc

[@hopethehermit]

The Spinners recorded a version that included the two stanzas which are omitted from here. My parents collected pretty much every one of their albums. But I've not seen those albums for nearly 50 years...

[@neilsailing]

Wonderful old songs and thankfully still alive and well ...the good guys still exist !

[@stevev238]

Sadly Cliff (The Jamaican-Cuban band member of the Spinners) died not long after emigrating to Aus, all the others are still alive as best I know. They were my late Gran's favourite group.

[@PostcardsOfLife]

I sent this to the Spinners many moons and my Dad got a phone call saying they were recording it. And they did. Here's To You Sweet England 2011 (original song) Postcards of Life

[@RebirthRadio2023]

This sounds like my life! SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO beautiful and important a song.

[@MalcCowle]

It still makes me want to revisit Kinder. For the record the Mass Trespass was organised by the Manchester Sports Federation, an organisation founded by the Manchester and Salford Area of the Communist Party. Ewan MacColl was its Press Secretary and a member of the CPGB. The Rambler's Association was founded three years after the Mass Trespass and to a certain extent because of it.

[@janicerushforth-lee3179]

Best

[@lydiabarnby3908]

my grandad loves this song ! ❤

[@frankdsouza2425]

Good for Grandad, Lydia. But what is YOUR opinion??

[@konstantineguruli]

Thank you so much for this beautiful video and breathtaking pictures! Thank you

[@lefoix4629]

This songs always makes me happy

[@jimbo2629]

I used to sing this to my children at bedtime. I love the Liverpool (Manchester?) accent of the the spinners because I’m a Scouser.

[@aldomir]

Fabulous! Absolutely fabulous!

[@stevev238]

I also had the privilege of seeing Dirty Old Town performed in Media City at Salford, at the Radio 2 Folk Awards virtually just yards from were Ewen had written it. Performed by the Dubliners as part of their short set in acceptance of a well deserved Lifetime Achievement Award.

[@stevev4255]

inspirational. Wish I'd been able to see these guys live. Catches my enthusiasm for the outdoors too

[@RuRaynor]

My parents met at Manchester Uni and were in the hikinh club together! When tipsy, they often bust this ditty out, along with Whiskey in the Jar. Then the argue about the lyrics, until one rummages up their old Hiking Club songbook XD

[@jimmyboomsemtex9735]

love this song and i have been to some of the places mentioned the hills near manchester are great

[@johnpowell9174]

I reckon I've walked all the locations in the video. Great song, well performed!

[@Mojosbigstick]

A verse I hadn't heard before! Thank you!

[@frankwalsh1182]

Love it ,.......the good old days of folk,

[@paulross1354]

We used this song as our opener at the Lamplighter Folk Club in Keswick ... mid to late 1960's

[@michaelwatson2436]

Remember that well, great days. has great significance now with the slaugher on the moors.Have it on a Ewan Mccoll cd.

[@AnandaLunaBlue]

l just love it! too cute and joyful!

[@KieranHill]

haha cool i love this the spinners. reminds me of fishing with my dad.

[@pb7890]

This is fantastic

[@DClean]

My dear old mum was born on a street in Salford Manchester Her brother was buried to this song

[@johnpowell9174]

He didn't go by the name of Ewan McColl in those days -his name at that time was Jimmy Miller. He was a brilliant musician.

[@iainreynolds1915]

love the spinners, but would love to hear the song about "the happy absentee" all about cricket, can't find it anywhere , if anyone has it please post it,thnaks

[@martymcfly5570]

Queens and 4's laid boys - just moved up North! My two favourite sisters ("my Queens") are up here so I'm loving it - and you Northerners are sooo much friendlier than the Midlanders!!! (my 4's are my boys - good lads but don't bet on them lol)

[@ruthgraham4313]

hello Manchester and Didsbury

[@slickmicky54]

Went to see the Spinners at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester with Sue Jesson from Macclesfield. Remember Mick from Derby?

[@kenttaylor8217]

superb

[@frankdsouza2425]

No One to Beat the Glorious Spinners. Is there?

[@fergiewergie]

Not come across midgies in Scotland though has Mr Rambler.

[@barttheanorak]

I've got MacColl's 83 version of the song but it doesn't have that verse about peat bogs. Wonder if it was a Spinners interpolation...

[@Mojosbigstick]

@007clooneen It's beautiful. I reckon it's where God goes on a Sunday afternoon, looking for a bit of peace and quiet after listening to our griping in church. The last time I was up there was a clear sparkling summer's day. We all threw ourselves back on the bracken, and lay, gazing at the sky and the view in awe. Then someone said "Ticks...." and we all jumped up again.

[@travelbabble3935]

Sublime! Love from a leeds lad!

[@marktaha2701]

Does anyone know what the late fellwalker Alfred Wainwright thought of this song?

[@billykershaw2781]

Therese Coffey, have you ever been for a walk? It's even said that it is an act of rebellion......si x.

[@peterb5837]

'They were good , very good

[@stevebagnall7621]

I can see our house in the photo of Dinting Arches

[@richH1625]

This is more of a gentle Sunday afternoon stroll & not as jolly(/agresive) as the Dubliners' version on KZbin but I think the spinners get more verses in? Yet they miss out the two main verses of the encounter with the gamekeeper. See the blinddrunkal version. (Yet I think he misses the second verse "There's pleasure in dragging through peat bogs...")

[@katedaly1637]

Rich H ďublld

[@chrisamies2141]

you really need the gamekeeper verse; for the line 'no man has the right to own mountains, any more than the deep ocean bed.' You can't own what you can't make.

[@johnpowell9174]

@@chrisamies2141 especially with the despicable behaviour of Darwall, trying to stop wild camping on Dartmoor.

[@TheLivingHeiromartyr]

Should've got married ont moor!

[@Jeremycorbin]

From Stoke up the moors every other weekend.

[@johnhaines202]

Does anyone know when this was recorded? What album etc? It is such an accomplished version, a sort of 'at their peak' (pardon the pun!) sort of thing.

[@jbz2079]

I've got this exact recording on The Spinners Are In Town, Tonetana Records is that's any help.

[@shuddupeyaface]

You don't have to be a communist to understand the deep sentiment, meaning and beauty of this song.

[@peterb5837]

Perfect diction

[@codybuckler6027]

this is more of a train song

[@misssteak5646]

Now Manchestercoachramblers.group. walking ever week. Look us up.

[@billykershaw2781]

This is how you spin things, better live than Zep.

[@DJGWalton]

still better than justin beiber

[@misssteak5646]

Sorry. Manchestercoach rambles.group