Wor Nanny's a mazer is a famous Geordie folk song written in the 19th century by Tommy Armstrong, in a style deriving from music hall. It is regarded by many as one of the classics.
This song tells the tale of a husband and wife setting out on a train trip from Rowlands Gill, a village in County Durham, to "toon" - meaning 'town', presumably Newcastle upon Tyne - to do some shopping. The trip starts to go wrong when they miss their train. The pair end up in a pub where the wife becomes "a bit the worse for wear". We are left to assume no shopping was done and no clothes bought.
Lyrics
Places mentioned Rowlands Gill is a village situated between Winlaton Mill and Blackhall Mill, on the north bank of the River Derwent, historically in County Durham but now in Gateshead, England This is the only place mentioned by name. It is not known either where they started their journey, or where they intended to do their shopping, although Newcastle upon Tyne would be an educated guess as it is locallyreferredto as the toon. As Rowlands Gill was not a rail interchange, it has to be assumed that they travelled the first part of their journey by means other than rail. The Derwent Valley Railway was started in 1865 and the line was opened on 2 December 1867. The line (part single track) ran between Blackhill and Derwenthaugh on the River Tyne where it joined the Newcastle upon Tyne to Carlisle rail track. Even the name of the pubbilick hoose was not given.
Recordings Alex Glasgow (1935–2001) was one of the North of England's most popular folk singers in his day. His CD entitled "Alex Glasgow - Songs Vol - now and then" recorded in 1970 (ref MWMCDSP21) included "Wor Nanny's a Mazer" together with 28 other titles Bob Fox and Benny Graham include the song on their album "How Are You Off For Coals?", along with several more of Tommy Armstrong's songs. (Fellside Records catalogue number FECD111) YouTube recording YouTube recording of
See also Geordie dialect words
References