Cheer Up Lads.

The following lines – written for the occasion – were sung at a grand vocal and instrumental concert in aid of the distressed Lancashire operatives, at Ipswich in Queensland, on the 2nd September:-
Cheer up, lads, there’s no need for repining,
The cry of your distress is heard far away
Where a bright summer sun is ever up and shining,
And the hearts of the people are merry all and gay;
Then cheer up, lads, don’t be down-hearted,
Put away your grief for succour is at hand;
Though from old friends and home you may be parted,
There’s another home as good in this fair Queensland.
Then cheer up, lads, don’t be down-hearted,
Put away your grief for succour is at hand;
Though from old friends and home you may be parted,
There’s another home as good in this fair Queensland.
Cheer up, lads, dry the tears of your witches;
Tell the brave Cheshire boys to hold up their heads;
We offer you a home, and for your labour riches,
In a country where no poor man ever wanted bread.
Cheer up, lads, let the Yankees go on fighting,
Crowd into our ships, and come across the wave;
Leave to the North and South the cause of freedom’s righting,
And come to a land that has never known a slave.
Then cheer up, lads, &c.
Cheer up, lads, in Queensland arms are open,
And steady work awaiting your labour that is fit;
The little help we send you, it is but a token
How our broad smiling acres “con help you a bit.”
Then dry up the weeping eye, heed no more the ringing,
Dread no more the silence of the factory bell;
Come to Queensland, and your children shall be singing
To poverty and hunger a long and last farewell.
Then cheer up, lads, &c.

Title:Cheer up Lads

Author:Unknown

Publication:Ashton And Stalybridge Reporter

Published in:Ashton-under-Lyne

Date:March 7th 1863

Keywords:charity, emigration, gender, poverty, war

Commentary

The note above this song describes a common occurrence during the Cotton Famine – the benefit concert, which raised funds for the relief effort (see, for example, the poem entitled ‘Concert and Literary Entertainment in Aid of the Relief Fund’ from the Preston Guardian). In this case, the concert took place in Queensland, Australia, showing the reach of news and concern about the conditions suffered by Lancashire workers during the Cotton Famine. The song appeals to distressed Lancashire workers to emigrate to Queensland, painting a happy image of the latter as a land of plenty for all. In reality, emigration to Australia – even when assisted by charitable organisations established for the purpose – was not hugely popular, not least because of the length of the journey, though there was a slight increase during the Cotton Famine (see Norman Longmate, The Hungry Mills (London: Temple Smith, 1979), chapter 16.) Unfortunately, we are not given details of the musical accompaniment to these lyrics. - RM.

Although the rhyme scheme of this piece is a very regular ABABCDCD, with a similar scheme for the chorus, the line length vary considerably, which suggests that this may have been sung to quite a complex melody which allowed for variation. The form of address is first person plural in the voice of the (white, presumably) people of Queensland welcoming distressed Lancastrians to their shores.- SR