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Traditional English Folk Songs

A Collection Of Traditional British Folk Songs Full English - A Collection Of Traditional British Folk Songs features the amazing talents of Mat Williams who did most of the vocals and also played most of the traditional instruments involved in the recordings, such as Guitar, Violin, Viola, Mandolin, Banjo, Banman, Upright Bass, Piano and many more. Mat invited some fellow folk musicians to share him for this album and add more traditional instruments, such as the Irish Whistle, Uilleann Pipes and Bodhran. Enjoy the music and read along as you listen!



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Dashing Away With The Smoothing Iron


Sound Sample:
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’Twas on a Monday morning
When I beheld my darling,
She looked so neat and charming
In every high degree.
She looked so neat and nimble-o,
A-washing of her linen-o

Chorus
Dashing away with the smoothing iron,
Dashing away with the smoothing iron,
Dashing away with the smoothing iron,
She stole my heart away.

’Twas on a Tuesday morning
When I beheld my darling,
She looked so neat and charming
In every high degree.
She looked so neat and nimble-o,
A-hanging out her linen-o

Chorus
Dashing away with the smoothing iron,
Dashing away with the smoothing iron,
Dashing away with the smoothing iron,
She stole my heart away.

’Twas on a Wednesday morning
When I beheld my darling,
She looked so neat and charming
In every high degree.
She looked so neat and nimble-o,
A-starching of her linen-o

Chorus
Dashing away with the smoothing iron,
Dashing away with the smoothing iron,
Dashing away with the smoothing iron,
She stole my heart away.

’Twas on a Thursday morning
When I beheld my darling,
She looked so neat and charming
In every high degree.
She looked so neat and nimble-o,
A-ironing of her linen-o





Words & Music: Traditional,
arranged & performed by Mat Williams













Chorus

Dashing away with the smoothing iron,
Dashing away with the smoothing iron,
Dashing away with the smoothing iron,
She stole my heart away.

’Twas on a Friday morning
When I beheld my darling
She looked so neat and charming
In every high degree.
She looked so neat and nimble-o,
A-folding of her linen-o

Chorus
Dashing away with the smoothing iron,
Dashing away with the smoothing iron,
Dashing away with the smoothing iron,
She stole my heart away.

’Twas on a Saturday morning
When I beheld my darling,
She looked so neat and charming
In every high degree.
She looked so neat and nimble-o,
A-airing of her linen-o

Chorus
Dashing away with the smoothing iron,
Dashing away with the smoothing iron,
Dashing away with the smoothing iron,
She stole my heart away.

’Twas on a Sunday morning
When I beheld me darling,
She looked so neat and charming
In every high degree.
She looked so neat and nimble-o,
A-wearing of her linen-o



Origin and meaning of Dashing Away With The Smoothing Iron

The days of the week are a useful pattern to use to make a song or a poem - think of “Monday’s child is fair of face.” In this case it has the added virtue of being fairly accurate as a time-table. A modern listener might well conclude that the laundress was bone idle - a whole week to get the washing done? Alas, old-style wash days were hard labour: no washing machines, no hot water, no tap and no easy-care fabrics. It’s ironic that the more primitive the tools available, the more extravagant were the frills and flounces.

In most houses, the amount of clothing was limited but the labour in washing them enormous. Work clothes were worn Monday to Saturday with a change into “good” clothes for Sunday, then into the other set of work clothes on Monday morning so that the dirty work clothes could be washed and, more importantly, dried within the next week. A rainy wash day could fill a house with gloom, not to say steam, as drying clothes blocked any heat from the fire. Maybe Monday was fine - hoorah! The washing could be pegged out onto a line in the garden to dry. (Incidentally, in some parts of the sunny U.S.A. it is forbidden to hang washing out. It makes the place look untidy and lowers property values, apparently).

The next stage was starching - dipping skirts and shirt-fronts into a mixture of starch-powder and water and drying them all over again. Then the ironing, done when the clothes were still slightly damp to get a crease-free finish. And there were no electric irons, of course. The “flat iron” was heated in front of the fire or on top of the stove and very carefully judged - too cool and it wouldn’t be effective, too hot and it would scorch the frilled collar. Many and various were the potions and powders needed to remove scorch marks. As you can imagine, a good hot day for drying outside was murderously hot inside next to a roaring fire: full marks for managing to look “neat and nimble” at the same time.

Next stage, airing. Remember, clothes were ironed damp and it was essential that they were completely dry before being put away, otherwise they would develop mould spots which were even worse to get rid of than scorch marks. When all was done the clothes were folded away carefully so as not to crease and on Sunday the collars, cuffs, aprons, petticoats and caps were ready for church or chapel and the work clothes were ready for Monday.

It’s nice that the laundress has an appreciative audience for this back-breaking work. It might be even nicer if he offered a helping hand, but this, I fear, is unlikely. This is a fun song to sing, with a fine chorus. The doubling of the “n” in “neat and nimble” gives an extra push to the rhythm and the double meaning of “dashing” gives a boost to the chorus. “Dashing” can mean doing something quickly (before the iron cools down) or “dashing” in the sense of smart and attractive.

A dashing song all round.

Commentary written by Gillian Goodman,
© ClassicRocks, Mat Williams 2012

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