Big River........ a song by Jimmy Nail

Shipyard pictures supplied by Norman Dunn,Hebburn






The Propellors of the Mauritaina,a ship built proudly on the River Tyne.


This is a mention for all those who may have a passing connection with a ship building river,in this case the River Tyne on Englands east coast but it may be the River Mersey or the River Clyde,all have seen the best of the best built ships roll down their ways in the days gone past.

My own grand father was a ship worker on the River Tyne,he was a Riveter,from what I have read,thats not a glamorous trade,its a shear bloody hard work trade,normally done in teams of four,one inside the ship backing up the hot rivet hammering with a big lump hammer,another is outside with a brazier which has heated the rivets red hot,it is he who,with a pair of steel tongs, throws a red hot rivet to another with tongs,he then places the rivet in the pre drilled hole in the side of the ship,while a forth man drives the hot rivet home,hence the man inside the ship backing up and ensuring the rivet clenchs over.

I have made contact with a web site dedicated to Hebburn on Tyne,my grandad Robert(robbie)McBride lived there in his River Tyne days before moving to Merseyside and Birkenhead,across the River Mersey from Liverpool.

Check out this U Tube song about the River Tyne

Re: Big River.
Posted by Mike (site ed.) on 25/7/2008, 1:19 pm, in reply to "Big River."

Wasn't it Jimmy Nail himself - in collaboration with Mark Knopfler?

Just a guess - but I suspect that the other song was performed at one of the 'Sunday for Sammy' concerts which Healy, Nail, Whately, Welch, Halfpenny,Healy et all put on most years in memory of the late Sammy Johnson (Stick in Spender)

this was part of the web site thread,while I sort out how to post a U Tube Video on this blog,please check out Jimmy Nail,Mark Knopfler and the song Big River,lots of pictures and clips in it.

I am informed that placing video clips on web sites may infringe copyright,so I will decline the temptation to upload Big River by Mark Knopfler and Jimmy Nail,if your interested in the subject its important you view that clip as its full of film clips of the period,ships being launched,sailing off to war,coal mines,River Tyne in all its past glory.

Roy