Blackhall Rocks waltz

This is the reworking as a slow rhythmic air by NE England musician Ged Foley of a tune called The Ruffian’s Rant in the Charlton Memorial Tune Book, a Northumbrian pipes resource. Ged played it on the N. Pipes with the Battlefield Band, on "Home Is Where The Van Is". The original tune is distinct enough to go in separately.

Blackhall Rocks are a feature of the County Durham (UK) coast north of Hartlepool. The Durham coast is not one of Britain’s most scenic but a lot of effort has gone into cleaning up the colliery etc. pollution of the past.

Come to think of it, Ged finished off the tune as follows:

(e g3 e2|dB-B4|A4 G2|g4 a2|b4 a2|ge-e4|d4 B2|A4 G2|A4 e2|)
|dB-B4|A4 G2|g4 a2|b4 a2|ge-e4|d4 B2|A4 G2|G6 |-G4 ||

i.e., repeated a number of the final bars to bring it to a satisfactory close, slowing it down as he did so.

I’ve changed the ABC’s to my satisfaction.

Blackhall is an ex-mining village nearby. I doubt if it rocks.

The Battlefield Band also recorded this tune for what would end up as their album "Live Celtic Folk Music." According to the rather minimal liner notes, it was recorded at a festival in The Netherlands in 1980, but wasn’t released until 1998.

As said in 1st comment,"Blackhall Rocks" is a track on Battlefield Band’s album "Home Is Where The Van Is". This album is 40 years old now (and very good it is too), long ago I had a vinyl copy. No longer owning LPs, I’ve since bought this album on cd and the music is still really enjoyable and inspiring.

I lived at Blackhall Rocks and mam had a house there until just this month Oct 2020. Blackhall does in fact ‘Rock’. There is a National Trust Nature reserve on the beach banks. I’ve stood in mam’s front garden and watched short eared owls hawking over the rough pasture. Ged Foley was a close neighbour of my aunt (a Flanagan) at Blackhall and I’d often see Ged when I visited her. Ged had no idea that I had taken up Irish music and I had no idea that he had either. We met at Gower Festival where both featured and were mutually surprised that two Blackhall lads could get that far and not realise their shared musical common ground.