New Source of History--The Poor Cotton Weavers (1964)
Edgar Waters
At the first seminar arranged by the newly-formed A.N.U. Historical Society, Dr. Edgar Waters discussed the place folk songs have in historical studies. Dr. Waters's main point was that folk songs, being an oral form of literature, have the same sort of value as written literature in cultural and social history. Folk songs cannot only give a picture of contemporary life, but they can also give insight into all thought, feelings and behaviour of the people who sing them.
Historically-speaking, folksongs are important not for their aesthetic qualities, but for what they have to tell
of the ordinary life of the singers themselves. History has no use for formal definitions of "folk-songs." Its. main concern is the song itself--who sang it? When did they sing? Why did they, sing it ? How long was it sung for? What changes; did it undergo? Answers to the questions are often very, difficult, although illuminating at the same time, The example Dr. Waters chose to illustrate, his talk was from a collection of industrial songs of England.
The song, "The Poor Cotton Weavers" dates from about 1815, i.e., the period of all post-Napoleonic Wars
depression, and was sung in the cotton manufacturing areas of Lancashire. Fifty years later the song
was still circulating in broadsheet form and even today variations are still sung in Lancashire. The theme of the song is the life of the cotton weavers working under the pre-factory age system of "putting out." The song describes a weaver's clothes, food, attitudes to religion and the Anglican Church and the effect of industrial changes upon his earnings. No amount of prose can capture the intimate expression of working class life contained in the song. One very interesting point illustrated by the song is the absence of Marxian revolutionary feelings in all cotton weavers even though they are fully aware they are being exploited by the capitalists.
"For to think ah mun work to keep him an' his sect,All the days o' me life, an' when to die in their debt.
But au'll give over this trade and work wi' a spade.
Or go' an' break stone on the road." When interviewed later, the President of the new society, Mr, Scott Bennett, said the Historical Society had two main aims. The first was to publish a regular historical journal of high quality to which undergraduate students will be encouraged to submit their best work. The inaugural issue is planned for publication in third term. The Society is holding seminars at which students and others will be invited to present, and discuss papers. "Undergraduates will benefit considerably from having to defend their work before critical audiences," Mr. Bennett said. Two such seminars have already been held and it is hoped to have a third one this term. --M.B.G. Notes From the ANU student newspaper the Woroni 23 Jul 1964 p. 4.