Ewan MacColl wrote “Just a Note” (aka “The Exile Song” and also known as “Kiss the Children for Me Mary”) as part of his BBC radio broadcast “Song of the Road” in 1959. It is a relatively romantic view about the plight of Irish Navvies who laboured to build Britain’s network of rail, road and canals during the 1800 and 1900’s. The working conditions endured by navvies can be considered as a shameful example of modern slavery, with the death toll of navvies reaching as much as 3 deaths per 1 mile of railway under construction. Despite the appalling working conditions, starvation and destitution drove many Irishmen and boys to leave their homes to sign up for the work gangs operating in Britain. I recorded my version of the ballad at home with Celtic harp, bowed psaltery and voice, embellishing the song with extracts taken from the films, “Irish Navvy – The Irish in England” and “Voices of the Men who Built Britain”.
