Peg and Awl is a traditional song dating to the early Industrial Revolution about the displacement of traditional shoemakers (along with all other craftspeople) by mechanization. It is commonly played as an upbeat and optimistic (if not a little cheeky) "I don't have to work anymore!" kind of song. Some years ago Bruce Molsky released a beautiful, haunting, lamenting version which takes a much more honest view of that history. Strangely enough, at the time R was introduced to that version, they were working as a shoe repairer and experiencing many of the same issues over again; only this time in the context of 21st century globalization and hyper-mechanization. This version falls somewhere between these two interpretations, as if to say "Well, fuck. What am I gonna do now?" It is followed by the traditional jigs "Banish Misfortune" and “Blarney Pilgrim.”
lyrics
In eighteen hundred one
Peg and awl
In eighteen hundred one
Peg and awl
In eighteen hundred one
Peggin' shoes was all I done
I'm gonna lay me down my awl, my peg and awl
In eighteen hundred two
Peg and awl
In eighteen hundred two
Peg and awl
In eighteen hundred two
Peggin' shoes was all I'd do
I'm gonna lay me down my awl, my peg and awl
In eighteen hundred three
Peg and awl
In eighteen hundred three
Peg and awl
In eighteen hundred three
Peggin' shoes was all you'd see
I'm gonna lay me down my awl, my peg and awl
They've invented a new machine
Peg and awl
They've invented a new machine
Peg and awl
They've invented a new machine
I peg one shoe, it pegs fifteen
I'm gonna lay me down my awl, my peg and awl
In eighteen hundred four
peg and awl
In eighteen hundred four
peg and awl
In eighteen hundred four
pegging shoes I'll do no more
I'm gonna lay me down my awl, my peg and awl
supported by 6 fans who also own “Peg and Awl/Banish Misfortune/Blarney Pilgrim”
This album has been a powerful mix of hitting home and expanding my horizons. This is great music, both from and for the ongoing fight for universal human dignity. I don't know how he does it, but Emmett has a way of saturating each story he tells - even the ones far removed from his own experience - with a rich feeling of authenticity. Two thumbs up! jwberns
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