Chas & Dave – Margate

Here’s a summer song!
In the past I’ve talked about Chas & Dave before. They make pub-singalong-style music typical of the East of London, where they are from. They were quite popular in the 1980s and they always used fun lyrics with a bit of a story, and always in the East London dialect. See my old post here.

Margate (Hodges/Peacock) ©Snout Music 1982

Well I’ve been working hard to reach me target
To earn a few bob for a day trip down to Margate
I’m gonna blow the lot tomorrow on all me family
We catch the coach at eight so don’t be late, we’re off to see the sea
Hurry up will ya Grandad, come on we’re going
Down to Margate, don’t forget your buckets and spades and cossys and all
Down to Margate, we’ll have our fill of jellied eels at the cockle stall
Down to Margate, we’ll go on the pier and we’ll have a beer at the side of the sea
Down to Margate, you can keep the Costa Brava, I’m telling ya mate I’d rather have a day down Margate with all me family
Along the promenade we spend some money
And we find a spot on the beach that’s simply sunny
The kids will all enjoy themself digging up the sand, collecting stones and winkle shells to take back home to nan
Behave yourself grandad, or you won’t be going
Down to Margate, don’t forget your buckets and spades and cossies and all
Down to Margate, we’ll have our fill of jellied eels at the cockle stall
Down to Margate, we’ll go on the pier and we’ll have a beer at the side of the sea
You can keep the Costa Brava and all that palava, going no farther, me, I’d rather have me a day down Margate with all me family

Here it is again with explanations:
Well I’ve been working hard to reach me target
me=my
To earn a few bob for a day trip down to Margate
bob=small amount of money
I’m gonna blow the lot tomorrow on all me family
blow the lot=spend all of my money at once
We catch the coach at eight so don’t be late, we’re off to see the sea
coach=bus, not city bus but long distance
Hurry up will ya Grandad, come on we’re going
ya=you
Down to Margate, don’t forget your buckets and spades and cossys and all
cossys, usually cossies, plural of cossie=swimming costume;  and all=and everything else
Down to Margate, we’ll have our fill of jellied eels at the cockle stall.
have our fill=have as much as we want;   jellied eels= East London street food vendor, eels sprinkled with hot chilli vinegar; cockle=a kind of shell fish
Down to Margate, we’ll go on the pier and we’ll have a beer aside of the sea
Down to Margate, you can keep the Costa Brava, I’m telling ya mate I’d rather have a day down Margate with all me family
you can keep…=you like it but I don’t; mate=friend, guy, man; 
Along the promenade we spend some money
And we find a spot on the beach that’s simply sunny
The kids will all enjoy themself digging up the sand, collecting stones and winkle shells to take back home to nan
nan=grandmother
Behave yourself grandad, or you won’t be going
Down to Margate, don’t forget your buckets and spades and cossies and all
Down to Margate, we’ll have our fill of jellied eels at the cockle stall
Down to Margate, we’ll go on the pier and we’ll have a beer aside of the sea
You can keep the Costa Brava and all that palava, going no farther, me I’d rather have me a day down Margate with all me family
palava, or palaver= unnecessarily complicated actions, troublesome

Feel free to ask any questions below.