John Gair Robson (1885 – 1957) was an English schoolmaster, musician and songwriter. Many of his 40-plus songs are in Geordie dialect. His most famous song must be "Whereivvor ye gan ye’re sure te find a Geordie".

Early life

Robson was born in 1885 in the village of

Annitsford Annitsford is a semi-rural village located in North Tyneside (formerly South East Northumberland), on the border between Tyne and Wear and Northumberland. The main conurbation of the village falls under the jurisdiction of the Borough of North ...

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

. His father was the manager of the local Co-op store. It is said that Robson composed his first tune, a hymn, at the age of thirteen and he entered it in a local competition, and won himself a prize. He became a school teacher, teaching first up in north Northumberland, after which he became headmaster at

Backworth Backworth is a village in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England, about west of Whitley Bay on the north east coast. It lies northeast of Newcastle upon Tyne. Other nearby towns include North Shie ...

Board School. Later when

Shiremoor Shiremoor is a village in Tyne and Wear, Northern England. It is in the Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside and formerly governed under Northumberland. In the 2011 census, it was included in the Tynemouth area of Tyneside. It is near the Nor ...

Secondary Modern School opened he moved there. Musically, he was a good pianist/organist with a love of religious music. In the schools in which he taught, he took a special interest in musical performances. He was the organist at St Andrew's Congregational Church, Camden Street,

North Shields North Shields ( ) is a town in the borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. The population of North Shields at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom cens ...

and later at Backworth Chapel. He was associated with Earsdon Sword Dance, Earsdon Junior Sword Dancers and vice president of Whitley Girls' Choir. Having a love of the local people/places/dialect, he became an official of Backworth British Legion and of Whitley Bowls Club. He wrote songs in many areas of interest, prolifically. Some of his material was used on the famous local interest BBC radio show

Wot Cheor Geordie ''Wot Cheor Geordie'' was an early attempt by the BBC to produce a radio variety programme broadcast from Regional Studios and in a local dialect. ''Wot Cheor'' is a greeting in Geordie dialect. The show Wot Cheor Geordie was a radio variety ...

, which ran from the early 1940s until 1956. Jack Robson died in South Wellfield,

Whitley Bay Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It was formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around ...

North Tyneside North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It forms part of the greater Tyneside conurbation. North Tyneside Council is headquartered at Cobalt Park, Wallsend. North Tyneside is bordered by Ne ...

but now

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England. It borders Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south, and the largest settlement is the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The county is ...

in January 1957.

Works

Over 40 of his songs are well known, some nationally, some only regionally. His many works include :- * Whereivvor ye gan ye’re sure to find a Geordie * My Cheviot Hills – beautiful ballad – recording by Thomas Allen (baritone) with Malcolm Martineau (piano) on the album "Songs my father taught me" ref CDA67290 * Cullercoats Bay * Pot Pies and Puddens * The Howty, Towty Lass * The Ha'penny Woods at Bedlington * Canny Tyneside * The Puddens That Me Mother Used Te Myek

References

External links

Wor Geordie songwriters

Allan’s Illustrated Edition of Tyneside songs and readings
English male songwriters People from Whitley Bay Writers from Tyne and Wear 1957 deaths 1885 births Geordie songwriters People from Backworth Musicians from Tyne and Wear {{Songwriter-stub

Early life

Works

See also

References

External links