In 1985 heeft de in Belfast geboren songwriter Phil Gaston in opdracht van 'The Pogues' de lyric 'Navigator' geschreven. Een lied voornamelijk over hardwerkende, hard drinkende en hard vechtende mannen. Navigators of navvies, waren arbeiders, voornamelijk Ieren, die werkten aan grote bouwprojecten, kanalen en spoorwegen van de 18e tot de 20e eeuw. De prachtige lyric die door Shane McGowan, zanger van de legendarische folkband 'The Pogues' zo fantastisch gezongen werd, heeft 'Hodgepodge' sinds kort ook in het repertoire opgenomen. 'Hodgepodge' heeft met 'Navigator' uiteraard z'n eigen klankkleur en dynamiek, maar aan onderstaande songtekst van Phil Gaston wordt natuurlijk niet getornd.
The canals and the bridges, the embankments and cuts,
They blasted and dug with their sweat and their guts
They never drank water but whiskey by pints
And the shanty towns rang with their songs and their fights.
Navigator, Navigator rise up and be strong
The morning is here and there's work to be done.
Take your pick and your shovel and the bold dynamite
For to shift a few tons of this earthly delight
Yes to shift a few tons of this earthly delight.
They died in their hundreds with no sign to mark where
Save the brass in the pocket of the entrepreneur.
By landslide and rockblast they got buried so deep
That in death if not life they'll have peace while they sleep.
Navigator, Navigator rise up and be strong
The morning is here and there's work to be done.
Take your pick and your shovel and the bold dynamite
For to shift a few tons of this earthly delight
Yes to shift a few tons of this earthly delight.
Their mark on this land is still seen and still laid
The way for a commerce where vast fortunes were made
The supply of an Empire where the sun never set
Which is now deep in darkness, but the railway's there yet.
Navigator, Navigator rise up and be strong
The morning is here and there's work to be done.
Take your pick and your shovel and the bold dynamite
For to shift a few tons of this earthly delight
Yes to shift a few tons of this earthly delight.
Harderwijk, 24/8'18.
