3 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A
Why Aye Man Lyrics
We had no way of staying afloat
We had to leave on the ferry boat
Economic refugees
On the run to Germany
We had the back of Maggie's hand
Times were tough in geordieland
We got work tools and working gear
And humped it all from Newcastle to here
Why aye man, why aye, why aye man
Why aye man, why aye, why aye man
We're the nomad tribes, traveling boys
In the dust and dirt and the racket and the noise
Drills and hammers, diggers and picks
Mixing concrete, laying bricks
There's English, Irish, Scots, the lot
United nation's what we've got
Brickies, chippies, every trade
German building, British-made
Why aye man, why aye, why aye man
Why aye man, why aye, why aye man
Nae more work on Maggie's farm
Hadaway down the autobahn
Mine's a portacabin bed
Or a bunk in a nissen hut instead
There's plenty Deutschmarks here to earn
And German tarts are wunderschoen
German beer is chemical-free
Germany's alreet with me
Sometimes I miss my river Tyne
But you're my pretty Fraulein
Tonight we'll drink the old town dry
Keep work spirit levels high
Why aye man, why aye, why aye man
Why aye man, why aye, why aye man
We had to leave on the ferry boat
Economic refugees
On the run to Germany
We had the back of Maggie's hand
Times were tough in geordieland
We got work tools and working gear
And humped it all from Newcastle to here
Why aye man, why aye, why aye man
In the dust and dirt and the racket and the noise
Drills and hammers, diggers and picks
Mixing concrete, laying bricks
There's English, Irish, Scots, the lot
United nation's what we've got
Brickies, chippies, every trade
German building, British-made
Why aye man, why aye, why aye man
Hadaway down the autobahn
Mine's a portacabin bed
Or a bunk in a nissen hut instead
And German tarts are wunderschoen
German beer is chemical-free
Germany's alreet with me
Sometimes I miss my river Tyne
But you're my pretty Fraulein
Tonight we'll drink the old town dry
Keep work spirit levels high
Why aye man, why aye, why aye man
Song Info
Submitted by
egger On Apr 29, 2005
More Mark Knopfler
So Far From the Clyde
What It Is
Speedway At Nazareth
Piper to the End
Border Reiver
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
great tune. the meaning is self explanatory. geordies emigrating to germany after maggie thatcher broke the unions in the 80s creating huge unemployment in britain particularly in the northeast when the coal mines where shut down. why aye ye fucka!
This song is actually about the British comedy/ drama series "Auf Wiedersehen, Pet", about a group of labourers in the early 1980s (principaly Geordies, but also a scouser, a cockney, a brummie and a bloke from the West Country). Having been hit pretty hard by Thatcherism, the group head off to find temporary employment in Germany (and subseqently all over the world). Although the song was used for season three of the series, Knopfler wrote the song of his own volition - being himself a citizen of Newcastle, the concerns of Geordies (real or, apparently, fictitious) are of great concern to him! The chorus is notable for two of the actors from the series (Jimmy Nail and Tim Healy) singing back up. A fun song. Exceptional guitar work as always, with a good strong percussion line. Chorus (perhaps intentionally) is reminicent of Native American chants.
@diluna25 Being from the US I had to look up Geordies, scouser, brummie and a bloke from the West Country. I am old enough to remember and still be repelled by Thatcherism. Will probably never have option to view to view "Auf Wiedersehen, Pet", but i have all the BBC streaming stuff so i will watch for it. Thanks for taking the time to enhance my understanding of this great lyricist and musician. I have been listening since 1978 but have missed a lot of the profound complexities. I did notice the closing drum line. I live in the South West...
@diluna25 Being from the US I had to look up Geordies, scouser, brummie and a bloke from the West Country. I am old enough to remember and still be repelled by Thatcherism. Will probably never have option to view to view "Auf Wiedersehen, Pet", but i have all the BBC streaming stuff so i will watch for it. Thanks for taking the time to enhance my understanding of this great lyricist and musician. I have been listening since 1978 but have missed a lot of the profound complexities. I did notice the closing drum line. I live in the South West and have spent many vacations on/in various communities/reservations learning about local customs, art, history, etc. and it jumps right out at me.
"keep wor (our) spirit levels high" geddit?