Crooked Jack. Written by Wolfe Stephens, this song tells of the fate of many a fine Irishman in England. Bodega sang Crooked Jack in 2006 on their eponymous Greentrax CD Bodega. Recorded by Dick Gaughan, Al O’Donnell, John Doyle, Findlay Napier, even does a version on rare occasions. The song is based on the accounts of appalling working conditions for Irish and Scottish workers on a hydro dam project as well as of their experience of working more broadly. ‘The Ganger” was the foreman of a group of working men. Dominic Behan wrote the song to a variant of the traditional tune The Star of the County Down
Songs with Banjo from Harold Hagler
