Grandma’s Goodbye is the lead track from Thorne’s ‘The Contessa’s Party’, and probably the most popular. The chorus is based on an old Yorkshire circular folk rhyme that, as a three-year-old, Thorne learned from his grandmother in Rotherham: ‘To go to work, to make some money, to buy some bread, to make us strong, to go to work.’ The rest of the song is about the love of his grandparents for each other, against the backdrop of a society dependent on heavy industry (in this case, steel). Full lyrics at the bottom of this page.
The original, nine minutes long, embodies Thorne’s ideal of provoking dancing while keeping music moving so that you can also sit and listen to it. That means there’s an awful lot of material available. Seemed the right thing to do was to make the most of it and delver a megamix: the opening two tracks, which flow together, last nearly 17 minutes.
Thorne holds the world record for a megamix, over 24 minutes for the Communards’ huge hit ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’, in 1986. That was a huge effort, he recalls, making him feel tired and want to go to bed when he heard it. Megamixes are rare because of this effort – double the length and you far more than double the work involved. Turned out quite nicely, though, after a couple of weeks, and almost made the ‘Billboard’ club charts, which would have been rather good for an indie release.
As before, in the ‘Dancing With B’ release, star New York remixer Norty Cotto also contributes three cuts, slightly faster and stylistically completely different.
The lyrics recall granddad’s leaving in the dark first thing in the morning, for his shift at Jenkins’ Boiler Works. Grandma says her goodbye:
Dark now, maybe snow
It’s cold, keep your collar up – my love
Kettle singing, boiler ringing
In your ears, a daily due done
Working, loving, living, giving
Receiving, believing, dancing, surviving
To go to work, to make some money, to buy some bread, to make us strong
To go to work
Cold breath, smoke hanging
Warm work keeps us going – my love
Children singing, school bell ringing
In their ears, their daily due done
Forgiving, surviving, conceiving, striving
Dancing, singing, bodies swinging
Sitting, standing, walking, flying
Peeping, poking, prodding, prying
Asking, thinking, loving, giving
Eating, drinking, laughing, living
To go to work, to make some money, to buy some bread, to make us strong
To go to work
Goodbye – my love
Stay dry – my love
And I – my love
Will be waiting here
Running time: 53 minutes.
With 4-page full color booklet
Much more detail at the Stereo Society website (see link at left)
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