The oggie man
Cyril Tawnie
RA, Western, 2008
The rain is softly falling and the Oggie man's no more
I cannot hear him calling like he used to do before
As I came throught the gateway I heard the sergeant say
The big boys they are coming, see their stands across the way
The rain is softly falling and the Oggie man's no more
'Twas here beside the gateway that I bade my love goodbye
She said no'ne love will miss you one half as much as I
My love it will endure like a beacon in a squall
Eternal as the oggie man there by the factory wall
The rain is softly falling and the Oggie man's no more
From Alex Campbell
About
I heard the song on the radio (in Denmark, but Alex was a frequent visitor to Denmark and therefore well-known) on one of Tom Brown's reports from the music scene in London. It really grabbed me.
The Oggie man was a man who stood in the dockyards at Plymouth (a Naval dockyard) by the Albert Gate selling Cornish Pasties (Oggies) to the returning sailors. The hot dog stand of that era and that area.
After the war the Oggie man lost to the competition - caravan stands selling other things besides oggies.
Cyril Tawney wrote a song - the passing of the Oggie man is just one of the things that is there, passes and is gone for ever. The sailor is returning from a long trip and gets a bad feeling about things when he sees that the Oggie man has gone while he has been at sea, and wonders what else has changed.