"The Gallant Shoemakers Of Glasgow", a song which has been preserved in a scrapbook entitled Old Glasgow Street Songs etc, 1850 and is held at the Mitchell Library.
The song celebrates a strike by Glasgow shoe makers in 1857, in pursuit of higher wages. The two men mentioned by name at the end of the song were probably the union leaders who negotiated with employers on behalf of the strikers. The publisher comments that the strike led many shoemakers to quit Glasgow "on the tramp" - travelling around the country searching for customers on their own account.
Reference: GC 398.5 GLA
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
boot makers, folks songs, industrial action, lyrics, Minerva Hall, Old Glasgow Street Songs etc, 1850, on the tramp, poetry, shoe makers, street songs, strikes, The Gallant Shoemakers Of Glasgow, trade unions, trades unions