Harrison would routinely dress as Geordie Black when performing the song on stage.
Maw nyem is Geordy Black, In maw time aw've been a crack, Aw've worked byeth i' the Gyuss an' i' the Betty, An' the coals upon the Tyne oot o' uthers tyek the shine, An' we lick them a' for iron doon at Hawks's.
When aw was a bairn, carried on my fethur's back, He wad tyek me away te the pit; An' gettin' T the cage, an' gannin' doon belaw, Twas eneuf te myek a yungster tyek a fit.
Te sit an' keep a door, 'midst darkness an' gloom, Ay, monny an 'oor be me-sel; An' hear the awful shots that rummel'd throo the pit, An' lumps o' roondy coal cum doon pell-mell.
The many versions published show considerable variations in the spelling of the words, including: aa, aw and I aad and awd aad, aud and old aaful and awful aa'm and aw'm a'and aal always and aalways bairn and just a lad baith and byeth coal and coals come and cum dinnet and divent> 'em and them eneuf and enough father and fethur> Geordie Black and Geordy Black good and gud greeves and grieves i' and in just a lad and yung ma, maw, me and my monny and mony name and nyem o' and of others and uther lads pass and while roond the pit and throo the pit rummel'd and rummelled tak, yyek and tyuk varry and very warked and worked warld and world youngster and yungster Specific differences Verse 3, line 1 - "Aa'll bid ye a' gud neet" is replaced "Noo aa'll say good neet" Verse 3, line 1 - "Aw shure aw've tried te please" is replaced by "An' aa've done me best te please" Verse 3, line 6 - "te see places slack" changed to "te see the place se slack" Verse 3, line 7 - "ne coal cums te day" changed to "ne pay-note comes teneet" A small book of over 50 pages and sized about 5” x 7½” (125mm x 190mm) entitled Rowland Harrison’s Tyneside Songs containing local songs composed by Harrison (and with an illustrative sketch of "Geordy Black", was published around 1871.