Why Aye Man

Why Aye Man is a commonly used phrase on Tyneside (Geordieland) and really only means "Yes" but in an emphatic way. The use of this phrase and the way it is used in the song echo Native American Indian chants, at least as seen in common white culture. The song was inspired by, and used as the theme tune for "Auf Wiedersehen Pet", the British television series which began with the scenario of hard up Geordies having to go to Germany to find work on building sites. The first verse refers to this. In the third (?) series the heroes were involved in building a bridge for a Native American tribe on their reservation and it was for this series that the tune was written and used as the theme tune. The person who joins Mark Knopfler on stage in a video version of this track is Jimmy Nail, who was a leading actor in the series and also has a career as a singer. Legend has it that before the first series of Auf Wiedersehen Pet Jimmy Nail was a chippie working on the building sites with no previous acting experience. His surname is not in fact Nail but is a nickname deriving from his occupation as a chippie.

We had no way of staying afloat We had to leave on the ferry boat Economic refugees On the run to Germany We had the back of Maggie's hand Times were tough in Geordieland We got wor tools and working gear And humped it all from Newcastle to here Why aye man, why aye, why aye man Why aye man, why aye, why aye man We're the nomad tribes, travelling boys In the dust and dirt and the racket and the noise Drills and hammers, diggers and picks Mixing concrete, laying bricks There's English, Irish, Scots, the lot United Nation's what we've got Brickies, chippies, every trade German building, British-made Why aye man, why aye, why aye man Why aye man, why aye, why aye man Nae more work on Maggie's farm Hadaway down the autobahn Mine's a portacabin bed Or a bunk in a Nissen hut instead There's plenty Deutschmarks here to earn And German tarts are wunderschoen German beer is chemical-free Germany's alreet with me Sometimes I miss my River Tyne But you're my pretty fraulein Tonight we'll drink the old town dry Keep wor spirit levels high Why aye man, why aye, why aye man Why aye man, why aye, why aye man