Listen to the track:
Camping Out (June 1921)
A light whimsical comic folk song based on the 1921 census in Wembury. On census night, Philip Pike, a garage proprietor, his wife Daisy, and their nine year old daughter Phyllis are found camping in a tent on the cliffs above Wembury Beach. The census man, expecting cottages and farms, politely records the unusual address after being offered a cup of tea. A small true story where official paperwork meets seaside life, summer weather, and quiet British humour. The census return has their address as :
Camping Out, Tent, The Cliffs, Wembury Beach
Verse 1
He came down from the village
With his forms tucked neat and dry
Boots made for lanes and letterboxes
And a steady walking eye
He had cottages and farmsteads
All written in his hand
Then the houses ran out quietly
And the path turned into sand
Verse 2
It was nineteen June in twenty one
With the longest days in reach
Just the wind and open water
And the cliffs of Wembury Beach
Canvas tied against the weather
Doing its best to pass for home
Philip Pike stood smiling
Far from where he was usually known
Chorus
Would you care for tea this morning
Yes that would be very kind
Kettle steaming by the canvas
While he checks another line
Postal address
He pauses then he speaks
Tent
The Cliffs
Wembury Beach
Verse 3
Daisy poured it like a ritual
Like it happened every day
Early thirties calm and settled
While the clouds just drifted by
Phyllis nine years old went barefoot
Drawing letters in the sand
While the census man kept nodding
Doing all he said he planned
Chorus
Would you care for tea this morning
Yes that would be very kind
Kettle steaming by the canvas
While he checks another line
Postal address
He pauses then he speaks
Tent
The Cliffs
Wembury Beach
Verse 4
Care of Roberts Steer Point cottages
Written smaller on the line
River Yealm behind the wording
For a more familiar time
Name and age and occupation
Carefully set in line
Husband wife and daughter
All accounted there in time
Final Chorus
Would you care for tea this morning
Yes I think I will remain
Sitting on a folded crate
With sand still on his name
So he writes it nice and neatly
With a smile he cannot teach
Nineteen June nineteen twenty one
Tent
The Cliffs
Wembury Beach