Doffing Mistress

Doffing Mistress

Oh do you know her or do you not
This new doffing mistress we have got?
Elsie Thompson it is her name
And she helps her doffers at every frame

Fol de ri fol ra
Fol de ri fol ray

On Monday morning when she comes in
She hangs her coat on the highest pin.
Turns around just to greet her friends,
Crying, “Hi, doffers, tie up your ends!”

Some times the boss he looks in the door
“Tie your ends up, doffers,” he will roar
Tie our ends up we surely do
For Elsie Thompson but not for you

Yes tie our ends up we surely do
For Elsie Thompson but not for you
We’ll tie our ends up and we’ll leave our frames
And we’ll wait for Elsie to return again

Trad, Northern Ireland, 1800s
This song comes from the textile mills of Northern Ireland. Mills were mostly worked by women and girls, some as young as nine. A doffing mistress would supervise the mill’s doffers, workers whose work involved darting in and out of operating machinery. This was dangerous work, both because of the risk of being crushed and the high chance of lung disease from the small bits of lint that filled the air. Doffers spent most of the day in a hunched position, and because of this many doffers struggled to stand up straight - the doffing mistress hanging her coat on the highest peg is an act of kindness.
This song was re-popularised by Annie Briggs, whose name you may recognise from the note on Beeswing! Other songs in our songbook she recorded include Lowlands & Rosemary Lane.