The last British work songs: Music, community and class in the Kent hop fields of the early-mid 20th century

Abstract

This article examines the widespread practice of singing during the picking of hops in the Kent hop fields from the 1920s through to the 1950s. The singing is analysed both in terms of its position as a late, rare and therefore potentially revealing example of British work songs in the 20th century, and in terms of the light it casts on the musical culture of the singers, working class women of London’s East End. It is argued that the songs expressed and sprang from the strong sense of community amongst the hop-pickers. Further, singing emerged in hop-picking precisely because it was a ‘working holiday’ in which the dichotomies of work and leisure broke down. The musical activity of the hop-pickers is seen as expressing an active culture of creativity, class and community – in contrast to Stedman Jones’ influential characterization of London’s working class as enmeshed in a culture of passive consolation.