Vin Garbutt (Vincent Paul Garbutt, 20 November 1947 – 6 June 2017) was an E… Read Full Bio ↴Vin Garbutt (Vincent Paul Garbutt, 20 November 1947 – 6 June 2017) was an English folk singer and songwriter. A significant part of his repertoire consists of protest songs covering topics such as "the Troubles" in Northern Ireland (Troubles of Erin), unemployment, and social issues.

Vin Garbutt was born in South Bank, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom, the son of an English father and an Irish mother. He discovered folk music while he was still at school, and began visiting and performing at the Rifle Club in Cannon Street, Middlesbrough. After leaving school he was encouraged to become an apprentice at the Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) Wilton chemical plant, near to his home. During this period he often visited Ireland in search of his musical roots. At the age of 21, he threw caution to the winds and became a professional musician. Armed with the rich repertoire of songs he had amassed, he spent the first summer busking his way around the bars of Spain's Mediterranean coast, and on to Morocco via Gibraltar. It was then that he found he had a talent for songwriting.

Back in England in 1972 he recorded his first album for Bill Leader, The Valley of Tees. This firmly established him as a singer and songwriter of well-crafted, socially conscious and environmentally aware songs.

During 1999 Garbutt celebrated his 30th year as a professional performer. He spent the early part of the year on a world tour, playing extensively in the Far East, Australia and New Zealand. As soon as he got back to England he set off on his “Take It Easy after 30 Years on the Road” tour. To coincide with the tour he released his Word of Mouth CD, playing in various British venues to packed theatres. His rambling patter between the songs can take longer than the amount of time singing.

During 2001 Garbutt published the first collection of his songs, The Vin Garbutt Songbook. The collection spans his career from "The Valley of Tees" written in 1971 to "The Troubles of Erin'" written in 1999. Shortly afterwards, the companion CD was issued, Garbutt's first ever compilation CD and another world tour followed in 2004. A health check highlighted a minor health problem but in early 2005, whilst on a sabbatical trip to Spain, Garbutt's condition deteriorated. On his return he was hospitalised and a repair made to one of his heart valves. He made a full recovery and was back on the road. In his recuperation period he worked on his album Persona … Grata which was launched at The Sage Gateshead on 6 October 2005.

In 2001 Garbutt won the "Best Live Act” award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, and was also nominated for "Folk Singer of the Year" (with the award going to Norma Waterson). Later that year, he was awarded an Honorary Degree of Master of Arts by the University of Teesside. In 2007 he was nominated for "Best Live Act" again at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, with the award going to Bellowhead.

Discography
The Valley of Tees (1972)
The Young Tin Whistle Pest (live) (1974)
King Gooden (1976)
Eston California (1977)
Tossin' a Wobbler (1978)
Little Innocents (1983)
Shy Tot Pommy (1985) (live - Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia)
When The Tide Turns (1989)
The By-Pass Syndrome (1991)
Bandalised (1994)
Plugged! (1995) (live - Red Lion Folk Club, Birmingham, UK.)
When the Tide Turns Again (1998) (reissue of 1989 album with one additional track)
Word Of Mouth (1999)
The Vin Garbutt Songbook Vol 1 (2003)
Persona ... Grata (2005)
Teesside Troubadour documentary & live DVD (2011)
Synthetic Hues (2014)
In 2009 The Land of the Three Rivers from Eston California was included in Topic Records 70 year anniversary boxed set Three Score and Ten as track fourteen on the fifth CD.

The Ring Of Iron
Vin Garbutt Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

It's all around the town
All around the town
It's all around the town
This hard ring of iron

There's smoke up in the sky
Smoke up in the sky
There's smoke that's black and chimney stacks

As far as the eye can see

There's shipyards to the north
Chemicals to the south
Factories, stills and rolling mills
Right down to the river's mouth

But there's fields and pastures green
Fields and pastures green
There's fields and pastures green
Outside this ring of iron

So it's out of town I'm bound
Out of town I'm bound

It's out of town I'm bound
And I'll break this ring of iron

Overall Meaning

Vin Garbutt's song The Ring Of Iron vividly describes the industrial revolution in England and its consequences on the society. The first verse highlights the omnipresence of the industrial machinery and its impact on the environment as the hard ring of iron that surrounds the town, bringing to mind images of the industrial chimneys and factories that dot the skyline.

The second verse draws attention to the smoke that continuously billows in the sky, illustrating the pollution caused by the factories and chimneys. It's a poignant reminder of the townsfolk who probably have to endure the noxious fumes every day. The lines 'as far as the eye can see' and 'all around the town' emphasize the enormity of the industrialization and the extent of its transformative impact on the townsfolk.

The third verse speaks of how the factories are concentrated in certain areas, thereby making them susceptible to harmful emissions as in the case of chemicals to the south. Yet, amidst all of this development, there are still fields of pastures to hold on to, which are representative of the greenery that surrounds the town. The final verse speaks of the singer's intention to leave the town and 'break this ring of iron'. It's an indication of the resistance of the people towards industrialization and how nature and fields of pastures green serve as a reminder of a simpler, cleaner past.

Line by Line Meaning

It's all around the town
The ring of iron is present everywhere in the town

This hard ring of iron
The ring of iron is rigid and inflexible

There's smoke up in the sky
The sky is filled with dark smoke

Smoke up in the sky
The sky is covered with smoke

There's smoke that's black and chimney stacks
The smoke comes from black chimney stacks

As far as the eye can see
The smoke can be seen everywhere for a long distance

There's shipyards to the north
Shipyards are located in the north direction

Chemicals to the south
Chemical factories are located in the south direction

Factories, stills and rolling mills
Factories, stills and mills are present

Right down to the river's mouth
The factories extend up to the mouth of the river

But there's fields and pastures green
There are green fields and pastures