Derby Smith, 1947–2005 (?)
Derby Smith was the son of Jasper and Priscilla Smith, and named after his grandfather. He was probably the Derby Smith whose birth was registered in the Surrey Mid Eastern district in the fourth quarter of 1947.
Mike Yates relates that
Derby Smith, one of Jasper’s sons, came with his father to one of the recording sessions at Cecily Taylor’s house and it was then that we recorded his superb protest song Will There Be Any Travellers in Heaven?1
Jasper and Derby were camping near Epsom in Surrey at that time.
‘Will There Be Any Travellers in Heaven?’ is based on the song Hobo’s Meditation, by early American Country music star Jimmie Rodgers, which was first released on a 78 rpm record on Victor in 1932. The traveller version is often cited as Derby’s composition, although it appears that it is actually one of the many fine songs written by his cousin Ambrose Cooper. The following is taken from an article in Traveller’s Times, issue 33, Autumn 2007:
Ambrose’s best-known song, ‘Will There Be Any Travellers in Heaven?’ is a good example of how he creates music, but gets little credit for it. His late cousin Derby Smith is often named as the song’s creator.
“People take my stuff and say they’ve done it. I can’t read and write, so I’ve made a song up on a tape, played it to somebody and they’ve written it down and said that they’ve done it. Jimmie Rodgers said: ‘Will there be any brakemen in heaven?’ So it was his tune but my words.”
That article refers to him as Ambrose’s “late cousin”. The death of a Derby Smith was recorded in the East Surrey District in the second quarter of 2005 – just two years after the death of his father Jasper. His birth date was given as 5th November 1947.
Songs
- Will There Be Any Travellers in Heaven? (Roud 5214)
- Mike Yates, notes to Here’s Luck to a Man…, Musical Traditions MTCD320, 2003, https://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/luck ↩︎
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