Category: songs

Robert Burns 1775

 

Dick Gaughan wrote the following in his iconic interpretation: “I learned this, from Geordie Hamilton, an ex-miner from Kirkintilloch who worked with the Post Office in Edinburgh. He used to frequent the Forrest Hill Bar (always known as Sandy Bell’s) and was responsible for encouraging and assisting many a young singer. But it was very difficult learning a complete song from him as he had a habit of starting one, singing a verse or two, then saying, “You don’t really want to hear that” and launching into something else. The wonderful Ulster singer, Len Graham, sings this to a similar tune. Due to its closeness to the south-west of Scotland, Burns’ songs and poetry are very popular in Ulster.” “Peggy dear” was Peggy Thomson of Kirkoswald, a coastal town where Burns spent his seventeenth summer

Dick Gaughan: https://dickgaughan.bandcamp.com/track/now-westlin-winds-trad-arr-gaughan

https://dickgaughan.bandcamp.com/track/now-westlin-winds-trad-arr-gaughan

Now westlin winds and slaughtering guns Bring autumn’s pleasant weather The moorcock springs on whirring wings Among the blooming heather Now waving grain, wild o’er the plain Delights the weary farmer And the moon shines bright as I rove at night To muse upon my charmer The partridge loves the fruitful fells The plover loves the mountain The woodcock haunts the lonely dells The soaring hern the fountain Through lofty groves the cushat roves The path of man to shun it The hazel bush o’erhangs the thrush The spreading thorn the linnet Thus every kind their pleasure find The savage and the tender Some social join and leagues combine Some solitary wander Avaunt! Away! the cruel sway, Tyrannic man’s dominion The sportsman’s joy, the murdering cry The fluttering, gory pinion But Peggy dear the evening’s clear Thick flies the skimming swallow The sky is blue, the fields in view All fading green and yellow Come let us stray our gladsome way And view the charms of nature The rustling corn, the fruited thorn And every happy creature We’ll gently walk and sweetly talk Till the silent moon shines clearly I’ll grasp thy waist and, fondly pressed Swear how I love thee dearly Not vernal showers to budding flowers Not autumn to the farmer So dear can be as thou to me My fair, my lovely charmer

 

 

Rudyard Kipling 1906

Peter Bellamy 1970

Peter Bellamy: Peter Bellamy – Oak, Ash and Thorn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46VHdzSdB7k

Of all the trees that grow so fair, Old England to adorn, Greater are none beneath the Sun, Than Oak and Ash and Thorn. Chorus: Sing Oak and Ash and Thorn, good Sirs All of a Midsummer’s morn! Surely we sing of no little thing, In Oak and Ash and Thorn! Oak of the Clay lived many a day, Or ever Aeneas began; Ash of the Loam was a lady at home, When Brut was an outlaw man; Thorn of the Down saw New Troy Town (From which was London born); Witness hereby the ancientry Of Oak and Ash and Thorn! Yew that is old in churchyard mould, He breedeth a mighty bow; Alder for shoes do wise men choose, And beech for cups also. But when ye have killed, and your bowl is spilled, Your shoes are clean outworn, Back ye must speed for all that ye need, To Oak and Ash and Thorn! Ellum she hates mankind, and waits Till every gust be laid, To drop a limb on the head of him, That anyway trusts her shade: But whether a lad be sober or sad, Or mellow with ale from the horn, He’ll take no wrong when he lieth along ‘Neath Oak and Ash and Thorn! Oh, do not tell the Priest our plight, Or he would call it a sin; But-we’ve been out in the woods all night, A-conjuring Summer in! And we bring you news by word of mouth – Good news for cattle and corn – Now is the Sun come up from the South, With Oak and Ash and Thorn! Last chorus: Sing Oak and Ash and Thorn, good Sirs (All of a Midsummer’s morn)! England shall bide till Judgement Tide, By Oak and Ash and Thorn!

 

 

Alex Ellis 2024

 

Source story: https://www.theverge.com/c/24070570/internet-cables-undersea-deep-repair-ships Tune: Chi Mi Na Morbeanna

https://www.theverge.com/c/24070570/internet-cables-undersea-deep-repair-ships

Chorus: Haul it up, turn the winch carefully Splice it in, tow the line undersea Cables that unite us all globally Who else will keep the world whole? Internet cables lie taut under ocean waves Old men who fix them with old boats and older ways Fear the lines snapping and ripping a life away Who else will keep the world whole? My name’s Mitsuyoshi, I’m Ocean Link’s engineer Measuring bandwidth and wrestling greasy gears I built this boat, now I’ve lived on her thirty years Who else will keep the world whole? Not much reception for calling your wife and son But shipboard camaraderie is seriously lots of fun VHS karaoke when work is done Who else will keep the world whole? Trawlers or landslides, every week cables break It’s days without Internet, canceled flights, paychecks late Worried for loved ones when you can’t communicate Who else will keep the world whole? Before data centers lines went to where people are Dollars for maintenance are dull but important, our Service is strong to people both near and far Who else will keep the world whole?

 

 

C.W. Murphy 1908

Dan Lipton 

Chorus: Oh! Oh! Antonio! He’s gone away Left me alonio All on my ownio I’d like to meet him with his new sweetheart Then up shall go Antonio and his ice cream cart. In quaint native dress an Italian maid Was deep in distress as the streets she strayed Searching in every part for her false sweetheart And his ice cream cart Her English was bad it cannot be denied And so to herself in Italian she cried So sad grew the plight of this fair young lass She’d faint at the sight of an ice cream glass She dreamed nigh ev’ry day he’d come back to stay But he’d fade away Her old hurdygurdy all day she’d parade And this she would sing to each tune that it played: She sought in despair for Antonio, And looked ev’rywhere that she thought he’d go. Soon she to pine began as each face she’d scan For her ice cream man. She faded away, but they say in the street The ghost of that girl in Italian repeats:

 

 

Claire Rothrock 1957

Milton Yakus, Allan Jeffrey 

The original recording by Patti Page sold over a million copies. Wikipedia: “Hailed by Cape Cod natives as the ‘unofficial Cape Cod Anthem, if ever there was one,’ the song has been credited with ‘putting the Cape on the map’ and helping to establish Cape Cod as a major tourist destination.”

Bing Crosby: Bing Crosby – Old Cape Cod (1957)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyKJquTOdLY

If you’re fond of sand dunes and salty air Quaint little villages here and there You’re sure to fall in love with old Cape Cod If you like the taste of a lobster stew Served by a window with an ocean view You’re sure to fall in love with old Cape Cod Bridge: Winding roads that seem to beckon you Miles of green beneath the skies of blue Church bells chimin’ on a Sunday morn Remind you of the town where you were born If you spend an evening, you’ll want to stay Watching the moonlight on Cape Cod Bay You’re sure to fall in love with old Cape Cod Ohhh, if you spend an evening, you’ll want to stay Watching the moonlight on Cape Cod Bay You’re sure to fall in love with old Cape Cod

 

 

trad 

 

Nicole Singer & Becky Wright: https://beckyandnicole.bandcamp.com/track/the-old-churchyard

https://beckyandnicole.bandcamp.com/track/the-old-churchyard

Come, come with me out to the old churchyard, I well know those paths ‘neath the soft green sward. Friends slumber in there that we want to regard; We will trace out the names in the old churchyard. Mourn not for them, their trials are o’er, And why weep for those who will weep no more? For sweet is that sleep, though cold and hard Their pillows may be in the old churchyard. I know that it’s vain when our friends depart To breathe kind words to a broken heart; And I know that the joy of life is marred When we follow lost friends to the old churchyard. But were I at rest ‘neath yonder tree, Oh, why would you weep, my friends, for me? I’m so weary, so wayworn, why would you retard The peace I seek in the old churchyard? Why weep for me, for I’m anxious to go To that haven of rest where no tears ever flow; And I fear not to enter that dark lonely tomb Where our saviour has lain an’ he conquered the gloom. I rest in the hope that one bright day Sunshine will burst through these prisons of clay, And old Gabriel’s trumpet and the voice of the Lord Will wake up the dead in the old churchyard.

 

 

Harry Wincott 1893

 

Some mates and I in a public house were playing dominoes one night When all of a sudden in the pot-man came with his face all chalky white. “What’s up?” says Brown, “Have you seen a ghost? Have you seen your Aunt Mariah?” “My Aunt Mariah be blown,” says he, “The bloomin’ pub’s on fire!” Chorus: Oh there was Brown, upside down, mopping up the whisky off the floor. “Booze, booze!” the firemen cried as they came a-knocking at the door. “Don’t let ’em in till it’s all mopped up!”; someone shouted “McIntyre!” And we all got blue blind paralytic drunk when the Old Dun Cow caught fire. Old Johnson rushed to the port-wine tub and gave it just a few hard knocks. He started taking off his pantaloons, likewise his shoes and socks. “Hold on,” says Tibbs, “if you want to wash your feet there’s a tub of old ale here. Don’t wash your feet in the port-wine tub when we’ve still got some old stale beer.” Just then there came such an awful crash, half the bloomin’ roof gave way. We were doused by the fireman’s hose but still we were all gay. We got some sacks and some old tin tacks and we bunged ourselves inside, And we all got drinking good old Scotch when the Old Dun Cow caught fire.

 

 

Barrie Temple 2001

 

The Wilderness Yet: https://thewildernessyet.bandcamp.com/track/old-jacky-frost-2

https://thewildernessyet.bandcamp.com/track/old-jacky-frost-2

Chorus: Old Jacky Frost is knockin’ at the door (Don’t let him in, no way sir) Old Jacky Frost, been here before (Don’t let him in, no way sir) Whether you’re rich or whether you’re poor He’ll come knockin’ all around your door Give him a chance, he’ll be in for sure (Don’t let him in, no way sir) Summer’s lost and the winter’s come (Don’t let him in, no way sir) Days are short and the nights are long (Don’t let him in, no way sir) Hear him knocking, don’t complain See his star on the window pane Comes the winter, come what may (Don’t let him in, no way sir) See the sheep in the winter snow (Don’t let him in, no way sir) All forlorn, nowhere to go (Don’t let him in, no way sir) Coats so thick, the sun don’t shine Oh how I wish that coat were mine To glad the heart so warm and fine (Don’t let him in, no way sir) See his breath freeze in the air (Don’t let him in, no way sir) Older, colder everywhere (Don’t let him in, no way sir) Head bowed down, he’ll make you pray For the warmth and pleasure of a summer’s day Old Jacky Frost, he’ll be far away (Don’t let him in, no way sir) Spring will come and rise again (Don’t let him in, no way sir) Jack in the Green will bring his friends (Don’t let him in, no way sir) Fight the fight, defy the foe Old Jacky Frost, he will have to go He’ll be back sooner than you know (Don’t let him in, no way sir)

 

 

John Kirkpatrick 

 

John Kirkpatrick: Old King Coal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfTfFJFx3ac

Under the ground lay Old King Coal, he lay most peacefully He ruled in might and splendor, there was none so grand as he But men came along to tunnel him out and topple him from his throne They tore him down to steal his crown for the power in the old black stone Chorus: There’s fire in the heart of Old King Coal There’s the strength of centuries in his soul There’s a power that grows where his black blood flows So here’s to Old King Coal So they scratched him, hacked him, and harried him out, they ripped him from his bed And they blast his bones asunder, they’d sworn to seen him dead They they carried him out to the sun’s bright light which blinded him in the eye And the blood did drain from every vein until they’d drained him dry Then they cracked his bones on the grinding stones, how gleefully they did grind Oh how they pulverized him, turned him to dust so fine Then they sprayed him into the furnace fire and burned him in the air With a mighty blast, they burned him fast, as he prayed his final prayer And his soul cried out with a final song as he reached his final hour And his heart it burst with singing, so mighty was the power And he sang the water into steam and the steam made the wheels fly round And the song ran on both pure and strong til the wires hummed with its sound Out of the darkness there comes light, out of the earth comes fire Out of the cold comes comfort, as his bones go blazing higher And his soul flies out through the air we breathe and down on the earth we tread That humankind may not forget that Old King Coal is dead

 

 

trad 

 

Steeleye Span: The Old Maid in the Garrett/b. Tam Lin (Reel)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go41eB-KgYA

I was told by my Aunt I was told by my mother That going to a wedding Is the makings of another Well if this be so Then I’ll go without a bidding O kind Providence Won’t you send me to a wedding Chorus: And it’s Oh dear me How will it be If I die an old maid In a garret Now there’s my sister Jean She’s not handsome or good looking Scarcely sixteen And a fella she was courting Now she’s twenty-four She’s a son and a daughter Here am I, forty-four And I’ve never had an offer I can cook and I can sew I can keep a house right tidy Rise up in the morning And get the breakfast ready There’s nothing in this wide world That makes my heart so cheery As a wee fat man To call me his own deary So come landsman or come townsman Come tinker or come tailor Come fiddler, come dancer Come ploughman or come sailor Come rich man, come poor man Come fool or come witty Come any man at all Won’t you marry out of pity?