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This section contains the songs: The Wild Rover, Scarborough Fair, Wat Tyler, John Barleycorn, The Demon Lover and Over The Hills And Far Away.
The Wild Rover
I've been a wild rover for many a year And I've spent all me money on Whisky and Beer But now I'm returning with gold in great store And I never will play the wild rover no more CHORUS: And its no, nay, never No, nay, never no more Will I play the wild rover No never, no more
I went to an alehouse I used to frequent And I told the landlady my money was spent I asked her for credit, she answered me "nay" "For custom like yours I can get any day"
CHORUS
Then out my pocket I took sovereigns bright And the landlady's eyes opened wide with delight She said "I have whisky and wines of the best" "And the words that I spoke they were only in jest"
CHORUS
I'll go back to my parents, confess what I've done And ask them to pardon the prodigal son And if they caress me as oft times before I never will play the wild rover no more
CHORUS
Scarborough fair Are you going to Scarborough fair ? Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Remember me to one who lives there She once was a true love of mine
Tell her to make me a Cambric shirt Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Without any seam and fine needlework And then she'll be a true love of mine
Tell her to wash it in yonder dry well Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Where water ne'er sprung, nor drop of rain fell And then she'll be a true love of mine
Tell her to dry it on yonder thorn Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Which never bore blossom since Adam was born And then she'll be a true love of mine
And will you find me an acre of land Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Between the salt water and the salt sea strand Or never be a true lover of mine
And will you plough it with a lambs horn Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme And sow it all over with one peppercorn Or never be a true lover of mine
Oh will you reap it with a sickle of leather Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme And tie it all up with a peacock's feather Or never be a true lover of mine
And when you have done and finished your work Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Then come to me with your Cambric shirt
And you shall be a true lover of mine
Wat Tyler CHORUS: And on the field at Blackheath Us commons covered the earth More men than ever I did see Poor honest men from birth
The men were up from Kent, and out of Essex too Though naught but the Thames divides us and unites us onwards Through all the villages of England and on to London town Where we poor men would meet our king and lay our grievance down Wat Tyler led us men from Kent, rough hands were shaken there King Richard and the commons our bold resolve and prayer
We knew our king would hear us, our loyalty was clear T'was the bloody lawyers' poll tax that had brought us labourers here And yet he wouldn't see us, so to London we did roar And the poor there and the Essex men burst down the prison door What happened at the Tower was justice, rough in part The murders of the Flemish boys sat uneasy in my heart "And now the king must see us" said Tyler to his men And the very next day young Richard came and met us at Mile End
CHORUS
Kent and Essex, Bedford, Sussex received King Richard's word No harm nor blame would come to them if home they would return And Lincoln, Cambridge, Stafford too received our young king's favour And thirty thousand left us there, believing it was over But Tyler, he was not convinced and told us to remain "I want to hear his words again, for nothing much has changed" So Tyler, he approached the king and took Richard by the arm And his rough but friendly gesture caused Richard's knights alarm
"Ah my lord " said Tyler, "companions we shall be" "I shall trust in you my lord, if you will trust in me" And so he called for water, and then he called for ale And his manner shocked young Richard's knights and I watched the Lord Mayor pale "I know this man" a voice accused, "Wat Tyler is a thief" The Lord Mayor feared he'd harm the king, that was his true belief And there at Smithfield drew his sword, and cut our captain down And the heart went out of all of us with his blood upon the ground
CHORUS
Young Richard, he was merciful and he pardoned one and all But home to Kent like beaten dogs, still serfs we had to crawl But how precious was our liberty and the hope that filled us all That left poor Tyler's severed head upon a bloody pole
John BarleycornThere were three men Came from the west Their fortunes for to tell, And the life of John Barleycorn As well
They laid him three furrows deep, Laid clods upon his head, The these three men made a solemn vow John Barleycorn was dead.
They let him die for a very long time Till the rain from heaven did fall, Then little Sir John sprang up his head And he did amaze them all.
They let him stand till the Midsummer Day, Till he looked both pale and wan. Then little Sir John he grew a long beard And so became a man.
They have hired men with the scythes so sharp To cut him off at the knee, They rolled and they tied him around the waist, The served him barbarously.
They have hired men with the crab-tree sticks, To cut him skin from bone, And the miller he has served him worse than that, For he's ground him between two stones. They've wheeled him here, they've wheeled him there, They've wheeled him to a barn, And they have served him worse than that, They've bunged him in a vat.
They have worked their will on John Barleycorn But he lived to tell the tale, For they pour him out of an old brown jug And they call him home brewed ale.
The Demon Lover Girl: Where have you been my long lost love These seven long years and more
Demon: Seeking gold for thee my love And riches of great store
I might have married the king's daughter Far, far beyond the sea But I refused the golden crown All for the love of thee Girl: What have you to keep me with If I with you should go If I foresake my husband dear And my unsorrowed soul CHORUS: I'll show you where the white lilies grow On the banks of Italy I'll show you where the white fishes swim At the bottom of the sea (Repeat) Girl: Seven ships all on the sea The eighth one me to bear With four and twenty mariners And music on every hand Narrator: She set a foot upon the ship No mariners could behold The sails were of the shining silk The masts of beaten gold CHORUS Girl: What are yon high, high hills The sun shines sweetly in
Demon: Those are the hills of heaven, my love Where you will never win
CHORUS Girl: What is that mountain yonder there Where evil winds do blow
Demon: That is the mountain of hell he cried
Narrator: Where you and I must go
Narrator: He took her up to the topmost high To see what he could see He sank the ship with a flash of fire To the bottom of the sea CHORUS
Over The Hills And Far AwayHark now the drums beat up again For all true soldier gentlemen Then let us list and march I say Over the hills and far away Chorus
Over the hills and o’er the main To Flanders Portugal and Spain Queen Anne commands and we’ll obey While over the hills and far away All gentlemen that have a mind
To serve a queen that’s good and kind Come list and enter into pay Then over the hills and far away
Chorus The prentice Tom he may refuse
To wipe his angry masters shoes For if he free to sing and play Would o the hills and far away Chorus
No more from sounds of drums retreat
While Marlborough and Galway beat The French and Spanish every day When over the hills and far away Chorus
We shall then lead more happy lives
By getting rid of brats and wives That’s cold on both night and day So over the hills and far away |