Ancient Poems [86]
in the shade, To walk in those valleys below, To walk in those valleys below.'
'Pray sit yourself down With me on the ground, On this bank where sweet primroses grow; You shall hear the fond tale Of the sweet nightingale, As she sings in those valleys below; So be not afraid To walk in the shade, Nor yet in those valleys below, Nor yet in those valleys below.'
This couple agreed; They were married with speed, And soon to the church they did go. She was no more afraid For to (70) walk in the shade, Nor yet in those valleys below: Nor to hear the fond tale Of the sweet nightingale, As she sung in those valleys below, As she sung in those valleys below.
Ballad: THE OLD MAN AND HIS THREE SONS.
[THIS traditional ditty, founded upon the old ballad inserted ANTE, p. 124, is current as a nursery song in the North of England.]
THERE was an old man, and sons he had three, (71) Wind well, Lion, good hunter. A friar he being one of the three, With pleasure he ranged the north country, For he was a jovial hunter.
As he went to the woods some pastime to see, Wind well, Lion, good hunter, He spied a fair lady under a tree, Sighing and moaning mournfully. He was a jovial hunter.
'What are you doing, my fair lady!' Wind well, Lion, good hunter. 'I'm frightened, the wild boar he will kill me, He has worried my lord, and wounded thirty, As thou art a jovial hunter.'
Then the friar he put his horn to his mouth, Wind well, Lion, good hunter. And he blew a blast, east, west, north, and south, And the wild boar from his den he came forth Unto the jovial hunter.
Ballad: A BEGGING WE WILL GO.
[THE authorship of this song is attributed to Richard Brome - (he who once 'performed a servant's faithful part' for Ben Jonson) - in a black-letter copy in the Bagford Collection, where it is entitled THE BEGGARS' CHORUS IN THE 'JOVIAL CREW,' TO AN EXCELLENT NEW TUNE. No such chorus, however, appears in the play, which was produced at the Cock-pit in 1641; and the probability is, as Mr. Chappell conjectures, that it was only interpolated in the performance. It is sometimes called THE JOVIAL BEGGAR. The tune has been from time to time introduced into several ballad operas; and the song, says Mr. Chappell, who publishes the air in his POPULAR MUSIC, 'is the prototype of many others, such as A BOWLING WE WILL GO, A FISHING WE WILL GO, A HAWKING WE WILL GO, and A FISHING WE WILL GO. The last named is still popular with those who take delight in hunting, and the air is now scarcely known by any other title.]
THERE was a jovial beggar, He had a wooden leg, Lame from his cradle, And forced for to beg. And a begging we will go, we'll go, we'll go; And a begging we will go!
A bag for his oatmeal, Another for his salt; And a pair of crutches, To show that he can halt. And a begging, &c..
A bag for his wheat, Another for his rye; A little bottle by his side, To drink when he's a-dry. And a begging, &c.
Seven years I begged For my old Master Wild, He taught me to beg When I was but a child. And a begging, &c.
I begged for my master, And got him store of pelf; But now, Jove be praised! I'm begging for myself. And a begging, &c.
In a hollow tree I live, and pay no rent; Providence provides for me, And I am well content. And a begging, &c.
Of all the occupations, A beggar's life's the best; For whene'er he's weary, He'll lay him down and rest. And a begging, &c.
I fear no plots against me, I live in open cell; Then who would be a king When beggars live so well? And a begging we will go, we'll go, we'll go; And a begging we will go!
Footnotes:
(1) This is the same tune as FORTUNE MY FOE. - See POPULAR MUSIC OF THE OLDEN TIME, p. 162.
(2) This word seems to be used here in the sense of the French verb METTRE, to put, to place.
(3) The stall copies read 'Gamble bold.'
(4) In the Roxburgh Collection is a copy of this ballad, in which the catastrophe is brought about in a different manner. When the young lady finds that she is to be drowned, she very leisurely
'Pray sit yourself down With me on the ground, On this bank where sweet primroses grow; You shall hear the fond tale Of the sweet nightingale, As she sings in those valleys below; So be not afraid To walk in the shade, Nor yet in those valleys below, Nor yet in those valleys below.'
This couple agreed; They were married with speed, And soon to the church they did go. She was no more afraid For to (70) walk in the shade, Nor yet in those valleys below: Nor to hear the fond tale Of the sweet nightingale, As she sung in those valleys below, As she sung in those valleys below.
Ballad: THE OLD MAN AND HIS THREE SONS.
[THIS traditional ditty, founded upon the old ballad inserted ANTE, p. 124, is current as a nursery song in the North of England.]
THERE was an old man, and sons he had three, (71) Wind well, Lion, good hunter. A friar he being one of the three, With pleasure he ranged the north country, For he was a jovial hunter.
As he went to the woods some pastime to see, Wind well, Lion, good hunter, He spied a fair lady under a tree, Sighing and moaning mournfully. He was a jovial hunter.
'What are you doing, my fair lady!' Wind well, Lion, good hunter. 'I'm frightened, the wild boar he will kill me, He has worried my lord, and wounded thirty, As thou art a jovial hunter.'
Then the friar he put his horn to his mouth, Wind well, Lion, good hunter. And he blew a blast, east, west, north, and south, And the wild boar from his den he came forth Unto the jovial hunter.
Ballad: A BEGGING WE WILL GO.
[THE authorship of this song is attributed to Richard Brome - (he who once 'performed a servant's faithful part' for Ben Jonson) - in a black-letter copy in the Bagford Collection, where it is entitled THE BEGGARS' CHORUS IN THE 'JOVIAL CREW,' TO AN EXCELLENT NEW TUNE. No such chorus, however, appears in the play, which was produced at the Cock-pit in 1641; and the probability is, as Mr. Chappell conjectures, that it was only interpolated in the performance. It is sometimes called THE JOVIAL BEGGAR. The tune has been from time to time introduced into several ballad operas; and the song, says Mr. Chappell, who publishes the air in his POPULAR MUSIC, 'is the prototype of many others, such as A BOWLING WE WILL GO, A FISHING WE WILL GO, A HAWKING WE WILL GO, and A FISHING WE WILL GO. The last named is still popular with those who take delight in hunting, and the air is now scarcely known by any other title.]
THERE was a jovial beggar, He had a wooden leg, Lame from his cradle, And forced for to beg. And a begging we will go, we'll go, we'll go; And a begging we will go!
A bag for his oatmeal, Another for his salt; And a pair of crutches, To show that he can halt. And a begging, &c..
A bag for his wheat, Another for his rye; A little bottle by his side, To drink when he's a-dry. And a begging, &c.
Seven years I begged For my old Master Wild, He taught me to beg When I was but a child. And a begging, &c.
I begged for my master, And got him store of pelf; But now, Jove be praised! I'm begging for myself. And a begging, &c.
In a hollow tree I live, and pay no rent; Providence provides for me, And I am well content. And a begging, &c.
Of all the occupations, A beggar's life's the best; For whene'er he's weary, He'll lay him down and rest. And a begging, &c.
I fear no plots against me, I live in open cell; Then who would be a king When beggars live so well? And a begging we will go, we'll go, we'll go; And a begging we will go!
Footnotes:
(1) This is the same tune as FORTUNE MY FOE. - See POPULAR MUSIC OF THE OLDEN TIME, p. 162.
(2) This word seems to be used here in the sense of the French verb METTRE, to put, to place.
(3) The stall copies read 'Gamble bold.'
(4) In the Roxburgh Collection is a copy of this ballad, in which the catastrophe is brought about in a different manner. When the young lady finds that she is to be drowned, she very leisurely