Lyrics & Knowledge Personal Pages Record Shop Auction Links Radio & Media Kids Membership Help
The Mudcat Cafesj



User Name Thread Name Subject Posted
GUEST,Kevin.A.Murphy@sff.net Lyr/Origins: The Keeper (37) Lyr Add: THE KEEPER 12 Aug 02


The lyrics set for "The Keeper" had only one version, so I ran through the web and found all of these others.

Please add them.

Kevin
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THE KEEPER

The keeper did a hunting go,
And under his cloak, he carried a bow.
All to shoot a merry little doe
Among the leaves so green-o.

CHORUS:
GROUP A: Jackie Boy? GROUP B: Master!
A: Sing ye well? B: Very well!
A: Hey down! B: Hoe down!
ALL: Derry, derry down among the leaves so green-o
A: To my hey B: To my hoe
A: down down B: down down
A: Hey down! B: Hoe Down!
ALL: Derry, derry down among the leaves so green-o

The first doe he shot at, he missed.
The second doe he trimmed, he kissed.
The third doe went where nobody missed.
Among the leaves so green-o. CHORUS

The fourth doe she got caught by a tree,
Because of this she could not flee.
So he slew her quite leisurely,
Among the leaves so green-o. CHORUS

The fifth doe she did cross the brook.
The keeper brought her back with his crook.
Where she is now, you must look,
Among the leaves so green-o. CHORUS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THE KEEPER

The keeper would a-hunting go
And under his cloak he'd carry a bow
All for the shoot of a merry little doe
Among the leaves so green-o

CHORUS:
BOYS: Jackie boy? GIRLS: Master
B: Sing you well? G: Very well
ALL: Hey down Ho down Derry derry down
Among the leaves so green-o

The first does she did cross the brook
The keeper brought her back with his hook
Where she is now you may go and look
Among the leaves so green-o. CHORUS

The second doe she did cross the plain
The keeper brought her back again
Where she is now she may remain
Among the leaves so green-o. CHORUS

B: To my hey down down
G: To my ho down down
B: Hey down
G: Ho down
ALL: Derry derry down
Among the leaves so green-o.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THE KEEPER DID A-HUNTING GO
(Trad) (As sung by The Ian Campbell Folk Group)

Jackie Boy - Master
Sing you well - Very well
Heigh down-ho down, derry derry down
Among the leaves so green-o
To my hey down down- To my ho down down
Heigh down-ho down, derry derry down
Among the leaves so green-o

The keeper did a-shooting go
And under his cloak he carried a bow
All for to shoot at the merry little doe
Among the leaves so green-o

The first doe he shot at he missed
The second doe he trimly kissed
The third doe went where nobody whist
Among the leaves so green-o

The fourth doe she did cross the plain
The keeper fetched her back again
Where she is now she may remain
Among the leaves so green-o

The fifth doe she went over the brook
The keeper fetched her back with his hook
Where she is now you may go and look
Among the leaves so green-o
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THE KEEPER
Traditional

"The Keeper" is performed by A Chorus of Two
from the album "Our Cups Runneth Over"

The keeper did a hunting go
And under his cloak he carried a bow
All for to shoot a merry little doe
Among the leaves so green-o.

CHORUS: Jackie boy (Master) Sing ye well (Very well)
Hey down (Ho down) Derry derry down
Among the leaves so green-o
To my hey down down (To my ho down down)
Hey down (Ho down) Derry derry down
Among the leaves so green-o

The first doe she did cross the plain,
The keeper fetched her back again.
Where she is now, she may remain,
Among the leaves so green-o. CHORUS

The next doe she did cross the brook.
The keeper fetched her back with his hook.
Where she is now you may go and look
Among the leaves so green-o. CHORUS

The keeper did a hunting go.
In the woods he caught a doe.
She looked so sad that he let her go.
Among the leaves so green-o.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
(Additional verses transcribed from MP3 at www.cantaria.com)

The next doe she did cross the hollow
And where she went he soon did follow
What he's done today, he'll do tomorrow
Among the leaves so green-o

The last doe was a fallow doe
As great with young as she may go
She looked so big that he let her go
Among the leaves so green-o
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THE KEEPER

The Keeper would a-hunting go
And under his arm he carried a bow
All for to shoot at the merry little doe
Among the leaves so green-o

CHORUS: A: Jackie boy! B: Master?
A: Sing ye well? B: Very well!
A: Hey down! B: Ho down!
BOTH: Derry, derry down
Among the leaves so green-o.
A: To my hey down, down!
B: To my ho down, down!
A: Hey down! Ho down!
BOTH: Derry, derry down
Among the leaves so green-o.

The first doe he shot at he missed
The second doe he trimmed and kissed
The third doe went where nobody whist.
Among the leaves so green-o. CHORUS

The fourth doe she did cross the plain
The keeper fetched her back again
Where she is now she may remain
Among the leaves so green-o. CHORUS

The fifth doe she did cross the brook,
The keeper fetched her back with his crook
where she is now you must go and look
Among the leaves so green-o. CHORUS

The sixth doe she ran o'er the plain
But he with his hound did turn her again
And it's there he did hunt in a merry, merry vein
Among the leaves so green-o. CHORUS

The seventh doe did run to the East
The unfortunate keeper lost the beast
Now she is a part of a poacher's feast
Among the leaves so green-o. CHORUS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THE KEEPER

The Keeper would a-hunting go
And under his arm he carried a bow
All for to shoot at the merry little doe
Among the leaves so green-o

CHORUS: A: Jackie boy! B: Master?
A: Sing ye well? B: Very well!
A: Hey down! B: Ho down!
BOTH: Derry, derry down
Among the leaves so green-o.
A: To my hey down, down!
B: To my ho down, down!
A: Hey down! Ho down!
BOTH: Derry, derry down
Among the leaves so green-o.

The first doe he shot at he missed
The second doe he trimmed and kissed
The third doe went where nobody whist.
Among the leaves so green-o. CHORUS

The fourth doe she did cross the plain
The keeper fetched her back again
Where she is now she may remain
Among the leaves so green-o. CHORUS

The fifth doe she did cross the brook,
The keeper fetched her back with his crook
where she is now you must go and look
Among the leaves so green-o. CHORUS

The sixth doe she ran o'er the plain
But he with his hound did turn her again
And it's there he did hunt in a merry, merry vein
Among the leaves so green-o. CHORUS

The seventh doe did run to the East
The unfortunate keeper lost the beast
Now she is a part of a poacher's feast
Among the leaves so green-o. CHORUS

The eighth doe served upon a plate
To grace our feast she reined in state
Now give thanks for all you ate
Among the leaves so green-o. CHORUS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THE KEEPER

The keeper did a hunting go
And under his cloak he carried a bow
All for to shoot a merry little doe
Among the leaves so green-o.

Jackie boy (Master) Sing ye well (Very well)
Hey down (Ho down) Derry derry down
Among the leaves so green-o
To my hey down down (To my ho down down )
Hey down (Ho down) Derry derry down
Among the leaves so green-o

The first doe she did cross the plain,
The keeper fetched her back again.
Where she is now, she may remain,
Among the leaves so green-o. CHORUS

The next doe she did cross the brook.
The keeper fetched her back with his hook.
Where she is now you may go and look
Among the leaves so green-o. CHORUS

The keeper did a hunting go.
In the woods he caught a doe.
She looked so sad that he let her go.
Among the leaves so green-o.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THE HUNTER
(This version by the Weavers.)

The hunter, he did cross the plain
And then he ventured home again.
The merry, merry feast will soon begin
Among the leaves so green-o.

CHORUS: Jackie boy, sing ye well. Very well.
Hey down, hoe down, derry, derry down.
Among the leaves so green-o.
To my hey, down, down. Hoe down, down.
Hey down, hoe down, derry, derry down.
Among the leaves so green-o.

The hunter is a cheerful sight.
His hearth is warm, his fire bright.
His songs, they fill the winter night
Among the leaves so green-o. CHORUS

'Tis merry we are and merry we'll stay.
We'll sing a toast 'till the break of day
And start again upon our way
Among the leaves so green-o. CHORUS X2

Hey down, hoe down, derry, derry down.
Hey down, hoe down, derry, derry down.
Hey down, hoe down, derry, derry down.

(LOTS of line breaks added by a Joeclone)


Post to this Thread -

Back to the Main Forum Page

By clicking on the User Name, you will requery the forum for that user. You will see everything that he or she has posted with that Mudcat name.

By clicking on the Thread Name, you will be sent to the Forum on that thread as if you selected it from the main Mudcat Forum page.

By clicking on the Subject, you will also go to the thread as if you selected it from the original Forum page, but also go directly to that particular message.

By clicking on the Date (Posted), you will dig out every message posted that day.

Try it all, you will see.