The Horses of May Day

By Harry Basnett

Introduction, and chorus:
The horses of May Day, they make a fine show,
Garlands and brasses all ready to go,
Dappled and grey, the black and the brown,
The horses of May Day are coming to town.

1. For the horses of May Day are decked out with pride,
And the carters all dressed in their best at their side,
And the streets of the city are crowded today
For the horses are coming to bring in the may.

2. Curried and combed with harness ablaze
With brasses that gleam in the afternoon haze;
The brown and the black, the dappled and grey,
The horses are coming to bring in the may.

The horses of May Day, they make a fine show,
Garlands and brasses all ready to go,
Dappled and grey, the black and the brown,
The horses of May Day are coming to town.

3. And the horses of May Day they strain through the mud,
Twelve to a team through the shellshock and blood,
With the cursing and shouting of men all around
Hauling artillery over strange ground.

4. And from the bruised earth a lark takes to the air,
The only reminder of summer that's there
As they drag another mile nearer to Mons;
The horses of May Day are bringing the guns.

The horses of May Day, they make a fine show,
Garlands and brasses all ready to go,
Dappled and grey, the black and the brown,
The horses of May Day are coming to town.

5. The horses of May Day are decked out with pride,
And the carters all dressed in their best at their side,
But there's not so many as there were before;
The Army recruited the horses for war.

6. Curried and combed with harness ablaze
With brasses that gleam in the afternoon haze;
The dappled, the grey, the brown and the black -
The horses of May Day that never came back.

The horses of May Day, they make a fine show,
Garlands and brasses all ready to go,
Dappled and grey, the black and the brown,
The horses of May Day are coming to town.

Words and music © Harry Basnett, 2003