The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #78094   Message #1417114
Posted By: Joe Offer
22-Feb-05 - 02:01 AM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: Old McDonald / Old MacDonald Had a Farm
Subject: ADD Version: Sweet Fields of Violo
Well, I dunno. Q and I have had a good time finding versions of "Old MacDonald," and I've enjoyed singing it many times more than I've sung a number of songs. The other thread was mostly UK versions - and until this thread, nobody had posted the "standard" version I learned as a kid..
Here's a version from Louise Pound's American Ballads and Songs (1922, 1950).

120
SWEET FIELDS OF VIOLO

How happy I was on my father's farm,
Sweet fields of Violo,
Tending to my father's horses
That I fed in the barns of Violo.
And a gee ho here and a gee ho there,
Here a gee and there a gee, and
O pretty maids, won't you come and go with me
To the sweet fields of Violo!

How happy I was on my father's farm,
Sweet fields of Violo,
Tending to my father's cows
That I milked in the yards of Violo.
And a suke, suke here, and a suke, suke there,
Here a suke and there a suke, and
A gee ho here and a gee ho there,
Here a gee and there a gee, and
O pretty maids, won't you come and go with me
To the sweet fields of Violo!

How happy I was on my father's farm,
Sweet fields of Violo,
Tending to my father's pigs
That I fattened in the pens of Violo.
And a boo hoo here and a boo hoo there,
Here a boo and there a boo, and
A suke suke here and a suke suke there,
Here a suke and there a suke, and
A gee ho here and a gee ho there,
Here a gee and there a gee, and
O pretty maids, won't you come and go with me
To the sweet fields of Violo!

How happy I was on my father's farm,
Sweet fields of Violo,
Tending to my father's sheep
That ran in the vales of Violo.
And a bleat bleat here, and a bleat bleat there,
Here a bleat and there a bleat, and
A boo hoo here and a boo hoo there,
Here a boo and there a boo, and
A suke suke here and a suke suke there,
Here a suke and there a suke, and
A gee ho here and a gee ho there,
Here a gee and there a gee, and
O pretty maids, won't you come and
To the sweet fields of Violo!

How happy I was on my father's farm,
Sweet fields of Violo,
Tending to my father's geese
That swam in the ponds of Violo.
With a shoo shoo here and a shoo shoo there,
Here a shoo and there a shoo, and
A bleat bleat here and a bleat bleat there,
Here a bleat and there a bleat, and
A boo hoo here and a boo hoo there,
Here a boo and there a boo, and
A suke suke here and a suke suke there,
Here a suke and there a suke, and
A gee ho here and a gee ho there,
Here a gee and there a gee, and
O pretty maids, won't you come and go with me
To the sweet fields of Violo!

How happy I was on my father's farm,
Sweet fields of Violo.
Tending to my father's chickens
That laid in the nests of Violo.
A cackle cackle here and a cackle cackle there,
Here a cackle, there a cackle, and
A shoo shoo here and a shoo shoo there,
Here a shoo and there a shoo, and
A bleat bleat here and a bleat bleat there,
Here a bleat and there a bleat, and
A boo hoo here and a boo hoo there,
Here a boo and there a boo, and
A suke suke here and a suke suke there,
Here a suke and there a suke, and
A gee ho here and a gee ho there,
Here a gee and there a gee, and
O pretty maids, won't you come and go with me
To the sweet fields of Violo!

Pound's notes: