Alternative words for the Wild Rover??

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: Sooz
Date: 19 May 07 - 03:16 PM

Me too!

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: GUEST
Date: 19 May 07 - 06:36 PM

Les, yes if you check the link about origins it seems clear this was more an English song than an Irish one (if that is a real distinction.) There's certainly an 'up yours if my money isn't good enough' gesture and I suppose the implication of the 'confess what I've done' and 'pardon their prodigal son' implies a temperance message.

I have gone beyond being fed up with the song. The joy that greets it in non-folk circles is so overwhelming that I find I do it just for the audience. It takes quite an effort to make it fresh but hey, that's what being an entertainer is about! I wouldn't claim that it is art but if it makes people happy that's good enough for me.

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: GUEST
Date: 19 May 07 - 10:43 PM

Noel Murphy used to sing "I went into an ale house and asked for some nails" and "I went into an ale house I used to frequent; and told the landlady her husband was bent".

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: Flash Company
Date: 20 May 07 - 05:30 AM

I went into a toilet that I used to frequent,
And told the attendant me penny was bent,
I asked him for credit, he said not a bit,
Yuo must go somewhere else if you want a free.............

I'll get me coat!

FC

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: s&r
Date: 20 May 07 - 05:36 AM

and we all love clover
it's the way that it's churned...

Stu

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: danensis
Date: 20 May 07 - 03:34 PM

Geoff, the sound man at the Attic Folk Club, sings the Wild Rover backwards, which is quite an intereeting variation,

John

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: GUEST,Wilhelm
Date: 20 May 07 - 04:33 PM

Why not stick to the original?

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: GUEST,Pete
Date: 21 May 07 - 08:36 AM

Third verse for Flash Company.

He teased and he taunted inspite of my cries,
and he dangled the bogroll in front of my eyes.
At last came the moment I could stand it no more.
I said "Balls to you mister" and p****d on the floor.

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: GUEST
Date: 08 Aug 07 - 05:13 AM

This is a dirty version i heard a few years ago'

I've been a muff diver for many a year
and i spent all my money on muff divin gear
the goggles, the snorkle, the muff divin tank
if im not out muff divin im havin a w@nk

---

Please note that anonymous posting is no longer allowed at Mudcat. Use a consistent name [in the 'from' box] when you post, or your messages risk being deleted.
Thanks.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: Girl Friday
Date: 08 Aug 07 - 02:47 PM

Tone Deaf Leopard do a version called "Wild Rabbit" about a lab rabbit.
http://www.tonedeafleopard.bravehost.com/lyrics.html

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: GUEST,Parodeee
Date: 16 Aug 07 - 08:14 AM

Two requests are enough encouragement for me! The full lyrics of the politically non-correct version I mentioned are as follows -

My dog's name is Rover and he drinks real beer
And he sings songs in folk clubs with a paw in one ear
You can't stop him drinking, he's drunk every night
And he chases every young female creature in sight

And it's no, nay, never, no, nay, never no more
Will I play with Young Rover, no never no more

I went to a pig farm an old sow to see
And I took my dog Rover along there with me
He jumped in the pig pen just for a lark
Now the old sow's got piglets with fangs and a bark

And it's no, nay, never etc etc

Whilst walking in Soho one Saturday night
I looked round but Rover was nowhere in sight
Then I heard someone shouting "I've just been laid
it was a big dog wot done it an' I haven't been paid!"

And it's no, nay, never etc etc

At last I got married and on the first night
When I came in from the bathroom she had turned out the light
I slipped in beside her, she said with surprise
"Just now you were hairy and three times the size!"

And it's no, nay, never etc etc

So I went to the vet's house to get Rover done
And I went back to fetch him at a quarter to one
Things had gone badly, it was easy to tell
He'd rogered the vet and his assistant as well!

And it's no, nay, never etc etc

Now Rover's in heaven, or maybe in hell
He was so young to die, it pains me to tell
It wasn't pneumonia, or hard-pad, or fleas
No, Rover he died of a social disease

And it's no, nay, never etc etc

- I'll get my coat as well!

Subject: Lyr Add: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 18 Jul 08 - 06:10 AM

The following is topical as there is talk of a new version of "The Prisoner" being made with Jim Caviezel as No6 & Ian McCellan as No2.

WHITE ROVER
Words Peter Dunn

I've been a White Rover for many's a year
And I've made ev'ry number a-tremble with fear.
But my workload's increasing, (It's made me quite sick)
Ever since the arrival of that damn Number Six.

    And it's no, nay, never. No, nay, never no more
    Will I play a White Rover, no never, no more.

I roared & I wailed as I bounced down the beach.
No running number was safe from my reach.
You'd thnk that would stop him, you'd think he'd give in.
But that damn Number Six was determined to win.

    And it's no, nay, never. No, nay, never no more
    Will I play a White Rover, no never, no more.

You wouldn't like it, if you were like me,
A six-foot balloon with no vocab'lary.
Constantly bearing a great fear within.
That that damned Number Six would appear with a pin.

    And it's no, nay, never. No, nay, never no more
    Will I play a White Rover, no never, no more.

With Fall Out the series it came to an end,
And a film called Dark Star did my agent me send.
I'm sure I was typecast, it just wasn't fair.
The part was an alien ball filled with air.

    And it's no, nay, never. No, nay, never no more
    Will I play a White Rover, no never, no more.

+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+
Sourced from "The NICon Files" a brief song sheet from a Northern Irish science fiction convention of several years ago. NP

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 18 Jul 08 - 06:26 AM

But now they are filming a modernised run.
Number two is quite wizard(1), and there's plenty of sun(2).
And whilst all their contracts may be overpriced,
Number Six (like the old one) still thinks he is Christ(3)

          And it's no, nay, never. Don't say never my friend
          'Cos my semi-retirement has come to an end.




(1)Ian McKellan who played Gandalf
(2)Filming in S.Africa & Namibia rather than Portmeirion
(3)Jim Caviezel had the lead role in "The Passion of Christ"

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: Severn
Date: 18 Jul 08 - 12:29 PM

I always envisioned an animal control version, as might be sung by the rogered vet in the example above, whereas:

"I never will spay the wild rover no more....."


Or the alternative words of the landlady, after finding her customer is solvent after all:

"....She said 'I have whiskey and wines of the best
And the words I must eat, now, I'll surely ingest'...."

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: Acorn4
Date: 18 Jul 08 - 02:49 PM

I've posted this one before but it seems quite relevant to the thread.

Range Rover.

I've been a total airhead for many a long year,
And medical science can find no known cure,
But somehow I've gathered up gold in great store,
So I've gone out and bought a bloody great 4 x 4

And it's Sod The Planet,
Bugger posterity, I will drive my Range Rover,
So the neighbours can see.

Though I work in an office from morning till late,
You'd think that I came off my country estate.
And my credit rating means I've got a huge loan,
Like Toad of Toad Hall, I'm God on his throne.

And it's Sod The Planet...

If a Range Rover's slightly out of my price range
A Daihitsumishibishiboshi will do just the same,
See my radiator full in your rear view,
I'll be right up your backside a tailgating you..

And it's Sod The Planet..

As a lifestyle statement, I need this beast,
Though the fuel consumption's prodigal to say the least,
On a narrow country road, I won't budge an inch,
As straddling the white line I drive you in the ditch.

And it's Sod The Planet...

Now the wife's got one too, for the school run it's great,
Though we only live twenty five yards from the gates.
Watch her mounting the kerb, with shopping on her mind,
Scattering children and cones across the double yellow lines…

And it's Sod The Planet

Perched up on high, King of all that I survey,
Annoyed when the world won't get out of my way.
My garage mechanic he doesn't miss a trick,
And he always knows where he can find the dipstick..

And it's Sod the planet (King of the raod!!)etc

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 18 Jul 08 - 08:14 PM

Scansion (along with ecology) is clearly a dying artform!

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: Fidjit
Date: 19 Jul 08 - 03:20 PM

Flemmings has his own way of doing it.

Chas

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: GUEST,rafflesbear
Date: 19 Jul 08 - 04:40 PM

how about the German version by Klaus & Klaus - An der Nordseeküste

it's on youtube

Subject: ADD Parody: Wild Rover, No More
From: goatfell
Date: 19 Jul 08 - 05:15 PM

WILD ROVER, NO MORE
(words/ Jimmy MacGregor)

I've sung the Wild Rover for many s a year
There's some folk would boo and there's others would cheer
I sang it so often it gave me a pain
So I'm no gonna sing the Wild Rover again

Chorus:
And it's no, nay, never No, nay, never no more
Will I sing the Wild Rover No, nay, never no more


Well I know it's a good song for pleasing the folk
But I have to admit that it gives me the boke
A night with a tooth ache is more fun to me
Then to sing even one verse for less two or three

Chorus
I sang it that often from midnight to dawn
There's many the time I could see the folk yawn
Cause the words are a scunner there right down the drain
And the tune could be learned by a three year old Wean

Chorus
Well I went to a party it soon became plain
I was gonna be lumbered with that song again
Well I sang forty verse they shouted for more
So I grab my guitar and I went for the door

Chorus

I got this from the balladers website

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: Mr Red
Date: 20 Jul 08 - 06:11 AM

I am sure the bawdy verses will (or have been) well represented.

But one to keep in mind is the Shrovetide/pancake day whimsy.
"I've been a Wild Shrover for many a Year" &co. I doubt there is more, let alone a full set of verses - but an amusing little number......

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: Dave Illingworth
Date: 20 Jul 08 - 07:16 AM

When I was a member of the now defunct AUNT FORTESCUE's BLUESROCKERS
(with my good friends Graham Larkbey, John Simms and Simon Brown) in the 1980s, we took a different direction.                         At every gig, we performed "The Wild Rover" with usual words, but to a different tune. I have forgotten many of the versions, but I do remember "I only want to be with you" (Dusty Springfield) and "Runaround Sue" (Dion). This had begun quite independently from (and coincidentally to) "One song to the tune of another" on "I'm sorry I haven't a clue" radio programme.
There was talk once of recording a whole album of all the different versions - that might have been going a bit too far, so maybe lucky it never happened.
Incidentally, for those who never heard AFB, we sounded nothing like the name of the band, and played mainly folk clubs (especially Christmas parties).

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: GUEST,JonnyD
Date: 21 Jul 08 - 02:51 AM

Les in Chorlton said:

Am I correct in thinking:
1. It is English rather than Irish
2. It is a temperance song rather than a drinking song?

======================================================================

1. Yes
2. Yes - or at least a morality song


======================================================================
Barbara said:

Trust the English to take all the fun out of the situation and make it a lugubrious moral lament.

======================================================================

Trust the Irish to take anything with any depth & character from another culture & turn it into some kind of diddly diddly drunken crap for the tourists ;-)

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: Snuffy
Date: 21 Jul 08 - 08:53 AM

Trust a Guest to ... [insert behaviour complained of here]

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: GUEST,JonnyD
Date: 21 Jul 08 - 09:14 AM

Snuffy said:

Trust a Guest to ... [insert behaviour complained of here]

=======================================================================

Well I wasn't really expecting anybody to take it seriously though it's enlightening that you take offence at my post but not Barbara's

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: Mr Happy
Date: 21 Jul 08 - 09:28 AM

Wild:

Undomesticated, Uncultivated, Natural, Feral, In their natural habitat, Fierce, Rowdy, Furious, Outrageous, Stormy, Untamed

Rover:

Rambler, Nomad, Vagrant, Itinerant, Traveller, Drifter, Rolling stone


Take your pick!

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: GUEST,Grant
Date: 12 Aug 08 - 07:36 AM

I went to the market with my brother Tim,
And somebody threw a tomato at him,
Now tomato's are squishy,
And soft with a skin,
But the one it wasn't it came in a tin!

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: GUEST,Steve
Date: 10 Sep 09 - 03:45 PM

I've been a Land Rover for many a year,
And I've spent all my time on steep hills in low gear.
But then something happened, shocked me to the core:
It was Steve at the wheel with his foot on the floor.

And it's no, nay, never.
No nay never no more,
will I be a Land Rover,
No never, no more.


Can't remember if I made up that verse just before or just after writing off an army Land Rover back in 1982.

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: Tootler
Date: 10 Sep 09 - 07:14 PM

Go to the Bodleian Library Broadside Ballads website:

www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/ballads/ballads.htm

and search for "Wild Rover". You should get about 7 hits mostly dating from the second quarter of the 19th century.

The style of the song is clearly one aiming to convey a moral message and there is no hint of the "no nay never" chorus. Where did that chorus come from?

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: GUEST, Alan
Date: 07 Dec 09 - 07:47 AM

There's a great mad-axeman version that surely deserves a mention, though I can only recall bits of it - anyone know the rest?

I've been a mad-axeman for many a year,
And I've killed lots of people and quite a few deer,
I've tried killing babies, it's just not the same,
They die far too quickly with not enough pain

And it's NO NAY NEVER (chop off your head!)
Will I play the mad-axeman, no never no more

I went to an alehouse I used to frequent,
I killed so many people my axe it got bent,
They begged me for mercy, I answered them nay,
...
[Bits missing from my memory]

I'll go home to my parents, confess what I've done,
And I'll try not to kill them before half past one,
If I should do so it'll be such a chore,
For I'll have to wipe all of their blood off the floor

And it's NO NAY NEVER (chop off your head!)etc

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: Mr Happy
Date: 07 Dec 09 - 08:44 AM

There's a band round here that's been doing 'Riders in the Sky' using the words of WR, & its always a crowd pleaser!

Subject: Lyr Req: alternative version of wild rover
From: GUEST,brooko
Date: 11 May 10 - 05:05 PM

does any one have the alternative verse about the cuckoo
thanks
brooko

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: alternative version of wild rover
From: GUEST
Date: 26 May 10 - 03:16 PM

can anyone translate the wild rover into french please

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: alternative version of wild rover
From: GUEST,madauntiecat
Date: 27 May 10 - 03:28 AM

I know versions about white Rovers, re-enactors and persons of dubious morals if any of those would help...

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Jul 10 - 05:00 PM

origins of WildRoverAccording to Professor T. M. Devine in his book The Scottish Nation 1700 - 2000 (Penguin, 2001) the song was written as a temperance song.[1] The song is found printed in a book, The American Songster, printed in the USA by W.A. Leary in 1845, and spread from Scotland to America from the Temperance movement. There is another USA printed version in the "Forget-Me-Not Songster" (c 1850), published by Locke. An alternative history of the song is suggested by the fact that a collection of ballads, dated between 1813 and 1838, is held in the Bodleian Library. The printer, Catnach, was based in the "7 Dials" area of Covent Garden, London. The Bodleian bundle contains "The Wild Rover".[2] The Greig-Duncan collection contains no less than six versions of the song. It was compiled by Gavin Greig 1848–1917.

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: pavane
Date: 02 Sep 10 - 09:52 AM

see The Goodfellows Resolution, Thomas Lanfiere c1682, discussed in another thread

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: pavane
Date: 02 Sep 10 - 09:54 AM

see here

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: GUEST,daveyboyunders
Date: 03 Dec 10 - 04:42 AM

I went to an Whorehouse I used to frequent
And told the madam my money was spent
When I asked her for credit, she answered me "Nay"
So I shat on the door step and then ran away .

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: GUEST,Mull music festival
Date: 04 Jan 11 - 08:26 PM

Many years ago I was at the Mull music festival and in the Mishnish Hotel, Tobermory there was a band called the claymores. I can't quite remember it all but I still find it funny...

I've been muff diver for many a year
But I've spent all my money on muff diving gear

I will try remember the rest.

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: GUEST,yo
Date: 16 Mar 11 - 09:06 AM

i drove a white rover for many a year
and i spent all my money on clutches and gears
but now i am driveing a datson 4 door
and i never will drive the white rover no more

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: scouse
Date: 16 Mar 11 - 11:00 AM

Mick Ryan who I used to sing and play with had this verse

"Well, out of me pocket I pulled ten Guilders bright,
"An the Landladies legs opened wide with delight,
"She said "I have Whiskey and a 40 inch Chest."
"An the words she spoke were not in jest."

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: GUEST,Patrick
Date: 06 Jan 12 - 12:08 AM

There is a Local band named "Kevin McCormack" up here in Renton, WA. He covered this song. He and his friend (Of whos name escapes me) play at the Irish pub/ restaurant, " A Terrible Beauty" On Sundays and thursdays i believe. They also play at the noly other Terrible Beauty, in West Seattle. Just ask about Kevin McCormack. Here is their site (With free song downloads)

http://www.kevinmccormackmusic.com/fr_home.cfm

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: GUEST,Don Wise
Date: 06 Jan 12 - 10:49 AM

I once 'sang' the obligatory version as a Rap/Hip-Hop number..........Otherwise I sing the smashing version from "The Life of a Man" by Ken Subbs.

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 06 Jan 12 - 01:39 PM

Then in walked the Land lady
I ordered some rum
I said come on now darling,
And Show us your bum

She said to me Mister
If you've got the cash
I'll have a large gin and tonic
And I'll give you a flash

then in walked the landlord
His name was Bob
he said, but me a guinness
An' i show you me nob

Then in walked the Barmaid
and her name was Annie (pause)
And i must say
i liked the look of her....Grannie

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: GUEST
Date: 25 Apr 12 - 02:14 AM

from the LeGrande Twins album -

I walked into the shanty I used to fre-quent
and I told the landlady my money was spent
I asked her for credit, she answered me "Nay!
Such a custom as yours I can get every day!"

I'll go home to my parents, confess what I've done
And I'll ask them to pardon their prodigal son
And if they will do so as they've done before
Then I never shall play the Wild Rover no more

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: GUEST,curt
Date: 30 May 14 - 01:27 AM

i have a good recording of this exact song. its done by patrick street on thair live album from 98 i believe. its played to a slow air on violin that seems to have been written for the song

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: Howard Jones
Date: 30 May 14 - 04:18 AM

I sing the Sam Larner version (which is on VOTP and can be heard on Spotify). It's a slower, more thoughtful version which brings out that it's really a temperance song about giving up drinking and wild behaviour, something the well-known jolly sing-along chorus version somehow obscures.

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 30 May 14 - 04:39 AM

This is there version mentioned earlier; In my opinion it captures the atmosphere of the song which was bulldozed out of existence by the folkie ham-fisted treatment.
Sam Larner's version does reflect the (I believe) original intention of the song.
Jim Carroll

THE WILD ROVER
From Pat Usher (Brother of Mary Anne Carolan), Co Louth

I've been a wild rover for many a long year
And I spent half my money drinking strong ale and beer,
Ah, but now for the future I will take better care,
In case that misfortune may come to my share.

Wild roving I'll give over, wild roving I'll give o'er,
And I never shall be called a wild rover no more.

I went to the alehouse where I used to resort
And I told the landlady that my money was short,
But when she heard my story these words she did say,
I can get many customers like you any day.

Wild roving…..
        
I put my hand in my pocket some money to find,
And I pulled the full of my hands out five times,
When she saw I had money and money galore,
When she saw I had money she called me her dear,
And she said, I have liquor, and that of the best,
These words I have spoken were only in jest.

Wild roving…….
        
If I had all the money that I left in your care,
It would till all my land and my family rear,
It would thatch all my houses and build me a barn,
It would buy me a coat for to keep my back warm.

Wild roving I'll give over, wild roving I'll give o'er,
And I never shall be called a wild rover no more.

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: MartinRyan
Date: 30 May 14 - 05:53 AM

Some gigging friends of mine, when bored with singing the standard version, used to throw in -

She said "I have whiskey and wines of the best"
Then she whipped off her tee-shirt and showed me her chest!

- just to see if anyone was listening!

Regards

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: GUEST,Mike Murray (The Netherlands)
Date: 03 Sep 15 - 05:36 PM

Well I've been a wild drinker for many a year,
I spent all my money on on whisky and beer,

My first time in Belfast, and what do you know,
a bluddy blue Escort shows up on the road,
well he told me and ask me a question or two,
he said that I think that you've had quite a few,
I said oh no sergeant, I do not think so,
but he gave me the bag and said I should blow,

and its no nee never,
no nee never no more,
wil I be a drunk driver,
no never, no more,

He gave me this thing, it was like a balloon,
and he said its me bagpipes, will ye play me a tune,
I blew in the bag and what do you think,
it turned a strange colour and it wasn't pink,
so its off to the station, a blood sample to give,

and its no nee never,
no nee never no more,
wil I be a drunk driver,
no never, no more,

no doctor was in, so they called in the vet,
he used to volume, so what could I do,
just to pass them a sample of the pure morning due.

and its no nee never,
no nee never no more,
wil I be a drunk driver,
no never, no more,

And now I am waiting , my case has come up,
I am facin two policemen the judge and the court,
now listen all drivers, this moral is clear,
don't drive that old car, when your out on the bier,

and its no nee never,
no nee never no more,
wil I be a drunk driver,
no never, no more,

and if you go drinking, leave the keys with the wife,
or else you will thumb it, for the rest of your life,

and its no nee never,
no nee never no more,
wil I be a drunk driver,
no never, no more,

Subject: RE: Alternative words for the Wild Rover??
From: GUEST,Howard Jones
Date: 04 Sep 15 - 05:35 AM

The standard version is so overdone that I am utterly fed up with it. Worse, the original meaning of the song is subverted by the jolly, rollicking, "right up yer kilt" approach. It was a temperance song, not a drinking song. However it is wildly popular so I suppose we are stuck with it.

I've started to do Sam Larner's version. The words aren't so much different from the well-known version, but after he has pulled out handfuls of gold the wild rover rejects the landlady's offer of brandy and whisky - "oh no, landlady, I'll have none at all". The slower tune makes it altogether more reflective and brings out the meaning. It's on VOTP and can be heard on Spotify.