Origins:A Southerly Wind and a Cloudy Sky

Subject: A Southerly Wind and a Cloudy Sky
From: GUEST,Gabe
Date: 25 Sep 24 - 01:05 PM

My parents used to sing this to us, in a two-part round, at bedtime... not sure of the real title, but it has to do with fox hunting... an odd choice for a lullaby, perhaps, given the subject matter and that it's along the lines of "pull up your socks and chase the fox", more of a wake-up song, one would think. Anyhow, just looking for info on it.

Subject: RE: A Southerly Wind and a Cloudy Sky
From: Robert B. Waltz
Date: 25 Sep 24 - 03:45 PM

It's usually called "A Southerly Wind." Roud #9442. Not very widely known; it appears there are only three traditional collections. One of them (Patrick Taylor's, which appeared in Doerflinger's Songs of the Sailor & Lumberman, is supposed to be available at the Library of Congress (AFS 06567 B03), though the link I have for it is broken. It dates back at least to 1934. I have not seen any indication that the author is known.

Subject: ADD: A-Hunting We Will Go
From: Joe Offer
Date: 25 Sep 24 - 03:58 PM

I didn't know about the southerly wind and cloudy sky, but I learned this as a kid:

A-hunting we will go
A-hunting we will go
Pull up your sox and chase the fox (or whatever)
A-hunting we will go

     

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These are the verses in the Wikipedia article on the song.


A-hunting we will go,
A-hunting we will go
Heigh-ho, the derry-o,
A-hunting we will go.

A-hunting we will go,
A-hunting we will go
We'll catch a fox and put him in a box
And never let him go

(Modern versions often change the last line to “And then we’ll let him go”.)

Each consequent verse gets modified by putting in a different animal:

"...a fish and put him on a dish..."
"...a bear and cut his hair..."
"...a pig and dance a little jig..."
"...a giraffe and make him laugh..."
"...a mouse and put him in a house..."
...
Earlier versions of the song switch the words "a-hunting" with "a-roving", dating back to old roving drinking songs from the 16th century.

Subject: ADD: Southerly Wind
From: Joe Offer
Date: 25 Sep 24 - 04:16 PM

Another is a main-hatch adaptation of an old hunting round.
The original, Captain Tayluer said, ran as follows:

SOUTHERLY WIND
(Round)

Oh, it’s a southerly wind and a cloudy sky
Proclaim it a hunting morning!
Before the sun rises away we’ll fly
Dull sleep in a downy bed scorning.
To horse, me brave boys, and away!
Bright Phoebus the hills is adorning,
The face of all nature looks gay.
’Tis a beautiful hunting morning!

Chorus
Hark, hark, forward,
Tally ho, tally ho, tally ho!
And it’s hark, hark, forward.
Tanara, tanara, tanara!


Source: William Main Doerflinger, Songs of the Sailor & Lumberman
pp. 174-175, "Southerly Wind" (2 texts, 1 tune)

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Miriam Berg has music notation here:

http://folksongcollector.com/tallyho.html

And here's another page on the song:

https://mainsailcafe.com/songs/southerly-wind

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And the Traditional Ballad Index entry:

Southerly Wind

DESCRIPTION: Round: "Oh, it's a southerly wind and a cloudy sky, Proclaim it a hunting/sailing morning. Before the sun rises away we'll fly... Hark, hark , forward."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1951
KEYWORDS: ship sports
FOUND IN: US(MA) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Doerflinger-SongsOfTheSailorAndLumberman, pp. 174-175, "Southerly Wind" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Pottie/Ellis-FolksongsOfTheMaritimes, pp. 156-157, "A Southerly Wind" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9442
File: Doe174

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The Ballad Index Copyright 2024 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.

I hope this link works - it's to a recording at the Nova Scotia Archives:

https://archives.novascotia.ca/creighton/audio/?Search=5355&t=00:09:30

Note that this version has "Tarara tarara, tara" in the chorus. This seems to me to be more likely than the "tanara" in the Doerflinger version. I wonder if that's a typo in Doerflinger.

Subject: RE: Origins:A Southerly Wind and a Cloudy Sky
From: Robert B. Waltz
Date: 25 Sep 24 - 06:10 PM

For what it's worth, I learned at least part of Joe's text sung to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell." I don't remember much of it, but I don't think it was "The Farmer in the Dell"; it just used the same tune.

I doubt I learned it from tradition; I think it was in elementary school. That would make it the mid to late 1960s, when they were sometimes teaching folk songs in schools.