Lyr Add: The Seasons

Subject: Lyr & Tune ADD: The Seasons
From: GUEST,John in Brisbane
Date: 28 Nov 00 - 08:54 AM

I found the missing tune for this in Roy Palmer's 'Everyman's Book Of English Country Songs' but also discovered along the way that the DT lyrics had omitted reference to Summer and Winter. For those interested in the unexpurgated version here it is. (Just to get in the general spirit of things I left out the first verse whuch you'll find safely in the DT.)

Regards, John

2 Then cometh Spring, which all the land doth nourish;
The fields are beginning to be decked with green.
The trees put forth their buds and the blossoms they do flourish,
And the tender blades of corn on the earth are to be seen.
Don't you see the little lambs by the dams a-playing?
The cuckoo is singing in the shady grove.
The flowers they are springing, the maids they go a-Maying,
And in love all hearts seem now to move.

3 Then cometh Summer, and then to each beholder
The fields are bedecked with hay and corn.
The mower he goes forth with a scythe upon his shoulder
And his bottle of beer so early in the morn.
Then harvest days, when everyone must labour and must swelter,
The reaper, the mower, the farmer comes along
To cut down the corn and to lay it in the shelter,
And at night drink a health with a merry song.

4 Next cometh Autumn with the sun so hot and piercing;
The sportsman goes forth with his dog and his gun
To fetch down the woodcock, the partridge and the pheasant,
For health and for profit as well as for fun.
Behold, with loaded apple-trees the farmer is befriended,
They will fill up his casks that have long laid dry.
All nature seems to weary now, her task is nearly ended,
And more of the seasons will come by and by.

5 Next cometh Winter when outdoor work's suspended;
The thatcher and the thresher go to work in the barn,
Their coats new and thick, or with flannel neatly mended,
Each follows his task to keep himself warm.
'Tis very cold and pinching, the air is fresh and chilly,
All streams they are bound up by ice and by frost.
All nature seems decayed instead of reviving,
The beauty of all things appears to be lost.

6 When night comes on with song and tale we pass the wintry hours;
By keeping up a cheerful heart we hope for better days.
We tend the cattle, sow the seed, give work unto the ploughers,
And with patience wait till winter yields before the sun's fair rays.
And so the world goes round and round, and every time and season
With pleasure and with profit crowns the passage of the year.
And so through every time of life, to him who acts with reason
The beauty of all things doth appear.

St Valentine's Day: it was believed that the birds chose their mates on this day.

Subject: RE: Lyr & Tune ADD: The Seasons
From: GUEST,John in Brisbane
Date: 28 Nov 00 - 08:58 AM

Not a bad tune really - I'll post the MIDI to MMario. I've never heard the Loreena Mc version. Regards, John

Subject: RE: Lyr & Tune ADD: The Seasons
From: MMario
Date: 28 Nov 00 - 12:09 PM

I'm ready for it John.