Halloween Songs [1]

Subject: Lyr Add: RUFUS JACK-O-LANTERN + OVER THE GRAVEYARD
From: judy
Date: 18 Oct 97 - 02:23 AM

[Some song titles in this thread have been converted to links by a Mudelf.]

I looked up Halloween on yahoo for my son and came across a bunch of songs with traditional Xmas tunes.

Here's a couple:

URL: http://www.night.net/halloween/wonderland.html-ssi

RUFUS JACK-O-LANTERN
(Tune: Frosty the Snowman)

Rufus Jack-o-Lantern
Was a very scarey sight,
With triangle eyes, a twisted mouth,
And a huge hole for a nose.

Rufus Jack-o-Lantern
Is a ghost tale so they say,
But the children know how the story goes,
How he came to scare them one day.

There must have been some magic
in the candle mom put in him,
For when they struck a match to it,
he began to laugh at them.

Rufus Jack-o-Lantern
Was alive as he could be,
and the children say he could scream all day
just like any banshee.

Rufus Jack-o-Lantern
Was a very scarey sight,
With triangle eyes, a twisted mouth,
And a huge hole for a nose.

Rufus Jack-o-Lantern
Is a ghost tale so they say,
But the children know how the story goes,
How he came to scare them one day.

He chased them down to the old graveyard
with a broomstick and a mop.
He scared them half to death until
he came to a sudden stop.

Oh, Rufus Jack-o-Lantern,
His time had come to go.
He had to stop his scary chase
When his candle would no longer glow.

Thumpity, thump, thump,
Thumpity, thump, thump,
Look at Rufus go.

Thumpity, thump, thump,
Thumpity, thump, thump,
Watch out or he'll get your TOE!

Thanks to John Peoples (Jonesboro, AR, USA) for these lyrics!
OVER THE GRAVEYARD
(Tune: Over the River and Through the Woods)

Over the graveyard and through the tombs,
To the haunted house we go.
The ghosts are a fright,
This spooky night
So come and join the show.

Over the graveyard and through the tombs,
Just hear the dreadful cries,
The banshees howl,
The black cats yowl,
Their shrieking fills the skies.

Over the graveyard and through the tombs,
Where all the goblins meet,
Witches and ghouls
They are no fools,
They all yell, "Trick or Treat."

Over the graveyard and through the tombs,
The jack-o-lanterns gleam.
Bats fill the skies,
With glowing eyes,

Hooray! It's Halloween!
(Repeat the last two verses.)


Here's a chant I did with preschoolers:

Stirring and stirring and stirring the pot (stir)
Bubbling, bubbling, bubbling hot! (fingers wiggle upwards)
Look to the moon (look up)
Laugh like a loon
Ah, ha, ha, hahaha, ha
What shall we put in the pot?
(Ask two or three children for their suggestion and throw it in the pretend pot on your lap)
(Continue repeating the entire chant and putting things in the pot until all the children have had a turn)

Last time:
(Instead of "What shall we put in the pot?")
Let's put the lid on the pot! (put the lid on and move the very heavy pot off your lap)

Okay, teachers, what have you got? And former students, I know you remember a line or two.

Happy, happy to you, Boo!
Judy

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Joe Offer
Date: 18 Oct 97 - 02:52 AM

Once upon a time, I heard a spooky song about an old woman and her cat. It started something like this:

There was an old woman, all haggard and mean,
Whooo-oo-oo-oo

She lived in a house with a skinny black cat
Whooo-oo-oo-oo

It goes on and on like this, until she digs up a grave and takes the coffin out, and then:

And then she lifted the coffin lid
Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!(blood-curdling scream)

I can't remember the lyrics for the life of me, so I just make them up as I go along, getting progressively scarier. Seems to work pretty well, although I noticed the school didn't invite me to perform for Halloween after that....
Does anybody know the REAL lyrics?
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Alice
Date: 18 Oct 97 - 02:24 PM

You have triggered a memory for me from grade school. We learned a song called THE WOBBLIN' GOBLIN, and about every year at Halloween I think of the part I remember and wonder about the rest. Does anyone know this one? This is as much as I remember:

THE WOBBLIN' GOBLIN

The wobblin' goblin with the broken broom, could never fly too high,
'Cause right at the take off, another piece would break off,
And soon he would be danglin' in the sky.

Each evening just as he would leave the ground
His radio would say,
Control tower to goblin, your broomstick is a wobblin'
You'd better make a landin' right away.

The tune changes then, and I can't remember the rest of the words. Alice in Montana

Subject: Lyr Add: WORMS (sung by the Pogues)
From:
Date: 18 Oct 97 - 04:41 PM

The little ditty that the Pogues sing, not mentioned in the liner notes of their CD, is quite appropriate for Halloween.

WORMS

The worms crawl in and the worms crawl out
The ones that crawl in
Are lean and thin
The ones that crawl out
Are fat and stout
Your eyes fall in
And your teeth fall out
Your brains come tumbling
Down your snout
Be merry, my friends, be merry!

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Jerry Friedman
Date: 18 Oct 97 - 06:09 PM

Try "Ghost of Tom" in the DT. The note says it's a four-part round, but (oddly enough, considering that I was just discoursing about canons in this forum), our elementary-school class also sang it as a canon by augmentation: while some kids sang it through twice, others sang it once at half speed.

As I recall, I didn't like the last line of "The Ghost of Tom". Do kids really like modern sort-of-funny Halloween songs like "The Wobblin' Goblin", or would they rather sing something gruesome or scary? Try searching the DT for @ghost, @witch, etc. Don't forget "Tam Lin".

Judy, if your pre-schoolers like that "stirring the pot" chant, try them on the witches' spell from Macbeth. You obviously don't need any amateur suggestions I could come up with on visual aids or gestures.

We always sang "Over the River and through the Woods" at Thanksgiving, not Christmas. Maybe it depends on what part of the country you're in. "White and drifting snow" is possible (though not all that likely) in Cleveland in late November.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: judy
Date: 18 Oct 97 - 06:56 PM

Jerry,

You're absolutely right about "Over the River" being for Thanksgiving. Thanks for catching that. Most of the other ones on that website are Xmas tunes. For the preschoolers, I did very tame ones although by 4 or 5 they liked as gruesome ones as the older kids. I run computer labs now in the elementary schools but I'll have to look up the witch's spell from Macbeth for my own kids."Ghost of Tom" is one they've sung to me.

Tim,

I know a different "worms" one. I'm sure it will ring a bell with many of you
Here are some I learned in fourth or fifth grade at camp or on the playground

The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out
The worms play pinochle on your snout
They eat your eyes, they eat your nose
They eat the goo between your toes
Your stomach turns a slimy green
And puss comes out like shaving cream
You slap it between two pieces of bread
And that's what you'll eat when you are dead!


Along with another disgusting favorite

Great green globs of greasy grimy gopher guts
Mutilated monkey's meat,
Vomit fresh right off the street
One quart pint of anti-purpose, porpoise puss
Floating in my lemonade
(spoken)
And me without a spoon!

bon apetit judy

Subject: Lyr Add: LADY ALL SKIN AND BONES^^
From: Moira Cameron
Date: 19 Oct 97 - 03:06 PM

All this stuff about worms has triggered a long forgotten song my father used to sing at this time of year. I'll see if I can remember it all. I have no idea where he got it from.

LADY ALL SKIN AND BONES

(Quietly at first.)
There was a lady all skin and bones;
And such a lady was never known.
Oh she walked out all on a day--
Yes she walked down to the church to pray.

Oh she walked up and she walked down.
And she spied a dead man on the ground.
And from his nose into his chin,
The worms crept out and the worms crept in.

(Quieter now)
She walked over to yonder style,
And there she tarried a little while.
Then she walked on up to the door,
And there she tarried a little more.

(Really quiet now)
This woman to the parson said,
"Will I be so when I am dead?"
The parson to the woman said,"
(Loud) YES!!!"


I'm amazed I remembered that.

Other songs I like to sing this time of year include Tamlin and a fun song I learned from Ian Robb called the Guy Fawkes Song. He collected it from someone named Charles Chilton.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE WALKER OF THE SNOW (C D Shanly)
From: Barry
Date: 19 Oct 97 - 09:59 PM

Sean Tyrrell a few years back put a tune to one of Charles Dawson Shanly's poems, "The Walker Of The Snow"--great song/poem.


THE WALKER OF THE SNOW
(Poem by Charles Dawson Shanly)

Speed on, speed on, good master! The camp lies far away;—
We must cross the hunted valley before the close of day.
How the snow-blight came upon me, I will tell you as we go,—
The blight of the shadow hunter who walks the midnight snow.

To the cold December heaven came the pale moon and the stars,
As the yellow sun was sinking, behind the purple bars.
The snow was deeply drifted upon the ridges drear
That lay for miles around me and the camp for which we steer.

'Twas silent on the hill-side, and by the solemn wood
No sound of life or motion to break the solitude,
Save the wailing of the moose-bird with a plaintive note and low,
And the skating of the red leaf upon the frozen snow.

And said I,—"Though dark is falling, and far the camp must be,
Yet my heart it would be lightsome, if I had but company."
And then I sang and shouted, keeping measure, as I sped,
To the harp-twang of the snow-shoe as it sprang beneath my tread.

Not far into the valley had I dipped upon my way,
When a dusky figure joined me, in a capuchon of grey,
Bending upon the snow-shoes with a long and limber stride;
And I hailed the dusky stranger, as we travelled side by side.

But no token of communion gave he by word or look,
And the fear-chill fell upon me at the crossing of the brook;
For I saw by the sickly moonlight, as I followed, bending low,
That the walking of the stranger left no foot-marks on the snow.

Then the fear-chill gathered o'er me, like a shroud around me cast,
As I sank into the snow-drift where the shadow hunter passed.
And the otter-trappers found me before the break of day,
With my dark hair blanched and whitened as the snow in which I lay.

But they spoke not, as they raised me, for they knew that in the night
I had seen the shadow hunter, and had withered in his blight.
Sancta Maria speed us! The sun is falling low,—
Before us lies the Valley of the Walker of the Snow!


These are Shanly's words; Sean has changed them only slightly, a word here & there. I believe he's recorded this now but I don't know where. Some others you might like are "Twa Corbies" (I've always thought of it as a Halloween type), "Werewolf" in a thread about a week back, some of the Souling songs, from the mummer's plays, have changed from Christmas to All Saints or Halloween. The children, going door to door representing souls of the returning dead, would be given Soul Cakes in turn for the good luck bestowed on them.

A soul, a soul, a soul cake, please good missus a soul cake
an apple, a pear, a plum, or a cherry--any good thing to make us merry

Another would be the "Cheshire Souling Song" somewhat similar to Pace Egging

Here comes one, two, three jolly good hearty lads and we're all in one mind
For this night we've come a-souling good nature to find
For this night we've come a-souling as it doth appear
And it's all that we are souling for is your ale and strong beer

That's from Peter Kennedy's collection recorded on Topic's Folk Songs Of Britain, vol #9 Songs Of Ceremony 1961. The souling song may be from the Waterson's can't remember.
Barry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW2PdPeK07w

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: rosebrook
Date: 19 Oct 97 - 10:58 PM

As heard on Raffi's "More Songs for the Very Young", a favorite I've used with very short people to their delight is Five Little Pumpkins

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate The first one said, "oh my, it's getting late" The second one said, "there's witches in the air!" The third one said, "but we don't care." The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run!" The fifth one said, "I'm ready for some fun!" Oo-ooo went the wind, and out went the lights, and the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

Personally, I much prefer the aforementioned oozing and slimy and gopher guts songs.... Rosebrook

Subject: Lyr Add: PLASTIC FLOWER SEEDS (Bert Hansell)
From: Bert
Date: 20 Oct 97 - 09:01 AM

A few years ago, around halloween time, I had to sing three songs at a concert. I could only think of two suitable songs "Tom Pierce" and "The British Workman's Grave", so I wrote one of my own to complete the set.

It's called "Plastic Flower Seeds."

  
         D
  I was walking through the graveyard Sunday Morning
  
                                          
  when my daughter said "Oh tell me Daddy please
  
       G                         D
  I really want to know, how do plastic flowers grow
  
                           A7             D
  and where do we get them plastic flower seeds"
  
  

When some folks die their souls are sent to heaven
the rest are sent below amongst the weeds
their bodies stay right here, and the plant them deep my dear
and they turn into them plastic folwer seeds.

On young William's grave there grew a red red rose,
Barbry Allen grew a briar for her deeds,
but in these modern times we all pay for our crimes
by turning into plastic flower seeds.

I wish they'd plant some roses 'round our gravestones
but in this world of selfishness and greed
the memory they preserve, it's the one that we deserve
and we turn into them plastic folwer seeds

Now when I die I wanna go to heaven,
but maybe not, I've sometimes been a weed,
but whichever way I go, you can plant me here below
and I'll turn into a plastic flower seed.

Yeah, whichever way I go, you can plant me here below
and I'll turn into a plastic flower seed.

Copyright Bert Hansell, 1994

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Susan of DT
Date: 20 Oct 97 - 03:14 PM

try @ghost and @myth in the DT. @myth gets everything from unicorns and witches to the devil

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Jerry Friedman
Date: 20 Oct 97 - 04:25 PM

"The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out" has lots of variants--I've even heard it with ants instead of worms. My favorite is the pinochle one that Judy mentioned. When I learned this as a child, the version went

The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out,
In your stomach and out your snout,
Except for one that's very shy:
In your ear and out your eye.

Later in the song (most of which I've forgotten) we sang to the tune of the funeral march from Chopin's sonata in B-flat,

Pray for the dead and the dead will pray for you,
Simply because they have nothing else to do.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From:
Date: 20 Oct 97 - 05:22 PM

What I always liked about the Pogues' version of Worms is the last line, like it was a drinking song.

Does the Monster Mash count if you play it on acoustic guitar?

Come to think of it, I can't recall any folk songs with nasty ghosts or suchlike creatures. If there are ghosts, they seem to be melancholy ghosts or ghosts come to warn, but nothing really scary about them. This is in contrast to the hair-raising folktales. Wonder why.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Jon W.
Date: 20 Oct 97 - 07:25 PM

The Monster Mash may not be folk yet but it's certainly becoming traditional - my 12-year-olds are singing it these days. But I can't remember the first lines of the verse that ends: "the guests included Wolfman, Dracula, and his son." Anybody?

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Charlie Baum
Date: 21 Oct 97 - 12:26 AM

"The Griesely Bride" and "Mrs. Ravoon" are both in the DT, and both are good spooky songs, one comic, one just frightening.

Subject: Lyr Add: MONSTER MASH (Pickett/Capizzi)^^
From: Charles Colyer
Date: 21 Oct 97 - 03:05 AM

For Jon W.

I found this last night with a few more verses than you asked for:


MONSTER MASH
Written by Bobby Pickett & Leonard Capizzi
As recorded by Bobby "Boris" Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers (1962)

I was working in the lab late one night,
When my eyes beheld an eerie sight,
For my monster from its slab began to rise,
And suddenly, to my surprise,

(He did the mash) He did the monster mash.
(The Monster Mash) It was a graveyard smash.
(He did the mash) It caught on in a flash.
(He did the mash) He did the monster mash.

From my laboratory in the castle east,
To the master bedroom where the vampires feast,
The ghouls all came from their humble abodes
To get a jolt from my electrodes.

(They did the mash) They did the monster mash.
(The Monster Mash) It was a graveyard smash.
(They did the mash) It caught on in a flash.
(They did the mash) They did the monster mash.

The zombies were having fun.
the party had just begun.
The guests included Wolfman,
Dracula, and his son.

The scene was rocking; all were digging the sounds:
Igor on chains backed by his baying hounds.
The coffin draggers were about to arrive
With their vocal group, the Crypt-Kicker Five.

(They played the mash) They played the monster mash.
(The Monster Mash) It was a graveyard smash.
(They played the mash) It caught on in a flash.
(They played the mash) They played the monster mash.

Out from his coffin, Drac's voice did ring.
It seems he was troubled by just one thing,
Opened the lid, and shook his fist, and said:
"Whatever happened to my Transylvania twist?"

(It's now the mash) It's now the monster mash.
(The Monster Mash) And it's a graveyard smash.
(It's now the mash) It's caught on in a flash.
(It's now the mash) It's now the monster mash.

Now everything's cool; Drac's a part of the band,
And my monster mash is the hit of the land.
For you, the living, this mash was meant too.
When you get to my door, tell them Boris sent you.

(Then you can mash) Then you can monster mash,
(The Monster Mash) And do my graveyard smash.
(Then you can mash) You'll catch on in a flash.
(Then you can mash) Then you can monster mash.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Susan-Marie
Date: 21 Oct 97 - 12:33 PM

One of the few memories I have of grade school is singing this little ditty:

Witches, pumpkin heads, and black cats,
Scary spooks and black bats,
Oh it's Halloween

Halloween's the night
You dress up like a sight
To give your friends a fright
Look out, it's Halloween

Halloween night is the night
When fearful things are seen
Look out, look out, it's Halloween

It might be a round - I can't find two other people who know it so I can't test that theory. Anyone else remember this song?

My favorite Halloween song is Loreena McKennit's "All Souls Night". I remember posting the lyrics to it around this time last year. Wow, I can't believe I've been coming to this site for a whole year! Time flies when you're singing and having fun.

Subject: Lyr Add: ALL SOULS' NIGHT^^
From: Susan-Marie
Date: 22 Oct 97 - 08:47 AM

I see the lyrics to All Soul's Night aren't in the DB (it may not be considered a folk song), so here they are:

Bonfires dot the rolling hillside
Figures dance around and around
To drums that pulse echos of darkness
Moving to the pagan sound

Somewhere in a distant memory
Images float before my eyes
Of fragrant nights of straw and bonfire
And dancing until the next sunrise

Chorus:
I can see the lights in the distance
Trembling in the dark cloak of night
Candles and lanterns are dancing, dancing,
A waltz on All Soul's Night

Figures of cornstalks bend in the shadows
Held up tall as the flames leap high
A green knight holds a holly bush
To mark where the old year passes by

Chorus

Bonfires dot the rolling hillside
Figures dance around and around
To drums that pulse echoes of darkness
Moving to the pagan sound

Standing on the bridge that crosses
The river that goes out to the sea
The wind is full of a thousand voices
They cross by the bridge and me

Chorus

Loreena McKennitt
1992

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Wolfgang Hell
Date: 22 Oct 97 - 10:51 AM

Susan-Marie,

one of my research areas is human memory, so I cannot resist to post the following:

"My favorite Halloween song is Loreena McKennit's 'All Soul's Night'. I remember posting the lyrics to it around this time last year", you wrote.

It was 25th of March 1997, thread title "Allsouls night".

(BTW: I sometimes even do not recollect if I have posted or just thought about posting lyrics)

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Susan-Marie
Date: 22 Oct 97 - 11:43 AM

Wolfgang - You know, I just assumed that it had been a year ago, because this is such a seasonal song. Well, I did say I couldn't believe I'd been coming to this site for a whole year - at least that part was right! ;)

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From:
Date: 22 Oct 97 - 07:34 PM

Remember to end The Monster Mash with the requisite amount of howling and groaning. Otherwise, it would be like singing the Flintstones song without the loud WILMA! at the end.:)

Subject: Lyr Add: ANNE BOLEYN^^^, ISN'T IT GRAND, BOYS^^^
From: judy
Date: 23 Oct 97 - 01:29 AM

Wow! this is all great stuff. The Monster Mash words and a new verse to "the worms crawl in". Great, thanks all.

Speaking of not quite folk, my Celtic group always throws these two in around this time of year:

With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm

In the Tower of London large as life
The ghost of Anne Boleyn walks, they declare.
Poor Anne Boleyn was once King Henry's wife
Until he made the headsman bob her hair
Ah, yes he did her wrong long years ago
And she comes up at night to tell him so

With her head tucked underneath her arm
She walks the bloody tower
With her head tucked underneath her arm
At the midnight hour
She comes to haunt King Henry
She means giving him what for
Gadzooks! She's going to tell him off
She's looking very sore;
And just in case the headsman
Wants to give her an encore
She's got her head tucked underneath her arm.

With her head tucked underneath her arm
She walks the bloody tower
With her head tucked underneath her arm
At the midnight hour
The sentries think it's a football
And when they've had a few they shout,
"Is Army going to win?"
They think that it's Red Grange
Instead of poor old Anne Boleyn,
With her head tucked underneath her arm

Sometimes gay King Henry gives a spread
For all his pals and gals, a ghostly crew
The headsman carves the joint and cuts the bread:
Then in comes Anne Boleyn to queer the do,
She holds her head up with a wild war whoop
And Henry cries, "Don't drop it in the soup!"


With her head tucked underneath her arm
She walks the bloody tower
With her head tucked underneath her arm
At the midnight hour
One night she caught King Henry,
He was in the canteen bar.
Said he, "Are you Jane Seymour, Anne Boleyn, or Catherine Parr?
For how the sweet Sam Perryham do I know who you are,
With your head tucked underneath your arm!"


Thank you, Janet, for these words (and for teaching us all the rest too)


And consider yourself well snookered before you sing this next one:


Look At the Coffin

Look at the coffin with golden handles
Isn't it grand, boys, to be bloody well dead?

Chorus:
Let's not have a sniffle, let's all have a bloody good cry,
And always remember the longer you live, the sooner you'll bloody well die.

Look at the mourners, bloody great hypocrites,
Isn't it grand ......

Look at the preacher, bloody sanctimonious,
Isn't it grand ......


Sounds like this song could go on a lot longer than just these three verses.

Judy

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Nonie Rider
Date: 23 Oct 97 - 02:51 PM

You know, I've never actually seen the Anne Boleyn written in standard dialect spelling?

I learned it as: "With 'er 'ead tucked underneath 'er arm."

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Jerry Friedman
Date: 23 Oct 97 - 06:47 PM

Red Grange? That dates THAT song!

If non-folk is sneaking in here, I can't resist mentioning two of my favorite German Lieder, both for All Souls' Day: "Litanei (fur das* Allerseelen)", by Schubert, and "Allerseelen", by Richard Strauss.

*der, die, dem, den? I don't actually know German.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Wolfgang
Date: 24 Oct 97 - 05:46 AM

no article in German with "Allerseelen". Wolfgang

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: JMike
Date: 24 Oct 97 - 10:58 AM

Okay, for the thinning-hair, sagging-waistline, needs-reading-glasses contingent:

On the old "Spin and Marty" serial on the equally old Mickey Mouse Club show there was a ghost stories episode where the English butler (Perkins?) sang/chanted a thing about some ghost (Anne Boleyn?) haunting the tower of London. It wasn't the same as the one already posted, since it had a chorus that started "Clank, clank, clank, I may be cold and dank..."

I don't remember any more except that it was accompanied by clanging some chains and was very spooky (at least to a six year old).

Anyone remember?

JMike

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Moira Cameron
Date: 24 Oct 97 - 11:46 PM

I know this isn't a folk song per se, but I like having poems mixed in with my repertoire sometimes. Good ones that come immediately to mind are the Raven, by Edgar Allen Poe, and The Cremation of Sam McGee, by Robert Service.

One poem that is on my 'to learn' list is the Goethe poem, Die Erlkonig (the Elf King.) It would work very well at this time of year. It is about a father who loses his young son to a faerie king.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Lidi
Date: 25 Oct 97 - 05:43 AM

To Moira....

Yes, "Der Elkkönig" is a great poem by Goethe. I haven´t looked for it yet on the Net, but I´m sure it´s out there.

I also agree with you when you say that it´s appropriate around this time of the year.....

Slainte

Lidi

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Joe Offer
Date: 25 Oct 97 - 03:20 PM

The mention of Goethe's "Erlkönig" (Elf-King) sent me looking, since I wasn't familiar with the poem. I found a great site, loaded with German poetry and fairy tales,
http://www.german-usa.com/gedichte/index.html
I wish I could find a good translation of "Erlkönig," which tells the story of a man riding a horse at night, with his son in his arms. The son hears the elf-king calling him, enticing him with his elfin daughters, who sing and dance and do other things. Sonny-boy tries to explain all this to Daddy, but Daddy doesn't understand until he finds that the kid in his arms is dead. Loses something in my translation, I think.....
Another Goethe poem I came across that is fitting for the season is "Der Zauberlehrling," the Sorcerer's Apprentice. I like Walt Disney's cartoon-translation of this on "Fantasia." Beats the heck out of any translation I could do.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Jerry Friedman
Date: 25 Oct 97 - 03:23 PM

Sorry, the Schubert song is called "Litanei auf das Fest Allerseelen".

Of course, "Der Erlkönig" is a song too--or two magnificent songs, by Schubert and by Loewe.

For a poem less familiar (and maybe better) than "The Cremation of Sam McGee" and "The Raven", how about "The Griesly Wife"? By an Australian whose name escapes me, unless it's John Manifold. There's also the Poe parody, "Cannibal Lee".

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Joe Offer
Date: 25 Oct 97 - 04:05 PM

Here's a link to both German and English versions of The Elf-King. There's even a MIDI of the tune.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Martin Ryan
Date: 25 Oct 97 - 08:09 PM

Barry

"A soul a soul a soul cake...."

Was indeed the Watersons on "Frost and Fire" - one of the greatest folk albums I've ever heard.

Regards

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Charlie Baum
Date: 26 Oct 97 - 01:40 AM

If poems are possibilities, my all-time favourite poem for Halloween is "The Witch of Coos" by Robert Frost, one of the all time great ghost stories. And for folkies, it's got references to "The Wild Colonial Boy" in it.

"Folks think a witch who has familiar spirits
She could call up to pass a winter evening,
But won't, should be burned at the stake or something."
--from "The Witch of Coos"

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From:
Date: 26 Oct 97 - 02:25 PM

There is The Witch of The West-Mer-Lands, by Archie Fisher [on The Man With A Rhyme, now happily released on CD Folk-Legacy CD61) and a very good cover by Stan Rogers on Between The Breaks Live, which I don't have at hand at the moment. It must be admitted that this seems to be a good witch. (This Fisher CD also contains the fine love song Dark Eyed Molly, but that is another matter)

As I have mentioned in other posts, Teresa Doyle's "Forerunner" CD is full of songs she wrote based on PEI ghost stories.

I know some of Poe's poems have been set to music. Back in the seventies, someone had a hit with such an LP, although it was all in that pretentious over-produced 1970s style that drove me from rock to folk. I think it was called Tales of Mystery and Imagination and for all I know is now out on CD. Perhaps with imagination, you could tinker with them and set them for use with an acoustic guitar.

Then there is The Grey Cock, which is in the database. I have a good version by Chris Foster. There is a Nova Scotia version with a different name, from the Creighton Collection I believe, done by Catherine MacKinnon on one of her early LPs but I don't know if it is out of CD. (Speaking of Helen Creighton, she also collected a book of Nova Scotia ghost stories, full of headless ladies in grey and suchlike. It is called "Bluenose Ghosts.")

Stompin' Tom Conners did a version of The Cremation of Sam McGee, as did Hank Snow (I think). It is a little too upbeat and merry for a Halloween song.

I suppose there is also Giant, by Stan Rogers.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Steve D.
Date: 27 Oct 97 - 08:35 AM

I reckon Tam Lyn (as sung by Mike Waterson) aka Young Tambling (Anne Briggs) counts as a pretty good Halloween song and one which I'd love to be able to remember all of the words to. Boys of Bedlam is suitably spooky to go down well too.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: rechal
Date: 27 Oct 97 - 01:04 PM

Here's a fragment of a poem that should be familiar -- I can't remember who wrote it or what it's called.

Ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties

And things that go bump in the night

Subject: Lyr Add: STOLEN CHILD (W.B. Yeats, L McKennitt)^^
From: Susan-Marie
Date: 27 Oct 97 - 01:09 PM

After reading the words to the Elf King, I was reminded of Loreena McKennitt's arrangement of Yeat's Poem "Stolen Child" on her album "Elemental". Similar story, less sinister rendering:

STOLEN CHILD

Lyrics by W.B. Yeats; music by Loreena McKennitt

Where dips the rocky highland
Of sleuth wood in the lake
There lies a leafy island
Where flapping herons wake
The drowsy water rats
There we've hid our fairy vats
Full of berries
And of reddest stolen cherries.

CHORUS
Come away oh human child
To the waters and the wild
With a faery hand in hand
For the world's more full of weeping
Than you can understand

Where the wave of moonlight glosses
The dim grey sands with light
By far off furthest rosses
We foot it all the night
Weaving olden dances
Mingling hands and mingling glances
Till the moon has taken flight
To and fro we leap
And chase the frothy bubbles
Whilst the world is full of troubles
And is anxious in its sleep.

CHORUS

Where the wandering water gushes
From the hills above glen car
In pools among the rushes
That scarce could bathe a star
We seek for slumbering trout
And whispering in their ears
Give them unquiet dreams
Leaning softly out
From ferns that drop their tears
Over the young streams.

CHORUS

Away with us he's going
The solemned eyed
He'll hear no more the lowing
Of the calves on the warm hillside
Or the kettle on the hob
Sing peace unto his breast
Or see the brown mice bob
Round and round the oatmeal chest.

CHORUS(last time)
For he comes, the human child
To the waters and the wild
With a faery hand in hand
For the world's more full of weeping
Than you can understand.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: LaMarca
Date: 27 Oct 97 - 05:10 PM

Michael Smith (best known for "The Dutchman" and "Spoon River") wrote a hauntingly beautiful song called "Vampire"; it's sung from the vampire's point of view. It's been recorded by him and by Claudia Schmidt; I'll try to look up the words at home.

In the same vein (so to speak) as "Monster Mash" is reggae master Lee Scratch Perry's "Secret Laboratory (Dancehall Monster)":
Rockin' and reelin' and havin' a ball
Swingin' and singin' straight jacket and all,
He's a dancehall monster...

Then there's always Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London":
I saw a werewolf drinkin' a pina colada at Trader Vic's;
His hair was perfect...
David Lindley covered this as a reggae number on his album "Very Greasy" (OK, OK, I'll go back to folk...)

Subject: Lyr Add: WITH HER HEAD TUCKED UNDERNEATH HER ARM
From: Charles Colyer
Date: 27 Oct 97 - 06:50 PM

Here are the original words to "With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm":

WITH HER HEAD TUCKED UNDERNEATH HER ARM
Words by R. P. Weston and Bert Lee Music by Harris Weston

In the Tower of London large as life,
The ghost of Anne Boleyn walks, they declare.
Poor Anne Boleyn was once King Henry's wife
Until he made the headsman bob her hair!
Ah, yes he did her wrong long years ago
And she comes up at night to tell him so

With her head tucked underneath her arm
She walks the Bloody Tower!
With her head tucked underneath her arm
At the midnight hour.
She comes to haunt King Henry; she means giving him "what for."
Gadzooks, she's going to tell him off for having spilt her gore,
And just in case the Headsman wants to give her an encore
She has her head tucked underneath her arm!

With her head tucked underneath her arm
She walks the Bloody Tower!
With her head tucked underneath her arm
At the midnight hour.
Along the draughty corridors for miles and miles she goes,
She often catches cold, poor thing; it's cold there when it blows,
And it's awf'lly awkward for the Queen to have to blow her nose
With her head tucked underneath her arm!

Sometimes gay King Henry gives a spread
For all his pals and gals, a ghostly crew.
The headsman carves the joint and cuts the bread.
Then in comes Anne Boleyn to "queer" the "do";
She holds her head up with a wild war whoop
And Henry cries, "Don't drop it in the soup!"

With her head tucked underneath her arm
She walks the Bloody Tower!
With her head tucked underneath her arm
At the midnight hour.
The sentries think that it's a football that she carries in
And when they've had a few they shout, "Is Ars'nal going to win?"
They think it's Alec James instead of poor old Anne Boleyn,
With her head tucked underneath her arm.

With her head tucked underneath her arm
She walks the Bloody Tower!
With her head tucked underneath her arm
At the midnight hour.
One night she caught King Henry; he was in the Canteen Bar.
Said he, "Are you Jane Seymour, Anne Boleyn, or Catherine Parr?
For how the sweet san fairy ann do I know who you are
With your head tucked underneath your arm!"

copyright 1934 by Francis, Day & Hunter, Ltd.

---

Click to play

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: John Nolan
Date: 27 Oct 97 - 07:00 PM

I always enjoy Matt McGinn's Dundee Ghost - if it's not in the database I'll post it. At this time of year, the old Incredible String Band favorite, October Song, comes to mind, as well. Incidentally, Barry, very impressive italics up above there, and accidental too. Woooooo!

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Barry
Date: 27 Oct 97 - 09:01 PM

Thanks, John, nothing I couldn't do again by accident. Thought I'd toss out the Wild Boar or The Jovial Hunter or Sir Lionel or ...... It's in the DT & I think it was thread-involved a while back...... From the seas, a ghost that goes back ways, The Flying Dutchman. A bit closer to home, from the Salem witch trials, comes Susanna Martin, written by John Allison & put to tune by Claudine Langille, she recorded it on The New Land when there was a Touchstone back in 1982. Another one close to home, from the port of Gloucester, concerning the Grand Banks fisheries, comes The Ghostly Crew. The dead crew boards the schooner that ran them down on a prior voyage & then they slip back over the side as they near land. Barry

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Bill D
Date: 28 Oct 97 - 12:12 AM

a while back we did a thread on the Don McLean song.."On the Amazon"... great for Halloween...go here for the short thread.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Jerry Friedman
Date: 28 Oct 97 - 11:00 PM

Heavens, there's a THIRD melody for "Der Erlkönig"? (Actually, maybe it's the first.) Too bad my computer can't play it. I hate to keep being pedantic (I'm lying), but don't take "The Elf-King" on faith as the correct translation. You can apparently make as good a case for "The Alder King" or for leaving it untranslated as "The Erl King". (Possibly related to a Duke?)

On Bryn Terfel's excellent album of Schubert lieder, An die Musik, he does this song with a remarkable scary, nasty Erl King voice.

The album Tales of Mystery and Imagination was by the Alan Parsons Project, in that interestingly produced '70s style that Parsons didn't do quite as well as some others.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Joe Offer
Date: 29 Oct 97 - 04:05 AM

Well, Jerry, my Cassell's translates "Erlkönig" as "Elf King," but doesn't give a root for the word or any further explanation. My German-German dictionary says it's derived from the Danish "ellerkonge," with a German meaning "Elfenkönig." And we all know that "Elf" is the number right after "Zehn," but I'll go with "elf king." I do get the impression these elves may not be the cute little guys we think of.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: Lyr Add: FANNY POWER (W.B. Yeats, T O'Carolan)^^
From: judy
Date: 29 Oct 97 - 04:10 PM

All this talking about traditional ghost songs reminded me of one about a ghost who comes to visit his lover who doesn't know that he's dead. It includes the folklore that the ghost can only stay until the break of day. They find her dead of a broken heart the next day (sniffle)

I learned this from a fellow up in San Francisco about 10-15 years ago. It would be just right if he sees this.
Some verses are sung to the A part of the music and some to the B part

FANNY POWER
words: W.B. Yeats
music: Turloch O'Carolan

Verse I (music part A)
When all but dreaming was Fanny Power
A light came streaming from out her bower
A heavy thought at her door delayed
A heavy hand on the latch was layed

Verse II (music part A)
Now who dare venture at this dark hour
Unbid to enter my maiden bower
"Oh, Fanny, open the door to me
And your true lover you'll surely see"

Verse III (music part B)
"My own true lover so tall and brave
He lives in next isle o'er the angry wave"
"Your true love's body lies on the pier,
"His faithful spirit is with you here."

Verse IV (music part B)
"Oh, his look was cheerful and his voice was gay,
Your face is fearful and your speech is gray
And sad and tearful your eye of blue
Ah, but Patrick, Patrick, alas tis you"

Verse V (music part A)
The dawn was breaking, she heard below
The two cocks shaking their wings to crow
"Oh, hush you! hush you! both red and gray
Or will you hurry my love away?"

Verse VI (music part B)
"Oh, hush your crowin', both gray and red
Or he will be goin' to join the dead
And cease you calling his ghost to the mold
And I'll come crowning your wings with gold"

Verse VII (music part A)
When all but dreaming was Fanny Power
A light came streaming beneath her bower
And on the morrow when they awoke
They knew that sorrow, her heart had broke.

(play music part B)

"spirit"ually yours judy

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Moira Cameron
Date: 29 Oct 97 - 08:34 PM

What about the old traditional classic ballad, "The Unquiet Grave", or even "She moves through the fair"?

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: alison
Date: 29 Oct 97 - 09:58 PM

Hi,

Speaking of "she moved through the fair", have a look in the database for "Our wedding day".

Any chance of the tune for "With her head tucked underneath her arm," I can only remember the tune for the chorus.

Slainte

Alison

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From:
Date: 30 Oct 97 - 10:16 PM

The song about the ghost who comes back to his lover and can only stay until daybreak is The Grey Cock. There are variants under other names but the storyline is the same.

Then there is The Black Fox, which is in the database, where the fox hunters find out that the fox they are chasing is the devil.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: judy
Date: 31 Oct 97 - 02:53 AM

Tim: There's lots of ghostly folklore stories with this theme. Then there are all those other ones (in the DT) like Polly Vaughn where the girl turns into a swan and is shot by her boyfriend. "She'd her apron wrapped about her and I took her for a swan. And it's oh, and alas, it was she, Polly Vaughn"
I know a French song where the brother hunts the white stag in the woods with his friends, kills it, serves it for dinner, and asks where his sister is. (Have you guessed it?) She says my head is in the plate, my blood is all over the kitchen and my bones are in the fire. See ADD LYRICS: Complainte de la Blanche Biche

Alison: Sorry I don't know how to send music yet. I'm sure someone knows where you can hear it. It's a great tune.
Charles: How could we do without the verse where Anne Boleyn has to blow her nose? Thanx

judy

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Jerry Friedman
Date: 31 Oct 97 - 04:27 PM

On the subject of lieder (which I was on if nobody else was), how could I have forgotten Schubert's "Death and the Maiden"?

Joe, I've read the same thing, that "Erlkönig" comes from the Danish "ellerkonge", meaning "Elf king", but that doesn't mean that a German understands "Elf king" when he/she hears "Erlkönig". It might be like saying that "electricity" means "amber", since it comes from the Greek word for amber.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Joe Offer
Date: 31 Oct 97 - 04:42 PM

Hi, Jerry - I think we're saying the same thing, but with different words. I think you're right, though - a word other that "elf-king" would be more suitable. I doubt that Santa Claus would have anything to do with the Erlkönig. What makes it particularly difficult to translate is that "Erl" is not a German word - as far as I can determine, the only place it appears in the German language is in reference to this poem. Wolfgang, what image comes to your mind when you think of Erlkönig?
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Wolfgang
Date: 04 Nov 97 - 06:15 AM

second attempt at a lasting response:

I asked about 50 students what comes to their minds when they hear "Erlkönig". Nearly all of them gave the response "the poem", none of them wanted to define what an Erlkönig might be. Few additonal responses were "a car" (also correct: "Erlkönig" is used in recent years for cars tested on the streets before they can be bought; the link is: they are only tested in fog and night when nobody can spot ot photograph them).

"Erle" is German for alder tree (that was my association as a boy and I pictured him as a wobbling ghost behind foggy alder trees), but I have no idea whether there is a connection.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Moira Cameron
Date: 04 Nov 97 - 11:46 AM

I know this is late for Hallowe'en song suggestions, but I only thought of this one yesterday. I don't know why it didn't occur to me before now, because it's perfect for this time of year. It's the Child Ballad 'Binnorie'. Talk about spooky ghost stories. I just love this one.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Joe Offer
Date: 04 Nov 97 - 12:27 PM

I don't know if you're right, Wolfgang, but I can pictured a spooky night, with the wind shaking the yellow alder leaves, and the moon reflecting on the silvery trunks of the alders. I'm scared already.
But what we really need is a Dane to tell us what an "ellerkonge" is.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Jon W.
Date: 04 Nov 97 - 06:20 PM

If I may hazard a guess, and it's just that, I would guess that the Danish/German elves are equivalent to what the Irish called fairies. They aren't the innocent little creatures who make the leaves frosty, nor the heroes of JRR Tolkien's works, nor the clever Santa's helpers, but nasty, powerful, mean folks that are always up to no good, stealing babies and leaving changlings in their place, kidnapping maidens, etc. This seems to fit with the tone of Goethe's poem better.

BTW, the late Carl Sagan conjectured that the current rash of "alien abduction" stories parallels the "fairy abduction" stories of the middle (or dark?) ages.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Jerry Friedman
Date: 04 Nov 97 - 06:47 PM

I don't know much about it either, but I'm sure the elves weren't ALWAYS up to no good. All (or most of) the Germanic first names beginning with Al and El refer to the elves--Alfred = elf-rede (= elf-advice), Albert = elf-bright, Elwyn = elf-friend, etc.

If I remember right, Norse mythology had both elves, who lived in Alfheim, and black elves, who lived in Svartalfheim. I THINK it was the black elves who were part of the origin of Tolkien's "dwarves" (for instance in the story of the Brisingamen).

Thanks for the information, Wolfgang!

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: judy
Date: 05 Nov 97 - 01:43 AM

Moira,

Great thread adds are never too late.

I'm sure there are forums like this for the storytellers. Wait a minute, I've got some links myself in my bookmarks: http://members.aol.com/storypage/sources.htm

Never enough time to find out everything one would like to know. Here's a newsgroup for Halloween: news.alt.folklore.ghost-stories

judy

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Wolfgang
Date: 05 Nov 97 - 04:02 AM

I looked it up in a very big ethymological dictionary: It says that "Erlkönig" is nothing but a mistaken translation from the Danish "ellerkonge" (which would explain why this word only appears in a single poem). The correct translation would have been "Elfenkönig" (Elfen are mostly considered nasty, as Jon conjectures). The Danish words for elf (Elfe) and alder (Erle) are said to be quite similar which makes the mistake understandable. Can some of the Scandinavians say if this is true?

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Wolfgang
Date: 05 Nov 97 - 07:57 AM

etymological, of course

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: alison
Date: 27 Oct 99 - 08:54 PM

refresh for Hummingbird

slainte

alison

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From:
Date: 27 Oct 99 - 09:22 PM

Thanks Alison!!!

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: kendall
Date: 28 Oct 99 - 01:06 PM

I learned one as a small boy done in a minor key of course..

Jack-o-lantern burns his candle
Witches on their broom sticks ride
By the Jack-o-lantern's light.

Owls upon the waving tree tops hoot through the windy night
Goblins dance on Halloween by the Jack-o-lantern's light.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 28 Oct 99 - 01:26 PM

Alison, there was a thread awhile back with the midi for "Anne Boleyn"- I'll see if I can find it later when I'm not at work! I'm teaching it to my 5th graders ( 10-11 yr olds) with a few verses left out, and they love it! I let them choose an American football team, and it gets pretty funny when the sentries mistake one of their favorite players with Anne Boleyn.

Someone wanted to know what songs appeal to kids. I'm running into a new problem over the past few years- more and more conservative parents don't want their children to hear any reference to witches, ghosts, etc. It makes a challenge to come up with seasonal songs (I WON'T just ignore H'ween!) that are spooky without being threatening to them. So: The horseman, by Marilyn Davidson, the Twa Corbies, Anne Boleyn's ok for some reason, because I teach it in the context of a music hall comedy song- it gets challenging!

Subject: Lyr Add: BLOODY WELL DEAD^^^
From: Blackcat2
Date: 28 Oct 99 - 01:35 PM

Joyous Samhain yall

the aformentioned song "Look At the Coffin"

is on a Clancy Brothers album entitled "Bloody Well Dead"

I tend to do it with a added verse that speaks to the possiblility that the song is from the dead man (or men) in the coffins who are impatient to be at a party that goes on interminally without the chance of a drink.

Look at the coffin with golden handles
Isn't it grand boys to be bloody well dead.

Chorus:
Let's not have a sniffle, let's all have a bloody good cry,
And always remember the longer you live, the sooner you'll bloody well die.

Look at the flowers, all bloody withered

Look at the mourners, bloody great hypocrites,
Look at the preacher, bloody sanctimonius,
Look at the widow bloody great female,

Look at our corpses - all bloody rotting

pax

Subject: Lyr Add: THE TOWER GHOST^^
From: Ely
Date: 28 Oct 99 - 03:44 PM

I had a Clancy Brothers recording of that nonsense song that ends " . . . 'twas like a pen-knife in my back, and when my back began to bleed, I was dead and dead indeed", which I always thought was really creepy.

My kindergarten teacher used to write children's songs on the side. This was always one of my favorites (bear with me, I thought it was terribly clever when I was seven).

THE TOWER GHOST

There's a house in old San Francisco,
That has a tower with blue-painted windows,
And at night as the fog rolls in off the bay,
And the dishes from supper are washed and away,
We sit in the parlor till twenty past ten . . .
And wait for the sounds of the night to begin,
For the sounds of the night to begin.

CHORUS:
The neighbors all tell the same story,
Of a man who was hanged in the tower,
Though no-one was there at the scene of his death,
They do know the time that he breathed his last breath,
And I don't need to tell you, for I'm certain you've guessed!
Twenty past ten was the hour,
That he hanged himself in the tower.

First comes a thud . . . and the comes a bump,
And then, sounds of footsteps that scramble and jump,
We hear floorboards creaking and right over head,
Comes a scratching of fingers from under the bed,
So we rush to the stairway and turn on the light . . .
And the noises all stop for the rest of the night,
They're gone for the rest of the night.

[Chorus]

On Sunday and Monday and Tuesday he came,
On Wednesday and Thursday, it all was the same,
The fingernails scratching, the thuds and the bumps,
The floorboards a-creaking, the scrambles and jumps,
Till I finally decided to take it no more . . .
I did something I'd not done before,
When I could finally stand it no more.

[Chorus]

On Friday I waited for the ghost to come in,
And when he arrived at twenty past ten,
I rushed to the window and opened it wide,
And, sticking my head through, I looked right outside,
And, suddenly, came face-to-face with the ghost!
I don't know who was frightened the most,
Was it me or was it the ghost?

[Chorus]

There's a house in old San Francisco,
That has a tower with blue-painted windows,
And each night on the roof-top, by the light of the moon,
Comes a ghostly . . . ghastly . . .
Raccoon!

---

HTML line breaks added. -JoeClone 23-Feb-01.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Ely
Date: 28 Oct 99 - 03:48 PM

Oops-- the above was written by Kipp Bentley, Denver, Colorado, in the early 1980's (I learned it when I was a student of his in 1984).

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: kendall
Date: 28 Oct 99 - 03:57 PM

Look at the choir, bloody great tonsils...
Look at the widow, bloody great female

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Genie
Date: 26 Oct 01 - 10:30 PM

Well, it may not be folk, but I like to do That Old Black Magic when Halloween rolls around -- as close to Louis Prima's version as I can muster (though I can't begin to do it like he did, more's the pity).
Genie

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,farvrit
Date: 28 Oct 01 - 06:27 PM

There's a cd called haunted house with tunes from Fats Waller and Other Jazz artists. Also, there's a kind of Western swing tune whose name escapes me but the chorus goes like this

"Oh Lord help your wayward child" Old honest Joe did Moan.
I don't wanna be with this here ghost; I'd rather be alone.
It's not that I'm afraid; I'm just not having fun.
My head tells me to stay right here, but my feet tell me to run.

It's a fun song.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,mr.zog
Date: 29 Oct 01 - 12:51 PM

I play a special Halloween set every year, and throw in as many murder ballads as I can:

The Cruel Mother
The Knoxville Girl
The Long Black Veil
The Housewife's Lament
Willow Garden
Father's Grave
The Ship That Never Returned
Next Week Sometime

...... and on and on. bluegrass is a great source for these tunes; perhaps my favorite this year is Monroe's "the little girl and the dreadful snake"

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: open mike
Date: 29 Oct 01 - 02:14 PM

for kids:
Tom Hunter's Monster in the Closet

there's a monster in the closet; the ghosts are on the wall,
so why do you keep on telling me there's nothing there at all?
I know they're there, it's clear to me, I see them every night,
and all I want is when I'm scared you come and hold me tight...

two more verses....

also Charlotte Diamond has a spoken word piece:
LOOKING FOR DRACULA--
with hand motions signifying
capes, binoculars,
and sounds of footsteps,
squishy mud and quicksand,

etc.....do not have total words for either
on hand at this time....
does anyone else?

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Country Ghoul
Date: 12 Oct 02 - 05:18 AM

Any new suggestions?

Subject: Lyr/Chords/Tune Add: HALLOWEEN (Farinda/Blackburn)
From: Joan from Wigan
Date: 14 Oct 02 - 09:41 AM

Some time ago I was given a raft of poetry to try to put to music. Here's a seasonal one:

HALLOWEEN
(Words: Farinda; Tune: Joan Blackburn)

'Tis the [D]sacred [G]night of [A7]Hallow[D]een
The [Bm]Goddess looks [Em]down with [A7]silvery [D]gleam
On Children [G]gathered up[A7]on this [D]night
When [Bm]"good folks" [Em]take to their [A7]beds in [D]fright

Chorus:
[Bm]Children of the Moon [F#m]worship in love
The [G]form of the Goddess [A7]floating a[D]bove
But not just [G]us are a[A7]broad this [D]eve
[Bm]Others [Em]join us as [A7]spells we [D]weave
Friends from times [G]past gather [A7]here once [D]more
To [Bm]share this [Em]Festival of the [A7]Open [D]Door

Love and laughter go out on this night
To loved ones and friends not quite out of sight
And then the time arrives once more
To say goodbye and close the door

Children of the Moon...

Incense wafts between now and then
All around the wooded glen
The rite is ended, the circle broken
As if from a dream we all are woken

Children of the Moon...

Repeat first verse and chorus again.

X:1
T:Halloween
M:4/4
K:D
AA|A3dB3G|E2AGF3F|FF2FG3F|E2AGF3A|
A2d2B2BG|E2AGF3F|F2F2G2GF|E2DCD4||
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Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: reggie miles
Date: 14 Oct 02 - 10:25 AM

I saw a piece about the origins of this holiday on, what else, The History Channel the other day. There were two songs that were used in it one was a song sung by Louis Armstrong and the other by a female trio. It may have been the Andrew Sisters. If it was, they were very young in the clip they showed, or it could have been another group like them (three young women singing tight harmonies). The piece of film shot of Armstrong and his band performing the song in a darkened club setting was highlighted by the drummer stepping forward to pantomime playing the on the bones of someone dressed in a skeleton suit. What a hoot! I didn't catch the names of the songs but they seemed good candidates. Does anyone know of this program and the songs that were used in it?

I think there are some other threads with this goal too. I'm sure I mentioned my friend Robert Oneman Johnson's song about vampires called Night Riders, (slightly adult in nature). There's also a silly little tune that I found that was recorded by Arthur Godfrey on a 78rpm called The Man with the Weird Beard that works for children of all ages.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Ariadne
Date: 14 Oct 02 - 03:49 PM

I'm not sure what poem that is from, but I saw it in an Anne of Green Gables book once... something like "Ghosties and ghoulies and long legged beasties and things that go bump in the night, oh lord, deliver us!" *Shrugs*

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Party Ghoul
Date: 15 Oct 02 - 12:19 AM

How about "The Unfortunate Miss Bailey" ("Miss Bailey's Ghost")?

Subject: Lyr Add: OLD MISSUS WITCH
From: Kaleea
Date: 15 Oct 02 - 01:18 AM

When I was teaching classroom music, there were 2 holidays on which we were officially allowed to do holiday music: Valentine's Day & Halloween. I always loved Halloween, & there were lots of songs to be found. But the Halloween music which I love & cherish the most is the wonderful cassette tape recording I made back in the mid-'70s. I was a choir director for the U.S. Army (my dearly departed hubby was a chaplain's assistant) & the priest was listening to some marvelous Gregorian Chant playing on his reel-to-reel. I looked over the state-of-the-art reel-to-reel (all the rage back then!) as I chatted with him, and an idea came to mind, so I asked my husband, & a couple of days later he brought me the coveted tape which I play every Halloween. No music I have ever heard is as scary as this. I asked him to record the Gregorian Chant for me--played backward, on low speed! I usually place a stereo speaker in a window facing out. It's so scary that I have often seen kids walk on the other side of the street to go past my house!
OK--here are a couple of songs the kids liked best:

OLD MISSUS WITCH

(teacher sings): Old Missus Witch
(kids echo): Old Missus Witch
Tell me what you see . . .
"I see a big pumpkin under a tree."

Old Missus Witch . . .
Tell me what you see . . .
"I see a jack-o-lantern under a tree."

Old Missus Witch . . .
Tell me what you see . . .
"I see a black cat a-looking at me."

Old Missus Witch . . .
Tell me what you'll do . . .
"I'll ride on my broomstick & I'll scare you!"


The Ghost of John
(extra fun with a blow-up skeleton in the room!)

Have you seen the ghost of John?
Long white bones with the skin all go-o-o-one.
OO-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo.
Wouldn't it be chilly with no skin on?

The same song is done for Thanksgiving with "Tom" instead of "John"
   (as in "Tom" the turkey)

Boogie Woogie Ghost
(traditional boogie-woogie accompaniment on piano!)

There was a ghost on Halloween who really made the ghostie scene,
He was the Boogie Woogie Ghost, he was the ghostie with the most,
And when the kiddies came around he'd let out with his ghostly sound,
He'd go: Boo Woo Woo--- Woo!

He'd go a spookin' late at night & giving everyone a fright,
He knew some witches, 2 or 3 & they would all go on a spree,
And when the kiddies came around he'd let out with his ghostly sound,
He'd go: Boo Woo Woo--- Woo!

Even though he was kinda spooky,
They all thought that he was kinda cool.
Even though he was a little kooky,
He was still the perfect ghoul. (AHHHHHHHH!!)

So when you're out on Halloween and he appears upon the scene,
Don't give a scream & run away, just ask him if he'll stay & play.
You'll love the Boogie Woogie Ghost, he'll be the one you dig the most.
You'll love his Boo Woo Woo--- Woo!

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 15 Oct 02 - 04:03 AM

There's anothere Songs for Hallowe'en thread; just to cross reference

Nigel

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 15 Oct 02 - 04:07 AM

Also Hallowe'en Songs

Subject: Tal Lin
From: Abby Sale
Date: 28 Oct 02 - 12:49 AM

I was pleased to do Tam Lin tonight at our club. I don't know how well it went over (a capella) but it's a great song & a great Halloween song & I certainly enjoyed it. I do pretty much straight Child A version Child 39A (that's the one Steeleye based theirs on.) I did add a few Anglicazations - change "fast as she could hie" (pronounced 'hee') to "could speed." And the last verse to:
'But had I known, Tam Lin,' she says,
'What this night all I should,
I wad hae pulled out thy two grey eyes,
And put in two eyes o wood.'

Whatever, but I felt if people were going to listen for all that long they should at least have a chance to understand the punch line.

More importantly, while we learn a bit later that she's with child and we know, of course, that Scots in song only require a single sex act to become pregnant - I've always felt a bit cheated that it's never made clear in almost all versions sung just where and when it happened. It's censored out. Well, we know she must leave him some forfeit (a "wad") and we guess that Tam Lin gets to be the one to choose which kind she must pay. Still... so after verse 7, I collated-in verses 7 & 8 from version G.   Seems a better rounded story.

Happy Halloween!

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Genie
Date: 28 Oct 02 - 01:14 AM

Long Black Veil
He Had a Long Chain On
Spooky
Silkie (The Great Silkie Of Sule Skerry)
Zombie Jamboree
Dry Bones
Bad Moon Rising
Witchy Woman
Black Magic Woman
Thriller
"If You Could Read My Mind" talks about a ghost from a wishing well.
"The Happy Land" - Scots children's song has a verse about a ghost.
The Unquiet Grave
That Old Black Magic
(Ghost) Riders In The Sky
Waltzing Matilda ( ... and his ghost may be heard as you pass beside the billabong...)

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST
Date: 28 Aug 03 - 11:49 PM

As I remember the Woblin Goblin...

The woblin goblin on the broken broom, could never fly too high.
For right after take-off another piece would break off
and soon he would be dangling in the sky.
Each evening just as he would leave the ground his radio would say,
"Control tower to goblin, your broomsticks a woblin, you better make a landing right away".

It soon got so he could only fly when the witches carried him piggy back.
Until one day, he used his brain, and bought himself an aeroplane.
So if you look for him on Halloween, you see him zip and zoom.
No harm can be befall him, no longer can they call him, the woblin goblin on the broken broom.


Not sure about the "no harm can befall him", but pretty sure about the rest. Used to sing it in grade school. I would love to find a copy. PA

Subject: Lyr Add: THE WOBBLIN' GOBLIN WITH THE BROKEN BROOM
From: GUEST,Kate
Date: 05 Oct 03 - 02:21 PM

Hi- I found a very faded piece of paper in my Halloween stuf.. circa 1974 or so. A handwritten page, very faded with all of the Lyrics to the Wobblin Goblin!



THE WOBBLIN’ GOBLIN WITH THE BROKEN BROOM
Words and music by Gerald Marks and Milton Pascal.
As recorded by Rosemary Clooney, 1950.

There once was a sad little goblin
Who had a broken broom.
When he went anywhere, it would wobble in the air
And his heart would fill with gloom.
He tried so hard to fix it ev’ry night
But he just couldn’t get it working right.

The wobblin’ goblin with the broken broom
Could never fly too high,
For right at the takeoff,
Another piece would break off
And soon he would be danglin’ in the sky.

Each evenin’ just as he would leave the ground,
His radio would say:
“Control tower to goblin:
Your broomstick is wobblin’.
You’d better make a landing right away.”

It soon got so he could only ride
When the witches took him piggyback;
Until at last he used his brain
And bought himself an aeroplane.

So if you look for him on Halloween,
You’ll see him zip and zoom.
No harm can befall him.
No longer can they call him
The wobblin’ goblin with the broken broom.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: kytrad (Jean Ritchie)
Date: 05 Oct 03 - 06:20 PM

I'm amazed that none of you have heard the Appalachian version of Moira Cameron's, "Lady All Skin and Bones," (near the beginning of this thread). By now I think it's in every elementary-school music book in the country (USA)... Begins:

There was an old woman all skin and bones,   
    OOOOooo- OOOOooo- OOOOooo
She lived down by the old graveyard
    OOOOooo- OOOOooo- OOOOooo

It's on the first record I ever made (Elektra 10" lp)in about 1951, and is one of the songs in my first book, Singing Family of the Cumberlands. Maybe it's also in the Digital Traditions database- I haven't looked as yet. But all children seem to love this song!

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Blowzabella
Date: 05 Oct 03 - 07:00 PM

The mention of Tam Lin above, prompts me to say, if you ever get the chance to see Dick miles - go, and get him to sing it - fabulous.

My favourite spine-chilling song at the moment is Florence Wyndham, sung by Tim Laycock but learned, I think, in a folk club in the seventies.

Woman dies, gets buried, husband grieves....
Sexton goes at night to dig up woman and rob her of her valuables...BUT
When sexton tries to cut off woman's wedding ring - woman wakes! Sexton dies - woman returns to husband - who also gets rather a shock!!

It's on Fine Colours

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Donal
Date: 06 Oct 03 - 05:26 AM

Robert Burns' poem 'Halloween' is a good way to learn about old halloween customs
and superstitions, unfortunately it's a fairly difficult read for non-Scots.
                                                                                                               Don.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Joe_F
Date: 06 Oct 03 - 07:01 PM

Likewise Burns's "Tam o' Shanter. A Tale", which is sometimes put on as a performance at Hallowe'en time.

At sings I like to do "Miss Bailey", which has a ghost in it but treats him with delicious 18th-century-style skepticism.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: LadyJean
Date: 06 Oct 03 - 10:33 PM

I don't know the official title of the poem about Alan Gray on the eve of Waterloo. I do know that, when Mr. Chambers recited it at School For Scottish Arts, it scared the Hell out of me. For sheer creepiness, I recommend it highly. [The Dance of Death, by Walter Scott]

You might want to check out "Witches At Halloween" in Katherine Briggs' "British Folktales" for more Halloween traditions.

When carving my Halloween pumpkin, I still sing a song I learned in the first grade, "Punky pumpkin's a happy pumpkin, and do you know why? 'Cause he's a jack o lantern instead of being a pumpkin pie."

Did any of you other mudders go to Miss Sally Sutherland's School for Scottish Arts in Banner Elk North Carolina?

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,ned
Date: 07 Oct 03 - 07:48 PM

Pretty good on wobblin' goblin but you're missing the intro verse:

There once was a sad little goblin
Who had a broken broom
When he went anywhere he would wobble in the air
And his heart was filled with glooo-oooom.

He tried so hard to fix it every night.
But he just couldn't get it working right.

Then verse 1) as you have it.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: CapriUni
Date: 08 Oct 03 - 12:10 PM

Anybody got a melody for "Wobblin' Goblin"?

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,alease
Date: 21 Oct 03 - 10:23 AM

would love to get hold of a copy of melody as well!

Subject: Lyr Add: LITTLE ORPHANT ANNIE (James W Riley)
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 21 Oct 03 - 10:17 PM

It ain't a song - but - as a poem - it is close....

this is a favorite from my childhood.

LITTLE ORPHANT ANNIE

by: James Whitcomb Riley (1849-1916)

INSCRIBED WITH ALL FAITH AND AFFECTION
To all the little children: -- The happy ones; and sad ones;
The sober and the silent ones; the boisterous and glad ones;
The good ones -- Yes, the good ones, too; and all the lovely bad ones.

LITTLE Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,
An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away,
An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep,
An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep;
An' all us other childern, when the supper-things is done,
We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun
A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about,
An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!

Wunst they wuz a little boy wouldn't say his prayers,--
An' when he went to bed at night, away up-stairs,
His Mammy heerd him holler, an' his Daddy heerd him bawl,
An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wuzn't there at all!
An' they seeked him in the rafter-room, an' cubby-hole, an' press,
An' seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an' ever'-wheres, I guess;
But all they ever found wuz thist his pants an' roundabout:--
An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!

An' one time a little girl 'ud allus laugh an' grin,
An' make fun of ever' one, an' all her blood-an'-kin;
An' wunst, when they was "company," an' ole folks wuz there,
She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't care!
An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' hide,
They wuz two great big Black Things a-standin' by her side,
An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she knowed what she's about!
An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!

An' little Orphant Annie says, when the blaze is blue,
An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes woo-oo!
An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray,
An' the lightnin'-bugs in dew is all squenched away,--
You better mind yer parunts, an' yer teachurs fond an' dear,
An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's tear,
An' he'p the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all about,
Er the Gobble-uns 'll git you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!


Sincerely,
Gargoyle

I LIKE the people in this thread.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Melbert
Date: 22 Oct 03 - 04:33 AM

How about "The Castleford Ladies' Magical Circle" (Jake Thackray)....

Another light-hearted look at witchcraft.....

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Bev in PA
Date: 23 Oct 03 - 08:49 PM

Complete Wobblin' Goblin Tune for Alice in Montana

The wobblin' goblin with the broken broom could never fly too high,/ 'Cause right at the takeoff, another piece would break off,/ And soon he would be danglin' in the sky.

Each evening just as he would leave the ground/ His radio would say,/ Control tower to goblin, your broomstick is a wobblin'/ You'd better make a landin' right away.


It soon got so he could only ride when the witches took him piggy back/
until at last he used his brain and bought himself an aeroplane!

So if you look for him on Halloween/You'll see him zip and zoom/
No harm can befall him/No longer do they call him/
The Wobblin' Goblin with the broken broom!

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Bellowbelle
Date: 23 Oct 03 - 11:28 PM

Okay, here's mine:

http://www.postpoems.com/cgi-bin/displaypoem.cgi?pid=127598


BTW, 'Little Orphant Annie' was my favorite story when I was a kid...no wonder I'm...oh, never mind.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From:
Date: 25 Oct 03 - 09:59 PM

I'm trying to find the lyrics of a Halloween song I learned in elementary school music class. It was in our music book. The lyrics are below with a blank where the missing words would be located. Thank you for your help.

Midnight winds upon the air
Ghosts glide out from everywhere
Green-eyed ghouls dance round and round
______________ without a sound
But with dawn they will sink
back into the ground.

There's a witch upon her broom
Flying way up to the moon
How she swishes through the sky
While the bats go flying by
But with dawn she will sink
back into the ground.

Subject: Wobblin' Goblin
From: GUEST,narcotoboy
Date: 30 Oct 03 - 10:07 PM

lol i was looking for the lyrics to "wobblin' goblin" and I ended up here! :D

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From:
Date: 29 Nov 03 - 01:30 PM

I can't believe the interest in the wobblin' gobblin song! It's Christmas time, but this song is stuck in my head in place of jingle bells. We used to sing this song every autumn at The College School of Webster Groves in St. Louis, under the direction of Mrs. Miller. I wish I could sing it to those of you who want the tune. If I had a piano or something I'd figure it out for you.

Subject: Lyr Add: DON'T GO DOWN TO THE QUARRY
From: Rapparee
Date: 29 Nov 03 - 11:28 PM

I like it 'cause I'm named in it!

----------------

DON'T GO DOWN TO THE QUARRY
(on PP&M's "Such is love" album)

        
DON'T GO DOWN TO THE QUARRY Lyrics

Artist(Band):Peter, Paul & Mary
(Print the Lyrics)


Don't go down to the quarry in the middle of the night
You'll never come back, you'll never be right
We lost Maggie there just last spring
And Big Ben Johnson, he couldn't do a thing

Big Ben Johnson made a bet with Mad Man Mike
That he could cross the quarry in the middle of the night
He got there, 'bout halfway across
When he started sinking down in the red clay moss.

Nearby standin' on the tracks where the trains used to come
Was Mad Man Mike, beatin' on his drum
Laughin' out loud, eyes rollin' in his head
Standin' on the tracks in the Lucifer's stead

With a long red cape and fire in his eyes
He lifted up his hands to the midnight skies
And the thunder start to roll and the lightenin' flashed wild
And Big Ben Johnson start a cryin' like a child.

Don't go down to the quarry, don't, don't go down
Don't go down to the quarry, don't, don't go down
Don't go down to the quarry, don't, don't go down
Down, down, down, down

Then the earth gave a shudder, the quarry start to split
Screamin' down went Johnson into the fiery pit
With a laugh that shivered the center of the bone
Mad Man Mike just standin' there alone

He's callin' all the people, to take their turn
And fall into the pit and eternally burn
Down, down, don't go down
Down, down, down, down

Lucifer's caught on the railroad track
He's howlin' at the moon 'cause he can't come back
And in the evenin' while we're sittin' there in front of the fire
We laugh at old Lucifer before we retire

Don't go down to the quarry in the middle of the night
You'll never come back, you'll never be right
We lost Maggie there just last spring
And Big Ben Johnson, he couldn't do a thing

Don't go down to the quarry, don't, don't go down
Don't go down to the quarry, don't, don't go down
Don't go down to the quarry, don't, don't go down
Down, down, down, down

(Repeat)2x

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Gloredhel
Date: 30 Nov 03 - 01:13 AM

You're named in that song Rapaire? Maybe I'm dense, but might you be Lucifer, then?

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Genie
Date: 30 Oct 04 - 10:27 PM

How about Tom Lehrer's classic "The Irish Ballad?" Seems pretty Halloween-appropriate to me. §;-D

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,julia
Date: 31 Oct 04 - 02:35 PM

Ummm how about "Samhain chanted Evening"....
You will meet a stranger?
No?
Maybe next year
(cackle cackle)

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Barrie Roberts
Date: 01 Nov 04 - 01:45 PM

Sorry to be a bit late, but I've been out trick or treating.
What about this Glasgow street song:

There is a happy land, down in Duke Street Jail,
Where all the prisoners stand, taied to a nail,
Bread and jam they never see, dirty water for their tea,
There they live and there they dee, God Save the Queen!

Glasgow Corporation has got a splendid plan,
To build a block of tenements upon the Happy Land,
But there's sixteen murderers buried there, so watch yourself coming doon the stair,
Or a hand'll come oot and grab your hair! God Save the Queen!

Sung to the hymn tune 'There Is A Happy Land'. The ghostly second verse was added when there really was a plan to tear the old jail down and build flats on it.

If you want something a bit dramatic, what about 'The Ghosts' High Noon' from 'Ruddigore. Get somebody with a really narsty laugh doing that and there won't be a dry seat in the house.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 13 Oct 05 - 11:08 AM

refresh!!!

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,reggie miles
Date: 13 Oct 05 - 06:58 PM

After asking for help from the folks here on this forum, and trying to search the data base for an appropriately spooky song about the Devil to sing for occasions just like this one, and having no luck, I took up the challenge to write one of my own. Here's what I came up with. "The Devil"

I developed a minor keyed melody for this which seems to add a spooky feeling to the song. I've been singing this one at all of my gigs this month (October) and it has been very well received, I mean, for being a song about The Devil.

I've another gooood one that isn't so spooky as it is gross. I also suggested it as an appropriate science song in a previous thread. It makes reference to a number of the grosser workings of our human anatomy. Since there are so many gross and creepy things that seem to go along with this holiday, I think it's a perfect fit. "Grossosity!"

Enjoy!

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 13 Oct 05 - 07:48 PM

In case someone doesn't want to read the whole thread. I will repeat what I probably posted last year...at Sunnycamp we had the honor of hearing this fantastic song by Kate Long...about a person with some sort of deformity who was celebrating Halloween and it was the only day of the year she felt good about herself and how she looked forward to it...it takes a while into the song to figure it out. It is on her C.D. I am not quite sure how to get it but I will try to post a link. She is in the state of Washington and it would have been recorded I presume by Rob Folsom.   

Also, Hallowe'en by Violet Jacob...about someone who dies in WWI....mg

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Le Scaramouche
Date: 14 Oct 05 - 08:17 AM

The Reel in the Flickering Light.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Jenny S
Date: 14 Oct 05 - 01:41 PM

Not strictly hallowe'en maybe, but The Lyke Wake Dirge sends appropriate tingles down my spine.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: The Walrus
Date: 14 Oct 05 - 01:59 PM

I've only skimmed the thread this time around, but I don't remember seeing mention of "The Vampire Rag"

Some more suggestions (some may already appear) - some lighter than others:

The Cruel Mother
The Wife of Usher's Well
The Davil and The Baliff (Devil & Baliff McGlynn)
The Cockerham Devil
Unquiet Grave
The De'il's Awa' (wi' t'Excise man)
The Devil's Progress ["one day into the country, a merry devil went").

Any use?

W

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Tradsinger
Date: 14 Oct 05 - 02:28 PM

This has been mentioned before but not in full. It's sung on just 3 notes, repeated, viz abcb abcb, etc

(sing in a deadpan 'ghostly' voice)
A lady stood at the churchyard door oo-oo-oo-oo aa-aa-aa-aa
Where 2 women had stood before , oo etc

She saw three corpses carried in oo etc (same every verse)
Two were fat and one were thin

The worms crawled in the and worms crawled out
They crawled in thin and they crawled out stout

The worms crawled out and the worms crawled in
All were fat and none were thin

(drop voice to barely audible)
The lady to the corpses said
Will I be like you when I'm dead?

The corpses to the lady said....YES!

That usually scares the audience. Puts the willies up me.

Gwilym

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: moongoddess
Date: 14 Oct 05 - 07:39 PM

Here's one from my childhood that I have o an old 78 record.

Trick or treat, trick or treat, trick or treat for Halloween.
Better treat us right or overnight your little red house turns green.
We can yell, ring your bell, keep you up the whole night through.
And if you want your gate to circulate, we can do that, to!

It was on a red Peter Pan record and it might have more verses, but I can't remember them.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Bard Judith
Date: 15 Oct 05 - 12:58 AM

On the subject of the Erlkonig: far too many Grimm fairy tales and Froud illustrations - not to mention Oberon from the marvelous black and white version of 'Midsummer Night's Dream', and I suppose a sprinkle of Bowie as the Goblin King in 'Labyrinth'- has given me a very clear picture of the 'elfking'.    Obviously Dark Court / UnSeelie / Drow ... well, whatever tongue you speak, not one of the 'nice elves'.

I suppose for you more modern folk, he could be played very effectively by Hugo Weaving as a cross between Agent Smith and Elrond!

----------------------------------

On a completely different note: someone asked, way back at the beginning of this thread, for the 'Old Woman all Skin and Bones' and I didn't see the complete lyrics posted yet!

So:

(sung on five notes, eerily)

There was an old woman all skin and bones
(oooo, oooo, oo oo!)
She lived down by the old graveyard
(oooo, oooo, oo oo!)
One night she thought she'd take a walk
(oo, etc.)
She walked down by the old graveyard...
She saw the bones a-laying about...
She went to her closet to get a broom...
She opened the door, and

(shouted loudly) BOO!


Another oldie from my mother:

Black and gold, black and gold,
Nothing in between
When the world turns black and gold,
Then it's Halloween!

Jet-black cats with golden eyes,
Shadows black as ink,
Firelight burning in the dark,
With a yellow wink.

Black and gold, black and gold,
Nothing in between
When the world turns black and gold,
Then it's Halloween!

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,When witches were waltzing
Date: 26 Oct 05 - 10:08 PM

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 26 Oct 05 - 11:22 PM

HILLBILLIES IN A HAUNTED HOUSE as performed by The Austin Lounge Lizards. More funny than spooky.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Stewart
Date: 26 Oct 05 - 11:36 PM

The Green Lady is in the DT along with a midi tune. This is a very spooky song in keeping with the Halloween spirit. Ooooh....

Cheers, S. in Seattle

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Oct 05 - 05:29 PM

I've used Tom Chapin's Ghost of Bleak House with 3rd and 4th graders. It's a story song that can be done as a play, a "singer's theater" as opposed to a "reader's theater". The tune is based on Funeral March for a Marionette (or Alfred Hitchcock's theme)

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Russ
Date: 27 Oct 05 - 07:16 PM

Bringing Mary Home

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Smee
Date: 23 Jun 06 - 11:23 PM

Another verse of "the worms crawl in, the worms crawl out"

Never laugh when a hearse goes by,
You will be the next to die.
They wrap you in a big white sheet,
And throw you down about 6 feet deep.
The worms crawl in,
The worms crawl out,
The worms play peek-a-boo on your snout.
Your head falls off,
Your tummy turns green.
Stuff comes out like whipping cream.
You spread it on a piece of bread,
And that's what you eat when you are dead!

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: captainbirdseye
Date: 24 Jun 06 - 07:47 AM

Jim Garrett,wrote a songcalled The Annual Convention Of The Ghosts.It is wonderful.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Suffet
Date: 04 Sep 06 - 11:50 AM

You're invited to the First Annual…

HALLOWEEN HOOT!
Round Robin Folk Songfest

Come celebrate Samhain (pronounced sow-in)
the traditional Pagan New Year

with

MACDOUGAL STREET RENT PARTY
Joel Landy • Eric Levine • Anne Price • Steve Suffet • Gina Tlamsa

plus special guest artist HILLEL ARNOLD

Sunday • October 29, 2006 • 7:00 PM

The Baggot Inn
82 West 3rd Street
between Sullivan & Thompson
Greenwich Village • New York City

$5 cover. For information, please call 212-477-0622

You're in for one helluva good time!

--- Steve

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: open mike
Date: 22 Sep 06 - 01:33 AM

woo hoo i hope we can add to this between now and Samahain,
Day of the Dead, halloween, all souls day, etc.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: The Sandman
Date: 22 Sep 06 - 03:13 AM

TAM LIN ,.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Cats
Date: 22 Sep 06 - 10:21 AM

Try Reynardine and just sing the vowel sounds in one chorus. That's really spooky! Last year Jon Heslop, Mike O'Connor and I did 31st October for some tourists from the USA who were looking at Cornwall's myths and legends. What a night.. we were in a hotel in Tintagel on the north Cornwall coast, with a storm raging outside and we did a whole range of local stories and songs.. and yes, I did Tam Lin as well. This year on the 31st, Mike and I are performing Spirit in the Storm the story of Joan Wytte the witch from Bodmin who ended up as an exhibit in the Witchcraft Museum in Boscastle, back in Bodmin. Try his amazing song that goes with it. What's even more frightening is that the whole story and song are true.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: The Sandman
Date: 22 Sep 06 - 01:41 PM

the singing postman, On the Night of Halloween, Alan Smethurst was up there with the best of them.

Subject: Lyr Add: JOHN'S GARDEN (from Peter Mayer)
From: GUEST,oldhippie
Date: 27 Sep 06 - 08:53 PM

I think my favorite halloweeen song is "John's Garden" recorded by Peter Mayer on his CD Million Year Mind

JOHN'S GARDEN

Farmer John wandered back
And when he reached the pumpkin patch, began to speak
He said "the weather's getting colder
Summer's over and its almost Halloween
That's the day, the reason you were raised
When everything about your life will change

You will have eyes to see, and for that night, you'll be
A bright lamp burning in the darkness
But remember that candle shines for only the briefest time
in a jack-o-lantern's heart

The pumpkins held a meeting then
Some were very apprehensive and afraid
"Could this really happen to us?
What would be the meaning?" is what they were saying
"This is home, it's all we've ever known"
Then one bold, outspoken pumpkin spoke

He said
"I don't need eyes to see, it sounds like a lie to me
I like it just fine here in John's garden
And remember that candle shines for only the briefest time
in a jack-o-lantern's heart"
There is much to ask and to ponder in the pumpkin patch
When imposing old October shows up at last

Then a pumpkin from the farther end
Who had been silent up til then
Over the commotion, said
"What would you rather have my friends
A chance to shine, or die here on the vine?
The better way seems very plain to me

You will have eyes to see, and for that night you'll be
A bright lamp burning in the darkness
And maybe that candle shines for only the briefeat time
in a jack-o-lantern's heart
Oh, but one goblin's smile should make it all worth while
You know you might even see the starlight
And knowing that time is brief, makes it that much more sweet
When you have a jack-o-lantern's heart".

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,IBO
Date: 28 Sep 06 - 07:12 AM

THE MONSTER MASH

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Peri Alkas
Date: 30 Sep 06 - 10:12 PM

Yes, that is my favorite song! We always sung it in a round in grade school. I was trying to teach my son the lyrics, and found your post! Now if only I had the sheet music.. .

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Keith A of Hertford
Date: 01 Oct 06 - 06:41 AM

Martinmas Tide

is also Halloween.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Keith A of Hertford
Date: 01 Oct 06 - 06:47 AM

And this song by Micca

Subject: Lyr Add: AGNES AT HALLOWEEN (recitation)
From: GUEST,Steve-Cooperator
Date: 01 Oct 06 - 11:09 AM

Not traditional, not even a song
from 1987


Agnes At Halloween

I'll tell you the story of Agnes
Who lived in a small council flat
In the famed country village of Acton
Though not many people knew that.

She fancied a milkman called Horace
Who went on his rounds every day.
He'd leave her a pint of the gold top
And merrily go on his way.

She longed for each Saturday morning
When Horace at her doorbell would ring,
But when she tried to ask for his favours
She just asked for a carton of cream.

No, Agnes was fast getting nowhere
And something just had to be done,
For her doorstep encounters with Horace
Didn't seem to be very much fun.

So Agnes, she thought for a while
About what the plan it should be.
'I know, I'll think I'll try witchcraft
Which should prove quite fruitful for me.'

So she went off in search of a witch club
To help win the heart of her dear,
But whoever she asked, everyone said,
'There ain't no witch clubs round 'ere!'

So she went to the village of Soho,
Which was already noted for sin,
And saw, on the door, a large notice:
'Witches required, enquire within.'

Now Agnes had joined a witch club
In the center of old London Town.
She went to a neighbouring witch shop
To purchase her white silken gown.

Agnes just couldn't wait to try witching
And hurriedly cast off a spell,
But as hard as she tried, nothing would work
'Cos she never could spell very well.

Her next thought was to try out a potion
To help win her own true love's heart.
She'd invite Horace in for a cuppa.
Well, that might just do for a start.

So on Saturday, she made him a nice cup of tea
And popped in the potion quite quick,
But instead of making him feel randy,
He felt quite horribly sick.

Now Agnes was nearly past trying,
As with each try her hopes they were dashed,
Till she got from the coven an invite
To attend of their Halloween bash.

So Agnes, she plotted her master plan,
One that she knew could not fail:
On a sweet scented letter wrote: 'Go to Hyde Park.
Be there twelve o'clock on the nail!'

The letter it gave clear instructions.
What he should do was wrote down:
'Go to the bridge on the Serpentine.
I'll be wearing a white silken gown.'

Horace's heart was now captured
By the sweet scented letter she wrote.
He'd go to the park and find Agnes,
And stuck in his pocket the note.

At twelve o'clock there stood Horace,
But Agnes' plan had a hitch.
There were hundreds of witches in white silken robes
And he couldn't tell which witch was which.

Now Agnes' plan had backfired
As once more her hopes they were blighted,
For in spite of her hours of scheming
He lust was still quite unrequited.

So for all of her covenly planning
She has to make do with once more
The occasional carton of cream
And her daily gold top by the door.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Zach
Date: 01 Oct 06 - 09:22 PM

i remember it! thanks for posting it, i've been trying to remember the lyrics lol

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Wobblin' Goblin
Date: 10 Oct 06 - 11:30 PM

As a youngster, I had a copy of this on (I believe) a 45rpm. The flip side was Pumpky Pumpkin. I don't remember the person who sang it, but it was similar to Rosemary Clooney (or that time period).

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,thurg
Date: 11 Oct 06 - 03:59 AM

There's a great song by the Canadian kids' entertainer, Fred Penner - think it's just called Goblins. Haven't listened to it since my big six-foot bruiser was a little two-foot toddler, but it has a sing-along chorus in which the various horrifying features of the goblins are listed - the tension mounts to the last lines:

With their goblin brains,
They can spell their names:
G-O-B, L-I-N,
G-g-g-goblins!

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,thurg
Date: 11 Oct 06 - 03:17 PM

Don't know if anyone else is interested, but I'm all excited because I just remembered a couple more lines:


They had goblin [something],
And goblin [something],
And goblin eyes, ears, nose and mouth,
Stretching from north to south - BLAH!
With their goblin brains,
They could, etc.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Elettra
Date: 12 Oct 06 - 01:10 PM

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate,
The first one said, "O my, it's getting late!"
The second one said, "There are witches in the air!"
The third one said, "But we don't care!"
The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run!"
The fith one said, "I'm ready for some fun!"
WOOOOOOOO went the wind,
And OUT went the lights,
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

Learned this in grade school many moons ago, complete with hand motions. Don't forget Jim Malcolm's epic recording of "Tam O'Shanter".
E.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: kytrad (Jean Ritchie)
Date: 12 Oct 06 - 06:57 PM

The lyrics given by Judith Bard are those of our family's version of, "The Old Woman All Skin and Bones." Most USA kids know it because it's now in almost every elementary music book in the country. I recorded it on a very early record (in the '50s?), and recently it has been recorded by Raffi. When I sing it in concert nowadays, all the kids eyes light up and they help sing the chorus- but they still jump at the shouted "BOO!" at the end. Trick is to hold off a few moments so that they don't know when it's going to happen. I'm an old lady now, but it's still the best Halowe'en song I ever heard!
My Mom made up a verse; Granny Catty contributed another. There are two more verses not given by Bard.

OOO-OOOO=OOOO-OO- BOO! Have a great scary Halowe'en!!!    Jean

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,WOBLIN GOBLIN
Date: 19 Oct 06 - 12:43 AM

THe Woblin Goblin with the broken broom could never fly too high

cuz everytime hed take off another piece would break off and soon he would be danglin in the sky

Each evening just as he would leave the ground, his radio would say

"control tower to goblin: your broomsticks a woblin, you better make a landing right away"

It soon got so he could only ride when the witches took him piggyback, until one day he used his brain, and bought himself and airo-plane!

so if you look for him on halloween, you'll see him zip and zooooom, no harm can befall him, no longer can they call him, the woblin goblin with the broken broooooom.

I remember this song from when I was in elementary school, years ago, in mrs. mirros music class, haha they were good days =D

Subject: Lyr Add: OLD MOLLY METCALFE (Jake Thackray)
From: GUEST,DS
Date: 19 Oct 06 - 01:33 AM

I suggest _El Tejano_, _Qeho's Trail_, _Brushy Bill Roberts_ and _The Lost Belle Mackeever_ on the following CD [http://tinyurl.com/y4n98j] by Jim Pipkin a.k.a. "Trooper" Gahar.

Then there's _Old Molly Metcalf_;

Old Molly Metcalfe
Words & Music: Jake Thackray

Old Molly Metcalfe counting sheep
Yan tan tether mether pip she counted
Up upon Swaledale steep and bleak
Yan tan tether mether pip she said.

Grow little sheep come hail come snow / Yan tan...she counted
Fine warm wool for a gentleman's shoulderblades / Yan tan...she said.

Over the heather when the weather is cold / Yan tan...she counted
Stiff Molly Metcalfe goes bow-leggedly / Yan tan...she said.

Grow little sheep, come wind come rain / Yan tan...she counted
Fine warm wool for a lady's counterpane, / Yan tan...she said.

On her back in the bracken with frozen bones / Yan tan...she counted
Daft Molly Metcalfe singing alone / Yan tan...she said.

Grow little sheep, come death come dark / Yan tan...she counted
No such wool for Old Molly Metcalfe, / Yan tan...she said.

There's a fantastic introduction to this song at

http://tinyurl.com/yfxcr9

All this is available at http://tinyurl.com/yndj62

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Oct 06 - 05:51 AM

How about 'Allison Cross' as sung by Lizzie Higgins and also Elspeth Cowie? Hallowe'en, when the seelie court rides.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Little Robyn
Date: 19 Oct 06 - 08:45 AM

Does anyone have the words for Who Were the Witches?
We heard Roy Palmer sing it about 16 years back.

chorus:
Who were the witches, where did they come from
Maybe your great, great grandmother was one,
Witches are wise, wise women they say,
There's a little witch in every woman today.

Or something like that. But not the Greenham Common version - that's a bit different.
Robyn

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST
Date: 13 Feb 07 - 09:41 PM

Does anyone have the tablature to John's Garden by Peter Mayer?
I would really like to work on it as it is my favorite Halloween song as well....please email me at [e-mail]

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Aug 07 - 01:47 PM

Reque
I've been looking for these halloween songs for ever. We used to march around in a big circle on the Sara elementary school blacktop playground in Richmond Ca. It had to be around 1970 but the songs were much older. I can vaguely remember "Pumpky Pumpkin" and another song that had versus that ended with "...it's halloween. It's halloween". I would march arownd a schoolyard dressed as a scarecrow just to find these songs again. [e-mail]

Subject: Lyr Add: ON THE NIGHT OF HALLOWE'EN (A Smethurst)
From: GUEST,Welsh Granny
Date: 11 Aug 07 - 07:23 AM

no-one has mentioned the song "On The Night Of Hallowe'en" written by Norfolk singer-songwriter Allan Smethurst aka The Singing Postman:

The dialect is a bit hard to write down,and I hope it is understood

Some folks say by the light of the day
They don't believe wha's true
That ghosts will roam, far from their home
And the witches make their brew
Dew you go where the lights are low
They don't seem quite so keen
And they dont dare go anywhere
On the night of Hallowe'en.

Now we all go down to the old Churchyard
I dust you go inside
You're not far from the old hall beyond
Where the headless horsemen ride
The you prick those doors seven times
And I know that you will scream
When the devil pops his head out the top
On the night of Hallowe'en.

Ghosts don't like nobody
They all make awful cries.
They weep and moan, grunt and groan
And they don't like exorcise
See them walk through the castle walls
As though there's nuthin' between
So don't you stray too far away
On the night of Hallowe'en.

Now we all know Shuck, he's a rare old dog
He likes to prowl around
Waiting for, down on the shore
The master who was drowned.
His hair is black,
His teeth are red
His eyes oh how they gleam
If he gets you
It's toodle-oo
On the night of Hallowe'en!

I have it on mp3 if anyone would like to hear it.

Subject: Lyr Add: HALLOWEEN (Violet Jacob)
From: oggie
Date: 11 Aug 07 - 12:52 PM

Listening to Jean Redpath and I came across this, words by Violet Jacob (who lost her son at The Somme) music by Jim Reid.

Hallowe'en

The tattie-liftin's nearly through, they're plooin' whaur the barley grew
And efter dark roond ilka stack you'll see the horsemen stand and crack
O Lachlan, but I mind on you

I mind fu' aften we hae seen ten thoosand stars keek doon atween
The naked branches, and below baith fairm and bothy hae their show
A-low wi' lichts o' Hallowe'en

There's bairns wi' guys that's at their tail cloorin' the doors wi' runts o' kail
And fine you'll hear the screechs an' skirls o' lassies wi' their drucked carles
Bobbin' for aipples i' the pail

The bothy fire is loupin' heat, a new heid-horseman's kist is set
Richt's o'er the lamp whaur by the blaze the auld yin stood that kept yer claes
I cannae thole tae see it yet

But gin the auld folks' tales are richt an' ghaists cam hame on Hallow'n nicht
Oh freend, oh freends what would I gie tae feel yer axe yer hand tae me
Atween the dark an' coral licht

Awa' in France across the wave the wee lichts burn on ilka grave
An' you an' me their lowes hae seen, ye'll maybe hae yer Hallowe'en
Yont whaur you're lyin' way the lave

There's drink an' daf an' sang an' dance an' ploys an' kisses get their chance
But Lachlan, man, the place I see is whaur the auld kist used tae be
An' the lichts o' Hallowe'en in France

All the best

Steve

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: kendall
Date: 11 Aug 07 - 03:38 PM

A poem by Robert Frost titled "The Witch of Coos" aka "The night the bones came up the cellar stairs."

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,jim
Date: 12 Aug 07 - 02:11 PM

I'll admit to just skimming the preious entries, so please forgive me if someone already mentioned Mike Smith's Panther in Michigan.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,guest
Date: 12 Aug 07 - 10:07 PM

does anyone know the lyrics to when witches were waltzing?

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Aug 07 - 07:06 PM

I am still looking for a song by Peter Mayer Called "John's Garden." If anyone has the tablature I would greatly appreciate it. Please email me at [e-mail]

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST
Date: 25 Aug 07 - 03:28 PM

old hipple can you please send me the tab to john's garden ....my email is [e-mail]

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: katlaughing
Date: 26 Aug 07 - 12:21 AM

Guest, you can buy it for $6 on Peter's website at http://petermayer.net/sheetmusic/

Subject: Lyr Add: SEVEN YEARS OLD (Jenifer Underwood)
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 26 Aug 07 - 05:58 PM

I still do this, written by a dear old friend over thirty years ago...


The scariest story that's ever been told,
is about the wee boy, only seven years old old;
for he never got hungry or even grew cold;
he never got tired, nor ever grew old;
but stayed all forever only seven years old.

He was seven years old when their house was a new-un;
he was seven years old when it fell into ruin.
He was seven years old was Robert was ten;
he was seven years old when Bob was an old man.

He was seven years old when Sonia was born,
and seven years old when her vows they were sworn;
he was seven years old when Ruth came along;
he was seven years old when poor Ruth was undone.

He was seven years old when Ruth had Melissa;
and seven years old when Melissa had Tricia.
He was seven years old when Trish killed the old clown;
and he was seven years old when they sent Tricia down.

He was seven years old when his parents were hale,
he was seven years old when they grew old and frail.
He was seven years old when at last they turned grey;
he was seven years old when they lay in the clay.

He was seven years old when he saw the seed fall;
he was seven years old when the tree grew up tall;
he was seven years old when the tree touched the sky;
he was seven years old when it rotted and died.

He was seven years old when there were plenty about;
he was seven years old when there was no-one in sight.
He was seven years old when the earth it was young;
he was seven years old when it crashed into the sun.

He was seven years old when it came to and end;
he was seven years old when it started again.

(Miss Jenifer Underwood, aged 13, December 1976; to be sung to the tune of Long Lankin; with sincere apologies to Edward Gorey)

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Oct 07 - 04:18 PM

please what are the lyrics to the song that goes like this...jack o'lantern burns his candle out on a windy night.....I don't understand these streads when I clicked on the song on google it took me here and I cant find the song tho.

Subject: Lyr Add: LADY MARGARET (from Peggy Seeger)
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 14 Oct 07 - 05:58 PM

1. Lady Margaret sitting in her own lone home,
Alone, O all alone,
When she thought she heard a dismal cry,
She heard a deadly moan.

2. "Is it my father Thomas?" she said,
"Or is it my brother John?
Or is it my love, my own dear Willie
Come home to me again?"

3. "I am not your father Thomas," he said,
"Nor am I your brother John;
But I am your love, your own dear Willie,
Come home to you again."

4. "Then where are the red and rosy cheeks
That even in winter bloom?
And where are the long and yellow hair
Of the love I lost too soon?"

5. "The ground have rotten them off, my dear,
For the worms are quick and free;
And when you're so long lying in your grave,
The same will happen thee."

6. He took her by the lily-white hand
And begged her company;
He took her by her apron band,
Says, "Follow, follow me."

7. She took her underskirts one by one
And wrapped them above her knee,
And she's over the hills on a winter's night
In a dead man's company.

8. They walked, they walked to the old churchyard,
Where the grass grow grassy-green:
"Here's the home where I live now,
The bed I do lie in."

9. "Is there any room at your head, my love,
Is there any room at your feet?
Is there any room about you at all
For me to lie down and sleep?"

10. "My father is at my head, dear girl,
My mother is at my feet,
Upon my heart are three hell-hounds
Bound my soul to keep.

11. One is for my drunkenness
And another is for my pride,
And one is for promising a pretty fair girl
That she should be my bride."

12. She took the cross from all on her bosom
And smoted him on the breast,
"Here's your token I kept so long:
God send you a happy rest."

13. "Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight, my love,
Farewell, dear girl," said he;
"If ever the dead may pray for the living,
My love, I'll pray for thee."

Child #77
from the singing of Peggy Seeger, Blood and Roses II, from
Newfoundland. But where from? It's close to Greenleaf's
version (1930 in 10 verses), but clearly not her source.
Nor is it in Peacock, though it's a lot closer. MacEdward
Leach prints another fine set, from Labrador. JB
@ghost @death
filename[ WILIGHO2
JB

Subject: Lyr. req. The Wobblin' Goblin
From: Genie
Date: 14 Oct 07 - 07:51 PM

I'd love to have the full lyrics to "The Wobblin' Goblin" (as mentioned by the guest of the same name).

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Genie
Date: 14 Oct 07 - 08:23 PM

I just heard a great new version of Widdecombe Fair last night. It's not in the DT, but this one is:

Widdecombe Fair

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Bobbi Jo
Date: 16 Oct 07 - 10:00 AM

Does anyone know the lyrics to the Halloween song "Pumpkin Head Harvey" I can't seem to be able to find it anywhere!!

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Oct 07 - 09:07 AM

Somebody started to post the lyrics to Fred Penner's Goblin song. Wish i could remember all the verses (they were spoken if I remember correctly) but I still remember the whole chorus

They all had goblin heads
Covered with goblin hair
and goblin eyes, ears, nose mouth
stretching from north to south BLEAH!

And with their goblin brains,
they could spell their names
G O B L I N G-G-G Goblin

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,GUEST
Date: 24 Oct 07 - 12:46 PM

Every late October my church has their Halloween party, and I play on the piano such Halloween tunes as I remember, including the "Wobblin' Goblin" mentioned so many times here. From my elementary school days is one which I only recall in part:

1.
? ??? ??? ??? ??? ????, ?eeping, ?eeping
? ??? ??? ??? ??? ????, ?eeping, ?eeping
when suddenly behind the shed
a ???? ???? without a head
? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??ed,
creeping, creeping

2.
I followed where the autumn leaves were sighing, sighing.
I saw the pumpkins in the sheaves, lying, lying
The phantom ran without a sound
and swifter than a hunting hound
and vanished with a single bound
flying, flying

Maybe somone else has sung it too?

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: The Sandman
Date: 24 Oct 07 - 12:49 PM

Annual General Meeting Of the Ghosts [John M Garret]

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Nicole Eastly
Date: 24 Oct 07 - 09:38 PM

Does anyone know the lyrics to the theme song from the TV show "The Addams Family"

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Judy Cook
Date: 25 Oct 07 - 07:23 PM

The moon across the velvet sky was creeping, creeping
The very shadows seemed to lie sleeping, sleeping
When all at once, behind the shed
A ghostly shape without a head
Jumped and like a phantom fled.
Leaping, Leaping.


And another one from early childhood:

Jack O'Lantern Pumpkin Head he is a fearful sight
I should hate to meet him in the middle of the night
By day he is a pumpkin; but just you wait 'til night
From out of eyes and nose and mouth there shines a yellow light.

Judy

Subject: Lyr Add: ADDAMS FAMILY THEME
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 26 Oct 07 - 10:35 AM

They're creepy and they're kooky,
Mysterious and spooky,
They're all together ooky,
The Addams Family.

Their house is a museum
Where people come to see 'em
They really are a scream
The Addams Family.

(Neat)
(Sweet)
(Petite)

So get a witches shawl on
A broomstick you can crawl on
We're gonna pay a call on
The Addams Family.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,caitlin daugherty
Date: 31 Oct 07 - 06:53 PM

hey.....
    my friend get extra credit if she can find the lyrics for "when witches were waltzing" by LINDA WILLIAMS and it could help her out....thank you....caitlin

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST
Date: 02 May 08 - 10:59 PM

I have the words to the lyric "When Witches Were Waltzing".... I taught school years ago, and had so much fun teaching/singing this song with my students. Let me know if you'd like the words...you may already have them since there has been a lapse of 6 months. My email address is [e-mail]

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: katlaughing
Date: 02 May 08 - 11:33 PM

I've sent an email asking the guest to post the lyrics for When Witches Were Waltzing.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,symon
Date: 09 Aug 08 - 12:29 PM

Does anyone know "Widdecombe on the Moor"? (The place is called -"Widecombe in the Moor" but I'm sure the poem was ("On") It starts "The devil came to Widdecombe with thunder and with flame / He left behind at Widdecombe a terror and a fame" and goes on for about 20 verses. I think it was by A L Salmon.

Cheers

Symon

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,me
Date: 30 Sep 08 - 01:31 PM

cool beans dude

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,halloween friend
Date: 16 Oct 08 - 02:26 PM

I just found this sight because I wanted to find the full lyrics to when witches were waltzing too... I learned it when I was in school 15 years ago and two of the verses stayed with me, but I cannot remember the third verse... the two I know are below, but if someone can post the full lyrics, including the third verse, it would be great! Happy Halloween everyone!!
~halloween friend


One night I went walking out into the wood
And found that I wandered much more than I should
For I came to a meadow, a magical spot
Where witches were waltzing I never forgot

What a wild and weird and wonderful sight
When witches were waltzing
On Halloween night

I wanted to watch so I hid in a tree
I said to myself, "Can't believe what I see!"
Twas the Pumpkin Polka, the Goblin Govat
When Witches were waltzing I never forgot

What a wild and weird and wonderful sight
When witches were waltzing
On Halloween night

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST
Date: 22 Oct 08 - 08:35 PM

can some1 plz send me the lyrics for when witches were waltzing? [e-mail]

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Bryn Pugh
Date: 23 Oct 08 - 10:20 AM

There is a fragment, or a remnant which I think is about the Wild Hunt :

I shall go forth in shape of a hare
With sorrow and dule and mighty care
And I shall go in the Old One's name,
Aye, till I come back again.

But we shall go as hunting dogs
And hound thee over hags and bogs,
And we shall go in the Lady's name,
Aye, to fetch thee back again.

Samhain Greetings to all Brothers and Sisters. Blessed Be.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Mr Red at work
Date: 23 Oct 08 - 10:27 AM

I wrote one to the tune of the Old Barbed Wire

And I intend singing it tonight at the Michinhampton FC nr Stroud (every Thurs in the Crown)

I will post the words when I can get back to my machine

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Diane from Philly
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 06:00 PM

WOBBLIN' GOBLIN

AND THEN ONE DAY HE USED HIS BRAIN
AND BOUGHT HIMSELF AN AERO PLAIN.
I remember learning that song in grade school too and that's one verse I can remember. I was singing what I can remember of it to my grandchildren, so if anyone knows all the verses please write.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: ClaireBear
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 06:10 PM

The Wobblin' Goblin lyrics are already on this forum -- in fact, in this very thread. Just scroll up -- or if you are feeling very lazy, click here to go there directly.

Claire

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,wazzy
Date: 01 Nov 08 - 04:34 AM

I had been looking for a song I remember learning as a child. It goes-- "Your all alone in the country and the night is black as pitch.
something something there's no such thing as a witch.
Please help/ Thank you

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Cluin
Date: 01 Nov 08 - 06:00 PM

Mr. Ghost Goes to Town [lyrics]

Subject: req: Wobblin' Goblin sheet music
From: Joe Offer
Date: 30 Dec 08 - 02:37 PM

from another thread:

The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #40073   Message #2527653
Posted By: GUEST
30-Dec-08 - 02:31 PM
Thread Name: pumpkin carols
Subject: RE: pumpkin carols

    My mother was an elementary music teacher and she use to teach us
    "The Wobblin' Goblin with the Broken Broom" all the kids just loved it. Does anyone know who wrote it and where I can get the sheet music for it?

---

Lyrics are above. Does anybody know where to get sheet music?
-Joe-

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,JustForJolly
Date: 01 Sep 09 - 11:05 AM

Hi Joe;

I remember a very similar rhyme that my mother's friend sang to us once one Halloween, it scared the bejesus out of me at the time. But the opening lines were slightly different I think and went something like;

There was an old woman, old and thin
Who waited by a churchyard door
And watched 4 men carry a dead man in,
Ooooh etc.

I don't remember anymore and may've got the above wrong due to the passage of time. Did you have any luck in finding the rest of your rhyme?

JfJ

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST
Date: 01 Sep 09 - 11:10 AM

The Wobblin' Goblin by Rosemary Clooney can be found on YouTube someone just found it for me. it's just a tad diff than I remember, but I learned the elementary school version as well.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: oldhippie
Date: 02 Sep 09 - 07:48 AM

"Dear Departed" by Kathy Mar

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Tootler
Date: 02 Sep 09 - 06:56 PM

I usually sing the Lyke Wake Dirge around Halloween time.

The version in the DT is the one recorded by the Young Tradition and by most others afterward. There is a longer version that fills in a gap in the journey. You can find it here (among other places).

Subject: Lyr Add: WHEN WITCHES WERE WALTZING
From: GUEST
Date: 01 Oct 09 - 06:24 AM

I sang "When Witches Were Waltzing" in school, too. Here are the lyrics. Hope it helps after all this time!


WHEN WITCHES WERE WALTZING

One night I went walking out into the wood,
And found I had wandered much more than I should,
For I came to a meadow, a magical spot,
When witches were waltzing, I never forgot
What a wild and weird and wonderful sight,
When witches were waltzing on Halloween Night!

I wanted to watch, so I hid in a tree.
I said to myself, "Can't believe what I see!"
It's a pumpkin polka, a goblin gavotte,
And witches were waltzing, I never forgot
What a wild and weird and wonderful sight,
When witches were waltzing on Halloween Night!

They waltzed in the wood by the light of the stars.
The scarecrows were strumming their ghostly guitars
For the skeleton samba, the monster minuet,
The pumpkin polka, the goblin gavotte
And witches were waltzing, I never forgot
What a wild and weird and wonderful sight,
When witches were waltzing on Halloween Night!

One day I'll wake up to a wandering mood;
The West wind will whisper, "Away to the wood!"
And if you will go with me, we might take a chance;
We'll dress all in black and we'll join in the dance!
And we'll all rock and roll while the jack-o-lanterns jitterbug,
The skeletons samba, the monsters minuet,
The pumpkin polka, the goblins gavotte.
I've been there before and I never forgot,
What a wild and weird and wonderful sight,
When witches were waltzing on Halloween Night!

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 01 Oct 09 - 06:31 AM

Thanks muchly Tootler.
Love the LWDirge for it's fantastic evocative imagery (you could be there), & I'll definitely be including those additional verses from now on!

Subject: Lyr Add: THE WITCH SONG
From: sing4peace
Date: 01 Oct 09 - 12:29 PM

Re: Previous request for the lyrics to "Who Were The Witches"

The song is "The Witch Song". Here's a bit of info from the songbook "Here's to the Women" by Hilda Wenner and Elizabeth Freilicher (Syracuse Univ. Press)

" The Witch Song has been recorded by Kristin Lems and Nancy Schimmel [Malvina Reynolds' daughter]. Bonnie Lockhart is a Berkeley-area feminist and songwriter ...."

THE WITCH SONG

Chorus: Who were the witches? Where did they come from?
Maybe your great, great, great grandma was one.
Witches were wise, wise, women they say
And there's a little witch in every woman to day.

Witches knew all about flowers and weeds
How to use all their roots
And their leaves and their seeds
When people grew weary from hard workin' days
They made 'em feel better in so many ways.

When women had babies the witches were there
To hold them and help them and give them care
Witches knew stories of how life began
Don't you wish you could be one?
Well, maybe you can.

Some people thought that the witches were bad
Some people were scared of the power they had.
But power to help and to heal and to care
Isn't something to fear
It's a pleasure to share.

----
Gee, sounds like this should be testimony at some of the health care reform hearings in the U.S.


Made me think of a time I was walking down my street, when a family was walking by. A little girl stopped, looked at me, pointed and declared "You're a witch!" Her mother was absolutely horrified and made the little girl apologize. I assured the mother that I had taken no offense and with all seriousness told the little girl, "It takes one to know one."

;-)
Joyce

Subject: Lyr Add: OUR HOUSE (Shel Silverstein)
From: sing4peace
Date: 01 Oct 09 - 12:39 PM

Kids really like to sing along on this one by Shel Silverstein:

OUR HOUSE

Well, a man came to our house
Our house
Our house
A man came to our our house
To sell some brooms.
So we asked him to come in,
And we hit him with a hammer,
And we hid him in the closet
In my father's room.

But you're always welcome at our house
Any time of the day.
Yes,
You're always welcome at our house,
And we hope you will stay.

Then a lady came to our house
Our house
Our house
A lady came to find out why I wasn't in school.
So we asked her to come in,
And we gave her some poisoned lemonade,
And hid her in the freezer where it's nice and cool.

But you're always welcome in our house.
Any time of the day.
Yes,
You're always welcome at our house,
And we hope you will stay.

Then a kid came into our yard
Our yard
Our yard
A kid came into our yard to get his ball.
We asked him to come in,
And we took in the basement,
And we sealed him up inside the basement wall.

But you're always welcome in our house.
Any time of the day.
Yes,
You're always welcome at our house,
And we hope you will stay.

So when you come to our house
Our house
Our house
When you come to our house,
We'll have some fun.
We'll ask you to come in,
And we'll take you in the kitchen,
And we'll put you in the oven until you're done.

But you're always welcome in our house.
Any time of the day.
Yes,
You're always welcome at our house,
And we hope you will stay.

And we know you will stay.
[chuckle]

----

The last verse might bother some people. I never had a problem with this song until one time I was approached by a woman after the gig who told me how much she loved everything I sang except that song. The reason why? She rolled up her sleeve to show me an old tattoo with numbers.

With any song of a macabre nature, you run into the risk of offending someone ie: the mudcat thread about "With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm".

Isn't that one of the points of Halloween? To laugh in the face of death and whistle past the graveyard?

----
Joyce

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Oct 09 - 08:22 PM

Did you ever find the lyrics or music to that song?

This is some of it that I can remember, but I am trying to locate the music, too.

When you're all alone in the country
and the night is dark as pitch
Just be bold, cuz you've been told
There's no such thing as a witch

When you hear the thunder and lightning
and you're hiding in a ditch
Don't cry out, without a doubt
There's no such thing as a witch

Skeletons and Goblins are only make believe
Folks dressed up in costumes
just try to scare you, Boooo!

When you ..... the wind a howlin'
and you....

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,widenermiss
Date: 11 Oct 09 - 08:54 PM

Does anyone know the history of "have you seen the ghost of john/tom?
I learned it when I was in the first grade.

Subject: Lyr Add: TAM O' SHANTER (Robert Burns)
From: eddie1
Date: 12 Oct 09 - 02:28 AM

Not a song, admittedly, but what Samuel Johnson described as the best ghost story he ever heard, this was apparently written by Burns in one afternoon!

Tam o' Shanter (Robert Burns)

When chapmen billies leave the street,
And drouthy neibors, neibors meet,
As market days are wearing late,
An' folk begin to tak the gate;
While we sit bousing at the nappy,
And getting fou and unco happy,
We think na on the lang Scots miles,
The mosses, waters, slaps, and styles,
That lie between us and our hame,
Where sits our sulky sullen dame.
Gathering her brows like gathering storm,
Nursing her wrath to keep it warm.
This truth fand honest Tam o' Shanter,
As he frae Ayr ae night did canter,
(Auld Ayr, wham ne'er a town surpasses
For honest men and bonie lasses.)
O Tam! had'st thou but been sae wise,
As ta'en thy ain wife Kate's advice!
She tauld thee weel thou was a skellum,
A blethering, blustering, drunken blellum;
That frae November till October,
Ae market-day thou was nae sober;
That ilka melder, wi' the miller,
Thou sat as lang as thou had siller;
That every naig was ca'd a shoe on,
The smith and thee gat roaring fou on;
That at the Lord's house, even on Sunday,
Thou drank wi' Kirkton Jean till Monday.
She prophesied that late or soon,
Thou would be found deep drown'd in Doon;
Or catch'd wi' warlocks in the mirk,
By Alloway's auld haunted kirk.
Ah, gentle dames! it gars me greet,
To think how mony counsels sweet,
How mony lengthen'd, sage advices,
The husband frae the wife despises!
But to our tale:-- Ae market-night,
Tam had got planted unco right;
Fast by an ingle, bleezing finely,
Wi' reaming swats, that drank divinely
And at his elbow, Souter Johnny,
His ancient, trusty, drouthy crony;
Tam lo'ed him like a vera brither--
They had been fou for weeks thegither!
The night drave on wi' sangs and clatter
And ay the ale was growing better:
The landlady and Tam grew gracious,
wi' favours secret,sweet and precious
The Souter tauld his queerest stories;
The landlord's laugh was ready chorus:
The storm without might rair and rustle,
Tam did na mind the storm a whistle.
Care, mad to see a man sae happy,
E'en drown'd himsel' amang the nappy!
As bees flee hame wi' lades o' treasure,
The minutes wing'd their way wi' pleasure:
Kings may be blest, but Tam was glorious.
O'er a' the ills o' life victorious!
But pleasures are like poppies spread,
You sieze the flower, its bloom is shed;
Or like the snow falls in the river,
A moment white--then melts for ever;
Or like the borealis race,
That flit ere you can point their place;
Or like the rainbow's lovely form
Evanishing amid the storm.--
Nae man can tether time or tide;
The hour approaches Tam maun ride;
That hour, o' night's black arch the key-stane,
That dreary hour he mounts his beast in;
And sic a night he taks the road in
As ne'er poor sinner was abroad in.
The wind blew as 'twad blawn its last;
The rattling showers rose on the blast;
The speedy gleams the darkness swallow'd
Loud, deep, and lang, the thunder bellow'd:
That night, a child might understand,
The Deil had business on his hand.
Weel mounted on his gray mare, Meg--
A better never lifted leg--
Tam skelpit on thro' dub and mire;
Despisin' wind and rain and fire.
Whiles holding fast his gude blue bonnet;
Whiles crooning o'er some auld Scots sonnet;
Whiles glowring round wi' prudent cares,
Lest bogles catch him unawares:
Kirk-Alloway was drawing nigh,
Whare ghaists and houlets nightly cry.
By this time he was cross the ford,
Whare, in the snaw, the chapman smoor'd;
And past the birks and meikle stane,
Whare drunken Chairlie brak 's neck-bane;
And thro' the whins, and by the cairn,
Whare hunters fand the murder'd bairn;
And near the thorn, aboon the well,
Whare Mungo's mither hang'd hersel'.--
Before him Doon pours all his floods;
The doubling storm roars thro' the woods;
The lightnings flash from pole to pole;
Near and more near the thunders roll:
When, glimmering thro' the groaning trees,
Kirk-Alloway seem'd in a bleeze;
Thro' ilka bore the beams were glancing;
And loud resounded mirth and dancing.
Inspiring bold John Barleycorn!
What dangers thou canst make us scorn!
Wi' tippeny, we fear nae evil;
Wi' usquabae, we'll face the devil!--
The swats sae ream'd in Tammie's noddle,
Fair play, he car'd na deils a boddle.
But Maggie stood, right sair astonish'd,
Till, by the heel and hand admonish'd,
She ventured forward on the light;
And, vow! Tam saw an unco sight
Warlocks and witches in a dance;
Nae cotillion brent-new frae France,
But hornpipes, jigs strathspeys, and reels,
Put life and mettle in their heels.
A winnock-bunker in the east,
There sat auld Nick, in shape o' beast;
A towzie tyke, black, grim, and large,
To gie them music was his charge:
He scre'd the pipes and gart them skirl,
Till roof and rafters a' did dirl.--
Coffins stood round, like open presses,
That shaw'd the dead in their last dresses;
And by some develish cantraip slight,
Each in its cauld hand held a light.--
By which heroic Tam was able
To note upon the haly table,
A murders's banes in gibbet-airns;
Twa span-lang, wee, unchristen'd bairns;
A thief, new-cutted frae a rape,
Wi' his last gasp his gab did gape;
Five tomahawks, wi blude red-rusted;
Five scymitars, wi' murder crusted;
A garter, which a babe had strangled;
A knife, a father's throat had mangled,
Whom his ain son o' life bereft,
The gray hairs yet stack to the heft;
Wi' mair o' horrible and awfu',
Which even to name was be unlawfu'.
Three lawyers' tongues, turn'd inside out,
Wi' lies seam'd like a beggar's clout;
Three priests' hearts, rotten, black as muck,
Lay stinking, vile in every neuk.
As Tammie glowr'd, amaz'd, and curious,
The mirth and fun grew fast and furious;
The piper loud and louder blew;
The dancers quick and quicker flew;
They reel'd, they set, they cross'd, they cleekit,
Till ilka carlin swat and reekit,
And coost her duddies to the wark,
And linket at it her sark!
Now Tam, O Tam! had thae been queans,
A' plump and strapping in their teens,
Their sarks, instead o' creeshie flannen,
Been snaw-white seventeen hunder linnen!
Thir breeks o' mine, my only pair,
That ance were plush, o' gude blue hair,
I wad hae gi'en them off my hurdies,
For ae blink o' the bonie burdies!
But wither'd beldams, auld and droll,
Rigwoodie hags wad spean a foal,
Louping and flinging on a crummock,
I wonder did na turn thy stomach!
But Tam kend what was what fu' brawlie:
There was ae winsome wench and waulie,
That night enlisted in the core,
Lang after ken'd on Carrick shore;
(For mony a beast to dead she shot,
And perish'd mony a bonie boat,
And shook baith meikle corn and bear,
And kept the country-side in fear.)
Her cutty-sark, o' Paisley harn
That while a lassie she had worn,
In longitude tho' sorely scanty,
It was her best, and she was vauntie,-
Ah! little ken'd thy reverend grannie,
That sark she coft for he wee Nannie,
Wi' twa pund Scots, ('twas a' her riches),
Wad ever grac'd a dance of witches!
But here my Muse her wing maun cour;
Sic flights are far beyond her pow'r;
To sing how Nannie lap and flang,
(A souple jade she was, and strang),
And how Tam stood, like ane bewitch'd,
And thought his very een enrich'd;
Even Satan glowr'd, and fidg'd fu' fain,
And hotch'd and blew wi' might and main;
Till first ae caper, syne anither,
Tam tint his reason ' thegither,
And roars out, "Weel done, Cutty-sark!"
And in an instant all was dark:
And scarcely had he Maggie rallied,
When out the hellish legion sallied.
As bees bizz out wi' angry fyke,
When plundering herds assail their byke;
As open pussie's mortal foes,
When, pop! she starts before their nose;
As eager runs the market-crowd,
When "Catch the thief!" resounds aloud;
So Maggie runs, the witches follow,
Wi' mony an eldritch skriech and hollo.
Ah, Tam! ah, Tam! thou'll get thy fairin'!
In hell they'll roast thee like a herrin'!
In vain thy Kate awaits thy commin'!
Kate soon will be a woefu' woman!
Now, do thy speedy utmost, Meg,
And win the key-stane o' the brig;
There at them thou thy tail may toss,
A running stream they dare na cross.
But ere the key-stane she could make,
The fient a tail she had to shake!
For Nannie, far before the rest,
Hard upon noble Maggie prest,
And flew at Tam wi' furious ettle;
But little wist she Maggie's mettle -
Ae spring brought off her master hale,
But left behind her ain gray tail;
The carlin claught her by the rump,
And left poor Maggie scarce a stump.
No, wha this tale o' truth shall read,
Ilk man and mother's son take heed;
Whene'er to drink you are inclin'd,
Or cutty-sarks run in your mind,
Think! ye may buy joys o'er dear -
Remember Tam o' Shanter's mare.


For those without the Doric

Eddie

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 12 Oct 09 - 04:51 AM

We have an evening of songs for Halloween at the Lewes Saturday Folk Club on, not surprisingly, Saturday 31st. October 2009. The room will be lit by candles and an open fire.

Bring songs and tunes to suit. I may get round to making some soul cakes for the occasion, too.

Valmai (Lewes)

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,ceannwpa
Date: 21 Oct 09 - 06:25 PM

I'm looking for the lyrics and music to the song with the first line "When You're all alone in the country and the night is black as pitch..." email [e-mail]

Subject: Lyr/Chords Add: BRINGING MARY HOME
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 21 Oct 09 - 07:10 PM

Someone mentioned this song up above. A great bluegrass tune for Halloween

Bringing Mary Home

Intro: C A D G
I was [D]driving down a lonely road on a [C]dark and stormy [G]night,
When a [D]little girl by the roadside showed [G]up in my head[D]lights,
I [G]stopped and she got in the back and in a shaky [D]tone,
She [C]said, "My name is [A]Mary please [D]won't you take me [G]home."
She [D]must have been so frightened all [C]alone there in the [G]night,
There was [D]someting strange about her, 'cause her [C]face was deathly [D]white,
She [G]sat so pale and quiet in the back seat all [D]alone,
I [C]never will [A]forget the night [D]I took Mary [G]home.
Intro chords: C A D G
I (D)pulled into the driveway where Got (D)out to help her from the car and (G)opened up the (D)door,
But I(G) just could not believe my eyes, the back seat was(D) bare,
I (C>looked all (A)around the car, but (D)Mary wasn't (G)there.
A (D)light shone from the porch, a lady(C> opened up the (G)door,
I (D)asked about the little girl that (C>I was looking (D)for,
The(G) lady gently smiled and brushed a tear (D)away,
She(C> said, "It (A)sure was nice of you, to(D) go out of your (G)way."
"But (D)thirteen years ago tonight in a(C> wreck just down the (G)road,
Our (D)darling Mary lost her life (G)and we miss her (D)so,
Oh (G)thank you for your trouble and the kindness you have (D)shown
You're the (C>thirteenth stranger (A)that's been here, (D)bringing Mary(G) home."
Intro chords: C A D G

Subject: Lyr/Chords Add: BRINGING MARY HOME
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 21 Oct 09 - 07:22 PM

Lost some of the text above. Re-posted for clarity.

Bringing Mary Home

Intro: C A D G

I was [D]driving down a lonely road on a [C]dark and stormy [G]night,
When a [D]little girl by the roadside showed [G]up in my head[D]lights,
I [G]stopped and she got in the back and in a shaky [D]tone,
She [C]said, "My name is [A]Mary please [D]won't you take me [G]home."

She [D]must have been so frightened all [C]alone there in the [G]night,
There was [D]something strange about her, 'cause her [C]face was deathly [D]white,
She [G]sat so pale and quiet in the back seat all [D]alone,
I [C]never will [A]forget the night [D]I took Mary [G]home.

Intro chords: C A D G

I (D)pulled into the driveway where (C)she told me to(G) go,
Got (D)out to help her from the car and (G)opened up the (D)door,
But I(G) just could not believe my eyes, the back seat was(D) bare,
I (C)looked all (A)around the car, but (D)Mary wasn't (G)there.

A (D)light shone from the porch, a lady(C) opened up the (G)door,
I (D)asked about the little girl that (C)I was looking (D)for,
The(G) lady gently smiled and brushed a tear (D)away,
She(C) said, "It (A)sure was nice of you, to(D) go out of your (G)way."

"But (D)thirteen years ago tonight in a(C)wreck just down the (G)road,
Our (D)darling Mary lost her life (G)and we miss her (D)so,
Oh (G)thank you for your trouble and the kindness you have (D)shown
You're the (C)thirteenth stranger (A)that's been here, (D)bringing Mary(G) home."

Intro chords: C A D G

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Oct 09 - 11:51 AM

To Susan,

I have been in search for years of this little Halloween song that I also learned in the third or fourth grade ( 1969-1970). I now sing it to my two daughters every year at Halloween but noone has ever heard of it! Your lyrics are just as I remember them! Thanks for sharing!

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST
Date: 29 Oct 09 - 01:29 PM

Hi everyone.

I'm seeking a specific song...it's been close to 12 years since I heard it last, and I never heard the song in its entirety. I've searched for years, and I'm finally handing it over. I've written down the lyrics that it had, but I don't know what genre even to call it. Folk music is the best I can think of because it was very simple...some light background instruments, and a woman's voice more or less 'talking'. It wasn't really singing, and it was by no means rock or heavy metal or anything.

The lyrics:

On Hallow's Eve, A Moonlit night,
On Samhain when the veil is thin,
Between the worlds of dark and light,
Dare you let a stranger in?

She draws out the words Eve, veil, is, thin, and stranger. I remembered that much of it, but it went on to more or less be a ballad about a woman who let a stranger in during Halloween, took him as her lover, and he vanished in the morning light since he was actually a ghost. It was really good, but I have no clue where else to look.

Can you please help?

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 29 Oct 09 - 11:36 PM

There's a ballad in the DT called 'Willie's Lady', Child Ballad number 6. It's a great yarn with an actual witch and a spell.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Genie
Date: 31 Oct 09 - 06:10 PM

How about "The Farmer's Curst Wife?"

The woman is so bad that when the Devil takes her to Hell, he kicks her out because she wreaked so much havoc there?

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Bill D
Date: 31 Oct 09 - 06:39 PM

From memory: (2nd grade, New Orleans, 1946)

♫"Halloween, Halloween,
Oh what funny things are seen.
Witches hats, coal black cats.
Broomstick riders, mice & rats"♫

The tune 'almost' writes itself.

Little kids will like it.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST
Date: 08 Sep 10 - 02:56 AM

does anyone know where I can find and download a copy of when witches were waltzing?

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Sep 10 - 01:47 PM

I REMEMBER SOMTHING ABOUT it,
"And then one day he bought him self an arrow plane". and the end is like " hes dangling in the sky.. sorry that probally didnt help much

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST
Date: 22 Sep 10 - 11:50 PM

Can anyone remember the rest of this song?

Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins,
Pumpkins on parade.
On a frosty midnight,
They are not afraid.
Witches try to scare them,
All the whole night through,
But they keep wearing crooked smiles,
As jack-o-lanterns do.
Harvest moon is rising.
Lighting up the sky...

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Genie
Date: 08 Oct 10 - 01:27 AM

Refreshing, for the impending Halloween gigs.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE HIGHWAYMAN
From: Slag
Date: 08 Oct 10 - 06:16 PM

I'm a little surprised that no one has mentioned this one, a poem to be sure, but if it doesn't have the feel of All Hallow's Eve, then what does?

The Highwayman

The wind was a torrent of darkness upon the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight looping the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding--
Riding--riding--
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn door.

He'd a French cocked hat on his forehead, and a bunch of lace at his chin;
He'd a coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of fine doe-skin.
They fitted with never a wrinkle; his boots were up to his thigh!
And he rode with a jeweled twinkle--
His rapier hilt a-twinkle--
His pistol butts a-twinkle, under the jeweled sky.

Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,
He tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred,
He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter--
Bess, the landlord's daughter--
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.

Dark in the dark old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked
Where Tim, the ostler listened--his face was white and peaked--
His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like mouldy hay,
But he loved the landlord's daughter--
The landlord's black-eyed daughter;
Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say:

"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart; I'm after a prize tonight,
But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light.
Yet if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day,
Then look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way."

He stood upright in the stirrups; he scarce could reach her hand,
But she loosened her hair in the casement! His face burnt like a brand
As the sweet black waves of perfume came tumbling o'er his breast,
Then he kissed its waves in the moonlight
(O sweet black waves in the moonlight!),
And he tugged at his reins in the moonlight, and galloped away to the west.

He did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon.
And out of the tawny sunset, before the rise of the moon,
When the road was a gypsy's ribbon over the purple moor,
The redcoat troops came marching--
Marching--marching--
King George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door.

They said no word to the landlord; they drank his ale instead,
But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow bed.
Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets by their side;
There was Death at every window,
And Hell at one dark window,
For Bess could see, through her casement, the road that he would ride.

They had bound her up at attention, with many a sniggering jest!
They had tied a rifle beside her, with the barrel beneath her breast!
"Now keep good watch!" and they kissed her. She heard the dead man say,
"Look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though Hell should bar the way."

She twisted her hands behind her, but all the knots held good!
She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat or blood!
They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the hours crawled by like years,
Till, on the stroke of midnight,
Cold on the stroke of midnight,
The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was hers!

The tip of one finger touched it, she strove no more for the rest;
Up, she stood up at attention, with the barrel beneath her breast.
She would not risk their hearing, she would not strive again,
For the road lay bare in the moonlight,
Blank and bare in the moonlight,
And the blood in her veins, in the moonlight, throbbed to her love's refrain.

Tlot tlot, tlot tlot! Had they heard it? The horse-hooves, ringing clear;
Tlot tlot, tlot tlot, in the distance! Were they deaf that they did not hear?
Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill,
The highwayman came riding--
Riding--riding--
The redcoats looked to their priming! She stood up straight and still.

Tlot tlot, in the frosty silence! Tlot tlot, in the echoing night!
Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a light!
Her eyes grew wide for a moment, she drew one last deep breath,
Then her finger moved in the moonlight--
Her musket shattered the moonlight--
Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him--with her death.

He turned, he spurred to the West; he did not know who stood
Bowed, with her head o'er the casement, drenched in her own red blood!
Not till the dawn did he hear it, and his face grew grey to hear
How Bess, the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there.

Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky,
With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high!
Blood-red were his spurs in the golden noon, wine-red was his velvet coat
When they shot him down in the highway,
Down like a dog in the highway,
And he lay in his blood in the highway, with the bunch of lace at his throat.

And still on a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees,
When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
When the road is a gypsy's ribbon looping the purple moor,
The highwayman comes riding--
Riding--riding--
The highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.

Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard,
He taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred,
He whistles a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter--
Bess, the landlord's daughter--
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.

Alfred Noyes

http://www.poemhunter.com/

More information about the poem The Highwayman
Reader comments on the poem The Highwayman
More information about the poet Alfred Noyes

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Slag
Date: 08 Oct 10 - 06:25 PM

PS It was that Rapaire's name had been mentioned in the one about the Quarry. I didn't see it but I knew his name was mentioned a couple of times here in The Highwayman. Enjoy

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Alison
Date: 23 Oct 10 - 03:58 PM

I, too am looking for all of the lyrics to "When You're All Alone in the Country." Here is all I can remember:

When you're all alone in the country and the night is dark as pitch,
don't shout out because you know there's no such thing as a Witch!
When you hear a howl in the country and you're hiding in the ditch,
shout OH- HO!! because you know there's no such thing as a Witch!
Skeletons and goblins are only make-believe.
Folks dressed up in costumes. Just trying to scare you Boo Ooh.
??????????
??????????
Just be bold cuz you've been told there's no such thing as a witch.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Emilie
Date: 29 Oct 10 - 10:45 AM

"THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A WITCH"

FULL PIANO MUSIC AND LYRICS HERE...
http://fireflyanswers.blogspot.com/2008/10/theres-no-such-thing-as-witch-and-when.html

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: LadyJean
Date: 30 Oct 10 - 12:45 AM

I sing the John Jacob Niles version of "The Unquiet Grave", which is pleasantly creepy.

Or, sing this to the Russian Theme from the 1812 Overture:


Hail Transylvania
Thy sons are we.
Our hearts in loyal love
We pledge to thee.
True to the crimson flag
Through all our days.
Hail Transylvania, we sing thy praise.

It's the Transylvania College Alma Mater. I know because I went there for 2 years. (And there's a crypt in the administration building.)

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 30 Oct 10 - 04:38 AM

We've got a Halloween evening at the Lewes Saturday Folk Club tonight (30th. October). We are lighting the log fire and candles, and I'm making soul cakes. Peter Collins is making one of his magnificent pumpkin lanterns, and there will be some songs from the excellent Moose Rosser. Everyone is welcome, especially if you'd like to sing or play; entrance £3.

I think I'll do Willie's Lyke-Wake if I get the chance, and maybe Faithful Johnny if someone else doesn't get in first. Other appropriate songs would be Lady Margaret & Sweet William's Ghost, Lyke-Wake Dirge, any of the night visiting songs in which the visitor is a revenant, the Suffolk Miracle, Young Benjie, The Wife of Usher's Well ..... there are a huge number of traditional songs which deal with ghosts and the fate of the dead.

Valmai (Lewes)

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Pierre Le Chapeau
Date: 30 Oct 10 - 10:24 PM

Hpllpween Soul cakes? Never heard of em?
But on ash Wednesday "I make Ask Cakes?

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Susan of DT
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 09:03 AM

Our song circle is meeting this afternoon. While we do not declare topics for this sing group, I know what topic I'm sticking to today and at least one other person will as well (I expect that everyone will do at least one Halloween song). It is a small group, so we go around a lot of times (unless we get to chatting too much). I am going to do:
   Unquiet Grave   
   Suffolk Miracle
   Grey Cock
   Willie's Fatal Visit
   Rolling of the Stones
   Black Fox
   Mrs. Ravoon

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 09:40 AM

Pierre: Soul Cake song & custom

YEAST SOULE CAKES

'Three pounds flour, quarter pound butter (or half pound if the cakes are to be extra rich) half pound sugar, two spoonsful of yeast, two eggs, allspice to taste, and sufficient new milk to make it into a light paste. Put the mixture (without the sugar or spice) to rise before the fire for half an hour, then add the sugar, and allspice enough to flavour it well; make into rather flat buns, and bake.'

This is the recipe of Mrs. Mary Ward, who is known to be the last person who kept up the old custom of giving 'Soul Cakes' at Pulverbatch. She died in 1853 at the age of 101.


Shropshire Cookery Book, compiled by the Shropshire Federation of Women's Institutes, c. 1955

Quoted by Elizabeth David, English Bread & Yeast Cookery, 1977

METHOD

Like a lot of old recipes, this one presupposes that we already know how to manage yeast doughs. This is what I do:

3 pounds strong white flour - that's bread flour

2 eggs

about a pint of milk

4 ozs caster sugar - I find half a pound is a bit much and can make the dough sticky

A heaped tablespoon of ground allspice (not mixed spice)

Yeast: I'd use a double sachet of fast action yeast for this amount of flour. You mix it dry into the flour; you don't have to put it in water and wait for it to come to life before using it.

Milk: beat the eggs with a fork and add enough milk to make a pint and a half of liquid. The milk should be lukewarm, not cold from the fridge, or the yeast won't get going.

Rub the butter into the flour. Mix flour, yeast and egg & milk to make a soft but not sticky dough. Add the last quarter pint of liquid gradually as you may not need it all. It should feel like Playdough. Knead it on a floured work surface until smooth.

Put it in a big bowl sprinkled with flour and cover it loosely with a plastic bag. Leave it in a warm place such as an airing cupboard to rise for 60-90 minutes; it should double in size as the yeast works. This is the first rising.

When it's doubled, put the dough on a floured work surface, sprinkle on the sugar and spice and knead it thoroughly again to mix them in. You might need to add a bit more flour if it goes sticky. Divide it up into 24- 36 lumps.

Heavily grease a couple of large baking trays. Roll the lumps of dough into balls - you can do one in each hand - and then flatten them slightly. Put a dozen on each tray, well spaced out as they should spread and rise.

Mix a tablespoon of milk with a tablespoon of flavourless oil such as sunflower oil and brush the buns with it. Turn on the oven to 200 deg C and put a couple of shelves in the middle. Keep the buns in a warm place while the oven heats up. They will take about half an hour to double in size - this is their second rising - by which time they are ready to cook. Be guided by the size of the buns, not by the time the oven has reached the temperature set. Brush them with the mixture again, then cook them for the first five minutes at 200 deg. C. Then turn the oven down to 180 deg C and cook them for a further fifteen minutes. Don't open the oven door while they are cooking.

When they are done they should be lightly brown and should sound hollow if you tap them on the base. Give them a few more minutes if necessary. Put them on a rack to cool. You can eat them as they are, or split and buttered.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 01:44 PM

Trying to find lyric for 2 Halloween songs I learned in elementary school back in the 80's.

Catmobile...went something like this "Calling all cats (meow)Calling all cats (meow) it's time to get behind the wheel, it's Halloween night let make a big fright.

The other song is

Where's the witch ha ha where's the witch who's head is bald Where's the rat squeak squeak where's the rat squeak squeak

Anyone have any idea??

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 04 Feb 11 - 11:14 PM

OMG!   Was looking for the same song! Didn't see a response...was there one?

Please email me at [e-mail]

Please include CATMOBILE in subject heading

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: mg
Date: 05 Feb 11 - 12:53 AM

I had the honor of hearing Kate L.'s Halloween song again at Rainycamp. It is awesome..about a child with some deformity who only gets to feel normal on Halloween and waits for it to come and then has to wait another year...it is very subtle...p.m. me and I will give further details. mg

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,xibiwitz
Date: 17 Jul 11 - 12:17 AM

THE WOBBLIN' GOBLIN

The wobblin' goblin with the broken broom, could never fly too high,
For Every time he'd take off, another piece would break off,
And soon he'd be a- danglin' in the sky.

Each evening just as he would leave the ground
His radio would sayyyyyy...
Control tower to goblin, your broomstick's a- wobblin'
You'd better make a landin' right awayyy.

And soon it got so he could only ride, when the witches took him piggy-back!...Until one day he used his brain, and bought himself an aero- plane!

So if you looook for him on halloweeeen, you'll see him zip and zoom.
No harm can befall him, no longer can they call him,
The wobblin goblin with the broken broooommmmmmm!

Subject: RE: halloween songs: Jack o' lantern
From: GUEST,Wm W
Date: 04 Oct 11 - 12:08 PM

The way I learned the song was:

Jack-o-lantern burns his candle
bright, through the wintry night
Witches on their broom sticks ride
By the Jack-o-lantern's light.

Owls upon the swaying tree tops
hoot through the wintry night
Brownies dance on Halloween
By the Jack-o-lantern's light.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Genie
Date: 22 Oct 11 - 04:28 PM

Any new (or new old) songs to suggest for Halloween?

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: open mike
Date: 28 Oct 12 - 05:08 PM

I have posted my October/Halloween radio show which features songs about ghosts as well as songs about apples...www.orovilleradio.org... is where you can find the archived stream to listen to as well as a detailed list of all the songs in the playlist.

Subject: Lyric correct: Anne Boleyn
From: Genie
Date: 28 Oct 13 - 02:01 PM

In the song "Anne Boleyn" (With 'Er 'Ead Tucked Underneath 'Er Arm," there appear to be several different mondegreens of the last line of the next-to-last verse.

The line is actually "How the sweet ça* ne fait rien do I know who you are ..."
"Ça ne fait rien" is French for "It doesn't matter" or, idiomatically, "Never mind." It appears to be a French phrase that made its way into British idiom (at least of a certain era).

When I heard the Kingston Trio's recording of this song, I thought they were singing,
"How the sweet Sam Perry, Anne, do I know who you are ..."
Many lyrics websites online have it as "How the sweet san fairy ann ..." (which makes absolutely no sense to me).
Now we have another, "How the sweet Sam Perryham ..."




*In case the French diacritical mark doesn't show up properly on all operating systems, that's a "c" with a cedilla.

Subject: Anne Boleyn mystery lyric
From: Genie
Date: 28 Oct 13 - 02:10 PM

John Bartlett explained the "mystery lyrics" to "Anne Boleyn" a number of years ago:
British adoption of "ça ne fait rien"

British troops picked up that French phrase during WWI.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,DTM
Date: 28 Oct 13 - 03:27 PM

Hallowe'en (at YouTube) (lyrics)

Best ever Halloween song.
Lyrics by Violet Jacob and tune by Jim Reid.
Sung eloquently by these two worthy Scottish songstresses, Sheena Wellington and Karine Polwart

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Gutcher
Date: 28 Oct 13 - 04:17 PM

AULD DUNROD.

[1] Noo Auld Dunrod wis a guisty auld carle
As ever ye micht see
And gin he wisnae a warloch wicht
There wis nane in the hale countree.

[2] Noo Auld Dunrod strack in a pin
A bourtree pin in the waa
And when he wanted his neebours milk
He jist gied the pin a thraw.

And so on for another four verses, at least I know and sing six verses although I was reliably informed at one time that the ballad has twenty or so verses.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Rahere
Date: 28 Oct 13 - 04:38 PM

The latest addition is, of course, Bella Hardy's Drunken Butcher of Tideswell. Sometimes reality can threaten art, I find.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Rahere
Date: 29 Oct 13 - 10:24 AM

Then there's the old Scottish ballad of Kate Dalrymple - whose maiden beauty is portrayed in the National Portrait Gallery, positively bewitching when young. However, it would seem age was not kind.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE WIFE OF USHER'S WELL + BURKE AND HARE
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 29 Oct 13 - 01:45 PM

Slightly late for Halloween, but the beautifully atmospheric 'Wife of Usher's Well' was always a favourite at our club(s)

THE WIFE OF USHER'S WELL
There lived a wife at Usher's Well,
And a wealthy wife was she;
She had three stout and stalwart sons,
And sent them o'er the sea.

They hadna been a week from her,
A week but barely ane,
Whan word came to the *carline wife
That her three sons were gane.

They hadna been a week from her,
A week but barely three,   
Whan word came to the *carlin wife
That her sons she'd never see.

'I wish the wind may never cease,
Nor *fashes in the flood,      
Till my three sons come hame to me,
In earthly flesh and blood.'

It fell about the Martinmass,
When nights are lang and mirk,
The *carlin wife's three sons came name,
And their hats were o' the *birk.

It neither grew in *syke nor ditch,
Nor yet in ony *sheugh;
But at the gates o' Paradise,
That birk grew fair eneugh.

'Blow up the fire, my maidens!
Bring water from the well!
For a' my house shall feast this night,
Since my three sons are well.'

And she has made to them a bed,
She's made it large and wide,
And she's ta'en her mantle her about,
Sat down at the bed-side.

Up then crew the red, red cock,
And up and crew the gray;
The eldest to the youngest said,
"Tis time we were away.'

The cock he hadna craw'd but once,
And clapp'd his wings at a',
When the youngest to the eldest said,
'Brother, we must awa'

'The'cock doth craw, the day doth daw,
The *channerin worm doth chide;
Gin we be mist out o' our place,
A sair pain we maun bide.

Fare ye weel, my mother dear
Farewell to barn and byre!
And fare ye weel, the bonny lass
That kindles my mother's fire!'

Carline = Peasant; Fashes = storms; Birk = birch; Syke = brook; Sheugh = ditch; Channerin = gnawing.

This one always went down a bomb as well.

BURKE AND HARE
William Burke it is my name
I stand condemned alone.
I left my native Ireland
In the county of Tyrone.
And o'er to Scotland I did sail,
Employment for to find;
No thought of cruel murder
Was then into my mind.

At Edinburgh trade was slack,
No work there could I find;
And so I took the road again,
To Glasgow was inclined;
But stopping at the West-port
To find refreshment there,
0 cursed be the evil hour
I met with William Hare!

With flattering words he greeted me
And said good fortune smiled;
He treated me to food and drink
And I was soon beguiled;
He said:"There's riches to be had,
And fortune's to be made,
For atomists have need of us.
So join me in that trade.

Hare he kept a lodging-house
Therein a man had died,
His death went unreported
And of burial was denied
We put the dead man in a cart
And through the streets did ride.
And Robert Knox,the atomist,
The dead man he did buy.

To rob the new dug graves by night
It was not our intent;
To be taken by the nightwatch
Or by spies was not our bent.
The plan belonged to William Hare
And so the plot was laid,
He said that "murder's safer
Than the resurrection trade."

Two women they were in the plot
The wife of William Hare,
The other called McDougal,
And travellers they did sanre;
They lured them to the lodging house
And when they'd drunken deep,
Hare and me, we smothered them
As they lay fast asleep.

At first in fear and dread I was
But later grew more bold,
In nine short months we killed fifteen
And then their bodies sold.
The doctors did not question us,
But quickly paid our fee,
The price they paid,it prospered us,
Both William Hare and me.

But soon our crimes they were found out
In jail we were confined,
And cruel guilt it tore my heart
And much despairs my mind;
And Hare, who first ensnared me
And led me far astray
Has turned King's evidence on me
And sworn my life away

Jim Carroll

Subject: Lyr Add: THE DUNDEE GHOST (Matt McGinn)
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 29 Oct 13 - 02:41 PM

And then of course, the great Matt McGinn song

The Dundee Ghost
By Matt McGinn

Noo a deid man seldom walks, he very rarely talks,    (dead)
It's no very often you'll see him running aroond,
But I'm a refugee from a graveyard in Dundee
And I've come tae haunt some houses in Glasgow Toon
And I've come tae haunt some hooses in Glasgow Toon.

Noo the reason I arose was to get masel' some clothes, (myself)
For I really get helluva cold below the ground,
And I whispered tae masel', "ah, I think I might as well
Hang aroond a while and ha'e some fun,
I'll hang around a while and ha'e some fun".

Noo a chap put oot his light on a cold and frosty night,
I showed him one of ma eyes and I skelped his head, (smacked)
He said "Oh", and I said "boo" he says, "who the hell are you" ?
I said, "don't be feart, I'm on'y a man that's deid,   (afraid)
Oh no, don't be feart, I'm only a man that's deid".

Well the feller knelt and prayed and this is what he said;
"Oh why, in the name of God have you picked on me"   ?
So I battered him on the lug and I pulled awa' his rug. (ear)
"The reason", I said "is just tae let you see".
"The reason" , I said, "is just tae let you see".

Well he brought the polis in and I belted him on the chin,   (police(man)
The polis turned aroond and he blamed my friend.
And he marched him aff tae jile and he'll be in there quite a while, (off to gaol)
But I'll see naebody taks his single end,      (House of one apartment, flat)
Oh, no, I'll see naebody taks his single end.

Noo the polis thought him daft and a lot of people laughed
When the feller said a ghost was in his hoose,
But what the feller said was true and I might be visiting you,
So just remember. I'm still on the loose,
Aye, just remember, I'm still on the loose.

Jim Carroll

Subject: Lyr Add: THE GHOST AND HONEST JOE
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 02 Nov 14 - 01:56 PM

This is the song that Farvit referred to back on 28-Oct-2001. My transcription from Spotify:


THE GHOST AND HONEST JOE
As recorded by Pee Wee King and His Golden West Cowboys, with vocalist Gene Stewart, 1949. Reissued on "Country Cowboy Classics"

1. While I was pickin' cotton way down in Lou'sian',
I met the 'fraidest, scaredest kind of cotton-pickin' man.
One night as he passin' by the graveyard of the dead,
He thought he saw a ghost jump out, and Joe jumped up and said:

CHORUS: "O Lord, help your wayward child," old Honest Joe did moan.
"Don't leave me here with this here ghost; I'd rather be alone.
It ain't that I'm afraid, but you know, I ain't havin' no fun.
My head tells me to stay right here but my feet tells me to run.

2. "Look here; I ain't done nothin'; I just as honest as can be.
You go and crawl back in your grave; don't pull no pranks on me.
You just tryin' to haunt old Honest Joe; come on, now; you go away."
But the ghost just stood in the middle of the road and old Joe began to pray: CHORUS

3. "Now whose ghost is you?" old Joe cried. "Could you be old Bill Cross?
If that's you, Bill, y'ought to know, I didn't steal your hoss.
I only borrowed that old nag; so come on, give old Joe a break."
But the ghost just stood in the middle of the road and old Joe began to shake. CHORUS

4. "I know you now," old Joe cried out; "You's my good friend Rufus Brown.
I didn't want your chickens; they just followed me aroun'.
Now, go on back where you belong before you gets upset."
But the ghost just stood in the middle of the road and Joe's knees began to sweat. CHORUS

Subject: Lyr Add: THE LITTLE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 19 Nov 14 - 07:05 PM

THE LITTLE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE
Words by Harold Adamson; music by Bernard Hanighen, 1939.
"Based on an original quatrain by Hughes Mearns."
As recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, 1939.

[The singing is preceded by jazzy whistling.]

SPOKEN/RECITED:
—Hello there, Texas! What d'you say?
Are you whistlin' in the dark just to scare the ghosts away?
—I know there's somethin' followin' me that I can't see.
Someone sure laid an awful hex on me.

—A hex? Aw, Tex, that's pretty far-fetched.
Man, I think you're just a little bit tetched.
—If you'd 'a' got a load of what I saw last night,
You'd 'a' passed the Yankee Clipper on its maiden flight.

SUNG:
Last night I saw upon the stair
A little man who wasn't there.
He wasn't there again today.
Oh, how I wish he'd go away!

When I came home last night at three,
The man was waitin' there for me,
But when I looked around the hall,
I couldn't see him there at all.

Go away; go away; don't you come back any more.
Go away; go away, and please don't slam the door.

Last night I saw upon the stair
A little man who wasn't there.
He wasn't there again today.
Oh, how I wish he'd go away!


Other early recordings were made by Larry Clinton and His Orchestra, Bob Crosby and His Orchestra, and Mildred Bailey and Her Orchestra.

There is also a recording by Jack Teagarden and His Orchestra that has this alternative spoken intro:

Now there's a thing that just keeps botherin' me,
'Cause I don't know what it's all about.
It's a crazy thing I happened to see.
Now maybe you can help me out.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE NIGHTMARE (from Cab Calloway)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 20 Nov 14 - 10:57 AM

THE NIGHTMARE
Billy Meyers; Al Handler; Len Riley. ©1926
As sung by Cab Calloway and His Orchestra, 1931

Slumber never comes around till dawn.
My head starts a-reelin'.
I dreamed that I'm kneelin'.
It seems that I'm kneelin'
On the ceilin' of my room.
Nightmare sure have got me in the air,
And it's no use denyin',
And there's no denyin',
I dreamed that I'm dyin'
And I'm goin' in my tomb.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE BOOGIE MAN (Coslow/Johnston)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 20 Nov 14 - 10:31 PM

You can hear this at YouTube; it's also on Spotify.


THE BOOGIE MAN
From the motion picture, "Many Happy Returns" (1934)
Words by Sam Coslow; music by Arthur Johnston.
As recorded by Todd Rollins and His Orchestra, with Chick Bullock, vocalist, recorded 1934-05-18.

Boo! I'm the boogie man,
The terrible, horrible boogie man.
I come in the middle of the night and frighten
Bad little girls like you.

Beware! Better have a care.
I'm going to follow you everywhere.
I crawl through the ceiling and the wall and call on
Bad little girls like you.

I'll torture you and haunt you.
I've got you where I want you,
A victim of my dark and dirty plot,
And at the slightest whim,
I'll tear you limb from limb.
In other words, I'll put you on the spot.

Boo! I'm the boogie man,
The terrible, horrible boogie man.
I come in the middle of the night and frighten
Bad little girls like you.

Subject: Lyr Add: DANCING THE DEVIL AWAY (Harbach/Kalmar/..
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 20 Nov 14 - 11:08 PM

YouTube has several recordings of this song. So does Spotify.


DANCING THE DEVIL AWAY
Words by Otto Harbach and Bert Kalmar, music by Harry Ruby; ©1927
As recorded by Victor Arden, Phil Ohman and Their Orchestra, 1930

When you are down with the blues,
It means that the devil got into your shoes.
You'll find them easy to lose,
Dancing the devil away.

Just grin and don't let him in.
Whenever he tries to get under your skin,
Pick up your feet and begin
Dancing the devil away.

That evil spirit is nothing but the voodoo.
Just tap your feet on the ground and shake your hoodoo.

Now that you know how it's done,
Keep out of the shadows and stay in the sun.
Come on and join in the fun,
Dancing the devil away.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE DEVIL WITH THE DEVIL (Larry Clinton)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 21 Nov 14 - 10:22 AM

THE DEVIL WITH THE DEVIL
Words and music by Larry Clinton, ©1939.
As recorded by Larry Clinton and His Orchestra, 1938-11-11

Here comes the devil.
Oh, here comes the devil.
Oh, here comes the devil.
Oh, the devil with the devil, says I.
Look out for the devil.
Look out for the devil.
Look out for the devil.
Oh, the devil with the devil, says I.

You're so afraid of old man Satan,
Now why don't you stop your hesitatin'?
You're gonna be a long time dead,
So the devil with the devil, says I.
You're always givin' me the dickens,
Tellin' that life's no easy pickin's,
But just as long as I have fun,
Why the devil with the devil, says I.

You can have your social teas and bingo for your fun,
But the things I like to do, you stop me one by one.

Now even if you make me stronger,
That ain't gonna make me live no longer,
So even if I go to ----shh!----
The devil with the devil, says I.

Look out for the devil! Look out for the devil!
Oh, the devil with the devil, says I.


Another early recording was done by The Johnny Messner Music Box Band.

Subject: Lyr Add: GHOST IN THE GRAVEYARD (Prairie Ramblers)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 21 Nov 14 - 03:11 PM

GHOST IN THE GRAVEYARD
As sung by the Prairie Ramblers, 1938.

It was a dark and stormy night.
Not a star was in sight
In a graveyard by a church way up on the hill.
Well, a ghost come out to play.
Then I thought I heard one say:
"I've got you; I'll keep you; I always will.

"Now I've got you where I want you.
I'm gonna keep you where I've got you,
For you the one that shot my great-grandpa;
And I told you I would get you.
Now if I saw you, now I've got you,
For you the one that stole my great-grandma."

Now on that very same night,
That ol' tomcat started a fight,
And this is the way it all did sound to me:
[vocal cat-fighting sounds]

SPOKEN: Now you know I couldn't stand there. I didn't like them cats—you should know that—and I didn't like them ghosts either. So I looked down to my feet, and I said: "Feet, now come on and do your duty and carry me home." But that ol' ghost looked up to me and said:

"I've got you where I want you.
I'm gonna keep you where I've got you.
For you the one that shot my great-grandpa."

Subject: Lyr Add: THE HOUSE IS HAUNTED (Rose/Adlam)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 22 Nov 14 - 11:30 AM

THE HOUSE IS HAUNTED
Words by Billy Rose; music by Basil G. Adlam, ©1934.
As recorded by various artists*

Lights are soft and low tonight.
Summer breezes blow tonight,
And to think that we're apart!
Knowing you refuse to love
Someone that you used to love,
There's a chill within my heart.
I hate to be alone when evening falls.
I'm so afraid of all {those/these} empty halls,
Doors and walls.

The house is haunted by the echo of your last goodbye.
The house is haunted by mem'ries that refuse to die.
I can't get away from a vision that brings
Intimate glimpses of intimate things.
A voice in my heart like a torch singer sings:
"I wonder who's kissing {her/him} now."
The house is haunted by the echo of your fav'rite song.
The place is cluttered up with {roses/mem'ries/keepsakes} that have {lived/stayed} too long,
Much too long.
The ceiling is white but the shadows are black.
A ghost in my heart says {she'll/he'll} never come back.
The house is haunted by the echo of your last goodbye.


* The lyrics here are a composite of several recordings; hence, I have indicated variations within {braces}.

Complete versions are sung by Gracie Fields, the Chenille Sisters, The Studebakers, and Claire Austin. Abbreviated versions, lacking the first part, are sung by Mel Torme, Kay Starr, and Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra. All these are on Spotify.

There are also other songs with the same title.

Subject: Lyr Add: CELERY STALKS AT MIDNIGHT
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 29 Oct 15 - 02:02 PM

I listened to a radio show today whose theme was Halloween, and this song seemed particularly goofy, so I had to collect it:


CELERY STALKS AT MIDNIGHT
As recorded by Les Brown & His Orchestra, with vocalist Doris Day, 1941.

Celery stalks at midnight,
Lurking in the moonlight.
What's this funny nightmare all about?
Celery stalks at midnight,
Mounted on their broomsticks,
Sliding through the treetops in and out.
It's like a bad dream,
A crazy kind of mad dream.
Must have been something that I ate, no doubt.
Celery stalks at midnight,
Lurking in the moonlight.
What's this very funny nightmare all about?

Subject: Lyr Add: MONSTER IN THE CLOSET (Tom Hunter)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 29 Oct 15 - 02:24 PM

Open mike mentioned this back in 2001, but nobody came through with lyrics, so....


MONSTER IN THE CLOSET
As recorded by Tom Hunter on "Still Growing" (2005)

The teacher told a story in my nurs'ry school today
About a great big monster that came to dance and play.
As she talked, I knew I wanted one that I could keep,
But now I have to close my eyes and try to go to sleep.

CHORUS: And there's a monster in the closet; the ghosts are on the wall.
Why do you keep on tellin' me there's nothin' there at all?
I know they're there; it's clear to me; I see them ev'ry night,
And all I want is when I'm scared, you come and hold me tight.

Last night I had a good dream; the sun was shining bright.
My little dog and all all my friends went out to fly a kite.
The grass was green; the wind was warm; the flowers all were red,
But now it's hard to think of that 'cause I have to go to bed.

And you've told me how you hate it, the times I carry on,
And sure I cry when I'm hurt and scared, but not for very long,
But when I think of monsters and all that other stuff,
My dolly and the bathroom light really aren't enough.

CHORUS: 'Cause there's a monster in the closet....

So please come and tuck me in; goodnight; I love you, mom.
Here's a hug and a kiss for you and another one for Tom.
I'll try to be a good kid and sleep the whole night through,
But if I wake and start to cry, can I come and sleep with you?

CHORUS: 'Cause there's a monster in the closet....

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Thompson
Date: 29 Oct 15 - 06:55 PM

They say that the women are worse than the men
Rifle, rifle, tiddy-fi-day
For one went down to Hell and was sent back again
With a rifle-ay, tiddy-fi-day, rifle, rifle, tiddy-fi-day…

Subject: Lyr Add: THE MAN WITH THE WEIRD BEARD (Hoffman/...
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 18 May 16 - 03:53 PM

I ran across this today—


THE MAN WITH THE WEIRD BEARD
Words and music by Al Hoffman / Jerry Livingston / Milton Drake
As recorded by Arthur Godfrey with the Too Fat Trio (1949).

1. Straggly, raggly hair on his chin,
Battered and tattered and ugly as sin,
Eagle-eyed and floppy-eared,
He's the man with the weird beard.

2. Who is he? What is he? Nobody knows.
Both of his heels are as bare as his toes.
Never had his whiskers sheared,
He's the man with the weird beard.

BRIDGE: It ain't black; it ain't white.
It ain't short; it ain't long; it ain't right.
It's the craziest garden of hair.
Seven robins live in there.

3. Walk with him; talk with him; what do you find?
More on his chin than he's got on his mind.
That's the story that I heared,
'Bout the man with the weird beard.

REPEAT VERSES 1 & 2.

BRIDGE 2: It ain't green. (Uh-uh!) It ain't gray. (Uh-uh!)
It ain't oats; it ain't corn; it ain't hay. (Nay, nay!)
It's a jungle that hangs from his ears.
He ain't seen his feet for years.

4. Look at him; look at him dressed in his best,
Wearin' a beaver instead of a vest.
You ain't lived until you've heared
'Bout the man with the weird beard.


[Also recorded by:
Ray Bauduc and His Orchestra with vocalist Debby Claire, in a "Soundie" from 1946;
Ray Charles on "Have a Smile with Me" (1964);
Heather Bishop on "Bellybutton" (1982);
The Play-Rite Boys on "Doggone Good Time" (2006).]

Subject: Songs for Halloween?
From: GUEST,Pseudonymous
Date: 26 Oct 18 - 07:17 AM

Halloween will soon be upon us.

What suitable songs can Mudcatters suggest for this season?

I'll start with 'Strange Brew' by Cream.

Subject: RE: Songs for Halloween?
From: FreddyHeadey
Date: 26 Oct 18 - 07:31 AM

I can only think of Jake Thackray's Castleford Ladies' Magic Circle

Subject: RE: Songs for Halloween?
From: oldhippie
Date: 26 Oct 18 - 08:37 AM

"John's Garden" - Peter Mayer

Subject: RE: Songs for Halloween?
From: JHW
Date: 26 Oct 18 - 10:44 AM

Tamlane

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: FreddyHeadey
Date: 26 Oct 18 - 11:22 AM

another thread suggests using other search terms
"supernatural" & more
thread.cfm?threadid=40152

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: SuperDave
Date: 30 Oct 18 - 01:19 PM

I have heard The Highwayman performed as a song. It was the theme song for Coleman Day at the Swordsman Coffeehouse in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Cole pretty well couldn't do a set without someone requesting The Highwayman. Unfortunately, I don't recall it well enough to give you the melody or chords.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE DRUNKEN BUTCHER OF TIDESWELL
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 14 Nov 18 - 01:01 AM

From The Ballads & Songs of Derbyshire, ed. by Llewellyn Jewitt (London: Bremrose and Sons, 1867), page 67:


THE DRUNKEN BUTCHER OF TIDESWELL

Oh, list to me, ye yeomen all,
Who live in dale or down!
My song is of a butcher tall,
Who lived in Tiddeswall town.
In bluff King Harry’s merry days,
He slew both sheep and kine;
And drank his fill of nut brown ale,
In lack of good red wine.

Beside the Church this Butcher lived,
Close to its gray old walls;
And envied not, when trade was good,
The Baron in his halls.
No carking cares disturbed his rest,
When off to bed he slunk;
And oft he snored for ten good hours,
Because he got so drunk.

One only sorrow quelled his heart,
As well it might quell mine—
The fear of sprites and grisly ghosts,
Which dance in the moonshine;
Or wander in the cold Churchyard,
Among the dismal tombs;
Where hemlock blossoms in the day,
By night the nightshade blooms.

It chanced upon a summer’s day,
When heather-bells were blowing,
Bold Robin crossed o’er Tiddeswall Moor,
And heard the heath-cock crowing:
Well mounted on a forest nag,
He freely rode and fast;
Nor drew a rein, till Sparrow Pit,^[1]
And Paislow Moss^[2] were past.

Then slowly down the hill he came,
To the Chappelle-en-le-firth,^[3]
Where, at the Rose of Lancaster,
He found his friend the Smith:
The Parson, and the Pardoner too,
There took their morning draught;
And when they spied a Brother near,
They all came out and laughed.

“Now draw thy rein, thou jolly Butcher;
How far hast thou to ride?”
“To Waylee-Bridge,^[4] to Simon the Tanner,
To sell this good cow-hide.”
“Thou shalt not go one foot ayont,
’Till thou light and sup with me;
And when thou’st emptied my measure of liquor,
I’ll have a measure wi’ thee.”

“Oh no, oh no, thou drouthy Smith!
I cannot tarry to-day:
The Wife, she gave me a charge to keep;
And I durst not say her nay.”
“What likes o’ that,” said the Parson then,
“If thou’st sworn, thou’st ne’er to rue:
Thou may’st keep thy pledge, and drink thy stoup,
As an honest man e’en may do.”

“Oh no, oh no, thou jolly Parson!
I cannot tarry, I say;
I was drunk last night, and if I tarry,
I’se be drunk again to-day.”
“What likes, what likes,” cried the Pardoner then,
“Why tellest thou that to me?
Thou may’st e’en get thee drunk this blessed night;
And well shrived for both thou shalt be.”

Then down got the Butcher from his horse,
I wot full fain was he;
And he drank ’till the summer sun was set,
In that jolly company:
He drank ’till the summer sun went down,
And the stars began to shine;
And his greasy noddle was dazed and addle,
With the nut brown ale and wine.

Then up arose those four mad fellows,
And joining hand in hand,
They danced around the hostel floor,
And sung, tho’ they scarce could stand,
“We’ve aye been drunk on yester night,
And drunk the night before;
And sae we’re drunk again to-night,
If we never get drunk any more.”

Bold Robin the Butcher was horsed and away;
And a drunken wight was he;
For sometimes his blood-red eyes saw double;
And then he could scantly see.
The forest trees seemed to featly dance,
As he rode so swift along;
And the forest trees, to his wildered sense,
Resang the jovial song.

Then up he sped over Paislow Moss,
And down by the Chamber Knowle:^[5]
And there he was scared into mortal fear
By the hooting of a barn owl:
And on he rode, by the Forest Wall,
Where the deer browsed silently;
And up the Slack, ’till, on Tiddeswall Moor,
His horse stood fair and free.

Just then the moon, from behind the rack,
Burst out into open view;
And on the sward and purple heath
Broad light and shadow threw;
And there the Butcher, whose heart beat quick,
With fear of Gramarye,
Fast by his side, as he did ride,
A foul phantom did espy.

Uprose the fell of his head, uprose
The hood which his head did shroud;
And all his teeth did chatter and girn,
And he cried both long and loud;
And his horse’s flank with his spur he struck,
As he never had struck before;
And away he galloped, with might and main,
Across the barren moor.

But ever as fast as the Butcher rode,
The Ghost did grimly glide:
Now down on the earth before his horse,
Then fast his rein beside:
O’er stock and rock, and stone and pit,
O’er hill and dale and down,
’Till Robin the Butcher gained his door-stone,
In Tiddeswall’s good old town.

“Oh, what thee ails, thou drunken Butcher?”
Said his Wife, as he sank down;
“And what thee ails, thou drunken Butcher?”
Cried one-half of the Town.
“I have seen a Ghost, it hath raced my horse,
For three good miles and more;
And it vanished within the Churchyard wall,
As I sank down at the door.”

“Beshrew thy heart, for a drunken beast!”
Cried his Wife, as she held him there;
“Beshrew thy heart, for a drunken beast,
And a coward, with heart of hare.
No Ghost hath raced thy horse to-night,
Nor evened his wit with thine:
The Ghost was thy shadow, thou drunken wretch!
I would the Ghost were mine.”

1 Sparrow Pit is a small hamlet about two miles from Chapel-en-le-Frith, situated at the “four lane ends,” where the Buxton and Castleton and the Chapel-en-le-Frith and Tideswell roads intersect each other.
2 Paislow Moss, about half way between Sparrow Pit and Sandy Way Head.
3 Chapel-en-le-Frith is a considerable and important market town, about six miles from Buxton.
4 Whaley Bridge, near Chapel-en-le-Frith.
5 Chamber Knoll is. about half a mile from Peak-Forest

Bella Hardy recorded this song on her album “The Dark Peak and the White” (2012) but she shortened it a bit, and she changed a few words.

Subject: Lyr Add: PUMPKIN HEAD HARVEY (Dennis Morgan)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 20 Nov 18 - 08:47 AM

This was mentioned by GUEST,Bobbi Jo back on 16-Oct-2007. I found it on Spotify and transcribed it. I have omitted some patter.


PUMPKIN HEAD HARVEY
Written by Dennis Morgan
As recorded as a single by Dennis Morgan, 2011.

CHORUS: Pumpkin Head Harvey, Pumpkin Head Harvey,
He comes alive when it’s Halloween time.
Pumpkin Head Harvey, Pumpkin Head Harvey,
He sends a shiver right up your spine.

Look in the sky! It’s a big yellow moon.
Halloween time is comin’ soon.
It’s the season of the goblins and the witches on brooms,
And Pumpkin Head Harvey.

From the cold dark ground Pumpkin Head resurrects.
He’s grouchy and scary and hungry as heck.
You’d better check the bushes by the neighbor’s doorstep,
And watch out for Pumpkin Head Harvey.

CHORUS

He’s got fire in his eyes, and sharp jagged teeth,
And kids do you know what he likes to eat?
They say his fav’rite thing is children who trick-or-treat.
“Mmmmm,” says Pumpkin Head Harvey.

I heard a story once, not to cause you no fear,
But ol’ Pumpkin Head snapped at a kid who got too near,
And it turned him bright orange from his toes to his ears.
It’s the curse of Pumpkin Head Harvey.

CHORUS

Well, he likes kids dressed in funny ol’ hats,
Pirates and cowboys and black-caped bats,
White-sheety ghosts and Dracula masks.
You can’t hide from Pumpkin Head Harvey.

Ones who wear fake noses and goblin gowns
With big waxy teeth that stick way out,
Monkey suits, army boots, and Baskerville hounds—
He loves ‘em all, Pumpkin Head Harvey.

CHORUS

So if you gotta go out trick-or-treatin’ tonight,
Don’t get too close or he’ll take a bite.
Remember, he’s got a big appetite
And he’s waitin’ out there for you.

But hey, don’t worry; if you keep your mouth shut tight,
I’ll tell you a secret that’ll save your life:
It’s only kids who candy that he likes.
All the ones who don’t, go free.

Don’t eat any candy, kids!

CHORUS

Subject: Old Banshee Recording
From: GUEST,Scull School North Huntingdon PA
Date: 22 Jan 19 - 02:21 PM

Does anyone remember hearing an old record that told a story about the Banshee? It was played around Halloween in Grade School in the early 80s. I can't find it anywhere!!!

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Jun 19 - 10:26 PM

Finally proof that this song isn't only a product of my imagination!

Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins,
Pumpkins on parade.
On a frosty midnight,
They are not afraid.
Witches try to scare them,
All the whole night through,
But they keep wearing crooked smiles,
As jack-o-lanterns do.
Harvest moon is rising.
Lighting up the sky.
Mister Owl is counting,
pumpkins passing by.
Little ghost is dancing,
everywhere he goes.
If he doesn't,
Old Jack Frost,
will nip his little toes!

But that's all I remember...

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: kendall
Date: 15 Sep 19 - 06:19 AM

There are too many entries to go through but I want to post a song by Dave Goulder titled Over the ground under the ground. IVOR THE DRIVER

One night at the church I was stealing some coal,
over the ground and under the ground,
what did I see I'll tell you it all
over and under the ground.

A sleepy ol miner was making his way home, over ...
he nipped through the graveyard to find his way ...
The night was dark and Ivar was full ...
...he fell into an unoccupied hole ...

he ranted and cursed and he swore...
and he wakened the miner who was asleep on the floor ...
not being the kind to whimper and weep ...
he laid down in a corner and went off to sleep ...

I'm losing it.

anyway, the miner remembers his night with the dead ...
But Ivor the driver is strapped in his bed ...

Subject: Lyr Add: TEN DEAD FINGERS (Thomas Baxter)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 30 Oct 19 - 07:16 PM

I heard someone sing this at a singaround recently, so I searched for it with Google and found it here. Sorry, I can’t remember the tune, and I don’t know anything more about the song.

TEN DEAD FINGERS
Copyright 1997 Thomas Baxter

1. Late at night, while the sexton slept,
One dead finger from the graveyard crept,
Crept to his kitchen, had a few drinks,
And fell asleep among the sausage links.

CHORUS: Ohhh, oh. Ohhh, oh.
Up from the graveyard watch it go,
Creeping its way into the night,
One dead finger in the pale moonlight.

2. Late one night, little fingers two
Hopped a ride upon the sexton's shoe,
Wriggled up his body inside his clothes,
Popped out his collar and tweaked his nose.

CHORUS: Ohhh, oh. Ohhh, oh.
Up from the graveyard watch them go
Creeping their way into the night
Two dead fingers in the pale moonlight.

3. Late one night, little fingers three
Strolled to the sexton's library,
Found a book unread for ages,
And the fingers went a-walking through its yellowed pages.

4. Late one night little fingers four
Climbed way up into the sexton's drawer,
Tied his underwear into knots,
And mismatched all his favorite formal socks.

5. Late one night around the midnight hour,
Five dead fingers climbed the old clock tower,
And when at twelve the carillon tolled,
The sexton heard them playing “Heart and Soul.”

6. Late one night, when he was tucked in bed,
Six fingers climbed onto the sexton's head
And kept him awake with their ghoulish prances—
Six dead fingers doing Morris dances.

7. Late one night in the cold and damp,
Seven fingers climbed up to the sexton's lamp,
And 'round and 'round each other they crawled,
And cast scary shadow pictures on the wall.

8. Late one night, when he was by himself,
The sexton saw them sitting on his shelf—
A horrible sight, which made him shudder,
Eight bored fingers just a-twiddling each other.

9. Late one night little fingers nine
Marched onto the table when the sexton dined.
Around the dinner plate marched that group,
Then they went skinny dipping in his noodle soup.

10. Late one night, in the moonlight cold,
Ten dead fingers from the graveyard rolled,
But nobody's seen them after that,
Not since the sexton got himself a cat.

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: keberoxu
Date: 31 Oct 19 - 05:19 PM

refresh

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: The Sandman
Date: 03 Nov 19 - 02:43 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-ogTQqP6NQ

Subject: Lyr Add: HALLOWS EVE (Lisa Theriot)
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Oct 20 - 01:55 AM

HALLOW'S EVE
As recorded by Lisa Theriot on "A Turning of Seasons," 2001.

On Hallow's Eve, on moonlit night,
On Samhain, when the veil is thin,
Between the worlds of dark and light,
Dare you let a stranger in?

Most folk beside their hearth will stay
The night when frost first chills the sod,
When spirits walk, as some will say,
An evil night to be abroad.

But I was sat beside the fire
With shadows dancing on the floor,
And as I watched the flames leap higher,
A knock came on my cottage door.

‘Who's there?’ I called with trembling voice
That did my fearful state betray.
I was resolved that, given choice,
Behind my oaken door I'd stay.

‘Don't be afraid; I mean no ill.’
A voice like honey filled my ears,
And just as if it bent my will,
I drew the bolt despite my fears.

There stood a man with raven hair,
As tall and straight as Gallows Oak.
His face held beauty and despair,
And with that same soft voice he spoke:

‘I walk this night with weary tread,
My hours but a precious few,
Among the unremembered dead
To seek the love I never knew.

'I prayed that Fate would help me find
A loving heart that would not fear,
And guide my steps to someone kind.
In all the world, it led me here.’

‘Don't be a fool!’ my reason quailed,
For some there are that call me wise,
And yet my foolish heart prevailed,
My wisdom lost in dark, sad eyes.

When blackest night gave way at last,
The gray cock crowed, and then the red.
‘The day has come; my time is past.
I must away!’ my lover said.

‘Oh no!’ I cried, ‘It cannot be!
My heart should burst from such a pain!
If day must part my love and me,
For mercy, will you come again?’

‘I know not if there be such power
To life again my soul to bind,
But here I pledge that hopeful hour
This earth to walk, my love to find.’

And as the dawn broke high above,
The coal-black cock crowed on the green.
Without a sound my phantom love
Was gone as if he'd never been.

I live now as I always have.
I tend the sick with healer's art,
But cannot find the balm or salve
To close the wound upon my heart.

Though I may no more see his face,
And may be damned if I believe,
No mortal man will e'er replace
My love that came on Hallow's Eve.

On Hallow's Eve, on moonlit night,
On Samhain, when the veil is thin,
Between the worlds of dark and light
I wait to let a stranger in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yzkG9-cu-E

Subject: Midnight, the Time of the Crime....
From: Joe Offer
Date: 28 Oct 20 - 07:23 PM

Monique shared this one with me, and I hope she doesn't mind my passing it on to you:

https://www.mamalisa.com/blog/heres-a-fun-lightly-spooky-poem-to-recite-to-kids-at-halloween-time-or-just-for-fun/

Monique from France taught me this one. She used to say it to her 1st grade students and they would ask her to say it again (even years later). It’s slightly scary, but has a funny ending. I translated it into English. It would work translated into other languages too. It could be a fun one to recite to your kids or students at Halloween time.

Below you’ll find it in English, with a recording I did for you so you can hear how to recite it. Beneath that you can read it in French and also hear Monique of Mama Lisa’s World en français reciting it for you in French.

MP3 of Crime Time in English

In a scary voice say:

Midnight, the time of the crime,
A man, a knife in his hand…

Then nonchalantly say:

Spreads butter on
A slice of bread.

Here it is in French:

MP3 of Crime Time in French

Minuit, l’heure du crime…
Un homme, un couteau à la main,
étalait du beurre
sur une tartine de pain.

Many thanks to Monique for sharing this “poem” with us!

-Mama Lisa

Subject: ADD: Away Ye Merry Lasses
From: Joe Offer
Date: 28 Oct 20 - 10:12 PM

This one could probably use some refinement. Thread #103480   Message #2109714
Posted By: frogprince
23-Jul-07 - 09:53 PM
Thread Name: BS: Secrets of Witchcraft
Subject: RE: BS: Secrets of Witchcraft

Away Ye Merry Lasses
(Crowwomen - on their debut album "Crow Goddess")
c. Georje Holper


AWAY YE MERRY LASSES

I told me Mum I was going out, she asked what I was all about
I asked if I could take the broom, I'm going to meet the girls
Oh, the moon is wax tonight and don't you like the fellas?
I prefer the girls tonight, I'm going to ride the wind

chorus:
'Cause it's the girls' night out, away ye merry lasses
Get your brooms, get 'em out, we'll ride the wind tonight
Oh, it's the girls' night out, away ye merry lasses
Get your brooms, get 'em out, we'll ride the wind tonight

My sister is so bold and free, she asked if she could come with me
I saw her up above the trees, a-goin' to ride the wind
Oh, the moon is wax tonight and don't you like the fellas?
I prefer the girls tonight, I'm going to ride the wind
Chorus

As we were goin' out the gate we met our dear old mother
Ridin' a broom and hummin' a tune, goin' to ride the wind
Oh, the moon is wax tonight and don't you like the fellas?
I prefer the girls tonight, I'm going to ride the wind
Chorus

If you have Spotify, you can hear the song here: https://open.spotify.com/track/5pv8bLrX7qSCUFVYRZEXS1?si=SQRjv3LfS7aFEJJIEdxRoA

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: Joe Offer
Date: 30 Oct 20 - 08:01 PM

A little Halloween music from my local symphomy in Auburn, California:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnmnl9-VRE8&list=PLguKKyAXVMJcR2XHSB5PBOJc_cfdDPQB6

Subject: RE: halloween songs
From: GUEST,Shontell
Date: 08 Jun 22 - 11:05 PM

Does anyone know a childhood song that goes:

Creatures creeping through the Night.
Watching witches in their flight.
Ghastly ghouls are everywhere.
Giving you a great big scare.

See the Jack o lanterns light.
Lighting up the frightful sight.
Ghastly ghouls are all around.
Listen to the spooky sound.

I can’t remember the name of it.

Subject: Lyr Add: AULD DUNROD
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 23 Dec 22 - 11:00 AM

This song was quoted by Gutcher on 28 Oct 2013:

From Lives of the Lindsays; Or, A Memoir of the Houses of Crawford and Balcarres, Vol. 2, by Lord Lindsay [Alexander William Crawford], (London: John Murray, 1858), p. 454:


AULD DUNROD

Auld Dunrod was a goustie^[1] carle,
As ever ye micht see;
And gin he was na a warlock wicht,
There was nane in the haill countrie.

Auld Dunrod stack in a pin
(A bourtree pin)^[2] in the wa’,
And when he wanted his neighbour’s milk,
He just gied the pin a thraw.

He milkit the Laird o’ Kellie’s^[3] kye,
And a’ the kye in Dunoon;
And Auld Dunrod gat far mair milk
Than wad mak a gabbart soum.^[4]

The cheese he made were numerous,
And wonerous^[5] to descry;
For they kyth’t as gin they had been grule,^[6]
Or peats set up to dry.

And there was nae cumerwald^[7] man about,
Wha cam to him for skill,
That gif he didna do him good,
He didna do him ill.

But the Session gat word o’ Dunrod’s tricks,
And they tuik him in han’,
And there was naething to do but Auld Dunrod
Forsooth maun leave the lan’.

Sae Auld Dunrod he muntit^[8] his stick,
His broomstick muntit he;
And he flychterit^[9] twa three times about,
Syne through the air did flee.

And he flew by auld Greenock tower,
And by the Newark haw,—
Ye wadna kenn’d him in his flicht
Be a huddock^[10] or a craw.

And he flew to the Rest and be Thankfu’ Stane---
A merry auld carle was he;
He stottit and fluffer’t as he had been wud,^[11]
Or drucken wi’ the barley bree.^[12]

But a rountree^[13] grew at the stane—
It is there unto this day,
And gin ye dinna find it still,
Set doun that it’s away.

And he ne’er wist o’ the rountree
Till he cam dunt^[14] thereon;
His magic broomstick tint its spell,
And he daudit^[15] on the stone.

His heid was hard, and the Stane was sae,
And whan they met ane anither,
It was hard to say what wad be the weird
Of either the tane or the tither.

But the Stane was muilt^[16] like a lampet shell,
And sae was Auld Dunrod;
When ye munt a broomstick to tak a flicht,
Ye had best tak anither road.

The neighbours gatherit to see the sicht,
The Stane’s remains they saw;
But as for Auld Dunrod himsel’,
He was carriet clean awa’.

And monie noy’t,^[17] as weill they micht,
The Rest and be Thankfu’ Stane;
And ilk ane said it bad been better far,
Gin Dunrod had staid at hame.

And what becam o’ Auld Dunrod
Was doubtfu’ for to say,
Some said he wasna there ava,^[18]
But flew anither way.

1 Ghostly, unearthly.
2 Of the elder-tree.
3 Bannatyne, Laird of kellie, in the parish of Innerkip.
4 Make a lighter swim.
5 Wondrous.
6 Appeared as if they had been like moss baked in the sun.
7 Henpecked?
8 Mounted.
9 Fluttered.
10 From a carrion-crow.
11 Bounded and whisked about.
12 Drunken with ale.
13 Mountain-ash.
14 With a thump.
15 Fell violently down.
16 Crushed.
17 Blamed.
18 At all.

Subject: Lyr Add: WIDDECOMBE ON THE MOOR (A L Salmon)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 23 Dec 22 - 01:44 PM

This poem was quoted by GUEST,symon on 09 Aug 2008:

From West-Country Verses by Arthur Leslie Salmon (Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1908), page 10.


WIDDECOMBE ON THE MOOR.

The devil came to Widdecombe
With thunder and with flame;
He left behind at Widdecombe
A terror and a name;
And this, the moorland voices tell,
Is how the devil came.

The autumn flashed with red and gold
Along the Devon lanes;
The tangled hedges of the wold
Were rich with mellow stains,—
The torrents of the moorland old
Were turbulent with rains.

There came a stranger to the inn
And sought to know his way—
To Poundstock on the moor he came
In sombre black array;
He asked the road to Widdecombe—
It was the Sabbath-day.

He shouted loudly for a drink—
His sable steed he stroked;
And when he tossed the liquor down,
It boiled and hissed and smoked;
Like water on a red-hot iron
The hissing liquor soaked.

"Good woman, will you be my guide
To Widdecombe on the moor?"
With trembling accent she declined—
She said the road was sure.
She saw a cloven hoof strike out
As he spurred away from the door.

Low on the massy cleaves and tors
A boding trouble lay—
A ceaseless murmur of the streams
Came through the silent day.
The stranger rode to Widdecombe,—
Full well he found the way.

The folk were gathered in the church
To hear the evening pray'r,
And if 'twas dark enough without,
'Twas threefold darker there;
And on the gathered people fell
A shudder and a scare.

Now is the time, oh kneeling folk,
To pray with fervent fear,
For the enemy of the soul of man,
Devouring fiend, is near,
And evil thoughts and base desires
Unbind his fetters here.

Sudden upon the moorland kirk
The crash of thunder broke—
A noise as of a thousand guns,
With many a lightning-stroke,—
A blackness as of blackest night,
With fitful fire and smoke.

It seemed the Day of doom had come;
The roof was torn and rent,
And through the church from end to end
A fearful flame-ball went.
It seemed the dreadful Day had come
In wild bewilderment.

The stranger came to Widdecombe—
He tied his horse without;
He rushed into the crashing door
With fiendish laugh and shout;
Through the door the fiery stranger came,
Through the shattered roof went out.

Men prayed with terror and remorse—
In frenzied fear they cried;
And one lay dead with cloven head,
His blood besprinkled wide—
And one was struck so dire a stroke
That of his hurt he died.

Down through the roof the turret came—
The spire was twisted stark.
A beam came crushing down between
The parson and the clerk,—
And fearful was the sudden light,
And fearful was the dark.

Then fell a deep and deathlike hush;
And through the silence dead,
"Good neighbours, shall we venture out?"
A trembling farmer said—
"I' the name o' God, shall we venture out?”—
For the fearsome time seemed sped.

Then up and spake the minister
With white yet dauntless face:
"Tis best to make an end of prayer,
Trusting to Christ His grace;
For it were better to die here
Than in another place."

So in the kirk at Widdecombe
They finished evening pray'r;
And then at last they ventured out
Into the autumn air.
Brightly the jagged moorland lay
In sundown calm and fair.

The devil came to Widdecombe
With thunder and with flame,—
He left behind a shattered kirk,
A terror, and a fame;
And this, the moorland voices tell,
Is how the devil came.