Happy May Day! (May Day Songs)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Pleasant Month of May
From: Jeri
Date: 29 Apr 10 - 03:50 PM

In the DT as "Month of May"

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Pleasant Month of May
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 29 Apr 10 - 02:51 PM

Lovely song Peasant - quite popular on the Eastern side of England.
The old trawlerman, Sam Larner sang a very nice version.
Jim Carroll

Subject: Lyr Add: THE MONTH OF MAY (Copper Family)
From: *#1 PEASANT*
Date: 29 Apr 10 - 02:48 PM

THE MONTH OF MAY
Traditional
As recorded by the Copper Family (Bob & Ron) on "Come Write Me Down: Early Recordings of the Copper Family of Rottingdean" (2000)

'Twas in the pleasant month of May in the springtime of the year,
And down by yonder meadow there runs a river clear,
See how the little fishes how they do sport and play
Causing many a lad and many a lass to go there a-making hay.

Then in comes that scytheman that meadow to mow down,
With his old leather-ed bottle and the ale that runs so brown.
There's many a stout and a labouring man goes there his skill to try,
He works, he mows, he sweats and he blows and the grass cuts very dry.

Then in comes both Tom and Dick with their pitch-forks and their rakes
And likewise black-eyed Susan the hay all for to make.
There's a sweet, sweet, sweet and a jug, jug, jug, how the harmless birds do sing,
From the morning till the evening as we were a-haymaking.

It was just at one evening as the sun was a-going down,
We saw the jolly piper come a-strolling through the town.
There he pulled out his tapering pipes and he made the valleys ring,
So we all put down our rakes and forks and we left off haymaking.

We call-ed for a dance and we tripp-ed it along,
We danced all round the haycocks till the rising of the sun.
When the sun did shine such a glorious light and the harmless birds did sing,
Each lad he took his lass in hand and went back to his haymaking.

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: catspaw49
Date: 02 May 01 - 11:02 AM

Lots of good posts but........

GERVASE......Very well done and a truly classic piece....Thank you.

Spaw

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Mrrzy
Date: 02 May 01 - 10:54 AM

Well, it's the first of May, or it was yesterday, and there I was outdoors, where was all the action that is supposed to be going on outdoors now???!?

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Skipjack K8
Date: 02 May 01 - 10:49 AM

That's a stunning bit of reportage, Gervase. You ought to flog it to the press, but then again, they never let the truth get in the way of spin. Sorry to hear about your battering. It's more John Peel R4 Saturday morning stuff. Worth a try.

Skipjack

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: John J
Date: 02 May 01 - 09:50 AM

Well I got up at 4.50am in good time for coffee and sunrise at 5.34am. That's the good news. The bad news is the local spot for dancing on Mayday mornings (Alderley Edge, Cheshire, England) was closed due to Foot & Mouth Desease restrictions. Boo-hoo! At least I welcomed in the May-o! John (Knackered) J

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 02 May 01 - 09:26 AM

Cracking good story Gervase and very well put. Nice to see a balanced and honest view of the events rather than what the right and left wing rags write. Glad I wasn't there though!

Funny old thing isn't it. We have witnessed the hi-jacking of Mayday by political extemists. As I mentioned earlier it was probably hijacked by the early Christians from older religions as well. Must be a popular festival if everyone wants it so much!

Cheers

DtG

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Gervase
Date: 02 May 01 - 09:16 AM

Apropos Mayday in London, things turned rather ugly as the evening wore on in town.
For some God-unknown reason I hung around the Oxford Street area (where I have an office) longer than I should have done as sporadic clashes flared up in the maze of little alleys and courtyards behind Oxford Street, and at times things were rather unpleasant.
What was extraordinary is how young the hooligans were - the average age must have been about 15, with some surely no older than 12; scarves over their faces and scrabbling around for anything to hurl at the police.
Another worrying thing was how many of the kids were Asian and Hispanic - I would estimate at they represented least a quarter of those I saw right in the thick of it (Christ, I sound so un-PC there, but that's what I saw...). Of the rest maybe half were poor white kids - they looked as if they'd come up for the day from Becton and the poorest parts of town, with fuzz-cut hair and that veneer of grime that very poor kids often have - while the balance was made up of an assortment of crusties with multiple piercings and facial ironmongery and ordinary students there out of curiosity and sucked into it.
As for organisation - forget it. Whatever you may read in the right-wing rags about sinister anarchist forces orchestrating the violence is cobblers - this was an inchoate, spiteful series of running spats with the police; just random acts of viciousness committed by a mob high on booze and adrenaline and completely uncontrollable.
In fact the whole thing was deeply depressing and - I'm ashamed to say - my sympathies lay largely with the police last night, personal bumps and knocks and bruises notwithstanding.
The kids had clearly come for a ruck and were determined to goad the police into giving them one. Thus there were all the usual risks for those near the front, with lumps of wood, scaffold clips and assorted pieces of masonry hurled indiscriminately forward from behind the main press and more often than not falling on the poor sods pressed up against the shield wall.
At one stage a group of kids tore down some heavy wire panels surrounding a building site and used it as a shield themselves to hurl crap at the police (and I mean crap - the contents of restaurant bins and dog shit in plastic bags and stuff like that!).
A couple in late middle age, who looked like Quaker veterans of the Aldermaston Marches, tried to remonstrate with the kids and were pushed and shoved and told to fuck off and worse, which left rather a sour taste in the mouth. In fact most of those involved in the daytime protests had gone, and the rioting was nearly all done by the kids - who, I'd imagine, aren't remotely politicised and couldn't give a shit about globalisation or whatever. In fact a good many of them were wearing Nike trainers, Adidas baseball caps and all the branded crap about which the protest was supposed to revolve.
Many of them were drunk as skunks and armed to the teeth with cans of cider, Tennants and Special Brew - so much so that when I found myself in a press of them it smelled like a pub at chucking out time. Thank God cider is now sold in plastic bottles rather than glass, though, as the empties were then hurled towards the police.
And the language, my dear! One kid of about 14 stood in front of a PC in his riot gear and let rip a stream of invective - "You fucking this that and the other, your are a complete cunt...etc" and the PC just looked at him and said: "Do you mind not calling me those names. I'm a human being too, you know!"
There were a couple of baton charges as the shield squads rushed out to nick people, and I got knocked over by a horse and later got a minor thumping as a squad of shield officers rushed forwards to clear one of the alleys - not as bad as a former colleague from the Standard, Jeremy, who was taking pictures and got quite a mauling, while some Spanish students were also quite severely battered.
I say severely, but the police tactics are to whack at arms and legs with their batons, so the injuries are superficial - but probably extremely painful nevertheless.
Anyway, as the evening wore on and I realised I didn't have any film fast enough to carry on taking pictures in the fading light, I ended up next to Jeremy, sweating like a pig and knackered. He looked at me and said: "Fuck me - Barmy (my old office nickname)! What are you doing here?" I have to admit I didn't really have a sensible answer to that. He went on: "You must be fucking mad - I have to be here, but you don't. You really are barmy!"
At which I realised that he was absolutely right, and made my way to the rather more civilised surroundings of Cecil Sharp House where we sang some proper May songs.
So, that was my evening. I'm bloody stiff this morning, but what the heck - it was marginally more interesting than staying in and listening to the Archers.

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Les from Hull
Date: 02 May 01 - 08:16 AM

Our May Day Holiday will include some celebrations in a nearby village, Skipsea, where me and our lass have been conscripted to play for Maypole Dancing (o goody). But then we'll have a song or two and a tune or two and a jar or two.

Unite and unite and let us all unite
Les

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Skipjack K8
Date: 02 May 01 - 07:08 AM

Yo Susan! Didn't know I could've been schooled in being K-8! I'm self taught.

Funny old thing, Mayday, historically and hi-jackers. Lot of chaps rioting in London, complaining about cannibalism. Funny old world, innit?!

Skipjack K8

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Susan from California
Date: 01 May 01 - 09:48 PM

I celebrated by having my gardening class make May Day baskets for all the teachers at my school, well over 100 flowers altogether. We are a K-8 school, which is unusual for our area, and some of the primary teachers don't like the big kids as much as I do. I try to do help the students do nice things for the little ones to earn us some brownie points. I must admit that I leave out the info about mating and the like....7th & 8th graders :-) are hormonally challenged without any added info, and doing anything was a wee bit risky as several local schools have banned May Day, Hallowe'en etc.....

The big kids enjoyed it!

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: GUEST,Northerner
Date: 01 May 01 - 08:59 PM

Hooray!! Hooray!!

It's the First of May!

Outside Screwing

Starts today!!!

Subject: ADD: Queen of Man
From: Peg
Date: 01 May 01 - 07:21 PM

Queen of May recorded by Nancy Thym...

The winter has gone and the summer is come
and the weasther looks pleasant and gay
I met a fair maiden so sweetly sang she
Her lips like the blossoms of may.

I said, fair maiden, can I go with you
to the meadows to gather some may
but she said t me I would rather refuse
For I fear you will lead me astray...

etc.

I must learn the rest of the words so I can sing this at the Singers' Club this Wednesday...

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Little Hawk
Date: 01 May 01 - 06:53 PM

pastorpest - Are you this repetitive in front of the congregation? :-)

Hooray for May Day!

- LH

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: pastorpest
Date: 01 May 01 - 06:13 PM

On May Day, those ancient celtic women, before the church spoiled things, presented the men they wanted with carrots they preserved from the year before. If the man accepted they were mated. Off to the woods they went so the child would be born on February 1, just like the lambs. My politics are left wing but the ancient celts have it all over the modern version of May Day

---

Duplicates deleted. --JoeClone

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Jim Krause
Date: 01 May 01 - 03:35 PM

Noreen, How about the Internationale. I thought seriously about hanging a red flag out in front of my house in commemoration of May Day.

I was joking with a friend before church last Sunday. I said to him, "In honor of May Day, I should play all those labor union hymn parodies." He said they'd go right over everyone's heads. He was probably right.
Jim

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Dave (the ancient mariner)
Date: 01 May 01 - 03:08 PM

Dear Hollowfox. The Cyber hug and sentiment are greatly appreciated (and needed) So far I have dealt with three distress/Mayday calls today, but all have ended well. Thank you I may take you up on the real hug sometime LOL Kindest Regards. Dave

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: BobP
Date: 01 May 01 - 02:41 PM

Twas in the merry month of May
When green buds they were swellin'
Sweet William on his death-bed lay
For love of "Barbara Allen".

May the bird of paradise fly up your nose
May an elephant caress you with his toes
May your wife be plagued with runners in her hose
May the bird of paradise fly up your nose.

Anyone familiar with a tune called perhaps "The Maypole"? One line goes . . .
"Well there's May Day, and may wine, and may I please come home". . .

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 01 May 01 - 02:33 PM

October's a Mary month in the Catholic liturgy as well, Dave.

The shame is that the May Day holiday they brought in a few years back in England isn't on May 1st, it's on the first Monday in May. Bloody silly.

So for example in Standon a few miles from here the Morris Dancers will have been up before dawn to dance for the Puddingstone, but the Village May Day when they close the street and have a good time (with a May Queen)will be on next Monday. (Assuming it's still on, what with the foot and mouth - which has switched our May Day concert on Sunday indoors instead of the Town Park.) (Here's a link about these things.)

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Hollowfox
Date: 01 May 01 - 02:03 PM

Oooo, Kendall and Dave, my lint covered, midwestern, inland brain should have picked up on it! Thanks, Kendall. Dave, you can keep the hug (and raincheck) until you need it.

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Noreen
Date: 01 May 01 - 12:01 PM

I'm with you there, DtG... long distant memories of singing whilst processing round the church and circuiting the field next the church in our white dresses, veils and sandals:

Bring flowers of the fairest
Bring blossoms the rarest
From garden and woodland and hillside and dale
Our full hearts aur swelling
Our glad voices telling
The praise of the loveliest flower of the vale...

Goodness, it's amazing what still lurks in the memory banks from 30-odd years ago.

I couldn't sleep either, and as the dawn was so perfect I got togged up and walked out across the fields, hearing the skylarks singing and watching the mist evaporating from the valleys in the surprisingly warm sun. I, too, washed my face in the May morning dew though I'm not sure exactly why... and sang all the May songs I could remember. I love living up here.

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: mousethief
Date: 01 May 01 - 11:31 AM

I like the blessing of the waters thing. We do that on January 6th in the Orthodox Church. One thing we seem often to have more in common with you lusty Pagans than with our Western Christian brethren is a feeling for the sacredness of matter, the potential holiness of place. Blessing the water, the sky, singing the sun up -- these make a lot of sense to me.

Burning all night long
Burning at the gates of dawn
Singing near and far
Singing to raise the Morning Star
---Bruce Cockburn

Happy Beltaine (sp?) to all of you who celebrate the same! May the summer sun find you happy and healthy and full of life!

Alex

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 01 May 01 - 10:14 AM

Reading through the thread took me back some years to when the sprogs were little and I got to pondering about the May procession they used to attend in our local Catholic church. Looks like one of those Pagan/Christian cross-culture thing.

Ostensibly the procession and mass were in honour of 'Our Lady'. The boys in their best school uniforms and girls in their pretiest frilly frocks would process around the church holding flowers and singing the hymn 'Mary we crown thee with blossoms today, Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May.' It was a lovely sight and I'm getting tears in my eyes now thinking of all those pink scrubbed little faces grinning while singing in those multiple keys only possible to crowds of children.

One of the girls - picked amidst weeks of political wrangling by the most scheming of mothers - would then have the honour of climbing the steps at the side of the statue of Mary to place a crown of flowers on the head of the statue.

I had always figured that the coming of spring would be celebrated in pre-christian tradition with masses of spring blooms and the crowning of a 'May Queen' seems to be distincly pagan-ish. I guess that these traditions, like those of midwinter and midsummer would have been 'hijacked' by the early missionaries. Anyone know if this is right or am I barking up the wrong tree (or barking mad even!).

As an aside, having grown up in both the Catholic and Russian Orthodox traditions we always used to celebrate both May and October as the months of 'Our Lady' - May and Mayday with the Catholics and October and Pakrov (sp???) in the Orthodox.

Anyhow, whatever your religious or secular preference, have a happy Mayday and an even better month.

Cheers

Dave the Gnome

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Peg
Date: 01 May 01 - 10:03 AM

well I awoke in the wee hours to consider dragging myself out of bed to attend the Morris dancing on the Charles River; but I was way too tired (long journey yesterday). I did however get up slightky earlier than usual and wahs my face with May morning dew!

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: A Wandering Minstrel
Date: 01 May 01 - 09:59 AM

We've been a rambling all of the night
and the best part of the day
Now we have come for to tarry in the town
we have brought you a bunch of may

here's to a hot summer!

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: hesperis
Date: 01 May 01 - 09:51 AM

Alex, I just felt like it.

But it is a "blessing of the waters", that some people somewhere used to do every spring to every well, creek, and river, to celebrate the return of fertility, and give recognition to the waters of life. But I think that it was supposed to be for EOstara, not Beltaine... however, here the spring flowers are only coming up now, so it is appropriate.

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: LR Mole
Date: 01 May 01 - 09:48 AM

Those dreary vows that everyone takes
Everyone breaks
Everyone makes divine mistakes,
The Lusty Month of May!!!
(sings Julie Andrews, piercingly, from the "Camelot" of my childhood)

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: kendall
Date: 01 May 01 - 09:09 AM

Ah, sleep, I hate those little snatches of death...

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: GUEST,Greyeyes
Date: 01 May 01 - 08:50 AM

The significance escaped me at the time, but rather than sleep through to my alarm at 6am as I invariably do, I awoke at 4.45 this morning. Something primeval nudging my unconscious mind perhaps, to greet the dawn. However, I felt like shit, so went back to sleep.

Happy day one and all.

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 01 May 01 - 08:17 AM

Hawker, I danced in the May in Padstow in 1978! I've been wearing my Padstow bandanna all week- I was young and foolish enough to get a blue one (temperance- silly me!) and these days wish I had it in red!
Oss oss! Wee oss!

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Amergin
Date: 01 May 01 - 08:17 AM

Well....having just gone through one of my frequent sleepless nights.....I can see the first hints of morning shoving its way through the darkened cracks of the rain clouds..........

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: manitas_at_work
Date: 01 May 01 - 07:51 AM

It's a bit dead in the City today. The City police advised the Deptford Jack not to come in so they are going to dance at Greenwich instead. There's even a dearth of Mayday rioters. I shall have to wait until this evening when East Saxon Sword are dancing in Clerkenwell and Smithfield.

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Mad Maudlin
Date: 01 May 01 - 06:22 AM

A very happy May to all of you from warm and sunny Germany!

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Gervase
Date: 01 May 01 - 06:12 AM

...and one from my schooldays (said more as wishful thinking than in any real expectation of the life to come...)
Hooray, hooray, the First of May,
Outoor sex begins today!

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Lyndi-loo
Date: 01 May 01 - 05:38 AM

It's a beautiful May morn here in South WEst Scotland too. Did you know that the anglo-saxons used to call May thrimilce because they could milk their cows three times daily. Also some folk consider it unlucky to wash blankets in May

"wash a blanket in MAy wash a dear one away"

Happy MAy day and let's hope for a sunny summer

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: English Jon
Date: 01 May 01 - 05:03 AM

May every hair upon your heads shine like a silver wire!

Merry Maying to all. And the start of the festival season... :)

Jon

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Gervase
Date: 01 May 01 - 04:14 AM

Hal an Tow, Jolly Rumbelow - I was up, up before the day-o
Not to bring the summer in but to write a bloody proposal for a meeting today with some New York clients. I did look out of the window as the dawn came up, wishing I was watching the dancer round the Pudding Stone at Standon and reparing to the pub for a few jars and a few songs, but in London it looked cold, grey and distinctly unsummerish.
So I'll sing the sun down tonight instead...

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Michael in Swansea
Date: 01 May 01 - 03:39 AM

Oss Oss wee Oss

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Sarah the flute
Date: 01 May 01 - 03:28 AM

As I roved out one morn in May... I thought what a pity I've got to go to work

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Blackcatter
Date: 01 May 01 - 01:33 AM

Noreen -

A 'coon just got in a fight with a neighborhood cat outside. A neighbor leaves out catfood and the 'coons like it. The possums do as well, though the cats can usually get them pretty good.

The cool thing is that I live a mile from downtown Orlando, FL.

pax yall

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Amergin
Date: 01 May 01 - 01:26 AM

Well....click here

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Noreen
Date: 01 May 01 - 01:06 AM

The sun is up!

The sun has risen over the Pennine moors and is shining strongly through my window. I walked out of my front door and surprised a large badger who ran off across the full width of the garden, leaving a track through the heavy dew and looking back at me repeatedly as he ran, as if to say, "What's she doing up at this hour??"

A very happy Mayday to you all, and a happy 1st of May to Dave and sailors everywhere!

Noreen

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Blackcatter
Date: 30 Apr 01 - 11:59 PM

Joyous Beltane yall!

My Beltane won't happen for a few more days - I follow the astronomical determination.

Beltane - the holiday during which you can really show your friend (or friends) just how long . . I mean how much you love them.

Pax Yall

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: mousethief
Date: 30 Apr 01 - 11:12 PM

While driving home I heard the radio announcer lady say that it was "Beltrane." I wonder how many phone calls/emails they're going to get on that one?

Anyone, what's the significance, if any, of throwing flowers into the water? Inquiring minds honestly want to know.

Alex

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: JenEllen
Date: 30 Apr 01 - 10:30 PM

One Monday morning in the Month of may (x3)
I thought I heard the old man say
The Rosabella will sail today..

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Peg
Date: 30 Apr 01 - 10:25 PM

I just might get up at dawn and go down to the Charles River to watch the Morris dancing...and sing along with the songs...

The Banks of Claudy (As I walked out one morning all in the month of May) (Okay I guess a lot of songs start this way)

Happy Beltane everyone! Check out my May Day/Beltane comparison at www.witchvox.com.

Peg

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Noreen
Date: 30 Apr 01 - 09:45 PM

Tonight I sang The Magherafelt May Fair.

Any more May songs?

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: kendall
Date: 30 Apr 01 - 07:43 PM

Mayday is the last thing a sailor wants to say or hear, Hollowfox.

Subject: RE: Happy May Day!
From: Micca
Date: 30 Apr 01 - 07:14 PM

Ans BBs to one and all and a merry Beltane to all Northern hemisphere folks, and a merry Samhain to those in the Southern Hemisphere, and may "Orion stand on his head for you" Mousethief, the Celtic day ran from sunset to sunset so Beltane started at Sunset tonight..and a fire(symbolic) is lit to carry the power of the sun to sunrise and the belief was the sun won't rise in the morning if the fire is not lit and kept going..They drum and dance up the Sun at Hastings every year on Mayday..some of last years pics can be seen here Click here