Lyr Add: The Pear Tree

Subject: ADD: The Pear Tree
From: Rank
Date: 18 Jul 01 - 06:34 PM

THE PEAR TREE

  Now me and two other boys went on the spree,
  	On our way we met a pear tree,
  Up this pear tree I did climb,
  	For to get some pears I felt inclined.
  
  To me aye, me oh, me yammer lak a daisy,
  	Why fol de diddle, to me why fol de day.
  
  When up this pear tree I'd got landed,
  	The other two lads from me they's wandered,
  One of the pears that pleas-ed me,
  	But a man and a woman came under this tree.
  
  Now with sweet kisses he embraced her,
  	Swore for many a mile he'd chased her,
  Pulled off his coat to save her gown,
  	And he gently sits this fair maid down.
  
  Now I shook this pear tree just like thunder,
  	The man and the woman ran away in wonder,
  One of the pears that pleas-ed me,
  	But a damn good coat he'd left under this tree.
  
  Now off to town I ran like fire,
  	The owner of this coat being my desire,
  The owner of the coat were never found out,
  	And I got a damn good coat for nowt.
  
  Come all ye lads wherever you may be,
  	Never go a-courting under a pear tree,
  Never pull your coats off to save their gown,
  	For the pears they will come tumbling down.

From 'A Century of Song' EFDSSCD02 1998
Sung by Frank Hinchcliffe. Recorded Mike Yates 1976

Version published in Nigel Gatherer's 'Songs and ballads of Dundee.'
Version Mike Yates, Kent FMJ, 1975

Does anyone have either of the two versions mentioned above? Assuming they are different, as they usually are.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE PEAR TREE
From: GUEST,Dita (at work)
Date: 18 Jul 01 - 07:36 PM

PEAR TREE

Dundee version

There was two lads frae oot our Nation
Dundee was their destination
They went out, the story's told,
For to find a wee bit gold.

Wi a heedrum, hodrum, tummull lick a daisy
Tummull lick a daisy, tummull, ummull, ummull ain.

On the road they spied a pear tree,
There grew pears as thick as could be,
For a pear they were inclined,
So up that pear tree they did climb

Ch.

Up that pear tree they got landed,
Up that pear tree, they got stranded,
But it wisnae pears that cought their ee,
It was the laddie and the lass,
Layin' in alow the tree.

Ch.

This young lad began to embrace her,
This young lad began to unlace her,
He was lifting up her goun,
When a' the pears come rummilin' doon.

Ch.

This young man looked up in wonder,
Pears came rattling doon like thunder,
They got up and away did flee,
But they left his coat layin' in alow the tree.

Ch.

For the owner of the coat we did enquire,
The owner o' the coat wis our desire,
The owner o' the coat we ner fun' oot
So we got a damn good coat for noot.

Ch.

So come all you lads where er ye may be,
Never dae yer courtin' in allo' a pear tree,
For if ye dae ye mun stop yer fun,
When a' the pears come rumilin' doon.

Ch.

I learned this from two sources, 1) Bobby Robb 2) Lowland Folk Four. It is, as far as I can remember, much the same as in Gatherer's book. I'll check and post any major differences.
love, john.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pear Tree
From: Rank
Date: 18 Jul 01 - 07:47 PM

Thanks Dita,

It's always interesting to see how songs get changed. The story is much the same. Don't know where it originated, but no doubt somebody will.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pear Tree
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Jul 01 - 07:49 PM

Oft told tale. Type 1355B in 'Types of the Folk Tale'. For a short history of song and tale versions see "The Crossed Couple" (17th century version) in Scarce Songs 1 at www.erols.com/olsonw

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pear Tree
From: Rank
Date: 18 Jul 01 - 08:25 PM

Not sure if I'd immediately have thought to look for a missing cow up a tree and he didn't get a free coat, but thanks for the link. I'm only just finding out how much there is out there.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pear Tree
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 18 Jul 01 - 09:09 PM

Can you give us the tune?

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pear Tree
From: JudeL
Date: 19 Jul 01 - 12:17 PM

I can't do the dots but I can sing it to you if I can figure out how to use paltalk!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pear Tree
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 23 Jul 01 - 02:01 PM

I do have the tune; I was just hoping somebody else might do it!  Midi made from notation of Frank Hinchliffe's singing in  The South Riding Song Book  goes to  The Mudcat Midi Pages.  For the time being, it can be heard via the  South Riding Folk Network  site:

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pear Tree
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 23 Jul 01 - 02:04 PM

... The Pear Tree

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pear Tree
From: GUEST,lowland folk four
Date: 26 May 05 - 10:34 AM

recorded this old dundee song on the lp Eh'll tell the boaby
emi label szlp 2090
ramsay brown

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pear Tree
From: GUEST,padgett (at home)
Date: 26 May 05 - 01:30 PM

I sing this one as well as number of others from Frank thanks to Ken Hinchliffe his nephew

Met his son Roger Hinchliffe at Holmnfith FF 2004 who is now singing and not surprisingly sings very much like Frank

Met Frank only once at Will's barn

He had anumber of songs some quite obscure including The Old Wooden Rocker which 'Nutty' traced for me back to 1850 USA manuscript attributed to Florence Harper (good grief) how did he get that one

Pear tree I had heard of the Scottish version, anywhere else in teh UK I wonder?

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pear Tree - CORRECTION
From: GUEST,Georgina Boyes
Date: 26 May 05 - 01:32 PM

Frank Hinchliffe's fine Yorkshire accent seems to have misled the transcriber of The Pear Tree. The line he sings in verses 2 and 4 isn't -

"One of the pears that pleas-ed me"

but

"Wonnot the pears that pleas-ed me"

i.e. It was not the pears that pleas-ed me

It makes sense that way too.

Georgina

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pear Tree
From: GUEST,padgett (at home)
Date: 26 May 05 - 03:37 PM

Yes I agree with Georgina t'wasnt (it wasn't) the Pear Pears that pleas -ed me but a damned good coat (i sing coit as I'm from Barnsley)

I have another song on tape about Fly fishing (from Frank) and I and the Barnsley lads had a time trying to decipher some of the words

he sings I think Derrent meaning the Derwent river (Forging of Scales)

and last verse is something like:
Some people they a fishing go know little of the matter they toil and spend their time in vain in flogging of the {workers} or water?
They long and wish all to catch fish but merely they will watch em theyll bait wi' a silver 'ook but its a work man that can catch em

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pear Tree
From: Rumncoke
Date: 26 May 05 - 10:19 PM

in flogging of the waters.
It's a wick man that can catch em

Wick means clever/cunning/resourceful

As in the saying Yorkshire born and Yorkshire bred, strong in t' back and wick in t' head.

Water rhymes with natter.

the 'flogging' surely refers to the action of a fly fisherman casting his floating line.

I sing a version of the Pear tree but I don't sing 'coit' even though I grew up in Barnsley, because it was his trousers he left behind.

Anne

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pear Tree
From: Rank
Date: 20 Jun 05 - 04:38 PM

Thanks to Georgina for the correction. I like it when things come together.

By the by, it was a shame Banners High were cancelled in Killamarsh last Thursday as I was looking forward to it. The reason apparently given was that they had only sold 4 tickets. I was going to get one on the door, as I knew it wouldn't have sold out, as nobody in Killamarsh had a clue what it was about. I would have been quite happy to be part of an audience of a dozen or so. We've all been there I think and you can still have a jolly good night.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pear Tree
From: GUEST,Georgina Boyes
Date: 20 Jun 05 - 05:49 PM

Thanks very much Rank - we were extremely disappointed. The performance was specially written for and about Killamarsh and involved most of No Masters singing together - which is a pretty rare combination and sounded really great in rehearsal.

I said to the organisers that for something in a village, I (and I think most other people) wouldn't think it was necessary to book in advance for a venue as big as a leisure centre and that people would just come down and buy tickets on the night. We were more than willing to come and perform to whoever wanted to turn up.

They never warned us that there was a problem and even rang us on the Tuesday to sort out our get in time. Then, out of they blue, they told us they wanted to cancel on the Wednesday. It's a real pity.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE PEAR TREE
From: GUEST,Stewart Brown of Lowland Folk
Date: 04 Dec 06 - 07:56 PM

There were twa lads belanged oor nation.
Dundee was their destination.
They went oot, the story's told,
For to hae a wee bit stroll.

CHORUS: Wi' a heedrum, hoadrum, tummlackadaisy,
Tummlackadaisy, tummle-lummle-lummle-lay.

On the way we spied a pear tree.
There grew pears as thick as could be.
For a pear we were inclined,
So up that pear tree we did climb. CHORUS

Up the pear tree we got landed.
Up the pear tree we got stranded.
It wisna the pears that caught my e'e.
'Twas the laddie and the lass lyin' in alow the tree. CHORUS

This young man began to embrace her.
This young man began to unlace her.
He was aboot tae lift her goon (gown)
When a' the pears came a-rummlin' doon. CHORUS

This young man looked up in wonder.
The pears come batterin' doon like thunder.
Up he got and awa' did flee,
And left his coat lyin' in alow the tree. CHORUS

For the owner o' the coat we did enquire.
The owner o' the coat was oor desire.
The owner o' the coat we ne'er found oot,
But we got a damn good coat for nowt. CHORUS

Come a' ye lads whaure'er ye may be.
Never dae your courtin' in alow a pear tree,
For if ye dae, ye maun stop your fun
When a' the pear come a-rummlin' doon. CHORUS


Excuse the Dundee vernacular. We recorded this in the 60s for EMI on the Waverley label, album, "Eh'll Tell The Boaby"
By the way, does anyone out there have a stereo copy of this album? We (the group) have only the mono version (sigh!). We'd be happy to record and return it right away.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pear Tree
From: Anne Lister
Date: 05 Dec 06 - 05:58 PM

I wrote a song called The Pear Tree some years back (and have forgotten and mislaid the words) - based on a medieval French story, in which a master, his wife and his apprentice are out in the fields. The apprentice climbs the pear tree and shouts out that he's shocked his master should behave this way in public. When he climbs down he explains that when he was up in the tree he "saw" his master making love to his wife. The master, keen to see this miracle, climbs up the tree and guess what - sees the apprentice making love to his wife. He's most impressed with the magic of the tree and never seems to suspect what's really going on.

Old, old story at the root of this story and the Scottish ballad, and all to do with lechery!

Anne

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pear Tree
From: Lighter
Date: 06 Dec 06 - 10:18 AM

GUEST Stewart Brown, I don't have the album, but I do have two questions. Where'd you get your Dundee version from? Did you change it much?

(This is one of those songs they used not to print for fear of corrupting the folk.)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pear Tree
From: Tom Hamilton frae Saltcoats Scotland
Date: 06 Dec 06 - 10:19 AM

Gaberlunzie also do the Dundee Version

tom

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pear Tree
From: GUEST,Stewart Brown
Date: 06 Dec 06 - 03:42 PM

To LIGHTER: We learned the song from the singing of elderly relatives. Yes, in the 60s it was regarded as risque. We sang it on TV and horrified friends and relatives. Quote from my father-in-law: "You'll not do yourselves any good singing songs like that on television!"
Changed days, eh?

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pear Tree
From: GUEST,Stewart Brown
Date: 18 Dec 06 - 06:59 AM

Anyone who's interested in hearing this song, can go to
www.lowlandfolk.co.uk
The version I entered above is there.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Pear Tree
From: Lighter
Date: 18 Dec 06 - 02:17 PM

Thanks !