The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #18836 Message #1683559
Posted By: shepherdlass
02-Mar-06 - 05:20 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Add: Sair Fyel'd, Hinny
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Sair fyel'd Hinny
They're from the North East of England, and the song's in Bruce & Stokoe's Northumbrian Minstrelsy (1882). It's a lament about old age. The gist is that the old man sings to an oak tree that he's been sorely felled (sair fyel'd) by the sight of this tree (sin a ken'd thee = since I knew/saw you), presumably because it just gets stronger as it gets older, while he's losing his vitality and energy. (By the way, to "loup" is to jump).
There are some fantastic recordings of this song - an excellent recent one is by Bob Fox and the Hush.