The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #10491 Message #2566924
Posted By: Jim Dixon
14-Feb-09 - 02:54 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: songs from 'The Tale of Ale'
Subject: Lyr Add: THE CARTER'S HEALTH / THE BOBTAIL MARE
Several versions of this are in different books, but most were either fragmentary quotes or "snippet view" only. Versions have already been posted in
Bob-Tail Mare
'little' songs
Really really short songs,
THE CARTER'S HEALTH also known as THE BOBTAIL MARE
1. Of all the horses in the merry greenwood,
The bobtail mare bears the bell away. [REPEAT]
2. There is "Hey", there is "Ree", there is "Hoo", there is "Gee",
But the bobtail mare bears the bell away. [REPEAT]
3. Hey, ree, hoo, gee,
But the bobtail mare bears the bell away. [REPEAT]
*
VARIANTS (useful only if you plan to search for this song with Google):
Greenwood/green-wood
Bobtail/bob-tail/bobtail'd/bob-tail'd/bobtailed/bob-tailed
Bears/car'd [for "carried"]
Bell/bells
There is/there's
Hey, ree, hoo, gee [too many variants to list]
But the/'twas the
*
Hey, ree, hoo, and gee are commands to a horse (or ox, etc.). I suppose these vary regionally. In the US, I am familiar with gee = turn right; haw = turn left; whoa = stop; get-up (or "giddy-up", etc.) = start moving.