Hi, Vic-
That's the suspicion I had, that the DT is wrong. Did the Copper Family sing a song titled "Drawing Near to the Merry Month of May" at all, or is there no song of the sort?
Bill Huguenot, where did you get your information - from the Digital Tradition?
Now, there IS a Copper Family song called "The Pleasant Month of May" - it's in the Digital Tradition as Month of May, but the DT lyrics aren't completely the same as as the Copper Family song.
My guess is that Drawing Near to the Merry Month of May in the Digital Tradition, is a poor transcription of the Watersons "Swinton May Song" and has nothing to do with the Copper Family.
Here's the DT version:

MONTH OF MAY

`Twas in the pleasant month of May,
In the springtime of the year,
And down in yonder meadow
There runs a river clear.
See how the little fishes,
How they do sport and play;
Causes many a lad and many a lass
To go there a-making hay.

Then in comes that scythesman,
That meadow to now down,
With his old leathered 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, he blows,
And the grass cuts very dry.

Then in comes both Tom and Dick
With their pitchforks 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 to the evening
As 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 called for a dance
And we tripped it along;
We danced all round the haycocks
Till the rising of the sun.
When the sun did shine such a glorious light,
How the harmless birds did sing;
Each lad he took his lass in hand
And went back to his haymaking.

@seasonal @farm @music @drink
Sung by the Copper Family
filename[ MONTHMAY
JY

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Here is the Copper Family song, "Pleasant Month of May." It's not much different from the DT version - just the title and a word here and there.

PLEASANT MONTH OF MAY

`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 the scytheman, that meadow to mow down,
With his old leathered bottle and the ale that runs so brown.
There's many a stout and labouring man comes here his skill to try,
He works, he mows, he sweats and blows, and the grass cuts very dry.

Then in comes both Tom and Dick, with their pitchforks 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 to the evening as 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 valley 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.


Source: A Song for Every Season, (Bob Copper) page 229.



@seasonal @farm @music @drink
Sung by the Copper Family
filename[ MONTHMAY
JY

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-Joe-