The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #22242   Message #3954976
Posted By: GUEST,Paddy, in Coningsby.
05-Oct-18 - 03:53 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: 'Whur be yon blackbird too?' Wurzels
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'Whur be yon blackbird too?'
I was brought up near Stroud, Gloucestershire. In the 60's and early 70's, I remember this song being sung in many of the local pubs. During the annual pub outing (usually to the South Coast), it was customary to stop at two or three pubs on the way home (as well as drinking on the bus). It seemed that each village had a version of the song, with verses unfamiliar to us. The chorus was invariably something like:

'I spied 'e, 'e spied I, called I a bugger and a liar. When I find yon Blackbird's nest, I'll set the bugger on fire'.
I've always thought that the many variations of the song would merit a book.

The 'Where....to?' versions would surely have their origins in Devon, where 'where....to?' Is a common usage. We didn't use it in Gloucestershire.