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Origins:A Southerly Wind and a Cloudy Sky

GUEST,Gabe 25 Sep 24 - 01:05 PM
Robert B. Waltz 25 Sep 24 - 03:45 PM
Joe Offer 25 Sep 24 - 03:58 PM
Joe Offer 25 Sep 24 - 04:16 PM
Robert B. Waltz 25 Sep 24 - 06:10 PM
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Subject: A Southerly Wind and a Cloudy Sky
From: GUEST,Gabe
Date: 25 Sep 24 - 01:05 PM

My parents used to sing this to us, in a two-part round, at bedtime... not sure of the real title, but it has to do with fox hunting... an odd choice for a lullaby, perhaps, given the subject matter and that it's along the lines of "pull up your socks and chase the fox", more of a wake-up song, one would think. Anyhow, just looking for info on it.


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Subject: RE: A Southerly Wind and a Cloudy Sky
From: Robert B. Waltz
Date: 25 Sep 24 - 03:45 PM

It's usually called "A Southerly Wind." Roud #9442. Not very widely known; it appears there are only three traditional collections. One of them (Patrick Taylor's, which appeared in Doerflinger's Songs of the Sailor & Lumberman, is supposed to be available at the Library of Congress (AFS 06567 B03), though the link I have for it is broken. It dates back at least to 1934. I have not seen any indication that the author is known.


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Subject: ADD: A-Hunting We Will Go
From: Joe Offer
Date: 25 Sep 24 - 03:58 PM

I didn't know about the southerly wind and cloudy sky, but I learned this as a kid:

A-hunting we will go
A-hunting we will go
Pull up your sox and chase the fox (or whatever)
A-hunting we will go

     


These are the verses in the Wikipedia article on the song.


A-hunting we will go,
A-hunting we will go
Heigh-ho, the derry-o,
A-hunting we will go.

A-hunting we will go,
A-hunting we will go
We'll catch a fox and put him in a box
And never let him go

(Modern versions often change the last line to “And then we’ll let him go”.)

Each consequent verse gets modified by putting in a different animal:

"...a fish and put him on a dish..."
"...a bear and cut his hair..."
"...a pig and dance a little jig..."
"...a giraffe and make him laugh..."
"...a mouse and put him in a house..."
...
Earlier versions of the song switch the words "a-hunting" with "a-roving", dating back to old roving drinking songs from the 16th century.


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Subject: ADD: Southerly Wind
From: Joe Offer
Date: 25 Sep 24 - 04:16 PM

Another is a main-hatch adaptation of an old hunting round.
The original, Captain Tayluer said, ran as follows:

SOUTHERLY WIND
(Round)

Oh, it’s a southerly wind and a cloudy sky
Proclaim it a hunting morning!
Before the sun rises away we’ll fly
Dull sleep in a downy bed scorning.
To horse, me brave boys, and away!
Bright Phoebus the hills is adorning,
The face of all nature looks gay.
’Tis a beautiful hunting morning!

Chorus
Hark, hark, forward,
Tally ho, tally ho, tally ho!
And it’s hark, hark, forward.
Tanara, tanara, tanara!


Source: William Main Doerflinger, Songs of the Sailor & Lumberman
pp. 174-175, "Southerly Wind" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Miriam Berg has music notation here:

And here's another page on the song:

And the Traditional Ballad Index entry:

Southerly Wind

DESCRIPTION: Round: "Oh, it's a southerly wind and a cloudy sky, Proclaim it a hunting/sailing morning. Before the sun rises away we'll fly... Hark, hark , forward."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1951
KEYWORDS: ship sports
FOUND IN: US(MA) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Doerflinger-SongsOfTheSailorAndLumberman, pp. 174-175, "Southerly Wind" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Pottie/Ellis-FolksongsOfTheMaritimes, pp. 156-157, "A Southerly Wind" (1 text, 1 tune)

Roud #9442
File: Doe174

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography

The Ballad Index Copyright 2024 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.

I hope this link works - it's to a recording at the Nova Scotia Archives:

Note that this version has "Tarara tarara, tara" in the chorus. This seems to me to be more likely than the "tanara" in the Doerflinger version. I wonder if that's a typo in Doerflinger.


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Subject: RE: Origins:A Southerly Wind and a Cloudy Sky
From: Robert B. Waltz
Date: 25 Sep 24 - 06:10 PM

For what it's worth, I learned at least part of Joe's text sung to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell." I don't remember much of it, but I don't think it was "The Farmer in the Dell"; it just used the same tune.

I doubt I learned it from tradition; I think it was in elementary school. That would make it the mid to late 1960s, when they were sometimes teaching folk songs in schools.


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