Lyr Add: The Herring's Head (from Chris Foster)

Subject: RE: The Herring's Head
From: AndyG
Date: 02 Oct 97 - 12:34 PM

Comic Cuts was a one of the first `younger childrens' papers in the early years of this century. The name has now passed into the language as the generic term "comic" and is of course still used.

(It was also used as slang in WWI meaning an Intelligence Report.)

I know a somewhat different variant of the song which is in my songbook as The Herring.

AndyG

Subject: RE: The Herring's Head
From: Jon W.
Date: 02 Oct 97 - 10:27 AM

Interesting song, Tim. Anyway you can post a tune?

Subject: RE: The Herring's Head
From:
Date: 01 Oct 97 - 09:37 PM

Martin, e-mail me privately and I will tell you how to contact him. He may well know it if no-one here does.

Subject: RE: The Herring's Head
From: Martin Ryan
Date: 01 Oct 97 - 08:58 PM

Tim

Thanks! Thought I'd solved a long-standing mystery! Anyone else know the song?

Regards

Subject: RE: The Herring's Head
From:
Date: 27 Sep 97 - 07:37 PM

Nope. The twelve songs he did on the tape are part of eighteen performed on a solo show he devised called Sting In The Tale. Maybe the title song didn't make it onto the tape. All of the songs deal with animals in one way or another and the liner says "the show uses narrative songs, speech, and visual images [he is also an artist] to explore and celebrate the wild diversity of life on earth."

There are other good songs on it, but alas I have trouble deciphering some of the lyrics because of his accent.

Subject: RE: The Herring's Head
From: Martin Ryan
Date: 27 Sep 97 - 04:18 AM

Tim

Is there a song called Sting in the Tail on that album? Cricket? I'd appreciate the words if so.

Regards

Subject: Lyr Add: THE HERRING'S HEAD (Chris Foster)
From:
Date: 27 Sep 97 - 02:06 AM

THE HERRING'S HEAD
(Trad. arranged Chris Foster on "Sting in the Tail")

What will we do with the old herring's head?
We'll make it into loaves of bread
Herrings' head, loaves of bread,
And all such things.

CHORUS: The herring is the king of the sea
The herring is the fish for me
The herring is the king of the sea
Sing whack-fol-do-dol-lay.

And what will we do with the old herring's eyes
We'll make them into puddings and pies,
Herrings' eyes, puddings and pies
And all such things. CHORUS

And what will we do with the old herring's gills
We'll make them into physical pills,
Herrings' gills, physical pills,
And all such things. CHORUS

And what will we do with the old herring's scales
We'll make them into buckets and pails
Herrings' scales, buckets and pails
And all such things. CHORUS

And what will we do with the old herring's fins
We'll make them into needles and pins,
Herrings' fins, needles and pins,
And all such things. CHORUS

And what will we do with the old herring's belly,
We'll make it into jams and jelly,
Herrings' belly, jams and jelly,
And all such things. CHORUS

And what will we do with the old herring's back,
We'll make it into a fishing smack,
Herrings' back, a fishing smack,
And all such things. CHORUS

And what will we do with the old herring's tail
We'll make it into a ship with a sail
Herrings' tail, a ship with a sail
And all such things. CHORUS

Herring's tail, a ship with a sail,
Herring's back, a fishing smack
Herring's belly, jams and jelly,
Herring's fins, needles and pins,
Herring's scales, buckets and pails,
Herring's gills, physical pills,
Herring's eyes, puddings and pies,
Herring's head, loaves of bread,
And all such things. CHORUS

I left out one verse because I couldn't understand Foster's accent no matter how hard I tried. It sounds like:

And what do we do with the old herring's guts,
We'll make them into comic cuts,
Herring's guts, comic cuts,
And all such things.

The third line of which is of course added to the final recital before the last repeat of chorus. Try as I will, it still sounds like "comic cuts". What does this mean?