Heigh ho nobody home--history?

Subject: Heigh ho nobody home--history?
From: GUEST,Catherine
Date: 25 Jan 01 - 09:23 PM

Does anyone know the history of the well-known round:

Heigh ho, nobody home Meat nor drink nor money have I none. Still I will be very merry.

(or Yet will we be merry)

Thanks! Catherine

Subject: RE: Heigh ho nobody home--history?
From: Callie
Date: 25 Jan 01 - 09:27 PM

Can't help with the history, but I have heard a recent-ish recording which had creepy overtones. Edie Brickell sings it at the end of one of her songs on Rob Wasserman's "Trios".

good luck Callie

Subject: RE: Heigh ho nobody home--history?
From: David Coffin
Date: 25 Jan 01 - 09:33 PM

I was told by an audience member at a concert last month that it originates from a Welsh Carol. I've seen it credited to "an old English canon" but not those words. Jean Ritchie wrote words based on Psalm 133 that go thusly: What a goodly thing If the children of the world Could dwell together In Peace. (O,) Good luck. It's beautiful round. I led an audience of 1200 in Sanders Theatre in Cambridge MA and as each part dropped out the last part remaining was the balcony and it truly had a spectacular effect. Ah well, on we go. Gloucesterman.

Subject: RE: Heigh ho nobody home--history?
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 25 Jan 01 - 09:38 PM

You might like to have a look at these previous discussions in the Forum:

Hey Ho, Nobody Home
Hey! Ho! Anybody Home?
Hey, ho, know this song?

Found using the very useful "Digitrad and Forum Search" on the main Forum page.  I typed in nobody home.

Malcolm

Subject: RE: Heigh ho nobody home--history?
From: GUEST,Julie
Date: 31 Oct 14 - 03:16 PM

http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2014/02/10/hey-ho-nobody-home-an-illustrated-song/

Subject: RE: Heigh ho nobody home--history?
From: GUEST,#
Date: 31 Oct 14 - 04:45 PM

http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=3235&c=116

Dates to 1609 anyway.

Subject: RE: Heigh ho nobody home--history?
From: Jack Campin
Date: 31 Oct 14 - 05:23 PM

Two links in one thread here give the origin.

http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=20212

It was used as a theatre song in 1607 in Beaumont and Fletcher's "Knight of the Burning Pestle":

http://www.mudcat.org/detail_pf.cfm?messages__Message_ID=2587053

and the music was first published by Thomas Ravenscroft in 1608:

http://www.mudcat.org/detail_pf.cfm?messages__Message_ID=3590446

The coincidence in dates suggests very strongly to me that it was written, words and music both, for that production, and doesn't date to any earlier antecedent - why publish the music for something that was old news?

Subject: RE: Heigh ho nobody home--history?
From: GUEST,hocpoc
Date: 17 Nov 14 - 09:56 AM

I sang this song as a child in Italy and was called "Vent fin vent du matin" (Wind fine wind of the morning) the translation of the French children's song "Vent frais, vent du matin" now I find that is a English song!!! It 'a beautiful song to sing !!

Subject: RE: Heigh ho nobody home--history?
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 18 Nov 14 - 06:57 AM

Peter, Paul and Mary sang a version back in the day.

Subject: RE: Heigh ho nobody home--history?
From: kendall
Date: 21 Feb 16 - 11:50 AM

I learned this in 8th grade.

Subject: RE: Heigh ho nobody home--history?
From: Stower
Date: 21 Feb 16 - 02:21 PM

Its first appearance, as far as I know, was in Thomas Ravenscroft's publication, Pammelia, 1609, which you can find here. It's difficult to know with Ravenscroft what he took from other collections, from broadsides (there's certainly some of that), or what he wrote himself, as his song publications make no distinction. In the days before copyright, he didn't need to. It's in Ravenscroft's books that we also find the first extant versions of There Were Three Ravens and Three Blind Mice, which I'd say there's a good chance he wrote, for reasons I won't go into here (so as to avoid thread drift). Hey ho specifically is here. Watch out for the moveable clef.

Subject: RE: Heigh ho nobody home--history?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 21 Feb 16 - 08:41 PM

Heigh ho is also how the British children's books I read spelled a yawn.
Cool thread, as usual.