Lyr/Tune Add: Tom Bawcock's Eve

Subject: Lyr/Tune Add: TOM BAWCOCK'S EVE
From: GUEST,Kernow John
Date: 05 Dec 01 - 06:39 PM

Tom Bawcock's Eve
Lyrics R.Morton Nance C 1920
Tune: an old Cornish marching tune

A merrier place you may believe
Was Mousehole on Tom Bawcock's eve
To be there then who wouldn't wish
To sup on seven sorts of fish

When murgy broth had cleared the path
Comed lances for a fry
And then us had a bit o' scad
And starry gazey pie

Next comed fair maids, bra' thrusty jades
As made our oozles dry
And ling and hake, enough to make
A running shark to sigh

As each we'd clunk as health were drunk
In bumpers brimming high
And when up came Tom Bawcock's name
We praised him to the sky.


This version is from North Cornwall
I'm still trying to decipher the lyrics from John the Fish and Brenda Wooton
KJ

Subject: RE: Lyr&Tune ADD Tom Bawcock's Eve
From: GUEST,Kernow John
Date: 05 Dec 01 - 06:51 PM

X:1
T:Tom Bawcock's Eve
M:6/8
L:1/8
C:Trad
K:G
D|G2B B-AB|G2BB2d|d2cA2c|e2dB2D|
G2B B-AB|G2BB2c|d2cA2F|G2GG2B|
d2cA2c|e2dB2B|d2cA2c|e2dB2D|
G2B B-AB| G2BB2d|d2cA2F|G3-G2z||

% Output from ABC2Win Version 2.1 i on 05/12/2001

Subject: RE: Lyr&Tune ADD Tom Bawcock's Eve
From: MMario
Date: 05 Dec 01 - 07:02 PM

I was just about to ask...;)

Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Add: Tom Bawcock's Eve
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 29 Dec 10 - 03:57 PM

Hmm... this is one of 3 threads from 2001:

Tom Bawcock's Eve (Cornish folk song)? (6 messages, no lyrics)


Lyr Req: Tom Bawcock's Eve (9 messages, no lyrics)

Here is the TV animated version of the legend from the children's book, The Mousehole Cate, by Antonia Barber: clicky (this is the first of 3 parts, Katlaughing linked this in a thread below the line, recently). There is also a short video on the making of the book and film.

Wikipedia entry for Tom Bawcock's Eve -- the lyrics listed there are missing one of Kernow Jon's verses, but this note is informative: "The most likely derivation of the name 'Bawcock' is from Middle English use (influenced from French) where a Bawcock is a nickname for a fine or worthy fellow. (An example of this use can be found in Twelfth Night Act 3 Scene 4 "Why, how now, my bawcock!")"

A little more info from www.cornishculture.co.uk. They've used the lyrics from the same source as the Wikipedia entry.

At Practically Edible, "the web's biggest food encyclopedia", they've got the more complete version of the lyrics. They cite the tune name as "Wedding March".

The lyrics in their original broad dialect form at An-daras.com. The dots for the tune are given there. --

Tom Bawcock's Eve

Tune: traditional, Words: R. Morton-Nance c1930
Cornish Dialect and Folk Songs p7

A merry plaas you may believe
woz Mowsel pon Tom Bawcock's Eve.
To be theer then oo wudn wesh
To sup o sibm soorts o fesh!

Wen morgee brath ad cleard tha path
Comed lances for a fry,
An then us had a bet o scad
an starry gazee py.

Nex cumd fermaads, braa thustee jaads
As maad ar oozles dry,
An ling an haak, enough to maak
a raunen shark to sy!

A aech wed clunk as ealth wer drunk
En bumpers bremmen y,
An wen up caam Tom Bawcock's naam
We praesed un to tha sky.

>> Early last century R. Morton Nance [Robert Morton Nance (1873-1959)] heard of the celebration held by Mousehole fishermen on the eve before Christmas eve, and in the 1920's wrote dialect lyrics to an old Cornish march tune. This song has become a standard amongst Cornish musicians.

The original version in Cornish Dialect and Folk Songs is written in broad Dialect not only in terms of vocabulary but also an admirable attempt is made at representing non-standard English sounds. The long a is written as it is in the original. <<

Practically Edible gives this "translation", much as the text Kernow Jon gives:

A merry place, you may believe,
Was Mousehole 'pon Tom Bowcock's Eve;
To be there then who wouldn't wish
To sup of seven sorts of fish,

When murgy broth had cleared the path
Comed lances for a fry
And then us had a bit o' scad
And starry gazey pie

Next comed fair maids, bra' thrusty jades
As made our oozles dry
And ling and hake, enough to make
A running shark to sigh

As each we'd clunk as health were drunk
In bumpers brimming high
And when up came Tom Bawcock's name
We praised him to the sky.


The fish mentioned are:
murgy
lances
scad
pilchards (in the starry-gazey pie)
fair maids
ling
hake
(shark get a mention, but they're not eaten, so don't count)

Somewhere I saw a note giving more common names for some of those fish (mackerel is one), but I can't find it again right now. Will come back later...

I have two dialect questions:
- "bra' thrusty jades As made our oozles dry" ?
- "As each we'd clunk" ?

~ Becky in Long Beach

Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Add: Tom Bawcock's Eve
From: doc.tom
Date: 30 Dec 10 - 06:25 AM

Lances are sand-eels, Scad is horse mackerel, Fair Maids are pilchards.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Add: Tom Bawcock's Eve
From: GUEST
Date: 20 May 12 - 09:30 PM

Dear Becky from Long Beach (if you're still there after all these years) Don't know what 'thrusty jades are, but when we used to sing this in folk clubs back in the 60's/70's 'oozles' was sung as 'uzzles' (the Cornish dialect for your throat being 'huzzle', but typically Cornish we never used the 'h' when saying the word!).

HG (Cornishman in Kent UK)