Lyr Req: O Whistle and I'll Come to You My Lad

Subject: whistle and I'll come to you
From: GUEST,Anne Gordon
Date: 23 Apr 02 - 03:15 PM

I am looking for the verses of a song. The chorus goes: "Oh whistle and I'll come to you, my lad Oh whistle and I'll come to you, my lad Though my father and mother and all may go mad Oh whistle and I'll come to you my lad."

Any ideas??? Anne

Subject: Lyr Add: O WHISTLE, AND I'LL COME TO YE, MY LAD
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 23 Apr 02 - 03:40 PM

O WHISTLE, AND I'LL COME TO YE, MY LAD

(Robert Burns, 1793; tune traditional.)

O whistle, and I'll come to ye, my lad,
O whistle, and I'll come to ye, my lad;
Tho' father, and mother, and a' should gae mad,
Thy Jeanie will venture wi' ye, my lad.

But warily tent, when ye come to court me,
And come nae unless the back-yett be a-jee;
Syne up the back-style, and let naebody see,
And come as ye were na comin' to me-
And come as ye were na comin' to me.
O whistle, &c.

At kirk, or at market, whene'er ye meet me,
Gang by me as tho' that ye car'd na a flie;
But steal me a blink o' your bonie black e'e,
Yet look as ye were na lookin' at me,
Yet look as ye were na lookin' at me.
O whistle, &c.

Ay vow and protest that ye care na for me,
And whyles ye may lightly my beauty a wee;
But court nae anither, tho' jokin ye be,
For fear that she wyle your fancy frae me-
For fear that she wyle your fancy frae me.
O whistle, &c.

Text from Burns: Poems and Songs, James Kinsley, 1969.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: whistle and I'll come to you
From: mack/misophist
Date: 23 Apr 02 - 03:48 PM

If I remember correctly, there's a wonderful ghost storey based on this song - by M R James, I think.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: whistle and I'll come to you
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 23 Apr 02 - 04:25 PM

Not based on the song, but borrowing its title only. One of M.R. James' best; you can read it online: "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad"

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: whistle and I'll come to you
From: GUEST
Date: 23 Apr 02 - 05:53 PM

Burns' song is in 'The Scots Musical Museum', II, #106, 1788. The chorus is in David Herd's MSS (Hecht's 'Herd', p. 185).

The tune is first found as "The Irish Lover's Morning Walk" on a single sheet song with music, c 1780, and slightly later used for the song "Since Love is the Plan" in 'the Poor Soldier', 1783.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: whistle and I'll come to you
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 23 Apr 02 - 07:16 PM

The idea that whistling can raise the devil is quite a common one in folklore.

Whistling to raise a wind is related, and it was considered a very unlucky thing to do on a boat - unless, maybe you actually badly needed a wind. Otherwise it was asking for a storm.

And there's an old saying: "A whistling weoman and a crowing hen can frighten the devil out of his den."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: whistle and I'll come to you
From: mack/misophist
Date: 24 Apr 02 - 10:29 AM

When I was in the Navy, there was a saying that "only bastards and Bosun's mates whistle and you ain't no bosun."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: whistle and I'll come to you
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 26 Apr 02 - 10:33 AM

Can anyone supply a tune for this song? Or link to the sheet music?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: whistle and I'll come to you
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 26 Apr 02 - 02:04 PM

Oh, right; I was going to do that but I forgot. I'll do it now. A midi goes, in time, to The Mudcat Midi Pages, and can meanwhile be heard via the South Riding Folk Network site:

O Whistle and I'll Come to You My Lad (midi)

The tune is for chorus and verse, in that order.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: whistle and I'll come to you
From: Peter K (Fionn)
Date: 26 Apr 02 - 09:55 PM

Maybe you'll forgive just a little bit of thread creep, Anne....

Thanks for the link to the M R James story Malcolm. As I read it, I remembered seeing a magnificent version of it done by BBC TV maybe 30 years ago. Michael Hordern was in it, and I think it might have been directed by Jonathan Miller.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: whistle and I'll come to you
From: GUEST,Ard Mhacha
Date: 27 Apr 02 - 03:32 PM

Correct Fionn, Horden was as usual brilliant,a marvellous play. Ard Mhacha

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: whistle and I'll come to you
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 27 Apr 02 - 05:18 PM

I would really like to see that BBC production. In reading the M R James story for the first time in probably 35 years, I was struck again by James' knack at storytelling, the nuances, the little side-jokes, the excellent characters fleshed out in a minimum of description. And by the fact that it is possible, without gore and sensational effects, to create a chilling tale that makes us just a bit hesitant to turn out the bedside lamp.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: whistle and I'll come to you
From: Peter K (Fionn)
Date: 27 Apr 02 - 08:08 PM

Unlike much top-drawer BBC drama, this one probably still survives somewhere, Lonesome. Someone who notices these things tells me that a little series of MR James stories, including this one, was re-broadcast by the BBC over Christmas one year in the mid 90s. This reminds me that when I saw "Whistle and I'll come to you" many years earlier, I think it was also at Christmas. Was there some specific relevance to Christmas? I can't remember. Or maybe ghost stories in general are associated with Christmas?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: whistle and I'll come to you
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 27 Apr 02 - 09:04 PM

Ghost stories are very much associated with Christmas in the UK. Over several years, the BBC broadcast adaptations of several M.R. James stories at that time of year; beside Miller's Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad, there were also: Lost Hearts; The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral; A Warning to the Curious; The Treasure of Abbot Thomas and The Ash Tree.

For more details of James stories adapted for film, radio and tv, see: M.R. JAMES ON TV, RADIO AND FILM

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: whistle and I'll come to you
From: Peter K (Fionn)
Date: 27 Apr 02 - 09:12 PM

But I think for title of the Beeb play they chopped the quote at both ends Malcolm. Maybe this associating of ghosts with Christmas goes al the way back to the festival's allegedly pagan origins?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: whistle and I'll come to you
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 27 Apr 02 - 09:33 PM

Yes, I think they did. As for "pagan origins"; well, who knows. Most Christmas traditions aren't very old at all, but Midwinter has always been a time for things like ghosts, as James well knew. Anybody who enjoys the genre should read him.