Lyr Req: May Song (D Webber) and other May songs

Subject: first of may
From: CharlieA
Date: 24 Apr 02 - 02:07 PM

ok, now someone who knows me may well complain that i should very well know this but i simply cannot remember it or find it in my song books

I'm after one of the Padstow may day songs with the line

"hail hail the first of may-o for it is the first summers day-o come with me and" something something "for the old oss on the first of may"

TA

Cxxx

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: bill kennedy
Date: 24 Apr 02 - 02:51 PM

Cornish May Carol in DT?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: Mrrzy
Date: 24 Apr 02 - 03:16 PM

Hooray hooray the first of may, outdoor f***ing starts today, is what I was taught...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: MMario
Date: 24 Apr 02 - 03:43 PM

try this previous thread

Subject: Lyr Add: MAY SONG (Dave Webber)
From: rich-joy
Date: 25 Apr 02 - 06:08 AM

(Drink To The) Old 'Oss
Cracking good song that, thanks to Tony Suttor, we used to do in our Darwin a cappella harmony group "No Strings Attached" - maybe writ by Jim McGheen ...

MAY SONG
(Dave Webber)

Ch. All hail, hail, the first of May-o
For it is, the first summer's day-o
Cast your cares and fears away
Drink to the old horse on the first of May.

Now Wintertime is gone and past-o
Summertime has come at last-o
We will dance and sing the day
And drink to the 'obby 'orse to bring the May.

Now bluebells they have started to ring-o
And true love, it is the thing-o
Love on any other day
Is never the same as on the first of May.

Now never let it come to pass-o
We should fail to raise a glass-o
Unto those now gone away
And left us the 'obby 'orse to bring the May.

Now Wintertime is gone and past-o
Summertime has come at last-o
We will dance and sing the day
And drink to the 'obby 'orse to bring the May.

Cheers! R-J

Subject line changed based on information provided further down the thread. --JoeClone, 29-Apr-02.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: Mr Red
Date: 25 Apr 02 - 10:04 AM

Now why am I thinking this was written by Dave Webber? Prap 'cos he tells the story that on one of his many jaunts to the Padstow 'Obby Hoss one of the old lads told him "Why don't you foreigners bugger off and leave us to sing OUR songs!"
Dave used to sing it at the Somers TFC 18 years agoish. STFC now Albion Worsecter Fri nights.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: BB
Date: 25 Apr 02 - 02:23 PM

'The First of May' was indeed written by Dave Webber, on the way back from Padstow Mayday one year - when he first got together with Anni. The true story of the above - and I was there at the time - was that on May eve at The Ring o' Bells in St. Issey, Dave was asked by a local musician who had been playing and singing it for some years, to sing it, as he had asked various other people to sing particular songs that evening. When Dave finished, he was walking past the bar when one of the local women said to him, 'If I was you, my dear, I'd leave Cornish songs to the Cornish.' It's rare to see Dave speechless, which he most certainly was, but also very chuffed that she should think that it was indeed Cornish! She was somewhat mortified to be told later that he had in fact written it!

I daresay it'll be sung a few times around Mayday this year as well.

Barbara

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: catspaw49
Date: 25 Apr 02 - 02:28 PM

Yeah Myrrzy, that's the only version I know too!

Spaw

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: Mr Red
Date: 25 Apr 02 - 03:03 PM

BB
which year was that?
I reckon before 1986 at least.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: rich-joy
Date: 26 Apr 02 - 02:01 AM

For almost 24 hrs I've been wondering : "or was it Dave Webber, maybe???"
~ thanks Barbara, for that amendment!!
Cheers! R-J

Subject: Lyr Add: JOAN TO THE MAYPOLE
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 26 Apr 02 - 04:37 AM

May does seem a little underrepresented in the DT. so 1 addition.

JOAN TO THE MAYPOLE

Joan, to the Maypole away let us on,
The time is swift and will be gone;
There go the lasses away to the green,
Where their beauties may be seen;
Bess, Moll, Kate, Doll,
All the brave lasses have lads to attend 'em,
Hodge, Nick, Tom, Dick,
Jolly brave dancers, and who can amend 'em?

CHORUS:
Joan, to the Maypole away let us on,
The time is swift and will be gone;
There go the lasses away to the green,
Where their beauties may be seen.

Now, if we hold out as we do begin,
Joan and I the prize shall win;
Nay, if we live till another day,
I'll make thee Lady of the May.
Dance round, skip, bound,
Turn and bob, and then for a greeting;
Now, Joan, We've done,
Fare thee well till the next merry meeting.

CHORUS:
Joan, to the Maypole away let us on,
The time is swift and will be gone;
There go the lasses away to the green,
Where their beauties may be seen;


Notes: Taken from the "National Song Book" where it is listed (authorless) as 17th Century.
My copy of the National Song Book is coverless, so I can't give compilers details, but was in use in Cardiff schools in the late 1950s.

NP

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 26 Apr 02 - 04:39 AM

Sorry, one line break missed after what appears to be first 4 lines of 2nd verse. these 4 lines "Joan to the Maypole..." should be the chorus, although sung as part of the first verse.

Subject: Lyr Add: NOW IS THE MONTH OF MAYING
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 26 Apr 02 - 05:03 AM

As above, I was surprised not to find this one.
I assume that "play barley-break" refers to lying down together in the corn fields, a common theme in this thread so far!

NOW IS THE MONTH OF MAYING

Now is the month of Maying,
When merry lads are playing,
Fa la la la la la la la la,
Fa la la la la la la.
Each with his bonny lass,
A-dancing on the grass.
Fa la la la la,
Fa la la la la la la la la la la la.

The Spring, clad all in gladness,
Doth laugh at Winter's sadness,
Fa la la la la la la la la,
Fa la la la la la la.
And to the bagpipe's sound
The nymphs tread out their ground.
Fa la la la la,
Fa la la la la la la la la la la la.

Fye then, why sit we musing,
Sweet youth's delights refusing ?
Fa la la la la la la la la,
Fa la la la la la la.
Say, dainty nymphs, and speak,
Shall we play barley-break ?
Fa la la la la,
Fa la la la la la la la la la la la.


Notes: found in "The National Song Book", authorless, but music by 'Thomas Morley 1595'.
My copy of this book has no cover, but was in use in Cardiff schools in the late 1950s

NP

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: IanC
Date: 26 Apr 02 - 06:02 AM

Nigel

Those are all songs associated with the "Maypole Dance" and the music is used for the dance. I remember singing tham as we danced (age 8-9). The main tune, and song, is "Come Lasses and Lads" which will also be in the book.

Cheers!
Ian

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: CharlieA
Date: 26 Apr 02 - 07:09 AM

Thankyou all. just wish i could be home for it - but am not am still in foreign parts (well - coventry). No doubt will get a phone call from father while the old oss goes under the arch at the metropole or somewhere similar.

Cxxx

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 26 Apr 02 - 08:26 AM

IanC, you're right, can't see why I missed that one. Also not in DT, and a search on previous threads gives a "Page not found".
So Come, lasses and lads for a contact which works (at present)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: BB
Date: 26 Apr 02 - 02:11 PM

Mr. Red,

Just looked it up in Dave's song book - written in 1985. When the incident in the Ring o' Bells took place, I coudn't tell you - it's a few years ago now, and as we're there every year, they all tend to run together in one's memory. Incidentally, in the book he simply calls it 'May Song'.

Barbara

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: Anglo
Date: 26 Apr 02 - 04:46 PM

Does anyone have the dots for 'The First of May' as written by Dave Webber? It's not on any of the recordings of theirs that I have - if someone could post an abc of the music that would be much appreciated. Ta - and TIA.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: Sorcha
Date: 26 Apr 02 - 04:50 PM

Don't know if any of them are the one you are looking for, but there are a bunch of "First of May" titles at JC's Tunefinder.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: Anglo
Date: 26 Apr 02 - 04:59 PM

Thanks Sorcha, but those are all for the Irish reel of the same title.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: Sorcha
Date: 26 Apr 02 - 05:22 PM

I was afraid of that.......

Subject: Tune Add: MAY SONG (Dave Webber)
From: GUEST,MCP, Tune Add
Date: 27 Apr 02 - 05:21 AM

Here's the tune for Dave's May Song

Mick

MAY SONG
Dave Webber

Win-ter time is/gone and passed O/
Sum-mer time has/come at last O/
We shall sing and/dance the day
And/fol-low the Ob-by Oss to/bring the May//
So/Hail, hail the/First of May O/
For it is the/first Sum-mer's day O/
Cast your cares and/fears a-way
Drink/to the Old Oss on the/First of May//


X: 1
T:May Song
M:4/4
L:1/4
C:Dave Webber
K:G
G D A D|(G/A/) (B/c/) B A|
d G c> B|(A/G/) (F/E/) (D/E/) F|
G D A D|B G c>
c|(B/A/) G/ A/ B/ A/ G/ F/|E F G||
D|G2 A> D|(G/A/) (B/c/) B A|
d G c> B|(A/G/) F/ E/ (D/E/) F|
G D A D|B G c>
c|B/ A/ (G/A/) (B/A/) G/ F/|E F G2||

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: CapriUni
Date: 27 Apr 02 - 08:04 AM

Ian, you wrote:

Those are all songs associated with the "Maypole Dance" and the music is used for the dance.

I got hold of the tune "Come Lasses and Lads", and have it playing in the background while reading these lyrics. I can sort of make the tune match with NOW IS THE MONTH OF MAYING, but not at all with JOAN TO THE MAYPOLE (though I see the similarities between the latter and COME LASSES...).

Just one more case where midi do not substitute for the singing voice, I guess.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: Jeri
Date: 27 Apr 02 - 08:55 AM

Mick's ABC works best if you add a tempo of about 60 - "Q:60"
As it is, on my player (and it may just be my software) it whips through faster than bluegrass.

Subject: Lyr Add: JOAN TO THE MAYPOLE
From: masato sakurai
Date: 27 Apr 02 - 10:06 AM

The National Song Book, from which Nigel Parsons has quoted lyrics above, was first published in 1906, and was later revised. My edition is the first (London and New York: Boosey and Co.), subtitled "A Complete Collection of the Folk-Songs, Carols, and Rounds, Suggsted by the Board of Education (1905), edited and arranged for the Use of Schools by Charles Villiers Stanford". Incidentally, S. Baring-Gould and Cecil J. Sharp edited another songbook on a different selection to "meet the reqirements of the Board of Education" in 1906: English Folk Songs for Schools.

As to JOAN TO THE MAYPOLE, Claude M. Simpson says in The British Broadside Ballad and Its Music (Rutgers, 1966):

The ballad is based on a short song in William Hick's Oxford Drollery, 1671, and in Windsor Drollery, 1672; the full broadside text is printed in all editions of Pills, 1719-1720, IV, 145, with music for which I can trace no title or earlier use. 'A Mock to Joan, to the May-pole away let us run, And to that tune,' beginning 'Tom to the Tavern away let us run,' is in Mock Songs, 1675." (p. 386)

In addition to the version above, William Chappell, in Popular Music of the Olden Time (1859; Dover, 1965, vol. 1, p. 303), quotes two stanzas from another version (as well as the Pills version):

Joan, shall we have a Hay or a Round,
Or some dance that is new-found?
Lately I was at a Masque in the Court,
Where I saw of every sort,
Many a dance made in France,
Many a Braule, and many a Measure;
Gay coats, sweet notes,
Brave wenches--O 'twas a treasure.

But now, methinks, these courtly toys
Us deprive of better joys:
Gown made of gray, and skin soft as silk,
Breath sweet as morning milk;
O, these more please;
[All] these hath my Joan to delight me:
False wiles, court smiles,
None of these hath my Joan to despite me.

~Masato

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 27 Apr 02 - 11:27 AM

Some confusion has arisen over the tunes for Joan to the Maypole and Now is the Month of Maying; IanC meant that their tunes, and that of Come Lasses and Lads, were used together for a Maypole Dance, not that they shared the same tune. Masato has already given a link to the third song at Lesley Nelson's site; here are midis for the other two, available via the South Riding Folk Network site until they get to Mudcat Midis:

Joan to the Maypole

Month of Maying

Both are made from notation in The New National Song Book (1957 edition). It should be noted that, though Nigel did not indicate it, each half-verse in Now is the Month of Maying should be sung twice over. The midi just gives each part once, as per the text above.

Joan to the Maypole has the same melody as given in Simpson's book, though here it is taken at a much faster pace.

Barley-Break, incidentally, was a well-known traditional game, "originally played by three couples, of which one, left in a middle den called hell, had to catch the others, who could break or separate when about to be overtaken". This from Chambers 20th Century Dictionary, barley being either "because played in a barley-field", or deriving from barley: "a word used in games in demand of a truce; a truce: a breathing-space. [Perhaps parley]."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: masato sakurai
Date: 27 Apr 02 - 12:18 PM

"Joan, to the maypole away" and "Come, lasses and lads, get leave of your dads" (Away to the maypole) are also in J. Oxenford, Old English Ditties, selected from W. Chappell's Popular Music of the Olden Time (Chappell & Co., [1884?], vol. 1), with piano accompaniments.

~Masato

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: GUEST,MCP
Date: 27 Apr 02 - 02:22 PM

Jeri

I would have used Q:1/4=95 (personal choice). I do often give tempo indications with my abc, but I was just about to leave for a trip and didn't have time to time it (as it were).(If the Q field is omitted, the default will be software dependent - neither the old nor the new draft standard specify a default tempo).

Mick

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: Anglo
Date: 27 Apr 02 - 05:05 PM

Mudcat's been down for me since my last post, so my thanks to Mick (guest MCP) for the abc are a little belated. Much appreciated, Mick.

I have sung Joan to the Maypole in a May show, but it's not easy. There's an early-music style recording by the Toronto Consort on "O Lusty Nat" (Dorian Records).

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: breezy
Date: 27 Apr 02 - 05:07 PM

DAVE HAS CONFIRMED THAT HE AND ANNI PLAN BE AT THE RINGERS ON TUESDAY NIGHT.THEY USUALLY SING IT AT 11.30 THEN HEAD TOWARDS DOWNTOWN PADSTA.
THE FOLLOWING EVENING THEY'LL END WITH THE THEIR OTHER ONE.
THEN THERES TONY DEANES 'FOLLOWING THE OLD OSS'AND LARRY MAC'S 'QUEEN OF THE MAY' AND '2nd Day of May'
lETS HOPE ITS A FINE DAY AND THER'LL BE GREAT SINGING
OSS OSS WEE OSS

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 27 Apr 02 - 06:50 PM

I live and learn! it is worth spending the time to type in the "missing" lyrics just to be met with such erudition.
Presumably, if the lyrics are harvested, the comments following will be too.

Whilst it is unlikely that I can help, if there are any other "May" songs required, post a request here. If I can help I will, or the bounteous Mudcat 'may!' provide.
I assume that some of the above links give melodies. (I haven't yet checked). If not, I can fax/snail mail/ the original pages (with simple melody lines). I may even be able to include page copies in an e-mail (If my son comes home from school to show me how to do attachments!)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 27 Apr 02 - 07:45 PM

Couldn't find this one either, not Mayday based, but worthy of inclusion. Kerry Dancing

Subject: Lyr Add: COME LASSES AND LADS
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 29 Apr 02 - 10:43 AM

Copied from http://www.contemplator.com/tunebook/englmidi/lasslads.htm

COME LASSES AND LADS

Come, lasses and lads, get leave of your dads
And away to the maypole hie,
For every fair has a sweetheart there
And the fiddler's standing by,
For Willy shall dance with Jane
And Johnny has got his Joan,
To trip it, trip it, trip it, trip it,
Trip it up and down.
To trip it, trip it, trip it, trip it,
Trip it up and down.

"You're out!" says Dick. "Not I!" says Nick.
"'Twas the fiddler played it wrong."
"'Tis true!" says Hugh, and so says Sue
And so says everyone.
The fiddler then began
To play the tune again,
And every girl did trip, trip it, trip it to the men.
And every girl did trip, trip it, trip it to the men.

"Goodnight!" says Harry. "Goodnight!" says Mary.
"Goodnight!" says Paul to John.
"Goodnight!" says Sue to her sweetheart, Hugh.
"Goodnight!" says everyone.
Some walked and some did run.
Some loitered on the way,
And bound themselves, by kisses twelve, to meet the next holiday.
And bound themselves, by kisses twelve, to meet the next holiday.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 29 Apr 02 - 11:28 AM

The lyrics of "Kerry Dancing" (which Nigel mentioned above) are in the Forum here, and the music is here.

Subject: Lyr Add: NOW IS THE MONTH OF MAYING
From: ciarili
Date: 29 Apr 02 - 09:02 PM

The words to Now is the month of Maying above are actually a little different than the way they originally appeared, although only by a few word:

NOW IS THE MONTH OF MAYING

Now is the month of Maying,
When merry lads are playing,
Fa la la...
Each with his bonny lass,
Upon the greenie grass.
Fa la la....

The Spring, clad all in gladness,
Doth laugh at Winter's sadness,
Fa la la...
And to the bagpipe's sound
The nymphs tread out their ground.
Fa la la....

Fye then, why sit we musing,
Youth's sweet delights refusing ?
Fa la la...
Say, dainty nymphs, and speak,
Shall we play barley-break ?
Fa la la....

ciarili

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: masato sakurai
Date: 29 Apr 02 - 09:54 PM

"Now is the month of Maying" (four-part score) is HERE.

~Masato

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: GUEST,Conán
Date: 30 Apr 02 - 08:50 PM

BB Did it ever strike your English mind that the old woman was being serious when she said, quoting you:
"If I was you, my dear, I'd leave Cornish songs to the Cornish." ?
Do you *seriously* think that she mistook a foreign composition for the real thing?
That's about as arrogant as the Englishman who *quoted* a Frenchman as asking what part of France Edward Heath came from after his pathetic attempt to speak French upon the occasion of England entering the EEC.
Note I said *England*. The other Occupied Territories know better, each having its own indigenous language and being thus linguistically aware.
Conán

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: nutty
Date: 01 May 02 - 03:26 PM

The full version of "Come Lasses and Lads" is a fine example of the censorship that was wrought on these great songs. I hope anyone contemplating singing the song will sing a more original version than that posted by Jim.

COME LASSES AND LADS

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: CapriUni
Date: 01 May 02 - 03:35 PM

Nutty -- the image wouldn't load for me... was just a blank page...

Could you (or someone for whom the link worked) please post the lyrics here (or at least, the ones that were different)?

Subject: Lyr Add: THE MAYPOLE
From: nutty
Date: 01 May 02 - 06:34 PM

There are problems with the Bodleian site at present .....that's probably why the link didn't work ........so I've copied it

THE MAYPOLE

Come lasses and lads take leave of your dads,
And away to the maypole high,
For every he has got his she,
And the fiddler's standing by;
There's Willie has got his Jane,
And Jerry has got his Jean,
And there to jig it, jig it, jig it,
Jig it up and down.
Tol lol, tol lol etc.

"Begin," says Harry, "I, I," says Mary,
We'll lead the Paddington Pound,
"Do," says Jess, "Oh no," says Bess,
We'll have St Leger's round.
Then every lad took off his hat,
And bowed to his lass,
And the women they did curtsey, curtsey,
Curtsey on the grass.
Tol lol, tol lol etc

"You're out!" says Dick. "Not I!" says Nick.
"'Twas the fiddler played it wrong."
"'Tis true!" says Hugh, and so says Sue
And so says everyone.
The fiddler then began
To play the tune again,
And every girl did foot it, foot it,
Foot it unto the men.
Tol lol, tol lol etc

"Let's kiss," says Fan, " I, I," says Nan
And so says every she,
"How many", says Nan, "Why three," says Pat,
For that's a maiden's fee;
But instead of kisses three,
They gave them half a score,
And the men in kindness, kindness, kindness,
Gave them as many more.
Tol lol, tol lol etc

Then after an hour, they went to a bower,
To play for wine and cake,
And kisses too, what could they do,
For the lasses held the stake;
The women then began
To quarrel with the men,
And bid them give the kisses back,
And take their own again.
Tol lol, tol lol etc

Now they did stay there all that day,
And tired the fiddler quite,
With dancing and play, without any pay,
From morning until night;
They told the fiddler then,
They'd pay him for his play,
Then each payed two-pence, two pence,
Two-pence, and then toddled away.
Tol lol, tol lol etc

"Goodnight!" says Harry. "Goodnight!" says Mary.
"Goodnight!" says Dolly to John.
"Goodnight!" says Sue to her sweetheart, Hugh.
"Goodnight!" says everyone.
Some walked and some did run,
Some loitered on the way,
And bound themselves, by kisses twelve,
To meet the next holiday.
Tol lol, tol lol etc

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: Allan C.
Date: 01 May 02 - 07:06 PM

Threadrift resulting from Mrrzy's post far above here:

I have been told that the origin for this is a very similar group of phrases that can be found in Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales". Does anyone know if there is any truth to this?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: GUEST,JohnB
Date: 02 May 02 - 12:38 PM

Got to sing Dave's song with Johnny Collins in Toronto yesterday, so I got the tune first hand, plus the proper words. All I have to do now is remember the tune next year. JohnB

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 04 May 02 - 12:57 PM

Allan C: Are you referring to the line that Mrrzy quoted? "Hooray, hooray, the first of May, outdoor f***ing starts today"? I don't know if it's in Chaucer, but you can check for yourself. I know Chaucer did say a lot of stuff about May.

The complete text of the Canterbury Tales is available at Project Gutenberg.

An incomplete but very user-friendly version with an interlinear translation is available from Harvard University.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: CapriUni
Date: 04 May 02 - 01:55 PM

I don't know about Chaucer, but there is this song in the DT: Go No More a-Rushing, which the notes say was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I, the chorus of which goes:

Go no more a-rushing, maids, in May
Go no more a-rushing, maids, I pray
Go no more a-rushing, or you'll fall a-blushing
Bundle up your rushes and haste away.

Seems to me that "to go rushing" was a euphenishm for finding some very tall grass to go "play in". On a purely personal gut level, "rush" also reminds me of the slang term for a certain part of a woman's anatomy: "bush".

This is a Riddle Song, with nearly the same "riddles" as I Gave My Love a Cherry. The Question: What do these riddles have to do with ****ing? is answered in this song (also in the DT) Three Dishes and Six Questions, with the opening lines:

"Oh go away, you silly man,
And do not bother me.
Before that you can lie with me
You must cook me dishes three. ..."

(according to the notes, an American version of Child #46)

So while the exact words to "Hooray, hooray for the first of May..." might be modern, the sentiment goes back a while.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: first of may
From: BB
Date: 07 May 02 - 06:23 PM

Conan, I'm merely stating what happened - I make no comment about whether she was serious or not. The lady's reaction was reported by the person that told her Dave had written it. I do know that songs about Padstow Mayday have been written locally, and I do know that Dave's song is regularly sung at the Ring o' Bells in St. Issey, and not just by 'English' people, but by local Cornish people. How well do you know that pub and its singers, and for how long have you known it?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: May Song (D Webber) and other May songs
From: GUEST,peg
Date: 27 Jul 07 - 02:36 PM

hello all--

just reviving this thread as I am researching songs for s presentation/performance at a folklore conference.

Anyone have additional suggestions on songs that are specifically about "going a-Maying" or "bringing in the May"? This thread has some great ideas but after a few years maybe there is more to say?

thanks! :)
Peg

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: May Song (D Webber) and other May songs
From: Rumncoke
Date: 27 Jul 07 - 08:44 PM

I remember a song I heard sung in Market Harborough - it will be some 30 years ago now, which had the line

You ladies all both great and small I wish you a joyful May

and also
We've been a rambling all the night and the best part of this day
and now we're gathered(?) at your door to wish you a joyful May.

Jog any memories?

Subject: ADD Version: Joan to the Maypole
From: Joe Offer
Date: 18 May 11 - 05:27 AM

This may be a better transcription of "Joan to the Maypole" - I found it at Google Books, page 46 of The new standard song book, ed. by J.E. Carpenter (1866)

JOAN TO THE MAYPOLE.
[Popular in the reign of Charles the First.]

Joan to the Maypole away, let us on,
The time is swift and will be gone;
There go the lasses away to the green,
Where their beauties may be seen;
   Bess, Moll, Kate, Doll,
All the gay lasses have lads to attend them,
   Hodge, Dick, Tom, Nick,
Jolly brave dancers, and who can mend them?
         Joan to the Maypole, &c.

Do you not see how the lord of the May
Walks along in rich array?
There goes the lass that is only his,
See how they meet and how they kiss.
   Come Will, run Gill,
Or dost thou list to lose thy labour;
   Kit Crowd scrape loud,
Tickle up Tom with the pipe and the tabor.
         Joan to the Maypole, &c.

Now, if we hold out as we do begin,
Joan and I the prize shall win;
Nay, if we live till another day,
I'll make thee lady of the May.
   Dance round, skip, bound,
Turn and kiss, and then for a greeting.
   Now, Joan, we've done,
Fare thee well till the next merry meeting.
         Joan to the Maypole, &c.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: May Song (D Webber) and other May songs
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 18 May 11 - 03:53 PM

Re Mr Red's post at 3.03pm on 25 April 02 and BB's at 2.11pm on 26 April 02, IIRC Dave and Anni have been an item since Padstow May Day in 1985, which was also about the time when Dave wrote his May Song. The happy result was that Dave moved from Worcester to Oxhey and sang with Anni at my local folk club for about the next 17 years, until they moved to Tow Law...

Kitty

Subject: Lyr Add: 'TWAS NATURE'S GAY DAY (B Livius)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 20 May 11 - 06:47 PM

From Maid or Wife, or The Deceiver Deceived: A Musical Comedy, in Two Acts by Barham Livius (London: William Sams, 1821), page 24:

SONG.—Fanny.*

    'Twas nature's gay-day,
    Bright smiling May-day,
Each heart was o'erflowing with joy and with glee:
    Cowslips were springing;
    Village bells ringing;
All hasten to dance round the flower-bedecked tree:
    Merrily bounding;
    The May-pole surrounding,—
My lover was ready on that happy day;
    To meet me, delighted,
    By all invited,
To wear the gay chaplet as queen of the May.

    Evening descending,
    Our frolics soon ending,
Maids with their lovers tript lightly away.
    'Twas then that he woo'd me,—
    Then he subdued me,
And promised me more than I'll venture to say;
    But should my lover,
    Ever discover,
Jealousy's folly, I'll answer him so,—
    "Dearest, believe me,
    I'll ne'er deceive ye;
You have my heart, others have but the shew."

[* That is, Fanny is the character in the play who sings the song.

The Bodleian library has 11 editions of this as a broadside, titled NATURE'S GAY DAY or 'TWAS NATURE'S GAY DAY or IT WAS NATURE'S GAY DAY.]