Lyr Req: Wizard of Alderney edge

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Wizard of Alderney edge
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 29 Mar 16 - 07:14 PM

The lines below were from my memory used as a chorus

From Macclesfield to Mobberley
If you have wares to sell,
Don't leave the path at the Wizard's Inn
Or drink at the Wizard's well.

I probably have (somewhere) a live recording of Pete (and probably Chris) singing this at Cleethorpes!?

It is of course Alderley Edge.

Strange that Pete did not come in on this thread but the song could be one that he did not have issues on with the late Dave Bulmer.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Wizard of Alderney edge
From: GUEST,Rik Ashford.
Date: 29 Mar 16 - 06:24 PM

written by Pete Coe
From Mobberley on a bright Morning,
On a snow-white pure-bred mare,
A farmer rode to Macclesfield
To sell her at the fair.
Over Alderley Edge he took his path
Where the day is endless night,
The farmer stopped in a shroud of mist
For a man all dressed in white.
From Macclesfield to Mobberley
If you have wares to sell,
Don't leave the path at the Wizard's Inn
Or drink at the Wizard's well.
"Well met!" said the man as he stood in the path,
"Won't you sell to me your mare?"
The farmer said "She's not for sale
'til I get to Macclesfield fair."
"Well you can stay all day at the fare,
No bidding you will hear.
I'll await your return to this very same place
As the evening it draws near."
From Macclesfield to Mobberley
If you have wares to sell,
Don't leave the path at the Wizard's Inn
Or drink at the Wizard's well.
The farmer he was a puzzled man,
As he rode into Macclesfield town,
For admiring glances all that day
Would never fill his purse with crowns.
So he returned a bitted man,
As the sun fell in the sky,
And just as he said that morn,
The wizard did draw nigh.
From Macclesfield to Mobberley
If you have wares to sell,
Don't leave the path at the Wizard's Inn
Or drink at the Wizard's well.
"Now you must sell to me your mare
For silver and bright gold."
And he led the farmer and his mare
Down a passdage dark and cold.
He led them through some iron gates
And to a great rock wall.
Like moles they went, nigh double-bent
'til they came to the sleeper's hall.
From Macclesfield to Mobberley
If you have wares to sell,
Don't leave the path at the Wizard's Inn
Or drink at the Wizard's well.
With fear this farmer wide did gaze
And loudly did he moan,
For full dressed knights each with a mount,
Except for one alone.
"These are King Arthur's gallant men,
Who await on England's need.
So fill your purse and leave your mare
And leave the edge with speed."
From Macclesfield to Mobberley
If you have wares to sell,
Don't leave the path at the Wizard's Inn
Or drink at the Wizard's well.
This farmer returned a very rich man,
Though his story caused him pain.
For those who would search for the iron gates
Did search the Edge in vain.
But some do say that old Nell Beck
Did find the iron gate
And some do say she stricken was
With the March Hare as her mate.
From Macclesfield to Mobberley
If you have wares to sell,
Don't leave the path at the Wizard's Inn
Or drink at the Wizard's well.


Read more: http://folk-lyrics.co.uk/Lyrics/TheWizardOfAlderleyEdge#ixzz44KxzpCpb
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Wizard of Alderney edge
From: GUEST,Rik Ashford.
Date: 29 Mar 16 - 06:14 PM

The edge at Aldesley rises from the Cheshire plain and it's crags are riddled with caves which are abandoned old copper mines. One legend suggests that King Arthur and his Knights are hidden there in a cave, Their bodies and those of their horses are preserved in a magical sleep, by Merlin. They await the time of England's greatest peril when they will rise to protect the kingdom. I too think that Pete Coe wrote this song and I will check my sources for the words. There are also two children's books about the edge which are worth reading...The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and The Moon of Gomrath, both by Alan Garner. I remember the song tells of a farmer takes his horse to Macclesfield to sell it and is stopped by an old man (Merlin, who is short of a horse for Arthur's Knights),who offers to buy it. The farmer refuses the offer as it is not enough. The wizard then tells him he will not sell the horse, and he will see him on the return journey. Here unfortunately my memory fades and I can't remember the end!!!?.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Wizard of Alderney edge
From: Peterr
Date: 26 Aug 03 - 11:57 AM

Great song, and the Weirdstone a very good book. I think there was at least one sequel. Crane's broadsheets were classic. He did one for Joseph Baker (another Coe song) but unfortunately I have none so not much use here.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Wizard of Alderney edge
From: fogie
Date: 26 Aug 03 - 11:47 AM

I've just finished reading a book called "The Weirdstone of Brisingamen" which is all about the locality, and a very lord-of the-rings story about wizards dwarfs and two children pitted against the forces of evil. Book is by Alan Garner. You get to know the geography of the area very well!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Wizard of Alderney edge
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 26 Aug 03 - 07:03 AM

I used to have a wonderful broadsheet of this song produced by John Crane. In a previous thread I heard that John is now dead. Perhaps (assuming that his family etc didn't mind) it might be an idea to build up an online collection of any surving ones as they were so evocative of the songs that they illustrated. They were B&W so they shouldn't be too huge as scanned files.

Has anyone got any lurking around ? - I can remember a few other titles:

John of Dreams
Harry the Hawker
John Taylor

I know someone who has a few, so if I can borrow them, I might be able to make a start.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Wizard of Alderney edge
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 25 Aug 03 - 01:19 PM

I've danced Alderley Edge and Mobberley as well (they're North West morris dances)...

Pete Coe also wrote the Cunning Old Traitor /Cloud Valley about a fox hunt through Macclesfield forest (the fox gets away. The only animals harmed in the song are the farmers' ducks, geese, hens and lambs.)

Kitty

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Wizard of Alderney edge
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 25 Aug 03 - 09:20 AM

To confirm the spelling: According to The Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names, Alderley Edge, Mobberley, and Macclesfield are real places in Cheshire.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Wizard of Alderney edge
From: 8_Pints
Date: 21 Aug 03 - 07:33 PM

Pete still runs the 'Ryburn 3 Step' club at the Royal Hotel, Rishworth near Halifax on the last Tuesday in each month.

Proceedings suspended for the summer but will resume in September.

Welcome,

Bob vG

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Wizard of Alderney edge
From: Menolly
Date: 21 Aug 03 - 06:25 PM

Not the song but can I recommend -
/www.paul.moss6.btinternet.co.uk/

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Wizard of Alderney edge
From: GUEST,MMario
Date: 21 Aug 03 - 01:17 PM

welcome, welcome, welcome! That's okay - it takes a while to get used to the various search engines on this site. And those of us who belong to the secret inner circle 'oldtimers' who've been around a while have the advantage of remembering (at least vaguely - in my case very vaguely) prior discussions.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Wizard of Alderney edge
From: Ditchdweller
Date: 21 Aug 03 - 01:12 PM

Thanks all, dead useful. I`m new here, (Only joined same time as I put this thread up), so I hadn`t found that feature.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Wizard of Alderney edge
From: Leadfingers
Date: 14 Aug 03 - 06:59 PM

And its one of the songs Pete had a request for at a gig and had to leave it out 'cos he couldnt remember it!Great song though.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Wizard of Alderney edge
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 14 Aug 03 - 05:08 PM

And yes, it was written by Pete Coe.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Wizard of Alderney edge
From: GUEST,MCP
Date: 14 Aug 03 - 04:55 PM

If you put the spelling Alderley in the Filter box and set the Age drop-down to All, you'll find a thread with it in. (There is also a thread for Auldereley Edge which points you to the correct one anyway).

Mick

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Wizard of Alderney edge
From:
Date: 14 Aug 03 - 04:54 PM

Try your search under Alderley

Subject: Lyr Req: Wizard of Alderney edge
From: Ditchdweller
Date: 14 Aug 03 - 04:23 PM

Hello all,
Does anybody know the lyrics to the above song?
I know the first verse and chorus, in case it helps:

From Mobberly on a bright morning
on a snow white pure bred mare
a farmer rode to Macclesfield
to sell her at the fair

From Moberly to Macclesfield
If you have wares to sell
Don`t leave the path at the Wizard Inn
or drink at the wizard well.

I think it was written by Pete Coe, though I might be wrong
Thanks