Origins: Meaning of The Scarecrow by Lal Waterson

Subject: Origins: Meaning of The Scarecrow by Lal Waterson
From: GUEST,Fanny
Date: 08 Mar 06 - 02:48 AM

I love "The Scarecrow" by Lal Waterson, but I find the lyrics to be quite enigmatic. (I'm American, so I don't understand some of the references.) Who is the speaker and why would she say "Ah, but you'd lay me down and love me, if you could" to a scarecrow, etc.?

Also what kind of celebration does the last verse refer to (who are "dons"):

As I rode out one fine spring day,
I saw twelve jolly dons dressed out in the blue and the gold so gay.
And to a stake they tied a child new born,
And the songs were sung, the bells was rung, and they sowed their corn.

Thanks!

Subject: RE: Origins: Meaning of The Scarecrow by Lal Water
From: Paul Burke
Date: 08 Mar 06 - 03:03 AM

It's an expolration of the descent of fertility ritual, from human sacrifice down to the scarecrow, an effigy substituting for the human. Taking in Morris dancers on the way (12 jolly dons). A bit Golden Bough.

Subject: RE: Origins: Meaning of The Scarecrow by Lal Waterson
From: Mr Fox
Date: 08 Mar 06 - 12:59 PM

"It's an expolration of the descent of fertility ritual, from human sacrifice down to the scarecrow, an effigy substituting for the human. Taking in Morris dancers on the way (12 jolly dons). A bit Golden Bough."

Except morris dancers wear white. The celebration is May Day, certainly, and the "to a stake they tied a child new born" is certainly a reference to human sacrifice, either symbolic or genuine.

Isn't there some sort of May ritual in the university towns? Perhaps they are the 'dons' refereed to.

Subject: RE: Origins: Meaning of The Scarecrow by Lal Water
From: nutty
Date: 08 Mar 06 - 02:44 PM

This ... from TheFreeDictionary

Don - Celtic goddess; mother of Gwydion and Arianrhod; corresponds to Irish Danu

I'm not sure if it is relevant but ..............

Subject: RE: Origins: Meaning of The Scarecrow by Lal Water
From: Paul Burke
Date: 09 Mar 06 - 03:23 AM

OK Mr Fox, if they aren't Morris dancers (not all of whom wear white), they'll have to be cricketers dolled up for a floodlit match. Including the guy with the drinks tray.

Subject: RE: Origins: Meaning of The Scarecrow by Lal Water
From: GUEST,Nicholas Waller
Date: 09 Mar 06 - 03:28 PM

I looked Screcrow up on Digitrad and the "dons" word isn't mentioned; the line goes: "Saw twelve jolly guards sticked out in the blue and the gold so gay".

Subject: RE: Origins: Meaning of The Scarecrow by Lal Waterson
From: GUEST,Fanny
Date: 10 Mar 06 - 02:21 AM

I'm listening to the June Tabor version, in which she says "dons." I took the lyrics from garrygillard.net and assumed the only difference between the two versions is that June Tabor says "decked" instead of "dressed."

Subject: RE: Origins: Meaning of The Scarecrow by Lal Waterson
From: Mr Fox
Date: 10 Mar 06 - 05:48 AM

"OK Mr Fox, if they aren't Morris dancers (not all of whom wear white), they'll have to be cricketers dolled up for a floodlit match. Including the guy with the drinks tray."

Paul, you've got it. The line should be "To a STUMP they tied a child new-born" - It's a sacrifice to the sun god to keep the rain off for the duration of the match!

Subject: RE: Origins: Meaning of The Scarecrow by Lal Water
From: Garry Gillard
Date: 10 Mar 06 - 06:07 AM

Mike Waterson sings "I saw twelve jolly dons dressed out in the blue and the gold so gay" on the original recording - and he wrote the song, together with his sister Lal. (I've always found it odd that he sings it on Bright Phoebus, rather than she.) A "don" is a Spanish nobleman, and from that (oddly) a senior member of staff at a university (esp. Oxbridge). Why either of these classes of person would be involved in human sacrifice is beyond me - but it's a wonderfully evocative song.

Garry Gillard

Subject: RE: Origins: Meaning of The Scarecrow by Lal Waterson
From: Snuffy
Date: 10 Mar 06 - 09:13 AM

The word "don" is descended from the latin "dominus", meaning "master". Both noblemen and teachers would naturally be referred to as The Master.

I think I recall seeing a song in a Harry Boardman book which referred to someone being a don at fighting or drinking or some such. Again the implication would be that he was masterful at this activity.

Subject: RE: Origins: Meaning of The Scarecrow by Lal Waterson
From: Snuffy
Date: 11 Mar 06 - 06:05 AM

I have managed to track down that reference to "dons". It is in Folk Songs and Ballads of Lancashire by Harry & Lesley Boardman, OAk, 1973. The 4th verse of The Bard's Reformation by Samuel Bamford runs:

Adieu to the lads who are dons in the fray,
I've borne their sore bruises for mony a day;
There's Darby an' Dobbin,
Mad Ab' an' Rough Robin,
For kickin' or nobbin',
Do carry the bay,
There's no country gobbin can bear it away.

Subject: RE: Origins: Meaning of The Scarecrow by Lal Waterson
From: GUEST,Rick the yank
Date: 29 Sep 18 - 01:44 AM

Maybe the blue and gold refer to the don's school colors rather than field and sky but over here corn means maize not just generic grain, and corn fields stay pretty green. So I'm thinking symbolically the human sacrifice reverts at the end to a child starting out in life in what we call public education, to be brought up for the sake of the system - a life used only as a cog in the wheel. The bells and songs could symbolize a religious service like a baptism for a newborn? But what do I know as a yank - we're still trying to figure out American Pie. When you guys get scarecrow figured out please take on what the Piltdown man is grunting on Tubular Bells.

Subject: RE: Origins: Meaning of The Scarecrow by Lal Waterson
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 29 Sep 18 - 03:19 AM

I thought of MK Dons football team but their strip is white and gold, red and gold away and black and gold 3rd choice. If only they had chosen blue we could have solved the riddle :-)

Subject: RE: Origins: Meaning of The Scarecrow by Lal Waterson
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 29 Sep 18 - 09:23 AM

Interesting poem.

One thing seems clear to me: the "child new born" is not being sacrificed. It must be the youngest incarnation of the same scarecrow figure mentioned in the first two verses at different ages. They all tell the narrator to love them, but s/he suspects that they are not real humans.

Also, I am not sure whether any existing ritual is referred to at all. A scarecrow is obviously a realistic object, but who is the old man? A Guy Fawkes effigy would be burned, not hung / hanged.

As for the dons, they might be symbolic of the twelve months. The passing of the seasons is an old symbol of the sequence of generations and ages. The corn (= wheat, thus yellow enough) seems to grow every year, but lovable human value remains doubtful.

Anyone with better ideas?

Subject: RE: Origins: Meaning of The Scarecrow by Lal Waterson
From: GUEST,Rackabello
Date: 27 Jul 20 - 10:41 AM

Hope it's okay to post in an old thread!

I've been learning this song, and have a distinct interpretation that only fits more as I read what you said about it or think on it. Particularly about 'dons' referring to a member of staff at the university.

So, first we have summer and the scarecrow. The scarecrow symbolises the working man in his most productive years. He is chained to his post, and does a job in which he is easily replaceable, but he's essential to basics of society (growing food).

Where they say 'you'd lay me down and love me, if you could' it refers to his alienation from his family (esp. spouse). He can't dedicate the time to his life outside of work, as work takes everything. Calling him a 'bag of rags in an overall', as repeated later, shows the devaluing of the work he does.

Then we have the old man. This is the same man getting older and approaching retirement age. He's worn down to almost nothing from work.

The question 'how could you lay me down and love me, now?' is that his life/health/time has been stripped of him by work to the point that he can't enjoy life/be a part of his family.

In spring, they are tying a child to a post. Specifically, these are teachers. The child learns to be tied to the pole. They ring the (school) bells, and sing songs (representing the play/joy in childhood), but ultimately they still sow the corn, knowing the child will have to toil their life as the scarecrow to make it grow.

"Now you can lay me down and love me, if you will" refers to the fact he has finally retired, and can live a life outside of work. But the years of work took a lot out of him, and changed him:

"but the wind blew, and the sun shone too, and the corn grew tall"

The repeat at the end is the same child, grown up and now working. The old man is finally retired, and the child has grown and taken his place.

Subject: RE: Origins: Meaning of The Scarecrow by Lal Waterson
From: GUEST,guest
Date: 27 Jul 20 - 11:25 AM

Blue and gold, Hull University colours, Dons, simple as that.

Subject: RE: Origins: Meaning of The Scarecrow by Lal Waterson
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Aug 20 - 02:41 PM

loved that interpretation

Subject: RE: Origins: Meaning of The Scarecrow by Lal Waterson
From: GUEST,Tom
Date: 27 Sep 20 - 01:16 AM

Absolutely loved that interpretation. Song makes so much sense to me now.

Subject: RE: Origins: Meaning of The Scarecrow by Lal Waterson
From: GUEST,AB
Date: 10 Mar 25 - 05:03 PM

I know this is an old thread. I was looking for the meaning of the demo version from 1971. The lyrics are sung by a female voice and are slightly different from those quoted above (eg. final verse says 'a man newborn' and ends 'and you in/and the corn stood tall'). I don't think the lyrics' meaning has been captured fully above. Although it's still a mystery to me, I feel like a closer interpretation is 'the best season for everything' eg. the time is right when it's spring, the corn is tall, and the man is newborn (ie. has come of age). I agree that the 12 dons being seasons seems to fit more with the song's themes than any other meaning. The imagery feels pagan and Christian (a straw/wicker man, a crucifixion), but also seems to correlate to the seasons and the fertile/barren periods of the land and people. In its own way the song feels like a caution to women to choose all things in good time. The refrain 'you're only a bag of rags' being softened in the final verse also seems like a nod to the way that some things only make sense in the right time, and that to a woman in spring, the man in his prime, even in overalls, has an appeal and dignity.

Subject: RE: Origins: Meaning of The Scarecrow by Lal Waterson
From: GUEST,Howard Jones
Date: 11 Mar 25 - 07:15 AM

First, it should be pointed out that the lyrics in Mudcat contain errors, and even allowing for the imagery of the song some just don't make sense. The correct lyrics as sung by Mike Waterson on Bright Phoebus can be found on Mainly Norfolk.

Like many of Lal's songs, the words are enigmatic. However I find some of the attempted interpretations both forced and a bit prosaic. The connection I immediately made when I first heard the song was with the human fertility sacrifice ritual - as someone said, all very Golden Bough. Seen that way, the song has a compelling horror which other interpretations lack. The third verse, which I think was written by Mike Waterson, seems to reinforce this.

I think people are trying to find too much literal meaning in some of the words. The literal meaning of "jolly dons" may be obscure, but the metaphorical sense is clear to me - these are authority figures who are sacrificing a baby before sowing the corn. Part of the ritual involved the sacrificial king fathering a child which was then also sacrificed. This is perhaps alluded to in the invitation to "lay me down and love me".

It may or may not be relevant that the same theme was covered in a television play "Robin Redbreast" broadcast on the BBC in 1970 as part of the important "Play for Today" series. "Bright Phoebus" was issued in 1972 and Lal's demo version was from 1971. I cannot say whether this was in the writer's minds, but a lot of people at the time, perhaps not just on the folk scene, would have been familiar with the idea of such sacrificial rituals, perhaps more so than a modern audience.