Lyr Req: And we'll gang nae mair a roving

22 Oct 99 - 08:13 AM (#126726)
Subject: And we'll gang nae mair a roving
From: [e-mail]

I have the lyric of the Scottish song "the Jolly Beggar" in modern English, but am looking for the version where the refrain starts: "And we'll gang nae mair a roving / Sae late into the nicht".

Arne

---

22 Oct 99 - 10:01 AM (#126749)
Subject: Lyr Add: THE JOLLY BEGGAR
From: Abby Sale

It's basically the same as in DigTrad. Also Bronson #1. The thing is, the song's been sung in so very many versions that it's really up to the singer to choose the optional ending (as in "Greenland Fisheries," etc). That is, does the beggar/gentleman leave her because she's proved indecent (ie, consented to be seduced or raped) or marry her for her true love in accepting the (supposedly) penniless beggar/gypsy. I think he should just dump her & find another for tomorrow afternoon.

Here's a better known version of it. From the singing of Willie Mathieson:

THE JOLLY BEGGAR (279)
1.There wis a jolly beggar man, and he wis dressed in green,
And he wis seekin' lodgins in a hoose in Aiberdeen.

Ch And I'll gang nae mair a-rovin',
A-rovin' in the nicht.
I'll gang nae mair a-rovin',
Though the moon shine ne'er sae bricht.

2.This beggar widna lie in barn nor yet wid he in byre,
Bit he wid lie in tae the ha' or by the kitchen fire.

3.This beggar he has made his bed wi' guid clean strae an' hay,
An' in ahint the kitchen fire the jolly beggar lay.

4.Up rase the guidman's dochter, tae bar the kitchen door,
An' there she spied the beggar man, stannin' nakit on the floor.

5.He's ta'en the lassie in his airms an' tae the bed he ran:
"Oh hooly, hooly wi' me, sir; ye'll waken oor guidman."

6.The beggar was a cunnin' loon an' ne'er a word he spak
Until he'd got his jobbie done, then he began tae crack.

7."Hae ye ony dogs in till the hoose, or ony cats ava?
For I'm feart they'll rive ma mealie pokes afore I gang awa'."

8.The lassie's ta'en his mealie pokes an' thrown them ower the wa'---
"The deil gang wi' yer mealie pokes--ma maidenhead's awa'!"

9.He's pulled a horn frae aff his side and blawn baith loud an' shrill,
An' five an' twenty belted knichts cam' ridin' ower the hill.

10.He's ta'en a pen knife frae his pooch, let a's auld duddies fa',
An' he wis the brawest belted knicht that wis amang them a'.

11."If ye hid been a decent lass, as I thocht ye tae be,
I'd hae made ye the queen ower a' this hale country."

---

22 Oct 99 - 01:42 PM (#126831)
Subject: So We'll Go No More a Roving (Byron)
From: Jerry Friedman

I'm curious: Does anyone know whether this song came before or after these famous lines by Lord Byron (1788-1824)?

So, we'll go no more a-roving
So late into the night,
Though the heart be still as loving,
And the moon be still as bright.

For the sword outwears its sheath,
And the soul wears out the breast,
And the heart must pause to breathe,
And love itself have rest.

Though the night was made for loving,
And the day returns too soon,
Yet we'll go no more a-roving
By the light of the moon.

(Text thanks to our friends at Project Bartleby.)

---

22 Oct 99 - 02:01 PM (#126849)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: And we'll gang nae mair a roving
From: Sandy Paton

Norman Kennedy recorded it for Folk-Legacy (FSS-34), now available as a "custom cassette" (C-34).

Sandy

---

22 Oct 99 - 02:10 PM (#126858)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: And we'll gang nae mair a roving
From: Bruce O.

The "And we'll gang mae mair a roving" chorus is in the copy of "The Jolly Beggar" (Child #279) in Herd's 'Scots Songs' 1776, but not in the text of Herd's 1769 edition.

---

22 Oct 99 - 02:46 PM (#126883)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: And we'll gang nae mair a roving
From: Jerry Friedman

I'm shocked! All this time I thought "So, we'll go no more a-roving" was one of the best examples of Byron's brilliance. Though I think he did improve it as a non-musical poem, getting all those o sounds in there.

---