To Thread - Forum Home

The Mudcat Café TM
https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=6695
4 messages

Lyr Req: Come Lasses and Lads

25 Sep 98 - 04:46 AM (#39321)
Subject: Lasses & Lads
From: Bill (Portsmouth, England)

Is it possible that anyone out there could provide me with the rest of the lyrics to the old May Festival song that begins:

Come lasses and lads, take leave of y're dads, And away to the Maypole high. There is ev'ry he has gotten his she, And a fiddler's standing by....

Incidently, there are two versions of one of the tunes this has been set to in the Richard Robinson collection.

Many thanks.


25 Sep 98 - 09:39 AM (#39335)
Subject: RE: Lasses & Lads
From: Bruce O

The Rural Dance around the May-pole. The Tune, the first Figure dance at Mr. Young's Ball in May 1671. [5 verses. Westminster Drollery, II, p. 80, 1672.] "Joan to the maypole" is somewhat similar.


25 Sep 98 - 12:01 PM (#39350)
Subject: RE: Lasses & Lads
From: Bruce O.

The text is on the internet in Bell's 'Ancient Poems, 'Ballads and songs'

You can click on the latter from
www.pbm.com/~lindahl/ballads

The song is about 2/3 of the way through the file, so to get there fast use EDIT- FIND and put in 'and lads'.


25 Sep 98 - 02:48 PM (#39362)
Subject: RE: Lasses & Lads
From: Joe Offer

I found it a little difficult to find the "Ancient Poems" file on the index, but it's worth searching for. If you're lazy, click here. As Bruce says, search for "and lads" after the file loads on your computer. It's better to read the song in context with other May-day songs, so for once I'm going to agree with Bruce's methodology and not post the actual lyrics.
-Joe Offer-