St Matthew's Guild

A Roving

In Amsterdam there lived a Maid
Mark well what I do say!
In Amsterdam there lived a maid
And she was mistress of her trade
I'll go no more a-rovin' with you fair maid
A-rovin', a-rovin', since rovin's been my ru-i-in
I'll go no more a-rovin' with you fair maid

This last six months I'd been to sea
Mark etc.
This last six months I'd been to sea
And, boys, this maid looked good to me
I'll go etc.

I took this fair maid for a walk
And we had such a loving talk.

She swore that she'd be true to me
But spent my money fast and free

In three weeks time I was badly bent
So off to sea I sadly went

On a red-hot Yank bound around Cape Horn
With my clothes and sea-boots all in pawn

To listen to one verse and chorus, please visit Cantaria. Available in .wav and .mpg formats.

Arky's Toast

We'll drink to the downfall of tyrants.
We'll drink to Christ, the Lord.
We'll drink to the twelve apostles
Who preached His holy word.
We'll drink to the saints and martyrs
Of the dismal days of yore.
And whenever our tankards are empty,
We'll remember one saint more.
And whenever our tankards are empty,
We'll remember one saint more.

We'll drink a health to the king, me boys.
We'll drink a health to the queen.
We'll drink to the royal princes,
Wherever they are seen.
We'll drink to the dukes and duchesses
And all their loyal men.
And whenever our tankards are empty,
We will fill them up again.
And whenever our tankards are empty,
We will fill them up again.

We'll drink to the master and mistress
Of this glorious harvest feast.
We'll raise our tankards high, me boys,
To the strength of malt and yeast.
We'll raise a cup to the landlord
And his ale so strong and fine.
And we'll hope that he forgets to shout
When it comes to closing time.
And we'll hope that he forgets to shout
When it comes to closing time.

And now we'll drink to the ladies.
We'll drink to all their charms.
We'll drink to the pleasures that we find
When we are in their arms.
We'll hold them very tight, me boys.
But we will make it clear.
It's goodbye on the day when they do say
They will keep us from our beer.
It's goodbye on the day when they do say
They will keep us from our beer.

To listen to a portion of this song, please visit Emusic. Available in .mp3 format.

Bedlam Boys

For to see Mad Tom of Bedlam
Ten thousand miles I traveled
Mad Maudlin goes on dirty toes
For to save her shoes from gravel

Chorus:
Still I sing bonny boys, bonny mad boys
Bedlam boys are bonny
For they all go bare and they live by the air
And they want no drink nor money

I went down to Satan's kitchen
For to get me food one morning
And there I got souls piping hot
All on the spit a-turnin'

My staff has murdered giants
And my bag a long knife carries
For to cut mince pies from children's thighs
And feed them to the fairies

The spirits white as lightning
Would on me travels guide me
The stars would shake and the moon would quake
Whene'er they espied me

And when that I'll be murdering
The Man in the Moon to a powder
His staff I'll break, his dog I'll shake
And there'll howl no demon louder

For to see Mad Tom of Bedlam,
Ten thousand years I traveled
Mad Maudlin goes on dirty toes
For to save her shoes from gravel

To listen to the entire song, please visit Celtic Music CD Store. Available in .mp3 format.

Birthday Song

Chorus:
Happy Birthday (uh)
Happy Birthday (uh)

Doom, destruction and despair
People dying everywhere

May the candles on your cake
Burn like cities in your wake

Children starving, bellies ache
Have another piece of cake

Now you’ve passed another year
So you know the end is near

Dona Nobis Pacem

To be sung in a round.

Dona nobis pacem, pacem
Dona nobis pacem

To view and listen to the three rounds, please visit UM Rounds. Available in .midi format.

Down Among the Dead Men

16th Century lyrics

Here's a health to the Queen and a lasting peace,
To faction an end, to wealth increase;
Come, let us drink it while we have breath,
For there's no drinking after death,
And they that will this health deny,

Chorus:
Down among the dead men,
Down among the dead men,
Down, down, down, down,
Down among the dead men let them lie.

Let charming Beauty's health go round,
In whom celestial joys are found;
And may confusion still pursue,
The senseless woman hating crew,
And they that woman's health deny;

May love and wine their joys maintain,
And their united pleasures reign;
While smiling plenty crowns the land,
We'll sing the joys that both afford:
And they that won't with us comply,

Fishy Mermaid

'Twas Friday morn when we set sail
And we were not far from the land
When our captain spied a fishy mermaid
With a comb and a glass in her hand

Chorus:
Oh, the ocean waves may roll
And the stormy seas may blow
While we poor sailors go skipping to the top
And the land lubbers lie down below, below, below
And the land lubbers lie down below

Then up spoke the captain of our famous ship
And a well-spoken captain was he
This fishy mermaid has told me of our doom
And tonight we drowned shall be

Then up spoke the cabin boy of our famous ship
And a well-spoken cabin boy was he
I've a mother and a father in Salem by the sea
And tonight they childless shall be

Then up spoke the cookie of our gallant ship
And a well-spoken cookie was he
I care much more for my pots and my pans
Than I do for the bottom of the sea

Then three times around went our gallant ship
And three times around went she
Then three times around went our gallant ship
And she sank to the bottom of the sea

To listen to one verse and chorus, please visit Cantaria. Or listen to the entire song at Brobdingnagian Bards. Available in .wav , .rm and .mpg formats.

God Save the Queen

Long may she reign
Her majesty glorious
Ever victorious
God save the queen.

Green Grow the Rushes, O

There’s naught but care on every hand
In ever hour that passes, O
What signifies the life of man
If it were not for the lassies, O

Chorus:
Green grow the rushes, O
Green grow the rushes, O
The sweetest hours that e’er I spent
Are spent among the lassies, O

The worldly race may riches chase
And riches still may fly them, O
And though at last they catch them fast
Their hearts can ne’er enjoy them, O

Give me a cannie hour at e’en
My arms around me dearie, O
The wisest man the world e’er saw
He dearly loved the lassies, O

Old nature swears the lovely dears
Her noblest work she classes, O
Her apprentice hand she tried on man
And then she made the lassies, O

Chorus
Green grow the rushes
Green grow the rushes

To listen to one verse and chorus, please visit Tempest. Available in .mpg format.

Health Unto Her Majesty

Here's a health unto her Majesty
With a fa la la la la la la

Confusion to her enemies
With a fa la la la la la la

And he who would not drink her health
We wish him neither wit nor wealth
Nor yet a rope to hang himself

Chorus:
With a fa la la la la la la la la laaaaaaa
(Hold last note while another downs a drink)
With a fa la la la la la la

May she live in mirth and jollity
With a fa la la la la la la

And pass time with good company
With a fa la la la la la la

And he who would not join in glee
Must Puritan or Papist be
And him we curse with misery

Chorus

Let the Queen's good health go round and round
With a fa la la la la la la

And let her praises loud resound
With a fa la la la la la la

And he who would not have it so
May he be cursed with a gouty toe
And days of wrath and nights of woe

Chorus

Our goodly Queen is fair of face
With a fa la la la la la la

Endowed with every female grace
With a fa la la la la la la

And every woman in this shire
Who doth not to the like aspire
May her breast be dun and her hair be wire

Chorus

So now we've raised our tankards high
With a fa la la la la la la

We've raised them full and lowered them dry
With a fa la la la la la la

Elizabeth, long may she reign
God save the Queen
May all here join in this refrain
And fill our tankards up again

Chorus

Prepare yourself to listen to this song sung in true faire fashion by the Washer Women. Available in .mp3 format.

Hearts Ease

Sing care away with sport and play,
pastimes is all our pleasure.
If well we fair, for not we care,
in mirth consists our treasure.

Tis the best to live and rest,
and take as God doth send it;
To haunt each wake, with mirth to make,
and with good fellows spend it.

O nothing is worse than a full purse,
to churls and to pinchers';
They always spare and live in care,
there's no one loves such flinchers.

Merry the man with cup and can,
lives longer than do twenty;
The misers weath, doth harm his health;
examples we have plenty.

Here's a Health to the Company

Kind friends and companions
Come join me in rhyme.
Come lift up your voices
In chorus with mine.
Come lift up your voices
All grief to refrain.
For we may or might never
All meet here again.

Chorus:
So here's a health to the company
And one to my lass.
Let's drink and be merry
All out of one glass.
Let's drink and be merry
All grief to refrain.
For we may or might never
All meet here again.

Here's a health to the wee lass
That I love so well.
For style and for beauty
There's none can excell.
There's a smile on her countenance
As she sits on my knee.
There is no man in this wide world
As happy as me.

Our ship lies as anchor.
She is ready to dock.
I wish her safe landing
Without any shock.
And if ever I should leave you,
By land or by sea,
I will always remember
Your kindness to me.

To listen to one verse and chorus, please visit Cantaria. Or listen to the full song at Brobdingnagian Bards. Available in .mp3 format.

Hi Ho the Rattlin' Bog

Chorus:
Hi! Ho! The rattlin' bog and the bog down in the valley-o
Hi! Ho! The rattlin' bog and the bog down in the valley-o

Now in this bog there was a tree, a rare tree, a rattlin' tree
With the tree in the bog
And the bog down in the valley-o.

Now on this tree there was a limb, a rare limb, a rattlin' limb
With the limb on the tree and the tree in the bog
And the bog down in the valley-o.

Now on this limb there was a branch, a rare branch, a rattlin' branch
With the branch on the limb and the limb on the tree and the tree in the bog
And the bog down in the valley-o.

Repeat, adding a line each time
Now on this branch there was a nest, a rare nest, a rattlin' nest.....

Now in that nest there was an egg , a rare egg, a rattlin' egg.....

Now in that egg there was a bird, a rare bird, a rattlin' bird.....

Now on that bird there was a feather, a rare feather, a rattlin' feather .....

Now on that feather there was a flea, a rare flea, a rattlin' flea .....

To listen to multiple verses and chorus, please visit Brobdingnagian Bards. Available in .mp3 format.

Maids When You're Young

An old man came courting me, hey durum dum dum day
An old man came courting me, me being young
An old man came courting me, fain would he marry me

Chorus:
Maids when you're young never wed an old man
He's got no falorum faliram falorum
He's got no falorum faliram fa lay
He's got no falorum, he's lost his ding dorum
Maids when you're young never wed an old man

And when we went to kirk, hey durum dum dum day
And when we went to kirk, me being young
And when we went to kirk, I knew it would not work

And when we went to bed, hey durum dum dum day
And when we went to bed, me being young
And when we went to bed, he lay as if he were dead

So I threw my leg over him, hey durum dum dum day
I threw my leg over him, me being young
I threw my leg over him, damn nearly smothered him

And when he went to sleep, hey durum dum dum day
And when he went to sleep, me being young
And when he went to sleep, out of bed I did creep

Chorus for last verse:
Into the arms of a handsome young man
He's got his falorum faliram falorum
He's got his falorum faliram fa lay
He's got his falorum, he's found my ding dorum
Maids when you're young never wed an old man

To listen to one verse and chorus, please visit Cantaria. Available in .wav and .mp3 formats.

Mairi's Wedding
written by Johnny Bannerman, 1935, Scotland

Chorus:
Step we gaily, on we go
Heel for heel and toe for toe,
Arm in arm and on we go,
All for Mairi's wedding.

Over hillways up and down,
Myrtle green and bracken brown,
Past the sheiling through the town
All for sake of Mairi

Plenty herring plenty meal,
Plenty peat tae fill her creel,
Plenty bonny bairns as weel
That's the toast for Mairi.

Cheeks as bright as rowans are,
Brighter far than any star,
Fairest o' them all by far
Is my darlin' Mairi.

Over hillways up and down,
Myrtle green and bracken brown,
Past the sheiling through the town
All for sake of Mairi

To listen to the full song, please visit Cantaria. Available in .mp3 format.

Marrow Bones

There was an old woman in our town
In our town did dwell.
And she loved her husband dearly
But another man twice as well.

Chorus:
Singin’ Whipsholairy,
Tittlefolairy,
Whipsholairy-o!

The woman went to the doctor
To see what she could find
To know what was the very best thing
To make her husband blind.

You brew him up some strong rum punch
I’m sure that’s very good.
Then you boil him in some marrow bones
To circulate his blood.

Now the old man bein’ a cunnin’ old blade
And knowin’ the plot afore
He drank it down and then he said
Well I can’t see any at all.

Oh, I’ll go down to the river’s brim
And there myself I’ll drown
She said, “I’ll go along with you
For fear you might fall down.”

They walked along both hand in hand
‘Til they came to the rivers brim
She said she’d go to give a run
To help and ease him in.

The old woman went to give a run
To help and ease him in.
The old man nimbly popped aside
And she went tumblin’ in.

“Oh save me!” the old woman cried
And loudly did she bawl
“How can I save you, darlin’ wife?
When I can’t see any at all?”

Well, she splashed around in the water
A-thinkin’ that she could swim
The old man got a puthering prop
And shoved the witch back in.

Oh six fine juicy marrow bones
They may make your husband blind
But if you want to do him in
You should creep up from behind.

Mary Mack

Well I've got a little lass
And her name is Mary Mack.
Well make no mistake
She's the one I'm gonna take.
There's a lot of other fellas
Would get up upon her track,
But I'm thinkin' that they'd have to get up early.

Chorus:
Oh, Mary Mack's mother's makin'
Mary Mack marry me.
My mother's makin' me marry Mary Mack.
I'm gonna marry Mary
To get Mary to take care of me.
Well, I'll be makin' merry
When I marry Mary Mack.
Yum deedle deedle dydle deedle dydle dum!

Oh, this little lass
She's got a lot of brass.
She's got a lot of cash.
Her father thinks I'm crass.
I'd be a silly ass
For to let the matter pass.
For her mother thinks I'd suit her very fairly.

Oh, Mary and her mother
Go an awful lot together.
In fact you never see the one
Nor one without the other.
And all the fellows wonder
If it's Mary or her mother
Or both of them together that I'm courtin'.

Oh, the wedding day's on Wednesday
And everything's arrange-ed.
Her name'll soon be changed to mine,
Unless her mind is change-ed.
I'm making the arrangements
I'm just about deranged.
For marriage is an awful undertaking.

It's sure to be a grand affair
And grander than a fair.
A coach and pair for rich and poor
And every couple there.
We'll dine upon the finest fare
I'm sure to get my share.
If I don't then I'll be very much mistaken.

To listen to one verse and chorus, please visit Cantaria. Available in .wav and .mp3 formats.

Pastime With Good Company

by Henry VIII (early 16th century England)

Pasttime with good company
I love and shall until I die.
Grutch, who lust but none deny
So God be pleased thus live will I.
For my pastense hunt, sing and dance
My heart is set,
All goodly sport, for my comfort
Who shall me let

Youth must have some daliance
Of good or ill, some pastance.
Company me thinks then best
All thoughts and fancies to digest.
For idleness is chief mistress
To vices all
And who can say, but mirth and play
Is best of all.

Company with honesty
Is virtue, vices to flee.
Company is good and ill,
But every man hath his free will.
The best ensue, the worst eschew.
My mind shall be:
Virtue to use, vice to refuse.
Thus shall I use me.

To listen to one verse and chorus, please visit The Poxy Boggards. Available in .mp3 format.

Ramblin' Rover
Words and music by Andy M. Stewart

Chorus:
Oh, there's sober men aplenty,
And drunkards barely twenty.
There are men of over ninety
That have never yet kissed a girl.
But give me a Ramblin' Rover,
Frae Orkney down to Dover,
We will roam the country over,
And together we'll face the world.

There be many who feign enjoyment,
From merciless employment,
Their ambition was this deployment,
From the minute they left the school.
An’ they save and scrape and ponder,
While the rest go out and squander,
See the world and rove and wander,
And were happier as a rule.

Well, I've roved thru all the nations,
Ta'en delight in all creation,
And I've tried a wee sensation,
When the company did prove kind.
And when partin' was no pleasure,
I've drunk another measure,
To the good friends that we treasure,
For they are always are in our minds.

So when troubles do befall me,
To the high road I do haul me,
Robbin' Johnny's what they call me,
'Tis me blessing and me bane.
Though my comrades have been many,
I'll take a drink with any,
'Till I've spent me last wee penny,
And life I'll not see again.

So when you're bent with arth(i)ritis,
And your bowls have got colitis,
You've gallopin' bollokitis,
And you're thinkin' it's time you died,
If you've been a man of action,
An' you're lying there in traction,
You may gain some satisfaction
Thinkin, "Jesus, at least I tried!"

To listen to one verse and chorus, please visit Cantaria. Available in .mp3 format.

Rose, Rose or Hey Ho (Nobody's Home)

Chorus:
Rose, Rose, Rose, Rose
Shall I ever see thee wed?
I will marry at thy will Sire
At thy will.

Heigh ho nobody’s home;
Meat nor drink nor money have I none;
Yet I will be merry;
Heigh ho nobody’s home.

Ding-dong, ding-dong;
Wedding bells on an April morn;
Carve my name on a moss-covered stone;
On a moss-covered stone.

Peace, Peace, Peace, Peace
Will I ever see thee come?
I will wait forever and ever;
Peace, Peace, Peace

Love, love, love, love
Neighbor won’t you heed the call?
Love thy neighbor as thy own;
For God loves us all.

Scarborough Faire

Where are you going, to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Remember me to a bonny lass there
For once she was a true lover of mine

Tell her to make me a cambric shirt
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Without any needle or thread work’d in it
And she shall be a true lover of mine

Tell her to wash it in yonder well
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Where water ne’er sprung nor a drop of rain fell
And she shall be a true lover of mine

Tell her to plough me an acre of land
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Between the sea and the salt sea strand
And she shall be a true lover of mine

Tell her to plough it with one ram’s horn
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
And sow it all over with one pepper corn
And she shall be a true lover of mine

Tell her to reap it with a sickle of leather
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
And tie it all up with a tom-tit’s feather
And she shall be a true lover of mine

Tell her to gather it all in a sack
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
And carry it home on a butterfly’s back
And then she shall be a true lover of mine

To listen to the full song, please visit Brobdingnagian Bards. Available in .mp3 format.

The Barley Mow

1.
Now here's good luck to the gill-pot
Good luck to the Barley Mow
Here's good luck to the gill-pot
Good luck to the Barley Mow.
The gill-pot, half-a-gill, Nipperkin and a round bowl.
And here's good luck, good luck
Good luck to the Barley Mow.

2.
Now here's good luck to the half-a-pint
Good luck to the Barley Mow
Here's good luck to the half-a-pint
Good luck to the Barley Mow
The half-a-pint, gill-pot, half-a-gill, guarter-gill,
Nipperkin, and a round bowl
And here's good luck, good luck
Good luck to the Barley Mow.

3. pint-pot
4. quart-pot
5. half-a-gallon
6. gallon
7. half a barrel
8. barrel
9. landlord
10. landlady
11. daughter
12. slavey
13. brewer
14. company

Last:
And here's good luck to the tavern (or name of tavern)
Good luck to the Barley Mow
Here's good luck to the tavern
Good luck to the Barley Mow
The tavern
The company
The brewer
The slavey
The daughter
The landlady
The landlord
The barrel
Half a barrel
The gallon
Half-a-gallon
Quart-pot
Pint-pot
Half-a-pint
Gill-pot
Half-a-gill
Quarter-gill
Nipperkin, and a round bowl
And here's good luck, good luck
Good luck to the Barley Mow.

To listen to one verse and chorus, please visit Cantaria. Available in .wav and .mp3 formats.

The Beggar

I'd just as soon be a begger as a king
And the reason I'll tell you why
A king cannot swagger nor drink like a begger
Nor be half so happy as I

Chorus:
Let the back and the sides go bare, my boys
Let the hands and the feet gain cold
But give to the belly, boys, beer enough
Whether it be new or old

I've six-pence in my pocket and I've work'd hard for it
Kind landlord here it is
Neither Jew nor Turk shall make me work
While begging is as good as it is

Sometimes we call at a nobleman's hall
And beg for bread and beer
Sometimes we are lame, sometimes we are blind
Sometimes too deaf to hear

Sometimes we lie like hogs in a stye
With a flock of straw on the ground
Sometimes we eat a crust that has roll'd in the dust
And are thankful if that can be found

Three Drunken Maidens

There were two drunken maidens
Come from the Isle of Wight.
They drank from Monday morning
Nor stop 'til Saturday night.
When Saturday night did come, me boys,
They would not then go out!
And these two drunken maidens
They pushed the jug about!

Then up comes handsome Susie
Her cheeks as red as bloom.
Move up, me jolly sisters,
And give young Susie room.
For I'll be your equal
Before we e'er go out!
These three drunken maidens
They pushed the jug about!

There's woodcock and pheasant
There's partridge and hare.
There's all sorts of dainties
No scarcity is there.
There's forty quarts of beer, me boys
We've nearly drunk them out.
These three drunken maidens
They pushed the jug about!

Now up comes the landlord
He's askin' for his pay.
It's a thirty pound bill, me boys
These girls have got to pay.
That's ten pounds apiece, me boys
But still they wouldn't go out!
These three drunken maidens
They pushed the jug about!

Oh where are your feathered hats
Your mantles, rich and fine?
They've all been swallowed up
In tankards of good wine.
And where are your maidenheads,
You maidens brisk and gay?
We've left them in the alehouse.
We drank them clear away!

To listen to a modern version of two verses and the chorus, please visit Lehto & Wright. Or listen to the song sung by the Washer Women. Available in .mp3 format.

We Be Soldiers Three

English Tavern Song

Chorus:
We be soldiers three,
Pardonnez moi je vous au pree
Lately come forth of the Low Country
With never a penny of money

Here good fellows, I drink to thee,
Pardonnez moi je vous au pree
To all good fellows where-ever they be
With never a penny of money.

Here good fellow I'll sing you a song,
sing for the brave and sing for the strong.
To all those that are living and those who have gone.
With never a penny of money.

And he that will not pledge me this,
Pardonnez moi je vous au pree
Pays for the shot, whatever it is,
With never a penny of money.

Wild Mountain Thyme
written by Francis McPeake

Oh, the summertime is coming,
And the trees are sweetly blooming,
And the wild mountain thyme
Grows around the purple heather

Chorus:
Will ye go, lassie, go?
And we'll all go together
To pull wild mountain thyme
All around the blooming heather.
Will ye go, lassie, go?

I will build my love a tower
By yon clear crystal fountain
And on it I will pile
All the flowers of the mountain.

If my true love she was gone
I would surely find no other
To pull wild mountain thyme
All around the purple heather.

Oh, the autumn-time is coming,
And the leaves are gently falling,
And the wild mountain thyme
Grows around the purple heather

To listen to the full song, please visit Cantaria. Or listen to the entire song at Brobdingnagian Bards. Available in .wav and .mp3 formats.