Sing a Song of Six Pence

Ye never heard o' Loch Lomond until now, laddie??? Och! Ye should watch more Scottish spoofs on TV!

I actually sang that song with my dad at my last music concert at a local nursing home. I got to wear a Highlander hat, and it was very fun!

The story behind the song is quite haunting. It is set during the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion and it is about Jacobites soldiers who have been captured by the Hanoverians. One of them is hanged, and the other is sent home to tell the townspeople of his comrades death. The lyrics of the song are from the perspective of the ghost of the dead soldier, who will travel "the low road" of the spirit world and reach Scotland before his comrade. There he will personally tell his family of his fate.

Thanks very much for posting the lyrics, Beaumains! It is a bonnie fine song.

Before I go, I'll just post a few short nursery rhymes that I think are sweet:

The Dusty Miller

Margaret wrote a letter,
Sealed it with her finger,
Threw it in the dam
For the dusty miller.
Dusty was his coat,
Dusty was the siller,
Dusty was the kiss
I'd from the dusty miller.
If I had my pockets
Full of gold and siller,
I would give them all
To my dusty miller.

Little Maid

"Little maid, pretty maid, whither goest thou?"
"Down in the forest to milk my cow."
"Shall I go with thee?"
"No, no now;
When I send for thee, then come thou!"

Where Are You Going, My Pretty Maid

"Where are you, my pretty maid?"
"I'm going a-milking, sir," she said.
"May I go with you, my pretty maid?"
"You're kindly welcome, sir," she said.
"What is your father, my pretty maid?"
"My father's a farmer, sir," she said.
"What is your fortune, my pretty maid?"
"My face is my fortune, sir," she said.
"Then I can't marry you, my pretty maid."
"Nobody asked you, sir," she said.

I can just hear the honest English accent that the milk maid might have used as she states her position to the gentleman above.

God Bless,
Pearl

J.M.J.
Hello!

I heard recently a very sad Scottish tune called The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond

By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes
Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond
Where me and my true love will ne-er meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomon'.

Chorus:

O ye’ll tak’ the high road, and I'll tak' the low (road)
And I’ll be in Scotland afore ye
For me and my true love will ne-er meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomon'.

‘Twas there that we parted in yon shady glen
On the steep, steep sides o’ Ben Lomon'
Where in (soft) purple hue, the hielan hills we view
And the moon comin’ out in the gloamin’.

Chorus

The wee birdies sing and the wild flowers spring
And in sunshine the waters are sleeping
But the broken heart, it kens nae second spring again
Tho’ the waeful may cease frae their greetin'.

Chorus

I found a good recording of it, too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDee-mHMdwY

God bless! and happy feast of Blessed Ralph Milner and Roger Dickenson,
-Beaumains

J.M.J.
I'm not sure if the London Fisherman rhyme does have a tune. I have only ever seen it as a poem. I still think it's nice, though.

I haven't heard Miller of the Dee before, either. Thanks for posting it. I really liked it! And what a true moral of the story, too.

I'm going to try to think of another rhyme or song to post today. May God go with you!
-Beaumains

I love "Be Thou My Vison"! I really want to learn how to play it on my penny whistle. Thanks for posting, beaumains.

I have never heard of the London fisherman one; does it have a tune?

Alright here's one called the Miller of the Dee:

There lived a miller happily beside the River Dee
He worked and sang from morn till night
No lark so gay as he
And this the chorus of his song
Forever used to be:
"I envy no one, no, not I, and no one envies me."

"Your wrong, my friend," said old King Hal
"for how could that be true?
Oh, could by heart be blithe as yours
I'd gladly change with you!
And tell me now what makes you sing
With voice so loud and free
While I am sad though I am king beside the River Dee?"

The Miller smiled and gave a laugh,
"I earn my bread," said he.
"I love my wife, I love my friends, I love my children three.
I owe no debt I cannot pay, I thank the River Dee
That turns the mill that grinds the corn to feed my family.

"Good friend," said Hal and sighed a while
"Farewell and happy be
But say no more, if you'd be true, that no one envies you!
Your miller's cap is worth my crown, your mill my kingdom's fee
Such men as you are of the best
Oh Miller of the Dee!"

God Bless,
Pearl

J.M.J.
Hello! I have another one. It's called London Fisherman:

There was a jolly fisherman
And he came down from Billingsgate,
To catch a bloater or a gay mack-er-el;
When he got to pimlioco
The wind began to blowco,
The boat went wibbly-wobbly
And overboard he fell.

God bless!

Irish folk hymn, Be Thou My Vision:

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart,
Naught be all else to me save that Thou Art.
Thou my best thought by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my wisdom and Thou my true word,
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord.
Thou my great Father and I Thy true son,
Thou in me dwelling and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle-shield, sword for the fight,
Be Thou my dignity, Thou my delight;
Thou my soul's shelter and Thou my high tower,
Raise Thou me heavenward, o Power of my power.

Riches I heed not nor man's empty praise,
Thou mine inheritance now and always,
Thou and Thou only first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven's joys, oh Bright Heaven's Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, o Ruler of all.

God bless!
-Beaumains

Hi, everybody! It's good to see you all here.
Beaumains, I'm not much of a Tolkien reader myself (forgive me!), but that poem you posted was really cool. I can see why you like it, since you are the outdoor adventurer type yourself!

Morningside: it's nice to meet you! What is your favorite Bobby Burns poem? He was an excellent poet (even if he did live a rather dissolute life).

Lemon and Lime: Hee, hee....thanks for posting our mascott nursery rhyme! The second part of the version I remember ran:

The king is in his counting house
Counting out his money.
The queen is in the parlor
Eating bread and honey
The maid was in the garden
Hanging out the clothes
When down came a black bird
And nipped off her nose.

I heard that that ditty was written by clever English peasants who wanted to make sport of Henry VIII's affair with Anne Boleyn without losing their heads.You see, the "maid" who was "hanging out the clothes" was supposed to be Anne herself. The reference to her nose being nipped off by a black bird had to do with her subsequent execution.

Okay, now I'll post one of my favorite nursery rhymes:

Bobby Shaftos gone to sea,
Silver buckles on his knee,
He'll come back and marry me,
Bonnie Bobby Shaftos.

Bobby Shaftos, fat and fair,
Combing through his yellow hair,
He's my love for evermair,
Bonnie Bobby Shaftos.

Here's another one I already posted on the Campionites:

Robin Hood, Robin Hood,
is in the mickle wood,
Little John, Little John,
he to town is gone,

Robin Hood, Robin Hood,
Telling his beads,
All in the green wood
Among the green weeds

Little John, Little John,
If he comes no more,
Robin Hood, Robin Hood,
He will fret full sore!

God Bless,
Pearl of Tyburn

Sing a song of six pence,
a pocket full of rye.
One and twenty blackbirds,
baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened, the birds began to sing!
Wasn't that a pretty dish to set before the King!

The Queen was in her counting house,
counting all her money,
The maid was in the parlour,
drinking milk and honey,
[...forgotten this line...]
and down came a blackbird and pecked off her nose!

That was entirely from memory Only forgot one or maybe two lines in the [ ] bit.

Another one I hear you call?

Two little dickybirds sitting on the wall.
One named Peter, one name Paul.
Fly away Peter, fly away Paul.
Come back Peter, come back Paul!

(The dickybird one would be accompanied with the singer holding their two hands so that the thumbs are pressed against the fingers, immitating a mouth. One hand would be Peter and would wiggle and raise higher when mentioned, and the other Paul. When they fly away they're meant to go behind the back of the one singing it, then return. It's a good song to sing to babies which used a kind of hide-and-seek dance with your hands. A variation I suppose is to have your hands flat, and use your little finger and thumb as wings, but I just thought of that myself now.)

time for bed but i willl check in again
hope to see some inspring tales etc
keep looking up
"The grace iof God supercedes superstition

I am older man i like old applacian folk music not nashvile much
favorites are Robert burns , Steven foster Longfellow and others
mom liked robert louis stevenson s chidlrens a chils garden fo verses etc