Uncle Tom Cobbleigh and all

[SB]

Hello!

I'm curious about the derivation of the phrase of "Uncle Tom Cobbleigh and
all." I understand that it means something like "the world and his wife" --
i.e. everyone. Whose uncle was Mr. Cobbleigh? :-)

SB

[Susan Ballantine]

It's from a folk song that starts "As I was going to Widdicombe Fair, All along, down along, out along lea..." and then the chorus lists all the people who
the singer saw, starting with Dan'l Widden, Harry Hawk, and Uncle Tom Cobbley
and all at the end of the long list. My grandmother used to sing it on car
rides. Anyone remember the words? I think it might be a Somerset song--west
country, anyway (of England, that is).

Sue Ballantine
Iowa State University
sbal...@iastate.edu

[Jitze Couperus]

sbal...@iastate.edu (Susan Ballantine) writes:
> Anyone remember the words? I think it might be a Somerset song--west
>country, anyway (of England, that is).

Actually its Devon I believe - visited a pub in a village there where
he was supposed to have supped - close to Dartmoor

But along these lines - where is/was Ilkley Moor (bat aht) ?
--
Jitze Couperus Control Data - Silicon Valley Operations
ji...@svl.cdc.com Voice (408) 496-4334 FAX (408) 496-4106

[John Haxby]

In article <46...@shamash.cdc.com>, ji...@svl.cdc.com (Jitze Couperus) writes:

|> But along these lines - where is/was Ilkley Moor (bat aht) ?

Ilklry Moor is near Ilkley (where else?) in Yorskshire. It's quite a
nice place. `Baht at' has nothing to do with the location, it means
"without a hat" (if you're on Ilkley Moor without a hat, you're bound
to catch a fatal cold).

--
John Haxby, Definitively Wrong.
Digital <j...@rdg.dec.com>
Reading, England <...!uknet!wessex!jch>

----------------------------------------------------------------
The opinions expressed herein are my own, not my employers.

[Dewi Williams]

Tom Pierce, Tom Pierce, lend me your grey mare,
All along, down along, out along lea, ....

and the singer heads off to Widdicombe Fair; but Tom Pierce would have
regretted the loan, since the singer loads up the grey mare with Dan'l
Widden, Peter Gurney, 'arry 'awk, and Uncle Tom Cobbleigh an' all.
They overload the poor mare; a real mare's test, in fact.

... Dewi

[wil...@vax.oxford.ac.uk]

In article <46...@shamash.cdc.com>, ji...@svl.cdc.com (Jitze Couperus) writes:

> sbal...@iastate.edu (Susan Ballantine) writes:
>> Anyone remember the words? I think it might be a Somerset song--west
>>country, anyway (of England, that is).
>
> Actually its Devon I believe - visited a pub in a village there where
> he was supposed to have supped - close to Dartmoor
>
> But along these lines - where is/was Ilkley Moor (bat aht) ?

Oop thar in Yorkshire---near t' Ilkley. It's like the Merkin Midwest, only
smaller, wetter and colder. That's why t'dooks laak it.
--

Stephen Wilcox | Remember what happened to the dinosaurs!
wil...@maths.oxford.ac.uk | I did---and look what happened to me.

[he...@qut.edu.au]

I learnt the song from my father in Australia in the
1950s. (He probably learnt it as a student song or from
a record). The first verse is

Tom Pierce, Tom Pierce lend I your grey mare,

All along, down along, out along lea,

For I want to go over to Widdecombe Fair
Wi' Bill Brewer,
Jan Stewer,
Peter Gurney,
Peter Davey,
Dan'el Widden,
'arry 'awke,
Old Uncle Ton Cobbley and all,
Old Uncle Ton Cobbley and all.

The rest is too long to repoduce here. The overladen
mare "took sick and died", but

"When the moon shines bright on the moor of a night

All along, down along, out along lea,

Tom Pierce's old mare doth appear ghastly white
Wi' Bill Brewer . . ."

Widdecombe (if my spelling is correct) is a town on
Dartmoor, in Devon, which I was pleased to be able to
visit some years ago on a cycling tour. They have on
display in a local museum Tom Cobbley's chair, so there
is some claim that T.C. was a real person.

Take care
Ronno

[totti...@gmail.com]

I also learnt this song in Primary School back in the 1950's. I don't know if anyone else of my age remembers it and who is living in Australia. We were told that it was an English folksong.

I have often used the words '...and Uncle Tom Cobley (sic) and all, and all' in internet posts to illustrate the unnecessary pile-up of politicians and others regarding a certain topic. My most recent use of it is in a twitter comment.

It's a great metaphor, I hope others will use it in the same way that I do. <s>

[Kerr-Mudd,John]

Now that you've found usenet, you can try responding to items that
occurred recently, and then be considered an useful contributor.
Eventually, you'll be allowed a proper newsreader.

--
Bah, and indeed, Humbug.

[Snidely]

Remember when Kerr-Mudd,John bragged outrageously? That was Sunday:

> On Sun, 10 Jun 2018 08:18:26 GMT, totti...@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> I also learnt this song in Primary School back in the 1950's. I don't
>> know if anyone else of my age remembers it and who is living in
>> Australia. We were told that it was an English folksong.
>>
>> I have often used the words '...and Uncle Tom Cobley (sic) and all,
>> and all' in internet posts to illustrate the unnecessary pile-up of
>> politicians and others regarding a certain topic. My most recent use
>> of it is in a twitter comment.
>>
>> It's a great metaphor, I hope others will use it in the same way that
>> I do. <s>
>>
>
> Now that you've found usenet,

That's like confusing weather for climate. Tottie has found 1 usenet
message.

Or maybe the better analogy is expecting that finding the tail tells
you the elephant's aunt's name.

> you can try responding to items that
> occurred recently, and then be considered an useful contributor.
> Eventually, you'll be allowed a proper newsreader.

Proper newsreader? Isn't that a BBC maven?

Right now I'm annoyed at my newsreader, because I accidently changed
the display size of the font in the message window, and I'm not quite
sure how I did it or how to get back.

When using GG and that happens, it's the browser and getting back is
quite simple.

/dps

--
"What do you think of my cart, Miss Morland? A neat one, is not it?
Well hung: curricle-hung in fact. Come sit by me and we'll test the
springs."
(Speculative fiction by H.Lacedaemonian.)

[aeg...@gmail.com]

Tom Pierce,Tom Pierce, lend I your grey mare,
All along, out along,down along Lee,
F us wants to go over to Widdicombe Fair
With Bill Brewer, Jan Stewer, Peter Gourney, Peter Davey
Dan’l Whidden, Harry Hawk, Old UncleTom Cobbley and all,
Old Uncle Tom Cobbley and all. Etc., etc.

Song has to do with non return of the gray mare and group of borrowers. Uncle To Cobbley was a dog (hound)
It ends with Tom Pierce n tears at the top of the hill from which he espies the group- including hound- “appearing
Ghostly White” presumably ghosts. Song was recorded by BBC Male Voice Choir sometime in the 30’s.
Apologies for typos... ame