English Folk Music
Rick Pierides
those that would have been versed by the working citizens of the
Cockney area of London; preferably with some refernece to 'Bow Bells'.
Would appreciate and help given. Thanks.
john allen xd/d
Howabout Tottie:
As she walked along the street, with her little plates of meat,
And the summer sunshine gleaming on her golden Barnet fair,
Just like angels from the skies, were her bright blue mutton pies,
In my east and west Dan Cupid shot a shaft and left it there.
She'd a Grecian I suppose, and of Hampstead Heath two rows,
In her north and south they glistened like two pretty strings of pearls,
So down on my bread and cheese, did I fall and murmur "Please,
Won't you be mine dear Tottie, oh you darlingest of girl?".
Then her bulldog by her side, which till then had stood and tried,
A Jenny Lee to banish, that was on his Jonah's whale,
Gave a hydrophobia bark, She said "What a Noah's ark!",
And right through my rank and riches did my cribbage pegs assail.
E'er her bulldog I could stop, she had called a ginger pop,
Who said "What the Henry Meville do you think you're doing there?",
And I heard as off I slunk, "Why the fellow's jumbo's trunk",
And the Walter Joyce was Tottie's, with the golden Barnet fair...
Traditional.
Cheers /Yogi
---
Email: etl...@etlxdmx.ericsson.se | John (Yogi) Allen
Vax2memo: etl.e...@memo.ericsson.se | APStools Support 01444 234812
Memo: ETL.ETLJHAN | Burgess Hill, W.Sussex, UK
Now this is the law of the jungle,
As the creeper moves forward and back,
That the strength of the pack is the wolf...
And the strength of the wolf is the pack. Rudyard Kipling
AbbySale
john allen xd/d ) writes:
OK, you SOB, now translate the thing. I can make a guess at a few but how
about the rest.
>As she walked along the street, with her little plates of meat,
feet?
>And the summer sunshine gleaming on her golden Barnet fair,
hair?
>Just like angels from the skies, were her bright blue mutton pies,
eyes?
>In my east and west Dan Cupid shot a shaft and left it there.
breast?
Are these actually real? Seem too easy & too literary.
>
>She'd a Grecian I suppose, and of Hampstead Heath two rows, ??,
teeth?
>In her north and south they glistened like two pretty strings of pearls,
mouth?
>So down on my bread and cheese, did I fall and murmur "Please,
knees?
>Won't you be mine dear Tottie, oh you darlingest of girl?".
>
>Then her bulldog by her side, which till then had stood and tried,
fried?
>A Jenny Lee to banish, that was on his Jonah's whale,
>Gave a hydrophobia bark, She said "What a Noah's ark!",
lark?
>And right through my rank and riches did my cribbage pegs assail.
britches?,legs?
>
>E'er her bulldog I could stop, she had called a ginger pop,
cop????????
>Who said "What the Henry Meville do you think you're doing there?",
hell?
>And I heard as off I slunk, "Why the fellow's jumbo's trunk",
drunk?
>And the Walter Joyce was Tottie's, with the golden Barnet fair...
voice?
>
Good song! Shouldn't there be a last verse - shoowing remorse or caution
or something.
john allen xd/d
OK, you SOB, now translate the thing. I can make a guess at a few but how
about the rest.
Are these actually real? Seem too easy & too literary.
Good song! Shouldn't there be a last verse - shoowing remorse or caution
or something.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, sorry about that! I've had a search round and found my source:
Voices - An anthology of poetry and pictures
The first book - edited by Geoffrey Summerfield.
Penguin Education ISBN 0 14 08.0042 5
I checked the words and looked for any notes. As a result I have reposted
the lines since the last line of verse two is different from what I
remembered. There are no more verses given, though.
I agree with you that it sounds a touch too literary. It probably is a
composed song, maybe from the music halls. I was familiar with most, but
not all, of these terms, and some of them are slightly different from
what I remembered
You got most of the translations right Abby, but here's what they say
in the book:
plates of meat feet Jonah's whale tail
Barnet fair hair Noah's ark lark
mutton pies eyes rank and riches britches
east and west breast cribbage pegs legs
I suppose nose ginger pop cop
Hampstead Heath teeth Henry Meville devil
north and south mouth jumbo's trunk drunk
bread and cheese knees Walter Joyce voice
storm and strife wife Jenny Lee flea
Hope that helps.
Cheers /Yogi
PS: What's an SOB? I'm sure it can't be a "Son of a Bitch" as somebody
here suggested, because I know you're far too genteel for that!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
As she walked along the street, with her little plates of meat,
And the summer sunshine gleaming on her golden Barnet fair,
Just like angels from the skies, were her bright blue mutton pies,
In my east and west Dan Cupid shot a shaft and left it there.
She'd a Grecian I suppose, and of Hampstead Heath two rows,
In her north and south they glistened like two pretty strings of pearls,
So down on my bread and cheese, did I fall and murmur "Please,
Be my storm and strife dear Tottie, oh you darlingest of girls?".
Then her bulldog by her side, which till then had stood and tried,
A Jenny Lee to banish, that was on his Jonah's whale,
Gave a hydrophobia bark, She said "What a Noah's ark!",
And right through my rank and riches did my cribbage pegs assail.
E'er her bulldog I could stop, she had called a ginger pop,
Who said "What the Henry Meville do you think you're doing there?",
And I heard as off I slunk, "Why the fellow's jumbo's trunk",
And the Walter Joyce was Tottie's, with the golden Barnet fair...
---
Phil Preen
>I'm looking for English folk songs, poetry or sayings, especially
>those that would have been versed by the working citizens of the
>Cockney area of London; preferably with some refernece to 'Bow Bells'.
>Would appreciate and help given. Thanks.
How about the playground favourite Oranges & Lemons.