--
Orsino
East Yorkshire
UK
Eek! It's traditional, and collected by the extraordinary cleric
and squire Sabine Baring-Gould. Says here he heard it in a Devon pub.
From Lloyd's 'Folk song in England' we get the fragment (2nd verse?):
Oh I have a lock that doth lack a key
Ri tol, ri tol, riddle tol de lido
I have a lock that doth lack a key
Tol de dee
I've got a lock Sir, she did say
If you've got the key then come this way
Ri tol, ri tol, riddle tol de lido
<ends there>
It seems he found it too rude "but lost - fortunately so -
on half the old fellows that sing the song" and bowdlerised
it out of existence before publishing.
I remember the 1st verse from childhood,
presumably from folk songs for children.
As I was going to Strawberry fair
Riffle rifle fol the diddle dado
As I was going to Strawberry fair
Fol the day
As I was going to Strawberry fair
'twas there I met a maiden fair
Riffle rifle fol the diddle dado
Riffle rifle fol the diddle day
.. but nothing about locks or keys.
--
Chris Ryall
> As I was going to Strawberry fair
> Riffle rifle fol the diddle dado
> As I was going to Strawberry fair
> Fol the day
> As I was going to Strawberry fair
> 'twas there I met a maiden fair
> Riffle rifle fol the diddle dado
> Riffle rifle fol the diddle day
That is the version recorded by Anthony Newley in the late 60s/ early 70s, isn't it?
Made it to the charts, IIRC. I *think* it came out as a sort of riposte to the Simon and
Garfunkel `Scarborough Fair' record.....but I could be wrong:-)
(Here I go, showing my age again!!)
This was definitely in the 1960s, late 1963 to be precise, and it was
Anthony Newley. I have clear recollections of listening to it on the radio
of the (shared) car which took a group of us from Teacher Training College
(that's what they were called then!) in Bromsgrove to various schools in the
Smethwick area in November/December 1963, for teaching practice.
The last line was spoken, rather like a coster's call:-
"Strawb'ries, strawb'ries! The donkey's eaten all the strawb'ries!"
Faith
(Waiting for inspiration for a new sig.)
'E pinched them off me barrer!
Mark "feeling my (great) age" Bluemel
BTW: I seem to remember a send-up of this already fairly light-hearted
number entitled "Lynchee Fair" - featuring "Lotus Blossom Goldstein,
Kosher Geisha made in Asia". Is my raddled mind playing tricks on me?
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>This was definitely in the 1960s, late 1963 to be precise,
It was 1961.
jim
No - I have to admit to singing that one in early folk club days - it would be
very non-pc now I guess!
Johnny Adams
Good God. Was it that early?