Simon the King
traditional, arranged by Pint and Dale

 

One day it entered my mind

That I should go up and down

No company could I find

‘Til I came to the sign of The Crown

The barman was sick with the mumps

The maid was ill at her ease

The tapster was drunk - in the dumps

And they all had one disease:

 

Drink shall make a man drunk

Drunk shall make a man dry

Dry shall make a man sick

And sick shall make a man die

 

Says old Sir Simon the king

Old Sir Simon the king

With his ale drop toes

And his mumsy nose

Sing hey ding ding-a ding ding

 

But if a man should be drunk tonight

And laid in his grave tomorrow

Can you or anyone say

That he died of care and sorrow?

So hang all sorrow and care

They say that it killed the cat

Let any man drink–all right!

And he’s never a-feared of that

 

For drinking shall make a man quaff

Quaffing shall make a man sing

Singing shall make a man laugh

And laughter long life shall bring!

 

Says old Sir Simon the king

Old Sir Simon the king

With his ale drop toes

And his mumsy nose

Sing hey ding ding-a ding ding

 

The Widow and the Devil
Mick Ryan, arranged by Pint and Dale

 

High upon a lonely moor

A widow lived alone

An inn she kept and e'er she slept

The pillow heard her moan

“Oh, many is the traveler

Who's spent the night with me,

But there's not a man in all creation

Gives content to me.”

 

“For some might manage once or twice

And some might three or four

But it seems to me the rarity

Is the man who can do more.

I'll do anything to find him,

In heaven or in hell”

And as these words were spoken,

There rang her front door bell

 

And the wind blew cold and lonely

All across that widow's moor

And she never, ever turned away

A traveler from her door

 

Boldly the widow ran down the stairs

And the door flung open wide

And as she did a tall and handsome

Stranger stepped inside

She gave him bread and brandy

And when that he was fed

He said, “My dear, well have no fear,

It's time to go to bed.”

 

“For I heard you call away down below

And I've come to see you right

But you must come to hell with me

If I can last the night.”

She said, “You horny devil,

To your bargain I'll agree,

For hell on earth or hell in hell

It's all the same to me.”

 

So the widow and the devil fell into bed

And the devil was working well

And he thought before the night was out

She'd be his in hell

But when they came to number nine,

The widow cried, “Encore!”

And when they came to number twelve

She boldly called for more

 

At twenty five the poor devil

Felt compelled to take a rest

The widow she said, “Come raise your head

And put me to the test!”

At sixty-nine the widow laughed,

“Again! Again!” she cried

And the devil he said, “Well I can see

Just how your husband died.”

 

At ninety-nine the poor devil

He began to moan and weep

Oh, he said, “I'll give you anything

If you'll only let me sleep!”

Before the morning light was up

The devil hobbled home

And the widow still not satisfied

Once more was left alone.

 

Well, she lay there and she grumbled

As she thought of ninety-nine

“If only that old devil

Could have made it one more time.

With a little more application

He might make it to the ton.

I'll call him up again tonight

To see what might be done,”

 

But when she called to him that night

No devil he did appear

For the first time in eternity

The old devil he shook with fear

“Of all the pain and torment

I've witnessed here in hell,

Well I never knew what pain was

Till I rang her front door bell!”

The White Cockade
traditional, arranged by Pint and Dale

‘Twas on one Sunday morning

As I walked o’er the moss,

I had no thought of enlisting,

Till some soldiers did me cross.

They kindly did invite me to a flowing bowl in town

They advanced me (they advanced me)

They advanced me (they advanced me)

Some money, ten shillings from the crown.

 

Oh yes, my love’s enlisted

And he wears the white cockade,

He is a handsome young man, likewise a roving blade.

He is a handsome young man, and he’s gone to serve the king

And my very (And my very)

And my very (And my very)

Heart is aching all for the love of him.

 

Oh yes my love is handsome

And comely for to see

But through some sad misfortune a soldier now is he

May the very man that ‘listed him may he suffer night and day.

And I wish that (And I wish that)

And I wish that (And I wish that)

The Hollanders would sink him in the sea.

 

Oh may he never prosper, and may he never thrive

At anything he takes in hand for as long as he’s alive.

May the very ground he walks on, the grass refuse to grow

Since he has been (Since he has been)

Since he has been (Since he has been)

The source of my sorrow, grief and woe.

 

Then he took out his handkerchief

To wipe her flowing eyes,

Leave off these lamentations, likewise these mournful cries.

Leave off these lamentations while I march o’er the plains,

We’ll be married (We'll be married)

We’ll be married (We'll be married)

In the springtime when I return again.

 

Oh yes, my love’s enlisted,

And for him I will rove

I’ll carve his name on every tree that buds in yonder grove.

Where the huntsman he do holler and the hounds do sweetly cry

To remind me (To remind me)

To remind me (To remind me)

Of my ploughboy until the day I die.

‘Twas in the Pleasant Month of May
traditional, arranged by Pint and Dale

 

‘Twas in the pleasant month of May,

In the springtime of the year,

And down in yonder meadow

There runs a river clear.

See how the little fishes,

How they do sport and play;

Causes many a lad and many a lass

To go there a-making hay.

 

Then in comes the scythesman,

That meadow to now down,

With his old leathered bottle

And the ale that runs so brown.

There's many a stout and a laboring man

Goes there his skill to try;

He works, he mows, he sweats, he blows,

And the grass cuts very dry.

 

Then in comes both Tom and Dick

With their pitchforks and their rakes,

And likewise black-eyed Susan

The hay all for to make.

There’s a sweet, sweet, sweet and a jug, jug, jug;

How the harmless birds do sing

From the morning to the evening

As we were a-haymaking.

 

It was just at one evening

As the sun was a-going down,

We saw the jolly piper

Come a-strolling through the town.

There he pulled out his tabor and pipes

And he made the valleys ring;

So we all put down our rakes and forks

And we left off haymaking.

 

We called for a dance

And we tripped it along;

We danced all round the haycocks

Till the rising of the sun.

When the sun did shine such a glorious light,

How the harmless birds did sing;

Each lad he took his lass in hand

And went back to his haymaking.

 

Dido Bendigo
traditional, arranged by Pint and Dale

 

Well, as I was a walking one morning last autumn

I overheard some nobles foxhunting

Between some noblemen and the Duke of Wellington

It was early just as the day was dawning.

There was Dido, Bendigo, Gentry he was there-o

Traveler he never looked behind him.

There was Countess, Rover, Bonnie Lass and Jover

These were the hounds that could find him.

 

Well the first fox being young and

His trials just beginning

He's made straight way for his cover

He's run up the highest hill

And along the lowest rill

Thinking that he’d find his freedom there forever.

 

Well the next fox being old,

And his trials past the dawning

He’s made straight way for the river

Well the fox he did jump in

But a hound jumped after him

It was traveler who straited him forever.

 

Well they run across the plain

But they soon returned again

The fox and the hounds never failing

It's been just twelve months today,

Since I heard the squire say,

Hark, forward then me brave hounds forever.

Reynard the Fox
traditional, arranged by Pint and Dale
 
A good many gentlemen take great delight
In hunting bold Reynard the fox
For the very best foods I do eat in the night
And I dine upon fat geese and ducks
In ash pit and copse I did lie
And I lived an extraordinary rate
Picking the bones of young lambs
Till the farmers they all me did hate
 
All for the king’s horses and hounds they did send
And the huntsmen they swore I must die
They made all the hair on my coat stand on end
And they caused me from my young ones to fly
All down stony lanes they did run me
And I gave them a very good chase
When I entered the woods I did pause for a breath
And the hounds they drew closer a pace
 
All through the wild woods they did chase and did gain
And the gamekeeper saw me go by
They chased me out into the wide-open plane
And ‘twas there that he fired at my thigh
All in stony plains they did kill me
All the bloodthirsty dogs they did follow
They tore my old coat into pieces
And they caused the brave huntsmen to “halloo”.
 
Now pardon me sportsmen for spoiling your game
But the dogs they have caused me to die
Your farmers at home rest easy tonight
For your flocks are all safe for the time
Now that bold Reynard is dead
You’ll all go to the dolphin and dine
And dip my forefoot in a bumper
And drink the king’s health in good wine
 
You farmers at home rest easy tonight
For my turn at night hunting’s gone by
But I've left little brothers of mine to remain
Who love young lambs far better than I

Sing Ho to the Green Wood
traditional, arranged by Pint and Dale

 

Sing ho, to the green wood now let us go

Sing hey and ho

And there shall we find both buck and doe

Sing hey and ho

The hart, the hind and the little pretty roe

Sing hey and ho