"Folk Songs"

"Folk songs in days gone by played an important part in the life of the English village.
That life is now waning, and with it are passing away the old traditions and customs. It is happily still possible here and there in out-of-the-way nooks and corners to come upon peasant men and women old enough to remember village life of years ago. The English peasant still exists, though the peasantry as a class is extinct.
Reformers would restore the social life of the village. Do what they will, however, it will not be the old life that they will restore. That is gone past recall. It will be of a new order, and one that will bear but little resemblance to the old social life of the 'Merrie England' of history. Already many of the old singers are dead and gone and of the rest few will be able to 'tune a zong' many years hence.
The evidence is too scanty to warrant any certain conclusions with respect to the age of the Folk-song. We must assume that of those now being hardly won from the English peasantry, some have a long history behind them, while others are of a comparatively recent date. It is an indubitable fact that the English peasantry have been singing songs of their own creation since the Conquest and very probably from a still earlier period."

Cecil J. Sharp

A Folk-Song

There must be many of these no doubt, which until later years would be remembered by the old people. I can, however, trace but one ; it is entitled "The Sheep-shearing," and I have frequently heard it "sung" (if singing it can be called) by a dear old man of 91, named Robert Hall of this place. These songs are of great antiquity, and I believe that they have come down to us through many centuries. They have probably never been committed to writing, but have been passed on orally from father to son. Any sort of tune can hardly be said to exist at all* and a rhyme is of rare occurrence. I here give "The Sheep-shearing" song dictated to me by Robert Hall, who though naturally remarkably clever and intelligent, with a splendidly developed forehead, was yet totally uneducated through an entire lack of "schooling" in his young days, and who could not even read. He would have paid for a good education.

* The metre is nowhere


A-Sheep-Shearing We Will Go

At six o'clock into breakfast we go
Seven o'clock out in the barn we do go.
    We pulls off our clothes
    And we stands all in rows
    And a-sheep-shearing we will go -
    We go, we go, we go,
    And a-sheep-shearing we will go.
There's our old shepherds they are always a-bragging,
But when the sheep comes in the barn
    They always do want tagging
    And a-sheep-shearing we will go -
    We go, we go, we go,
    And a-sheep-shearing we will go.
There's our old Captain stands ahead of the barn,
He do look so scornful and so sly,
But he can't come nowhere a neigh.
    And a-sheep-shearing we will go -
    We go, we go, we go,
    And a-sheep-shearing we will go.
There's our old wool-winder
He's always a-bragging
How well he can do up the fleeces of wool,
But we can shear a sheep and tie up our fleece
Just as well as he.
    So a-sheep-shearing we will go -
    We go, we go, we go,
    And a-sheep-shearing we will go.
At ten o'clock our old master comes out into the barn -
"I think you are getting on very well
Would you like a drop of my best brown ale ?"
"Oh yes, sir, if you please."
So we do out our bit and we have a nice drink
    And a-sheep-shearing we will go -
    We go, we go, we go,
    And a-sheep-shearing we will go.
At one o'clock we does out our bit,
Puts on our clothes, into dinner we goes.
Two o'clock out into the barn we do go,
Pulls off our clothes and stands all in rows
    And a-sheep-shearing we will go -
    We go, we go, we go,
    And a-sheep-shearing we will go.
At four o'clock out in the barn
Comes our old master with a nice can of ale or two,
Out comes our old missus with a nice cake or two.
She shares it out as well as she can.
We stands and enjoys ourselves for about twenty minutes or rather more
    And a-sheep-shearing we will go -
    We go, we go, we go.
    And a-sheep-shearing we will go
At seven o'clock we finish out our job,
Into supper we goes.
We sits there and enjoys ourselves for an hour or two
And haves a nice song or two.
We drinks our master's health
Likewise his wife and family too,
And we gives them three good cheers
And hopes we shall all meet again next year.
    And-a-sheep-shearing we will go -
    Will go, will go, will go,
    And a-sheep-shearing we will go.


Robert Hall sang this song at the "Old People's Party" on August 15th, 1918. He tells me that he first heard it when about ten years old at a sheep-shearing at Bighton.

Robert Hall was a really charming old man, and of a type alas ! which is fast dying out. He died in 1920, aged 92, his wife died a short time before. They were deeply attached to each other and lived in perfect harmony and love. It was a standing joke, one which never seemed to pall, and which would always move them to fits of laughter, to enquire how many times they had quarrelled since my last visit !

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