Danny Boy (w. Fred Weatherly, alt.; arr. Brad Printz)
Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling,
From glen to glen and down the mountain side.
The summer’s gone and all the roses falling.
It’s you, it’s you must go and I must bide.
But come ye back when summer’s in the meadow,
Or when the valley’s hushed and white with snow.
And I’ll be here in sunshine or in shadow,
Oh, Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so.
But when ye come and all the flow’rs are dying,
If I am dead, as dead I well may be.
Ye’ll come and find the place where I am lying
And kneel and say an Ave there for me.
And I shall hear, tho’ soft you tread above me,
And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be.
For you will bend and tell me that you love me,
And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me.
Down By the Sally Gardens (w. William Butler Yeats; arr. David Lantz III)
It was down by the Sally Gardens, my love and I did meet.
She crossed the Sally Gardens with little snow-white feet.
She bid me take love easy, as the leaves grow on the tree;
But I, was young and foolish, and with her did not agree.
In a field by the river my love and I did stand,
And on my leaning shoulder she laid her snow-white hand.
She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs;
But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears.
I Will Arise and Go (w. William Butler Yeats; m. Shawn Kirchner)
The Lake Isle of Innisfree
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.
’Tis the Last Rose of Summer (w. Thomas Moore, 1805; m. Richard Alfred Milliken; arr. David Lantz III, 2007)
’Tis the last rose of summer,
Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone;
No flower of her kindred,
No rosebud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
Or give sigh for sigh.
I’ll not leave thee, thou lone one!
To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go, sleep thou with them.
Thus kindly I scatter,
Thy leaves o’er the bed,
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead.
So soon may I follow,
When friendships decay,
And from Love’s shining circle
The gems drop away.
When true hearts lie withered,
And fond ones are flown,
Oh! who would inhabit
This bleak world alone?
Shule Aroon (Siúil a Rún) {SSA} (Arr. Ruth Elaine Schram)
chorus:
Siúil, siúil, siúil a rún
Siúil go sochair agus siúil go ciúin
Siúil go doras agus éalaigh liom
Is go dté tú mo mhúirnín slán
Ruth Elaine Schram’s transliteration
Shule aroon;
Shule go sookar oggus shuel go kewn.
Shule go dorus oggus ehelle lom,
Iss guh jeh thoo mahvohrneen slawn.
My transliteration
Shool, shool, shool a roon
Shool go sookhar oggus shool go kewn
Shool go dorus oggus ehla lyom
Ish guh dye tuh mah vurneen slawn.
Ruth Elaine Schram’s translation
Come, come, come, my love,
Quickly come to me, softly move,
Come to the door and away we’ll flee,
And safe forever may my darling be.
My translation
Go [lit. walk], go, go, my love.
Quickly come to me, softly move,
Come to the door and away we’ll flee,
And safe forever may my darling be.
======
Lyrics:
English Translation:
I wish I was on yonder hill
’Tis there I’d sit and cry my fill
Until every tear would turn a mill
Is go dté tú mo mhúirnín slán
And may you go safely, my darling
Chorus (after each verse):
Siúil, siúil, siúil a rún
Go, go, go, my love
Siúil go sochair agus siúil go ciúin
Go quietly and go peacefully
Siúil go doras agus éalaigh liom
Go to the door and fly with me
Is go dté tú mo mhúirnín slán
And may you go safely, my darling
I’ll sell my rock, I’ll sell my reel
I’ll sell my only spinning wheel
To buy my love a sword of steel
Is go dté tú mo mhúirnín slán
And may you go safely, my darling
I’ll dye my petticoats, I’ll dye them red
And ’round the world I’ll beg my bread
Until my parents shall wish me dead
Is go dté tú mo mhúirnín slán
And may you go safely, my darling
I wish, I wish, I wish in vain
I wish I had my heart again
And vainly think I’d not complain
Is go dté tú mo mhúirnín slán
And may you go safely, my darling
But now my love has gone to France
To try his fortune to advance
If he e’er comes back, ’tis but a chance
Scarborough Fair (Arr. Stephen DeCesare)
As a popular and widely distributed song from 1946-1968, there are many versions of the lyrics. The one here, intended as a duet by a man and a woman, includes the place after which it is named:
Male part:
Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
Remember me to one who lives there,
For she was once a true love of mine.
Tell her to make me a cambric shirt,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
Without any seam or needlework,
Then she shall be a true love of mine.
Tell her to wash it in yonder well,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
Where never sprung water or rain ever fell,
And she shall be a true lover of mine.
Tell her to dry it on yonder thorn,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
Which never bore blossom since Adam was born,
Then she shall be a true lover of mine.
Female part:
Now he has asked me questions three,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
I hope he’ll answer as many for me,
Before he shall be a true lover of mine.
Tell him to buy me an acre of land,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
Between the salt water and the sea sand,
Then he shall be a true lover of mine.
Tell him to plough it with a ram’s horn,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
And sow it all over with one peppercorn,
And he shall be a true lover of mine.
Tell him to sheer’t with a sickle of leather,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
And bind it up with a peacock’s feather,
And he shall be a true lover of mine.
Tell him to thrash it on yonder wall,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme,
And never let one corn of it fall,
Then he shall be a true lover of mine.
When he has done and finished his work.
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme:
Oh, tell him to come and he’ll have his shirt,
And he shall be a true lover of mine.
Conclusion
If you say that you can’t, then I shall reply
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Oh, Let me know that at least you will try
Or you’ll never be a true love of mine
Love imposes impossible tasks
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
But none more than any heart would ask
I must know you’re a true love of mine
Alternative refrains
The oldest versions of The Elfin Knight (circa 1650) contain the refrain “my plaid away, my plaid away, the wind shall not blow my plaid away”. Slightly more recent versions often contain one of a group of related refrains:
Sober and grave grows merry in time
Every rose grows merry with time
There’s never a rose grows fairer with time
Yesterday holds memories in time
These are usually paired with “Once (s)he was a true love of mine” or some variant. “Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme” may simply be an alternate rhyming refrain to the original based on a corruption of “grows merry in time” into “rosemary and thyme.”
I Love My Love (m. Gustav Holst)
Abroad as I was walking,
One evening in the spring,
I heard a maid in Bedlam
So sweetly for to sing;
Her chain she rattled with her hands
And thus replied she:
Chorus:
“I love my love because I know
My love loves me.”
Oh cruel were his parents
Who sent my love to sea,
And cruel was the ship
That bore my love from me;
Yet I love his parents since they’re his,
Although they’ve ruined me:
Chorus
With straw I’ll weave a garland,
I’ll weave it very fine;
With roses, lilies, daisies,
I’ll mix the eglantine;
And I’ll present it to my love when he returns from sea.
For...
Chorus
Just as she there sat weeping,
Her love, he came on land,
Then, hearing she was in Bedlam
He ran straight out of hand;
He flew into her snow-white arms,
And thus replied he:
Chorus
She said: “My love, don’t frighten me;
are you my love or no?”
“O yes, my dearest Nancy,
I am your love, also
I am returned to make amends
for all your injury.
Chorus
So now these two are married,
And happy may they be.
Like turtledoves together,
In love and unity.
All pretty maids with patience wait
That have got loves at sea;
Chorus
What Shall We Do with a Drunken Sailor? (Arr. David Eddleman)
What shall we do with a drunken sailor,
Early in the morning?
Way, hey, and up she rises,
Early in the morning!
Put ’im in the longboat till he’s sober,
Early in the morning!
Put ’im in the scuppers with a hose pipe on ’im,
Early…
Pull out the plug and wet ’im all over,
Early…
Loch Lomond (Scottish traditional; arr. David Lantz III)
By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes
Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond
Where me and my true love were ever wont to gae
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomond
O ye’ll tak’ the high road and I’ll tak’ the low road
And I’ll be in Scotland afore ye.
But me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomond.
’Twas there that we parted in yon shady glen
On the steep, steep side o’ Ben Lomond.
Where in purple hue, the highland hills we view
And the moon comin’ out in the gloamin’.
The wee birdies sing and the wild flowers spring
And in sunshine the waters are sleeping,
But the broken heart, it sees nae second spring,
And the world does nae ken how we’re greeting.
O ye’ll tak’ the high road and I’ll tak’ the low road
And I’ll be in Scotland afore ye
But me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomond
The Skye Boat Song (w. Sir Harold Boulton; m. traditional; arr. Darmon Meader)
[Chorus:]
Speed, bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing,
Onward! the sailors cry;
Carry the lad that’s born to be King
Over the sea to Skye.
Loud the winds howl, loud the waves roar,
Thunderclaps rend the air;
Baffled, our foes stand by the shore,
Follow they will not dare.
[Chorus]
Though the waves leap, soft shall ye sleep,
Ocean’s a royal bed.
Rocked in the deep, Flora will keep
Watch by your weary head.
[Chorus]
Many’s the lad, fought in that day
Well the claymore did wield;
When the night came, silently lay
Dead on Culloden’s field.
[Chorus]
Burned are their homes, exile and death
Scatter the loyal men;
Yet ere the sword cool in the sheath
Charlie will come again.
Mairi’s Wedding (Arr. Bob Chilcott),
Step we gaily, on we go,
Heel for heel and toe for toe,
Arm and arm and row on row,
All for Mairi’s wedding.
Over hill-ways up and down,
Myrtle green and bracken brown,
Past the sheilings, through the town;
All for sake o’ Mairi.
Plenty herring, plenty meal,
Plenty peat tae fill her creel,
Plenty bonnie bairns as weel;
That’s the toast for Mairi.
Cheeks as bright as rowans are,
Brighter far than any star,
Fairest o’ them a’ by far,
Is our darling Mairi.
Home on the Range (Arr. Mark Hayes)
Chorus
Home, home on the range,
Where the deer and the antelope play,
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,
And the sky is not cloudy all day.
Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam
Where the deer and the antelope play;
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,
And the sky is not cloudy all day.
Two American Folk-Songs (Arr. John Rutter)
Chickens are crowin’ on Sourwood Mountain
Hi ho, hi ho, diddle-i day.
Get your dog and let’s go huntin’,
Hi ho, hi ho, diddle-i day.
Chickens are crowin’ on Sourwood Mountain
Hi ho, hi ho, diddle-i day.
Pretty girls and you can’t count ’em,
Hi ho, hi ho, diddle-i day.
My true love’s a blue-eyed daisy
If I don’t get her, I’ll go crazy
My true love she lives on the river,
Won’t be long until I’m with her,
[Source: melody and chord symbols from page 503 (No. 265)
“The Folk Songs of North America in the English Language” by Alan Lomax]
1. Black sheep, black sheep,
Where’d you leave your lamb?
Way down in the valley.
2. Bees and the butterflies
A pickin’ out his eyes,
Poor little thing cryin’ “Mammy!”
3. Black sheep, black sheep,
Where’d you leave your lamb?
Way down in the valley.
4. My mother told me
Before she went away
To take good care of the baby,
But I went out to play
And the baby ran away,
And the poor little thing cryin’ “Mammy.”
Red River Valley (incorporating “Red River Valley” and “Down in the Valley”; arr. Ruth Elaine Schram)
From this valley they say you are going.
Yes, I’m changing my range for a while.
Oh, I know you are weary and tired,
And I'll miss your sweet face and your smile.
Come and sit by my side if you love me.
Do not hasten to bid me adieu.
But remember the Red River Valley,
And the cowboy that has loved you so true.
Down in the valley, valley so low,
Hang your head over, hear the wind blow.
Nelly Bly (wm. Stephen Foster; arr. Jack Halloran; SATB version by Dick Bolks)
chorus:
Hi, Nelly! Ho Nelly! listen love to me,
I’ll sing for you play for you, a dulcet melody.
Nelly Bly! Nelly Bly! bring the broom along,
We’ll sweep the kitchen clean, my dear, and have a little song!
Poke the wood, my lady love,
And make the fire burn,
And while I take the banjo down,
Just give the mush a turn.
chorus
Nelly Bly has a voice like a turtle dove,
I hear it in the meadow and I hear it in the grove.
Nelly Bly has a heart warm as a cup of tea,
And bigger than a sweet potato down in Tennessee.
chorus
Nelly Bly! Nelly Bly! never, never sigh,
Never bring a tear drop to the corner of your eye.
chorus
Shenandoah (arr. James Erb)
1. O Shenando’,
I long to see you,
And hear your rolling river.
Oh Shenando’,
I long to see you,
’Way, we’re bound away,
Across the wide Missouri.
2. I long to see your smiling valley,
And hear your rolling river.
I long to see your smiling valley,
’Way, we’re bound away,
Across the wide Missouri.
3. ’Tis sev’n years,
since last I see you,
And hear your rolling river.
’Tis seven years,
since last I see you,
Away, we’re bound away,
Across the wide Missouri.
Old Joe Clark (rr. Greg Gilpin)
Fare ye well, Old Joe Clark
Fare ye well, Old Joe Clark
Fare ye well, I say
Fare ye well, Old Joe Clark
I best be on my way.
Old Joe Clark he had a house
Fifteen stories high
And every story in that house
Was filled with chicken pie
I went down to Old Joe’s house
He invited me to supper
I stumped my toe on the table leg
And stuck my nose in the butter
Fare ye well, Old Joe Clark
Fare ye well, I say
Fare ye well, Old Joe Clark
I best be on my way.
Old Joe Clark had a yellow cat
She would neither sing or pray
Stuck her head in the buttermilk jar
And washed her sins away
Old Joe Clark had a mule
His name was Morgan Brown
And every tooth in that mule’s head
Was sixteen inches round
Fare ye well, Old Joe Clark
Fare ye well, I say
Fare ye well, Old Joe Clark
I best be on my way.
I’m Going Home (Arr. Pepper Choplin)
Farewell, vain world! I’m going home!
My Savior smiles and bids me come,
And I don’t care to stay here long!
Sweet angels beckon me away,
To sing God’s praise in endless day,
And I don’t care to stay here long!
Chorus:
Right up yonder, Christians, away up yonder;
Oh, yes, my Lord, for I don’t care to stay here long.
I’m glad that I am born to die, (Alt: And though I know I’m bound to die)
From grief and woe my soul shall fly, (Alt: “pain” replaces “woe”)
And I don’t care to stay here long!
Bright angels shall convey me home, (Bright angels then shall take me home)
Away to New Jerusalem,
And I don’t care to stay here long.
https://fasola.org/indexes/1991/?p=282
Wayfarin’ Stranger (arr. Michael Larkin)
I am a poor, wayfaring stranger,
While journ’ying through this world of woe,
Yet, there’s no sickness, toil nor danger,
In that bright world to which I go.
I’m going there to see my Father,
I’m going there no more to roam;
Chorus:
I’m only going over Jordan,
I’m only going over home.
I know dark clouds will gather o’er me,
I know my way is rough and steep;
Yet beaut’ous fields lie just before me,
Where God’s redeemed their vigils keep.
I’m going there to see my Mother,
She said she’d meet me when I come.
(Chorus)
I want to wear a crown of glory,
When I get home to that good land;
I want to shout Salvation’s story,
In concert with the blood-washed band.
I’m going there to meet my Savior,
To sing His praise forevermore;
(Chorus)
https://fasola.org/indexes/1991/?p=457
Will the Circle Be Unbroken {TTB} (w. Ada Habershon; m. Charles H. Gabriel, 1902; arr. Donald Moore)
1 There are loved ones in the glory
Whose dear forms you often miss,
When you close your earthly story
Will you join them in their bliss?
Refrain:
Will the circle be unbroken
by and by, yes, by and by?
In a better home awaiting
in the sky, in the sky?
2 In the joyous days of childhood,
Oft they told of wondrous love,
Pointed to the dying Savior,
Now they dwell with Him above. [Refrain]
3 You remember songs of heaven
Which you sang with childish voice,
Do you love the hymns they taught you,
Or are songs of earth your choice? [Refrain]
4 You can picture happy gath’rings
Round the fireside long ago,
And you think of tearful partings,
When they left you here below. [Refrain]
5 One by one their seats were empty,
One by one they went away,
Now the family is parted,
Will it be complete one day? [Refrain]
https://hymnary.org/text/there_are_loved_ones_in_the_glory
How Can I Keep from Singing (wm. Robert Lowry; arr. Taylor Davis)
My life flows on in endless song;
above earth’s lamentation,
I catch the sweet, though far-off hymn
that hails a new creation.
Through all the tumult and the strife,
I hear that music ringing.
It finds an echo in my soul.
How can I keep from singing?
While though the tempest loudly roars,
I hear the truth, it liveth.
And though the darkness round me close,
Songs in the night it giveth.
No storm can shake my inmost calm
while to that Rock I’m clinging.
Since love is lord of heaven and earth,
how can I keep from singing?
When tyrants tremble sick with fear,
And hear their death-knell ringing,
When friends rejoice both far and hear,
How can I keep from singing?
In prison cells and dungeon vile,
our thoughts to them are winging:
when friends by shame are undefiled,
how can I keep from singing?
https://hymnary.org/text/my_life_flows_on_in_endless_song
Cindy (Arr. David Eddleman)
Refrain:
Git along home Cindy, Cindy
Git along home Cindy, Cindy
Git along home Cindy, Cindy
I’ll marry you some day
Now Cindy was a pretty girl
with ribbons in her hair,
And when she turned and looked at me,
I could only stand and stare.
Git along home Cindy, Cindy
Git along home Cindy, Cindy
Git along home Cindy, Cindy
let me take you for a whirl.
I asked her out one moonlit night,
and this is what she said:
I wouldn’t go out with you
if you were the last man living or dead!
Refrain
The first time I saw Cindy
She’s standing in the door;
Her shoes and stockings in her hand
Her feet all over the floor.
She told me that she loved me,
she called me Sugarplum;
She threw her arms around me,
I thought my time had come.
Refrain
Now Cindy got religion,
She had it once before.
But when she hears that fiddle play,
She’s the first one on the floor.
Now, Cindy kissed the preacher,
he thought it mighty fine.
She asked him how he liked it.
He said, That was divine!
I’ll marry you someday!
But not today!