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| Celtic Radio Community > Cornwall > Cornish Folk Songs |
| Posted by: emerald-eyedwanderer 02-Feb-2005, 11:14 PM |
| Durdatha whye! Good day to you! Here are some lyrics of folk songs that are sung in Cornwall. If you ever come across any, please feel free to share. Camborne Hill Going up Camborne Hill, coming down Going up Camborne Hill, coming down The horses stood still; The wheels went around; Going up Camborne Hill coming down White stockings, white stockings she wore White stockings, white stockings she wore White stockings she wore: The same as before; Going up Camborne Hill coming down I knowed her old father old man I knowed her old father old man I knowed her old man: He played in the band; Going up Camborne Hill coming down I had her, I had her, I did I had her, I had her, I did I had her, I did: It cost me a quid; Going up Camborne Hill coming down He heaved in the coal - the steam He heaved in the coal, in the steam He heaved in the coal: The steam hit the beam Going up Camborne Hill coming down Going up Camborne Hill, coming down Going up Camborne Hill, coming down The horses stood still; The wheels went around; Going up Camborne Hill coming down Trelawny With a good sword and a trusty shield A faithful heart and true King James's men shall understand What Cornish men can do And have they fixed the where and when? And shall Trelawny die? Here's twenty thousand Cornish men Will know the reason why. Chorus And shall Trelawny live? Or shall Trelawny die? Here's twenty thousand Cornish men Will know the reason why. Out spake the captain brave and bold A merry wight was he Though London Tower were Michael's hold We'll set Trelawny free We'll cross the Tamar, land to land The Severn is no stay Then one and all and hand in hand And who shall bid us nay. And when we came to London wall A pleasant sight to view Come forth, come forth, ye cowards all Here are better men than you Trelawny, he's in keep in hold Trelawny he may die But twenty thousand Cornish men Will know the reason why. Little Eyes I dreamed a dream, the other night The strangest dream of all I dreamed I saw you kissing her Behind the garden wall Chorus: And she said: Little eyes I love you (honey!) Little eyes I love you I love you in the springtime and the fall (fall-fall-fall) Little eyes I love you (honey!) Little eyes I love you I love you best of all. I took my true love down the lane Beneath the spreading pine I put my arms around her waist And pressed her lips to mine And she said: (chorus) I took her round to my back yard To see my turtle dove O tell me honey tell me true Who is the one you love. And she said: (chorus) Lamorna So, now I'll sing to 'ee Its about a maiden fair I met the other evening In the corner of the square She had a wild and roving eyes: We met down to Lamorna And we roved all night In the pale moonlight Away down to Lamorna Chorus: Twas down in Albert Square I never shall forget: Her eyes they shone like diamonds And the evening it was wet wet wet And her hair hung down in curls She was a charming rover And we roved all night In the pale moonlight Away down to Lamorna As we got in the cab Well I asked her for her name And when she gave it me Well her name it was the same So I lifted up her veil For her face was covered over To my surprise It was my wife I took down to Lamorna She said "I knowed 'ee well I knowed 'ee all along I knowed 'ee in the dark But I did it for a lark - lark - lark And for that lark you'll pay For the taking of my Donna For I declare You'll pay the fare Away down to Lamorna Notes to the Songs Camborne Hill: This song celebrates Richard Trevithick's historic steam engine ride up Camborne Hill to Beacon on Christmas Eve 1801. The steam engine, invented in the late seventeenth century, had been progressively refined for use in Cornish tin mines during the eighteenth century. It was unable to generate enough power for automobility, however, until Trevithick's high pressure engine in 1801. The engine ran up the steep hill towards Beacon Village amid crowds of interested onlookers. One of these was Lady de Dunstanville, whose origins were less exalted than her aristocratic title might suggest. The Camborne mob, wasting no opportunity to bring her down to her level, reminded her of her origins and suggested that she could not, even in her newly exalted state, bring herself (or afford?) to buy a new pair of stockings. There is no evidence that the scurrilous suggestion in the fourth verse, always sung in Camborne but rarely printed, is true. Trelawny: The correct title of this song is: 'The Song of the Western Men'. Most of it was written in 1825 by R.S. Hawker (1804-1875), the celebrated 'Vicar of Morwenstow'. He extrapolated the song from the well-known Cornish proverb: And shall Trelawny die? Here's twenty thousand Cornish men Will know the reason why! The Trelawny in question was Sir Jonathan Trelawny, Bishop of Bristol, one of seven bishops imprisoned in the Tower of London by James II in 1687. The Cornish, staunchly Catholic at the time of the Reformation, had now turned staunchly Protestant and were vocal in his defence - although the threatened rebellion failed to materialise. Many people have erroneously supposed the song to be ancient, among them, Sir Walter Scott, Lord Macaulay, and Charles Dickens. Little Eyes: Merv Davey, in Hengan: Traditional Folk Songs, Dances and Broadside Ballads collected in Cornwall (Redruth: Dyllansow Truran, 1983), notes that this song is 'quite a remarkable example of the way in which a song can be adopted into the traditional repertoire of a community'. Little Eyes (and not Little Lize, as some people think) was released in the 1950s by an American close harmony group called the Deep River Boys as the B side to their disc Deep River and taken up by a Camborne band called the Joy Boys. It became a local hit and, with by now many changes to the words, remains popular in West Cornwall long after the rest of the world has forgotten it. Lamorna: The origins of this song are unclear. Davey thinks it might be a music hall song. The reference to Albert Square certainly makes it post 1840 (when Albert married Victoria) and probably much later. Despite several well-known squares of that name, including a real one in Manchester and a fictional one on the BBC soap opera Eastenders, there is no Albert Square in Penzance or Lamorna. Regardless of its origins, it remains one of the most popular songs in Camborne and the rest of Cornwall. Sorry for the lengthy post, but I love these songs. You can hear the recordings here: http://www.boswarva.demon.co.uk/music.html Tereba nessa. Comero weeth. Till next time. Take care. |
| Posted by: WizardofOwls 03-Feb-2005, 02:01 PM |
| Hi there Em dear! I love the songs! I tried to go to the site to listen but my computer is so old that I only got to hear a little of the first song before I lost my internet connection. (This computer doesn't like doing fancy things like that!  ) But I loved the words! Thanks for sharing this with us! |
| Posted by: emerald-eyedwanderer 03-Feb-2005, 05:44 PM |
| Thank you, Wizard. I'm sorry you didn't have a chance to listen to the songs. Check it out if you ever get a chance to open it on a different computer. |
| Posted by: sonic-skunk 28-Aug-2007, 07:02 AM |
| The chorus for Trelawney in cornish is: Verow Trelawney bras Verow trelawney bras Ottomma ugans myl kernow A woffyth oll an cas Its a great song! |