HEMMAYD gys y keyll,'dooyrt Robbin y Vobbin.
'Hemmayd gys y keyll,' dooyrt Richard y Robin.;
' Hemmayd gys y keyll,' dooyrt Juan y Thalloo;
' Hemmayd gys y keyll,' dooyrt ooilley unnane.
' Cre nee mayd ayns shen ?' dooyrt, &c.*
' Helg mayd yn dreain,
' C'raad t'eshyn ? C'raad t'eshyn ?' '
' 'Sy crouw glass ayns-shid,'
' Ta mee fackin eshyn,
' Cre'n aght yiow mayd sheese eh?
' Lesh maidjyn as claghyn,
' 'T'eh marroo, t'eh marroo,'
'Cre'n aght yiow mayd thie eh ?
' Nee mayd cairt failley,
' Quoi lesh Yees y cairt ²
' Juan Illiam y Fell,
' Quoi vees immanagh?
' Filley'n Tweet,'
' T'eh ec y thie,
' Cre'n aght yiow mayd broit eh ?
' Ayns y phann thie-imlee.'
'Cre'n aght yiow mayd ayn eh ?
' Lesh barryn yiarn as tiedd,'
' T'eshyn ayn, t'eshyn ayn,
' T'eshyn broltg t'eshyn broit,
' Cre'n aght yiow mayd magh eh ?'
' Lesh gollage mle liauyr,'
' T'eh goit m agh, t'eh goit magh,^3'
Quoi vees ec y yinnair
Yn ree as ven-rein,'
Cre'n aght yiow mayd ecit eh?'
Lesh skinn as aall,'
T'eh eeit, t'eh eeit,'
'Sooillyn son ny doail,'
I Lurgyn son ny croobee,'
'Scrobban son ny moght,'
'Crauyn son ny moddee,'
'Yn dreain, yn dre~in, ree eeanllee ooilley,
Ta shin er tayrtyn, Laa'l Steoaln, 'sy connee;
Ga t'eh beg, ta e cleinney ymmoddee,
Ta mee guee oo, ven vie, chur bine dooin dy lu.⁴

WE'LL away to the wood,' says Robin the Bobbin,
' We'll away to the wood,'says Richard the Robbin;
' We'll away to the wood,' says jack of the Land.
' We'll away to the wood,' says every one.
' What shall we do there ? says, &c.*
' We will hunt the wren,
' Where is he? where is he ?'
' In yonder green bush,
' I see him, I see him,'
' How shall we get him down?'
' With sticks and stones,
' He is dead, lie is dead,
' How shall we get him home?
' We'll hire a cart,
' Whose cart shall we hire?
' Johnny Bill Fell's,
' Who will stand driver ?
' Filley the Tweet,
' He's home, he's home,
' How shall we get him boiled ?
' In the brewery pan,
' How shall we get him in?
' With iron bars and a rope,
' He is in, he is in,
' He is boiled, he is boiled,
' How shall we get him out ?'
' With a long pitchfork,
' He is out, he is out,
' Who will be at the dinner
' The king and the queen,
' How shall we get him eaten
' With knives and forks
' He is eat, he is eat,
' The eyes for the blind,
' The legs for the lame,
' The pluck for the poor,
' The bones for the dogs,
' The wren, the wren, the king of all birds,
We have caught, Stephen's Feast-day, in the furze;
Although he is little, his family's great,
I pray you, good dame, do give us a drink.

* Each line is repeated four times with
" dooyrt Robin y Vobbin,
dooyrt Richard y Robbin,
dooyrt Juan y Thalloo, dooyrt ooilley unnane,"
as in lirst verse.

2 " whose will be the cart."
3 "He's taken out."
4" Give us a little drop to drink."

* Each line is repeated four times with
" says Robin the Bobbin, says
Richard the Robbin, says
jack of the Land, says every one,"
as in first verse.

music p252

Any comments, errors or omissions gratefully received The Editor
HTML Transcription © F.Coakley , 2001