MAY DAY SONG (May Day Carol) IN ENGLANDPreface
BedforshideCambridgshire, Cheshire
Lancashire, Yorkshire
Obby Oss FestivalPadstow mayday songs
Furry Dance di Helston
On May 1, in Padstow, a characteristic event called “Obby Oss Festival” is celebrated, centered on the Hobby Horse dance; Padstow is a small fishing port of North Cornwall on the mouth of the river Camel, now a tourist destination. (first part)
In this second part I’m going to bring back a couple of songs incorporated in the Padstow Oss tradition but that have been written more recently in the 20th century!
HAIL! HAIL! THE FIRST OF MAY
Dave Webber, founder with his wife Anni Fentiman of the Beggar’s Velvet group, wrote a May Song inspired by the oss tradition for their debut album “Lady of Autumn” released in 1990. The song was so convincing that it was adopted among the celebrations for the Padstow May, also known as the “Drink To The Old ‘Oss” (see more)
Magpie Lane from Jack in the Green 1998
| HAIL! HAIL! THE FIRST OF MAY by Dave Webber 1990 I Winter time has gone and past-o, Summer time has come at last-o. We shall sing and dance the day And follow the ‘obby ‘orse that brings the May. Chorus: So, Hail! Hail! The First of May-o! For it is the first summer’s day-o! Cast you cares and fears away, Drink to the old horse on the First of May! |
II Blue bells(1) they have started to ring-o, And true love, it is the thing-o. Love on any other day Is never quite the same as on the First of May! III Never let it come to pass-o We should fail to raise a glass-o! Unto those now gone away And left us the ‘obby ‘orse that brings the May! |
NOTES
1) The Hyacinthoides of Spanish origin is sometimes called Spanish Bluebells to distinguish it also in the vulgar name from the Hyacinthoides non-scripta, known as English Bluebells.
QUEEN OF THE MAY
In 1982 Larry McLaughlin dedicated this song to his wife Maureen on their silver wedding! Here is a tasty anecdote about it told by Larry McLaughlin’s son: “Dad and I were playing in Padstow one night and, inevitably, we did ‘Queen of the May.’ Afterwards, a woman of middle years and a rich Cornish accent came up to us and said to Dad, ‘’Ere boy, you got the words wrong.’ ‘Oh really,’ Dad replied, ‘But I wrote it.’ ‘So you’re the bugger,’ she replied. “But her husband shouted across, ‘’E didn’t write that, I remember my father singing it.’ To which some else joined in with, ‘You don’t even know who your [bleep]ing father was.’ And such was a typical evening in Padstow. “And in many ways the song has been absorbed into the traditions of Padstow. But we should never forget that it is Mum’s song; its original title is ‘Maureen’s Song.’ A treasured gift from Dad to celebrate their Silver Wedding Anniversary, as he says—without having to spend any money!”
| QUEEN OF THE MAY by Larry McLaughlin 1982 I Winter is over and summer has come And the Obby Oss waits in his stable for dawn Rise up my love early and deck yourself gay And I’ll take you to Padstow today Chorus: And put your arms round me. I’ll dance you away For you are my Queen of the May II Skip out o’er the fields and the woods and the dells Pick primroses, daises, cowslips and bluebells And from the green woods cut a sycamore spray And I’ll take you to Padstow today |
III We’ll breakfast on ale and an old chorus song Musicians will come with accordion and drum We’ll meet the old Oss and we’ll welcome the May When I take you to Padstow today IV When the years have rolled on love and we are both old And the stories of May day and Padstow are told And though I’m old and feeble you’ll still hear me say I’llt take you to Padstow today |
LINK
http://mainlynorfolk.info/steeleye.span/songs/padstow.html http://celtic.org/hobby.pdf http://www.padstowlive.com/events/padstow-may-day http://grapewrath.wordpress.com/2010/05/01/chris-wood-andy-cutting-following-the-old-oss/ https://mainlynorfolk.info/folk/songs/hailhailthefirstofmay.html http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=46931#698474 http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=60993 http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=46931
http://www.sffmc.org/archives/may09/QueenOfMay.pdf
