My father left me an acre of land
Language: English
My father left me an acre of land, Ivy, sing Ivery, My father left me an acre of land, And a bunch of green holly and Ivery. I ploughed it with a ram's horn; Ivy, sing Ivery, I sowed it with a thimble, And a bunch of green holly and Ivery. I harrowed it with a bramble bush; Ivy, sing Ivery, I reaped it with a penknife, And a bunch of green holly and Ivery. I sent it home in a walnut shell; Ivy, sing Ivery, I threshed it with my needle and thread, And a bunch of green holly and Ivery. I winnowed it with my handkerchief; Ivy, sing Ivery, I sent it to mill with a team of great rats; And a bunch of green holly and Ivery. The carter brought a curly whip; Ivy, sing Ivery, The whip did pop and the wagon did stop; And a bunch of green holly and Ivery.
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Text Authorship:
- from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , first sung to the composer by Frank Bailey in 1904. [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Imogen Clare Holst (1907 - 1984), "A bunch of green holly and ivy", 1934, published 1936 [ 2 sopranos and piano ], from Four Oxfordshire Folk Songs, no. 4, Novello [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "An acre of land", 1934 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "An acre of land", 1950 [ women's chorus ], from cantata Folk Songs of the Four Seasons, no. 4c, (Autumn), Oxford University Press [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 156