by John Woodcock Graves (1795 - 1886)
D'ye ken John Peel with his coat so gay
Language: English
D'ye ken John Peel with his coat so gay, D'ye ken John Peel at the break o' the day, D'ye ken John Peel when he's far away With his hounds and his horn in the morning? For the sound of his horn brought me from my bed, And the cry of the hounds, which he oft-times led, Peel's "view halloo" would awaken the dead, Or the fox from his lair in the morning. Yes, I ken John Peel, and Ruby too, Ranter and Ringwood, Bellman and True; From a find to a check, from a check to a view, From a view to a death in the morning. For the sound of his horn brought me from my bed, And the cry of the hounds, which he oft-times led, Peel's "view halloo" would awaken the dead, Or the fox from his lair in the morning. Then here's to John Peel from my heart and soul, Let's drink to his health, let's finish the bowl; We'll follow John Peel thru fair and foul. If we want a good hunt in the morning. For the sound of his horn brought me from my bed, And the cry of the hounds, which he oft-times led, Peel's view halloo" would awaken the dead, Or the fox from his lair in the morning. D'ye ken John Peel with his coat so gay? He lived at Troutbeck once on a day; Now he has gone far far away, We shall ne'er hear his voice in the morning. For the sound of his horn brought me from my bed, And the cry of the hounds, which he oft-times led, Peel's "view halloo" would awaken the dead, Or the fox from his lair in the morning.
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Text Authorship:
- by John Woodcock Graves (1795 - 1886), "D'ye ken John Peel" [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 Virgil Garnett Thomson (1896 - 1989), "John Peel", 1955. [voice and piano] [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-11-01
Line count: 32
Word count: 288