by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
The carrion crow
Language: English
The carrion crow sat upon an oak, To me ring dong dilly dong ky-ro-lee Watching the tailor mending his cloak, To me ring dong dilly dong ky-ro-lee. Hey fo lee fo la fo lerum, Hey fo lee fo lerum lee, Up jumps John, ringing on his bell, To me ring dong dilly dong ky-ro-lee. Wife fetch me my old bent bow, To me ring dong dilly dong ky-ro-lee, I will shoot the carrion crow, To me ring dong dilly dong ky-ro-lee. Hey fo lee fo la fo lerum, Hey fo lee fo lerum lee, Up jumps John, ringing on his bell, To me ring dong dilly dong ky-ro-lee. He shot the crow but he missed his mark, To me ring dong dilly dong ky-ro-lee, He shot the old sow to the heart, To me ring dong dilly dong ky-ro-lee. Hey fo lee fo la fo lerum, Hey fo lee fo lerum lee, Up jumps John, ringing on his bell, To me ring dong dilly dong ky-ro-lee. Wife, fetch brandy in a spoon, To me ring dong dilly dong ky-ro-lee, Our old sow, she's in a swoon, To me ring dong dilly dong ky-ro-lee. He dragged the old sow to the house, To me ring dong dilly dong ky-ro-lee, There they fed her tatties in sauce, To me ring dong dilly dong ky-ro-lee. The old sow died and the bells did toll, The little pigs prayed for the old sow's soul. Hey fo lee fo la fo lerum, Hey fo lee fo lerum lee, Up jumps John, ringing on his bell, To me ring dong dilly dong ky-ro-lee.
Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author, "The carrion crow" [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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "The carrion crow", 2010 [baritone or bass and piano] [ sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2011-12-28
Line count: 38
Word count: 267