Steeleye Span Album

Traditional

Oh, my name it is Jack Hall, Jack Hall
Oh, my name it is Jack Hall, Jack Hall
My name it is Jack Hall and I've robbed both great and small
And my neck shall pay for all when I die, when I die
And my neck shall pay for all when I die.

Oh, I've twenty pounds in store and that's not all
I've twenty pounds in store and that's not all
Oh, I've twenty pounds in store and I'd kill for twenty more
And my neck shall pay for all when I die, when I die
And my neck shall pay for all when I die.

Oh, I rode up Tyburn Hill in a cart
Oh, I rode up Tyburn Hill in a cart
Oh, I rode up Tyburn Hill, it was there I made my will
Saying : ‘The best of friends must part, so farewell, so farewell'
Saying : ‘The best of friends must part, so farewell'.

Up the ladder I did grope, that's no joke
Up the ladder I did grope, that's no joke
Up the ladder I did grope and the hangman spread his rope
But never a word I spoke coming down, coming down
But never a word I spoke coming down.

Traditional

It's of two noble butchers as I have heard men say
Started out from London all on a market day
And as they were a-riding as fast as they could ride
'Oh, stop your horse' - says Johnson - ‘for I hear some woman cry'
‘I will not stop' - says Wilson - ‘I will not stop' - says he
‘I will not stop' - says Wilson - ‘for robbed we shall be'.

Johnson, he got off his horse, searched the woods all ‘round
And there he spied a woman with her hair pinned to the ground
‘How came you here, dear woman ? How came you here fast bound ?'
‘How came you here this morning with your hair pinned to the ground ?'
‘They robbed me, they stripped me, they left me here fast bound'
'They left me here this morning with my hair pinned to the ground'.

May God keep all good people
May God keep all good people
May God keep all good people from such bad company.

Then Johnson, he being a valiant man and a man of courage bold
He took his coat from off his back to keep her from the cold
And as they were a-riding as fast as they could ride
She put a whistle to her mouth and she gave three shivering cries
Up jumped three bold and swaggering men with swords all in their hands
Who then commanded Johnson, commanded him to stand
‘I'll stop, I'll stand' - says Johnson - ‘as long as I can stand'
'For never was I, in all my life, afraid of any man'.

May God keep all good people
May God keep all good people
May God keep all good people from such bad company.

Oh, two of them he quickly slew and the third he did not mind
'Til the false young woman took a knife and stabbed him from behind
Poor Johnson he spun round about and he fell down to the ground
And he cursed that wretched woman who gave him his death wound
Now the day it being a market day, there were people travelling by
Who saw the awful murder, who saw poor Johnson die
Now Johnson he was a valiant man and a valiant man was he
May God keep all good people from such bad company.

May God keep all good people
May God keep all good people
May God keep all good people from such bad company.

Unite and unite, and let us all unite
For summer is a-comin today.
And whither we are going we all will unite,
In the merry morning of may.

The young men of padstow, they might if they would,
For summer is a-comin today.
They might have built a ship and guilded it with gold
In the merry morning of may.

The young women of padstow, they might if they would,
For summer is a-comin today.
They might have built a garland with the white rose and the red
In the merry morning of may.

Rise up, mrs johnson, all in your gown of green
For summer is a-comin today.
You are as fine a lady as waits upon the queen
In the merry morning of may.

Oh where is king george? oh where is he-o?
He's out in his longboat, all on the salt sea-o.
Up flies the kite, down falls the lark-o.
Aunt ursula birdhood, she has an old ewe,
And she died in her own park-o.

With the merry ring and with the joyful spring,
For summer is a-comin today.
How happy are the little birds and the merrier we shall sing
In the merry morning of may.

Oh where are the young men that now do advance
For summer is a-comin today.
Some they are in england and some they are in france
In the merry morning of may.

Traditional

(Instrumental)

Traditional

Betsy Bell and Mary Gray
They were bonny lasses
They bigget a bower on yon burnside
And theekit it o'er wi' rashes.

They theekit it o'er wi' rashes green
They theekit it o'er wi' heather
But the plague came from the burrows-town
And it slew them baith thegither.

They would not have their shoes of red
Nor would they have them yellow
But they would have their shoes of green
To ride through the streets of Yarrow.

They thought to lye in Methren Kirk yard
Among their noble kin
But they were laid in Stronach Hall
All art beneath the sun.

Betsy Bell and Mary Gray
They were bonny lasses
They bigget a bower on yon burnside
And theekit it o'er wi' rashes.

Traditional

Dance, dance the shaking of the sheets
Dance, dance when you hear the piper
Playing, everyone must dance
The shaking of the sheets with me.

Bring away the beggar, bring away the king
And every man in his degree
Bring away the oldest and the youngest thing
Come to death and follow me.

Bring away the merchant who made his money in France
And the crafty banker too
When you hear the piper, you and I must dance
The dance that everyone must do.

Dance, dance the shaking of the sheets
Dance, dance when you hear the piper
Playing, everyone must dance
The shaking of the sheets with me.

I'll find you in the courtrooms, I'll find you in the schools
When you hear the piper play
I'll take away the wise men, I'll take away the fools
And bring their bodies all to clay.

All the politicians of high and low degree
Lords and ladies, great and small
Don't think that you'll escape and need not dance with me
I'll make you come when I do call.

Dance, dance the shaking of the sheets
Dance, dance when you hear the piper
Playing, everyone must dance
The shaking of the sheets with me.

It may be in the day, it may be in the night
Prepare yourselves to dance and pray
That when the piper plays ‘The Shaking of the Sheets'
You may to Heaven dance the way.

Dance, dance the shaking of the sheets
Dance, dance when you hear the piper
Playing, everyone must dance
The shaking of the sheets with me.

Dance, dance the shaking of the sheets
Dance, dance when you hear the piper
Playing, everyone must dance
The shaking of the sheets with me.

Traditional

As I walked out one May morning, one May morning betime
I met a maid from home had strayed just as the sun did shine
‘What makes you rise so soon, my dear, your journey to pursue ?'
'Your pretty little feet they tread so neat, strike off the morning dew'.

‘I'm going to feed my father's flocks, his young and tender lambs'
'That over hills and over dales lie waiting for their dams'
‘O stay, o stay, you handsome maid, and rest a moment here'
'For there is none that you alone that I do love so dear'.

‘How gloriously the sun doth shine, how pleasant is the air'
'I'd rather rest on a true love's breast than any other where'
‘For I am thine and thou art mine, no man shall uncomfort me'
'We'll join our hands in wedded bands and married we shall be'.

Knight

Penny is shining beneath a bright light
With another resting beside her
Maybe the light one will come back tonight
With the memories she carries inside her.

Seagull, seagull, three three in a bed
Seagull, seagull, three three in a bed.

Penny the hero, Penny the fool
The gold watch she gave me I'll treasure
They say that it's only a game after all
Apart from the pain it's a pleasure.

Seagull, seagull, three three in a bed
Seagull, seagull, three three in a bed.

Penny is silent when fortunes are lost
She knows there is nothing worth saying
You're all alone when you're counting the cost
Is it more than a game you've been playing ?

Seagull, seagull, three three in a bed
Seagull, seagull, three three in a bed.

Seagull, seagull, three three in a bed
Seagull, seagull, three three in a bed.

Seagull, seagull, three three in a bed
Seagull, seagull, three three in a bed.

Traditional

There was a lady lived in York
She stabbed her baby to the heart
She drew a scarf from off her head
She bound the baby's hands and legs.

She drew a knife long and sharp
She stabbed the baby to the heart
She wiped the knife upon the grass
The more she wiped, the blood ran fast.

As she was going to her father's hall
She saw three children playing at ball
One in silk, the other in satin
The other was naked as ever was born.

‘Oh, dear child, if you were mine'
'I'd dress you in silk and satins so fine'
‘Mother dear, I once was thine'
'You never would dress me, coarse or fine'.

‘Mother, mother, for your sins'
'Heaven you shall not enter'
'There is fire beyond Hell's gate'
'And there you'll burn forever'.

Knight

Somebody's following, following me
Somebody's following, following me.

Look in his eyes, this man, he'll tell you nothing
You'll have to do what he says if you
Look in his eyes, this man, it's no use running
I know I mustn't look back at him.

(Somebody's following, following me)
I feel a chill that runs straight to the bone
(Somebody's following, following me)
I've never felt so alone and I know that I'm not mistaken
(There's been other young girls he's taken)
If I happen to take just one look in his eyes
He will turn me to ice, oh why can't I run away ?
Something is stopping me running away.

Look in his eyes, this man, you'd never know it
He'll own your body and soul if you
Look in his eyes, this man, I mustn't show it
I mustn't show that I'm scared of him.

(Somebody's following, following me)
I feel his breath on the back of my hair
(Somebody's following, following me)
And there's fear in the air and I know that I'm not mistaken
(There's been other young girls he's taken)
If I happen to take just one look in his eyes
He will turn me to ice, oh why can't I run away ?
What is it stopping me running away ?

(Somebody's following).

Look in his eyes, this man, he'll tell you nothing
You'll have to do what he says if you
Look in his eyes, this man, it's no use running
I know I mustn't look back at him.

(Somebody's following, following me)
I feel a chill that runs straight to the bone
(Somebody's following, following me)
I've never felt so alone and I know that I'm not mistaken
(There's been other young girls he's taken)
If I happen to take just one look in his eyes
He will turn me to ice, oh why can't I run away ?
Something is stopping me running away
What is it stopping me running away ?
Something is stopping me running away
What is it stopping me running away ?
Something is stopping me running away
…

Knight

You can hound me now you've found me
But I'm far more cunning than you
I'm a shy fox, I'm a sly fox
And I'll teach you a lesson or two.

I'll run you through the hawthorn hedge and tear your dogs to shreds
I'll lead you from the open fields into the flower beds
I'll lead you from the open fields into the nearest town
And take you to my hunting ground.

Run, run, I won't give in
Run, run, I'll never give in
Run, run, run, I won't give in
Run, run, run, I'll never give in.

You can hound me now you've found me
But I'm far more cunning than you
I'm a brown fox, I'm a town fox
And I'll teach you a lesson or two.

I'll introduce electric fence to every horse and hound
And watch the horses suffering upon the stony ground
I'll lead you from the open fields into the nearest town
And take you to my hunting ground.

Run, run, I won't give in
Run, run, I'll never give in
Run, run, run
Run, run, run.

Run, run, I won't give in
Run, run, I'll never give in
Run, run, run, I won't give in
Run, run, run, I'll never give in.

Run, run, I won't give in
Run, run, I'll never give in
Run, run, run, I won't give in
Run, run, run, I'll never give in.

…