An Old Man Tries to Remember

urn:iso:std:iso:639:ed-3:eng

16

text excerpt

[Henry Lock includes a joke in his list of songs heard as a boy: the phrase 'Uncle Tom Cobley' was used to express exasperation at a long list of names, though it comes from a Devon folk song, 'Widecombe Fair']

I will now mention some of the old songs they used to sing in our village when I was a boy. They were often sung in the village inn. They included:

The Farmer’s Boy; Oh, Job was a patient man; Buttercup Joe; The Lark in the Morn; Clear away the morning dew; Country of the Green Fields; They are all dispersed and wandered far away; Tom Bowling; My jolly herring; The Union Jack of Old England; The Flag that waves the sailor on his way; Three Cheers for the Red, White and Blue; I’m a man that’s done wrong to my Parents; Oh Joe, the boat is going over; We are all jolly fellows that follow the plough; What is your One, O?; Ring the bell, watchman’; The birds upon the tree; Wrapped up in a soldier’s coat; The burning plains of Egypt; The old rustic bridge by the mill; The Kerry Dancers; One man went to mow; Grandfather’s clock; The poor worn out signalman; The fly be on the turmut; Uncle Tom Cobbley and all; The miles I have travelled; I’m going to marry Mary Ann; I’ve enough for my wants, and a little to spare. 

excerpt from 'An Old Man Tries to Remember' pp. 16 (244 words)

1538656053097:

1538656053097