The Bells of Rhymney was first sung by folksingerPete Seeger, using words written by Welsh poet Idris Davies. The lyrics to the song were drawn from part of Davies' poetic work Gwalia Deserta, which was first published in 1938. The work was inspired by a local coal mining disaster and by the failure of the 1926 General Strike and the "Bells of Rhymney" stanzas follow the pattern of the nursery rhyme"Oranges and Lemons".
It has been performed by a lot of people, most notably the Byrds, but I like this version by Oysterband.
Hal An Tow is a traditional May Day song. The term “halan” means “calends,” or first of the month, and “tow” means “garland”. This is No. 135, under the title Helston Furry Dance, in Palmer's Everyman's Book of English Country Songs.
It has been sung by many folk groups and singers including Oysterband, the Waterstons, and the Albion Band. This version is sung by Tempest, an American Celtic band from the San Francisco area.
Lyrics (there are various sets of lyrics, so this is just one):
take the scorn and wear the horns
it was the crest when you were born
your father's father wore it
and your father wore it too
Robin Hood and Little John
have both gone to the fair-o
we shall to the merry green wood
to hunt the buck and hare-o
hal-an-tow, jolly rumbelow
we were up long before the day-o
to welcome in the summertime
to welcome in the May
for summer is a-coming in
and winter's gone away
what happened to the Spaniards
that made so great a boast-o?
they shall eat the feathered goose
and we shall eat the roast-o
God bless Aunt Mary Moses
with all her power and might-o
send us peace in England
send peace by day and night-o
hal-an-tow, jolly rumbelow
we were up long before the day-o
to welcome in the summertime
to welcome in the May
for summer is a-coming in
and winter's gone away
The song Molly Bond as sung by Oysterband tells the story of a man who mistakes his love for a swan and shoots her. It is based on older songs like Polly Vaughn, Polly Von (sung by Peter, Paul, and Mary), and Molly Bann. Variations have been sung by many groups and singers. The earliest known version of the tune for the Irish version of the song, is earlier than the earliest printing of the words. Edward Bunting's "General Collection of the Ancient Music of Ireland" appeared in 1796. He printed the Irish tune three times in his manuscripts, each time noting it was traditionally the first to by learned by beginning harpers. If this in turn really is derived from O’Carolan’s composition “Fairhaired Mary” then it must date back to 1738 or before In The Black Swans I used the song as the basis of how Owen Campbell and Nola McLaren meet.
