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Hunting the Hare

[ Roud 1181 ; Welsh trad., English words A.P. Graves]

Geoff and Pennie Harris sang Hare Hunting in 1975 on the Trailer album of the season, Maypoles to Mistletoe. The tune is the traditional Welsh Hela'r Ysgyfarnog and the words are from A.P. Graves' The Celtic Song Book (1928). The dogs' role-call reminds me a bit of Dido Bendigo.

Kate Rusby & Kathryn Roberts sang Hunting the Hare in 1995 on their eponymous album, Kate Rusby & Kathryn Roberts.

Jon Boden sang Hunting the Hare as the October 10, 2010 entry of his project A Folk Song a Day. He commented in the blog:

I absolutely loved the Kate Rusby & Kathryn Roberts album. I got it in my second year at uni and drove my housemates mad with it. Strangely I never learnt anything from it (although I was already singing Suzanne Vega’s Soldier & the Queen—should I record that for this thinking about it…?), but finally got round to learning this a few months ago.

Barry Lister sang a completely different Hunting the Hare with The Claque (he, Dave Lowry, Sean O'Shea, and Tom Addison) in 2006 on his CD Ghosts & Greasepaint. He commented in his liner notes:

Dave Lowry extracted this many years ago in the 1970s from the Baring-Gould manuscripts [A Book of Nursery Songs and Rhymes]. It was collected in the 1890s from Mr Nankivel (known as Old Capul) at Merrivale Bridge. Baring-Gould's assistant, Mr Bussell, thought that the tune was a 17th Century dance tune.

Lyrics

Kate Rusby and Kathryn Roberts sing Hunting the Hare

Well, all the yelping of hounds, the skelping,
Along the cover and out through the back!
Oh the galloping, oh the walloping,
Oh the cry of the Galloway Jack!
Off like a feather, he floats o'er the heather,
And Blackberry calls him a tune in his track.
There's Spot and Spider and Beauty beside her,
Then Red Rake and the rest of the pack.

Well, now they're losing him, now they're finding him,
Now they're winding him round by the stack!
Hark the horn! To the heights we follow,
And whoop and holler and for'ard and back.
Sure there's none brisker who faint cocked a whisker
Nor bustles more brisker than yonder old Jack.
One more double across the stubble
And he's in trouble and tossed by the pack.

Then Brayer and Stayer are away to the stable
With jovial huntsmen the table attack.
It's meat we're munching and oats they're crunching
As bales are emptied and bottles are cracked.
Here's to the Master! None fairer, none faster,
To steady the ready and screw up the slack!
Here's to the Hunt! With your glasses a-jingle,
With joy come mingle and here's to the Pack!

The Claque sing Hunting the Hare

I hunted my Merry all into the hay,
The Hare was afore and the hounds were away!

Chorus (after each verse):

With my Hickerly Tout, ticklesome Trout,
Hipperly, tipperly, eversheen, nipperly,
Up the middle, vandigo-van.
And it's up the hill, down the form,
Here a step, there a turn,
Turn and sing merrily,
Hunt hounds, away!

I hunted my Merry all into the barley,
There the poor puss was pursued by old Snarley.

I hunted my Merry all into the wheat,
There the sly puss did attempt us to cheat.

I hunted my Merry all into the oats
There I cut off both his paw and his scutt.

I hunted my Merry all into the rye,
There the poor puss was constrained to die.

Links

See also the Mudcat Cafè thread Lyr Add: Hunting the Hare.