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The Foxhunt / Reynard the Fox

[ Roud 190 ; Ballad Index K243 ; trad.]

The Young Tradition sang The Foxhunt in 1967 on their second album, So Cheerfully Round. Royston Wood commented in the album liner notes:

The Foxhunt represents some kind of new direction for the style of the group. We may well go this way for a while, exploring the rhythmic niceties of the songs we learn. This song was begging for staggered rhythms and natty takeovers, so in a tentative way we complied with the requirements, but I have the feeling that even now we have only partly finished the job. We learned The Foxhunt from Peter's brother-in-law; it was originally sung by Mr. Stephen Pole, a Norfolk singer, who gave it to Dr Vaughan Williams.

Sandy Denny sang an unaccompanied version of this song as Reynard the Fox as an encore of her Eltam Well Hall Open Theatre concert on August 5, 1972 with her then band of Richard Thompson, Pat Donaldson and Timi Donald. However, no official recording is known.

Fairport Convention recorded this song as Reynard the Fox too in 1978 for their album Tipplers Tales and again in 1987 for their live-in-the-studio album In Real Time. A 1987 TV performance was released in 2002 on the Fairport unConventioNal 4CD set.

Martin Carthy sang The Foxhunt on Brass Monkey's 1988 album See How It Runs. This LP was re-released as second half of their 1993 compilation CD The Complete Brass Monkey and on the Topic anthology And We'll All Have Tea. Martin Carthy commented in the original album's sleeve notes:

Collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams in Norfolk. The tone of voice, which quietly and unsentimentally insists on things balanced and which resonates in much of traditional song, is about as consonant as a dull thud with that of a farming industry that views all undomesticated creatures as vermin and treats them as such, casting a hunting fraternity ludicrously as conservator of wildlife (so that it can, of course, have something to hunt)—the implications of which are as unpalatable as they are mind-boggling.

Bob Fox & Stu Luckley's sang Bold Reynard the Fox on their Rubber Records LP Nowt So Good'll Pass and Fellside CD Box of Gold with a few variants to what appears below.

Compare this to the similar named but quite different Reynard the Fox sung by e.g. Nic Jones, June Tabor and Martin Carthy, and to Reynardine as sung by e.g. A.L. Lloyd, Anne Briggs, Martin Carthy and JuneTabor.

Lyrics

The Young Tradition sing The Foxhunt

You gentlemen of high renown come listen unto me
That takes delight in foxhunting by every degree.
A story here I'll tell to you concerning of a fox,
Near Royston Hills and mountains high and over stony rocks.

Old Reynold being in his hall and hearing of these hounds
Which made him for to prick his ears and tread upon the ground.
“Methinks me hear some jubal hounds pressing upon my life;
Before that they to me shall come I'll tread upon the ground.”

We hunted full four hours or more by parishes sixteen;
We hunted full four hours or more and came by Barkworth Green.
“Oh if you'll only spare my life I promise and fulfil:
To touch no more your feathered fowl nor lambs in yonder fold.”

Bold Reynold beat and out of breath and dreading of these rounds
Thinking he might give up his life before those jubal hounds.
So here's adieu to ducks and geese, likewise young lambs also;
They've got bold Reynold by the brush and will not let him go.

Fairport Convention sing Reynard the Fox

Ye gentlemen of high renown, come listen unto me
That takes delight in fox hunting by every degree.
A story I will tell to you, concerning of a fox
Near Royston Woods and mountains high and over stony rocks.

Bold Reynard, being in his hole and hearing of these hounds
Which made him for to prick up his ears and tread upon the ground.
“Methinks me hears some jubal hounds a-pressing upon the life
Before that they should come to me, I'll tread upon the ground.”

We hunted for four hours or more through parishes sixteen;
We hunted for four hours or more and came by Parkworth Green.
“Oh, if you'll only spare my life, I promise and fulfil:
To touch no more your feathered fowl or lambs on yonder hill.”

Bold Reynard, spent and out of breath and treading on this ground,
Thinking he must give up his life before these jubal hounds.
“So here's adieu to ducks and geese, likewise to lambs also”
They've got poor Reynard by the slabs and will not let them go.

Martin Carthy sings The Foxhunt

You gentlemen of high renown come listen unto me
That take delight in foxhunting by every degree.
A story now I'll tell to you concerning of a fox,
O'er Royston Hills and mountains high and over stony rocks.

Old Reynold being in his den and hearing of these hounds
Which made him for to prick his ears and tread upon the ground.
“Methink me hear some jubal hounds pressing upon my life;
Before that they do come to me I'll tread upon the ground.”

We hunted full four hours or more by parishes sixteen;
We hunted full four hours or more and came by Barkworth Green.
“Oh if you'll only spare my life I promise and fulfil:
I'll touch no more your feathered fowl nor lambs in yonder fold.”

Old Reynold beat and out of breath and dreading of these hounds
Thinking that he might lose his life before these jubal hounds
Oh here's adieu to duck and geese, likewise young lamb also;
They've got old Reynold by the brush and will not let him go.

Acknowledgements

Copied from the Brass Monkey LP sleeve notes by Garry Gillard; thanks to Wolfgang Hell.