“Hal An Tow” has become a popular song in the folk revival, with, among others, The Watersons, Oysterband and Jon Boden recording versions. In most of these folk-revival versions, the song begins with the following verse:
Take the scorn and wear the horn
It was the crest when you were born
Your father’s father wore it
And your father wore it too.
It was the crest when you were born
Your father’s father wore it
And your father wore it too.
Among many others, Jon Boden has noted the similarities between this verse and a passage from Shakespeare’s As You Like It, Act IV, Scene 2:
Take thou no scorn to wear the horn
It was a crest ere thou wast born
Thy father’s father wore it and thy father bore it.
It was a crest ere thou wast born
Thy father’s father wore it and thy father bore it.
But which came first: the traditional song or Shakespeare's lines? There's a fascinating debate about this in the blog Folklife Today (https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2017/05/hal-an-tow-some-intriguing-evidence-on-a-may-song/) from which the above is extracted.
Jackie Lyness learned Hal An Tow (and her other featured song in this May Song series) from musician / educator David Oliver while he was leading the Tynedale Community Choir. David started off the "tradition" of a dawn chorus sing on May Bank Holiday Mondays at the bandstand on the Sele in Hexham, not that many years ago.
Jackie Lyness learned Hal An Tow (and her other featured song in this May Song series) from musician / educator David Oliver while he was leading the Tynedale Community Choir. David started off the "tradition" of a dawn chorus sing on May Bank Holiday Mondays at the bandstand on the Sele in Hexham, not that many years ago.
Hal-An-Tow
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
They've both gone to the fair-o
Well, 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
Well, to welcome in the summertime
To welcome in the May-o
Well, the summer is coming in
And winter's gone away
And winter's gone away
What happened to the Spaniards
That made so great a boast-o?
Well, they shall eat the feathered goose
We shall eat the roast-o
We shall eat the roast-o
Hal-an-Tow, jolly rumbelow
We were up long before the day-o
Well, to welcome in the summertime
To welcome in the May-o
Well, the summer is coming in
And winter's gone away
God bless Aunt Mary Moses
With all her power and might-o
Well, 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
Well, to welcome in the summertime
To welcome in the May-o
Well, the summer is coming in
And winter's gone away
Hal-an-Tow, jolly rumbelow
We were up long before the day-o
Well, to welcome in the summertime
To welcome in the May-o
Well, the summer is coming in
And winter's gone away
