The Jolly Beggar – At William’s Place

The Jolly Beggar – At William’s Place

The Jolly Beggar is the very first song on our very first CD, Celts in Kilts, later merged into our Rakkish Paddies CD. Even William was not there yet for the very first recording of the Jolly Beggar. For this video at William’s Place luckily both David and William are there and we sound much better and with more harmony.

On the original cover of Celts in Kilts William was photoshopped into the picture, with his head replacing a chicken =) You can see the story in the picture below.

Celts in Kilts album

Background Info

The Jolly Beggar, also known as The Gaberlunzieman, is Child ballad 279. The song’s chorus inspired lines in Lord Byron’s poem “So, we’ll go no more a roving”. The Child Ballads are 305 traditional ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, anthologized by Francis James Child during the second half of the 19th century. Their lyrics and Child’s studies of them were published as The English and Scottish Popular Ballads. The tunes of most of the ballads were collected and published by Bertrand Harris Bronson in and around the 1960s.

The Jolly Beggar Lyrics

It’s of a jolly beggarman came tripping o’er the plain
He came unto a farmer’s door a lodging for to gain
The farmer’s daughter she came down and viewed him cheek and chin
She says, He is a handsome man. I pray you take him in
chorus
We’ll go no more a roving, a roving in the night
We’ll go no more a roving, let the moon shine so bright
We’ll go no more a roving
He would not lie within the barn nor yet within the byre
But he would in the corner lie down by the kitchen fire
O then the beggar’s bed was made of good clean sheets and hay
And down beside the kitchen fire the jolly beggar lay
chorus
We’ll go no more a roving, a roving in the night
We’ll go no more a roving, let the moon shine so bright
We’ll go no more a roving
The farmer’s daughter she got up to bolt the kitchen door
And there she saw the beggar standing naked on the floor
He took the daughter in his arms and to the bed he ran
Kind sir, she says, be easy now, you’ll waken our goodman
chorus
We’ll go no more a roving, a roving in the night
We’ll go no more a roving, let the moon shine so bright
We’ll go no more a roving
Now you are no beggar, you are some gentleman
For you have stolen my maidenhead and I am quite undone
I am no lord, I am no squire, of beggars I be one
And beggars they be robbers all, so you re quite undone
chorus
We’ll go no more a roving, a roving in the night
We’ll go no more a roving, let the moon shine so bright
We’ll go no more a roving
She tok the bed in both her hands and threw it at the wall
Says go you with beggar man my maidenhead and all
chorus
We’ll go no more a roving, a roving in the night
We’ll go no more a roving, let the moon shine so bright
We’ll go no more a roving
The Jolly Beggar - Rakkish Paddies
Rakkish Paddies album cover

 

Rakkish Paddies  is available on CD

Support us at https://rapalje.com/stream 

Join us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/rapalje_celtic_folk_music

Shop for beautiful Rapalje products: https://rapalje.com/shop/

Come and see us in person: https://rapalje.com/agenda/

See the streams at https://www.facebook.com/rapalje

We livestream every tuesday at 20:00 CET, check our agenda for other shows and streams

De Stad Amsterdam – Christmas Stream Live

De Stad Amsterdam – Christmas Stream Live

De stad Amsterdam, this is the absolute number 1 of Dieb, his favorite song. In our version it starts slowly and goes faster and faster. The song is about sailors, but it could be musicians…

Anecdote: We have played it once or twice “only live” as de Stad Rotterdam, for fans from Rotterdam. And of course in the north of the Netherlands we spoke about Stad Appingedam in our own “Gronings” “de stad Ap’ge’ Dam ”and we are not talking about onions but“ Siepels ”and hanging kitchens, but normally we play the original version of De Stad Amsterdam.

Hangende keukens van Appingedam
Hangende keukens van Appingedam

Background info

Amsterdam, also known as Dans le port d’Amsterdam is a song by the Belgian singer Jacques Brel, the song takes the form of a crescendo and describes the experiences of sailors during their leave in the red light district in Amsterdam. The melody is taken from the English anthem Greensleeves. Brel never released this song on a studio record. Despite this, Amsterdam became one of Brel’s most popular songs.

De Stad Amsterdam Lyrics

1.

In de stad Amsterdam, waar de zeelieden lallen
Tot hun nachtmerries schallen over oud Amsterdam
In de stad Amsterdam, waar de zeelieden, dronken
Als een wimpel zo lam, in de dokken gaan ronken
In de stad Amsterdam, waar de zeeman verzuipt
Vol van bier en van gram, als de morgen ontluikt
In de stad Amsterdam, waar de zeeman ontwaakt
Als de warmte weer blaakt over Damrak en Dam

2.

In de stad Amsterdam, waar de zeelieden bikken
Zilv’ren haringen slikken, bij de staart uit de hand
Van de hand in de tand, smijten zij met hun knaken
En ze zullen hem raken als een kat in het want
En ze stinken naar aal, in hun grof blauwe truien
En ze stinken naar uien, daarmee doen zij hun maal
Na hun maal staan zij op om hun broek dicht te knopen
En dan gaan ze weer lopen en het boert in hun krop

3.

In de stad Amsterdam, waar de zeelieden zwieren
En de meiden versieren, buik aan buik, lekker klam
En ze draaien hun wals als een wentelende zon
Op de klank, dun en vals, van een accordeon
En zo rood als een kreeft happen zij naar wat lucht
Tot opeens met een zucht de muziek het begeeft
Met een air van gewicht voeren zij met wat spijt
Dan hun Mokumse meid weer terug in het licht

4.

In de stad Amsterdam waar de zeelieden zuipen
En maar zuipen en maar zuipen en daarop nog eens zuipen
Zuipen op het geluk van een hoer van de Wallen
Op een Hamburgse hoer, nou ja, van een goed stuk
Van een slet die zichzelf in haar deugd heeft geschonken
Voor een gulden of elf en dan zijn ze goed dronken
Met hun wankelende lijven lozen zij dan hun drank
En ze pissen zoals ik jank om de ontrouw der wijven

In de stad Amsterdam
In de stad Amsterdam
In de stad Amsterdam
In de stad Amsterdam

De Stad Amsterdam - Rakkish Paddies
Rakkish Paddies album cover

 

Rakkish Paddies  is available on CD

Support us at https://rapalje.com/stream 

Join us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/rapalje_celtic_folk_music

Help David support the cultural sector: https://rapalje.com/donation

Shop for beautiful Rapalje products: https://rapalje.com/shop/

Come and see us in person: https://rapalje.com/agenda/

See the streams at https://www.facebook.com/rapalje

We livestream every tuesday at 20:00 CET, check our agenda for other shows and streams

Finally: have a merry bagpipes-less Sunday!

On the 27th at 4pm (CET) we have a special Watchparty for you on our Facebook, YouTube and Patreon channels! The perfect opportunity to hear us without bagpipes (don’t worry, David will be there) and talk to us in the chat at the same time. Make sure you don’t miss out and don’t forget to invite all your friends!

You can join the Watchparty for free, but if you wish to support us during these difficult times, we would very much appreciate it: https://rapalje.com/folk-music-livestreams/

A very Rapalje Christmas stream

On sunday the 27th of december at 16:00h we will be bringing you a very special Rapalje Christmas stream, we recorded this in advance and are working on the final edits now. We hope to fill everyone’s hearts with joy and laughter in these very different Christmas times. Normally we would be playing our hearts out at the wonderfull PLWM Weihnacht Market in Dortmund, we miss everyone there and at all the other shows but have good hopes we will see eachother again soon in the coming year!

So for now stay safe and healthy, have a wonderfull Christmas and we hope to see you all on sunday, we will be in the chat 😉

To watch our streams tickets are not needed, but we really appreciate your support, virtual tickets are available.

Live on on Facebook, YouTube and our website