Songs For Guy Fawkes Day

Songs for Fawkes Day Celebration

Songs about the plot and its celebration continue to be important today.
Ballads use the date of November 5 to set a sinister theme. Rock
songs build upon the relationship of the plot and its celebration to
dramatic explosion. Around the bonfire songs are very popular. Ballads
were produced from year to year giving new life to the tradition.
We are always looking for more songs. Click here to e.mail your findings
to us. Enjoy the songs! Sing them at your bonfire!

The Song Page

GUY FAWKES A BALLYNURE BALLAD Devil and the Washerwoman Contemporary Pop/Rock Songs About Fawkes/ The Plot

DIESEL AND SHALE SPENCER THE ROVER Slap Bang Here we are Again-A song from 19th century Lewes, Sussex Bonfire processions An Early Fawkes Song

GUY FAWKES

I sing a doleful tragedy—Guy Fawkes, the Prince of Sinisters,
Who once blew up the House of Lords, the King, and all his Ministers;
That is—he would have blown them up, and folks will ne’er forget him—
His will was good to do the deed-that is, if they’d have let him!

Chorus- Bow, wow, wow
Tol lol de riddle lol de rol lol de ray.

He straightway came from Lambeth side, and wish’d the State was undone,
And crossing over Vauxhall Bridge, that way com’d into London;
That is- he would have come that way to perpetrate his guilt, sirs,
But a little thing prevented him- the bridge it was not built, sirs.

Then searching through the dreary vaults, with portable gas-light, sirs,
About to touch the powder train, at witching hour of night, sirs,
That is—I mean, he would have used the gas, but was prevented,
‘Cause gas, you see, in James’s time, it had not been invented

And when they caught him int the fact, so very near the Crown’s end,
They straightway sent to Bow Street for that brave old runner Townshend;
That is—they would have sent for him—for fear he is no starter at—
But Townshend wasn’t living then-he wasn’t born till arter that.

So then they put poor Guy to death, for ages to remember,
And boys now kill him once a-year, in dreary, dark November;
That is—I mean his effigy, for truth is strong and steady—
Poor Guy they cannot kill again, because he’s dead already.

Then bless her Gracious Majesty, and bless her Royal Son, sirs—
And may he never get blown up, if to the Throne he comes, sirs;
And if he lives, I’m sure he’ll reign, so prophesies my song, sirs—
And if he don’t, why then he won’t, and so I can’t be wrong, sirs.-

-Bodleian Library: Guy Fawkes,Johnson Ballads 2539 , Guy Fawkes and the Parliament, Harting b 112706 (1819-44),Guy Fawkes, Harting b11863 1819-44,Guy Fawkes Harting b 363, Harting B 36 3, Found in The Meltonians,Peake, R.B., Dec.1837, also: Third Edition Guy Fawkes a C Comic Song written and Composed A Wag.,London, Metzler and Co..(Undated with inscription date 1866) also found in:A Match for a King, April-May 1849, A.R. Smith.

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Fawkes song from mudcat no origin

A Song

Of Catesby, Faux, and Garnet,

a story I'le you tell-a,

And of a Rare Plott,

ne're to be forgott,

And eke how it befell-a.

All on the 4th of November, [1605

the Papists they had a drift-a

Quite to destroy

brave England's joy,

And to blow it all vp on the fifth-a.

Soe many Barrells of Gunpowder,

the like was never seen-a,

That eke that match

had chanc'd to catch,

Good Lord, where should we all have been-a?

Why we should all have been slaine outright,

for marke what these varlets had don- a,

They had sett so many Barrells

to decide all our Quarrells,

Nay they had don't as sure as a Gun-a. [done it

O Varlets that esteeme noe more

3 Kingdoms than 3 shillings!

It were a Good deed

to hang 'm with Speed,-

Oh out vppon them Villaines!

But now these Papists their designs

we care not for a louse-a;

For fit as it was,

it soe came to passe

The the Plot was blown vp, not the house-a.

For our King he went to the Parliament

to meet his Noble Peers-a;

But if he had knowne

where he should have been blown,

He durst not have gon for his Eares-a.

Then, "Powder I smell," quothe our gracious King

(now our King was an excellent smeller);

And lowder and lowder,

quoth the King, "I smell powder";

And downe he run into the Cellar.

And when he came the Cellar into,

and was the danger amid-a,

He found that the traine

had not been in vaine,

Had he not come downe as he did-a.

Then the Noble-men that there stood by

and heard the words of the King-a,-

"Ah, my Soul, if the Fire

had come a little higher,

'Twould have made vs all flye without wings-a!

[This seems to be the earliest extant ditty on the gunpowder plot. No tune cited in MS.

London, British Library, Additional MS 18220 (BLa20)???

Of Catesby Faux and Garnet BLa20*161 (f. 125r-v)

It had made us all fly without wing a

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Devil and the Washerwomen

Last Guy Fawkes day as I've hear say,

The devil about did roam,

For at night he thought to see a sight,

He never could see at home,

Dress'd like a Bond-street swell,

Quite smart from top to toe,

And not a soul he met could tell

He came from down below,

Tol lo &c

His face none seemed to gaze on,

As onward he dig jog,

But when he arrived at Iwllington,

There came on a tremendous fog,

But soon ill luck befell

As he stepped out by gosh,

For slap down in a kitchen he fell,

'Mong a lot of women at wash.

Tol lol, &c.

When he looked around he wished himself,

In some far distant lands,

The Women grinned and said he couldn't

Have fallen in better hands,

His clothes the mud reveals,

So they said they'd give him a scrub,

Then seized him by the neck and heels,

And pitched him into the tub

Tol, Lol, &c.

His tail was spied by Mother Brown,

Who sung out pretty quick,

Keep him down girls keep him down,

I'm blessed if it ain't old Nick,

From 'neath his four-and-nine,

His horns were seen to shoot,

They then pull'd off his Wellington,

There was his cloven foot.

tol lol, &c.

Mother Jones began to scrub his horns,

Mother Brown his feet did assail,

And Mother Higgs blue bagg'd his face

And Mother White soap'd his tail,

A whacking copper stick

Was used by Mrs. Judds,

Who stirred him up while he did kick

And filled him well with suds.

Tol lol &c.

Says Mother White how he does foam,

Souse him well I would,

He has so much fire and smoke at home

The water will do him good,

You've heard of scalding pigs,

Well this was such a slaughter

For Mother Brown sung out to Higgs,

Bring more scalding water.

Tol lol &c.

You'd laughed if you'd seen the mess

The poor old Devil was in,

They wouldn't let him out unless

He stood a pint of gin,

Says he I'll stand a score,

To get out of this scrape,

Then he threw some on the floor,

While he made his escape.

Tol lol &c.

Then out of the window he gave a jump

While they his money did find

But mark he'd only got a stump

For he'd left his tail behind,

The gin was quickly fetched

And each a glass did drink

And the tail at night when he went home

Served all of 'em for a link!

Tol lol, &c.

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A BALLYNURE BALLAD

As I was goin' to Ballynure,
The day I well remember,
For to view the lads and lasses
On the fifth day of November,
With a ma-ring-doo-a-day,
With a ma-ring-a-doo-a-daddy oh.

As I was goin' along the road
When homeward I was walking,
I heard a wee lad behind a ditch-a
To his wee lass talking,
With a ma-ring-----etc.

Said the wee lad to the wee lass
"It's will ye let me kiss ye,
For it's I have the cordial eye
That far exceeds the whiskey,"
With a ma-ring-----etc.

This cordial that ye talk about
There's very few o' them gets it,
For there's nothin' now but crooked combs
And muslin gowns can catch it.
With a ma-ring-----etc.

Repeat second verse

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DIESEL AND SHALE

On the fifth of November back in fifty-three
The big man at Dolphin sure he sent for me:
'I brought you here, boy, 'cause I want you to know
We've booked you a berth in the water below,
With the diesel and shale, diesel and shale,
We've booked you a berth with the diesel and shale.'

Well, when I protested: 'I'm no volunteer',
He said: 'We ain't had one in many a year,
But that's a wee secret between you and me;
There's many a pressed man down under the sea,
With the diesel and shale, diesel and shale,
Down under the sea with the diesel and shale.'

'Oh doctor, dear doctor, I don't think I'm well.'
'Well, never mind, sonny, we'll very soon tell.
Try holding your breath while I count up to three.
There, that proves that you're fit to go down in (under) the sea,'
With the diesel and shale, diesel and shale,
To go down in the sea with the diesel and shale.'

I went to the storeroom to gather me rig
They gave me a sweater ten sizes too big,
I crawled down the boat like an old polar bear,
And I says to meself: 'There's a smell in the air,
And it's diesel and shale, diesel and shale ,
There's smell in the air and it's diesel and shale.'

A push on the klaxon and a ring on the gongs,
And then I was down where no mortal belongs,
Where the air's going bad and the bread's getting stale,
And they mix you a nightcap of diesel and shale,
Diesel and shale, diesel and shale,
They mix you a nightcap of diesel and shale.

Keep walking, keep walking, you foolish young man,
You know that I never would give you my hand.
Your hair is too thin and your face is too pale,
Cause you spend too much time with your diesel and shale,
Diesel and shale, diesel and shale,
You spend too much time with your diesel and shale.

We circled the Med. for a summer or two,
Where the sun is so warm and the water so blue.
Well, that's what they tell me, but I wouldn't know,
'Cause the view ain't so good when you're stuck down below,
With the diesel and shale, diesel and shale,
When you're stuck down below with the diesel and shale.

Then the big man at Dolphin he told me at last:
'lt's time you went back to a ship with a mast.'
I feel like a Jonah a-leaving the whale
Cause l'm saying goodbye to the diesel and shale,
The diesel and shale, diesel and shale,
I'm saying goodbye to the diesel and shale.

Oh Crabby, dear Crabby, I bid you adieu,
And Synagogue Dick and The Black Mamba too.
l'll do all me traveling by road and by rail,
And you know what to do with your diesel and shale,
Diesel and shale, diesel and shale,
You know what to do with your diesel and shale.

Note: verses above from Oxford Book of Sea Songs. Tom Lewis sings the following additional:

Oh Susie, Oh Susie, Oh won't you be mine?
Submariner's wives have a hell of a time
You'll live like a duchess with cash on the nail
If you don't mind the smell of the diesel and shale
Diesel and shale, diesel and shale,
If you don't mind the smell of the diesel and shale.
Cyril Tawney

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SPENCER THE ROVER

These words were composed by Spencer the Rover
Who traveled Great Britain and most parts of Wales
He had been so reduced, which caused great confusion
And that was the reason he went on the roam

In Yorkshire, near Rotherham, he had been on his rambles
Being weary of traveling, he sat down to rest
At the foot of yonder mountain there runs a clear fountain
With bread and cold water he himself did refresh

It tasted more sweeter than the gold he had wasted
More sweeter than honey and gave more content
But the thoughts of his babies, lamenting their father
Brought tears to his eyes which made him lament

The night fast approaching, to the woods he resorted
With woodbine and ivy his bed for to make
There he dreamt about sighing, lamenting and crying
Go home to your family and wandering forsake

On the fifth of November, I've a reason to remember
When first he arrived home to his family and wife
They stood so surprised, when first he arrived
To behold such a stranger once more in their sight

His children came around him with their prittle prattling stories
With their prittle prattling stories to drive care away
Now they are united, like birds of one feather
Like bees in one hive, contented they'll be

So now he is a living in his cottage contented
With woodbine and roses growing all around his door
He's as happy as those who have thousands of riches
Contented he'll stay and go a rambling no more

recorded by the Copper Family and John and Tony

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Jolly Dogs

We're All Jolly Dogs

Such Jolly Dogs Are We

Slap Bang

Here we are Again.

1878-

The first tune for each society was: "Slap, bang, here we are again" Rule Britannia was played for the effigy burning. Each society closed activities with God Save the Queen. Borough costume: Afghan, Waterloo tableau: "Britannia in the middle and in each corner the heads of the Ameere of Afghanistan, a Zulu king and the heads of two well known criminals." -In: Etherington, p.153-4, 266,302.

For midi Sound slap.mid

London

M O'alcorn 8 Rathbone Place Oxford St. W.

Slap Bang, Here We Are Again or

The School of Jolly Dogs

Written by Harry Copeland

There is a school of jolly dogs,

I've lately come across

They're game for any mortal thing, From this (sparing attitude) to pitch and toss.

Chorus

And they always seem so Jolly oh; so jolly oh: so jolly oh:

They always seem so jolly oh! where ever they may be.

They dance they sing

They laugh ha ha

They laugh ha ha they dance they sing

What jolly dogs are we

Fal la la, fal la la

fal la la

fal la la, fal la la, fal la la.

Fal de the ral, de the ral lal ti da,

Slap bang here we are again

here we are again here we are again.

Slap bang here we are again,

What jolly dogs are we.

They meet each night at six o'clock,

And then sit down to dine,

They get the courses out of sight,

And then they take their wine

And they always seem so jolly, oh!

So Jolly Oh! so jolly oh!

At eight o'clock they sally forth,

Because you know its dark;

"Follow my leader" cries the chief,

To night we'll have a lark;

And they always seem so jolly, oh!

So Jolly Oh! so jolly oh!

To halls or hops of course they go.

And each man does his weed;

They stick by one another

As they've previously agreed,

And they always seem so jolly, oh!

So Jolly Oh! so jolly oh!

Spring heel Jack and all his pals

With their nocturnal larks,

I'm sure were not a patch upon

This school of modern sparks,

And they always seem so jolly, oh!

So Jolly Oh! so jolly oh!

-This popular Melody may also be had arranged as a March by the great Vance

-Just Published The Ladies version of this popular song: We are all Jolly Girles

40^Th Edition

Sung by the

Great Vance

Crystal Palace & The Strand Music Hall

___________________________________________

End Broadside version

Notes:

Written by Harry Copeland, it seems, c.1865; and *performed* by "the Great Vance" (but also by Frank Hall and Tom MacLagan). See Kilgarriff, 'Sing Us One of the Old Songs' for references, and the Lester Levy Sheet Music Collection for sheet music.

Slap Bang, Here We Are Again by Alfred Vance

Alfred Vance (real name Alfred Peck Stevens, 1839±88)

from the book allusions in Ulysses-p396

…a music hall song entitled slap bang here we are again by Sheridan….

"Chorus: Slap bang! here we are again

Here we are again here we are a gain

slap bang here we are again

what jolly dogs are we

(cited in Christopehr Pulling in They were singing briefly mentioned)

another annotated notes on Ulysses:

1866 by Sheridan

First verse and chorus-

Long live our British gentlemen

Who like a bit of sport,

Who smoke their weed and swig their stout

And Won't have Gladstone's port

Chorus

For they always go a-rolling home

They always go a -rolling home,

A Jolly lot are they!

Tra, la, la, Tra, la la

Slap bang, here we are again

Slap bang, here we are again,

A jolly lot are we!

yet another citation similar book

is from another rousing song which the rakes of the turn of the century sang in their robust manliness one stanza of the twenty-four in the song will demonstrate the primitive qualities the lyrics espouse:

When you feel blue and worried too

And things are not just right,

Throw out your chest and try your best

To sing with all your might:

Chorus:

Slap Bang Here we are again!

Here we are again, boys, here we are again!

Slap!Bang! Here we are again,

A jolly bunch (gang) are we!

in the book maidenhood p 311

The three jolly dogs was the name of the tune "slap Bang here we are again was the refrain…. By Sara Anna MarshPublished 1867

referred to by priestly as the Great Vance (author)

By J. B. Priestley

Published 2006
Read Country Books

Literature / Classics /
Criticism

320 pages

ISBN 184664979X

3 separate broadsides by Forth of

Hull, Glasgow Poet's Box (1865) and Fortey of London.

'The jolly Dogs Polka' which is based on

Vance's 'Slap Bang'. it is dated 1864, music arranged by C.H.Marriott. It

has a coloured litho on the cover and is dedicated to Vance. Published by

Ashdown & Parry A&P 2397.

X: 2

T:Slap Bang, Here We Are Again

M:2/4

L:1/8

C:Harry Copeland

K:E

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% Output from ABC2Win Version 2.1 i on 12/1/2006

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Contemporary/Rock Songs relating to Guy Fawkes The Plot and its Celebration

This list is always under construction! If you find others please let us know.
Just click here.

A First List of Pop/Rock Songs

Guy Fawkes Day
Paul Melancon/Slumberland/M.records/2000

Mr. Guy Fawkes
A strange little song about the warmth of love and Guy Fawkes out on the town again.
Eire Apparent\Jimi Hendrix- Recorded 1968
The Dave Miller Set - 1969 (Formerly Dave Miller and the Byrds) Single

Song for Guy Fawkes
Wat Tyler- On the album: Tummy,Piano Instrumental, 1995.

Guy Fawkes
Krewmen, THE ADVENTURES OF THE KREWMEN (1986)

Guy Fawkes Night
Peter Astor and the Holy Road,
Paradise (Danceteria; ex Weather Prophets)
He met her on guyfawkes night...

Remember
John Lennon, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, 1970.
(Remember Remember the Fifth of November is the last line)

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