The Old Man From Lee

A song from the Penguin Book of English Folk Songs about an old man courting a young woman. The girl's mother is keen but the girl herself is not. On my recording on You Tube I use a concert ukulele in standard GCEA tuning and a rhythmic downstrum with the flesh of the thumb.

Chords used in this song

There [Dm] was an old man came [Am] over from [Dm] Lee

Eh, but I’ll not [A] have him.

There [Dm] was an old man came o’er from Lee,

A-courting me, a-courting me,

With his old grey beard,

With his old grey beard

Just [A7] Newly [Dm] shaven

My mother she told me to get him some pie.

I got him some pie and he put the crust by,

My mother she told me to hand him a stool.

I hand him a stool, he sat down like a fool,

My mother she told me to give him some wine.

I gave him some wine and he drank like a swine,

My mother she told me to take him to church.

I took him to church but left him in the lurch,

My mother she told me to take him to bed.

I took him to bed and he asked me to wed,

The Jovial Beggarman

This song originally comes from a 17th century play called The Jovial Crew by Richard Brome. It was first staged in 1642 during the reign of Charles I and then again in 1661 after the restoration of Charles II. It appeared in a number of broadsides from the 17th to early 19th centuries and can be found on line at the Bodleian Library Broadside collection

The chords are as I use on my You Tube recording where I use a concert ukulele tuned in standard GCEA. There were many more verses in the original and a number of variants. This is just my selection.

Chords used in this song

There [C] was a jovial beggar, he had a wooden [G] leg.

[C] Lame from his cradle and [G7] forcèd for to [C] beg.

Chorus

And [G] a-begging we will [C] go we will go;
A-[F]-begging [G7] we will [C] go.

A bag for my oatmeal, another for my rye.

A little bottle by my side to drink when I am dry.

Within a hollow tree I live and there I pay no rent.

Providence provides for me and I am well content.

I begged for my master; got him a store of wealth

But now Jove be praised, I beg for myself.

When we are disposèd, we tumble in the grass

With long patchèd coats for to hide a pretty lass.

To London we will go where we will merry be;

With ev'ry man a can in hand, a lass upon his knee

Of all the trades in England, the begging is the best.

For when a beggar's tired, he can lay him down and rest.

I fear no plots against me, I hear no master's bell.

Then who would be a king when a beggar does so well?

Scarborough Fair

Scarborough Fair is well known from the Simon and Garfunkel recording, but here is a fuller set of words. They are based on a version published in the Northumbrian Minstrelsy as "Whittingham Fair" (Whittingham is a village in Northumberland). The chords are for the tune as sung by Simon and Garfunkel who, in turn, got it from Martin Carthy. I give the chords as for a ukulele tuned to the standard GCEA but on my recording on You Tube I actually sing it a tone higher and accompany myself on a ukulele tuned ADF#B.

Chords used in this song

Are you [Dm] going to [C] Scarborough [Dm] Fair

Parsley, [F] sage, rose[G7]mary, and [Dm] thyme

Remember [F] me to one who lives [C] there

For [Dm] once she [C] was a true love of [Dm] mine

Tell her to make me a cambric shirt...

Without any seam or fine needlework..

Tell her to wash it in yonder dry well

Where water ne'er sprung nor drop of rain fell

Tell her to dry it on yonder thorn

Which never bore blossom since Adam was born

Now he has asked me questions three

I hope he will answer as many for me

Oh, will you find me an acre of land

Between the sea foam and the sea sand

Oh, will you plow it with a lamb's horn

And sow it all over with one peppercorn

Oh, will you reap it with a sickle of leather

And tie it all up with a peacock's feather

And when he has done and finished his work

O tell him to come and he'll have his shirt

Introduction

The ukulele is currently enjoying a resurgence in popularity. There are probably many reasons for this, but among those are its small size, making it a very portable "take anywhere" instrument. It is relatively inexpensive and the learning curve for a beginner is relatively shallow. It is possible, in a couple of hours, to learn enough chords to provide a simple accompaniment to a great many songs, but like many apparently simple instruments, there is enough of a challenge to provide a lifetime of enjoyment.

I took up ukulele because, as someone who goes to folk clubs and sings regularly, I wanted to be able to accompany myself. I had tried guitar without success but I found I was quite quickly able to achieve this with the ukulele. In my view, the ukulele is a viable alternative to the guitar which is widely used in folk music. 

I am really only a beginner on the ukulele, but I have been finding great satisfaction in being able to provide accompaniments to some of my favourite songs and I want to share this and also to provide a source of chords for folk songs.

I have found chords for many songs by searching on the internet and there are a great many chord and lyric sites but mostly they focus on popular music of one sort or another and chords for folk songs, though available, are less common. Consequently, I often find it easier to work them out for myself. I hope this blog will provide another resource.

Most of the songs I post here will be in the public domain, either traditional songs with no known author or, if the author of the song is known, they will have been written long enough ago to be out of copyright. I will also be posting some songs by more recent authors, but I will make that clear and in any case, many of these will be well known to you.