No. 34 There Were Three Jolly Welshmen
There were three jolly Welshmen,
And I have heard them say,
That they would go a-hunting
Upon St. David’s day—
Look—a—there—now!
They hunted, they hunted,
And nothing could they find,
But a woman in the road,
And her they left behind—
Look—a—there—now!
One said it was a woman,
The other said nay;
One said it was an angel
With the wings blowed away—
Look—a—there—now!
We have obtained only three verses of the song, which was a favorite with little children as they sat on the door-step of a summer’s evening. Another version of the ancient jest comes to us as sung by college students:
(Slow and mournful, in C minor.)
And so they went along,
To see what they could see,
And soon they saw a frog
A-sitting under a tree.
(Recit.) So—they—did.
One said it was a frog,
But the other said nay—
One said it was a canary-bird
With the feathers blown away.
(Recit.) So—it—was.
And so they went along,
To see what they could see,
And soon they saw a barn
A-standing by a tree.
One said it was a barn,
But the other said nay,
One said it was a meeting-house
With the steeple blown away.
And so they went along,
To see what they could see,
And soon they saw an owl,
A-sitting on a tree.
One said it was an owl,
But the other said nay,
One said it was the Evil One!
And they all ran away.