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Liliburlero

Here is another tune with many sets of words. My favorite is the nursery rhyme version that I've seen in several places. This one can be found in The Puffin Book of Nursery Rhymes, Iona and Peter Opie.

There was an old woman tossed up in a basket,
Seventeen times as high as the moon;
And where she was going, I couldn't but ask it,
For in her hand she carried a broom.
Old woman, old woman, old woman, quoth I
O whither, O whither, O whither so high?
To sweep the cobwebs off the sky!
Shall I go with you? Aye, by-and-by.

And the reason I like the Puffin version is that it also has a Scottish version:

There was a wee wifie row't up in a blanket,
Nineteen times as hie as the moon;
And what did she there I canna declare,
For in her oxter she bure the sun. (oxter : armpit -- No kidding, that what OED says.)
We wifie, we wifie, wee wifie, quo' I,
O what are ye doin' up there sae hie?
I'm blawin' the cauld cluds out o' the sky.
Weel dune, weel dune, wee wifie! quo' I.

Now words perhaps more familiar to folksingers.
    Ho brother Teague, dost hear de decree?
    Lilli burlero, bullen a la;
    Dat we shall have a new deputie,
    Lilli burlero, bullen a la.

    Chorus:
    Lero, lero, lilli burlero,
    Lilli burlero, bullen a la
    Lero, lero, lero lero
    Lilli burlero, bullen a la

    Ho, by my Soul, it is a Talbot;
    Lilli burlero, bullen a la
    And he will cut all de English throat
    Lilli burlero, bullen a la
    (Chorus)

    Though, by my soul, de English do prate,
    Lilli burlero, bullen a la
    De law's on dere side and de divil knows what,
    Lilli burlero, bullen a la
    (Chorus)

    But if Depense do come from de Pope
    Lilli burlero, bullen a la
    We'll hang Magna Carta demselves on a rope
    Lilli burlero, bullen a la
    (Chorus)

    And de good Talbot is now made a Lord,
    Lilli burlero, bullen a la
    And with his brave lads he's coming aboard,
    Lilli burlero, bullen a la
    (Chorus)

    Who all in France have taken a swear,
    Lilli burlero, bullen a la
    Dat day will have no Protestant heir,
    Lilli burlero, bullen a la
    (Chorus)
 O but why does he stay behind?
Lilli burlero, bullen a la
Ho, by my soul, 'tis a Protestant wind,
Lilli burlero, bullen a la
(Chorus)

Now that Tyrconnel is come ashore,
Lilli burlero, bullen a la
And we shall have commissions galore.
Lilli burlero, bullen a la
(Chorus)

And he dat will not go to Mass,
Lilli burlero, bullen a la
Shall be turned out and look like an ass,
Lilli burlero, bullen a la
(Chorus)

Now, now de hereticks all will go down,
Lilli burlero, bullen a la
By Christ and St. Patrick's the nation's our own,
Lilli burlero, bullen a la
(Chorus)

Dere was an old prophercy found in a bog,
Lilli burlero, bullen a la
Dat our land would be ruled by an ass and a dog,
Lilli burlero, bullen a la
(Chorus)

So now dis old prophecy's coming to pass,
Lilli burlero, bullen a la
For James is de dog and Tyrconnel's de ass,
Lilli burlero, bullen a la
(Chorus)

Here's the commentary that goes with the above version. Its from a web site by Leslie Nelson

According to legend this tune first appears in 1641 in Ulster. Richard Talbot (1630-1691), a Catholic and royalist, had been made Earl of Tyrconnel after the Restoration and King James II later appointed him Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1686). He pursued strong pro-Catholic policies. Even after James was deposed in England Tyrconnel governed Ireland in James' name. Irish Catholic forces were eventually defeated by William. English and Irish Protestants took up the song as their melody during that time.

According to one source the words "lillibulero" and "bullen al-a" were used as a rallying cry for the Irish to recognize one another in the uprising in 1641. Later (1687) Thomas, Lord Wharton (1640-1715), wrote a set of satirical verses titled Lillibolero regarding the Irish problems and set them to a melody arranged by Henry Purcell in 1678. Purcell's arrangement was based on an older tune under the name Quickstep which appeared in Robert Carr's Delightful Companion (1686). It became popular immediately. After the Stuarts were deposed, Lord Wharton, a strong supporter of William III, boasted that he had "rhymed James out of three kingdoms" with his tune.

However, Irish writer Brendan Behan claimed the words of the chorus were a corruption of the Gaelic: "An lili ba leir e, ba linn an la" - roughly "The lily won the day for us." A forum post at Digital Tradition reveals that according to Sources of Irish Traditional Music (1998) it translates as: Lilli/ bu le'ir o/, bu linn an la/ - Lilli will be manifest, the day will be ours. William Lilly (1602-1681) was a famous astrologer who made predictions regarding British politics of the time. One prediction was the Prophecy of the White King (made in 1644 after Marston Moor), which predicted a King would be beheaded or killed. Lilly wrote a letter to Charles I warning him of the prophecy.

Another theory, from Songs That Made History by H. E. Piggot, states the refrain came from a popular Irish song when James II (a Roman Catholic) came to the the throne which had the Irish words, "Lere, lere, burlere."Lere meant religion or faith and burlere meant your faith. Piggot says a form of the tune was printed in 1661 in An Antidote against Melancholy which was set to words beginning There was an old man of Waltham Cross.

Wharton never publicly supported the Stuarts. As a member of the House of Commons Wharton supported the bill to bar James from the succession because of his Catholicism. When William won the war, Wharton was given prominent posts. There is speculation that Wharton referred to the Lilly prophecy, and used the Gaelic words to disguise them because when he wrote the words the Stuarts were still in power.

John Gay used the tune in The Beggar's Opera. It was the British Broadcasting Corporation's signature theme during World War II.

"Brother Teague" was then the nickname of the Irishmen (as "John Bull" would later be for Englishmen).

* * *

This next version together with some context is taken from an online book by Wendy Garcia entitled The Golden Falcon.

"Thomas Wharton (1648-1715), 1st Marquess of Wharton, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, a famous rake and freethinker who wrote the words of the Purcell's famous song "Liliburlero" (now the BBC's signature tune) which "sang a king out of his kingdom"

"Ho! brother Teague, dost hear the decree?
That we shall have a new deputy
There was an old prophecy found in a bog
We shall be ruled by an ass and a dog.
And now this prophecy is come to pass
Talbot's the dog and James is the ass.
"Liliburlero, bullen a la, lero lero, lilibulero.
Liliburlero, bullen a la, lero, lero liliburlero
Liliburlero, bulen a la.

"[Wharton] came from a Roundhead Puritan family and was the most active member of the Whig Junto who supported the Whig candidate for High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire where he had influence. He was excluded from office on Anne's succession. She disliked him heartily and dismissed him as Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire and Comptroller of the Household but later restored as Minister in 1709. He opposed the Occasional Conformity Bill

"He was described as "a loose living, arrogant, Dissenter-loving, church-hating Whig". In a wild orgy in his youth he "disburdened" himself on a church altar in Gloucestershire. This happened at Great Barrington which Charles Talbot bought from Sir Edmund Bray in 1734. In 1682 Sir Edmund, an old Cavalier, entertained Thomas and brother, sons of Philip, Lord Wharton, a strict Puritan. One night some drunken members of the dinner party, led by the Wharton brothers, went out in search of a nocturnal adventure. After awakening the sleeping village, they broke into the church, defiled the font, broke down the pulpit, tore the Bible, rang the bells, cut the bell ropes and "committed many horrible acts". William III took into Wharton, who was over 40 years old at the time, into his favour and Dr Robert Frampton, the Anglican bishop of Gloucester who fined Wharton, was dismissed from his bishopric for refusing to take the Oath of Allegiance to the king."

* * *

How about this excerpt from Molière? (Translation of the Bourgeous Gentleman by Sue Rippon)

M. JORDAN: I learnt a good song once. Very jolly, it was. Let me see?how did it go?
DANCING MASTER: Good grief! How should I know?
M. JORDAN: There was definitely a sheep in it.
DANCING MASTER: Sheep?
M. JORDAN: Yes. How did it go, now?? (He looks across at the Pupil, who helpfully plays the opening of 'Baa baa black sheep') No. That wasn't it?.Ah, I remember (sings, to the tune of 'Liliburlero')
Janey, my love, when you lie asleep
Your cute little hooves remind me of sheep.
When you awake, and they start to dance
There's no better hoofer in all of France.
Baaaa ba, baaaa ba,
Baa baa baa baa baa!
My love for you is so true and so deep.
Oh, Janey, my Janey
My heart-throb, my zany,
Come, let us frolic as if we were sheep
There. Isn't that pretty?
MUSIC MASTER: Quite sublime.
DANCING MASTER: And you sing it so well.
M. JORDAN: And, do you know, I've never taken a single music lesson in my whole life. Isn't that amazing?
DANCING MASTER Incredible!

And now we'll let it lie...

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Well, not quite. Here's a brief excerpt from Finnigan's Wake:

"If McGrathBrothers could only handle virgins like he used he would simply jump out of his dirty skin. When next you see M.G. ask him what about his wife, Lily Kinsella who became the wife of Mr Sneak, with the kissing solicitor, at present engaging attention by private detectives being hidden under the grand piano to find out whether nothing beyond kissing goes on. Lily is a lady, liliburlero bullenalaw! And she had a certain medicine brought her in a licensed victualler's bottle. Shame! Thrice shame! I only wish he would look in through his letterbox one day and he would not say that that was a solicitor's business. What ho, she bumps!"