Saw Ye Johnny Comin’

I haven’t had time to think about playing with music for months, so today I made time for it. I managed to get in a couple of hours to myself before my daughter came home from school – which is a big deal. I rarely get time alone these days.

I worked a bit on Loki’s song, but I’m having a difficult time getting the sound just right. So for the last few minutes I switched tracks to Johnny’s So Long at the Fair, which is one of my favorites. The Society for Creative Anachronism doesn’t feel it’s a valid Medieval song because the rendition we all know today comes from a collection of sheet music in the 1770’s or so. But truth is it dates farther back from that, coming from a really old ditty entitled “Saw Ye Johnny Comin'”. It’s English in origin, although there is at least one recorded Anglo-Scot rendition.

In other words, this song is old people.

I still don’t have instruments I can work with. I have definitely decided to stick to simple percussion, but the kind of drum I want is expensive. -_- And a xylophone: same situation. Fun fun.

But I’m working on it. I have O Dear recorded. I just need some tinkles for it.

Anyway here are the original, definitely Medieval lyrics:

O dear, what can the matter me
And what can the matter be
O what can the matter be
Johnny bydes lang at the fair

He’ll buy me a twopenny whistle
He’ll buy me a threepenny fair
He’ll buy me a Bunch o’ Blue Ribbons
To tye up my bonny Brown Hair

O saw ye him coming
And saw ye him coming
O saw ye him coming
Hame frae the Newcastle fair

I looked at all of the version we use today and decided to do a mix of the nursery rhyme version plus what we sing with full lyrics.

Hope I can put it out soon.