Song of the Moor
HERE
or email
dartmoorlander@aol.com
This website is hosted by
 |
|
On a rather upbeat note for a change here is a
verse/song that comes from Sabine Baring Gould's - 'A Book of the
West'. As can be seen there is no mention of the dreary aspects of
Dartmoor. Here are the thoughts of a true Dartmoor lover laid out in
a very matter of the fact manner which portrays the freedom of the
place in every respect. It is interesting to see this spirit also
echoes itself in the lines of a similarly titled work 'Song
of the Dartmoor Men', also written by William Crossing,
another Dartmoor enthusiast
'T is merry in the
spring time,
'Tis blithe on Dartimoor,
Where every man is equal,
For every man is poor.
I do what I 'm a minded,
And none will say me nay,
I go where I'm inclined,
On all sides—right of way.Chorus
O the merry Dartimoor,
O the bonny Dartimoor,
I would not be where I 'm not free
As I am upon the moor.
'T is merry in the summer,
When furze be flowering sweet ;
The bees about it humming,
In honey bathe their feet.
The plover and the peewit,
How cheerily they pipe,
And underfoot the whortle
Is turning blue and ripe.
Chorus
O the merry Dartimoor,
O the bonny Dartimoor,
I would not be where I 'm not free
As I am upon the moor. |
'T is merry in the autumn,
When snipe and cock appear,
And never see a keeper
To say, No shooting here !
We stack the peat for fuel,
We ask no better fire,
And never pay a farden
For all that we require.Chorus
O the merry Dartimoor,
O the bonny Dartimoor,
I would not be where I 'm not free
As I am upon the moor.
'T is merry in the winter,
The wind is on the moor,
For twenty miles to leeward
The people hear it roar.
'T is merry in the ingle,
Beside a moorland lass,
As watching turves a-glowing,
The brimming bumpers pass.
Chorus
O the merry Dartimoor,
O the bonny Dartimoor,
I would not be where I 'm not free
As I am upon the moor. |
Baring Gould, S. 1899. A Book of the West,
London: Methuen & Co.
26/07/2009
|
