Ripon Sword Dance Song

Lyrics

1
Make me a room for I am a-coming,
All for to let you understand,
That Kersamus* time has long been approaching,
Since we left yon foreign land.
Since we left yon foreign land.

2
Oh, the first that comes is General Warrington,
Who comes he on yonder plains;
He goes a-wandering and gains the victory,
On the plains of Waterloo.
On the plains of waterloo.

3
Oh, the next that comes is the Hieland Laddie,
Who's got sheep on yonder hill,
A-romping and a-roving among the bonnie lassies,
Now he’s gone and spent it all.
Now he’s gone and spent it all.

4
Oh, the next that comes is Tom the tinker,
Who comes he your kettles for to mend,
For lassies if you dare not, Tom will venture,
Tom will stand to be your friend.
Tom will stand to be your friend.

*Christmas

This is a traditional song about Yorkshire, collected in Yorkshire.

Provenance

I am not sure where this song originated, but it was sung prior to the Hunton Sword Dance and as an opener for the Ripon Sword Dancers who perform a mummers' play. Nigel Hudleston calls this song Christmas Approaches. The song must have been sung in Ripon for getting on for at least ninety years. In the early 1990s I went out as a ‘cadger’ for the team and learnt the song then from Tony Chambers.

More recently a new team of performers do the words of the Ripon Sword Dance every Boxing Day and I am part of this new team.
See also www.crimple.demon.co.uk/rsd.htm The closing brief song Sentry, Oh Sentry is, included on Mark Ellison's Blind Jack CD.

An early record of the song, play and tunes appear in the Journal of the English Folk Dance Society, 1930 2nd Series, Number 3, pages 23 -25.

John (Chas) Marshall