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Farmer Giles

[ Roud 1744 ; GlosTrad Roud 1744 ; Mudcat 158176 ; trad.]

Varmer Giles (“Oi come from the country, my name it be Giles”) was published by Francis Day & Hunter as sheet music in 1902.

Two variants of Farmer Giles can be found in the book Songs of the Ridings: The Yorkshire Musical Museum (2001), sung by C.V. Horner of Leyburn and by Mr Agar of Levisham, respectively.

Tom Batterbee (about 65) of Boosbeck sang Farmer Giles in 1962 to Colin S. Wharton who collected songs in the North Riding of Yorkshire for his Leeds University Thesis. It was published in 2019 on the Musical Traditions anthology of songs from the Colin Wharton Collection, Songs of the North Riding. Rod Stradling noted:

One song collected from Tom Batterbee was Farmer Giles. Wharton commented that the song “was used to accompany the North Skelton Sword Dance Team, of which Tom was a member”.

Harry Upton sang a fragment of I Come From the Country at home in Balcombe, Sussex, in July 1977 to Mike Yates. This was released in 1978 on his Topic album Why Can’t It Always Be Saturday? and in 2015 on his same-named Musical Tradition anthology Why Can’t It Always Be Saturday?. Rod Stradling noted:

I Come From the Country, sometimes known as Joe Muggins, belongs to a group of songs which deal with so-called ‘country bumpkins’. It may well be that such pieces originated on the urban Music Hall stage, though they later passed into the repertoire of country singers. Ken Langsbury’s tale How Do You Spell Yokel? [on And Then It Happened!] belongs to the same tradition. Collected versions of I Come From the Country have been found by both Mervyn Plunkett and Tony Wales in Sussex, Fred Hamer in Shropshire and Peter Duddridge in Gloucestershire.

Bill Smith from Shropshire sang My Name is John Giles in a recording made by his son Andrew Smith in 1979-82; it was included in 2011 on his Musical Traditions anthology A Country Life.

Charlie Bridger sang Old Farmer Giles in his home in stone-in-Oxney, Kent, on 15 April 1983 to Andy Turner. This recording was included in 2019 on his Musical Traditions anthology Won’t You Buy My Pretty Flowers?. Rod Stradling noted:

Not a well-known song, just 30 Roud entries—obviously needing a certain sort of performer to do it justice—so we find Cyril Phillips, George Fradley, Bob Arnold, etc, amongst the 23 listed singers. Harry Upton has one verse and a chorus on Why Can’t It Always Be Saturday?.

Gordon Hall sang Farmer Giles in a home recording made in the early 1990s that was included on his cassette anthology Warts & Hall.

Bob Lewis sang Farmer Giles on his 2003 album The Painful Plough. Vic Smith noted:

Recorded by George Bastow, a red-nosed comic, on G&T (later HMV) 2-2355 in August 1903. This became popular amongst the rural singers in Sussex and George Belton, Harry Upton of Balcombe and Harry Burgess of Glynde were amongst those who celebrated the adventures of the bumpkin in London, all sung to the Villikins and His Dinah tune. Bob knew part of it as a boy and picked up the rest from Cyril Phillips.

Bob Lewis also sang it at the Fife Traditional Singing Festival, Collessie, Fife in May 2009; this was released in the following year on his festival CD Drive Sorrows Away. Peter Shepheard noted:

Bob remembers this as a regular party piece with a lot of the singers around the Midhurst area of Sussex and learned the song in its entirety from Cyril Phillips. One of the places that used to hold singarounds was The White Horse at Sutton, tucked right underneath the Downs. A local author, Arthur Beckett, refers to the song in one of his books (Spirit of the Downs or Wonderful Weald) where he describes being in the pub in Sutton after there had been something like a farm sale. The pub was bursting at the seams with what Beckett describes as a sort of rough agricultural types and poor farmers. Amongst this singing was a song that he describes as interminable with a “Toor-ri-li-oor-ri-li-aa” chorus—a countryman’s song denigrating Londoners and the big city types and putting one over on them.

Lyrics

C.V. Horner sings Farmer Giles

I come fra’ the country me name it is Giles,
I’ve travelled a hundred and fifty odd miles.
For a soft sort of farmer chap I have been took,
But I tell you I ain’t such a fool as I look.
Rye toodle, rye toodle, rye toodle rye tay,
To see all the sights I have come a long way,
It cost me from one or two shillings a day.
Rye toodle, rye toodle, rye toodle rye tay.

Now I come up by train and the weather was fine,
On the London and Leyburn and North Eastern Line,
Of snails and of tortoise I’ve heard people talk,
But if I’m in a hurry on’t way home I’ll walk.
Rye toodle, rye toodle, rye toodle rye tay,
It took all of t’ night and best part of next day,
Folks got out and gathered wild flowers by the way.
Rye toodle, rye toodle, rye toodle rye tay.

Now the Angels of Islington I haven’t seen,
So I takes a bus up to Islington Green.
I saw score upon score of dainty young things,
They all had fine feathers but no one had wings.
Rye toodle, rye toodle, rye toodle rye tay,
They all called for drinks and they asked me to pay,
Says I, “If you’re Angels, go on fly away.”
Rye toodle, rye toodle, rye toodle rye tay.

Now I went to a theatre in Leicester Square,
And I’m very glad that the Missis weren’t there.
I saw lots of ladies all dressed up in tights,
But the Missis won’t allow me to look at such sights.
Rye toodle, rye toodle, rye toodle rye tay,
I’d gan every night if I had me own way,
Now one girl winked at me as much as to say,
Rye toodle, rye toodle, rye toodle rye tay.

Now I saw Nelson’s Column one day from the Strand,
And a man standing by me said, “Isn’t that grand?”
I said, “If I can’t beat that I’ll pardon me begs,
For down in me barn I’ve a pig with five legs.”
Rye toodle, rye toodle, rye toodle rye tay,
“I beat you that time, Mister, what dost you say?
’Cause I can’t get five ham off a pig every day.”
Rye toodle, rye toodle, rye toodle rye tay.

Harry Upton sings I Come From the Country

I come from the country my name it is Giles,
I travelled a hundred and forty odd miles.
So what sort of farmer chap I have been took,
I can tell you I bin’t such a fool as I look.

Chorus:
Right tooral ri day, right tooral ri day
Right tooral ri tarara, right tooral ri day

And there was some ladies all dressed up in tights
And me missus she wouldn’t let me look at the sights

Bill Smith sings My Name Is John Giles

I went to the country my name is John Giles,
I’ve travelled a hundred and fifty odd miles.
And to a soft sort of farmer bloke I have been took
But I’ll tell thee I’m not such a fool as I look.

She went down to the cow house to milk the old cow,
The stool overbalanced and she fell there somehow.
I said, “Are you hurt dear?” I started to yell,
She said, “It’s my elbow but it’s not there I fell.”

She went into the kitchen to put all things right
And five pounds of fat bacon she put out of sight.
And she said, “Now Joe, can you do with a dumpling or two?”
And I said, “I don’t care if I do.”

(Spoken) Then it goes:
Too-del-oo
Too-del-ay
You don’t get five pounds off a pig every day.

Charlie Bridger sings Old Farmer Giles

I come from the country, my name it is Giles
I travelled a hundred and twenty odd miles
For a soft sort of farmer chap I have been took
But I tell you I baint such a fool as I look
Rye tooralye tooralye tooralyay
To see all the sights I have come a long way,
And it’s cost me from one to two shillings a day
Rye tooralye tooralye tooralyay

I seen Nelson’s Column one day from the Strand,
A chap standing by I said, “Isn’t that grand?”
Said I, “I can beat that, thy pardon I begs,
For down in my farm I’ve a pig with five legs.”
Rye toodle, rye toodle, rye toodle rye tay,
“Why dang it, you can’t beat that, Master,” I say,
“Cause ‘ee can’t get five hams off one pig every day.”
Rye toodle, rye toodle, rye toodle rye tay.

The War Office blunders make everyone gape
They say it be all on account of red tape
When our yeomen go fighting I makes bold to say
The least they can do is to give them their pay
Rye toodle, rye toodle, rye toodle rye tay,
Just give me a chance with my sheep shears I say
And then it will cut all the red tape away
Rye toodle, rye toodle, rye toodle rye tay.

I went to the theatre in Leicester Square,
And I’m very pleased that my Missis weren’t there.
For I seen lots of ladies all dressed up in tights,
But my Missis don’t like me to look at such sights.
Rye toodle, rye toodle, rye toodle rye tay,
I’d go every night, if I had my own way,
For one on ‘em winked at me as much as to say,
Rye toodle, rye toodle, rye toodle rye tay.

Bob Lewis sings Farmer Giles

I come from the country, me name it is Giles,
And I’ve travelled a hundred and twenty odd miles;
For a simple old farmer I know I’ve been took,
But a ain’t such a fool as you think that I look.
Right toora lye oora lye oora lye ay.

Now I comes up be train and the journey was fine,
On the London and Brighton and South Eastern line;
Of snails and hot harness I’ll give such talk,
If I wants to get home in a hurry I’ll walk.
Right toora lye oora lye oora lye ay.
Now it took all night and best part of next day,
Folks got out and gathered wild flowers by the way.
Right toora lye oora lye oora lye ay.

Now the Angel at Islington I hadn’t seen,
So I took a bus up to Islington Green;
There were scores and scores of them dainty young things
Now they all had fine feathers but not one had wings.
Right toora lye oora lye oora lye ay.
They all called for drinks and they asked I to pay,
Said I, “If you’re angels, go on fly away.”
Right toora lye oora lye oora lye ay.

I saw Nelson’s Column one day from The Strand,
And a chap standing by said, “Isn’t that Grand?”
I said, “Your pardon, may n’t I beg
For down on me farm I’ve a pig with five legs.”
Right toora lye oora lye oora lye ay.
“I beat thee this time, mister, so what do e say?
You don’t get five hams off one pig every day.”
Right toora lye oora lye oora lye ay.

I went to a theatre in Leicester Square,
And I’m very glad that me missus weren’t there;
’Cos there were lots of young ladies all dressed up in tights,
And me missus, her won’t let me look at such sights.
Right toora lye oora lye oora lye ay.
I’d go every night if I had me own way,
’Cos one girl winked at me just as if to say:
Right toora lye oora lye oora lye ay.

I went up to the National Gallery,
And a very fine picture of Venus I see;
Now I gazed at it once and I gazed at it twice,
I says, “If that there be Venus she must have been nice.”
Right toora lye oora lye oora lye ay.
There’s only one thing I’ve got for to say,
I wish my old woman were built the same way.
Right toora lye oora lye oora lye ay.

I went up to Westminster and saw parliament,
And a very enjoyable time there I spent;
There were lots to laugh at and lots to admire,
And one gentleman called another a liar.
Right toora lye oora lye oora lye ay.
There’s only one thing I’ve got for to say*,
’Cos if they don’t do much they got plenty to say.
Right toora lye oora lye oora lye ay.

* Alternative line 5 of last verse:
Now they tells I that is the up-to-date way