> Folk Music > Songs > Come, My Lads

Come, My Lads / Let Union Be in All Our Hearts

[ Roud 1238 , 17141 ; Master title: Come, My Lads ; Ballad Index WT055 ; VWML HAM/2/6/2 , SBG/1/1/355 , SBG/3/1/370 ; GlosTrad Roud 1238 ; Wiltshire 565 , 773 ; DT LETUNION ; Mudcat 88774 ; trad.]

Sam Richards, Tish Stubbs: The English Folksinger

Sabine Baring-Gould printed Come My Lads, Let Us Be Jolly as No. 76 in Songs & Ballads of the West, London: Methuen, 1891. He noted:

Words and melody from James Olver, of Launceston [VWML SBG/3/1/370, 1888] , and Edmund Fry, of Lydford. Olver acquired it at Liskeard, in 1828, along with Why Should We Be Dullards Sad from G. Brooks, of Grampound. Fry had the melody incomplete. Olver knew the whole of it. Barrett’s English Folk Songs, No. 6, as Sheep-Shearing Song; we have never so heard it used. We have heard it sung also by a hind, J. Hockin, Menheniot, Cornwall, with no reference to a sheep-sheering. We have taken down a notable variant from Samuel Gilbert, Landlord of the Falcon, aged 81, at Mawgan-in-Pydar [VWML SBG/1/1/355] . In that the chorus runs:

Let union be with all its fun,
And we will join all hearts in one,
And we’ll go through as we’ve begun,
Since it is our holiday.

In this also no reference to a sheep-shearing. Also the air of this chorus differed from ours, as well as from that given by Dr. Barrett. Mr. Gilbert’s ran thus: [omitted] The verse was the same as our chorus, in common time.

Henry Hammond collected Come My Friend and Let’s Be Jolly from 53 year old labourer Henry Adams of Sturminster Newton, Dorset, in August 1905 [VWML HAM/2/6/2] . This version has a different Roud number, 17141.

Alfred Williams collected Come, My Lads, and Let’s Be Jolly in Wiltshire in 1914-18 and printed it in his 2923 book Folk-Songs of the Upper Thames. He noted:

A second-rate drinking song, that enjoyed great popularity. Obtained of David Sawyer, of Ogbourne, and Henry Potter, Standlake, Oxon.

Folly Bridge (Ian Giles, Graham Metcalfe and Claire Lloyd) learned Come Me Lads from the singing of Jim Mageean and recorded it in 1992 for their second WildGoose cassette, Unabridged. They noted:

Collected by Baring-Gould in the 1880s, and published in Folk-Songs of the Upper Thames by Alfred Williams who dismissed it as a “second-rate drinking song”. (Does that make us second-rate drinkers?)

The Stanchester Quire, directed by Eddie Upton, sang Come My Lads in 2002 on the Folk South West CD Fanfare for the South West. The sleeve notes said that Dave Lowry collected it from Mrs F. Lowry, South Brent, Devon.

Mawkin:Causley and Lauren McCormick sang Come My Lads to a tune written by Jim Causley on their 2008 EP Cold Ruin, and Mawkin:Causley sang it at Folk in the Bran in the Whitstable Playhouse on Valentine’s Day 2010:

This video shows the harmony trio Alchemy singing Let Union Be at The Star, St Mary’s in the Marsh, on 17 April 2010:

Jon Boden and Fay Hield sang Let Union Be in All Our Hearts as the 5 June 2011 entry of Jon’s project A Folk Song a Day. He noted in the blog:

Ian Giles recorded this with the fabulous Folly Bridge (now reissued on WildGoose I believe). Ian was supposed to be singing it at the Christening of our God-daughter but was called away at the last minute so we learnt this in the car on the way. Mighty chorus, particularly in a church.

Jon Boden also sang Let Union Be on Bellowhead’s 2014 album Revival and on their 2015 Farewell Tour.

Alex Cumming sang Come Me Lads on his and Nicola Beazley’s 2016 CD Across the Water. They commented:

A great west-country version of the song Let Union Be. Our rendition is based on a version collected from Florence Lowry by her grandson Dave Lowry in South Brent, Devon. Dave Lowry is a fine traditional singer and currently performs with harmony group The Claque.

Lyrics

James Olver and Edmund Fry sing Come My Lads, Let Us Be Jolly

Come my lads let us be jolly!
Drive away dull melancholy
For to grieve it is a folly,
When we’re met together.
Come, let’s live and well agree
Always shun bad company,
Why should we not merry merry be,
When we’re met together?

Chorus (after each verse):
Come my lads let us be jolly!
Drive away dull melancholy
For to grieve it is a folly,
When we’re met together.

Here’s the bottle, as it passes,
Do not fail to fill your glasses,
Water-drinkers are dull asses,
When we’re met together.
Milk is meet for infancy,
Ladies like to sip Bohea,
Not such stuff for you and me
When we’re met together.

Solomon a wise man hoary
Told us quite another story.
In our drink we’ll chirp and glory,
When we’re met together.
Come my lads let’s sing in chorus,
Merrily, but yet decorous,
Praising all good drinks before us,
When we’re met together.

David Sawyer sings Come, My Lads, and Let’s Be Jolly

Come, my lads, and let’s be jolly,
Drive away all melancholy,
For to grieve it is a folly;
Since we’ve met let’s merry be.

Chorus (after each verse):
Why shouldn’t you and I agree?
Always keep good company;
Since we’ve met let’s merry be,
Because it is our holiday.
Fol rol the lol, fol rol the rido, (×3)
Fol rol the riddle, rol the ray.

Some delight in quarrelling and fighting,
Evil-speaking and back-biting,
But no such thing do I delight in
When we meet to be merry.

Solomon, both old and hoary,
Tells us quite another story,
Tells us to sing praise and glory
When we do meet merrily.

Eating and drinking there is no harm in.
Dancing and smoking is quite charming;
All these things take great delight in,
When you do meet merrily.

Then let us with one mind agree,
Resolve to keep good company;
Pray, what harm in this can be,
When we meet to be merry?

Folly Bridge sing Come Me Lads

Come my lads, let us be jolly
Drive away dull melancholy,
For to grieve it is a folly
When we’re met together.

Chorus (after each verse):
Let union be in all our hearts,
Let all our hearts be joined as one.
We’ll end the day as we began,
We’ll end it all in pleasure.
Whack-folla-rolla-rye, too-ra-lie-doe (×3)
When we’re met together.

Solomon in all his glory
Told us all another story,
In our cups we’ll sing him glory
When we’re met together.

Eating and drinking there’s a charm in,
Smoking and piping there’s no harm in.
All these things we’ll take delight in
When we’re met together.

Grab the bottle as it passes,
Do not fail to fill your glasses.
Water drinkers are dull asses
When we’re met together.

Cease from quarrelling and fighting,
Evil-speaking and backbiting.
All these things take no delight in
When we’re met together.

Jon Boden and Fay Hield sing Let Union Be in All Our Hearts

Come my lads, let us be jolly
Drive away dull melancholy,
For to grieve it is a folly
When we’re met together.

Solomon in all his glory
Told each wife a different story,
In our cups we’ll sing him glory
When we’re met together.

Eating and drinking are quite charming,
Smoking and piping there’s no harm in.
All these things we’ll delight in
When we’re met together.

Grab the bottle as it passes,
Do not fail to fill your glasses.
Water drinkers are dull asses
When we’re met together.

Cease your quarrelling and fighting,
Evil-speaking and backbiting.
All these things take no delight in
When we’re met together.

Alex Cumming sings Come Me Lads

Come me lads be light and jolly,
Drive away all melancholy,
To be sad it is a folly
When we are together.

Chorus
Let union be in all our fun
We’ll join our hearts all in one
We’ll end the day as we begun
We’ll end it all in pleasure
Right folla-rolla-rye, too-ra-lie-doe, (×3)
When we are together.

Solomon, grown in all his glory
Tells us all a different story
To be glad and to be holy
When we are together.

Take the board, let there be plenty
The man who does, well yes
He eats enough for nine and twenty
When we are together.

And take the bottle as it passes,
Do not fail to fill your glasses.
Water drinkers are dull asses
When we are together.