Tally HO!

December 23, 2008 9:18 PM

My brother is looking for the lyrics to a humorous folk song about fox hunting that my mother sings (but of which she knows only fragments). It's probably called "Sir Renard", but don't quote me on that. Google and Yahoo both fail. I'm sure Mefi won't.

The song is about a fox hunt. Each verse, the hunting party meets another peasant or craftsman who tells them that he saw "Sir Renard" and that he went thataway. Finally they come across a young boy who refuses to disclose where he saw the fox running, thereby foiling the hunt.

The chorus goes something like:
Tally-ho, tally-ho pursue him, the huntsmen loudly cried
A-hye-lee and a-hye-lo, down the woods we glide.

(Please note that I don't really expect a web result. I'll happily take a book reference. Or, if you know the words, I'll also take a transcription from memory--but please note it as such.)

posted by Netzapper to media & arts (9 answers total)

Is it Bold Renard? I've found some Google results (including here -- there are a couple of versions so you might need to scroll down). The chorus of one of them is "Tally-ho, hark away, tally-ho hark away / Tally-ho, hark away me boys away, hark away".
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 9:29 PM on December 23, 2008

@Mrs. Pterodactyl

No, definitely not. That's a cute song, though. Thanks.

The chorus starts with the first line I quoted, and ends with the second--it's possible there are some in between, but I know that those lines exist in the chorus almost verbatim.

As well, each verse follows exactly the same formula. You could make up an infinite number of them that would sound perfectly authentic, if you could think of an infinite number of medieval professions.

"The next they met was a [craftsman],
[doing something associated with the craft]
he said he saw Sir Renard [running somewhere associated with the craft]"

One verse I sorta remember:

"The next they met was a miller,
[something about milling]
he said he saw Sir Renard a-turnin' the old mill wheel."

The last verse is along the lines of:
"The next they met was a young boy,
as young as young could be
He said he saw Sir Renard...
but he wouldn't tell them where."
posted by Netzapper at 9:58 PM on December 23, 2008

"Reynard" is French for fox, so a change in spelling may help. However, according to Wikipedia:

Reynard is a common name for the fox in English folk songs; there are several versions of "Reynard the Fox", with significant variations in both lyrics and melody.

So tracking down the exact version may be a bit tricky.
posted by DarlingBri at 10:29 PM on December 23, 2008

It's probably a tune called "The Bold Ranger" -- I'll see if I can dig up lyrics for it.
posted by hades at 10:30 PM on December 23, 2008

@hades

That link includes a line about "amongst the hills and rocks", which I definitely remember from my mother's singing! And the description matches.

It's kind of frustrating how many variations on the fox hunt theme there are, all with similar names.

And, of course, as DarlingBri points out, variations in the spelling of "renard".
posted by Netzapper at 10:41 PM on December 23, 2008

Here's a version of the Three Jolly Huntsmen variant:

There were three jolly huntsmen,
Went out to hunt the fox,
And where d’ye think they found him?
Amongst the woods and rocks.

Chorus:
‘Tally-ho! Tally-ho! stick to it, my boys!’
Aloud the huntsman cries,
With a hip, hip, hip! and a hallo
And through the woods he flies.

And first they met a plough-boy,
Who merrily sang Tally-ho
He swore he saw bold Reynard
Behind the barley-mow.

And now they met an old man,
Whose age was sixty-three,
He swore he saw bold Reynard
Run up the old oak tree.

And next they met a miller,
Whose mill went clickety-clack,
He swore he saw bold Reynard
Run up that very mill-bank.

Second Version.

There were three jolly huntsmen,
Went out to hunt a fox,
And where d'you think they found him?
Behind the woods and rocks.

‘Tally-ho ! Tally-ho I (etc., as above).

First they met with a blind man,
As blind as he could be,
He swore he saw poor Reynard
Run up a hollow tree.

Next they met with a lame man,
As lame as he could be,
He swore he chased poor Reynard
All up the river Dee.

Next they met with a miller,
Whose mill went clickety-clack,
He said he saw old Reynard
Run away with a goose on his back.

Next they met with a schoolboy,
A schoolboy out of bounds,
He swore he saw poor Reynard
Run all across the Downs.

Last they met with a soldier,
A soldier dressed in red,
He swore he saw poor Reynard
Amongst the dogs quite dead

But this one's old, with tons of variations, and many names. Finding the exact version you remember is going to be tough.
posted by hades at 10:48 PM on December 23, 2008

There's another similar version here (with audio sample) as "Come All Ye Merry Hunters". So, there's another possible search term for you. Good hunting!
posted by hades at 11:04 PM on December 23, 2008

@hades

Absolutely astounding. That isn't the exact version I remember, you're right. But, it's extremely close. And, I mostly remember the chorus (which is the only part that's substantially different). My brother mainly wanted the verses (I think he's doing an arrangement of it, or something); these match the rhythm of the tune we remember. I'm certain he'll be most pleased.

And if he isn't, I'll send him the Folklorist link, and he can go look up the references.

ask.me does the impossible yet again! And nearly immediately, no less.
posted by Netzapper at 11:08 PM on December 23, 2008

hades' linked page for "The Three Jolly Huntsmen" also has musical notation for the melody and a midi file, so check those out as well.

Charlotte Burne (referenced in the linked page) was a Shropshire folklorist/author/editor -- I also found the song on page 556-557 of an 1886 book she edited, called Shropshire Folk-lore, a Sheaf of Gleanings -- probably the source of the lyrics on the web page. The link goes to page 556, which in particular has notes on the song's origin, if you are interested. (Sidenote: I particularly enjoyed the direction "Slowly and with great pathos" for the last line in the second version.)
posted by macguffin at 11:10 PM on December 23, 2008