Also from Bronson, also cut. Like most Robin Hood songs, this one tells of Robin's frolics with his friends in the woods.
lyrics
In Nottingham there lived a jolly tanner
With a hey, down, down a down down
His name was Arthur a Bland
There is not a squire in Nottinghamshire
Dare bid bold Arthur stand.
And as he rode out in a summer's morning
With a hey …
In the forest of merry Sherwood
To view the red deer that range here and there,
there met he with bold Robin Hood
"Why what art thou, thou bold fellow?
That ranges so boldly here?
In sooth, to be brief, thou lookst like a thief
That comes to steal our king's deer."
"I'll yield to thy weapon," said jolly Robin
"Since thou wilt not yield to mine.
For I have a staff of another oak graft
Not half a foot longer than thine."
"But let me measure," says jolly Robin
"Before we begin our fray.
For I'll not have mine to be longer than thine,
For that would be called foul play."
And knock for knock they lustily dealt
Which held for two hours or more.
Till all the wood rang at every bang,
They plied their work so sore.
"Oh what is the matter?" then said Little John.
"Master, I pray you tell.
Why do you stand with your staff in your hand?
I fear that all is not well."
"Oh, man, I do stand and he makes me to stand,
This tanner that stands me beside.
He is a bonnie blade and master of his trade
For soundly he hath tanned my hide."
"He's to be commended, then," said Little John,
"If such a feat he can do.
If he be so stout, we will have a bout
And he shall tan my hide too."
"Hold thy hand, hold thy hand," said Robin Hood
"For as I do understand
He's a yeoman good and of thine own blood
For his name is Arthur a Bland."
Then Little John threw his staff away
As far as he could it fling,
Then ran out a hand to Arthur a Bland
And about his neck did cling.
And ever hereafter, as long as I live
We three will be all one.
The woods shall ring and old wives sing
of Robin Hood, Arthur, and John.
credits
from Amplificata,
released January 1, 1994
Including: Abandoned Glue Factory (J. Speer).
Broadside Electric is a five-piece electric folk band from Philadelphia, PA (US). They have earned a reputation for
thoroughly original arrangements and painstaking research into traditional English, Celtic and Eastern European music. Broadside Electric has been at turns called “Pennsylvania’s answer to Steeleye Span” and “folk music’s answer to death metal.”...more
Maer, from Switzerland, debut with a haunted (and haunting) folk song that will warm you heart as it sends shivers down your spine. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 23, 2022
Cloud Caverns bring together a host of different musical genres—everything from prog to electronic music to folk—for a deeply personal record. Bandcamp Album of the Day Aug 18, 2016
The legendary Richard Thompson's new solo album exemplifies his many musical paths, from pop and cabaret to jazz to traditional folk. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 2, 2024
Cara Beth Satalino's delicately melodic yet resilient indie folk songs sparkle with lyrical wit and hard-won wisdom. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 10, 2024
The experimental spirit permeating this collection of Japanese acid folk foreshadowed the arrivals of city pop, the psych revival, and folktronica. Bandcamp Album of the Day Jan 25, 2024