“Poor Old Horse (III)”

Description

"My clothing once was linsey-woolsey fine, My hair unlinkt, and my coat it did shine; But now in open fields I'm forced for to go... Crying, 'Poor old horse, O poor old horse.'" The horse recalls the old days, and bequeathes its body to the huntsmen

Supplemental text

Poor Old Horse (III)
  Complete text(s)

          *** A ***

From Stokoe/Reay, Songs and Ballads of Northern England, pp. 60-61.

My clothing once was linsey-woolsey fine,
My hair unlinkt, and my coat it did shine;
But now in open fields I'm forced for to go
To face the cold winter, and the hailstorm and snow.
      Crying, "Poor old horse, O poor old horse."

My bait it once was of the best of hay
That ever grew in fields or in meadows gay;
But now no such comfort I can get at all;
I'm forced to crop the short grass that grows upon the wall.
      Crying, etc.

My days are near an end, and now I must die,
And at some lownd dike back my weary bowk may lie;
I do not greatly mind, for I'm clean done anyhow,
And my master does not care, for I'm worse than useless now.
      Crying, etc.

My skin unto the huntsmen I freely do give,
My flesh unto the hounds I also bequeath,
Likewise my body stout, that's gone so many miles
Over hedges, over ditches, over gates and over stiles.
      Crying, etc.

Notes

Hobbyhorse rituals have been commonplace in rural Britain for centuries. This song was sung as part of these rituals.

Although there are a few parallels between this song and "Poor Old Man" (notably the description of the horse's decrepitude), I believe that this is a related but separate song with a thoroughly different gestalt. As we are being splitters in this index, this song deserves its own entry. -PJS

Roud lumps the two; personally, I wonder a little if even this song might not need splitting. The description above is taken mostly from Stokoe's text; Sharp, which begins "When I was young and in my prime," has a quite distinct look -- but exactly the same plot, and apparently both were used for hobbyhorse rituals. - RBW

Cross references

• cf. "Poor Old Man (Poor Old Horse; The Dead Horse)" (plot)
• cf. "Pawkie Paiterson's Auld Grey Yaud" (theme)
• cf. "Mon Cher Voisin (My Dear Neighbor)" (theme)
• cf. "The Old Blind Horse" (theme)

References

1. Sharp-100E 85, "Poor Old Horse" (1 text, 1 tune)
2. Stokoe/Reay, pp. 60-61, "The Poor Old Horse" (1 text, 1 tune)
3. ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #90, "Poor Old Horse" (1 text)
4. ST ShH85 (Full)
5. Roud #513
6. BI, ShH85