Musical Nursery Rhyme (Lillibulero)

There was an old woman, whisked up in a basket,
Seventeen times as high as the moon.
And where she was going, I couldn’t but ask it,
for in her hand she carried a broom.
Old woman, old woman, old woman, said I,
O whither, o whither, o whither so high?
To sweep the cobwebs off the sky,
May I go with you? Aye, bye and bye.

I aspired to produce my arrangement in imitation of the old BBC Call Sign. (Obviously, mine is at a different tempo.)

Morris dancing has a long tradition, older than any attempts by Oliver Cromwell to stamp it out.

I have never seen Barry Landon. (Another noteworthy piece from the film is Handel’s sarabande from his keyboard suite in D minor HWV 437, “Las Folías de España”, the Madness of Spain.)

Henry Purcell is supposed to have originated the piece we know as Lillibulero as “New Irish Tune”.

In 1686, Thomas, Lord Wharton composed lyrics for Purcell’s tune. The rakish Wharton was satirizing King James II’s appointment of Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell as Lord Deputy of Ireland. Wharton’s conceit is a sarcastic conversation between two Irishmen about the imminent arrival of the Catholic Talbot, and its dire implications for the Protestants.

Ho, brother Teague, dost hear the decree?
Lillibullero bullen a la
We are to have a new deputy
Lillibullero bullen a la
Refrain:
Lero Lero Lillibullero
Lillibullero bullen a la
Lero Lero Lero Lero
Lillibullero bullen a la
Oh by my soul it is a Talbot
And he will cut every Englishman’s throat (Refrain)
Though, by my soul, the English do prate
The law’s on their side and the devil knows what (Refrain)
But if dispense do come from the Pope
We’ll hang Magna Carta and themselves on a rope (Refrain)
And the good Talbot is now made a Lord
And with his brave lads he’s coming aboard (Refrain)
Who all in France have taken a swear,
That they will have no Protestant heir (Refrain)
Now Tyrconnell is come ashore
And we shall have commissions galore (Refrain)
And everyone that won’t go to Mass
He will be turned out to look like an ass
Now the heretics all go down
By Christ and St Patrick’s the nation’s our own (Refrain)
There was an old prophecy found in a bog
The country’d be ruled by an ass and a dog (Refrain)
Now this prophecy is all come to pass
For Talbot’s the dog and Tyrconnell’s the ass (Refrain)

The first Irish Roman Catholic to serve as Lord Deputy of Ireland in nearly 200 years, Talbot quickly filled the army in Ireland with Catholic officers (hence “we will have commissions galore”) and recruits, alarming the Protestants and raising the hopes of the Irish Catholic community for a restoration of their lands and political power (“by Christ and St Patrick, the nation’s our own”). The Catholic resurgence created fears amongst Irish Protestants of a massacre, similar to that which had happened in the Irish Rebellion of 1641.

The song parodies the widespread Irish belief in prophecy (“there was an old prophecy found in a bog, that Ireland’d be ruled by an ass and a dog”). Talbot, as well as being a name, is a breed of hound or hunting dog. A common theme of such prophecies was that the foreigners would be driven out of Ireland in some decisive battle. See the Siege of Limerick for an example of these attitudes. The song’s title and the words of the refrain have been interpreted as a garbled version of the Irish words An Lile ba léir é, ba linn an lá, “The Lily was everywhere and ours was the day (i.e., we won )”. The lily may be a reference to the fleur de lis of France, or to the most celebrated astrologer of the mid seventeenth century, William Lilly, who became well known for prophesy at this time and to whom could readily be attributed foreknowledge that a Catholic would be king of England. Alternatively, the lyrics could mean, “Lilly is clear [about this], the day will be ours”. It is also thought that “Lilli” is a familiar form of William, and that bullero comes from the Irish “Buaill Léir ó”, which gives: “William defeated all that remained”.