"D'ye ken John Peel?" | |
---|---|
Song | |
Written | c. 1824 |
Published | 1866 |
Genre | |
Lyricist(s) |
John Woodcock Graves – 9 February 1795
Wigton,
Cumberland,
England
17 August 1886 (aged 91)
Hobart,
Tasmania,
Australia |
"D'ye ken John Peel?" – which translates to "Do you know John Peel?" – is a famous Cumberland hunting song written around 1824 by John Woodcock Graves (1795–1886) in celebration of his friend John Peel (1776–1854), an English fox hunter from the Lake District. The melody is said to be a contrafactum of a popular border rant, " Bonnie Annie." A different version, the one that endures today, was musically adapted in 1869 by William Metcalfe (1829–1909), the organist and choirmaster of Carlisle Cathedral. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] The tune etymology has a long history that has been traced back to 1695 and attributed to adaptations – one in particular, from the 20th century, the 1939 jingle, "Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot." [2]
John Graves, who wrote it in the Cumbrian dialect, tinkered with the words over the years and several versions are known. George Coward, a Carlisle bookseller who wrote under the pseudonym Sidney Gilpin, rewrote the lyrics with Graves' approval, translating them from their original broad Cumberland dialect to Anglian; and in 1866, he published them in the book, Songs and Ballads of Cumberland. [6] [7] Another song written by Graves mentions one of John's brothers, Askew Peel (1789–1854), a horsedealer who also lived in Caldbeck. [8]
"D'ye ken John Peel?" was first sung in 1824 in Gate House in Caldbeck in John Graves’ home to the tune of the Border rant "Bonnie Annie." A different musical version was composed in 1869 by William Metcalfe, a conductor, composer, and lay clerk of Carlisle Cathedral. His arrangement – lauded as more musical than the traditional melody – became popular in London and was widely published. In 1906, the song was published in The National Song Book, but with a tune closer to Bonnie Annie – and that version is the most widely known today. [6] [9] English counties have no official anthem. However, "D'ye ken John Peel?" is commonly regarded as a kind of unofficial anthem of Cumberland and the region.
British musicologist Ann Gilchrist (1863–1954) and Canadian folklorist Edith Fowke (1913–1996) trace the use of the tune and lyrics in other songs and poems, including:
Verse 1 (best known; by Graves) [6]
D'ye ken John Peel with his coat so gay? ‡
D'ye ken John Peel at the break o' day?
D'ye ken John Peel when he's far, far a-way.
With his hounds and his horn in the morning?
Chorus
For the sound of his horn brought me from my bed,
And the cry of his hounds which he oft time led,
Peel's "View, Halloo!" could awaken the dead,
Or the fox from his lair in the morning.
‡ Some versions, according to The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, [14] show the phrase as " ... with his coat so gray," implying that his coat was likely made of local Herdwick wool, commonly gray. If so, the color of John Peel's coat would be in contrast to that of other huntsmen – traditionally brightly colored, often red or hunting pink. [15] [16]
Verse 2 (Coward's version) [6]
D'ye ken that bitch whose tongue was death?
D'ye ken her sons of peerless faith?
D'ye ken that fox, with his last breath
Curs’d them all as he died in the morning?
For the sound of his horn, etc.
Verse 3
Yes I ken John Peel and Ruby too
Ranter and Royal and Bellman as true, *
From the drag to the chase, from the chase to the view
From a view to the death in the morning
For the sound of his horn, etc.
Verse 4
And I've followed John Peel both often and far,
O'er the rasper fence and the gate and the bar,
From low
Denton Holme up to Scratchmere Scar,
Where we vie for the brush in the morning
For the sound of his horn, etc.
Verse 5
Then here's to John Peel with my heart and soul
Come fill – fill to him another strong bowl,
And we'll follow John Peel through fair and through foul
While we’re waked by his horn in the morning.
For the sound of his horn, etc.
* These were the real names of the hounds that Peel, in his old age, said were the very best he ever had or saw. – J.W.G. [7]
As is common with songs often sung from memory, this has been recorded with other verses and minor differences in lyrics, such as in the third verse: "From the drag to the chase, from the chase to the view" and "From a view to a death in the morning":
Alternative verse 1
Yes, I ken John Peel and his Ruby, too!
Ranter and Ringwood, Bellman so true!
From a find to a check, from a check to a view,
From a view to a kill in the morning.
For the sound of his hor', etc.
Coward's version of the last line was used for Matt Cartmill's book, A View to a Death in the Morning: Hunting and Nature Through History. The alternative version was used as a title to the short story From a View to A Kill, found in the Ian Fleming collection of short stories, For Your Eyes Only. This was in turn shortened to A View to a Kill, when applied to the fourteenth James Bond movie.
This verse was not in Coward's version:
Alternative verse 2
D'ye ken John Peel with his coat so gay?
He liv'd at Troutbeck once on a day;
Now he has gone far, away;
We shall ne'er hear his voice in the morning.
For the sound of his horn, etc.
A number of parodies also exist. On BBC radio's I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again, a version parodied the British Radio DJ John Peel
1st parody
D'ye ken John Peel with his voice so grey?
He sounds as if he's far far away;
He sends you to sleep at the end of the day;
'til you're woken up by Tony Blackburn in the morning.
Another was used in the 1979 film Porridge, which saw Ronnie Barker as Fletch cheekily observe a new prison warden.
2nd parody
D'ye see yon screw with his look so vain?
With his brand new key on his brand new chain;
With a face like a ferret and a pea for a brain
And his hand on his whistle in the morning.
Several lines of the song are also parodied in the course of James Joyce's Finnegans Wake.
Wedgwood's creamware pitcher modelled with hunting scenes in low relief and with a handle modelled as a leaping hound, which was introduced in 1912, carried the pattern name "D'ye Ken John Peel".
P.M.Adamson Download sites and youtube
Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 3: Musical Compositions
Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 3: Musical Compositions
Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 3: Musical Compositions
"D'ye ken John Peel?" | |
---|---|
Song | |
Written | c. 1824 |
Published | 1866 |
Genre | |
Lyricist(s) |
John Woodcock Graves – 9 February 1795
Wigton,
Cumberland,
England
17 August 1886 (aged 91)
Hobart,
Tasmania,
Australia |
"D'ye ken John Peel?" – which translates to "Do you know John Peel?" – is a famous Cumberland hunting song written around 1824 by John Woodcock Graves (1795–1886) in celebration of his friend John Peel (1776–1854), an English fox hunter from the Lake District. The melody is said to be a contrafactum of a popular border rant, " Bonnie Annie." A different version, the one that endures today, was musically adapted in 1869 by William Metcalfe (1829–1909), the organist and choirmaster of Carlisle Cathedral. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] The tune etymology has a long history that has been traced back to 1695 and attributed to adaptations – one in particular, from the 20th century, the 1939 jingle, "Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot." [2]
John Graves, who wrote it in the Cumbrian dialect, tinkered with the words over the years and several versions are known. George Coward, a Carlisle bookseller who wrote under the pseudonym Sidney Gilpin, rewrote the lyrics with Graves' approval, translating them from their original broad Cumberland dialect to Anglian; and in 1866, he published them in the book, Songs and Ballads of Cumberland. [6] [7] Another song written by Graves mentions one of John's brothers, Askew Peel (1789–1854), a horsedealer who also lived in Caldbeck. [8]
"D'ye ken John Peel?" was first sung in 1824 in Gate House in Caldbeck in John Graves’ home to the tune of the Border rant "Bonnie Annie." A different musical version was composed in 1869 by William Metcalfe, a conductor, composer, and lay clerk of Carlisle Cathedral. His arrangement – lauded as more musical than the traditional melody – became popular in London and was widely published. In 1906, the song was published in The National Song Book, but with a tune closer to Bonnie Annie – and that version is the most widely known today. [6] [9] English counties have no official anthem. However, "D'ye ken John Peel?" is commonly regarded as a kind of unofficial anthem of Cumberland and the region.
British musicologist Ann Gilchrist (1863–1954) and Canadian folklorist Edith Fowke (1913–1996) trace the use of the tune and lyrics in other songs and poems, including:
Verse 1 (best known; by Graves) [6]
D'ye ken John Peel with his coat so gay? ‡
D'ye ken John Peel at the break o' day?
D'ye ken John Peel when he's far, far a-way.
With his hounds and his horn in the morning?
Chorus
For the sound of his horn brought me from my bed,
And the cry of his hounds which he oft time led,
Peel's "View, Halloo!" could awaken the dead,
Or the fox from his lair in the morning.
‡ Some versions, according to The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, [14] show the phrase as " ... with his coat so gray," implying that his coat was likely made of local Herdwick wool, commonly gray. If so, the color of John Peel's coat would be in contrast to that of other huntsmen – traditionally brightly colored, often red or hunting pink. [15] [16]
Verse 2 (Coward's version) [6]
D'ye ken that bitch whose tongue was death?
D'ye ken her sons of peerless faith?
D'ye ken that fox, with his last breath
Curs’d them all as he died in the morning?
For the sound of his horn, etc.
Verse 3
Yes I ken John Peel and Ruby too
Ranter and Royal and Bellman as true, *
From the drag to the chase, from the chase to the view
From a view to the death in the morning
For the sound of his horn, etc.
Verse 4
And I've followed John Peel both often and far,
O'er the rasper fence and the gate and the bar,
From low
Denton Holme up to Scratchmere Scar,
Where we vie for the brush in the morning
For the sound of his horn, etc.
Verse 5
Then here's to John Peel with my heart and soul
Come fill – fill to him another strong bowl,
And we'll follow John Peel through fair and through foul
While we’re waked by his horn in the morning.
For the sound of his horn, etc.
* These were the real names of the hounds that Peel, in his old age, said were the very best he ever had or saw. – J.W.G. [7]
As is common with songs often sung from memory, this has been recorded with other verses and minor differences in lyrics, such as in the third verse: "From the drag to the chase, from the chase to the view" and "From a view to a death in the morning":
Alternative verse 1
Yes, I ken John Peel and his Ruby, too!
Ranter and Ringwood, Bellman so true!
From a find to a check, from a check to a view,
From a view to a kill in the morning.
For the sound of his hor', etc.
Coward's version of the last line was used for Matt Cartmill's book, A View to a Death in the Morning: Hunting and Nature Through History. The alternative version was used as a title to the short story From a View to A Kill, found in the Ian Fleming collection of short stories, For Your Eyes Only. This was in turn shortened to A View to a Kill, when applied to the fourteenth James Bond movie.
This verse was not in Coward's version:
Alternative verse 2
D'ye ken John Peel with his coat so gay?
He liv'd at Troutbeck once on a day;
Now he has gone far, away;
We shall ne'er hear his voice in the morning.
For the sound of his horn, etc.
A number of parodies also exist. On BBC radio's I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again, a version parodied the British Radio DJ John Peel
1st parody
D'ye ken John Peel with his voice so grey?
He sounds as if he's far far away;
He sends you to sleep at the end of the day;
'til you're woken up by Tony Blackburn in the morning.
Another was used in the 1979 film Porridge, which saw Ronnie Barker as Fletch cheekily observe a new prison warden.
2nd parody
D'ye see yon screw with his look so vain?
With his brand new key on his brand new chain;
With a face like a ferret and a pea for a brain
And his hand on his whistle in the morning.
Several lines of the song are also parodied in the course of James Joyce's Finnegans Wake.
Wedgwood's creamware pitcher modelled with hunting scenes in low relief and with a handle modelled as a leaping hound, which was introduced in 1912, carried the pattern name "D'ye Ken John Peel".
P.M.Adamson Download sites and youtube
Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 3: Musical Compositions
Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 3: Musical Compositions
Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 3: Musical Compositions