[OESY]

The Whiffenpoof Song
(a tavern melody)

To the tables down at Mory’s
To the place where Louis dwells
To the dear old Temple Bar we love so well
Sing the Whiffenpoofs assembled
With their glasses raised on high
And the magic of their singing casts its spell

Yes, the magic of their singing
Of the songs we love so well
“Shall I Wasting,” and “Mavourneen,” and the rest
We will serenade our Louis while life and voice shall last
Then we’ll pass and be forgotten with the rest

We’re poor little lambs who have lost our way
Baa! Baa! Baa!
We’re little black sheep who have gone astray
Baa! Baa! Baa!

Gentleman songsters off on a spree
Damned from here to eternity
God have mercy on such as we
Baa! Baa! Baa!

— Music: Kipling/Galloway/Minnigerode ‘10/Lyrics: Pomeroy ‘10

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[JustAmy]

OESY .... The Whiffenpoof Song is a perfect Tavern song.

Love your graphic and your song selection for Tavern Day! Thank you!

I’m off to do some little girl shopping. : )

[OESY]

Shall I Wasting in Despair

Shall I, wasting in despair,
Die because a woman’s fair?
Shall my cheeks look pale and fair,
Because another’s rosy are?
Be she fairer than the day,
or the flowrie meads of May;
Yet if she be not such to me,
What care I how fair she be?

Shall my foolish heart be pin’d
‘Cause I see a woman kind?
Or with a well-disposed nature,
Joined with a lovely feature?
Be she kind, or meeker than
Turtle-dove or pelican;
If she be not so to me,
What care I how kind she be?

Great, or good, or kind, or fair,
I will ne’er the more dispair
I she love me, this believe,
I will die ere she shall grieve.
If she slight me when I woo,
I can slight and let her go;
If she be not fit for me,
What care I for whom she be?

Shall a woman’s virtues move
Me to perish for her love?
Or her merits value known,
Make me quite forget mine own?
Be she with that goodness blest,
Which may gain her name of Best;
If she be not such to me,
What care I how good she be?

—From a manuscript in the Advocates’ Library, Edinburgh.
Also located in the Pepys Collection, and in “the Golden Garden of Princely Delights.”

NOTE: This song is thought to be the “Shall I Wasting” referred to in the Whiffenpoof Song.

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[OESY]

KATHLEEN MAVOURNEEN, 1863
(Mavourneen is Irish, meaning my darling)

Kathleen, mavourneen, the grey dawn is breaking,
The horn of the hunter is heard on the hill.
The lark from her light wing the bright dew is shaking,
Kathleen, mavourneen, what! Slumbering still?

Oh, hast thou forgotten how soon we must sever?
Oh, hast thou forgotten this day we must part?
It may be for years, and it may be forever,
Then why art thou silent, thou voice of my heart?
It may be for years and it may be forever,
Then why art thou silent, Kathleen, mavourneen?

Kathleen, mavourneen, awake from thy slumbers,
The blue mountains glow in the sun’s golden light.
Ah! Where is the spell that once hung on thy numbers,
Arise in thy beauty, thou star of my night!

Mavourneen, mavourneen, my sad tears are falling,
To think that from Erin and thee I must part!
It may be for years, and it may be forever,
Then why art thou silent, thou voice of my heart?
It may be for years and it may be forever,
Then why art thou silent, Kathleen, mavourneen.

NOTE: This is the second tavern song referred to in
The Whiffenpoof Song--just in time for St. Patrick's Day.

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[OESY]

In celebration of Hug A GI Day:




When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
We’ll give him a hearty welcome then
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The men will cheer and the boys will shout
The ladies they will all turn out
And we’ll all feel gay,
When Johnny comes marching home.

The old church bell will peal with joy
Hurrah! Hurrah!
To welcome home our darling boy
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The village lads and lassies say
With roses they will strew the way,
And we’ll all feel gay
When Johnny comes marching home.

Get ready for the Jubilee,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
We’ll give the hero three times three,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The laurel wreath is ready now
To place upon his loyal brow
And we’ll all feel gay
When Johnny comes marching home.

— History and words from Best Loved Songs of the American People

NOTE: This is generally credited to the Union Army bandmaster, Patrick S. Gilmore,
who wrote it in 1863. It is similar to the Irish song Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye (a tale
of a maimed soldier returning from war). Which version came first is debated.

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