Lloyd recorded many albums of English folk music, most notably several albums of the Child Ballads with Ewan MacColl. He also published many books on folk music and related topics, including The Singing Englishman, Come All Ye Bold Miners, and Folk Song in England. He was a founder-member of Topic Records and remained as their artistic director until his death. He died at his home in Greenwich in 1982.
While Lloyd is most widely known for his work with British folk music, he had a keen interest in the music of Spain, Latin America, Southeastern Europe and Australia (he recorded at least 6 discs of Australian Bush Ballads and folk music).
Three Drunken Huntsmen
A.L. Lloyd Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Until they came to a signpost and that we left behind.
The Englishman said, signpost, the Scotsman he said, nay,
My dad said, Pat it's a plum-pudding tree and the pudding's has blown away.
Tally ho, hawk away, my boys, hawk away
It was three drunken huntsmen and nothing could they find
But a frog in a well, my boys, that they left behind.
My dad said, Pat, a canary bird and the feather's has washed away.
Tally ho, hawk away, my boys, hawk away
Well all night they hunted and nothing could they find
But a dead man in the road, boys, and him they left behind.
A man, says the Englishman, the Scotsman he said, nay,
A monkey, says the Irishman, and his tail has cut away.
Tally ho, hawk away, my boys, hawk away
Well the next day they hunted and nothing could they find
But a ship in full sail and that they left behind.
Barquentine, says the Englishman, the Scotsman he said, nay,
My dad said, Pat it's a washing tub and the clothes hung up to dry.
Tally ho, hawk away, my boys, hawk away
Well all that night they hunted and nothing could they find
But an owl in an ivy bush and that they left behind.
An owl, says the Englishman, the Scotsman he said, nay.
It's the devil, said the Irishman and they all of em run away.
Tally ho, hawk away, my boys, hawk away
The lyrics to A.L. Lloyd's song Three Drunken Huntsmen tell of three inebriated individuals who are out hunting and seem to be struggling to identify what they come across. The first encounter is with a signpost that they have left behind, and the Englishman mistakes it for a direction marker while the Scotsman disagrees, with the suggestion that it is a plum-pudding tree that has lost its fruit in the wind. The next encounter is a frog in a well, which the Englishman correctly identifies, but the Scotsman mistakes it for a canary bird, and they leave it behind. The third encounter is with a dead man lying in the road, and the Englishman identifies him correctly as a man, but the Scotsman again disagrees, suggesting it is a monkey with its tail cut off. The final encounter of the night is a ship in full sail, which the Englishman again correctly identifies as a barquentine, but the Scotsman mistakes it for a washing tub with clothes hung out to dry. On the second day, they come across an owl in an ivy bush, and the Englishman recognizes it as such, but the Scotsman declares it to be the devil, and they all flee.
The song plays upon the idea of misidentification and exaggeration when under the influence of alcohol. The lyrics provide a humorous and light-hearted take on how easily our perceptions can become muddled, and we can misconstrue what we are seeing. The song also reflects the tradition of British folk songs that often involve a group of characters in absurd or unlikely situations, such as drinking, hunting, and mistaken identity.
Line by Line Meaning
It was three drunken huntsmen and nothing could they find
Despite their efforts, the three huntsmen were unsuccessful in their hunt.
Until they came to a signpost and that we left behind.
They encountered a signpost, but did not pay attention to it and continued on their way.
The Englishman said, signpost, the Scotsman he said, nay,
The Englishman recognized the signpost, but the Scotsman did not agree.
My dad said, Pat it's a plum-pudding tree and the pudding's has blown away.
The third hunter mistook the signpost for a tree and thought the fruit had fallen off.
Tally ho, hawk away, my boys, hawk away
A phrase used to encourage hunting dogs to pursue their prey.
But a frog in a well, my boys, that they left behind.
They came across a frog in a well, but ignored it and moved on.
Frog, says the Englishman, the Scotsman he said, nay,
The Englishman identified the frog, but the Scotsman did not agree.
My dad said, Pat, a canary bird and the feather's has washed away.
The third hunter mistook the frog for a canary and thought its feathers had fallen off.
Well all night they hunted and nothing could they find
Despite hunting all night, the hunters were still unsuccessful.
But a dead man in the road, boys, and him they left behind.
They stumbled across a dead man in the road, but did not investigate and moved on.
A man, says the Englishman, the Scotsman he said, nay,
The Englishman recognized the dead man, but the Scotsman did not agree.
A monkey, says the Irishman, and his tail has cut away.
The third hunter mistook the dead man for a monkey and thought its tail had been cut off.
Well the next day they hunted and nothing could they find
Their hunt continued the next day, but was still unsuccessful.
But a ship in full sail and that they left behind.
They saw a ship in full sail, but ignored it and moved on.
Barquentine, says the Englishman, the Scotsman he said, nay,
The Englishman correctly identified the type of ship, but the Scotsman did not agree.
My dad said, Pat it's a washing tub and the clothes hung up to dry.
The third hunter mistook the ship for a washing tub and thought clothes were hung up to dry on it.
Well all that night they hunted and nothing could they find
Despite hunting all night again, they found nothing.
But an owl in an ivy bush and that they left behind.
They came across an owl in an ivy bush, but did not pursue it and instead fled.
An owl, says the Englishman, the Scotsman he said, nay.
The Englishman identified the animal as an owl, but the Scotsman did not agree.
It's the devil, said the Irishman and they all of em run away.
The third hunter mistook the owl for the devil, and the group became frightened and fled the scene.
Tally ho, hawk away, my boys, hawk away
A phrase used to encourage hunting dogs to pursue their prey.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Arr: LLOYD, ALBERT LANCASTER, TRAD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@chasewilliams5128
Seems the stupid Irish stereotype is older than I thought...