The Goodman
Kate Rusby Lyrics


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The good man he came home one night
The good man, home came he
There he spied an old saddle horse
Where no horse should there be
It's a cow, it's a cow, cried the good man's wife
A cow, just a cow, can't you see?
Far have I ridden, and much I've seen
But a saddle on a cow there's never been

The good man he came home one night
The good man, home came he
There he spied a powdered wig
Where no wig should there be
It's a hen, it's a hen, cried the good man's wife
A hen, just a hen, can't you see?
Far have I ridden, and much I've seen
But powder on a hen there's never been

The good man he came home one night
The good man, home came he
There he spied a riding coat
Where no coat should there be
It's sheets, just sheets, cried the good man's wife
Sheets, just sheets, can't you see?
Far have I ridden, and much I've seen
But buttons on a sheet there's never been

The good man he came home one night
When the good man home came he
There he spied a handsome man
Where no man should there be
It's the maid, it's the maid, cried the good man's wife
The milking maid, can't you see?
Far have I ridden, and much I've seen
But a beard on a maid there's never been

The good man he came home one night
The good man, home came he
There he spied an old saddle horse
Where no horse should there be
It's a cow, it's a cow, cried the good man's wife
A cow, just a cow, can't you see?
Far have I ridden, and much I've seen
But a saddle on a cow there's never been





Far have I ridden, and much I've seen
But a saddle on a cow there's never been

Overall Meaning

The Goodman is a song by Kate Rusby that tells a story of a good man coming home and finding unusual things around his house. The good man's wife tries to explain each of the oddities, but her explanations are not convincing. The first strange thing the good man sees is a saddle on an old horse, which should not be there. The wife tries to convince him that it is a cow, but the good man is not fooled. The second unusual thing the good man sees is a powdered wig on a hen. The wife again tries to explain that it is just a hen, but the good man is skeptical. The third thing is a riding coat on sheets. The wife tries to explain that they are just sheets, but the good man is not convinced. Finally, the good man sees a handsome man, which the wife claims is just the milking maid. The good man knows better and realizes that his wife has been unfaithful.


Line by Line Meaning

The good man he came home one night
A man that is considered good came back home one night


The good man, home came he
The man who is considered good came home


There he spied an old saddle horse where no horse should there be
He saw a saddle horse in a place where they should not ordinarily be


It's a cow, it's a cow, cried the good man's wife
The good man's wife claimed that it was a cow


A cow, just a cow, can't you see?
The wife wants the good man to acknowledge that it is a cow and not a horse


Far have I ridden, and much I've seen
The man speaking has traveled extensively and seen many things


But a saddle on a cow there's never been
In all his experience of traveling, the good man has never seen a saddle on a cow


There he spied a powdered wig where no wig should there be
He saw a wig in an unexpected place


It's a hen, it's a hen, cried the good man's wife
The good man's wife believes that the wig is actually a hen


A hen, just a hen, can't you see?
The wife wants the good man to see that it is a hen and not a wig


Far have I ridden, and much I've seen
The man speaking has traveled extensively and seen many things


But powder on a hen there's never been
In all his experience of traveling, the good man has never seen powder on a hen


There he spied a riding coat where no coat should there be
He saw a riding coat in a place where it shouldn't ordinarily be


It's sheets, just sheets, cried the good man's wife
The good man's wife believes that the coat is actually sheets


Sheets, just sheets, can't you see?
The wife wants the good man to acknowledge that it is sheets and not a coat


Far have I ridden, and much I've seen
The man speaking has traveled extensively and seen many things


But buttons on a sheet there's never been
In all his experience of traveling, the good man has never seen buttons on sheets


The good man he came home one night
A man that is considered good came back home one night


When the good man home came he
When the good man arrived home


There he spied a handsome man where no man should there be
He saw a man where he should not ordinarily be


It's the maid, it's the maid, cried the good man's wife
The good man's wife insists that it is the maid


The milking maid, can't you see?
The wife thinks that the maid is the milking maid and wants the good man to see it too


Far have I ridden, and much I've seen
The man speaking has traveled extensively and seen many things


But a beard on a maid there's never been
In all his experience of traveling, the good man has never seen a maid with a beard




Contributed by Isaiah C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Comments from YouTube:

Little Rock

I really wish this album was on spotify - one of my favourite albums ever <3

Joe Page

Agreed. It's a lovely arrangement and performance.

Will Draws & What Not

This is my childhood song right here✨

Deep Dive Gaming

Love it!

djdaforce22

very good song. the version on 20 is also great. it is Like a very clean version of 7 drunken nights.

thegallifreyrose

This is a lovely song, guess I'm a folky at heart.

Jim Falbo

Heard this for the first time on 88.5 Jazz FM strings theory in Minnesota.

keiran docherty

Brilliant variation of the seven drunken nights

djdaforce22

My reaction as well! It's written so old fashioned that I started questioning the dubliners! I thought this might have been the original...but I don't think so

Ella Senior

Listened to it in English while working on Ballads

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