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| A wren |
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| The Wrenboys |
The Wren Song
The wren, the wren, the king of all birds
St. Stephen's Day was caught in the furze
Although he was little, his honour was great
Jump up me lads and give us a treat
We followed the wren three miles or more
Three miles or more, three miles or more
Through hedges and ditches and heaps of snow
At six o'clock in the morning
Rolley, Rolley, where is your nest?
It's in the bush that I love the best
It's in the bush, the holly tree
Where all the boys do follow me
As I went out to hunt and all
I met a wren upon the wall
Up with me wattle and gave him a fall
And brought him here to show you all
I have a little box under me arm
A tuppence or penny will do no harm
For we are the boys who came your way
To bring in the wren on St. Stephen's Day
There are several versions of The Wren Song and this is a different one from the version NAUTICAL LOG published last year.
In my birthplace of County Waterford, Ireland the Wren Boys came around the houses on St. Stephen's Day. They could be somewhat intimidating as the drink flowed and the first stanza used the name of the residents for example:
Mrs. O'Neill is a very good woman,
A very good woman, a very good woman,
Mrs. O'Neill is a very good woman,
She gave us a penny to bury the wren
to encourage further contributions then continued with the stanza "The wren, the wren, the king of all birds."
Good Watch
We hope you had a great celebration and maybe remembered the over 300 of our fellow seafarers held captive by pirates off the coast of Somalia. They had absolutely nothing to celebrate. Just think with a little effort last year from various governments they could have been home with their families like the troops from Iraq. Well maybe next year 2012.
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