MovieChat Forums > Robin Hood Daffy (1958) Discussion > Robin Hood Daffy song

Robin Hood Daffy song

posted 19 years ago by wallerworld
5 replies | jump to latest

Here's a transcription of the lyrics to Daffy's song, presumedly written by Michael Maltese (uncredited).

"Oh, join up with me,
So joyous and free,
This way to old Sherwood High.
For I'm Robin Hood,
And I'm very good
At avoiding the Sheriff's eye.

"So, we'll trip along merrily,
O'er the greensward so gracefully,
To trip it, trip it, trip it, trip it,
Trip it up and down,
To trip it, trip it, trip it, trip it...
So trip it up and down!"

Does anyone know... is the melody an olde English tune, or something written by Milt Franklyn?

BTW, I had to look "greensward" up in the dictionary. It's a noun meaning "turf that is green with growing grass."

[–] sneakyclevermongols 19 years ago

Does anyone know... is the melody an olde English tune

Not that I can think of off the top of my head. :) (I do historical reenactment, and also early music. Tune doesn't ring any "authenticity bells.")

OTOH, I could hit "rewind" and watch Daffy tripping over that ridiculously elongated lute for hours. :D :D :D

[–] dadoo4050 19 years ago

I was wondering this myself--especially since Friar Porky does sing "Barbara Allen," which IS a medieval ballad.

I show this "toon" to my 12th Grade English classes when we read ballads like "Barbara Allen" and "Lord Randall," etc.

[–] sneakyclevermongols 18 years ago

(Sorry in advance for the following...again, I perform early music, so it's a subject close to home. ;) )

The thing about "Barbara Allen" and "Lord Randall" is that they, and a lot of their kindred songs, are technically "Child" ballads, not necessarily medieval.

Meaning: in the 1700's a dude named Francis Child scampered around the Scots/English borderlands, collecting old folk songs and writing them down, for fear they'd be lost otherwise. His collection is quite a few volumes long, and probably the most definitive one of its type.

The problem with documenting the pieces is that Child's research was done by talking to people who'd preserved the songs by word of mouth. With oral tradition, it's hard as hell to prove age. (If they're written down, you can always carbon-date the #$%@ed manuscript.)

An early-language expert with a good ear/eye, can make an excellent case for a handful of the songs being medieval. Like "The Wife of Usher's Well", "The Cruel Mother." The rest are generally considered to have been written far later.

Check out what this guy has to say about folk ballads. It's very funny.

http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/006448.html

[–] mbsheik 16 years ago

Hi, the song you are referring to is called "Come Lasses and Lads", with lyrics slightly altered for the cartoon.

Here's a link to the lyrics to "Come Lasses and Lads": http://whitewolf.newcastle.edu.au/words/authors/T/Traditional/verse/lassesandlads.html

There's also a short clip of the music at allmusic.com.

Hope that helps!

[–] wallerworld 13 years ago

Thanks for identifying "Come Lasses and Lads". I couldn't get the link to work, but Googling it led me to these original lyrics:

"Come lasses and lads, get leave of your dads
And away to the maypole hie
For every fair has a sweetheart there
And the fiddler's standing by
For Willy shall dance with Jane
And Johnny has got his Joan
To trip it, trip it, trip it, trip it
Trip it up and down
To trip it, trip it, trip it, trip it
Trip it up and down."

That's just the first verse.

If you follow this link...
http://www.contemplator.com/tunebook/england/lasslads.htm
...you can see the complete lyrics and hear a MIDI version of the tune (wait for the MIDI to load and turn on your speakers).