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Title
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George Ridler';s oven
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Singer
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Unknown
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Notes
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Note 1
Alfred Williams – ‘I print this old Gloucestershire song, though I have never heard it sung completely, yet at many points I have met with parts of it. I think it is a mixture of several different songs really, though the whole as it now stands has long been printed together. The repetition of ‘Thaay stwuns’ always preceeded the singing in this locality.’
Note 2
The usual citation for this song is: WSHC: 2598/36 Packet 2 - Gloucestershire: Williams, A: MS collection No Gl 171. The above text is taken from the original which is the citation given above. That is a copy of above text, taken from the original which is located at the citation given above.
Note 3
The following text is that published in FSUT:
Thaay stwuns, thaay stwuns, thaay stwuns, thaay stwuns,
Thaay stwuns, thaay stwuns, thaay stwuns, thaay stwuns,
Verse 1
The stwuns that built Gaarge Ridler’s oven,
And thaay quem vrom the Bleakney quaar;
And Gaarge ‘e wur a jolly owld man,
And ‘is yead it grawed above ‘is yare.
Verse 2
One theng of Gaarge Ridler I must commend,
And that wur vor a notable theng,
‘e mead his brags avoore ‘e died
Wi’ any dree brothers ‘is zons should zeng.
Verse 3
Thur’s Dick the treble, and John the mean,
[Let ivery mon zeng in ‘is awn pleace]
And Gaarge he wur the elder brother,
And theervoore ‘e would zeng the beass.
Verse 4
Mine ‘ostess moid – ‘ur neam ‘twur Nell –
A pretty wench and I loved ‘r well,
I loved ‘r well – good raazon why,
Becos ‘u loved my doag and I.
Verse 5
My doag ‘as gotten zitch a trick,
To visit moids when thaay be zick;
When thaay be zick and like to die,
Oh, theether goes my doag and I.
Verse 6
My doag is good to catch a hen,
A duck and a goose is vood vor men;
And wher good company I spy,
Oh, theether goes my doag and I.
Verse 7
Droo aal the world owld Gaarge would boast,
Commend me to merry owld England mwoast;
While vools go scramblin’ vur and nigh,
We bides at whoam, my doag and I.
Verse 8
Of furren tongues let travellers brag,
Wi’ ther vifteen neams vor a pudding-bag;
Two tongues I knows ne’er towld a lie,
And their wearers be my doag and I.
Verse 9
My mother towld I, when I wur young,
If I did vollow the strong beer-pwoat,
That drenk ood proove my awver-drow,
And make ma wur a threadbare cwoat.
Verse 10
When I’ve dree zix-pences under my thumb,
Oh, then I be welcome, wherever I quem;
But when I ‘ev none, oh, then I pass by –
Tis poverty pearts good company.
Verse 11
When I gwoes dead, as it may hap,
My graave shall be under the good yeal-tap;
In vowlded arms there wool us lie,
Cheek by jowl, my doag and I.
The glossary is not in the manuscript, it is my attempt to provide a set of alternative spellings. It is interesting to note that while Williams used a form of dialect writing in the text of the song, he did not use it in the title.
Glossary of dialect words
Avoore – before
Awver-drow – overthrow
Beass – bass
Becos – because
Cwoat – coat
Doag - dog
Dree - three
Drenk – drink
Droo – through
Ev – I’ve
Furren – foreign
Gaarge – George
Graave - grave
Gwoas - goes
Ivery – every
Moid - maid
Mon – man
Mwoast – most
Neams - names
Neer – never
Ood - would
Owld – old
Pearts – parts
Pleace – place
Proove – prove
Raazon - reason
Quem - came
Stwuns - stones
Thaay – They
Theervoore – Therefore
Theether – together
Ther – there
Theng - thing
Thur’s – There’s
Twold – told
Twur – t’were
Ur – her
Vifteen – fifteen
Vood – food
Vools – fools
Vor - for
Vrom - from
Vur – far
Vwolded – folded
Wher - where
Whoam – home
Wool – will
Wur - were
Yare – hair
Yead - head
Yeal – ale
Zeng – sing
Zitch – such
Zix - six
Zons – sons
Transcribed and edited by Chris Wildridge, 2014.
