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Folk Song Information

Song TitleWe'll chase the buffalo
Roud No.1026
Collected FromCutts, Allan
LocationBrinkworth
CountyWiltshire
Collected ByWilliams, Alfred
Alternative Title
Tune
Date
Source PrimaryWSRO: 2598/36 Packet 4 - Wiltshire: Williams, A: MS collection No Wt 334
Source SecondaryWilts and Gloucestershire Standard, 26th August, 1916, p 3, Part 43, No. 2: Williams, A: Folk songs of the upper Thames, p 220
Recording
 
Song Lyrics
Verse 1

Come, all you bold fellows,
That have a mind to range,
Into some foreign country,
Your nation for to change!
Your nation for to change, my boys,
And from your homes to go,
We will lie down on the banks,
Of the pleasant Ohio.

Chorus

Through the wide woods we'll wander,
And chase the buffalo.

Verse 2

Suppose some wild Indians,
Should chance to draw near!
We'll all unite together,
Our hearts free from fear.
We'll march into the town my boys,
And give them the fatal blow,
And lie down on the banks,
Of the pleasant Ohio.

Chorus

Verse 3

There are fishes in the river,
To render us good use,
And good and lofty sugar canes,
The finest produced;
There's all sorts of game, my boys,
Besides the buck and doe,
We can enjoy good sport
On the pleasant Ohio.

Chorus

Verse 4

Come all you pretty maidens,
And spin us up some yarn,
To make us some blankets,
To keep ourselves warm;
For you can card and spin, my girls,
While we can reap and sow,
And you can lie down on the banks,
Of the pleasant Ohio.
 
Print Song Lyrics
 
Notes
Note 1

Williams, Alfred: Ms / WGS / FSUT: 'I too, have chased the buffalo, or at least the song; I have been at some pains to secure it. I first heard of it at Ogbourne; from there I traced it to Eynsham, near Oxford. Months of inquiry failed to elicit its exact whereabouts. By and by, however, I heard a little more at Aldsworth, and Bibury, and finally discovered it entire at Brinkworth near Malmesbury. Complete words of Allan Cutts, Brinkworth.'

Note 2

Although Williams do not state that his singer in Ogbourne is David Sawyer, he was Williams only recorded source there.

Transcribed and edited by Chris Wildridge, 2010.
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 Contact Details

 Wiltshire Studies
 Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre
 Cocklebury Road
 Chippenham
 Wiltshire, SN15 3QN
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