Day 1: Butter and Cheese And All
Song Information
This is the opening track to Won't You Go My Way, probably one of the best live recordings of Peter Bellamy you can listen to (especially with the addition of Lou Killen) - and since Peter decided he'd start with it there, I decided that I'd start with it here!
However, it was first recorded on Bellamy's first solo album Mainly Norfolk. It's possible that he already knew this in the later Young Tradition days, based solely on the fact that the opening track on Mainly Norfolk is "The German Musicianer" which he sung on Oberlin 1968.
Bellamy was a very strong believer in source / traditional singers and regularly told people to learn from recordings of those singers, and this is no exception. Butter and Cheese and All comes from the singing of Sam Larner, who (along with Harry Cox) had a large repertoire of songs from Norfolk where Bellamy grew up.
There appears to be a few variants of this song:
- An English Folk Music Anthology from Folkways Records has a recording from "Mrs Dowrick" which is incredibly close to the version I sing. The drift between the two definitely feels like the drift you get when people continually misremember a song over several years.
- Matt Quinn sang the Sussex version on his album The Brighton Line - again, similar enough to Mrs Dowrick / Sam Larner to recognise the heritage while being different enough to warrant its existence.
I first heard this sung by Jon Boden as part of A Folk Song A Day, an invaluable resource for someone who was just starting to come into singing folk songs. I distinctly remember hearing this during the initial run, but what I thought of it at the time I can't say.
Listen to the Song
Lyrics
Well now you’ve called on me to sing, I’ll see what I can do,
And when that I have finished it I’ll call on one of you.
Well now you’ve called on me to sing I’ll see what I can do,
And when that I have finished it,
𝄆 I’ll call on one of you. 𝄇
Now, the first time I went a-courting, well I’ll tell you the reason why,
It was to a jolly old cook because my wants she did supply.
She fed me on the best roast beef and plenty of mince pies,
And whenever that I was hungry
𝄆 My wants she did supply. 𝄇
So one day I went to see her and she asked me in to tea,
She said, “The missus and master’s out, we’ll have a jolly spree.”
So I went into the parlour my own true love to please
And into one pocket she’s rammed some butter
𝄆 And into the other some cheese. 𝄇
Now after supper was over, and I could eat no more,
Oh Lord, to my surprise when a knock comes to the door.
So I looked around for a place to hide but that I did not know.
So it’s up the old chimney I did creep,
𝄆 As black as any old crow. 𝄇
Now, the fire it being rather warm, it began to scorch my knees,
Likewise to melt my butter and likewise to toast my cheese,
And every drop dropped in the fire, a terrible place was there.
And the master swore as in his poor old house
𝄆 That the Devil himself was there. 𝄇
So it’s way up on the roof he climbed for to drive old Harry out,
He began to pour cold water down what put me to a rout.
And it’s down the old chimney I did creep and into the street did crawl,
I was forced to ramble as fast as I could
𝄆 With my butter and cheese and all. 𝄇
Now some they said it was the devil and him they very well know,
But some they just said it was Harry myself though I was as black as a crow,
The dogs did bark, the children screamed, up rushed the women all,
And then they began to blabber as how
𝄆 You’ve got butter and cheese and all. 𝄇