|
|
|
 |
 |
Dialect Exercises
On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at
On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at (Standard English: On Ilkley
Moor without a hat) is a popular folk song from
Yorkshire, England.
It is sung in the Yorkshire dialect, and is
considered the unofficial anthem of the county.
According to tradition, the words were composed by
members of a Halifax church choir during an outing
to Ilkley Moor near Ilkley, West Yorkshire.
Within the lyrics there is one central verse to
the song, the first, third and fourth lines are
changed with each following verse. All of the verses
in the song feature the second, fifth, sixth and
seventh lines which are "On Ilkla Mooar baht 'at". |
Yorkshire lyrics: |
Wheear 'ast tha bin sin' ah saw thee, ah saw thee?
On Ilkla Mooar baht 'at
Wheear 'ast tha bin sin' ah saw thee, ah saw thee?
Wheear 'ast tha bin sin' ah saw thee?
On Ilkla Mooar baht 'at
On Ilkla Mooar baht 'at
On Ilkla Mooar baht 'at
Tha's been a cooartin' Mary Jane
Tha's bahn' to catch thy deeath o` cowd
Then us'll ha' to bury thee
Then t'worms'll come an` eyt thee up
Then t'ducks'll come an` eyt up t'worms
Then us'll go an` eyt up t'ducks
Then us'll all ha' etten thee
That's wheear we get us ooan back
|
Modern English Translation: |
Where have you been since I last saw you, last saw
you?
On Ilkley Moor without a hat
Where have you been since I last saw you, last saw
you?
Where have you been since I last saw you?
On Ilkley Moor without a hat
On Ilkley Moor without a hat
On Ilkley Moor without a hat
You have been courting Mary Jane
You are bound to catch your death of cold
Then we will have to bury you
Then the worms will come and eat you up
Then the ducks will come and eat up the worms
Then we will go and eat up the ducks
Then we will have eaten you
That's where we get our own back
|
Some singers add the responses "without thy trousers
on" after the fourth line of each verse, and "where
the ducks play football" after the seventh. Other
variations include "where the nuns play rugby",
"where the sheep fly backwards", "where the ducks
fly backwards", "where the ducks wear trousers", and
"an' they've all got spots".Also in some recitals, after the first two lines of
"On Ilkla Mooar baht 'at" it is followed by a
"Where's that?". Another variant adds "Howzat?"
after the first line and "Not out!" after the
second. In Leeds the line immediately before the
chorus is often ended with "And we all got wet".
There are also alternative endings, where verse nine
states: "There is a moral to this tale", and is
followed by a chorus of "Don't go without your hat /
Don't go without your hat / On Ilkey moor baht 'at"
(which is sung commonly within South Yorkshire), or
"Don't go a courtin' Mary Jane" (another variation
known in the Scouting movement). Alternatively,
verse nine is sung as "There is a moral to this
tale", and verse ten as "When courtin' always wear a
hat". |
Click on the Piece of Eight to return to the Main Page
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
