An Acre of Land/Heigh Ho Sing Ivy/My Father had an Acre of Land
[Peter Kennedy recorded "An Acre of Land" a version of Child 2, The Elfin Knight, from Bob and Ron Copper, Sussex in 1955. It's been recorded at least twice by the Copper's in 1952 and again in 1971 as "Heigh Ho Sing Ivy."]
My father had an acre of land
(Heigh-ho, sing ivy)
My father had an acre of land
(With a bunch of green holly and ivy)
He ploughed it with a team of rats
(Heigh-ho, sing ivy)
He ploughed it with a team of rats
(With a bunch of green holly and ivy)
He sowed it with a pepper box (etc.)
He harrowed it with a small tooth comb
He rolled it with a rolling-pin
He reaped it with the blade of his knife
He wheeled it home in a wheel-barrow
He trashed it with a hazel twig
He wimm'd it on the tail of his shirt
He measured it up with a walnut shell
He sent it to market on a hedgehog's back
He sold the lot for eighteen pence
(Heigh-ho, sing ivy)
He sold the lot for one and six
(With a bunch of green holly and ivy)
And now the poor old man is dead
(Heigh-ho, sing ivy)
And now the poor old man is dead
(With a bunch of green holly and ivy)
We buried him with his team of rats
(Heigh-ho, sing ivy)
And all his tools laid by his side
(With a bunch of green holly and ivy)
Source: Folksongs of Britain and Ireland. Edited by Peter Kennedy; Notes: Recorded by Peter Kennedy from Bob and Ron Copper, Sussex (1955); Kennedy comments: Although a farm song in its own right, this certainly seems to owe its origin to the second section of the old classical ballad The Elfin Knight (No. 2 in Child's English and Scottish Popular Ballads)
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Heigh Ho, Sing Ivy
Sung by John, Bob and Ron Copper on the Song for Every Season LP. 1971
My father had an acre of land, heigh-ho, sing ivy,
My father had an acre of land, with a bunch of green holly and ivy.
He ploughed it with a team of rats, heigh-ho, sing ivy,
He ploughed it with a team of rats, with a bunch of green holly and ivy.
He sowed it with a pepper-box, etc.
He harrowed it with a small tooth comb, etc.
He rolled it with a rolling-pin, etc.
He reaped it with the blade of his knife, etc.
He wheeled it home in a wheelbarrow, etc.
He threshed it with a hazel twig, etc.
He wimmed it on the tail of his shirt, etc.
He measured it up with a walnut shell, etc.
He sent it to market on a hedgehog's back, etc.
He sold the lot for eighteenpence, etc.
And now the poor old man is dead, etc.
We buried him with his team of rats, heigh-ho, sing ivy,
And all his tools lay by his side, with a bunch of green holly and ivy.
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An Acre of Land Sung by Jim and Bob Copper on Come Write Me Down. Recorded by Seamus Ennis for the Beeb, 24 April 1952; BBC 17989.
My father had an acre of land
Ee* oh, sing ivy
My father had an acre of land
And a bunch of green holly and ivy
He ploughed it with a team of rats
Ee oh, sing ivy
He ploughed it with a team of rats
And a bunch of green holly and ivy
He sowed it with a pepper box
Ee oh, sing ivy
He sowed it with a pepper box
And a bunch of green holly and ivy
He harrowed it with a small-tooth comb*
Ee oh, sing ivy
He harrowed it with a small-tooth comb
And a bunch of green holly and ivy
He rolled it down with a rolling pin
Ee oh, sing ivy
He rolled it down with a rolling pin
And a bunch of green holly and ivy
He reaped it the blade of his penknife
Ee oh, sing ivy
He reaped it the blade of his penknife
And a bunch of green holly and ivy
He thrashed it with a wad of straw
Ee oh, sing ivy
He thrashed it with a wad of straw
And a bunch of green holly and ivy
He wimmed it on the brim of his hat
Ee oh, sing ivy
He wimmed it on the brim of his hat
And a bunch of green holly and ivy
He sent it to market on a louse's back
Ee oh, sing ivy
He sent it to market on a louse's back
And a bunch of green holly and ivy
And now the poor old man is dead
Ee oh, sing ivy
And now the poor old man is dead
And a bunch of green holly and ivy.
[*Heigh-ho, sing ivy]
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Transcribed by Garry Gillard, who writes: 'Jim does not sing "small-tooth" comb - tho that's what's in the song booklet that comes with the CD. I can't make out the actual words.'