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Bampton Fair

[ Roud 29978 ; Paul Wilson]

Tony Rose sang Paul Wilson’s song Bampton Fair in 1982 on his album Poor Fellows. He noted:

Bampton is traditionally Devon’s chief pony fair. [Since 1258,] It takes place on the last Thursday in October, and is still an important gathering for travellers.

Tom and Barbara Brown sang Bampton Fair in 2005 on their WildGoose album Tide of Change. This track was also included in 2007 on their WildGoose album West Country Night Out. They noted:

There are also two West Country fair songs on the CD. Both fairs are ancient but of the songs, one is old and the other relatively new. Paul Wilson, in his Bampton Fair, is a writer who captures the essence there are universal truths about horse-fairs enshrined here. The fair in Bampton, older than its 1258 charter, is now primarily a pony fair when the Exmoor ponies are brought down from the moor in The Drift. The Romany word ‘grai’, a puff-less one of which the singer bought, means pony. While Bampton Fair is on the last Thursday in October, Bridgwater Fair (St. Matthews Fair) is held for four days in the last week of September, and has held its charter since 1249. Bridgwater Fair was collected by Cecil Sharp, from Bill Bailey of Cannington, Somerset in 1906, and from Henry Tidball of Wedmore, Somerset in 1907.

The Melrose Quartet recorded Bampton Fair in 2013 for their CD Fifty Verses. They noted:

Written by Paul Wilson about the ancient Bampton Fair in Devon, once a very important pony-trading event but largely taken over by a funfair by the time he visited in the 1970s. The song includes examples of Romani speech including “grai” for horse. James first heard it sung by Tony Rose.

Note: Jim Causley’s Bampton Fair on his 2021 album Devonshire Roses. is quite another song, unrelated to Paul Wilson’s.

Lyrics

Tony Rose sings Bampton Fair

Are you going to Bampton Fair?
    Get your beer down, bob, we’re moving.
Are you going to Bampton Fair,
    Boy?
I’ll go to the fair like we always done,
Get in the car and give it a run,
Get a few friends and have some fun.
    Down at the Bampton Fair, boy,
    Down at the Bampton Fair.

Who did you see at the Bampton Fair?
    Get your beer down, bob, we’re moving.
Who did you see at the Bampton Fair,
    Boy?
Young ones, old ones, me and you,
Travellers, farmers, visitors too,
They even had a T.V. crew,
    Down at the Bampton Fair, boy,
    Down at the Bampton Fair.

What did you drink at the Bampton Fair?
    Get your beer down, bob, we’re moving.
What did you drink at the Bampton Fair,
    Boy?
Twenty-one pints and one for my head,
Or a scotch or a brandy or a port instead,
All served up in a muddy old shed,
    Down at the Bampton Fair, boy,
    Down at the Bampton Fair.

What did you buy at the Bampton Fair?
    Get your beer down, bob, we’re moving.
What did you buy at the Bampton Fair,
    Boy?
A crockery set that’s got no cups,
A brand new shirt that’s got no cuffs,
A bloomin’ old grai that’s got no puff,
    Down at the Bampton Fair, boy,
    Down at the Bampton Fair.

What did you get at the Bampton Fair?
    Get your beer down, bob, we’re moving.
What did you get at the Bampton Fair,
    Boy?
Two black eyes and a broken nose,
I caught a cold and I damn near froze,
A bump on me head and I tore my clothes,
    Down at the Bampton Fair, boy,
    Down at the Bampton Fair.

Will you go next year to Bampton Fair?
    Get your beer down, bob, we’re moving.
Will you go next year to Bampton Fair,
    Boy?
If the pubs are open and the beer is free,
If the landlord says, “It’s all on me.”
If I can’t think of anywhere else to be,
    I’ll go to Bampton Fair, boy,
    I’ll go to Bampton Fair.