> Sandy Denny > Songs > Paul McNeill: Tell Old Bill

Tell Old Bill

[ Roud 7876 ; Ballad Index San018 ; DT OLDBILL ; Mudcat 6761 , 44860 ; trad. arr. A. Johnson]

Paul McNeill sang Tell Old Bill, with Sandy Denny singing background vocals, on the 1967 album Alex Campbell and His Friends.

Jon Wilks sang Tell Old Bill on a 2020 download single, and in a 2024 demo that was released on his 2026 collection of outtakes, alternate takes and live recordings, Bones. He noted in 2020:

My arrangement of a song I first heard Bob Dylan sing, who probably first heard it himself from Dave Van Ronk, who probably heard it himself from Carl Sandburg. And so it continues down the line. In a hurry-up wagon. This morning, this evening, so soon.

and in 2026:

I released a download-only version of Tell Old Bill in 2020, then spent the next few years playing it into much better shape on the road. It cropped up in several sessions but never made it onto an album. This demo, recorded in April 2024, suggests it was briefly in contention for Needless Alley before that record took a different direction.

Lyrics

Paul McNeill sings Tell Old Bill

I tell old Bill when he gets home this morning,
I tell old Bill when he gets home this evening,
I tell old Bill when he gets home,
To leave them downtown women alone
This morning, this evening, so soon.

Now old Bill’s wife she was baking bread this morning,
Now old Bill’s wife she was baking bread this evening,
Now old Bill’s wife she was baking bread
They came and told her Bill was dead
This morning, this evening, so soon.

Oh no, that can’t be so, this morning,
Oh no, that can’t be so, this evening,
Oh no, that can’t be so
Bill only left for town half an hour ago
This morning, this evening, so soon.

They brought Bill home on a hurry-up wagon this morning,
They brought Bill home on a hurry-up wagon this evening,
They brought Bill home on a hurry-up wagon
His head was down and his feet were dragging
This morning, this evening, so soon.