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The Pace-Egging Song / The Heysham Peace-Egging Song / Beg Your Leave

[ Roud 614 ; Master title: The Pace-Egging Song ; TYG 53 ; Ballad Index RcPaceEg ; trad.]

Lucy E. Broadwood, J.A. Fuller Maitland: English County Songs Fred Hamer: Garners Gay Mary and Nigel Hudleston: Songs of the Ridings Roy Palmer: Everyman’s Book of English Country Songs Roy Palmer: Room for Company

Emma Vickers of Burscough Pace-Eggers sang The Pace-Egging Song in a recording made by Fred Hamer in Burscough, Lancashire, in October or November 1963. It was included in 1967 in his E.F.D.S. book Garners Gay, in 1971 on the accompanying album Garners Gay, in 1989 on the EFDSS cassette of Hamer’s field recordings, The Leaves of Life, and in 1998 on Topic’s anthology of songs and dance tunes of seasonal events, You Lazy Lot of Bone-Shakers (The Voice of the People Series Volume 16).

The Watersons sang the Pace-Egging Song with Mike Waterson in lead on their 1965 LP Frost and Fire. This recording was also included in 1970 on the Topic Sampler No. 6, A Collection of Ballads & Broadsides, and in 1996 on the Topic CD sampler The Season Round.

The Watersons sang the Pace-Egging Song live at the Down River Folk Club, Loughton, of 20 October 1974, together with Boston Harbour and Mike Waterson singing Sweet William. All three tracks were included in 2004 on the Watersons’ 4 CD anthology Mighty River of Song. Another live version from a Christmas radio programme recorded in December 1980 at Crathorne Hall, Crathorne, North Yorkshire, was published in 2005 on the Watersons’ CD A Yorkshire Christmas.

A.L. Lloyd commented in the Frost and Fire sleeve notes:

The egg is taken as a handy symbol of life in many parts of the world, especially in association with springtime when the crops show their first signs of life. So at Easter time, in the north-west of England, the Pace-eggers go round, begging for eggs and, in some cases, performing a version of the mummers’ death-and-resurrection play. Strictly, the play is considered to belong to midwinter, but the folk aren’t always as punctilious as the folklorists, and in this instance the drama and its song have strayed from their winter date. In the fullest version, sundry masked heroes appear fight, are slain, and brought back to life by a comic doctor. This, the heroes’ calling-in song, is based on a version that Lucy Broadwood received from Heysham, Lancs.

Roy Palmer noted in Everyman’s Book of English Country Songs (1979), p. 219:

Pace is from the Latin word for Easter, and pace egging was the practice of collecting eggs and other eatables by touring the houses and farms in one’s locality. Little groups of men would either perform a pace egg play (like other seasonal plays, a semi-ritual enactment of death and rebirth), or would dress as some of the characters and present themselves simply with a song. St George, Admiral Nelson, Lord Collingwood, Mrs Pankhurst: these are just a few of the wide range of possibilities. These practices were largely confined to the north-western counties of Cheshire, Lancashire, Westmorland, Cumberland, and parts of Yorkshire, where some remains of pace egging can still be found. This song comes from Marple in Cheshire, where Mr Arthur Hulme remembered it being sung by children between 1895 and 1900.

Beg Your Leave is a pace-egging song from the live repertoire of both Steeleye Span Mk 2 and the 1973 incarnation of the Albion Band (e.g. at Norwich Folk Festival on 16 June 1973 of which an audience recording by Tony Rees exists; they sing verses 1, 4, 2, 5, 3 and 6) was never released on any of their albums. Ashley Hutchings noted in his songbook A Little Music:

I have included this fine pace-egging song—which we used to sing onstage—as representative of that period of the band. It used to be sung by four of us, each one taking a character’s part, virtually unaccompanied.

The song itself comes from Overton Village, Sunderland Point, Lancashire, and was sung by the pace-eggers (locally known as “jolly-boys”), the North-Western Easter-time mummers.

Paul and Linda Adams sang the Jolly Boys Song in 1975 on their Sweet Folk and Country album of songs and ballads of Cumbria, Far Over the Fell. They noted

This set of words, set to the well known Pace-Egging song tune, originates from the Furness area and was published, along with the text of the Pace Egging play, in the Journal of the Lakeland Dialect Society (No. 34). A tune for it appeared in an earlier Journal (No. 4) and appears to be a version of a fox hunting tune, however, the tune we have used comes from the same area and is the one used by the Kendal Morris Men who have revived the play.

Barry Skinner sang Peace Egging in 1975 on his Stoof album Abroad As I Was Working. He noted:

Peace Egging is a calling-on song from Lancashire, which I originally found in Lucy Broadwood’s English County Songs—it has been augmented slightly!

Derek, Dorothy and Nadine Elliott sang the Midgley Pace Egg Song in 1976 on their Traditional Sound album Yorkshire Relish. This track was also included in 2002 on the Fellside anthology of the calendar in traditional song, Seasons, Ceremonies & Rituals, together with the Preston Isle Metal Band singing The Jolly Boys Song which was recorded by Brian Horsfall in 1972. Paul Adams noted:

Pace Egging is an Easter tradition. In its simplest form it involves decorating eggs and at the other end of the scale it is a full-blown mummers-type death and resurrection play. The Jolly Boys Song comes from the Furness Pace Egging Play in the north west of England. Midgley Pace Egg Song comes from the same tradition, but this time in Yorkshire. They share a common last verse.

Cliff Haslam sang I Beg Your Leave on the 1976 LP Here’s a Health to the Man and the Maid.

Dave Walters sang Peace Egging in 1977 on his Fellside album Comes Sailing In. He noted:

Peace Egg (paced egg) is a corruption of Pasche Egg or Easter Egg. The version I sing here is based on one collected by Lucy Broadwood from Margaret Royds who lived in Heysham, Lancashire.

Arthur Howard sang the Pace-Egging Song in 1981 on his Hill & Dale album Merry Mountain Child. Ian Russell noted:

Pace-Egging is an Easter time tradition once popular in Holme. Arthur remembers how his elder brother and sisters would decorate hard-boiled eggs and then roll them down the hill to see whose would reach the bottom first without cracking. He explains:

They used to dye them various sorts of colours. I’ve seen me brother dying them with a sort of red wood. Then you could either put some blue pencil on top of it in a design or perhaps scratch a little bit off with a skewer.

There was another aspect to the custom which involved calling at the houses in the village. A gang of about six lads would dress up in old clothes, one might have a drum, and they’d sing the Pace-Egging Song. The householders were expected to reward their visitors with eggs or money. Arthur notes with regret:

We used to want to do it but me mother’d never let us go. She thought it were too near like begging.

The Holme Valley Tradition (Will Noble, Barry Bridgewater, John Cocking and Ernest Yates) sang Holmwoods in 1985 on their Hill & Dale album Bright Rosy Morning. Will Noble noted:

Arthur [Howard], Frank [Hinchliffe] and John Kaye sang it together. Frank wrote it out for me. It’s named after Arthur’s grandmother’s spot near Holme village and Arthur’s eldest brother, James, did it round the village. It’s nice to keep the song going and a good one to start off with that we all sing. We don’t sing too many songs together. It does seem to be a starting song rather than a finishing song.

Arthur Howard can be heard singing this pace-egging song, which was part of an Easter house-visiting custom, on Merry Mountain Child.

Martyn Wyndham-Read and company sang Pace-Egging on their 1998 album celebrating the year through music, dance, song and spoken word, Maypoles to Mistletoe.

Chris Wood sang Pace Egging in 1999 on his and Jean François Vrod’s CD Crossing. This track was also included in 2009 on Wood’s anthology Albion. He noted:

Learnt from the EFDSS tape The Leaves of Life and sung by Emma Vickers of Burscough, Lancs.

Eliza Carthy and the Ratcatchers (Jon Boden, Ben Ivitsky and John Spiers) sang the Pace-Egging Song live at Buxton Opera House in 2007:

Jon Boden sang Pace Egging as the Easter Sunday (24 April) 2011 entry of his project A Folk Song a Day.

Bryony Griffith sang The Heysham Peace-Egging Song in 2011 on her and Will Hampson’s CD Lady Diamond. They learned it “from the book English County Songs [1893] by Lucy Broadwood & J.A. Fuller Maitland.”

Andy Turner sang the Pace-Egging Song as the 29 March 2013 entry of his project A Folk Song a Week, giving credits in his blog to the Watersons and to Emma Vickers.

Sound Tradition sang Pace Egging on their 2014 album Blackbird. They noted:

A song to accompany mummers who go performing and collecting money at Easter time; this version was from the singing of the Watersons. Pace-Eggers were once a common sight in North West England.

Kate Rusby sang the Pace-Egging Song in 2016 on her CD Life in a Paperboat.

David Carroll and Friends sang the Pace Egging Song in 2024 on their Talking Elephant CD Bold Reynold Too. He noted:

Pace Egging is a Lancashire tradition of decorating eggs at Easter and also incorporates a play similar to the Mummers play at Christmas.

See also Les Barker’s parody The Schwarzenegging Song with Norma Waterson and Eliza and Martin Carthy on the Mrs. Ackroyd Band’s album Gnus and Roses.

Lyrics

Emma Vickers sings the Pace-Egging Song

There’s one or two jolly lads all in one mind.
We have come a-pace-egging, if you will provide.
With your eggs and strong beer, we’ll come no more here
Until the next year it’s pace-egging time.

Chorus (after each verse):
Fol the diddle-ol eye-day,
Fol the diddle-ol eye-day.

The next that comes in is our bold British tar,
He has served with Lord Nelson while during the war.
But now he’s come back old England to view,
He’s come a-pace-egging with our jovial crew.

Our next that comes in is our lady so gay,
And from her own country she has run away.
On her arm is a basket your eggs to put in,
And all her delight is in drinking neat gin.

Our next that comes in is Old Tosspot, you see,
He’s a valiant old man in every degree.
He’s a valiant old man, he wears a straw tail,
And all he delights is in drinking mulled ale.

Our time is so short, our journey so long;
We’ll hope you’ll excuse us with a very short song.
Put your hand in your pocket and pull out your purse
And give us a trifle; you’ll never be no worse.

The Watersons sing the Pace-Egging Song

Chorus (after each verse):
Here’s one two three jolly lads all in one mind
We are come a-pace-egging and I hope you’ll prove kind
And I hope you’ll prove kind with your eggs and strong beer
For we’ll come no more nigh you until the next year

And the first that comes in is Lord Nelson you’ll see
With a bunch of blue ribbons tied round by his knee
And a star on his breast that like silver doth shine
And I hope he remembers it’s pace-egging time

And the next that comes in it is Lord Collingwood
And he fought with Lord Nelson till he shed his blood
And he’s come from the sea old England to view
And he’s come a-pace-egging with all of his crew

[ The next that comes in is our Jolly Jack Tar
He sailed with Lord Nelson all through the last war
He’s arrived from the sea, old England to view
And he’s come a-pace-egging with our jovial crew ]

[ The next that comes in is old miser Brownbags
For fear of her money she wears her old rags
She’s gold and she’s silver all laid up in store
And she’s come a-pace-egging in hopes to get more ]

And the last that comes in is Old Tosspot you’ll see
He’s a valiant old man in every degree
He’s a valiant old man and he wears a pigtail
And all his delight is a-drinking mulled ale

Come ladies and gentlemen sit by the fire
Put your hands in your pockets and give us our desire
Put your hands in your pockets and treat us all right
If you give naught, we’ll take naught, farewell and good night

[ If you can drink one glass, then we can drink two
Here’s a health to Victoria, the same unto you
Mind what you’re doing and see that all’s right
If you give naught, we take naught, farewell and good night ]

Beg Your Leave in A Little Music

I beg your leave, kind gentlemen and ladies of renown,
If you’ll please to make us room we will sing to you a song,
You please to make us room, we will sing to you a song,
And we’ll call in our comrades and call them one by one.

Chorus (after each verse):
Oh we’re jolly boys, we do no harm
Wherever we do go
For we’ve come a pace-egging
As you very well do know

So the first that does come in, he is a blooming youth,
He courts all the pretty girls, and always tells them truth;
He say’s he’ll never deceive them, he’s always kind and true,
And ’tis his delight both day and night in drinking of strong brew.

So the next that does come in, he is a sailor brave,
He says he’s ploughed the ocean, and split the briny wave,
He says he has got gold, and he says he has got store,
And he says he’ll marry a pretty girl and go to sea no more.

So the next that does come in, oh he is a roving blade,
Amongst the lasses he will be, for he is such a jade,
Red rosy cheeks are his delight, most beautiful and fair,
And if you want a sweetheart, you must come to Overton fair!

So the next that does come in, oh she is Miss Kitty Fair,
She takes a great delight in the curling of her hair,
She carries a basket by her side - she’s got no store put in -
It’s her delight delight both day and night in drinking of strong gin.

So now you’ve seen us all, speak of us as you find,
You’ll please to give up a trifle - it will be very kind.
So cheer up your spirits while we drink a glass of beer,
And we’ll drink you health and store your wealth until the very next year.

Dave Walters sings Peace Egging

Come listen a while unto these songs,
March along, bold Wellington,
March right down to the cabin door,
That’s the place that we adore.

Chorus (after each verse):
Ri fol lay, ri fol lay, ri fol lay,
Ri fol de rol de ray.

The first that comes in’s a soldier bold,
In his hand he carries a sword,
A shining star on his right breast,
A bonny bunch of roses around his wrist.

The next that comes in’s a sailor bold,
He has sailed the ocean round,
England, Ireland, France and Spain,
Now returns to olde England again.

The next that comes in’s a General Hill,
He can neither fight nor kill.
He took a slash from whence he came
All the people cried a shame.

The next that comes in’s our old lass,
She sits in the ale house Jug and Glass.
She sits in the ale house from morn till night,
In her glass she takes her delight.

The next that comes in’s never fearm
He wants a Peace Egg once a year.
He wants a Peace Egg for to go
To treat young lasses you might know.

I’ve a bottle in my pocket of alicampagne,
Jump up St. George and fight again.
Jump up St. George and the dragon kill
Take your glass and drink your fill.

Bryony Griffith sings The Heysham Peace-Egging Song

Come listen awhile unto my song,
March along, bold Wellington,
March right down to the cabin door,
For that’s the place that we adore.

Chorus (after each verse):
Sing ri-fol-lay, ri-fol-de-lay,
Sing Ri-fol-lay, sing ri-fol-lay

O the next comes in is Soldier bold,
In his hand he carries a sword,
With a shining star on his right breast
And a bonny bunch of roses around his wrist.

O the next comes in is Sailor bold,
He’s sailed around the ocean’s globe,
England, Ireland, France and Spain,
And now he’s come back home again.

O the next comes in is General Hill
He can neither fight nor kill,
He took a slash from whence he came
And all the people cried a shame.

O the next comes in is Never Fear,
He wants his peace-egg once a year,
He wants his peace-egg for to go
And treat young lasses you may know.

O the next comes in is our old lass,
She sits in the alehouse jug and glass;
She sits with her jug both morn and night
And in her glass drinks her delight.

Acknowledgements and Links

Transcribed from the singing of the Watersons by Garry Gillard. Thanks to Susanne Kalweit for assistance. I’ve also added three more verses—shown in brackets—from the Digital Tradition.

See also the Lancashire Peace-Egging Song at folkinfo.org which has both lyrics and a long note by Lucy Broadwood.