Jake Thackray 'Molly Metcalfe'

[@MenelionFR]

Believe it or not, I came here from… Wikipedia. As a language nerd, I'm amazed by everything related to linguistics. And, shame on me (although English is not my mother tongue, so probably it's kind of an excuse), I was today years old when I learned about "Yan tan tethera", or, as Jake Thackray puts it, "Yan tan tether mether pip". If you are not a linguist, it's hardly imaginable for you how amazed and flabbergasted I was learning that somewhere in rural England some shepherds preserved tiny little remnants of a language extinct one and a half millennia ago! It was like… oh, I lack for words. It's like, I don't know, you discover that some Italian farmers keep counting their sheep in classical Latin, not knowing any single word of it from school or whatsoever, just because their grandfathers, great-grandfathers and so on did so! Amazing, just amazing! And yes, I like his voice and manner of telling stories, also.

[@valleyscharping]

It is incredible. God writes the best story (history)

[@andyphilpotts4636]

I listened to this song over and over on vinyl when I was quite young, and it changed me, it changed the way I felt for those less fortunate, simply by chance of birth. This is an important song

[@peterrenn6341]

Jake Thackeray, Ivor Cutler, Viv Stanshall and Neil Innes. Purveyors of poetic surreal beauty to the nation. Thank you, gentlemen.

[@Wooster23]

Back when the BBC preserved and purveyed British Culture. Those were the days, my friends.

[@stevenfitzsimmons3840]

Thackeray one of our Crown Jewels. Wordy and musical. I heard his name mentioned within a songwriting circle recently. I hope a bell rings wherever he is to let him know he ain’t been forgotten. ❤

[@jacktar9567]

Bless his beautiful soul, a unique talent, his wit, musicianship, use of language & his quirky observations on life...... sadly missed..... I once got tickets to see him play live but he didn't show up, it was not long before he passed away......it seems he was a troubled man despite his genius & his fans that loved him so much .... RIP Jake ❤

[@clivemilson2372]

Jake was very underrated. Great Yorkshire man His lyrics were superb. He had a great understanding of life.

[@StonyRC]

A remarkable Man of The North, tortured by his own inner-demons, but a great English poet and writer of some of the finest folk-songs in our history. RIP Mr Thackery.

[@TheGoodwoodone]

No pretentious warbling or fancy trilling just emotional words delivered from the heart. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

[@timshaw804]

True genius, unsurpassed. I loved him, have every recording he made and can't help but smile every time I listen to any of his recording

[@Aubury.Spartacus-Jones]

This chap was so talented - very clever with words. He put an awful lot of heart into this performance.

[@martinkendall565]

It's quite heart rending.xx

[@peterinfrankfurt]

I can't believe there are no comments on this video. I still remember this on UK TV in the 70's or maybe earlier. I watched this with my parents and brother. I searched for this song remembering nothing but "Yan Tan Tether Mether Pip". Then I was distraught to read in Wikipedia about his financial troubles in 2000 and his death in2002. He will live on in my memory.

[@floydygirl]

beautiful song and perfect timing sung with feeling so rare , RIP Jake

[@Geoffthebull]

True "folk songs" in the oral tradition. Coupled with his own inimitable writing (in comic satire style) that tears the veil of social stigma away.... brilliant.

[@Wotsitorlabart]

Not in the oral tradition at all. He's shown singing the song on TV watched by potentially millions of people and it was also released on record.

[@nullusanxietas2379]

​@Wotsitorlabart I think that's sort of how oral histories are shared. I mean, a person sings to an audience, the audience remembers it and they sing it and teach it to others. The format may have changed, but the tradition remains the same.

[@stewartwebb5699]

This just so from the heart. Love this man!

[@gerrardwalmisley9466]

This was one of Jake's greatest and most poignant songs. What a loss he is.

[@stephenholmes1036]

Im a shepherd he tells it how it is

[@andrewjohnstone963]

A true one off everything is in there all of life! A giant of a man missed and always loved 😍

[@maychild1961]

Such a beautiful and sad song....

[@WilboBaggins-dm7ub]

Thanks for sharing this; he lives on...I'm blessed to have seen him 3 times

[@anncapell3982]

He got quite emotional at the end of it. Fabulous Jake Thackray

[@labyonnette]

I too remember Jake being on every evening on a news programme. If I remember correctly it was always a topical song that put things into perspective

[@nch1646]

One of the best songs I’ve heard. Such feeling, tragic yet restrained and dignified. Wonderful voice, too!

[@JohnSmith-ud3wy]

A true legend god bless him God rest him, 🙏

[@peterah7957]

Wish i could of met him

[@paulannable3734]

Bet you wish you could have met him too Of a nice day

[@hatsandthat]

utterly astounding in every single way possible

[@jondy2]

An extraordinary talent - utterly unique, and quite without peer.

[@bethbs1]

He went so quietly I didn't even hear about it. Didn't he know how great he was? There should be a monument to Jake

[@66gadus]

RIP Jake - great songs - my folks loved all his music & i was fortunate to hear it from a young age - good memories.......

[@ironmaidyn]

I remember my mum playing his records when i was a kid, so sad to learn that he has gone. Beautiful song, thankyou for sharing. :D

[@JF-kv1gm]

Just read an article (in the Guardian) about a JT biography coming out. Heavens above, I remember seeing him on the telly when I was a kid. My Gran had an LP of his. What a beautiful voice and delivery, and physically beautiful too.

[@Blondejam]

The man is an absolute genius and we live now without people like Jake as our whole world has been taken away from these tales... Much love to Jake...

[@malthuswasright]

The sheep counting system he didn't make up. There is an ancient system for counting sheep in the uplands of the UK. Yan Tan Tethera is an opera based upon the conflict between 2 sheep farmers who count sheep differently.

[@grayman10001]

JT is one of my all time 'Poetic Heroes' a great musician///I remember watching him on the Esther Rantzen political show 'That's Life'... what a great man...sorely missed, he did die too young..(RIP)...what great songs he left behind him.. Graham Robinson Author/Poet 'Observations On Life' - . Regards to all - Graham

[@MusicMan8257]

This always makes me cry.......

[@TEDtheKEY]

Never the like seen again. Been a fan of Jake for many years. Thee should be a statude to him in the middle of York!

[@grayman10001]

Jake Thackray is a God...A Doyen...A Master of Musical Poetry...I watched him on 'That's Life' for years and I have one CD of this very 'nervous' performer which I guard with my 'Poetic Life' for waht that's worth!...Thank You to you and him...Graham (Poet/Writer)

[@1954barker]

What a lovely character

[@baileysisters]

Stunning song, and one the Bailey Sisters want to add to their repertoire!

[@conrad152]

Such a beautiful sad song.

[@1melianthus]

Thank you for posting this. It is exquisite. If you have more please post.

[@normalil]

I never heard this one before. It's spine chilling, thankyou for posting.

[@SeadogErk]

Classic Jake. RIP.

[@pachma405]

I've watched this video 'pip' times now

[@djskidot]

🤣❤

[@myfanwy7]

Genius is an overused word in our culture, but absolutely appropriate for this unique performer. RIP Jake

[@Antoinehenryb]

Agreed on both points.

[@dromgarvan]

Thank you very much for sharing this wonderful song.

[@LeeMitchellAcoustic]

Beautiful Jake! R.I.P Lee Mitchell xxx

[@droogiewoogie9115]

They really don't make them like Jake Thackray anymore. A unique genius. Thanks for sharing

[@geoffstephens2088]

Oh yes they do! ... lookup John Watterson and attend one of his Jake tributes. Magical!

[@jonnyy4088]

Yes always enjoyed his songs

[@ellenslater]

Beautiful

[@LeeMitchellAcoustic]

So sadly beautiful...

[@mehcol]

crying my eyes out.

[@Pbxxncx7]

I just heard the man on radio 6 music and the memories came flooding back, so here I am looking him up on youtube. I feel a resurgence coming on, the guy was a one off talent

[@fridgeman2008]

'Great Lives' on radio 4 brought me here :)

[@gutplucker]

That's bloody wonderful!

[@jonahjones1283]

absolutely brilliant!!

[@malthuswasright]

That's right - he was asked if she really had been related to him (in the spiel before the song Jake always claimed that Molly Metcalfe was a distrant relative), and he did say that it was made up. But the sheep counting system he describes is real, and he describes it (again in the spiel before the song) totally accurately. Yan, tan, tether, mether, pip, azar, sezar, akker, conter, dick, yannadick, tannadick, tetheradick, metheradick, bumfit, yanabum, tanabum, tetherabum, metherabum, jigget.

[@sergio_jose]

Why do they count sheep like that?

[@steviedream]

@@sergio_jose it's derived from a Celtic counting system, predating the modern English language. It survived in sheep-counting long after it had died out almost everywhere else.

[@Beatmyguest001]

@@sergio_jose it is one of the last fragments of the Cumbric language, a sister language to Welsh, Cornish and Breton which are all from the Celtic language branch Brittonic. Whereas Irish, Gaelic & Manx are all from the Celtic language branch Goidelic.

[@Wotsitorlabart]

​​@@Beatmyguest001 The counting system has been recorded in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Northumberland and Lincolnshire. However, it's interesting that the Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore notes that the earliest mention of this counting system in Britain is only from 1745 (with a 1717 American reference). And, although the system is supposedly used for counting sheep, an article in Folk Life from 1969 could find no informants who actually used it for that purpose. Some used it in knitting, some as a counting-out rhyme and others as a nursery rhyme.

[@Wotsitorlabart]

​@@sergio_jose Perhaps they never did.

[@neilxt]

I read, probably courtesy of Terry Pratchett, that "Yan, tan, tethra, methra, pip" was actually 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 in an old Celtic language of which only that counting survives. See Wiki Yan tan tethera

[@bigoldgrizzly]

For those wanting more, search for 'Jake Thackray - Topic' here on youtube A sad loss, Jake dying so young.

[@jonnyy40]

I was looking for the opera 'yan tan tethera' and had completely forgotten about this fellow.A dim memory from my childhood but an obvious talent.

[@Digdigs2]

I have always liked his songs - this is new to me and perhaps the most powerful... and that's saying alot.

[@Shelog2]

The song to "Shepherds Crown"

[@davidburke6858]

I remember watching this ten years ago when I lived in Germany and was missed my home city of Leeds and county and Yorkshire. I now live back in Yorkshire and I only yearn to go back to Germany where my heart is.

[@LeeMitchellAcoustic]

Heart breaking song...

[@garryfowler]

Very moving....

[@DoggyJesusBongo]

Goddamn mutherfuckjn’ genius

[@Wooster23]

I like to think it's background material like this that inspired Terry Pratchett's wonderful Tiffany Aching series

[@cjgreen3836]

Wow, so surreal, but also passionate. RIP Jake

[@debs4mysweetbaby]

such a voice :)

[@Jangalene1]

He actually made all this up'..But he was very convincing'...There was a documentary about his life a few of years ago....I remember him on Bradens Week in the late 60's..A Legend...Brilliant

[@GT380man]

Maybe he made up Molly, but not the method of counting sheep. That’s OLD, really old. Possibly pre-Celtic. No one knows. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zp_Nq3V7hNOFrdk

[@AlanJewell]

Fantastic!

[@Jangalene1]

...Yeah' that must have been it then'...It always seemed that I was the Town-Freak' when it seemed that I was the only one who loved his songs'..He was such a brilliant story teller/poet'..he never got the recognition he really deserved'..I miss his poe-faced humour'..He was a one-off'..there'll never be another Jake Thackray'..God Bless him..!!

[@tonybiscuits]

he was on That's Life a lot. A forgotten genius.

[@fat88andy]

I remember this being shown on T.V. originally chiefly cos my dad was a shepherd and taught me to count in the way Jake did. It was not until rediscovering it on here I became aware of the emotion and sentiment contained in the song, as ever, amazing.R.I.P. Jake.

[@timcrowther8475]

Mesmerising

[@NeilJones-l4q]

Extraordinary

[@fradaja]

isy suty brought me here, very glad she did

[@johnbowkett80]

He was a teacher at one point in his life .... The sort of teacher sadly not around nowadays in 2023 . 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@bethbs1]

He may not have had a Great Aunt Molly but he is clearly moved. This isn't cynicism.

[@adamcharney]

I'm a yank and this is all news to me. I love this counting system. I should learn it and teach it to my students.

[@adamcharney]

No worries about the 'rant', ***** . You've just presented some additionally good ideas. ;-)

[@andrewforesham4140]

***** Gooood god, do shut up with your misery! "Working class struggle" what rubbish. All classes have their own struggles.

[@andrewforesham4140]

Nobody more worthless than the working class, Dennis.

[@patsiefear1312]

+Andrew Foresham My goodness you seem to be under the illusion that the Tory party is currently running (from Victorian principles) that the working class are worthless. As a member of the working class (now retired) and being raised by a man who survived the First World War (which he entered at 14 rather than go down pit) and the Great Depression I can only tell you that we are of more worth than you will ever be.

[@philipbrennan4214]

That counting system is similar to one used in Gaelic speaking areas of Ireland. If you ask a 65-year-old his age he would say Cúig 'is trí fhichead (5 and 3 twenties). Interesting.

[@gregmathews1687]

Who will replace Jake in our times now? It looks to me that all of this is going into the past now

[@mripman.6021]

Genius.

[@zaperfan]

Emotional

[@TroutMaskReplicaa]

He should have been a main character in a clockwork orange. twud be a perfect fit.

[@CinnAlla]

Jake at (perhaps) his most cynical - he never had an aunt Molly Metcalfe. But a great song and a matchless songwriter, the like of whom we will never see again.

[@Hereford1642]

No. Thackray was not of noble birth and somewhere in his heritage there would be a Molly Metcalfe though the name be not exact. That is poetic license being used correctly.

[@greensmv]

Having listened to some of his comic tributes, I could not tell if this was a solemn remembrance or a tongue-in-cheek presentation. Perhaps a bit of both. I was struck by his resemblance to Abraham Lincoln, in any case.

[@undergodot]

absolutely brilliant! can anyone tell me if he actually wrote this song and, if so, does the melody derive from some earlier folk melody? Thank you.

[@tomhiscox3977]

DJ Nate. maybe some day. No fucking way. Iykyk

[@jamescohen]

Did they count sheep that way because when they tried it normally they kept falling asleep?

[@quasarsphere]

@TallPiler I discovered him by accident a year or two ago when I found some episodes of The Innes Book Of Records online.

[@GT380man]

Neil / Neal Innes is so talented. Love his quirky work. Also Vivian Stanshall. Peerless oddities.

[@radicalrodriguez5912]

I wonder if farmers still count this way

[@rainblaze.]

I think his voice held him back. If it had had a harder edge to it and a less genial and fay way about him, imho he could have, and should have been, huge

[@DavidKnibb]

Purely written by Jake himself (including the intro...as Jake once said, "No, it's all bollocks - I made it up!")

[@danielcrocker3902]

The counting is bollocks though!

[@GT380man]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zp_Nq3V7hNOFrdk

[@larkivisto]

@Bmt2216 The story was made up but the counting system is real. It's an old celtic counting system that was replaced with the introduction of english but continued to be used by sheep herders. If you'd like to know more there is a video by the KZbinr "numberphile" called "15 bumfit".

[@kingmid9849]

My English teacher taught us this song

[@MakinMovies7]

Yes, you'd cry too.

[@mikeswoosh2564]

Trippy

[@annuvynarawn392]

+Ncltaxidriver indeed, takes us back like a flashback

[@robertmcdonnell6039]

"Purple shirted"

[@GT380man]

and Hush Puppies (a kind of shoe that his antecedents wouldn’t have worn).

[@momeara7482]

And Aqua Velva. Another blast from the past.@@GT380man

[@RussellBarford]

What was the show he used to be on every week.? I reckon sister josephine is his funniest number.

[@GT380man]

“That’s Life”, header by Esther Rantzen. Lovely Jewish lady with buck teeth. I was then living with a Jewish family myself as a lost waif & stray kid. They were kind to me. That’s Life was filled with quirky kind hearted people from all over Britain. A great leveler.

[@JCMcGee]

Damn.