The Owd Woman From Yorkshire ~ Trad. Arr. casetone2514

One take - no production - raw video - warts and all.
This is a traditional folksong found all over the British Isles and beyond. You may now it as Marrowbones or (if Irish folk is your background) The Old Woman From Wexford. It tells the story of an unfaithful wife who tries to blind her husband so she can drown him and marry another but the old man is a "crafty bugger" and foils her plot which backfires and ends up with her being the drowning victim. Quite how eating Marrowbones makes one blind I don't know, but they appear to be the active ingredient in most of the versions of this song.
More often than not, the chorus is nonsense verse or gibberish in most versions of this song and, at first hearing, may appear to be the same in this version, but it's not. If you don't know what the chorus means, Google it and be amazed!
Chorus
D
Yan Tan Tethera
G
Mether Pip Azera
D A D
Sezar Akkera Contera Dick
D
There was an old woman from Yorkshire
A7
As I ave eard em tell
D
She loved er owd man dearly but
A7
Another man twice as well singing
She went to see an owd witch
To see if she could find
Anything in the ole world
To make er owd man blind, singing
She said you give m marrowbones
An mek sure e eats em all
An when es finished ell be so blind
e waint see thee at all singing
But t owd man e were a crafty bugger
ed seen it all afore
An when ed ate em e said me dear
I cant see thee at all singing
Ill take missen to the harbour
An there missen Ill drown
Towd lass says Ill come wi thee
To see that tha dunt fall down singing
An there they went all hand in hand til they
Come to the harbours rim
The owd lass turned and went behind
An ran to push him in singing
The owd mad e were a crafty bugger
e swiftly stepped aside
The owd lass tripped and fell in an was
Swallowed by the tide singing
How loudly she did hollah
An did for mercy call
But the owd man yelled I am so blind
I cant see thee at all singing

[@stevenmoss7037]

Great, one of the best on KZbin love the proper Yorkshire counting

[@christopherhields4150]

I've got this on my MP3 player, I download all my songs using KZbin to MP3. The algorithm KZbin uses for some reason reminded me of the video. Thanks again ✊

[@D7nielle]

my kids now ask to watch this over and over and they know all the words! You are their new pop idol!

[@Pappa.D]

I love all these traditional songs Tony, they remind me of the folk clubs I used frequent a lot in the 70's. There's no folk clubs around my neck of the woods these days that I'm aware of.....more's the pitty. Anyway, excellent job Tony!!!

[@D7nielle]

I love this song! I'm going to start counting my kids in Yorkshire speak now! Great uke playing and lovely to hear a familiar accent too. Thanks.

[@meagera333]

Very similar to toon o kelso by the corries, it's amazing how traditional folk tunes make their way round the country with wee changes in words and tunes. Very good version 🎼

[@taurine13]

This is such an interesting song and also very funny. Thank you so much for your interpretation of it ; we loved it. My man - and dad of my son - is from Galicia, Spain, which is linked to the celts like Ireland, Wales, Portugal, etc - and I found this wanting him (I now speak spanish quite well and am aiming to improve his english) to hear our accent and folk songs. He's a musician too and thought it was great. This is our history, stories and is just as interesting as a history book. :)

[@janegael]

This is brilliant! I came around looking to listen to the delightful Yorkshire accent and find lovely folk music. Thank you!

[@Urgyboy]

Very nice folksong. I never heard it before and it's already in my ear after hearing it one time.

[@Sharkwell]

Cheers to the shepherds of Swaledale - and to the information and wit you provide for us out here, alongside your beautiful music! :o)

[@davidbagnall7897]

Superb! Really enjoyed this. Thank you.

[@hardstarboard]

Very nice song Tony. Many thanks for the kazoo Tony

[@Witchykaren.]

I believe your counting sheep in the yorkshire dialect. Im from there. My mother used to sing this xx

[@luciawhite9069]

Fantastic, what a player. Do you have any more

[@piontybird]

Superb, very well performed.

[@SR-zc3dp]

Really enjoyed that. Many thanks!

[@GrumpyCoyoteTunes]

Oh that was just wonderful. And I love the Yan Tan Tethera triva... It may find it's way into something I'm working on. Along with the use of John Barleycorn the two may be just the flavor I need.

[@richardhunter8455]

Absolutely brilliant !

[@leornendeealdenglisc]

Thanks for sharing.

[@thomasconnor2620]

Thank You. Regards Tom

[@truckubuddy]

What a fun little song!

[@davidbagnall7897]

Superb!

[@davidmckenna5751]

I like it

[@johanngoesfishing5678]

Sehr cool

[@FloydBlue]

Great! I love that verse and I googled for the meaning ;)

[@timahier]

Fair play to you bud

[@kenreeve6549]

Rate gud that wa cheers mi owd

[@askalotlmusic]

I was the hundredth like. Here's to a hundred more

[@stevendurrant1724]

Interesting differences from the essentially same 'Old Woman From Wexford'. I wonder which came first.

[@crooksey575]

grate song pal it mint cld yuz send uz that mp3 for it plz m8

[@theBradlands]

Sounded great. Your first takes are first rate. Terthera? Didn't he take on Godzilla?

[@BaronK69]

Love your warts an' all vids Tony! And I love all songs with the word Dick in the chorus. I'm easy like that...

[@revdrjim]

@casetone2514 - yes and of course in the dialect around here what i mean by yes is no

[@WeeGingaYin]

Eee by gum 'a' wor an gran' song 'un 'a' theur could dance t' buckles off tha clogs to 'a'.

[@mctrmt]

Yea, you're pretty crafty. Pretty crafty.

[@richardpitwood2421]

I'd like to see the words for this, I assume this is 1 to 10 in our old British language before the Krauts came, making us English, looks like Cumbric and Welsh

[@tomlearoyd939]

It's a really interesting bit of Philology. Celts here first, then Angles, then Vikings, and finally the mix that we are now. Most words we use come form Old Norse or Old English, with a splash of French and others, but these numbers that were used for so long (and still are in a few places) actually retained the Celtic. It's really astonishing to think they were untouched by so many other languages. So you're right.

[@TP-mv6en]

Not British language, old English

[@revdrjim]

loverly work tony or as we say around these parts "Sezar Akkera Contera Dick"

[@UKISOCIETY]

Typical. The woman had to do it all while her lover lolligagged around. Singing Yan Tan Tethera....