Blackbird
More actions
A reworking of a traditional song of unknown origin,[1] though several versions are attested across the southwest of England from at least the mid-20th century.[2][3] English comedy-folk band The Wurzels adapted the song with a slightly different tune and some original verses and released it on their 1976 album The Combine Harvester. The Longest Johns released a YouTube cover of this version on 4 September 2024.
Factoids
The Wurzels' version of the song has been adopted as a victory anthem by several sports teams in the area, including Bristol City Football Club, Somerset County Cricket Club, and the Bristol Bears rugby team.[4]
The type of tree mentioned in the chorus varies between versions (including some where it is a bush), though it is worth pointing out that there does not exist a variety of tree called a "wurzel tree". The Wurzels took their name from the Mangold wurzel, a type of beet commonly cultivated in southwest England as livestock feed.[5][6]
Lyrics
As performed in the studio video
{Chorus}
Where be that blackbird to? I know where he be
He be up yon wurzel tree, and I be after he
Now I sees he, and he sees I
Buggered if I don't get 'im
With a gert big stick I'll knock 'im down
Blackbird, I'll 'ave he!
La la la la la la, la la la la la la
'ow's yer father? All right!
All me life I'm on the farm, workin' for me keep
Tendin' pigs and chickens, and they cows and sheep
But everywhere I'm workin', there's one who always mocks me
He's hidin' somewhere in the trees — blackbird, I'll 'ave he!
{Chorus}
Underneath the open sky in spring we loves to dine
We likes to 'ear the flappin' of the missus' washin' line
We listens to a tuneful song, a blackbird or a tit
But on me vest and underpants he scored a direct hit — oh!
{Chorus}
If I goes out poachin', a-creepin' through the fields
With me old retriever a-followin' at me heels
If I aim me shotgun at a pheasant in the hay
That bloody blackbird starts his row and frightens him away — oh!
{Chorus}
No longer can I sleep at night, get peace of any kind
That bird'll be the death of me; he's preyin' on me mind
If I chase him long enough, I'll get 'im by and by
And celebrate me vict'ry with a gert big blackbird pie — oh!
{Last chorus}
Where be that blackbird to? I know where he be
He be up yon wurzel tree, and I be after he
Now I sees he, and he sees I
Buggered if I don't get 'im
With a gert big stick I'll knock 'im down
Blackbird, I'll 'ave he!
With a gert big stick I'll knock 'im down
Blackbird, I'll 'ave thee!
La la la la la la, la la la la la la
'ow's yer father? All right!
Recordings
YouTube Videos
Full Band Streams
- ↑ https://archives.vwml.org/search/all:combined/0_50/all/score_desc/extended-roudNo_tr:23614
- ↑ https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=21135
- ↑ https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=22242
- ↑ https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2020-10-19/wurzels-star-delighted-that-bristol-bears-choose-their-song-as-victory-anthem
- ↑ https://www.thewurzels.com/history.htm
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangelwurzel