This is one of the great Irish folk songs I played night after night with the Chad Mitchell Trio. It's a fine love song for May.
Lyrics
The [A] Gypsy [E7]rover, come [A] over the [E7] hill,
[A] down through the [E7] valley so [A] shady. [E7]
He [A] whistled and he [E7] sang til the [A] green woods [F#m] rang
And [A] he won the [D] heart of a [A] lady [E7]
Ah dee doo ah dee doo da day, ah dee doo ah dee day dee
He whistled and he sang til the green woods rang
And he won the heart of a lady
She left her fathers castle gate, she left her own young lover
She left her servants and her state, to follow the gypsy rover
Ah dee doo ah dee doo da day, ah dee doo ah dee day dee
He whistled and he sang til the green woods rang
And he won the heart of a lady
Her father saddled up his fastest stead, roamed the valleys all over
Sought his daughter at great speed and the whistling gypsy rover
Ah dee doo ah dee doo da day, ah dee doo ah dee day dee
He whistled and he sang til the green woods rang
And he won the heart of a lady
He came at last to a mansion fine, down by the river Clady
And there was music and there was wine, for the gypsy and his lady
Ah dee doo ah dee doo da day, ah dee doo ah dee day dee
He whistled and he sang til the green woods rang
And he won the heart of a lady
He is no gypsy, my father, she said, but lord of these lands all over
And I will stay til my dying day, with my whistling gypsy rover
Ah dee doo ah dee doo da day, ah dee doo ah dee day dee
He whistled and he sang til the green woods rang
And he won the heart of a lady
The purpose of the Folk Den is to use the medium of the World Wide Web to continue the tradition of the folk process, that is the telling of stories, and singing of songs, passed on from one generation to another, by word of mouth.
In this electronic era, such a process is in danger of being overwhelmed by the commercial mass media. This page and others on the 'net are working to preserve the folk songs that have chronicled our global heritage for centuries.
In the Folk Den, a "new" folk song is uploaded every month as a "Global Community Service."
