Begone, dull care!
An irresistible first line.
The author is anonymous. The song must be three hundred years old. British composer Benjamin Britten wrote music for it too (or perhaps arranged the song), but I can't find a good recording.
The version below 'was taken down from an old Yorkshire yeoman. The third verse is always sung in the west of Yorkshire'.
Begone, dull care!
I prithee begone from me;
Begone, dull care!
Thou and I can never agree.
Long while thou hast been tarrying here,
And fain thou wouldst me kill;
But i' faith, dull care,
Thou never shalt have thy will.
Too much care
Will make a young man grey;
Too much care
Will turn an old man to clay.
My wife shall dance, and I shall sing,
So merrily pass the day;
For I hold it is the wisest thing,
To drive dull care away.
Hence, dull care,
I'll none of thy company;
Hence, dull care,
Thou art no pair for me.
We'll hunt the wild boar through the wold,
So merrily pass the day;
And then at night, o'er a cheerful bowl,
We'll drive dull care away.
And since the fine last verse is always heard in Yorkshire, here is Yorkshire and news of notables.
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