This week a rare folk song music book surfaced in my house. It was the book I had just acquired when we added a piano to the house. Now I play a piano like a guitar... melody right hand, chords left... but at least I entertain myself and can play something at any time when I see an old grand in an antique store or stashed in some corner at a church.
Today's entry is great drinking song by Canadian, Ian Robb. I guess the Old Rose and Crown exists! So now are they offended by Ian's song? Well it ain't on their website, and I bet they might have a renovated bar.
Old Rose and Crown
(Ian Robb)
chorus:
What have they done to the old Rose and Crown?
The Ship, the King's Arms, and the World Upside Down.
For oak, brass, and leather, and a pint of the best
Fade away like the sun as it sinks in the west.
Good friends, gather round and I'll tell you a tale.
It's a story well known to all lovers of ale.
The old English pub, once a man's second home
Has been decked out by brewers in plastic and foam.
And the old oaken bar where the pumps filled your glass
Gives way to Formica and tanks full of gas.
And the landlord behind, once a man of good cheer
Just mumbles the price as he hands you your beer.
And where are the friends who would meet for a jar,
Or a good game of darts in the old public bar?
The dartboard is gone, in its place is a thing
Where you pull on the handle and lose all your tin.
But the worst of it all's what they've done to the beer.
For their shandies and lagers that will make you feel queer.
For an arm and a leg, they will fill up your glass
With a half and half mixture of ullage and gas.
So come all you good people who like to sup ale
Here's hope to a happier end to my tale
For there's nothing can fill a man's heart with more cheer
Than to sit in a pub with a pint of good beer.
Recorded on Rose and Crown, Robb (Folk-Legacy)
Copyright Ian Robb
RG... lyrics posted at http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiROSECRWN;ttROSECRWN.html
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