”Clapham Town End” is an old Yorkshire folk song which was harmonised by the English composer Edward Elgar

Edward Elgar

Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...

 in 1890.

Elgar arranged the song for his friend Dr. Charles W. Buck. It is for voice with piano accompaniment. The song is similar to the Somersetshire song "Richard of Taunton Dene".

Lyrics

CLAPHAM TOWN END

At Clapham Town

Clapham, North Yorkshire

Clapham is a village in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It was previously in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It lies within the Yorkshire Dales National Park 6 miles north west of Settle just off the A65.-History:...

 end lived an Old Yorkshire tyke

Who i dealing i horseflesh had ne’er met his like.

‘Twas his pride that i aw the hard bargains he’d hit

He’d bit a good mony but but nivver been bit.

Chorus: Wi’ me dum a dum dary, *

Dum a dum dary,

Dum a dum dary,

Dum a dum day.

This old Tommy Tavers (by that name he was known)

Had an old carrion

Carrion

Carrion refers to the carcass of a dead animal. Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters include vultures, hawks, eagles, hyenas, Virginia Opossum, Tasmanian Devils, coyotes, Komodo dragons, and burying beetles...

 bit that was sheer skin and bone.

To have killed him for the cur

Cur

Cur as slang refers to a type of random-bred, or mixed-breed dog. This article deals with Cur as a breed.-Etymology:The derivation of the word "cur" dates from the 13th century. It is thought to be short for the Middle English "curdogge", which derives from the word "curren", meaning "to growl"...

s would have been quite as well,

But 'twas Tommy's opinion he'd die off himsel',

Chorus

Well, one Abie Muggins, a neighbouring cheat,

Thought to diddle old Tommy would be a great treat;

He'd a horse, too, 'twas worse than old Tommy's, you see,

For tonight he'd thought that he would proper to dee.

Chorus

Thinks Abie: "Th' old codger'll never smoke the trick:

"I'll swap with him my poor dead horse for his quick,

"And if Tommy, I'm nobbered can happen to trap,

"'Twill be a fine feather in Abraham's cap."

Chorus

So to Tommy he goes, and to Tommy he pops:

"Between my horse and thine prithee

Prithee

Prithee is an archaic English interjection formed from a corruption of the phrase pray thee, which was initially an exclamation of contempt used to indicate a subject's triviality...

 Tommy would swaps.

"What will give me to boot, for mine th' better horse feel?"

"Not," says Tommy, "I'll swap even hands and ye will!"

Chorus

Abie preached a long time about something to boot,

Insisting that his was the liveliest brute.

But Tommy stuck fast where first had begun,

Till Abie shook hands and said: "Well, Tommy, done."

Chorus

"Oh, Tommy," says Abie, "I sorry for thee,

"I thought thou'd 'a had a more white in thy 'ee:

"Good luck in thy bargain, for my horse is dead."

"Hey," says Tommy, "me lad, so is mine, and it's flaid

Flaying

Flaying is the removal of skin from the body. Generally, an attempt is made to keep the removed portion of skin intact.-Scope:An animal may be flayed in preparation for human consumption, or for its hide or fur; this is more commonly called skinning....

!"

Chorus

So Tommy got the better of the bargain of asked,

And came off with a Yorkshireman's triumph at last.

For though 'twixt dead horses there's not much to choose,

Yet Tommy was richer by the hide and four shoes.

Chorus

Ambling of the mouldy steed (Elgar's remark on the score)

External links

Richard of Taunton Dean may be compared with Elgar's version