Cantaria main page

Chivalry Music

Printed from Cantaria, a folk song archive.
For an audio example of the song being sung, see: http://www.chivalry.com/cantaria/lyrics/willoughby.html

Lord Willoughby

Traditional, 16th century broadside

Audio

This example of "Lord Willoughby" is performed by Andrew Scarhart.
Please refer to Cantaria's Copyright information

Citation: (from Bruce Olsen's 17th Century Broadside Ballad Index)
The fifteenth day of July/ ZN895| Lord Willoughby/ Tune: Lord Willoughby/ RB4 8 = W1 67: F. Coles/ P2 131: TP/ CR 392: A. M. W. O. and T. Thackeray [HH1 59 = 58v, BC, DC]

You can read about the history of the tune (and hear a markedly different version) at Greg Lindahl's Music of the Sixteeth Century Broadside Ballad page.

The fifteenth day of July
With glist'ning spear and shield
A famous fight in Flanders
Was foughten in the field
The most courageous officers
Were English captains three
But the bravest in the battle
Was brave Lord Willoughby.

Stand to it noble pikemen
And look you round about
And shoot you right you bowmen
And we will keep them out
You muskets and calivermen
Do you prove true to me
I'll be the foremost man in fight
Said brave Lord Willoughby.

Then quoth the Spanish general,
'Come let us march away,
I fear we shall be spoiled all
If we here longer stay,
For yonder comes Lord Willoughby
With courage fierce and fell,
He will not give one inch of way
For all the devils in hell.'

   And then the fearful enemy
Were quickly put to flight
Our men pursued courageously
And caught their forces quite
But at the last they gave a shout
Which echoed through the sky
'God and St George for England!'
The conquerors did cry.

To the soldiers that were maimed
And wounded in the fray
The Queen allowed a pension
Of eighteen pence a day
And from all costs and charges
She quit and set them free
And this she did all for the sake
Of brave Lord Willoughby.

Then courage noble Englishmen
And never be dismayed
For if we be but one to ten
We will not be afraid
To fight the foreign enemy
And set our country free
And thus I end the bloody bout
Of brave Lord Willoughby.

Alphabetical list | Pre-1600 |  Traditional | Contemporary | More Resources
Back   Comments about Cantaria?
Give us your feedback!
Last update: 08/28/09		  

Cantaria is provided as a service of
  Chivalry Music