Wa'ney Island Cockfight

"Wa'ney Island Cockfight" or "The Bonny Grey" is an English folk song, Roud 211.[1] Variants of the song exist across northern England from Cumbria to Shropshire.[2][3]

Lyrics

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As with many folk songs, the lyrics vary depending on the source, with references to well-known local figures and locations in various regional versions. However, the central theme of a cockfight in which the "Bonny Grey" is an unexpected winner remains.[2]

Presented below are a small sample of the lyrics sung by Martin Wyndham-Reed on English Sporting Ballads, Broadside BRO128 in which the cockfight takes place on Walney Island.[3]

Come all ye cockers far and near

I'll tell of a cock-fight, when and where:

At Tummerel Hill I've heard them say,

The Northscale lads had a bonny grey.

Two dozen lads from Biggar came

To Tummerel Hill to see the game.

They brought along with them that day

A black to match with the bonny grey.

A sample of another set of lyrics from the Ballads & Songs of Lancashire,[4] which places the cockfight in Liverpool, is presented below for comparison.

Come all you cock-merchants far and near,

Did you hear of a cock-fight happening here?

Those Liverpool lads, I've heard them say,

'Tween the Charcoal Black and the Bonny Gray.

Recordings

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Artist Title Album Year
Martin Wyndham Reed The charcoal black and the bonny grey English Sporting Ballads 1977
Fiddler's Dram Wa'ney Island Cockfight To See the Play 1978

References

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  1. ^ "Roud Folksong Index at Vaughn Williams Memorial Library". Roud Folksong Index at Vaughn Williams Memorial Library.
  2. ^ a b Vaughan Williams, Ralph; Lloyd, A.L. (1975). The Penguin Book of English Folk Songs. Penguin Books. p. 27. ISBN 0140708189.
  3. ^ a b Wyndham-Reed, Martin. English Sporting Ballads, Broadside BRO128.
  4. ^ Harland, John (1875). Ballads & Songs of Lancashire, Ancient and Modern (2nd ed.). London: George Routledge & Sons. pp. 204-205.