voicing: TBB | catalog number: SBMP 1067 | duration: 2:40 | price: $1.95
accompaniment: a cappella

A rollicking, fun Scottish song telling of a bit of failed moonlight romance under a pear tree thanks to two young lads up in the tree armed with a supply of pears. The text is flavored with a bit of authentic Scottish pronunciation and some nonsense syllables, the latter leading up to the moral of the story: “Don’t go courtin’ under a pear tree.”

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CLICK HERE: Read the text

Oh there were twa lads belonged tae this nation,
Dundee being their place an’ station,
Went oot ae nicht as I were told,
Just tae have a moonlicht stroll.
Wi’ a hi-tum, toe-tum, tum-a-lack-a-daisy,
Tum-a-lack-a-daisy wi’ a tum-a lum-a-lay.
For noo on the road they spied a pear tree,
There grew pears as many as could be,
So for a pear they were inclined,
So up the pear tree they did climb.
So far up the pear tree they were landed,
Far up the pear tree they were stranded,
It wisnae the pears that ta’en my ee’,
’Twas a lad an’ lass lyin’ in a-low the tree.
So this young man he began tae unlace her,
This young man began tae embrace her,
He ta’en off his coat tae save her goun
When a’ the pears come a-rummalin’ doon.
So this young man he looked up in wonder,
As we battered doon the pears like thunder,
So up he got, awa did flee,
Leavin’ his coat lyin’ in a-low the tree.
So the owner of the coat we did enquire,
The owner of the coat wis our desire,
The owner of the coat we never found out,
So we had a darn guid coat for nowt!
So noo a’ ye lads an’ whaur ye may be,
Dinna ging coortin’ in a-low a pear tree,
For if ye do ye’ll spoil the fun
When a’ the pears come a-rummalin’ doon.
Wi’ a hi-tum, toe-tum, tum-a-lack-a-daisy,
Tum-a-lack-a-daisy wi’ a tum-a lum-a-lay.

Magpie Consort, Sheena Phillips, conductor [© all rights reserved]

 

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Featured on the following reading sessions
2017 | Lakeshore Choral Camp Mississippi June 12-16
2017 | JW Pepper Reading Session - Cedar Rapids
2017 | Carol Krueger Sessions, North Carolina - June 26, July 19, August 2
2017 | Carol Krueger Worshop at Shenandoah Univ. July 24-26
2017 | Shenandoah University workshop July 24-26 Clinician Carol Krueger
2013 | Rodney Eichenberger Choral Conducting Workshop
2013 | Oregon ACDA Reading Session August 13-16