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The Tollund Man Pub Song
Chorus:
Ho, ro, the Tollund bog,
The bog down in the valley-o,
Rare bog, the Tollund bog,
The bog down in the valley-o!
Now in that bog there was a tree,
A rare tree, a Tollund tree,
Tree in the bog, and the bog down in the valley-o!
Chorus
And on that tree there was a branch,
A rare branch, a Tollund branch,
Branch on the tree, and the tree in the bog,
and the bog down in the valley-o!
Chorus
And on that branch there was a limb,
A rare limb, a Tollund limb,
Limb on the branch, and the branch on the tree,
and the tree in the bog, and the bog down in the valley-o!
Chorus
And on that limb there was a noose,
A rare noose, a Tollund noose,
Noose on the limb, and the limb on the branch, and the branch on the tree,
and the tree in the bog, and the bog down in the valley-o!
Chorus
And in that noose there was a man,
A rare man, a Tollund Man,
Man in the noose, and the noose on the limb, and the limb on the branch,
and the branch on the tree, and the tree in the bog, and the bog down in the
valley-o!
Chorus
And in that man there was a heart,
A rare heart, a Tollund heart,
Heart in the man, ...
Chorus
And in that heart there was a spear,
A rare spear, a Tollund spear,
Spear in the heart, ...
Chorus
And on that spear there was a point,
A rare point, a Tollund point,
Point on the spear, ...
Chorus
And on that point there was a raven,
A rare raven, a Tollund raven,
Raven on the point, ...
Chorus
And on that raven there was a beak,
A rare beak, a Tollund beak,
Beak on the raven, ...
Chorus
And in that beak there was an eye,
A rare eye, a Tollund eye,
Eye in the beak, ...
Chorus
© Ben
Waggoner
Ben Waggoner has translated
numerous Old Norse Sagas.
His books on Lulu.
Author's notes:
Have you ever noticed that there
aren’t many drinking songs about human sacrifices in early Iron Age Denmark?
I’ve decided to step forward to fill this yawning gap in the corpus of global
folk music, with this Heathenized version of a classic Irish pub song.
The original is known as “The Bog
Down in the Valley-O” or “The Rattlin’ Bog”—it’s another one of those “pileup
songs” in which every verse adds one thing to the previous verse. (It’s a close
cousin of “There’s a Hole in the Bottom of the Sea”, which may be more familiar
to some readers.) I learned the song from the album “Across the Water” by The
Irish Descendants—but there are dozens of recordings out there, with many
slightly different versions of the lyrics and tune.
My lyrics don’t give a very accurate
description of the real Tollund Man, who was garroted but not hanged (see P. V.
Gløb’s book The Bog People
for the details). All the same, I hope I’ve caught the proper Heathen spirit.
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