O once I was a shepherd's boy

O once I was a shepherd boy

Roud 2407

collected from Shepherd Hayden by Cecil Sharp, Bampton, Oxfordshire, 6th September 1909

1. O once I was a shepherd boy
   Kept sheep on Compton Down
   Twas about two miles from Ilsley
   It was called a market town
   
   With my fol de rol, O the riddle oddy O
   With my fol de rol i day
   
   
2. And in the morn when we do rise
   And daylight do appear
   Our breakfast we do get
   To our fold we all do steer
   
   
3. And when we gets to our sheepfold
   We merrily pitched him round
   And all the rest part of the day
   We sailed the downs all round
   
   
4. And when we gets up on the downs
   Gazing ourselves all round
   We see the storm is rising
   And coming on all round
   
   
5. And now the storm is coming on
   The rain fast down do fall
   neither limb nor tree to shelter me
   I must stand and take it all
   
   
6. And there we stand in our wet clothes
   A-shining and shaking with cold
   We dare not go to shift ourselves
   Till we drive our sheep to fold
   
   
7. And now the storm is over
   And that you may plainly see
   I’ll never keep sheep on the downs any more
   For there’s neither a limb nor tree
   

Cecil Sharp MSS, Folk Words

Alfred Williams also noted the words of this song from Hayden, as "On Compton Downs"