St. Stephen's Day

In Ireland, on St. Stephen's day, young boys, especially those in the more rural western counties get dressed up in wild colors, wearing outlandish assortments of rags and bits of colored paper left over from Christmas, they find and kill a wren or other small bird and go from house to house collecting money, food, and drink for the "wake."

It's a fairly gruesome tradition, but it does have its own discrete, cheeky, charm.

Here's the tune.

I learned this one from the Clancy's and Tommy Makem.

The wren, the wren, the king of all birds,
St. Stephen's day was caught in the firs,
Although he was little his honor was great
Jump up, me lads, and give him a treat.

chorus:
Up with the kettle and down with the pan
And give us a penny to bury the wren.

As I was gone to Killenaule
I met a wren upon a wall,
Up with me wattle and knocked him down
And brought him into Carrick town.

chorus

Droolin, droolin, where's your nest?
'Tis in the bush that I love best
In the tree, the holly tree
Where all the boys do follow me.

chorus

We followed the wren three miles or more
Three miles or more, three miles or more,
Followed the wren three miles or more
At six o'clock in the morning.

chorus

We have a little box under me arm,
Under me arm, under me arm,
We have a little box under me arm,
A penny a tuppence will do it no harm.

chorus

Missus Clancy's a very good woman
A very good woman, a very good woman
Missus Clancy's a very good woman
She gave us a penny to bury the wren.

3B's