Old King Cole was a merry old soul
And a merry old soul was he;
He called for his pipe, and he called for his bowl
And he called for his fiddlers three.
Every fiddler he had a fiddle,
And a very fine fiddle had he;
Oh there's none so rare, as can compare
With King Cole and his fiddlers three.
And a merry old soul was he;
He called for his pipe, and he called for his bowl
And he called for his fiddlers three.
Every fiddler he had a fiddle,
And a very fine fiddle had he;
Oh there's none so rare, as can compare
With King Cole and his fiddlers three.
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| Castlecaldwell Forest, County Fermanagh. This is the entrance to the forest park. To the right of the opening is the famous Fiddler's Stone |
(by Kenneth Allen - CC-A-SA 2.0 license)
 |
| Fiddler's Stone |
(by Dr Charles Nelson - CC-A-SA 2.0 license)
The inscription on the fiddler's stone reads:-
To the memory of Denis McCabe Fiddler,
Who fell out of the
St. Patrick's Barge belonging to
Sir James Caldwell, Bart, and Count of Milan
And was drowned off this point August Ye 15 1770
Who fell out of the
St. Patrick's Barge belonging to
Sir James Caldwell, Bart, and Count of Milan
And was drowned off this point August Ye 15 1770
Beware Ye fiddlers of ye fiddlers fate,
Nor tempt ye deep lest ye repent to late;
Ye ever have been deemed to water foes,
Then shun ye lake till it with whiskey flows,
On firm land only exercise your skill,
There you may play and drink your fill.
Nor tempt ye deep lest ye repent to late;
Ye ever have been deemed to water foes,
Then shun ye lake till it with whiskey flows,
On firm land only exercise your skill,
There you may play and drink your fill.
There are many pubs dedicated to fiddlers and as they need to keep their elbows supple what better than
 |
| Sign for The Fiddler's Elbow, Prince of Wales Road / Malden Road, NW5 |
(By Mike Quinn - CC-A-SA 2.0 license)
To me however Fiddlers' Elbows are a sign of spring.
 |
| Ferns - in spring |
I fiddled around enough for today so I'll finish with a rhyme:
 |
| The Cat and The Fiddle |
Sign for the (former) Cat and Fiddle Inn, Lombard Street, EC3 See Such hanging signs were banned by Charles II, but replicas were erected for the coronation of Edward VII in 1902.
(By Mike Quinn - CC-A-SA 2.0 license)
Hey, diddle, diddle!
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon;
The little dog laughed
To see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon;
The little dog laughed
To see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.
For other contributions, sober I hope, please run away and check out Sepia Saturday 99
21 comments:
Makes me fancy a pub crawl, Bob :)
Hey we never finish the poem of Ole King Cole over here. I had not heard the rest of the poem and it is nice to see it all. Great fiddles.
I don’t know about second childhood Bob - you wouldn’t be allowed in those pubs! I think you were leaning more to having a bit of a party; a few drinks and then out would come the fiddle and you’d be doing the jig! Nice take on the theme as usual.
I enjoyed this post Bob. As the Queen of nursery rhymes is was a must - read. Great pictures and information as always.
Ah-ha!!
While I know only the last rhyme, I've certainly enjoyed this journey.
fiddling on firm land seems like a sensible advice.
and those ferns are excellent in a salad. me thinks I'm hungry!!
:)~
HUGZ
Fascinating and fun. Thanks for that. I've just returned from a holiday in Israel where there are lots of Fiddler on the Roof models in the gift shops.
such a fun and creative post. one fun fiddling fact after another.
nancy javier
http://ladiesofthegrove.blogspot.com/
Bob, you are so creative! What a great post, as one thing led to another as you decided to fiddle around with your blog. :>)
Thanks so much for stopping by to visit. Uncle John's letter was originally handwritten, but his nephew Lyle transcribed them later on.
Take care,
Kathy M.
Loved your fiddling here today! LOL
I remember the Nursery Rhyme well, and a few other similar Inappropriate Ones of the same ilk which I will share with you:
Hey Diddle Diddle
The cat did a piddle
All over the sitting room floor
The little dog laughed to see such fun
So the cat did a little bit more
Got me suspended from Nursery School :-) Jo
Jo, If I had known that version I would have used it!
When I see anyone fidgeting about, I still refer to their movements as, "in and out, like a fiddler's elbow."
Oh fiddlesticks, I didn't know fern fronds unfolding were known as fiddlers' elbows.
@ SHEILA:
indeed!!
in french,
we call them "tetes-de-violon",
literally,
"violin's heads".
their shape is kinda romantic...
:)~
HUGZ
Bob, you are the master of connections, the Lord of the links, and the Prince of themes. Fabulous stuff.
Great fun! The plant is known here as the Fiddlehead Fern as the curl resembles the scroll head on a violin. When young, they are edible and I have been to a small town where they celebrate their spring harvest.
Here we call them fiddle heads lol. Seems there is a variation for every region. I have to wonder, why were the signs banned? They are a lovely tradition. So glad they were reinstated, whew!
I like the silhouette of the fiddlers, a sadly neglected art form which, coincidentally, I'm researching at the moment for my next Photo-Sleuth article.
Hey diddle diddle indeed! Fantastic journey in both words and photos. Very clever and great fun to read.
Greatlinkage. I didn't know that name for ferns
Clever and fun...tho we are home I could not get it together to post with Sepia this week but I am reading and enjoying these. Have not thought of Hey diddle diddle in many years.
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