Digital Tradition Mirror

When that I Was a Little Tiny Boy

(This score available as ABC, SongWright, PostScript, PNG, or PMW, or a MIDI file)
Pennywhistle notation and Dulcimer tab for this song is also available

When that I Was a Little Tiny Boy

When that I was a little tiny boy
     With a heigh-ho, the wind and the rain
A foolish thing was but a toy
     For the rain it raineth ev'ry day

chorus:        With a heigh-ho, the wind and the rain
               For the rain it raineth ev'ry day.

But when I came to man's estate
     With a heigh-ho, the wind and the rain
'Gainst thieves and knaves men shut their gate,
     For the rain it raineth ev'ry day.

But when I came, alas!, to wive
     With a heigh-ho, the wind and the rain
By swaggering never could I thrive,
     For the rain it raineth ev'ry day.
A great while ago the world begun
     With a heigh-ho, the wind and the rain
But that's all one, our play is done
     And we'll strive to please you every day.

Note: Sung in the epilogue of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Tune
     contemporaneous with words; ca 1550. RG
From Songs From Shakespeare's Plays, Kines
RG

Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!