I've Been Rambling All the Night
A traveler describes rambling all night before returning with a budded branch of may to present at a listener's door, asking for a cup of good cheer and offering to return next year. He reflects on green fields watered by Heavenly dew, his own death and the nightingale that will sing over his grave, urges reading the Bible before Judgment Day, mentions a silken bag needing only a silver coin, then closes his song with a blessing and wishes of joyful May.
By L. Edna Walter · Genre: Folk Song, Carol, Poetry · 349 words
First lines
[Music: BEDFORDSHIRE MAY DAY CAROL.]
1. I've been rambling all the night, / And the best part of the day, / And now I am returning back again, / And have brought you a branch of may.
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Genres
- Folk Song — Traditional English folk song with characteristic oral transmission patterns, local cultural specificity, and vernacular language typical of folk music traditions
- Carol — Explicitly identified as a Bedfordshire May Day Carol, featuring the blessing structure, celebratory tone, and group participation inherent to the carol form
- Poetry — Structured verse with rhyming couplets, metaphorical language, and lyrical expression throughout eight stanzas of poetic narrative
- Traditional Music — Part of documented folk music heritage with historical provenance, traditional melody notation, and intergenerational transmission patterns
Tags
May Day · carol · spring · folk song · traveler · rambling · pastoral · nightingale · death · mortality · blessing · faith
What this Textopian page supports
I've Been Rambling All the Night is listed on Textopian as a poem by L. Edna Walter, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: L. Edna Walter
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Folk Song, Carol, Poetry, Traditional Music, British Folklore
- Length: 349 words
- Structure: 1 section, 9 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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