Print This Page#00211 Print This Page
Oh, Oh, The rattlin' bog, the bog down in the valley-O
Oh, Oh, The rattlin' bog, the bog down in the valley-O
And in that bog there was a tree,
A rare tree, a rattlin' tree:
With the tree in the bog,
And the bog down in the valley-O.
Oh, Oh, The rattlin' bog, the bog down in the valley-O
Oh, Oh, The rattlin' bog, the bog down in the valley-O
And on that tree there was a limb,
A rare limb, a rattlin' limb:
With the limb on the tree,
And the tree in the bog,
And the bog down in the valley-O.
Oh, Oh, The rattlin' bog, the bog down in the valley-O
Oh, Oh, The rattlin' bog, the bog down in the valley-O
And on that limb there was a branch,
A rare branch, a rattlin' branch:
With the branch on the limb,
And the limb on the tree,
And the tree in the bog,
And the bog down in the valley-O.
Oh, Oh, The rattlin' bog, the bog down in the valley-O
Oh, Oh, The rattlin' bog, the bog down in the valley-O
(Continue the pattern until the last verse, singing at top speed)
And on that feather there was a flea,
A rare flea, a rattlin' flea:
With the flea on the feather,
And the feather on the bird,
And the bird on the egg,
And the egg in the nest,
And the nest on the twig,
And the twig on the branch,
And the branch on the limb,
And the limb on the tree,
And the tree in the bog,
And the bog down in the valley-O.
A variant was collected by MacEdward Leach and published as #107, The Stump, in Folk Ballads And Songs Of The Lower Labrador Coast by the National Museum of Canada (Ottawa, 1965) Crown Copyrights Reserved.
A variant was also collected by Maud Karpeles (1885-1976) and published as #88, The Tree In The Wood, in Folk Songs From Newfoundland (Faber & Faber, London, 1971; also Oxford, 1934).
