Annotation:Keach I' the Creel (The)
X:1 T:Keach I' the Creel, The M:2/4 L:1/8 R:Air S:Bruce & Stokoe - Northumbrian Minstrelsy (1882) Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:D (D/E/)|Fd cd|BA AA|Fd cd|B3 D/E/|F/F/d cd| BB/A/ FD/E/|F/F/D B,C|D>E F>E|F/F/D B,C|D3||
KEACH I' THE CREEL, THE. English, Air (2/4 time). England, Northumberland. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). One part. "This old and very humorous ballad has long been a favourite on both sides of the Border, but had never appeared in print till about 1845, when a Northumbrian gentleman printed a few copies for private circulation, from which the above was taken. In former days, in the rural districts of Northumberland, courtship was secretly conducted; and often the only place of meeting was the 'maiden's bower'. A better state of things now generally prevails" (Bruce & Stokoe). The word keach or keech also means 'excrement' in Ulster and Scotland, as well as 'lift' or 'hoist'.
A fair young May went up the street,
Some white fish for to buy,
And a bonny clerk's fa'n in luve wi' her,
An' he's followed her by and by.