The Folly
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- The narrator mocks the tourists who flock to see what he knows to be a phony Medieval Castle above his hometown.
Lyrics & Chords:
(Em) There's a castle on the hill over(D)looking our (Em) town
That's (C) now quite di(D)lapi(Em)dated
It's battlements look so (D) weather (Em) worn
It's (C) central (D) tower trun(Em)cated
It (C) looks like it welcomed King (G) Arthur's knights
A med(D)ieval jewel, au(Em)thentic!
But it was built in the (D) Nineteenth Cen(Em)tury
By some (C) over-(D)wealthy ec(Em)centric
(Em) We were told legends when (D) we were (Em) kids
About (C) Robin Hood im(D)prisoned with(Em)in it
But the man in green died (D) long be(Em)fore
The (C) builders did (D) ever be(Em)gin it
We (C) longed to play up(G)on its walls
But its (D) owner was not so com(Em)pliant
He let dogs loose and (D) swore at (Em) kids
Like (C) Oscar (D) Wilde's selfish (Em) giant
(Em) They've made lots of films (D) in those (Em) grounds
When they (C) needed a (D) Medieval (Em) setting
It seems so bona fide on (D) cellu(Em)loid
But it's (C) made of (D) breeze blocks I'm (Em) betting
They (C) charge a fortune to (G) visit now
(D) Organised tours in large (Em) numbers
While we in the village just (D) laugh at (Em) them
And (C) call them (D) silly (Em) punters
(Em) There's a castle on the hill over(D)looking our (Em) town
That's (C) making the (D) owner some (Em) lolly
I wonder how many of the (D) visitors (Em) know
The (C) whole thing is (D) just a (Em) folly
I was feeling the Hey Nonny Nonny’s every time you jiggled your hat Berni! I do love a castle, a proper medieval one that is. Fascinating history, even if basically they symbolised oppression and violence.
Ha ha...I like Castles too, but yes, it is heard not to remember that they served to ensure the power of the LORD of the castle and ensure the peasants stayed in check, as much as offering protection from enemies.
👍👍 Berni 😀👍👍 Yep , I like it 👍😀👍👍
🎸🎶🎸……Victor👍👍👍
Thanks Vic.
Hat percussion.... now i've seen it all" Love that hat BTW i need one!
Such a cool hat! Fits the song perfectly.
Easily available at any medieval fayre, or else, I am guessing, on Amazon.
PS Just type in "Jester's Hat" on Amazon and there are loads of them!
Great hat, Sir! I have always found follies a very strange concept and since this one is made of breeze blocks, presumably it's a modern one. All the castles here in deepest France are REAL ones! Interesting lyrics, Berni!
Back at the height of romanticism, it was amazing how many eccentric millionaires in Britain built their homes to look like castles. Or else simply built a "ruin" up on the hill overlooking their towns. Planning permission being a backhander to the local mayor back then.
There are a few older castles around locally, and I planned on visiting at least one or two, but the weather has not been brilliant.
The folly may be derided by some, but I guess that a cafe owner wouldn't mind it it's the only claim to fame. Whatever draws in the tourists and gets the buyers in for your products must be good and welcome.
I love your jester's hat, Berni. I hope you didn't need to have a lie down after your head gestures.
I think follies are derided mainly because they show the pretensions of the person who commissioned them. In themselves they can add interest to a landscape. As the one in North Wales I used to illustrate the idea does.
Awesome!
Thanks for your awesome comment 😉
"Punters"? Is that a thing?
Great story put to music, Berni.
Punters is definitely a thing. It is used to describe the consumers of tourist attractions (or chain stores, etc) in a derogatory way, belittling them for fools.
@@berniarmstrong We have a thing here too. I live in a tourist shore town. They call the summer-only people Benny's.
Why? The most popular theory is that Benny stands for Bayonne, Elizabeth, Newark, and New York, the route that the train took to get from New York to the Jersey Shore. Its initials, B.E.N.N.Y., forming an acronym on the train ticket. Alternatively, their suitcases were stamped with those initials
Fascinating tit bit of info. Stored away for future use.
brilliant writing and performance Berni! there are few pseudo-castles over here in Canada, they all stand out as pretty cheesy except the prime example which is just ostentatious, Casa Loma, in Toronto
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_Loma
Thanks, Michael! The one in my illustration has been used a lot in films and TV.
@@michaelhermiston That looks more like a palace than a castle though. 😉
This the kind of song the the soldiers sing after winning a battle in the medeival ages
Ah yes, the old ballads. I guess I have been mightily influenced by them. I used to be a semi-pro folkie!