There Is an Inn, a Merry Old Inn... Lyrics

There is an inn, a merry old inn
Beneath an old grey hill
And there they brew a beer so brown
That the Man in the Moon himself came down
One night to drink his fill

The ostler has a tipsy cat
That plays a five-stringed fiddle
And up and down he runs his bow
Now squeaking high, now purring low
Now sawing in the middle

The landlord keeps a little dog
That is mighty fond of jokes
When there's good cheer among the guests
He cocks an ear at all the jests
And laughs until he chokes

They also keep a hornéd cow
As proud as any queen
But music turns her head like ale
And makes her wave her tufted tail
And dance upon the green

And O! the rows of silver dishes
And the store of silver spoons!
For Sunday there's a special pair
And these they polish up with care
On Saturday afternoons

The Man in the Moon was drinking deep
And the cat began to wail
A dish and a spoon on the table danced
The cow in the garden madly pranced
And the little dog chased his tail

The Man in the Moon took another mug
And rolled beneath his chair
And there he dozed and dreamed of ale
Till in the sky the stars were pale
And dawn was in the air

Then the ostler said to his tipsy cat
"The white horses of the Moon
They neigh and champ their silver bits
But their master's been and drowned his wits
And the Sun'll be rising soon!"

So the cat on his fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle
A jig that would wake the dead
He squeaked and sawed and quickened the tune
While the landlord shook the Man in the Moon
"It's after three!" he said

They rolled the Man slowly up the hill
And bundled him into the Moon
While his horses galloped up in rear
And the cow came capering like a deer
And a dish ran up with the spoon

Now quicker the fiddle went deedle-dum-diddle
The dog began to roar
The cow and the horses stood on their heads
The guests all bounded from their beds
And danced upon the floor

With a ping and a pang the fiddle-strings broke!
The cow jumped over the Moon
And the little dog laughed to see such fun
And the Saturday dish went off at a run
With the silver Sunday spoon

The round Moon rolled behind the hill
As the Sun raised up her head
She hardly believed her fiery eyes
For though it was day, to her surprise
They all went back to bed
Song Info
Producer
Peter Hall, Caspar Reiff
Release date
Nov 01, 2005
Sentiment
Positive
Submitted by
mellow_harsher On Aug 28, 2024
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