In Kwam Last Over Een Berg
(Last Time I Crossed the Hill)
English translation
(Repeat the first line in each verse)
Last time I crossed the hill,
Ch: Tari tari tari tari, ta ta,
I heard the jugs a-ringing,
I, a merry boatman,
I should like to tari ta ta,
I, a merry boatman,
I should like to drink.
Landlord sell me a jug of wine,
Ch: Tari tari tari tari, ta ta,
The jug was cracked at the bottom,
I, a merry boatman,
I threw it, so that it tari ta ta,
I, a merry boatman,
I threw it, so that it splintered.
And when I'd had me wine,
Ch: Tari tari tari tari, ta ta,
That landlord wouldn't let me go,
I, a merry boatman,
I hadn't any money for tari ta ta,
I, a merry boatman,
I hadn't any money for to pay.
They then stripped me naked,
Ch: Tari tari tari tari, ta ta,
They threw me into the barn,
I, a merry boatman,
There from cold I couldn't tari ta ta,
I, a merry boatman,
There from cold I couldn't last.
And as I lay there in that barn,
Ch: Tari tari tari tari, ta ta,
'Twas then that I thought,
I, a merry boatman,
If I now got the landlord's tari ta ta,
I, a merry boatman,
If I now got the landlord's daughter.
When I'd had the landlord's daughter,
Ch: Tari tari tari tari, ta ta,
How d'yer think she paid me?
I, a merry boatman,
She gave me two nice golden tari ta ta,
I, a merry boatman,
She gave me two nice golden crowns.
Stan Hugill believed this song comes from Terschilling, “as do most Dutch seasongs”. He was surprised that wine was mentioned, since the more favored alcohols were bols or “squareface” gin—both names for genever, the juniper spirit the Dutch are famous for.