Donna wrote to me asking for help with a song:
Hi Mama Lisa
….my Grandmother used to sing a song to my Mother when she was a child and we can’t find the correct words or melody to it. I was wondering if you or anyone you know might know it. My ancestors are from Scotland and Whales so we figure that is where it came from. Some of the words are, as best I can remember…
"The brownies one night told the fairies to come to the Halloween ball. To be given the last of October when Jack frost makes all the leaves fall. The toadstools will furnish the sitting…..and the the fireflies will furnish the lights…"
I hope this is enough for you and I hope that you find it. I have been looking for several years so I have about exhausted all my leads until I found your site. Good luck. I hope to hear good news!
Donna Kuhlmann
If anyone can help with this song, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
This article was posted on Sunday, July 3rd, 2011 at 4:51 pm and is filed under Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, English, English Children's Songs, Halloween Songs, Holiday Songs, Languages, Questions, Readers Questions, Scotland, Scottish Children's Songs, Wales. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
3 Responses to “Does Anyone Know the Song, "The brownies one night told the fairies to come to the Halloween ball"?”
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October 4th, 2011 at 6:44 pm
Hi Donna….i know this song…..as a child in music class our music teacher used to play it and she really did a banging job on her piano….i loved singing this song and now at the age of 67 it rings through my head still…..i think the music teacher loved it too….it is good to know someone else who remembers this song….maybe someday we will find it on utube or im sure to hear it on sesame street….lol….Ann
April 23rd, 2013 at 11:36 pm
This sounds a lot like Palmer Cox’s “Brownies” books. I haven’t located the exact poem but there are a couple brownie books on Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32210 and http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/40502 . There is a children’s cantata called “The Brownies in Fairyland that MIGHT have the song, but I can’t be sure. (This is the only link I can find:) http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/brownies/fairyland01.html
July 17th, 2022 at 12:02 am
The brownies one night told the fairies, to come to the Halloween ball, to be given the last of October, when Jack frost made all the leaves fall.
The crickets will furnish the music, the fireflies will furnish the lights, the toadstool will furnish the sitting, and all be a beautiful sight.
Go to Google books and type the line in. It comes up Frank Clymer.
My mother also sang this to me and I couldn’t remember all the words until I was sent this