The Raggle Taggle Gypsy is a traditional Folk Song that originated as a Scottish Border ballad. The song was collected by folklorist Francis James Child in the latter part of the 19th century. He was best known for his collection of English and Scottish ballads which are now referred to as the Child Ballads.
This ballad is #200 of the collection titled The Gypsy Laddie.
The song has since become very popular throughout Britain, Ireland and North America.
This cover by The Irish Descendants is from the album So Far So Good - The Best of The Irish Descendants.
Music: Key of B Minor in 4/4 time at 170
bpm (♩)
Chords: Bm, Em, E, F#m, D, A, G
The Raggle Taggle Gypsy
The Relative Major Key of Bm is highlighted (D) - Transpose to any other key.
BmIntro: 4/4 ‖: | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | 𝄎 :‖
Bm G Em F#m
‖ | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | | | ‖
A Bm G Bm D E
‖ | - | | 2/4 | 4/4 | 𝄎 ‖
Bm
1. There were three old gyp-sies came to our hall door
F#m
They came brave and bold-ly - oh
A E G
And there's one sang high and the oth-er sang low
Bm D E
And the la-dy sang the Rag-gle Tag-gle gyp-sy - oh | 𝄎 |
Bm
2. It was up-stairs and down-stairs the La-dy went
F#m
Put on her suit of leath-er - oh
A E G
It was the cry all a-round the door
Bm D E
She's a-way with the Rag-gle Tag-gle Gyp-sy - oh | 𝄎 |
Bm
3. It was late that night when the Lord came in
F#m
In-quir-ing for his La-dy - oh
A E G
The ser-vant girl she re-plied to the Lord
Bm D G E
She's a-way with the Rag-gle Tag-gle Gyp-sy - oh | 𝄎 | | 𝄎 |
Bm
4. Oh then sad-dle for me Me' milk-white steed
F#m
Me' big horse is not speedy - oh
A E G
To-night I'll ride to the wide o-pen field
Bm D E
And it's there that I'll spy my La-dy - oh | 𝄎 |
Bm
5. So he rode east He rode west
F#m
He rode North and south al-so
A E G
It was when he rode to the wide o-pen field
Bm D E
It was there that he spied his La-dy - oh | 𝄎 |
Bm
6. Oh why did you leave your house and your land
F#m
Why did you leave your mon-ey - oh
A E G
And why did you leave your on-ly wed-ded Lord
Bm D E
To be off with the Rag-gle Tag-gle Gyp-sy - oh | 𝄎 |
Bm
7. You're a - What do I care for me house and me land
F#m
What do I care for mon-ey - oh
A E G
And what do I care for me on-ly wed-ded Lord
Bm D E Bm
I'm a-way with the Rag-gle Tag-gle Gyp-sy - oh | x7 |
Bm
8. Last night you slept in a goose-feath-er bed
F#m
The blank-ets drawn so come-ly - oh
A E G
To-night you'll lie in a wide o-pen field
Bm D E Bm
In the arms of the Rag-gle Tag-gle Gyp-sy - oh | x7 |
Bm
9. You're a - What do I care for a goose-feath-er bed
F#m
What do I care for blank-ets - oh
A E G
And you're a - What do I care for me on-ly wed-ded Lord
Bm D E
I'm a-way with the Rag-gle Tag-gle Gyp-sy - oh | 𝄎 |
Bm
10. So he rode east She rode west
F#m
He rode high and I rode low
A E G
Well I'd rath-er have a kiss of a yel-low Gyp-sy's lips
Bm D E
Than all of your cash and your mon-ey - oh | 𝄎 |
Bm
11. There were three old gyp-sies came to our hall door
F#m
They came brave and bold-ly - oh
A E G
And there's one sang high and the oth-er sang low
Bm D G E Bm
And the la-dy sang the Raggle Taggle gyp-sy | oh | 𝄎 | | 𝄎 | |
(decrease tempo...)
Level Of Ease: Fairy Easy. There are 1 or 2 barre chords of depending on how you play Bm.
Song Key: Bm - the relative minor of D Major - 2 sharps (F# C#)
4/4 time: This means 4 quarter-note beats per bar.
Tempo: The tempo of the song falls into the presto or fast category of around 170 bpm for every quarter note beat. If you find this off-putting, you can set your click track to 85 bpm so that the click will occur on every second beat or half-note.
Notice the time signature change in the intro to 2/4 time (2 quarter-note beats for the bar). It only occurs for 1 bar/measure and then back to 4/4 time for the rest of the song.
