Click this icon to hear Old King Cole if it does not automatically play.
The song, Old King Cole was a popular nursery rhyme from the Medieval ages. Like Greensleeves, although it was not specifically related to the American Revolutionary War, the song would have been commonly known.
The story of King "Cole" was based on the real life person of Coel Hen Godebog, who was a local Scots king of the Gwyr-y-Gogledd (i.e. the Men of the North). His realm was one of the thirteen kingdoms that comprised the Scottish Lowlands, and was located just north of Hadrians Wall. King Coel Hen Godebog was born circa 380 AD, and was descended from the archdruid, Bran the Blessed. There was nothing of much importance about Coel's reign; why the nursery rhyme was written about him is anyone's guess.
Old King Cole was a merry old soul, And a merry old soul was he;
And he called for his pipe, And he called for his bowl, And he called for his fiddlers three.
And every fiddler, he had a fine fiddle, And a very fine fiddle had he;
"Tweedle dee, tweedle dee," said the fiddlers; "Oh, there's none so rare as can compare,
With King Cole and his fiddlers three."
Note: The midi file that is linked to this page was sequenced by Mr. Langenfass, whose website is located at: http://members.aol.com/Langenfass/FETC.html
