[THE following song is sung by the Mayers at Hitchin in the county of Herts. For an account of the manner in which May-day is observed at Hitchin, see Hone’s _Every-Day Book_.] REMEMBER us poor Mayers all! And thus do we begin To lead our lives in righteousness, Or else we die in sin. We have been rambling all the night, And almost all the day; And now returned back again, We have brought you a branch of May. A branch of May we have brought you, And at your door it stands; It is but a sprout, But it’s well budded out By the work of our Lord’s hand. The hedges and trees they are so green, As green as any leek; Our heavenly Father he watered them With his heavenly dew so sweet. The heavenly gates are open wide, Our paths are beaten plain; And if a man be not too far gone, He may return again. The life of man is but a span, It flourishes like a flower; We are here to-day, and gone to-morrow, And we are dead in an hour. The moon shines bright, and the stars give a light, A little before it is day; So God bless you all, both great and small, And send you a joyful May! THE HELSTONE FURRY-DAY SONG. [AT Helstone, in Cornwall, the 8th of May is a day devoted to revelry and gaiety. It is called the Furry-day, supposed to be a corruption of Flora’s day, from the garlands worn and carried in procession during the festival. {167} A writer in the _Gentleman’s __Magazine_ for June, 1790, says, ‘In the morning, very early, some troublesome rogues go round the streets [of Helstone], with drums and other noisy instruments, disturbing their sober neighbours, and singing parts of a song, the whole of which nobody now re-collects, and of which I know no more than that there is mention in it of the ‘grey goose quill,’ and of going ‘to the green wood’ to bring home ‘the Summer and the May, O!’’ During the festival, the gentry, tradespeople, servants, &c., dance through the streets, and thread through certain of the houses to a very old dance tune, given in the appendix to Davies Gilbert’s _Christmas Carols_, and which may also be found in Chappell’s _Popular Music_, and other collections. The _Furry-day Song_ possesses no literary merit whatever; but as a part of an old and really interesting festival, it is worthy of preservation. The dance-tune has been confounded with that of the song, but Mr. Sandys, to whom we are indebted for this communication, observes that ‘the dance-tune is quite different.’]