# D'ye ken John Peel (song)

"D'ye ken John Peel?" – which translates to "Do you know John Peel?" – is a famous Cumberland hunting song written around 1824 by John Woodcock Graves (1795–1886) in celebration of his friend John Peel (1776–1854), an English fox hunter from the Lake District. The melody is said to be a contrafactum of a popular border rant, "Bonnie Annie." A different version, the one that endures today, was musically adapted in 1869 by William Metcalfe (1829–1909), the organist and choirmaster of Carlisle Cathedral. The tune etymology has a long history that has been traced back to 1695 and attributed to adaptations – one in particular, from the 20th century, the 1939 jingle, "Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot."

## History

John Graves, who wrote it in the Cumbrian dialect, tinkered with the words over the years and several versions are known. George Coward, a Carlisle bookseller who wrote under the pseudonym Sidney Gilpin, rewrote the lyrics with Graves' approval, translating them from their original broad Cumberland dialect to Anglian; and in 1866, he published them in the book, Songs and Ballads of Cumberland. Another song written by Graves mentions one of John's brothers, Askew Peel (1789–1854), a horsedealer who also lived in Caldbeck.
"D'ye ken John Peel?" was first sung in 1824 in Gate House in Caldbeck in John Graves’ home to the tune of the Border rant "Bonnie Annie." A different musical version was composed in 1869 by William Metcalfe, a conductor, composer, and lay clerk of Carlisle Cathedral. His arrangement – lauded as more musical than the traditional melody – became popular in London and was widely published. In 1906, the song was published in The National Song Book, but with a tune closer to Bonnie Annie – and that version is the most widely known today. English counties have no official anthem. However, "D'ye ken John Peel?" is commonly regarded as a kind of unofficial anthem of Cumberland and the region.

### Etymology and other uses

British musicologist Ann Gilchrist (1863–1954) and Canadian folklorist Edith Fowke (1913–1996) trace the use of the tune and lyrics in other songs and poems, including:
* "Red House," first published in 1695 by John Playford (1623–1686/7) in The Dancing Master (9th ed.)
    Aka:
** "Where will Our Good Man Lay?"
** "Where/Whar Wad Our Gudman/Bonny Annie Lye/Laye"
** "Where/Whar wad our Guidman Lie"
    "Where Will Our Goodman Laye," published in Oswald's Caledonian Pocket Companion for the Flute (Vol. 2) (c. 1750), published by James Oswald (1710–1769)
** From the 1729 opera, Polly, Act I, Scene VIII, Air 9, the song "Red House," being the same version published in The Dancing Master
* "Address to the Woodlark," by Robert Burns (1759–1796)
* "0! What Can Make My Annie Sigh?" by John Anderson
* The words, "Where wad bonny Anne lye?," in the song, "The Cordial," sung to the tune "Where Should Our Goodman Ly?"
    Published 1 January 1724, in Allan Ramsay's Tea-Table Miscellany: Or A Collection of Choice Songs, Scots and English (11th ed.) (Vol. 1 of 4)
* English-turned-American composer Austen Herbert Croom-Johnson (1909–1964), born in Hereford, imported the tune, "D'ye ken John Peel," and scored it for a 1939 jingle, "Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot" (aka "Nickel, Nickel"). His Chicago-born lyricist partner, Alan Bradley Kent (né Karl Dewitt Byington, Jr.; 1912–1991), wrote the words. Main article: Austen Croom-Johnson
       goodman = husband
       guidman = form of address, typically between people of equal rank who are not on familiar terms (also gudman, gudeman, goodman, and more)
       bonnie = pretty, attractive
       air = aria or song
       ken = to be aware of or to know

## Lyrics

Verse 1 (best known; by Graves)
D'ye ken John Peel with his coat so gay? ‡ D'ye ken John Peel at the break o' day? D'ye ken John Peel when he's far, far a-way. With his hounds and his horn in the morning?
Chorus
For the sound of his horn brought me from my bed, And the cry of his hounds which he oft time led, Peel's "View, Halloo!" could awaken the dead, Or the fox from his lair in the morning.
‡ Some versions, according to The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, show the phrase as " ... with his coat so gray," implying that his coat was likely made of local Herdwick wool, commonly gray. If so, the color of John Peel's coat would be in contrast to that of other huntsmen – traditionally brightly colored, often red or hunting pink.

### Additional verses

Verse 2 (Coward's version)
D'ye ken that bitch whose tongue was death? D'ye ken her sons of peerless faith? D'ye ken that fox, with his last breath Curs’d them all as he died in the morning? For the sound of his horn, etc.
Verse 3
Yes I ken John Peel and Ruby too Ranter and Royal and Bellman as true, * From the drag to the chase, from the chase to the view From a view to the death in the morning For the sound of his horn, etc.
Verse 4
And I've followed John Peel both often and far, O'er the rasper fence and the gate and the bar, From low Denton Holme up to Scratchmere Scar, Where we vie for the brush in the morning For the sound of his horn, etc.
Verse 5
Then here's to John Peel with my heart and soul Come fill – fill to him another strong bowl, And we'll follow John Peel through fair and through foul While we’re waked by his horn in the morning. For the sound of his horn, etc.
* These were the real names of the hounds that Peel, in his old age, said were the very best he ever had or saw. – J.W.G.

### Alternative versions

As is common with songs often sung from memory, this has been recorded with other verses and minor differences in lyrics, such as in the third verse: "From the drag to the chase, from the chase to the view" and "From a view to a death in the morning":
Alternative verse 1
Yes, I ken John Peel and his Ruby, too! Ranter and Ringwood, Bellman so true! From a find to a check, from a check to a view, From a view to a kill in the morning. For the sound of his hor', etc.
Coward's version of the last line was used for Matt Cartmill's book, A View to a Death in the Morning: Hunting and Nature Through History. The alternative version was used as a title to the short story From a View to A Kill, found in the Ian Fleming collection of short stories, For Your Eyes Only. This was in turn shortened to A View to a Kill, when applied to the fourteenth James Bond movie.
This verse was not in Coward's version:
Alternative verse 2
D'ye ken John Peel with his coat so gay? He liv'd at Troutbeck once on a day; Now he has gone far, away; We shall ne'er hear his voice in the morning. For the sound of his horn, etc.

### Parodies

A number of parodies also exist. On BBC radio's I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again, a version parodied the British Radio DJ John Peel
1st parody
D'ye ken John Peel with his voice so grey? He sounds as if he's far far away; He sends you to sleep at the end of the day; 'til you're woken up by Tony Blackburn in the morning.
Another was used in the 1979 film Porridge, which saw Ronnie Barker as Fletch cheekily observe a new prison warden.
2nd parody
D'ye see yon screw with his look so vain? With his brand new key on his brand new chain; With a face like a ferret and a pea for a brain And his hand on his whistle in the morning.
Several lines of the song are also parodied in the course of James Joyce's Finnegans Wake.

## Regimental marches

* "John Peel" was one of the quick marches of the King's Own Royal Border Regiment before it merged in 2004 with the Queen's Lancashire Regiment and the King's Regiment to become the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment.
* "John Peel" was the march of the 1st Cumberland Artillery Volunteers.
* "John Peel" is the authorized Regimental March (dismounted) of The Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment) and The Ontario Regiment (RCAC) of the Canadian Forces.
* "John Peel" is the regimental march of the Queen's Own Yeomanry, an armoured formation reconnaissance regiment of the British Army.

## Wedgwood

Wedgwood's creamware pitcher modelled with hunting scenes in low relief and with a handle modelled as a leaping hound, which was introduced in 1912, carried the pattern name "D'ye Ken John Peel".

## Selected audio and discography

* Robert Radford (1874–1933), bass vocalist
    With orchestra and chorus
    Recorded April 1907
    "D'ye ken John Peel"
    Gramophone Concert Record G.C.-3-2798
    Matrix runout (Side A): Ho 2861ab
* University of Pennsylvania Glee Club, Fall 2018
    "D'ye ken John Peel?"
    (audio via YouTube)
* Peter Dawson (1882–1961), Australian baritone
    With chorus and orchestra
    Recorded 1918
    Side B: "D'ye ken John Peel"
    Zonophone Record – The Twin™ 1841
    British Zonophone Co., Ltd., England
    Matrix runout (Side B label): X-3-42886
    (audio via YouTube)
    OCLC 317415992
* Tune Twisters
    "Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot" (1939)
    (audio via YouTube)
* King's Own Royal Border Regiment
    "John Peel," quick march
    (audio via YouTube)
* Queen's Own Yeomanry
    "D'ye ken John Peel," quick march of the regiment
    (audio via YouTube)
* Band of H.M. Coldstream Guards (28 March 2018)
    "D'ye ken John Peel"
    (audio via YouTube)
* Johnny Fosdick and Orchestra, pseudonym of Harry Sosnik (nl) (né Harry Sosnek; 1906–1996)
    Anita Boyer (née Anita Blanche Boyer; 1915–1985), vocalist
    Both sides recorded December 1941, New York
    Side A: "Swinging the Jingle"
       Austen Croom Johnson (music, American version)
       Alan Kent (words)
       Helmy Kresa (orchestra arrangement)
    Side B: "Get Hep"
       Bissell Palmer (né Bissell Barbour Palmer; 1889–1968) (words)
       Helmy Kresa (orchestra arrangement)
    Nocturne Records (fictitious label of Pepsi-Cola)
    Matrix runout (Side A): 3135 A-1
    Matrix runout (Side B): 3135 B-1
    ("Swinging the Jingle" via YouTube)
    ("Get Hep" via YouTube)
P.M.Adamson Download sites and youtube

## Extant old publications

* "D'ye ken John Peel," hunting song; words by John Woodcock Graves, music by William Metcalfe, London: J.B. Cramer & Co.; Carlisle: W. Metcalfe (1869); series: The Songs and Ballads of Cumberland (alternate link) (No. 1); OCLC 1061746988; British Library 004523817

## Copyrights

Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 3: Musical Compositions
* "D'ye ken John Peel?" descriptive piece by Shipley Douglas (1868–1920) (in Hawkes & Son Military Band Edition, No. 394)
    © 27 June 1913; E316233
    Hawkes & Son, London
    (copyright is claimed on arrangement)
    New Series, Vol. 8, Part 3, p. 792
    OCLC 498315413; British Library 004311656
* "John Peel," variations on an English tune
    Hubert Crook, of Great Britain; pf.
    Cover title: "D'ye ken John Peel"
    © 2 February 1925 (1 copy 13 February 1925); E608716
    A. Hammond & Co., London
    New Series, Vol. 20, No. 1 (1926) p. 76
    OCLC 497756658; British Library 004288220

### Copyrights relating to Pepsi-Cola

Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 3: Musical Compositions
    1939 Pepsi-Cola jingle
* "D'ye ken John Peel"
    "American adaptation" – words and melody by Austen Croom Johnson
    1 copy; 12 January 1938; EU157880
    ABC Music Corporation, New York
    New Series, Vol. 33, No. 1 (1938), p. 10
    Published by Chappell & Co. (4º)
    OCLC 497288096; British Library 004437471
* "Do ye ken, John Peel?"
    Additional lyrics by Eddie DeLange; adaptation and arrangement by Austen Croom Johnson
    NM: adaptation and arrangement with additional lyrics
    1 copy; 24 February 1938; EU161663
    Irving Berlin, Inc., New York
    New Series, Vol. 33, No. 3 (1938), p. 233
       29 July 1965; R365626
       Margaret Mary LeLange (né Margaret Mary Lohden; 1918–1990) (widow)
       Third Series, Vol. 19, Part 5, No. 2, Section 1, January – June 1965 (1967), p. 2154
* "Do ye ken, John Peel?"
    Additional lyrics by Eddie DeLange; adaptation and arrangement by Austen Croom-Johnson
    NM: adaptation and arrangement with additional lyrics
    1 copy; 16 March 1938; EP68157
    Irving Berlin, Inc., New York
    New Series, Vol. 33, No. 5 (1938), p. 485
       29 July 1965; R365625
       Margaret Mary LeLange (widow)
       Third Series, Vol. 19, Part 5, No. 2, Section 1, January – June 1965 (1967), p. 2154
* "Do ye ken John Peel," fox trot
    Additional lyrics by Eddie DeLange; adaptation and arrangement by Austen Croom Johnson; dance arrangement by Joe Lippman (né Joseph P. Lipman; 1915–2007); Orchestra parts
    © 14 April 1938; EP70500
    Irving Berlin, Inc., New York
    New Series, Vol. 33, No. 9 (1938), p. 991
* "Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot"
    ©1939 by Johnson-Siday
    (Austen Croom Johnson & Eric Siday)
    (copyright source not found)
* "Pepsi-Cola Radio Jingle"
    Words and arrangement by Austen Herbert Croom-Johnson & Alan Bradley Kent
    1 copy; 2 January 1940; EP162049
    (original copyright source not found)
       7 April 1967; R407224
       PepsiCo, Inc. (formerly Pepsi-Cola Co.)
       Third Series, Vol. 21, Part 5, No. 1, Section 1, January – June 1967 (1968), p. 881
* "Get Hep"
    Bissell Palmer (né Bissell Barbour Palmer; 1889–1968) (words); Helmy Kresa (music)
    9 October 1941; EP98040
    Pepsi-Cola Company of Long Island City, New York
    New Series, Vol. 36, No. 10 (1941), p. 1688
    New theme
* "Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot"
    Words and adaptation of music of the Pepsi-Cola Co.
    NM: Adaptation and revised words
    ©Pepsi-Cola Co.
    1 March 1965; EU867255

### Copyrights relating to wind ensembles

Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 3: Musical Compositions
* "The King's Own Border Regiment," regimental quick march, "John Peel," for military band
    Arranged by C.V. Wright, London
    Parts
    (Popular Marches for Military Band and Brass Band)
    NM: Arrangement
    Hawkes & Son, London, Ltd.
    9 December 1960; EF0-76517
    Third Series, Vol. 15, Part 5, No. 1, January – June 1961, p. 274
       EF = Music published abroad
       EP = Class E (musical composition), published
       UP = Class E (musical composition), unpublished
       R = Copyright renewal
       NM = New matter

## In popular culture

* D'Ye Ken John Peel? a 1935 film
* Bellman and True, a 1987 film starring Bernard Hill, uses the lyrics to describe the various duties of bankrobbers (i.e., a Bellman, in the vernacular of the London underworld, is a person who "fixes" alarms). A version of the song plays during the closing credits, sung by Lonnie Donegan.
* Death in the Morning has been the title of several books and television episodes, among them:
       "Death in the Morning" an episode from James Burke's television series Connections
       "Death in the Morning", a story by John Monk Saunders
       "Death in the Morning", an episode of television series Tales of the Unexpected
       "Death in the Morning", an episode of television series The Mallorca Files
       "A View to a Death in the Morning: Hunting and Nature Through History", a book by Matt Cartmill