"The Lincolnshire Poacher" is a traditional English folk song (Roud # 299) associated with the county of Lincolnshire, and dealing with the joys of poaching. It is considered to be the unofficial county anthem of Lincolnshire.
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The earliest printed version appeared in York about 1775.
The Lincolnshire Poacher is the quick march of RAF College Cranwell, the officer training school of the Royal Air Force located in Lincolnshire and was the march of the 10th Regiment of Foot and its successor the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment. The Lincolnshire Poacher is also the regimental song and a march for the 2nd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment "the Poachers"; the song is very important to the battalion and can be heard many times being sung at full volume from barrack blocks, messes and parties wherever a "poacher" is based. It is also the authorised march of The Lincoln and Welland Regiment of the Canadian Forces.
Radio Lincolnshire used the melody from the end of the song's chorus as the signature tune for its news jingle, from its origination in 1980 until early 2006; it still uses a version with a less pronounced melody from the folk song. In 1961, Benjamin Britten arranged the song as number three in Volume Five of British folk songs. Frank Newman instrumented the song for four hands on piano. In 1978, the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band issued the Lincolnshire Poacher as its follow up single to their successful Floral Dance, and it was on the 1978 album The Floral Dance.
The first two bars of the tune were used as an interval signal on the numbers station known as Lincolnshire Poacher.
The melody is used in Harold Baum's "The Glyoxylate Cycle" in The Biochemists' Songbook. mp3
The Lincolnshire Poacher
When I was bound apprentice in famous
Lincolnshire
Full well I served my master for nigh on seven years
Till I took up to poaching as you shall quickly hear
Oh, 'tis my delight on a shiny night in the season of the
year.
As me and my companions was setting out a snare
'Twas then we spied the gamekeeper, for him we didn't
care
For we can wrestle and fight, my boys, and jump from
anywhere
Oh, 'tis my delight on a shiny night in the season of the
year.
As me and my companions was setting four or five
And taking them all up again, we caught a hare alive
We caught a hare alive, my boys, and through the woods did
steer
Oh, 'tis my delight on a shiny night in the season of the
year.
We threw him over my shoulder, boys, and then we trudged
home
We took him to a neighbour's house and sold him for a crown
We sold him for a crown, my boys, but I divven't tell you
where
Oh, 'tis my delight on a shiny night in the season of the
year.
Success to every gentleman that lives in
Lincolnshire
(Alt. Bad luck to every magistrate)
Success to every poacher that wants to sell a hare
Bad luck to every gamekeeper that will not sell his
deer
Oh, 'tis my delight on a shiny night in the season of the
year.
The 'Poacher' character in the opening scene of Terry Gilliam's Jabberwocky whistles the Lincolnshire Poacher theme as he checks traps.
'Poacher the Imp' is the name of the Lincoln City Football Club Mascot.
The Lincolnshire Poacher is also the name of the RNLI Skegness Mersey class lifeboat.
The Chandler's Wife employs the same tune.
There are many public houses in Lincolnshire with the name "The Lincolnshire Poacher" in tribute to the song.
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