July 19, 2018 (Thursday)
Today I return to a special movie (guess which it is) and a favorite scene of mine: “The Lonely Goatherd.” Julie Andrews (Maria the governess) and the children all work together to perform a wonderful puppet show. I was glad to see the lyrics printed, because I always wondered what Julie was saying on one line, when she sang, “Soon her Mama..” I heard it all these years as “soon came a mow,” which has no meaning at all. I enjoyed it just the same. This has to be one of the truly great movies. I know it’s one of my favorites.
The Lonely Goatherd
Songwriters: Oscar Hammerstein / Richard Rodgers
High on a hill was a lonely goatherd
Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo
Loud was the voice of the lonely goatherd
Lay ee odl lay ee odl-oo
Folks in a town that was quite remote heard
Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo
Lusty and clear from the goatherd´s throat heard
Lay ee odl lay ee odl-oo
O ho lay dee odl lee o, o ho lay dee odl ay
O ho lay dee odl lee o, lay dee odl lee o lay
A prince on the bridge of a castle moat heard
Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo
Men on a road with a load to tote heard
Lay ee odl lay ee odl-oo
Men in the midst of a table d´hote heard
Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo
Men drinking beer with the foam afloat heard
Lay ee odl lay ee odl-oo
One little girl in a pale pink coat heard
Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo
She yodeled back to the lonely goatherd
Lay ee odl lay ee odl-oo
Soon her Mama with a gleaming gloat heard
Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo
What a duet for a girl and goatherd
Maria and the Children:
Lay ee odl lay ee odl-oo
(Band interlude)
Ummm (ummm)
Odl lay ee (odl lay ee)
Odl lay hee hee (odl lay hee hee)
Odl lay ee’
Yodeling
One little girl in a pale pink coat heard
Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hoo hoo
She yodeled back to the lonely goatherd
Lay ee odl lay ee odl-oo
Soon her Mama with a gleaming gloat heard
Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hmm hmm
What a duet for a girl and goatherd
Lay ee odl lay ee odl-oo
Happy are they lay dee olay dee lee o
Yodeling
Soon the duet will become a trio
Lay ee odl lay ee odl-oo
Odl lay ee, odl lay ee
Odl lay hee hee, odl lay ee
Odl lay odl lay, odl lay odl lee, odl lay odl lee
Odl lay odl lay odl lay
Hoo!
See it and hear it. Click here
If the video is cut short as you watch, try going to the youtube site yourself, and search for “the lonely goatherd”
Songwriters: Oscar Hammerstein / Richard Rodgers
High on a hill was a lonely goatherd
Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo
Loud was the voice of the lonely goatherd
Lay ee odl lay ee odl-oo
Folks in a town that was quite remote heard
Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo
Lusty and clear from the goatherd´s throat heard
Lay ee odl lay ee odl-oo
O ho lay dee odl lee o, o ho lay dee odl ay
O ho lay dee odl lee o, lay dee odl lee o lay
A prince on the bridge of a castle moat heard
Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo
Men on a road with a load to tote heard
Lay ee odl lay ee odl-oo
Men in the midst of a table d´hote heard
Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo
Men drinking beer with the foam afloat heard
Lay ee odl lay ee odl-oo
One little girl in a pale pink coat heard
Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo
She yodeled back to the lonely goatherd
Lay ee odl lay ee odl-oo
Soon her Mama with a gleaming gloat heard
Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo
What a duet for a girl and goatherd
Maria and the Children:
Lay ee odl lay ee odl-oo
(Band interlude)
Ummm (ummm)
Odl lay ee (odl lay ee)
Odl lay hee hee (odl lay hee hee)
Odl lay ee’
Yodeling
One little girl in a pale pink coat heard
Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hoo hoo
She yodeled back to the lonely goatherd
Lay ee odl lay ee odl-oo
Soon her Mama with a gleaming gloat heard
Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hmm hmm
What a duet for a girl and goatherd
Lay ee odl lay ee odl-oo
Happy are they lay dee olay dee lee o
Yodeling
Soon the duet will become a trio
Lay ee odl lay ee odl-oo
Odl lay ee, odl lay ee
Odl lay hee hee, odl lay ee
Odl lay odl lay, odl lay odl lee, odl lay odl lee
Odl lay odl lay odl lay
Hoo!
See it and hear it. Click here
If the video is cut short as you watch, try going to the youtube site yourself, and search for “the lonely goatherd”
A “shepherd” takes care of sheep; a “goatherd” takes care of goats. Jesus said a day is coming when all the people who ever lived will gather for judgment, and at that time He will divide them into two groups: sheep and goats. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’ … Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels’ … ‘And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life’ (Matthew 25:31-34, English Standard Version).
Sheep are, and have always been, dependent on their shepherd and defenseless. Goats, on the other hand, have a reputation for being independent, opinionated and curious at best–or vulgar, dangerous and destructive at worst. Which are you–a sheep or a goat?