The Woodcutter’s Song (traditional)

photo: Dave Young, Taranaki NZ

Oaken logs will warm you well,
That are old and dry, sir.

Logs of pine will sweetly smell,
But the sparks will fly, sir.

Birch logs will bum too fast;
Chestnut, scarce at all, sir.

Hawthorn logs are good to last,
Burn them in the fall, sir.

Holly logs will burn like wax,
You may burn them green, sir.

Elm logs, like to smouldering flax,
No flame to be seen, sir.

Beech logs for the winter-time,
And yew logs as well, sir.

Green elder logs it is a crime,
For any man to sell, sir.

Pear logs and apple logs,
They will scent your room, sir.

Cherry logs across the dogs
Smell like flowers of broom, sir.

But ash logs, smooth and grey,
Burn them green or old, sir;

Buy up all that come your way,
Worth their weight in gold, sir.

As sung by Molly Scott in Honor the Earth; lyrics recorded in Mike Scharding, The Books of Songs and Poetry of the RDNA p.377