John Peel (huntsman)

John Peel (1776?-1854) was a British huntsman and is the subject of the 18th century song D'ye ken John Peel? He was a Cumberland farmer, who kept a pack of fox hounds.

Chorus:

For the sound of his horn brought me from my bed,

And the cry of his hounds which he oftime led,

Peel's "View, Halloo!" could awaken the dead,

Or the fox from his lair in the morning.

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.

*some believe lyrics to be "Grey", due to the colour of his coat made from local Herdwick wool

The words are usually attributed to John Woodcock Graves 1795-1886, most popular tune possibly part of W. Metcalfe's version of 1868.

Alternative versions

As is common with songs often sung from memory, this has been recorded with other verses and minor differences in lyrics, most obviously in the lines also rendered: 'From the drag to the chase, From the chase to the view' and 'From a view to a death in the morning', as quoted, for example in the title of Matt Cartmill's book "A View to a Death in the Morning: Hunting and Nature Through History".

It is usually sung with a repeated refrain:

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-times led;

Peel's view halloo' would waken the dead,

Or the fox from his lair in the morning.

Yes, I ken John Peel and Ruby too,

Ranter and Ringwood, Bellman and True;

From a find to a check, from a check to a view,

From a view to a death in the morning.

For the sound of his horn etc.

Then here's to John Peel from my heart and soul,

Let's drink to his health, let's finish the bowl;

We'll follow John Peel through fair and through foul,

If we want a good hunt in the morning.

For the sound of his horn etc.

D'ye ken John Pell 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.

J. W. Graves

Additional verses

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 to the Scratchmere Scar

When we vied for the brush in the morning.

For the sound of his horn etc.

Do ye ken that hound whose voice is death?

Do ye ken her sons of peerless faith

Do ye ken that a fox with his last breath

Cursed them all as he died in the morning?

For the sound of his horn etc.

Regimental march

"John Peel" is the authorized march of The Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment) and The Ontario Regiment (RCAC) of the Canadian Forces.

Trivia

The line "From a view to a kill" was used as the title of a short story by Ian Fleming featuring his famous spy James Bond. It was published in the short story collection For Your Eyes Only in 1960, though the film title A View to a Kill inexplicably dropped the "from".

External links

• An arrangement of the tune