, also known as after the first line, is a
Welsh folk song.
Both the tune and the words are traditional, and have developed over the centuries.
Variations and use as a vocal exercise
Most versions of the song are
accelerando
''Accelerando'' is a 2005 science fiction novel consisting of a series of interconnected short stories written by British author Charles Stross. As well as normal hardback and paperback editions, it was released as a free e-book under the CC ...
, with the song beginning slowly and increasing in speed for each new verse. The first four lines are repeated before each new
goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...
is counted, and additional
chorus
Chorus may refer to:
Music
* Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse
* Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound
* Chorus form, song in whic ...
es may be included by simply changing the colour in each new verse. A particularly difficult "
tongue twister
A tongue twister is a phrase that is designed to be difficult to articulate properly, and can be used as a type of spoken (or sung) word game. Additionally, they can be used as exercises to improve pronunciation and fluency. Some tongue twisters p ...
" can be performed by singing each verse twice, doubling the speed the second time through. A pink goat is usually saved for the final verse, as the repeated
Voiceless velar plosive
The voiceless velar plosive or stop is a type of consonantal sound used in almost all spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is k.
The sound is a ver ...
at the end of "pinc" is the most difficult to sing at any speed.
For these reasons, the song is often used as a demonstration of the singers skill and is used as both a
vocal warm up
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound production i ...
and a performative
showstopper. The song is a popular test-piece in
Welsh choral competitions, and has been recorded by many singers and choirs.
Lyrics
Although up to sixteen versions of the song have been identified, mainly regional, this version is the most common.
References
External links
Youtube version accompanied by a harp
Welsh folk songs
Year of song unknown
Songs with unknown songwriters
{{Folk-song-stub