Sam Hall: Lyrics To A "Rough Drinking" English Folk Ballad Turned Music Hall Song Based On The Life Of An Unrepentant Murderer

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Well by name it is Sam Hall, Sam Hall
My name it is Sam Hall, Sam Hall.
Well my name it is Sam Hall
And I hates ya one and all
You're a bunch of muckers all
God damn your eyes
 
Arrgh!
 
They say I killed a man, so they say
Yes, they say I killed a man, so they say
Oh, I killed a man it's said
Then I left him there for dead
Yes, I split his bloody head
God damn his eyes
 
And now dangling on a rope I must go
Yes, dangling on a rope I must go
I'll be swinging to and fro
While you people down below
Yell up: 'Sam, we told you so"
God damn your eyes
 
My name it is Sam Hall, Sam Hall
Yes, my name it is Sam Hall, Sam Hall
My name is Samuel and I'll see you all in hell
And I'll watch you roast as well
God damn your eyes!

 

-"Sam Hall" as vocalised by actor Hugh Bonneville as Merridrew in the Bert Coules-written Sherlock Holmes BBC radio drama "The Remarkable Performance of Mr. Frederick Merridew".

The song evolved from older English folk ballads such as the one based on "Jack Hall", a notorious burglar who was executed in the 1700s. It became a "rough drinking song" popularised in the 19th century by the Music Hall singer W.G. Ross.