A Beginner's Guide to Singing The Rattlin' Bog
So you've found this site, you've read about why The Rattlin' Bog is the greatest song ever written, you've watched it on YouTube, and now you want to sing it yourself. BRILLIANT. Welcome to the fold. You're about to have the time of your life.
Here's everything you need to know.
Step 1: Learn the Chorus
Before anything else, learn the chorus. This is your anchor. This is home base. No matter how lost you get in the verses, the chorus will bring you back.
Ho ro the rattlin' bog, the bog down in the valley-o Ho ro the rattlin' bog, the bog down in the valley-o
That's it. Two lines. Same words twice. You can learn this in thirty seconds. Sing it now. Out loud. I don't care where you are. Sing it.
Good. You're already 50% of the way there.
Step 2: Learn the Verse Structure
Every verse follows the same pattern:
And in that [PLACE] there was a [THING], a rare [THING], a rattlin' [THING] And the [THING] in the [PLACE] and the [PLACE] in the [PLACE BEFORE THAT]...
The first line introduces the new item. The second line recaps everything that came before, in reverse order. Then you sing the chorus again.
Step 3: Learn the Order
Here's the correct verse order. Memorise this:
- Bog → Tree
- Tree → Limb
- Limb → Branch
- Branch → Twig
- Twig → Nest
- Nest → Egg
- Egg → Bird
- Bird → Feather
- Feather → Flea
The trick to remembering it: you're zooming in. Big to small. Bog (huge) to flea (tiny). Each item is smaller or more specific than the last.
Some people find it helpful to imagine a camera zooming in: wide shot of a bog, then you see a tree, then you zoom into a limb, then a branch, then a twig... you get the idea.
Step 4: Start Slow
This is important. When you're learning, take it SLOW. Don't try to sing at session speed on your first go. The speed comes later. The speed comes naturally. The speed is not something you force — it's something that happens to you, like falling in love or catching a cold.
Sing through the whole song at a comfortable pace. Get the order right. Get the words right. Get the recap right. Then do it again, a little faster. Then again.
Step 5: Don't Worry About Getting It Wrong
Here's a secret that experienced Rattlin' Bog singers know: everybody gets it wrong. Everybody. Even people who've been singing it for thirty years. Even people whose nans sang it perfectly. When you're at verse eight and the recap is twelve items long and the speed is picking up and the room is loud and you're three pints in — you WILL get the order wrong. You will say "feather" when you mean "bird." You will skip the twig entirely. You will panic and just make sounds.
This is not failure. This is the POINT. The joy of The Rattlin' Bog is partly in the chaos of trying and failing and laughing about it and carrying on regardless. Nobody is judging you. Nobody is keeping score. The only rule is: keep singing.
Step 6: The Speed-Up Is the Fun Part
As you get more comfortable, you'll notice something: the song wants to go faster. It's built into the structure. Each verse has more words than the last, so you naturally speed up to fit them all in. By the later verses, you're going at a pace that feels impossible.
Let it happen. Embrace it. The acceleration is where the joy lives. The moment when the words start blurring together and you're just riding the wave of sound — that's the peak of the whole experience.
Step 7: Sing LOUD
The Rattlin' Bog is not a song for quiet singing. It's a song for belting. For shouting. For giving it absolutely everything you've got. Especially the chorus. When you hit "THE BOG DOWN IN THE VALLEY-O" — let rip. Volume is your friend. Self-consciousness is your enemy.
Step 8: Sing With People
The Rattlin' Bog is good solo. It's GREAT with people. If you can get to a trad session, do it. If you can't, teach it to your family, your friends, your nephew. The song is designed for groups. It feeds on communal energy. The more voices, the better.
Quick Reference Card
Print this out and stick it in your pocket for your first session:
| Verse | In the... | There was a... | |-------|-----------|----------------| | 1 | Bog | Tree | | 2 | Tree | Limb | | 3 | Limb | Branch | | 4 | Branch | Twig | | 5 | Twig | Nest | | 6 | Nest | Egg | | 7 | Egg | Bird | | 8 | Bird | Feather | | 9 | Feather | Flea |
You're Ready
That's it. You know the chorus, you know the order, you know the rules (there are no rules except sing loud and don't stop). You are now officially ready to sing The Rattlin' Bog.
Go find some people. Start the chorus. Watch their faces light up. Watch the room come alive. Welcome to the bog.
BogLord2002
P.S. — If this guide helped you sing The Rattlin' Bog for the first time, email me and tell me about it. I want to hear every story. Every single one.