“Tom he was a piper's son,
He learn'd to play when he was young,
But all the tunes that he could play,
Was "Over the hills and far away;”
There once was a boy name Tom who had a dad that was a piper.
His dad wasn’t just an ordinary piper, he was grand.
The music he made was so great that people traveled from across the land.
Every note he played came out seamlessly.
He could play any song on his pipe by ear.
His son was destined for great things by playing the pipe.
People from all across the land were eager to hear Tom play when he was of age.
Unfortunately for them, Tom was more interested in becoming a mage.
Out of respect for his father he told him that he would learn one song.
The song of father’s choice was “Over the hills and far away.”
Tom hated playing the pipe with a passion.
To him the instrument was of truly little satisfaction.
Yet, he had promised his father that he would learn the song.
He didn’t just learn it, he memorized it.
The song flew beautifully from his pipe every time he played it.
His father pleaded with him to realize his true skill.
Tom could play the song without any will.
Still he refused to learn any other song.
He had no interest in learning any other songs besides the one he promised his father.
Soon Tom realized there was something missing in being a mage.
He found out very abruptly that it came with no wage.
Tom could do something that would pay the bills.
He decided to take a page out of his father’s book and make money from music.
Tom was a stubborn man still.
He would only play “Over the hills and far away”
One day he saw a lady pretty enough to cause him a distraction.
She soon become the object of his attraction.
He quickly tried to swoon her by playing her a song.
But he wouldn’t change the tune that he played all along.
“He met old Dame Trot with a basket of eggs;
He used his pipe, and she used her legs;
She danced about till the eggs were all broke;
She began for to fret, but he laughed at the joke.”
Authors note. This story is based on the nursery rhyme "Tom, Tom, The Piper's Son."
In the rhyme Tom is born to a father who is a piper. He can play the pipe exceptionally well with one caveat, he only knows one song on the piper. He travels across the land playing his pipe and having people follow him around as he does so. His skill on the pipe was so great that he could even please the ear's of animals when he played. You can find this rhyme in "The Nursery Rhyme Book" edited by Andrew Lang (1897.)
I always find it humorous that he only knew one song on the pipe when he is known as a piper's son. I always imagined being one of those scenarios where his father forced him to play even though there were other things that interested him. I decided to go in that route to explain why he can only play "Over the hills and far away."
