The tow in Hal an Tow is said/sung to the rhyme with cow and not toe. These are the lyrics currently used in Helston
Chorus
Robin Hood and Little John,
They both are gone to fair, O
And we will to the merry green wood
To see what they do there, O
And for to chase, O
To chase the buck and doe.
Chorus
Where are those Spaniards
That make so great a boast, O?
For they shall eat the grey goose feather
And we will eat the roast, O
In every land, O
The land where-e'er we go.
Chorus
St Piran showed his care for us
And all our sons and daughters, O
He brought the book of Christendom
Across the western waters, O
And taught the love of Heaven above
For Cornishmen below.
Chorus
As for that good knight, St George
St George he was a knight, O
Of all the knights in Christendom
St George he is the right, O
In every land, O
The land where-e'er we go.
Chorus
But to a greater than St George
Our Helston has a right, O
St Michael with his wings outspread,
The archangel so bright, O
Who fought the fiend, O
Of all mankind the foe.
Chorus
God bless Aunt Mary Moses
And all her power and might, O
And send us peace in merry England
Both day and night, O.
And send us peace in merry England
Both now and ever more, O.
Chorus
Chorus:
Hal-an-tow, jolly rumble, O.
For we are up as soon as any day, O
And for to fetch the Summer home, The Summer and the May, O
For Summer is a-come, O,
And Winter is a-gone, O.
The verse about St Michael was added in the 1930s by Robert Morton Nance. The St Piran verse was added in 2005. The Aunt Mary Moses verse is only performed at the first location, at St John's Bridge, and the last location, by the Guild Hall.