WE'RE A' DRY WI' DRINKING. Northumbrian. The title appears in Henry Robson's list of popular Northumbrian song and dance tunes ("The Northern Minstrel's Budget"), which he published c. 1800. There is a nursury rhyme dating from at least the early 19th century that goes:
An illustration of the rhyme from Harry's Ladder of Learning (1850)
We're all dry with drinking on't, We're all dry with drinking on't; The piper kiss'd the fiddler's wife, And I can't sleep for thinking on't.
The song [Roud 13581] can be found in Gammer Gurton's Garland (1810, p. 12) and similar collections of songs and nursury rhymes.
