| Author | Topic: The Maid of Tottenham | |
| Jim Irvine | Posted - 08 Mar 06 - 02:16 pm | |
The Maid of Tottenham As I came down from Tottenham Upon a market day 'Twas there I spied a bonny lass Her clothing was so gay Her journey was to market With buttermilk and whey So we both jogged on together my boys Sing Fal the dal diddle al day "God speed fair maid" I said to her "You are well overtook" At that she cast her head aside And gave to me a look That was as full of lechery As letters in a book And we both jogged on together my boys Sing Fal the dal diddle al day And as we walked along the road Together side by side This pretty maid of Tottenham Her garter came untied For fear that she might lose it "Look out, Sweetheart" I cried "Your garter's coming down my love" Sing Fal the dal diddle al day "Oh now you've been so venturesome So venturesome and free Oh now you've been so venturesome Will you tie it up for me?" "Oh Yes, Oh Yes, If you'll come To the undergrove with me" So we both jogged on together my boys Sing Fal the dal diddle al day I took her to the undergrove Among the grass so green The fair maid spread her legs so wide That I fell in between Such tying of a garter You have but seldom seen And we both jogged on together my boys Sing Fal the dal diddle al day "Oh Now you've had your will of me Pray tell to me your name. Likewise your occupation And where and whence you came" My Name is Johnny the Rover From Dublin Town I came And I live alongside of the Ups and Downs Sing Fal the dal diddle al day So when she came to Tottenham Her butter was not sold By losing of her maidenhead Which made her blood run cold He's gone. He's gone. He's gone. He's not the lad for me For he lives alongside of the Ups and Downs Sing Fal the dal diddle al day Taken from "The Seeds of Love" (1967) Essex Music Limited, London. Compiled and edited by Stephen Sedley in association with the EFDSS Notes; Probably a 16th C song; often printed in 17th C and still current in oral tradition. In "Pills to Purge Melancholy" the tune is given as "Abroad as I was walking", a tune also associated with "The Lowlands of Holland." Text collated from Pills, Merry Drollery (1661), Choyce Drollery (1656) with refrain and last two verses from Sharp's manuscripts where it is called "The Hazelbury Girl". Tune collected by Sharpe from Tom Symes of Bredon Packington "The Ups and Downs". James Reeves suggests the boy was a soldier since this was a nickname of the 69th Regt. A version was sung by Steeleye Span as "The Ups and Downs" on their LP "Parcel of Rogues" LP: Chrysalis CHR1045 (1973) CD: Shanachie 79045 (1987) | ||
| ECV (guest) |
Posted - 20 Sep 07 - 11:46 am | |
The last verses must be a later addition as the original 17 Century versions make no reference to the lad being Irish and the Ups and Downs (the 69th Regiment) did not exist. | ||
| masato sakurai | Posted - 20 Sep 07 - 02:07 pm | |
"Tottingham Frolic" is in D'Urfey's Songs Compleat, Pleasant and Divertive, Set to Musick (a.k.a. Wit and Mirth), vol. 4 (1719, pp. 179-181). | ||
| Malcolm Douglas |
Posted - 21 Sep 07 - 01:03 am | |
Like most of the songs in Sedley, this is an amorphous collation made from all manner of sources; not, as it stands, a song that was ever sung in real life. This 17th century song (there is no evidence that it dates to the 16th) was re-written by the broadside press in the early 19th century, and it is forms of the later redaction that were found by the folk-song collectors of the 20th century. It was still in oral currency in the late 1970s, and may yet persist. For further background, see notes, page 182, Marrow Bones (EFDSS, 2007) That's Cecil Sharp, not Sharpe, by the way. | ||