| Author | Topic: Add: Fathom the Bowl | |
| dmcg | Posted - 17 Mar 03 - 01:48 pm | |
Fathom the Bowl Come all you bold heroes attend to my song, I'll sing in the praise of good brandy and rum, Here's a clear crystal fountain over England shall roll, Give to me the punch ladle, I'll fathom the bowl. Chorus: I'll fathom the bowl, I'll fathom the bowl. Give to me the punch ladle, I'll fathom the bowl. From France we get brandy, from Jamaca comes rum, Sweet oranges and lemons from Portugal come, Strong beer and good cider in England is sold, Give to me the punch ladle, I'll fathom the bowl. My wife she's a tyrant, she sits at her ease, She scolds and she grumbles, she does as she please, She may scold, she may grumble till she's black as the coal, Give to me the punch ladle, I'll fathom the bowl. My father he lies in the depths of the sea, Cold rocks for his pillow - what matter to he! Here's a clear crystal fountain over England shall roll, Give to me the punch ladle, I'll fathom the bowl. Source: Purslow, F, (1968), The Wanton Seed, EDFS, London Notes: Frank Purslow's notes were:
Database entry is here. | ||
| Jon Freeman | Posted - 17 Mar 03 - 02:08 pm | |
Thanks for that one Dave. Must be years since I last sung it. I think it's a great one for near the end of a session when everyone has perhaps had one drink to many - nice easy chorus with oppertunity for good harmony. Jon | ||
| masato sakurai | Posted - 17 Mar 03 - 03:41 pm | |
A version is in Alfred Williams, Folk-Songs of the Upper Thames (Duckworth & Co., 1923, p. 88; without tune). FATHOM THE BOWL Edited By masato sakurai - 17/03/2003 15:48:06 | ||
| Abby Sale | Posted - 20 Mar 03 - 05:12 pm | |
Thanks from me, too. High time I learned this one. I find on the web (I think of the Carthy site) the following notes, it seems by Lloyd. The version is all but identical to the 4-verse one above (including the toast reference) but does not scan quite as neatly in a few olaces to the usual tune. Eg, v.3, l.3 is "She may scold and she may grumble till her face is black as coal." The notes: [1966:] This rousing and convivial song may be found in the collection of English songs made by William Alexander Barrett and published in 1891. Barrett noted his budget of songs at harvest homes, sheep shearings, ploughing matches and from itinerant ballad-singers (like the ones interviewed by Mayhew and his team of early sociologists in mid-Victorian times) who still lifted up their cracked voices in the city streets. - Alfred Williams collected in the countryside around the Upper Thames in the early part of this century and found Fathom the Bowl sung all the way from Malmesbury to Oxford. His singers usually followed it with a spoken toast, a pithy and familiar bit of folk wisdom: Here's to the large bee [etc] (A. L. Lloyd, notes 'The Watersons') ======================================= The same site also gives: [1979:] 'Punch' comes from the Hindi word, panch (five), because of its five ingredients, spirit, water, lemon-juice, sugar and spices. The word was first recorded in English in 1669, but I would estimate the song to date from about a century later. I cannot help feeling that it has overtones of smuggling, for customs duties were very high at the time, and ordinary people would seldom have been able to enjoy punch made from spirits acquired through legitimate channels. The mysterious last verse may well refer to a dead smuggler. This is speculation. What is sure, is that the song was popular in country districts long after the passing of the old smugglers. Alfred Williams, for example, found it 'fairly well known from Malmesbury to Oxford' in 1914-16 (Folk Songs of the Upper Thames, 1923, p. 88). (Palmer, Country 198) ========================================================== Cliff Haslem offers the 4-verse version on Folkways' "Seaport 76," ie as if a song sailors would have sung (in port) in the 1776 era. He does not give a source but does note he learned the song from the Watersons. | ||
| Malcolm Douglas |
Posted - 20 Mar 03 - 06:03 pm | |
Roud 880 Found by a number of collectors; not, it seems, outside England. Guesses as to its age notwithstanding, there appears to be no record of it earlier than the first half of the 19th century. A number of broadside editions can be seen at Bodleian Library Broadside Ballads: The punch ladle | ||
| Mr Happy | Posted - 21 Mar 03 - 01:05 pm | |
'She may scold and she may brawl till she's black as the coal--' I've many times heard this line sung as: 'My wife she's the devil, she's as black as the coal' | ||