The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #93305   Message #1793990
Posted By: BB
26-Jul-06 - 05:52 PM
Thread Name: ADD: The Wanderer's Warning
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Wanderers Warning
Quite a story as to where our words came from: An old boy, Freddie Stadden, in our village, Combe Martin in N. Devon, England used to sing it when we could persuade him to do so. When he died a couple of years ago, his daughter asked Tom Brown, my husband, to sing it at the funeral. Tom's reaction was that he didn't know the words well enough to sing them. We then did a bit of research and found out about the Wiggy Smith recording which we obtained very rapidly, thanks to Rod Stradling. That gave Tom enough to remind him of Freddie's words and tune, and he was able to give a reasonable account of himself at the funeral - I don't think he's ever been so nervous! I'm pretty sure (without looking it up) that Wiggy Smith's version was said to come from the singing of Jimmie Rogers.