The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #4614 Message #2148003
Posted By: Joe Offer
13-Sep-07 - 02:30 AM
Thread Name: Origin: The Roast Beef of Old England (Fielding?)
Subject: RE: req:England's Roast Beef/Roast Beef of Old England
I think I'd agree with Jim Dixon that "effeminate" in this case is used as a verb. It's an interesting use of the word.
The lyrics in Jim's post are just about the same as the two versions found in William Chappell's Popular Music of the Olden Time (1859). Chappell says the two-verse Henry Fielding song, published in 1733, was sung to the air of "The Queen's Old Courtier."
Chappell did not have a date for Richard Leveridge's six-verse version, which uses the first verse from Fielding's song, but not the second. Leveridge composed the tune, which was used for a number of later songs.
You can also find the Chappell book at Google Books - pages 636-638.