The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #23706   Message #265694
Posted By: Abby Sale
27-Jul-00 - 10:14 AM
Thread Name: Need Song about Tarts or Vicars
Subject: Lyr Add: THE COUNTRY VICAR
There's vast numbers of songs about bawdy clerics. Child #276, "The Friar in the Well" is classic. A DT search on any related word - friar, vicar, cleric will teem with hits. Here's one from the base I'll bother you with copying over because it's such fine poetry:

THE COUNTRY VICAR.

There once was a country vicar who said to his curate John,
"I bet I've had more women than you" and the curate said
"You're on! You're on!" and the curate said "you're on!"
"Tomorrow outside the church we'll stand and this shall be the sign"
"You ding-a-ding for the women you've had,
and I'll ding-a-dong for mine, for mine
and I'll ding-a-dong for mine".

There were more ding-a-dings than ding-a-dong dongs
'till a pretty young maid walked by
and the curate went ding-dong
"Ah", said the vicar "Don't ding-a-dong there
that's my wife I do declare"
"Well" said the curate "I don't care"
with a ding-a ding-dong ding-dong ding-dong
with a ding-a ding-a ding-a ding-dong.

I think of 'tart' as far more a professional lady than a mere loose woman. If the search is just for loose women then there will be thousands of possible songs.

Of songs that combine the two, a context search might turn up a few - the only one such I sing is "Kafoosalem." If a monk counts in the question.

As to prostitutes, per se, there will be a few of them as well - I especially like MacColl's version of the "Fair Maid of Islington," ie, "The Vintner." A fair wage for a fair night's work, I say!

GUEST,Elise: That's a good song - do it have a tune?