The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #10209   Message #69140
Posted By: Jane Bird
08-Apr-99 - 11:28 AM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: The Merry Broomfield
Subject: Broomfield Wager
I'm interested in a ballad called "The Broomfield Wager". I'm familiar with the three versions that can be found in the Digital Traditions Database. However, I recently came across another variant in a 19th century broadside from England (I think), called "The Merry Broomfield".

This one is rather more humourous in tone than some others, and also contains a dialogue between the squire and servant, dog and hawk, where he asks them why they didn't wake him up when his lover is there. (If you want to have a look at this version in full, you can find it at this site.)

Has anyone else come across versions of this ballad or any others that feature such dialogues?

Yours, Jane Bird

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