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Hornpipe Origins: Devil to the Cellar in London (9) Origins: Devil to the Cellar in London 03 Nov 20


I am wondering if anyone knows a (presumably traditional) song from Derbyshire with the chorus:

Over thick and over thin (now)
Devil to the cellar in London

It tells the story of a dishonest Scotsman traveling to London who claims to have been bewitched by a Derbyshire landlady to avoid paying rent, and ends up with the the Scotsman getting away and the unfortunate landlady and her sister being convicted of witchcraft and and hanged.

I heard it sung in a folk club, possibly in Edinburgh, by a (then) young English husband-and-wife duo whose names I never knew. I always wanted to identify the song but heard it again or came across any variant of it.

It would be amazing if someone were to recognize either the song or the couple who performed it from this minimal description. (I wish I could provide more information but it has been over forty years!) Thanks in advance for any attempts!


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