I was flipping throught the pages of "The Well-Tempered Lyre - Songs & Verse of the Temperence Movement" by George Ewing (1977 Southern Methodist University Press) and came across two verses called "The Temperance Ball" that scanned perfectly into RTB even though no tune was specified. I suspect the lyric is incomplete since Ewing frequently includes only pieces of lyrics that relate to the subject or point he is emphasizing. Closer examination revealed that the two verses are the same as verses 2 & 3 of "The Agrarian Ball" posted above. Both songs came out of the same time period (1840-50's). Which came first? Is "The Temperance Ball" a parody of the RTB parody "The Agrarian Ball" or vice versa. The temperance movement was not averse to using popular tunes even if they were drinking songs and often changed just one word or phrase of another song to "create" a new temperance song. Maybe both swiped the verses from another of the 1840-1844 campaign songs. Ewing cites the as his primary source "The Rose-Bud Songster: Containing a Choice Collection of Patriotic, Comic, Irish, Negro, and Sentimental Songs" published in New York by Richard Marsh and not dated. Ewing says that the contents suggest early 1850's for publication. It had a section of temperance songs along with the categories mentioned in the title. Now if anyone out there has a copy of this lying around, they can add in the complete lyrics to "The Temperance Ball"

Bill D, maybe "Old Dan Tucker" or "Oh Susannah" would be more manageable.

rich r