G'day,
From the Penguin Book Of English Folk Songs, Ed Pellow's rendition of the tune of Jack The Jolly Tar can be found here.

JACK THE JOLLY TAR
Sung by Mrs Hooper, Hambridge, Somerset (C.J.S. 1904)

Oh, I am Jack and a jolly tar, O.
I'm just returned from the sea so far, O.
Oh, I am Jack and a jolly tar,
I'm just returned from the sea so far.
Hey diddley dingo,
Hey diddley ding.

As Jack was walking through London city,
He heard a squire talking to a lady.
And Jack he heard the squire say:
'Tonight with you, love, I mean to stay.

'You must tie a string all around your finger
With the other end hanging out the window,
And I'll slip by and pull the string
And you must come down and let me in.'

'Damn me,' says Jack, 'if I don't venture
For to pull that string hanging out the window.'
So he slipped by and he pulled the string,
And the lady came down and let him in.

The squire came by all in a passion,
Saying: 'Curse the women throughout the nation!
For here I am, no string I've found,
Behold my hopes all gone aground!'

Early in the morning, the sun was gleaming,
The lady woke up and started screaming,
For there's old Jack in his tarry shirt,
And behold his face all streaked with dirt.

'Oh what is this, you tarry sailor?
Have you broken in for to steal my treasure?'
'Oh no,' says Jack, 'I just pulled the string,
And you came down, ma'am, and let me in.'

'Oh,' then says Jack, 'won't you please forgive me?
I'll steal away so no-one shall see me.'
'Oh no,' says she, 'don't stray too far,
For I never will part from my jolly Jack Tar.'
Hey diddley dingo,
Hey diddley ding.

Previous song: I Wish, I Wish.
Next Song: John Barleycorn.

Penguin Index provided by Joe Offer

Cheers,
Alan ^^

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Traditional Ballad Index Entry:

Jack the Jolly Tar (I) (Tarry Sailor) [Laws K40]

DESCRIPTION: Jack overhears a girl tell her lover that she will lower a string from her window to let him find her. Jack comes to her window early and enjoys the girl's charms until morning when she realizes the truth. Having had his romp, he returns gaily to his ship
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1904
KEYWORDS: sailor love trick sex bawdy humorous
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Laws K40, "Jack the Jolly Tar (I)"
Greenleaf/Mansfield 50, "Tarry Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune)
Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, pp. 54-55, "Jack the Jolly Tar" (1 text, 1 tune)
Copper-SoBreeze, pp. 260-261, "The Squire's Lost Lady" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 101-102, "Jack the Jolly Tar" (1 text)
DT 416, DUMIAMA*
Roud #511
RECORDINGS:
George Maynard, "Jack the Jolly Tar-O" (on Maynard1)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Glasgerion" [Child 67] (theme)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Do Me Ama
Dumiama
Notes: In several versions, including [the Penguin text and the Copper text], the story ends: Jack offers to steal away quietly; the lady tells him not to stray too far for "I never will part from my jolly Jack Tar." - PJS
The first instance of this motif in English-language folklore appears to go back to none other than Shakespeare: according to a story in the diary of John Manningham, it came during a performance of Richard III.
A lady in the audience sent a note to Richard Burbage, who played Richard, inviting him to her bed. Shakespeare got wind of it, and he, rather than Burbage, enjoyed her charms. When Burbage arrived, Shakespeare allegedly said, "William the Conqueror was before Richard III."
Hey, I didn't say I believed it. - RBW
File: LK40

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