The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #98727   Message #1961107
Posted By: Wolfgang
08-Feb-07 - 09:28 AM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: Sweeney's Men song 'Johnstone'
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Sweeney's Men song
That song comes with many titles and in many songbooks. In the songbooks I have it is in
The Folksinger's workbook
Palmer's Book of English Country songs
MacColl's book about songs collected from travellers
Purslow's Marrow bones
Kennedy's Folksongs from Britain and Ireland
in a book about songs from Nova Scotia

I know it sung from the Sweeney's men LP (title: Johnston(e)),
Martin Carthy (Second album LP) (title: Two butchers)
Damien Barber, Furrowed field CD (title: Three jolly butchers)

Sweeney's men write in the liner notes "We know very little about this song" and I agree with that. They even give different titles on the LP itself and on the cover. One time they spell Johnston and the other time Johnstone.

MacColl has the following note about this song in his book mentioned above (Palmer has a similar note with a slightly different date):
The song did first appear on a 1678 broadside titled
The three worthy butchers of the North

Wolfgang (who's glad to have seen Declan's transcription before posting a seriously misheard last verse)