This was posted on the Irtrad list; I thought I'd pass it on:


I wonder if any of you can tell me about the song called "The Parson Boasts
of Mild Ale". The air of it is in O'Neill, and a fine G minor 9/8 tune it
is; described as "air irlandais", it was arranged for violin, 'cello and
piano by Haydn in 1803 (Hob XXX1b/61). But I've not been able to find out
much about the song itself. It is attributed by some to Alexander Boswell
(1775-1822), son of Dr Johnson's biographer. Alexander is also the author
of "Jenny's Bawbee" and "Jenny Dang the Weaver", the tunes of which are also
in the Irish repertoire; but this song is not in the few published
collections of his verse that I've been able to find. Any ideas?