The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #157516   Message #3720106
Posted By: Steve Gardham
30-Jun-15 - 05:33 PM
Thread Name: Origins: George Collins: revisited
Subject: RE: Origins: George Collins: revisited
I have Shenstone's Miscellany. The 5th verse is.

What is it you bear you six tall Men,
Come lay it down & tell
We bear, we bear Giles Collin's corse
Who lov'd Lady Annis so well.

Stanzas 4 & 6 as far as I can tell are unique to this version, possibly written by Shenstone himself or one of his literary acquaintances.

Remove these 2 stanzas and we are left with a pretty standard text in the burlesque style. The important factor here is the date c1760.