Ih've often wondered what the reference to Jack in the Green in this song was about.

THE OLD SONG (JACK ON THE GREEN)

If you listen to me I will sing of a spree
That happened a year or two back,
Concerning a gal they call Calico Sal
And a fellow named bendy-legged Jack.
Trala, trala, tra-lalala-la
Tra-lalala-lalala-la.
Then came the day, they were decked out so gay,
Jack wore his velveteens
Sal wore a dress that was worn by Black Bess
When she capered with Jack-on-the-Green.

Home they went on punishment bent.
They swore they'd pitch into the grub.
They had plenty of scran in an old brown pan
And a plate of pea soup in a tub.

From Songs sung in Suffolk, Vol 3. Veteran Tapes VT103. (Field recordings 1985-87 by John Howson). Sung by Tom Smith of Thorpe Morieux, Suffolk.

WassaiL! V^^