BEGGARS OF COUDINGHAM FAIR

The first time that I gaed to Coudingham fair,
I there fell in with a jolly beggare;
The beggar's name, O, it was Harry,
And he had a wife, and they ca'd her Mary;
   O Mary and Harry, and Harry and Mary,
   And Janet and John;
   That's the beggars one by one;
   But now I will gie you them pair by pair,
   All the brave beggars of Coudingham fair.

The next time that I gaed to Coudingham fair,
I there fell in with another beggare;
The beggar's name, O, it was Willie,
And he had a wife, and they ca'd her Lillie;
   And Harry and Mary, and Willie and Lillie,
   And Janet and John,
   That's the beggars one by one;
   Now I will gie you them pair by pair,
   All the brave beggars of Coudingham fair.

The next time that I gaed to Coudingham fair,
I fell in with another beggare;
The beggar's name, O, it was Wilkin,
And he had a wife, and they ca'd her Gilkin;
   And Harry and Mary, and Willie and Lillie,
   And Wilkin and Gilkin, and Janet and John;
   That's the beggars all one by one;
   Now I will gie you them pair by pair,
   All the brave beggars of Coudingham fair.
________________________________________________________

Chambers PRS (1847), 197; (1870), 40, from Tait's
Magazine, x.121; Montgomerie SNR (1946), 113 (No. 142).
Cf. Dean-Smith, s.v. Donnybrook: refs. to FSJ 1941, 77-
8; pt. 33, 132-4.

@Scots @beggar
filename[ COUDFAIR
MS

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Tune: None

Traditional Ballad Index:

Widdicombe Fair (II)

DESCRIPTION: Singer goes to a fair at Widdicombe (or Coldingham, Ratcliffe or Monaghan). There he meets with a jolly beggar and his wife. The singer then lists all the pairs of beggars he's met at the fair
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1826 (Tait's Magazine)
KEYWORDS: commerce begging moniker wife husband nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(England(South,West)) Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Kennedy 289, "A-Going to the Fair" (1 text plus assorted fragments in appendices, 1 tune)
DT, COUDFAIR DONNYBRK*
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Tom Pearce (Widdicombe Fair I)" (lyrics)
cf. "Under the Greenwood Tree" (form) and references there
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Widdliecombe Fair
The Beggars of Coldingham Fair
The Beggars of Ratcliffe Fair
Beggars of Coudingham Fair
Monaghan Fair
Widdliecombe Fair
Notes: Variants of this song are used as the chorus for "Tom Pearce (Widdicombe Fair I)." It lacks, however, the plot about the horse, so I've separated them. - PJS
Looking at this, I can't help but think there is a cumulative version somewhere in its ancestry. But I haven't found it. Some of the versions, such as that of the McPeake family, also feel a bit like "Dame Durden." - RBW
File: K289

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