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Origins: 'The Country Vicar' can be dated to 1888 |
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Subject: Origins: 'The Country Vicar' can be dated to 1888 From: John M. Date: 23 Jun 05 - 12:55 PM Hello everyone, Below is a traditional bawdy song sometimes titled "The Country Vicar" or "Ring the Bell Verger".
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Subject: RE: Origins: 'The Country Vicar' can be dated to 1888 From: John M. Date: 23 Jun 05 - 01:18 PM Here is another version of the song from the early 1980s...
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Subject: RE: Origins: 'The Country Vicar' can be dated to 1888 From: John M. Date: 30 Aug 06 - 11:37 AM refresh |
Subject: RE: Origins: 'The Country Vicar' can be dated to 1 From: GUEST Date: 30 Aug 06 - 08:56 PM John: To answer your questions directly, yes we sing this song and would be willing to sing it over the phone. We do it in two part harmony without accompaniment. We learned it at least 30 years ago from a book entitled "62 Outrageous Songs" compiled by Jerry Silverman and published by Oak Publications in 1966. In this book it is called "The Balham Vicar" and there is no attribution except the words "as sung by John Pearse". The words we use are quite close to those in the digital tradition database where it is called "The Country Vicar" THE BALHAM VICAR There once was a Balham vicar who said to his curate John, "I bet I've had more women than you" and the curate said "You're wrong! You're wrong!" and the curate said "you're wrong!" "Well, we will stand outside the church this day and this will be our sign" "You ding-a-ding for the women you've had, and I'll ding-a-dong for mine, for mine and I'll ding-a-dong for mine". There were more ding-a-dings than ding-a-ding dongs 'till a pretty young bird come by and the curate went ding-dong "Oh", said the vicar "Don't ding-a-dong there that's my wife I do declare" "Hell" said the curate "I don't care" (spoken) ding-a ding-dong ding-dong ding-dong ding-a ding-a ding-a ding-dong. Bev and Jerry |
Subject: RE: Origins: 'The Country Vicar' can be dated to 1888 From: GUEST,Joe_F Date: 30 Aug 06 - 09:21 PM See thread 7742. It seems odd that the title "Ring the Bell, Verger" has gotten attached to a song that has no verger in it. Here is a song more deserving of that name: RING THE BELL, VERGER As sung at St Andrews University, 1958 D s l t D CHO.: Ring the bell, verger, ring the bell, ring. D R M D l R t Perhaps the congregation will condescend to sing. t R F M D t R D Perhaps the village organist, sitting on his stool, D s l t D Will play upon the organ instead of on his tool. Up in the belfry the verger stands, Jerking his gherkin with his fucking big hands. Voice from the pulpit shouts "Bloody hell! Stop jerking gherkin -- start jerking bell!" Time for collection soon came round. No one told me what was found. This is the rumour that I heard: Four French francs and a fucking big turd. Down the aisle the choir passes, Vicar's eye upon their arses. They have got a lot to lose: Which one will the vicar choose? Ocean liner ten days late, Stoker stoking stoker's mate. Captain's voice comes down the wire: "Stop stoking stoker -- stoke fucking fire!" There in the garage the chauffeur lies, Vicar's wife between his thighs. Master's voice comes from afar: "Stop fucking woman -- start fucking car!" Down in the kitchen, in a nook, Cook and chef lie, having fuck. Vicar's wife from the dining-room squeals: "Stop fucking cooks -- cook fucking meals!" I have given the tune in sol-fa above the chorus, with the lower octave in lowercase. The tune to the stanzas is the same. In "Strike the Bell, Second Mate" -- from which the chorus & first stanza of this song probably derive -- the chorus is slightly differentiated, which is a point in its favor. On the other hand, the tune to "Ring the Bell, Verger" has more harmonic interest, esp. in the invitation to use a relative-minor chord at the end of the 3rd line; perhaps, indeed, it is actually a hymn tune. In the dialect used, "fuck" does rhyme with "nook". In the last three stanzas, the last line was shouted rhythmically rather than sung. The wit in this song wears rather thin by the end, unless one appreciates it in the proper context: "...I attended last Tuesday a student-union 'gaudie' (= a sing, from 'Gaudeamus') that degenerated into a fine raunchfest. They know most of our songs & a few more, and have better tunes, & a fine collection of limericks; tho I was able to supply them with a few imports, and -- incredibly -- 'The Bastard King of England' is unknown here. The room was packed; there was much beer; someone put his fist thru a window to let in the night air; and when the whole thing broke up we all paraded down to the pier, singing 'The Wheel' (= 'The Fucking Machine') to the tune of the Doxology while little old ladies peered out of lighted windows...." (From a letter home, October 1958) --- Joe Fineman joe_f@verizon.net ||: ***k: The most important kind of marital intercourse. :|| |
Subject: RE: Origins: 'The Country Vicar' can be dated to 1 From: Billy Weeks Date: 31 Aug 06 - 05:52 AM The two versions I know start: Ring the bell verger, ring the bell, ring Perhaps the congregation will condescend to sing. Up in the belfry the bellringer stands Jerkin'his gherkin with both ferkin' hands. - this to a tune not unlike Guest Joe F's. Another version was sung to the triple time tune of 'Up in a Garret, away from the din, someone is playing an old violin': Up in the belfry the bellringer stands Jerkin his gherkin with both ferkin hands; Down in the pulpit the vicar he yealls: 'Stop jerkin yer gherkin and jerk ferkin bells'. |
Subject: RE: Origins: 'The Country Vicar' can be dated to 1888 From: GUEST,padgett Date: 31 Aug 06 - 08:24 AM Has some similarities with The Muffin Man sung by Arthur Howard West Yorks made up of similar connected verses with ding dong ping pong chorus. Arthurs fragments probably derived from fuller version above Ray |
Subject: RE: Origins: 'The Country Vicar' can be dated to 1888 From: GUEST Date: 08 Dec 11 - 06:41 AM This version know was sung by NEWTS - Leeds University Swimming & Water Polo in the late 1950's and early 60s It is similar to the balham vicar but the last few lines have a different story to tell oh the vicar and the verger of the village chuch, the vicar said fun "I bet had more girls than you" and the verger said "right done" we'll stand outside the village church and this shall this shall be our sign you ring ding dong for the girls you've done and I'll bing bong for mine ring a ding a dong bing bong ding dong there were moe ding dongs than there were bing bongs until a fine young made came by and the curate rang bing bong oh there is no ding dong there, that is my wife i do declare I don't give a bugger cos I've been there ! ring a ding a dong bing bong |
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