Skewball - W. Stephenson printing

Subject: Skewball - W. Stephenson printing
From: GUEST,Seán
Date: 16 Jan 12 - 11:48 AM

A chairde,

Would anyone who has access to the Stephenson printing of Skew Ball be able to offer a suggestion for two lines in the last verse, please? (My own copy is faded):

"And [??????] they were running by the distance chair,
All the gentlemen called Skewball [??????] fear."

Go raibh maith agaibh.

Seán.

Subject: RE: Skewball - W. Stephenson printing
From: GUEST,999
Date: 16 Jan 12 - 12:36 PM

But as they were running by the distant chair,
The gentlemen cry'd out — Skew Ball never fear,


I'm not sure if that's from the Stephenson printing.

Subject: RE: Skewball - W. Stephenson printing
From: GUEST,999
Date: 16 Jan 12 - 12:42 PM

PS Seán, I saw a few days back that Steve Roud posted to this forum. Might be worth the time to write Joe Offer and see if you can somehow connect with Steve if the lyrics I just posed don't serve your purpose.

Subject: RE: Skewball - W. Stephenson printing
From: GUEST,SteveG
Date: 16 Jan 12 - 04:50 PM

Johnny
I've replied on Tradsong. FWIW 999 seems to be correct looking at the adjacent broadside on the Bodleian site. Stephenson must have been having a Brereton moment.

Subject: RE: Skewball - W. Stephenson printing
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 16 Jan 12 - 05:31 PM

Bodleian copy is here: Skewball - printed W.Stephenson

The text there is actually:

  And whey they were running by the distance chair
  All the gentlemen called Skewball ab??r fear

The first word is probably meant to be when. The second I can't guess. The first two letters seem to be definitely ab, the last r, but possibly t. The middle two look like small rounded letters (a,e,o,u,s). I presume the word was meant to be never as suggested above (and on one of the others at Bodleian), but could possibly be something else.

Mick