Penguin: On Monday Morning

Subject: Penguin: On Monday Morning (tune only)^^
From: Alan of Australia
Date: 19 Mar 00 - 03:28 AM

G'day,
From the Penguin Book Of English Folk Songs, Ed Pellow's rendition of the tune of On Monday Morning can be found here.

Previous song: The Old Man From Lee.
Next song: One Night As I Lay On My Bed.

Cheers,
Alan ^^

Subject: RE: Penguin: On Monday Morning
From: Joe Offer
Date: 13 Jan 05 - 03:05 AM

Here are the notes from Penguin:

On Monday Morning (FSJ III 315)
Baring Gould, who describes this as a song 'relished by married men', found an early set in a collection of stall balladry, West Country Garlands, date about 1760. He obtained a version from the singing of Robert Hard of South Brent, Devon, which he called "A Week's Work Well Done" BGSW (238—9). Our version is sung to a variant of the well-known Turpin Hero tune. Frank Kidson had information that the song was sung by Grimaldi the clown, about
1820.

Subject: RE: Penguin: On Monday Morning
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 13 Jan 05 - 01:19 PM

From comments by Malcolm Douglas in his revision:
Other titles- A Week's Work Well Done, The Holly Twig, The Batchelor, and in the Bodleian, Week's Work Completed. Variations in Bodleian: Woeful marriage, Weeks Matrimony, I Was Married a Week

Subject: RE: Penguin: On Monday Morning
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 18 Jan 05 - 04:07 PM

Notes in Traditional Ballad Index under "Holly Twig":

Holly Twig, The [Laws Q6]

DESCRIPTION: The singer finds that his new wife is a scold and a nag. He recounts his misery day by day. After a few days he goes to the woods and cuts a (holly twig), (whipping her so hard her soul is sent to hell). (A devil/her father comes to take her back).
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1760
LONG DESCRIPTION: On Monday the singer marries; on Tuesday he cuts a holly stick; on Wednesday he beats her with the stick until it breaks. On Thursday she takes sick (presumably from the beating); he says if she isn't better by tomorrow the devil can take her. On Friday the devil takes her. On Saturday the bells toll her death and the singer is jolly. On Sunday he relaxes alone, saying "Here's good luck to a week's work's end."
KEYWORDS: husband wife abuse violence death
FOUND IN: Britain(England(West,South)) US(Ap,MW,SE,So)
REFERENCES (9 citations):
Laws Q6, "The Holly Twig"
Randolph 367, "I Married Me a Wife" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownII 184, "The Holly Twig" (2 texts)
Chappell-FSRA 43, "The Holly Twig" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Hudson 58, pp. 174-175, "The Holly Twig" (1 text)
Niles 59, "The Unwilling Bride" (1 text, 1 tune, listed as Child 277 but appearing to me to be more similar to this ballad)
Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, pp. 78-79, "On Monday Morning" (1 text, 1 tune)
Abrahams/Foss, pp. 72-73, "Scolding Wife" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 520, HOLLYTWG*
Roud #433
RECORDINGS:
Ollie Gilbert, "Willow Green" (on LomaxCD1707)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Wife Wrapt in Wether's Skin" [Child 277] (plot)
cf. "The Old Gray Goose (I)"
cf. "I Had a Wife"
ALTERNATE TITLES:
A Week's Work Well Done
A Bachelor Bold and Young
File: LQ06

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Thread 28009 has variants or comparable songs including "I Married Me a Wife," "Cold Rain and Snow," "When I Was a Roustabout," Week's Work Completed" and others.