|
||||||||
Penguin: The Ploughman DigiTrad: THE PLOUGHMAN (4) In Mudcat MIDIs: The Ploughman (from The Penguin Book Of English Folk Songs)
|
Share Thread
|
Subject: RE: Penguin: The Ploughman From: Joe Offer Date: 19 Jan 05 - 05:04 AM Here are the notes from Penguin:
This song started out, as some songs will, with intent to end otherwise. Mr Burstow's first verse was originally:
And sweetheart she could not get one, 'When there's many a dirty sow a sweetheart has got now, And I, a pretty wench, Can't get one, get one, get one, And I, a pretty wench, can't get one.' In it the girl reviews men of various trades, and rejects them all until she finds one whom she will deign to consider. But the present version loses sight of this theme, and from verse two on wards forgets all about the pernicketty girl, settling down to a eulogy of the ploughman's trade, though here and there the words still recall those of "The Condescending Lass." For the sake of coherence we have abandoned Mr Burstow's first verse and given it another title (he called it: "Pretty Wench"). A Wiltshire version of "The Condescending Lass" is given in WUP 122. Here's the entry from the Traditional Ballad Index: Ploughman, TheDESCRIPTION: Singer, a ploughman, praises his fellows, his profession and his recreations.AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST DATE: 1904 KEYWORDS: work drink nonballad farming FOUND IN: Britain(England(South)) REFERENCES (2 citations): Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, p. 84, "The Ploughman" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, PLOUGHM4* Roud #2538 CROSS-REFERENCES: cf. "The Condescending Lass" ALTERNATE TITLES: Pretty Wench Notes: This is a muddled song. As collected in 1904, the singer began with a verse from "The Condescending Lass" (a song in which the lass in question rejects the idea of marrying men of various professions). He veered off immediately, however, into a praiseful description of ploughmen, and the lass is not heard from again. [Vaughan Williams and Lloyd] excised the seemingly-unconnected first verse and assigned the present title (the singer had called it "Pretty Wench"). -PJS To tell this from other songs in praise of farmhands, consider this first stanza: "A ploughman dresses fine, he drinks strong beer ale and wine And the best of tobacco he do smoke; Pretty maids don't think amiss a ploughman for to kiss, For his breath smells as sweet as a rose, a rose, a rose For his breath smells as sweet as a rose." - RBW File: VWL084 Go to the Ballad Search form The Ballad Index Copyright 2004 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle. |
Subject: Penguin: The Ploughman ^^ From: Alan of Australia Date: 01 Jul 00 - 10:31 PM G'day, From the Penguin Book Of English Folk Songs, Ed Pellow's rendition of the tune of The Ploughman can be found here. Sung by Henry Burstow, Horsham, Sussex (R.V.W. 1904
Previous song: Oxford City. Penguin Index provided by Joe Offer
|
Share Thread: |
Subject: | Help |
From: | |
Preview Automatic Linebreaks Make a link ("blue clicky") |