Subject: Lyr Add: TEDBURN HILL (version of Sam Hall)
From:
GUEST,Bill Galbraith
Date: 10 Sep 02 - 10:49 PM
My group "Nobody's Reel" recorded a version of this named "Tedburn Hill" some years ago. In response to an inquiry from a listener, I put together the info below. It may be more than you want to know, and some of the lyrics referenced don't appear in the version of the song known as "Sam Hall," but hopefully some of it will be of use.
Tedburn Hill
^^
I have candles lily white, hanging high, hanging high
I have candles lily white, hanging high
I have candles lily white, and I stole them all by night
But my life shall pay for all, when I die, when I die
But my life shall pay for all, when I die
They say that in the jail I shall lie, I shall lie
They say that in the jail I shall lie
They say that in the jail I shall drink no more brown ale
But be damned if ever I fail till I die, till I die
But be damned if ever I fail till I die
I have twenty pounds and ten stowed away, stowed away
I have twenty pounds and ten stowed away
I have twenty pounds and ten
That I'll never touch again
But you'll buy me my last round in the end, in the end
But you'll buy me my last round in the end.
I rode up Tedburn Hill, in a cart, in a cart
I rode up Tedburn Hill in a cart
I rode up Tedburn Hill, there I stopped to make my will
Saying the best of friends must part, so must I so must I
Saying the best of friends must part, so must
I climbed up the ladder that's no joke, that's no joke
I climbed up the ladder that's no joke
I climbed up the ladder there the hangman spread the rope
But the devil of a word a word I spoke, coming down, coming down
But the devil of a word a word I spoke, coming down
Tedburn Hill has been recorded a fair number of times, sometimes under the name "Jack Hall", "Sam Hall", "Samuel Small", "Tallow Candles" and "Song of a Doomed Man". There are plenty of variations on the words and melody. The customs mentioned in the song are explained below. "Tedburn" is a corruption of Tyburn or Tiborne Hill, the site of hanging. Here's some info on the name and the customs that grew up around the hangings there: Tiborne Tiborne is the spelling of Tyburn used from 1500-1700. The place of public execution for Middlesex until 1783, situated at the junction of the present Oxford Street, Bayswater Road, and Edgware Road. Hence in allusive use. 1603 H. Crosse Vertues Commw. (1878) 138: "Many idle persons...fall into offence of lawe, and are many times eaten vp by Tiborne." (OED). Tyburn
The name Tyburn came from the brook (or "bourne") which flowed through the area and into the Thames. On its way, the brook passed Hay Hill (hay was pronounced "aye"), and the combination of the two words became Tyburn. The area was first used as a place of execution in 1196, when it became the location for dispatching political prisoners. From 1571 until 1759, a permanent gallows existed at Tyburn, called Tyburn Tree, Tyburn Gallows, or The Deadly Never Green. Prisoners were marched, or carried by cart or on hurdles to Tyburn from the Tower, where the gentry were kept, or from Newgate, where the more common variety of criminals were housed. In earlier days, hanging was just a preliminary part of the execution. The victim would be cut down while still alive and subjected to dismemberment or disemboweling. In the earliest executions, the condemned would have to stand with his head in a noose while a fire was lit under his feet. As time went on, hanging itself was considered sufficient, with the hangman pulling on the feet of his victim to assure a speedy conclusion to the event.
The gallows was made in the shape of a large tripod, with the noose (called the "Tyburn tippet") suspended from the base of the triangle. William Hogarth depicted an execution scene at Tyburn in his series Industry and Idleness, Plate XI, "The Idle Prentice Executed at Tyburn." The motion picture Braveheart gave a graphic portrayal of the steps used in torture and execution at the death of William Wallace at Tyburn in 1305, although the structure of Tyburn is not accurately represented.
Traditions grew around the gallows. Upper class members on the way to Tyburn were offered a glass of sherry along the route at the George and Blue Boar, while criminals proceeding from Newgate received a bowl of ale at St. Giles in the Fields. The sexton of St. Giles would toll the bells of the church for all prisoners. A holiday atmosphere often prevailed around the gallows, complete with seating for spectators, vendors hawking their wares, and notable citizens crowding to watch the execution, or perhaps even riding in the cart with a prisoner known to them. James Boswell was often in attendance and enjoyed a good execution.
The most famous executioner was Jack Ketch, who served from 1663-1686. He was so strongly identified with the position that, after his time, all hangmen were called "Jack Ketch" as a generic term.
Among the famous figures who died at Tyburn was poet Robert Southwell in 1595. Others became famous for oddities occurring at Tyburn. In 1447, for instance, five men were prepared for death, stripped, and marked for dismemberment, when a last minute reprieve arrived. The law stated that the hangman became owner of the clothing of any prisoner, and he refused to relinquish his rights, causing the five freed prisoners to walk back to London quite naked. William Duell, hanged at Tyburn in 1740, was being prepared for use in an anatomy class by a servant, when the servant detected signs of life and called for a surgeon. Duell sat up and spoke to the surgeon, who bled him and sent him back to Newgate.
The permanent gallows was dismantled in 1759 to make way for turnpike gates, and a portable gallows came into use. The last hanging on the site was November 7, 1783, when a forger took his leave at Tyburn. Today, a plaque marks the approximate location of the gallows. The exact position is not known, but Tyburn existed near the present site of the Marble Arch, where Bayswater Road, Oxford Street and Park Lane intersect at the corner of Hyde Park.
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