Lyr Req: Pity Poor Parker (1797)

Subject: Lyr Req: Pity Poor Parker (1797)
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Sep 03 - 04:22 AM

Bit of a long shot, but does anyone know the words to this ballad, written by the wife of Richard Parker, a Nore mutineer executed in 1797? I believe the first line is 'Ye Gods above, protect us widows?'

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pity Poor Parker (1797)
From: nutty
Date: 10 Sep 03 - 05:33 AM

Death of Parker

Printer:   Angus (Newcastle)
Date:    between 1774 and 1825

There are a number of broadsides in the Bodleian Museun on this subject, mostly titled "Death of Parker" or "Parker's Widow"

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pity Poor Parker (1797)
From: GUEST,MCP
Date: 10 Sep 03 - 06:16 AM

See also the forum threads: Lyr/Chords Req:Poor Parker (words and links to the Bodleian) and Tune Req: The Death of Parker (tune).

Mick

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pity Poor Parker (1797)
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Sep 03 - 06:21 AM

Thankyou both very much! Very very useful. Thanks again.

Subject: Tune Add: DEATH OF PARKER and CEASE YOUR FUNNING
From: GUEST,MCP
Date: 10 Sep 03 - 10:17 AM

As well as the tune given in the thread I quoted above, Roy Palmer gives another tune in his A Ballad History of England from W. Christie's Traditional Ballad Airs of Scotland, Vol 2, 1881, where it appears under the title President Parker. I have no idea if Roy Palmer had any basis for marrying the words to this tune, but they are obviously related.

Below I give the Purslow tune (posted in the other thread too) and the tune from Palmer (in 2 versions - 1st as I've modified it slightly to fit the words and 2nd as it appears in the book). I've also included the tune to Cease Your Funning from the Beggar's Opera (where it appears unnamed - see Bruce's comments in this in the other thread; it is also essentially identical to the version given in Chappell's Popular Music Of The Olden Time, where there is some discussion - and rejection - of a Welsh claim on the tune as a version of The Ash Grove) and a version of Constant Billy - Adderbury version (Copied as is from ABC Library of Morris Tunes).

The relationship of all the tunes will be fairly evident. For comparison I've transposed the Palmer version from F to G, all the tunes now appearing in that key.

Mick

---

X: 1
T:Death Of Parker (1)
M:3/4
L:1/4
S:The Wanton Seed ed Purslow ex W. Rundle, St Merryn, Wadebridge, May 1905
K:G
D|G2 G|B2 B|c2 c|(d B) G|B2 G|E E C|D2 D|G3|
w:Ye Gods a-bove pro-tect the wi_dow and with pi-ty look down on me
G2 G|B2 B|c2 c|d B G|B2 G|E2 C|D2 D|G3|
w:Help me help me out of trou-ble and through this sad ca-la-mi-ty
c2 c|c2 A|B2 c|(d B) G|G G G|c2 c|(A B) c|d2
w:Par-ker was a wild young sail_or for-tune to him did prove_ un-kind
d|d B G|(G A) B|c2 A|F E D|B2 G|E2 C|(D E) F|G3||
w:Al-though he was hang_ed up for mu-ti-ny worse than him was left_ be-hind.
"^Chorus:"c2 c|c2 A|B2 c|(d B) G|G2 G|c2 c|(A B) c|d2
w:Fare-well Par-ker thou bright an_gel once thou wast old Eng_land's pride
d|d B G|(G A) B|c2 A|F E D|B2 G|E2 C|(D E) F|G3|]
w:Al-though he was hang_ed up for mu-ti-ny worse than him was left_ be-hind.


X: 2
T:The Death Of Parker (2)
T:President Parker - tune adjusted for words
M:6/8
L:1/8
S:Palmer:The Ballad History of England ex Christie:Traditional Ballad Airs of Scotland 1881 as PP
K:G % transposed from F
D|G2 G B2 d|c2 c (AF)D|(G>A)G (FE)D|(D>E)F G3|
w:Ye Gods a-bove pro-tect a wi_dow and_ with pi_ty look_ on me
G2 G B2 d|c2 c (AF)D|(G>A)G (FE)D|(D>E)F G3|
w:Help O help me out of trou_ble out_ of sad_ ca-la_mi-ty
G2 B d2 e|c2 c (dB)G|e2 e d2 c|B2 c d3|
w:It was by the death of Par_ker for-tune prov'd to me un-kind
(d2 G) (GAB)|c2 c AFD|(G>A)G (FE)D|(D>E)F G2|]
w:And_ though__ hung for mu-ti-ny worse_ than he_ were left_ be-hind.

X: 3
T:The Death Of Parker(2)
T:President Parker - tune as given
M:6/8
L:1/8
S:Palmer:The Ballad History of England ex Christie:Traditional Ballad Airs of Scotland 1881 as PP
K:G % transposed from F
D|G2 G B2 d|c2 c (AF)D|(G>A)G (FE)D|(D>E)F G2 "<("">)"D|
G2 G B2 d|c2 c (AF)D|(G>A)G (FE)D|(D>E)F G2 "<("">)"D|
G2 B d2 e|c2 c (dB)G|e2 e d2 c|B2 c d2 "<("">)"B|
d2 G (GA)B|c2 c AFD|(G>A)G (FE)D|(D>E)F G2|]

X: 4
T:Cease Your Funning - Air XXXVII Beggar's Opera
M:6/8
L:1/8
S:Beggars Opera - (1923 Reprint of First Editions 1728-1729)
K:G
G2 d B G2|c2 A F D2|B2 G E C2|(AD)F G3|
w:Cease your Funn-ing; Force or Cunn-ing Nev-er shall my heart_ tre-pan.
G2 d B G2|c2 A F D2|B2 G E C2|(AD)F G3|
w:All these Sal-lies are but Mal-ice To sed-uce my con_stant Man
G2 g g d2|G2 e e c2|F2 d dGF| Ed^c d3|
w:Tis most cer-tain By their flirt-ing Wo-men oft_ have En_vy shown
G2 d B G2|c2 A F D2|B2 G E C2|ADF G3|]
w:Pleas'd to ru-in Oth-ers woo-ing; Ne-ver hap-py in_ their own!

% --- Following taken from the site An abc Library of Morris Tunes
%    http://www.ucolick.org/~sla/morris/music/abclib.html
%abc
X:5
T:Constant Billy
M:6/8
C:
S:Kathryn Johnston
N:
A:Adderbury
O:English
R:Jig
%P:A(AB)$^6$
P:A(AB)6
%:
%:
K:G
I:speed 300
P:A
|: D | G2   d          B<GB      | c2   A    F   D2 |\
w: *   Oh, my          Bil-ly, my cons-tant Bil-ly,
w: *   When the         fish-es fly over the moun-tains,
       B>AG             EFG       | DEF       G2    :|
w:    when will I      see_ my    Bil-ly a- gain?
w:    that's when I'll see_ my    Bil-ly a- gain.
P:B
   z | B>cd             e3       | A>Bc      d3    |\
w:    Bil-ly       a- gain!       Bil-ly a- gain!
       B>cd             e2-e      | ABc       d>ef   |
w:    When will I      see my      Bil-ly a- gain? **
       [G2g2] d         B<GB      | c2   A    F   D2 |\
w:    Oh, my          Bil-ly, my cons-tant Bil-ly,
       B>AG             EFG       | DEF       G2    ||
w:    when will I      see_ my    Bil-ly a- gain?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pity Poor Parker (1797)
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 10 Sep 03 - 10:41 AM

The tune from Christie does belong with the song, though it appears that Palmer used a slightly different text in his Ballad History. In The Oxford Book of Sea Songs (reissued as Boxing the Compass) Palmer prints the text as given in Christie's book; this, and the tune, were noted from Jamie Coul, of Port-Gordon, Enzie, Banffshire, somewhere between 1845 and 1851. (Traditional Ballad Airs, 1881, II, 102-3).

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pity Poor Parker (1797)
From: GUEST,MCP
Date: 10 Sep 03 - 12:30 PM

Thanks Malcolm - I never thought to look in the Oxford Book (should have looked at Roud!). He does indeed use two different texts in the two books, though with the same tune. The Ballad History version was a broadside issued by "Oxlade, Printer, Portsea" (adding that Portsea is now called Southsea) and taken from W.H.Logan: A Peddlar's Pack of Ballads and Songs, Edinburgh, 1869.

Mick

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pity Poor Parker (1797)
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 10 Sep 03 - 12:48 PM

The Bodleian has a number of broadsides by Oxlade, including several on naval subjects; though they don't have Oxlade's Parker.

W. Oxlade, Printer, 174, Queen Street, Portsea

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pity Poor Parker (1797)
From: Jon Bartlett
Date: 10 Sep 03 - 10:52 PM

I wrote a (not very good) article about the ballad and its variant forms in Come All Ye: Journal of the Vancouver Folk Song Society Vol VI, No. 1 Jan 1977. I reprinted the Pitts broadside, the Logan set and the Christie set and noted it also turns up in Ashton, Modern Street Ballads, Baring-Gould (Cornwall), Hubbard (FS & B of Utah), Gardiner, Hammond (Dorset), Brown (N Carolina), a broadside from Oxlade of Portsea (1797), Logan, Pedlar's Pack, repr in Firth, Naval Songs. Murray Shoolbraid did a short tune note.

Jon Bartlett

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pity Poor Parker (1797)
From: ooh-aah
Date: 11 Sep 03 - 03:19 AM

On a rather macabre note, if you want to see the death-mask of Parker, the mutiny ringleader, you'll find it hanging on the wall behind the big marble Egyptian sarcophagus in the John Soane Musuem, London. He was a most formidable-looking character with a broken nose.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pity Poor Parker (1797)
From: GUEST,borodino (was GUEST)
Date: 11 Sep 03 - 05:02 AM

Blimey. I'll nip down and have a look at death mask at the weekend. He's an interesting bloke, although not the most talented mutineer in the world. Alienating your support base by threatening to bombard it was perhaps not the most cunning move.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pity Poor Parker (1797)
From: Keith A of Hertford
Date: 11 Sep 03 - 05:17 AM

But did his wife really dig him up?