Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 29 Jun 05 - 07:54 PM

Perhaps a bit late for the period, but another goodie is
"the poor what gets the blame"

Subject: Lyr Add: THE VICAR OF BRAY
From: GUEST,Arkie
Date: 29 Jun 05 - 11:00 AM

This may not be quite old enough, but it has a great tune and could be fun if it did qualify.

The Vicar of Bray

In good King Charles's golden days,
When Loyalty no harm meant;
A Furious High-Church man I was,
And so I gain'd Preferment.
Unto my Flock I daily Preach'd,
Kings are by God appointed,
And Damn'd are those who dare resist,
Or touch the Lord's Anointed.

And this is law, I will maintain
Unto my Dying Day, Sir.
That whatsoever King may reign,
I will be the Vicar of Bray, Sir!

When Royal James possest the crown,
And popery grew in fashion;
The Penal Law I houted down,
And read the Declaration:
The Church of Rome I found would fit
Full well my Constitution,
And I had been a Jesuit,
But for the Revolution.
And this is Law, &c.

When William our Deliverer came,
To heal the Nation's Grievance,
I turn'd the Cat in Pan again,
And swore to him Allegiance:
Old Principles I did revoke,
Set conscience at a distance,
Passive Obedience is a Joke,
A Jest is non-resistance.
And this is Law, &c.

When Royal Ann became our Queen,
Then Church of England's Glory,
Another face of things was seen,
And I became a Tory:
Occasional Conformists base
I Damn'd, and Moderation,
And thought the Church in danger was,
From such Prevarication.
And this is Law, &c.

When George in Pudding time came o'er,
And Moderate Men looked big, Sir,
My Principles I chang'd once more,
And so became a Whig, Sir.
And thus Preferment I procur'd,
From our Faith's great Defender,
And almost every day abjur'd
The Pope, and the Pretender.
And this is Law, &c.

The Illustrious House of Hannover,
And Protestant succession,
To these I lustily will swear,
Whilst they can keep possession:
For in my Faith, and Loyalty,
I never once will faulter,
But George, my lawful king shall be,
Except the Times shou'd alter.
And this is Law, &c.

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: GUEST,Fidjit
Date: 29 Jun 05 - 04:14 AM

Thanks Le Scaramouche, much apreciated

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: coldjam
Date: 28 Jun 05 - 11:55 PM

Naemanson, not embarrassed about my own sexuality, just singing publicly about other's!

I had forgotten about Queen Eleanor's Confession! Thanks! And thanks again to all. I'll keep 'em on file!

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: Le Scaramouche
Date: 21 Jun 05 - 03:38 AM

Fidjit, if you weren't being tongue in cheek, what a myth!

Anyway, here are the lyrics in the DT for the Friar in the Well
and here are Martin Carthy's

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: Fidjit
Date: 21 Jun 05 - 03:09 AM

Try Bernard Cribbin's, folk song. Begins, "'twas on a Monday morning Oh". Ends up with, "And after that the weather started brightening".

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: Mudlark
Date: 21 Jun 05 - 02:46 AM

Queen Elinor's Confession a good bet. Also, for a quartet of women...

Whistle, Daughter, Whistle (only faintly bawdy)
What Have I done with my Jolly Herring (no bawdiness)

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: Fidjit
Date: 21 Jun 05 - 02:10 AM

Nobody really washed in those days. So A dirty Friar was common enough. Could do with the words of that one.

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: Le Scaramouche
Date: 20 Jun 05 - 04:07 AM

The Friar in the Well isn't really dirty. Rather mild compared to the French tales.

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: Le Scaramouche
Date: 19 Jun 05 - 06:59 PM

Hmm, not acceptable under all circumstances.

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: Naemanson
Date: 19 Jun 05 - 06:55 PM

Actually, Coldjam, bawdy songs were acceptable for much of human history. It's only been in recent generations that we humans became embarrassed by our own sexuality.

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: coldjam
Date: 15 Jun 05 - 02:14 PM

Well you guys are amazing! Thanks again! I have gotten some good leads. We can't really do anything outright "bawdy" cause one of the gals is pretty religious and I blush way too easily!(Probably should have mentioned that at the first, but then It really didn't occur to me how many bawdy songs would uh, pop-up. But then we also wouldn't have seen the treasure trove of songs you came up with!)

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: GUEST,Allen
Date: 15 Jun 05 - 03:00 AM

Had a nagging feeling I was forgetting one, and it's the Friar in the Well. Dirty old friar tries to get a girl to sleep with him say not to worry if you go to Hell I can whistle you right out again. Somehow she tricks him into falling over into the well then calls him to whistle himself out. He demands his money back she says you've fouled my water!
Songs and stories of bawdy friars, monks and priests were once very popular, especially in France

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: John P
Date: 06 Jun 05 - 10:12 AM

There's a song by Colin Muset from the 13th century we used to do called "Quant je voi yver retorner" or "When I See Winter Return". It's very useful because, depending on how you introduce it and play it, it can be a serious song or a funny song. The lyrics are about a wandering minstrel who sees winter coming on.

When I see winter return, I must find a place to stay. If only I could find a generous lord who would charge me nothing and would feed me pork, beef, mutton, ducks, pheasants, venison, fat hens, capons, and good cheeses in baskets.

Do it in medieval French and no one understands the lyrics and it's a serious piece of early music. Do it in English and play up the minstrel dreaming about food item after food item, and it can be very funny.

John

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: pavane
Date: 06 Jun 05 - 06:53 AM

How about The Comical Wager
from the Bodleian Library
(Later versions are known as The Cluster of Nuts)

"An account of a Laywers wife who laid a guinea with her husband's clerk that he did not Flourish her over seven times in an hour:
How the Lusty Rogue performed six times effectually, but the seventh time happening to be a dry Bob, she pretended that he had not won the wager (Warger), whereupon the Clerk refur'd it to his Master, and his Master gave it in favour of him"

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: Gypsy
Date: 05 Jun 05 - 10:28 PM

The Blacksmith, Soft at the Bottom, and A Wanton Trick! You can check out lyrics at: The Royal Chessman, they have alot of lyrics that Minstrels of Mayhem sing, among other ren acts.

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: Lanfranc
Date: 05 Jun 05 - 01:55 PM

"Tom making a manteau for a lass of pleasure
he pulled out, he pulled out, he pulled out
his long, his long and lawful measure
Nine inches, nine inches"

or something like that! Seem to recall that the arrangement was by Purcell, which accords it a somewhat spurious respectability.

There was a Benny Hill song about Samuel Pepys diary, that may be in the DT. Definitely "cod" Renaissance, but moderately amusing.

For a short song, how about "Lippes" (from Wait a Minim, or Minim bili, can't remember which)

(Flowery lute-style intro)
"I asked her what her lips were for
While lying by the hedge
She said, 'they are to stop my mouth
From fraying at the edge!'"
(Flowery lute-style outro)

There are worse!

Alan

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: John P
Date: 05 Jun 05 - 11:34 AM

There's a couple of good rounds:

When Cilia Was Learning on the Spinet to Play
Tom Making a Manteau

They both have innocent lyrics until you hear the second part sung against the first part. Then it gets bawdy.

JP

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: mack/misophist
Date: 05 Jun 05 - 10:44 AM

"Adam Catched Eve By the Furbelow"

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: GUEST,Allen
Date: 05 Jun 05 - 06:25 AM

Ren is a very common and accepted abb, but yeah.

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 05 Jun 05 - 06:23 AM

Thank you Allen, do people just make up new abbreviations as it suits them ?

eric

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: GUEST,Allen
Date: 05 Jun 05 - 05:27 AM

Renaissance.

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 05 Jun 05 - 05:01 AM

OK Coldjam WHAT IS A ' REN ? '

eric the confused

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: GUEST,Liz the Squeak
Date: 05 Jun 05 - 04:52 AM

Try the Tudor 'round' "When Celia was learning on the spinnet to play" - I'm pretty sure it's in the DT here, but a really fantastic version of it was done by Steel Bunny (Hazel Absalome plus 2, also known as Capriole) on one of their cassettes.

It's not strictly speaking the period you're after but I've found over the years that most people don't have a clue what is authentic and what is not.... I've done mediaeval banquets where the band played Greensleeves (Tudor), Wild Rover (SO not 12th Century) and dressed as Cavaliers!

Besides, it sounds rude so it will go down a treat!

LTS

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: GUEST,Allen
Date: 04 Jun 05 - 01:26 PM

Barring of the door also appears in the Decameron doesn't it, the story I mean.

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: Susan of DT
Date: 04 Jun 05 - 01:00 PM

From the Child ballads:
   #274 Our Goodman/Five Nights Drunk
   #275 Barring of the Door

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: Emma B
Date: 04 Jun 05 - 12:34 PM

The City Waites "The English Tradition - 400 years of Music and Song" is available on CD ARC Music EUCD 1616
I strongly reccomend "Lumps of Pudding" attributed S Pepys - very "ren"

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 04 Jun 05 - 11:54 AM

here you go

Tobacco, Tobacco, sing sweetely for Tobacco,
Tobacco is like love, O love it
for you see I wil prove it
Love maketh leane the fatte mens tumor, so doth Tobacco,
Love still dries uppe the wanton humor, so doth Tobacco,
love makes men sayle from shore to shore, so doth Tobacco
Tis fond love often makes men poor, so doth Tobacco
Love makes men scorne al Coward feares, so doth Tobacco
Love often sets men by the eares, so doth Tobacco.
Tobacco, Tobacco, sing sweetely for Tobacco,
Tobacco is like Love, O love it,
For you see I have prowde it.

In 1617 Dr. William Vaughn took exception:
Tobacco that outlandish weede
It spends the braine and spoiles the seede
It dulls the spirite, it dims the sight
It robs a woman of her right

Tobias Hume, 1605

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 04 Jun 05 - 10:21 AM

You need to differentiate between genuine historical 'folk songs' and those written 'today' - often called 'filk' and of wide popularity in the SCA and 'Ren Faire' circles - as the link alluded to above seems to be.

Horses for course, but don't assume that the latter are the former.

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 04 Jun 05 - 06:08 AM

derek brimstone used to do one called sir quincy de Bass, which was in that vein

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 04 Jun 05 - 04:23 AM

What is a ' Ren ' ?

eric

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: rich-joy
Date: 04 Jun 05 - 03:02 AM

Checkout The City Waites (UK, c.1960-70s)- probably only available on LP record still - who specialised in Street and Tavern Songs of those earlier times and whose "The Devil and the Farmer's Wife" to the tune of "Lilibulero" (for one example) would be very suitable ...



Cheers! R-J

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: Anglo
Date: 04 Jun 05 - 02:30 AM

Well, there's always "My thing is my own." Check the DT database.

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: Phil Cooper
Date: 03 Jun 05 - 11:19 PM

It's rather blight on the scene, but look up "Chastity Belt." I think if you worked up a version of the ballad "The Devil and the Feathery Wife" that that would go over well in this context.

Subject: RE: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: Peace
Date: 03 Jun 05 - 09:30 PM

Pierre and Marianne--mp3 sound clip here.

Subject: Need a humorous Ren or Medieval song
From: coldjam
Date: 03 Jun 05 - 09:25 PM

For a quartet of women. I already have "With her head tucked underneath her arm" and the Shape of things. Anybody got any ideas?