Happy! - Mar 12 (Boycott / Jesse Fuller)

Subject: Happy! - Mar 12 (Boycott / Jesse Fuller)
From: Abby Sale
Date: 12 Mar 06 - 09:46 AM


Happy Birthday!

Eponym & estate manager in Ireland,

Charles Boycott was born 3/12/1832
(d.6/19/1897)

It seems the starving tennants in Co. Mayo in 1880 illegally refused to pay their full rents. Naturally, Boycott evicted them. With no other justification, Parnell urged the tenants to avoid any communication with those who refused their demand for lower rents, beginning with Boycott, himself.

          When a landlord resorts to eviction
          Don't think that he does it for spite;
          He's acting from deepest conviction,
          And what's right, after all, is what's right.
          But I see that your hearts are all hardened
          And I fear I'm appealing in vain;
          Yet I hope my last plea will be pardoned
          If I beg on my knees once again:
  
                  "Pity The Downtrodden Landlord," E. Clayton; DigTrad filename[ LANDPITY

ALSO:
In Jonesboro, Georgia: "The Lone Cat," Jesse Fuller was born on 3-12-1896 (d.1-29-1976)    [thanx Doug Henkle]

Copyright © 2005, Abby Sale - all rights reserved
What are Happy's all about? See Clicky

Subject: RE: Happy! - Mar 12 (Boycott / Jesse Fuller)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 12 Mar 06 - 11:27 AM

Abby-

If you revive the "Pity the Downtrodden Landlord" thread you will find that the lyrics of the song are generally credited to a B. Woolf and the music to E. Clayton. There are still many unanswered questions about the origin of this great song. Here are the best notes I've been able to dredge up:

From The Battle of the Field: 1
The political context of the hagiography of the second British Folk Revival

The song "Pity The Downtrodden Landlord" [Woolf/Clayton] was written during the war and became something of a staple left-wing satirical song in the late-1940s and early-1950s. At a time of chronic house shortages and before pre-fab and Council House building had yet reached a climax, landlords were often viewed from the left as class-ridden parasites [see the later Stan Kelly Topic EP: Songs for Swinging Landlords To, TOP60]. The biting satire of the song became something of a political rallying flag for those who wished to see the advance of public ownership in property.

Landlady's Daughter (not to be confused with Charley Noble)

Subject: RE: Happy! - Mar 12 (Boycott / Jesse Fuller)
From: Abby Sale
Date: 12 Mar 06 - 02:27 PM

Good info. Thanks, Charlie. (?) Thanks Daughter (?)
Good info in any event.