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The Beggarman

Date 1962
Track ID 47105
Part 1

Track Information

Original Track ID

SA1962.66.A4

Original Tape ID

SA1962.066

Summary

A fragment of the ballad 'The Beggarman', in which a beggar seeks lodgings at a house, and is admitted to spend the night by the fire. When the master of the house awakens the next morning, he discovers that his daughter and the beggar have run away together. Four years later, the beggar reappears at the door, but this time is refused entry because of the grudge that the father now bears him.

Item Notes

7 verses of 4 lines with a refrain of 1 line; mouth-organ accompaniment at start.

Typically, in the remainder of the song the beggar tells the father that the daughter is returning with her and the beggar's children, and reveals that he is in fact a rich man, and the daughter is now wealthy and happy.

See:
Greig-Duncan vol. 2, pp. 303-318, no. 275
'Scottish Ballads' (E. Lyle, 1994) pp. 250-252
'101 Scottish Songs' (N. Buchan, 1962) pp. 46-47
'Bothy Songs & Ballads' (J. Ord, 1930) pp. 375-377
'Come Gie's a Sang' (S. Douglas, 1995) pp. 8-9, 28-30
'Vagabond Songs & Ballads' vol. 1 (R. Ford, 1899) pp. 241-243
'Ancient & Modern Scottish Songs' vol. 2 (D. Herd, 1869, 1973) pp. 49-51
'The Scots Musical Museum' vol. 3 (J. Johnson & R. Burns, 1853 edition) pp. 234-235, no. 226

Language

Scots

Genre

Song

Collection

SoSS

Classification

R119 GD275 C279A

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Fair