The Beggar King
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1960.139.A3
Original Tape ID
Summary
In this song, a beggarman seeks lodgings at a house, insisting that he sleep next to the fireplace. When the daughter goes to bar the door at night, she encounters the beggar naked in the kitchen, and is seduced by him. He then blows his horn, whereupon he is joined by a group of noblemen. Taking off his tattered outer garments, he is revealed to be the finest gentleman amongst them.
Item Notes
7 verses and choruses of 4 lines.
See:
'Tocher' 15 (1974) pp. 278-280
'Scottish Studies' 14 (1970) pp. 53-54
'Scottish Studies' 16 (1972) pp. 152-153
Greig-Duncan vol. 2, pp. 296-302, no. 274
'Scotland Sings' (E. MacColl, 1953) pp. 56-57
'Vagabond Songs & Ballads' vol. 1 (R. Ford, 1899) pp. 9-11
'Folksongs of Britain & Ireland' (P. Kennedy, 1975) p. 419
'Scottish Songs Ancient & Modern' (J. Gilchrist, 1865) pp. 4-6
'Ancient & Modern Scottish Songs' vol. 2 (D. Herd, 1869, 1973) pp. 26-28
'The Scots Musical Museum' vol. 3 (J. Johnson & R. Burns, 1853) pp. 274-275, no. 266
'Folk-Song of the North-East' (G. Greig, K. Goldstein & A. Argo, 1963 reprint) art. XXX
'Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads' vol. 4 (B. H. Bronson & F. J. Child, 1959) p. 223
'Jeannie Robertson: Emergent Singer, Transformative Voice' (J. Porter & H. Gower, 1995) pp. 147-149
Recording Location
County - Aberdeenshire
Parish - Old Deer
Village/Place - Fetterangus
Language
Scots
Genre
Collection
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Good