Jack Hall - was a criminal, who became a notorious highwayman. "Jack Hall" is a traditional British folksong dating from 1707.

Story

John or Jack Hall (d. 1707) was a criminal who, as a young boy, was sold to a

chimney sweep A chimney sweep is a person who clears soot and creosote from chimneys. The chimney uses the pressure difference caused by a hot column of gas to create a draught and draw air over the hot coals or wood enabling continued combustion. Chimneys ...

for a

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. In later life he became a notorious highwayman. In 1707 he was arrested along with Stephen Bunce and Dick Low for a burglary committed at the house of Captain Guyon, near Stepney. All three were convicted and hanged at

Tyburn Tyburn was a manor (estate) in the county of Middlesex, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. The parish, probably therefore also the manor, was bounded by Roman roads to the west (modern Edgware Road) and south (modern Ox ...

on 7 December 1707. A broadsheet of his Gallows Confessional was put to the melody of ''

Captain Kidd William Kidd, also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd ( – 23 May 1701), was a Scottish sea captain who was commissioned as a privateer and had experience as a pirate. He was tried and executed in London in 1701 for murder a ...

'', previously executed for piracy in 1701. Jack Hall's song was made popular in the 1850s with the adaptation Sam Hall by English comic minstrel, C.W. Ross.

Recordings

Steeleye Span Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, and we ...

recorded ''Jack Hall'' on their album ''Tempted and Tried'' (1989). It was also released as B-side of the single ''The Fox'' (1990). The Group Sex Poets also recorded a slightly modified version of the song, which was re-interpreted by front man Sean Patrick McDonald in 2010 and released on their debut EP ''The Jack Hall EP'' (2011). Sam Carter recorded ''Jack Hall'' on his 2012 album No Testament, with

Sam Sweeney Sam Sweeney (born 27 February 1989 in Nottingham) is a multi-instrumental English folk musician. Career Sweeney was introduced to folk music as a child via his parents' record collection and taught himself to play traditional pieces by ear. ...

of the British folk group

Bellowhead Bellowhead is an English contemporary folk band, active from 2004 to 2016, reforming in 2020. The eleven-piece act played traditional dance tunes, folk songs and shanties, with arrangements drawing inspiration from a wide range of musical style ...

on violin. The duo also performed the song live on

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric C ...

's Later program on 17 October 2012.

References

External links

* Jack Hall's entry from DNB from Wikisource
The Proceedings of the Old Bailey London 1674 to 1913
- Archive of case details for Jack Hall {{DEFAULTSORT:Jack Hall (song) English folk songs 18th-century songs Songs about criminals Cultural depictions of British men Cultural depictions of robbers