John Dory is
Child ballad
The Child Ballads are 305 traditional ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, anthologized by Francis James Child during the second half of the 19th century. Their lyrics and Child's studies of them were published as '' ...
number 284. The fish
John Dory may be named for the title person.
The song is a three-part
round. The first printing of the tune and text is 1609 in
Thomas Ravenscroft's ''Deuteromelia'' songbook but there are earlier mentions of the song in books.
It was quite popular, and both parodies and satires were written to the same melody.
Synopsis
John Dory, a ship's captain (perhaps a
pirate
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
, likely French) appeals to the
king of France
France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions.
Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the first ...
for a pardon, promising to bring him captive Englishmen. The first ship John Dory meets is a "good black bark" (ship) with "50 oars on a side" owned by Nicholl, a
Cornish man. After a battle, John Dory is captured.
The king mentioned in the song ("good King John of France") might well be
John II of France (1319–1364) who was known as "John the Good".
See also
*
List of the Child Ballads
References
''Early Child Ballads''
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:John Dory (Song)
Child Ballads
Songs about pirates
Year of song unknown