The Jolly Beggar, also known as The Gaberlunzieman, 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 '' ...
279. The song's chorus inspired lines in
Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...
's poem "
So, we'll go no more a roving
"So, we'll go no more a roving" is a poem, written by (George Gordon) Lord Byron (1788–1824), and included in a letter to Thomas Moore on 28 February 1817. Moore published the poem in 1830 as part of '' Letters and Journals of Lord ...
".
Synopsis
A beggar comes over the hills one day, and knocks on the door of a local farmer and asks for a roof for the night. Curiously, he will not accept a bed in the barn, but wishes only to sleep by the kitchen fire. Late at night, the farmer's daughter comes down to lock the kitchen door. The beggar and daughter exchange words, and fall in love. They sleep together, and through some unmentioned premise, the daughter accuses the man of being a nobleman come dressed as a beggar to woo her. He convinces her that he is indeed only a beggar, and she kicks him out. However, it turns out he was, in fact, a noble.
Versions
*
Planxty
Planxty were an Irish folk music band formed in January 1972, consisting initially of Christy Moore (vocals, acoustic guitar, bodhrán), Andy Irvine (vocals, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, hurdy-gurdy, harmonica), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki, guitars ...
have recorded a version of this song on their
eponymous 1973 album as "The Jolly Beggar". According to the group, the Jolly Beggar in question was King
James V of Scotland
James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of James IV of Sco ...
.
*
The Corries
The Corries were a Scottish folk group that emerged from the Scottish folk revival of the early 1960s. The group was a trio from their formation until 1966 when founder Bill Smith left the band but Roy Williamson and Ronnie Browne continued ...
recorded a version of this song (a condensed version of Child's second version) on their album ''Bonnet, Belt and Sword.'' However, somewhat confusingly, they recorded it under the title "Gaberlunzie King", and this album includes a completely different song recorded under the title "The Jolly Beggar".
See also
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List of the Child Ballads
The Child Ballads is the colloquial name given to a collection of 305 ballads collected in the 19th century by Francis James Child
Francis James Child (February 1, 1825 – September 11, 1896) was an American scholar, educator, and folklorist, ...
*
The Beggar-Laddie
The Beggar-Laddie is a traditional English ballad existing in several variants. It was collected by Francis James Child as Child ballad 280 (Roud
The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collec ...
References
External links
''The Jolly Beggar''
a variant
Child Ballads
Year of song unknown
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