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Get Up and Bar the Door is a
The story begins with the wife busy in her cooking of the pudding and house hold chores as well. As the wind picks up, the husband tells her to close and bar the door. They make an agreement that the next person who speaks must bar the door or close the door, but the door remains open. At midnight two thieves enter the house and eat the puddings that the wife has just made. The husband and wife watch them, but still neither speaks out of stubborn pride. Amazed, one of the thieves proposes to molest the wife and kiss her. Finally, the husband shouts "Will ye kiss my wife before my een, and scald me with pudding-broth?" The wife, having won the argument, gives three skips on the floor and says to her husband: "Goodman, you've spoken the foremost word, Get up and bar the door."
In some versions, the husband is named as Johnie Blunt of Crawford Moor.Child Vol. VIII p. 125 Child notes that the song was used by Prince Hoare to provide one of the principal scenes in his musical entertainment, ''No Song, No Supper'', performed at Drury Lane in 1790.
Among many things, this folk ballad talks about the sense of lasting competition in a relationship. The man and the woman are too stubborn to do something that will benefit both. The ballad observes a possible consequence of being stubborn when carried to ludicrous lengths, since by being stubborn they lost their Martinmas puddings and left their persons and household open to crime.
Lyrics for three versions of "Get Up and Bar the Door"
{{authority control Scottish folk songs Child Ballads Scots-language works Scots-language literature Medieval literature Scottish society Year of song unknown
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
Scots ballad about a battle of wills between a husband and wife. It is Child ballad 275 (Roud
The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud (born 1949), a former librarian in the London ...
115). According to Child, it was first published by David Herd.
Synopsis
The story begins with the wife busy in her cooking of the pudding and house hold chores as well. As the wind picks up, the husband tells her to close and bar the door. They make an agreement that the next person who speaks must bar the door or close the door, but the door remains open. At midnight two thieves enter the house and eat the puddings that the wife has just made. The husband and wife watch them, but still neither speaks out of stubborn pride. Amazed, one of the thieves proposes to molest the wife and kiss her. Finally, the husband shouts "Will ye kiss my wife before my een, and scald me with pudding-broth?" The wife, having won the argument, gives three skips on the floor and says to her husband: "Goodman, you've spoken the foremost word, Get up and bar the door."
In some versions, the husband is named as Johnie Blunt of Crawford Moor.Child Vol. VIII p. 125 Child notes that the song was used by Prince Hoare to provide one of the principal scenes in his musical entertainment, ''No Song, No Supper'', performed at Drury Lane in 1790.
Among many things, this folk ballad talks about the sense of lasting competition in a relationship. The man and the woman are too stubborn to do something that will benefit both. The ballad observes a possible consequence of being stubborn when carried to ludicrous lengths, since by being stubborn they lost their Martinmas puddings and left their persons and household open to crime.
Recordings
* Martin Carthy - ''Shearwater'' (as "John Blunt") * Ewan MacColl sang it on "The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) Volume I" (1956) *Maddy Prior
Madelaine Edith Prior MBE (born 14 August 1947) is an English folk singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span. She was born in Blackpool and moved to St Albans in her teens. Her father, Allan Prior, was co-creator of the police ...
and June Tabor
June Tabor (born 31 December 1947 in Warwick, England) is an English folk singer known for her solo work and her earlier collaborations with Maddy Prior and with Oysterband.
Early life
June Tabor was born and grew up in Warwick, England. As ...
sang a version on "No More to the Dance" as "The Barring o' the Door" (1988)
References
External links
Lyrics for three versions of "Get Up and Bar the Door"
{{authority control Scottish folk songs Child Ballads Scots-language works Scots-language literature Medieval literature Scottish society Year of song unknown