The Jolly Beggar

On Autumn Harvest AH 002
Old Songs & Bothy Ballads - Here's a Health to the Company

Elizabeth Stewart & Tom McKean sing:

This wonderful tale of the adventures of the king dressed in disguise as a beggar has remained widely popular in Scottish tradition. The subject of the ballad as well as its authorship is always attributed by traditional singers to James V, and Elizabeth remembers her aunt Lucy telling the story of the history behind the ballad when she learnt the song as a child. It was first published in Herd’s Ancient and Modern Scots Songs (1776). Whether the ballad dates back to James Vth is often disputed by academics, and the ribald nature of the story line has no doubt often kept the text out of print (Child 279; GD 2:274).

1: There was a jolly beggar and begging he was bound,
And he's taen up his quarters in some other toun.
And we'll gang nae mair a-roving sae late intae the night,
And we'll gang nae mair a-roving let the meen shine e'er sae bright.

Text not transcribed as yet!
No good reason except time!
A great song of course.

c p 2005 Autumn Harvest AH002
www.springthyme.co.uk