Bawdy ballads of saints, sinners, cutpurses and sundry other folk

October 4, 2003 9:03 AM

The Saint Turned Sinner, or the Dissenting Parson's Text Under the Quaker's Petticoats - the bawdy tale of "A Gospel Cushion thumper, who dearly loved a Bumper," from Blackletter Ballads, a small but fine collection of ballads with themes ranging from cutpurses to kings, all gleaned from 17th century broadsheets.
posted by madamjujujive (4 comments total)

For more tales of ribaldry see Honore de Balzac Droll Stories (volume 2 volume 3 and volume 1 in mp3).
posted by wobh at 10:04 AM on October 4, 2003

In no particular order:

Here's a handy mirror of the Digital Tradition searchable and browsable collection of folksong lyrics and scores. Also: Ballads & Broadsides. See also (but MIDI WARNING) Folk Music of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and America, including Francis J. Child Ballads. Further 16th c. Ballads Project, and a collection of broadsides from Oxford's Bodleian Library.

For a hard-core example of a living story-singing tradition, see and hear Bosnian singer Avdo Mededovic compose heroic poetry in performance (1935).
posted by Zurishaddai at 10:34 AM on October 4, 2003

But tho' he feigned reeling, they made him pay for feeling, 
And Lugg'd him to a Prison, to bring him to his Reason, 
Which he had lost before, which he had lost before.

Rolicking fun, juju - thanks!
posted by MiguelCardoso at 5:16 PM on October 4, 2003

The text of this ballad appears in the collection Rump Songs published in 1662.

Now you know why they call him "Sir" Mix-a-lot.

Thanks, MJJJ!
posted by soyjoy at 11:52 AM on October 6, 2003