“The Banks of the Don”
Description
Singer pays sarcastic tribute to the "boarding-house" by the Don: rent and taxes are paid, food is free. Inmates must turn out and work in the stoneyard; knives and forks are counted after meals. To obtain residence, listeners can get publicly drunk
Notes
Abbott reported learning the song as a teenager in 1890 from an Irish farmer in the Ottawa valley. - PJS
Historical references
- 1860s - Don Jail built
Cross references
- cf. "The Mountjoy Hotel" (subject)
- cf. "Johnson's Hotel" (subject, lyrics)
- cf. "Erin Go Bragh" (tune)
Recordings
- Recordings: O. J. Abbott, "The Banks of the Don" (on Ontario1)
References
- Roud #3846
- BI, RcTBOTDo