“We Shepherds Are the Best of Men”
Description
"We shepherds are the best of men that e'er trod English ground." We spend freely at the ale-house. We pen our sheep safely in spite of hale, rain and snow; then "unto a jovial company good liquor for to taste"
Notes
Yates, Musical Traditions site _Voice of the People suite_ "Notes - Volume 20" - 15.1.04: "Fred learnt this from the song-collector Fred Hamer, who had it from Lucy Broadwood's _English County Songs_ [1893]." Broadwood said it was taken in 1793 in Gloucestershire (source: "The Shepherds' Song" in _Song Database_ at the Folkinfo site).
Cross references
- cf. "Ye Gentlemen of England (I)" [Laws K2] (stucture and theme:virtue and courage of an occupational group)
Recordings
- Fred Jordan, "We Shepherds Are the Best of Men" (on Voice20)
References
- Roud #284
- BI, RcWSATBM