“California Bloomer”
Description
Singer describes Miss Ella, an educated female gold-miner who has "taken two degrees" and wears bloomers to show her knees. He'll leave for the States soon. Cho: "Take your time, Miss Ella, do And I will rock the cradle Give the ore all to you"
Long description
Singer describes Miss Ella, an educated female gold-miner who has "taken two degrees" and wears bloomers so that she can show her knees. He describes her crossing the plains and washing her feet in a brook; she has also done some successful panning for gold dust. He says he'll leave for the States as soon as he can. Cho: ."..Take your time, Miss Ella, do/And I will rock the cradle/Give the ore all to you"
Notes
In the late 1840s Amelia J. Bloomer designed the loose trousers, gathered at the knees, that immediately were called "bloomers." They were widely popular among young women, whom it freed up to be far more physically active than they could be in the long dresses of the time. Men viewed them with alarm and derision, calling the women who wore them "bloomer girls," not a complimentary term. - PJS
Historical references
- 1849 - California gold rush begins
Cross references
- cf. "Lucy Long (I)" (rune)
- cf. "Lucy Long (II)" (tune)
Recordings
- Logan English, "California Bloomer" (on LEnglish02)