“The Cavalilly Man”
Description
"As from Newcastle I did pass, I heard a blythe and bonny lass That in the Scottish army was, Say, 'Prithee let me gang with thee, man.'" She begs her Cavalier to let her come with him
Notes
The text in Chappell/Woolridge is incomplete, so it is impossible to tell if this is actually a cross-dressing song along the lines of "The Banks of the Nile." The plot, however, is obviously similar.
The reference to a "Cavalilly" (i.e. a Cavalier) is clearly a reference to the Cavaliers, supporters of Charles I in the English Civil War of the 1640s.
This is another song which cannot be shown to exist in tradition. Its use for several broadsides, however, argues for its presence here. - RBW
Same tune
- Hi-ho, my heart it is light/The Well-shaped West-Country Lass (BBI ZN1153)
- Hie hoe, pray what shall I do/Roger, the West Country Lad (BBI ZN1154)
- From the tap in the guts of the honourable stump/A Litany from Geneva (BBI ZN936)
Cross references
- cf. "The Banks of the Nile (Men's Clothing I'll Put On II)" [Laws N9] (plot) and references there
References
- Chappell/Wooldridge II, pp. 22-27, "Cavalilly Man" (1 tune, partial text)
- BI, ChWII026