“The Earsdon Sword-Dancer's Song”

Description

"Good people, give ear to my story, I've called in to see you by chance; Five lads I have brought blythe and merry." The company welcomes in the new year. The gentlemen are introduced: The sons of Nelson, Elliot, etc. They prepare for the sword dance

Supplemental text

Earsdon Sword-Dancer's Song, The
  Partial text(s)

          *** A ***


From Stokoe/Reay, Songs and Ballads of Northern England, pp. 154-155.

Good people, give ear to my story,
  I've called in to see you by chance;
Five lads I have brought blythe and merry,
  Intending to give you a dance.
Earsdon is our habitation,
  The place we were all born and bred;
There are not finer lads in the nation,
  And none shall be gallanter led.

Now this is the son of brave Elliott,
  The first youth that enters the ring;
So proudly I rejoice for to tell it,
  He fought for his country and king.
When the Spaniards besieged Gibraltar,
  Bold Elliot defended the place;
Soon caused them their plans for to alter,
  Some fell -- others fell in disgrace.

(Stanzas 1, 3 of 8)

Notes

There are a number of songs of this type, which Roud generally lumps under his #610. But they are at the very least different recensions of the same source.

The first character mentioned in this song, Elliot, is George Augustus Elliot, Lord Heathfield (1717-1790), who was governor of Gibraltar from 1776 until his death; from 1779-1783, he defended The Rock during the so-called "Great Siege."

Adam Duncan (1731-1804) was the British admiral at the Battle of Camperdown (1797). The British fleet was still feeling the after-effects of the Spithead and Nore mutinies (for which see "Poor Parker"), and was desperately trying to hold back the Dutch fleet which hoped to support a French invasion of England.

Dutch commander Johann William de Winter (1750-1812) knew his fleet was weak (of the eleven ships lost by the Dutch, the British declined to take any into their navy), but he did at one point try to break out; the British managed to concentrate against him and win a bloody strategic victory, forcing the remnant of the Dutch fleet back into the Texel harbors.

If you've read this far, you doubtless know who Admiral Horatio Nelson (1758-1805) was, so I won't delay you with his story.

So too for Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), victor at Waterloo and designer of the Lines of Torres Vedras, the defensive positions guarding Portugal from French attack.

The final character mentioned is "the son of the Great Buonaparte" (the original Corsican spelling of Napoleon's surname). Napoleon (1769-1821) had only one legitimate son, the Duke of Reichstadt (1811-1832), though there were illegitimate offspring. Not in England, of course. - RBW

References

1. Stokoe/Reay, pp. 154-155, "The Earsdon Sword-Dancer's Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
2. ST StoR154 (Partial)
3. Roud #610
4. BI, StoR154