“Twas in the Town of Parsboro”

Description

Drunk in Parsboro ,"the gallant slugger Dunkerson ... challenged Baxter [McLellan] there to fight in Bill Mahoney's barn." Baxter beats him "inside of fifteen seconds." Dunkerson staggers home and cannot get a drink, "badly licked by a sober... man"

Supplemental text

Twas in the Town of Parsboro
  Partial text(s)

          *** A ***

From Helen Creighton, Songs and Ballads from Nova Scotia, #148, pp. 324-325.
"Sung by Dr. Perry Cochran, Wolfville, N.S."

'Twas in the town of Parsboro one dark and stormy night
When the gallant slugger Dunkerson got ready for a fight.
He was full of rotten whiskey and feeling very spry
And he said he'd lick McLellan or he'd know the reason why.

And now my friends come look at him after his drunken rabble,
His eyes all blacked, his nose all skinned, his face looked like the devil,
And now in peace we leave him just as quickly as we can,
For he was so badly licked by a sober and perhaps a wiser man.

(stanzas 1, 8 of 8)

Notes

This song is item dH44 in Laws's Appendix II.

Creighton-NovaScotia: Parsboro is a town in Nova Scotia.

The song refers to "when the Scott Act was in force." The Scott Act, or Canada Temperance Act was passed in 1878 (source: The _Prohibition_ entry for The Canadian Encyclopedia site).- BS

References

1. Creighton-NovaScotia 148, "'Twas in the Town of Parsboro" (1 text, 1 tune)
2. ST CrNS148 (Partial)
3. Roud #1843
4. BI, CrNS148