“When the King Enjoys His Own Again”

Description

The singer scorns the prognostications of prophets and the like; "all will be well When the King enjoys his own again." He points out the age and quality of the Stuart monarchy. He says he will "never rejoyes" until the king (Charles I) returns to power

Notes

An obviously political piece, evidently written in the early 1640s. (This is proved both by the politics of the piece and by the "forty years" the house of Stuart is said to have reigned.) The oldest broadside copies do not indicate a printer; no doubt they were printed secretly. After the Restoration (1660), of course, the song was openly circulated.

It's hard to say which side in the Civil War was worse. Charles tried to be an absolute monarch, claiming powers no English king had exercised since Edward I (died 1307) -- indeed, he demanded some powers no king had ever had.

Even after the Roundheads had defeated Charles's Cavaliers, he could have salvaged most of his power by simply working with Parliament. But he continued to oppose them at every step of the way. Even when on trial for his life, he refused to recognize the validity of the court.

On the other hand, the members of the Long Parliament were no great bunch either. More or less forced into rebellion, they eventually turned into an unrepresentative group of bigots (by the end of the Parliament, over half those originally elected were retired, dead, imprisoned) who sought to enforce their Puritan opinions almost as aggressively as Charles had pursued his royalist agenda. - RBW

Historical references

• 1603 - James I (James VI of Scotland), the first of the Stuart monarchs, succeeds Elizabeth I as monarch of England
• 1625 - Charles I succeeds James I
• 1628 - Charles I comes in conflict with Parliament. He is forced to grant Civil Rights (the "Petition of Rights") in return for money.
• 1629 - Charles I dissolves Parliament and attempts to rule England directly
• 1640 - Charles I is forced to summon a Parliament (the "Short Parliament") to raise money. When it refuses to grant subsidies, he dissolves it and summons what would become the "Long Parliament"
• 1642 - Charles attempts to arrest five members of parliament. Eventually Parliament goes to war against Charles
• 1645 - Battle of Naseby. Charles decisively defeated.
• 1646 - Charles surrenders to the Scots. They eventually give him to the English, but Charles twists and turns and escapes before the English finally get him firmly in custody.
• 1649 - Trial and execution of Charles I. England formally a commonwealth.
• 1660 - Commonwealth dissolved. Accession of Charles II

Same tune

• Come brave England, be of good cheare/England's Joyful Holiday, Or, St. Georges Day (BBI ZN559)
• The Whigs are small, and of no good race/ .. The Unfortunate Whigs (BBI ZN2905)
• Cheer up your hearts, and be not afraid/The Cavaliers Comfort (BBI ZN481)
• All you that do desire to know/The last Newes from France (BBU ZN126)
• Good people all sing and rejoyce/The Christian Conquest [over Turks at Vienna, 1683] (BBI ZN1040)
• What Booker can Prognosticate/Englands Great Prognosticator (BBI ZN2787)

References

1. Chappell/Wooldridge I, pp. 210-214, "When the King Enjoys His Own Again" (1 text, 1 tune)
2. DT, KINGNJOY*
3. BI, ChWI214