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Title
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Arthur O'Bradley o
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Singer
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Poole, Walter James
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Notes
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Note 1
Williams, Alfred: Ms: WGS: A few weeks ago we printed a version of the song, Arthur OBradley, and at the same time intimated that there existed, in the neighbourhood, another copy, which I for certainty traced at Bishopstone, Wiltshire. Since then, a correspondent, Mr Fredrick Newman, of Cold Ashton, Bourton on the Water, has kindly written out the copy from memory, as he heard it sung by a neighbouring farmer at Bamton, some years ago. I have also had the good fortune to discover it at Ewen near to the Thameshead. The version is almost identical with that given in Bells Songs of the English peasantry and is undoubtedly of great age, since references are made to the composition by Ben Jonson, Dekker and others of the Elizabethan writers.
Williams, Alfred: FSUT: This famous old piece was popular at Bishopstone and Stratton St Margaret. I also found it at Ewen and Bourton on the Water. There were two versions; the following is the more complete. Words of Mr Newman, Cold Aston, Gloucestershire.
Note 2
Following the fair copy in Williams hand there is another copy perhaps in the hand of Mr Newman.
Note 3
In Verse 5 Line 15 the FSUT text is:
Lampfish, limpets and dabs,
In Verse Six two lines are deleted after Line 8:
But Arthur being first in the throng,
Swore he would suing the first song
In Verse 7, Line 5 the WGS and FSUT text is:
Whilst some only one tooth had gotten,
Note 4
Ben Schwartz, a user from the USA suggests a source for the music to Arthur OBradley O. The music which accompanies this version of the song is taken from, Chappell, W.: Popular music of the olden time, London, 1859, Vol. 2, pp 603, 604.
The difficulty with the tune and the words as collected by Williams is the wide variation in the length of the verses. It will be seen that the text for Verse 1 does not use all the notes transcribed.
Transcribed and edited by Chris Wildridge, 2011.
