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Title
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Bailiff's daughter of Islington
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Singer
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Collis, Alice Matilda Mrs.
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Notes
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Note 1
Williams, Alfred: WGS: 'An old ballad that figures in the collection of Pepys, and has many times been reprinted. Our version differs slightly from that commonly circulated and has two stanzas at the end which I have not seen elsewhere. I think the piece as it appears in Pepys bears the evidence of polish: the irregularity of rhymes in the present version would not have seemed fitting to his ear. It is to be noted however, that the village minstrel cares not so much for accuracy of rhyme as for accuracy of sense: provided the story runs well he will overlook deficiency of versification. I obtained my copy of Mrs Collis, Aston, near Bampton, Oxfordshire. I pointed out to her the differences between her song and that more commonly known, and she said that she was aware of them, but she was entirely convinced that hers was the true and oldest version. Her grandmother sang the song, and she used to say that the version containing the line 'One penny, one penny, kind sir' had been altered from the original. The Islington of the ballad is supposed to be an Islington in Norfolk.'
Williams, Alfred: FSUT: Copy of Mrs Collis, Aston, near Bampton, Oxfordshire. Her grandmother sang the song, and she used to say that the version containing the line 'One penny, one penny, kind sir' had been altered from the original. The Islington of the ballad is supposed to be an Islington in Norfolk.'
Note 2
The manuscript file contains a note stating that the manuscript is missing. There is another version of the song in the Miscellaneous file Mi 529.
Transcribed and edited by Chris Wildridge, 2010.
