avevale_intelligencer: (wtfcrazy)
[personal profile] avevale_intelligencer
There is a drinking song from Tudor times, by that eclectic fellow "Anon," that is quoted in the edition of the ODQ that stands on the bookshelf outside the bathroom. The chorus seems to be:

"O! by the blood of King Edward,
O! by the blood of King Edward,
It was a swapping, swapping mallard."

Quite apart from the fact that this quote seems to be free from any trace of rhythm or metre, I'm bemused by the final line. Obviously this mallard had a keen interest in the barter system, but what did it swap and for what? Were these exchanges always equitable, or did the mallard sometimes profit unduly from the trade? It would seem that it was successful in these activities, or it would hardly have come to the attention of the balladeer. And where does getting blood out of a potato come into this?

Life is very confusing sometimes.

Date: 2008-10-18 11:04 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] pbristow.livejournal.com
...Or was "swapping" their equivalent of "bleeping": something substituted to render the song fit for publication? =:o}

Date: 2008-10-19 05:31 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] signy1.livejournal.com
If that's the chorus to a drinking song, I suspect that it made a whole lot more sense after you'd examined the bottoms of five or six tankards of ale. :)

Date: 2008-10-19 07:31 am (UTC)
howeird: (Default)
From: [personal profile] howeird
King Edward was a potato? That's one which didn't cross the Atlantic. Over here we know him as Mrs. Wallace's husband.

Profile

avevale_intelligencer: (Default)
avevale_intelligencer

April 2019

S M T W T F S
 123456
78 910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
282930    

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jul. 11th, 2025 08:36 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios