Odd mindworm

[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.

Comments

[pbristow.livejournal.com]

...Or was "swapping" their equivalent of "bleeping": something substituted to render the song fit for publication? =:o}

[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. :)

[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.