Jim the carter lad

AKA Jimmy the Carter
Little Jim the Carter Lad
First Published 1875
Writer/composer Harry Linn / Rowland Roud RN1080

Music Hall Performers Harry Linn
Folk performances Selected Source Singers (before 1945 only)
unknown , 1890s England : Gloucestershire
Carter, John 1905 England : Hampshire
Robb, Alexander 1906 Scotland
Duckenfield, Miss E. / Barnes, Mrs. 1907 England : Yorkshire
Wight, John 1908 Scotland
Angus, James 1909 Scotland
Beterige, Tom 1913 England : Gloucestershire
Howe, Mrs. George 1930 USA : Vermont
Bye, Mrs. 1938 England : Gloucestershire :
Fitzgerald, Mary 1945 USA : Rhode Island
Modern performances
Isla St Clair
The Yetties		 

Lyrics as published in Harry Linn's Fireside Songster

My name is Jim the Carter, a jolly cock am I,
I always am contented be the weather wet or dry.
I snap my fingers at the snow and whistle at the rain,
I've braved the storm for many a day and can do so again.

Crack, crack, goes my whip, I whistle and I sing.
I sit upon my wagon I'm as happy as a king.
My horse is always willing, and for me, I'm never sad,
There's none can lead a jollier life than Jim the carter lad.

My father was a carrier, many years e'er I was born;
He used to rise at daybreak and go his round each morn.
He'd often take me with him especially in the spring,
I loved to sit upon the cart and hear my father sing:

I never think of politics or anything so great, 
I care not for their high-bred talk about the church or state; 
I act a-right to man and man, that's what makes me glad, 
You'll find there beats an honest heart in Jim the Carter Lad

The girls all smile on me as I go driving past,
My horse is such a beauty, as he jogs along so fast.
We've travel'd many weary miles but happy days we've had;
There's none can use a horse more kind than Jim the carter lad.

Now friends, I bid you all good night, 'tis time I was away.
I know my horse will weary if I much longer stay.
To see your smiling faces here it makes my heart quite glad
And I know you'll grant your kind applause to Jim, the carter lad.

This song has been collected from a huge number of traditional singers (over 60) from the early 20th century on, it appears very widely in broadsides and songbooks. It was originally written by Harry Linn and was sung in the Halls by him.

Harry Linn (1846-90) was a huge star in the Music Halls of northern England and Scotland. In the language of the day he was a “Scotch comedian” who apparently wrote all his own songs . Records in British newspapers indicate that the song Jim the Carter Lad was sung regularly in the halls and amateur concerts from 1868 on. The song was always associated with the name of Harry Linn:

The Era Aug 22 1869

The earliest evidence of published sheet music I can find is in it 1875, this may either reflect an incomplete historical record, or that it took a while to get published…

Sources:

Graeme Knights & Jim Mageean at The Star, St Mary’s in the Marsh, Kent..