To be sure

AKAMary Rosebud and Master Ralph
When I was down honeypots
First Published1824

Writer/composerThomas Hudson / unknownRoudRN12615

Music Hall PerformersMr Sherwin
Folk performancesCollected from the singing of:
Unknown singer; England, Somerset; 1903
Thomas Hudson's 6th Collection of Comic Songs p11, 1824 

(Written for Mr. Sherwin, of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.)
Tune — Derry Down

WHEN I wur at whoam I wur in a sad plight,
A doing o'summat fra' morning to night:
I hoped such a life 'could not always endure, 
Ther wur nothin' but work, work, work, work, to be sure. 

One morning it hap'd I wur making o'hay,
I spied Mary Rosebud a coming that way:
"Here, Ralph!" she cried out, I quickly ran to her.
"Help me over the stile;" oh, says I, "To be sure"

I lifted her over, and then felt all o'er,
A sort of a somehow, I ne'er felt before;
So I said as I got myself closer up to her,
"Mary, you'll grant me one kiss, to be sure?"

Says I, when I'd gin her one sweet melting smack,
"If you don't like it, why give it me back:
Said she, "Mr. Ralph," and she look'd so demure,
"What makes you so imp'runt? "Why, love, to be sure"

Says I, "Will you marry?" while down her head hung,
She answer'd "Why, Ralph, we're both of us too young;
And if we wur married, we'd always be poor",
"And - we might - ha' some - children", says I "To be sure"

"I have saved up three pounds, says I, safe in a purse,
So let us get married for better, for worse;
'Twill happiness bring to us both quite secure";
"But d'ye think we shall do?" "Lord!" says I, "To be sure"

Her kisses so sweet did the minutes beguile'
When who but old master should come o'er the stile:
Says he, "Master Ralph, dost thee think I'll endure?
"Do you call this working?" says I, "To be sure!"
 
Says he, "Now I'll just tell ye what, Master Ralph,
"You're getting too lazy and saucy by half;
"You don't do no work — you're as thin as a skewer,
"But ye feeds nation well!" "Yes" says I, "To be sure!"

One word brought another — he got in a rage,
Discharged me at once, but first paid me my wage :
I've gotten a good place, no longer I'm poor,
"I'll marry sweet Mary - I will, "To be sure!"

A song written by Thomas Hudson (1791- 1844) a song-writer and performer active in the singing taverns and supper rooms that influenced the early Music Hall in London. This song was written for performance in Drury Lane Theatre – so strictly speaking not a Music Hall song.

Unlike some of Hudson’s songs this one cannot be found in large numbers of 19th century broadsheets and songbooks. It seems to have survived in only two songbooks.

Despite it relative scarcity in print, the song seems to have been passed down and transformed into When I was down honeypots – a song whose words and music were collected from an unknown singer by Cecil Sharp and Charles Marson in 1903. The words and music appear in Sharp’s hand-written notebooks, but were never published in any of his collections – possibly because Sharp didn’t consider it a folk song.

Its interesting to see how the song was changed, so I’ve reproduced as best I can the lyrics that Sharp wrote down:

When I was down Honeypots making of hay,
I spied my dear Mary coming that way,
I called out to her and she quickly stepped up to me,
[spoken] Lor Mary! I couldn’t steal a kiss could I?
[sung] Ah! To be zure! Fol de rol etc

Oh! I asked her to marry and she down her head hung,
And said my dear Dick, we are both very young,
And if we do marry we always might be poor,
Yes and in fact have some little ones
[spoken] Little ones?
[sung] Ah! To be zure! Fol de rol etc

We had six little ones the image of me,
So fat and so chubby as ever could be,
One day she said to me to do you think we shall have any more?
[Spoken] she laughed and I answered
[sung] Ah! To be zure! Fol de rol etc

The song has been shortened, but maintains something of its stage origins – if nothing else in the combination of patter and singing…

Sources:

Last Updated on February 23, 2021 by John Baxter | Published: February 23, 2021

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