Two wenches at once

AKABetsy and Mary
Two sweethearts at once
The Sisters
First Published1826

Writer/composerThomas Hudson RoudRN1318

Music Hall PerformersThomas Hudson
Folk performancesCollected from the singing of:
Fry, Edmund; England : Devon, no date
Harris, Charles; England : Wiltshire; 1914-16
Harris, Richard; England : Wiltshire; 1914-16
From Thomas Hudson's 7th Collection of Comic Songs (1826) 
TUNE- Margery Topping

Till I fell in love I was happy enow,
At threshing or reaping, at harrow or plough,
At sunrise each morn wi' the lark i wur springing,
And just like the lark I was always singing.

Tol de rol lol de rol lay

Cupid, quite envious of my happy life,
Put into my head that I wanted a wife,
'Bout love and such like things completely a dunce,
Till I fell slap in love wi' two wenches at once.

The miller's young daughter she gave the first twist,
Her lips look'd as if they longed to be kiss'd,
And whiles I gaz'd at her 'twixt love and surprise,
I was fairly struck dumb by her sister's bright eyes.

Mary was as fair as an angel could be,
Eyes like sweet Betsy's I never did see,
I tried all in vain my hot feelings to smother,
By looking at one first and then at the other.

If I went to see Mary, to her I was blind, 
For Betsy directly came into my mind; 
And when I saw Betsy, 'twas just the contrary – 
I always sure to be thinking of Mary

When Betsy looked at me, or when Mary smil'd,
I felt of my senses completely beguil'd,
'Twas all of no use, I looked this or that way,
Like a donkey between two great bundles of hay.

Things went on thus for five or six weeks,
And I never could muster up courage to speak,
When all of a sudden they both went to church,
And left me a bachelor quite in the lurch.

Young men be advised, if love gets into your sconce,
Never go courting two wenches at once,
With one lass you may work your way safe and sound
But between the two stools, all know what comes to the ground.

A popular comic song from the 1820s and 30s, written by Thomas Hudson and and performed by him in the singing taverns and supper clubs that influenced early Music Hall. Hudson published his songs in 13 collections between 1818 and 1832 – he was keen to establish his rights of ownership, and there are several warnings to anyone who would dare pirate his songs. These warnings seem to have been almost completely ineffectual, as his songs were widely printed in “pirate” editions – broadsides and songbooks – throughout the 19th century.

When song collectors like Alfred Williams and Sabine Baring Gould were searching for folksongs in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a number of the traditional singers they collected from sang songs, like this one, originally written by Thomas Hudson. It seems likely that the songs were remembered as a result of both word-of-mouth and printed transmission…

The original words as published by Hudson are given above – the chorus isn’t specified but when Alfred Williams collected it from the singing of Richard Harris, he sang it with the chorus:

Fal di lal riddle o! Fal di lal riddle to!
Fal di la right foe the riddle di dee.

Sources:

Last Updated on May 26, 2021 by John Baxter | Published: February 17, 2021

image_print