{"id":11550,"date":"2021-07-19T15:47:01","date_gmt":"2021-07-19T15:47:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/?page_id=11550"},"modified":"2021-07-20T06:30:48","modified_gmt":"2021-07-20T06:30:48","slug":"old-sowthe","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/index.php\/old-sowthe\/","title":{"rendered":"Old Sow,The"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
AKA<\/strong><\/td>The little pigs
The Galloway Man
Susanah’s a funniful man
The comical farmer<\/td><\/tr>
First Published<\/td>1820<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Writer\/composer<\/td>Alexander Lee<\/td>Roud<\/strong><\/td>RN1737<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Music Hall Performers<\/strong><\/td>Alexander Lee<\/td><\/tr>
Folk performances<\/strong><\/td>Collected from the singing of:<\/strong>
Martin, H.C.; USA : N. Carolina; 1922
Richardson, Albert; England; 1928
Fryer, Francis; England : Berkshire; 1935
Copper, Jim; England : Sussex; 1936
Ginger, Fred; England : Suffolk; 1947
Smith, Wisdom; England : Gloucestershire; 1970
Cooper, Bill; England : Gloucestershire; 1974
Cope, Stan; England : Worcestershire; 1974
Smith, Herbert; England : Gloucestershire; 1974
Hill, Pete; England : Gloucestershire; 1975
Hannis, Reg; England : Gloucestershire; 1975
Barnes, Reg; England : Gloucestershire; 1977
Lane, Les; England : Gloucestershire; 1978
Hartland, Ray; England : Gloucestershire; 1978
Cooper, Jimmie; England : Devon; 1979
Fielding, ‘Banjo’ Harry; England : Somerset; 1980
Howard, Arthur; England : Yorkshire; 1981
Black, Freda; England : Hampshire 2012
Turner, Pat England : Gloucestershire; 2013 <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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From the Levy Collection<\/a>\n\nThe Little Pigs<\/strong>\nA favourite Glee\nComposed by Alexander Lee\n\nOur little pigs lie on very good straw,\nStraw [grunt] aw [whistle] aw, shin dan diddle daw\nOur little pigs lie on very good straw,\nLillibul lero, Lillbul lero \nLillibul lero, Lillbul lero \nMy dad was a bonnie wee man\nMan [grunt] an [whistle] an, shin dan diddle dan\nMy dad was a bonnie wee man\nLillibul lero, Lillbul lero \nMy dad was a bonnie wee man\nMan [grunt] an [whistle] an, shin dan diddle dan\nMy dad was a bonnie wee man<\/em>\n\nOur little pigs eat the best of prates,\nPrates [grunt] ates [whistle] ates, shin dan diddle dates\nOur little pigs eat the best of prates\n\nOur little pigs make the best of bacon,\nBacon, [grunt] acon,[whistle] acon, shan diddle dacon !\nOur little pigs make the best of bacon,\n\nAnd there's an end to our little song,\nSong, [grunt] ong, [whistle] ong, dan diddle dong \nAnd there's an end to our little song,\n\nThe Old Sow<\/strong>\nAs recorded by Albert Richardson\n\nThere was an old farmer he had an old sow\n[snort] -ow- [grunt] -ow- [whistle] -ididly dow, \nSusannah's a funniful man \n[snort] an' [grunt] an' [whistle] ididly dan. \nSing, lassie, go rings-arillo \nSusannah's a funniful man \n[snort] an' [grunt] an' [whistle] ididly dan. \nSusannah's a funniful man<\/em>\n\nNow this old sow she had some little pigs, \n\nNow these little pigs they muddled their muck, \n\nNow these little pigs they had some clean straw, \n\nNow these little pigs they had some curly tails, \n\nNow these little pigs they had to be stuck, \n\nNow these little pigs they made some nice bacon, \n\nNow these little pigs they made a bit of ham<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
A widely performed comic song collected numerous times from source singers in England throughout the 20th century, it is also well known in  the US. Later singers may well have picked up the song from Albert Richardson\u2019s Regal Zonophone recording from 1928.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was originally composed in three part harmony by the singer\/composer Alexander Lee who was active in the theatres and supper clubs of 1820s London. (The supper clubs were an important early influence on the music halls.) The earliest printed reference I can find is an advert for new music published in Dublin by I.Willis:<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Dec. 22, 1821; Freeman’s Journal (Dublin, Ireland)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
The song was widely printed throughout the 19th century in songbooks and broadsides on both sides of the Atlantic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alexander Lee (1802-1851) was a prolific composer and publisher credited with composing the music for hundreds of songs for the theatre, active from the 1820s -40s. He was musical director in various major theatres, including the Theatre Royal Drury Lane London. In the late 1820s and early 1830s he took over as manager at the Theatre Royal, but the experience was a financial disaster – he was declared bankrupt (twice!) in 1831 and 1833. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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