{"id":9160,"date":"2021-02-22T13:38:36","date_gmt":"2021-02-22T13:38:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/?page_id=9160"},"modified":"2021-02-22T13:42:53","modified_gmt":"2021-02-22T13:42:53","slug":"old-oak-table-the","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/index.php\/old-oak-table-the\/","title":{"rendered":"Old Oak Table, The"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
AKA<\/strong><\/td>The Oak Table<\/td><\/tr>
First Published<\/td>1822<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Writer\/composer<\/td>Thomas Hudson \/ Charles Dibdin<\/td>Roud<\/strong><\/td>RN13802<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Music Hall Performers<\/strong><\/td>Thomas Hudson<\/td><\/tr>
Folk performances<\/strong><\/td>Collected from the singing of:<\/strong>
Lillywhite, Miss F; England : Buckinghamshire; 1905
Franklin, Edward; England : Buckinghamshire; 1907<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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From Thomas Hudson's 4th Collection of Comic Songs (1822)<\/strong> \nTUNE- The Last Shilling<\/em>\n\nI had knock'd out the dust from my pipe t'other night.\nOld Time towards midnight was creeping ;\nTh' last smoke from its ashes had taken its flight,\nI felt neither waking nor sleeping.\nA voice, loud and hollow, and seemingly near\n(You'll say 'tis a dream or a fable,)\nDirected towards me, said audibly clear,\n\"List, list, list to me, thy oak table.\n \n\"I was once of the forest the monarch so bold,\nNor tempest nor storm made me tremble;\nAnd oft, yery oft, the fam'd Druids of old\nWould under my branches assemble:\nTheir mysterious rites they'd perform before me;\nThose rites to unfold I am able;\nBut be that now forgot \u2014 I was then an oak tree, \nAnd now I am but an oak table.\"\n\n\"But the axe brought me down, and soon lopp'd was each bough\nWhen I to a ship was converted;\nMann'd by true hearts of oak, the wide ocean to plough,\nAnd by victory never deserted.\nBut worn out by time, and reduc'd to a wreck\nBereft of my anchor and cable;\nA carpenter bought, and with part of my deck\nMade what you see now \u2014 an oak table.\"\n\n\"Now thrust in a corner\u2014 put out of the way,\n(But I fear I your patience am tiring,)\nI expect nothing less than, some forthcoming day,\nTo be broke up and used for your firing.\"\n\"No, never!\" cried I, as I started awake,\n\"I'll keep thee as long as I'm able.\nAnd each friend that my humble cheer will partake,\nShall be welcome around my oak table.\"\n<\/pre>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
A song originally written and performed by\u00a0Thomas Hudson (1791- 1844)<\/a>\u00a0a performer active in the singing taverns and supper rooms that influenced the early Music Hall in London.  It was set to the music written for Charles Dibdin’s song, The last shilling<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Victorians could get sentimental about just about anything, including the furniture! A gentleman dozing in his room starts a conversation with the furniture \u2013 you’ve got to wonder what was in that pipe …<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like many of Hudson\u2019s songs this one survives in multiple 19th century broadsheets and songbooks, and was remembered by traditional singers whose songs were picked up by folk song collectors in the early 20th century. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n