Brixham Town

DESCRIPTION: "All ye that love to hear Music performed in air, Pray listen, and give year...." "In Brixham town so rare, For singing sweet and fair, Few can compare." You can read about music in Scripture: David was a musician who played for Saul
AUTHOR: unknown (but see NOTES)
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (Baring-Gould/Sheppard-SongsOfTheWest2ndEd)
KEYWORDS: music | Saul David
FOUND IN: Britain(England(West))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Baring-Gould/Sheppard-SongsOfTheWest2ndEd, #9, "Brixham Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #44780
NOTES [132 words]: The notes in Baring-Gould/Sheppard-SongsOfTheWest2ndEd say this was "clearly composed at the time of the Commonwealth, 1640-1661," presumably because it defends music at a time when the Puritans were in power and doing away with many old traditions of music. However, the Commonwealth did not execute Charles I until 1649, and Charles II was restored in 1660. In any case, I don't find the argument compelling.
Steve Roud (who has catalogued the many Baring-Gould manuscripts of this) thinks, and I incline to agree, that this really isn't a Commonwealth song; the text at least contains a lot of Baring-Gould's own work.
The story of David occupies part of 1 Samuel, all of 2 Samuel, and the first two chapters of 1 Kings, but the story of David being Saul's musician begins in 1 Samuel 16. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.7
File: BGSW009

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