Turn Again, Whittington

DESCRIPTION: "Turn again, Whittington, thou worthy citizen, Turn again, Whittington, (thrice) Lord Mayor of London. Make a good fortune, Find a good wife, You will know happiness all through your life. Turn again...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1859 (Chappell-PopularMusicOfTheOldenTime)
KEYWORDS: money political nonballad
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
c. 1354-1423 - life of Richard Whittington
1397 - Whittington's first (of four) terms of Lord Mayor
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Chappell-PopularMusicOfTheOldenTime, p. 482, "(Row the boat, Whittington") (1 short text, 1 tune); pp. 515-517, "Turn Again, Whittington" (1 excerpt, 1 tune, very different from the later form)
Chappell-PopularMusicOfTheOldenTime II, p. 89, "Turn Again, Whittington" (1 tune)
Jack-PopGoesTheWeasel, p. 218, "Turn Again, Whittington" (1 text)
Tobitt-TheDittyBag, p. 69, "Turn Again, Whittington" (1 text, 1 tune, a reduced version sung as a round)
DT, WHITTNG*
NOTES [69 words]: As a rhyme, this is very well known, so I'm including it here, although I am far from sure it is a folk song. Richard Whittington was a very real character, but most of the folktales about him are false -- he was a younger son, but not penniless, and there was no cat. He went to London to become a mercer, became a very successful businessman, and prospered in the reigns of Richard II, Henry IV, and Henry V. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.2
File: DTwhitti

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