Jim, the Carter Lad

DESCRIPTION: The carter/driver reports on his happy life: "Crack, crack, goes my whip, I whistle and I sing, I sit upon my wagon, I'm as happy as a king." He ignores bad weather, recalls being trained by his father, and tells of courting his sweetheart in the cart
AUTHOR: See NOTES
EARLIEST DATE: 1870 (Oliver Ditson & Co, The New Comic Songster)
KEYWORDS: work travel courting
FOUND IN: US(MA) Ireland Britain(England(All),Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (15 citations):
Gardham-EarliestVersions, "JIM THE CARTER LAD"
Greig-FolkSongInBuchan-FolkSongOfTheNorthEast #99, p. 1, "Jim the Carter Lad" (1 text)
Greig/Duncan3 457, "Jim the Carter Lad" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Cazden/Haufrecht/Studer-FolkSongsOfTheCatskills 96, "The Stage Coach Driver's Lad" (1 text, 1 tune)
Copper-SongsAndSouthernBreezes, pp. 244-245, "Jim the Carter Lad" (1 text, 1 tune)
Williams-Wiltshire-WSRO Mi 611, "Jim the Carter Lad" (1 text)
Howson-SongsSunginSuffolk, #45, Sam the Carter's Lad" (1 text)
Kennedy-FolksongsOfBritainAndIreland 228, "Jim, the Carter Lad" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hamer-GarnersGay, pp. 68-69, "Jimmy the Carter's Lad" (1 text, 1 tune)
Palmer-EnglishCountrySongbook, #20, "Joe the Carrier's Lad" (1 text, 1 tune)
Henry/Huntingdon/Herrmann-SamHenrysSongsOfThePeople H171, p. 40, "Jim, the Carman Lad" (1 text, 1 tune)
New-Comic-Songster, p. 14, "Jim the Carter Lad" (1 text, 1 tune)
Dime-Song-Book #25, p. 13, "Jim, the Carter Lad" (1 text)
FolkSongAndMusicHall, "Jim the carter lad"
DT, JIMCART*
Roud #1080
RECORDINGS:
Jack Goodfellow, "Jim The Carter Lad" (on FSB3)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Lumber Camp Song" (lyrics)
NOTES [67 words]: I originally listed this song as perhaps being by E. H. Harding; I don't know where I found that, but it was probably a songster. FolkSongAndMusicHall lists it as having words by Harry Linn (who performed it) and music by "Rowland." Linn is almost certainly responsible for the song's popularity in Britain, but the song was also known in America at an early date, so I don't know which to believe. - RBW
Last updated in version 7.0
File: FSC096

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