Mitherless Bairn, The

DESCRIPTION: "When a' ither bairnies are hushed to their hame... Wha stan's last an' lanely, an' naebody carin'? 'T is the puir doited loonie -- the mitherless bairn." His bed is lonely, his clothes few; he dreams of someone to comb his hair. Don't treat him harshly
AUTHOR: William Kennedy ? (source: Whistle-Binkie) / music: John Thomson (1805-1841) (source: Frank-NewBookOfPirateSongs)
EARLIEST DATE: 1847 (Thom, Rhymes and Recollections)
KEYWORDS: children mother orphan clothes | bed
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Ford-SongHistories, pp. 286-292, "The Mitherless Bairn" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: William Thom, _Rhymes and Recollections of a Hand-Loom Weaver_, third edition with additions, Smith, Elder, and Co. (Cornhill), 1847 (available on Google Books), pp. 140-141, "The Mitherless Bairn" (1 text)
(No Author Listed), _Miller's New British Songster_, J. M. Miller (Edinburgh), 1853 (available on Google Books), p. 129, "The Mitherless Bairn" (1 text)
Roud #24038
NOTES [43 words]: Those wishing to learn more about william Thom may consult the essay "William Thom, The Weaver Poet" in Alfred M. Williams, Studies in Folk-Song and Popular Poetry, Houghton Mifflin, 1894, pp. 166-188. His other song in the Index is "The Wedded Waters." - RBW
Last updated in version 6.6
File: FoSoMith

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography