Freemasons' Song

DESCRIPTION: Freemasons meet in a Lodge. "Our secrets to none but ourselves shall be known." The singer praises buildings: they "will always proclaim What honour is due to a Freemason's name." Others deride us; "let every true brother these vermin despise"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1910 (Greig/Duncan3)
KEYWORDS: work nonballad ritual
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig-FolkSongInBuchan-FolkSongOfTheNorthEast #156, p. 1, "Freemasons' Song" (1 text)
Greig/Duncan3 466, "Freemasons' Song" (1 text)
Roud #5964
NOTES [83 words]: It is technically true that the Masons had secrets -- rituals, handshakes, and even a so-called secret code of a very simple sort, based on a tic-tac-toe grid and an x, so that, e.g., the letter "o" was "|-|"; the letter "i" was "|-."; and the letter "w" was "\/" (for details, and clearer drawings -- the above are not quite right -- see Fred B. Wrixon, Codes, Ciphers, & Other Cryptic & Clandestine Communications, Barnes & Noble, 1998). But few of these "secrets" were really very secret. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
File: GrD3466

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