Gardner and the Ploughman, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer is courted by a gardner, tailor, and sailor but prefers her ploughman [his breath is sweetest] but he has "misshapen" her gown He overhears her, proposes and says she can fix the gown. She accepts. They marry.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1885 (Greig/Duncan6)
KEYWORDS: courting love marriage sex worker
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig-FolkSongInBuchan-FolkSongOfTheNorthEast #126, p. 1, "The Gairdener and the Plooman"; #128, pp. 1-2, "The Gairdener and the Plooman" (2 texts)
Greig/Duncan6 1125, "The Gardner and the Ploughman" (8 texts, 5 tunes)
Roud #6845
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Gairner Lad, a Frien' o' Mine
The Plooman Lad
NOTES [84 words]: Greig notes that his text in #128 is a composite: the last two verses are from another version from Bell Robertson. Greig/Duncan6 separates the texts as 1125F and 1125H. If that's the case the Greig text is rearranged a bit and omits two lines in 1125F.
This is not really like the songs is which a woman rejects lovers because of their occupations (see "Yon Bonnie Lad" and its references). Here the tailor's occupation is compared unfavourably to the sailor's, but the sailor himself is second best. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD61125

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