Pound of Tow, The

DESCRIPTION: "A single man is free from strife." Before he and his wife married she "could do all kinds of country work" including spinning a pound of tow every night. Now she won't spin and spends on fashion instead and pawns his clothes to support her pride.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1841 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 c.18(250))
KEYWORDS: marriage clothes husband wife money
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Greig/Duncan7 1301, "The Weary Pun' o' Tow" (3 texts, 2 tunes)
Roud #435
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 c.18(250), "The Pound of Tow" ("Come all ye jolly batchelors that would married be"), J. Jennings (London), 1790-1840
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "She's Aye Tease, Teasin'" (theme: the wife who won't spin) and references there
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Come All Ye Jovial Bachelors
NOTES [35 words]: Greig/Duncan7: .".. received by Mrs Harper from a sister of her father's, Mrs Jaffray, Mintlaw. Mrs Jaffrays mother (Mrs Harper's grandmother) had learnt it when a girl at Midmar: she was born about 1800." - BS
Last updated in version 5.1
File: GrD71301

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