Great Big Wheel, The

DESCRIPTION: "Mary Anne the servant maid was let out now and then, She was given strict instructions, 'Return again at ten.'" She and her soldier friend go to Yarmouth "for a ride on the wheel." It gets stuck with them at the top. She returns home late and is let go
AUTHOR: unknown (see NOTES)
EARLIEST DATE: 1992 (Howson-SongsSunginSuffolk)
KEYWORDS: servant technology humorous unemployment | Ferris Wheel
FOUND IN: Britain(England(Lond))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Howson-SongsSunginSuffolk, #56, "The Big Wheel" (1 text)
FolkSongAndMusicHall, "Great big wheel, The"
Roud #13302
NOTES [105 words]: Howson-SongsSunginSuffolk credits this to E. W. Rogers and says it was published by Francis, Day & Hunter in 1896 and sung by Arthur Lennard. But FolkSongAndMusicHall believes that this refers to a different song about a Ferris wheel. I have seen only the cover of the sheet music of the Francis, Day & Hunter sheet music, but it prints the chorus on the cover, and it's a different chorus. So I think it's true; they are separate songs.
Still, it seems likely that this song is from about the same time; the first Ferris wheel was made in 1893, so songs about problems with one would likely start to appear a few years later. - RBW
Last updated in version 7.0
File: Hows056

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