Deuks Dang Owr My Daddie, The

DESCRIPTION: The babies scream "the duck's knocked over daddie." His wife says, let him lie there; he's just a useless old man. He says there had been a day she'd butter his porridge, but not now. He threatens to beat her if she's not quiet. She creeps out of sight.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1828 (Lyle-Andrew-CrawfurdsCollectionVolume2)
KEYWORDS: shrewishness violence drink humorous bird baby husband wife
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Bord))
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Lyle-Andrew-CrawfurdsCollectionVolume2 194, "The Deuks Dang Owr My Daddie" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Whistle-Binkie [, First Series] (Glasgow, 1842 ("Digitized by Microsoft")), pp. 83-84, "The Deuks Dang O'er My Daddie" (1 text)
AJames C Dick, The Songs of Robert Burns (London, 1903 ("Digitized by Microsoft")), #216 pp. 193,427, "The Bairns Gat Out wi' an' Unco Shout" (1 text, 1 tune)

Roud #8948
NOTES [118 words]: Whistle-Binkie: "The first two stanzas are, with a few verbal alterations, from Burns -- the additional verses are by a facetious contributor to whom this publication is indebted for the graphic humour of our brethren of the Green Isle."
The Burns verses exclude the threat, retreat, and clear statement that the old man is a drunkard. The Lyle-Andrew-CrawfurdsCollectionVolume2 text makes the drunkenness clear ("the ninth pint" knocked the old man over and the duck just got in the way) and the wife would let the duck and old man stay down and toddle together; Lyle-Andrew-CrawfurdsCollectionVolume2: "It appears to be a verse of the traditional song on which Burns based his peice with the same title." - BS
Last updated in version 2.6
File: LyCr2194

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