Hard Times and Old Bill

DESCRIPTION: "Old Ailey Bill came home from court" and stops at a bar (?) "to have some sport. And it's hard times and poor old Bill." Will McNealey hides under a bed, sees what happens, steals a frying pan, sells it, and beats his wife
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1931 (collected by Henry from C. L. Franklin)
KEYWORDS: abuse escape husband wife commerce
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Henry-SongsSungInTheSouthernAppalachians, p. 11, "Hard TImes and Old Bill" (1 text)
NOTES [30 words]: For the life of me, I can't tell what this is about. I suspect that it is based on a real incident, but that several verses have been lost from Henry's seemingly unique text. - RBW
File: MHAp011.

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