Ale-Wife and Her Barrel, The

DESCRIPTION: Singer's wife is an ale-seller and drunkard. She goes to market with her barrel; all know that he can't keep her out among men. Chorus: "The ale-wife, the drunken wife/The ale-wife she deaves me/My wifie wi' her barrelie/She'll ruin and she'll leave me"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1876 (Christie)
KEYWORDS: marriage abandonment commerce drink nonballad wife
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (4 citations):
MacColl/Seeger-TravellersSongsFromEnglandAndScotland 110, "The Ale-Wife and her Barrel" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greig-FolkSongInBuchan-FolkSongOfTheNorthEast #12, p. 3, ("The ale-wife an' her barrelies") (1 text)
Greig/Duncan3 555, "The Ale-Wife" (2 texts)
ADDITIONAL: W. Christie, editor, Traditional Ballad Airs (Edinburgh, 1876 (downloadable pdf by University of Edinburgh, 2007)), Vol I, pp. 190-191, "The Ale-Wife and her Barrel" (1 tune)
Roud #6031
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Ale-Wife, the Drunken Wife
NOTES [15 words]: Despite its long history, this song does not seem to have spread outside Aberdeenshire. - PJS
Last updated in version 2.6
File: McCST110

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