Lord Wathe'ford

DESCRIPTION: Lord Wathe'ford is dead. "The tyrant" choked wells and evicted farmers. He'll not be with common sinners in Hell but will share a private grate with his father. In Hell he meets Queen Bess, and his bailiff, and the Devil himself who is happy to see him.
AUTHOR: Michael A. Moran? (source: OLochlainn-MoreIrishStreetBallads)
EARLIEST DATE: c.1906 (ballad sheet, according to OLochlainn-MoreIrishStreetBallads)
KEYWORDS: death humorous political Devil Ireland Hell nobility landlord
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
OLochlainn-MoreIrishStreetBallads 60A, "Lord Wathe'ford" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hayward-UlsterSongsAndBalladsOfTheTownAndCountry, pp. 30-31, "Lord Waterford" (1 text)
Roud #6529
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Shan Van Voght" (tune and repeated lines)
NOTES [85 words]: This is a rather odd piece. Landlords in Ireland of course frequently evicted tenants, and they had a general policy of not improving properties; they wanted the Irish Catholic farmers too poor to represent a threat. But not in Waterford. One of the earliest areas of English settlement, it earned a great deal of Royal favor, was relatively prosperous, and was generally one of the most loyal areas of the country. Perhaps this is a reference to some of Lord Waterford's territories outside his home county? - RBW
File: OLcM060A

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