Bill Scrimshaw and the Scotsman

DESCRIPTION: Bill Scrimshaw is ordered by his landlord to quit wrestling. He relents when a Scotsman calls Bill a coward. Bill and the Scotsman wrestle. Bill wins easily, and he and the Scotsman spend the night drinking.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1958 (OShaughnessy-Yellowbelly1)
LONG DESCRIPTION: Bill Scrimshaw farms on Sir Robert Heron's land. Sir Robert orders Bill to stop wrestling; else he'll turn him off the farm. A Scotsman challenges Bill and accuses him of cowardice for refusing the bout. Sir Robert relents and tells Bill to "lay that Scotsman low." Bill makes short work of the Scotsman and they retire to a tavern for a night to "wrestle John Barleycorn Till he throws us on the floor"
KEYWORDS: fight sports pride
FOUND IN: Britain(England(Lond))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
OShaughnessy-Yellowbelly1, pp. 85-87, "Bill Scrimshaw and the Scotsman" (1 text)
Roud #1089
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Lincolnshire Wrestler" (subject, one verse, and references there)
NOTES [53 words]: The first verse of this text is the very close to the last verse OShaughnessy-YellowbellyBalladsPart1 "The Lincolnshire Wrestler" -- with lines swapped -- and, consequently, to the one verse collected by Butler.
OShaughnessy-YellowbellyBalladsPart1 has this text from a 1958 issue of The Lincolnshire Historian. - BS
Last updated in version 3.0
File: OSY1085

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