You're Right My Boy

DESCRIPTION: "You're right my boy, Houl' up your head, And be like a gentleman, Sir, And tell me who King Billy was, Now tell me if you can, Sir."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1983 (Peirce-KeepTheKettleBoiling)
KEYWORDS: nonballad | teaching King Billy
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1689-1702 - Reign of William III of Orange as King of England
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Peirce-KeepTheKettleBoiling, p. 57, "(You're right my boy)" (1 text)
NOTES [71 words]: "King Billy" is of course William of Orange, King William III of Great Britain, who fought James II at the Battle of the Boyne, assuring that Ireland stayed part of Britain and remained under Protestant domination. For background on this, see, e.g., "The Vicar of Bray" and " "The Battle of the Boyne (I)." It's interesting that, based on the extant fragment, we can't really tell if the song is pro- or anti-William III. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.6
File: PKKB057D

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