Comforts of Man, The

DESCRIPTION: "When I was young many troubles I got... To marry a wife I thought a good plan, For a woman, they said, was the comfort of man." He marries Betsy, who hits him with a pan, bites his nose, gets pregnant. He says, "what a plague is the comfort of man"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1839 (broadside Bodleian Firth c.20(141))
KEYWORDS: marriage hardtimes abuse humorous
FOUND IN: Britain(England(South))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Gardham-EarliestVersions, "COMFORT OF MAN, THE"
Purslow-MarrowBones, p. 17, "The Comforts of Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #1601
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth c.20(141), "The Comforts of Man," J. Catnach (London), 1813-1838; also Firth c.20(140), J. Pitts (London), 1819-1844; also Harding B 20(61), J. Harkness (Preston), 1840-1866; also Harding B 11(1067), W. T. Fordyce and J. Whinham (Newcastle, Carlisle), c. 1840; also Firth b.25(229)=Harding B 11(667), W. Forth (Bridlington), n.d.; also 2806 b.9(260), "A New Comic Song Called the Comforts of Man," unknown, n.d.; also Harding B 19(47a), unknown, n.d.; also 2806 c.15(38), unknown, n.d.
NOTES [16 words]: I think this was intended to be funny. I am even more certain that it fails of that purpose. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.8
File: PuMB017

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography