Prooshian Drum, The

DESCRIPTION: "An Orangeman lied and on his bed died And went to St. Peter for to let him in." He is denied entry because he was "cursed from... birth." A Freemason and Henry VIII have no better luck as the "rattled away on the Prooshian drum."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1984 (Thomas and Widdowson)
KEYWORDS: death Hell rejection religious
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
ADDITIONAL: Kenneth S. Goldstein, "A Report on Continuing Research into 'Treason Songs': A Private Newfoundland Tradition," essay on pp. 126-153 of Gerald Thomas and J. D. A. Widdowson, editors, _Studies in Newfoundland Folklore: Community and Process_, Breakwater Books, 1991, pp. 127-128, "The Prooshian Drum" (1 text plus mention of 1 more)
ST ThWi127 (Partial)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Orangeman's Dream" (theme of an Orangeman trying to get into heaven)
cf. "Captain Fowler" (theme of an Orangeman trying to get into heaven)
NOTES [293 words]: According to Kenneth Goldstein's essay, a "Treason Song," in Newfoundland usage, was not a song supporting the overthrow of the government or the like, but (in effect) one that was very politically incorrect and not fit to be sung in open settings. Thus it might insult an individual who was still alive, or a particular class of people (Catholics, Protestants, Liberals, Conservatives, etc. Protestants seem to have been the most common target). The name "Treason Song" presumably arose because the songs were kept private.
Some Treason Songs were so rare that they were never found except under that category (and probably many have never been collected at all), but there are some fairly well-known songs that also were treated as Treason Songs by at least some of Goldstein's informants. Examples of the latter class include, e.g., "Bold McCarthy" and "The Croppy Boy." A few people even regarded "The Cumberland's Crew" as a Treason Song!
The phenomenon is widespread enough in Newfoundland as to earn an entry on p. 762 of StoryKirwinWiddowson: "a song or ballad of a sectarian nature; a satiric composition attacking or ridiculing an individual or group." They note that Lehr/Best-ComeAndIWillSingYou also encountered such songs, which they weren't allowed to record; these either showed religious prejudice or were about people who were still alive.
It is ironic that the theology of this song, such as it is, is purely Protestant -- indeed, extreme Calvinist; only a radical predestinarian would say that a person was cursed from birth. Calvinists do not believe in limited atonement or unconditional election.
Manifold, pp. 21-41, has a whole section on treason songs in Australia; he considers songs about Jack Donohue to be typical of the type. - RBW
Bibliography

Manifold: John S. Manifold, Who Wrote the Ballads? Notes on Australian Folksong, Australasian Book Society, 1964
StoryKirwinWiddowson: G. M. Story, W. J. Kirwin, and J. D. A. Widdowson, editors, Dictionary of Newfoundland English, second edition with supplement, Breakwater Press, 1990

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File: ThWi127

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