Martha the Milkman's Daughter

DESCRIPTION: "The object that you now behold Once lov'd a darling fairy," Martha, the Milkman's Daughter. "She served the milk in pints and quarts," but her father chases him off and makes her marry a rich man. She drowns herself. Her father dies
AUTHOR: G. W. Hunt (source: FolkSongAndMusicHall)
EARLIEST DATE: 1866 (FolkSongAndMusicHall)
KEYWORDS: love separation father drink poison suicide death ghost
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (3 citations):
WhosBeenHereSinceIveBeenGoneSongster, pp. 24-26, "Martha, the Milkman's Daughter" (1 text)
JSBerrys-Flying-Trapeze-Songster, pp. 63-65, "Martha, the Milkman's Daughter" (1 text)
FolkSongAndMusicHall, "Martha the milkman's daughter"
Roud #31150
NOTES [76 words]: Sugar of lead, listed as the father's cause of death, is Lead (II) acetate, chemical formula Pb(C₂H₃O₂)₂·3H₂O. As a lead compound, it is poisonous (though it is not the instant poison described in this song) -- and it is indeed sweet, and for a depressingly long time it was used to sweeten wine and other beverages. So a tavern-keeper who sampled his own wares too much might indeed die of lead poisoning. But he'd have to be pretty stupid to do so. - RBW
Last updated in version 7.1
File: WBHS024

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