Jolly Tinker (I), The

DESCRIPTION: The tinker comes to town to mend the pots. He observes that "A tinker never marries, has a girl in every town...." "I've never stored much gold, but I have a lot to spend." "My life is wild and free, and I do not seek renown. I'm just a jolly tinker..."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1940 (Warner-TraditionalAmericanFolkSongsFromAnneAndFrankWarnerColl)
KEYWORDS: work sex rambling
FOUND IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Warner-TraditionalAmericanFolkSongsFromAnneAndFrankWarnerColl 72, "The Jolly Tinker" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, JOLITNK2*
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Tinker"
NOTES [65 words]: Tinkers had a reputation for wantonness, and a large bawdy repertoire built up around them. It is often difficult to decide if the songs are related or not. Since this song is "clean" and "The Tinker" is dirty, I decided to separate them. But I'm not confident about it.
Warner for some reason links this with Laws F24, "The Peddlar and His Wife" -- but that is a song about a murder! - RBW
File: Wa072

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