Limbo

DESCRIPTION: "Many thousands I've spent on Rachel and Ruth... Bridget and Pegs." A rich uncle gets the singer out of limbo prison; he'd "put you once more on your legs" if he'd settle down. He shows the girls his money. They try to get it from him; he turns them away.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1845 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(3214))
KEYWORDS: prison rake family money
FOUND IN: Britain(England(South)) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Gardham-EarliestVersions, "LIMBO"
Creighton-MaritimeFolkSongs, pp. 124-125, "Once I Was Young" (1 text, 1 tune)
Logan-APedlarsPack, pp. 304-307, "The Spendthrift clapt into Limbo" (1 text)
Williams-Wiltshire-WSRO Ox 272, "Spendthrift" (1 text)
Purslow-MarrowBones, p. 53, "Limbo" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST CrMa124 (Partial)
Roud #969
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(3214), "The Rakes Complaint in Limbo," J. Pitts (London), 1819-1844
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Wild Rover No More" (theme)
cf. "The Wild Boy" [Laws B20] (theme)
NOTES [119 words]: Steve Gardham has this answer to my question as to whether there is/was a "Limbo Prison" (quoted with permission):
"No there was never a Limbo prison. The term applied to prisons evolved from the religious use of the word i.e. the medieval term for purgatory from Limbus Patrum. The leap isn't far from purgatory to prison if you think about it.
According to Partridge [The Routledge Dictionary of Historical Slang] the use of the word for a place of confinement dates from c1590. Partridge also gives other uses of the word:
a pawnshop c1690 to 1820,
female pudend 19thC,
bread- military late 19th century.
Roxburgh Ballads. Vol 8 p. 811 and Logan's Pedlar's Pack p. 304 have plenty to say on Limbo songs." - BS
Last updated in version 6.8
File: CrMa124

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