Farm Servant, The (Rap-Tap-Tap)

DESCRIPTION: The farm servant, is told to mind the business "as servants always do." He minds the business of his master's wife, who says he manages his equipment far better than the master. The master rewards the servant for minding the business so well
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (Purslow-MarrowBones)
LONG DESCRIPTION: The singer, a farm servant, is told by his master to mind the business "as servants always do." He does, including the business of his master's wife, who says the servant manages his equipment far better than the master. When the master returns, he rewards the servant for minding the business so well; the servant remarks that had the master known what he was up to, he would not have been rewarded
KEYWORDS: farming wife adultery marriage infidelity sex bawdy humorous servant
FOUND IN: Britain(England(Lond,South))
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Gardham-EarliestVersions, "RAP-A-TAP-TAP"
Kennedy-FolksongsOfBritainAndIreland 211, "Rap-tap-tap" (1 text, 1 tune)
Palmer-EnglishCountrySongbook, #39, "Rap-a-tap" (1 text, 1 tune)
Purslow-MarrowBones, p. 73, "Rap-a-Tap-Tap" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, RAPTPTAP*
Roud #792
RECORDINGS:
Harry Cox, "Rap-Tap-Tap" (on FSBFTX19)
Bob Hart, "The Farmer's Servant" (on Voice05)
A. L. Lloyd, "The Farm Servant" (on Lloyd01); "The Farmer's Servant" (on Lloyd12)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth b.34(162), "My mistress came to the door or a rap, tap, tap," unknown, n.d.; also 2806 c.13(159), "My mistress came to the door," unknown, n.d.
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Cluster of Nuts" (theme: servant describes sex with the master's wife in hidden terms)
cf. "The Chandler's Wife" (theme)
cf. "The Coachman's Whip" (theme)
cf. "The Jolly Barber Lad" (theme)
NOTES [127 words]: Lloyd notes that this song had not shown up in print as of the date of recording. - PJS
This was more a matter of suppression than rarity, however; Kennedy-FolksongsOfBritainAndIreland noted versions found in the Gardiner MS from 1905 and the Hammond MS in 1906. And there are a couple of broadsides in the Bodleian collection, though it is interesting to observe that they do not list a printer. (The Bodleian does list a broadside by Disley as having this song, but the visible text on that sheet is "The Ratcatcher's Daughter"; there are some other words on the sheet, but they are illegible.
This is so close to "The Chandler's Wife" that I am sorely tempted to call them one song, but others split them, and we are splitters. Still, it's best to see both. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.8
File: DTraptap

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