John Hobbs

DESCRIPTION: "A jolly shoemaker, John Hobbs, John Hobbs... He married Jane Carter... But he caught a Tartar." "He tied a rope to her... To Smithfield he brought her... But nobody bought her." All the men are trying to sell their wives, so he hangs himself on the rope
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1977 (Raven)
KEYWORDS: wife husband marriage commerce death suicide humorous
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
ADDITIONAL: Jon Raven, _The Urban and Industrial Songs of the Black Country and Birmingham_, Broadside, 1977, p. 144, "John Hobbs" (1 text)
Roud #21966
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Sale of a Wife" (theme) and references there
File: JRUI144

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography

The Ballad Index Copyright 2023 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.