Grat for Gruel

DESCRIPTION: "There was a weaver o' the north, And O but he was cruel; The very first nicht that he was wed, He sat and grat for gruel." The wife explains that gruel cannot be had; he will have it if she must cook it in the wash-pot and he must eat it with a trowel
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1951 (recording, Jimmy McBeath)
KEYWORDS: humorous food marriage
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Kennedy-FolksongsOfBritainAndIreland 202, "Grat for Gruel" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, GRUELL*
Roud #935
RECORDINGS:
Jimmy McBeath, "Gruel" (on FSB3) (on FSBFTX19)
NOTES [88 words]: Kennedy-FolksongsOfBritainAndIreland describes this tune as a "variant" on The Lincolnshire Poacher. There are points of similarity, but "variant" probably implies a degree of similarity not justified by the facts of the case (among other things, "Grat for Gruel" has a chorus). - RBW
No chorus in "The Lincolnshire Poacher"? What's "'Tis my delight on a shiny night/In the season of the year"? Chopped liver? - PJS
Picky, picky. "Poacher" has a single long-line chorus; "Grat for Gruel" four short lines related to the verse. - RBW
Last updated in version 4.3
File: K202

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