Jug of Punch, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer (hears a thrush singing "A jug of punch"; he too) describes the pleasures of drink: "What more pleasure could a boy desire Than to sit him down by a roaring fire, And on his knee a tidy wench And in his hand a jug of punch."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1897
KEYWORDS: drink nonballad
FOUND IN: Ireland Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Kennedy-FolksongsOfBritainAndIreland 278, "The Jug of Punch" (1 text+ 1 in appendix, 1 tune)
Henry/Huntingdon/Herrmann-SamHenrysSongsOfThePeople H490, p. 48, "The Jug of Punch" (1 text, 1 tune)
O'Conor-OldTimeSongsAndBalladOfIreland, p. 154, "Jug of Punch" (1 text)
Creighton-SongsAndBalladsFromNovaScotia 95, "Mush a Doody" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 230, "The Jug Of Punch" (1 text)
DT, JUGPUNCH* JUGPUN2

Roud #1808
RECORDINGS:
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, "A Jug of Punch" (on IRClancyMakem01); "The Jug of Punch" (on IRClancyMakem02)
A. L. Lloyd, "A Jug of Punch" (on Lloyd5, Lloyd12)
Margaret Loughram & Edward Quinn, "The Jug of Punch" (on FSB3)
Pete Seeger, "Jug of Punch" (on PeteSeeger27)

BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth b.27(162), "The Jug of Punch" ("As I was sated in my room"), unknown, n.d.; also Harding B 11(1949), Harding B 25(1013), "Jug of Punch" ("'Twas on the 24th of June")
NOTES [72 words]: Creighton-NovaScotia['s] first verse seems like a floater but I know no other source
There was an old woman, she had na bairns,
She took the punch jug in her arms,
And she sang, "Mush-a-lula boo,
Will you ne'er be empty till I be fu'. - BS
I don't recognize it earlier, but I wonder if it might not be a separate song which has picked up a single "Jug of Punch" verse. Unless another version surfaces, we probably will never know. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.6
File: K278

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