Gauger, The

DESCRIPTION: "There was a captain of the fleet, A bonnie lassie he did entreat (x2) For to wed wi' him a sailor." She says her mother will not approve, and advises him to dress as a gauger. He fails to find any gin in the house, and says he will take the lass instead
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1894 (Murison collection, according to Lyle, _Fairies and Folk_)
KEYWORDS: courting trick disguise drink marriage
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Greig-FolkSongInBuchan-FolkSongOfTheNorthEast #89, pp. 2-3, "The Gauger" (1 text)
Greig/Duncan5 1015, "The Gauger" (7 texts, 5 tunes)
Ord-BothySongsAndBallads, pp. 126-127, "The Gauger" (1 text)
DT, NWCGAUG*
Roud #2343
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Newcombe Gauger
The Rovin' Sailor
NOTES [28 words]: It appears, in this case, that "gauger" is used in its sense of "revenue officer," though the secondary sense of one who is very aware of his own interests also fits. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: Ord126

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