Sleepytoon (II)
DESCRIPTION: "Cam all my lads that follow the ploo:" the singer tells about the job at Sleepytoon. The foreman wakes you at five for porridge. The farmer's "weel respected" but his wife is an ugly, scowling, "argefying bitch"
AUTHOR: See NOTES
EARLIEST DATE: 1974 (recording, John MacDonald)
KEYWORDS: farming food hardtimes nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
Roud #9140
RECORDINGS:
John MacDonald, "Sleepytoon" (on Voice05)
NOTES [208 words]: Except for the title and general subject matter this seems to me to be entirely unlike "Sleepytown (I)."
The author, according to notes to Voice05, is George Morris. The Musical Traditions Notes attribution says that the song was "popularised on a 78 disc by the late George S Morris of Old Meldrum. (Reg Hall's comment that [George] Morris wrote the piece is incorrect)." My choice, with no information beyond what is in this note, is to follow Musical Traditions Notes. - BS
In accordance with the above observations, previous versions of the Index stated in the AUTHOR field that the creator of the piece was "probably Willie Clark (c.1854, according to Yates, Musical Traditions site Voice of the People suite "Notes - Volume 5" - 25.8.02)." However, Reinhard Zierke wrote to me that "According to Greig/Duncan Volume 3 page 623 the author of Sleepytoon G/D #356 B is William 'Poet' Clark. It is rather unlikely that Clark wrote both Sleepytoon songs.
"Therefore I believe that Mike Yates mixed both songs up and that his comment on Sleepytoon in the Morning... that Morris wrote the piece is incorrect... and that George Morris is indeed the author of Sleepytoon in the Morning."
This seems reasonable to me, although I can't prove it. - RBW
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