We Shepherds Are the Best of Men

DESCRIPTION: "We shepherds are the best of men that e'er trod English ground." We spend freely at the ale-house. We pen our sheep safely in spite of hale, rain and snow; then "unto a jovial company good liquor for to taste"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1793 (according to Broadwood)
KEYWORDS: drink storm England nonballad sheep shepherd
FOUND IN: Britain(England(South,West))
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Gardham-EarliestVersions, "SHEPHERDS ARE THE BEST OF MEN"
Broadwood/Maitland-EnglishCountySongs, pp. 82-83, "The Shepherd's Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Williams-FolkSongsOfTheUpperThames, pp. 241-242, "Shepherds Are the Best of Men" (1 text) (also Williams-Wiltshire-WSRO Gl 116)
Purslow-MarrowBones, p. 78, "Shepherds' Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Browne-FolkSongsOfOldHampshire, pp. 90-91, "The Shepherd's Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #284
RECORDINGS:
Fred Jordan, "We Shepherds Are the Best of Men" (on Voice20)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Ye Gentlemen of England (I)" [Laws K2] (stucture and theme:virtue and courage of an occupational group)
cf. "The Lonely Life a Shepherd Leads" (contrary viewpoint)
NOTES [56 words]: Yates, Musical Traditions site Voice of the People suite "Notes - Volume 20" - 15.1.04: "Fred learnt this from the song-collector Fred Hamer, who had it from Lucy Broadwood's English County Songs [1893]." Broadwood said it was taken in 1793 in Gloucestershire (source: "The Shepherds' Song" in Song Database at the Folkinfo site).
Last updated in version 6.8
File: RcWSATBM

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