> Danny Spooner > Songs > The Tailor’s Breeches

The Tailor’s Breeches / The Beggar

[ Roud 1610 ; Master title: The Tailor’s Breeches ; TYG 49 ; DT TAILRBR ; Mudcat 72395 ; trad.]

Mary and Nigel Hudleston: Songs of the Ridings: The Yorkshire Musical Museum Frank Purslow: Marrow Bones Sam Richards & Tish Stubbs: The English Folksinger

Frank Purslow and John Pearse sang The Tailor’s Breeches in 1960 on their album of “English folk songs Miss Pringle never taught us”, Rap-a-Tap-Tap.

Arthur Wood from Goathland, Yorkshire, sang The Tailor’s Britches, as collected by Colin Wharton for his 1962 degree thesis “Folk Songs From the North Riding”. This recording was included in 2019 on the Musical Traditions anthology of Songs of the North Riding from the Colin Wharton collection. It was also printed in 2001 in Mary and Nigel Hudleston’s book Songs of the Ridings: The Yorkshire Musical Museum.

Derek Sarjeant sang The Brisk Young Tailor on his 1970 album Derek Sarjeant Sings English Folk. He noted:

The Hammond Brothers, Robert and Henry, toured Dorset on bicycles in 1905 collecting the folksongs of this region; amongst them was this song—also mentioned by Thomas Hardy in one of his novels.

The Union Folk sang The Tailor’s Breeches in 1971 on their Traditional Sound album Waiting for a Train.

Derek, Dorothy and Nadine Elliott learned The Tailor’s Breeches from the singing of Arthur Wood, and sang it in 1976 on their Traditional Sound album Yorkshire Relish.

Brian Osborne sang The Tailor’s Breeches in 1976 on his Traditional Sound album Ae Fond Kiss. He noted:

Tailors have been portrayed as scapegoats throughout English folklore and the one in this song is no exception. The song is one of many mentioned by Thomas Hardy in his novels and has been a perennial favourite throughout the modern revival.

Danny Spooner sang The Tailor’s Breeches on his 1978 album Canterbury Fair. He noted:

This little song is from the Hammond & Gardiner collection, most of which was gathered in the southwest of England. It shows what can happen to a lad while under the ‘alkafluence of inkahol’. This song was mentioned by Thomas Hardy in one of his novels. Our version appears in the E.F.D.S.S. publication Marrow Bones, whilst another variant tells of a sailor’s sojourn in London.

Nick Dow sang The Dancing Tailor in 1980 on his album A Branch of May, and The Tailor’s Britches in 1990 on his album An Evening of Traditional Songs From Dorset. He noted on the first album:

This song was collected in Middlesbrough in 1962 and is a version of the well known Tailor’s Britches.

Sally Dexter sang The Tailor’s Breeches in 1995 on The Mellstock Band’s Saydisc CD Songs of Thomas Hardy’s Wessex.

Bob Fox sang The Whitby Tailor in 2003 on his Topic album Borrowed Moments. He noted:

The Whitby Tailor is a variant of The Tailor’s Breeches that was collected from a vicar in Crook County Durham and kindly passed on to me by another great friend and oftimes singing partner Benny Graham. The song needs no explanation!

Fran Morter sang The Tailor’s Breeches on her eponymous 2013 download EP Fran Morter.

John Roberts and Debra Cowan sang The Tailor’s Breeches in 2015 on their CD Ballads Long & Short. They commented:

It seems that tailors are rarely treated well in folklore. The Tailor’s Breeches, which the wearer manages to lose a little too enthusiastically, is no exception. This Dorset version is shorter than one known in the north of England, and was published by Frank Purslow in Marrowbones, his first selection of songs from the Hammond & Gardiner manuscripts.

Rachael McShane sang Tailor’s Britches as a digital download bonus track of her 2018 Topic album with The Cartographers, When All Is Still.

Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne sang The Dancing Tailor on his 2021 album Rakes & Misfits. He noted:

Bass Anglo concertinas are only slightly rarer than the proverbial hen’s teeth, so when one turned up at auction in December 2016, I couldn’t help myself— my bank balance did not thank me! Since then I’ve used it for two things; for playing luscious Baroque cello music, and for providing parping accompaniment to silly songs. This track falls firmly in the latter category. I found this song on the Yorkshire Garland website under the title The Tailor’s Britches. I’ve trimmed off a few verses so that we arrive at the punch line a little quicker and somewhere along the way I arrived at the current title, I’m not sure where that came from—suggestions on a postcard anyone?

Alice Jones and Bryony Griffith sang The Tailor’s Britches on their 2023 album of winter songs and tunes from Yorkshire, Wesselbobs. They noted:

This is from Mary & Nigel Hudleston’s book Songs of the Ridings (published in 2001 in memory of Mary) and is considered to be a traditional song rewritten by Arthur Wood of Littlebeck near Whitby. Arthur believed the song to tell the true story of an incident that took place in Whitby. He first heard the tale as sung by an ‘old plate-layer on the railway at Goathland’ and used that same tune but rewrote the song himself. There are other versions collected in Dorset and Hampshire although this story does not appear to exist in broadside form.

The tune is New Year’s Day from Volume 1 of the Joshua Jackson Book, published and presented by Robin & Rosalind Shepherd in 2011. Joshua Jackson (1763-1839) was a corn miller and fiddler from Burton Leonard, between Ripon and Harrogate. His manuscript, dated 1798, contains over 100 dance tunes.

Lyrics

Arthur Wood sings The Tailor’s Britches

Come ladies and gentlemen if you listen unto me
I’ll sing you a song of the north country.
In a village near to Whitby town a tailor once did dwell,
and women, wine and company he loved them right well.

A dance on New Year’s evening the Tailor did attend,
I’m sure that he would ne’er of gone, if he could have seen the end.
Ah, the poor little tailor, he will ne’er forget that night,
For never yet was tailor seen in such a sorry plight.

O he danced and he sang, he got whiskey many a tot.
Your jolly little tailor was the merriest of the lot,
The lady he was dancing with, the tailor he declared,
“If you’ll lend to me your petticoats, I’ll dance like a maid.”

O his britches he put off and her petticoat put on,
The maid the tailor’s britches she quickly did adorn,
O, the fiddler did play to them a merry, merry tune,
She danced his money, watch and britches clean out of the room.

“O bring me my britches back”, the tailor loudly called,
“O, bring me my britches back, me money, watch and all.”
O, the company there assembled with laughter they did roar.
When the little tailor’s petticoats fell down upon the floor.

“O Lord”, said the tailor, “wherever thou may be,
O Lord”, said the tailor, “have pity on me!”
What to do the little tailor he really did not know,
O his little shirt was far too short to cover all below.

‘Twas then the fiddler played a tune for all that he was worth,
The tune he played the tailor was the famous Cock of the North
All the ladies were delighted and they loudly shouted “No!”
When the tailor took his trilby hat to cover Uncle Joe.

When at last the little tailor got out into the street,
A bevy of fair damsels he chanced for to meet,
All the ladies screamed with laughter when the tailor did appear,
They wished him a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

The poor little tailor those ladies did address.
Says he, “It is not ladylike to laugh at a man’s distress.”
Says the ladies to the tailor, “Give us no more of that,
If you call yourself a gentleman why don’t you raise your hat?”

In that village near to Whitby town there’s old men living yet,
They’ll tell you of that famous dance they never will forget,
Old ladies too will tell to you the dance they loved the best,
Was the dance the little tailor showed his cuckoo’s nest.

Now that jolly little tailor from that day to this,
0 women, wine and company he gave them all a miss,
At a dance the little tailor they never more did catch,
Since the ladies pinched his breeches, his money and his watch.

Danny Spooner sings The Tailor’s Breeches

Well, it’s of a brisk young tailor and a story I’ll relate.
He lived at an inn called The Ram and the Gate
The Ram and the Gate were the place where he did dwell
And wine and women’s company he loved exceeding well.
    Oh well, oh well, oh well my boys, oh well,
And wine and women’s company he loved exceeding well.

Well, this tailor had been drinking a glass or two of wine;
Not being used to drinking, it caused his face to shine.
It caused his face to shine like the rising of the sun,
He swore he’d have a pretty maid before the night were done.
    Were done, were done, etc.

Well, he got himself a pretty maid, he called her his dear honey;
But while they were talking, she was fingering of his money.
Fingering of his money, when the tailor laughed and said
“If you’ll lend me your petticoats, I’ll dance like a maid.”
    A maid, a maid etc.

So the tailor took his breeches off and the petticoats put on,
The tailor danced a dance and the maid she sang a song;
The tailor danced a dance and they played a pretty tune
They danced the tailor’s breeches right out of the room.
    The room, the room, etc.

“Well, were ever a poor tailor been done as I’ve been done?
My gold watch and my money and my breeches are all gone
And if ever I go out like this, they’ll call me ‘garden flower’,
And if ever I get my breeches back I’ll never dance no more.”
    No more, no more, etc.

John Roberts and Debra Cowan sing The Tailor’s Breeches

It’s of a brisk young tailor, a story I’ll relate.
He lived at an inn called The Ram and the Gate
The Ram and the Gate was the place where he did dwell
And wine and women’s company he loved exceeding well
    So well, so well, so well my boys, so well.
And wine and women’s company he loved exceeding well.

One evening this young tailor had been drinking a jug of wine
Not being used to so much drink, it caused his face to shine
It caused his nose to shine like the rising sun
And he swore he’d have a bonny lass before the night was done
    Was done, was done, etc.

So he took her in his arms and he called her his dear honey
While they was a-talking, she was fingering of his money.
Fingering of his money, when the tailor smiled and said
“If you’ll lend me your petticoats, I’ll dance like a maid.”
    A maid, a maid etc.

So the tailor took his breeches off and the petticoats put on
The tailor danced a dance while the lady sang a song;
The tailor danced a dance while she played a pretty tune
She waltzed the tailor’s breeches right out of the room.
    The room, the room, etc.

“Oh, was ever a poor tailor undone as I’m undone?
My watch and my wallet and my breeches are all gone
If ever I dare go out, they’ll call me ‘garden flower’
And if ever I get my breeches back I’ll never dance no more.”
    No more, no more, etc.