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Bedlam City

[ Roud 968 / Song Subject MAS60 ; Master title: Bedlam City ; Ballad Index BrMa971 ; Folkinfo 790 ; Mudcat 106103 ; trad.]

Derek, Dorothy and Nadine Elliott sang Bedlam City in 1976 on their Traditional Sound Recordings album Yorkshire Relish.

Pyewackett sang Bedlam City on their 1983 album The Man in the Moon Drinks Claret. They noted:

An ill-fated affair ends in madness at the infamous Bethlehem Hospital.

Claire Lloyd with Folly Bridge sang Bedlam City in 1992 on their second WildGoose cassette, Unabridged. They noted:

A traditional English song, collected by Lucy Broadwood in 1893 [and published in English County Songs], and sung here by Claire Lloyd, who learned it from the singing of Derek and Dorothy Elliot. It is about a young girl whose beloved soldier-boy has gone off to fight, probably in the Peninsular Wars against Napoleon. There are many folk-songs on a similar theme from that period.

‘Bedlam’ was the Bethlehem Royal Hospital in London. Officially a mental asylum, it also gave refuge to women with no means of support. Members of the public were allowed in to view the ‘lunatics’ and offer food and comfort to the inmates.

The Askew Sisters sang Bedlam City in 2007 on their WildGoose CD All in a Garden Green. They noted:

We found this song in the Hampshire edition of Folk-Songs of England, a book of traditional songs collected by George Gardiner and edited by Cecil Sharp, complete with piano accompaniment. Intrigued at the short number of verses, we went through the original manuscripts to find the complete version, only to discover that it wasn’t there! We later found out from the late Frank Purslow that the tune comes from a version of Eggs in Her Basket collected in Twyford, and that the words were probably taken from a broadside.

Emily Spiers sang Bedlam City in 2010 on her CD The Half-Moon Lovers. She noted:

When I started singing in sessions around Oxford I was very much influenced by the singing of Folly Bridge aka Graham Metcalfe, Claire Lloyd and Ian Giles. I got this song from them, and singing it in The Half-Moon always led to a rousing chorus from the lads.

Arthur Knevett sang Bedlam City on his 2016 CD Simply Traditional. He noted:

Bethlehem Royal Hospital, or Bedlam as it became known, was an asylum for the insane in the City of London. It was founded in the 13^th century and originally situated near Bishopsgate, but in 1675 the hospital was moved to Moorfields. Bedlam is the setting for many female laments of which this is one. This version was submitted by Mr F. Scarlett Potter [of Halford, Shipston-on-Stow] to Lucy Broadwood and J.A. Fuller Maitland for inclusion in the Warwickshire section of English County Songs. Mr Potter only knew three verses (verses 1, 3 and 4), verses 2 and 5 are from a broadside printed by W. Wright of Birmingham.

Lyrics

Bedlam City in English County Songs

Down by the side of Bedlam City
Once I heard a maid complain,
Making her moans and sad lamentations,
“I’ve lost my joy and my only swain.
Billy’s the lad that I do admire,
Billy’s the lad that I do adore,
Now for him his love’s a-dying
For fear she’d never see him more.”

“Don’t you hear the cannons rattle?
Don’t you hear the trumpets sound?
Billy is a-dying in the midst of the battle,
Dying of his bleeding wound.
Don’t you see my Billy coming?
Don’t you see in yonder cloud?
Billy with the angels round him,
Billy in his bloody shroud!”

Folly Bridge sing Bedlam City

Down by the side of Bedlam City
There I heard a maid complain,
Making a moan and a sad lamentation,
“I’ve lost my love, my only swain.”

Chorus (after each verse):
Billy is the lad that I do admire,
Billy is the lad that I do adore.
For his sake I lie a-dying
For fear I’ll never see him more.

Can you hear the cannons rattle?
Don’t you hear the trumpets sound?
Billy is a-dying in the battle,
Dying from his bloody wound.

Can you see my Billy’s a-coming?
Can you see up in yonder cloud?
Billy with the angels all around him,
Billy in his bloody shroud!

(repeat first verse)

Arthur Knevett sings Bedlam City

Down by the side of Bedlam City
There I heard a maid complain,
Making her moan and sad lamentation,
For her love, her only swain.

Chorus (after each verse):
Billy is the lad that I do admire,
Billy is the lad I do adore.
For his sake she lies a-crying,
Poor Billy she will see no more.

If I’d wings I’d fly unto him,
I would embrace him in my arms,
Cruel were my parents to refuse him,
For he has ten thousand charms.

Don’t you hear the cannons rattle,
Don’t you hear the trumpets sound,
Billy is a-fighting in the battle,
Dying from his bloody wounds.

Don’t you see them all a-coming?
All them a-coming in yonder cloud?
Billy with the guardian angels round him,
Billy in his bloody shroud!

Down on a bed of the straw she tumbled,
Making her moan and this reply,
I’ve lost my joy, my only comfort,
How could my parents him deny?