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Yarmouth Town

[ Roud - ; Mudcat 41454 ; trad., possibly Peter Bellamy]

Peter Bellamy sang Yarmouth Town in 1968 on his first LP, Mainly Norfolk. It used to be the standard closing number of his live set as in this recording before an invited audience at the Folk Studio, Norwich, on 22 June 1971. This concert by him and Louis Killen was published as Won’t You Go My Way?. This track was also included on his anthology Wake the Vaulted Echoes.

Peter Bellamy said he learned both Yarmouth Town and Fakenham Fair from Peter Bullen of Norfolk, who learnt it from his grandfather. But this seems to be a red herring, as there is no other information on the Bullen family and no other trace of the songs before the 1960s. It is quite probable that Peter Bullen was a cheeky made-up name and that Peter Bellamy wrote both songs. All later recordings of this song were by other revival singers who learned the song from Bellamy.

Planxty sang Yarmouth Town in 1972 on the B-side of their Polydor single Cliffs of Dooneen.

Nic Jones sang a two verses shorter Yarmouth Town in a concert performance recorded prior to 1982 but of unknown origin. It was included in his 2 CD collection Unearthed.

Cyril Tawney sang Yarmouth Town, an “old song-yarn with an East Anglican twist”, on his 1990 cassette Sailor’s Delight. In 2003, this recording was included in his compilation CD Nautical Tawney: Songs of the Old Seafarers.

Ian Giles sang Yarmouth Town in 1997 on his WildGoose CD The Amber Triangle. He noted:

My tribute to the late Peter Bellamy (‘Mr Yarmouth Town’).

Jon Boden sang Yarmouth Town as the 31 August 2010 entry of his project A Folk Song a Day, and with Bellowhead on their 2010 CD, Hedonism.

The Exmouth Shanty Man sang Yarmouth Town in 2022 on their WildGoose album Tall Ships and Tavern Tales. They noted:

Peter Bellamy said he collected this song from a Norfolk friend who learned it from his grandfather. Oddly, there is no trace of it anywhere prior to the 1960s. But it’s a great yarn for our sailors to enjoy in the pub.

Mossy Christian and Megan Wisdom sang Yarmouth Town in 2022 on their Live Sampler EP.

Lyrics

Peter Bellamy sings Yarmouth Town

In Yarmouth Town there lived a man,
He kept a tavern by the sand.
This landlord had a daughter fair,
A plump little thing with the golden hair.

Chorus (repeated after each verse):
Oh, won’t you come down,
Won’t you come down,
Won’t you come down
To Yarmouth town.

Now to this tavern come a sailor-man
He asked the daughter for her hand.
“Why should I marry you?” she said,
“I get all I want without being wed.”

“But,” she says, “If you want with me to linger,
I’ll tie a bit of string all around my finger.
As you pass by, just pull on the string,
And I’ll come down and I’ll let you in.”

At closing time the sailor-man,
He went to the tavern by the sand.
And then he went and he pulled on the string,
And she come down and she let him in.

Well, he’s never seen such a sight before,
’cause the string around the finger was all she wore.
And when he went and he pulled the old string
She pulled back the blanket and let Jack in.

So, the sailor stayed the whole night through
And early in the morning went back to his crew,
Where then he told them all about that maiden fair,
The plump little thing with the golden hair.

And the story, that soon got around
And the very next night in Yarmouth Town
There was fifteen sailors pulling on the string
And she come down and she let them all in.

So all young men what ever to Yarmouth do go,
See a plump little girl with her hair hung low,
Well, all you got do is pull the old string,
And she’ll come down and she’ll let you all in.

Nic Jones sings Yarmouth Town

In Yarmouth Town there lived a man,
He had a tavern all by the sand.
The landlord had a daughter fair,
A plump little thing with golden hair.

Chorus (twice after each verse):
Oh, won’t you come down,
Won’t you come down,
Won’t you come down
To Yarmouth town.

Now to this tavern come a sailor-man
And he asked the daughter for her hand.
“Why should I marry you, kind sir?” she said,
“I get all I want without being wed.”

Now the very same night in Yarmouth Town
He goes to the tavern all by the sand.
And he goes round the back and he pulls on the string
And she come down and she let Jack in.

Now Jack had never seen such a sight before:
The string around the finger was all she wore.
And when he went and he pulled that string
She come down and she let Jack in.

So the very next night in Yarmouth Town
Down in the tavern all by the sand
Sixteen sailors pulling on the string,
She come down and she let Jack in.

All young seamen that to Yarmouth do go,
If you see the little thing with her hair hanging low,
All you’ve got to do is pull on the string,
And she’ll come down and she’ll let you in.