Bawdy Ballads

Alex Morgan
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Welcome all you wonderful people, and thank you so much for checking out Bawdy Ballads, where we will explore all the dirty, sassy, and usually surprising old popular songs, and when I say old… I mean old. Four hundred years old old. And along the way we’ll explore all those things that make life a bit more interesting. There’s trickery infidelity, loving, drinking, and fighting. While we dig deep in these songs, we’ll talk about all kinds of things: archetypes, history, folklore, and how so many of these songs hold vast potential for inspiration of new creations.

  1. Episode 20: Dear God what is that thing?

    06/24/2023

    Episode 20: Dear God what is that thing?

    We are finally getting to one of the ballad types and topics that made me realize how much potential lay in these old songs…. Monstrous births. Or, to be clear, that's how they were marketed at the time. They were actually an overall mix of true accounts of birth defects and used the idea of deformity as a direct metaphor. Either which way it went, one thing remained the same. The mother was almost always to blame in some way or another. Prides's Fall The two inseparable brothers. Infant Mortality Rates The Jersey Devil Colloredo Twins  Succession to the Crown Act  Freaks NIH: Pregnancy test timeline The Encyclopedia of Superstitions by Richard Webster The Odd Superstition Behind Birthmarks Medieval disability glossary.  Support the show

    29 min
  2. Episode 19: Ways to wooing a Witty Wench.

    05/10/2023

    Episode 19: Ways to wooing a Witty Wench.

    Welcome everyone to Episode 19 Where we are looking at all the ways to woo those wonderful and witty wenches… or the ones who value knowledge over marriage, the one’s that fit the Athena archetype. Show transcript and blog A mad kinde of wooing Hares on the Mountain The Blue Stocking Society The Enlightenment Support the show

    26 min

  3. 02/26/2023

    Episode 18: Robin Hood ultimate trickster and working-class hero.

    Today we look at both the history and one of the earliest versions of the Robin Hood legend, which spread and gained popularity largely through the ballad traditions. While we do we will look at how he fits in with that classic trickster archetype, and how the social and economic factors of the 1300's led to fertile ground for the growth of his story. Robin Hode and the Munke / Robin Hood and the Monk Timeline Documentary The Medieval Warm Period The Great Famine Black Death   100 Years War Peasant’s Revolt Support the show

    30 min
  4. Episode 17: Oops… did I sing that? Ballads and political revolution and change.

    12/19/2022

    Episode 17: Oops… did I sing that? Ballads and political revolution and change.

    Today we do a bit of background in how song and politics intermingle from the key years of the English Civil War and look at the ballad "LONDONS Warning-Peece, Being, The Common-Prayers Complaint." from 1643. LONDONS Warning-Peece, BEING, The Common-Prayers Complaint. 5 members of Parliament Charles I Charles I on trial Henrietta Maria Those who signed the death warrant of Charles I “Every tub must stand on it’s own bottom The First Baron’s War Hung drawn and quartered. Black letter broadsides an intro. List of articles and books on the impact of blackletter broadsides on The English Civil War.  Support the show

    30 min
  5. Episode 16: A bundle full of farts.

    11/01/2022

    Episode 16: A bundle full of farts.

    Today we look at the timelessness of fart jokes, and look at a couple of them inside ballads, and parts of Jonathan Swift's “The Benefit of Farting Explained,” which is a satirical essay on why farting should be free. We will also look at two parents who shake all their sons sins out in a sieve. BawdyBallads.com “A Looking Glass for Lascivious Young Men” "A bloody BATTLE between a Taylor and a Louse." “The Benefit of Farting Explained” The History of Farting Support the show

    30 min
  6. Episode 15: Taking dem kids, or the Poor Act of 1601

    10/17/2022

    Episode 15: Taking dem kids, or the Poor Act of 1601

    Welcome back all you wonderfully curious lil’ devils to Bawdy Ballads and today’s episode,  “Taking dem kids, or the Poor Act of 1601" where we will look at one of the most important laws in terms of ballad sellers, often considered vagrants, but we will begin by looking at the letter home of Richard Frethorne, sold into an "apprenticeship" by his local council or parrish when his parents could no longer afford to care for him during a period of economic recession. Show transcript and Bawdy Ballads Blog. Poor Law of 1601 Letter home from Richard Frethorne A light hearts A Jewell. Support the show

    26 min
  7. Episode 14: Dr. DoGoods Feel Good. Addiction and song

    09/30/2022

    Episode 14: Dr. DoGoods Feel Good. Addiction and song

    Today we look at some of the ways that addiction presents itself in popular songs, and briefly look at some surprising facts about Shakespeare.   Show Transcript and links Shakespeare himself was likely a user of both cannabis and cocaine. Doctor Dogoods directions, To cure many diseases both in body and minde, lately written and set forth for the good of infected persons. “snake oil” medicine Cod Liver Oil The Dubliners Methhead Ian Noe Support the show

    23 min
  8. Episode 13: Tam Lin and GrannyWomen

    09/12/2022

    Episode 13: Tam Lin and GrannyWomen

    Today we look at mentions of abortion in traditional ballads and the various life and death consequences of historical pregnancy and childbirth. Show notes and transcripts Tam Lin: History and versions from Mainly Norfolk “Bonny Jean of Aberdeen” Historical rates of child and infant mortality Historical rates of maternal mortality Atlas Obscura: The Long Tradition of Folk Healing of GrannyWomen Granny Women of Appalachia by Harriet Masters Support the show

    28 min
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About

Welcome all you wonderful people, and thank you so much for checking out Bawdy Ballads, where we will explore all the dirty, sassy, and usually surprising old popular songs, and when I say old… I mean old. Four hundred years old old. And along the way we’ll explore all those things that make life a bit more interesting. There’s trickery infidelity, loving, drinking, and fighting. While we dig deep in these songs, we’ll talk about all kinds of things: archetypes, history, folklore, and how so many of these songs hold vast potential for inspiration of new creations.

Information

  • Creator
    Alex Morgan
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2023
  • Episodes
    26
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2023 Bawdy Ballads
  • Show Website
    Bawdy Ballads