This little erotic gem was printed on several broadsides with the title “Bring your Fiddle” or simply “The Fiddle”. The sexual metaphor of the man pleasuring the lady by the playing of his fiddle is found in other songs, such as “Hear the Nightingale Sing” and would have been readily understood by audiences. However, Mrs Smithers’ version, with its wandering rhythm, is a one-off and is the only version to have been recovered from oral tradition. Sharp only noted one verse from Mrs Smithers: did she know the rest of the song or was she too shy to sing the rest of it, or perhaps Sharp regarded it as too rude? We will never know.

Notes by Gwilym Davies 5 May 2015