> Anne Briggs > Songs > Willie O'Winsbury
> Tony Rose > Songs > Tom the Barber

Willie O'Winsbury / Tom the Barber

[ Roud 64 ; Child 100 ; Ballad Index C100 ; trad.]

Sweeney's Men—Andy Irvine, Johnny Moynihan and Terry Woods—recorded Willie O'Winsbury in 1968 for their first LP, Sweeney's Men. Johnny Moynihan's then girlfriend Anne Briggs recorded this ballad too in 1971 for her first solo album, Anne Briggs. A.L. Lloyd commented in the sleeve notes:

English singers have called this Johnny Barbary or Tom the Barber, but from Somerset to Aberdeen its distinguishing feature is that the seduced girl's father—often, as here, the king—is so taken by the young man's looks that he forgives all. Cecil Sharp, publishing a West country version, suppresses this amiable but equivocal motif. Ah well. For those who care, this ballad is listed as Child 100. Johnny Moynihan adds his bouzouki to Anne's in the accompaniment.

As all recordings of Anne Brigg's album, this track was reissued on her Fellside and Topic compilation CDs, Classic Anne Briggs and A Collection. It was also included in the Topic compilation English and Scottish Folk Ballads and on the 2 CD anthology The Legend of Sweeney's Men.

Tony Rose recorded this ballad with the title Tom the Barber for his fourth album, Poor Fellows. As his albums weren't available any more, he re-recorded it in 1999 for his CD Bare Bones. He commented in the original album's sleeve notes:

For some 200 years, dating from the mid-17th century, the Barbary coast of North Africa—present day Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria—was notorious pirate territory. “Barber” seems to derive from “berber”, but whether this is the hero's nickname, disguise or genuine identity is uncertain. Other versions of Willie O'Winsbury have him “lately come from Spain.” In either case it must have seemed fairly exotic to Mr Gordge of Bridgwater from whom Cecil Sharp collected this fine tune.

And Richard Thompson used the tune of this song for his own song Farewell, Farewell.

Lyrics

Anne Briggs sings Willie O'Winsbury	Tony Rose sings Tom the Barber
The king had been a prisoner And a prisoner long in Spain, And Willie of the Winsbury Has lain long with his daughter at hame.	As I looked over the castle wall To see what I could see, There I saw my father's ship 𝄆 Come a-sailing home to me. 𝄇
“What ails ye, what ails ye, my daughter Janet, Why you look so pale and wan? Oh have you had any sore sickness Or yet been sleeping with a man?”	“What's the matter, my daughter Jane, That you look so pale and wan, Have you had some sore sickness In 𝄆 lying with some young man?” 𝄇
“I have not had any sore sickness Nor yet been sleeping wi' a man. It is for you, my father dear, For biding so long in Spain.”	“Oh, I've had no sore sickness In lying with no young man, But I have a grieve to my very, very heart 𝄆 That you've been so long at sea.” 𝄇
“Cast off, cast off your berry-brown gown, You stand naked upon the stane, That I may ken ye by your shape Whether you be a maiden or none.”
And she's cast off her berry-brown gown, She stood naked upon the stone. Her apron was low and her haunches were round, Her face was pale and wan.	Then she's took off her gown of green, She's hanged it against the wall. Her apron strings they would not untie 𝄆 She was three quarters gone. 𝄇
“Oh, was it with a lord or a duke or a knight Or a man of birth and fame? Or was it with one of me serving men That's lately come out of Spain?”	“It is to a noble gentleman Or to one of low degree? Or is it to some jolly, jolly tar 𝄆 That sails in along of me?” 𝄇
“No, it wasn't with a lord, nor a duke, nor a knight, Or a man of birth and fame. But it was with Willie of Winsbury, I could bide no longer alone.”	“ 't is to no noble gentleman Nor to one of low degree; But it is to that jolly, jolly tar That sails in along of thee, Aye, he sails along of thee.”
And the king he has called on his merry men all, By thirty and by three, Says, “Fetch me this Willie of Winsbury, For hanged he shall be.”	So he's called up his merry, merry men, By one, by two, by three, And Tom the Barber that used to come first, 𝄆 The last come in was he. 𝄇
But when he came the king before, He was clad all in the red silk. His hair was like the strands of gold, His skin was as white as the milk.	In came Tom the Barber bold, He was dressed all in silk. His eyes did shine like morning sun, His skin it was like the milk, Oh, his skin was like the milk.
“And it is no wonder,” said the king, “That my daughter's love you did win. If I was a woman, as I am a man, My bedfellow you would have been.”
“And will you marry my daughter Janet By the truth of your right hand? Oh, will you marry my daughter Janet? I'll make you the lord of my land.”	“Will you marry my daughter Jane? Will you take her by the hand? Will you prove a father unto that child, The 𝄆 heir to all my land?” 𝄇
“Yes, I will marry your daughter Janet By the truth of my right hand. Yes I will marry your daughter Janet, But I'll not be the lord of your land.”	“Yes, I'll marry your daughter Jane, I'll take her by the hand. I'll prove a father unto that child, But I value not your land, No, I value not your land.
And he's mounted her on a milk-white steed And himself on a dapple grey. He has made her the lady of as much land As she'll ride in a long summer's day.	For I have gold and silver store, I've houses and I've land. If it were not for your daughter Jane, I'd never been your man, No, I'd ne'er been your man.”