> A.L. Lloyd > Songs > When Johnson's Ale Was New
> Martyn Wyndham-Read > Songs > When Jones's Ale Was New
> John Kirkpatrick > Songs > When Jones's Ale Was New

When Johnson's Ale Was New / When Jones's Ale Was New

[ Roud 139 ; Ballad Index Doe168 ; trad.]

A.L. Lloyd sang When Johnson's Ale Was New in 1956 on his Riverside album English Drinking Songs. He commented in the sleeve notes:

Here and there at Easter time, the “Jolly-boys” or “Pace-eggers” go from house to house, singing songs and begging for eggs. They wear clownish disguises: the hunch-backed man, the long-nosed man, the fettered prisoner, the man-woman etc. Johnson's Ale (or John's or Joan's) is one of their favourite songs. Whether the drinking song comes from the pace-egging version or the other way round, we do not know. It is an old song. Ben Johnson knew it and mentioned it in his 16th century Tale of a Tub. Its qualities are durable, for it has altered little in 350 years. It appeals most to those who are most elevated.

Bob and Ron Copper sang The Jovial Tradesmen (When Jones's Ale Was New) on the anthology Jack of All Trades (The Folk Songs of Britain Volume 3; Caedmon 1961; Topic 1968).

Martyn Wyndham-Read sang When Jones's Ale Was New in 1973 on his Trailer album Harry the Hawker is Dead; this track was also included on on the Trailer anthology Harry the Hawker is Dead.

Fred Jordan sang When Jones's Ale Was New at home in Aston Munslow, Shropshire, in 1974. This recording by Tony Foxworthy was released in the same year on his Topic album When the Frost Is on the Pumpkin, and in 1998 on the Topic anthology They Ordered Their Pints of Beer and Bottles of Sherry (The Voice of the People Volume 13).

John Kirkpatrick and Danny Spooner sang the English and Australian variants of When Jones's Ale Was New in 2003 on the anthology Song Links: A Celebration of English Traditional Songs and Their Australian Variants.

Lyrics

Ron and Bob Copper sing When Jones's Ale Was New

Come all you honest labouring men that work hard all the day
And join with me at the Barley Mow to pass an hour away.
Where we can sing and drink and be merry
And drive away all our cares and worry,
When Jones's ale was new, my boys, when Jones's ale was new.

The first to come in was the ploughman with sweat all on his brow,
Up with the lark at the break of day he guides the speedy plough.
He drives his team, how they do toil
O'er hill and valley to turn the soil,
When Jones's ale was new, my boys, when Jones's ale was new.

The next to come in was the blacksmith, his brawny arms all bare
And with his pint of Jones's ale he has no fear or care.
Throughout the day his hammer he's swinging
And he sings when he hears the anvil ringing,
When Jones's ale was new, my boys, when Jones's ale was new.

The next to come in was the scytheman so cheerful and so brown
And with the rhythm of his scythe the corn he does mow down.
He works, he mows, he sweats and he blows
And he leaves his swathes laying all in rows,
When Jones's ale was new, my boys, when Jones's ale was new.

The next to come in was the tinker and he was no small beer drinker,
And he was no small beer-drinker to join the jovial crew.
He told the old woman he'd mend her old kettle,
Good Lord how his hammer and tongs did rattle
When Jones's ale was new, my boys, when Jones's ale was new.

Now here is Jones our landlord, a jovial man is he,
Likewise his wife a buxom lass who joins in harmony.
We wish them happiness and good will
While our pots and glasses they do fill,
When Jones's ale was new, my boys, when Jones's ale was new.

Fred Jordan sings When Jones's Ale Was New

Now, three men came over the hill, came over the hill together,
Come over the hill together for to join in the jovial crew.
And they ordered their pints of beer and bottles of sherry
To carry them over the hills so merry,
To carry them over the hills so merry,
When Jones's ale was new, my boys, when Jones's ale was new.

Now, the first to come in was a dyer; he sat himself down by the fire,
He sat himself down by the fire for to join in the jovial crew.
And he sat himself down with a good grace
For the chimney breast was his own place,
And here he could drink and dye his old face,
When Jones's ale was new, my boys, when Jones's ale was new.

Now, the next to come in was a tinker and he was no small-beer drinker,
And he was no small-beer drinker for to join in the jovial crew.
“Hast ye any old pots or pan or kettles?
I mends them with the very best metals
And I'll put all your pots in good fettle.”
When Jones's ale was new, my boys, when Jones's ale was new.

Now, the next to come in was a hatter and no man could be fatter,
And no man could be fatter for to join in the jovial crew.
And he placed his hat upon the ground,
Wished everybody'd place in a pound,
And then he'd be able to buy drinks all round,
When Jones's ale was new, my boys, when Jones's ale was new.

Now, the next to come in was a mason and his hammers need refacing
And his hammers need refacing for to join in the jovial crew.
And he sat his hammers against the wall,
Wished all the churches and chapels'd fall,
And then there's be plenty of work for all,
When Jones's ale was new, my boys, when Jones's ale was new.

Now, the next to come in was a soldier with a firelock o'er his shoulder,
And no man could be bolder for to join in the jovial crew.
And the landlady's daughter come in,
And he kissed atween the nose and the chin,
And the pints of beer they came rolling in,
When Jones's ale was new, my boys, when Jones's ale was new.

And they ordered their pints of beer and bottles of sherry
To carry them over the hills so merry,
To carry them over the hills so merry,
When Jones's ale was new, my boys, when Jones's ale was new.