During the seventeenth century the Quakers were subjected to much abuse and suffering at the hands of authority, the Church of England, and an ignorant public. This ballad (from the Bagford Collection) reflects the attitudes of the times and in this respect is a bigoted and unpleasant piece. As a vigorous and descriptive example of balladry, however, it is unsurpassed. It is set to the magnificent tune of ‘A Soldier and a Sailor’.
from notes by Douglas Wootton © 1981
;)
