The wife, giving the least likely explanation yet, tells him that it is merely a nightgown, though the man notices that this nightgown has fingers. Verse six sometimes keeps the same story line, in which two hands appear on the wife's breasts. VERSES 6 AND 7: The final two verses are often not sung, generally considered too raunchy, different versions are cited below. Among polite audiences only five of the seven nights usually are sung because of the vulgar nature of the final two. The structure and bawdy nature of the song allow it to be sung from memory by convivial companies. The song also charted at No.1 in Ireland. The record reached number 7 in the UK charts in 1967 and appeared on Top of the Pops, thanks to its diffusion on Radio Caroline, though it was banned from the national broadcasting station. The song passed from oral tradition to a global mass market with The Dubliners recording of "Seven Nights Drunk". Unusually for such a popular and widespread song, it appears in only a few nineteenth century broadsides. It was also collected in Scotland in the 1770s and was believed to be a Scottish song. Unaware of the origin of the German ballad, Child cited it as an analogy. The broadside was translated into German, and spread into Hungary and Scandinavia. The questions of the jealous husband and the evasions of his wife are treated here in a humorous vein, and there are French ballads of a similar type."The song is first found in a London broadside of the 1760s entitled "The Merry Cuckold and the Kind Wife". Housman observes that "There is much of Chaucer's indomitable gaiety in this ballad.
It tells the story of a gullible drunkard returning night after night to see new evidence of his wife's lover, only to be taken in by increasingly implausible explanations.Īccording to Roud and Bishop " This was an immensely widespread song, probably known all over the English-speaking world, with the wording varying considerably but the structure and basic story remaining the same." " Seven Drunken Nights" (Child 274, Roud 114) is often referred to as "Our Goodman". YOU CAN PLAY ALONG WITH THE DUBLINER RECORDINGS IN GCEA TUNING!
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