In the middle of the throng he saw a red-nosed Brownrigg perched on a stool singing surprisingly melodically what was no doubt a Jacobite song at the top of his voice.
After the death of Queen Anne in 1714 the British crown passed on to George, the Elector of Hanover. In his entourage George I brought with him a number of German courtiers, including his mistress Melusine von der Schulenburg, whom he later made the Duchess of Kendal (known as the Goose) and his half-sister Sophia von Kielmansegg (commonly referred to as the Sow). George I’s wife Sophia Dorothea of Celle remained in Hanover, imprisoned at Ahlden House after her affair with Philip Christoph von Königsmarck – the blade in the song. Another historic personality in the song is John Erskine, Earl of Mar (Bobbing John) who recruited in the Scottish Highlands for the Jacobite cause. The nickname Geordie Whelps is a reference to the House of Welf, the original line of the House of Hanover. [Source: Wikipedia]
Only the first two verses were sung in the tavern in Steinburg:
Cam ye o’er frae France? Cam ye down by Lunnon?
Saw ye Geordie Whelps and his bonny woman?
Were ye at the place called the Kittle Housie?
Saw ye Geordie’s grace riding on a goosie?
Geordie, he’s a man there is little doubt o’t;
He’s done a’ he can, wha can do without it?
Down there came a blade linkin’ like my lordie;
He wad drive a trade at the loom o’ Geordie.
Glossary
Cam ye o’er frae = Did you come over from
Lunnon = London
Geordie Whelps: diminutive of George I. Whelp an ill-bred child. Guelph: a political faction to which the House of Hanover belonged. The nickname Geordie Whelps is a reference to the House of Welf, the original line of the House of Hanover.
kittle housie = tickle house; brothel
goosie: diminutive of goose; nickname for the King’s mistress Melusine von der Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal
o’t = of it
a’ = all
blade = a person of weak, soft constitution from rapid overgrowth; Count Philip Christoph von Königsmarck of Sweden.
linkin = tripping along
lordie = diminutive form; George I
wad = n. pledge, security; wager, bet; forfeit. adj. wedded. v. pledge; wager, bet; wed.
drive a trade = metaphor for fornication – Count Philip Christoph von Königsmarck of Sweden’s alleged affair with Princess Sophia Dorothea of Celle
loom = a loom; a metaphor for female sexual organs
loom o’ Geordie = George I’s former wife, Princess Sophia Dorothea of Celle
The full lyrics of the song can be found on The Traditional Tune Archive website.
This Jacobite-era Scottish folk song is believed to have been written after the rising in 1715, mocking King George I. The Jacobites were supporters of the exiled Stuart king James II (Latin: Jacobus) and his descendants after the Glorious Revolution (1688). The political importance of the Jacobite movement extended from 1688 until at least the 1750s. There were risings in 1715, 1719, and 1745, all of which failed.