Wife For Sale - Trad. arr. casetone2514

[mountnmonkey]

LOL!..Great job and not a bad price! It usually cost much more just to rent a wife for the night.....Best wishes from the hill folks..

[kennymelodica]

Do you take cheese as payment. Actually no Gangles likes his cheese too much.

Great sounds Tony !

[ruth7784]

*sitting with mouth open, not sure what to say*

Great performance, Tones :-) X

[casetone2514]

@ruth7784

I wonder what we'll look back at open mouthed in the 22nd century

[fhionasidhe]

Love these old traditional songs and the stories they tell :o)

Cheers mate.

[casetone2514]

@fhionasidhe

Thank you

[ukeshale]

Very nice ending. Hard to believe it was still going on a little over 150 years ago.

[casetone2514]

@ukeshale

Thanks Shane - there is an unauthorised account of a Wife sale in Shropshire as late as 1926!!!

[LastDanceSaloon]

Some more excellent song-writing there, very awesome!

[jmmquah]

I was expecting some terrible tragic end, then you came over all cuddly, phew!

[casetone2514]

@jmmquah

I have my fluffy bunny side too.

[ruth7784]

@casetone2514 Awwwww :-) Me wuv you :-) X

[idrnoel]

This is such a fantastic history lesson. Great singing too mate!

[casetone2514]

@idrnoel

Thanks very much

[ItsDeets]

I think this was my one new something that I learned today! Well done, Tony. Well done. Although, I'm quite glad I wasn't around pre-19th century!

[casetone2514]

@ItsDeets

Thanks Donna. You'd have been fine. I'm sure you'd shine in any era.

[uke5417]

Besides the great history and performance, I almost gave you high marks for some very fine handwriting, too. Amazing fonts these days.

[casetone2514]

@uke5417

Thanks - I like fonts.

[casetone2514]

@DearOldNutjob

They were selling livestock in shillings? This was a 19th century livestock auction you visited with Dr. Who, perhaps? I once played an auctioneer in a community play and had to learn a bit of livestock auction jargon - good fun.

[UkuleleUncle]

Entertaining and educational, you never fail to deliver! By the by, Ryan and I have a present for you, a very late eye for an eye sort of affair. We've lost your address though, PM us?

[casetone2514]

@UkuleleUncle

Thank you boys - will do.

[KenMiddletonUkulele]

This song seems a bit familiar to me. I may have heard it before.

This attitude still goes on today. I have met several African women whose husbands still treat them this way. How about a consultant surgeon who gets fed up with his wife and children and leaves them with nothing except maybe a good thrashing before he goes?

[casetone2514]

@KenMiddletonUkulele

You heard me sing a bit of it in the house at Hollesly, perhaps. I was noodling inside whilst you were doing some recording outside.

Some men see a wife as a cheaper alternative to a servant/prostitute/punchbag - they are the worst kind of scum but, unfortunately they exist in ALL countries, societies and cultures.

[idrnoel]

@KenMiddletonUkulele Totally heartbreaking.

[MrsJiffybag]

Tiz fab being a woman best value ma nature ever gave the world, and were modist too lol thanks fro this fab bit of history, wonder if the ever revoked the law as it would cost the lawyer and save the couple a fortune lol

Rachel

uk

[casetone2514]

@MrsJiffybag

Alas, the law has changed but it is still possible to divorce for as little as sixty quid as long as both parties are agreeable and no lawyers are needed.

Thanks Rachel - how does MrJiffybag feel about your query?

[BaronK69]

Those were the days man!

Great song Tony.

[casetone2514]

@BaronK69

Thanks Robin - that'a comment that could get you castrated - be careful.

[BaronK69]

@casetone2514 I've been in a relationship for 25 years - there's not much left to chop off...

[UkesterBrown]

I am thoroughly offended at this idea and I say this because sometimes my wife reads these things..... Thank for sharing this song Tony. I'm glad the dude realized hiring a washer woman wasn't gonna be cheap either.....

[casetone2514]

@UkesterBrown

No ladies were harmed in the singing of this song - though several were severely pissed off. As usual, the man is shown to be the chump in this cautionary tale so chalk one up for the girls.

[waterdog226]

Some songs are excellent history. You nailed this!

[casetone2514]

@waterdog226

.....and some things are best consigned to history.

[waterdog226]

@casetone2514 It is good to look back, and best if we stay rooted in the here and now! You did a superb job on this. The slides with the song...brilliant! I had to wear headphones with the volume 'way up to hear it. I get used to the word write-ups. But the slides were great!

[mctrmt]

Nice, Tony.

I reckon I'd fetch a dollar; less if my melodica was included in the sale.

[casetone2514]

@mctrmt

$1US or Canadian?

Thank you

[UnluckyMum]

Hmmm- I am not convinced. However it is dressed up, women were still less free than men- especially if she were the one who had to suffer 'shame and stigma'.

Still I am sure you wouldnt have expected me to go ' oh well thats allright then !! '

You sang and played the song very well though :)

[casetone2514]

@UnluckyMum

It's not a justification, merely a clarification. Wife Selling was a way that poor people could get around an unfair law by using the law itself. Ten Shillings was what the wife went for in this song - usually it would be a nominal amount like sixpence. What would you fetch on ebay, do you reckon? Or, more relevant, what would your Buy It Now price be?

[UnluckyMum]

Lol- nothing , not for sale :)

[UKISOCIETY]

Nice guitar bit at the end.

Got change for an 8-year-old?

[casetone2514]

@UKISOCIETY

Thanks Alan. When did you marry an 8 year old?