Cobbled Together ~ "Chastity Belt" ~Bawdy Comedy Song ~ 2011 Camelot Days

Cobbled Together, a musical performance group of the Cobblestone Characters troupe, performed the bawdy comedy song "Chastity Belt" at the 2011 Camelot Days Medieval Festival at TY Park in Hollywood Beach, Florida.

The Cobblestone Characters are a living character performance group that adds a wonderful quirky atmosphere to a wide variety of Renaissance Fairs, Medieval Festivals, Pirate Festivals, etc. They are regulars at the annual Camelot Days Festival in Hollywood Beach.

It was raining heavily the day this was filmed. Cast and audience had abandoned the stage and dashed under a nearby picnic shelter, where the performances continued. This causes the lighting and acoustics in this video to be a bit odd, but I hope you still find it an enjoyable performance. We certainly had fun.

Regarding the "Chastity Belt" song, it seems to be a "neo-Elizabethan" bawdy song of fairly recent origin but I've not found much background history on it. It has been popular with Folk Fairs, Renaissance Festivals, Rugby Clubs and a variety of other such venues since the early 1960s, and various folk artists have recorded versions of it since then. There are recordings of it by various groups back at least to the early 60s, I've read that the song may actually have originated among the RAF soon after World War II, but I have not been able to verify that. If anybody out there has any better information about this song and its origins, please feel free to comment here.

Regardless of its origins, it is a fun song, and Cobbled Together do a nice version of it here. I hope you enjoy it!

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Lyrics to "Chastity Belt"

Oh say, gentle maiden, may I be your lover
Condemn me no longer to moan and to weep
Struck down like a hawk, I lie wounded and bleeding
Oh let down your drawbridge, I'll enter your keep
Enter your keep nonie nonie, enter your keep nonie nonie
Let down your drawbridge, I'll enter your keep

Alas gentle errant, I am not a maiden
I'm married to Sir Oswald, that cunning old Celt
He's gone to wars for twelve months or longer
And he's taken the key to my chastity belt
Chastity belt nonie nonie, chastity belt nonie nonie
Taken the key to my chastity belt

Fear not gentle lady for I know a locksmith
To his shop we will go, on his door we will knock
And try to avail us of his technical knowledge
And see if he's able to unpick your lock
Unpick your lock nonie nonie, unpick your lock nonie nonie
See if he's able to unpick your lock

Alas sir and madam, to help I'm unable
My technical knowledge is to no avail
I can't find the secret to your combination
For the cunning old bastard has fitted a Yale
Fitted a Yale nonie nonie, fitted a Yale nonie none
The cunning old bastard has fitted a Yale

I come from the wars with dire news of disaster
A terrible mishap I have to confide
As my ship was a passing the Straits of Gibraltar
I carelessly dropped the key over the side
Over the side nonie nonie, over the side nonie nonie
Carelessly dropped the key over the side

Alas and alack I am locked up forever
Then up spoke the page boy "Leave it to me"
If you will allow me to enter your chamber
I'll open it up with me duplicate key
Duplicate key nonie nonie, duplicate key nonie nonie
Open it up with me duplicate key!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Cobbled
• Together
• Chastity
• Belt
• Song
• Camelot
• Days
• Medieval
• Renaissance
• Faire
• Fair
• Festival
• folk
• acoustic
• bawdy
• humor
• comedy
• music
• guitar
• celtic
• seawolfsong

[jellymootoo]

Haha I love hearing these songs at SCA.