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| The Milkmaid - Johannes Vermeer |
For
the last few weeks I have been up to my ears editing The Reputed Wife (sequel to Rebel
Puritan) and making a print for my proofreaders. To get those historical details right, I’ve made an extra-special effort to place
myself in the busy lives of our colonial fore-mothers. When a bit of research turned up this song, I
had to share. The 1629 ballad, A Woman’s Work is Never Done, describes Herodias Long’s life
perfectly.
One
thing you will notice is the length of this ballad. It comes from a time when few people could
read. This witty - and - cautionary tale
would be good entertainment for a long winter night. Would it be sung by men at a tavern, or women at a quilting bee? Even when her busy
day is done and the family has tumbled off to the communal bed, our poor woman
is still not done with her chores. Read
on to find out what’s afoot:
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| Outdoor Tavern |
A
Woman's Work is Never Done
Here
is a song for maids to sing,
Both
in the winter and in the spring;
It
is such a pretty, conceited thing,
Which
will much pleasure to them bring:
Maids
may sit still, go, or run,
But
a woman's work is never done.
As
I was wandering on the way,
I
heard a married woman say
That
she had lived a solid life
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| A Quiet Read - William Dobson. |
Ever
since the time that she was made a wife.
"For
why," quoth she, "my labor is hard,
And
all my pleasures are debarred:
Both
morning, evening, night and noon,
I'm
sure a woman's work is never done.
"And
now," quoth she, "I will relate
The
manner of my woeful fate;
And
how my self I do bestow,
As
all my neighbors well do know:
And
therein all, that will hear,
Unto
my song I pray awhile give ear;
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| Breakfast Piece - Floris van Schooten |
I'll
make it plainly to appear, right soon,
How
that a woman's work is never done.
"For
when that I will rise early in the morn,
Before
that I my head with dressings adorn,
I
sweep and cleanse the house, as need doth require,
Or,
if that it be cold, I make a fire:
Then
my husband's breakfast I must dress,
To
fill his belly with some wholesome mess;
Perhaps
thereof I eat a little, or none,
But
I'm sure a woman's work is never done.
"Next
thing that I in order do,
My
children must be looked unto;
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| Elizabeth and Mary Freake |
Then
I take them from their naked beds,
To
put on their clothes and comb their heads:
And
then, what hap soever betide,
Their
breakfast straight I must provide.
'Bread!'
cries my daughter; and 'Drink!' my son,
And
thus a woman's work is never done.
"And
when that I have filled their bellies full,
Some
of them I pack away to school,
All
save one sucking child, that at my breast
Doth
gnaw and bite, and sorely me molest:
But
when I have laid him down to sleep,
I
am constrained the house to keep,
For
then the pottage-pot I must hang on,
And
thus a woman's work is never done.
And
when my pottage-pot is ready to hoil,
I
must be careful all the while;
And
for to cum the pot is my desire,
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| Woman Peeling Apples - Pieter de Hooch |
Or
else all the fat will run i' th' fire.
But
when th'leven o'clock bell it doth chime,
Then
I know 'tis near upon dinner time:
To
lay the tablecloth I then do run,
And
thus a woman's work is never done.
"When
dinner time is gone and over-past,
My
husband he runs out o' th' doors in haste;
He
scarce gives me a kiss for all that I
Have
dealt and done to him so lovingly;
Which
sometimes grieves me to the heart,
To
see him so clownishly depart:
But
to my first discourse let me go on,
To
show a woman's work is never done.
"There's
never a day, from morn to night,
But
I with work am tired quite;
For
when the game with me is at the best,
I
hardly in a day take one hour's rest;
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| Girl Chopping Onions - Gerrit Dou |
Sometimes
I knit, and sometimes I spin,
Sometimes
I wash, and sometimes I do wring.
Sometimes
I sit, and sew by myself alone,
And
thus a woman's work is never done.
"In
making of the beds such pains I take,
Until
my back, and sides, and arms, do ache;
And
yet my husband deals so cruelly,
That
he but seldom comes to comfort me.
And
then at night, when the clock strike nine,
My
husband he will say, 'tis supper time;
Then
presently he must be waited upon,
And
thus a woman's work is never done.
"When
supper's ended to bed we must go--
You
all do know 'tis fitting it should be so--
Then
do I think to settle all things right,
In
hope that I shall take some rest by night.
The
biggest of my children together I lay,
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| My husband then wakes me... |
And
place them by degrees so well as I may:
But
yet there is a thing to be thought upon,
For
why, a woman's work is never done.
"Then
if my husband turns me to the wall,
Then
my sucking child will cry and brawl;
Six
of seven times for the breast 'twill cry,
And
then, I pray you judge, what rest take I.
And
if at any time asleep I be,
Perchance
my husband wakes, and then wakes me;
Then
he does that to me which I cannot shun,
Yet
I could wish that work were oftener done.
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| A Girl and her Duenna - Murillo |
"All
you merry girls that hear this ditty,
Both
in country, and in the city;
Take
good notice of my lines I pray,
And
make the use of the time you may:
You
see that maids live more merrier lives,
Then
do the best of married wives:
And
thus to end my song as I begun,
You
know a woman's work is never done.
English
broadside, 1629
Images:
The Milkmaid: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermeer
Outdoor tavern: http://www.godecookery.com/afeast/brew/brew014.html
Breakfast Piece: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floris_van_Schooten
A Woman Peeling Apples, Girl Chopping Onions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Woman_Peeling_Apples
Elizabeth and Mary Freake:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Elizabeth_and_Mary_Freake.jpg
A Girl and her Duenna: http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/bartolome-esteban-murillo/a-girl-and-her-duenna-1670
Lyrics Source:
