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John Dory (song)

Traditional ballad From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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John Dory (Roud 249, Child 284) is an English-language folk song. The fish John Dory may be named for the titular character.[1] The song is sometimes sung as a three-part round. The first printing of the tune and text is 1609 in Thomas Ravenscroft's Deuteromelia songbook but there are earlier mentions of the song in books.[2] It was quite popular, and both parodies and satires were written to the same melody.

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Synopsis

John Dory, a ship's captain (perhaps a pirate, likely French) appeals to the king of France for a pardon, promising to bring him captive Englishmen. The first ship John Dory meets is a "good black bark" (ship) with "50 oars on a side" owned by Nicholl, a Cornish man. After a battle, John Dory is captured.

The king mentioned in the song ("good King John of France") might well be John II of France (1319–1364) who was known as "John the Good".

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See also

References

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