Poaching Song
The Robber Bird track 2
Generations of schoolchildren have sung The Lincolnshire Poacher and most people probably assumed that this was a song peculiar to Lincolnshire. Our poaching song demonstrates that this is not the case – it’s exactly the same storyline, but in this version the action takes place in Somerset. It’s one of several fine songs noted down by Cecil Sharp in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, from a Mrs Elizabeth Smitherd.
You can find biographical details of Mrs Smitherd - and other Gloucestershire singers - on the Gloucestershire Christmas website.
VWML Online has a list of songs collected by Cecil Sharp from Mrs Smitherd but intriguingly reports that "Her name is usually given as Mrs Elizabeth Smitherd, or Smithers, but research by Paul Burgess suggests this should be SMILHARD".