When I found this ballad, how could I not learn it? It is based on the true story of Amelia Dyer, who ran a Victorian "baby farm". It was pretty grim. She got very arrested and very hanged. I do not actually know whether we are related. I hope not.
lyrics
The old baby farmer has been executed,
It's quite time that she was put out of the way,
She was a bad woman, it is not disputed,
Not a word in her favour can anyone say.
That old baby farmer the wretch Mrs Dyer,
At the Old Bailey her wages is paid,
In times long ago we'd have made a big fire,
And roasted so nicely that wicked old jade.
It seems rather hard to run down a woman,
But this one was hardly a woman at all,
To make a fine living in ways so inhuman,
Carousing in comfort on poor girls' downfall.
Poor girls who fell down from the straight path of virtue,
What could they do with a child in their arms?
The fault they committed they could not undo,
So the baby was sent to the cruel baby farm.
That old baby farmer the wretch Mrs Dyer,
At the Old Bailey her wages is paid,
In times long ago we'd have made a big fire,
And roasted so nicely that wicked old jade.
To all these sad crimes there must be an ending,
Secrets like these forever can't last,
Say as you like, there is no defending,
The horrible tales we have heard in the past.
It seems really awful how her heart could harden,
For when the Bow Street Law Officers came,
They found twenty little bodies a-buried in the garden, And one or two more down the old kitchen drain.
What did she think as she stood on the gallows?
Poor little victims in front of her eyes,
Her heart, if she had one, must have been callous,
The rope round her neck - how quickly time flies.
That old baby farmer the wretch Mrs Dyer,
At the Old Bailey her wages is paid,
In times long ago we'd have made a big fire,
And roasted so nicely that wicked old jade.
Down through the trapdoor quick disappearing,
The old baby farmer has come to her harm,
The sound of her own death bell's toll she was hearing,
Maybe she went to the cruel baby farm!
Hello! I'm Reesha, I sing songs and accompany them on the guitar with dubious proficiency. Some of them are funny, some of them are depressing. It's a magical mood lottery!
supported by 17 fans who also own “Mrs Dyer, The Baby Farmer”
This is a great adaptation of Arthuriana and a brilliant narrative album. I love how the queerness of the characters is handled as an integral part of the narrative and plot development without it being the end all be all of the characters themselves. my boy Gawain deserved better though maritarvaniti
supported by 17 fans who also own “Mrs Dyer, The Baby Farmer”
TTBT has some of my favorite songs written by The Mechs. Iphis is my personal favorite due to its ties with Greek Mythology, but it's definitely an album I have on repeat constantly. yumeinati
Singer-songwriter Henry Parker puts his own spin on the classic sounds of '60s and '70s British folk on this wilderness-inspired new LP. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 9, 2021
This album speaks to the continuum of African diasporic culture that is central to the vibrant canon of Americana folk music. Bandcamp Album of the Day May 29, 2020