An excellent new song upon the declarations of the several corporations of the city of Dublin; against Wood’s half-pence. To the tune of London is a fine town &c
| TYPE | 3 - Complex Melody |
| TOPIC | Political |
| TUNE STRUCTURE | 8 bars |
| VERSE STRUCTURE | 17v 4l + ch |
| TIME SIGNATURE | 44 |
| KEY SIGNATURE | ♭ |
| TONAL CENTRE | F |
| INCIPIT | GE♭E♭CE♭E♭FGA♭B♭C'C' |
| GENRE | Ballad |
| TEXT SOURCE | 'An excellent new song upon the declarations of the several corporations of the city of Dublin …' (Dublin, 1724) Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. BrSides By6 1724. |
| TUNE SOURCE | Henry Playford, Wit and Mirth: or Pills to Purge Melancholy (London, 1707), Vol 2, p.40. |
| FIRST LINE | O Dublin is a fine town |
| NOTATED INCIPIT | |
| One of many Dublin-printed songs on the Wood's half-pence affair. The song probably dates from the summer of 1724, when many declarations of boycott against Wood’s halfpence were printed in Dublin. David Foxon attributed this song to Swift (English Verse, 1701-1750, 1975). | |
 Tune 'O London is a fine Town'.jpg)
AN excellent New Song Upon the Declarations of the several Corporations of the City of Dublin; against WOODs’s Half-pence.To the Tune of London is a fine Town &c.O DUBLIN is a fine Town,And a Gallant City,For Wood’s Trash is tumbled down,Come listen to my Ditty.O Dublin is a fine Town &c.In full Assembly all did meetOf ev’ry Corporation,From ev’ry Line, and ev’ry Street,To save the sinking Nation.O Dublin &c.The Bankers wou’d not let it passFor to be Wood’s Tellers,Instead of Gold to count his Brass,And fill their Small-Beer Cellars.O Dublin &c.And next to them to take his CoinThe Yeild wou’d not submit,They all did go and all did joyn,And so their Names they Write.O Dublin &c.The Brewers met within their Hall,And spoke in lofty Strains,These Half pence shall not pass at all,They want so many Grains.O Dublin &c.The Taylors came upon this Pinch,And wish’d the D[o]g in H[e]ll,Shou’d we give this same Woods an Inch,We know he’d take an Ell.O Dublin &c.But now the Noble Clothiers,Of Honour and Renown,If they take Wood’s Half pence, They will be all cast down.O Dublin &c.The Shoe-makers came on the next,And said they wou’d much rather,Than be by Wood’s Copper vext,Take Money Stamps in Leather. O Dublin &c.The Chandlers next in order came,And what they said was right;They hop’d the R[ogu]e that laid the Scheme;Wou’d soon be brought to Light. O Dublin &c.And that if Woods were now withstood,To his Eternal Scandal,That twenty of these Half pence shou’dNot buy a Farthing Candle.O Dublin &c.The Butchers then those Men so brave,Spoke thus and with a Frown;Should Woods that c[unnin]g S[coundre]l K[nav]e;Come here we’d knock him down.O Dublin &c.For any R[ogu]e that comes to Truck;And Trick away our Trade,Deserves not only to be stuck,But also t be Flay’d. O Dublin &c.The Bakers in a Ferment were,And Wisely shook their Head;Shou’d these Brass tokens once come here,We’d all have lost our Bread.O Dublin &c.It set the very Tinkers madThe Beaseness of the Metle,Because they said it was so bad,It would not mend a Ketle:O Dublin &c.The Carpenters and Joiners stood,Confounded in a Maze,They seem’d to be all in a Wood,And so they went their ways.O Dublin &c.This Coin how well cou’d we Employ it,In raising of a Statute,To those Brave Men, that wou’d destroy it,And then Old Woods have at you.O Dublin &c.God prosper long our Tradsmen then,And so he will I hope,May they be still such honest Men,When Woods has got a R[op]eO Dublin is a fine Town.FINIS.