Durfey, Thomas

The title inscribed on a panel below the text ("A Songe"), the ballad expressing anti-Establishment (specifically anti-Tory) sentiments, comprising six eight-line stanzas, each ending with the refrain "Then Hay Boys up goe we," written in black ink, with revisions and alterations including to the lines "we have more [deleted: reason] cause to be content/ [deleted: That it's] It is our sunshiny weather," and elsewhere, diverging in many places from the printed text of 1682, concluding with a pen-flourish, two pages, folio (285 x 190mm), the manuscript annotated with financial calculations etc. probably 1680s; splitting at folds affecting the text at the foot of the first page, staining and dust-marking. Modern cloth folder.

Sotheby's London, 8 December 2009, lot 30; acquisition: purchased at the forgoing sale through Bernard Quaritch

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
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This ballad is attributed to Durfey by Wing (Wing D 2791). It lambasts, among others, "the King and Parliament," "Tantivy Boys" [High-Church Tories] and "haughty Monerchey," "the Ante cristian crew," the aristocracy, "both universitys", papists and idolatry.  It was published as a music-sheet by Nathaniel Thompson in 1682, with the title "The Whig's Exaltation; a pleasant new song of 82. To an old tune of 41" (cf. also: ESTC R206506), with type-set music for the opening verse ("Now, now the Torys all shall stoop").  The ballad uses the well-known tune "Hey Boys up go we" (see W. Chappell, Old English Popular Music, I, 204), also the words of the refrain here.

This manuscript contains verses six of the eight verses published by Thompson (i.e. verses 1-5 & 8), but there are many differences from the printed version throughout. These and the deletions and alterations in the fourth verse, suggest that it is probably an early draft, possibly autograph.  According to the note in ESTC, most of the original words are by Francis Quarles, from his "The Whig Rampant; or exaltation" (Wing Q120). OED records "Tantivy" from 1680 as "a nickname given to the Post-Restoration High-Churchmen and Tories, esp. in the reigns of Charles II and James II."  Another longer version attributed to John Murcot appeared in 1683 (Wing M3085; ESTC R16149), in the wake of the Rye House Plot.