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The London Gentlewoman (The Hemp Dresser)

 

is a saucy song from the English Dancing Master of 1651. The gentlewoman in the song might have either been a lady of high birth or, like the character Gentlewoman in Macbeth, a lady's attendant. 'Gentlewoman of Her Majesty's Bedchamber' was a term that used to be used for women serving the Queen of England. The song has also been known by the more downmarket name 'The London Maid', and so perhaps was meant to be about a servant.

Hemp dressing - The preperation of hemp for spinning - was a rather dangerous occupation. It was reported in a 19th century medical journal on account of the irritating dust and fluff that blew up from the proccess causing chronic breathing problems.

Dawn 2

Simon re-wrote the melody to the third verse to create a dramatic scene change as the lyrics increase in temperature. He dropped the fouth verse because the temperature had increased in this verse to the point of obscenity! He wanted to print these extra words in the lyric sheet below (for those who might be interested), but has - honestly - mislaid the original lyric sheet he had.

Temple Bells

The Lead vocal is by Morgan James. Morgan was the lead singer on the world tour of the show
River Dance. He is also an actor who has performed with the RSC and appeared in the hit show 'Being Human'. Simon and Morgan have worked together on several projects and are currently writing new songs together for future release.

Click Here

to link to Morgan's web site.

London Gentlewoman

Click on the image to read the lyrics.