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Track of the Day - 2/28/2007
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Uncle Dirtytoes - Boys of Bedlam Listen to Boys of Bedlam on Rhapsody Here is a Celtic traditional horror ballad performed by the American folk group, Uncle Dirtytoes.  This ballad has appeared under a variety of different names throughout the years.  It has been known as Tom O'Bedlam, Bedlam Boys, Mad Maudlin's Search for Her Tom of Bedlam and Boys of Bedlam, among others. The term Bedlam derives originally from the Bethlem Royal Hospital in London, England.  It was the world's first psychiatric hospital and is infamous for its brutal treatment of its inmates.  Aside from the deplorable conditions they live in, the patients were subjected to public scorn of those who were allowed in (for a fee) in the 19th century to gawk, laugh and aggravate the patients.  They were even allowed to bring in long sticks to poke the patients. It is widely rumored that some of the more "fortunate" inmates were discharged from the hospital and were given license to beg on the streets of London.  They were identifiable by the tin plate that they wore on their arms.  These people became known as the Bedlam Beggars, Abraham-Men, Bedlamers, Bedlamites or Tom O'Bedlam.  The current belief is that these beggars were nothing more than impostors that faked a mental illness for public sympathy. Regardless, that didn't stop these beggars from appearing in various literary works of the time, like in King Lear when one character assumes the identity of a Bedlam Beggar to avoid detection.  Another literary work was a 1600's anonymously written poem titled Tom O'Bedlam, which proved to be so popular that other ballads were written in response, including Boys of Bedlam. My staff has murdered giants My bag a long knife carries For to cut mince pies from children's thighs With which to feed the fairies You get the gist.  Madness and chaos ensues.  Naturally, the word Bedlam has now come to mean just that and is also associated with basically any lunatic asylum since.  Though there are various versions to choose from, I went with Uncle Dirtytoes version for the sheer joy they seem to have with the madness (complete with screams and moans) of the Boys of Bedlam.  It appeared on their 2001 album Foot to the Path and the band appears to have a lot of fun with the song.  In fact, the band's name may come from the second line of the song, "Mad Maudlin goes on dirty toes, to save her shoes from gravel."
Filed under: Music, Dark Lullabies, Track of the Day	February 28, 2007, 3:05 pm | Permalink | 0 Comments
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