Fathom the Bowl

A traditional tune and staple of the folk music community, this song has been performed by numerous artists. The oldest known written reference to it is in a catalogue published in 1832; a broadside printing is extant which may date back as far as 1819, but its exact age is unknown. Either way, the song likely dates to the early 19th century.

In September 2022, The Longest Johns released a video of the song in collaboration with  El Pony Pisador.

## Factoids

In some older performances, the line in the verse about the singer's wife said "she's black as the coal". This phrasing would not originally have had the racial connotations it may carry today; this older usage of "black" meant simply "evil or wicked",  rather than referring to any physical or racial attribute (see a similar line in "Dick Darby the Cobbler" for comparison). However, some modern singers do modify or omit this line in order to avoid unwanted implications, and in more recent streams, Robbie has sung it as "her heart's black as coal" to clarify the intended meaning (or in at least one live performance, "Me wife is the devil, but she is not here!").

In the video with El Pony Pisador, they follow the Ponies' lyrics for that verse, which refer to "my captain" instead of "my wife":

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> My captain, he disturbs me when I'm lying at my ease
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> He does as he likes and he says as he please
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> That man is the devil, he's dark as the coal
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>
>
>

## Lyrics

These lyrics are based on the version performed by the Longest Johns in their livestreams.

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> Come all you bold heroes, give ear to my song
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> I'll sing in the praise of good brandy and rum
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> It's a clear crystal fountain over England doth roll
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> Give me the punch ladle, I'll fathom the bowl
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>
>
> {Chorus}
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> I'll fathom the bowl, I'll fathom the bowl
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> Give me the punch ladle, I'll fathom the bowl
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>
>
> From France we do get brandy; from Jamaica comes rum
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> Sweet oranges and apples from Portugal come
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> But stout and strong cider are England's control
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> Give me the punch ladle, I'll fathom the bowl
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>
>
> {Chorus}
>
>
>
> My wife, she do grieve me when I'm lying at my ease
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> She does as she likes and she says as she please
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> My wife is the devil, her heart's black as coal
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> Give me the punch ladle, I'll fathom the bowl
>
>
>
> {Chorus}
>
>
>
> My father, he do lie at the bottom of the sea
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> With no stone at his head, ah but what careth he?
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> While a clear crystal fountain over England doth roll
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> Give me the punch ladle, I'll fathom the bowl
>
>
>
> {Chorus}
>
>
>
> I'll fathom the bowl
>
> Give me the punch ladle, I'll fathom the bowl
>
>
>
>

## Recordings

#### Gig Videos

* The Three Tuns - Bristol (29 Nov 2018)
* Shrewsbury Folk Festival (28 Aug 2021)
* Shrewsbury Folk Festival (28 Aug 2021)

#### Full Band Streams

* Christmas Party with The Longest Johns!!! (19 Dec 2018)
* Singing Live Stream and Special Announcement... (7 Aug 2019)
* TLJ Christmas Party!! (18 Dec 2019)
* Welcome to a New Decade with The Longest Johns (22 Jan 2020)
* Album Launch Party! Cures What Ails Ya, Available June 10th (Preorder Now) (10 Jun 2020)
* Sweet Streams are Made of This (In the Studio) (17 Mar 2021)
* A Midsummer Nights Stream (5 Jul 2023)

#### Gaming Streams

* The Longest Johns Play Sea of Thieves but the servers die and we sing anyway (20 Mar 2018)

1. ↑ https://www.vwml.org/record/RoudFS/S333526
2. ↑ http://ballads.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/view/1359ea21-834d-4d0c-85c4-c66d0c44d80b/
3. ↑ "black, adj. and n." OED Online, Oxford University Press, September 2022, www.oed.com/view/Entry/19670. Accessed 28 September 2022.