Twenty, Eighteen- George Townsend (Sus) 1960 Matthews
[From: Musical Traditions MT CD 304: Come Hand to me the Glass. Matthews notes follow (see also bottom of this page).
R. Matteson 2017]
George is joined by his 11-year-old granddaughter Angela for the two verses he sang of this song - it's counting-song version of Oh, No John which Brian Matthews also recorded from Alfred Patching of Fulking, Sussex. It seems to be known all over England and in the USA, Canada, and even Tristan da Cunha! but Scotland has only produced one sighting. Frank Harte sings an almost identical version to George's from Ireland.
Twenty, Eighteen- as sung by George Townsend, Lewes, Sussex, in 1960; recorded by Brian Matthews.
Oh yonder stands a most beauty creature,
Who she is I do not know,
I will go and court her,
Let her answer me yes or no.
Chorus: With me twenty, eighteen, sixteen, fourteen,
Twelve, ten, eight, six, four, two, none,
Nineteen, seventeen, fifteen, thirteen,
'leven, nine, sev'n, five, three and one.
Oh madam, I am come to court you,
If your favour I can win,
And if you use me kind and welcome,
I will surely come again.
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George Townshend bio (Brian Matthews)
... was born at Wootten Farm, East Chiltington, near Lewes, on August 29th, 1882. He was the only boy among six sisters, five of them older and one his twin. His father (also named George) was bailiff or manager of Wootten Farm at that time. He started school at the apparently early age of three years, but this was because he had older sisters at school to look after him, and no doubt his mother was glad of the break from her family of seven. When George was seven years old, his father decided to leave farming for the life of a publican. g_towns6.jpg - 20.1 KHe took over a country pub called The Jolly Sportsman at East Chiltington on September 29th 1888, and upon the new landlord first opening his doors a celebration was held and all the locals received free drinks.
On that occasion George made his first public appearance as a singer. He was stood on a form beside his father and together they sang the two songs with which they were to make a practice of opening their double turn: The Glittering Dewdrops and When the Spring Comes In, two songs which his father had taught him. His father was well-known locally as a singer, and for many years they sang together in harmony, the older singer taking the bass part. For the rest of the opening night the local singers gave forth, until 10 p.m. when the pub closed.
The pub was always crowded on Saturday night for the weekly sing-song, and there were many fine singers, including Luke and Leonard Welfare, Leonard Reed, Tim Taylor, S Scarase, G Vine, S Wood, Charles Major, Mr Johnson, Mr Bodle and his son Harry, and George Reed, who often sang with George Townshend after his father's death.
From the age of five until eleven, when his father left the pub, George was a choir boy at East Chiltington Church and on Sunday evenings he and his sisters would sing to their father, who rarely attended the service, the hymns that they had sung in church earlier that day. The Townshends were at The Jolly Sportsman for four years, and then they moved to Plumpton, near The Half Moon, and George and his father were in great demand in this pub on Saturday evenings, as there were few singers using two-part harmony in the locality. After the move to Plumpton, George sang in the church there, which at that time was in the middle of fields. He was the only member of the family to play an instrument - at about the age of eleven he began playing the melodeon, but gave it up in later years.