Worcester City

It is traditional, arranged by Carthy, and Roud 218, Laws P30. On the track she plays fiddle and sings, with Barnaby Stradling on acoustic bass, John Spiers on melodeon, Jon Boden on fiddle, Donald MacDougal on guitar and Donald Hay on drums and percussion. The song tells of a jealous suitor who courts a young woman, is rebuffed, sees her dancing with another man, and poisons her wine, killing them both; many versions end with a warning about jealousy. Rambles.NET called it a dark ballad of murder and suicide. Its other titles include Oxford City, Newport Street and Poison in a Glass of Wine. It was printed on broadsides from the early 1800s, John Pitts often named as the originator, and Mainly Norfolk says some suggest a real event but scholars have not found one. Vaughan Williams noted the tune from Mr Harper of King's Lynn on January 13, 1905.

Carthy learned it from Joseph Taylor, recorded by Percy Grainger on wax cylinder in 1908. Mainly Norfolk tabulates about 35 recorded versions, including Pop Maynard (1960), Fred Jordan (1966), Chris Foster (1977), Nic Jones as Newport Street (1978), Pentangle (1995), Tim van Eyken (2006) and Frankie Archer, who played it on Later... with Jools Holland on October 21, 2023. Carthy later released it on Huntingdon Folk 4 (2008), Three Score and Ten (2009) and Wayward Daughter (2013); whether the 4:47 version there is a re-recording is unconfirmed. It won best traditional track at the 2003 Folk Awards. We found no chart, video or setlist count.