English

Turpin Hero

"Turpin Hero" is a fine ballad that I learned from Brian Kelly. It is about the renowned English highwayman Dick Turpin and his audacious deeds leading up to his eventual execution.
I've used italics because Richard Kopp has a version on his site ("Bold Turpin Hero") whereby the Irish have pinched the complete story including the nationality of Turpin himself!
Another version of this song is explained in detail at John Roberts and Tony Barrand's interesting site on "Lincolnshire Folksongs collected by Percy Grainger".
Brian's version, where ever he learned only the Lord knows, has eight fine verses and he sang in the key of F. There is a very similar six-verse version in the key of G which can be found in Geoffrey Brace's Something to Sing.
"Turpin Hero" has been recorded by:
 Ewan McColl on "Chorus From the Gallows" RealAudio
 Various Artists on "Bold Sportsmen All"