Annotation:Malt's Come Down

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MALT'S COME DOWN. English, Air (6/2 time). G Mixolydian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AA. The tune dates back to the 16th century, and appears in a setting by the English composer William Byrd in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book (No. CL), and in Deuteromelia (1609). The first two stanzas begin:

There's never a drunkard in all of the town,
But well he knows the malt's come down.
Malt's come down, malt's come down,
From an old angel to the French crown. ... 'angel'=prostitute, French crown=pox

There's never a maiden in all of the town
But sleeps alone now the malt's come down.
Malt's come down, malt's come down,
From an old angel to the French crown.

Chappell notes: "...it appears that Ravenscroft, in arranging it as a round, has taken only half the tune." Since the latter two lines are always the same, it makes a great convivial song, with the first two line being made up spontaneously by each participant in turn.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Chappell (Popular Music of the Olden Time), vol. 1, 1859; p. 151.

Recorded sources:

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