'The Vicar of Bray' - English Satirical Song

'The Vicar of Bray' is an English satirical song from the 1700s telling the years of The Vicar of Bray and his changing principles to stay in power despite the changing Church and Monarch. The song is based on an earlier version, 'The Religious Turncoat'. The tune is from a folk song from the mid 1600s.

[rd]

English sense of humour hasn’t changed

[seraphim]

Bray must be a pretty nice place if the man was so determined to remain a vicar there

[elton]

This Vicar of Bray sounds like the actual Bishop of Llandaff.
He kept his See all the way through the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI & Mary I and into the reign of Elizabeth I. 
He had been a Monk at Westminster Abbey, later Abbot of Eynsham. When the abbey was dissolved under Henry VIII he was made Bishop of Llandaff, a post he kept until his death at the age of 92.
It has been said he would have become a Hindu if it meant holding onto the See of Llandaff. (E. Duffy, Fires of Faith. p23)

[globe]

Someone had the Gaul to say to me once that “this song is about Loyalty”
( he was being Unironic) 💀💀

[studiotamara]

This retains the distinction of being the only song that actually made me guffaw. Hats off to the English humour.

[JeffHall-ddcl]

My grandmother, a working class woman who died in 1975, used to sing this to me as she learnt it in school, not that she remembered all the verses, she thought it was funny.

[Longshanks]

This really does emphasise the point of how much life and monarchy changed for people in this time period.

When the song starts out, presumably when the vicar is a young man, Charles II is ascendant after the Restoration determined to see his Catholic brother succeed him but by the end of his life, Prime Ministers and Parliament hold all the power and the King is only so if he maintains the Protestant religion.

It’d be pretty much impossible to keep a consistent stance on the issue and also keep your position.

[vladsiminica]

Kings of England :
Charles ll (1660-1685)
James ll (1685-1688)
William lll (1688-1702)
Mary ll (1688-1694)
Anne (1702-1707)

Kings of Great Britain :
Anne (1707-1714)
George l (1714-1727)
George ll (1727-1760)

[AvaT]

I enjoyed this. I have not heard of this saying before, the song covered it well lol

[mediocrehistorian]

lol I had read this poem a year ago, and I always wondered if there was a sung version of it.

[jamespowell]

Classic British satire... You can definitely draw a direct line between the Vicar of Bray and some of Gilbert and Sullivan's patter-song-spouting "survivors" like Sir Joseph Porter and Major-General Stanley!

[Longshanks]

I do wonder if this was based on an actual vicar from Bray who kept changing his position, or whether this relatively low level position is just used to make a general, reflective point about how much people in those positions kept changing their tone in the Stuart/early Georgian era.

We didn’t even address whether the vicar would have sided with King George or Prince George in their dispute.
“Which King and Prince George are you talking about?”
Exactly. 😂

[richardcleveland]

It's a great song that in just a few minutes captures the religious and political turmoil of more than 100 years of near-constant change in religion. I'm quite sure the good Vicar of Bray was NOT alone in his gyrations!

[sakkra]

Ah, public officials who change their morals and loyalties as with the winds! Truly, a tale as old of time!

[vladsiminica]

The song was based in period of the 100 years of ascension of Great Britain to Great Power of the World from King Charles ll Stuart (1660-1685) to king George ll Hannover (1727-1760) 🇬🇧

[moraesneto]

In Aerys’ reign, those golden days,
When dragons ruled the sky, sir,
I swore my life to Targaryens,
Their blood was pure, on high, sir.
I preached of kings with dragonfire,
Their claim from gods above,
And cursed the fools who dared conspire,
Against the house I loved.
And this is law, I will maintain,
Until my dying breath, sir,
That Targaryens should ever reign,
Or I shall meet my death, sir!

When Robert took the throne by storm,
And dragons met their fall, sir,
I bent the knee without delay,
And answered Robert’s call, sir.
With antlered crown and mighty roar,
The stag now claimed the throne,
And I forgot the fire before,
To serve the king of stone.
And this is law, I will maintain,
Until my dying breath, sir,
That Baratheons shall ever reign,
As long as they have strength, sir!

When Joffrey’s crown was placed on high,
A lion fierce and bold, sir,
I swore my fealty once again,
For Lannister’s bright gold, sir.
I toasted to the Queen’s command,
And raised a goblet proud,
For Cersei’s hand would rule the land,
And silence every crowd.
And this is law, I will maintain,
Until my dying breath, sir,
That lions with their golden mane,
Shall wear the crown of death, sir!

When Stannis rose with shadow flame,
And banners burned with light, sir,
I whispered prayers to R’hllor’s name,
And swore to fight the fight, sir.
The Lord of Light would show the way,
As Melisandre claimed,
And I proclaimed that Stannis true,
By fire, was ordained.
And this is law, I will maintain,
Until my dying breath, sir,
That Stannis and his shadow flame,
Shall bring the realm to rest, sir!

But whispers spoke of dragons born,
Beyond the Dothraki Sea,
And Daenerys rose with fire and storm,
To claim her family’s legacy.
I pledged my sword to the Queen of Flame,
The rightful heir of old,
For fire and blood would rule again,
As it had once foretold.
And this is law, I will maintain,
Until my dying breath, sir,
That Daenerys shall ever reign,
Or the world shall turn to death, sir!

Then came the wolves from Winterfell,
And spoke of northern might, sir,
With Stark and snow and icy breath,
They called the North to fight, sir.
I bent the knee to Robb the king,
And swore a northern vow,
For Winter’s wind was gathering,
And cold would claim us now.
And this is law, I will maintain,
Until my dying breath, sir,
That wolves in winter shall remain,
As long as they draw breath, sir!

But then the winds began to shift,
As dragons soared once more,
And so my oath to fire I lift,
As I had done before.
For in this game of thrones we play,
One truth I’ve always known,
The one who wins is who I’ll stay,
And serve upon their throne.
And this is law, I will maintain,
Until my dying breath, sir,
That whoever claims the crown again,
Shall find my loyal chest, sir!

Here’s a flowing and rhyming English version of The Vicar of Bray set in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, capturing the opportunistic spirit of a character in Westeros, who changes loyalty depending on the shifting tides of power:

[jacobite]

Hahaha I was just reading about the early Tories and Whigs and came across terms like Church in Danger and occasional conformity, this song is actually really educational lmao.

[randeshjayawandhane]

After a lot of thinking and a number of scrapped attempts, I've finally managed to make this song Pro - Hanoverian, and Anti - Papist. There might be some irregularities with the beat, and a couple of broken rhymes, but I tried to make it work as much as possible, and still keep it similar to the original song.

In good King Charles's golden days,
When Loyalty no harm meant;
A Zealous High-Church man I was,
And so I gain'd Preferment.
Unto my Flock I daily Preach'd,
Kings are by God appointed,
And Damn'd are those who dare resist,
Or touch the Lord's Anointed.

And this is law, I will maintain
Unto my Dying Day, Sir.
That whatsoever King may reign,
I will be the Vicar of Bray, Sir!

When Bigot James stole the crown,
And popery grew in fashion;
The Penal Law he shouted down,
And read the Declaration:
The Church of Rome I found not fit
Well our British Constitution,
And as I was not a Jesuit,
I waited for Revolution.

And this is law, I will maintain
Unto my Dying Day, Sir.
That whatsoever King may reign,
I will be the Vicar of Bray, Sir!

When William our Deliverer came,
To heal the Nation's Grievance,
I turn'd James out and spat him then,
And gave to William Allegiance:
James’ Principles I did revoke,
Set conscience at a distance,
Passive Tolerance is a Joke,
A Jest is non-resistance.

And this is law, I will maintain
Unto my Dying Day, Sir.
That whatsoever King may reign,
I will be the Vicar of Bray, Sir!

When Royal Anne became our Queen,
Then Church of England's Glory,
Another face of things was seen,
And I stayed a Royalist;
Occasional Conformists base
I Damn'd, and Moderation,
And thought the Church in danger was,
From such Prevarication.

And this is law, I will maintain
Unto my Dying Day, Sir.
That whatsoever King may reign,
I will be the Vicar of Bray, Sir!

When George at fitting time came o'er,
And Moderate Men looked small, Sir,
My Principles I held once more,
And so I became big, Sir.
And thus Preferment I procur'd,
From our Faith's great Defender
And almost every day abjur'd
The Pope, and the Pretender.

And this is law, I will maintain
Unto my Dying Day, Sir.
That whatsoever King may reign,
I will be the Vicar of Bray, Sir!

The Illustrious House of Hanover,
And Protestant succession,
To these I lustily will swear,
Whilst they can keep possession:
For in my Faith, and Loyalty,
I never once will faulter,
So George, my god given king shall be,
Even when the Times falter.

And this is law, I will maintain
Unto my Dying Day, Sir.
That whatsoever King may reign,
I will be the Vicar of Bray, Sir!

[georgludwigernstmaximilian]

Can you do the "Chapter of Kings"?

[Dryhten]

A song that still applies to the modern "church" of England