Lady Maisery is an English folk vocal harmony trio composed of Hannah James… Read Full Bio ↴Lady Maisery is an English folk vocal harmony trio composed of Hannah James (formerly in Kerfuffle) (vocals, piano accordion, clogs, foot percussion) Hazel Askew (of The Askew Sisters) (vocals, concertina, harp, bells) and Rowan Rheingans (of Fidola, The Rheingans Sisters) (vocals, fiddle, banjo, bansitar). Inspired by folk singing traditions of the UK and northern Europe, Lady Maisery sing songs and ballads both unaccompanied, and with backing from their combined instrumental talents on accordion, harp and fiddle. They are reviving the tradition of diddling, or singing, tunes, something which has nearly died out in the England but is still prevalent in Scandinavia and other parts of Europe.

They released their first album, Weave & Spin in 2011, and their second, Mayday, in 2013. Their third album, Cycle, was released in October 2016

The Capable Wife
Lady Maisery Lyrics

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There was an old man who lived in a wood, as you will plainly see
He thought he could do more work in
A day than his wife could do in three

"With all my heart" the old dame said, "If you will me allow
You shall stay at home today and I will haul the plow

"And mind you milk the tiny cow, lest she should go dry

And mind you feed the little pigs that are within the sty
And mind you watch the speckled hen if she should stray away
And don't forget the spool of yarn that I spin every day"

The old wife took a stick in her hand and went to haul the plow
The old man took a pail in his hand and he went to milk the cow

But tiny she flinched,
And tiny she squinched, and tiny she cocked up her nose
And tiny she gave him a kick in the
Shin 'till the blood ran down his toes

And when he went to feed the pigs that were within the sty
He knocked his head against the shed, and it made the blood to fly

And then he watched the speckled hen as she should stray away
But he quite forgot the spool of yarn that his wife spun every day

And when his wife came home that night he said he could plainly see
She could do more work in a day than he could do in three

Overall Meaning

The Capable Wife is a traditional English folk song that dates back to the 18th century. The song is about an old man who belittles his wife's work ethic and claims he can do more work in a day than his wife can do in three. The wife, fed up with her husband's assumptions, challenges him to a bet. She offers to do all the work for the day while he stays home. The wife's list of chores is quite long and includes hauling the plow, milking the cow, feeding the pigs, watching the speckled hen, and spinning a spool of yarn daily.

The husband agrees to the bet and stays at home while his wife goes out to do the work. What follows is a humorous account of the husband's struggles as he tries to complete his wife's work. The cow gives him a kick, the pigs make him fall and injure his head, and he forgets to watch the speckled hen and spin the spool of yarn. When his wife returns home that evening, the husband is humbled and admits that his wife is indeed capable of doing more work in a day than he ever could.

Line by Line Meaning

There was an old man who lived in a wood, as you will plainly see
There lived an old man in a forest, as you can easily recognize

He thought he could do more work in A day than his wife could do in three
He believed he could accomplish more within a day than his wife could in three

"With all my heart" the old dame said, "If you will me allow You shall stay at home today and I will haul the plow
"Surely" replied the old woman, "If you let me, today you can stay at home while I take the plow"

"And mind you milk the tiny cow, lest she should go dry And mind you feed the little pigs that are within the sty And mind you watch the speckled hen if she should stray away And don't forget the spool of yarn that I spin every day"
"And remember, milk the small cow so she doesn't stop giving milk, make sure to feed the little pigs in the sty, keep an eye out for the speckled hen, and don't leave behind the yarn I keep spinning daily"

The old wife took a stick in her hand and went to haul the plow The old man took a pail in his hand and he went to milk the cow
The old woman grabbed a stick and headed towards the plow. The old man fetched a pail and walked over to milk the cow

But tiny she flinched, And tiny she squinched, and tiny she cocked up her nose And tiny she gave him a kick in the Shin 'till the blood ran down his toes
But the cow started, shuddered, and wrinkled her nose in disgust. She even went ahead to strike him in the shin, causing blood to gush out of the wound

And when he went to feed the pigs that were within the sty He knocked his head against the shed, and it made the blood to fly
When he went over to attend to the pigs in the sty, he struck his head against the shed, resulting in a gash which bled heavily

And then he watched the speckled hen as she should stray away But he quite forgot the spool of yarn that his wife spun every day
Later, he saw the speckled hen escape, but he completely forgot about the yarn his wife habitually spun

And when his wife came home that night he said he could plainly see She could do more work in a day than he could do in three
When the wife arrived at sunset, the husband accepted that she could complete a day's worth of work in lesser time than he could ever

Contributed by Camilla G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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