Black Joke

The Black Joke, sometimes spelled Black Joak, was a bawdy song heard in London around 1730.[1] William Hogarth referenced the song in the Tavern Scene of A Rake's Progress.[2] Grose's dictionary of the vulgar tongue notes that the refrain of the song was "Her black joke and belly so white", with black joke referring to female genitalia.[3] Historical fiction writer Patrick O'Brian, in Master and Commander (the first of his 21-novel Napoleonic War series, originally published in 1969) referenced the ditty being sung aboard a sloop, the Sophie, that--in this fictional account--was in the service of the Royal Navy in 1800. The lyrics and tune apparently gave rise to variations from 1730 onwards, such as the White Joak and so forth. The tune was later known as The Sprig of Shillelagh. Thomas Moore (1779–1852) wrote the song "Sublime was the warning which Liberty spoke" to the tune.

Vessels

During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the Royal Navy employed several hired armed cutters that bore the name Black Joke.
During the War of 1812, Black Joke was a nickname for the highly successful Nova Scotian privateer Liverpool Packet.
In 1827 the British captured the slave ship Henriquetta and renamed her HMS Black Joke. She went on to become one of the most successful anti-slavery vessels in the West Africa or "Preventative squadron".

Notes

Fielding, Henry (2004). Lockwood, Thomas (ed.). Plays. One 1728–1731. Oxford University Press. p. 641. Retrieved 2009-09-24. 'The merry Tune of the Black Joke' ... slang for cunt
"Hogarth". Archived from the original on 2008-01-09. Tavern Scene ... notoriously obscene song
Egan, Pierce (1823). Grose's Classical Dictionary of the vulgar tongue. London.

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External links

"Black Joke". Digital Tradition Folk Music Database. April 1998. Retrieved 2009-09-24. quite possibly the earliest Irish popular song to be printed with it own [sic] tune (lyrics and background)

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[1] Fielding, Henry (2004). Lockwood, Thomas (ed.). Plays. One 1728–1731. Oxford University Press. p. 641. Retrieved 2009-09-24. 'The merry Tune of the Black Joke' ... slang for cunt

[2] "Hogarth". Archived from the original on 2008-01-09. Tavern Scene ... notoriously obscene song

[3] Egan, Pierce (1823). Grose's Classical Dictionary of the vulgar tongue. London.