Bum-Fodder is a broadside ballad. Broadsides, also called broadsheets, were very popular between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries in much of Europe and North America. A broadside consisted of one sheet of paper with news, ballads and rhymes, perhaps accompanied by a woodcut illustration, printed on one side.
After the invention of the printing press, broadsides were cheap to produce and cheap to buy. They were sold in their millions to often poor but literate people especially those living in towns and cities.
Broadsides were widely used for propaganda purposes, especially during the American War of Independence.
Broadsides were often used as toilet paper once read, an early form of recycling! Because of this lavatorial use of broadsides, Alexander Brome wrote Bum-Fodder, which was published as a broadside in 1662.
Alexander Brome was a royalist English poet famous for writing drinking songs. His earthy ballad was penned as an attack on the so-called Rump Parliament. The Rump Parliament was what was left of parliament after Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army excluded many Members of Parliament (MPs) sympathetic to King Charles I from entering the House of Commons in December 1648. This purge, known as Pride's Purge (Thomas Pride was the commanding officer of the soldiers arresting the MPs), paved the way for the execution of the king and the establishment of a republic under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell.
Because it's a long ballad, here are some extracts of his ballad:
Bum-Fodder: or, Wafte-Paper, proper to wipe the Nations RUMP with, or your Own.
Free Quarter in the North is grown so scarce,
That Lambert with all his men of Mars,
Have submitted to kiss the Parliaments Arse,
Which no body can deny.
If this should prove true (as we do suppose)
'Tis such a wipe as the R?MP and all's Foes
Could never give to Old Olivers Nose,
Which no body can deny.
There's a Proverb come to my mind not unfit,
When the Head shall see the R?MP all be-shit,
Sure this must prove a most lucky hit,
Which,&c.
There is another proverb which every Noddy,
Will jeer the R?MP with, and cry Hoddy-doddy
Here's a Parliament all Arse and no Body,
Which,&c.
...
Then let a Free Parliament be turn'd trump,
And ne're think any longer the Nation to mump
With your pocky, perjur'd, damn'd old R?MP,
Which,&c.
...
'Tis a pittifull passe you men of the Sword
Have brought your selves to, that the Rum•'s your Lord,
And Arsie ?ersie must be the word,
Which,&c.
Our Powder and Shot you did freely spend,
That the Head you might from the Body rend,
And now you are at Wars with the But-end,
Which,&c.
...
Old Noll when we talkt of Magna Charta,
Did prophesie well we should all smart-a;
And now we have found his Rump's Magna Fart-a,
Which,&c.
But I cannot think Monck (though a Souldier and Sloven)
To be kin to the Fiend whose feet are cloven,
Nor will creep i' th' Rumps Arse to bake in their Oven,
Which,&c.
Then since he is coming, e'ne let him come
From the North to the South, with Sword and Drum,
To beat up the Quarters of this lewd Bum,
Which,&c.
And now of this Rump I'le say no more,
Nor had I begun, but upon this score,
There was something behind, which was not before.
Which,&c.
Even if perhaps not poetically well crafted (though it does it for me because of its rhymes), the bawdy ballad represents a critique of the then English Parliament clearly suggesting that politicians have always been held in popular disdain and even contempt.
The ballad rhymed the Magna Carta, a royal charter in which the king made peace with some restive barons in England, with farter. Alexander Brome also rhymed trump with rump - was the poet predicting the American President's coming?! (As ana side, to trump means to fart in the British English language.)
My biggest query with this ballad is why nearly every verse ends with the "Which,&c" line. I haven't got a clue what this line means. Any ideas?
13
10 comments
Is that what people over the pond call it - The American War of Independence?
Or is that just your adorable term?
Hugs!!
We tend to call it the American War of Independence. We have to preface the name with 'American' because many countries have fought independence wars against Britain!
What a wonderfully undignified afterlife for a piece of print.
Even if not elegantly written, the poem still chimes today.
@spunkycumfun - 2026 version just needs some T's added and N's removed!🤩
🖕?➡?💩🤡
The poem will stand the test of time!
It clearly has, SSDY
Those are some pretty interesting Bummfoders there my friend, thanks for sharing with us. I hope your Tuesday continues to treat you well. ?
I hope I never have to use bum-fodder!
Most of our bum-fodder these days comes in the form of 15 to 30 second political ads on TV. And even though Election Day is still over two months away, they're hotly contested races, and the crap is flying big time already!
We don't get too many political adverts on television here. All political parties by law are allowed a number of party political broadcasts during a general election. Also donations to political parties are quite strictly controlled so there's less money for parties to spend at election time.
@spunkycumfun unless you're this guy.... lol
And there are likely many others 'At it' too
@stonnerking But surely you must believe Nigel Farage's defence that the £5 million that the crypto-billionaire gave him was personal and not political. I just can't believe the Thailand-based Christopher Harborne wanted any political favours!
My tongue has now been removed from my cheek. What a corrupt, lying weasel Farage is.
@stonnerking I just want to add that I've done weasels a great disservice by comparing Farage to a weasel.
@spunkycumfun I'll stick to the one in the pic
@bignicktx I wouldn't want a ferret up my trousers!
The truth is that I see a very appropriate dual use for newspapers and related media, and an ecological one, but now that information arrives mainly digitally I don't think there are many people who want to wipe their "bum" with their phone, although if it becomes a trending topic on TikTok I wouldn't be surprised
My bum is phone-free!
Fish-and-chip shops here used to wrap fish and chips in newspaper until it was banned.
@spunkycumfun Fish and chips seasoned with lead!
@AuraAviatik6 The Brits like a balanced diet!
@AuraAviatik6 @spunkycumfun
I'm reminded of my Grandparents choice of 'bum fodder' back in the 70's. It was like tracing paper!! #IZAL
@stonnerking I remember IZAL. It was supposed to be medicated, whatever that meant. All I knew was that my fingers regularly popped through the toilet paper that my school used to stock!
Looking at the pictured original, and seeing how it's laid out, I'm guessing "&c" means "and copy." The poet (and I use that term loosely) is intending to end each verse with "Which no body can deny" but didn't feel like printing it all out each time.
It reminded me of old records that wrote "do" to mean ditto
It seems then that Alexander Brome is a lazy poet!
I'm told "In 18th, 19th, and early 20th-century writing, authors used "which,&c." to avoid repeating a long list of things or clauses that the reader could easily guess."
@stonnerking Thanks for that information which makes a lot of sense.
@MyBaffies Now I don't count Edward Lear's effort a proper poem!