boy, Returned to the house of my first joy; The first house I live in, it shall be a hog-pen, And what-in-the-hell will become of me then? Origins There has been a great deal of speculation on the song's origins and meaning; its reference to Nottingham has been taken to suggest an origin in England. One often stated theory, originally suggested to Ritchie by EFDSS director Douglas Kennedy, is that it is of medieval origin and derives from a song associated with an English Mummers' play, which often featured absurd topsy-turvy imagery, though Ritchie was unable to find records supporting this. A second is that it might refer to the English Civil War, in which Charles I of England raised his first army around Nottingham: a popular theme at the time with diarists and pamphleteers was 'The World Turned Upside Down'. However, there is no particular evidence of any 'hidden' meaning in "Nottamun Town", and broadly similar "songs of marvels and lies" are very common; "Nottamun Town" appears to be a late example and no evidence has been found supporting a connection with mumming or Nottingham itself. A more likely interpretation is that the words of "Nottamun Town" and other American versions ultimately derive from the early 18th century broadside "Teague's Ramble", or "Teague's Ramble to the Camp", a story of an Irish soldier travelling to England which includes a series of very similar contradictions and absurdities. "Teague's Ramble" and various imitations were printed in several English or Scottish broadsides of c.1740, as well as in Boston, Massachusetts as early as 1748; its tune was used to set a number of other songs and was performed "with variations" on the Dublin stage in 1750. The song was one of a large number of the period mocking the Irish, although its subject matter of an Irishman joining the King's army at Salisbury Plain and references to "Holland's Genever" suggest it may specifically originate as an anti-Catholic satire on the Revolution of 1688, when there were rumours of Irish armies being sent to England. By the early 19th century a popular broadside version called "Paddy's Ramble to London" was circulating in America, and probably formed the source for "Nottamun Town". The text was adapted by singers to include local or topical references, such as the phrase "ten thousand drownded" apparently added in reference to the 1889 Johnstown Flood: another version has the