''The Boston Burglar'' (

Roud The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud. Roud's Index is a combination of the Broadsid ...

261) was a number one hit in the Irish Charts for Johnny McEvoy in 1967. It is a transportation ballad commonly assumed to have been adapted in America from the

sea shanty A sea shanty, shanty, chantey, or chanty () is a genre of traditional Folk music, folk song that was once commonly sung as a work song to accompany rhythmical labor aboard large Merchant vessel, merchant Sailing ship, sailing vessels. The term ...

''The Whitby Lad'' / ''Botany Bay''. before the 20th century. The

filk Filk music is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction, fantasy, and horror fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has existed since the early 1950s and been played primarily since the mid-1970s. The genre has a ni ...

song Banned from Argo's tune was based on this song.

Synopsis

The story tells of a young man who has been well brought up but turns to crime in the city of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, in America. Caught, tried and sentenced the man is placed on train to Charlestown, and warns people to be lawful so to not end up incarcerated like him.

References

Notes

Footnotes

Sources

* * * Boston Burglar, The Year of song unknown 1967 singles Songs with unknown songwriters {{folk-song-stub