I'm a Man You Don't Meet Every Day

About I'm a Man You Don't Meet Every Day

"I'm a Man You Don't Meet Every Day" (Roud 975) is a traditional Scottish or Irish music hall song written from the point of view of a rich landowner telling the story of his day while buying drinks at a public house. According to Archie Fisher, the song is "an Irish narrative ballad that has been shortened to an Aberdeenshire drinking song". It is also known under the titles Jock Stuart, Jock Stewart or Jock Steward. Various versions of the song exist. A "boastful Irish ditty" of that title is recorded as early as the 1880s. It was also passed on from Frederick “Cauliflower” Crossman, who had worked with Cecil Sharp, to Crossman's granddaughter. Its "most famous version" is Jeannie Robertson's from 1960. A recent popular version was recorded in 1985 by the Pogues, with bass player Cait O'Riordan on vocals. In both Robertson's and O'Riordan's versions, the song's first-person narrator is presented by a woman, despite the song's masculine narrative. more »