The Housewife’s Lament

The Housewife’s Lament was first published as a poem in 1871, titled “The Housekeeper’s Tragedy”, without attribution, in Arthur’s Lady’s Home Magazine, Volume 37. This text appeared as an introduction: “The following poem, which we clip from an exchange, will, we have reason to believe, be appreciated by all practical housekeepers”.

About the author: H. A. Fletcher is credited as the author in It’s Naughty but It’s Nice Songster of 1871, where the poem appears as “The Housekeeper’s Woes”. Eliza Sproat Turner is sometimes credited as the author, since the poem appeared in her 1872 book Out-of-Door Rhymes. Another tale is that the text was copied from Sara A. Price’s diary by Keith Clark.

Recorded by Bill Schachter in 2006.