History of Rapper

There are records of sword dancing on Tyneside from the 1700s. References to sword dancers are made in a number of Tyneside songs, one of the earliest being in John Leonard's Winlaton Hopping (circa 1814). The Tyneside Music Hall artist, Ned Corvan, followed Leonard later in the century, composing The Sword Dancer's Lament.
Originally the tradition was most often performed at Christmas. Christmas performances in Northumberland and Durham were undertaken by groups of around a dozen pitmen who, each with a sword by his side and clad in white shirts decorated in ribbons, travelled to the towns to perform a traditional play to song and music.

The captain of the group, who traditionally wore a cocked hat and peacock's feathers, was attended by a clown or bessy, who acted as treasurer and collected the money. The captain then formed a circle, round which he walked; the Bessy opened the proceedings by singing the first verse, the captain followed by introducing the various characters in succeeding verses. The ceremony often concluded with a general dance to the tune of 'Kitty Bo-Bo'. This version is taken from the Northumbrian Minstrelsy, published in 1882.