“Sam Hall” is an old English folk song about a bitterly unrepentant criminal condemned to death (Roud #369). Prior to the mid-19th century it was called “Jack Hall”, after an infamous English thief, who was hanged in 1707 at Tyburn. Jack Hall’s parents sold him as a climbing boy for one guinea, which is why most versions of the song identify Sam or Jack Hall as a chimney sweep.
The song has only been collected from about 18 singers in the oral tradition, limited to Ireland, England and the USA, and there have been only six sound recordings made. Comic Minstrel W.G. Ross adapted one version probably in the 1840s, and changed the name from “Jack Hall” to “Sam Hall”. The song also appears to have been adapted to fit the region in which it was sung; some versions refer to Sam Hall being hanged at Tyburn, some at Cootehill. Also it is unclear what, if any, uncouth language was original to the song. Various versions have Sam Hall call his executioners “muckers”, “fuckers”, “buggers”, “muggers”, "critters" or “bastards”.
Samuel Hall or Sam Hall may refer to:
Sam Hall (born 28 December 1988) is an Australian freestyle skier. He competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Allison Samuel Hall (March 11, 1921 – September 26, 2014), known as Sam Hall, was a screenwriter known for his work in daytime soap operas, particularly Dark Shadows (from 1967 to 1971) and One Life to Live (from 1978 to 1984).
He was born at Carrollton, Ohio in 1921 to Samuel and Beatrice Hall. He was married to actress Grayson Hall, an Academy Award nominee who appeared on both shows, as Dr. Julia Hoffman on Dark Shadows, and as Euphemia Ralston on One Life to Live.
Hall and his writing partner, Gordon Russell, were best known for their work on Dark Shadows and One Life to Live.
After Dark Shadows wrapped, the two then took over One Life to Live for Agnes Nixon who began to focus more on her other soap All My Children. During its first few years, One Life to Live was a groundbreaking soap which addressed racial, ethnic, and class issue. But under Russell and Hall's watch, the show took on more haunting character studies tied in with the exit of previous established characters.