7P. I am a Rover (The Rover) Roud 1112
A. "The Rover," a broadside, printed J. Pitts, Wholesale Toy Warehouse, 6 Great Street, Seven Dials. Andrew St. as early as c. 1819; Johnson Ballads 977.
B. "The Rashiemuir, a new song," a broadside, Firth c.26(30) c. 1830 [Gardham has suggested an early date of c.1850]
Ca. "The Rover," Birt, Printer, 39, Great St. Andrew Street, Seven Dials, London between 1833 and 1841
b. "The Rover," E. Hodges, [f]rom Pitt's Toy and Marble Warehouse, 31, Monmouth Street, 7, Dials; 1844
c. "The Rover," c. 1845 Printed by A. Ryle and Co., at their Wholesale Book Warehouse, 2 and 3, Monmouth Court, Soven [sic] Dials, London between 1845 and 1859
d. "The Rover," H.P. Such, Printer. 177 Union st. and Borough, London c.1872 [see print illustration below]
e. "The Rover," broadside 2806 c.17(369) [ill. w horse racing with jockey]
D. "I am A Rover" from Mr. Holgate. Traditional Tunes: A Collection of Ballad Airs, Chiefly Obtained in Yorkshire and the South of Scotland by Frank Kidson- 1891.
E. "I Am a Rover" sung by Ted Nevill of Little Burstead, Essex on 16 April 1904 Ralph Vaughan Williams Manuscript Collection (at British Library) (RVW2/2/38)
F. "I've Been A Rover" sung by of Mr. Bollen, Ilchester Somerset on August 1, 1904 Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) (CJS2/9/335)
G. "The Rover" sung by Robert Dibble at Bridgwater on August 21, 1905; Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) (CJS2/9/660)
H. "I Am A Rover" sung by William W. Cousins of Bath, Somerset in Jan- Feb 1906; George Gardiner Manuscript Collection (GG/1/4/147)
I. "I Am A Rover" sung by Henry Adams of Basingstoke, Hampshire in September, 1906; George Gardiner Manuscript Collection (GG/1/10/586)
J. "The Rover" sung by Jack Brown of Trotton, Sussex on Feb. 28, 1911 Clive Carey Manuscript Collection (CC/1/32)
K. "Rover" sung by Elijah Iles of Inglesham, Wiltshire in 1916 collected by Alfred Williams.
L. "Rover" sung by James Shilton of Inglesham, Wiltshire in 1916 collected by Alfred Williams.
["The Rover," also titled "I am a Rover," is a song fashioned by London broadside writers in the early 1800s that later entered tradition. Its stanzas and theme are similar to those found in the Died for Love songs and is listed as appendix 7P "I am a Rover (The Rover)." My versions A-C are all broadsides. A and B are unique while C represents the standard broadside text as printed by the 1840s which was later found in tradition. A, listed in the Bodleian as Johnson Ballads 977 is titled "The Rover," and was printed by J. Pitts, Wholesale Toy Warehouse, 6 Great Street, Seven Dials. Andrew St. as early as c.1819. The text is given in full:
1. I am a rover, and that's well known,
Long time I've left my native home;
I've left my darling for to mourn,
She does not know when I shall return.
2. Did you not mention his coal black hair
His smiling looks doth my heart ensnare,
His sparkling eyes bewitched me,
I wish I never did him see.
3. I wish I was upon yonder hill
I'd set me down and cry my fill;
That all the world might plainly see,
That I lov'd a man that never loved me.
4. How could I act such a foolish part
To love a young man who broke my heart
If Cupid would but set me free,
I would seek another that would love me.
5. I wish I never lov'd at all
Since Love has proved my downfall
But now Cupid has set me free,
I will seek another who will love me.
Stanza 1 is the identifying stanza and the opening line and second line ending with home (known/home rhyme) are consistent. The identifying stanza seems to be a rewrite of the Died for Love's "Rambling Boy" and since he is a "rover" who has left "his darling" behind, floating stanzas follow which are sung by the maid of her misfortune. "The Rover" predictably follows the "Died for Love" formula: a maid falls in love with a rover who leaves her-- while she remains not knowing if he'll return. The remaining floating stanzas resemble a number of related songs. The first stanza is sung first person by the rover while the remaining stanzas are sung first person by the maid. Stanza 2 of A is found similarly in 7A, Sailing Trade as the "colour of amber" stanza. The first two lines of 3 resemble Shule Agra, last two lines Died for Love. The opening stanzas of Rambling Boy from "The Actor's Budget; Consisting of Monologues, Prologues, Epilogues, and Tales" by William Oxberry, 1811 appear:
I am a wild and roving boy,
And my lodging is in the island of Cloy;
A rambling boy altho' I be
I’ll forsake them all, and I'll follow thee.
Were I a blackbird or a thrush,
Hopping about from bush to bush.
Then all the world might plainly see,
I love the girl that loves not me.
The opening line is similar and has "roving" rather than "rambling." At the end of the stanza instead of "leaving" his lover, he follows her. The last two lines of Oxberry's 1811 song match the last two of stanza three of "The Rover" almost exactly. The "[I wish] I were a blackbird" is a common form of the "I wish" stanzas found in Died for Love and its extended family. The similarities are enough for me to believe that Rambling Boy could be the antecedent. The following version, my B, also departs from the standard London broadside text of the mid-1800s.
B. "The Rashiemuir, a new song," a broadside, Firth c.26(30) c. 1830.
1. I am a rover, 'tis well known,
I am gone to leave my home;
To leave my home as you can plainly see,
Let all the world judge of me.
2. Its I went over yon rashiemuir,
Leaving the sight of my true love's door,
My heart was sore my eyes got blind,
Leaving my true love so far behind.
3. It's I will go and see my love,
Tho' I should walk to the knees in snow,
Its I will court him most cheerfully,
Let all me sorrows take wings and fly.
4. I love his father, I love his mother,
I love his sisters I love his brothers,
I love his comrades and all his kin,
And I love the regiment my loves in.
5. Oh I wish I was but a butterfly,
On my love's shoulder I would fly,
When all the world's fast asleep,
In my loves bosom I then would creep.
6. Some they say my love is black,
But where there's true love there's none of that,
His cunning glances entises me,
I cannot love a but he.
7. I wish I should but in peace remain,
I wish I was but a maid again,
A maid again I will never be,
Till an apple grows on an orange tree.
In B the first stanza is sung by the rover and the rest by the maid. This broadside is titled after the new "Rashie Muir" stanza[1] (2nd stanza). The "Rashie Muir" stanza is one of the two identifying stanzas from that Scottish ballad known by a variety of titles including "Rushy Moor"and "Will Ye Gang, Love?" In the broadsides of C, this stanza is always present but the name has been corrupted to Danamore [dreary moor], or other corruptions. Stanza 3 seems to be taken from Died for Love's "frost and snow" but has been widely changed. Stanzas 4, 5, and 7 are Died for Love/Rambling Boy while 6 has "love is black" which is found modified in "The Complaining Lover- A New Song" (ca. 1795) and texts similar to Child 295.
My C, titled "The Rover," is a broadside published first in the 1830s and 1840s in London. Ca, "The Rover," was printed by T. Birt, 39, Great St. Andrew Street, Seven Dials, London between 1833 and 1841. The broadsides of C represent the standard text that entered tradition. I give the following text from Cd printed by H. P. Such, while he was at 177 Union St. and Borough, London (see print illustration above). Since he operated there from 1863 and 1885, I've given a date of c.1872. All the broadsides of C bear the title "The Rover" and are 6 stanzas with minor differences. Here's the text of Cd in full:
The Rover
1. I am a rover, and that's well known,
I am now going to leave my home;
Leaving my friends to sigh and mourn,
Farewell, my bonny girl, till I return.
2. She drew a chair, and bade me sit down,
And soon she told me her heart was won;
She turned her head when I took leave,
Farewell, my bonny girl, for me don't grieve.
3. I sat me down and I wrote a song,
I wrote it wide and I wrote it long;
At every line I shed a tear,
At every line, I cried, Polly dear!
4. Oh am I single or am I free
Or am I bound to marry thee;
A married life you soon shall see,
A contented life shows no jealousy.
5. As I crossed over Dulcimore,
There I lost sight of my true love [door];
My heart did ache, and my eyes went blind,
Thinking of my bonny girl that I’d left behind.
6. I wished, I wished, but all in vain,
I wish I'd been a maid again;
A maid again I never will be,
Till apples grow on the orange tree.
The broadsides of C have some different stanzas and a different emphasis-- the rover shows a loving interest in the maid and regrets leaving her behind. The text is sung in first person by the Rover except for the last stanza which appears to be tacked on from Died for Love. Yes, the maid is pregnant! In the 2nd stanza which is new, he leaves her. The 3rd stanza is common with 7A Sailor Boy. The 4th stanza is a variation of 7O, Must I Go Bound. The 5th stanza is from Rashie Muir.
Another broadside "The Irish Boy" from Poet's Box, 80 London Street, Glasgow, dated 1872 has three stanzas in common with C:
"The Irish Boy"
What a foolish young girl was I,
To fall in love, with an Irish boy;
An Irish boy I suppose was he,
He spoke good English when he courted me.
He followed me thro' the frost and snow;
He followed me when my apron hung low,
But now my apron's wearing short,
And he passed me by as he know me not.
I am a rover, but that's well known,
And I'm just going to leave my own,
To leave my own love behind to mourn,
Bot no one knows, love, when I'll return.
As I was crossing you rushy moor,
and leaving sight of my darling's door
I turned round, and I bade farewell,
And I took my journey where no one can tell.
I wish, I wish, but it's all in vain,
I wish I was but a maid again;
A maid again, sure, I ne'er will be
Till apples grow on yon willow tree.
This broadside show the cross-fertilization of Died for Love and its extended family. It also shows that these same stanzas were being printed in Scotland.
The Tradition
The first extant traditional versions[2] titled "I am a Rover," were published with music in Traditional Tunes: A Collection of Ballad Airs, Chiefly Obtained in Yorkshire and the South of Scotland by Frank Kidson in 1891. The tradition is based almost wholly on the broadsides of C which date from the c.1830s. The assemblage of floating stanzas that have come from tradition and print are derived almost entirely from the Died for Love songs and their relatives[3]. The traditional version, D, was obtained by Mr. Holgate in Yorkshire for Frank Kidson who commented[4]:
"The first version is another excellent air from Mr. Holgate's store of remembrance of Yorkshire song. The words are found on broadsides, and copies differ slightly from each other."
These broadsides mentioned by Kidson are the different prints of C. Here's the earliest traditional text which appears in full:
I am a Rover
1. I am a rover, and that's well known,
I am about for to leave my home;
Leaving my friends and my dear to mourn,
My bonny lassie till I return.
2. She drew a chair, and bade me sit down,
And soon she told me her heart I’d won;
She turned her head when I took my leave,
“Farewell, my bonny lass, for me don't grieve.”
3. I sat me down for to write a song,
I wrote it wide and I wrote it long;
At every verse I shed a tear,
At every line, I cried, “My dear!”
4. “O, am I bound or am I free?
Or am I bound to marry thee?
A married life you soon shall see,
A contented mind is no jealousy.”
5. As I crossed over Dannamore," [yon dreary moor]
There I lost sight of my true love's door;
My heart did ache, my eyes went blind,
As I thought of the bonny lass I’d left behind.
6. “I wish, I wish, but it's all in vain,
I wish that he would return again;
Return, return, he'll return no more,
For he died on the seas where the billows roar.”
Holgate's text is an assemblage of floating stanzas from the Died for Love songs and their relatives which are similarly found in various broadsides of C titled "The Rover." The variation of the "Must I Go Bound variant (stanza 4) is reminiscent of a stanza from 7R, Yon Green Valley[5]. As with the broadsides of C the opening stanza is similar to "Rambling Boy" while stanzas 2, 3 and the end of 6 resemble 7A, Sailor Boy (Sweet William). Stanza 5 is a corruption of the traditional Scottish song, Rashy Muir (Moor)[6] The word "Dannamore," (probably "by dreary moor") by its corruption shows that the stanza was taken by a writer from tradition.
Holgate's version and all the traditional versions are very close to print and represents a tradition not much older circa 1850[7]. The broadside and traditional versions suffer from a shift in the dialogue (between the Rover and his bonny maid) from 1st person by the Rover to an abrupt 1st person by the maid. In Holgate's version and the C broadsides this occurs between the 5th and 6th stanzas. In general, these shifts show the text was manufactured by a broadside writer by cobbling together stanzas from 2 versions. A skilled writer would tell the ballad story from the 1st person perspective throughout.
The broadside's last stanza is much closer to the standard Died for Love text than Holgate's which is taken from another song. Only one of six broadsides I've examined of C including from Kidson's collection had the end of the sixth stanza similar to Holgate's version. What is apparent is the modern song has two endings, see also version E collected by Sharp. Another difference is the "Polly dear" found in the broadside at the end of stanza 3. "Polly Dear" is consistently found in tradition as well. It's also found and is probably the source in some traditional versions of 7A Sailor Boy. Ce, an unknown broadside with no imprint, is the last broadsides listed-- rather than list every possible broadside (there are surely more, I'd estimate about a dozen printed from 1850 to around 1880) I've stopped at Ce.
A number of complete traditional versions were collected after Kidson's in the late 1880s. My versions D-K range from the early 1900s to around 1916. The song's continued popularity seems to stem mainly from Holgate's version which was published by Kidson in his Traditional Tunes. In the Waterson's recent version, the first stanza is used as the chorus. This is the opening of the popular version[8] by the Watersons who credit Kidson (Mr. Holgate of Yorkshire) for their version:
1. She drew a chair, and bade me sit down,
And soon she'd told me her heart I'd won:
She turned her head as I took my leave--
My bonny lass, for me don't grieve.
Chorus: I am a rover, and that's well known,
I am a-bound for to leave my home;
Leaving my friends and my dear to mourn,
My bonny lass, till I return.
Arranged by Mike Waterson, it was recorded at their club Folk Union One in Hull in 1966. It was reissued in 2004 on the Watersons' 4CD anthology Mighty River of Song.
"I am a Rover (the Rover)" is a broadside that is named after the opening line which resembles Died for Love's "Rambling Boy." Both A and B are broadsides that retain the first stanza but the remaining stanzas are different that C and the traditional versions that are based on C. Like its possible antecedent Rambling Boy, "The Rover" has not remained popular in the UK. Both songs are fatally flawed-- they are made up of random floating versions from Died for Love that do not tell a story and consequently make little sense.
There is a US song titled "The Rover" that was sung by William Lassiter of Caney Folk Valley area in DeKalb County, Tennessee about 1879 and taken down by Flora Lassiter McDowell from her father's singing[9]. Only the first two lines resemble the UK song, the rest is "Early, Early in the Spring (Laws M1 Roud #152)" whose antecedent is the late 17th century Seaman's Complaint for his Unkind Mistress, of Wapping. I give the first stanza only:
1. I am a rover; that's my name
I'm going to leave my native lane
I'm going to leave my darling behind,
Who often told me her heart was mine.
R. Matteson 2017]
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Footnotes:
1. The stanza appears:
Its I went over yon rashiemuir,
Leaving the sight of my true love's door,
My heart was sore my eyes got blind,
Leaving my true love so far behind.
2. Two music versions are given with only Holgate's text.
3. The Died for Love song is "I Wish" while related songs include, Sailor Boy; Rashy Muir; and Must I Go Bound (sim. Yon Green Valley). Even the first stanza, which may be the product of a broadside writer, resembles Rambling Boy: I am a wild and a rambling boy/ My lodgings are in the Isle of Cloy/ A wild and a rambling boy I be/ I'll forsake them all and follow thee.
4. Quote from Traditional Tunes: A Collection of Ballad Airs, Chiefly Obtained in Yorkshire and the South of Scotland by Frank Kidson in 1891.
5. For example here's a stanza sung by Frankie Armstrong in her cover of "The Green Valley":
Oh am I bound or am I free?
Oh am I bound to marry thee?
A single life is the best I see,
A contented mind bears no slavery.
6. "Dannamore" or "Dulcimore" are both corruption of "deary moor" as found in the Scottish ballad, "Will Ye Gang Love," or, "Rashy Muir." Here's a stanza from Greig-Duncan D:
As I cam' thro' yon rashie moor
Fa spied I in my true love's door?
My hairt grew sair, and my eyes grew blin',
To see my bonnie love leave me ahin'.
7. The earliest broadside version of C that I've seen is "The Rover," T. Birt, Printer, 39, Great St. Andrew Street, Seven Dials, London between 1833 and 1841.
8. The Watersons sang I Am a Rover at their club Folk Union One in Hull. This recording by Bill Leader was released in 1966 on their album The Watersons. Like all but one tracks from this LP, it was re-released in 1994 on the CD Early Days. It was also reissued on the Rhino sampler Troubadours of British Folk Vol. 1 and in 2004 on the Watersons' 4CD anthology Mighty River of Song [from Mainly Norfolk].
9. See; Memory Melodies- A Collection of Folk-Songs from Middle Tennessee- McDowell; 1947.