7S. Down in a Meadow; Roud 18829 (Unfortunate Swain; Down in Yon Meadow, Prickly Rose, Gathering Flowers)
A. Various broadsides from c.1750
a. "A New Love Song" [Unfortunate Swain] broadside c. 1750. From: Two excellent New songs. I. A new Love Song. II. Newcastle Ale, [1750?] (Roxburghe Ballads III. 421)
b. "The Unfortunate Swain" from The Merry Songster. Being a collection of songs, Printed and sold in Aldermary Church Yard, Bow Lane, London, [1770?]
c. "The Unfortunate Swain. A new Song" Harding B22(312); Madden Ballads, Reel 3, Frame 1936 c. 1780 (Baring Gould dates 1766).
d. "Picking Lilies" from 1782 chapbook reprinted in W. H. Logan, "A Pedlar's Pack of Ballads and Songs;" also in Glasgow chapbook.
B. "In Yon Garden," from Charles Johnson (father of the Museum's James Johnson), learned as a child. In “Scots Musical Museum” of Johnson, 1787, VI. p. 582.
C. [In the Meadows] Taken down from Will. Nichols, Whitchurch, May 29 1891: his grandmother’s song from about 1825. Baring-Gould F, MS from his notebooks, my title.
D. "Down In Yon Meadows", tune and text from Thomas Hepple; Manuscript, ca.1857
E. "Gathering Flowers," c. 1858, from the article “The Gin-Around” which was published in Godey's Lady's Book and Ladies' American Magazine in 1874 by J.B.S. The play-party was held at the “overseer's house” across a field from J. B. S.'s family home.
F. "Prickly Rose" from Christie's Traditional Ballad Airs, 1876
G. "Down in the Meadows" - sung by Mrs. Caroline Cox of High Ham, Somerset on August 8th, 1905. Collected Cecil Sharp, from his MSS. From: Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) (CJS2/9/604)
H. "As I Was Walking." Sung by Mrs. Tom Poole of Beaminister, Dorset in June, 1906
I. "Down In The Meadows." Sung by James Thomas of Cannington, Somerset on 20 April 1906. Collected by Cecil Sharp, from Karpeles, Sharp Collection, No. 35 B, p. 172. Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) (CJS2/9/989),
J. "Down in those Meadows" sung by Mrs. Cranstone of Billingshurst, Sussex; collected by George Butterworth, c.1907; originally titled "Waly, Waly." George Butterworth Manuscript Collection (GB/4/59)
K. "Gathering Flowers," my title, no title given. Secured by Miss Hamilton in 1909 from Nita Stebbins of the West Plains High School. From H.M. Belden's "Ballads and Songs," under the auspices of the Missouri Folklore Society, 1940.
L. "Gathering Flowers," sung by Jane Gentry, of Hot Springs, North Carolina in 1916
M. "Gathering Flowers," sung by Fanny Coffey of White Rock, Virginia on May 8, 1918; from Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) (CJS2/9/3045).
N. "Down in a Valley" as sung by Mrs. Gladys Stone of Fittleworth, Sussex. Recorded by Bob Copper in 1954.
O. "Down in the Meadow," sung by Jasper Smith: recorded by Mike Yates near Epsom, Surrey, probably April 26, 1975; from Travellers (12TS395, 1979).
["Down in a Meadow" is the title of a love song derived from opening line of a group of broadsides with nearly identical text known as "The Unfortunate Swain," "Picking Lilies" and by other titles. It is identified by the first stanza and is named after the opening line or sometimes the second line with the title, "Gathering Flowers." Aa, "A New Love Song" dates back to c.1750 while Ab, "The Unfortunate Swain" is taken from The Merry Songster, c.1770. Ac, "The Unfortunate Swain-- A new Song" is a broadside with no imprint which is dated c.1780 and Ad, "Picking Lilies," is taken from 1782 chapbook and appears in W. H. Logan's "A Pedlar's Pack of Ballads and Songs." At least six Unfortunate Swain broadsides were printed before 1800. The one from Madden[1] bears the name, "Maid's Complaint." No attempt will be made to list and supply the texts for all the extant early broadsides. Four (Aa-Ad) are given here, which will suffice. These broadsides are nearly identical and are hereafter referred to as "The Unfortunate Swain" or "Unfortunate Swain." Since some of the stanzas are also found in Waly, Waly (Water is Wide), Cecil Sharp used "Waly, Waly" as his master title. Whereas Sabine Baring-Gould used the "Deep in Love" master title after the 5th stanza, 3rd line.
"The Unfortunate Swain" has one stanza, "Must I Go Bound?," which is an added stanza in many Died for Love songs and one stanza, "There's thousands, thousands in a room," in common with its relative 7A Sailor Boy (Sweet William). The earliest version of Sailor Boy that has the "There's thousands, thousands in a room," stanza is "Sailing Trade," from a c.1800 Scottish chapbook. The "Must I Go Bound?" stanza is found in older print sources [see the headnotes for 7O Must I Go Bound?] and is used in a variety of ways. In many traditional "Down in the meadow/Down in yon Valley" songs, the "Must I Go Bound?" stanza is missing. Some traditional versions are made up of entirely of stanzas from Unfortunate Swain broadsides, c.1750. The three traditional variants (Down in a Meadow; Must I Go Bound; Deep in Love), titled by the first stanza, are all part of the Unfortunate Swain group. "Must I Go Bound" is also associated with other songs whereas "Down in a Meadow" and "Deep in Love" are usually made up of stanzas from The Unfortunate Swain.
Here's the text for Ab, a standard broadside titled, "The Unfortunate Swain" from The Merry Songster; Being a collection of songs, Printed and sold in Aldermary Church Yard, Bow Lane, London, about 1770 (original spelling and capitalization kept):
"The Unfortunate Swain"
1. Down in a Meadow both fair and gay,
Plucking a Flowers the other day,
Plucking a Flower both red and blue,
I little thought what Love could do.
2. Where Love's planted there it grow(s),
It buds and blows much like any Rose;
And has so sweet and pleasant smell,
No Flower on Earth can it excell.
3. Must I be bound and she be free?
Must I love one that loves not me?
Why should I act such a childish Part
To love a Girl that will break my Heart.
4. There's thousand thousands in room,
My true love carries the highest Bloom,
Sure she is some chosen one,
I will have her, or I'll have none.
5. I spy'd a Ship sailing on the Deep,
She sail'd as deep as she could swim;
But not so deep as in Love I am,
I care not whether I sink or swim.
6. I set my Back against an oak,
I thought it had been a Tree;
But first it bent and then it broke,
So did my false Love to me.
7. I put my Hand into a Bush,
Thinking the sweetest Rose to find,
l prick'd my Finger to the Bone,
And left the sweetest Rose behind.
8. If Roses are such prickly Flowers,
They should be gather'd while they're green,
And he that loves an unkind Lover,
I'm sure he strives against the stream.
9. When my love is dead and at her rest,
I'll think of her whom I love best
I'll wrap her up in Linnen strong,
And think on her when she's dead and gon[e].
Although an early date of c.1750 is given for Aa, an unknown missing broadside was printed earlier since one traditional version, "In Yon Garden," predates 1750. The choice and the order of the Unfortunate Swain stanzas seems arbitrary. What's remarkable is that the individual stanzas exhibit a wide variety of emotions from the exhilaration of love (stanzas 1, 2, 4, 5) to the agony of despair and death (stanzas 3, 6, 7, 8, 9). Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of these love stanzas is that some of the stanzas are allegories with deeper meanings. The first stanza or more accurately the first line is occasionally found in the Died for Love songs and their relatives[2]. It's sometimes mixed with the similar line from "Constant Lady and the False Heart Squire," a c. 1686 broadside more commonly used in Died for Love. Stanza 4 ("If there's a thousand in the room") is found in Sailor Boy (Sweet William) a "traditional" relative[3] of Died for Love. Stanzas 7 and 8 are usually joined and come from Martin Parker's "Distressed Virgin" of c.1626. The other stanzas appear in print and in tradition in a variety of ways.
The opening stanza is similar to the parallel 1686 broadside "Constant Lady." At least some mixing has occurred in tradition. The earliest antecedent of Constant lady is "As I Walked Forth" by lutenist Robert Johnson (c 1560-1634) which begins similarly: "As I walked forth one summer's day/To view the meadows green and gay." A similarly titled version of Constant Lady/Died for Love is "Down In The Meadows," sung by Louie Hooper & Lucy White at Hambridge, Somerset on Dec. 28, 1903 [Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) (CJS2/10/64)]. Here's the first stanza:
Down in the meadow the poor girl run
Gathering flowers as fast as they spring
She gathered a flower from every bough-bud
Until she gained her apron full.
The first lines are very similar to Unfortuate Swain. The next example, "Through the Meadow She Ran," sung by Mrs. Emma Dusenbury (1899-1990) of Mena, Arizona in August, 1936 has combined text from both Constant Lady and The Unfortunate Swain:
Through the meadow she ran,
A-pickin' every flower that sprung
She picked; she pulled of ev'ry hue
She picked; she pulled red, white and blue.
* * * *
The plot of Unfortunate Swain (Down in the Meadow) is confused because of the admixture of floating allegorical stanzas. A semblance of a plot is established by the first stanza which culminates in the last stanza. Because the floating stanzas are cobbled together, it's hard to tell which stanzas should be sung by the man and which by the maid. Since the first stanza involves picking flowers, it could be sung by either the man or the maid. Stanzas 3, 4, and 9 are sung by the man. Stanza 8 could be sung by the maid. In general the broadside makes more sense sung by the man. The internal love stanzas show a deep conflict and reveal an unfaithful love. The possible theme as found similarly in "Constant Lady" is: A maid/her lover was down in a meadow gathering flowers, little do they know what love could do. As is Constant Lady the flowers in the first stanza may have been chosen for her burial bed. The internal stanzas show the deep love and painful conflicts which are caused by unfaithfulness. In the end, the maid has died, presumably she has "Died for Love." In the concluding stanza her lover will think on her when "she's dead and gone." Traditional full versions like the one sung by Gladys Stone of Fittlesworth in 1954, which was written down in her father John Johnson's notebook, are sung in first person throughout-- presumably by the man.
The title of another Unfortunate Swain ballad, "Deep in Love," is normally made up entirely of stanzas of Unfortunate Swain and is named for the end of the 3rd line in the 5th stanza:
I saw a ship sailing on the deep,
She sail'd as deep as she could swim;
But not so deep as in love I am, [deep in love]
I care not whether it sink or swim.
Unfortunately after 1891 when Sabine Baring Gould published the first version[4] of Unfortunate Swain titled "Deep in Love"-- all versions of Unfortunate Swain became labeled as versions of "Deep in Love," a practice still in effect today[5]. Versions are lumped in Roud 18829 which also includes "Deep in Love" and "Must I Go Bound." The Unfortunate Swain is still listed as Roud 60, a number that originally was used for all Died for Love songs and their relatives. The Unfortunate Swain is aligned with "Waly, Waly" and "Water is Wide" but is not closely related to the Deep in Love songs and ballads.
The first extant traditional version, my B, is a fragment reported by Charles Johnson, the father of the publisher of the Scottish Musical Museum, James Johnson. The elder Johnson said it was "an old song in his young days[6]." Since his son James was born about 1755, this would date the song back before the mid-1700s in Scotland. Here's the text in full:
IN YON GARDEN.
In “Scots Musical Museum” of Johnson, 1787, VI. p. 582
IN yon garden fine and gay,
Picking lilies a' the day,
Gathering flowers o' ilka hue,
I wistna then what love could do.
Where love is planted, there it grows;
It buds and blooms like any rose;
It has a sweet and pleasant smell:
No flower on earth can it excel.
I put my hand into the bush,
And thought the sweetest rose to find,
But pricked my finger to the bone,
And left the sweetest rose behind.
The earliest version Baring-Gould collected was a version from an informant whose grandmother sang the version about 1825. It's in Baring-Gould's MSS under F. Deep in Love[7]:
[In the Meadows] Taken down from Will. Nichols, Whitchurch, May 29 1891: his grandmother’s song from about 1825.
In the meadow t’other day
Plucking flowers both fine & gay
Plucking flowers red, white & blue
I little thought what love could do.
Where love is planted there it grows
It buds and blossoms like a rose
It bears a sweet & pleasant smell
There’s not a flower can it excell.
Ten thousand ladies in the room
My love she is the fairest bloom
[Surely she must be some chosen one,] [8]
I said I would have her or none.
The following account of D, along with the text is given in the online article, Water is Wide[9]: In 1855 the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne "appointed a committee 'to protect and preserve the ancient melodies of Northumberland." Two years later the Duke of Northumberland offered prizes for the two best collections of "ancient Northumbrian music". Thomas Hepple, a "local singer" from Kirkwhelpington, sent in his manuscript of 24 songs, in his own words "some old ballads I have had off by ear since boyhood" (Lloyd, Foreword to Bruce/Stokoe, pp. vi & xi; Rutherford 1964, pp. 270-2). His text – with six of the nine original verses - is very close to the printed versions and one may assume that he or his source had learned the song from a broadside or chapbook (online available at FARNE). The tune is clearly related to the one published in the Scots Musical Museum:
"Down In Yon Meadows", tune and text from Thomas Hepple; Manuscript, ca.1857
Down in a meadow fresh & gay
Plucking flowers the other day,
Plucking flowers both red and blue,
I little thought what love could do.
Where love is planted there it grows,
It buds & blossoms like any rose,
Such a sweet and pleasant smell,
All flowers on earth can it excel.
There thousands thousands all in a room,
My love she carries the highest bloom,
Surely she must be some chosen one,
I will have her or, I will have none.
I put my hand into a bush,
Thinking the sweetest rose to find,
But I prick'd my finger to the bone,
I left the sweetest rose behind.
I spy'd a ship sailing on the sea
Laden as deep as she could be,
But not deep as in love I am,
I care not whether she sink or swim.
Must I be bound and she go free
Must I love one that loves not me;
Why should I act such a childish part
To love a girl that should break my heart.
The Prickly Rose, my F, was published by William Christie in his Traditional Ballad Airs, 1876. His detailed notes regarding the air are given before his text:
The first Strain of this Air was sent to the Editor in 1850 by a native of Buchan, And the second Strain he noted from the singing of the old woman referred to p 42. Bunting gives a set of the first Strain of this Air in his "Ancient Music of Ireland," Vol. ll. p. 71. (1811) "I am a poor and rambling Boy." This is no proof that the air is Irish any more than that the air is Irish, which Dr. Petrie noted in 1852 from a fiddler of Leitrim, and gives in his "Ancient Music of Ireland? Vol. I. p. 127, which is merely a set of “O, as I was kist yestreen" (Museum, IV. 330), a well known air in the beginning of the last century under the name,"Lumps of Pudding," not the "Lumps of Pudding" in Gay's "Beggar’s Opera" (about 1726) which borrowed its name. Dr. Patric, forgetting that the Air, “O, as 1 was kist yestreen," had been published long ago, says, “It is very much in the style of Carolan’s best jigs and planxtier, and may very possibly be a work by that prolific composer." The Ballad, "The Prickly Rose‘,’ was long sung, in the Counties of Aberdeen and Banff, to scraps of the Air here given. Twelve lines of the ballad are given by Johnson in the ‘‘Museum" I. 582. (1803) written from the singing of his father, but to an Air different from the one given above.
The Prickly Rose. (From Christie, 1876)
DOWN in yon meadow fresh and gay,
I was pulling flowers the other day;
I was pulling flowers both red and blue,
But I little knew what love could do.
For there love’s planted, and there it grows,
It buds and blooms like any rose,
It has such a sweet and a pleasant smell,
That nought on earth can it excel.
I put my hand into a bush,
Thinking a sweet rose there to find;
But prick’d my fingers to the bone,
And left the sweetest rose behind.
If roses be such prickly flowers,
They should be pull’d when they are green;
So he that finds an inconstant love,
I’m sure he strives against the stream.
I see a ship sailing on the sea,
As heavy laden’d as she can be;
But she’s not so deep, as in love I am,—-
What is’t to me though she sink or swim ?
Must I go bound, and she go free?
Must I love one that loves not me?
Why should I act such a childish part,
As to love a fair one that breaks my heart?
’Mong thousand thousands in a room,
My love does carry the highest bloom;
She surely is my chosen one,
And I shall wed her or else wed none.
Though she were dead and at her rest,
I would think on her whom I love best;
I would wrap her up in my memory strong,
And still think on her when she’s dead and gone.
Christie's text is very close to printed texts. The order has varied greatly from the broadsides and the 6th stanza "I set my back against an oak" is missing.
The first extant US version, my E, has the "The Unfortunate Swain" opening and the "Must I Go Bound" stanza. E, which I've titled "Gathering Flowers," was a fragment of a play-party song collected before the Civil War in the US South and published in the article, "The Gin-Around" in 1874[10]:
All of them pretty girls a marching away;" and which was soon exchanged for one which ran thus:—
"As I walked out, one morning In May,
A gathering flowers (I looked so gay).
The prettiest little girl I ever did see
Come a-walking along by the side of me.
"Shall I go bound, or shall I go free?
Shall Hove a pretty girl that don't love met
No, no, no! it never shall be
That ever love shall conquer me!"
This was corroborated by a version collected by Cecil Sharp in Virginia in 1918 which provides a few additional lines:
GATHERING FLOWERS. (Play Game) Sung by Fanny Coffey[11] of White Rock Virginia on May 8, 1918.
As I walked out one morning in May,
Gathering flowers fresh and gay,
Gathering flowers pink and blue,
So little did I think what love would do.
The prettiest girl I ever did see
Come walking down by the side of me.
Must I go bound, must I go free,
Must I love a pretty girl that don't love me?
No, O no, it never can be,
Love can never conquer me.
I won't go bound. I will go free,
I won't love a pretty girl that don't love me.
My rambling days are over and passed,
And I've got a pretty little wife at last.
She was the one that once said No,
But now she says Yes, and it shall be so.
Anther short version from North America which could be considered a version of Unfortunate Swain or Deep in Love has been found[12]. It's a fragment of two verses that were recorded by Cecil Sharp from the singing of Jane Gentry in 1916 in North Carolina. The melody can be compared to the Coffey version:
As I walked out one morning in May,
A-gathering flowers all so gay,
I gathered white and I gathered blue,
But little did I know what love can do.
Seven ships on the sea,
Heavy loaded as they can be,
Deep in love as I have been,
But little do I care if they sink or swim.
Whether the Gentry version of Gathering Flowers is the play-party song as found in Appalachia and the American South or an archaic relic from the Hicks family is unknown. Since this version by Gentry has only two stanzas, either stanza may be used as the identifying stanza.
These fragments appears to be the only extant versions of Unfortunate Swain in North America. The "gathering flowers" stanza has some similarity to the "Constant Lady" stanzas found occasionally attached to Died for Love songs and could also be attached in that context. The only example I know is in "Through the Meadow She Ran," sung by Mrs. Emma Dusenbury (1899-1990) of Mena, AR in August, 1936:
Through the meadow she ran,
A-pickin' every flower that sprung
She picked; she pulled of ev'ry hue
She picked; she pulled red, white and blue.
The last two lines resemble the Unfortunate Swain/Pickin' Lilies text. There may be other composites still unearthed. In the 1900s in England an important version was collected by Bob Copper from a handwritten notebook by John Johnson (1865-1943), in Fittleworth, Sussex. It was sung by his daughter Gladys Stone who was recorded in 1954 by Copper. The text follows:
"Down in the Valley"
Down in the valley the first of May,
Of gathering flowers both fresh and gay
Of gathering flowers both red and blue
I little thought what love could do.
Where love is planted there it grows,
It buds and blossoms most like a rose,
It has a sweet and pleasant smell,
No flower on earth can it excel
I put my hand into the bush
Thinking the sweetest rose to find,
I pricked my finger to the bone,
I left the sweetest rose behind.
If roses are such prickly flowers
They ought to be gathered when they are green,
For controlling of an unkind lover
I'm sure strives hard against the stream.
I leant my back against an oak
Thinking its beams some trustive tree,
But first it bent and then it broke,
And so did my false love and me.
I saw a ship sailing on the deep,
She sailed as deep as she could swim,
But not so deep as in love I am,
I care not whether I sink or swim.
Thousands and thousands all on this earth
I think my love carries the highest show,
Surely she is some chosen one,
I will have her or I'll have none.
But now she's dead and in her grave;
Poor girl, I hope that her heart's at rest.
We will wrap her up in some linen strong
And think of her now she is dead and gone.
One important aspect of this full version is that the text is sung in 1st person by the man. One of simplest yet the most moving versions was sung by gypsy singer Jasper Smith near Epsom, Surrey, probably April 26, 1975[13]:
"Down in the Meadow"
1. Oh down in the meadow the other day,
Gathering flowers both bright and both gay,
Gathering flowers both red and blue
Little had I thought what love could do.
2. So I lean my back against an oak,
Thinking it was a trusty tree,
At first it bent and then it broke,
So did my true love to me.
3. A ship there is that sails the sea,
she's loaded deep as deep can be,
But no so deep as the love I'm in,
I not know where[whether] I sink or swim.
Conclusions
"Down in the Meadow" or "The Unfortunate Swain (Picking Lilies)" is a love song composed of floating allegorical stanzas that depict the ecstasy and despair of a relationship. In 1891 a version was published by Baring-Gould[14] titled "Deep in Love" which was named after the lyrics found in the 5th stanza, 3rd line: "But not so deep as in Love I am." Subsequent versions using the "Unfortunate Swain (Picking lilies)" stanzas have been also titled "Deep in Love." This arbitrary title is still used today, however, a standard practice for titling versions of Unfortunate Swain would be to use the first line or keywords in the opening stanza. This was correctly done by Mike Yates when he titled the short 1975 version by gypsy singer Jasper Smith, "Down in the Meadow."
The Unfortunate Swain lyrics are similarly found in the parallel love songs, "Waly, Waly," and "The Water is Wide." Several short play-party versions titled "Gathering Flowers," were collected in the US from the mid-1800s until the early 1900s.
R. Matteson 2017]
_____________________________________________
Footnotes:
1. "Maid's Complaint" Text from undated broadsides in the Madden Collection (Madden Ballads, Reel 8, Frame 5377; Reel 9, Frames 5914 & 6132). It begins:
Down in a meadow fine and gay,
Plucking the flowers the other day,
Plucking the flowers red and blue:
I little thought what Love could do.
2. This popular stanza from "The Constant Lady and False-Hearted Squire" often appears in Died for Love songs:
The Lady round the meadow run,
And gather'd flowers as they sprung;
Of every sort she there did pull,
Until she got her apron full.
3. Only the traditional versions of Sailor Boy have acquired common stanzas from the Died for Love songs. Most traditional versions have at least one Died for Love stanza.
4. "Deep in Love" by the informant, Rev. S. M. Walker, appears in Songs And Ballads Of The West (1891) by Sabine Baring-Gould, Henry Fleetwood Sheppard, Frederick William Bussell.
5. The Roud index uses 18829 for all versions of The Unfortunate Swain, with master title "Deep in Love."
6. Whitelaw, Steinhouse and others. Stenhouse says he was informed by Mr. John Anderson, engraver and understudy to engraver James Johnson, "that the words and music of this were taken down from the singing of Mr. Charles Johnson, father of Mr. James Johnson." James Johnson, was born about 1755 in Ettrick, a small border village in the County of Selkirk, Scotland. Since Charles Johnson learned it as a child, his version is dated c.1743 which predates the c.1750 version of Unfortunate Swain.
7. This version in MS may be viewed online
8. I've added this line which was missing in the MS.
9. "The Water Is Wide" The History Of A "Folksong" by Jurgen Kloss.
10. From the article “The Gin-Around” which was published in Godey's Lady's Book and Ladies' American Magazine in 1874 by J.B.S. The play-party was held at the “overseer's house” across a field from J. B. S.'s family home before the Civil War. An arbitrary date of 1858 has been ascribed.
11. From Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) (CJS2/9/3045) with music.
12. From Sharp Ms.: CJS2/9/2544 (text), CJS2/10/3456 (tune) at The Full English Digital Archive; see also Smith 1998, p. 157.
13. "Down in the Meadow," sung by Jasper Smith: recorded by Mike Yates near Epsom, Surrey, probably April 26, 1975; from Travellers (12TS395, 1979).
14. "Deep in Love" was sent to Baring-Gould by Miss Octavia L. Hoare, Cornwall Cottage Dean, Kimbolton about 1889 from Baring-Gould's MS. See also the published version [in blockquotes] of "Deep in Love" by the same informant, Rev. S. M. Walker, as it appears in Songs And Ballads Of The West (1891) by Sabine Baring-Gould, Henry Fleetwood Sheppard, Frederick William Bussell.
-----------------------------
[Random notes; under construction]
Baring Gould B.
1.Shall I be bound, & she be free?
Shall I love one that loves not me?
Shall I play such a childish part?
For woman’s love to break my heart?
2.Ten thousand lovers in the room,
But my true love’s the fairest bloom.
I’m sure she is the fairest one
I will have her, or else have none.
3.I saw a ship come sailing by,
As heavily laden as she might be.
But not so deep in love as I.
I care not if I sink or swim.
4. Down in a meadow t’ other day
I thought a lovely rose to find,
I pricked my finger to the bone
And left my lovely rose behind.
5.Down in a meadow t’other day
A plucking flowers red & blue,
I wandered doleful on my way,
And little thought what love can do.
Taken down from Mary Satcherly, an old woman, at Huckaby Bridge, Dartmoor, learned it from her father, a famous singer. c, 1889 Baring-Gould B.
"Down in those Meadows"short version collected by George Butterworth, 1906:
Down in those meadows fresh & gay,
Plucking flowers the other day,
I plucked those flowers both red and blues,
I little thought what love could do
The roses are such prickly flowers
They should be gathered when they are green,
I pricked my finger into the bone,
I left the sweetest rose behind.
I leaned my back against an oak,
I thought it was a trusty tree,
But first it bent,then it broke,
And so did my false love to me.
In yonder deep there swims a ship,
She swims as deep as deep can be,
Not half so deep as I am in love,
I little care if I sink or swim.
Down In The Meadows- Louie Hooper & Lucy White at Hambridge, Somerset on Dec. 28 1903. Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) (CJS2/10/64).
Down in the meadow the poor girl run
Gathering flowers as fast as they spring
She gathered a flower from every bough-bud
Until she gained her apron full.
She gathered them home and made her bed
With a stonen[1] pillow for her head
She laid herself down and never once spoke
Alas! her tender heart was broke.
Down to the ale house he would go
And call for liquor one quart two and three
Take a stranger girl on his knee
And don't you think it's a grief to me.
When my apron string was plain and low
He followed me through frost and snow
When my apron strings up to my chin
He past by me and say no thing.
1. usually the pillow is made of flowers.
----------------------
Sharp MS
The second one was from James Thomas (1906, Karpeles 35B, p. 172; Sharp Ms.: CJS2/9/989 (text), CJS2/10/923 (tune) at The Full English Digital Archive). Sharp used two of his four verses for the extended text published in 1916:
12. "Waly, Waly (Down In The Meadows)", sung by James Thomas (89), Somerset, 1906, collected by Cecil Sharp, from Karpeles, Sharp Collection, No. 35 B, p. 172
O down in the meadows the other day
A-gathering flowers both rich and gay,
A-gathering flowers both red and blue,
I little thought what love could do.
Where love is planted there do grow,
It buds and blossoms just like some rose,
For it has a sweet and a pleasant smell,
No flower on earth can it excel.
I fetched my back once against an oak,
I thought it had been some trusty tree,
For the first it bent and the next it broke,
So did my love prove false to me.
Must I go bound and she go free?
Must I love one that don't love me?
Why should I act such a childish part
To love a girl that will break my heart?
-----------------------
Kennedy 149. "Down in a Valley" (originally Deep in Love) as sung by Mrs. Gladys stone of Fittleworth, Sussex. Recorded by Bob Copper in 1954
1. Down in a valley the first of May,
A-gathering flowers both fresh and gay,
A-gathering flowers both red and blue,
I little thought what love could do.
2. Where love is planted there it grows,
It buds and blossoms much like a rose;
It has a sweet and pleasant smell,
No flower on earth can it excel.
The Forsaken Lover. Tune Farewel Thou Flower of False Deceit, 1780
J.
“The Forsaken Lover” (To the Tune of “Farewell thou Flower of false deceit”. A Broadside with figure outside in Chas. 2 costume.
Single Sheet Broadsides, B.M 11621, K. 4 vol. II. p. 425
1.I run my finger into a bush, [Swain]
Thinking the sweetest rose to find
I pricked my finger to the bone,
And left the sweetest rose behind.
2.If roses be such a fading flower, [Swain]
They must be gathered when they’re green
And she that loves an unkind man,
‘Tis like striving against the stream.
3.Against the stream, love, I dare not go,
Because the stream it runs so strong,
I’m deadly fraid I’m one of those,
That loved an unkind man too long. [var. 2]
4.I wish to Christ my babe was born,
And smiling on its daddy’s arms
And I myself wrapt up in clay,
Then should I be free from all harm.
5.I lent my back against an oak, [swain]
Thinking it was a trusty tree,
First it bent, & then it broke,
And so did my false love to me.
6.Had I kept my apron down,
My love had ne’er forsaken me
But now he walks up & down the town
With a harlot & not with me.
7.What makes the Western winds to blow,
And blow the green leaves from the tree,
Come death, come death, & end my woe,
For a maiden more I ne’er can be.
8.I cast my anchor in the sea,
And it sank down into the sand,
And so did my heart in my body,
when I took my false love by the hand.