7Ua. Young Ladies (Little Sparrow) Roud 451 ("The Lady's Address to the Fair Maidens," "Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies," "Say Oh! Beware," "I Wish I were Some Little Sparrow," "Consider All Ye Fair Maids," "Warning,")
A. "The Lady's Address to the Fair Maidens" broadside printed by Angus of Newcastle c.1780.
B. "Come All You Fair and Pretty Ladies," sung by Mrs. G. A. Griffin of Newberry, Florida. Learned before 1877 from her father, John Hart, in Georgia.
C. "Say Oh! Beware" from Frank Ashby's MSS from Holt County, Missouri dated Aug 6th 1877. Belden A.
D. "Warning" from C.H. Williams of Bollinger, Missouri in 1906 but much older. Belden B.
E. "The Little Sparrow.' Contributed by J. W. Miller of Lincoln county as "sung by a woman in 1907." Brown Collection, version A.
F. "I Wish I were Some Little Sparrow" sung by two girls on December 26, 1907 from Campbell; Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at VWML) (CJS1/11/88), Sharp B.
G. "Consider All Ye Fair Maids," sung by G. Baxter of Aberdeenshire[1], collected Greig about 1908; from Greig-Duncan Collection, version B.
H. "Little Sparrow." dated 1909, as reported by Mrs. Sutton from the singing of Myra Barnett, and therefore probably to be dated in the first decade of the present century. From Brown Collection of NC Folklore, Volume III, 1952.
* * * *
[The British ballad, or more accurately-- love song, that Sharp titled[2] "Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies" is closely aligned with its primary antecedent "The Lady's Address to the Fair Maidens," a broadside printed by Angus of Newcastle c. 1780 (an earlier version is in the British Library dated c. 1760), its secondary antecedent, a broadside "Wheel of Fortune," and other English broadsides. The song, once popular in America and still identified with Appalachia, is also known by the common titles, "Fair and Tender Ladies," "Little Sparrow," and my master title "Young Ladies." Some versions[3] mix in stanzas of the Died for Love songs and borrow from other related ballads. One of the "other related ballads" is described by Cox in his headnotes[4]:
The piece is somehow related to the celebrated Scottish song "O Waly, Waly, gin Love be Bonny" (Child, IV, 92), printed in the early part of the eighteenth century, but even then regarded as old.
The relationship is confirmed by these stanzas of "Waly, Waly" which are part of the larger ballad family[5]:
3 Waly, waly! but love be bony
A little time, while it is new;
But when 't is auld, it waxeth cauld,
And fades away like morning dew.
9 But had I wist, before I kissd,
That love had been sae ill to win,
I'd lockd my heart in a case of gold,
And pin'd it with a silver pin.
10 Oh, oh, if my young babe were born,
And set upon the nurse's knee,
And I my sell were dead and gane!
For a maid again I'll never be.
Stanza 3, the "Love Is Teasing" stanza is very old[6]. The first line of stanza 3 beginning 'O Waly, Waly' has been changed in both "Love is Teasing" and in "Young Ladies." Stanzas 9 and 10 are common floaters found in other related broadsides. Stanza 9, a fairly common stanza in "Young Ladies" is found in other broadsides including the "Wheel of Fortune" and also "Silver Pin." "Love is Teasing" is an important link to "Young Ladies" because it has also has the "Young Ladies" identifying stanza. Here's the identifying stanza of "Young Ladies" as found in both songs:
[Love is Teasing, stanza 4]
4. Now, all young maids by me take warning,
And not by false men be led astray
For they are like a star on a foggy morning
When they ought to be here they are far away[7].
[Young Ladies, stanza 1]
1 Come all ye fair and handsome ladies,
Take warning how you court young men;
For they 're like a bright star on a summer's morning,
They first appear and then they're gone[8].
These two warning stanzas[9] are the same with slightly different wording which conclusively demonstrates the English origin confirmed by A, the antecedent broadside from Newcastle dated as early as c.1760[10]. The "Love is Teasing" identifying stanza also found in "Waly, Waly" is sometimes found in Young Ladies[11]:
8 Love is handsome, love is charming,
Love is beauty while it's new;
Love grows older, love grows colder,
Fades away like morning dew.
This bond between "Love is Teasing" and "Young Ladies" is much stronger than the one between "Waly, Waly" and "Young Ladies," since "Waly Waly" does not have a core stanza in common. "Waly" only has the Love is Teasing stanza which is not found in many "Young Lady" versions and the "silver pin" stanza. "Waly, Waly" is more closely related to versions of Child 204, "Jamie Douglas" and "Water is Wide." Here are the related broadsides, the first two are primary antecedents:
1. "The Lady's Address to the Fair Maidens," a broadside printed Angus of Newcastle c1760, main antecedent, core stanzas. The earliest printing is c.1760 London in a collection.
2. "Wheel of Fortune," a broadside dating c. 1830 with a reference[12] back to the early 1700s; secondary stanzas, related, no core stanzas; secondary antecedent.
3. "The Silver Pin or the False-Hearted Young Girl" printed by Pitts, London is dated circa 1820, a different ballad with variation on "sparrow (swallow)" stanza found in several US versions. Has secondary variation of identifying stanza and has "silver pin" stanza.
4. "I'm Often Drunk and Seldom Sober," dated circa 1800, has one secondary stanza, related to "Peggy Gordon" and Newfoundland variants of "Love is Teasing" which are titled "Love is Lovely" and "Keg of Brandy."
5. "Young Sick Lover" Irish broadside with "black as ink" text, superficially related.
The main antecedent, "The Lady's Address to the Fair Maidens," is a broadside printed by Angus of Newcastle c.1780 but dating earlier to c.1760 in a London collection. Previously unknown, it was rediscovered by Steve Gardham in his ballad collection on my urging to find an antecedent on March 13, 2017. Not only does it have the identifying stanza but stanza 7 has the "sparrow" (swallow) stanza followed by a different "swallow" (sparrow) stanza to conclude the broadside. These are the 2 core stanzas. Here's the text with original spelling and capitalization:
"The Lady's Address to the Fair Maidens" c.1760 print
1. Come hither, all you pretty maidens,
Take Warning how you love a Man,
Like a bright star in a Summer's Morning
When day appears they are gone.
2. They'll talk and tell you pretty stories,
They'll vow and swear they love you true,
But it is all to blast your Glory
That's all the love they have for you.
3. It's I myself had once a Sweetheart,
He swore he lov'd me as his Life;
But that was only his false intention,
Ne'er to make me his lawful wife.
4. I was in his Eye a precious Jewel,
So tender was his love for me,
He swore his heart did burn like fuel
Whenever he my face did see.
5. But now, alas! that is all over,
He little thinks of what us past;
In Cupid's chains we were bound together,
There to remain while life did last.
6. May the heaven's bless that happy woman,
Who does enjoy my jewel bright;
His Wit and Beauty are more than common,
On him I place my chief Delight.
7. I wish I was a pretty swallow,
That nimbly in the Air could fly,
Then my false-hearted love I'd follow,
Whene'er he talk'd I would lie by.
8. Whene'er he talk'd then I would flutter,
All on his Breast with my tender Wings,
And ask him who it was that flatter'd,
And told so many deluding Things.
"The Lady's Address" has the core stanzas of 1, 7 and 8. The Scottish traditional version, "Consider All Ye Fair Maids," sung by G. Baxter has some of the secondary stanzas but the North American versions have replaced the secondary stanzas with stanzas from other sources. The second broadside, Wheel of Fortune, a secondary antecedent, is part of the "Love is Teasing" family and a number of Appalachian versions have borrowed one or two "Wheel" stanzas. The third broadside, "The Silver Pin," is parallel to "The Lady's Address" and provides variant stanzas found in a few versions. The "I'm Often Drunk" broadside is the foundation of the Love is Teasing Newfoundland variants and "Young Sick Lover," the Irish broadside, has the "black as ink" text. As mentioned earlier, the identifying stanza- "fair and tender ladies"- is called the "warning" stanza and is found in the broadside "The Lady's Address" as well as the traditional "Love is Teasing" in the UK. The "warning" stanza is usually the first stanza in US versions. The two rare traditional versions collected by Greig-Duncan in Scotland in the early 1900s will be covered later.
Edward Bunting gives a fragment of "The Little Swallow," (No. 95 in the collection) which appears in his The Ancient Music of Ireland, p. 96, 1840. Bunting states, "the words which have been handed down by tradition are simple and appropriate for the air, commencing:
"I would I were a little swallow,
I would rise into the air and fly,
Away to that inconstant rover,"
&c &c
Bunting's text appears in a version collected by Paddy Tunney from fiddler Jeannie Armstrong which appears in Tunney's 1991 book, "Where Songs Do Thunder: Travels in Traditional Song":
Little Swallow
"I would I were a little swallow,
I would rise into the air and fly,
Away to that inconstant rover,
And on his bosom I'd live and die.
But feathered warblers I cannot follow,
All pale in pining in woe I lie,
Far away from the arms of my darling,
In love and longing alone to die.
For joy and pleasure we seldom treasure,
When out of measure we love anew,
But love grows colder when we grow older,
Then fades away like the morning dew.
If Tunney's text is authentic[13] (not rewritten as it appears to be), this is a rare Irish version. Although the first stanza is the main identifying stanza, the other identifying stanza (or stanzas) common in "Young Ladies" is the "I wish I was a little sparrow/swallow" stanza. Since "swallow" was changed to "sparrow" in most US versions, any versions that retain "swallow" (see Sharp A for example) are considered to be older and closer to the original broadside. "Sparrow" and "swallow" are interchangeable and the "sparrow" stanza(s) will henceforth be used for both birds. By the early 1900s in Appalachia "Little sparrow" was a common floater stanza found in many songs but particularly in the "maid of sorrow abandoned by a false love" songs, represented by the Died for Love songs. Some versions have the "sparrow" verses but not the 1st stanza. Here's a Madison County, NC version:
LITTLE SPARROW[14]- as sung by Dellie Norton at her home in Sodom Laurel, Madison County, NC. in 1980
It's I wish I were some little sparrow,
I had wings and I could fly.
I'd fly away to my own true lover
And when she courted I'd be by.
But I ain't no little sparrow.
I have no wings nor I cain't fly.
So set right here in grief and sorrow,
I'll set right here until I die.
I'll go down to yonders river,
I'll spend my months, my weeks, my years.
I'd eat nothing but green willow
And I'd drink nothing but my tears.
Dellie's last stanza surprisingly is an American stanza of "Awake, Awake" known as "Silver Dagger" or "Katie Dear" from the larger Drowsy Sleeper family. This is not the only instance of borrowing from the "Awake" family. The "sparrow" verses in Dellie's version and some others are a form of dialogue using the "I wish I were/was" form answered by "But I'm not. . ." The "I wish I were" or "I wish my love was" forms are standard folk similes which are demonstrated here in a stanza of Pitman's Love Song[15]:
I wish my love she was a cherry
A-growing on yon cherry tree
And I myself a bonnie blackbird
How I would peck that sweet cherry.
The "Red Rosy Bush" is another folk song composed out of theses similes. Another well-known example is a stanza from Cindy which begins: "I wish I were an apple/ A-hangin' on a tree" etc. Although different than the "Young Ladies" song, the similes are similar. Now let's look at three stanzas from our broadsides. The first is from "The Lady's Address," the main antecedent:
7. I wish I was a pretty swallow,
That nimbly in the Air could fly,
Then my false-hearted love I'd follow,
Whene'er he talk'd I would lie by.
The next example is from the broadside "I'm Always Drunk" and is the identifying stanza for "Water is Wide":
The seas are deep and I cannot wade them,
Neither have I wings to fly,
I wish I had some little boat,
To carry over my love and I.
and "The Silver Pin":
I wish I was a little swallow;
And my true love a turtle dove;
Then I would fly from this land of sorrow;
And rest upon some land of love.
Here's a stanza from another broadside, "The Belfast Maid's Lamentation":
O that I was a little bird,
Or had I wings to fly,
I’d to the field of battle go
And on him I would lie.
These stanzas from our broadsides show the relationship to "Young Ladies" stanzas in America. The "sparrow" usage is unique to the US while the "swallow" usage is found only in two extant UK versions and a few US versions. The stanzas themselves are typical of the "maid in sorrow abandoned by her love" songs found in the UK from the 1600s on. The other "Young Ladies" stanzas also being common English stanza that were brought over to the Appalachians by settlers shortly after the Revolutionary War. Since the "The Lady's Address" has an early date of mid-1700s, and early date in America of the late 1700s doesn't seem unreasonable. Certainly the ballad was there by the early 1800s and the early proven date[16] of 1877 is surely much later than its entrance into the southern mountains.
The other group of songs from which this large 'Young Ladies" family borrows is the Died for Love songs. Here's one example from Some Songs Traditional in the United States an article by Tolman published in 1916 JAF. He comments: "Why a faithless lover should be called a "true love," and why the devoted maiden should wish to fly away to him, are not made clear."
I. I wish I was a little sparrow;
I'd fly away from grief and sorrow;
I'd fly away like a turtle dove;
I'd fly away to my own true love.
2. 'Twas but last night he said to me:
"I'll take you o'er the dark blue sea."
But now he's gone, and left me alone,
A single maid without a home.
3. Oh grief, oh grief! I'll tell you why:
Because she has more gold than I;
He takes that other girl on his knee,
And tells her what he don't tell me.
4. I wish, I wish, but all in vain,
That my true love would come back again.
But then I know that will never be,
Till the green, green grass grows over me.
The first stanza can be recognized as found in the "swallow" variant "The Silver Pin." The second floating stanza is found in "Must I Go Bound?" from Newfoundland:
Last night my lover promised me
That he would take me across the deep blue sea.
But now he's gone an' left me alone,
I'm an orphan girl without any home.
The last two stanzas are from Died For Love and are rarely found in their original form in the US as they were collected by Tolman. One of the important broadsides supplying stanzas to "Young Ladies" is the secondary antecedent, "Wheel of Fortune." 'Wheel," which also provided secondary stanzas for the UK versions of Love is Teasing, is a 9 or 10 stanza broadside printed about 1830-1855 in England and Scotland. Even though several of the stanzas are not usually found in 'Young Ladies," here are the full 10 stanzas[16]:
Wheel of Fortune
1. When I was young I was much beloved
By all the young men in the country;
When I was blooming all in my blossom,
A false young lover deceived me.
2. He has tried his whole endeavor,
He has tried all his power and skill,
He has spoiled all my good behaviour,
He has broken my fortune against my will.
3. I did not think he was going to leave me,
Till the next morning when he came in;
Then he sat down and began a-talking,
Then all my sorrows did begin.
4. I left my father, I left my mother;
I left my sister and brothers too;
And all my friends and old aquaintance,
I left them all to go with you.
5. For after evening there comes a morning,
And after morning a bonny day,
And after one lover there comes another,
And it's ill to hold them that must away.
6. But turn you round, you wheel of fortune,
It's turn you round and smile on me;
For young men's words they are quite uncertain,
Which sad experience teaches me.
7. If I had known before I had courted,
That love had been so ill to win,
I wad locked my heart in a chest of gold,
And pon'd it with a silver pin.
8. Then fare-ye-weel, ye false-hearted young man,
It's fare-ye-weel, since we must part;
If you are the man that has broke my fortune,
You're not the man that shall break my heart.
8. Of all the flowers that grow in the garden,
Be sure you pull the rose and thyme,
For all others are quite out of fashion,
A false young man he has stole my thyme.
10. But time will soon put an end to all things,
And love will soon put an end to me;
But surely there is a place of torment,
To punish my lover for slighting me.
"Wheel of Fortune" stanzas[17] are floating stanzas which form a variation of the Died for Love theme: A young maid is deceived by a false lover who takes advantage of the maid and leaves her. Her "fortune" or her "fountain" have been broken, both are symbols of the loss of virginity. In at least one version[18], she is pregnant and this is implied by the loss of her virginity in the other versions. Although similar to the Died for Love theme, the maid in this song refuses to let the false lover break her spirit and is defiant in some stanzas-- even though in the end her fate is similar: "And love will soon put an end to me ." She also condemns the false young man to a place of torment (hell) in the last stanza. This last stanza is fairly common in American version of "Young Ladies."
The 5th version of "Young Ladies" published by Mellinger Henry in his Folk-Songs from the Southern Highlands (pp. 260-261) shows its the reliance on "Wheel of Fortune":
"Come, Roll 'round the Wheel of Fortune." Taken down near Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, by Glada Gully, a student in Lincoln Memorial University, circa 1932.
1. Come roll 'round your wheel of fortune:
Come, roll around once more for me;
A young man's love is quite uncertain;
My own experience teaches me.
2. Once I had a gay, young lover;
He was my joy; he was my pride:
But now he's going with another;
He's sitting by another's side.
3. I must confess I dearly love him:
I kept the secret in my breast;
I never knew an ill about him
Until I learned to love him best.
4. I never knew he was going to leave me
Until one night when he came in;
He sat down by me and told me;
'Twas when my trouble first began.
5. Had I the wings of a little sparrow,
I wouldn't pine nor would I die,
But I would follow my false-hearted lover
And tell him where he told a lie.
6. Had I the wings of a little swallow,
Or had I the wings of a turtle dove,
I'd fly away from this world of sorrow
Into some land of light and love.
7. Now, all you girls, take warning;
Be careful how you love young men,
For they are like the stars of morning,
As soon as daylight they are gone.
The last stanza is the identifying stanza, usually first. The first stanza is the identifying stanza for "Wheel of Fortune" and stanza 4 is also from "Wheel." The second and third stanzas are floating love stanza vaguely similar to variants of "Brisk Young Lover" while 5 and 6 are the "sparrow/swallow" stanzas found in ""The Lady's Address."
Traditional singer Morgan Sexton was born in 1911 on Long Branch Hollow near Linefork, in southeastern Kentucky and died there on January 30th, 1992. His version of "Little Sparrow," from his June Appal recording "Morgan Sexton- Shady Grove (JA00661)" is given as follows[19]:
Little Sparrow
1. I wish I was a little sparrow
And I had wings and I could fly
I would fly away to a false-hearted lover
And there I'd stay until I died.
2. O if I was some little sparrow
And I had no wings and could not fly
I would set down in some grieving sorrow
Where you would laugh and I would cry.
3. There is a day a day a comin',
We shall not part or I shall see
I hope there is a place in the middle of torment
For that man is deceiving me.
4. If I knew him before I courted him
There is love hard to win
I would lock my heart in a box of golden
I would pin it down there with a silver pin.
Stanzas 1 and 2 are the "sparrow" stanzas (stanza 2 is corrupt) while Sexton's last two stanzas are 7 and 10 of Wheel of Fortune. In both of these example two stanzas came from Wheel of Fortune. The last stanza is also found in the broadside "Silver Pin." Let's look at Cox A, eight stanzas:
"Young Ladies." Communicated by Mr. J. H. Shaffer, Newburg, Preston County, who obtained it from Mrs. A. R. Fike, Terra Alta.
1 Come all ye fair and handsome ladies,
Take warning how you court young men;
For they're like a bright star on a summer's morning,
They first appear and then they 're gone.
2 They'll tell to you some flattering story,
And swear to God that they love you well,
And away they'll go and court some other,
And leave you here in grief to dwell.
3 I wish to God I never had seen him,
Or in his cradle he had died;
For to think so fair and handsome lady,
Was one in love and be denied.
4 I wish I was in some tall mountain,
Where the ivy rock is black as ink;
I would write a letter to my false lover,
Whose cheeks are like the morning pink.
5 I wish I was some little sparrow,
And one of them that could fly so high;
I would fly away to my true love's dwelling,
And when he would speak I would be close by.
6 1 would flutter in his bosom
With my little [ex] tended wings;
I would ask him, I would ask him,
Whose tender heart he had tried to stain.
7 My troubles now are just beginning,
My troubles like some mountain tall;
O I'll sit down in grief and sorrow,
And there I'll talk my troubles o'er.
8 Love is handsome, love is charming,
Love is beauty while it's new;
Love grows older, love grows colder,
Fades away like morning dew.
The first and last stanzas are from "Love is Teasing." Stanza two is found similarly in "Two Hearts": Young men will come to you with a flattering tongue/And tell that they think they have you won/Then out of sight they see out of mind/And ten to one but they'll prove unkind. The third stanza is a variant of "I Wish to God I'd never been born" while the 5th has the"black as ink" line of "The Young Sick Lover": "Where the marble stones are as black as ink". Stanzas 5 and 6 are "sparrow" stanzas of "The Lady's Address" and 7 is somewhat close to "Wheel" stanza 3.
In spite of the evolution of the "maid abandoned by the false lover" stanzas and the variation found the Died for Love songs there is a link back to antecedent broadsides of the UK. What is clear is the inter-relatedness of many of the stanzas. The difference between the first "Alehouse" stanza of c.1775:
There is a ale-house in yonder town
Where oft my love sits him down.
He takes a stranger to his knee.
Which makes me sigh in misery.
and this stanza from Appalachia[20] in the early 1900s
I once did meet a fair true lover,
A true one, too, I took him to be;
And then he went away and found him another,
And that's the love he had for me.
is largely a matter of semantics. The meaning is clear: her false lover has found another and left her in misery. This example
Flag Pond, Tennessee in 1916 has the standard stanzas but ends with the Wheel of Fortune ending:
Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies - Sharp C (Mrs. Press Blankenship, Flag Pond, Tenn., Sept 1, 1916)
I hope there is a day a-coming
When love shall put an end to me.
I hope there is a place of torment
To secure my love for deceiving me.
While Sharp A (Young Ladies) sung by Mrs. Rosie Hensley, Carmen, N.C., Aug 8, 1916 opens with a stanza that could be from another extended family member, 7R. Yon Green Valley,
O don't you remember on yon green mountain,
Where I and you first fell in love,
Where the little birds was sweetly singing
And even, too, the little doves?
a version of Yon Green Valley from the Shetland Islands appears:
In yon green valley we both went down,
Where the pretty small birds come a-whistling 'round,
Changing their notes from tree to tree,
As the sun arose on yon green valley.
Even though the Appalachian stanza is significantly different with a 2, 4 rhyme and drastically different wording, the inter-relatedness of the song family makes it possible that these two seeds sprouted from the same tree many years ago in a different time and place-- to once again bear fruit as does, an apple on an orange tree.
Of the two Scottish versions collected by Gavin Grieg about 1908 only the B version has a full text. This version is more closely related to "The Lady's Address" showing that the broadside was possibly printed in Scotland. Here's the B text in full:
B. Consider All Ye Fair Maids- sung by G. Baxter as collected Greig about 1908.
1. Consider all ye fair maids,
How ye learn to love young men,
Consider all ye fair maids,
How ye learn to love young men,
They're like a star in a summer mornin',
No sooner seen than it's gone again
They're like a star in a summer mornin',
No sooner seen than it's gone again.
2. They'll kiss and clasp you, they'll tell you stories
They'll swear and vow that they love you true;
But as soon as they have their present glory,
They'll turn and answer-- I love not you,
But as soon as they have their present glory,
They'll turn and answer-- I love not you.
3. I myself once love a young man
He vowed and swore that he loved me true,
Ten thousand times that man swore and told me,
No other fair maid his bride would be,
Ten thousand times that man swore and told me,
No other fair maid his bride would be.
4. Oh happy, happy is the woman,
That shall enjoy his sweet angel bride,
For his wit and beauty is more than common,
On him I placed my heart's delight,
For his wit and beauty is more than common,
On him I placed my heart's delight.
5. I wish I were a little swallow,
Or if I had but wings to fly,
I would fly over yonder border,
To the place where my love he doth dwell,
I would ask of him what made him flatter,
Or why he told such deluding tales.
6. But yes and for all I will excuse him,
And keep a close and contented mind,
But yes and for all I will excuse him,
And keep a close and contented mind.
Both stanza 1 and 2 match the "The Lady's Address" broadside, the end of stanza 5 matches the end of "The Lady's Address." The explanation that only one full version of the song was found in the UK is that it was once popular in the late 1700s and early 1800s in the UK and died out. But the settlers coming to America at that time brought it with them, reworking many of the texts from other floating love stanzas.
R. Matteson 2017]
___________________________________________
1. The informant's location is unknown but presumably around Aberdeenshire where nearly all Greig's informants were found.
2. Cecil Sharp's master title is used in English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians II, 1917 and 1932. He gives versions A-R and has a dozen unpublished versions in his MS. A variant text is Sharp No. 103 "Come All You Young and Handsome Girls" which was different enough to have a separate listing.
3. See for example, Tolman 1916 JAF which will be presented later in this study.
4. See: Cox, "Folk Songs of the South" 1925, headnotes to 140 Young Ladies (Little Sparrow).
5. The ballad family is detailed in my study: 7K. Love is Teasing (Love is Pleasing). Similar relatives are discussed later in the article.
6. The fundamental stanza dated before 1620 by Child has more recently been dated back to the first half of the 1500s.
7. The stanza from Love is Teasing was collected by Gardiner as sung by Mrs. Hopkins of Axford, Hampshire in October, 1907.
8. From "Young Ladies," communicated by Mr. J. H. Shaffer, Newburg, Preston County, who obtained it from Mrs. A. R. Fike, Terra Alta-- Version A from Cox, "Folk Songs of the South" 1925.
9. A number of similar warning stanzas are found in print and tradition besides the "Ladies Address" antecedent. Sarah Makem sang this warning stanza in It Was in the Month of January at her home in Keady, Co. Armagh, in 1967:
Come all you pretty fair maids, a warning take by me
And never try to build your nest on top of a high tree;
For the leaves they will all wither and the branches all decay
And the beauties of a false young man will all soon fade away.
This is found in Appalachia in Sharp 109 titled The Rejected Lover, a stanza which has appeared in Young Ladies as well.
10. A version was printed about 1760 in "The Marybone concert : Being a choice collection of songs, sung this and the last seasons, at Vauxhall, Ranelaugh, and Marybone, and other places of entertainment." Printed and sold in Aldermary Church Yard, Bow Lane, London.
11. This is the last stanza of Cox A communicated by Mr. J. H. Shaffer, Newburg, Preston County, who obtained it from Mrs. A. R. Fike, Terra Alta-- from Cox, "Folk Songs of the South" 1925.
12. A song with the Wheel of Fortune title was sung by bass singer Richard Leveridge (1670-1758) at the Theatre Royal In Lincolns Inn Fields between 1714 and 1750 which might date to the late 1600s.
13. Tunney's mysterious text is attributed to Jeannie Armstrong, a young fiddler, Tunney met on an American tour. The text starts with the same three lines as Bunting's and the second stanza seems to be manufactured. I assume it was possibly written by Tunney although there's no way to tell now. Since the additional text may be from Armstrong or inspired by her, this would not be an Irish version.
14.
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Appendix:
Item 1: "Wheel of Fortune," from a broadside no imprint or date at Bodleian: http://ballads.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/static/images/sheets/20000/19042.gif (probably c.1830s to 1840s) This is the fundamental antecedent of the Love is Teasing song collected in the UK in the early 1900s.
When I was young I was much beloved
By all the young men in the country;
When I was blooming all in my blossom,
A false young lover deceived me.
He has tried his whole endeavor,
He has tried all his power and skill,
He has spoiled all my good behaviour,
He has broken my fortune against my will.
I did not think he was going to leave me,
Till the next morning when he came in;
Then he sat down and began a-talking,
Then all my sorrows did begin.
I left my father, I left my mother;
I left my sister and brothers too;
And all my friends and old aquaintance,
I left them all to go with you.
But turn you round, you wheel of fortune,
It's turn you round and smile on me;
For young men's words they are quite uncertain,
Which sad experience teaches me.
If I had known before I had courted,
That love had been so ill to win,
I wad locked my heart in a chest of gold,
And pon'd it with a silver pin.
Then fare-ye-weel, ye false-hearted young man,
It's fare-ye-weel, since we must part;
If you are the man that has broke my fortune,
You're not the man that shall break my heart.
Of all the flowers that grow in the garden,
Be sure you pull the rose and thyme,
For all others are quite out of fashion,
A false young man he has stole my thyme.
But time will soon put an end to all things,
And love will soon put an end to me;
But surely there is a place of torment,
To punish my lover for slighting me.
Item 2: "Waly, Waly, Gin Love Be Bony" 3rd stanza is identifying stanza plus full text of Allan Ramsay's Tea-Table Miscellany, the second volume, published c. 1726; here from the Dublin edition of 1729, p. 176. Ramsay (1686-1758) resided in Edinburgh.
"Waly, Waly, Gin Love Be Bony" Ramsay's Tea-Table Miscellany.
1 O Waly, waly up the bank!
And waly, waly, down the brae!
And waly, waly yon burn-side,
Where I and my love wont to gae!
2 I leand my back unto an aik,
I thought it was a trusty tree;
But first it bowd, and syne it brak,
Sae my true-love did lightly me.
3 Waly, waly! but love be bony
A little time, while it is new;
But when 't is auld, it waxeth cauld,
And fades away like morning dew.
4 O wherefore shoud I busk my head?
Or wherf ore shoud I kame my hair?
For my true-love has me forsook,
And says he'll never love me mair.
5 Now Arthur-Seat shall be my bed,
The sheets shall neer be fyl'd by me;
Saint Anton's well shall be my drink,
Since my true-love has forsaken me.
6 Martinmas wind, when wilt thou blaw,
And shake the green leaves off the tree?
gentle death, when wilt thou come?
For of my life I am weary.
7 'T is not the frost that freezes fell,
Nor blawing snaw's inclemency;
'T is not sic cauld that makes me cry,
But my love's heart grown cauld to me.
8 When we came in by Glasgow town,
We were a comely sight to see;
My love was cled in the black velvet,
And I my sell in cramasie.
9 But had I wist, before I kissd,
That love had been sae ill to win,
I'd lockd my heart in a case of gold,
And pin'd it with a silver pin.
10 Oh, oh, if my young babe were born,
And set upon the nurse's knee,
And I my sell were dead and gane!
For a maid again I'll never be.
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Item 3: "I'm Often Drunk And Seldom Sober," a broadside, at least four were printed the earliest by "Evans Printer, Long-lane, London" (Harding B 17(136b)), dated from "between 1780 and 1812".
"I'm Often Drunk And Seldom Sober" from John Pitts, Printer (Johnson Ballads 868) at 6 Great St. Andrew Street, 7 Dials, London, between 1819 and 1844.
Many cold winters nights I've travell'd,
Until my locks were wet with dew,
And don't you think that I'm to blame,
For changing old love for new.
I'm often drunk and seldom sober,
I am a rover in every degree,
When I'm drinking I'm often thinking
How shall I gain my love's company.
The seas are deep and I cannot wade them,
Neither have I wings to fly,
I wish I had some little boat,
To carry over my love and I.
I lean'd my back against an oak,
Thinking it had been some trusty tree;
At first it bent and then it broke
And so my false lover proved to me.
In London City the girls are so pretty,
The streets are paved with marble stone,
And my love she is as clever a woman
As ever trod on English ground.
I wish I was in Dublin city,
As far as e'er my eyes could see,
Or else across the briny ocean,
Where no no false lover can follow me.
If love is handsome and love is pretty,
And love is charming while its new,
So as love grows older it grows colder,
But fades away like the morning dew.
I laid my head on a cask of brandy,
It was my fancy I declare;
For when I'm drinking I'm always thinking
How I shall gain my love's company.
There is two nags in my fathers stable,
They prick their ears when they hear the hound;
And my true love is as clever a women
As ever trod on England's ground
You silly sportsmen leave off your courting,
I'll say no more till I have drank,
For when I'm dead it will be all over,
I hope my friends will bury me.
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Item 4; "The Young Sick Lover." According to John Moulden (Mudcat Discussion Forum) this strange bilingual text was published by Haly in Cork "c 1840". A reprint by John Troy from around 1860 can be found in the J. D. White Collection at the Trinity College, Dublin (Cashel Ballads, Vol. 2, EPB OLS X-1-531, image 49; see also the catalogue record):
[...]
The seas are deep, and I can't swim over,
No nor neither have I wings to fly,
I wish I met with some handsome boatman,
To ferry over my love and I.
And its Kilkenny it is supposed,
Where the marble stones are as black as ink;
[...]
I am always drunk, and seldom sober,
Constantly roving from town to town;
[…]
The "marble stones" are also "black as ink" in Young Ladies" and "Peggy Gordon." It is not unreasonable to assume that these two songs have a common ancestor, perhaps an undocumented Irish version - or predecessor - of "I'm Often Drunk".
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Item 5: Arthur's-Seat Shall be my Bed, &c. OR, Love in Despair
A New Song much in Request,
Sung with its own proper Tune.
Come lay me soft, and draw me near,
and lay thy white hand over me,
For I am starving in the cold,
and thou art bound to cover me;
O! cover me in my Distress,
and help me in my, Miserie,
For I do wake when I should sleep,
all for the love of my Dearie.
My Rents they are but very small
for to maintain my Love withall
But with my Labour and my Pain,
I will maintain my Love with them
O Arthur's Seat shall be my Bed,
and the Sheets shall never be fil'd for me
St. Anthony's well shall be my Drink,
Since my, true Love's forsaken me.
Should I be bound that may go free?
should I Love them that Loves not me?
I'le rather travel into Spain,
where I'le get love for love again;
And I'le cast off my Robs of Black;
and will put on the Robs of Blue?
And I will to some other Land,
till I see my Love will on me rue.
It's not the Cold that makes me cry,
nor is't the Weet that wearies me:
Nor is't the Frost that freezes fell:
but I love a Lad, and I dare not tell.
O Faith is gone, and Truth is past:
and my true Love's forsaken me,
If all be true that I hear say,
I'le mourn until the day I die.
Oh! if I had ne're been born,
than to have dy'd when I was young.
Then I had never wet my Cheeks,
for the Love of any Womans Son.
Oh, oh! if my young Babe were born,
and set upon the Nurses Knee,
And I my self were dead and gone,
for a Maid again I'le never be.
Martinmass wind when wilt thou blow,
and blow the green leafs of the Tree,
O! gentle Death when wilt thou come,
for of my Life I am wearie.
-----------------------------
Item 6: The Belfast maid's lamentation for the loss of her sweetheart, To which are added, Gentlemen rakes of the town. The humours of Rosemary Lane. The whistling daughter. Pady O Blarney. Wine is commander.
Printer: J. & M. Robertson
Date printed: 1803
THE BELFAST MAID’S LAMENTATION.
Come all you pretty maids, take warning by me.
And let not love affect you in any degree,
For I was cross’d in love, and love it was my pain.
By a handsome youth that has cross’d o’er the main.
O that I was a little bird, or had I wings to fly,
I’d to the field of battle go and on him I would lie.
With my flutt’ring wings his bleeding wounds I’d clean,
And on his lovely bosom I’d ever remain,
But now my love’s gone, I’ll wander and roam.
Thro’ each lonesome valley making my moan,
The small birds of the bushes will join and pity me,
Since I have loft my jewel and him I’ll never see.
Ye maidens take pity on a poor wretched maid,
"Who’s with grief afflicted, by Cupid’s dart betray’d;
Ye gods of love assist me my burning love to quench,
I’m wounded by a young man that’s gone to fight the French.
His lips are like the coral, his cheeks like the rose.
His skin is like the lilly, his eyes are black as sloes,
He’s proper, tall and handsome in every degree,
He has cross’d the wide ocean to face his enemy.
If to the field of battle my darling he goes,
Guardian angels protest him from his daring foes,
May he be crown’d with laurels the boy that I adore,
And may I live to fee him in Belfast town once more.
If by the cruel French my darling should be slain,
Then for ever single for his fake I will remain,
To no mortal man breathing will I give my hand.
Until I fee my jewel in his own native land.
O what a misfortune took him from his place,
I with I’d ne’er beheld his beautiful fine face.
The words that pass’d between us on our parting day,
I never will deny it, he stole my heart away.
He said to me my jewel, come along with me,
As we are young and airy and from all danger free,
And whilst you are by me no danger would I fear,
But hark! the trumpet founds, so farewel my dear
Item 7: "The Silver Pin or the False-Hearted Young Girl" printed by Pitts, London is dated circa 1820, a different ballad with variation on "sparrow (swallow)" stanza. Has secondary variation of identifying stanza and has "silver pin" stanza.
The Silver Pin
My love she goes up and down the street,
And many a shy look my love gives me
For I am persuaded all in my mind
She loves another and loves not me;
But had I known when I first began
That love had been so hard to win
It would have fill'd her heart with sorrow
And seal'd it up with a silver pin.
I wish I was a little swallow;
And my true love a turtle dove;
Then I would fly from this land of sorrow;
And rest upon some land of love.
Then I would rest where I lov'd best,
And never more return again
O pity me that can never be
I never shall see my true love again.
Could I but swim the deepest water
Or could I climb the highest tree
Then I'd come down without any danger
And take one single kiss of thee
Then I would rest where I lov'd best,
And never more return again
O pity me that can never be
I never shall see my true love again.
--------------------------------
Item 8: Greig's Scottish versions
A. Consider All Ye Pretty Fair Maids- sung by J. Imary collected Greig
Consider all ye pretty fair maids,
Consider how ye love young men,
For they're like a star in a summer's morning,
No sooner seen than they're gone again.
B. Consider All Ye Fair Maids- sung by G. Baxter collected Greig
1. Consider all ye fair maids,
How ye learn to love young men,
Consider all ye fair maids,
How ye learn to love young men,
They're like a star in a summer mornin',
No sooner seen than it's gone again
They're like a star in a summer mornin',
No sooner seen than it's gone again.
2. They'll kiss and clasp you, they'll tell you stories
They'll swear and vow that they love you true;
But as soon as they have their present glory,
They'll turn and answer-- I love not you,
But as soon as they have their present glory,
They'll turn and answer-- I love not you.
3. I myself once love a young man
He vowed and swore that he loved me true,
Ten thousand times that man swore and told me,
No other fair maid his bride would be,
Ten thousand times that man swore and told me,
No other fair maid his bride would be.
4. Oh happy, happy is the woman,
That shall enjoy his sweet angel bride,
For his wit and beauty is more than common,
On him I placed my heart's delight,
For his wit and beauty is more than common,
On him I placed my heart's delight.
5. I wish I were a little swallow,
Or if I had but wings to fly,
I would fly over yonder border,
To the place where my love he doth dwell,
I would ask of him what made him flatter,
Or why he told such deluding tales.
6. But yes and for all I will excuse him,
And keep a close and contented mind,
But yes and for all I will excuse him,
And keep a close and contented mind.