Dapple Grey- Clark (ON) pre1937 REC Fowke
[From the LP; LaRena Clark: A Canadian Garland (Topic 12T140) edited by Edith Fowke. Also A Family Heritage: The Story and Songs of LaRena Clark By Edith Fowke, Jay Rahn. Resembles Child E; Learned from her grandad Watson whose father (John Watson) probably brought it ot Canada in the early 1800s. [Fowke]
LaRena Clark b. 1917 learned this from her Grandad Watson before she was twenty- therefore the date is pre-1937. According to Fowke this version should date back to the early 1800s. Below is a brief bio found on-line.
R. Matteson 2014]
LaRena (b LeBarr) Clark. Folksinger, b LeBarr Landing, near Lake Simcoe, Ont, of French and English-Irish parents, 21 Nov 1904, d Orilla, Ont, 3 May 1991. Raised in various northern Ontario centres (her father and grandfather were hunters, trappers and boat-builders), she learned many songs from her family and developed a large and varied repertoire which included British ballads and music hall songs, country and western songs, and Canadian lumbering songs. For the collector Edith Fowke she sang a number of these songs in the early 1960s. Some were published in Fowke's collections and issued on the LP LaRena Clark: A Canadian Garland (Topic 12T140). Appearances followed on local radio stations and at folk festivals in Canada and the USA. Residing after 1975 in Hawkstone, near Barrie, Ont, Clarke continued to record, completing nine LPs for her own Clark label. In 1987 she was awarded the Marius Barbeau Medal by the Folklore Studies Association of Canada. Her biography, A Family Heritage: LaRena Clark's Story and Songs was completed by Edith Fowke and Jay Rahn in 1991.
The Dapple Grey- LeRena Clark; learned from her grandfather Watson pre1937; recorded in 1965.
1. The wind it blew all from the Northway,
When he came wooing me.
He said he would take me 'way to the Northway,
And there he'd marry me.
2. "Bring me some of your father's gold
And some of your mother's fee,
Two of the best horses from the stable
Where there stands thirty and three."
3. She brought him some of her father's gold
And some of her mother's fee,
Two of the best horses from the stable
Where there stands thirty and three."
4. She mounted on her milk-white steed
And he on the dapple grey.
They rode till they came down to seaside,
Three hours before it was day.
5. She jumped down off the dapple's back
And alighted onto the ground.
“Unfold, unfold your white silken gown
And deliver it unto me.
6. "Unfold, unfold your white silken gown
And deliver it unto me.
It's six pretty maidens I have drownded here,
And the seventh one you shall be.”
7. If I must unfold my white silken gown,
Then I pray turn your back towards me.
I don't think it right for a villain like you
A naked woman to see."
8. So he turned his back towards her
While she did so bitterly weep;
She grabbed him 'round the small of the waist
And she landed him into the deep.
9. He sped[1] high and he sped low
And he sped near to the side:
"Take hold of my hand, my pretty Polly,
And I will make you my bride."
10. "Lie there, lie there you false-hearted man,
Lie there instead of me.
It's six pretty maidens you have drownded here,
But the seventh one drownded thee.”
11. She mounted on her milk-white steed,
She led the dapple grey,
She rode till she came to her own father's door
One hour before it was day.
12. The parrot being up in the castle so high
On seeing the maiden did say,
"Oh, what is the matter, my pretty Polly?
You tarry such a long time before day?"
13. Oh, hold your tongue, my pretty parrot,
Don't tell no tales on me,
And your cage will be made of the fine beaten gold
And your doors of the best ivory.”
14. The Queen being up in the castle so high,
On hearing the parrot did say,
"Oh, what is the matter, my pretty parrot,
You prattle so long before day?”
15. "No laughing matter," the parrot replied,
"Oh, how loudly I call upon thee.
There is a cat on the window so high
I'm afraid she might worry me."
16. Well turned, well turned, my pretty parrot;
Well turned, well turned," cried she. "Your cage will
be made of the fine beaten gold
And your doors of the best ivory.”
1. for "spied" or "espied"