Golden Victoree- Henry (RI) 1946 Flanders I, Olney
[My title. Below are Coffin's introductory notes from Flanders' Ancient Ballads. This ballad covers over 80 pages, the most extensive collection published.
R. Matteson 2014]
The Sweet Trinity or the Golden Vanity
(Child 286)
This ballad is immensely popular in America and not hard to find in Britain. It dates back to a broadside of the 1680's in which the deceitful captain is Sir Walter Raleigh. (See Flanders FF.) Since then it has taken many forms and may conclude in any number of ways. The Flanders texts give an excellent cross section of the plot variations found in this ballad. In A-T the boy drowns in the lowlands low. In U, he sinks the captain's ship as well as that of the enemy before he drowns. In V, he also sinks the captain's ship and there is only one survivor to tell the tale. In W, he sinks the captain's ship, ironically drowning the girl he loved with the crew. In X, he dies after being hauled on deck. In EE his ghost returns to treat the captain to a glass of beer before sinking the boat. In FF-JJ, the heroic lad is rewarded with a leave of absence, the daughter's hand, or gold and silver. Of these texts, A1, with the stanzas on the phantom ship, and R, with the lines borrowed from "The Mermaid" (Child 289) are noteworthy. So are V, with its one survivor, like Melville's Ishmael; and FF, which preserves the name of Raleigh, if not the ending, from Child A" The vessel's name, originally The Sweet Trinity, varies greatly in America, becoming The Golden Vanity, The Green Willow Tree, The Merry Golden Tree, and so on. Its opponent, sunk by the cabin boy, was "a false galley" in the old broadside, but it is more likely a Turkish (or Russian, Irish, French, etc.) Revelee or "Shavaree" (sloop) in the States.
There is a certain preposterous quality to this song, and college students and music hall writers have exploited this fact in a series of parodies. see Coffin, 155, for references. Perhaps for the same reason, it has been extremely popular with sailors.
A long bibliography for "The Sweet Trinity" is easy to come by. See coffin, 153-5 (American); Dean-Smith, 69; Belden, 97 (English); Greig and Keith, 228-9, and Ord, 450-1 (Scottish). Phillips Barry, British Ballad's from Maine, 339-47, includes and discusses it. There is a song, once in a while confused with "The Sweet Trinity," called "The Low-lands Low." while it has a similar burden, it tells a very different story and goes back to an English stall ballad, "Young Edwin in the Lowlands Low" (Laws M 34), that was well known here and in Britain, see Laws, ABBB, 197-8; Belden, 127; and Dean-smith, 118, for some references to it.
The tunes for Child 286 can be divided into six groups which, however, may turn out to be related at least to some extent. The groupings are as follows: (1) Davis, Edwards, Moses, Burditt, and possibly Pease; (2) George, Daniels, Houghton; (3) Henry, Blake, George, Barry; (4) Clarke, Cassidy, Richards, Dragon; (5) Ingalls; and (6) Fish and Percival. The Ingalls runs seems to be a version of the popular "Canada-I-O." In order to save repetition, the tune relationships for standard collections are given here. Only relatively close tunes have been selected. from the large number available. In spite of their profusion, however, there is a lack of analogues for groups (2) and (6). For group (3), see Sharp I, 282-285, 2B9 I; FCB 4, 120, 47 A, 121 A (I), 123 C (I) ; BES, 346, ROI, 195, 200 (D); BI, 160. For group (3), especially the Blake rune, see BES, 34b (distant). For group (4) see Sharp l, 287, 288 G; GCM, 214; ROI, 200.
I. [Golden Victoree] Sung by Mrs. Christina Henry of Proaidence, Rhode Island. Mrs. Henry was born in Scotland and lived there until she became a young lady. She emphasized the fact that she was quite small when she learned this ballad and that she had never heard it given a title. M. Olney, Collector; October 20, 1945; Structure: A1 B A2 C (2,2,2,2); Rhythm D; Contour: undulating; Scale: major; t.c. B flat.
There lies a ship in the northern coun-ter-ree;
The name of that ship is The Golden Victoree.
The name of that ship is The Golden Victoree
And she's sinking in the Lowlands-low.
Up spoke the Captain, and up spoke he,
"Is there anyone on board that will sink that ship for me?
Is there anyone on board that will sink that ship for me,
That will sink her in the Lowlands-low?"
Up spoke the cabin boy, and up spoke he,
"O Master, dear Master, what will you give to me?
O Master, dear Master, what will you give to me
If I sink her in the Lowlands-low?"
"I will give you silver, and I will give you gold,
The hand of my young daughter if you return bold;
The hand of my young daughter if you return bold,
If you sink her in the Lowlands-low!"
Away swam the cabin boy, away swam he,
With a dagger in his right hand to bear him company,
With a dagger in his right hand to bear him company,
And to sink her in the Lowlands-low.
Some were playing dominoes, and some were playing at cards [1].
The water rushing in gave them all a great surprise;
The water rushing in gave them all a great surprise.
They were sinking in the Lowlands-low.
Back came the cabin boy, and back came he.
"O Master, dear Master, do come and let me in.
O, Master, dear Master, do come and let me in,
For I've sunk her in the Lowlands-low!"
1. dice- would at least rhyme; cards and dice are fairly standard but dominoes--haha