Golden Willow Tree- George (VT) c1890 Flanders E
[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 ro 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.
E. "Golden Willow Tree" Elmer George of East Calais, Vermont, learned this song some forty years-ago from a lumberiack, Frank Layton, who had, "lived, everywhere on the face of the globe; never had a home in his life. He had, a golden voice." Published in Country Songs of Vermont, p. 40. H. H. F-, Collector Early 1930's; Structure: A1 A2 A3 B Cb1 Cb2 (2,2,2,2,2,2); Rhythm D; Contour: undulating; Scale: Mixolydian t. c. C.
The Golden Willow Tree [1]
1 In another singing of the song, Mr. George left out the next to last stanza and used the title "The Turkish Shagiree." In-a third singing in 1947, however, he included the stanza and again used the "The Golden Willow Tree" title.
There was a ship in the south countree,
Saying, oh, the Lowlands lie so low;
There was a ship in the south countree,
And it went by the name of The Golden Willow Tree,
As she sailed o'er the Lowlands low, down low,
As she sailed o'er the Lowlands low.
There was another ship in the same countree,
Sailing o'er the Lowlands lie so low,
There was another ship in the same countree
And it went by the name of The Turkish Shageree,
And she sailed in the Lowlands, low, down low,
And she sailed in the Lowlands, low.
Oh, up speaks one little cabing[2] boy,
Saying, oh, the Lowlands lie so low,
Oh, up speaks one little cabing boy,
Saying, "What would you give me if the ship I'll destroy,
If I'll sink her in the Lowlands, low, down low,
If I'll sink her in the Lowlands, low?"
"Oh, I'll give you gold and I'll give you fee,"
Saying, oh, the Lowlands lie so low,
"Oh, I'll give you gold, and I'll give you fee,
And my oldest daughter your wedding-bride shall be,
If you'll sink her in the Lowlands, low, down low,
If you'll sink her in the Lowlands, low."
He bent upon his breast [3] and away swam he,
Saying, oh, the Lowlands lie so low;
He bent upon his breast and away slam he,
And he swam till he came to The Turkish Shageree,
As she sailed o'er the Lowlands, low, down low,
As she sailed o'er the Lowlands, low.
He had an instrument was fixed for the use,
Saying, oh, the Lowlands lie so low,
He had an instrument was fixed for the use
And he bored nine holes and he bored 'em all to once,
And he sank her in the Lowlands, low, down low,
And he sank her in the Lowlands, low.
Then he bent upon his back and back swam he,
Saying, oh, the Lowlands lie so low,
He bent upon his back and back swam he,
And he swam till he came to The Golden Willow Tree,
As she sailed o'er the Lowlands, low, down low,
As she sailed o'er the Lowlands, low.
"O capting [4], O capting, oh, take me on board,"
Saying, oh, the Lowlands lie so low,
"O capting, O capting, oh, take me on board
And be unto me as good as your word,
For I've sunk her in the Lowlands, low, down low,
For I've sunk her in the Lowlands, low."
"Oh, no, oh, no, I won't take you on board,"
Saying, oh the Lowlands lie so low,
"Oh, no, oh, no, I won't take you on board,"
Nor be unto you as good as my word,
If you've sunk her in the Lowlands, low, down low,
If you've sunk her in the Lowlands, low."
"If it wasn't for the love that I have for your men,"
Saying, oh, the Lowlands lie so low,
"If it wasn't for the love that I have for your men,
I would do unto you as I did unto them,
I would sink you in the Lowlands, low, down low,
I would sink you in the Lowlands, low."
He wrote a message and sent it to his friends,
Saying, oh, the Lowlands lie so low,
He wrote a message and sent it to his friends,
To let them know of his dreadful end,
And he sank in the Lowlands, low, down low,
And he sank in the Lowlands, low.
He bent upon his head and down swam he,
Saying, oh, the Lowlands lie so low,
He bent upon his head and down swam he,
And he swam till he came to the bottom of the sea,
And he lays in the Lowlands, low, down low,
And he lays in the Lowlands, low.
Footnotes:
1 In another singing of the song, Mr. George left out the next to last stanza and used the title "The Turkish Shagiree." In a third singing in 1947, however, he included the stanza and again used the "The Golden Willow Tree" title.
2. cabin--not sure why it was transcribed this way. It appears this way in several of Flanders transcriptions.
3. "bent over" is a likely meaning.
4. captain--