Green Willow Tree- Sanders (VT) 1932 Flanders D
[Below are Coffin's introductory notes from Flanders' Ancient Ballads. This ballad covers over 80 pages, the most extensive collection published. This version could date back to c.1870 (when Altie was a girl) but there not enough information to make that assumption.
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.
D. "Green Willow Tree" Copied from the manuscript in the scrapbook [spelling and punctuation kept] of Mrs. Altie Dean Sanders of Mt. HoIIy, Vermont (born 1860)' as furnished by Mrs. Lloyd Wilkins of Rutland, Vermont. H. H. F., Collector; May 4, 1932
Green Willow Tree
There was a ship a sailing in north america
The name of it was the green willow tree
As she sailed in the low lands that lies so low
As she sailed in the low lands low,
She had not sailed a league scarce three
Before she overtook the turkey shrevelee
As she sailed in the low lands that lie so low
As she sailed in the low lands low.
Then up steped the cabin boy saying what will you giv me
If I will go and sink the turkey shrevelee
If Ill sink her in the low lands that lie so low
If ill sink her in the low lands low
Oh I will give you gold and i will give you fee
Beside an only daughter ill marry unto thee
If you'l sink her in the low lands that lie so low
If you'l sink her in the low lands low
He turned upon his breast and out swam he
Untill he overtook the turkey srevelee
As she sailed in the low lands that lie so low
As she sailed in the low lands low
He having an instrument all fitted for the use
To make four and twenty holes all at one push
As she sailed in the low lands that lie so low
As she sailed in the low lands low,
Some wer playing cards and some wer playing dice
And they all wer taking up with the Devil's best advice
As he sank her in the low lands that lie so low
As he sank her in the low lands low,
Some ran with hats others ran with caps
All for to stop up the salt watter gaps
As she sank in the low lands that lie so low
As she sank in the low lands low.
He turned upon his breast and back swam he
Untill he over took the green willow tree,
As she sailed in the low lands that lie so low
As she sailed in the low lands low,
He ses unto the captain will you take me on board
And will you be to me as good as your word.
For ive sunk them in the low lands that lie so low
I have sunk them in the low lands low
Oh no ses the captain i'll not take you on board
Nor will i be to You as good as mY word
You may go to the low lands that lie so low
You may go to the low lands low,
Wer it not for the love that i have for your men
I would do unto you as i've done unto them
I would sink you in the low lands that lie so low
I would sink you in the low lands low.
He turned upon his breast and out swam he
He bid fare well to the green willow tree
As she sailed in the low lands that lie so low
As she sailed in the low lands low.