Gypsy Laddie- Ritchie (KY) 1961 REC; music -Bronson No. 38
[From; Jean Ritchie - Ballads from her Appalachian Family Tradition (1961)-- 01. Gypsy Laddie; also published in Folk Songs of the Southern Appalachians as Sung by Jean Ritchie by Jean Ritchie (with music). There are several red flags: in her book, copyright 1968, Jean does not attribute the ballad; on her 1961 album the ballad is attributed to her uncle Jason, who was educated and had access to books such as the Child Ballads (1904 edition) and Sharp's EFFSA. Jason is mentioned in McGill's 1917 book and several of Jean's older sisters contributed ballads to Sharp in 1917. Jean's versions attributed to Uncle Jason are, in my opinion, not necessarily traditional. Considering the title and the gypsy name is Gypsy Laddie, which is a name not usually found in Appalachia, it certainly seems like a Jean Ritchie rewrite based on traditional and published material (from her Uncle Jason)--with a moralized recreated ending.
Notes and a brief bio follow the text.
R. Matteson 2012, 2015]
SIDE I, Band 1: GYPSY LADDIE (Child 200)
An English Lord came home one night
Enquiring for his lady,
The servants said on every hand,
She's gone with the Gypsy Laddie.
Go saddle up my milk-white steed,
Go saddle me up my brownie
And I will ride both night and day
Till I overtake my bonnie.
Oh he rode East and he rode West,
And at last he found her,
She was lying on the green, green grass
And the Gypsies arms around her.
Oh, how can you leave your house and land,
How can you leave your money,
How can you leave your rich young lord
To be a gypsy's bonnie.
How can you leave your house and land,
How can you leave your baby,
How can you leave your rich young lord
To be a gypsy's lady.
Oh come go home with me, my dear,
Come home and be my lover,
I'll furnish you with a room so neat,
With a silken bed and covers.
I won't go home with you, kind sir,
Nor will I be your lover,
I care not for your rooms so neat
Or your silken bed or your covers.
It's I can leave my house and land,
And I can leave my baby,
I'm a-goin' to roam this world around
And be a gypsy's lady.
Oh, soon this lady changed her mind,
Her clothes grey old and faded,
Her hose and shoes came off her feet
And left them bare and naked.
Just what befell this lady now,
I think it worth relating,
Her gypsy found another lass
And left her heart a-breaking.
NOTES: FOLKWAYS RECORDS Album No. FA 2301
©1961 Folkways Records & Service Corp., 43 W. 61st St., NYC, USA 10023
CHILD BALLADS IN AMERICA, Volume 1
sung by Jean Ritchie Notes by KENNETH S. GOLDSTEIN
SIDE I, Band 1: GYPSY LADDIE (Child #200)
Tradition has it that this ballad is connected to several historical characters of the 17th century, but there appears to be no factual support for such tales. In 1624, a well known gypsy chieftain, Johnny Faa (mentioned in early versions of the ballad), was hanged. His execution appears to have made such a strong impression that the ballad tale was attributed to him. Towards the end of the century, a story circulated concerning the wife of the Earl of Cassilis who ran off with Sir John Faa, who came to the castle disguised as a gypsy. As the legend goes, the Earl returned in time, went in pursuit, captured and hanged his Wife's abductor . History has it otherwise; no such incident is known to have happened to any member of the Cassilis family. Nevertheless their names appear in many British versions of this ballad.
The ballad still exists widely in tradition in both Britain and America. T.P. Coffin indicates 8 versional forms for the ballad as it exists in this country. The American versions have dropped several important features still found in Old World variants: no mention is made of the gypsies casting a spell over the lady, none of the gypsies are hanged or punished, and the names Faa and Cassilis are omitted. Jean Ritchie's version, learned from her uncle Jason Ritchie, is closest to Coffin's type C version, in which the gypsy casts the lady off in the end. A more common ending for American versions of the ballad is for the lady to refuse to return to her husband and to ride away forever with her gypsy lower. For an unusual cowboy version of this ballad see "Clayton Boone" as sung by Harry Jackson in The Cowboy: His Songs, Ballads & Brag Talk (Folkways Records FH 5723).
Biography by Steve Leggett
Jean Ritchie was born into a large and musical family in Viper, Kentucky in 1922. The Ritchie family was very much a part of the Appalachian folk tradition, and had committed over 300 songs (including hymns, traditional love songs, ballads, children's game songs, etc.) to its collective memory, a tradition that Ritchie has drawn on (as well as preserved and maintained) for the entire length of her performing career. She grew up in a home where singing was intertwined with nearly every task, and the beautiful, ephemeral nature of these mountain songs and fragments was not lost on her. After graduating from high school, Ritchie attended Cumberland Junior College in Williamsburg, Ky., moving on to the University of Kentucky, where she graduated in 1946. She accepted a position at the Henry Street Settlement in New York City and soon found her family's songs useful in reaching out to the children in her care. Her singing, although she never had a strong pop sort of voice, was perfect for the old ballads, especially when she accompanied herself on lap dulcimer, and the ancient modal melodies of her family felt fresh and airy in her hands. Ritchie soon found herself in demand in the New York coffeehouses, and her official career in music began. After hearing some casually recorded songs by Ritchie, Jac Holzman, who was just starting up Elektra Records, signed her to the label, eventually releasing three albums, Jean Ritchie Sings (1952), Songs of Her Kentucky Mountain Family (1957) and A Time for Singing (1962) at the height of the folk revival. Although she never reached the household name status of Peter, Paul & Mary, Joan Baez, Judy Collins or the Kingston Trio, Ritchie maintained her Appalachian authenticity, and her subsequent albums worked to preserve the rich folk tradition of the Southern Appalachians. Among her many releases are two from Smithsonian Folkways, Ballads From Her Appalachian Family Tradition and Child Ballads in America, None but One (which won a Rolling Stone Critics Award in 1977), High Hills and Mountains, Kentucky Christmas, and The Most Dulcimer. Married to the photographer George Pickow, the couple has re-released many of her albums on their own Greenhays Recordings imprint.