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Pretty Little Pink
Old-Time/Bluegrass Play-Party Song and Breakdown; Widely Known
ARTIST: Joel Mabus
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes
DATE: From "The Scots Musical Museum: 1787 - 1803", Robert Burns (verse is presented below under NOTES); Appears in Baring-Gould Mother Goose 1895 page 31; "Pretty Little Pink" similar to Sandburg (See version 3) appears in Newell, W. W., "Games and Songs of American Children," first published in 1883 (version 4). First collected by Brown 1914; First recorded as Pretty Little Pink in 1929 by Bradley Kincaid.
RECORDING INFO “Pretty Little Pink” “Little Pink”: Ford, Tennessee Ernie. Ford, Tennessee Ernie / Gather 'Round, Capitol T 1227, LP (196?), trk# B.01 (Pretty Little Pink); Kincaid, Bradley. Bradley Kincaid. Volume 2, Old Homestead OHCS 155, LP (1984), trk# A.06 [1929/10/04] (Pretty Little Pink); Ledford, Lilly May. Lily May Ledford, Old Blue --, CD (2005), trk# 7 [1966/06/29] (Pretty Little Pink); Mabus, Joel. Clawhammer, Fossil 491C, Cas (1991), trk# 6 (Pretty Little Pink); May, William. Folksongs and Ballads, Vol 4, Augusta Heritage AHR 010, Cas (1992), trk# A.07 [1990/06] (Little Pink); McCutcheon, John. Barefoot Boy with Boots On, Front Hall FHR-021, LP (1981), trk# 3 (Little Pink); Goodwin, Lonnie. Carolina Sampler, Global Village C 312, Cas (1992), trk# 8 [1980s] (Pretty Little Pink); Stamper, I. D.. That's My Rabbit, My Dog Caught It; Southern Trad. Instrument..., New World NW 226, LP (1978), trk# 3 [1977/08]; Watson, Doc; Clint Howard and Fred Price. Old Timey Concert, Vanguard 107/8, Cas (1987), trk# a.06 (Pretty Little Pink); Williams, Mrs. Dan. Owens, William A. (ed.) / Texas Folk Songs. 2nd edition, SMU Press, Bk (1976/1950), p101 [1940s]; Workman, Nimrod. Mother Jones' Will, Rounder 0076, LP (1978), trk# 2
SOURCE INFO: “We're Marching Down to Old Quebec” Newell, William Wells / Games and Songs of American Children, Dover, sof (1963/1909), p246/#175 (Quebec Town); Smithers, Rena. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., University of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p297/#519B [1934/04/17]; Woods, Mr. and Mrs. Allen Woods. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., University of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p296/#519A [1928/08/12]
RECORDING INFO: “Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss” “Western Country” Bell Spur String Band. Bell Spur String Band, Heritage (Galax) 047, LP (1984), trk# B.03 [1963/08/12] (Susannah Gal); Blackard, Dad;'s Moonshiners. It'll Never Happen Again. Old Time String Bands, Vol. 1, Marimac 9110, Cas (198?), trk# 6 [1927/08/03] (Susannah Gal); Blevins, Frank; and His Tarheel Rattlers. Ballads and Breakdowns of the Golden Era, Columbia CS 9660, LP (1968), trk# B.06 [1927/11/08] (Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss/Pink; Bogtrotters (Bog Trotters). Original Bogtrotters, Biograph RC 6003, LP (1968), trk# 11 [1937-42]; Camp Creek Boys. Camp Creek Boys, County 709, LP (1967), trk# 6 (Susannah Gal); Cedar Point String Band. Cedar Point String Band, Roane, Cas (1993), trk# 11 (Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss/Pink); Cockram, Grover. Old Five String, Vol 2, Heritage (Galax) 052, Cas (1991), trk# 6 (Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss/Pink); Cockerham, Jarrell and Jenkins. Down to the Cider Mill, County 713, LP (1968), trk# 5 (Susannah Gal); Crisp, Rufus. Rufus Crisp, Folkways FA 2342, LP (1972), trk# A.02 [1946] (Blue Eyed Gal); Douglas, Wilson. Boatin' Up the Sandy, Marimac AHS 1, Cas (1989), trk# 3 (Blue Eyed Miss); East, Earnest; & the Pine Ridge Boys. Old Time Mountain Music, County 718, LP (1969), trk# 7 (Susannah Gal); Feldmann, Peter. How to Play Clawhammer Banjo, Sonyatone STI-104, LP (1975), trk# 10 (Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss/Pink); 21. Gaskin, Phyllis. Mountain Dulcimer - Galax Style, Heritage (Galax) 094C, Cas (1991), trk# 8 (Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss/Pink) 22. Hall, Kenny; and the Sweets Mill String Band. Kenny Hall and the Sweets Mill String Band, Vol. 2, Bay 103, LP (1973), trk# 3 (Susannah Gal); Hart and Blech. Build Me a Boat, Voyager VRCD 354, CD (2001), trk# 10 (Blue Eyed Gal); Herald Angels. You've Been a Friend to Me, Herald Angels HA1001, Cas (1994), trk# 18 (Fly Around); Hicks, Buna. Traditional Music of Beech Mountain, NC, Vol II, Folk Legacy FSA-023, LP (1965), trk# 18 [1961-63] (Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss/Pink); Honig, Peter. Young Fogies, Heritage (Galax) 056, LP (198?), trk# 36 (Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss/Pink); Hopkins, Al; and his Buckle Busters. Fiddlers Convention in Mountain City, Tennessee, County 525, LP (1972), trk# 8 [1926/10/22] (Blue Eyed Gal); Howard, Clint; and Fred Price. Old-Time Music at Clarence Ashley's. Part 1, Folkways FA 2355, LP (1961), trk# 17 [1962ca] (Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss/Pink); Iron Mountain String Band (Galax). Music from the Mountain, Heritage (Galax) 101C, Cas (1992), trk# 5 (Old Time Flyin' Around); Jarrell, Tommy; and Kyle Creed. June Apple, Mountain 302, LP (1972), trk# 9 (Susannah Gal); Jarrell, Tommy. Fiddler Magazine, Fiddler Mag., Ser, 2/1, p27(1995) [1970s] (Suzanna Gal); Kazee, Buell. Buell Kazee, June Appal JA 0009, LP (1977), trk# 6a (Blue Eyed Gal); Kazee, Buell. Buell Kazee Sings and Plays, Folkways FS 3810, LP (196?/1956), trk# A.03 (Dance Around My Pretty Little Miss); Kimble Family. Pine Knots School Rowdies, Marimac 9037, Cas (1992), trk# 14 (Susannah Gal); Kingston Trio. Make Way, Capitol T 1474, LP (1961), trk# B.06 (Blue Eyed Gal); Kretzner, Leo; and Jay Leibovitz. Dulcimer Fair, Traditional TR 018, LP (1981), trk# B.04a (Susannah Gal); Luckiamute River String Band. Waterbound, Lucks '94, Cas (1994), trk# A.01 (Fly Away My Pretty Little Miss) 43. Lundy, Emmett. Fiddle Tunes from Grayson County, String 802, LP (1977), trk# 17 [1941/08] (Susannah Gal); Lundy, Emmett. Krassen, Miles (ed.) / Masters of Old Time Fiddling, Oak --, Sof (1983), p 35 (Susannah Gal); Lunsford, Bascom Lamar. Appalachian Minstrel, Washington VM 736, LP (1956), trk# B.02 (Fly Around My Blue Eyed Gal); Michels, Amy. Fowl Farmer, Michels, CD (2002), trk# 8 (Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss/Pink); Michael, McCreesh & Campbell. Host of the Air, Front Hall FHR-023, LP (1980), trk# A.03 (Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss/Pink); Mill Run Dulcimer Band. Sunday at the Mill, Lark LRLP 3094, LP (1980), trk# A.01; Moore, Charlie. Charlie Moore Sings Good Bluegrass, Vetco LP 3011, LP (196?), trk# B.01 (Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss/Pink); New Lost City Ramblers. New Lost City Ramblers, Vol. 3, Folkways FA 2398, LP (1961), trk# 17 (Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss/Pink); Old Reliable String Band. Old Reliable String Band, Folkways FA 2475, LP (1963), trk# A.01 (Fly Around); Old Virginia Fiddlers. Old Time Fiddle, Patrick County, VA, County 201, LP (1977), trk# B.02 [1948] (Susannah Gal); Pegram, George; and Parham, Red (Walter). Pickin' and Blowin', Riverside RLP 12-650, LP (1959), trk# 9 [1957] (Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss/Pink); Piney Creek Weasels. Squirrel Heads and Gravy, Hay Holler HHH-1101, CD (1996), trk# 4 (Fly Around My Blue Eyed Gal); Pleasant Family. Old Time String Band, Pleasant --, CD (2005), trk# 12 (Blue Eyed Gal); Powell, Dirk. Hand Me Down, Rounder 0444, CD (1999), trk# 5; Price, Truman; and Jane Keefer. Songs and Tunes of the Oregon Trail, True West TW C-21, Cas (1991), trk# 13; Ramsey, Obray. Obray Ramsey Sings Folksongs from the Three Laurels, Prestige International INT 13020, LP (196?), trk# B.03 (Shady Grove); Reed, Ola Belle. Ola Belle Reed, Rounder 0021, LP (1973), trk# 4 (Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss/Pink); Russell Family. Old Time Dulcimer Sounds from the Mountains, County 734, LP (1972), trk# 8 (Old Susannah); Sexton, Lee "Boy". Mountain Music of Kentucky, Smithsonian/Folkways SF 40077, CD (1996), trk# 2.62 [1959] (Fly Around); Shelor Family. Eight Miles Apart, Heritage (Galax) 022, LP (1979), trk# 7 [1973/08/07] (Susannah Gal); Smith, Earl;'s Band. 1941 Old Fiddlers Convention, Galax, Virginia, Voyage Beyond, CD (200?), trk# 31 [1941] (Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss/Pink); Smith, Hobart. Banjo Songs, Ballads and Reels from the Southern Mountains, Prestige International INT 25004, LP (196?), trk# 15 [1959/08/24] (Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss; Smith, Hobart. Southern Journey. Vol. 2: Ballads and Breakdowns, Rounder 1702, CD (1997), trk# 17 [1959/08/24] (Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss/Pink); Smith, Hobart. In Sacred Trust. 1963 Fleming Brown Tapes, Smithsonian SFWCD 40141, CD (2005), trk# 4 [1963/10] (Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss/Pink); Stoneman, Ernest; and the Blue Ridge Corn Shuckers. Day in the Mountains, County 512, LP (196?), trk# 7e [1928/02/22] (Possum Trot School Exhibition); Ward, Wade. Uncle Wade. A Memorial to Wade Ward, Old Time Virginia Banjo ..., Folkways FA 2380, LP (1973), trk# 2; Whitetop Mountain Band. Seedtime on the Cumberland. Sampler 1990-91, June Appal JA 0067C, Cas (1992), trk# 1 (Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss/Pink);
SOURCE INFO: “Weevily Wheat” Songs Lomax, John A. & Alan Lomax / American Ballads and Folk Songs, MacMillan, Bk (1934), p.290 (Weavily Wheat); Sandburg, Carl / American Songbag, Harcourt Brace Jovan..., Sof (1955/1928), p161; Owens, William A. (ed.) / Texas Folk Songs. 2nd edition, SMU Press, Bk (1976/1950), p151 [1930s]; Baber, Carrie. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., University of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p297/#520A [1922/09/08]; Boren, Curt. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., University of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p299/#520D [1933/06/21]; Buchanan, Stella. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., University of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p301/#520G [1941/10/22] ; Chambliss, Emma B. (Baird). Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., University of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p299/#520B [1926/08/10]; Haswell, A. M.. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., University of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p300/#520F [1934/04/25]; Muller, Eric. Muller, Eric & Barbara Koehler / Frailing the 5-String Banjo, Mel Bay, Sof (1973), p45; Sager, Lloyd. McIntosh, David S. / Folk Songs and Singing Games of the Illinois Ozarks, SIU Press, Bk (1974), p 58 [1952/04/03] (Weavily Wheat); Webb, J. Will. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., University of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p300/#520E [1934/04/17] (Trip Charley); Ford, Ira W. / Traditional Music in America, Folklore Associates, Bk (1965/1940), p241 (Make a Cake for Charley); New Lost City Ramblers. Cohen, John, Mike Seeger & Hally Wood / Old Time String Band Songbook, Oak, Sof (1976/1964), p161
RECORDING INFO: “Weevily Wheat” “Charlie's Neat” “Charley He's a Good Old Boy/Man” Boguslav, Raphael (Ray). Songs from a Village Garret, Riverside RLP 12-638, LP (1956), trk# B.01; Bok, Gordon. Songs & Sounds of the Sea, National Geographic Soc. 705, LP (1973), trk# 9 (Wheat in the Ear); Darling, Erik. Erik Darling, Elektra EKL-154, LP (1958), trk# 9a (Banjo Medley) Hamilton, Mark. Songs and Tunes from Wolf Run, Sampler 9223, Cas (1992), trk# 26 (Weavily Wheat); Hughes, Ella. Skip to My Lou, Pine Breeze 004, LP (1977), trk# B.04 [1975]; Lattin, Rosie. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., University of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p299/#520C [1932/09/14]; 100. Seeger, Peggy. American Folksongs for Banjo, Folk Lyric FL 114, LP (195?), trk# B.04; Wright, Oscar And Eugene. Oscar & Eugene Wright, Rounder 0089, LP (1978), trk# 21 104. Harrell, Kelly; & the Virginia String Band. Kelly Harrell and the Virginia String Band, County 408, LP (1975), trk# B.02 [1927/08/12]; 105. Harrell, Kelly; & the Virginia String Band. Early Rural String Bands, RCA (Victor) LPV-552, LP (1968), trk# 5 [1927/08/11] ; 106. Ill-Mo Boys. Fine As Frog's Hair, Marimac 9054, Cas (1992), trk# 15; RECORDING INFO: “Coffee Grows On White Oak Trees” Carawan, Guy. This Little Light of Mine, Folkways FG 3552, LP (1959), trk# B.04; Lomax, John A. & Alan Lomax / Folk Song USA, Signet, Sof (1966/1947), # 31; De Cormier, Robert; Folk Singers. Dance Gal - Gimme the Banjo, Command RS 865 SD, LP (1964), trk# A.07a ; Rhoden, Mr. Arlie. Morris, Alton C. / Folksongs of Florida, Univ. Florida, Bk (1950), p205/#117 [1934]
RECORDING/SOURCE INFO: “Four in the Middle” De Cormier, Robert; Folk Singers. Dance Gal - Gimme the Banjo, Command RS 865 SD, LP (1964), trk# A.07b; Durbin, Carl. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., University of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p309/#524A [1927/06/04]; 113. Hastings, Dr. George E.. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., University of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p312/#524G [1942/01/06]; Lamberson, Jewell. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., University of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p311/#524D [1935/11/21]; Langstaff, John. Songs for Singing Children, Revels 8586, CD (1996), trk# 18 [1968] (Jump Josie); Lipscome, Sam. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., University of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p311/#524E [1935/01/01]; McCord, May Kennedy. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., University of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p311/#524C [1934/04/17] (Susan Brown); Mills, Alan. More Songs to Grow On, Scholastic SC 7676, LP (1955), trk# B.04 (Two in the Middle); Oster, Harry. Louisiana Folksong Jambalaya, LFS A-2, LP (1959), trk# B.09 (Choose Your Love as We Go Round); Petty, Pauline. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., University of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p311/#524B [1930/06/23]; Rayburn, Otto Ernest. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., University of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p312/#524F [1933/05/06]; Setzekorn, Ina. McIntosh, David S. / Folk Songs and Singing Games of the Illinois Ozarks, SIU Press, Bk (1974), p 64 (Susan Brown); Tarpley, A. R.. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., University of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p312/#524H [1942/01/06] (I Love Susie Brown); Trail, Arthur. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., University of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p312/#524I [1941/12/13]
RELATED TO: Say, Darling, Say; Where Are You Going; Washing Mama's Dishes; Black Jack Davy (Tune); Coffee Grows on White Oak Trees; Little Betty Ann; I Want to Go Back to Georgia; Jaybird Died with the Whooping Cough; Shady Grove (tune); Daisy; How Old Are You (My Pretty Little Miss)?; Leroy Troy's Rabbit Dog; Jim Along Josie; Weevily Wheat; Over the Water to Charlie; Bonnie Sweet Prince Charlie;
OTHER NAMES: Blue Eyes Run Me Crazy; My Pretty Little Pink; Little Pink; All Around Those Pretty Little Pinks; Long the Days of Sorrows; Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss/Pink; We're Marching Down to Old Quebec; Charley He's a Good Old Boy/Man; Quadrille in D and A; Charlie's Neat (and Charlie's Sweet); Twistification; Western Country; Susannah Gal; Blue Eyed Gal; Charlie He's My Darling; Four in the Middle; Coffee Grows on White Oak Trees; Old King Cole was a Jolly Old Soul (Jean Ritchie);
SOURCES: “Pretty Little Pink” Kincaid, Bradley. Lair, John (ed.) / 100 WLS Barn Dance Favorites, Cole, fol (1935), p59 (Pretty Little Pink); Sandburg, Carl / American Songbag, Harcourt Brace Jovan..., Sof (1955/1928), p166; Newell, William Wells / Games and Songs of American Children, Dover, sof (1963/1909), p245/#175 (My Pretty Pink) Sandburg, p. 166, "My Pretty Little Pink" (1 text, 1 tune); Randolph 793, "Careless Love" (3 texts, 1 tune, but the "B" text belongs here if it belongs anywhere) BrownIII 287, "Darling Little Pink" (1 text); also 78, "Coffee Grows on White Oak Trees" (7 texts plus 1 excerpt and mention of 1 more, but almost all mixed -- all except "H" have the "Coffee grows" stanza, but "A" also has verses from "Fly Around, My Pretty Little Miss"; "and "C" through "H" are mostly "Little Pink"; "B" is mixed with "Raccoon" or some such); Hudson 85, p. 212, "Going to the Mexican War" (1 fragment, with the "Knapsack on my Shoulder" text and also the "Coffee Grows" stanza; there isn't much "Little Pink" in it, but it clearly goes with the Brown texts cited above); Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #808, p. 301, "(My little pink)" (a fragment that appears related but may be a by-blow)
SOURCES: “Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss” “Western Country” Mates, Tony. Silberberg, Gene (ed.) / Complete Fiddle Tunes I Either Did or Did Not.., Silberberg, Fol (2005), p 57; Brody, David (ed.) / Guitar Pickers Fakebook, Oak, Sof (1984), p148; Creed, Kyle. Brody, David (ed.) / Fiddler's Fakebook, Oak, Sof (1983), p288; Carlin, Bob. Brody, David (ed.) / Banjo Picker's Fakebook, Oak, Fol (1985), p176a; Cunningham, Bill. Cunningham, Bill / Hoedown Fiddle in America (How to Play It), Cunningham, fol (1971), p15 (Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss/Pink); Curley, Clyde. Songer, Susan; & Clyde Curley (eds.) / Portland Collection. Contra..., Portland Collection, Fol (1997), p208; Kazee, Buell. Old Time Herald, Old Time Herald, Ser, 3/3, p34(1992) (Pretty Little Miss); Krassen, Miles. Krassen, Miles / Clawhammer Banjo, Oak, sof (1974), p27; New Lost City Ramblers. Cohen, John, Mike Seeger & Hally Wood / Old Time String Band Songbook, Oak, Sof (1976/1964), p 66 (Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss/Pink)
(Long the Days of Sorrows) Parr, Mae. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., University of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p394/#589 [1942/01/06]
NOTES: Typical lines: "My pretty little Pink, I once did think, That you and I would marry." The singer complains that the girl has taken too long to make up her mind. In some versions he is a soldier who sets out to see the sights and fight in the Mexican War. Mexico, Quebec, Rio Grande, New Orleans and Dixie seem to be the places 'marched off to.' "We're Marching Down to Old Quebec" is a title for one setting. There are frequent floating lyrics to this loosely formed ballad.
“Pink” is a nickname for girl/miss/love. Pink is also the color traditionally identified with the female gender.
Jean Ritchie and her family, one of the important song sources from the Appalachians, sang a play-party version of “Pretty Little Pink” named "Old King Cole." She explains:
“I think that everybody who sings these songs "improves" on them, to make them funnier maybe, or to make them his/her own. But we separated them this way: "Old King Cole," was definitely a singing-game- it was called "a gettin-up song" because the boys were too bashful to ask girls to dance without help. SO, one brave couple promenaded round the room singing and when they reached the last verse, "we'll open up the ring and choose a couple in," another boy (or girl) had got up the nerve to get a partner, and they joined in the promenading and singing, until there were enough couples to play a regular game like, "Goin to Boston," or, "Over the River, Charlie." Jean Ritchie 2006
Many versions like Bradley Kincaid’s, include a verse that appeared in “Mother Goose- Songs for the Nursery” in 1895.
The True Mother Goose - Songs for the Nursery,
Or, Mother Goose's Melodies for Children.
Notes and Pictures by Blanche McManus.
Published by Lamson, Wolffe and Co., Boston. 1895.
My little pink I suppose you think,
I cannot do without you.
I will let you know before I go,
How little I care about you.
The group of songs/titles connected with “Pretty Little Pink” are large. I basically have them sorted into four main closely related families. The folk index puts most of them under the "Western Country/Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss" title. "Coffee Grows on White Oak Trees" is part of this group.
The "Pretty Little Pink" songs are appear in "We're Marching to Quebec (sometimes New Orleans etc.)" “Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss” is also titled “Fly Around My Pretty Little Pink” and appears under that latter title frequently.
The "Wheavily Wheat" songs mention Charlie as in "Charley He's a Good Old Boy/Man." Some versions use the “Bonnie Sweet Prince Charlie” title which can be traced back to England. Charlie is probably a reference to Prince Charles Edward Stewart, 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' 1720-1788.
Then there's "Four in the Middle" a mid-west variant that is also related to "Jim Along Joe." There are several versions of "Four in the Middle" that can be heard on-line in the Max Hunter Collection. Here’s the way I list them:
1) "Western Country/Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss" songs
"Coffee Grows on White Oak Trees."
2) "Pretty Little Pink" songs
"We're Marching to Quebec (sometimes Mexico, New Orleans etc.)"
3) "Wheavily Wheat" songs.
"Charley He's a Good Old Boy/Man;" “Charlie's Neat (and Charlie's Sweet);”
“Charlie He's My Darling;” Over the River/Water to Charlie”
4) "Four in the Middle" songs
Meade categorizes "Pretty Little Pink" in the “Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss" family under which a. Western Country and b. Shady Grove are variants.
Perhaps the earliest reference comes from a verse by Robert Burns: "The Scots Musical Museum: 1787 - 1803", James Johnson & Robert Burns. The following verse was taken from “Here’s to thy Health My Bonnie Lass”:
Here’s to thy Health My Bonnie Lass
Written for this Work by Robert Burns
Tune, Loggan Burn
"O dinna think my pretty pink,
But I can live without thee:
I vow and swear, I dinna care
How lang ye look about ye."
The Burns verse isn't just the name, 'pretty pink' but is clearly related both in form and content. This establishes another connection with England. The reference to Charlie "Bonnie Sweet Prince Charlie" and the Burns lines both indicate overseas transmission. Since many of the immigrants remained isolated in the Appalchians, folk songs could be found there that had entirely disappeared from their mother country.
W.K. McNeil discussed this song in Southern Mountain Folksongs:
"Although most folksong scholars agree that this song dates back only to the Mexican War (1846-1848), the earliest reported text, from eastern Tennessee in 1883, contains the following lyrics . (see version 4)
"This reference to Quebec suggests the possibility that the song originated during the French and Indian War (1754-1763), or about a century earlier than is generally believed. Some other texts mention New Orleans and thus make a War of 1812 origin possible. Is is, of course, also possible that the song predates all three wars and harks back to an as yet undiscovered urform. This seems to be what Ben Botkin is suggesting in The American Play-Party song, p.71, when he says the song 'presents a curious example of a dance song which has been converted into a soldiers' marching song, with Mexican War references, and then back into dance usage, war references and all." From: W.K. McNeil, Southern Mountain Folksongs (Little Rock, Arkansas: August House Publishers, Inc., 1993)
McNeil printed a text plus tune from Doc Hopkins of Harlan County, Kentucky, taken from a tape he made in the late 1960s or early 1970s. Hopkins was a performer on the WLS National Barn Dance radio program in Chicago and performed in medicine shows previous to that. According to McNeil, he learned Pretty Little Pink from Bradley Kincaid who in turn learned it from fellow performer Scott Wiseman. The Hopkins version is shortened from the Kincaid version above, only having about half of the verses.” p.150-153
Here’s some info from Andrew Kuntz: “Old-Time, Breakdown and Song. USA; Kentucky, southwestern Va. A driving banjo tune recorded in the 1920's by eastern Kentucky musicians. It was also recorded by Herbert Halpert for the Library of Congress (2741-A-1) from the fiddle playing and singing of Franklin County, Virginia, musician H.L. Maxey. By the 1930's the song was a staple in the repertoires of country radio singers such as Bradley Kincaid, Skyland Scotty, and Grandpa Jones, says Charles Wolfe (1991).”
"Pretty Little Pink" relates to Shady Grove and Black Jack Davey:
PRETTY LITTLE PINK
"Five Old-Country Ballads," The Journal of American Folklore,
Vol. 25, No. 96. (Apr. - Jun., 1912), p. 174
Relating to the Black Jack Davey connection
Here's a verse from West Plains, Missouri:
"Come with me, my pretty little pink
Come with me, my honey
Come with me to a distant land
Where we will never need for money
Where we will never need for money"
As collected and printed by James Mooney, "Folklore of the Carolina Mountains," The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 2, No. 5 (April-June, 1889), p.104 Mooney printed these lyrics as an example of a children's "song game": "One song of this kind was obtained from a lady living on Oconaluftee River, who had sung it when a child at her old home near Murphy, in the extreme southeastern corner of the state . . . . The lady had forgotten the details of the game, but remembered that one girl, presumably the "pretty little pink," stood in the centre, while the others marched around her singing the song. She said it had a very pretty tune, which she had forgotten . . . . The lady stated, however, that as she had known it the children said "Quebec Town" instead of "Mexico," which might indicate that the first part of the song goes back as far as the French and Indian war." p.104
Of course, the Quebec reference could also date the song to the American War of Indepedence or the War of 1812. And as bizarre as it seems, Alex Cox in his new film offers evidence that the United States planned an invasion of Canada in the inter-war decades of the twentieth century.
"Pretty Little Pink" songs lyrics from Joel Mabus:
PRETTY LITTLE PINK
(traditional, arranged by Joel Mabus)
Fly around my pretty little pink
Fly around my daisy
Fly around my pretty little pink
Damn near drive me crazy
Peaches in the summertime
Apples in the fall
If I can't have my own true love
Won't have none at all
Every time I go that road
Always dark and cloudy
Every time I see that gal
Always tell her howdy
Fly around my pretty little pink
Fly around my daisy
Fly around my pretty little pink
Damn near drive me crazy
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