Recordings & Info 167. Sir Andrew Barton
[In many cases (Roud Index, Phillips Barry etc), the ballads Sir Andrew Barton & Henry Martyn have been combined and are treated as one ballad. According to Coffin:
Barry, Brit Bids Me, 253ff., argues that they are the same song. He bases his claim on the older American texts and points out that the Child Henry Martyn stories are all fragments of the Andrew Barton tale which leave the chase and the capture out. Any ballad that has a chase and capture is Sir Andrew Barton. The American Henry Martyn songs that have the hero die and fall overboard are the result of a crossing with a text of Sir Andrew Barton itself or of an accident of traditional change. His conclusion is that Sir Andrew Barton exists in two forms in America: the story in which Sir Andrew Barton is hung (Type A), and the story in which, through contact with Captain Ward and the Rainbow (Child 287), Sir Andrew Barton wins and escapes (Type B). There are also abbreviations of these types which do not contain the chase and the capture. Such songs should be properly considered as Henry Martyn versions of Sir Andrew Barton. Barry is probably right. See Eddy, Bids Sgs Ohio, 8 1 for further discussion.
R. Matteson 2012]
CONTENTS:
1) Alternative Titles
2) Traditional Ballad Index
3) Child Collection Index
4) Excerpt from The British Traditional Ballad in North America by Tristram Coffin 1950, from the section A Critical Biographical Study of the Traditional Ballads of North America
5) Folk Index
ATTACHED PAGES: (see left hand column)
1) Roud No. 192: Sir Andrew Barton (2 Listings) & Roud No. 104: Henry Martyn (238 Listings)
Alternative Titles
Andy Bardan
Andrew Bardeen (Satan, Battan),
Andrew Martine,
Andy (Ander) Barden (Bratann),
Bolender Martin,
Elder Bardee,
The Pirates,
The Three Scotch Brothers,
Three Brothers of (Merrie) Scotland.
Traditional Ballad Index: Sir Andrew Barton [Child 167]
NAME: Sir Andrew Barton [Child 167]
DESCRIPTION: Merchants complain to the King that their trade is being disrupted. The King sends a crew to deal with Barton, the pirate. After a difficult battle marked by great courage and skill on both sides, Barton is defeated and killed
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1723
KEYWORDS: sailor sea battle nobility pirate
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1509-1547 - Reign of Henry VII (mentioned as king in some texts of the ballad)
FOUND_IN: US(MA,NE,NW,SE)
REFERENCES: (12 citations)
Child 167, "Sir Andrew Barton" (2 texts)
Bronson 167, "Sir Andrew Barton" (10 versions)
Percy/Wheatley II, pp. 188-207, "Sir Andrew Barton" (3 texts, one from the folio manuscript and the other the completely rewritten version in the _Reliques_)
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 248-258, "Andrew Barton" (3 texts); p. 483 (1 tune) {Bronson's #9}
Flanders-Ancient4, pp. 15-44, "Sir Andrew Barton" "but including Henry Martyn" (11 texts plus a fragment, 10 tunes; in every text but "L," the robber is Andrew Bardeen or something like that, but many of the texts appear more Henry Martin-like) {K=Bronson's #2 tune for Child #167; B=#46, C=#31 for Child #250}
Leach, pp. 467-475, "Sir Andrew Barton" (1 text)
Friedman, p. 348, "Sir Andrew Barton" (1 text)
OBB 130, "Sir Andrew Barton" (1 text)
Gummere, pp. 130-141+329-331, "Sir Andrew Barton" (1 text)
BBI, ZN2850, "When Flora with her fragrant flowere"
DT 167, ANDBART* HENRMRT4*
ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; notes to #418, ("But when hee saw his sisters sonne slaine") (1 long but incomplete text)
Roud #192
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Henry Martyn" [Child 250] (plot, lyrics)
cf. "Captain Ward and the Rainbow" [Child 287] (theme)
SAME_TUNE:
My bleeding heart, with grief and care/A Warning to all Lewd Livers (BBI ZN1789)
As I lay musing all alone, Great store of things I thought upon/[Title trimmed. A comparison made upon the Life of Man? Stat. Register, July 16, 1634] (BBI ZN229)
NOTES: In the present state of our knowledge, it is almost impossible to distinguish "Sir Andrew Barton" from "Henry Martyn"; the pirates' names exchange freely, and the basic plot is similar. What is more, the ballads have clearly exchanged elements, especially in America, where mixed versions are the rule. Child did not have to contend with this.
In Child, the basic distinction might almost appear to be length; the versions of "Andrew Barton" are 82 and 64 stanzas, while the texts of "Henry Martyn" do not exceed 13 stanzas. Thus the former looks more literary and the latter more popular. In addition, there are hints of historical background, though much distorted. Still, it is best to check both ballads for a particular version.
See the notes to "Henry Martin" for a summary of opinions on the issue.
The original Andrew Barton is probably historical. James A. Williamson, _The Tudor Age_, 1953, 1957, 1964 (I use the slightly revised 1979 Longman paperback edition) says on p. 77, "The Earl of Oxford had long been lord Admiral, but the office was legal and administrative and not combatant, and Oxford did not go to sea. Henry, with a view to finding a successor with sea experience, picked out the two young Howards, Thomas and Edward, sons of the Earl of Surrey, and sent them to sea in 1511 to bring to account Sir Andrew Barton, a Scottish officer whose piracies were the complaint of English merchants. Barton was a servant of James IV and a commander of the new Scottish navy. The Howards fought and killed him and added his two privateers as prizes to Henry's fleet."
N. A. M. Rodger, _The Safeguard of the Seas: A Naval History of Britain 660-1649_, 1997 (I use the 1998 Norton edition), p. 169, gives a different account of how the battle came about; "There had been several incidents of hostility [between Scotland and England], notably in June 1511 when the Lord Admiral of England, Sir Edward Howard, escorting a convoy to Zealand, accidentally encountered and killed the Scottish pirate Andrew Barton."
Additional information about Barton can be found in Child. As for Edward Howard, note that his father Surrey would was the man who, two years later, fought and won the Battle of Flodden (and was given back his Dukedom of Norfolk as a reward). The Lord Howard who led the English fleet against the Spanish Armada was also a member of this family.
Many American texts refer to Barton fighting a Captain Charles Stuart (replacing the Lord Howard of earlier versions -- a reasonable name, even apart from the Barton battle cited above, since Earl Howard of Norfolk was Admiral of England at the time of the battle with the Armada). Gordon thinks this was Bonnie Prince Charlie, but Barry et al point to the American Charles Stewart (1778-1869) who commanded the U. S. S. _Constitution_ at the end of the War of 1812. - RBW
Traditional Ballad Index: Henry Martyn [Child 250]
DESCRIPTION: Henry Martin (Martyn), the youngest of three brothers, is chosen by lot to turn pirate "to maintain his brothers and he." Martin overhauls a merchant ship; he either sinks her or is himself mortally wounded
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1825 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 28(181))
KEYWORDS: brother pirate
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(All),Scotland(Aber),Wales) US(Ap,MW,NE,SE,So,SW) Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES: (22 citations)
Child 250, "Henry Martyn" (5 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #42}
Bronson 250, Henry Martyn" (50 versions+2 in addenda)
Williams-Thames, pp. 78-79, "Henry Martin" (1 text) (also Wiltshire-WSRO Gl 117)
Belden, pp. 87-89, "Henry Martin" (1 text, called by the singer "Andy Bardan")
Randolph 31, "Andrew Bardeen" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #50}
Eddy 24, "Henry Martyn" (2 texts, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #16, #47}
Peters, pp. 107-108, "There Were Once Three Brothers" (1 text, 1 tune)
Gardner/Chickering 81, "The Three Scotch Robbers" (1 text plus a fragment, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #6, #10}
Gray, pp. 80-81, "Andrew Martine" (1 text, which seems rather defective although no gaps are shown)
Flanders/Olney, pp. 72-74, "Andrew Marteen"; pp. 201-203, "Andrew Batan" (2 texts, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #31, #46}
Flanders-Ancient4, pp. 15-44, "Sir Andrew Barton" "but including Henry Martyn" (11 texts plus a fragment, 10 tunes; in every text but "L," the robber is Andrew Bardeen or something like that, but many of the texts appear more Henry Martin-like) {K=Bronson's #2 tune for Child #167; B=#46, C=#31 for Child #250}
JHCox 150, "Henry Martin" (1 text)
Davis-More 37, pp. 290-299, "Henry Martyn" (1 text)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 86-87, "Henry Martyn" (1 text, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #3, #4}
Karpeles-Newfoundland 22, "Henry Martin" (3 texts, 3 tunes)
Mackenzie 13, "Bolender Martin" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #17}
Leach, pp. 615-616, "Henry Martyn" (1 text)
Friedman, p. 358, "Henry Martyn" (2 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #36}
Sharp-100E 1, "Henry Martin" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #36}
Silber-FSWB, p. 215, "Henry Martin" (1 text)
DT 250, HENRMART* HENRMRT3
ADDITIONAL: Maud Karpeles, _Folk Songs of Europe_, Oak, 1956, 1964, pp. 36-37, "Henry Martin" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #104
RECORDINGS:
Warde Ford, "Andrew Batan" (AFS 4194 B1, 1938; on LC58, in AMMEM/COWELL) {Bronson's #8 under "Sir Andrew Barton"}
A. L. Lloyd, "Henry Martin" (on ESFB1, ESFB2)
Sam Larner, "The Lofty Tall Ship" (on SLarner01, Voice12);"Henry Martin" (on SLarner02) [I do not know that the two Larner recordings are in fact different -- these two compilations drew from the same collection of field tapes -- but as the titles are given as different I thought it prudent to separate them. - PJS]
Lawrence Older, "Elder Bordee" (on LOlder01)
Pete Seeger, "Elder Bordee" (on PeteSeeger29)
Phillip Tanner, "Henry Martin" (on FSB5); "Young Henry Martin" (on Voice02) {one of these recordings, which may be the same, is Bronson's #33}
Tony Wales, "Henry Martin" (on TWales1)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 28(181), "Henry Martin," W. Armstrong (Liverpool) , 1820-1824; also Firth c.12(87), Harding B 11(1367), Harding B 11(4096), 2806 c.16(273), Harding B 17(295a), Harding B 11(4207), Firth b.26(253), Firth c.26(210), "Henry Martin"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Sir Andrew Barton" [Child 167] (plot, lyrics)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Elder Bordee
NOTES: This ballad cannot always be distinguished in practice from "Sir Andrew Barton" [Child 167]; see also the discussion under that song. - RBW
Having looked at the lyrics to "Elder Bordee," I'd place it somewhat closer to "Henry Martyn" than to "Sir Andrew Barton" [even though the Lawrence Older recording lists it as Child #167]; it's shorter, and it doesn't include the theme of the complaining merchants. Frankly, I think Child goofed when he split these ballads. - PJS
Child had the "advantage," if such it can be called, of seeing only British versions. Those are distinct enough. I've yet to see such clear distinctions in American versions.
Checking through the sources available to me, here are the "votes" of the various scholars:
Barry: One ballad (but with some rather farfetched conjectures about its evolution)
Belden: Apparently two (but based on the close similarities of the "Henry Martin" texts, which really proves only that this is a distinct family)
Bronson: One ballad (apparently, but based mostly on others' comments)
Child: Two ballads (probably), with "Andrew Barton" the elder and the source
Coffin: One ballad, following the arguments from Barry.
Davis: Two ballads
Gray: Apparently one ballad, since he connects his single short text to both songs
Sharp: Two ballads
Editors who print texts from their collections but state no clear opinion: Cox, Eddy, Flanders, Randolph
- RBW
Child Collection- Child Ballad 167: Andrew Bartin
Child --Artist --Title --Album --Year ---Length ---Have
167 Bob Coltman Andrew Batan Son of Child 1976 3:39 Yes
167 Peter Bellamy Sir Andrew Barton The Maritime England Suite 1982 3:11 Yes
167 Peter Bellamy Sir Andrew Barton Wake the Vaulted Echoes 1999 3:16 Yes
167 Peter Bellamy Sir Andrew Barton Big, Broadside & Barrack Room Ballads - the Ballads of Peter Bellamy
Excerpt from The British Traditional Ballad in North America
by Tristram Coffin 1950, from the section A Critical Biographical Study of the Traditional Ballads of North America
167. SIR ANDREW BARTON (including 250, HENRY MARTYN)
Texts: Adventure, n 30 '23 ; 1 120 '24 / Barry, Brit Bids Me, 248 / Belden, Mo F-S, 27 / Child, IV, 395 ; V, 302 / Cox, F-S Soutb, 150 / Davis, FS Fa / Eddy, Bids Sgs Ohio, 78 / Flanders, Cntry Sgs Vt, 8 / Focus, V, 280 / Qardner and Chickering, Bids Sgs So Mich, 211 / Gray, Sgs Bids Me Vjks, 80 / Haufrecht (ed.), Wayfaring Stranger, 20 / JAFL, XVTtll, 135, 302; XXV, 171; XXX, 327 / Karpeles, F-S Netofdld, 104. / Kolb, Treasry F-S, 19 / MacKenzie, Bids Sea Sgs N Sc, 61 / Randolph, Oz F-S, 1, 177; Reed Smith, SC Bids, 156; SFLQ, II, 205 / Thompson, Bdy Bts Brtcbs, 37.
Local Titles: Andrew Bardeen (Satan, Battan), Andrew Martine, Andy (Ander) Barden (Bratann), Bolender Martin, Elder Bardee, The Pirates, The Three Scotch Brothers, Three Brothers of (Merrie) Scotland.
Story Types; A: Three Scottish brothers cast lots to see which of them shall become a pirate to support the family. The lot falls to the youngest, Andy. He attacks and robs a rich English merchant. When the King learns of this crime, he sends Captain Stewart (Howard, in England) out to catch the robbers. Stewart locates and takes Andy, and brings him back to the gallows in England. Sometimes, however, Andy is sunk and drowned instead.
Examples: Barry (under 167) (B); Belden; SFLQ, II, 205.
B : The story is the same as that of Type A. However, Andy beats Stewart in the fight and continues on his way.
Examples: Barry (under 167) (A); Cox; Randolph.
C: The Barry (Brit Bids Me, 253 ff.) "Henry Martyn" type story ends with the capture of the merchant ship and the bad news* reaching England. In some versions the hero receives a death-wound and dies.
Examples: Eddy (A); Haufrecht; JAFL, XVIII, 135.
Discussion: This ballad and Henry Martyn (Child 250) are closely allied (see Child, IV, 393), and Barry, Brit Bids Me, 253ff., argues that they are the same song. He bases his claim on the older American texts and points out that the Child Henry Martyn stories are all fragments of the Andrew Barton tale which leave the chase and the capture out. Any ballad that has
a chase and capture is Sir Andrew Barton. The American Henry Martyn songs that have the hero die and fall overboard are the result of a crossing with a text of Sir Andrew Barton itself or of an accident of traditional change. His conclusion is that Sir Andrew Barton exists in two forms in America: the story in which Sir Andrew Barton is hung (Type A), and the story in which, through contact with Captain Ward and the Rainbow (Child 287), Sir Andrew Barton wins and escapes (Type B). There are also abbreviations of these types which do not contain the chase and the capture. Such songs should be properly considered as Henry Martyn versions of Sir Andrew Barton. Barry is probably right. See Eddy, Bids Sgs Ohio, 8 1 for further discussion.
Barry, ibid. 9 also poses an interesting and probably accurate hypothesis that the Charles Stewart (Stuart) who replaces Howard in the ballad is Captain Charles Stewart (17781869), U. S. N.
Henry Martyn was a popular stall ballad in the nineteenth century (see Kittredge's note in JAFL> XXX, 327), but there is no record of Sir Andrew Barton being printed in America.
Note also that the West Virginia version is almost identical to Child, V, 302 (South Carolina).
Folk Index: Sir Andrew Barton [Ch 167]
Rt - Elder Bordee
Friedman, Albert B. (ed.) / Viking Book of Folk Ballads of the English-S, Viking, sof (1963/1957), p348 [1860s]
Leach, MacEdward / The Ballad Book, Harper & Row, Bk (1955), p467
Elder Bordee [Ch 167/Ch 250]
Rt - Sir Andrew Barton ; Henry Martin/Martyn
Andrew, Peleg William (P. W.). Thompson, Harold W.(ed.) / Body, Boots & Britches, Dover, Bk (1962/1939), p 37 [1930s] (Elder Bardee)
Older, Lawrence. Adirondack Songs, Ballads and Fiddle Tunes, Folk Legacy FSA 015, Cas (1964), trk# B.11
Seeger, Pete. Champlain Valley Songs, Folkways FH 5210, LP (195?), trk# A.04
Henry Martin/Martyn [Ch 250/Ch 167]
Rt - Elder Bordee ; Andrew Bartin/Bardeen
Rm - Northport
Snyder, Jerry (arr.) / Golden Guitar Folk Sing Book, Hansen, fol (1972), p 63
Friedman, Albert B. (ed.) / Viking Book of Folk Ballads of the English-S, Viking, sof (1963/1957), p359 [1930s]
Friedman, Albert B. (ed.) / Viking Book of Folk Ballads of the English-S, Viking, sof (1963/1957), p360 [1900s]
Kidson, Frank (ed.) / Traditional Tunes. A Collection of Ballad Airs, S.R. Publishers, Bk (1970/1891), p 31 [1880s]
Sing Out Reprints, Sing Out, Sof, 6, p39 (1964)
Sing Out Reprints, Sing Out, Sof, 8, p 6 (1966)
Leisy, James F. (ed.) / Hootenanny Tonight!, Gold Medal Books, sof (1964), p 96
Miller Jr., E. John; & Michael Cromie / Folk Guitar, Quadrangle, Bk (1968), p 40
Silverman, Jerry / Folksingers Guide to Note Reading and Music Theory, Oak, Sof (1966), p44b
Leisy, James F. (ed.) / Folk Song Abecedary, Bonanza, Bk (1966), p158
Leach, MacEdward / The Ballad Book, Harper & Row, Bk (1955), p615
Baez, Joan. Joan Baez, Vanguard VRS 9078, CD/ (1960), trk# 12
Baez, Joan. Siegmeister, Elie (arr.) / Joan Baez Song Book, Ryerson Music, Sof (1971/1964), p 50
Cheetham, William. Kidson, Frank (ed.) / Traditional Tunes. A Collection of Ballad Airs, S.R. Publishers, Bk (1970/1891), p 29 [1880s]
Deller, Alfred. Western Wind, Vanguard SRV7 3005, LP (1967/1958), trk# B.07
Glazer, Tom. Namu, the Killer Whale, and Other Ballads of Adventure, United Artists UAS 6540, LP (1966), trk# A.03
Ives, Burl. Ballads, United Artists UAL 3060, LP (1959), trk# B.02
Ives, Burl. Ives, Burl / Burl Ives Song Book, Ballantine Books, Bk (1953), p 50
Ives, Burl. Coronation Concert, Decca DL 8080, LP (1954), trk# A.01c
Lea, Terrea. Terrea Lea and Her Singing Guitar, ABC Paramount ABC 161, LP (196?), trk# B.03
Lloyd, A. L. (Bert). Folk Songs. A Collection of Ballads and Broadsides, Topic TPS 201, LP (1971), trk# A.02
Tanner, Phil (Philip). Folk Songs of Britain, Vol 5. The Child Ballads, Vol. II, Caedmon TC 1146, LP (1961), trk# B.03 [1950s]
Thomas, Stella. Cox, John Harrington (ed.) / Folk-Songs of the South, Dover, Sof (1967/1925), p150/# 26 [1916/01/10]