Bluegrass Messengers

Recordings & Info 209. Geordie

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
 6) Some Recordings with one verse
 7) Lyrics to Maddy Prior/June Tabor version 
 8) Mainly Norfolk (lyrics and info)
 9) Everyman's Book of English Country Songs (1979), Roy Palmer 
 10)  From: Malcolm Douglas on place name

ATTACHED PAGES: (see left hand column)
  1) Roud No. 90:  Geordie (302 Listings) Alternative Titles

Georgie
Charlie and Sally (PA, Shoemaker)
Charley's Escape
Georgia
George E. Wedlock
Georgy-O,
Go Saddle Up My Milk-White Steed
Johnny Wedlock
Lovely Georgie
The Laird of Gigh
The Life of Georgia
Gight's Lady
The Life of Georgie
The Death of Geordie
The Bog o' Gight
The Braes o' Gight
The Lady o' Gight

Traditional Ballad Index: Geordie [Child 209]

DESCRIPTION: Geordie is taken (for killing a man or the king's deer). When word comes to his lady, she sets out to do all possible to save his life. In most accounts she raises his ransom, though in others Geordie is executed
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1792 (Scots Musical Museum)
KEYWORDS: execution hunting punishment rescue wife
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber,Bord),England(All)) US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,NW,SE,So) Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES: (35 citations)
Child 209, "Geordie" (15 texts)
Bronson 209, "Geordie" (58 versions)
GlenbuchatBallads, pp. 180-182, "The Lady O Gight" (1 text)
Greig #75, p. 1, "Gight's Lady" (1 text)
GreigDuncan2 249, "Gightie's Lady" (11 texts, 6 tunes) {A=Bronson's #3, C=#37?, D=#34}
Lyle-Crawfurd2 197, "The Stealing of the King's Deer" (1 text)
BarryEckstormSmyth p. 475, "Geordie" (notes only)
Flanders-Ancient3, pp. 231-235, "Geordie" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Belden, pp. 76-78, "Geordie" (3 texts)
Randolph 28, "The Life of Georgie" (3 texts plus 1 excerpt, 2 tunes) {Randolph's A=Bronson's #36, D=#40}
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 52-53, "The Life of Georgie" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 28D) {Bronson's #40}
Davis-Ballads 39, "Geordie" (3 texts plus a fragment, 1 tune entitled "Georgie") {Bronson's #30}
Davis-More 34, pp. 262-266, "Geordie" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownII 38, "Geordie" (1 text, in which the condemned man is "Georgia"!)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 213-215, "Geordie" (1 text, with local title "Georgy-O," plus an excerpt from Christie; 1 tune on p.411) {Bronson's #5}
Chappell-FSRA 17, "Johnny Wedlock" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #49}
Flanders/Brown, pp. 241-242, "Charley's Escape" (1 text from the Green Mountain Songster)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 17, "Lovely Georgie" (1 text)
Creighton-Maritime, p. 27, "Geordie" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 73-75, "Geordie" (2 texts plus 1 fragment, 1 tune) {Bronson's #23}
Gardner/Chickering 128, "Georgie" (1 fragment)
Leach, pp. 554-559, "Geordie" (3 texts)
Sharp-100E 9, "Geordie" (1 text, 1 tune)
Niles 53, "Geordie" (1 text, 1 tune)
SharpAp 34, "Geordie" (4 short texts plus 2 fragments, 6 tunes){Bronson's #50, #31, #51, #30, #55, #41}
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 24, "Georgie" (1 text, 1 tune -- a composite version) {Bronson's #30}
Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, pp. 42-43, "Geordie" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #27}
Hodgart, p. 135, "Geordie" (1 text)
JHCox 23, "Geordie" (1 text)
Ord, pp. 408-410, "Gight's Ladye"; pp. 456-457, "My Geordie, O, My Geordie O" (2 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #4}
MacSeegTrav 16, "Geordie" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Silber-FSWB, p. 220, "Geordie" (1 text)
BBI, ZN279, "As I went over London Bridge"
DT 209, GEORDI GEORDI2* GEORDI4*
ADDITIONAL: James Kinsley, editor, Burns: Complete Poems and Songs (shorter edition, Oxford, 1969) #358, pp. 491-492, "Geordie -- An old Ballad" (1 text, 1 tune, from 1792)
Roud #90
RECORDINGS:
Harry Cox, "Georgie (Geordie)" (on FSB5, FSBBAL2) {Bronson's #24}
Paul Joines, "The Hanging of Georgie" (on Persis1)
Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, "Georgie" (on ENMacCollSeeger02)
Levi Smith, "Georgie" (on Voice11)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(1797), "The Life of Georgey," H. Such (London), 1849-1862; also Harding B 25(488), "Death of Georgy", W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also Firth c.21(20), Harding B 11(2297), "Maid's Lamentation for her Georgy"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Prisoner at the Bar (The Judge and Jury)" (plot)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Death of Geordie
The Bog o' Gight
The Braes o' Gight
The Lady o' Gight
NOTES: The historical antecedents of this ballad are disputed. Some suggest that it is based on the life of George Gordon (1512-1562), Fourth Earl of Huntley, the son of Margaret Stewart, she being an illegitimate daughter of James IV. A blackletter ballad cited by Lloyd names Geordie as George Stoole of Northumberland, executed in 1610, but Lloyd suggests the ballad itself predates the 17th century. - PJS, RBW
To the above list of possibilities, I'm going to add one other possibility, though it is later than Lloyd's broadside. But it might have caused the song to be reshaped. According to Susan Maclean Kybett, _Bonnie Prince Charlie_, Dodd Mead, 1988, pp. 16-17, after the 1715 Jacobite rebellion, several peers (including, e.g., Lord Derwentwater) were condemned to death. One of them was William Maxwell of Nithsdale. His wife Winifred begged before George I for his life. Her request was refused, but she was granted a last visit -- and managed to help him escape.
I must admit to sometimes wondering if this is really a single ballad. In most texts, of course, Geordie is charged with murder. But in a few texts, such as Child's "H" and Ord's version "Gight's Ladye," the charge is poaching, and the whole feeling of the song (as well as the lyrics) is different. Coffin's notes in Flanders-Ancient3 observes that there are two endings, one with Geordie ransomed, one with him executed, and that these seem to form distinct family groups. I wouldn't be surprised if two separate songs were mixed. - RBW

Child Collection- Child Ballad 209: Geordie

Child --Artist --Title --Album --Year --Length --Have
209 A.L. Lloyd Georgie (Geordie) The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) - Vol. 4 [Reissue] 196?  No
209 A.L. Lloyd Georgie (Geordie) The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) - Vol. 2 1956  No
209 A.L. Lloyd Geordie England & Her Traditional Songs - A Selection from the Penguin Book of English Folk Songs 2003 3:09 Yes
209 A.L. Lloyd Geordie Bramble Briars & Beams of the Sun 2011 No
209 Acie Cargill & The Stone in Shoes Band Geordie In the Willow Garden 2002 4:01 Yes
209 Acie Cargill & The Stone in Shoes Band Geordie Hymn to America 2007 No
209 Adderstone Geordie Cannily Cannily 2004 3:50 Yes
209 Adderstone Geordie Celtica 2 2000 Yes
209 Agnes Pressley Charlie The Robert Winslow Gordon Collection No
209 Al Kastell Geordie Cheltica 1 2005 No
209 Aldo Menti [The Cheili Orchestra] Geordie Celtic Spirit [Celtic Melodies] 1999 No
209 Alec Bloomfield Young George Oxbury The Foggy Dew - Singers from Suffolk & Essex 1975 No
209 Alec Bloomfield Young George Oxbury BBC Recordings  No
209 Alec Bloomfield Young George Oxbury A Story to Tell: Keith Summers in Suffolk 1972-79 2007 No
209 Alec Bloomfield Young George Oxbury (Geordie) (1) Keith Summers Collection 1970-1977 2:08 Yes
209 Alec Bloomfield Young George Oxbury (Geordie) (2) Keith Summers Collection 1970-1977 1:46 Yes
209 Alec Bloomfield + Harry Cox + Teresa Maguire + Louis Hooper George Oxbury + Georgie + My Jersey + Geordie The Baffled Knight - The Classic Ballads 2 1976 No
209 Alexander Clark Geordie The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
209 Alfred Deller Geordie The Cruel Mother & Other English Ballads and Folk Songs 1998 3:52 Yes
209 Alistair Hulett Geordie In Sleepy Scotland 2001 3:51 Yes
209 Alistair Hulett Geordie The Complete Songs of Robert Burns, Vol. 7 1998 3:59 Yes
209 Andrew Rowan Summers Geordie (Georgie) The Unquiet Grave and Other American Tragic Ballads 1951 3:17 Yes
209 Ann Mayo Muir Geordie So Goes My Heart 1985 4:29 Yes
209 Bandersnatch Geordie Changing Days 2008 No
209 Banish Misfortune Geordie Through the Hourglass 1985 No
209 Banquo Geordie Live at the Belfry Arts Centre 2000 4:56 Yes
209 Barbara Dickson Geordie Parcel of Rogues 1994 3:10 Yes
209 Bell Duncan Geordie The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
209 Belle Luther Richards Life of Geordie The Helen Hartness Flanders Collection No
209 Beth Maxwell Boyle Geordie <home recordings> 2005 2:32 Yes
209 Bill Thatcher Georgie and Jennie The Edith Fowke Collection No
209 Bob Webb & Friends Georgie Lady and the Minstrel 2007 No
209 Brad Bradstock Geordie Warts and All 2003 3:27 Yes
209 Brian Peters Georgie Songs of Trial and Triumph 2008 3:14 Yes
209 Calum Kennedy Geordie Sailing Up the Clyde + Songs of Scotland and Ireland 2004 No
209 Cammi Vaughan Geordie Lass of Roch Royal 2005 No
209 Carl Peterson Geordie Drifting with Michener 2006 No
209 Carla Lother Geordie Ephemera 1999 3:42 Yes
209 Caroline Hughes Georgie The Voice of the People, Vol. 22: I'm a Romany Ray - Songs by Southern English Gypsy Traditional Singers 2012 No
209 Carolyne Hughes Georgie Blackdog & Sheepcrook 1975 No
209 Celtika Geordie Celtic Carols 2005 3:03 Yes
209 Charles Strayer Jr. Georgie The Max Hunter Folk Song Collection 2:19 Yes
209 Chris Coe Geordie A Wiser Fool 2001 4:15 Yes
209 Chris Foster Georgie Jewels 2004 3:45 Yes
209 Chris Foster Georgie Fylde Acoustic 1977 3:26 Yes
209 Chyi Yu Geordie C'est La Vie 1999 4:17 Yes
209 Cloudstreet Geordie The Circus of Desires 2010 No
209 Colin Thompson Banstead Downs (Georgie) Three Knights 1980 2:30 Yes
209 Colleen Raney Geordie Linnet 2008 No
209 Custer LaRue & The Baltimore Consort Geordie Custer LaRue Sings The Daemon Lover - Traditional Ballads & Songs of England, Scotland & America 1993 4:31 Yes
209 Custer LaRue Geordie Ballads 1999 No
209 Dan Dutton Geordie Pull, Pick, Pluck 2004 4:34 Yes
209 Dave Sless Geordie Second Wave 1965 No
209 Dave Sless Geordie Scarborough Fair - the Best of English Folk 2006 4:10 Yes
209 David Cantor Geordie Songs of Now and Then 2006 3:47 Yes
209 David Leinweber Georgie Old World Folk: Folk Songs and Instrumentals from the British Isles 2006 3:08 Yes
209 Deena Webster Geordie Deena Webster Is Tuesday's Child 1968 2:44 Yes
209 Distant Oaks Geordie Dance to Bright Steel 2004 5:23 Yes
209 Doc Watson Georgie Home Again! 1966 2:48 Yes
209 Doc Watson Georgie Songcatcher II: The Tradition That Inspired the Movie 2002 2:46 Yes
209 Dusty Leer Geordie <website> 2005 2:45 Yes
209 Elizabeth Nicholson Geordie + Toss the Feathers + The Golden Keyboard A Rosebud in June 2009 No
209 Elsie Miln Geordie The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
209 Elsie Miln Jr Geordie The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
209 Ewan MacColl Geordie The Folk Box - A Comprehensive Anthology of American Folk Song 1966 No
209 Ewan MacColl Geordie Still I Love Him - Traditional Love Songs 1958 3:26 Yes
209 Ewan MacColl Geordie The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (Child Ballads) - Vol. 2 1964 4:43 Yes
209 Ewan MacColl Geordie The Anthology 2010 No
209 Ewan MacColl Georgie The Manchester Angel 1966 2:26 Yes
209 Ewan MacColl Will Ye Gang to the Hielands English and Scottish Love Songs 1958 No
209 Fabrizio De André Geordie Peccati Di Gioventù 2000 2:06 Yes
209 Fabrizio De André Geordie De Andrè in Concerto 1999 3:02 Yes
209 Fabrizio De Andrè Geordie In Direzione Ostinata E Contra 2005 3:08 Yes
209 Folk Studio A Geordie Now and Then [Folk Studio] 2008 No
209 Franco Morone Geordie + John Barleycorn + Ye Jacobite By Name Road to Lisdoonvarna - Celtic Fingerstyle Guitar 2007 4:45 Yes
209 Frank Hamilton Geordie Frank Hamilton Sings Folk Songs 1962 2:35 Yes
209 Frankie Armstrong Georgie The Female Frolic 1968 3:21 Yes
209 Fred Kennedy Geordie The Helen Creighton Collection No
209 Gabry Ponte Geordie Gabry Ponte 2004 3:40 Yes
209 Gaither Carlton Georgie The Watson Family Tradition 1977 No
209 George Broomfield Young George Oxbury BBC Recordings No
209 George Bloomfield Young George Oxbury The Voice of the People, Vol. 23: Good People, Take Warning - Ballads sung by British and Irish Traditional Singers 2012 No
209 George Withers Georgie The Land Remains 2004 No
209 Giordano Dall'Armellina Geordie Ballate Europee Del Tempo Che Fu - Old Time Ballads from Europe 2001 2:18 Yes
209 Gordon Bok & Cindy Kallet Geordie Neighbors 1996 3:31 Yes
209 Greenhouse Geordie One Last Cold Kiss 2003 No
209 Harry Cox Georgie The Bonny Labouring Boy 2000 3:15 Yes
209 Harry Cox Georgie BBC Recordings  No
209 Harry Cox Georgie (Geordie) Classic Ballads of Britain & Ireland - Folk Songs of England, Ireland, Scotland & Wales, Vol 2 2000 2:06 Yes
209 Harry Cox Georgie (Geordie) The Folk Songs of Britain, Vol 5: The Child Ballads 2 1961 2:03 Yes
209 Iona Geordie Iona 1978 4:03 Yes
209 Iron Mountain String Band The Hanging of Georgie (Geordie) Walkin' in the Parlor - Old Time Music of the Southern Mountains 1975 No
209 Isaac Troup Geordie The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
209 Isla Cameron Geordie English and Scottish Love Songs 1958 No
209 Isla Cameron Geordie Still I Love Him - Traditional Love Songs 1958 1:43 Yes
209 Isla Cameron Geordie The Anthology 2010 No
209 Issy & David Emeney Georgie Sunflower 2001 No
209 Jack Foster Geordie An Hour Before the Dawn 2012 No
209 Jack Lawrence Georgie Return to Cold Mountain: Songs Inspired By the Film 2004 3:20 Yes
209 James Findlay Geordie Another Day Another Story 2012 No
209 Jana Reed Geordie Eleven Traditional Ballads 2004 No
209 Jasper Smith Georgie Here's Luck to a Man- An Anthology of Gypsy Songs & Music from South-East England 2003 No
209 Jean Ritchie Geordie The Mary Elizabeth Barnicle-Tillman Cadle Collection No
209 Jeremy Stuart Geordie Lonesome Road 2000 3:01 Yes
209 Jigby Geordie Jigby 79 Jigby 99 1999 No
209 Jim Causley Georgie Dumnonia 2011 3:27 Yes
209 Jo Freya Geordie Traditional Songs of England 1993 4:19 Yes
209 Joan Baez Geordie In Concert Part 1 1962 3:37 Yes
209 Joan Baez Geordie Rare, Live & Classic 1993 3:36 Yes
209 Joan Baez Geordie The First 10 Years 1970 3:37 Yes
209 Joan Baez Geordie Ring Them Bells 2007 4:16 Yes
209 Joan O'Bryant Georgie The Max Hunter Folk Song Collection 3:43 Yes
209 John Goodluck Georgie Folk-al Pint 1980 No
209 John Ross Geordie The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
209 John Wright & Catherine Perrier Geordie John Wright & Catherine Perrier - Traditional Music of France, Ireland & England 1978 No
209 John Wright & Catherine Perrier Geordie Live on Radio France, 1990 1990 2:18 Yes
209 Jon Boden Geordie A Folk Song a Day - April 2011 3:41 Yes
209 Julie Felix Geordie Changes 1966 No
209 Julie Felix Geordie The Acoustic Folk Box 2002 2:25 Yes
209 June Tabor Geordie Always 2005 4:01 Yes
209 June Tabor & Martin Carthy Geordie Martin Carthy & June Tabor Live at McCabes Guitar Shop,Santa Monica, CA 03-14-87 1987 4:58 Yes
209 Kathy Larisch & Carol McComb Geordie The Lou Curtiss Sound Library - 4:03 Yes
209 Ken Campbell Geordie Hand Pict 1996 3:54 Yes
209 Kevin Dempsey & Chris Leslie Geordie Always with You 1989 4:32 Yes
209 Larkin Bryant Cohen Geordie Lark in the Twilight 1998 No
209 Levi Smith Georgie Songs of the Open Road 1975 No
209 Levi Smith Georgie The Voice of the People, Vol. 11: My Father's the King of the Gypsies - Music of English and Welsh Travellers and Gypsies 1998 1:30 Yes
209 Levi Smith Georgie Three Score and Ten - A Voice to the People 2009 1:30 Yes
209 Linda Sigismondi Geordie Appalachian Ballads and Songs for the Mountain Dulcimer Companion CD 2005 No
209 Louisa Hooper Bohenny BBC Recordings No
209 Lyn Geddes Geordie Early Lately 2003 No
209 Maddy Prior & June Tabor Geordie Silly Sisters 1976 4:01 Yes
209 Madeleine Worral & The Green House Band Geordie Old Wine New Skins 2007 No
209 Marcoacca Geordie <website> 2008- 3:53 Yes
209 Martin Carthy Geordie The Carthy Chronicles 2001 3:26 Yes
209 Martin Carthy Geordie Crown of Horn 1976 3:38 Yes
209 Martin Carthy Georgie Signs of Life 1998 3:18 Yes
209 Martin Carthy Georgie Martin Carthy at Ruskin Mill - Richard Valentine Benefit Concert 2005 3:56 Yes
209 Martin Carthy Geordie 6. Folkfestival auf der Lenzburg + 1. Folkfestival auf dem Gurten-Bern 1977 No
209 Martin Carthy Georgie BBC Folk Britannia 2006 2006 3:08 Yes
209 Martin Carthy Georgie Guitar Maestros 2006 No
209 Martin Carthy Georgie Bob & Jacqueline Patten Collection 1970-1999 No
209 Martin Carthy Geordie Essential 2011 3:40 Yes
209 Martin Carthy Georgie Essential 2011 3:18 Yes
209 Martin Carthy & Friends Georgie BBC4 Folk Night: Concert at Union Chapel, Islington, London 2002 3:17 Yes
209 Martin Simpson Georgie Righteousness & Humidity 2003 6:24 Yes
209 Martin Simpson Georgie The English Collection - a Definitive Collection of Classic English Folk Music 2004 No
209 Mary Humphreys & Anahata Georgie Cold Fen 2009 No
209 Mary Thain Geordie The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
209 Mathews' Wilson Doonan Geordie Mathews' Wilson Doonan 1981 3:38 Yes
209 Megan McInnis & Chris Chapman Geordie The Demon Lover 1997 No
209 Michelle Payne & Rebecca Zapen Geordie Michelle Payne & Rebecca Zapen 2003 3:41 Yes
209 Mick Pearce & Kitty Vernon My Geordie O Dark the Day 1998 3:52 Yes
209 Midori Geordie Scarborough Fair - New Beginnings 2001 4:08 Yes
209 Mike (Ichingiching) Geordie <website> 2007 5:06 Yes
209 Molly Andrews Geordie Blue Morning Glory 2003 No
209 Mrs. Carrie Grover Georgie Cumberland Gap - Maud Karpeles' Appalachian Collection 2 1976 No
209 Mrs. Dora Ward Georgie The Library of Congress No
209 Mrs James York Geordie (1) The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
209 Mrs. Jennie Devlin Geordie The Library of Congress No
209 Mrs Lyall Geordie The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
209 Mrs. Maguire The Jersey BBC Recordings No
209 Mrs. Nina Bartley Finn Geordie The Helen Creighton Collection No
209 Mrs William Duncan Geordie The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
209 My Lady's Cutlass Geordie We Be Pirates 2005 2:32 Yes
209 Nancy Stikeleather Georgie The Robert Winslow Gordon Collection No
209 Nancy Weaver Stikeleather Georgie Folk-Songs of America: the Robert Winslow Gordon Collection, 1922-1932 1978 2:16 Yes
209 Nathan Hatt Geordie The Helen Creighton Collection No
209 Niamh O' Brien Geordie Mad Sea Folk 2012 No
209 Norman Blake & Tony Rice Georgie Norman Blake & Tony Rice 2 1992 2:48 Yes
209 Oak, Ash & Thorn Geordie Sowing Wild Oats 1981 3:47 Yes
209 Oisín Geordie Oisín - Traditional Irish Songs, Ballads & Instrumentals 1976 4:08 Yes
209 Orriel Smith Geordie A Voice in the Wind 1964 2:55 Yes
209 Oyster Band Banstead Downs (Geordie) Liberty Hall 1985 3:43 Yes
209 Paul Austin Kelly & Richard Durrant Geordie Unleashed on British Isles 2004 3:55 Yes
209 Paul Clayton Geordie (Georgie) British Broadside Ballads in Popular Tradition 1957 1:21 Yes
209 Paul Joines The Hanging of Georgie Ballads and Songs of the Blue Ridge Mountains - Persistence and Change 1968 1:34 Yes
209 Peggy Seeger Geordie Blood and Roses - Vol. 3 1982 3:14 Yes
209 Peter Bellamy Geordie Mainly Norfolk 1968 No
209 Peter Bellamy Georgie Fair England's Shore - English Traditional Songs 2008 2:39 Yes
209 Ragged Heroes Geordie Annual 1983 5:21 Yes
209 Raymond Crooke Geordie <website> 2007 3:05 Yes
209 Rebecca Fox Geordie The Kitchen Sessions 2005 3:41 Yes
209 Rebsie Fairholm Geordie Mind the Gap 2007 5:05 Yes
209 Rhonda Hayes Georgie The Max Hunter Folk Song Collection 4:04 Yes
209 Richard Hayes Phillips Geordie Blessing in Disguise 1998 No
209 Rini Twait Geordie Finally 2004 No
209 Robert Taylor Geordie The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
209 Robert Tear & Philip Ledger Geordie Vaughan Williams - The Collector's Edition 2008 3:47 Yes
209 Roots Quartet Geordie Somerset Sisters 2000 3:12 Yes
209 Roy Bailey Spare Me the Life of Geordie New Bell Wake 1999 4:27 Yes
209 S.F. Sam Russell As I Walked Over London's Bridge (Geordie) Virginia Traditions - Ballads from British Tradition 1993 3:53 Yes
209 Sandra Kerr Geordie Poetry and Song, Vol. 6 1967 No
209 Sandy Denny Geordie The Attic Tracks, Vol. 3 - First and Last Tracks 1989 3:20 Yes
209 Sandy Denny Geordie A Boxful of Treasures 2004 3:45 Yes
209 Sandy Denny Geordie Sandy Denny 1966/67 2004 3:24 Yes
209 Sandy Denny Geordie She Moves Through the Fair 2009 No
209 Sandy Denny Geordie Studio Outtakes, Home Demos, Unheard Songs, Complete Studio Recordings 2010 3:26 Yes
209 Sandy Denny Geordie The Notes and the Words - A Collection of Demos & Rarities 2012 3:23 Yes
209 Sandy Denny My Dear Geordie Dark the Night - Unreleased Demos and BBC Sessions 1966-1972 1995 3:24 Yes
209 Sara Banleigh Geordie The Folk EP 2011 No
209 Sea Raven Geordie The Harper's Dream 2006 3:18 Yes
209 Sergeant Early's Dream [Incantation]  Geordie Sergeant Early's Dream/Ghost Dances 1994 3:37 Yes
209 Sergeant Early's Dream [Incantation]  Geordie A Festival of Folk 1996 3:37 Yes
209 Shanna Beth McGee & David Johnson Geordie Love Is Teasing - Scottish and English Early Ballads 1980 2:50 Yes
209 Sherwood Geordie The Favorite Songs of Henry VIII 2004 No
209 Shirley Collins Geordie The Foggy Dew and Other English Songs 1964 No
209 Shirley & Dolly Collins Geordie Love, Death and the Lady 2003 4:58 Yes
209 Shirley & Dolly Collins Geordie Within Sound 2002 5:02 Yes
209 Shirley & Dolly Collins Geordie The Harvest Years 2008 4:59 Yes
209 Shirley Collins Geordie Within Sound 2002 2:47 Yes
209 The Bringers Geordie It's About Time 2000 2:14 Yes
209 The Doc Watson Family [The Watson Family] Georgie Tradition [The Watson Family Tradition] 1995 1:07 >Yes
209 The House Band Geordie Stonetown 1991 4:16 Yes
209 The Incredible String Band & Julie Felix Geordie Long Long Road 1971-1973 2002 2:42 Yes
209 The Incredible String Band & Julie Felix Geordie God's Holiday 1 - the Past and the Future and Similar Tenses 1971 2:42 Yes
209 The Lord Franklin Group Geordie Franklin’s Travail 1995 4:28 Yes
209 The Maerlock Geordie Sofa 2008 No
209 The Miles Martin Folk Group Geordie The Miles Martin Folk Group 2001 3:07 Yes
209 The Rooney Brothers Geordie Geordie + Just a Friend 1968 No
209 The Rooney Brothers Geordie Soft Sounds for Gentle People, Vol. 4 2006 2:05 Yes
209 Trees Geordie On the Shore 1970 5:08 Yes
209 Trees Geordie (remix) On the Shore 1970 5:10 Yes
209 Two O'Clock Courage Hewlett + Geordie Feets of Courage 1996 8:17 Yes
209 Uncle Dirtytoes Geordie Foot to the Path 1996 No
209 Uncle Dirtytoes Geordie Oasis Acoustic, Vol. 4 1997 3:21 Yes
209 Unidentified Singer Geordie Reg Hall Archive 1953-1977 1:03 Yes
209 Unidentified Singer Geordie The Mary Elizabeth Barnicle-Tillman Cadle Collection  No
209 Vince Brophy Geordie Beneath the Smoke - A Gathering of Nations (VA) 1984 4:39 Yes
209 Vivid Curve Geordie Synesthesia 2007 3:28 Yes
209 Warren Fremling Geordie Dancin' with the One Who Brought Me 2008 No
209 Wren Trust Georgie Dead Maid's Land - Traditional songs from Devon and Cornwall from the collection of Sabine Baring-Gould 1998 4:30 Yes 

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

209. GEORDIE

Texts: Barry, Brit Bids Me, 475 (trace) / Belden, Mo F-S, 76 / Brown Coll / Chappell, F-S Rnke Alb, 37 / Cox, F-S South, 135 / Davis, Trd Bid Va, 435 / Flanders, Vt F-S Bids, 241 /  Gardner and Chickering, Bids Sgs So Mich, 317 / Greenleaf and Mansfield, Bids Sea Sgs  Newfdld, 40 / Orem Mountain Songster, 33 / Hummel, Oz F-S / JAFL, XX, 319; XXXII, 504 /  Niles, SgsHillFlk, 12 / Pound, Nebr Syllabus, n / Randolph, OzF-S, I, 161 / Randolph, Oz  MtFlk, 2Z4/ Scarborough, Sgctchr SoMts, 213 / SharpC, EngF-S So Aplchns, #28 / SharpK,  EngF-S So Aplchns, I, 240 / Shoemaker, Mt Mnstly, 162 / Shoemaker, No Pa Mnstly, 158 /
SFLO, V, 170 / Va FLS Bull, #s 7, 9 / Wetmore and Bartholomew, Mt Sgs NC, 13.

Local Titles: Charlie and Sally, Charley's Escape, Geordie, Georgia, George E. Wedlock, Georgie, Georgy-O, Go Saddle Up My Milk-White Steed, Johnny Wedlock, Lovely Georgie, The Laird of Gigh, The Life of Georgia.

Story Types: A: A man crossing London Bridge sees a girl weeping for Georgie. Georgie, in prison for a crime calling for capital punishment, has  sent for his sweetheart or wife. She has hurried to him and knows that he can be rescued by a large ransom. She raises the money. However, Georgie in denying one capital offense admits another and is sentenced to death. He  is hung. The girl often expresses the wish that she were armed so that she  might fight for him.

Examples: Belden (A); Davis (A); Randolph, OzF-S (D).

B: The same general story is told in this type. However, in some texts,  upon her arrival at the prison the lady is offered aid by an old man. At any  rate, the king or judge says she has come too late and that Geordie is already condemned for horse or deer stealing. Geordie is hung in silk robes (or similar suitable style) because he is of royal blood and loved by a virtuous
lady. The wish of the girl that she had weapons with which to fight for her lover is sometimes found in this type too.

Examples: Cox, Greenleaf and Mansfield.

C: The story is the same as that of Type A. However, it is told differently, and the ransom and the girl's pleas are successful so that Charlie and his Sally go free.

Examples: Flanders; Shoemaker, Mt Mnstly.

D: This type of story rises from the traditional British texts in which Geordie is freed by his wife (true love). Geordie is in trouble. He sends a man to tell his lady of his plight. She hurries to the King and produces enough money to free her man.

Examples: Randolph, OzF-S (C); Scarborough.

Discussion: Because of the existence of the Scottish traditional song, Geordie, and two not dissimilar broadsides Georgie Stools (early seventeenth  century) and The Life and Death of George of Oxford (late seventeenth or early eighteenth century), this ballad presents a definite scholarly problem.  (See Child, IV, 1237, 1402.) The chances are that the two broadsides re-
present literary reworkings and contemporary adaptions of the old Scottish song. (See Cox, F-S South, 135.) However, Ebsworth, Roxburghe Ballads,  VII, 67 73 thought the opposite to be the case.

Although the ransom motif is generally vague or lacking and the crime charged may be murder, as well as stealing the king's cattle, the Type A-C  American texts derive from George of Oxford and the variant British broadsides. See Child, IV, 124 and 127, and JAFL, XX, 319. In the broadsides,  the hero is hung in the end, although the girl's pleas are successful in the  traditional texts as well as in the Green Mountain Songster version (Type C).  Barry (see a letter quoted by Henry, F-S So Hghlds, 142 ff.) discusses this  point in connection with the derivative songs such as the Henry The Judge and the Jury, op. cit., 142.

The Type A-C American texts are difficult to classify. The Type A and  Type B stories are certainly from the same broadside tradition, having many  stanzas in common. However, in a narrative sense, they do fall into two classes, if only because of the material retained or forgotten in each group.  Both these types contain stanzas that have not been traced to either the  known broadsides or the traditional texts in Child. Type C, although it  shares much material with Types A and B, seems to have an ancestor with a  sentimentalized close.

Type D texts are localized variants of the traditional form of the song,  even though they seem to have passed unrecognized as such. Randolph, Oz  F-S, C parallels Child F rather closely through its first seven stanzas and  summarizes the story of Child F in the last four stanzas. Of course, Child F  is not a pure example of the traditional form of the song, its first and second stanzas having been corrupted by the Oxford broadside, but it does tell the  traditional tale. Randolph's variant has an Oxford first stanza like Child F,  but from there on shows no relation to any form but the traditional. However, certain localizations and repetitive features have clouded the identity  to some degree. The Scarborough text (See Wetmore and Bartholomew, Mt
Sgs NC, 13 for a very similar text taken from the same informant) is abbreviated, but obviously related to the Randolph song. See SFLQ, XIII, 161-168.

Chappell, F-S Rnke Alb, 37 prints a fragment called Johnny Wedlock (the  Randolph text has the title George E. Wedlock). However, it is too brief to  be clearly identified.
--------------------

Folk Index: Geordie/Georgie/Georgie-O [Ch 209/Sh 34]

Sm - Country Lass

Kidson, Frank (ed.) / Traditional Tunes. A Collection of Ballad Airs, S.R. Publishers, Bk (1970/1891), p 24 [1880s]
Blood, Peter; and Annie Patterson (eds.) / Rise Up Singing, Sing Out, Sof (1992/1989), p 10
Luboff, Norman; and Win Stracke (eds.) / Songs of Man, Prentice-Hall, Bk (1966), p 93
Flanders, Helen H. & George Brown / Vermont Folk Songs and Ballads, Folklore Associates, Bk (1968/1931), p241 [1830s] (Charley's Escape)
Johnson, James & Robert Burns (eds) / Scots Musical Museum, Amadeus, Bk (1991/1853), #346b [1792]
Leach, MacEdward / The Ballad Book, Harper & Row, Bk (1955), p554
Leach, MacEdward / The Ballad Book, Harper & Row, Bk (1955), p556
Leach, MacEdward / The Ballad Book, Harper & Row, Bk (1955), p559
Baez, Joan. Joan Baez in Concert, Vanguard VRS 9112, LP (1962), trk# A.02
Baez, Joan. Siegmeister, Elie (arr.) / Joan Baez Song Book, Ryerson Music, Sof (1971/1964), p 48
Baez, Joan. Sing Out Reprints, Sing Out, Sof, 7, p51 (1965)
Banish Misfortune. Through the Hourglass, Kicking Mule KM 319, LP (1985), trk# B.03
Blake, Norman; and Tony Rice. Norman Blake & Tony Rice. Vol 2, Rounder 0266C, Cas (1990), trk# A.03
Boone, Julie. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p243/# 34F [1918/10/03]
Bowyer, Molly E.. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p242/# 34E [1918/06/10]
Buckner, Sarah. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p241/# 34C [1916/09/19]
Cameron, Isla. English and Scottish Love Songs, Riverside RLP 12-656, LP (195?), trk# B.07
Carthy, Martin. Crown of Horn, Rounder 3019, LP (1976), trk# 4
Clayton, Paul. British Broadside Ballads in Popular Tradition, Folkways FW 8708, LP (1957), trk# B.02
Cohen, Larkin Bryant. Lark in the Twilight, Riverlark RLCS 103, Cas (1998), trk# B.03
Cox, Harry. Folk Songs of Britain, Vol 5. The Child Ballads, Vol. II, Caedmon TC 1146, LP (1961), trk# A.09 [1950s]
Critics Group. Female Frolic, Argo ZDA 082, LP (1968), trk# A.07
Devlin, Jennie Hess. Newman, Katharine D. / Never Without a Song, U. Illinois, Sof (1995), p127 [1937ca]
Donald, Laura Virginia (V.). Sharp, Cecil & Maude Karpeles (eds.) / Eighty English Folk Songs from th, MIT Press, Sof (1968), p 48 [1917ca]
Donald, Laura Virginia (V.). Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p242/# 34D [1918/06/06]
Dunaway, Georgia. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume I, British Ballads and Songs, Univ. of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p164/# 28D [1942/01/30] (Life of Georgie)
Dusenberry, Emma L.. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume I, British Ballads and Songs, Univ. of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p162/# 28C [1930/11/04] (George E. Wedlock)
Gentry, Jane Hicks. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p241/# 34B [1916/09/14]
Gentry, Jane Hicks. Smith, Betty N. / Jane Hicks Gentry. A Singer Among Singers, U. Ky, Sof (1998), p158/#17 [1916/09/14]
Grover, Carrie. Wells, Evelyn Kendrick (ed.) / The Ballad Tree, Ronald, Bk (1950), p118 [1944/05]
Hamilton, Frank. Frank Hamilton Sings Folk Songs, Folkways FA 2437, LP (1962), trk# 8
Hamilton, Frank. Asch, Moses (ed.) / 124 Folk Songs as Sung and Recorded on Folkways Reco, Robbins, fol (1965), p 56
Joines, Paul. Ballads and Songs of the Blue Ridge Mountains., Asch AH 3831, LP (1968), trk# A.01 [1960ca] (Hanging of Georgie)
Lloyd, A. L. (Bert). English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) Vol. 4, Washington WLP 718, LP (196?), trk# A.02
MacColl, Ewan. Folk Box, Elektra EKL 9001, LP (1964), trk# 3
MacColl, Ewan. Manchester Angel, Tradition TR 2059, LP (197?), trk# A.02
MacColl, Ewan. English and Scottish Love Songs, Riverside RLP 12-656, LP (195?), trk# A.01 (Will Ye Gang to the Hielands)
McAtee, Nancy McDonald. Cox, John Harrington (ed.) / Folk-Songs of the South, Dover, Sof (1967/1925), p135/# 23 [1917/12/03]
Miscenich, Weldon. Edwards, Jay; and Robert Kelley / Coffee House Songbook, Oak, Sof (1966), p 48
Muir, Ann Mayo. So Goes My Heart, Folk Legacy FSI 099, LP (1985), trk# B.06
Neville, Charles. Williams, R. Vaughan; & A. L. Lloyd (eds.) / Penguin Book of English Fol, Penguin, Sof (1959), p 42 [1908]
Oak, Ash & Thorn. Sowing Wild Oats, Tosspot TR-047, LP (1981), trk# B.06
Runge, John. English Folk Songs - Old and Older, Washington VM 735, LP (195?), trk# B.06
Russell, Clyde. Niles, John Jacob / Ballad Book of John Jacob Niles, Bramhall House, Bk (1961), p285/N 53 [1932/10] (Death of Geordie)
Seeger, Peggy. Blood and Roses, Vol. 3, Blackthorne ESB 81, LP (1979ca), trk# A.01
Silly Sisters. Silly Sisters, Takoma 7077, LP (1977), trk# 9
Smith, Orriel. Voice in the Wind, Columbia Special Prod. CSRP 8924, LP (196?), trk# B.04
Stikeleather, Mrs. J. G.. Scarborough, Dorothy(ed.) / A Song Catcher in the Southern Mountains, AMS, Bk (1966/1937), p214,411 [1930]
Stikeleather, Nancy Weaver. Folk Songs of America. The Robert Winslow Gordon Collection...., Library of Congress AFS L68, LP (1978), trk# 4b [1925/11/11]
Summers, Andrew Rowan. Unquiet Grave, Folkways FA 2364/FP 64, LP (1951), trk# B.02
Taber, Mrs. I. N.. Moore, Ethel & Chauncey (ed.) / Ballads and Folk Songs of the Southwest, Univ. of Okla, Bk (1964), p101/# 40 [1930s]
Underwood, George. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume I, British Ballads and Songs, Univ. of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p161/# 28A [1928/03/07] (Life of Georgie)
Waddell, Elizabeth. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume I, British Ballads and Songs, Univ. of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p162/# 28B [1930/06/12]
Watson, Doc. Home Again, Vanguard VSD7 9239, LP (1967), trk# 2
Watson, Doc. Watson, Doc / Songs of Doc Watson, Oak, Sof (1971), p 54
Wells, William F.. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p240/# 34A [1916/09/09]
Wright, John; and Catherine Perrier. John Wright and Catherine Perrier, Green Linnet SIF 1011, LP (1978), trk# A.10

Country Lass

At - What Though I Am a Country Lass
Rm - Sally in Our Alley
Mf - Country Lassie ; Geordie/Georgie/Georgie-O
Johnson, James & Robert Burns (eds) / Scots Musical Museum, Amadeus, Bk (1991/1853), #346 [1792] 
--------------------

Some Recordings with one verse

Georgie
Harry Cox, The Bonny Labouring Boy, Traditional songs & tunes from a Norfolk farm worker, Topic TSCD5120, ballad recorded 1958
As I walked over London Bridge
One midsummer's morning early
There I beheld a fair lady
Lamenting for her Georgie

Georgie
Peter Bellamy, Mainly Norfolk, XTRA 1060, 1968
As I walked over London Bridge
One misty morning early
There I overheard some fair lady
Lamenting for her Georgie

Georgie
A. L. Lloyd, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) sung by Ewan MacColl and A. L. Lloyd, vol. IV, Washington 718; The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) sung by Ewan MacColl and A. L. Lloyd, vol. II, Riverside RLP 12-623/624
Come bridle me my milk-white steed
Come bridle me my pony
That I may ride to London town
To plead for my Georgie

Georgie
Ewan MacColl, The Manchester Angel, Tradition 2059, LP (196?), from the version sung by Henry Hughes
Once I had such a purty little boy
As good a little boy as any
That would run five miles in one half-an-hour
With a letter to me Georgie

Geordie
Martin Carthy, Crown of Horn, Topic TSCD300, first lp release, 1976
Now as I rode out over London Bridge
On a misty morning early
I overheard a fair pretty maid
A-cry for the life of her Geordie

Georgie
Levi Smith, on My father's the king of the gypsies, Music of English & Welsh travellers & gypsies, The Voice of the People vol.11, Topic TSCD 661, ballad recorded 1974, originally released on Topic 12T25
What did Georgie done on Shooter's Hill?
Did he stoled or murder by many?
Yes, he stoled sixteen of the Lord Judge's deers
And we sold them down under the valley

Georgie
Jasper Smith, on Here's Luck to a Man... – Gypsy Songs and Music from South-East England, Musical Traditions Records, MTCD320, ballad recorded 1974
Come saddle to me, said, my lily-white breast
Come saddle to me, said, my pony
I'm willing to ride all before the Lord Judge
But I'll fight for the life of my Georgie

Georgie
Martin Carthy, Signs of Life, Topic TSCD503, 1998
Once I had such a good little boy
A pretty boy quick as any
He would run five miles in one half an hour
A letter to pardon my Georgie

Geordie
Jo Freya, Traditional Songs of England, Saydisc CD-SDL 402, 1993
As I came over London Bridge
One misty morning early
I overheard a fair pretty maid
Lamenting for her Geordie

Spare Me The Life Of Geordie
Rod Bailey, New Bell Wake, Roy Bailey. 1976. Digitally Remastered, Fuse Records, Fuse CFCD 262
As I rode over London Bridge
'T was on one morning early
There I espied a fair lady
Lamenting for her Georgie

As I Walked Over London's Bridge
Sam Russell, Virginia Tradition, Ballads from British tradition, Global Village Music CD1002; ballad recorded 1936
As I walked over London Bridge
So early in the morning
I overheard some fair one say:
Lord, spare me the life of Georgie
I overheard some fair one say:
Lord, spare me the life of Georgie

Georgie
Doc Watson, on Songcatcher II, The tradition that inspired the movie, Vanguard 79716, 2002
As I walked over London Bridge
One misty morning early
I heard some fair young maiden say -
Lord, spare me the life of Georgie

Georgie
Martin Simpson, Righteousness & Humidity, Topic TSCD540, 2003
As I rode over London Bridge
So early in the morning
I overheard a fair bonnie maid
Saying – Spare me the life of my Georgie
I overheard a fair bonnie maid
Saying – Spare me the life of my Georgie

Geordie
Paul Clayton, British Broadside Ballads in Popular Tradition, Folkways FW 8708, 1957
My Geordie shall be hanged in a golden chain
That's a chain of many
He stole sixteen of the king's wild deers
And he sold them in Bohenny
He stole sixteen of the king's wild deers
And he sold them in Bohenny

Geordie
Peggy Seeger, on Blood and Roses vol.3, Traditional ballads from Scotland and North America, sung by Ewan MacColl & Peggy Seeger, Blackthorn Records ESB 81, 1982 (ballad from the singing of Mrs. Evelyn Skaggs of Wayton, Arkansas
As I walked over old London's Bridge
It was in the morning early
There I espied a most pretty fair maid
Lamenting for her Georgie

Geordie
Joan Baez, In Concert, Vanguard 79598-2, frst released in 1962
As I walked out over London bridge
One misty morning early
I overheard a fair pretty maid
Was lamenting for her Geordie

Geordie
June Tabor, on Maddy Prior & June Tabor, Silly Sisters, Shanachie SH 79040, 1988
There was a battle in the north
And nobles there were many
And they have killed Sir Charlie Hay
And laid the blame on Geordie

Geordie
Alistair Hulett, on The Complete Songs of Robert Burns, vol.7, Linn Records CKD 107, 1999
There was a battle in the north
And nobles they were many
And they hae kill'd Sir Charlie Hay
And pit the wyte on Geordie

Geordie Gordon
Robin Williamson, A Job Of Journey Work, Pig's Whisker Music PWMD5010, 1998
Oh there was a battle in the North
Nobles there were many
There was killed the King's good friend
And they laid the blame on Geordie

Geordie (The Bog o' Gight)
Ewan MacColl, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads Vol.2, Folkways FG 3510, 1964
Will ye gang tae the Hielands, my bonnie, bonnie love?
Will ye gang tae the Hielands wi' Geordie?
And I'll tak' the high road and ye'll tak' the low
And I'll be in the Hielands afore ye

----------------

Lyrics to Maddy Prior/June Tabor version:

GEORDIE

There was a battle in the north and nobles there were many
And they have killed Sir Charlie Hay and laid the blame on Geordie.
Oh he has written a long letter and sent it to his lady,
"You must come to Edinb'ro Town to see wha' kens o'Geordie."

When first she looked the letter on, she looked both red and rosy.
She had not read a word or twa, she grew pale as the lily.
"Gae fetch tae me my good grey steed, fine men shall a' go wi' me,
For I shall neither eat nor drink 'til Ed'nb'ro Town shall see me."

She's mounted on her good grey steed, her men they all went wi' her,
And she did neither eat nor drink 'till Edinb'ro Town did see her.
And first appeared the fatal block and then the axe tae head him,
And Geordie comin' doon the stairs wi' bands of iron upon him.

Tho' he was chained in fetters strang, of iron and steel sae heavy
Oh, not a one in a' the court was sae fine a man as Geordie.
Oh, she's doon on her bended knee, and sure she's pale and weary,
"Oh, pardon, pardon noble King, and gie me back my dearie."

"Oh noble King, tak a' that's mine, but gie me back my Geordie."
"Go tell the headin' man make haste" oor King replied full lordly.
The Gordons cam and the Gordons ran, and they were stark and steady
And, aye, the word amang them a' was "Gordons keep ye ready."

Then an aged lord at the Kings right hand says "Noble King but hear me.
Let her count out five-thousand pounds and gie her back her dearie."
Some gave her marks, some gave her crowns, some gave her dollars many
She's counted oot five-thousand pounds an' she's gotten agin' her dearie.

She blinket blythe then at Geordie's face, says, "Dear I've bought thee, Geordie,
But the blood would ha' flowed upon the green before I lost my laddie."
He clasped her by the middle sma' and he kissed her lips sae rosy,
"The fairest floor o' womankind is my sweet bonnie Lady."

Mainly Norfolk: Geordie / Georgie

[Roud 90; Child 209; Ballad Index C209; trad.]

A. L. Lloyd sang Georgie in 1956 on his and Ewan MacColl's Riverside anthology The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, Volume II In was reissued in 2011 on Lloyd's Fellside CD Bramble Briars and Beams of the Sun.

Cecil Sharp collected Geordie in 1908 from Charles Neville, Easter Coker, Somerset; it was printed in The Penguin Book of English Folk Songs. A.L. Lloyd recorded it in 1960 for his EP England & Her Folk Songs. Like all tracks from this EP it was reissued in 2003 on the CD England & Her Traditional Songs. Lloyd wrote in the album's sleeve notes:

As with many of our best ballads, this one is familiar both in England and in Scotland. In the latter, the main character usually appears as a nobleman sometimes identified as George Gordon, a sixteenth century Earl of Huntly, whereas in England he is usually a common outlaw thought by some to be George Stoole, a Northumbrian robber executed in 1610. In fact, there are not good grounds for presuming that this is a historical ballad at all; it may well be simply a romantic fiction that was already delighting singers and audiences well before the day of the robber Stoole or the dissident Earl of Huntly. Perhaps the story really belongs to the period when the Middle Ages were drawing to a close and the greenwoods were full of outlaws, some high-born, but mostly otherwise, all of them on the run from oppressive feudal authority. This version was collected by Cecil Sharp in the village of East Coker, Somerset.

Shirley Collins recorded Geordie for the first time in 1958 or 1959; this was released in 1964 on her Collector EP The Foggy Dew. A live recording from the 1964 Scarborough Folk Festival was included on her 4 CD anthology of 2000, Within Sound. She recorded it for a third time in 1970 for her album Love, Death & the Lady. Peter Kennedy commented in the Collector EP's sleeve notes:

Those who have tried to unravel the historical background of such ballads as The Queen's Four Maries will appreciate how the ballad-makers through the years have changed the names and places to fit the various popular figures who end in the criminal courts and below the gallows tree.

Here is another such ballad which, according to one broadside, refers to Lady Grey pleading for George of Oxford. As indicated by many English folk-songs, poachers would be transported to Van Diemen's Land, but for his crime Geordie is condemned to death:

Now Geordie robbed no store-houses
He never murdered any
He only shot a King's white deer
All for to feed his family.

Harry Cox sang this song as Georgie. A recording by Mervyn Plunkett from September 1958 can be found on the anthology The Child Ballads 2 (The Folk Songs of Britain Volume 5), and on the Harry Cox anthology from 2000 on the Topic label, The Bonny Labouring Boy. Peter Bellamy learned this song from the singing of Harry Cox. He sang it unaccompanied on his first album, Mainly Norfolk. He commented in the album's notes:

Georgie is of course Geordie with almost everyone except Harry Cox. The story of the condemned poacher is one of the most common in folk song, and Harry's tune to my mind one of the most beautiful.

Both Ewan MacColl and Isla Cameron sang their versions of Geordie in 1960 on their Topic album Still I Love Him. Ewan MacColl sang Georgie six year later on his Topic album The Manchester Angel.

Gaither Carlton sang Georgie in May 1965 to Ralph Rinzler and Daniel Seeger. This recording was released in 1977 on the Watson Family's Topic album The Watson Family Tradition.

Geordie was also recorded by Julie Felix in 1966 for her album Changes. It was the album's only track where she was accompanied by Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick and it was included in 2002 on the Topic anthology The Acoustic Folkbox.

Sandy Denny recorded Geordie in 1967 as a home demo that was released in 1989 on the cassette The Attic Tracks Vol. 3 and in 2004 on her Fledg'ling anthology A Boxful of Treasures.

Martin Carthy sang Geordie in 1974 in a John Peel BBC Radio session. This recording was included in The Carthy Chronicles. He then recorded Geordie for his 1976 album Crown of Horn; this was reissued in 1993 on Rigs of the Time. A live version recorded in June 1977 was released on 6. Folkfestival auf der Lenzburg. Martin Carthy commented in the Crown of Horn sleeve notes:

It is often said that the English version of Geordie is a later copy of the Scottish song about George Gordon, Earl of Huntly, who was imprisoned and threatened with death in 1554 for “failing to execute a commission against a Highland robber.” The motive was obviously political and in the end a fine was exacted and he was freed. A later song called The Life and Death of George of Oxford, while being superficially a copy of the Scots one, at least in part, also seems to me to be an attempt to tart up and bring up to date something else. The “something else” being the English version of an idea with, maybe, two distinct strains. It is a gritty, passionate little song with the sting of rage in its tail, and one is tempted to suggest that English versions which have survived—some are still current—could be that “something else” possibly used as the model for George of Oxford. Learned from John Pearse many years ago, I really determined to sing it on hearing a recording of Mrs Louisa Hooper made by Dr Maud Karpeles in about 1941 and deposited in the BBC Sound Archives.

Martin Carthy again accompanied June Tabor in the same year as his solo recording of Geordie, 1976, the aforementioned Scottish version on her and Maddy Prior's album Silly Sisters. This track was also included in 2005 on her Topic anthology Always.

Levi Smith sang Georgie in a recording by Mike Yates near Epsom, Surrey from May 1974. It was released a year later on the Topic album Songs of the Open Road and was included in 1998 on the Topic anthology My Father's the King of the Gypsies (The Voice of the People Volume 11) and in 2009 on the Topic anniversary anthology Three Score and Ten. Another recording of Georgie sung by Levi's brother Jasper Smith was included on 2003 on the Musical Traditions anthology Here's Luck to a Man.

Alec Bloomfield of Newark, Nottinghamshire sang this song as Young George Oxbury in 1975 to Keith Summers. It was included in 2007 on the Musical Traditions anthology of Keith Summers' recordings, A Story to Tell.

Roy Bailey sang Spare Me the Life of Georgie in 1976 on his album New Bell Wake.

Bandoggs with Chris Coe in lead sang this song as Laird Logie in 1978 on their eponymous Transatlantic / Leader Tradition album Bandoggs. Chris Coe returned to Geordie in 2001 on her CD A Wiser Fool.

Colin Thompson sang this song as Banstead Downs in 1980 on his Fellside album Three Knights.

Jo Freya sang Geordie in 1992 on her Saydisc album Traditional Songs of England.

Martin Carthy sang Levi Smith's version of Georgie on his 1998 album Signs of Life. He also sang it live at Ruskin Mill in December 2004. and live in studio in July 2006 for the DVD Guitar Maestros. He commented in the first record's sleeve notes:

Hamish Henderson, poet, songwriter, collector, doyen of the School of Scottish Studies, champion of humanity in general and imagination in particular, wrote in the '60s that the folk revival depended for its continued existence on its capacity to throw up fresh thinkers. At the risk of having an immediate degree conferred on me from the university of the bleedin' obvious, I'll say that doesn't apply simply to folkies. A pretty good illustration of the way the craft of songwriting has broadened as ordinary people write about extra-ordinary events is the Bee Gees' song New York Mine Disaster, 1941 which, whether or not it refers to an actual event, is a great piece of collective imagination. Similar forces are at work among the many gypsy singers and musicians recorded by Mike Yates in the past twenty or thirty years. Georgie is a song that I have known for forty years, but I was taken completely unawares when I heard it sung by Levi Smith in the '70s, and it's the basis of what I sing hear. The experience was similar to hearing the Yarmouth fisherman Sam Larner in the 1950's, which confronted everything I had thought made a musical sense, and changed it.

In this video, Martin Carthy played Georgie live in his back garden in 2007 or earlier:

 
Martin Simpson sang Georgie in 2003 on his Topic CD Righteousness & Humidity.

Chris Foster sang Georgie in 2004 on his Tradition Bearers CD Jewels. He commented in his liner notes:

I first heard this beautiful version of Georgie sung by Pete Timmins, a very good singer and guitarist who used to sing in the folk clubs around Bradford in the 1970's. He hold me he had found it in Songs of the Midlands edited by Roy Palmer, so I got the book and learnt the song. It was collected from a Mary Haynes of Hartlebury, between Worcester and Kidderminster, in 1908.

The Maerlock sang Geordie in 2008 on their Fellside CD Sofa.

Brian Peters sang Georgie in 2008 on his album of Child ballads, Songs of Trial and Triumph.

Jon Boden sang the Silly Sisters version of Geordie as the April 27, 2011 entry of his project A Folk Song a Day.

Jim Causley sang Georgie in 2011 on his album of songs from Devon, Dumnonia.

James Findlay sang Geordie in 2012 on his Fellside CD Another Day, Another Story.

Lyrics
Martin Carthy sings Geordie

Now as I rode out over London Bridge
On a misty morning early
I overheard a fair pretty maid
A-cry for the life of her Geordie.

“Go bridle to me a milk white steed
Bridle me a pony
I'll ride down to London town
And I'll plead for the life of my Geordie”

“For he never stole ox he never stole ass
He never murdered any
He stole sixteen of the King's wild deer
He sold them in Bohenny”

But when she rode down and in the king's hall
There were lords and ladies plenty
Down on her bended knee she fall
And she begged for the life of her Geordie
 
Cries, “Six pretty babes I had by him
Another one lies in my body
Freely I'd part with each one of them
If you'll give me the life of my Geordie”

But the judge looked over his left shoulder
He cries, “I'm sorry for thee
Me pretty fair maid you come too late
For he's been condemned already”

“Oh my Geordie shall hang in a chain of gold
Such chains as never was any
Because he came of the royal blood
And he courted a fine young lady”
 
“Oh he never stole ox he never stole ass
He never murdered any
He stole sixteen of the King's wild deer
He sold them in Bohenny”
 
“Oh I wish I had you in yonder grove
Where times I have been many
With my broadsword and a pistol too
I'd fight you for the life of me Geordie”
 
“For he never stole ox he never stole ass
He never murdered any
He stole sixteen of the King's wild deer
He sold them in Bohenny”

Sandy Denny's home demo of Geordie 

 As I walked under London Bridge
One misty morning early,
I overheard a fair pretty maid,
Lamenting for her Geordie.
 
 “My Geordie will be hanged with a golden chain,
'Tis not the chain of many.
He stole sixteen of the King's royal deer
And he sold them in Bohenny.”
 
 “Go saddle me my milk white steed
Go saddle me my pony
That I may ride to London's courts
To plead for the life of Geordie.”
 
 “My Geordie never hurt a man nor calf
He never hurted any
He stole sixteen of the King's royal deer
And he sold them in Bohenny.”
 
 “Two pretty babies have I borne,
The third lies in my body,
And I would part with them every one,
If you pardon my dear Geordie.”
 
“For he never stole ox he never stole ass
He never murdered any
He stole sixteen of the King's wild deer
He sold them in Bohenny”
  
 But the judge looked over his left shoulder,
He said, “Fair maid, I'm sorry,
I cannot pardon the one you love,
He has been hanged already.”
 
  
 Scottish version sung by June Tabor

There was a battle in the north
And nobles there were many
And they have killed Sir Charlie Hay
And laid the blame on Geordie

O he has written a long letter
And sent it to his lady:
“You must come up to Edinburgh town
To see what news of Geordie”

When first she looked the letter on
She was both red and rosy
She had not read a word but two
When she grew pale as the lily

“Go fetch to me my good grey steed
My men shall all go with me
For I shall neither eat nor drink
Till Edinburgh town shall see me”

Then she has mounted her good grey steed
Her men they all went with her
And she did neither eat nor drink
Till Edinburgh town did see her

And first appeared the fatal block
And then the axe to head him
And Geordie coming down the stair
With bands of iron upon him

Though he was chained in fetters strong
Of iron and steel so heavy
O not a one in all the court
Was so fine a man as Geordie

O she'd down on her bended knee
I'm sure she's pale and weary
“O pardon, pardon noble kings,
And give me back my dearie”

“Go tell the heading man make haste”
Our king replies full lordly
“O noble king take all that's mine
But give me back my Geordie”

The Gordons came and the Gordons ran
And they were stark and steady
And ay the word among them all
Was Gordons keep you ready

An aged lord at the king's right hand
Says “Noble kings, but hear me,
Let her count out five thousand pounds
And give her back her dearie”

Some gave her marks, some gave her crowns
Some gave her dollars many
She's counted out five thousand pounds
And she's gotten again her dearie.

She glanced blithe in her Geordie's face
Say “Dear I've bought thee Geordie;
But the blood would have flowed upon the green
Before I lost my laddie”

He clasped her by the middle small
And he kissed her lips so rosy
“The fairest flower of women kind
Is my sweet bonny lady”

Shirley Collins sings Geordie 

 As I rode over London Bridge
One misty morning early,
I overheard a tender hearted girl
Plead for the life of Geordie.

Now Geordie robbed no store-houses,
He never murdered any.
He only shot a King's white deer
All for to feed his fam'ly.

Then the judge looked over his left shoulder
And thus he says to Geordie:
“By your confession you shall hang
And the Lord have mercy upon you.”

The Geordie he looked around the court
And saw his dearest Polly,
Said he, “My love, you've come too late,
For I'm condemned already.”

There's six prety babes I've born to you
And the seventh lies in my body,
But freely would I part with them
To spare the life of Geordie.

Then Geordie he walked around the court
And said farewell to many,
But the leaving of his own true luve
That grieved him worst of any.

Let Geordie hang in golden chains,
His crimes they were not many,
He only shot a king's white deer
All for to feed his fam'ly.
 
Peter Bellamy sings Georgie  

As I walked over London Bridge
One misty morning early,
There I overheard some fair lady
Lamenting for her Georgie.

“O pray, can you send me some little boy
Who can go an errand quickly?
Who can go ten mile in one hour
With an errand for a lady?”

“Come saddle to me my best black horse,
Come saddle him right quickly,
That I may ride to the king's castle gaol
With an errand for a lady.”

And when she had come to the king's castle door
The prisoners aye stood many,
And they all stood with their hats in their hands
Excepting her bonny bonny Georgie.

“Oh Georgie never stole no cow nor horse,
He never murdered any.
But he stole sixteen of the king's fat deers
Which grieved me most of any.

“And six pretty babies I've had to him,
The seventh lies in my bosom.
I would freely part with them everyone
For to save the life of me Georgie.”

And the judge he looked over his left shoulder.
He seemed so very hard hearted,
Saying, “Pretty fair lady you've come too late
For you Georgie's condemned already.”

“Oh, my Georgie will be hanged in the chains of gold,
Such gold as never hangs many,
Because he come of the royal blood
And he courted a very rich lady.

“Oh, my Georgie will be hanged in the chains of gold,
Such gold as there isn't much of any.
And on his grave these words will be wrote:
Here lies the heart of a lady.”

Martin Carthy sings Georgie

Once I had such a good little boy
A pretty boy quick as any
He would run five miles in one half an hour
A letter to pardon my Georgie

For what has Georgie done on Shooter's Hill
Was it stealing or murder of any
Oh he stole sixteen of the lord judge's deer
And we sold them down under the valley

Oh saddle em up cries my lily-white breast
Oh saddle me up cries my pony
With bright guns in his hand and a sword at his side
Would you spare me the life of my Georgie

And Georgie's fathered six babes loved
There's a seventh one into my body
But it's with it part with all I have got
If you'll spare me the life of my Georgie

And George shall be hanged in the frames of gold
For the frames of gold you won't find many
But it's with it part with all I have got
If you'll spare me the life of my Georgie

For what has Georgie done on Shooter's Hill
Was it stealing or murder of any
Oh he stole sixteen of the lord judge's deer
And we sold them down under the valley

Wish you was stalled all in the grove
All in the grove standing ready
With bright guns in your hand and a sword at your side
I'd fight you for the life of my Georgie

Once I had such a good little boy
A pretty boy quick as any
He would run five miles in one half an hour
A letter to pardon my Georgie

Acknowledgements and Links
Martin Carthy's version transcribed by Garry Gillard.

See also the Mudcat Café threads How many versions of Geordie and Lyr Req: Peter Bellamy's Georgie.

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In Everyman's Book of English Country Songs (1979), Roy Palmer notes:

While some songs accurately reflect historical conditions and events, others are more concerned with factual truth. A ballad called 'Georgie' or 'Geordie', very widely known until recent times in both Britain and America, is really two separate narratives, albeit with a number of similarities, both in substance and in terminology. The Scottish ballad tells of Geordie's being saved from the scaffold in Edinburgh on the payment by his wife of a ransom. It is said to refer to George, Earl of Huntly, who, after failing on a mission for the Queen Regent of Scotland in 1554, was imprisoned and subjected to the forfeiture of his estates, but afterwards restored to favour.

The English variety also tells of a wife's travelling on an errand of mercy, this time to Newcastle. However, her intercession fails, and her husband is executed. George Stoole, alias Skelton, alias Stowell, who is said to have inspired this ballad, was executed at Newcastle in 1610 for stealing horses and cattle. Street ballads on the event appeared almost immediately afterwards, passed into oral circulation, and continued to be sung for some three centuries.

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From: Malcolm Douglas
Although the most usual placename is Bohenny (Bohemia) and variations thereon, similar-sounding local names were often substituted.   Lucy Broadwood commented in English Traditional Songs and Carols (1908): "In the many versions Georgie is said to have sold the King's horses or deer to "Bohemia", "Bohenny", "Bevany", "Bennavie", and "Gory".  Possibly "Germanie" may be nearer the original, which is usually meant to rhyme with the word "any" ("money" in the Sussex version."

To that list I can add "in Boeny", "to Lord Navey", "in a hurry", "in the army", "in Virginny (or Virginia)", "to bold Henry", "to Broad Hambury (or Hembury)", "down under the valley", "Which grieves me most of any" "All for to feed his family" and..."in Kilkenny".  The last appears in a broadside at the Bodleian Library, printed in Liverpool around 1820