Bluegrass Messengers

Recordings & Info: 279. The Jolly Beggar

[See my 279 Appendix (279A) "The Gaberlunyie-Man." Roud and Child Collection lump the versions together. Child also gives "The Gaberlunyie-Man" as an Appendix. ]

CONTENTS:

 1) Alternative Titles
 2) Traditional Ballad Index [Two Entries]
 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) A Note on "So We'll Go no More a Roving"
 7) Mainly Norfolk (lyrics and info)
 8) Two additional texts
    
ATTACHED PAGES: (see left hand column)
  1) Roud No. 118: Jolly Beggar (133 Listings)   

Alternate Titles

The Rambling Suiler 
Davy Faa
The Beggar King
He Wadna Lie in Barn
The Beggar Man
The Beggar's Bride

Traditional Ballad Index: Jolly Beggar, The [Child 279]

NAME: Jolly Beggar, The [Child 279]
DESCRIPTION: A beggar asks lodging. He is admitted to the house, but wants more than his beggar's fare. Receiving much of what he asks, he at last receives the daughter of the house into his cloak. He then reveals that he is a nobleman; (perhaps he marries the girl)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1769 [Herd]
KEYWORDS: begging courting escape money sex nobility mother children
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(West),Scotland(Aber,Bord)) Ireland US(NE,So)
REFERENCES: (16 citations)
Child 279, "The Jolly Beggar" (3 texts)
Bronson 279, "The Jolly Beggar" (37 versions, but #21 is a fragment of "Johnny Lad" and #28 is "Davy Faa (Remember the Barley Straw)"; it is likely that several of the other texts also belong with other songs.)
Greig #30, p. 2, "The Jolly Beggar" (1 text)
GreigDuncan2 274, "The Jolly Beggar" (10 texts, 7 tunes) {A=Bronson's #8, B=#20, C=#18, D=#14, E or G=#7}
Reeves-Circle 108, "The Ragged Beggar Man" (1 text)
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 475-476, "The Jolly Beggar" (1 songster text)
Flanders/Olney, pp. 47-48, "Hind Horn" (1 short text, properly titled "The Jolly Beggar," which might be "Hind Horn" [Shild #17] or "The Jolly Beggar" [Child #279] or a mix; 1 tune) {Bronson's #18}
Flanders-Ancient1, pp. 223-225, "Hind Horn" (1 short text, properly titled "The Jolly Beggar," which might be "Hind Horn" [Shild #17] or "The Jolly Beggar" [Child #279] or a mix; 1 tune) {Bronson's #18}
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 9-12, "The Jolly Beggar" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #1}
Randolph 37, "The Jolly Beggar" (1 short text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #9}
SHenry H183, p. 268, "The Rambling Suiler" (1 text, 1 tune, in which the visitor is not a nobleman but the colonel of a visiting headquarters; there might be a bit of "Pretty Peggy-O" mixed in)
MacSeegTrav 18, "The Jolly Beggar" (1 text, 1 tune)
Davis-More 41, pp. 328-332, "The Jolly Beggar" (1 fragment, which Davis believes to be this song but which in fact could be almost anything)
JHCoxIIA, #14, pp. 61-63, "The Jolly Beggar" (1 text, but not from West Virginia) {Bronson's #2}
BBI, ZN2500, "There was a jovial Begger-man"
DT 279, BEGGAR1* BEGGAR2 BEGGAR3* BEGGR4* BEGGAR5* BEGGAR6
Roud #118
RECORDINGS:
Jeannie Robertson, "The Jolly Beggar" (on FSB5, FSBBAL2) {Bronson's #6}
Lucy Stewart, "The Beggar King" (on LStewart1)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 c.13(1), "The Jolly Beggar" ("There was a jolly beggar and a begging he had been"), unknown, n.d.; also Firth c.26(57)[some lines illegible], Firth c.26(57), "Was a Jolly Beggerman"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Gaberlunzie Man" [Child 279A]
cf. "The Beggar-Laddie" [Child 280]
cf. "The Tinker"
cf. "The Pedlar"
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
He Wadna Lie in Barn
The Beggar Man
NOTES: Although this ballad is associated in tradition with James V of Scotland, there is no evidence that he ever courted in a manner such as this. James V in fact married a noble foreign lady, Mary of Guise-Lorraine. The basis for the song may be the fact that he was a fairly lusty liege; according to Stanley B. R. Poole, _Royal Mysteries and Pretenders_, Barnes & Noble, 1993, p. 36, he was thought to have had as many as nine illegitimate children.
Child draws a distinction between this and "The Gaberlunzie Man" (which he calls "The Gaberlunyie-Man" -- and, indeed, his texts are metrically distinct ("Gaberlunzie Man" uses eight-line stanzas with four feet per line; "The Jolly Beggar" typically has the standard four-line 4-3-4-3 stanza). In addition, his "Gaberlunyie-Man" lacks the ending. However, both songs occur in tradition and have so heavily cross-fertilized that it is often not possible to distinguish.
If there is a distinction to be drawn, it is probably in the form of the ending. In "The Jolly Beggar," the beggar sleeps with the girl and then reveals his status the next morning (perhaps abandoning her); in "The Gaberlunzie Man," he lures the girl away (as opposed to sleeping with her on the spot), and only later returns and reveals his wealth.
Due to the degree of cross-fertilization of these ballads, one should be sure to check both songs to find all versions. - RBW
See the Bruce Olson note at "The Juggler"; Bruce sees "The Juggler" as a sequel to "The Jolly Beggar."
Of the Bodleian broadsides listed, "Was a Jolly Beggerman" lacks the usual ending. - BS
William Bernard McCarthy, in the article "'Barbara Allen' and 'The Gypsy Laddie': Single-Rhyme Ballads in the Child Corpus," printed on pp. 143-154 of Thomas A. McKean, editor, _The Flowering Thorn: International Ballad Studies_, Utah State University Press, 2003, makes the interesting observation that there are only two ballads in the Child collection -- "The Jolly Beggar" [Child 279]/"The Gaberlunzie Man" [Child 279A] and "The Beggar-Laddie" [Child 280], which are known to cross-fertilize, which normally use the rhyme scheme aaab, with the same b rhyme in all the verses. - RBW

Traditional Ballad Index: Gaberlunzie Man, The [Child 279A]

DESCRIPTION: A beggar comes to a lady's door and begs lodging. That night, he lures her daughter away with him. Later he returns to the lady's door and again begs lodging. The lady says she will never lodge a beggar again. He reveals her daughter, rich and happy
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1724 (Tea-Table Miscellany)
KEYWORDS: begging courting escape money elopement mother children disguise
FOUND IN: Britain(England,North),Scotland)) Ireland Canada(Mar) US(NE)
REFERENCES (7 citations):
Child 279 Appendix, "The Gaberlunyie-Man" (sic) (1 text)
Bronson (279 Appendix), "(The Jolly Beggar/The Gaberlunzie Man)" (49 versions)
Percy/Wheatley II, pp. 67-71, "The Gaberlunyie Man" (1 text)
SHenry H810, p. 269, "A Beggarman Cam' ower the Lea" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ord, pp.375-377, "The Beggar Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
MacSeegTrav 19, "The Gaberlunzie Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
BBI, ZN2346, "The silly poor man came over the lee" (?)
RECORDINGS:
John Strachan, "The Beggarman (The Gaberlunzie Man)" (on FSBBAL2)
Maggie & Sarah Chambers, "The Beggarman (The Gaberlunzie Man)" (on FSB5 [as "The Auld Beggarman"], FSBBAL2)
Togo Crawford, "The Beggarman (The Gaberlunzie Man)" (on FSBBAL2)
Ewan MacColl, "The Beggar Man" (ESFB1, ESFB2)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Jolly Beggar" [Child 279]
cf. "The Beggar-Laddie" [Child 280]
cf. "A Great Big Sea Hove in Long Beach" (tune & meter)
Notes: Although this ballad is associated in tradition with James V of Scotland, there is no evidence that he ever sought a woman in this fashion. James V in fact married a noble foreign lady, Mary of Guise-Lorraine.
Wheatley explains "Gaberlunyie" as a compound of "gaber," a wallet, and "lunyie," the loins, i.e. a Gaberlunyie man is one who carries a wallet by his side. The fact that the title vacillates between "Gaberlunyie" and "Gaberlunzie" implies that most singers were less aware of this than the average scholar....
For the relationship between this song and "The Jolly Beggar," see the notes to that song. Due to the degree of cross-fertilization of these ballads, one should be sure to check both songs to find all versions.- RBW

Child Ballad 279: The Jolly Beggar

Child --Artist --Title --Album --Year --Length --Have
279 Abby Sale The Beggar Man The John Mehlberg Collection 1:49 Yes
279 Alex Beaton The Jolly Beggerman Halfway Home 1992 No
279 Alex Brown The Jolly Beggar The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
279 Alex Campbell Jolly Beggarman The Scottish Breakaway 1968 No
279 Alex Robb The Jolly Beggar The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
279 Alex Stephens The Jolly Beggar The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
279 Alex Troup The Auld Beggarman The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
279 Alex Troup The Jolly Beggar The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
279 Andrew Calhoun The Beggarman Telfer's Cows: Folk Ballads from Scotland 2003 4:21 Yes
279 Andrew Calhoun The Little Beggarman Grapevine 2011 1:52 Yes
279 Andy M. Stewart The Gaberlunzie Man A Celtic Collection 1996 3:54 Yes
279 Andy M. Stewart The Gaberlunzie Man Man in the Moon 1994 3:54 Yes
279 Aran The Jolly Beggerman GalEire 2006 3:00 Yes
279 Arlo Guthrie Little Beggar Man One Night 1978 3:12 Yes
279 Banish Misfortune The Little Beggarman Freest Fancy 1980 No
279 Barry Hyman Little Beggarman More Than Halfway Home 2005 5:35 Yes
279 Beggar's Row Highland Cathedral + Jolly Beggarman + Liverpool Hornpipe Soldiers of Peace 2000 4:22 Yes
279 Behan Beggerman Startin' at the Finish Line 2004 3:22 Yes
279 Bell Duncan The Jolly Beggar The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
279 Ben Baxter + Jeannie Robertson + Harry Cox Among the Barley Straw (The Tinker) + Davie Faa + Barley Straw The Green Wedding - The Classic Ballads 3 1976 No
279 Biggun Smith The Barley Straw (Davy Faa) Band of Gold 2000 No
279 Bill Craig Hi for the Beggarman Traditional Irish 2003 No
279 Bill Craig The Little Beggarman You Asked for It! 2000 No
279 Bill Craig The Little Beggarman Live Somewhere .. ! 2003 No
279 Bill Morris Jolly Beggarman Walkin' There 2010 No
279 Bill Thurman The Little Beggarman (Red Haired Boy) The Celtic Collection 1992-2001 2003 No
279 Bittersweet & Briers Little Beggar Man Live 2004 4:15 Yes
279 Bjørn Lynne The Jolly Beggar Irish & Celtic Instrumentals 2008 No
279 BlackriderS Beggermann Song Pubsongs 2000 3:55 Yes
279 Blackthorn Hi for the Beggarman The Very Best of Irish Traditional Folk Music 1997 2:29 Yes
279 Brendan Power The Jolly Beggarman + Crowley's Reel New Irish Harmonica 1995 3:51 Yes
279 Brendan Power The Jolly Beggarman + Crowley's Reel St Patrick's Day 1998 No
279 Bret Blackshear Little Beggarman Fingers, Frets, and Fire 2003 No
279 Brian Freeman Gaberlunzie Man Staffa 2010 No
279 Brogues Beggarman Irish Sheep Hunting 2009 4:19 Yes
279 Brollywacker Little Beggarman Jump at the Sun 1999 3:40 Yes
279 Bruno's Boys The Beggarman Last Call 2006 No
279 Buddy Greene The Little Beggar Man Rufus 2002 3:26 Yes
279 Bully Wee The Jolly Beggar + The Meadow Enchanted Lady 1976 4:17 Yes
279 Buskers The Jolly Beggarman Kilshannig 1993 3:34 Yes
279 Caladh Nua The Jolly Beggarman Set Happy Days 2009 3:03 Yes
279 Carl Peterson The Jolly Beggar Drifting with Michener 2006 No
279 Celtibillies Little Beggarman Come Dance & Sing 2003 No
279 Celtic Celebration Allstars The Beggarman Magic of Irish Dance & Song 1999 3:07 Yes
279 Celtic Stone Little Beggarman + The Red-Haired Boy Digital Flashbacks: 1983-1990 1990 5:15 Yes
279 Ceolbeg The Gaberlunzie Man Ceolbeg 5 1996 7:13 Yes
279 Ceolbeg The Jolly Beggar + The Man in Black An Unfair Dance 1993 5:28 Yes
279 Ceolbeg The Jolly Beggar + The Man in Black Folk 'n' Hell - Fiery New Music from Scotland 1997 5:25 Yes
279 Cherish the Ladies The Jolly Beggarman The Girls Won't Leave the Boys Alone 2001 3:35 Yes
279 Cilla Fisher & Artie Trezise The Beggar Man Cilla & Artie II 1979 3:28 Yes
279 Cilla Fisher & Artie Trezise The Jolly Beggar For Foul Day and Fair 1978 3:36 Yes
279 Clishmaclaver Cuckoo's Nest + Little Beggerman Roots Entwined 1990 2:56 Yes
279 Column MacOireachtaigh The Beggerman Celtic Favorites 2006 3:06 Yes
279 Column MacOireachtaigh & the Irish Ceili Band The Beggarman Celtic Pride 2001 3:10 Yes
279 Cyril Tawney The Ragged Beggarman The Outlandish Knight 1969 3:12 Yes
279 Cyril Tawney The Ragged Beggarman Down Among the Barley Straw 1976 3:17 Yes
279 Danny Quinn & Band Little Beggarman Gifts from a Bard 1993 2:44 Yes
279 Danny Spooner The Gaberlunzie Man Years of Spooner 2006 No
279 Danny Spooner & Friends The Gaberlunyie Man Danny Spooner & Friends 1978 4:18 Yes
279 Dave Rowe Beggarman Big Shoes 2004 3:45 Yes
279 David Clauss & Robyn Llewellyn Little Beggarman + The Red-Haired Boy Celtic Stone 1983 No
279 Davie Stewart Jolly Beggar Davie Stewart 1999 No
279 Deadwoodmountain Red Haired Boy <website> 2006 :45 Yes
279 Denny Smith The Barley Straw (Davy Faa) Band of Gold 2000 No
279 Diane and Ada Little Beggarman - Johnny Dhu Celtic Songs of the Heart 2004 No
279 Doc Watson Little Beggar Man + Old Joe Clark Songs from Home 1972 2:10 Yes
279 Doc Watson & Tony Rice Little Beggar Man 10th Annual Merlefest, Wilkesboro, NC 1999 3:50 Yes
279 Duck Baker Little Beggar Man + Sandy River Belle My Heart Belongs to Jenny - a Collection of Irish Tunes Arranged for Solo Guitar 2000 2:46 Yes
279 Duck Baker, Maggie Boyle & Ben Paley Little Beggar Man + Monaghan Twig The Expatriate Game 2005 3:12 Yes
279 Eamon Carroll Little Beggarman Old Irish Chestnuts - Eamon Carroll Sings Fifteen Favourites 2009 No
279 Eileen McGann A Beggin' I Will Go + Tae the Beggin' I Will Go + The Little Beggarman Heritage 1997 6:10 Yes
279 Elizabeth Stewart The Jolly Beggar Binnorie: Songs, Ballads and Tunes 2005 No
279 Elizabeth Stewart The Jolly Beggar North East Tradition 1 1998 No
279 Elizabeth Stewart & Tom McKean The Jolly Beggar The Fife Traditional Singing Weekend - Here's a Health to the Company 2005 No
279 Enoch Kent Beggarman Bonny Lass Come O'er the Burn 1962 5:06 Yes
279 Enoch Kent The Beggar Man The Butcher Boy and Other Ballads 1962 4:57 Yes
279 Evans & Doherty Hi for the Beggarman Sailors on an Asphalt Sea 1992 2:50 Yes
279 Ewan MacColl The Beggar Man English & Scottish Folk Ballads [1996] 1996 6:07 Yes
279 Ewan MacColl The Beggar Man English & Scottish Folk Ballads [1964] 1964 No
279 Ewan MacColl The Beggar Man The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (Child Ballads) - Vol. 2 1964 6:06 Yes
279 Ewan MacColl The Jolly Beggar The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) - Vol. 4 [Reissue] 196? No
279 Ewan MacColl The Jolly Beggar The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) - Vol. 2 1956 2:40 Yes
279 Ewan MacColl The Jolly Beggar Ballads - Murder Intrigue Love Discord 2009 2:48 Yes
279 Fiddler's Green Little Beggarman Stagebox 1999 3:22 Yes
279 Fiddler's Green Little Beggarman King Shephard 1995 2:48 Yes
279 Fiddler's Green The Jolly Beggar Black Sheep 1993 3:16 Yes
279 Finn MacCuill The Gaberlunzie Man Sink Ye-Swim Ye 1978 3:20 Yes
279 Firkin Beggarman Whup! 2010 3:15 Yes
279 Foggy Duo The Little Beggarman Out of the Mist 1980 No
279 Flibbertigibbet Fog in the Morning + The Jolly Beggarman My Lagan Love (Unreleased Live and Studio Recordings) 1998 3:08 Yes
279 FolkESTRA The Beggarman North! 2003 No
279 Four Shillings Short The Jolly Beggar The Boggy Spew 1998 3:04 Yes
279 Frank McCaffrey Little Beggarman An Irish Lullaby 1997 1:55 Yes
279 Gaberlunzie Gaberlunzie Man Freedom's Sword 2002 3:11 Yes
279 Gaelic Storm The Beggarman + Johnny Mgreevy's Favorite Tree 2001 3:45 Yes
279 Gaelic Storm The Beggarman + Johnny Mgreevy's Favorite Special Reserve 2003 3:47 Yes
279 Glen of Guinness The Little Beggarman Folk Off 2005 2:25 Yes
279 Golden Bough The Little Beggarman The Jug of Punch - Popular Irish Pub Songs 2008 No
279 Gordon Easton The Beggar Man Old Songs & Bothy Ballads - 'Some Rants o Fun' 2006 No
279 Gordon Easton The Beggar Man The Last of the Clydesdales 2007 No
279 Great Big Sea Little Beggarman Rant and Roar 1998 2:58 Yes
279 Great Big Sea Little Beggarman XX 2012 No
279 Great Big Sea Rigadoon Play 1997 3:00 Yes
279 Guy Carawan The Great High Wind + Little Beggar Man The Telling Takes Me Home 1972 No
279 Guy Carawan The Great High Wind + Little Beggarman Sitting on Top of the World + Mountain Songs 1974 2:09 Yes
279 Hair of the Dog The Little Beggarman Donegal 2007 2:16 Yes
279 Hank Schwartz Cluck Old Hen + Little Beggarman Notes Along the Way - Old-Time and New-Time Renditions of 5-String Banjo Tunes with Incidental Vocal Accompaniment 1999 No
279 Henry Marten's Ghost The Jolly Beggarman High on Spirits! 2005 3:12 Yes
279 Hickory Wind Shakin' Down the Acorns + Little Beggarman <website> 1978 4:27 Yes
279 Hickory Wind Shakin' Down the Acorns + Little Beggarman Unknown [22] 1978 4:27 Yes
279 Highlands & Lowlands To the Beggin I Will Go + Little Beggerman Friends & Favorites 2003 No
279 Hunting McLeod Jolly Beggerman + Black Bear Hunting McLeod Live 2006 2:44 Yes
279 Ian & Sylvia Little Beggarman The Complete Vanguard Studio Recordings 2001 2:23 Yes
279 Ian & Sylvia Little Beggarman Northern Journey 1964 2:23 Yes
279 Ian Hill The Jolly Beggar Light Under a Bushel 2004 No
279 Irish Folk Session The Jolly Beggarman The 2nd Irish Folk Festival on Tour 1975 2:23 Yes
279 Isabel Sutherland The Beggar-Man The Licht Bob's Lassie 1975 No
279 Isabel Sutherland The Beggin' Man Vagrant Songs of Scotland 1966 2:53 Yes
279 Isla St. Clair Gaberlunzie Man Highland Songs 2004 4:39 Yes
279 Isla St. Clair Gaberlunzie Man Royal Lovers & Scandals 2000 4:37 Yes
279 Isla St. Clair Gaberlunzie Man Great Songs and Ballads of Scotland 2009 No
279 Jack Beck The Jolly Beggar O Lassie, Lassie 1989 6:24 Yes
279 Jack McLean The Beggar Man The Edith Fowke Collection No
279 Jack the Lad Jolly Beggar The Old Straight Track 1992 2:54 Yes
279 Jake Walton The Beggarman The Gloaming Grey 1979 3:39 Yes
279 Jalan Crossland Little Beggarman Poor Boy Shanty 2000 2:29 Yes
279 James 'Seamus' Conroy Little Beggerman One Irish American Baritone 2004 No
279 James Thurgood Little Beggarman + Cuckoo's Nest Handy Little Rig - Celtic & Old-Time Harmonica from the Maritimes 2003  No
279 Jeannie Higgins (Robertson) Davie Faa BBC Recordings No
279 Jeannie Robertson Davie Faa The Gypsy Lady - Jeannie Robertson Sings the Big Ballads [The Muckle Ballads of Scotland] 1979 5:13 Yes
279 Jeannie Robertson Davy Faa The Twa Brothers 1959 No
279 Jeannie Robertson The Jolly Beggar The Green Wedding - The Classic Ballads 3 1976 No
279 Jeannie Robertson The Jolly Beggar The Folk Songs of Britain, Vol 5: The Child Ballads 2 1961 1:35 Yes
279 Jeannie Robertson The Jolly Beggar Up the Dee & Doon the Don - a Classic Collection of Ballads and Folk Songs 1958 7:20 Yes
279 Jeannie Robertson The Jolly Beggar Classic Ballads of Britain & Ireland - Folk Songs of England, Ireland, Scotland & Wales, Vol 2 2000 4:40 Yes
279 Jeannie Robertson The Jolly Beggarman The Gypsy Lady - Jeannie Robertson Sings the Big Ballads [The Muckle Ballads of Scotland] 1979 6:18 Yes
279 Jerry Rockwell Beggarman The Blackbird and the Beggarman - Celtic Instrumentals Featuring Mountain Dulcimer 2003 4:42 Yes
279 Jesse Owens, Anne Byrne & Seamus Gallaghar The Beggar Man Jesse Owens and Anne Byrne 1966 No
279 Jimmy Devlin The Beggarman Songs from the Sperrins - Traditional Singing from Mid & North Tyrone 2009 No
279 Jimmy Hutcheson The Beggar Man Folksong '65 - Volume 1 1965 No
279 Jimmy Hutchison The Beggarman Corachree - Scots Songs & Ballads 2000 No
279 Jimmy Hutchison The Beggarman Ballad Folk 1977 3:08 Yes
279 Jimmy Power The Beggar Man Reg Hall Archive 1953-1977 1:42 Yes
279 Joe Heaney [Seosamh Ó hÉanaí] The Beggar Man The Calliope House Concert, Pittsburgh 1977 2:26 Yes
279 John Cow The Old Beggar Man The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
279 John Reilly The Rosin Box The Rosin Box - Irish Tinker Ballads 1975 No
279 John Ross The Beggar Man The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
279 John Strachan The Beggar Man Songs from Aberdeenshire 2002 2:45 Yes
279 John Strachan The Beggarman Glenlogie - The Classic Ballads 1975 No
279 John Strachan The Beggarman BBC Recordings No
279 John Strachan + Maggie & Sarah Chambers + Togo Crawford The Beggar Man + The Beggarman (Gaberlunzie Man) The Green Wedding - The Classic Ballads 3 1976 No
279 John Strachan + Maggie & Sarah Chambers + Togo Crawford The Beggarman (The Gaberlunzie Man) Classic Ballads of Britain & Ireland - Folk Songs of England, Ireland, Scotland & Wales, Vol 2 2000 3:46 Yes
279 John Turner The Jolly Beggarman + The Atholl Highlanders The Wanderer's Lament - Fiddle Music of Scotland 1999 No
279 John Wright Little Beggarman La Guimbarde Spécial Instrumental 1990 No
279 Johnny Dickinson The Jolly Beggar Border Ballads 2005 No
279 Johnny Langford & The Undefeated The Little Beggar Man Wild Spirit 2003 2:21 Yes
279 Jumpin' the Fence Little Beggarman Bloody Perfect 2003 2:29 Yes
279 June Tabor The Auld Beggerman Apples 2007 4:48 Yes
279 Kenny Hall and the Sweets Mill String Band Little Beggerman Kenny Hall and the Sweets Mill String Band 1972 4:14 Yes
279 Kim (Geetargirl90) Red Haired Boy (Jolly Beggar) <website> 2007 :41 Yes
279 Lal & Norma Waterson The Beggar Man A True Hearted Girl 1999 3:33 Yes
279 Leahys Luck The Little Beggarman 2nd Time Around 1996 2:14 Yes
279 Liam Clancy Hi for the Beggarman Irish Troubadour 1999 2:02 Yes
279 Liam Clancy The Beggar Man Liam Clancy 1965 2:02 Yes
279 Lizzie Higgins A Beggar Man The Voice of the People, Vol. 17: It Fell on a Day, a Bonny Summer Day - Ballads 1998 2:29 Yes
279 Lizzie Higgins Davy Faa Princess of the Thistle 1967 No
279 Lizzie Higgins The Beggarman (The Gaberlunzie Man) In Memory of Lizzie Higgins - 1929-1993 2006 No
279 Lizzie Higgins The Jollie Beggar Scottish Tradition 5: The Muckle Sangs - Classic Scottish Ballads 1992 2:54 Yes
279 Lizzie Higgins The Jolly Beggar Scottish Tradition 20: The Carrying Stream 2005 No
279 Lizzie Higgins The Beggarman The Blair Tapes - Recordings from Blairgowrie Folk Festival 1986-1995 2000 No
279 Lizzie Higgins The Beggarman A Second Sampler - 2005-2012 2012 No
279 Lorna Anderson & Haydn Trio Eisenstadt Scottish Songs for William Napier II – The Brisk Young Lad Haydn Edition 2008 2:33 Yes
279 Lucy Stewart The Beggar King Lucy Stewart: Traditional Singer from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Vol. 1 - Child Ballads 1961 3:19 Yes
279 Lucy Stewart The Jolly Beggar The Voice of the People, Vol. 23: Good People, Take Warning - Ballads sung by British and Irish Traditional Singers 2012 No
279 Mabel Skelton The Beggarman BBC Recordings No
279 Mad Dog Mcrea The Jolly Beggarman Sophisticated Hat Manoeuvres 2006 2:58 Yes
279 Maggie & Sarah Chambers The Auld Beggarman (The Jolly Beggar) The Folk Songs of Britain, Vol 5: The Child Ballads 2 1961 2:51 Yes
279 Maggie & Sarah Chambers The Beggar Man The Song Carriers - Part 4 1965 3:23 Yes
279 Maggie & Sarah Chambers The Beggarman BBC Recordings No
279 Maggy Murphy Clinking O'er the Lea The Voice of the People, Vol. 7: First I'm Going to Sing You a Ditty - Rural Fun and Frolics 1998 3:22 Yes
279 Maggy Murphy Linkin' O'er the Lea Linkin' O'er the Lea - Traditional Folk Songs and Ballads from Tempo, County Fermanagh 2002 No
279 Maggie Murphy Linkin' O'er the Lea John Howson Collection 1970-1995 No
279 Malinky The Beggar Man Last Leaves 2000 3:30 Yes
279 Martin Beal The Jolly Beggarman My Irish Eyes 1993 No
279 Mary Mac Namara Spailpin Fánach + The Little Beggarman The Blackberry Blossom 2000 No
279 Mary Smith The Little Beggarman Mary and the Soldier - A Collection of Traditional Ballads 2001 1:32 Yes
279 MaryLee Little Beggarman Some Irish Songs for My Nana 2007 2:17 Yes
279 MaryLee Little Beggarman Limberjack Dancing Songs - Songs to Sing While Dancing Your Limberjack 2010 No
279 Mel, Mel & Julian Little Beggarman Ethnic/Shmethnic 2002 2:32 Yes
279 Melissa Morgan The Jolly Beggarman Erin's Harp - Traditional Irish Music on the Irish, Pedal and Celtic Harps 1982 2:27 Yes
279 Miss Mowat The Auld Beggar Man The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
279 Monica Grabin Little Beggarman Continental Village 2007 2:26 Yes
279 Mrs Cameron The Beggar Man The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
279 Mrs Lyall The Auld Beggar Man The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
279 Mrs Thompson The Beggar Man The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
279 Murphy's Law Jolly Beggarman + Merry Blacksmith Reel Live at the Gluepot 1990 4:25 Yes
279 Nigel Denver The Jolly Beggar Rebellion! 1967 3:14 Yes
279 Noel McLoughlin The Beggarman Music & Ballads from Ireland 2001 No
279 Noel McLoughlin The Beggarman Famous Irish Ballads - No Matter Where I Wander .. 1995 3:36 Yes
279 Noel McLoughlin The Beggarman The Very Best of Irish Music and Ballads 2001 3:37 Yes
279 Noel Murphy Jolly Beggarman NYA-A-A-A-H! 1967 No
279 Norman Blake & Tony Rice Little Beggarman + Gilderoy Blake & Rice 1987 2:57 Yes
279 Norman Kennedy A Beggarman Cam' O'er the Lea Ballads & Songs of Scotland 2002 4:37 Yes
279 Norman Kennedy The Gaberlunzie Man Folk Songs of North East Scotland - Songs from the Greig Duncan Collection 1995 3:55 Yes
279 Norman Kennedy The Auld Beggar Man Scots Songs and Ballads 1968 4:28 Yes
279 Norman Kennedy The Jolly Beggar Scots Songs and Ballads 1968 5:01 Yes
279 Norman Kennedy There Was a Jolly Beggar Ballads & Songs of Scotland 2002 5:13 Yes
279 Orthodox Celts The Beggarman Green Roses 1999 3:33 Yes
279 Ourselves Alone The Little Beggar Man Ourselves Alone 1977 2:12 Yes
279 Paddy Doran The Little Beggarman Songs of the Travelling People - Music of the Tinkers, Gipsies and Other Travelling People of England, Scotland and Ireland 1994 1:23 Yes
279 Paddy Hernon The Jolly Beggar + Planxty Hewlitt By Request 1994 No
279 Paddy O'Connor Beggerman The Music of Ireland - A Collection of Irish Country Favourites 1998 3:06 Yes
279 Paragon Cafe The Butterfly + Little Beggarman + Swaggie Passing Through Paragon Cafe 4:15 Yes
279 Paul Wilson Ragged Beggar Man Bob & Jacqueline Patten Collection 1970-1999 No
279 Peggy Seeger The Rambling Man Saturday Night at the Bull & Mouth 1977 5:01 Yes
279 Pete & Chris Coe The Beggar + Gypsies Hornpipe Game of All Fours 1979 4:40 Yes
279 Peter Christie The Beggar Man The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
279 Planxty Jolly Beggarman Best of Planxty Live 1984 8:35 Yes
279 Planxty The Jolly Beggar Live in Dublin 1987 5:10 Yes
279 Planxty The Jolly Beggar + Reel The Planxty Collection 1976 4:23 Yes
279 Planxty The Jolly Beggar + Reel Planxty 1973 4:23 Yes
279 Planxty Jolly Beggarman The Best of Planxty Live 1984 8:35 Yes
279 Planxty & Luka Bloom The Jolly Beggar + the Wise Maid Live at the Point Theatre, Dublin 2004 5:57 Yes
279 R & R Hector the Hero + Jolly Beggar Man Auld Alliance 2010 No
279 Rapalje The Jolly Beggar Rakish Paddies 2003 3:28 Yes
279 Rapalje The Jolly Beggar Celtic Fire 2007 3:13 Yes
279 Rawlins Cross Sleepy Maggie + Little Beggarman A Turn of the Wheel 1989 2:58 Yes
279 Rawlins Cross The Little Beggarman Celtic Instrumentals 1997 3:38 Yes
279 Raymond Crooke The Jolly Beggar <website> 2007 2:14 Yes
279 Raymond Crooke The Jolly Beggar Laws of Chance 2005 No
279 Richard Dyer-Bennet The Beggar Man Richard Dyer-Bennet Vol. 2 2001 1:46 Yes
279 Robert Cinnamond The Beggarman You Rambling Boys of Pleasure 1975 No
279 Robert Cinnamond The Beggarman BBC Recordings No
279 Robin Hall & Jimmie MacGregor Davey Faa Scotland, My Scotland [Tonight and Every Night] [Two Heids Are Better Than Yin!] 1997 3:43 Yes
279 Ronnie Drew The Beggarman Ronnie Drew 1977 2:21 Yes
279 Rowan Little Beggar Current 2002 No
279 Roy Bailey The Beggar Man New Bell Wake 1999 3:38 Yes
279 Ruth Canonico The Beggar Man South Wind - Traditional Music from a Boston Ceilidh 2003 No
279 Safe Harbor Off She Goes + Little Beggar Safe Harbor 1999 5:11 Yes
279 Salmontails The Jolly Beggar Salmontails 1980 4:01 Yes
279 Sandy & Caroline Paton Rambling Man New Harmony 1987 4:23 Yes
279 Sarah & Tommy Makem The Little Beggarman Home to Ireland - 28 Irish Favourites - The Best of the Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem 1996 1:53 Yes
279 Sarah & Tommy Makem The Little Beggarman The Lark in the Morning 1996 1:53 Yes
279 Sarah & Tommy Makem The Little Beggarman 30 Songs of Ireland 2005 1:52 Yes
279 Sarah Hayes The Beggarman Cutting Edge 2005 No
279 Schooner Fare The Beggarman Roots and Wings 2010 No
279 Seamus Stout The Little Beggarman On Tap 2004 4:19 Yes
279 Sean Ray The Red Haired Boy (The Jolly Beggar) <website> 2007 2:20 Yes
279 Season's Melody The Beggarman The Crossroads Faire 2009 No
279 Shen Fine The Beggarman's Song Along the Valley Road 2003 3:43 Yes
279 Shepheard, Spiers & Watson The Auld Beggarman Over the High Hills 2012 No
279 Singer in Stonehaven The Beggar Man The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
279 Sláinte Little Beggarman Sláinte 1978 1:49 Yes
279 Sligo Rags Little Beggarman Farewell to Your Dirty Lies - Live at Molly Bloom's and Muldoon's 2003 No
279 Sligo Rags Little Beggarman + After the Battle of Aughrim + Angus Campbell Far Away from Killarney - Sligo Rags Live 2005 No
279 Sligo Rags Little Beggarman + After the Battle of Aughrim + Angus Campbell The Night Before the Morning After 2005 5:24 Yes
279 Sligo Rags The Jolly Beggar The Night Before the Morning After 2005 4:13 Yes
279 Spailpin The Beggarman Whiskey in the Jar 1991 3:05 Yes
279 Stained Glass Jolly Beggar Open Road 1974 3:47 Yes
279 Stanley Robertson The Auld Beggar Man A Keeper of the Lore 1999 No
279 Stark Ravens The Jolly Beggarman Stage & Street 2002 3:26 Yes
279 Steve Benbow & The Strawberry Hill Boys Little Beggarman Songs of Ireland 1966 2:20 Yes
279 Stonehenge The Jolly Begarman + Loch Lomond Echo Wyspy - Magic of Celtic Music 2001 5:07 Yes
279 Stone Ring [Standing Stones] Jolly Beggar Again 2001 4:07 Yes
279 Stone Ring [Standing Stones] Jolly Beggarman Again 2001 4:01 Yes
279 The Bards Jolly Beggar Man Welcome to Ireland 1997 2:02 Yes
279 The Beggarmen The Little Beggarman The Beggarmen 1969 2:37 Yes
279 The Black Velvet Band Little Beggarman Set The Black Velvet Band 2000 2:13 Yes
279 The Boston Camerata & Joel Cohen Jolly Beggar New Britain: The Roots of American Folksong 1989 :55 Yes
279 The Buskers Little Beggarman Irish Folk Festival Live 1974 1974 2:31 Yes
279 The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem Beggerman Ain't It Grand, Boys - Unissued Gems 1995 2:44 Yes
279 The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem Hi for the Beggar Man Freedom's Sons 1966 2:20 Yes
279 The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem The Beggar Man The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem Recorded Live in Ireland! 1965 2:11 Yes
279 The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem The Little Beggarman Irish Folk Songs and Airs 1994 1:42 Yes
279 The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem The Little Beggarman The Best of The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem 1994 No
279 The Clutha The Gaberlunzie Man Scots Ballads Songs & Dance Tunes 1974 4:40 Yes
279 The Corries The Jolly Beggarman Bonnet, Belt & Sword 1995 2:25 Yes
279 The Corries The Jolly Beggar Folk in Focus 1968 No
279 The Cutters Little Beggarman Lowlands 1994 No
279 The Dalriada Brothers The Jolly Beggarman + Hunters Purse Farewell to Ireland 1991 3:27 Yes
279 The Dubliners The Beggar Man The Best of the Original Dubliners 2003 2:35 Yes
279 The Dubliners The Beggarman Now 1975 2:02 Yes
279 The Dubliners The Little Beggerman Irish Folk Night 1964 No
279 The Exiles The Jolly Beggar The Hale and the Hanged 1967 No
279 The Ferryboat Musicians The Jolly Beggar The Ferryboat Musicians 1984 No
279 The Flanagan Brothers Beggarman Song I'm Leaving Tipperary: Classic Irish Traditional Music Recorded in America in the 20's & 30's 1993 2:55 Yes
279 The Flanagan Brothers The Beggarman Farewell to Ireland 1999 No
279 The Flanagan Brothers The Beggerman Song (The Auld Rigadoo) An Irish Delight 1979 No
279 The Foggy Few The Jolly Beggarman The Pint of No Return 2006 3:29 Yes
279 The Freemen Jolly Beggarman Lark in the Morning 1971 No
279 The Gaugers The Jolly Beggar No More Forever 2001 3:12 Yes
279 The Good Ol' Persons Little Beggarman The Good Ol' Persons 2005 No
279 The Gordons Little Beggar Man Southern Illinois Bluegrass 2000 1:47 Yes
279 The High Kings The Beggarman The High Kings 2008 2:54 Yes
279 The High Kings The Beggarman Live in Dublin 2008 3:11 Yes
279 The High Level Ranters The Jolly Beggar High Level 1971 3:35 Yes
279 The Ian Campbell Folk Group The Jolly Beggar Ceilidh at the Crown 1962 No
279 The Jolly Beggars The Jolly Beggarman When History Was Made 2003 3:09 Yes
279 The Jolly Rogers Beggerman Loose Cannons + Midnight Buffet 2007 2:23 Yes
279 The Ludlows The Beggar Man The Wind and the Sea 1966 No
279 The Makem & Spain Brothers The Jolly Beggar Home Away from Home - Live from the Mother Lode Theatre in Butte, Montana 2008  No
279 The McCaffrey Folk Singers Hi for the Beggar Man Irish Drinking Songs 2002 No
279 The Muses Little Beggarman Passing Time 2006 3:25 Yes
279 The Musical Pub Crawl Little Beggarman The Musical Pub Crawl 2003 2:00 Yes
279 The Olga Symphony Little Beggarman + Over the Waterfall Seriously? 2001 No
279 The Ormonde Folk Beggar Man Truly Irish 1971 2:02 Yes
279 The Paul McKenna Band The Jolly Beggar Between Tow Worlds 2009 3:16 Yes
279 The Peelers The Little Beggerman Liquordale 2005 3:03 Yes
279 The Peter Gott Family Bill Cheatham + Sally Ann + Little Beggarman Cowbell Hollow 1981 2:38 Yes
279 The Porch Climbers Barley Mow + Jolly Beggar Man Squeeze Me Beat Me Love Me 2000 4:52 Yes
279 The Pubcrawlers The Jolly Beggarman Another Night on the Floor 2003 2:17 Yes
279 The QP Speed the Plough + Jolly Beggarman Intro 2008 No
279 The Rambling Irishmen The Beggarman Songs of Old Ireland 1997 3:08 Yes
279 The Rite of Spring Beggerman Medley Strangers to Comrades 2000 No
279 The Rogues The Jolly Beggarman + Sandy's New Chanter + Joe McGann's Fiddle + the Jolly Beggarman Scottish Rogues 1996 5:26 Yes
279 The Rounders The Jolly Beggar Brave Boys! 2002 No
279 The Stack Beggarman The Stack 1994 4:03 Yes
279 The Tannahill Weavers The Gaberlunzie Man + Mrs. MacLeod of Raasay The Tannahill Weavers IV 1982 3:12 Yes
279 The Tiller's Folly Little Beggerman + The Red Haired Boy + John Ryan's The View from Here 1997 2:31 Yes
279 The Tinkers Little Beggarman Flogging Waxy 1993 4:26 Yes
279 The Watersons Beggar Man For Pence and Spicy Ale 1993 4:29 Yes
279 The Watersons The Beggar Man The Definitive Collection 2003 3:33 Yes
279 Therapy Little Beggarman One Night Stand 1973 2:15 Yes
279 Thomas Davis Memorial Pipe Band Jolly Beggarman Thomas Davis Memorial Pipe Band 2000 2:50 Yes
279 Tiller's Folly Little Beggarman A Fine Kettle of Fish - Live at the Gulf of Georgia Cannery 2004 3:32 Yes
279 Togo Crawford The Beggarman BBC Recordings No
279 Tommy Dempsey & John Swift The Little Beggarman Green Grow the Laurel 1976 No
279 Tommy Makem Little Beggar Man The Bard of Armagh 1970 1:49 Yes
279 Tommy Makem The Little Beggarman Songs of Tommy Makem 1997 1:42 Yes
279 Tommy Makem The Little Beggarman The Tommy Makem Songbag 1991 1:50 Yes
279 Tommy Makem The Little Beggarman From the Archives 1995 1:49 Yes
279 Tony Elman Little Beggar Man Shakin' Down the Acorns, Vol. 1 1982 2:15 Yes
279 Two Micks and a Chick Beggarman Whistlin' from the Green 2007 3:44 Yes
279 Unknown The Little Beggarman The Traveling People of Ireland - Irish Tinker Music Collected By Alen MacWeeney 1966 No
279 Vic Legg The Beggarman I've Come to Sing a Song - Cornish Family Songs 2000 No
279 Vic Legg The Beggarman (1) John Howson Collection 1970-1995 No
279 Vic Legg The Beggarman (2) John Howson Collection 1970-1995 No
279 Vic Legg The Beggarman (3) John Howson Collection 1970-1995 No
279 Waking Maggie Jolly Beggarman Hit the Bricks 2002 4:00 Yes
279 Waldorf String Band Little Beggarman Best of .. So Far 2005 No
279 Walsh & Pound The Jolly Beggarman Walsh & Pound 2011 No
279 Walsh & Pound The Jolly Beggarman BBC Folk Awards 2012 2012 2:37 Yes
279 Whisky Trail The Little Beggarman Dies Irae - Danze E Ballate Celtiche 1982 3:30 No
279 William Gilkie Gaberlunyie Man The Helen Creighton Collection No
279 William Mathieson The Beggar Man The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
279 William Ross The Beggar Man The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
279 Willie MacNeily The Beggarman BBC Recordings No
279 Wylde Nept Little Beggar Man A Drop of the Creature 2000 No 

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

279. THE JOLLY BEGGAR

Texts: Barry, Brit Bids Me, 333, 475 (trace) / Cox, Trd Bid W Va., 50 / Davis, FS Va / Goose Hangs High Songster (deWitt, Philadelphia, 1866) / Randolph, Oz F-S, I, 194 / John Templeton, "Jolly Beggar" (Oliver Ditson, Boston, n. d.).

Local Titles: The Beggar's Bride.

Story Types: A: A man gives lodging to a beggar who then runs off with his daughter. When the parents find the girl gone, they swear they will  never take in another beggar. Seven years later the beggar returns, and, upon being told why no more beggars are lodged, he reveals that he is bringing the daughter back, not only full of fine stories, but a gay lady as well.

Examples: Barry.

Discussion: Child 279 survives in America in a derivative form. The Jolly Beggar (see also The Beggar Laddie, Child 280) was published, revised,  as The Gaberlunyie-Man in the 1724 Tea-Table Miscellany by Allan Ramsay. See Child V, 115, where the fact that both songs were traditionally ascribed to James the Fifth of Scotland is stated. Some texts of the derivative have been discovered in this country, but the song is not common over here. The California (Cox, Trd Bid W Va) and Missouri-Arkansas (Randolph, Oz F-S,) fragments have two stanzas that correspond to the Maine (Barry, Br it Bids Me] text, and Barry, JAFL, XXII, 79 notes a tune from New Hampshire. The Barry version reflects the American tendency to omit the lustier parts of a story. Compare also Child's Jolly Beggar in this respect.

Folk Index: The Jolly Beggar [Ch 279]

Rt - Rambling Man; Beggar Laddie; Davie/Davy Faa
At - There Was a Jolly Beggarman
Johnson, James & Robert Burns (eds) / Scots Musical Museum, Amadeus, Bk (1991/1853), #266 [1790]
Allen, Jules Verne. Cox, John Harrington(ed.) / Traditional Ballads Mainly from West Virgini, WPA, Bk (1939), 14 [1929]
Coyne, Eamonn. Through the Round Window, Compass 7 4345 2, CD (2002), trk# 14d
Ferryboat Musicians. Ferryboat Musicians, Ferryboat, Cas (1984), trk# A.01
Fisher, Cilla; and Artie Trezise. For Foul Day and Fair, Folk Legacy FSS 069, LP (1978), trk# 5
High Level Ranters. High Level, Leader/Trailer LER-2 030, LP (1971), trk# A.06
Kennedy, Norman. Ballads and Songs of Scotland, Folk Legacy FSS 034, LP (1968), trk# 13 (There Was a Jolly Beggarman)
MacColl, Ewan. English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) Vol. 4, Washington WLP 718, LP (196?), trk# A.03
Rite of Spring. Strangers to Comrades, Wallowa WLS 013, CD (2000), trk# 13a
Robertson, Jeannie. Folk Songs of Britain, Vol 5. The Child Ballads, Vol. II, Caedmon TC 1146, LP (1961), trk# B.08 [1950s]
Strachan, Mary. Moore, Ethel & Chauncey (ed.) / Ballads and Folk Songs of the Southwest, Univ. of Okla, Bk (1964), p128/# 54 [1930s]
Terry, Fred. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume I, British Ballads and Songs, Univ. of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p194/# 37 [1933/01/30]

The Jolly Beggerman [ON 364]

Uf - Little Beggarman
O'Neill, F.. O'Neill, Francis / O'Neill's Music of Ireland, Collins, fol (1964/1903), # 364

Rambling Man - Seeger, Peggy

Rt - Jolly Beggar
Paton, Caroline and Sandy. New Harmony, Folk Legacy FSI 100, LP (1987), trk# 2

The Beggar Laddie [Ch 280]

Rt - Jolly Beggar ; Gaberlunzie Man
MacColl, Ewan. MacColl, Ewan / Folk Songs and Ballads of Scotland, Oak, Sof (1965), p13

Gaberlunzie Man [Ch 279A]

Rt - Beggar Laddie
At - Beggarman Cam' O'er Yon Lea
Johnson, James & Robert Burns (eds) / Scots Musical Museum, Amadeus, Bk (1991/1853), #226 [1790]
Chambers, Maggie and Sarah. Folk Songs of Britain, Vol 5. The Child Ballads, Vol. II, Caedmon TC 1146, LP (1961), trk# B.09 [1950s] (Old/Auld Beggarman)
Hutchison, Jimmy. Ballad Folk - from the BBC Scotland Television Series, BBC 22293, LP (1977), trk# B.03 [1970s] (Beggarman)
Kennedy, Norman. Ballads and Songs of Scotland, Folk Legacy FSS 034, LP (1968), trk# 4 (Beggarman Cam' O'er Yon Lea)
MacColl, Ewan. MacColl, Ewan / Folk Songs and Ballads of Scotland, Oak, Sof (1965), p34
Robertson, Jeannie. Buchan, Norman (ed.) / 101 Scottish Songs, Collins, poc (1962), p 46
Tannahill Weavers. Tannahill Weavers IV, Green Linnet SIF 3102, LP (1982), trk# B.02a

Davie/Davy Faa

Rt - Jolly Beggar ; Barley Straw
Sm - Tramps and Hawkers
MacColl, Ewan. Scots Folk Songs, Washington WLP 733, LP (196?), trk# A.04
Redpath, Jean. Song of the Seals, Philo PH 1054, LP (1978), trk# A.01

The Barley Straw

Rt - Davie/Davy Faa
Carthy, Martin. Byker Hill, Topic 12TS 342, LP (1977/1967), trk# A.06 [1967]
Cox, Harry. Kennedy, Peter (ed.) / Folksongs of Britain and Ireland, Oak, Sof (1984/1975), #188, p419 [1953] (Remember the Barley Straw)
Young Tradition. Galleries, Vanguard VSD7 9295, LP (1968), trk# 1b
--------------------
 

A Note on "So We'll Go no More a Roving"

by James A. S. McPeek
Modern Language Notes, Vol. 46, No. 2 (Feb., 1931), pp. 118-119

A NOTE ON "SO WE'LL GO NO MORE A ROVING" Five lines of Byron's poem, " So we'll go no more a roving," seem to be derived from the burden of The Jolly Beggar, which appeared in Herd's Ancient and Modern Scots Songs in 1776:

And we'll gang nae mair a roving
Sae late into the nicht;
And we'll gang nae mair a roving,
Let the moon shine naer sae bricht.[1]

For such appropriation, Byron, half-Scot that he was,[2] had precedent in the practice of Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott, who even to a greater degree, but never more happily, utilized the popular songs and ballads of Scotland. It may be assumed that Byron remembered The Jolly Beggar from the time of his boyhood beside the Dee and that its burden haunted his mind until it fused with a moment of melancholy in Venice [3] to elicit this lyric.[4]

JAMES A. S. MCPEEK
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Footnotes:
1 Professor Child remarks that this burden, 'presumably later,' is sub- stituted in second edition of Herd, Ancient and Modern Scots Songs, 1776, ii. 26, for the conventional Fa la la of the ballad as given in the first edition, 1769.  See English and Scottish Popular Ballads, ed. 1894, v, 109, No. 279. I have not been able to discover any occurrence of this refrain before 1776.

2Byron in Perspective, by J. D. Symon, London, 1924, p. 230.
3 The Life, Letters and Journals of Lord Byron, ed. Thomas Moore, London, 1920, p. 340, No. 263.

4 Since writing the above note, I have found the substance of it in an unpublished doctoral dissertation, Studies in the English Ballad Refrain, presented at Harvard in 1897 by John Henry Boynton (ob. 1898).
 

Mainly Norfolk: The Beggar Man / The Auld Beggarman / The Jolly Beggar

[Roud 118; Child 279; Ballad Index C279; trad.]

The Clutha sang The Gaberlunzie Man in 1974 on their Topic album Scots Ballads, Songs & Dance Tunes.

Lal and Norma Waterson and Lal's daughter Maria Knight sang The Beggar Man in 1977 on their album A True Hearted Girl. This track was also included on the 1992 CD reissue of For Pence and Spicy Ale and in 2003 on the Watersons' anthology The Definitive Collection.

Bob Hudson notes:

A variant of Child Ballad No. 279, often called The Gaberlunzie-Man, or The Jolly Beggar. Tradition has it that it was written by King James V of Scotland, and indeed, there were a number of ballads describing his romantic conquests while roaming the countryside in disguise. It was first printed in Thomas Ramsay's Tea Table Miscellany (1724). In 1952, folklorist Peter Kennedy and Sean O'Boyle recorded two Irish women, Maggie and Sarah Chambers, singing this song (in Tempo, County Fermanagh). Both their tune and lyric are close to the one sung here, leaving one to suspect that the Irish version may have been the source for the Watersons. Variant text: Kinsley, Oxford Book of Ballads, No. 132.

Maggie Murphy sang this ballad as Clinking o'er the Lea at her home in Killaculla, Tempo, Co. Fermanagh on August 1, 1980. This recording by Keith Summers was included in 1998 on the Topic anthology First I'm Going to Sing You a Ditty (The Voice of the People Series Volume 7).

Lizzie Higgins sang The Beggar Man at the National Folk Music Festival, Sutton Bonington, Leicestershire, on April 12, 1988. This recording by Doc Rowe was included in 1998 on the Topic anthology It Fell on a Day, a Bonny Summer Day (The Voice of the People Series Volume 17).

Elizabeth Stewart & Tom McKean sang The Jolly Beggar at the Fife Traditional Singing Festival, Collessie, Fife in May 2004 and Gordon Easton sang The Beggar Man at the same place in May 2006. Thess recording were included on the festival CDs Here's a Health to the Company and Some Rants o' Fun (Old Songs & Bothy Ballads Volumes 1&3).

June Tabor sang The Auld Beggarman on her 2007 Topic album Apples. She commented in her liner notes:

Chile No. 279, often called The Gaberlunzie Man, first printed version in the Tea Table Miscellany 1724; this version collected from Maggie and Sarah Chambers of Tempo, Co. Fermanagh in the 1950s. A song “beloved by travellers and other unsettled people, and by girls who live in remote places” (Sam Henry)

Does the girl see through the beggar's disguise, or is she just desperate to escape the slavery of her lonely farmstead home?

Lyrics
Lal and Norma Waterson sing The Beggar Man

An old beggar man come over the lea,
Many is the fine tale he tellt me.
“Goodwife, for your charity,
Will you lodge a lame poor man?”

Chorus (after every other verse):
With his tooren ooren an tan ay
Right an ooren fal la doo a day
Right an ooren ooren ay
With his tooren ooren aye doe

He sat himself by the chimney nook
Wi' all his bags about his crook,
All his bags about his crook,
And so merrily he did sing.

“Well, if I was black as I was white
As the snow that falls on yon fell-dyke,
Dress meself some beggar-like
And along with you I'd gang.”

“Lassie, lassie, you're over young,
You hannae got the cant o' the begging tongue,
Hannae got the cant o' the begging tongue,
So along ye cannae gang.”

“But I'll bend my back and beck my knee,
And I'll put a black patch on my e'e,
And for a beggar they'll take me,
So along wi' you I'll gang.”

All the doors being locked quite tight,
The old woman rose in the middle of the night,
The old woman rose in the middle of the night
To find the old man gone.

Well, she ran to the cupboard, likewise to the chest,
All things there and nothing missed.
Clasped her hands, saying, “God be blessed,
I've lodged an honest old man.”

The breakfast was ready and the table was laid
And the old woman went for to look for the maid:
The sheets were cold and the bed was made,
She's away wi' the lame poor man.

Seven long years have passed and gone,
This same old beggar come back again.
“Goodwife, for your charity,
Will you lodge a lame poor man?”

“Well, I never lodged any but the one,
He with me only daughter's gone,
He with me only daughter's gone,
And I chose you to believe.”

“If it's your daughter ye want to see,
She's got two bairnies on her knee,
Got two bairnies on her knee
And another one comin' round.

“Yonder she sits, yonder she stands,
The finest lady in all Scotland.
She has gold at her command
Since she went wi' the lame poor man.”

June Tabor sings The Auld Beggarman 

 As I was a-linking o'er the lea,
The finest weel that I ever did see
Looking for his charity,
“Would you lodge a lame poor man?”
 
 For the night being wet and it being cold
She took pity on the poor old soul,
She took pity on the poor old soul
And she bade him to sit down.

Chorus (after every other verse):
With his tooran nooran nan tan nee
Right ton nooran fol the doo-a-dee
Toraan nooran noraan nee
With his tooran nooran-i-do 

 He sat himself in the chimbley neuk
And the bonny young daughter gave him the look.
With all his bags behind the crook
Right merrily he did sing.
 
 Now he grew canty and she was fain,
But little did her mother ken
Just what the two of them were saying
As they sat sae thrag.
 
 “O if I was black as I am white
Like the snow on yon fell-dyke,
I'd dress myself so beggar-like
And away with you I'd gang.”
 
 “O lassie, lassie, you're far too young,
And you haven't got the lilt of the begging tongue,
You haven't got the lilt of the begging tongue,
So with you cannot gang.”
 
 “I'll burden my back and I'll bend my knee,
I'll draw a black patch o'er my e'e,
And for a beggar they'll take me,
And away with you I'll gang.”
 
 For all that the doors were locked quite tight,
The old woman rose in the middle of the night,
The old woman rose in the middle of the night
For to find the old man gone.
 
 She's run to the cupboard, likewise to the chest,
All things there and nothing missed.
Clapping her hands and the dear be blessed,
Wasn't he an honest old man?
 
 When the breakfast was ready and the table laid
The old woman went for to waken the maid:
The bed was there but the maid was gone,
Away with the lame poor man.
 
 Now seven years were passed and gone,
And this old beggar came back again
Looking for his charity,
“Will you lodge a lame poor man?”
 
 “I never lodged any but the one,
And with him my one daughter did gang,
And I chose you to be the very one
AndI'll have you to be gone.”
 
 “If it's your daughter you want to see,
She has two bairnies on her knee,
She has two bairnies on her knee
And a third one coming round.
 
 “For yonder she sits, yonder she stands,
The fairest lady in all Scotland.
She has servants at her command
Since she went with the lame poor man.”

Acknowledgements
Thanks to Greer Gilman for the transcription of Lal and Norma Waterson's singing.

Two Additional Texts

A BEGGARMAN CAM' OWER THE LEA-  from Sam Henry's Songs of the People

Oh, a beggarman cam' ower the lea,
An' he toul tidin's unto me,
He was luckin' for a help an' a charitee,
Wud ye lodge a beggarman?

Wae m' nantanoora-noora-nee,
Nanta—noora-noora-nee,
Wae m' nanta-noora-rtoora-nee,
Wud ye lodge a beggarman?

Oh, the oul' wife wudnae let me stay,
An' the young yin wudnae let me gae,
So Ah throwed m' meal-poke tae the wa',
And I began tae sing.

Early nixt mor[n]in' the oul wife rose,
She missed the beggar and his clothes,
First tae the cupboard an' then tae the chist,
Naethin' ava there could be missed,
Wasn't he the honest oul' man?

When the kettle was boiled an' the breakfast made,
She went to waken the young fair maid,
But ah! a shout the mither gaed,
She's awa' wi' the beggarman.

Now seven long years was passed an' gone,
The beggar he cam' back again,
He was luckin' for a help an' a charitee,
Wud ye lodge a beggarman?

Oh, beggar, Ah'l lodge nane ava,
The last Ah lodged taen mae dauchter awa',
The last Ah lodged taen mae dauchter awa',
On' Ah think you're the very oul' man.

1.2: toul = told.
1.3: luckin' = looking.
3.1: nixt = next.
3.3: chist = chest.
3.4: naethin' = nothing

k: "Gaberlunzie Man," "The Beggarman."
Other titles: "The Auld (Dirty) (Ragged) Beggarman Gaberlunzie)," "The Barley Straw ," "The Beggar Laddie (Man) ," "He Wadna Lie in Barn," "The Jolly Beggar."

Source: George Graham (Cross Lane, Coleraine)from his grandfather, Joe Wilson (Roddenfoot, Ballymoney) from his grandfather (Ballymoney).
3 June 1939
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 In Peter Kennedy's Folksongs of Britain and Ireland, the primary title of the song is "Remember the Barley Straw." It's cross-indexed as "Beggar Man" or "Gaberlunzie Man."

REMEMBER THE BARLEY STRAW

1. So it's of a jolly old farmer, lived in the West Count-e-rie
He had the finest daughter, that ever my eyes did see
He had a lovely daughter, so comely kind and free
And many a gallant nobleman, they sought her comp-a-nie

2. 'Tis of a rich young squire, was living at close by
And he vowed he wouldn't be easy, until he'd had a try
So he dressed himself as a tinker, and travelled on his way
Until he came to the farmer's house, was standing at close by

3. O have you got any kettles, any pots or pans to mend
Or have you got any lodgings, my being a single man?
O no, replied this pretty fair maid, not thinking any harm
O you can stay with us all night, if you sleep in our old barn

4. So after tea was over, she went to make his bed
The tinker following after, which stole her maidenhead
The tinker being nimble, jumped up and barred the door
And she slept all night in the tinker's arms, amongst the barley straw

5. Now since you've slept with me all night, don't think me none the worse
He put his hand in his pocket, and pulled out a heavy purse
Here's fifty pound I will give you, to pay the nurse's fee
And if ever I come this way again, fair maid, I'll marry thee

6. So now you cannot marry me, pray tell to me your name
Likewise your occupation, and where and whence you came
He whispered softly in her ear: O call me Davie Shaw
And if ever I come this way again, remember the barley straw

7. Now six months being over, and nine months being come
This pretty little fair maid was the mother of a son
The old man cried: 0 daughter dear, who has done you this harm?
I'm afraid it was the old tinker that slept in our old barn