Recordings & Information: 2. The Elfin Knight
[Attached to this page is the extensive list of 260 variants (some are multiple listings) compiled by Steve Roud. There are many versions under many different titles in the US and abroad.]
CONTENTS:
1. Alternative Titles
2. Traditional Ballad Index
3. Article Nick Caffrey (brief description Child 2)
4. Keefer's Folk Index
5. Folk Trax
6. 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;
7. Comparative Studies in Nursery Rhymes
8. Commentary on William and Ceil Baring-Gould's The Annotated Mother Goose, New York, 1962
Alternative Titles
Elfin Knight
The Wind hath blawn my Plaid awa (The Wind Hath Blown My Plaid Away)
Cambric Shirt
Blow, Ye Winds, Blow
Love's Impossibilities
Whittingham Fair
Scarborough Fair
Sing Ivy
Rosemary Fair
Lovers' Tasks
A True Lover of Mine
My Father Gave Me an Acre of Ground
Oh, Marry In Time
Rosemary Fair
Flim-a-Lim-a-Lee
Wellinbrook Well
Petticoat Lane
The Devil's Courtship
My Father Gave Me an Acre of Ground
The Parsley Vine
The Shirt of Lace
Redio-Tedio
The Laird o' Elfin
Strawberry Lane
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
Rosemary and Thyme
Acre of Land
Every Rose Grows Merry in Time
Traditional Ballad Index: Elfin Knight, The [Child 2]
DESCRIPTION: A man (sometimes an "Elfin" knight) and a woman exchange tasks. He offers to marry her if she performs his (impossible) tasks; she shows how she feels by making equally unperformable requests
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1673 (broadside)
KEYWORDS: courting magic bargaining dialog paradox tasks
FOUND IN: Britain(England(All),Scotland(Aber)) US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,SE,So,SW) Canada(Newf,West) Ireland
REFERENCES (42 citations):
Child 2, "The Elfin Knight" (13 texts)
Bronson 2, "The Elfin Knight" (56 versions plus 6 in addenda)
Greig #100, pp. 1-2, "The Elfin Knight" (3 texts)
GreigDuncan2 329, "The Elfin Knight" (7 texts, 2 tunes) {A=Bronson's #1, B=#50}
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 3-11, "The Elfin Knight" (4 texts plus a fragment, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #3, #23}
Gray, pp. 78-79, "Strawberry Lane" (1 text, from JAFL XXX, 1917)
Flanders-Ancient1, pp. 51-78, "The Elfin Knight" (12 texts plus 3 fragments, not all from New England; 8 tunes; the "N" text appears to be "My Father Had an Acre of Land") {A=Bronson's #47C=Bronson's #6; F=Bronson's #45}
Belden, pp. 1-3, "The Elfin Knight" (3 texts)
Randolph 1, "The Cambric Shirt" (2 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #40}
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 13-15, "The Cambric Shirt" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 1A) {Bronson's #40}
Eddy 1, "The Elfin Knight" (2 texts, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #39, #43}
Gardner/Chickering 47, "A True Lover of Mine" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #38}
Davis-More 2, pp. 8-13, "The Elfin Knight" (3 texts, all short, one reconstructed)
BrownII 1, "The Elfin Knight" (1 text plus an edited excerpt and a fragment)
Chappell-FSRA 1, "The Cambric Shirt" (1 fragment)
Brewster 1, "The Elfin Knight" (4 texts plus a fragment, though the "D" text is not a conversation but a series of requests from the singer to his mother; it may be a related song)
Flanders/Brown, pp. 194-196, "Scarborough Fair" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #6}
Linscott, pp. 169-171, "Blow, Ye Winds, Blow or The Elfin Knight" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #2}
Leach, pp. 51-53, ""The Elfin Knight" (2 texts)
Peacock, pp. 6-7, "The Cambric Shirt" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Friedman, p. 7, "The Elfin Knight" (2 texts)
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 138-139, "A True Lover of Mine" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #32}
FSCatskills 40, "Petticoat Lane" (1 text, 1 tune)
PBB 15, "The Elfin Knight" (1 text)
SharpAp 1 "The Elfin Knight" (2 texts, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #30, #48}
Sharp-100E 74, "Scarborough Fair" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #21}
Sharp/Karpeles-80E1, "The Lovers' Tasks (The Elfin Knight)" (1 slightly edited text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #30}
Niles 2, "The Elfin Knight" (3 texts, 3 tunes, all rather degenerate)
Lomax-FSNA 7, "Strawberry Lane" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #23, with some modifications}
Chase, pp. 112-113, "The Cambric Shirt" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hodgart, p. 26 ,"The Elfin Knight" (1 text)
DBuchan 41, "The Elfin Knight" (1 text)
MacSeegTrav 1, "The Elfin Knight" (1 text, 1 tune)
Stokoe/Reay, pp. 54-55, "Whittingham Fair" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #22, with key changed}
OLochlainn-More 99, "Rosemary Fair" (1 text, 1 tune)
Opie-Oxford2 86, "Can you make me a cambric shirt" (2 texts)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #70, p. 79-80, "(Can you make me a cambric shirt)"
Darling-NAS, pp. 19-23, "The Elfin Knight," "The Elfin Knight," "Every Rose Grows Merry in Time," "Flim-A-Lim-A-Lee" (4 texts)
Silber-FSWB, p. 151, "Scarborough Fair" (1 text); p. 152, "Cambric Shirt" (1 text)
BBI, ZN821, "The elfin knight sits on yon hill"
DT 2, SCARFAIR*
ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #312, "My Plaid Away" (1 excerpt)
Roud #12
RECORDINGS:
Sara Cleveland, "Every Rose Grows Merry in Time" (on SCleveland01) {Bronson's #34.1 in addenda}
Bob & Ron Copper, "An Acre of Land" (on FSB4)
Liz Jefferies, "Rosemary Lane" (on Voice15)
Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, "The Elfin Knight" (on SCMacCollSeeger01)
Thomas Moran, "Strawberry Lane (The Elfin Knight)" (on FSB4, FSBBAL1)
Lawrence Older, "Flim-A-Lim-A-Lee" (on LOlder01)
Anna Underhill, "The Elfin Knight" (on FineTimes)
Margaret Winters, "Cambric Shirt" (on JThomas01)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "My Father Had an Acre of Land" (theme)
cf. "O'er the Hills and Far Away (I)" (floating lyrics)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Devil's Courtship
Rosemary and Thyme
The Wind Hath Blown My Plaid Away
My Father Gave Me an Acre of Ground
The Parsley Vine
The Shirt of Lace
Redio-Tedio
The Laird o' Elfin
NOTES: The song "My Father Had an Acre of Land" is sometimes listed as a variant of this, but falsely. The basic point of Child #2 is the dialog making impossible demands; in "My Father Had an Acre of Land," the song simply boasts of impossible deeds
The now well-known refrain "Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme" does not appear original to the song, but has been associated with it at least since 1784, when a version appeared in Gammer Gurton's Garland.
The Opies think the song derives ultimately from a plot also found in the Gesta Romanorum, in which a king seeks a wife and wants to make sure of her competence. This is of course possible, but that version ends with the king wedding a clever but low-born girl, whereas this ballad tends to end with mutual rejection. - RBW
Impossible tasks and impossible love; The Elfin Knight (Child #2)
- by Nick Caffrey Issue 47 March 2002
The Elfin Knight is one of the few ballads to gain international popularity in recent years when Paul Simon adapted an arrangement of Scarborough Fair and added a lyrical counter melody in his pleasant variation of the ballad. This is a riddling song but in this ballad the riddle is more in the form of impossible tasks. Riddles and conundrums have long been a popular theme in folktales and songs throughout Europe and Northern America. The riddles in British folksongs and ballads usually take the form of a confrontation with the supernatural (or the Devil in some versions), or potential lovers. In the case of supernatural ballads the soul of the mortal may be the prize; with the lovers' marriage or seduction the prize. I intend to explore the tradition of riddles when I look at the ballad "Riddles Wisely Expounded" in a future article.
Background
The earliest noted versions of "The Elfin Knight" tell of a young maiden who magically summons the Elfin Knight into her bedroom, but he tells her she is too young and sets her impossible tasks to perform before he will become her lover and she counters this by setting him equally impossible tasks. When the Elfin Knight declares that he is already married with children, she quite rightly rejects him and so he disappears. It is important to establish this full story because many of the later versions retain only the tasks and these do not always make any obvious sense. As the song has passed through the community and down the ages the story frame has been lost leaving the tasks to stand by themselves this is especially true of English versions of the song. "Scarborough Fair" (aka Whittingham Fair or other variations) has a very simple frame that seems to reflect on a lost love:
Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Remember me to one who lives there.
By the time the song has reached the nursery even this pretence has gone:
My Father has an acre of land,
Hey ho sing Ivy,
My father has an acre of land,
A bunch of green holly and ivy
The earliest recorded form of the ballad dates back to a broadside version printed in the 1670s and the earliest version collected from a traditional singer is from M Kinnear, a native of Mearnshire on 23 August 1826 and printed in Kinloch's "Ancient Scottish Ballads". Unfortunately when these early version were collected it was the words that attracted the attention and the tunes were ignored. In more recent times only the simplified tasks versions of the song have been found both in Britain and in North America.
Refrains
The early form of the ballad usually has the first refrain as 'Ba-ba-ba lily ba' and the second as 'The wind it blows my plaid awa.' I have read of several theories on the meaning of these refrains: on one hand they have sexual connotations and on the other that the first refrain is a corrupt form of some ancient protection spell. As I am not an expert on these things I leave the reader to make their own choice and research. The more recent herb motifs such as 'Parsley (or Savoury) Sage Rosemary and Thyme', and 'A Bunch of green Holly and Ivy' have also been subjected to some study. Lucy Broadwood in an article for the Journal of the Folk Song Society 1907 and Anne Gilchrist in a further article in Journal of the Folk Song Society 1930 tells us that traditionally each of the herbs was protection against evil or sorcery.
Tunes
Bertrand Bronson in his extremely helpful and important work "The Singing Tradition of Child's Popular Ballads" identifies three specific musical groups. The first relates to the older form of the ballad and its link with the tune known as 'The Wind hath blawn my Plaid awa' which itself is related to 'Over the Hills and Far Awa'. Bronson feels that we have some difficulty in clearly linking the tune to the words because there are no early examples of both words and tune collected together. He thinks that they may have been linked through the broadside singers based on an earlier traditional tune. Versions of this form have been collected throughout Scotland and Northern America
With the second group Bronson is much more sure that they belong within the tradition; these are the Scarborough Fair group of songs. He tells us that all the variants of this group are in triple rhythm. Versions of this have been collected throughout the British Isles
The third group appeared around the middle of the Nineteenth century and is the Sing Ivy versions of the song and is wholly English.
Keefer's Folk Index- The Elfin Knight [Ch 2/Sh 1]
Rt - Rosemary Fair ; Wind It Blew/Blaw My Plaidie Awa'; Acre of Land
Friedman, Albert B. (ed.) / Viking Book of Folk Ballads of the English-S, Viking, sof (1963/1957), p 7 [1820s]
Friedman, Albert B. (ed.) / Viking Book of Folk Ballads of the English-S, Viking, sof (1963/1957), p 9 [1895]
Leach, MacEdward / The Ballad Book, Harper & Row, Bk (1955), P 50 [16??]
Bank, W. H.. Lomax, Alan / Folk Songs of North America, Doubleday Dolphin, Sof (1975/1960), p 17/# 7 [1920s] (Strawberry Lane)
Jones, Cis. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p 1/# 1A [1917/08/24]
Jones, Mrs. Cis. Sharp, Cecil & Maude Karpeles (eds.) / Eighty English Folk Songs from th, MIT Press, Sof (1968), p 21 [1917ca] (Lovers' Tasks)
MacColl, Ewan. Classic Scots Ballads, Tradition TLP 1015, LP (1959), trk# A.06
Mitchell, Polly. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p 2/# 1B [1918/09/22]
Moran, Thomas. Folk Songs of Britain, Vol 4. The Child Ballads, I, Caedmon TC 1145, LP (1961), trk# A.01b [1950s] (Strawberry Lane)
Moser, Artus M.. North Carolina Mountain Folksongs and Ballads, Folkways FD 5331, LP (1974), trk# 7 (Cambric Shirt)
O'Hara, Mary. Mary O'Hara's Scotland, Tradition 2121, LP (197?), trk# A.08
------------------Elfin Knight - Rusby, Kate----------------------
Rusby, Kate. Girl Who Couldn't Fly, Compass 7 4420-2, CD (2005), trk# 7
-----------------Rosemary and Thyme [Ch 2]----------------------
Us - Cambric Shirt
-----------------Rosemary Fair [Ch 2]-------------------
Rt - Elfin Knight ; Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme ; Scarborough Fair
Hanly, Mick. Kiss in the Morning Early, Mulligan LUN 005, LP (1976), trk# 5
---------------Wind It Blew/Blaw My Plaidie Awa' [Ch 2]----------------
Rt - Elfin Knight
-----------------Acre of Land-----------------------
Rt - Elfin Knight
At - Sing Ivy
Brand, Oscar. Songs Inane Only, Riverside RLP 12-835, LP (1958), trk# B.03
Coffee, Simeon B.. Niles, John Jacob / Ballad Book of John Jacob Niles, Bramhall House, Bk (1961), p 12/N 2A [1934] (My Father Gave Me an Acre of Ground)
Copper, Bob and Ron. Folk Songs of Britain, Vol 4. The Child Ballads, I, Caedmon TC 1145, LP (1961), trk# A.01a [1950s]
Copper, Bob and Ron. Kennedy, Peter (ed.) / Folksongs of Britain and Ireland, Oak, Sof (1984/1975), #300, p656 [1955] (My Father Had an Acre of Land)
Decrow, Gertrude. Journal of American Folklore, AFS, Ser (1887-), 7, p228(1894) [1890ca]
Huntington, F. D. (Reverend). Journal of American Folklore, AFS, Ser (1887-), 7, p229b(1894) [1880s]
---------------Cambric Shirt [Ch 2]----------------------
Rt - Scarborough Fair ; Elfin Knight ; Blow, Ye Winds, Blow
Wells, Evelyn Kendrick (ed.) / The Ballad Tree, Ronald, Bk (1950), p172 [1920's]
Leisy, James F. (ed.) / Folk Song Abecedary, Bonanza, Bk (1966), p 51
Dykema, Peter W.(ed.) / Sing Out! Teacher's Book, Birchard, Bk (1947), p 80 (Rosemary and Thyme)
Allen, Martha Ellen. Moore, Ethel & Chauncey (ed.) / Ballads and Folk Songs of the Southwest, Univ. of Okla, Bk (1964), p 10/# 2D [1950s] (Rosemary and Thyme)
Coltman, Bob. Edwards, Jay; and Robert Kelley / Coffee House Songbook, Oak, Sof (1966), P 58
Daley, Susie Evans. Moore, Ethel & Chauncey (ed.) / Ballads and Folk Songs of the Southwest, Univ. of Okla, Bk (1964), p 7/# 2A [1950/06]
Fraley, J. P. and Annadeene. Galleynipper, June Appal JA 058C, Cas (1990), trk# 7 [1988-89]
Ginandes, Shep. Dogwood Soup, Pathways of Sound POS 1023, LP (196?), trk# A.01
Hembree, Wiley. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume I, British Ballads and Songs, Univ. of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p 38/# 1A [1941/12/29]
Kettner, Belle. Moore, Ethel & Chauncey (ed.) / Ballads and Folk Songs of the Southwest, Univ. of Okla, Bk (1964), p 9/# 2C [1940-50s]
MacArthur Family. On the Mountains High, Living Folk LFR 100, CD/ (1971), trk# 16
MacColl, Ewan; and Peggy Seeger. Matching Songs of the British Isles and America, Riverside RLP 12-637, LP (195?), trk# 16
MacNeil, Madeline. Many Butterflies, Roots and Branches RBR 001, LP (Roo2), trk# B.02
McFarland, Mary Ann. Moore, Ethel & Chauncey (ed.) / Ballads and Folk Songs of the Southwest, Univ. of Okla, Bk (1964), p 8/# 2B [1950/06]
Norton, Fannie. Chase, Richard (ed.) / American Folk Tales and Songs, Dover, sof (1971/1956), p112 [1930-40's]
Okun, Milt; and Ellen Stekert. Traditional American Love Songs, Riverside RLP 12-634, LP (1956), trk# 4
Okun, Milt; and Ellen Stekert. Everybody Sing, Vol 3., Riverside RLP 1420, LP (196?), trk# A.03b
Oster, Harry. Louisiana Folksong Jambalaya, LFS A 2, LP (1959), trk# B.08
Ritchie, Jean; and Oscar Brand. Courting and Riddle Songs, Washington WLP 706, LP (1956ca), trk# A.01
Sure, Ethel Estes. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume I, British Ballads and Songs, Univ. of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p 40/# 1B [1940?]
Wilkenson, Fred. Leach, MacEdward / The Ballad Book, Harper & Row, Bk (1955), p 53 [1910s?]
Wilson, Morris. Thompson, Harold W.(ed.) / Body, Boots & Britches, Dover, Bk (1962/1939), p422 [1930s?]
--------------------Scarborough Fair [Ch 2/Sh 1]---------------------
Rt - Cambric Shirt ; Oh, Marry In Time ; Rosemary Fair ; Flim-a-Lim-a-Lee ; Lovers' Tasks ; Wellinbrook Well
Kidson, Frank (ed.) / Traditional Tunes. A Collection of Ballad Airs, S.R. Publishers, Bk (1970/1891), p 42 [1880s]
Winds of the People, Sing Out, Sof (1982), p 26
Wells, Evelyn Kendrick (ed.) / The Ballad Tree, Ronald, Bk (1950), p170
Blood, Peter; and Annie Patterson (eds.) / Rise Up Singing, Sing Out, Sof (1992/1989), p 32
Boni, Margaret Bradford (ed.) / Fireside Book of Folk Songs, Simon & Schuster, Bk (1947), p 26
Fowke, Edith and Richard Johnston / Folk Songs of Canada, Waterloo Music, Bk (1954), p138 [1920] (True Lover of Mine)
Herder, Ronald (ed.) / 500 Best-Loved Song Lyrics, Dover dn500/500, Sof (1998), p305
Agay, Denes / Best Loved Songs of the American People, Doubleday, fol (1975), p376
Abe and Malka. Mandelblatt, Abe & Malka A. / 100 Guitar Accompanyments, Amsco, Sof (1974), p173
Barton, Cathy; and Dave Para. Ballad of the Boonslick, Barton & Para, LP (1982), trk# A.03
Bliss, Sylvia. Flanders, Helen H. & George Brown / Vermont Folk Songs and Ballads, Folklore Associates, Bk (1968/1931), p194 [1930]
Bryant, Larkin. Bryant, Larkin / Larkin's Dulcimer Book, Ivory Palaces, Fol (1982), p49
Carpenter, Sue. Masters of the Mountain Dulcimer, Susan Trump STM 103CD, CD (1997), trk# 16b
Carthy, Martin. Martin Carthy, Topic 12TS 340, LP (1977/1965), trk# B.01
Cleveland, Sara. Ballads of the Upper Hudson Valley, Folk Legacy FSA 033, Cas (1968), trk# A.05 [1966/12] (Every Rose Grows Merry in Time)
Cohen, Larkin Bryant. Lark in the Twilight, Riverlark RLCS 103, Cas (1998), trk# A.05
Collins, Shirley. Asch, Moses (ed.) / 124 Folk Songs as Sung and Recorded on Folkways Reco, Robbins, fol (1965), p 86
Collins, Shirley. False True Lovers, Folkways FG 3564, LP (1959), trk# B.06
Conger, Larry. September on the Mississippi, Highland House --, CD (1994), trk# 12
De Mause, Alan. De Mause, Alan / Guitar Power, Amsco, Sof (1976), p88
Edwards, George. Cazden, Norman, et.al. / Folk Songs of the Catskills, SUNY Press, sof (1982), p164/# 40 [1940s] (Petticoat Lane)
Edwards, George. Cazden, Norman / Abelard Folk Song Book, Abelard-Schuman, Bk (1958), p 98 (Petticoat Lane)
Ewing, Ron. Dulcimer Players News, DPN, Ser, 17/2, p29(1991)
Griffin, Mrs. G. A.. Morris, Alton C. / Folksongs of Florida, Univ. Florida, Bk (1950), p235/#144 [1934-39] (Save Rosemary and Thyme)
Heath, Gordan; and Lee Payant. Evening at L'Abbaye, Elektra EKL 119, LP (1954), trk# B.07
Jane and Ireland. Jane and Ireland at Penland, Penland RSR-1027, LP (1979), trk# B.04
Kretzner, Leo; and Jay Leibovitz. Dulcimer Fair, Traditional TR 018, LP (1981), trk# A.03
MacColl, Ewan. Sing Out Reprints, Sing Out, Sof, 6, p36 (1964)
MacColl, Ewan; and Peggy Seeger. Matching Songs of the British Isles and America, Riverside RLP 12-637, LP (195?), trk# 15
McSpadden, Lynn. McSpadden, Lynn / Four and Twenty Songs for the Mountain Dulcimer, Dulcimer Shoppe, sof (1970), p24
Murray, Doug. Dulcimer Players News, DPN, Ser, 5/4, p40(1979)
Reid, Harvey. Chestnuts, Woodpecker WP 109, Cas (1994), trk# A.03
Renbourn, John. Lady and the Unicorn, Reprise 6407, LP (1970), trk# B.04
Simon and Garfunkel. Okun, Milt (ed.) / Something to Sing About, MacMillan, Bk (1968), p223
Smith, Steven K.. Dulcimer Players News, DPN, Ser, 30/1, p35(2004)
Stolls, Bernie. Dulcimer Players News, DPN, Ser, 9/1, p28(1983)
Taussig, Harry. Taussig, Harry / Folk-Style Guitar, Oak, Sof (1973), p 58
Wardill, A.. Kidson, Frank (ed.) / Traditional Tunes. A Collection of Ballad Airs, S.R. Publishers, Bk (1970/1891), p173b [1880s]
Woods, Sylvia. Woods, Sylvia / Teach Yourself to Play the Folk Harp, Woods Books, sof (1978), p37
-----------------Oh, Marry In Time [Ch 2]--------------
Rt - Scarborough Fair
Blue Sky Boys. Presenting The Blue Sky Boys, JEMF 104, LP (1976/1965), trk# 11
----------------Flim-a-Lim-a-Lee [Ch 2]------------------
Rt - Scarborough Fair
Older, Lawrence. Adirondack Songs, Ballads and Fiddle Tunes, Folk Legacy FSA 015, Cas (1964), trk# A.05
-----------------The Lovers' Tasks [Ch 2]-----------------
Rt - Scarborough Fair
Uf - Elfin Knight
Cook, Judy. If You Sing Songs, Cook, CD (1998), trk# 11
Langstaff, John. Seeds of Love, Minstrel JD 208, LP (1987), trk# A.04
Langstaff, John. Water Is Wide. American and British Ballads and Folksongs, Revels 2202, CD (2002), trk# 11 [1959]
---------------------------------
My Father Had an Acre of Land
DESCRIPTION: "My father had an acre of land, Hey ho, sing ivy, My father had an acre of land, With a bunch of green holly and ivy." He farmed it in impossible ways: "plowed it with a team of rats," "rolled it with a rolling pin," "thrashed it with a hazel twig"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1842
KEYWORDS: farming nonsense paradox
FOUND IN: Britain(England(All))
REFERENCES (11 citations):
Williams-Thames, pp. 221-222, "Holly and Ivy" (1 text) (also Wiltshire-WSRO Wt 479)
VaughanWilliams/Palmer, #116, An Acre of Land" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kennedy 300, "My Father Had an Acre of Land" (1 text, 1 tune)
Wiltshire-WSRO Mi 703, "Sing Holly, Sing Ivy"; Wiltshire-WSRO Ox 273, "Sing Holly, Sing Ivy" (2 texts)
Cologne/Morrison, pp. 22-23, "An Acre of Land" (1 text, 1 tune)
Reeves-Circle 120, "Sing Ovy, Sing Ivy" (1 text)
CopperSeason, pp. 206-207, "Heigh-ho, Sing Ivy" (1 text, 1 tune)
OShaughnessy-Lincolnshire 1, "An Acre o' Land" (1 text, 1 tune)
Flanders-Ancient1, pp. 51-78, "The Elfin Knight' (12 texts plus 3 fragments, not all from New England; 8 tunes; mostly of Child #2, but the "N" text, which has no tune, appears to be this song)
Opie-Oxford2 158, "My father left me three acres of land" (1 text)
Jack, p. 210, "Three Acres of Land" (1 text)
Roud #21093
RECORDINGS:
Bob & Ron Copper, "My Father Had an Acre of Land" (on FSB4)
Charlie Potter, "Sing Ivy" (on Voice14)
Tony Wales, "Sing Ivy" (on TWales1)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Elfin Knight" [Child 2] (theme)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Team of Rats
Sing Ivy
Sing Ovy, Sing Ivy
NOTES: This song is sometimes listed as a variant of "The Elfin Knight" [Child 2], and in fact they share many ideas and some lyrics. However, the crucial element of "The Elfin Knight" is the dialog, whereas this is a song of impossible deeds. The should be kept separate.
For the juxtaposition, and possible rivalry, of holly and ivy, see the notes to "The Holly and the Ivy." - RBW
ACRE OF LAND, AN (Folktrax)- "My father left me an AOL" - ROUD#12 - (CHILD#2) - HALLIWELL 1812 p43 #171 - GARDINER Hants 1904 - JFSS 1:3 1901 p83 Merrick: Henry Hills, Lodsworth, Sussex "Sing Ivy" - JFSS 2:8 1906 pp212-3 RVW: Frank Bailey, Combe Bissett, Wiltsh 1904 (notes) - JFSS 3;4 (13) 1909 pp274-5 Gardiner: William Masoin, Easton, Hampsh 1906 - JOYCE OIFMS 1909 pp59-60 Limerick 2v/m "When you shall be a truelover of mine" - GARDINER FSFH 1909 Hampshire "Sing Ivy" - WILLIAMS FSUT 1923 pp221-2 Ms#479 Mrs Hedges, Purton, Wiltsh / #273 George Keen, High Cogges, Oxfordsh/ #703 "Holly and Ivy" - OPIE ODNR 1951 p165 - REEVES EC 1960 p243 Gardiner: Mrs Goodyear, Axford, Hampsh 1907 "Sing Ovy, Sing Ivy" - HOLST-VAUGHAN WILLIAMS 1961 #1 p1 Mr Greenwood, Westerdale, Yorksh 1904 "A Yacre of Land" - ED&S 30:2 1968 p58 Joy Hyman: Gabriel Figg, West Chiltington, Sussex 1965 - COPPER SESB 1971 pp206-207 Rottingdean, Sussex "Heigh ho sing Ivy" - ED&S 35:1 1973 p25 Mary Huddleston: Yorksh "The Yacre of Land" - HAMER GGr 1973 p27 Mr Salisbury, Bedfordsh "Edie and Ivy" - Lore & Language 1:5 1971 pp2-3 Rory Greig: Lincolnsh - Gwilym DAVIES Hants 1972 p2 George Privett, Shedfield, Hampshire - PALMER RVW 1983 #116 p177 Frank Bailey, Combe Bissett, Wiltsh 1904 - KENNEDY FSBI 1975 #300 p656 Bob & Ron Copper, Rottingdean, Sussex 1955 14v/m - WALES WWD 1976 p54 "Sing Ivy" - GARDHAM ERS 1982 p11-2 4var John Hodson, Ethel Grinsdale & Leslie Smith, Aldborough/ 'Bumblebee' Jim Baron, West Lutton, Yorksh 1972 --Bob & Jim COPPER rec by Seamus Ennis, Rottingdean, Sussex 1952: RPL 17989 - Luther "Luke" STANLEY rec by PK, Barrow-on-Humber, Lincolnsh 1953: RPL 19032/ rec Fred Hamer 1967: EFDSS VWML-003 cass 1989 - Bob & Ron COPPER rec by PK 1955: CAEDMON TC-1145/ TOPIC 12-T-161/ FTX-027 & FTX-081 1975/ John, Bob & Ron COPPER: LEADER LEA-4049 1971 (boxed)/ John COPPER: RPL 19339 & 26349 1957 - William SCARLETT of Cranford, Middx (now London Airport at Heath Row), rec by PK, Littlehampton, Sussex 16/5/53: RPL 19339 "The Team of Rats" - Charlie POTTER rec by Mervyn Plunkett, Horsham, Sussex Sept 1956: TOPIC TSCD-664 1998 "Sing Ivy" - Tony WALES (with gtr) 7"RTR-0089/ FOLKWAYS FG3515 1957 (from Mr & Mrs C.Potter) - Gabriel FIGG rec by PK, West Chiltington, Sussex 1958: RTR-0895/ rec by Joy Hyman 1965: RPL 29821 "Holloman's Ivy" - London Madrigal Singers: EMI HQS-1215 1970 - Shenley Court Comprehensive School, Birmingham: TOPIC IMP-8-104 1972 - George "Tom" Newman rec by Mike Yates, Clanfield, Oxfordsh: TOPIC 12-T-254 1975 "Sing Ovy & Sing Ivy"
------2. THE ELFIN KNIGHT- Tristram Coffin 1950--------------------------------
[This is a great source of info before 1950: The British Traditional Ballad in North America by Tristram Coffin from the section A Critical Biographical Study of the Traditional Ballads of North America;]
Texts: Jane G. Austin, Dr. Le Baron and his Daughter, 314 / Barry, Brit Bids Me, 3 / Belden, Mo F-S, I / Brewster, Bids Sgs Ind, 23 / Brown Coll / Chappell, F-S Rnke Alb, 1 1 / Child, I, 19; V, 284 / Davis FS Va / Eddy, Bids Sgs Ohio, 3 / Flanders, Garl Gn Mt Sg, 58 / Flanders, New Gn Mt Sgstr, 8 / Flanders, Vt F-S Bids, 194 / Gardner and Chickering, Bids Sgs So Mich, 137 / Gray, Sgs Bids Me Vjks, 78 / Henry, F-S So Hghlds, 31 / JAFL, VII, 228 ; XIII, 120; XVIII, 49; XIX, 130; XXIII, 430; XXVI, 174; XXX, 284; LII, 14 / Jones, F-L Mich, 5 / Linscott, F-S Old NE, 169 / "Love Letter and Answer" (broadside in Harris Coll.,
Brown University), Hunts and Shaw, Boston / Morris, Fla F-S, 364 / Musick, F-L Kirksville, i / Pound, Nebr Syllabus, io/ PTFLS, X, 137; Randolph, OzF~S, I, 38 / Ring, NE F-S, 12 / Sandburg, Am Sgbag, 60 / SharpK, EngF-S So Aplchns, I, i / Shoemaker, Mt Mnstly, 134 / Shoemaker, No Pa Mnstly, 129 / Songs for the Million (c, 1844): "Love's Impossibility" / SFLQ, VIII, 135 / Thompson, Bdy Bts Brtchs, 423.
Local Titles: A True Lover of Mine, Blow Ye Winds Blow, (The) Cambric Shirt, Every Grove is Merry in Time, Go and Make Me a Cambric Shirt, Go Marry in Time, I Want You to Make Me a Cambric Shirt, Mother Make Me a Cambric Shirt, Oh Say Do You Know the Way to Salin?, Redio-Tedio, Scarborough Fair, Strawberry Lane, The Two Lovers.
Story Types: A: A man imposes tasks centering about the making of a cambric shirt upon a girl. She is to be acquitted of them and get her lover if she can answer with ones no less difficult. Hers usually deal with an acre of land. The elf, a carry-over in Child from some other ballad, is properly a mortal suitor.
Examples: Barry (B); Belden (A); Brewster (C)
Flanders, New Gn Mt Sgstr; Gardner and Chickering.
B: The story of Type A seems completely forgotten, and only a coy question-and-answer game between two lovers remains.
Examples: Linscott; Randolph (A); Shoemaker, Mt. Mnstly; SharpK (A, B).
C: A nonsense song, carrying the degeneration a step further than Type B, exists. Here, the Mother is told to make "me" a cambric shirt. Examples: Brewster (D).
Discussion: This ballad is the best remembered of the Child riddle songs both in America and Europe. However,, in this country, the elf, an interloper in Britain, has been universally rationalized to a mortal lover. Frequently, nothing remains but the riddle, sometimes even the love affair being absent. (See Child J, K, L, and my Types B and C.)
The common American refrains, as in Child, are the "rosemary and thyme- she will be a true lover of mine" and the "blow winds blow" types, though the New York (Thompson, Bdy Bts Bricks, 423), the Texas (PTFLS, X, 137), and other versions have choruses of nonsense words. For a discussion of the "rosemary and thyme" burden see JAFL, VII, 232. Also check Flanders, New Gn Mt Sgster, 10, where the line "she's worth a true lover of mine" is treated to show that worth is wyrth is the usual will be.
Riddles and riddle ballads in general, as well as the riddle in this song, are discussed in JAFL, VII, 230, while the American songbook versions are reviewed by Barry, JAFL, XXX, 284,
-----------------------
Title: Comparative Studies in Nursery Rhymes
Author: Lina Eckenstein
Release Date: August 8, 2012
Among our famous early ballads is that of _The Elfin Knight_, the oldest
printed copy of which is of 1670.
It begins as follows:--
My plaid awa', my plaid awa',
And o'er the hill and far awa',
And far awa' to Norrowa,
My plaid shall not be blown awa'.
The Elfin Knight sits on yon hill,
Ba, ba, ba, lilli ba,
He blaws his horn both loud and shrill,
The wind has blawn my plaid awa',
He blows it east, he blows it west,
He blows it where he liketh best.[26]
[26] Child, loc. cit., I, 6 ff.
The ballad goes on to describe how problems were bandied between the
Elfin Knight and a lady. The one on whom an impossible task was imposed
stood acquitted if he devised a task of no less difficulty, which must
first be performed by his opponent. Such flytings go far back in
literature. In this case the Elfin Knight staked his plaid, that is his
life, on receiving the favour of the lady, and he propounded to her
three problems, viz. of making a sack without a seam, of washing it in a
well without water, and of hanging it to dry on a tree that never
blossomed. In reply, she claimed that he should plough an acre of land
with a ram's horn, that he should sow it with a peppercorn, and that he
should reap it with a sickle of leather. The problems perhaps had a
recondite meaning, and the ballad-monger probably found them ready to
hand. For Child cites a version of the ballad in which the same flyting
took place between a woman and "the auld, auld man," who threatened to
take her as his own, and who turned out to be Death. The idea of a wooer
staking his life on winning a lady is less primitive than that of Death
securing a victim.
The same tasks without their romantic setting are preserved in the form
of a simple dialogue, in the nursery collections of _c._ 1783 and 1810.
In this case also it is the question of a wooer.
_Man speaks._
Can you make me a cambrick shirt,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme,
Without any seam or needlework?
And you shall be a true lover of mine.
Can you wash it in yonder well? Parsley, etc.,
Where never spring water or rain ever fell.
Can you dry it on yonder thorn,
Which never bore blossom since Adam was born?
_Maiden speaks._
Now you have asked me questions three,
I hope you will answer as many for me.
Can you find me an acre of land,
Between the salt water and the sea sand?
Can you plow it with a ram's horn,
And sow it all over with peppercorn?
Can you reap it with a sickle of leather,
And bind it up with a peacock's feather?
When you have done and finished your work,
Then come to me for your cambrick shirt. (_c._ 1783, p. 10.)
On the face of it, it hardly seems likely that this version is descended
from the romantic ballad.
The tasks that are here imposed on the man are set also in the form of a
boast in a nursery song, in which they have so entirely lost their
meaning as to represent a string of impossibilities.
My father left me three acres of land,
Sing sing, sing sing,
My father left me three acres of land,
Sing holly, go whistle and sing.
I ploughed it with a ram's horn,
And sowed it with one pepper corn.
I harrowed it with a bramble bush,
And reaped it with a little pen knife.
I got the mice to carry it to the mill,
And thrashed it with a goose's quill.
I got the cat to carry it to the mill,
The miller swore he would have her paw,
And the cat she swore she would scratch his face.
(_N. & Q._, VII. 8.)
------------------------
William and Ceil Baring-Gould's The Annotated Mother Goose, New York, 1962, provides us with clues to help solve the riddle contained in the Elfkin Knight's three questions. "In earlier days, a man who asked a girl to make him a shirt was, in effect, asking for her hand in marriage. If the girl made hime the shirt, she signified that she would accept him as a 'suitor'."
Another note by the Baring-Goulds refers to a 14th-century fairy tale wherein a king vows to wed any maiden who can make him a shirt from three square inches of fine linen. We can deduce that the "cambrick shirt" is a tiny amulet, a love sachet. Cambric is a finely woven white linen and a square of three inches indicates a pouch to hold herbs. To wash it in a covered well and dry it on a sacred thorn bush, possibly a hawthorn, are symbolic acts of witchery. As needlework is forbidden, the pouch is secured with a ribbon or perhaps a strand of scarlet wool. The Baring-Goulds suggest that the herbs named in the refrain all have magical significance and "may stem from a witch's incantation."
As for the herbs and their sequence in the song, parsley is naturally first due to its long period of germination. Medieval gardeners planted it on the edge of an herb garden along with rue, another plant slow to appear above ground. The practice gave rise to the expression, "We are only at the parsley and rue," meaning an enterprise talked about but not begun.
Sage is associated with long life and good health. Young wives are advised to "take a quantitie of the juice of sage, with a little salt, for four days before they company with thier husbands, it will help them not only to conceive, but to retain the birth without miscarrying."
Rosemary is favored for love charms and as William Lengham comments in The Garden of Health, 1579: "Seethe much rosemary, and bathe therin to make thee lusty, lively, joyfull, likeing, and youngly."
Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night's Dream places the proud Titania, Queen of the Fairies, on "a bank whereon the wild thyme blows," a perfect setting for dalliance.
A pinch of each of the four dried herbs combine to make an unforgettable scent- unique and compelling.
The second part of the riddle song, rich in earthy and erotic flavors, remains a puzzle. Folkorist and scholar Joseph Ritson in 1794 called it a "little English song sung by children and maids." This being so, the chances that the lyric suffered from severe editing is more than likely. Nevertheless, the maiden seems to ask for the assurance of a home, mortal love, perhaps a child and help in its rearing- practical considerations all. Romance and magic must wait until the maiden's requirements are fullfilled. A paradox- the romantic knight pays court to the sensible woman.
------------------------------
The Wind Blew the Bonny Lassie's Plaidie Awa' (Three Versions)
A. Sung by Jimmy McBeath. Recorded by Alan Lomax in Elgin, Morayshire, Scotland, in 1951. Scottish singer Jimmy McBeath (Wild Rover No More, Topic 12T173, 1967). The notes were written by Peter Hall.
B. Performed by Duncan Burke (Highland bagpipe chanter). Recorded by Peter Kennedy and Hamish Henderson in Perth, Scotland, in 1955.
C. Sung by Jeannie Robertson. Recorded by Peter Kennedy and Alan Lomax in London in 1953.
Jimmy McBeath (sings):
There was a butcher ivha lived in Crieff
And in come a bonnie lass to buy some beef.
But he took her in his airms, aye, and doon she did fa',
O the wind's blown the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa'.
Her plaidie's awa', it's awa' wi' the wind,
Her plaidie's awa', and it canna be found.
But he took her in his airms, aye, and doon she did fa',
Saying, Til pay the plaidie that the wind blew awa'.
Duncan Burke (plays tune)
Jeannie Robertson (sings):
My plaidie's awa' and awa' wi' the wind,
My plaidie's awa' and it canna be found.
O what will the aul'folk, the aul' folk say O' that?
O I canna say the wind blew my plaidie awa'.
-----------
It's just possible that there may be an Irish connection, however. Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger printed a set recorded from Hughie Graham of Galloway (The Singing Island, 1960), and commented:
"Robert Ford writes: 'My friend, Mr. D. Kippen of Crieff has it that the song was composed by an Irishman who lived in Crieff near to the Cross in the early years of the present [i.e. 19th] century, and who was known by the name of 'Blind Bob'.' "
The second link is to the text printed by John Ord in his Bothy Songs and Ballads (1930); again, it has been copied without acknowledgment.
----------------
Jimmy McBeath text to add to the DT.
The Wind Blew the Bonny Lassie's Plaidie Awa'
also known as The Butcher of Crieff or as My Plaidie's Awa'
Tune:- Over The Hills and Far Away or The White Cockade
(From the singing of Jimmy McBeath)
For there was a bonny lassie, and she lived in Crieff.
She went into a butcher's shop when he was selling beef,
And he's gi'en to her the middle cut, and down she did fa'
And the wind's blown the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa'.
Chorus:
The wind blaws east, the wind blaws west.
The wind's blown the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa',
For the beef was in the basket, and she couldna rise ava.
And the wind's blown the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa'.
For the plaidie was lost and it couldna be found,
The lassie and the butcher lad was lying on the ground,
"O whit shall I tell to the auld folks ava?
For I canna say the wind blew my plaidie awa'."
For the wind blaws east, the wind blaws west.
The wind's blown the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa',
For the beef was in the basket, and she couldna rise ava.
And the wind's blown the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa'.
For the plaidie was lost and couldna be found,
The lassie she grew ill and swelled about the waist,
And Rab he was blamed for the haill o' it a',
And the wind's blown the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa'.
For the wind blaws east, the wind blaws west.
The wind's blown the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa',
For the beef was in the basket, and she couldna rise ava.
And the wind's blown the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa'.
Oot came the auld wife the laddie tae accuse,
The ministers and elders were there tae abuse,
And the butcher laddie tried to make it sure was twa,
And the wind's blown the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa'.
For the wind blaws east, the wind blaws west.
The wind's blown the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa',
For the beef was in the basket, and she couldna rise ava.
And the wind's blown the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa'.
For the lassie was sent for to come there hersel'
She looked at Rab and says, "Ye ken how I fell ?
The beef was the cause o't, ye daurna say na."
And the wind's blown the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa'.
The wind blaws east, the wind blaws west.
The wind's blown the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa',
For the beef was in the basket, and she couldna rise ava.
And the wind's blown the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa'.
Rab looked at the lassie and gied a wee smile,
Says he, "Ma bonny lassie, I winna you beguile,
For the minister's here making sure o' us twa,
And that'll pay for the plaidie that the wind blew awa'.
For the wind blaws east, the wind blaws west.
The wind's blown the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa',
We shall get the middle cut, the tender o' it a',
And we'll drink to the plaidie that the wind blew awa'.
For the wind blaws east, the wind blaws west.
The wind's blown the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa',
We shall get the middle cut, flesh, banes and a',
And we'll drink to the plaidie that the wind blew awa'.
This was recorded for Topic records by Sean Davies at Cecil Sharp House, London, in 1966 or 1967. The recording was originally issued on the LP Jimmy McBeath; Wild Rover No More Topic 12T173, and the track is included on the Topic Voice of the People series of CDs in Volume 10 Who's that at my bed window? TSCD660, Track 21.
A fragment of another recording of Jimmy McBeath made by Alan Lomax in Elgin, Scotland in 1951 can be heard on the Rounder CD Songs of Seduction Rounder 11661-1778-2 with a slightly different text :-
There was a butcher wha lived in Crieff,
And in come a bonnie lass to buy some beef.
But he took her in his airms, aye, and doon she did fa',
O the wind's blown the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa'.
Her plaidie's awa', its awa' with the wind,
Her plaidies awa', and it canna be found.
But he took her in his airms, aye, and doon she did fa',
Saying, "I'll pay the plaidie that the wind blew awa'.
The loss of the plaidie (for fairly obvious reasons) signifies the loss of the lassie's virginity. I hope that nobody needs an explanation of the euphemistic phrase "the beef was in the basket".
he MacColl version varies considerably, albeit in minor textual respects. The third line of the chorus [the most 'high-kilted' aspect] changes on each occasion in this version:
THE WIND BLEW THE BONNIE LASSIE'S PLAIDIE AWA'
There was a bonnie lassie, and she cam' in frae Crieff
She fell in wi' a butcher's lad when he was selling beef,
He gied to her a middle cut and doon she did fa'
And the wind blew the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa'
Chorus:
The wind blaws east, the wind blaws west
The wind blew the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa',
The beef was in her basket, and she couldna rise ava
And the wind blew the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa'.
The plaidie it was lost and it couldna be found,
The lassie and the butcher lad were lyin' on the ground,
'Oh, what will I tell to the old folks ava?
For I canna say the wind blew my plaidie awa'"
Chorus:
The wind blaws east, the wind blaws west
The wind blew the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa',
He's gi'en to her good measure o' the beef and banes and a'
And the wind blew the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa'
Twa-three months after the plaidie it was lost
The lassie she began to swell about the waist,
And Rab he was blamed for the hale o't a'
And the wind blawin' the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa'
Chorus:
The wind blaws east, the wind blaws west
The wind blew the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa',
The lassie said, 'Your butcher beef is owre tough to chaw'
And the wind blew the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa'
Then in cam' the auld wife, the laddie to accuse
The ministers and elders began to abuse
The butcher lad for tryin' to mak yin into twa
And the wind blew the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa'
Chorus:
The wind blaws east, the wind blaws west
The wind blew the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa',
The beef was in her basket and she couldna rise ava'
And the wind blew the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa'
For the lassie she was sent for to come there hersel'
She looked at the butcher lad, 'Ye ken how I fell,
The beef was the cause o't, ye daurna say na'
And the wind blew the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa'.
Chorus:
The wind blaws east, the wind blaws west
The wind blew the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa',
We baith fell to admirin' for the beef it was sae braw
And the wind blew the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa'
Rab looked at the lassie and he gied a wee smile,
'Ye ken, bonnie lassie, I winna ye beguile
The minister is here and he'll mak' ane o' us twa,
That'll pay for the plaid that the wind blew awa'.
Chorus:
The wind blaws east, the wind blaws west
The wind blew the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa',
And we shall hae the middle cut, it's tenderest o' a'
And we'll drink to the wind that blew your plaidie awa'
Source: transcription in booklet accompanying Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger 'The Wanton Muse' Argo LP ZDA 85. It is also printed with music at page 100 of 'The Singing Island' [See Malcolm's reference above]. From the singing of Hughie Graeme, Galloway singer.
MacColl's full note:
Robert Ford printed a version of this spirited song in 'Vagabond Songs and Ballads' and, in a note, writes: 'My friend, Mr D. Kippen of Crieff, has it that the song was composed by an Irishman who lived in Crieff near to the cross in the early years of the present century (early 1800s) and who was known by the name of Blind Bob'. Ford describes the version in his book as 'a little high-kilted', though 'by no means rudely indelicate'. In actual fact, the kilt stops short of the ankle and only the most bigoted Presbyterian might be expected to register shock at the sight of a mere inch or two of bare leg. Our version, on the other hand, has abandoned the kilt completely and goes tripping by with bare hurdles, unabashed and unrepentent.
--------------------
The ballads of Scotland
by Aytoun, William Edmondstoune, 1813-1865
Publication date 1859
Topics Folk songs, Scots
Publisher Edinburgh and London : W. Blackwood and sons
THE ELFIN KNIGHT.
Mr Motherwell states that a version of this ballad, of which
he gives a copy, is preserved in the Pepysian collection at
Cambridge. Messrs Kinloch and Buchan have recovered
copies from recitation, and the following has been framed by
collation.
THE Elfin knight stands on yon hill ;
(Blaw, blaw, blaw winds, blaw,)
Blawing his horn baith loud and shrill,
(And the wind has blawn my plaid awa'.)
"If I had the horn that I hear blawn ;
(Blaw, blaw, blaw winds, blaw,)
And the bonnie knight that blaws the horn,"
(And the wind has blawn my plaid awa'.)
She had ua sooner thae words said ;
(Blaw, blaw, blaw winds, blaw,)
Than the Elfin knight cam to her side :
(And the wind has blawn my plaid awa'.)
" Tliou art too young a maid," quoth he,
(Blaw, blaw, blaw winds, blaw,)
" Married wi' me you ill wad be."
(And the wind has blawn my plaid awa'.)
THE ELFIN KNIGHT,
" I hae a sister younger than me ;
(Blaw, blaw, blaw winds, blaw,)
And slie was married yesterday."
(And the wind has blawn my plaid awa'.)
" Married to me ye shall be nane ;
(Blaw, blaw, blaw winds, blaw,)
Till ye mak me a sark without a seam ;
(And the wind has blawn my plaid awa'.)
" And ye maun shape it, knifeless, shearless,
(Blaw, blaw, blaw winds, blaw,)
And ye maun sew it, needle, threadless ;
(And the wind has blawn my plaid awa'.)
" And ye maun wash it within a well,
(Blaw, blaw, blaw winds, blaw,)
Whaur dew never wat, nor rain ever fell,
(And the wind has blawn my plaid awa'.)
" And ye maun dry it upon a thorn,
(Blaw, blaw, blaw winds, blaw,)
That never budded sin' Adam was born."
(And the wind has blawn my plaid awa'.)
" gin that kindness I do for thee ;
(Blaw, blaw, blaw winds, blaw,)
There's something ye maun do for me.
(And the wind has blawn my plaid awa'.)
" I hae an acre o' gude lea-land,
(Blaw, blaw, blaw winds, blaw,)
Between the saut sea and the strand ;
(And the wind has blawn my plaid awa'.)
VOL. II. B
18 THE ELFIN KNIGHT.
" Ye'U plough it \vi' your blawing liora,
(Blaw, blaw, blaw winds, blaw,)
And ye will sow it wi' pepper corn,
(And the wind has blawn my plaid awa'.)
*' And ye maun harrow't wi' a single tyne,
(Blaw, blaw, blaw winds, blaw,)
And shear it wi' a sheep's shank bane ;
(And the wind has blawn my plaid awa'.)
" And bigg a cart o' lime and stane,
(Blaw, blaw, blaw winds, blaw,)
And Robin Redbreast maun trail it hame,
(And the wind has blawn my plaid awa'.)
" And ye maun barn it in a mouse-hole,
(Blaw, blaw, blaw winds, blaw,)
And ye maun thresh it in your shoe sole ;
(And the wind has blawn my plaid awa'.)
" And ye maun winnow it wi' your loof,
(Blaw, blaw, blaw winds, blaw,)
And ye maun sack it in your glove ;
(And the wind has blawn my plaid awa'.)
" And yc maun dry it, but candle or coal,
(Blaw, blaw, blaw winds, blaw,)
And ye maun grind it, but quern or mill ;
(And the wind has blawn my plaid awa'.)
" When ye hae done, and finish'd your wark,
(Blaw, blaw, blaw winds, blaw,)
Thou come to mc, and ye'se get your sark !'
(And the wind has blawn my plaid awa'.)
-----------------
THE ELFIN KNIGHT.
This ballad may be found as under:—
L "In a volume in the Pepysian Library, bound up with Blind
Harry's Wallace, Edin., 1673, 12mo; 'The Battle of
Glenlivet,' a Scotish tra^c ballad, printed 1681, 12mo.
In the same volume is the challenge of Robert III. of
Scotland, to Henry IV. of England, beginning, ' During
the reign of the Roy Robert, 't Here is also ' The Hunting
of Che\'y Chace,' in black-letter, in the Scotish way of
reading the altered stanzas. It is to the tune of ' The Yle
of Kyle.'" — Pinkerton's Ancient Scotish Poems from the
Maitland MSS., Appendix, vol. ii, p. 496.
The title of the present ballad, as there given, is, " ' The
Wind hath Blawn my Plaid awa : or, a Discourse betwixt
a Young Maid and the Elphin Knight,' black-letter,
printed," says Pinkerton, " 1 suppose, about 1670."
"A literal copy from the original in the Pepysian
Library, Cambridge," appears in Motherwell's Minstrelsy,
Appendix i, p. 1.
II. A second version is given in y^e Commonplace Book of
Ancient and Modem Ballads, and Metrical Leqendary
Tales, &c. — "a projected work (edited by David Webster,
Edinburgh) which reached no farther than the first
i This poeTaisT mentioned in The Complaynt of Scotland, \5i9; occurs in the Maitland MS., 1555-86; included by Watson in his Collection of Scots Poems, part ii., p. iiL;
and somewhat dubiously referred to and numbered by Mr. Motherwell as a ballad in his MintlreLsy, Introduction, p. IxL
number. The only thing remarkable in which is,"
says
III. A third version appears in Kinloch's Ancient Scottish
Ballads, p. 145, under the title of "The Elfin Knicht,"
as "given from the recitation of a native of Mearnshire."
rV. A fourth version is furnished by Mr. Buchan, in Ancient
Ballads and Songs, vol. ii., p. 296, under the title of
"The Fairy Knight." Mr. Buchan states that he had
"seen more than one (copy) in MS.," note, p. 346.
The ballad, as here given, is collated from the four versions named
above. The diiferent refrains are also here represented, — viz., that
of versions I. arid II. in stanza 1, Kinloch's in stanza 2, and Buchan's
in stanza 3.
"Similar collections of impossibilities" occur in other Scotish,
English, and German ballads. — See Professor Child's English and
Scottish Ballads, vol. i., p. 128.
He also also told Carpenter that he had learned it "fifty-five years ago" (see JMCC-OC, Ballad Index and Texts 1, pp. 06897). Then
------------------
These Type B forms were also collected by Carpenter in Scotland:
Robert Nicol; about c. 1869 from Aberdeenshire who knew this fifty-one years ago.
Alexander Brown of Anchor Cottage, Land street, Rothes (Moray) Scotland. Heard about sixty years ago, dated c.1870.
Peter Christie, c.1880 of 21 Shorehead, Stonehave, Scotland from his mother Margaret Leiper of Pinnon who was 93 when she died in 1919.
Alexander Stephens- learned c.1879 from Robert Nicol
John Ross- (No date) Farmer from Aberdeenshire; fragment
True Love of Mine- sung by Mrs. Mary Stewart Robertson of New Deer, learned from Christina Stewart Robertson 50 years ago. (VWML Song Index SN24452) Carpenter Collection 04816)
Every Rose Blooms- sung by Mrs. Watson Gray, Corner house East st. Fochabers, Morayshire Scotland heard over 50 years ago from old man William Stuart of Glenlivet. From the James Madison Carpenter Collection, JMC/1/2/2/E, p. 04818.
These are some Type D forms:
Non-Conforming: "King Ethelred and Cheeld-Vean" from Jim Thomas, MS , 14 Union Street, Camborne, Cornwall, England by c. 1930. Thomas, aged over 80 years was formerly one of Cecil Sharp's informants. From James Madison Carpenter Collection, JMC/1/2/2/E, p. 04807
Tocher: Tales, Songs, Tradition - Issues 17-23; Issues 25-29 - Page 139, 1975 (John McDonald)
For between yon salt sea and yon sea strand
Blow, blow, blow ye winds, blow.
For she met the devil by the way,
And the dreary winds did blaw her plaidie awa
For you'll wash to me three holland shirts
Blow, blow, blow ye winds, blow.
Aye between yon salt sea and yon sea strand,
And the dreary winds did blaw her plaidie awa.
For you'll dry them up wi one blink o sun
Blow, blow, blow ye winds, blow.
And you'll put them in a sant(?) in-bye
And the dreary winds'll blaw your plaidie awa.
For it's when I do that ask for you
Surely you'll do one for me,
And the dreary winds 'll blaw my plaidie awa.
For you'll take to me three acres of land
Blow, blow, blow ye winds, blow.
Aye between yon salt sea and yon sea strand
And the dreary winds did blaw my plaidie awa.
For you'll sow it o'er wi one pile o corn
Blow, blow
For you'll shear it down wi a peahen feather,
Stook it up with the stang o an ether [adder]
And the dreary winds 'll blaw my plaidie awa.
For you'll yoke two sparrows in a match-box
Blow, blow, blow ye winds, blow.
And you'll cart it home to my own farm yard
And the dreary winds did blaw my plaidie awa.
For it's when you do that ask for me,
You come back and you'll get your sarks
And the dreary wind did blaw my plaidie awa.
"That's an old Scotch tale. You heard the adder in it. Well ...
------------------
http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/35376/5;jsessionid=488DE2486797BA8B1FF01F7C63D10692
Title - The Elfin Knight
Contributors - Margaret Tait
Reporters - Elizabeth Sinclair; Tom Anderson
Summary - Fragments of the ballad 'The Elfin Knight', in which the Devil sets a young woman impossible tasks, and she responds by setting some equally impossible tasks of her own:
Shew unta me a camric sark,
Blaa, blaa, tear da the winds blaa,
Withoot either seam or needlewark,
And da winds is blaan me plaidie awaa.
Saa unta me twa acres o land ...
Atween the saut sea and the sea-sand ...
Harrow it up wi da teeth o a redder [comb] ...
Put it aa intae a moose holl ...
When du's deen and feenisht dee wark ...
Come ta me an du's get dee sark ...
Meg Tait learned the song from her mother. She discusses the possibility that the song may once have contained answers to the questions posed by the characters (much as in other riddle songs) but that these have been lost. She recites part of an English version of the song.
______________________
In the type of contest which as in "Whittingham Fair" and Child's "Elfin Knight" lies in the imposition by the demon suitor of impossible tasks, matched by the lady with equally impossible ones, we find a variant of the herb refrain. Child thought that the elfin (in his "A" version) was an importation from another ballad and that the suitor should properly be a mortal-but if so, whence and why the herb refrain, except as an indication of a more than human combat. [2] One may quote a verse from Mr. Kidson's version, "Scarborough Fair," in his Traditional Tunes:
Tell her to make me a cambric shirt,
Savoury sage, rosemary, and thyme,
Without any seam or needlework,
And then she shall be a true love of mine.
Mr. Kidson writes " savoury sage," but obviously it should be " savory, sage." Savory occurs in the Tudor lyric above quoted, and is a herb still cultivated in England, though less than formerly. In Gammer Gurton's Garland (1810 ed.), the line runs "Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme," and in Mr. Kidson's second version "Rue, parsley, rosemary, and thyme." This "savory" refrain has also been greatly corrupted, e.g.
Every rose grows merry in time
Let every rose grow merry and fine
Every rose grows bonny in time, etc.
finally reshaped as "Every grove rings with a merry antine" ["anthem"]! In a version from the State of Maine, in which "Scarboro"' becomes "Strawberry "-the refrain consists of the following gibberish:
Fum a link a link, sup a loo my nee,
Redio, tedio, toddle bod bedio,
Fum a lum, etc.
which one can hardly assumet o be any form of incantation!
---------------
Rev. S. Baring-Gould gives me these variations, from the West of England:
'O tell her to bleach it on yonder fresh grass,
Where never a foot or a hoof did pass.'
'O tell him to thresh it in yonder barn,
That hangs to the sky by a thread of yarn.'
(Dartmoor.)
'Pray take it up in a bottomless sack,
And every leaf grows merry in time
And bear it to the mill on a butterfly's back.
O thus you shall be a true lover of mine.'
(Cornwall.)
----------------
The Athenaeum 1867 Page 262
MISCELLANEA
Old Rhymes and Riddles.—
I think the collector of “Popular Romances of the West of England is in error in appending to his verses Dr. Whewell's riddle, which, in my opinion, has no reference to the original verses, which are as follows:–
Canst thou make me a cambric shirt—
Savory, sage, rosemary, and thyme—
Without e'er a seam, or one stitch of work?
And, then, thou shalt be a true lover of mine.
Canst thou wash it in yonder well—
Savory, sage, rosemary, and thyme—
Where water ne'er rose, or rain ever fell ?
And, then, thou shalt be a true lover of mine.
Canst thou dry it on yonder thorn—
Savory, sage, rosemary, and thyme—
That never bore blossom since Adam was born?
And, then, thou shalt be a true lover of nine.
Now thou hast asked me questions Three,
And I will do the same of thee.
Canst thou find me an acre of land
Between the sea and the sea sand?
And, then, thou shalt be a true lover of mine.
Canst thou plough it with a cow's horn,
And sow it o'er with one peppercorn?
And, then, thou shalt be a true lover of mine.
Canst thou mow it with a sickle of leather,
And bind it up with a peacock's feather:
And, then, thou shalt be a true lover of mine.
—I have been unable to discover the writer of these verses; but this is the true version of them, as received in this county, to my knowledge, upwards of forty years. Perhaps Notes and Queries may be able to throw some light upon this matter. JoHN RISHTON LONSDALE. Liverpool, Feb. 14, 1867.
24 years later the next piece of information about this song family appeared in print, this time in the London magazine Athenaeum. On February 9, 1867 (p. 198, available at BPC) a correspondent who identified himself as "The Collector Of 'Popular Romances Of England'" - i. e. Robert Hunt, who had published a book with this title in 1865 - quoted this variant:
Can you make me a cambrick shirt,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Without any seam or needle work?
And I will be a true lover of thine.
Can you wash it in yonder well,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Where never sprung water nor rain never fell?
And I will be a true lover of thine.
Can you dry it on yonder thorn,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Which never bore blossom since Adam was born?
And I will be a true lover of thine.
Now you have asked me questions three,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
As many wonders I'll tell to thee
If thou wilt be a true lover of mine.
A handless man a letter did write,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme;
And he who read it had lost his sight,
And thou shalt be a true lover of mine.
----------------
[This riddle has often been credited to Lord Byron. The first line has been improved by Horace Smith's alteration to the form now best known:
'Twas whispered in heaven, 'twas muttered in hell.]
A handless man a letter did write,
A dumb dictated 't word for word; The person who read it had lost his sight, And deaf was he who listened and heard.
-----------
George Borbow. Vie Bible in Spain. [This is Borrow's more accurate translation of a popular Spanish riddle, of uncertain date, already known through Bishop Whewell's version: A headless man had a letter to write, And he who read it had lost his sight; The dumb repeated it word for word, And deaf was the man who listened and heard.]
Nothing more was heard of "Scarborough Fair" for the next two decades. Only in 1915 Clive Carey published another version - also with piano arrangement - in his small collection Ten English Folk-Songs (p. 20-22):
37. "Scarborough Fair", from Clive Carey, Ten English Folk-Songs, 1915
To Scarborough Fair are you going?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Oh give my love to a girl who lives there,
For once she was a true lover of mine.
Oh, tell her to make me a cambric shirt,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Without any needle or thread worked in it,
And she shall be a true lover of mine.
Tell her to wash it in yonder well,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Where never spring water nor rain ever fell.
And she shall be a true lover of mine.
Tell her to hang it on yonder thorn,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Which never bore blossom since Adam was born.
And she shall be a true lover of mine.
And when she has answered these questions three,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
If he can answer as many for me,
Then he shall be a true lover of mine.
Tell him to find me an acre of land,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Betwixt the salt water all on the sea sand.
Then he shall be a true lover of mine.
And tell him to plough it with a ram’s horn,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
And all over sow it with one pepper corn.
Then he shall be a true lover of mine.
And tell him to cut it with a sickle of leather,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
And bind it all up in a peacock’s feather.
Then he shall be a true lover of mine.
And when he has done and finished his work,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
He can come unto me for his cambric shirt.
Then he shall be a true lover of mine.
Carey (1883-1968, see Wikipedia) was a singer and composer but also a "folk song" enthusiast. He had joined the Folk-Song Society and also spent some time collecting songs, "usually in the wake of Sharp" (Bearman 2001, p. 219). The original version can be found among his manuscripts (CC/1/370 & CC/1/109, at the Full English Digital Archive). Carey had collected this piece in 1911 in Stoupe Brow, Yorkshire - a place halfway between Whitby and Scarborough - from one Robert Beadle. The tune has been edited a little bit but is still close enough to what he had written down in his notebook. The published text is more or less identical to the words in manuscript but on the bottom of p. 31 he duly notes that the refrain was "originally sung 'Parcil, sedge, romary and thyme'". As can be seen from the manuscript page of the tunebook Carey was familiar with the version in Gammer Gurton's Garland and therefore changed it to "Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme".
Sharp had collected a tune with three verses in 1913 from Richard Hutton, aged 65, Goathland, Yorkshire (Karpeles, Sharp Collection I, No 1B, p. 2; Sharp Ms.: CJS2/10/2868 at the Full English Digital Archive; also Bronson I, 2.21):
Where are you going to Scarboro' Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Remember me to a bonny lass there,
For once she was a true lover of mine.
Tell her to make me a cambric shirt,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Without any needle or thread worked in it,
For once she was a true lover of mine.
And tell her to wash it in yonder spring,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Where water never run nor a drop ran through
For once she was a true lover of mine.
-------------
Lucy Broadwood Manuscript Collection (LEB/5/186)
Title
Old Norfolk Song
First Line
I pra' you make me one Cambridge shirt
-------------
Clive Carey Manuscript Collection (CC/1/370)
Title
Scarborough Fair
First Line
To Scarborough Fair are you going
Roud Folksong Index (S160451)
Title
Scarborough Fair
First Line
To Scarborough Fair are you going?
Roud Number
12
Other numbers
Child 2
Source
Carey, Ten English Folk-Songs (1915) pp.20-22
Whittingham Fair
Roud Folksong Index (S165425)
Title
Whittingham Fair
First Line
Are you going to Whittingham Fair
Roud Number
12
Other numbers
Child 2
Source
Whittaker, North Countrie Ballads Songs & Pipe-Tunes 2 (1921) pp.104-105
--------------
Dr. LeBaron and His Daughters: A Story of the Old Colony
By Jane Goodwin Austin
________________
The Elfin Knight- J. Calder (Aber)
Bronson 50.
Scott, Sharpe's Ballad Book, 1880, p. 159. Scott makes Effie Deans, in The Heart of Mid-Lothian, vol. I, ch. 10, sing this stanza, probably of his own making: The elfin knight sat on the brae, The broom grows bonny, the broom grows fair And by there came lilting a lady so gay. And we daurna gang down to the broom nae mair
Greig and Keith, 1925, p. 2(2). Sung by Rev. J. Calder,
Crimond, Aberdeenshire, 1907.
This tune, as S. P. Bayard has observed, is that of "The Young May Moon" (tune, "The Dany O'") in Thomas Moore's Irish
Melodies. The words are sung by Effie Deans in The Heart of Midlothian; it is undetermined whether they are traditional or by Scott.
The Elfin Knight sat on the brae,
The broom grows bonnie, the broom grows fair,
And by there cam' liltin' a lady so gay,
And we daurna gang doon to the broom nae mair.
\---------------
Ma Plaid Awa
Roud Folksong Index (S327163)
8 of approx 415 results
First Line
Ma plaid awa, ma plaid away
Roud No
12 [Search for 12 in the current indexes]
Other nums
Child 2
Source
Montgomerie, Scottish Nursery Rhymes (1946) p.81
Performer
Place
Scotland
Collector
--------------------
--------------
My plaid awa, my plaid awa
Roud No
Other nums
Child 2
Source
Hodgart, Faber Book of Ballads (1965) pp.26-28
Acre of Land
Roud Folksong Index (S338476)
69 of approx 415 results
First Line
My father he left me an acre of land
Roud No
12 [Search for 12 in the current indexes]
Other nums
Source
Ruairidh Greig Collection (CECTAL A84-70)
Performer
Elm, Don
Place
England : Lincolnshire : Grimsby
Collector
Greig, Ruairidh
Date collected
1970 (29 Aug)
--------------
Acre of Land
Roud Folksong Index (S338477)
84 of approx 415 results
First Line
Oh my father he bought me an acre of land
Roud No
12 [Search for 12 in the current indexes]
Other nums
Source
Ruairidh Greig Collection (CECTAL A87-70)
Performer
Holden, Jack
Place
England : Lincolnshire : Keelby
Collector
Greig, Ruairidh
Date collected
1970 (15 Jul)
Format
Sound collection
Src Contents
Audio
----------------
[1965:] [Rosemary Fair] My friends, Mary and Nigel Hudleston [from] Yorkshire, recorded this at Kilmore, Co. Wexford, in 1959. The singer, Mrs. Jeffries, called it Rosemary Lane, but I have restored Fair as the rime demands. [...] It appears as: Strawberry Fair, Scarboro Fair, Whittingham Fair, The Elfin Knight, The Lovers' tasks, My father gave me an acre of land, Sing Ivy. [...] Kidson, Sharp, Baring Gold [sic], Gardiner and Vaughan Williams all collected versions. (O Lochlainn II, 220)
Rosemary Lane sung by Liz Jeffries, Bristol, 1976.
You may go down to Rosemary Fair,. Every rose grows merry and fine, And pick me out the fin·est boy.there , And I will make him a true lover of 'mine. Tell him to get me an acre of land,. Every rose grows merry and fine,. Between the salt sea and the salt sea strand,. Or he catu1ot be a true lover of mine. Tell him to plough it with a ram's horn. Every rose grows merry and fine. And sow it all over with one gr~n o
Bellowhead recorded Rosemary Lane in 2014 for their Island record Revival. They commented in their booklet notes:
Taken from a singer called Liz Jefferies (the original being available on the Voice of the People CD series issued by Topic Records), almost everyone will be aware of the underlying story in that it's a version of Scarborough Fair, known the world over via Simon & Garfunkel. It's a song where a suitor is set a number of impossible tasks in order to satisfy the demands of their prospective lover. The narrative is so strong that it's survived down the generations, like many a fable of fairy tale, albeit in subtly changed versions. But in true trad style, all these versions are actually themselves a much abridged version of an even older folk song called The Elfin Knight. Incidentally, Paul Simon's version was borrowed from a legendary figure in English folk, Martin Carthy.
The Folk Handbook: Working with Songs from the English Tradition
https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0879309016
John Morrish - 2007 - Preview - More editions
Oh can you make me a cambric shirt?
Every leaf grows many a time,
Without any needle or any fine work.
And you shall be a true lover of mine. Oh can you buy me an acre of land, Every leaf grows many a time. Betwixt the salt water and the sea sand? And you shall be a true lover of mine. And wash it down in yonder well, Every leaf grows many a time. Where neither springs water nor rain ever fell. And you shall be a true lover of mine. And plough it all over with a snail's horn
---------------
An Acre of Land / Sing Ivy
[Roud 21093 ; TYG 23 ; Ballad Index K300 ; trad.]
An Acre of Land is part of Child #2: The Elfin Knight. Jim and Bob Copper sang it in a recording made by Séamus Ennis for the BBC on April 24, 1952. It was included in 2001 on the Copper Family's Topic anthology Come Write Me Down. John, Bob and Ron Copper also sang Heigh Ho, Sing Ivy in 1971 on their Leader album A Song for Every Season.
Charlie Potter sang this song as Sing Ivy in a recording made by Mervyn Plunkett at home in Horsham, Sussex, in September 1956. it was included in 1998 on the Topic anthology Troubles They Are But Few (The Voice of the People Series Volume 14).
Fred Jordan sang An Acre of Land in a recording made by Mike Yates in 1965. It was included in 2003 on his Veteran anthology A Shropshire Lad.
George ‘Tom’ Newman sang Sing Ovy, Sing Ivy in a recording made by Mike Yates at his home in Clanfield, Oxon. in 1972. It was included in 1975 on the Topic anthology When Sheepshearing's Done: Countryside Songs from Southern England and in 2001 in the Musical Tradition anthology of songs from the Mike Yates collection, Up in the North and Down in the South.
Sandra Kerr sang Sing Ivy in 1983 on her album Supermum.
John Kirkpatrick sang An Acre of Land in 1998 on Brass Monkey's third album Sound and Rumour. Martin Carthy commented in the album's liner notes:
An Acre of Land has the sort of archaic tune, and The Rambling Comber the sort of loping 5/4 tune that was by no means uncommon among country singers at the turn of the century—but not so common now (except with people like us).
Pete Coe sang An Acre of Land in 2004 on his CD In Paper Houses. This track was also included in 2009 on the M.S. charity album Generosity. Pete Coe commented in his liner notes:
A version of Scarborough Fair, where the young man is carrying out increasingly surreal tasks to prove his love. Our version is based on the one sung by William Mason from Hampshire to Balfour Gardiner in 1906 and Roy Palmer published it in Room for Company under the title Sing Ivy.
Jim Causley sang Sing Ivy in 2005 on his WildGoose CD Fruits of the Earth.
Faustus sang An Acre of Land in 2008 on their eponymous CD Faustus.
Bella Hardy sang Sing Ovy, Sing Ivy in 2012 on her CD Bright Morning Star.
---------------------
Acre of Land
Roud Folksong Index (S338476)
69 of approx 415 results
First Line
My father he left me an acre of land
Roud No
12 [Search for 12 in the current indexes]
Other nums
Source
Ruairidh Greig Collection (CECTAL A84-70)
Performer
Elm, Don
Place
England : Lincolnshire : Grimsby
Collector
Greig, Ruairidh
Date collected
1970 (29 Aug)
Sing Holly Sing Ivy
Roud Folksong Index (S251846)
74 of approx 415 results
First Line
I thresh my corn with a needle and thread
Roud No
12 [Search for 12 in the current indexes]
Other nums
Child 2
Source
H.E.D. Hammond MSS (VWML) D718
Performer
Seale, Mrs.
Place
England : Dorset : Dorchester
Collector
Hammond, Henry
Date collected
1906 (Dec)
--------------
Acre of Land
Roud Folksong Index (S338477)
84 of approx 415 results
First Line
Oh my father he bought me an acre of land
Roud No
12 [Search for 12 in the current indexes]
Other nums
Source
Ruairidh Greig Collection (CECTAL A87-70)
Performer
Holden, Jack
Place
England : Lincolnshire : Keelby
Collector
Greig, Ruairidh
Date collected
1970 (15 Jul)
Format
Sound collection
Src Contents
Audio