Section I- Songs and Ballads- Cambiaire 1934
[Rather than do a separate page for each song or ballad, the texts will all be given below. I'm leaving Cambiaire's spelling which is antiquated. There is no music given by Cambiaire. I'll add some brief commentary in blue text to some of the songs and ballads. The table of contents is in alphabetical order but the texts will be presented as they are in the book - starting with A Wild and Reckless Hobo.
There are a few gaffes by Cambiaire, the most glaring are the notes to No. 64, Wreck of Altona (Altoona) that shows he was either misleading or mislead. He says of Barbara Allen that "its story was known perhaps in prehistoric times." He also incorrectly titles No. 32 calling it "O Waly Waly." To his credit he, or his advisers, manage to correctly identify most of these songs and ballads.
R. Matteson 2014]
TABLE OF CONTENTS [Section I] Attached to this page
After the Ball
A Gentleman's Meeting
A Wild and Reckless Hobo
Barbara Allen
Billie Boy
Blue Eyes
Botany Bay
Brown Girl [see also: Lord Daniel]
Cold Winter Night
Cruel Ship Carpenter
Disappointed Lover (The)
Down Yon Riverside
Drunken Captain (The)
Early, Early in the Spring
Evelyn
Farewell, Lovely Polly
Frankie Baker
Frozen Girl (The)
Frozen Girl (The) (other version)
George Collin's
Girl I Left on New River (The)
Gypsy Laddie
Hustling Gamblers
I'm Sad and Lonely
I Wish I was a Little Sparrow
Jesse James
John Riley
Little Mary Fagan
Little Sadie
Lonesome Dove
Lord Daniel
Lord Thomas
Loving Henry
Loving Nancy
Mary Golden Tree (The)
May I Sleep in Your Barn to-night Mister?
More Pretty Girls than One
Nightingale, (The)
Number Nine
O Bury me Beneath the Weeping Willow Tree
Oma Wise
On a Cold Winter's Eve ...
Orphan Girl (The)
O, Waly, Waly!
Pearl Bryant
Peddler and His Wife (The)
Please Mr. Barkeeper
Pretty Little Black-Eyed Susie
Pretty Polly
Railroad Bum
Red River Valley
Sailor's Return (The)
Sallie
Sally Gooden
Soldier Boy (The)
Songs About Liquor and Drunkenness
Sourwood Mountain ...
Swapping Song
Sweet Evelena
Sweet Willie
The Boston Burglar
The Dying Soldier
The Hangman's Song
The Pretty Mauhee
Three Babes
Tornado Blues
Two Little Children
Two Little Girls in Blue
When I was Single
When the Roses Bloom Again on the River
Wild Bill Jones
Willie Down by the Pond
Wreck of Latona
Wreck of the Old Ninety-Seven (The)
Wretched Rambling Boy (The)
You're Welcome as the Flowers in May
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1. A WILD AND RECKLESS HOBO
Collected by Beuna Kiser.
Source: My mother, Mrs. Ida B. Kiser, Jahile, Virginia.
A wild and reckless hobo had left his happy home,
For to take a Wild West trip all by himself alone.
And upon this Wild West trip he's sure he'd have some fun,
And standing at the station door this is what he sung.
"Standing on the platform smoking a cheap cigar,
Awaiting for a Western train that carries an empty car,
N4y pocket book is empty, my heart does ache with pain ;
Ten thousand miles away from home, hoboing a railroad train.
" I lay down to take a nap to rest my weary feet ;
For I was tired and hungry, and had not a bite to eat.
I said, 'Kind Miss, kind Miss, will you give a bite to eat
A little piece of cold corn bread, a little piece of meat.'
"She threw her arms around me, she said, 'I love you, dear,
But if I give you this to eat, you'll be on the bum again.'
She took me to the kitchen; she treated me nice and kind.
She put me in the notion of hoboing all the time.
"I pulled my cap down over my face, walked down to the railroad shop,
I heard the agent tell a man, the train it would not stop.
I pulled my cap down over my eyes, walked down to the railroad track;
I caught the end of a sleeping car; I never did look back.
"I got off in Danville, got stuck on a Danville girl;
You bet your life shes out of sight, she wore that Danville curl;
She wore her hair on the back of ' her head, like the high-toned people do,
But as the train pulled through the town' I bade that girl adieu."
"Now I am in your city trying to do what's right,
Don't think because I'm a railroad boy that I am not all right
My pocket book is empty; my heart is full of pain
I'm ten thousand miles away from home, bumming a railroad train."
[This well known railroad song has been recorded dozens of times by early country musicians including Riley Puckett (Just Bumming A Railroad Train- 1925), Dock Boggs (Danville Girl- 1927), Burnett and Rutherford (Ramblin' Reckless Hobo- 1927) and Carter Family (Western Hobo- 1929). It was used as the basis for Jimmie Rodgers well known 1928 version, "Waiting for a Train." Whether the Kiser version is a cover of one of these many versions is unknown.
R. Matteson 2014]
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2. FRANKIE BAKER
Franky Baker was a good girl
As everybody knows,
She paid out a hundred dollar bill
For Albert a suit of clothes,
Oh he's her man
But he wouldn't come home.
Frankie went down to the bar-room,
She ordered up a glass of beer,
"Well," she said to the bar-room tender,
"Have you seen little Albert here?
He's my man
But he wouldn't come home."
The bar tender said, " Now Frankie,
Little girl, I will not lie,
He left here a moment ago
With a girl called Alice Frye.
He's your man
But he's done you wrong."
Frankie went down to the river
She looked from bank to bank.
"Done ail I can do for a gambling man,
And now he won't give me any thanks,
He's my man,
But he's done me wrong."
Frankie went down to the pool room,
She stepped up in the door,
And there she saw her loving Albert
Standing in the middle of the floor,
He's her man
But he's done her wrong.
When Albert saw Frankie coming
He jumped and started to run,
She said, "Come back to the woman you love
Or I'll shoot you with your own gun,
You're my man
But you've done me wrong."
Albert started around the table,
He fell upon his knees,
He cried out to his loving woman,
"Don't shoot me, if you please.
I'm your man
But I've done you wrong."
'Twas last Friday morning
About half past ten o'clock
Frankie grabbed a forty-four gun
She fired two fatal shots,
She killed the man
That done her wrong.
"Oh, turn me over, Frankie,
Oh, turn me over slow,
Please do not touch my wounded side,
For, oh, it pains me so.
I'm your man
But I've done you wrong."
Frankie looked up the broadway
Just as far as she could see,
And all she could hear was a two-fold band
Playing " Nearer, My God, to Thee,"
" You've killed the man
That done you wrong."
The people all said, " Frankie, little girl,
Why don't you run?
For yonder comes the chief police
With a fourty-four smokeless gun,
You've kilied the man
That done you wrong."
They took little Frankie to prison,
Stood her under the electric fan,
She whispered low in her sister's ears,
"Never marry a gambling man,
For all you do
He won't treat you right."
They took little Frankie to the courthouse,
Seated her in a big arm-chair,
And there she waited the judge to say
"We'll give her ninety-nine year
For killing the man
That done her wrong."
Well, the judge said to the jury,
"Gentleman, I can't see,
Frankie killed the man she loved so well
And I think she ought to go free,
For killing the man
That done her wrong."
The witnesses all examined,
The jury went away,
They found little Frankie guilty in the first degree
Of the murder of Albert Gray,
He was her man
But he done her wrong.
Frankie stepped out on the scaffold
Just as brave as she could be,
She cried out to the judge and jury
"It's murder in the first degree,
I killed the man,
That done me wrong."
Frankie is dead and buried,
She is buried by Albert's side,
And there they erected a marble square
And on it they did scribe,
"Albert was a gambling man
And Frankie was his bride."
[No source given, this seems to be "arranged." This, of course, is a full version of the well-known American ballad, "Franky and Johnny," Laws 13. It has been recorded by Jimmie Rodgers and a host of early country musicians from 1924 onward.
R. Matteson 2014]
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3. THE PEDDLER AND HIS WIFE.
One day the sun was rising high,
A day in merry June;
The birds set singing in a tree,
All nature seemed in tune.
A peddler and his wife were travelling
Along a lonely way,
A-sharin' each other's toil and care,
They both were old and grey.
They were labouring, toiling hard,
A living for[1] to make ;
They did not know, nor did they think
They their lives would take.
Just as the wagon came along,
Shots rang our upon the air ;
And while the echo died away,
Terrible was the experience there.
His wife pitched out upon the ground
And tossed her dying head.
The men rushed to rake her gold,
Poor lady, she was dead!
The horse rushed on with the dying man,
Till kind friends checked his speed,
Alas, alas, it was too late,
To stop this horrible deed.
Now they are sleeping in their tomb,
Their souls have gone above,
Where thieves disturb them now no more.
For all is peace and love.
1. East Tennessee mountaineers constantly use the preposition "for" before "to" and an infinitive.
["The Peddler and His Wife" was about a crime that shocked even the rough-and-ready citizens of Harlan County: three young men shot and killed an old German peddler and his wife for the few trinkets they had in their pack. The result was a public hanging in 1895 in Harlan County (Ref. Wolfe). [Reference of this ballad as to Charles Oaks, Kentucky c. 1906 (Cohen).
R. Matteson 2014]
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4. TORNADO BLUES [1]
I uster own the Chickabee farm
I'm washing dishes to-day,
Becaws a tornado comes along,
And takes my farm away.
It struck on the seventh of March
Nineteen hundred and thirty-three
And as it's leaving hence,
It takes barns, 'dobes, and ev'ry tree,
The haystacks and the fence.
It takes the cows, and the gelding,
Pigs, mules, sows, and the chickens too.
The doggone thing leaves me nothing
But my wife, and the mortgage due.
And that's the why I'm washing
Old pans in a cafe to-day,
Trying to pay for the chattels [2]
The tornado blowed away.
1. In March, 1933, a terrible tomado cattsed great damage in East Tennessee. Mountain bards composed at once a few ballads
in their own style on this tornado.
2. cattle
[On 14 March 1933, a tornado struck the Cherry Hill section of Kingsport just outside of town during the early evening. Four persons died. Apparently this topical song is unknown outside of this collection.
R. Matteson 2014]
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5. SOURWOOD MOUNTAIN
Chickens crowing on Sourwood Mountain
Hey ho diddle dum dee-ay,
Get your guns and we'll go hunting,
Hey ho diddle dum dee-ay.
My true love she lives in Letcher,
Hey ho diddle dum dee-ay,
She won't come and I won't fetch her,
Hey ho diddle dum dee-ay.
My true love's a blue-eyed daisy,
Hey ho diddle dum dee-ay,
If I don't get her I'll go crazy,
Hey ho diddle dum dee-ay.
Big dogs bark and little ones bite you,
Hey ho diddle dum dee-ay,
Big girls court and little ones'll slight you,
Hey ho diddle dum dee-ay.
My true love iives up the river,
Hey ho diddle dum dee-ay,
A few more jumps and I'll be with her,
Hey ho diddle dum dee-ay.
My true love lives in the hollow,
Hey ho diddle dum dee-ay,
She won't come and I won't follow,
Hey ho diddle dum dee-ay.
[Well known fiddle and dance tune with floating lyrics. First recorded with lyrics in 1924 - Fiddlin' Powers Family for Victor. There have been dozens of old-time recordings before 1940. I recorded this for guitar solo on Mel Bay's Appalachian Folk Songs for Solo Guitar back around 1992.
R. Matteson 2014]
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6. TWO LITTLE GIRLS IN BLUE
AN old man gazed on a photograph
In a locket he'd worn for years,
His nephew then asked him the reason why
That picture had caused him tears ;
"Come, listen," he said, "I'll tell you a
Story that's strange but true,
Your father and I at school one day
Met two little girls in blue."
Chorus:
Two little girls in blue, lad,
Two little girls in blue,
They were sisters, and we were brothers,
And learned to love the two;
But one little girl in blue, lad,
Won your father's heart,
Became your mother, I married the other,
But we have drifted apart.
That picture is one of those girls, my lad,
She once to me was a wife ;
I thought her unfaithful,
We quarrelled and parted at night for life;
My fancy of jealousy wronged a heart,
A heart that was good and true ;
For two better girls never lived than they,
Those two little girls in blue.
[Popular parlor song from the 1880s written by Charles Graham in 1893.
R. Matteson 2014]
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7. THE DYING SOLDIER.
O Brother Green, O come to me,
For I am shot and bleeding,
Now I must die, no more to see
My wife and my dear children.
The southern foe has laid me low,
On this cold ground to suffer,
Stay, brother stay and lay me away,
And write my wife a letter.
Tell her I am prepared to die
And want to meet her in heaven,
Since I believe in Jesus Christ
My sins are all forgiven.
My little children, I loved them well,
I could once more see them,
That I might bid them a long farewell,
Won't we meet in heaven
Dear Marl, you must train them well,
And train them up for heaven;
Teach them to love and serve the Lord
And then they will be respected.
Dear Father, you have suffered long,
And prayed for my salvation;
Now I must die and leave you all,
So fare you well temptation.
Dear Sister, you must not grieve
For the loss of your dear brother;
For I am going to learn to live
To see my blessed mother.
Two brothers yet I will not forget,
A-fighting in this Union,
Nor my dear wife. I have given my life
To put down this rebellion.
O brother Green, I am dying now.
O I do die so easy,
Surely death has lost its sting
Because I love my Jesus.
Go tell my wife she must not grieve,
To kiss my dear little children;
For they will call for me in vain
When I am gone to heaven.
[The Dying Soldier also known as "Brother Green" was written after the Civil war circa 1880s and was published in 1912 (J.S. Kimbrough J.D. Patton) with the music based on the 1904 "dying woodsman." The classic recording was made by Buell Kazee recorded first in 1928 and probably later by him as well. The Carter Family's "Dying Soldier" is a different song.]
R. Matteson 2014]
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8. THE HANGMAN'S SONG
"HANGMAN, Hangman, slack up your rope
O slack it for a while,
I looked over yonder and I see Paw coming
He's walked for many a long mile."
" Say Paw, say Paw, have you brung me any gold,
Any gold for to pay my fine? "
" No sir, no sir, I brung you no gold,
No gold for to pay your fine,
But I've just come for to see you hanged;
Hanged on the gallows line."
"O you won't love and it's hard to be beloved,
And it's hard to make up your time,
You have broke the heart of many a true love,
True love, but you won't break mine."
"Hangman, hangman, slack up your rope
O slack it {or a while,
I looked over yonder and I see Maw coming
She's walked for many a long mile."
"Say Maw, say Maw, have you brung me any gold,
Any gold for to pay my fine? "
" No sir, no sir, I brung you no gold,
No gold for to pay your fine,
But I've just come for to see you hanged;
Hanged on the gallows line."
" O you won't love and it's hard to be beloved
And it's hard to make up your time,
You have broke the heart of many a true love,
True love, but you won't break mine."
"Hangman, hangman, slack up your rope
O slack it for a while,
I looked over yonder and I see my sweetheart coming
She's walked for many a long mile."
"Sweetheart, sweetheart, have you brung me any gold,
Any gold for to pay my fine?"
"Yes, yes sir, I've brought you some gold,
Some gold for to pay your fine,
For I've just come for to take you home,
From on the gallows' line."
[This is a version of Child Ballad No. 95: Maid Free from the Gallows. The first two verses have been corrupted with a verse of a "True Lover's Farewell" song- Careless Love, which is missing in the last verse. The most influential and well-known US version is Leadbelly's "Gallis Pole" which was covered by Gerlach in 1970 then by Led Zepplin. Where Leadbelly learned the song is, as far as I know, unknown. He possibly learned and arranged it from James "Iron Head" Baker. Listen: Huddie Ledbetter
R. Matteson 2014]
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9. JESSE JAMES
Collected by Ruby Kiser.
Source: Luther Arrington.
Jesse James and Frank
They robbed many a bank,
And they flagged down that east-bound train,
They would fall upon their knees
And deliver up the keys
To Frank and Jesse James.
One moonshiny night
The stars were shining bright,
They went to the jailor's house,
He fell upon his knees
And delivered up the keys
To Frank and Jesse James.
They rolled our West
For to live upon the best,
And the people asked them their names,
They laughed and they scorned,
And they made this reply,
"It is Frank and Jesse James."
Jesse James had a wife,
In the morning of her life,
And their children they grew brave.
They stood upon the spot,
And they saw their father shot,
And they laid poor Jesse in his grave.
Chorus:
In his grave, in his grave.
And they laid poor Jesse in his grave.
And all the people out West
When they heard of Jesse's death
They wondered how come him to die.
He was shot on the sly
By Comarn[1] Robbie Ford,
And they laid poor Jesse down to die.
Chorus:
Down to die, down to die,
They laid poor Jesse down to die,
He was shot on the sly
By Comarn Robbie Ford,
And they laid poor Jesse down to die.
All the children cried aloud
When they saw their father's shroud,
Saying, "Mother, we are left alone."
She trembled and replied
As she stood by their side
Saying, "God will prepare us a home."
Chorus:
Us a home, us a home.
Saying, " God will prepare us a home."
She trembled and replied,
As she stood by his side,
Saying, "God will prepare us a home."
1. My footnote: His name is Robert Ford, the adjective may be a corruption of "coward" which is sung or another word.
[The well known American ballad Jesse James is, of course, based loosely on the like of the outlaw. The ballad has been traced to the early 1880s [Meade] and was published in Wehman's collections of songs in 1888. There are dozens of old-time recordings, the first made by Bascom Lamar Lunsford in 1924. There's a standard chorus that I sing, "poor Jesse had a wife. . ." that was not standard then.
R. Matteson 2014]
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10. WILD BILL JONES
Collected by Bonnie Ball.
Source: I have heard this song all my life.
As I went out for to take a little walk,
I walked upon that Wild Bill Jones.
He was talking and talking with my true love,
And I bid him for to leave her alone.
He said, "Young man, I'm twenty-one,
I'm too old for to be controlled."
I drew my revolver from my side
And destroyed that poor man's soul.
He kicked and he screamed till he fell to the ground
He gave one dying death groan,
I threw my arms around my true love's neck,
And said, " Darling, you'll be left alone."
Come on now, boys, let's take a little drink,
While I've got this money for to spend,
For to-day was the last of the Wild Bill Jones
And to-morrow will be the last of me.
[The old ballad from the early 1900s or earlier - documented by the first recorded by Eva Davis in 1924 (also by three other well know old-time musicians: 1) Harrell, 2) Stoneman and 3) Wade Mainer). I play this and there are more recent renditions that (Alison Krauss) keep the old-time feel. When I opened the Cambiaire's book I realized I knew and played most of the songs in the book.
R. Matteson 2014]
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11. THE SOLDIER BOY
Collected by Lola Rakes.
Source: My mother, Mrs. J. P. Rakes. She learned it from her father, W. C. Gilbert.
I volunteer to Texas,
I will have You all to know,
A long road to travel,
I never travelled before,
Oh my home, sweet home!
They told me to volunteer
And go along with them,
I truly did believe
They were true-hearted men,
Oh, my home, sweet home!
I have a father and mother,
I never did believe
The morning I left them,
They were crying for me,
Oh, my home, sweet home!
They told me to volunteer
And they would treat me well-
The pain that I did suffer,
No human tongue can tell,
Oh, my home sweet home!
I had a little sweetheart,
She was a pretty little girl.
I truly do believe
She was the sweetest in the world
Oh, my home, sweet home!
She took me in her parlour,
And cooled me with her fan.
She whispered low in her mother's ear,
"I love the soldier man."
Oh, my home, sweet home!
"Dear father and dear mother,
You know I love you both well ;
But the love I have for the soldier man
No human tongue can tell."
Oh, my home, sweet home !
[This song may be known from only a single source W. C. Gilbert. Mellinger Henry also collected this song - from the same informant! He says, " The song was recorded by Lola Rakes, a student in Lincoln Memorial University, Harrogate, Tennessee, who learned it from the singing of her mother, Mrs. J. P. Rakes, who learned it from her father, W. C. Gilbert." Pointed out by Henry are two verses from a song collected by Fuson (p. 131), "The Gambling Man," in which appear stanzas 6 and 7 of this song appear (which differ slightly, "I love my gambling man").
Clearly they are floating verses used to fill out the song.
R. Matteson 2014]
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12. LITTLE SADIE
Collected by Beuna Kiser.
I went out last night to make my round ;
I met little Sadie, and I blowed her down.
I went back home, and I went to bed,
With a forty-four smokeless under my head.
I got up next morning at half past nine.
Hack and horses all standing in a line,
The sports and gamblers all standing around,
To carry Little Sadie to her burial ground.
I began to think what a deed I'd done;
I grabbed my hat, and away I run,
I made a good run, but I run too slow,
The sheriff caught me in Jericho.
They took me down and dressed me in black ;
They put me in the train and sent me back.
There was no one there to go my bail,
So they shoved me back in the county jail.
Next morning the judge and jury took the stand,
The judge held the paper in his right hand;
Said, "Forty-four days and forty-four nights,
Forty-four days to wear the ball and stripes."
Come all you young people, take a friend's advice,
Don't never take your sweetheart's life.
It'll cause you to weep it'll cause you to mourn,
It'll cause you to leave your happy home.
[I learned "Little Sadie" from Doc Watson, who learned it from Tom Ashley. Doc has some quick chord changes in his version. Known under the title Bad Man Ballad (Joe Baker 1933) and Cocaine Blues (Hank Thompson 1958)-- it's been covered by Johnny Cash.
R. Matteson 2014]
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13. HUSTLING GAMBLERS
Collected by Andria Kriser.
Source: My mother, Mrs. Ida E. Kiser.
Coup all you hustling gamblers,
While I have money to spend ;
For before this time to-morrow night
I may neither have money nor friends.
Go down in yonder green meadow,
Go dig a hole in the ground ;
Wrap me up nicely in the coffin,
And bury me in the cold, cold ground.
When I'm dead and in my coffin
My pale face to the sun,
Come, sit on my grave, Little Maggie,
And think of the way you've done.
I am going to leave this country.
I am not going to leave this world.
I am going to leave this country
For the sake of one poor girl.
Yonder stands little Maggie
With a dram glass in her hand
She is drinking of bad liquor,
And courting some other man.
Hard up, hard up, dear mother,
Just another dime to spend,
If you'll help me out this time,
I'll never be so hard up again.
I had a letter from my darling,
And this is the way it read ;
" O darling, I know you see trouble,
But never hang down your head."
Don't go and leave me, little darling,
Down drunk upon the bed.
Corn liquor will run a man crazy,
Pretty women will kill him stone dead.
Don't go and leave me, little darling,
Down drunk upon the floor ;
For if God in heaven will forgive me,
I'll never get drunk any more.
How can I ever stand it,
To see those pretty blue eyes
A-drinking and a-gambling,
And telling to me bad lies ?
I am going to leave you, little Maggie,
You can do the best you can,
I'll hunt me another woman ;
You can hunt you another man.
I'm going to quit drinking and gambling
And so do as my darling has said.
I'm going to quit drinking and gambling
And sleep on my darling's bed.
Wake up, wake up, Little Maggie,
What makes you sleep so sound?
The highway robbers are raging.
And the sun is almost down.
Oh, yonder lies the jack of Diamonds
And the cards all scattered around.
You can read the history of gamblers
When I'm sleeping in the cold, cold ground.
[This is a white blues from the mountains that has most of the verses I sing to "Little Maggie." There are many verses here -- some of which I sing in another similar song, Darling Cory. These songs are usually sung in mixolydian mode with the flat 7 characteristic of blues. The chords I use are Little Maggie are: G G F F G D G G (repeat).
R. Matteson 2014]
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14. THE ORPHAN GIRL.
Collected by Maymie Williams.
Source: Mrs. Lee Williams of Patrick County, Virginia, grandmother of Maymie Williams.
"No home, no home! " cried a little girl,
At the door of a rich man's hall.
She trembling stood on the marble steps,
And lent against the wall.
Her dress was thin, and her feet were bare,
And the snow covered her head.
" Oh, give me a home," she feebly said.
" A home, and a bit of bread."
A father's face she had never seen,
And the tears had filled her eyes.
While the mother sleeps in a new-dug grave,
The orphan begs and cries.
The night was dark, and the snow fell fast
And the rich man closed his door.
His proud lips curved, and scornful he said:
"No room, no bread for the Poor."
"I must freeze, " she said as she sank on the steps,
And tried to cover her feet,
Her tattered dress all covered with snow,
All covered with snow and sleet.
"No home, no home!" cried a little girl
The rich man slept on his velvet couch,
And dreamed of his silver and gold,
While the orphan lay on a bed of snow,
And murmured, "So cold, so cold! "
The hours rolled on, and midnight came,
Rang out like a funeral bell,
The earth seemed still, weeping in the winds
And the drifting snow fell still.
But the morning dawned, and the little form
Still lay at the rich man's door.
But a soul had fed to its home above,
Where there's room and bread for the poor.
No more she stands at the rich man's door,
And murmurs: "So cold! so cold!"
But a crown on her head and a harp in her hand,
She sings in a land of gold.
[Belden prints a version collected in 1906 that the informant said dates back to c. 1850s in Illinois (ref. also Meade). Published in Delany's Glory Songs in 1909. Recorded by Riley Puckett 1924, Ernest Stoneman 1926, and others.
R. Matteson 2014]
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15. LOVING HENRY
Collected by Beuna Kiser.
Source: My mother, Mrs. Ida E. Kiser.
" Come in, come in, Loving Henry," she said,
"And stay all night with me.
Your bed shall be made of finest silk
And gold and silver-ee."
" No, I can't come in, Lillie Margaret," he said,
"And stay all night with you,
For the girl I left in a foreign land
Will think I am untrue."
She seated herself in a parlour
For to take a kiss or two,
And with the knife she held in her right hand
She stabbed him through and neat through.
"How long, how long, Lillie Margaret"' he said,
"Till you and I must part?
The purest blood that ever flowed
Comes flowing from my heart."
She called on a girl in this little town
To keep her secret still,
"And the ring I place on his right hand
Shall always belong to him."
She took him by his golden locks,
Her sister at his feet,
They carried him to the river side
And threw him in the deep.
"Lie there, lie there, loving Henry," she said,
"Till the meat falls from your bones;
And the girl you left in a foreign land
Will think you are long coming home."
As Lillie Margaret starred on her highway home,
Some Polly Parrot seemed to say,
"Go home, go home, Lillie Margaret," it said,
"And stay till a sweet summer's day."
"Fly down, fly down, Polly Parrot," she said,
"And rest on my right knee;
I have a cage of the very finest
And I'll give it up to thee."
"No, I can't fly down, Lillie Margaret," it said,
And rest on your right knee;
For you've just killed your own true love,
And I'm afraid you might kill me."
"Have pity on me, Polly Parrot," she said,
"Don't remind me of my crime,
For the girl he left in a foreign land
Stole a love that once was mine."
"Go make my shroud, dear sister," she said,
"And bury me by his side;
For here on earth he loved her best,
And in death I'll be his bride."
They found her dead next morning,
Her face turned up to the sky,
And on her breast a letter pinned,
Saying, " All dear friends, good-bye."
[This is the second Child ballad in this collection, Young Hunting- No. 68. Lille (Little) Margaret kill Loving Henry because he rejects her. Two good early recordings were made of this ballad: "Henry Lee" by Dick Justice in 1929 and "Lowe Bonnie" by Jimmy Tarlton in 1930.
R. Matteson 2014]
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16. OMA WISE
Collected by Eugene Breeding
Source: My Aunt, Mrs. Ida E. Kiser
I'll tell you a sad story
Of little Oma Wise,
How she was deluded
By John Lewis's lies.
He told her to meet him
At the head of Adam's spring;
He'd bring her some money
And some other fine things.
She met him as he said
At the head of Adam's spring;
He brought her no money,
Nor no other fine things.
"Come get on behind me,
And away we will go,
Away to get married,
And no one shall know."
She got on behind him,
And away they did go,
Down by the river side,
Where the clear waters flow.
"Little Oma, Little Oma,
I will now tell you my mind
My mind is to kill you
And leave you behind.
She threw her arms around him,
Saying, " Spare my dear life,
Or I will consent
To never be your wife."
He threw her arms from him
And threw her in the sea,
Then mounted his horse
And rode to Gallilee.
Her brother went fishing
And found where her body sank,
He dragged her to the water's edge
And laid her on the bank.
They handcuffed John Lewis
And placed him in the county jail.
They surrounded Little Oma,
And laid her in her lonesome grave.
[Naomi Wise was murdered at age nineteen in the summer of 1808 in Deep River, near Asheboro, N.C. Her intended husband, Johnathon Lewis, was arrested for the crime, escaped and was not caught until 1815, at which time he was acquitted. This ballad was recorded by G.B. Grayson in 1927 and also Tom Ashley in 1929, who later taught it to Doc Watson.
R. Matteson 2014]
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17. TWO LITTLE CHILDREN
Collected by Edna Harrison.
Source: My mother learned this from her grandmother, Mrs. L. C. Stevens, Coeburn, Virginia.
Two little children, a girl and a boy,
Sat by an old church door,
The little girl's hands were as brown as the curls
That lay on the dress that she wore.
The little boy's clothes were all ragged and torn,
And tears stood in his eyes.
"Why don't you go home to your mama?" I said,
And this was the maiden's reply:
"Mama got sick, and the angels took her away,
Left Jim and me here alone;
We've come here to dwell at the close of the day,
For we have no mama, no home."
"Papa got lost out on the sea long ago;
We waited all night by the shore.
For he was a life-saving captain, you know,
And won't be back any more.
"Mama got sick, angels took her away,
She's gone to her home of delight,
The angels will make room for us orphans to dwell
Perhaps they are coming to-night."
The sexton came early to ring the church bell,
He found them beneath the snow white.
The angels made room for the orphans to dwell
In heaven with their mama that night.
[By Charles Burke wds and Sidney Horner mus. 1899. Recorded by over a dozen old-time musicians before 1940- first by George Reneau in 1925.
R. Matteson 2014]
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18. ON A COLD WINTER'S EVE
Collected by Edna Harrison
Source: I have heard my mother, Mrs. W. I. Harrison sing this.
ON a cold winter's eve when the snow was fast falling,
In a small humble cottage a poor mother lay.
Although wrecked with pain, she lay there well-contented,
With Christ as her friend and peace with him made.
Chorus:
We shall all meet again on that great Judgment Morning
The books will be opened; the roll will be called,
How sad it will be if forever we're parted,
And shut out of heaven for not serving God.
My brother, my sister, get ready to meet her,
For the life that you now live is ebbing away.
And the life that is to come will last forever,
May we meet ne'er to part on that great Judgment Day.
[Best known as "The Dying Mother" as recorded by the Carter Family in 1940. It was written by Miss Nona Lawson wds. and C.M. Tate ms. around 1881.
R. Matteson 2014]
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19. LORD THOMAS.
Lord Thomas he was a gay young man,
He was a lord of many a town
He courted a girl called "pretty fair Ellen,"
And another called " Sally Brown."
"Father and mother, I ask you both,
I ask you both as one,
Whether I must marry wi' "pretty Fair Ellen,"
Or bring the Brown girl home."
"The Brown girl she has houses and lands,
Fair Ellen she has none,
If you'll take advice from such a kind friend
You'll bring the Brown girl home."
He rode up to Fair Ellen's hall,
So loud he called it did ring,
No one was so ready as Fair Ellen herself
To rise and bid him walk in.
"Bad news, bad news, Fair Ellen," he said,
"Bad news, bad news indeed,
I come to ask you to my wedding
All on next Thursday it will be."
"Bad news, bad news, Lord Thomas," she said,
"Bad news, bad news indeed,
I always intended to be your bride
And you the bridegroom for me."
"Father and mother, I ask you both,
I ask you both as one,
Should I go to Lord Thomas, wedding,
Or tarry wi' you mother at home?"
" Many there will be my friend
And many will be my foe,
If you'll take advice from such a kind friend
You'll tarry wi' your mother at home?"
"'Many there will be my friend,
And many will be my foe,
But little do I care for my friend or my foe
To Lord Thomas' wedding I'll go."
She dressed herself in scarlet red,
And her mantle was white and green,
And every town she rode around,
She was taken for a queen.
She rode up to Lord Thomas, hall,
So loudly knocked, it did ring,
No one was so ready as Lord Thomas himself,
To rise and bid her come in.
He took her by her lily white hand,
He led her across the hall,
She sat at the head of the table,
Among those ladies all.
"Is this your bride, Lord Thomas," she said,
"Is this that wonderful Brown?"
" You once could have married the fairest lady
That ever came through this town."
The Brown girl had a little pen knife,
The blade was keen and sharp,
Between the long ribs and the short
She pierced Fair Ellen's heart.
He took the Brown girl by the hand,
He led her across the hall,
He cut her head off with his sword,
And kicked it against the wall.
He turned his handle toward the wall
The blade toward his breast,
This is the end of these young loves,
Lord, send their souls to rest!
"[O father,] Go dig my grave
[Dig it] both wide and deep,
Lay pretty Fair Ellen in my arms,
And lay the Brown girl at my feet."
[This is a version of Child 73. Lord Thomas and Fair Annet (Lord Thomas and Fair Elleanor/Ellen) also known as "The Brown Girl." I've added to the last stanza which is corrupt and appears thus:
Go dig my grave both wide and deep,
Lay pretty Fair Ellen in my arms,
And lay the Brown girl
At my feet."
R. Matteson 2014]
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20. LOVING NANCY
I've always been a poor girl, my fortune's been bad,
I've often been courted by the wagoner's lad,
He courted me daily by night and by day,
And then for to leave me and going away.
Your parents don't like me because I am poor,
They say I'm not worthy of entering their door;
I work for my living, my money's my own,
And if they don't like me they can leave me alone.
The cuckoo is a pretty bird, she sings as she flies
She gives us good tidings and tells us no lies;
She feeds on sweet flowers to make her voice clear,
And never cries "Cuckoo" till the spring is here.
"Go put up your horses and feed them some hay,
Come and sit you down by me while you have to stay."
"My horses are not hungry they won't eat your hay,
So farewell, loving Nancy, I'll feed on the way."
"Your wagon needs greasing, your bill is to pay,
Come and sit you down by me while you have to stay."
"My wagon is greasy, my whip's in my hand,
So farewell, loving Nancy, It's no time for to stand."
[The "The Wagoner's Lad" was recorded by Dock Boggs as "Loving Nancy." Related to "The Cuckoo" (Tom Ashley) see third verse--"Rye Whiskey," and "On Top of Old Smokey." Early recordings include: Kelly Harrell, "My Horses Ain't Hungry" (Victor 20103, 1926); Vernon Dalhart, "My Horses Ain't Hungry" (Edison 52077, 1927); Grayson & Whitter, "My Mind is to Marry" and Buell Kazee, "The Wagoner's Lad" (Brunswick 213B, 1928).
R. Matteson 2014]
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21. SWEET WILLIE
A-walking and a-talking
And a-walking was I,
To meet with sweet Willie,
In the meadow by and by.
Meeting is a pleasure
And parting is a grief;
An inconstant true love
Is worse than a thief.
A thief can but rob you
And take all you have,
And an inconstant true love
Will bring you to the grave.
In the grave you will moulder,
And return back to dust ;
There is not one in twenty
That a poor girl can trust.
They'll hug you and kiss you
And tell you more lies
Than the green leaves on the timber,
Or the stars in the skies.
They'll love you and caress you
And keep you at ease,
And turn their backs upon you,
And love whom they please.
[Another inconstant lover song, closely related to "On Top of Old Smoky." Versions of "On Top of Old Smoky" were recorded in the 1920s by country music singers George Reneau (1925) and Bradley Kincaid (1929).
R. Matteson 2014]
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22. THE DISAPPOINTED LOVER
Once I courted a pretty little Miss,
I courted her for my own;
But.now I've lost my pretty little Miss,
She's taken her fight and she's gone,
She's taken her flight and she's gone.
I walked up and I walked down,
Just like a man in a haze,
I hallooed and I whooped and I played upon my flute.
But my pretty little Miss I could not find,
But my pretty little Miss I could not find.
I looked east and I looked west,
As far as my eyes could discern,
And there I spied my pretty little Miss,
Locked up in another man's arms,
Locked up in another man's arms.
O she gave me a smiling, kind look,
Just like she had done me before ;
But I guess I passed her by and I never cast an eye,
But I fetched out a mournful groan,
But I fetched out a mournful groan.
Now you've got my pretty little miss,
Be sure that you use her well,
Be sure that you keep her close about your house,
Or I'll walk with her once in a spell,
Or I'll walk with her once in a spell.
_____________________
23. MORE PRETTY GIRLS THAN ONE.
My Mother she told me one day,
She gave me good advice,
She told me to quit my rambling around,
And marry me a darling wife.
Chorus :
There's more pretty girls than one,
There's more pretty girls than one,
Everywhere I have been rambling around
I found more pretty girls than one.
The railroad was finished one day,
The train was on the track,
A train that carried my darlin' away,
And failed to bring her back.
I travelled the lonesome road,
Across the county line,
Found many a girl said her love was true,
But a true love is hard to find.
[Early recordings, usually titled "There's More Pretty Girls Than One," (Rutherford and Foster or Arthur Smith Trio) were strictly in fast waltz time but now the song is usually played in common time.
R Matteson]
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24. EVELYN.
She lived at home up on the mountain side.
Her hair was golden and her eyes were blue.
For many miles and miles all people knew
Fair Evelyn. She was the country's pride.
A young and stalwart mountaineer for wife
Intended to have her. Day after day
He came to visit her. He used to say
That if he lost her love, he'd end his life.
Although she tried, Ev'lyn could never feel
A true love for the stalwart mountaineer.
" I want to see the world and go from here,"
She said, " on other girls bestow your zeal.'''
One day with girl friends Ev'lyn rode to town.
She met a rich young man while in a store.
Next day this cavalier knocked at her door.
On country life Ev'lyn began to frown.
"Ev'lyn," he said, " I own town mansions, farms
And palaces with roofs that reach the sky.
They are all yours if you wed me. I'll die
Without your love, come in my arms."
'Her mother said: "Dear child, don't go away"
Your mountain lover is sincere and true,
He loves you dearly and will marry you.
We need you, we are getting old, please stay."
The city man then said: "I own a farm near town,
An immense farm. It is yours, marry me.
Your parents there will rich and happy be.
Each day to visit us they will come down."
The wealthy cavalier for Ev'lyn bought
Silk dresses, diamonds, fine rings of gold,
Rich furs to wear when weather would grow cold
And all the nicest things of which he bought.
Then Ev'lyn's mountain beau began to cry.
He met his friends and all together swore
That if the wealthy young man any more
Called on this girl from their guns he would die.
Ev'lyn was warned and warned her city friend.
In secret one dark night she rode from home.
Her lover had been told where he should come
To meet her. Their journey came to good end.
Without delay their wedding vows took place.
The mountain boys to town arrived too late.
They tried to calm their friend disconsolate,
And cried: "They are married, we lost the race."
Ev'lyn and her husband lived happy lives.
They had the finest sons one ever saw.
Her parents loved and praised their son-in-law.
She was the most charming and true of wives."
___________________________
25. THE WRETCHED RAMBLING BOY
I was a wretched rambling boy,
A poor and wretched rambling boy,
To Columbus City I paid my way,
I spent my money at the ball and play.
I married a girl, a pretty little wife,
I loved her better than I loved my life,
Her manners were so neat and gay,
She caused me to rob on the road highway.
I robbed them all, I do declare,
I robbed them of all they had to spare,
I robbed them of all ten thousand pounds,
One night when I was a-rambling around.
I had dry goods to carry me through,
A bright new sword and a Pistol, too,
A forty-four that never did fail,
When my true love come to go my bail.
My true love sits in deep despair,
Her bright eyes and her curly hair,
She was the prettiest thing I ever did see,
When I was condemned to the gallows tree.
The rose is red and the stem is green,
Days have passed that we've never seen,
The days that are left, they may be few,
But I hope to spend them all with you.
I'll take a chair and I'll sit down,
I'll write a letter to old Frankfort town.
In every word I'll write the truth
And I'll beg the Lord to turn me loose.
I wish to the Lord that the train would come
And take me back to what I've run from,
I thought I heard the old train blow,
Farewell, dear friends, I'm bound to go.
_______________________
26. BILLY BOY
Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy,
Oh, where have you been, charming Billy?
I have been out West to find me a wife,
She's the joy of my life,
And she's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
Can she make a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy,
Can she make a cherry pie, charming Billy?
She can make a cherry Pie
Quicker than a cat can wink its eye,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
Can she make up the beds, Billy Boy, Billy Boy,
Can she make up the beds, charming Billy ?
She can make up the bed
Set the pillow at the head,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
Can she sweep up the floors, Billy Boy, Billy Boy,
Can she sweep up the floors, charming Billy?
She can sweep up the floors
Set the broom behind the doors,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
How tall is she, Billy Boy, Billy Boy,
How tall is she, charming Billy?
She's as tall as any Pine,
Slim as a pumpkin vine,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
How old is she, Billy Boy,
How old is she, charming Billy?
She's thrice six, twice seven,
Twice twenty and eleven,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
Can she make a pot of mush, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she make a pot of mush, charming Billy Boy ?"
She can make a pot of mush,
Now it's time for you to hush,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
[Billy Boy is a variant of or similar to the old Child ballad, Lord Randal. "My Boy Lammie" was published in England as early as 1776. It's given as an Appendix by Bronson. It was recorded by a number of early country musicians including Frank Crummit (1926), Bradley Kincaid 91928) and later by Louise Masses and the Westerners (1939).
R Matteson]
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27. THE GIRL I LEFT ON NEW RIVER.
My parents raised me tenderly,
Not having any child but me ;
My mind was bent on rambling,
At home I couldn't agree.
My mind was bent on rambling
This wide world to see o'er,
I left my kind old mother
Never to see any more.
There w4s a rich old farmer
Who lived in the country near by,
Who had an only daughter
On whom I cast my eye.
She was most beautiful and handsome,
So lovely and so fair,
There was nor a girl in this wide world
With her I could compare.
I asked her if it made any difference
If I should cross the plains,
She said it would nor differ
So I returned again.
She said she would be true to me
Till death should prove unkind
We kissed, shook hands, and parted,
I left my girl behind.
'Twas then I left Iowa,
To Utah I did go,
From Utah to Mount City,
To view this wide world o'er.
Trade and work being Plentiful,
The women all treated me kind,
But the girl I left on New River
Was always on my mind.
I hadn't been there but about two weeks,
I'm sure it was not three,
Till I fell in love with Maude Walker,
And she in love with me.
She said, " Your pockets being lined with silver and gold,
Hard labour you give o'er,
And marry Pretty Maude Walker,
And never drink no more'"
"Oh, no, Miss Maude Walker,
I'll not be so unkind,
I'll go ask my Parents
Before I do resign."
One eve while I was walking
Around the Public square,
The mail coach having just arrived,
I met the Post boy there.
He handed me a letter
It gave me to understand
The Girl I left on New River
Had married another man.
I read down a few lines further
Not knowing these words to be true,
Turning myself all around about,
I didn't know what to do.
Trade and work then I gave up,
Bad company I've joined;
Roving from town to town
For the girl I left behind.
My heart being filled with trouble,
And trouble on my mind,
I'll spend all my days in rambling
For the girl I left behind.
Come all you young People
And listen to my son;
If it does you no good, my boys,
I'm sure it'll do You no harm.
When you fall in love with a fair young girl,
Go marry her while you can;
For if you wait to cross the plains,
She'll marry another man.
[My friend, the late, great Doc Watson, sang this as Maggie Walker Blues (here the name is Maude Walker). Her learned it from Tom Ashley. Also known as "The Girl I left Behind" and "False-Hearted Lover." Dock Boggs did a version titled "Peggy Walker."
R. Matteson 2014]
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28. LORD DANIEL.
First come down was dressed in red,
The next come down in green,
The next come down Lord Daniel's wife,
As fine as any queen,
Queen, queen, as fine as any queen.
She cast her eyes all around and about,
She cast her eyes all through,
She cast her eyes on little Mathie Grave,
"This night I'll sleep with you,
You, ah, you, this night I'll sleep with you."
"How can I dare to sleep with you,
How can I risk my life?
I'll swear by the ring that you wear on your hand
You are Lord Daniel's wife,
Wife, wife, you are Lord Daniel's wife."
"It makes no difference whose wife I am,
To you or no other man;
We'll go away and lock ourselves up,
And our hearts be just the same as one,
One, one, our hearts be the same as one."
It was one of Lord Daniel's very best friends
Was listening what was done,
He swore Lord Daniel should know this
Before the rising sun,
Sun, sun, before the rising sun.
He had sixteen miles or more to go
And half of them he run,
He run till he came to the broke-down bridge
He held his breath and he swum,
Swum, swum, he held his breath and swum.
Swum till he came to the grassy side,
He took his heels and he run,
Till he came to the Keel-gas gate
He rattled them bells and rung,
Rung, rung; he rattled them bells and rung.
"What news, what news I ', Lord Daniel said,
What news have you brought for me?"
"Little Mathie Grave from Fair Scotland
Is in bed with your lay-dee.
Lay-dee, lay-dee, and their hearts the same as one."
"If this be a lie you're tellin' to me,
Which I do believe it to be,
A gallows I will build for you,
And hanged you shall be.
Be, be, and hanged you shall be.
"If this be a lie I'm tellin' to you,
What you do believe it to be,
You need not build a gallows for me;
Just hang me on a tree,
Tree, tree, just hang me on a tree."
He counted out his very best men,
It's one, two by three,
Sang, " Come along and go with me,
This happy couple for to see,
See, see, this happy couple for to see."
Was one of Lord Daniel's very best friends,
Was wishing Mathie Grave no harm,
He blowed Lord Daniel's bugle horn
To give Mathie Grave a warn,
Warn, warn, to give Mattrie Grave a warn.
Little Mathie Grave said to his lady,
"I must get up and go,
I hear Lord Daniel coming now,
I hear his bugle blow,
Blow, blow, I hear his bugle blow."
"Lie down, lie down in bed with me
And keep my back from the cold,
For it is my father's shepherd dog
Driving the sheep to the fold,
Fold, fold, driving the sheep to the fold.
They rolled and tumbled all over the bed
Till they both fell asleep,
And when they woke up next morning
Lord Daniel stood at their feet,
Feet, feet, Lord Daniel stood at their feet.
"How do you like my curdance [1] fine,
How do you like my sheets,
How do you like my old true love
That lies in my arms asleep?
Sleep, sleep, that lies in my arms asleep?"
" Very well I like your curdance fine,
Also do I like your sheets,
Much better do I love your old true love
That lies in your arms asleep,
Sleep, sleep, that lies in your arms asleep."
"Rise up, Little Mathie Grave,
And put your clothing on,
It never shall be said that I
Came from Fair Scotland and slew a naked man.
Man, man, and slew a naked man.
" Oh, how can I dare to fight with you
Oh how can I risk my life,
You have two swords right by your side
And me not as much as a knife,
Knife, knife, and me not as much as a knife."
" I know I have two swords by my side
And they cost me keep in purse,
You may have the very best one
And I will take the worst,
Worst, worst, and I will take the worst."
" You may strike the very first lick,
And strike it like a man,
I will strike the very next lick,
And kill you if I can,
Can, can, and I'll kill you if I can."
Little Mathie struck the very first lick,
He wounded Lord Daniel from sword,
Lord Daniel struck the very next lick,
He killed him in the floor.
Floor, floor, he killed him in the floor.
He threw his arms around his wife,
And kisses gave her three,
"Now tell me which you love the best
Little Mathie Grave or me
Me, me, Little Mathie Grave or me?
" Very well, I like your red rosy cheeks,
Also do I like your chin,
Much better do I love Little Mathie Grave
Than you and all your kin,
Kin, kin, than you and all Your kin.
He pulled a pistol out of his pocket,
It was loaded with powder and lead,
He shot his wife, he shot himself,
Sang, " Here we all three lay dead,
Dead, dead, here we all three lay dead."
1. curtains
[Matty Groves is the best known American title of Child 81. Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard. Doc Watson sang a traditional version (1966) from NC and the Stanley Brothers one from Virginia. The last lines of each stanza are incorrectly arranged. They should be:
He pulled a pistol out of his pocket,
It was loaded with powder and lead,
He shot his wife, he shot himself,
Sang, " Here we all three lay dead, dead, dead,
Here we all three lay dead."
R. Matteson 2014]
__________________
29. EARLY, EARLY IN THE SPRING
(The Girl I Left Behind)
When so early in the spring
I went on board to serve my king,
A-leaving my dearest dear behind
Who has often told me her heart was mine.
And when i had her in my arms,
i thought I had ten thousand charms,
Ten thousand promises and kisses sweet,
Saying we will get married next time we meet.
And ail the while I sailed the seas
I could not get one moment's ease
For writing to my dearest dear,
And not one word from her could I hear.
Then I sailed to Santler's town,
I walked the streets both up and down,
Inquiring for my dearest dear,
And not one word from her could I hear.
Then I rode up to her father's hall,
For my true love there I did call.
"Your true love is married, she's a rich man's wife,
She has married a man who is better for her life."
I walked straight up and her hand did take
Saying, " All false promises and vows we'll break,
For you've proved false and I've proved true;
Forever and ever, I'll bid you adieu.
"I'll curse all gold and silver too,
And all those girls that won't prove true ;
That will marry a man for his riches' sake
And leave their true love's heart to break.''
"Sir, if you've wrote letters to this town,
I've not received one single one.
It's my father's fault as You will find,
Oh, don't blame this poor heart of mine.
"Oh, don't go back on board again,
Oh, don't go back to serve thy king,
For there's plenty of girls as fair as I,
Oh, don't go back where the bullets fly."
"Yes, I'll go back on board again,
Yes, I'll go back to serve my king.
I'll sail the seas and the oceans high ;
On the waters I'll ride till the day I die.
"And when I am ready for my grave,
My body will be found on some ocean wave.
I want to be buried under yonder green tree
Remember, love, I died for thee."
[This ballad is found as the broadside "The Seaman's Complaint" in the British Museum C.22 f14, p. 175), printed circa 1680. Cambiaire, to his credit, found the standard title for it. Melinger Henry's version c. 1930 is also from Tennessee taken from Adria Kiser, a student in Lincoln Memorial University. Also found in Hudson, p. 29; Campbell and Sharp, No. 72; and Cox, No. 111, who points out that The Trail in Mexico (Lomax, Cowboy Songs p. 132) "is an extraordinarily interesting example of an adaptation; it is transformed into a cowboy song."
R. Matteson 2014]
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30. A GENTLEMAN'S MEETING
(Down by Yon Riverside)
'One early bright May morning
Down by yon riverside,
I spied a couple a-courting
Which filled my heart with pride.
May Heaven bless my pretty fair miss,
Just sing me one more song.
When he asked her to marry him,
She answered, "I'm too young."
"The younger you are my Pretty fair miss,
The better you are for me,
For I will swear and I will vow,
I'll marry no one but thee."
He took her by the little white hand,
And kissed both cheeks and chin,
He led her in the parlour
To sit and talk with him.
All the first part of the night
Was spent in sport and play,
And the latter part of the night
She lay in his arms till day.
The night passed on and morning came,
The sun was shining bright.
This young man 'rose, put on his clothes,
Says, "Fare-you-well, my bride."
"Is this the promise you made to me
Down by yon riverside?
You promised me you'd marry me,
Make me your lawful bride."
" If I ever made such a promise to you,
It's more than I can do.
I never intend to marry a girl
So easily fooled as you.
You may go to your father's door,
Sit down and cry your fill,
And whenever you think of the way you've done,
Just blame your own good will."
"Rich men's daughters to market can go,
And ramble the whole clay through,
But I, poor girl, must stay at home,
And rock the cradle for you."
I never told her of her fault,
And blamed if I ever do.
Every time the little one cries,
Just think of the fog and dew.
[This lament is from the "I Wish I Were Single Again/ Single Girl" family of songs with stanzas resembling "Fly Around my Pretty Little Miss."
R. Matteson ]
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31. THE GYPSY LADDIE
(Gypsy Davy)
'Twas late last night when the landlord came home,
Inquiring for his lady.
The answer came in a sad reply:
"She's gone with the Gypsy Davy."
"Go saddle up my little black horse,
The bay is not so speedy ;
I'll ride all day and I'll ride all night,
Or I'll overtake my lady."
He rode all day and he rode all night
I3y the waters swift and muddy.
The tears did flow like raindrops down,
And there he spied his lady.
He said, "Come home, my own true love ;
Come home, come home, my honey.
I'll swear by the sword that hangs by my side,
That you never shall want for money.
"How can you forsake your house and home
How can you forsake your baby?
How can you forsake your own true lord
To go with the Gypsy Davy?"
"I can forsake my house and home ;
I can forsake my baby:
I can forsake my own true lord
To go with the Gypsy Davy."
"Come take off those high heel shoes
That are made of Spanish leather,
And give to me your little white hand
That we may live together."
"I'll not take off these high heel shoes
That are made of Spanish leather,
And give to you my little white hand
That we may part for ever."
"Last night I slept on a warm feather bed
Beside my wife and baby;
To-night I ride by the cold riverside,
So cold, and O, so dreary."
[This is a standard version of 200. The Gypsy Laddie, as identified by Cambiaire.
R. Matteson]
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32. O, WALY, WALY [Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies]
Come, all you fair and tender ladies,
Be careful how you love young men.
They're like the stars on a bright summer morning,
They first appear and they're gone again.
They'll tell to you some pleasing story,
They'll vow to you their love is true.
Straightway they'll go and court another,
And that is the love they have for you.
Once I had an old true lover
Indeed I thought he was my own;
But he's gone away to court another,
And left me here to weep and mourn.
I wish I had a-known before I'd courted
That love would have gone so hard with me.
I'd have locked my heart in a golden locket,
And have thrown away the silver key.
If I were some little sparrow,
Had wings and could fly so high,
I'd fly straight to my old true lover
And i would talk and he should cry.
But as I am no little sparrow,
Have no wings and cannot fly,
I'll sit down in grief and sorrow,
And sing to pass my troubles by.
I know there is a day a-coming,
When love will make an end of me.
I hope there is no torment burning
To punish my love for deserting me.
["Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies" is not a version of "O Waly Waly." It's also known as "Tiny Sparrow" or "Little Sparrow" and is Roud #451. It was collected by Ceil Sharp in the Appalachians (No. 113, bk 2) and has been recorded by Jean Ritchie and other folk and bluegrass performers.
R. Matteson 2014]
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33. THE PRETTY MAUHEE
As I went out walking for pleasure one day,
In sweet recreation to while the time away.
As I sat amusing myself in the shade,
Oh, who should I spy near me but a young Indian maid.
She came sat down beside me, and taking my hand,
Said, " You're a stranger and in a strange land :
But if you will follow, you're welcome to come
And dwell in the cottage that I call my home."
The sun was fast sinking far o'er the blue sea,
As I wandered alone with my pretty Mauhee.
Together we wandered, together did rove,
Till we came to the cottage in the cocoanut grove.
This kind expression she made unto me,
" If you will consent, sir, and stay here with me,
And go no more roving far o'er the salt sea,
I'll teach you the language of the pretty Mauhee."
" Oh, no, my fair maiden, that never can be,
For I have a true love in my own country.
And I'll not forsake her, for I know she loves me,
And her heart's just as true as the pretty Mauhee."
'Twas early one morning, a morning in May,
When to this fair maiden these words I did say ;
I'm going to leave you ; so fare-you-well, my dear,
My ship's sails are spreading, for home I must steer.
The last time I saw her she stood on the strand,
And as my boat passed her she waved me her hand.
Saying: "When you get over to the one that you love.
Remember the maiden in the cocoanut grove."
When when I had landed on my own native shore.
With friends and relatives around me once more.
I looked all around me ; not one could I see
That I could compare with the pretty Mauhee.
The girl I had trusted proved untrue to me
So I'll turn my course backward far o'er the blue sea.
So I'll turn my course backward ; from this land I'll flee,
I'll go spend my days with my pretty Mauhee.
[Kittredge describes this as a "chastened" American reworking of a British broadside, "The Indian Lass." There are a dozen early country recordings (Kazee; Puckett; Kincaid- etc.) from the 1920s to 1940.
R. Matteson 2014]
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34. THE SOLDIER'S RETURN
("A Pretty Fair Maid")
A pretty fair maid was in the garden,
When a brave young soldier came riding by,
Saying, " Pretty fair maid, will you marry a stranger,
Who has come so far to marry you?"
"Pretty fair maid, go ask your mamma,
If she'll consent for you to marry me.
If she says 'Yes,' come back and tell me ;
If she says ' No,' we'll run away.
" I'll give to you my gold and silver;
I'll give to you my house and land ;
I'll give to you a world of pleasure,
If you will be a bride of mine."
"What care I for your gold and silver,
What care I for your house and land?
Or what care I for a world of pleasure,
When all I want is a handsome man?
"I have a true love on the ocean ;
He's been gone for seven long years,
And if he's gone for seven years longer,
No other man can marry me."
"Perhaps your true love has been drowned ;
Perhaps he's on some battle-field slain;
Or perhaps he's charmed some fair girl and married,
And will never return to you again."
"If he's drowned, I hope he's happy,
Or if he's on some battle-field slain;
And if he's charmed some fair girl and married,
I'll love the girl that married him."
He drew his hand out of his pocket,
His fingers being long and small.
She knew the ring she once had given him,
And down on her knees before him she did fall.
Gently he raised her in his arms ;
Kisses he gave her, one, two, three.
Saying, " I am your true and single soldier.
Who has come back to marry thee."
[A Pretty Fair Maid (The Broken Token) is known as Laws N42 and dates back to the early 1800s in England. It's been widely collected and recorded.
R. Matteson 2014]
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35. BARBARA ALLEN
IN the Scarlet Town here I was born,
There was a fair maid dwelling,
And every youth cried, "Well a-day!"
Her name was Barbara Allen.
All in the merry month of May,
When the green buds were a-swelling,
Poor William on his deathbed lay,
For the love of Barbara Allen.
He sent his man unto her then,
To the town that she did dwell in,
Says: "You must come to my master,
If your name be Barbara Allen.
For death is painted on his face,
And o'er his heart is stealing,
Then haste away to comfort him,
Oh, lovely Barbara Allen."
"Though death he painted on his face,
And o'er his heart is stealing,
Yet, little the better will he be
If I am Barbara Allen."
But slowly, slowly she came up,
And slowly she came nigh him,
And all she said when thus she came,
''Young man, I think you're dying."
He turned his face unto her straight,
With deathly sorrow, sighing,
"Oh, pretty maid, come pity me,
I'm on my deathbed lying."
He turned his face unto the wall,
And death was with him dealing,
"Adieu, adieu, my clear friends all,
Adieu to Barbara Allen."
As she was walking o'er the fields,
She heard the death bell knelling,
And every stroke it seemed to say,
" Unworthy Barbara Allen."
She turned her body round about,
And spied the corpse a-coming,
"Lay down, lay down the corpse," she cried,
"That I may look upon it"
With scornful eyes she looked down,
Her cheeks with laughter swelling,
And all her friends cried, "Out away,
Unworthy Barbara Allen."
As on her deathbed she did lay,
Her heart was stricken with sorrow,
" Oh, mother, mother, make my bed,
For I shall die to-morrow."
"Hard-hearted creature, him to slight,
Who loved me so dearly,
Oh, that I'd been more kind to him,
When he was alive and near me."
She, on her deathbed as she lay,
Begged to be buried by him,
And so repented of the day,
That she e'er did deny him.
"Farewell," she said, "ye virgins all,
And shun the fault I fell in,
Henceforth take warning by the fall,
Of cruel Barbara Allen'"
They buried poor William in the church-yard,
And Barbara Allen by him,
Out of his grave sprang a red rose,
And out of hers a brier.
They grew till they grew to the church-house top,
And they could not grow any higher,
They locked and they tied in a true lover's knot.
And a rose hung on the brier.*
* This ballad must have a very old origin. and its story was known perhaps in prehistoric times.
[This is the well-known Child ballad No. 84 Barbara Allen. Cambiaire's notes above are amusing to me-- "prehistoric times" makes me think of a cave man swinging his spear and singing, "All in the merry month of May. . ."
In the late 1920s Bradley Kincaid's most requested song on radio WLS in Chicago was "Barbara Allen," proving that perhaps this ballad is timeless.
R. Matteson 2014]
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36. BOTANY BAY
(The Boston Burglar)
I was born and raised in Covington,
A place you all know well,
Brought to by honest parents,
The truth to you I'll tell.
Brought up by honest parents,
And reared most tenderly,
Till I fell into bad company,
At the age of twenty-three.
Then I was arrested,
Placed in the county jail.
My friends were all around me;
But none would go my bail.
The jury found me guilty,
The clerk he wrote it down;
The judge he passed my sentence:
Five years in Frankfort town.
Up stepped my aged father,
A-pleading at the bar;
Likewise my dear old mother,
A-tearing out her hair.
A-tearing out those old gray locks,
The tears came streaming down.
"Oh, son ! Oh, son ! What have you done
You're bound for Frankfort town!"
No wife to control me,
No children to maintain ;
Five long years in Frankfort town
To wear the ball and chain.
They put me on an east-bound train
One cold December day,
And every station I passed by,
I could hear the people say :
" Yonder goes some noted burglar,
Round down in chains so strong ;
For some great crime or other,
He's bound for Frankfort town."
Farewell to the hills and mountains
I'll see you no more for years.
I looked all around me,
My eyes were full of tears.
I'll go inside of this old prison"
And then you'll hear me cry.
Nothing but hard labour
Will pass these five years by.
And when I gain my liberty,
Then I'll go back home ;
Quit drinking and gambling,
And let the women alone.
I have a girl in Covington,
She said that she'd be mine.
If ever I gain my liberty,
I'll marry her sometime.
I'll marry her and settle down ;
How happy we will be:
Quit drinking mean corn whiskey,
And shun bad company.
[The Boston Burglar is an adaptation of the British song Botany Bay. According to John Harrington Cox's "Folk-Songs of the South," 1925, p. 296, it was "sung [on the vaudeville stage] by Dan MacCarthy" and copyrighted in 1881 by Wehman of N.Y., a prominent publisher of song books. It has been recorded from the 1920s by country musicians including Fiddlin' John Carson (1925) and Riley Puckett (1925).
R. Matteson 2014]
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37. COLD WINTER NIGHT
I rode out one cold winter night,
A-drinking of sweet wine,
And there I met that pretty little girl
Who stole this heart of mine.
Her cheeks were like a pretty pink rose
That blooms in the month of June,
Her voice was like some musical instrument
That's newly put in tune.
Fare-you-well, my old true love,
Fare-you-well, for a while,
I'm a-goin' away but I'm- comin' back again
If it is ten thousand mile.
Ten thousand mile, my old true love,
Through England, France and Spain.
But my poor heart will never be at ease
Will I see your face again.
Who will shoe your pretty little feet?
Who will glove your hands,
And who will kiss your rosy sweet lips
When I'm in a foreign land ?
Papa will shoe my pretty little feet,
Mamma will glove my hands,
And you can kiss my rosy sweet lips
When you come from a foreign land.
Don't you see that pretty turtle dove
A-sitting in your pine?
She's a-mourning for her old true love
Just like I mourn for mine.
Yes, I see that pretty turtle dove
A-sitting in yon tree,
A-mourning for her old true love,
And that's the way of me.
The crow that is so black, my love,
It surely will turn white
If ever I prove any false to you,
Bright day will turn to night.
Bright day will turn to night, my love,
The elements will mourn,
If ever I prove any false to you
The raging se1 will burn.
Supposin' you are taken sick
And you so tar from home.
Who will hear your loudly cries
And hear you faintly moan.
Supposin' I am taken sick
And me so far from home.
God will hear my loudly cries
And hear my faintly moans.
Suppose the raging sea runs dry,
And rocks do melt by sun.
O, stay with me, my darling, stay
'Til all these things are done.
[On classic version is A-Roving on a Winter's Night by Doc Watson, who learned his version from Dolly 'Greer. It appears on The Songs of Doc Watson. Another title is "Lover's Lament" from American Songbag, Carl Sandburg, 1927 and "Winter's Night"
The Folk Songs of North America, Alan Lomax, 1960 taken from Page 14 of The Folk Songs of Alabama, Byron Arnold, 1950. The song under the title Banishment was first published in the US by Belden in 1906. The Belden text from 1906 was taken from the Civil War diary of E. J. Sims, "sent to me in 1906..."
This song is made up of floating verses found in "Dearest Dear" (see Sharp EFSSA) and includes "Who Will Shoe Your Pretty Little Foot" verses found in Child 76- The Lass of Roch Royal. Another title is "Blackest Crow" which is derived or similar to the English broadside called 'The Unkind Parents, or, The Languishing Lamentation of two Loyal Lovers'. It was printed for C. Bates, next the Crown-Tavern in West-Smithfield. The Bodleian dates Bates' operation to "between 1685 and 1714."
R. Matteson 2014]
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38. THE CRUEL SHIP CARPENTER
(Pretty Polly)
Pretty Polly, pretty Polly, would you think it unkind,
For me to sit by you and tell you my mind?
"My mind is to marry and never to part,
For the first time I saw you it wounded my heart.
"Pretty Polly, pretty Polly, come go along with me,
Before we get married some pleasure to see."
He led her over mountains and valleys deep,
To a new dug grave. Pretty Polly did weep.
"O Willie, O Willie, I fear of your way,
I fear you will lead my poor body astray."
"Pretty Polly, Pretty Polly, you are thinking about right,
Because I dug on your grave the best half of last night."
They went on a little farther and what did she spy?
A new dug grave and a spade lying by.
She knelt down before him. "Oh! spare my dear life,
Let me be a single girl if I can not be your wife."
"Pretty Polly, pretty Polly, that never can be,
For your reputation has been trouble to me."
No time for to study, no time for to stand,
With a big revolver in his lily white hand.
He shot her through the heart and the biood began to flow.
In the new dug grave pretty Polly did go.
He threw some dirt over her and started for home,
" I am leaving Pretty Polly and the birds alone." [1]
He went to the jail house and what did he say?
"I've murdered pretty Polly and trying to get away."
" O, Daddy, O, Daddy, they have got me here in jail,
No friends nor relation, no one to go my bail."
His daddy came and went his bail,
And bonded him out of old Frankfort jail.
He got on a ship with his heart full of sin,
The ship hit a rock, to the bottom she went.
A debt to the devil poor Willie did pay
For murdering pretty Polly and trying to get away.
1. to mourn.
[This is the murder ballad, "Pretty Polly" (not Child ballad No. 4), also known as "The Gosport Tragedy" or "The Cruel Ship's Carpenter" (Laws 36, Roud 15). Early recordings include BF Shelton in 1927 and in the late 1930s - The Coon Creek Girls. Also listen to the Stanley Brothers excellent version. See my version on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASJjrxxCNmc
Pretty Polly; Painting by Richard L. Matteson Jr. C 2009
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39. GEORGE COLLINS
Collected by Myrtle Deel, Joel Boyd, Tense, Virginia.
George Collins rode home one cold winter night ;
George Collins rode home so fine.
George Collins rode home one cold winter night,
But he took sick and died.
A fair young lady in her father's house,
A fair young lady so fine;
But when she heard that George was dead,
She threw herself down and cried'
"O daughter, don't weep, O daughter, don't moan;
There are more pretty boys than one--.
"But mother dear, he has my heart,
And now he's dead and gone."
She followed him up, she followed him down,
She followed him to his grave ;
She fell upon her bended knees;
She wept, she moaned, she prayed.
" Unscrew the coffin, lay back the lid,
Roll over the linen so fine;
And let me kiss them Pale cold lips,
For I know they'll never kiss mine."
[This is Child ballad No. 85, Lady Alice. Recently I recorded Nathan Hicks' version of George Colon collected by my grandfather, Maurice Matteson. I played Hick's dulcimer (see pic below) which may have had the original strings- they were so rusted I couldn't tune it up!
Nathan Hicks c. 1934
Cambiaire's version is similar to the version collected by my grandfather from Nathan Hicks of Sugar Grove, NC on July 31, 1933. Listen:[George Colon] Performers: Richard L. Matteson Jr. -dulcimer, with Kara Pleasants- vocal, and Zach Matteson- fiddle, in December 2011. Recorded by Bob Hitchcock Dec. 2011]
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40. LONESOME DOVE
Supplied by I. E. Nicnols, Harrogate, Tennessee, as sung by his mother.
ONE day while in a lonesome grove
Sat over my head a little dove,
For its lost mate began to coo,
What made me think of my mate too.
Oh! little dove you're not alone
For with you I'm constrained to roam
I once like you did have a mate
But with you, now, I'm desolate.
My faithful friend was a sister dear,
We cheered each other year by year,
She shared my work, she shared my play,
We loved each other tenderly.
Consumption seized her lungs, severe,
And preyed upon her one long Year.
Then death did come at close of day,
And my dear Mary it did slay.
But death, grim death, did not stop here
I had one babe to me most dear.
Death like a vulture came again
And took from me my little Jane.
Shout on ye happy from above,
While I this lonesome desert rove;
We soon shall meet in yonder plain,
And never, never part again.
[This fairly rare homiletic ballad is known under the "Lonesome Grove" title (Sharp EFSSA) and was first published in Folk-Songs of the North Atlantic States 1908 by Phillips Barry. He reprinted it in his 1913 article "Some Aspects of Folk Song" under the the "A Minister's Lamentation." it was published as "As I Was Walking Through The Grove" sung by Pearl Jacobs Borusky, July 13, 1938, and by Maud Jacobs and Mrs. M. G. Jacobs, September 6, 1938. Pearl had some difficulty in remembering this one, and was not at all sure it would be of interest anyway. She referred to it as a "funeral song", and explained that this term meant that it was considered suitable for singing at home funerals.
R. Matteson 2014]
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41. THE SWAPPING SONG
Supplied by Mrs. Rita Russel, Shawanee, Tennessee. This song has been popular in the East Tennessee mountains since pioneer days.
REFRAIN: Like a wing, wong, waddle
And a Jack Straw Straddle
And a John Far Faddle
And a long way home.
The rats and the mice
They made such a strife
That I had to go to London
To buy me a wife.
REFRAIN:
The creeks were so high
And the streets so narrow,
I was forced to bring my wife home
In a wheelbarrow.
REFRAIN:
I swapped my barrow for a horse,
And then I rode from cross to cross.
REFRAIN:
I swapped my horse for a mare,
And then I rode from fair to fair.
REFRAIN:
I swapped my mare for a mule,
And then I rode like a daggone fool.
REFRAIN:
I swapped my mule for a cow,
And in that trade I just learned how.
REFRAIN:
I swapped my cow for a calf,
And in that trade I just learned half.
REFRAIN:
I swapped my calf for a goat,
And the daggone thing, it wouldn't tote.
REFRAIN:
I swapped my goat for a sheep,
And then I rode my self asleep.
REFRAIN:
I swapped my sheep for a hen
Oh! What a jolly thing I got then!
REFRAIN:
I swapped my hen for a rat,
I put on a haystack away from the cat.
REFRAIN:
I swapped my rat for a mole,
And the daggone thing ran straight for a hole.
REFRAIN: Like a wing, wong, waddle,
And a Jack Straw Straddle,
And a John Far Faddle,
And a long way home.
[British titles include "The Foolish Boy" or "Wim-Wam-Waddles." In the US it has been collected Cox, Sharp, Brown, and Wyman. It's been recorded by Jean Ritchie, and also Bradley Kincaid.
R. Matteson 2014]
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42. FAREWELL LOVELY POLLY
In Cornish I was born, not of a low degree,
My parents doting on me, having no child but me.
I rode with so much pleasure, just where my fancy led,
Until I was bound 'prentice, Oh! then, my joys were fled.
I did nor like my master and he did no[ use me well.
I set a resolution not long with him to dwell.
Unknown to friends or parents from which I stole away,
I steered my course to Dublin. I curse that fatal day.
A lady out of Holland I met upon the way.
She offered me high wages to wait on her one year.
Deluded by her promise, with her I did go,
To go and live in Holland, which proved my destiny.
I had nor long been in Holland 'till my sad misery,
My young and wealthy mistress grew very fond of me.
Saying: " I have gold, I have silver, I've houses and free lands,
And if you'll consent to wed with me they shall be at your command.
"Oh, mistress dear, excuse me, I cannot wed you now,
For I have made a promise, likewise a solemn vow,
To wed with none but Polly, our only chambermaid,
oh, mistress dear, excuse me, she has my heart betrayed."
My mistress she was angry, and away from me did go.
She swore she'd be my ruin, likewise my overthrow,
For she found out by my answer she could not be my wife.
Then, she tried the cruel project to take away my life.
One evening as I was walking to take the pleasant air,
She being in her garden, viewing her flowers fair.
With her gold rings on her fingers just as she passed me by
She slipped them in my pocket, and for them I must die.
The sheriff he was sent for to see that I was searched,
And then before the judges to answer for this call.
Long time I pleaded not guilty, and did not yet prevail;
Then my mistress swore against me and lodged me in jail.
The sentence days were passed, and death was drawing near,
All for to execute me, it was their only care.
All for to execute me they brought me to the tree,
Oh, God, forgive my mistress, I'm sure she's wronging me.
Come all of you, good people of high and low degree,
Don't ridicule your parents; see my sad misery,
For here I die unjustly, to bid the world adieu,
Oh, farewell, lovely Polly, I die for the love of you.
[Known under the titles, "Sheffield Apprentice" and also "Cornwall Apprentice," (Roud 399; Laws O39; Ballad Index LO39), this ballad has been collected by Sharp in the Appalachians and published in his EFSSA. Peggy Seeger's recording is essentially the one collected by Cecil Sharp in 1918 from the singing of Mrs. Mary Gibson of Marion, North Carolina."
THE CORNWALL APPRENTICE- (Noted by Cecil Sharp from Mrs. Mary Gibson at Marion, N.C, in 1918)
I was brought up in Cornwall all in a high degree,
My parents they adored me, had no child only me.
I ripped, I roved, I rambled where-e'er my fancies led,
Till I became a 'prentice, and then my joys they fled.
Hedy West sang The Sheffield Apprentice in 1967 on her Topic LP Ballads. The liner notes say:
A rich lady falls in love with a servant. But he is in love with her maid, and refuses to renounce his sweetheart. The rich lady frames him as a thief and brings him to his execution. Fielding used the plot in his novel Joseph Andrews, and ever since it has been a standby of popular literature. The nineteenth century broadside and song-book press reprinted the song over and over again, and it spread the length and breadth of the British Isles and the United States. Versions of it still turn up not uncommonly in tradition. The set sung here is a combination of two versions collected by Cecil Sharp in North Carolina some half-a-century ago. Variants of the tune have carried a score of texts including The State of Arkansas, the outlaw ballad Cole Younger, and the song of the murdered mine-workers' union organiser, Harry Simms.
R. Matteson 2014]
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43. RED RIVER VALLEY
From the valley they say you are going,
we shall miss your bright eyes and sweet smile,
For they say you are taking the sunshine
That brightens our pathway awhile.
REFRAIN: Come and sit by by side if you love me.
Do not hasten to bid me adieu,
But remember the Red River Valley,
And the girl that has loved you so true.
for a long time I have been waiting
For those dear words you never would say,
But, at last, all my fond heart you,re breaking,
And grief you are causing me to see.
From this valley they say you are going.
When: you go, may you darling go too ?
Would you leave her behind unprotected
When she loves no other but you?
I have promised you, darling, that never
Will a word from my lips cause you pain ;
And my life it will be yours forever,
If you will only love me again.
As you go to your home by the ocean,
May you never forget these sweet hours
That we spent in the Red River Valley
And the love we exchanged 'mid the flowers.
There never could be such a longing
In the heart of a pure maiden's breast,
That dwells in the heart your are breaking,
As I wait in my home in the West.
And the dark maiden prayed for her lover
To the spirit that rules o'er the world
"May his pathway be ever in sunshine "
Is the prayer of the Red River girl.
["A Lady in Love," Wehman's Collection of Songs #24, October, 1889, p. 17 is credited as the first published source. On my request John Garst obtained copies of the two handwritten versions of Red River Valley from the Piper collection at the University of Iowa. One has, written under the lyrics, "Nemaha. 1879," the other "Harlan 1885." Though not authenticated, these are presumed to be the earliest extant copies.
The song was first recorded in 1925 by cowboy Carl Sprague as "Cowboy's Love Song" then the "Sherman Valley" by Bascom Lunsford the same year. Many early country artists including Kelly Harrell and Ernest Stoneman followed with "Bright Sherman Valley." The biggest hit was the 1927 version by Hugh Cross and Riley Puckett named the "Red River Valley."
Painting of Red River Valley by Richard L. Matteson Jr. C 2008
________________
44. I'M SAD AND I'M LONELY
Collected by Miss Testerman
I'm sad and I'm lonely,
My heart, it will break !
My sweetheart loves another!
Lord! I wish I were dead !
I{y cheeks once were red
As the bud on the rose
But now they are whiter
Than the lily that grows.
Young ladies take warning,
Take warning from me'
Don't waste Your affections
On a young man so free'
He'll hug You, he'll kiss you,
He'll tell You more lies
Than the cross-ties on the railroads
Or stars in the skies.
I'll build me a cabin
In the mountain so high,
Where the blackbirds can't see me
And hear my sad cry.
I'm troubled, I'm troubled,
I'm troubled in mind,
If trouble don't kill me,
I'll live a long time.
[Usually titled, I'm troubled," this song resembles "On Top of Old Smokey" and/or "Rye Whiskey." "I'm troubled" was recorded by Blue Sky Boys and also Doc Watson. It is included in Folk Songs of North America by Alan Lomax.
R. Matteson 2104]
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45. O BURY ME BENEATH THE WEEPING WILLOW
O bury me beneath the weeping willow
Beneath the weeping willow tree,
And when he comes, he'll find me sleeping
And, perhaps, he'll weep for me.
To-morrow was our wedding day,
But God only knows where he can be.
He's gone, he's gone to seek another;
He no longer cares for me.
They told me that he did not love me,
But how could I believe them true,
Until an angel whispered softly:
" He will prove untrue to you."
Place on my grave a snow white lily,
For to prove my love was true,
To show the world I died to save him;
But his love I could not win.
So bury me beneath the willow,
Beneath the weeping willow tree,
And when he comes he'll find me sleeping,
And perhaps he'll think of me.
[Popularized by the Carter Family recordings (Victor 21074, 1927; Bluebird B-6053, 1935) and now a bluegrass standard, this ballad was first collected by Belden in 1909. The similarity of the collected and recorded versions points to the origin being an unknown parlor song from the mid-1800s. It was included in my book, Bluegrass Pickers Tunebook and I did a painting of the song a few years ago:
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48. NUMBER NINE
Supplied by Ruby Mae Pole, Spencer, North Carolina.
Orv a dark stormy night,
Not a star was in sight,
And the north wind was howling down the line.
Near a sweetheart so dear
Stood a brave engineer
With his orders to pull old Number Nine.
And she kissed him good-bye,
With a tear in her eye,
And the joy of his heart he could not hide,
For the world was all bright
When she told him that night
That to-morrow she'd be his blushing bride.
And the wheels hummed a song
As the train rolled along,
And the black smoke came pouring from the stack-
All the headlights agleam
Seemed to brighten the dream
Of to-morrow when he'd be coming back.
As they pulled over the hill,
There, his brave heart stood still,
For a head light was shining in his face;
And he whispered a prayer
As he threw on the air
For he knew it would be his final race.
In the wreck he was found
Lying there on the ground,
And he asked them to raise his weary head.
As his breath slowly went,
There's a message he sent
To the maiden who dreamed that she'd be wed.
There's a little white home,
That I bought for our own,
And I dreamed we'd be happy by and by,
But I've left it to you
For I know you'll be true,
Till we meet at the Golden Gate-Good-bye.
[Number 9 is a composed song by a professional hillbilly singer named Carson Robison in 1927, who was trying to cash in on the popularity of the Wreck of the Old 97. Robison also wrote songs about real events but this one is fictional.
R. Matteson 2014]
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49. WILLIE DOWN BY THE POND.
They tell 'tis sinful to flirt,
They say my heart is of stone.
They tell me to speak of him kind,
Or else leave the poor boy alone.
They tell me he's only a boy,
But I'm sure he's much older than me,
And if they would leave us alone,
I'm sure more happy we'd be.
I remember one night when he said
That I was dearer than his life,
He called me his darling, his pet,
And he asked me to be his wife.
"Oh, Willie," I said with a sigh,
"I'm sure I'll have to say no!"
He then took my hand for a while,
And said: "Good-bye, I must go."
"Oh, darling, Oh, darling," he said,
"Your heart must he carved of stone."
He took a white rose from my hair,
And left me standing alone.
The next day, poor Willie was found.
He was drowned in the pond by the mill,
The clear, placid water so fair,
Lay 'round near the brink of the hill.
Those blue eyes forever were closed,
And lifeless the golden head fair,
And close to his dear lips he held
The white rose he took from my hair.
"Oh, Willie, Oh, Willie, come back!
I'll ever be faithful to you.
Oh, Willie, Oh, Willie, come back,
I loved you so fondly and true!"
[Normally titled, "Sinful to Flirt" it was recorded as "It's Sinful to Flirt" by Ernest V. Stoneman in 1925 and then again with his group the Dixie Mountaineers. The North Carolina Ramblers called it "Willie My Darling."
R. Matteson 2014]
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50. THE NIGHTINGALE.
ONE morning, one morning, one morning in May,
I met a fair couple a-making their way,
And one was a lady so neat and so fair,
The other a soldier, a brave volunteer.*
Good morning, good morning, good morning to thee,
O where are you going my pretty lady?
"O I am going to the bank of the sea
To see the waters gliding, hear the nightingale sing!"
We hadn't been standing but an hour or two,
When out of his knapsack a fiddle he drew.
The theme that he played made the valleys to sing,
O see the waters gliding! Hear the nightingale sing."
" Pretty lady, pretty lady, it's time to give o'er."
" Oh, no, pretty soldier, please play one tune more.
I'd rather hear your fiddle or the touch of one string,
As see the water gliding, hear the nightingale sing."
"Pretty soldier, pretty soldier, will you marry me!"
"Oh, no, pretty lady, that never can be.
I've a wife in London, and children thrice three,
Two wives in the army's too much for me.
I'll go back to London and there one year,
And often I'll think of you, my little dear,
If ever I return 'twill be in the spring
To see the waters gliding, hear the nightingale sing."
*Here "volunteer," which comes from the French vulontaire, seems to have kept its French pronunciation and rhymes with
"fair."
[The popular ballad, usually titled "One Morning in May" (Laws P14) was collected in 1903 by Belden. One early recording is Coon Creek Girls, "The Soldier and the Lady" (Vocalion 05404, 1940).
R. Matteson 2014]
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51. THE MARY GOLDEN TREE.
There was a little ship and she sailed upon the sea,
And she went by the name of Mary Golden Tree,
As she sailed upon the lone and lonesome low,
As she sailed upon the lone and lonesome sea.
There was another ship, and she sailed upon the sea,
And she went by the name of Turkish Robbery
As she sailed upon the lone and the lonesome low,
As she sailed upon the lonesome sea.
There was a little sailor, unto the captain he said,
"O captain, O captain, what will you give to me,
If I'll sink them in the low and lonesome low,
If I'll sink them in the lonesome sea!"
He bowed upon his breast, and away went he
Till he came to the ship of the Turkish Robbery
As she sailed upon the lone and lonesome low
As she sailed upon the lonesome sea.
Then out of his pocket an instrument he drew,
And he bored nine holes for to let the water through,
As she sailed upon the lone and lonesome low,
As she sailed upon the lonesome sea.
Some had hats, and some had caps,
And tried to stop them awful water gaps,
For they were sinking in the lone and lonesome low,
For they were sinking in the lonesome sea.
He bowed upon his breast and back swam he,
Till he came to the ship of the Mary Golden Tree,
As she sailed upon the lone and lonesome low
As she sailed upon the lonesome sea.
O captain, O captain, won't you take me on board,
O captain, O captain, won't you be as good as your word;
For I am sailing in the lone and lonesome low,
For I've sunk them in the lonesome sea.
O, no, I will neither take you on board,
O, no, I will not be as good as my word,
For I am sailing on the lone and lonesome low,
For I am sailing on the lone and lonesome sea.
If it wasn't for my love for your daughter and your men,
I would do unto you, as I did unto them,
I would sink you in the lone and lonesome low,
I would sink you in the lone and lonesome sea."
He turned upon his back, and down sank he.
"Farewell, farewell to the Marv Golden Tree,
For I am sinking in the lone and lonesome low,
For I am sinking in the lone and lonesome sea."
[This is Child ballad No. 286, The Golden Vanity-- also recorded as "Golden Willow Tree (Toomey 1925) and "The Lonesome Sea" (Carter family 1935).
R. Matteson 2014]
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52. JOHN RILEY.
Os walking out one summer's morn,
To take the cool and Pleasant air,
I spied a fair and most beautiful damsel,
Her cheeks were like some lily fair.
Then, I went up to her saying:
"Would you like to be a sailor's wife?"-
"Oh no! Oh no!" she quickly answered,
"My mind is to live a single life."
I said, " Fair maiden' what makes you differ
From all the rest of womankind ?
You are too fair, you are too handsome,
To marry you I would incline."
" Kind sir, kind sir, I could have married
Some two or three long Years ago'
All to a man they called John Riley,
Who was the cause of my overthrow."
"O leave off thinking of John Riley,
Come with me and go to some distant shore,
We'll sail over to old Pennsylvania,
Where John Riley lives evermore."
"I'll not leave of thinking of John Riley,
Nor go with you to some distant shore,
My mind is with him, I cannot forsake him,
Though his face I may never see any more."
Then I walked up to her sweet kisses,
The kisses I gave her were one, two' three.
" I'm the man whom they call John Riley,
I've just returned to marry thee."
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53. WHEN THE WILD ROSES BLOOM AGAIN BESIDE THE RIVER.
They were roaming in the gloaming
Where the roses bloom so fair,
Just a soldier and his sweetheart brave and true
But their hearts were filled with sorrow
As she pinned a rose upon his coat of blue.
Refrain:
When the roses bloom again beside the river,
And the robin redbreast sings his sweet refrain.
As in the days of Auld Lang Syne,
I'll be with you, sweetheart mine,
I'11 be with you when the roses bloom again.
In the rattle of the battle
Came a murmur sweet and low
Of a soldier, who had fallen in the fray.
o' I am dying, Captain, dying, and I know that I must go,
I want you to promise ere I pass away."
" In a far and distant city where the roses are in bloom,
There's a maiden, who is waiting ail in vain
And it's there I'd have You take me.
I've been faithful, don't forsake me,
I must meet her, where the roses bloom again."
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54. THE WRECK OF OLD NINETY-SEVEN.
They gave him his orders at Monroe, Virginia,
Saying, " Pete you're way behind time,
This is not thirty-eight, but it's Old Ninety-Seven,
Now, you must put her in Center on time."
It's a long, rough road from Pittsburgh to Danville,
And it lies on a three mile grade.
It was on this grade he lost his average,
So you see what a journey he made.
He was going down grade making ninety miles an hour,
When his whistle broke loose in a scream.
He was found in the wreck with his hand on the throttle,
And scalded to death with the steam.
Now, good ladies, you must take warning from this time now and on,
Never speak harsh words to your true love or husband,
He may leave you and never return.*
* This moral seems to have been added to the song. According to the code of mountaineers, wives are considered entirely
subordinate to their husbands, - who look at them as their possession. A husband calls his wife "my woman." If she does
something wrong he considers that he has a right to whip her.
[This version is based on the popular recording by Vernon Dalhart. This was first copyrighted by Henry Whittier through Ralph Peer of the Victor Company. The immense popularity of this ballad and the large amount of royalties paid lead to the first major copyright lawsuit over ownership of the ballad. Whittier only learned the ballad which has now been attributed to David Graves George. Some controversy still exists about the authorship.
R. Matteson Jr.]
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55. I WISH I WAS A LITTLE SPARROW.
I wisn I was a little sparrow
And I had wings and I would fly,
I'd fly away to my fair lover,
And there I'd sit until I die.
[Fragment of ]
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56. SALLY GOODEN.
I had a piece of pie,
I had a piece of pudden
I gave it all away to get to hug Sally Gooden.
I walked that road till the road got muddy,
I hugged Sally Gooden till she couldn't stand studdy.
Possum in the stump,
Rabbit in the hollow,
Pretty girl at our house,
As fat as she can swallow.
Can't fool a coon,
Can't fool a possum
Can't fool a coon on a huckleberry blossom.
Put on the tea pot,
Put on the pan,
Put on the tea pot,
Sugar, Sally Ann.
[Well known fiddle tune "Sally Goodin," popularized by Eck Robertson who recorded it as an instrumental in 1922. Various nonsense lyrics have been attached to the song by the Skillet Lickers and other early country bands- some verses needed to rhyme with Goodin. Below is my painting of the song.
R. Matteson 2014]
Painting of "Sally Goodin" by Richard L. Matteson Jr. C 2008
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57. WHEN I WAS SINGLE.
When I was single! Oh then!
When I was single! Oh then!
When I was single, my money would jingle,
Now I want to be single again.
I married me a wife, Oh then!
I married me a wife, Oh then!
I married me a wife; she was the break of my life,
Now, I want to be single again.
My wife, she died, Oh then!
My wife, she died, Oh then!
My wife, she died, I laughed till I cried,
Just to think I was single again.
I went for the shroud, Oh then!
I went for the shroud, Oh then!
I went for the shroud, oh then! and looked mighty proud
Just to think I was single again.
I married me another, Oh then!
I married me another, Oh then!
I married me another, She was the devil's grandmother.
Now I wish I was single again.
She beat me and she banged me, Oh then !
She beat me and she banged me, Oh then!
She beat me and banged me, and swore she would hang me.
If only I was single again!
She got her a rope, Oh then!
She got her a rope, Oh then!
She got her a rope, my poor neck she did choke
I wish I was single again.
But the rope did break, Oh then!
But the rope did break, Oh then!
But the rope did break; I made my escape,
And now, I am single again.
Young men, take warning, Oh then!
Young men, take warning, Oh then!
Be good to the first, for the last will be worst
And you'll wish you were single again.
[Sam Cowell had a song made on the same framework, When I was a Maid, O Then (120 Comic Songs sung by Sam Cowell, c.1850). There were a dozen early country recordings starting with Kelly Harrell in 1925.
R. Matteson 2014]
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58. RAILROAD BUM
All around the water tank
Just standing in the rain,
Ten thousand miles away from home,
Waiting for a train.
I walked up to the brakeman
Just to hand him a line of talk.
He said, " If you're got the money,
I'll see that you won't walk."
I haven't got a nickel,
Not a penny can I show.
"Get off, get off, you railroad bum."
As he slammed the box-car door.
They put me off in Texas,
The state I dearly love,
Wide open spaces all around me,
With the moon and stars above.
Nobody seems to want me
Or lend me a helping hand,
I'm on my way from Frisco bay,
I'm going back to Dixie land.
Indeed, my pocket-book is empty,
And my heart is full of pain.
Ten thousand miles away from home,
A-waiting for a train.
[This is a version of the ballad "Wild and Reckless Hobo" also "Ten Thousand Miles From Home." Jimmie Rodgers used this ballad as a basis of his famous song, "Waiting for a Train."
R. Matteson 2014]
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59. YOU'RE AS WELCOME AS THE FLOWERS IN MAY
Last night I had a sweet, sweet dream,
I dreamed I saw my home, sweet home.
Oh how beautiful and old it seemed,
I made a vow no more to roam.
I dreamed I saw my daddy old and gray,
And I thought I heard my mother say:
Chorus:
"You're as welcome as the flowers in May.
And we love you in the same old way.
We've been waiting for you day by day,
You're as welcome as the flowers in May."
I dreamed I saw my sweetheart there,
And once again we pledged our love,
I listened to. her love sweet prayers,
And the moon was shining bright above.
We talked of happy days of yore,
And it left my lone heart sore,
My thoughts are many miles away,
And I long to hear my mother say:
Chorus:
[Written by Dan Sullivan in 1902, it was recorded on Edison by Byron Harlan in 1904. Early country recordings include one by Governor Jimmie Davis in 1937.
R. Matteson 2014]
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60. BLUE EYES
It would have been better for us both
In this wide and wicked world had we never met,
For the pleasure I've both have seen together,
I'm sure love will never forget.
Chorus:
I'm thinking to-night of my blue eyes,
'Who is sailing far over the sea,
I'm_thinking to-night of my blue eyes,
And I wonder if he ever thinks of me.
Oh, you told me once, dear that you loved me,
You said that Ive never would part,
But a link of the chain has been broken
Which leaves me with a sad and broken heart.
Chorus:
When the cold, cold grave shall enclose me
Will you come here, and shed just one tear for me,
And say to the strangers around you,
That you have broken my heart, my dear.
[This song always reminds me of the classic Carter Family version, I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes, recorded in 1929. Sara Carter, wife of A.P. Carter had a love affair with Coy Bays, a cousin of A.P.'s. The Bays family left for California to avoid the public embarrassment but Sara had enough and divorced A.P. in the fall of 1936. In the late 1930s when the Carter Family was playing on XERA, the most powerful of the Border Radio stations in Texas, Bays heard the radio broadcast of Sara singing "I'm thinking Tonight" and dedicating it to him. Coy drove all night to find Sara in Texas and within three weeks they were married. This was the end of the Carter Family, one of the great old-time groups.
R. Matteson 2014]
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61. LITTLE MARY FAGAN.
Little Mary Fagan, she went to town one day
She went to the pencil factory to get her little pay
She left her home at seven, she kissed her mother good-bye
Not one time did the poor child think that she going to die!
Then a fellow met her with a brutal heart, we know,
He smiled and said to Mary, "You'll go home no more."
He sneaked along behind her until they met the middle room,
He smiled and said, "You've met your fatal doom."
Nute [1] Lee was a watchman, and when he wound the key,
Away down in the basement, little Mary he could see.
He called for the policemen. Their names I clo not know.
They came to the pencil factory, and told Nute [1] he must go.
Her mother just a-weeping,
She weeped and mourned all day.
She prayed to meet her baby in a better world some day.
Now come all, young people,
Wherever you may be,
Supposing little Mary belonged to you or me !
1. Newt
[This was Fiddlin' John Carson and his daughter Rosalee's song with music by Irene Spain. It was written around 1925 when Carson recorded it.
R. Matteson 2014]
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62. AFTER THE BALL.
Collected by Gains, Joy Clyde, Harrogate, Tennessee.
Nov. 4th 1932.
A little maid climbed upon an old man's knee
And begged for a story. "Tell uncle please
Why are you single, why live alone
Have you no babies, have you no home?" -
I had a sweetheart years, years ago
Where she is now Pet, you will soon know.
Listen to the story I'll tell it all
I broke her heart, Pet, after the ball.
Bright lights were flashing in the grand ball room
Softly the music was playing sweet tunes,
Up came my sweetheart, my love, my own.
I wished some water, left her alone.
When I returned dear, there stood a man
Kissing my sweetheart as lovers can.
Down fell the glass, Pet, broken, that's all
Just as my heart was after the ball.
Long years have past, babe, I've never wed,
True to my lost love, though she is dead,
She tried to tell me, tried to explain.
I would not listen; pleadings were vain.
One day a letter came from that man.
He was her brother the letter ran.
That's why I am single, no home at all.
I broke her heart, Pet, after the ball.
[This was written by Charles K. Harris in 1892 and was very popular. There's a funny story about a ballad collector (unnamed) who wanted to hear some real authentic Kentucky ballads so he was told to hear Bradley Kincaid. The collector went through a lot of trouble to get tickets to see Bradley Kincaid perform and he went early and sat in the front row. The first song Bradley played was, "After the Ball was Over"--
R. Matteson 2014]
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THE DRUNKEN CAPTAIN.
A fierce storm raged and black winds blew-
The captain said: "I'll change the crew."
He chose men who had some booklore,
But never had left their home shore.
"I want," he said, "try oceans new."
Old sailors and wise men who knew
Sea sailing cried: "Seek port before
Our boat is lost for evermore."
Right in the storm the ship rode fast'
It lost its riggings and the mast.
The passengers jumped in the sea.
Waves tore the sinking vessel's beams.
The drunken chief laughed at men's screams.
" We are all safe," he said, " trust me."
[ ]
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64. THE WRECK AT LATONA.
Source: Edison Brown, who found it in old papers at his home in East Tennessee. This ballad has been sung for many years in Cumberland Mountains.
SHE had just left the switch at Chitamia,
The freight number twelve sixty-two;
And on down the mountain she travelled,
And brave were the men and crew.
The engineer pulled at the whistle,
For the brakes would nor work when applied;
And the brakeman climbed on the cabtop,
For he knew what that whistle had cried.
With all of the strength that was in him,
He tightened the brakes with a prayer;
But the train kept on down the mountain,
And her whistle was piercing the air.
She travelled at sixty an hour,
Gaining speed every foot of the way;
Then with a crash it was over;
And there on the ground the freight lay.
It was not the amount of damage,
Or the value of what it ail cost;
It's the sad tale that came from the cabin,
Where the lives of two brave men were lost.
They were found at their post in the wreckage,
Where they died when the engine had fell,
The engineer still held the whistle
The fireman still hung to the bell.
This story is told of a freight train,
And should be a warning for all.
You must be prepared every moment,
For you cannot tell when He'll call.
[Vernon Dalhart first recorded "Freight Wreck at Altoona." The accident took place in late November 1925, and Dalhart was in the studio recording the result on January 15, 1926. It was written by his buddy Carson Robison shortly before the recording date. The engine number changed slightly and the title is different but the song could not have been written before 1925 and
Cambiaire's head notes above report-- "Source: Edison Brown, who found it in old papers at his home in East Tennessee. This ballad has been sung for many years in the Cumberland Mountains."
R. Matteson 2014]
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65. PEARL BRYANT.
Source: Edison Brown.
Come, Pearl, let's take a ramble
O'er meadows dark and gray;
And while we are a-rambling,
We'll name our wedding day.
" Where woods are dark and dreary,
I can't retrace my way."
" Retrace your way, no never,
These woods you'll never roam."
" No human arms can save you,
Pearl Bryant, you must die.;'
Down on her knees before him
She pleaded for her life.
" You know I have always loved you,
And would have been your wife !
Why do you want to kill me,
I beg you, spare my life !"
Deep, deep into her bosom,
He plunged the fatal knife.
" I bid farewell for ever,
To parents, friends, and home.,'
[ ]
_________________
66. THE FROZEN GIRL,
Supplied by Gayle Rowles.
Charlotte lived on a mountain top in a bleak and lonely spot,
There was no dwelling there except her father's cot.
And yet on many a wintry night young swains were gathered there;
Her father kept a social board, and she was very fair.
on a New Year's eve as the sun went down, far looked her wistful eye
out from the frosty window pane as many a sleigh dashed by.
At the village fifteen miles away was to be a ball that night;
And though the air was piercing cold her heart was warm and light.
How brightly beamed her laughing eye as a well known noise she heard;
And dashing up to the cottage door her lover's sleigh appeared.
"Oh, daughter dear," her mother criecl, " this branket round you fold,
To-night is a dreadful one you'll get your death of cold."
"Oh, nay, oh, nay !" Charlotte cried as she laughed like a gipsy queen,
" To ride in blankets muffled up, I ne'er would be seen.
My silken cloak is quite enough, you know 'tis lined throughout,
And there's my silken scarf to twine my head and neck about."
Her bonnet and her gloves were on, she leaped into the sleigh,
And swiftly they sped down the mountain side and o,er the hill, away.
With muffled beat so silently five miles at length were passed,
When charles with a few shivering words the silence broke at last.
" Such a dreadful night I never saw' the reins I scarcely can hold."
Charlotte faintly then replied, " I am exceedingly cold"'
He cracked his whip, he urged his steed much faster than before:
And thus five other weary miles in silence were passed o'er.
Said Charles, " How fast the shivering ice is gathering on my brow !"
And Charlotte more faintly cried : " I'm growing warmer now !"
Thus thev rode through the frosty air and the glittering cold starlight,
Until at last the village lamps and the ballroom came in sight.
They reached the door, and charles sprang out. He reached his hand to her.
"Why sit you there like a monument that has no power to stir?"
He called her once, he called her twice, she answered not a word;
He asked her for her hands again, but still she never stirred'
He took her hand in his: 't was cold and hard as any stone.
He tore her mantle from her face, the cold stars o'er it shone'
Then, quickly, to the lighted hall her lifeless form he bore;
Charlotte's eyes had closed for aye, aye, her voice was heard no
And there he sat, down by her side, while bitter tears did flow.
And cried, " My own, mY charming bride, this you will never know."
He twisted his arms around her neck; he kissed her marble brow.
His thoughts flew back to where she said: " I'm growing warmer now."
[ ]
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67. CHARLOTTE. THE FROZEN GIRL.
(Other version supptled by Nola Crawford, 1933. Her
father she says, has known it all his life.)
Charlotte lived by a mountain side
in a wild and lovely spot.
No dwelling there for three miles around,
Except her father's cot.
Her father liked to see her dressed
Gay as city belles,
For she was the only child he had
And he loved his daughter well.
It being almost Christmas time;
The night being long and cold,
When she to the frozen window went
To see the sleighs go by.
As restless beamed her sparkling eyes,
His well known voice she heard.
Came driving up to the cottage door,
Fair Charles' sleigh appeared.
*' There is a merry ball to-night,
Within fifteen miles ofi.
The air is freezing cold and dark,
But our hearts are warm and light."
" Charlotte dear," her mother said,
"Those blankets around you fold,
For it is a dreadful night abroad,
And you'll catch your death of cold."
"Oh, no, oh, no." Charlotte said,
" Loaded like some gypsy queen,
To go with blankets all muffled up
I never could be seen."
Her bonnet, and her cloak went on
As she stepped into the sleigh.
And over the hill and mountain side
So merrily they passed away.
" It is a dreadful night," said Charles,
" These reins I scarce can hold."
Charlotte said in a feeble tone :
"I am extremely cold."
He cracked his whip and urged his stead
Much faster than before,
Till fifteen long and weary miles
In silence they passed o'er.
" What singing noise these bells do make,
As we leave the drifting snow;
What a creaking noise these runners make,
As o'er the hills we go ll'
" How fastr" said Charlie, " the ice and snor,v
Is freezing on my brow !"
Charlotte said in a feeble tone,
" f'm growing warmer now."
He drove to the door, stepped out,
He gave his hand to her, Oh God !
" Why sit you there like a monument
Without the power to stir?"
He took her hands in his, Oh God !
They were cold and hard as stone.
He moved the mantle from her brow;
While the stars upon her shone.
She was quickly taken to the lighted hall,
Her lifeless form he bore;
For Charlotte was a frozen corpse
And never spake any more.
He twisted his arms around her neck,
And kissed her marble brow.
His thoughts went back to where she said :
"I'm growing warmer now."
Charles went back to her father's house.
Her father no harsh words spoke,
For he saw by the sadness on his brow,
That Charles' heart was broke.
They laid her in her grave next day.
Charles and his friends were there.
And in her grave that day he laid
His love and affections fair.
[See notes for 1st version immediately above]
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68. THE BROWN GIRL.
Other version of Lord Thomas (see page 34).
Or, father and mother, come yield to me
And bid me as your own
Which had you rather that I'd bring home,
Fair Ellen or the Brown girl.
Well, then, I'll bid you, oh, my boy,
To bring the Brown girl home;
For the Brown girl she has a house and home,
Fair Ellen she has none.
He rode till he came to fair Ellen's hall
Knocked slowly on the ring;
There was none so ready as fair Ellen
To rise and let him in.
Sad news, sad news I bring to you
Sad news I have to say;
I have come to ask you to my wedding
On the fourth of May.
She dressed herself in clothing white;
She robed her head in green,,
And every city that she rode through
She was taken for a queen.
She rode till she came to Lord Thomas' hall
Knocked slowly on the ring
None was so ready as Lord Thomas himself
To rise and let her in.
He took her by her lily-white hand
He marched her across the hall,
He marched her through a crowd of girls;
She was the fairest of all.
The Brown girl then had a little knife
So very keen and sharp,
She stole from her right hand to her left
And pierced fair Ellen's heart
Lord Thomas then had a little sword
So very sharp and small
He then cut off the Brown girl's head
And kicked it against the wall.
[This is a second version of Child 73. Lord Thomas and Fair Annet (Lord Thomas and Fair Elleanor/Ellen).
R. Matteson 2014]
________________
59. MAY I SLEEP IN YOUR BARN TO-NIGHT, MISTER
May I sleep in your barn to-night, Sir,
For it's cold sleeping on the ground;
While the cold north rain is falling,
And the wind whistling all around.
Oh, I use no tobacco, kind mister,
And I carry no matches to light;
I'11 do you no harm whatever,
May I sleep in your barn just to-night.
Oh, you ask me how long I've been travelling,
And leading this kind of a life;
I must tell you my story, kind mister,
Though it pierces my heart like a knife.
It was three years ago this past summer,
I will never forget that sad day;
When a stranger came from the city;
F{e was tail and handsome and gay.
He was sportly dressed and was handsome,
And he looked like a man who had wealth;
And he wanted to stop there in that city,
And dwell there a while for his health.
My wife was always wanting something
To add to her home and her life;
She coaxed until finally I consented
For the stranger to stop for a while.
I was coming home from my work, sir;
I was whistling and singing for joy,
Expecting a kind-hearted welcome
To receive from my wife and my boy.
And I saw something that looked like a letter
That someone had placed on the stand.
And the moment my eyes flashed upon it
I took it up in my hand.
And the lines that were written upon it
As they ran through my brain drove me wild;
For they told me the stranger and Nellie
Had run off and taken my child.
I went to the farm house last summer
They told me my baby had died;
For the first time in life, sir,
I knelt down there and I cried.
They carried me over to the graveyard,
They showed me a new-made mound,
And they told me there laid my baby,
In the cold damp ground.
I'm told there's a God up in Heaven,
Of whom I've been taught to believe,
And I'm sure he will give to that rascal,
The debt that he ought to receive.
Oh, I use no tobacco, kind mister,
And I carry no matches to light;
I'll do you no harm whatever
May I sleep in your barn just to-night?
[Charlie Poole]
_____________________
70. SALLIE.
Supplied by I.E. Nichols, as recited or sung by his mother, Harrogate, Tennessee.
There was a young lady from London she came
And Sallie, Sallie they called her by name.
Her riches were more than a king can possess.
Her wit and her beauty exceeded all the rest.
There was a young gentleman worth thousands of worlds,
And to court this young lady away he did hurl;
Her riches being so great and her beauty so high.
Upon this young gentleman she scarce cast her eye.
Oh, Sallie, Oh, Sallie, said he,
I'm sorry that our love cannot agree ;
But now I will warn you, your ruin this will prove,
Unless all your hatred turn into love.
Oh, no I don't hate you nor no other men,
But to say that I love you is more than I can;
So you may retire and end this discourse
For I will never have you unless I am forced.
About six weeks had gone and passed,
When we heard of this lady's misfortune at last;
she sends for the gentleman she slighted with scorn;
she was struck to the heart, she knew not in what form.
"Oh, Sallie, Oh, Sallie," said he,
"Do you remember the time when you slighted me?
The first word that I asked you, you denied with scorn;
And now I'll reward you for things past and gone."
"Oh, things past and gone forget and forgive
And grant me once more in this world to live !"
"I'll never forgive you as long as I have breath,
And I'll dance on your grave, love' when you are cold in death."
Then off of her fingers she drew diamond rings three,
Saying; "Take these for love's sake while dancing over me;"
Hard-hearted young ladies, your true love don't slight,
Hard-hearted young gentlemen, I wish you good night.
[This is a version of the English broadside Sallie and her True-Love Billie, known in the US as the "Rich Irish Lady." Most version have been categorized under Child No. 295, and a debate continues about the validity of Child B of which this is a version.
R. Matteson 2014]
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73. THREE BABES.
Supplied by I. E. Nichols Harrogate, Tennessee. Recited by his mother.
There was a lady and a lady gay
The children she had three;
She sent them away to the North Countree,
To learn the grammar-ee.
They had not been so very long,
Scarcely three months and a day,
Until death, sweet death, came hastening along,
And took these babies away.
" There is a king in Heaven," she said,
" That used to wear a crown,
Please send to me my three little babes
To-night or in the morning soon-"
Christmas time was a-drawing near,
The nights being long and lone;
At length she saw her three little babes,
Come running to their own mother's home.
She spread a table cloth both long and wide,
And on it she put bread and wine,
"Come and eat, come and eat, my three little babes,
Come and eat and drink of mine."
"We cannot eat your bread, mother dear,
We cannot drink your wine,
For yonder stands our Saviour dear,
And Him we must obey."
She fixed a bed, in a back, back room,
And on it she put a white sheet,
And over the top spread a golden spread,
That they might better sleep.
" Take it off, take it off," said the eldest one,
" Take it off, take it off," said he;
" For woe unto this wide wicked world
Since pride has been with me."
" Take it off, take it off," said the eldest son
" The chickens will soon crow for day ;
For yonder stands our Saviour, dear,
And Him we must obey."
[This is a version of Child No. 79. The Wife of Usher's Well. Cf. Fuson's version from Kentucky.
R. Matteson 2014]