Sweet Willie- Mrs. G.L.Bostic (NC) 1929 Brown 4N
[From Brown Collection Volume 4, 1956 as "Black-Eyed Susan" (2 stanzas with music dated 1929- see bottom of this page), an obvious reference by a Brown editor to John Gay's poem also known as "Black-Eyed Susan" (see main headnotes). In the Abrams Collection it appears as "Sweet Willie" (Given by Betty Bostic March 5, 1938 as from her grandmother). The last stanzas are from Butcher Boy.
R. Matteson 2017]
Sweet Willie- as sung by Mrs. G.L. Bostic, Mooresboro, Cleveland Co.; full text in MS by Betty Bostic, her granddaughter.
1. I'll build myself a little boat,
And on the ocean I will float
I'll hail all the ships as they pass by,
I thought I heard sweet Willie cry.
2 'Captain, captain, tell me true.
Does my Willie sail with you?'
'No, pretty maid, he don't sail here.
He's drowned in the deep, I fear.'
3. She wrung her hands and tore her hair,
Like a pretty fair maid in deep despair,
Then she went back and wrote a song,
She wrote it true, she wrote it long,
And every line she shed a tear,
Crying, "Oh my dear! My dear, my dearest dear!"
He's drowned in the deep I fear."
4. Four young lawyers came riding by,
Saw her hanging on a limb so high,
They drew a knife and cut her down,
And on her breast these words they found;
5. Go dig my grave both wide and deep.
Place a marble stone at my head and feet
And across my breast place a sweet turtle dove
To show to the world that I died for love
To show to the world that I died for love.
6. They dug her grave both wide and deep.
Placed a marble stone at my head and feet
And across her breast placed a sweet turtle dove
To show to the world that she died for love
To show to the world that she died for love.
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N. 'Black-Eyed Susan.' Sung by Mrs. G. L. Bostic. Recorded at Mooresboro, Cleveland county, August 7, 1929. Another title given is 'Sweet Willie.' No text has been found. That given here was taken from the recording. Some of the stanzas omit the up-beat.
1. I'll build myself a little boat,
And on the ocean I will float
I'll hail all the ships as they pass by,
I thought I heard sweet Willie cry.
2 'Captain, captain, tell me true.
Does my Willie sail with you?'
'No, pretty maid, he don't sail here.
He's drowned in the deep, I fear.'
Scale: Hexatonic (4), plagal. Tonal Center: f. Structure: aaia2a3 (2,2,2,2) = aa1 (4,4). Circular Tune (V).