The Forsaken Girl- Eden Hash
[From Memory Melodies- A Collection of Folk-Songs from Middle Tennessee- McDowell; 1947. The editor's notes follow.
This is another one of the border-line songs but clearly related. Stanzas 3, 4, 6 and 7 are part of the "Died for Love" group. After the opening stanza- similar to "Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies" and the 2nd stanza similar to "Deep Blue Sea" only the 5th stanza is from the "Constant Lady and False Hearted Squire" broadside-- the rest are the "Died for Love" group. The 5th stanza again (see Eden Hash's other ballad) is the "heart's-ease" flower stanza.
Cf. Sharp II, 1932. No. 190 "I Love my Love" for other vague floating stanzas that are part of this family of songs.
Cf. "As I Walked Out" also by Eden Hash
R. Matteson 2014, 2017]
THE FORSAKEN GIRL
I wish I were a little sparrow,
I would fly far away from grief and sorrow,
I would follow after my true love,
I'd follow on like a turtle dove.
It was last night he said to me,
"I'll carry you across the deep blue sea,"
But, now he's gone and I'm alone;
Poor orphan girl without a home.
I looked away to yonder town
And saw my true love sitting down
With another girl close by his side,
And they tell me she will be his bride.
The reason of this, I'll tell you why,
Because she has more gold than I;
Her gold may scatter and her silver fly,
And I hope some day she'll be poor as I.
I wish -- I wish -- I wish in vain
That my true love would come again,
But all in vain; twill never be
Till an apple grows on an orange tree.
Go dig my grave both wide and deep,
Place a tombstone at my head and feet,
So the whole world may plainly see
That I loved a boy that, didn't love me.
Both these versions were obtained from Mrs. Eden Hash. the first version without a heading except the first line. Mrs. McDowell remembers well hearing her mother sing parts of this song, and her memory of the tune is corroborated by Mrs. Hash. The similarity of the two texts is apparent; and each has striking similarities to the "Butcher Boy", found also in this collection.