The Golden Vanity- Edwards (VT) 1934 Flanders F2 (Also FF)
[Below are Coffin's introductory notes from Flanders' Ancient Ballads. This ballad covers over 80 pages, the most extensive collection published. Why Flanders called this F2 is unknown. She only included the first 5 stanzas of Edwards ballad under F2 and later included the complete text with music under FF- I can only assume it's a mistake. Since this was sent in by Edwards we must assume he also sent the music- since they did not record him singing it. This ballad is a bit of a mystery. Like the version by Fish- this seems to be composed rather than traditional and has an unusual happy ending.
George Edwards grandfather, William H. Edwards, was a Sergeant, a seaman and balladier in England in the early 1800s. This version (as far as I know) is the only version collected in the US that closely resembles the opening of Child A and mentions Sir Walter Raleigh and the Netherlands [see also Ashton in English and other Versions]. George, an excellent informant for Barry, Flanders and later Cazden, also got ballads from printed materials. Cazden collected a completely different version "Bold Trellitee" from Edwards probably in the 1940s and published it in 1958 and later in 1982. (See that version in my collection) There an article (thesis) written about Edwards but I haven't been able to get a copy.
R. Matteson 2014]
The Sweet Trinity or the Golden Vanity
(Child 286)
This ballad is immensely popular in America and not hard to find in Britain. It dates back to a broadside of the 1680's in which the deceitful captain is Sir Walter Raleigh. (See Flanders FF.) Since then it has taken many forms and may conclude in any number of ways. The Flanders texts give an excellent cross section of the plot variations found in this ballad. In A-T the boy drowns in the lowlands low. In U, he sinks the captain's ship as well as that of the enemy before he drowns. In V, he also sinks the captain's ship and there is only one survivor to tell the tale. In W, he sinks the captain's ship, ironically drowning the girl he loved with the crew. In X, he dies after being hauled on deck. In EE his ghost returns to treat the captain to a glass of beer before sinking the boat. In FF-JJ, the heroic lad is rewarded with a leave of absence, the daughter's hand, or gold and silver. Of these texts, A1, with the stanzas on the phantom ship, and R, with the lines borrowed from "The Mermaid" (Child 289) are noteworthy. So are V, with its one survivor, like Melville's Ishmael; and FF, which preserves the name of Raleigh, if not the ending, from Child A" The vessel's name, originally The Sweet Trinity, varies greatly in America, becoming The Golden Vanity, The Green Willow Tree, The Merry Golden Tree, and so on. Its opponent, sunk by the cabin boy, was "a false galley" in the old broadside, but it is more likely a Turkish (or Russian, Irish, French, etc.) Revelee or "Shavaree" (sloop) in the States.
There is a certain preposterous quality to this song, and college students and music hall writers have exploited this fact in a series of parodies. see Coffin, 155, for references. Perhaps for the same reason, it has been extremely popular with sailors.
A long bibliography for "The Sweet Trinity" is easy to come by. See coffin, 153-5 (American); Dean-Smith, 69; Belden, 97 (English); Greig and Keith, 228-9, and Ord, 450-1 (Scottish). Phillips Barry, British Ballad's from Maine, 339-47, includes and discusses it. There is a song, once in a while confused with "The Sweet Trinity," called "The Low-lands Low." while it has a similar burden, it tells a very different story and goes back to an English stall ballad, "Young Edwin in the Lowlands Low" (Laws M 34), that was well known here and in Britain, see Laws, ABBB, 197-8; Belden, 127; and Dean-smith, 118, for some references to it.
The tunes for Child 286 can be divided into six groups which, however, may turn out to be related at least to some extent. The groupings are as follows: (1) Davis, Edwards, Moses, Burditt, and possibly Pease; (2) George, Daniels, Houghton; (3) Henry, Blake, George, Barry; (4) Clarke, Cassidy, Richards, Dragon; (5) Ingalls; and (6) Fish and Percival. The Ingalls runs seems to be a version of the popular "Canada-I-O." In order to save repetition, the tune relationships for standard collections are given here. Only relatively close tunes have been selected. from the large number available. In spite of their profusion, however, there is a lack of analogues for groups (2) and (6). For group (3), see Sharp I, 282-285, 2B9 I; FCB 4, 120, 47 A, 121 A (I), 123 C (I) ; BES, 346, ROI, 195, 200 (D); BI, 160. For group (3), especially the Blake rune, see BES, 34b (distant). For group (4) see Sharp l, 287, 288 G; GCM, 214; ROI, 200.
F2 "The Golden Vanity." Sent to Mrs. Flanders by George Edwards of Burlington, Vermont, "The Golden Vanity" was a ballad, known and used by his family for a very long time. Just how long it had been handed down from generation to generation he did not know. Copied libetatim et punctatim. H. H. F., Collector; March 28, 1931
The Golden Vanity
Sir Walter Raleigh built a ship to sail the Netherland seas,
Saying, oh, the lowlands, low,
Sir Walter Raleigh built a ship to sail the Netherland seas
And she went by the name of the Golden Vanity
And they sunk her in the Lowlands, lowlands low,
And they sunk her in the Lowlands, low.
The shipping in the lowlands they feared of her intent,
Saying, oh, the lowlands, low,
The shipping in the lowlands they feared of her intent
For the mission was a secret one on which the ship was sent,
And they sunk her in the Lowlands, lowlands low,
And they sunk her in the Lowlands, low.
There was another ship from a neighboring country,
Saying, oh, the lowlands, low,
There was another ship from a neighboring country
And she sailed away in search of the Golden Vanity
And she sunk her in the Lowlands, lowlands, low,
And she sunk her in the Lowlands, low.
She sought the ship for many a day, and went from sea to sea,
Saying, oh, the lowlands, low,
She sought the ship for many a day, and went from sea to sea
Till at length she found her in a port, on the Zuyder Zee,
And she sunk her in the Lowlands, lowlands, low,
And she sunk her in the Lowlands, low.
Then up spake John, a brave young lad, he was the cabin boy,
Saying, oh, the lowlands, low,
Then up spake John, a brave young lad, he was the cabin boy
And he said to the captain "I can that ship destroy,"
"I can sink her in the Lowlands, lowlands, low,
I can sink her in the Lowlands, low."
You are brave, my lad," the captain said, as brave, as brave can be,"
Saying, oh, the lowlands, low,
You are brave, my lad," the captain said, as brave, as brave can be,
And a rich reward awaits you and I will pay you fee
If you'll sink her in the Lowlands, lowlands, low,
If you'll sink her in the Lowlands, low."
Then Johnny he made ready and he plunged into the sea,
Saying, oh, the lowlands, low,
Then Johnny he made ready and he plunged into the sea
And he swam to the side of the Golden Vanity,
And he sunk her in the Lowlands, lowlands, low,
And he sunk her in the Lowlands, low.
Then Johnny had a tool that was fitted for the spoil,
Saying, oh, the lowlands, low,
Then Johnny had a tool that was fitted for the spoil,
And in the bottom low he bored the fatal hole,
And he sunk her in the Lowlands, lowlands, low,
And he sunk her in the Lowlands, low.
Then Johnny he swam back and was taken up on board,
Saying, oh, the lowlands, low,
Then Johnny he swam back and was taken up on board
And was greeted by his shipmates and given great accord,
For he sunk her in the Lowlands, lowland's, low,
For he sunk her in the Lowlands, low.
A leave of absence, for a year, was granted John with pay,
Saying, oh, the lowlands, low,
A leave of absence, for a year, was granted John with pay,
And the rich reward of gold and fee was given him that day,
For he sunk her in the Lowlands, lowlands, low,
For he sunk her in the Lowlands, low.