The Transmission of Folk-Song
by Phillips Barry
The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 27, No. 103 (Jan. - Mar., 1914), pp. 67-76
[Footnotes renumbered, moved to the end]
THE TRANSMISSION OF FOLK-SONG
BY PHILLIPS BARRY, A.M.
THE media for transmission of folk-song are twofold,--first, the folk-singer; second, the printed text as circulated by broadside, "songster,"[1] and to no small degree through the columns of country and even city newspapers.[2] Of the two media, the folk-singer is of the greater importance, since by oral tradition alone is a folk-song transmitted intact.
It matters little where the folk-singer learns his songs. Ancient ballads, some of them centuries old; later ballads, in part based on world-old themes, in part celebrating events yet unforgotten;[3] traditional lyrics; parlor and vaudeville songs,[4] - all are to be found in his repertory. Acting in response to the universal instinct of man to sing, he takes them as he finds them, and makes them his own, shaping them according to the subconscious dictates of his own fancy. The lone fisherman in his rocking dory, the rustic at the plough, the cowboy with his never-ending plaint, as expressed in the accompanying strain, -
[music]
"Bury me in some quiet spot,
Where these bones of mine won't be forgot, -" [5]
all are characteristic folk-singers. Yet not alone of the solitary type of singer is folk-song the possession. Its social aspects appear wherever a group are gathered together, conserving the elements of the primitive "folk," - congeniality, freedom from care, and light-heartedness, -hunters and trappers around a camp-fire, it may be, or railway laborers in a box-car on a wet night. It is not many years since, in a town near Boston, schoolboys would gather of an evening to seek recreation in singing. One of their songs is preserved to us.
THE DEVIL AND THE FARMER [6]
1. The Devil came to the farm one day,
With his tol de rol, tol de rol,
Diddle doll day.
2. "Oh, say! have you come for my oldest son?
With your tol de rol," etc.
3. "Oh, no! I've not come for your eldest son,
With my tol de rol," etc.
4. "Oh! then, have you come for my hired man?
With your tol de rol," etc.
5. "Oh, no! I've not come for your hired man,
With my tol de rol, etc.
6. "But I have come for your scold of a wife,
With my tol de rol," etc.
7. "Take her right off, she's the plague of my life,
With your tol de rol," etc.
8. The Devil came back to the farm next day,
With his tol de rol, etc.
9. "Oh, say! I've brought back your scold of a wife,
With my tol de rol, etc.
Io. "She filled all hell with clamor and strife,
With her tol de rol," etc.
A notable development of the social side of folk-song is of local record in southern Iowa and Nebraska. To the latter State, about 1887, a large number of settlers - mostly American, but with some English, German, and Swedish immigrants[7] - had come to take up homesteads. The social life of the new community centred about the Literary Society. This association held regular meetings, about once a week during the winter months, in the sod schoolhouse, attended by all the people within a radius of ten miles or more. Singing of songs without accompaniment was an important part of the programme. [8]
Many of the songs were folk-songs. One (a sentimental ballad), as sung by three sisters, was quite a favorite.
THE OLD ELM-TREE. [9]
[music]
1. There's a path by the lone deserted mill,
And a stream by the old bridge, broken still,
And the golden willow-bough, bending low
To the green sunny bank where the violets grow;
And the wild birds are singing their same sweet lays
That charmed me in dreams of the dear old days,
When Laura, my beautiful, sat by me,
On the moss-grown bank 'neath the old elm-tree.
Chorus: O Laura, dear Laura! my own true love,
Shall we meet in the angels' home above?
Earth holds not a treasure so dear to me
As the moss-grown scene 'neath the old elm-tree.
2. 'Twas there, 'neath the bright blue sky above,
I told her the tale of my heart's true love;
And there, ere the blossoms of summer died,
She had whispered the promise she'd be my bride;
And there fell the tears of our parting sore -
But ah! little did I dream we should meet no more -
For ere I came from the dark blue sea,
They had made her a grave 'neath the old elm-tree.
3. Oh! cruel and false were the tales they told, -
That my vows were broken, my own love cold,
And my truant heart held another dear,
Forgetting the vows that were whispered there;
And her cheek grew pale, and the faint heart sad,
And her beautiful lips never smiled again;
She wept, ah! she wept where none could see,
She wept o'er the past 'neath the old elm-tree.
4. She died, and they parted her sunny hair
O'er the cold pale brow death had left so fair,
And they crossed her white hands o'er her still, pulseless breast,
And so gently they laid the sweet Laura to rest.[10]
O Laura, dear Laura! my own true love,
Shall we meet in the angels' home above?
Earth holds not a treasure so dear to me
As the lonely grave 'neath the old elm-tree.
Songs of the Civil War, rendered with vigor or pathos as the case might demand, brought back memories of the great struggle. One in particular, of an incident in the battle of Fredericksburg, was sung to a fine old Irish air.
THE BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG.[11]
[music]
In the spring, the Literary Society held its annual exhibition. A large crowd would then be in attendance, and people would come twenty miles or more to take part. "The schoolhouse," to quote the exact words of an eye-witness, "would be jammed so full, that, looking from the stage,[12] you could see only a sea of heads. People stood in the seats, on the backs of the seats, in the windows, on chairs, and on every available bit of floor-space." The programme, which was quite long and elaborate, included organ and violin solos, speeches, recitations, dialogues, and songs. The songs were of various sorts.
Some were songs learned from books, and sung by quartet or partchorus, - gospel hymns, anthems, etc.; new songs of the day, which the settlers had learned back East; and, what is more important as relating to the transmission of folk-song, songs that were "brought out from people's memories for the occasion, that had been half-forgotten." Of such was the familiar "Thomas and Eleanor," or "The Brown Girl," as it was locally known, sung to a lovely Dorian air.
THE BROWN GIRL
[music]
Readers of the Journal may now peruse some folk-songs current in the family whose members contributed much to the success of the Literary Society at its regular meetings and at the exhibitions.
I. COME, ALL YE MERRY HUNTERS.[13]
[music]
1. Come, all ye merry hunters who love to chase the fox,
Who love to chase Bull Reynard among the hills and rocks!
Chorus: Then a ho ho ho, and a hi lo, along the merry stream,
Tay tay tay and a ti ti ti, and away to the rocky bow wow wow,
A yank fi fiddle and a bugle-horn,
Through the woods we'll run, brave boys, and through the woods we'll run!
2. The first they saw was a teamster a-loading up his team,
He said he saw Bull Reynard go floating up the stream.
3. The next they saw was a blind man, as blind as he could be,
He said he saw Bull Reynard run up a hollow tree.
4. The next they saw was a hunter a-winding up his horn,
He said he saw Bull Reynard run . . through the corn.[14]
5. The next they saw was a little boy a-feeding of his sheep,
He said he saw Bull Reynard as he lay fast asleep.
6. The next they saw was a little girl a-combing out her locks,
She said she saw Bull Reynard run through her flock of ducks.[15]
This song belongs to the type of quatrain ballad of which "Brian O' Lynn" and the celebrated "Houn' Dawg" song are examples.
The characteristic feature of these songs - which may be relics of actual communal composition - is, that each stanza is, as it were, a complete ballad in itself. [16]
2. SALLY [17]
Mlixolydian [music]
I. There was a fair maiden, from Scotland she came,
Great riches and honor, and Sally by name;
Her riches were more than the king could possess,
And her beauty was more than her riches at best.
2. There was a poor boy who came to court her,
Whose wages were only one thousand a year, -
She being so wealthy, so lofty, so high,
That upon this poor (boy) she would scarce cast an eye.
3. "O Sally! O Sally! O Sally!" said he,
"I fear that your love and mine cannot agree,
Unless all your hatred should turn into love,
For your beauty's my ruin, I'm sure it will prove."
4. "No hatred for you, sir, nor no other man,
But as for to love you, I know I never can:
So you may retire, and end your discourse,
For I never will have you, unless I am forced."
5. "No forcing, dear Madam, and this you may own,
There are plenty of ladies who are living alone;
I'll go and I'll court one, in hopes you may rue:
So fare you well, Sally, I bid you adieu."
6. Three weeks had scarce come, three weeks had scarce passed,
When Sally was taken with love at the last,
Entangled in love, and she knew not for why;
But she sent for the young man she once did deny.
7. "Oh! am I the doctor, you send for me here?
Or am I the young man who once loved you so dear?"
"Yes, you are the doctor, can kill or can cure,
And without your assistance I'm ruined, I'm sure."
8. "O Sally! O Sally! O Sally!" said he,
"Don't you remember when you slighted me?
I courted with pleasure, you slighted with scorn,
And so now I'll reward you for what's past and gone."
9. "O Willie! O Willie! forget and forgive,
And grant me some longer in this world for to live!"
"No, Sally, I will not, not while I have breath;
But I'll dance on your grave when you're laid in the earth."
10. Then off from her fingers pulled diamond rings three,
Saying, "Take these, and wear them while dancing o'er me,
While dancing o'er Sally, o'er Sally your queen,
And her colors are there, now no more to be seen!"
11. Soon Willie was taken at hearing her doom,
And over his mind there grew a great gloom, -
Said he, "I'll retire, and lay by her side,
I'll wed her in death, and I'll make her my bride!"
In a Massachusetts manuscript of 1790 is the following melody, "Fair Sally," which, as it fits the metre of this ballad, may belong to a lost version of it:--
[music]
This ballad is particularly interesting by reason of its close similarity in subject-matter, and in part in language, to "The Brown Girl." [18] In the version before us, Willie is made to relent; another text, however, lacking the last stanza,[19] represents him as proud and unforgiving, -- the character which the situation demands.[20] Herein is added evidence that communal re-creation (in this case, the result of a less retentive memory) improves as well as alters ballads.
3. TEN THOUSAND MILES AWAY. [21]
No more recalled.
CHORUS [music]
I. Oh! my true-love, she was handsome,
And my true-love, she was young;
Her eyes were blue as the violet's hue,
And silvery was the sound of her tongue.
And silvery was the sound of her tongue, my boys;
But while I sing this lay-ay-ay,
She has taken a trip in a government-ship,
Ten thousand miles away.
Chorus: Then blow, ye winds, heigh-ho!
A-roving I will go;
I'll stay no more on England's shore,
But let the music play-ay-ay,
For I'm off on the morning train,
Across the raging main,
For I'm on my way to my own true-love,
Ten thousand miles away.
2. The sun may shine through an eastern fog,
The Hudson run bright and clear,
The ocean's brine be turned to wine,
And I forget my beer,
And I forget my beer, my boys,
In the landlord's quarts lay-ay-ay;
But I never will part from my own sweetheart,
Ten thousand miles away.
3. Oh! dark and dismal was the day
When last I saw my Meg,
She'd a government-band around each hand,
And another one round her leg,
And another one round her leg, my boys;
But while I sing this lay-ay-ay,
She's taken a trip in a government-ship,
Ten thousand miles away. [22]
This is a typical example of the "traditional lyric," such as may be found in the repertory of any folk-singer.
It remains to consider briefly the more mechanical side of the transmission of folk-song. A given ballad, let us say, had a beginning, - the time when first it was composed and sung. The same ballad, as we know it, is represented by an indefinite number of versions, not all of which can be derived in an unbroken line from the archetype. Print, as is well known, interrupts tradition. The same interruption may result from the caprice of a folk-singer who reserves the right to sing a certain ballad to a melody different from that to which it has been sung hitherto.[23] If the melody did not happen to fit the text exactly, the text adapted itself to the melody, - an effect of communal re-creation, of which many recorded texts of the ancient ballad, for example (cast in different metres), are mute witnesses. "Das Volk dichtet" is a true saying. Like all true sayings, its truth becomes most apparent when interpreted progressively. We are to understand by it, not merely the idea of the folk creating its
songs (as Tennyson would compose a poem, or Schubert a melody), but, through the activity of its singing members, making its own, songs of all possible types, of whatever origin.
FELTON HALL,
CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
Footnotes:
1 Songsters are small volumes (vest-pocket size) of popular songs, usually printed without music. They have had some influence in the transmission of folk-song in this country. Such are the Forget-me-not Songster, the Blackbird Songster, the Pearl Songster, etc. A large number of them are in the Harris Collection of American Poetry, in Brown University.
2 H. M. Belden, "Balladry in America" (this Journal, vol. xxv, p. 2o, and footnote x).
3 See my articles, "William Carter, the Bensontown Homer" (this Journal, vol. xxv, pp. 156-168), "Some Aspects of Folk-Song" (Ibid., pp. 274-283), also E. C. Perrow, "Songs and Rhymes from the South" (Ibid., pp. I37-I55).
4 Vaudeville songs enter the folk-singer's repertory, particularly in districts remote from cities.
5 "The Lone Prairie," A (Folk-Songs of the North Atlantic States); from M. F. H. (Cambridge, Mass.), resident of San Antonio, Tex.
6 "The Farmer's Curst Wife," C (Folk-Songs of the North Atlantic States); from E. W. H., Boston, Mass.
7 The English and American settlers met on intimate terms; the Germans and Swedes kept by themselves.
8 The programme was elaborate. The first part was devoted to recitations, dialogue, readings, and singing of various songs. On a certain occasion a Swedish neighbor rendered an accordion solo, "mild torture" for American ears. After an intermission, the meeting was called to order and a debate followed, often upon economic questions, socialism, taxation, etc. The debate might last as long as two hours, and the meeting frequently did not adjourn till midnight.
9 "The Old Elm-Tree," A (Folk-Songs of the North Atlantic States); melody from singing of H. L. W. (Cambridge, Mass.), June I2, 1912; text from H. L. W. as copied from manuscript of M. A. S., Sidney, Kan.
10 A version kindly communicated to me by Professor H. M. Belden (from M. W., Rucker, Mo.) has here, instead, -
"They laid her to rest where the bright summer flowers
Could bloom o'er her grave in the long summer hours."
11 "The Battle of Fredericksburg," A (Folk-Songs of the North Atlantic States); from singing of H. L. W. and H. W. (Cambridge, Mass.), June 27, 1912. A text of the ballad, differing somewhat from that sung on this occasion, appeared in "Everybody's Column " (Boston Globe, Aug. I8, I9I2).
12 A stage was built across one end of the building, and two windows were removed and used for doors.
13 "The Merry Fox-Hunters," A (Folk-Songs of the North Atlantic States); sung by H. L. W. and H. W. (Cambridge, Mass.), June 27, 1912. Another text, copied by H. L. W. from manuscript of M, A. S. (Sidney, Kan.), differs in some particulars.
14 This stanza is lacking in the text of M. A. S.
15 Compare stanzas 4 and 5 in text of M. A. S., Sidney, Kan.: -
4. "The next that came was a shepherd
Herding of his sheep,
He said he saw Bull Reynard
As he lay fast asleep.
5. The next they saw was a little boy
Walking down the road,
He said he saw Bull Reynard
Eating up a toad."
16 Another example of the quatrain ballad may be of interest. It is from the "Forum" (Philadelphia Press, March, I908), as sung in Alabama by negroes seventy years ago.
OLD CIRCUS SONG.
I. I went a-whooping and a-hollering, for the first thing I could find
Was a frog in a well, and that I left behind.
Some said, "It's a frog;" but I said, "Nay!"
Some said, "It's a seabird, with its feathers torn away.
Look a-there now!"
2. I went a-whooping and a-hollering, for the next thing I could find
Was an ice-pond in the meadow, and that I left behind.
Some said, "It's an ice-pond;" but I said, "Nay!"
Some said, "It's a pane of glass, but it's nearly wash away,
Look a-there now!"
3. I went a-whooping and a-hollering, for the next thing I could find
Was an old house on the hilltop, and that I left behind.
Some said, "It's an old house;" but I said, "Nay!"
Some said, "It's a barn, but it's nearly rotted away,
Look a-there now!"
4. I went a-whooping and a-hollering, for the next thing I could find
Was an owl in a thorn-tree, and that I Ieft behind.
Some said, "It's an owl;" but I said, "Nay!"
Some said, "It's the devil, and let us run away
Look a-there now!'
17. "Fair Sally," A (Folk-Songs of the North Atlantic States); melody from H. L. W. (Cambridge, Mass.); text from manuscript of M. A. S. (Sidney, Kan.), loaned by H. L. W.
18 Not "Lord Thomas and Fair Annet," but Child, 295.
19 From C. A. G. (Des Moines, Ia.), sister of M. A. S. The text lacks also the fifth stanza.
20 Concerning "The Brown Girl" (No. 295), Professor Child wrote: "In the point of the proud and unrelenting character of the Brown Girl it is original." Of the two versions recorded by Professor Child, the second (B) is the more nearly like "Sally."
21 "Ten Thousand Miles Away," A (Folk-Songs of the North Atlantic States); melody from H. L. W. (Cambridge, Mass.); text copied by H. L. W. from manuscript of M. A. S., Sidney, Kan. An absurd parody of this song, bearing the title "The Walloping Window- Blind," is a favorite of American college-students. Many students' songs, by the way, are corruptions or parodies of folk-song.
22 This version lacks the opening stanza, which is, however, preserved in another version (from E. M. P., Cambridge, Mass.): -
"Sing an aye and an oh for a gallant bark and a brisk and a lively crew,
And an aye for a jolly cap-ta-in and a jolly good ship too,
To carry me o'er the seas, my boys, to my true-love so gay-ay-ay,
For she's taken a trip in a government-ship, ten thousand miles away."
23 In the case of the American ballad "Fair Charlotte," this has actually happened, - a four-phrase melody set to a stanza in common metre has in Maine and Nova Scotia given way to an eight-phrase melody set to stanzas in double common metre. See my
article, "William Carter, the Bensontown Homer" (this Journal, vol. xxv, p. 164, footnote
3).