US & Canadian Versions: Child 85. Lady Alice (George Collins)
[This mysterious short ballad had achieved a certain popularity in the Appalachian Region, the US South and had traveled West to Arkansas, Missouri and even California. At least three versions have been collected in Canada and very few (see Brown N) have been found and New England area, or for that matter in the Mid-West region (IL, IO, MI, IN, and UT). Of the 105 versions in my collection, two are just floating stanzas attached to the ballad that don't even mention George Collins (Gardner and Davis).
There are four main US/Canada version types: 1) Those belonging to the British tradition: The earliest British example is Giles Collins from William Shenstone's "Miscellany" (1759-63). The next is Giles Collins (BL G308 Vol III, 1790) sung in a crying style, by Mr. Needham. In these versions and in the five Child versions, Collins comes home to his mother and asks her to bind his head for he is sick. His mother gives him some gruel and he dies before noon. His lady-love is mending her coif (a tight fitting hat), when she sees the funeral procession approaching she bids the six bearers set down the coffin and declares that her body shall be buried beside his, and a lily grows out of his grave and touches the her breast.
Examples are rare in the US and include Hudson A and D, Brown A (very close to Child B) and N plus Niles' likely recreations: A and B.
(2) The "Johnny Collins" versions which are detailed in Bayard's article, The "Johnny Collins" Version of Lady Alice (attached to Recordings and Info page). These are the earliest, also rare and most complete texts and begin similarly:
Young Collins rode out from his fields one day,
While the flowers and trees were in bloom,
And it was there that he saw his own Fair Ellen,
A-washing a white marble stone.
Several English versions (titled George Collins) with similar texts were collected in Hampshire by Gardiner in 1906. These versions, and subsequent versions collected in the US and Canada (the Johnny Collins versions), are the link between the ballad Clerk Covill (Child 42), and Giles Collins (Child 85). The Johnny Collins versions were collected after Child's death, therefore Child did not associate the two ballads as being related or the same. In 1910 Barbara M. Cra'ster wrote:
The description in "George Collins" of the supernatural maiden "washing her marble stone" is most closely paralleled by the lines in "Clerk Colin " (Prof. Child's version C) which run:
"An there he saw the mermaiden
Washin silk upon a stane."
The Johnny Collins (George Collins Hampshire) versions foreshadow George's death and tell a more complete story. Another article, The "Clerk Colvill" Mermaid, by Harbison Parker and published in The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 60, No. 237 (Jul. - Sep., 1947), pp. 265-285, examines Bayard's article. Recently David Atkinson examined the two ballads and commented on the three articles.
The crucial connections between the two ballads (42 and 85) are: 1) the piece of cloth (from a sark) given by the mermaid to wrap around Covill's head 2) The marble stone and the stane (stone) in Child 42 and 3) Johnny Collins (George Collins) swimming home after his last tryst with the mermaid.
Assuming that you accept the postulation that they were created from the same or a similar source ballad, then the pretty fair maid (in Johnny Collins) is the mermaid (in Clerk Covill) in human form. She is not "Fair Ellen", a corruption which makes no sense and the marble stone, where he wishes to be buried, should be the domain of the mermaid.
Elements of the "Johnny Collins" versions have appeared in versions collected by Sharp and Randolph. Some recently collected versions include those by Boette, Gainer, and Peacock.
(3) The "George Collins rode home one cold winter's night" versions. George Collins rides home, is taken sick and dies. Mary, who is in her sitting room, sees his coffin, learns he is dead and lays her fine silks aside. She "kisses his cold lips" for she knows "he will never kiss mine." Usually there is a floating verse or two about a "lonesome dove" and/or the "Look down, look up that lonesome road" verse. Not much of a story line in these versions.
this is the most popular version and is found in Appalachia and in the half-dozen or so early country recordings.
(4) The "Dying Hobo" versions which have the The Dying Hobo first verse and were recorded:
1) The Dying Hobo- Kelly Harrell (VA) 1926
2) One Cold December Day- Dick Justice (WV) 1929
These versions are the same as (3) but with the "Dying Hobo" opening stanza. It seems likely that Justice's version is a cover of Harrell's Victor recording. Subsequently this version was collected and is found in Robert's In the Pine book, mentioned by Davis (MTBV) and was collected in Arkansas by Max Hunter.
* * * *
A large number of versions (though many less than Barbara Allen) have never been published and remain in collections. Bayard reported that he collected seven versions of the rare Johnny Collins version but never published more than one. Davis, TBVa, 1929 reports 18 versions from Virginia and in MTVa, 1960 reports an additional 13 versions; a total of 31 of which he published 12. Most, of course, were type (3), the most popular type and there was little difference between versions. In 1950 Morris reports that George Collins is the 3rd most popular Child ballad in Florida yet gives only three versions. The Moores report one version from Oklahoma but imply that there are many more and that they are based on Child B! They, however, fail to provide even one version resembling Child B!
* * * *
A number of commercial early-country (old-time) recordings were made between 1926 (Whitter) and 1938 (Dixon Brothers). Two of the recordings (Justice and Harrell) have the "dying Hobo" stanza. Other recordings by Henry Whitter, Roy Harvey and Emry Arthur do not have the "Dying Hobo" stanza. It's difficult to assess the influence of these recordings and the number of "traditional" versions collected after 1926 that were cover songs of these recordings.
* * * *
A number of floating stanzas (besides the Dying Hobo stanza) have been attached to this ballad. The two most popular are:
'Oh, don't you see that pretty little dove
A-flying from pine to pine?
He sits and mourns for his own true love
Just like I mourn for mine.'
Look up, look down that lonesome road
Hang down your head and cry,
The best of friends must part sometimes
So why not you (George) and I.
* * * *
After the list of versions in my collection (see below after the photo) are some of the parodies, several of which were popular in the US in the early 1800s. Before the discovery of the "Johnny Collins" versions which linked Child 42 and Child 85, Lady Alice (Giles Collins) was regarded by some as nursery song and burlesque. It was compared to Lord Lovel and Child 85B was sung in the Lord Lovel form. Steve Gardham is one researcher and writer who still considers George Collins to be a burlesque.
R. Matteson 2012, 2015]
Recently I recorded Nathan Hicks' version of George Colon [sic] collected by my grandfather, Maurice Matteson. I played Hick's dulcimer (see pic below) which had, I believe, the original strings.
Nathan Hicks c. 1934
Collected by Maurice Matteson from Nathan Hicks of Sugar Grove, NC on July 31, 1933. Published in Beech Mountain Ballads in 1936 by G. Shirmer. Performed by Richard L. Matteson Jr. on Nathan Hicks' dulcimer made in early 1930s.
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.
CONTENTS: (To access individual versions click the blue highlighted title below or the title attached to this page on the left-hand green column)
1) Giles Collins- Stockett (MS) c1785 Hudson D -- From Folksongs of Mississippi by Arthur Palmer Hudson, 1936. This was taken from Mrs. Lucy Holt Harrison of Gainesville, FL (Morris A, 1950). She learned it from great-grandfather Dr. David Holt (1772-1882) of Woodville, Mississippi who got it from his English grandmother. This is from the same family as the Hubbard family (see Hudson A) and has been brought to this country by the informant's grandfather. Her father had "been sung to sleep with it as a baby in revolutionary times."
2) Lady Alice- Uneda (PA) c.1816 Child A c --The original source is from Notes and Queries- Volume 1; 2nd S. No 18; May 3, 1856. The text was provided by Uneda. According to this Poe Society of Baltimore article, Uneda was William Duane Jr., born: February 7, 1808 and died: November 4, 1882. He was born in Philadelphia to William John Duane and Deborah Bache, as the first of 9 children.
3) Giles Collins- Hubbard (MS) c.1855 Hudson A
4) George Collins- Warren (NC) c1903 Brown E
Young Collins- Combs (WV) c.1909 Cox A
George Collins- Keever (GA) 1910 Campbell/Rawn
George Collins- Ella Lester (VA) 1913 Davis F
George Collins- Granny Banks (NC) 1913 Perrow/Fish
George Collins- McKinney (NC) 1914 Sharp C
George Collins- Arthur (VA) 1914 Davis C
George Collins- Maxie (VA) 1914 Davis E
Giles Collins- Seoane (VA) 1914 Davis G
George Collins- Battle (NC) 1914 Brown A
George Collins- Presley (NC) 1915 Campbell
George Collins- Holder (NC) 1915 Brown D
Young Collins- Fogg (WV) pre-1916 Cox B
George Collins- House (NC) 1916 Sharp B
George Collins- Shelton (NC) 1916 Sharp A
George Collins- Norton (NC) 1916 Sharp E
George Collins- Norton (TN) 1916 Sharp D
George Collins- Thorpe (WV) pre-1917 Cox D
George Collins- Dent (WV) pre-1917 Cox C
George Collins- Lester (VA) 1917 Davis D
George Collins- King (TN) 1917 Sharp MS
George Collins- Thomas (KY) 1917 Sharp MS
Charles Collin- Bailey (NC) 1918 Sharp F
John Collins- Shaffir (VA) 1920 Davis A
Johnny Collins- Simmons (VA) 1920 Davis B
George Collins- Hayes (AR) 1920 Randolph
George Collins- Talbot (OK) 1921 Moores
George Collins- Coleman (NC) 1922 Brown F
John Collins- Ervine (WV) pre-1925 Cox E
George Collins- Howell (SC) 1925 Smith
The Dying Hobo- Harrell (VA) 1926 REC
George Collum- Long (MS) pre-1926 Hudson B
George Promer- Stewart (MS) pre-1926 Hudson C
George Collins- Whitehead (NC) 1926 Lunsford REC
George Collins- (NC) c.1927 Brown B
George Collins- Harvey (NC) 1928 REC
Young Collins- Tibbs (NL) 1929 Karpeles
One Cold December Day- Justice (WV) 1929 REC
Johnny Collins- Brookover (WV) c.1930 Bayard
George Collins- Emry Arthur (KY-WS) 1930 Pmt REC
George Collins- Mrs. Harmon (TN) 1930 Henry A
A Lover's Farewell- Tuggle (MI) 1931 Gardner
George Collins- Wilson (TN) 1931 Anderson A
George Collins- Coulter (TN) 1931 Anderson B
Little Turtle Dove- Clement (VA) 1931 Davis DD
George Collins- Bright (KY) c.1932 Roberts C
George Collins- Yeatts/McAlex (VA) 1932 Davis AA
George Collins- Humphreys (VA) 1932 Davis BB
George Colon- Nathan Hicks (NC) 1933
George Collins- Riley Puckett (GA) 1934 REC
Earl Colvin- Shook (NC) 1934 Niles A
Young Collins- Walsh (NC) 1934 Niles B
George Collins- (VA) pre1934 Cambiaire
George Allen- Williamson (VA) 1935 Wilkinson B
George Collins- Osborne (VA) pre-1936 Scarb A
George Collins- Shiflett (VA) pre-1936 Scarb B, C
George Collins- Knight (VA) pre1936 Scarb D, E
George Allien- Gibson (VA) pre1936 Scarb F
George Allen- Black (VA) 1936 Wilkinson A
George Collins- (TN) 1936 Crabtree
Johnny Collins- Eagle (VA) 1937 Wilkinson C
George Collins- Richardson (SC) 1937 Lomax/Joyner
The Story of George Collins- Dixon (SC) 1938 REC
Whose Corpse Is A-Coming This Way? (WS) 1938
George Collins- Hamby (NC) 1938 Horn
George Collins- Wilson (NC) pre1938 Henry C
Georgie Collins- Chappell (NC) 1938 Chappell
Giles Collins- (KY) 1939 Combs BOOK
George Collins- Frank Proffitt (NC) 1939 Brown 4B
George Collins- Nora Hicks (NC) c1939 Brown 4E-2
George Collins- Webb (NC) 1939 Brown G
George Coleman- Warf (VA-NC) 1939 Brown H
George Collins- Church (NC) c1940 Brown 4E-1
Young Collins- Karickhoff (WV) 1940 Boette
Dame Alice- McClusky (MA) 1940 Brown N
George Collins- Sullivan (CA) 1940 LOC REC
George Collins- York (NC) c1941 Brown 4B-2
She Followed Him Up- Maxwell (NC) 1943 Brown 4-O
George Collin- Efird (NC) pre-1943 Brown I
John Harmen- Mull (NC) pre-1943 Brown K
George Collins- Hart (GA-FL) 1950 Morris B
George Carey- Barber (FL) 1950 Morris C
George Collins- Presnell (NC) 1951 Warner
Young Collins Green- Coles (NL) 1952 Peacock
Jim Gayley - Crymes (AR) 1954 Parler B
George Collins- Josh Sharp (KY) 1957 Roberts A
Dying Hobo- Wright (KY) 1957 Roberts B
George Collins- McChristian (AR) 1958 Parler A
Jim Gayley- Majors (Kansas) c.1959 Max Hunter
George Collins- Obray Ramsey (NC) 1961 REC
George Collins- Ferrell (TN) 1963 Wolf
George Collins- Ward (NC) 1966 Burton/Manning
George Collins- H. Presnell(NC)1966 Burton/Manning
George Collins- Hedy West (GA) 1967 REC
George Allen- Gravely (VA) 1968 REC
George Collins- J.E. Mainer (NC) 1969 REC
George Collins- Lena Harmon (NC) 1969 Burton
George Collins- Coffey (KY) c.1970 Ritchie REC
The Dying Hobo- Gilbert (AR) 1971 Max Hunter
George Collins- Brockwell (AP) 1973 Coltman REC
Young Collins- Chapman (WV) 1975 Gainer
George Collins- Rena Hicks (NC) pre1978 Burton
George Collins- Griffin (NC) 1980 Helms REC
------------------
George Collins (to add)
https://archive.org/details/afc1937001_1388B1
[Recorded by Lomax in 1937.
George Collins -- Sung by the little boy Jack Garland, accompanied by his father Walter Garland, on guitar on September 9, 1937. Collected in the Arjay mining camp in Bell County, KY.
George Collins rode home one cold winter night
George Collins rode home so fine
George Collins rode home one cold winter night
He laid down sick and died
Little Mary, little Mary was at home
A-sewing her silk so fine
But when she heard that George was dead
She laid her silk aside.
She follered him up, she follered him down
She follered him to his grave
She fell upon her bended knee
She wept, she mourned, she prayed.
Oh daughter oh daughter why do you weep so
There's more pretty boys than George?
Oh mother, oh mother, he has my heart,
Why do we have to part
Open the coffin, lay back the lid
Lay back the linen so fine
Oh let me kiss his clay cold lips
I'm sure he'll never kiss mine.
--------------------
Parodies:
MY MARY ANNE- M. Tyte 1909 Heart Songs Chapple (According to Randolph this is a parody of Lady Alice/George Collins)
1. Fare-you-well, my own Mary Anne,
Fare-you-well awhile,
For the ship it is ready,
And the wind it is fair,
And I am bound for thee Mary Anne
And I am bound for the sea.
2. Don't you see that turtle dove,
Sitting on yon pine,
Lamenting the loss of its own true love?
And so am I for mine, Mary Anne
so am I for mine.
3. A lobster in a lobster pot,
A blue fish wrig-gling on a hook,
They suffer some, but oh, no,
Not What I do feel for Mary Anne,
What I feel for Mary Anne
4. The pride of all the produce rare,
That in the kitchen garden grow'd,
Was pumpkins, but none could compare,
In angel form to Mary Anne!
None could compare to my Mary Anne.
Randolph also gives a parody version he collected titled Jiles Scroggins which originally comes from according to Kittredge from Wm. Reeve (1757-1815) and was published in the The Universal Songster, Volume 1; 1834. Arthur Kyle Davis reported this "parody" as it was collected in Virginia and he published that version as an appendix to Lady Alice in his Traditional Ballads of Virginia.
--------------
Randolph- Ozark Folksongs I, 1946:
There have been many comic versions and parodies of this piece. Chapple (Heart Songs, Boston, 1909, p.2a6) prints one entitled "My Mary Ann," credited to "M' Tyte," in which a sailor says that his lad-y is more beautiful than a pumpkin, and compares the pangs of love to the sufferings of a fish on a hook. Davis (Traditional Ballads of Virginia, 1929, p. 352) records a parody under the title "Giles Scroggins," with historical notes and references by Professor Kittredge. The variant which follows was sent me by Mr. E. B. Ayers, Kingston, Ark., Jan. 14, 1930. Mr. Ayers' grandmother learned it from a "singing clown" at an old-time circus in Virginia, before the Civil War.
Jiles Scroggins courted Mollie Bawn,
The purtiest gal in all the town,
He give to her some posies blue,
If you love me like I love You,
No knife can cut our love in two,
Sing fol de rol de rido!
But scissors cut as well as knives,
And all uncertain are our lives.
The very day they was to wed
Fate's scissors cut poor Jiles's thread,
And so they were not marri-ed,
Sing fol de rol de rido!
Then Mollie she laid down to sleep,
And cried out in her slumber deep,
For standing there by her bed-Post
A figger tall her sight engrossed.
Says he, I be Jiles Scroggins' ghost!
Sing fol de rol de rido !
The ghost he grabbed her all so grim,
And for to go along with him,
Come, come, he says, e're morning beams.
I won't, says she, and begun for to scream'
She woke and found she'd dreamt a dream,
Sing fol de rol de rido !
--------------
GILES SCROGGINS COURTED MOLLY BROWN- The Universal Songster: Volume 1; 1834
Giles Scroggins courted Molly Brown,
Fol de riddle lol, fol de riddle li do!
The fairest wench in all the town,
Fol de riddle lol, &c.
He bought her a ring with posey true,
"If you loves I as I loves you,
No knife can cut our loves in two."
Fol de riddle lol, &c.
But scissors cut as well as knives,
Fol de riddle lol, &c.
And quite unsartin are our lives,
Fol de riddle lol, &c.
The day they were to have been wed,
Fate's scissors cut poor Giles's thread,
So they could not be mar-ri-ed.
Fol de riddle lol, &c.
Poor Molly laid her down to weep,
Fol de riddle lol, &c.
And cried herself quite fast asleep,
Fol de riddle lol, &c.
When standing all by the bed-post,
A figure tall her sight engross'd,
And it cried, "I beez Giles Scroggins' ghost;"
Fol de riddle lol, &c.
The ghost it said all solemnly,
Fol de riddle lol, &c.
"0 Molly you must go with me,
Fol de riddle lol, &c.
"All to the grave your love to cool;"
She says, " I am not dead, you fool'."
Says the ghost says he, "Why, that's no rule."
Fol de riddle lol, &c.
The ghost he seized her all so grim,
Fol de riddle lol, &c.
All for to go along with him,
Fol de riddle lol, &c.
" Come, come," said he, "'ere morning's beam."
"I vont," said she, and she screamed a scream,
Then she woke, and found she dreamed a dream.
Fol de riddle lol, &c.
---------------
The Universal Songster, Volume 3- 1826
GILES COLLINS AND LADY ALIS.
GILES Collins he turned to his mother, and said,
O, mother! tie up my pig-tail;
Run to dear Alis, and tell her, poor soul,
That Collin's as dead as a nail.
I will not be buried in are a coffin,
As timber is not very strong;
I will not be buried in are a coffin,
But wapt up in a blanket that's long.
Lady Alis was sitting up three pair of stairs,
A darning a hole in her stocking;
She saw from the window a terrible sight,
A burying—and dear, it was shocking.
What carry you there, you six ill-looking dogs,
What carry you there on your backs?
We are carrying the body of Collin O'Logs,
And his surname was Paddy O'Whacks.
Then lay him down straight, you six ill-looking dogs,
You dogs that look so grim,
While I knock out my brains with the heel of my shoe,
That I may be buried with him.
So she knocked out her brains with the heel of her shoe,
Her skull cracked asunder, like leather;
The six ill-looking dogs bore the body away,
And laid them in one hole together.
Giles Collins grew up, and he turned to a thorn,
Lady Alis she grew to a thistle
Now nil you who don't like my song, and attend,
May go with Giles Collins and whistle.
-----------------------
Several of the Johnny Collins versions are titled, Young Collins. A different ballad titled, Young Collins, begins:
Young Collins early in the morn
Went whistling thro' some fields of corn,
He spied a milkmaid neat and trim,
To milk her cow tripped over the plain.
------------------
TRADITIONAL BALLADS OF VIRGINIA- APPENDIX
The "Giles Scroggins" which follows is evidently a burlesque of "Giles Collins," though this fact seems not to have been mentioned in previous publications of the familiar song. For the following bibliographical note on "Giles Scroggins," the editor is indebted to Professor Kittredge: "This was a favorite shop song in the first half of the 18th century. The music was adapted by Wm. Reeve (born 1757, died 1815) from an old air. The words have also been ascribed to him,--also (but erroneously, I think) to Dibdin. For words and music see Davidson's Universal Melodist, II (London, 1848), 406; Baring-Gould, English Minstrelsie, I (1895), 26. Baring-Gould gives some information on p. xxviii- including the remark that Reeve published his version in 1830.' [But Reeve died in 1815! See Gentleman's Mag., Vol. 85 (1815; No. 1), p. 648, for an obituary notice.] The song was a favorite in this country and inciuded in early American songbooks, e.g.: The New England Pocket Songster, Woodstock, Vt.; The Singers Own Book, Woodstock, Vt.; The Songster's Companion, Brattleborough, Vt., 1815. See also Ford, Massachusetts broadsides, No. 3126; Ford, The Isaiah Thomas Collection, No. 95."
"Giles Scroggins." Reported by Professor M. Grainger. Contributed by Miss Evelyn Purcell, of the Farmville Ballad Club. Albemarle County. December 21, 1913.
I Giles Scroggins courted Molly Brown,
Fol lol de riddle rol de ray,
The fairest girl in all the town,
Fol de rol de riddle rol de ray.
"If you love me as I love you,
No knife can cut our love in two."
Says she, "I love Giles Scroggins too."
Fol de rol de riddle rol de ray.
2 But scissors cut as well as knives,
Fol lol de riddle rol de ray,
And quite uncertain's all our lives,
Fol de rol de riddle rol de ray;
For just as they were going to wed,
Fate's scissors cut poor Giles's thread,
And so they were not married.
Fol de rol de riddle rol de ray.
3 Poor Molly laid her down to weep,
Fol lol de riddle rol de ray-
And cried herself quite fast a-sleep,
Fol de rol de riddle rol de ray,
When standing there by her bedpost,
A figure tall her sight engrossed,
Said he, "I am Giles Scoggins ghost."
Fol de rol de riddle rol de ray.
4 "Oh, Molly, you must come with me."
Fol lol de riddle rol de ray.
. . . .
Fol lol de riddle rol de ray.
. . . .
"I won't", she said and screamed a scream,
And when she awoke she found it was a dream.
Fol de rol de riddle rol de ray.[1]
1. The last stanza is the 4th and 5th compressed (see: Universal Songster above).
__________________________
Young Collins- Peggy Seeger; Long Harvest
Young Collins walked out in his fields one day
The trees and flowers was in bloom-Oh
Twas there he spied his own fair Ellen
Aashing a white marble stone- Oh
She called, she cried, she changed her mind
Called and waved her hand- Oh
Come here, come here young Collins my dear
Your life is near at hand- Oh
He clasped around her slender waist
Kissed both cheek and chin-Oh
Till the stars from heaven came a-twinkling down
To the place where Young Collins jumped in- Oh
He ran, he ran [to] his father’s house
Ran to his father’s door-Oh
Dear father, dear father, come let me in
Come let me in once more-Oh
If I should die this very night
As I feel in my heart I will-Oh
Go bury me under that white marble stone
At the foot of fair Ellen’s hill-Oh
Fair Ellen was sitting at her cottage door
ASewin’ on silks so fine-Oh
And there she spied his coffin a coming
As far as her eyes could shine-Oh
She ordered the coffin be opened right there
She looked on his cold clay form-Oh
She took the last kiss from his cold clay lips
Taht often had kiss her before-Oh
She ordered the curtains be brought right there
She trimmed ‘em in silk so fine-Oh
Today they’ll weep on young Collin’s grave
Tomorrow they’ll grieve on mine-Oh
The news went round through Dablin town,
Printed on Dablin’s gate-Oh
Six pretty fair maids did die last night
All for young Collins’ fate-Oh
_______________________________________
Brown Collection- Lady Alice (Notes by Hudson)
[Several of the texts were redundant and were not included. The version H complete text was found in the Abrams Collection and I feel that there are other texts there that have not been posted or are lost. The Brown MS Collection should have the texts and additional text from the recordings-- assuming more than one stanza was recorded.
R. Matteson 2015]
28. Lady Alice (Child 85).
Child remarks that "this little ballad ... is a sort of counterpart to 'Lord Lovel' "[Child got this info from Robert Bell]; and perhaps it is the simplicity of its sentiment that accounts for its popularity. It appears in Halliwell's Nursery Rhymes of England and in Miss Mason's Nursery Rhymes and Country Songs, and it is reported as traditional song in Hampshire (JFSS III 299-302), a version not belonging to any of Child's five texts though known in America. On this side of the Atlantic it seems to belong especially to the Southern states; Barry (BBM 452-3) found a sea captain who recognized Child's C version as something he had heard sailors sing but did not know himself, the two-stanza fragment reported from Wisconsin is confessedly a Kentucky memory, and the two stanzas reported from Michigan (BSSM 53), one about the turtle dove and one giving directions for burial, are merely floating items of folk lyric and do not belong especially to 'Lady Alice' (Bayard has some texts collected in Pennsylvania [JAFL LVIII 76] but does not print them). But the song is well known in the South: in Virginia (TBV 346-53, FSSH 90, SCSM 118-22), West Virginia (FSS 1 10-14, JAFL lviii 75-6), Kentucky (FSKM 8-9), Tennessee (ETWVMB 76, SharpK I 198, FSSH 89), North Carolina (SharpK I 196-9, SSSA 47, BMFSB 2-3, FSRA 33), South Carolina (SCB 142-3), Mississippi (FSM 107-11), and Arkansas (OFS 1 135-40).[1] The texts fall into three fairly distinct groups: (1) those belonging to the tradition of Child B, in which the man's mother prepares gruel for him, his lady-love is mending her coif, when she sees the funeral procession approaching she bids the six bearers set down the coffin and declares that her body shall be buried beside his, and a lily grows out of his grave and touches the lady's breast but is presently blasted by a northeast wind; (2) texts not very close to any of the Child versions, in which Collins comes home one night, is taken sick, and dies, with no mention of his mother or of water-gruel; his sweetheart Alice (Annice, Annis, Mary), sewing her silk so fine, hears of it, follows him up and follows him down (not in any of the Child versions) until she comes up with the funeral procession, bids the bearer unscrew the coffin lid that she may kiss the cold lips that "will never kiss mine," and when her mother remonstrates that "there are other young men" replies that George has her heart. In texts of this type the man never gives directions for his burial as he does in texts of the third type, and the song ends with a stanza about the lonesome dove, not about the lily and the northeast wind. This is by far the commonest form of the ballad in America.
Type (3), exemplified by the Hampshire texts and by texts from Virginia and West Virginia (but not by any texts from North Carolina), is quite different from any of the Child versions. [2] Here Collins, riding out one fine morning, sees "a fair pretty maid" ("his own true love," "his own fair Ellen," "his Eleanor dear") washing her "marble stone"; she calls him to her ("whooped and holloed," "screamed and cried") and tells him that his life will not be long. When he leaves her he rides (more often swims, for this pretty maid is a creature of the water, a water-banshee in Bayard's reconstruction of the story) home, bids his father let him in, his mother make his bed, his sister (in the Hampshire texts) bind his head; before he dies he orders that he be buried "under that marble stone that's against fair Helen's hall." When she meets the corpse she bids her maid bring "the sheet that's wove with a silver twine" (sometimes called directly the shroud) to hang over his head "as tomorrow it shall hang over mine," and kisses "his lily-white lips. For ten thousand times he has kissed mine." The news travels to London town (in the Hampshire texts; Dublin town, FSS ABE; Douglas's town, JAFL LVIII 76; simply "down," TBV A), where six pretty maids die in one night for George (or Johnny) Collins's sake. In this version it seems pretty clear that Collins's death is in some way connected with the lady — who nonetheless grieves over it. The version is represented in America by TBV A B, FSS ABE, and by Bayard's findings in West Virginia and Pennsylvania; it does not occur in the North Carolina collection.
Footnotes:
1. For Florida see FSF 291-4.
2. So much so as to prompt Barbara M. Cra'ster (JFSS iv 106-9) to suggest that the ballad is really a fairy mistress (or mermaid) story of the type of 'Clerk Colvill' (Child 42). Later (JAFL lviii 73-103) Samuel P. Bayard re-examined the whole problem in its connection with the various forms, continental as well as British, of the Clerk Colvill story and concluded that in the Johnny Collins (our type 3) form of the story the woman in it is a banshee and the ballad is the result of an Irish working over of the Clerk Colvill story (though it has not been found in Irish tradition unless we reckon the texts from West Virginia and Pennsylvania, where there was a considerable Scotch-Irish element among the early settlers, as Irish). Still later (JAFL LX 265-86) Harbison Parker canvasses Bayard's arguments and tries to show that the woman in the case is not a banshee but a mermaid and that the elves of the Scandinavian form of the story were changed into mermaids in Shetland and Orkney tradition, which knows mermaids and selkies but not elves — though he can allege no versions of the ballad from the Shetlands or the Orkneys.
-----------------
[More Traditional Ballads of Virginia, 1960; Davis. His notes follow]
26. LADY ALICE (Child, No. 85 )
Child, though he finally prints five versions of "Lady Alice"- only two as his main entry and three in Additions and Corrections- gives summary treatment to this ballad in one of his shortest headnotes (only six lines). This is in marked contrast to his elaborate discussion (sixteen double-column pages) of the very closely related ballad of "Clerk Colvill" Child, No. 42). The explanation of the discrepancy is that child was apparently unaware of the "Johnny Collins" version of "Lady Alice," -the version which supplies the connecting link with "Clerk Colvill." Since he knew only the "Giles Collins" or "Lady Alice," versions, he is to be forgiven for ignoring the "Clerk Colvill" relationship and finding "Lady Alice" a sort of counterpart of "Lord Lovel," which, in its shortened and simplified form of "George Collins" and the like, it is.
Some eight years after the publication of Child's last volume, George B. Gardner, of Melrose, collected in Hampshire three partial texts and tunes of a song called "George Collins, containing some introductory stanzas introducing a second lady-love of a mermaid or supernatural character, to whom Collins is apparently unfaithful and who in requital causes his otherwise unexplained death, so deeply mourned by his earthly lady who in turn dies of her love and sorrow. Mr. Gardner published these (and other) Hampshire songs in JFSS, III (1908-9), 299-302. The three not quite complete texts seem to constitute the first appearance of what is now recognized as the "John Collins" or "Johnny Collins" version of the ballad, the version that links "Lady Alice," so closely with "Clerk Colvill" that at least two scholarly commentators have concluded that the "Johnny Collins" version of the ballad represents an older form of "Lady Alice" (Child, No. 85) and that all versions of this ballad may quite possibly be versions or variants of "Clerk Colvill" ( Child, No. 42).
Miss Barbara M. Craster, writing in the next volume of JFSS, LV (1910-13), 106-9, identifies the three main incidents of Mr. Gardner's texts as: (1) his [Collins'] meeting with a maiden by a stream, the maiden being evidently of a supernatural nature; (2) his return home and death as the result of the meeting; and (3) his true-love's realization of the tragedy through the sight of his coffin, and her own consequent death. Miss C'raster points out that all stock versions of the ballad omit incident (1) entirely, thus giving no reason for the man's death, while some are still further reduced, and contain only incident (3). She goes on to ask the question about Mr. Gardner's text, "Is this not more probably a survival of the original ballad from which both 'Clerk Colvill' and 'Giles Colins' are descended?" She bolsters her affirmative answer by reference to the three ballads and to their Scandinavian and Bretan analogues.
Meanwhile, variants of the "Johnny Collins" form began to appear from American tradition, often from sections populated by the Irish and with Dublin substituted for London in the ballad's geography. Cox's A, B, and E versions from West Virginia are of this type, as are TBVa's A and B texts from Virginia and several of Samuel P. Bayard's collections in Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia. Other representative collections, such as Sharp-Karpeles, Brown, Barry, Randolph, etc., seem to lack this more interesting version entirely.
Samuel P. Bayard has provided the fullest scholarly discussion of the ballad and its relationship to "Clerk Colvill," in his article "The 'Johnny Collins' Version of Lady Alice" in JAFL, LVIII (April-June, 1945), 73-103. After examining all details and analogues of the ballads concerned, he concludes (p. 100):
I believe that the foregoing comparison between these two ballads makes plain the fact that they tell the same story; and that it also shows the correspondence of the pieces in all the important details of that story to be amazingly close. Even more curious is the fact that the full Lady Alice version apparently outlines the events of a part of Clerk Covill which has completely disappeared from the British form of that ballad.
All appearances, then, seem to argue not only similarity, but identity for these two pieces. They suggest strongly that Lady Alice must be simply another offshoot of the ancient Clerk Colvill ballad-abbreviated and obscured in most texts, but still having one version ("Johnny Collins") that tells the entire ballad, story, as it is found nowhere else in English folksong. The obvious differences in rhythms and language between these ballads seem unimportant compared with their striking similarities in all other respects. No two ballads in English are more closely allied than the pair now under scrutiny.
Interesting and valuable as are these revelations of the interrelations, part proven, part still speculative, of the two ballads, we are not to conclude, I think, either that Child was wrong in his classification or that we must henceforth regard the several "Lady Alice" texts as a version or as versions of "Clerk Colvill." The exact degree of difference necessary to remove a given unusual version from its putative parent stock and constitute it a separate ballad in its own right is one of the subtlest and most difficult problems of ballad scholarship. It is hard to see how Child, who did not know the "Johnny Collins" type, could possibly have classified "Lady Alice" with "Clerk Colvill." Nor are we, who know the various "Johnny Collins" ballads, willing to concede more than that "Johnny Collins" is an extremely interesting intermediate type between Child, Nos. 42 and 85, suggesting the possibility that "Lady Alice" may have split off from the "Clerk Colvill" stock or from a common ancestor of the two. The facts are hidden in the dark backward and abysm of oral tradition. The typical "Lady Alice" or "George Collins" ballad, which has eliminated both the triangle and any clear suggestion of the supernatural, is certainly best regarded as a ballad distinct from "Clerk Colvill."
"George Collins." as distinct from "Johnny Collins," is fairly common in American tradition. TBVa printed six texts (not counting the two "Johnny Collins" texts) and five tunes from an available eighteen. Sharp-Karpeles (I, 196-99) print six texts or tunes. Cox (pp. 110-14) prints two (in addition to the three "Johnny Collins" texts). The Brown collection (II, 131-40, and IV, 69-74) prints or reports fifteen texts, many of them fragments, with nine times, but with no trace of "Johnny Collins." The Ozark collection (I, 139-40) gives only one text and tune, plus a parody. The ballad is missing from British Ballads from Maine. And so on. Except for the Gardner texts from Hampshire, mentioned above, the ballad does not seem to survive in recent British tradition, either in England or Scotland.
Since the ballad presents a fairly constant and standard text, the thirteen items more recently collected in Virginia may be adequately represented by the four texts and four tunes that follow. They follow Coffin's Story Type B or D, in which George Collins rides out one cold winter night, returns home, is taken sick, and dies. His sweetheart when she hears the news lays aside the silk on which she has been sewing, follows him to his grave, asks that the coffin be opened so that she may kiss his clay-cold lips. She answers her mother's efforts at consolation with a statement of her once happy but now inconsolable love for him. The ballad concludes generally with the "turtle dove" or "lonesome road" stanza, sometimes with both. The tunes are haunting and moving, but perhaps not musically distinguished.
The man's name is fairly constantly George Collins, but changes once to George Allen. (The John or Johnny version is not represented here.) The girl is generally Mary, but shifts to Mattie, Nellie, and Annie. An omitted text calls itself "The Dying Hobo," and begins with a stanza from that otherwise unrelated comic song. It is perhaps not chance that this text comes from a small railroad junction in Amherst County. Perhaps the deep emotion of the song invites the relief of parody, as in "Giles Scroggins." See TBVa, pp.352-53, and Ozark Folksongs, I, 140; also Coffin's fuller bibliography (p. 9).
Here is another instance where an old ballad has lost a supernatural content which has become confused and meaningless to more modern singers. It has, indeed, lost most of its narrative element and become largely a "folk lyric" or an amatory lament. Though it has somewhat changed character, it has not necessarily' deteriorated or lost effectiveness. Indeed, its condensation may well represent the artistic effort, conscious or unconscious, of some talented traditional re-creator whose product has commended itself to the perpetuation of the folk.
Since the ballads here printed all lack the supernatural element found in "Johnny Coliins" and in "Clerk Colvill," we may dismiss with the briefest of mentions the discussions of the specific supernatural character of the fairy woman, whether she is a mermaid, a banshee, a "washer at the ford," or some other form of elf-woman. Bayard, in the article cited above, argues in favor of the banshee (pp. 98-100), but he is effectively answered by Harbison Parker, in JAFL, LX (July-September, 1947), 265 ff., who identifies the woman with Shetland-Orkney "silkie lore," and who questions the Irish tradition suggested by Bayard. Whatever her exact character, is is clear that death is the penalty for a mortal's unfaithfulness to such a one. More relevant to the "George Collins" variants given here is Child's mention (in another connection) of the old custom of a maid's making a shirt for her beloved. "A man's asking a maid to sew him a shirt is equivalent to asking for her love, and her consent to sew the shirt to an acceptance of the suitor" (V, 284). The usual second stanza of the ballad refers to this custom and indicates that the mourning mortal lady is betrothed to George Collins.
__________________________________
Coffin, 1950: British Traditional Ballad in North America
42. CLERK COLVILL
See the discussion of Lady Alice (Child 85).
85. LADY ALICE
Texts: Anderson, Coll Bids Sgs, 44 / Barry, Brit Bids Me, 452 (trace) / Brown Coll / Bull lenn FLS, IV, #3, 75 / Bull U SC # 162, #9 / Cambiaire, Ea Venn Wstn Va Mt Bids, 76 / Chappell, F-S Rnke Alb, 33 / Child, II, 279 / Combs, F-S Ky HgUds, 8 / Cox, F-S South, no / Cox, W. Va. School Journal and Educator, XLVI, 124 / Crabtree, Overton Cnty, 125 / Davis, Trd Bid Va, 346 / Focus, III, 154; IV, $o / Gardner and Chickering, Bids Sgs So Mich, 53 / Haun, Cocke Cnty, 71 / Henry, Beech MtF-S, 2 / Henry, F-S So Hgblds, 89 / Henry, Sgs Sng So Aplchns, 47 / Hudson, F-S Miss, 107 / Hudson, F-T Miss, 7 / Hudson, Spec Miss F-S, #14 / JAFL, XXVIII, 1515 XXXII, 500; XXXIX, 1025 LII, 47; LVIII, 75 / Morris, F-S Fla, 441 / N. T. Times Mgz, 11 17 '40 / Perry, Carter Cnty, 201 / Randolph, OzF-S, I, 139/ Scarborough, Sgctchr So Mts, 1 17 / Sharp C, EngF-S So Aplchns, 4^22 / SharpK, EngF-S So Aplchns, I, 196 / Reed Smith, SC Bids, 142 / The Survey, XXXIII, 373 / Va FLS Bull, #82-10.
Local titles: A Lover's Farewell, Johnny (John) Collins, John Harman, George Collins (Collands, Colon, Coleman, Allien, Promer, Collen, Collum, Carey, Collie), Giles Collins, Young Collins.
Story Types: A: Johnny Collins rides out one day and meets a sweetheart washing a white marble stone. (She is his fairy love.) She warns him of his impending death. He leaps in the water and swims homeward. Convinced that he will die that night, Collins requests to be buried by the marble stone. After he dies, his mortal true-love sees the funeral coming. She halts the
procession, kisses the corpse, and trims her own shroud before dying.
Examples: Cox, F-S South (A, B); JAFL, LVIII, 75; Davis (A, B).
B: Giles Collins comes home one night, is taken ill, and dies. His sweetheart, upon hearing the news, goes to his grave, opens the coffin, and kisses him. Her mother tries to be philosophical about the affair, but to no avail.
Examples: Cox, F-S South, (C, D); Davis (C, D); SharpK (A).
C: The story follows that of Type B at the start. However, the girl interrupts the funeral and then joins her lover in death. The lily-north wind motif (see Child B) is often in this version.
Examples : Hudson, F-S Miss (A).
D: A lyric song rises from the stanza so often found in Lady Alice about the "snow-white dove" on "yonder pine" mourning for his love. A second stanza of the "go dig my grave wide and deep" sort completes the lyric.
Examples: Gardner and Chickering.
Discussion: Samuel P. Bayard, using Barbara M. Cra'ster's article (JFSS IV, 106) for leads, states (JAFL, LVIII, 73 ff.) convincingly that Johnny Collins as it is printed by him (p. 75. See also Cox, F-S South, A and B) represents the full form of the early European Clerk Colmll story infiltrated by ballad conventionality and Celtic lore. The British Clerk Colvill (Child 42),
the Giles Collins versions of Lady Alice, and the abbreviated Johnny Collins version of the same song can be considered to tell only portions of the original narrative. Moreover, in modern versions of Johnny Collins an attempt has been made by folk-singers who have forgotten the meaning of the old story to rationalize the supernatural lover and the mortal girl who mourns Johnny's death to be one person.
The original story behind Johnny Collins, Clerk Colvill and Giles Collins "fragments" then is that of a man who renounces his fairy lover for a mortal girl, meets the fairy, and learns he is to have his life exacted as revenge for his faithlessness. (Bayard conjectures that the elf-woman has been replaced by a mermaid in Clerk Colvill and by "a washer at the ford" in Johnny
Collins, the latter entering the story from Gaelic lore while the ballad existed in Ireland. Harbison Parker, JAFL, LX, 265 ft, considers incorrect a belief in either the Irish tradition of the songs or the Gaelic banshee characteristics of the supernatural lover and states convincingly (to the satisfaction of Dr. Bayard, I understand) that a Scandanavian-Shetland-Orkney-Scottish series of locales and the accompanying selkie lore accounts for the actions of the mermaid or fairy lover and, in Clerk Colvill, possibly even for the title itself.) In any case, after embracing his mistress the young man swims ashore and goes home, where he is, quite naturally, apprehensive that he is about to die. He requests to be buried near the stone at the foot of the fairy hill. He then dies. His mortal lover sees the funeral, stops the procession when she learns the dead person is her lover, and states that she too will die of a broken heart.
Gardner and Chickering, Bids Sgs So Mich, 53 print the "dove and pine" stanza that is so frequently found at the end of the American texts of Lady Alice and another conventional phrase as a song (see Type D) derived from Lady Alice. Though these conventional "dove" phrases are of the sort that might derive from any number of sources (see JAFL, XXXIX, 149 and Thomas, Sngin Gathrn, 34), Gardner and Chickering put forth a fairly convincing defense of their stand. The "dove" stanza does appear in Child 85 in West Virginia (Cox, F-S South), Virginia (Davis, Trd Bid Fa), Mississippi (Hudson, F-S Miss), North Carolina (Henry, Sgs Sng So Apkhns), etc. as well as in the JAFL, XXXIX, 104 and XXVIII, 152 texts. See Gardner and Chickering, op. cit., for other references.
Types A and B are the usual American forms of the story, while Type C follows the Child A, B story closely and utilizes the conventional ending of B. See also Child, III, 515.
There are many parodies of the song, and one version, Giles Scroggins, was a great favorite in early nineteenth century America. See Davis, op. cit., 352; Randolph, OzF-S, I, 140; Heart Songs, 246; The New England Pocket Songster (Woodstock, Vt.); The Singer's Own Book (Woodstock, Vt., 1838); The Songster's Companion (Brattleborough, Vt., 1815); The Isaiah Thomas Collection in Worcester, Mass., #95; and Worthington Ford, Broadside Bids, etc. Mass, #3126.
The Randolph, op. cit., I version, though called George Collins and containing the "dove 55 stanzas like so many of the Type B stories, seems to be closer to Johnny Collins in narrative.
----------------------
Kittredge: LADY ALICE (Child, No. 85). 1917 JAFL
Child included in his collection (2 : 279-280) an American version contributed to "Notes and Queries," in 1856 (2d series, I :354), by a Philadelphia lady, as sung forty years before. Professor E. C. Perrow gives a text from North Carolina in JAFL 28: 151-152. Virginian texts are printed in "The Focus," 3 : 154-155; 4: 50-51.
Mrs. Campbell prints two stanzas from northern Georgia in "The Survey" (New York, Jan. 2, 1915, 33: 373). See also JAFL 27 :62; 28 : 200-202; F. C. Brown, p. 9; Virginia Folk-Lore Society, Bulletin, No. 2, p. 5; No. 3, P. 4; No. 4, P. 7; No. 5, P. 8; Cox, 45 : 159 (JAFL 29 :400). Cox prints a West Virginia variant (46 : 124). For recent English contributions see "Journal of the Folk-Song Society," 3: 299-302; 4: 106-109.
-----------------
Notes from Traditional Ballads of Virginia, 1929, Kyle Davis Jr.
LADY ALICE
(Child, No. 85)
The eighteen items belonging to this ballad in the Virginia collection may be quite adequately represented by the eight here given since the most widespread version of the song represented by C, D, E, F, and G shows an unusual constant and standard text, and there is no need of reprinting the identity or near-identity. The eighteen variants belong to two quite distinct versions, both of which differ widely from any Child version. One version, represented by A and B and known as "John Collins" or "Johnny Collins," has been found in only one county of the state, Highland. The other version, represented by all the other variants and known as " George Collins," "Giles Colin," " George Collin," or " George Collie," is quite widely known and sung. Some exceptionally fine melodies are the four which belong to the more popular version (see C, D, and E). The editor can personally testify to the special effectiveness of the second melody to D, as it is sung in the Blue Ridge mountains. The air is poignant and diige-like, conforming to the mournful quality of the story, not mitigating it as the lilting air of this ballad's counterpart, "Lord Lovel," mitigate's the-tragedy of that ballad. Reed Smith reports the ballad from a young man who frequently heard it sung in the Dismal swamp region of Virginia." It would be appropriate to that region! The other air given
with B, clearly belongs to a different version. The appendix shows that this ballad, like "Lord Lovel," is easily parodied.
____________________________________
Randolph- Ozark Folksongs Notes:
22 GEORGE COLLINS
This is the old English ballad of "Lady Alice" (Child, English and, Scottish Popular Ballads, 1882-1898, No. 85). See Perrow (JAFL 28, 1915, p. 151), Brown (Ballad Literature in North Carolina, 1914, p. 9), Richardson (JAFL 32,1979, p. 500), Cox (Fotk-Songs of th"e South, 1915, p. 110), Reed Smith (South Carolina Ballads, 1928, p. 143), Hudson (Specimensof Mississippi. Folk-Lore, 1928, No. 14), Barry, Eckstorm and Smyth (British Ballads from Maine, 1929, pp. 452- 453), Davis (Traditional Ballads of Virginia, 1929, p. 540), Chappell (Fotk-Songs of Roanoke and the Albemarle, 1939, pp. 33-34), Gardner (Ballads and Songs of Southern Michigan, 1939, p. 53), and Combs (Folk-Songs from the Kentucky Hightands, 1939, pp. S-9). In the Brown (North
Carolina Folk-Lore Society) collection, "Lady Alice" appears under the titles "Giles Collins," "George Collins," "George Coleman," and "John Harmen." Cf. "Whose Corpse is That A-Coming This Way?" in JAFL 52,1939, pp. 47-48. Samuel P. Bayard (JAFL 58, 1945, pp. 73-103) discusses the "Johnny Collins" version.
__________________________________________
Folk Songs from the Southern Highlands
A Collection Of Traditional Folk Songs & Ballads, Collected & Edited By Mellinger Edward Henry, 1938.
LADY ALICE
(Child, No. 85) For American texts, see Brown, p. 9; Campbell and Sharp, No. 22; Cox, No. 17; Davis, No. 25; Hudson, No. 14; Reed Smith, No. 9; Reed Smith, Ballads, No. 9; Journal, XXVIII, 151 (Perrow); XXX, 317 (Kittredge); XXXIX, 102 (Hudson); XXXII, 500 (Richardson); The Survey, New York, January 2, 1915, XXXIII, 373.
Missing versions:
GEORGE COLLINS
Source Creighton, Maritime Folk Songs (1961) p.85
Performer Muise, J.S.
Place collected Canada : Nova Scotia : Yarmouth
Collector Creighton, Helen
GEORGE COLLINS
Source Ridlen: Midwestern Folklore 13:2 (1987) p.86
Performer Ridlen, Doris Omega (Franklin)
Place collected USA : Illinois : Decatur
GEORGE COLLINS
Source Bush, Folk Songs of Central West Virginia 5 pp.94-95
Performer Chapman, Dora
Place collected USA : W. Virginia : Corton
Collector Bush, Michael E.
GEORGE COGGINS
Source Robert W. Gordon Collection (American Folklife Center, LOC) Cylinder A99 item NC 144
Performer Sluder, Mirkie
Place collected USA : N. Carolina
Collector Gordon, Robert W.
GEORGE COLLIER
Source Solomon, Sweet Bunch of Daisies (1991) pp.26-27 (version a)
Performer Mack, Mrs. E.R.
Place collected USA : Alabama
Collector Troy State Univ. Students
GEORGE COLLINS
Source WPA Collection, Univ. of Virginia, Charlotteville, No.758 (version a)
Performer Hamilton, Mrs. Goldie / Mrs. Vivia Steffy
Place collected USA : Virginia : Esserville
Collector Hamilton, Emory L.
GEORGE COLLINS
Source WPA Collection, Univ. of Virginia, Charlotteville, No.758 (version b)
Performer Bentley, Miss Opal
Place collected USA : Virginia : Esserville
Collector Hamilton, Emory L.
GEORGE COLLINS
Source WPA Collection, Univ. of Virginia, Charlotteville, No.758 (version c)
Performer Greear, Florence
Place collected USA : Virginia : Scott County
Collector Hamilton, Emory L.
GEORGE COLON
Source Solomon, Sweet Bunch of Daisies (1991) pp.26-27 (version b)
Performer Matteson, Maurice
Place collected USA : Alabama
Collector Troy State Univ. Students
GEORGE COLLINS
Source Library of Congress AAFS recording 2806 B1
Performer Harmon, Austin
Place collected USA : Tennessee : Maryville
Collector Halpert, Herbert
GEORGE COLLINS
Source Library of Congress AAFS recording 2757 B3
Performer Quesenberry, Edith
Place collected USA : Virginia : Hillsville
Collector Halpert, Herbert
GEORGE COLLINS
Source Library of Congress AAFS recording 1388 B1
Performer Garland, Jack
Place collected USA : Kentucky : Arjay
Collector Lomax, Alan & Elizabeth
Roud number 147 | Roud number search
GEORGE COLLINS
Source Library of Congress AAFS recording 2784 A3 & B1
Performer Hamilton, Mrs. Goldie
Place collected USA : Virginia : Hamiltontown
Collector Halpert, Herbert
Roud number 147 | Roud number search
GEORGE COLLINS
Source Library of Congress AAFS recording 840 B2
Performer Grogan, Mrs. Julia
Place collected USA : N. Carolina : Silverstone
Collector Lomax, John A.
GEORGE COLLINS
Source Library of Congress AAFS recording 2849 A3
Performer Turbyfill, Mrs. Lena Bare
Place collected USA : N. Carolina : Elk Park
Collector Halpert, Herbert
GEORGE COLLINS
Source Library of Congress AAFS recording 2849 A2
Performer Hagie, Mrs. Loyd Bare
Place collected USA : N. Carolina : Elk Park
Collector Halpert, Herbert
Roud number 147 | Roud number search
GEORGE COLLINS
Source Library of Congress AAFS recording 2757 A7 & B1
Performer Martin, Mrs. W.L.
Place collected USA : Virginia : Hillsville
Collector Halpert, Herbert
Roud number 147 | Roud number search
GEORGE COLLINS
Source Library of Congress AAFS recording 2905 A3
Performer Harmon, Sam
Place collected USA : Tennessee : Maryville
Collector Halpert, Herbert
GILES COLLINS
Source West Virginia Folklore 4:2 (Winter 1954) pp.19-20
Performer West, Mrs.
Place collected USA : W. Virginia : French Creek
Collector West, Roy A.
WHOSE COFFIN
Source West Virginia Folklore 4:1 (1953) p.10
Performer West, Roy A.
Place collected USA : W. Virginia : Upshur County
Collector
GEORGE COLLINS (this appears t obe a mistake- Poole never recorded it- see Roy Harvey.
Source JSP JSP 7734 ('Charlie Poole' [Boxed set])
Performer Poole, Charlie & the North Carolina Ramblers
Place collected USA : Kentucky : Ashland
Collector
LADY ALICE
Source Haun, Cocke County Ballads & Songs (1937) p.71
Performer Haun, Mrs. Maggie
Place collected USA : Tennessee : Cocke County
Collector
Roud number 147 | Roud number search
LADY ALICE
Source Perry, A Sampling of the Folklore of Carter County, Tennessee (1938) p.201
Performer Harrison, Mrs. Gracie
Place collected USA : Tennessee : Carter County
Collector
Roud number 147
VIRGIL L. STURGILL. The "lost" ballad of George Collins. N. C. folklore, 4(No. 1):31-3 (July 1956). music. Sturgill tracks down a version of George collins in Buncombe County NC