NAME: Ike Brown's Song DESCRIPTION: "There is a few songsters, Their like could not be found, Who have been making a song Upon old Isaac C. Brown." The singer tells "how I tended my crops." He leaves home to "dredge the big canal." He describes other canal workers AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (Chappell) KEYWORDS: work hardtimes farming canal FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Chappell-FSRA 118, "Ike Brown's Song" (1 text) ST ChFRA118 (Partial) Roud #16942 NOTES: As it stands, the song in Chappell is singularly incoherent; at first glance, it appears to borrow parts of at least three songs. But until we can find another Ike Brown song, we can't say much with certainty. - RBW File: ChFRA118 === NAME: Il Faut Voir Que Je Me Sauvais (So I Ran Away) DESCRIPTION: French. A reaper says "Quelle chaleur!" The singer thinks it said "Here is the robber." He runs. A mill says "Tri que traque." He thinks it said "Catch him." He runs. A priest says "Dominus vobiscum." The singer thinks he said "Here he is." He runs AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (Peacock) KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage humorous wordplay FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Peacock, pp. 62-63, "Il Faut Voir Que Je Me Sauvais" (1 text, 1 tune) File: Pea062 === NAME: Ilka Blade o' Grass Keps Its Ain Drap o' Dew DESCRIPTION: "What is't that gars ye hang your heid and quit the cheery sun?" The depressed listener is urged to cheer up; troubles are certain but can be overcome, and there is a place for everything: "Ilka blade o' grass keps its ain drap o' dew." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord) KEYWORDS: nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, p. 385, "Ilka Blade o' Grass Keps Its Ain Drap o' Dew" (1 text) Roud #5612 BROADSIDES: NLScotland, R.B.m.143(128), "Ilka Blade o' Grass Keps Its Ain Drap o' Dew," Poet's Box (Dundee), c. 1890 File: Ord385 === NAME: Ilkley Moor Baht 'At: see On Ilkla Moor Bah T'at (File: K303) === NAME: Imaginary Trouble: see The Crying Family (Imaginary Trouble) (File: Wa062) === NAME: Immigration DESCRIPTION: "Now Jordan's land of promise is the burden of my song, Perhaps you've heard him lecture and blow about it strong." But the singer warns that it is a land of bad food, hard work, vermin, and thirst. He warns people not to come AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1905 (Paterson's _Old Bush Songs_) KEYWORDS: Australia emigration warning food animal FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 109-110, "Immigration" (1 text) NOTES: According to Patterson/Fahey/Seal, Mr. Jordan lectured in England in the 1860s about the benefits of Australian living. This song is the answer of someone who has been there. There is little evidence that it has gone into tradition. - RBW File: PFS109 === NAME: Immortal Washington DESCRIPTION: "Columbia's greatest glory Was her loved chief, fair Freedom's friend." Listeners are urged to respect and praise the (recently deceased?) Washington, and God is asked to "Receive into thy bosom Our virtuous hero -- Washington" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1836 (The American Songster) KEYWORDS: patriotic death nonballad recitation HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1732-1799 - Life of George Washington FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) JHCox 59, "Immortal Washington" (2 texts, though only the first is from tradition) Roud #5465 NOTES: Almost makes you forget, in your nausea at such saccharine stuff, that Washington was a slaveowner who lost more battles than he won in his career. I've tagged this with the "recitation" keyword because the only traditional text seems to be the badly garbled version in Cox. Even this is from manuscript, but certainly from memory (it contains too many senseless errors to be taken from print). There is no indication that it ever possessed a tune (it is hard to imagine a tune to this metrical pattern anyway). - RBW File: JHCox059 === NAME: Improbability: see Things Impossible (File: GC158) === NAME: In 1795: see In Seventeen Ninety-Five (File: RcIn1795) === NAME: In 1845: see The Backwoodsman (The Green Mountain Boys) [Laws C19] (File: LC19) === NAME: In a Boxcar Around the World DESCRIPTION: "I'm the man that rode the boxcar around the world, boys, it's a pleasure to me." The singer tells of travelling around the world a dozen times by train. He asks, when he dies, to be left aboard the train and allowed to "ride forevermore." AUTHOR: Cliff Carlisle EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (recording and copyright by Cliff Carlisle) KEYWORDS: train rambling death nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cohen-LSRail, pp. 397-399, "In a Boxcar Around the World" (1 text, 1 tune) RECORDINGS: Cliff Carlisle, "In a Box Car around the World" (Bluebird B-6438, 1936) File: LSRai397 === NAME: In a Cottage by the Sea: see The Widow in the Cottage by the Sea (File: R702) === NAME: In and Around Nashville: see In Kansas (File: EM049) === NAME: In and Out the Window: see Go In and Out the Window (File: R538) === NAME: In Arkansas: see In Kansas (File: EM049) === NAME: In Bohunkus, Tennessee DESCRIPTION: The singer's father was responsible for cleaning up horse refuse in the streets of (Bohunkus). In the process, he once found "diamond(s) in the dung," which allowed the singer to pledge to the Beta (Theta Pi) fraternity AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1955 KEYWORDS: scatological FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cray, pp. 354-356, "In Bohunkus, Tennessee" (4 texts, 1 tune; the "D" text is not obviously related to the other three) File: EM354 === NAME: In Bonny Scotland: see The Paisley Officer (India's Burning Sands) [Laws N2] (File: LN02) === NAME: In Bristol There Lived a Fair Maiden: see The Lover's Curse (Kellswater) (File: HHH442) === NAME: In Burnham Town: see The Man of Burningham Town (File: VWL068) === NAME: In Camden Town DESCRIPTION: William seduces Polly. She becomes pregnant and asks that he marry her. He sends her home to her parents. "I'll not go home to my parents For to bring them to disgrace But I will go and drown myself Down in some secret place." He says he'll die with her. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 (Creighton-SNewBrunswick) KEYWORDS: seduction rejection pregnancy suicide drowning FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-SNewBrunswick 53, "In Camden Town" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #1414 File: CrSNB053 === NAME: In Cameltoon Once More: see Swansea Town (The Holy Ground) (File: Doe152) === NAME: In Canso Strait: see Canso Strait (File: Doe183) === NAME: In Castyle there Lived a Lady: see The Lady of Carlisle [Laws O25] (File: LO25) === NAME: In Collon I Was Taken: see Michael Boylan (File: Zimm015) === NAME: In Contempt DESCRIPTION: "Build high, build wide your prison wall, That there may be room enough for all Who hold you in contempt." The song asks how the wardens can imprison people for their consciences, and says they can never lock up all who dissent AUTHOR: Words: Aaron Kramer / Music: Betty Sanders EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 KEYWORDS: political nonballad prison FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Scott-BoA, pp. 370-371, "In Contempt" (1 text, 1 tune) RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "In Contempt" (on PeteSeeger05) File: SBoA370 === NAME: In Courtship There Lies Pleasure: see Farewell Ballymoney (Loving Hannah; Lovely Molly) (File: R749) === NAME: In Cupid's Court DESCRIPTION: Fishing, the singer meets a maid. She asks if he is a stranger "brought up in Cupid's court ... an angler ... Or was it Cupid sent you here Young virgins to ensnare?" He asks her to marry, she agrees. "Instead of catching salmon He caught a prudent wife" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 (Creighton-Maritime) KEYWORDS: courting marriage fishing love beauty wife FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-Maritime, p. 52, "In Cupid's Court" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2731 RECORDINGS: Grace Clergy, "In Cupid's Court" (on MRHCreighton) NOTES: Not to be confused with "Cupid's Garden" or variants thereon. - PJS File: CrMa052 === NAME: In Days When We Went Gipsying: see In Days When We Went Gypsying (File: SWMS220) === NAME: In Days When We Went Gypsying DESCRIPTION: "In days when we went gypsing A long time ago, The lads and lasses in their best Were dressed from head to toe." The singer looks back on the gay times of his early life. (He wishes he were back under the old oak tree.) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1847 (Journal of William Histed of the Cortes) KEYWORDS: home travel nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain(England) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 220-221, "In Days When We Went Gipsying" (1 text) Roud #1245 File: SWMS220 === NAME: In De Mornin': see Ain't No Use Workin' So Hard (File: DarNS329) === NAME: In de Vinter Time DESCRIPTION: "In de vinter, in de vinter-time, Ven de vin' blows on de vindow-pane, An' de vimmen, in de vaud'vil, Ride de veloc'pede in de vestibule,Ah, vimmins! Ah, mens!" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg) KEYWORDS: nonsense FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (2 citations) Sandburg, p. 334, "In de Vinter Time" (1 short text, 1 tune) DT, VINTIME File: San334 === NAME: In Dem Long, Hot Summer Days: see Old Rattler (File: CNFM104) === NAME: In Dessexshire As It Befell: see On Christmas Day It Happened So (File: PBB006) === NAME: In Duckworth Street There Lived a Dame DESCRIPTION: The singer courts an ugly woman on Duckworth Street. One night "I found her faithless she Fryin' sausages fer he." When he tells her "we must part ... With a fryin' pan she broke my head." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 (Peacock) KEYWORDS: infidelity sex bawdy humorous wordplay lover FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Peacock, p. 287, "In Duckworth Street There Lived a Dame" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9969 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "A Rich Old Miser" [Laws Q7] cf. "A Week's Matrimony (A Week's Work)" (imagery) cf. "Charming Sally Ann" (imagery) NOTES: If "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar" maybe there is no double entendre here about frying sausages. On the contrary, this seems a song in which the writer let the metaphor get away. Peacock points out that Duckworth Street is one of the main commercial streets in St John's. - BS File: Pea287 === NAME: In Eighteen Hundred and Sixty DESCRIPTION: "In eighteen hundred and sixty I used to go to see A pretty little gal in Georgy, How dearly she loved me, She wanted me to marry, Soon as the war was over, She said we'd live together Like chickens in the clover, Tr la la la la la...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: playparty courting FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 530, "In Eighteen Hundred and Sixty" (1 short text, 1 tune) Roud #6616 File: R530 === NAME: In Eighteen Hundred and Sixty-One: see Johnny Fill Up the Bowl (In Eighteen Hundred and Sixty-One) (File: R227) === NAME: In Eighteen-Forty-Five: see The Backwoodsman (The Green Mountain Boys) [Laws C19] (File: LC19) === NAME: In Eighteen-Forty-Nine DESCRIPTION: "When I came to this country in 1849, I saw many a true love, but I never saw mine... I am a poor soldier and a long way from home." Floating verses of longing: "Farewell to my old father" "If... I could write a fine hand" "I wish I were a lark" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: love separation courting family rambling floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Randolph 745, "In Eighteen-Forty-Nine" (2 texts, 2 tune) Hudson 48, pp. 164-165, "Pretty Saro" (1 text, beginning with stanzas from "In Eighteen-Forty-Nine" and ending with "Pretty Saro," plus mention of 1 more text) DT, CAME1865 Roud #417 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Pretty Saro" (floating lyrics, tune) cf. "The Rebel Soldier" (floating lyrics) cf. "Farewell, Sweet Mary" (floating lyrics) cf. "Farewell Ballymoney (Loving Hannah; Lovely Molly)" (floating lyrics) cf. "The Backwoodsman (The Green Mountain Boys)" [Laws C19] (floating lyrics) cf. "I Came to this Country in Eighteen Sixty-Five" (floating lyrics) cf. "In Seventeen Ninety-Five" (lyrics) cf. "When First To This Country (I)" ("When First Unto This Country" lyrics) and references there NOTES: This has so many floating stanzas (see the cross-references, and even that list is probably incomplete) that I'm not even sure, based on the fragments in Randolph, if this is a true song or just a sort of anthology. Hudson's text of "Pretty Saro" mixes with this piece, and Randolph's texts also have lyrics from "Pretty Saro"; Roud lumps the songs. It's likely enough that there is a full-blown composite somewhere -- but I haven't seen it, and can't file it until I do. - RBW File: R745 === NAME: In Frisco Bay (A Long Time Ago; Noah's Ark Shanty) DESCRIPTION: Pulling shanty. "In Frisco Bay there lay three ships, To my way-ay-ay-o. And one of those ships was Noah's Old Ark, A long time ago." Up to 30 verses describing the ship, the animals and the conditions on the ark. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (Sharp-EFC) KEYWORDS: FOUND_IN: Britain US REFERENCES: (4 citations) Sharp-EFC, LIV, p. 59, "In Frisco Bay" (1 text, 1 tune) Colcord, p. 66-67, "A Long Time Ago" (fragments quoted from Sharp-EFC) Hugill, pp. 99-100, "A Long Time Ago" (1 text, version "C" of "A Long Time Ago") [AbEd, pp. 90-91] DT, NOAHARK CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "A Long Time Ago" (partial chorus) cf. "Old Uncle Noah" (subject) and references there ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Frisco Ship NOTES: Sometimes listed as a variant of "A Long Time Ago," but this has a distinct and (for a shanty) an unusually coherent story line. - SL File: Hugi099 === NAME: In Good Old Colony Times DESCRIPTION: Three rogues (king's sons? miller, weaver, and tailor?) "fell into mishaps / because they could not sing." Eventually they turn to robbery. "The miller drowned in his dam / the weaver was hung in his yarn, and the devil clapped his claws on the tailor..." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1804 (broadside, Bodleian Johnson Ballads fol. 84) KEYWORDS: robbery punishment death FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond,North,South)) US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,SE,So) REFERENCES: (16 citations) Belden, pp. 268-269, "The Three Rogues" (3 texts) Randolph 112, "In the Good Old Colony Times" (1 text, 1 tune) Eddy 80, "The Three Rogues" (2 texts, 2 tunes) FSCatskills 116, "The Three Rogues" (1 text, 1 tune) Sharp-100E 80, "The Three Sons" (1 text, 1 tune) Kennedy 307, "Three Scamping Rogues" (1 text, 1 tune) BrownII 188, "The Three Rogues" (1 text plus 2 excerpts and mention of 1 more) Chappell-FSRA 108, "The Old King and His Three Sons" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 1, "In Good Old Colony Times" (1 text, 1 tune) LPound-ABS, 116, pp. 234-235, "In Good Old Colony Times" (1 text) JHCox 166, "The Three Rogues" (1 text plus mention of 1 more) Flanders/Brown, p. 103, "The Farmer's Three Sons" (2 fragments) Linscott, pp. 213-214, "In Good Old Colony Times" (1 text, 1 tune) Arnett, p. 7, "Old Colony Times" (1 text, 1 tune) Botkin-NEFolklr, p. 531, "Old Colony Times" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, ROGUES3* ROGUES2* (ROGUES32) Roud #130 RECORDINGS: George Maynard, "Three Sons of Rogues" (on Maynard1, Voice07) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Johnson Ballads fol. 84, "The Miller, Weaver, and Little Tailor ("In good king Arthur's days")," Laurie and Whittle (London), 1804 LOCSheet, sm1878 07980, "Old Colony Times," John Church & Co. (Cincinnati), 1878 (tune) LOCSinging, as104730, "Good Old Colony Times," L. Deming (Boston), n.d. ALTERNATE_TITLES: King Arthur Three Jolly Rogues Three Jolly Rogues of Lynn When Bold King Edward King Arthur's Servants In Good King Arthur's Days When Arthur Ruled this Land NOTES: Botkin has a report that this was quoted by German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck to the Reichstag in 1888. Allegedly Bismarck learned it from a friend in 1832. I do not know how this could be verified, however. One has to suspect that this has had a complex history of moving between the broadside press and the folk; how else can one explain its tendency to take on new settings, from King Arthur's court (very common in British settings) to the American colonies to "Lynne" (King's Lynn?). The song is quoted by Thomas Hardy in _Under the Greenwood Tree_ (a single "King Arthur" stanza in chapter 2, "Honey-taking, and Afterwards," of Part IV, "Autumn"). - RBW Broadside Bodleian Johnson Ballads fol. 84: "A much admired song sung by Mr Chas Johnston, & proper to be sung at all Musical Clubs." In this version "Three Sons of Whores were turn'd out of doors ...." - BS File: R112 === NAME: In Jersey City: see The Butcher Boy [Laws P24] (File: LP24) === NAME: In Kansas DESCRIPTION: A quatrain ballad, this describes the unseemly, unsanitary, unhealthy conditions and people in that state, at Yale, in Mobile, in Zamboanga or any other place disliked by the singer. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1844, when a version of the song was published in New York City by Atwill. Said to date from a song about the Irish famines, "Over Here." KEYWORDS: bawdy scatological humorous FOUND_IN: Australia Canada Britain(England) US(MA,MW,NE,So,SW) New Zealand REFERENCES: (9 citations) Cray, pp. 49-53, "In Kansas" (4 texts, 1 tune) Belden, pp. 428-429, "Kansas" (2 texts, 1 tune) Randolph 344, "In Arkansas" (3 texts, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 280-282, "In Arkansas" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 344A) Randolph-Legman I, pp. 265-267, "In Kansas" (4 texts, 1 tune) Fife-Cowboy/West 32, "In Kansas" (2 texts, 1 tune; the first belongs here, while the second is "Way Out West in Kansas") Lomax-FSNA 204, "In Kansas" (2 texts, 1 tune) Greenway-AFP, pp. 212-213, "In Kansas" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 43, "In Kansas" (1 text) ST EM049 (Partial) Roud #4455 RECORDINGS: Chubby Parker, "In Kansas" (Conqueror 7894, 1931) Art Thieme, "In and Around Nashville" (on Thieme06) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Over There (I - The Praties They Grow Small)" (tune & meter, floating lyrics) cf. "Way Out West in Kansas" (theme) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The 'Taters They Grow Small NOTES: Cray and Legman have historical notes, disagreeing on the origin of the American bawdy song. - EC Given that this appears to be a clear parody of "The Praties They Grow Small," but that the 1844 version precedes the worst of the potato blights, the song origins are indeed mysterious. One suspects that the 1844 text is not the "full version," but a predecessor (the more so as Kansas was beyond the usual settlement line in 1844). Randolph reports that "several old-timers have told me that this piece was written by an Missourian named Beecham or Beecher, shortly after the Civil War." He does not believe the story, however, and certainly this can only refer to the local adaptation. There is no clear dividing line between this and "The Praties They Grow Small"; there are versions of this piece that are short enough and clean enough to belong with either. But, as often happens, we must classify them separately because the extremes are so distinct. - RBW File: EM049 === NAME: In London so Fair DESCRIPTION: A girl goes to serve a lady whose son is a sea captain. They fall in love; when he must go to sea, he pledges to be true. She dresses as a man and enlists on his ship. He says she reminds him of his love. She reveals her identity and they are married AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: love sailor disguise cross-dressing marriage FOUND_IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H203, pp. 330-331, "The Sailor on the Sea" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2989 RECORDINGS: Mary Ann Carolan, "In London So Fair" (on Voice02) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Up in London Fair The Ship that I Command File: HHH203 === NAME: In Lonely Belvedere DESCRIPTION: "My love he was a fine young man ... he lies within his grave in lonely Belvedere. 'My curse upon you Major Grant,' in anger she did say. 'My curse upon you Bennett ... Was you that caused my sorrow In lonely Belvedere'" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 (Creighton-Maritime) KEYWORDS: homicide love burial soldier FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Creighton-Maritime, p. 209, "In Lonely Belvedere" (1 text, 1 tune) Dibblee/Dibblee, pp. 61-62, "Lonely Belvedere" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2725 NOTES: Creighton-Maritime: "[The singer] said that the young man was killed in a riot in Newfoundland between the Orangemen and Roman Catholics." This could refer to the Belvedere Cemetery in St John's, Newfoundland. - BS File: CrMa209 === NAME: In Low Germanie DESCRIPTION: "As I sailed past Jura's isle, Among the waters lone, I heard a voice, a sweet low voice Atween a sigh and moan" as a girl with babes on her knee laments her husband fighting in Germany. Her brothers and her love have all been called away AUTHOR: Allan Cunningham ? EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord) KEYWORDS: love separation soldier war FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, pp. 360-361, "The Wars o' Germanie" (1 text) Roud #5609 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "High Germany" (lyrics, theme) NOTES: Ord credits this to Allan Cunningham, and it's perfectly reasonable to assume Cunningham padded out a fragment of an existing song (probably "High Germany"). I do think there was that traditional fragment, though. - RBW File: Ord360 === NAME: In Measure Time We'll Row DESCRIPTION: A song for rowing, listed as a round: "Then you'll see our oars with feathered spray, As they sparkle in the beam of day, In our little bark we glide, Swiftly o'er the silent tide... The warrior his heritage to restore... Oh, in measure time we'll row." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 KEYWORDS: river work FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Doerflinger, pp. 172-173, "In Measure Time We'll Row" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9432 File: Doe172 === NAME: In Memorial of 77 Brave Newfoundland Sealers DESCRIPTION: "Sad comes the news from o'er the sea, To fill our hearts with dread, To tell us that the ones we loved Are numbered with the dead." The poem briefly mentions their home lives, and hopes that God will make things well AUTHOR: probably Johnny Burke EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (Ryan/Small), from an undated broadside probably contemporary with the event KEYWORDS: death hunting disaster religious HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Mar 31, 1914 - date of the disaster, according to the broadside FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ryan/Small, p. 93, "In Memorial of 77 Brave Newfoundland Sealers" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Newfoundland Disaster (I)" (subject) cf. Pat Maher, "The Story of the Sealing Vessel, The Newfoundland" (on NFMLeach) cf. "The Newfoundland Disaster (II)" (subject) NOTES: This is one of those every-word-is-found-somewhere-else songs, but if there is an exact inspiration, I can't recall it. - RBW File: RySm093 === NAME: In Memoriam DESCRIPTION: The supply boat has to stand by and watch Ocean Ranger sink. ODECO collects its eighty million from Lloyd's acknowledging no blame. The singer hopes the inquiry and "days when lives are sacrificed to corporate greed" end soon. AUTHOR: Jim Payne EARLIEST_DATE: 1983 (Lehr/Best) KEYWORDS: death sea disaster storm memorial HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Feb 15, 1982 - The Ocean Ranger oil rig, 225 miles east of Cape Race, Newfoundland, sinks in a storm. All 84/86 are lost. NSDB: "It's said everyone in NF was related to, or knew, someone onboard" (Lehr/Best, Northern Shipwrecks Database) FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lehr/Best 55, "In Memoriam" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Lehr/Best: "ODECO, or the Ocean Drilling and Exploration Company, is the American company that owned the Ocean Ranger." For a detailed account of the disaster and its causes see _Inviting Disaster: Lessons from the Edge of Technology_ by James R. Chiles (HarperBusiness paperback, 2002), pp. 18-36. While Lehr/Best sees the ballad as questioning the courage of the crew of the supply ship _Seaforth Highlander_, Chiles has them doing the best they could. - BS File: LeBe055 === NAME: In My Father's House DESCRIPTION: "There ain't no liars there in my Father's house (x3), Oh, there's peace, peace everywhere." "There ain't no crapshooters there...." "There ain't no cardplayers there...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad virtue cards FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Sandburg, p. 483, "In My Father's House" (1 text, 1 tune) RECORDINGS: Carter Family, "There'll Be Joy, Joy, Joy" (Bluebird B-5911/Montgomery Ward M-4547, 1935) File: San483 === NAME: In My Garden Grew Plenty of Thyme DESCRIPTION: The singer laments the loss of her thyme. She had spent her life making herself fair, only to find her thyme stolen by a sailor. Now "I gaze on the willow tree," and "I would I were clasped in my lover's arms fast, for 'tis he who has stolen my thyme" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1906 KEYWORDS: loneliness sailor seduction virginity gardening FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,So) Britain(England) Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (7 citations) Randolph 90, "Keep Your Garden Clean" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 122-124, "Keep Your Garden Clean" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 90) Eddy 28, "Once I Had Plenty of Thyme" (2 texts, 1 tune, although both texts are largely derived from "The Seeds of Love") Sharp-100E 34, "The Sprig of Thyme" (1 text, 1 tune) JHCox 138, "The Green Willow Tree: or, Once I Had Plenty of Thyme" (1 text) Creighton-NovaScotia 26, "When I Was in My Prime" (1 text, 1 tune, more like this than the other thyme songs, though it's long and has probably picked up some outside elements) DT, THYMEGAR THYMSEED (THYMTH2) Roud #3 RECORDINGS: Cyril Poacher, "Plenty of Thyme" (on Voice12) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(2793), "Sprig of Thyme," J.O. Bebbington (Manchester), 1855-1858 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Seeds of Love" cf. "Thyme, It Is a Precious Thing" cf. "The Gowans are Gay" cf. "Garners Gay (Rue; The Sprig of Thyme)" NOTES: In flower symbolism, thyme stood for virginity. For a catalog of some of the sundry flower symbols, see the notes to "The Broken-Hearted Gardener." Thyme songs are almost impossible to tell apart, because of course the plot (someone seduces the girl) and the burden (let no man steal your thym) are always identical. For the same reasons, verses float freely between them. So fragmentary versions are almost impossible to classify. The Digital Tradition has a version, "Rue and Thyme," which seems to have almost all the common elements. Whether it is the ancestor of the various thyme songs, or a gathering together of separate pieces, is not clear to me. The first line here, "In my garden grew plenty of thyme," is diagnostic but sometimes absent. The thrust of the song is how hard the woman worked to make herself beautiful, only to spoil it by losing her virginity. To show how difficult all this is, Randolph and Ritchie have texts of this called "Keep Your Garden Clean" which are pretty much the same except for the first verse. On the basis of that distinction, I filed Randolph' with "In My Garden Grew Plenty of Thyme" and Ritchie's with "Garners Gay (Rue; The Sprig of Thyme)." Many, including Randolph, Ritchie, and Roud, simply lump the whole business as versions of "The Seeds of Love." Child prints a text (additions and corrections to "The Gardener", p. 258 in Volume V of the Dover edition) which conflates this song, or something similar, with that ballad. - RBW File: R090 === NAME: In North America DESCRIPTION: "Wine sparkles in our glasses, We have no debts to pay, We spend our time in pleasure In North America." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (Fuson) KEYWORDS: nonballad money drink FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fuson, p. 196, "In North America" (1 fragment, seventh of seven "Quatrains on the War") ST Fus196C (Full) File: Fus196C === NAME: In Old Pod-Auger Times DESCRIPTION: "I'll sing to you of the good old times When people were honest and true, Before their brains were rattled and crazed By everything strange and new." The singer grumbles about modern ways, and longs for "old pod-auger times" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Flanders/Brown) KEYWORDS: nonballad HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1829-1837 - Presidency of Andrew Jackson FOUND_IN: US(NE) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Flanders/Brown, pp. 69-71, "In Old Pod-Auger Times" (1 text, 1 tune) Linscott, pp. 251-253, "In Old Pod-Auger Times" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, PODAUGER* ST FlBr069 (Partial) Roud #3739 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Good Old Days of Adam and Eve" (theme) and references there NOTES: We really need a keyword "Whining-about-the-end-of-the-good-old-days." See the cross-references for similar songs. The song lists the time of Andrew Jackson as the ideal, but I can't see anything in it that's specific to that era. Linscott states that this comes from _Comical Brown's Songs_, after "Comical Brown," whom she describes as a nineteenth century solo performer. She gives no other details, however. - RBW File: FlBr069 === NAME: In Old Virginny: see East Virginia (Dark Hollow) (File: JRSF134) === NAME: In Oxford City: see Oxford City [Laws P30] (File: LP30) === NAME: In Praise o' Huntley: see Jock o' Rhynie (The Praise o' Huntley) (File: Ord338) === NAME: In Praise of Christmas: see Drive the Cold Winter Away (In Praise of Christmas) (File: Log293) === NAME: In Praise of John Magee DESCRIPTION: John Magee finds no peace with his wife "So he says, 'I can auction you according to the law.'" The bidding is active and she goes to a farmer from Killarney for twenty-five shillings. "May the devil follow after her, the auctioneer did say" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1970 (Morton-Ulster) KEYWORDS: shrewishness abandonment commerce humorous husband wife FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) Morton-Ulster 12, "In Praise of John Magee" (1 text, 1 tune) Morton-Maguire 36, pp. 90-91,122,170, "In Praise of John Magee" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2899 RECORDINGS: John Maguire, "In Praise of John Magee" (on IRJMaguire01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Sale of a Wife" (subject) NOTES: I don't believe this should be lumped with "Sale of a Wife." While they both have the auction they have no lines in common. [It's interesting to note that both songs seem to be Irish, though; perhaps one inspired the other, and some editors lump them. - RBW] Morton-Ulster: .".. such sales were quite common in England between 1750 and 1860." - BS Note also the broadside NLScotland, L.C.1268, "Sale of a Wife," W. Boag (?), Newcastle (describing an event of July 16, 1828) allegedly documenting such a sale. - RBW File: MorU012 === NAME: In Praise of the City of Mullingar DESCRIPTION: "Ye may strain your muscles to brag of Brussels" or any other great city "But they're all far inferior" to Mullingar. The singer describes many scenes, the Royal Canal, the courthouse and workhouse, railway station, and finally "the beauteous females" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1874 (_Songs and Fables_ by Professor W.J. Rankine, according to OLochlainn-More) KEYWORDS: humorous nonballad beauty FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OLochlainn-More 87, "In Praise of the City of Mullingar" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Mullingar is in County Westmeath, Ireland. - BS File: OLcM087 === NAME: In Praise of the Glen: see Lovely Glenshesk (II) (File: HHH028a) === NAME: In Robin Hood's Churchyard: see Scarboro Sand (The Drowned Sailor) [Laws K18] (File: LK18) === NAME: In Savannah DESCRIPTION: "ƠNeath the Southern skies there stands a humble cottage, ƠNeath its roof sits a mother old and gray." The singer wishes to return to Savannah, embrace his mother, and care for her in her "declining years." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: love mother home return FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Dean, pp. 107-108, "In Savannah" (1 text) Roud #9576 File: Dean107 === NAME: In Seaport Town: see The Bramble Briar (The Merchant's Daughter; In Bruton Town) [Laws M32] (File: LM32) === NAME: In Search of Silver and Gold: see Lord Lovel [Child 75] (File: C075) === NAME: In Seventeen Ninety-Five DESCRIPTION: Singer comes into the country in 1795; considers himself lucky just to be alive. He knocks at a girl's door; she lets him in and says not to ramble any more. They marry and live happily, "And the stars sang a banjo tune/When she said that she'd be mine" AUTHOR: unknown (additional words by Art Thieme) EARLIEST_DATE: 1966 (learned by Art Thieme) KEYWORDS: courting love marriage emigration wife FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Art Thieme, "In 1795" (on Thieme06) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "In Eighteen Forty-Nine" (lyrics) cf. "The Backwoodsman" (lyrics) NOTES: Thieme learned the first verse from Louis Marshall "Grandpa" Jones, added the second verse several years later. Despite a few similarities to "In Eighteen Forty-Nine," the song and its gestalt are sufficiently different that I've classified them separately. - PJS File: RcIn1795 === NAME: In Sheffield Park: see The Butcher Boy [Laws P24] (File: LP24) === NAME: In Smiling June the Roses Bloom: see The Champion of Coute Hill (File: LeBe018) === NAME: In Some Lady's Garden (I) DESCRIPTION: "In some lady's fine brick house, In some lady's garden, You walk so high you can't get out, So fare you well, my darling." "Oh, swing a lady ump-tum, Swing a lady round, Swing a lady ump-tum, Promenade round." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1917 (Cecil Sharp collection) KEYWORDS: dancetune nonballad playparty FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 114-115, "In Some Lady's Garden" (1 short text, 1 tune) SharpAp 270, "Swing a Lady" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #11590 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Do, Do, Pity My Case" (lyrics) and references there File: ScNF114B === NAME: In Some Lady's Garden (II) DESCRIPTION: "Oh, somebody come and let me out of here, I'se in some lady's garden. I'll roll like a log if you let me out of here, I'se in...." "Oh, somebody come... I'll pant like a lizard if you let me out...." "I'll run like a rabbit." "I'll kick like a donkey." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: playparty captivity rescue animal FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 140, "In Some Lady's Garden" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Do, Do, Pity My Case" (lyrics) and references there File: ScaNF140 === NAME: In Springfield Mountain: see Springfield Mountain [Laws G16] (File: LG16) === NAME: In Summer: see Robin Hood and the Monk [Child 119] (File: C119) === NAME: In Tarrytown: see Died for Love (I); also The Butcher Boy [Laws P24] (File: McST055) === NAME: In that Great Gettin' Up Morning DESCRIPTION: "In that great gettin' up morning, Fare thee well, fare thee well...." Call and answer about the deeds of Gabriel (the Annunciation to Mary and the Last Trumpet). The refrain "Fare thee well" occurs throughout AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1947 KEYWORDS: religious resurrection FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Lomax-FSUSA 106, "Great Gittin' Up Mornin'" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 349, "Great Getting Up Morning" (1 text) Roud #15228 RECORDINGS: Four Dusty Travelers, "Great Gittin' Up Mornin'" (Columbia 14499, 1930; rec. 1929; on VocalQ2) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "We've Come to Judgment" (lyrics) File: LxU106 === NAME: In That Morning DESCRIPTION: Spiritual: "In that morning, what a beautiful morning that shall be... Everybody got to rise for your Master Jesus in that morning...." Chorus: "...rise for your Master Jesus in that morning" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 (Creighton/Senior) KEYWORDS: religious Jesus nonballad FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton/Senior, pp. 280-281, "In That Morning" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #3349 NOTES: Surely a fragment of something else -- but given the amount of text, it's not clear what. - RBW File: CrSe280 === NAME: In the Baggage Coach Ahead: see The Baggage Coach Ahead (File: R704) === NAME: In the Bar-Room (The Celebrated Working-Man) DESCRIPTION: Singer boasts of his abilities as a coal miner, saying he can hew more coal than anyone in the region, and if anyone doubts him, they should check out his abilities -- "and haven't I often proved it in the bar-room (public bar)" AUTHOR: Ed Foley EARLIEST_DATE: 1892 (reported to have been sung by the author at the wedding of a niece in that year) KEYWORDS: pride bragging drink mining work drink nonballad worker FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North)) US(MA) REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, CELEBWRK* Roud #3486 RECORDINGS: Jack & Reece Elliott, "In the Bar-Room (The Celebrated Working-Man)" (on Elliotts01) Jack Elliott, "In the Bar-Room" (on Voice20) A. L. Lloyd, "The Celebrated Working-Man" (on IronMuse1) NOTES: This song, written by an American anthracite miner, took up residence in the mining districts of northern England and entered the tradition almost instantaneously. For once we have an idea of the connection; apparently the person who carried it across the water was Yankee Jim Roberts, an anarchist miner from Kentucky who settled in Co. Durham and became a union activist. The song also became part of the tradition in its native Pennsylvania, and was collected there by the Archive of Folk Song. - PJS File: RcITBRCW === NAME: In the Days of '76: see The Days of Seventy-Six (File: LoF019) === NAME: In the Days of Old Rameses DESCRIPTION: "In the days of old Rameses, are you on, are you on, They told the same thing... In the days of old Ramesis, that story had paresis...." The story sarcastically mentioned was told by Adam in Eden, by Joshua at Jericho, etc., and now is old and tired AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg) KEYWORDS: nonballad Bible FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Sandburg, pp. 202-203, "In the Days of Old Rameses" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Reported by Sandburg to be the theme song of the Whitechapel Club, "a group of thirsty intellectuals who were opposed to everything." - RBW File: San202 === NAME: In the Days when I Was Hard Up DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls how difficult life was when he faced poverty. He was scorned by family, and forced to all sorts of tricks to keep alive. He barely overcame the temptation to steal. His consolation was that he wore his ragged clothes honestly. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1860 KEYWORDS: poverty hardtimes FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (1 citation) FSCatskills 99, "In the Days when I Was Hard Up" (1 text, 1 tune) ST FSC099 (Partial) Roud #4621 File: FSC099 === NAME: In the Dense Woods DESCRIPTION: The singer is lost and alone in the woods in a storm. He laments, "The cold wet ground must be my bed... The tempest howls, the rain descends. Oh Jesus, must my life here end?" After breathing his final prayers, he dies AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1945 (Flanders/Olney) KEYWORDS: death storm HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1860 - Death of James Fernald, said to be the hero of this song FOUND_IN: US(NE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Flanders/Olney, pp. 243-245, "In the Dense Woods" (2 texts) ST FO243 (Partial) Roud #4686 File: FO243 === NAME: In the Evening by the Moonlight DESCRIPTION: "In de ebening by de moonlight when de darkies work was over... Dat's de only time we had to spare.... Uncle Gabe would take de fiddle down...." "All dem happy times we used to hab, will ne'er return again... In de ebe'ning...." AUTHOR: James A. Bland EARLIEST_DATE: 1880 KEYWORDS: Black(s) nonballad fiddle music FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (4 citations) RJackson-19CPop, pp. 87-90, "In the Evening by the Moonlight" (1 text, 1 tune) Dean, pp. 103-104, "In the Evening by the Moonlight" (1 text) Geller-Famous, pp. 22-26, "In The Evening By The Moonlight" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 250, "In The Evening By The Moonlight" (1 text) ST RJ19087 (Full) Roud #9591 NOTES: James A. Bland (1854-1911), one of the leading songwriters of the 1870s, was a university-educated Black (born in New York) who spent many years in England. That he wrote songs about slaves and slavery days says more about the climate of the time than about his feelings. Even so, there is a slight dig at slavery in the remark that the time after supper was "de only time we had to spare, to hab a little fun." Bland also wrote "[Oh, dem] Golden Slippers" and "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny." - RBW File: RJ19087 === NAME: In the Garden DESCRIPTION: "I come to the garden alone, While the dew is still on the roses, And the voice I hear, Falling on my ear, The Son of God discloses. And he walks with me...." The singer would stay and listen to the voices forever, "But he bids me go." AUTHOR: C. Austin Miles (1868-1946) EARLIEST_DATE: 1912 (published, according to Johnson) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) ADDITIONAL: Charles Johnson, One Hundred and One Famous Hymns (Hallberg, 1982), pp, 188-189, "In the Garden" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #18847 File: bdIthGar === NAME: In the Good Old Summertime DESCRIPTION: "There's a time in each year that we always hold dear, Good old summertime." The singer recalls the happy days, "In the good old summertime (x2), Strolling through the shady lanes with that baby mine." He describes life as a child in summer AUTHOR: Words: Ren Shields / Music: George Evans EARLIEST_DATE: 1902 (sheet music) KEYWORDS: nonballad courting FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (4 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 257, "In The Good Old Summertime" (1 text) Geller-Famous, pp. 191-194, "In the Good Old Summertime" (1 text, 1 tune) Fuld-WFM, p. 300, "In the Good Old Summertime" DT, OLSUMMER NOTES: This is another of those parlour songs whose chorus has entered tradition without reference to the verse. The result, however, seems popular enough to warrant inclusion here. - RBW File: FSWB257A === NAME: In the Hills of Roane County DESCRIPTION: Singer courts and marries; his wife's brother Tom stabs him. Three months later, he kills Tom. He's sentenced to life in prison. His family mourns; he tells prison friends that when they write home, "put one of my songs in your letter for me" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (recording, Blue Sky Boys) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer courts and marries; for unknown reasons, his wife's brother Tom stabs him. Three months later, he kills Tom. Tried, no one will speak up for him, and he's sentenced to life in prison. His mother weeps and his sister watches as his train departs; he now works in a prison foundry and awaits death, telling prison friends that when they write home, "put one of my songs in your letter for me" KEYWORDS: grief courting love marriage fight violence farewell crime punishment prison revenge brother wife FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,So) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #3387 RECORDINGS: Blue Sky Boys, "In the Hills of Roane County" (Bluebird B-8693, 1941; on ConstSor1) Jimmie Osborne, "Hills of Roane County" (King 1231, 1953) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Cruel Brother" (theme, sort of) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Rhone County Prison Hills of Rome County NOTES: I could *swear* we did this one someplace else. - PJS That happens to me all the time. The interesting thing, to me, is whether the song was known prior to the Blue Sky Boys recording. Roud has an interesting mention of a collection by Beck, possibly in the 1930s, but this does not seem to be well-documented or publicly available. - RBW File: RcItHoRC === NAME: In the Jailhouse Now DESCRIPTION: Bill Campbell disregards warnings and keeps gambling; he's in the jailhouse now. Bill Austin tries to vote twice; he's in the jailhouse now. Singer meets a girl; after a spree, he finds her hand in his pocket. She's in the graveyard, he's in the jailhouse AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recording, Earl McDonald's Original Louisville Jug Band) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer's friend (Bill Campbell) disregards warnings and keeps gambling; he's in the jailhouse now. Another friend (Bill Austin) tries to vote twice (in the white folks' election); he's also in the jailhouse now. Singer meets a girl (Ivy); they go out and paint the town, but when it comes time to pay, he finds the girl's hand in his pocket. She's in the graveyard now, and he's in the jailhouse KEYWORDS: captivity warning crime homicide prison punishment theft death gambling drink humorous prisoner thief FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Pink Anderson, "He's in the Jailhouse Now" (on PinkAnd1) Gene Autry, "In the Jailhouse Now" (Champion 16141, 1930) Blind [Arthur] Blake, "He's in the Jailhouse Now" (Paramount 12565, 1927; Broadway 5053 [as Blind George Martin; as "He's in the Jailhouse"], n.d.) Bill Bruner, "He's in the Jail House Now" (OKeh 45438, 1930) Walter Dalton, "In the Jail House Now" (Perfect 12468, 1928) John Dilleshaw, "She's in the Jailhouse Now" (recorded for OKeh, 1929, unissued) Adelyne Hood, "He's On the Chain Gang Now" (Columbia 2158-D, 1930) (Oriole 1935, 1930) Jim Jackson, "He's in the Jailhouse Now" (Vocalion, unissued, 1927) (Vocalion 1146, 1928) Frankie Marvin, "In the Jailhouse Now" (Edison 20002, 1929) (Brunswick 248, 1928) (Cameo 8328/Conqueror 7164 [both as Frankie Wallace], 1928) Earl McDonald's Original Louisville Jug Band, "She's In the Graveyard Now" (Columbia 14255-D, 1927; on Ruckus1) Billy Mitchell, "In the Jailhouse Now" (Bluebird B-6651, 1936) Luther Ossenbrink, "In the Jailhouse Now" (Champion 15852 [as West Virginia Rail Splitter]/Supertone 9570 [as Arkansas Woodchopper], 1929; Champion 45058 [as West Virginia Rail Splitter], 1935) Jimmie Rodgers, "In the Jailhouse Now" (Victor 21245,1928; Bluebird B-5223, 1933; Montgomery Ward M-4721, c. 1935) Memphis Sheiks [pseud. for Memphis Jug Band], "He's in the Jailhouse Now" (Victor 23256, 1930) SAME_TUNE: Gene Autry, "He's in the Jailhouse - No. 2" (Romeo 5035/Oriole 8035/Perfect 12667, 1931; Picadilly 872 [UK], 1932) Frankie Marvin, "I'm in the Jailhouse Now - No. 2" (Crown 3026/Homestead 22992, 1930) Jimmie Rodgers, "In the Jailhouse Now - No. 2" (Victor [US & Can.] 22523, 1930; Montgomery Ward M-4315, 1933; RCA Victor 20-6092, 1955) ALTERNATE_TITLES: He's In That Jail House Now NOTES: I'm astonished we haven't indexed this song yet -- looking at the keyword list, it has every important ingredient except, perhaps, trains and Mama. While Jimmie Rodgers' version is probably the best-known, the song was also current in African-American tradition; a very different version was recorded by blues singer Luke Jordan. - PJS I've encountered this phenomenon many times: Songs well-known in folk revival circles don't always have much currency in books. I don't know if it's lack of collections or lack of respect for the songs; perhaps it's something of each. - RBW File: RcItJHN === NAME: In the Lonely Glens of Yarrow: see The Dowie Dens o Yarrow [Child 214] (File: C214) === NAME: In the Month of October: see Moosehead Lake (File: LoF058) === NAME: In the Morning by the Bright Light DESCRIPTION: "I'se gwine away by the light of the moon, Want all the children to follow me, I hope I'll meet you darkies soon, Oh, hally, hally hallelujah!..." Chorus: "In the morning, morning by the bright light Hear Gabriel blow his trumpet in the morning." AUTHOR: James Bland EARLIEST_DATE: 1892 KEYWORDS: religious FOUND_IN: US(SE,So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Randolph 304, "In the Morning by the Bright Light" (1 text) BrownIII 569, "Going to Heaven by the Light of the Moon" (1 fragment) Roud #7776 File: R304 === NAME: In the Pines DESCRIPTION: Usually about a man whose girl has left him (on a train) (to meet another) ("in the pines, in the pines, where the sun never shines, And I shivered the whole night through"). The girl, who rides the "longest train I ever saw," may die in a wreck AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Brown) KEYWORDS: train separation loneliness love death FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE,So) REFERENCES: (8 citations) Cohen-LSRail, pp. 491-502, "The Longest Train/In the Pines" (3 texts containing many floating verses, 1 tune) BrownIII 283, "In the Pines" (2 text plus a fragment; the "A" text, though very full, is damaged and probably mixed; the "B" text is mostly floating verses; "C" is only three lines, and may not belong here); also 297, "You Caused Me to Lose My Mind" (1 fragment, mostly of floating lyrics but with hints it goes here); also 301, "High-Topped Shoes" (2 texts, both mixed; "A" is mostly "Pretty Little Foot" with verses from "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down" while "B" is a hash of "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down," ""More Pretty Girls Than One," "In the Pines," and others) SharpAp 203, "Black Girl" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 290, "The Longest Train" (1 text, 1 tune) MHenry-Appalachians, p. 231, (fifth of several "Fragments from Tennessee") (1 fragment, which might be this although it's too short to know) PSeeger-AFB, p. 28, "Little Girl" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 103 "In The Pines" (1 text) DT, INPINES* Roud #3421 RECORDINGS: Gerald Duncan et al, "In the Pines" (on MusOzarks01) Roscoe Holcomb, "In the Pines" (on Holcomb1, HolcombCD1) Bascom Lamar Lunsford, "To the Pines, to the Pines" (on BLLunsford01) Marlow & Young [pseud. for Burnett & Rutherford] "Let Her Go, I'll Meet Her" (Champion 15691, 1929; on KMM) Clayton McMichen's Wildcats, "In the Pines" (Decca 5448, 1937) Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys, "In The Pines" (Bluebird B-8861, 1941); (Decca 28416, 1952) Riley Puckett, "The Longest Train I Ever Saw" (Decca 5523, 1938) (Bluebird B-8104, 1939) Lou Ella Robertson, "In the Pines" (Capitol 1706, 1951) Texas Jim Robertson & the Panhandle Pushers, "In the Pines" (RCA Victor 20-2907, 1948) Arthur Smith & his Dixieliners [or Arthur Smith Trio], "In the Pines" (Bluebird B-7943/Montomery Ward M-7686, 1938) Pete Seeger, "Black Girl" (on PeteSeeger18) (on PeteSeeger43) Tenneva Ramblers, "The Longest Train I Ever Saw" (Victor 20861, 1927) Dock Walsh, "In the Pines" (Columbia 15094-D, 1926) Ephraim Woodie & the Henpecked Husbands, "Last Gold Dollar" (Columbia 15564-D, 1930) [Filed here by Paul Stamler despite the title - RBW] CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Long Lonesome Road" (lyrics) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Where Did You Sleep Last Night? NOTES: This song became the basis of "Blue Diamond Mines" in the 1970s. -PJS The elements in this song may vary widely, and it is best recognized by its form and the references to the pines. The plot described above is common but by no means universal. Cohen briefly summarizes Judith McCulloh's Ph.D. dissertation ("In the Pines": The Melodic-Textual Identity of an American Lyric Folksong Cluster), which analyses over 150 texts she identified with this song. She seems to have identified three common textual motifs: "In the pines, in the pines, where the sun never shines" (118 texts), "The longest train I ever saw" (96 versions), and "(His/her) head was (found) on the driver's wheel, (His/her) body never was found." There is also a fairly characteristic tune. Still, the boundaries of this type are very vague; long versions almost always include very many floating verses and have no overall plot except perhaps a feeling of loneliness. - RBW The Marlow & Young [Burnett & Rutherford] recording is a conglomerate of floating verses; I put it here because the one that floated from this song came first, but it could as easily go under, "Goodnight, Irene" -- it has the "Sometimes I live in the country" verse. - PJS File: LoF290 === NAME: In the Pit from Sin Set Free DESCRIPTION: "In the pit from sin set free, Sudden death would glory be, That is why I sing with glee, Jesus saves." The miner, even as he struggles to bring up the coal, is thankful to Jesus. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1948 (Warner) KEYWORDS: religious mining FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Warner 27, "In the Pit from Sin Set Free" (1 text, 1 (non-traditional) tune) ST Wa027 (Partial) Roud #7467 NOTES: The tune to the Warner recording was supplied by Sam Bayard, as the only one he knew to fit the words supplied by Benjamin S. Davies. The composite is not traditional, and the words may not be. - RBW File: Wa027 === NAME: In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree (II) DESCRIPTION: A girl shows the singer her anatomy "in the shade of the old apple tree," and he makes the appropriate reply AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 KEYWORDS: sex bawdy parody FOUND_IN: US(So,SW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cray, pp. 277-278, "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree" (2 texts) Roud #10242 SAME_TUNE: So I Climbed Up the Old Apple Tree (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 146) File: EM277 === NAME: In the Shadow of the Pines: see Shadow of the Pines (File: MN1135) === NAME: In the Summer of Sixty DESCRIPTION: "In the summer of sixty as you very well know The excitements at Pike's Peak was then all the go." The singer buys a ranch, but a miner jumps his claim. He gets into a crooked card game, loses all his money, and flees the area AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1911 KEYWORDS: hardtimes gold poverty gambling cards FOUND_IN: US(Ro) REFERENCES: (1 citation) LPound-ABS, 89, pp. 189-190, "In the Summer of Sixty" (1 text) Roud #4978 File: LPnd189 === NAME: In the Sweet By and By: see Sweet By and By (File: RJ19198) === NAME: In the Sweet Bye and Bye: see Sweet By and By (File: RJ19198) === NAME: In the Town of Oxford: see The Sheffield Apprentice [Laws O39] (File: LO39) === NAME: In the Township of Danville: see The Queenstown Mourner (In the Town of Danville) [Laws H14] (File: LH14) === NAME: In the Tunnel: see The Harvard Student (The Pullman Train) (File: R391) === NAME: In the Valley DESCRIPTION: "I was in Judah's(?) land by God's (immortal) hand That Jesus Christ was born in the vally, In the valley, in the valley, That Jesus Christ was born in the valley." The early life of Jesus is recounted, and listeners advised to heed and rejoice AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (Library of Congress recording) KEYWORDS: religious Jesus FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 534, "In the Valley" (1 text) Roud #11874 NOTES: This is a rather odd song; most of the early verses are based on the Biblical accounts of the Nativity in Matthew and Luke -- but the reference to "the valley" has no Biblical connection that I can see. Unless it refers to the Jordan valley, where John the Baptist, and presumably Jesus, began his ministry. Jean Ritchie learned this song early in life, but forgot most of the words and composed new ones. - RBW File: Br3534 === NAME: In the Wilderness: see The Old Gray Mare (The Old Gray Horse; The Little Black Bull) (File: R271) === NAME: In Town DESCRIPTION: "Whee-oop! Whoop-ee! Does anyone find any flies on me?" The cowboy arrives in town with his check, having worked for six months on the trail. He can't find a girl who really wants him, so he intends to spend his money on drink. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 KEYWORDS: cowboy drink FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lomax-ABFS, p. 416, "In Town" (1 text) Roud #15582 File: LxA416 === NAME: In Zepo Town: see The Bramble Briar (The Merchant's Daughter; In Bruton Town) [Laws M32] (File: LM32) === NAME: Inconstant Lover (I), The: see The Wagoner's Lad (File: R740) === NAME: Inconstant Lover (II), The: see On Top of Old Smokey (File: BSoF740) === NAME: Inconstant Lover, The: see The Broken Engagement (II -- We Have Met and We Have Parted) (File: Beld212) === NAME: Indeed Pretty Polly: see No Sign of a Marriage [Laws P3] (File: LP03) === NAME: India's Burning Sands: see The Paisley Officer (India's Burning Sands) [Laws N2] (File: LN02) === NAME: Indian Camp-Meeting Song DESCRIPTION: "Pitch my tent on the camp ground And a-hu'em, and a hu'um! For to give the devil anotehr round, And a-hu'um, and a-hu'um! Yes, glory be to God, my soul's high; Leap for joy and let us fly, And a-hu'um, and a-hu'um!" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (Henry, from Elsie Burnett) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) MHenry-Appalachians, p. 195, "Indian Camp-Meeting Song" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Few Days" (lyrics) NOTES: Clearly derived from "Few Days" (or, just possibly, the other way around), but equally clearly a different song. I have no idea why this is called an "Indian" song; presumably it's a reference to that "a-hu'um" lyric, but I rather doubt that is actually derived from any native dialect. - RBW File: MHAp195 === NAME: Indian Chief, The DESCRIPTION: Fragment: "My curse upon the timber with the wood in which it grew, That built the Indian Chief to drown Tom Cannon and his crew" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1947 (Ranson) KEYWORDS: drowning sea ship wreck sailor FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ranson, p. 126, "The Indian Chief" (1 text) NOTES: Before January 1, 1846 the _Indian Chief_ was lost at Blackwater Bank, Wexford (source: Bourke in _Shipwrecks of the Irish Coast_ v1, p. 61) Ballads of "The Wreck of the Indian Chief," by Charles Steer and by Sir William Topaz McGonagall, are about a different wreck and rescue (January 8, 1881 in the English channel). - BS File: Ran126 === NAME: Indian Fighters, The: see The Sioux Indians [Laws B11] (File: LB11) === NAME: Indian Hunter (I), The DESCRIPTION: "Oh come with me in my light canoe While the sea is calm and the sky is blue, Come with me for I long to go To the isle where mango apples grow. Then come with me and give my love...." The hunter describes how he will care for the girl AUTHOR: Words: Eliza Cook / Music: Henry Russell ? EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Randolph); the Cook/Russell sheet music (which I cannot verify as the same song) was published 1836/7 KEYWORDS: love travel home hunting FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 781, "The Indian Hunter" (1 short text, 1 tune) Roud #2843 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Gum Tree Canoe" (theme) NOTES: Randolph's text sounds like a cross between "Gum Tree Canoe" and Christopher Marlowe. Ick. - RBW File: R781 === NAME: Indian Hunter (II), The: see White Man, Let Me Go (File: FJ032) === NAME: Indian Hymn DESCRIPTION: Alone in the wood the singer looks to heaven; God looks down and says "Poor Indian never fear, I'm with you night and day." When he dies he'll go "above the sky" with no need of blanket or wigwam, "the better habitation share With Jesus good and kind" AUTHOR: Rev. Silas Tertius Rand ? EARLIEST_DATE: 1945 (Creighton-Maritime) KEYWORDS: nonballad religious Indians(Am.) FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-Maritime, p. 171, "Indian Hymn" (1 text) Roud #2729 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Little Indian Maid" (theme) cf. "When I Go Up to Shinum Place" (theme) NOTES: Creighton-Maritime: "Apparently this was a hymn written by Rev. Silas Tertius Rand who ministered to the Micmac Indians." See "When I Go Up to Shinum Place" for similar phrases. - BS File: CrMa171 === NAME: Indian Lament, The: see The Sioux Indians [Laws B11] (File: LB11) === NAME: Indian Lass, The DESCRIPTION: At a foreign ale house the singer meets "a young Indian lass [from] a place near Orleans." She invites him home, offers him a drink and they spend the night. She begs him not to leave but he sails away and offers "a health to the young Indian lass!" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1852 (broadside, Bodleian Harding Harding B 11(1759)) KEYWORDS: love sex farewell drink sailor Indians(Am.) FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Creighton-NovaScotia 51, "Young Indian Lass" (1 text, 1 tune) Mackenzie 57, "The Indian Lass" (1 text) ST CrNS051 (Partial) Roud #2326 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(1759), "Indian Lass" ("As I was wa[l]king on a far distant shore"), Samuel Russell (Birmingham), 1840-1851; also Harding B 11(1752), Harding B 11(1754), Firth c.12(279), Johnson Ballads 2288, Harding B 11(1756), Harding B 11(1757), Harding B 11(1758), Johnson Ballads 436, "The Indian Lass" LOCSinging, sb20217b, "The Indian Lass," H. De Marsan (New York), 1861-1864 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Little Mohee" [Laws H8] (theme, some verses, and references there) cf. "I'm a Stranger in this Country (The Darger Lad)" (theme, verses) NOTES: Tune for Creighton-NovaScotia is 4/4 and no relation to the "On Top of Old Smoky" waltz common for "The Little Mohee." The known dates for the broadsides for "The Indian Lass" don't help decide which came first,: "The Indian Lass" or "The Little Mohee"; in any case, one is clearly a derivative of the other. In all of these broadside versions except what is -- so far -- the earliest, [the text has] "She was born and brought up in a place near Orleans"; for Bodleian Harding B 11(1759) "She was born and brought up in the place New Orleans."- BS For discussion of the relationship of this song to "The Little Mohee," see the entry on that song. I must admit, looking at this, that I wonder if "The Little Mohee" isn't older; this looks like a version of that crossed with "The Lakes of Ponchartrain." - RBW Broadside LOCSinging sb20217b: H. De Marsan dating per _Studying Nineteenth-Century Popular Song_ by Paul Charosh in American Music, Winter 1997, Vol 15.4, Table 1, available at FindArticles site. - BS File: CrNS051 === NAME: Indian Song, The: see The Sioux Indians [Laws B11] (File: LB11) === NAME: Indian Song: Ah, Pore Sinner DESCRIPTION: "Ah, pore sinner, under the rock, Till the moon goes down in blood, You can hide yo'self on the mountain top, To hide your face from God. Um, ah, ta-alk about Jesus! Halle, halle, lu, there's glory in my soul." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 593, "Indian Song: Ah, Pore Sinner" (1 fragment) Roud #11907 File: Br3593 === NAME: Indian's Death Song, The DESCRIPTION: The Indian tells his captors "Begin, ye tormentors, your threats are in vain, For the son of Alknomook shall never complain." He tells how his valor hurt the white men. Death will free him of pain and take him "to the land where my father is gone." AUTHOR: Mrs. John Hunter EARLIEST_DATE: 1840 (The Social Lyrist) KEYWORDS: death Indians(Am.) captivity punishment FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fife-Cowboy/West 40, "The Indian's Death Song" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #11212 File: FCW040 === NAME: Indian's Lament, The: see An Old Indian (The Indian Song) (File: Wa030) === NAME: Indian's Song: see An Old Indian (The Indian Song) (File: Wa030) === NAME: Indians' Farewell DESCRIPTION: "When shall we all meet again? (x2) Oft shall glowing hope expire, Oft our wearied love retire, Oft shall death and sorrow reign, Ere we all shall meet again." Though the company is parted, and will in time grow old, they will meet again hereafter AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (Fuson) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad separation reunion FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fuson, p. 216, "Indians' Farewell" (1 text) ST Fus216 (Partial) Roud #16410 NOTES: No, there is no hint in the text why Fuson's informant called it "Indians' Farewell." - RBW File: Fus216 === NAME: Inglewood Cocky, The DESCRIPTION: "'Twas an Inglewood cocky of whom I've been told, Who died, it is said, on account of the cold." He divides his estate, in the form of assorted animals, among his children, and tells them to raise their children on "pumpkin and beer" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (Paterson's _Old Bush Songs_) KEYWORDS: father death lastwill FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (3 citations) Manifold-PASB, p. 109, "The Inglewood Cocky (or, The New England Cocky)" (1 text, 1 tune) Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 279-280, "The New England Cocky" (1 text) DT, INGLCOCK* NOTES: The title "New England" of course does not reter to the northeastern parts of the United States; Paterson/Fahey/Seal describe it as the region of New South Wales around Armidale and Tamworth. - RB File: PASB109 === NAME: Ingo-Ango Fay DESCRIPTION: "Go fay, go fay! Ingo-ango fay! Circle this house in a hoo-sal lay, In a ingo-ango fay. Go fay, go fay! Ingo-ango fay! Will hew my 'ligion away, Mimbi, kiki, joki lo, In a ingo-ango-fay!" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: nonsense foreignlanguage nonballad FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 26, "Ingo-Ango Fay" (1 short text, 1 tune) NOTES: Scarborough says this "seems to be a combination of African and English." Apart from the fact that "African" isn't a language, the formulaic nature of the text implies that it is either nonsense or, just possibly, a code version of English. Without more text, though, we can't establish the latter. - RBW File: ScaNF026 === NAME: Initiation of a Brother, The DESCRIPTION: "Welcome, brother, to our band; Welcome, brother, heart and hand; True, together we will stand, Or together fall. By brave Schomberg's martyr fame, By great William's glorious name, We are brethren still the same, Brethren one and all" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1987 (OrangeLark) KEYWORDS: ritual nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) OrangeLark 36, "Lines on the Initiation of a Brother" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: The description is the complete text from OrangeLark. - BS William III is of course William of Orange, and Schomberg is General Schomberg, killed at theBattle of the Boyne. For additional background, see the notes to "The Battle of the Boyne (I)." - RBW File: OrLa036 === NAME: Injy-Rubber Overcoat DESCRIPTION: "Injy rubber overcoat, hip-te-doo-den-doo (x3), Injy rubber overcoat, molasses candy shoe. Oh what's the matter Susan, Oh what's the matter, my dear? Oh what's the matter Susan? I'm goin' away to leave you." AUTHOR: (chrous from Dan Emmett's "What's de Matter, Susy?") EARLIEST_DATE: 1919 KEYWORDS: nonballad clothes separation FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 254, "Injy-Rubber Overcoat" (1 short text, 1 tune) Roud #7820 File: R254 === NAME: Inky Dinky Derby Town: see The Derby Ram (File: R106) === NAME: Innishowen DESCRIPTION: The singer, a resident of Magilligan, crosses Greencastle Ferry to live in Innishowen "where the purty girls go neat and trim in every degree." He describes the girl he loves. Assured of his character, she agrees to marry him AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: love courting beauty home marriage FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H209, pp. 465-466, "Innishowen" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9458 NOTES: Sam Henry reports that this is based on the actual story of John Smith of Magilligan. Given that the song seems to have had only very local currency, it may even be true. - RBW File: HHH209 === NAME: Inniskillen Dragoon, The: see Fare Ye Well, Enniskillen (The Inniskillen Dragoon) (File: E150) === NAME: Inniskilling Dragoon, The: see Fare Ye Well, Enniskillen (The Inniskillen Dragoon) (File: E150) === NAME: Innocent Hare, The DESCRIPTION: Sportsmen and hounds hunt the hare; after searching, the game is found. She takes off running; the huntsman blows his horn; the hare is killed. The singer declares she has led them a noble run, drinks success to all sportsment and to the "innocent hare" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (recorded from Mark Fuller & Luther Hills) KEYWORDS: death hunting sports drink animal dog FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Kennedy 251, "The Innocent Hare" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #1216 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Hare of Kilgrain" (theme: fatal hare hunt) cf. "The Granemore Hare" (theme: fatal hare hunt) cf. "The White Hare" (theme: fatal hare hunt) cf. "Bold Reynard the Fox (Tallyho! Hark! Away!)" (theme) cf. "The Echoing Horn" (theme) cf. "Joe Bowman" (theme) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Sportsmen Arouse Sportsmen Arise File: K251 === NAME: Innocent Prisoner, The DESCRIPTION: "On a bright starry night sat two lovers." They discuss their plans for marriage, and part for the night. He does not return the next day; he is falsely arrested for stealing money from his work. When at last he is released, she is still waiting AUTHOR: Bradley Kincaid? EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Bradley Kincaid songbook #3) KEYWORDS: love separation punishment lie reunion prison FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 140-141, "The Innocent Prisoner" (1 text) Roud #18137 File: MHAp140 === NAME: Innocents, The DESCRIPTION: A tale of the birth of Jesus. In the time of Octavian and Herod, Isaiah's prophesy comes true and the King of the Jews is born. Brutal Herod orders the children of Bethlehem slain. Jesus escapes, but there is great mourning in Bethlehem AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1920 (Oxford Book of Ballads) KEYWORDS: Jesus religious Bible execution death Jew HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 44 B.C.E. - Death of Julius Caesar brings Octavian to the front of Roman politics 37-4 B.C.E. - Reign of Herod the Great in Palestine 31 B.C.E. - Battle of Actium. Octavian gains sole control of Roman world 27 B.C.E. - Octavian named "Augustus" and declared "Princeps" by the Senate 6 B.C.E - Approximate date of the birth of Jesus 14 C.E. - Death of Octavian/Augustus FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) OBB 108, "The Innocents" (1 text) ST OBB108 (Partial) NOTES: Loosely based on the story of Herod and the Massacre of the Innocents in Matt. 2:1-18. However, this is very obviously a literary production. It shows an apparent knowledge of Josephus (at least indirectly), since it refers to Herod as a "Paynim born" -- which is technically true (Herod was of Edomite ancestry) but rather unfair; Herod regarded himself as Jewish. Even more interesting is the reference to Octavian as Roman Emperor. It is true that Octavian was Roman Emperor when Jesus was born (so explicitly Luke 2:1, but we would have known it even without that reference). But the Bible refers only to "Caesar Augustus," never "Octavian." So the author either got the name from Josephus (though this is unlikely; Josephus usually says "Augustus" or "(Young) Caesar") or a Roman history. This effectively precludes the possibility of folk composition. Overall, the language of the whole rather over-stylized business strikes me as probably being of the seventeenth century. - RBW File: OBB108 === NAME: Inquisitive Lover, The DESCRIPTION: Woman asks her sweetheart when he intends to marry. He says he will when all sorts of impossible events take place. The woman comments that if all men were of his persuasion, we'd be waiting a long time. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: marriage nonsense paradox FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Wyman-Brockway II, p. 106, "The Inquisitive Lover" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #10914 File: WB2106 === NAME: Inspiration (The Rowan County Teachers) DESCRIPTION: "The Rowan County teachers Convened the other day... I thought I would attend... And watch our modern teachers." He describes the meeting in the courthouse, praises the teachers' abilities, and hopes they will continue to spread learning AUTHOR: Words: Edgar Hamm EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas) KEYWORDS: nonballad FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Thomas-Makin', pp. 252-253, "Inspiration" (1 text) NOTES: I can't say with certainty that this is the most trivial thing I've ever seen memorialized in song -- but, other than Edgar Hamm's other school song, "Welcome (to Lyda Messer Caudill)," I haven't a better candidate off the top of my head. The claim that the Rowan County school superintendant Lyda Messer Caudill was descended from Mary Queen of Scots is certainly possible (the song being written some three and a half centuries after her death, she would have uncounted descendants) -- but since Mary had only one child, James VI and I, the link to the British royal line must be more recent than Mary Stuart. - RBW File: ThBa250 === NAME: Internationale, The DESCRIPTION: Communist anthem, translated into most major languages. English: "Arise, you pris'ners of starvation, Arise you wretched of the earth...." The workers are urged to rise up, throw off their chains and their overlords, and work toward a united human race AUTHOR: Words: Eugene Pottier/Music: Pierre Degeyter EARLIEST_DATE: 1887 (Chants Revolutionnaires) KEYWORDS: political nonballad foreignlanguage FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (3 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 297, "The Internationale" (1 (English) text) Fuld-WFM, p. 303, "L'Internationale" DT, INTERNAT* RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "L'Internationale, " [sung in French] (on PeteSeeger47) NOTES: Obviously not a "folk song" in the ordinary sense, and not as popular as it once was. But enough people have sung it at one time or another (in many languages, though the original is French) that it probably belongs here. Ironically, this song was not written for Communism as such but for the Paris Commune of 1871 -- a movement which failed miserably, had no influence on future French policy, and wasn't "Communist" in the Leninist sense anyway. - RBW File: FSWB297B === NAME: Intoxicated Rat, The DESCRIPTION: Singer spills rum on the floor; rat licks it up, gets drunk and carries on. The cat comes out; the rat sobers up and runs back to his hole (or gets caught) AUTHOR: probably Dorsey Dixon & Wade Mainer EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (recording, Dixon Brothers) KEYWORDS: drink humorous animal FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 234 "The Intoxicated Rat" (1 text) DT, INTOXRAT Roud #11257 RECORDINGS: The Dixon Brothers, "Intoxicated Rat" (Bluebird B-6327/Montgomery Ward M-4823, 1936; Victor 27495, 1941) Farley Holden & his Six Ice-Cold Papas, "Intoxicated Rat" (King 628, 1947) Cisco Houston, "Drunken Rat" (Disc 5067, 1940s) New Lost City Ramblers, "The Intoxicated Rat" (on NLCR08) NOTES: The first verse of this is apparently derived from "Four Nights Drunk," and the metre of the whole song implies that "Four Nights" may have been the source -- but it clearly has gone in its own direction. - RBW File: FSWB234 === NAME: Invasion Song, The DESCRIPTION: 'Sad and dismal is the tale I now relate to you, 'Tis all about the cattlemen, Them and their murderous crew." Nate and Nick are "murdered by Frank Canton and his crew" as they defend the town of Buffalo. The singer tells how cattle raiders were repelled AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (Burt) KEYWORDS: cowboy homicide war outlaw FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Burt, pp. 173-174, "Invasion Song" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Blood-Stained Diary" (subject) NOTES: Burt links this with an event she calls the Johnson County War, a conflict in Wyoming between honest herders and cattle rustlers. There are, apparently, conflicting versions of what happened; see Burt for details. This is item dB40 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW File: Burt173 === NAME: Inverness-Shire DESCRIPTION: "O as I came in by Inverness-shire, It was to view the brave Loch Ness, It was there I met wi' a fair young maiden...." The singer tries to induce her to marry. She says she had her chance years ago, and refused. He urges her to change her mind. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1985 (recording, Belle Stewart) KEYWORDS: courting rejection sailor FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #6856 RECORDINGS: Belle Stewart, "Inverness-shire" (on SCStewartsBlair01) NOTES: This sounds like it ought to have a broken-token-and-reunion ending, but in the Stewart version at least, it ends with the girl rejecting the sailor and the sailor saying she should change her mind. - RBW File: RcInvSh === NAME: Iomairibh eutrom ho ro (Row Lightly) DESCRIPTION: In Scots Gaelic; "The milkmaid went to the seashore/And she did a thing that others would not do there/She gathered shell-fish at high tide there/And she broke her leg and cut her hand there." Chorus: "Row lightly, ho ro" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 (recording, Allan MacDonald) KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage sea work injury worksong worker FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Hebr)) REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Allan MacDonald, "Iomairibh eutrom ho ro (Row Lightly)" (on Lomax43, LomaxCD1743) NOTES: Why do I get the feeling something else happened to the milkmaid? - PJS File: RcIEHR === NAME: Iounndrain-Mhara, An (Sea-Longing) DESCRIPTION: Scots Gaelic. The singer laments being far from the sea, "For in the glen I am a stranger." She recalls her brother on the ocean, and asks where is the ship to carry her home. No joy can reach her far from the sea AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1917 (Kennedy-Fraser) KEYWORDS: ship exile foreignlanguage FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Hebr)) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Kennedy 11, "Fath Mo Mhulaid a Bhith Ann (Being Here Has Caused My Sorrow)" (1 text+English translation, 1 tune) Kennedy-Fraser II, pp. 225-229, "Sea-Longing (An Iounndrain-Mharra)" (1 text+English translation, 1 tune) NOTES: The Kennedy text of this is long and conveys better than anything I've seen the emptiness they say sea-folk feel away from the waves. The Kennedy-Fraser text is shorter and more lyric, probably somewhat trimmed. - RBW File: K011 === NAME: Ireland Must Be Heaven, For My Mother Came from There DESCRIPTION: "I've often heard my daddy peak of Ireland's lakes and dells. The place must be like heaven if it's half like what he tells." As proof he offers the fact that his mother was an angel, and she came from Ireland AUTHOR: Words: Joe McCarthy & Howard Johnson / Music: Fred Fischer EARLIEST_DATE: 1916 (sheet music) KEYWORDS: Ireland home FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Dean, p. 9, "Ireland Must Be Heaven, For My Mother Came from There" (1 text) Roud #5493 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "A Little Bit of Heaven" (theme) NOTES: This was apparently one of the major hits of 1916, the year it was published, though Dean seems to be the only traditional performer to have learned it. - RBW File: Dean009 === NAME: Ireland's Glory DESCRIPTION: In 1776 "we were lazy and slavish," "Our woman were sluts and their husbands all slovens" and "The King was a god." But "Our peasants grew smart," "We could look at a King without much admiration" and "From a nation of slaves we've emerg'd into glory" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: c.1783 (Zimmermann) KEYWORDS: pride nonballad patriotic royalty FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Zimmermann 3, "Ireland's Glory" (1 text, 1 tune) Moylan 11, "Ireland's Glory" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: The complete title of Zimmermann's text is "Ireland's Glory" or "A Comparative View of Ireland, in the Years 1776 and 1783." Zimmermann p. 36: "Street ballads we were used then [1724 and 1725] as a form of protest by the Anglo-Irish "garrison," but this protest was not so much nationalism as the reaction of planters merely demanding the same rights as were enjoyed by the people of Britain. A spirit of independence awoke among the Anglo-Irish when a Volunteer army was raised, in 1779, to check a possible invasion from the combined forces of France, Spain and Holland. Martial enthusiasm extended to the Catholic population. Eventually some 80,000 men were in arms. With the example of the revolution achieved by their "fellow subjects" in America, they became conscious of their force and began to claim the removal of economic disabilities, (song [Zimmermann] 2). They enforced freedom of trade in 1780 and legislative independence in 1782. Songs reflected the increased feeling of self-confidence, (song [Zimmermann] 3)." The text states But great was the change in the year seventy-seven. We then were inspired by a spark sent from heaven. Moylan speculates that the Battle of Saratoga may have been that spark. - BS Possibly, but there were plenty of events in Ireland which might have inspired it. For example, 1778 saw the repeal of most of the anti-Popery act of 1704, giving Catholics much greater land and worship rights (see Peter and Fiona Somerset Fry, _A History of Ireland_, pp. 183-184); I believe this was proposed in 1777. The same period saw the rise of the Volunteers, which included Catholics; Terry Golway, _For the Cause of Liberty_, p. 51, reports that there were 40,000 armed Volunteers by 1778, and Mike Cronin, _A History of Ireland_, p. 99, says there were 80,000 two years later. Cronin, p. 98, mentions much other legislation passed in the late 1770s. Obviously this was largely in response to the American rebellion, but any of these several events might have helped inspire the song. (See the notes to "The Song of the Volunteers.") 1782 was indeed the year of Irish semi-independence, as Grattan's Parliament gave Ireland what would later be called "Home Rule." The economy also improved. (We should note that Ireland had had a parliament before that, but had had very little real power. For one thing, the British had held absolute veto power on legislation through a trick known as Poynings's Law, which had hobbled the parliament since 1494. Plus the British parliament retained the right to deal with Irish surpluses -- see, e.g., Cronin, p. 95. And, until Lord Townshend changed the rules in 1767, parliaments were elected for the life of the monarch, which of course made it completely unresponsive to events; see Cronin, p. 96). The old Irish parliament had to be absolutely unified to accomplish anything, and even then, the British could find ways to get around their legislation. Grattan's more independent parliament changed that. There were, sadly, three problems. One was that the parliament and electorate were still Protestant. The second was that England still controlled Irish trade -- and still had a veto under Poynings's Law. And third, while it was an independent parliament, it wasn't a particularly representative parliament. As in England, there were many "rotten" boroughs. Robert Kee, in _The Most Distressful Country_ (volume I of _The Green Flag_), p. 36, notes that "once the independence of the Irish parliament had been technically granted, the English government's hold over it was actually tightened by its systematic ever-increasing outlay of Crown patronage in Ireland." Gradually Irish optimism turned to disillusionment, ending in the 1798 rebellion and the Act of Union. The truly sad part is, Grattan's Parliament *did* represent progress, and the biggest single concession England made until the 1920s. Had Ireland been a little more patient, a century of violence could perhaps have been saved. - RBW File: Zimm003 === NAME: Ireland's Liberty Tree DESCRIPTION: A tree has been planted in Ireland ... 'Tis called 'Ireland's Liberty-Tree!'" Protect the tree. Emmet, Fitzgerald and Grattan died in its defence. Sheil and O'Connell forsee freedom. "Heaven will surely protect those Who guard Ireland's Liberty-Tree!" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: second half 19C? (Zimmermann) KEYWORDS: Ireland nonballad patriotic FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Zimmermann 67, "Ireland's Liberty Tree" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Robert Emmet (1780-1803) "Irish nationalist rebel leader. He led an abortive rebellion against British rule in 1803 and was captured and executed." (source: "Robert Emmet" at the Wikipedia site) Lord Edward Fitzgerald (1763-1798) Irish revolutionary. "As a member of the United Irishmen, he helped organize the Irish Rebellion of 1798 against British rule in Ireland." He was arrested and died of his wounds in Newgate prison. (source: "Lord Edward Fitzgerald" at the Wikipedia site) Henry Grattan (1746-1820) Lead the campaign leading, in 1782, to an Irish parliament in Dublin. He advocated Catholic emancipation in 1793. He opposed Union, which ended the Irish Parliament in 1801. In the English House of Commons he continued supporting Catholic emancipation. (source: "Henry Gratton: 1746-1820" in _The Age of George III_ at the Web of English History site) Richard Lalor Sheil (1791-1851) Was instrumental in the 1828 election of the "Liberator," Daniel O'Connell, over Vesey Fitzgerald. He himself served in Parliament for eighteen years. (source: "Richard Lalor Sheil" by M.J. Flaherty in _The Catholic Encyclopedia_ at the New Advent site.) Daniel O'Connell (1775-1847) tried to convince the British to reform administration of Ireland and was the leading figure on behalf of Catholic Emancipation. - BS For Emmet, see also "Bold Robert Emmet." Fitzgerald is the subject of "Edward (III) (Edward Fitzgerald)." Grattan role is covered in the notes to "Ireland's Glory." And Daniel O'Connell is the subject of a vast array of songs; see the notes and references under "Daniel O'Connell (I)." - RBW File: Zimm067 === NAME: Irene: see Goodnight Irene (File: LoF315) === NAME: Irene, Goodnight: see Goodnight Irene (File: LoF315) === NAME: Irish Barber, The: see The Love-of-God Shave (Lather and Shave) [Laws Q15] (File: LQ15) === NAME: Irish Boy and the Priest, The DESCRIPTION: A son of Catholic father and Protestant mother prefers Protestantism. Father takes him to confession. The priest explains that all Catholics pay their confessor except the Pope who prays directly to God at no charge. The boy decides to do the same. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1987 (OrangeLark) KEYWORDS: money religious father clergy FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) OrangeLark 29, "The Irish Boy and the Priest" (1 text) NOTES: OrangeLark prints no music for this entry but has no comment as to whether or not it was sung. The text is rhymed couplets. - BS There is something rather curious about this, in that the Catholic church generally does not recognize marriages made by other denomination, and also expects children of Catholic marriages to be brought up Catholic. Both parents are expected to agree to this. So -- clever as is the conceit of this song -- it would not often happen in practice. - RBW File: OrLa029 === NAME: Irish Boy, The: see My Irish Jaunting Car (The Irish Boy) (File: HHH592) === NAME: Irish Colleen, The DESCRIPTION: A party of four girls, from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland each toasts her own land and national flower. "Though the flowers all resemble there's a vast gulf between The rose, leek, and thistle, and the Irish colleen" AUTHOR: W. C. Robey EARLIEST_DATE: before 1885 (broadside, Bodleian Firth b.28(10a/b) View 2 of 8) KEYWORDS: party wine England Ireland Scotland nonballad patriotic flowers FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Peacock, pp. 366-368, "The Irish Colleen" (1 text plus a fragment, 2 tunes) ST Pea366 (Partial) Roud #6459 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Firth b.28(10a/b) View 2 of 8, "The Irish Colleen," R. March and Co. (London), 1877-1884 NOTES: The authorship claim is from the broadside: "Written and composed by W.C. Robey Sung by Miss Lizzie Howard Music, Francis, Day & Hunter, London, W." Library of Congress American Memory 19th century song sheets collection lists 13 different songs, not including this one, attributed to W. C. Robey and published in New York between 1882 and 1884. - BS File: Pea366 === NAME: Irish Emigrant (I), The: see Yellow Meal (Heave Away; Yellow Gals; Tapscott; Bound to Go) (File: Doe062) === NAME: Irish Emigrant (II), The: see I'm Sitting on the Stile, Mary (The Irish Emigrant II) (File: Pea462) === NAME: Irish Emigrant's Lament, The DESCRIPTION: "I never will forget the sorrows of that day," when the singer sailed from home. He knows he will miss the land, the friends, "the trusty heart [of the girl] I once could call my own." He will eat strangers' bread, and feel their scorn, and wish for home AUTHOR: William Kennedy EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: emigration separation farewell FOUND_IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) SHenry H235, p. 203, "The Shamrock Sod No More" (1 text, 1 tune) Ord, pp. 352-353, "The Irish Emigrant's Lament" (1 text, 1 tune) ST HHH235 (Full) Roud #2747 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Emigrant (I)" (subject) NOTES: William Kennedy, a contemporary of William Motherwell, is reported by Ord to have been one of the Whistle-Binkie poets. For a composed song, even one composed a century before, it's amazing how much variation there is, in both text and tune, in the Henry and Ord versions (the former in G major, the latter listed as being in F major but apparently in D minor). - RBW File: HHH235 === NAME: Irish Familie, The: see The Irish Family (File: K275) === NAME: Irish Family, The DESCRIPTION: Singer describes his family: "Me father had a horse/And me mother she'd a mare... So we'd a ride from father's horse/And a gallop from mother's mare." Cho: "So the more we have to drink/And the merrier we shall be/For we all do belong/To an Irish family" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Sharp mss.) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer describes life in his family: "Me father had a horse/And me mother she'd a mare/Sister Susie had a rabbit/And Johnny he'd a hare/So we'd a ride from father's horse/And a gallop from mother's mare/We'd a pie from Susie's rabbit/And a course from Johnny's hare." Successive verses follow the same pattern of ownership and use. Chorus: "So the more we have to drink/And the merrier we shall be/For we all do belong/To an Irish (happy) familie" KEYWORDS: farming drink food nonballad animal bird bug horse sheep brother family father mother sister FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond,South)) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Kennedy 275, "The Irish Familie" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, HAPFAMLY Roud #850 RECORDINGS: Harold Covill, "The Happy Family" (on FSB10) Jasper Smith, "Father Had A Knife" (on Voice11) ALTERNATE_TITLES: My Father Had a Horse NOTES: It's worth noting that although the song was collected twice under the name of "The Irish Family," it's never been found in Ireland. - PJS Kennedy claims that this tune is "similar" to "Click Go the Shears." There are certainly points of contact, but it's not close enough (in my opinion) to list them as the same. - RBW File: K275 === NAME: Irish Free State, The DESCRIPTION: "I went to see David, to London to David, and what did he do? He gave me a Free State, a nice little Free State, A Free State that's bound up with Red, White, and Blue." The singer rejects any British influence and demands freedom from the crown AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1962 (Galvin) KEYWORDS: Ireland freedom HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Dec. 6, 1921 - Negotiations for the Irish Treaty concluded. (It will be accepted by a bare majority of the Irish government, with the minority, including President de Valera, demanding more) FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) PGalvin, pp. 71-72, "The Irish Free State" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, IRSHFREE* CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Ash Grove" (tune) NOTES: In the aftermath of the 1916 Dublin Rising, Irish opinion was strongly divided about what came next. Had the British responded with concessions, Ireland might still be part of the Commonwealth. But it was World War I, and the British in any case have never been good at understanding the needs of their colonies. Gradually, the quiet Irish hostility turned to open warfare. The result was mass rebellion and mass reprisal (for this, see e.g. "The Bold Black and Tan" and "General Michael Collins"). Eventually, the British had to make a decision. They decided to treat with the Irish govenment. "David" is David Lloyd George, the British Prime Minister at the time. The Irish negotiators were a divided group; the two most distinguished were Arthur Griffith, who simply wanted peace and self-determination, and Michael Collins, the de facto head of the guerrilla army, who was much more determined to have independence. Notably missing was Eamon de Valera, who was head of the Irish government insofar as it existed. He had named his arch-rival Collins, who didn't want the job, but was unwilling to go himself. Tim Pat Coogan, in _Michael Collins_, p. 228, says that that was the "worst single decision of de Valera's life, for himself and for Ireland." (And that, frankly, is saying a lot, because de Valera made quite a few irrational choices.) The negotiators were stuck ended up with divided opinions and no real list of demands. (According to Coogan, p. 230, de Valera eventually admitted to deliberately creating a delegation he expected to deadlock: Griffith the moderate, Collins the fire-breather who was nonetheless a realist, Erskine Childers the extremist.) In the end, the deal they worked out involved withdrawal of British forces from Ireland, and complete internal self-government; the only limitations were in defence and external affairs, and those very limited. They also got their way on trade relations with England. It was a great deal by rational standards. But not by de Valera standards. The Treaty contained two objectionable provisions: Ulster was given the right to remain British (a boundary commission was promised, but it never did its work; the British refused to set it up with Ireland in conflict, and other attempts to a solution were halted by intransigence either in Dublin or Ulster; in any case, Lloyd George had made irreconcileable informal promises about it to the Ulster and Nationalist Irish), and Ireland was to become a Dominion, with internal autonomy but still formally under the British crown. For more on the evolution of this problem, see especially "A Loyal Song Against Home Rule." Robert Kee, in _Ourselves Alone_, being volume III of _The Green Flag_, pp. 156-157, defines the internal Irish problem pretty well, in my view: As long as there was no serious hope of an Irish republic, the rebels (Fenians, Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood, Volunteers) didn't have to resolve their differences. Now, though.... "There had always been moderates and extremists in the movement though the difference had been fairly efficiently concealed. More important: there had always been realists and fantasists and this difference was now revealed clearly for the first time as some of the toughest of the extremists in the past -- Commandants of the IRA like MacEoin, of Ballinalee, and Mulcahy the Chief of Staff -- followed Collins, the toughest of them all, in support of the Treaty." He notes, sadly, that it was the often the widows and family who were the worst fantasists: The mother of Padraic Pearse, the widow of Tom Clarke, the sister of Terence MacSwiney. The Ulster question was an ironic one in that the compromise it produced sounded good and was unworkable. The Ulster Unionists had initially wanted all nine counties of Ulster; had they had their way, Ireland might well be united now (if still highly uncomfortable), because Ulster would have had a Catholic majority. On the other hand, some of the British, including Winston Churchill, had been willing to give away Ulster (see, e.g., Coogan, p. 334); they knew it would bring more trouble than it was worth. But they couldn't simply hand Ulster to the Irish; parliament wouldn't stand for it and the Ulster Unionists would fight (Randolph Churchill said, "Ulster will fight; Ulster will be right"). The temporary compromise -- a six county Ulster still part of Britain -- might have been adjusted had Ireland been organized enough for further negotiations (a boundary commission, religious protections, some self-government). Or Michael Collins, who had had thoughts of conquering Ulster, might have pulled another rabbit out of his hat. But Collins died, the Irish Civil War came, and further negotiations had to wait until after Ulster Protestants and Catholics had hunkered down and come to hate each other. In the interim, the British has insisted on maintaining Ulster as a six-county unit (rather than ceding the two Catholic counties while retaining the four Protestant areas). Even so, Ulster actually was a safer place for both Catholics and Protestants during the twenty years after the Treaty was accepted than was the Irish Republic. In any case, Britain and the provisional Irish government were both willing to try to solve Ulster; this was not the final cause of Ireland's war. The worst of it was, if Ireland had not descended into war, the problem might have solved itself. The boundary commission, if done properly, would have left Ulster with only about four and a half counties -- and would quite possible have split off (London)derry, the second city of the province. Nearly everyone agreed that this rump would be economically unviable (indeed, a lot of people thought the six counties unviable); they would be forced in time to turn to Ireland. That question was never to be resolved. The idea of Dominion status, and the loyalty to the crown it required, proved the bigger sticking point at the time; de Valera was only one of many who refused to acknowledge any ties to Britain (de Valera in fact resigned his Presidency). It was only words -- they were supposed to pledge fealty to the King, but they didn't have to *act* on that fealty -- but, to the Irish radicals, they were fighting words. Kee, p. 150, says that the real problem in the negotiations with Britain was that the issues of Crown and Partition somehow came to be linked, which forced the outcome as it came out. His opinion is that, with more "give" on each side, Ireland could have been more strongly linked to the crown while being kept united. For the majority of the Irish people, this would probably have been a better solution. It's less clear that it would have satisfied the radical nationalists. Given the course the negotiations had taked, the commissioners insisted (probably rightly; Lloyd George's government, after all the disasters it had faced, was shaky) that the deal they brought home was the most Britain would offer, and on January 7, 1922 the Irish Dail voted (by 64 votes to 57) to accept the treaty. The population was almost certainly much more heavily in favor, since opponents of Sinn Fein generally had not dared to run in the election which had created this Dail. If there were defects in the Treaty, one may lay much of the blame on the Irish government. It gave its negotiators plenipotentiary powers, but never told them what to ask for, and then tried to change the results. De Valera's conduct was particularly suspect -- he had hinted that he would accept dominion status, but when the commissioners came back with something that was essentially that, he condemned it out of hand. The result was a civil war which lasted until 1923. It took two new constitutions, a split within Sinn Fein, the founding of the Fianna Fail and Sine Gael parties, sundry assassinations (including that of Collins), and many restrictive government measures to bring political stability to Ireland. This even though the people clearly supported the Treaty and the Free State; they wanted an end to war. (Kee makes the valid point, p. 158, that the IRB and other militants hadn't paid any attention to the people's wishes until that point; there was no logical reason why they should start now.) Calton Younger (_Ireland's Civil War_, pp. 313-314) gives vote totals for the election which follows (which was largely a referendum on the treaty): "pro-Treaty panel candidates gained 239,193 votes of a total of 620,283 votes cast [39%]; anti-treaty panel candidates... polled 133,864 [22%]; and Labour, Independents and Farmers won between them 247,226 votes [40%]." Coogan, p. 329, notes that this election cost both the de Valera and Collins factions in parliament, but the former much more heavily: "Certainly the result was a severe blow to the de Valera faction which held only thirty-six seats, a loss of twenty-two. The Collins/Griffith party won fifty-eight seats, a loss of eight, but which taken with the pro-Treaty Labour Party's seventeen seats, the Farmers' Party's seven, the six independents, and the four Unionists represented a solid pro-Treaty majority." Still, the government that was elected was fragile, and there had already been some shooting. It would get worse. "King George and Queen Mary" are, of course, George V of England and his wife Mary of Teck, to whom, under the Treaty, the Irish still owed technical allegiance. The term "Free State" is an interesting one. The Irish were pushing for the establishment of the "Saorstat Eireann." That's usually translated as the "Republic of Ireland," and of course the more vehement Irish nationalists called themselves "Republicans." The British, however, proposed to translate it as "Free State" (see Coogan, p. 263). This little bit of wordplay solved a major problem on the British side while technically giving the Irish what they wanted. At least, what the Irish-speaking ones wanted. Evidently not all that the Anglophones (which were, of course, all of them) wanted. Although Galvin lists no author for this piece, it definitely looks contemporary with the events described; it appears that someone is putting words in the mouth of either Collins or Griffith. - RBW File: PGa071 === NAME: Irish Girl, The DESCRIPTION: (The singer meets a girl by the river, lamenting her love gone to America). (She describes the pain of love.) (She) wishes she were far away with her love, or were a butterfly or a nightingale or a rose to be with her lover AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1845 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(2654)) KEYWORDS: love separation bird loneliness floatingverses FOUND_IN: Ireland Britain US(Ap,MW,SE,So) Canada(Mar,Newf) REFERENCES: (16 citations) Belden, pp. 292-293, "The Irish Girl" (3 texts) SHenry H711, pp. 234-235, "The Manchester Angel" (1 text, 1 tune -- a fragment with no beginning) OLochlainn-More 2, "The New Irish Girl" (1 text, 1 tune) BrownII 131, "The Irish Girl" (1 text) Davis-Ballads 21, "The Lass of Roch Royal" (The "F" text in the appendix appears to be this, though heavily mixed with floating stanzas) SharpAp 180, "The Irish Girl" (1 text plus 2 fragments, 3 tunes, but the "A" text is "Handsome Molly"; "B" and "C" are single-verse fragments which may or may not be this song) Sharp/Karpeles-80E 44, "The Irish Girl" (1 text, 1 tune, a confused and conflate mix of this song and "Farewell Ballymoney (Loving Hannah; Lovely Molly)") Dean, p. 109, "Molly Bawn" (1 short text) Greenleaf/Mansfield 98, "The Lament" (1 text) Creighton/Senior, pp. 195-198, "Pretty Polly" (2 texts, 2 tunes, even more infected by floating material than most songs of this group, but it appears to be this piece) Creighton-NovaScotia 81, "My Irish Polly" (1 text, 1 tune, a long but very confused and mixed version) Creighton-Maritime, p. 46, "Ruby Were Her Lips" (1 text, 1 tune) OConor, p. 15, "The Irish Girl" (1 text) Green-Miner, p. 230, "The Irish Girl" (1 text) DT, IRISHGRL* IRISHGR2* ADDITIONAL: Maud Karpeles, _Folk Songs of Europe_, Oak, 1956, 1964, p. 47,"The Irish Girl" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #454 RECORDINGS: Robert Cinnamond, "I Wish My Love Was a Red Rose" (on IRRCinnamond02) James McDermott, "Let the Wind Blow High or Low" (on IRHardySons) Walter Pardon, "Let the Wind Blow High or Low" (on Voice10) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(2654), "The New Irish Girl," J. Pitts (London), 1819-1844; also Harding B 25(1341), "The New Irish Girl" LOCSinging, as106240, "The Irish Girl," J. Andrews (New York), 1853-1859; also as106250, "The Irish Girl" Murray, Mu23-y1:025, "The Irish Girl," James Lindsay Jr. (Glasgow), 19C NLScotland, L.C.Fol.178.A.2(065), "The Irish Girl," James Lindsay (Glasgow), c.1875 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Farewell Ballymoney (Loving Hannah; Lovely Molly)" (floating lyrics) cf. "Buddy Won't You Roll Down the Line" (lyrics) cf. "Bonny Tavern Green" (floating lyrics) cf. "Lover's Resolution" (floating lyrics) ALTERNATE_TITLES: I Wish I Were Yon Red, Red Rose The Blue Cuckoo (the singer's name on IRHardySons) NOTES: This mostly-lyric piece easily degrades and easily mixes. Sedley and Sharp both had versions which mixed with "Farewell Ballymoney (Loving Hannah; Lovely Molly)"; it appears that Roud lumps them. Sharp compounded the problem by tacking on verses from another version. And because the song is so lyric, it often loses parts (e.g. the Henry text has lost the first verses which describe the whole motivation). What tends to survive is the handful of "I wish I were" lyrics, e.g. I wish I were a butterfly, I would light on my love's breast. I wish I were a linnet, I would sing my love to rest. I wish I were a nightingale, I'd sit and sing so clear, I wish I were a red, red rose... and (he) to be the gardener. Based on the contents, this could well be a degenerate fragment of "Erin's Flowery Vale (The Irish Girl's Lament)" [Laws O29]; at least some versions of this scattershot song seem to presuppose the situation described in that. But Laws ignores all the various versions of this song he should have known (e.g. Sharp, Belden, Brown). It must therefore be assumed that he either separates them or that he thinks these versions too lyric to include in his list. In any case, we've separated them. - RBW Some clarity is provided for this confusing song by the LOCSinging broadsides as106250 and as106250. Their description, omitting floating verses and floating themes, is: The singer meets an expensively dressed Irish girl, crying and tearing her hair. Her lover has left and she won't follow. The lover says "I was of some noble blood and she of low degree." Her lover still loves her. All of the broadsides I have seen include the floating verse "I wish I was in Dublin town [or Manchester, or Monaghan], and sitting on the grass, With a bottle of whiskey in my hand and on my knee a lass, We'd call for liquors merrily, pay before we go, And fold thee in my arms let the winds blow high or low." Among the floating verses is this by Walter Pardon on Voice10, connecting to "The Manchester Angel" version: I wish I were in Manchester, a-sitting on the grass With a bottle of whisky in my hand and upon my knee a lass. Also collected and sung by David Hammond, "The Irish Girl" (on David Hammond, "I Am the Wee Falorie Man: Folk Songs of Ireland," Tradition TCD1052 CD (1997) reissue of Tradition LP TLP 1028 (1959)). Broadside LOCSinging as106240: J. Andrews dating per _Studying Nineteenth-Century Popular Song_ by Paul Charosh in American Music, Winter 1997, Vol 15.4, Table 1, available at FindArticles site. - BS File: HHH711 === NAME: Irish Girl's Lament, The: see Erin's Flowery Vale (The Irish Girl's Lament) [Laws O29] (File: LO29) === NAME: Irish Girl's Opinion, An DESCRIPTION: "An Irish girl, and proud of it, a word I'd like to say... Paddy fights for England.... Then give to him old Ireland." No longer are Irishmen hung for wearing of the green, thanks to Dan O'Connell. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1901 (O'Conor) KEYWORDS: Ireland nonballad patriotic HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1775-1847 - Life of Daniel O'Connell FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) O'Conor, p. 66, "An Irish Girl's Opinion" (1 text) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(2942), "An Irish Girl's Opinion", unknown, n.d. CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Daniel O'Connell (I)" (subject: Daniel O'Connell) and references there File: OCon066 === NAME: Irish Harvestmen's Triumph, The DESCRIPTION: Irishmen that "reap the English harvest" should be prepared to fight "with John Bull and his crew." Irish harvestmen beat some Englishmen and go to look for work. At a railway line they fight navvies and beat them with bricks, stones, scythes, and hooks. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: c.1860 (Zimmermann) KEYWORDS: fight harvest drink England Ireland patriotic FOUND_IN: Ireland Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Zimmermann 66, "A New Song on the Irish Harvest Men's Triumph Over the English" (2 texts, 1 tune) Creighton-SNewBrunswick 104, "John Bull and His Crew" (1 fragment, 1 tune) Roud #13468 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Johnson Ballads 2235a, "The Irish Harvests Triumph Over the English ," P. Brereton (Dublin), c.1867; also 2806 c.8(223), "The Irish Harvestmen's Triumph" [title spelled "Thriump"] CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Boys of Old Erin the Green" (subject) NOTES: Zimmermann's variant last verse and other comment identifying the "holy priest" as Father Maguire are both illustrated by Bodleian broadside 2806 c.8(223). The navvies were British railway workers [see Coleman, Terry _The Railway Navvies:A History of the Men Who Made the Railways_ (BCA, 1972)] Zimmermann guesses at the tune: "The final words of the last stanzas suggest "The Shamrock Shore," Joyce, No. 415." Creighton's tune, with an Angelo Dornan fragment, is probably a better bet. - BS The name "John Bull" as a symbol for England or the English comes from John Arbuthnot's 1712 satire _The History of John Bull_, and does not represent a real person. (It's interesting to note that "The Roast Beef of Old England" by Richard Leveridge [c. 1670-1758] was an anthem of the Royal Navy.) Dornan's fragment ("Be sure you're well provided for With comrades stout and true, For you'll have to fight both day and night With John Bull and his crew") initially made me think of a navy song -- a boast to the French, perhaps, during the Napoleonic Wars. Which just shows how hard it can be to identify what songs are about. - RBW File: CrSNB104 === NAME: Irish Jaunting Car, The DESCRIPTION: "Oh, my name is Larry Doolin, IƠm a native of the soil." The singer offers a day's diversion in his red-and-green jaunting car. He claims the Queen enjoyed his car, and the Lord Lieutenant recommended it. Others have enjoyed it a well AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1884 (Universal Irish Songster) KEYWORDS: royalty travel FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Dean, pp. 115-116, "The Irish Jaunting Car" (1 text) Roud #5497 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Bonnie Blue Flag" (tune & meter) and references there NOTES: Not to be confused with Sam Henry's "My Irish Jaunting Car (The Irish Boy)." Although I have not (yet) found a copy of this reliably dated before 1884, it must be older, since Harry McCarthy used the tune for "The Bonnie Blue Flag." - RBW File: Dean115B === NAME: Irish Jubilee, The DESCRIPTION: "A short while ago An Irishman named Doherty Was elected to the Senate By a very large majority." This is cause for a tremendous party, described in loving and silly detail, e.g. those invited included "Old men, young men, Girls who were not men at all." AUTHOR: Words: James Thornton / Music: Charles Lawler EARLIEST_DATE: 1890 (sheet music) KEYWORDS: party humorous political FOUND_IN: US(So) Canada(Mar) Ireland REFERENCES: (5 citations) Randolph 472, "The Irish Jubilee" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 363-366, "The Irish Jubilee" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 472) Ives-DullCare, pp. 160-162,247, "Irish Jubilee" (1 text, 2 tunes) Spaeth-WeepMore, pp. 225-228, "The Irish Jubilee" (1 text, 1 tune) Morton-Ulster 49, "The Irish Jubilee" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2916 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Auld Lang Syne" (tune for final half-verse) cf. "The Kelligrews Soiree" cf. "O'Dooley's First Five O'Clock Tea" (theme) File: R472 === NAME: Irish Laborer, An DESCRIPTION: Singer is an Irish laborer, willing to work but told "No Irish wanted here". He retains his pride, praising the Irish for their generosity and their willingness to fight for America. He asks Americans to welcome the Irish. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1932 (Creighton-NovaScotia) KEYWORDS: emigration discrimination Ireland nonballad FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Beck 84, "An Irish Laborer" (1 text) Creighton-NovaScotia 123, "Irish Labourer" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, IRSHLABR* Roud #1137 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "No Irish Need Apply" (subject) cf. "The Honest Irish Lad" (subject) cf. "There Is Na Luck About the House" (tune) NOTES: The potato famine of 1845 brought millions of Irish emigrants to America; they were often resented by nativists and segments of the American labor movement. This is clearly related to "No Irish Need Apply," sharing a few lines, but as it consists mostly of praise and exhortations, and lacks the narrative of that song, I've classified it separately. - PJS File: Be084 === NAME: Irish Mail Robber, The [Laws L15] DESCRIPTION: The Irish youth turns bad despite his father's warnings. To support his wild habits, he turns to crime and is at last convicted of mail robbery. He is sentenced to transportation for nine years, forcing him to leave his father and sweetheart AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: father crime robbery separation transportation punishment FOUND_IN: US(NE,So) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Laws L15, "The Irish Mail Robber" Randolph 164, "A Prisoner for Life" (4 texts, 3 tunes, but only the "A" text is this piece) DT 424, IRSHMAIL* Randolph/Cohen, pp. 76-77, "A Prisoner for Life" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 164A) Roud #1905 File: LL15 === NAME: Irish Molly-O: see My Irish Molly-O (File: FSC062) === NAME: Irish Molly, O: see My Irish Molly-O (File: FSC062) === NAME: Irish Mother's Lament, An DESCRIPTION: The Irish mother nurses her child and laments for her dead husband, "Won't you come back to your fond wife's arms? Have you no care for your sweet babe's charms?" She says she has no friends and no hope; "Cushla mavourneen, why did you die?" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1935 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: love death children father mother abandonment mourning FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H600, pp. 140-141, "An Irish Mother's Lament" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9448 File: HHH600 === NAME: Irish Patriot, The DESCRIPTION: "On Africa's burning shore" an old Irishman says an English lord killed his wife and baby because he would not join the rebels. In the army in Africa, he kills the lord and hides. The singer takes the old man home; he is buried near his wife and baby AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1957 (Beck) KEYWORDS: age homicide revenge return escape help Africa Ireland patriotic soldier baby wife FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Dibblee/Dibblee, pp. 90-91, "The Irish Emigrant" (1 text, 1 tune) Ives-NewBrunswick, pp. 142-144, "The Irish Patriot" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #12486 NOTES: The singer considers the old man "a true [Irish] patriot" although his crime was killing an English lord who wanted him to "join the rebel horde." I suspect that a broadside source for this ballad might have a different story. Ives-NewBrunswick begins "As I strayed below those lofty paths on India's burning shore, A-listening to a tiger's howl or a savage lion's roar." India, rather than Africa [see Dibblee/Dibblee], is the place to find tigers. On the other hand, even Ives-NewBrunswick has the action taking place in Africa: "And to fulfill the oath I took I revenged on him to be, I sailed in that same ship with him to the coast of Cape Colony. When I arrived at Capetown, I was chosen for to be Lieutenant in the army, his lone bodyguard to be." Ives-NewBrunswick makes more sense with the problem coming up when "that cruel rebellion came and we were forced to go To fight for home and liberty with a [hated Saxon foe]." However, the []-bracketed words were inserted by Ives. Ives says that this song "doesn't show up much (only twice, in fact) in published collections, [but] is very much a part of the old lumbercamp tradition." Ives's two other sources are Edward D Ives, _Folksongs from Maine_, 1965, 18, "The Irish Patriot" (collected 1962) and Horace P Beck, _The Folklore of Maine_, 1957, pp 93-95. Ives notes "that the song seems to have been reasonably popular in the lumbercamps" (p. 81). [Ives apparently did not know] Dibblee/Dibblee. Re "tigers" in Africa: From Captain James Riley, _Sufferings in Africa_, 2000 edition of book published in 1817, an account of the ordeal of Riley and his crew in North Africa in 1815: "... near watering places: some tigers also now and then made their appearance. Such is the great western desart, or Zahahrah...." p. 298. Is Captain Riley referring to leopards or other desert cats? Is "tiger" a generic term for "dangerous cat"? If so, how common was that usage? - BS "Tiger" did indeed originally mean, broadly speaking, any big feline that isn't a lion. The word originated in Greek ("tigris,"), and seems to have come into use only around the time of Alexander (e.g. Aristotle uses it); it is possible that the first actual tiger to be seen in Europe was sent by Alexander's successors. This word then passed through Latin to Old French to English. There was apparently a time when leopards were thought to be hybrids of lions and something else, so "tiger" was the word for a non-lion bred in captivity. It does seem as if its use in this song is anachronistic. On the other hand, lions and tigers can interbreed (to produce ligers and tigrons).... - RBW File: Dib090 === NAME: Irish Peasant Girl, The DESCRIPTION: Singer thinks about widow Brown's daughter. She crosses the Atlantic to send money home. Her dying wish is that a letter be written to her mother and brother at home. Singer in Ireland thinks of "the lily of the mountain furze that withers far away" AUTHOR: probably Charles Joseph Kickham (1825-1882) EARLIEST_DATE: 1888 (Sparling) KEYWORDS: emigration dying hardtimes Ireland separation money FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) O'Conor, p. 126, "The Irish Peasant Girl" (1 text) ADDITIONAL: H. Halliday Sparling, Irish Minstrelsy (London, 1888), pp. 261-262, 502, "The Irish Peasant Girl" Roud #5687 RECORDINGS: Tommy McGrath, "She Lived Beside the Anner" (on Voice04) NOTES: O'Conor has the author as John Banim (1798-1842), who wrote "Aileen," "Soggarth Aroon," "The Reconciliation," "The Irish Maiden's Song," and "The Irish Mother in the Penal Days." Sparling makes Kickham the author and is supported in that by the article "Charles Joseph Kickham" at the New Advent site _Catholic Encyclopedia_. The first line is "She lived beside the Anner at the foot of Slievenamon"; _Catholic Encyclopedia_ notes that the same was true of Kickham. - BS Colum's _An Anthology of Irish Verse_ also credits it to Kickham. For more on him, see the notes to "Patrick Sheehan" [Laws J11]. - RBW File: RcTIrPGi === NAME: Irish Rebel Spy, The DESCRIPTION: "In the city of Mialco, near the county of Leone There lived a comely maiden ... And the proper name she goes by is the Irish Rebel Spy." Her brother and true love die as Fenians. She outwits detectives, steals a horse, and warns the Fenians. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (Manny/Wilson) KEYWORDS: rebellion trick Ireland patriotic FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Manny/Wilson 76, "The Irish Rebel Spy" (1 text, 1 tune) ST MaWi076 (Partial) Roud #9178 NOTES: I have no idea what the names of city and county, in the first line, should be. Roud quotes a first line from a Fowke sound recording as "In the county of Malonta(?) in the city of Malone." - BS Since a song approving of the Fenians is unlikely to have originated in Canada (the Fenians, after all, wanted to attack Canada!), we must assume the song is of Irish origin. There is no Irish county with no name anything like either Leone or Malone. My wild, wild guess is that the name is an error for "Athlone" -- not a county, but a well-known city, and one in the county of Roscommon, which isn't very singable. The other name defeats me. Not too far from Athlone, but in Westmeath, is the town of Moate; I can't come up with anything closer. But I don't really believe it. The other possibility would be to make the county "Mayo." In that case, the best emendation I can come up with is "In the city of Ballina in the county of Mayo." In this case, the song might be connected, somehow, with the activities of Michael Davitt (1846-1905), whose family had been evicted from their home in Mayo in 1852. Having lost an arm in a factory accident, and brutally treated as a prisoner, he returned to Mayo in 1879, and was in prison again by 1881. But he doesn't fit the song very well. More likely it arises from the Fenian uprising (read: fiasco) of 1867. The one historical figure we can identify with certainty is James Stephens (1824-1901), a participant in the rebellion of 1848 and the founder of the Fenians in 1858, for whom see "James Stephens, the Gallant Fenian Boy." But he abandoned the movement in 1866, shortly before the Fenian rebellion. He was treated with scorn thereafter. All in all, a very confusing, and confused, piece, this. - RBW File: MaWi076 === NAME: Irish Refugee, The (Poor Pat Must Emigrate) DESCRIPTION: Leaving Ireland. "We have fought for England's queen ... why should we be so oppressed?" I'm going to America "for there is bread." "If ever again I see this land I hope it will be with a Fenian band, So God be with old Ireland, poor Pat must emigrate!" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1884 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(3100)) KEYWORDS: emigration hardtimes America Ireland nonballad patriotic FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) O'Conor, p. 53, "The Irish Refugee" (1 text); pp. 106-107, "Poor Pat Must Emigrate" (1 text) Roud #2558 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(3100), "Poor Pat Must Emigrate", H. Disley (London), 1860-1883; also Harding B 11(3101), Harding B 11(3102), "Pat Must Emigrate"; 2806 b.10(79), Harding B 26(515), "Poor Pat Must Emigrate"; Harding B 18(297), "The Irish Refugee" or "Poor Pat Must Emigrate"; Harding B 19(78), "Irish Patt Must Emigrate " SAME_TUNE: Podgee and Rhu [i.e. Paudeen Rhu] (per broadside Bodleian Harding B 18(297)) Apple Potatoes (per broadside Bodleian Harding B 19(78)) Apple Praties (per broadside Bodleian Harding B 26(515)) NOTES: The famine year of 1848 is sometimes stated as 1854. As for the tune it may be that there are a number of songs on "the latest travels of the raking Paudheen Rhu." - BS File: OCon053 === NAME: Irish Rover, The DESCRIPTION: "In the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and six We set sail from the coal quay of Cork." The ship, with too many masts, too strange a crew, and too unusual a cargo, sinks on its own improbabilities; only the singer is left to tell the tall tale AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1963 KEYWORDS: sailor ship talltale humorous disaster wreck FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, IRSHROVR* Roud #4379 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Katey of Lochgoil" (theme) File: DTirshro === NAME: Irish Sailor Boy, The DESCRIPTION: "'My parents raised me tenderly, I being their only joy, When my first stroll I took to roam,' Cried the Irish sailor b'y" The captain and eleven of a crew of twenty four survive a ship wreck and land in St Peter's, Newfoundland AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1920 (Greenleaf/Mansfield) KEYWORDS: drowning sea ship wreck sailor disaster death FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Greenleaf/Mansfield 128, "The Irish Sailor Boy" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #6347 File: GrMa128 === NAME: Irish Serenade, An: see Oh Molly, I Can't Say That You're Honest (File: HHH082) === NAME: Irish Sixty-Ninth, The DESCRIPTION: A song telling the story of the 69th regiment, "The Irish Sixty-Ninth." The training of the regiment is described, then its long career in the Peninsula, at Antietam, Fair Oaks, Glendale, and perhaps Gettysburg AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (recorded from John Galusha) KEYWORDS: Civilwar soldier FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Warner 14, "The Irish Sixty-Ninth" (1 text, 1 tune) Spaeth-WeepMore, pp. 175-176, "The Gallant 69th" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Wa014 (Full) Roud #7455 RECORDINGS: "Yankee" John Galusha, "The Irish 69th" [excerpt] (on USWarnerColl01) NOTES: Determining which regiment this song is about takes some research. The very name "The Irish Sixty-Ninth" immediately brings to mind the 69th New York regiment, a famous unit of the equally famous "Irish Brigade" that saw service through the entire Civil War. (For more about that unit, see the notes to "By the Hush.") However, the unit in the song is said to have been commanded by "Colonel Owens," and the song refers several times to Philadelphia. Thus the 69th NY is not meant; we must look to the 69th Pennsylvania. This regiment is not famous (and it certainly didn't suffer the extreme -- 90% -- casualties faced by the 69th NY), but it was mustered in in August 1861 (as in the song; the 69th NY mustered in in September) and its original commander was Col. (later Brig. Gen.) Joshua T. Owen. It is reported to have been mostly Irish. And it was a Philadelphia regiment -- in fact it was a member of what later came to be called the "Philadelphia Brigade." The 69th PA fought in most of the battles in the east, starting with the 1861 fiasco at Ball's Bluff, and was one of the regiments that received Pickett's Charge on July 3, 1863 at Gettysburg (possibly referred to in stanza 6, though this could refer to the Battle of Fair Oaks). If there were only one version of this song, I might suggest that the name "Irish Sixty-Ninth" arose by confusion out of the World War I regiment with that nickname, in which Joyce Kilmer ("I think that I shall never see A poem as lovely as a tree") served and died. However, with multiple versions, all clearly Civil War, this does not seem possible. Among the other references in the song: "Little Mac": Gen. George McClellan, who commanded the Army of the Potomac for most of 1862 and directed the Peninsula Campaign. Fort Monroe: The starting point of the Peninsular Campaign. Yorktown: besieged in the Peninsula Campaign (Apr. 5-May 4, 1862). Pickett's guns: possibly a reference to Gettysburg, but this would be out of sequence; I think it more likely to refer to the Battle of Fair Oaks/Seven Pines (first major battle of the Peninsula Campaign, May 31-June 1, 1862), where Pickett faced a heavy Union attack. Antietam: battle fought in Maryland, Sept. 17, 1862. Fair Oaks: an inexplicable reference. If it points to Fair Oaks/Seven Pines, mentioned above, it is out of sequence; if it refers to the Fair Oaks battle of October 1864, the 69th PA was not present and the results were in any case unfortunate for the Federals. Probably this is an errant reference to some part of the Peninsula campaign. Glendale (also known as White Oak Swamp): one of the Seven Days' Battles, fought June 20, 1862 at the end of the Peninsula Campaign. The 69th PA had a prominent part in this battle. Speath's song "The Gallant 69th," sung by Harrigan and Hart, has none of the historical references of the Warner song, and may be a separate piece (frankly, the two have nothing in common) -- but what are the odds of two Civil War songs about an Irish 69th regiment? Even if they are distinct, we might as well file them together. - RBW File: Wa014 === NAME: Irish Soldier and the English Lady, The: see One Morning in May (To Hear the Nightingale Sing) [Laws P14] (File: LP14) === NAME: Irish Soldier Boy, The: see The Faithful Sailor Boy [Laws K13] (File: LK13) === NAME: Irish Spree, The DESCRIPTION: The boys and girls go to Patsy Murphy's restaurant. A fight starts followed by a fire. A policeman has his head split. Soldiers are called, 16 are dead: warrants are issued for murder and robbery. "I set sail for Australia in the morning" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1901 (O'Conor) KEYWORDS: violence homicide drink fire police transportation FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) O'Conor, p. 80, "The Irish Spree" (1 text) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(1796), "The Irish Spree", unknown, n.d.; also Harding B 11(1979), "The Irish Spree" File: OCon080 === NAME: Irish Stranger, The DESCRIPTION: "I ne'er shall return to Hibernia's bowers.... It grieves me to ponder On the wrongs of thy injured isle... America might yield me some shelter from pain, I'm only lamenting whilst here I remain For the joys that I'll never see more" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(1240)) KEYWORDS: emigration hardtimes America Ireland nonballad patriotic FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) O'Conor, pp. 111-112, "The Irish Stranger" (1 text) OLochlainn-More 59, "The Irish Stranger" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #1629? BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(1240), "Irish Stranger", J. Catnach (Durham), 1813-1838; also 2806 b.11(219), Harding B 16(334b), Harding B 11(1797), Harding B 11(1631), Harding B 11(1657), Harding B 11(1241), "[The] Irish Stranger" NOTES: Bodleian, 2806 c.17(179),"Irish Stranger" or "Joys That Are Gone", W. Armstrong (Liverpool),1820-1824 may be the earliest for this ballad at Bodleian but is illegible. - BS File: OCon111 === NAME: Irish Wake, The [Laws Q18] DESCRIPTION: Pat Malone, being "pressed for ready cash," decides to fake death to collect his life insurance. All goes well until the wake and funeral; he thinks they cost too much. At last, shortly before he is buried, realizing the consequences, he gives up the sham AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1893 KEYWORDS: death funeral trick FOUND_IN: US(MA,So) REFERENCES: (6 citations) Laws Q18, "The Irish Wake" Randolph 473, "The Irish Wake" (1 text plus an excerpt, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 366-368, "The Irish Wake" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 473A) FSCatskills 121, "Pat Malone" (1 text, 1 tune) Darling-NAS, pp. 148-149, "Pat Malone" (1 text) DT 529, PATFORGT* Roud #1008 RECORDINGS: Lawrence Older, "Pat Malone" (on LOlder01) Dan W. Quinn, "Pat Malone Forgot That He Was Dead" (CYL: Columbia Concert 5048, n.d.) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Finnegan's Wake" [Laws Q17] NOTES: Laws lists this among the ballads of British origin, but cites no references. Cohen speculates that it is actually an American stage song. Given that it's been collected only on this side of the water (as best I can tell, and the Roud list supports this), I strongly suspect he's right. - RBW File: LQ18 === NAME: Irish Wedding, The DESCRIPTION: "Sure won't you hear what roaring cheer was spread at Paddy's wedding, O?" All the boys and girls are named, there is music, food, dancing and drink. No fights! "Decadorous we'll have, says Father Quipes." A grand time is had by all. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1901 (O'Conor) KEYWORDS: wedding humorous dancing drink food music party moniker FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) O'Conor, pp. 57-58, "The Irish Wedding" (1 text) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 25(926), "The Irish Wedding", unknown, n.d. File: OCon057 === NAME: Irishman (I), The DESCRIPTION: The singer, a new emigrant wandering in New Jersey, comes across "an oasis" -- the home of an old Irishman. They stop and talk; the old man asks about all the places he left behind long ago AUTHOR: James O'Kane EARLIEST_DATE: 1937 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: rambling emigration homesickness FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H712, pp. 221-222, "The Irishman" (1 text, 1 tune) File: HHH712 === NAME: Irishman (II), The DESCRIPTION: "Who a friend or foe can meet So generous as an Irishman?" He is warm-hearted, honest, forgiving, generous, open, honorable and fearless. "If the field of fame be lost It won't be by an Irishman" AUTHOR: James Orr EARLIEST_DATE: before 1820 (broadside, Bodleian Johnson Ballads 871) KEYWORDS: Ireland nonballad patriotic FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) O'Conor, p. 119, "The Irishman" (1 text) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Johnson Ballads 871, "The Irishman" ("The savage loves his native shore"), J. Pitts (London), 1802-1819; also Harding B 18(294), Harding B 16(115a), 2806 c.8(153), "The Irishman" SAME_TUNE: Vive La (broadside Bodleian 2806 c.8(153)) File: OCon119 === NAME: Irishman, The DESCRIPTION: An Irishman arrives in America and sees many new things. He thinks a ship's anchor is an axe for a giant. A parrot singing "God Save the Queen" makes him think it a person; he would kill it were it not wearing green. He tries to hatch a pumpkin. Etc. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1970 (collected by Logsdon from Riley Neal) KEYWORDS: humorous emigration bird FOUND_IN: US(SW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Logsdon 59, pp. 268-270, "The Irishman" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #10109 File: Loga059 === NAME: Irishman's Christening, An DESCRIPTION: The parson mistakenly christened the singer with whisky: "it made me a sot." At his marriage he pulls out whisky instead of the ring. Were he dead in the ground where "no whisky is found" would he "call out from his grave to be christened again?" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1839 (Croker-PopularSongs) KEYWORDS: childbirth death drink humorous clergy FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 71-73, "An Irishman's Christening" (1 text) ADDITIONAL: Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 270-271, "An Irishman's Christening" File: CPS071 === NAME: Irishman's Farewell to his Country, The (The Shamrock Shore IV) DESCRIPTION: Farewell, dear Erin's native shore, For here I cannot stay." The singer is leaving for America. "As our ship she lies at anchor, boys, Now ready for to sail." He bids farewell to friends, parents, grandfather. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (OLochlainn-More) KEYWORDS: emigration farewell sea ship America Ireland nonballad friend family FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OLochlainn-More 88, "The Shamrock Shore" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #1455 RECORDINGS: Margaret Barry and Michael Gorman, "Farewell, My Own Fair Native Land" (on Voice04) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, 2806 c.8(157), "The Irishman's Farewell to his Country," Haly (Cork), 19C; also 2806 c.8(121), "The Irishman's Farewell to his Country"; 2806 b.10(89), "The Irishman's Farewell to his Native Land" File: OLcM088 === NAME: Irishman's Goldmine, The DESCRIPTION: An Irishman comes to Australia and to look for gold. He innocently trusts to a man who points to a "gold" patch. The Irish boy sets to digging as the ants swarm out onto his skin -- and start biting. He concludes that gold *is* the root of evil AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1968 KEYWORDS: gold bug Australia injury FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Meredith/Anderson, pp. 276-277, "The Irishman's Goldmine" (1 text, 1 tune) File: MA276A === NAME: Irishman's Lumber Song: see The Monkey Turned Barber [Laws Q14] (File: LQ14) === NAME: Irishman's Shanty DESCRIPTION: "Did you ever hear of an Irishman's shanty Where water was scarce and whiskey was plenty? A two-legged stool and a table to match A stick in the door instead of a latch?" AUTHOR: George W. Osborn EARLIEST_DATE: before 1879 (broadside, LOCSinging sb20211b) KEYWORDS: poverty drink humorous nonballad FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) Greenleaf/Mansfield 109, "Irishman's Shanty" (1 fragment) O'Conor, pp. 118-119, "The Irishman's Shanty" (1 text) Roud #4838 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 18(295), "The Irishman's Shanty," H. De Marsan (New York), 1864-1878 [same as LOCSinging sb20211b]; also Harding B 18(296), "The Irishman's Shanty" LOCSinging, sb20211b, "The Irishman's shanty," H. De Marsan (New York), 1864-1878 [same as Bodleian Harding B 18(295)]; also as106270, as106280, as201680, "The Irishman's shanty" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Irish Washerwoman" (tune and meter) cf. "The Old Country Party" (tune) NOTES: Broadsides LOCSinging sb20211b and Bodleian Harding B 18(295): H. De Marsan dating per _Studying Nineteenth-Century Popular Song_ by Paul Charosh in American Music, Winter 1997, Vol 15.4, Table 1, available at FindArticles site. - BS File: GrMa109 === NAME: Irishtown Crew, The DESCRIPTION: "On the first day of April, I'll never forget, / The Irishtown boys at Ratigan's met. / They filled up their glasses and swore solemnly / That that very day they'd go out on a spree!" The rest of the song is devoted to the participants and their antics AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Warner) KEYWORDS: drink moniker FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Warner 15, "The Irishtown Crew" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Wa015 (Partial) Roud #7466 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Campbell the Rover" (tune & meter) File: Wa015 === NAME: Iron Door, The [Laws M15] DESCRIPTION: When the rich girl falls in love with a poor boy, her father locks her in a iron-doored prison. Her lover breaks in and sneaks her out (in men's clothing), but they meet her father. The boy prepares to die, but the father gives in AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1906 KEYWORDS: love prison escape mercy father FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South,Lond)) Ireland Canada(Mar,Newf) REFERENCES: (10 citations) Laws M15, "The Iron Door" Copper-SoBreeze, pp. 220-221, "Her Servant Man" (1 text, 1 tune) SHenry H668, pp. 444-445, "Love Laughs at Locksmiths" (1 text, 1 tune) OLochlainn-More 61, "The Young Serving Man" (1 text, 1 tune) Tunney-SongsThunder, pp. 100-101, "Mary Ann" (1 text) Kennedy 161, "The Iron Door" (1 text, 1 tune) Peacock, pp. 590-591, "Since Love Can Enter an Iron Door" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton-NovaScotia 84, "Since Love Can Enter an Iron Door" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton-Maritime, p. 54, "Since Love Can Enter an Iron Door" (2 texts, 1 tune) DT 580, IRONDOOR Roud #539 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Locks and Bolts" [Laws M13] (theme) cf. "The Gallant Shoemaker" (theme) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Young Servant Man The Daughter in the Dungeon Since Love Can Enter an Iron Door NOTES: I'm sure it's not related, but it's interesting to note that Johannes Gutenberg (yes, that Gutenberg) was once involved with a girl names Ennelin zur Yserin Thure (in modern German, Annalein zur Eiseren Tur, or Little Anna of the Iron Door). Ennelin, or her mother, was apparently after him for breach of promise of marriage. (Source: John Man, _Gutenberg_, pp. 57-59). - RBW File: LM15 === NAME: Iron Horse (I), The DESCRIPTION: "Come Hielandman, come Lowlandman... I'll tell you how I got atween Dundee and Perth, man, I gaed upon an iron road -- a rail they did it ca'...." The singer tells of his ride, the conductor, the demand for a fare. He says he will use his feet hereafter AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Ford) KEYWORDS: train technology humorous FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (3 citations) MacColl-Shuttle, p. 19, "The iron horse" (1 text (conflate), 1 tune) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 158-160, "The Iron Horse" (1 text) DT, IRONHORS* Roud #5834 File: FVS158 === NAME: Iron Merrimac DESCRIPTION: The Merrimac starts from Norfolk to "make an end of Yankee Doodle Dandy-O." After sinking the Cumberland, the Merrimac confronts the Monitor. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1942 (recording, Judge Learned Hand) KEYWORDS: battle Civilwar navy war ship HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: March 8, 1862 - U.S. frigates Congress and Cumberland sunk by the CSS Virginia (formerly USS Merrimac). The Minnesota runs aground; had not the Monitor arrived the next day, the Merrimac would have sunk that ship also FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #4767 RECORDINGS: Judge Learned Hand, "Iron Merrimac" (AFS, 1942; on LCTreas) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Constitution and the Guerriere" [Laws A6] (lyrics, structure, tune) cf. "The Cumberland" [Laws A26] (subject) cf. "The Cumberland Crew" [Laws A18] (subject) NOTES: This song is a rewrite of "The Constituion and the Guerriere"; however, as it describes a different battle, with different ships, half a century later, I've given it a separate entry. - PJS For the historical background on this battle, see the notes to "The Cumberland Crew" [Laws A18]. - RBW File: RcIroMer === NAME: Iron Mountain Baby, The DESCRIPTION: "I have a song I would like to sing, It's awful, and it's true, About a babe thrown from a train By a mother, I know not who." The injured child is found by Bill Helm, and cared for. The singer warns people to beware of judgment AUTHOR: J. T. Barton EARLIEST_DATE: 1909 (Belden); probably written 1902 KEYWORDS: train abandonment orphan HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Aug 14, 1902 - Discovery of the baby later to be known as William Moses Gould Helm FOUND_IN: US(MW,So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Belden, pp. 419-420, "The Iron Mountain Baby" (1 text) Roud #4162 RECORDINGS: Johnny Iron, "Iron Mountain Baby Song" (Local Artists RC6-1B, n.d., prob. early 1950s) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Dying Preacher (Hick's Farewell)" (tune) NOTES: Belden reports that J. T. Barton wrote this song to help support the infant it commemorates. One can but hope the parents were better at caring for children than was Barton at crafting lyrics. Barton said that this piece was printed and sold, so there may be a broadsheet copy somewhere, but no one seems to have found one. It really is a lousy piece of poetry, as well as being obnoxiously moralizing; one suspects that it was preserved only by people who personally remembered the story or the sales pitch. This is item dH43 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW File: Beld419 === NAME: Iron Ore by 'Fifty-Four DESCRIPTION: "Come, ladies and gentlemen, listen to me, I'll sing you a song of our north Counteree... Bound north to Ungava for rich iron ore In July, nineteen fifty-four." The building of a railroad into Labrador, and the four years of work involved, are described AUTHOR: Words: Alan Mills EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 KEYWORDS: work technology Canada FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 215-217, "'Iron Ore by Fifty-Four" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Red Iron Ore" [Laws D9] (tune) File: FMB215 === NAME: Iroquois Lullaby (Ho, Ho, Watanay) DESCRIPTION: Iroquois: "Ho, ho, Watanay (x3), Ki-yo-ki-na, ki-yo-ki-na." Translation: "Sleep, sleep, little one (x3), Now go to sleep, now go to sleep." AUTHOR: unknown (English translation by Alan Mills) EARLIEST_DATE: 1955 KEYWORDS: Indians(Am) lullaby nonballad foreignlanguage FOUND_IN: Canada(Queb) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 2-3, "An Iroquois Lullabye" (1 text, 1 tune) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Hey Hey Wataney File: FMB002 === NAME: Irrawaddy, The DESCRIPTION: Fragment: "The curse upon Crossgadden, likewise his robbing crew; They robbed the Irrawaddy and the John R Skiddy, too" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1947 (Ranson) KEYWORDS: sea ship wreck commerce theft shore HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Apr 1, 1850 - "... Captain Shipley the master of the _John R Skiddy_ ... sailed his vessel ashore on Glascarrick beach .... he described the locals as 'the most abandoned set of villains that he had encountered'. They pillaged the wreck and anything brought ashore in defiance of both coastguard and police" (source: Bourke in _Shipwrecks of the Irish Coast_ v1, p. 49) Oct 13, 1856 - "... the _Irrawady_ was wrecked opposite Cahore Point on the Blackwater Bank. A fleet of local fishing boats was organised by the local coast-guards and rescued the crew and passengers.... The teak from her hull was used to form the pews at Ballyragget Church" (source: Bourke in _Shipwrecks of the Irish Coast_ v1, p. 69) FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ranson, p. 127, "The Irrawaddy" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Mariposa" (theme) cf. "The Teapots at the Fire" (theme) cf. "The Middlesex Flora" (theme) cf. "The Old Mayflower" (theme) NOTES: Ranson: "The 'John R Skiddy' had 430 passengers aboard, all of whom were saved. When the 'Irrawaddy' ran aground ... between four hundred and five hundred people ... boarded the vessel and carried away a large quantity of goods from her.... The coast-guards, evidently, had a hand in the looting for Mr Crossgadden was a coast-guard." It may be unusual on the Irish coast, but not elsewhere, for coastal inhabitants to consider the cargo and ship remains among wreckage to be a fair source of enrichment. See, for example, "The Old Mayflower" from Newfoundland and "Mariposa" from Labrador. On the other hand see Ranson's "The Middlesex Flora" for similar activity on the Wexford coast. - BS File: Ran127 === NAME: Irthing Water Hounds, The DESCRIPTION: October 11, 1873, hounds from Irthing Water are on a fox hunt. Finally "the celebrated Mowdie" finds a fox in a hole. A terrier flushes Reynard and his trail flushes a vixen. Both foxes are killed. "Drink success to the Irthing lads" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1967 (recording, Willie Scott) KEYWORDS: death hunting animal dog FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Bord)) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #5692 RECORDINGS: Willie Scott, "The Irthing Water Hounds" (on Voice18) NOTES: River Irthing is in Northumberland. - BS File: RcIrtWaH === NAME: Is It Really Worth the While?: see The Morning After (File: Dean131) === NAME: Is There for Honest Poverty: see A Man's A Man For A' That (File: FSWB297A) === NAME: Is Your Lamps Gone Out DESCRIPTION: "Is your lamps gone out? (x2), Oh, what you going to do in Egypt When your lamps gone out?" "If you get there before I do, O what you going to do... When your lamps gone out?" "The tallest tree in paradise..." "The Christians call it the tree of life..." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (field recording, unknown artists) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(MW,So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) MWheeler, pp. 75-77, "Is Yo' Lamps Gone Out" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #10025 RECORDINGS: Art Thieme, "Is Your Lamps Gone Out?" (on Thieme06) Unknown artists, "When Yo' Lamp's Gone Out" (AFS CYL-11-1, 1933) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Wade in the Water" (floating lyrics) and references there cf. "All My Trials" (lyrics) cf. "Tell All the World, John" (lyrics) cf. ""Michael, Row the Boat Ashore" (floating lyrics) NOTES: Almost all of this, except the chorus "Oh, what you going to do in Egypt When your lamps gone out," is paralleled in "All My Trials," and also in "Tell All the World, John." It is not clear to me which inspired the others. - RBW From the ... verse "Come on sister and follow me/I will show you the man who set me free," it has been theorized that this may have been an Underground Railroad song. I don't think so, but it's worth mentioning. Thieme also suggests that "Egypt" may be a reference to the area of southern Illinois near the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, known to boatmen as "Egypt" or "Little Egypt." The probable collection of this song in Texas makes that problematical. - PJS File: MWhee075 === NAME: Isabeau S'y Promene (Isabel) DESCRIPTION: French: Isabel goes walking by the sea side. She meets a sailor who sings sweetly to her. She joins him on his boat, but then grieves because she has lost her gold ring. He dives three times to try to find it; the third time he does not come up. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1880 (E. Gagnon, Chansons Populaires du Canada) KEYWORDS: courting ship death drowning ring foreignlanguage grief FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Hugill, pp. 515-517, "La Danae" (2 texts-French & English, 1 tune) Scott-BoA, pp. 297-300, "Isabeau S'y Promene (Isabel)" (2 texts (1 French, 1 English), 1 tune) DT, ISABEAU ADDITIONAL: Edith Fowke and Richard Johnston, Chansons de Quebec (Folk Songs of Quebec), 1957, pp. 74-75, "Isabeau s'y Promene (One day Isabel Wandered)" (1 text, 1 tune) RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "Isabeau S'y Promeneau" (on PeteSeeger29) NOTES: Reported by Scott to be sung in France, Quebec, and Louisiana, though his version is from New Brunswick. - RBW File: SBoA297 === NAME: Island Jacobite Song, An: see The Silver Whistle (File: K009) === NAME: Island Unknown, The DESCRIPTION: Singer has led a reckless life; leaving home, he joins the US Navy. His ship is wrecked in a storm. The lone survivor, he makes his way to a desert island. Resigned to death, he writes his life story, hopes his body will be found, and bids farewell AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (recording, Eck Robertson) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer says he has led a reckless life; leaving home, true love and parents, he joins the "jolly band" (of the US Navy). He sails, while they (and he) lament. After three weeks, his ship is wrecked in a storm. The lone survivor, he clings to wreckage, and makes his way to a desert island where no one has been before. Resigning himself to death, he writes his life story in a diary, and hopes his body will someday be found; he bids farewell to his loved ones KEYWORDS: grief homesickness farewell parting separation travel death sea ship disaster storm wreck family lover sailor FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #17557 RECORDINGS: Eck Robertson & Family, "The Island Unknown - Parts 1 & 2" (Victor 40166, 1929; on ConstSor1) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "William and Harriet" [Laws M7] (some plot parallels) NOTES: The parallel with "William and Harriet" is obvious: a desert island, starvation, death. But the circumstances of his leaving home are different, and he is traveling alone when shipwrecked rather than with his sweetheart. Those are enough differences for me to classify this as a separate ballad -- but see the cross-reference nonetheless. - PJS File: RcIslUnk === NAME: Island(s) of Jamaica, The: see The Gallant Brigantine [Laws D25] (File: LD25) === NAME: Isle de France, The DESCRIPTION: "Oh, the sun went down, and the moon advanced When the convict came to the Isle de France." The Irish convict was on his way home when a storm cast him ashore on the Isle. A letter from the queen sets the convict free AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1962 (Manifold; broadside printed probably c. 1890) LONG_DESCRIPTION: A convict is shipwrecked on the Isle of France; he had been sentenced to seven years' transportation (for unruly behavior), and was on his way home when his ship, the "Shamrock Green," foundered. Cast up on the island, he is offered sustenance and comfort by the Coast Guard, who sends a sympathetic letter to the Queen. The convict is pardoned; he blesses the Coast Guard and wishes success to the Isle of France KEYWORDS: royalty ship wreck rescue freedom transportation captivity crime punishment mercy pardon wreck Australia France prisoner FOUND_IN: Australia Britain(England,Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) MacSeegTrav 93, "The Isle of France" (1 text, 1 tune) Manifold-PASB, pp. 24-25, "The Isle de France" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #1575 BROADSIDES: NLScotland, L.C.1270(009), "The Isle of France," unknown, n.d. NOTES: The Isle de France mentioned here is not the Parisian region of France (the old crownlands of the French king), but (in the Australian version; the British versions may refer to one of the Channel Islands) the island of Mauritius. The island was originally colonized by the Dutch (from 1638; they discovered it in 1507), then taken over by the French in 1721. The British occupied it in 1810, and renamed it Mauritius at about the same time. It became an independent member of the Commonwealth in 1968. Mauritius was not a true prison colony, but it was uninhabited when the Dutch occupied it. The French brought in slaves from Africa to grow sugar. The British abolished slavery in 1834, but this left them with a need for workers, whom they imported primarily from India. Thus Mauritius was sort of a guarded colony even though it was not a destination for prisoners. Manifold believes the Queen of the song to be Victoria, making the "Isle de France" of the song an anacronism. But it is at least possible that a non-ruling queen could have expedited the convict's appeal. Alternately, it occurs to me that Ile-de-France has been the name of a number of French ships. Perhaps the name is a corruption of a version in which the sailor was rescued by a ship called Ile-de-France? - RBW Perhaps it's not surprising, given our field of study, that we lack the keyword "kindness," but that is without question the subject of this ballad. - PJS File: PASB024 === NAME: Isle of Doagh (I), The DESCRIPTION: The singer is leaving Isle of Doagh "to taste the cup of freedom in Americay." He thinks about the island and the school "where my childhood days I spent." "It will break my heart full sore to part with my comrades one and all." AUTHOR: Willie "Jack" McLaughlin (source: McBride) EARLIEST_DATE: 1988 (McBride) KEYWORDS: emigration America Ireland nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) McBride 41, "The Isle of Doagh" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Isle of Doagh is in Donegal. McBride: the song was written around 1910. - BS File: McB1041 === NAME: Isle of Doagh (II), The DESCRIPTION: The singer is leaving Isle of Doagh for a foreign land. He recalls when he first arrived and how surprised he was to find it so lovely. He is sad to leave it now. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1988 (McBride) KEYWORDS: emigration lyric home FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) McBride 42, "The Isle of Doagh" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Isle of Doagh is in Donegal. - BS File: McB1042 === NAME: Isle of France, The: see The Isle de France (File: PASB024) === NAME: Isle of Fugi DESCRIPTION: "Then I'm bound for the Isle of Fugi; Fugi, Fugi; Then I'm bound for the Isle of Fugi; And from there to Tennessee." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1940 (Smith/Hatt) KEYWORDS: nonballad shanty FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Smith/Hatt, p. 29, "Isle of Fugi" (1 text) Roud #9417 NOTES: Smith/Hatt: Smith's comment is "Well-known shanty for general work." Fowke notes that Hugill suggests "Fiji" may be meant. - BS Since we're talking about Pacific destinations anyway, how about "Fuji," which would mean Japan? (Japan also has a city "Fukui," for that matter.) There is also an anchorage off the Philippines known as "Fuga." - RBW File: SmHa029 === NAME: Isle of Man Shore, The (The Quay of Dundocken; The Desolate Widow) [Laws K7] DESCRIPTION: The singer and her family set out for Liverpool. A storm strikes; the passengers abandon the ship. The boats are swamped; Willie sees his wife (the singer) ashore, but is lost trying to save his father. The singer and her children must turn to begging AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1883 (Smith/Hatt) KEYWORDS: ship storm family begging shore travel drowning sea wreck baby father husband wife FOUND_IN: US(NE) Canada(Mar,Newf) REFERENCES: (6 citations) Laws K7, "The Isle of Man Shore (The Quay of Dundocken; The Desolate Widow)" Greenleaf/Mansfield 104, "The Quay of Dundocken" (1 text, 1 tune) Peacock, pp. 486-487, "Willie" (1 text, 1 tune) Smith/Hatt, pp. 89-91, "The Desolate Widow" (1 text) Creighton-Maritime, pp. 106-107, "The Quays of Belfast" (1 text, 1 tune) DT 818,ISLEMAN Roud #525 File: LK07 === NAME: Isle of Saint Helena, The: see Saint Helena (Boney on the Isle of St. Helena) (File: E096) === NAME: Isle of St. Helena, The: see Saint Helena (Boney on the Isle of St. Helena) (File: E096) === NAME: Israelites Shouting DESCRIPTION: "Oh, I wonder where's my sister, She's gone away to stay, Got hidden behind God's altar, She'll be gone till judgment day. Goodbye, the Israelites shoutin' in the heaven...." Remaining verses describe the departure of other family members AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 (recording, Rich Amerson) KEYWORDS: death religious FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Courlander-NFM, p. 71, "Israelites Shouting" (partial text); pp. 248-249, "Israelites Shouting" (1 tune, partial text) Roud #16362 RECORDINGS: Rich Amerson, "Israelites Shouting" (on NFMAla4) NOTES: Although the title immediately makes me think of the fall of Jericho, there is no clear evidence of that in the song; the shouting seems simply to be joyous. - RBW File: CNFM071 === NAME: It Fell About the Martinmas Time: see Martinmas Time (File: DTmartin) === NAME: It is Not the Cold Wind DESCRIPTION: "It is not the cold wind that makes me tremble" but the singer's love for a false man who left her for a new sweetheart. "But after evening there comes a morning, And after morning a sunny day, And after false love there comes a true love" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Hayward-Ulster) KEYWORDS: courting infidelity love nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Hayward-Ulster, p. 38, "It is Not the Cold Wind" (1 text) Roud #6528 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Farewell He" (theme) and references there File: HayU038 === NAME: It Is of a Rich Lady: see The Jolly Young Sailor and the Beautiful Queen [Laws O13] (File: LO13) === NAME: It Makes a Long-Time Man Feel Bad DESCRIPTION: "It makes a long-time man feel bad... When he can't-a get a letter... from home." There's a wreck out on the road somewhere...." "Captain George, don't you drive me all the time...." "Hattie Belle, don't you cry about a dime...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1947 KEYWORDS: prison chaingang loneliness FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lomax-FSNA 291, "It Makes a Long-Time Man Feel Bad" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #15968 File: LoF291 === NAME: It Rained a Mist: see Sir Hugh, or, The Jew's Daughter [Child 155] (File: C155) === NAME: It Rains, It Hails and Snows and Blows: see Let Me In This Ae Nicht (File: DTaenich) === NAME: It Takes A Girl to Fool You Every Time: see notes under The Warranty Deed (The Wealthy Old Maid) [Laws H24] (File: LH24) === NAME: It Was a Lover and His Lass DESCRIPTION: "It was a lover and his lass With a hey and a ho and a hey nonnie no." "In spring time (x3), the only pretty ring time, When the birds do sing... Sweet lovers ove the spring." The song alludes to courting in the rye, but there is little real plot. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1600 (Morley's "The First Book of Ayres or Little Short Songs") KEYWORDS: love courting nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (5 citations) Chappell/Wooldridge I, pp. 114-115, "It Was a Lover and His Lass" (1 text, 1 tune) HarvClass-EP1, pp. 263-264, "A Lover and His Lass" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 155, "It Was A Lover And His Lass" (1 text) ADDITIONAL: Norman Ault, _Elizabethan Lyrics From the Original Texts_, pp. 290-291, "It Was a Lover and His Lass" (1 text) DT, LOVERLAS NOTES: This is quoted by Shakespeare in "As You Like It" (Act V, Scene III, lines 13-30 or so). I'm far from convinced it's traditional; it was obviously a popular piece of Shakespeare's time -- and is attributed to Shakespeare, e.g., in Palgrave's _Golden Treasury_ (item XI). But it shows up in enough songbooks that I decided to include it. Morley, who in 1600 first published the lyrics, in 1599 published a tune called "O Mistress Mine" in _The First Book of Consort Lessons_. It is generally assumed, but cannot be proved, that they are to be connected. - RBW File: FSWB155B === NAME: It Was a Mouse: see Frog Went A-Courting (File: R108) === NAME: It Was A' For Our Rightful' King DESCRIPTION: "It was a' for our rightfu' king We left fair Scotland's strand; It was a' for our rightfu' king We e'er saw Irish land...." "Now a' is done that men can do, And a' is done in vain." The defeated soldier must leave his love and go into exile AUTHOR: Robert Burns EARLIEST_DATE: 1796 (Scots Musical Museum) KEYWORDS: Jacobites soldier separation exile HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1685-1688 - Reign of James II (James VII of Scotland), the last Catholic king of Britain 1688 - Glorious Revolution overthrows James II in favor of his Protestant daughter Mary II and her husband and first cousin William III of Orange Mar 12, 1689 - James arrives in Ireland and begins, very hesitantly, to organize its defense. April-July, 1689 - Siege of Londonderry. James's forces fail to capture the Protestant stronghold, leaving Ireland still "in play" for William August, 1689 - Marshal Schomberg brings the first of William's troops to Ireland. James continues to be passive, allowing more troops to reinforce them March, 1690 - James receives reinforcements from France but still does nothing June 14, 1690 - William lands in Ireland July 1, 1690 - Battle of the Boyne. William III crushes the Irish army of James, at once securing his throne and the rule of Ireland. Irish resistance continues for about another year, but Ireland east of the Shannon is his; James flees the country, and many of his followers also depart into exile, to become the "Wild Geese" of Irish legend FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) ADDITIONAL: Charles Sullivan, ed., Ireland in Poetry, p. 89, "The Farewell" (1 text) Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #196, "The Farewell" (1 text) ST SMM5IWAF (Full) Roud #5789 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Mally Stewart" (tune) File: SMM5IWAF === NAME: It Was at the Town of Caylen DESCRIPTION: "It was at the town of Caylen this gelding we sold" then we stole a gallon of wine from Thomas Grant. "I and two more were condemned to the rope. But I led a scheme and the prison we broke." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 (Creighton-SNewBrunswick) KEYWORDS: theft trial escape FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-SNewBrunswick 101, "It Was at the Town of Caylen" (1 fragment, 1 tune) Roud #2775 NOTES: The current description is based on the Creighton-SNewBrunswick fragment. Creighton-SNewBrunswick: "If the music is any guide, this song in which the hero overcomes his difficulties must be a cheerful one." - BS File: CrSNB101 === NAME: It Was Early One Monday Morning: see William and Nancy I (Lisbon; Men's Clothing I'll Put On I) [Laws N8] (File: LN08) === NAME: It Was One Summer Morning: see The Summer Morning (The White/Blue/Green Cockade) (File: StoR068) === NAME: It Wasna My Fortune to Get Her: see The False Bride (The Week Before Easter; I Once Loved a Lass) (File: K152) === NAME: It's a Long Way to Tipperary: see It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary (File: DTtiprar) === NAME: It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary DESCRIPTION: Of an Irishman who comes to London then is called back home by his sweetheart. Know mostly for the chorus: "It's a long way to Tipperary, It's a long way to go, It's a long way to Tipperary, to the sweetest girl I know. Goodbye, Piccadilly...." AUTHOR: Jack Judge (and Harry Williams?) EARLIEST_DATE: 1912 KEYWORDS: love separation return FOUND_IN: Britain(England) US(SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Fuld-WFM, pp. 308-309, "It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary" DT, TIPRARY* Roud #11235 RECORDINGS: Fiddlin' John Carson, "Long Way to Tipperary" (OKeh 45077, 1927; rec. 1926) Frank Hutchison, "Long Way To Tipperary" (Okeh 45089, 1927) John & Emery McClung "It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary" (Brunswick 136, 1927) Gid Tanner & his Skillet Lickers, "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" (Columbia 15249-D, 1928; rec. 1927) SAME_TUNE: The Harvest War Song (Greenway-AFP, p. 211) It's a Long Way from Amphioxus (Pankake-PHCFSB, pp. 68-69) NOTES: The folklore about this song is, if anything, better than the song itself (which, apart from the tune, is banal). Jack Judge came into a town on New Year's night and claimed he could write a song then and there. Challenged, he wrote "Tipperary." Harry Williams was (like Judge) a vaudeville performer. The legend says that Judge owed Williams money, and offered this song in payment of the debt. It is, of course, no longer possible to verify this. What is certain is that the song became immensely popular in the First World War, though more for the chorus (many, many Tommies came from London, after all) than the plot. - RBW File: DTtiprar === NAME: It's a Rosebud in June: see Rosebud in June (File: ShH93) === NAME: It's a Shame to Whip Your Wife on Sunday DESCRIPTION: "It's a shame to whip your wife on Sunday/When you've got Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday...." Subsequent verses "It's a shame to play cards on Sunday...." "It's a shame to get drunk on Sunday." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recording, Fiddlin' John Carson) KEYWORDS: abuse gambling drink humorous nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 78, "It's A Shame to Whip Your Wife on Sunday" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 22, "Ain't It a Shame" (1 text) DT, AINTSHAM RECORDINGS: Fiddlin' John Carson, "It's A Shame To Whip Your Wife On Sunday" (Okeh 45122, 1927) New Lost City Ramblers, "It's a Shame to Whip Your Wife on Sunday" (on NLCR12) Pete Seeger, "Ain't It a Shame" (on PeteSeeger32) NOTES: Some joke. -PJS I have to suspect this is funnier in concert than in print. (It would be hard for it to be LESS funny, after all.) The version in the Folksinger's wordbook omits the crucial first verse, but I don't think it actually circulated in that form; I think it's just a case of political correctness. - RBW File: CSW078 === NAME: It's Advertised in Boston: see Blow Ye Winds in the Morning (File: LxU044) === NAME: It's All Night Long DESCRIPTION: "Of all the animals in this world, I'd rather be a squirrel, I'd climb up on a telephone pole And peep all over the world. It's all night long. It's all night long." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: animal nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 170, "It's All Night Long" (1 text) NOTES: This song may be a version of one of the other "All Night Long" pieces, but I haven't seen the verse anywhere else, so it lists separately. - RBW File: Br3170 === NAME: It's Almost Day DESCRIPTION: "Chickens crow for midnight and it's almost day (x2)" ""Christmas is a-coming and it's almost day." "Santa Claus is coming...." "Turkey's in the oven...." "I thought I heard my mother say...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 949 (recording, Lead Belly) KEYWORDS: Christmas food nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Silber-FSWB, p. 373, "It's Almost Day" (1 text) Roud #11655 NOTES: This is about as silly as a song can be -- but the tune is good, and it's easy to improvise six-syllable lines with no rhyme for any occasion. There may even be some ballad-like versions out there. - RBW File: FSWB373A === NAME: It's Almost Done: see Almost Done (File: LxU094) === NAME: It's Braw Sailin' on the Sea DESCRIPTION: "There cam a letter late yestreen, Our ship maun sail in the morn." The girl gives back his ring, declaring, "Tak that, my bonnie lad, For I hae changed my mind." The song is largely comparisons: "It's braw sailing on the sea, It's better drinkin' wine." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord) KEYWORDS: love sailor separation betrayal ring FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, p. 203, "It's Braw Sailin' on the Sea" (1 text) Roud #5537 File: Ord203 === NAME: It's Down in Old Ireland DESCRIPTION: The singer was born in Limerick. In spite of his mother's pleading he "carried on with my wicked career." He marries and takes up highway robbery to care for her, is convicted and transported for seven years. Women are deceitful but he'd have no other AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1953 (Creighton-Maritime) KEYWORDS: prison robbery transportation mother wife Ireland FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-Maritime, p. 161, "It's Down in Old Ireland" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #490 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Wild and Wicked Youth" [Laws L12] (theme) cf. "Salisbury Plain" (theme) NOTES: Creighton-Maritime includes this verse partly floated to/from "Old Kimball" (as sung by Texas Gladden): Now ofttimes I've wondered how women loves man, And more times I've wondered how men can love them, For robbing by night and a-planning by day Which caused me behind this prison walls for to lay. - BS File: CrMa161 === NAME: It's Down Where the Water Runs Muddy: see The Lover's Curse (Kellswater) (File: HHH442) === NAME: It's Gettin' Late over in the Evening: see It's Getting Late in the Evening (File: CNFM065) === NAME: It's Getting Late in the Evening DESCRIPTION: "Lord, it's gettin' late over in the evenin'... The sun most down." The singer asks that John not seal his book until the singer's name is entered. The Spirit seals the book. The singer warns sinners against their ways and prepares to depart AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 (recording, Rich Amerson) KEYWORDS: Bible religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Courlander-NFM, pp. 65-66, "(It's Gettin' Late over in the Evening)" (1 text); pp. 234-235, "It's Getting Late in the Evening" (1 tune, partial text) Roud #10967 RECORDINGS: Rich Amerson, "It's Getting Late in the Evening" (on NFMAla4) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "John the Revelator" (theme) NOTES: The theme of sealed and unsealed books is not uncommon in the Bible; we see several instances in the Revelation to John, often based on hints in the prophets (e.g. Ezek. 2:9-10). The Book of Life is mentioned in Rev. 20:12. There is also the scroll sealed with seven seals of Rev. 5-8 (note that the scroll was the ancient form of a book). A second, "little" scroll occurs in Chapter 10. Chapter 7 describes another sort of seal -- the "sealing" of God's servants. - RBW File: CNFM065 === NAME: It's Good fuh Hab Some Patience DESCRIPTION: "It's good fuh hab some patience, patience, patience, It's good fuh hab some patience, Fuh ter wait upon de Lawd." "My brudder, won't you rise en' go wid me (x3), Fuh ter wait upon de Lawd." "My sister...." "My fader...." "My mudder...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1913 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 597, "It's Good fuh Hab Some Patience" (1 text) Roud #11910 File: Br3597 === NAME: It's Hard to Leave You, Sweet Love: see Fare You Well, My Own True Love (The Storms Are on the Ocean, The False True Lover, The True Lover's Farewell, Red Rosy Bush, Turtle Dove) (File: Wa097) === NAME: It's Lookin' fer Railroad Bill: see Railroad Bill [Laws I13] (File: LI13) === NAME: It's Me, Oh Lord: see Standing in the Need of Prayer (File: FSWB350A) === NAME: It's No Business of Mine DESCRIPTION: The singer, while proclaiming "Of course it's no business of mine," criticises the girls who are "after the fellow that's got the cash," the "temperate" men who "wouldn't touch whisky" but have red noses "caused by the cold," etc. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1942 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: courting drink money accusation FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 392, "It's No Business of Mine" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7616 File: R392 === NAME: It's Once I Courted As Pretty a Lass: see Hog-tub, The (File: OO2298) === NAME: It's Raining Here DESCRIPTION: "It's raining here, storming on the deep blue sea (x2) Ain't no black-headed mama Can make a fool out of me." "Now I can see a train coming...." "Talk about trouble, that's all I've ever known." The singer, despite poverty, will not sing the blues AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: poverty separation train FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 508, "It's Raining Here" (1 text) Roud #11810 File: Br3508 === NAME: It's Raining, It's Pouring DESCRIPTION: "It's raining, it's pouring, The old man is snoring. (He) bumped his head and he went to bed And he couldn't get up in the morning." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1988 KEYWORDS: nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 227, "It's Raining, It's Pouring" (1 text) NOTES: Another of those things I learned too far back to remember and without really wanting to learn. Makes it a folk song in my book. - RBW File: PHCF227b === NAME: It's Seven Long Years DESCRIPTION: Willie the sailor is gone seven years with no letter to Nancy. She regrets "it was my trembling hand deceived you, Caused my youthful tongue to lie." She dreams "Willie was landed safe on shore" but wakes to reality, "stark despair to reign supreme" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 (Creighton-SNewBrunswick) KEYWORDS: grief love separation dream sailor FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-SNewBrunswick 59, "It's Seven Long Years" (1 short text, 1 tune) ST CrSNB059 (Partial) Roud #2757 File: CrSNB059 === NAME: It's the Same the Whole World Over: see She Was Poor But She Was Honest (I) (File: EM128) === NAME: It's the Syme the Whole World Over: see She Was Poor But She Was Honest (I) (File: EM128) === NAME: It's Time for Us to Leave Her: see Leave Her, Johnny, Leave Her (File: Doe089) === NAME: It's Time I Was a Bride DESCRIPTION: "I'd like mighty well to change my name And share another's home." The woman is of marriageable age, and tired of being alone. "But he must be a soldier, A veteran of the wars, One who has fought for southern rights Beneath the Stars and Bars." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: Civilwar patriotic oldmaid marriage FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 241, "It's Time I Was a Bride" (1 text) Roud #7711 NOTES: I can't help but suspect that this song is an old piece about a girl who misses a man. Someone then tacked on the final stanza to give it a Confederate twist. - RBW File: R241 === NAME: Italy: see Going Across the Sea (File: RcItaly) === NAME: Itisket, Itasket: see Atisket, Atasket (I Sent a Letter to My Love) (File: BAF806A) === NAME: Its G-L-O-R-Y to Know I'm S-A-V-E-D: see S-A-V-E-D (File: FSWB349) === NAME: Ivan Skavinsky Skevar: see Abdul the Bulbul Emir (I) (File: LxA341) === NAME: J. B. Marcum (A Kentucky Feud Song) [Laws E19] DESCRIPTION: Curt Jett shoots J. B. Markham dead in the courthouse. Judge Jim Harkis allegedly tries to prevent a conviction by fixing the jury; this fails when the case is transferred to another county. Jett and accomplice Thomas White end up in prison AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1967 KEYWORDS: homicide trial prison feud HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1905 - Murder of J. B. Markham in Breathitt County, Kentucky FOUND_IN: US(Ap,So,SE) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Laws E19, "J. B. Marcum (A Kentucky Feud Song)" Combs/Wilgus 60, pp. 159-160, "J. B. Marcum" (1 text) Burt, pp. 249-251, (no title) (1 text) DT 773, JBMARCUM Roud #692 RECORDINGS: Lester McFarland & Robert Gardner ("Mac & Bob"), "The Murder of J. B. Markham" (Brunswick 305, 1929; Supertone S-2035, 1930; rec. 1928) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Jesse James (I)" [Laws E1] (tune & meter) File: LE19 === NAME: J. C. Holmes Blues DESCRIPTION: "Listen, people, if you want to hear A story about a brave engineer, J. C. Holmes was the rider's name...." Floating verses about Holmes, the people who want to ride his trains, the freight he wants to carry, the rails he'd like to ride AUTHOR: Gus Horsley (but based on older materials) EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (recording, Bessie Smith) KEYWORDS: nonballad railroading floatingverses FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cohen-LSRail, pp. 163-165, "J. C. Homes Blues" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Casey Jones (I)" [Laws G1] (form, lyrics) NOTES: I suffered for quite a while trying to decide whether to list this as its own song or as a by-blow of "Casey Jones." Formally, I probably should have done the latter; the amount of original material in this song is almost nil. It's simply a fixup of the blues ballad version of Casey Jones/Joseph Mikel/Jay Gould's Daughter (which already constitute an almost impossible mess to untangle). I finally decided to keep this separate because it appears "J. C. Holmes" is a sport: It split off from the main "Casey" stock, but did not go into tradition in any recognizable form. Neither does it seem to have further influenced the "Casey" tradition. - RBW File: LSRa163 === NAME: J. R. Birchell: see The Murder of F. C. Benwell [Laws E26] (File: LE26) === NAME: Ja, Ja, Ja! DESCRIPTION: Shanty, aimed at sailors whose native language is not English. The chorus runs, "Ja, Ja, Ja!"; the rest may be deliberate gibberish or slurs on those who say "Ja" for "Yes" or talk of the usual sailor-ashore themes of drinking and chasing women AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 KEYWORDS: shanty foreigner FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Doerflinger, p. 86, "Ja, Ja, Ja!" (1 text, 1 tune) Hugill, pp. 504-505, "Yaw, Yaw, Yaw!" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, pp. 372-373] ST Doe086 (Full) Roud #8236 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Rollin' Home by the Silvery Moon" (similar tune) File: Doe086 === NAME: Jack and Jill DESCRIPTION: "Jack and Jill went up the hill To fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown, And Jill came tumbling after." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1767 (Newbery) KEYWORDS: injury FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Opie-Oxford2 254, "Jack and Jill went up the hill" (1 text) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #48, pp. 58-59, "(Jack and Gill)" Roud #10266 NOTES: In line with her standard attempts to make mountains out of nursery rhymes, Katherine Elwes Thomas thought that this song was about Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (d. 1530). Evidently it isn't just Republican Presidents who live in fantasy worlds. - RBW File: BGMG058 === NAME: Jack and Joe DESCRIPTION: Jack and Joe set sail to seek their fortunes. Jack is quickly successful. As he prepares to go home, Joe ask him to "Give my love to Nellie, Jack, Kiss her once for me." When Joe at last heads home, he finds that Jack has married Nellie AUTHOR: William B. Gray EARLIEST_DATE: 1894 KEYWORDS: love work exile return infidelity marriage FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,Ro,SE,So) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Randolph 813, "Jack and Joe" (1 text, 1 tune) McNeil-SFB1, pp. 116-118, "Jack and Joe" (1 text, 1 tune) BrownII 274, "Jack and Joe" (3 texts plus 1 excerpt and mention of 10 more) MHenry-Appalachians, p. 135, "Jack and Joe" (1 text) Abrahams/Foss, pp. 67-68, "Jack and Joe" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #782 RECORDINGS: John A. Bivens, "Jack and Joe" (on HandMeDown1) Blue Ridge Mountain Singers, "Give My Love to Nell" (Columbia 15580-D, 1930) Roy Harvey & the North Carolina Ramblers, "Give My Love to Nell" (Paramount 3065/Broadway 8080, rec. 1927) Bradley Kincaid, "Give My Love to Nell" (Supertone 9350, 1929) (Brunswick 403, 1930) [Asa] Martin & [Doc] Roberts, "Give My Love to Nellie, Jack" (Conqueror 7745 [as Asa Martin]/Banner 32246/Perfect 12744, 1931) David Miller, "Give My Love to Nell, Jack" (Champion 15502 [as Oran Campbell]/Challenge 392 [as Don Kutter], 1928) E. R. Nance Singers, "Jack and Joe" (ARC, unissued, 1930) Riley Puckett, "Jack and Joe" (Columbia 15139-D, 1927) George Reneau, "Jack and Joe" (Vocalion 15182, 1926) Ernest V. Stoneman, "Jack and Joe" (OKeh 40408, 1925) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Give My Love to Nell NOTES: The author, William B. Gray, is also responsible for "She's More to Be Pitied Than Censured." - RBW File: R813 === NAME: Jack and Tom DESCRIPTION: "I'm a North-countrie man, in Redesdale born... And two such lads to my house never com' As them two lads called Jack and Tom." The two decide to set out to sea. They visit various inns along the way. But both die overseas AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay) KEYWORDS: drink sailor death FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Stokoe/Reay, pp. 126-127, "Jack and Tom" (1 text, 1 tune) ST StoR126 (Partial) Roud #3157 File: StoR126 === NAME: Jack Barry DESCRIPTION: Commodore Barry in Alliance meets the British Sibyl. "We fought them till our cannon brought the British ensign down." Alliance captures Sibyl and returns with their prize to Philadelphia. AUTHOR: William Collins (1838-?) EARLIEST_DATE: 1948 (Ranson) KEYWORDS: battle navy war HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Mar 10, 1783 - John Barry on board Alliance defeats "Sybille" in the last battle of the Revolutionary war (source: _The Father of the American Navy_ by Richard M. Reilly in "The Journal of American History," 1907, quoted on Jeffrey C Weaver's New River Notes site) FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ranson, p. 80, "Jack Barry" (1 text) Roud #7348 NOTES: Ranson: "In searching for the songs of the Wexford coast I was very anxious to find something in ballad form about the Tacumshane man who was the founder of the American Navy. [This ballad is] attributed to William Collins, the Irish-American poet." - BS John Barry (1745-1803) did not actually found the American navy, though he was its senior officer when he died. (Not admiral, we note; the American navy did not have its first admiral until the Civil War.) Born in Tacumshane, he moved to Philadelphia in 1760, and was given his first ship, the _Lexington_, in 1776. He commanded the _Alliance_ from 1780-1782, though she did not make her first voyage under his command until 1781. Peace with Britain came in January 1783, but with communications so slow, neither Barry nor the commander of the 28-gun _Sybil_ knew of it, and so fought their battle during peacetime. The battle is usually dated March 10, but I've seen a source dating in March 11. The _Alliance_ (36 guns), built in 1777, was initially named _Hancock_ but renamed when the French allied with the American revolutionaries. Her early career was not distinguished; Captain Pierre Landais seemed to have more interest in attacking his commander John Paul Jones than in fighting the British (at one point, he is thought to have deliberately rammed the _Bonhomme Richard_). He was eventually relieved, commandeered what had been his own ship, and was imprisoned by his crew. _Alliance_ itself was paid off in 1785, the last ship in the American navy at the time. When the navy was revived a few years later, Barry became the commander of its first major ship, the _United States_. - RBW File: Ran080 === NAME: Jack Combs DESCRIPTION: "As I passed by where Jack Combs was murdered, As I passed by there so early one day, I spied a cold corpse wrapped up in fine linen." The victim (?) discusses his burial and says "For I have been murdered and you know they've done wrong" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1967 KEYWORDS: cowboy homicide burial FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Combs/Wilgus 49B, p. 180, "Jack Combs" (1 text) Thorp/Fife XIII, pp. 148-190 (29-30), "Cow Boy's Lament" (22 texts, 7 tunes, the "M" text being in fact a version of this piece) Roud #2 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Streets of Laredo" [Laws B1] (tune & meter, lyrics) and references there. NOTES: This is almost certainly a localized form of "The Streets of Laredo" (itself an adaption of "The Unfortunate Rake") -- but the focus is different (note the last line, "and you know THEY'VE done wrong"), so it deserves a separate listing. - RBW File: CW180 === NAME: Jack Dolden: see The Wild Colonial Boy [Laws L20] (File: LL20) === NAME: Jack Donahoo: see Jack Donahue [Laws L22] (File: LL22) === NAME: Jack Donahue [Laws L22] DESCRIPTION: Irish highwayman Jack Donahue, transported for life, soon escapes prison and returns to his trade. After a hair-raising career, he is confronted by a gang of police and shot after inflicting several casualties upon the constables AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1883 (Smith/Hatt) KEYWORDS: transportation crime death prison HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Sept 1, 1830 - Jack Donahue, formerly of Dublin (transported 1823), is killed by police near Sydney. He was 23. None of the police were injured in the battle FOUND_IN: US(MW,So,SW) Canada(Mar) Australia Ireland REFERENCES: (16 citations) Laws L22, "Jack Donahue" Hudson 103, pp. 241-242, "Jack Donahoo" (1 text) Smith/Hatt, pp. 104-106, "Bold Jack Donahue" (1 text) Mackenzie 123, "Jack Donahue" (1 text, 1 tune) Meredith/Anderson, pp. 97-98, "Bold Jack Donahue" (1 text, 1 tune) Zimmermann 76A, "Bold Jack O'Donohoe" (1 text) Morton-Maguire 21, pp. 47-49,111,165, "Bold Jack Donohue" (1 text, 1 tune) PBB 99, "Bold Jack Donohue" (1 text) Lomax-FSNA 59, "Bold Jack Donahue" (1 text, 1 tune) Fahey-Eureka, pp. 82-83, "Bold Jack Donahue" (1 text, 1 tune) LPound-ABS, 71, pp. 158-159, "Jack Donahoo" (1 text) Manifold-PASB, pp. 48-49, "Bold Jack Donahue" (1 text, 1 tune) Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 69-72, "Bold Jack Donahoo" (1 text) Darling-NAS, pp. 111-113, "Jack Donahue" (1 text -- the Lomax "Cowboy Songs" version) Silber-FSWB, p. 198, "Bold Jack Donahue" (1 text) DT 428, DONAHUE DONAHU2* Roud #611 RECORDINGS: John Greenway, "Bold Jack Donahue" (on JGreenway01) A. L. Lloyd, "Bold Jack Donahue" (on Lloyd4, Lloyd8) New Lost City Ramblers, "Bold Jack Donahue" (on NLCR05) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Wild Colonial Boy" [Laws L20] cf. "Bold Jack Donahoe" (subject) NOTES: John Greenway believes this ballad to be the ancestor of "The Wild Colonial Boy" (see the notes on that song). On the other hand, it looks to me as if his version is a mixture of "Bold Jack Donahoe" and "The Wild Colonial Boy." This piece mixes frequently with the other Donahue ballad, "Bold Jack Donahoe." The key element to distinguishing them appears to be that the other song describes Donahue's desertion by his companions at the time of his fatal fight. This song does not mention the companions. (Exception: The Lomax text in "Cowboy Songs" mentions the companions, but in very debased form. It might be another of the Lomaxes' deliberately muddied versions. But Laws files it here, so I do the same.) Robert Hughes, in _The Fatal Shore_, notes that Jack Donahue was not the first bushranger -- in Van Diemen's Land, in fact, they existed from the start, because the only means the colony survived was by hunting kangaroos, which meant that the convicts were armed. But the Tasmanian bushrangers, even though they all but controlled the island, left little if any ballad record. Bushranging came much later to Australia proper, and Jack Donahue was the first truly memorable example. Again according to Hughes, Donahue was given a life term in 1823 (p. 237). Arriving in Australia 1825, he was assigned to work for a settler, acted up, spent time on a road gang, was assigned again, and took to the bush (p. 238). Donahue's crime in Australia was robbing bullock teams; at this time (December 1827), he had companions Kilroy and Smith. All three were taken; they were sentenced to be hung in March 1828. "Kilroy and Smith duly swung" [though Harry Nunn, in _Bushrangers: A Pictorial History_, p. 16, gives the date as 1832], but Donahue escaped. The price on his head eventually reached a hundred pounds (Hughes, p. 239). When the police caught him near Bringelly, Donahue cursed them and tried to fight, but was shot in the head by a trooper named Muggleston or some similar name. His confederate Walmsley would later turn informer, and led police to some thirty settlers who had traded with him. According to Nunn, p. 76, Donohue was only 21 at the time of his death (though Hughes, p. 237, gives his birth year as 1806, making him 23 or 24), which would mean he was barely in his teens at the time of his transportation. The Underwood Gang, to which he belonged, operated in the vicinity of "Campbelltown, Liverpool, Penrith, and Liberty Plains for nearly twelve years" [i.e. 1820-1832]. On p. 16, Nunn reports that Webber was also killed in 1830, and Underwood in 1832. Prior to his death, Donohue seems to have been less noteworthy than his companions. George Boxall, _The Story of the Australian Bushrangers_, refers to him only once, on pp. 55-56, calling him "Johnny Donahue," listing him as a member of the Underwood gang, and briefly mentioning that he was killed by "Maggleton." Nunn, p. 16, also calls him a member of the Underwood gang, though conflating his time with Underwood, Webber, and Walmsley with his earlier exploits with Kilroy and Smith. Nunn, p. 76, reports that Donohue was known as "The Stripper" but was "less violent than most bushrangers, gallant to women and had a sense of humour enough to make him a popular hero." He does not cite the source for this data. Ironically, Donahue was the only famous bushranger of the transportation era. All the other "big name" came later.- RBW File: LL22 === NAME: Jack Dowling: see The Wild Colonial Boy [Laws L20] (File: LL20) === NAME: Jack Gardner's Crew DESCRIPTION: Jack Gardner is the lumber camp's "champion boy of the day." When in town, the loggers (?) find themselves in a barroom fight. Thanks to Gardner, the loggers are victorious. Gardner moves on to still greater fighting triumphs AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1982 KEYWORDS: logger fight FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (2 citations) FSCatskills 7, "Jack Gardner's Crew" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, JACKGARD* Roud #4617 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Cumberland Crew" [Laws A18] (tune & meter) File: FSC007 === NAME: Jack Haggerty (The Flat River Girl) [Laws C25] DESCRIPTION: Jack Haggerty has reformed his behavior to be a fit husband for the blacksmith's daughter. Following his long absence at work, she jilts him. He blames her mother, but gives up on women in general AUTHOR: Dan McGinnis EARLIEST_DATE: 1872 KEYWORDS: courting virtue separation love work FOUND_IN: US(MA,MW,NE,So) Canada(Mar,Ont) REFERENCES: (13 citations) Laws C25, "Jack Haggerty (The Flat River Girl)" Doerflinger, pp. 245-246, "Jack Haggerty" (1 text, 1 tune) BrownII 260, "Jack Haggerty" (1 text) Rickaby 1, "Jack Haggerty's Flat River Girl" (3 texts plus a fragment, 3 tunes) Gardner/Chickering 108, "Jack Haggerty" (1 text plus an excerpt and mention of 4 more, 1 tune) Linscott, pp. 214-217, "Jack Haggerty or The Flat River Girl" (1 text, 1 tune) FSCatskills 6, "The Flat River Raftsman" (2 texts, 1 tune) Fowke-Lumbering #63, "Jack Haggerty" (1 text, 1 tune) Friedman, p. 421, "Jack Haggerty" (1 text) Sandburg, pp. 392-393, "Flat River Girl" (1 text, 1 tune) Botkin-NEFolklr, pp. 566-567, "Jack Haggerty, or the Flat River Girl" (1 text, 1 tune) Beck 50, "The Flat River Girl" (6 texts, 1 tune) DT 607, FLATRVR* Roud #642 RECORDINGS: John Leahy, "Jack Haggerty" (on Lumber01) John Norman, "Jack Haggerty (The Flat River Girl)" (AFS, 1938; on LC56) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Harry Bale (Dale, Bail, Bell)" [Laws C13] (tune) cf. "I've Got No Use for the Women" (lyrics) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Platte River Girl The Salt Creek Girl NOTES: While this is usually a lumberjack's song, Beck reports a cowboy version from Texas. - PJS It's actually a sort of a gag; see the report Geraldine J. Chickering (summarized by Laws, NAB pp. 58-59). Haggerty (fl. 1872) was an actual person, but he never had anything to do with the girl in the story; the author, Dan McGinnis, stuck Haggerty's name on another person's story. Rickaby, interestingly, investigated in the Flat River area, where he reported that every singer claimed to have known Haggerty (whom he reports to have died c. 1915 -- obviously quite possible), giving additional details about the man's career. But Rickaby failed to uncover McGinnis's involvement in the song. Linscott knew a report that the song was by Larry Gorman; this of course is just legend. - RBW File: LC25 === NAME: Jack Haggerty's Flat River Girl: see Jack Haggerty (The Flat River Girl) [Laws C25] (File: LC25) === NAME: Jack Hall: see Sam Hall (Jack Hall) [Laws L5] (File: LL05) === NAME: Jack Hinks DESCRIPTION: Jack Hinks is described by the singer as a sailor with heroic qualities who is never short of money or fun and is successful with women. The singer finds himself and others wrecked on the rocks but Jack manages to save himself. AUTHOR: Johnnie Quigley EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (Greenleaf/Mansfield) KEYWORDS: sailor wreck rescue talltale FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Greenleaf/Mansfield 131, "Jack Hinks" (1 text) Doyle2, p. 9, "Jack Hinks" (1 text, 1 tune) Doyle3, p. 9, "Jack Hinks" (1 text, 1 tune) Blondahl, pp. 30-31, "John Hinks" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #4431 RECORDINGS: Omar Blondahl, "John Hinks" (on NFOBlondahl01,NFOBlondahl05) NOTES: The song has a typical formulaic introduction where the singer asks the Muses to come to the aid of the "poor bard" which shows the humble attitude of the singer found in many songs from Newfoundland. - SH Or maybe an imitation of Homer? - RBW File: Doy09 === NAME: Jack in London City: see Jack the Jolly Tar (I) (Tarry Sailor) [Laws K40] (File: LK40) === NAME: Jack Is Every Inch a Sailor DESCRIPTION: "Jack is every inch a sailor; He'd see a pretty girl and hail 'er. He'd vow his love will never fail 'er, Then go sailing with his heart still free." All the girls come running when Jack is in town, all hoping to win his heart, but he will not settle down AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (recording, Frank Crumit) KEYWORDS: sailor courting sex FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Silber-FSWB, p. 84, "Jack Is Every Inch a Sailor" (1 text) Roud #4541 RECORDINGS: Frank Crumit, "Jack Is Every Inch a Sailor" (Victor 21668, 1928) NOTES: This should not be confused with "Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor," which has a similar first line and a some similarities in form and tune. The other song is a tall tale about a sailor who won a battle with a whale. - RBW Although this song concerns Jack and the ladies, it's still clean -- but we have a hint that it was once bawdy. - PJS File: FSWB084B === NAME: Jack Monroe (Jackie Frazer; The Wars of Germany) [Laws N7] DESCRIPTION: A rich girl loves a soldier/sailor; her father does not, and has the boy pressed to Germany. She disguises herself and enlists under the name (Jackie Monroe). When her lover is wounded, she nurses him. She reveals her identity; they are married AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1818 (Garret, _Merrie Book of Garlands_) KEYWORDS: love cross-dressing disguise injury medicine marriage FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,SE,So) Britain(Scotland) Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (20 citations) Laws N7, "Jack Monroe (Jackie Frazer; The Wars of Germany)" Belden, pp. 171-177, "Jack Munro" (5 texts) Randolph 42, "Men's Clothes I Will Put On" (Of Randolph's six texts, only two -- "C", with melody, and "F" -- belong with this piece; "A" and probably "D" are variants of "The Banks of the Nile"; "B" and "E" may be "Banks of the Nile" or "William and Nancy I") Eddy 35, "Jack Went A-Sailing" (2 texts plus fragments, 3 tunes) Gardner/Chickering 59, "The Wealthy Merchant" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton-Maritime, p. 139, "Jack Munro" (1 text, 1 tune); p. 143, "Johnny's Gone A-Sailing" (1 text, 1 tune) BrownII 99, "Jack Monro" (2 texts plus 1 fragment and 1 excerpt ) Chappell-FSRA 59, "Jacke Went A-Sailing" (1 text) Hudson 34, pp. 147-148, "The Wars of Germany" (1 text) Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. "203-210, The Silk Merchant's Daughter" (4 texts, which despite Scarborough's title are all this song; local titles are "Jackaroe," "Jacky Freasher," "Jackie Frazier," "Jackie Frazier"; 1 tune on p. 410) Brewster 37, "Jackie Fraisure" (2 texts, 1 tune) Wyman-Brockway I, p. 38, "Jackaro" (1 text, 1 tune) SharpAp 65, "Jack Went A-Sailing" (20 texts, 20 tunes) Sharp/Karpeles-80E 32, "Jack Went a-Sailing" (1 text, 1 tune -- a composite version) Lomax-FSNA 82, "Lily Munroe" (1 text, 1 tune) JHCox 98, "Jackie Fraisure" (3 texts) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 30-31, "Across the Rocky Mountain" (1 text, 1 tune -- a rewritten and expanded version by Roscoe Holcomb) Abrahams/Foss, pp. 82-83, "Jackie's Gone A-Sailing" (1 text, 1 tune) Darling-NAS, pp. 121-123, "Jack Monroe" (1 text) DT 331, JACKROE* JACKROE2 JACKSAIL* JCKSAIL2* ACROSRCK* Roud #268 RECORDINGS: George Davis, "Love of Polly and Jack Monroe" (on GeorgeDavis01) Sarah Hawkes, "Ho Lilly Ho" (on Persis1) Roscoe Holcomb, "Across the Rocky Mountain" (on MMOK, MMOKCD) Doug Wallin, "Jackaro" (on Wallins1) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 28(152), "Jack Munro," W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also Harding B 25(934), Harding B 11(392), Johnson Ballads 2086, Harding B 11(1835), "Jack Munro" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Jolly Plowboy (Little Plowing Boy; The Simple Plowboy)" [Laws M24] cf. "Disguised Sailor (The Sailor's Misfortune and Happy Marriage; The Old Miser)" [Laws N6] cf. "William and Nancy (I) (Lisbon; Men's Clothing I'll Put On I)" [Laws N8] cf. "The Banks of the Nile (Men's Clothing I'll Put On II)" [Laws N9] cf. "High Germany" cf. "The Girl Volunteer (The Cruel War Is Raging)" [Laws O33] cf. "The London Heiress" NOTES: The Cohen/Seeger/Wood version, from Kentuckian Roscoe Holcomb, shares some words with "The Girl I Left Behind." - PJS The version in Fife and Fife, "Roving Cowboy," at first glance bears no relationship with this piece, since it lacks the ending about the girl rescuing the young man. However, the earlier verses are clearly "Across the Rocky Mountains," which is evidently a version of this song. "Roving Cowboy" has simply lost the ending. - RBW File: LN07 === NAME: Jack Munro: see Jack Monroe (Jackie Frazer; The Wars of Germany) [Laws N7] (File: LN07) === NAME: Jack o' Diamonds: see Rye Whisky (File: R405) === NAME: Jack of Diamonds (I) DESCRIPTION: "Jack o' diamonds, jack o' diamonds, Jack o' diamonds is a hard card to find." "Say, whenever I gets in jail, Jack o' diamonds goes my bail." The singer vows to get even for being worked too hard. He admits to losing his money to Jack o' diamonds AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: gambling cards hardtimes work chaingang FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 279-280, "Jack o' Diamonds" (1 text, 1 tune, with a final verse probably from a "Lula" song) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Rye Whiskey" (lyrics) NOTES: This is pretty definitely related to the "Jack of Diamonds" versions of "Rye Whiskey," but the direction is different enough that I decided to split them. But fragmentary texts might well have been filed with that song. - RBW File: ScaNF280 === NAME: Jack of Diamonds (II): see Rye Whisky (File: R405) === NAME: Jack of Tar, The: see The Saucy Sailor (Jack and Jolly Tar II) [Laws K38] (File: LK38) === NAME: Jack Reilly: see Riley's Farewell (Riley to America; John Riley) [Laws M8] (File: LM08) === NAME: Jack Robinson DESCRIPTION: Robinson lands in Portsmouth with "prize money." He recognizes the alehouse landlady to be Polly. He shows her the handkerchief she had given him. She says she married when someone told her he had died. "He was off before you could say Jack Robinson" AUTHOR: Thomas Hudson(1791-1844) EARLIEST_DATE: before 1830 (broadside, Firth c.13(200)) KEYWORDS: return farewell sailor gold promise reunion marriage FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-NovaScotia 40, "Jack Robson" (1 text, 1 tune) ST CrNS040 (Partial) Roud #1794 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Firth c.13(200), "Jack Robinson," T. Birt (London), 1828-1829; also Harding B 11(1847), Harding B 17(143b), Harding B 11(52), Johnson Ballads 2587, Harding B 16(117a), Harding B 11(51), Johnson Ballads fol. 132 [barely legible], Firth c.13(199), Harding B 11(53), "Jack Robinson" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Brave Marin" (Brave Sailor) (theme) cf. "Le Jeune Militaire" (The Young Soldier) (theme) SAME_TUNE: The College Hornpipe (per broadsides Bodleian Firth c.13(200), Bodleian Harding B 16(117a), Bodleian Johnson Ballads fol. 132, Bodleian Harding B 11(53)) The Heart of a True British Oak, or The College Hornpipe (per broadside Bodleian Firth c.13(199)) NOTES: Jack Robinson shares this theme with the (older?) French ballads: the sailor/soldier returns after a long absence, stops at an inn, recognizes the hostess as his sweetheart/wife, and leaves when she explains that she has married because he had been reported dead. The attribution is from the wordorigins site explaining "faster than you can say Jack Robinson":"there was a very popular song by Thomas Hudson in the early 19th century that told the story of a sailor of that name who returns to find his lady married to another. Given the date, it is obviously not the origin." A description -- posted by the bookseller Olde Musick & Cokery Books, Hobart, Australia, on the Abebooks site -- of _The Spider & the Fly and A Frog He Would a Wooing Go_ by Thomas Hudson and W Wilson: "The composer/singer Thomas Hudson (1791-1844) was one of the stars of the very early music hall/supper clubs and indeed for many years ran his own theatrical tavern near Covent Garden and is considered one of the original constituents that developed into the music hall . He published his songs yearly from 1818-31 and his most notable were Jack Robinson The Lively Flea and of course The Spider & the Fly written in the 1830s and most famously sung by Henry Russell. Here coupled with A Frog He would a Wooing Go made notable by amongst others the famous clown Grimaldi in 1837." - BS File: CrNS040 === NAME: Jack Robson: see Jack Robinson (File: CrNS040) === NAME: Jack Rogers DESCRIPTION: "Come all you tender Christians, I hope you will lend ear... For the murder of Mr. Swanton I am condemned to die." "My name it is Jack Rogers, my name I'll never deny." Drunk, he assaults Swanton in the street, flees, is captured, and is condemned to die AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Dean) KEYWORDS: homicide drink gallows-confession fight trial punishment execution FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Dean, pp. 50-51, "Jack Rogers" (1 text) Roud #9557 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Charles Guiteau" [Laws E11] (form & meter) and references there File: Dean050 === NAME: Jack Sheppard [Laws L6] DESCRIPTION: Jack Sheppard, the apprentice of carpenter William Woods, is scorned by his master's daughter. After marrying two (!) women, he seeks to rob Woods, is captured, but is freed by an accomplice. Imprisoned, he escapes again, but is at last taken and hanged AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (Mackenzie) KEYWORDS: courting robbery outlaw execution apprentice HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1724 - execution of Jack Sheppard FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Laws L6, "Jack Sheppard" Mackenzie 127, "Jack Sheppard" (1 text) DT 568, JCKSHEPP Roud #1903 NOTES: There are a number of Jack Sheppard broadsides, including song collections, in the Bodleian catalog, but I don't find this song; see, for example, the eight songs headed "Jack Sheppard's Songs" [Bodleian, Harding B 11(1841),..., unknown, n.d.]. There is no question, though, that Mackenzie 127 is Laws L6: it is Laws's only reference. - BS Nor does it seem to have turned up in tradition anywhere else; one wonders why Laws listed it as a current traditional song rather than relegating it to the list of doubtful songs. Sheppard was a real person; according to Benet's _Reader's Encyclopedia_ he was born c. 1701 to a carpenter in Smithfield. He turned highwayman at a young age. By 1724 he was captured; he twice escaped from Newgate, but was caught again and executed in that year. Daniel Defoe wrote a romance about him (titled, naturally, _Jack Sheppard_) in the year of his execution, and W. H. Ainsworth also wrote about him in 1839. - RBW File: LL06 === NAME: Jack Sprat DESCRIPTION: "Jack Sprat could eat no fat, His wife could eat no lean, And so between the two of them They licked the platter clean." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1659 (Howell's Proverbs, or old Sayed Sawes & Adages, according to Opie-Oxford2) KEYWORDS: food husband wife FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Opie-Oxford2 264, "Jack Sprat could eat no fat" (1 text) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #52, p. 63, "(Jack Sprat)" NOTES: This is probably only a nursery *rhyme*, and not a nursery *song*, and so properly does not belong in the Index. But Tony and Irene Saletan recorded it as part of their version of "Hail to Britannia" (which includes many nursery rhymes), so I decided to play it safe and include it. The Baring-Goulds believe that the hero of this song was initially the dwarf "Jack Prat." Katherine Elwes Thomas, who proves that scholars can produce tall tales as well as any entertainer, believes that this refers to Charles I of England (executed 1649) and his Catholic wife Henrietta Maria of France (died 1666). The events she attributes to some of Charles's early troubles with his parliaments. - RBW File: BGMG052 === NAME: Jack Tar (I) [Laws K39] DESCRIPTION: Jack newly paid off from sea, enters an inn and calls for a party. All goes well until his money is spent, whereupon the landlady bids him to leave. Jack starts a brawl, but the watch at last persuades him to return to sea AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1891 (Ashton) KEYWORDS: sailor party fight poverty FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar,Ont) Britain(England(Lond,South)) US(MA,NE) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Laws K39, "Jack Tar" Creighton/Senior, pp. 168-169, "Jack Tar" (2 texts, 1 tune) DT 743, JACKTAR1* JACKTAR2 Roud #919 RECORDINGS: Harry Cox, "Jack Tar on Shore" (on LastDays) Jim Doherty, "When the Shantyboy Comes Down" (on Lumber01 -- a version in which the sailor becomes a logger) Walter Pardon, "Jack Tar Ashore" (on Voice02) File: LK39 === NAME: Jack Tar (II): see The Saucy Sailor (Jack and Jolly Tar II) [Laws K38] (File: LK38) === NAME: Jack the Guinea Pig DESCRIPTION: "When the anchor's weigh'd and the ship's unmoored, And the landmen lag behind, sir, The sailor... prays for a wind, sir!" The singer compares sailors, who brave every danger, with landsmen who get sick, go below, and despair at sea AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1948 (Shay) KEYWORDS: sailor bragging humorous nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Shay-SeaSongs, pp. 132-135, "Jack the Guinea Pig" (1 text) NOTES: I could imagine sailors singing this, since it certainly flatters their courage, but based on the evidence, I rather doubt they did. - RBW File: ShaSS132 === NAME: Jack the Jolly Tar (I) (Tarry Sailor) [Laws K40] DESCRIPTION: Jack overhears a girl tell her lover that she will lower a string from her window to let him find her. Jack comes to her window early and enjoys the girl's charms until morning when she realizes the truth. Having had his romp, he returns gaily to his ship AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 KEYWORDS: sailor love trick sex bawdy humorous FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar,Newf) Britain(England) REFERENCES: (11 citations) Laws K40, "Jack the Jolly Tar (I)" Greenleaf/Mansfield 50, "Tarry Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune) Peacock, pp. 288-290, "Jack the Jolly Tar" (1 texts, 3 tunes) Karpeles-Newfoundland 38, "Jack in London City" (1 text, 1 tune) Lehr/Best 63, "Jolly Jack Tar" (1 text, 1 tune) Harlow, pp. 168-169, "Do Me Ama" (1 text, 1 tune) Flanders-Ancient2, pp. 82-86, "Jack, the Jolly Tar" (2 texts plus a fragment, 1 tune) Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, pp. 54-55, "Jack the Jolly Tar" (1 text, 1 tune) Copper-SoBreeze, pp. 260-261, "The Squire's Lost Lady" (1 text, 1 tune) Darling-NAS, pp. 101-102, "Jack the Jolly Tar" (1 text) DT 416, DUMIAMA* Roud #511 RECORDINGS: George Maynard, "Jack the Jolly Tar-O" (on Maynard1) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 22(169)[some words illegible], "The Merchant's Courtship to the Brazier's Daughter," unknown, n.d. CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Glasgerion" [Child 67] (theme) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Dumiama The Merchant's Courtship to the Brazier's Daughter NOTES: In several versions, including [the Penguin text and the Copper text], the story ends: Jack offers to steal away quietly; the lady tells him not to stray too far for "I never will part from my jolly Jack Tar." - PJS The first instance of this motif in English-language folklore appears to go back to none other than Shakespeare: according to a story in the diary of John Manningham, it came during a performance of Richard III. A lady in the audience sent a note to Richard Burbage, who played Richard, inviting him to her bed. Shakespeare got wind of it, and he, rather than Burbage, enjoyed her charms. When Burbage arrived, Shakespeare allegedly said, "William the Conqueror was before Richard III." Hey, I didn't say I believed it. The notes in Flanders connect this with "Glasgerion" (Child 67).All we can say is, the theme is somewhat similar, but they're differentsongs.- RBW File: LK40 === NAME: Jack the Plowboy: see The Crafty Farmer [Child 283; Laws L1] (File: C283) === NAME: Jack the Rabbit: see Can'cha Line 'Em (File: LxU078) === NAME: Jack the Sailor (I): see The Sailor and the Tailor [Laws P4] (File: LP04) === NAME: Jack the Sailor (II): see Will You Wed with a Tarry Sailor? [Laws K37] (File: LK37) === NAME: Jack the Sailor (III): see Quare Bungo Rye (File: Log416) === NAME: Jack the Sailor Boy: see Rosemary Lane [Laws K43] (File: LK43) === NAME: Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor DESCRIPTION: "Jack was every inch a sailor... He was born upon the bright blue sea." Having been brought up as a whaler, one day Jack is swept overboard and swallowed by a whale. He escapes by pulling the whale inside out AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield) KEYWORDS: talltale sea humorous whaler FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (7 citations) Greenleaf/Mansfield 125, "Jack was Ev'ry Inch a Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune) Fowke/Johnston, pp. 40-41, "Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune) Doyle2, p. 13, "Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune) Doyle3, p. 33, "Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune) Blondahl, p. 56, "Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 84, "Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor" (1 text) DT, EVRYINCH Roud #4541 RECORDINGS: Omar Blondahl, "Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor" (on NFOBlondahl01,NFOBlondahl05) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Ambletown" (occasional floating lyrics) cf. "Paddy and the Whale" (theme) cf. "The Catfish" (Banjo Sam) (fish story) NOTES: This is almost certainly a cleaned-up bawdy song. - PJS The versions I know all seem more in the Paul Bunyan vein -- extraordinary exaggerations. (But maybe I don't have imagination enough.) I suspect Paul is referring to "Jack Is Every Inch a Sailor," which is similar only in its first line and metrical form, and which IS sexual in theme. - RBW File: FJ040 === NAME: Jack Went A-Sailing: see Jack Monroe (Jackie Frazer; The Wars of Germany) [Laws N7] (File: LN07) === NAME: Jack Williams [Laws L17] DESCRIPTION: Jack Williams, a boatman, meets a fine young girl. He turns to robbery to support her. He is captured and sent to prison; she scorns him, saying "I hate thievish company." He is sentenced (to transportation/execution) (but escapes and vows to avoid women) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1916 KEYWORDS: crime prison trial transportation courting FOUND_IN: US(MW) Britain(England) Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (6 citations) Laws L17, "Jack Williams" Mackenzie 114, "Jack Williams" (1 text) Eddy 62, "Jack Williams" (1 text) Gardner/Chickering 136, "Jack Williams" (1 text, 1 tune) LPound-ABS, 67, pp. 152-153, "Jack Williams" (1 text) DT 572, JCKWLLM Roud #1906 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 28(223), "The Boatman" ("I am a boatman by my trade, Jack Williams is my name"), W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also 2806 c.17(48), "The Boatman"; Harding B 11(351), Harding B 11(734), Harding B 25(229), Harding B 11(1414), "The Boatsman"; Harding B 25(949), "Jack Williams, the Boatman"; Harding B 11(3265), "Jack Williams the Boatswain," Harding B 11(978), Harding B 20(268), Harding B 28(241), Harding B 11(1850), "Jack Williams" File: LL17 === NAME: Jack Wrack: see Dixie Brown [Laws D7] (File: LD07) === NAME: Jack-a-Maria: see Aunt Maria (File: BSoF705A) === NAME: Jack-All-Alone: see The Shirt and the Apron [Laws K42] (File: LK42) === NAME: Jackaroe: see Jack Monroe (Jackie Frazer; The Wars of Germany) [Laws N7] (File: LN07) === NAME: Jacket So Blue, The (The Bonnet o' Blue) DESCRIPTION: The girl sees a soldier marching past and falls in love. She meets him and offers to buy his discharge; he replies that he already has a girl at home. She asks for a portrait to console her; this at least is granted AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1806 KEYWORDS: love courting soldier clothes separation FOUND_IN: US(MA,So) Ireland Britain(England,Scotland) Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (8 citations) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 212-214, "The Bonnet o' Blue" (1 text, 1 tune) FSCatskills 43, "The Jacket So Blue" (1 text, 1 tune) Belden, p. 301, "The Wagoners" (1 text, fragmentary and localized to make the soldier a wagoner) Logan, pp. 101-106, "Bonnet o' Blue" (1 text) SHenry H644, p. 367, "The Bonnet sae Blue" (1 text, 1 tune) Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 275-277, "The Bonnet of Blue" (1 text plus a fragment, 1 tune) Ord, pp. 295-296, "The Bonnet o' Blue" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton-SNewBrunswick 42, "His Jacket Was Blue" (1 text, 1 tune); 43, "His Jacket Was Blue" (1 text, 1 tune) ST FSC43 (Full) Roud #819 RECORDINGS: Nathan Hatt, "His Jacket Was Blue" (on NovaScotia1) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(393), "Bonnet So Blue" ("In Liverpool town in fair Lancashire"), W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also Harding B 25(251), Harding B 28(160), Harding B 11(4088), Harding B 28(104), Firth c.14(187) , Firth c.14(188), Firth c.14(190), Harding B 11(2653), "Bonnet So Blue"; 2806 c.17(52), Harding B 11(392), "Bonnet So Blue" ("At Kingston upon Woolwich, a town near Yorkshire") LOCSinging, as101360, "Bonnet So Blue" ("In Liverpool town, in fair Lancashire"), L. Deming (Boston), 19C; also as101360, "Jacket So Blue" ("A ship's crew of sailors as you shall now hear") CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Manchester Angel" (theme) NOTES: Broadside LOCSinging as101360 includes both a "troop of soldiers ... from Scotland" version ("Bonnet So Blue") and a "crew of sailors ... from Greenwich" version ("Jacket So Blue"). These correspond to Creighton-SNewBrunswick 42 and Creighton-SNewBrunswick 43, respectively. - BS File: FSC43 === NAME: Jackets Green, The DESCRIPTION: "When I was a maiden young and fair on the pleasant banks of the Lee," the girl loved young Donal in his jacket green. Donal serves under Sarsfield in the fight against the English and is slain. The singer urges Irish women to love only Irish patriots AUTHOR: Michael Seanlan EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (for USBallinsloeFair, according to site irishtune.info, Irish Traditional Music Tune Index: Alan Ng's Tunography, ref. Ng #2612) KEYWORDS: Ireland rebellion battle HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1690 - Battle of the Boyne. William III crushes the Irish army of James, at once securing his throne and the rule of Ireland FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) PGalvin, pp. 97-98, "The Jackets Green" (1 text, 1 tune) Healy-OISBv2, pp. 38-39, "The Jacket Green" (1 text, tune on pp. 20-21) Roud #9520 RECORDINGS: John Sheridan, "The Jackets Green" (on USBallinsloeFair) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Johnson Ballads 3214, "The Jacket Green," P. Brereton (Dublin), c.1867; also 2806 c.7(38)[some words illegible], "The Jacket Green" LOCSinging, as106510[barely legible], "The Jacket Green," unknown, 19C NOTES: Patrick Sarsfield, made Earl of Lucan by James II, was one of the Irish cavalry commanders. After Aughrim (for which see "After Aughrim's Great Disaster"), he defended Limerick, but seeing that his cause was hopeless, he made a treaty with William III and surrendered. (This was not a betrayal of the Irish cause; Sarsfield gained significant concessions, including religious tolerance, in return for ending Irish resistance.) - RBW Broadside LOCSinging as106510 looks like the Bodleian Brereton broadsides but all are difficult to read. - BS File: PGa097 === NAME: Jackfish, The: see The Catfish (Banjo Sam) (File: Vr3182) === NAME: Jackie and Mossy DESCRIPTION: When a mouse runs into the private parts of a farmer's wife, the farmer is forced to call upon Jackie the farmhand to use his much longer "root" to pry the rodent out. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1770, as published in Frisky Songster (London or Dublin, 1770, reprinted 1802) [according to G. Legman] LONG_DESCRIPTION: When a mouse runs into the private parts of a farmer's wife, the farmer is forced to call upon Jackie the farmhand to use his much longer "root" to pry the rodent out. In older versions, Jackie makes the farmer agree to double his wages before he will consent to have sex with the wife, and when the woman has been sexually satisfied, she lets the mouse out of her sleeve. KEYWORDS: bawdy humorous farming wife animal FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph-Legman I, pp. 293-295, "Jackie and Mossy" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #11226 File: RL293 === NAME: Jackie Fraisure: see Jack Monroe (Jackie Frazer; The Wars of Germany) [Laws N7] (File: LN07) === NAME: Jackie Frazer: see Jack Monroe (Jackie Frazer; The Wars of Germany) [Laws N7] (File: LN07) === NAME: Jackie Jackie DESCRIPTION: "Jackie Jackie was a smart young fellow... Yet he sat by the river of his people Underneath a great gum tree." Jackie's ancestral life is described. It is pointed out that the whites took this away, substituting liquor and gambling AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1968 KEYWORDS: Australia discrimination FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Meredith/Anderson, p. 147, "Jackie Jackie" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: "Jackie" is, of course, white slang for an Australian aborigine. The song is surprisingly balanced in its outlook -- probably because it is believed to be of aboriginal origin. - RBW File: MA147 === NAME: Jackie Rover: see Haselbury Girl, The (The Maid of Tottenham, The Aylesbury Girl) (File: K176) === NAME: Jackie's Gone A-Sailing: see Jack Monroe (Jackie Frazer; The Wars of Germany) [Laws N7] (File: LN07) === NAME: Jackison and Dickison: see The Three Butchers (Dixon and Johnson) [Laws L4] (File: LL04) === NAME: Jackson: see Johnny the Sailor (Green Beds) [Laws K36] (File: LK36) === NAME: Jackson and Jane DESCRIPTION: Jane is Hugh Jackson's grey mare. She is challenged to win the steeplechase cup at Cootehill a third time. The odds were ten to four against her. Half way around the jockey tells her that her opponents "are not yet in view." Jane wins easily. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1970 (Morton-Ulster) KEYWORDS: horse gambling racing FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Morton-Ulster 43, "Jackson and Jane" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2913 NOTES: Morton-Ulster: The singer tells Morton that "Jackson owned a linen-spinning mill in Ballybay, Co Monaghan, though he doesn't know in what period." - BS It makes me think of "Creeping Jane," though I'm not sure why. - RBW File: MorU043 === NAME: Jacksons DESCRIPTION: "As we started out from Nariel one early morn in spring," the group stops at "Jacksons on the road to Omeo." They have a wild spree, spend their money, and have to head home. The singer declares that he will not return to Jacksons AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1987 KEYWORDS: drink money rambling FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Meredith/Covell/Brown, pp. 272-272, "Jacksons" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Lazy Harry's (Five Miles from Gundagai)" (plot, lyrics, portions of tune) NOTES: When I read this, I thought it was a version of "Lazy Harry's," but Meredith et al consider it distinct though clearly related. So it gets its own listing. Just barely. - RBW File: MCB271 === NAME: Jacky Me Lad DESCRIPTION: Progressive rhymed chant: "Oh, Jacky me lad, he loved his dad, He put him in a peer flad [sic]; The peer flad it was so thick They put him in the bacon click; The bacon click it was so fat, They put him in old grand-dad's hat...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1955 KEYWORDS: nonballad nonsense humorous FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Meredith/Anderson, p. 60, "Jacky Me Lad" (1 text, 1 tune) File: MA060A === NAME: Jacky Tar With His Trousers On DESCRIPTION: After Jack sets out for sea, his love mourns. Even after peace is proclaimed, he is slow to return. At last he returns "with his trousers on." She greets him with joy. He tells of his far voyages. He promises he will travel no more AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1869 (Logan) KEYWORDS: sailor separation reunion FOUND_IN: Britain(England,Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Logan, pp. 52-53, "Jacky Tar" (1 text) Ord, pp. 324-325, "Jacky Tar" (1 text) ST Ord324 (Partial) Roud #5603 BROADSIDES: NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(130a), "Jackie Tar," Poet's Box (Glasgow), 1855 NOTES: Ord lists the tune for this piece as the "Jack Tar Hornpipe." The NLScotland broadside has the economically interesting tune "I'd Rather Havea Guinea than a One Pound Note." Logan calls the tune by the more familiar title of "The Sailor's Hornpipe." But, since none actually prints a tune, we can't tell if this is the usual "Sailor's Hornpipe." - RBW File: Ord324 === NAME: Jacky-Jacky DESCRIPTION: "Jacky-Jacky was a smart young fellow, Full of fun and energy." Jacky hunts in the wild till the white men come and fence the land. The white give government handouts until money runs short, then try to give the land back to Jacky instead AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1964 KEYWORDS: Australia discrimination money FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Manifold-PASB, pp. 94-95, "Jacky-Jacky" (1 composite text, 1 tune) NOTES: Presumably based on some particular incident in the long sad history of Aboriginal relations in Australia, but the details are vague enough that I can't tell what it refers to in particular. - RBW File: PASB094 === NAME: Jacob's Dream (Jacob's Ladder IV) DESCRIPTION: "Jacob dreamt he seed a ladder, Climbing up the sky, Angels going up and down it, Climb up, children, climb." "Climb up, ye little children, Climb up, ye older people, Climb up to the sky. Go up in six and sevens, Climb up, children, climb." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious Bible FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 536, "Jacob's Ladder" (3 texts; this is the short "A" text) Roud #2286 NOTES: In Gen. 28:12, Jacob dreams of a "ladder" (ramp/stairway) from earth with its top "reaching to heaven, and the angels of God climbing up and down it." - RBW File: Br3536 === NAME: Jacob's Ladder (I) DESCRIPTION: "I am (we are) climbing Jacob's ladder... And I won't be troubled any more. As soon as my feet strikes Zion's walls, I won't be troubled any more." "Goin' to see my father/mother/sister/brother in the kingdom...." Alternate end: "Soldiers of the cross." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE) REFERENCES: (7 citations) BrownIII 536, "Jacob's Ladder" (3 texts, but only the "B" text could be this, and even it might be something else) Combs/Wilgus 320, p. 190, "Jacob's Ladder" (1 text) Lomax-FSNA 235, "Jacob's Ladder" (1 text, 1 tune, plus a union/liberal parody) Fuson, p. 204, "Hide Thou Me" (1 text, probably a mix, with the form of "Rock of Ages (II -- Hide Me Over Rock of Ages" but verses from "Jacob's Ladder"); p. 213, "I Am On My Way" (1 text) SharpAp 212, "Jacob's Ladder" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 358, "Jacob's Ladder" (1 text) DT, JACOBLDR* Roud #2286 RECORDINGS: Armstrong & Highley, "Climbing Jacob's Ladder" (Paramount 3291, 1931) Chumbler Family, "Jacob's Ladder" (Columbia 15481-D, 1929) Maddox Bros. & Rose, "We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder" (4-Star 1473, n.d. but post-WWII) Frank & James McCravy, "Jacob's Ladder" (Victor 21188, 1928) (OKeh 45128, 1927) (Brunswick 192, 1928) Pete Seeger, "Jacob's Ladder" (on HootenannyCarnegie) (on PeteSeeger47) (on PeteSeeger26) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Don't You Weep After Me" (floating lyrics) NOTES: In Gen. 28:12, Jacob dreams of a "ladder" (ramp/stairway) from earth with its top "reaching to heaven, and the angels of God climbing up and down it." - RBW File: CW190A === NAME: Jacob's Ladder (II): see Don't You Weep After Me (File: R262) === NAME: Jacob's Ladder (III): see Welcome Table (Streets of Glory, God's Going to Set This World on Fire) (File: San478) === NAME: Jacob's Ladder (IV): see Jacob's Dream (Jacob's Ladder IV) (File: Br3536) === NAME: Jaeger Gik At Jage, En (A Hunter Went Out Hunting) DESCRIPTION: Norwegian or Swedish pumping shanty. Translation: "A hunter went out a-hunting (2x) out in the woods so green. Chorus: Hali, halo, hali, halo, We sail and we pull (2x). Further verses were supposedly too obscene to print. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1888 (L.A. Smith, _Music of the Waters_) KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage shanty hunting FOUND_IN: Sweden Norway REFERENCES: (1 citation) Hugill, pp. 505-507, "En Jaeger Gik At Jage" (3 texts-Norwegian & English, 2 tunes) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Keeper" (general feeling) NOTES: Hugill makes note that this shanty was originally a hunting song, though doesn't give a specific reference. - SL File: Hugi505 === NAME: Jailer's Daughter, The: see Young Beichan [Child 53] (File: C053) === NAME: Jake and Roanie DESCRIPTION: Jake and Roanie spot (a) steer and give chase; it lures them into a gulley and they are thrown by their horses. Forced to flee the steer, Roanie climbs a tree while Jake heads for a cave. Jake keeps popping out; there is a bear in the cave AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 KEYWORDS: cowboy horse animal humorous FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ohrlin-HBT 46, "Jake and Roanie" (1 text, 1 tune) File: Ohr046 === NAME: Jal Along DESCRIPTION: Travellers' cant. Singer tells her girl to walk along; they hope to find a good house to beg food or cash from in exchange for matches. They've drunk up all their money in champagne AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1962 or 1966 (collected from Caroline Hughes) KEYWORDS: poverty drink begging foreignlanguage children Gypsy FOUND_IN: Britain(England) REFERENCES: (1 citation) MacSeegTrav 128, "Jal Along" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: According to Caroline Hughes, in the old days Travellers would make matches, sell them, buy champagne and get drunk. After recovering, they'd have no money left for food. The song is macaronic, incorporating cant and English. "Jal" = walk. - PJS File: McCST128 === NAME: Jam at Garby's Rock, The: see The Jam on Gerry's Rock [Laws C1] (File: LC01) === NAME: Jam at Gerry's Rock, The: see The Jam on Gerry's Rock [Laws C1] (File: LC01) === NAME: Jam on Gary's Rock, The: see The Jam on Gerry's Rock [Laws C1] (File: LC01) === NAME: Jam on Gerrion's Rock, The: see The Jam on Gerry's Rock [Laws C1] (File: LC01) === NAME: Jam on Gerry's Rock, The [Laws C1] DESCRIPTION: Young Monroe and his crew do not wish to work on Sunday, but when a log jam forms, they turn out. The jam breaks and all are cast into the water, with foreman Monroe being drowned. In some accounts, his sweetheart dies for love and is buried with him AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 KEYWORDS: logger death drowning lumbering FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,NW,SE) Britain(Scotland) Canada(Mar,Newf,Ont,Que) REFERENCES: (37 citations) Laws C1, "The Jam on Gerry's Rock" Doerflinger, pp. 238-239, "The Jam on Gerry's Rock"; pp. 239-240, "The Jam on Jerry's Rock" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Shay-SeaSongs, pp. 111-113, "Young Monroe at Gerry's Rock" (1 text, 1 tune) BrownII 213, "The Jam at Gerry's Rock" (3 texts) Creighton/Senior, pp. 267-268, "The Jam at Gerry's Rock" (1 text, 1 tune) Leach-Labrador 102, "The Jam at Gerry's Rocks" (1 text, 1 tune) Lehr/Best 57, "The Jam on Gary's Rock" (1 text, 1 tune) Greenleaf/Mansfield 163, "Young Monroe" (1 text, 1 tune) Peacock, pp. 752-753, "The Jam at Garby's Rock" (1 text, 1 tune) Mackenzie 153, "The Jam on Gerry's Rocks" (2 texts) Ives-DullCare, pp. 33-35,247, "The Jam on Gerry's Rock" (1 text, 1 tune) Ives-NewBrunswick, pp. 26-29, "The Jam on Gerry's Rock" (1 text, 1 tune) Manny/Wilson 23, "The Jam on Gerry's Rock" (1 text, 1 tune) Fowke-Lumbering #27, "The Jam on Gerry's Rocks" (2 texts, 1 tune) FSCatskills 4, "The Jam at Gerry's Rock" (3 texts, 3 tunes) Warner 16, "The Jam on Gerrion's Rock" (1 text, 1 tune) Beck 51, "The Jam on Gerry's Rocks" (1 text, 1 tune) JHCox 51, "The Jam at Gerry's Rock" (2 texts plus mention of 2 more) JHCoxIIB, #7, pp. 137-138, "The Jam at Gerry's Rock" (1 fragment, 1 tune) Rickaby 2, "Gerry's Rocks" (2 texts plus 2 fragments, 4 tunes) Dean, pp. 25-26, "Young Munroe" (1 text) Gardner/Chickering 109, "The Jam on Gerry's Rock" (1 text plus 2 excerpts and mention of 3 more, 1 tune) Linscott, pp. 217-220, "The Jam on Gerry's Rocks" (1 text, 1 tune) Leach, pp. 771-773, "The Jam on Gerry's Rock" (1 text) Friedman, p. 418, "The Jam on Gerry's Rock" (1 text, 1 tune) Fowke/Johnston, pp. 78-79, "The Jam on Gerry's Rock" (1 text, 1 tune) Sandburg, pp. 394-395, "The Jam on Gerry's Rock" (1 text, 1 tune) Scott-BoA, pp. 175-178, "The Jam on Gerry's Rock" (1 text, 2 tunes) Lomax-FSUSA 50, "The Jam on Gerry's Rocks" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 448-450, "Gerry's Rocks" (1 text, 1 tune) Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 847-849, "Gerry's Rocks" (1 text, 1 tune) Hodgart, p. 240, "The Jam on Gerry's Rock" (1 text) Arnett, pp. 122-123, "The Jam on Gerry's Rock" (1 text, 1 tune) Abrahams/Foss, pp. 127-128, "The Jam on Jerry's Rocks" (1 text, 1 tune) Darling-NAS, pp. 176-178, "The Jam on Jerry's Rock" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 101 "Jam on Jerry's Rocks" (1 text) DT 600, JAMGERR1* JAMGERR2* Roud #256 RECORDINGS: Tom Brandon, "The Jam on Gerry's Rocks" (on Lumber01) Warde Ford, "Foreman Monroe / Young Monroe" (AFS 4214 A1, 1939; in AMMEM/Cowell) Marie Hare, "The Jam on Gerry's Rock" (on MRMHare01) Jim Kirkpatrick, "The Jam on Gerry's Rocks" (AFS, 1948; on LC56) Bill McBride, "The Jam on Gerry's Rocks" (AFS, 1938; on LC56) Pete Seeger, "Jam on Jerry's Rocks" (on PeteSeeger02, PeteSeegerCD01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Death of Harry Bradford" [Laws C12] (plot, tune) cf. "'Twas on the Napanee" (plot) cf. "The Loss of the Antelope" (tune) cf. "The Wreck of the Asia" (tune) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Death of Young Monroe Garbey's Rock Foreman Young Monroe File: LC01 === NAME: Jam on Jerry's Rock, The: see The Jam on Gerry's Rock [Laws C1] (File: LC01) === NAME: Jamaica Girl: see The Gallant Brigantine [Laws D25] (File: LD25) === NAME: Jamboree: see Whip Jamboree (Whup Jamboree) (File: Br3230) === NAME: James A. Garfield: see Charles Guiteau [Laws E11] (File: LE11) === NAME: James and Flora (Flora and Jim, The United Lovers) DESCRIPTION: Flora asks James to leave sailing. He won't. She breaks a ring and gives half to him. She dresses as a sailor and follows him until he is discharged. She tells the captain the story. The captain gives them gold to get married. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1863 (broadside, Bodleian Firth c.12(254)) KEYWORDS: courting marriage ring promise cross-dressing sea ship brokentoken lover sailor money reunion disguise FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Peacock, pp. 190-191, "Flora and Jim" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #1701 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Firth c.12(254), "James and Flora," H. Such (London), 1849-1862; also Harding B 11(3887), "James and Flora"; Firth b.26(446), "James and Flora" or "The United Lovers"; 2806 c.15(60)[some illegible words], Firth c.12(256), "James and Flora United" Murray, Mu23-y2:048, "James and Flora" unknown (Glasgow), 19C CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Disguised Sailor (The Sailor's Misfortune and Happy Marriage; The Old Miser)" [Laws N6] (plot) File: Pea190 === NAME: James Bird [Laws A5] DESCRIPTION: James Bird leaves his family to join Perry's fleet on Lake Erie. In the battle, he fights valiantly, continuing to serve even after being wounded. Later, however, he tells his parents that he is to be executed for desertion. AUTHOR: James Miner EARLIEST_DATE: 1814 (newspaper, "The Gleaner") KEYWORDS: execution war battle HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Sept 10, 1813 - Battle of Lake Erie. The Americans under Perry defeat the British. Oct 1814 - Execution of James Bird for desertion while on guard duty FOUND_IN: US(All) Canada REFERENCES: (15 citations) Laws A5, "James Bird" Eddy 118, "James Bird" (1 text plus a gragment, 1 tune) Belden, pp. 296-297, "James Bird" (1 text) Flanders/Olney, pp. 18-21, "James Bird" (1 text, 1 tune) FSCatskills 9, "The Kingston Volunteers" (1 text, 1 tune, much more heavily "folk processed" than most other texts) Warner 17, "James Bird" (1 text, 1 tune) McNeil-SFB1, pp. 38-41, "James Bird" (1 text, 1 tune) LPound-ABS, 41, pp. 93-97, "James Bird" (1 text) JHCox 62, "James Bird" (1 text) BrownII 221, "James Bird" (1 text) Rickaby 38, "James Bird" (1 tune, partial text) Burt, pp. 183-184, "(James Bird)" (1 excerpted text, 1 tune) Darling-NAS, pp. 158-159, "James Bird" (1 text) cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 479, "James Bird" (source notes only) DT 361, JAMEBIRD* ST LA05 (Full) Roud #2204 RECORDINGS: O. J. Abbott, "James Bird" (on GreatLakes1) Warde Ford, "James Bird" [fragment] (AFS 4202 A1, 4202 A2, 1938; in AMMEM/Cowell) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Dying Fifer" (tune) SAME_TUNE: The Dying Fifer (File: BrII227) NOTES: The American victory on Lake Erie was something of a surprise due to the inexperience of the U.S. forces. To that point, the Americans had done very badly on the Canadian frontier (see the notes to "Brave General Brock [Laws A22]" and "The Battle of Queenston Heights"). If the Americans were to have any hope of reversing things, command of Lakes Erie and Ontario seemed crucial. To make matters worse, both sides were concentrating most of their forces on Lake Ontario, which was downstream, easier to reach, and and has more people in the area. The naval force the British sent to Lake Erie, for instance, consisted of only about two dozen men headed by a 27-year-old Lieutenant by the Robert Heriot Barclay (see Walter R. Borneman, _1812: The War that Forged a Nation_, p. 121) -- who was, however, a veteran of Trafalgar, and he had lost an arm in later fighting. If nothing else, he was aggressive. The commander of the American fleet was a 27-year-old Master Commandant (a rank later retitled "Commander") named Oliver Hazard Perry, who had accepted the Lakes command (considered a step down from the blue-water navy) in order to at least see some action (see see John K. Mahon, _The War of 1812_, Da Capo, 1972, p. 166). He was a friend of the James Lawrence who had recently died on the U.S.S. _Chesapeake_ (see the notes to "The Chesapeake and the Shannon (I)" [Laws J20]). Perry would try to emulate Lawrence's spirit; fortunately he did not emulate Lawrence's inept tactics. Perry initially suffered one major disadvantage: His ships were in Presque Isle Bay -- a good place to build a ship, but there was a bar in the harbor mouth which was too shallow to get his biggest ships out. Barclay blockaded the harbor entrance; had Perry tried to take his big ships out in those circumstances, they would surely have been destroyed and would have blocked the passage as well. But Barclay at the end of July 1813 briefly sailed away, and the Americans managed to get their ships out (Borneman, pp. 123-125; Donald R. Hickey, _The War of 1812_, p. 131; Mahon, p. 170; Fletcher Pratt, _A Compact History of the United States Navy_, p.86, opines that the British, who had not yet completed their flagship _Detroit_, thought the American fleet too large to fight, but most others think it was a supply problem or the like. Mahon mentions a folktale that Barclay went to a dinner in Dover). The Americans would settle at Put-In Bay, not far from the British base at Amherstberg (Mahon, p. 170). That may have been the decisive move of the campaign. Rather than the blockader, Barclay was now the blockaded. He had the single biggest ship on the lake, the _Detroit_, but it was not finished until mid-August, by which time the American blockade had made it impossible for the British to bring in big guns. The _Detroit_ ended up armed rather haphazardly, using the few guns at hand (taken from a land fort; Mahon, p. 171); according to Hickey, p. 132, most of them had to be fired by shooting a pistol over the fire-hole (Mahon, p. 176, blames this on bad matches, but the result is the same). The next-best British ship, the _Queen Charlotte_, had almost no long guns. To add to Barclay's problems, he had to supply not only his own ships but the sundry army troops and Indians in the vicinity (Hickey, p. 132). The Americans had their own problems. The main force of their fleet consisted of the two brand-new brigs, the _Lawrence_ (named for James Lawrence) and the _Niagara_, both armed mostly with short-range carronades (these were the two ships that had been so hard to get out of Presque Isle Bay). He also had a medium-sized vessel, the _Caledonia_; the rest of his fleet was small schooners with only a few guns. The fleets that fought at Lake Erie were probably about equal in practical strength. The American fleet had ten ships to six (so most sources; Mahon, p. 169, credits the Americans with only nine and gives numbers of guns I haven't seen elsewhere), but in ships larger than gunboats, the British had four and the Americans three. Worse, none of the Americans vessels had ever served as warships before, nor even had much of the way of a shakedown (all the British ships except the _Detroit_ had at least spend time maneuvering on Lake Erie), and the crews were inexperienced. And the American vessels were badly undermanned; it had initially been thought he would need about 740 crewmen, but apparently he decided to sail with only about 500 (Borneman, pp. 123, 125; Mahon, p. 169, says he had 490) -- and many of these were landsmen from General Harrison's army (Hickey, p. 132). Barclay too had to put soldiers on his ships (Mahon, p. 169; p. 176 cites a British enquiry which claims there were no more than ten experienced seamen on each ship), but only Mahon seems to think this seriously handicapped him. According to Mahon, the American vessels had a combined broadside of 896 pounds, the British 459 -- though Mahon has a tendency to magnify American competence, and no other source mentions quite such a discrepancy. The battle was a rather disorderly affair. Perry had the advantage of the wind guage, letting him choose the time and distance of the fight (Hickey, p. 132); but Perry used that to change his fleet arrangements once he saw BarclayƠs fleet. In the confusion that followed, the two biggest British ships, the _Detroit_ and the _Queen Charlotte_, both turned on American flagship _Lawrence_, while the _Niagara_ (commanded by Jesse Duncan Elliot, formerly PerryƠs superior; Borneman, p. 125) stayed in its place far back in the line rather than doing something about _Queen Charlotte_. As a result, the _Lawrence_ would be crippled and out of the fight (Borneman, p. 128; Hickey, p. 133, reports that her crew suffered 80% casualties). Perry eventually decided to leave the _Lawrence_ (which would suffer about two-thirds of the American casualties in the battle; Borneman, p. 132) and head for the _Niagara_. Even though his ship was being destroyed (she was still floating, but dismasted and unmaneuverable and incapable of firing a proper broadside) and his crew slaughtered, he forbid his former flagship to surrender (see William Ratigan, _Great Lakes Shipwrecks and Survivals_, revised edition, Eerdmans, 1977, p. 172). Sure, he might cause many more men to die -- but what was that compared with his reputation? Barclay, meanwhile, had been wounded; he ordered his men to try to sink the boat in which Perry was fleeing, but then had to be taken below. And Perry got lucky. _Queen Charlotte_ had lost her captain and the next two officers in command (Mahon, pp. 175-176), and Barclay was disabled on the _Detroit_ (which had itself suffered badly at the hands of _Lawrence_), and the two British ships ran afoul of each other. _Niagara_ was able to cross the T of the other two ships, and Elliot (who had left the _Niagara_ when Perry came aboard) brought up several smaller American ships to attack the other side, and the four smaller British ships were unable to stop him. _Queen Charlotte_ struck her colors, then _Detroit_ (Borneman, p. 132), and the other four British ships apparently preferered to give in rather than fight or flee (to be sure, _Niagara_, a square-rigged ship, should have been faster than the schooners and could probably have sunk most of them). The fate of the British ships varied; that of the _Detroit_ was particularly absurd. There was apparently in this period a habit of loading a boat with innocent animals and sending it over Niagara Falls (Ratigan, p. 1790. The _Detroit_ was one ship so used; Ratigan, p. 181 reports that her sacrifice ended the appalling practice; "that is the last record of such a fresh-water Roman holiday." Perry's announcement of the battle result is famous; he reported to General William Henry Harrison, "We have met the enemy and they are ours." This was fortunate for Harrison (one of many lousy American generals of 1812; with the military academy still new, most of the generals were political picks -- see Mahon, p. 103, which lists the four Major Generals, including Harrison, appointed in early 1813; all were old and well-connected. It says something that, by the standards of the time, Harrison was a *good* general; the others were basically disasters). Harrison had already suffered badly at the hands of British commander Henry Proctor, who defeated pieces of Harrison's army in detail. After Lake Erie, with his supply lines in danger, Proctor should have fallen back, but waited too long, then let his Indian allies talk him into battle at Moravian Town on the Thames River (about half way between modern Windsor and London, Ontario). And his forces were not very strong -- perhaps 800 regulars and 500 Indians, most of whom had been on short rations (Hickey, p. 137; Mahon, pp. 182-183). The Americans charged, and Proctor's thin line was broken; his surviving European troops were sent reeling back, and many of the Indians, including the brilliant Tecumseh, were killed (Borneman, pp. 158-161). Harrison, though he couldn't advance much farther, had secured Detroit, and that, combined with his treacherous slaughter at Tippicanoe, would later make him President. Richard Mentor Johnson, who had trained up an elite cavalry unit (nearly every Kentucky regiment was mounted, but only Johnson's were allowed to take their horses into Canada; Mahon, pp. 181-182) and led the charge that won the battle and took part in the slaughter of the Indians, would eventually end up in a presidential race against Harrison in 1836; he was Martin Van Buren's vice presidential candidate, with the absurd campaign slogan "Rumpsey dumpsey, Rumpsey dumpsey, Colonel Johnson killed Tecumseh" (see Samuel Eliot Morison, _The Oxford History of the American People_, p. 454. Johnson almost certainly did not personally kill Tecumseh, but no one knew who had -- his body was reportedly never found, though Hickey, p. 139, talks of soldiers bringing home Tecumseh relics). As a result, Johnson was able to make at least an informal claim to have killed the Indian leader. So strange was the 1836 election -- which featured three Whig candidates plus Democrat Martin Van Buren -- that, though Van Buren was elected directly, the electoral college did not settle on a Vice President and the matter was settled in the Senate, where the Democratic majority naturally picked Johnson over the leading Whig candidate). There is a broadside ballad about the Battle of Lake Erie, called "Perry's Victory" or something similar. Ratigan, p. 175, reports, "Considering the ratio of population, the ballad of Perry's victory outold any popular recording of today. It was still a prime favorite at county fairs and other festivals half a century later." But it seems to have left no hold on tradition. There are few other monuments to the campaign, either. Lake Erie was the first and only true naval battle of the War of 1812 (as opposed to single-ship combats), and because it was a complete victory, there was no real need for further fighting. And, because a ship on the Upper Lakes could not be sent over Niagara Falls, there was no other practical use for the ships, _Lawrence_, badly battered, was not preserved; _Niagara_, after Americans and British reached an agreement to disarm the lakes, was scuttled in Misery Bay (see Michael J. Varhola, _Shipwrecks and Lost Treasures: Great Lakes_, Globe Pequot Press, 2007 [listed as copyright 2008, but I bought my copy in November 2007], p. 44). The cold fresh water preserved her, and she was eventually raised -- but the _Niagara_ sailing now is a replica reassembled based on the raised ship (Varhola, pp. 45-46). James Bird seems to have been a fairly typical American soldier of the period: Brave, but completely impervious to discipline. After joining the army, he transferred to the marines to escape the regimentation of army life. He showed great courage at the Battle of Lake Erie, but hated the tedium of garrison work, neglected his duties, and was court-martialed and executed at Erie, Pennsylvania. - RBW File: LA05 === NAME: James Campbell: see Bonnie George Campbell [Child 210] (File: C210) === NAME: James Connolly DESCRIPTION: "Where O where is our James Connolly? Where O where is that galland man? He's gone to organize the Union." Conolly's Union and a citizen army fight for freedom, but he is wounded, imprisoned, and killed; Ireland buries and mourns him AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1962 (Galvin) KEYWORDS: Ireland rebellion death labor-movement prison execution IRA HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1916 - Execution of James Connolly, Irish patriot, union leader, and socialist FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (3 citations) PGalvin, pp. 99-100, "James Connolly" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, JMCONNLY (JIMCON -- probably a sequel to the remainder, but not part of the original poem) ADDITIONAL: Frank Harte _Songs of Dublin_, second edition, Ossian, 1993, pp. 82-83, "James Connolly" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #12495 NOTES: James Connolly (1868-1916) was one of the first labor organizers in Ireland. Brought up in Scotland, and a veteran of the British army, he was interested in Marxism and believed that Ireland's political freedom was linked to the strength of her labor movement. In 1913, Connolly and James Larkin (1876-1947, for whom see "Jim Larkin, R.I.P.") organized a great strike against the United Tramway Company. It eventually spread to most of Ireland, but some political blundering cost them support in Britain, and the strike fizzled in 1914. Larkin fled to America, not to return until 1923, leaving Connolly as Ireland's leading labor figure. Incidentally, the reference to a "citizen army" is probably not a reference to the 1916 rebels. according to Robert Kee, _The Bold Fenian Men_, being Volume II of _The Green Flag_, p. 199, "A so-called 'Irish Citien Army' was officiallly formed on 23 November 1913 (in reaction to an army crackdown on August 21). By 1916, Connolly was leading rebels in Dublin; he commanded the assault on that city's GPO which ended with Padraic Pearse proclaiming the Irish Republic. Connolly was one of the signers of the proclamation. But less than a week later (April 29), Connolly was directing his forces to surrender to the overwhelming British forces. (It should be noted that the failure of the rebellion was expected, at least by Pearse and some of his associates. In a way, they didn't even want to succeed. They thought Irish independence could only be achieved by a sort of mystic sacrifice -- and set out to make it. Their timing was bad, as well; with millions of British troops fighting in France, Britain had to end the rebellion with all possible speed -- i.e. with great brutality.) In the process of the fighting, Connolly received an ankle wound which turned gangrenous. He was executed on May 12, 1916, already so ill that he had to be strapped into a chair to be shot. He had had to be taken to the site of the execution in an ambulance (see Robert Kee, _Ourselves Alone_, being volume III of _The Green Flag_, p. 6). Kee also notes (p. 57) that Connolly's influence lasted after his death. The Dail -- the Sinn Fein congress elected in 1918 had as one of its early acts "the unanimous adoption of a so-called Democratic Programme containing vague socialistic phrases which claimed to emanate from 'our first President, Paraic Pearse,' but were more truly an acknowldegement to the memory of Connolly." - RBW File: PGa099 === NAME: James Ervin [Laws J15] DESCRIPTION: The singer enlists in the British Army, but deserts because he is worked too hard. Helped by his sweetheart, he escapes, fights off his pursuers, and takes up shoemaking. Discovered and taken, he again escapes, proud of his ability to outfight the English AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1841 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 c.18(24)) KEYWORDS: soldier desertion prison escape HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 26, 1798 - Beginning of the Wexford rebellion May 27, 1798 - The Wexford rebels under Father John Murphy defeat the North Cork militia June 5, 1798 - The Wexford rebels attack the small garrison (about 1400 men, many militia) at New Ross, but are repelled June 21, 1798 - The rebel stronghold a Vinegar Hill is taken, and the Wexford rebellion effectively ended FOUND_IN: US(MW) Canada(Mar) Ireland REFERENCES: (8 citations) Laws J15, "James Ervin" OLochlainn 25, "The Bold Belfast Shoemaker" (1 text, 1 tune) Moylan 79, "The Bold Belfast Shoemaker" (1 text, 1 tune) Gardner/Chickering 92, "James Ervin" (1 text) Eddy 116, "On the Eighth Day of November' (1 text, 1 tune) (The first stanza of this version goes with "Saint Clair's Defeat," but the last two verses come from "James Ervin") Creighton-NovaScotia 83, "Rambling Shoemaker" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton-SNewBrunswick 93, "Bold Irvine" (1 text, 1 tune) DT 766, BLFSTSHO* JAMERVIN Roud #982 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, 2806 c.18(24), "Belfast Shoe-maker," J. Jennings (London), 1790-1840; also 2806 c.15(252), "The Belfast Shoe-maker!"; Harding B 25(167), "Belfast Shoemaker!"; Firth c.14(130), "Bold James Irvine" LOCSinging, sb10038a, "The Bold Shoemaker," H. De Marsan (New York), 1859-1860; also as101350, "The Bold Shoemaker" SAME_TUNE: What You Will (per broadside Bodleian Firth c.14(130)) NOTES: Daithi Sproule has a version of this ballad in which James Erwin is one of Father Murphy's Irish rebels; so also the Digital Tradition text BLFSTSHO. The latter is said to be the OLochlain version; it's similar but not identical to Sproule's. For information about this phase of Irish history, see the notes to "Boulavogie," "Father Murphy (I)," and the references cited there. - RBW Re the Father Murphy connection: the following is from OLochlainn 25/Moylan 79. O Lochlainn has it from a broadside. I next joined Father Murphy as you will quickly hear And many a battle did I fight with his brave Shelmaliers. The ballad is recorded on one of the CD's issued around the time of the bicentenial of the 1798 Irish Rebellion. See: Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "Bold Belfast Shoemaker" (on Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "1798 the First Year of Liberty," Hummingbird Records HBCD0014 (1998)) - BS The whole piece is rather peculiar in its incompleteness; one can understand an Irishman boasting of some of it, but how could someone at New Ross not admit it was a defeat, and how did the singer escape from Vinegar Hill? Some parts make sense: There were, for instance, many Irish youths serving in the British army in 1798; with land scarce, it was hard for them to make a living otherwise. And quite a few deserted in 1798, and some did indeed serve with Father Murphy. Lord Mountjoy was a British militia commander who had actually been popular with his Irish soldiers. But he was killed at New Ross, perrhaps while trying to reason with the Irish. New Ross itself was not a victory for the Irish, though it should have been. The rebels fought their way into town, and seemed to have the militia defeated -- but, having fought like regular soldiers to that point, their command arrangements broke down and they ended up fleeing the town. From that point, the tide of the Wexford rebellion began to ebb. There is also the interesting problem of what "Orangemen" were doing in Wexford. The Orangemen were a well-known Belfast group who fought against the Catholic defenders, so a man from Belfast would doubtless know them -- but there were no Orangemen in the south; the handful of Protestants were Anglican landowners. Chapelizod was the site where the English forces in Dublin kept their artillery. There were, naturally, soldiers there, many of them Irish. The United Irishmen, after their leadership was captured, hoped to grab it. The mention of the site may be a confused recollection of this -- but it definitely seems confused. - RBW Broadside LOCSinging sb10038a: H. De Marsan dating per _Studying Nineteenth-Century Popular Song_ by Paul Charosh in American Music, Winter 1997, Vol 15.4, Table 1, available at FindArticles site. - BS File: LJ15 === NAME: James Grant [Child 197] DESCRIPTION: James Grant is besieged; he tells his attackers, the folk of Ballindalloch, that he has no quarrel with them. Despite this, he is forced to the hills AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1878 KEYWORDS: feud fight escape HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1628 - John Grant of Carron killed by John Grant of Ballindalloch 1630 - James Grant of Carron, the uncle of John Grant, takes revenge on Ballindalloch and turns outlaw. The authorities authorize Clan Chattan to bring him to justice, and later others, but none could catch him. In 1639 Grant made peace with the king FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Child 197, "James Grant" (1 text) Roud #3918 NOTES: This ballad exists only in a fragment -- so brief that it is hard to be certain that it pertains to the events described, let alone which phase of the chase is mentioned. Child's notes say just about all there is to say about the piece. - RBW File: C197 === NAME: James Harris: see The Daemon Lover (The House Carpenter) [Child 243] (File: C243) === NAME: James Hatley [Child 244] DESCRIPTION: (Hatley) is accused of stealing the king's jewels, though (Fenwick) is in fact the thief. One of the king's children convinces the king to let Hatley fight for his honor; (Hatley/the prince) kills Fenwick. Hatley is made a high official AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1859 (Chambers) KEYWORDS: nobility royalty thief lie fight accusation help FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Child 244, "James Hatley" (3 texts) Leach, pp. 606-608, "James Hatley" (1 text) DT, JHATLEY Roud #4022 NOTES: This more-than-usually-romantic ballad seems to have no basis in fact. The negotiations surrounding Hatley's release remind me strongly of "Hughie Grame" [Child 191], though there seems to be no actual relationship, and of course the context and outcome are different. - RBW File: C244 === NAME: James Kennedy DESCRIPTION: James Kennedy goes to visit his sweetheart; he comes to the Moyola and, unable to swim, is swept away. None is brave enough to rescue him. His parents wonder why he was visiting Moyola on the Sabbath. His fiancee is told they will meet at his grave AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: love river drowning death FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H633, p. 147, "James Kennedy" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #189 NOTES: Roud treats this as a variant of Laws Q33, "The Lake of Cool Finn (Willie Leonard)." But this song is explicit: Kennedy could not swim. "Cool Finn" lacks any such theme. - RBW File: H633 === NAME: James MacDonald [Laws P38] DESCRIPTION: James promises his pregnant sweetheart Annie that he will marry her, and bids her meet him secretly. When he has her alone he attacks her and flees. She is found the next day and lives just long enough to tell what happened. James is sentenced to death AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord); c.1867 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 19(109)) KEYWORDS: homicide execution pregnancy betrayal FOUND_IN: US(MA,NE) Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland REFERENCES: (7 citations) Laws P38, "James MacDonald" Peacock, pp. 622-623, "The Murder of Ann O'Brien" (2 texts, 1 tune) SHenry H37, pp. 485-486, "[Pat O'Brien]" (1 fragment in the notes, tune referenced) Creighton-NovaScotia 21, "James McDonald" (1 text, 1 tune) Warner 6, "The St. Albans Murder" (1 text, 1 tune) Ord, pp. 477-479, "The Longford Murder" (1 text) DT 515, JIMMACD* Roud #1412 RECORDINGS: Theresa White, "The Murder of Ann O'Brien" (on NFMLeach) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 19(109), "James M'Donald, Who Was Executed in Longford for the Murder of Anne O'Brien," W. Birmingham (Dublin), c.1867; also 2806 c.15(230), "James M'Donald, Who Was Executed in Longford for the Murder of Anne O'Brien"; 2806 c.15(309)[some lines illegible], "James M'Donnell" Murray, Mu23-y1:079 "James M'Donnell," James Lindsay (Glasgow), 19C CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "John T. Williams" NOTES: Yet another John T Williams gallows-confession type: Peacock includes a fragment "My name is James MacDonald, from life I must now part, For murdering of young Ann O'Brien I'm sorry to the heart; I hope the Lord will pardon me all on the Judgement Day, And when I'm on the gallows, good Christians for me pray." The Peacock fragment is the last verse of the Murray broadside. It is also the fragment quoted in SHenry from the Houston collection [see SHenry, p. 485], the only significant difference being that the murderer's name is [mis]stated as Pat O'Brien; the note to "Henry, the Sailor Boy," referring to the tune printed for that song, is that "almost all the [Irish] murder ballads [including 'Pat O'Brien'] were composed to it." [In so far as they can be read, the Bodleian broadsides have the last verse but omit the last line.] Leach (notes to NFMLeach) believes "that the murder took place in Longford Co. Ireland, and that, as was customary, a broadside was published at the time." - BS File: LP38 === NAME: James Magee (McKee) DESCRIPTION: The singer, sentenced to New South Wales, gives his name as James Magee. An orphan brought up by his grandmother, his aunt brings charges against him to gain his inheritance. He laments for his wife and children, and curses the aunt AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: crime accusation trial punishment transportation separation family FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (3 citations) SHenry H136, p. 125, "James Magee" (1 text, 1 tune) Morton-Ulster 40, "James Magee" (1 text, 1 tune) Morton-Maguire 51, pp. 146-147,175, "James Magee" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2492 NOTES: [The] Morton-Ulster text makes this a religious conflict. The aunt "married an Orangeman"; the last verse is Once I had a well furnished house no room could it afford, To enter in an Orangeman, when he'd be on record, But if a Ribbonman would call that way, well treated he would be, Ah but now there does not dwell a man where dwelt young James Magee. Morton-Ulster: "No doubt, especially since the famine, land and the possession of it has been to the Irish what cocaine must be to the drug-addict. The more he got the more he wanted. No doubt avarice got the better of many and they used the politico-religious situation for their own gain." Zimmermann p. 19: "In some parts of Ulster, Protestant and Catholic tenants were mingled and contended for the land; the peasantry was thus divided into two camps, each having its oath-bound association. This led to a sort of religious war. At the end of the eighteenth century the Catholic "Defenders" were opposed to the Protestant "Peep o'Day Boys" or "Orangemen." The "Defenders" were succeeded by the "Ribbonmen," (song [Zimmermann] 39). - BS Sean O'Boyle lists this as the same tune as "Henry Joy (McCracken)." The two are indeed nearly identical in meter, but I would not call them the same, though they are close. - RBW File: HHH136 === NAME: James McKee: see James Magee (McKee) (File: HHH136) === NAME: James Munks's Confession DESCRIPTION: Munks tells the story of how he turned from his parents' good ways. He killed Reuben Guile, took his horse and money, hid his body, and fled. Captured and taken, he has been sentenced to die. He now reveals details of the murder AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Eddy) KEYWORDS: homicide execution robbery FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Eddy 113, "James Munks's Confession" (1 text) ST E113 (Full) Roud #4100 NOTES: This song is item dE40 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW File: E113 === NAME: James Phalen: see James Whalen [Laws C7] (File: LC07) === NAME: James Reilly: see John (George) Riley (II) [Laws N37] (File: LN37) === NAME: James Stephens, the Gallant Fenian Boy DESCRIPTION: James Stephens is born in Marble City, wounded at 16 fighting in Killenaule, wounded at Ballingarry, subject of a mock funeral as he sails, in disguise, to Paris, imprisoned on testimony of "Nagle the informer," escapes and is not caught again, and dies AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (OLochlainn-More) KEYWORDS: battle rebellion betrayal prison escape disguise trick death France Ireland memorial patriotic HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: April 2, 1901 - James Stephens (1825-1901) dies in Dublin FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OLochlainn-More 3, "James Stephens, the Gallant Fenian Boy" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Escape of James Stephens" (subject) NOTES: The Fenians were an organization devoted to freeing Ireland. The organization was founded in 1858 by James Stephens, who in that year began to coordinate with O'Donovan Rossa's Phoenix Society (for whom and for which see "Rossa's Farewell to Erin"). Stephens himself was quite the character: He was involved in the attempted revolution of 1848, which of course was a complete fiasco. He was reported dead at the time, and he did leave the country, finally -- like many other Irishmen -- deciding that he couldn't stay away. He seems to have been quite moody, and his return home depressed him; there seemed little hope of reviving Irish nationalism. He set out on a walking tour to verify this for himself, and estimated that he walked three thousand miles in 1856 (see Robert Kee, _The Bold Fenian Men_, being volume II of _The Green Flag_, p. 8). Based on his accounts of the trip, one suspects that the real reason for his change of heart was simply the improved attitude that comes with exercise; he found little encouragement. Despite the seemingly-poor prospects, he still decided to found an independence organization. One of the groups he founded would become the Irish Republican Brotherhood, of which much would be heard in the next half century. Technically, the term "Fenian" should refer to the American society founded by Stephens. Stephens went to the United States in late 1858 on a fundraising tour, returning in 1859 with very little money -- but having set up an organization led by John O'Mahoney and known as the Fenians (a name given by O'Mahoney, who was more attracted to Gaelic than Stephens). Although it's O'Mahoney's term for O'Mahoney's organization, it came to be used of both the American and Irish societies. The Fenian Society quickly spread; and by 1865 was getting close to the point of rebellion. Unfortunately, it suffered the usual batch of informers. The British government felt the need to suppress the Irish version in 1865. Their newspaper _The Irish People_ closed down, and many leaders arrested. Stephens managed to remain free for two months, but he too was taken eventually. What followed was arguably the high point of the Fenian movement: Stephens was rescued from prison. Kee, p. 26, observes that "[s]ometimes it seems that all the bungling during these years was on the Fenian side. But the escape was a masterly achievement." Indeed, it upset the British, who went after the leaders of the rescue with vigor. Their capture of Captain Thomas Kelly, a leader of the rescuers and later declared shadow head of the Irish Republic, led to the affair of the Manchester Martyrs, for which see "The Smashing of the Van (I)." Unfortunately, his time in prison had changed Stephens; he no longer had the nerve to take aggressive action. Plus the American version of the movement, which provided much of its money and energy had split into two halves, led by John O'Mahony and Thomas Sweeney. Stephens had closer ties to O'Mahony, but both groups disagreed with him on methods (see Kee, pp. 26-28, and Terry Golway, _For the Cause of Liberty_), and both would be involved in madcap invasions of Canada (see "A Fenian Song(I)"). The group had promised to rebel by the end of 1865, but Stephens managed to postpone that. In response, he was forced out of the leadership (Kee, p. 31). His followers carried on, but that pretty well killed the group as an active set of rebels; their attempt at an Irish rebellion failed in 1867. They spent many more years trying various stunts in America; some were very showy, and others somewhat deadly; none helped the cause of Irish independence. Kee says of Stephens (pp. 8-9) that "he lacked almost all the qualities of a great revolutionary leader, being jealous and boastful, capable of small-mindedness and untruthful at least to the point of self-deception," but credits him with "an extraordinary capacity for organization and work." (Among his organizational methods was a cell system in which hardly anyone knew anyone else, so that informers couldn't betray much. He also avoided recruiting the upper classes, meaning he had fewer members capable of detailed planning but also fewer capable of being paralyzed by doubts.) It is probably his strength at an organizer that allowed the Fenians to survive a series of failures that would have caused any normal organization to curl up and die of embarrassment at its utter ineptitude. - RBW File: OLcM003 === NAME: James Wayland: see James Whalen [Laws C7] (File: LC07) === NAME: James Whaland: see James Whalen [Laws C7] (File: LC07) === NAME: James Whalen [Laws C7] DESCRIPTION: Jim Whalen is told by his foreman to help clear a logjam. When the jam breaks, he is thrown into the rapids and drowned. AUTHOR: John Smith (?) EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Rickaby) KEYWORDS: logger death drowning lumbering FOUND_IN: US(MW,NE) Canada(Mar,Ont) REFERENCES: (11 citations) Laws C7, "James Whalen" Doerflinger, pp. 243-244, "Whalen's Fate (George Whalen)" Rickaby 3, "Jim Whalen" (2 texts, 1 tune) Gardner/Chickering 110, "James Wayland" (1 text) Fowke/Johnston, pp. 82-83, "Jim Whalen" (1 text, 1 tune) Fowke-Lumbering #31, "Jimmy Whelan" (1 text, 1 tune) Fowke/MacMillan 25, "Jimmy Whelan" (1 text, 1 tune) Ives-NewBrunswick, pp. 39-41, "James Whalen" (1 text, 1 tune) Sandburg, p. 389, "James Whaland" (1 text, 1 tune) Beck 53, "James Whalen" (1 text) DT 601, JMMYWHEL* Roud #638 RECORDINGS: Emerson Woodcock, "Jimmie Whelan" (on Lumber01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Lost Jimmie Whalen" [Laws C8] (subject) ALTERNATE_TITLES: James Phalen NOTES: Rickaby reports this to be based on an actual incident, in which James Phalen (so spelled; pronounced Whalen) died at "King's Chute" on the Mississippi River. (That's the Canadian Mississippi, a tributary of the Ottawa). Rickaby's informant, Cristopher Forbes, is the source of the claim that John Smith of Lanark wrote the song. The date of the event is uncertain; Rickaby states it was in 1878, but Fowke quotes Phalen's grand-niece to the effect that the date was 1876. - RBW File: LC07 === NAME: Jamestown Flood, The: see The Johnstown Flood [Laws G14] (File: LG14) === NAME: Jamestown Homeward Bound, The DESCRIPTION: Forecastle song. Verses describe voyages to the Mediterranean and wishes for home. Chorus ends "So fill out sails with the favoring gales and with shipmates all around. We'll give three cheers for our Starry flag and the Jamestown homeward bound." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (Colcord) KEYWORDS: foc's'le sailor home travel FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (2 citations) Colcord, pp. 133-134, "The Jamestown Homeward Bound" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, JAMETOWN* Roud #4700 NOTES: [According to Colcord, the] vessel referred to here is *not* the Confederate gunboat _Jamestown_, but a sloop of war built in 1844. She was lent by the US government to a relief organization and sailed from Boston to Cork in March, 1847 loaded with food and supplies to help the victims of the famine in Ireland. - SL That voyage to Ireland, which Colcord claims is the shipƠs only claim to fame, is not mentioned in her (seemingly unique) version. I must admit that I am not convinced that the song is about the _Jamestown_; it could merely be about a ship with its homeport there. - RBW File: Colc133 === NAME: Jamie and Jeanie DESCRIPTION: Jeanie asks why Jamie looks so sad. He replies that she danced with three other men at the ball. She asserts it means nothing; when he remains doubtful, she gives back his ring. He offers it again, and they reconcile AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord) KEYWORDS: love courting rejection dancing ring FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, p. 108-109, "Jamie and Jeanie -- A Duet" (1 text) Roud #3952 NOTES: This has all the hallmarks of a composed piece: Ornateness, stupidity, and non-folk idiom. But Ord and Grieg both collected it, so here it is. I'm not betting anything on the success of that marriage, though. - RBW File: Ord108 === NAME: Jamie and Mary: see The Faithful Rambler (Jamie and Mary, Love's Parting) (File: HHH825) === NAME: Jamie and Nancy DESCRIPTION: Jamie and Nancy meet; she reports that her parents "had proved severe." He tells her that she is always welcome to him. She dreams Jamie is slain, and sets out to find him. When she does, they agree to marry AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: love father mother separation dream reunion FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H738, p. 478, "Jamie and Nancy" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9056 NOTES: I have to think there is something missing in this song -- presumably something which parts the two lovers. But until another version turns up, we can hardly reconstruct it. - RBW File: HHH738 === NAME: Jamie Douglas [Child 204] DESCRIPTION: The singer laments that her happy marriage to Lord James Douglas has been ruined by accusations made by (Blackwood). She tries to convince her husband that she is true. He will not be convinced, and sends her away AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1776 (Herd) KEYWORDS: marriage separation lie infidelity FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (6 citations) Child 204, "Jamie Douglas" (17 texts) Bronson 204, "Jamie Douglas" (8 versions including "Waly, Waly") BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 469-474, "Jamie Douglas" (notes and scattered stanzas, plus a text of "Waly Waly" and a part of Child A) Leach, pp. 546-551, "Jamie Douglas (3 texts, but the third is "Waly Waly") Friedman, p. 101, "Jamie Douglas" (2 texts, but the second is "Waly Waly") OBB 87, "Jamie Douglas" (1 text) Roud #87 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Waly Waly (The Water is Wide)" (lyrics) NOTES: Although based on actual events, the stress of this song seems rather different from the history outlined by Child. That this song is akin to "Waly, Waly" is beyond doubt; too many of the lyrics of the former show up in the latter. "Waly, Waly" has, however, achieved a life of its own (despite the near-compete loss of plot), and so is listed separately. Most scholars think this the older song, but there are those who hold out for the influence passing the other way -- i.e. that verses from "Waly Waly" have entered "Jamie Douglas." - RBW File: C204 === NAME: Jamie Foyers DESCRIPTION: During the Peninsular War, volunteers from Wellington's army led by militiaman Foyers storm Blucher's castle in Spain. Foyers is wounded. He asks a comrade to tell his father of his death, recalls his home life, then dies. All mourn him as he is buried. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1901 (Ford) KEYWORDS: grief request battle violence war farewell death dying funeral mourning Spain lament father soldier Napoleon HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1812 - siege of Burgos during the Peninsular War FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (7 citations) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 18-20, "Young Jamie Foyers" (1 text, 1 tune) Ord, pp. 294-295, "Young Jamie Foyers" (1 text, 1 tune) MacSeegTrav 84, "Jamie Foyers" (1 text, 1 tune) Fowke/MacMillan 71, "Jamie Foyer" (1 text, 1 tune) Ives-NewBrunswick, pp. 32-34, "Young Jimmy Foulger" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton-SNewBrunswick 103, "Jimmy Folier" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, JAMFOYE2 JAMEFOYR* Roud #1941 RECORDINGS: Sheila Stewart, "Young Jimmy Foyers" (on Voice08) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, 2806 c.14(7), "Jamie Foyers" ("Far distant, far distant, lies Scotia the brave"), unknown, n.d.; also 2806 c.14(195) View 4 of 5, "Young Jamie Foyers" NLScotland, L.C.Fol.178.A.2(080), "Jamie Foyers," unknown, c. 1875 NOTES: To quote MacColl & Seeger, "The Duke of Wellington's investment of Marshal Marmont's French forces and the retreat which followed were not particularly bloody by modern standards -- a mere 10,000 or so died. Wellington gained an earldom and a Perthshire militiaman gained an epitaph which is still sung round the campfires of travelling people." Note that Blucher, an enemy of Napoleon, is here described as his ally. - PJS That seems to be a peculiarity of the John MacDonald's version, though; neither Ford nor Ord have such a reference. Ford, who reports collecting the song c. 1870, reports a newspaper item listing John MacNeill as author. Burgos, almost due north of Madrid and about two-thirds of the way from there to the ocean, is not one of the great cities of Spain, but it lies in a gap in the mountains and thus guards the most direct path between France and Madrid. As long as Napoleon's enemies held Burgos, most of Spain (except the Ebro valley and cities such as Zaragosa and Barcelona) were safe, and as long as France held it, she could operate armies in Spain freely. Early in the Peninsular War, Napoleon directed several campaigns toward Burgos, and later on, it became one of the chief Coalition objectives. Capture Burgos, and the French garrisons in Spain would be cut off from reinforcements. Wellington besieged Burgos in September and October of 1812, but -- despite the indirect implication of the song -- did *not* capture it; he abandoned the siege as a relief army approached. - RBW Yates, Musical Traditions site _Voice of the People suite_ "Notes - Volume 8" - 1.3.03: "Some authorities cite one James MacNeil as a possible author for the song." - BS File: McCST084 === NAME: Jamie Judge (or, Bonshee River): see Jimmie Judd (The Beau Shai River) [Laws C4] (File: LC04) === NAME: Jamie Raeburn (Caledonia) DESCRIPTION: "My name is (Jamie Raeburn), in Glasgow I was born." Convicted (of a crime he did not commit), he has been sentenced to transportation. He bids farewell to family, sweetheart, and his beloved home in Caledonia. He hopes to return when free AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Ford) KEYWORDS: transportation separation farewell Scotland FOUND_IN: Australia Ireland Britain(Scotland(Aber,Bord)) US(MW) REFERENCES: (8 citations) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 243-244, "Jamie Raeburn's Farewell" (1 text, 1 tune) Meredith/Anderson, pp. 85-86, "Caledonia"; 245-246, "Caledonio" (2 texts, 2 tunea) SHenry H151, p. 124, "Jamie Raeburn's Farewell" (1 text, 1 tune) McBride 43, "Jimmy Leeburn" (1 text, 1 tune) Ord, pp. 357-358, "Jamie Raeburn's Farewell" (1 text, 1 tune) MacSeegTrav 94, "Jamie Raeburn" (1 text, 1 tune) Dean, pp. 90-91,"Farewell to Caledonia" (1 text) DT, JIMRAEBN Roud #600 RECORDINGS: Tom Scott, "Jimmy Raeburn" (on Borders1) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, 2806 c.14(19), "James Raeburn," unknown, n.d. Murray, Mu23-y1:106, "Jamie Raeburn" James Lindsay (Glasgow), 19C NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(75a), "Jamie Raeburn," unknown, c.1875; also RB.m.143(121) "Jamie Raeburn," Poet's Box (Dundee), c.1890 NOTES: Ford claims that this is based on an actual incident c. 1840, though the details he offers are scant. - RBW Charters says this has been traced to "a penny broadsheet published in the 1840s," but offers no further details. - PJS It [may be] possible to date broadside Bodleian 2806 c.14(19) from its note to the ballad shared on the broadside with "James Raeburn." Specifically, for "The Lament of Andrew Brown," there is a note that Brown "is at present lying under Sentence of Death in Forfar Jail for the Murder of Captain Greig [Creig?], on board the Nymph [illegible; perhaps "while"?] on her passage from Montrose to London"; the broadside itself dates the crime as September 6 and the execution January 31. - BS File: MA085 === NAME: Jamie Raeburn's Farewell: see Jamie Raeburn (Caledonia) (File: MA085) === NAME: Jamie Telfer of the Fair Dodhead [Child 190] DESCRIPTION: The Captain of Bewcastle raids the Fair Dodhead. Jamie Telfer, the victim, races about the countryside in search of assistance. Some refuse, but he gathers enough friends to fight the raiders. The avengers suffer casualties, but Bewcastle is defeated AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1802 (Scott) KEYWORDS: violence robbery revenge help FOUND_IN: Britain REFERENCES: (3 citations) Child 190, "Jamie Telfer of the Fair Dodhead" (1 text) OBB 141, "Jamie Telfer in the Fair Dodhead" (1 text) PBB 67, "Jamie Telfer of the Fair Dodhead" (1 text) Roud #3364 NOTES: Child lists several speculations about this song (derived mostly from Scott, who is the only source for this piece). These tie it, very tentatively, to an event of 1582, at which time Bewcastle was a well-known haunt of robbers and sundry criminals. All of this, however, must be treated as little more than speculation. Nor is there any real evidence that the piece is traditional. - RBW File: C190 === NAME: Jamie, Lovely Jamie: see The Plains of Baltimore (File: Wa005) === NAME: Jamie's on the Stormy Sea DESCRIPTION: "Ere the twilight bat was flitting, in the sunset at her knitting, Sang a lonely maiden... Fitful rose the tender chorus, 'Jamie's on the stormy sea.'" The singer listens to the girl praying -- and at last steps out and reveals himself as Jamie AUTHOR: Bernard Covert EARLIEST_DATE: 1849 (Journal from the _Euphrasia_) KEYWORDS: sailor love separation reunion FOUND_IN: Ireland US REFERENCES: (2 citations) SHenry H78, p. 484, "Jamie's on the Stormy Sea" (1 text, 1 tune) Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 34-36, "Jamie's on the Stormy Sea" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9048 NOTES: At least he didn't dress up to trick her into thinking he was someone else. - RBW File: HHH078 === NAME: Jane Jenkins: see Jenny Jenkins (File: R453) === NAME: Jane Shore DESCRIPTION: Jane Shore, "that was beloved of a king," laments her fate. She had come to the attention of Edward IV, who loved her long but died young. Now she is at the mercy of his successor Richard III, who harries her relentlessly AUTHOR: Thomas Deloney? EARLIEST_DATE: 1765 (Percy); reference in the Stationer's Register in 1603, but no copy recovered KEYWORDS: love royalty death prison adultery HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1461-1470 AND 1471-1483 - Reign of Edward IV 1483-1485 - Reign of Richard III FOUND_IN: Britain(England) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Percy/Wheatley II, pp. 263-273, "Jane Shore" (1 text) BBI, ZN1391, "If Rosamund that was so fair" cf. BBI, ZN2929, "Why should we boast of Lais and his Knights" NOTES: Jane Shore, the wife of a London merchant, seems to have been the last great love of Edward IV's life (though Edward IV was truly prodigal with his energies). She is said to have been charming as well as beautiful, but this simply meant that she was feared as having too much influence over the king. Desmond Seward, _The Wars of the Roses_, makes Jane Shore one of his main "viewpoint characters." According to Seward, Jane was born around 1450, with the actual name "Elizabeth Lambert" (this based on very recent research linking Mistress Shore with Mistress Lambert; I don't know if it is universally accepted). Elizabeth Lambert's father John Lambert was a London alderman. Her surname, it is generally accepted, came from her husband William Shore, a successful mercer who was probably at least ten years older than his wife (Seward, p. 88). They were divorced in 1476 (Seward, pp. 225-231). (Elizabeth Jenkins, _The Princes in the Tower_, Coward, McCann & Geoghan, 1983, p. 140, notes that Thomas More declares she was married too young, and reports that More actually knew her.) Then she took up with Edward IV. Edward was an incredibly lusty liege (I know of no complete count of his bastards, but there must have been a lot of them); at one point he was credited with three mistresses at once, "one the merriest, another the wiliest, the third the holiest harlot of his realm." Jane Shore seems to have been the first of these; in her "the King therefore took special pleasure, for many he had, but her he loved" (Anthony Cheetham, _The Life and Times of Richard III_ (with introduction by Antonia Fraser), George Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1972 (I used the 1995 Shooting Star Press edition), p. 205; this again is apparently from More). When Edward IV died, his friend Lord Hastings seems to have become involved with Mistress Shore, but Richard III soon had Hastings executed. From that time on, Shore had no protector. The Marquess of Dorset, Edward's stepson, apparently wanted her, but as an obvious enemy of Richard III, he had no influence. Richard's persecution was severe and probably unfair; rather puritanical himself, and (despite Shakespeare) seemingly devoted to Edward IV, he seems to have blamed Shore for much of Edward's dissipation, which resulted in Edward's death at about 42. He responded by depriving her of property, imprisoning her, and forcing her to perform severe penances. After the fall of Richard III, she took one Thomas Lynom (listed by Seward, p. 16, as Richard's solicitor) as her second husband. It is not likely that this or any other Jane Shore ballad went into tradition, but there seem to have been enough of them that they deserve an entry here. The main reference is to the "If Rosamund that was so fair" text; the cross-references are to other Jane Shore pieces. - RBW File: Percy2263 === NAME: Jane, Jane DESCRIPTION: "Hey, hey, Jane, Jane, My Lordy, Lord, Jane, Jane, I'm gonna buy, Jane, Jane, Three mocking birds, Jane, Jane, One a-for to whistle...." "I'm gonna buy... Three hunting dogs... Three muley cows... Three little blue birds...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 KEYWORDS: bird playparty nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Silber-FSWB, p. 392, "Jane, Jane" (1 text) File: FSWB392A === NAME: Janet: see Lady Maisry [Child 65] (File: C065) === NAME: Janet Jamieson DESCRIPTION: Listeners are warned of the sad fate of Janet Jamieson. A rich hunter sees the beautiful girl and begs her to come with him. At last he convinces her -- but a week later casts her out. She wanders alone, then dies. He is killed in Hindustan AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord) KEYWORDS: courting seduction betrayal abandonment death soldier exile warning FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, pp. 470-471, "Janet Jamieson" (1 text) Roud #5623 NOTES: This song has the curious characteristic of being a warning song that doesn't really warn against any particular action. - RBW File: Ord470 === NAME: Janey Ferguson: see The Girl I Left Behind [Laws P1A/B] (File: LP01) === NAME: Janey on the Moor: see Janie of the Moor [Laws N34] (File: LN34) === NAME: Janie of the Moor [Laws N34] DESCRIPTION: The singer meets Janie and proposes marriage. She says that she has promised to remain true to her love Dennis Ryan/Riley. He pulls out Dennis's ring and says he has died in battle. She faints; she revives when he reveals that he is Dennis AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1862 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(3134)) KEYWORDS: courting brokentoken HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Sept 20, 1854 - Battle of Alma (Crimean War). The Anglo/French/Turkish forces win an expensive victory over the Russians FOUND_IN: US(NE) Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland REFERENCES: (10 citations) Laws N34, "Janie of the Moor" Greenleaf/Mansfield 89, "Jennie on the Moor" (1 text, 1 tune) Leach-Labrador 125, "Janie on the Moor" (1 text, 1 tune) SHenry H107, p. 320, "Jennie of the Moor" (1 text, 1 tune) Smith/Hatt, pp. 70-71, "Sweet Jinny on the Moor" (1 text) Creighton-Maritime, p. 61, "Janey on the Moor" (1 text, 1 tune) Mackenzie 66, "Janie on the Moor" (2 texts) Creighton-SNewBrunswick 96, "Dennis Ryan" (1 fragment, 1 tune) OLochlainn-More 58, "Sweet Jenny of the Moor" (1 text, 1 tune) DT 461, JANEMOOR Roud #581 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(3134), "Sweet Jenny of the Moor," E.M.A. Hodges (London), 1855-1861; also Firth b.25(286), "Sweet Jenny of the Moor"; Harding B 16(336a), Firth c.12(287), Harding B 11(1864), Harding B 11(1865), "Jenny of the Moor" LOCSinging, as203560, "Sweet Jenny of the Moor," H. De Marsan (New York), 1861-1864; also sb40502a, Firth b.25(177), "Sweet Jenny of the Moor" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "John (George) Riley (I)" [Laws N36] and references there, especially N29 ALTERNATE_TITLES: Sweet Jenny of the Moor NOTES: The texts seem rather uncertain as to the battle in which Dennis didn't get himself killed. The Sam Henry text mentions Alma, a battle of the Crimean War. Mackenzie's Nova Scotia text mentions "Vendons Town"; I cannot find this in either the history or the atlas, unless it is an error for something such as Vendome. - RBW Greenleaf/Mansfield has Dennis "fighting with the allied boys" while Leach-Labrador has it "in a battle of Nor Amerikay." Some of the Bodleian broadsides simply mention "while in the war while fighting" but others -- as well as the America Singing copies -- do refer to "fighting at the Alma." Since I can't definitely date a "while in the war" broadside before the Crimean War I can't say which is the older version. Broadside LOCSinging as203560: H. De Marsan dating per _Studying Nineteenth-Century Popular Song_ by Paul Charosh in American Music, Winter 1997, Vol 15.4, Table 1, available at FindArticles site. - BS File: LN34 === NAME: Janie on the Moore: see Janie of the Moor [Laws N34] (File: LN34) === NAME: Janie Sharp Ballet, The DESCRIPTION: After leaving "sin's way" at 16, Janie Sharp made friends with all she met, but at 18 "by criminal beast her journey ceased." The singer theorizes about her last hours, thinking she warned the murderer, was killed, and taken to heaven AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (Hudson) KEYWORDS: homicide rape FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Hudson 68, pp. 194-195, "The Janie Sharp Ballet" (1 text) Roud #4115 NOTES: Hudson reports, "Some thenty-five or thirty years ago [i.e. c. 1910] a young girl named Janie Sharp was brutally murdered in the Rural Hill neighbourhood near French Camp. Her former lover, Swinton Permenter, was charged with the murder and was prosecuted on circumstantial evidence, but was not convicted." Hudson also comments that is was "A poor composition, perhaps, at the outset," and hardly improved by some years of garbling. I'd have to agree; the result is at once poor in style, weak in detail, and monotonous in its description of Janie's hypothesized transport to heaven. This is item dF43 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW File: Hud068 === NAME: Jawbone Song, The DESCRIPTION: ""Dance all night with a bottle in my hand/Just 'fore day give the fiddler a dram." "Jawbone walk and jawbone talk/Jawbone eat with a knife and fork" "My old Miss is mad at me, Cause I wouldn't live in Tennessee" 'I laid that jawbone on the fence...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1917 (Cecil Sharp collection) KEYWORDS: music marriage nonballad nonsense floatingverses dancetune FOUND_IN: US(SE,So) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Randolph 259, "The Jawbone Song" (1 short text, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 222-223, "The Jawbone Song" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 259) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 103, (no title) (1 fragment, without the chorus); also p. 103, "Dweley" (1 text, a collection of floating verses including one from this song, one from "Crawdad," and others); also p. 104, "Lula Gal" (1 text, 1 tune, at least partly this song though the chorus appears to be something else) SharpAp 246, "Give the Fiddler a Dram" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7728 and 3657 RECORDINGS: Carter Bros. & Son, "Old Joe Bone," "Give the Fiddler a Dram" (both on OKeh 45289, 1929) Willie Chapman, "Jaw Bone" [instrumental] (on MMOK, MMOKCD) Crazy Hillbillies Band, "Danced All Night with a Bottle in My Hand" (OKeh 45575, 1934) Clayton McMichen & his Georgia Wildcats, "Give the Fiddler a Dram" (Joe Davis 3510, n.d.) New Lost City Ramblers, "Old Joe Bone" (on NLCR13, NLCRCD2) Pope's Arkansas Mountaineers, "Jaw Bone" (Victor 21577, 1928) Stripling Brothers, "Dance All Night with a Bottle In My Hand" (Vocalion 5395, 1930) Gid Tanner & Riley Puckett, "Alabama Gal Give the Fiddler a Dram" (Columbia 119-D, 1924) Gid Tanner & his Skillet Lickers, "Dance All Night with a Bottle in your Hand" (Columbia 15108-D, 1926) Tennessee Ramblers, "Give the Fiddlers a Dram" (Vocalion 5363, 1929) Tweedy Brothers, "Dance All Night with a Bottle in your Hand" (Supertone 9174, 1928) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Old Yellow's Dead" (chorus format) NOTES: I'm including versions of "Give the Fiddler a Dram/Dance All Night With a Bottle In Your Hand" here, because many of them share the same tune and several verses. A case could be made for splitting as well, but in practice the two branches of the family are hard to distinguish. - PJS This is an instance where, unusually, Roud does not lump; "Jawbone" is Roud #7728 and "Give the Fiddler a Dram" is #3657. But Paul has heard far more of the 78 recordings than I have. My initial description of "Jawbone" was as follows: "My old Miss is mad at me, Cause I wouldn't live in Tennessee, Wah-jaw-bone to my jangle lang, An' a wah-jaw-bone to my jangle lang." "I laid that jawbone on the fence, An' I ain't seen that jawbone since. Wah-jaw-bone to my jangle lang...." - RBW File: R259 === NAME: Jay Gould's Daughter: see Joseph Mica (Mikel) (The Wreck of the Six-Wheel Driver) (Been on the Choly So Long) [Laws I16] (File: LI16) === NAME: Jaybird Died With the Whooping Cough DESCRIPTION: "Jaybird died with the whoopingcough, Sparrow died with the colic, On came a frog with a fiddle on his back, Inquiring the way to the frolic." Other verses tell other stories about the lives of other birds, or perhaps predators or other animals AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (Brown) KEYWORDS: bird death disease nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 153, "The Jaybird" (4 short texts, of which "B" and "C" are this piece; "D" is "The Jaybird"; "A" mixes the two) Roud #748 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Buckeye Jim" (lyrics) File: Br3153A === NAME: Jaybird Up a Simmon Tree: see Bile Them Cabbage Down (File: LoF269) === NAME: Jaybird, The DESCRIPTION: Songs about the exploits about the jaybird and how it cheekily survives, e.g. "The jaybird a-setting of a swinging limb, He winked at me and I winked at him, He laugh at me when my gun 'crack.' It kick me on the flat o' my back." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Talley) KEYWORDS: bird humorous nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) BrownIII 153, "The Jaybird" (4 short texts, of which ""D" is this piece; "B" and "C" are "Jaybird Died With the Whooping Cough; "A" mixes the two) Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 190-191, (no title) (2 fragments, the first having the verse of "The Jaybird" and the chorus of "The Blue-Tail Fly" [Laws I19]) File: Br3153B === NAME: Jaybird's Altar, The (I've Been to the East) DESCRIPTION: "I've been to the east, I've been to the west, I've been to the jaybird's altar, But the prettiest girl I ever seen Was Temmie Slinkard's daughter." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1911 (JAFL 24) KEYWORDS: courting travel FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 574, "The Jaybird's Altar" (1 text) Roud #7664 File: R574 === NAME: Jealous Brother, The (The Jealous Lover) DESCRIPTION: When Mary "dressed herself in men's attire" to meet Jimmie, he mistakes her for his brother whom, he assumed, had been "to enjoy my dear." He shoots Mary. When he realizes Mary is dying he shoots himself, saying "be ye ware of jealousy" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Creighton-Maritime) KEYWORDS: jealousy courting homicide suicide cross-dressing FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-Maritime, p. 103, "The Jealous Lover" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2706 File: CrMa103 === NAME: Jealous Brothers: see The Bramble Briar (The Merchant's Daughter; In Bruton Town) [Laws M32] (File: LM32) === NAME: Jealous Husband Outwitted, The DESCRIPTION: A (hosier) from Leicester has "a handsome witty wife," but he does not trust her, and threatens to set her aside. She disguises herself as the devil, and with the help of two boys, frightens him so much that he never dares mistreat her again AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1869 KEYWORDS: husband wife trick disguise Devil FOUND_IN: Britain(England) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Logan, pp. 385-387, "The Jealous Husband Outwitted" (1 text) DT 452, KATEHRN3* CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Kate and Her Horns" [Laws N22] (plot) NOTES: The Digital Tradition editors consider this to be a version of Laws N22, "Kate and Her Horns." There is the obvious similarity that both involve the woman disguising herself as the Devil. However, the motivation (in "Kate," the woman is betrayed BEFORE marriage), method, and ending all differ. This song may have been inspired by Laws N22 (or vice versa), but they are not the same. - RBW File: Log385 === NAME: Jealous Lover (I), The (Florella, Floella) (Pearl Bryan II) (Nell Cropsey II) [Laws F1A, B, C] DESCRIPTION: The jealous lover lures (Florella/Pearl Bryan) into the woods with the promise that they will discuss wedding plans. Once there, he stabs her. When captured, he is imprisoned for life AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1903 (Belden) KEYWORDS: homicide prison jealousy death lover HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Feb 1, 1896 - Discovery of the headless body of Pearl Bryan, killed along with her unborn child by Scott Jackson and Alonzo Walling, near Fort Thomas, Kentucky 1901 - Murder of Ella Maude "Nellie" Cropsey, presumably by her former lover Jim Wilcox FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,Ro,SE,So) Canada(Mar,Newf,Ont) REFERENCES: (31 citations) Laws F1, "The Jealous Lover (Florella, Floella) (Pearl Bryan II) (Nell Cropsey II)" Belden, pp. 324-330, "Florella (The Jealous Love)" (2 full texts plus 7 fragments which may be this piece and references to 9 others, 2 tunes) Randolph 138, "The Jealous Lover" (7 texts plus 3 excerpts, 4 tunes) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 158-161, "The Jealous Lover" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 138A) Eddy 104, "The Murdered Girl" (8 texts, 2 tunes; the D and E texts apparently belong here) Gardner/Chickering 21, "The Jealous Lover" (1 text plus an excerpts and mention of 2 more, 1 tune) Creighton-NovaScotia 146, "Sweet Fair Ella" (1 text, 1 tune) Manny/Wilson 67, "Fair Florella" (1 text, 1 tune) Doerflinger, pp. 287-288, "The Jealous Lover" (1 text, 1 tune) BrownII 250, "Florella (The Jealous Lover)" (5 texts plus 7 excerpts, 2 framents, and mention of 9 more; Laws places the "A", "B", "C" (apparently), "H," and "L" texts with F1A and "U" with F1B) Chappell-FSRA 64, "Nell Cropsey, IV" (1 text plus 2 fradments, 2 tunes, apparently a local adaption to the Nell Cropsey story, for which see Nell Cropsey (I); Chappell's seem to be the only known versions of this adaption) Fuson, pp. 65-66, "Edward" (1 text, probably this although it has at least hints of the "Willow Garden" versions of "Rose Connolly") Cambiaire, p. 109, "Pearl Bryant" (1 short text, probably this though it is not long enough to be certain) MHenry-Appalachians, p. 251, "Fair Ellen" (1 fragment, probably of this family though it's too short to tell) Brewster 46, "Florella" (3 texts plus mention of 3 more, all of the F1A type though Laws does not list them); 61, "Pearl Bryan" (3 texts plus an excerpt and mention of 3 more; 1 tune; the "C" text is this piece (of the F1B group) while "A" and "B" are Laws F2) Flanders/Brown, pp. 59-60, "The Fair Flo-ella" (1 text) Greenleaf/Mansfield 180, "Florella" (1 text) Peacock, pp. 632-633, "Sweet Florella" (1 text, 1 tune) Burt, p. 31, "(Pearl Bryan)" (1 stanza) Leach, pp. 787-789, "Fair Florella or The Jealous Lover" (2 texts) McNeil-SFB2, pp. 85-87, "Pearl Bryan" (1 text, 1 tune) Friedman, p. 203, "The Jealous Lover" (1 text) Combs/Wilgus 63D, pp. 174-175, "Pearl Bryan" (1 text) Ritchie-SingFam, pp. 137-138, "[Fair Ellen]" (1 text, 1 tune) Abrahams/Foss, pp. 29-31, "Fair Florella/Pearl Bryan" (1 text plus a fragment, 1 tune) LPound-ABS, 43, pp. 101-102, "The Jealous Lover"; pp. 102-103, "The Weeping Willow" (2 texts, of which the first is "The Jealous Lover (II)" but the second could well be this) JHCox 38, "The Jealous Lover" (5 texts plus mentions of three more; of these, Laws identifies D and E as this song, belonging to the Pearl Bryan group) JHCoxIIB, #5A-B, pp. 130-132, "The Jealous Lover," "Blue-Eyed Ellen" (1 text plus a fragment, 1 tune; the "A" fragment might be this or "The Jealous Lover (II)"; the "B" text is probably the latter) Darling-NAS, pp. 197-198, "The Jealous Lover" (1 text) DT, JLSLOVR2* ADDITIONAL: Fred W. Allsopp, Folklore of Romantic Arkansas, Volume II (1931), p. 204, "(The Jealous Lover)" (1 text) Roud #500 RECORDINGS: [Richard] Burnett & Leonard Rutherford, "Pearl Bryan" (Columbia 15113-D, 1927; rec. 1926; on BurnRuth01, KMM) Isabel Etheridge, "Nellie Cropsey" (on OBanks1) Eugene Jemison, "Fair Florilla" (on Jem01) David Miller, "Sweet Floetta" [Floella?] (Champion 15413, 1928/ Conqueror 7839, 1931) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Lily of the West" cf. "Pearl Bryan I" [Laws F2] cf. "Pearl Bryan III" [Laws F3] cf. "Pearl Bryan IV" cf. "Nell Cropsey (I)" (subject of some versions) and references there cf. "The Jealous Lover (II)" SAME_TUNE: The Philadelphia Lawyer (by Woody Guthrie) (File: Grnw283) [The Drew Murder] (Hudson, no number or title, pp. 233-234) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Lone, Lone Valley Down in a Lone Valley The Love Valley NOTES: The antecedents and relationships of this ballad are immensely complex, and cannot be described here. There are many related pieces. There is some debate over whether the ballad is in fact a "native American" piece. Although most of its present forms are uniquely American, Barry points to a connection with the British piece, "The Murder of Betty Smith." For this song, see e.g. the broadside NLScotland, L.C.Fol.73(126), "Murder of Betty Smith," Robert McIntosh (Glasgow), c.1850. (Belden also mentions a possible connection to T. H. Bayley's "She Never Blamed Him." This seems a stretch even in the versions where the girl forgives the murderer.) Given the number of similar songs, the reader is advised to check references under Laws F2, Laws F3, "The Jealous Lover II," etc. Fuller details on the story of Pearl Bryan may be found in the entry on Pearl Bryan (I) [Laws F2]. Laws breaks this ballad up into three subgroups. F1A is "The Jealous Lover" (Florella, Floella, Blue-Eyed Ella, etc.); F1B is the Pearl Bryan group; F1C is the Nell Cropsey song. I decided to "lump" the songs, however, as they differ in very little except names. The "Pearl Bryan" versions of this song (Laws F1B) are told from other Pearl Bryan songs by a first verse similar to this: Way down in yonder valley There the violets fade and bloom, There lies our own Pearl Bryan In a cold and lonesome tomb. - RBW Peacock is another who believes "this is an American ballad freely based on an English broadside and a sentimental English song by T.H. Bayly called She Never Blamed Him [sic], written in the 1820's and widely popular during the American Civil War." You can read the lyrics of "She Never Blam'd Him, Never," by Thomas Haynes Bayly (1797-1829), on the Library of Congress American Singing: Nineteenth-Century Song Sheets site, digital id as203280. Judge the likelihood for yourself. Here's a description of "She Never Blam'd Him, Never": He visits and she receives him, vainly trying "to look the same." Though she was dying, only losing him made "her sweet voice ... faulter." She never blamed him for luring her "from the isle where she was born" into "the cold world's cruel scorn." He leaves and "she heard the bugle's sound... and strangers found her Cold and lifeless on the ground." In any case, T.H. Bayly's name has appeared in this index in connection with other songs [sometimes as Bayley]. What kind of poet writes songs that do pass into tradition? You can find out more about him and his songs in Andrew Lang's _Essays in Little_ - BS File: LF01 === NAME: Jealous Lover (II), The DESCRIPTION: The jealous lover takes his girlfriend down to the woods. (She grows weary, and asks to return home.) He (tells her she will never return home, and) stabs her. With her dying breath she forgives him AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (recording, Kelly Harrell) KEYWORDS: homicide jealousy FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW) Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (11 citations) Eddy 104, "The Jealous Lover" (8 texts, 2 tunes, but only the F, G, and H texts belong with this ballad; the others all go with the other ballads listed in the cross-references) Hudson 62, pp. 185-187, "The Jealous Love" (2 texts plus mention of 8 more) Lomax-ABFS 47, "The Lone Green Valley" (1 text, 1 tune) LPound-ABS, 43, pp. 101-102, "The Jealous Lover"; pp. 102-103, "The Weeping Willow" (2 texts, of which the first is this but the second is short and could well be Laws F1) JHCox 38, "The Jealous Lover" (5 texts plus mentions of three more; of these, Laws identifies D and E as "The Jealous Lover (I)"; since he does not catalog the other three, it appears they belong here) JHCoxIIB, #5A-B, pp. 130-132, "The Jealous Lover," "Blue-Eyed Ellen" (1 text plus a fragment, 1 tune; the "A" fragment might be this or "The Jealous Lover (I)"; the "B" text is probably this song) MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 51-52, "Shady Valley (The Jealous Lover)" (1 text) Spaeth-WeepMore, pp. 121-122, "Blue-Eyed Ellen, or The Jealous Lover of Lone Green Valley" (1 text, 1 tune); p. 122, "Come, Emily" (1 text, 1 tune) Leach-Labrador 104, "The Jealous Lover" (1 text, 1 tune) Darling-NAS, pp. 198-199, "The Jealous Lover" (1 text, filed with "The Jealous Lover (I) but belonging here by the criteria outlined below) DT 626, JLSLOVER* Roud #500 RECORDINGS: Vernon Dalhart, "The Jealous Lover of Lone Green Valley" (Brunswick 143, 1927; Supertone S-2012, 1930) Kelly Harrell, "Blue Eyed Ella" (OKeh 7010, 1925; on KHarrell01) Posey Rorrer and the North Carolina Ramblers, "Blue Eyed Eller" (Edison, unissued, 1928) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Jealous Lover (I), The (Florella, Floella) (Pearl Bryan II) (Nell Cropsey II)" [Laws F1A, B, C] cf. "The Banks of the Ohio" [LawsF5] cf. "The Wexford Girl" [Laws P35] NOTES: Given the number of similar songs, the reader is advised to check references under Laws F1, Laws F2, Laws F3, etc. The element that most clearly distinguishes this from "The Jealous Lover (I)" is that the girl forgives the murderer. At least, that's my guess, based on the "Jealous Lover" texts Laws does not catalog. I agree, it's a mess; Laws accuses students of persistently confusing his F1 and F2, but gives no method for distinguishing them, and does not treat this close relative at all! If it were me, I'd lump the Jealous Lover songs; even if they originated separately, they trade verses at an incredible rate. - RBW File: E104 === NAME: Jealous Lover (III), The: see Oxford City [Laws P30] (File: LP30) === NAME: Jealous Lover (IV), The: see Lord Randal [Child 12] (File: C012) === NAME: Jealous Lover (V), The: see The Jealous Brother (The Jealous Lover) (File: CrMa103) === NAME: Jealous Lover (VI), The: see The Wexford (Oxford, Knoxville, Noel) Girl [Laws P35] (File: LP35) === NAME: Jealous Lover of Lone Green Valley, The: see The Jealous Lover (II) (File: E104) === NAME: Jealous Woman, The: see An Sgeir-Mhara (The Sea-Tangle, The Jealous Woman) (File: K003) === NAME: Jean and Caledonia: see Caledonia (III -- Jean and Caledonia) (File: FVS237) === NAME: Jean of Ballinagarvey DESCRIPTION: "The first place that I saw my love was Ballymoney town... " He describes "lovely Jean's" beauty, and says that all the young men love her. He wishes he had riches to share with her. He says he will do his best to win her AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: love courting beauty FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H822, p. 239, "Jean of Ballinagarvery" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9475 File: HHH822 === NAME: Jeanette and Jeannot DESCRIPTION: "You are going far away from your poor Jeanette. There is no one left to love me now and you too may soon forget." The singer laments her lover's departure to be a soldier. She wishes she had the power to end war AUTHOR: Charles Glover and Charles Jeffreys EARLIEST_DATE: 1812 (Journal from the Minerva Smythe) KEYWORDS: love separation soldier FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 245-246, "Genette and Genoe" (1 text, 1 tune) ST SWMS245 (Partial) Roud #391 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Henry and Mary Ann (Henry the Sailor Boy)" (tune, per broadside Bodleian Firth c.12(284)) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Conscript's Departure NOTES: My sources do not agree on whether the (co-)author's last name was "Jeffreys," "Jeffreys," or "Jeffries." His poetry was not a great success; I have located only two other poems by him. One is a response to this, "Jeannot's Answer" (for which see Hazel Felleman _The Best Loved Poems of the American People_, which also contains a full text of "Jeannette and Jannot") and "We Have Lived and Loved Together" (also in Felleman). - RBW File: SWMS245 === NAME: Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair DESCRIPTION: "I dream of Jeanie with the light brown hair, Borne, like a vapor, on a summer's air." The singer praises her voice, her "day-dawn smile," etc., but sadly concludes, that he is "never more to find her where the bright waters flow." AUTHOR: Stephen C. Foster EARLIEST_DATE: 1854 (sheet music) KEYWORDS: love separation nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (3 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 249, "Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair" (1 text) Fuld-WFM, pp. 311-312, "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" DT, JEANBRWN ALTERNATE_TITLES: I Dream of Jeanie NOTES: Jeanie was Foster's wife, Jane McDowell Foster. Had she known the uses to which her image would be put (from hair advertisements in the 1860s to idiotic television shows a century later), I can only think she would have filed for preemptive divorce. Legman regards "Jeanie" as an adaption (he calls it plagiarism) of "To Daunton Me," found in the _Scots Musical Museum_ (#182). But Legman often saw kinship that others do not see; Fuld says there is "no similarity between the two songs," and I have to agree that I see no points of contact between either the text or the tune. Spaeth (_A History of Popular Music in America_, p. 116) says of this song, "_Jeanie_ is the song that America discovered during those incredibly dull months when radio decided that it could get along without copyyrighted music. Before that it had been considered a choice bit of rather obscure Fosteriana." - RBW File: FSWB249 === NAME: Jeannie's Bawbee (Your Plack and My Plack) DESCRIPTION: "Your plack and my plack (x3), And Je(a)nnie's bawbee." "We'll put them in the pint stoup, Pint stoup, pint stoup, We'll put them in the pint stoup, And join all three." "And that was all my Jenny had... was a bawbee." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1964 (Montgomerie) KEYWORDS: money nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Montgomerie-ScottishNR 67, "(Your plack and my plack)" (1 text) Roud #13579 File: MSNR067 === NAME: Jed Hobson: see The Cobbler (File: R102) === NAME: Jeff Davis: see The Southern Wagon (Union) (File: JHCox070) === NAME: Jeff Davis Rode a White Horse (Jeff Davis is a Gentleman) DESCRIPTION: "Jeff Davis Rode a White Horse, Lincoln rode a mule, Jeff Davis was a gentleman, Lincoln was a fool." May be attached to floating sorts of lyrics about courting, traveling, food, etc. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1937 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: political Civilwar FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) BrownIII 387, "Jeff Davis Rode a White Horse" (1 fragment) Scarborough-SongCatcher, p. 74, (no titles) (1 short text) Roud #8813 File: Br3387 === NAME: Jeff in Petticoats DESCRIPTION: Jefferson Davis realizes he is in danger of capture by Union troops, and decides to dress in women's clothes to escape. The Union troops scorn him, saying, "Oh! Jeffy D. You 'flow'r of chivalree... Your empire's but a tinclad skirt...." AUTHOR: George Cooper and Henry Tucker EARLIEST_DATE: 1865 (sheet music) KEYWORDS: cross-dressing disguise escape Civilwar HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: April 2, 1865 - Robert E. Lee evacuates Richmond. The Confederate government flees April 8, 1865 - Lee's surrender May 10, 1865 - Capture of Jefferson Davis FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Gilbert, pp. 11-12, "Jeff in Petticoats" (1 partial text) DT, JEFFPETT* NOTES: According to Jefferson Davis's account, he was wearing a shawl his wife had given him for warmth when he was captured. Union troops claimed he was trying to disguise himself as a woman. Although Davis's account is likely true, sarcastic Unionist songwriters could hardly leave it at that. - RBW File: Gil011 === NAME: Jefferson and Liberty DESCRIPTION: Campaign song for Thomas Jefferson, to the tune of a reel: "The gloomy night before us flies, The reign of terror now is o'er; Its gags, inquisitors and spies, Its hordes of harpies are no more. Rejoice, Columbia's sons... For Jefferson and liberty" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1800 KEYWORDS: political nonballad HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1801-1809 - Presidency of Thomas Jefferson FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (5 citations) Scott-BoA, pp. 100-101, "Jefferson and Liberty" (1 text, 1 tune) Darling-NAS, p. 340, "Jefferson and Liberty" (1 text) Arnett, pp. 42-43, "Jefferson and Liberty" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 292, "Jefferson And Liberty" (1 text) DT, JEFFLIB* Roud #4668 RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "Jefferson and Liberty" (on PeteSeeger05) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Adams and Liberty" (concept) cf. "Lincoln and Liberty" (concept) NOTES: The Jeffersonian ideal was a nation of small, independent farmers; this is alluded to in one of the verses. The "reign of terror" refers to the Alien and Sedition Acts, two pieces of Federalist policy designed to control dissent. Both passed in 1798; the former gave the President the power to arbitrarily expel foreigners while the latter made it illegal to speak against the federal government (!). Jefferson made good on his promises after the election; all victims of the Acts were freed. Having finally sat down to read all dozen verses of this wordy piece, I must admit that listeners would probably have wanted liberty in the form of forcing the singer to just shut *up.* - RBW File: SBoA100 === NAME: Jekkel Walls DESCRIPTION: "When Jekkel walls fell down, It's no difference whar I stand... Dere's someone always ready To point de finger of scorn at me." The singer says he will "soon end at home." The singer wants others to celebrate as he celebrates in heaven AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 601, "Jekkel Walls" (1 text) Roud #11911 NOTES: The name "Jekkel" for "Jericho" (cf. Joshua 6) is new to me -- but we find "Shorty" Love, the informant in this case, using the same pronunciation in "Christ Was a Weary Traveler." - RBW File: Br3601 === NAME: Jellon Graeme: see Jellon Grame [Child 90] (File: C090) === NAME: Jellon Grame [Child 90] DESCRIPTION: (Jellon Grame) murders the woman he claims to love (because she carries his child and he fears discovery/because she loves another whose child she carries). (He/her sister) raises the boy. He later reveals the murder to the boy, who kills him. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1802 (Scott) KEYWORDS: love pregnancy homicide revenge FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) US(SE) REFERENCES: (7 citations) Child 90, "Jellon Grame" (4 texts) Bronson 90, "Jellon Grame" (1 version) Davis-More 27, pp. 207-213, "Jellon Grame" (1 text) Leach, pp. 284-286, "Jellon Grame" (1 text) OBB 49, "Jellon Grame" (1 text) PBB 55, "Jellon Grame" (1 text) DT 90, JELGRAEM Roud #58 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Fause Foodrage" [Child 89] (theme) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Jellon Graeme NOTES: Davis seems to have no doubts about the authenticity of his text, the lone representative outside Scotland of a ballad with only the weakest roots in tradition even there -- this even though, as he himself admits, it has a surprising similarity to Child A. Well, if he won't question it, I will. I'm not saying it's a fake -- but I wouldn't be surprised if it were influenced by print. - RBW File: C090 === NAME: Jemmy Joneson's Whurry DESCRIPTION: "Whei cowers biv the chimley reek, Begox! it's all a horney, For thro' the world aw wisht to keek... Aw thowt aw'd myek a voyage to Shiels Iv Jemmy Joneson's whurry." The singer tells of the various sights along the trip AUTHOR: Thomas Thompson EARLIEST_DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay); Thompson died 1816 KEYWORDS: ship travel FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Stokoe/Reay, pp. 46-47, "Jemmy Johnson's Wherry" (1 text, 1 tune) ST StoR046 (Partial) Roud #3061 NOTES: Stokoe/Reay calls this song by two different names: The first page labels the vessel a "wherry"; all other references are to a "whurry." - RBW File: StoR046 === NAME: Jemmy O'Brien DESCRIPTION: Jemmy O'Brien destroyed patriots. "With his dagger ... would he slaughter The husband, the wife, and the daughter." "The braggart he is now pulled down And all the great lawyers of the Crown Could not save poor Jemmy O'Brien!" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1893 (McCall's _In the Shadow of St Patrick's_, according to Moylan) KEYWORDS: execution political FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Moylan 166, "Jemmy O'Brien" (1 fragment) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Jemmy O'Brien's Minuet" (subject) cf. "The Major" (characters) NOTES: Given its date, this sounds rather like a warning to those who opposed Irish independence. For the background, see the notes to "Jemmy O'Brien's Minuet" and "The Major." - RBW File: Moyl166 === NAME: Jemmy O'Brien's Minuet DESCRIPTION: "De night before Jemmy was stretch'd" "de corps of informers and spies" commiserates with him and wonder that the Major can't save such a loyalist. The hangman finds him imagining the ghosts of his victims and their wives and orphans. He is hanged. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1803 (_Paddy's Resource or the Harp of Erin_(Dublin), according to Moylan) KEYWORDS: execution humorous nonballad political recitation ghost FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Moylan 166, "Jemmy O'Brien's Minuet" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Jemmy O'Brien" (subject) cf. "The Major" (characters) cf. "The Night before Larry was Stretched" (tune) NOTES: Moylan has his text from Dublin _Paddy's Resource_: a spoken narrative interspersed with verses sung to "De night before Larry was stretched" and "Welcome, welcome brother debtor." The complete heading is "Jemmy O'Brien's Minuet as performed At de Sheriff's Ridotto, No. 1, Green street." For more on the relationship between Jemmy O'Brien and Town Major Sirr see the notes to "The Major." Jemmy O'Brien appears as an informer in "The Croppy Boy" [Laws J14] and as an incidental character in "Hevey's Mare." - BS File: Moyl166 === NAME: Jennie Ferguson: see The Girl I Left Behind [Laws P1A/B] (File: LP01) === NAME: Jennie Jenkins: see Jenny Jenkins (File: R453) === NAME: Jennie of the Moore: see Janie of the Moor [Laws N34] (File: LN34) === NAME: Jennie on the Moore: see Janie of the Moor [Laws N34] (File: LN34) === NAME: Jennie Put the Kettle On: see Molly Put the Kettle On (Polly Put the Kettle On) (File: DarNS256) === NAME: Jennie, the Flower of Kildare DESCRIPTION: "I am dreaming of Erin tonight and the little white cot by the sea, Where Jennie, my darling, now dwells...." The singer misses her, and is sure she is waiting for him; he hopes soon to return to Ireland to see her AUTHOR: Words: Frank Dumont / Music: James E. Stewart EARLIEST_DATE: 1873 (sheet music) KEYWORDS: separation reunion love Ireland FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Dean, p. 81, "Jennie, the Flower of Kildare" (1 text) Roud #5767 NOTES: Although not common in tradition, this song seems to have been popular in the 1870s; the American Memory collection at the Library of Congress has three different sheet music settings from 1873-1875, and the third one is a "transcrption" -- which generally means "a stolen version rearranged a little so we can get a cut of someone else's royalties." Frank Dumont, according to Sigmund Spaeth, _A History of Popular Music in America_, p. 91, reports, "Frank Dumont, originally a member of the Carncross [minstrel] company, eventually took charge of Philadelphia's Eleventh Street Opera House, which holds the record for continuous production of minstrel shows in America. Practically every star of black-face appeared there at some time in his career. Dumont himself was a versatile singer, author and compose, contributing much material to the shows of his day." Douglas Gilbert, _Lost Chords_, p. 130, says of Dumont that he was "a sprightly writer of skits and lyrics. He wrote _The Book Agent_, a filthy vaudeville afterpiece that slopped around the dumps and slabs like stale beer. From it Charles Hoyt derived the immensely successful family farce, _The Parlor Match_.... Dumont wrote, too, the amazing song called 'The Aesthetic Girl; or Too Utterly Utter" -- amazing not only because it is one of the extremely few satirical songs of the '80s but also because it is clever...." - RBW File: Dean071 === NAME: Jennifer Gentle: see Riddles Wisely Expounded [Child 1] (File: C001) === NAME: Jenny Dear: see Nancy (I) [Laws P11] (File: LP11) === NAME: Jenny Go Gentle: see The Wife Wrapt in Wether's Skin [Child 277] (File: C277) === NAME: Jenny Jenkins DESCRIPTION: The young man/men try to invite Jenny to the dance by asking her what color she will wear: "Will you wear the (red), O ne'er, o ne'er, o, Will you wear the red, Jenny Jenkins?" She objects to most colors, but at last may agree to one of them AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1823 KEYWORDS: dancing questions courting rejection clothes colors FOUND_IN: US(Ap,NE,SE,So) REFERENCES: (11 citations) Randolph 453, "I'll Never Wear the Red Any More" (1 fragment, related to if not part of this song) BrownIII 69, "Jennie Jenkins" (2 texts plus 1 excerpt and mention of 1 more) Flanders/Brown, pp. 164-167, "Jennie Jenkins," "Jane Jenkins" (2 texts plus some odds and ends, 1 tune; one of the texts is from the Green Mountain Songster) Linscott, pp. 299-300, "Will You Wear the Red? or Jennie Jenkins" (1 text, 1 tune) SharpAp 260, "Will You Wear Red?" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSUSA 15, "Jennie Jenkins" (1 text, 1 tune) Sharp/Karpeles-80E 65, "Will You Wear Red?" (1 text, 1 tune) Scott-BoA, pp. 48-49, "Jenny Jenkins" (1 text, 1 tune) Arnett, p. 11, "Jenny Jenkins" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 346, "Jenny Jenkins" (1 text) DT, JJENKINS JJENKIN2 Roud #731 RECORDINGS: E. C. & Orna Ball, "Jennie Jenkins" (AFS 8, 1941; on LC02 [the latter listed as by Mr & Mrs. Estil C. Ball]) Warde Ford, "Jinnie Jenkins" (AFS 4198 B4, 1938; tr.; in AMMEM/Cowell) Bascom Lamar Lunsford, "Jinnie Jenkins" (on BLLunsford02) Margaret MacArthur, "Jenny Jenkins" (on MMacArthur01) New Lost City Ramblers, "Jennie Jenkins" (on NLCR10) Frank Proffitt, "Julie Jenkins" (on Proffitt03) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Jillie Jenkins NOTES: Often used as a courting game. The boy will ask the girl if she will wear a particular color. She is required to answer in rhyme (e.g. "Will you wear the blue... No, I won't wear the blue, for the color isn't true"). If she fails, she must kiss the boy or, perhaps, go to the dance with him. This has been known to produce some rather strange rhymes -- "I won't wear purple; it's the color of a turtle"; "Orange I won't wear -- and it rhymes, so there!" "Oh, what do you care If I just go bare?" - RBW File: R453 === NAME: Jenny Jo: see Jenny Jones (Jennie Jo) (File: Lins026) === NAME: Jenny Jones (Jennie Jo) DESCRIPTION: "We've come to see (Miss) (Jenny/Ginnie/Jennia) (Jones/Jan), Miss Jenny Jones, Miss Jenny Jones, We've come to see... And how is she today?" Mother answers she is busy/sick/dead. The discuss what color she shall wear AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1898 (Gomme) KEYWORDS: playparty disease courting children colors FOUND_IN: Britain(England,Scotland) US(NE) Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) Linscott, pp. 26-30, "Jennia Jones" (1 text, 1 tune) Leyden 20, "Jenny Jo" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #1047 ALTERNATE_TITLES: Jinny Jan Miss Jennie Jones Ginny Jones Jenny Ann Jones We've Come to See Miss Jennie Jones NOTES: Newell and Linscott both trace the name of this song to "Jennie Jo," a title which survives in Scotland. Linscott, whose version describes Jennia's death and is a discussion of the clothes in which she shall be buried, ends with Jennia coming to life and trying to snatch one of the audience, who then becomes her mother for the next round of the game. Paul Stamler asks if, given the catalog of colors mentioned in the song, it might not be somehow connected with "Jenny Jenkins." I see his point, but this song feels very different somehow -- in this song, our heroine is never even seen. Sort of Jenny Jenkins meets the mother in "The Lass of Roch Royal." - RBW File: Lins026 === NAME: Jenny Saviour, The DESCRIPTION: Francis Kenny ships on Jenny Saviour "to fish the banks of Newfoundland." Near Sable Island he is swept overboard in a gale. The crew see him drown: "it was too rough to lower a boat for his young life to save" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 (Creighton-SNewBrunswick) KEYWORDS: drowning fishing sea ship storm FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-SNewBrunswick 115, "The Jenny Saviour" (1 text, 1 tune) ST CrSNB115 (Partial) Roud #2783 NOTES: Sable Island, Nova Scotia, about 23 miles long, is about 110 miles, at its nearest point, from the Nova Scotia coast. - BS File: CrSNB115 === NAME: Jeremiah of Bartibogue DESCRIPTION: Jeremiah from Bartibogue gets a job at Billy Muirhead's saw-mill in Chatham. He dresses "to the tip of fashion" He takes up politics, unsuccessfully. He is "forced to leave Chatham" and falls "to this low station, Cooking for Casey on Sprigman's Hill" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1948 (Manny/Wilson) KEYWORDS: vanity clothes work humorous political cook FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Manny/Wilson 24, "Jeremiah of Bartibogue" (1 text, 1 tune) ST MaWi024 (Partial) Roud #9190 NOTES: Manny/Wilson: "The official spelling of this river and settlement is Bartibog, but the old inhabitants spell it Bartibogue, and it is so pronounced." - BS Manny/Wilson also note that, while the author of this is unknown, it "resembled Martin Sullivan's productions." Sullivan also wrote "The Bluebird." The song lists Jeremiah as supporting Peter Mitchell. Mitchell was a New Brunswick legislator who became a Father of Confederation, so presumably the song was written in the second half of the nineteenth century. Manny/Wilson, p. 35, claims that the following jingle comes from the period 1880-1890: Michael Adams tall and thin, He's the man you can't put in. Peter Mitchell short and stout, He's the man you can't put out. - RBW File: MaWi024 === NAME: Jerry Ryan DESCRIPTION: "Now all you young men who go chopping, ... I was working With that foreman, well known Jerry Ryan." Work is scarce, so the boys go logging in Bishop's Falls. The price is low for scrub spruce; the charge exorbitant for saw, board, and doctor fees. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1955 (Doyle) KEYWORDS: lumbering ordeal hardtimes logger FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Peacock, pp. 748-749, "Gerry Ryan" (1 text, 1 tune) Doyle3, p. 68, "The Foreman, Well Known Jerry Ryan" (1 text, 1 tune) Lehr/Best 58, "Jerry Ryan" (1 text, 1 tune) Blondahl, p. 118, "The Foreman, Well-Known Jerry Ryan" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #4414 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Twin Lakes" (theme) File: Doyl3068 === NAME: Jerry the Mule: see Timber (Jerry the Mule) (File: FSWB130B) === NAME: Jerry, Go and Ile that Car [Laws H30] DESCRIPTION: Larry Sullivan has spent forty years maintaining the railroads; he is proud of the state of the tracks and of never having had a wreck. As he lies dying, he asks to be buried by the tracks. His last words are, "Jerry, go and ile that car." AUTHOR: (credited by Loomis to "Riley the Bum") EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (article by Charles F. Loomis with Arthur G. Wells) KEYWORDS: train death work FOUND_IN: US(MW,So,SW) REFERENCES: (8 citations) Laws H30, "Jerry, Go and Ile that Car" Cohen-LSRail, pp. 543-546, "Jerry, Go Ile That Car" (1 text, 1 tune) Dean, pp. 26-27, "Jerry, Go Oil the Car" (1 text) Belden, pp. 445-446, "The Old Section Boss" (1 text, very defective) Sandburg, pp. 360-361, "Jerry, Go an' Ile That Car" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 216, "Jerry, Go and Ile that Car" (1 text, 1 tune) Botkin-RailFolklr, p. 441, "Jerry, Go and Ile That Car" (1 text, 1 tune) DT 691, JERRYILE Roud #2192 RECORDINGS: Warde H. Ford, "Jerry, will you ile that car" [fragment] (AFS 4215 B2, 1939; on LC61, in AMMEM/Cowell) Harry "Mac" McClintock, "Jerry, Go Ile That Car" (Victor 21521, 1928; on RRinFS) (on GrowOn3) [the may be a pirate reissue of the Victor recording for all I know, but since McClintock was recording around the time this LP was issued, I class it separately. - PJS] Art Thieme, "Jerry, Go & Oil That Car" (on Thieme06) NOTES: Cohen's detailed examination of this song notes the earliest publication, by Loomis in 1904, which has been repeatedly reprinted, often without acknowledgment (e.g. by Lomax in _Cowboy Songs_). Loomis concluded, after much research, that the song was written in 1881 by "Riley the Bum," who could not otherwise be identified. Despite the fact that very many of the texts now in circulation derive from Loomis, the handful of independent texts are just that -- independent, often with very different "feel." The description above is basically of the Loomis version. Interestingly, the name Larry (O')Sullivan seems to be nearly constant, even as the song shifts around him. - RBW File: LH30 === NAME: Jerry, Go Ile That Car: see Jerry, Go and Ile that Car [Laws H30] (File: LH30) === NAME: Jerry, Go Oil the Car: see Jerry, Go and Ile that Car [Laws H30] (File: LH30) === NAME: Jersey City: see The Butcher Boy [Laws P24] (File: LP24) === NAME: Jerusalem Moan: see Don't You Hear Jerusalem Mourn? (File: RcDYHJM) === NAME: Jerusalem Mourn: see Don't You Hear Jerusalem Mourn? (File: RcDYHJM) === NAME: Jerusalem, My Happy Home (Long Sought Home) DESCRIPTION: "Jerusalem, my happy home, When shall I come to thee?" (Or "Oh how I long for thee.") The glories of the heavenly city are described, and the people to be found there listed AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Ault); version from c. 1601 in "The Song of Mary" KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain US REFERENCES: (1 citation) ADDITIONAL: Norman Ault, _Elizabethan Lyrics From the Original Texts_, pp. 325-328, "Jerusalem, My Happy Home" (1 text) Roud #5053 NOTES: This is one of those pieces with a very difficult history. The printing in _A Song of Mary_ dates probably from 1601, and is anonymous; there is a different version in British Museum Add. MS. 15225. This latter is signed "F. B. P.," which probably refers to a presbyter with the initials F. B. It has been claimed that the text is loosely based on St. Augustine. Since no one cites an actual *passage* in Augustine, this is hard to prove. (We should note that Augustine is one of the people listed as being found in heaven, so he probably isn't responsible for that part of the poem!) The images of Jerusalem itself are largely from the Apocalypse -- e.g. the buildings of precious stones (Rev. 21:19f.), the gates of pearl (Rev. 21:21), the streets of gold (also 21:21). Most of the characters in the song (David; "Our Lady"; [Mary] Magdalen; Simeon, for whom see Luke 2:25 and following; Zachary=Zacharias, for whom see esp. Luke 1:67 and following) are Biblical, but Ambrose is Bishop Ambrose of Milan, who lived in the time of the emperor Theodosius the Great (died 395), and Augustine (who is not really someone you'd want to meet, the stuck-up predestinarian pig) slightly later. The original poem, of eighteen or so stanzas, is really rather pedestrian, and few anthologies print it in full. But the first few verses are popular. Popular enough, in fact, to have been heavily adapted, and from there the waters get muddy. The song appears in the Sacred Harp hymnals, in very short and adapted form, as "Long Sought Home." The Original Sacred Harp, in fact, attributes it to "Francis Baker Priest, about 1750," (note the initials F.B.P.) which tells you how much its attributions are worth! Similarly, the Primitive Baptist Hymnal credits it to Cowper. The music is credited, both in the Sacred Harp and the Christian Harmony, to William Bobo (1865). - RBW File: NrecJMHH === NAME: Jesous Ahatonhia: see The Huron Carol (Jesous Ahatonia) (File: FJ130) === NAME: Jesse Cole DESCRIPTION: Fragment: "To one and all both great and small, the story I'll unfold/It makes me sad to think about the doom of Jesse Cole" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1917 (Cecil Sharp collection) KEYWORDS: grief death FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) SharpAp 195, "Jesse Cole" (1 fragment, 1 tune) Roud #3615 NOTES: The text reprinted in the "Description" field is all that Sharp printed. - PJS It's probably just coincidence, but it occurs to me that the maiden name of Jesse James's mother was Zerelda Cole. Could this somehow be tied in with the Jesse James legend? It's a low probability, to be sure.... - RBW File: ShAp2195 === NAME: Jesse James (I) [Laws E1] DESCRIPTION: Jesse James's career is briefly described, with praise given to his (alleged) acts of charity. The story of James's murder is then told, focusing on the treachery of Robert Ford, "the dirty little coward that shot 'Mister Howard.'" AUTHOR: unknown (many versions claim to be written by Billy Gashade) EARLIEST_DATE: 1887 (Comic and Sentimental Songs) KEYWORDS: outlaw death HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Apr 4, 1882 - Shooting of Jesse James (then in semi-retirement under the name of Howard) by Robert Ford, a relative and a former member of his gang tempted by the $10,000 reward FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,So,SE) REFERENCES: (27 citations) Laws E1, Jesse James (I) Cohen-LSRail, pp. 97-116, "Jesse James" (2 texts, 1 tune, plus sundry excerpts from various Jesse James songs and copies of two sheet music covers) Belden, pp. 401-404, "Jesse James" (3 texts, of which only the first is this song) Randolph 132, "Jesse James" (6 texts plus an excerpt, 6 tunes, but Laws refers the B version to Laws E2; the excerpt "C" may also go there) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 146-148, "Jesse James" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 132F) BrownII 243, "Jesse James" (4 texts plus 3 excerpts and mention of 3 more; of these, the "A" and "B" texts are certainly this, and probably "G" also though it has wandered far; "I" is "Jesse James (II)") Chappell-FSRA 112, "Jesse James" (1 fragment, placed here by Laws although it's not typical of the type) Hudson 99, pp. 235-237, "Jesse James" (2 texts plus a fragment and mention of 3 more; the "B" text and "C" fragment are Laws E1; the "A" text is Laws E2) Cambiaire, pp. 17-18, "Jesse James" (1 text) Gardner/Chickering 139, "Jesse James" (1 short text without a chorus plus mention of 1 more, 1 tune) Larkin, pp. 154-157, "Jesse James" (1 text, 1 tune) Leach, pp. 753-755, "Jesse James" (3 texts) Friedman, p. 377, "Jesse James" (2 texts, but only the first is this ballad; Laws lists the second as Jesse James III, dE44) Sandburg, pp. 374-375, "I Went Down to the Depot" (1 text, 1 tune, heavily folk processed); 420-421, "Jesse James" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSUSA 80, "Jesse James" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 183, "Jesse James" (1 text, 1 tune, which Laws places here but which is noticeably different from most other texts of this type) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 128-131, "Jesse James" (2 texts, 1 tune, but only the first is this ballad; the second is Jesse James II, Laws E2) Burt, pp. 191-192, "(Jesse James)" (1 excerpt) Fife-Cowboy/West 93, "Jesse James" (5 texts, 2 tunes, of which the "A" and "B" texts are Laws E1 and the others are distinct) LPound-ABS, 64, pp. 145-146, "Jesse James"; p. 146, "Jesse James" (2 texts) JHCox 44, "Jesse James" (1 text) PSeeger-AFB, p. 36, "Jesse James" (1 text, 1 tune) Gilbert, pp. 190-191, "Jesse James" (1 text) Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 273, "Jesse James" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 202, "Jesse James" (1 text) Saffel-CowboyP, p. 188-189, "Jesse James" (1 text) DT 619, JESSJAME* Roud #2240 RECORDINGS: Bentley Ball, "Jesse James" (Columbia A3085, 1920) Fiddlin' John Carson, "Jesse James" (OKeh 45139, 1927) Bascom Lamar Lunsford, "Jesse James" (OKeh 40155, 1924) Ken Maynard, "Jesse James" (1930, unissued; on RoughWays1) Harry McClintock, "Jesse James" (Victor 21420, 1928; on WhenIWas2) Clayton McMichen's Georgia Wildcats, "Jesse James" (Decca 5710, 1939) Riley Puckett, "Jesse James" (Columbia 15033-D, 1925) George Reneau, "Jesse James" (Vocalion 14897, 1924) Almeda Riddle, "Jesse James" [fragment] (on LomaxCD1705) Pete Seeger, "Jesse James" (on PeteSeeger16) Ernest Thompson, "Jesse James" (Columbia 145-D, 1924) Marc Williams, "Jesse James" (Brunswick 269, 1928) Fields Ward, Glen Smith & Wade Ward, "Jesse James" (on HalfCen1) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Jesse James (II)" [Laws E2] cf. "Jesse James (III)" cf. "The Death of Jesse James" cf. "Jesse James (IV)" cf. "Jesse James (VI -- 'I Wonder Where My Poor Old Jesse's Gone')" cf. "J. B. Marcum (A Kentucky Feud Song)" [Laws E19] (tune & meter) cf. "Cooper Milton" (lyrics) SAME_TUNE: Jesus Christ (by Woody Guthrie) (Greenway-AFP, pp. 301-302; DT, JESUSCHR) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Oh, People Ain't You Sorry NOTES: It should probably be noted that Jesse James (1847-1882) wasn't as nice a person as this song depicts. He began his career with Quantrill's raiders (today we would say "terrorists"), and his behavior never improved much except that he eventually began to seek a more permanent residence. "Thomas Howard" was the name used by James when he settled down in Saint Joseph, Missouri. It was not a "retirement name"; he was still committing robberies when he died. The "Billy Gashade" mentioned in some texts as the author is unknown (the name "Billy Lashade" occurs in the 1887 songster text, for which see Cohen-LSRail). This version is the "standard" Jesse James song, usually beginning "Jesse James was a lad who killed many a man, He robbed the Glendale train." The usual chorus runs, "(Poor) Jesse had a wife to mourn for his life, Three children, they were brave. But the dirty little coward who shot Mister Howard Has laid Jesse James in his grave." For full background on Frank and Jesse James, see the notes to "Jesse James (III)," the James song which has perhaps the strongest factual basis. - RBW File: LE01 === NAME: Jesse James (II) [Laws E2] DESCRIPTION: The song starts with an account of James's robbery of the Pittsfield bank. The account of the murder is circumstantial and unflattering. James is planning a robbery; he knocks down his wife's picture; Robert Ford shoots him in the back AUTHOR: Words: Roger Lewis? Music: F. Henri Klickmann? EARLIEST_DATE: 1911 KEYWORDS: outlaw robbery death marriage HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Apr 4, 1882 - Shooting of Jesse James (then in semi-retirement under the name of Howard) by Robert Ford, a relative and a former member of his gang tempted by the $10,000 reward FOUND_IN: US(Ap,So,SE) Canada(Ont) REFERENCES: (11 citations) Laws E2, "Jesse James II" Randolph 132, "Jesse James" (of Randolph's 6 texts plus 1 excerpt, Laws considers only Randolph's "B" text and tune to belong to E2, though the excerpt "C" is apparently also part of it) BrownII 243, "Jesse James" (4 texts plus 3 excerpts and mention of 3 more; of these, only "I" is this song; "A," "B," and probably "G" are "Jesse James (I)") Hudson 99, pp. 235-237, "Jesse James" (2 texts plus a fragment and mention of 3 more; the "A" text is Laws E2; the "B" text and "C" fragment are Laws E1) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 128-131, "Jesse James" (2 texts, 1 tune, but only the second text, to the tune of Casey Jones, is this ballad; the first text and tune is Jesse James I, Laws E1) Burt, pp. 192-193, "(Jessey James)" (1 text) Fife-Cowboy/West 93, "Jesse James" (5 texts, 2 tunes; this is the "D" text) Abrahams/Foss, pp. 130-131, "Jesse James" (1 text, 1 tune) McNeil-SFB1, pp. 60-65, "Jesse James" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Fife-Cowboy/West 93, "Jesse James" (5 texts, 2 tunes, of which the "C" text is Laws E2 and the others are distinct) DT 620, JESSJAM3* Roud #2241 RECORDINGS: Frank Luther, "The Death of Jesse James" (Conqueror 7377, 1929) George Reneau [actually sung by Gene Austin], (Vocalion 14897, 1924; on RoughWays2) The Vagabonds, "The Death of Jesse James" (Montgomery Ward M-4443, 1934) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Jesse James (I)" [Laws E1] and references there NOTES: Much more even-handed than the commonly-found Jesse James ballad, this song shows James as he really was: A robber whose deeds caused people in their homes to "shake with fright" when they heard of them. Cohen and McNeil both report that this piece was copyrighted on April 3, 1911 by Klickmann and Lewis, then on May 15 by Will Rossiter. McNeil believes the Klickman/Lewis claim of authorship to be legitimate; Norm Cohen (more probably in my opinion) thinks they cashed in on an existing piece. The Klickman/Lewis words can be sung to the tune of "Casey Jones," and the text been collected with that melody, although that is not the tune indicated in the original sheet music. McNeil gives a third melody as well. Laws lists the characteristic opening verse/chorus of this song as: Now people may forget a lot of famous names But every nook and corner knows of Jesse James. They used to read about him in their homes at night; When the wind blew down the chimney they would shake with fright. However, it appears that the most characteristic first line is "Way down in Missouri lived a bold bad man." For full background on Frank and Jesse James, see the notes to "Jesse James (III)," the James song which has perhaps the strongest factual basis. - RBW File: LE02 === NAME: Jesse James (III) DESCRIPTION: Jesse's home life is described: "His mother she was elderly; his father was a preacher." Bob Ford, described as an inept train robber, is shown in consultation with the governor. Ford kills James, but is shot by a drunken cowboy AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1916 (Belden) KEYWORDS: outlaw death betrayal family HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Apr 4, 1882 - Shooting of Jesse James (then in semi-retirement under the name of Howard) by Robert Ford, a relative and a former member of his gang tempted by the $10,000 reward 1892 - Robert Ford is killed in a barroom brawl in Creede, Colorado FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Belden, pp. 401-404, "Jesse James" (3 texts, of which only the third is this song) Friedman, p. 377, "Jesse James" (2 texts, but only the second is this ballad; the first is "Jesse James (I)" [Laws E1]) ADDITIONAL: William A. Settle, Jr., _Jesse James Was His Name_ (Bison Books edition, 1977), [used as a key to the Table of Contents and quoted at the head of each chapter] ST FR379 (Partial) Roud #7819 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Jesse James (I)" [Laws E1] and references there NOTES: This ballad includes several accurate details of James's life not found in most of the other Jesse James songs: The fact that his mother had her arm blown off (by Pinkertons in 1875); "Governor C"=Governor Crittenden; and the fact that Robert Ford also died by gunfire. The amount of literature on the James Gang astonishes me; it appears that at least four books were published just in the period 1980-2000, with many more before that. Many of these, however, appear to be pretty bad. For the sources I've used, see the Bibliography at the end of this note. The James Boys certainly were not born to be criminals; Yeatman, pp. 25-27, gives a rather impressive family history. Their father, Robert Salee James (c. 1818-1850) was the son of a Virginia Baptist minister, John W. James (Brant, p. 4). John James died when Robert was nine, and he and his siblings moved in with their older sister, the newly-married Mary James Mimms (Brant, p. 5). Mary Mimms was the mother of the future wife of Jesse James. Robert Sallee James, despite being an orphan, managed an impressive education. He earned a B.A. in classics in 1843, and picked up a Masters in 1848. His library was not overly large, but in addition to theology, Latin, and Greek, it included volumes on mathematics, chemistry, astronomy, and philosophy (Settle, p. 7). In 1841, he married 16-year-old Zerelda Cole, who was blessed with a fairly substantial inheritance. (In case you're wondering -- no, the name Zerelda is *not* Biblical. It appears to be a family name in the Cole family, though I've seen no explanation of how it arose.) The young couple moved to Clay County, Missouri, in 1842. Their residence in Clay County is significant. It's just east of Kansas City (the county seat is Liberty), and the settlers were mostly from border slave states like Tennessee. At the time of Lincoln's election in 1860, over a quarter of the residents of the county were slaves; clearly it was an area happy with slavery (Yeatman, p. 29). Indeed, one of the James stepfathers was a slaveowner (Yeatman, pp. 27-28), as was Robert James himself (Settle, p. 7). After arriving in Missouri, Robert James became pastor of the New Hope Baptist Church, which during his time there grew to have several hundred members. He also farmed 275 acres. But, for some reason, he decided to follow the gold rush to California, leaving his family behind. He died of "fever" on August 18, 1850 at Hangtown, California. From that time on, things were traumatic for the James boys, Alexander Franklin ("Frank"), born 1843, and Jesse Woodson, born 1847. (They had a sister Susan, born just before Robert went west.) Jesse had apparently been truly bothered when his father went away, and his mother's second and third marriages can't have helped; in 1852, she took the elderly Benjamin Simms as a second husband, but they separated and he died soon after (Brant, pp. 14-15; Settle, p. 8); her third, Dr. Reuben Samuel, whom she married in 1855, was the second slave owner among her husbands. Samuel and Zerelda would eventually have four children: Archie (of whom more below), John, Sallie, and Fannie (Brant, p. 8; Settle, p. 9). When the Civil War came, Frank promptly joined the Confederate side, being part of the force (one hesitates, at that stage of the war, to call it an army) of General Sterling Price (1809-1867), for whom see, e.g. "Sterling Price." He was one of Price's rabble-in-arms (or, often, rabble-wishing-for-the-arms-they-didn't-have) at Wilson's Creek (for which see e.g. "The War in Missouri in '61" and "Jolly Union Boys"). Later that year, he came down with measles, was captured by Union troops, and paroled (Yeatman, p. 32; Settle, p. 20). It's at this point that the James story starts to get genuinely ugly. Frank apparently took an oath to the Union in 1862. But Clay County was part of the area raided by both sides. Frank, even though he had sworn to support the union, joined Quantrill's Raiders (for whom see the notes to "Charlie Quantrell" as well as "The Call of Quantrell," "Quantrell," etc.), probably in 1863 (Yeatman, p. 35; Settle, p. 21-23, is not sure of the date though he notes that Cole Younger was in the band by the spring of 1862 and Jim Younger was acting as a guerrilla by 1864). In May 1863, Frank managed to upgrade himself from oathbreaker to terrorist; in an ambush near Richfield, Missouri, he was part of an ambush in which a Lt. Graffenstein was killed after surrendering (Yeatman, p. 36). On August 7, Frank committed his first true robbery (Yeatman, p. 41). Meanwhile, the Federals were looking for Frank -- and they visited the James/Samuel home, with results hardly likely to endear them to the family. They beat up Jesse (who may already have been serving as a Confederate spy, and who some time during this period managed to shoot the end off one of his fingers; Settle, p. 31, suggests a date of June 1864, though accounts vary of how he lost it. According to Brant, the injury earned Jesse the nickname "Dingus," because he referred to the weapon that injured him as the "dodd-dingus pistol" he had ever used). Even more extremely, they half-hanged Dr. Samuel, perhaps as many as four times (Settle, p. 26); his voice was apparently affected for the rest of his life (Yeatman, p. 39). (Wellman, p. 54, claims it was his relatives who cut him down, but this seems highly unlikely; if the troops wanted to hang him, wouldn't they stick around for a few minutes to make sure he died?) By 1864, when Jesse joined the Quantrill Gang (Yeatman, p. 50), the band were effectively out of Confederate control, preferring bushwhacking in Kansas and Missouri to regular service in Texas (Yeatman, p. 49). Not even Quantrill controlled most of them any more. Their recruiting methods were also irregular; while Frank was properly a member of the Confederate forces, it appears Jesse joined the terrorists entirely as a freelance (Yeatman, p. 52). That's not his age; by 1864, the Confederates were happy to have 17-year-olds in the military. But Jesse chose to be an irregular. He certainly was quick to get in trouble. In an early raid, Jesse was shot through the chest, apparently while stealing a saddle (Yeatman, p. 53), though the claim was later made that he was fighting the Yankees. By the end of the war, the irregulars were robbing trains; at Centralia they captured, looted, and destroyed a train of the North Missouri Railroad, killing two dozen Union soldiers who were aboard on furlough (Yeatman, p. 55). The James Boys were probably not present for this (Brant, p. 35, allows the possibility that Jesse was there, but as usual his evidence is thin), but they must have heard about it. And the James boys *were* present when a rescue party was slaughtered; many of the bodies of the rescuers were deliberately mutilated (scalped, beaten, and worse; Yeatman, p. 56). By 1864, the entire James/Samuels clan was in exile -- Dr. Samuels evicted from his home (Yeatman, p. 62), Jesse James with ruffians under "Arch" Clement who were somewhere around Texas, having proved too rough even for Quantrill (Yeatman, pp. 73-74), and Frank James with Quantrill, who headed for Kentucky with the remainder of his force (Yeatman, p. 65). By 1865, the Federals were on Quantrill's heels; many of the guerillas were being killed, captured, or left behind when they lost their horses Yeatman, (pp. 66-68); Quantrill himself was mortally wounded on May 10 (Yeatman, p. 71). The Clement gang, including Jesse, was meanwhile attacking Kingsville, Missouri, burning, looting, and murdering (Yeatman, pp. 73-74). Somewhat later, with the war clearly lost, Jesse suffered another bullet wound (reportedly making a spectacular escape before passing out; Settle, pp. 30-31; Wellman, p. 66); while still on his sickbed, he was paroled May 21, 1865 (Yeatman, pp. 76-77). The wound kept him bedridden for months (Settle, p. 31); there were times when he was expected to die. The twice-injured lung apparently troubled him for the rest of his life (Yeatman, p. 95, on the basis of a statement by Cole Younger). During his recovery, he was cared for by his aunt and uncle, and became secretly engaged to their daughter Zerelda ("Zee") Mimms (Settle, p. 34; Wellman, p. 67, says that they fell in love but does not claim they became engaged). Frank James (who had apparently acquired the nickname "Buck" during the war) was finally forced to surrender, along with other Quantrill survivors, on July 26, 1865, by which time Quantrill had been dead seven weeks. They might have come in earlier, had not some members of the band raped a woman; the authorities demanded they find the perpetrators (Yeatman, pp. 80-81). Still, Settle, p. 32, notes that neither Frank nor Jesse was considered in any way noteworthy in 1865. Yeatman speculates that the guerrilla fighting in Missouri (the most bitter in all the Civil War) left the two brothers suffering from post-traumatic stress (Yeatman, p. 104); like a number of other veterans (e.g. Tom Dula), they, or at least Jesse, seem to have come home intending to return to normal life (Yeatman, p. 91). For four years, they lived at home (Settle, p. 32), but there are hints that they occasionally vanished for a few days, and they lived in an area much affected by lawlessness. Their whereabouts in the period 1869-1874 are almost impossible to trace (Yeatman, p. 99), but they came to be famous as robbers in this period. On February 13, 1866 occurred the robbery of the bank of Liberty, Missouri, which resulted in the loss of some $60,000 and cost a bystander his life; it was said to be the first daylight bank robbery in peacetime (O'Neal, p. 167; Settle, p. 34; Wellman, p. 69; Yeatman, pp. 85-86). Later folklore would connect this with the James Boys, and Wellman accepts this without question (in fact, he is already calling Jesse the head of the gang, on pp. 69, 73, even though such evidence as we have of the James/Younger gang does not seem to imply that there was a head). Although the Liberty bank is close to the James home, there is no real evidence that either the Jameses or the Youngers were involved. Wellman's link to the event is that the Boys had sometimes ridden through the town shooting off pistols, as if to establish their willingness to be wild (pp. 69-71). Scaring the tellers into turning over the money sounds logical -- until you realize that the robbers never used their names during the Liberty robbery. How can men whose identities aren't known have a reputation? And, since there were reportedly ten robbers (Wellman, p. 73), it would seem as if someone in the vicinity could have identified them had they been locals and done something to make themselves identifiable. (Note: I'm not saying the Jameses and Youngers weren't involved. I'm saying it cannot be proved, and can't even be stated as a likelihood. It is merely a possibility.) Several other robberies took place in the same area over the next few years (Settle, pp. 34-36). Some were more successful than others; none were connected with the Jameses, though some reportedly involved ex-Quantrill men. There is a stronger connection with the March 20, 1868 robbery of the Russellville, Kentucky bank; the James friend Cole Younger was probably part of this (Yeatman, pp. 93-95), and Settle, p. 38, notes that on the day of the robbery, the James Boys were reportedly suffering from "war wounds" -- which would make a lot more sense if the wounds in fact had a recent cause. On December 7, 1869 came the robbery of the Davies County Savings Association in Gallatin, Missouri -- one of the robberies famously tied to the Jameses (Wellman, p. 81, says without question that the James Brothers and Cole Younger did it, with circumstantial details, but these of course are unverified.) Captain John W. Sheets, one of the bank owners, was shot to death during the attack (Settle, p. 38; Wellman offers the theory that he was killed because he resembled S. P. Cox, responsible for the death of the guerilla "Bloody Bill" Anderson). At least two robbers were involved; one was said to resemble Frank James. The evidence was thin, but a posse turned up to arrest the James brothers, who would prove to have no real alibi. Apparently not willing to risk arrest, Frank and Jesse fled the Samuels farm on horseback (Settle, pp. 39-40; Yeatman, pp. 95-97). Eventually a price of several thousand dollars would be put on their heads. Soon after, a paper published a letter allegedly from Jesse, denying any crime but saying it was impossible to get a fair trial in Missouri (Settle, p. 41). There would be many more such letters in coming years. Most, however, appeared in papers associated with John Newman Edwards, who also published articles allegedly clearing members of the gang (Settle, pp. 51-52). A later letter, signed "Jack Shepherd, Dick Turpin, Claude Duval" (after three famous English highwaymen) promised to pay the medical expenses of a girl hurt in the course of a robbery, and denied that the participants were thieves; they preferred the term "robber." This letter (Yeatman, p. 105; cf. Settle, p. 46) seems to be almost the sole foundation for the claim that the Jameses gave to the poor. In 1873, robbers derailed and robbed a train in Adair, Iowa; the engineer was killed in the wreck. Again we cannot show that the Jameses were involved, but the method of removing rails and piling debris on the track fits their mode of operation (Yeatman, pp. 106-108). Settle, p. 47, observes that the gang did not invent this particular dirty trick, but it was to become a James/Younger signature. This particular robbery brought in about $2000. Descriptions of the robbers, an their behavior, caused Jesse to be called the head of the gang for the first time (Settle, p. 48). The robbery was considered important enough that the Pinkertons would be called in (Settle, p. 58). 1874 finally brings us back to relatively firm history, as both Jesse and Frank were married in that year (Wellman, p. 87). Jesse finally married his cousin "Zee" Mimms, nine years after they had become engaged, on April 24, 1874. The Methodist Reverend William James, uncle to both Jesse and Zee, agreed to marry them after trying and failing to talk Jesse out of his violent lifestyle (Yeatman, p. 119) Frank married later that year, to Annie (Anna?) Ralston, who had earned a degree in science and literature in 1872. Ralston's father was a Unionist from Ireland; her parents reportedly were horrified to learn that she had eloped with such an outlaw (Yeatman, pp. 120-121). The Ralstons learned of it only indirectly (Annie's letter to her parents said only that she had eloped), and once they did so, they kept it secret from the community as much as possible (Settle, p. 42). By the 1870s, with Missouri still feeling the after-effects of the Civil War, the various outlaws roaming the state were becoming a political issue; the legislature took various ineffectual steps to try to halt the depredations. The Pinkertons received another call (Yeatman, pp. 111-114) after another train robbery, at Gads Hill in 1874. (No, I'm not making that up; apparently Missouri has such a place as well as England; Settle, p. 49;Wellman, p. 86.) This was another robbery where the perpetrators could not absolutely be identified -- one Jim Reed confessed to it on his deathbed (Yeatman, p. 138) and denied the James Boys were there -- but it was widely credited to the brothers. And it is apparently certain that the Jameses were working with the three surviving Younger brothers (Cole, Jim, and Bob) by that time. Unfortunately, the Pinkertons called in to deal with the problem were not up to the task; they didn't catch anyone, and a young agent named John W. Whicher was soon killed (Settle, pp. 59-60). Two other agents died trying to capture the Younger brothers, though they succeeded in killing John Younger (Settle, p. 60; Wellman, pp. 90-92, gives a dramatized version of the incident. Pp. 92-94 dramatizes the death of Whicher). The detective agency would add another tragic page to the James story: on January 28, 1875, the Pinkertons (or someone; Yeatman, Wellman, and Brant are certain; Settle is not) firebombed the Samuels home, in the belief that Frank and Jesse were there. (According to Brant, p., 134, the explosion could be heard three miles away, and much of the house caught fire. Yeatman and Settle give no hints of major pyrotechnics. Wellman, pp. 96-98, has a rather pathetic account of what occurred, but also thinks it a relatively small explosive, possibly a Civil War grenade though he thinks it an iron flare. Either way, he agrees with those who consider it a relatively small explosive device) But the bombers did not catch their men. Instead, they killed Archie Peyton Samuel, the half-brother of Jesse and Frank (whose age is variously listed as eight [Brant, Wellman], nine [Settle] and 13 [Yeatman]). In addition, a shell fragment hit Mrs. Samuel on the right wrist, shattering it and forcing the amputation of her hand (Yeatman, pp. 134-137; Settle, p. 76. Brant, of course, says that her hand was "blown off," and Wellman says it was "torn off"). A grand jury eventually filed murder charges against Pinkerton and certain of his employees, not all named (Yeatman, p. 143). The charges were dismissed in 1877 (Settle, p. 80), mostly on the grounds that the case was not being actively pursued and the charges were stale. The firebombing clearly disturbed the family. Dr. and Mrs. Samuels eventually tried to sell their property, but found no takers (Yeatman, pp. 149-150; Settle, pp. 86-101). And Jesse and Zee, who by this time was pregnant, moved to Nashville in early 1875. Jesse used the name "John Davis Howard" (which we will of course see again); Zee became "Josie." At the time, Mr. Howard listed his occupation as "wheat speculator," though he often vanished for weeks at a time. During this period, Jesse apparently was trying to kill Allan Pinkerton (Yeatman, p. 151) -- but the result was rather Hamlet-like: He wanted Pinkerton to know and suffer, and he never had a chance to kill Pinkerton in such circumstances. If Jesse didn't get Pinkerton, the gang may still have committed murder: Daniel Askew, a neighbor of the Samuels family who may have helped the Pinkertons, was shot to death in April 1875 (Settle, p. 85). Most attribute the murder to the Jameses, though there was speculation the Pinkertons did it to silence a potential witness against them (Settle, p. 86). In an interesting twist, Jesse also published several letters boasting (lying) about his whereabouts and activities. What is interesting is that they contain many more errors of grammar, spelling, and punctuation than the earlier letters he had supposedly published in the Edwards papers -- as if two different men had written them. If originals of any of these alleged letters survived, no one bothered to mention them. In 1875, Zee gave birth to Jesse Edward James, publicly known as "Tim Howard"; he would answer to the nickname "Tim" all his life. (Yeatman, p. 161). There seems to be some dispute about the exact date; Settle, p. 129, says December 31; Yeatman, p. 161, has August 31. At this time, the first known James associate was captured alive. Tim Webb, who had recently taken part in a robbery in Huntington, West Virginia, was captured, and though there is no evidence the Jameses or Youngers took part in this robbery (Settle, p. 87), Webb probably knew where Jesse was living in hiding. So Jesse and Zee moved to Baltimore for about a year (Yeatman, p. 162); Frank also spent some time there. But in 1876, the two returned to Missouri, leaving their wives behind (Yeatman, p. 164). In Missouri, they met the Youngers, and for some reason decided to try a raid on Minnesota. On arriving in the state, they scouted various banks, according to Cole Younger, they eventually picked the bank in Northfield in part because former Union general and Mississippi carpetbagger governor Adelbert Ames was associated with the place, and the infamous general Benjamin "Beast" Butler (for whom see, e.g., "Hold On, Abraham") apparently had money there (Yeatman, p. 171; Settle, p. 95). For the story of the disastrous Northfield raid itself, see the notes to "Cole Younger" [Laws E3]. Frank and Jesse were said to have been injured in the fracas (Settle, p. 98; cf. Brant, p. 179, who says that Frank's hand was crushed in the vault door), but it didn't slow them down; they were the only two to escape police. (Settle, p. 96, notes that, to this time, police still didn't have a reliable description of either brother, and indeed, Huntington, p. 50fff., describes occasions on which the pursuers actually encountered the robbers but did not recognize or succeed in capturing them.) After separating from the Youngers, Frank and Jesse managed to reach the South Dakota border about ten days after the raid (Yeatman, p. 183). (Lyle Lofgren tells me that the town of Garretson, South Dakota, on the Minnesota border northeast of Sioux Falls, has a "Jesse James's Leap," or some such thing, which Jesse is alleged to have ridden his horse across. Lyle adds that he thinks it too wide for any horse, and what are the odds that Jesse would have tried it on an unfamiliar horse?) The brothers apparently decided that that was enough outlawry for a lifetime. Soon after that, they and their families found new homes and tried, at least for a while, to live quietly. Frank apparently settled in Nashville. He seems to have used the name Ben J. Woodson. He reportedly worked very hard as a sharecropper, except perhaps for a brief time when he suffered from malaria (Yeatman, p. 202). Jesse, still using the name "John Davis Howard," chose a more rural setting, in Humphries County some distance to the west. He didn't draw much attention except for owning a very fast horse, occasionally showing great skill with a pistol, and sometimes acting a little paranoid (Yeatman, pp. 196-197). Around this time, Zee gave birth to twin boys, Gould and Montgomery, who however died soon afterward (Yeatman, p. 201; Settle, p. 132). On February 8, 1878, Frank's wife Annie bore Robert Franklin James. In one of the strangest twists of the James saga, he was apparently called "Mary" as a baby (Yeatman, p. 203). Settle, p. 132, reports that Zee nursed Robert when Annie proved unable to produce enough milk. Both Frank and Jesse were gamblers, but it appears Jesse wasn't nearly as good at it; he lost a lot, and also suffered from lawsuits over his financial dealings, and at least once bounced a check (Yeatman, p. 204). In December 1878, he moved again (Yeatman, p. 205). In 1879, it was his turn to suffer malaria (Yeatman, p. 207). In July of that year, his daughter Mary was born (Yeatman, p. 211; Settle, p. 129). This was Jesse's last child; note, therefore, that (contrary to most versions of "Jesse James (I)" [Laws E1], he did *not* have three children when he died). At about this time, Jesse seems to have decided it was time to return to outlawry. Frank, from what we can tell, just wanted to be left alone. (Reconstruction had ended with the disputed Hayes/Tildren election of 1876, and sympathy for unreconstructed rebels was less.) Frank in the years around 1880 was apparently deliberately courting friendships with pillars of the local community (Yeatman, p. 228), presumably to have character witnesses if he needed them. Yeatman, p. 213, based on later testimony of Dick Liddil (cf. Settle, p. 148) says that Jesse's new gang consisted of his cousin Wood Hite (Robert Woodson Hite, a cousin of Jesse's whose family still lived in Kentucky), Ed Miller (the brother of the slain Clell Miller), Tucker Bassham, Bill Ryan, and Dick Liddil (this is the spelling of Settle, Yeatman, and even Brant; others have used "Liddell" or other forms). This gang in October 1879 robbed a train at Glendale (the one James robbery celebrated in song in which Frank played no part; Settle, pp. 133, 148). The take from this robbery, apart from non-negotiable securities, was about $6000 (Settle, p. 102). Late in 1879, a report circulated that Jesse was dead (Settle, pp. 103-104). It was, of course, false. Somewhat later, Tucker Bassham was arrested. It appears Jesse and Ed Miller rode off (to silence him?). Miller never returned; it is speculated that Jesse killed him (Yeatman, p. 218). On September 3, 1880, Jesse robbed a stagecoach in showy fashion, apparently trying to imitate the famous English highwaymen (and incidentally picking up some loot which would be found in his home after his death); other robberies followed (Yeatman, pp. 219-220). In early 1881, Frank and Jesse were again briefly scared out of their homes; they went briefly to Alabama (Yeatman, pp. 229-230). This was fateful, because Jesse became aware of the large crew working on the Muscle Shoals canal. In March, he took Bill Ryan and Wood Hite and robbed the man carrying the workers' pay (Yeatman, pp. 233-234). The total haul was over $5000. On March 25, Bill Ryan got drunk and turned rowdy. He was taken into custody carrying about $1400 and four firearms. Although he refused, upon being taken, to tell authorities anything, Frank, Jesse, and Dick Liddil concluded that they must again leave home. Frank would later confess to despair at "again becom[ing] a wanderer" (Yeatman, p. 240). This is another vague period in the history of the James Boys; Jesse ended up in Kansas City using the name J. T. Jackson (Yeatman, p. 248), but witnesses disagree about where Frank was; he said he never went that far west, and stayed clean in this period (Yeatman, p. 260), but others claim he was part of the gang that, on July 16, 1881, attacked a train near Gallatin. Jesse, Dick Liddil, and Clarence and Wood Hite were very likely present. Two men including the conductor were killed; the total haul was about $700 (Yeatman, p. 249). In the period around 1870, the press was split about outlaws. By 1880, it was more strongly against their depredations. Missouri governor Thomas T. Crittenden (1832-1909) had been elected in 1880 in part on a promise to settle the James Gang. (The Missouri Republican platform ha actually attacked the Democrats for failing to do what "a Republican state" had done, referring to Minnesota's prosecution of the Youngers; Settle, p. 106.) The law didn't permit him to set a price on their heads, but he induced the railroads and other businesses to offer a total of $50,000 for the members of the gang. For Jesse and Frank, the reward was $5000 each for their capture (if taken alive) and another $5000 upon conviction (Settle, p. 110; Yeatman, p. 252). On September 7, 1881, a train was robbed at the "Blue Cut" curve. Along with the usual crew of Jesse, Clarence and Wood Hite, Dick Liddil, and perhaps Frank, there was a new recruit named Charlie Ford (Yeatman, pp. 253-254). Since the safe contained only about $400, the outlaws beat the express messenger, then robbed the passengers as well (Settle, pp. 111-112). Bob Ford's first association with the gang seems to have been part of a robbery with brother Charlie, Dick Liddil, and Wood Hite; Jesse reportedly was not part of the crew (Yeatman, p. 261). About this time, former gang member Tucker Bassham, sentenced to ten years, was offered full pardon in return for cooperation. He helped convict Bill Ryan, then fled the area, no doubt the fact that his home was burned added to his desire to depart. On September 28, 1881, Ryan was sentenced to 25 years (Settle, pp. 113-144; Yeatman, pp. 257-258). Things finally started to come apart when the gang suffered from internal dissent. A young widow named Sarah Norris Peck had married the old widower George Hite, the father of Wood and Clarence. It appears the Hite children never liked her, and vice versa; eventually, she swore out a warrant against Wood Hite. The police captured Wood, but he escaped. However, when Wood met Dick Liddil, and Bob and Charlie Ford, Wood quarreled with Liddil (possibly over the affections of one Martha Bolton; Settle, p. 116). In the fight that followed, Liddil was hurt and Hite killed, reportedly by Bob Ford as he was shooting at Liddil (O'Neal, p. 143; Yeatman, pp. 261-262). Hite, recall, was Jesse's first cousin, so the Fords and Liddil now had reason to fear the leader of their former gang. Liddil would surrender to authorities January 24, 1882, with promises of immunity if he could bring in the rest of the gang (Settle, p. 116) -- but the event was kept out of the papers to avoid rousing Jesse's suspicions. Clarence Hite, suffering from the tuberculosis which would kill him in 1883, and afraid of being caught, followed Liddil on February 11 (Settle, p. 117; Yeatman, p. 266). Thus, of the post-Younger Frank-and-Jesse-James Gang, only Frank and Jesse were still free; of the gang which followed that, which was really Jesse's alone, Jesse was the only one left. Nor could he turn to Frank any more; Frank had decided to leave the west, possibly forever. In October 1881, he and his family, after visiting various spots in Virginia and North Carolina (trying to find a place that was safe, prosperous, and not troubled by disease), settled in Lynchburg, Virginia; he used the name "James Warren" (Yeatman, p. 263). Jesse wasn't done with crime. On November 9, 1881, he went to St. Joseph, Missouri; he would settle at 1318 Lafayette Street. Jesse's companion on his first visit to the town was Charlie Ford. It was to be a short-lived but fateful partnership. Ford family patriarch James Thomas Ford had been born in 1820 in Virginia; he moved back and forth from Missouri to Virginia several times (Yeatman, p. 264). He was in Missouri at the start of the Civil War, but moved back to Virginia in 1862; his son Bob was a newborn at the time. An older brother of Charlie and Bob, John Ford, would fight for the Confederacy with Mosby's Rangers (Yeatman, p. 265). Around 1869, the Ford family returned to Missouri. Bob and Charlie apparently were introduced to Jesse in 1881 by Ed Miller. Charlie, as noted above, was the first to join the James Gang. But Jesse soon asked Charlie to recruit another man for his diminished gang, and Charlie recruited Bob (Yeatman, p. 267). Bob was soon in touch with the authorities; he apparently didn't like Jesse's management (he is reported to have said that Jesse was "dead" as a gang leader; Yeatman, p. 265). Bob Ford met with Governor Crittenden on January 13, 1882 in Kansas City; he reports that he was offered $10,000 dead or alive for Jesse (and the same for Frank). Frank was out of reach, but Jesse was available. The motivations of the Ford Brothers are rather unclear at this point. When word finally slipped out that Liddil had been taken, they may have feared that Jesse would try to get rid of them, too. Yeatman says, Jesse and the Fords were tending their horses when Jesse said he was too hot and took off his coat; he apparently also took off his gun belt. He turned his back to brush off some pictures, and the Fords pulled out their pistols. Bob apparently fired first; he hit Jesse in the back of the head (Yeatman, p. 269). Settle's account is more like the traditional one of Jesse climbing a chair to hang a picture, and mentions only Bob drawing his gun (p. 117). Brant's account (pp. 224-225) also mentions the chair, claiming that the Fords became suspicious when Jesse took off his guns, which Brant claims he never did. Whatever the exact events (for which, of course, we have only the accounts of the two brothers), Jesse was dead by gunshot When Zee arrived, Charlie claimed it was an accident -- but he and Bob quickly headed off to report to the authorities. Some people were not convinced that the body was really Jesse's, but his mother and wife, and several others, attested to it -- and many relics of his robberies were found in his home (Settle, p. 1180. Jesse's relics quickly became highly sought-after items; if eBay had existed in 1882, the Samuels would have been set for life. The owner of the house Jesse was renting did a fine business giving tours, though the visitors did much damage carving off souvenirs (Settle, p. 127). Jesse was initially buried on the family farm, apparently to protect his body; later he was moved to the family plot -- and his grave monument soon chiseled away by more relic-hunters (Settle, p. 166). After Jesse's death, the Fords claimed that Governor Crittenden had offered the reward for Jesse dead or alive; Crittenden of course claimed he had demanded the capture of the Jameses (Yeatman, p. 271). According to Settle, it is still not known what money was paid to whom. Crittenden's role remains ambiguous -- he encouraged the betrayal of Jesse, but ended up treating Frank with tender loving care. The Fords ended up facing murder charges, first for Jesse, then for Wood Hite, whose body was exhumed (Yeatman, p. 272). On April 17, 1882, Bob and Charlie pled guilty to the murder of Jesse. Sentenced to death, they were pardoned by Crittenden (Settle, p. 1189). They eventually were acquitted in the death of Hite (Yeatman, p. 275). In October of that year, after complicated but obscure negotiations probably involving Crittenden, assorted prosecutors, and James apologist John Newman Edwards, Frank James finally turned himself in (Settle, pp. 130-131; Yeatman, p. 279). It took some time to decide on charges, since the statute of limitations had passed for many of his crimes. Eventually he was charged with a murder at Gallatin. The result was circus-like. A newspaper ascerbically remarked that it wasn't clear if Frank had surrendered to the State of Missouri or Missouri to Frank (Settle, p. 134). There were few left to testify against Frank. Clarence Hite was dead. Bill Ryan had given no testimony against Frank. The Fords had not worked with him. The charges against him were mostly for crimes committed after Northfield, so the Youngers could not testify even if they wanted to. That left only Dick Liddil, who by this time was on trial in Alabama. And he was claiming he had not taken any part in Frank's crimes, which (it appears to me) would make his testimony hearsay. Authorities tried to award him clemency to get the real truth out of him; President Chester A. Arthur refused (Settle, pp. 137-138). The main case had to be tried in an opera house to provide seats for spectators (Settle, p. 139). Liddil was the only real witness. The jury needed less than four hours to reach a not guilty verdict. It was then decided that Liddil's testimony could not be used further, since he was a felon, and the other Missouri charges dropped (Settle, p. 150). Frank then was sent to Alabama for the Muscle Shoals robbery. Again it was just Liddil's word, and Frank had an alibi; he was again found not guilty (Settle, pp. 152-153). On February 21, 1885, the last of the charges based on Missouri crimes was dropped (Yeatman, p. 289). There was still the matter of the Northfield robbery, but no one from Minnesota was pursuing the matter. Frank was free. It is interesting to note that Crittenden failed of renomination in 1884, partly because of the James affair (Settle, p. 154). Frank seems to have stayed straight for the rest of his life. He moved to Dallas in 1887 and became a successful salesman for a time, then turned to other odd jobs. Eventually he was turned down for a patronage job he thought he deserved as a token of his reform (Settle, p. 163; Yeatman, p. 299), after which he went into acting. In 1903, he and Cole Younger (now out of jail and given a conditional pardon) opened a Wild West show that was named after them. It was to be surrounded by controversy and quarrels among the performers; at one point even Cole and Frank were indicted, though they got off by noting that they did not own, manage, or bankroll the show; they were simply paid performers lending their names to the production. When matters grew too troublesome, the two quit the show (Yeatman, pp. 302-311). By that time, Frank's political disillusionment was so extreme that he publicly declared himself a Republican (generally regarded as unthinkable for a Confederate veteran) on August 20, 1904 (Settle, p. 164; Yeatman, p. 311); he would in time come out in favor of women's suffrage (Yeatman, p. 318). In 1907 he bought farm in Fletcher, Oklahoma (Yeatman, p. 314). After stepfather Reuben Samuels died in 1908 in a mental hospital, suffering some sort of dementia, and Zerelda Samuels died February 10, 1911 (Yeatman, p. 317), Frank inherited the Samuels farm and turned it into a tourist attraction. It has served that function for much of the time since, though different owners have devoted different degrees of attention to it. Frank never really told his story; once, when asked about his past, he said, "I neither affirm nor deny.... If I admitted that those stories were true, people would say, 'There's the greatest scoundrel unhung,' and if I denied 'em they'd say, 'There's the greatest liar on earth," so I just say nothing" (Yeatman, p. 319). He died February 18, 1915, the next to last of the Northfield robbers; Cole Younger, the last, would die in 1916. Frank was certainly the most fortunate of the gang. The Youngers served long terms in prison; Bob died there, and Jim committed suicide after his release; Cole had some modest success as a showman. The other two Northfield raiders were dead. Wood Hite was dead. Clarence Hite died of tuberculosis (there were suspiciously many TB cases among the James Gang; one suspects someone carried the disease. Probably Jesse, given his lung problems. And the fact that several of them were related may have meant that they had the same genetic lack of immunity). Charlie Ford also suffered from tuberculosis, and he apparently became addicted to morphine as a result; he killed himself on May 4, 1884 (Yeatman, p. 291). One suspects that this is the main reason why the Jesse James songs mention Bob and not Charlie. Bob Ford wandered around the west, trying a short stint as a police officer before taking to saloon-keeping. He was at his third of these, in Creede, Colorado, when a man named Ed Kelly (Ed O. Kelly? Ed O'Kelly?) shot him on June 8, 1892 (Yeatman, p. 292). Ironically, Kelly himself would be shot to death in 1904 in Oklahoma City. Jesse's wife Zee died on November 13, 1900 (Yeatman, p. 296). There were various imposters over the years -- a fake Zee arose as early as 1885, when Zee was obviously still around. A later Zee apparently was credited with charismatic gifts! (Yeatman, p. 297). There were also an assortment of fake Jesses over the years, including one John James in 1931 (easily discredited). One J. Frank Dalton was still making a claim as late as 1950, more than a century after Jesse's birth. (Fans of science fiction will be chagrined to note that the infamous Raymond F. Palmer, responsible for _Amazing Stories_ in its worst years, helped to promote this legend, mentioning it in a radio conversation; see Yeatman, pp. 328-333). A fake Frank arose while Frank was still alive (Settle, p. 164). That was typical of the stories about the James Family: No lie was too outlandish to be told. The rumors that Jesse had not been assassinated were not really put to rest until the end of the twentieth century. In the 1990s, an autopsy showed that the body buried as Jesse James had bullets in the right places to be Jesse, and the mitochondrial DNA was properly matched to several of his relatives. Brant, p. 266, calls this proof that the body was Jesse's. The scientists quoted by Yeatman, pp. 371-376, in fact repeatedly denied that the matter was proved, but the evidence was "consistent" with the conclusion that it was. Under the circumstances, the probability is extremely high. Jesse Jr. eventually studied law, and at one point became involved in a divorce proceeding and custody battle with his wife; they managed to reconcile, but he had a nervous breakdown in 1924 and was never really the same afterward. He died in 1951 (Yeatman, p. 320). Mary James Barr died March 11, 1935 (Yeatman, p. 321). Anne Ralston James died in July of 1944 (Yeatman, p. 326), seventy years after she married Frank. Books about the James Gang were beginning to appear even in their lifetimes, though the amount of fiction included was astonishing. Yeatman, p. 223, tells of one book that described a cave carefully fitted out as a hideout, with a stove, a panelled ceiling, beds, and stalls for horses. The Youngers were subject of a book published 1875 (Settle, p. 180); this book, by Augustus P. Appier, was reprinted as late as 1955 despite being highly inaccurate. The first book to include the Jameses seems to have been _Noted Guerilla_ by none other than John Newman Edwards; this 1877 book included many outlaws in addition to the James Brothers, but the James and Younger brothers were prominent. The James/Younger Gang was the sole subject of a book by J. A. Dacus in 1880; Settle, p. 184, notes 16 editions of this book. Even Frank Triplett's biography, which was assembled after some contact with the Samuels family, was cobbled together hastily after Jesse's death and contained a lot of false reports from the newspapers (Settle, p. 192; Yeatman, p. 275); if the family had any influence on it, it came in the form of the strong sympathy Triplett's book shows the Jameses. The various chapbooks about the Jameses were of course pure fiction. Settle, p. 197, says that the first relatively sober history was not published until 1926 -- and eve it veered too far toward the dramatic. To this day, there are books being published treating Jesse as an unreconstructed Confederate rather than a plain and simple robber. The fact that Jesse worked mostly in former slave states, and shot quite a few Southerners, makes no difference. Wellman, p. 69, quotes William H. Wallace, himself a resident of the area: "The usual defence of the outlaws [that it was forced upon them by the North]... is overwhelmed by the evidence. Every bank robbed by them during the fifteen years of their career[,] with possibly two exceptions, belonged to Southern men.... The truth is, too, that the persons killed in these bank robberies were Southerners. We had as well admit the truth -- they robbed for money, not for revenge"; compare also Wellman, p. 88, also from Wallace: "the charge [has been] made hundreds of times that the Southern people of Missouri endorsed the depredations of these outlaws and were opposed to their being overthrown. This is absolutely untrue. Especially his it been charged that the ex-Confederates of Missouri... endorsed the conduct of the James Boys. Precisely the opposite is true." Jo Frances James (daughter of Jesse Junior) once sold a manuscript to Hollywood, which supposedly underlay the Tyrone Power/Henry Fonda film "Jesse James." But Jo Frances said of the result, "I don't know what happened to the history part of it. It seems to me the story was fiction from beginning to end.... About the only connection it had with fact was that there once was a man named James and he did ride a horse" (Yeatman, pp. 326-327). That strikes me as a pretty good last word on the whole legend. >>*BIBLIOGRAPHY*<< In writing this summary, in addition to the standard references such as the _Concise Dictionary of American Biography_, I have heavily consulted the following works: Brant: Marley Brant, _Jesse James: The Man and the Myth_, 1998. Despite its title, which might seem to indicate scholarly caution, this book strikes me as incredibly credulous, taking as certain many things where the sources conflict, and often relying on the less reliable sources. It also has a very clear sympathy with any Confederate Good Ol' Boys who just might be terrorists on the side. I have been cautious in using it except where it coincides with information in other books, or where it reports some third-hand absurdity which might have influenced the James legend. (Frankly, I eventually started checking the index rather than finish reading the thing). Huntington: George Huntington, _Robber and Hero: The Story of the Northfield Bank Raid_, Christian Way Co., 1895; reissued by the Minnesota Historical Society Press in 1986 with a new introduction by John McGuigan. Although this is considered a relatively sober and accurate account of the raid, with much information from those present, the 1986 introduction detailing the later careers of the Youngers is probably the best part. O'Neal: Bill O'Neal, _Encyclopedia of Western Gunfighters_, 1979. A general work, and as with most such things it appears to have a few details wrong, but a handy source for dates and such. Settle: William A. Settle, Jr., _Jesse James Was His Name_, 1966 (I used the 1977 Bison edition) was one of the first serious James biographies. It is relatively short, but carefully documented, and pays more attention to the songs than the other James books I've seen. Wellman: Paul I. Wellman, _A Dynasty of Western Outlaws_, 1961. This covers a series of outlaws starting with Quantrill's Raiders and ending with Pretty Boy Floyd, so it gives a lot of historial context -- but also has a Brant-like tendency to believe any old crazy rumor. (My favorite, on p. 55, is a claim that Frank and Jesse James weren't full brothers because they looked and behaved somewhat differently. But in the only photo I've seen of them together, they *do* look alike, and as for personality differences, it should be recalled that both went through much trauma, but at different ages. If Frank was quiet and had self-control, while Jesse was loud and had none, that seems little surprise.) Like Brant, it strikes me as a better source for information on the James legend than on fact. Yeatman: Ted P. Yeatman, _Frank and Jesse James: The Story Behind the Legend_, 2000, is among the newest and most authoritative books; although clearly intended for popular consumption, it is well-footnoted, very large, and new enough to include the results of DNA investigations. I can't help but think that this book and Settle are reliable, and the other sources are largely junk. - RBW File: FR379 === NAME: Jesse James (IV) DESCRIPTION: "You've heard of heroes brave in all their glory...." These heroes are contrasted with James, who "joined the bad guerrillas," robbed banks, "invented robbing trains," avoided the Pinkertons -- and finally was shot by Robert Ford AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1966 KEYWORDS: outlaw death train betrayal HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Apr 4, 1882 - Shooting of Jesse James (then in semi-retirement under the name of Howard) by Robert Ford, a relative and a former member of his gang tempted by the $10,000 reward FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fife-Cowboy/West 93, "Jesse James" (5 texts, 2 tunes; this is the "E" text) Roud #11225 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Jesse James (I)" [Laws E1] and references there NOTES: For full background on Frank and Jesse James, see the notes to "Jesse James (III)," the James song which has perhaps the strongest factual basis. - RBW File: FCW093E === NAME: Jesse James (VI -- "I Wonder Where My Poor Old Jesse's Gone") DESCRIPTION: Jesse James song recognized by the chorus, "Oh I wonder where my poor old Jesse's gone... I will meet him in that land where I've never been before." Jesse is killed by Robert Ford; his life is recalled AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1963 (The Golden Ring) KEYWORDS: outlaw death betrayal HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Apr 4, 1882 - Shooting of Jesse James (then in semi-retirement under the name of Howard) by Robert Ford, a relative and a former member of his gang tempted by the $10,000 reward FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Darling-NAS, pp. 187-188, "Jesse James" (1 text) DT, JESSJAM1 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Jesse James (I)" [Laws E1] and references there NOTES: I don't know if this version is actually traditional; the Golden Ring text is collated, and I believe someone (Mitchell Trio?) attributed it to Paul Clayton. I've never seen a pure dyed-in-the-wool text from tradition. For full background on Frank and Jesse James, see the notes to "Jesse James (III)," the James song which has perhaps the strongest factual basis. - RBW File: DarNS188 === NAME: Jesse James (VII - "Jesse James Was a Bandit Bold") DESCRIPTION: Jesse and Frank James come to town with ponies for sale. While there, they attend a ball, and have great success with the girls. The local men try to attack them, but Jesse and Frank out-fight them and escape to Mexico AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1909 (University Missourian) KEYWORDS: outlaw dancing escape FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Belden, pp. 401-404, "Jesse James" (3 texts, of which only the second, called "A Missouri Ballad" in the original publication, is this song) Roud #2242 NOTES: This is item dE44 in Laws's Appendix II. For full background on Frank and Jesse James, see the notes to "Jesse James (III)," the James song which has perhaps the strongest factual basis. - RBW File: Beld419b === NAME: Jessey James: see Jesse James (II) [Laws E2] (File: LE02) === NAME: Jessie and Jimmie: see The Sons of Liberty [Laws J13] (File: LJ13) === NAME: Jessie at the Railway Bar: see Jessie, the Belle at the Bar (File: R051) === NAME: Jessie Munroe [Laws P40] DESCRIPTION: Johnny is entranced by Jessie and asks her too marry, offering her houses and land. She says that his holdings are poor and he unattractive. Johnny returns to Betty, less attractive but more faithful AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1932 (Creighton-NovaScotia) KEYWORDS: courting beauty virtue FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar,Newf) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Laws P40, "Jessie Munroe" Peacock, pp. 291-292, "Jessie Munro" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton-NovaScotia 78, "Jessie Munroe" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton-Maritime, pp. 72-73, "Jessie Munro" (3 texts, 1 tune) DT 517, JESSMUNR Roud #1807 File: LP40 === NAME: Jessie of Ballington Brae: see Bessie of Ballington Brae [Laws P28] (File: LP28) === NAME: Jessie, the Belle at the Bar DESCRIPTION: The singer sees Jessie working at the railroad bar. He courts her. Though warned that she is fickle, he offers to wed; she accepts -- then runs off with the costly wedding dress and marries a newspaper publisher AUTHOR: G. Ware EARLIEST_DATE: 1884 (broadside L.C.Fol.70(121b)) KEYWORDS: courting marriage abandonment FOUND_IN: US(MA,So) Canada(Mar,Newf) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Randolph 51, "Courting Jessie" (1 text, 1 tune) Greenleaf/Mansfield 169, "Pretty Jessie of the Railway Bar" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Spaeth-WeepMore, pp. 70-72, "(Jessie, the Belle at the Bar)" (1 text, 1 tune) cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 479, "Jessie at the Railway Bar" (source notes only) Roud #3265 BROADSIDES: NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(121b), "Jessie at the Railway Bar," unknown (probably Glasgow), 1884 NOTES: The commentary for broadside NLScotland L.C.Fol.70(121b) states "the location of the railway station in 'Jessie at the Railway Bar' occasionally varies, with one version placing the events in Moorgate station rather than Brighton station." - BS File: R051 === NAME: Jest Talkin': see Talking Blues (File: LoF224) === NAME: Jesus and Joses: see notes under The Bitter Withy (File: L689) === NAME: Jesus At Thy Command DESCRIPTION: "Jesus at Thy command I launch into the deep And leave my native land Where sin lulls all asleep." Singer trusts Christ to save him and asks for a heavenly wind to take him to a heavenly port. AUTHOR: Augustus Montague Toplady (1740-1778) EARLIEST_DATE: 1796 (see note quoting William Allen) KEYWORDS: religious sea ship ship nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North)) REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Frank Verrill, "Jesus At Thy Command" (on Voice02) NOTES: Re: The London Missionary Society: "The first missionary party, consisting of over thirty persons, sailed down the Thames in the ship 'Duff' on the 10th August, 1796, singing, 'Jesus at Thy command we launch into the deep.'" (source: _The History of Revivals of Religion_ by William Allen, "Chapter I - The History of Revivals of Religion - Part III," at The New Revival Library site) "['Jesus At Thy Command'] is in the Primitive Methodist Hymnal of 1889 and was written by Augustustas[sic] Montigue Toplady." (source: The Veteran "traditional folk music label" site). - BS Augustus Montague Toplady is most famous for writing the words to "Rock of Ages." Charles Johnson's _One Hundred & One Famous Hymns_ gives a brief biography of Toplady which seems to consist mostly of denomination-jumping. He is said to have been "always in frail health," which explains his early death. He is credited with two volumes of religious lyrics. Nonetheless _Granger's Index to Poetry_ lists only seven of his works which made it into their voluminous database (and it appears that two of those are actually alternate names for "Rock of Ages"). This is not one of the works they cite. - RBW File: RcJeATCo === NAME: Jesus Born in Bethlehem: see Christ Was Born in Bethlehem (File: MA189) === NAME: Jesus Born in Galilee: see Christ Was Born in Bethlehem (File: MA189) === NAME: Jesus Borned in Bethlea: see Christ Was Born in Bethlehem (File: MA189) === NAME: Jesus Christ I Want to Find DESCRIPTION: "Jesus Christ I want to find; Pray tell me where he is, 'Cause him alone can ease my mind And give my conscience peace." "Tell me which way my redeemer's gone." The singer describes how to recognize Jesus, and is thanked for his lecture AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad Jesus FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 602, "Jesus Christ I Want to Find" (1 text) Roud #11913 File: Br3602 === NAME: Jesus Done Taken My Drifting Hand DESCRIPTION: "Hush, little baby, and don't you cry; Yo' mudder an' fader is bo'n to die! Jesus done taken my driftin' han'. Good Lord, Lord, Lord! Over de hills bright shinin' lan'." "Mind out, Sister, how you step on de cross...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 580, "Hush, Little Baby" (1 text) Roud #11896 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "All My Trials" (floating lyrics) and references there File: Br3580 === NAME: Jesus Gonna Make Up My Dyin' Bed (Tone the Bell Easy) DESCRIPTION: "When you hear dat I'se a-dyin', I don' want nobody to mo'n... Well, well, well, tone de bell easy, Jesus gonna make up my dyin' bed. The singer recounts Jesus's death, prays that Jesus be with him, and remembers the faith of his dead mother AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recording, Blind Willie Johnson) KEYWORDS: Jesus death farewell religious FOUND_IN: US(SE,So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 605-608, "Tone de Bell Easy" (1 text, 1 tune, composite) DT, TONEBELL Roud #10975; also 15557 RECORDINGS: Blind Willie Johnson "Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed" (Columbia 14276-D, 1927; on BWJ01, BWJ02) Jubilee Gospel Team, "Lower My Dying Head" (QRS, 1928; on Babylon) Charley Patton, "Jesus is a Dying-Bed Maker" (Paramount 12986, 1930; rec. 1929) Dock Reed, "Jesus Goin' to Make Up My Dyin' Bed" (on NFMAla2) Horace Sprott, "Jesus Going to Make Up My Dying Bed" (on MuSouth04) Unknown artists, "Jesus Goin' Make Up My Dyin' Bed" (AFS CYL-5-8, 1933) NOTES: Josh White sings a much, much simpler version of this song, with the same chorus and some of the same verses. The Lomaxes admit that their very long (fourteen stanza) version is composite. I can't really tell how much comes from tradition and how much they mortared in. - RBW File: LxA605 === NAME: Jesus Is a Rock DESCRIPTION: "Jesus is a rock in a wearied land, In a wearied land, in a wearied land... A shelter in a time of storm, in a time of storms." "He is whom I fix my hopes upon, A narrow way till in my view...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Henry, from Hettie Twiggs) KEYWORDS: religious Jesus mother storm FOUND_IN: US(SEmSo) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Randolph 657, "Jesus Is a Rock" (1 fragment) MHenry-Appalachians, p. 193, "Jesus is a Rock" (1 text) Roud #7580 ALTERNATE_TITLES: My God is a Rock in a Weary Land NOTES: This reminds me somewhat of "My Father's Gone to View That Land," but Randolph's fragment doesn't seem to have any actual words in common with that piece. Henry's fragment is rather different in form ("Jesus is a rock in a whirly wind, A shelter in the time of storm, Hope my mother will be there, A shelter in the time of storm," repeated with other family members replacing "Mother," but the overall similarity is clear. - RBW File: R657 === NAME: Jesus Lover of My Soul DESCRIPTION: Original hymn: "Jesus, lover of my soul, Let me to thy bosom fly." Parody: "Jesus, lover of my soul, Set me on top of telegraph pole. When the pole begins to break, Take me down for Jesus's sake." AUTHOR: Original words: Charles Wesley (1707-1788) EARLIEST_DATE: 1740 (publication); parody collected 1919 KEYWORDS: religious nonballad humorous FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) BrownIII 347, "Jesus Lover of My Soul" (1 short text, the "telegraph pole" form) ADDITIONAL: Charles Johnson, One Hundred and One Famous Hymns (Hallberg, 1982), p. 41, "Jesus, Lover of My Soul" (1 text, 1 tune, credited to John B. Dykes) Roud #11737 RECORDINGS: Uncle Dave Macon, "Jesus Lover of My Soul" (Vocalion 5316, 1929; on CGospel1) Rambling Rangers, "Jesus Lover of My Soul" (Vocalion 04628, 1939) NOTES: The Charles Wesley lyric seems to be very popular in churches; the Sacred Harp has it to the tune "Martin" (listed as by S. B. Marsh); I have seen a Baptist hymnal with both that tune (listed there as "Marsh") and the tune "Refuge" (by Joseph P. Holbrook). A Lutheran hymnal has the Marsh tune (called "Martyn"). And a Methodist hymnal reveals two texts, one to "Martyn" and one called "Hollingside" by John Bacchus Dykes (1823-1876). My best guess is that the Dykes tune is the only one written for these lyrics. However, I have yet to find any of these texts in tradition. The "telegraph pole" parody, by contrast, *is* from tradition, though it's not clear how widespread it is. - RBW You wanted it from tradition? Uncle Dave Macon! - PJS File: Br3347 === NAME: Jesus Met the Woman at the Well DESCRIPTION: Jesus meets a (Samaritan) woman as she comes to draw water, and tells her "everything [she] has ever done." She proclaims him a prophet, and announces the news in the town AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1947 (recorded by the Selah Jubilee Quartet) KEYWORDS: Bible religious Jesus FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Courlander-NFM, pp. 59-60, "(Jesus Met the Woman at the Well)" (1 text plus a fragment); p. 252, "Jesus Met the Woman at the Well" (1 tune, partial text) RECORDINGS: Pilgrim Travelers, "Jesus Met the Woman at the Well" (Specialty 329, n.d.) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Maid and the Palmer" [Child 21] (subject) cf. "See the Woman at the Well" (subject) cf. "Lift Him Up That's All" (subject) NOTES: For the story of Jesus and the Woman of Samaria, see John 4:5-26 - RBW File: CNFM059 === NAME: Jesus Never Come in the Morning DESCRIPTION: "Oh, Jesus never come in the morning, Neither in the heat of the day, But come in the cool of the evening And wash my sins away." The singer warns against riches, looks forward to the end of the war, and is willing to die for God AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1944 (Wheeler) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad Jesus FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) MWheeler, p. 72-73, "Jesus Nevuh Come in the Mornin'" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #10023 File: MWhee072 === NAME: Jesus Nevuh Come in the Mornin': see Jesus Never Come in the Morning (File: MWhee072) === NAME: Jesus Says Go DESCRIPTION: Singer is told that if he wants to be converted he should pray. He does, until his heart melts, then "my hands was tied, my feet was bound...." Cho: "Jesus says go -- I'll go with you/Preach the gospel and I'll preach with you...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recorded by Mississippi Jubliee Singers) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer is told that if he wants to be converted he should pray. He does, until his heart melts, then "my hands was tied, my feet was bound/The elements opened and the Lord come down/The voice I heard sounds so sweet/The love run out at the sole of my feet" Cho: "Jesus says go -- I'll go with you/Preach the gospel and I'll preach with you/Lord if I go, tell me what to say/For they won't believe on me" KEYWORDS: ordeal religious Jesus FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #6984 RECORDINGS: Dillard Chandler, "Jesus Says Go" (on Chandler01) Heavenly Gospel Singers, "You Go and I'll Go With You" (on Bluebird B-6928, 1937) George Herod, "Lord, When I Was a Sinner" (on MuSouth07) Mississippi Jubliee Singers, "Jesus Said If You Go I'll Go" (on Paramount 12495, 1927) Sparkling Four Quartette, "They Won't Believe in Me" (on OKeh 8741, 1929) NOTES: This song was also in the repertoire of Cas Wallin; he said that it was often sung by members of Holiness churches. Mary Sands, one of Cecil Sharp's most valuable ballad sources, claimed to have written it; the fact that it was also collected in 1954 from George Herod, an African-American from near Scott Station, Alabama, and recorded in 1927 by the Mississippi Jubilee Singers, makes this unlikely although not impossible. - PJS File: RcJeSaGo === NAME: Jesus Says, "You Goes and I Goes Wid You" DESCRIPTION: Jesus says, "You goes and I goes wid you; Preach de gospel and I'll preach wid you." The singer asks Jesus to tell him what to say. After some back-and-forth, the singer reports, "De elements opened and de Lawd come down." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 603, "Jesus Says, 'You Goes and I Goes Wid You" (1 text) Roud #11912 NOTES: This starts with elements of the commissioning of the Twelve (Matthew 10, and parallels; Matt. 28:19-20), but the ending is pure apocalyptic imagination. - RBW File: Br3603 === NAME: Jesus Setta Me Free DESCRIPTION: "Let's go and tell it on the mountains (x3), Jesus setta me free." "It's come on everybody in the marvelous light, Jesus setta me free, Where the yoke is easy and the burden is light, Jesus setta me free." "Let's go and tell it on the mountains...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (Forbes) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad Jesus FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Chappell-FSRA 100, "Jesus Setta Me Free" (1 text, 1 tune) ST ChFRA100 (Full) Roud #16941 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Go Tell It on the Mountain (I -- Christmas)" (lyrics) cf. "Go Tell It on the Mountain (II -- Freedom)" (lyrics) File: ChFRA100 === NAME: Jesus Walked in Galilee: see Christ Was Born in Bethlehem (File: MA189) === NAME: Jesus, Won't You Come B'm-By? DESCRIPTION: "You ride dat horse, You call him Macaroni; Jesus, won't you come b'm-by? You ride him in de mornin' And you ride him in de evenin'; Jesus, won't you come b'm-by? De Lord knows de world's gwine to end up...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg) KEYWORDS: religious horse nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (2 citations) Sandburg, p. 469, "Jesus, Won't You Come B'm-By?" (1 short text, 1 tune) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 11, (no title) (1 fragment, a single stanza that might be this) Roud #12021 File: San469 === NAME: Jeune Fille Sans Amant, La (The Young Girl Without a Lover) DESCRIPTION: French. A girl says she must have a lover. Mother says wait; go to the convent. The girl wants to go to a lover. Mother says here's money to get to the convent; the girl says with that money I will buy myself a man. You will be sorry, says the mother. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (Peacock) KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage sex warning dialog humorous lover mother FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Peacock, pp. 293-294, "La Jeune Fille Sans Amant" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Whistle, Daughter, Whistle" (theme) File: Pea293 === NAME: Jeune Fille si Amoureuse, La (The Girl So In Love) DESCRIPTION: French. A girl says she must have a lover. Her mother sends her to a convent. At the convent a Brother consoles her. A Sister says that the Father would marry them. The girl says that her lover is not here but is a slave among the barbarians. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (Peacock) KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage captivity love separation lover sailor FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Peacock, pp. 525-526, "La Jeune Fille si Amoureuse" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Belfast Sailor" (theme) File: Pea525 === NAME: Jeune Militaire, Le (The Young Soldier) DESCRIPTION: French. After years in the army a soldier stops at an inn. The hostess cries; she recognizes him as her husband. He asks why she has more children. She had reports that he had died and so remarried. He asks about her husband. She gives him gold to leave AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1983 (Lehr/Best) KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage marriage reunion children wife soldier adultery FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lehr/Best 59, "Le Jeune Militaire" (1 text, 1 tune) RECORDINGS: Anita Best, "Le Jeune Militaire" (on NFABest01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Brave Marin" (theme) cf. "Jack Robinson" (theme) NOTES: [According to] Lehr/Best, "Le Jeune Militaire" is a version of "Brave Marin"; while the themes are very close the words are not. - BS File: LeBe059 === NAME: Jew Lady, The: see Sir Hugh, or, The Jew's Daughter [Child 155] (File: C155) === NAME: Jew's Daughter, The: see Sir Hugh, or, The Jew's Daughter [Child 155] (File: C155) === NAME: Jew's Garden, The: see Sir Hugh, or, The Jew's Daughter [Child 155] (File: C155) === NAME: Jeweled Ring, The: see Hind Horn [Child 17] (File: C017) === NAME: Jewish Lady, The: see Sir Hugh, or, The Jew's Daughter [Child 155] (File: C155) === NAME: Jigger, Rigger, Bumbo: see Ole Marse John (File: LoF271) === NAME: Jilson Setters's Blind Song DESCRIPTION: "In sorrow and sadness I'm destined to roam, Distracted and forsaken I wander alone." The singer hears the birds and feels the breezes but cannot see nature or people. He prays God to take him to heaven "where the blind may all see." AUTHOR: Jilson Setters (James W. Day)? EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas) KEYWORDS: injury hardtimes music rambling FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Thomas-Makin', pp. 181-183, (no title) (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Blind Fiddler" (theme) and references there File: ThBa181 === NAME: Jilson Setters's C.I.O. Song DESCRIPTION: "I am going to tell you people, Perhaps you do not know, We all should work together And protect the C.I.O." The singer urges men to "stick together And defend the union plan." He points out that laborers do all the work AUTHOR: James W. Day ("Jilson Setters") EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas) KEYWORDS: labor-movement nonballad FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Thomas-Makin', pp. 244-245, (no title) (1 text) File: ThBa244 === NAME: Jilson Setters's Courting Song DESCRIPTION: "It was all in the month of winter, I arrived by wagon to this place; I chanced to meet with a youthful lady...." He courts the girl and asks her to come away; her mother refuses and he is forced to depart; he hopes to meet the listeners in heaven AUTHOR: James W. Day ("Jilson Setters")? EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas) KEYWORDS: courting rambling rejection FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Thomas-Makin', pp. 184-185, (no title) (1 text) NOTES: Said to be built around a Riley ballad, though it's not clear which one. Setters told Thomas that he used this song to make his wife jealous so she would court him. I wonder, though -- according to Thomas, it was his wife Rhuhamie who urged him to sing it to Thomas. - RBW File: ThBa184 === NAME: Jilson Setters's Indian Song DESCRIPTION: "In an early day folks crossed the sea To explore the Indians' land." The Indians befriend the Whites; "Little did the Indian think They would spoil his hunting ground." "The white man done the Indian wrong"; they go to war -- but lose for lack of guns AUTHOR: James W. Day ("Jilson Setters") EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas) KEYWORDS: Indians(Am.) hunting exploration war technology FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Thomas-Makin', pp. 186-187, (no title) (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Logan's Lament" (theme) and references there NOTES: Although this doesn't seem to be very anthropoligically correct, it is quite sympathetic to the Indians -- rather surprising for the time. - RBW File: ThBa186 === NAME: Jim Along Josey: see Jim Along Josie (File: R575) === NAME: Jim Along Josie DESCRIPTION: Originally a blackface minstrel piece, now often reduced to odd lyrics held together by the refrain, "Hey jim-along, jim-along Josie; Hey jim-along, jim along Jo." Sample verse: "Any pretty girl that wants a beau, Just fall in the arms of Jim Along Joe" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1840 (sheet music) KEYWORDS: nonsense lyric playparty FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,So) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Randolph 575, "Jim Along Josie" (1 text plus a fragment) Warner 180, "Git Along Josie" (1 text, 1 tune) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 105, "Jam A-long, Josey" (1 text, 1 tune); also probably p. 106 (no title), (1 text, using this chorus in some instances; the verses include the terrapin and the toad, "My ole missus promise me When she die she set me free," "You get there before I do....") Spaeth-WeepMore, pp. 103-104, "Jim Along Josey" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #4618 RECORDINGS: Coon Creek Girls, "Jim Along Josie" (Songs from Renfro Valley - Bell, mx. 2002, n.d., postwar) Lawrence Older, "Jim Along Josie" (on LOlder01) Pete Seeger, "Jim Along Josie" (on PeteSeeger3, PeteSeegerCD03) Tom Smith, "Hey, Get Along, Josie" (on USWarnerColl01) NOTES: Spaeth suggests that this is a minstrel tune, and he's probably right. He suggests that it was written by Edward Harper, who presented it in his 1838 play "The Free Nigger of New York." But it has entered oral tradition -- though perhaps in a filed-down form; Spaeth's text has a four-line verse while the traditional forms often use two-line stanzas. The choruses are the same. - RBW File: R575 === NAME: Jim and Me DESCRIPTION: Singer says that he and his old friend Jim used to be sinners, smokers and drinkers, but that God has saved them, and their money is now spent on their families. "What our God has done for us/He's done for Jim and me" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (unissued recording, Kentucky Thorobreds) KEYWORDS: virtue sin drink religious family gods FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #7381 RECORDINGS: Garner Brothers, "Jim and Me" (JGS 20088, n.d.) Kentucky Thorobreds, "Jim and Me" (Paramount, unissued, rec. 1927) Preston & Hobart Smith, "Jim and Me" (on LomaxCD1704) NOTES: Again fragmentary, but a narrative. - PJS File: RcJaM === NAME: Jim Blake DESCRIPTION: "'Jim Blake, your wife is dying,' came over the wires tonight." Railroad engineer Blake wires back that he is coming. But his train is wrecked, "derailed by an open switch." Blake's last message to his wife says they'll meet in heaven AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1910 (_Railroad Man's Magazine_, according to Cohen) KEYWORDS: train wreck disaster death husband wife FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (3 citations) Cohen-LSRail, pp. 332-337, "Jim Blake's Message" (2 texts, 1 tune) Spaeth-WeepMore, pp. 139-140, "Jim Blake" (1 text) cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 479, "Jim Blake" (source notes only) Roud #3531 RECORDINGS: The Carter Family, "Jim Blake's Message" (Decca 5467, 1935) Vernon Dalhart, "Jim Blake" (Brunswick 173, 1927); "Jim Blake the Engineer" (Columbia 15192-D [as Al Craver], 1927) File: GC479b === NAME: Jim Blake's Message: see Jim Blake (File: GC479b) === NAME: Jim Crack Corn: see The Blue-Tail Fly [Laws I19] (File: LI19) === NAME: Jim Crow (I): see Hop High Ladies (Uncle Joe) (File: R252) === NAME: Jim Crow (II): see Jump Jim Crow (File: Gilb018) === NAME: Jim Crow Car: see She Gets There Just the Same (Jim Crow Car) (File: DarNS355) === NAME: Jim Fisk [Laws F18] DESCRIPTION: Jim Fisk, though a rich and fine man, still remembers the poor and gives aid to many at the time of the Chicago fire. Fisk is shot by Edward Stokes (his rival for a girl); the singer is afraid that Stokes's wealth will allow him to win his freedom AUTHOR: William J. Scanlon ? EARLIEST_DATE: 1874 (broadside) KEYWORDS: homicide trial money HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Jan 6, 1872 - Edward Stokes shoots Jim Fisk, "his rival for... the actress Josie Mansfield." Stokes (who, despite the song, was not rich) spent four years in prison for manslaughter FOUND_IN: US(MW,NE,So) REFERENCES: (11 citations) Laws F18, "Jim Fisk" Cohen-LSRail, pp. 90-96, "Jim Fisk" (2 texts, 1 tune, plus a copy of the cover of the sheet music) Belden, pp. 415-416, "Jim Fisk" (1 text) Dean, pp. 30-31, "Jim Fisk" (1 text) Friedman, p. 207, "Jim Fisk" (1 text) Flanders/Brown, p. 75, "Jim Fiske" (1 fragment, linked to this mostly on the strength of the line "He never went back on the poor.") Burt, pp. 49-50, "(no title)" (1 text, 1 tune) Sandburg, pp. 416-419, "Jim Fisk" (1 text, 1 tune) Botkin-NEFolklr, pp. 550-552, "Jim Fisk" (1 text, 1 tune) Gilbert, pp. 101-102, "Jim Fisk or He Never Went Back on the Poor" (1 text) DT 631, STOVRDCT* Roud #2215 NOTES: Belden calls "Jubilee Jim" Fisk (1834-1872) "Jay Gould's fellow bandit in Wall Street." He did in fact work with Jay Gould to secure control of the Erie Railroad from Cornelius Vanderbilt, and also helped manipulate the "Black Friday" gold crash of Sept. 24, 1871, but his business practices do not appear to have been unusual for the time -- and, unlike many speculators, he did try to appeal to the public (he has been called "the most opulent of the robber barons"). According to Gilbert, he sent supplies to help the survivors of the Chicago Fire (October 8, 1871). It is ironic that it is his murder, rarely mentioned in the histories, that gained him a place in oral tradition. Fisk's assassin, Stokes, died in 1901, reportedly having spent his last years in neurotic fear of Fisk's ghost (e.g. Stokes would only sleep in lighted rooms). Much additional information can be found in Cohen, who notes incidentally that the recorded versions of this song are generally much shorter than the original "Stokes' Verdict" text. Botkin, apparently quoting Barry, claims there are three Jim Fisk songs. This one (which exists in many variants, but is recognized by the fact that most stanzas end with the word "poor") is said to be the "most popular" -- and is, as of this writing, the only one I have encountered. Spaeth, _A History of Popular Music in America_, mentions this song several times, noting on p. 217 both the fact that this song was attributed to William J. Scanlon (whom he calls a typical composer of the era) and the difficulty with this attribution: The first sheet music, published in 1874, has the initials "J. S.," rather than "W. J. S.," and Scanlon in any case was only 15 at the time. - RBW File: LF18 === NAME: Jim Fiske: see Jim Fisk [Laws F18] (File: LF18) === NAME: Jim Haggerty's Story DESCRIPTION: The speaker and his companion go down to town, where the companion will confront a man hired to kill him. They enter the bar. The hired gun's girlfriend begs him not to shoot; the other is her father. But both men draw and fire and are killed AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (Lomax) KEYWORDS: death father family homicide FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 135-136, "Jim Haggerty's Story" (1 text) Roud #15550 NOTES: While this may be legitimate folklore (it has rather a tall tale feel), there is no evidence that it was ever a song, or traveled in the same traditional circles as ordinary folk songs. - RBW File: LxA135 === NAME: Jim Harris DESCRIPTION: Famous captain Jim Harris, in Ronald P out of St Kyran's, runs down the Irene anchored in Paradise Sound. "It's all right when the wheel goes up, till it turns for to come down And you might make that same mistake as Jim Harris in Paradise Sound." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (Lehr/Best) KEYWORDS: sea ship crash FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lehr/Best 60, "Jim Harris" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: St Kyran's and Paradise Sound are in Placentia Bay, west of the Avalon Peninsula and on the south coast of Newfoundland. The song places the incident on May 31, 1934. It appears neither ship was lethally damaged and there was no loss of life. - BS File: LeVe060 === NAME: Jim Hatfield's Boy DESCRIPTION: "You're sending me for life, judge, For killing Bill McCoy, But maybe you don't know, Judge, that I'm Jim Hatfield's boy." The singer, unnamed, describes the history of the Hatfield/McCoy feud and his need for revenge AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas) KEYWORDS: feud death mother children revenge trial judge punishment HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1880 - Beginning of the Hatfield/McCoy feud FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Thomas-Makin', pp. 13-16, (no title) (1 text, 1 tune) Burt, p. 248, "(Jim Hatfield's Son)" (1 excerpt) ST ThBdM013 (Partial) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Death of Fan McCoy" (subject) and references there NOTES: For details on the Hatfield/McCoy feud, see "The Death of Fan McCoy." - RBW File: ThBdM013 === NAME: Jim Jones at Botany Bay DESCRIPTION: The singer, Jim Jones, is taken, tried, and sentenced to transportation. En route, his ship is attacked by pirates, but the crew holds them off. Arriving in Australia, Jones vows to escape, join the bushrangers, and get revenge AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1907 (Old Pioneering Days in the Sunny South) KEYWORDS: outlaw poaching trial transportation pirate FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (4 citations) PBB 96, "Jim Jones at Botany Bay" (1 text) Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 50-52, "Jim Jones at Botany Bay" (1 text) Fahey-Eureka, pp. 28-29, "Jim Jones at Botany Bay" (1 text, 1 tune) Manifold-PASB, pp. 12-13, "Jim Jones" (1 text, 1 tune) ST PBB096 (Partial) Roud #5478 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Bold Jack Donahoe" (tune) and references there File: PBB096 === NAME: Jim Larkin, R.I.P. DESCRIPTION: Jim Larkin fought the Peelers in 1913 and "was treated to the batons by the Forces of the Crown." "The worker is a freeman now by his persevering fight." "R.I.P" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1947 ("Sold in the streets of Dublin the day of James Larkin's funeral," according to OLochlainn-More) KEYWORDS: strike violence labor-movement Ireland memorial death police HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Jan 30, 1947 - "James Larkin died in his sleep." (source: _James Larkin_ on the Spartacus Educational site) FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OLochlainn-More 20, "Jim Larkin, R.I.P" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Larkin founded the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union in 1909. "By 1913 so many Dublin workers had joined the IT&GWU that employers refused to employ unionised workers, resulting in the infamous Dublin Lock-Out when over 100,000 workers were sacked and many more refused admittance to their workplace for over eight months. After the Lock-Out the IT&GWU was firmly established." From 1914 to 1920 he organized workers in New York anLarkin founded the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union in 1909. "By 1913 so many Dublin workers had joined the IT&GWU that employers refused to employ unionised workers, resulting in the infamous Dublin Lock-Out when over 100,000 workers were sacked and many more refused admittance to their workplace for over eight months. After the Lock-Out the IT&GWU was firmly established." From 1914 to 1920 he organised workers in New York and was jailed until 1923 for "criminal syndicalism." He returned to Ireland and established the Worker's Union. He was later elected to the Dublin City Council and Dail Eireann. (source: Searc's Web Guide to 20th Century Ireland - James Larkin (1876-1947)). - BS That Dublin needed organization around the turn of the twentieth century is hardly to be denied. According to Terry Golway, _For the Cause of Liberty_, p. 207, prior to the activities of Larkin, "nearly half of all annual deaths [in Dublin] took place in workhouses, asylums, and prisons"; he points out that many workers were putting in seventy hour weeks to earn pay equivalent to what we would now call only about half of the "poverty line." Similarly, Robert Kee (_The Bold Fenian Men_, being Volume II of _The Green Flag_, p. 195) writes, "The poverty and squalor of much of Dublin in the early years of the twentieth century appalled all who encountered it. A government report issued in 1914 assessed that of a Dublin population of 304,000, some 194,000, or about sixty-three percent, could be recokined 'working classes'. The majority of these working classes lived in tenement houses, almost half of them with no more than one room to each family. Thirty-seven per cent of the entire working class of Dublin lived at a density of more than six persons per roon; fourteen per cent in houses declared 'unfit for human habitation.'" Larkin's troubles with the British police were not entirely related to his union activities, though. Born in Liverpool, he did not settle in Ireland until 1906/1907, when James Sexton (head of the National Union of Dock Labourers) sent him to Belfast to organize the dock workers there. Larkin was a fine choice for the role. According to Ulick O'Connor, _Michael Collins & The Troubles_, pp. 54-55, "Larkin was a remarkable orator and journalist who could lift the people from their knees woth a brilliant phrase. He had a voice that could carry across a prairie, and a towering, crag-like presence. His quivering face... became the symbol of hope to the downtrodden and hungry masses who listened to him." Larkin did manage to bring many of the workers into a union, leading them on strike late in 1907. The strike turned violent, though some of the police sided with Larkin. With the union going bankrupt, Sexton settled over his head. Larkin therefore broke away from Sexton's group to form the IT&GWU in 1908. Socialist in principles, Larkin was associated with James Connolly (1868-1916; for more on him, see "James Connolly") in the United Tramway Company strike. This turned into a lockout as William Martin Murphy, who was responsible for management bargaining, set out to destroy Larkin. (see Charles Townshend, _Easter 1916: The Irish Rebellion_, p. 48; O'Connorm pp. 55-56). Larkin, who had spent a few weeks in prison before the government relented (Townshend, p. 49), rose to fine heights of oratory (when the Catholic hierarchy opposed his union, he declared, "They cannot frighten me with hell. Better to be in hell with Dante and Davitt than to be in heaven with [Ulster leader Edward] Carson and Murphy"; see O'Connor, p. 57). But strikers were starving, and the government blocked all attempts to help them (O'Connor, p. 56). Larkin fled Ireland after the strike fizzled in 1914 -- while Connolly stayed, and was one of the instigators of the Easter Rising. Larkin of course went to America, where he was imprisoned during a "Red Scare" in 1916 (O'Connor, p. 55). Larkin came back to Ireland in 1923, to find that his own Union -- which was about twenty times as big as when he left home -- had no leadership place for him. He founded a socialist political party; though he eventually joined the Labour Party, he spent most of the rest of his life feuding with his old associates. Still, he was remembered by the people as a founder of the union movement. Regarding his relations with other leaders, Kee writes (p. 198), "Subsequent dramatic events... have had the effect of making Connolly seem the major labour figure in twentieth-century Irish history.... But the fact that Connolly was to be cut off in his prime and win a martyr's crown in 1916, while Larkin, accidentally missing the heroics, was to live on to 1948 through years of Irish disillusion, political quarrelling, and personal identification with Soviet Communism, should not blind one historically to the other fact that it was Larkin who first effectively brought the old incoherent national emotions into Irish twentieth-century labour relations." The song's description of fighting the Peelers in 1913 appears to be a reference to events of August 31, 1913. Larkin had been arrested for seditious libel on August 28, but was released on bail. He was supposed to speak in Dublin on August 31. He appeared in disguise, but it was clear it was him. Once the crowd started cheering him, the police attacked the crowd, resulting in one death and many injuries (O'Connor, p. 56). This is not the only song about Larkin and 1913; Frank Harte _Songs of Dublin_, second edition, Ossian, 1993, pp. 32-33, prints a piece, "Dublin City, 1913" by Donagh McDonagh, which covers events of 1913 to 1916. - RBW File: OLcM020 === NAME: Jim Porter's Shanty Song: see The Lumber Camp Song (File: Doe210) === NAME: Jim Ross Song, The DESCRIPTION: Ross, "an elderly gent" courts Mary Ann, "the pride of Dundas," offering "houses and lands" because he has little money. She agrees to marry but does not appear for the wedding. She explains why she changed her mind [the song breaks here]. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 (Dibblee/Dibblee) KEYWORDS: age courting wedding rejection FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Dibblee/Dibblee, pp. 112-113, "The Jim Ross Song" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #12459 NOTES: Dundas is near the east coast of Kings, Prince Edward Island. - BS File: Dib112 === NAME: Jim Strainer Blues DESCRIPTION: Jim Strainer tells Lula that if he catches her with Willie he'll kill her. Singer follows Lula to the burying ground. Jim Strainer has killed her, on the ballroom [barroom?] floor. Willie is sentenced to 15 years; Jim Strainer gets 99, and cries AUTHOR: possibly Will Shade EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (recording, Memphis Jug Band) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Jim Strainer tells Lula that if he catches her with Willie he'll kill her. Singer tells the hearse driver to roll slowly, so he can see Lula one more time. He follows her to the burying ground and watches as they ease her down. Jim Strainer has killed her, on the ballroom [barroom?] floor. Willie is sentenced to 15 years; Jim Strainer gets 99, and cries KEYWORDS: grief jealousy love warning violence crime homicide prison punishment trial burial death mourning lover FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Memphis Jug Band, "Jim Strainer Blues" (Victor 23421, 1933; rec. 1930; on StuffDreams1) File: RcJiStBl === NAME: Jim the Roper DESCRIPTION: "The dug him a grave at the set of the sun, His riding was over, his roping was done." The cowboys bury Jim, and return to "their cabins, deserted and lorn." "No sound save the Yellowstone dashing a-foam." Jim's ghost is seen be the rive AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (Larkin) KEYWORDS: death burial cowboy ghost FOUND_IN: US(SW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Larkin, pp. 164-165, "Jim the Roper" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #5764 File: Lark164 === NAME: Jim Whalen: see James Whalen [Laws C7] (File: LC07) === NAME: Jim, the Carman Lad: see Jim, the Carter Lad (File: FSC096) === NAME: Jim, the Carter Lad DESCRIPTION: The carter/driver reports on his happy life: "Crack, crack, goes my whip, I whistle and I sing, I sit upon my wagon, I'm as happy as a king." He ignores bad weather, recalls being trained by his father, and tells of courting his sweetheart in the cart AUTHOR: E. H. Harding? EARLIEST_DATE: 1870 KEYWORDS: work travel courting FOUND_IN: US(MA) Ireland Britain(England(North,South),Scotland) REFERENCES: (5 citations) FSCatskills 96, "The Stage Coach Driver's Lad" (1 text, 1 tune) Copper-SoBreeze, pp. 244-245, "Jim the Carter Lad" (1 text, 1 tune) Kennedy 228, "Jim, the Carter Lad" (1 text, 1 tune) SHenry H171, p. 40, "Jim, the Carman Lad" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, JIMCART* Roud #1080 RECORDINGS: Jack Goodfellow, "Jim The Carter Lad" (on FSB3) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Lumber Camp Song" (lyrics) File: FSC096 === NAME: Jimmie and Nancy: see Nancy of Yarmouth (Jemmy and Nancy; The Barbadoes Lady) [Laws M38] (File: LM38) === NAME: Jimmie Brown the Newsboy DESCRIPTION: Singer, Jimmie Brown, the newsboy of the town, wears no hat or shoes, and is cold and hungry. [He wanders from place to place.] He tells of his drunkard father, who has abandoned the family. His mother says he will "sell the gospel news" in heaven AUTHOR: A. P. Carter? EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (recording, Carter Famiy) KEYWORDS: poverty travel abandonment work drink father worker FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, JIMBROWN Roud #4996 RECORDINGS: Carter Family, "Jimmie Brown, the Newsboy" (Victor 23554, 1931; Montgomery Ward M-5027, 1936; rec. 1929) Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs & the Foggy Mountain Boys, "Jimmie Brown, the Newsboy" (Columbia 20830, 1951) NOTES: Almost no one lists a composer for this song, but the Harry Fox Agency has two separate listings. One is for A. P. Carter, the other is for Jimmy Rodgers and George Vaughan. I'm inclined to believe the former, since I've found no evidence Rodgers ever recorded the song, but on the other hand he seems to have collaborated with Vaughan on at least one other song. - PJS File: RcJBtNew === NAME: Jimmie Crack Corn: see The Blue-Tail Fly [Laws I19] (File: LI19) === NAME: Jimmie Jones: see Joseph Mica (Mikel) (The Wreck of the Six-Wheel Driver) (Been on the Choly So Long) [Laws I16] (File: LI16) === NAME: Jimmie Jot: see Jimmie Judd (The Beau Shai River) [Laws C4] (File: LC04) === NAME: Jimmie Judd (The Beau Shai River) [Laws C4] DESCRIPTION: Jimmie tries to break a logjam and is drowned. His badly cut up body is recovered the next day. He is mourned by sweetheart, family, and fellow workers AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1935 (Gardner/Chickering) KEYWORDS: logger death drowning FOUND_IN: US(MA,MW,NE) Canada(Ont) REFERENCES: (6 citations) Laws C4, "Jimmie Judd (The Beau Shai River)" Warner 18, "Jamie Judge (or, Bonshee River)" (1 text, 1 tune) Beck 55, "The Beau Shai River" (2 texts, one entitled "Jimmie Jot") Gardner/Chickering 112, "Jimmie Judd" (1 fragmentary text) Fowke-Lumbering #29, "Jimmy Judge" (1 text plus a fragment, 1 tune) DT 680, JIMJUDGE Roud #636 NOTES: Fowke quotes Gravelle to the effect that James Angus Dudge was born in Quebec in 1846, but Gravelle can only speculate about the date of his death; he suspects the date was c. 1866. - RBW File: LC04 === NAME: Jimmie Rendal: see Lord Randal [Child 12] (File: C012) === NAME: Jimmie Tucker: see The Chisholm Trail (II) (File: EM186) === NAME: Jimmie Whalen: see Lost Jimmie Whalen [Laws C8]; also James Whalen [Laws C7] (File: LC08) === NAME: Jimmie Whalen's Girl: see Lost Jimmie Whalen [Laws C8]; also James Whalen [Laws C7] (File: LC08) === NAME: Jimmie-Ma-Riley-Oh!: see Jimmy My Riley (File: Br3195) === NAME: Jimmy: see On Top of Old Smokey (File: BSoF740) === NAME: Jimmy and his Own True Love [Laws O30] DESCRIPTION: Jimmy and Annie are out walking one fine day just before he sets sail. She bids him farewell and gives him a diamond ring as a token of her love. He promises to return to her AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1841 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 c.18(276)) KEYWORDS: courting sea farewell ring FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Laws O30, "Jimmy and his Own True Love" Mackenzie 44, "Jimmy and His Own True Love" (1 text) DT 485, JIMMTRUE Roud #958 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, 2806 c.18(276), "Sailor and his Truelove," J. Jennings (London), 1790-1840; also Firth c.12(147), Harding B 17(266b), "[The] Sailor and his Truelove"; Firth c.12(149) , "Jemmy's Farewell" ("As a sailor and his true love one morning in May") CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Jimmy and Nancy (III)" (plot) File: LO30 === NAME: Jimmy and I Will Get Married: see The Lover's Curse (Kellswater) (File: HHH442) === NAME: Jimmy and Nancy (I): see Nancy of Yarmouth (Jemmy and Nancy; The Barbadoes Lady) [Laws M38] (File: LM38) === NAME: Jimmy and Nancy (II): see A Seaman and His Love (The Welcome Sailor) [Laws N29] (File: LN29) === NAME: Jimmy and Nancy (III) DESCRIPTION: A sailor tells his true love "It is all for your sweet sake I am bound to cross the ocean." Her mother and father are against them but she will not turn against him. He promises to be true. They kiss and part; she wishes him well. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Karpeles-Newfoundland) KEYWORDS: love separation dialog lover sailor FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Peacock, pp. 528-529, "Jimmy and Nancy" (1 text, 1 tune) Karpeles-Newfoundland 52, "Jimmy and Nancy" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Roud #958 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Jimmy and his Own True Love" [Laws O30] (plot) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Jimmy and Nancy the Departure Lisbon NOTES: Roud lumps this with Laws O30, "Jimmy and his Own True Love." It's a difficult question, since the only field collection of O30 in Laws is from Mackenzie. But the Mackenzie version revolves around the giving of the ring. Until and unless I see the broadsides Laws cites, I'm keeping them separate. In addition, it appears that at least one version of this song is entitled "Lisbon," a title usually reserved for "William and Nancy (I) (Lisbon; Men's Clothing I'll Put On I)" [Laws N8]. Laws did not know any of the Newfoundland collections cited for this song. Again, we separate, because this has no cross-dressing theme or promise by the girl to come with him. - RBW This is not Bodleian, Harding B 12(155), "William and Nancy's Parting" ("Come all you pretty maidens that have a mind to go"), Burbage and Stretton (Nottingham), 1797-1807; also Johnson Ballads 1597, Harding B 11(1999), Harding B 25(2062), Johnson Ballads 1059, 2806 c.18(336), Firth c.12(172), "William and Nancy's Parting" or Bodleian, 2806 c.18(332), "William and Nancy's Farewell," unknown, n.d. - BS File: Pea528 === NAME: Jimmy and Nancy on the Sea: see William and Nancy (I) (Lisbon; Men's Clothing I'll Put On I) [Laws N8] (File: LN08) === NAME: Jimmy Bell's in Town DESCRIPTION: "Jimmy Bell's in town, Lordy, walkin' round, He got greenbacks enough, sweet babe, to make a man a suit." Bell preaches a sermon, warning of the dangers of hell; "All them sisters sittin' in the back corner Cryin' Jimmy Bell my man." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1963 KEYWORDS: clergy nonballad Hell FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Courlander-NFM, p. 75, "Jimmy Bell's in Town" (1 text, probably partial) File: CNFM075 === NAME: Jimmy Burse DESCRIPTION: "I saw the undertakers leavin' With a casket in the hearse... The remains of Jimmy Burse." Burse goes out to transport a convict in his car, but is shot by the prisoner York. Burse is buried; the singer hopes he will find justice AUTHOR: unknown (but very possibly by someone in the Vass family) EARLIEST_DATE: 1957 (collected by Shellans from Ruby Vass, who had a manuscript dated 1937) KEYWORDS: prison homicide escape technology burial HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1932 - Murder of taxi driver Jim Burrus. Shellans prints a newspaper chronology of the saga. FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Shellans, pp. 70-71, "Jimmy Burse" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7323 File: Sel070 === NAME: Jimmy Folier: see Jamie Foyers (File: McCST084) === NAME: Jimmy Hughes's Feastio DESCRIPTION: "Come, let us all to Georgetown go .. At Jimmy Hughes's feastio"; 100 are expected but only 30 show up. "The Senator arose with pride ...My son shall run the countrio. They turned him down, my darling boy, They did not know his worthio" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 (Dibblee/Dibblee) KEYWORDS: rejection food party humorous political FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Dibblee/Dibblee, pp. 12-13, "Jimmy Hughes's Feastio" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #12484 NOTES: Dibblee/Dibblee: "When Senator J.J. Hughes received his appointment to the Senate he wanted his son to replace him as the local Member but his son was not nominated. A Testimonial dinner was held for the Senator in Georgetown but very few people showed up. It was written circa 1930." - BS File: Din012 === NAME: Jimmy Judge: see Jimmie Judd (The Beau Shai River) [Laws C4] (File: LC04) === NAME: Jimmy Leeburn: see Jamie Raeburn (Caledonia) (File: MA085) === NAME: Jimmy Loud: see The Maid Freed from the Gallows [Child 95] (File: C095) === NAME: Jimmy Mo Veela Sthore (Jimmy, My Thousand Treasures) DESCRIPTION: The singer misses Jimmy, who "travels the wide world o'er" on a quest for wealth. Her parents "never do give me ease." They want her to marry someone rich. She would go to the woods where no one will tease her and stay there until Jimmy returns AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (OLochlainn-More) KEYWORDS: courting separation money father mother FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OLochlainn-More 28A, "Jimmy Mo Veela Sthore" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9782 File: OLcM028A === NAME: Jimmy Murphy DESCRIPTION: "On the banks of Kilkenny... Is Joe Jimmy Murphy Who is lost and forsaken." "Tomorrow he will ride... through the city." "Tomorrow he will hang; But it's not for sheep-stealing But for courting a pretty girl By the name of Moll Figen" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1911 (Belden) KEYWORDS: death execution playparty courting FOUND_IN: US(So) Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) Belden, p. 291, "Joe Jimmy Murphy" (1 text) Moylan 119, "Little Jimmy Murphy" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7951 NOTES: Belden calls his text "possibly a game song, but certainly originally a song about a hanging, and evidently Irish." To me, his version looks like a serious song that took on a game-song chorus. - RBW Moylan has "the serious song." From the description of Belden, I think the "game song" is close enough to Moylan that the songs should be kept together. [Perhaps more decisive is the fact that Belden's text seems to be nearly unique, though it has wandered far from the Irish roots. - RBW] Here is some more of Moylan We gathered our pikes and flintlocks and green branches And into old Wexford we soon were advancing. Chorus: Skinny-ma-link, killy-ma-jo, whiskey, frisky too-ra-loo Rank-a-diddle-i-doe, ding-doora-lie-o. We fought through New Ross, Vinegar Hill and through Gorey But it was the boys of the Cork Militia that deprived us of glory. The ballad is recorded on one of the CD's issued around the time of the bicentenial of the 1798 Irish Rebellion. See: Luke Cheevers, "Little Jimmy Murphy" (on "The Croppy's Complaint," Craft Recordings CRCD03 (1998); Terry Moylan notes) Moylan: "This unusual piece appeared in the Journal of the Irish Folk Song Society in 1913. The note to the song says that it was heard by the informant being sung by a street-singer in Liverpool in 1830." - BS For the battles of New Ross, Gorey, etc., see the notes to "Father Murphy (I)" and the various cross-references there. - RBW File: Beld291 === NAME: Jimmy My Riley DESCRIPTION: "Jimmy-my-Riley was a grand old rascal, Jimmy-my-Riley ho (x2)." "Pick it up and shuck it up and throw it over yonder." "The cows in the old field hornin' Jimmy Riley." "The mules in the old field kickin' Jimmy Riley." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1920 (Brown) KEYWORDS: animal nonballad food work FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) BrownIII 195, "Jimmy My Riley" (1 text) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 188, "Jimmie-Ma-Riley-Oh!" (1 short text); Scarborough has another stanza which she files here though it looks to me as if it might be a much-debased version of "Reuben Ranzo" or something like that NOTES: As often happens with items like this, the Borwn and Scarborough verses don't have quite the same format. But the chorus line seems enough reason to lump. - RBW File: Br3195 === NAME: Jimmy Randal: see Lord Randal [Child 12] (File: C012) === NAME: Jimmy Randolph: see Lord Randal [Child 12] (File: C012) === NAME: Jimmy Ransome: see Lord Randal [Child 12] (File: C012) === NAME: Jimmy Rose DESCRIPTION: "Jimmy Rose he went to town (x3) To 'commodate the ladies." "Fare ye well, ye ladies all (x3), God Almighty bless you." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: courting nonballad FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 100, "Jimmy Rose" (1 short text, 1 tune) Scott-BoA, p. 211, "Jimmy Rose" (1 short text, 1 tune) ST SBoA211 (Full) Roud #11596 File: SBoA211 === NAME: Jimmy Sago, Jackaroo: see Jimmy Sago, Jackeroo (File: MA130) === NAME: Jimmy Sago, Jackeroo DESCRIPTION: "If you want a situation and you'd like to know the plan To get on a station... Pack up the old portmanteau and label it Paroo, with a name that's aristocratic -- Jimmy Sago, Jackeroo." The song details how the "aristocratic" name can bring benefits AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1905 (Paterson, _Old Bush Songs_) KEYWORDS: Australia work animal FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (2 citations) Meredith/Anderson, pp. 130-131, "Jimmy Sago, Jackeroo" (1 text, 1 tune) Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 114-115, "Jimmy Sago, Jackaroo" (1 text) Roud #8394 NOTES: According to Patterson/Fahey/Seal, a Jackaroo was a young man working on a station to gain experience -- in effect, an apprentice. Naturally he was teased and held in low esteem. The spelling is uncertain (Jackaroo/Jackeroo), as is the origin; Andrew and Nancy Learmonth _Encyclopedia of Australia_2nd edition, Warne & Co, 1973, article on "Jackeroo" (their spelling) says that the "origin is uncertain, most probably a coined Aus.-ouning word based on a 'Jacky Raw', but an Aboriginal origin is also claimed." It adds that a female parallel, "Jillaroo," dates from the twentieth century. - RBW File: MA130 === NAME: Jimmy Walsh and Stephen: see Two Jinkers (File: Doy11) === NAME: Jimmy Whelan: see Lost Jimmie Whalen [Laws C8]; also James Whalen [Laws C7] (File: LC08) === NAME: Jinger Blue: see Ginger Blue (File: R298) === NAME: Jingle at the Window (Tideo) DESCRIPTION: Playparty. "Jingle at the window, (tideo/dideo)....' "Pass one window, tideo...." Pass two windows, tideo...." "You swing heads... I swing feet... Ain't dat nice... walkin' on de ice." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1911 (JAFL 24) KEYWORDS: playparty nonballad FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Randolph 525, "Jingle at the Window" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 208, "Tideo" (1 text, 1 tune) Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 115-116, "Dance Song" (1 text, 1 tune) Cambiaire, p. 134, "Tideo" (1 text, with two verses of "Tideo" and one probably from "Go In and Out the Window") Roud #3597 NOTES: For the possible relationship of this to "Sugar in My Coffee," see the notes to that song. Scarborough's version of this has stanzas twice as long (eight lines) as Randolph's, but presumably this is just the usual story of half the tune being lost. - RBW File: R525 === NAME: Jingle Bells DESCRIPTION: In praise of sleighing in the snow. Taking his "one horse open sleigh," the singer courts Miss Fanny Bright. Even a brief detour into a snowbank does not deter his ardor. The singer urges others to get a horse and sleigh and go courting AUTHOR: James Pierpont EARLIEST_DATE: 1857 KEYWORDS: horse nonballad courting FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (5 citations) RJackson-19CPop, pp. 93-96, "Jingle Bells Or the One horse open Sleigh" (1 text, 1 tune) Krythe (16), pp. 219-220, "Jingle Bells" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 376, "Jingle Bells" (1 text) Fuld-WFM, p. 313+, "Jingle Bells" DT, JNGLBLL* CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Pony Song" (approximate tune, theme, and some words) File: RJ19093 === NAME: Jingle-Berry Tea DESCRIPTION: "Buck-skin moccasin tow-headed Bill, Once went a-courtin' up on the hill, The first one he courted was a pretty gal to see, Set right down to Jingleberry tea." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: drink FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 416, "Jingleberry Tea" (1 fragment, 1 tune) Roud #7613 NOTES: Randolph informs us that "This is a fragment of a ribald song popular in the [1870s], and is said to have been brought west from Tennessee." However, he fails to give us enough additional detail to identify the song. He also knew an informant who suggested the name be changed to "sassifras," on the grounds that "It's ag'in the law to print words like jingle-berry in a book." - RBW File: R416 === NAME: Jingo Ring (Merry-Ma-Tanzie, Around the Ring) DESCRIPTION: "Here we go around the ring; Choose you one while we do sing; Choose the one that you love best, And she will come at your request." "Now you've got her, and I wish you much joy, You are my son and childish joy... Kiss her quick, and that will do." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (Fuson) KEYWORDS: playparty courting nonballad FOUND_IN: US(Ap) Britain REFERENCES: (2 citations) Fuson, p. 173, "Around the Ring" (1 text) Montgomerie-ScottishNR 65, "(Here we go round the jing-a-ring" (1 text) ST Fus173 (Full) Roud #12970 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Lipto" (lyrics) File: Fus173 === NAME: Jinkin' You, Jockie Lad: see Jinkin' You, Johnnie Lad (File: FVS045) === NAME: Jinkin' You, Johnnie Lad DESCRIPTION: "Oh, ken ye my love Johnnie, he lives doon on yonder lea, and he's lookin', and he's joukin', and he's aye watchin' me." The singer describes her deep fondness for (Johnnie/Jockie), and looks forward to a happy life despite his poverty AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Ford) KEYWORDS: love courting FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 45-47, "Jinkin' You, Jockie Lad" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, JOHNLAD Roud #6131 RECORDINGS: Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, "Johnny Lad" (on SCMacCollSeeger01) File: FVS045 === NAME: Jinny Get Your Hoecake Done DESCRIPTION: Fiddler's mnemonic for a moderately well-known tune: "Jinny, get your hoecake done, my love, Jinny, get your hoecake done; Jinny, get your hoecake done, my love, Jinny, get your hoecake done." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (Fuson) KEYWORDS: dancetune nonballad food FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fuson, p. 158, "The Hoe-Cake" (eighth of 12 single-stanza jigs) (1 short text) ST Fus158C (Full) Roud #16825 File: Fus158C === NAME: Jinny Go Round and Around DESCRIPTION: "Where did you get your whisky? Where did you get your dram?.... Down in Rockingham. Cho: Jinny go round an' around (x3) Way down in Rockingham." The remaining verses may give reasons why the singer will not marry or describe river life AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: courting marriage drink dancing playparty floatingverses river FOUND_IN: US(MW,SE,So) REFERENCES: (7 citations) Randolph 272, "Jinny Go Round and Around" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 233-234, "Jinny Go Round and Round" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 272) BrownIII 389, "The Privates Eat the Middlin'" (1 fragment, probably a Civil War adaption of this piece) Botkin-MRFolklr, p. 589, "[Number Ninety-Nine]" (1 text, 1 tune) Botkin-SoFolklr, p. 711, "Where'd You Get Yo' Whisky?" (1 text, 1 tune) Courlander-NFM, pp. 121-122, "(Number Ninety-nine)" (1 text, 1 tune) MWheeler, pp. 24-25, "Master Had a Bran' New Coat" (1 text, 1 tune) ST R272 (Full) Roud #836 (etc.) RECORDINGS: Earl Johnson & His Dixie Entertainers, "I Get My Whiskey From Rockingham" (Okeh 45183, 1928) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Cindy" (floating lyrics) cf. "A Railroader for Me (Soldier Boy for Me)" (plot) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Way Down in Rockingham Rockingham Cindy NOTES: This is an extremely problematic piece, recognized by the "Where did you get your whiskey" stanza. The rest is no unity, but the results are too fragmentary to classify as separate songs. Almost all of these lyrics of some versions show up in one or another version of the "Cindy/Jubilee" family, but the chorus is different, so I've separated them. The Botkin Mississippi River piece (compare Courlander's) is almost equally remote from both "Cindy" and "Jinny," but not worth another entry, so I file it here. Paul Stamler notes another piece, "Rockingham Cindy"; I suspect that to be a variant of this one. The chorus "Jinny go round..." does not appear in all versions; I don't know if it is an addition to the Randolph text or if it dropped out of the usual versions sung by old-time singers. - RBW File: R272 === NAME: Jinny Jenkins: see Jenny Jenkins (File: R453) === NAME: Joan and John Blount: see Get Up and Bar the Door [Child 275] (File: C275) === NAME: Joan's Ale Is Good: see When Jones's Ale Was New (File: Doe168) === NAME: Job: see Come All You Worthy Christian Men (File: ShH91) === NAME: Job, Job DESCRIPTION: "Oh Job, Job, good Lord, Tell me how you feel, good Lord." Sundry Biblical incidents are narrated: Pilate's wife and her dream of Jesus, Joshua stopping the sun, etc. Verses are very long, with variable numbers of lines AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 (recordings, Rich Amerson, Dock Reed-Vera Hall Ward) KEYWORDS: Bible religious FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Courlander-NFM, pp. 53-56, "(Job, Job)" (1 text); pp. 225-226, "Job, Job" (1 tune, partial text) Roud #10964 RECORDINGS: Rich Amerson, "Job Job" (on NFMAla4) Dock Reed & Vera Hall Ward, "Job Job" (on NFMAla5) (on ReedWard01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Swing Low" (a few lines) NOTES: The account of Joshua stopping the sun is found in Joshua 10:12-13. Pilate's wife's dream is found in Matthew 27:19 (only; the other gospels have no hint of the story). - RBW File: CNFM225 === NAME: Jock Gheddes and the Soo DESCRIPTION: Jock's mother warned him to "Come hame sober" but Jock "as usual soon forgot." Arriving home he falls in a dung hill where a sow, liking the smell, licks his mouth. Jock wakes, "spat for near an hour," has the pig killed, and has not had whisky since. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1967 (recording, Willie Scott) KEYWORDS: drink humorous animal death FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Bord)) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #5130 RECORDINGS: Willie Scott, "Jock Gheddes and the Soo" (on Voice13) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Courtin' in the Stable (The Workin' Steer)" (plot) cf. "Doran's Ass [Laws Q19]" (plot) File: RcJGatSo === NAME: Jock Hawk DESCRIPTION: "One night I into Glesga went To spend my penny fee, Twas then a girl gave consent To bear me company." They go to a tavern. A crowd of sailors comes in -- then are called away. Jock is left to pay the entire bill. He warns others of the trick AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord) KEYWORDS: drink money trick sailor warning FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, pp. 278-279, "Jock Hawk's Adventures in Glasgow" (1 text) Roud #2311 File: Ord278 === NAME: Jock o Hazeldean: see John of Hazelgreen [Child 293] (File: C293) === NAME: Jock o the Side [Child 187] DESCRIPTION: Jock o the Side has been taken prisoner in a raid. His neighbors hope to ransom him, but (Hobie Noble/The Laird's Jock) will free him with five men. They make their way to Jock's prison, break down the doors and perform other feats, and bring Jock away AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1774 (Percy papers) KEYWORDS: borderballad prisoner escape rescue FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North),Scotland(Aber)) REFERENCES: (8 citations) Child 187, "Jock o the Side" (4 texts) Bronson 187, "Jock o the Side" (4 versions) Stokoe/Reay, pp. 145-147, "Jock o' the Side" (1 text, 1 tune) {Compare Bronson's #3, a variant of the same tune but with different text} Friedman, p. 246, "Jock o' the Side" (1 text) OBB 138, "Jock o' the Side" (1 text) Warner 191, "Bold Dickie and Bold Archie" (1 text, 1 tune, primarily Child 188 but possibly with elements of 187) TBB 25, "Jock o' the Side" (1 text) DT (187/188), JOCKSIDE JOHNWEBB*? BOLDARCH*? Roud #82 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Hobie Noble" [Child 189] (characters) cf. "Archie o Cawfield" [Child 188] (plot) NOTES: Jock o' the Side (Side is a region in Liddesdale) was a well-known thief and raider of the 1560s. - SF It is interesting to note that (apart from Jock himself), the characters in this drama are completely unfixed; in one version, Robin Hood's companion Much the miller's son is one of the raiders (and not a very bold one). - RBW File: C187 === NAME: Jock o' Rhynie (The Praise o' Huntley) DESCRIPTION: "I've been abroad, I've been at hame... But noo I've come to Huntley." The singer escapes his parents and sets out to earn his fee. His parents offer no support. After working with Mr. Stephen and Jock o' Huntley, he vows to be "mair wiser." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord) KEYWORDS: work farming father mother FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, pp. 338-339, "In Praise o' Huntley" (1 text) Roud #3943 File: Ord338 === NAME: Jock Scott DESCRIPTION: Jock recalls the first time he saw Mary, whose beauty ensnared him. He takes a job with her father, and wins her heart. They plan to flee. Her father follows and drags her away. When they try again, he is accused of forgery. He hopes to win free AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord) KEYWORDS: love courting servant father punishment trick FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, pp. 448-450, "Jock Scott" (1 text) Roud #5620 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Henry Connors" [Laws M5] (plot) cf. "Erin's Lovely Home" [Laws M6] (plot) cf. "William Riley's Courtship [Laws M9]" (plot) cf. "Jock Scott" (plot) cf. "The Footboy" (plot) File: Ord448 === NAME: Jock Sheep DESCRIPTION: A lady asks a knight not to lie with her "for spoilin' o' my goun." She asks that he take her to her father's castle first. Once there she shuts the door in his face. Disguised as a lady in labor the knight lures her out and rapes her. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1827 (Kinloch) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Jock Sheep, a knight, and a lady set a tryst but she asks him not to lie with her "for spoilin' o' my goun." She asks that he take her to her father's castle where "ye shall hae your wills o' me." Once there she shuts the door in his face. Then she taunts him by comparing him to a marigold, and impotent cock and impotent stallion. He disguises himself as a lady in labor in the wood. When his lady goes to "her" aid she finds Jock. He rapes her, repeating her taunts. She asks that "sin you've taen your wills o' me You may conduct me hame." He does. KEYWORDS: seduction escape trick knight rape disguise FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Kinloch-BBook V, pp. 17-21, "Jock Sheep" (1 text) DT JOCKSHEP Roud #5862 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Baffled Knight [Child 112]" (plot) cf. "The Broomfield Hill [Child 43]" (first verse) cf. "The Three Butchers (Dixon and Johnson) [Laws L4]" (motif: "damsel in distress" as lure) NOTES: Child notes to 112, "The Baffled Knight": "There is a Scottish ballad in which the tables are turned upon the maid in the conclusion. This being of comparatively recent, and not of popular, but of low literary origin, cannot be admitted here. It can be found in Kinloch's Ballad Book, 'Jock Sheep,' p. 16, and the Kinloch MSS, I, 229, communicated by James Beattie, Mearnsshire. Other versions are, in the Campbell MSS, 'Dernie Hughie,' II, 233; 'Jock Sheep, or, The Maiden Outwitted,' Buchan MSS, I, 155." The first verse of Kinloch matches "The Broomfield Hill," Child 43A and Child 43C, which sets a different tone than Child 112: here Jock and the lady set the tryst; in Child 112 (as in other Child 43 versions) the meeting is not planned. What is not clear here is why the lady changes her mind; the lady's dilemna described in "The Broomfield Hill" is not stated here. The version of Child 112 closest to "Jock Sheep" is version D.b. The taunts -- the marigold, impotent cock and shy stallion -- are only in that version of Child 112. In other versions of "Jock Sheep" references to an impotent bull and ram are added to the list (for example, Greig-Duncan). - BS File: C112A === NAME: Jock Stewart (The Man You Don't Meet Every Day) DESCRIPTION: (Jock Stewart) invites the company to enjoy his generosity. "So be easy and free when you're drinking with me; I'm a man you don't meet every day" The singer may talk of his well-built hut, his hunting trips, or whatever people discuss in pubs AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1935 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: drink hunting friend FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) Ireland US(So) Australia REFERENCES: (3 citations) Randolph 476, "The Man You Don't Meet Every Day" (1 text) Meredith/Covell/Brown, pp. 161-162, 286, "A Man You Don't Meet Every Day" (2 texts, 2 tunes, heavily localized) DT, JSTEWART* Roud #975 RECORDINGS: Cornelius O'Sullivan, "I'm a Man You Don't Meet Every Day" (Victor 79126, late 1920s-early 1930s) Belle, Sheila, and Cathie Stewart, "Jock Stewart" (on SCStewartsBlair01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Bound to Australia" (meter, floating lyrics) cf. "The First of the Emigrants" (tune, meter, chorus) File: R476 === NAME: Jock the Leg and the Merry Merchant [Child 282] DESCRIPTION: A "merry merchant" comes to a tavern and finds himself in a series of contests with (a disguised) Jock the Leg. They set out together, and Jock demands the merchant's pack. The merchant fights him off, then six of his men as well; they declare friendship AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1828 (Buchan) KEYWORDS: robbery outlaw fight FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Child 282, "Jock the Leg and the Merry Merchant" (1 text) Bronson 282, "Jock the Leg and the Merry Merchant" (7 versions) DT, JOCKLEG* Roud #3856 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Bold Pedlar and Robin Hood" [Child 132] (plot) NOTES: Child observes that this is essentially a Robin Hood ballad with the names changed. One wonders if it might not be a Scottish redaction of "The Bold Pedlar and Robin Hood." - RBW File: C282 === NAME: Jockey Hat and Feather DESCRIPTION: "As I was walking out one day A-thinking of the weather I saw a pair of roguish eyes 'Neath a hat and feather." The girl asks how the singer likes her hat. He likes it (or her?) very much. She leaves; he misses her, and dreams of the hat AUTHOR: Fred Wilson and W. H. Brockway EARLIEST_DATE: 1942 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: clothes dream loneliness separation FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Randolph 490, "Jockey Hat and Feather" (1 text) Gilbert, p. 59, "Jockey Hat and Feather" (1 text) Roud #7586 NOTES: Spaeth (_A History of Popular Music in America_, p. 173) says that this was "one of a large group of songs [in the 1860s] that discussed details of feminine attire," but mentions only this and "Tassels on Her Boots." - RBW File: R490 === NAME: Jockey to the Fair DESCRIPTION: Jocky puts on his Sunday suit and goes to Jenny's house, wakes her by tapping at the window. Jenny says, "Everyone's asleep or out: are you going to hold to your vows?" He says yes. They run off to the Fair and get married. Returning, they bless the day AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1820 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 16(118d)) KEYWORDS: love clothes elopement marriage courting sex promise family FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) Britain(England(South,West), Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 90-92, "Jockey to the Fair" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton/Senior, pp. 170-171, "Jocky to the Fair" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #3344 RECORDINGS: Edmund Henneberry, "Jocky to the Fair" (on NovaScotia1) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 16(118d), "Jocky and Jennys Trip to the Fair," J. Pitts (London), 1802-1819; also Harding B 16(119a), Firth b.26(244), Harding B 11(1884), "Jocky and Jenny's Trip to the Fair"; Firth c.19(152), Firth b.26(407), Harding B 11(1886), Firth b.26(372), Harding B 25(972), Harding B 28(64), "Jockey to the Fair"; 2806 c.16(62), "Jockey and Jenny"; Harding B 21(13), "Trip to the Fair" ALTERNATE_TITLES: With Jockey to the Fair NOTES: There's also a fiddle tune, "Jockey to the Fair", to which these words can be sung. As for the keyword "sex" -- it's not mentioned in the song, but you can believe what you like. - PJS For another version see Robert Bell, editor, [The Project Gutenberg EBook (1996) of] Ancient Poems, Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of England (1857), "Jockey to the Fair" - BS File: CrSe170 === NAME: Jockey's Lament, The: see Alec Robertson (II) (File: MA146) === NAME: Jockey's Lamentation: see O'er the Hills and Far Away (I) (File: Arn017) === NAME: Jocky Said to Jeanie DESCRIPTION: "Jocky said to Jeanie, wilt thou do't? Ne'er a fit, quo' Jeannie, for my tocher good." She says her dowry is too good for such as him. He says he has gold, gear, and land. She consents: "Ye're welcomer to tak me than to let me be." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1796 (Scots Musical Museum) KEYWORDS: love courting dowry FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-NovaScotia 22, "Jocky Said to Jinnie" (1 fragment, 1 tune) ST CrNS022 (Full) Roud #1792 ALTERNATE_TITLES: Jocky Said to Jeany NOTES: Creighton-NovaScotia heard this song in Gaelic and French as well as English and always to the same tune. - BS My feeling is that Creighton's version was a local adaption. Her tune (in 2/4 and with a range of only a fourth) bears no resemblance to that, e.g., in the Scots Musical Museum (in 3/2 and with a full octave range). My guess would be that a Gaelic drone went into French and English. - RBW File: CrNS022 === NAME: Jocky Said to Jeany: see Jocky Said to Jeanie (File: CrNS022) === NAME: Jocky Said to Jinnie: see Jocky Said to Jeanie (File: CrNS022) === NAME: Jocky to the Fair: see Jockey to the Fair (File: CrSe170) === NAME: Jody Chant: see Sound Off (Cadence Count, Jody Chant) (File: LoF317) === NAME: Joe Bowers [Laws B14] DESCRIPTION: Joe Bowers leaves for California to raise money to marry Sally. Returning home, he is irritated to find that she has married another, a red-haired man, and has a red-haired baby AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1856 ("Johnson's Original Comic Songs") KEYWORDS: travel marriage infidelity settler FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,NE,Ro,So,SE,SW) REFERENCES: (22 citations) Laws B14, "Joe Bowers" Dean, pp. 98-99, "Joe Bowers" (1 text) Belden, pp. 341-343, "Joe Bowers" (1 text, apparently a collation of four versions, 1 tune) Randolph 187, "Joe Bowers" (3 texts plus an excerpt, 2 tunes) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 190-193, "Joe Bowers" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 187D with the tune re-transcribed) BrownII 258, "Joe Bowers" (1 text) Hudson 70, pp. 197-198, "Joe Bowers" (1 text) Shellans, p. 23, "The Disappointment of Joe Bowers" (1 text, 1 tune) Leach, pp. 751-752, "Joe Bowers" (1 text) Friedman, p. 431, "Joe Bowers" (1 text) Warner 63, "Joe Bowers" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 421-423, "Joe Bowers" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 174, "Joe Bowers" (1 text, 1 tune) Fife-Cowboy/West 12, "Joe Bowers" (1 text, 1 tune) LPound-ABS, 88, pp. 186-188, "Joe Bowers" (1 text) JHCox 50, "Joe Bowers" (1 text, 1 tune) JHCoxIIB, #24A-B, pp. 186-187, "Joe Bowers" (1 text plus a fragment, 1 tune) Ritchie-Southern, p. 63, "Joe Bowers" (1 text, 1 tune) Darling-NAS, pp. 171-172, "Joe Bowers" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 207, "Joe Bowers" (1 text) cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 480, "Joe Bowers" (source notes only) DT 381, JOBOWERS* Roud #2806 RECORDINGS: Loman D. Cansler, "Joe Bowers" (on Cansler1) Logan English, "Joe Bowers" (on LEnglish02) Jean Ritchie, "Joe Bowers" (on Ritchie03) Pete Seeger, "Joe Bowers" (on PeteSeeger07, PeteSeeger07a) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The State of Arkansas (The Arkansas Traveler II)" [Laws H1] (tune) SAME_TUNE: The Ghost of the Peanut Stand (File: CrSNB070) NOTES: Various suggestions have been put forward regarding the author of this song; Laws quotes Louise Pound's attribution to John A. Stone (Old Put). Friedman advocates John Woodward. The Lomaxes mention the Johnson of "Johnson's Original Comic Songs." Belden alludes to Merwin's attribution to Frank Swift. I suspect the matter can no longer be settled. - RBW File: LB14 === NAME: Joe Bowman DESCRIPTION: Singer and friends meet hunt-master Joe Bowman at dawn; they go out in search of game, and flush a fox. He runs swiftly and cleverly, but is killed in the end. All gather around the fire and drink. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (recorded from John Dalton) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer and friends meet hunt-master Joe Bowman at dawn; they go out in search of game, and flush a fox. He runs swiftly and cleverly, but is killed in the end. All gather around the fire and drink. Chorus: "When the fire's on the hearth and the good cheer abounds/We'll sing to Joe Bowman and the Uilswater hounds/For we ne'er shall forget how he woke us at dawn/With the crack of his whip and the sound of his horn" KEYWORDS: death hunting drink animal worker FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Kennedy 252, "Joe Bowman" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #1858 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Bold Reynard ('A Good Many Gentlemen')" (theme) cf. "Bold Reynard the Fox (Tallyho! Hark! Away!)" (theme) cf. "The Innocent Hare" (theme) cf. "The Echoing Horn" (theme) NOTES: Joe Bowman (1851-1940) was a well-known and well-liked character in the Lake District; he hunted the Uilswater foxhounds for forty years. - PJS Kennedy claims there are "many" songs about Bowman -- but cites only one, which he does not quote, and cites only his own recording of "Joe Bowman." One thinks Kennedy, as so often, has been a bit on the overenthusiastic side. - RBW File: K252 === NAME: Joe Brady and Dan Curley DESCRIPTION: The singer claims that Joe Brady and Daniel Curley are innocent of Burke's murder but that the informer Carey, a confessed killer is free: "Carey is more guilty than any of the rest ... the daggers which had done the deed he broke them into bits" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1883 (Zimmermann) KEYWORDS: betrayal execution homicide trial political HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Chronology of the Phoenix Park murders (source: primarily Zimmermann, pp. 62, 63, 281-286.) May 6, 1882 - Chief Secretary Lord Frederick Cavendish and the Under Secretary Thomas Henry Burke are murdered by a group calling themselves "The Invincible Society." January 1883 - twenty seven men are arrested. James Carey, one of the leaders in the murders, turns Queen's evidence. Six men are condemned to death, four are executed (Joseph Brady is hanged May 14, 1883; Daniel Curley is hanged on May 18, 1883), others are "sentenced to penal servitude," and Carey is freed and goes to South Africa. July 29, 1883 - Patrick O'Donnell kills Carey on board the "Melrose Castle" sailing from Cape Town to Durban. Dec 1883 - Patrick O'Donnell is convicted of the murder of James Carey and executed in London (per Leach-Labrador) FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Zimmermann 84, "Lamentable Lines on Joe Brady and Dan Curley" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Phoenix Park Tragedy" (subject: the Phoenix Park murders) and references there NOTES: For broadsides on the same subject see Bodleian, Harding B 14(186), "Lines on the trial & sentence of Joe Brady and Dew Curly and others for the Phoenix park murder" ("All in high and low station who dwell in this nation," unknown, n.d. Bodleian, Harding B 40(6), "Lines written on the execution of Joe. Brady ("Good christians all on you I call to hear my lamentation"), J.F. Nugent and Co.? (Dublin?),1850-1899; I could not download the image for verification. Zimmermann p. 62: "The Phoenix Park murders and their judicial sequels struck the popular imagination and were a gold-mine for ballad-writers: some thirty songs were issued on this subject, which was the last great cause to be so extensively commented upon in broadside ballads." - BS File: Zimm084 === NAME: Joe Brook DESCRIPTION: The singer leaves Grey Rapids in October 1924 and takes the train for Deersdale to go logging with Coughlan on Joe Brook. The crew has men from every country. Key men in the crew are named. AUTHOR: Frank O'Hara EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (Manny/Wilson) KEYWORDS: lumbering moniker FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Ives-NewBrunswick, pp. 77-80, "Joe Brook" (1 text, 1 tune) Manny/Wilson 25, "The Joe Brook Song" (1 text, 1 tune) ST IvNB077 (Partial) Roud #1948 NOTES: Manny/Wilson: The song "describes life at Coughlan's Camp in a lumber operation for Geo. Burchill & Sons of South Nelson" near the Miramichi River. - BS File: IvNB077 === NAME: Joe Fowler Blues, The: see I'm Going Down the River (File: MWhee050) === NAME: Joe Higgins: see I Don't Mind If I Do (File: MA263) === NAME: Joe Hill DESCRIPTION: The singer "dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night, Alive as you and me." He points out that Hill is dead. Hill replies, "I never died." The singer describes the details of Hill's death; Hill answers, "What they forgot to kill Went on to organize." AUTHOR: Words: Alfred Hayes/Music: Earl Robinson EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (music copyright; the words are older) KEYWORDS: death dream labor-movement lastwill HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1879-1915 - Life of Joel Emmanuel Hagglund, known as "Joe Hillstrom" or "Joe Hill." 1902 - Hill emigrates to the United States Jan 10, 1914 - The Salt Lake City robbery/murder for which Joe Hill was arrested 1915 - Execution of Joe Hill for the murder FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (3 citations) Arnett, p. 175, "Joe Hill" (1 text, 1 tune) Burt, p. 95, "(Joe Hill)" (1 fragment) DT, JOEHILL RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "Joe Hill" (on PeteSeeger39) (on PeteSeeger48) NOTES: The innocence of Joel Emmanuel Hagglund, "Joe Hill," is such an article of faith in the folk community that it was stated as fact in the earlier editions of this index. This even though the sources containing this song knew so little about the case that different sources gave different dates for his execution. An honest assessment has to admit uncertainty. Facts are sadly few -- indeed, little is known of Hill's dozen years of freedom in the United States; even before his death, he was legendary enough that he is said to have been part of far more labor actions than any man could possibly have participated in. He rambled -- but probably not as much as the tales imply. All that is really certain is that he was the best and most important songwriter for the IWW. The story of his execution is even more troubling. What is known is that a murder took place in early 1914 at a grocery store in Salt Lake City. John G. Morrison and his son Arling were slain. Arling managed to kill one of the attackers; according to Morrison's surviving son Merlin, he shot another in the chest. The killers left without actually taking anything. Hill later turned up at a doctor's with a bullet hole in his chest. It was a clean injury; the doctor treated and released him. Still, when the police looked for a killer, they found Hill with an injury that fit the description, and he had no alibi. Arresting him was certainly not unreasonable; how many guys were there in 1915 Salt Lake City (the city of the conservative, law-abiding Mormons) with bullet wounds in their chests? The problem was not the arrest but the trial. Hill attempted to defend himelf, all the while claiming the trial was fixed. This is probably overblown, but certainly the judge was prejudiced against him, and allowed the prosecution undue liberties. Hill, a non-lawyer, didn't know when to protest. No evidence could be presented to directly connect Hill with the murder (Merlin Morrison could not identify him), but with the city convinced he was guilty, and with no alibi except a vague claim about a woman's honor, he was naturally convicted. One of those convinced that he should die was the governor of Utah. So the various calls for clemency and a new trial were denied. He was executed on November 19, 1915. He had written that he didn't "want to be caught dead in Utah," so his body was cremated and the ashes sent all over the country as a rallying point. A good summary of the case is found in the December 2005 issue of _American History_ magazine. Author Ben Lefebvre sums up the whole case pretty well: "Whether Hill was guilty of murder or not, he clearly did not receive a fair trial, one that might have credibly determined the truth" (p. 62). It does seem that few people actually want the truth. I visited Amazon.com in trying to find good additional sources to allow further research. The reader reviews were absolutely useless -- clearly most of them had already decided their opinions, and they reviewed the books positively or negatively based on what *they* think happened. - RBW File: Arn175 === NAME: Joe Jimmy Murphy: see Jimmy Murphy (File: Beld291) === NAME: Joe Livermore DESCRIPTION: Joe Livermore captains Columbia from Eastport. "When we got to Eastport it was on the lucky day, Each man took his chest and no longer would stay, If we can't do no better boys, we'll stay on the shore And we'll never go to sea with old Joe Livermore" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1932 (Creighton-NovaScotia) KEYWORDS: ordeal sailor ship FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-NovaScotia 124, "Joe Livermore" (1 text, 1 tune) ST CrNS124 (Partial) Roud #1826 NOTES: The tune as given by Creighton doesn't quite match any version of the Derry Down tune I know, but that is clearly the basis for the piece; looking at the lyrics, I suspect this is derived from "Red Iron Ore." The similarity is great enough that I instantly felt I had met this song before, even though (to the best of my knowledge) I haven't. - RBW File: CrNS124 === NAME: Joe Slinsworth: see Joe Stiner (Joe Slinsworth) (File: R219) === NAME: Joe Steinberg: see Joe Stiner (Joe Slinsworth) (File: R219) === NAME: Joe Stiner (Joe Slinsworth) DESCRIPTION: The singer, (Joe Stiner), has apparently recently arrived in the West when he is induced to join the army. After various adventures under General Lyon, the army he is with is defeated and he flees back to Saint Louis, vowing not to fight again AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Belden) KEYWORDS: Civilwar foreigner battle HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Aug 10, 1861 - Battle of Wilson's Creek FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Belden, pp. 362-363, "Joe Slinsworth" (1 text) Randolph 219, "Joe Stiner" (1 text) ADDITIONAL: Fred W. Allsopp, Folklore of Romantic Arkansas, Volume II (1931), p. 223, "(Joe Steinberg)" (1 fragment) Roud #3592 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Jolly Union Boys" and references there (concerning Battle of Wilson's Creek) NOTES: This song describes, with fair accuracy, the campaigns of Captain (later General) Nathaniel Lyon in 1861. The action takes place in Missouri, which was the northernmost of all slave states. Although a minority favored secession, most Missourians probably wanted to stay with the Union. Governor Jackson, however, was not one of them. Having the machinery of state government at his back, he moved to take Missouri from the Union. The Union governor, John C. Fremont, did little to prevent him, so Lyon, with the political support of Frank Blair, Jr., set out to circumvent him. Lyon captured the Missouri arsenal, then took Camp Jackson from Confederate General Frost. He then drove the Confederates in rout from Rolla. Then Lyon made his mistake. He decided to risk his 5000 men against 10000 Confederates in a surprise attack. This might have worked (especially as Confederate generals Price and McCulloch hated each other), but Lyon's outflanking force (led by the inept Franz Sigel-- the Siegel of the song) was routed with small loss to the enemy. The Confederates were now warned, and had a better than five-to-two numerical edge. Even so, the remnants of Lyon's little army held on all day, until their commander was killed. The senior surviving officer, Major (later General) Curtis, ordered a retreat. Wilson's Creek was not really a costly battle by later standards; the forces involved were small, and so badly trained that they were almost unable to inflict casualties. But the campaign had been a hard one (it succeeded, all by itself, in preserving most of Missouri for the Union); it would not be surprising if a few soldiers refused ever to return to the army. - RBW File: R219 === NAME: Joe Turner DESCRIPTION: "They tell me Joe Turner he done come (or "done come and gone") (x2), Got my man and gone." "He come with forty links of chain (x2), Got my man and gone." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1915 (copyright, W. C. Handy) KEYWORDS: separation police FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (5 citations) Sandburg, p. 241, "Joe Turner" (1 short text, 1 tune) Courlander-NFM, p. 137, (no title) (1 fragment) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 265, (no title) (1 fragment), followed by p. 266, (Joe Turner Blues) (1 text, the Handy version) Handy/Silverman-Blues, p. 104-107, "Joe Turner Blues" (1 text, 1 tune, extremely heavily adapted; the original tune, with a single verse, appears on page 17) DT, JOETURNR* ALTERNATE_TITLES: Going Down the River for Long NOTES: Courlander reports that this was based on an incident on 1892, when a flood cost a number of people their livelihood. A storekeeper named Turner (though not Joe Turner) anonymously supplied their needs until he died, whereupon the gifts stopped. It should be noted, however, that this does not match Sandburg's song at all, though it has the same lyrics as Courlander's fragment. Presumably Courlander's source adapted an older song to a local need. In support of this, we note that Handy/Silverman, though dating the song to the same time, regard Turner (actually Joe Tourney, brother of the governor of Tennessee) as the leader of a chain gang. Scarborough tells a variant on the same story: Joe Turner was the brother of one-time Tennessee governor Pete Turner, and seems to have been an enforcer of Jim Crow laws, grabbing Blacks seemingly at random and subjecting them to prosecution in kangaroo courts. The notes in Handy/Silverman regard this as the archetypal folk blues -- perhaps even the ancestor of the entire genre. The former statement may arguably be true; the latter I must seriously doubt. It seems more like the ancestor of the popular blues. Handy, according to Scarborough, admitted to using the traditional piece and supressing Turner the corrupt policeman and turning him into a missing lover. - RBW File: San241 === NAME: Joe Williams DESCRIPTION: "My name it is Joe Williams, my age is 21, I came out to this country a ramblin' son-of-a-gun...." "I went to town.... On Fifth Avenue I met a pretty lass, I introduced her to my elick, and I shoved it up her ass." His reward is a venereal disease AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1976 (recorded by Logsdon from Riley Neal) KEYWORDS: derivative disease whore FOUND_IN: US(SW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Logsdon 32, pp. 182-185, "Joe Williams" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #10096 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Son of a Gambolier (I)" (tune) and references there. File: Logs032 === NAME: Jog Along Till Shearing DESCRIPTION: "The truth, it's in my song so clear Without a word of gammon: The swagmen travel all the year Waiting for the lambin'." The shearers work when they must, drink when they can, and scratch along until the next shearing season begins AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1953 (collected from Joe Cashmere) KEYWORDS: sheep rambling Australia FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (4 citations) Meredith/Anderson, pp. 86-87, "Jog Along Till Shearing" (1 text, 1 tune) Fahey-Eureka, pp. 142-143, "Jog Along 'til Shearing" (1 text, 1 tune) Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 190-191, "Jog Along Till Shearing" (1 text) DT, JOGSHEAR* CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Bow Wow Wow" (tune) and references there cf. "The Big Gun Shearer" (plot) File: MA086 === NAME: Johanna Shay DESCRIPTION: "In the Emerald Isle so far from here across the deep blue sea, There live a maid that I love dear...." He praises Johanna's beauty and fidelity. The birds' song remind him of her. He hopes she will soon become Mrs. O'Day AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Dean) KEYWORDS: love courting separation FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Dean, pp. 106-107, "Johanna Shay" (1 text) Roud #9575 File: Dean106 === NAME: John (George) Riley (I) [Laws N36] DESCRIPTION: A stranger urges a girl to forget her lover; she will not. He tells her that Riley had been aboard his ship, and that Riley had been killed in battle with the French. She is distressed; he reveals that he is Riley and will never again leave her AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1845 (Shield's _Songs and Ballads in use in the Province of Ulster...1845_, according to Moylan) +1818 (William Garret, _Right Choyse and Merrie Book of Garlands_) KEYWORDS: love courting separation marriage disguise reunion FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,SE) REFERENCES: (7 citations) Laws N36, "John (George) Riley I" SharpAp 82, "George Reilly" (8 texts, 8 tunes) Brewster 39, "George Reilly" (1 text) Eddy 37, "George Riley" (2 texts, although Laws assigns only the A text to this ballad; the B text, which is fairly short, might go with this or N37) JHCox 95, "George Reilly" (1 text plus mention of 2 more; Laws's citations are far from clear, since he cites the same page reference under both N36 and N37, but Cox's printed text is clearly this piece; presumably he thinks one of the unprinted texts to be N37) Moylan 9, "George Reilly Who Fought at Port Royal Bay" (1 text, 1 tune) DT 592, JREILLY6 Roud #267 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The New-Slain Knight" [Child 263] cf. "The Banks of Brandywine" [Laws H28] cf. "The Blooming Bright Star of Belle Isle" [Laws H29] cf. "Willie and Mary (Mary and Willie; Little Mary; The Sailor's Bride)" [Laws N28] cf. "A Seaman and His Love (The Welcome Sailor)" [Laws N29] cf. "William Hall (The Brisk Young Farmer)" [Laws N30] cf. "The Plains of Waterloo (I)" [Laws N32] cf. "Lovely Nancy (I)" [Laws N33] cf. "Janie of the Moore" [Laws N34] cf. "The Dark-Eyed Sailor (Fair Phoebe and her Dark-Eyed Sailor)" [Laws N35] cf. "John (George) Riley (II)" [Laws N37] cf. "The Mantle So Green" [Laws N38] cf. "MacDonald's Return to Glencoe (The Pride of Glencoe)" [Laws N39] cf. "The Banks of Claudy" [Laws N40] cf. "The Lady of the Lake (The Banks of Clyde II)" [Laws N41] cf. "Pretty Fair Maid (The Maiden in the Garden; The Broken Token)" [Laws N42] (one of the most common of the ballads of this sort, often known as "John Riley") cf. "Blackbirds and Thrushes (I)" cf. "As Broad as I was Walking" cf. "Come All Ye False Lovers" cf. "Skerry's Blue-Eyed Jane" cf. "The Banks of the Clyde" cf. "The Banks of the Dee (II)" cf. "Lurgan Town (I)" cf. "The Banks of the Inverness" cf. "Cairn-o'-Mount" cf. "Drumallachie" cf. "Down by the Seaside" (part of plot, lyrics) cf. "Yon Green Valley" (lyrics) cf. "Bleacher Lassie o' Kelvinhaugh" cf. "The Lass of Swansea Town (Swansea Barracks)" cf. "The Soldier's Return" cf. "Billy Ma Hone" cf. "Mary of Sweet Belfast Town" ALTERNATE_TITLES: George Riley John Riley Johnnie Riley NOTES: The theme of a lover coming in disguise and testing his love is ancient; there is a version in Ovid's Metamorphoses (VII.685 and following). Cephalus doubts Procris, and (disguised by the goddess Diana) comes to her and tries to get her to be unfaithful to him. She utterly rejects his advances. In that case, however, the ending is not happy. Although they are reunited, and happy for a time, she eventually starts to doubt him (prompted perhaps by his earlier doubts?). She follows him as he goes hunting, and he -- hearing a rustling in the leaves -- kills her with a cast of his javelin. Even older, of course, is the version in the Odyssey. - RBW See the notes to "The Plains of Waterloo (I)" [Laws N32] for Mackenzie's discussion of Laws N36 as source for "The Mantle So Green" [Laws N38] and "The Plains of Waterloo (I)" [Laws N32]. [On April 12, 1782], Admiral George Brydges Rodney defeated the French Admiral the Count De Grasse at the Battle of the Saintes in the Caribbean and brought the captured French ships into Fort Royal. (source} Moylan; _George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney_ at the Wikipedia site). [See also Arthur Herman, _To Rule the Waves_, pp. 316-318; Herman notes that Rodney pioneered the attack from the leeward side, assuring that the French could not escape him by running; Herman also considers the battle to have re-established British naval dominance, which was not broken even in the Napoleonic Wars. - RBW] Both Laws and Moylan make fight the battle between Rodney and De Grasse. Laws has Reiley serving on _Belflew_; Moylan makes it _Balflour_. Moylan notes "The Formidable was Admiral Rodney's own vessel. The Barfleur was the ship which captured de Grasse's flagship, the Ville de Paris." - BS Brewster's version also mentions the Rodney/De Grasse battle; the ship in his text is the _Belle Flower_, though the date is April 10. Eddy has the date right; the ship is the _Belflew_. Cox also lists the _Belflew_ (and has the April 12 date); presumably their agreement was the basis for the name in Laws. File: LN36 === NAME: John (George) Riley (II) [Laws N37] DESCRIPTION: A stranger urges a girl to marry him; she replies that, having lost her chance to marry Riley, she intends to live single. He tries again, asking her to come to (Pennsylvania); she refuses. At last he reveals that he is Riley, and offers to marry her AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1817 (The New American Songster) KEYWORDS: love courting separation marriage disguise FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,NE,SE,So) Ireland Britain(England) REFERENCES: (14 citations) Laws N37, "John (George) Riley II" Randolph 56, "John Riley" (2 texts, 1 tune) BrownII 93, "John Reilly" (1 text, presumably this song though Laws does not list it under any Riley ballad) Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 267-270, "Fair Phoebe and her Dark-Eyed Sailor" (3 texts; the second, "The Sailor," with tune on p. 427, is this song; the first, "Young Willie's Return, or The Token," with tune on pp. 426-427, is "The Dark-Eyed Sailor (Fair Phoebe and her Dark-Eyed Sailor)" [Laws N35]; the third, "Billy Ma Hone," with tune on p. 427, seems to be its own song) Flanders/Brown, pp. 135-136, "John Reilly" (1 text, 1 tune) Wyman-Brockway I, p. 34, "John Riley" (1 text, 1 tune) Cambiaire, p. 95, "John RIley" (1 text) McNeil-SFB1, pp. 82-83, "Young John Riley" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 79, "John Riley" (1 text, 1 tune) Ritchie-SingFam, pp. 210-211, "[John Riley]" (1 text, 1 tune, sufficiently abbreviated that the plot does not allow us to say which Riley ballad it is, but the first verse implies it goes here) JHCox 95, "George Reilly" (1 text plus mention of 2 more; Laws is difficult to interpret on this point, but it appears he means one of Cox's un-printed texts to go here while the printed text in N36) SHenry H826, p. 309, "James Reilly" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 149, "John Riley" (1 text) DT, JREILLY2 Roud #267 RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "John Riley" (on PeteSeeger02, PeteSeegerCD01) (on PeteSeeger29); "Johnny Riley" (on PeteSeeger40) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. esp. "John (George) Riley (I)" [Laws N36] and references there ALTERNATE_TITLES: George Riley John Riley Johnnie Riley NOTES: The characteristic first verse of this particular Riley ballad runs something like As I walked out one summer's morning To take the fine and pleasant air, There I spied a most beautiful damsel, She appeared to me like lilies fair. - RBW The first two Seeger recordings have distinctly different tunes. - PJS File: LN37 === NAME: John Anderson, My Jo (I) DESCRIPTION: Singer tells how, when she first saw John, he was young, handsome, and her first love; now his hair is white, but she loves him still. They've climbed the hill together and must now totter down, but they'll go hand in hand and "sleep together at the foot" AUTHOR: Robert Burns EARLIEST_DATE: 1790 KEYWORDS: love age death hair FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 141, "John Anderson, My Jo (I)" DT, JOHNAND3* ST FSWB141B (Full) RECORDINGS: Henry Burr, "John Anderson, My Jo" (Victor 4557, 1906; Victor 16213, 1909) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "John Anderson, My Jo, John" cf. "Johnny Bull, My Jo, John" (tune) cf. "Cruiskeen Lawn" (tune) NOTES: This sounds like a version of "John Anderson, My Jo, John" that's been so thoroughly bowdlerized that nothing remains but the aging motif. The overall mood of the two songs is so different that I've split them. - PJS This is actually the Burns rewrite, published in the Scots Musical Museum (and fairly often reprinted, e.g. in Palgrave's _Golden Treasury,_ item CXCVII). Apparently Burns didn't dare publish the bawdy original, but liked the feeling of ths song. Those who want to see an even stranger rewrite should examine "John Barleycorn, My Jo, John" (Logan, pp. 221-222), a parody in which grain is the singer's love. Another broadside parody is "My Bonnie Meg, My Jo" [NLScotland, L.C.178.A.2(105), "My Bonnie Meg, My Jo," unknown, c. 1875], which deals with a man's problems with an elderly shrew of a wife. NLScotland L.C.Fol.60(15b), "John Anderson, My Jo (A New Reading)," Poet's Box (Dundee), c. 1890, is also a raspy dialog between husband and wife, in which they decide to go to bed and fight another day; it is probably a rewrite of the Burns version, though there might be some bawdry from the traditional version. - RBW File: FSWB141B === NAME: John Anderson, My Jo, John DESCRIPTION: Singer upbraids her lover for rising so early and coming to bed so late, tells him he's aging and risking being cuckolded. She describes his attributes fairly explicitly, and her own, saying "'Tis all for your conveniency/John Anderson, my jo" AUTHOR: Attributed to Robert Burns EARLIEST_DATE: 1765 (Percy) KEYWORDS: age marriage sex husband bawdy FOUND_IN: Britain REFERENCES: (3 citations) Percy/Wheatley II, pp. 131-133, "John Anderson My Jo" (1 text, short and probably bowdlerized; Percy's first and final editions have some differences) Silber-FSWB, p. 155 "John Anderson, My Jo (II) DT, JOHNAND* CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "John Anderson, My Jo (I)" cf. "Johnny Bull, My Jo, John" (tune) cf. "Cruiskeen Lawn" (tune) SAME_TUNE: John Anderson, My Jo (I) (File: FSWB141B) Johnny Bull, My Jo, John (File: SBoA118) John Bull's Epistle (Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 172-174) O Jimmy Fisk, My Jo, Jim (fragment in Cohen-LSRail, p. 91) NOTES: It's clear that "John Anderson, My Jo (I)" is a thoroughly bowdlerized version of this song, but their mood is so different that I've split them. - PJS There is still a third version, the Digital Tradition's JOHNAND5, which is a temperance song. Burns may have had his hand in some versions of this text, but it is not all his; the "official" version, in the Scots Musical Museum (filed in the Index as "John Anderson, My Jo (I)") is entirely Burns's work. - RBW File: FSWB155A === NAME: John Atkins (The Drunkard's Warning) DESCRIPTION: "Poor drunkards, poor drunkards, take warning by me, The fruits of transgression behold now I see." John Atkins, when drunk, slew his "dear companion." His family and friends are left weeping. He regrets his acts and warns against drink AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Henry, from Mrs. William Franklin) KEYWORDS: drink warning execution homicide FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) MHenry-Appalachians, p. 115, "John Atkins" (1 text) Roud #4191 File: MHAp115 === NAME: John B. Sails, The DESCRIPTION: A description of a horrible journey on the "sloop John B." Refrain: "Let me go home! I want to go home; I feel so break-up, I want to go home." Among the problems on the voyage: A drunken first mate who is arrested for robbery and a cook who won't AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg) KEYWORDS: ship sailor hardtimes cook Caribbean FOUND_IN: West Indies REFERENCES: (4 citations) Sandburg, pp. 22-23, "The John B. Sails" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 280, "The John B.'s Sails" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 93, "John B. Sails" (1 text) DT, WRKJOHNB Roud #15634 RECORDINGS: Rex Allen, "Wreck of the John B" (Mercury 5573, 1951) Cleveland Simmons Group: "Histe Up the John B. Sail" (AAFS 418 B2, 1935; on LomaxCD1822-2) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Sloop John B. The Wreck of the John B. NOTES: Although I have yet to encounter a version of this song actually describing the sinking of the John B., the craft is said to lie at the bottom of Governor's Harbor in Nassau, where its remains are considered almost a historic monument. - RBW File: San022 === NAME: John Barbour: see Willie o Winsbury [Child 100] (File: C100) === NAME: John Barleycorn DESCRIPTION: John Barleycorn is proclaimed dead but springs to life when the rain/dew falls on him. At midsummer he grows a beard; then men with scythes cut him, bind him to a cart, wheel him to a barn, and brew him into beer. The last verse praises his merits AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1625 (broadside from the reign of James I) KEYWORDS: resurrection death magic drink FOUND_IN: Britain(England,Scotland(Aber,Bord)) US(NE) Canada(Ont,Queb) Ireland REFERENCES: (11 citations) Sharp-100E 84, "John Barleycorn" (1 text, 1 tune) Kennedy 276, "John Barleycorn" (1 text, 1 tune) Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, pp. 56-57, "John Barleycorn" (1 text, 1 tune) Copper-SoBreeze, pp. 216-217, "John Barleycorn" (1 text, 1 tune) OLochlainn 89, "The Barley Corn" (1 text, 1 tune) Morton-Maguire 13,13A, pp. 32,105,160-32,105,160-162, "John Barleygrain" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Hodgart, p. 156, "Sir John Barleycorn" (1 text) MacSeegTrav 101, "John Barleycorn" (1 text, 1 tune) Flanders/Brown, pp. 46-48, "John Barleycorn" (1 text plus some excerpts, 1 tune) BBI, ZN282, "As I went through the North Country" DT, JBARLEY* BARLEY1 Roud #164 RECORDINGS: O. J. Abbott, "The Barley Grain for Me" (on Abbott1) Austin Flanagan, "The Barley Grain" (on Voice14) Haxey Hood singers and customers at "The King's Arms," Haxey, Lincs. "John Barleycorn" (on FieldTrip1) Fred Jordan, "John Barleycorn" (on Voice13) A. L. Lloyd, "John Barleycorn" (on Lloyd3, Lloyd5) Pete Seeger & O. J. Abbott, "Barley Grain" (on Newport59/60) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Douce Ballads 3(83a), "A pleasant new ballad to sing ev'ning and morn, of the bloody murder of sir John Barley corn"; also Johnson Ballads 1408[many illegible words], "Sir John Barleycorn"("There was three knights came from the north"), W. Jackson and Son (Birmingham), 1842-1855; Harding B 11(1189), Harding B 15(386b), Johnson Ballads 2847[some illegible words], "Sir John Barleycorn"; 2806 b.9(38), "The Barley Corn" LOCSinging, as100660, "The Barley Corn," P. Brereton (Dublin), 19C CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "John Barleycorn's a Hero Bold" (theme) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Barley Grain for Me NOTES: A version of this was remade by Robert Burns, but it is obviously older. - RBW MacColl & Seeger speculate that "John Barleycorn" was derived from the Scots ballad "Allan-a-Maut," found in the Bannatyne manuscript, 1568; its theme is similar. - PJS Of course, the legend of the eternal grain is old -- as is the legend of the dying-and-resurrected God. Jesus, obviously, is the prototype of this, but there is also the Greek Persephone legend and others. Incidentally, when Prohibition was passed in the United States, John Barleycorn was given a bonus funeral, beyond the annual supply. The February 2005 issue of _American History_ magazine showed an actual tombstone: In Memoriam John Barleycorn Born B.C. Died Jan. 16, 1920 Resurrection? There are also broadsides commemorating his death, e.g. NLScotland, Ry.III.a.10(099), "A Hue and Cry After Sir John Barleycorn," unknown, after 1720. The notes to the broadside state that this was made in respone to Robert Walpole's 1725 imposition of the malt tax -- but, in context, it seems likely that the idea was lifted from an early form of this song. - RBW The Bodleian broadside Douce Ballads 3(83a) appears to be older than the other broadsides. Unfortunately, Bodleian has neither the printer nor date estimate. The tune is noted as "Shall I lye beyond thee." Broadside LOCSinging as100660 appears to be the same as Bodleian 2806 b.9(38) printed by P. Brereton (Dublin). - BS File: ShH84 === NAME: John Barleycorn's a Hero Bold DESCRIPTION: Singer praises Barleycorn; his robes are rich and green, his head speared with prickly beard; when stricken down, he uses his blood for England's good. Chorus: "Hey John Barleycorn/Ho John Barleycorn/Old and young thy praise has sung/John Barleycorn" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1867 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 20(81)) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer praises John Barleycorn for his heroic qualities; his robes are rich and green, his head speared with prickly beard; when stricken down, he uses his blood for England's good. All, great and small, find his aid valuable -- he "makes weak men strong and old ones young and all men brave and bold". The singer praises ale, scorning all other drinks. Chorus: "Hey John Barleycorn/Ho John Barleycorn/Old and young thy praise has sung/John Barleycorn" KEYWORDS: age drink nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South), Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Kennedy 277, "John Barleycorn's a Hero Bold" (1 text, 1 tune) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 227-229, "Hey! John Barleycorn" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2141 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 20(81), "John Barleycorn" ("John Berleycorn [sic] is a hero bold"), J. Harkness (Preston), 1840-1866; also Harding B 13(13), Harding B 11(1509), Harding B 11(3188), Firth b.26(301), Harding B 15(150a), "John Barleycorn" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "John Barleycorn" (theme) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Hey John Barleycorn NOTES: Although this shares subject matter and a few words with "John Barleycorn", it lacks the explicit death-and-resurrection plot of the latter, so I split them. - PJS More interesting to me is the extreme similarity between the Ford and Kennedy versions. The only substantial difference might be a mishearing on Kennedy's part: He transcribes the near-nonsense "fit nigh to serve the queen" for Ford's "fit knight to serve the queen." There are other differences, but they are such as might arise simply in a singer's minor variations between sessions. I have to think there is literary dependence. - RBW File: K277 === NAME: John Barleygrain: see John Barleycorn (File: ShH84) === NAME: John Barlow: see Willie o Winsbury [Child 100] (File: C100) === NAME: John Brown Had a Little Indian: see Ten Little Indians (John Brown Had a Little Indian) (File: R594) === NAME: John Brown Had a Little Injun: see Ten Little Indians (John Brown Had a Little Indian) (File: R594) === NAME: John Brown's Body DESCRIPTION: In stirring cadences, the story of anti-slavery zealot John Brown's death is told: "John Brown's body lies a-mould'ring in his grave (x3); his soul goes marching on." "He captured Harper's Ferry with his nineteen men so true...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1861 KEYWORDS: Civilwar Black(s) death execution memorial burial rebellion slavery HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1800 - Birth of John Brown October 16-18, 1859 - John Brown and 20 others (fifteen of them, including Brown's three sons, are white) attack the arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, hoping to gather the weapons needed for a slave rebellion. Forces led by Robert E. Lee soon attack the rebels; only Brown and four others live to be captured and placed on trial Dec 2, 1859 - Hanging of John Brown at Charlestown, Virginia FOUND_IN: US(SE,MA) REFERENCES: (12 citations) BrownIII 378, "John Brown's Body" (1 text, mixed, plus two of the offshoot "Hang (John Brown/Jeff Davis) from a Sour Apple Tree") Doerflinger, pp. 72-73, "John Brown's Body" (1 text, 1 tune -- a curious sailor's version that mentions Brown only peripherally and replaces the "His soul goes marching on" with "Then it's hip, hip, hip, hurrah!") Hugill, pp. 442-443, "John Brown's Body" (1 text plus fragments of a German version, 1 tune) Silber-CivWar, p. 40, "John Brown's Body" (1 text, tune referenced) Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 158-160, "John Brown" (1 text, slightly modified by Huntington, 1 tune) Lomax-FSUSA 37, "John Brown's Body" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 528-529, "John Brown's Body" (1 text, 1 tune) Arnett, pp. 84-85, "John Brown's Body" (1 text, 1 tune) PSeeger-AFB, p. 62, "John Brown's Body" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 305, "John Brown's Body" (1 text) Fuld-WFM, p. 131, "Battle Hymn of the Republic (Say, Brothers, Will You Meet Us? -- John Brown -- Glory Hallelujah -- John Brown's Baby Had a Cold upon His Chest") DT, JOHNBRWN* Roud #771 RECORDINGS: J. W. Myers, "John Brown's Body" (Victor A-824, c. 1901) Pete Seeger, "John Brown's Body" (on PeteSeeger24) (on PeteSeeger28) (on PeteSeeger29) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" (tune & meter) cf. "Marching On" (tune & meter) cf. "Solidarity Forever" (tune) cf. "Marching Song of the First Arkansas" (tune) cf. "James Brown" (tune) cf. "On to Washington" (tune) cf. "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory of the Burning of the School" (tune) cf. "The Bulldog on the Bank" (tune) cf. "Pass Around the Bottle (As We Go Marching Home)" (tune) SAME_TUNE: The Battle Hymn of the Republic (File: RJ19022) Solidarity Forever (File: SBoA282) The Bulldog on the Bank (File: FSWB399B) Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory of the Burning of the School (File: PHCFS100) Mine Eyes Have Seen the Horror of the Ending of the Term" (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 101) James Brown (Greenway-AFP, p.p. 38-39) On to Washington (Greenway-AFP, p. 62) My Pink Pajamas (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 34; DT, PINKPAJ) Chicken Sandwich (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 11) Glory, Glory, Pork Superior (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 21) The Bulldog and the Bullfrog (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 47) Glory, Glory, How Peculiar (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 106) The Bugs Marched Down the Aisle (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 154) She Waded in the Water (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 209) Birmingham's My Home (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 245) Oh, Ay Liff in Minneapolis (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 246) NOTES: The well-known tune of this piece, "Say, Brothers, Will You Meet Us," is often credited to William Steffe, but I know of no absolute proof of this. The "John Brown" words were composed within months of the anti-slavery crusader's death, and had spread throughout the Union by the early stages of the Civil War. (Note that Huntington has a version from 1861!) - RBW John Uhlemann reports that the tune has been traced from a 17th century Swedish Lutheran hymnal, and that it has also entered folk tradition in Hungary, presumably independently of its American associations. - PJS I have seen it argued that the "John Brown" of the song was not the abolitionist but an obscure American soldier (Irwin Silber describes him as "Sergeant John Brown, a Scotsman, a member of the Second Battalion, Boston Light Infantry Volunteer Militia," who later joined the Twelfth Massachusetts). I suppose this is possible -- but everyone interpreted it to mean the fanatic who captured Harper's Ferry. - RBW File: Doe072b === NAME: John Bruce o the Forenit DESCRIPTION: "At Martinmas term I gaed to the fair... I feed wi' a mannie to ca' his third pair, They ca' him John Bruse o' the (Fornit/Corner)." The song starts with a recitation of the poor conditions, then lists the folk found there -- including the pretty daughter AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1910 KEYWORDS: farming work moniker hardtimes FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) REFERENCES: (2 citations) DBuchan 67, "John Bruce o the Forenit" (1 text, 1 tune in appendix) Ord, pp. 229-230, "John Bruce o' the Corner" (1 text) Roud #3937 ALTERNATE_TITLES: John Bruce o' the Fornit Jockey Bruce o' the Fornet John Bruce File: DBuch67 === NAME: John Bruce o' the Corner: see John Bruce o the Forenit (File: DBuch67) === NAME: John Bull and His Crew: see The Irish Harvestmen's Triumph (File: CrSNB104) === NAME: John Bull Lives In England DESCRIPTION: Shanty. "John Bull lives in England, Taffy lives in Wales. Sandy lives in Scotland where there is all the girls. Paddy lives in Ireland as ev'rebody knows. There never was a coward where the little shamrock grows." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1935 (Sternvall, _Sang under Segel_) KEYWORDS: shanty worksong home FOUND_IN: Sweden Britain REFERENCES: (1 citation) Hugill, pp. 453-454, "John Bull" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #13694 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Paddy Magee's Dream" (theme of national comparison) NOTES: The Swedish shanty book _Sang under Segel_ had the only previous printed version of this, but Hugill seems to think that it originated in England and migrated to Sweden. - SL I think this is true at least of the words (though I don't know if they migrated to Sweden). Steve Roud collected a version of the text, and there are rather similar nursery rhymes floating about. - RBW File: Hugi452 === NAME: John Burke DESCRIPTION: "Bad luck attend you Percy wherever you may be. You would not assist my Johnny for he's drownded ... in the flurry off Kerry Bay." His true love comes to the funeral "dressed in her rich robes" and they bid "adieu to Johnny as we all marched away" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 (Peacock) KEYWORDS: death funeral disaster lament lover mother sister clothes FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Peacock, pp. 467-468, "John Burke" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Pea467 (Partial) Roud #9791 NOTES: Peacock notes "I was unable to find any reference to this lament in the Irish collections at my disposal." Burke's name and "Bad luck attend you" seem Irish enough, but maybe it's not Irish. There's a Kerry Bay near Gairloch in northwest Scotland across the Minch from the Outer Hebrides. The ballad mentions a "far field of glory on the leeward shore"; what war is this about? - BS The prevailing winds in Britain are generally from the west (northwest in summer, southwest in winter). So the windward shore is Britain, the leeward the Hebrides, or Ireland -- or, just possibly, North America. It's hard to imagine a battle in the Hebrides that would be commemorated in an English song. And Kerry is on the southwest coast of Ireland. So "Kerry Bay" might be Dingle Bay, or just possibly Bantry Bay (which is just south of modern County Kerry, but in the same general area). The most noteworthy battle in County Kerry proper was probably Callan (1261), but that is surely too early. So my guess (and it's just a guess) is that this refers to 1796 and the Bantry Bay landing, for which see "The Shan Van Voght." This fits on other grounds, since Hoche's Bantry Bay fleet had suffered badly from a storm (December 1796) and did not attempt to land. - RBW File: Pea467 === NAME: John Cherokee DESCRIPTION: Shanty. Refrain: "Alabama John Cherokee, Way-aye-yah! Alabama John Cherokee." Slave who keeps running away is caught and put on board a ship, from which he escapes again. He's put in chains, and finally starves to death in the hold. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1917 KEYWORDS: shanty slave escape Indians(Am) ghost FOUND_IN: West Indies REFERENCES: (3 citations) Colcord, p. 103, "John Cherokee" (1 text, 1 tune) Hugill, p. 439, "Alabama" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd,p. 330] ADDITIONAL: Captain John Robinson, "Songs of the Chantey Man," a series published July-August 1917 in the periodical _The Bellman_ (Minneapolis, MN, 1906-1919). "John Cherokee" is in Part 3, 7/28/1917. Roud #4693 ALTERNATE_TITLES: Alabama John Cherokee NOTES: Colcord and Hugill both state this is definitely of Negro origin, probably introduced to seaman by slaves stowing cotton. - SL File: Hugi439 === NAME: John Dameray DESCRIPTION: Shanty, with chorus, "John come down the backstay... John Dameray." The singer's mother urges him to come home; he decides to do so, for he has "no money and no clothes." He vows, "From sea I will keep clear, and live by selling beer" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1893 KEYWORDS: shanty drink poverty homesickness FOUND_IN: US(NE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Doerflinger, pp. 8-9, "John Dameray" (1 text, 1 tune) Hugill, pp. 272-273, "John Dameray," "Johnny, Come Down the Backstay" (2 texts, 1 tune) [AbEd, pp. 201-202] ST Doe008 (Partial) Roud #9439 ALTERNATE_TITLES: John Damaray File: Doe008 === NAME: John Done Saw that Number DESCRIPTION: "John done saw that number, Way in the middle of the air." John the Baptist's preaching is summarized, and his baptism of Jesus described. The descent of the spirit on Jesus concludes the song. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (recording, Rev. Moses Mason) KEYWORDS: religious Bible Jesus FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Courlander-NFM, pp. 61-64, (no title) (1 text) Roud #11843 RECORDINGS: Rev. Moses Mason, "John the Baptist" (Paramount 12702A, 1928; on AAFM2) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Ezekiel Saw the Wheel" cf. "John Saw the Holy Number" (floating lyrics) NOTES: The feel of this is much like "Ezekiel Saw the Wheel," but the plot is purely New Testament (and the form argues that it is not the same as "John Saw the Holy Number," despite the similarity in first lines). The allusions include (where possible, I quote the text of Mark as the most primitive): "John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance..." Mark 1:4; compare Matt. 3:1, Luke 3:2 "As it is written in the prophet Isaiah ["Esaias" in the song and the King James Bible]... 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."'" - Mark 1:2-3; cf. Matt. 3:3, Luke 3:4, John 1:23 "Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather girdle about his waist." - Mark 1:6; cf. Matt. 3:4 "In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan." - Mark 1:9; cf. Matt. 3:13, (Luke 3:21) "John would have prevented him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? But Jesus answered him, 'Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.'" - Matt. 3:14-15 "And just as [Jesus] was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn open and the Spirit descending like a dove on him." - Mark 1:10; cf. Matt. 3:16, Luke 3:22, (John 1:32) "The Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the Wilderness... [the Temptation]" - Matt. 4:1-11; cf. (Mark 1:12-13), Luke 4:1-13. - RBW File: CNFM061C === NAME: John Doolan: see The Wild Colonial Boy [Laws L20] (File: LL20) === NAME: John Dory [Child 284] DESCRIPTION: John Dory gets a horse and sets out for Paris. There he meets King John. He offers to bring King John "all the churles in merie England" in return for a pardon. Dory is overtaken by one Nicholl of Cornwall, who takes him prisoner after a sharp battle AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1609 (Ravenscroft) KEYWORDS: ship royalty pardon battle foreigner HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1350-1364 - Reign of John II of France (the only French king named John who lived during the Hundred Years' War) FOUND_IN: Britain(England) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Child 284, "John Dory" (1 text) Bronson 284, "John Dory" (7 versions) OBB 133, "John Dory" (1 text) Chappell/Wooldridge I, pp. 93-96, "John Dory" (1 text, 3 tunes) {Bronson's #1d, #3, #1c} ADDITIONAL: C. H. Firth, _Publications of the Navy Records Society_ , 1907 (available on Google Books), p. 16, "John Dory" (1 text) ST C284 (Full) Roud #249 NOTES: In addition to the citation from Ravenscroft, we find a reference to this song in Beaumont and Fletcher's _Knight of the Burning Pestle_; ActII, scene iv, line 35 reads, "Would I had gone to Paris with John Dory." There is a fish, Latin name Zeus astralis, informally known as the "John Dory." It is apparently carniverous, approaching its prey cautiously and colored so as to resemble seaweed. I do not know if the name is in any way connected with this song. - RBW File: C284 === NAME: John Francois: see Boney (File: Doe006) === NAME: John Funston [Laws F23] DESCRIPTION: Young, handsome John Funston robs and murders William Cartmell. Although an innocent man is first held, Funston spends money too freely; he is captured and condemned to die. His family claims his body from two doctors who want it AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: homicide robbery execution corpse HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Sept 9, 1825 - John Funston murders William Cartmell FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Laws F23, "John Funston" Eddy 119, "John Funston" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Burt, p. 81-82, (no title) (1 text, 1 tune) DT 756, JONFUNST Roud #2261 File: LF23 === NAME: John Gilbert is de Boat DESCRIPTION: "John Gilbert is de boat, di-de-o... Runnin' in the Cincinnati trade." Description of the boat's travels, her cargo, the crew. "You see dat boat a-comin', she's comin' round de bend, An' when she gits in, She'll be loaded down again" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 KEYWORDS: ship travel commerce nonballad FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Lomax-FSNA 276, "John Gilbert is de Boat" (1 text, 1 tune) MWheeler, p. 43-46, "John Gilbert" (1 text, 1 tune) Botkin-MRFolklr, p. 574, "John Gilbert" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #10012 NOTES: Botkin reports (following Wheeler), "The _John Gilbert_ ran from Cincinnati to Florence, Alabama. She was built in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1881, and was named for Captain John Gilbert, of Evansville, Indiana, president of the Ohio and Tennessee River Packet Company." - RBW File: LoF276 === NAME: John Grumlie: see Father Grumble [Laws Q1] (File: LQ01) === NAME: John Hardy [Laws I2] DESCRIPTION: John Hardy, a "desperate boy... who carried a (gun) every day," threatens to kill any man who wins his money. Finally he does lose his money and shoots the other. Hardy flees, but before he can leave the state he is taken, tried, and hanged AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1916 (Cecil Sharp collection); +1909 (JAFL22) KEYWORDS: homicide gambling execution HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Jan 19, 1894 - Execution (in Welch, WV) of one John Hardy, convicted for committing murder during a gambling fight FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE,So,SW) REFERENCES: (18 citations) Laws I2, "John Hardy" Randolph 163, "John Hardy" (3 texts, 2 tunes) BrownII 244, "John Hardy" (3 texts) Chappell-FSRA 103, "John Henry" (1 short text, which despite the title appears to have two "John Hardy" verses and only one of "John Henry") Leach, pp. 759-761, "John Hardy" (2 texts) Friedman, p. 393, "John Hardy" (2 texts) Lomax-FSUSA 85, "John Hardy" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 141, "John Hardy" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 124-126, "John Harty" (1 text, 1 tune) Asch/Dunson/Raim, p. 50, "John Hardy Was A Desperate Little Man" (1 text, 1 tune) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 142, "John Hardy" (1 text, 1 tune) Hodgart, p. 246, "John Hardy" (1 text) JHCox 35, "John Hardy" (9 text, some of John Henry, some of John Hardy, some mixed: A is John Hardy with a John Henry second verse, B, C, and G are John Hardy with a John Henry opening verse, D, F, and I are pure John Hardy, E is John Hardy with material from John Henry and a "Pretty Little Foot" song, H is John Henry) SharpAp 87, "John Hardy" (1 text, 1 tune) Courlander-NFM, p. 179, "(John Hardy)" (1 fragment) Darling-NAS, pp. 235-236, "John Hardy" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 197, "John Hardy" (1 text) DT 656, JOHNHARD Roud #3262 RECORDINGS: Clarence Ashley, "Old John Hardy" (Columbia 15654-D, 1931; rec. 1930) Dock Boggs, "John Hardy" (on Boggs3, BoggsCD1) Carter Family, "John Hardy Was a Desperate Little Man" (Victor V-40190, 1930; Zonophone [UK] 4294, n.d.; rec. 1928; Bluebird B-6033/Montgomery Ward M-4741, 1935; on AAFM1) Eva Davis, "John Hardy" (Columbia 167-D, 1924) Eve David [pseud. for Eva Davis?] "John Hardy" (Diva 6010-G, c. 1930) Buell Kazee, "John Hardy" (Brunswick 144, 1927; on BefBlues1, ConstSor1) (on Kazee01) Leadbelly, "John Hardy" (Musicraft 311. 1945) Frank Proffitt, "John Hardy" (on Proffitt03) J. W. Russell, "John Hardy" (AFS 3163 A3, 1936) Mike Seeger, "John Hardy" (on MSeeger01) Pete Seeger, "John Hardy" (on PeteSeeger16) (on PeteSeeger27) Ernest Stoneman, "John Hardy" (OKeh 7011, 1925); "Justin Winfield" [Ernest Stoneman, Willie Stoneman, and the Sweet Brothers], "John Hardy" (Gennett 6619, 1928; on RoughWays1) Fields Ward, Glen Smith & Wade Ward, "John Hardy" (on HalfCen1) Walter Williams, "John Hardy" (AFS, 1937; on KMM) NOTES: Cox prints a copy of the execution notice for John Hardy, who was convicted of first degree murder. He follows this with assorted personal reminiscences about Hardy. Unfortunately, the texts he quotes are very confused (most include John Henry verses among the stanzas about John Hardy), and one has to suspect that the reminiscences are also confused. We also note that Sharp was finding North Carolina texts of the song only 20 years after the murder -- a surprisingly quick diffusion. One is tempted to wonder if Cox's John Hardy is indeed THE John Hardy. - RBW File: LI02 === NAME: John Hardy Was a Desperate Little Man: see John Hardy [Laws I2] (File: LI02) === NAME: John Harty: see John Hardy [Laws I2] (File: LI02) === NAME: John He Baptized Jesus DESCRIPTION: "John he baptized Jesus; 'Twas all through his command. The Holy Bible tells us That John was a righteous man. Little children, our lodging's here tonight (x3), I know you by your little garments. Our lodging's here tonight." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Brown) KEYWORDS: Jesus religious FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 604, "John He Baptized Jesus" (1 fragment) Roud #11914 NOTES: Unquestionably a composite. But of what elements? - RBW File: Br3604 === NAME: John Henry [Laws I1] DESCRIPTION: The boss of a railroad crew has brought in a steam drill. John Henry, the best driver in the gang, vows he will never be outclassed by the machine. In a contest between the two, Henry is victorious (in most versions), but dies of the exertion AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1909 (JAFL) KEYWORDS: train work death technology railroading worker FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,SE,So) REFERENCES: (25 citations) Laws I1, "John Henry" Cohen-LSRail, pp. 61-89, "John Henry" (2 texts plus many excerpts and a copy of the Blankenship broadside, 2 tunes) BrownII 280, "John Henry" (2 texts plus 5 fragments, 1 excerpt, and mention of 1 more, but only the "A" text, plus probably the "C" fragment, is this song; the fragments are of "Take This Hammer," "Swannanoah Tunnel," etc.) Chappell-FSRA 103, "John Henry" (1 short text, which despite the title appears to have two "John Hardy" verses and only one of "John Henry") Leach, pp. 756-759, "John Henry" (2 texts) Friedman, p. 383, "John Henry" (6 texts, but only three are true versions of "John Henry"; the rest appear to be variants of "Take this Hammer") PBB 109, "John Henry" (1 text) McNeil-SFB1, pp. 150-153, "John Henry" (1 text, 1 tune) Sandburg, pp. 24-25, "John Henry" (1 text, 1 tune) Combs/Wilgus 81, pp. 164-165, "John Henry (The Steel-Driving Man)" (1 text) Lomax-FSUSA 74, "John Henry" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Lomax-FSNA 298, "John Henry-I"; 299, "John Henry-II" (2 texts, 2 tunes, the first containing a large portion of "Hang Me, Oh Hang Me/Been All Around This World" or a relative) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 3-10, "John Henry" (2 texts, 1 tune) Ritchie-SingFam, pp. 240-241, "[John Henry]" (1 text, 1 tune) Asch/Dunson/Raim, p. 52 "Gonna Die With My Hammer In My Hand (John Henry)" (1 text, 1 tune) Hodgart, p. 243, "John Henry" (1 text) Arnett, p. 111, "John Henry" (1 text, 1 tune) Botkin-SoFolklr, p. 748, "The Death of John Henry" (1 text, 1 tune -- a strange version, sung, and partly spoken, by Dave Macon. It starts with the death and funeral, then goes back to the familiar story) Courlander-NFM, pp. 111-115, "(John Henry)" (1 text); pp. 280-285, "John Henry" (3 tunes, partial texts); also pp. 137-138, "(John Henry)" (1 text, with a fragment of the plot of "John Henry" but many lyrics from "Take This Hammer") JHCox 35, "John Hardy" (9 text, some of John Henry, some of John Hardy, some mixed: A is John Hardy with a John Henry second verse, B, C, and G are John Hardy with a John Henry opening verse, D, F, and I are pure John Hardy, E is John Hardy with material from John Henry and a "Pretty Little Foot" song, H is John Henry) Darling-NAS, pp. 230-234, "John Henry" (3 texts plus a text of "Take This Hammer") PSeeger-AFB, p. 82, "John Henry" (1 text, 1 tune) Greenway-AFP, p. 107, "John Henry" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 123, "John Henry" (1 text) DT 317, JHNHENRY* JOHNHENR Roud #790 RECORDINGS: Rich Amerson, "John Henry" (on NFMAla3) DeFord Bailey, "John Henry" (Victor 23336, 1932/Victor 23831, 1933; rec. 1928) James "Iron Head" Baker, "Little John Henry" (AFS 202 A1, 1934) (AFS 1853 B1, 1853 B2, 1937) Dock Boggs, "John Henry" (on Boggs2, BoggsCD1) Big Bill Broonzy, "John Henry" (on Broonzy01) Callahan Brothers, "John Henry" (Decca 5998, 1941) Fiddlin' John Carson, "John Henry Blues" (OKeh 7004, 1924) Bill Cornett ,"John Henry" (on MMOKCD) (Joe) Evans & (Arthur) McClain, "John Henry Blues" (Oriole 8080/Perfect 181/Romeo 5080/Conqueror 7876, all 1931; on BefBlues3) G. B. Grayson and Henry Whitter, "John Henry the Steel Driving Man" (Gennett, unissued, 1927) Fruit Jar Guzzlers, "Steel Driving Man" (Broadway 8199, 1928; on TimesAint03) Woody Guthrie, "John Henry" (Stinson 628, mid-1940s) Willie Hamilton, "John Henry" (on HandMeDown1) Vera Hall, "John Henry" (AFS 1320 A2, 1937) [Note: Dixon/Godrich/Rye also identifies this AFS number with a Vera Hall recording of "Po' Laz'us"; one of them is clearly in error, but I don't know which - PJS] Sid Harkreader, "John Henry" (Broadway 8114, c. 1930) Sid Hemphill, "John Henry" (on LomaxCD1700) Doc Hopkins, "John Henry" (Radio 1411, n.d.) Furry Lewis, "John Henry" (on FLewis01, DownHome) Earl Johnson & his Dixie Entertainers, "John Henry Blues" (OKeh 45101, 1927; on TimesAint02, ConstSor1) Buell Kazee, "John Henry" (on Kazee01) Ed Lewis, "John Henry" (on LomaxCD1705) Furry Lewis, "John Henry (The Steel Driving Man), parts 1 & 2" (Vocalion 1474, 1930; rec. 1929) Uncle Dave Macon, "The Death of John Henry" (Vocalion 15320, 1926) (Brunswick 112, 1927; Brunswick 80091, n.d.) J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers, "John Henry was a Little Boy" (Bluebird B-6629, 1936); "John Henry" (King 550, 1946) Earl McCoy, Alfred Meng & Clem Garner, "John Henry" (Columbia 15622-D, 1930) New Lost City Ramblers, "John Henry" (on NLCR05) Virgil Perkins & Jack Sims, "John Henry" (on FMUSA, AmSkBa) Pete Seeger, "John Henry" (on PeteSeeger05) (on PeteSeeger16) (on PeteSeeger47) (on PeteSeeger23) Ernest V. Stoneman, "John Henry" (Edison 51869, 1926) (CYL: Edison [BA] 5194, 1926) Glen Stoneman, George Stoneman & James Lindsay, "John Henry" [instrumental] (on LomaxCD1702) Gid Tanner & Riley Puckett, "John Henry" (Columbia 15019-D, 1924; Silvertone 3262, 1926 [as Gibbs & Watson]) Gid Tanner & his Skillet Lickers, "John Henry" (Columbia 15142-D, 1927) Henry Thomas, "John Henry" (Vocalion 1094, 1927) Welby Toomey, "Death of John Henry" (Champion 15198/Silvertone 5002, 1927) Willie Turner, "John Henry" (on NFMAla6) Doc Watson, Gaither Carlton & Arnold Watson, "John Henry" (on WatsonAshley01) Williamson Bros. & Curry, "Gonna Die With My Hammer In My Hand" (OKeh 45127, 1927; on AAFM1, TimesAin't3) Martin Young & Corbett Grigsby, "John Henry" [instrumental] (on MMOKCD) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Take This Hammer" (lyrics) SAME_TUNE: Shelton Brothers, "New John Henry Blues" (Decca 5173, 1936) NOTES: The popularity of this song is shown by its influence on other songs: Not only is John Henry's hammer mentioned in "Take this Hammer" and relatives, but it also inspired W. C. Handy's "John Henry Blues." Quite a record for a song which came into existence only well into the railroad age. The bibliography of this song is huge, and no attempt is made to reproduce it here. Extensive attempts have been made to locate the historical John Henry; the latest, by John Garst, appears finally to be adding up to a sufficient case. But we may never have a "last word." - RBW File: LI01 === NAME: John Henry Hammer Song, The: see Take This Hammer (File: FR383) === NAME: John Hinks: see Jack Hinks (File: Doy09) === NAME: John J. Curtis [Laws G29] DESCRIPTION: John J. Curtis, a coal miner, is trapped in an avalanche of coal after setting a dynamite explosion. When he succeeds in lighting a match, he discovers he is blind. He asks his listeners for kindness AUTHOR: Joseph Gallagher EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: mining begging injury HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1888 - John Curtis, age 28, is blinded in a mine in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. He made his living thereafter by singing and selling broadsides of this song, made for him by Joseph Gallagher FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Laws G29, "John J. Curtis" DT 711, JJCURTIS JOHNCURT Roud #7724 File: LG29 === NAME: John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt DESCRIPTION: "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt His name is my name too. Wherever we go out, The people always shout, John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. Da da da da da da da." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1955 (recording, Pete Seeger) KEYWORDS: nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (3 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 240, "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt" (1 text) Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 199, "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt" (1 text) DT, JJJSCHM* RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "John Jacob Jinglehaimer Schmitt" (on PeteSeeger11) File: FSWB240B === NAME: John James O'Hara DESCRIPTION: John James O'Hara from Tara and Mickey McNamara from Mayo "are famous Irishmen no matter where they go." Now "we're returning back to dear old Erin's Isle" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1979 (Tunney-StoneFiddle) KEYWORDS: return Ireland nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Tunney-StoneFiddle, p. 54, "John James O'Hara" (1 text) ALTERNATE_TITLES: O'Hara From Tara, McNamara From Mayo NOTES: This sounds to me as if O'Hara and McNamara were musical performers who went to the United States. There was a John O'Hara responsible for a 1941 music, "Pal Joey" (see Gilbert, LostChords, p. 353); with so little background from Tunney's song, I doubt we can tell if they are the same. It doesn't seem very likely. I can't find any candidates for McNamara. - RBW File: TSF054 === NAME: John Jasper DESCRIPTION: "John Jasper was a man, as you all do understand, And he preach-ed to de people with a vengeance... And he preache'ed to de people dat de sun do move." Concerning the power of the preaching of Jasper AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1919 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious clergy HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1812-1901 - LIfe of John Jasper, originally a slave, who became a preacher in 1839 after a conversion experience and often preached a sermon, "De Sun Do Move" FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 605, "John Jasper" (1 text plus a fragment) Roud #11915 File: Br3605 === NAME: John Kanaka DESCRIPTION: Shanty. Characteristic line: "John Kanaka-naka, too-li-ay." The sailors describe how they will "work tomorrow but no work today!" Some details of their trip around the horn on a Yankee ship are given AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1977 KEYWORDS: sailor shanty work FOUND_IN: Barbados REFERENCES: (3 citations) Hugill, pp. 288-289, "John Kanaka" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, p.212] Fahey-Eureka, pp. 50-51, "John Kanaka" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, JONKANAK* Roud #8238 NOTES: "Kanaka" was a term applied to Hawaiian men. Whether this song is referring to that or to "Canucks" (French-Canadians) is obscure. - PJS The term is used in Australia for Polynesians in general, especially those who worked in the Queensland sugar plantations. (It is said to mean simply "man.") I have to suspect that the song originally referred to the Polynesians, though of course northern sailors might have thought it meant Canucks. - RBW File: FaE050 === NAME: John Ladner DESCRIPTION: John Ladner leaves PEI to find work in Saint John. Failing that, he goes to Maine and works six years in Madison. Thanksgiving morning he is crushed by logs he is rolling to a stream to be floated to the mill. Doctors cannot save him. He dies at 23. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1947 (Manny/Wilson) KEYWORDS: death lumbering memorial HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Nov 29, 1900 - probable date of the death of John Ladner (see NOTE) FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Dibblee/Dibblee, pp. 40-41, "John Ladner" (1 text, 1 tune) Ives-DullCare, pp. 60-61,248, "John Ladner" (1 text, 1 tune) Manny/Wilson 26, "John Ladner" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Din040 (Partial) Roud #4061 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Peter Amberley [Laws C27]" (plot) NOTES: This song is item dC40 in Laws's Appendix II. Dibblee/Dibblee have a report that the grave "is in the Victoria West, P.E.I. Cemetery and it was dated circa 1895." Ives-DullCare: "John Ladner, 33, of Victoria West was killed in a logging accident in Madison, Maine, on Thanksgiving Day, November 29, 1900." - BS Manny and Wilson note a version which dates the accident to 1884. One must suspect confusion with something else - RBW File: Din040 === NAME: John Lewis: see Poor Omie (John Lewis) (Little Omie Wise) [Laws F4] AND Naomi Wise [Laws F31] (File: LF04) === NAME: John MacAnanty's Courtship (The Fairy King) DESCRIPTION: The singer sees MacAnanty courting a pretty girl, promising to make her his queen. She says she is too poor, and her parents and friends would be angry. He says they can sail around the world and return in a night, and that he has found no other like her AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1873 (Joyce) KEYWORDS: love courting magic beauty rejection FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H56, p. 354, "John MacAnanty's Courtship" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #6875 ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Fairy King's Courtship File: HHH056 === NAME: John Malone DESCRIPTION: "I'm going with Captain Murphy ... There's nothing to be had by us in this neglected Isle ... The Irishman that stays at home must wear the Union brand ... I'm sailing for Columbia's shore; may God send fair the wind ... pray for John Malone" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1937 (Ranson) KEYWORDS: emigration farewell sea ship America patriotic Ireland FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ranson, p. 81, "John Malone" (1 text) File: Ran081 === NAME: John Marshall DESCRIPTION: "We're glad to see you, John Marshall, my boy, So fresh from the chisel of Rogers. Go take your stand on the monument there Along with the other old codgers." The singer tells Marshall of all that has gone wrong since his death. AUTHOR: Innes Randolph? EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: America judge political HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1801-1835 - John Marshall serves as Chief Justice of the United States FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 236, "John Marshall" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7709 NOTES: This song came out of the post-Civil War reconstruction of Virginia, when the southern states were still treated as occupied territory. The song portrays a state held in subjection, against what the singer views as the requirements of the constitution. In defense of the Radical Republicans -- who put Virginia in this suppressed condition -- it should be pointed out that their view was that the Confederate states, by withdrawing from the Union, had committed governmental suicide and had therefore to be recreated. John Marshall (1755-1835), of Virginia, was not the first Chief Justice of the United States, but he was the first great head of the judiciary. At the very beginning of his term (1803, in the case "Marbury vs. Madison") he established the principle of "judicial review," i.e. that the Supreme Court was the ultimate guardian and interpreter of the Constitution. Although not explicit in the Constitution, this capacity is one of the chief regulators of the U.S. balance of power. - RBW File: R236 === NAME: John Martin, The DESCRIPTION: "Come all ye jolly fishermen a-going to the ice, Beware of the John Martin and don't go in her twice." Skipper Nick Ash is cruel; he throws the singer's teapot overboard and makes the crew work ever harder. They still gather many seal. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Murphy, Songs Sung by Old Time Sealers of Many Years Ago) KEYWORDS: hunting ship hardtimes work FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ryan/Small, pp. 20-21, "The Song of the John Martin (1)," "The John Martin (2)" (2 texts) ST RySm020 (Partial) Roud #12524 NOTES: Doyle, who published this song in his 1927 edition, claims it was written by "in 1845 by John Reardon of Perry's Cove," but the earlier publication by Murphy does not list an author. Doyle also says the _John Martin_ was captained by John Bransfield, who is not mentioned in the song. - RBW File: RySm020 === NAME: John McBride's Brigade DESCRIPTION: "In far-off Africa to-day the English fly dismayed Before the flag of green and gold born by McBride's Brigade." The Irish Brigade fights with Kruger against the English in Transvaal. "Remember '98". The flag will fly with McBride on Ireland's soil. AUTHOR: (published by Arthur Griffith) EARLIEST_DATE: 1900 (_United Irishman_, April 7 edition) KEYWORDS: army war Africa Ireland patriotic FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Zimmermann 92, "John McBride's Brigade" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Wearing of the Green (I)" (tune) and references there NOTES: Zimmermann: The _United Irishman_ claimed the ballad "is being sung throughout Mayo" in 1900. "John McBride had become a major in the Boer army after forming an Irish Brigade in South Africa. He stood as a candidate for Mayo in the election of 1900, but was not elected. He was sentenced to death and shot after the rising of 1916." For more information about McBride's Brigade and the Irish support for the Boers see the book review of _MacBride's Brigade_ by Donald McCracken at the Republican Sinn Fein site. - BS The reference is evidently to the second Boer War (the 1899-1902 conflict people usually think of when one mentions the Boer War). The first war (1880-1881) was almost more of a demonstration, in which the Transvaal and Orange Free State won something approximating what the Irish would have called Home Rule: they ran their internal affairs but let Britain handle foreign policy. The second war was very complicated: The Boers had discovered gold, which the British wanted; on the other hand, the Boers were treating the Black natives even worse than the British. But there was a lot more to it. The Boers of course wanted independence -- and, after the disastrous stunt known as the Jameson Raid (a private attempt in 1895 to control the Boers, but widely viewed as inspired by the British government), Kaiser Wilhelm II sent a telegram of support to Paul Kruger (1825-1904), the most important Boer leader. What should have been a colonial affair became an international incident. The Boers were initially very successful, forcing the British to bring in a real army to suppress them. Many of these troops, ironically, were Irish; see "South Down Militia" for one of their songs. But, since the Boers were fighting the British, naturally a lot of Irish radicals supported the Boers. It should be noted, however, that the two "Irish Brigades" which fought with the Boers were not from Ireland; they were locals. There was a pro-Boer movement in Ireland, but few men enlisted. One of the Irish Brigades was insignificant; organized by a "Colonel' Lynch, it existed for only a few months, did not fight, and had few even of South African Irishmen (see Robert Kee, _The Bold Fenian Men_, being volume II of _The Green Flag,_ p. 148.) The other Irish force was more significant. It even had an Irish-born Irishman: John MacBride (1865-1916). Upon his arrival, he was commissioned major, making him the second-in-command behind "Colonel" John Blake (an American emigrant to Africa who did at least have West Point training; see Eversley Belfield, _The Boer War_, p. 23); MacBride did command for a time when Blake was wounded. Kee, p. 149, notes that MacBride's brigade "played, by comparison with those Irishmen in the British army, a totally insignificant part in the war. It existed only for one year, from September 1899 to September 1900, when it was disbbanded by the Boers and the men gave themselves up to the Portugese frontier post at Kamati." Charles Townshend, in _Easter 1916: The Irish Rebellion_, p. 10, comments on these troops that the "aid of a few hundred Irish miners was probably less valuable as military than as moral support to the Afrikaners." MacBride would estimate that his unit would suffer 30% casualties -- yet, according to Kee, it lost only about 80 men, of whom 17 were killed. This implies that the "brigade" had an actual strength of 300-350 men, making it not a brigade but an understrength battalion. Presumably it was called a brigade because, well, there were lots of Irish Brigades. At least it makes it less unreasonable to have a major in command. MacBride continued to find trouble even after coming home. In early 1900, he was nominated for parliament in a South Mayo by-election -- but was crushed by 2401 votes to 427 (Kee, p. 149). This song may have been written in connection with that election, though it wasn't published until some weeks too late. Kee, who cites it on page 149, isn't clear on whether future Irish president Arthur Griffith -- at that time considered to be a rather militant nationalist, though he would come to be much more conservative -- wrote the piece or just published it. MacBride in 1903 married the famous nationalist Maud Gonne; their son Sean was a major force in the IRA and in Irish politics after the Civil War. MacBride did not participate in the planning of the 1916 rebellion (according to Michael Foy and Brian Barton, _The Easter Rising_, p. 89, the leaders "did not trust him to keep a secret"), but he joined the fighting "at the last moment" (see Terry Golway, _For the Cause of Liberty_, p. 240), and was executed on May 5, 1916. It will tell you something about Maud Gonne that she divorced MacBride after their son was born, then adopted his name only after his execution. To be sure, Golway, p. 204, calls him "a boor, often drunk and menacing"; Yeats would call him "a drunken, vainglorious lout" (Foy and Barton, p. 89). If this song was indeed published in 1900, it was written at a time when the Boers seemed to be well on their way to expelling the British. The tide would soon turn. - RBW File: Zimm092 === NAME: John McGoldrick and the Quaker's Daughter DESCRIPTION: John McGoldrick loves a Quaker's daughter. Her father opposes McGoldrick and frames him to hang as a radical. The girl gets the jailer and turnkey drunk. The couple escape and are captured. They are freed on the friendly testimony and marry AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1826 (Sparling) KEYWORDS: love marriage manhunt prison escape freedom father FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) OLochlainn 98, "John McGoldrick and the Quaker's Daughter" (1 text, 1 tune) ADDITIONAL: H. Halliday Sparling, Irish Minstrelsy (London, 1888), pp. 319-320, 512, "John M'Goldrick's Trial for the Quaker's Daughter" Roud #3047 File: OLoc098 === NAME: John McKeown and Margaret Deans DESCRIPTION: "John McKeown and Margaret Deans, they were a matchless pair." As they sneak out, shortly before their wedding, she asks him to pick flowers. He trips and nearly falls off a cliff. She comes to his aid, falls over herself, and dies AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: love courting flowers death FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H129, pp. 141-142, "John McKeown and Margaret Deans" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9447 NOTES: This really sounds like it ought to have a moral at the end (though "don't sneak out to pick flowers on a clifftop" sounds a little strong). It's just that sort of banal-tragic song. There is no hint of such a conclusion in the Henry text, though. - RBW File: HHH129 === NAME: John Mitchel DESCRIPTION: "I am a true-born Irishman, John Mitchell is my name... I laboured hard both day and night to free my native land." He is taken, claiming he committed no crime except loving Ireland. He is transported to Bermuda, but hopes a free Ireland will remember him AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1848 (Zimmermann) KEYWORDS: Ireland rebellion punishment transportation HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 27, 1848 - John Mitchel is "kidnapped, and carried off from Dublin, in chains, as a convicted 'Felon'." (source: Zimmermann, quoting Jon Mitchel's _Jail Journal_) FOUND_IN: Ireland Canada(Mar) US(MW) REFERENCES: (6 citations) PGalvin, p. 45, "John Mitchel" (1 text, 1 tune) SHenry H179a, pp. 125-126, "John Mitchel's Farewell to His Countrymen" (1 text, 1 tune); H179b, pp. 126-127, "John Mitchell (b)" (1 text, tune referenced) OLochlainn-More 27, "John Mitchel" (1 text, 1 tune) Zimmermann 59, "Mitchel's Address" (1 text, 1 tune) Dibblee/Dibblee, pp. 92-93, "John Mitchell" (1 text, 1 tune) Dean, p. 36, "John Mitchell" (1 text) Roud #5163 RECORDINGS: "Pops" Johnny Connors, "John Mitchel" (on IRTravellers01) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(2467), "Mitchells Address," E.M.A. Hodges (London), 1846-1854; also Harding B 11(1908), 2806 b.10(55), Harding B 15(205a) , "John Mitchell's Address" LOCSinging, as108900, "Mitchell's Address," Taylor (Bethnal Green), 19C CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Granua's Lament for the Loss of her Blackbird Mitchel the Irish Patriot" (subject: John Mitchel) cf. "The Wee Duck (The Duck from Drummuck)" (subject: John Mitchel) NOTES: John Mitchel (1815-1875) was one of the leading literary lights of the Young Ireland movement of the early-to-mid nineteenth century -- a movement which at the start was generally peaceful and liberal, but earnest in its appeal for better conditions. Mitchel came to prominence in 1847 when he founded the journal _The United Irishman_. This came in the aftermath of the potato famines. (For the background on the Rebellion and the Blight, see the notes on "Skibbereen.") Until that time, Irish nationalism, led by Daniel O'Connell (for whom see "Daniel O'Connell (I)"), had been relatively cautious and had worked in a constitutional framework. There were disagreements -- the Young Ireland party, which published _The Nation_, was a little more radical than O'Connell. The famines changed that. O'Connell, the pure constitutionalist, was unable to get help from Britain, and then died. Some Irish stayed true to his memory, but the crisis was so severe that many took a harder line. _The Nation_ was one such, but they didn't really have a coherent strategy. That left room for a true radical: Mitchel. Not only did he found a publication, he also founded United Irish Society. And he used is paper to publish tactical articles on how to fight oppressors. It is interesting to note that many later leaders were inspired by Mitchel, but they viewed him very differently; some regarded him as a peaceful reformer, others as a fighter for Irish rights at any cost. (In the song, he campaigns for "Repeal," i.e. repeal of the Union with Great Britain; this was the slogan of O'Connell, and supporters of Repeal were generally peaceful.) According to Robert Kee (_The Most Distressful Country_, being Volume I of _The Green Flag_, p. 262), though, even such militants as Meagher (for whom see "The Escape of Meagher") tried to talk him into more peaceful methods. Kee's comment on the situation (p. 263) seems to me to sum up the disastrous situation pretty well: Young Ireland and Mitchel "can be seen doing the wrong thing when no right thing was discernable. Cautious and sensible as was the main group, audacious as was Mitchel, both were utterly ineffectual. Mitchel was anxious to provoke a climax as quickly as possible. The others... continued to 'bide their time.' What they were really waiting for was a miracle." What they got was a fizzle. In 1848, almost all of Europe was afire, with revolts in Italy, the Habsburg Empire, France. Few of the revolts were very successful; the Habsburgs, e.g. changed Emperors but not policies, and France got rid of Louis Philippe but soon replaced him with Napoleon III. And, unfortunately for the Irish, Britain was one of the few countries not so afflicted; she had the leisure to crush the abortive rising easily. Not that it was a serious revolt; a more moderate man, William Smith O'Brien, eventually was pushed to try to raise a mob, but the whole thing ended with a scuffle in a cabbage patch; see the notes to "The Shan Van Voght (1848)." Mitchel by then was out of circulation. He, Meagher, and Smith O'Brien had all been arrested early in 1848. Meagher and Smith O'Brien were released when the juries in their cases deadlocked (Kee, p. 268). But Mitchel, the most extreme, was convicted May 26 of "treason-felony," and sentenced the next day to fourteen years' transportation. Despite the song, Mitchel and most of the other leaders of the rebellion ended up in Australia, not Bermuda. [John Mitchel was indeed exiled to Bermuda in 1848 and subsequently moved to Cape Colony and finally to Van Dieman's Land (source: "John Mitchel of Newry" by John McCullagh (2003) on The Newry Journal site). - BS] We should note, though, that he suffered far less in Bermuda than most. Although he was taken from Dublin in chains, from the time he went aboard ship he was in "minimum security" -- no shackles, no beating, and, when he arrived in Bermuda, no work ashore; he was allowed to stay aboard the convict hulk. (According to Kee, p. 269, the House of Commons actually inquired into why he was treated so well.) Ironically, Mitchel was from a Protestant family, as was Smith O'Brien. Lest someone claim that Mitchel was a man of true liberal principles, it should be noted that, after transportation to Van Dieman's Land, he escaped to the United States, where he edited various journals. And used those journals to advocate slavery -- in fact, according to Allan Nevins, _The Emergence of Lincoln: Douglas, Buchana, and Party Chaos 1857-1859_ (Scribner's, 1950), p. 438, Mitchel in fact produced something called the "honest human flesh program," His plan was to re-open the African slave trade, so as to drive the price of slaves so low that everyone could afford one. Kee, p. 269, also reports that Mitchel approved of flogging prisoners I'd love to hear him explain how he would reconcile that with the Golden Rule -- or even with his own relatively kind treatment. - RBW File: PGa045 === NAME: John Mitchel's Farewell to His Countrymen: see John Mitchel (File: PGa045) === NAME: John Mitchell: see John Mitchel (File: PGa045) === NAME: John Morgan DESCRIPTION: "The Baptists think they're a mighty big bug, But behind the door you'll find a jug. John Morgan! Till I die, I'll feed my niggers on chicken pie!" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: drink humorous FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 432, "John Morgan" (1 fragmentary text, 1 tune) Roud #7609 File: R432 === NAME: John Morgan, Where You Been? DESCRIPTION: "Says I, 'John Morgan, where you been?' (x2) 'Down on the Ohio a-tryin' to swim.' Says I, 'John Morgan, where's your hoss?' Says he, 'I lost it swimmin' across.'" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas) KEYWORDS: Civilwar battle questions horse HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: July 2-26, 1863 - John Hunt Morgan's Ohio Raid (which also saw him operate in Kentucky and Indiana) FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Thomas-Makin', p. 66, (no title) (1 short text) NOTES: Presumably a reference to confederate general John Hunt Morgan (1825-1864), perhaps the raid-happiest soldier in the western armies. In July 1863, he took a picked force on a raid into Kentucky. Although his superior Braxton Bragg had ordered him not to cross the Ohio, he did so on July 7, and continued chasing around until he and the remnants of his command were captured on July 26. Morgan would later escape, but this was his last major exploit, and he was killed in 1864. - RBW File: ThBa066 === NAME: John Morrissey and the Black: see Morrissey and the Black [Laws H19] (File: LH19) === NAME: John o Badenyond: see John of Badenyon (File: FVS51) === NAME: John o' Badenyon: see John of Badenyon (File: FVS51) === NAME: John of Badenyon DESCRIPTION: "When first I came to be a man, of twenty years or so, I thought myself a handsome youth, and fain the world would know." The young man wanders, meeting girls and getting in trouble; after each disappointment, he "tuned my pipe to John o' Badenyon" AUTHOR: Rev. John Skinner? EARLIEST_DATE: 1806 (Scots Musical Museum) KEYWORDS: rambling youth courting hardtimes FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 51-55, "John o' Badenyon" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2592 ALTERNATE_TITLES: John o Badenyond NOTES: Ford is unable to explain "John of Badenyon," suggesting such possibilities as a mournful tune or a relative of the author. Personally, I suspect a figure of folklore who had a sad and difficult life. John Wilkes (1725-1797) and John Horne Tooke (1736-1812), whom the singer professes to have followed, were radicals who fought for liberal causes. Both were arrested and imprisoned at one time or another, as were some of their followers. Wilkes was, in fact, elected to Parliament from Middlesex (producing the slogan "Wilkes and Liberty") but barred from serving. - RBW File: FVS51 === NAME: John of Hazelgreen [Child 293] DESCRIPTION: A lady is weeping for John of Hazelgreen, whom she is not permitted to marry. She is offered marriage to another; this is little to her liking. By some means or other she meets Hazelgreen, and they are married AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1827 (Kinloch) KEYWORDS: elopement love marriage separation FOUND_IN: Britain(England,Scotland(Aber)) US(MW,NE,SE,So) Canada(Mar,Newf) REFERENCES: (16 citations) Child 293, "John of Hazelgreen" (5 texts) Bronson 293, "John of Hazelgreen" (29 versions) SharpAp 43, "John of Hazelgreen" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #5a} BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 369-371, "Willie of Hazel Green" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #27} Flanders/Olney, pp. 237-238, "Young Johnny of Hazelgreen" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #25} Flanders-Ancient4, pp. 281-284, "John of Hazelgreen" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #25} Davis-Ballads 49, "John of Hazelgreen" (7 texts plus 2 fragments; the J text appears to have print influence; 3 tunes entitled "John o' the Hazelgreen," "John of Hazelgreen"; 1 more version mentioned in Appendix A) {Bronson's #3, #26, #2} Davis-More 45, pp. 350-355, "John of Hazelgreen" (1 text, 1 tune) Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 225-227, "John of Hazelgreen" (2 short texts, with local titles "John over the Hazel Green"; 2 tunes on pp. 415-416) {Bronson's #8, #7} Peacock, pp. 537-538, "Johnny from Hazelgreen" (1 text, 1 tune) Leach, pp. 674-678, "John of Hazelgreen" (3 texts) Friedman, p. 143, "John of Hazelgreen" (1 text) McNeil-SFB1, pp. 91-92, "John of Hazelgreen" (1 text, 1 tune) Niles 63, "John of Hazelgreen" (1 text, 1 tune) Abrahams/Foss, pp. 95-96, "John of Hazelgreen" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #9} DT 293, JOCKHZLD* JOCKHZL2* Roud #250 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Nancy Dawson" (plot) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Jock o Hazeldean John over the Hazel Green Jock o Hazledean NOTES: Rewritten by Sir Walter Scott as "Jock o Hazeldean" -- a poem which has become perhaps more popular than the original ballad, and which is included in many poetic works (e.g. it is item CCXXVII in Palgrave's _Golden Treasury_). Scholars since Child have debated the extent to which the Scott text (said to take only a single stanza from the traditional song) is influenced or has influenced tradition. One thing appears certain: The Scott text and some of the traditional versions are related (e.g. Davis's "J" is about 85% identical to the corresponding stanzas of Scott's text). Either the Scott text used more than the single stanza claimed, or his text has influenced tradition. - RBW File: C293 === NAME: John Peel: see D'ye Ken John Peel? (File: FSWB208) === NAME: John Randolph: see Lord Randal [Child 12] (File: C012) === NAME: John Reilly: see Riley's Farewell (Riley to America; John Riley) [Laws M8] (File: LM08) === NAME: John Reilly the Sailor Lad: see Riley's Farewell (Riley to America; John Riley) [Laws M8] (File: LM08) === NAME: John Riley: see John (George) Riley (I) [Laws N36] AND John (George) Riley II [Laws N37] (File: LN36) === NAME: John Riley (III): see Pretty Fair Maid (The Maiden in the Garden; The Broken Token) [Laws N42] (File: LN42) === NAME: John Robertson DESCRIPTION: When Joe comes to the camp to seek work to help his sick mother, John Robertson trains the boy to be a talented lumberjack. But one day Joe chops a tree with a bad core; Robertson is mortally hurt saving Joe. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Beck) LONG_DESCRIPTION: John Robertson is an experienced lumberjack. When a greenhorn comes to camp, seeking work to help his sick mother, Robertson persuades the foreman to take him on, then takes the greenhorn under his wing. The young man, Joe, becomes a talented lumberjack, but one day he chops a tree with a rotten core. The tree falls on him; Robertson pushes him out of the way, but is fatally injured. Dying, he tells Joe that he's "glad 'twas me, not you" because of the sick mother (who recovers) KEYWORDS: lumbering logger work friend family mother death dying disease apprentice FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Beck 57, "John Robertson" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #4062 NOTES: This song is item dC41 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW File: Be057 === NAME: John Saw de Hundred and Forty-Four Thousand: see probably The Other Bright Shore (File: R611) === NAME: John Saw the Holy Number DESCRIPTION: "John saw the holy number, Sitting on the golden altar." "Fishman Peter, fish no more, fish no more, fish no more, Fishman Peter, fish no more, Sitting on the golden altar." "Weeping Mary, weep no more...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Brown) KEYWORDS: Bible religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 538, "John Saw the Holy Number" (1 text) Roud #11843 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "John Done Saw that Number" (floating lyrics) NOTES: The notes in Brown explain, "The chorus apparently refers to John 7:4: 'And I heard the number of them that were sealed; and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand." This is a mess. First, this isn't John 7:4; it's Revelation 7:4. And there is no hint that they were sitting on a golden altar -- though in 8:3 they apparently worship before it. But in that case, the holy number is probably seven for the seven angels. Or so it appears to me. It may appear, from the title line, that this is the same as "John Done Saw that Number," but the form is distinct. - RBW File: Br3538 === NAME: John Singleton [Laws C15] DESCRIPTION: Singleton, chief sawyer in a lumber mill, is killed by the sawmill's machinery. His body is sent home to be buried. AUTHOR: John Morrison? EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Beck) KEYWORDS: logger death technology lumbering FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Laws C15, "John Singleton" Beck 62, "John Singleton" (1 text) DT 837, JONSINGL Roud #2223 NOTES: Laws quotes Beck to the effect that the song was by "John Morrison," but Paul Stamler observes that Beck spells the name "Morison." Chances are that Dave D. Smith, who made the attribution, did not spell out the name, and Back and Laws used different spellings. - RBW File: LC15 === NAME: John Smith My Fellow Fine DESCRIPTION: "John Smith, fellow fine, Can you shoe this horse of mine? Ay, sir, and that I can, As well as ony man. There's a nail upon the tae, To make the pony climb the brae; There's a nail upon the heel... There's a horsie well shod." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1964 (Montgomerie) KEYWORDS: horse nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Opie-Oxford2 445, "Robert Barnes Fellow Fine" (1 text) Montgomerie-ScottishNR 26, "(John Smith, fellow fine)" (1 text) Roud #12964 File: SNR026 === NAME: John Sold the Cow Well: see The Crafty Farmer [Child 283; Laws L1] (File: C283) === NAME: John Styles and Susan Cutter DESCRIPTION: John and Susan are popping corn. At last "said she, 'John Styles, it's three o'clock, I'm dying of digestion; Instead of always popping that old corn, Why don't you pop the question?'" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1982 KEYWORDS: humorous food courting FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (1 citation) FSCatskills 155, "John Styles and Susan Cutter" (1 text+additional composed verses; tune referenced) ST FSC155 (Partial) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Old Gray Goose (Lookit Yonder)" (tune) NOTES: Cazden et al note that this piece is sung to the tune of "The Old Gray Goose (Lookit Yonder)," and was sung continuously with it; the two might form one ballad. - RBW File: FSC155 === NAME: John Sullivan (The Moncton Tragedy) DESCRIPTION: Sullivan kills a widow and her son, takes her cash, and sets the house afire. A daughter survives and blames Sullivan. He flees to Calais, is caught, brought back, tried, convicted and condemned to hang on Friday, March 12. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1948 (Manny/Wilson) KEYWORDS: execution homicide robbery trial gallows-confessions FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Dibblee/Dibblee, pp. 57-58, "John Sullivan" (1 text, 1 tune) Manny/Wilson 35, "The Moncton Tragedy" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Dib057 (Partial) Roud #9267 ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Sullivan Murder The Meadow Brook Tragedy The Dutcher Murder NOTES: Manny/Wilson: "This sordid crime took place in mid-September, 1896, at Meadow Brook, eight miles from Moncton, New Brunswick." Manny/Wilson note to "The Moncton Tragedy" has more details about the murder and trial, including further references. - BS File: Dib057 === NAME: John T. Williams DESCRIPTION: "Come all you jolly soldiers, I'll sing to you a song... Concerning my troubles... And how I got around them." "With a bottle of good whiskey I put the guard to sleep." The escaped rebel flees south, apparently making it back to Confederate lines AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas) KEYWORDS: prisoner escape Civilwar FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Thomas-Makin', pp. 74-78, (no title) (1 text, 1 tune) RECORDINGS: cf. "James MacDonald" [Laws P38] NOTES: Though perhaps based on a historical incident, this of course is built around older materials. Thomas's informant, "Rebel Jack," claimed John T. Williams was his captain, but while he offered many details about Confederate army life, I failed to notice any documentation of the regiment in which Jack served. - RBW File: ThBa074 === NAME: John the Baptist: see John Done Saw that Number (File: CNFM061C) === NAME: John the Boy, Hello: see The Old Gray Mare (The Old Gray Horse; The Little Black Bull) (File: R271) === NAME: John the Revelator DESCRIPTION: "My Lord called John while he was a-writing... Oh, John, John" "Who's that writing? John the Revelator." The song describes what and how John wrote: The book of "Revelations," "The book of Seven Seals," etc. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (recording, Blind Willie Johnson) KEYWORDS: Bible religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(So,SE) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Lomax-FSNA 252, "John the Revelator" (1 text, 1 tune) Asch/Dunson/Raim, p. 72, "John the Revelator" (1 text, 1 tune) Courlander-NFM, p. 66, "(John the Revelator)" (partial text) Roud #6701 RECORDINGS: Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet, "John, the Revelator" (Bluebird B-7631, 1938; Montgomery Ward M-7912, 1939; Victor 20-2073, 1946; rec. 1938) Blind Willie Johnson, "John the Revelator" (Columbia 14530D, 1930; on AAFM2, BWJ03) Spiritual Four Quartet, "John the Revelator" (AFS 5160 B1, 5163 A1, 1941; on in AMMEM/FortValley) Trumpeteers, "John de Revelator" (Score 5012, n.d.) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Adam in the Garden Pinning Leaves" (theme) cf. "It's Getting Late in the Evening" (theme) NOTES: For the record, it is the "Book of Revelation," or properly the "Revelation to John" (Greek APOKALYPSIS IOANNOU), not the "Book of Revelations." - RBW File: LoF252 === NAME: John Thomson and the Turk [Child 266] DESCRIPTION: John Thomson is fighting the Turks when his wife appears. She then sets off and willingly joins the household of Violentrie. When Thomson learns she is missing, he finds her in the Turk's home. He attacks the Turk, burns his castle, and hangs his wife AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1801 KEYWORDS: love separation war fight foreigner punishment disguise trick FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) US(NE) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Child 266, "John Thomson and the Turk" (2 texts) Bronson 266, "John Thomson and the Turk" (1 version) Flanders/Olney, pp. 91-95, "The Trooper and the Turk" (1 text) Flanders-Ancient4, pp. 45-49, "John Thomson and the Turk" (1 text) DT 266, TROOPTRK Roud #110 File: C266 === NAME: John Webber: see Billy Broke Locks (The Escape of Old John Webb) (File: LoF004) === NAME: John Whipple's Mill DESCRIPTION: The singer, goes to work in (John Whipple's) mill and finds himself in a race. He vows to "keep up if I did myself kill." After work, he goes out, fills his pipe, and relaxes. (Probably there is more of a story here, but it has been lost) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 KEYWORDS: work contest FOUND_IN: US(MA) Canada(Ont) REFERENCES: (2 citations) FSCatskills 171, "John Whipple's Mill" (4 fragments, 1 tune) Fowke-Lumbering #50, "Shanelly's Mill" (1 text, tune referenced) ST FSC171 (Partial) Roud #3675 ALTERNATE_TITLES: John Harper's Hill Trickeyside Hill NOTES: Roud equates this song with item dC54, "Shanel's Mill," in Laws's Appendix II. But he does not cite the one reference in Laws (NYFQ 11); I cannot verify the connection. Fowke, however, accepts the equation, so here we lump them. - RBW. File: FSC171 === NAME: John Yetman DESCRIPTION: "... a hero brave from St. Mary's Bay, John Yetman was his name" who spent many years fishing alone in his dory. A Yankee captain shoots Yetman but is taken by Newfoundlanders, tried, convicted and sentenced to 15 years at hard labor. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1955 (Doyle) KEYWORDS: homicide trial punishment fishing sea ship memorial FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Doyle3, p. 34, "John Yetman" (1 text, 1 tune) Blondahl, p. 71, "John Yetman" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7299 RECORDINGS: Omar Blondahl, "John Yetman" (on NFOBlondahl02, NFOBlondahl03) File: Doyl3034 === NAME: John, John Crow DESCRIPTION: Shanty. "Every Sunday mornin', John, John Crow. When I go a-courtin', John, John Crow." Rhyming verses on courting, working, and eating. Written in dialect. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1945 (Harlow) KEYWORDS: shanty worksong courting FOUND_IN: US Barbados REFERENCES: (1 citation) Harlow, pp. 199-200, "John, John Crow" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9171 NOTES: Harlow's brief notes say this is a Barbadian negro shanty for unloading cargo. - SL File: Harl199 === NAME: Johnie Armstrong [Child 169] DESCRIPTION: Johnie Armstrong "had nither lands nor rents," but "kept eight score men in his hall" by raiding. The king summons Armstrong to court. Armstrong comes; the king orders his execution. Armstrong instead dies fighting. His young son vows revenge AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1658 KEYWORDS: outlaw royalty punishment execution battle death HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1530 - James V of Scotland puts down the Armstrongs FOUND_IN: Britain(England,Scotland(Aber,Hebr)) REFERENCES: (12 citations) Child 169, "Johnie Armstrong" (3 texts, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #6, #7} Bronson 169, "Johnie Armstrong" (10 versions) Leach, pp. 475-477, "Johnie Armstrong" (1 text) Friedman, p. 240, "Johnie Armstrong" (2 texts) OBB 89, "Johnie Armstrong" (1 text) Gummere, pp. 127-129+329, "Johnie Armstrong" (1 text) Hodgart, p. 106, "Johnie Armstrong" (1 text) Flanders-Ancient3, pp. 153-158, "Johnie Armstrong" (1 text, from "The Charms of Melody" rather than tradition) TBB 22, "Johnie Armstrong" (1 text) HarvClass-EP1, pp. 101-103, "Johnie Armstrong" (1 text) BBI, ZN1503, "Is there never a man in all Scotland" DT 169, JARMSTR1 JARMSTR2 Roud #76 BROADSIDES: NLScotland, S.302.b.2(064), "John Armstrong's Last Farewell," unknown, after 1700 SAME_TUNE: Fare Thou Well Bonny Gilt Knock Hall (per broadside NLScotland, S.302.b.2(064)) NOTES: Several English texts claim that Armstrong lived in Westmoreland, and raided the Scots. This is, of course, not true; he was a Scot. But neither side had much use for such an outlaw. - RBW File: C169 === NAME: Johnie Cock [Child 114] DESCRIPTION: Johnie, despite his mother's advice, goes out to hunt the king's deer. He brings the deer down, but is betrayed by a passer-by. Seven foresters attack him; he kills all but one (and wounds that one), but is himself mortally wounded AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1780 (Percy) KEYWORDS: hunting fight death FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North),Scotland(Aber,Bord,High)) US(MA,SE) Ireland Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (16 citations) Child 114, "Johnie Cock" (13 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #4} Bronson 114, "Johnie Cock" (16 versions) Dixon XVI, pp. 77-81, "Johnnie o' Cocklesmuir" (1 text) Ord, pp. 467-469, "Johnnie o' Cocklesmuir" (1 text) Davis-Ballads 29, "Johnie Cock" (1 text) Creighton/Senior, pp. 65-67, "Johnie Cock" (1 text) Leach, pp. 324-332, "Johnie Cock" (4 texts) Friedman, p. 233, "Johnie Cock" (2 texts) OBB 136, "Johnnie of Cockerslee" (1 text) PBB 174, "Johny Cock" (1 text) Niles 41, "Johnie Cock" (1 text, 1 tune) Gummere, pp. 123-126+328, "Johnie Cock" (1 text) Hodgart, p. 108, "Johnie Cock" (1 text) TBB 28, "Johnie Cock" (1 text) Darling-NAS, pp. 83-86, "Johnie Cock" (1 text) DT 114, BRAIDSLY Roud #69 RECORDINGS: John Strachan, "Johnie Cock" (on FSB5) {Bronson's #12} ALTERNATE_TITLES: Johnnie o' Braidesley Fair John and the Seven Foresters NOTES: The motif of one man fighting and defeating seven adversaries is almost a commonplace (see "Earl Brand," Child #7, and "Erlinton," Child #8, as examples). But this one has an interesting parallel to the French Song of Roland (especially in Motherwell's long text, Child's F): Like Roland, Johnie sets out freely, despite cautions; like Roland, he is defeated and mortally wounded but defeats his attackers, whose few survivors flee; like Roland, he sends a message of his need only when it is too late; like Roland, he is given great honor after his death. - RBW File: C114 === NAME: Johnie Scot [Child 99] DESCRIPTION: Johnny, serving at the English court, gets the king's daughter with child. He goes back to Scotland and sends for her; she sends word she is imprisoned. He comes with 500 men, fights the king's champion, and gains his lady. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1794 (Ritson-Tytler-Brown ms.) KEYWORDS: royalty pregnancy prison rescue battle love FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber,Bord)) US(Ap,NE,SE) Canada(Mar) Ireland REFERENCES: (11 citations) Child 99, "Johnie Scot" (20 texts, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #10, #11} Bronson 99, "Johnie Scot" (12 versions) BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 213-224, "Johny Scot" (2 texts plus 1 fragments and sundry quotations, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #5, #1} Flanders-Ancient3, pp. 45-55, "Johnssy Scot" (3 texts, the first being from "The Green Mountain Songster"; 1 tune) {Bronson's #9} Flanders/Olney, pp. 101-104, "Johnny Scott" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #9} Creighton-Maritime, pp. 15-17, "Johnie Scot" (2 texts, 1 tune) Leach, pp. 303-308, "Johnie Scot" (2 texts) SharpAp 29, "Johnie Scot" (3 texts, 3 tunes){Bronson's #2, #12, #4} DBuchan 19, "Johnie Scot" (1 text, 1 tune in appendix) {Bronson's #10} SHenry H736, p. 489, "Johnny Scot" (1 text, 1 tune) DT 99, JSCOTT1* JSCOTT2* Roud #63 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(1921), "Johnny Scot," J. Harkness (Preston), 1840-1866 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Lang Johnny More" [Child 251] (plot) File: C099 === NAME: Johnnie and Molly (I): see Farewell, Charming Nancy [Laws K14] (File: LK14) === NAME: Johnnie and Nancy: see William and Nancy (I) (Lisbon; Men's Clothing I'll Put On I) [Laws N8] (File: LN08) === NAME: Johnnie Cope DESCRIPTION: "Cope sent a letter frae Dunbar, Said, 'Charlie, meet me, an ye daur, And I'll learn ye the art o' war." Prince Charles accepts the challenge; Cope makes sure his horse is ready to fly. Quickly defeated, Cope is the first to escape to (Dunbar/Berwick) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1803 (_Scots Musical Museum_ #234) KEYWORDS: Jacobites battle abandonment humorous royalty HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Sept 21, 1745 - Battle of Prestonpans. Bonnie Prince Charlie's Highland army routs the first real Hannoverian force it encounters FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) Canada REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, JOHNCOPE* JOHNCOP2* Roud #2315 BROADSIDES: Murray, Mu23-y1:119, "Johnny Cope," unknown, unknown CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Barns o' Beneuchies" (tune) SAME_TUNE: The Barns o' Beneuchies (File: Ord231) Jemmie Forrest (broadside NLScotland, L.C.Fol.178.A.2(106), "Jemmie Forrest," unknown, 1842?; same broadside as L.C.Fol.74(219a), ABS.10.203.01(151)) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Hey Johnnie Cope NOTES: This song, with its slanging lyrics and sprightly tune, is extremely well known (I have two histories of the Forty-Five Rebellion, and both title their chapters on Prestonpans "Hey Johnnie Cope"), but traditional collections are few and far between. It seems to have survived mostly in texts that borrow the tune. The song is not as accurate as might be desired. The two armies, although both desired battle, almost blundered into each other. Tactics were minimal; the Jacobites took the field, charged, and routed the army of Lieutenant-General John Cope. This is not as surprising as it sounds. Cope's army was in most respects inferior. Although theoretically composed of "regulars," in fact the troops were mostly raw. Nor were the units cohesive; it was a company from here and a battalion from there; officers and units had not worked together. And the army was small. Stuart Reid, in _1745 -- A Military History_, offers evidence implying that the Hannoverian army was only about 2000 strong. It had a few artillery pieces, mostly in rather bad state -- but with no one except two officers to man them, and no ammunition, they played little part in the battle. Nor is there evidence that Cope (1688-1760) was a coward; his courageous conduct at Dettingen (1743) had earned him a knighthood. If he had a problem, it was lack of brains, not of courage. He assuredly tried to stem the rout. But the disaster was too complete. Cope would be court-martialed but acquitted for his conduct at Presponpans. - RBW File: DTjohnco === NAME: Johnnie Gallacher: see Johnny Gallagher (Pat Reilly) (File: Pea469) === NAME: Johnnie Johnson's Ta'en a Notion: see Johnny Todd (File: FSWB174A) === NAME: Johnnie Lad: see Johnny Lad (File: Log443) === NAME: Johnnie o' Braidesley: see Johnie Cock [Child 114] (File: C114) === NAME: Johnnie o' Cocklesmuir: see Johnie Cock [Child 114] (File: C114) === NAME: Johnnie O'Rogers: see Jolly Old Roger (File: R496) === NAME: Johnnie of Cockerslee: see Johnie Cock [Child 114] (File: C114) === NAME: Johnnie Sangster DESCRIPTION: A harvest song about binding sheaves and Johnnie Sangster the bandster. The first part of the song is apparently sung by Johnnie or one of his companions; the end is sung by a girl who wants to marry Johnnie. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1908 KEYWORDS: farming work harvest FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) REFERENCES: (2 citations) DBuchan 69, "Johnnie Sangster" (1 text, 1 tune in appendix) Ord, pp. 265-266, "Johnnie Sangster" (1 text) ST DBuch69 (Full) Roud #2164 NOTES: Ewan MacColl's version of this is sung to a Lydian melody -- the only such I can recall in traditional Scottish music. This is not universal; Ord's melody is generally quite close to MacColl's, but with that Lydian (sharpened) fourth reduced to an ordinary Ionian fourth. Ord quotes Greig to the effect that this is by one William Scott, but the evidence is thin enough that I don't cite him as author. - RBW File: DBuch69 === NAME: Johnnie Troy: see Johnny Troy [Laws L21] (File: LL21) === NAME: Johnnie, Wontcha Ramble: see Johnny, Won't You Ramble (File: LoF275) === NAME: Johnnie's Got His Jean, O: see The Birken Tree (File: FVS088) === NAME: Johnny: see The Girl Volunteer (The Cruel War Is Raging) [Laws O33] (File: LO33) === NAME: Johnny and Betsy: see Betsy Is a Beauty Fair (Johnny and Betsey; The Lancaster Maid) [Laws M20] (File: LM20) === NAME: Johnny and Jane DESCRIPTION: "Johnny and Jane had a falling out; Johnny run Jane right outta sight." She promises to come; he beats and runs her naked around town. She's sentenced to Moundsville (VA) jail. She escapes. Refrain: "Johnny don't allow no lowdown hanging around." AUTHOR: Frank Hutchison EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (recording, Martin & Roberts) KEYWORDS: fight abuse prison escape humorous lover FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 59, "Johnny and Jane" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, JOHNJANE* RECORDINGS: [Asa] Martin & [Doc] Roberts, "Low Down Hanging Around" (Conqueror 8207-B, 1933) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. ""Mama Don't 'Low" (lyrics) cf. "Salty Dog" (tune) File: CSW059 === NAME: Johnny and Mary DESCRIPTION: "Down the burn and thro' the mead, His golden locks wav'd o'er his brow, Johnnie, liltin', tuned his reed, And Mary wiped her bonnie mou'." The poor but handsome couple find happiness and treasure in each other's company AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1869 (Herd) KEYWORDS: love courting nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 272-273, "Johnnie and Mary" (1 text) Roud #8498 NOTES: This is either incredibly bawdy or incredibly dumb. I'm betting on the latter. Ford reports that it is from Bickerstaff's 1762 opera "Love in a Village." The obscurity of this work is shown by the fact that I checked eight different reference works (six devoted solely to classical music) without finding a single reference to opera or composer. - RBW File: FVS272 === NAME: Johnny and Old Mr. Henly: see Will the Weaver [Laws Q9] (File: LQ09) === NAME: Johnny Appleseed's Song DESCRIPTION: "I love to plant a little seed Whose fruit I never see; Some hungry strange it will feed, When it becomes a tree." "I love to sing a little song... And round me see the children throng." "So I can never lonely be." "The tree will tell my deed" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (Allsopp) KEYWORDS: food nonballad travel children FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) ADDITIONAL: Fred W. Allsopp, Folklore of Romantic Arkansas, Volume II (1931), p. 272, (no title) (1 text) NOTES: Checking _Granger's Index to Poetry_, I find half a dozen "Johnny Appleseed" songs, none of which are this piece. The way Allsopp presents the poem, it might be traditional, so I've indexed it -- though I suspect it's just Allsopp not documenting sources. Whether the poem actually goes back to John Chapman (c. 1775-1847) is obviously open to doubt. It's ironic to note that Johnny Appleseed, though his work brought him fame and praise, in fact was introducing non-native species in many areas, and hence damaging the environment. - RBW File: FORA272 === NAME: Johnny Barbour: see Willie o Winsbury [Child 100] (File: C100) === NAME: Johnny Bathin: see Lake of Cool Finn, The (Willie Leonard) [Laws Q33] (File: LQ33) === NAME: Johnny Blunt: see Get Up and Bar the Door [Child 275] (File: C275) === NAME: Johnny Bobeens: see The Swapping Boy (File: E093) === NAME: Johnny Boker (I) DESCRIPTION: Shanty. Characteristic line: " Do, my Johnny Boker (Booker/Poker), do!" Often with lyrics about the sailor's girl (Sally) or about the abuse inflicted by the Captain. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1917 (Robinson) KEYWORDS: shanty nonballad FOUND_IN: US(MA) Canada(Mar,Newf) REFERENCES: (11 citations) Doerflinger, p. 9, "Johnny Boker" (1 text, 1 tune) Colcord, p. 44, "Johnny Boker" (1 text, 1 tune) Harlow, pp. 97-98, "Johnny Boker" (1 text, 1 tune) Hugill, pp. 289-290, "Johnny Bowker" (1 text, 1 tune) Sharp-EFC, XL, p. 45, "Johnny Bowker" (1 text, 1 tune) Linscott, p. 141, "Johnny Boker" (1 fragment, 1 tune) Greenleaf/Mansfield 168, "Jolly Poker" (1 fragment, 1 tune) Shay-SeaSongs, p. 28, "Johnny Boker" (1 short text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 86, "Johnny Boker" (1 text) DT, JONBOKER* Captain John Robinson, "Songs of the Chantey Man," a series published July-August 1917 in the periodical _The Bellman_ (Minneapolis, MN, 1906-1919). "Johnny Boker" is in Part 1, 7/14/1917. Roud #353 RECORDINGS: Capt. Leighton Robinson, "Johnny Boker" (AFS, 1951; on LC26) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Johnny Polka Johnny Poker NOTES: A blackface piece of the same name is also known, and is felt by some to be the original, but the relationship between the two is difficult to determine precisely. - RBW File: Doe009a === NAME: Johnny Booker (Mister Booger) DESCRIPTION: About the troubles experienced by a teamster/sailor along the way: A broken yoke, a stalled cart, etc. Chorus something like "Do, Johnny Booker, oh do, do me do, Do, Johnny Booker, oh do" or "So walk a Johnny Booger to help that nigger...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (recording, Bill Chitwood & Bud Landress) KEYWORDS: work travel FOUND_IN: US(So) Britain(England(North,South)) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Randolph 268, "Mister Booger" (1 text plus a fragment, 2 tunes) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 100, "(Johnny Booker)" (1 fragment, 1 tune, probably this although it's short enough that it might be "Johnny Boker (I)") Lomax-FSNA 258, "Knock John Booker" (1 text, 1 tune) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 194, "Johnny Booker" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, JNBOOKER Roud #3441 RECORDINGS: Gus Cannon, "Old John Booker, You Call That Gone" (on AmSkBa, DownHome) Bill Chitwood & Bud Landress, "Johnny, Get Your Gun" (Brunswick 2883, 1925) Cousin Emmy [Cynthia May Carver], "Johnny Booker" (Decca 24214, 1947; on CrowTold01) Jack Elliott, "Old Johnnie Booker" (on Elliotts01) Earl Johnson & his Clodhoppers, "Johnnie Get Your Gun" (OKeh 45171, 1927) New Lost City Ramblers, "Old Johnny Booker Won't Do" (on NLCR17, NLCRCD2) Walter "Kid Smith, "Old Johnny Bucker Wouldn't Do" (Gennett 6825/Supertone 9407 [as Jerry Jordon, "Old Johnny Bucker Won't Do"], 1929) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Poor Old Man (Poor Old Horse; The Dead Horse)" (lyrics) cf. "Went to the River (I)" (floating lyrics) NOTES: "Johnny Booker" includes key verses from "Poor Old Man": "Said an old man come riding by/Said, young man, your mule's gonna die/If he dies I'll tan his skin/If he lives I'll ride him again." This probably entered minstrel tradition via African-American sailors -- or entered the shanty tradition from minstrel shows. The Chitwood-Landress recording is a bit of a conundrum: it doesn't include most of the canonical mule verses, nor the canonical chorus, but the tune and gestalt are the same. I classify it as a proto-Johnny Booker, and assign it the earliest date, but note its peculiarities; it may be a Chitwood-Landress composition, built on the skeleton of this song. - PJS File: R268 === NAME: Johnny Bull, Irishman, and Scotchman: see Paddy Magee's Dream (File: OCon099) === NAME: Johnny Bull, My Jo, John DESCRIPTION: "Oh, Johnny Bull, my jo John, I wonder what you mean, Are you on foreign conquest bent, or what ambitious scheme?" The Americans warn their "brother" (England) that their invasions have failed. John is advised to "remain on your fast-anchored isle." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1966 KEYWORDS: war patriotic political derivative HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Sept 10, 1813 - Battle of Lake Erie. The Americans under Perry defeat the British. Aug 24, 1814 - A British force under Robert Ross captures Washington, D.C. after brushing aside the incompetent defenders. (Madison's administration had already fled). Two days later the British leave for Baltimore. Jan 8, 1815 - Battle of New Orleans. Although a peace had already been signed, word had not yet reached Louisiana, which British General Pakenham sought to invade. Andrew Jackson's backwoodsmen easily repulse Pakenham. FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (3 citations) Scott-BoA, pp. 118-120, "Johnny Bull, My Jo, John" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 291, "Johnny Bull, My Jo, John" (1 text) DT, JOHNAND4* CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "John Anderson, My Jo, John" (tune) NOTES: A broadside from the War of 1812, based on Burns's "John Anderson My Jo, John." This tune seems to have been very popular for political songs at the time; Huntington (pp. 172-174) has another such song, "John Bull's Epistle" (which we might subtitle "Colly Strong"). - RBW File: SBoA118 === NAME: Johnny Cake: see Come All You Virginia Girls (Arkansas Boys; Texian Boys; Cousin Emmy's Blues; etc.) (File: R342) === NAME: Johnny Carroll's Camp DESCRIPTION: Singer describes details of life in a lumber camp. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (recording, Bill McBride) KEYWORDS: lumbering work logger nonballad FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Beck 13, "Johnny Carroll's Camp" (1 text) Roud #6516 RECORDINGS: Bill McBride, "Johnny Carroll's Camp" (AFS, 1938; on LC56) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Lumber Camp Song" and references there NOTES: There is an entire genre of songs describing life in a lumber camp and the characters to be found there; check the cross-references. - PJS File: Be013 === NAME: Johnny Come Down to Hilo: see Johnny Walk Along to Hilo (File: Doe072a) === NAME: Johnny Come to Hilo: see Johnny Walk Along to Hilo (File: Doe072a) === NAME: Johnny Coughlin: see Johnny Gallagher (Pat Reilly) (File: Pea469) === NAME: Johnny Dhu: see The Little Beggerman (Johnny Dhu) (File: K345) === NAME: Johnny Doyle (II): see The Wild Mustard River (Johnny Stile) [Laws C5] (File: LC05) === NAME: Johnny Doyle [Laws M2] DESCRIPTION: Johnny and his sweetheart plan to elope, but the girl's servant reveals the plan. The girl is taken and forced to wed another. She becomes sick to death. The mother relents and offers to send for Johnny, but it is too late; the girl bids farewell and dies AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1857 (broadside, Bodleian Firth c.18(85)) KEYWORDS: elopement love marriage death FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,NE,SE,So) Britain(England(South)) Ireland Canada(Mar,Newf) REFERENCES: (19 citations) Laws M2, "Johnny Doyle" Randolph 87, "Johnny Doyle" (3 texts, 2 tunes) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 80-81, Johnny Doyle"" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 87A) SharpAp 83, "Johnny Doyle" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Hudson 44, pp. 159-160, "Johnny Doyle" (1 text) Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 248-250, "Johnny Doyle" (1 text, locally titled "Johnny Dile"; tune on pp. 421-422) Eddy 73, "Johnny Doyle" (1 text, 1 tune) Gardner/Chickering 15, "The Lost Johnny Doyle" (1 text, 1 tune) FSCatskills, "Johnny Doyle" (1 text, 1 tune) Flanders-Ancient3, pp. 279-285, "Johnny Doyle" (3 texts, 1 tune) Warner 81, "Young Johnnie" (1 text, 1 tune) SHenry H137, pp. 431-432, "Johnny Doyle" (1 text, 1 tune) BrownII 129, "Johnny Doyle" (1 text) Peacock, pp. 687-690, "Johnny Doyle" (2 texts, 3 tunes) Leach-Labrador 16, "Johnny Doyle" (1 text, 1 tune) Karpeles-Newfoundland 67, "Johnny Doyle" (1 text, 1 tune) Mackenzie 34, "Johnny Doyle" (1 text) O'Conor, p. 16, "Johnny Doyle" (1 text) DT 430, JONDOYLE* Roud #455 RECORDINGS: Burzilla Wallin, "Johnny Dial (Doyle)" (on OldLove) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Firth c.18(85), "Johnny Doyle" ("There's one thing that grieves me and that I must confess"), The Poet's Box (Glasgow), 1857; also Firth c.18(84), Firth b.25(291), Harding B 11(1911), "Johnny Doyle" ("I am a fair maiden what's crossed in love"); Harding B 18(324), "Johnny Doyle!" [same as LOCSinging as201890] LOCSinging, as201890, "Johnny Doyle!," H. De Marsan (New York), 1861-1864 [same as Bodleian Harding B 18(324) ] CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Lord Saltoun and Auchanachie" [Child 239] (plot) SAME_TUNE: The Heart That Can Feel for a Suffering Maiden (per broadside Bodleian Firth c.18(85)) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Johnny Dial Johnny Dye It's of a Tender Maiden NOTES: Not to be confused with "Johnny Doyle II," a variant of Laws C5, "The Wild Mustard River (Johnny Stile)." Flanders, in Flanders-Ancient3, included this song based on the thematic similarity to "Lord Saltoun and Auchanachie" -- but Coffin's notes confess "Certaimly 'Johnny Doyle' has little but its basic motif in common with Child 239." - RBW Broadside LOCSinging as201890: H. De Marsan dating per _Studying Nineteenth-Century Popular Song_ by Paul Charosh in American Music, Winter 1997, Vol 15.4, Table 1, available at FindArticles site. - BS File: LM02 === NAME: Johnny Dunlay DESCRIPTION: Johnny Dunlay meets the singer "by the side of Aymer's haunted hall." They part and he rides to battle. The "fair Saxon soldiers" ambush him. He kills the Saxon leader. She curses the traitor who shot Johnny by Aymer's hall. He dies in her arms. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Peacock) KEYWORDS: courting battle betrayal death lover soldier FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Peacock, pp. 471-472, "Johnny Dunlay" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Pea471 (Partial) Roud #6457 File: Pea471 === NAME: Johnny Faa: see The Gypsy Laddie [Child 200] (File: C200) === NAME: Johnny Fell Down in the Bucket DESCRIPTION: "Johnny fell down the bucket, The bucket fell down the well, His wife cut the rope... And Johnny fell down into -- (nonsense chorus)." "Johnny was walking in Hades, As meek and calm as a lamb, She stepped on a red-hot poker, And said, Well, I'll be --" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: humorous Hell wordplay FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 420, "Johnny Fell Down the Bucket" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7631 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Hallelujah" NOTES: Like "Hallelujah" or "Hopalong Peter," this is one of those "hidden word" songs -- the verse leads you to expect the last word, which is usually not fit for polite company. But instead of saying the word, it breaks off into the chorus. - RBW File: R420 === NAME: Johnny Fill Up the Bowl (In Eighteen Hundred and Sixty-One) DESCRIPTION: "In Eighteen Hundred and Sixty One, Hurrah, Hurrah (or "Skiball" or "Football" or some such)... The great rebellion is begun, and we'll all drink stone blind, Johnny, fill up the bowl." A catalog of the events of the Civil War AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1863 KEYWORDS: Civilwar fight army rebellion war death freedom slavery HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Apr 12, 1861 - Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter, opening the Civil War Sept 23, 1862 - Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation published (to be formalized Jan. 1, 1863) Apr 9, 1865 - Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia surrenders May 13, 1865 - General Edmund Kirby Smith surrenders all remaining Confederate forces FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,SE,So) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Randolph 227, "In Eighteen Hundred and Sixty-One" (2 texts, 2 tunes) BrownII 222, "In Eighteen Hundred and Sixty-One" (1 text) Davis-Ballads 10, "The Three Ravens" (the two texts in the appendix are this song) Thomas-Makin', p. 54, (no title) (1 text, though the chorus line is "When Johnny Comes Marching Home") DT, ABEWASH* FORBALES* Roud #6673 RECORDINGS: Art Thieme, "In 1861" (on Thieme02) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (tune) and references there ALTERNATE_TITLES: For Bales Football NOTES: For what little can be said about the ancestry of this tune, see the entry on "When Johnny Comes Marching Home." Davis for some reason thinks this song a parody of "The Three Ravens." He offers no explanation. It's not the tunes, which are not given. - RBW File: R227 === NAME: Johnny Fool: see Martin Said To His Man (File: WB022) === NAME: Johnny from Hazelgreen: see John of Hazelgreen [Child 293] (File: C293) === NAME: Johnny Gallagher (Pat Reilly) DESCRIPTION: Johnny takes the bounty to join the army and a shilling to buy ribbons for his sweetheart or cockade. He complains of his cruel stepmother, his uncle "the ruin and downfall of me," and his father -- or recruiting sergeant -- who never "learnt me a trade" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1863 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(1912)) KEYWORDS: farewell father mother stepmother soldier recruiting FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) Peacock, pp. 469-470, "Johnny Coughlin" (1 text, 1 tune) SHenry H574, p. 80, "Pat Reilly" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Pea469 (Partial) Roud #920 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(1912), "Johnny Golicher" ("As I was walking through Newry one day"), H. Such (London), 1849-1862; also Firth c.14(119), Firth b.25(358), Firth c.14(120), "Johnny Golicher"; 2806 c.15(312), "Johnnie Gallocher"; 2806 c.15(263), "Johnny Gallacher"; Harding B 17(147b), "Johnny Gallocher"; 2806 c.15(242), Firth c.14(121), Firth c.26(208)[some lines illegible], 2806 c.15(311), "Johnny Gallagher"; 2806 c.15(312), "Johnnie Gallocher" File: Pea469 === NAME: Johnny German [Laws N43] DESCRIPTION: A sailor meets a girl who tells him she is sad because of her lover's long absence. When he hears that Johnny is her lover, he tells her Johnny died months before. She takes to her bed; he reveals himself as Johnny AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1856 KEYWORDS: sailor separation reunion FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,So,SE) Ireland Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (11 citations) Laws N43, "Johnny German" Belden, pp. 155-156, "Johnny German" (1 text) FSCatskills 23, "The Rainbow" (1 text, 1 tune) SHenry H156, p. 315, "Johnny Jarmin/The Rainbow" (1 text, 1 tune) JHCox 97, "Johnny Germany" (1 text) BrownII 94, "Johnny German" (2 texts) SharpAp 181, "Johnny German" (1 text, 1 tune) Gardner/Chickering 55, "Johnny German" (1 text plus mention of 1 more, 1 tune) Mackenzie 65, "Johnny German" (1 text) Chase, pp. 179-181, "Johnny Jarmanie" (1 text, 1 tune) DT 467, JONGERMN Roud #557 File: LN43 === NAME: Johnny Germany: see Johnny German [Laws N43] (File: LN43) === NAME: Johnny Get Your Gun (I) DESCRIPTION: "One evenin' in de month of May, Johnny get your gun, get your gun, I met old Peter on the way... Moses wept and Abram cried... Satan's coming don't you hide." Johnny is advised to get his gun and fight Satan "to get to Heaven in de good ole way" AUTHOR: F. Belasco (Monroe H. Rosenfeld) EARLIEST_DATE: 1886 KEYWORDS: Devil nonballad fight religious FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (3 citations) RJackson-19CPop, pp. 97-101, "Johnny Get Your Gun" (1 text, 1 tune) Spaeth-WeepMore, pp. 113-114, "Johnny, Get Your Gun" (1 text, 1 tune) Fuld-WFM, p. 313, "Johnny Get Your Gun" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Johnny Get Your Gun (II)" (chorus, tune) NOTES: This piece does not really belong in a folk song catalog; the song in its original form does not seem to have gone into oral tradition. Rather, pieces of the complex whole survived. There is a nonsense version ("Johnny Get Your Gun (II)"), and the "dance" which concluded the piece provided the tune for George M. Cohan's "Over There." - RBW File: RJ19097 === NAME: Johnny Get Your Gun (II) DESCRIPTION: Floating verses, mostly to do with guns and animals: "Johnny got his gun, the gun was loaded/Johnny pulled the trigger and the gun exploded." Chorus: "Johnny get your gun, get your gun, get your gun/Johnny get your gun, I say." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (recording, Bill Chitwood & Bud Landress) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Floating verses, mostly having to do with guns and animals: "Johnny got his gun, the gun was loaded/Johnny pulled the trigger and the gun exploded"; "Johnny got his gun, says turn me loose/Shot a crow and hit an old goose/Crow went caw, the duck went quack/Ought to seen the goose balling the jack." Plus the perennial "My ol' Johnny was a great ol' man/Washed his face in a frying pan/Combed his hair in a wagon wheel/Died with a toothache in his heel." Chorus: "Johnny get your gun, get your gun, get your gun/Johnny get your gun, I say." KEYWORDS: humorous nonballad nonsense floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(SE,So,SW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 198, "Johnny, Get Your Gun" (1 text, 1 tune) RECORDINGS: Bill Chitwood & Bud Landress, "Johnny, Get Your Gun" (Brunswick 2883, 1925) Earl Johnson & his Dixie Entertainers, "Johnnie Get Your Gun" (OKeh 45171, 1927) New Lost City Ramblers, "Johnny, Get Your Gun" (on NLCR10) Fate Norris & his Playboys "Johnnie Get Your Gun" (Columbia 15435-D, 1929) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Johnny, Get Your Gun (I)" (chorus, tune, structure) cf. "Old Dan Tucker" (floating lyrics) File: CSW198 === NAME: Johnny Get Your Oatcake Done: see Whip Jamboree (Whup Jamboree) (File: Br3230) === NAME: Johnny Grey DESCRIPTION: A bailiff and soldiers arrive at Johnny's door, announcing, 'Johnny, the court has a warrant for you." He is to be transported, but takes up his gun and fights. Johnny is killed, but he slays bailiff and captain first. Listeners are urged to fight also AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1962 KEYWORDS: soldier death rebellion transportation FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) PGalvin, pp. 37-38, "Johnny Grey" (1 text, 1 tune) File: PGa037 === NAME: Johnny Harte DESCRIPTION: A rich farmer's daughter falls in love with Harte, a poor soldier. Her parents complain to his colonel, who threatens to send Harte away. He answers boldly. The colonel is impressed and offers him promotion. The parents consent to the marriage AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Sam Henry collection); c.1867 (broadside, Bodleian Firth c.14(207)) KEYWORDS: love soldier courting father mother FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (3 citations) SHenry H106, pp. 443-444, "Johnnie Hart" (1 text, 1 tune) OLochlainn 88, "Johnny Harte" (1 text, 1 tune) Morton-Maguire 32, pp. 84-85,119,169, "Johnny Harte" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2929 RECORDINGS: James Halpin, "Johnny Harte" (on Voice15, IRHardySons) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Firth c.14(207), "Johnny Hart," W. Birmingham (Dublin), c.1867; also Harding B 26(298), Harding B 19(94)[a few illegible words], "Johnny Hart" NOTES: At the time this song probably originated, it was still possible for soldiers to gain commissions in the British army by purchase. An ambitious soldier might marry to gain the money to earn a commission, which would make him socially acceptable (more so, anyway). One wonders if that might not be related to what happened here. - RBW File: HHH106 === NAME: Johnny Is My Darling DESCRIPTION: "Johnny is my darling, my darling, my darling, Johnny is my darling, the Union Volunteer." The girl extols the virtues of Johnny, who marched through town to save the Union. She hopes he will return as "Cupid's volunteer." Tune: "Charlie Is My Darling." AUTHOR: Words: Father Reed EARLIEST_DATE: 1865 KEYWORDS: Civilwar courting soldier FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Silber-CivWar, p. 11, "Johnny Is My Darling" (1 text, 1 tune) File: SCW11 === NAME: Johnny Jarmanie: see Johnny German [Laws N43] (File: LN43) === NAME: Johnny Jarmin: see Johnny German [Laws N43] (File: LN43) === NAME: Johnny Jump Up DESCRIPTION: Beer is sold out; the singer tries cider. Never again. Falling-down drunk after a quart, he fights a policeman. A man on crutches dances and a friend goes to the mad house after cider. A corpse at a wake asks to take a quart for admission to Heaven. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (OCanainn) KEYWORDS: drink talltale FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OCanainn, pp. 72-73, "Johnny Jump Up" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: OCanainn: "The title of the song is the name of a cider made in Clonmell and well known for its potency, due to being stored in whiskey barrels." - BS File: OCan072 === NAME: Johnny Lad (I) DESCRIPTION: Sundry verses about Johnny, biblical themes, King Arthur, and Scottish politics, with refrain "And wi you, and wi you, And wi you, Johnny lad, I'd drink the buckles o my sheen Wi you, Johnny lad." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1827 (quoted in Kinloch) KEYWORDS: wife commerce Bible talltale royalty food humorous FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Bronson 279, "The Jolly Beggar" (37 versions, but #21 is a fragment of "Johnny Lad") Logan, pp. 443-445, "Johnny Lad" (1 text) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 45-47, "Jinkin' You, Jockie Lad" (a fragment of this song is quoted in the notes to that) Ord, pp. 168-169, "Johnnie Lad" (1 text) ST Log443 (Full) Roud #2587 NOTES: The account of Samson fighting with "cuddie's jaws" is in Judges 15:15-16. There is, of course, no Biblical basis for the statement that he "focht a score of battles wearing crimson flannel drawers." While Samson spent most of his life battling the Philistines (mostly by accident), the clothing hardly fits an Israelite of the time. The story of the Queen playing "fitba' with the lads on Glesga green" is unhistorical; by the time football/soccer became a major sport, Scotland's queen was a German lady living in England -- who, in any case, had no power to order an arbitrary arrest. The story of King Arthur buying/stealing barley-meal to make pudding seems to have been imported from a nursery rhyme (known to Halliwell; see Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #207, p. 144, "(When good King Arthur ruled this land)." Roud seems to lump these verses with "In Good Old Colony TImes"; this strikes me as an extreme stretch. The man of Ninevah (Thessaly, Bablyon) who scratched out his eyes is unbiblical. But it may be the oldest part of the song, and may have originated independently. The lines appear, in rather different form, in _Tom Thumb's Pretty Song Book_ Volume II (c. 1744); others appear in the second edition of _Gammer Gurton's Garland or The Nursery Parnassus_ (c. 1799). These verses can be found in Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #28, p. 40, ["There was a Man so Wise"]. These verses seem to have provoked a great deal of discussion. Katherine Elwes Thomas, who never met a tall tale she didn't blow all out of proportion, connects this to the career of Dr. Henry Sacherevell (died 1724), who for a time was forbidden from preaching, then restored to favour. It has also been argued that this verse was known to Shakespeare; in _Twelfth Night_, act II, scene III, line 79 (Riverside lineation), Sir Toby sings "There dwelt a man in Babylon, lady, lady." But this is more likely from a broadside known as "The Ballad of Constant Susanna" (BBI ZN2467), which is of course from the deuterocanonical additions to the Book of Daniel (Daniel chapter 13 in Catholic Bibles; it even begins "There was a man living in Babylon"). - RBW See Opie-Oxford2 11 for the King Arthur lines cited above by RBW. Opie also mentions "There was a man of Nineveh" or Thessaly, etc (Opie-Oxford2 497) as being "similarly embodied" in "Johnny Lad" (I). Also see Robin Hall and Jimmie MacGregor, "Johnny Lad" (on Robin Hall and Jimmie MacGregor, "Two Heids are Better than Yin!," Monitor MF 365 LP (1962)). From the liner notes: "A few years ago, this was probably the most popular song of the folk revival in Scotland. Since then, endless dozens of verses have been added on themes historical, political, satirical, and nonsensical." - BS File: Log443 === NAME: Johnny Lad (II): see Jinkin' You, Johnnie Lad (File: FVS045) === NAME: Johnny Lowre DESCRIPTION: "Of a' the lads in Tinwald toun... There never was sae droll a loon As bonnie Johnnie Lowrie." The singer describes the ways she visits Johnnie (e.g. "I took the flax unto the mill, My jewel follow'd after still"). They marry and are happy though poor AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Ford) KEYWORDS: courting marriage FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 193-196, "Bonnie Johnnie Lowrie" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #13112 File: FVS193 === NAME: Johnny McEldoo DESCRIPTION: McEldoo and friends are on a drinking spree. They stop at Swann's for food and McEldoo eats everything in sight. McEldoo thinks the bill too high and starts a fight. The police arrive and march the boys away. The boys pay the bill and go home AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (IRClancyMakem01) KEYWORDS: fight drink food humorous police FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) Ireland REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #3390 RECORDINGS: The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, "Johnny McEldoo" (on IRClancyMakem01) Jimmy McBeath, "Johnny McIndoe" (on Voice14) File: RcJoMcEl === NAME: Johnny Murphy: see The Banks of the Little Eau Pleine [Laws C2] (File: LC02) === NAME: Johnny My Man: see Farewell to Whisky (Johnny My Man) (File: K272) === NAME: Johnny Randall: see Lord Randal [Child 12] (File: C012) === NAME: Johnny Randolph: see Lord Randal [Child 12] (File: C012) === NAME: Johnny Riley: see Riley's Farewell (Riley to America; John Riley) [Laws M8] (File: LM08) === NAME: Johnny Riley (III): see Pretty Fair Maid (The Maiden in the Garden; The Broken Token) [Laws N42] (File: LN42) === NAME: Johnny Sands [Laws Q3] DESCRIPTION: Johnny says he is tired of life and asks his wife to help him drown. She is to tie his hands and push him into the river. As she comes running down the slope, he steps aside and falls in. When she calls for help, he points out that she has tied his hands AUTHOR: unknown (claimed by John Sinclair in an 1842 broadside) EARLIEST_DATE: 1842 KEYWORDS: suicide trick death river drowning FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,NE,Ro,SE,So) Ireland Britain(England(South),Scotland) Canada(West) REFERENCES: (16 citations) Laws Q3, "Johnny Sands" Belden, pp. 237-239, "Johnny Sands" (2 texts, but only the first text, "A", is this piece; there are references to 4 more, probably this but some might be "Marrowbones") Randolph 754, "Johnny Sands" (2 texts, 2 tunes, but the "B" text goes with "Marrowbones" [Laws Q2]) BrownII 181, "Johnny Sands" (1 text plus excerpts from 2 more and mention of 1 more) Hudson 71, pp. 198-199, "Johnny Sands" (1 text plus mention of 2 more) Brewster 51, "Johnny Sands" (1 text plus an excerpt and mention of 1 more; 1 tune) Flanders/Olney, pp. 13-14, "The Drowning Lady (The Witch Song)" (1 fragment, 1 tune, which might be either "Marrowbones" or "Johnnie Sands") Eddy 29, "Johnnie Sands" (1 text) Warner 54, "Johnny Sands" (1 text, 1 tune) Ord, p. 93, "Johnny Sands" (1 text) Friedman, p. 451, "Johnny Sands" (1 text) Copper-SoBreeze, pp. 222-223, "Johnny Sands" (1 text, 1 tune) Botkin-NEFolklr, pp. 575-576, "Johnny Sands" (1 text, 1 tune) LPound-ABS, 48, pp. 114-115, "Johnny Sands"; pp. 115-116, "Johnny Sands" (2 texts) cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 480, "Johnny Sands" (source notes only) DT 344, MARBONE4 Roud #184 RECORDINGS: Grace Carr, "Johnny Sands" (on Saskatch01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Marrowbones" [Laws Q2] ALTERNATE_TITLES: Johnny Vands NOTES: A number of editors confuse "Johnny Sands" [Laws Q3] and "Marrowbones" [Laws Q2]. They obviously have thematic similarity, and probably have exchanged parts. But the "gimmick" is different in each case; there seems no doubt that they are now separate songs. - RBW File: LQ03 === NAME: Johnny Shall Have A New Bonnet: see Oh, Dear, What Can the Matter Be? (File: FSWB150B) === NAME: Johnny Siddon: see The Collier Lad (Lament for John Sneddon/Siddon) (File: HHH110) === NAME: Johnny Stiles: see The Wild Mustard River (Johnny Stile) [Laws C5] (File: LC05) === NAME: Johnny the Sailor: see Johnny the Sailor (Green Beds) [Laws K36] (File: LK36) === NAME: Johnny the Sailor (Green Beds) [Laws K36] DESCRIPTION: Johnny comes from sea and asks the innkeeper for a bed and the chance to see her daughter (Molly). Neither is granted. He reveals that his last trip made him rich; the innkeeper offers him all he asked. He ignores the offer; he will go where he is wanted AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1830 (broadside, Bodleian, Harding B 25(1124)) KEYWORDS: sea money courting greed landlord sailor FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) US(Ap,MW,NE,SE,So) Canada(Mar) Ireland REFERENCES: (18 citations) Laws K36, "Johnny the Sailor (Green Beds)" Belden, pp. 160-162, "Green Beds" (2 texts plus reference to 1 more) Randolph 53, "Johnny the Sailor" (3 texts plus 2 excerpts, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 70-72, "Johnny the Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 53A) Eddy 32, "The Green Bed" (1 text) Gardner/Chickering 24, "The Green Beds" (2 texts, 1 tune) Warner 49, "Captain John" (1 text, 1 tune) BrownII 108, "Green Beds" (2 texts plus 2 excerpts and mention of 1 more) Hudson 42, pp. 156-158, "Young Johnny" (1 text) Brewster 31, "Young Johnny" (2 texts, 1 tune) Sandburg, pp. 430-431, "Jackson" (1 text, 1 tune) SharpAp 58, "The Green Bed" (4 texts, 4 tunes) Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, pp. 48-49, "The Green Bed" (1 text, 1 tune) SHenry H779, p. 54, "The Sailor in the Alehouse" (1 text, 1 tune) JHCox 124, "Young Johnny" (1 text) Mackenzie 93, "Green Beds" (2 texts, 1 tune); "The Liverpool Landlady" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 142, "Jackson" (1 text) DT 323, JACKBEDS* JACKBED2* Roud #276 RECORDINGS: Warde Ford, "Johnny" (AFS 4200 A1, 1938; tr.; in AMMEM/Cowell) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 25(1124), "Liverpool Landlady," T. Birt (London), 1828-1829; also Harding B 11(2177), Harding B 11(2178), Firth c.13(178), Firth c.13(177), "Liverpool Landlady" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Wild Rover No More" (plot) cf. "The Saucy Sailor (Jack and Jolly Tar II) [Laws K38]" cf. "Snapoo" (plot) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Jack Tar NOTES: Laws's numeration of the ballad subfamily known as "Jackson" is confused. In _Native American Balladry_ he lists it as an American song, with no known relatives, and numbers it as dH40. However, in _British Broadsides_, he lists it as a version of "Johnny the Sailor." The latter identification is clearly correct, even though Sandburg describes his text as a "survivor of the years of the War with Mexico." - RBW File: LK36 === NAME: Johnny Todd DESCRIPTION: Johnny Todd ships out, leaving his sweetheart in Liverpool. She meets another sailor, who offers to marry her. She accepts; Todd returns to find his love married. The moral: "Do not leave your love like Johnny/Marry her before you go" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1950s (recording, Bob Roberts) KEYWORDS: infidelity marriage warning travel return sailor FOUND_IN: US(NE) Ireland REFERENCES: (4 citations) Hammond-Belfast, p. 9, "Johnny Todd" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 174, "Johnny Todd" (1 text) Montgomerie-ScottishNR 106, "(Johnnie Johnson's ta'en a notion)" (1 text) DT, JOHNTODD* Roud #1102 RECORDINGS: Bob Roberts, "Johnny Todd" (on LastDays) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "John (George) Riley (I)" (lyrics) NOTES: I include the cross-reference because the verses in which the rival sailor courts the lady seem to be lifted from a broken-token song such as "John Riley (I)". - PJS Interestingly, the Montgomerie text also has this bit, so it appears to be genuinely traditional. The group Ossian has recorded a version of this in which Johnny Todd returns to his girl. They admit, however, to having rewritten the ending. To my mind, it doesn't add much.... - RBW File: FSWB174A === NAME: Johnny Troy [Laws L21] DESCRIPTION: Irishman Troy, a convicted robber, is sent to Australia. He and his fellow convicts escape as they are being taken ashore. Troy turns robber, but steals only from the rich, giving to the poor and transportees. At last he is taken and hanged AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Gardner/Chickering ) KEYWORDS: robbery transportation prison execution FOUND_IN: US(MW,SE) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Laws L21, "Johnny Troy" Gardner/Chickering 134, "Johnny Troy" (1 text) Beck 88, "Johnnie Troy" (1 text) DT 574, JOHNTROY Roud #3703 ALTERNATE_TITLES: Johnny Try File: LL21 === NAME: Johnny Walk Along to Hilo DESCRIPTION: Shanty, with chorus, "Johnny walk along to Hilo, Oh, poor old man, Oh, wake her, oh, shake, her, Oh, wake that gal with the blue dress on!" The verses usually consist of a scattering of lines from assorted Black and minstrel songs AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (Sharp-EFC) KEYWORDS: shanty nonballad FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (6 citations) Doerflinger, p. 72, "Johnny Walk Along to Hilo" (1 text, 1 tune) Colcord, p. 102, "Johnny Come Down to Hilo" (1 text, 1 tune) Hugill, pp. 266-268, "Johnny Come Down to Hilo," "The Gal With the Blue Dress" (3 texts, 3 tunes) [AbEd, pp. 196-197] Sharp-EFC, XVI, p. 19, "O Johnny Come to Hilo" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 483-485, "Johnny Come Down to Hilo" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, JOHNHILO* Roud #650 RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "Johnny Come Down to Hilo" (on PeteSeeger04) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Uncle Ned" (floating lyrics) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Johnny Come Down the Backstay Johnny Come to Hilo Shake Her, Johnny, Shake Her! NOTES: Doerflinger says of this song that it was "doubtless invented by colored shellbacks, but [was] just as popular with whites" -- and indeed, Doerflinger's version is in white dialect while Lomax has a Black text. Even more interestingly, they don't have any lyrics in common except the chorus -- Doerflinger's only lyric is from "Uncle Ned," which the Lomax version does not quote. - RBW File: Doe072a === NAME: Johnny Was a Baptist DESCRIPTION: "Johnny was a Baptist, O yes, Johnny was a Baptist, O yes, Johnny was a Baptist, Baptist, Baptist, Johnny was a Baptist, O yes." "He baptized Jesus, O yes." "Crying, Lord have mercy, O yes." "Sign J on your ticket, O yes." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 540, "Johnny Was a Baptist" (1 text) Roud #11876 File: Br3540 === NAME: Johnny Will You Marry Me DESCRIPTION: "Johnny will you marry me and take me out a danger?" "I won't marry you because you are a stranger." "Why didn't you tell me that before you told O'Farrell?" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (for USBallinsloeFair, according to site irishtune.info, Irish Traditional Music Tune Index: Alan Ng's Tunography, ref. Ng #2618) KEYWORDS: courting rejection dialog nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Murty Rabbett and Dan Sullivan, "Johnny Will You Marry Me" (on USBallinsloeFair) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Standard on the Braes o' Mar" (tune) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Johnny Won't You Marry Me Love Will You Marry Me Love Won't You Marry Me File: RcJWYMM === NAME: Johnny, Come Down the Backstay: see John Dameray (File: Doe008) === NAME: Johnny, Come-A-Long DESCRIPTION: "Oh Johnny, Johnny, John, come a-long, come a-long (2X)" Nonsensical verses, with Johnny playing with his gun and playing hide n' seek with the ladies. Long chorus begins: "Down by the sea where the watermelons grow, back to my home I shall not go." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (Hugill) KEYWORDS: shanty nonsense FOUND_IN: Britain Germany US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Hugill, pp. 285-286, "Johnny Come-A-Long" NOTES: Hugill called this a "runaway chorus," possibly referring to the fast pace of the tune and words, and says that it was a popular sea shore song in America. It is in fact, so quick and full of syllables that I think it would be difficult to sing while doing anything but sitting down. - SL File: Hugi285 === NAME: Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye DESCRIPTION: The girl meets her Johnny returned from the wars. She can barely recognize him; he has lost arms, legs, and eyes. She tells him "With your drums and guns and guns and drum, the enemy nearly slew ye... O, Johnny, I hardly knew ye." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1886 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 b.10(218)) KEYWORDS: soldier disability injury war FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (8 citations) PBB 94, "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye" (1 text) Scott-BoA, pp. 329-330, "Johnny, I Hardly Knew You" (1 text, tune referenced) Hodgart, p. 212, "Johnny, I hardly knew ye" (1 text) O'Conor, pp. 92-93, "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye" (1 text) Darling-NAS, pp. 388-389, "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, pp. 278-279, "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye" (1 text) ADDITIONAL: Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 271-274, "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye" (1 text plus excerpts from 3 parodies) Charles Sullivan, ed., Ireland in Poetry, p. 90, "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye (1 text) Roud #3137 RECORDINGS: The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, "Johnny I Hardly Knew You" (on IRClancyMakem02) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, 2806 b.10(218), "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye" ("While going the road to sweet Athy"), H. Such (London), 1863-1885; also 2806 c.8(265), Firth c.26(233), "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye"; Harding B 26(297), 2806 b.9(118)[some illegible words],"Johney I hardly knew ye"[inconsistent spelling throughout] CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (tune) and references there cf. "The Wars of America" (plot) NOTES: Scholars continue to argue whether "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye" or the cheerful "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" is the original. "When Johnny Comes Marching Home," by Patrick S. Gilmore, can be firmly dated to the beginning of the Civil War, while "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye" does not appear until slightly later (reportedly 1869, though the earliest date I've been able to verify is 1885). For further details, see the entry on "When Johnny Comes Marching Home." - RBW File: PBB094 === NAME: Johnny, I Hardly Knew You: see Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye (File: PBB094) === NAME: Johnny, Lovely Johnny DESCRIPTION: Annie complains that Johnny had promised to marry her when they courted in her father's garden in County Tyrone. Johnny says "it was all but a jest ... I never intended for to make you my wife." She says she will kiss him if he ever returns AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (IRPTunney01) KEYWORDS: courting seduction sex lie promise separation nonballad lover rake infidelity abandonment FOUND_IN: Ireland Britain(England(Lond)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Morton-Ulster 14, "Lovely Johnny" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #5168 RECORDINGS: Mary Ann Haynes, "Lovely Johnny" (on Voice01) Paddy Tunney, "Johnny, Lovely Johnny" (on IRPTunney01) (on Voice15) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The High Walls of Derry File: RcJoLoJo === NAME: Johnny, Oh Johnny DESCRIPTION: "Johnny, oh Johnny, you are my darling, Like a rose that grows in the garden...." The girl's father offers her wealth to marry another; he mother scorns her for wanting Johnny. She intends to follow Johnny anyway, and bids her family farewell AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1970 KEYWORDS: love separation father mother money FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Darling-NAS, pp. 277-278, "Johnny, Oh, Johnny" (1 text) RECORDINGS: Pete Steele, "Johnny O Johnny" (AFS, 1938; on KMM) NOTES: A commonplace theme, but this doesn't look quite like any of the other versions. - RBW File: DarNS277 === NAME: Johnny, Won't You Ramble DESCRIPTION: "Well, I went down to Helltown To see the Devil chain down. Johnny, won't you ramble, Hoe, hoe, hoe!" The singer tells how the masters plan to make the slaves work harder. The slave offers money to avoid a whipping; master would "rather hear you holler" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 KEYWORDS: slave work prison hardtimes abuse FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Lomax-FSNA 275, "Johnny, Won't You Ramble" (1 text, 1 tune) Greenway-AFP, p. 96, "Johnnie, Wontcha Ramble" (1 text) Roud #6708 File: LoF275 === NAME: Johnny's Gone for a Soldier: see Shule Agra (Shool Aroo[n], Buttermilk Hill, Johnny's Gone for a Soldier) (File: R107) === NAME: Johnny's Gone to Hilo DESCRIPTION: Shanty. "If I should die and be buried at sea, A mermaid's sweetheart I would be. Johnny's gone to Hilo! Heelo! Hilo! My Johnny's gone, what shall I do? Johnny's gone to Hilo." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1956 KEYWORDS: shanty mermaid/man sailor death separation FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Chase, p. 157, "Johnny's Gone to Hilo" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #481 NOTES: Possibly a fragment of another Hilo shanty, though the form is unusual -- but the text is so short that I can't identify the original. It is not (based on its form) a version of "Tommy's Gone to Hilo." - RBW File: Cha157 === NAME: Johnny's The Lad I Love: see The False Young Man (The Rose in the Garden, As I Walked Out) (File: FJ166) === NAME: Johnson: see The Three Butchers (Dixon and Johnson) [Laws L4] (File: LL04) === NAME: Johnson Boys DESCRIPTION: "I hear the Johnson boys a-coming, Singing and a-hollering and shooting off their guns." A list of exploits of the minimally civilized Johnson Boys, who shoot, court, wash, farm, and fiddle in extravagant ways (but don't know how to court) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Brown) KEYWORDS: talltale family humorous FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (5 citations) BrownIII 338, "Johnson Boys" (2 text plus mention of 2 more) Warner 129, "Johnson Boys" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 115, "Johnson Boys" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 170, "The Johnson Boys" (1 text) DT, JHNSNBOY* JHNSNBY2* Roud #6676 RECORDINGS: Grant Brothers, "Johnson Boys" (Columbia 15460, 1929; rec. 1928) Al Hopkins & his Buckle Busters [or John Hopkins], "Johnson Boys" (Brunswick 179, 1927) New Lost City Ramblers, "Johnson Boys" (on NLCR03) Frank Proffitt, "Johnson Boys" (on Proffitt03) (on USWarnerColl01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Johnson Boys (II)" cf. "Aunt Sal's Song (The Man Who Didn't Know How to Court)" (theme) File: Wa129 === NAME: Johnson Boys (II) DESCRIPTION: Description of the Johnson boys, who were boys of honor and DID know how to court; song describes their heroic service to the Confederacy as scouts: "When the Yankees saw them coming, They throw down their guns and hide." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1964 KEYWORDS: Civilwar family soldier FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 155, "Johnson Boys" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Johnson Boys" NOTES: This is an anti-parody, I guess -- a serious takeoff on a song that was originally humorous. - PJS And if it describes actual people, I have been unable to determine who they are. - RBW File: CSW155 === NAME: Johnson's Ale: see When Jones's Ale Was New (File: Doe168) === NAME: Johnson's Motor Car DESCRIPTION: The singer meets another Irish rebel, with orders to go to Dunbar. They decide to requisition the car driven by Doctor Johnson. They send a message urgently calling for his services, then ambush him. They promise to return the car when Ireland is free AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 KEYWORDS: IRA rebellion technology travel FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 320, "Johnson's Motor Car" (1 text) DT, JHNMTR Roud #4833 NOTES: It probably says something about the state of Anglo-Irish relations that a tale of deception, intrigue, and highway robbery, all in support of terrorism, is regarded as humorous. It is certainly true that cars were highly valued in the period of the Irish quest for independence. Calton Younger, in _Ireland's Civil War_, tells a story on page 376 of a doctor who had a car -- and deliberately disabled it to prevent theft, before recommissioning it briefly to help Free State leaders. - RBW File: FSWB320A === NAME: Johnson's Mule: see The Old Gray Mule (Johnson's Mule) (File: LPns213) === NAME: Johnston's Hotel DESCRIPTION: Singer describes conditions at "Johnston's Hotel," which smells like corn-flakes; one is sent there by the magistrate Langley. Policemen who scout for boarders are described; all boarders are required to clean up the park and do other odd jobs all day AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer sarcastically describes conditions at "Johnston's Hotel," which smells like corn-flakes; one is sent there by the magistrate Langley. The furnishings and carpets are praised, while the beefsteak must be cut with a sword. Some policemen who are scouting for boarders are described; all boarders are required to clean up the park and do other odd jobs all day KEYWORDS: prison punishment drink humorous moniker nonballad prisoner food HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1920s-1950: Dalton Johnston serves as governor Late 1940s: Langley retires as magistrate FOUND_IN: Canada(Ont) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #4819 RECORDINGS: Mrs. Tom Sullivan, "Johnston's Hotel" (on Ontario1) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Vilikens and his Dinah (William and Dinah) [Laws M31A/B]" (tune & meter) and references there cf. "The Mountjoy Hotel" (subject, tune) cf. "The Banks of the Don" (subject, lyrics) NOTES: "Johnston's Hotel" is actually the Peterborough County Jail on the banks of the Otonabee River, just across from the Quaker Oats plant. While the resemblance to "The Banks of the Don" is patent, it's a separate song. Edith Fowke met the self-declared author, who said he wrote it in the 1930s (although he clearly derived its tune from "The Mountjoy Hotel" and some lyrics from "The Banks of the Don"). As the author had been an inmate of the establishment at the time of composition, she thought it prudent not to reveal his identity. - PJS File: RcJohHot === NAME: Johnstown Flood, The [Laws G14] DESCRIPTION: A distraught father tells a stranger about his share of the Johnstown tragedy. He, his wife, and his children had sought shelter from the flood in the upper part of the house, but the waters tore them from his grasp. He was rescued, but his family died AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: flood death family HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 31, 1889 - The Great Flood in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, kills about 2500 people FOUND_IN: US(MA,MW,NE) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Laws G14, "The Johnstown Flood" LPound-ABS, 61, pp. 135-138, "The Jamestown Flood" (1 text) DT 825, JAMESFLD Roud #3254 NOTES: There have been many histories of the Johnstown Flood. One of the more recent is David G. McCullough's _The Johnstown Flood_ (Simon and Schuster, 1968), one of the first works of this noteworthy historian. Johnstown is about 60 miles almost due east of Pittsburg, on the line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Interestingly, it is not on one of Pennsylvania's major rivers; the stream which caused the flood was the Little Conemaugh River, which joins Stony Creek (or "the Stony Creek," as the locals called it) at Johnstown to become the Conemaugh River, which eventually becomes part of the Kiskiminetas River, which flows into the Allegheny. McCullough, p. 24, describes both the Little Conemaugh and Stony Creek as fast but not particularly large. Stony Creek, because it was deeper, was considered the more dangerous at the time. Johnstown was a fast-growing town; according to McCullough, p. 23, it had tripled in size in less than three decades. The reason was industrialization; Johnstown made steel and steel products such as plows and rails. It can't have been a very comfortable place to live, with all the pollution and the noise and the cheap company houses, but it was doing well. At least for the company bosses. What made it vulnerable was a man-made lake. A few miles above Johnstown on the Little Conemaugh was the hamlet of South Fork, where South Fork Creek joined the Little Conemaugh. A bit more than a mile above the town on South Fork Creek was a great dam, built some forty years before to create a lake variously called the Western Reservoir or the Old Reservoir or Lake Conemaugh. The dam itself, made of earth, was sometimes called Three Mile Dam -- which was not very accurate (it apparently was a reference to the size of the lake behind it, but exaggerated). Still, it was an impressive structure, some 72 feet high and 900 wide. And the water usually was within six or seven feet of the top (McCullough, pp. 39-41). The total area of the lake was about 450 acres. The surface level was some 450 feet above Johnstown. The building of the reservoir was one of those things that give government projects a bad name. The Pennsylvania legislature in 1836 had approved $30,000 to build a reservoir. The final cost, though, was $240,000. Worse, according to McCullough, p. 50, "two years after it was finished the whole thing would be obsolete and of no use whatsoever." The whole thing was a boondoggle. Pennsylvania was jealous of New York's Erie Canal and wanted its own water transport system, even though that meant running a canal across the mountains! The idea was to haul barges over the passes using railroads. It all worked, more or less, but it needed more water than was reliably available. So the Conemaugh was dammed to supply a steady flow of water in the summer (McCullough, p. 52). Unfortunately, the whole project was a money pit, and construction was halted at times because the state of Pennsylvania couldn't come up with the cash. And this even though the South Fork dam was built of earth rather than rock because it was cheap to hire people to move dirt. The thing was finally completed in 1852. Then the Pennsylvania Railroad finished laying track across the state. The big fancy canal system, which couldn't possibly compete on price with the railroads, instantly lost any purpose, and within two years, Pennsylvania was trying to sell it -- and found no buyers. Finally the Pennsylvania Railroad itself bought the canal -- not for the canal itself but for the land it rested on. They paid a low price -- and, naturally, stopped doing any work on the canals and on the useless (to them) dam maintaining the Western Reservoir (McCullough, p. 54). Not long after, on June 10, 1862, the dam failed for the first time (McCullough, p. 54). The surviving records aren't really good enough to indicate why, but that break was not repaired until 1879. The repairs were, however, rather casual; it appears that little work was done on the dam's foundations (which had been undermined by the first break), and the pipes which relieved pressure, which had failed, were not replaced. The goal, after all, was not to control water flow; it was simply to built a country club for rich men who wanted to fish and breath clear air (McCullough, pp. 56-57). The locals were somewhat worried -- even the regular spring runoff frequently caused water to fill some of the low-lying streets of Johnstown, and the floods were growing worse each year as the rivers were more tightly channeled and deforestation increased runoff (McCullough, pp. 64-65). But there were enough people who thought the town was safe to make it impossible for the worriers to do anything about a reservoir outside their jurisdiction. A manager of the local ironworks at one point sent an engineer to look things over, and he sent a dire report -- but the club owners refused to pay any attention (McCullough, pp. 73-74) even though the ironworks offered to help pay the costs (McCullough, p. 75). The dam, in fact, had been rendered even more vulnerable than the engineer had noticed: The top had been lowered to allow a two-lane road across the top, meaning that the spillway to relieve pressure on the dam were barely below the dam's new crest (and the great danger to an earth dam was that water would go over the top and erode the soil). The spillway itself had had bars installed to keep fish from escaping -- but which also meant that the spillway could easily be blocked by rubbish. It is also likely (though not certain), that the vulnerable center of the dam sagged below the edges. McCullough, p. 76, concludes that, at the center, the top of the dam was only four feet higher than the spillway. Conclusion: Any serious rise in the water level, unless water was released in an orderly way, would result in the overtopping and destruction of the dam. And, because the pipes at the bottom had been removed, there was no possible way to release water. Not only was the dam a disaster waiting to happen, it was a disaster that couldn't even be repaired, because the lake could not be lowered! (McCullough, p. 77). McCullough, p. 41, estimates the weight of the water at 20 million tons. That's 18 million cubic meters, or 18 thousand million litres, or 5 thousand million gallons. The flood was the result of a very major storm, first observed in Kansas and Nebraska on May 28, 1889. The next day, it dumped rain from Kansas to Michigan and Indiana. Then it arrived in Pennsylvania. The storm was described as the worst storm ever recorded in the western parts of that state. In the Johnstown area, rainfall totals were usually in the six to eight inch range, though Pittsburg suffered only an inch and a half of rain (McCullough, pp. 21-22). Johnstown was already starting to fill with water before the dam went out (McCullough, p. 79); by the second day of the downpour, the flood was higher than even the previous 1887 record (McCullough, p. 82). Some people left town, but others, with strong houses or on slightly higher ground, stayed behind. It appears that, at some point, a message was telegraphed to the townspeople saying the dam was in danger, but the text has been lost and it is not clear just what it said; in any case, it does not appear to have changed people's behavior much, perhaps because similar messages had been sent in the past (McCullough, p. 87). A rider also took a message, and there were attempts to telephone Johnstown, but many of the lines were down (McCullough, p. 93). The dam was now so full that it could not be ignored; workers were reportedly trying to cut a new spillway and to raise the central weak point (McCullough, p. 90). But there were too few, and it was too late. An attempt to clear the original spillway, now largely blocked by debris, also failed. By about noon, water started going over the top of the dam, and there were leaks lower down as well (McCullough, p. 95). At 1:52 on May 31, a message went out that water was going over the top of the dam. Word that the dam was in the process of failing reached Johnstown around 2:45 (McCullough, pp. 96-97). It appears that, by 3:00, workmen were refusing to do any more work on the dam itself and were simply trying to clear the spillways. Then, at 3:10, the whole thing crumbled (McCullough, p. 100). Estimates of how long it took the lake to drain ranged from about half an hour to forty-five minutes. This makes the total amount of water flowing at any given moment roughly equal to Niagara Falls (McCullough, p. 102). The first place to be affected by the flood was the town of South Fork, where the first casualties occurred (McCullough, p. 105). But the town was mostly on hillsides above the valley of South Fork Creek. It wrecked a bridge and a low-lying mill, but most of the town survived. Johnstown, nine miles away in a straight line but thirteen along the course of the river, would not fare so well, nor would the hamlets in between. Unfortunately, there was a great bend in the Little Conemaugh a couple of miles below South Fork, and a great railroad viaduct cutting across it. The wreck of this viaduct, plus the miscellaneous refuse picked up along the way, seem to have temporarily blocked the flow of the flood, allowing it to build up another big pressure head (McCullough, pp. 107-109). The village of Mineral Point was next to feel the flood; it was nearly destroyed, though only 16 people were reported killed (McCullough, p. 111). There was quite a tangle as trains in the area had to be halted or re-routed (and places had to be found to put them while the lines were repaired and trains diverted). McCullough, p. 122, says that at least 23 train occupants died, in part because the train's crews did little to warn the passengers that they might need to flee. Then it was the turn of the towns of East Conemaugh and Franklin, which were largely flooded and saw at least 28 people killed. Then the flood reached Woodvale, a relatively new town of about 1000 people. It had no warning at all, and was almost completely submerged. 250 houses were destroyed, and 314 people listed as killed (McCullough, p. 127). It was still only about an hour since the dam had broken. Finally the flood reached Johnstown. The best guess is that the crest arrived in the town at 4:07 p.m., and took ten minutes to pass through the town (McCullough, p. 147). Slowed slightly by the wash up the valley of Stony Creek, the flood built another dam of debris at a bridge below the town, which later caught fire (McCullough, p. 149). Hundreds of people were trapped in the debris pile, though it is estimated that only about 80 died in it (McCullough, p. 173). The debris would eventually have to be dynamited to clear the river (McCullough, pp. 227-228). But even once the fires died down and the waters ran downstream, the ordeal was not over. Probably in excess of 5000 people huddled on the hills above Johnstown (McCullough, p. 184), often ill or injured, with their homes destroyed in the valley below. And the weather at the time was bitterly cold (McCullough, p. 197). The locals eventually decided to hold a town meeting to appoint a "dictator" to try to manage emergency operations (McCullough, p. 189). At first, there wasn't even enough paper to take notes about the descriptions and properties of the dead bodies (McCullough, p. 192). Lurid initial newspaper reports claimed ten thousand dead (McCullough, p. 203). McCullough, p. 193, notes that there was never an exact count of the dead; he lists 2209 as the "official" total (and gives this full catalog in an appendix) -- though he notes (p. 196) that two bodies were not recovered until 1906; it was obviously impossible to come up with an absolutely correct count. Of the bodies recovered, 663 would never be identified (McCullough, p. 194), in some cases because of decapitation by debris or burns so severe that features could not be made out. Plus many bodies were not discovered until they decomposed beyond recognition. Nearly 400 children under age ten were killed, and 98 lost both parents. Hundreds more lost one parent (McCullough, p. 195). The total population of the Conemaugh valley was believed to be about 23,000, so a tenth of the population was killed. The rate for Johnstown itself was higher, though only slightly. Relief efforts began quickly, naturally enough, and often raised quite a bit of money (McCullough, p. 199; on p. 225, he notes contributions totalling over $3,700,000, and that's in 1889 dollars. The flip side is, Benet's _Reader's Encyclopedia_ lists the damage at ten million dollars). But there was at the time no organization really devoted to emergency relief -- no FEMA, and while the Red Cross existed, it was still fairly new and didn't have standard procedures yet; Clara Barton herself would lead the trek to Johnstown. (It would be the largest operation in Red Cross history to this time; McCullough, p. 231). Often volunteers would just wander into the Conemaugh valley and, having no idea what to do, simply added to the burdens of those who were doing their best. It would be several days before the Pennsylvania militia showed up (McCullough, p. 202), and in the interim, there was a lot of crime and mismanagement. Fears of epidemics were felt as far away as Pittsburg (after all, the waters of the flood flowed into the Allegheny river); eventually men were assigned to try to clean up the river (McCullough, p. 209). In a small stroke of luck, the weather was cold and wet for more than a week after the disaster. It made everyone miserable, but it also helped prevent disease and decay (McCullough, p. 229). In the aftermath, attention naturally turned to the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, the maintainers of the dam. There were of course engineers who had publicly stated their concerns about its construction. The newspapers had a field day with this, though often exaggerating the engineers' reports (McCullough, pp. 242-249). Some members of the club did contribute to the relief funds -- the Carnegie Company gave $10,000, e.g. (McCullough, p. 255), but many club members did not give, and the club as a whole offered nothing. Lawsuits eventually began to be filed, but there was a limit on what this could yield -- after deducting a mortgage, the club had assets of only about $15,000 (McCullough, p. 257). The members had more, of course, but the whole principle of a corporation is limited stockholder liability. There are few records of the actual trials, since transcripts were not kept (McCullough, p. 258), but in the end the club was not held liable. McCullough speculates that the great wealth and power of the club's members helped them. Plus the great downpour was clearly natural. The only real fault was in the construction of the dam, and only a few officers would have known about that. McCullough seems to consider them guilty, and I would too, but they too got off. The people of Johnstown were apparently bitter (McCullough, p. 264), but they were helpless. Perhaps they derived some small consolation from the fact that the flood, while it didn't destroy the club (except for the dam and the lake), did cause it to shut down (McCullough, p. 264); there wasn't much point in a fishing club with nowhere to fish! Johnstown would begin rebuilding, and the iron mills came back; there were soon jobs for all the remaining workers. But its prosperity seems to have been damaged; the town has only about 30,000 residents now (more than in 1889, but not as much as its pre-flood population growth would suggest). There were fairly major floods there in 1936 and 1977, according to _Merriam Webster's Geographical Dictionary_, though none to compare with 1889. It is little surprise that the event produced songs; it was the biggest news of the day, and McCullough, p. 204, notes that a Pittsburg newspaper actually had to reduce the size of its pages to have enough paper to meet the demand. (Ironically, much of what they published was fiction, such as accounts of a messenger named Peyton who tried to warn people of the flood.) Laws believes this song to be too literary to be a purely folk composition; he suspects it of having been originally printed in a newspaper. McCullough, p. 221, mentions poems written about the event. A popular piece of 1889 was "The Johnstown Flood" of Joe Flynn; I haven't seen a copy to compare. - RBW File: LG14 === NAME: Join the C.I.O.: see I Am a Union Woman (File: Arn174) === NAME: Joking Henry DESCRIPTION: Joke and Henry are asleep on the railroad track when Joke gets hit by a brickbat. Joke says he'll henceforth sleep with a pistol, and with one eye open, and threatens the man who hit him; he thinks he may have seen the perpetrator going over a fence AUTHOR: Credited to G. B. Grayson EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (recording, Grayson & Whitter) KEYWORDS: violence FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: [G. B.] Grayson & [Henry] Whitter, "Joking Henry" (Victor V40038, 1929; rec. 1928) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "If I Lose, I Don't Care" (tune) cf. "Battleship of Maine" (tune) cf. "White House Blues (II)" (tune) cf. "The Cannonball" (tune) NOTES: About as minimal a plot as you can get, but here it is. Clearly the record people misheard the title; it should be, "Joke and Henry". - PJS Just speculation, but -- could "Joke" be Grayson, the alleged composer, and Henry be Henry Whitter, his accompanist? - RBW File: RcJokHen === NAME: Jolly Baker, The DESCRIPTION: "I am a jolly baker, and I bake my bread brown...I've got the biggest rolling pin of any man in the town." A girl asks him to buy her a gown. She arrives with her "chemise up before." The baker lays her in many places, then boasts of other conquests AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1976 (collected by Logsdon from Riley Neal) KEYWORDS: cook sex bawdy wordplay FOUND_IN: US(SW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Logsdon 57, pp. 261-264, "The Jolly Baker" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #10107 NOTES: Logsdon notes a curious shift in this song: The first part is a double-entendre song, the end merely a series of sexual boasts. The strong impression is that the result is composite. But the first half seems to be unique, an the second too generic to identify, so I file it as one piece. - RBW File: Logs057 === NAME: Jolly Barber Lad, The DESCRIPTION: A lady sends for a barber to come and curl her hair. He comes to the door; the lady says to send him up, for "My husband he's a yeoman, and I might as well have no man." She pays the barber; now he goes to shave her, but never takes his razor AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1969 (collected from John MacDonald) LONG_DESCRIPTION: A young lady sends for a jolly barber lad to come and curl her hair; he goes to "shave the lady, don't you know what I mean?" He comes to the door; the maidservant answers, and the lady says to send him up, for "My husband he's a yeoman, and I might as well have no man/He's just like a lady when he goes to bed with me." After the job is finished, she gives the young barber a sovereign and a crown; now he always goes to shave her, but he never takes his razor KEYWORDS: infidelity sex wife husband work worker FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) MacSeegTrav 37, "The Jolly Barber Lad" (1 tune, 1 text) Roud #2515 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Chandler's Wife" (theme) cf. "The Coachman's Whip" (theme) cf. "The Farm Servant (Rap-Tap-Tap" (theme) cf. "My Husband's Got No Courage in Him" (theme) cf. "Fogan MacAleer" (see notes) NOTES: Ives-DullCare re "Fogan MacAleer" makes "The Jolly Barber Lad" Lawrence Doyle's "model" for "Fogan MacAleer." Was "The Jolly Barber Lad" ever current in the Canadian Maritimes? Roud #2515 refers to a tape-recording from Ontario of "There Was a Jolly Barber and He Lived in Aberdeen." - BS File: CcCST037 === NAME: Jolly Beggar, The [Child 279] DESCRIPTION: A beggar asks lodging. He is admitted to the house, but wants more than his beggar's fare. Receiving much of what he asks, he at last receives the daughter of the house into his cloak. He then reveals that he is a nobleman; (perhaps he marries the girl) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1769 [Herd] KEYWORDS: begging courting escape money sex nobility mother children FOUND_IN: Britain(England(West),Scotland(Aber,Bord)) Ireland US(NE,So) REFERENCES: (13 citations) Child 279, "The Jolly Beggar" (3 texts) Bronson 279, "The Jolly Beggar" (37 versions, but #21 is a fragment of "Johnny Lad" and #28 is "Davy Faa (Remember the Barley Straw)"; it is likely that several of the other texts also belong with other songs.) BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 475-476, "The Jolly Beggar" (1 songster text) Flanders/Olney, pp. 47-48, "Hind Horn" (1 short text, properly titled "The Jolly Beggar," which might be "Hind Horn" [Shild #17] or "The Jolly Beggar" [Child #279] or a mix; 1 tune) {Bronson's #18} Flanders-Ancient1, pp. 223-225, "Hind Horn" (1 short text, properly titled "The Jolly Beggar," which might be "Hind Horn" [Shild #17] or "The Jolly Beggar" [Child #279] or a mix; 1 tune) {Bronson's #18} Ford-Vagabond, pp. 9-12, "The Jolly Beggar" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #1} Randolph 37, "The Jolly Beggar" (1 short text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #9} SHenry H183, p. 268, "The Rambling Suiler" (1 text, 1 tune, in which the visitor is not a nobleman but the colonel of a visiting headquarters; there might be a bit of "Pretty Peggy-O" mixed in) MacSeegTrav 18, "The Jolly Beggar" (1 text, 1 tune) Davis-More 41, pp. 328-332, "The Jolly Beggar" (1 fragment, which Davis believes to be this song but which in fact could be almost anything) JHCoxIIA, #14, pp. 61-63, "The Jolly Beggar" (1 text, but not from West Virginia) {Bronson's #2} BBI, ZN2500, "There was a jovial Begger-man" DT 279, BEGGAR1* BEGGAR2 BEGGAR3* BEGGR4* BEGGAR5* BEGGAR6 Roud #118 RECORDINGS: Jeannie Robertson, "The Jolly Beggar" (on FSB5, FSBBAL2) {Bronson's #6} Lucy Stewart, "The Beggar King" (on LStewart1) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, 2806 c.13(1), "The Jolly Beggar" ("There was a jolly beggar and a begging he had been"), unknown, n.d.; also Firth c.26(57)[some lines illegible], Firth c.26(57), "Was a Jolly Beggerman" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Gaberlunzie Man" [Child 279A] cf. "The Beggar-Laddie" [Child 280] cf. "The Tinker" cf. "The Pedlar" NOTES: Although this ballad is associated in tradition with James V of Scotland, there is no evidence that he ever courted in a manner such as this. James V in fact married a noble foreign lady, Mary of Guise-Lorraine. Child draws a distinction between this and "The Gaberlunzie Man" (which he calls "The Gaberlunyie-Man" -- and, indeed, his texts are metrically distinct ("Gaberlunzie Man" uses eight-line stanzas with four feet per line; "The Jolly Beggar" typically has the standard four-line 4-3-4-3 stanza). In addition, his "Gaberlunyie-Man" lacks the ending. However, both songs occur in tradition and have so heavily cross-fertilized that it is often not possible to distinguish. If there is a distinction to be drawn, it is probably in the form of the ending. In "The Jolly Beggar," the beggar sleeps with the girl and then reveals his status the next morning (perhaps abandoning her); in "The Gaberlunzie Man," he lures the girl away (as opposed to sleeping with her on the spot), and only later returns and reveals his wealth. Due to the degree of cross-fertilization of these ballads, one should be sure to check both songs to find all versions. - RBW Of the Bodleian broadsides listed, "Was a Jolly Beggerman" lacks the usual ending. - BS File: C279 === NAME: Jolly Best Lad: see Wrap Me Up in my Tarpaulin Jacket (File: FR439) === NAME: Jolly Boatman: see The Boatsman and the Chest [Laws Q8] (File: LQ08) === NAME: Jolly Boatsman, The: see Blow the Candle Out [Laws P17] (File: LP17) === NAME: Jolly Boatswain, The: see The Boatsman and the Chest [Laws Q8] (File: LQ08) === NAME: Jolly Butchermen, The: see The Three Butchers (Dixon and Johnson) [Laws L4] (File: LL04) === NAME: Jolly Cowboy (I), The DESCRIPTION: "My lover, he is a cowboy, he's brave and kind and true"; when he comes home, the two meet joyfully and the boy talks about his life on the trail. She says they will marry when he returns; he is quoted as promising to quit herding when he marries AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1910 (Lomax) KEYWORDS: love cowboy work separation reunion promise marriage FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (2 citations) Saffel-CowboyP, p. 209-210, "The Jolly Cowboy" (1 text) DT, JOLLCWBY* Roud #4482 NOTES: In print, with quotation marks, this song makes sense, though even in print, the transitions seem abrupt. In song, without such helps, it strikes me as hard to comprehend. I wonder if it isn't composite -- after all, it was published by Lomax. - RBW File: Saffe209 === NAME: Jolly Cowboy (II), The: see Come All Ye Lonesome Cowboys (File: R189) === NAME: Jolly Cowboy (III), The: see I'm Bound to Follow the Longhorn Cows (File: LoF186) === NAME: Jolly Farmer, The DESCRIPTION: The farmer sings about the joys of farming, even as a renter, and drinking with friends. "Here I am king so I'll dance, drink and sing, Let no man appear as a stranger, But show me the ass That refuses his glass And I'll order him hay in a manger" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1831 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 16(88a)) KEYWORDS: farming drink flowers food nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OLochlainn 30, "The Jolly Farmer" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #3043 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 16(88a), "The Farmer" ("Come each jolly fellow"), R. Walker (Norwich), 1780-1830; also 2806 c.8(171), Harding B 25(622), Harding B 11(1150), Johnson Ballads 822 [illegible lines], "The Farmer[!]" File: OLoc030 === NAME: Jolly Fisherman (I) DESCRIPTION: With a storm coming up, Captain Williams of Veronia sends a dory after halibut. Oars are lost and a buoy line parts. To save the dory, they cast halibut oil on the water and bale with their sou'westers until they are picked up next morning by Veronia. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1932 (Creighton-NovaScotia) KEYWORDS: rescue fishing sea ship storm sailor FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-NovaScotia 125, "Jolly Fisherman" (1 text, 1 tune) ST CrNS125 (Partial) Roud #1827 NOTES: This song is item dD47 in Laws's Appendix II. - BS File: CrNS125 === NAME: Jolly Fisherman (II), The DESCRIPTION: The singer says he is a fisherman, and "Fish just like men I've often caught -- crabs, gudgeon, poor John Codfish." He compares various sorts of people to various fish --- e.g. "false friends to eels" and the lawyer like a pike striking AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: work fishing nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H639, p. 59, "The Jolly Fisherman" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #13361 NOTES: Sam Henry claimed this was once a popular song around 1800, but gives no supporting evidence. - RBW File: HHH639 === NAME: Jolly Good Ale and Old (Back and Sides Go Bare) DESCRIPTION: With chorus, "Back and sides go bare, go bare, Both hand and feet go cold...." The singer laments his sad state: "I cannot eat but little meat, My stomach is not good." He discusses his lack of clothing. But he, and his wife, revive for ale. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1575 (Gammer Gurton's Needle) KEYWORDS: drink clothes hardtimes FOUND_IN: Britain REFERENCES: (3 citations) HarvClass-EP1, pp. 190-192, "Jolly Good Ale and Old" (1 text) DT BACK&SID* ADDITIONAL: Norman Ault, _Elizabethan Lyrics From the Original Texts_, pp. 41-42, "Of Jolly Good Ale and Old" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Let the Back and Sides Go Bare" (chorus) NOTES: This has a literary look, and has been attributed to William Stevenson. But there appear to be variant forms. In the 1575 version in _Gammer Gurton's Needle_ (found in Ault), there are only four stanzas, and the singer's wife is Tib. The version in the Harvard Classics has eight stanzas and gives the wife's name as Kit. Unfortunately, though the Harvard version occurs in a number of anthologies in my library, none of them state their source! (Maybe they stole it from each other.) The Gammer Gurton version, if I read Ault correctly, was also found in a play, "Diccon of Bedlam." A play of this name was registered 1562-1563 -- though, if it was printed (not all things registered went to the press), no copies seem to have survived. The "back and sides go bare" chorus seems to have been quite popular; in this index, see also "Let the Back and Sides Go Bare." Granger's Index to Poetry, if I read this right, cites six different poems with this first line. - RBW File: DTbcksid === NAME: Jolly Gos-Hawk, The: see Jolly Old Hawk (File: K298) === NAME: Jolly Grinder, The DESCRIPTION: "There was a jolly grinder Once lived by the river Don. He worked and sang from morn till night, And sometimes he worked none." The grinder rails against teetotalers, informing them, "Attend to your work if you've ought to do And don't interfere with me." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1985 (recording, Ian Robb) KEYWORDS: drink work FOUND_IN: Britain REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, JOLLGRND* CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Miller of Dee" (tune) cf. "These Temperance Folks" (theme) SAME_TUNE: The Miller of Dee (File: K229A) NOTES: This is quite obviously an answer to, and parody of, "The Miller of Dee," providing a somewhat sarcastic response to the (really rather tame) moralizing of that song. - RBW File: DTjollgr === NAME: Jolly Harper, The: see The Lochmaben Harper [Child 192] (File: C192) === NAME: Jolly is the Miller (I): see The Miller Boy (Jolly is the Miller I) (File: R518) === NAME: Jolly Jack: see Will You Wed with a Tarry Sailor? [Laws K37] (File: LK37) === NAME: Jolly Jack Tar: see Jack the Jolly Tar (I) (Tarry Sailor) [Laws K40] (File: LK40) === NAME: Jolly Jack the Sailor DESCRIPTION: "It's Jolly Jack the sailor on board of a man-o'war" returns after seven years and takes the train to Lincolnshire to see his sweetheart. "Won't she jump for joy when she hears the news Jack has come home from sea" "We will set the bells a-ringing" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1975 (recording, George Ling) KEYWORDS: love wedding war return reunion sailor FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond)) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #1785 RECORDINGS: George Ling, "Jolly Jack the Sailor" (on Voice12) File: RcJoJaSa === NAME: Jolly Lumbermen, The: see Canaday-I-O/Michigan-I-O/Colley's Run I-O [Laws C17] (File: LC17) === NAME: Jolly Miller (I), The DESCRIPTION: Singer, a miller, says "I care for nobody, no not I, and nobody cares for me." His back is bent with work; his mill has strange new machinery, but he's content with a drop of whisky. He has engaged with Dr. Ramsey, the landlord, and does his bidding AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1906 (Belden) KEYWORDS: work drink nonballad miller worker technology FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber),England(North,Lond)) US(NE,So) REFERENCES: (6 citations) Belden, p. 271, "The Jolly Miller" (1 text) Linscott, pp. 220-221, "The Jolly Miller" (1 text, 1 tune) Kennedy 229, "The Jolly Miller" (1 text, 1 tune) Opie-Oxford2 352, "There was a jolly miller once" (1 text fragment) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #124, p. 103, "(There was a jolly miller once)" DT, JOLMILLR Roud #503 RECORDINGS: John Strachan, "The Jolly Miller" (on FSB3) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(449), "Their [sic] was a jolly miller" [error in title, not in text], J.O. Bebbington (Manchester), c.1850; also Harding B 11(450), "Their [sic] was a jolly miller" [error in title, not in text] CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Miller of Dee" (refrain, subject) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Miller o' Straloch NOTES: The Baring-Goulds report that this song, "a favorite of Sir Walter Scott's," was included in Bickersaffe's 1762 opera "Love in a Village." They also say that it may have been based on the owner of the Dee Mill in Chester, which dated back to around the Conquest but burned down in 1895. All of these references, however, may be to "The Miller of Dee"; the Baring-Gould fragment is only a single stanza. See Ben Schwartz's note on "The Miller of Dee." - RBW File: K229M === NAME: Jolly Miller (II), The: see The Miller Boy (Jolly is the Miller I) (File: R518) === NAME: Jolly Old Hawk DESCRIPTION: "Jolly (old hawk/goshawk) and his wings were grey." Cumulative song: The singer asks who will win his love, and recites the animals he gave as gifts: One hawk, two birds, three cocks (or a three-thistle cock), four pigs (or a four-hoofed pig), etc. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1916 (Sharp) KEYWORDS: cumulative love animal FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Kennedy 298, "The Jolly Gos-Hawk" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, JOLLHAWK Roud #1048 File: K298 === NAME: Jolly Old Roger DESCRIPTION: "Oh there never was yet a boy or man Who better could mend a kettle or pan, A bucket, a dipper, a skillet or can, Than jolly old Roger the tinker man." Roger lives in New Amsterdam; the song describes the funny old man AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (Flanders and Brown) KEYWORDS: tinker work FOUND_IN: US(MW,NE,So) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Randolph 496, "Roger the Tinker Man" (1 fragment, 1 tune) Brewster 74, "Johnnie O'Rogers" (1 text) Flanders/Brown, pp. 171-173, "Jolly Old Roger" (1 text, 1 tune) Linscott, pp. 222-224, "Jolly Old Roger" (1 text, 1 tune) cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 480, "Jolly Old Roger" (source notes only) ST R496 (Partial) Roud #3733 File: R496 === NAME: Jolly Pinder of Wakefield, The [Child 124] DESCRIPTION: "Robin Hood, Scarlet, and John" trespass on the fields guarded by the Jolly Pinder. The Pinder challenges them; they fight. The Pinder holds off all three. Robin offers the Pinder a place in his band. The Pinder agrees to come once his present job is done AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1663 (Stationer's Register entry from 1558) KEYWORDS: Robinhood fight FOUND_IN: Britain(England) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Child 124, "The Jolly Pinder of Wakefield" (2 texts) Bronson 124, "The Jolly Pinder of Wakefield" (2 versions) Leach, pp. 365-366, "The Jolly Pinder of Wakefield" (1 text) BBI, RZN16, "In Wakefield there lives a jolly pinder" Roud #3981 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Wood 402(42), "The Jolly Pinder of Wakefield," F. Coles (London), 1658-1664; also Douce Ballads 3(118a), "Robin Hood and the jolly pinder of Wakefield"; Wood 401(61), "The Jolly Pinder of Wakefield: with Robin Hood, Scarlet, and Iohn" NOTES: A pinder was an official charged with preventing trespassing and gathering strayed/lost/stolen livestock. For background on the Robin Hood legend, see the notes on "A Gest of Robyn Hode" [Child 117]. Fully half the Robin Hood ballads in the Child collection (numbers (121 -- the earliest and most basic example of the type), 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 130, 131, 132, (133), (134), (135), (136), (137), (150)) share all or part of the theme of a stranger meeting and defeating Robin, and being invited to join his band. Most of these are late, but it makes one wonder if Robin ever won a battle. Bronson notes that his two tunes for this song are both associated with Rimbault, whose handling of other Robin Hood melodies was, at best, cavalier. There are other mysteries associated with the piece, which survives only in very defective forms. There is a play, noted by Child, seemingly related to this. And Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #816, p. 304, notes a stanza which does not seem to appear in the canonical texts: The hart he loves the high wood, The hare she loves the hill; The knight he loves his bright sword, The lady loves her will. - RBW Opie-Oxford2 206, "The hart he loves the high wood" (1 text) dates the song quoted above in Baring-Gould-Mother Goose to "a late-fifteenth century commonplace book from Broome Hall, Norfolk." - BS File: C124 === NAME: Jolly Ploughboy, The: see The Jolly Plowboy (Little Plowing Boy; The Simple Plowboy) [Laws M24] (File: LM24) === NAME: Jolly Plowboy, The (Little Plowing Boy; The Simple Plowboy) [Laws M24] DESCRIPTION: A plowboy and a rich girl fall in love. When the girl's father finds out, he sends a press gang for the boy. The girl dresses in men's clothes and rows out to her lover's ship. She bribes the captain to return her lover AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1808 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 12(155)) KEYWORDS: love pressgang cross-dressing reprieve FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE) Canada(Mar,Newf) Britain(Scotland,England(Lond,South,West)) Ireland REFERENCES: (14 citations) Laws M24, "The Jolly Plowboy (Little Plowing Boy; The Simple Plowboy)" Ford-Vagabond, pp. 284-286, "The Jolly Plowbow" (1 text, 1 tune) Leather, pp. 208-209, "The Pretty Ploughboy" (1 text, 1 tune) BrownII 103, "Little Plowing Boy" (1 text plus a fragment) Chappell-FSRA 71, "The Little Plowing Boy" (1 text) SharpAp 59, "The Simple Ploughboy" (1 text, 1 tune) Ord, pp. 233-234, "The Jolly Plowboy" (1 text) SHenry H105, pp. 331-332, "The Jolly Plowboy" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton/Senior, pp. 176-178, "The Jolly Ploughboy" (1 text, 1 tune) Peacock, pp. 224-225, "The Pretty Ploughboy" (1 text, 1 tune) Karpeles-Newfoundland 46, "The Simple Ploughboy" (1 text, 1 tune) Mackenzie 45, "The Jolly Ploughboy" (1 text) OBB 167, "The Simple Ploughboy" (1 text) DT 584, JOLLPLOW (BRSKLIVE -- listed as Laws A15, but this is impossible; it appears to be this song with some odd verses about the boy being wounded) Roud #186 RECORDINGS: Harry Cox, "The Pretty Ploughboy" (on Voice02) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 12(155), "The Pretty Plough Boy," Burbage and Stretton (Nottingham), 1797-1807; also Harding B 11(3164), Firth c.12(288), Harding B 11(1400), 2806 c.17(335)[some words illegible], Firth b.25(108), Harding B 12(135), "The Pretty Plough Boy"; Harding B 25(1506)[almost entirely illegible], "Plough Boy"; Johnson Ballads 1403, Johnson Ballads 1450, "[The] Pretty Ploughboy" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Cawsand Bay" (plot) cf. "Disguised Sailor (The Sailor's Misfortune and Happy Marriage; The Old Miser)" [Laws N6] cf. "Jack Monroe (Jackie Frazer; The Wars of Germany)" [Laws N7] File: LM24 === NAME: Jolly Poker: see Johnny Boker (I) (File: Doe009a) === NAME: Jolly Raftsman O, The DESCRIPTION: "I am sixteen, I do confess, I'm sure I am no older O, I place my mind, it never shall move, It's on a jolly raftsman, O." She praises his work and calls him "brave as Alexander," though someone (her mother?) wants her to marry a freeholder AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (Fowke) KEYWORDS: love logger courting mother FOUND_IN: Canada(Ont) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Fowke-Lumbering #58, "The Jolly Raftsman O" (1 text, 1 tune) Fowke/MacMillan 51, "The Jolly Raftsman O" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2318 NOTES: No particular storyline here, a short (three verses) love song wherein the singer repeatedly states her conviction to wait for and marry her jolly raftsman. [Fowke's source was] Mrs. A. Fraser of Lancaster, Ontario, who said she learned it from her mother. - RBW File: FowL58 === NAME: Jolly Roving Tar (II), The: see Get Up, Jack! John, Sit Down! (File: Wa071) === NAME: Jolly Roving Tar [Laws O27] DESCRIPTION: Susan fondly recalls her sailor love. She sets out to ensure that her father's ships are well equipped for his sake. Finally she bids farewell to the local ladies and sets out to follow her "jolly roving tar." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 16(119c)) KEYWORDS: sailor parting rambling reunion FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) Ireland REFERENCES: (5 citations) Laws O27, "Jolly Roving Tar" SHenry H670, p. 293, "The Jolly Roving Tar" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton/Senior, p. 178, "Jolly Roving Tar" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton-SNewBrunswick 12, "Jolly Roving Tar" (1 text, 1 tune) DT 744, JOLROVTR Roud #913 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 16(119c), "The Jolly Roving Tar," J. Catnach (London), 1813-1838; also Firth c.13(77), 2806 c.16(242), Harding B 11(859), Harding B 11(860), Harding B 26(302), Harding B 11(3444), Firth c.13(78), "The Jolly Roving Tar" NOTES: Broadside Bodleian Harding B 26(302), "The Jolly Roving Tar ("As I roved out one evening in the pleasant month of May"), Haly (Cork), 19C, while undated, dates itself by its last add-on verse: "So now these lines are at an end the truth I will unfold Young Susan she got married to her young sailor bold With him she faced the Russians and feared no wound or scar, But now she lives contented with her jolly roving tar." - BS [To clarify, the above verse probably implies a Crimean War date. But it could well be a late add-on -- note that there were few battles between British and Russian navies. - RBW] File: LO27 === NAME: Jolly Sailors Bold (I) DESCRIPTION: The singer ridicules farmers on land and compares their easy life with the dangers faced by sailors. But "we'll sail into all parts of the world ... And we'll bring home all prizes ... We spend our money freely, And go to sea for moreÓ AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (Mackenzie) KEYWORDS: bragging farming sea ship ordeal nonballad sailor FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Mackenzie 95, "Jolly Sailors Bold" (1 text) Roud #3289 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Maids of Simcoe (Ontario)" (theme) cf. "Ye Gentlemen of England (I)" [Laws K2] cf. "Dixie Brown" [Laws D7] (lyrics) NOTES: Mackenzie: "The source of this song, and of a great many similar ones, is the famous broadside 'Ye Gentlemen of England, or When the Stormy Winds Do Blow,' composed by Martin Parker, and first issued about 1635." This is a sailor's version of "Maids of Simcoe" (it has the same Roud number). It is also "Ye Gentlemen of England (I)" [Laws K2], but without a disaster of any kind. - BS File: Mack095 === NAME: Jolly Sailors Bold (II): see Pretty Nancy of London (Jolly Sailors Bold) (File: R078) === NAME: Jolly Shanty Boy, The DESCRIPTION: Singer boasts of being a jolly (and jauntily dressed, if ragged) shanty boy, to whom women are always attracted. He sings, "For I don't care for rich or poor/I'm not for strife and grief/I'm ragged, fat and lousy, and/As tough as Spanish beef." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Beck) KEYWORDS: bragging lumbering work logger poverty nonballad FOUND_IN: US(MW) Canada(Ont) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Beck 21, "The Jolly Shanty Boy" (1 text) Fowke-Lumbering #54, "The Gatineau Girls" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Be021 (Partial) Roud #4351 File: Be021 === NAME: Jolly Soldier, The: see The Rambling Soldier (File: ShH43) === NAME: Jolly Stage Driver, The: see The Jolly Young Sailor and the Beautiful Queen [Laws O13] (File: LO13) === NAME: Jolly Tester, The: see I Love Sixpence (File: OO2480) === NAME: Jolly Thrasher, The: see Jolly Thresher, The (Poor Man, Poor Man) (File: R127) === NAME: Jolly Thresher, The (Poor Man, Poor Man) DESCRIPTION: The rich man asks the poor man how he can support such a large family with so many young children. The poor man answers, "I make my living by the sweat of my brow." In some texts the rich man gives him some sort of reward for all his hard work AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1685 (broadside); 1792 (Scots Musical Museum) KEYWORDS: dialog work poverty FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,NE,SE,So) Britain(England(All),Scotland) Ireland REFERENCES: (11 citations) Randolph 127, "Poor Man, Poor Man" (1 text) BrownIII 58, "The Thresherman" (1 text) JHCoxIIA, #21A-B, pp. 85-88, "Poor Man, O Poor Man," "There Was a Rich Englishman" (2 texts, 1 tune) Kennedy 253, "The Jolly Thresher" (1 text, 1 tune) Stokoe/Reay, pp. 118-119, "The Nobleman and Thrasher" (1 text, 1 tune) Warner 146, "The Jolly Thresher" (1 text, 1 tune) FSCatskills 92, "The Jolly Thresher" (1 text, 1 tune) Flanders/Brown, pp. 156-159, "Poor Man's Song," "The Labourer" (2 texts, the second being the Green Mountain Songster version) SHenry H622, p. 44, "The Jolly Thresher"; H117, pp. 44-45, "As the King Went A-Hunting" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Ord, pp. 48-49, "The Hedger" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, POORMAN* Roud #19 RECORDINGS: Harry Holman, "There Was a Poor Thresherman" (on Voice20) Eleazar Tillett, "The Jolly Thresher" (on USWarnerColl01) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 15(311b), "Squire and Thrasher" ("A nobleman liv'd in a village of late"), W. Jackson and Son (Birmingham), 1839-1855; also Harding B 15(312a), "The Squire and Thrasher"; Harding B 16(258b), "The Squire and Thrsherman" [sic] NLScotland, Ry.III.a.10(040), "The Noble Man's Generous Kindness" or "The Country-Man's Unexpected Happiness," unknown, 1701 ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Thresherman (and the Squire) File: R127 === NAME: Jolly Tinker (I), The DESCRIPTION: The tinker comes to town to mend the pots. He observes that "A tinker never marries, has a girl in every town...." "I've never stored much gold, but I have a lot to spend." "My life is wild and free, and I do not seek renown. I'm just a jolly tinker..." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1940 (Warner) KEYWORDS: work sex rambling FOUND_IN: US(NE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Warner 72, "The Jolly Tinker" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, JOLITNK2* CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Tinker" NOTES: Tinkers had a reputation for wantonness, and a large bawdy repertoire built up around them. It is often difficult to decide if the songs are related or not. Since this song is "clean" and "The Tinker" is dirty, I decided to separate them. But I'm not confident about it. Warner for some reason links this with Laws F24, "The Peddlar and His Wife" -- but that is a song about a murder! - RBW File: Wa072 === NAME: Jolly Tinker (II), The: see The Tinker (File: EM029) === NAME: Jolly Tinker (III), The DESCRIPTION: A London lady tells a tinker she has kettles to mend. He asks if there are holes that need blocking; they fall to work. She bangs a pan "to let the servants know that he was hard at work." Refrain: "And I'll be bound she had (he could, they did, etc.)" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (recorded from Billy Dickeson) LONG_DESCRIPTION: A London lady, desiring the company of a tinker, writes and tells him she has kettles to mend. He comes, asking if there are any rusty holes that need blocking; she leads him to the bedroom and they fall to work on the feather-bed. She picks up a pan and he bangs it "to let the servants know that he was hard at work"; she pays him, saying they'll have another round. Refrain: "And I'll be bound she had (he could, they did, etc.)" KEYWORDS: sex work bawdy tinker FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South),Scotland),Ireland(South) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Kennedy 177, "The Jolly Tinker" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, JOLLTNK4* JOLLTNK3 Roud #863 RECORDINGS: Thomas Moran, "The Jolly Tinker" (on FSB2) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Tinker" (plot) File: K177 === NAME: Jolly Union Boys, The DESCRIPTION: "Come all you jolly Union boys. To you the truth I'll tell, Concerning Governor Jackson Who I know very well." A curious and compressed account of events in Missouri from the beginning of the Civil War to the Battle of Pea Ridge AUTHOR: B. Locke? EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 KEYWORDS: Civilwar political HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Aug 10, 1861 - Battle of Wilson's Creek Mar 7-8, 1862 - Battle of Pea Ridge/Elkhorn Tavern FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 242, "The Jolly Union Boys" (1 text) Roud #3598 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Joe Stiner" (concerning Battle of Wilson's Creek) cf. "Root, Hog, or Die (Confederate Version)" (concerning Battle of Wilson's Creek) cf. "Sterling Price" (concerning Battle of Wilson's Creek) cf. "The War in Missouri in '61" (concerning Battle of Wilson's Creek) NOTES: To try to explain the complicated events which took place in Missouri in the period under discussion is impossible in the space of any reasonable note. Suffice it to say that both Union and Confederacy sought to control Missouri (though Unionists were probably the majority in the state), but that the Union efforts were somewhat more efficient and succeeded in the end. The key players mentioned in the song are: Governor (Claiborne) Jackson -- The governor of Missouri in 1861, he tried to seize the Federal arsenal to bring the state into the Confederacy. He was thwarted primarily by the efforts of Captain (later General) Nathaniel Lyon. Jackson did, as noted, manage to walk off with a large part of the state's cash reserves Thomas Price -- A Missouri congressmen and Unionist, one of those who helped organize against Jackson Harney -- William S. Harney. A regular army Brigadier, he was the Federal officer in charge in St. Louis when the war broke out. Rather sympathetic to the Confederacy, his behavior was so lethargic that Congressman Frank Blair maneuvered his ouster and gave most of his powers to General Lyon "Billy" Frost -- Daniel M. Frost. Appointed by Governor Jackson to seize the Federal arsenal, he instead fell into Lyon's hands. He was later exchanged and served in the Confederate armies, but his failure badly hurt the Confederate cause in Missouri. "A lion" -- Obviously a reference to General Lyon, the bulwark of the Federal forces until his death at Wilson's Creek "McCulla brought up artillery" -- refers to General Benjamin McCulloch, who was Confederate commander at Wilson's Creek (sort of; he led the Arkansas troops. The Missouri troops were under Sterling Price. Price actually had a higher rank -- he was a Major General, McCulloch only a Brigadier -- but McCulloch had a commission from Jefferson Davis, and finally Price decided to accept his orders rather than leave their armies to be defeated in detail. But the two never worked together well). At Wilson's Creek, Lyon (outnumbered two to one) tried an enveloping attack, with Sigel's brigade arriving from a different direction. Sigel's troops fell apart after coming briefly under fire, and Lyon's remaining troops had to face a heavy assault from the Confederates. The Federals held on all morning -- the southerners had almost no training as soldiers -- but retreated when Lyon was killed Sigel -- Franz Sigel, who kept getting commands because German immigrants respected him, but who never did much with his troops. At Carthage (July 5, 1861) he fled without a fight; at Wilson's Creek his troops fell apart. Only at Pea Ridge was his performance respectable "a little old Creek bottom" -- the battlefield at Wilson's Creek. Each side lost about 1200 men (of some 5500 Federals and 11,500 Confederates engaged) Price #2 -- Sterling Price, Confederate commander of Missouri troops. Leader of half the troops at Wilson's Creek (see under McCulloch) "It done for old Ben" -- Ben McCulloch was killed at Pea Ridge (Arkansas) in 1862. At this battle, a strong Confederate force under Earl Van Dorn was unable to dislodge a weaker Union force. This finally dashed Confederate hopes in Missouri. - RBW File: R242 === NAME: Jolly Wagoner, The DESCRIPTION: "When first I went a-wagonin', a-wagonin' I did go, I filled my parents' hearts full of sorrow, grief and woe." The singer recalls being rained on, seeing birds in summer, driving hard roads in the winter. He rejoices to reach home and wife AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (recorded from Fred Jordan by Peter Kennedy) KEYWORDS: home travel wife hardtimes FOUND_IN: Britain(England(West)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Kennedy 230, "The Jolly Waggoner" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #1088 NOTES: Kennedy lists a number of earlier versions of this song -- but much of his text is floating-type material, and he is known to lump completely unrelated songs. So I have not listed any of the versions in his bibliography; most are probably this piece, but chances are that at least a few are not. And I don't know which. - RBW File: K230 === NAME: Jolly Wat DESCRIPTION: Jolly Wat, a shepherd, sits on a hill and plays his pipes. He is awakened by an angel announcing the birth of Jesus. He finds the baby and offers him all he has. Mary and Joseph send him back to his flocks with their blessing AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: Jesus religious FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) OBB 103, "Jolly Wat" (1 text) ST OBB103 (Partial) NOTES: The tale of the shepherds is found in the Bible in Luke 2:8-20. - RBW File: OBB103 === NAME: Jolly Young Sailor and His Beautiful Queen, The: see The Jolly Young Sailor and the Beautiful Queen [Laws O13] (File: LO13) === NAME: Jolly Young Sailor and the Beautiful Queen, The [Laws O13] DESCRIPTION: A rich girl has turned down many suitors, but becomes entranced when a (sailor) wanders by. She urges him to stay (ashore) and marry a rich girl. He doesn't want to give up his rambling ways, but finally consents when she offers him her hand and wealth AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Karpeles-Newfoundland) KEYWORDS: courting marriage rambling money sailor FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar,Newf) US(MA,NW) Ireland REFERENCES: (13 citations) Laws O13, "The Jolly Young Sailor and the Beautiful Queen" Doerflinger, pp. 298-299, "The Jolly Young Sailor and the Beautiful Queen" (1 text, 1 tune) FSCatskills 30, "The Jolly Stage Driver" (1 text, 1 tune) Meredith/Anderson, pp. 188-189, "The Journeyman Tailor" (1 text, 1 tune) SHenry H620, p. 476, "The Journeyman Tailor" (1 text, 1 tune [text incorrectly states that this is Laws B6, but the notes give the correct Laws number]) Warner 66, "William the Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton/Senior, pp. 179-183, "Jovial Young Sailor" (5 texts, 3 tunes) Peacock, pp. 582-583, "The Sailor and the Lady" (1 text, 1 tune) Leach-Labrador 33, "The Jolly Young Sailor and His Beautiful Queen" (1 text, 1 tune) Karpeles-Newfoundland 73, "Bound Down to Derry" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton-NovaScotia 38, "It Is of a Rich Lady" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton-Maritime, p. 53, "Jovial Young Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune) DT 476, SAILQUEN Roud #671 ALTERNATE_TITLES: Brisk Jolly Sailor File: LO13 === NAME: Jolly Young Sailor Boy: see The Bonny Sailor Boy [Laws M22] (File: LM22) === NAME: Jonah: see Hide Away (Jonah and the Whale) (File: R286) === NAME: Jonah and the Whale (II): see Hide Away (Jonah and the Whale) (File: R286) === NAME: Jonah and the Whale (III): see Jonah and the Whale (Living Humble) (File: FSWB386B) === NAME: Jonah and the Whale (Living Humble) DESCRIPTION: The story of Jonah in song, recognized by the chorus, "Living humble, humble, humble, Living humble all your days" or "Humble, humble, humble my soul." Unlike most Jonah songs, this appears to be "straight" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious Bible whale FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 346, "Jonah and the Whale" (6 text and/or fragments, but only the "A" and "B" texts, both short, are this piece; "C" is "Hide Away" and "D"-"F" are "Who Did Swallow Jonah?") Roud #15215 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Hide Away (Jonah and the Whale)" (subject) and references there File: Br3346 === NAME: Jonah Fishing for a Whale DESCRIPTION: "Cheer up, cheer up, my lively lads, Don't let your spirits fall; For Jonah's down in Sampson pond A-fishin' for a whale." "And when he ain't a-whaling, He's at some other fun, Down in the swamp a-cuttin' reeds To string his whales upon." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: fishing FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 184, "Jonah Fishing for a Whale" (1 text) NOTES: Needless to say, this has nothing to do with the Biblical account of Jonah and the fish. Frankly, it sounds like a bunch of kids making fun of a poor foolish kid who doesn't know what a whale is or how to catch one. - RBW File: Br3184 === NAME: Jonathan, Joseph, Jeremiah: see Too Much of a Name (File: GrMa170) === NAME: Jones Boys (I), The DESCRIPTION: "Oh the Jones Boys! They built a mill on the side of a hill, And they worked all night and they worked all say But they couldn't make that gosh-darn sawmill pay." AUTHOR: Probably Millet Salter EARLIEST_DATE: 1947 (Manny/Wilson) KEYWORDS: technology logger commerce FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Manny/Wilson 27, "The Jones Boys - I" (1 fragment, 1 tune); cf. also the fragment on p. 15 Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 183-184, "The Jones Boys" (1 fragment, 1 tune) Fowke/MacMillan 24, "The Jones Boys" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #4528 RECORDINGS: Nick Underhill, "The Jones Boys" (on Miramichi1) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Jones Boys (II)" (lyrics, people) NOTES: Manny/Wilson: "John Jones, father of the Jones boys, came out from Camborne, Cornwall, in 1840 .... [The] Jones family moved up to a brook flowing into the Nor'West Miramichi, which then took the name of Jones's Brook. There John Jones built a grist mill to serve the community, and raised a family of ten children. John Senior died in 1866, and his sons, James and John Junior took over the business, James managing the grist mill, and John a sawmill near by." Are Manny/Wilson 27 [this song] and Manny/Wilson 28 [The Jones Boys - II] the same song? There is no question but that the entire Manny/Wilson 27 text is part of the Manny/Wilson 28 chorus. Wilson's comment on Manny/Wilson 27: "[The tune] slightly resembles the beginning of the chorus of Mr Underhill's complete version [Manny/Wilson 28]. However, this fragment has apparently been in circulation for several generations. The late Lord Beaverbrook knew it as a child in Miramichi. It is unusual to find a fragment assuming its own personality and coexisting with a complete version in the same area." - BS File: FMB183 === NAME: Jones Boys (II), The DESCRIPTION: The two Jones Boys each "owned a mill in the side of a hill.... They worked all night and they worked all day But they couldn't make the gosh-darned saw-mill pay." The song goes through the seasons. The singer hopes to work for them again in the spring. AUTHOR: probably James Barry of Derby Junction (Manny/Wilson) EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (Manny/Wilson) KEYWORDS: commerce lumbering hardtimes work FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Manny/Wilson 28, "The Jones Boys - II" (1 text, 1 tune) ST MaWi028 (Partial) RECORDINGS: Nick Underhill, "The Jones Boys" (on Miramichi1) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Jones Boys (I)" (lyrics, people) NOTES: Manny/Wilson: "John Jones, father of the Jones boys, came out from Camborne, Cornwall, in 1840 .... [The] Jones family moved up to a brook flowing into the Nor'West Miramichi, which then took the name of Jones's Brook. There John Jones built a grist mill to serve the community, and raised a family of ten children. John Senior died in 1866, and his sons, James and John Junior took over the business, James managing the grist mill, and John a sawmill near by." Are Manny/Wilson 27 [The Jones Boys (I)] and Manny/Wilson 28 [this piece] the same song? There is no question but that the entire Manny/Wilson 27 text is part of the Manny/Wilson 28 chorus. Wilson's comment on Manny/Wilson 27: "[The tune] slightly resembles the beginning of the chorus of Mr Underhill's complete version [Manny/Wilson 28]. However, this fragment has apparently been in circulation for several generations. The late Lord Beaverbrook knew it as a child in Miramichi. It is unusual to find a fragment assuming its own personality and coexisting with a complete version in the same area." - BS File: MaWi028 === NAME: Jones's Ale: see When Jones's Ale Was New (File: Doe168) === NAME: Jones's Ghost DESCRIPTION: "Come list ye doctors all to me, For Jones's ghost I truly be.... I am that slaughtered, mangled man." Murderer Jones accuses Doctors Thorp and French of violating their promises to care for his body and threatens them with punishment after death AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (Burt); reportedly published c. 1880 KEYWORDS: homicide execution punishment doctor corpse HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: August 1838 - Joshua Jones murders his wife May 29, 1839 - Execution of Jones FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Burt, pp. 20-21, "Jones's Ghost" (1 text) NOTES: According to Burt, after Joshua Jones was convicted of murder, he sold his body to Dr. Amos French, adding the stipulation that French care for his child and also try to bring him back to life. The former condition was fulfilled. French naturally failed to revive Jones, and eventually stripped the flesh from his bones; he wanted a skeleton for his own use. This poem arose out of public protest at what appears, from the records in Burt, to have been a perfectly legal behavior on French's part. (The desire for a skeleton was natural for a doctor; see the notes to "The Black Cook.") There is no evidence that the poem ever entered tradition; it was printed in a newspaper, and it's really very bad. - RBW File: Burt020 === NAME: Jordan Am a Hard Road to Travel DESCRIPTION: About the difficulties of getting to heaven. Chorus: "(So) take off your overcoats and roll up your sleeves; Jordan am a hard road to travel (x2) I believe." The original contains assorted political references to the 1850s. AUTHOR: Music: Daniel D. Emmett/Words: T. F. Briggs? EARLIEST_DATE: 1853 (sheet music) KEYWORDS: religious travel nonsense political HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1842 - Webster-Ashburton Treaty settles the boundary between Britain (Canada) and the states of Massachussets and Maine 1846 - Oregon Treaty settles the boundary dispute between the U.S. and Britain (Canada). Minor uncertainties were settled by arbitration in 1872. 1852-1870 - Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III) Emperor of France 1853-1857 - Presidency of Franklin Pierce FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Randolph 305, "The Other Side of Jordan" (1 text) DT, JRDNHRD* Roud #2103 RECORDINGS: Harry C. Browne, "Jordan Am A Hard Road to Travel" (Columbia A-2255, 1917; rec. 1916) Harry "Mac" McClintock, "Jordan Am a Hard Road to Travel" (on McClintock01) (on McClintock02) Riley Puckett, "On the Other Side of Jordan" (Columbia 15374-D, 1929) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Richmond Is a Hard Road to Travel" cf. "Jordan is a Hard Road To Travel (II)" (words, music) cf. "Ain't No Bugs on Me" (words) cf. "Pull Off Your Old Coat" (lyrics) SAME_TUNE: Richmond is a Hard Road to Travel (File: RcRIHRTT) Jordan Is a Hard Road to Travel (II) (File: CSW188) Rail-road Song (by Jacob P. Weaver) (Cohen-LSRail, p. 43) NOTES: Napoleon III (1808-1873), the son of Napoleon Bonaparte's brother Louis, was chosen President of France in 1848, then in 1852 (the same year Franklin Pierce was elected President) upgraded himself to Emperor. The "fish question" is slightly less clear; the settlement which ended the War of 1812 and the diplomacy which followed did not provide American fishermen with all the rights they wanted in Canadian waters -- but this was a perennial problem which was not solved until 1910. In addition, there were some disputes over the Columbia River (which in the complex logic of diplomacy gave the U.S. its claim to Oregon), and hence presumably its salmon. - RBW File: R305 === NAME: Jordan Is a Hard Road to Travel: see Jordan Am a Hard Road to Travel (I) (File: R305) === NAME: Jordan Is a Hard Road to Travel (II) DESCRIPTION: Uncle Dave Macon gives his opinions about automobiles, evangelists, Henry Ford, and other matters. Chorus is "Haul [take] off your overcoat, roll up your sleeves/Jordan is a hard road to travel I believe" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recording, Uncle Dave Macon) KEYWORDS: technology humorous nonballad derivative FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 188-189, "Other Side of Jordan" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 55, "The Other Side of Jordan" (1 text) RECORDINGS: Uncle Dave Macon, "Jordan is a Hard Road to Travel" (Vocalion 5153, 1927) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. ""Jordan Am a Hard Road to Travel" (words, music) cf. "Richmond is a Hard Road to Travel" NOTES: Uncle Dave Macon, who had little good to say about automobiles, ran a horse-and-wagon drayage business. Although this song derives its chorus and structure from "Jordan am a Hard Road to Travel," in Uncle Dave's hands it becomes a completely different song from Dan Emmett's. - PJS File: CSW188 === NAME: Joseph Looney DESCRIPTION: Joseph Looney, dying, tells his family not to grieve, for God has called him and he is prepared to go. He tells them to trust in and follow Jesus, so that they will meet him in heaven AUTHOR: Elihu Gray EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (recording, Ollie Gilbert) KEYWORDS: death dying religious family FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #12366 RECORDINGS: Ollie Gilbert, "Joseph Looney" (on LomaxCD1704) NOTES: This song was said to have been made by Elihu Gray from the deathbed speech of his neighbor. - PJS And the result is actually traditional? Yikes. - RBW File: RcJLoon === NAME: Joseph Mica (Mikel) (The Wreck of the Six-Wheel Driver) (Been on the Choly So Long) [Laws I16] DESCRIPTION: Engineer Joseph Mikel is determined to remain on schedule. As a result, he runs too fast to avoid a collision with another train. The result was disastrous: "Some were crippled and some were lame, But the six-wheel driver had to bear the blame" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: train wreck disaster crash HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1836-1892 - Life of Jay Gould. He made his fortune in railroads, largely by stock manipulation, and was worth an estimated $100,000,000 when he died FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (12 citations) Laws I16, "Joseph Mica (Mikel) (The Wreck of the Six-Wheel Driver) (Been on the Choly So Long) [Laws I16]" Cohen-LSRail, pp. 385-389, "Milwaukee Blues" (1 text, 1 tune) Friedman, p. 317, "Joseph Mica" (1 text) Sandburg, pp. 364-365, "Jay Gould's Daughter and On the Charlie So Long" (2 texts, 1 tune); 368-369, "Mama, Have You Heard the News" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 36-42, "Casey Jones," "The Wreck of the Six Wheel Driver," "Ol' John Brown," "Charley Snyder" (5 texts, 1 tune) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 238, (no title) (1 fragment, beginning "Jay Gooze said befo' he died); p. 247, (no title) (a fragment beginning "Great big tie an' little bitty man, Lay it on if it breaks him down"; the form appears to be a member of this family); p. 250, (no title) (1 short text, about "Joseph Mica") Asch/Dunson/Raim, p. 64, "Kassie Jones" (1 text, 1 tune) Arnett, pp. 114-115, "Jay Gould's Daughter" (1 text, 1 tune) Botkin-RailFolklr, p. 456, "Been on the Cholly So Long" (1 text, 1 tune) Darling-NAS, pp. 209-213, "Casey Jones"; "Casey Jones"; "Kassie Jones" (3 text, with the first two belonging here and the third being the full "Kassie Jones" text of Furry Lewis) Silber-FSWB, p. 103 "Jay Gould's Daughter" (1 text) DT 791, JOEMICA JGOULD1 Roud #3247 RECORDINGS: Furry Lewis, "Kassie Jones, Parts 1 & 2" (Victor 21664A&B, 1928; on AAFM1; Part 1 is on BefBlues3) Roy Harvey & the North Carolina Ramblers, "Milwaukee Blues" (Supertone 2626, early 1930s) New Lost City Ramblers, "Milwaukee Blues" (on NLCREP1) Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers, "Milwaukee Blues" (Columbia 15688-D, 1931, rec. 1930; on CPoole03, GoingDown) Pete Seeger, "Jay Gould's Daughter" (on PeteSeeger16) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Casey Jones (I)" [Laws G1] (plot) cf. "Ben Dewberry's Final Run" (lyrics) cf. "Little John Henry" cf. "On the Road Again" (floating verses) cf. "Crow Wing Drive" (lyrics) NOTES: Laws says of this piece, "I have included 'Joseph Mica' not so much to establish its identity as a distinct ballad [as opposed to being a relative of 'Casey Jones'] as to emphasize the extreme instability and confusion which are characteristic of Negro balladry." To put this in simpler terms, Laws has broken "Casey Jones" up into two ballads. The full forms are filed with G1; the fragments file here. How one establishes the dividing line is not clear; the "hero" of "Joseph Mica" may well be Casey Jones. To make matters worse, Laws has garbled the entry and the information about Lomax and Sandburg. I did the best I could, but one should check "Casey Jones (I)" for additional versions. To top it all off, Laws distinguishes "Jay Gould's Daughter" as a separate song (dI25), but ALSO files it here; given the things Laws files under "Joseph Mica" and their fragmentary state, I consider his distinction hopeless, or at least incomprehensible, and file those texts here. - RBW I don't think it's hopeless at all to separate out "Jay Gould's Daughter/Milwaukee Blues" from "Joseph Mica". If it has a wreck in it, it's Mica; if it doesn't, it's Gould. - PJS It should be noted that Furry Lewis' "Kassie Jones" is a fragmentary stream-of-consciousness incorporating a single verse from "Casey Jones" and many floating verses, including a couple from "On the Road Again." (Which is why I filed it here - RBW.) - PJS Note: I *still* think we should split off, "Jay Gould's Daughter" from the other songs. - PJS The correct answer, ultimately, is to have some system for filing floating fragments -- somehow there needs to be a way to track everything with the "Pretty Little Foot" verses, and the "Jay Gould" fragment, and so forth. A suggestion for the next generation Ballad Index, I suppose. - RBW File: LI16 === NAME: Joseph Was an Old Man: see The Cherry-Tree Carol [Child #54] (File: C054) === NAME: Josephus and Bohunkus: see Bohunkus (Old Father Grimes, Old Grimes Is Dead) (File: R428) === NAME: Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho DESCRIPTION: Joshua comes to Jericho, orders the horns to blow, and sacks it after the walls fall down. Chorus: "Joshua (fit/fought) the battle of Jericho... And the walls came a-tumbling down" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (recording, Paul Robeson) KEYWORDS: Bible religious battle FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (5 citations) Lomax-FSUSA 110, "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" (1 text, 1 tune) Courlander-NFM, pp. 45-46, "(Joshua)" (partial text) PSeeger-AFB, p. 37, "Joshua Fought The Battle Of Jericho" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 303, "Joshua Fought The Battle Of Jericho" (1 text) DT, BATJERCO Roud #10074 RECORDINGS: Cotton Pickers Quartet, "Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho" (OKeh 8878, 1931) Delta Rhythm Boys, "Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho" (Decca 25019, c. 1950) Dixie Jubilee Singers, "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" (Columbia 14329-D, 1928) Eureka Jubilee Singers, "Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho" (Sharon X-507, n.d.) Hall Johnson Choir, "Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho" [medley with "Walk Together Chillun"] (Victor 4460, 1940) Nazarene Congregational Church Choir, "Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho" (Herschel Gold Seal 2016, c. 1927) Paul Robeson w. Lawrence Brown, "Joshua Fit de Battle ob Jericho" (Victor 19743, 1925) Pete Seeger, "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" (on PeteSeeger04) (on PeteSeeger23) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Slavery Chain Done Broke at Last" (tune) SAME_TUNE: Slavery Chain Done Broke at Last (File: SCW41) NOTES: The siege of Jericho takes up most of the sixth chapter of Joshua, with the fall of the city's walls, and the city itself, being detailed in 6:15f. - RBW File: LxU110 === NAME: Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho: see Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho (File: LxU110) === NAME: Joshua Stevens DESCRIPTION: "From Squawky Hill two Indians came, To Bennett's Creek to hunt for game...." "Come, solemn muse, assist my song... To sing of Stephens, lately fell...." "The Indian shot him in the side." After his body is found, wife, children, neighbors mourn AUTHOR: M. Tymeson? EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (Burt) KEYWORDS: homicide family mourning Indians(Am.) FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Burt, pp. 131-133, "(Joshua Stevens)" (1 text) File: Burt131 === NAME: Josie: see Frankie and Albert [Laws I3] (File: LI03) === NAME: Journeyman Tailor, The: see The Jolly Young Sailor and the Beautiful Queen [Laws O13] (File: LO13) === NAME: Journeyman, The: see The Roving Gambler [Laws H4] (File: LH04) === NAME: Jovial Beggar, The: see A-Begging I Will Go (File: K217) === NAME: Jovial Hunter of Bromsgrove, The: see Sir Lionel [Child 18] (File: C018) === NAME: Jovial Tinker, The: see When Jones's Ale Was New (File: Doe168) === NAME: Jovial Young Sailor: see The Jolly Young Sailor and the Beautiful Queen [Laws O13] (File: LO13) === NAME: Joy to the World DESCRIPTION: "Joy to the world, the Lord is come; Let earth receive her king...." The world is told to hymn to God to rejoice in the arrival of Jesus, who brings love, joy, wonder AUTHOR: Words: Isaac Watts(1674-1748). Music: Lowell Mason (based partly on phrases from Handel's "Messiah") EARLIEST_DATE: 1719 (Watts, "The Psalms of David"; music published 1837) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad Christmas FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (5 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 375, "Joy To The World" (1 text) Fuld-WFM, p. 314, "Joy to the World" DT, JOYWORLD ADDITIONAL: Charles Johnson, One Hundred and One Famous Hymns (Hallberg, 1982), p. 37 (cf. also pp. 34-36), "Joy to the World" (1 text, 1 tune) Ian Bradley, _The Penguin Book of Carols_ (1999), #43, "Joy to the World" (1 text) NOTES: Alleged to be derived loosely from the final verses of Psalm 98. If so, it is a *very* free adaption. - RBW File: FSWB375A === NAME: Joys of Mary, The: see The Seven Joys of Mary (File: FO211) === NAME: Joys Seven: see The Seven Joys of Mary (File: FO211) === NAME: Ju Tang Ju (Utang) DESCRIPTION: "Ring up four , ju tang ju (or "Jew string jew," etc.), Ring up four in a ju tang ju." "Right and left...." "Do se do...." "Once and a half...." "Swing that gal...." "Back to your partner..." "Circle four...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1911 (Texas Folklore Society) KEYWORDS: dancing nonballad FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 576, "Ju Tang Ju" (2 texts) Roud #7665 File: R576 === NAME: Juanita DESCRIPTION: "Juanita, I must leave you, I have come to say farewell." She says that, if he loves her, he will never leave her. He claims he didn't think she would get so involved. The next morning, he is found dead with her dagger in his heart AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1966 KEYWORDS: love betrayal homicide abandonment corpse FOUND_IN: US(SW) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Fife-Cowboy/West 51, "Juanita" (1 text, 1 tune) Logsdon 35, pp. 195-199, "Juanita" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #11210 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "She Said She Was Only Flirting" (theme) NOTES: "What we have here is a failure to communicate." - PJS The middle stanzas of this piece are almost identical in meaning (except with genders reversed) to "She Said She Was Only Flirting," though the wording is somewhat different. The endings, however, are completely different. Logsdon mentions the minor but interesting fact that Juanita Brooks, the great historian of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, was named after the heroine of this song. - RBW File: FCW051 === NAME: Juba DESCRIPTION: A dance and patting song: "Juba, Juba, Juba up 'n' Juba down, Juba all aroun' the town." "Juba jump, Juba sing, Juba cut that pigeon wing. Juba kick off this old shoe, Juba dance that Jubilo." Variations, as one might expect, are extreme AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1855 KEYWORDS: dancing nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (7 citations) Randolph 263, "Dinky" (1 short text, 1 tune, which Randolph believes to be this piece; in any case, it's too short to really deserve a separate entry) BrownIII 201, "Round It Up a Heap It Up" (a "Juba" fragment follows the main text) Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 98-99, "Juba" (1 fragment, 1 tune) Botkin-SoFolklr, p. 708, "Juba" (1 text, 1 tune) Courlander-NFM, p. 192, "(Juba)" (1 text) Handy/Silverman-Blues, p. 53, "Juba" (1 text, 1 tune; notes on p. 204) MWheeler, p. 96, [no title] (1 fragment, filed under "Uncle Bud") Roud #5748 RECORDINGS: Lee Wallin, "Juba" (on OldLove) NOTES: Described in Frederick Douglass, _My Bondage and My Freedom_, 1855. (Pp.252-253 in the Dover Reprint edition of 1936). Also fully described in _Step It Down_ (Bessie Jones and Bess Lomax Hawes,1971: Harper & Row. pp. 27-30.) "Juba" often refers to the patting pattern rather than the words. The words may contain disguised complaints about the treatment of Black people. Some of the words -- without the "patting" -- were used as a "dandling rhyme" in my family, in Oklahoma, at least as early as 1909. - SHi File: BSoF708 === NAME: Juberlane DESCRIPTION: The singing of the birds reminds the singer of the days (s)he spent listening to the birds in Juberlane. She wishes she were home, "But miles and miles divide me, and duty here hath tied me/" She wishes she had wings to fly home AUTHOR: Nellie Crowley (Corrigan) EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: bird homesickness FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H507, pp. 213-214, "Juberlane" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Scarborough Settler's Lament" (theme) and references there File: HHH507 === NAME: Jubilee DESCRIPTION: "It's all out on the old railroad, All out on the sea... Swing and turn, jubilee, Live and learn, Jubilee." Unrelated stanzas about courting: "Hardest work I ever done was working on a farm, Easiest work I ever done was in my true love's arms." Etc. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1949 KEYWORDS: love courting work nonballad FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Ritchie-Southern, p. 11, "Jubilee" (1 text, 1 tune) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 231, (no title) (1 fragment, possibly of this) Lomax-FSNA 122, "Jubilee" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 40, "Jubilee" (1 text) DT, JUBLEE Roud #7403 RECORDINGS: Jean Ritchie, Doc Watson & Roger Sprung, "Jubilee" (on RitchieWatson1, RitchiteWatsonCD1) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Up and Down the Railroad Track" (floating lyrics) cf. "Crow, Black Chicken" (words) File: LoF122 === NAME: Jubilee Guild, The DESCRIPTION: Canadian McLellan and two other "girls from St John's ... go out to Burnt Islands and start our Jubilee Guild." They have elections, find a place "old felt hats, house slippers we will make." AUTHOR: Arthur Keeping EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 (Peacock) KEYWORDS: work clothes FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Peacock, pp. 66-67, "The Jubilee Guild" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9947 NOTES: [According to Peacock,] "The Jubilee Guild is a women's organization in St John's, formed in 1935 as a service club to give instruction in handicrafts, domestic science, home nursing, and so forth, to women of the outports." Burnt Islands is about 12 miles east of Port aux Basques, at the southwest corner of Newfoundland. - BS File: Pea066 === NAME: Judas [Child 23] DESCRIPTION: Judas is sent on an errand by Jesus. As he does so, he is cheated (by his sister!) of thirty pieces of silver. He therefore betrays Jesus to get his money back. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1300 (ms. Trinity College B 14.39, f. 34a) KEYWORDS: Jesus betrayal HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: April 6, 30 C.E. - most likely date for the arrest of Jesus (the crucifixion took place the following day) FOUND_IN: Britain(England) REFERENCES: (8 citations) Child 23, "Judas" (1 text) Leach, pp. ,108-109 "Judas" ( text) Friedman, p. 56, "Judas" (1 text plus interlinear modern English translation) OBB 97, "Judas" (1 text) Niles 16, "Judas" (3 texts, 2 tunes, of which only the first could possibly be this ballad, and even it looks suspicious) ADDITIONAL: Kenneth Sisam, editor, Fourteenth Century Verse & Prose (1925), pp. 168-169, "Judas" (with notes on pp. 256-258). This is now considered the best transcription of the original manuscript, replacing Skeat's transcription quoted by Child. Brown/Robbins, _Index of Middle English Verse_, #1649 DT 23, JUDAS Roud #3964 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Judas and Jesus" (listed by Niles as a version of this ballad) cf. "Oh, Judy, My Judy" (listed by Niles as a version of this ballad) NOTES: The betrayal of Jesus by Judas is told in Matt. 26:14-16, 47f.; Mark 14:10-11, 43f.; Luke 22:3-6, 47f.; compare also John 13:2, 27, 18:2f. The story of the thirty pieces of silver is found only in Matt. 26:15 and the sequel in 27:3-10 (it is based on Zech. 11:12-13). The notion of Judas as treasurer and thief occurs only in John 12:4-6, (13:29) Even though this piece exists only in the Trinity College manuscript, it should not be assumed that Child's transcription is authoritative. The text in volume 1 was printed without reference to the manuscript (which had been temporarily lost). As a result it contains many orthographic innaccuracies (e.g. concerning u/v, i/j, and the use of th rather than the runic thorn |> -- as well as seven conjectural emendations replacing s with h). It also omitted the duplicated lines at lines 8, 25, 30. Also, the manuscript was written without stanza divisions and with (at best) imperfect word divisions, all of which are editorial. In addition, the script is sometimes unclear. And finally, the copyist may not have been perfectly familiar with the dialect of the original. Child later printed a corrected version, giving the readings of the manuscript verbatim (as read by Skeat). However, modern ballad scholars have almost always followed at least one of the imperfections of Child's original text (omitting duplicated lines, modifying the thorns, exchanging u and v, using Child's h instead of s, etc.) Scholars should keep in mind that even Child's corrected text, so badly reproduced by later scholars, is open to reinterpretation. Kenneth Sisam, in _Fourteenth Century Verse and Prose_, prints a text which differs in hundreds of particulars from Child's original version. It shows several differences even from Child and Skeat's manuscript collation: * five places where the editors break words differently, * two major variants (in line 6 Sisam reads "cunesman" for "tunesman"; in line 16, "top" for "cop") * Sisam also notes that in line 22 omits "Crist" was originally written by the scribe but then marked for erasure. This MAY indicate comparison of two texts of the ballad. * Sisam also considers line 27 to be intact ; Child implies it is defective. Sisam's notes are twice as long as the ballad itself; they are well worth consulting. Niles claims that his informant ("Mayberry Thomas," of Tennessee) had seen this piece in broadsheets, but there is no evidence of this, and many scholars hold that Niles made up his text 16A based on the old British text. - RBW File: C023 === NAME: Judas and Jesus DESCRIPTION: "Judas 'trayed Jesus, and Jesus hung the cross, Yes, Judas 'trayed Jesus, what a loss, what a loss!" On the night of the last supper, Jesus tells Judas he will betray him for money; Peter will betray him, but not for money AUTHOR: unknown ("collected" by John Jacob Niles) EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 KEYWORDS: Jesus betrayal death money FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Niles 16B, "Judas and Jesus" (1 text, 1 tune, which Niles considers part of Child 23, but this is clearly not the case) NOTES: All the gospels agree that Judas betrayed Jesus, but only Matthew (16:14f.) states directly that money was the reason (although John 12:6 calls Judas a thief, and implies that this was the motive for his treachery). All four gospels agree that Peter betrayed Jesus out of fear (cf. Mark 14:66-72, etc.). They also agree that Jesus foretold his death repeatedly, although only in John do we find Jesus implicating his betrayer (John 13:21-30) - RBW File: Niles16B === NAME: Judge and Jury, The: see The Prisoner at the Bar (The Judge and Jury) (File: R828) === NAME: Judgment Day Is Comin' DESCRIPTION: "Judgment day is comin', Time is drawin' near. Don't you hear God callin' you?" God calls with thunder and lightning. The singer is on his way to heaven. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII Judgment Day Is Comin', "" (1 text) Roud #11916 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Judgment Day is Rolling Around" (theme) File: Br3606 === NAME: Judgment Day is Rolling Around DESCRIPTION: "Got a good old mother in the heaven, my Lord, how I long to go there too (x2)." "King Jesus a-settin' in the heaven, my Lord." "Big camp meetin' in the heaven, my Lord." Chorus: "Judgment, judgment, judgment day is rollin' around... How I long to go." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 598, "Judgment Day is Rolling Around" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7551 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Judgment Day Is Comin'" (theme) File: R598 === NAME: Judgment, The (Invitation Song) DESCRIPTION: Dialog: "Come. think on death and judgment; Your time is almost spent; You've been a sinner; 'Tis time that you repent." The other answers that he'll repent when he's old. The first singer points out that death might come tonight AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (Henry, from John Oliver) KEYWORDS: dialog warning Hell death sin FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 206-209, "The Judgment" (1 text) Roud #17091 NOTES: This song seems to be inspired by the parable of the Rich Fool (Luke12:16-20), though the only words that are actually Biblical seem to be "Remember thy Creator while in the bloom of youth" (Ecclesiastes 12:1), and even that is slightly paraphrased. There might be a little of "Wicked Polly" in there, too. - RBW File: MHAp206 === NAME: Judie My Whiskey Tickler DESCRIPTION: "Judie, my whiskey tickler, Judie, you debbil, you bother me so. Woe! Woe! Woe! Like a red-hot potato you are all aglow." "By faith, you are elegant in form and face, You walk with such stately magnificent grace...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: drink nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 35, "Judie My Whiskey Tickler" (1 text) Roud #7857 NOTES: Described in the notes to Brown as a college drinking song from the 1830s. Which just shows that some things don't change. - RBW File: Br3035 === NAME: Judy MacCarthy of Fishamble Lane DESCRIPTION: The singer goes to Fishamble Lane in search of sausages when he is stopped by the sight of "a fair one ... Judy MacCarthy ... "one eye was a swivel, Her nose it was smutty, her hands not too clean." She is broiling a devil which he detests. He leaves. AUTHOR: Toleken (source: Croker-PopularSongs) EARLIEST_DATE: 1839 (Croker-PopularSongs) KEYWORDS: food humorous parody cook FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 159-160, "Judy MacCarthy of Fishamble Lane" (1 text) NOTES: Fishamble Lane (Liberty Street) is in Cork "where salmon, drisheens, and beefsteaks are cooked best" (quoted from "Cork's Own Town" by Croker-PopularSongs). In this case, I assume a "devil" to be some highly seasoned meat. - BS Partridge's _A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English_ (fifth edition, 1961) offers as the #5 meaning of "devil" "A grilled chop or steak seasoned with mustard and occ. with cayenne.... Grose, 2nd ed., defines it as a broiled turkey-gizzard duly seasoned and adds, ÔFrom being hot in the mouth'." Mr. Toleken (which seems to be the only name recorded for him) is also co-author of the somewhat better-known "Saint Patrick Was a Gentleman." I must say that it sounds as if the singer here might be intended to be English: he evidently looks down on the Irish and doesn't like spicy food. If that isn't a nineteenth century Englishman, what is? - RBW File: CrPS159 === NAME: Judy McCarty DESCRIPTION: The singer meets Judy McCarty at Donnybrook fair , asks her to dance, falls in love and she agrees to marry. They go to a party that night, sleep together, marry next day; 12 months later have "a pair of twins as like their dad As ever soup's like broth" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1884 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(1696)) KEYWORDS: courting marriage sex childbirth humorous twins FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) O'Conor, p. 18, "Judy McCarty" (1 text) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(1696), "Judy M'Carty", H. Disley (London), 1860-1883; also Harding B 11(1946), 2806 b.11(34), Firth c.26(37), Firth c.14(219), "Judy Mc.Carty" File: OCon018 === NAME: Jug of Punch, The DESCRIPTION: The singer (hears a thrush singing "A jug of punch"; he too) describes the pleasures of drink: "What more pleasure could a boy desire Than to sit him down by a roaring fire, And on his knee a tidy wench And in his hand a jug of punch." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1897 KEYWORDS: drink nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (6 citations) Kennedy 278, "The Jug of Punch" (1 text+ 1 in appendix, 1 tune) SHenry H490, p. 48, "The Jug of Punch" (1 text, 1 tune) O'Conor, p. 154, "Jug of Punch" (1 text) Creighton-NovaScotia 95, "Mush a Doody" (1 short text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 230, "The Jug Of Punch" (1 text) DT, JUGPUNCH* JUGPUN2 Roud #1808 RECORDINGS: The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, "A Jug of Punch" (on IRClancyMakem01); "The Jug of Punch" (on IRClancyMakem02) Margaret Loughram & Edward Quinn, "The Jug of Punch" (on FSB3) Pete Seeger, "Jug of Punch" (on PeteSeeger27) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Firth b.27(162), "The Jug of Punch" ("As I was sated in my room"), unknown, n.d.; also Harding B 11(1949), Harding B 25(1013), "Jug of Punch" ("'Twas on the 24th of June") NOTES: Creighton-NovaScotia['s] first verse seems like a floater but I know no other source There was an old woman, she had na bairns, She took the punch jug in her arms, And she sang, "Mush-a-lula boo, Will you ne'er be empty till I be fu'. - BS I don't recognize it earlier, but I wonder if it might not be a separate song which has picked up a single "Jug of Punch" verse. Unless another version surfaces, we probably will never know. - RBW File: K278 === NAME: Jug of This, A: see Ye Mariners All (File: VWL103) === NAME: Juice of the Forbidden Fruit, The DESCRIPTION: A story of all the people who drank: "And ever since then all manner of men... Will drink the juice of the forbidden fruit." Henry Ward Beecher is among those accused of tippling, and the drinking habits of many notorious figures are outlined AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1906 (Belden) KEYWORDS: drink political FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Belden, p. 441, "The Juice of the Forbidden Fruit" (1 text) Randolph 403, "The Juice of the Forbidden Fruit" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 340-342, "The Juice of the Forbidden Fruit" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 403B) Roud #3533 RECORDINGS: Neil Morris, "The Juice of the Forbidden Fruit" (on LomaxCD1706) NOTES: Among the various figures accused in this song of drinking are: * Henry Ward Beecher - Congregational minister who campaigned against slavery * Cleveland and Blaine - The Democratic and Republican presidential candidates of 1884. It was not an attractive campaign; Blaine was (regarded as) corrupt and Cleveland had an illegitimate child * Ben Butler - Politician turned Civil War general turned politician again. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives for most of the period 1866-1879, and became Governor of Massachusetts in 1883. In 1884 he ran, unsuccessfully, for a presidential nomination * Frank James - The brother of Jesse * Charles and Bob Ford - Friends, relatives, and betrayers of Jesse James * Oscar Wilde - the author/playwright * Grant - Ulysses S. Grant, widely accused of being a drunkard although he apparently did not drink during the Civil War itself or during his presidency. On the evidence, it would appear that Randolph's "B" version, at least, was crafted during the 1884 Presidential election. - RBW File: R403 === NAME: Juley: see Walkalong, Miss Susiana Brown (File: Hugi391) === NAME: Julia DESCRIPTION: Norwegian shanty. Chorus: "Julia! Julia! hop-ra-sa!" Hugill gives only one verse, which translates "A sailor's greatest pleasure, is Julia! Julia! Beloved of girls so dear..." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1888 (L. A. Smith, _Music of the Waters_) KEYWORDS: shanty foreignlanguage love FOUND_IN: Norway REFERENCES: (1 citation) Hugill, pp. 392-393, "Julia" (2 texts-Norwegian & English, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Upidee, Upidah" (similar tune) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Julia Hopsasa File: Hugi392 === NAME: Julia Grover (Miss Julie Ann Glover) DESCRIPTION: "As I was goin' to the mill one day, I met Miss Julia on the way, She 'spressed a wish that she might ride.... Sit down there, Miss Julia Grover, Play on your banjo, I'm your lover....." She gets in; the oxen start; the cart tips; she attacks him AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Linscott) KEYWORDS: courting travel FOUND_IN: US(NE,SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) BrownIII 410, "Miss Julie Ann Glover" (1 short text) Linscott, pp. 224-225, "Julia Grover" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #3734 ALTERNATE_TITLES: Julie Ann Grover File: Lins224 === NAME: Julian's Death DESCRIPTION: Julian, an Indian slave who ran away and killed John Rogers when Rogers tried to stop him, makes his confession: "The prisoner owns his bloody act, And saith the sentence... Was passed on him impartially." He narrates his sins AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (Burt) KEYWORDS: Indians(Am.) slave escape homicide punishment gallows-confession HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1732 - "Julian" tries to escape from his owner, Major Quincy of Brigewater, Massachusetts. Tracked by John Rogers, Julian finally killed his pursuer, but was captured and executed FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Burt, pp. 150-152, (no titles) (excerpts from two pieces about Julian) NOTES: Reading this account, I find my sympathies all with Julian. I have to think this is even more removed from the slave's last words than the usual goodnight. - RBW File: Burt150 === NAME: Julie Ann Grover: see Julia Grover (Miss Julie Ann Glover) (File: Lins224) === NAME: Julie Ann Johnson DESCRIPTION: "O Julie Ann Johnson, oho! (x2)." "Gwineter catch dat train, boys, oho! (x2)" "Gwineter fin' Julie, oho! (x2)" "She gone to Dallas, oho! (x2)" "Gwineter hug my Julie, oho! (x2)" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: love separation courting travel FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 244-245, "Julie Ann Johnson" (1 text, 1 tune) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 9, "July Ann Johnson" (1 fragment, 1 tune) ST LxA244 (Full) Roud #11604 NOTES: The Lomaxes note that "Lead Belly... made it doubtful whether this was a dance tune or a work chant." Whether and to what extent Leadbelly reworked this is unclear. Knowing the Lomaxes, I initially lumped this with "Julia Grover (Miss Julie Ann Glover)." I still wonder if there isn't some cross-fertilization. But that has rather more narrative than this. - RBW File: LxA244 === NAME: Julie Plante, The: see The Wreck of the Julie Plante (File: FJ174) === NAME: July Ann Johnson: see Julie Ann Johnson (File: LxA244) === NAME: Jumbo (Mama Sent Me to the Spring) DESCRIPTION: "Mama sent me to the spring, Told me not to stay. I fell in love with a pretty little boy And stayed till Christmas day." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Brown) KEYWORDS: courting nonsense FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownII 142, "Mama Sent Me to the Spring" (1 text) Roud #4245 NOTES: The notes in Brown say that the fragment cited is part of a Kentucky song called "Jumbo." I suspect it's part of a singing game -- but since "Jumbo" apparently is not in any accessible collection, I can't do anything with my suspicions except complain that the editors should have given more details. The Carter Family text of "Fond of Chewing Gum" contains a stanza very like this one, but that text is full of other intrusions, so it's not clear that they should be identified; none of the other texts of "Chewing Gum" (e.g. those in Randolph) include the stanza. - RBW File: BrII142 === NAME: Jump Her, Juberju: see The Bigler's Crew [Laws D8] (File: LD08) === NAME: Jump Jim Crow DESCRIPTION: Disconnected verses about a rambler's exploits, held together by the chorus "I wheel about I twist about I do just so, Every time I turn about I jump Jim Crow." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1835 (pubished by E. Riley) KEYWORDS: nonballad dancing dancetune floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 126-127, "Jim Crow", (no title), "Jump Jim Crow" (1 text plus two fragments, 1 tune; the full text lacks the chorus, while the fragments consist mostly of the chorus) Gilbert, p. 18, "Jim Crow" (1 text) Opie-Oxford2 274, "Twist about, turn about, jump Jim Crow" (2 texts) ST Gilb018 (Partial) Roud #12442 RECORDINGS: Bodleian, Johnson Ballads fol. 115, "Jim Crow," J. Pitts (London), 1819-1844; also Harding B 15(149a), Firth b.34(154), Harding B 11(1472), Harding B 11(1877), "Jim Crow" LOCSinging, as106690, "Jim Crow," L. Deming (Boston), 19C; also as106700, "Jim Crow complete in 150 verses" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Hop High Ladies (Uncle Joe)" (floating lyrics) NOTES: Said to have been originated by Thomas D. Rice, who allegedly watched a negro sing and dance the refrain and imitated it. This proved so successful that Rice spent the rest of his life as "Jim Crow" Rice, using the song as his primary attraction. - RBW File: Gilb018 === NAME: Jump Jim Crow (II): see Hop High Ladies (Uncle Joe) (File: R252) === NAME: Jumpin' Judy DESCRIPTION: "Jumpin Judy, Jumpin Judy (x3) Was a mighty fine gal (or: All over this world)" The singer describes prison life, and the hope for escape. He hopes the guards will stop abusing him. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 KEYWORDS: prison hardtimes FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Lomax-FSNA 289, "Jumpin' Judy" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 82-84, "Jumpin' Judy" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, JUMPJUDY* Roud #6712 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Midnight Special" cf. "Take This Hammer" NOTES: The version of this song in _Folk Songs of North America_ looks like a version of "The Midnight Special"; that in _American Ballads and Folk Songs_ rather resembles "Take This Hammer." Lead Belly sang a version which seems unrelated to either. I leave it to the reader to draw conclusions about the Lomax texts. - RBW File: LoF289 === NAME: Jungle Mammy Song DESCRIPTION: "Ah yah, tair um bam, boo wah, Kee lay zee day, Nic o lay, mah lun dee. Nic o lay ah poot a way, Nic o lay ah wah mee-- Ah yah, tair um bam, boo wah, Kee lay zee day, Nic o lay, mah lun dee." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg) KEYWORDS: nonsense nonballad lullaby FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Sandburg, p. 455, "Jungle Mammy Song" (1 short text, 1 tune) File: San455 === NAME: Juniper Tree, The DESCRIPTION: "Oh sister Phoebe, how merry we were The night we sat under the juniper tree...." "So put this hat on, it will keep your head warm, And take a sweet kiss, it will do you no harm." Phoebe and/or the boy are encouraged to get married AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1903 (Newell) KEYWORDS: playparty courting clothes FOUND_IN: US(Ap,So) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Randolph 540, "The Juniper Tree" (5 texts, 1 tune; the "D" text may be a parody) Hudson 151, pp. 298-299, "Under the Juniper Tree" (1 text) Ritchie-Southern, p. 9, "Sister Phoebe" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #4507 NOTES: A kising game, according to Ritchie, though a few texts are slightly fuller. - RBW File: R540 === NAME: Juniper Tree, The (The Wicked Stepmother, The Rose Tree) DESCRIPTION: A boy is murdered by his stepmother. She feeds the body to his father and (half-)sister. The boy comes back to life as a bird, and gains revenge on his stepmother (giving gifts to his family in the process). He is restored to humanity AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1956 KEYWORDS: stepmother homicide death bird revenge recitation FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Chase, pp. 47-50, "The Wicked Stepmother" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: This tale is widely known -- reported by Chase to be known in England, Ireland, Australia, northwestern Europe, and the southern U.S. As "Von dem Machandelboom" it is #47 in the Grimm collection. As, however, the bird's accusation against his stepmother is generally sung, it perhaps deserves a place in this Index. - RBW File: Cha047 === NAME: Just a Closer Walk with Thee DESCRIPTION: "Just a closer walk with thee, Grant it, Jesus, if you please." The singer prays to be closer to Jesus, to be strengthened in the face of work and trouble, and to be taken home upon dying AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (recording, Selah Jubilee Quartet) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (3 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 357, "Just A Closer Walk With Thee" (1 text) DT, CLOSEWLK* ADDITIONAL: Charles Johnson, One Hundred and One Famous Hymns (Hallberg, 1982), p. 167, "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #15986 RECORDINGS: Eureka Brass Band, "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" [instrumental version] (on MuSouth10) Red Foley, "Just A Closer Walk With Thee" (Decca 14505, 1949) Lacy Colored Gospel Singers, "Just a Closer Walk With Thee" (Sacred 296, n.d.) Selah Jubilee Quartet, "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" (Decca 7872, 1941) Smith's Jubilee Singers, "Just a Closer Walk With Thee" (Sterling 1503, n.d.) File: FSWB357A === NAME: Just a Poor Lumberjack DESCRIPTION: Recitation. A youth pushes a drunken lumberjack into the gutter. Another lumberjack saves a child from a fire, but dies in the process. A third dies in the woods. All are mourned with the chorus, "'Twas only a poor old lumberjack" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Beck) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Recitation. A drunken lumberjack is pushed into the gutter by a posh youth; a stranger warns the youth not to make wisecracks, or he'll get the same treatment. Another lumberjack saves a child from a fire, but dies in the process. A third, unknown, dies in the woods. All are mourned with the chorus, "'Twas only a poor old lumberjack." KEYWORDS: lumbering logger warning fight rescue death work recitation FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Beck 64, "Just a Poor Lumberjack" (1 text) Roud #8846 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Only a Miner (The Hard-Working Miner)" [Laws G33] (theme) NOTES: Pieces like this are easy to deride as mawkish melodrama, but they contain a spine of self-respect among men who were often ill-treated by the "respectable" society whose needs they supplied. - PJS File: Be064 === NAME: Just As I Was Going Away: see Braes of Strathblane (File: McCST053) === NAME: Just As the Tide Was Flowing DESCRIPTION: A sailor and girl stop "Beneath the shade and branches round, What they done there will never be known So long as the tides are flowing." She gives him gold. He goes to the alehouse and drinks "to the girl that never said no" or spent it on other girls. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(3634)) KEYWORDS: courting lover sailor gold FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond)) Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Greenleaf/Mansfield 66, "Down Where the Tide Was Flowing" (3 texts, 1 tune) Roud #1105 RECORDINGS: Harry Cox, "Just As the Tide Was A-Flowing" (on Voice12) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(3634), "Just As the Tide Was Flowing," J. Catnach (London), 1813-1838; also Harding B 11(1951), Harding B 11(1952), "Just As the Tide Was Flowing"; Johnson Ballads 1837, "Tide is Flowing"; Firth c.12(274), "Just As the Tide is Flowing" File: GrMa066 === NAME: Just Before the Battle, Mother DESCRIPTION: "Just before the battle, Mother, I am thinking most of you.... Farewell, mother, you may never Press me to your heart again But O, you'll not forget me, Mother, If I'm numbered with the slain." The singer will be true to the cause despite missing Mother AUTHOR: George F. Root EARLIEST_DATE: 1862 (copyright) KEYWORDS: war battle Civilwar mother nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (7 citations) RJackson-19CPop, pp. 102-105, "Just Before the Battle, Mother" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-CivWar, pp. 12-13, "Just Before the Battle, Mother" (1 text, 1 tune) Hill-CivWar, pp. 230-231, "Just Before the Battle, Mother" (1 text) JHCox 74, "Just Before the Battle, Mother" (1 text) JHJohnson, p. 118, "Just Behind the Battle, Mother" (1 text, a parody) Silber-FSWB, p. 280, "Just Before The Battle, Mother" (1 text) DT, JSTBATTL* (JSTBATT2) ST RJ19102 (Full) Roud #4263 RECORDINGS: James Doherty, "Just Before the Battle, Mother" (Edison 51109, 1923) Liberty Quartet, "Just Before the Battle, Mother" (Emerson 943, 1912) Monroe Quartet, "Just Before the Battle, Mother" (OKeh 45133, 1927) J. W. Myers, "Just Before the Battle, Mother" (CYL: Columbia 32433, c. 1904) Will Oakland, "Just Before the Battle, Mother" (CYL: Edison 297, c. 1897) (CYL: Edison [BA] 1516, 1912) Charlie Oaks, "Just Before the Battle, Mother" (Vocalion 15345, 1926) (Vocalion 5112, 1927) Unidentified tenor, "Just Before the Battle Mother" (Busy Bee A-55, c. 1906) Wheeler & Ballard "Just Before the Battle, Mother" (Resona 75074, 1920) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Farewell, Mother" (tune) File: RJ19102 === NAME: Just from Dawson (Deadwood on the Hills) DESCRIPTION: "A Dawson City miner lay dying in the ice." The miner tells his comrade to send him back to "Deadwood in the hills" (of South Dakota), where there is as much gold (i.e. not much) and it is warmer. He dies and freezes solid; they send his body home AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Dean) KEYWORDS: death mining gold humorous HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1898 - Yukon gold rush FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Dean, pp. 132-133, "The Klondike Miner" (1 text) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 440-441, "Just from Dawson" (1 text) Roud #9585 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Cremation of Sam McGee" (theme) cf. "Bingen on the Rhine" (tune) NOTES: As usual, the Lomax version of this presents problems. They actually attribute it (to F. A. and Edith H. Brewer), but there is no information about these two. And the Lomaxes did not scruple to rewrite pieces in this book. So we can hardly know the relationship between the Lomax text (set in Dawson and with the miner coming from Deadwood) and the Dean text (set in the Klondike and with the miner wishing to go to Gibbons on the Platte). There seem to be no other traditional texts. All we can say with certainty is that Dean's text is older. Plus it mentions a less-famous place. (Gibbon, Nebraska is indeed near the Platte, about halfway between Kearney and Grand Isle, but its population is numbered in the low thousands even today; Deadwood, though only slightly more populous, was famous as the site of an 1870s gold rush). - RBW File: LxA440 === NAME: Just Kick the Dust over my Coffin DESCRIPTION: "Just kick the dust over my coffin, Say, 'There lies a jovial young lad'; Pile the earth upon my carcass, Then carve on the stone at my head, Oh ain't it a wonderful story That love will kill a man dead." Singer says not to bawl; tell his love he is dead AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: death burial love humorous FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 40, "Just Kick the Dust over my Coffin" (1 text) Roud #7861 NOTES: I can't recall many humorous first-person died-for-live songs -- but this, if the two-stanza fragment in Brown is an indication, is one. - RBW File: Br3040 === NAME: Just One Girl DESCRIPTION: "I'm in love with a sweet little girlie, only one, only one...." "Just one girl (x2), There are others, I know, but they're not my Pearl... I'll be happy forever with just one girl." He says that, though poor, they are of age to marry and will be happy AUTHOR: Words: Karl Kennett / Music: Lyn Udall EARLIEST_DATE: 1898 (copyright) KEYWORDS: love marriage FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Randolph 789, "Just One Girl" (1 text) Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 146-147, "Just One Girl" (1 text, 1 tune) Spaeth-WeepMore, pp. 256-257, "Just One Girl" (1 text, 1 tune) Meredith/Covell/Brown, p. 252, "Just One Girl Waltz" (1 tune) Roud #7419 File: R789 === NAME: Just Plain Folks DESCRIPTION: "To a mansion in the city came a couple old and gray To meet their son who left them long ago." The son, now rich, greets them coldly; the father says, "We're just plain folks, your mother and me." They leave him to his life; they are too ordinary for him AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (recording, Arkansas Woodchopper) KEYWORDS: family age separation reunion FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 862, "Just Plain Folks" (1 text) Roud #7533 RECORDINGS: Arkansas Woodchopper [pseud. for Luther Ossenbrink], "Just Plain Folks" (Conqueror 7881, 1931) File: R862 === NAME: Just Remember Pearl Harbor DESCRIPTION: "Wasn't that an awful time at Pearl Harbor? What a time, what a time... When the Japs came passing by, Three thousand lost their lives." The bombings of the ships are mentioned, and the singer says, like Moses, the Americans won't give up AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1944 (Brown) KEYWORDS: battle war death HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: December 7, 1941 - Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor damages most of the battleships of the U. S. Pacific Fleet December 8, 1941 - Japanese attack the Philippines and other Pacific targets FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownII 241, "Just Remember Pearl Harbor" (1 text) Roud #6624 NOTES: This is a very strange piece, in that nearly every line is reminiscent of some traditional song or other (notably "Wasn't That a Mighty Time," but also "The Titanic (I - It Was Sad When That Great Ship Went Down)" [Laws D24] and "Oh Mary Don't You Weep" and others). But it doesn't seem to scan to any of them, or much of anything else for that matter. The song was collected from schoolchildren apparently in 1943; is it possible that they or one of their teachers assembled it? It might explain the style of the piece. It's hard to say how much after Pearl Harbor this song was written; there are no real dated items except the attack itself. The only person mentioned is MacArthur, and this is confusing. It does not mention his successful Pacific campaign. But neither does it mention his badly mismanaged defense of the Philippines, in which he let his entire air force be destroyed on the ground, and instead of retiring his inadequate garrison to Bataan at first opportunity, at first tried to slug it out with the Japanese, leaving him with neither the troops nor the supplies to defend himself. - RBW File: BrII241 === NAME: Just Tell Them That You Saw Me DESCRIPTION: "While strolling down the street one even, alone on pleasure bent," the singer sees a girl he knew at home. He offers to take a message home. She begs him to merely "tell them that you saw me"; she hopes to improve her pitiful condition before going home AUTHOR: Paul Dresser (1857-1906) EARLIEST_DATE: 1895 (sheet music) KEYWORDS: home hardtimes FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Dean, p, 124, "Just Tell Them That You Saw Me" (1 text) Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 201-202, "Just Tell Them You Saw Me" (1 tune, partial text) Roud #3528 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "I Told Them That I Saw You" (characters) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Madge The Wayward Girl NOTES: For the story of Paul Dresser, see the notes to "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away." - RBW File: Dean124 === NAME: Just Tread on the Tail of Me Coat DESCRIPTION: "I've licked all the Murphys an' Finnegans, And all the McCarthys afloat, If you're wanting a fight and a fraction, Just tread on the tail of me coat." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1913 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: fight FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 474, "Just Tread on the Tail of Me Coat" (2 fragments, 1 tune) Roud #4879 NOTES: The tune given by Randolph is quite close to (the verse of) "Rosin the Beau"; one suspects this is a fragment of one of the myriad parodies based on that song. - RBW File: R474 === NAME: Jut Gannon DESCRIPTION: Jut Gannon is told to drive a mule team, so he does. The rest of the song consists of descriptions of other lumber-woods characters and short anecdotes about them AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Beck) KEYWORDS: lumbering work animal moniker humorous FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Beck 71, "Jut Gannon" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #6497 NOTES: The "moniker song" consists mostly of listing the names of one's compatriots, and perhaps telling humorous vignettes about each; it's common among lumberjacks, hoboes, and probably other groups. - PJS File: Be071 === NAME: K.C. Moan DESCRIPTION: Song fragment, with two floating verses: "I thought I heard that K.C. when she blowed/She blowed like my woman's on board" and "When I get back on that K.C. road/Gonna love my baby like I never loved before" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recording, Andrew and Jim Baxter) KEYWORDS: separation railroading nonballad floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Cohen-LSRail, pp. 406-412, "KC Railroad/KC Moan" (3 texts plus a mass of fragments, 1 tune) Asch/Dunson/Raim, p. 102, "K.C. Moan" (1 text, 1 tune) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 242, (no title) (1 short text) Roud #4958 RECORDINGS: Andrew and Jim Baxter, "Kansas City Railroad Blues" (Victor 20962, 1927) Memphis Jug Band, "K. C. Moan" (Victor 38558A, 1929; on AAFM3, BefBlues2) Riley Puckett, "Kansas City Railroad" (Bluebird B5471, 1934/Montgomery Ward M-7042 [probably as "K. C. Railroad"] George Walburn and Emmett Hethcox, "K.C. Railroad" (OKeh 45004); probably also "Kansas City Railroad Blues" (OKeh 45178) [Jess] Young's Tenesee Band, "The Old K.C." (Columbia 15431-D, 1929) NOTES: The verses are vocal interludes in what is basically a slow dance tune, although they sound like they might well have originated in a work song. And, although it's located in Tennessee, Memphis is hardly part of Appalachia. Its music is more closely connected with the Mississippi delta region. - PJS This sng shows, better than almost anything, the loose form of blues songs. Cohen's three versions all have roughly the same first verse: "Thought I/ought to hear that (old/lovin') KC blow... Blowed like she never blowed before/no more." But one of his versions goes on to include much of "Goin' down this road feelin' bad," plus the "Chilly winds" verse, a second is about a man rejected by a woman, and the third has verses about the KC train straining every nerve. It's one of those cases where there simply is no way to tell just where one song stops and another starts. Cohen's three texts are at least held together by a common melody, but he notes that the Walburn/Hethcox recording has a different tune. - RBW File: ADR102 === NAME: Kafoozalem (I) DESCRIPTION: Kafoozalem is the daughter of a Turk "who did the Prophet's holy work." A westerner, Sam, loves her and tries to steal her away. The father discovers the plot and has them strangled AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1945 KEYWORDS: love foreigner death homicide FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 131-132, "Kafoozalem" (1 text, 1 tune) ST SRW131 (Full) Roud #10135 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Kathusalem (Kafoozelum) (I)" cf. "Laidy Maisry' [Child 65] (plot) File: SRW131 === NAME: Kafoozelum (I): see Kathusalem (Kafoozelum) (II) (File: EM204) === NAME: Kangaroo, The: see Carrion Crow (File: LoF072) === NAME: Kansas: see In Kansas (File: EM049) === NAME: Kansas Boys: see Come All You Virginia Girls (Arkansas Boys; Texian Boys; Cousin Emmy's Blues; etc.) (File: R342) === NAME: Kansas City Blues DESCRIPTION: "River is deep and the river is wide, Gal I love is on the other side. I'm gonna move to Kansas City... Move, honey babe, where they don't 'low you." Miscellaneous verses about women, prostitution (?), drugs, loneliness, the girl the singer loves.... AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 (recording, "Red" Willie Smith) KEYWORDS: drugs love whore travel home FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 77, "Kansas City Blues" (1 text) DT, KCBLES* RECORDINGS: "Red" Willie Smith, "Kansas City Blues" (on NFMAla1) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Ohio River, She's So Deep and Wide" (floating lyrics) NOTES: This song also became popular in jazz circles, after being popularized by Joe Turner and others. - PJS File: FSWB077C === NAME: Kansas City Railroad: see K.C. Moan (File: ADR102) === NAME: Kansas Cyclone DESCRIPTION: Singer used to own a ranch but he's now working as a cowboy; a "twisting cyclone" (tornado) has destroyed his farm and killed his family and herd. He's now punching cows to pay off the mortgage and "payin' for the cattle that the cyclone blew away" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1932 (Henry, from Grif Crawford) KEYWORDS: home death farming work disaster storm animal children wife family cowboy worker FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) MHenry-Appalachians, p. 90, "Cyclone Blues" (1 short text, with no mention of Kansas but the same plot) RECORDINGS: Art Thieme, "The Kansas Cyclone" (on Thieme02) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Shady Grove" (tune) File: RcKansCy === NAME: Kansas Line, The: see A Soldier from Missouri [Laws A16] (File: LA16) === NAME: Karo Song DESCRIPTION: Floating-verse song, with chorus "Oh, hear my true love weeping, Oh, hear my true love sigh, I was gwinging down to Karo town, Down there to live and die." Verses about Old Master's habits, the possum up the 'simmon tree, and courting Miss Sallie AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: courting floatingverses love FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 170-171, "Karo Town" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #3444 NOTES: Roud lumps this with the "Lynchburg Town" family, based on little more that I can see than a line in the chorus. There is hardly a word in the piece that isn't paralleled elsewhere, but the chorus seems relatively unique. Scarborough thinks the Karo of the title is Cuero ("Cwaro"), Texas, but given the composite nature of the piece, I think the reference -- as in most folk songs -- is to Cairo, Illinois. - RBW File: ScaNF170 === NAME: Kassie Jones: see Joseph Mica (Mikel) (The Wreck of the Six-Wheel Driver) (Been on the Choly So Long) [Laws I16] (File: LI16) === NAME: Kate Adams, The: see notes under I'm Going Down the River (File: MWhee050) === NAME: Kate and Her Horns [Laws N22] DESCRIPTION: Kate's intended husband suddenly jilts her for a rich girl. Kate obtains a cow's hide and horns, and meets her lover disguised as the devil. This "devil" threatens him if he does not return to Kate. He does; she reveals the truth as their child is born AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1903 (Belden; a broadside exists from c. 1690) KEYWORDS: courting trick marriage Devil childbirth FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,So) Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (10 citations) Laws N22, "Kate and Her Horns" Belden, pp. 231-232, "Kate and her Horns" (1 text) FSCatskills 125, "Kate and Her Horns" (1 text, 1 tune) SharpAp 70, "The Clothier" (1 text, 1 tune) Gardner/Chickering 159, "Kate and the Cowhide" (2 texts plus mention of 1 more, 1 tune) Combs/Wilgus 101, pp. 137-138, "Kate and the Clothier" (1 text) Creighton/Senior, pp. 184-186, "Kate" (1 text, 1 tune) Mackenzie 132, "Kate and Her Horns" (1 text) BBI, ZN3130, "You that in merriment delight" DT 452, KATEHORN* KATEHRN2* Roud #555 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Douce Ballads 3(15b), "Crafty Kate of Colchester" or "The False-Hearted Clothier Frighted into Good Manners" ("You that in merriment delight") [almost entirely illegible], J. White (Newcastle), 1711-1769 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Jealous Husband Outwitted" (plot) cf. "Maurice Kelly" (gimmick) File: LN22 === NAME: Kate and the Clothier: see Kate and Her Horns [Laws N22] (File: LN22) === NAME: Kate and the Cowhide: see Kate and Her Horns [Laws N22] (File: LN22) === NAME: Kate from Branch, The DESCRIPTION: Kate out of Branch, at anchor five miles out, is run down at night by Royalist, "an English man-o'-war that's bound for St John's town" The crew is lost and one body is found drifting, and the news and body taken to his parents at Salmonier AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1977 (Lehr/Best) KEYWORDS: burial death sea ship crash FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lehr/Best 64, "The Kate from Branch" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: The outports named, Branch, St Mary's, and Salmonier, are around St Mary's Bay on the south shore of the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland. I cannot find any record of the sinking. The following information is quoted by permission from Michael Phillips (see the Maritime History site by Michael Phillips and Jane Phillips): "I include the career and list of captains for the first three Royalists in my sailing ship history and none of them visited Canada. The most likely candidate is number four which was a wooden, single screw, steam sloop, with sails, which was launched in December 1861 and broken up in 1875. She spent 1863-67 and 1868-72 on the North American and West Indies station with Cdr. Nelson '65-'66 and Cdr. Jones '68-'69.... [According to the Navy Lists] no officer named Butler ever served in Royalist, the only name that could sound vaguely similar is Cdr. Bateman who commanded her in the 1870s after Jones.... The fifth Royalist, 1883-1923, served in Africa and Australia." - BS File: LeBe064 === NAME: Kate Kearney DESCRIPTION: Kate Kearney lives on the banks of Killarney. "Fatal's the glance of Kate Kearney; For that eye is so modestly beaming... Beware of her smile... And who dares inhale her sigh's spicy gale, must die by the breath of Kate Kearney" AUTHOR: Charles Lever (1806-1872) EARLIEST_DATE: before 1843 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(431)) KEYWORDS: courting beauty nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) O'Conor, p. 17, "Kate Kearney" (1 text) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(431), "Kate Kearney", W. & T. Fordyce (Newcastle), 1832-1842; also Harding B 11(1960), Harding B 11(1966), 2806 b.11(173), Harding B 28(150), Harding B 11(2067), Harding B 11(430), Firth b.25(142), Harding B 11(1961), Harding B 11(1963) [torn], Harding B 11(1958), Johnson Ballads fol. 113, "Kate Kearney" NOTES: O'Conor makes the attribution [to Charles Lever]. Kate Kearney is a character in Lever's _Lord Kilgobbin_ published as a serial in 1870-1872 (source: The University of Adelaide ebooks site). That would mean he created the character in song no later than 1842, 28 years before the serial was published. - BS Hazel Felleman's _The Best Loved Poems of the American People_, p. 12, attributes this to Sady Morgan. I have found no other references to this author. The Amsco publication _The Library of Irish Music_ lists the words as by "Lady Morgan" (which obviously is a variant of the same thing), with "The Beardless Boy" as tune. Still, the attribution to Lever seems much stronger. There is another broadside heroine named Kate Kearney (see broadside Murray, Mu23-y1:156, "Kate Kearney with the Silver Eye," James Lindsay (Glasgow), 19C); the song is not the same, but whether it inspired Lever, or was inspired by him, I cannot tell. Maybe *that* was written by Lady Sady Morgan? - RBW File: OCon017 === NAME: Kate Murray DESCRIPTION: The singer is in love with Kate Murray, "a warm lively girl with the love in her eye." He describes her as beautiful with a heart "as pure as the heart of a saint; Oh, you'll not find a colyeen so lovely as she From Ballinacargy to Donaghadee" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Hayward-Ulster) KEYWORDS: love beauty nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Hayward-Ulster, p. 79, "Kate Murray" (1 text) Roud #6539 NOTES: Ballinacargy is in County Westmeath, Leinster. Donaghadee is in County Down, Ulster. - BS. File: HayU079 === NAME: Kate O'Donahue: see Let Mr. McGuire Sit Down (File: RcLMMSD) === NAME: Kate of Ballinamore DESCRIPTION: Kate's father threatens to kill the singer rather than have him marry Kate. Kate recommends he enlist to escape; besides, "I'd like to be a brave young soldier's bride." He joins the Ninety-Eights and gets a letter that she has married a farmer's son. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1977 (recording, Geordie Hanna) KEYWORDS: courting infidelity soldier father FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #5172 RECORDINGS: Geordie Hanna, "Kate of Ballinamore" (on Voice06) File: RcKOBall === NAME: Kate of Glenkeen DESCRIPTION: "By the banks of the Barrow residing Are girls of dark raven hair," but the queen of them all is Kate of Glenkeen. The singer describes her purity, her beauty, her fleetness of foot. He will meet her by the light of the starts AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: love courting beauty FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H41, pp. 231-232, "Kate of Glenkeen" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7984 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Erin's Green Shore" [Laws Q27] (tune) NOTES: Sam Henry had no tune for this piece, so he set it to a traditional item he calls "Captain Black." This is equated with "She's a Daughter of Daniel O'Connell," i.e. presumably "Erin's Green Shore." The tune, however, is curious, ending on the second rather than the tonic (or else it is in Dorian, and starts on the minor seventh, but it sounds as major to me). I've encountered three tunes for "Erin's Green Shore," only one of which (Connie Dover's; she doesn't list her source) has any real similarity to Henry's tune -- and they are by no means identical. - RBW File: HHH041 === NAME: Kate's Big Shirt DESCRIPTION: Saturday night "Kate stopped up to iron her clothes" and "Tom stopped up for company." He asks "Kate does that big shirt belong to you?" It does. They strip and climb in the shirt together, but can't get out when they try. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (Peacock) KEYWORDS: clothes bawdy humorous wordplay FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Peacock, pp. 69-70, "Kate's Big Shirt" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #5866 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "A Great Big Sea Hove in Long Beach" (tune) File: Pea069 === NAME: Katey of Lochgoil DESCRIPTION: "'Twas on the year Eleventy-nine, And March the fortieth day, That Katey of Lochgoil, my boys, To sea she'll bore away." The singer vows he will not sail again after strange voyage with "Tonald More an' Tugald More, Shon Tamson an' Shon Roy." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1901 (Ford) KEYWORDS: sailor ship talltale humorous FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 241-243, "Katey of Lochgoil" (1 text) Roud #13088 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Irish Rover" (theme) NOTES: Sort of a Scottish version of "The Irish Rover." There are no lyrics in common, but the feeling is identical. - RBW File: FVS241 === NAME: Kathaleen Ny-Houlahan: see Caitilin Ni Uallachain (Cathaleen Ni Houlihan) (File: SBoA094) === NAME: Katharine Jaffray [Child 221] DESCRIPTION: Squire courts farmer's daughter; father forbids her to see him. She is to be wed to another. He invades the wedding. The bride's brother challenges him; he says he comes in friendship and asks to kiss the bride. He takes her away from the hall AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1802 KEYWORDS: wedding nobility trick elopement disguise clothes FOUND_IN: Britain(England,Scotland(Aber)) Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland US(SE) REFERENCES: (15 citations) Child 221, "Katharine Jaffray" (12 texts) Bronson 221, "Katharine Jaffray" (11 versions) BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 400-406, "The Squire of Edinburgh Town" (2 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #8} Flanders-Ancient3, pp. 261-268, "The Squire of Eninboroughtown" (3 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #9} BrownII 39, "Katharine Jaffray" (1 text) Creighton/Senior, pp. 79-83, "Katharine Jaffray" (2 texts plus 1 fragment, 1 tune) {Bronson's #4} Creighton-NovaScotia 11, "Katharine Jaffray" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #3} Peacock, pp. 200-201, "Hembrick Town" (1 text, 1 tune) Karpeles-Newfoundland 20, "The Green Wedding" (1 text, 1 tune) Leach, pp. 578-579, "Katherine Jaffray" (1 text) Friedman, p. 271, "Katharine Jaffray" (2 texts) OBB 88, "Katharine Johnstone" (1 text) Sharp-100E 16, "The Green Wedding" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #6} Gummere, pp. 263-264+357-358, "Katharine Jaffray" (1 text) DT 221, LOCHNGAR* LOCHNGR2* (the latter listed in some versions as Child 211) ST C221 (Full) Roud #93 RECORDINGS: Nora Cleary, "The Green Wedding" (on Voice06) Cecilia Costello, "The Green Wedding (Catharine Jaffray)" (on FSBBAL2) Thomas Moran, "The Green Wedding (Catharine Jaffray)" (on FSBBAL2) {Bronson's #11} BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(2364), "The Squire of Edinburgh!," H. Such (London), 1849-1862; also 2806 c.11(72), "The Squire of Edinburgh!"; 2806 c.15(151), 2806 b.9(233), "The Squire of Edinburgh Town" ALTERNATE_TITLES: Lochingar Lochnagar Katherine Jeffreys NOTES: This is the inspiration for Walter Scott's poem "Young Lochinvar." - PJS, RBW For the latter poem widely-reprinted poem (24 citations in _Granger's Index to Poetry_ -- though most of the anthologies are the type which never contain anything else with folklowing roots), see e.g. Iona & Peter Opie, The Oxford Book of Narrative Verse, pp. 160-161. The poem, according to the Opies, was rewritten to fit into the book _Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field_, where he needed the hero to carry his bride north. Barry, Eckstorm, and Smyth place "The Squire of Edinburgh Town" among the secondary ballads -- those derived from but not identical to the Child Ballads. Child himself seems to have thought that "Squire" was a rewrite of "Katherine Jaffray." But Bronson (and Roud) lump them, and given the amount of common material and the lack of individual identity in "Squire," it seems to me proper to do the same. - RBW File: C221 === NAME: Katharine Johns(t)on(e): see Katharine Jaffray [Child 221] (File: C221) === NAME: Kathleen Casey DESCRIPTION: Kathleen Casey is buried in county Clare. Her lover had promised to be true but did not go to the wedding. No one knows where he went. She died before six months passed. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1988 (McBride) KEYWORDS: wedding betrayal death Ireland FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) McBride 45, "Kathleen Casey" (1 text, 1 tune) File: McB1045 === NAME: Kathleen Mavourneen DESCRIPTION: "Kathleen Mavourneen! The gray dawn is breaking, The horn of the hunter is heard on the hill." The singer bids Kathleen to awake, as they must soon part. "It may be for years and it may be forever" before he can return to her and Ireland AUTHOR: Words: Anne Barry Crawford / Music: Frederick William Nicholls Crouch EARLIEST_DATE: 1840 (original publication) KEYWORDS: love separation parting exile FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (3 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 253, "Kathleen Mavourneen" (1 text) DSB2, p. 26, "Kathleen Mavourneen" (1 text) DT, KMAVOURN* ST FSWB253C (Full) Roud #13858 BROADSIDES: Murray, Mu23-y1:069, "Kathleen Mavourneen," James Lindsay (Glasgow), 19C NLScotland, L.C.1269(178a), "Kathleen Mavourneen," Robert M'Intosh (Glasgow), 1849 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Dermot Astore" (characters) SAME_TUNE: The birth-place of wit, and the home of hospitality, Ireland (per broadside Murray, Mu23-y1:069) File: FSWB253C === NAME: Kathusalem (Kafoozelum) (II) DESCRIPTION: Kathusalem, the harlot of Jerusalem, has anal sex with a priest, and expels him in explosive fashion. AUTHOR: "S. Oxon" EARLIEST_DATE: 1866, when it was published by Frederick Blume in New York City as the satirical "Kafoozelum," and credited to "S. Oxon." KEYWORDS: bawdy parody clergy sex whore FOUND_IN: Australia Canada Britain(England) US(MA,SW) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Cray, pp. 204-210, "Kathusalem" (3 texts, 1 tune) DT, KAFOOZLM* Roud #10135 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Kafoozelum (I)" ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Daughter of the Rabbi NOTES: This approximate plot also shows up in a "Strawberry Roam" variant, but I'm not sure it is traditional; see the notes to "The Castration of the Strawberry Roan." - RBW File: EM204 === NAME: Kathy Fiscus DESCRIPTION: "On April the eighth, the year forty-nine, Death claimed a little child so pure and so kind." Kathy Fiscus falls down a dry well. Workers try to dig her out, but she is dead when found. The singer "know[s] Kathy is happy up there with God now." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1956 (collected by Paul Clayton) KEYWORDS: death children HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1949 - Death of Kathy Fiscus FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Darling-NAS, pp. 224-225, "Kathy Fiscus" (1 text) RECORDINGS: Possibly related recordings: Jimmie Osborne, "The Death of Little Kathy Fiscus" (King 788, 1949) NOTES: This is a case where tradition is muddy. Kathy Fiscus died in 1949, and several songs were recorded about the event. This one, well-known in bluegrass circles, seems to have been the most popular. It seems likely that Paul Clayton's informant, Lily Maggard, learned the song from radio play or a phonograph recording. Does that qualify as traditional? - RBW File: DarNS224 === NAME: Katie an' the Jim Lee Had a Little Race: see Katie and the Jim Lee Had a Race (File: MWhee018) === NAME: Katie and the Jim Lee Had a Race DESCRIPTION: "Katie and the Jim Lee had a little race, Katie throwed water in the Jim Lee's face, (Oh babe)." The singer describes boats on the river and wishes he had a better life (or income, or woman, or whatever else seems worth complaining about) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1944 (Wheeler) KEYWORDS: racing ship river gambling floatingverses FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) MWheeler, pp. 19-20, "Katie an' the Jim Lee Had a Little Race" (1 text, 1 tune); pp. 55-56, "Katie an' the Jim Lee Had a Race" (1 text, 1 tune); also perhaps p. 22, "Vicksburg Round the Bend" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9996 and 10018 NOTES: Wheeler does not give an exact date for this race, but most of the boats involved were active around 1890. The "Katie" is probably the Kate Adams (second of that name), built in 1873. The Kate Adams set a record for the trip from Helena, Arkansas to Memphis, so it is reasonable to see her taking part in (and winning) a race. The key verse about their race seems to float (though I've only seen it in Wheeler); her "Vicksburg Round the Bend" is a mish-mash: The first stanza is generic, with different cities being used; the second is standard blues, the third is found also in "What Does the Deep Sea Say," the fourth is from "Captain Jim Rees and the Katie," and the fifth is from this song. - RBW File: MWhee018 === NAME: Katie Bairdie DESCRIPTION: "Katie Bairdie had a coo, Black and white about the mou, Wasna that a dainty coo, Dance, Katie Bairdie." "Katie Bairdie had a hen, cackled but and cakled ben...." "Katie Bairdie had a cock...." "Katie Bairdie had a grice...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1847 (Chambers) KEYWORDS: animal dancing nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Montgomerie-ScottishNR 92, "(Katie Beardie had a cow)" (1 text) DT, KITBEARD Roud #8945 File: MSNR092 === NAME: Katie Beardie Had a Coo: see Katie Bairdie (File: MSNR092) === NAME: Katie Cruel (The Leeboy's Lassie; I Know Where I'm Going) DESCRIPTION: "When first I came to the town, They called me the roving jewel; Now they've changed my name; They call me Katie Cruel." The ending varies; the girl sets her heart on someone, but she may or may not get him and he may or may not rule over her AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1611 (quoted by Beaumont & Fletcher) KEYWORDS: love courting FOUND_IN: US(NE) Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (6 citations) Flanders/Brown, pp. 123-124, "Regimental Song," "Katie Cruel" (2 short texts, the first one having lost all references to Katie, the Leeboy, or any other proper noun) Linscott, pp. 225-227, "Katy Cruel" (1 text, 1 tune) Scott-BoA, pp. 50-52, "Katie Cruel" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 153, "I Know Where I'm Going" (1 text); p. 194 ,"Katy Cruel" (1 text) DT, KATYCRUL KNOWHERE* LEABOYSL* LICHTBOB ADDITIONAL: Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), p. 267, "I Know Where I'm Going" (1 text) Roud #5701 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Hexhamshire Lass" (lyrics) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Lichtbob's Lassie NOTES: The forms and endings of this song are extremely diverse, although I've only heard three tunes, two of them clearly related. I might be tempted to break the piece up into separate entries, except that there is simply no way to draw the boundaries. Paul Stamler observes, "I think ['I Know Where I'm Going'] may need its own entry, being as how it's only overlap with 'Katie Cruel' is the 'I know where I'm going' verse. On the other hand, it's a distinct nonballad, so maybe not." As usual, there is truth in this; the two basic families are "Katie Cruel" and "Leaboy's Lassie" (the latter clearly the forerunner of "I Know Where I'm Going"). However, there is much more in common between these two than just the "I know where...." verse. My guess is that the original is Scottish, but I could well be wrong. Don Duncan points out a broadside, "A New Song, Called Harry Newell," which is clearly a form of the same thing and printed probably in the eighteenth or early nineteenth century. It is English or Irish, not Scottish. Child alluded to this piece in his appendix of fragments, quoting a stanza from Beaumont and Fletcher's "Knight of the Burning Pestle," Act II, Scene viiii: She cares not for her daddy, Nor she cares not for her mammy; For she is, she is, she is, she is My lord of Lowgrave's lassy. (This, incidentally, is the part of the play densest in traditional song; in my edition -- p. 335 of M. L. Wine's _Drama of the English Renaissance_ -- five songs are quoted in the space of thirty lines.) Based on the date, this may well be very close to the original of this piece. Linscott claims it "is a marching song used by the American troops in the Revolutionary War" (compare the Flanders/Brown title). But she was ignorant of most of the other versions. Ritson printed the chorus, "O that I was where I would be, Then would I be where I am not, But where I am I must be, And where I would be I cannot," in _Gammer Gurton's Garland_, 1784 (see Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #80, p. 82; see also Ben Schwartz's note below) . One chorus is the same as Opie-Oxford2 246, "Oh that I were I would be" (earliest date in Opie-Oxford2 is 1784). - BS File: SBoA050 === NAME: Katie Dear: see The Silver Dagger (I) [Laws G21] (File: LG21) === NAME: Katie Dorey: see Katie Morey [Laws N24] (File: LN24) === NAME: Katie Lee and Willie Gray DESCRIPTION: "Two brown heads with glossy curls... Little boy and girl were they, Katie Lee and Willie Gray." The pretty boy and girl are described. As they grew up, they fell/stayed in love and married; now she rocks a cradle where once she carried a basket AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1942 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: love marriage family FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 773, "Katie Lee and Willie Gray" (1 text) ST R773 (Partial) Roud #5255 NOTES: Randolph's informant reported that this comes from the Hutchinson family. Felleman's _The Best Loved Poems of the American People_ lists attributions to Josie R. Hunt and J. H. Pixley. - RBW File: R773 === NAME: Katie Morey [Laws N24] DESCRIPTION: The singer tries to seduce Katie. He lures her into the woods and threatens to kill her if she will not submit. She seems to consent, but warns the youth to climb a tree until her father passes. She then insults him and runs away, leaving him far behind AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1916 (Cecil Sharp collection) KEYWORDS: seduction bargaining trick escape rape FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,SE) REFERENCES: (10 citations) Laws N24, "Katie Morey" Bronson 112, "The Baffled Knight" (40 versions) -- but #26-33 (his Appendix A) are "The New-Mown Hay," which may be separate, and #34-#39 (his Appendix B) are "Katie Morey" [Laws N24] which is certainly separate Eddy 19, "The Baffled Knight" (1 text, 1 tune, listed as Child #112 but clearly this piece) {Bronson's #39} Flanders-Ancient3, pp. 89-99, "The Baffled Knight" (5 texts, but the "A" text is from "The Charms of Melody" rather than tradition and "B-I" through "B-IV" are "Katie Morey" rather than "The Baffled Knight" [Child 112]) SharpAp 115, "Katie Morey" (2 texts plus a fragment, 3 tunes) {Bronson's #34, #37, #35} Gardner/Chickering 161, "Kitty O'Noory" (1expurgated text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #36} Randolph-Legman II, pp. 594-597, "Katey Morey" (5 texts) FSCatskills 129, "Katey Morey" (1 text, 1 tune) Sharp/Karpeles-80E 52, "Katie Morey" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #34} DT (112), KATYMORY* Roud #674 RECORDINGS: Betty Garland, "Katy Dory" (on BGarland01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Baffled Knight" [Child 112] ALTERNATE_TITLES: Katie Dorie Miss Kitty O'Horey The Shrewd Maiden NOTES: Authorities differ on whether this ballad, in either its polite or bawdy versions, is related to "The Baffled Knight" (Child 112). - EC As the notes to Bronson show, though, it is sometimes lumped with that ballad (e.g. by Eddy). As always, readers are advised to check entries under Child #112 for completeness. I unhesitatingly agree with Laws in considering them separate. - RBW File: LN24 === NAME: Katie's Secret DESCRIPTION: "Last night I was weeping along, mother...." "Then Willie came down to the gate." "So out in the moonlight we wandered." Willie "called me his darling, his bride." Now she rejoices, gathering sweet roses and wondering "if ever Any were so happy as we." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1913 (Belden) KEYWORDS: love courting family FOUND_IN: US(MW,So) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Belden, p. 215, "Katie's Secret" (1 text plus reference to 1 more) Randolph 778, "Katie's Secret" (2 texts, 1 tune) LPound-ABS, 92, pp. 198-199, "Katie's Secret"; pp. 199-200, "The Hawthorne Tree" (2 texts) BrownII 174, "Katie's Secret" (1 text) cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 480, "Katie's Secret" (source notes only) Roud #4381 ALTERNATE_TITLES: Weeping Katie File: R778 === NAME: Katty Avourneen: see Barney and Katie (File: LO21) === NAME: Katy Cline DESCRIPTION: "Oh, who has not seen (Katy Cline/Kitty Clyde)? She lives at the foot of the hill In a shy little nook by the babbling brook That carries her father's old mill." He wishes he were a fish to be caught on her hook, a bee who could take honey from her, etc. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1923 (Brown) KEYWORDS: love courting bird floatingverses fishing FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) BrownII 198, "Kitty Clyde" (1 text) Silber-FSWB 149, "Katy Cline" (1 text) Roud #3768 RECORDINGS: Cranford & Thompson, "Katy Cline" (Champion 45061/Supertone 2594, c. 1935) R. C. Hedrich, "Kitty Kline" (AAFS 3763 B2) Horace Helms, "Katy Kline (Katie Kline)" (on HandMeDown1) Grandpa Jones, "Kitty Clyde" (King 772, 1949) Vester Jones, "Katy Cline" (on GraysonCarroll1) Monroe Brothers, "Katy Cline" (Bluebird B-6960, 1937) Piper's Gap Ramblers, "Katie Kline" (OKeh, unissued, 1927) Skyland Scotty, "Sweet Kitty Clyde" (Conqueror 8307, 1934) Ernest Stoneman, "Katy Cline" (Gennett 3381, 1926/Challenge 151, 1927/Herwin 75528), "Katie Kline" (OKeh 45065, 1926) Fields Ward & Bogtrotter Band, "Katy Kline" (AAFS 1360 B1) Alice Williams, "Kitty Kline" (AAFS 1012 A3) Ganos Williams & Ben Platt, "Kitty Kline" (AAFS 1014 B1) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Free Little Bird" (floating verses) cf. "Take Me Home, Poor Julia" (floating verses) NOTES: Silber's version of this song is mysterious: Is it a collection of floating verses (from "Free Little Bird" and other courting songs), or is it a love ballad that has been so chopped down as to lose all meaning? I can't tell. Some of the verses remind me of some vague memories, so I suspect the latter -- but until I can remember details, I can't really say. - RBW File: FSWB149 === NAME: Katy Cruel: see Katie Cruel (The Leeboy's Lassie; I Know Where I'm Going) (File: SBoA050) === NAME: Katy Wells: see Kitty Wells (File: MN2166) === NAME: KC Moan: see K.C. Moan (File: ADR102) === NAME: KC Railroad: see K.C. Moan (File: ADR102) === NAME: Keach i the Creel, The [Child 281] DESCRIPTION: A clerk and a girl wish to keep company/marry, but she cannot escape her parents' home. He plans to pull her up her chimney in a creel. The suspicious mother enters the room and is pulled up in the creel instead, then dropped by the startled clerk AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1827 (Kinloch) KEYWORDS: courting father mother elopement nightvisit humorous FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North),Scotland(Aber,Bord)) Ireland US(MA,NE) Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (11 citations) Child 281, "The Keach i the Creel" (4 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #12} Bronson 281, "The Keach i the Creel" (38 versions) BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 336-339, "The Keach i' the Creel" (1 text plus a fragment, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #5, #6} Flanders-Ancient4, pp. 136-138, "The Keach i' the Creel" (1 fragment, 1 tune) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 277-280, "The Wee Toun Clerk" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #13} Stokoe/Reay, pp. 22-23, "The Keach i' the Creel" (1 text, 1 tune) {cf. Bronson's #4} FSCatskills 133, "The Little Scotch Girl" (1 text, 1 tune) SHenry H201, pp. 265-266, "The Ride in the Creel" (1 text, 1 tune) Tunney-StoneFiddle, pp. 92-93, "The Cetch in the Creel" (1 text) Kinloch-BBook XVII, pp. 61-63, "The Covering Blue" (1 text) DT 281, KEACHCRL* Roud #120 RECORDINGS: Michael Gallagher, "The Keach in the Creel" (on FSB5, FSBBAL2) {Bronson's #36, with the title "Hurroo-Ri-Ah"} Jamsie McCarthy, "Coochie Coochie Coo Go Way" (on Voice15) SAME_TUNE: Moody to the Rescue (File: FowM005) NOTES: Kinloch's "The Covering Blue" omit the ride in the creel, but is obviously the same song (and Child included it as his "D" text). Thus, though most of the humor of the piece comes when the clerk hauls the auld woman up the chimney, the key point is the nightvisiting theme. - RBW File: C281 === NAME: Kearney's Glen DESCRIPTION: The singer alludes to poets who have praised other places; he will praise Kearney's Glen. He urges visitors to come in spring, to see the flowers, hear the birds, watch the young people. There is also a holy old altar. The singer asks God's blessing AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1937 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: home nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H715, pp. 166-167, "Kearney's Glen" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #13478 File: HHH715 === NAME: Keel Row, The DESCRIPTION: "As I came through Sandgate, through Sandgate, through Sandgate, As I came through Sandgate... I heard a lassie sing, 'Weel may the keel row... That my laddi'es in.'" The singer wishes good luck to the boat and success to handsome Johnnie aboard it AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay) KEYWORDS: love ship sailor FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North),Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Stokoe/Reay, pp. 41-42, "The Keel Row" (1 short text plus a modern rewrite, 1 tune) DT, KEELROW* Roud #3059 File: StoR041 === NAME: Keemo Kimo: see Kemo Kimo (File: R282) === NAME: Keemo-Kimo: see Kemo Kimo (File: R282) === NAME: Keep A-Inchin' Along DESCRIPTION: "Keep a-inchin' along... Jesus will come by 'n by." "'Twas inch by inch I saved my soul." The singer makes plans for heaven, and for the festivities that will attend the arrival. "Ever since my Lord set me free, This old world's been a hell to me." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 KEYWORDS: religious freedom nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lomax-FSNA 239, "Keep A-Inchin' Along" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #11947 File: LoF239 === NAME: Keep in de Middle Ob de Road DESCRIPTION: "I hear the angels calling .... the road is rough and it's hard to walk.... Keep in de middle ob de road, den, chil'ren.... Don't you look to de right, Don't you look to de left, But keep in de middle ob de road" AUTHOR: William S. Hays (1837-1907) EARLIEST_DATE: 1878 (broadside, LOCSheet sm1878 11057) KEYWORDS: religious worksong nonballad FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Smith/Hatt, p. 32, "Walking in de Middle of de Road" (1 text) Roud #9413 BROADSIDES: LOCSheet, sm1878 11057, "Keep in de Middle ob de Road," Geo. D. Newhall & Co. (Cincinnati), 1878 (tune) NOTES: Smith/Hatt: The fragment is part of the chorus and part of a verse. "'Heard this song sung by darkies at Philadelphia, digging pitch ... from the Brigintine Hamelin.' ... It is hardly a shanty but still a work song heard on ships." - BS File: SmHa032 === NAME: Keep It Dark DESCRIPTION: "I am gwine to tell you some very queer news, But keep it dark, keep it dark." The singer describes various things which happened secretly: A fight between him and his wife, a fight with the Indians, the illumination supplied by the electric light AUTHOR: Words: Fred Wilson / Music: E. M. Hall ? EARLIEST_DATE: 1942 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: Indians(Am.) technology FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 504, "Keep It Dark" (1 text) Roud #7590 NOTES: Randolph says this is printed in "Sam MacFlinn's Great Clown Songster." I suspect the version there must make more sense than Randolph's version. Anyone have a copy? - RBW File: R504 === NAME: Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy DESCRIPTION: Non-ballad, in which the singer displays his interest in food and drink and his lack of interest in work. Verses vary widely; the song is recognized primarily by the line "(Gonna) keep my skillet (good and) greasy all the time." AUTHOR: (Credited to Uncle Dave Macon on the Henry Whitter recording) EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (recording, Uncle Dave Macon) KEYWORDS: nonballad drink food FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Warner 122, "Gonna Keep My Skillet Greasy" (1 text, 1 tune, plus assorted excerpts not collected by the Warners) Silber-FSWB, p. 157 "Keep My Skillet Good And Greasy" (1 text) DT, SKILLTGR SKILLTG2* Roud #7479 RECORDINGS: Doc Watson & Ralph Rinzler, "Skillet Good and Greasy" (on Ashley02, WatsonAshley01) John Henry Howard, "Gonna Keep My Skillet Good & Greasy" (Gennett 3124, 1925) Uncle Dave Macon "I'll Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy" (Vocalion 14848, 1924) (Bluebird B-5873, 1935) Pete Seeger, "Skillet Good and Greasy" (on PeteSeeger02, PeteSeegerCD01) Henry Whitter, "Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy" (OKeh 40296, 1925; rec. 1924) File: Wa122 === NAME: Keep On a-Walking (Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Round) DESCRIPTION: "Ain't gonna let nobody, Lordy, Turn me 'round (x3)... Keep on a-walking, Keep on a-talking, Marchin' on to freedom land." Similarly "Ain't gonna let no jailhouse... Turn me round," etc. Versions may refer to local events AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1962 (source tune recorded by Jimmy Davis in 1936) KEYWORDS: discrimination political nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (3 citations) Scott-BoA, pp. 374-375, "Keep On a-Walkin'" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 303, "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Round" (1 text) cf. Greenway-AFP, p. 234, "Don't Turn Around" (1 text, probably a union adaption of this song) RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round" (on Selma) SAME_TUNE: Jimmie Davis "I Ain't Gonna Let Ol' Satan Turn Me Round" (Decca 5235, 1936) NOTES: This song, an activist hymn from the civil rights and labor movements, was clearly adapted from "I Ain't Gonna Let Ol' Satan Turn Me Round." Jimmie Davis recorded that song; in view of the later adaptation, it's ironic that his second successful run for governor was on a racist platform, pledging resistance to integration. - PJS File: SBoA374 === NAME: Keep Your Garden Clean (I): see In My Garden Grew Plenty of Thyme (File: R090) === NAME: Keep Your Garden Clean (II) DESCRIPTION: AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Garners Gay (Rue; The Sprig of Thyme) File: FSWB163 === NAME: Keep Your Hand on the Plow DESCRIPTION: Various events from scripture intended to encourage the troubled: Paul and Silas in jail, Jesus washing the disciples feet, Mary's chain. Chorus: "Hold on, hold on, Keep your hand on the plow, hold on." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1917 (Cecil Sharp collection) KEYWORDS: Bible religious prison FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Lomax-FSUSA 111, "Keep Your Hand on the Plow" (1 text, 1 tune, plus the modern parody "United Nations Make a Chain") SharpAp 209, "Hold On" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 362, "Hold On" (1 text) DT, HANDPLOW* Roud #10075 RECORDINGS: Hall Johnson Negro Choir, "Keep Yo' Hand on the Plow, Hold On" (Victor 36020, 1930) Pete Seeger with Memphis Slim, Willie Dixon, Big Bill Broonzy, Bill McAdoo, "Hold On" (on PeteSeeger15) Pete Seeger, "Hold On" (on Selma) (on PeteSeeger44) (on PeteSeeger48) (on PeteSeeger27) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Oh, Mary, Don't You Weep" (floating lyrics) cf. "Keep Your Hand upon the Chariot" cf. "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize" (song from the civil rights movement, adapted from "Keep Your Hand on the Plow") NOTES: Paul and Silas's stay in prison is related in Acts 16:19-40. The footwashing is described in John 13:1-11. Mary's chain is apocryphal, perhaps a free extrapolation on Luke 2:35. - RBW File: LxU111 === NAME: Keep Your Hand upon the Chariot DESCRIPTION: "Oh, you better run (x3), 'for the train done gone, Oh, keep your hand upon the chariot And your eyes upon the prize." "For the preacher's comin' an' he preach so bold, For her preach salvation from out of his soul, Oh, keep your hand upon the chariot" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: religious train nonballad clergy FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 256, "Keep Yore Hand upon the Chariot" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Keep Your Hand on the Plow" File: ScNF256A === NAME: Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning DESCRIPTION: "Keep your lamp trimmed and burning (x3) For this world is almost gone" "Brother, don't you get (a-)worried (x3) For this world is almost gone." "Sister, don't stop prayin'..." "Preacher, don't stop preachin'..." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: Late 1928 (recording, Blind Willie Johnson & Angeline Johnson) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Silber-FSWB, p. 361, "Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning" (1 text) Roud #10433 RECORDINGS: Blind Willie Johnson & Angeline Johnson, "Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning" (Columbia 14425-D, 1929; rec. 1928; on BWJ01, BWJ02) Fred McDowell, "Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning" (on LomaxCD1703) NOTES: A reference to the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, Matt. 25:1-13. - RBW File: FSWB361 === NAME: Keep Your Saddle Tight DESCRIPTION: The singer advises the mustang rider, "Don't step into that saddle Till you know that it's good and tight." He also notes, "Of all the crazy critters... A woman is the worst one." He therefore gives the same advice about women.... AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (recording, Carl T. Sprague) KEYWORDS: cowboy horse nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ohrlin-HBT 88, "Keep Your Saddle Tight" (1 text, 1 tune) File: Ohr088 === NAME: Keeper of the Eddystone Light, The DESCRIPTION: The singer's father, the keeper of the Eddystone Light, had three children by a mermaid. Now he is gone (deserted? eaten by cannibals?). The boy meets his mother, who asks of her children; they live the troubled lives of half-humans AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: humorous father mother mermaid/man animal reunion FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (3 citations) PBB 120, "The Keeper of the Eddystone Light" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 27, "Eddystone Light" (1 text) DT, EDDYSTON* EDDYNORE* (ASTERLT*) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Caviar Comes from Virgin Sturgeon" (theme) NOTES: Perhaps the most-parodied song of all time. I know of "The Keeper of the London Zoo," "The Keeper of the Asteroid Light," and "The Man at the Nore" -- which is sort of a self-referencing parody. Richard Dyer-Bennet has been credited with creating the final verse of the common version ("The phosphorus flashed in her seaweed hair..." -- bad science, incidentally, since there is almost no free phosphorus in the ocean; it's a necessary chemical for life, but not very common; every atom finds a home in some creature's DNA. Many ocean creatures are, of course, phosphorescent -- but not due to phosphorus). The Eddystone Light is famous for representing a revolutionary design. It was the first lighthouse designed as a smooth cylinder -- important because it would help the lighthouse survive heavy seas and storms. Most later lighthouses, of course, have followed this design. - RBW File: PBB120 === NAME: Keeper of the Game, The: see Captain Wedderburn's Courtship [Child 46] (File: C046) === NAME: Keeper Would A-Hunting Go, The: see The Keeper (File: ShH79) === NAME: Keeper, The DESCRIPTION: Keeper goes hunting for a doe. In some versions he chases several unsuccessfully. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1916 KEYWORDS: hunting animal dialog FOUND_IN: Britain(England) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Sharp-100E 79, "The Keeper" (1 text, 1 tune) PSeeger-AFB, p. 59, "The Keeper" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 338, "The Keeper" (1 text) DT, KEEPERGO* Roud #1519 RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "The Keeper and the Doe" (on PeteSeeger09, PeteSeegerCD02) (on PeteSeeger18) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "En Jaeger Gik At Jage (A Hunter Went Out Hunting)" (general feeling) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Keeper Would A-Hunting Go NOTES: Most of the song consists of back-and-forth singing of the chorus between two singers. B.J. Orton thinks there is a sexual or magical subtext to this song. I doubt it, myself. -PJS I have to disagree with Paul; at least one text refers to the Keeper kissing a doe, and another doe "[running] away in a young man's heart." There is surely some sort of hidden meaning. The real question is, how far did Sharp bowdlerize what he found?- RBW File: ShH79 === NAME: Keepers and Poachers DESCRIPTION: Singer and others are poaching when 12 keepers are seen. They decide to fight; in the course of battle, young William Taylor is taken. In court, he's told his life will be spared if he names his companions; he refuses, vowing to "die for them all." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (collected by Cecil Sharp) KEYWORDS: fight bargaining crime execution poaching punishment trial hunting bird FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond,South)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Kennedy 254, "Keepers and Poachers" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #851 RECORDINGS: George Maynard, "William Taylor" (on Maynard1, Voice18) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Poacher's Fate" [Laws L14] (subject) cf. "The Bold Poachers" (plot) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Bold William Taylor NOTES: This should not be confused with the "Bold William Taylor" whose girlfriend dresses as a man and shoots him (in "William Taylor" [Laws N11]). - PJS File: K254 === NAME: Kelley's Irish Brigade DESCRIPTION: "Come all you that hold communion With southern Confederates bold." The singer tells how Union soldiers came to Missouri, but were routed by Kelley's brigade. He recalls their troubles in Ireland, and hopes for states rights AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1912 (Belden) KEYWORDS: Civilwar political FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Belden, pp. 355-356, "Kelley's Irish Brigade" (1 text) DT, KELLBRIG (Belden's text, mistakenly said to come from Randolph) Roud #7768 NOTES: This is a really, really strange piece. Belden notes that there are Union broadsides of Kelley's Irish Brigade. And the Union *did* have an Irish Brigade commanded by Col. Patrick Kelly; this unit, organized by General Meagher, was in fact, one of the most famous units in the Army of the Potomac. (For some background on this unit, see the notes to "By the Hush.") If the spelling "Kelley" be accepted, there was also a union general Benjamin Franklin Kelley, who commanded troops (though seemingly not an Irish Brigade) in West Virginia. But why adapt it to the Confederacy (which is what Belden suggests happened, and I can see no grounds for argument)? And why to Missouri? The only general officer in the Confederacy named Kelly was John Herbert Kelly (1840-1864), and he *did* serve in Missouri in 1861 -- but he was only a captain at the time. By the time he achieved a brigadier's star in late 1863, he was in Braxton Bragg's army, and he commanded cavalry, not infantry, so he couldn't have led an Irish brigade. The song simply doesn't make sense. - RBW File: Beld355A === NAME: Kelligrews Soiree, The DESCRIPTION: "You may talk of... anything you choose, But it couldn't hold a snuff-box to the spree at Kelligrews." A thoroughly exaggerated account: "There was birch rine, tar twine, cherry wine, and turpentine," and so forth, ad nauseum. AUTHOR: John Burke EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 KEYWORDS: humorous nonballad party dancing FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (6 citations) Fowke/Johnston, pp. 110-112, "The Kelligrews Soiree" (1 text, 1 tune) Fowke/MacMillan 35, "The Kelligrews Soiree" (1 text, 1 tune) Blondahl, pp. 25-26, "The Kelligrews Soiree" (1 text, 1 tune) Doyle2, pp. 16-17, "The Kelligrew's Soiree" (1 text, 1 tune) Doyle3, pp. 36-37, "The Kelligrew's Soiree" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, KSOIREE Roud #4430 RECORDINGS: Omar Blondahl, "The Kelligrews Soiree" (on NFOBlondahl01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Irish Jubilee" cf. "Finnegan's Wake" [Laws Q17] SAME_TUNE: The Teapots at the Fire (File: Blon027) NOTES: Kelligrews is a small village southwest of St. John's, Newfoundland. - RBW Is this a cleaned-up version of "The Ball at Kerrimuir"? -PJS Based on form, it is not. (It's not all that cleaned up, either; while there are no explicit sexual references, there are all sorts of hints, plus references to drunkenness, sodden clergy, and the like.) Fowke and Johnston believe it to be based on "The Irish Jubilee," and the stanzaic form implies they are right. Of course, there are all sorts of songs on the theme of the Ultimate Uproarious Party. - RBW While Doyle3 reports the song was sung in New York in 1938, GEST Songs of Newfoundland and Labrador site shows that the author died in 1930. - BS File: FJ110 === NAME: Kellswater: see The Lover's Curse (Kellswater) (File: HHH442) === NAME: Kelly and the Ghost: see Maurice Kelly (File: GrMa078) === NAME: Kelly Gang Were Strong, The DESCRIPTION: "Oh, the Kelly gang were strong, And bent on doing wrong, In spite of Captain Standish and his men... And when they cross the border, They'll find bobbies all in order To beat them at the same old game." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1982 KEYWORDS: outlaw Australia police FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Meredith/Covell/Brown, p. 28, "The Kelly Gang Were Strong" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Kelly Gang" (subject) cf. "Ye Sons of Australia" (subject) cf. "Kelly Song (Farewell Dan and Edward Kelly)" (subject) cf. "Kelly Was Their Captain" (subject) cf. "Ballad of the Kelly Gang" (subject) cf. "Stringybark Creek" (subject) cf. "My Name is Edward Kelly" (subject) NOTES: This uses a tune reportedly similar to the music hall piece, "Strolling Down the Old Kent Road." - RBW File: MCH028 === NAME: Kelly Gang, The DESCRIPTION: "Come, all young men with feeling! With regret I must unfold, I have a tale to tell of men Whose hearts are stout and bold." The song praises the Kelly gang for their stand against odds of fifty to one. Kate Kelly is praised for warning the gang AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1968 KEYWORDS: outlaw Australia HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1855 - Birth of Ned Kelly 1880 - Execution of Kelly. His last words are reported to have been "Such is life." FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Meredith/Anderson, pp. 248-249, "The Kelly Gang" (1 text, 1 tune) RECORDINGS: A. L. Lloyd, "The Kelly Gang" (on Lloyd2, Lloyd4) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Ye Sons of Australia" (subject) cf. "Kelly Song (Farewell Dan and Edward Kelly)" (subject) cf. "Kelly Was Their Captain" (subject) cf. "My Name is Edward Kelly" (subject) cf. "Ballad of the Kelly Gang" (subject) cf. "Stringybark Creek" (subject) cf. "The Kelly Gang Were Strong" (subject) File: MA248 === NAME: Kelly of Killann: see Kelly, the Boy from Killane (File: PGa033) === NAME: Kelly Song (Farewell Dan and Edward Kelly) DESCRIPTION: Fragment of a ballad about the Kelly gang: "Farewell Dan and Edward Kelly, Farewell Hart and Steve Byrne too, With the poor your memory liveth; Those who blame you are but few." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1953 KEYWORDS: outlaw Australia HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1855 - Birth of Ned Kelly 1880 - Execution of Kelly. His last words are reported to have been "Such is life." FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (2 citations) Meredith/Anderson, p. 28, "Kelly Song" (1 text, 1 tune) Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 93-94, "(Farewell Dan and Edward Kelly" (1 text, apparently collected as a sort of appendix to "My Name is Edward Kelly") CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Kelly Gang" (subject) cf. "Ye Sons of Australia" (subject) cf. "Kelly Was Their Captain" (subject) cf. "My Name is Edward Kelly" (subject) cf. "Ballad of the Kelly Gang" (subject) cf. "Stringybark Creek" (subject) cf. "The Kelly Gang Were Strong" (subject) NOTES: Edward "Ned" Kelly and his gang are perhaps the most famous of all Australian bushrangers. - RBW File: MA028 === NAME: Kelly the Pirate (I) [Laws K31] DESCRIPTION: (Captain Cooper's ship Stag) meets Kelly's pirate ship. Kelly reminds the pirates that defeat means hanging, but this is not enough. The British ship sinks the pirate AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1825 (broadsides, Bodleian Harding B 28(162), Harding B 25(1022)) KEYWORDS: pirate fight death FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar,Newf,Ont) Britain(England(South)) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Laws K31, "Kelly the Pirate I" Greenleaf/Mansfield 43, "Kelly the Pirate" (1 text) Mackenzie 81A, "Kelly the Pirate" (1 text) Creighton-Maritime, p. 151, "Kelly the Pirate" (1 text, 1 tune) DT 565, KELLPIR Roud #529 RECORDINGS: O. J. Abbott, "Kelly the Pirate" (on Abbott1) David Slaunwhite, "Kelly the Pirate" (on MRHCreighton) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 28(162), "Kelly the Pirate," W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also Harding B 25(1022), "Kelly the Pirate" ("Come listen awhile and give ear to my song"), W. Armstrong (Liverpool) , 1820-1824 NOTES: Several pirates named Kelly/Kelley are known from the late seventeenth century, notably James Kelley, an associate of Captain Kidd hanged in 1701. But their circumstances do not seem to match this song. There is also a significant problem in the form of the "Kelly the Pirate" version sung by David Slaunwhite and printed in Creighton-Maritime. It is an open question whether it is the same as Laws K31. Bennett Schwartz writes,"Creighton-Maritime: 'Novia Scotia place names have been substituted for those in the old English song.... it has undergone many changes in the course of oral transmission.' It is barely recognizable as the same ballad as Greenleaf/Mansfield 43." But Paul Stamler writes independently, "The plot of this song [the Slaunwhite version] is extremely confused, and the point of view seems to shift in the last verse, but it's clear enough that I'm pretty sure it isn't one of the two 'Kelly the Pirate' songs listed elsewhere in the Index." Laws does not seem to have known of Slaunwhite's recording. Roud lumps them. It may well be that Slaunwhite's version is composite, mixing "Kelly the Pirate (I)" with something else. I'm sticking it here, for now, since it seems to be a one-shot. That could easily change if more versions show up. - RBW File: LK31 === NAME: Kelly the Pirate (II) [Laws K32] DESCRIPTION: A British warship is commanded to guard merchant vessels. The warship meets Bold Kelly, who refuses to surrender. The pirate ship is taken and Kelly sent to prison AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (Mackenzie) KEYWORDS: pirate sea battle prison FOUND_IN: US(MA) Canada(Mar,Newf) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Laws K32, "Kelly the Pirate II" Peacock, pp. 846-847, "Kelly the Pirate" (1 text, 1 tune) Mackenzie 81B, 81C, "Kelly the Pirate" (2 texts, 1 tune) DT 566, KELPIR2 KELPIR3 Roud #1625 NOTES: Several pirates named Kelly/Kelley are known from the late seventeenth century, notably James Kelley, an associate of Captain Kidd hanged in 1701. But their circumstances do not seem to match this song. - RBW File: LK32 === NAME: Kelly Was Their Captain DESCRIPTION: The singer tells of the "famous outlaw band that roamed this country round. Ned Kelly was their captain...." Ordered arrested by the governor of Victoria, Kelly took to the bush. After long eluding the police, he was betrayed by Aaron Sherritt and taken AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1968 KEYWORDS: outlaw Australia betrayal HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1855 - Birth of Ned Kelly 1880 - Execution of Kelly. His last words are reported to have been "Such is life." FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Meredith/Anderson, pp. 203-204, "Kelly Was Their Captain" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Kelly Gang" (subject) cf. "Ye Sons of Australia" (subject) cf. "Kelly Song (Farewell Dan and Edward Kelly)" (subject) cf. "My Name is Edward Kelly" (subject) cf. "Ballad of the Kelly Gang" (subject) cf. "Stringybark Creek" (subject) cf. "The Kelly Gang Were Strong" (subject) NOTES: Edward "Ned" Kelly and his gang are perhaps the most famous of all Australian bushrangers. - RBW File: MA203 === NAME: Kelly, the Boy from Killane DESCRIPTION: "What's the news? What's the news? O my bold Shelmalier...." The singer is told how the rebels of Wexford, led by Kelly and others, at first triumphed over the British -- but at last were defeated and Wexford "stript naked, hung high on a cross." AUTHOR: Words: P. J. McCall EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (IRClancyMakem03) KEYWORDS: rebellion Ireland death HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: June 5, 1798 - Battle of New Ross, in which a large force of United Irishmen overwhelm General Johnson's defenders but abandon the burning town, converting victory to defeat FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (3 citations) PGalvin, pp. 33-34, "Kelly, the Boy from Killane" (1 text, 1 tune) Moylan 72, "Kelly of Killann" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, KELLYKIL* Roud #16908 RECORDINGS: The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, "Kelly the Boy from Killane" (on IRClancyMakem03) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Father Murphy (I)" (subject of Father Murphy) and references there cf. "Bagenal Harvey's Farewell" (subject of Bagenal Harvey) and references there NOTES: This is one of those songs that sadly ignores the inept handling of the Wexford rebel army. By early June, with Enniscorthy and Wexford in Rebel hands (the former captured by Father John Murphy's forces on May 28, the latter abandoned by loyalists on May 30 after the Battle of Three Rocks, for which see "Sweet County Wexford"), the rebels were moving generally from Wexford north toward County Wicklow; could they capture Arklow and Wicklow in that county, the road to Dublin would be wide open (hence the line that they marched "from the south toward the north"). Other rebel forces, though, were trying to expand from Wexford into Kilkenny to the west and Waterford to the southwest. The thing stopping them was the garrison of Major General Henry Johnson at New Ross. The Irish commander, Bagenal Harvey -- who was Protestant despite being a United Irishman -- determined to clear out the garrison. Unfortunately, Harvey -- called "Brave Harvey" in the song -- had no military training, and it showed. He ordered an ill-coordinated attach, exercised no control over the battle, made no real use of his captured artillery, and was unable to rally his troops when they fled. John Kelly's part in the battle was brief. Harvey ordered him and his 800 men from Bantry to clear some loyalist outposts. They instead went straight for the Three Bullet Gate to New Ross. (The gate came to be known as "The Grim Gap of Death.") They broke in, but Kelly was wounded in the thigh and disabled. His troops continued on against orders, ran into the defenders and their artillery, were routed -- and fled the town, dragging undefeated soldiers with them. The notes on the Clancy Brothers "Irish Songs of Rebellion" record say Kelly was executed after the battle, though of course they don't cite a source. Robert Kee, in _The Most Distressful Country_ (being Volume I of _The Green Flag_), p. 118, doesn't mention Kelly's death either. According to him, "a young United Irish colonel, who led the first rebel assault, was John Kelly, a blacksmith from Killan. He was to become the hero of a popular ballad... when these bloody events acquired the rather fusty veneer appropriate to the drawing-room heroics of purely political warfare." The United Irish might still have won the battle (indeed, they almost did), but when their last push petered out, there was no reserve, which cost them the battle; the flight of Kelly's forces thus contributed greatly to the defeat. As the song implies, wounded and defeated United men were killed on the field; this was sadly not unusual for the period. Harvey himself, who apparently had not wanted his command, gave it up and headed back into Wexford. He was eventually caught and executed. Let no one say that the atrocities were one-sided, however. The United men burned much of New Ross deliberately. What is more, while the battle was shaping up, a force of United guards burned alive an estimated 90 loyalists, including women and children, in Scullabogue. This was in response to an unsubstantiated (and false) report of loyalist atrocities at New Ross. (For more information on this, see the notes to "Father Murphy (II) (The Wexford Men of '98).") East and West Shelmalier were holdings in County Wexford. - RBW File: PGa033 === NAME: Kelly's Lamentation (The Deserter) DESCRIPTION: Kelly quarrels with his parents and leaves home. On his way to a hiring fair, he meets a sergeant, who buys his drinks and tells him he has enlisted. His parents cannot buy his freedom. Kelly deserts and returns home, but soon takes sick and dies AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1906 (JIFSS) KEYWORDS: home family soldier money drink desertion escape disease death FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H223, pp. 83-84, "The Deserter" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2405 File: HHH223 === NAME: Kelvin's Purling Stream DESCRIPTION: "The summer time being in tis prime, The weather calm and clear, I left that town called Portadown." The singer travels to Glasgow, telling Kelvin's stream of his troubles. He promises never to "forget the girl I love Who lives near Lurgan Braes." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord) KEYWORDS: home travel love separation river FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, pp. 345-346, "Kelvin's Purling Stream" (1 text) Roud #3947 File: Ord345 === NAME: Kemo Kimo DESCRIPTION: Non-ballad. Some texts have brief stories (e.g. about "darkies" ten feet tall and too big for their beds), but the basic characteristic is the nonsense refrain pattern: sing song kitty kitchie kimeo / kemo kimo, Delaware, me hi me ho and in comes Sally... AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1854 (Christy & Wood, _New Song Book_) KEYWORDS: nonballad nonsense animal FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,SE,So) Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (19 citations) Randolph 282, "There Was an Old Frog" (2 texts plus an excerpt and a fragment, 2 tunes) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 239-241, "There Was an Old Frog" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 282A) Belden, pp. 494-499, "The Frog's Courtship" (7 texts in 3 groups, 2 tunes; several of the texts are short, and IB at least appears to be "Kemo Kimo") BrownIII 120, "The Frog's Courtship" (3 texts in the appendix to this song) Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 244-248, "The Frog He Went A-Courting" (3 texts; the third, with local title "The Gentleman Frog" and tune on pp. 420-421, is probably this piece the first two texts are "Frog Went A-Courting") Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 156-157, "Cree-Mo-Cri-Mo-Dorro-Wah" (1 text plus a fragent, 1 tune); also p. 201 (no title) (1 fragment); also p. 285, "Keemo Kimo" (1 text, the Christy/Wood version) SharpAp 221, "The Frog in the Well" (4 texts, 4 tunes); 242, "The Opossum" (1 text, 1 tune) MHenry-Appalachians, p. 1, "Farm Life Song" (1 text); p. 230, "The Frog and the Mouse" (1 fragment, probably this) Ritchie-Southern, p. 67, "Bandyrowe" (1 text, 1 tune) Brewster 78, "Keemo-Kimo" (3 fragments) Eddy 45, "The Opossum" (2 fragments, 2 tunes) Linscott, pp. 204-206, "Frog in the Well" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton-Maritime, pp. 132-133, "Frog in the Well"; p. 135, "Get to Bed" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Creighton-SNewBrunswick 84, "Kitty Alone and I" (1 text, 1 tune) Warner 68, "The Bull Frog" (1 text, 1 tune) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #69, pp. 77-79, "(There was a frog liv'd in a well)" (a complex composite with a short version of "Frog Went A-Courting" plus enough auxiliary verses to make an almost complete "Kemo Kimo" text) Montgomerie-ScottishNR 193, "(There dwelt a puddy in a well)" (1 text, very long, containing a full "Frog Went A-Courting" version plus sundry "Kemo Kimo" type verses) Gilbert, p. 42, "Polly Won't You Try Me O" (1 fragmentary text) DT, FRGCORT3* KEMOKIMO PUDDYWL2 Roud #16 RECORDINGS: Lawrence Older, "Frog in the Spring" (on LOlder01) Prairie Ramblers, "Beaver Creek" (c. 1935; on CrowTold02) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Carrion Crow/A Kangaroo Sat on an Oak" cf. "Raccoon" (floating lyrics) cf. "Frog Went A-Courting" (floating lyrics, theme) cf. "One Fine Day" (floating lyrics) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Sing Song Kitty NOTES: There is a songsheeet on the American Memory website which credits authorship to Charles White and states that the song was regularly sung by Dan Emmett; unfortunately, it is undated. - PJS Several of these texts, such as Lawrence Older's "Frog in the Spring," have lyrics reminiscent of "Frog Went A-Courting," raising the possibility that this is a sort of a by-blow of that song, and some including Roud lump them. The notes in Brown, in fact, state that this piece is a minstrel adaption created by Sam Cowell some time around 1850. (On this topic, see the notes to "Billy Barlow (II)"). Cohen accepts this attribution, though Christy and Wood claim that theirs is "the only authentic version." It mentions the frog only briefly in the third stanza, and in a way not at all reminiscent of "Frog Went A-Courting." These sundry minstrel songs, however, have little plot and are really just thematic verses about animals. It appears that the two combined by mixture, rather than separated as a result of pieces breaking off. As a result, I classify them separately from "Frog...," with the understanding that this is a classification of the extremes. One should check the cross-references for related songs. Lena Bourne Fish's version, collected by the Warners in 1941, has the extraordinary property of using only three notes of the major scale: Do re mi. Roud separates the Ritchie "Bandyrowe" texts into its own number (#7402). The difference, though, is only one of name (apart from the two verses Jean Ritchie made up); her version is a fairly pure example of the "Kitty Alone" type, and I classify it here accordingly. - RBW File: R282 === NAME: Kemp Owyne [Child 34] DESCRIPTION: When her mother dies, Isabel's father marries a vile woman who abuses and enchants her till Kemp Owyne shall rescue her. Owyne comes and sees a hideous beast. Despite her appearance, despite threats, he kisses her three times and restores her AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1802 (Scott) KEYWORDS: shape-changing magic separation love rescue stepmother FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) REFERENCES: (10 citations) Child 34, "Kemp Owyne" (3 texts) Bronson 34, "Kemp Owyne" (1 version) Leach, pp. 126-128, "Kemp Owyne" (1 text) OBB 13, "Kemp Owyne" (1 text) Friedman, p. 21, "Kemp Owyne" (1 text) PBB 26, "Kemp Owyne" (1 text) Gummere, pp. 280-282+359, "Kemp Owyne" (1 text) DBuchan 26, "Kemp Owyne" (1 text) TBB 33, "Kemp Owyne" (1 text) DT 34, KEMPOWYN KEMPOWN2* Roud #3912 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Laidley Worm of Spindleston Heughs" ALTERNATE_TITLES: Kempion NOTES: "Kemp Owyne" means "Owen the Champion"; he appears in some of the medieval grail romances. Child prints "The Laidley Worm of Spindleston Heughs" as an appendix to this ballad, and later added a second version in his addenda. - RBW File: C034 === NAME: Kempy Kay [Child 33] DESCRIPTION: A hideous maiden is courted by a deformed suitor. The grotesqueness of each is described in Rabelaisian detail. They exchange disgusting gifts, and the match is made. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1827 (Kinloch) KEYWORDS: courting humorous marriage gift FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Bord)) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Child 33, "Kempy Kay" (7 texts) Bronson 33, "Kempy Kay" (2 versions) Kinloch-BBook XI, pp. 40-44, "Kempy Kaye" (1 text) DBuchan 46, "Kempy Kay" (1 text) DT 33, KEMPYKAY Roud #32 ALTERNATE_TITLES: King Knapperty File: C033 === NAME: Kenneth Cameron DESCRIPTION: Reading and McRae are breaking a logjam when their boat washes away and they are left on the logs. Kenneth Cameron volunteers to go to their assistance. After strenuous efforts, all drown AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Rickaby) KEYWORDS: logger death drowning ship river FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Rickaby 34-III, (third of three "Fragments of Shanty Songs") (1 fragment) ST Rick131 (Partial) File: Rick131 === NAME: Kenny Madland DESCRIPTION: "The great master has called From heaven above To take Kenny Madland, A cowboy we all loved." The poet recalls Madland's "fun-loving ways and quick little smiles," expects him to ride well in Heaven, and regards his death as "Heaven's own gain" AUTHOR: Lois Green EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 ("Buckboard" magazine) KEYWORDS: death cowboy recitation HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1950 - Death of Kenny Madland when his horse fell on him FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ohrlin-HBT 37, "Kenny Madland" (1 text) File: Ohr037 === NAME: Kenny Wagner [Laws E7] DESCRIPTION: Kenny Wagner kills a sheriff in Mississippi and heads for Tennessee, where he is captured. He escapes, but is again taken (this time by a female sheriff). He is imprisoned for life, and is offered as an example to potential lawbreakers AUTHOR: Andrew Jenkins EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (recording, "Al Craver") KEYWORDS: homicide escape prison punishment FOUND_IN: US(MW,SE,So) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Laws E7, "Kenny Wagner" Hudson 105, pp. 243-244, "Kenny Wagner" (1 text) DT 778, KENWAGNR Roud #978 RECORDINGS: Al Craver [pseud. for Vernon Dalhart], "Kinnie Wagner" (Columbia 15065-D, 1926) Warde Ford, "Texas Canyon" (AFS 4206 A3, 1938; tr. in AMMEM/Cowell) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Kenny Wagner's Surrender" [Laws E8] (plot) NOTES: Evidently [this song] entered oral tradition quickly -- only a few years after Jenkins's recording, the name of the song has changed and so has the locale. The female sheriff, however, remains constant. - PJS Hudson, who is the primary source for printed texts of both Kenny Wagner ballads, gives some details about his career but no dates. The notes in Brown (presumably from Hudson) calls Wagner simply a bad man of the 1920s. He notes that both songs were in circulation c. 1928; Wagner was apparently still alive at the time Hudson published in 1936. Hudson was not aware that Andrew Jenkins composed these ballads; that information comes from D. K. Wilgus. - RBW File: LE07 === NAME: Kenny Wagner's Surrender [Laws E8] DESCRIPTION: Kenny Wagner has killed three men, including a Mississippi sheriff. Captured in Tennessee, he escapes but is retaken and sentenced to life AUTHOR: Andrew Jenkins EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recordings, Vernon Dalhart, Ernest Stoneman) KEYWORDS: homicide escape prison punishment FOUND_IN: US(SE,So) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Laws E8, "Kenny Wagner's Surrender" BrownII 245, "Kenny Wagner's Surrender" (1 text) Hudson 106, pp. 245-246, "Kenny Wagner's Surrender" (1 text) Burt, p. 216-217, "(Kenny Wagner's Surrender)" (1 text) DT 779, KENWAGSR Roud #979 RECORDINGS: Vernon Dalhart, "Kennie Wagner's Surrender" (Columbia 15098-D [as Al Craver] [as "Kinnie Wagner's Surrender"], 1926) (Edison 52020, 1927) Ernest V. Stoneman, "Kenny Wagner's Surrender" (matrix # GEX 495-A recorded 1927 and issued 1927-1928 as: Herwin 75535, Gennett 6044 [as by Ernest V. Stoneman and his Graysen County Boys], Champion 1522 [as by Uncle Jim Seany], Silvertone 5004/Silvertone 25004 [as by Uncle Ben Hawkins]) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Kenny Wagner" [Laws E7] (plot) NOTES: For the minimal background Hudson supplies for this song, see the notes to "Kenny Wagner" [Laws E7]. This is evidently a semi-sequel to "Kenny Wagner"; it refers to that song and adds more details but is told in the first person. - RBW File: LE08 === NAME: Kentucky Bootlegger: see Moonshine (File: Wa131) === NAME: Kentucky Moonshiner: see Moonshiner (File: San142) === NAME: Kerry Dance DESCRIPTION: "Oh! the days of the Kerry dancing, oh! the ring of the piper's tune." The singer recalls the days of his youth, the summer night dances in the glen, old friends and Peggy, left behind. If he returns and "she has not resigned me" he'll stay with Peggy. AUTHOR: Words: James Lyman Molloy (1837-1909) EARLIEST_DATE: 1879 (copyright); printed 1880 (broadside, LOCSheet sm1880 07527) KEYWORDS: courting separation dancing music lyric nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) O'Conor, p. 46, "Kerry Dance" (1 text) ADDITIONAL: Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 532-533, "The Kerry Dance" (1 text) BROADSIDES: LOCSheet, sm1880 07527, "Kerry Dance", Oliver Ditson (Boston), 1880; also sm1880 19158, sm1881 09435, sm1882 09656, sm1882 22365, sm1883 19631,s m1884 10781, sm1885 23600, "[The] Kerry Dance" (tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Dancing in Glenroan (Rinnceoiri Ghleann Ruain)" (theme) NOTES: Copyright date 1879 (source: Santa Cruz Public Libraries site sheet music collection); source for Molloy's birth date and date of death: Public Domain Music site [same dates found in Hoagland - RBW]). - BS According to [no author listed], _The Library of Irish Music_, Amsco, 1998, the music for this is "based on 'The Cuckoo' by Margaret Casson." - RBW File: OCon046 === NAME: Kerry Eagle DESCRIPTION: O'Connell is the Kerry Eagle. His career is reviewed: elected MP for Clare, united Ireland for Emancipation, pursued Repeal until his death, killed D'Esterre, and died far from home. His heart remains in Rome but his body is buried in Glasnevin. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1847 (Zimmermann) KEYWORDS: death Ireland memorial patriotic political FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Zimmermann 55, "Kerry Eagle" (1 text) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Firth b.25(429), "The Kerry Eagle," E.M.A. Hodges (London), 1846-1854; also 2806 b.10(30), 2806 b.10(21), Harding B 40(3), Harding B 11(1986), 2806 c.15(28)[barely legible], Firth c.26(288), Harding B 19(63), Firth b.27(279)[last two lines missing], Harding B 11(1984), Harding B 11(1985), Firth b.27(278)[some words illegible], Harding B 26(308)[some words illegible], "[The] Kerry Eagle" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Erin's Green Linnet" (subject: O'Connell's death) cf. "Erin's King (Daniel Is No More)" (subject: O'Connell's death) cf. "Daniel O'Connell (I)" (subject: Daniel O'Connell) and references there NOTES: O'Connell (1775-1847) was born in County Kerry. O'Connell was elected MP from County Clare in 1828 (cf. "The Shan Van Voght" (1828)) (- BS)."1829 saw Catholic 'emancipation,' allowing them every political right open to Protestants of equivalent position" (- RBW). O'Connell led the movement of 1840-1843 to repeal the act that joined Ireland and Great Britain as the United Kingdom (cf. "Glorious Repeal Meeting Held at Tara Hill" and "The Meeting of Tara"). Zimmermann: "D'Esterre, an Alderman of the Dublin Corporation, challenged O'Connell to a duel, and was killed, 1st February, 1815" (p. 235); "O'Connell died at Genoa, on his way to Rome, 15th May, 1847." (p. 233) "In accordance with his wish his heart was brought to Rome and his body to Ireland. His funeral was of enormous dimensions, and since his death a splendid statue has been erected to his memory in Dublin and a round tower placed over his remains in Glasnevin" (source: "Daniel O'Connell" by E.A. D'Alton in _The Catholic Encyclopedia_ on the New Advent site. - BS For additional notes on O'Connell's last months, see the notes to "Erin's King (Daniel Is No More)." - RBW File: Zimm055 === NAME: Kerry Eviction, The DESCRIPTION: Old McMahon in Kerry can't pay the rent and the agent, with soldiers and police, comes to evict him. To no avail, he asks that the children not be turned out in the snow and that he be given a week or two to pay. McMahon, evicted, dies in the snow. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1880's? (Zimmermann) KEYWORDS: hardheartedness greed poverty death farming storm Ireland hardtimes children police soldier FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Zimmermann 87, "A New Song Entitled the Kerry Eviction" (1 text) NOTES: This bit of brutality is a little extreme, in that evictions rarely happened in such unfortunate circumstances. But "rarely" is not the same as "never"; for about a century, English landlords had near-complete control over their Irish tenants, and did evict them for little reason or none. It was not until the nineteenth century that the English started supplying tenants' rights -- and the Land League (for which see "The Bold Tenant Farmer") helped support them. - RBW File: Zimm087 === NAME: Kerry Recruit, The [Laws J8] DESCRIPTION: A Kerry lad enlists in the army and is introduced to the wonders of coats, guns, and horses. In some accounts he spends a quiet term in the service; in others, he loses a leg in the Crimea and returns home to live off his pension AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1849 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 25(1454)) KEYWORDS: war soldier humorous HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1853-1856 - Crimean War (Britain and France actively at war with Russia 1854-1855) FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW) Canada(Mar,Ont) Ireland REFERENCES: (10 citations) Laws J8, "The True Paddy's Song (The Kerry Recruit)" FSCatskills 11, "[The Kerry Recruit]" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph 477, "'Twas Nine Years Ago" (1 text, rather eroded with time -- e.g. the soldier runs without losing a leg) Fowke/MacMillan 73, "Nine Years a Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton-Maritime, p. 162, "Pat and the War"; p. 163, "Paddy Enlisted" (2 texts, 1 tune) O'Conor, pp. 95-96, "The Kerry Recruit" (1 text) OLochlainn 1, "The Kerry Recruit" (1 text, 1 tune) Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan 42, "The Kerry Recruit" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 274, "The Kerry Recruit" (1 text) DT 393, KERRYRCT Roud #520 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 25(1454), "Paddy's Ramble" ("About nine years ago, I was digging of land"), J. Kendrew (York), 1803-1848; also Harding B 25(1456), Harding B 28(218), "Paddy's Ramble"; Harding B 19(83), 2806 b.9(240), Firth c.14(115), "The Kerry Recruit" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Felix the Soldier" (theme) cf. "Mrs. McGrath" (theme) cf. "The Boy on the Land" (hints of plot) NOTES: The fullest version of this song I have seen includes explicit references to several events in the Crimean War: "Balaclave" - The city of Balaclava, which gave its name to the battle of October 25, 1854 Alma - The river by which the British and French landed, and where the first battle of the Allied war with the Russians was fought on September 20, 1854 "Innerman" = Inkerman, a town on the Chernaya River which gave its name to the final field battle of the war (November 5, 1854) Redan - One of the major defensive works around Sevastopol, assaulted by the British on June 18, 1855. The British suffered 25% casualties in the attack, and their French allies to the north did no better. From that time onward, the Allies settled down to besiege Sevastopol rather than trying to take it by storm. - RBW O'Conor's version refers to "Vinegar Hill" (Irish convicts break out of Castle Hill Barracks in New South Wales, trying to reach Sydney harbor to seize ships and escape to Ireland, March 5, 1804. Source: Holyrood NSW site re 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Vinegar Hill) and "Ballinamuck" (Humbert with the French and Irish are defeated on September 8, 1798. Source: Irish Cultural Society of the Garden City Area site re The Battle of Ballinamuck). So, Kerry Recruit, whose "father and mother were two Kerry men," has been fighting the Irish around the world. "Now war is all over and peace is come in, I'm paid all my wages, and God save the King! I'm nine years in glory, and glad it's not ten, And now I'm back diggin' praties agin." Of the Bodleian broadsides the "Paddy's Rambles" versions are pre-Crimean war and are in line with O'Conor; the "Kerry's Recruit" versions refer to the Crimean War. For a study of the history of this and related songs see Roly Brown, _Glimpses into the 19th Century Broadside Ballad Trade No. 5: The Kerry Recruit_, 2003 at the Musical Traditions site among the articles. - BS File: LJ08 === NAME: Kevin Barry DESCRIPTION: Eighteen year old Kevin Barry is hung, "another martyr for old Ireland, another murder for the crown." Despite torture, he will not betray his comrades. (Family and friends bid farewell.) (Barry asks to be shot as a soldier, but is hanged as a rebel) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg) KEYWORDS: rebellion execution Ireland HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Nov 1, 1920 - Execution of Kevin Barry FOUND_IN: Ireland US(MW) REFERENCES: (6 citations) Sandburg, pp. 42-43, "Kevin Barry" (1 text, 1 tune) Hodgart, p. 218, "Kevin Barry" (1 text) PGalvin, pp. 67-68, "Kevin Barry" (1 text, 1 tune) OLochlainn 49, "Kevin Barry" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 324, "Kevin Barry" (1 text) DT, KEVBARRY* Roud #3014 RECORDINGS: The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, "Kevin Barry" (on IRClancyMakem03) Pete Seeger, "Kevin Barry" (on PeteSeeger11) (on HootenannyCarnegie) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Shall My Soul Pass Through Ireland" (tune) cf. "Rolling Home" (tune) NOTES: Patrick Galvin reports that "Kevin Barry, an eighteen-year-old student, [was] the first Irish patriot to be hanged in Ireland since Robert Emmet 117 years before. His death precipitated scores of his fellow-students into the I.R.A...." Robert Kee's statement (in _Ourselves Alone_, being volume III of _The Green Flag_, pp. 122-123) gives him a slightly different distinction: ̉the first British execution of an Irishman in the post-war period.Ó Terry Golway, _For the Cause of Liberty_, has a photo of Barry (who looks like any other schoolkid) on page 258, and gives a less biased report than Galvin. Given a good education, he still tried to join a nationalist organization at the age of 13. At 17, he could no longer be restrained from joining the Voluneers. On September 20, 1920, Barry -- now 18 and in his first year of studying medicine -- was called upon to take part in a hijacking. The rebels desperately needed weapons (a perennial problem in Ireland, dating back to the rebellions against the Tudors; G. A. Hayes-McCoy, _Irish Battles_, p. 111, reports that it then took six head of cattle to buy a single musket! Rifles were cheaper in the twentieth century, but they were also, according to Charles Townshend, _Easter 1916: The Irish Rebellion_, p. 45, a fetish item for Irish volunteers of the time). To gain arms, a band of Volunteers set out to stop a British army truck. The Irish had only one gun, but somehow one of the British soldiers ended up being shot and killed. Barry's comrades fled; he was captured. Threatened with death, though apparently suffering nothing worse than arm-twisting, Barry refused to give any information about his comrades. He was subjected to a military trial on October 20, and executed November 1. We observe that, though Barry died as a rebel, he was, by modern legal standards, guilty of murder (though not premeditated murder). Of course, if they'd hung everyone guilty of that sort of murder in 1920 Ireland, the country would have been depopulated. Tim Pat Coogan, in _Michael Collins_, p. 154, notes that the British cabinet actually considered clemency but could find no grounds. There are said to have been five thousand people praying outside his prison at the end. Kee makes the interesting point that Barry's death ̉made a considerable impact on public opinion. By contrast the fact the the soldier he had shot was as young as himself made virtually none" (p. 123) There is at least one other Barry poem, "Kevin Barry" (by Terence Ward), for which see Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 751-752. There is also a 1989 biography, _Kevin Barry_, by Donal O'Donovan. Which mostly shows the power of songs like this; if Barry had lived in America a century later, he would probably be considered a "gang member." - RBW File: San042 === NAME: Keyhole in the Door, The DESCRIPTION: Through a keyhole, the narrator spies upon a woman preparing for bed until the light is extinguished and "I knew the show was over." AUTHOR: Attributed to Eugene Field EARLIEST_DATE: 1879 KEYWORDS: hiding clothes FOUND_IN: Britain(England) US(MW,SE,So,SW) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Cray, pp. 116-119, "The Keyhole in the Door" (2 texts, 1 tune) Randolph-Legman I, pp. 538-544, "The Keyhole in the Door" (5 texts, 1 tune) Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 315-317, "The Keyhole in the Door" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, KEYDOOR KEYDOOR2* Roud #2099 RECORDINGS: Jimmie Davis, "The Keyhole in the Door" (Bluebird B-5156, 1933) Holland Puckett, "The Keyhole in the Door" (Challenge 328 [as by Harvey Watson]/Gennett 6271/Silvertone 5064, 25064, 8153, 1927/Supertone 9254 [as by Si Puckett; issued 1928]) Jim Wilson, "The Keyhole in the Door" (on Voice07) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Whummil Bore" [Child 27] (plot) NOTES: In Randolph-Legman I, Legman offers substantial notes on the relationship or lack of relationship of this song to "The Whummil Bore" (Child 27). - EC File: EM116 === NAME: Keys of Canterbury, The DESCRIPTION: The young man comes to the girl and offers her his love or other gifts if she will marry him. She scornfully refuses. After several similar exchanges, he typically offers his MONEY. She accepts. He withdraws the offer: "You love my money but... not me" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1849 (Halliwell) KEYWORDS: bargaining courting rejection money dialog FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,NE,SE,So) Britain(England(All),Scotland) Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (24 citations) Belden, pp. 507-509, "A Paper of Pins" (3 texts) Randolph 354, "The Paper of Pins" (3 texts, 3 tunes) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 293-295, "The Paper of Pins" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 354A) Eddy 39, "The Keys of Heaven" (4 texts, 3 tunes) Gardner/Chickering 177, "A Paper of Pins" (1 text plus mention of 1 more) Flanders/Brown, pp. 160-161, "Paper of Pins" (1 text, 1 tune) Linscott, pp. 20-23, "I'll Give to You a Paper of Pins" (1 text, 1 tune) BrownIII 1, "A Paper of Pins" (1 text plus 5 excerpts and mention of 7 more); 2, "Madam, Will You Walk" (1 text plus mention of 1 more) Hudson 131, pp. 276-277, ""Paper of Pins (1 text plus mention of 11 more) Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 299-304, "A Paper of Pins" (4 texts, 2 tunes on pp. 435-436) Fuson, pp. 82-83, "The Lovers' Quarrel" (1 text); pp. 152-153, "I Will Give You a Red Dress" (1 text) Peacock, pp. 22-23, "A Paper of Pins" (1 text, 1 tune) SharpAp 92, "The Keys of Heaven" (6 texts, 6 tunes) Sharp-100E 66, "The Keys of Canterbury"; 67, "My Man John" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #286, pp. 166-167, "(Oh, madam, I will give you the keys of Canterbury)" Montgomerie-ScottishNR 88, "(I'll gie you a pennyworth o preens)" (1 text) Scott-BoA, pp. 11-13, "The Keys of Canterbury" (1 text, 1 tune) Copper-SoBreeze, pp. 262-263, "The Silver Pin" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 323-324, "Paper of Pins" (1 text, 1 tune) Kennedy 135, "Madam, Will You Walk" (1 text, 1 tune) LPound-ABS, 111, pp. 226-228, "Paper of Pins" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 346, "Paper of Pins" (1 text) Fuld-WFM, p. 294, "I'll Give to You a Paper of Pins" DT, PAPERPIN* ST R354 (Full) Roud #573 RECORDINGS: Linda Brown & Donnie Stewart, "Paper of Pins" (on JThomas01) Johnny Doughty, "Will You Marry Me?" (on Voice12) Bradley Kincaid, "A Paper of Pins" (Gennett 6856/Supertone 9402, 1929; on CrowTold02) Ray Napier & Margaret Winters, "Keys of Canterbury" (on JThomas01) Vass Family, "Paper of Pins" (Decca 5425, 1937) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "No, John, No" (plot) cf. "Wheel of Fortune (Dublin City, Spanish Lady)" cf. "The Courting Case" (theme) cf. "The Lover's Quarrel" (plot, lyrics) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Madam I Present You With Six Rows of Pins Blue Muslin I Will Give You The Keys of Heaven If You Will Walk With Me O Madam I Will Give to Thee The Little Row of Pins NOTES: Yates, Musical Traditions site _Voice of the People suite_ "Notes - Volume 12" - 11.9.02: "Although versions of 'Will You Marry Me?' only appeared at the beginning of the 19th century ... it would seem certain that the song is based on an earlier pattern, namely the Elizabethan Stage Jig, a short dialogue song and dance performed by two or three characters." - BS [In both of Sharp's versions], the lady accepts something and that's that. In "Keys of Canterbury" after rejecting various riches, she accepts a "broidered silken gownd," presumably a wedding gown, and the song ends there. In "My Man John", which also includes a servant who advises his master on how best to court the lady, she rejects all material things but accepts "the keys of my heart." - PJS Although this certainly began as a true song, Linscott reports it as a singing game, adding "It was usually played by the girls alone, as it did not contain enough action for the boys." - RBW File: R354 === NAME: Keys of Heaven, The: see The Keys of Canterbury (File: R354) === NAME: Kicker, The DESCRIPTION: "Oh, here's to the kicker whose liver is wrong, Whose bile has leaked into his veins...." The "kicker's" myriad ailments are described, but we are assured that he could be "in good health, who takes care of himself By using St. Joseph's Liver Regulator" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1897 (manuscript copy) KEYWORDS: medicine disease trick nonballad commerce FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 505, "The Kicker" (1 text) Roud #7591 File: R505 === NAME: Kickin' Maude: see Whoa Mule (The Kickin' Mule) (File: LoF231) === NAME: Kicking Mule, The: see Whoa Mule (The Kickin' Mule) (File: LoF231) ===