NAME: Slavery Chain Done Broke at Last DESCRIPTION: "Slavery chain done broke at last, broke at last, broke at last... Gonna praise God till I die." The former slave describes praying to God for relief from pain and oppression. God has answered with mighty armies; "He gave me liberty." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1953 KEYWORDS: slave slavery freedom religious FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (3 citations) Silber-CivWar, p. 41, "Slavery Chain Done Broke at Last" (1 text, 1 tune) Greenway-AFP, p. 102, "Slavery Chain" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 299, "Slavery Chain Done Broke At Last" (1 text) Roud #15257 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" (tune) File: SCW41 === NAME: Sledburn Fair DESCRIPTION: "I'd oft heard tell of this Sledburn fair, And fain would I gan thither." The singer's parents let him go there with Nell. They arrive at Sledburn, find an alehouse, and settle down to enjoy a fine dinner. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (de la Mare) KEYWORDS: horse travel FOUND_IN: Britain(England) REFERENCES: (1 citation) ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #79, "Sledburn Fair" (1 text) Roud #2543 NOTES: By his placement and notes, de la Mare seems to think this a honeymoon song, but there is little direct hint of this except that the boy and girl go out together for (at least) a day unhaperoned. - RBW File: WdlM079 === NAME: Sleeping Beauty (Thorn Rose, Briar Rose) DESCRIPTION: Singing game. "Fair Rosa was a lovely child... Fair Rosa slept a hundred years... A forest grew around her tower... A wicked fairy found her there... A noble prince came riding by... And now she's happy as a bride." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1935 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: magic rescue marriage beauty FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) SHenry H599, p. 12, "Fair Rosa/The Sleeping Beauty" (1 text, 1 tune) Hammond-Belfast, p. 19, "Fair Rosa" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7889 NOTES: Very common as a folktale, of course, and quite old. In the Grimm collection, it is "Briar-Rose" ("Dornroschen," #50, 1812); Perrault also had a version. The oldest version known is in the Volsung saga; in section 20, Sigurd awakens Brynhild by slicing away her enchanted armor. - RBW File: HHH599 === NAME: Sleeping for the Flag DESCRIPTION: "When the boys come home in triumph, brother, With the laurels they shall gain... We shall look for you in vain." The brave man lies dead "underneath the Southern tree." "Sleeping to waken in this weary world no more... Sleeping for the flag you bore." AUTHOR: Henry Clay Work EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: Civilwar death burial soldier FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Hill-CivWar, pp. 212-213, "Sleeping for the Flag" (1 text) DT, SLEPFLAG* File: HCW212 === NAME: Sleepy Merchant, The DESCRIPTION: The merchant comes calls for a bed and a girl. She gives him a sleeping drug. The next night, he pours out the drug and sleeps with her, but does not leave the gift he promised. Later, he arrives to find her pregnant and gives her his hand in marriage AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1827 (Kinloch) LONG_DESCRIPTION: The merchant comes to an inn and calls for a bed and a girl. She gives him a sleeping drug, and arises a maiden. The next night, he pours out the drug and sleeps with her, promising her a fine plaid. When he departs, she finds no plaid and curses him. Twenty weeks later, he arrives to find her pregnant. He gives her the plaid and his hand in marriage, and they live happily. KEYWORDS: sex drugs drink pregnancy trick clothes reunion marriage FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Kinloch-BBook II, pp. 4-11, "The Sleepy Merchant" (1 text) Roud #7164 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Broomfield Hill" [Child 43] (plot) NOTES: Child mentions this song in his notes to "The Broomfield Hill," but writes it off as "a modern ballad" perhaps based on an Italian story. I allow the possibility; "The Sleepy Merchant" seems a rather disjointed piece, with the first part being a tale of how the girl tricked the merchant into not sleeping with her (as in "The Broomfield Hill") and the second being your standard seduction-pregnancy-and-return sort of song, as in, e.g. "The Broom of Cowdenknows." But the piece feels more traditional than literary, so I've tentatively included it in the Index even though I've never seen its like. - RBW File: KinBB02 === NAME: Sleepytoon: see Sleepytown (File: RcSlepTn) === NAME: Sleepytoon (II) DESCRIPTION: "Cam all my lads that follow the ploo:" the singer tells about the job at Sleepytoon. The foreman wakes you at five for porridge. The farmer's "weel respected" but his wife is an ugly, scowling, "argefying bitch" AUTHOR: probably Willie Clark (c.1854, according to Yates, Musical Traditions site _Voice of the People suite_ "Notes - Volume 5" - 25.8.02) EARLIEST_DATE: 1974 (recording, John MacDonald) KEYWORDS: farming food hardtimes nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #9140 RECORDINGS: John MacDonald, "Sleepytoon" (on Voice05) NOTES: Except for the title and general subject matter this seems to me to be entirely unlike "Sleepytown (I)." The author, according to notes to Voice05, is George Morris. The Musical Traditions Notes attribution says that the song was "popularised on a 78 disc by the late George S Morris of Old Meldrum. (Reg Hall's comment that [George] Morris wrote the piece is incorrect)." My choice, with no information beyond what is in this note, is to follow Musical Traditions Notes. - BS File: RcSlee2 === NAME: Sleepytown (I) DESCRIPTION: Singer, tired of his old job, hires out as a laborer to farmer Adam Mitchell, of Sleepytoon. The farmer's work (no more than ten hours a day, but with strict rules and fines) is described; with the season ended, singer and friends are off to celebrate AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord) KEYWORDS: farming work worker FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, pp 225-226, "Sleepytown" (1 text) ST RcSlepTn (Full) Roud #3775 RECORDINGS: J. C. Mearns and friends, "Sleepytoon" [2 verses missing] (on Lomax43, LomaxCD1743) NOTES: In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Scottish workers hired out as contract farm laborers, living in "bothies," barn dormitories. Many "bothy ballads" were composed there, including this one. - PJS Paul compares this to a wide variety of lumbering songs, which have the same theme of working too hard and then partying the off-season away. The song type is hardly limited to lumbermen; there are, e.g., many Australian shearing songs of the same type. Compare also Scottish songs such as "The Barnyards o Delgaty." - RBW File: RcSlepTn === NAME: Sliabh na mBan (Mountain of the Women) DESCRIPTION: Gaelic. It is untrue that we fled like cattle on Sliabh na mBan. Had we waited patiently we'd have had support. Few retreated but many died or were imprisoned. If it's true that the French are coming to help the Gael we'll repay the robber Saxon. AUTHOR: George Sigerson (1836-1925) (translator) (source: Moylan) EARLIEST_DATE: 1998 ("The Croppy's Complaint," Craft Recordings CRCD03 (1998); Terry Moylan notes) KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage rebellion battle Ireland patriotic HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: July 23, 1798 - General Sir Charles Asgill disperses a body of United Irishmen assembled on Sliabh na mBan mountain in Tipperary (source: Moylan) FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Moylan 103, "Sliabh na mBan" (1 Gaelic text, 1 tune); 104, "Sliabh na mBan" (1 English text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Slievenamon" (subject) NOTES: The description is from the translation by George Sigerson as Moylan 104, "Sliabh na mBan." Zimmermann p. 207: "The original 'Sliabh na mBan' is one of the few traditional songs in Irish inspired by the rising of 1798." The ballad is recorded on one of the CD's issued around the time of the bicentenial of the 1798 Irish Rebellion. See: Aine Ui Cheallaigh, "Sliabh na mBan" (on "The Croppy's Complaint," Craft Recordings CRCD03 (1998); Terry Moylan notes) - BS This event is obscure enough that I couldn't find mention of it in any of the Irish histories I checked. It was just one of those skirmishes that took place after the 1798 rising had largely collapsed. The one thing that's certain is that the brutal Asgill would not have stopped while there was a live enemy left to kill. - RBW File: Moyl103 === NAME: Slieve Gallen Brae DESCRIPTION: The singer urges the visitor from the city to view Slive Gallen Brae: the old dolmen, the chieftain's graves, the singing linnets, the flowers, the home of Rory Dall, the grave of Cooey-na-gall. He says that bards come from far away to find inspiration AUTHOR: James O'Kane? EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: nonballad home music FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H784, pp. 172-173, "Slieve Gallen Brae" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #1420 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Banks of the Roe" (for Cooey-na-Gal) and references there NOTES: Not to be confused with the emigration song, "[Farewell unto] [Bonnie] Slieve Gallen Braes." For "Cooey-na-Gal" O'Cahan and Dungiven Priory, see the notes on "The Banks of the Roe." "Rory Dall" is of course the famous blind harper of the O'Cahans. - RBW File: HHH784 === NAME: Slieve Gallen Braes DESCRIPTION: The singer walks out to view the beauties of Slieve Gallen Braes. He recalls walking and hunting in the past near his small farm. "But the rents were getting higher and I could no longer stay So farewell unto you bonny, bonny Slieve Gallen Braes." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1910 (Carl Hardebeck in _Gems of Melody: Seoda Ceoil,_ according to OLochlainn-More) KEYWORDS: Ireland home exile hardtimes poverty emigration FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (3 citations) OLochlainn-More 9, "Sliav Gallion Braes" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, SLIEVGAL* ADDITIONAL: Bell/O Conchubhair, Traditional Songs of the North of Ireland, pp. 36-37, "Sliabh Gallen's Brae" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #1420 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Exiled Irishman's Lament (The Exiles of Erin)" (theme) File: DTslievg === NAME: Slieve Na Mon DESCRIPTION: Tithes and taxes: "No more they're legal on Slieve na Mon" At Carrickshock we left "the rabble ... in death's cold agony." The accused are freed "by the means of our noble Dan." Soon "tithes no more will oppress the land" "We'll banish Brinswickers" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: c.1832 (Zimmermann) KEYWORDS: violence trial death farming Ireland political police HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Dec 14, 1831 - Carrickshock, County Kilkenny: Peasants attack tithe process servers, killing at least 13 (source: Zimmermann) FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Zimmermann 42, "Slieve Na Mon" (1 text, 1 tune) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 25(81), "Slieve Na Mon" ("You banished sons of this injured nation"), unknown, n.d. CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Battle of Carrickshock" (subject: The Tithe War and the Carrickshock Riot) cf. "Sliabh na mBan" (tune) NOTES: The context is "The Tithe War": O'Connell's Catholic Association was formed in 1823 to resist the requirement that Irish Catholics pay tithes to the Anglican Church of Ireland. The "war" was passive for most of the period 1823-1836, though there were violent incidents in 1831 (source: _The Irish Tithe War 1831_ at the OnWar.com site) Zimmermann p. 18: "In the early 1830's a veritable state of insurrection prevailed in Leinster and Munster, when the military and the police were called in to assist in collecting the tithes or seizing and auctioning the cattle or crops of those who refused to pay." Zimmermann's description of the "Battle of Carrickshock": "a proctor tried to serve tithe processes at Carrickshock, County Kilkenny; he was accompanied by a police force of thirty-seven men. A party of peasants armed with scythes, spades and pitchforks attacked them. The proctor and at least twelve policemen were killed. The peasants charge with murder were skilfully defended by O'Connell, and the trial was abandoned." The broadside description of the battle is graphic: "Who could desire to see better sport, To see them groping among the loughs, Their sculls all fractured, their eye-balls broken, Their great long noses and ears cut off." Zimmermann states that a version was noted "from oral tradition c. 1900." - BS For the overall history of the Tithe War, as well as more information on this song, see the notes to "The Battle of Carrickshock." The name "Brinswickers," i.e. "Brunswickers," was used as a generic term in Ireland for non-Catholics -- even though, ironically, the Germans were Lutherans, while the English were Anglican and the Ulster immigrants were Presbyterian (Reformed); neither of the latter two sects are, technically, Protestant. (A distintiction, I concede, of greater significance to non-Catholics than Catholics.) - RBW. File: Zimm042 === NAME: Slievenamon DESCRIPTION: "Two thousand men for Ireland, on splendid Slievenamon." They are a sign to every village and to Irish in America and "every clime." They put to shame "the blushless recreant." Push on "till every mountain in the land be manned like Slievenamon!" AUTHOR: Dr. Campion (source: Moylan) EARLIEST_DATE: 2000 (Moylan) KEYWORDS: rebellion battle Ireland nonballad patriotic HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: July 23, 1798 - General Sir Charles Asgill attacks and disperses United Irishmen on Sliabh na mBan Mountain, Tipperary (source: Moylan) FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Moylan 105, "Slievenamon" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Sliabh na mBan" (subject) NOTES: This event is obscure enough that I couldn't find mention of it in any of the Irish histories I checked. It was just one of those skirmishes that took place after the 1798 rising had largely collapsed. The one thing that's certain is that the brutal Asgill would not have stopped while there was a live enemy left to kill. - RBW File: Moyl105 === NAME: Slighted Girl, The: see Lonesome Dove (File: Br3262) === NAME: Slighted Soldier, The: see King David had a Pleasant Dream [Laws O16] (File: LO16) === NAME: Slighted Suitor, The DESCRIPTION: A rich merchant's daughter has many suitors; she rejects them. One wins her heart, but she says, "I have no desire a single life to part." He courts another. She begs him to change his mind. He rejects her in turn. (She warns against doing as she did) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: love courting rejection abandonment FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) SHenry H159a/b, pp. 396-397, "The Slighted Suitor" (2 texts, 2 tunes) OLochlainn-More 34, "The Merchant's Daughter" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #4715 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Rejected Lover" [Laws P10] and references there NOTES: The notes in Henry/Huntington/Herrmann speculate that this might be a version of "The Rejected Lover" (Laws P10). The plots are indeed the same. But I see no points of contact in the lyrics; I think they are separate songs. - RBW File: HHH159 === NAME: Slighted Sweetheart, The: see Farewell, Sweetheart (The Parting Lovers, The Slighted Sweetheart) (File: R756) === NAME: Sligo Shore: see Susan Strayed on the Briny Beach [Laws K19] (File: LK19) === NAME: Sligo Town DESCRIPTION: "O once I knew a pretty little girl When pretty little girls were but few; Ofttimes I've rolled her in my arms All over the fog and dew." After all this courting/rolling, he writes to ask if she will marry him. He wishes he were in Sligo with a girl AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1967 KEYWORDS: courting love separation sex FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Combs/Wilgus 180, p. 145, "Slago Town" (1 text) Roud #558 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Foggy Dew (The Bugaboo)" [Laws O3] (theme, floating lyrics) NOTES: This piece is obviously derived from "The Foggy Dew," but it has picked up enough twists of its own that it deserves to be classified separately (though Roud, of course, lumps them). - RBW File: CW145 === NAME: Sling the Flowing Bowl DESCRIPTION: "Come come my jolly lads the wind's abaft, Brisk gales our sails shall crowd...." "Then sling the flowing bowl. Fond hopes arise the girls we prize Shall bless each jovial soul." The sailors boast of their prowess while on patrol AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1839 (Journal from the Chile) KEYWORDS: ship sailor nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 51-52, "Sling the Flowing Bowl" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2015 NOTES: Huntington's versions are from American whalers, but it is clear that this song was originally sung by British sailors, probably from naval vessels, as it refers to patrolling the coast of Spain. - RBW File: SWMS051 === NAME: Sloan Wellesley: see The Drowning of Young Robinson (File: HHH585) === NAME: Slob Song, The DESCRIPTION: The ship is loaded and heads to Forteau. It is caught in slob ice at Launce Amour cove. A rescue boat fastens a line from shore to the ship. While four men and three women hold the line the crew pull the ship to shore. Crew and cargo are safely landed. AUTHOR: Leo O'Brien EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (Leach-Labrador) KEYWORDS: rescue sea ship FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Leach-Labrador 73, "The Slob Song" (1 text, 1 tune) ST LLab073 (Partial) Roud #9981 NOTES: Forteau Bay and L'Anse Amour are on the lower Labrador coast on the Strait of Belle Isle. - BS File: LLab073 === NAME: Sloop John B, The: see The John B. Sails (File: San022) === NAME: Smart Schoolboy, The: see The Fause Knight Upon the Road [Child 3] (File: C003) === NAME: Smashing of the Van (I), The DESCRIPTION: Two Fenian leaders, Kelly and Deasy, have been imprisoned; a party of Fenians led Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien, stop and break into the prison van and free them. But the rescuers kill a man, and in the end are executed AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Zimmermann) KEYWORDS: prison Ireland rebellion execution death HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Sep 11, 1867 - Kelly and Deasy are arrested and rescued a week later by 30 Fenians Nov 24, 1867 - Three of the ambushers are hanged (source: _The Manchester Martyrs_ on the Gorton Local History Group site) FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (3 citations) PGalvin, pp. 50-51, "The Smashing of the Van" (1 text, 1 tune) OLochlainn 14, "The Manchester Martyrs" or "The Smashing of the Van" (1 text, 1 tune) Zimmermann 72, "The Smashing of the Van" or "The Three Manchester Martyrs" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #3028 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Allen, Larkin and O'Brien" (subject: The Manchester Martyrs) cf. "God Save Ireland" (subject: The Manchester Martyrs) cf. "The Manchester Martyrs (I)" (subject: The Manchester Martyrs) NOTES: Ben Schwartz tells me that this is sung to the tune of "The River Roe," but I'm not sure which song of that name is meant. The Fenians were a group of Irishmen (many of them living in America) whose purpose was to liberate Ireland. Whatever one thinks of their goal, their history was almost comic; they kept trying goofy ideas and nothing ever worked. This incident is typical: in 1867, the Fenians were talking rebellion, though leader James Stephens (for whom see "James Stephens, the Gallant Fenian Boy") was trying to call things off. But the British continued to arrest potential rebels. On September 11, two men were captured in Manchester and charged with loitering. An informer pointed out that they were Thomas J. Kelly, who had been proclaimed chief executive of the Fenian's Irish Republic (see Robert Kee, _The Bold Fenian Men_, being volume II of _The Green Flag_, pp. 31, 33), and one Captain Timothy Deasy (Kee, p. 45). Kelly and Deasy probably were not in danger of losing their lives, but they were "rescued" anyway on September 18. It wasn't that hard; the police wagon was unescorted. It was, after all, in England, not Ireland. In the course of the "rescue," a police sergeant, Charles Brett, was killed. Kee reports that one Peter Rice (who later escaped, with Kelly and Deasy, to America) fired the fatal shot. Few other sources definitively list a name, but he is obviously the prime suspect. The British, in their usual inept way in in such matters, hauled in a large crowd of Irish folk found near Manchester. Five men were put on trial for killing Brett. Rice was not among them. One of the five, Maguire, had no involvement in the rescue at all and was later given full pardon. The other four prisoners, William Allen, Edward Condon, Michael Larkin, and Michael O'Brien, had taken part in the attack but almost certainly had not fired the fatal shot. Nonetheless they were convicted of the murder (officially Allen was regarded as the one who had done the shooting). Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien were executed on November 24 (so Kee, p. 47; Terry Golway, _For the Cause of Liberty_, p. 147; the article _The Manchester Martyrs_ on the Gorton Local History Group site says November 23). The three men came to be known as the "Manchester Martyrs." A rescue attempt failed, but was bloodier than the first try: This time, the Fenians managed to kill a dozen bystanders. Even though the blood had been shed by the Irish, and the British had followed the law throughout (under both British and American law, one engaged in a felony in which a murder is committed is guilty of the murder even if one is not a murderer), both sides blamed the other, increasing Anglo-Irish tensions. The incident also increased rebel recruiting. The description of the van being "smashed" is literally accurate: The van was locked, and Brett had the keys, so the Irish pounded on it with rocks to get it open. This failed, and Brett refused to yield, and so the fatal shot was fired. It is not known whether the bullet was aimed at Brett, or at the van's lock, or merely intended to intimidate; in any case, it proved fatal. The trial of the martyrs also gave the Irish a memorable phrase: Edward Condon (the one raider who was condemned but *not* hung, because he was an American citizen) shouted out "God save Ireland!" during the proceedings, and it inspired the song of that name. The British, having watched all these acts, plus another bungled rescue of a prisoner (Richard O'Sullivan Burke, for whom see the notes on "Burke's Dream" [Laws J16]) which led to the death of twelve English citizens and the maiming of dozens more (Kee, pp. 49-51), were hardly in a mood for pity. But the Gladstone government, which came to power in 1868, released most Irish political prisoners in 1871. For other examples of Fenian bungling, see the notes to "A Fenian Song (I)" and "The British Man-of-War." - RBW File: PGa050 === NAME: Smashing of the Van (II), The DESCRIPTION: Ten Sinn Fein men smash a prison van on Glasgow's High Street to free a prisoner. The police arrest the Sinn Fein men and Father McRory "a mere clergyman." Counsellors McKane and Sandymen defend the accused and the verdict is "Not Guilty" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1988 (McBride) KEYWORDS: violence crime trial clergy police IRA HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 4, 1921 - Attempted rescue of Frank Carty from a police van in Glasgow (source: Coogan) FOUND_IN: ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) McBride 65, "The Smashing of the Van" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #3028 NOTES: The song is about a failed rescue attempt of IRA commander Frank Carty while he was being transported in a police van to Duke Street prison. Inspector Johnson was killed. Father McRory, among others, was charged but all the accused were acquitted. "The trial, and in particular Father McRory's arrest, fanned sectarian tensions to white heat. However, the Anglo-Irish Truce of July 1921 helped to defuse the situation." (source: Tim Pat Coogan, _Wherever Green is Worn_ (2001, New York), p. 243). McBride: "Fr. McRory, mentioned in this song was from the 'Parish', the rural area that lies north of Bunrana Town, hence the popularity of this short song in Inishowen." McBride's text begins "It was on the twenty fourth of May nineteen and twenty one"; _The Times_ of London supports Coogan's date of May 4, 1921 (source:"Irish Outrage in Glasgow Police Inspector Murdered”, _The Times_, May 5, 1921, p. 7, Issue 42712, column D, Copyright 1921 _The Times_, Article CS119083173, Copyright 2002 The Gale Group). - BS The index to Calton Younger's _Ireland's Civil War_ (Fontana Press, 1979) reveals that there were two Frank Cartys of interest during this period, one from Sligo, one from Wexford. Frank Carty of Wexford was an IRA brigade adjutant (Younger, p. 343), but it is Carty of Sligo who is meant here. Interestingly, Younger has far more references to Cary of Wexford than Carty of Sligo,mentioning this rescue only in passing. And most of the other histories I checked don't mention Carty at all. I would not hasten to accept that Father McRory was a "mere" clergyman. I assume this is Joseph McRory (1861-1945), archishop of Armagh from 1928 and cardinal from 1929 (so his entry in the _Oxford Companion to Irish History_); he is said to have been "reluctant to condemn IRA activities." And he later inflamed the troubles with a statement that Protestant churche were not part of the true church of Christ (see John A. Murphy, _Ireland in the Twentieth Century_, Gill and Macmillan, 1989, p. 159). - RBW File: McB1065 === NAME: Smeara, Na (The Blackberries) DESCRIPTION: Singer, "with a wish for every woman": loved "a dark-eyed damsel" while "herding horny cows"; was engaged to Peg O'Doherty who "vanished with a vagabond"; hit on a widow who "nearly scalded me." He loves a girl among the blackberries at harvest time. AUTHOR: J.P. Craig [in Gaelic] (source: Tunney-SongsThunder) EARLIEST_DATE: 1948 (Tunney-SongsThunder) KEYWORDS: courting seduction sex humorous nonballad rake harvest food FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Tunney-SongsThunder, pp. 9-11, "The Blackberries" (1 text) File: TST009 === NAME: Smiggy Maglooral DESCRIPTION: Smiggey marries a maid (or fights in Bull Run). The maid winds the clock and milks the cow "from the chimney top." She has a cramp (or gets the croup) and "they brought her to with some turtle soup." She meets Mose, they come to blows and home she goes. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1865 (broadside, Bodleian LOCSinging as203350) KEYWORDS: humorous nonsense disease injury animal food fight FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Creighton-SNewBrunswick 71, "I Have a Wife" (1 text, 1 tune) O'Conor, p. 143, "Smiggy Maglooral" (1 text) ST OCon143 (Partial) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 18(711), "Smiggey McGuirrel", H. De Marsan (New York) , 1861-1864 [same as LOCSinging as203350] LOCSinging, as203350, "Smiggey McGuirrel", H. De Marsan (New York), 1861-1864 [same as Bodleian Harding B 18(711)] NOTES: Broadside LOCSinging as203350 and Bodleian Harding B 18(711): 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: OCon143 === NAME: Smiling Potatoes, The DESCRIPTION: "Sweet roots of Erin! we can't do without them; No tongue can express their importance to man ... Then here's to the brave boys that plant them and raise them." AUTHOR: Rev. John Graham (source: Croker-PopularSongs) EARLIEST_DATE: 1829 (Graham, _Poems, Chiefly Historical_, according to Croker-PopularSongs) KEYWORDS: farming food Ireland nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 61-65, "The Smiling Potatoes" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Dear Creatures, We Can't Do Without Them" (tune, according to Croker-PopularSongs) cf. "The Potato" (subject) NOTES: The potato was, of course, both blessing and curse to Ireland. Blessing, because it could help replenish the soil depleted by growing cereal grains, and blessing, because by the 1840s, it was nearly the sole source of nutrition for three million of Ireland's eight million people. And curse, because -- by the 1840s, it was nearly the sole source of nutrition for three million of Ireland's eight million people. For another song in praise of the crop, see "The Potato." For a (quite inadequate) description of the horrors caused by the potato blight, see "Over There (I - The Praties They Grow Small)." File: CPS061 === NAME: Smith at Waterloo: see The Plains of Waterloo (I) [Laws N32] (File: LN32) === NAME: Smithfield Mountain: see Springfield Mountain [Laws G16] (File: LG16) === NAME: Smokey Mountain Bill DESCRIPTION: "Smokey Mountain Bill... drunk a lot of gin -- That's what caused him all the trouble he got in." Bill, a moonshiner, shoots a revenuer. Imprisoned by the sheriff, he escapes to the mountains, where he and his still live a happy life AUTHOR: Carson Robison EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (recording, Frank Luther & Carson Robison) KEYWORDS: death drink humorous FOUND_IN: Canada(West) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fowke/Johnston, pp. 102-104, "Smokey Mountain Bill" (1 text, 1 tune) ST FJ102 (Partial) Roud #4544 RECORDINGS: Frank Luther & Carson Robison, "Smoky Mountain Bill" (Brunswick 412, 1930) File: FJ102 === NAME: Smoothing Iron, The: see Driving Away at the Smoothing Iron (File: ShH82) === NAME: Smuggler's Song (II), The DESCRIPTION: "When the blink o' the day is fading fast... O, that is the hour for to flash the oar." The singer talks of the troubles at sea, sneers at the German royalty, then waxes at length about the joys when they come back to shore. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord); reportedly published 1844 KEYWORDS: ship sea home FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, p. 386, "Smuggler's Song" (1 text) Roud #3795 NOTES: It's hard to determine what this is about. Although the title refers to smuggling, the song itself has no such references. We have only two facts: Ord reports that the song was published in 1844 in the _Ayrshire Wreath_, and then there is the reference to "the German" (it doesn't say King, or Kaiser, but said German lives in a palace). My best guess, on that basis, is that the song refers to Napoleon's blockade of Great Britain -- the "Continental System," proclaimed in Berlin on November 21, 1806, in which the German states were reluctantly included. For details on this, see "The Ports are Open." - RBW File: Ord386 === NAME: Smuggler's Song (Watch the Wall While the Gentlemen Go By) DESCRIPTION: "If you wake at midnight, and hear a horses's feet, Don't go drawing back the blind or looking in the street..." The child is assured that all is well, and told not to repeat what she hears. If she keeps quiet, she may be rewarded and will hear no lies AUTHOR: Words: Rudyard Kipling? EARLIEST_DATE: 1906 (Puck of Pook's Hill) KEYWORDS: nonballad horse animal police FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry (introduction to) H494, p. 127, "Hugh Hill, the Ramoan Smuggler" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: There is something peculiar going on here. On its face, this was published by Rudyard Kipling as "Smuggler's Song" in _Puck of Pook's Hill_ (1906). It occurs at the end of the chapter "Hal o' the Daft" (which, curiously, is tied up with Sir Andrew Barton). The text from _Puck_ was set to music by Peter Bellamy, and has been recorded, e.g., by John Roberts and Tony Barrand. But Lani Herrmann reports that Isla Cameron also recorded the song -- presumably well before Bellamy set a tune. Sam Henry, in 1933, quoted the first stanza without attribution, as if it were a folk song. Could Kipling have taken a traditional scrap and turned it into a full poem? If ever he did such a thing, the most likely place for him to publish it would have been in _Puck_. Internal evidence of the poem isn't much help. There is a reference to "King George's Men," but of course one George or another was on the English throne from 1714 to 1830. It does remind me a bit of the situation in Ireland in the eighteenth century, as groups such as the Whiteboys tried to control oppression by the landlords. Robert Kee, on p. 26 of _The Most Distressful Country_ (being Volume I of _The Green Flag_), write that "At times these secret societies held certain areas of Ireland largely at their mercy. The warning to children: 'The fairies will get you' once had sinister undertones.'" - RBW File: HHH494n === NAME: Snagtooth Sal DESCRIPTION: The singer happily remembers "Walking down through Laramie with Snagtooth Sal." "But she turned me down completely" -- by dying (!). He will die for love, and gives instructions for his own burial AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 KEYWORDS: cowboy love death separation burial FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (2 citations) Fife-Cowboy/West 106, "Snagtooth Sal" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 405-406, "Snagtooth Sal" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #11096 NOTES: The Fifes regard this as traditional -- but it is noteworthy that they had to get their tune from the Roger Wagner Chorale! To me, it looks like a cowboy adaption of something along the lines of "The Butcher Boy" or "The Pinery Boy." - RBW File: FCW106 === NAME: Snake Baked a Hoecake DESCRIPTION: "Snake baked a hoecake, left the (frog) to mind it. Frog he went a-nodding, lizard came and stole it. 'Bring back my hoecake, you long-tailed ninny!'" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1910 (Brown; reportedly found in Washington Irving's notebooks in 1817) KEYWORDS: animal theft thief food FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) BrownIII 185, "Snake Baked a Hoecake" (3 short texts) SharpAp 238, "Snake Baked a Hoe-cake" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #3622 File: Br3185 === NAME: Snake in the Grass DESCRIPTION: A young man vigorously courts the singer, then asks how much money her father has promised as a dowry. When she answers "None," he vanishes. She warns, "But well a day, alas, alas, 'Mong roses sometimes there's a snake in the grass." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1942 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: courting abandonment dowry money FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 819, "Snake in the Grass" (1 text) Roud #7434 File: R819 === NAME: Snake River Massacre, The DESCRIPTION: "A cruel massacre took place Of late upon the plains; 'Tis hard to describe the place -- It was upon Ward's train." A small band is attacked by Indians, and overwhelmed; two boys escape, but the rest -- men and women -- are slaughtered AUTHOR: Nicholas Lee? EARLIEST_DATE: 1854 (Salem, Oregon Statesman) KEYWORDS: homicide battle Indians(Am.) HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Aug 20, 1854 - Alexander Ward's party of 21 is assailed and slaughtered. The only survivors are the boys Newton and William Ward FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Burt, p. 138-139, "(The Snake River Massacre)" (1 text) File: Burt138 === NAME: Snakes DESCRIPTION: "Reginald Alfonsus Bungy had a scientific mind, From his earliest childhood was he taxidermically inclined." In his field expeditions he encounters a drunken rambler who advises him to go to the nearest pub, where he has seen many (illusionary) snakes AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1968 KEYWORDS: drink humorous animal recitation FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Meredith/Anderson, pp. 232-234, "Snakes" (1 text) File: MA232 === NAME: Snap Poo: see Snapoo (File: EM379) === NAME: Snapoo DESCRIPTION: Three German (air) officers ask the landlady if she has a daughter who will sleep with them. The mother says her daughter is much too fine; the girl protests she is not. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (Colcord) KEYWORDS: bawdy landlord sex mother soldier FOUND_IN: Australia Canada US(So,SW) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Cray, pp. 379-384, "Snapoo" (3 texts, 1 tune) Randolph-Legman I, pp. 308-311, "Snapoo" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Colcord, pp. 110-111, "Mademoiselle from Armetieres" (1 text plus an excerpt, 1 tune) Gilbert, pp. 73-74, "Snap Poo" (1 text) Roud #4703 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (tune) and references there cf. "Mademoiselle from Armentieres" (approximate tune; theme) cf. "Brave Marin (Brave Sailor)" (approximate tune) cf. "Little Red Train" cf. "Johnny the Sailor (Green Beds)" [Laws K36] (plot) NOTES: For the relationship of this item to "Mademoiselle from Armentieres," see the notes to that song. - RBW File: EM379 === NAME: Snow Covered Face, The DESCRIPTION: Singer, riding in the mountains, finds the body of a cowboy frozen in the snow. He finds a letter, bidding farewell to his mother and asking the finder to take it to her. Singer hopes the cowboy may have found heaven "for his work is all done here below" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (recording, Patt Patterson & Lois Dexter) KEYWORDS: corpse death dying mother cowboy FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Patt Patterson & Lois Dexter, "The Snow Covered Face" (on Conqueror 7756, 1931; on WhenIWas2) File: RcTSVF === NAME: Snow Dove: see The Butcher Boy [Laws P24] (File: LP24) === NAME: Snow Gull DESCRIPTION: Scots Gaelic. The singer (a girl who has lost her love?) asks the gull where her love sleeps. She describes the dead all together in the land under the waves. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1909 (Kennedy-Fraser) KEYWORDS: death separation bird FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Hebr)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Kennedy-Fraser I, pp. 84-87, "The Seagull of the Land-Under-Waves" (2 texts with literal and loose English translations, 1 tune) NOTES: This is one of those thoroughly dubious pieces. Reading the notes in Kennedy-Fraser, it's not clear that this song ever existed in Gaelic as it stands. And it did not exist in English until she published it. And yet, Gordon Bok sings an English version so different from the Kennedy-Fraser text that oral tradition (if only in Bok's family) seems to have taken over the translated text. When in doubt, even extreme doubt, we index -- so here the song is. - RBW File: KFrI084 === NAME: Snow Is on the Ground, The: see Remember the Poor (File: Wa161) === NAME: Snow It Melts the Soonest, The DESCRIPTION: "Oh the snow it melts the soonest when the winds begin to sing... And when a woman tells me that my face she'll soon forget, Before we part, I wad a croon, she's fain to follow't yet." The singer declares analogies to why parting need not be forever AUTHOR: Words probably by Thomas Doubleday EARLIEST_DATE: 1821 (Blackwood's Magazine) KEYWORDS: love abandonment nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain(England) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Stokoe/Reay, pp. 120-121, "The Snow It Melts the Soonest" (1 text, 1 tune) ST StoR120 (Full) Roud #3154 File: StoR120 === NAME: So Dear Is My Charlie to Me (Prince Charlie) DESCRIPTION: The lady bids her listeners to lament for her, "for so dear is my Charlie to me." She tells how she turned down many nobles because of her love for Charlie. She admits that he is Catholic and she Presbyterian, but she will accept Rome for Charlie AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1890 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 c.11(146)) KEYWORDS: love courting separation Jacobites HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1720-1788 - Life of Charles Edward Stuart, "Bonnie Prince Charlie" 1745 - The (last) Jacobite Rebellion 1746 - Prince Charlie's rebellion crushed at Culloden. Charlie spends months fleeing the English. One of those who helps him escape is Flora MacDonald FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) SHenry H533, p. 292, "So Dear Is My Charlie to Me" (1 text, 1 tune) Tunney-StoneFiddle, pp. 162-163, "Prince Charlie Stuart" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #3099 RECORDINGS: Paddy Tunney, "Prince Charlie Stuart" (on IRPTunney01) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, 2806 c.11(146)[useless for determining text, but see NOTES], "Charlie Stuart" ("Come join in lamentation queens and princesses"), R. McIntosh (Glasgow), 1849-1889; also Harding B 15(40b), 2806 c.14(129)[beginning and ending verses illegible], "Charlie Stuart"; Firth b.26(4) [end missing], "Flora Macdonald's Lament for her Charlie" ("Come join in lamentation you queens and you princes") CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. ""Flora's Lament for Her Charlie" (subject) cf. "Flora MacDonald's Lament" (subject) NOTES: Broadside Bodleian, 2806 c.11(146), "Charlie Stuart" ("Come join in lamentation queens and princesses"), R. McIntosh (Glasgow), 1849-1889 large image could not be downloaded but the small image could be magnified enough to verify that the broadside is for this ballad. As for the Flora Macdonald text of Bodleian Firth b.26(4) there is no question but that this particular text is an example of "So Dear Is My Charlie to Me." This is not the same song as either Hogg 92, _Jacobite Relics of Scotland_, "The Lament of Flora Macdonald" or "Flora's Lament for Her Charlie." SHenry H533, p. 292, Tunney-StoneFiddle pp. 162-163, and the Bodleian broadsides listed are all clearly the same ballad and seem likely to have all sprung from the same broadside. As for Flora MacDonald, here is part of the commentary to broadside NLScotland RB.m.168(178): "Flora MacDonald, born on South Uist in 1722, is now the most famous heroine of the Jacobite cause and one of its most romantic stories. Bonnie Prince Charlie was fleeing Scotland after his Culloden defeat. When the situation became perilous on the Isle of Skye, Flora was persuaded to participate in her foster-father, Clanranald's, plan to help Charles' escape." - BS The text of this song in Sam Henry looks troubled; the first verse doesn't fit particularly well with the last two. And there are so many songs on this theme that it's hard to tell which are the same and which distinct. Some equate this with the various "Flora MacDonald's Laments." This has problems both textual and historical. There is no indication, in the Henry text, that the singer is Flora MacDonald; it's just some woman of the many who desired the handsome "Young Pretender." Historically, I know of no indication that Charlie had any sort of actual relationship with Flora MacDonald. His only real liaison, during the period of the Forty-Five, was with Clementina Walkinshaw, who would become the mother of his only child. It appears that he was faithful to her during this period. For background on Flora MacDonald, see in particular "Flora MacDonald's Lament." - RBW File: HHH533 === NAME: So Early in the Morning: see Sailor Likes His Bottle-O, The (File: Hugi055) === NAME: So Handy DESCRIPTION: Shanty. Characteristic line: "Handy, me boys, so handy!" The song tells of how the good crew came together: "You've got your advance and to sea you must go, Handy... Around Cape Horn through frost and snow, Handy..." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1869 KEYWORDS: shanty ship FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Doerflinger, p. 12, "So Handy" (1 text, 1 tune) Colcord, p. 76, "So Handy" (1 text, 1 tune) Harlow, pp. 142-143, "So Handy, My Boys, So Handy" (1 text, 1 tune) Hugill, pp. 479-484, "Handy, Me Boys," "Hand O'er Hand" (3 texts, 3 tunes) [AbEd, pp. 357-361] Sharp-EFC, XLII, p. 48, "So Handy" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Doe012 (Partial) Roud #814 RECORDINGS: Richard Maitland, "So Handy, Me Boys, So Handy" (AFS, 1939; on LC27) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Handy, Me Girls File: Doe012 === NAME: So Handy, My Boys, So Handy: see So Handy (File: Doe012) === NAME: So Heave Away DESCRIPTION: Shanty. "The Gustav's loaded down with grain. So heave away! heave away!" (x2). "The Gustav is a fine big ship, we're bound away on a damn long trip." More verses about drink and other unprintable topics. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (Hugill) KEYWORDS: shanty drink ship FOUND_IN: Germany Britain REFERENCES: (1 citation) Hugill, pp. 319-320, "So Heave Away" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Shine the Light" (Salvation Army hymn) (tune) NOTES: According to Hugill, the crew of a German barque _Sterna_ took a Salvation Army hymn "Shine the Light" and altered the words to use as a shanty. Hugill and his crew, on board the _Gustav_ further altered the song into this form. - SL File: Hugi319 === NAME: So It's Pass DESCRIPTION: "So, it's pass around the grog, my boys." Give me the girl I love, toast Queen Victoria, and "when our money is all gone We'll go to sea for more." Chorus: "Here's to him that merry be ... March onward, my brave boys" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1932 (Creighton-NovaScotia) KEYWORDS: sex drink nonballad shanty sailor HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1837-1901 - Reign of Queen Victoria FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Creighton-NovaScotia 56, "Chanty Song" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, CAPEVIEW ST CrNS056 (Partial) Roud #1798 ALTERNATE_TITLES: See, See, The Cape's In View NOTES: Creighton-NovaScotia has this as a chanty but says "it looks more like a sailor's adaptation of a soldier's song." - BS File: CrNS056 === NAME: So Like Your Song and You DESCRIPTION: "I wandered in the radiant dawn O'er glistening fields of dew, And listening to the lark's sweet song, I thought, my love, of you." No matter what the singer does or wherever (he) goes, it reminds (him) of (the girl's) song AUTHOR: Words: Andrew Doey EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: love music nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H508, pp. 226-227, "So Like Your Song and You" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7976 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "My Singing Bird" (tune) File: HHH508 === NAME: So Long, It's Been Good to Know You: see So Long, It's Been Good to Know Yuh (File: Arn165) === NAME: So Long, It's Been Good to Know Yuh DESCRIPTION: "I've sung this song, but I'll sing it again." The singer tells of the difficulties of life (in the dust bowl). At last he prepares to depart: "So long, it's been good to know you (x3)... And I've got to be drifting along." AUTHOR: Woody Guthrie EARLIEST_DATE: 1940 (copyright) KEYWORDS: hardtimes home rambling clergy dustbowl FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (4 citations) Arnett, pp. 164-165, "So Long, It's Been Good to Know Yuh" (1 text, 1 tune) PSeeger-AFB, p. 92, "So Long, It's Been Good To Know You" (1 text [dustbowl version], 1 tune) Greenway-AFP, pp. 205-206, "So Long, It's Been Good to Know You" (1 text [dustbowl version], 1 tune) DT, SOLONGIT Roud #15161 RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "So Long, It's Been Good to Know Yuh" (on PeteSeeger17) (on PeteSeeger41) (on PeteSeeger27); "So Long" (on PeteSeeger23) NOTES: There are actually two versions of this, Woody's original dustbowl text and the popularized Weavers version. Since Woody wrote both, however, I think we can list them under one entry. - RBW Make that three versions. Woody also wrote one (recorded in 1944) with lyrics pertaining to World War II. - PJS Incidentally, if it be questioned whether this is a folk song, I think it is, at least in Minnesota, where they used it as a theme for a popular children's television show. My generation learned it by non-folk means, but it's started to pass on to younger generations. It appears that Guthrie's original version of this is based largely on actual events of the so-called 'Black Easter" of 1935. For details of this storm and how it affected Guthrie and others near him, see Ed Cray's _Ramblin' Man_, p. 69fff. - RBW File: Arn165 === NAME: So Now We've Gained the Victory DESCRIPTION: "So now we've gained our victory ... the bantam cock shall never crow on the plains of Waterloo." We'll send him to a far off island and not let him return again. A health to King George and Wellington. Boney will always remember Waterloo. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (recording, Freddie James, RQMS Williams, G.W. Greening and Harry Hawkins?) KEYWORDS: war exile nonballad patriotic Napoleon HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: June 18, 1815 - Battle of Waterloo FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #12928 RECORDINGS: Freddie James, RQMS Williams, G.W. Greening and Harry Hawkins?, "So Now We've Gained the Victory" (on Voice16) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Banks of Sweet Dundee" (tune, according to Yates, Musical Traditions site _Voice of the People suite_ "Notes - Volume 16" - 13.9.02:) NOTES: For details on the Battle of Waterloo, see e.g. the notes to "The Plains of Waterloo (II)" [Laws J3]. It's a bit funny to see King George toasted. Forget the fact that his personal rule cost England the American colonies and a bunch of wars. By the time of Waterloo, he was incurably insane, and his son George IV was regent. - RBW File: RcSNWGTV === NAME: So We Hunted and We Hollered: see Three Jolly Huntsmen (File: R077) === NAME: Sober Quaker, The: see Wheel of Fortune (Dublin City, Spanish Lady) (File: E098) === NAME: Social Thistle and the Shamrock, The DESCRIPTION: "The Scotch and Irish friendly are, their wishes are the same, The English nation envy us, and over us would reign ... Now to conclude and end my song, may we live long to see, The Thistle and the Shamrock, entwine the olive tree" AUTHOR: Henry Joy McCracken (1767-1798) (source: Moylan) EARLIEST_DATE: 1887 (Madden's _Literary Remains of the United Irishmen of 1798_, according to Moylan) KEYWORDS: England Ireland Scotland nonballad patriotic FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Moylan 108, "The Social Thistle and the Shamrock" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Henry Joy McCracken (I)" (information about the author) NOTES: The thistle represents Scotland and the shamrock represents Ireland. See, for example, "The Sprig of Shillelah." - BS Although the Scots are descended from the Irish (or, more correctly, Highland Gaelic culture is descended from Irish; the genes may tell a different story), I suspect this could only have been written by an Ulster Protestant. And Henry Joy McCracken (1767-1798) was one of the most liberal and high-minded men in Ireland at the time; for his background, see the notes to "Henry Joy McCracken (I)." - RBW File: Moyl108 === NAME: Solas Market DESCRIPTION: "Me sell me akee, go Solas Market, Not a quatty would sell, Send me out, I go Solas Market, Not a quatty would sell. Why not a light, not a bite, Not a quatty would sell. Why not a light, not a bite, Not a quatty would sell." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (recorded from Edith Perrin) KEYWORDS: commerce food hardtimes FOUND_IN: West Indies REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #16397 RECORDINGS: Edith Perrin, "Solas Market" [excerpt?] (on USWarnerColl01) NOTES: There appear to be only two sources for this: The Edith Perrin recording made by the Warners, called "Solas Market," and a text in Jekyll's _Jamaican Song & Story_ entitled "Linstead Market." Apart from the details of place, the choruses are similar, but there is almost no text to let us know what the songs are about (unless the Warners had more from Edith Perrin which they did not publish). To make matters worse, the Perrin recording is very noisy -- almost unintelligible. It supplies the text quoted in the description, but I have had to reconstruct based in part on the Warner notes, and it must be considered uncertain. - RBW File: RcSolMar === NAME: Sold in Hell: see Wicked Polly [Laws H6] (File: LH06) === NAME: Sold Off to Georgy DESCRIPTION: "Farewell, fellow servants, O-ho! o-ho! I'm gwine 'way to leave you... I'm gwine to leave de ole county... I'm sold off to Georgy." The singer bids farewell to home, parents, master, wife, and child; he confesses his heart is breaking AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1824 (Printed in "The Valley of Shenandoah" by George Tucker) KEYWORDS: slavery slave family separation work home FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Scott-BoA, p. 206, "Sold Off to Georgy" (1 text, 1 tune) Greenway-AFP, pp. 94-95, "Hilo! Hilo!" (1 text, fragmentary, but apparently related to this song) NOTES: "Georgy" is, of course, Georgia. - RBW File: SBoA206 === NAME: Soldier and his Lady, The: see Trooper and Maid [Child 299] (File: C299) === NAME: Soldier and the Lady, The: see One Morning in May (To Hear the Nightingale Sing) [Laws P14] (File: LP14) === NAME: Soldier and the Sailor, The DESCRIPTION: The sailor "has a good mind to pray For the rights of all people and the wrongs of all men." He accuses the lawyers of "tak[ing] your hard earnings and giv[ing] you hard laws"; the ministers for condemning you to hell, and the farmers for high prices AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1902 (Petrie) KEYWORDS: political curse FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South,Lond),Scotland(Aber)) Canada(Mar) Ireland REFERENCES: (3 citations) Doerflinger, pp. 277-278, "The Soldier and the Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune) Kennedy 239, "The Soldier and the Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune) Manny/Wilson 94, "The Soldier's Prayer (The Soldier and the Sailor)" (1 short text, 1 tune) ST Doe277 (Partial) Roud #350 RECORDINGS: Archie Lennox, "The Soldier and the Sailor" (on FSB8) Brigid Tunney, "The Soldier and the Sailor" (on IRTunneyFamily01) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Firth c.14(226), "The Soldier and the Sailor"[title incomplete] ("As a sailor and a soldier was walking one day"), unknown, n.d. CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "'Pleasant and Delightful" (meter) cf. "Ye Gentlemen of England (I)" [Laws K2] (theme) NOTES: This appears to exist in two forms -- one, exemplified by Doerflinger, condemning various wrongs; the other, found in Kennedy, just calling for a good time (praying for beer and the like). There are, however, enough similarities that I would consider them still one song. - RBW File: Doe277 === NAME: Soldier Boy (I), The: see My Parents Reared Me Tenderly (I -- The Soldier Boy) (File: HHH466) === NAME: Soldier Boy (II), The: see The Faithful Sailor Boy [Laws K13] (File: LK13) === NAME: Soldier Boy (III), The (The Texas Volunteer) DESCRIPTION: "I volunteered to Texas, I will have you all to know, A long road to travel, I never travelled before, Oh, my home, sweet home!" The singer recalls the sorrow his parents suffered when he left. The song ends with verses from "The Roving Gambler." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (Cambiaire) KEYWORDS: separation home travel floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cambiaire, pp. 20-21, "The Soldier Boy" (1 text) Roud #11410 NOTES: This is a peculiar song, with an opening that seems to be known only from the Rakes family of Tennessee (mother and daughter: Mrs. J. P. Rakes and Lola Rakes). The interesting point is that the second half is entirely from "The Roving Gambler (The Gambling Man)" [Laws H4] -- but that it is well-integrated with the first half, about a fellow cajoled into volunteering to go to Texas. Why was he so induced? There is no hint. I suspect that we have only a fragment of the song of the Volunteer to Texas, missing both the beginning and the end. - RBW File: Cmb020 === NAME: Soldier Boy (IV): see The Sailor Boy (I) [Laws K12] (File: LK12) === NAME: Soldier Boy [Laws O31] DESCRIPTION: A large company of Irish soldiers must depart for India. One of them is explaining to his sweetheart that he must leave her. She (offers to come with him and is refused. She) tearfully bids him good luck and farewell. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (Greenleaf/Mansfield) KEYWORDS: love farewell India soldier FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) Ireland REFERENCES: (5 citations) Laws O31, "Soldier Boy" Greenleaf/Mansfield 80, "Soldier Boy" (1 text) SHenry H244, pp. 295-296, "The Soldier Boy" (1 text, 1 tune) Moylan 171, "The Soldier Boy" (1 text, 1 tune) DT 814, SOLDBOY Roud #1917 NOTES: Laws, relying on Greenleaf/Mansfield's broken version, locates the war in India. Henry (and its copy, Moylan) refers to India as a past war and has the soldiers leaving to fight the Russians. Moylan: "As John Moulden suggests, the song is probably about the Crimean war, given the mention of Russians ..." - BS The mention of Russians also allows for campaigns in Afghanistan -- which was, in fact, a nation created by the British to separate India from Russia. The British and Russians never really fought in Afghanistan, but there were times when conflict seemed possible. And there were plenty of other problems between Russia and Britain (mostly over Ottoman territory, but also, e.g., during the Russo-Japanese war when a Russian fleet attacked British fishermen). But there is at least one other advantage to the Crimean War, and that is the soldier's refusal to let the girl come with him. This was, of course, a common theme in song, and one that predates the Crimean War. But it became particularly important around the time of the Crimean War, when the British military started excluding women in any capacity. Arthur Herman, _To Rule the Waves_, p. 453 footnote, notes that female sailors were "a regular feature of old navy life... one or two disguised themselves as men and served as ordinary ratings. All were expected to pitch in even in battle." He notes that two women even applied for medals for their service at Trafalgar, but were turned down -- "the precedent would prompt 'innumerable applications' from other women veterans." - RBW File: LO31 === NAME: Soldier Boy for Me (A Railroader for Me) DESCRIPTION: "I would not marry a doctor; He's always killing the sick." "I would not marry a blacksmith...." The girl praises the soldier/railroader: "O soldier boy, o soldier boy, O soldier boy for me; If ever I get married, A soldier's wife I'll be" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1907 (published by C. B. Ball) KEYWORDS: soldier marriage courting railroading technology humorous rejection FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE,So,SW) REFERENCES: (13 citations) Cohen-LSRail, pp. 461-465, "A Railroader for Me" (1 text, 1 tune) Belden, pp. 374-377, "The Guerrilla Boy" (4 texts, 1 tune; the second of two texts filed as "C" is this song) Randolph 493, "The Railroader" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 373-375, "The Railroader" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 493) BrownIII 5, "Miss, Will You Have a Farmer's Son" (1 text, probably edited so the girl wants a California Boy and then again so she wants a Southerner, but too similar in style to file separately); 17, "I Wouldn't Marry" (7 text (some short) plus 6 excerpts, 1 fragment, and mention of 5 more, of which ""F" and the fragments "G" and "I" belong here) SharpAp 272, "Soldier Boy for Me" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Sharp/Karpeles-80E 68, "Soldier Boy for Me" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 215, "A Railroader for Me" (1 text, 1 tune) Botkin-RailFolklr, p. 465, "A Railroader for Me" (1 text, 1 tune) Logsdon 21, pp. 136-139, "The Buckskin Shirt" (1 text, 1 tune, a strange composite starting with "The Roving Gambler (The Gambling Man) [Laws H4]), breaks into a cowboy version of "Soldier Boy for Me (A Railroader for Me)," and concludes with a stanza describing the happy marriage between the two) Montgomerie-ScottishNR 170, "(I wouldna have a baker, ava, va, va)" (1 short text, of this type but perhaps not this song) Silber-FSWB, p. 343, "Daughters Will You Marry" (1 text) cf. Kinloch-BBook IV, pp. 14-15 (no title) (1 text, beginning, "Awa wi' your slavery hireman," probably not this song but based on the same idea; Roud #8152) ST R493 (Full) Roud #1302 RECORDINGS: Logan English, "A Railroader for Me" (on LEnglish01) May Kennedy McCord, "The Railroader" (AFS 5301 A2, 1941; on LC61) Pete Seeger, "Daughter Will You Marry" (on PeteSeeger11) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Farmer and the Shanty Boy" (theme) cf. "The Husbandman and the Servingman" (theme) cf. "The Plooman Laddie" (theme) cf. "Jinny Go Round and Around" (plot) cf. "Fond of Chewing Gum" (floating verses) cf. "The Bonnie Mason Laddie" (theme, lyrics) NOTES: It will be observed that the preferred occupation in this song can be almost anything -- and the rejected occupations can truly be anything at all. Cohen, p. 464, compares eight texts. All of them list famer as one of the occupations, anmd six list blacksmith, but there are 11 other occupations mentioned in one or another text. - RBW C. B. Ball published this piece in 1907, but it's hard to believe he actually wrote it (at least in that year); the diverse collections by Belden (collected 1910!) , Randolph and Sharp clearly imply that it is older. - (PJS), RBW Cohen notes that the Ball text is the first to mention railroads; it may be that Ball adapted an older song to the railroads. There is, however, one interesting side note: Laura Ingalls Wilder, _By the Shores of Silver Lake_, chapter 6, quotes a "railroad man" version. If Laura actually heard the song then, we could date the "railroad" versions to 1879. But, of course, Laura was writing not-quite-autobiography, and writing it more than fifty years later. So that's not a very good indication of date. - RBW File: R493 === NAME: Soldier Boy with Curly Hair, The: see The Last Fierce Charge [Laws A17] (File: LA17) === NAME: Soldier Bride's Lament, The: see The Lowlands of Holland (File: R083) === NAME: Soldier from Missouri, The [Laws A16] DESCRIPTION: A dying soldier sends a message to his home in Kansas. Having become a rebel at the urging of his neighbors and sweetheart; he regrets not following his mother's cautious advice AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: soldier death FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Laws A16, "The Soldier from Missouri" Randolph 213, "A Soldier from Missouri" (1 text plus an excerpt, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 203-205, "A Soldier from Missouri" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 213A) DT 365, SOLDMISS Roud #2206 ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Kansas Line NOTES: Neither Randolph nor Laws mentions the fact, but Cohen considers this a parody of "Bingen on the Rhine." - RBW File: LA16 === NAME: Soldier Maid, The DESCRIPTION: The singer, a maiden, runs away from her parents and enlists as a soldier/sailor. She proves highly successful. Sent home to recruit, a woman falls in love with the "soldier boy." The other woman betrays her secret; the woman is cashiered AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer enlists as a (drummer/sailor) (and fights "with the Noble Duke of York at the seige of Valenciennes"). Her "fingers neat and small" makes her the best drummer. She sleeps with the men but remains "a maiden all the while," Sent as a guard to the Tower of London a girl falls in love with her, she reveals her secret which the girl betrays to the regiment. She is given a bounty by the queen for her courage, marries and teaches her husband to drum, and would enlist again "if the (Queen/Duke) be short of men" KEYWORDS: soldier sailor love disguise trick cross-dressing betrayal war HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 24-July 28, 1793 - Siege of Valenciennes by the Allies including the British under the Duke of York (source: Campaigns in the Online Encyclopedia site "Originally appearing in Volume V11, Page 182 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica") FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland,England(Lond,South)) Ireland Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (4 citations) SHenry H497, p. 326, "The Drummer Maid" (1 text, 1 tune) Ord, p. 311, "The Soldier Maid" (1 text) Peacock, pp. 346-347, "The Soldier Maid" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, SAILMAID* SOLDMAID ST DTsoldma (Full) Roud #226 RECORDINGS: Harry Cox, "The Female Drummer" (on HCox01) Mary Ann Haynes, "The Female Drummer" (on Voice11) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, 2806 c.17(132), "The Female Drummer" ("A maiden I was at the age of sixteen"), W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also Harding B 11(2338), Harding B 11(1187), Harding B 11(1188), Firth c.14(165), Firth c.14(166), Firth c.14(168), Harding B 11(970), Harding B 17(93b), Harding B 11(969), Harding B 11(2505), Harding B 16(93c), 2806 c.16(67), Harding B 20(240)[some words illegible], "The Female Drummer" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Banks o' Skene" (plot) cf. "The Drum Major (The Female Drummer)" (plot) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Handsome Young Sailor When I Was a Fair Maid NOTES: The [long] description is from broadside Bodleian, 2806 c.17(132). In Mary Ann Haynes's version on Voice11 her secret is revealed when she is wounded on the battlefield and she would enlist again "If our old queen was to go short and never want of men." The queen is a character in all versions (the broadsides are almost identical to each other) but not as an indication there is no king. Possibly this is a side reference to one of King George III's bouts of "madness" (porphyria). Yates, Musical Traditions site _Voice of the People suite_ "Notes - Volume 11" - 11.9.02 cites broadsides from c.1655 to 1689, predating the Siege of Valenciennes. Between 1689 and 1793 the Musical Traditions notes that "Roy Palmer ... [reports] there was indeed a female drummer at Valenciennes by the name of Mary Ann Talbot (1778 - 1808). In 1809 Talbot was the subject of a book The Life and Surprising Adventures of Mary Ann Talbot." - BS Ben Schwartz originally described his texts of "The Female Drummer" as separate from "The Soldier Maid." As the above makes clear, the song evolved heavily over time -- e.g. the localiation to Valenciennes. I consider "The Female Drummer" a special case of "The Soldier Maid," though, and have lumped accordingly. This has proved very popular with folk revival singers. It doesn't seem to have been quite as popular in tradition, though by no means rare (the notes in Henry/Huntington/Herrmann list only fifteen traditional texts, mostly from Grieg, but many Pop Folk recordings). Valenciennes was one of the great border forts Louis XIV used to protect from invasions from the Netherlands. The chronology here is confusing, however: It was in July 1656 that the Prince de Conde (at that time serving the Spanish) forced the Vicomte de Turenne (then a French officer) to give up the siege of Valenciennes. But Oliver Cromwell did not committ English troops to the fight (on the side of the French) until 1657. I wonder if the Siege of Valenciennes referred to in the song might not be some other engagement, perhaps during the War of the Spanish Succession. Incidentally, there are historical records of women running off to join the army and navy. Arthur Herman, _To Rule the Waves_, p. 224, tells of a woman (unnamed) who fought at La Hogue (1692) aboard the _St. Andrew_ and was later invited to meet the queen. Gorton Carruth, _The Encyclopedia of American Facts and Dates_, p. 149, says that one Lucy Brewer served on the U. S. S. _Constitution_ during the War of 1812 under the name "Nicolas Baker." (The book gives no other useful details). According to David Davies, _A Brief History of Fighting Ships_, Carroll & Graf, 2002, p. 166, reports that a woman served on the French ship _Achille_ at Trafalgar; she had enlisted to be near her husband, and was freed by the British after the ship was captured. There are fairly extensive records of female soldiers in the American Civil War. At least two books on the subject have been written: Lauren Cook and Deanne Blanton's _They Fought LIke Demons: Women Soldiers in the American Civil War_, which I have not seen, and Bonnie Tsuie, _She Went to the Field: Women Soldiers of the Civil War_(Twodot, 2003). A few even became officers: Cuban immigrant Loreta Janeta Velazquez reportedly served as "Lt. Henry Buford" from 1861 until discovered in 1863, though many of the stories about her are self-reported and dubious. Tsui, p. 29, even reprints a woodcut of her in uniform, with a mustache and beard. (I must admit to finding this account pretty unreliable.) The Confederates even deliberately commissioned one female officer, Sally Louisa Tompkins -- though she was commissioned to allow her to run a hospital. Tsui profiles several of these disguised soldiers, but by no means all -- a woman named Mollie Bean fought in the 47th North Carolina regiment, and was used as a major character in Harry Turtledove's historical science fiction story _The Guns of the South_. Tsui, p. 1, states that "Scholars today estimate that about 250 women joined the Southern troops and that up to 1,000 women may have enlisted in both the Confederate and Union armies." I do not know the basis for this estimate -- it sounds as if it might just be a case of "There's one in every regiment!" Though in fact that would give a somewhat higher figure for the Federals. Based on the statistical totals in Frederick Phisterer's _Statistical Record of the Armies of the United States_1883; (I use the 2002 Castle Books reprint), the Union armies eventually mustered the equivalent of about 1830 regiments of volunteers, plus 130 regiments of Black troops, 30 regiments of regulars, and about 50 regiments of soldiers from Confederate states. That's roughly two million men in arms. So it was really a case of "There's one in every brigade." It's interesting to note how "folkloric" some of these women's stories sound. For example, Tsui, pp. 8-9, says that Sarah Emma Edwards ran away from home at fifteen to avoid being married, and at twenty she enlisted in a Michgan regiment as Franklin Thompson (Tsui, p. 10), though she served primarily as a medical attendant rather than a front line soldier. She also fell in love with at least one of her officers (pp. 17-18). Later on, she would desert (p. 20). Must have been quite the character.... - RBW File: DTsoldma === NAME: Soldier of the Cross, A DESCRIPTION: "I am a soldier of the cros, A follower of the lamb, I shall not fear to own his cause Nor blush to speak his name." "Sure I must fight if I would reigh, Increase my courage, Lord...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Chappell) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad soldier FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Chappell-FSRA 86, "A Soldier of the Cross" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #5028 File: ChFRA086 === NAME: Soldier Rode From the East to the West, A: see Trooper and Maid [Child 299] (File: C299) === NAME: Soldier Traveling from the North, The: see Trooper and Maid [Child 299] (File: C299) === NAME: Soldier, Soldier, Marry Me: see Soldier, Soldier, Will You Marry Me (File: R065) === NAME: Soldier, Soldier, Will You Marry Me DESCRIPTION: The girl asks the soldier to marry her. He says that he lacks suit, shoes, whatnot. She runs off to the craftsmen and fetches him everything he mentions. Now well-equipped, he tells her that he already has a wife at home AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1903 KEYWORDS: courting lie request rejection soldier dialog FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,NE,SE,So) Britain(England(West),Scotland(Bord)) Ireland Canada(Mar,Newf) REFERENCES: (14 citations) Randolph 65, "Soldier, Soldier, Marry Me" (1 text plus an excerpt, 1 tune) Eddy 89, "Soldier, Soldier, Won't You Marry Me" (1 text plus an excerpt, 2 tunes) BrownIII 7, "Soldier, Soldier, Won't You Marry Me?" (1 text plus 2 excerpts and mention of 3 more) Brewster 96, "Soldier, Soldier, Will You Marry Me" (1 text) SharpAp 90, "Soldier, Won't You Marry Me?" (3 texts, 3 tunes) Creighton/Senior, pp. 254-257, "Soldier, Soldier" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Karpeles-Newfoundland 78, "Soldier, Will You Marry Me" (1 text, 1 tune) Flanders/Brown, p. 61, "The Gallant Soldier" (1 text) Scott-BoA, pp. 30-31, "Soldier, Soldier, Won't You Marry Me?" (1 text, 1 tune) Kennedy 305, "Soldier, Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune) LPound-ABS, 109, pp. 224-225, "Dutchman, Dutchman, Won't You Marry Me?" (1 text) JHCox 159, "Soldier, Soldier, Won't You Marry Me?" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 344, "Soldier, Soldier, Won't You Marry Me" (1 text) DT, SOLDMARR* Roud #489 RECORDINGS: Colin Keane, "Soldier, Soldier" (on Lomax42, LomaxCD1742) New Lost City Ramblers, "Soldier, Soldier, Will You Marry Me" (on NLCR10) Russ Pike, "Soldier, Won't You Marry Me?" (AFS, 1941; on LC02) Gid Tanner & his Skillet Lickers, "Soldier Will You Marry Me" (Columbia 15589-D, 1930) File: R065 === NAME: Soldier, Soldier, Won't You Marry Me: see Soldier, Soldier, Will You Marry Me (File: R065) === NAME: Soldier, The: see The Bold Soldier [Laws M27] (File: LM27) === NAME: Soldier, Won't You Marry Me?: see Pretty Fair Maid (The Maiden in the Garden; The Broken Token) [Laws N42] (File: LN42) === NAME: Soldier's Epitaph DESCRIPTION: "Born in North Carolina, Raised in Tennessee, Worked like hell in Georgia, Died in Germinee." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1923 (Brown) KEYWORDS: death work FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 396, "Soldier's Epitaph" (1 short text) Roud #11755 File: Br3396 === NAME: Soldier's Farewell, The: see Fare You Well, My Darling (File: R736) === NAME: Soldier's Joy DESCRIPTION: Dance tune with verses; "I am my mama's darling boy...." "Grasshopper sitting on a sweet potato vine...." "Fifteen cents for the morphine, 25 cents for the beer/Fifteen cents for the morphine, gonna take me away from here" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (recording, Sid Harkreader & Uncle Dave Macon) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Dance tune with verses; "I am my mama's darling boy/Play that tune called Soldier's Joy"; "Grasshopper sitting on a sweet potato vine/Along come a chicken and says 'You're mine'"; "Fifteen cents for the morphine, 25 cents for the beer/Fifteen cents for the morphine, gonna take me away from here" KEYWORDS: dancing nonballad drugs FOUND_IN: Britain US(All) Scandinavia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Linscott, pp. 109-111, "Soldier's Joy" (1 tune plus dance instructions) RECORDINGS: Arkansas Woodchopper [pseud. for Luther Ossenbrink] & his Square Dance Band, "Soldier's Joy" (OKeh 06297, 1941) Blue Ridge Highballers, "Soldier's Joy" (Columbia 15168-D, 1927) Fiddlin' John Carson, "Soldier's Joy" (OKeh 45011, 1925) Zeb Harrelson & M. B. Padgett, "Soldier's Joy" (OKeh 45078, 1927; rec. 1926) Sid Harkreader w. Uncle Dave Macon, "Soldier's Joy" (Vocalion 14887, 1924) Kessinger Brothers, "Soldier's Joy" (Brunswick 341, c. 1929) John D. Mounce et al, "Soldier's Joy" (on MusOzarks01) New Lost City Ramblers, "Soldier's Joy" (on NLCR07) (on NLCR16) Aulton Ray, "Soldier Joy" (Gennett 6205, 1927) Glenn Smith, "Soldier's Joy" [instrumental] (on GraysonCarroll1) Gid Tanner & his Skillet Lickers, "Soldier's Joy" (Bluebird B-5658, 1934; RCA Victor 21-2168, 1947) (Columbia 15538-D, 1930; rec. 1929; on Tanner2) Taylor's Kentucky Boys, "Soldier Joy" (Gennett 6205, 1927) Doc Watson, "Soldier's Joy" (on RitchieWatson1, RitchiteWatsonCD1) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Love Somebody, Yes I Do" (tune) SAME_TUNE: My Stetson Hat (File: Ohr083) NOTES: The quintessential nonballad, but I've indexed it because it is cross-referenced elsewhere. Reputed to have been found around the year 1000, but... Morphine was reputed to be called "soldier's joy" during the American Civil War, but the title is older than that. - PJS File: RcSoJoy === NAME: Soldier's Lament, The DESCRIPTION: "Beneath a far Australian sky an Irish soldier lay." As he is dying he thinks of his boyhood in Ireland and asks to be buried there. "My dying prayer -- May God bless the island of the brave!" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Peacock) KEYWORDS: homesickness death Australia Ireland lament nonballad patriotic soldier FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Peacock, p. 163, "The Soldier's Lament" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #6464 NOTES: This appears, on its face, to be derived from On Buena Vista's Battlefield or one of its relatives (or, perhaps Will Hays's "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" [Laws A15]). But which, and how it came to be as it is (in Canada, no less), I do not know. - RBW File: Peas163 === NAME: Soldier's Letter, The DESCRIPTION: "Dear Madam I am a soldier And my speech is rough and plain. I'm not much used to writing And I hate to give my name." The writer was a friend of the girl's lover; they fought together. The young man died; the old soldier is left to write of his death AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1921 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: soldier death separation friend battle farewell FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 244, "The Soldier's Letter" (1 text) Roud #4389 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Dying Soldier (Erin Far Away I)" [Laws J6] (plot) and references there File: R244 === NAME: Soldier's Life (It's Little You Good People Know) DESCRIPTION: "It's little you good people know(s) What we poor people undergoes When called upon to take up arms To guard our country from all harms. As to our grub, we have enough Although our beef is lean an tough... We hope to get good beef again." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (Allsopp) KEYWORDS: food soldier hardtimes FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) ADDITIONAL: Fred W. Allsopp, Folklore of Romantic Arkansas, Volume II (1931), p. 228, (no title) (one fragment) Roud #16590? File: FORA228 === NAME: Soldier's Life, A DESCRIPTION: After an introduction from "The Sailor Boy," ("A soldier's life is a weary life, Robs young girls..."), the girl is given a letter about her lover, telling her that he is dying. She finds his grave, and says she will join him with joy when she dies AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: love separation soldier death burial FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) JHCoxIIB, #11, pp. 145-146, "A Soldier's Life" (1 text, 1 tune) ST CoxIIB11 (Partial) Roud #273 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Sailor Boy (I)" [Laws K12] (lyrics, theme) NOTES: This clearly opens with material from "The Sailor Boy" (with which Roud lumps it), but this breaks off into something else. The combination probably qualifies as a separate song. - RBW File: CoxIIB11 === NAME: Soldier's Poor Little Boy, The [Laws Q28] DESCRIPTION: A poor boy, trapped in a severe storm, comes to a lady's door to ask for shelter. He explains that his mother is dead and his father gone to war. The lady lets him in and tells him to stay as long as he has to, for her own son has fallen (in battle) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Belden) KEYWORDS: orphan mercy father death soldier family FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,SE,So) Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (14 citations) Laws Q28, "The Soldier's Poor Little Boy" Greenleaf/Mansfield 100, "The Little Soldier's Boy" (1 text) Leach-Labrador 43, "The Friendless Soldier Boy" (1 text, 1 tune) Belden, pp. 273-275, "A Soldier's Poor Little Boy" (3 texts, 1 tune) Eddy 134, "A Soldier's Poor Little Boy" (1 text) Randolph 718, "A Soldier's Poor Little Boy" (1 fragment, 1 tune) Warner 154, "A Poor Little Sailor Boy" (1 text) JHCox 73, "The Soldier's Poor Little Boy" (2 texts) JHCoxIIA, #28, p. 104, "The Soldier's Poor Little Boy" (1 fragment, 1 tune) BrownII 151, "The Soldier's Poor Little Boy" (2 texts) Brewster 67, "The Soldier's Poor Little Boy" (2 texts plus mention of 3 more) Pankake-PHCFSB, pp. 284-285, "The Soldier's Poor Little Boy" (1 text, 1 tune) cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 482, "The Soldier's Boy" (source notes only) DT 536, SOLDBOY SOLDBOY2 Roud #258 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Fisherman's Boy" [Laws Q29] (plot) cf. "The Farmer's Boy" [Laws Q30] (plot) cf. "The Fisherman's Girl" (plot) cf. "The Poor Smuggler's Boy" (plot) NOTES: Cox reports this in a Philadelphia broadside attributed to Charles Bender, but it is obviously older and more widespread. Both Belden and Laws mention it as having British antecedents, but the only British occurrences are in broadsides. The Warner tune is described as a variant of "The Star of the County Down." The other versions generally have a different melody. - RBW File: LQ28 === NAME: Soldier's Prayer, The: see The Soldier and the Sailor (File: Doe277) === NAME: Soldier's Return (I), The DESCRIPTION: Jimmie returns home from the war. He disguises himself in bandages and says his true self is close behind. He sees that everyone, including "my Jessie" is truly happy. He leaves them planning the wedding "Since Jimmy escaped the soldier's grave" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1859 (broadside, Bodleian Johnson Ballads 1879) KEYWORDS: wedding war return disguise family soldier FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-Maritime, pp. 160-161, "The Soldier's Return" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2700 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Johnson Ballads 1879, "Soldier's Return" ("The wars for many months were o'er"), J.O. Bebbington (Manchester), 1855-1858 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "John (George) Riley (I)" [Laws N36] (plot) and references there File: CrMa160 === NAME: Soldier's Return (II), The DESCRIPTION: AUTHOR: EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Pretty Fair Maid (The Maiden in the Garden; The Broken Token) [Laws N42] File: LN42 === NAME: Soldier's Song, The: see The Old Tobacco Box (File: FSC143) === NAME: Soldier's Sweetheart, The: see Once I Had a Sweetheart (I) (File: BrII140) === NAME: Soldier's Wooing, The: see The Bold Soldier [Laws M27] (File: LM27) === NAME: Soleil s'en Va Se Coucher, Le (The Sun Is Going Down) DESCRIPTION: French. A gentleman asks his lover to join him at an inn. She has one drink and says she must leave. He suspects she has changed lovers. That's your fault, she says. I waited three years for you with no news. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (Peacock) KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage courting infidelity dialog FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Peacock, pp. 596-597, "Le Soleil s'en Va Se Coucher" (1 text, 1 tune) ALTERNATE_TITLES: La Bergere Refuse les Presents File: Pea596 === NAME: Solidarity Forever DESCRIPTION: The crimes of the corporations and their bosses are described. But the workers can protect themselves, as the chorus notes: "Solidarity forever (x3), For the union makes us strong." AUTHOR: Words: Ralph Chaplin EARLIEST_DATE: 1915 KEYWORDS: labor-movement nonballad political work derivative FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (6 citations) Scott-BoA, pp. 282-283, "Solidarity Forever" (1 text) PSeeger-AFB, p. 91, "Solidarity Forever" (1 text, 1 tune) Greenway-AFP, p. 181, "Solidarity Forever" (1 text) Darling-NAS, pp. 374-375, "Solidarity Forever" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 133, "Solidarity Forever" (1 text) DT, SOLIDART* Roud #15158 RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger , "Solidarity Forever" (on PeteSeeger1, PeteSeeger48) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "John Brown's Body" (tune & meter) and references there File: SBoA282 === NAME: Some Folks Say John Was a Baptist: see Lonesome Valley (File: Wa162) === NAME: Some Folks Say that a Nigger Won't Steal: see Some Folks Say that a Preacher Won't Steal (File: Br3423) === NAME: Some Folks Say that a Preacher Won't Steal DESCRIPTION: "Some folks say that a (preacher/nigger) won't steal, But I caught (one) in my cornfield." This stanza floats but sometimes is used as a platform for various complaints about the raiders on the singer's field AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1919 (Brown) KEYWORDS: thief clergy floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) BrownIII 423, "Some Folks Say that a Nigger Won't Steal" (3 short texts plus 1 fragment, 2 excerpts, and mention of 2 more. Almost all are mixed; "A" is this piece, but "G" has the chorus of "Run, Nigger, Run" while "E" and "F" have the "Mourner, You Shall Be Free (Moanish Lady)" chorus); see also the "B" text of 435, "The Dummy Line"; also 511, "The Preacher Song" (1 text, a complex mix of verses from "Turkey in the Straw" and this song with the "Uncle Eph" chorus) Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 224-225, (no title) (1 short text, with the "My ole mistus promised me" and "Some folks say a nigger won't steal" verses and the 'Mourner, you shall be free" chorus) Roud #6707 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Coney Isle" (lyrics) cf. "Rosie, Darling Rosie" (lyrics) NOTES: This is one of those big messes, since it may just be a floating fragment grafted into other pieces. It's hard to tell, given the brevity of the Brown texts. It's not clear, looking at the evidence, whether it was originally a "preacher" or a "nigger" accused of the thefts. But I strongly suspect that it was a preacher; the rules of textual criticism say, "Prefer the harder reading," and "preacher" is the harder reading; many people would be reluctant to accuse a minister of stealing, but -- in the south at least -- Negroes were suspected even when there was compelling evidence of their innocence. Dr. David E. Chinitz, however, sends me this note, "The lines in question--'Some folks say that a (preacher/nigger) won't steal, But I caught (one) in my cornfield'--are the opening lines of 'Way Down Yonder in the Cornfield,' a once-popular barbershop quartet. I believe that this song dates from the 1890s, and it is not to be confused with the 1901 hit with the same title by Gus Edwards and Will D. Cobb. The last line of the 1901 song alludes to the earlier song. "If the original source of the 'floating fragment' is indeed the song I mentioned, then the correct reading is not 'preacher" but "nigger.' In his book _Barber Shop Ballads and How to Sing Them_ (1925), Sigmund Spaeth suggests in a footnote that 'preacher' was an alternative adopted by 'colored' singing groups (p. 41). But Spaeth doesn't seem entirely reliable on this issue. On that same page, he assures his readers confidentially ('between ourselves') that African Americans 'really prefer the forthright "nigger" to the patronizingly polite "darkey."' "I have seen the line quoted using 'darkie.' But the one early recording I've heard of the song (I'm sorry I don't know the year) used 'nigger.' And it was two, not one, that the speaker claimed to have 'caught' in his cornfield -- one with a shovel, and one with a hoe." Until we know how the song became traditional, of course, this cannot be the final word. But it's interesting. Incidentally, John Hartford eventually sang it with the guilty party being a hippie. - RBW File: Br3423 === NAME: Some Have Fathers Gone to Glory: see The Other Bright Shore (File: R611) === NAME: Some Little Bug DESCRIPTION: Singer describes perils of eating various foods, which can lead to ptomaine and death. This is why, before meals, some people pray. Ch.: "Some little bug is gonna get you someday..." "Eat that luscious ripe pineapple/And the sextons dust the chapel." AUTHOR: Benjamin Hapgood Burt & Roy Atwell (lyrics); Silvio Hein (tune in sheet music; tune of folk version by unknown author) EARLIEST_DATE: 1915 (sheet music) KEYWORDS: disease warning death funeral food humorous nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, SOMEBUG RECORDINGS: Roy Atwell, "Some Little Bug Is Going to Find You" (Columbia A-1926, 1916; rec. 1915) Bradley Kincaid, "Some Little Bug Is Goin' To Get You Someday" (Bluebird B-5179/Montgomery Ward M-4379, 1933) Billy Murray, "Some Little Bug Is Going to Find You" (Victor 17826, 1916; rec. 1915) Unidentified baritone solo [Dan Quinn], "Some Little Bug Is Going to Find You" (Emerson 764, 1916) Walter Van Brunt, "Some Little Bug Is Going to Find You" (CYL: Edison [BA] 2823, n.d.) NOTES: This has attained enough popularity in the bluegrass and folk-revival communities to warrant inclusion. The Bradley Kincaid recording, which is the one that has spread, uses a very different tune from the one found in the sheet music; possibly Kincaid wrote it. - PJS File: RcSLB === NAME: Some of These Days: see Welcome Table (Streets of Glory, God's Going to Set This World on Fire) (File: San478) === NAME: Some of These Days and It Won't Be Long: see Take This Hammer (File: FR383) === NAME: Some Ships in Port DESCRIPTION: Ships are listed and their characteristics or owner noted: "Gaffney's two clippers, Caledonia and Glynn ... the noble torpedo they call Jenny Lynd ... the Alice T with Splanche on her bow." AUTHOR: "Splanche" Brien EARLIEST_DATE: 1946 (Ranson) KEYWORDS: moniker commerce sea ship nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ranson, p. 53, "Some Ships in Port" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Captains and Ships" (catalog of ships) NOTES: Ranson: "This ... reflects the days of Wexford's glory, when her sailing ships went out over the Seven Seas" - BS File: Ran053 === NAME: Some Treat of David DESCRIPTION: Father Murphy excels David and Joshua. His victories are listed, and the loss at Vinegar Hill; "after all, alas, he was taken, And stripped quite naked in the open street; His flesh and bone were separated, And a crimson stream at his joints did meet" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1798 (Zimmermann) KEYWORDS: battle execution rebellion Ireland clergy patriotic 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 July 2, 1798 - Father Murphy (1753-1798) captured, executed and cremated. FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Zimmermann 11A, "Some Treat of David" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Father Murphy (I)" (subject of Father Murphy) and references there NOTES: "The end for Father John Murphy came on July 2, 1798 when he and fellow rebel leader James Gallagher were captured by military forces loyal to the British crown. Fr. John was brutally beaten for hours by the yeomen warders, finally stripped of his clothes, denied a trial by jury and hung from the town gallows. For the perceived insult of being a Catholic priest and not cooperating with the local authorities Fr. John's body was subjected to further desecration when the yeoman, "unsatisfied by the lack of entertainment" dropped the dead body of Fr. John into a nearby barrel of pitch and lit it on fire until the corpse was consumed. His ashes were scattered in the town square as a warning to all those who dare to take up arms against the British crown." (source: _Father John Murphy of Boulavogue_ by Nicholas Furlong as summarized at site of Ancient Order of Hibernians Father John Murphy -- Division #9 Plymouth, MA 02360) Zimmermann p. 46, fn. 57: In 1866 this song was still "dangerous" enough that a ballad-singer could be arrested in County Down for its sale. - BS For a fuller history of Father Murphy, see the notes to "Father Murphy (I)." The issue of Murphy's death is vexing. That he was captured and hung seems certain. Whether he was tortured is another question. Terry Golway, _For the Cause of Liberty_, p. 87, says he and his bodyguard were stripped, flogged, and Murphy hung on the spot, then his body burned. But Golway's citation system, which is very strange, does not appear to cite a source for this claim (might it have been this song)? I eventually checked eight other Irish histories, some specific to the 1798 and some more general. Six do not mention Murphy's death. (One, specific to the last part of the eighteenth century, doesn't even mention Murphy!) The _Oxford Companion to Irish History_ mentions his hanging, but no torture or cremation. Robert Kee's _The Most Distressful Country_ (Volume I of _The Green Flag_), p. 124, mentions that he was hanged, his body burned, and his head set on a pike -- but he doesn't cite a source either! The whole thing has strange parallels to the death of Jesus, too. Murphy was not the only one to be listed as having his body burned; see the fate of Captain Swayne described in "The Song of Prosperous." Examining the sources, it's clear that the pro-English sources don't mention his fate, the pro-Irish do. While most of the Irish leaders were eventually executed, few were executed without trial. Of course, junior officers didn't always follow policy. But I really wish someone could cite a source for these atrocities! The mentions of David and Joshua are clearer. The two were the earliest members of the so-called Nine Worthies. They were also the Old Testament figures best known for conquest. They also were, unlike Murphy, successful enough soldiers to die in their beds. - RBW File: Zimm011A === NAME: Somebody (II): see Somebody's Tall and Handsome (File: R380) === NAME: Somebody's All de Time Talkin' 'Bout Me DESCRIPTION: "Somebody's all de time talkin' 'bout me, But that's all right." "Talk about me just as much as you please, I'm goin' to tell it to Jesus down on my knees." "Talk about my Jesus here below, Talkin' 'bout me wherever you go." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 634, "Somebody's All de Time Talkin' 'Bout Me" (1 text) Roud #11933 File: Br3634 === NAME: Somebody's Darling DESCRIPTION: "Into the ward of the clean white-washed halls Where the dead slept and the dying lay... Somebody's darling was borne one day." "Somebody's darling, somebody's pride, Who'll tell his mother where her boy died?" All bid farewell to the handsome boy soldier AUTHOR: Words: Marie Ravenal de la Coste / Music: John Hill Hewitt (according to Silber-CivWar) EARLIEST_DATE: 1898 (Wharton) KEYWORDS: soldier death Civilwar mother FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Silber-CivWar, pp. 84-85, "Somebody's Darling" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, SOMEDARL* ADDITIONAL: Fred W. Allsopp, Folklore of Romantic Arkansas, Volume II (1931), p.222, "(Somebody's Darling)" (1 fragment) NOTES: H. M. Wharton's _War Songs and Poems of the Southern Confederacy_ (p. 188) gives the author's name as "Marie La Coste," rather than "de la Coste." Allsopp says it was *sung* by "Marie La Conte of Georgia." - RBW File: SCW84 === NAME: Somebody's Knockin' at Your Door DESCRIPTION: "Somebody's knockin' at your door (x2), Go, Mary, go, Martha, Somebody's knockin'...." "It's your mother, Somebody's... It's your father...." "In the churchyard...." "It's the preacher...." "Come to tell you, Somebody's knockin' at your door." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad clergy FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 635, "Somebody's Knockin' at Your Door" (1 text) Roud #11931 File: Br3635 === NAME: Somebody's Talking About Jesus: see Everywhere I Go My Lord (File: CNFM061A) === NAME: Somebody's Tall and Handsome DESCRIPTION: "Somebody's tall and handsome, Somebody's fond and true, Somebody's hair is very black, And somebody's eyes are blue." Said somebody comes to ask the singer to marry, "And of course I said all right." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1920 (Randolph); Wehman printed a similar broadside c. 1884 KEYWORDS: courting marriage mother father ship FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,SE,So) REFERENCES: (9 citations) Randolph 380, "Somebody's Tall and Handsome" (2 texts plus a fragment, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 310-311, "Somebody's Tall and Handsome" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 380A) BrownIII 275, "Somebody" (2 text plus mention of 2 more) Warner 163, "Tommy" (1 text, 1 tune, heavily localized, in which Tommy owns a speedboat and father is happy to be rid of his daughter) Fuson, pp. 101, "Someone" (1 text, which has degenerated into a repeating song with this first verse as chorus: "Someone called for (mother/brother/sister/father), And mother went out to see, Mother came back with a tear in her eye, Someone has asked for me") Sandburg, pp. 464-465, "Somebody" (1 short text, 1 tune) Ritchie-SingFam, pp. 55-56, "[Somebody]" (1 text, 1 tune) Ritchie-Southern, p. 82, "Somebody" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, SOMBODY ST R380 (Full) Roud #761 RECORDINGS: Carolina Tar Heels, "Somebody's Tall and Handsome" (Victor V-40128, 1929; on CrowTold02) Martha Ann Midgette, "Tommy" (on USWarnerColl01) Abigail Hall Ritchie, "Somebody's Tall and Handsome" (on Ritchie03) File: R380 === NAME: Somebody's Waiting for Me DESCRIPTION: The singer reports that, being unemployed and broke, he has taken a job as a sailor. All the while, in all the ports he visits and despite all the fine things he sees, he remembers that "There is somebody waiting for me At an old cabin down by the sea..." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (recording, Sweet Bros.) KEYWORDS: sea separation love FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Warner 160, "Somebody's Waiting for Me" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Wa160 (Partial) Roud #7504 RECORDINGS: Cousin Levi & his Carolina Bluebirds, "Somebody's Waiting" (Bluebird B-7522, 1938) Ernest V. Stoneman, Willie Stoneman, and The Sweet Brothers, "Somebody's Waiting for Me" (Gennett 6620 [as by the Sweet Brothers]/Supertone 9323 [as by the Caldwell Brothers], 1929/Champion 15586 [as by the Clark Brothers]; rec. 1928); Ernest Stoneman and Eddie Stoneman, "There's Somebody Waiting for Me" (Vocalion 02632, 1934) Charles K. "Tink" Tillett, "Somebody's Waiting for Me" [instrumental] (on USWarnerColl01) File: Wa160 === NAME: Someone: see Somebody's Tall and Handsome (File: R380) === NAME: Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah: see I've Been Working on the Railroad (File: FSWB209) === NAME: Somerset Carol DESCRIPTION: "Come all you worthy gentlemen That may be standing by, Christ our blessed savior Was born on Christmas day... Oh we wish you the comfort and tidings of joy!" The Christ child is born and laid in the manger; the singers wish the householders good cheer AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1963 KEYWORDS: religious Christmas wassail Jesus nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain(England) REFERENCES: (2 citations) OBC 8, "Somerset Carol" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 377, "Comfort and Tidings of Joy" (1 text) Roud #394 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen" NOTES: Although this song does not actually use the word "wassail," the general tenor (including the final blessing on the householder) is very wassail-like, which is why I have supplied the keyword. The relationship with God Rest You Merry" is obvious (Roud lumps them), though its exact nature is unclear. I suspect, however, that this is a composite piece. - RBW File: FSWB377B === NAME: Somerset Wassail DESCRIPTION: "Wassail, wassail, all over the town, The cup is white and the ail is brown." Singer toasts the wassail bowl, likewise the residents of the house, begging entry, food, drink, hospitality and money. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1857 (Bell) KEYWORDS: request ritual drink food begging nonballad wassail FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South),Wales) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Sharp-100E 92, "Wassail Song" (1 text, 1 tune) OBC 32, "Somerset Wassail" (1 text, 1 tune) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #350, p. 180, "(Wassail, wassail to our town)" DT, WASSOMER* Roud #209 RECORDINGS: Phil Tanner, "The Wassail Song" (on Lomax41, LomaxCD1741, Voice16) Wassailers, "The Wassail Song" (on Voice13) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Gloucestershire Wassailers' Song" (subject, one verse) cf. "Here We Come A-Wassailing" (subject) cf. "Wassail Song (III)" (subject) NOTES: The custom of "wassailing" (going from house to house, usually on January 5th, begging food, drink and hospitality) is mentioned as far back as the 12th century in England; similar rituals are found across the continent of Europe and in the United States. -PJS "Wassail," incidentally, is from Old English "Wes hael," "Be hale/whole," i.e. "Be in good health." Paul Stamler suggests that this should not be called the "Somerset Wassail," because it's well-known outside Somerset and is often known as "The Wassail Song" (or under other titles). The problem is, all wassails seem to be called "The Wassail Song" by local singers. I use the Oxford Book of Carols title because that's as close as there is to a canonical reference. To tell this wassail song from all the others (most if not all of which are lumped by Roud), consider the first verse: Wassail and wassail all over the town The cup it is white and the ale it is brown The cup it is made of the good old ashen tree And so is our beer of the best barley. (The Gloucester Wassail is similar for the first three lines, but the fourth is "With our wassailing bowl we'll drink to thee.") The chorus varies; Sharp collected one version that has the refrain To you a wassail Aye, and joy come to our jolly wassail. while another runs For it's your wassail, and it's our wassail, And it's joy be to you and a jolly wassail. - RBW Also see Calennig, "The Wassail Song" (on Callenig, "A Gower Garland," Wild Goose Records WGS 299 CD (2000)) - BS File: ShH92 === NAME: Something Got Hold of Me DESCRIPTION: "When first I heard of the people who claimed This old-time religion was real," the singer concluded it was "just a weak mind," but chose to visit anyway -- though the Devil urged against it. Then "Something got hold of me" and the singer turned Christian AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: religious FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 640, "Something Got Hold of Me" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #4224 File: R640 === NAME: Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child DESCRIPTION: "Sometimes I feel like a motherless child... a long way from home.... Sometimes I feel like I have no friend(s).... Sometimes I feel like I'm almost gone...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1899 (Barton, "Old Plantation Hymns") KEYWORDS: religious home orphan nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (4 citations) Lomax-FSUSA 107, "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" (1 text, 1 tune) PSeeger-AFB, p. 49, "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 62, "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child" (1 text) Fuld-WFM, p. 514, "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" Roud #10072 RECORDINGS: Mildred Bailey, "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" (Vocalion 05209, 1939) Rev. Gary Davis, "Motherless Children" (on GaryDavis02) Harmonizing Four, "Motherless Child" (Vee Jay 854, rec. 1957) Ruth Mallard, "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Chile" (on BlackAmRel1) Paul Robeson, "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" (Victor 20013, 1926) Pete Seeger, "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" (on PeteSeeger23) (on PeteSeeger24) Sister Nellie Lynn & the Southern Sons, "Motherless Child" (Haven 521, n.d.) Lee Wiley, "Motherless Child" (Decca 132, 1934) File: LxU107 === NAME: Sometimes I'm in This Country DESCRIPTION: "Sometimes I'm in this country, sometimes IÕm in this town." The singer asks his love if she will be true; she replies that she has a new sweetheart. He considers drowning himself, but the water might "deceive" him; he decides to travel the wide world AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 (recorded from Lee Monroe Presnell) KEYWORDS: love rejection drowning travel FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (0 citations) ST RcSIITCo (Partial) Roud #16400 RECORDINGS: Lee Monroe Presnell, "Sometimes I'm in This Country" (on USWarnerColl01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Goodnight, Irene" (floating lyrics) cf. "Willy, Poor Boy" (floating lyrics) NOTES: The Warners claim that they could find out nothing about this song. Their informant Presnell thought it was a "sea song." And yet, the kinship to "Goodnight Irene" is clear. If Presnell is right about its sea origin, my guess is that it and "Goodnight Irene" split off from a common original sometime in the nineteenth century, and this went to sea and the other version went to Lead Belly. Since then, they have evolved enough that they can be considered separate songs. - RBW File: RcSIITCo === NAME: Son Davie, Son Davie: see Edward [Child 13] (File: C013) === NAME: Son of a Gambolier (I), The DESCRIPTION: "I'm a rambling rake of poverty, From Tippery town I came. 'Twas poverty compelled me first, To go out in the rain." The singer tells how hard life, (drink), and rambling has turned him old and unattractive. He can't help it; he's "the son of a gambolier" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1870 (sheet music) KEYWORDS: rambling drink poverty FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (6 citations) BrownIII 369, "The Rambling Soldier" (1 text) Sandburg, p. 44, "The Son of a Gambolier" (1 text, 1 tune) Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 78-80, "The Son of a Gambolier" (1 text, 1 tune) Gilbert, pp. 159-160, "The Song of a Gambolier" (1 text) Fuld-WFM, pp. 515-516, "Son of a Gun -- (Son of a Gambolier; Dunderbeck; and Rambling Wreck from Georgia Tech)" DT, SONGAMB* Roud #2964 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Rambling Wreck from Georgia Tech" (tune) cf. "Dunderbeck" (tune) cf. "Son of a Gambolier (II)" cf. "Way Out in Idaho (I)" (tune) cf. "The Pioneers" (tune) cf. "According to the Act" (tune) cf. "The Rakes of Poverty" (tune) cf. "The Freight Handler's Strike" (tune) cf. "The Man That Waters the Workers' Beer" (tune) cf. "Joe Williams (tune) NOTES: The Brown text is clearly a prototype of the various "Son of a Gambolier" versions; in it, the lad is forced by poverty to join the army, and does not mention the gambolier. But so much of the rest is the same that it seems absurd to split the songs. - RBW File: San044 === NAME: Son of a Gambolier (II) DESCRIPTION: Bawdy, scatological, and sundry verses to the tune of "Son of a Gambolier/Rambling Wreck from Georgia Tech." Often directed at the local arch-enemy (so, e.g. students of Stanford would lampoon California) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: bawdy parody nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cray, pp. 327-332, "Son of a Gambolier" (1 extended text, 1 tune); also pp. 332-336, "The Cardinals Be Damned" (3 texts, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Son of a Gambolier (I)" NOTES: This extended title is used for any song insulting another college which can use the "Gambolier" tune. Why? Because no two versions of the result are alike. - RBW File: EM327 === NAME: Son Petit Jupon: see Marie Madelaine (Son Petit Jupon -- The Little Dress of Gray) (File: SBoA294) === NAME: Son, Come Tell It To Me: see Edward [Child 13] (File: C013) === NAME: Song About a Man-of-War, A DESCRIPTION: The singer and his love part as he prepares to go to sea. The captain convinces him to come "on board of a man of war," where he is bound, abused, and fed horrid food. At last he throws himself overboard, swims to shore, and returns to his love AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown, from a manuscript reportedly dated 1768) KEYWORDS: sailor ship separation love reunion escape abuse FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownII 115, "A Song About a Man-of-War" (1 text) Roud #661 NOTES: The text in Brown seems confused; in the first two verses, the sailor seems about to voluntarily leave his love, then a captain cons him to come aboard ship. Then, once aboard, he is treated as if he had been pressed. The most likely explanation is that several songs have been jumbled together. But the key element -- the third, in which the sailor makes his escape -- is unknown to me, and the editors of Brown confess ignorance also. - RBW File: BrII115 === NAME: Song about the Fishing Banks: see The Eastern Light [Laws D11] (File: LD11) === NAME: Song and Dance DESCRIPTION: "I just arrived in town today, I'm a stranger to you all. If you don't like this music I cain't stop and give you a call." The singer exchanges glances with the girls in the street, becomes involved with one, then heads out of town AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: dancing courting travel FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 289, "Song and Dance" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7821 File: R289 === NAME: Song of a Lost Hunter, A (or, My Love Heneree): see Young Hunting [Child 68] (File: C068) === NAME: Song of a Soldier: see The Bold Soldier [Laws M27] (File: LM27) === NAME: Song of Agincourt, The: see The Agincourt Carol (File: MEL51) === NAME: Song of All Nations DESCRIPTION: "I'll sing you a song of all nations." An Irishman's made of "his shamrock so green and a jug of poteen." Similar lines for Scotchman, Englishman, Frenchman, Jew, ..., old men, old ladies, ..., mammys and daddys. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 (Creighton-SNewBrunswick) KEYWORDS: humorous nonballad FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-SNewBrunswick 80, "Song of All Nations" (1 text, 1 tune) ST CrSNB180 (Partial) Roud #2766 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "What's Little Babies Made Of?" (concept) NOTES: The first part of this has rather the feeling of the educations songs one finds in Randolph and other sources ("States and Capitals," "The Presidents in Rhyme," things like that). But it doesn't really contain information, so this origin seems unlikely. The second half, in which the song stops talking about various nationalities and turns to types of people (old men, old ladies, etc.) is similar in concept to "What Are Little Boys Made Of" and "What's Little Babies Made Of," but the actual "ingredients" are different enough that I think they qualify as separate songs. There may be a common inspiration somewhere in the distant past, to be sure. - RBW File: CrSNB180 === NAME: Song of All Songs: see Titles of Songs (Song of Songs, Song of All Songs, Song of Song Titles) (File: R515) === NAME: Song of an Old Time Jailbird DESCRIPTION: "I went down town and got on a whiz... the polie nabbed me and put me in the pokey Way out in the middle of town." The singer complains of bad air, bad food, rats as big as whales, "clinches so old, they had to wear specs"; he vows to stay away from town AUTHOR: (very possibly assembled by John Daniel Vass) EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (collected by Shellans from John Daniel Vass) KEYWORDS: prison police food hardtimes floatingverses bug animal FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Shellans, pp. 72-73, "Song of an Old Time Jailbird" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7324 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. most other prison songs, especially "The County Jail (I)" (theme of hard times in prison and the dangers posed by bugs) NOTES: This is one of those songs where a lot of the lines seem familiar (though the bit about the clinches wearing spectacles an walking with canes seems unique). The combination, however, is unfamiliar. Shellans compares the tune to "Little Brown Jug." Given that he had the song from John Daniel Vass, who definitely fiddled with a lot of songs, I have to suspect that this is a Vass recreation.. - RBW File: Shel072 === NAME: Song of Dailey's Life-Boat, The: see The Little Clare Mary (Daily's Lifeboat) (File: BrII289) === NAME: Song of Joaquin (Wakken), The DESCRIPTION: "I suppose you have heard of all the talking Of that noted horse thief, Joaquin; He was caught in Calaveras, And he couldn't stand the joke; So the rangers cut his head off." His robberies and 24 murders are listed; the capture of his gang is described AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1916 (Gardner/Chickering) KEYWORDS: homicide police thief crime punishment FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Burt, pp. 195-196, "(The Song of Joaquin)" (1 text) Gardner/Chickering 135, "Wakken" (1 short text) ST GC135 (Partial) Roud #3671 NOTES: The text in Gardner and Chickering, collected in Michigan but said to originate in California, was badly corrupt (as its title shows), and it is not possible to identify the villain. But it has enough in common with Burt's text that I'm fairly sure they're the same song. The real question is, is this Joaquin in fact Joaquin Murieta (c. 1832-1853)? The song never uses his surname, but the details fit very well: Murieta, who came to California around 1849, was the victim of anti-Mexican prejudice, and swore vengeance -- which he carried out with brutal effect. In 1853, California finally authorized a special company to catch him. They found him and his band in July, and Murieta was killed in the shoot-out. As the song tells, his head was cut off and preserved in alcohol so it could be shown off around the state. - RBW File: GC135 === NAME: Song of Marvels, The: see Little Brown Dog (File: VWL101) === NAME: Song of Prosperous, The DESCRIPTION: "We" United Irishmen burned Prosperous. "Our captain he forsook us," "Phil Mite the informer" betrayed us, Colonel Aylmer led us. "If Ireland had behaved like Wicklow, Wexford, and Kildare, The green flag would be hoisted through town and counterie" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1798 (Zimmermann) KEYWORDS: battle rebellion betrayal revenge death Ireland patriotic HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 24, 1798 - "At Prosperous, County Kildare, a garrison commanded by Captain Swayne was massacred by the insurgents" (source: Zimmermann) FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) Zimmermann 13, "The Song of Prosperous" (1 text) Moylan 56, "The Song of Prosperous" (1 text) NOTES: Zimmermann: "Philip Mite, one of the assailant party, denounced his leader, a Dr. Esmond, who was hanged. According to John Devoy, this was still the favourite '98 ballad around Naas in the middle of the nineteenth century...." - BS The story of Prosperous tells us a lot about both Irish historians and about the history of Ireland. It was founded by Richard Brooke around 1780 as a cotton-spinning site. The settlement was on the Grand Canal a short distance north of Naas (in Kildare, west southwest of Dublin) But English policy was, in effect, to crush any Irish industry which showed signs of competing with British. Tarriffs and other problems caused Prosperous to go bankrupt in 1786. That much is mentioned in several pro-Irish histories. But they tend to ignore the massacre there. I found details only in Thomas Pakenham's pro-British _The Year of Liberty_ (pp. 112-117). With buildings intact but little industry left, Prosperous made a good place for a garrison; in 1798, there were a couple of dozen Welsh dragoons and about 35 (mostly Catholic) militia from Cork commanded by (Protestant) Captain Swayne. Swayne, it must be said, was a vicious persecutor of Catholics. His men were not. But, on the night of May 23/24, they were the target of one of the first attacks of the Kildare phase of the 1798 rebellion; reportedly some 500 men took part in the assualt. Pakenham reports that 38 of 57 defenders were killed; Swayne himself was shot then burned in a barrel of tar. (A peculiar outcome; see the fate of Father Murphy described in "Some Treat of David.") The man at the head of the attacking forces was said to be Doctor John Esmonde, the first lieutenant of Richard Griffiths (commander of the Sallins yeoman cavalry, based nearby at Clane, and one of the senior officers in the area). Griffith himself came under attack that night, but beat it off easily. He did not feel strong enough to attack Prosperous, and ended up retreating to Naas. A yeoman named Philip Mite soon arrived to tell Griffith of Esmonde's leading part in the massacre. Esmonde arrived shortly after, quite neatly dressed, but was taken into custody. He would eventually be hung, with his coat reversed to show he was a deserter (Pakenham, p. 124). It sounds as if Mite's was the only direct testimony against him, but it was enough. - RBW File: Zimm013 === NAME: Song of Repentance DESCRIPTION: A rake repents the "time sadly wasted" drinking, bragging, seducing, and versifying. He has wasted his money on musicians. His creditors would see him in jail. He is poor, growing old, and alone. He warns others not to follow his example. AUTHOR: unknown, translated by "Frank O'Conor" (1903-1966) EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (OLochlainn-More) KEYWORDS: age poverty courting drink music rake FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OLochlainn-More 82, "Song of Repentance" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: OLochlainn-More: "My friend 'Frank O'Conor' (now Dr. Ml. O'Donovan) has given me leave to reprint his spirited translation of Eoghan Rua O'Sullivan's 'B'fhearr leigean doibh'." - BS Frank O'Connor was an industrious translator of Irish poetry; Charles Sullivan's _Ireland in Poetry_ includes ten of his renditions; the only author more heavily represented is Yeats. Much of his work was collected in _Kings, Lords & Commons_. He also wrote English short stories and some plays. He had quite a lively life, having been a member of the IRA in his youth. - RBW File: OLcM082 === NAME: Song of Solomon's Temple: see The Building of Solomon's Temple [Laws Q39] (File: LQ39) === NAME: Song of Song Titles: see Titles of Songs (Song of Songs, Song of All Songs, Song of Song Titles) (File: R515) === NAME: Song of Songs: see Titles of Songs (Song of Songs, Song of All Songs, Song of Song Titles) (File: R515) === NAME: Song of Temptation, The DESCRIPTION: Her seduction attempt: birds sport, why shouldn't we? And we are born naked: why wear clothes? Don't quote Holy Writ. He cites David's fall and Sodom; she, Solomon's queens and concubines. He bids her "Begone you slut!" "Without ado they then withdrew" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1979 (Tunney-StoneFiddle) KEYWORDS: seduction dialog nonballad religious Bible FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Tunney-StoneFiddle, pp. 45-46, "The Song of Temptation" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #5333 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Kissing's No Sin (I)" (theme of the antiquity of sexual relations) NOTES: Both sides have some slight holes in their Biblical logic. David did indeed get into trouble for sexual impropriety (his affair with Bathsheba, told in 2 Samuel chapter 11, with the working-out of the consequences occupying chapters 12-20) -- but that was specificly adultery (Bathsheba was married to the Uriah the Hittite) and David compounded it by killing Uriah. Casual fornication is not nearly the same. As for Sodom, there was a "great outcry" against them (Genesis 18:20), but fornication was hardly their problem; recall that, just before the destruction of the city, Lot offered his virgin daughters to the Sodomites to rape rather than having then assault his guests. But the Sodomites wanted the (male) guests, so their crime was seemingly homosexuality (Genesis 19:1-10). But the example of Solomon is hardly a counter-argument; he had supposedly 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3), but these wives "turned away his heart after other gods" (1 Kings 11:4), with the eventual result that his descendants lost control of most of Israel. I'd call the debate pretty close to a draw. - RBW File: TSF045 === NAME: Song of the Croppy Boy: see The Croppy Boy (I) [Laws J14] (File: LJ14) === NAME: Song of the Fishes (Blow Ye Winds Westerly) DESCRIPTION: "Come all you bold fishermen, listen to me, I'll sing you a song of the fish in the sea, Then blow ye winds westerly, westerly...." The behaviors of the various fish are described as they come forward and speak to the sailors AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 KEYWORDS: fishing bragging nonballad sailor FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) US(NE) Canada(Mar,Newf) REFERENCES: (12 citations) Colcord, pp. 187-188, "The Boston Come-All-Ye" (1 text, 1 tune) Harlow, pp. 145-147, "Song of the Fishes" (1 text, 1 tune) Hugill, pp. 196-198, 209-210, "The Fishes" (4 texts, 4 tunes) [AbEd, pp. 153-154], "Blow the Man Down" (1 text, version D of "Blow the Man Down") [AbEd, pp. 164-165] Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 160-161, "The Fish of the Sea" (1 text, 1 tune) Peacock, p. 859, "Blow the Wind Westerly" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton-SNewBrunswick 77, "The Old Ark" (1 text, 1 tune, with first verse and chorus from "The Old Ark's A-Moverin'" and additional verses from "this song") Shay-SeaSongs, pp. 129-131, "Song of the Fishes" (1 very full text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 496-498, "The Boston Come-All-Ye or The Fishes" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 22, "The Fish of the Sea" (1 text, 1 tune) Botkin-NEFolklr, pp. 557-558, "The Boston Come-All-Ye" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 90, "Blow Ye Winds Westerly" (1 text) DT, SONGFISH* SNGFISH2 Roud #472 RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "Come All You Bold Sailormen" (on PeteSeeger08, PeteSeegerCD02) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 25(1029), "The King of the Sea" ("Up starts the herring the king of the sea"), unknown, n.d.; also Harding B 28(102), "The King of the Sea" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Yea Ho, Little Fish" (floating lyrics) cf. "Blow the Wind Southerly" (lyrics) File: LxA496 === NAME: Song of the Freedmen DESCRIPTION: "We are coming from the cotton fields, We are coming from afar, We have left the plow... And we are going to war." The freed slaves describe all the cruelties they have left behind. Now, apparently, they are fighting for their freedom AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1864 KEYWORDS: slave freedom war Civilwar nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Scott-BoA, pp. 240-242, "Song of the Freedmen" (1 text, 1 tune) Arnett, pp. 80-81, "Song of the Freedmen" (1 text, 1 tune) File: SBoA240 === NAME: Song of the Mayers: see May Day Carol (File: JRSF238) === NAME: Song of the Pinewoods: see Old Moke Pickin' on the Banjo (Song of the Pinewoods) (File: Be022) === NAME: Song of the Rebel Soldier, The: see The Good Old Rebel (The Song of the Rebel Soldier) (File: Wa193) === NAME: Song of the Robbers, The DESCRIPTION: "You've heard this story often, you've heard it o'er and o'er...." "A tip had come to Morrison... That they would have a visit from the native bad G. Raines." The robber gang, though captured, kills Dr. Clark. They are sentenced to long prison terms AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (Burt) KEYWORDS: robbery death crime punishment doctor FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Burt, pp. 207-208, (no title) (1 text) NOTES: Yes, the song calls the robber "G. Raines." An initial and a surname. Consistently. Not "Raines," and not a full name. That's typical of the horrid "poetry" of the piece. - RBW File: Burt207 === NAME: Song of the Southern Volunteers, The DESCRIPTION: "I would not be a conscript a-hiding in the wood; I'd be a volunteer and do my country good. I wouldn't be alone (x3) to weep and moan." Similarly "I wouldn't be a lawyer... I'd rather be a soldier," etc. -- then perhaps shifting to a female soldier! AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (Hudson) KEYWORDS: Civilwar marriage patriotic soldier work FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Hudson 123, pp. 263-264, "I Would Not Be Alone" (1 text) Scott-BoA, pp. 221-223, "The Song of the Southern Volunteers" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, NOTBEALN Roud #4502 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "I'll Not Marry at All" (form) NOTES: The extant texts of this song all appear rather messed up. Hudson's text hints at the original: An adaption of "I'll Not Marry at All" in which the singer proclaims his willingness to serve the south -- or, perhaps, a girl proclaims "I would not *marry* a conscript." In fact, it's possible that both forms existed, then were mixed to produce Hudson's odd gender-bending text, with verses about a conscript, lawyer, doctor, lady/belle, nurse, farmer, and miller. Scott's song it even more confused; it appears to be a mix of "I Would Not Be a Conscript" and "We Go Walking on the Green Grass" (the latter not to be confused with "Walking on the Green Grass"). It's too complicated for me to disentangle, so I tossed it here. The original description I wrote of the song is as follows: "'I would not marry a conscript... I'd rather marry a volunteer and do my country good.... We go walking on the green grass, thus, thus, thus....' The girl would rather marry, or even be, a soldier boy, than wed someone who will not volunteer for the South." - RBW File: SBoA221 === NAME: Song of the Splintered Shillelagh: see Pat Murphy of the Irish Brigade (File: SCW22) === NAME: Song of the Tangier Gold Mines DESCRIPTION: Gold mining begins May 1861 "back of Tangier and Pope's Harbour." Men leave their work, wives, and sweethearts "for the sake of 'Tangier gold"; ladies "go upon the diggings the miners for to see." Wish the miners success and hope they will be generous AUTHOR: Catherine Hart (1861) EARLIEST_DATE: 1932 (Creighton-NovaScotia) KEYWORDS: sex gold mining HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1860 - Opening of the Tangier Gold Mines (Source: Halifax Archives per Creighton-NovaScotia) FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-NovaScotia 145, "Song of the Tangier Gold Mines" (1 text, 1 tune) ST CrNS145 (Partial) Roud #1841 NOTES: Tangier is on the coast of Nova Scotia, about 60 miles east of Halifax. - BS Creighton notes that the mining in the Tangier area was extensive but not particularly profitable. But the song was written when the boom was just beginning, so hopes were high. - RBW File: CrNS145 === NAME: Song of the Temperance Union: see Rum By Gum (Temperance Union Song) (File: R317) === NAME: Song of the Times: see The Rigs of the Times (File: K237) === NAME: Song of the Volunteers, The DESCRIPTION: "Hurrah! tis done. Our freedom's won. Hurrah for the Volunteers!" The Irish Volunteers, behind Grattan and Flood have broken "the Saxon yoke" Prayers, tears and words were vain "till flashed the swords Of the Irish Volunteers" AUTHOR: Thomas Davis (1814-1845) (source: Moylan) EARLIEST_DATE: early 1840s (_The Nation_, according to Moylan) KEYWORDS: pride rebellion Ireland political FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Moylan 1, "The Song of the Volunteers" (1 text, 1 tune) ADDITIONAL: Edward Hayes, The Ballads of Ireland (Boston, 1859), Vol I, pp. 236-237, "The Song of the Volunteers of 1782" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Green Cockade" (subject of the 1782 Volunteers) cf. "The Shamrock Cockade" (subject of the 1782 Volunteers) cf. "The Volunteers" (subject of the 1782 Volunteers) NOTES: The Belfast Volunteers were formed in 1778 because of the threat of war between France and Britain. Similar groups formed, became politicized, and supported "those in favour of legislative independence from the British parliament and the removal of impediments to Irish commerce." Henry Grattan and Harry Flood supported this program in the Irish House of Commons. (Source: Moylan) Hayes's title places the events in 1782. - BS Moylan's description sums up the situation pretty well, I think. The Volunteers were not openly rebellious; they were mostly pro-British, and largely Protestant (though Terry Golway, _For the Cause of Liberty_, p. 51, notes that they included Catholics as well). By 1779, there were 40,000 volunteers (see Peter and Fiona Somerset Fry, _A History of Ireland_, p. 186). Having shown that Ireland could field an army, a tide of nationalism, expressed in a "Buy Irish" movement, arose. The British, nervous about this, and remembering the recent example of the American rebels, responded by granting legislative independence in the form of Grattan's Parliament, for which see "Ireland's Glory." - RBW File: Moyl001 === NAME: Song on Courtship: see Wheel of Fortune (Dublin City, Spanish Lady) AND The Drowsy Sleeper [Laws M4] (File: E098) === NAME: Song That Reached My Heart, The DESCRIPTION: "I sat Õmidst a mighty throng within a palace grand, In a city far beyond the sea, in a distant foreign land," as a girl sings "Home, Sweet Home." The memories of home, and the song, affect him deeply AUTHOR: Julian Jordan (1850-1927) EARLIEST_DATE: 1887 (copyright) KEYWORDS: home nonballad music FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Dean, pp. 62-63, "The Song That Reached My Heart" (1 text) Roud #3721 NOTES: This strikes me as pretty feeble, but it was the first of several fairly big hits for Julian Jordan; he published this in 1887, then "Light of My Life" in 1889, 'Sweet Charity" in 1890, an "Just As We Used To Do at Home" in 1893 (gleaned from Spaeth, _A History of Popular Music in America_, pp. 604-607). He doesn't seem to have done much of note after that. This business of a song inspiring a memory seems to have been a common idea in the late nineteenth century; Gussie L. Davis did it with "Sweet Refrain," which seems to treat "Old Folks at Home (Swanee River"" the way this song treats "Home! Sweet Home!" - RBW File: Dean062C === NAME: Song Used When Holystoning the Decks DESCRIPTION: Tune only, no text. According to Hugill, Russian seaman had few real shanties and apart from the songs quotes by Smith there is nothing in the literature. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1888 (L.A. Smith, _Music of the Waters_) KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage nonballad shanty worksong FOUND_IN: Russia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Hugill, p. 580, "Song Used When Holystoning the Decks" (1 tune only, no text-quoted from Smith) File: Hugi580 === NAME: Songs of Old Ireland DESCRIPTION: The singer thinks back of the songs he heard as a youth. He asks to hear several such songs. He recalls fondly the days of his youth. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: music youth nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H768, pp. 59-60, "Songs of Old Ireland" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #13360 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Titles of Songs (Song of Songs, Song of All Songs, Song of Song Titles)" (theme) File: HHH768 === NAME: Sonny Hugh: see Sir Hugh, or, The Jew's Daughter [Child 155] (File: C155) === NAME: Sons of Hibernia, The DESCRIPTION: "Brave sons of Hibernia, your shamrocks display, For ever made sacred on St Patrick's day." The shamrock is "the badge of our saint," "a type of religion." It is "an emblem of charity, friendship, and love. May the blight of disunion no longer remain." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1901 (O'Conor) KEYWORDS: FOUND_IN: Ireland nonballad patriotic REFERENCES: (1 citation) O'Conor, p. 150, "The Sons of Hibernia" (1 text) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, 2806 b.10(184), "The Sons of Hibernial", unknown, n.d. CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "St Patrick's Day" (tune, per Broadside Bodleian 2806 b.10(184)) File: OCon150 === NAME: Sons of Levi (Knights of Malta) DESCRIPTION: The singer calls all "Knights of (Malta)" to join with him to fight for good. "For we are the true-born Sons of Levi, None on earth can with us compare." The listeners are guided through the (Templar) ritual, and acts of God in Israel are recalled AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1907 (Grieg) KEYWORDS: knight religious soldier FOUND_IN: Ireland Britain(England(South),Scotland) US(Ap) REFERENCES: (3 citations) SHenry H146, pp. 180-181, "The Knights of Malta" (1 text, 1 tune) Ord, pp. 393-292, "The Knights of Malta" (1 text) Fuson, p. 203, "The Sons of Levi" (1 text) ST HHH146 (Full) Roud #2430 BROADSIDES: NLScotland, RB.m.143(156), "Sons of Levi, A New Masonic Song," unknown, c. 1880-1900 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Knight Templar's Dream" (style) NOTES: The Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, or Hospitallers for short, was founded during the Crusades, first as a refuge for pilgrims in need and then as a knightly order to defend the holy sites. After the last Crusader city, Acre, fell in 1291, they gradually retreated across the Mediterranean, settling in Malta in 1530. Since that time, the Hospitallers have been known as the "Knights of Malta," even though they have been based in Rome since Napoleon pushed them out of Malta in 1798. The Hospitallers had strong requirements of initates, which may be reflected in the song. The order was suppressed in England in early Protestant times, but re-formed in the nineteenth century. I doubt the song actually originates with the Hospitallers, though; they would not publish such a broadside. Rather, it appears to be a Masonic piece, though one with unusual popularity (perhaps because it has been mated with at least one very good tune). Scriptural references in the song are numerous, e.g. * Joshua crossing Jordan, taking twelve stones along, with the Ark of the Covenant, and ending in Gilgal: Joshua 3:12-4:24 * Noah planted the first garden: Properly the first vineyard; Gen. 9:20. The Bible calls Noah the first tiller of the soil in the same verse, but Cain is called the first tiller in Genesis 4:2 Moses planted Aaron's rod: Probably a reference to the budding rod in Numbers 17:1-11, though the next few lines refer to the crossing of the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds), Exodus 14:16-29. Nowhere did Moses turn the Jordan into blood (Moses didn't even reach the banks of Jordan); he turned the Nile to blood in Exodus 7:18-24. The "ark," of course, is not Noah's Ark but the Ark of the Covenant; the Sons of Levi were the holy tribe of Israel. The lines in the chorus about the root and branch of David, and the morning star, are from Rev. 22:16 (I'd quibble a bit with the King James translation of the verse, but of course the song is based on the Bible as the Masons knew it).. - RBW File: HHH146 === NAME: Sons of Liberty, The [Laws J13] DESCRIPTION: The singer, an Irish soldier, is sent to America to fight the rebels. He lands in New York and soon finds himself fighting the Sons of Liberty. He grieves for those lost in battle, and praises the courage of Washington and his army AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1790 (Journal from the Dolphin) KEYWORDS: war FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Laws J13, "The Sons of Liberty" SharpAp 162, "The Sons of Liberty" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 146-148, "The Sons of Liberty" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton/Senior, p. 170, "Jessie and Jimmie" (1 stanza, probably of this song though it could float, 1 tune) DT 396, SONSLIB1* SONSLIB2* Roud #596 File: LJ13 === NAME: Soon as My Foot Struck Zion DESCRIPTION: "Soon as my foot struck Zion, And de lamps all lit on de shore, Bud dis world a long farewell, And de lamps all lit on de shore." "You better walk study [steady?], Jesus a-listenin', Oh, you better walk study, Jesus died... Jesus a-listenin' all day long" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 636, "Soon As My Foot Struck Zion" (2 short texts from the same informant) Roud #11934 File: Br3636 === NAME: Soon I Will Be Done DESCRIPTION: "Soon I will be done with the troubles of the world... Goin' home to God." "I want to meet my mother...." "I want to see my Jesus...." "No more weepin' and wailin'...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lomax-FSNA 244, "Soon I Will Be Done" (1 text, 1 tune) File: LoF244 === NAME: Soon in the Morning: see I Hope I'll Join the Band (Soon in the Morning) (File: R266) === NAME: Soon One Morning DESCRIPTION: "Soon one morning death come creepin' in my room (x3) Oh my Lord, oh my Lord, what shall I do to be saved?... Death done been here, took my mother and gone... I'm so glad I got religion in time." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1917 KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Lomax-FSUSA 103, "Soon One Morning" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, DETHCREP* Roud #10069 RECORDINGS: Delta Big Four, "I Know My Time Ain't Long" (Paramount 12948, 1930; on VocalQ2) Golden Gate Quartet, "Hush" (Columbia 30136, 1948) Blind Willie Johnson, "You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond" (Columbia 14530-D, 1930) Rev. Willie Gresham & congregation, "Soon, One Mornin'" (on FolkVisions1) Fred McDowell, "Soon One Mornin'" (on LomaxCD1703) Wiseman Sextet, "Hush, Somebody's Calling My Name" (Paramount 12077, 1924) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Hush NOTES: Without a source for "You're Gonna Need Somebody On Your Bond" I don't remember the lyrics well enough to know if it's the same song as "Soon One Morning," but I THINK it is. -PJS File: LxU103 === NAME: Sorghum Molasses DESCRIPTION: A (hobo? Georgia soldier?) prepares his meal and declares, "All the world there's none surpasses Good cornbread and sorghum molasses." "He declares, "Georgia girls there's none surpasses, They are sweeter than sorghum molasses." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Brown) KEYWORDS: food soldier nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 386, "Sorghum Molasses" (1 text) Roud #6684 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Sorghum Syrup" (theme) File: Br3386 === NAME: Sorghum Syrup DESCRIPTION: "I been to the North and I been to the South... And I've travelled all over Europe; Never saw the likes of sorghum syrup." The southerner describes courting the girls and all the uses of sorghum AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 KEYWORDS: food travel nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE,So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lomax-FSNA 132, "Sorghum Syrup" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #6684 RECORDINGS: Art Thieme, "Bye and Bye" (on Thieme06) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Sorghum Molasses" (theme) File: LoF132 === NAME: Sorrowful Lamentation of Denis Mahony, The DESCRIPTION: "Honest Denis Mahony that now lies in the clay ... his precious blood was freely spilt before the tithes he'd pay." Farmer Mahony is murdered. The Parishioners catch the murderer "and laid him on the ground" but "the tithes they paid without delay" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1830s (Zimmermann) KEYWORDS: homicide farming Ireland political lament FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Zimmermann 38, "The Sorrowful Lamentation of Denis Mahony" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Battle of Carrickshock" (subject: The Tithe War) and references there NOTES: The complete title of Zimmermann's broadside is "The Sorrowful Lamentation of Denis Mahony, Who Lost His Life in the Parish of Inniscarra, in the County of Cork, on Account of the Tithes." The context is "The Tithe War": O'Connell's Catholic Association was formed in 1823 to resist the requirement that Irish Catholics pay tithes to the Anglican Church of Ireland. The "war" was passive for most of the period 1823-1836, though there were violent incidents in 1831 (source: _The Irish Tithe War 1831_ at the OnWar.com site) - BS See "The Battle of Carrickshock" for more about the Tithe War, and the cross-references there for more songs on the topic. - RBW File: Zimm038 === NAME: Sorrowful Lamentation on the Recent Price Increases in Ales, Wines and Spirits, A DESCRIPTION: Since Richie Ryan up'd porter to ten bob a pint, who could be blamed for buying "last night's left-overs." Father Matthew "tried to keep us off the booze " but the new price is more effective. This should improve the market for poteen. AUTHOR: Jimmy Crowley (source: OCanainn) EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (OCanainn) KEYWORDS: drink humorous nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OCanainn, pp. 40-41, "A Sorrowful Lamentation on the Recent Price Increases in Ales, Wines and Spirits" (1 text, 1 tune) File: OCan040 === NAME: Sorry the Day I Was Married DESCRIPTION: Married woman recounts the miseries of her life and wishes she hadn't married: "Sorry the day I was married, Sorry the day I was wed; It's Oh, if I only had tarried When I to the altar was led." She recalls all the good things she had before marriage AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: marriage abuse humorous FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, SRRYMRRY* Roud #1561 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "I Wish I Were a Single Girl Again" cf. "I Wish I Were Single Again (II - Female)" cf. "Single Girl, Married Girl" cf. "When I Was Young (II)" (theme) cf. "Sporting Bachelors" cf. "For Seven Long Years I've Been Married" (theme) NOTES: Most "male" versions of this song go under the title of "The Sporting Bachelors," as they consist of the married man warning the bachelors of the abuse he suffers. His wife "swears [he's] obliged to maintain her" and lives well while "toss[ing him] bones" and leaving him dressed in rags. - RBW File: WB2046 === NAME: Soughrty Peaks, The: see Tying a Knot in the Devil's Tail [Laws B17] (File: LB17) === NAME: Souling Song DESCRIPTION: "A soul, a soul, a soul-cake, Please good mistress a soul-cake, One for Peter and one for Paul And one for the Lord that made us all. An apple, a pear, a plum or a cherry, Any good thing to make us merry." Once a year, singers beg for food, clothes, money AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1891 (Broadwood); Simpson and Roud quote a seeming version from 1686 KEYWORDS: food begging religious FOUND_IN: Britain(England) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #408, p. 194, "(A soul-cake, a soul-cake)" DT, SOULCAKE* SOULCAK2* Roud #304 NOTES: A song for All Souls Eve and Day (November 2 and the night preceding), when it was customary to give out food and alms on behalf of the dead. According to Simpson and Roud, _A Dictionary of English Folklore_, entry on All Souls Day, Abbot Odilo of Cluny created the festival in the eleventh century to pray for the souls of those who had died. (Hence the Souling custom: In Catholic belief, prayer would get you out of purgatory, so travellers would pray in return for food -- almost a return to the professional mourners of Roman times). The original date was in February, but it was moved to November to align with All Saints Day. The 1686 reference is to Aubrey's account of customs in Shropshire, when it was still customary to put out cakes for all passers-by on this day. These were called "soul cakes" or, according to W. C. Hazlitt's _Dictionary of Faiths & Folklore_, "soul-mass cakes." I haven't seen anyone comment on the mentions of Peter and Paul in this song, but it may (or may not) be significant that Peter was the chief apostle to Jews, Paul to Gentiles (Galatians 2:8, etc.) - RBW File: BGMG408 === NAME: Sound Off (Cadence Count, Jody Chant) DESCRIPTION: Chorus: "Sound off, One, two, Sound off, Three, four." Verses, in marching cadence, can be about anything soldiers dislike, or their sex lives, but often involve the despicable Jody: "Jody's got my gal and gone, Left me here a-singing this song...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1935 KEYWORDS: army betrayal separation bawdy FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Cray, pp. 394-398, "Sound Off" (3 texts, 1 tune); see also pp. 398-400, "Honey Babe" (2 texts, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 317, "Sound Off" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, SOUNDOFF* SOUNDOF2* Roud #10398 ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Swing Cadence The Airborne Chant Duckworth Chant NOTES: If one is only studying origins, this would probably not be considered one song. However, cadence chants so freely exchange verses, and can so readily shift from clean to bawdy and back, that I see no point in trying to separate any which use the same meter. - RBW File: LoF317 === NAME: Sounding Calls DESCRIPTION: This barely qualifies as a song, as there are only three notes, repeated in the same order with slight variation. There is no plot; the depth of the river is taken in order to avoid running aground. "Half twain, quarter twain, mark twain." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 KEYWORDS: river nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Botkin-MRFolklr, p. 572, "Mississippi Sounding Call" (1 text, 1 tune) MWheeler, pp. 59-66, "Soundings at Memphis"; "Soundings from Uncle Mac"; Soundings from Tee Collins" (3 texts, 3 tunes) NOTES: The terminology used in these song is explained in Botkin's notes, and more fully in sources such as Wheeler. In simplest form, the measurements are in fathoms, and additive -- so, e.g. "half twain" is "half a fathom plus two fathoms," i.e. 15 feet; "quarter twain:" "quarter fathom plus two fathoms," i.e. 13.5 feet; "mark twain": two fathoms exactly, i.e. 12 feet. Distances less than "quarter less twain" (10.5 feet) are given in feet, and distances over a certain limit (usually Mark Four, i.e. four fathoms=24 feet) are described as "no bottom." The various "songs" combined under this heading are, of course, not ballads, and not even true folk tunes, nor do they constitute a single song. The tunes are simple, and almost all the words are simply the numbers for depths (though in fact the various singers had their own methods of calling the numbers -- a valuable skill if it helped keep the listeners alert). But collectively these chants represent a significant part of river culture, so I've included them. - RBW File: BMRF572 === NAME: Soup Supper in Clattice Harbour DESCRIPTION: The singer has not recently attended the local "times" but goes to this one on November 18, held at the church. He pays the five cents admission and enjoys the soup supper, dancing till four or five, and another supper after that. AUTHOR: Peter Leonard EARLIEST_DATE: 1983 (Lehr/Best) KEYWORDS: dancing food party FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lehr/Best 99, "Soup Supper in Clattice Harbour" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: Anita Best, "The Soup Supper in Clattice Harbour" (on NFABest01) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Buns of Daily Bread File: LeVe099 === NAME: Sourwood Mountain DESCRIPTION: Dance tune with words; young man wants his true love, but she is coy. Versions often contain a variety of floating or spontaneous verses. First stanza may begin, "Chickens crowing on Sourwood Mountain...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1913 (collected by Olive Dame Campbell); +1909 (JAFL22) KEYWORDS: courting love rejection nonballad playparty FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,SE,So) REFERENCES: (15 citations) Randolph 417, "Sourwood Mountain" (4 texts plus a fragment, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 346-347, "Sourwood Mountain" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 417A) BrownIII 251, "Sourwood Mountain" (7 texts plus an excerpt and 3 fragments) Wyman-Brockway I, p. 91 "Sourwood Mountain" (1 text, 1 tune) Fuson, pp. 170-171, "Sourwood Mountain" (1 text) Cambiaire, p. 11, "Sourwood Mountain" (1 text) Sandburg, p. 125, "Sourwood Mountain" (1 text, 1 tune); 320-321, "I Got a Gal at the Head of the Holler" (1 text, 1 tune) SharpAp 216, "Sourwood Mountain" (3 texts, 3 tunes) Lomax-FSUSA 24, "Sourwood Mountain" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 276-277, "Sourwood Mountain" (1 text, 1 tune, composite) Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 897-898, "Sourwood Mountain" (1 text, 1 tune) Chase, pp. 148-149, "Sourwood Mountain" (1 text, 1 tune) Darling-NAS, pp. 257-258, "Sourwood Mountain" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 35, "Sourwood Mountain" (1 text) DT, SOURWOOD Roud #754 RECORDINGS: Coleman & Harper "Sourwood Mountain" (Perfect 12751, 1931) (Oriole 8095, 1935) Fruit Jar Guzzlers, "Sourwood Mountain" (on CrowTold01) I. G. Greer & Mrs. I. G. Greer, "Sourwood Mountain" (AFS; on LC12) The Hillbillies, "Sourwood Mountain" (Vocalion 5022, c. 1926) Earl Johnson & his Dixie Entertainers "I've Got a Woman on Sourwood Mountain" (OKeh 45171, 1927) Kessinger Brothers, "Sourwood Mountain" (Brunswick 308, c. 1929) Bradley Kincaid ,"Sourwood Mountain" (Gennett 6417/Silvertone 8220, 1928) (Brunswick 420, 1930) (Conqueror 8090, 1933) (one of these is on CrowTold02, but it's not clear which) Clayton McMichen, "Sourwood Mountain [part of instrumental medley] (Decca 2649, 1939) Land Norris, "Dogwood Mountain" (OKeh 40433, 1925) Fiddlin' Powers & Family, "Sour Wood Mountains" (Victor 19448, 1924) (Edison 51789/5123, 1925) Hobart Smith, "Sourwood Mountain" [instrumental] (on LomaxCD1702) Kilby Snow, "Sourwood Mountain" (on KSnow1) Ernest V. Stoneman, "Sourwood Mountain" (Victor 20235, 1926) Stove Pipe No. 1 [pseud. for Sam Jones], "Cripple Creek & Sourwood Mountain" (Columbia 201-D, 1924) Uncle "Am" Stuart, "Sourwood Mountain" [instrumental] (Vocalion 15840, 1924) Gid Tanner & Riley Puckett, "Sourwood Mountain" (Columbia 245-D, 1924) Taylor's Kentucky Boys, "Sourwood Mountain" (on BefBlues3) The Vagabonds, "Sourwood Mountain" (Bluebird B-5335, 1934) Wade Ward, "Sourwood Mountain" [instrumental] (on Holcomb-Ward1); "Sourwood Mountain" [instrumental] (on GraysonCarroll1) Henry Whitter's Virginia Breakdowners, "Sourwood Mountain" (OKeh 7005, 1924) NOTES: The Baptist church disapproved of dancing, but allowed playparties (dances with sung tunes instead of instrumental music) - PJS It should be noted that this is primarily a fiddle tune; it's listed because it occasionally turns up with words. - RBW File: R417 === NAME: South Australia (I) DESCRIPTION: The sailor reports, "South Australia's where I was born." Often used as a shanty, with chorus, "Heave away, heave away... we're bound for south Australia." Often he speaks of leaving his Australian girl behind AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 KEYWORDS: shanty sailor separation FOUND_IN: US(MA) Australia REFERENCES: (9 citations) Doerflinger, p. 71, "South Australia" (1 text, 1 tune) Colcord, p. 90, "Rolling King" (1 text, 1 tune) Harlow, pp. 33-35, "South Australia" (1 text, 1 tune) Hugill, pp. 193-195, "Rolling King," "South Australia" (3 texts, 2 tunes) [AbEd, pp. 150-151] Fahey-Eureka, pp. 58-59, "South Australia" (1 text, 1 tune) Manifold-PASB, pp. 2-4, "Bound for South Australia" (1 text, 2 tunes) Darling-NAS, pp. 315-316, "South Australia" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 85, "South Australia" (1 text) DT, SOAUSTRL* Roud #325 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Cape Cod Girls" (floating lyrics, tune, meter, plot) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Ruler King NOTES: There is no true dividing line between this song and "Cape Cod Girls"; they merge into each other. However, the difference in local color and focus is enough that they should be separated. The problem is classifying the intermediate versions.... - RBW A modern verse: "In South Australia Skylab fell..., 15 billion shot to hell..." - SL File: Doe071 === NAME: South Australia (II): see Cape Cod Girls (File: LoF023) === NAME: South Carolina State DESCRIPTION: The singer enlists for gold to fight "in the northern wars." He deserts, is caught, jailed "in South Carolina State," and sentenced to be hung. He asks that the news be sent to his father, mother, and friends, and that he be buried next to his sister AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1976 (Lehr/Best) KEYWORDS: desertion war execution soldier father mother burial punishment FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lehr/Best 100, "South Carolina State" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Lehr/Best: "According to [the singer] this song is about a Newfoundlander who went to fight in the war for American independence." - BS File: LeBe100 === NAME: South Down Militia DESCRIPTION: Famous warriors are named: King's Guards and Scots Greys, Russians and Prussians, Julius Caesar and Napoleon, "but the South Down Militia is the terror of the land." Their appearance throws the Kaiser and "Krugar" into despair and makes Victoria gush. AUTHOR: Col. R.H. Wallace (source:Graham) EARLIEST_DATE: c.1895 (Graham) KEYWORDS: army war humorous nonballad talltale Napoleon HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1899-1902 - Boer War FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (4 citations) OLochlainn 90 note, "South Down Militia" (1 fragment, 1 tune) Graham, p. 13, "The Royal South Down Militia" (1 text, 1 tune) Hammond-Belfast, pp. 40-41, "The South Down Militia" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, SOUTHDWN* NOTES: The description is from the text at South Down Defenders Flute Band Newry site "Words & Music of Traditional Ulster Songs." - BS I find myself wondering if there are not two different phases of this song. Its inclusion in Graham would seem to imply a date prior to 1895. And yet, the references to Kruger, the Kaiser, and Victoria date the version of the song containing them fairly precisely: The Jameson Raid (beginning in late December of 1895) provoked the "Kruger Telegram," in which Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany offered his friendship to Boer president Kruger (though the support turned out to be only moral). The (second) Boer War began in 1899, and ended in 1902; Victoria died in 1901. The Boer War started with a series of bad British defeats, forcing them to bring in additional forces from all over the Empire. Naturally this included a lot of Irish troops. - RBW File: OLoc090N === NAME: Southerly Wind DESCRIPTION: Round: "Oh, it's a southerly wind and a cloudy sky, Proclaim it a hunting/sailing morning. Before the sun rises away we'll fly... Hark, hark , forward." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 KEYWORDS: ship sports FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Doerflinger, pp. 174-175, "Southerly Wind" (2 texts, 1 tune) Roud #9442 File: Doe174 === NAME: Southern Blues, The DESCRIPTION: "When I got up this mornin', I heard the old Southern whistle blow (x2), Then I was thinkin' 'bout my baby, Lord, I sure did want to go." The singer watches "the Southern cross the Dog." The singer wonders which train his baby took; he will try Georgia AUTHOR: Big Bill Broonzy (at least in part) EARLIEST_DATE: 1935 (recording, Big Bill Broonzy) KEYWORDS: train separation FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cohen-LSRail, pp. 441-443, "The Southern Blues" (1 text, 1 tune) RECORDINGS: Big Bill Broonzy, "The Southern Blues" (Bluebird B-5998/B-6964, 1935) NOTES: This is one of those who-knows-how-to-file-it blues. The recorded form is Broonzy's, but there are older elements, including especially the line "where the Southern crosses the Dog," the chief basis for Cohen's inclusion of the song. W. C. Handy encountered this line from a street singer around 1903, and it helped inspire his blues career. There is a recording by W. T. Narmour and S. W. Smith, "Where The Southern Crosses The Dog" (OKeh 45480); I don't know what its relation is to either this song or the one Handy heard. - RBW File: LSRai443 === NAME: Southern Cross (I), The DESCRIPTION: The Southern Cross goes to the Gulf in March to hunt seals. They are successful in the hunt but on their return are lost in a storm. The SS Kyle, sent off to search, could find nothing. The singer concludes by hoping that all are in Heaven if never found. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Greenleaf/Mansfield) KEYWORDS: hunting storm ship wreck disaster HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Mar 31, 1914 - Last sighting of the Southern Cross FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (7 citations) Greenleaf/Mansfield 139, "The Southern Cross" (1 text, 1 tune) Peacock, pp. 973-974, "The Southern Cross" (1 text, 1 tune) Leach-Labrador 77, "The Southern Cross" (1 text, 1 tune) Doyle2, p. 57, "The Southern Cross" (1 text, 1 tune) Doyle3, pp. 54-55, "The Southern Cross" (1 text, 1 tune) Blondahl, p. 80, "The Southern Cross" (1 text, 1 tune) Ryan/Small, pp. 99-100, "Southern Cross" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Doy57 (Partial) Roud #2796 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Southern Cross (II)" (subject) NOTES: Horace Beck in his book _Folklore and the Sea_ (Mystic Conn.: Mystic Seaport Museum, 1985), p. 208 gives a brief account of sealing disasters in Newfoundland that he obtained from George A. England, "Vikings of the Ice" (London, 1924) pp. 54-59. - SH Greenleaf/Mansfield says that 170 men were lost; "no survivor or wreckage has ever been found." _Southern Cross_ last sighted by the _Portia_ March 31, 1914 off Cape Race en route from Channel, southwest Newfoundland, to Harbour Grace (on the far side of Conception Bay from St John's); cargo about 20,000 seals; Captain George Clark (Northern Shipwrecks Database). A must-read article on the ballad and its history, complete with a map, is available online in the archives of the site for the Canadian Journal for Traditional Music. Specifically, _Canadian Journal for Traditional Music_, vol 10, 1982, "The Southern Cross: A Case Study in the Ballad as History" by T.B. Rogers. The article is good not only for its exhaustive discussion of this ballad but for the light it sheds on ballad-making in Newfoundland (at least). - BS This song is item dD36 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW File: Doy57 === NAME: Southern Cross (II), The DESCRIPTION: The Southern Cross sails out through the ice and is last sighted by the Portia off Cape St Mary's sailing home. AUTHOR: unknbown EARLIEST_DATE: 1976 (Lehr/Best) KEYWORDS: hunting storm ship wreck disaster HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Mar 31, 1914 - Last sighting of the Southern Cross FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lehr/Best 101, "The Southern Cross" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Southern Cross (I)" (subject) NOTES: The _Southern Cross_ last sighted by SS _Portia_ on March 31, 1914 sailing home to St John's with a cargo of seals. Believed "foundered in blizzard" with a loss of about 172 men. (Lehr/Best, Northern Shipwrecks Database) Lehr/Best: see "The Newfoundland Disaster" for another ballad about another wreck in the same storm. "This was a particularly sad and tragic time for Newfoundland... leaving a total of about 252 dead in one month." - BS File: LeBe101 === NAME: Southern Encampment, The DESCRIPTION: "As I rambled out one evening in the pleasant month of June, I spied an encampment by the light of the moon." The southern girl reports on the soldiers' disdain for the northerners; despite their poor living conditions, she and they expect victory AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: Civilwar patriotic soldier FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Randolph 223, "The Southern Encampment" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 207-208, "The Southern Encampment" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 223) Roud #7704 File: R223 === NAME: Southern Girl's Reply, The (True to the Gray) DESCRIPTION: "I cannot listen to your words, The land's too far and wide, Go seek some happy northern girl To be your loving bride." The southern girl tells how her youngest brother and lover were slain in the Civil War; she will not marry one who fought to kill them AUTHOR: Original words ("True to the Gray") by Pearl Rivers EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 KEYWORDS: Civilwar courting rejection FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Warner 156, "The Southern Girl's Reply" (1 collected text plus the original Rivers poem, 1 tune) Scott-BoA, pp. 251-252, "The Southern Girl's Reply" (1 text, tune referenced) DT, STHREPLY* Roud #7484 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Bonnie Blue Flag" (tune & meter) and references there NOTES: The "Fitzhugh Lee" referred to in the first stanza was Robert E. Lee's nephew, and a cavalry officer. One of the senior generals under Jeb Stuart, he eventually commanded what remained of the cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia after Stuart's death and Wade Hampton's transfer. - RBW File: Wa156 === NAME: Southern Jack, A DESCRIPTION: "I got a southern jack [train engine], I got a southern jack, First thing yi (sic.) do shovel in the coal, Next thing yi do watch the drivers roll. I got a southern jack, I got a southern jack; All aboard on the southern jack!" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1919 (Brown) KEYWORDS: train FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 239, "A Southern Jack" (1 short text) Roud #6452 File: Br3239 === NAME: Southern Ladies DESCRIPTION: Capstan shanty, Negro origin. "What will you fetch your Julia? Way-ay-ay-ay! What will you fetch your Julia? She's a Southern lady all the day." Meter changes from 2/2 to 3/2 throughout. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1916 (JFSS volume 5) KEYWORDS: shanty worksong FOUND_IN: Britain REFERENCES: (1 citation) Hugill, p.395, "Southern Ladies" (1 short text, 1 tune-quoted from a shanty which Cecil Sharp gave in volume 5 of the Journal of the Folk Song Society) [AbEd, p. 300] Roud #9173 File: Hugi395 === NAME: Southern Oath, The DESCRIPTION: "By the cross upon our banner, Glory to our Southern skies, We have sworn, a band of brothers, Free to live or free to die." Southrons will fight northern "hirelings," and protect southern "fair-haired daughters" from "your fierce and ruffian chief" AUTHOR: Rosa Vertner Jeffrey? EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Southern Poems of the War) KEYWORDS: Civilwar nonballad FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Belden, pp. 359-360. "The Southern Oath" (1 text) Roud #7766 ALTERNATE_TITLES: Confederate Oath File: Beld359 === NAME: Southern Shore Queen DESCRIPTION: "It's concerning the harbour of Cape Broyle ... we will call it The Southern Shore Queen"; "Now Cape Broyle is famed for its beauty." The song lists the attributes of beautiful Cape Broyle AUTHOR: almost certainly Gertrude Carew Cahill EARLIEST_DATE: 1955 (Doyle) KEYWORDS: pride lyric nonballad FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Doyle3, p. 55, "Southern Shore Queen" (1 text, 1 tune) Blondahl, p. 47, "Southern Shore Queen" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7312 RECORDINGS: Omar Blondahl, "The Southern Shore Queen" (on NFOBlondahl04) NOTES: Cape Broyle is on the east coast of the Avalon Peninsula, about 40 miles south of St John's - BS In 2007, Andrea Tarvin, a relative of the author, wrote to me with background on the song. I quote her letter: "The song... was originally recorded by Omar Blondahl. The song was written by Gertrude Carew Cahill. She would have been the daughter of Arthur Carew from Shore's Cove,ÊCape Broyle, who was my great grandmother's brother. She died here in St. John's about three years ago and before she died they had a birthday party for her in St. Patricks Mercy Home at a which time they printed off the words to this song and passed it around for everyone to sing. The Downhomer...a local publication....had an article published about four to five years ago that read "Southern Shore Queen Mystery Solved." In this article they showed that Gertrude Carew Cahill wrote this song...and she played the accordian as well.... Everyone on the Southern Shore is in agreement that Gertrude wrote this song." - RBW File: Doyl3055 === NAME: Southern Soldier Boy, The (Barbro Buck) DESCRIPTION: "Barbro Buck is my sweetheart's name, He's off to the wars and gone, He's fighting for his Nannie dear, His sword is buckled on. He's fighting for his own true love, He is my only joy, He is the darling of my heart, My southern soldier boy." AUTHOR: Words: Captain G.W. Alexander EARLIEST_DATE: 1864 KEYWORDS: love separation Civilwar FOUND_IN: US(Ap,So) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Randolph 238, "Barbro Buck" (1 text) SharpAp 196, "Barbara Buck" (1 fragment, 1 tune) Hill-CivWar, p. 216, "The Southern Soldier Boy" (1 text) ST R238 (Full) Roud #3428 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Boy with the Auburn Hair" (tune) NOTES: In the original Confederate version of this song, the hero's name is "Bob Roebuck." Tradition, however, has fairly consistently perverted this into "Barbro Buck." The song was made popular by its appearance in the play "The Virginia Cavalier," a popular hit in the Richmond theatre. The original version was patriotic and political; this has faded from many of the traditional versions. There are other pieces called "The Southern Soldier Boy" (e.g. by Father Ryan); I've yet to see one with the power of this one. - RBW File: R238 === NAME: Southern Wagon, The (Confederate) DESCRIPTION: "Come all ye sons of freedom and join our Southern band; we're going to fight the Yankees and drive them from our land." The song describes the state of the Confederate government and declares "The South is our wagon, we'll all have a ride." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1889 (The Civil War in Song and Story) KEYWORDS: Civilwar political FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) BrownIII 374, "The Southern Wagon" (1 text plus a fragment) Hudson 121, p. 262, "Wait for the Wagon" (1 short text) Roud #3716 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Wait for the Wagon" (tune) and references there. cf. "The Southern Wagon (Union)" cf. "I Picked My Banjo Too" (lyrics, themes) NOTES: This song, or at least Brown's version, has historical problems. (Hudson's version, of only two stanzas and chorus, is hardly significant.) It refers to Jeff(erson Davis) and "(Alexander) Stephens by his side," which is accurate enough (except that the two quickly fell out), and Beauregard, while never the senior Southern general (in fact, he was #5), was certainly the best-known early in the war. But there was never a date when the Confederacy had exactly the states listed. The author says (South) Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi are in (forgetting Louisiana), but "Missouri, North Carolina, and Arkansas are slow... There's old Kentucky, Maryland, each hasn't made up their mind." Note that Virginia is not mentioned, and that Tennessee (seceeded June 8, 1861) is "in" when Arkansas (May 6) is still "out." It could be argued that Tennessee ratified an agreement with the South before Arkansas, but both states saw their governors turn south immediately after Sumter and broke free of the Union soon after. Plus, Missouri, like Kentucky and Maryland, would not join the Confederacy (except in their dreams and the stars on their battle flag), though Missouri in particular did supply partisan troops to the south. - RBW File: Br3374 === NAME: Southern Wagon, The (Union) DESCRIPTION: "Jeff Davis built a wagon and on it put his name, And Beauregard was driver of Secession's ugly (frame/fame)." The song details the slow but steady progress of the Union forces. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1909 (Belden) KEYWORDS: Civilwar parody HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: July 21, 1862 - First Battle of Bull Run. Mentioned out of order in Belden's version, but Lincoln and General Winfield Scott appointed George B. McClellan commander of the Army of the Potomac the day after the battle ("they put in all new spokes") Sep 4, 1861 - Occupation of Columbus, Kentucky by forces under Leonidas K. Polk ("Bishop Polk"). Kentucky had tried to declare neutrality; both sides prepared to occupy it once the neutrality was broken. Polk went in first, but the Union had more forces in the area, and gained the bulk of the state. And Polk's invasion helped push the legislature to declare for the Union Jan 19, 1862 - Battle of Logan Cross Roads (also called Mill Springs, as in the song). A small battle by later standards, but the first major union victory of the war. Federal forces under George H. Thomas beat forces under Zollicoffer, securing much of Kentucky and opening a path into Tennessee Feb 16, 1862 - Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River. This, combined with his capture of Fort Henry on the Tennessee (Feb. 6) blows a hole in the Confederate position in Kentucky and forces Confederate commander Albert Sidney Johnston to evacuate Bowling Green. This was the famous "Unconditional Surrender" incident: After the two senior officers at Donelson fled, the #3, Simon Bolivar Buckner, bit the bullet and accepted Grant's unconditional terms Apr 25, 1862 - Union forces under Farragut capture New Orleans Jun 6, 1862 - Naval battle of Memphis clears the path for Union occupation of that city FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Belden, pp. 364-366, "The Southern Wagon" (1 text) JHCox 70, "Jeff Davis" (1 fragmentary text) cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 482, "The Southern Wagon" (source notes only) Roud #3716 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Wait for the Wagon" (tune) and references there. cf. "The Southern Wagon (Confederate)" NOTES: Cox lists this as a parody of the "favorite Confederate song" "The Southern Wagon." A Confederate song it may be, but hardly a favorite; I've found no evidence of traditional versions, and the single stanza Cox quotes seems to be the only traditional portion of the parody. What is interesting is that Belden, too, has the *union* form, and a full version. - RBW File: JHCox070 === NAME: Sovay, Sovay: see The Female Highwayman [Laws N21] (File: LN21) === NAME: Sovay, the Female Highwayman: see The Female Highwayman [Laws N21] (File: LN21) === NAME: Sow Pig, The DESCRIPTION: John Walker takes the "Lough Swilly Line" to Derry and buys a pig. He takes her to Marshall's to be serviced. A great crowd watches the heroic proceedings. "But all ended well and for in a short time The sow she produced a fine litter of nine" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1988 (McBride) KEYWORDS: sex humorous moniker animal FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) McBride 66, "The Sow Pig" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: McBride: "This song was composed locally in the Burnfoot area of Inishowen at the beginning of the century." - BS File: McB1066 === NAME: Sow Took the Measles, The DESCRIPTION: The singer founds his property on a sow. When the sow takes the measles and dies, he makes a saddle of her hide, a thimble of her nose, a whip of her tail, pickles and/or glue of her feet, etc. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (Fuson) KEYWORDS: animal talltale technology disease FOUND_IN: US(Ap,NE,So,SE) REFERENCES: (7 citations) Randolph 412, "The Measles in the Spring" (1 text, 1 tune) BrownIII 177, "My Old Sow's Nose" (1 text) Linscott, pp. 253-255, "The Old Sow Song" (1 text, 1 tune) Fuson, p. 185, "The Old Sow" (1 text, in which the old sow "died in the winter last spring") Lomax-FSNA 15, "The Sow Took the Measles" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 405, "The Sow Took The Measles" (1 text) DT, SOWMEASL* Roud #17759 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Red Herring" (theme) File: LoF015 === NAME: Sow's Triumph Over the Peelers, The DESCRIPTION: A Ballaconnell sow wrestles a police sergeant to the street. The army, called for help, is stopped by two goats. The sergeant tries to take the goats to Cavan jail. The pig's ire is renewed. With the goats, she drives the sergeant into hiding AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1881 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 b.10(138)) KEYWORDS: humorous political animal police soldier FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (0 citations) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, 2806 b.10(138), "The Sow's Triumph Over the Peelers" ("Come pray attention for a while, I'll tell you a jest I do protest"), The Poet's Box (Glasgow), 1849-1880 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The World Turned Upside Down" (tune, per broadside Bodleian 2806 b.10(138)) cf. "The Peeler and the Goat" (theme) cf. "The Monegran Pig Hunt" (theme) NOTES: Zimmermann p. 215: "The success of ['The Peeler and the Goat'] inspired other texts: 'The Peeler and the Sow' (set in County Cavan, the goat also appearing in that ballad) and 'The Dog's Victory on the Peeler' (set in Kilkenny), both of them very inferior to O'Ryan's satire." The present broadside seems compounded from the sow and dog versions described by Zimmermann. - BS File: BrdSTOtP === NAME: Sowens for Sap at Oor New Tap DESCRIPTION: "The foremost man o' oor New Tap, He works a stallion fine. The Lion they do call him... The little one that goes to him She's swift and spunky too. Sowens for sap at oor New Tap, Ye'll find it winna do." The singer describes horses and men of the farm AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord) KEYWORDS: farming work nonballad moniker FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, p. 251, "Sowens for Sap" (1 text) Roud #5575 File: Ord251 === NAME: Sowing on the Mountain DESCRIPTION: "Sowing on the mountain, reaping in the valley (x3), You're gonna reap just what you so." "God gave Noah the rainbow sign...." "Won't be water, but fire next time." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (recording, Carter Family) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad floatingverses FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (3 citations) Darling-NAS, pp. 263-264, "Sowing on the Mountain" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 363, "Sowing on the Mountain" (1 text) DT, SOWNGMTN Roud #11554 RECORDINGS: (Victor 23585, 1931; Bluebird B-5468, 1934; Montgomery Ward M-4744, 1935) A. P. Carter Camily, "Sow 'em on the Mountain" (Acme 997, n.d. but probably 1950s) Coon Creek Girls, "Sowing on the Mountain" (Vocalion 04278, 1938) File: FSWB363 === NAME: Soy Pobre Vaquero: see Poor Lonesome Cowboy (File: San273) === NAME: Spailpin Fanac DESCRIPTION: Gaelic. Singer, a spalpeen bids farewell to Ireland; on his last job 12 women contended for him. He was happy at first, then found he was being cheated of his pay. He boasts that women like him, and compliments a young woman going down the road AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (recording, Joe Heaney) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Gaelic. Singer, a spalpeen (itinerant agricultural laborer) bids farewell to Ireland; on his last job 12 women contended for him. He was happy at first, then found he was being cheated of his pay. He boasts that women like him, and compliments a young woman going down the road; "The tailor that took her measure/I am sure that he was in love with her/For he took her measure up from the ground/And high above her waist/And they tell me that's the reason/She is always laughing." KEYWORDS: courting sex bragging emigration rambling travel beauty farming foreignlanguage work worker migrant FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Joe Heaney, "Spailpin Fanac" (on Pubs1) NOTES: In Ireland young workers were often hired at autumn hiring fairs for six months, the women as dairy maids or kitchen maids, the men as farm servants. At the end of the term, often the women would marry and settle, while the men travelled to the next hiring fair or hit the road as itinerant workers, known as "spalpeens." - PJS File: RcSpaiFa === NAME: Spailpin Fanach, An (The Migrant Labourer) DESCRIPTION: Gaelic. Farewell to my dear island and the boys I left at home. I enlisted in the army; it was a mistake. One wonderful day I could persuade any woman that black was white. "Twelve envious women compete for the benefit of my love"; even the old hag. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1967 (recording, Sean Mac Donnchadha) KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage emigration travel drink army nonballad rake soldier worker FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Sean Mac Donnchadha, "An Spailpin Fanach" (on Voice20) NOTES: The description is from the translation of the text in the notes to Voice20. - BS File: RcASpaFa === NAME: Spailpin Fanach, An (The Rover) DESCRIPTION: Gaelic. The singer had been a rover for hire by farmers at fairs. Now, instead, he will carry the Pike under the French banner. He is leaving a girl behind in Kerry. When the French arrive the yeomen and English will be forced to fly. AUTHOR: George Sigerson (1836-1925) (translator )(source: Moylan) EARLIEST_DATE: 1897 (Sigerson's _Bards of the Gael and Gall_, according to Moylan; source for date: "George Sigerson" on Ireland's Millenia site) KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage rebellion England France Ireland patriotic HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1798 - Irish rebellion against British rule FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Moylan 131, "Spailpin Fanach, An" (1 text Gaelic, 1 tune); 132, "The Rover" (1 text English) NOTES: The description is from the translation by George Sigerson as Moylan 132, "The Rover." For more on the French involvement in the Rebellion of 1798 see, for example, the notes to "The Men of the West" and "The Shan Van Voght" - BS File: Moyl131 === NAME: Spanish Captain, The DESCRIPTION: A Spanish captain and his beautiful wife and daughter, bound for Newfoundland, are killed in a shipwreck near Cape Spear. The singer seems to have been one of the crew and laments the loss of the captain and his family. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield) KEYWORDS: wreck death lament family father mother FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Greenleaf/Mansfield 137, "The Spanish Captain" (1 text, 1 tune) Doyle2, pp. 38-39, "The Spanish Captain" (1 text, 1 tune) Lehr/Best 102, "The Spanish Captain" (1 text, 1 tune) Blondahl, pp. 87-88, "The Spanish Captain" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #4079 RECORDINGS: Anita Best, "The Spanish Captain" (on NFABest01) Omar Blondahl, "The Spanish Captain" (on NFOBlondahl01) NOTES: There is a formulaic introduction to the song where the Muses are called upon to help the singer and the public is promised not to be delayed too much in the telling. Cape Spear is the most eastern point in North America. - SH Editor's Nitpick: Technically, the easternmost point in North America (that is, the point with the most eastern longitude) is in Alaska, since it is the only part of North America to be in the eastern hemisphere. Cape Spear is the easternmost point in the Western Hemisphere. This song is item dD33 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW Lehr/Best: (viz., Best) In verses 5 and 6 "The smoke lay flying o'er the hills and pitching on the sea .... The Margrietta was our ship's name ...." "The Margrietta referred to is very likely the Mayaquezanna, a Spanish brig lost at Blackhead, near Cape Spear, on 14 August 1876. Both the captain and his wife were drowned." Northern Shipwrecks Database: Mayaquezana/Maguezana stranded in smoke with 2 or 3 lost. - BS File: Doy38 === NAME: Spanish Cavalier, The DESCRIPTION: The Spanish Cavalier plays his guitar under a tree, asking his sweetheart to be true while he is off to war. He promises to return if he lives, and asks her to seek him if he dies AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1887 (Merchant's Gargling Oil Songster for that year) KEYWORDS: war separation music FOUND_IN: US(Ro) REFERENCES: (1 citation) LPound-ABS, 106, p. 218, "The Spanish Cabineer" (1 text) ST LPnd218 (Full) Roud #2684 RECORDINGS: Riley Puckett, "Spanish Cavalier" (Columbia 15003-D, c. 1924) NOTES: My 1887 _Merchant's Gargling Oil Songster_ lists this song as being copyrighted in the name of Gwo. W. Hagans, but this was simply a publishing house. The author is not listed. - RBW File: LPnd218 === NAME: Spanish Is a Loving Tongue: see Spanish Is the Loving Tongue (A Border Affair) (File: FCW052) === NAME: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue (A Border Affair) DESCRIPTION: The singer tells of his love for (and language lessons from) a Mexican girl. "But one time I had to fly For a foolish gambling fight." Though the affair may have been a mistake, he still misses her and her farewell, "Adios, mi corazon." AUTHOR: Words: Charles Badger Clark EARLIEST_DATE: 1920 KEYWORDS: love separation abandonment gambling fight foreigner FOUND_IN: US(Ro,SW) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Fife-Cowboy/West 52, "Border Affair" (2 texts, 1 tune) Darling-NAS, pp. 278-279, "Spanish Is a Loving Tongue" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 141, "Spanish Is The Loving Tongue" (1 text) DT, SPANLOVE* Roud #11085 RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "Spanish is the Loving Tongue" (on PeteSeeger30) File: FCW052 === NAME: Spanish Johnny DESCRIPTION: "The old West, the old time, The old wind singing through..." are the habitat of Spanish Johnny, who herds cattle and kills men and "sing[s] to his mandolin." Spanish Johnny is finally hung; the night before he dies, he sings one last time to the mandolin AUTHOR: Words: Willa Cather / Music: C. E. Scoggins (?) EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 KEYWORDS: cowboy death execution music FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 123-124, "Spanish Johnny" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #15551 NOTES: Written as a poem, the Lomaxes apparently collected this from the author of the tune. There is no evidence that it ever entered tradition. - RBW File: LxA123 === NAME: Spanish Ladies DESCRIPTION: Sailor bids farewell to the Spanish (Australian, South American) ladies as his ship weighs anchor and departs for England (Massachusetts). AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1845 (broadside, Bodleian Firth c.17(305)) KEYWORDS: parting sailor Spain England FOUND_IN: Britain(England) US(NE) Canada(Mar) Ireland REFERENCES: (9 citations) Hugill, pp. 385-386, "Spanish Ladies" (2 texts, 2 tunes) [AbEd, pp. 293-294] Sharp-100E 89, "Spanish Ladies" (1 text, 1 tune) Shay-SeaSongs, pp. 136-137, "Spanish Ladies" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton/Senior, pp. 233-234, "Spanish Ladies" (1 text, 1 tune) Karpeles-Newfoundland 41, "Spanish Ladies" (1 text, 1 tune) Mackenzie 97, "Spanish Ladies" (1 text) Ranson, p. 25, "The Spanish Ladies" (1 text) DT, SPANLAD* SPANLAD3* ADDITIONAL: Captain John Robinson, "Songs of the Chantey Man," a series published July-August 1917 in the periodical _The Bellman_ (Minneapolis, MN, 1906-1919). "Farewell and Adieu" is in Part 4, 8/4/1917. Roud #687 RECORDINGS: Cadgwith fishermen, "Farewell and Adieu" (on LastDays) Johnny Doughty, "Up the Channel" (on Voice12) A. L. Lloyd, "Talcahuano Girls" (on Lloyd3, Lloyd9) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Firth c.17(305), "The Spanish Ladies", J. Pitts (London), 1819-1844; also Harding B 11(1483), Harding B 11(3611), Firth b.34(40), Firth c.13(39), Firth c.13(41), "[The] Spanish Ladies" LOCSinging, as104650, "Spanish Ladies", J. Catnach (London), 19C CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "We'll Rant and We'll Roar" (plot, tune, lyrics) cf. "Brisbane Ladies" (plot, tune, lyrics) cf. "The Countersigns" (tune) SAME_TUNE: The Countersigns (File: Col135) Brisbane Ladies (File: FaE162) We'll Rant and We'll Roar (File: FJ042) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Farewell and Adieu To You NOTES: This well-known melody inspired a number of local parodies, including "We'll Rant and We'll Roar" and "Brisbane Ladies." As most of these are deliberate rewrites, however, they are not included here. - RBW File: ShH89 === NAME: Spanish Lady (I): see Wheel of Fortune (Dublin City, Spanish Lady) (File: E098) === NAME: Spanish Lady (II), The: see The Spanish Lady's Love (File: OBB161) === NAME: Spanish Lady's Love, The DESCRIPTION: Imprisoned by an English captain, the Spanish lady falls in love with her captor. They exchange praises for the English, and he tells her they are mismatched. This does not convince her; at last he says he is married. They go their separate ways AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1728 (registered 1603, and quoted in 1616) KEYWORDS: courting separation love prison FOUND_IN: Britain(England) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Percy/Wheatley II, pp. 247-251, "The Spanish Lady's Love" (1 text) OBB 161, "The Spanish Lady's Love" (1 text) Chappell/Wooldridge II, pp. 84-85, "The Spanish Lady" (1 tune, partial text) BBI, ZN2935, "Will you hear a Spanish Lady"; cf. AN2934, "Will you hear a German Princess" ST OBB161 (Partial) Roud #9735 File: OBB161 === NAME: Spanish Maid, The: see A Gay Spanish Maid [Laws K16] (File: LK16) === NAME: Spanish Merchant's Daughter: see No, John, No (File: R385) === NAME: Spanish Privateer, The: see The French Privateer (File: HHH560) === NAME: Spanish Shore, The: see Lovely Sally (You Broken-Hearted Heroes) (File: HHH549) === NAME: Spanish War, The DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls "our last rebellion" in 1861, and declares that "battle must be fought" against Spain to "avenge the Maine": "They sunk her, never to rise again." Despite the possibility of loss, the war must be pursued AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas) KEYWORDS: Spain battle war navy soldier HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1895 - Cubans rebel against Spain Feb 15, 1898 - Explosion of the battleship "Maine" in Havana harbour April 25, 1898 - Congress declares war on Spain FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Thomas-Makin', pp. 95-96, (no title) (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "My Sweetheart Went Down with the Maine" (theme) and references there NOTES: For further information about the _Maine_ and the Spanish-American War, see the notes on "My Sweetheart Went Down with the Maine." This particular piece of rampant jingoism and blatant inaccuracy strikes me as possibly the work of the yellow press. - RBW File: ThBa095 === NAME: Spanking Maggie from the Ross DESCRIPTION: The singer tells listeners about a race urged by "Mr. Montague." Campbell Miller accepts the bet. Jockey Bell holds back his horse for a time, to increase the excitement and the wagering, then wins easily. The singer offers a toast to the winners AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: racing gambling horse trick FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H516, p. 35, "Spanking Maggie from the Ross" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #13354 File: HHH516 === NAME: Sparking on a Sunday Night: see Sparking Sunday Night (File: R379) === NAME: Sparking Sunday Night DESCRIPTION: As "Down behind the hilltops goes the setting sun," young lovers gather to court and go "sparking Sunday Night." The young people wait impatiently for her parents to drop off so they can spark seriously. Conclusion: sparking is fine -- but best on Sunday AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1921 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: courting love family FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Randolph 379, "Sparking Sunday Night" (1 text); 468, "Sparking on Sunday Night" (1 text, 1 tune) Spaeth-WeepMore, pp. 95-96, "Sparking on a Sunday Night" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2820 NOTES: Randolph treats his two pieces as separate, and does not even cross-reference them. It's true that the forms are slightly different, and that his #379 includes a sub-plot (waiting for the parents to fall asleep) not found in #468. But the key phrase is the same, and so is the feeling; I think they are one piece. - RBW File: R379 === NAME: Special Agent/Railroad Police Blues DESCRIPTION: "Now, when I left for Ripley the weather was kind of cool...." "Now, I swung that 97...." "Now, them special agents up the country sure is hard on a man...." The singer asks the special agents to evict him near a town so he can make a recording AUTHOR: Sleepy John Estes (1904-1977) EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (recording, Sleepy John Estes) KEYWORDS: train hobo technology FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cohen-LSRail, pp. 435-436, "Special Agent/Railroad Police Blues" (1 text, 1 tune) RECORDINGS: Sleepy John Estes, "Special Agent (Railroad Police Blues" (Decca 7491, 1938) File: LSRai435 === NAME: Speckles (Freckles) DESCRIPTION: "He was little 'en peaked 'en thin 'an Narr't a no 'account horse" (sic). The singer describes meeting (Freckles) many years ago, and being surprised by the gameness of this "no account" horse (which managed to rescue him from a party of Indians) AUTHOR: N. Howard Thorp EARLIEST_DATE: 1908 KEYWORDS: horse cowboy Indians(Am.) FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Thorp/Fife XXIII, pp. 254-257 (48-50), "Speckles" (2 texts, the second being an extension of the first) Roud #8044 NOTES: Another Thorp composition that had little play in tradition. Even so, it has a variant reading; the author couldn't decide whether the horse was named "Speckles" or "Freckles"! - RBW File: TF23 === NAME: Speed the Plow (Sal'sb'ry Sal) DESCRIPTION: Known as a fiddle tune, Flanders gives the words as "Oh, high, diddy-di, for Sal'sb'ry Sal, Plump she was, and a right smart gal, Swing to the center and caper down the hall, High, diddy-di, and a balance all...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (Flanders/Brown) KEYWORDS: dancetune nonballad FOUND_IN: US(NE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Flanders/Brown, p. 26, "Sal'sb'ry Sal" (1 text) Linscott, pp. 111-112, "Speed the Plow" (1 tune plus dance instructions) NOTES: "Speed the Plow" is, of course, one of the most popular of fiddle tunes. We can't absolutely identify it with the words in Flanders and Brown, though, because they don't give a tune! - RBW File: FlBr026 === NAME: Spencer the Rover DESCRIPTION: "These words were composed by Spencer the Rover, who travelled Great Britain and most parts of Wales." After much rambling and assorted adventures, he returns "to his family and wife" and decides to go roving no more AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1877 KEYWORDS: rambling family return FOUND_IN: Britain(England(All)) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Kennedy 331, "Spencer the Rover" (1 text, 1 tune) Copper-SoBreeze, pp. 264-265, "Spencer the Rover" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, SPENCROV* Roud #1115 File: K331 === NAME: Spendthrift Clapt Into Limbo, The: see Limbo (File: CrMa124) === NAME: Spider and the Fly, The DESCRIPTION: "'Will you walk into my parlor?' said the spider to the fly -- ''Tis the prettiest little parlor that ever you did spy.'" The fly demurs; the spider persists; at last she is lured "within his little parlor -- but she ne'er came out again." AUTHOR: Mary (Botham) Howitt (1799-1888) EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Lawson, _The World's Best-Loved Poems_) KEYWORDS: bug trick lie death FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #837, pp. 316-317, "('Will you walkin into my parlor?' said the spider to the fly)" Roud #13006 NOTES: Mary Howitt, the wife of author William Howitt, made a number of translations into English (including, apparently, some of the works of Hans Christian Andersen), but is hardly remembered today except for this one piece. _Granger's Index to Poetry_ cites ten poems of hers, but most are in only a single reference; 11 books are cited for this piece. I have this feeling that some of those other citations are instance where editors wanted to prove she did more than write "The Spider and the Fly." - RBW File: BGMG837 === NAME: Spider from the Gwydir, The DESCRIPTION: "By the sluggish River Gwydir Lived a wicked redbacked spider...." A drunken shearer falls asleep near its lair. A man and woman come up and set out to rob him. As she approaches, the spider bites her. She flees in pain; the shearer is saved AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1968 KEYWORDS: bug humorous robbery FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (2 citations) Meredith/Anderson, pp. 204-205, "The Spider from the Gwydir" (1 text, 1 tune) Meredith/Covell/Brown, pp. 170, "The Moree Spider" (1 text) File: MA204 === NAME: Spike Driver Blues: see Take This Hammer (File: FR383) === NAME: Spin Spin: see Whistle, Daughter, Whistle (File: R109) === NAME: Spin, Daughter, Spin: see Whistle, Daughter, Whistle (File: R109) === NAME: Spin, Meine Liebe Tochter (Spin, My Little Daughter): see Whistle, Daughter, Whistle (File: R109) === NAME: Spinning Song DESCRIPTION: "Spin, ladies, spin all day (x2), Sheep shell corn, Rain rattles up a horn, Spin, ladies, spin all day (x3)." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: worksong nonballad FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 215, "Spinning-Song" (1 short text) File: ScNF215A === NAME: Spinning Wheel (I), The DESCRIPTION: A young man comes courting the girl, praising her beauty and kissing her hand, "But yet I turned my spinning wheel." At last he proposes (marriage/a roll in the hay); she (accepts and leaves her wheel/orders him away) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: love courting technology work rejection marriage FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (2 citations) Arnett, pp. 12-13, "The Spinning Wheel" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, SPINWHL2* File: Arn012 === NAME: Spirit of the Lord Has Fell On Me DESCRIPTION: "O John, O hallelujah, O John, O the spirit of the Lord has fell on to me." "Hallelujah to the lamb, Spirit of the Lord has fell on to me, Jesus made me what I am...." "Prettiest work I ever done... To work for the Lord when I was young...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (Chappell) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad work Jesus FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Chappell-FSRA 92, "Spirit of the Lord Has Fell On Me" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #4918 NOTES: If this is an allusion to any Biblical incident at all (and I'm not sure it is), I suspect it's to Revelation 1:10, where John was "in the Spirit on the Lord's day." John is associated with the giving of the Spirit in passages such as Acts 8:15, but Peter seems to be the prime mover in all such places. - RBW File: ChFRA092 === NAME: Spirit Song of George's Bank, The: see The Ghostly Crew [Laws D16] (File: LD16) === NAME: Spiritual Railroad, The: see The Road to Heaven (File: R600) === NAME: Sport Song, A: see The Quaker's Courtship (File: R362) === NAME: Sport's Lament DESCRIPTION: "I am a poor forlorn dog and Sport is my name." Born in Caw, he is sent to Donegal but has no training. At first his owner treats him well, but then a dog tax is imposed; the master throws him out because he is expensive and useless AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: dog abandonment animal home FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H772, p. 23, "Sport's Lament" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #13346 NOTES: Obviously a composed song, with music perhaps set by Sam Henry, but I have been unable to determine when license taxes were imposed on British dogs. - RBW File: HHH772 === NAME: Sporting Bachelors, The DESCRIPTION: "Come all you sportin' bachelors, take warning by me." The singer warns of a fast life and of marriage. His wife dresses him in rags, and makes him work constantly so she may live well. He hopes she dies so he may again be free. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1920 KEYWORDS: marriage courting abuse bachelor FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Wyman-Brockway II, p. 46, "Sporting Bachelors" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSUSA 14, "The Sporting Bachelors" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, SPORTBCH* Roud #5556 RECORDINGS: [G. B.] Grayson & [Henry] Whitter, "Never Be as Fast as I Have Been" (Victor 23565, 1929; on GraysonWhitter01) Buell Kazee, "Sporting Bachelors" (Brunswick 157, 1927; Supertone S-2082, 1930; on KMM) New Lost City Ramblers, "Never Be as Fast as I Have Been" (on NLCR14) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Sorry the Day I Was Married" cf. "Scolding Wife (IV)" (plot) cf. "Married and Single Life" (subject) NOTES: Roud lumps this with "Scolding Wife (IV)," and I cannot deny the close similarity in themes. But the two appear somewhat different in both form and emphasis. - RBW File: LxU014 === NAME: Sporting Cowboy: see Logan County Jail (Dallas County Jail) [Laws E17] (File: LE17) === NAME: Sporting Life Blues DESCRIPTION: "I got a letter from my home, Most of my friends are dead and gone... That sporting life is killing me." The singer describes all the rowdy things he has done, wishes he had listened to his mother, and decides that he should marry and settle down AUTHOR: Generally attributed to Brownie McGhee EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 KEYWORDS: rambling drink gambling FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (2 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 74, "Sporting Life Blues" (1 text) DT, SPRTLIFE File: FSWB074 === NAME: Sporting Maggie DESCRIPTION: The singer meets a girl. She doesn't want to marry but only "to court with a sporting young blade that pleases Sporting Maggie." "If you love me as I love thee, What a sporting couple we would be." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (Peacock) KEYWORDS: sex bawdy dialog rake whore FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Peacock, pp. 314-315, "Sporting Maggie" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #6461 File: Pea314 === NAME: Sporting Old Grey Mare, The: see The Old Grey Mare (III) (File: OLoc035) === NAME: Sporting Races of Galway, The: see The Galway Races (File: OLoc010) === NAME: Sporting Youth, The DESCRIPTION: The singer asks Mary to go with him to America. She agrees although friends say he would not prove true. "So now we are landed and married we be We will live in contentment and sweet unity" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1821 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 c.17(4) View 2 of 2) KEYWORDS: courting marriage emigration America Ireland floatingverses FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OLochlainn 47, "The Sporting Youth" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #3016 BROADSIDES: Murray, Mu23-y2:013, "The Sporting Youth," The Poet's Box (Glasgow), 19C Bodleian, 2806 c.17(4) View 2 of 2, "American strander" ("I'm a stranger in this country"), G. Thompson (Liverpool), 1789-1820; also 2806 b.11(278), Harding B 11(3206), Harding B 16(257a), Johnson Ballads 1834, "[The] Sporting Youth"; Harding B 16(6a), "The American Stranger"; Harding B 25(1845)[partly illegible], "The Stranger" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Colin and Phoebe" (tune, per broadside Bodleian Johnson Ballads 1834) NOTES: Usually the stranger comes from America; in some cases he comes from Ireland. - BS File: OLoc047 === NAME: Sports o' Glasgow Green, The DESCRIPTION: "Ae morn in the sweet month o' July... Young Jockey had trysted wi' Jenny To gang wi' him in to the fair." They go to Glasgow, see all the strange people and exhibits, have sundry adventures, and head home to sleep it off AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord), from an undated songster KEYWORDS: worker music animal humorous drink food FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, pp. 396-399, "The Sports o' Glasgow Green" (1 text) Roud #5615 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Blythesome Bridal" (tune, thematic elements) File: Ord397 === NAME: Spotted Cow, The DESCRIPTION: Singer meets a milkmaid who has lost her spotted cow. He says he's seen the cow in yonder grove, and offers to show her. They spend the day there. Now whenever she sees him, she calls to him again: "I have lost my spotted cow" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1889 (Baring Gould) KEYWORDS: courting love sex farming animal lover worker FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South,North)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Kennedy 142, "The Spotted Cow" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #956 RECORDINGS: Harry Cox, "The Spotted Cow" (on HCox01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Kitty of Coleraine" (theme) cf. "Blackberry Grove" (theme) cf. "Three Maidens to Milking Did Go" (theme) NOTES: Not to be confused with "The Old Spotted Cow," a version of "The Crafty Farmer." - PJS File: K142 === NAME: Spotted Islands Song, The DESCRIPTION: The Anderson leaves Cupids "for a dance in Spotted Islands In the good old Fishin' Time!" The ships are named. "We had on board eight females" but the crew "kept up good behavior" and landed them safely on Wednesday morning. AUTHOR: Samuel Richards EARLIEST_DATE: 1964 (Blondahl) KEYWORDS: commerce sea ship dancing FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Blondahl, pp. 91-92, "The Spotted Islands Song" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Cupids is on Cape Breton. Spotted Islands is off the coast of Labrador. - BS File: Blon091 === NAME: Spottee DESCRIPTION: "Come all you good people and listen to me, And a comical jest I will tell unto ye, Concerning one Spottee that lived on the law key...." The wild man frightens women and children and horses; many hope to see him move, but sailors will not take him AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay) KEYWORDS: madness FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Stokoe/Reay, pp. 72-73, "Spottee" (1 text, 1 tune) ST StoR072 (Partial) Roud #3142 NOTES: Stokoe quotes Sir Cuthbert Sharp to the effect that song tells of an actual madman "who lives in a cave between Whitburn and Sunderland, which still retains the name of 'Spottee's Hole.'" - RBW File: StoR072 === NAME: Spree at Montague, The DESCRIPTION: "There were a spree in Montague ... At a farmer's house." The fiddler could not play a good dance tune and blamed the fiddle. A second fiddler is called in and plays very well with the same fiddle. Moral: Invite fiddler number two to ensure a good dance. AUTHOR: Patrick William Farrell EARLIEST_DATE: 1969 (Ives-DullCare) KEYWORDS: vanity dancing fiddle party FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ives-DullCare, pp. 208-209, 255, "The Spree at Montague" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #13996 RECORDINGS: John Farrell, "The Spree at Montague" (on MREIves01) NOTES: Montague is on the east coast of Kings County, Prince Edward Island. - BS File: UvDC208 === NAME: Sprig of Shillelah, The DESCRIPTION: The Irishman "loves all that's lovely": drinking, fighting. May English, Scots and Irish drub the French and be "united and happy at loyalty's shrine, May the rose and the thistle long flourish and twine Round a sprig of shillelah and shamrock so green!" AUTHOR: Edward Lysaght (1763-1810)? (according to Croker-PopularSongs); Henry Brereton Code (d. 1830)? (according to Bodleian documentation re broadsides (see notes)) EARLIEST_DATE: 1807 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 10(50)) KEYWORDS: war England France Ireland nonballad patriotic FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (3 citations) O'Conor, p. 13, "The Sprig of Shillelah" (1 text) Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 110-115, "The Sprig of Shillelah" (1 text) ADDITIONAL: H. Halliday Sparling, Irish Minstrelsy (London, 1888), pp. 481-482, 503, "The Sprig of Shillelah" Roud #13379 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 10(50), "Sprig of Shillelah and Shamrock So Green", Laurie & Whittle (London), 1807; also Harding B 17(299a), "The Sprig of Shillelah and Shamrock So Green"; Firth b.34(279), "Sprig of Shillelagh"; Harding B 11(3632), 2806 c.18(300), "Sprig of Shilelah"; Harding B 11(892), "Sprig of Shillalah"; Harding B 18(448), Harding B 17(298a), Harding B 17(298b), Johnson Ballads 60, "Sprig of Shillelah"; Harding B 25(1830) [only partly legible], "The Sprig of Shilelah and Shamrock So Green" LOCSinging, as203420, "Sprig of Shillelah", Andrews (New York), 1853-1859 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Darling Neddeen" (tune, according to Croker-PopularSongs) SAME_TUNE: Black Joke (broadside Bodleian Harding B 10(50)) NOTES: Broadside Bodleian Harding B 10(50) notes that the text was "sung with unbounded applause by Mr Johnstone, of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane." The publication date is October 20, 1807. The Peninsular Campaign against the French in Portugal is in the news. That may explain the text's sense of unity of Irish and English against the French. O'Conor has the leek of Wales with the rose of England and thistle of Scotland, in "the rose, leek and thistle" joining the shamrock of Ireland. The Princess Grace Irish Library (Monaco) site entry for Henry Brereton Code notes that Code included "Sprig of Shillelah" in his 1813 musical drama "The Russian Sacrifice, or the Burning of Moscow." While its inclusion there is consistent with its sense of unity the earlier broadside rules against the play as its first appearance. The site also refers to Code as "a particularly detested character, spy and informer" from the Irish viewpoint. _Irish Minstrelsy_ by H. Halliday Sparling (London, 1888), pp. 481-482, 503, "The Sprig of Shillelah" makes the attribution to Edward Lysaght (1763-1810). Croker-PopularSongs, p. 106: "The Irish oak, figuratively termed 'a sprig of Shillelah,' is so called from Shillelah, a district in the county of Wicklow, formerly celebrated for its oak woods.... [Quoting _The Dublin Penny Journal_:] '... an Irishman cannot walk or wander, sport or fight, buy or sell, comfortably, without an oak stick in his fist.'" I can no longer reach the Princess Grace Irish Library (Monaco) site. Perhaps I misunderstood the entry there to indicate that Henry B. Code is the author; Bodleian, in its documentation for broadsides Harding B 25(1830), Harding B 17(299a), 2806 c.18(300) and Harding B 17(298b) also has Code as the author [Code's name is not on the face of any of those broadsides]. Croker, possibly Sparling's source, has Edward Lysaght as the author. Lysaght's title for the song was, apparently, "Sprig of Shillelah and Shamrock so Green," as on a number of the broadsides. If this poem had been included in _Poems by the Late Edward Lysaght, Esq_ (Dublin, 1811) that would have gone a long way toward settling the authorship question. That book is a collection of some of Lysaght's poems, but not this one. Broadside LOCSinging as203420: 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: OCon013 === NAME: Sprig of Thyme: see In My Garden Grew Plenty of Thyme AND Thyme (It Is a Precious Thing) AND Garners Gay (Rue; The Sprig of Thyme) (File: R090) === NAME: Sprightly Young Damsel DESCRIPTION: Daughter complains of pains. Mother says it's time to marry the rich miller. Daughter would marry the unsuspecting father, poor farmer Willie. Mother refuses. Daughter reminds mother of her own indiscretions. Mother relents and prepares a grand wedding. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (according to notes to IRClare01) KEYWORDS: wedding pregnancy dialog humorous mother miller FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #18473 RECORDINGS: Michael "Straighty"' Flanagan, "Sprightly Young Damsel" (on IRClare01) File: RcSpYDam === NAME: Spring of '65: see The Backwoodsman (The Green Mountain Boys) [Laws C19] (File: LC19) === NAME: Spring of '97, The DESCRIPTION: "The Spring of '97 boys, For if we never knew The hardship of the frozen pan, We suffered with them too." "We struck the seals off Cabot Isle, Five days out from port" The song describes killing harp seals, storm, ice damage, and sealers dying. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 (Peacock) KEYWORDS: memorial death hunting ship sea work ordeal storm FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Peacock, pp. 976-977, "The Spring of '97" (1 text, 1 tune) Doyle3, p. 74, "The Spring of '97" (1 text, 1 tune) Blondahl, pp. 77-78, "The Spring of '97" (1 text, 1 tune) Ryan/Small, pp. 44-45, "THe Spring of '97" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Doyl3074 (Partial) Roud #6470 File: Doyl3074 === NAME: Spring of the Wadhams, The: see Maurice Crotty (File: Pea073) === NAME: Spring Trip of the Schooner Ambition, The DESCRIPTION: Captain Himmelmann and the crew of the Ambition go out fishing in March. The song details where they go and even the frozen squid they use as bait, as well as all the trouble the crew has fishing; it ends with all happily ashore AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 KEYWORDS: ship fishing work FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Doerflinger, pp. 177-179, "The Spring Trip of the Schooner Ambition" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9425 NOTES: As this piece is blessed with defective metre, no rhyme scheme, and banal lyrics, I can only suspect that the informant was close to the author. I doubt the piece ever established itself in tradition (Doerflinger knows of no other versions, and Roud lists none). - RBW File: Doe177 === NAME: Springfield Mountain [Laws G16] DESCRIPTION: A young man is out mowing a field. He is bitten by a poisonous snake. In "serious" versions, he dies because no one comes to his aid. In others, his sweetheart tries to draw the poison but instead is killed herself when the venom enters a "rotten tooth" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1836 KEYWORDS: death animal lover injury HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Aug 7, 1761 - Death by snakebite of Timothy Myrick, often considered the inspiration for this song FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,Ro,SE,So) REFERENCES: (31 citations) Laws G16, "Springfield Mountain" (sample text in NAB, pp. 35-36) Belden, pp. 299-300, "Springfield Mountain" (1 text plus a reference to 1 more) Randolph 424, "Springfield Mountain" (4 texts, 2 tunes) Eddy 109, "Springfield Mountain" (4 texts, 3 tunes) Gardner/Chickering 38, "Springfield Mountain" (2 texts, 1 tune) BrownII 208, "Springfield Mountain" (3 text plus 3 fragments and mention of 1 more; the final fragment, "G," may perhaps be another song) Hudson 61, p. 184, "Springfield Mountain" (1 short text) Brewster 76, "Springfield Mountain" (1 fragment) MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 223-224, "Springfield Mountain (I), (II)" (2 texts) Flanders/Brown, pp. 15-18, "On Springfield Mountain" (2 texts plus some scraps, 2 tunes) Linscott, pp. 285-286, "Springfield Mountain or The Black Sarpent" (1 text, 1 tune) Leach, pp. 719-723, "Springfield Mountain" (4 texts) McNeil-SFB2, pp. 53-54, "The Rattlesnake Song" (1 text, 1 tune) Friedman, p. 302, "Springfield Mountain" (4 texts) Warner 23, "Springfield Mountain"; 65, "On Springfield Mountain" (2 texts, 2 tunes) SharpAp 132, "Springfield Mountain" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Scott-BoA, pp. 44-45, "Springfield Mountain"; pp. 156-158, "The Pesky Sarpent" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Lomax-FSUSA 9, "Springfield Mountain" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 3, "Springfield Mountain"; 212, "Springfield Mountain (Texas Version)" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 356-357, "Rattle Snake" (1 text, 1 tune) Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 828-829, "On Springfield Mountain" (1 text, 1 tune) Botkin-NEFolklr, pp. 554-555, "The Pesky Sarpent" (1 text, 1 tune) Arnett, p. 16, "Smithfield Mountain" (1 text, 1 tune) JHCox 81, "Springfield Mountain" (1 text) JHCoxIIB, #3A-3C, pp. 122-125, "Springfield Mountain," "The Venomous Black Snake" (2 texts plus a fragment, 1 tune) Abrahams/Foss, pp. 146-147, "Springfield Mountain" (2 texts, 2 tunes) LPound-ABS, 42, pp. 97-98, "O Johnny Dear, Why Did You Go?"; pp. 98-99, "Woodville Mound]"; pp. 99, "In Springfield Mountain"; p. 100, "Springfield Mountain" (4 texts) Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 167-170, "Springfield Mountain" (1 text, probably rewritten, 1 tune) Darling-NAS, pp. 218-220, "Springfield Mountain" (2 texts, one labeled a parody) Silber-FSWB, p. 216, "Springfield Mountain" (1 text) DT 314, SPRNMNTN* SPRNMTN2* SPRNMTN4* Roud #431 RECORDINGS: Winifred Bundy, "Young Johnny (Springfield Mountain)" (AFS, 1941; on LC55) Bascom Lamar Lunsford, "Springfield Mountain" (on BLLunsford02) (on AschRec2) "Yankee" John Galusha, "Springfield Mountain" (on USWarnerColl01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Fod" (words) cf. "The Little Girl and the Dreadful Snake" (plot) ALTERNATE_TITLES: O Polly Dear NOTES: Phillips Barry studied this ballad in depth, and concluded that it fell into four subfamilies: the "Curtis" type (serious), the "Molly" type (comic; see, e.g. DT SPRNMNTN), the"Myrick" type (serious; see DT SPRNMTN2), and the "Sally" type (comic; see SPRNMTN4). Spaeth, for some reason, credits this to someone named Nathan Torrey (_A History of Popular Music in America_, p. 64), but offers no supporting evidence. He also believes that the comic type "The Pesky Sarpent" comes from the political season of 1840! (The notes in Brown support this to the extent that they credit it to the stage performers George G. Spear and George H. Hill.) - RBW File: LG16 === NAME: Springhill Mine Disaster (1891) DESCRIPTION: "Hark, the horn blows loud and long, There is something wrong ... One hundred three and twenty Of our Springhill miners dead Killed in the bowels of the earth Where none could hear their cries" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (Creighton-Maritime) KEYWORDS: death mining disaster HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Feb 21, 1891 - Springhill Disaster FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Creighton-Maritime, p. 185, "Springhill Mine Disaster (1891)" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, SPRINGH2* Roud #2713 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "La Complainte de Springhill (The Lament of Springhill)" (subject) NOTES: February 21, 1891: Springhill Coal Mine explosion kills 125 men. (Source: our roots/nos racines (Canada's local histories online) _Story of the Springhill Colliery Explosion_ : comprising a full and authentic account of the great coal mining explosion at Springhill Mines, Nova Scotia, February 21st, 1891, including a history of Springhill and its collieries_ by R.A.H. Morrow.) - BS This was not the last disaster in the Springhill coal mines; Peggy Seeger and Ewan MacColl documented the 1958 tragedy in "Springhill Mine Disaster (1958)." - RBW File: CrMa185 === NAME: Springhill Mine Disaster (1958) DESCRIPTION: Describes collapse of mine tunnel in Springhill, Nova Scotia, 1958; twelve men are trapped in a cave-in, while several are killed. The lamps, food and water give out; after eight days some are rescued AUTHOR: Ewan MacColl & Peggy Seeger EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 (copyright by authors) KEYWORDS: rescue death mining disaster ordeal worker FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 124, "Ballad of Springhill (The Springhill Mine Disaster)" (1 text) DT, SPRINGHI* NOTES: I include this, although it's a recently-composed song, because it is solidly within the traditional ballad style, and because it's entered the common repertoire. - PJS Usually listed as by MacColl and Seeger, but their official report is that it is "chiefly the work of Peggy Seeger." The mine disaster of 1958 was not the only Springhill tragedy; there had been an earlier (and even more deadly) cave-in in 1891, for which see "La Complainte de Springhill (The Lament of Springhill)" and "Springhill Mine Disaster (1891)." The town of Springhill is in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, not far from the New Brunswick border, on the fringes of the Cobequid Mountains (really hills). There is still coal in the area, but it is now considered a minor resource; there is, in fact, a nuclear power plant nearby. Joseph Ruby reports that MacColl's figures are inaccurate: "75 men were killed and about 40 were rescued - after 12 days, not eight." - RBW File: FSWB124A === NAME: Springtime It Brings on the Shearing, The (On the Wallaby Track) DESCRIPTION: "Oh, the springtime it brings on the shearing, And it's then you will see them in droves...." The singer describes the life of the shearer: Hard at work in season; rambling the rest of the year and "making johnny-cakes round in the bend" AUTHOR: from the poem "On the Wallaby Track" by E.J. Overbury EARLIEST_DATE: 1865 KEYWORDS: sheep work Australia rambling FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (4 citations) Meredith/Anderson, p. 186, "The Springtime It Brings on the Shearing" (1 text, 1 tune); probably also pp. 259-260, "The Springtime It Brings on the Shearing" (1 text, 1 tune, but in a very sorry state of repair) Fahey-Eureka, pp. 130-131, "The Springtime It Brings On the Shearing" (1 text, 1 tune) Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 185-186, "(The Springtime It Brings on the Shearing" (1 excerpt, filed under "The Flash Sydney Shearers") DT, SPRNGSHR* CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Flash Sydney Shearers" (form) File: MA186 === NAME: Squarin' Up Time DESCRIPTION: With their fish sold, the sailors go to the store to "square up." They spend their cash on various items, often behaving very badly when they can't have what they want. All is well until the parson strolls in, whereupon the men start offering him credit AUTHOR: Arthur Scammel EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Peacock) KEYWORDS: sailor money humorous FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Peacock, pp. 98-99, "Squarin'-Up Time" (1 text, 1 tune) Fowke/Johnston, pp. 182, ""Squarin' Up Time (1 text; the tune -- "Vilikens and His Dinah" -- is on pp. 180-181) Blondahl, pp. 35-36, "Squarin' Up" (1 text, 1 tune) ST FJ182 (Partial) Roud #4548 RECORDINGS: Omar Blondahl, "Squaring Up Time" (on NFOBlondahl02) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Vilikens and his Dinah (William and Dinah) [Laws M31A/B]" (tune & meter) and references there NOTES: Newfoundland fishermen lived much like American farmers: Borrow heavily in the spring to finance their fishing trips, spend the summer fishing, return in the fall with their yield, sell it and "square up" with the bank or the merchant. - RBW Blondahl: "The poem Squarin Up was written by Mr Scammell in 1933. This poem and some twenty others by the same author may be found in a booklet titled _Mirrored Moments_, published in Montreal in 1945." - BS File: FJ182 === NAME: Squeball: see Skewball [Laws Q22] (File: LQ22) === NAME: Squid-Jiggin' Ground, The DESCRIPTION: A song of the life of a squid fisherman. The fishermen are named, as are their homes and their peculiarities. The final stanzas warn of the messy work: "Now if ever you feel inclined to go squiddin', leave your white shirts and collars behind in the town" AUTHOR: Arthur R. Scammell EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1929 KEYWORDS: fishing nonballad moniker work FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (6 citations) Fowke/Johnston, pp. 51-53, "The Squid-Jiggin' Ground" (1 text, 1 tune) Doyle2, pp. 66-67, "The Squid-Jiggin' Ground" (1 text, 1 tune) Doyle3, pp. 57-58, "The Squid-Jiggin' Ground" (1 text, 1 tune) Blondahl, pp. 32-33, "The Squid-Jiggin' Ground" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 127, "The Squid-Jiggin' Ground" (1 text) DT, SQUIDJIG* Roud #4429 RECORDINGS: Omar Blondahl, "Squid Jiggin' Ground" (on NFOBlondahl05) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "When Our Boys Gave Up Squiddin'" (tune) cf. "The Napan Heroes" (tune) NOTES: Fowke writes, "The tale of what happens when fishermen head for 'The Squid-Jiggin' Ground' is the most widely known of all Newfoundland songs.... It was written by... Arthur R. Scammell when he was only fifteen.... "The squid is a species of cuttle-fish about ten inches long which is used as bait for larger fish. It has the peculiar characteristic of squirting forth an inky liquid when it is disturbed. Large schools of squid move in at certain parts of the Newfoundland coast during August, September, and October, and then the fishermen head out to pull them in with line and jigger." - RBW The tune is one used by The Flanagan Brothers for their 1927 release of "Mick from Tralee" (on The Flanagan Brothers, "The Tunes We Like to Play on Paddy's Day," Viva Voce 007 (1996) from Columbia 33187-F June 1927). It is close to the tune of the chorus to "Paddy's Panacea" on Voice13. - BS File: FJ051 === NAME: Squire Agnew's Hunt DESCRIPTION: The singer wanders by (Kellswater park) and is enjoying the bird songs when he spies Squire Agnew's hunting pack. After a long chase, they take down the stag. The singer goes to "drink brandy with Squire Johes Agnew" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: hunting animal drink FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H140, p. 30, "Squire Agnew's Hunt" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #13351 File: HHH140 === NAME: Squire and the Fair Maid, The: see Down By Blackwaterside (File: K151) === NAME: Squire and the Gipsy, The DESCRIPTION: A squire meets a Gypsy. He forgets his upbringing, swearing he'll marry her. She offers to tell his fortune; he tells her he knows it: she's to be his bride. She asks if he's trying to insult her; there's more honesty in the lowly than the aristocracy AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1953 (recorded from Harry Cox) LONG_DESCRIPTION: A young squire, straying alone in the countryside, meets a lovely Gypsy lass. He forgets his upbringing, swearing he'll marry her. She offers to tell his fortune; he tells her he already knows it: she is to be his bride. She asks if he's trying to insult her with his "grand proposal", saying she lives a light-hearted and contented life, and that there's more honesty in the poor and lowly than in the aristocracy KEYWORDS: poverty pride courting love marriage rejection beauty lover Gypsy FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Kennedy 355, "The Squire and the Gypsy" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #1628 RECORDINGS: Harry Cox, "The Squire and the Gypsy" (on HCox01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Gypsy Maid, The (The Gypsy's Wedding Day)" [Laws O4] (theme) cf. "The Laird o Cockpen" (theme) cf. "The Weaver's Daughter" (theme) File: K355 === NAME: Squire Boys, The DESCRIPTION: "On the eighteenth day of December in the year of ninety-five, Them dates I will remember as long as I'm alive." The singer talks mostly of the troubles and bad weather encountered by teamsters on the way to the camp, but also alludes to the men there AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (Fowke) KEYWORDS: logger travel lumbering storm FOUND_IN: Canada(Ont) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fowke-Lumbering #22, "The Squire Boys" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #4362 File: FowL22 === NAME: Squire Nathaniel and Betsy: see The Old Oak Tree [Laws P37] (File: LP37) === NAME: Squire of Edinburgh Town, The: see Katharine Jaffray [Child 221] (File: C221) === NAME: Squire of Eninboroughtown, The: see Katharine Jaffray [Child 221] (File: C221) === NAME: Squire Relantman: see Lamkin [Child 93] (File: C093) === NAME: Squire, The: see The Old Oak Tree [Laws P37] (File: LP37) === NAME: Squire's Bride, The: see The Golden Glove (Dog and Gun) [Laws N20] (File: LN20) === NAME: Squire's Lost Lady, The: see Jack the Jolly Tar (I) (Tarry Sailor) [Laws K40] (File: LK40) === NAME: Squirrel, The: see Raccoon (File: R260) === NAME: SS Leinster Lass, The DESCRIPTION: The singer wanders by the Clyde when the Leinster Lass comes into view. The singer boasts of the ship, its crew, its band, its flag. He wishes success to ship and crew AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: nonballad ship FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) SHenry H808, p. 98, "The S[team]s[hip] Leinster Lass" (1 text, 1 tune) McBride 46, "The Leinster Lass" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #13367 NOTES: Lani Herrmann notes the oddity of a steamship being called upon to "reef and steer." This occurs in the final verse, which also seems to show a change in perspective (from an onlooker on the shore to, apparently, a crewmember). One must suspect this verse is intrusive. Not unusual in songs of this type. - RBW File: HHH808 === NAME: St. Albans Murder, The: see James MacDonald [Laws P38] (File: LP38) === NAME: St. James Infirmary: see Saint James Infirmary (File: San228) === NAME: St. James' Hospital: see The Bad Girl's Lament (St. James' Hospital; The Young Girl Cut Down in her Prime) [Laws Q26]; also The Unfortunate Rake (File: LQ26) === NAME: St. Patrick Was a Gentleman: see Saint Patrick Was a Gentleman (File: OCon105) === NAME: St. Patrick, The DESCRIPTION: "The Mail Boat, Paddy, ... now lies in the sea"; a German Bomber sinks her. Captain Fardy says "All hands try your lives to save" and goes down with the ship. The survivors "risked their precious lives, their shipmates to rescue." Twenty-three are lost AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1943 (Ranson) KEYWORDS: drowning sea ship wreck sailor war HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Jun 13, 1941: World War II. The ferry St Patrick is attacked and sunk by a German dive bomber; Captain and 23 lost. (source: Ranson; Bourke in _Shipwrecks of the Irish Coast_ v1, p. 69) FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ranson, pp. 96-97, "The St Patrick" (1 text) File: Ran096 === NAME: Stackalee: see Stagolee (Stackerlee) [Laws I15] (File: LI15) === NAME: Stacker Lee: see Stagolee (Stackerlee) [Laws I15] (File: LI15) === NAME: Stackolee: see Stagolee (Stackerlee) [Laws I15] (File: LI15) === NAME: Stage Coach Driver's Lad, The: see Jim, the Carter Lad (File: FSC096) === NAME: Stagolee (Stackerlee) [Laws I15] DESCRIPTION: Stagolee and Billy Lyons are playing cards; Lyons wins the hand and the stakes. An angry Stagolee shoots Lyons, is arrested, sentenced, and hanged. The various versions of the ballad expand on different parts of the story AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1903 KEYWORDS: homicide gambling prison execution FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,So,SE,SW) REFERENCES: (17 citations) Laws I15, "Stagolee (Stackerlee)" Leach, pp. 765-766, "Stagolee" (2 texts) Friedman, p. 381, "Stagolee (Stackerlee)" (2 texts) Cray, pp. 149-154, "Stackolee" (2 texts, 1 tune) McNeil-SFB1, pp. 66-68, "Stagolee" (1 text, 1 tune) Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 92-93, "Stagolee" (2 texts) Lomax-FSNA 306, "Stagolee" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 93-99, "Stagolee" (2 texts, 1 tune) Asch/Dunson/Raim, p. 54 "Stackalee" (1 text, 1 tune) Spaeth-WeepMore, pp. 131-133, "Stackalee" (1 text) PSeeger-AFB, p. 51, "Stagolee" (1 text, 1 tune) Courlander-NFM, pp. 78-79, "(Stagolee)" (assorted fragments) MWheeler, pp. 100-102, "Stacker Lee #2" (1 text, 1 tune); also perhaps pp. 102-103, "Stacker Lee #3" (1 text, 1 tune, with references to Stacker Lee though the plot elements seem to have disappeared) Burt, pp. 202-203, "(Stackalee)" (1 text) Darling-NAS, pp. 243-244, "Stackerlee" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 198, "Stagolee" (1 text) DT 663, STAGLEE STAGLEE2 STAGLEE3* Roud #4183 RECORDINGS: Senter Boyd [or Boyd Senter] "Original Stack O'Lee Blues" (OKeh 41115, 1928; Vocalion 03015, 1935) Cab Calloway & his Orchestra, "Stack O'Lee Blues" (Banner 32378, 1932; rec. 1931) Johnny Dodds, "Stack O'Lee Blues" (Decca 1676, 1938) Cliff Edwards ('Ukulele Ike'), "Stack O' Lee, Part 1/Part2" (Columbia 1551-D, 1928; Columbia 1820-D, 1929; Clarion 5449-C/Harmony 1408-H/Velvet Tone 2509, 1932; Vocalion 03324, 1936) Tennessee Ernie Ford w. Joe "Fingers" Carr, "Stack-O-Lee" (Capitol 1348 or 1349, c. 1951) Fruit Jar Guzzlers, "Stack-O-Lee" (Paramount 8199, 1928; on RoughWays1) Vera Hall, "Stagolee" (AFS 1323 A2, 1937) Sol Hoopii Novelty Trio, "Stack O'Lee Blues" (Columbia 797-D, 1926) (Decca 2241, 1938) [instrumental versions of Cliff Edwards version] Ivory Joe Hunter, "Stackolee" (AFS CYL-8, 1933) Mississippi John Hurt, "Stack O'Lee Blues" (OKeh 8654, 1929; rec. 1928; on MJHurt01, MJHurt02) Frank Hutchison, "Stackalee" (OKeh 45106, 1927; on AAFM1) King Queen and Jack, "Stack-O-Lee Blues"(Gennett 6633/Champion 15605, 1928; Champion 40014, 1935) Furry Lewis, "Billy Lyons and Stack O'Lee" (Vocalion 1132/Brunswick 80092, 1927) David Miller, "That Bad Man Stackolee" (Champion 15334/Herwin 75564/Challenge 327 [as Dan Kutter], 1927; on RoughWays2) Uncle John Patterson & James Patterson, "Stagolee Was a Bully" (on FolkVisions2) Lloyd Price, "Stagger Lee" (Sparton 679-R, 1958) New Lost City Ramblers, "Stackerlee" (on NLCR04) [Gertrude] "Ma" Rainey, "Stack O'Lee Blues" (Paramount 12357, 1926 [rec. 1925]) Clive Reed, "Original Stack O Lee Blues" (Black Patti 8030, 1927; on StuffDreams1 [as Long 'Cleve' Reed & Little Harvey Hull]) Pete Seeger, "Stagolee" (on PeteSeeger18) Will Starks, "Stackerlee" (AFS 6652 B2, 1942) Art Thieme, "Stackerlee" (on Thieme05) Evelyn Thompson, "Stack O'Lee Blues' (Vocalion 1083, 1927) Waring's Pennsylvanians, "Stack O'Lee Blues" (Victor 19189, 1923) Washingtonians, "Stack O'Lee Blues" (Harmony 601-H, 1928) Frank Westphal & his Orchestra, "Stack O'Lee Bllues" Columbia 32-D, 1924; rec. 1923) Herb Wiedoeft's Cinderella Orchestra, "Stack O'Lee Blues" (Brunswick 2660, 1924) SAME_TUNE: Frank Hutchison, "Stackalee No. 2" (OKeh 45106, 1927) NOTES: On Dec. 29, 1895, William Lyons (levee hand) and Lee Sheldon (coach driver, nicknamed "Stag" Lee) were drinking together at a tavern in St. Louis, Missouri. A political discussion began; in the heat of the argument Lyons knocked off Sheldon's hat, and Sheldon promptly pulled a pistol and shot him dead. He was arrested and tried; the first trial ended in a hung jury, but he was convicted in a second trial and served time in prison, dying in 1916. A St. Louis judge who has researched the case suggests that Sheldon had received a spell from a hoodoo woman giving him exceptional sexual potency. The talisman for that spell was his hat, so knocking it from his head was no ordinary insult. It is noteworthy that the first recordings of this ballad (Waring, Westphal, Wiedoeft) are by popular dance bands, not blues or hillbilly artists. - PJS File: LI15 === NAME: Stampede, The DESCRIPTION: "When the hot sun smiles on the endless miles..." the cowboys seek water, and find themselves fighting with a "nester" for his well. They spare him only because of his pretty girl. When a storm and stampede start, Texas Red saves the girl. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 KEYWORDS: cowboy storm rescue recitation FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 392-395, "The Stampede" (1 text) Roud #12710 NOTES: There is no evidence that this piece (first published in _Wild West Weekly_) was ever a song, or that it ever entered tradition. - RBW File: LxA392 === NAME: Stand Back, Old Man, Get Away: see I Wouldn't Have an Old Man (File: R401) === NAME: Stand to Your Glasses: see The Dying Aviator (File: MA142) === NAME: Stand, Boys, Stand DESCRIPTION: "Stan', boys, stan', Dah's now no use a-runnin', Use a-runnin'. Look up on yondah hill An' see ol' massa comin', Massa comin', See 'im comin'." "Bowie knife in one hand An' pistol in de tother." "Oberseer wid his stick... Ruckus bound to happen." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: work slave FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 232, (no title) (1 text) NOTES: Reportedly a song sung by a Black work gang when they had been caught idling. They reportedly covered by having one of their number feign illness. - RBW File: ScNF232A === NAME: Standin' on de Street Doin' No Harm: see Deep Elem Blues (File: DTdeepel) === NAME: Standin' on the Walls of Zion DESCRIPTION: "Then it's a hooraw, and a hooraw, Through the merry green fields, hooraw! Standin' on the walls of Zion, Zion, See my ship come sailin', sailin', Standin' on the walls of Zion, See my ship come sailing home." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Sandburg, p. 484, "Standin' on the Walls of Zion" (1 short text, 1 tune) File: San484 === NAME: Standing in the Need of Prayer DESCRIPTION: "It's me, Oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer." "Not my mother, not my father, but it's me, Oh Lord, sanding in the need of prayer." "Not my brother, not my sister, but its me...." (Others whom it is not may be listed as desired) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1923 (recording, Elkins-Payne Jubilee Singers) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (3 citations) BrownIII 637, "Standing in the Need of Prayer" (2 texts plus mention of 1 more) Silber-FSWB, p. 350, "It's Me, Oh Lord" (1 text) Sandburg, pp. 488-492, "Ezekiel, You and Me" (1 heavily composite text, 1 composite tune; this song produces stanza 3) Roud #11833 RECORDINGS: Elkins-Payne Jubilee Singers, "Standing in the Need of Prayer" (Paramount 12070, 1923) Hall Johnson Negro Choir, "Standin' in de Need of Prayer" (Victor 36020, 1930) Southern Four, "Standin' in the Need of Prayer" [medley with "Shout All Over God's Heaven {All God's Children Got Shoes}"] (Edison 51364, 1924) West Virginia Snakehunters, "Standin' in the Need of Prayers" (Brunswick 119, 1927/Supertone S-2072, 1930) File: FSWB350A === NAME: Standing on the Promises DESCRIPTION: "Standing on the promises of Christ my King, Through eternal ages let his praises ring, Glory in the highest I will shoul an sing, Standing on the promises of God." The singer declares, in various ways, the power of Biblical promises AUTHOR: R. Kelso Carter (1849-1926) EARLIEST_DATE: 1885 (composed, according to Johnson) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) ADDITIONAL: Charles Johnson, One Hundred and One Famous Hymns (Hallberg, 1982), pp, 202-203, "Standing on the Promises" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #18551 NOTES: Though hardly original in idea, this particular hymn has a very simple, easy-to-learn set of parts in the chorus, and seems to be very popular with amateur gospel groups. I'm a bit surprised it isn't more common in tradition. - RBW File: BdSotPro === NAME: Standing Stones, The DESCRIPTION: Two lovers meet at the Standing Stones and promise to wed. After she leaves, a rival stabs him to death, solely to cause the girl pain. She hears a cry, turns, and sees her beloved. He points to the stars and vanishes; she pines away and dies AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1883 (John Mooney's "Songs of the Norse") LONG_DESCRIPTION: In the Orkneys lives a beautiful young woman who has been loved since childhood by a young man. They meet at the Standing Stones and promise to wed, sealing the promise by joining their hands through a hole in the Lovers' Stone. He kisses her goodbye, watches her leave, then turns to go home, but a rival attacks him and stabs him to death, solely to cause the girl pain. She is arriving home when she hears a cry, turns, and sees her beloved standing near. He points to the stars and vanishes; knowing he is dead, she pines away and dies KEYWORDS: grief hate jealousy courting love promise violence crime homicide beauty death mourning ritual supernatural lover ghost FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Hebr)) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Kennedy 332, "The Standing Stones" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, STANSTON Roud #2151 RECORDINGS: John & Ethel Findlater, "The Standing Stones" (on FSB7) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Ploughboy's Dream" (tune) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Lovers--A West Mainland Legend NOTES: The "Standing Stones" are prehistoric stone circles, found throughout Britain, including the Orkneys, where this song was collected. It was the custom in the Orkneys for lovers to plight their troth by joining hands through a hole in the "Odin Stone," then dividing a broken sixpenny piece between them. - PJS References to Odin may seem odd in Scotland, but the Orkneys were largely settled by the Old Norse. I have not been able to find proof of this, but I believe "Odin stones" are so-called because they have a single hole representing Odin's single eye. However, the Standing Stones would appear to predate the Norse legends. Magnus Magnusson's_Scotland: The Story of a Nation_ (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2000), pp. 6, describes the Standing Stones on the Isle of Lewis at Calanais (Callanish); "It was built in stages from about 3000 BC and was certainly completed by 2000 BC. Briefly, it is a circle of thirteen standing stones huddled round a massive central monolith, 4.75 metres high, and a small chambered cairn. A double line or 'avenue' of stones comes from the north, and ragged tongues protruding from the circle create a rough cruciform shape." Magnussen goes on to describe the partial rehabilitation of the site. - RBW File: K332 === NAME: Star in the East: see Brightest and Best (File: JRSF150) === NAME: Star Light, Star Bright DESCRIPTION: "Star light, star bright, First star I see tonight, (I) Wish I may, (I) wish I might Have the wish I wish tonight." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (Henry, from Mrs. Henry C. Gray, or her maid), though it probably occurs earlier in Mother Goose collections KEYWORDS: nonballad FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #430, p. 203, "(Star light, star bright)" MHenry-Appalachians, p. 239, (no title) (1 short text) NOTES: Some time in my youth, I learned this with exactly the same words as occur in Henry (not the same as in Baring-Gould). So it has some sort of circulation. But I can't remember where I learned it; I have the strange feeling it was some Disney production or the like. - RBW File: MHAp239B === NAME: Star o Banchory's Land, The DESCRIPTION: "Banchory's lands are bonnie When spring rolls in the year Wi' lasses sweet and mony But nane saw sweet's my dear." He praises her -- but then sees her at the fair, where she ignores him. He wishes her back or hopes she will at least be true to another AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord) KEYWORDS: love courting rejection FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Ord, pp. 69-71, "The Star o' Banchory's Land" (1 text) DT BANCHRY1* BANCHRY2* Roud #5567 File: Ord069 === NAME: Star of Bannack, The DESCRIPTION: "Under the lamplight's flick'ring gleam, In the dirt of the dancehall floor, The beautiful star of Bannack lies, Never to shine no more." Having left a lover in the east, she turned heads in the west but at last "A bullet would find her there." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (Burt) KEYWORDS: homicide dancing HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Apr 20, 1864 - Nellie Paget (birth name: Helen Patterson) murdered by a former flame in Bannak, Montana FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Burt, pp. 53-54, "(The Star of Bannack)" (1 text, 1 tune) File: Burt053 === NAME: Star of Belle Isle: see Blooming Bright Star of Belle Isle, The [Laws H29] (File: LH29) === NAME: Star of Benbradden, The: see If I Were a Fisher (File: HHH709) === NAME: Star of Donegal, The DESCRIPTION: The singer sees a lad and lass discussing their parting. He is going to America to seek his fortune. She does not wish to part. He says the Irish will return to free Ireland. They decide to marry at once, and sail away together AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1912 (OLochlainn) KEYWORDS: love courting marriage emigration gold FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) SHenry H555, p. 463, "The Star of Donegal" (1 text, 1 tune) OLochlainn 83, "The Star of Donegal" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2996 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Rich Amerikay" [Laws O19] (plot) File: HHH555 === NAME: Star of Glenamoyle, The DESCRIPTION: The singer asks the muses to preserve the star of sweet Glenamoyle as he praises her. Even the birds and rabbits praise her. He says that Joseph, had he been laboring to win her, would have felt it no toil; he would have sailed across the sea to wed her AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: love beauty nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H13, p. 232, "The Star of Glenamoyle" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7985 NOTES: The final verse of the Henry text contains some truly curious lines: But had young Joseph received this fair one, Her golden glory would have decayed away; But had young Joseph received this fair one, To win his bride would have been no toil. I can only guess that the first two lines mean that the girl would not thrive outside Ireland. The latter two lines are clearer, though an obvious error. It was Joseph's father Jabob who worked seven years to win the hand of Rachel, and being cheated of Rachel once, worked another seven years to at last be allowed to marry her. And "Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her" (Genesis 29:20). - RBW File: HHH013 === NAME: Star of Glengary, The DESCRIPTION: "The red moon is up o'er the moss-covered mountain." Donald goes to "Logan's bright water" to propose to "Mary, the star of Glengary," knowing his competition is the rich miller. She apparently accepts since she is "a gude wife to me." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1835 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(3541)) KEYWORDS: courting wife river money FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) O'Conor, p. 11, "The Star of Glengary" (1 text) Roud #13901 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(3541), "The Star of Glengary", G Walker (Durham), 1797-1834; also Harding B 11(3326), Harding B 11(3645), Harding B 11(3646), Harding B 11(3647), Harding B 17(301b), Johnson Ballads 1097, 2806 c.14(128), "The Star of Glengarry"; Harding B 20(33), Harding B 11(3574), Harding B 18(716), Harding B 26(626), "The Star of Glengary" LOCSheet, sm1877 08720, "The Star of Glengary", Spear & Dehnhoff (New York), 1877 (tune) LOCSinging, as113120, "The Star of Glengary", J. Andrews (New York), 1853-1859; also sb40474a, "The Star of Glengary" Murray, Mu23-y1:075, "The Star of Glengary", James Lindsay (Glasgow), 19C NLScotland, L.C.178.A.2(299), "The Star of Glengary", unknown, c.1860; also L.C.Fol.70(1a), "The Star of Glengary" NOTES: LOCSheet, sm1877 08720: "composed by Charles W Pette" may refer to the arranger. Broadside LOCSinging as113120: 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: OCon011 === NAME: Star of Logy Bay, The: see The Pride of Logy Bay (File: FSC061) === NAME: Star of Moville, The DESCRIPTION: The singer sails to Moville to watch the races. Enlivened by whiskey, he meets Mary, "the star of Moville." He courts her, and buys her a drink. The girl, after spending some time, rejects him and goes home. He wishes that someone would bring her to him AUTHOR: James McCurry EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: love courting racing rejection drink music FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H68, pp. 276-277, "The Star of Moville" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7968 NOTES: A long and highly complex mix: Is it a boat-racing song, a courting song, a rejection song, a drinking song, a song of getting delayed along the shore? I'm not sure. - RBW File: HHH068 === NAME: Star of Slane, The DESCRIPTION: The singer "was ruminating and meditating And contemplating" when he met a maid that would have captivated Paris, Caesar, and Alexander. Her beauty eclipses all others. "For me to woo her I am too poor, I'm deadly sure she won't be my wife" AUTHOR: Day (c.1800-1866) (source: Sparling) EARLIEST_DATE: 1826 (a Drogheda chap-book, according to Sparling) KEYWORDS: love beauty humorous nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (3 citations) OLochlainn-More 84, "The Star of Slane" (1 text, 1 tune) Hayward-Ulster, pp. 107-108, "The Star of Slane" (1 text) ADDITIONAL: H. Halliday Sparling, Irish Minstrelsy (London, 1888), pp. 366-368, 515, "The Star of Slane" Roud #6530 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, 2806 c.8(270), "The Star of Slane" ("You brilliant muses, who ne'er refuses"), unknown, n.d.; alsoHarding B 11(3648), "The Star of Slane" NOTES: This is another song that hides the lover's name: "Her name to mention may cause contention And it's my intention for to breed no strife." See also "Craiganee," "The Pride of Kilkee," "The Flower of Benbrada" and "Ar Eirinn Ni Neosfainn Ce hi (For Ireland I Will Not Tell Whom She Is)"; in "Drihaureen O Mo Chree (Little Brother of My Heart)" the singer's brother's name is hidden. - BS File: OLcM084 === NAME: Star of Sunday's Well, The DESCRIPTION: The singer loves "That consort fit for Satan, the Star of Sunday's Well." She weighs 15 stone [210 pounds]: "She's blooming and she's bonny with real estate and money." He is rejected in favor of "a grocer's curate" AUTHOR: W.B. Guiney EARLIEST_DATE: 1870 (_The Cork Examiner,_ according to OLochlainn-More) KEYWORDS: courting rejection humorous FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OLochlainn-More, pp. 258-259, "The Star of Sunday's Well" (1 text, tune referenced) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Lamentation of Hugh Reynolds" [OLochlainn 64] (tune) NOTES: Sunday's Well is in Cork. - BS File: OLcM258 === NAME: Star of the County Down, The DESCRIPTION: Near Banbridge town, the singer sees a "sweet colleen." He is instantly smitten with the beauty of "the star of the Country Down." He makes plans to pursue her, and dreams of life with her AUTHOR: unknown (credited to Cathal McGarvey by Colm O'Lochlainn) EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (Irish Country Songs) KEYWORDS: love courting clothes FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, STARDOWN* Roud #4801 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Dives and Lazarus" [Child 56] (tune) cf. "The Banks of Newfoundland (I)" [Laws K25] (tune) cf. "When a Man's in Love" [Laws O20] (tune) cf. "The Wreck of the Gwendoline" (tune) cf. "The Colleen from Coolbaun" (tune) SAME_TUNE: Dives and Lazarus (File: C056) The Wreck of the Gwendoline (File: OLcM257) The Banks of Newfoundland (I) [Laws K25] (File: LK25) When a Man's in Love [Laws O20] (File: LO20) The Colleen from Coolbaun (File: RcTCofCo) File: DTstardo === NAME: Star-Spangled Banner, The DESCRIPTION: A description of bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Navy, with hopes for the survival of the United States. Either you already know the song, or you don't care. (Perhaps both.) AUTHOR: Words: Francis Scott Key/Music: John Stafford Smith (?) EARLIEST_DATE: 1814 KEYWORDS: America patriotic battle HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Sept 13, 1814 - Battle of Fort McHenry. Key allegedly wrote this poem the following morning, when he saw the flag still waving FOUND_IN: US(All) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Krythe 2, pp. 15-39, "The Star-Spangled Banner" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 300, "The Star Spangled Banner" (1 text) Fuld-WFM, pp. 529-534+, "The Star Spangled Banner" DT, STARSPAN CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "To Anacreon in Heaven" (tune) cf. "Adams and Liberty" (tune) SAME_TUNE: The National Grass Plot (Greenway-AFP, p. 63) NOTES: For the history of this tune, see the notes to "To Anacreon in Heaven." The folklore about the poem is too widely known (and too exaggerated) to bear repeating here; Spaeth has a sort of debunking, with some less-known details, in _A History of Popular Music in America_, 41-46, and there are a few notes about Francis Scott Key's part in the Battle for Baltimore in the discussion below. In several senses this is not a folk song (in part because it's so difficult to sing) -- but it is well-enough known that its inclusion is at least understandable.... The War of 1812 showed clearly how much stronger the British Empire was than the then-still-new United States. In 1812 and 1813, the British had been putting all their energy into fighting Napoleon, and given the Americas only the dregs (not only did they send only a bare handful of troops to Canada, they reportedly held sent only second-rate generals, using the best and brightest against Napoleon; see John K. Mahon, _The War of 1812_, Da Capo, 1972, p. 144) -- and they *still* held the Americans to a draw: At the end of 1813, the British still held Canada, and while the Americans had had some success at sea, by 1813 their handful of ships were mostly pinned down in blockaded ports (see Mahon, p. 122, for a list of ships involved). 1814 should have seen the British, now free of Napoleon, settle the American hash -- and they did succeed in permanently occupying some of the coast east of what is now the state of Maine. They set out to do far more, planning three major offensives (at Lake Champlain, Chesapeake Bay, and Louisiana). For the first of these, which was one of the most absurd displays ever put on by the British army, see the notes on "The Siege of Plattsburg." The Chesapeake Campaign was the best-run of the three British attacks of 1814 -- and, overall, the most successful. The war by this time had turned rather bitter as there had been a series of atrocities along the Canadian border (started, we must note,by the Americans, who destroyed the Canadian settlement of Newark as well as the future Toronto, though the British treatment of American prisoners was bad enough that they had nothing to complain about; the sad thing is that the innocent Canadians suffered for the faults of the English government). The British had responded to the American war crimes by burning Buffalo, e.g., and had raided Chesapeake Bay in 1813 (the British commander in the area, Admiral Cockburn, did so much damage that the Americans accused him of enjoying looting; see Mahon, p. 115), but this was to be altogether bigger. A large fleet, and an army contingent commanded by Major General Robert Ross (who had served under Wellington) were sent to raid the Bay in the late summer of 1814. Their goal was not conquest; it was to keep the Americans from sending major forces against Prevost's (utterly mishandled) Champlain expedition (see Walter R. Borneman, _1812: The War that Forged a Nation_, pp. 219-220). On August 19, 1814, Ross took his troops ashore at Benedict, Maryland, southeast of Washington, D.C. (Borneman, p. 222). The American response showed a level of ineptitude that would make George W. Bush's Iraq planning look good. Faced with an army at the gates of the U. S. capitol, President Madison chose a political general who had already demonstrated his military ineptness to command in the vicinity of Washington (apparently he hoped William H. Winder's political connections would allow him to raise more militia; Borneman, p. 223; Donald R. Hickey, _The War of 1812_, p.196). Winder would show great energy but absolutely no ability to develop plans (Hickey, pp. 196-197). The weather was dreadfully hot (Borneman, p. 225; Hickey, p. 198), but the Americans made no attempt to harass the overburdened British. On August 24, Ross's troops brushed past the handful of American defenders at Bladensburg, incidentally putting President Madison under fire; he retreated even faster than his soldiers. The battle also saw Secretary of State Monroe giving orders to the soldiers -- something he was not entitled to do, and his orders were in any case bad (Hickey, p. 197). The Americans were so thoroughly routed that the battle was christened the "Bladensburg Races" (Borneman, p. 228). The British promptly entered Washington -- which was so deserted that Ross couldn't even find anyone to offer up a surrender (Hickey, p, 199). Ross's forces were better behaved than the Americans. They did burn a handful of private buildings -- but, almost without exception, it was because those houses were used for military purposes. Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin's house, for instance, was torched because snipers in the house had slain one British soldier, wounded three others, and killed General Ross's horse under him (Borneman, p. 229). But mostly the invaders concentrated on buildings such as the White House, the Treasury Building, and the Capitol (Borneman, pp. 230-231). Saddest of all was the torching of the Library of Congress, though the invaders were convinced to let the Patent Office stand (Hickey, p. 199). The British were not there to stay; having done their damage, they headed back to their ships on August 25 (Borneman, p. 232). Even so, Secretary of War John Armstrong was forced to resign (Borneman, p. 234; Hickey, p. 202). The next day, the British set out for Baltimore, a much more developed port, with a larger population and a more important shipping center -- but defended by Fort McHenry, plus many earthworks and a much more effective force of militia. It was also much more enthusiastic for the war; soon after the conflict began, a newspaper uttered an anti-war statement -- and the city broke out in riots; the paper's equipment was damaged, and a number of Federalists, including even Revolutionary War hero "Light Horse Harry" Lee, were beaten, in some cases to death or permanent injury (see Hickey, pp. 60-67; John K. Mahon, _The War of 1812_, p. 33) General Ross apparently thought the raid on Baltimore not worth the trouble -- the psychological damage of the attack on Washington could only be dissipated (Borneman, p. 238). He was overruled; on September 11, the British headed north. The attack on Baltimore was to come from both land and sea, with the navy attacking Fort McHenry while the army came around the other side. Both prongs of the attack came to grief. Ross was killed by a sharpshooter on September 12 (Borneman, pp. 242-243), and his second-in-command wasn't nearly as inspiring. The naval assault was a matter of sound and fury and not much else. Fort McHenry was dirt over masonry, hard to subdue by cannon -- and the waters around it were very shallow (Borneman, p. 239; Hickey, p. 203). The navy could not get close to the fort. In fact, they had to stand out so far that the fort's short-range guns could not even reach them. So, on the night of September 13, British mortar vessels fired wildly at the fort, and the bomb _Terror_ (of future Franklin Expedition fame; see the notes to "Lady Franklin's Lament (The Sailor's Dream)" [Laws K9]) fired her rockets (Borneman, p. 244). The fort could not answer, but she suffered only four killed and a couple of dozen wounded; she was still perfectly capable of holding off the British army (Borneman, pp. 244-246). That was pretty much the end of the siege of Baltimore, though it was a month before the last British forces left the vicinity. The naval commander, Admiral Cochrane, headed for Halifax with part of the fleet; the rest, plus the army, retreated to Jamaica, refitted, took on a new commander by the name of Pakenham, and headed toward a place called New Orleans. It is sometimes stated that Francis Scott Key was a prisoner on the British fleet. He was not. He was in fact a Baltimore lawyer trying to negotiate the release of a doctor-turned-spy named William Beanes. Beanes was not popular with the British, who considered his behavior particularly egregious (and, if the description in Borneman, pp. 240-242, is accurate, it appears they had a point). The British finally agreed to let him go -- but by that time, they were committed to the attack on Baltimore, so Key, his colleague John S. Skinner, and Beanes had to wait beside H.M.S. _Tonnant_ until it was over (Hickey, pp. 203-204). The bombardment started during the day, but continued well into the night, and with the fort unable to fire on the British ships, the only way to tell it was still resisting was to observe its flag -- hard to do at night. Apparently Beanes was constantly pestering Key, who had a telescope, to find out if the famous oversize flag was still flying (Borneman, pp. 245-246). Hence Key's song, which he scribbled that night, and elaborated later, was first published as "The Defense of Fort McHenry." Since this event, combined with the victory at Plattsburg two days sooner, caused the British to decide for peace, the siege, and the song associated with it, because immensely popular, and came to be seen as a great American victory -- even though the British had suffered no real casualties except Ross and had done the Americans far more damage at Washington than the Americans caused at Baltimore. The conflict could not have gone on much longer. The American government was flat broke (had there been someone to force it into bankruptcy, it would surely have done so; loans went unsubscribed and Treasury notes were depreciating fast. To raise such money as it could, the govenment ended up having to pay $16 for every $10 raised! -- see Hickey, pp. 165-167. By late 1814, the government was defaulting on its notes -- Hickey, p. 224 -- and its notes were discounted 25-40%. At one point the interest on the debt exceeded the government's entire estimated income -- Hickey, p. 247).The Americans for a time were actually seeing their credit financed by a British bank! (Hickey, pp. 223-224). HickeyÕs final estimate is that the government borrowed a total of $80 million, but because of the way the loans were subscribed, picked up only $34 million in specie. The rest was lost to interest, depreciated notes, and peculiarities of the method of borrowing. The situation was so bad that Federalist New England was making noises about secession and nullification (Borneman, pp. 255-256; Hickey, pp. 270-280, devotes most of a chapter to the "Hartford Convention," which was called to consider withdrawing from the Union; in the end, it did not do so, but it did propose seven constitutional amendments to make it harder to declare war [where was that in 2003?], to end re-election of presidents, to bar consecutive presidents from the same state, to open up trade, and to stop counting slaves toward the totals for congressional representation. The amendments were actually passed by Massachusetts and Connecticut). Luckily for the Unites States, the British were tired of fighting, too -- due more to Napoleon than to anything the Americans had done, but it was still war-weariness. The British, knowing they had most of the cards, dragged their feet in the negotiations (Borneman, pp. 264-267), but two sides eventually made peace essentially on the basis of the status quo -- no territory handed over by either side, not changes in law, no changes in anything. Theoretically, that meant the grievances that started the war were still there. But the Americans were ironically successful: They had survived the first two years of the war mostly because Britain was distracted. In 1814, Britain was no longer distracted -- but with Napoleon gone, the British again wanted free trade, and with the navy shrinking, they didn't need to impress sailors, so they didn't have to do any of the things that had offended the Americans. (The Americans would later use this as a justification for dropping their demands on the issue; Hickey, p. 289.) Peace was possible mostly because no one really wanted to continue the war. - RBW File: MKr015 === NAME: Starlight DESCRIPTION: "It was the last day of the rodeo, And in one of the stout corrals There stood a big sorrel outlaw horse.... He went by the name of Starlight, a bronc as tough as gristle...." The cowboy who draws the horse is depressed, and sure enough he is thrown AUTHOR: Noah Henry EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (Hoofs and Horns) KEYWORDS: horse cowboy recitation FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ohrlin-HBT 81, "Starlight" (1 text) File: Ohr081 === NAME: Starry Night for a Ramble: see A Starry Night to Ramble (File: MA056) === NAME: Starry Night to Ramble, A DESCRIPTION: The singer lists the pleasures he enjoys. Noteworthy among them is courting with his sweetheart. But "Of all the games I love the best, that fill me with delight, I love to take a ramble upon a starry night." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 KEYWORDS: courting rambling FOUND_IN: US Australia REFERENCES: (4 citations) Meredith/Anderson, pp. 56-57, "A Starry Night to Ramble" (1 text, 1 tune) Spaeth-WeepMore, pp. 94-95, "Starry Night for a Ramble" (1 text, 1 tune) Gilbert, pp. 177-178, "A Starry Night for a Ramble" (1 text) Meredith/Covell/Brown, pp. 52-53, "A Starry Night to Ramble" (1 tune) Roud #972 NOTES: Gilbert reports that this was popularized by a performer named Dick Gorman, probably in the last years of the nineteenth century -- but offers no details of its authorship (if known), only a catalogue of Gorman's oddities. - RBW File: MA056 === NAME: Starving to Death on a Government Claim (The Lane County Bachelor) DESCRIPTION: "My name is Frank Taylor, a bach'lor I am, I'm keeping old batch on an elegant plan, You'll find me out west in the county of Lane, A-starvin' to death on a government claim." After much moaning about the bad conditions, the settler gives up and goes home AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1910 KEYWORDS: pioneer settler hardtimes bachelor HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 20, 1862 - President Lincoln signs the Homestead Act FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,So) Canada(Ont) REFERENCES: (10 citations) Randolph 186, "Starving to Death on a Government Claim" (1 text, 1 tune) Sandburg, pp. 120-122, "The Lane County Bachelor" (1 text, 1 tune) Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 144-146, "The Alberta Homesteader" (1 text, 1 tune) Fowke/MacMillan 34, "The Alberta Homesteader" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSUSA 70, "Starving to Death on a Government Claim" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, p. 434, "Greer County" (1 text) Fife-Cowboy/West 22, "The Lane County Bachelor" (1 text, 1 tune) LPound-ABS, 83, pp. 178-180, "Starving to Death on a Government Claim" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 121, "Starving To Death On A Government Claim" (1 text) DT, STARVDTH* Roud #799 RECORDINGS: Bill Bender, The Happy Cowboy, "Lane County Bachelor" (Varsity 5144, c. 1940) Edward L. Crain (Cowboy Ed Crane), "Starving to Death on a Government Claim" (Conqueror 8013, 1932) Benjamin Kincaid, "The Lane County Bachelor" (Supertone 2574, c. 1933) Pete Seeger, "Greer County Bachelor" (on PeteSeeger07, PeteSeeger07a, AmHist1) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane" (tune) and references there ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Bent County Bachelor NOTES: The song clearly dates back to the latter part of the nineteenth century, the period of Homestead Claims. The Homestead Act of 1862 had opened large areas of the western U.S. to settlement, allowing settlers to lay claim to 160 acre sections in return for nominal payments. However, the settlers were required to live on their claims for five years before they could "prove up" and gain title to the property. Many settlers, like the one here, wound up living in impossible conditions because it was the only way to stake the claim. It was not at all rare for the homesteader to give up, sell the reversion on the claim, and head back east. Fowke's Canadian version, "The Alberta Homesteader," is very much the same song, slightly adapted to the north country and the minor differences in Canada's homesteading laws (created when Canada took over the western part of the continent from the Hudson's Bay Company in 1871, although most migrants did not start out until the 1880s). - RBW File: R186 === NAME: State of Arkansas, The (The Arkansas Traveler II) [Laws H1] DESCRIPTION: A traveler arrives in Arkansas and finds that it fully meets his (lack of) expectations. He "never knowed what misery was till I come to Arkansas." His boss had promised that the state would make him a different man, and he is: He is now badly starved AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1906 (Belden) KEYWORDS: poverty humorous hardtimes starvation FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,SE,So) Ireland REFERENCES: (21 citations) Laws H1, "The Arkansas Traveler" Belden, pp. 424-426, "Bill Stafford" (2 texts) Randolph 347, "The State of Arkansas" (4 texts plus 2 excerpts, 3 tunes) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 288-290, "The State of Arkansas" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 347A) Cohen-LSRail, pp. 560-566, "Way Out in Idaho" (2 texts, 1 tune; the main text and tune are "Way Out in Idaho (I)", but a secondary text is a version of this piece) BrownIII 331, "Arkansas Traveller (II)" (2 texts) Hudson 80, p. 208, "Tocowa" (1 short text with "Tocowa," not Arkansas, the site of the singer's bad experience) Brewster 52, "The Arkansaw Traveler" (2 texts) Dean, pp. 8-9, "The Arkansas Navvy" (1 text) Thomas-Makin', pp. 171-172, (no title) (1 text) Friedman, p. 434, "The Arkansaw Traveler" (1 text) Lomax-FSUSA 71, "The State of Arkansas" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 167, "The State of Arkansas" (1 text, 1 tune) JHCox 53, "An Arkansaw Traveller" (3 texts) SharpAp 170, "Old Arkansas" (1 text, 1 tune) Asch/Dunson/Raim, p. 44, "My Name Is John Johanna" (1 text, 1 tune) SHenry H0, p. 53, "The State of Arkansaw" (1 text, 1 tune) Darling-NAS, pp. 225-226, "Old Arkansas" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 46, "The State of Arkansas" (1 text) DT 643, STATEARK* STATARK2* ADDITIONAL: Fred W. Allsopp, Folklore of Romantic Arkansas, Volume II (1931), pp. 46-53, texts of both "The Arkansas Traveler" and "The State of Arkansas," with folktale variants, a reproduction of a painting of the fiddler and traveler, and background information Roud #257 RECORDINGS: Almanac Singers, "State of Arkansas" (General 5018A, 1941; on Almanac01, Almanac03, AlmanacCD1) Kelly Harrell, "My Name is John Johanna" (Victor 21520A, 1927; on KHarrell02, AAFM1, HardTimes1) Pete Seeger, "State of Arkansas" (on PeteSeeger19, AmHist2) Pete Seeger & Sonny Terry, "Arkansas Traveller" (on SeegerTerry) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Barnyards o' Delgaty" (theme) cf. "Joe Bowers" (tune -- some versions) cf. "Diamond Joe (I)" (tune, lyrics) cf. "Way Out in Idaho (I)" (lyrics) NOTES: This should not be confused with the fiddle tune "Arkansas Traveler," or with the minstrel-show sketch from which it derives. -PJS Paul Stamler reports that this is "Credited to Sanford Barnes of Buffalo, [Missouri]." Many other authors, however, have been listed, e.g. Belden knows of an attribution to T. W. Shelton and another to Pat Kelly. Carmer credits Ransom C. Cook. Eckstorm traces it back to "Canada I O." I incline to think all the claims false -- though I wouldn't be surprised if the author really was from Missouri.... - RBW File: LH01 === NAME: State of Arkansaw, The: see The State of Arkansas (The Arkansas Traveler II) [Laws H1] (File: LH01) === NAME: Stately Southerner, The: see Paul Jones the Privateer [Laws A3] (File: LA03) === NAME: States and Capitals DESCRIPTION: A catalog of the capital cities of various states, starting perhaps in the northeast: "Maine, the capital is Augusta...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: nonballad FOUND_IN: US(MW,So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 878, "States and Capitals" (2 texts, 1 tune) Roud #7543 NOTES: This seems to have been at one time a widespread song to help children learn geography (in which it failed, since neither of Randolph's informants could remember much). Whether this is actually a single song is perhaps open to question; the texts in Randolph are very different, and this is perhaps a topic that several schoolmarm/songwriters might have tackled. The information is also sorely out of date. Since the song was sung in the 1880s, of course, it lacks at least half a dozen states. Even for the states that are listed, the data is inaccurate (e.g. the capital of Maryland is Annapolis, not Baltimore, and Rhode Island and Connecticut have only one capital city each, though Randolph's "A" text lists Providence and Newport for Rhode Island, while "B" gives New Haven and Hartford as capital of Connecticut). - RBW File: R878 === NAME: Station Cook, The DESCRIPTION: "The song I'm going to sing about will not detain you long, It is all about a station cook we had at old Pinyong." The singer says that the cook's work "gave us all the stomach ache all through the shearing time." He will blame the cook if he turns sick AUTHOR: The Australian Star version was either written or submitted by P. J. McGovery EARLIEST_DATE: 1877 (The Australian Star) KEYWORDS: cook disability disease hardtimes warning food FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (2 citations) Manifold-PASB, pp. 90-91, "The Station Cook" (1 text, 1 tune) Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 208-210, "The Shearer's Hardships" (1 text) NOTES: Fowler's Bay is on the south coast of Australia, roughly 300 miles northwest of Adelaide. I'm guessing that "Pinyong" is Penong on the shores of the bay. - RBW File: PASB090 === NAME: Station of Knocklong, The DESCRIPTION: "The news has spread through Ireland... Sean Hogan he was rescued At the Station of Knocklong." Hogan's guards are overpowered, and two of them killed, by rebels; Hogan is freed AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1962 KEYWORDS: Ireland rebellion escape rescue death IRA HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1919 - Irish terrorists Sean Treacy and Sean Hogan capture a load of explosives from the British, killing two policemen in the process. When Hogan is captured, Treacy rescues him, killing two more policemen along the way FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) PGalvin, pp. 60-61, "The Station of Knocklong" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. ""Sean Treacy" (for the story of Treacy) cf. "Tipperary Far Away" (for the death of Sean Treacy) NOTES: For the Soloheadbeg incident, in which a group of Irish irregulars attacked a British explosives truck, see the notes to "Sean Treacy." Among those involved in the raid were Sean Hogan, Treacy, and Dan Breen. According to Calton Younger, _Ireland's Civil War_, p. 92, Hogan was captured while visiting friends, though his identity was not realized until later. It is uncertain whether there was resistance from the British forces at Soloheadbeg, though it seems unlikely. In the case of Knocklong, it seems pretty clear that there wasn't. Robert Kee, in _Ourselves Alone_, being volume III of _The Green Flag_, p. 72, cites Breen to the effect that the Irish decided to shoot first to prevent British guards from killing the prisoner. The casualties at first seemed close to even: Treacy was shot in the throat, Breen through the lung. Both managed to survive. Ironically, though much would be heard of Treacy and Breen in the coming years, Hogan faded into obscurity. He was part of an attempt to assassinate Viceroy French, but the attempt failed and a casual check of four histories showed no other references to his life after Knocklong. - RBW File: PGa060 === NAME: Stavin Chain DESCRIPTION: "Stavin Chain he's dead and gone, Left me to carry the good work on, Evrybody ought to be like Stavin Chain." The singer complains about river life, misses his woman, and says that everyone should be like Stavin Chain. (His sexual exploits are described.) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1944 (Wheeler) KEYWORDS: river work separation sex animal FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) MWheeler, pp. 16-17, "Stavin Chain" (1 text, 1 tune) ST MWhee016 (Full) Roud #9994 RECORDINGS: Anonymous singer, "Stavin' Chain" (on Unexp1) Zuzu Bollin, "Stavin' Chain" (Torch 6912, n.d.) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Poor Howard" (lyrics) File: MWhee016 === NAME: Stay a Little Longer: see cf. Shinbone Alley (Stay a Little Longer, Long Time Ago) (File: Br3422) === NAME: Stay on the Farm DESCRIPTION: "Come, boy, I have something to tell you... You're thinking of leaving the farm, boy; Don't be in a hurry to go." He warns against the city's vices, and points out that the farm is safe and, over time, will offer as much gold as the mines of Nevada AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1940 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: family farming money FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 865, "Stay on the Farm" (1 text) Roud #7535 File: R865 === NAME: Stay, Father, Stay DESCRIPTION: A child, whose mother is already dead, is dying. (S)he appeals to father to remain by the bedside and not to leave until (s)he is dead: "Stay, father, stay, the night is wild, Oh leave not your dying child, I feel the icy hand of death...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1919 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: death disease drink orphan father FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 329, "Stay, Father, Stay" (1 text) Roud #7802 File: R329 === NAME: Steal Apples for Me DESCRIPTION: "Steal apples, steal apples, Steal apples for me, And while you steal apples, Steal peaches for me." "Let all of the ladies Go enter the ring...." "And when you're done swinging, Remember my call, Take the next lady And promenade all" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: dancing playparty theft food floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 584, "Steal Apples for Me" (1 text) Roud #7672 NOTES: From its metre, this might be one of several dance pieces. But given its brevity and lack of tune, it's hard to tell where to put it. - RBW File: R584 === NAME: Steal Away DESCRIPTION: Recognized by the chorus, "Steal away, steal away to Jesus... I ain't got long to stay here." Verses may have to do with the end of the world; the singer reports that "The trumpet sounds within my soul" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1894 (recording, Standard Quartette) KEYWORDS: religious Bible nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (3 citations) Courlander-NFM, p. 42, "Steal Away" (partial text) Silber-FSWB, p. 366, "Steal Away" (1 text) DT, STEALAWY* Roud #11965 RECORDINGS: Cotton Pickers Quartet, "Steal Away to Jesus" (OKeh 8878, 1931) Dinwiddie Colored Quartet, "Steal Away" (Victor 1716, 1902) (Monarch 1716, 1902) Emory University Glee Club, "Steal Away to Jesus" (Victor 20594, 1927) Fisk University Male Quartette, "Steal Away to Jesus" (Columbia A2803, 1919) Fisk University Jubilee Singers, "Steal Away to Jesus" (Columbia 562-D, 1926) Red Foley, "Steal Away" (Decca 14505, 1949) Roland Hayes, "Steal Away" (Vocalion [US & UK] 21003, n.d.; Supertone, 1931) Rev. H. B. Jackson, "Steal Away" (OKeh 8919, 1931; rec. 1929) Turner Junior Johnson, "Steal Away" (AFS 6609 A4, 1942; on LC10) Paramount Jubilee Singers, "Steal Away to Jesus" (Paramount 12072, 1923) Paul Robeson, "Steal Away" (HMV [UK] B-8103, 1934) Noble Sissle's Southland Singers, "Steal Away to Jesus" (Pathe 20483, 1921) Soul Stirrers, "Steal Away" (Aladdin 2001, rec. 1946) Horace Sprott, "Steal Away to Jesus" (on MuSouth03) Standard Quartette, "Steal Away to Jesus" (CYL: Columbia, no #, rec. 1894) Tuskegee Institute Singers, "Steal Away" (Victor 17890, 1916) Tuskegee Quartet, "Steal Away to Jesus" (Victor 20519, 1927; rec. 1926) Vaughan Quartet, "Steal Away" (Vaughan 300, n.d.) Kinsey West, "Steal Away to Jesus" (on BlackAmRel1) File: CNFM042 === NAME: Steal, Miss Liza DESCRIPTION: "I've got a man and you've got none, Little Liza Jane... O Eliza, Little Liza Jane." "You swing mine and I'll swing yours...." "I've got a house in Baltimo', Forty-'leven children on the floor...." "I steal yours and you steal mine...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 KEYWORDS: dancing nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lomax-FSNA 263, "Steal, Miss Liza" (1 text, 1 tune) File: LoF263 === NAME: Stealin', Stealin' DESCRIPTION: "Stealin', stealin', pretty mama don't you tell on me, I'm stealin' back to my same old used to be." "Now put your arms around me like a circle 'round the sun...." The singer loves a married woman; it's gotten him in trouble. He says this proves his love AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (recording, Memphis Jug Band) KEYWORDS: love adultery FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 79, "Stealin', Stealin'" (1 text) DT, STEALN RECORDINGS: Memphis Jug Band, "Stealin' Stealin'" (1928) NOTES: Hendrick van Kampen points me to sources attributing this to Gus Cannon and Will Shade. Under the circumstances, I have little choice but to list the author as unknown. - RBW File: FSWB079A === NAME: Steam Doctor, The DESCRIPTION: "Steam Doctor, steam till you're ready to faint; Without ever stoppping to ask your complaint. He gives No. 6 and lobelia so fast That within a few hours you're breathing your last These hard times!" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1911 (Belden) KEYWORDS: disease doctor death FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Belden, pp. 442-443, "The Steam Doctor" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7832 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Rigs of the Times" (form, lyrics) NOTES: Belden assumes that this is a satire of the methods of Dr. Samuel Thomson (1769-1843), who according to the _Dictionary of American Biography_ was "originator of the 'Thomsonian system' of treatment by vegetable remedies and the vapor bath." The song seems to have been built from "The Rigs of the Times," but since Belden's single stanza seems to be all that survives, it's difficult for us to say more. - RBW File: Beld442 === NAME: Steam from the Whistle DESCRIPTION: "Steam from the whistle, Smoke from the stack, Going to the graveyard To bring my baby back, Oh, my li'l baby, Why don't you come back?" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: railroading burial separation FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 242, (no title) (1 short text) File: ScNF242A === NAME: Steam Ship DESCRIPTION: "If a steam ship weighed ten thousand tones And sailed five thousand miles... If the mate was each six feet talls And the captain just the same; Would you multiply or subtract To find the captain's name?" The singer admits "I can't do that sum" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1923 (Brown) KEYWORDS: riddle ship technology FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 151, "Steam Ship" (1 text) Roud #15886 NOTES: This looks to me like a parody of the "story problems" children are sometimes assigned. The information in the riddle is not sufficient for solution. - RBW File: Br3151 === NAME: Steamboat Bill DESCRIPTION: The Whippoorwill, steered by Steamboat Bill, is ordered "to try to beat the record of the Robert E. Lee." Provoked by a gambler, Bill drives the boat so hard that the boiler explodes. Bill's wife says that her next husband will be a railroad man. AUTHOR: Words: Ren Shields / Music: F. A. Mills EARLIEST_DATE: 1910 LONG_DESCRIPTION: The Whippoorwill, steered by Steamboat Bill, is ordered "to try to beat the record of the Robert E. Lee." Provoked by a gambler, Bill drives the boat so hard that the boiler explodes, with Bill betting he will fly higher than the gambler. People all along the river mourn. Bill's wife says that her next husband will be a railroad man. KEYWORDS: ship technology disaster death gambling FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (4 citations) MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 100-101, "Steamboat Bill" (1 text) Fife-Cowboy/West 16, "Steamboat Bill" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 206, "Steamboat Bill" (1 text) Fuld-WFM, pp. 535-536, "Steamboat Bill" Roud #11218 RECORDINGS: Al Bernard, "Steamboat Bill" (Brunswick 178, 1927/Supertone S-2044, 1930) Smilie Burnett, "Steamboat Bill" (Decca 5685, 1939; rec. 1938) Fiddlin' John Carson, "Steamboat Bill" (OKeh 40306, 1925; rec. 1924) Arthur Collins, "Steamboat Bill" (Columbia A-1005, 1911) (Victor 16867, 1911) Dixon's Clod Hoppers, "Steamboat Bill" (Vocalion 15862, 1931; rec. 1930) Jack Kaufman, "Steamboat Bill" (Columbia A2809, 1919; Diva 2480-G [as Jack Wilson], 1927) Beatrice Kay, "Steamboat Bill" (Columbia 36941, 1946; rec. 1945) Kessinger Brothers, "Steamboat Bill" (Brunswick 563, rec. 1930) Edward Meeker, "Steamboat Bill" (Edison 50886, 1921) Riley Puckett, "Steamboat Bill" (Columbia 113-D [as George Riley Puckett], 1924) Bob Roberts, "Steamboat Bill" (Phono-Cut 5112, c. 1914) Ernest Rogers, "Steamboat Bill" (Victor 20798, 1927) Paul Tremaine & his Orch. "Steamboat Bill" (Columbia 2229-D, 1930) Varsity Eight, "Steamboat Bill" (Cameo 1266/Romeo 500, 1927) Fred Wilson [probably a pseud. for Jack Kaufman, but I don't know for sure], "Steamboat Bill" (Harmony 5118-H, 1930) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Casey Jones (I)" [Laws G1] (tune) File: FCW016 === NAME: Steamer Alexander, The DESCRIPTION: Tuesday, July 30, Alexander leaves Newcastle. Galley, a passenger, falls overboard and drowns. The song wonders who he was, and what his girl will feel AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1963 (Manny/Wilson) KEYWORDS: drowning river ship death FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Manny/Wilson 1, "The Steamer Alexander" (1 text, 1 tune) ST MaWi001 (Partial) Roud #9206 NOTES: Manny/Wilson: "The song was made up by 'a man from Neguac.' It tells of a moonlight excursion on the passenger steamer _Alexandra_, and how Theodore Galley fell overboard and was drowned. These excursions were popular entertainment on the Miramichi River in the 1890's and early 1900's... The composers of these laments like to fix in them the day and date and the time of day of the incident they describe." Taking that statement for what it's worth, Tuesday, July 30, occurred in 1891, 1896, 1902, 1913 and 1919. - BS File: MaWi001 === NAME: Steamship Deane, The DESCRIPTION: Deane leaves Harbour Grace for Hawke's Harbour with 50 whalers. "Making full speed she lands upon a rock." All are saved by the Penguin light keeper. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1976 (Lehr/Best) KEYWORDS: rescue sea ship wreck HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Jun 23, 1935 - Deane wrecked on North Penguin Shoals. (Lehr/Best) FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lehr/Best 29, "The Steamship Deane" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Northern Shipwrecks Database lists the cause as "Stranded. Navigation error." - BS File: LeBe029 === NAME: Steamship Leinster Lass, The: see The SS Leinster Lass (File: HHH808) === NAME: Steel Laying Holler DESCRIPTION: Foreman's instructions for laying a railroad iron, with variations to fit the particular situation. E.g. "Awright, awright, Ev'rybody get ready. Come on down here. Come on, boys. Bow down. Awright, up high, Awright, throw 'way...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 KEYWORDS: work railroading nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 10-12, "Steel Laying Holler" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #15100 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Roustabout Holler" cf. "Levee Camp Holler" File: LxA010 === NAME: Steel-Driving Man, The: see John Henry [Laws I1] (File: LI01) === NAME: Stella Kenney [Laws F37] DESCRIPTION: Stella Kenney is murdered on her way home after spending ten months with her uncle Rob Frazier. Frazier, married and with three children, is sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas) KEYWORDS: homicide incest prison trial family HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1917 (?) - Murder of Stella Kenney. She was pregnant; presumably her uncle was the father FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Laws F37, "Stella Kenney" Thomas-Makin', pp. 151-153, (no title; Thomas's informant called the girl "Stell" or "Stellie," not "Stella") (1 text) ST LF37 (Partial) Roud #2273 File: LF37 === NAME: Step It Away DESCRIPTION: "Oh, step it away, you pretty boys! Step it away your time! God bless your body, When your legs keep time." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1975 (recording, Jasper Smith and Levi Smith) KEYWORDS: dancing nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond)) REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Jasper Smith and Levi Smith, "Step It Away" (on Voice11) NOTES: The current description is all of the Voice11 fragment. The notes for Voice11 describe it as "a comic jingle" to a dance tune. - BS File: RcStepIA === NAME: Step It Up and Go DESCRIPTION: Verses about situations that force (someone) to "step it up and go." The singer's woman no longer loves him. The singer flees the gun of a man whose woman he has been courting. In a river, he meets an alligator. And so forth AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1935 (recording, Blind Boy Fuller) KEYWORDS: love animal travel floatingverses FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Silber-FSWB, p. 79, "Step It Up and Go" (1 text) RECORDINGS: Blind Boy Fuller, "Step It Up and Go" (Columbia 37230, 1947 -- presumably a reissue) Maddox Bros. & Rose "New Step It Up and Go" (4-Star 1549, n.d. but at least 1947) Tommy McClennan, "Shake It Up and Go" (Bluebird 34-0716, 1944) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Salty Dog" (floating lyrics) cf. "Bottle Up and Go" SAME_TUNE: Brownie McGhee, "Step It Up and Go No. 2" (OKeh 06698, 1942) NOTES: This song and "Bottle Up and Go" look very alike at first glance, but the verses seem to be very different. They might both be "Salty Dog" spinoffs. Until I see an intermediate version, I am (tentatively) classifying them separately. - RBW File: FSWB079B === NAME: Step Stone: see Goodbye to My Stepstone (File: R853) === NAME: Stepmother, The: see I Cannot Call Her Mother (The Marriage Rite is Over; The Stepmother) (File: R726) === NAME: Sterling Price DESCRIPTION: "Sterling Price he was a brave man, He will clean out Dixie Land." "Sterling Price he marched to Lexington And there he took old Mulligan." "Sterling Price he wheeled his men about And cut the Dutch into sauerkraut" "Rinktum-polle-rodel-day." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Belden) KEYWORDS: Civilwar battle HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Aug 10, 1861 - Battle of Wilson's Creek Sep 20, 1861 - Capture of James A. Mulligan (1830-1864), then a colonel, and his force at Lexington FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Belden, p. 355, "Sterling Price" (1 fragmentary text) Roud #7769 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Old General Price" (subject) cf. "The Jolly Union Boys" and references there (concerning Battle of Wilson's Creek) NOTES: Sterling Price (1809-1867), a former governor of Missouri and Confederate commander of Missouri troops, was not initially anti-Union, but the behavior of Union partisans caused him to turn Confederate. Price started raising militia forces, and these formed the larger part, but not all, of the Confederate army at the Battle of Wilson's Creek. After the Confederates won that battle, Price was able to advance and capture the garrison of Lexington (some 3000 men under Mulligan, who could have been saved had any of the other local Union officers obeyed orders), but it didn't change the strategic situation much; Price retreated into Arkansas soon after. Even allowing for its fragmentary state, this item is rather confused. As noted, Wilson's Creek came before Lexington. At that battle, the Union commander, Nathaniel Lyon, had tried a divergent attack, splitting off Franz Sigel's brigade (which was regarded as "Dutch," i.e. German) for an attack on the Confederate rear while the main body attacked from the other direction. This strategy failed. Sigel was quickly routed, whereupon the remaining federal forces, outnumbered by something like 5:2, were forced into a slugging match. They were better soldiers than the utterly raw confederates, and so were able to keep the field until their ammunition ran out, but then retired. The confusion, though, arises from the fact that it was the troops of Ben McCulloch (the other Confederate commander at Wilson's Creek) which routed Sigel. But I know of no other battle in which Price defeated a primarily German force, unless perhaps it was the affair at Carthage (July 5, 1861), where Price induced Franz Sigel to retreat without a real fight. I have the strange feeling that "Old General Price" and "Sterling Price" are a single piece, one being adapted from the other -- but since we don't have a single complete stanza of either, and only one tune, this is beyond proof. - RBW File: Beld355A === NAME: Stern Old Bachelor DESCRIPTION: The singer describes his life in the "little sod shanty dear to me." He is proud that "I'm a stern old bachelor, from matrimony free." He rejoices that he can live in squalor, snore all he wants, stay out late and never have to explain where he has been AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recording, Chubby Parker) KEYWORDS: bachelor home FOUND_IN: US(Ap,So) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Randolph 481, "A Stern Old Bachelor" (1 text) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 354-355, "The Old Bachelor" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, STRNBACH* Roud #4306 RECORDINGS: Carter Family, "Stern Old Bachelor" (Decca 5565, 1938) Harry Conway [pseud. for Jerry White] "I'm a Stern Old Bachelor" (Radiex 4262, 1928; Van Dyke 74262 [possibly as Ben Litchfield], 1929) Chubby Parker, "I'm a Stern Old Bachelor" (Champion 15247 [as Smilin' Tubby Johnson]/Silvertone 5012, 1927; Supertone 9188, 1928) (Conqueror 7888, 1931) File: R481 === NAME: Stewball: see Skewball [Laws Q22] (File: LQ22) === NAME: Stick My Head in a Paper Sack DESCRIPTION: "Stick my head in a paper sack, Show dem niggers how to Cairo back. Shake dat flat foot. Shake dat flat foot." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1919 (Brown) KEYWORDS: nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 463, "Stick My Head in a Paper Sack" (1 fragment) Roud #11787 File: Br463 === NAME: Stick to Your Mother, Tom: see Don't Leave Your Mother When Her Hair Turns Gray (File: R717) === NAME: Sticking Out a Mile from Blarney DESCRIPTION: Rhyming verses with a chorus: "God be with those merry merry days that we spent outside in Blarney." For example, "Blarney Castle stands up straight and the rocks and the rooms are underneath, If you ask for fish they'll give you meat, sticking out ...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (OCanainn) KEYWORDS: humorous nonballad food FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OCanainn, pp. 110-111, "Sticking Out a Mile from Blarney" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: OCanainn: "This is one of those songs with many verses; in convivial company the song often calls forth instant composition of new verses.... [The singer] remembers an old woman singing it on the Dublin train and she had a lot of verses about the war, Sean McEntee and De Valera. God knows what words they'll have for it in a few more years." - BS File: OCan110 === NAME: Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones DESCRIPTION: "Sticks and stones may break my bones, Say what you please when I'm dead and gone, But I'm gonna drink corn liquor till I die." Singer may admit that he is not respected, or "know you'll talk about me when I'm gone," but will enjoy himself now/hereafter AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1913 (Brown) KEYWORDS: drink nonballad death floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 39, "Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones" (1 text) Roud #7860 NOTES: Presumably related to the common rhyme "Sticks and stones will break my bones, But names will never hurt me" (for which see, e.g. Montgomerie-ScottishNR 152, "(Sticks and Stones)." This, however, takes a slightly different twist on the ending. - RBW File: Br3039 === NAME: Still Growing: see A-Growing (He's Young But He's Daily A-Growing) [Laws O35] (File: LO35) === NAME: Still I Love Him: see Do You Love an Apple? (File: K203) === NAME: Still the Night: see Silent Night (Still the Night, Stille Nacht) (File: FSWB384B) === NAME: Stille Nacht: see Silent Night (Still the Night, Stille Nacht) (File: FSWB384B) === NAME: Stingo: see (references to tune under) Mowing the Barley (Cold and Raw) (File: ShH60) === NAME: Stinkin' Cow, The DESCRIPTION: One fine morning, Old McGee sends daughter Molly out with Johnny. They see a bull mating with a cow. Molly asks how the bull knows the cow is willing. Johnny answers, "tis by the smell." She says she stinks like the cow; they emulate the bovines AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1962 (collected by Logsdon from Lew Pyle KEYWORDS: sex animal bawdy children FOUND_IN: US(SW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Logsdon 47, pp. 230-231, "The Stinkin' Cow" (1 text) Roud #10103 File: Logss047 === NAME: Stir the Wallaby Stew DESCRIPTION: Dad's in jail, Mother unfaithful, the sheep are dead, the farm's for sale. Dad gets out, sees this, and goes back to jail. Chorus: "So stir the wallaby stew, Make soup of the kangaroo tail, I tell you things is pretty tough Since Dad got put in jail." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1957 KEYWORDS: work unemployment poverty hardtimes prison family mother father infidelity humorous FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Hodgart, p. 234, "Stir the Wallaby Stew" (1 text) Roud #8242 RECORDINGS: John Greenway, "Wallaby Stew" (on JGreenway01) NOTES: John Greenway writes of this piece, "Australia's Tobacco Roaders (without the sexual propensities of Jeeter Lester's relatives) are the delightful family of Dad and Dave and the other residents of Shingle Hut -- Mother, Mabel, Sal, Dan, Joe, and Cranky Jack. Originally the creation of the first great Australian humorist, Steele Rudd (Arthur Hoey Davis) in his books _On Our Selection_ and _Our New Selection_, Dad and Dave were the archetype of the hard-working but hard-luck free selectors... but the characters were taken away from him and became progressively more lazy and stupid.... "Wallaby Stew" is a shameful example of the degeneration of the Rudd family (as the tune is a degeneration of the "Bungaree" melody), but it represents an important area of Australian folklore." - RBW File: Hodg234 === NAME: Stockman's Last Bed, The DESCRIPTION: A song lamenting the death of poor Jack, the stockman, (gored to death by a cow). "And we laid him where wattles their sweet fragrance shed, And the tall gum tree shadows the stockman's last bed." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1905 (Paterson's _Old Bush Songs_) KEYWORDS: death Australia lament FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (4 citations) Meredith/Anderson, pp. 46, 92, "The Stockman's Last Bed" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Fahey-Eureka, p. 168, "The Stockman's Last Bed" (1 text, 1 tune) Manifold-PASB, pp. 84-86, "The Stockman's Last Bed" (1 text, 2 tunes) Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 233-235, "The Stockman's Last Bed" (1 text) Roud #9113 RECORDINGS: John Greenway, "The Stockman's Last Bed" (on JGreenway01) NOTES: Anderson reports that this is derived from "The Boatswain's Last Whistle" by Charles Dibdin (1865?), but Manifold questions this, observing that the tune does not fit well. - RBW File: MA046 === NAME: Stolen Bride, The DESCRIPTION: "Down by the river, the willows grow tall, Whippoorwill calling, hear their sad call." The girl is in love with a man from a family who is feuding with her own. Her father captures her lover. She begs for his life; refused, she accepts death beside him AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas) KEYWORDS: love death hate hardheartedness family execution revenge feud homicide FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Thomas-Makin', pp. 20-21, "The Stolen Bride" (1 text) ST ThBa020 (Partial) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Down in the Valley" (tune) cf. "Lady Maisry" [Child 65] (plot) NOTES: Not the best poetry, but a very strong theme; I'm surprised this piece hasn't been collected somewhere outside of Thomas. - RBW File: ThBa020 === NAME: Stolen Child, The (The Lindbergh Kidnapping) DESCRIPTION: Catchall of Lindberg songs. Typical example: The singer will "tell you about the stolen baby." Lindbergh's infant is stolen from his home; the kidnapper demands money; after a great hue and cry, the baby is found, but is dead AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas) KEYWORDS: homicide mother father children abduction HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Mar 1, 1932 - Kidnapping of Charles A. Lindbergh Jr. (19 months old at the time). The kidnapper demands and receives $150,000, but the child is not returned May 12, 1932 - The boy's body is found Apr 3, 1936 - Execution of Bruno Hauptman, linked to the crime primarily by possession of some of the ransom money FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Thomas-Makin', p. 147, (no title); pp. 148-150, "The Stolen Baby" (2 texts; the two are different metrically, but share enough phrases that I think it proper to lump them, since neither seems to have had real traditional vogue) Burt, p. 72, (no title) (1 text); p. 73, (no title) (1 text in elementary German, tune referenced) Roud #14051 NOTES: The Lindburgh kidnapping, according to Burt, inspired "several" songs, apart from Thomas's sundry items. Since none of them show any real evidence of traditional vogue (as opposed to, say, the equally-numerous _Titanic_ songs), I'm lumping them here. William Butler Yeats wrote a song, "The Stolen Child." It is not related to any of the items filed here. - RBW File: ThBa147 === NAME: Stone That Is Rolling, The: see The Rolling Stone [Laws B25] (File: LB25) === NAME: Stonecutter Boy DESCRIPTION: A stonecutter boy sees a young woman. If she'll rest a moment, he'll "tell you of the dream I had last night." They sit under an oak; she soon gives "a little scream." Smoothing her clothes, she invites him to tell the dream again when next they meet AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1960 (recording, A. L. Lloyd) KEYWORDS: sex dream worker FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, STONEBOY Roud #971 RECORDINGS: Anne Briggs, "The Stonecutter Boy" (on BirdBush1, BirdBush2, Briggs3) A. L. Lloyd, "The Stone-Cutter Boy" (on Lloyd1) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Next Market Day" (plot) and references there NOTES: According to Lloyd, the song had not appeared in print at the time of its recording. Again, I can't bring myself to assign the keyword "bawdy." - PJS File: DTstoneb === NAME: Stonewall Jackson's Way DESCRIPTION: The prayers and fighting methods of "Stonewall" Jackson and his troops (the "Stonewall" Brigade) are described. Each exploit is described as "Stonewall Jackson's Way." The poem concludes, "The foe had better ne'er been born That gets in Jackson's way." AUTHOR: John Williamson Palmer EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Wharton) KEYWORDS: Civilwar battle HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1824-1863 - Life of Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson July 21, 1861 - First Battle of Bull Run/Manassas. In a confusing fight, with his brigade falling to pieces, General Bernard Bee sees Jackson's brigade holding steady. He describes the brigade as a "Stone wall," coining the nickname by which Jackson has been identified ever since (though Jackson always maintained that the name was the brigage's, not his) May/June, 1862 - Jackson's "Valley Campaign." Jackson, with strength never exceeding two divisions, battles the equivalent of three (weak and scattered) Union corps to a standstill by rapid movement and concentration. One of three federal commanders in the area (the Union army had no overall commander) was the inept Nathaniel P. Banks, whose troops suffered severely at Jackson's hands (and would suffer again at Cedar Mountain in August) Aug 29-30, 1862 - Second Battle of Bull Run/Manasses. Lee and Jackson defeat Pope FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Hill-CivWar, pp. 83-84, "Stonewall Jackson's Way" (1 text) DT, STNWALLJ* NOTES: I have always heard this as a poem, but the Digital Tradition has a tune, and Wharton's _War Songs and Poems of the Southern Confederacy_ also prints a melody; I suppose it might be traditional. I don't know of any field collections, though. That this piece was composed by an educated man cannot be doubted (note the use of Latin in one stanza); there is no reason to question Palmer's authorship. Wharton, however (_War Songs_, p. 47) reports a rumour that "[t]hese vverses were found written on a small piece of paper, all stained with blood, in the bosom of a dead soldier of the old Stonewall Brigade, after one of Jackson's battles in the Shenandoah Valley." The origin of the nickname "Stonewall" is explained in the historical references. The poem also calls Jackson "Old Blue Eyes" -- allegedly given because of the way his eyes glowed in battle. The description of the Second Battle of Bull Run in the penultimate stanza is completely backward. Lee had separated his army into wings under Longstreet and Jackson. Union General John Pope caught up with Jackson, and tried very hard on August 29 to dislodge him. He almost succeeded. But then Longstreet came up on Pope's flank and completely demolished the Union army. The "Ashby" referred to in the same stanza is Turner Ashby, who had commanded Jackson's cavalry in the Valley campaign and was killed June 6, 1862. The descriptions of Jackson's prayer are more reasonable; Jackson was a presbyterian lay preacher (though his students at the VMI described him as very dull), and he attributed all his success to God. Frankly, he was a very obnoxious person -- but, obviously, a great tactician. - RBW File: HCW083 === NAME: Storm Along John: see Stormalong (File: Doe082) === NAME: Stormalong DESCRIPTION: Shanty. Characteristic lines: "To me way, old Stormalong!... Aye, aye, aye, Captain Stormalong." About the death of Stormalong, who was elaborately buried off Cape Horn. The singer wishes he were Stormy's son so he could treat the sailors better AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1882 KEYWORDS: shanty sailor death burial FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (11 citations) Doerflinger, pp. 82-83, "Stormalong" (1 text, 1 tune) Bone, pp. 126-127, "Stormalong" (1 text, 1 tune) Colcord, pp. 88-89, "Stormalong" (1 text, 1 tune) Harlow, pp. 78-84, "Storm Along John," "Stormy," "Old Stormy" (6 texts, 6 tunes) [AbEd, pp. 66-69] Hugill, pp. 71-77, "Mister Stormalong," "Stormy Along, John," "Way Stormalong John," Stormalong, Lads, Stormy," Way Stormalong John" (4 texts, 3 tunes) Sharp-EFC, XX, XXXIV, & LVII, p. 23, 39 & 62, "Stormalong John," "Old Stormey," "Wo, Stormalong" (5 texts, 4 tunes) Shay-SeaSongs, pp. 63-65, "Stormalong" (1 text, 1 tune) Botkin-AmFolklr, p. 834, "Stormalong" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, STRMALNG* ADDITIONAL: Captain John Robinson, "Songs of the Chantey Man," a series published July-August 1917 in the periodical _The Bellman_ (Minneapolis, MN, 1906-1919). "Old Stormy!" is in Part 4, 8/4/1917. ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; notes to #398, ("Stormey's dead, that good old man") (1 text) Roud #216 RECORDINGS: Bob Roberts, "Mister Stormalong" (on LastDays) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The 'Cholly' Blues" (floating verses) cf. "Deep Blue Sea (II)" (floating verses) cf. "Carry Him To the Burying Ground (General Taylor, Walk Him Along Johnny)" (lyrics) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Captain Stormalong Come-along, Git-along, Stormalong John Oh, Stormalong Old Stormalong Mister Stormalong John NOTES: Shay reports, "Old Stormalong is the only heroic chracter in the folklor of the sea: he was born, like the great clipper ships, in the imaginations of men." Shay adds a tall tale of Stormy aboard the clipper _Courser_, so large that it just barely fit through the English Channel. Stormalong had the ship greased with soap so it could slide through more easily. This is why the sea near Dover is foamy: The cliffs scraped off all the soap. - RBW File: Doe082 === NAME: Stormalong, Lads, Stormy: see Stormalong (File: Doe082) === NAME: Stormy: see Stormalong (File: Doe082) === NAME: Stormy Along, John: see Stormalong (File: Doe082) === NAME: Stormy Ol' Weather: see Windy Old Weather (File: CoSB204) === NAME: Stormy Scenes of Winter, The: see The Lonesome (Stormy) Scenes of Winter [Laws H12] (File: LH12) === NAME: Stormy Weather Boys DESCRIPTION: Adventures of a barge crew on the Thames. The captain arrives half-drunk; the crew gets sozzled, the barge runs aground. They meet a mermaid and a ghost (who takes the wheel); eventually they arrive at Yarmouth and wind up in "The Druid's Arms" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 (Creighton-Maritime) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Adventures of a barge crew on the Thames. The captain comes aboard half-drunk; the crew gets sozzled and the barge runs aground. They encounter a mermaid ("Up jumped a mermaid covered with muck/We took her down the fo'c'sle and had a good time") and a ghost (who takes the wheel); eventually they arrive at Yarmouth and wind up in "The Druid's Arms." Chorus: "Stormy weather boys, stormy weather boys/When the wind blows our barge will go" KEYWORDS: sex river work drink storm fo'c'sle humorous sailor worker ghost mermaid/man parody FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Creighton-Maritime, pp. 144-145, "Stormy Weather Boys" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, STRMYWTH Roud #1851 RECORDINGS: Bob Roberts, "Stormy Weather Boys" (on LastDays) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. Windy Old Weather" (meter) cf. "The E-ri-e" (theme) and references there NOTES: Not having heard this sung, I can't prove it's a parody of "Windy Old Weather" -- but the meter and lyrics both say it is. - RBW I don't think so, despite the lyrical similarities. "Windy Old Weather" is sung in waltz time, while this is 4/4. - PJS File: DTstrmyw === NAME: Stormy Winds of Winter, The: see The Lonesome (Stormy) Scenes of Winter [Laws H12] (File: LH12) === NAME: Story of Creation: see Walkin' in the Parlor (File: Wa177) === NAME: Story of George Mann, The: see George Mann (File: E122) === NAME: Story of Gustave Ohr: see Gustave Ohr (File: E121) === NAME: Story the Crow Told Me, The DESCRIPTION: Nonsense verses, supposedly told by a crow. "I bought me a suit of union underwear... I couldn't get it off 'cause I lost the combination", "My gal took sick the other day... I bought her a corset... She's in better shape now than she was before" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (recording, Carolina Buddies) KEYWORDS: humorous nonsense animal bird FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 163, "The Story the Crow Told Me" (1 text, 1 tune) RECORDINGS: Carolina Buddies, "The Story That the Crow Told Me" (Columbia 15641-D, 1931; rec. 1930; on CrowTold01) New Lost City Ramblers, "The Story that the Crow Told Me" (on NLCR04, NLCR11) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "I'm Going Away in the Morn" (floating lyrics) NOTES: This is almost certainly from minstrel sources. - PJS File: CSW163 === NAME: Stow'n' Sugar in de Hull Below DESCRIPTION: "I wish I was in Mobile Bay, Rollin' cotton by the day, Stow'n' sugar in de hull below, Below, belo-ow, Stow'n' sugar in de hull below." A steamboat chant, mentioning the Natchez and depicting the engineer and captain. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 KEYWORDS: river nonballad work floatingverses ship FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Botkin-MRFolklr, p. 592, [no title] (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Belle-a-Lee" (floating lyrics) cf. "Hieland Laddie" (floating lyrics) NOTES: This uses lyrics from "Hieland Laddie," which is far better known, but the form appears different enough that I separate them. - RBW File: BMRF592B === NAME: Stowaway, The DESCRIPTION: "From Liverpool 'cross the Atlantic Our white sail floated over the deep." A poor stepfather stows his boy aboard to seek better times in Halifax. First mate will kill the stowaway unless he says who among of the crew put him aboard. The mate relents AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield) KEYWORDS: poverty reprieve ship youth hardtimes ship sailor homicide FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Greenleaf/Mansfield 51, "From Liverpool 'cross the Atlantic" (1 text, 1 tune) Peacock, pp. 890-892, "The Stowaway" (1 text, 1 tune) Leach-Labrador 46, "Stowaway" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #6341 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(2162), "The Little Hero!," unknown, n.d.; also Harding B 11(2161), "The Little Hero"; Harding B 11(3676), Firth b.27(97), Harding B 11(3675), "[The] Stowaway" or "[The] Little Hero" File: GrMa051 === NAME: Strabane Canal, The: see The Calabar (File: HHH502) === NAME: Strabane Fleet, The: see The Calabar (File: HHH502) === NAME: Strabane Hiring Fair, The: see The Hiring Fair (File: RcHiriFa) === NAME: Straight-Out Democrat DESCRIPTION: "We never took stock in H. Greeley, Though Baltimore took him in tow... The ticket that's honest we'll honor... We would like to have Charlie O'Conor, For O'Conor and Adams we'll go." The song encourages others to vote for the "true" democrats AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1872 KEYWORDS: political nonballad derivative HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1872 - Grant/Greeley election FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Spaeth-ReadWeep, p. 43, "Straight-Out Democrat" (1 text, tune referenced) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Rosin the Beau" (tune) and references there NOTES: Ulysses S. Grant was first elected President in 1868, and by the time of the 1872 election it was clear that he could not control corruption in his administration. The Democrats nominated Horace Greeley, but a splinter of the party broke off and nominated Charles O'Conor and the younger John Quincy Adams. The weakness of the O'Conor bid is shown by the fact that all the minor parties combined picked up only 35,097 votes (less than 1% of the total), and that O'Conor didn't gain a single electoral vote -- even though Greeley died before the electoral tally was taken, and the 68 electoral votes he would have earned were split five ways. Grant, of course, won the election. - RBW File: SRW043 === NAME: Straightened Banks of Erne, The DESCRIPTION: The romantic "winding banks of Erne" are no more. "'Progress hates meandering' is a maxim all must learn, So the engineers have straightened out the winding banks of Erne" for the new powerhouse at the falls of Assaroe. AUTHOR: Colm O Lochlainn (source: OLochlainn-More) EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 (OLochlainn-More) KEYWORDS: river technology nonballad parody FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OLochlainn-More 16A, "The Straightened Banks of Erne" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Shannon Scheme" (theme: Ireland's hydro-electrification) NOTES: OLochlainn-More: "Written by the compiler to celebrate the opening of the Erne hydro-electric scheme and dedicated to the late Dr Laurence Kettle and Professor Tatlow, the engineers responsible for the scheme." By O Lochlainn's description, it is a parody Notes to IRClare01: "The Shannon Scheme for the Electrification of the Irish Free State, by harnessing the fall in the River Shannon between Killaloe and Limerick, was commenced in 1925 and completed in 1929 and, within six years, was supplying 85% of Ireland's electricity requirements...." - BS According to John A. Murphy, _Ireland in the Twentieth Century_(Gill and MacMillan, 1975, 1989), p. 65, "[T]he most far-sighted step in the development of natural resources by the state was the Shannon Scheme -- the beginning of the national supply of electricity -- and the establishment of the Electricity Supply Board in 1927, destined to be perhaps the most successful of those semi-state bodies which in future years became characteristic and indispensible features of the Irish economy." For a later song about Ireland's electrification, see "The ESB in Coolea." - RBW File: OLcM016A === NAME: Strands of Ballylickey, The DESCRIPTION: "I oftimes think of home and where I spent my childhood days before I was forced to roam." He recalls playing, fishing, music and dancing "by the strands of Ballilickey on the shores of Bantry Bay." He hopes to return "but fortune seems against me" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (OCanainn) KEYWORDS: home travel return Ireland nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OCanainn, pp. 108-109, "The Strands of Ballylickey" (1 text, 1 tune) File: OCan108 === NAME: Strands of Magilligan, The: see The Streams of Lovely Nancy (File: VWL098) === NAME: Strange Proposal, A: see Captain Wedderburn's Courtship [Child 46] (File: C046) === NAME: Strange Things Wuz Happening DESCRIPTION: "Well, they'z strange things wuz happening in the land... The war wuz going on, caused many hearts to moan...." "But Uncle Sam with Germany tried to live in peace, Kept blowin' up his vessels...." Listeners are urged to stand by the United States AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: war ship FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownII 240, "Strange Things Wuz Happening" (1 text) Roud #6623 NOTES: The immediate cause of American entry into World War I was, of course, Germany's use of unlimited submarine warfare. Early in the war, the Germans had tried sinking ships without warning, and stopped as the U. S. protested. n 1917, with the war in stalemate, the Germans hoped to starve Britain out of the war before the U. S. could make its weight felt. It didn't work. I have to think this was intended for popular consumption, but neither the editors of Brown nor I have seen it elsewhere. - RBW File: BrII240 === NAME: Strange Visitor, The DESCRIPTION: "A wife was sitting at her reel ae nicht... and aye she wished for company." A body comes in in pieces: Large feet, small legs and thighs, at last a great head. She asks about each part; the visitor explains its purpose. Which is to take her soul AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1964 (Montgomerie) KEYWORDS: death loneliness FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Montgomerie-ScottishNR 196, "(A wife was sitting at her reel ae nicht)" (1 text) DT, STRANVIS File: MSNR196 === NAME: Stranger Far From Home, A: see Poor Stranger, The (Two Strangers in the Mountains Alone) (File: R059) === NAME: Stratton Mountain Tragedy [Laws G18] DESCRIPTION: A young woman and her baby are trapped in a cold blizzard. When they are found, the mother is dead but the baby alive; the mother had wrapped it in her cloak AUTHOR: Seba Smith (? -1843) EARLIEST_DATE: broadside (1843) KEYWORDS: mother baby death HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1821- Death of Lucy Blake and her daughter Rebecca, whose fate is believed to have inspired this ballad FOUND_IN: US(NE) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Laws G18, "Stratton Mountain Tragedy" Flanders/Brown, pp. 27-28, "Stratton Mountain Tragedy" (1 text, 1 tune) DT 638, STRATMTN* Roud #5442 File: LG18 === NAME: Strawberry Lane: see The Elfin Knight [Child 2] (File: C002) === NAME: Strawberry Roan, The [Laws B18] DESCRIPTION: An unemployed cowboy is offered the chance of a job if he can ride the strawberry roan. Confident of his skill, he mounts the horse -- to be thrown within seconds. He concludes the horse is unridable. AUTHOR: Words: almost certainly Curley Fletcher EARLIEST_DATE: 1915 (published by Fletcher in the Globe, AZ Record as "The Outlaw Broncho") KEYWORDS: horse cowboy injury unemployment FOUND_IN: US(So,SW) Canada REFERENCES: (9 citations) Laws B18, "The Strawberry Roan" Randolph 202, "Strawberry Roan" (1 text) Randolph-Legman II, 652-655, "The Strawberry Roan" (2 texts) Fowke/Johnston, pp. 98-100, "The Strawberry Roan" (1 text, 1 tune) Fife-Cowboy/West 68, "The Strawberry Roan" (2 texts, 1 tune, the second text being the parody "Bad Brahma Bull") Ohrlin-HBT 28, "The Strawberry Roan" (1 text, 1 tune); also two sequels by Wilf Carter: 29, "He Rode the Strawberry Roan" (1 text); 30, "The Fate of Old Strawberry Roan" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 111, "Strawberry Roan" (1 text) DT 385, STRWROAN* ADDITIONAL: Hal Cannon, editor, _Cowboy Poetry: A Gathering_, Giles M. Smith, 1985, pp. 57-59, "The Strawberry Roan" (1 text) Roud #3239 RECORDINGS: Arizona Wranglers, "Strawberry Roan" (Merry Xmas L949, 1929; on BackSaddle) Bill Boyd & his Cowboy Ramblers, "Strawberry Roan" (Bluebird B-5667, 1934; Montgomery Ward M-4778, 1935) Beverly Hillbillies, "The Strawberry Roan" (Brunswick 514/Supertone S-2263, 1931) W. C. Childers "Strawberry Roan, Part 1/Part2" (Victor V-40103; 1929; Montgomery Ward M-4951, 1936) (Champion 16467, 1932) Bob Ferguson [pseud. for Bob Miller], "Strawberry Roan" (Columbia 15677-D, 1931) Paul Hamblin, "The Strawberry Roan" (Victor V-40260, 1930; on WhenIWas2) Harry Jackson, "Strawberry Roan" (on HJackson1, CowFolkCD1) Bob Kackley & Bob Ferguson, "Strawberry Roan" (OKeh 45531, 1931) Bud Kelly, "Strawberry Roan" (Broadway 8331, rec. 1932) [Frank] Luther & [Carson] Robison "The Strawberry Roan" (Melotone M-12350, 1932) Ranch Boys, "The Strawberry Roan" (Decca 5074, 1935) Bob Sherman, "The Strawberry Roan" (Clarion 5336C, c. 1929) Wesley Tuttle, "Strawberry Roan" (Coral 64051, 1950) John White, "The Strawberry Roan" (Banner 32179/Romeo 1629/Perfect 12712/Conqueror 7753, 1931) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "While Hanging Around Town" (tune & meter) cf. "The Wild Buckaroo" (tune & meter) cf. "No Balls at All" (tune, in some versions) cf. "Wild Rover No More" (tune, in some versions) cf. "The Castration of the Strawberry Roan" (tune, character of the Roan) SAME_TUNE: Castration of the Strawberry Roan (File: Logs013) He Rode the Strawberry Roan (Ohrlin-HBT 29; Wilf Carter, "He Rode the Strawberry Roan" (Bluebird [Canada] B-4974, c. 1933/Regal Zonophone [Australia] G23152, n.d.)) The Fate of Old Strawberry Roan (Ohrlin-HBT 30; Wilf Carter, "The Fate of Old Strawberry Roan" (Montgomery Ward M-7186, 1937; Bluebird [Canada] B-4602, c. 1938)) Ridge Runnin' Roan (Tex Fletcher, "Ridge Runnin' Roan" (Decca 5302, 1936)) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Outlaw Broncho NOTES: Powder River Jack Lee claimed that Frank R. Chamberlain wrote the words to this song in 1894. No other evidence of this has been offered, however, and every known version seems to go back to Fletcher. A number of "sequels" to "Strawberry Roan" have been written, including the two by Wilf Carter cited by Ohrlin. Austin E. Fife published an article on the subject, "The Strawberry Roan and His Progeny," in the John Edwards Memorial Quarterly. For more on the offspring of this song, see the notes to "The Castration of the Strawberry Roan." - RBW I think it's been fairly well established, despite Powder River Jack, that Fletcher wrote the words, probably in 1914. To quote Logsdon, "It was being sung by many people and Fletcher got no credit or money. So he collaborated with two Hollywood song writers, Nat Vincent and Fred Howard, to publish it as sheet music. When it came off the press they had made changes and added a chorus. Fletcher was furious and demanded that they print his original poem on the inside back cover for those who wanted to sing it the right way (and he wrote a bawdy version.)" The chorus they wrote, "Oh, that strawberry roan," has become part of most versions collected from tradition. - PJS File: LB18 === NAME: Strawberry Tower: see Scarboro Sand (The Drowned Sailor) [Laws K18] (File: LK18) === NAME: Streams of Bunclody, The DESCRIPTION: "Was I at the moss-house where the birds do increase" he'd have a kiss from his sweetheart. "The cuckoo is a pretty bird ..." Various if ... then verses. She shuns him. She is rich. He is poor. He is "going to America, my fortune to try." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1888 (Sparling); c.1867 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 b.9(206)) KEYWORDS: love emigration separation America floatingverses FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OLochlainn 76, "The Maid of Bunclody, and the Lad She Loves So Dear" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #3000 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, 2806 b.9(206), "The Maid of Bonclody," P. Brereton (Dublin), c.1867 ; also 2806 b.9(232) [almost entirely illegible], "The Maid of Bon Clody, and the Lad She Loves Dear" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Cuckoo" (floating verses) NOTES: See H. Halliday Sparling, _Irish Minstrelsy_, 1888, pp. 224-225, 515. The description follows Sparling who notes, "From a Dublin ballad-slip of very uncertain date, but certainly before 1850." Floating verses include "The cuckoo is a pretty bird ...."; "If I was a clerk and could write a good hand ...."; "If I was a lark and had wings, I then could fly ... where my love does lie." The cuckoo verse seems uncorrupted: The cuckoo is a pretty bird, it sings as it flies, It brings us good tidings and tells us no lies, It sucks the young bird's eggs to make its voice clear, And it never cries cuckoo till the summer is near. In spite of its title -- "The Maid of Bon Clody, and the Lad She Loves Dear" -- broadside Bodleian 2806 b.9(232) seems to follow Sparling exactly. The words I can make out in each verse are the same words that are in Sparling. But then, the same is true of OLochlainn 76: same title and same text. Steve Gardham points out that the text of Richard Hayward's "Down in Glasloch" (78 Recording: Richard Hayward with Roy Robertson Orchestra, "Down in Glasloch" (Rex 15016B/matrix DR 11826-1, 1947)) is very similar to "The Streams of Bunclody"; the verses here seem minor modifications of the non-floating verses there and include the floating verses that do not refer to the cuckoo. The main difference is in the first verse: From Sparling's "The Streams of Bunclody" O was I at the moss-house where the birds do increase, At the foot of Mount Leinster or some silent place Near the streams of Bunclody, where all pleasures do meet, And all I'd require is one kiss from you sweet. For "Down in Glasloch" Oh, were I down in Glasloch where the birds sing so blithely I would walk there with my true love and she by my side And in all things she might ask me I would gladly do her favor For there's no love like my true love in all Monaghan wide. The following comment is from John Moulden: "I rather distrust his [Hayward's] versions and suspect that the text you quote has been tinkered. In a later (10 inch LP "Words and Music of Ireland" Decca EBL522) recording of the tune alone played by Hayward on an organ, he states that he collected the song in Monaghan 'close to Sir Shane Leslie's home' wherever that may have been." John Moulden is researcher at the "Centre for the Study of Human Settlement and Historical Change" at National University of Ireland, Galway whose subject is 'the printed ballad in Ireland'" The date of 1947 for Hayward's record is provided by Bill Dean-Myatt, MPhil. compiler of the Scottish National Discography. He also has a 1938 date for an earlier Hayward recording as "Down in Glaslough". Help provided by Steve Gardham, John Moulden and Bill Dean-Myatt is cited here with their permission. Glaslough is a village in Count Monaghan, Ireland, just south of Northern Ireland. Mount Leinster and the River Clody are near Bunclody, County Wexford. - BS File: BroaTSoB === NAME: Streams of Lovely Nancy, The DESCRIPTION: The singer (a sailor?) describes the "streams of lovely Nancy", a mountain with a castle, his beloved (who lives in the castle), a river, and a ship. He ends by addressing all "streamers"; he will write to his love, "For her rosy lips entice me..." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1825 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 28(29)) LONG_DESCRIPTION: In this extremely confused song, the singer (probably a sailor) describes the "streams of lovely Nancy", a mountain with a castle, his beloved (who lives in the castle), a river, and a ship from the Indies. He ends by addressing all "streamers" (tin-miners washing ore?), saying he will write to his love, "For her rosy lips entice me, with her tongue she tells me 'No'/And a angel might direct us right, and where shall we go?" KEYWORDS: love rejection lyric nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain(England(West,South)) Ireland US(MW,SE) Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (8 citations) Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, p. 98, "The Streams of Lovely Nancy" (1 text, 1 tune) Copper-SoBreeze, pp. 294-295, "The Streams of Lovely Nancy" (1 text, 1 tune) Hodgart, p. 149, "The Streams of lovely Nancy" (1 text) Gardner/Chickering 26, "Green Mountain" (1 text) Karpeles-Newfoundland 64, "The Streams of Lovely Nancy" (2 texts, 2 tunes) SHenry H520, p. 259, "The Strands of Magilligan" (1 text, 1 tune) Chappell-FSRA 29, "The Shipwreck" (1 text, probably this piece although there is no mention of Nancy; there is one brief mention of Polly, and no shipwreck!) DT, LOVNANCY* (erroneously titled "The Steams of Lovely Nancy") Roud #688 RECORDINGS: Turp Brown, "The Streams of Lovely Nancy" (on Voice02) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 28(29), "The Streams of Lovely Nancy," W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also Harding B 11(3678), Firth b.34(282), Harding B 11(3677), Harding B 11(3678A), Harding B 11(825), Firth c.13(24), Harding B 11(3679)[some words illegible], 2806 c.17(410), 2806 c.17(409)[some words illegible], Harding B 15(320a), Harding B 11(1519), Firth b.26(542)[some words illegible], "[The] Streams of Lovely Nancy" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Cursor Mundi" (14th century religious poem, sharing images) cf. "The Ploughboy (I)" (lyrics) cf. "If I Were a Fisher" (floating verses) cf. "Farewell, Sweet Mary" (floating lyrics) cf. "Nellie (I)" (lyrics) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Streams of Nantsian Faithful Emma The Dreams of Lovely Nancy NOTES: All versions of this song seem to be equally mysterious. Lloyd quotes A.G. Gilchrist as speculating, with evidence, that this song is actually a relic of a hymn to Mary. -PJS Margaret Dean-Smith offers the speculation that "streams/streamers" refer not to flowing waters but to "streamers," who worked in tin mines. If that helps. - RBW File: VWL098 === NAME: Streets of Forbes, The DESCRIPTION: Ben Hall is "hunted from his station" and "like a dog shot down." A bushranger for three years, he is planning to "cross the briny sea" when found and "riddled like a sieve." The authorities parade his body through the streets of Forbes AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1964 (Manifold) KEYWORDS: outlaw police Australia death HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 5, 1865 - Ben Hall is ambushed and killed by police near Forbes, Australia FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (3 citations) Manifold-PASB, pp. 60-61, "The Streets of Forbes" (1 text, 1 tune) Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 79-81, "The Streets of Forbes" (1 text) DT, STRFORBE* CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Ben Hall" (plot) cf. "The Ballad of Ben Hall" (plot) cf. "The Death of Ben Hall" (plot) cf. "My Name is Ben Hall" (subject) NOTES: For the background of Ben Hall, see the other songs listed in the cross-references, especially "Ben Hall." To tell this from the other Ben Hall songs, consider this first verse: Come all of you Lachlan men, and a sorrowful tale I'll tell Concerning of a hero bold who through misfortune fell. His name it was Ben Hall, a man of good renown Who was hunted from his station, and like a dog shot down. According to Patterson/Fahey/Seal, this is based on a poem by Ben Hall's brother-in-law John McGuire. - RBW File: PASB060 === NAME: Streets of Glory: see Welcome Table (Streets of Glory, God's Going to Set This World on Fire) (File: San478) === NAME: Streets of Laredo, The [Laws B1] DESCRIPTION: (The singer meets a young cowboy "all dressed in white linen and cold as the clay.") The cowboy has been shot (or given a venereal disease?) and is dying. He regrets his carousing, gives instructions for his burial, and dies. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1886 KEYWORDS: cowboy death lament burial dying funeral disease violence homicide FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,NE, Ro,So,SE,SW) Canada(Mar) Ireland REFERENCES: (28 citations) Laws B1, "The Cowboy's Lament (The Dying Cowboy)" Belden, pp. 392-397, "The Unfortunate Rake" (3 texts plus a fragment and references to 4 more versions; 1 tune, all of which are this song despite the title) Randolph 182, "The Cowboy's Lament" (2 texts plus an excerpt, 1 tune) Eddy 124, "The Dying Cowboy" (3 texts, none of which refer to "The Streets of Laredo" and which might be mixed with other versions of this song) Gardner/Chickering 100, "The Dying Cowboy" (1 short text plus mention of 1 more) BrownII 263, "The Unfortunate Rake" (1 text plus 9 excerpts and mention of two others, called "The Unfortunate Rake" but apparently all this song) Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 353-359, "The Dying Cowboy" (6 texts; 3 tunes on pp. 452-453) Friedman, p. 424, "The Cowboy's Lament (The Streets of Laredo)" (2 texts, the second being a lumberjack text that might derive from one of the other versions) PBB 111, "The Cowboy's Lament" (1 text) Lomax-FSUSA 59, "The Streets of Laredo" (1 text, 1 tune) Sandburg, p. 263, "As I Walked Out in the Streets of Laredo" (1 text, 1 tune) Thorp/Fife XIII, pp. 148-190 (29-30), "Cow Boy's Lament" (22 texts, 7 tunes, though not all are really part of this piece -- the "H" text, from Minnesota, is in a Scandinavian tongue; "K" looks like it comes from the "Tarpaulin Jacket" family; "L" is "The Wild and Wicked Youth"; "M" is "Jack Combs"; "N" is "St. James Infirmary"; many of the other texts are parodys) Fife-Cowboy/West 119, "The Streets of Laredo" (2 texts, 1 tune) Larkin, pp. 30-31, "The Cowboy's Lament" (1 text, 1 tune, with four verses that are clearly "Streets of Laredo" but an opening that is "My Home's in Montana") SharpAp 131, "St. James's Hospital, or The Sailor Cut Down in his Prime" (2 texts, 2 tunes, but the "A" text really belongs with "The Unfortunate Rake") Lomax-FSNA 200, "The Dying Cowboy" (1 text, 1 tune) Mackenzie 120, "The Dying Cowboy" (1 text) Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 859-860, "The Cowboy's Lament" (1 text, 1 tune) Hodgart, p. 242, "The Dying Cowboy" (1 text) JHCox 53, "The Dying Cowboy" (5 texts) JHCoxIIB, #8A-B, pp. 139-142, "The Dying Cowboy" (2 fragments, 2 tunes) PSeeger-AFB, p. 41, "The Streets Of Laredo" (1 text, 1 tune) SHenry H680, p. 141, "The Cowboy of Loreto" (1 text, 1 tune) LPound-ABS, 77, pp. 170-171, "The Dying Cowboy" (1 text) Darling-NAS, pp. 8-9, "The Cowboy's Lament" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 115, "The Streets Of Laredo" (1 text) Saffel-CowboyP, pp. 192-193, "The Cowboy's Lament" (1 text) DT 350, LAREDST* Roud #2 RECORDINGS: Jules Allen, "The Cowboy's Lament" (Victor V-40178, 1929; Montgomery Ward M-4099, 1933) Captain Appleblossom, "The Cowboy's Lament" (OKeh 45373, 1929) Bentley Ball, "The Dying Cowboy" (Columbia A3085, 1920) Vernon Dalhart, "The Dying Cowboy" (Brunswick 137/Perfect 12361 [as "The Cowboy's Lament", 1927; Supertone S-2009, 1930; Conqueror 7724 [as "The Cowboy's Lament"], 1931) Dick Devall, "Tom Sherman's Barroom" (Timely Tunes [Victor subsidiary] C-1563, 1931; on BefBlues1, WhenIWas2) Newton Gaines, "A-Walkin' the Streets of Laredo" (Victor V-40253, 1930) Ewen Hail, "Cowboy's Lament" (Brunswick 141, 1927; Brunswick 433/Supertone S-2043. 1930) Harry Jackson, "Streets of Loredo" (on HJackson1) Bradley Kincaid, "In the Streets of Laredo" (Supertone 9404, 1929) Ken Maynard ,"The Cowboy's Lament" (Columbia 2310-D, 1930; on WhenIWas1) Harry "Mac" McClintock, "Cowboy's Lament" (Victor 21761, 1928) New Lost City Ramblers, "Tom Sherman's Barroom" (on NLCR06, NLCR11) H[olland] Puckett, "The Dying Cowboy" (Champion 15428 [as Harvey Watson]/Gennett 6271/Herwin 75557 [as Robert Howell]/Silvertone 5065/Silvertone 8152 [as Si Puckett]/Silvertone 25065/Suptertone 9253 [as Harvey Watson], 1928; rec. 1927) Johnny Prude, "The Streets of Laredo" (AFS, 1940s; on LC28, BackSaddle) Ranch Boys, "Cowboy's Lament" (Decca 5061, 1935) Pete Seeger, "Streets of Laredo" (on PeteSeeger12) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Unfortunate Rake" (tune & meter) cf. "The Sailor Cut Down in His Prime" (tune & meter) cf. "The Bad Girl's Lament (St. James' Hospital; The Young Girl Cut Down in her Prime) [Laws Q26] (tune & meter, plot) cf. "Jack Combs" (tune & meter, lyrics) cf. "The Dying Outlaw" (tune & meter) cf. "My Home's in Montana" (tune, floating lyrics) cf. "My Friends and Relations" (tune, floating lyrics) cf. "The Mowing Machine" (tune & meter) cf. "The Bard of Armagh" (tune & meter) cf. "Trooper Cut Down in His Prime" (tune & meter) SAME_TUNE: A Sun Valley Song (Darling-NAS, p. 11) The Lineman's Hymn (Darling-NAS, pp. 11-12) The Streets of Hamtramck (Darling-NAS, p. 12) The Ballad of Sherman Wu (Darling-NAS, p. 13) A Golfing Song (Darling-NAS, pp. 13-14) The Professor's Lament (Darling-NAS, pp. 14-15) Ballad of Sherman Wu (on PeteSeeger19, AmHist2) ALTERNATE_TITLES: My Home's in Montana The Young Cowboy Tom Sherman's Barroom Tom Sherwin's Barroom NOTES: One of the large group of ballads ("The Bard of Armagh," "Saint James Hospital," "The Streets of Laredo") ultimately derived from "The Unfortunate Rake." All use the same tune and metre, and all involve a person dying as a result of a wild life, but the nature of the tragedy varies according to local circumstances. Thorp/Fife studied 150 versions of this text, and determined that 39 were set in "The Streets of Laredo" or similar; 37 took place at Tom Sherman's Barroom or similar, 25 used other words starting with LA (Lafferty, London, Laden, etc.), 31 (not all of them variants of this exact song) used miscellaneous places, and 18 were not localized. Logsdon, pp. 289-290, reports that "Tom Sherman's barroom was a popular cowboy dance hall and bar in Dodge City, Kansas." He cites a claim that this song was written by Francis Henry Maynard in 1876, and claims that Tom Sherman's was the location in this original text. Based on the dates at which the song was collected, this is possible, but I haven't listed Maynard as the author because the evidence is so thin. Logsdon quoted an article in which Maynard allegedly described the circumstances of the composition. For the treatment of syphilis prior to the twentieth century, see the notes to "The Unfortunate Rake." - RBW File: LB01 === NAME: Stringybark DESCRIPTION: "There are white-box and pine on the ridges afar, Where the ironbark, bluegum, and peppermint are, But the one I know best and the dearest to me And the king of them all is the stringybark tree." Why is it so dear? The singer's birth-hut was made of it AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1968 KEYWORDS: home FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Meredith/Anderson, p. 264, "Stringybark" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Stringybark and Greenhide" (subject) NOTES: Andrew and Nancy Learmonth _Encyclopedia of Australia_2nd edition, Warne & Co, 1973, describes stringybark as an informal name for several species of eucalyptus, the name being given because the bark "peels off in long fibrous strips." Paterson/Fahey/Seal, p.281, notes that stringybark grew on poor land, but it isn't absolutely clear whether this means low soil fertility or unusually dry. I would guess the former, though, because eucalyptus leaves reportedly are very low in nutrition value even by leaf standards. - RBW File: MA264 === NAME: Stringybark and Greenhide DESCRIPTION: "I sing of a commodity, it's one that will not fail yer,.. the mainstay of Australia... Stringybark and greenhide can beat [gold] all to pieces." Greenhide can hold carts together; stringybark strengthens homes; the singer praises these useful products AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: probably before 1870 (Sydney Songster) KEYWORDS: nonballad Australia FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 157-159, "Stringybark and Greenhide" (1 text plus a fragment) Roud #8400 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. 'Stringybark" (subject) NOTES: Andrew and Nancy Learmonth _Encyclopedia of Australia_2nd edition, Warne & Co, 1973, describes stringybark as an informal name for several species of eucalyptus, the name being given because the bark "peels off in long fibrous strips." Allthough the song presents itself as a praise of stringybark and greenhide, Patterson/Fahey/Seal see it more as a toast to the abilities of Australians to improvise, and I incline to agree. - RBW File: PFS157 === NAME: Stringybark Cockatoo, The DESCRIPTION: "I'm a broke alluvial miiner who's been using his cup to drain." With no other means of support, the miner goes to work for a "stringybark cockatoo." The work is dull and the master poor, cheap, and hard to work with AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1905 (Paterson's _Old Bush Songs_) KEYWORDS: unemployment work farming Australia mining FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (2 citations) Manifold-PASB, pp. 100-102, "The Stringybark Cockatoo" (1 text, 1 tune) Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 281-283, "The Stringybark Cockatoo" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Cockies of Bungaree" (plot, lyrics) NOTES: A "Cockatoo," or "Cockie," is a farmer whose land is so poor that it can raise little but cockatoos. Stringybark (for which see "Stringybark") was also considered a sign of very poor land. This song has so many similarities to "The Cockies of Bungaree" that I have to suspect literary dependence. The "Bungaree" text is the more popular, and hence perhaps more likely to be original, but I can offer no absolute proof of this. - RBW File: PASB100 === NAME: Stringybark Creek DESCRIPTION: "A sergeant and three constables rode out from Mansfield Town" to seek the Kelly gang. When they separate, Kelly overwhelms two, then catches the other two as they return. One man, MacIntyre, escapes to bring the news to Mansfield AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1964 KEYWORDS: outlaw death trick horse FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Manifold-PASB, pp. 70-72, "Stringybark Creek" (1 text, 2 tunes) 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. "My Name is Edward Kelly" (subject) cf. "The Kelly Gang Were Strong" (subject) NOTES: Manifold reports that there is also a fiddle tune named "Stringybark Creek," which is sometimes used for this song. Said tune sounds vaguely familiar; I think I've heard it under another name. But it's not one of the common fiddle tunes. - RBW File: PASB070 === NAME: Study War No More: see Down By the Riverside (Study War No More) (File: San480) === NAME: Stump, The: see The Rattling Bog (File: ShH98) === NAME: Subhail a Gradh: see Shule Agra (Shool Aroo[n], Buttermilk Hill, Johnny's Gone for a Soldier) (File: R107) === NAME: Substitute, The DESCRIPTION: Recitation; Tom Burke befriends young Tim Cory. Tim is crushed by a falling tree and asks Tom to take care of his children. He finds Tim's children are now orphans. The speaker later learns Tom has married Tim's oldest daughter AUTHOR: Probably Marion Ellsworth EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Beck) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Recitation; Tom Burke, a saw-filer in the lumber camp, befriends a young man, Tim Cory. Tim is crushed by a falling tree, but before dying, he asks Tom to take care of his children. Tom takes the body to Tim's house. He finds Tim's children are now orphans, their mother having been dead for two years; he takes up a collection among the crew. The speaker loses track of Tom, but one day he chances on a small farm, and he finds Tom has married Tim's oldest daughter, and they've made a good and happy home. KEYWORDS: lumbering work logger marriage farming recitation orphan family friend FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Beck 104, "The Substitute" (1 text) Roud #8884 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Harry Dunn (The Hanging Limb)" [Laws C14] cf. "Chance McGear" (plot) cf. "Boy Killed by a Falling Tree in Hartford" (plot) NOTES: Put baldly, as in the description, this sounds like sentimental treacle, but to my ear it's a poem with some guts to it. Like the other pieces probably written by Ellsworth, it does not seem to have entered oral tradition. - PJS File: Be104 === NAME: Success to Every Man DESCRIPTION: "De time is drawin' near, me b'ys, De narthern floe to face, So we must get out 'aulin' rope, De whitecoats fer to lace!" Various sealing ships are listed. The singer wishes success and prosperity to the sealers AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (England, Vikings of the Ice) KEYWORDS: hunting ship FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ryan/Small, p. 109, "Success to Every Man" (1 text, 1 tune) File: RySm109 === NAME: Success to the Hardy Sealers DESCRIPTION: "The twelfth of March is drawing near And we must all prepare Our pipers and our pannicans The sealer's life to share." Ships preparing to go to the ice are listed. The singer hopes they return safely AUTHOR: apparently Johnny Burke EARLIEST_DATE: 1912 (Burke's Ballads) KEYWORDS: ship travel hunting FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ryan/Small, p. 81, "Success to the Hardy Sealers" (1 text) File: RySm081 === NAME: Success Unto the Coal Trade DESCRIPTION: "Good people, listen while I sing The source from where your comforts spring; And may each wind that blows still bring Success unto the coal trade." The singer points out how coal supports the nation and feeds the people of the north AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay) KEYWORDS: mining nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Stokoe/Reay, pp. 140-141, "Success Unto the Coal Trade" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #3163 File: StoR140 === NAME: Sucking Cider through a Straw DESCRIPTION: "The prettiest girl that I ever saw Was sucking cider through a straw." "I told that gal I didn't see how She sucked the cider through a straw." "And now I've got me a mother-in-law From sucking cider through a straw." AUTHOR: credited in the 1919 publication to Carey Morgan and Lee David EARLIEST_DATE: 1919 (sheet music) KEYWORDS: courting drink FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,SE) REFERENCES: (4 citations) BrownIII 47, "Sucking Cider through a Straw" (1 fragment) Sandburg, p. 329, "Sucking Cider Through a Straw" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 239, "Sipping Cider Through A Straw" (1 text) DT, SIPCIDER* Roud #7867 RECORDINGS: [Arthur] Collins & [Byron] Harlan, "Sipping Cider Through a Straw" (Pathe 22157, 1919) (Edison 50627, 1920) (CYL: Edison [BA] 3846, n.d.) Vernon Dalhart, "Sippin' Cider" (Columbia 1712-D, 1929) SAME_TUNE: The Other Day I Met a Bear (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 44; DT, IMETBEAR) NOTES: The 1919 publication gives the name as "Sipping Cider thru' a Straw." Curiously, Sandburg, writing no later than 1927, did not seem to know of this -- implying that this was originally "folk" rather than pop. - RBW File: San329 === NAME: Sucking Pig, The DESCRIPTION: Of a giant pig, which takes 7000 men to butcher, and seven years to remove a trotter; its bones yield 7000 bags of flour. Cho: "O, perhaps you may think that/O, it's not all true/But I don't care a fig/What I say, I know it's true/About this suckling pig" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (recording, Jack Elliott of Birtley) KEYWORDS: lie corpse death work food talltale animal worker FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North)) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #8083 RECORDINGS: Jack Elliott, "The Sucking Pig" (on Elliotts01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Derby Ram" (subject, plot) cf. "The Grey Goose" (subject, plot) cf. "The Killing of the Big Pig (Iso Sika)" (subject, plot) NOTES: The collectors, MacColl & Seeger, considered this song a barrack-room rewrite of "The Derby Ram," and obviously the parallels are very strong. But as the actual words, except for the chorus, seem to be somewhat independent, I split them. Still, cognate stories of big animals that are hard to kill and cook are common, so do look at the cross-references. - PJS File: RcTSuPig === NAME: Suffolk Miracle, The [Child 272] DESCRIPTION: A squire's daughter loves a lowborn man. The squire sends her away. In time her love comes to bear her home. His head hurts; she binds it with her kerchief. She arrives home. Her father says her love is dead. She finds his dead body wearing her kerchief AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1689? (broadside, dated to that year by Wood) KEYWORDS: love courting separation death father lover ghost supernatural corpse travel horse grief FOUND_IN: US(Ap,NE,SE,So) Ireland Canada(Mar,Newf) REFERENCES: (20 citations) Child 272, "The Suffolk Miracle" (1 text) Bronson 272, The Suffolk Miracle" (13 versions) SharpAp 37, "The Suffolk Miracle" (4 texts plus 1 fragment ("C") that might be almost anything, 5 tunes) {Bronson's #4, #2, #3, #1a, #8} BarryEckstormSmyth p. 314, "The Suffolk Miracle" (1 fragment) Randolph 32, "Lady Fair" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #12} Flanders/Olney, pp. 145-147, "The Holland Handkerchief" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #7} Flanders-Ancient4, pp. 50-62, "The Suffolk Miracle" (3 texts, 2 tune, all weeming somewhat mixed -- e.g. "A" has the rose-and-briar ending) {Bronson's A=Bronson's #10, B=#7} JHCox 27, "The Suffolk Miracle" (1 text) BrownII 41, "The Suffolk Miracle" (1 text) Davis-Ballads 42, "The Suffolk Miracle" (2 texts plus a scrap which could be anything, 2 tunes, one of them for the unidentifiable fragment) {Bronson's #8, #5} Creighton/Senior, pp. 88-90, "The Suffolk Miracle" (2 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #6} Peacock, pp. 407-408, "The Suffolk Miracle" (1 text, 1 tune) Leach, pp. 645-649, "The Suffolk Miracle" (2 texts) OBB 175, "The Suffolk Miracle" (1 text) Niles 56, "The Suffolk Miracle" (1 text) SHenry H217, pp. 432-433, "The Lover's Ghost" (1 text, 1 tune) McBride 40, "The Holland Handkerchief" (1 text, 1 tune) Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan 12, "The Holland Handkerchief" (1 text, 1 tune) BBI, ZN2961, "A wonder stranger ne'r was known" DT 272, SUFFMRCL* SUFFMRC2 SUFFMRC3* Roud #246 RECORDINGS: Packie Manus Byrne, "The Holland Handkerchief" (on Voice03) Dol [Adolphus G.] Small, "There Was an Old and Wealthy Man" (AFS, 1950; on LC58) {Bronson's #1b} BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Douce Ballads 2(207b), "The Suffolk Miracle" or "A Relation of a Young Man Who a Month After His Death Appeared to his Sweetheart," F. Coles (London), 1678-1680; also Wood E 25(83) [some lines illegible; "MS annotation following imprint: 1689"], Douce Ballads 3(88a)[many illegible lines], "The Suffolk Miracle" or "A Relation of a Young Man Who a Month After His Death Appeared to his Sweet[-]heart," CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Maid of Sweet Gurteen" (theme) SAME_TUNE: My Bleeding Heart (per broadsides Bodleian Douce Ballads 2(207b), Wood E 25(83) and Douce Ballads 3(88a)) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Sad Courtin' The Richest Girl in Our Town Lucy Bouns NOTES: Child complains of this song, "This piece should not be admitted here on its own merits.... It is not even a good specimen of its kind. Ghosts should have a fair reason for walking, and a quite particular reason for riding...." Child prints the song for the sake of its foreign analogs. All I can say is, the plot may be somewhat defective, but the full forms of the ballad itself are quite beautiful and pathetic. It does corrupt easily, though, as the Flanders texts show. More interesting is the way the story is expressed. Legends of ghosts are of course common, and legends of the fate of spirit and body affecting each other not rare (e.g. if a living person slashes at a ghost, the ghost may appear to be intact but the corpse will bear a scar, perhaps healed). In this song, the ghost actually comes to bear an artifact. That is not often encountered. The "Holland Handkerchief" of certain versions is not a cloth woven in the Netherlands; rather, the adjective refers to the pattern of the weave. - RBW File: C272 === NAME: Sugar and Tea DESCRIPTION: "Lead her up to sugar and tea, Lead her up to candy. You swing 'round that sugar and tea While I swing 'round that dandy." "Hi oh that sugar and tea, Hi oh that candy, You swing 'round that sugar and tea While I swing 'round that dandy." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Talley) KEYWORDS: playparty nonballad FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 531, "Sugar and Tea" (1 text, 1 tune) ST R531 (Partial) Roud #7643 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Dog in the Wood" (lyrics) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Sugar Loaf Tea He Loves Sugar and Tea NOTES: This shares a chorus with the song I've indexed as "Dog in the Wood," but the verses are so distinct (that is a hunting song, this a courting song) that I've tentatively split them. - RBW File: R531 === NAME: Sugar Babe (I) DESCRIPTION: "Shoot your dice and have your fun, sugar babe... Run like the devil when the police come." The singer describes various results of getting drunk. Sundry other floating verses AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 KEYWORDS: drink gambling nonballad FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 153-154, "Sugar Babe" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #3655 File: LxA153 === NAME: Sugar Babe (II): see Crawdad (File: R443) === NAME: Sugar Babe (III) DESCRIPTION: Floating verses with internal chorus "this-u morning" and final chorus "My honey babe, my little babe, so sweet." Verses: "Kill me a chicken and bring be the wing." "I got a mule and the mule won't gee." "I took my girl to the crawfish stand...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: courting abandonment food floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 482, "Sugar Babe" (1 text) NOTES: The notes in Brown state, "It seems best to retain this title [which came from the informant] for the present medley, because it is the refrain that gives it such coherence as it has." I'm not sure I agree -- but certainly there is no other single place the song can file, as the verses all appear elsewhere. I suspect they were fitted into an existing blues framework. - RBW File: Br3482 === NAME: Sugar Babe (IV): see Sweet Thing (I) (File: R443A) === NAME: Sugar Baby (Red Rocking Chair; Red Apple Juice) DESCRIPTION: "Got no sugar baby now...got no use for your red rocking chair...who'll rock the cradle, who'll sing the song...all I can do, fuss, eat, sleep with you/send you to your mama next payday" -- floating verses all. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recording, Dock Boggs) KEYWORDS: marriage nonballad floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Asch/Dunson/Raim, p. 82 "Sugar Baby" (1 text, 1 tune) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 34, "Red Rocking Chair" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 175, "Red Apple Juice" (1 text) Roud #7695 RECORDINGS: Clarence Ashley, Clint Howard et al, "Honey Babe Blues" (on Ashley02, WatsonAshley01) Dock Boggs, "Sugar Baby" (Brunswick 118B, 1927; on Boggs2, BoggsCD1, AAFM3) Roscoe Holcomb, "Got No Honey Baby Now (Honey Babe Blues)" (on Holcomb2) Bascom Lamar Lunsford, "Little Turtle Dove" (1928; on BLLunsford01; a composite of all sorts of floating verses, a few of which may be from here) Charlie Monroe & his Kentucky Pardners, "Red Rocking Chair" (RCA Victor 21-0145, 1949) New Lost City Ramblers, "Red Rocking Chair" (on NLCR03) Frank Proffitt, "Got No Sugar Baby Now" (on FProffitt01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Pay Day" (floating lyrics) cf. "Rain and Snow" (floating lyrics) cf. "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)" (floating lyrics) NOTES: This is a white blues, but it powerfully resembles an improvised African-American blues lyric, composed mostly of floating verses. -PJS File: ADR82 === NAME: Sugar Hill DESCRIPTION: Dance tune; "If you want to get your eye knocked out/If you want to get your fill/If you want to get your head blowed off/Go up on Sugar Hill". Other floating verses; "Possum up a 'simmon tree." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (recording, Crockett Ward & his Boys) KEYWORDS: dancing drink floatingverses dancetune FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 193, "Sugar Hill" (1 text, 1 tune) RECORDINGS: Frank Bode, "Sugar Hill" (on FBode1) Dad Crockett, "Sugar Hill" (Brunwick 372, 1929; on KMM [as Crockett Family Mountaineers]) Virginia Mountain Boomers [Ernest V. Stoneman, Willie Stoneman, an the Sweet Brothers], "Sugar Hill" (Gennett 6687, 1929; rec. 1928) Crockett Ward & his Boys "Sugar Hill" (OKeh 45179, 1928; rec. 1927) NOTES: "Sugar Hill" is the wild part of town. - PJS File: CSW193 === NAME: Sugar in My Coffee DESCRIPTION: Complaints about life laced with the refrain, "(How in the world do the old folks know) That I like sugar in my coffee-o." The singer may describe how he likes to drink, or wishes he were/were not living the life of a white man AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1915 (Brown) KEYWORDS: nonballad playparty FOUND_IN: US(SE,So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Randolph 565, "Sugar in my Coffee" (1 fragment, 1 tune) BrownIII 92, "I Do Love Sugar in My Coffee O" (2 short texts) Roud #7659 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "What'll I Do with the Baby-O" (floating lyrics) NOTES: The Randolph fragment is so short that it could just be a piece of "What'll I Do with the Baby-O," and Brown's texts are also distinct. The mention of "sugar in my coffee" may just be a floating line. But it's going to be very hard to identify any of these scraps with a "real" song. Randolph suggests that the origin of this may be in the fiddle tune "Sugar in My Toddy-o." Certainly possible. In which case it may be related to "Jingle at the Window (Tideo)." - RBW File: R565A === NAME: Sugar Loaf Tea: see Sugar and Tea (File: R531) === NAME: Sugar Lump: see Turn that Cinnamon (File: R583) === NAME: Suit of Green, The DESCRIPTION: A girl mourns the loss of her love taken by guards "for wearing of the suit of green." Her master buys her a suit of green to wear to Dublin where she pleads with the Colonel for her lover's life. The Colonel spares them both; they will marry. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1862 (broadside, Bodleian Firth c.14(134)); first half 19C (Zimmermann) KEYWORDS: love marriage request rebellion trial pardon clothes colors Ireland patriotic prisoner FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (4 citations) OLochlainn 24, "The Suit of Green" (1 text, 1 tune) Zimmermann 22, "The Suit of Green" (1 text, 1 tune) OBoyle 23, "Suit of Green" (1 text, 1 tune) Healy-OISBv2, pp. 42-43, "(A Much-Admired New Song Called) The Suit of Green" (1 text) ST OLoc024 (Partial) Roud #3023 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Firth c.14(134), "Suit of Green," E.M.A. Hodges (London), 1855-1861; also 2806 b.9(226), 2806 c.15(123), 2806 b.9(277), 2806 b.10(208), 2806 b.10(208), Firth c.26(264), Johnson Ballads fol. 363, "[The] Suit of Green" NOTES: Although wearing green was never an actual crime in Ireland, it was often associated with rebels (see "The Wearing of the Green" and the like). In times of trouble, it was likely to invite, shall we say, official attention. - RBW File: OLoc024 === NAME: Sukey Sudds DESCRIPTION: "Sukey Sudds was a-standing in front of her tubs, A-washing her clothes so nice.... Sukey Sudds picked up her three-legged stool And she throwed it right into the fire, fire, fire, And she throwed it right into the fire." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: clothes FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 438, "Sukey Sudds" (1 text) Roud #7608 File: R438 === NAME: Sumer Is I-cumen In DESCRIPTION: "Sumer is i-cumen in, lhude [loud] sing cuccu!" A round celebrating the beginning of summer and the appearance of various symbols of fertility AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: fourteenth century or earlier (MS. Harley 978, generally dated c. 1225-1250) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Sumer is i-cumen in, Lhude sing cuccu! Groweth sed [seed] and bloweth [blooms] meed And spring[e]th w[oo]de nu [now]. Sing cuccu! Awe [ewe] bleteth after lomb [lamb], Lhouth [lows] after calve cu [cow] Bulluc stereth [stirs], bukke [buck] verteth [frequents the fields] Myrie [merry] sin cuccu.... KEYWORDS: farming lyric nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (7 citations) Stevick-100MEL 3, "(Sumer Is I-cumen In)" (1 text) Chappell/Wooldridge I, pp. 10-13, "Sumer Is Icumen In" (1 text, 1 tune; the frontispiece shows a facsimile of the neumed manuscript) Silber-FSWB, p. 260 "Summer Is A-Coming In" (1 text, modernized and otherwise fouled up) ADDITIONAL: Brown/Robbins, _Index of Middle English Verse_, #3223 Maxwell S. Luria & Richard Hoffmann, _Middle English Lyrics_, p. 4, #3 (another text with facsimile) Noah Greenberg, ed., An Anthology of English Medieval and Renaissance Vocal Music, pp. 35-41 (1 text plus modern arrangement) DT, ICUMSUM NOTES: Possibly the oldest pop song in the English language; it's a wide-open question whether the manuscript was a transcription of a piece from oral tradition, or the source. - PJS Wooldridge observes that this song "contains the earliest canon, and the earliest persistently repeated bass, as yet discovered," and speculates (based on the several erasures clearly visible in the manuscript) that the scribe, probably John Fornsete of Reading, was personally responsible for the arrangement. Personally, I'd be inclined to consider this a proto-classical piece (all the more so as it occurs only in the one manuscript), but I'm not going to be dogmatic about it. Most scholars date the manuscript to the thirteenth century. Manfred Bukofzer, however, prefers the fourteenth. Looking at the facsimile, I wonder if he hasn't a point. I'm not a paleographer, and there wasn't that much difference between thirteenth and fourteenth century insular hands anyway -- but the manuscript does have several forms (notably spelling out the word "and," rather than using the upside-down L used as an ampersand at the time) more characteristic of late than early manuscripts. Of course, if the manuscript is a copy rather than the autograph, that doesn't mean much. We should perhaps note that Harley 978 is not the more famous manuscript from the same collection, Harley 2253, which contains "King Horn" among many other famous poems. "Sumer Is I-cumen In" appears to be the only significant song in Harley 978. - RBW File: FSWB260B === NAME: Summer Hill DESCRIPTION: The singer tells how he used to ramble, until he spies Cupid and is pierced by his dart. Now "I'm a wounded lover on Summer Hill." He describes the girl's beauty, and hopes to win her. He refuses to reveal his name AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: love courting beauty FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H20b, p. 245, "Summer Hill" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9482 File: HHH020b === NAME: Summer Morning, The (The White/Blue/Green Cockade) DESCRIPTION: "It was one summer morning, as I went o'er the moss, I had no thought of 'listing till the soldiers did me cross." But her love is in the army. She both laments and curses him. They meet; he dries her tears and says he will return; she vows to ramble AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay) KEYWORDS: soldier love separation recruiting FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North)) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Stokoe/Reay, pp. 68-69, "It Was One Summer Morning" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, COCKADE1* Roud #191 File: StoR068 === NAME: Sun Being Set, The: see Ground for the Floor (File: RcGftF) === NAME: Sun Down Below DESCRIPTION: "Six o'clock I hear 'em say. Sun down, Sun down below. Time to quit and go away. Sun down, Sun down below." Hauling shanty or cargo loading song, likely of Negro origin. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1945 (Harlow) KEYWORDS: shanty worksong FOUND_IN: West Indies US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Harlow, p. 85, "Sun Down Below" (1 text, 1 tune) File: Harl085 === NAME: Sun Will Never Go Down, The: see Where the Sun Don't Never Go Down (File: Wa088) === NAME: Suncook Town Tragedy (Josie Langmaid) [Laws F21] DESCRIPTION: Josie Langmaid is on her way to school when she is accosted by (Joseph) LePage. He abuses and kills her. Her family searches for and finds her body. The killer is condemned to hang AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Flanders/Brown) KEYWORDS: homicide family execution HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Oct 4, 1875 - Murder of Josie Langmaid, reportedly by Joseph LePage Mar 15, 1878 - Execution of Le Page FOUND_IN: US(NE) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Laws F21, "Suncook Town Tragedy (Josie Langmaid)" Flanders/Brown, pp. 72-73, "Suncook Town Tragedy" (1 text, 1 tune) Burt, p. 57, "(no title)" (1 short text, 1 tune) DT 684, SUNCKTWN Roud #2259 NOTES: Although Laws shows no signs of doubt about Le Page's guilt, the account in Burt makes it seem that the case was at least somewhat uncertain. Langmaid had been abused and then decapitated, but the only evidence Burt lists to tie the crime to Le Page is the fact that he had courted young girls (and Langmaid wasn't *that* young; Burt lists her age as 17). Le Page even had a partial alibi, but was convicted anyway. - RBW File: LF21 === NAME: Sunday School Song, The: see Walkin' in the Parlor (File: Wa177) === NAME: Sundown DESCRIPTION: Courting song, with the chorus "It's nearly sundown, sundown/Sun is almost down/Bound away to leave you, 'fore the sun goes down..." Verses begin with "Hi, my little darling"; singer promises to bring his girl back a ribbon to tie around her waist AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 (recording, Art Thieme) KEYWORDS: courting parting nonballad playparty lover FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Art Thieme, "Sundown" (onGetFolked) (on Thieme04) NOTES: I suspect this is related to the song "Hurry Sundown," and I'm guessing that it's a playparty. - PJS File: RcSundow === NAME: Sunny Bank: see I Saw Three Ships (File: OBB104) === NAME: Sunny South (I), The: see The Sweet Sunny South (I) [Laws A23] (File: LA23) === NAME: Sunny South (II), The: see Sweet Sunny South (II) (File: DTsunsou) === NAME: Sunshine After Rain DESCRIPTION: "I left my love in Engand In poverty and pain"; they weep as he sets out across the sea. He works hard, saves his money, goes home, finds the girl. They live happily and are well-off: "The morn has 'dorned the darkest night And sunshine followed rain." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (Chappell) KEYWORDS: love separation emigration reunion farming FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Chappell-FSRA 55, "Sunshine Followed Rain" (1 text) Roud #13821 File: ChFRA055 === NAME: Sunshine Followed Rain: see Sunshine After Rain (File: ChFRA055) === NAME: Sunshine Railway Disaster, The DESCRIPTION: Two trains approach Sunshine at the same time. 44 die in the crash. "If those trains had only run As they should, their proper time, There wouldn't have been a disaster At a place they call Sunshine. If those brakes had only held...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1974 KEYWORDS: train wreck disaster death Australia HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: April 20, 1908 - The Bendigo train crashes into the rear of the Ballarat train at Sunshine near Melbourne. 44 passengers (all in the Ballarat train) were killed; over 400 (from both trains) were injured FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fahey-Eureka, pp. 210-211, "The Sunshine Railway Disaster" (1 text, 1 tune) File: FaE210 === NAME: Sup of Good Whisky, A DESCRIPTION: A mouthful "of good whisky will make you glad"; too much will make you mad; none is bad. Preachers, doctors, lawyers, Turks, and Quakers are against it but drink "in their turn" Germans, French, and Italians boast of their drinking; Hibernia's is best. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1839 (Croker-PopularSongs) KEYWORDS: drink nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 83-86, "A Sup of Good Whisky" (1 text) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Firth b.25(569/570/571/572) View 4 of 5, "A Sup of Good Whisky" ("A sup of good whisky will make you glad"), W. Macnie (Stirling), 1825; also Johnson Ballads 3185, Harding B 25(1853), Harding B 11(3699), "A Sup of Good Whisky" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Chapter of Kings" (tune, per broadsides Bodleian Harding B 25(1853), Harding B 11(3699)) File: CfPS083 === NAME: Supen Ut, En Dram Pa Man DESCRIPTION: Swedish shanty/drinking song. Chorus translates to: "Oh listen, listen here us now, Out of deep throats we're calling you, A tot which goes from man to man, A tot for us Johnnies." Verses mention more drinking and sailing themes. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1935 (Sternvall, _Sang under Segel_) KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage shanty drink FOUND_IN: Sweden REFERENCES: (1 citation) Hugill, pp. 282-283, "Supen Ut, En Dram Pa Man" (2 texts-English & Swedish, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Whiskey Johnny" (similar theme) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Kom Hor, Kom Hor File: Hugi282 === NAME: Sur le Pont d'Avignon DESCRIPTION: French round: "Sur le pont d'Avignon, L'on y danse, l'on y danse." "On the bridge at Avignon, see them dance, see them dance." The song tells how men, women, and soldiers bow and dance AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1846 (Du Mersan, "Chansons et Rondes Enfantines") KEYWORDS: dancing nonballad FOUND_IN: France REFERENCES: (2 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 390, "Sur Le Pont D'Avignon (On The Bridge At Avignon)" (1 text) Fuld-WFM, pp. 539-540, "Sur le Pont d'Avignon" NOTES: One of the best-known songs in all of France. The great bridge on the Rhone was finished in 1185. The need to carry larger ships has resulted in much of the span being torn down, but a portion still stands (sticking out into the middle of nowhere), mostly as a tourist attraction. - RBW File: FSWB390A === NAME: Susan Brown (I) DESCRIPTION: Beautiful Susan, the singer, has many wooers; she flirts with all even though she loves a rich farmer's son. The lad proposes to a different girl. Susan poisons him, then flees. Unable to find work, she is imprisoned and now is dying of consumption AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: love courting betrayal homicide poison prison death FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H771, pp. 415-416, "Susan Brown" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7963 File: HHH771 === NAME: Susan Carr DESCRIPTION: Billy Green and Susan Carr had courted, but she turns to Thompson instead. Green challenges Thompson for the right to her hand. Green kills Thompson and drowns himself. Susan dies soon after. All three are buried together AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1937 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: love abandonment homicide death burial drowning suicide FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H,690 p. 416, "Susan Carr" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7964 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Pride of Newry Town" (plot) NOTES: The notes in Henry/Huntington/Herrmann speculate that this may be related to Laws P33, "Susannah Clargy" (one of the most obscure of the Laws ballads). I strongly doubt there is any link. There are common elements -- a girl with two lovers, and a death, as well as the similar names of the heroines -- but many different elements as well. "Susan Carr" sees the two suitors do battle, while "Susannah Clargy" is a song of suicide with the lover's ghost coming back to take her away. - RBW File: HHH690 === NAME: Susan on the Beach: see Susan Strayed on the Briny Beach [Laws K19] (File: LK19) === NAME: Susan Strayed on the Briny Beach [Laws K19] DESCRIPTION: Noble Susan loves Willy, a sailor, and will not accept a husband of high degree. As she walks along the beach, worrying about him, she sees a body which proves to be his. She dies for love; the two are buried together AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (Greenleaf/Mansfield) KEYWORDS: love death burial drowning sailor shore FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) Ireland REFERENCES: (7 citations) Laws K19, "Susan Strayed on the Briny Beach" Greenleaf/Mansfield 103, "Susan Strayed the Briny Beach" (2 texts) Peacock, pp. 646-647, "As Susan Strayed the Briny Beach" (2 texts, 1 tune) Leach-Labrador 21, "Susan Strayed the Briny Beach" (1 text, 1 tune) SHenry H774, pp. 150-151, "Susan on the Beach" (1 text, 1 tune) Ranson, pp. 70-71, "The Sligo Shore" (1 text) DT 695, SUSTRAY Roud #1896 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. Rare Willie Drowned in Yarrow, or, The Water o Gamrie [Child 215] (plot) cf. "Down by the Seaside" (plot) File: LK19 === NAME: Susan Van Dusan DESCRIPTION: "Oh, Susan Van Dusan, The gal of my choosin', She sticks to my bosom like glue." "Oh, Susan Van Dusan, Oh, I will quit usin' Tobacco and boozin' for you." ""Oh, Susan Van Dusan, What gum are you usin' That sticks to my bosom like you?" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 KEYWORDS: love FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 409-410, "Susan Van Dusan" (1 text) Roud #15537 File: LxA409 === NAME: Susan, The DESCRIPTION: The Susan, returning to Bonaventure from successful fishing on the Labrador, sinks in a storm at Cutthroat and the crew of four is lost AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1977 (Lehr/Best) KEYWORDS: death fishing sea ship storm wreck FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lehr/Best 103, "The Susan" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Cut Throat Island is up the Labrador Coast near the mouth of Groswater Bay about 140 air miles northeast of Happey Valley-Goose Bay. Bonaventure, Trinity Bay, is just north of the Avalon Peninsula. - BS File: LeBe103 === NAME: Susanna: see Oh! Susanna (File: RJ19152) === NAME: Susannah Clargy [Laws P33] DESCRIPTION: Susannah vows to be true to the widow's son; they break a ring as a token. Some months later she agrees to marry another man; she scorns the widow's son. He kills himself; that night his ghost comes to claim Susannah AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1918 (Cecil Sharp collection) KEYWORDS: ghost brokentoken courting marriage suicide FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Laws P33, "Susannah Clargy" SharpAp 185, "Susannah Clargy" (1 text, 1 tune) BBI, ZN3179, "Young lovers most discrete and wise" DT 511, SUSCLRGY Roud #998 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "A Gentleman of Exeter (The Perjured Maid)" [Laws P32] (plot) cf. "The Ghost's Bride" (plot) cf. "Alonzo the Brave and Fair Imogene" (plot) cf. "Skon Jungfrun Hon Gangar Sig Till Sogsta Berg (The Pretty Maid Climbs the Highest Mountain)" (plot) File: LP33 === NAME: Susiana DESCRIPTION: Shanty. Characteristic line: "Hooray, oh, Susiana! Away right over the mountain." (The fragment in Doerflinger is too short to determine the plot -- if there is one.) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 (Doerflinger) KEYWORDS: shanty FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Doerflinger, p. 83, "Susiana" (1 text, 1 tune) Hugill, p. 378, "Way, Me, Susiana!" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, p. 286] Roud #9436 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Poor Lucy Anna" (similar wording in some verses) File: Doe083 === NAME: Susie Brown: see Cuckoo Waltz (File: San160) === NAME: Sussex Toast, The: see I'll Drink One (To Be a Good Companion, The Sussex Toast) (File: K285) === NAME: Susy Gal DESCRIPTION: "Susy licked the ladle An' 'er dolly rocked the cradle. Goodbye, Susie gal, I'm gone again. I fell into the gutter And my heart began to flutter. Goodbye, Susie gal, I'm gone." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1923 (Brown) KEYWORDS: nonballad travel FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 320, "Susy Gal" (1 short text) NOTES: The editors of Brown speculate that this might be a playparty. Certainly it looks like a singing game. - RBW File: Br3320 === NAME: Suvla Bay DESCRIPTION: "In an old Australian homestead With roses 'round the door, A girl received a letter 'Twas a message from the war... He played his part that April day, And now he lies in Suvla Bay." The grieving girl turns away suitors and joins the Red Cross AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1987 KEYWORDS: Australia battle death mourning HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1915 - The Dardanelles campaign. British forces attack Gallipoli; the Australians and New Zealanders form the spearhead of the second phase of the attack, at Suvla Bay. All the attacks are bloody failures FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Meredith/Covell/Brown, pp. 206-207, "Suvla Bay" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #5350 NOTES: It has been said that the Australian participation in the Dardanelles campaign is what made Australia a nation. Certainly it etched itself deeply in the Australian consciousness. It would be amazing if there were no traditional songs about it. This song (like the later "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda") seems not to be of actual folk origin, but it seems to have become part of Australian tradition. The tragedy of Suvla Bay was not so much its failure (World War I was, after all, a war consisting of very little except failure) as its *needless* failure. When the troops went ashore in 1915, they encountered no resistance -- but their commander sat there and did nothing until the Turks could build a defensive position. From then on, it was a case of the ANZACs being slaughtered for nothing. - RBW File: MCB206 === NAME: Suzanne Was a Lady: see Teasing Songs (File: EM256) === NAME: Svede from Nort Dakota, The: see The Swede from North Dakota (File: Ohr008) === NAME: Swaggers DESCRIPTION: The listeners are warned against hiring with Swaggers at Porter Fair. The singer lists all the various indignities suffered by those who work there. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1908 KEYWORDS: farming work humorous FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) REFERENCES: (2 citations) DBuchan 68, "Swaggers" (1 text, 1 tune in appendix) Ord, pp. 219-221, "Swaggers" (1 text) Roud #4589 File: DBuch68 === NAME: Swallow, The DESCRIPTION: The clipper Swallow goes down New Brunswick's coast fighting a storm to Tormentine and waits out the storm "lying in the government dock.... for Georgetown we are bound ... our voyage is not o'er If the Swallow returns I'll sing you some more" AUTHOR: Willard van Ember, Northport N.S. EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (Creighton-Maritime) KEYWORDS: commerce sea ship shore storm sailor FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-Maritime, pp. 186-187, "The Swallow" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2714 NOTES: The places named in New Brunswick are Newcastle, Escuminac, Buctouche, and Tormentine. Georgetown is on Prince Edward Island. - BS File: CrMa186 === NAME: Swalwell Hopping DESCRIPTION: "Lads! myek a ring An' hear huz sing The sport we had at Swalwell, O." The singer tells of a wild day at the market. He lists the various people they saw along the way. After a day of revelry, "We staggered ahint se merry, O." AUTHOR: Words: John Selkirk EARLIEST_DATE: 1812 (Bell) KEYWORDS: party food drink FOUND_IN: Britain(England) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Stokoe/Reay, pp. 27-29, "Swallwell Hopping" (1 text, 1 tune) ST StoR027 (Partial) Roud #3054 NOTES: Swallwell Hoppin' was apparently a large and successful market in the time of author Selkirk (1783-1843), but by the late nineteenth century, according to Stokoe, it had nearly dwindled away. - RBW File: StoR027 === NAME: Swan (II), The DESCRIPTION: Returning from Wexford the singer sees a girl "like a swan that floats o'er the ocean" who "often grieved my poor heart." She rejects his marriage proposal because "I've been promised ten years or more" to Reilly "in a foreign country" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1955 (Creighton-Maritime) KEYWORDS: courting rejection FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-Maritime, p. 75, "The Swan" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2709 NOTES: Is this just a shortened version of "John (George) Riley" (II) [Laws N37], or some similar ballad? Or is this a mangled ballad of a swan-maiden? - BS File: CrMa075 === NAME: Swan Swims Bonnie, The: see The Twa Sisters [Child 10] (File: C010) === NAME: Swan, The DESCRIPTION: "On the lovely banks of the Bann as we watched the gliding swan," the singer tells Mary of his plans to go oversea. She says that she would rather be poor in Ireland than live better elsewhere. He agrees to stay in Ireland and be married there AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: home Ireland marriage separation emigration FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H475, p. 455, "The Swan" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: This is one of those songs which probably could exist only in Ireland. - RBW File: HHH475 === NAME: Swanee River: see Old Folks at Home (File: RJ19163) === NAME: Swannanoa Tunnel DESCRIPTION: "Asheville Junction, Swannanoa Tunnel, all caved in, baby, all caved in." About the life of a steel driver: "This old hammer Killed John Henry, Couldn't kill me." The singer hopes for relief from the hard work and a chance to see his woman. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1916 (Cecil Sharp collection); +1913 (JAFL26) KEYWORDS: railroading work separation death FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE) REFERENCES: (6 citations) BrownII 280, "John Henry" (2 texts plus 5 fragments, 1 excerpt, and mention of 1 more, but the "H" text and "I" excerpt are this piece and most of the rest, except the "A" text, are "Take This Hammer") Combs/Wilgus 256, p. 166, "The Yew-Pine Mountains" (1 text, which omits the "Swannanoa Tunnel" lyrics but is otherwise so similar I have to believe it the same) SharpAp 91, "Swannanoa Town" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Botkin-SoFolklr, p. 749, "Swannanoa Tunnel" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 45, "Swannanoa Tunnel" (1 text) DT, SWANNOA* Roud #3602 RECORDINGS: Bascom Lamar Lunsford, "Swannanoa Tunnel" (on BLLunsford01) (on BLLunsford02) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Drivin' Steel" (theme, lyrics) cf. "Take This Hammer" (floating lyrics) cf. "If You Meet a Woman in the Morning" (form, lyrics) NOTES: The connection between this song and "Take This Hammer" (Nine Pound Hammer) is very strong; there are so many intermediate versions that we can hardly draw a clear distinction. But the extreme versions are sufficiently different that I have listed them separately. - RBW Sharp's versions mention neither the tunnel nor a cave-in, but I put them here for simplicity's sake, using the mention of Swannanoa as the dividing line from "Take This Hammer." You should check out that entry too, though. - PJS File: CW166 === NAME: Swannanoah Town: see Swannanoah Tunnel (File: CW166) === NAME: Swansea Town (The Holy Ground) DESCRIPTION: The singer is leaving (home and/or sweetheart). He describes the various troubles the ship faces on her voyage (around the Horn), including bad weather. (He writes to his girl when the ship stops in port.) At last he arrives home with great rejoicing AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 KEYWORDS: sailor ship storm parting reunion FOUND_IN: US(MA) Ireland REFERENCES: (4 citations) Doerflinger, pp. 152-154, "Swansea Town" (1 text, 1 tune) Hugill, p. 431-436, "Old Swansea Town Once More," "In Cameltoon Once More," "The Holy Ground Once More" (4 texts, 4 tunes) [AbEd, pp. 323-328] OLochlainn-More 97, "The Holy Ground" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, HOLYGRND* Roud #929 NOTES: Normally known in Ireland as "The Holy Ground" (there is even a spot in Cork called "The Holy Ground") and "Swansea Town" in the wider world. Doerflinger's text opens with a stanza not found in the Irish versions but with connections to several Appalachian songs: Now the Lord made the bee and the bee did make honey, Oh, the Devil sends the girls for to spend the sailors' money." - RBW File: Doe152 === NAME: Swapping Boy, The DESCRIPTION: The Swapping Boy (sets out for London to get a wife. He swaps wife, or the wheelbarrow he took her home in, for a) horse, which he swaps for a cow, and so forth, for a cheaper animal each time, until he ends with a mole which "went straight to its hole" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1784 (Gammer Gurton's Garland) KEYWORDS: animal humorous commerce FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,SE,So) Britain(England) Ireland Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (19 citations) Eddy 93, "The Swapping Song" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph 256, "Went to the River" (1 text, 1 tune, a much degraded form with a different chorus and some floating verses) BrownII 196, "Swapping Songs" (4 text plus 2 excerpts, but "E" and "F" are "Hush Little Baby"; the "C" excerpt is unidentifiable from the description) BrownIII 131, "When I Was a Little Boy" (1 text plus mention of 2 more, with only the first verses about fetching the wife from London) JHCoxIIB, #19A-B, pp. 166-169, "The Foolish Boy," "Johnny Bobeens" (2 texts, 1 tune) Kennedy 312, "Wim-Wam-Waddles" (1 text, 1 tune) Wyman-Brockway II, p. 10, "The Swapping Song" (1 text, 1 tune) Cambiaire, pp. 78-79, "The Swapping Song" (1 text) SharpAp 217, "The Foolish Boy" (3 texts, 3 tunes) Sharp/Karpeles-80E 72, "The Swapping Song (The Foolish Boy)" (1 text, 1 tune) Ritchie-Southern, p. 1, "The Swapping Song" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton/Senior, pp. 243, "Down by the Brook" (1 text, 1 tune) Chase, pp. 174-175, "The Swapping Song" (1 text, 1 tune) Gilbert, pp. 44-45, "Wing Wang Waddle" (1 text) Abrahams/Foss, pp. 70-71, "Foolish Boy" (1 text, 1 tune) SHenry H732, p. 57, "My Grandfather Died" (1 text, 1 tune) Opie-Oxford2 71, "When I was a little boy I lived by myself" (2 texts); 156, "My father he died, but I can't tell you how" (1 text) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #7, pp. 29-30, "(When I was a little boy)"; #115, p. 96, "(My father he died, but I can't tell you how)" Montgomerie-ScottishNR 23, "(His father died)" (1 short text); 163, "O, when I was a wee thing" (1 short text, with only the verses about "When I was a wee thing" and the fetching home of a wife in a wheelbarrow) ST E093 (Full) Roud #469 RECORDINGS: Anne, Judy & Zeke Canova, "The Poor Little Thing Cried Mammy" (Oriole 8044/Perfect 12685/Regal 10299, 1931); as the "Three Georgia Crackers," "Poor Little Thing Cried Mammy" (Columbia 15653-D, 1931; rec. 1930; on CrowTold01) Harry Greening & chorus of Dorsetshire Mummers, "The Foolish Boy" (on FSB10) Bradley Kincaid, "The Swapping Song" (Champion 15466 [as Dan Hughey]/Silvertone 5188/Supertone 9209, 1928) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Little Brown Dog" cf. "Mary Mack (I)" (plot) cf. "Old John Wallis" (lyrics) NOTES: Eddy writes of this song, "Most texts are like the above in blending two separate songs, 'When I Was a Little Boy' and 'Swapping Song.' The first story, based, in all likelihood, upon Wat Tyler's Rebellion of 1381 in England, continues through four stanzas." That two songs are combined here is very likely; Kennedy's version and others (including versions back to Gammer Gurton's Garland) omit the trip to London to fetch a wife, while we find a youth setting out for London to find a wife as a separate item in _Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book_, Volume II, of c. 1744. But whether this should be tied to the Kentish rebellion of 1381 can be questioned. - RBW Perhaps "The Swapping Boy" should be split between the Opie-Oxford2 71/Eddy/BrownIII 131 ("When I was a little boy I lived by myself") songs and the Opie-Oxford2 156/Henry H732("My father he died, but I can't tell you how") songs. The description for "My Father Died" might be: Singer inherits his grandfather's horses. He sells the horses to buy a cow and sells and buys the cow, a calf, a pig, a dog, and a cat that runs off after a rat. "My grandfather left me all he did own, And I don't know how it is, but I'm here by my lone." The end of Opie-Oxford2 156 is more disastrous: "I sold my cat and bought me a mouse, But she fired her tail and burnt down my house." - BS In the light of the above, I suppose I should separate these two songs -- but the result would be an even worse mess than lumping them, because the combination clearly exists as a song in its own right. Since it is possible that it's one song that split, and not two that coalesced, I'm keeping them together until we can find some clearer evidence of the history. With full acknowledgement that there are two highly independent parts. - RBW File: E093 === NAME: Swapping Song, The: see The Swapping Boy (File: E093) === NAME: Swede from North Dakota, The DESCRIPTION: Having spent a year working, the Svede decides to visit Minnesota's State Fair. He meets a Salvation Army group (refusing to work for Jesus when he learns "Yesus don't pay nothing"), winds up drunk, and returns home AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1968 KEYWORDS: farming travel party drink clergy humorous FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ohrlin-HBT 8, "The Swede from North Dakota" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9845 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Reuben and Rachel" (tune) and references there cf. "Ole from Norway" (theme) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Svede from Nort Dakota I'm a Swede from Minnesota NOTES: It can at least be said that this song is well supplied with local color. The Minnesota State Fair claims (I'm not sure on what basis) to be the largest in America. (If nothing else, it produces huge traffic jams.) Both Minneapolis and Saint Paul have areas known as "Seven Corners" (though changes in traffic patterns have reduced the number of streets and intersections); it's likely but not certain that the Minneapolis site is referred to. The Minneapolis site, probably better known, is near Washington Avenue (which runs from the University of Minnesota to the north side of downtown Minneapolis, and is mentioned in the song). It's not the best area; bars and nightclubs are not hard to find. Saint Paul's Seven Corners, on the west side of downtown (and so called because two street grids overlapped there, producing some very strange intersections in the 1880s), is on the same side of the Mississippi river as the State Fair, and is near a Salvation Army mission (though I've never seen a band play there). It's also an old area, but perhaps in somewhat better shape. Though some of that is the result of urban renewal; it's said to have been a pretty rough area in the 1920s. - RBW File: Ohr008 === NAME: Sweep, Chim-nie Sweep: see Sweep, Chimney Sweep (File: K240) === NAME: Sweep, Chimney Sweep DESCRIPTION: Singer tells what cleanly work he makes as a chimney sweep. He tells the girls to arise and fetch him ale, then boasts about how he can climb to a rooftop without ladder or rope, and there you can hear him halloa. He says he will work for none but gentry. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1815 (first verse found in "Cries of London") LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer tells what cleanly work he makes as a chimney sweep. Girls come to his door; although he's black as a Moor, he's capable. He tells the girls to arise and fetch him some ale, then boasts about how he can climb to a rooftop without ladder or rope, and there you can hear him halloa. He says he will work for none but gentry. "Sweep, chim-nie sweep is the common cry I keep/If you can but rightly understand me" KEYWORDS: pride courting bragging work nonballad worksong worker FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Kennedy 240, "Sweep, Chim-nie Sweep" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #1217 RECORDINGS: Bob & Ron Copper, "Sweep, Chimney Sweep" (on FSB3) CROSS_REFERENCES: The Chimney Sweep File: K240 === NAME: Sweet Ann O'Neill: see Gallows [Laws L11] (File: LL11) === NAME: Sweet Annie of Roch Royal: see The Lass of Roch Royal [Child 76] (File: C076) === NAME: Sweet as the Flowers in May Time DESCRIPTION: "Sweet as the flowers in May/springtime, Sweet as the honey dew, Sweet as the roses in the bowers, I'm thinking tonight of you. Sweet as the rose in the garden, Sweet as the dew on the rose, I'd rather be somebody's darling Than a poor boy nobody knows." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1932 (recording, Carter Family) KEYWORDS: love flowers FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 832, "Sweet as the Flowers in May Time" (2 fragments) Roud #7442 RECORDINGS: The Carter Family, "Sweet as the Flowers in Maytime" (Victor V-23761, 1932) NOTES: The two fragments in Randolph both have the same chorus as the Carter Family recording, but the Carter text appears to be a rewrite with some elements of "Meet Me Tonight in the Moonlight" or something similar. - RBW File: R832 === NAME: Sweet Avondu DESCRIPTION: The singer "never more shall view Those scenes I loved by Avondu." He recalls the scenes from the mountains to the sea. He bids farewell to Clara: "No more we meet by Avondu" AUTHOR: James Joseph Callanan (1795-1829) (source: Croker-PopularSongs) EARLIEST_DATE: 1830 (_The Recluse of Inchidony_, according to Croker-PopularSongs) KEYWORDS: home separation Ireland nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 127-133, "Sweet Avondu" (1 text) NOTES: Croker-PopularSongs: "'Avondu,' says the author, means 'the Blackwater (Avunduff of Spenser).... It rises in a boggy mountain called Meenganine in [County Kerry] and discharges itself into the sea at Youghall." - BS There is a certain amount of confusion about this author. Most sources list his name as James Joseph Callanan, but he is also sometimes listed under the name "Jeremiah" (and, yes, it is known that it is the same guy). Most sources agree that he was born in 1795, but his death date seemingly varies; Hoagland and MacDonagh/Robinson give 1829. He wrote some poetry of his own, but is probably best known for his translations from Gaelic. Works of his found in this index include "The Convict of Clonmel," "The Outlaw of Loch Lene," "Sweet Avondu," "The Virgin Mary's Bank," "Gougane Barra," and a translation of "Drimindown." - RBW File: CrPS127 === NAME: Sweet Bann Water, The: see The Drowsy Sleeper [Laws M4] (File: LM04) === NAME: Sweet Betsy from Pike [Laws B9] DESCRIPTION: "Sweet" Betsy and "her lover" Ike set out from Pike County, Missouri for California. On the way they lose much of their livestock and property, but also have some amazing adventures. (They marry, then divorce.) AUTHOR: claimed by John A Stone (Old Put) EARLIEST_DATE: 1858 (Put's Golden Songster, second edition) KEYWORDS: travel hardtimes settler FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,So,SW) REFERENCES: (21 citations) Laws B9, "Sweet Betsy from Pike" Belden, pp. 343-345, "Sweet Betsy from Pike" (1 text) Randolph 192, "Sweet Betsy from Pike" (1 text plus a fragment, 1 (atypical) tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 193-196, "Sweet Betsy from Pike" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 192A) Randolph-Legman I, pp. 300-301, "Sweet Betsy from Pike" (4 fragments, 1 tune) Logsdon 41, pp. 215-218, "Sweet Betsy from Pike" (1 text, 1 tune) Leach, pp. 750-751, "Betsy from Pike" (1 text) Friedman, p. 432, "Sweet Betsy from Pike" (1 text, 1 tune) PBB 112, "Sweet Betsy from Pike" (1 text) Sandburg, pp. 108-109, "Sweet Betsy from Pike" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSUSA 53, "Sweet Betsy from Pike" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 424-426, "Sweet Betsy from Pike" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 173, "Sweet Betsy" (1 text, 1 tune) Fife-Cowboy/West 19, "Sweet Betsey from Pike" (1 text, 1 tune) Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 861-863, "Sweet Betsey from Pike" (1 text, 1 tune) Hodgart, p. 239, "Sweet Betsy from Pike" (1 text) Darling-NAS, pp. 167-168, "Sweet Betsy from Pike" (1 text) Arnett, p. 57, "Sweet Betsy from Pike" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 190, "Sweet Betsy From Pike" (1 text) Fuld-WFM, pp. 603-604, "Vilikens and His Dinah -- (Sweet Betsey from Pike)" DT 376, SWEETBET* Roud #3234 RECORDINGS: Crockett's Kentucky Mountaineers, "Sweet Betsy from Pike" (Crown 3121, 1931) Logan English, "Sweet Betsy from Pike" (on LEnglish02) Bradley Kincaid, "Sweet Betsy From Pike" (Bluebird B-5321/Montgomery Ward M-4421, 1934) Ken Maynard, "Sweet Betsey from Pike" (unissued; on StuffDreams1) Harry "Mac" McClintock, "Sweet Betsy from Pike" (Victor 23704, 1932; Montgomery Ward M-4324, 1933) [may have been released under the pseudonym 'Radio Mac'] Pete Seeger, "Sweet Betsy from Pike" (on PeteSeeger31) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Vilikens and his Dinah (William and Dinah) [Laws M31A/B]" (tune & meter) and references there File: LB09 === NAME: Sweet Birds DESCRIPTION: "The birds are returning their sweet notes of spring... As I sit in the dream... For my darling far over the sea... Oh, say, does he truly love me?" "Sweet birds (x2), Oh, say that my lover is true." She recalls the day he left and promised to be true AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1911 (Brown) KEYWORDS: bird love separation questions FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 295, "Sweet Birds" (3 texts plus an excerpt and mention of 3 more) Roud #3766 RECORDINGS: Richard Harold, "Sweet Bird" (Columbia 15426-D, 1929; rec. 1928) File: Br3295 === NAME: Sweet Blooming Lavender DESCRIPTION: Street cry: "Won't you buy my sweet blooming lavender? There are sixteen blue branches a penny, all in full bloom." The singer tells how the plant is fresh, and how it will benefit the wearer AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1893 (Broadwood) KEYWORDS: nonballad commerce FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond,South)) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Kennedy 356, "Sweet Blooming Lavender" (1 text, 1 tune) ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; notes to #153, ("Or the Streete cryes all about") (1 fragment of this, plus an assortment of other street cries) Roud #854 RECORDINGS: Bill Ellson, "Will You Buy My Sweet Blooming Lavender?" (on Voice11) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Lavender Girl" (theme) NOTES: Kennedy notes that his informant, Florrie Penfold, knew several street cries but preferred this because it is "more of a song." Which indeed it is, and so is included. Kennedy lists a number of collected versions of this piece. I doubt that all are actually the same song, but they are doubtless all lavender street calls. - RBW File: K356 === NAME: Sweet By and By DESCRIPTION: "There's a land that is fairer than day, And by faith we can see it afar.... In the sweet by and by We shall meet on that beautiful shore." The singer describes the blessings and beauties that the faithful will enjoy in heaven AUTHOR: Words: Sanford Fillmore Bennett (1836-1898) / Music: Joseph. Philbrick Webster (1819-1875) EARLIEST_DATE: 1868 KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (4 citations) RJackson-19CPop, pp. 198-201, "Sweet By and By" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 355, "In The Sweet Bye And Bye" (1 text) DT, SWTBYBY* ADDITIONAL: Charles Johnson, One Hundred and One Famous Hymns (Hallberg, 1982), pp. 206-207, "Sweet By and By" (1 text, 1 tune) ST RJ19198 (Full) Roud #7651 RECORDINGS: Harkins & Moran [pseuds. for Sid Harkreader w. Grady Moore], "In the Sweet Bye and Bye" (Broadway 8117, c. 1930) Haydn Quartet, "In the Sweet Bye and Bye" (Victor 1316, 1902) Bela Lam & his Greene County Singers, "Sweet Bye and Bye" (OKeh 45177, 1928; rec. 1927) Uncle Dave Macon, "In the Sweet Bye and Bye" (Vocalion 5162, 1927) Margarethe Matzenauer, "In he Sweet Bye and Bye" (Pathe Actuelle 027519, n.d.) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Preacher and the Slave" (tune) cf. "The Cowboy's Dream" (tune) SAME_TUNE: The Preacher and the Slave (File: San221) ALTERNATE_TITLES: In the Sweet By and By NOTES: Jackson writes, "It may be that the venerable old Gospel number 'Sweet By and By' is the only famous song written in a drugstore; it is CERTAINLY the only famous song written in a drugstore in Elkhorn, Wisconsin." Johnson quotes from Bennet's papers, describing how it happened: one day in 1867, J. P. Webster (who also wrote the music for "Lorena") strolled into the Elkhorn drugstore in a grim mood. Asked what was wrong, he declared that it wasn't important; "It will be all right by and by." Sanford Fillmore Bennett, who owned the drugstore, heard the line scribbled these verses -- with the intent to write as song, according to what he said; Jackson claims it was to comfort Webster. Personally, I probably would have gotten even more grim after reading such saccharine lyrics, but Webster at once cheered up and started to set them to music, and the music at least did well. Since we're talking about useless Wisconsin lore, we might add that this is said to have been the favorite hymn of Charles Ingalls, the "Pa" of Laura Ingalls Wilder (it was written the year Laura was born, note, though Elkhorn is in the eastern part of the state, far from the Pepin country), and was reportedly played at his funeral in 1902 (see Donald Zochert, _Laura_, pp. 140-141). - RBW File: RJ19198 === NAME: Sweet Calder Burn: see Bonnie Woodha' (File: HHH476) === NAME: Sweet Carnloch Bay: see The Road to Dundee (File: Ord152) === NAME: Sweet Cider DESCRIPTION: "Where's the mule and where's the rider? Where's the gal that drinks sweet cider? Sallie, won't you have some (x2), Sally, won't you have some of my hard cider?" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1923 (Brown) KEYWORDS: drink nonballad FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 45, "Sweet Cider" (1 text) Roud #7864 RECORDINGS: Riley Puckett & Clayton McMichen, "Paddy Won't You Drink Some Cider" (Columbia 15358-D, 1929) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Pretty Little Black-Eyed Susan File: Br3045 === NAME: Sweet Clonalee DESCRIPTION: The singer explains why he is leaving Clonalee for America. He loved a girl, but she turned instead to a wealthy old farmer. The farmer accused the singer of sheep-stealing. He leaves his parents behind and curses James Magee (presumably the farmer) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: love courting rejection age money emigration accusation theft sheep FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H554, p. 400, "Sweet Clonalee" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7967 File: HHH554 === NAME: Sweet County Wexford DESCRIPTION: "On Moniseed of a summer's morning" the Shelmaliers fight British and Gorey cavalry. After driving the British back the Irish rest. "Had we the wisdom to follow after ... We'd have saved the lives of many a martyr That died in Arklow" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (OLochlainn) KEYWORDS: rebellion battle death Ireland patriotic HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 26, 1798 - Father John Murphy launches the Wexford rebellion; he defeats the Camolin cavalry that night, and the next day annihilates a small militia force at Oulart May 29, 1798 - Father Murphy leads the insurgents against Enniscorthy June 5, 1798 - The Wexford rebels attack the small garrison (about 1400 men, many militia) at New Ross, but are repelled June 9, 1798 - Father Murphy, trying to lead his forces into Wicklow, defeated at Arklow June 21, 1798 - Rebel defeat at Vinegar Hill ends the Wexford rising FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (3 citations) OLochlainn 79, "Sweet County Wexford" (1 text, 1 tune) Moylan 94, "Sweet County Wexford" (1 text, 1 tune) Healy-OISBv2, pp. 55-56, "Sweet County Wexford" (1 text; tune on p. 21) Roud #2997 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Boulavogue" (historical setting) cf. "Father Murphy (I)" (subject of Father Murphy) and references there NOTES: Moylan: "According to Denis Devereux, O Lochlainn's source for the words, this song is the original upon which P.J. McCall based his 'Boolavogue'." On the other hand, see the notes to "Father Murphy (I)." The Irish baronies of Shelmalier, East and West, are in County Wexford. - BS This is an unusually self-honest assessment of the course of the Wexford rebellion. Wexford itself was abandoned on May 30, and Gorey even before that, but the rebels didn't occupy the latter until June 4. The delay gave the loyalists time to organize and counterattack. (See Robert Kee, _The Most Distressful Country_, being Volume I of _The Green Flag_, p. 115). Wexford didn't really matter; it was south of the Rebel strong points. Gorey, though, was on the way to Arklow and, eventually, Dublin. Had the rebels headed straight there, it might have given them a chance to really threaten the government. Instead, they went to Wexford, and camped on the Three Rocks hill. They beat off a small force of Meath militia, killing its commander, Colonel Watson (see Thomas Pakenham, _The Year of Liberty_, p. 177). The garrison abandoned the town (Pakenham, p. 178), and the rebels entered. (We note, incidentally, that it was in Wexford that they captured the prisoners to be brutalized at Scullabogue -- for which see "Father Murphy (II) (The Wexford Men of '98)" and "Kelly, the Boy from Killane.") The attack on Wexford had another side effect: It caused the rebels to appoint Bagenal Harvey their commander (Kee, pp. 116-117), and he had no clue what to do; his ineptitute would contribute much to the defeat at New Ross (for which see "Kelly, the Boy from Killane" and "James Ervin" [Laws J15]). Finally, in mid-June, the rebels headed for Arklow, which they should have occupied at least a week earlier. Repulsed (see the notes to "Father Murphy (I)"), the rebellion lost its last hint of planning, and fizzled out. The characters cited in the song are often hard to identify. I can mention the following: "Gowan" - "Hunter" Gowan, given his nickname because of his earlier career tracking down outlaws, who organized the "Black Mob" (a group of rebel-hunting vigilantes); he is reputed to have marched about with the finger of a rebel at the end of his sword. And worse. "Fiend" seems a suitable word for him. "Captain Dixon" - there was a Captain Dixon, but he was a rebel sea captain; I think there is some confusion here. "General Walpole": Presumably Colonel Walpole, ADC to Viceroy Camden? He was never a general, but he did have a brief taste of independent command, which might explain the title. In early June, Walpole was sent from Dublin with a few hundred men and three cannon to reinforce General Loftus's troops in Wexford. This despite a complete lack of military training and experience. It showed. On June 4, as part of a plan to surround a rebel force at Ballymore, Walpole's force set out from Gorey. He did not follow the battle plan, was intercepted by the rebels, and he and most of his soldiers were killed. - RBW File: OLoc079 === NAME: Sweet Dakotaland: see Dakota Land (File: San280) === NAME: Sweet Dunloy DESCRIPTION: The singer and his love leave Ireland for Scotland to escape her father. The father follows and has them forcibly returned to Ireland. Although the girl says she consented, the jury convicts him. After he is freed, they will go to America instead AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: love separation father elopement prison trial punishment FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H577, pp. 439-440, "Sweet Dunloy" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7962 File: HHH577 === NAME: Sweet Europe: see Poor Stranger, The (Two Strangers in the Mountains Alone) (File: R059) === NAME: Sweet Evalina: see Dear Evalina (File: R823) === NAME: Sweet Evelena: see Dear Evalina (File: R823) === NAME: Sweet Evelina: see Dear Evalina (File: R823) === NAME: Sweet Fanny Adams DESCRIPTION: Fanny Adams, her sister, and another girl go to play, but meet a clerk named Frederick Baker. He sends the younger children off with money for sweets, then murders Fanny. The singer grieves for her daughter, but notes that her murderer is now dead as well AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1867? (broadside announcing execution of Baker) LONG_DESCRIPTION: The singer's eight-year-old daughter Fanny Adams and her sister go to play with another girl, but they meet a young clerk named Frederick Baker. He offers the younger children money for sweets; when they have gone, he drags Fanny to the hollow. She is missed, and the searchers find her body, murdered and horribly dismembered. The mother grieves for her daughter, but notes that her murderer is now dead as well KEYWORDS: grief rape violence abduction crime execution homicide punishment death mourning children mother HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: August 27, 1867 -- Murder of Fanny Adams by Frederick Baker. Baker was hanged later in the year. FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Kennedy 333, "Sweet Fanny Adams" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2152 RECORDINGS: Vashti Vincent, "Sweet Fanny Adams" (on FSB7) NOTES: The murder took place at Alton, in Hampshire. Cruel to relate, the expression "Sweet Fanny Adams" became part of British vernacular; in the Royal Navy it was used to refer to any dubious meat dish. In more recent popular usage, it means "nothing"; if one doesn't get paid for a job, for example, one says one got "Sweet Fanny Adams" or "Sweet F. A." In this context, of course, it is a euphemism for "sweet fuck-all.' - PJS File: K333 === NAME: Sweet Fields of Violo: see Old MacDonald Had a Farm (File: R457) === NAME: Sweet Florella: see Jealous Lover, The (Florella, Floella) (Pearl Bryan II) (Nell Cropsey II) [Laws F1A, B, C] (File: LF01) === NAME: Sweet Freedom: see O Freedom (File: LxU108) === NAME: Sweet Genevieve DESCRIPTION: The singer would "give the world to live again the lovely past" with Genevieve. They are older now, but he still loves her and wishes to be with her always: "O Genevieve, Sweet Genevieve... Still the hands of mem'ry weave... Blissful dreams of long ago" AUTHOR: Words: George Cooper / Music: Henry Tucker EARLIEST_DATE: 1869 KEYWORDS: love age FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (5 citations) RJackson-19CPop, pp. 202-205, "Sweet Genevieve" (1 text, 1 tune) Geller-Famous, pp. 11-13, "Sweet Genevieve" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 259, "Sweet Genevieve" (1 text) Fuld-WFM, p. 543, "Sweet Genevieve" DT, OGENVIEV ST RK19202 (Full) Roud #13643 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Silver Threads among the Gold" (theme) cf. "When You and I Were Young, Maggie" (theme) NOTES: Genevieve is reported to be the real-life bride of George Cooper who died shortly after their marriage. However, since no one can find the records of this marriage, this may be the usual sort of sentimental folklore. - RBW File: RK19202 === NAME: Sweet Girls of Derry, The DESCRIPTION: The singer is captivated by the sweet girls of Derry. He describes them as "so comely and merry" with sweet voices. "Though I left them behind me, Full soon they shall find me in Derry again" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Hayward-Ulster) KEYWORDS: courting nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Hayward-Ulster, pp. 76-77, "The Sweet Girls of Derry" (1 text) Roud #6537 File: HayU076 === NAME: Sweet Glenbush DESCRIPTION: The singer calls on the maidens to listen to his(?) story, asking them to pity a wandering youth. He recalls his departure from Glenbush; now dreams and memories of home say to him, "Come back to sweet Glenbush" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: homesickness FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H573, p. 212, "Sweet Glenbush" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Scarborough Settler's Lament" (theme) and references there File: HHH573 === NAME: Sweet Hally: see Listen to the Mockingbird (File: RJ19110) === NAME: Sweet Heaven (I) DESCRIPTION: "I want to go to Heaven and I want to go right; How I long to be there; I want to go to Heaven all dressed in white, How I long..." "Sweet Heaven (x3), Oh, how I long...." About heaven, the contest between the singer and Satan, and other floating themes AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious devil floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 638, "Sweet Heaven" (1 text, with many floating verses, e.g. the terrapin and the toad, "I run old Satan round the stump") Roud #11834 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Catfish (Banjo Sam)" (floating lyrics) File: Br3638 === NAME: Sweet Heaven (II) DESCRIPTION: Singer is going to the racetrack; he promises to share any winnings with his sweetheart. Rest floats, e.g. "Give beefsteak when I'm hungry, whiskey when I'm dry...." Chorus: "Let her go (x2) God bless her/Though she roams over land and sea...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recording, Tenneva Ramblers) KEYWORDS: farewell parting floatingverses nonballad lover gambling racing food FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) SharpAp 243, "Liza Anne" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7697 RECORDINGS: Clint Howard et al, "Sweet Heaven When I Die" (on WatsonAshley01) Arthur Smith Trio, "Sweet Heaven" (Bluebird B-7146, 1937) Tenneva Ramblers, "Sweet Heaven When I Die" (Victor 20861, 1927) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Country Blues" (floating verses) cf. "Dear Companion (The Broken Heart; Go and Leave Me If You Wish To, Fond Affection)" (lyrics) cf. "Saint James Infirmary" (the "let her go" lyrics) NOTES: This certainly has strong overlaps with "Dear Companion", paraphrasing its chorus and some of its verses. But its gestalt is different, and it has acquired a life of its own, so I split them. - PJS I put SharpAp 243, here because its first floating verse is "Beefsteak when I'm hungry...," but it's really a mess of floaters, one of which also shows up in the "Betty Anne" version of "Shady Grove." Although it was collected in 1917, I'm not assigning that as Earliest Date for "Sweet Heaven (II)," but I note it here. - PJS File: RcSwHeav === NAME: Sweet Inishcara DESCRIPTION: "I have travelled in exile midst cold-hearted strangers" in Canada and India/Indies looking for gold and spices. The singer returns home to find his home in ruins and his sweetheart dead. He will join her. "In heaven she'll welcome her wanderer home" AUTHOR: John Fitzgerald (source: OCanainn) EARLIEST_DATE: before 1958 (recording, Copley 9-228-B) KEYWORDS: love travel return death gold Canada India Ireland FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OCanainn, pp. 48-49, "The Exile's Return" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #12923 RECORDINGS: Paddy Breen, "Sweet Inishcara" (on Voice04) The McNulty Family, "The Exile of Cork" (Copley 9-228-B) NOTES: When I was puzzling about the text of "The Exile of Cork" John Moulden pointed out that it belongs here. The matrix number for the McNulty Family's "Exile of Cork" is E3-CB-3235-1A. Spottswood lists Tim Donovan, "The Exile of Cork" (on Decca 12157) with session date Apr 7, 1938 (matrix number 63574-A). If it can be verified that that recording is for this song it would establish a new earliest date (source: _Ethnic Music on Records: a Discography of Ethnic Recordings Produced in the United States, 1893 to 1942_ by Richard K Spottswood (Urbana, c1990), p. 2751). The singer's home is "by the beautiful Lee" and finds, when he returns, that "sweet Inishcara o'er-shadows her grave." Below Cork City, the Lee flows past Inniscara and enters the Celtic Sea. OCanainn: "This was composed some sixty years ago [c.1918]...." - BS File: RcSweIni === NAME: Sweet Jane [Laws B22] DESCRIPTION: Willie bids his Jane farewell and sets off across the sea. Three years later, having gained success as a gold miner, he returns to his southern home and marries Jane AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: separation marriage gold mining FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Laws B22, "Sweet Jane" BrownII 259, "Sweet Jane" (1 text plus mention of 1 more) Combs/Wilgus 51, pp. 177-178, "Sweet Jane" (1 text) DT 726, SWTJANE Roud #3243 ALTERNATE_TITLES: Come Sweet Jane Adieu, Sweet Lovely Jane NOTES: This is a relatively rare song, and is not at all specific in its details. Where does the singer go to seek gold? We have no clue. Since he apparently goes overseas, it can hardly be the San Francisco or Klondike gold rushes (yes, a prospector might well go to those places by sea -- but it is not *overseas*). That leaves perhaps South Africa or Australia. The singer claims also to have "lived on bread and salty (meat/lard), and never lost my health." Such a diet, if followed for long, would assuredly result in scurvy -- and, if pursued for three years, would certainly result in death. Clearly he got more vegetable matter than he let on. If there is more to be said about this song, it must be hidden in a version I have not seen. - RBW File: LB22 === NAME: Sweet Jenny of the Moor: see Janie of the Moor [Laws N34] (File: LN34) === NAME: Sweet Jinny on the Moor: see Janie of the Moor [Laws N34] (File: LN34) === NAME: Sweet Kingwilliamstown DESCRIPTION: An exile from Kingwilliamstown sails away, thinking about "childhood's days and happy hours ... old home and the friends so dear." "Shall I no more gaze on that shore or view those mountains high?" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (OCanainn) KEYWORDS: exile separation Ireland nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OCanainn, p. 67, "Sweet Kingwilliamstown" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: OCanainn: "Kingwilliamstown is the name by which Ballydesmond, near the Cork-Kerry border, was formerly known." - BS File: OCan067 === NAME: Sweet Kitty: see Rambleaway (File: ShH31) === NAME: Sweet Kitty Clover DESCRIPTION: "Sweet Kitty Clover, she bothered me so, Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!... Her face was round and red and fat, Like a pulpit cushion or redder than that. Sweet Kitty Clover, she bothered me so...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Linscott) KEYWORDS: FOUND_IN: US(NE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Linscott, pp. 286-288, "Sweet Kitty Clover" (1 fragment, 1 tune) ST Lins286 (Full) Roud #3743 File: Lins286 === NAME: Sweet Kumadee, The: see The Golden Vanity [Child 286] (File: C286) === NAME: Sweet Lily: see Oh Lily, Dear Lily (File: R731) === NAME: Sweet Little Birdie, The: see The Little Girl and the Robin (File: R880) === NAME: Sweet Londonderry (on the Banks of the Foyle) DESCRIPTION: The singer describes the "ancient walled city," "sweet Londonderry on the banks of the Foyle." Orphaned, he works for years as a sailor. He courts a pretty girl of Londonderry. He hopes to work for her when they are married AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: love courting home sailor work FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H813, p. 468, "Sweet Londonderry" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9453 ALTERNATE_TITLES: Londonderry on the Banks of the Foyle Lovely Derry on the Banks of the Foyle File: HHH813 === NAME: Sweet Loughgiel DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls leaving Loughgiel and his friends at home. He describes his early life there. He dreams of being back. He hopes someday to return, and wishes he could be as content as he was there AUTHOR: "McWilliams" EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: homesickness FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H506, p. 214, "Sweet Loughgiel" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Scarborough Settler's Lament" (theme) and references there File: HHH506 === NAME: Sweet Lovely Joan: see Lovely Joan (File: ShH57) === NAME: Sweet Lulur DESCRIPTION: Singer meets a policeman in Danville. "He bound my feet in cold iron, all tangled my feet in chains, But before I'd go back on my Lulur, I'll have them tangled again." He notes that "If it hadn't a-been for sweet Lulur, it was Lulur that brought be here." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1915 (Brown) KEYWORDS: police prison love FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) BrownIII 350, "The Prisoner's Song" (7 texts plus 1 fragment, 2 excerpts, and mention of 1 more; "A"-"C," plus probably the "D" excerpt, are "The Prisoner's Song (I)"; "E" and "G," plus perhaps the "H" fragment, are "Meet Me Tonight in the Moonlight"; "J" and "K" are "Sweet Lulur") Sandburg, p. 307, "Way Up on Clinch Mountain" (2 texts, 1 tune; the "A" text is "Rye Whiskey," but the short "B" text is perhaps this or something like it though probably composite, perhaps with "The Wagoner's Lad") Roud #767 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Prisoner's Song (I)" (floating lyrics) cf. "Meet Me Tonight in the Moonlight" (floating lyrics) NOTES: Roud, presumably following Brown et al, lump this with "The Prisoner's Song" group. It appears to me distinct. - RBW File: BrIII350 === NAME: Sweet Maisry: see Lady Maisry [Child 65] (File: C065) === NAME: Sweet Mama DESCRIPTION: "Sweet mama, treetop tall, Won't you please turn your damper down? I smell hoecake burning, Dey done burnt some brown. I'm laid mah head On de railroad track. I t'ought about Mama An' I drugged it back. Sweet mama, treetop tall, Won't...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: food love suicide FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 242, "Sweet Mama" (1 short text) File: ScNF242b === NAME: Sweet Marie DESCRIPTION: The man longs for Marie, but finds it hard to tell her: "Sweet Marie, come to me, Come to me, Sweet Marie, Not because your face is fair, love, to see, Every daisy in the dell Knows my secret very well, Yet I dare not tell Sweet Marie... ." AUTHOR: Words: Cy Warman / Music: Raymon Moore EARLIEST_DATE: 1893 (sheet music) KEYWORDS: love FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (2 citations) Meredith/Covell/Brown, pp. 229-230, "Sweet Marie" (1 text, 1 tune) Geller-Famous, pp. 70-74, "Sweet Marie" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #11353 RECORDINGS: Walter Morris, "Sweet Marie" (Columbia 15115-D, 1927) SAME_TUNE: Sweet Marie (the Racing Mare) (Meredith/Covell/Brown, p. 229) NOTES: I am told that "[This] song was featured in the 1947 movie 'Life with Father' (William Powell, Irene Dunne, Elizabeth Taylor) based on the memoirs of Clarence Day, Jr... (articles first appeared in _The New Yorker_ in the 1920s and were later published as three books: _God and My Father_, _Life with Father_, _Life with Mother_). Prior to becoming the movie (and later a TV series in the 1950s), 'Life with Father' was written as a play and opened on Broadway in 1939. "Percy French did a parody of the song with Sweet Marie becoming a racehorse. That song is available in "The Songs of Percy French" selected and edited by James Healy (Ossian Publications/Mercier Press--1986/1996)." Moore was a nineteenth century singer who apparently was very popular as a performer. Warman apparently came to him and asked him to perform "Sweet Marie," which Warman had written in honor of his wife. Warman eventually came up with a tune and sang it as part of the musical comedy "Africa." Ironically, it was no great success when Moore sang it -- but when he quit the play, his replacement made it a hit. - RBW File: MCB229 === NAME: Sweet Mary DESCRIPTION: Dialog; young man asks sweet Mary whether he may ask her parents for her hand. She replies that they will reject his suit; he says he will die of grief. She has a way to save him; "Since my parents are both so contrary/You'd better ask me." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1962 (recording, Horton Barker) KEYWORDS: courting love rejection request dialog humorous FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Horton Barker, "Sweet Mary" (on Barker01) NOTES: Should not be confused with "Farewell, Sweet Mary," although it's just possible that this may be a parody of that song. - PJS File: RcSweeMa === NAME: Sweet Mary Jane: see Bright Phoebe (File: FSC070) === NAME: Sweet Mossy Banks of the Wey, The: see The Green Mossy Banks of the Lea [Laws O15] (File: LO15) === NAME: Sweet Nightingale, The: see Well Met, Pretty Maid (The Sweet Nightingale) (File: K089) === NAME: Sweet Omagh Town: see Omagh Town and the Bards of Clanabogan (File: TST066) === NAME: Sweet Portaferry (I) DESCRIPTION: "Why should men toil foreign lands to explore, When wonder and pleasement are here at the door ... and leave Portaferry and the Kingdom of Down?" If the singer were rich he might travel but at the end he'd return home. AUTHOR: Leslie Montgomery EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (OLochlainn-More) KEYWORDS: travel lyric Ireland home FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OLochlainn-More 94, "Sweet Portaferry" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Portaferry is about 20 miles southeast of Belfast. - BS File: OLcM094 === NAME: Sweet Portaferry (II) DESCRIPTION: The singer travels around Ireland but "Sweet Portaferry remains in my mind." He returns from foreign lands with "silks and fine laces" to his true love. "Then I'll whisper so fondly and I know she'll agree 'O! Sweet Portaferry, you're a dear spot to me'" AUTHOR: Cathal O'Byrne EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (OLochlainn-More) KEYWORDS: travel lyric Ireland love sailor FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OLochlainn-More 94A, "Sweet Portaferry" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Portaferry is about 20 miles southeast of Belfast. - BS File: OLcM094A === NAME: Sweet Primeroses, The: see The Banks of Sweet Primroses (File: ShH51) === NAME: Sweet Refrain DESCRIPTION: "A music hall was crowded in a village oÕer the sea, And brilliant lights were flashing everywhere." A minstrel sings, and a "darkey" remembers his mother and the days of his youth; he begs, "Sing again that sweet refrain" AUTHOR: Gussie L. Davis ? EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Dean) KEYWORDS: music FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Dean, p. 121, "Sweet Refrain" (1 text) Roud #4834 BROADSIDES: NLScotland, RB.m.143(124), "Sing again that Sweet Refrain," Poet's Box (Dundee), c. 1880-1900 ALTERNATE_TITLES: A Minstrel from the Sunny South NOTES: This business of a song inspiring a memory seems to have been a common idea in the late nineteenth century; Julian Jordan did it with "The Song That Reached My Heart," which treats "Home! Sweet Home! the way this song treats "Old Folks at Home (Swanee River." - RBW File: Dean121 === NAME: Sweet River Suir DESCRIPTION: The river most deserving of praise is the Suir. The river "has the most devinest aspect" and the best navigators. Its shores have the most melodious bulls. "Its meandering banks so transparent pure; It far surpasses mugs, jugs, and glasses" AUTHOR: Phil Smith EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (OLochlainn-More) KEYWORDS: river humorous nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OLochlainn-More 84A, "Sweet River Suir" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: "The River Suir rises in the Devils Bit Mountains [North Tipperary] and flows through the limestone country of South Tipperary and North Waterford" (source: South East [Ireland] Tourism site). For other songs about the river see "The Clonmel Flood," "The Wreck of the Avondale," "The Wreck of the Gwendoline," and "Rare Clonmel." - BS File: OLcM084A === NAME: Sweet Rose of Allandale: see The Rose of Allandale (File: SWMS257) === NAME: Sweet Rose of Allendale: see The Rose of Allandale (File: SWMS257) === NAME: Sweet Rosie O'Grady DESCRIPTION: "Just down around the corner of a street where I reside, There lives the sweetest little girl that I have ever spied." The singer vows never to forget the day they met, and says that the very birds sing her name AUTHOR: Maude Nugent EARLIEST_DATE: 1896 (copyright) KEYWORDS: love nonballad bird marriage FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Dean, p. 62, "Rose O'Grady" (1 text) DT, SWTROSY* Roud #9560 NOTES: According to Spaeth, "Maude Nugent, who sang and danced at Johnny Reilly's famous place, 'The Abbey'... is officially recognized as the creator of Sweet Rosie O'Grady, althouth there is a strong suspicion that her husband, Billy Jerome, actually wrote the song." The reason for this is that she never wrote anything else of significance -- but let's be serious: This is a silly piece of work. It wouldn't take much of a songwriter to produce such a thing. It became a hit presumably because the tune is good and harmonizes well in barbershop arrangements. Billy Jerome, according to Spaeth, p. 331, was responsible for such tremendous hits as "Bedelia," "Mister Dooley," "China Town, My China Town," "My Irish Molly, O," and "The Hat My Father Wore on Saint Patrick's Day." Not a particularly inspiring list of songs to my way of thinking. Whoever the author, it didn't bring much money to the Nugent/Jerome household. They sold the rights for a few hundred dollars, according to Spaeth, and when the copyright was renewed, they reassigned them, resulting in much quarreling over royalties. - RBW File: Dean062A === NAME: Sweet Silver Light of the Moon: see The Silvery Moon (File: R800) === NAME: Sweet Sixteen DESCRIPTION: The singer talks about "the pretty girls who often may be seen 'Long about they time when they're sweet sixteen." He describes how they primp and show off and talk about boys. (He warns that they tease, or will not work.) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1976 (collected by Logsdon from Riley Neal); copy in the Lomax papers probably from before 1940 KEYWORDS: youth beauty nonballad FOUND_IN: US(Ap,So,SW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Logsdon 38, pp. 200-202, "Sweet Sixteen" (2 texts, 1 tune) Roud #10098 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Putting on the Style" (theme) File: Logs037 === NAME: Sweet Soldier Boy: see The Sailor Boy (I) [Laws K12] (File: LK12) === NAME: Sweet Sunny South (I), The [Laws A23] DESCRIPTION: A young Southerner, armed and ready, bids farewell to family and sweetheart. He sets off for the war, hoping to return when the Yankees are driven off AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1918 (Cox) KEYWORDS: war farewell FOUND_IN: US(MA,MW,NE) Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (7 citations) Laws A23, "The Sweet Sunny South" FSCatskills 18, "The Bright Sunny South" (1 text, 1 tune) Gardner/Chickering 97, "The Sweet Sunny Souoth" (1 text, 1 tune) JHCox 76, "The Rebel Soldier" (2 texts, but only the first belongs here; the second is The Rebel Soldier) Creighton/Senior, pp. 272-273, "Sweet Sunny South" (2 texts, 1 tune) Mackenzie 49, "The Sunny South" (1 text) DY 698, SUNNYSTH Roud #800 NOTES: Laws, obviously, considers this piece to be of American origin. Cazden et al, however, note that the versions hardly REQUIRE a setting in the American Civil War, and that one southern version refers to a FOREIGN war. In addition, the song has been found primarily in the North. On this basis Cazden argues for an Irish rather than southern American origin. Gardner and Chickering's text has an interesting last few stanzas which wish that "from Union and Yankee our land shall be free." This sounds rather like a particularization from perhaps Kentucky or Missouri. - RBW Not to be confused with the sentimental song of the same name [in the Index as "Sweet Sunny South II - RBW], wherein the singer returns to his childhood home to find everyone dead and gone. The characteristic first lines of that song are "Take me back to the place where I first saw the light/To the sweet sunny south take me home." - PJS File: LA23 === NAME: Sweet Sunny South (II) DESCRIPTION: "Take me back to the place where I first saw the light, To my sweet sunny south take me home." The singer (perhaps an ex-slave) describes home and how much he misses it. He hopes to return to the graves of "my little ones" "to rest and to die" among them AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1918 (Cecil Sharp collection) KEYWORDS: home death burial grief homesickness loneliness return family FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (4 citations) SharpAp 186, "The Sunny South" (3 texts, 3 tunes) BrownIII 400, "The Sweet Sunny South" (1 text) Rorrer, p. 88, "Sweet Sunny South" (1 text) DT, SUNSOUTH Roud #772 RECORDINGS: Dock Boggs, "Bright Sunny South" (on Boggs1, BoggsCD1) DaCosta Woltz's Southern Broadcasters, "Take Me Back to the Sweet Sunny South" (Gennett 6176/Champion 15318/Challenge 333, 1927) Roy Harvey & the North Carolina Ramblers, "Sweet Sunny South" (Paramount 3136, 1928) J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers, "Take Me Home to the Sweet Sunny South" (Bluebird B-6479/Montgomery Ward M-5035, 1936) New Lost City Ramblers, "Take Me Back to the Sweet Sunny South" (on NLCR04) Red Patterson's Piedmont Log Rollers, "The Sweet Sunny South" (Victor 21132, 1927) Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers, "Sweet Sunny South" (Columbia 15425-D, 1929; on CPoole01, CPoole05) Posey Rorrer and the North Carolina Ramblers, "Sweet Sunny South Take Me Home" (Edison, unissued, 1928) Jackson Young [pseud. for Ben Jarrell], "Take Me Back to the Sweet Sunny South" (Champion 15318/Herwin 75555, 1927) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "On the Banks of the Old Tennessee" (floating lyrics) SAME_TUNE: '31 Depression Blues (File: Rc31DB) NOTES: Rorrer notes sheet versions of this dating back at least to the Civil War period, and possibly to several decades before that, but gives no details. It seems fairly clear that the original versions were about a slave who had gained his freedom by some means but now wished to be back in his old place. Songwriters of the mid nineteenth century were fond of this (propagandistic) theme. One wonders how popular it would have been had the audience been Blacks rather than Whites. - RBW Not to be confused with "The Sweet Sunny South (I)" [Laws A23], a Confederate soldier's farewell. - PJS, RBW File: DTsunsou === NAME: Sweet Tayside DESCRIPTION: The singer overhears two lovers. The man says it would be a "great sin" if the girl does not give him a love token. She asks what he would have; he names a ring, a garter, and a broach. She gives them, then laments that he is untrue. He then marries her AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord) KEYWORDS: love courting ring gift betrayal FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, pp. 118-119, "Sweet Tayside" (1 text) Roud #5544 File: Ord118 === NAME: Sweet Thing (I) DESCRIPTION: "What you gonna do when the pond goes dry, honey, What you gonna do when the pond goes dry, baby?" Sundry verses about catching fish, rural life, and (presumably) sexual innuendo AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1917 (Cecil Sharp collection) KEYWORDS: nonballad courting sex FOUND_IN: US(Ap,So) REFERENCES: (7 citations) Randolph 443, "Sweet Thing" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 349-350, "Sweet Thing" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 443) Lomax-FSUSA 34, "Sweet Thing/Crawdad Song/Sugar Babe" (3 texts, 1 tune) SharpAp 245, "Sugar Babe" (1 text, 1 tune) Sharp/Karpeles-80E 62, "The Crow-Fish Man" (1 text, 1 tune) Sandburg, p. 240, "What Kin' o Pants Does the Gambler Wear" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 235, "Sweet Thing" (1 text) Roud #4853 RECORDINGS: Callahan Brothers, "Sweet Thing" (Decca 5952, 1941) Lulu Belle and Scotty, "Sugar Babe" (Melotone 6-08-58/Perfect 6-08-58, 1936) Lester McFarland & Robert Gardner, "Birmingham Jail" (Brunswick 293, 1929/Supertone S-2031, 1930) (Banner 6401/Regal 8792/Conqueror 7363, 1929; probably the same as the Pickard Family's "Get Me Out of This Birmingham Jail," Brunswick 385, 1929; Supertone S-2068, 1930) "T" Texas Tyler, "Sweet Thing" (4-Star 1228, n.d.) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Crawdad" (tune, lyrics, and everything else) and references there cf. "Going Down This Road Feeling Bad" (floating lyrics) SAME_TUNE: Bud & Joe Billings (pseud. for Frank Luther & Carson Robison) "Birmingham Jail #2" (Victor V-40082, 1929) NOTES: Songs with this tune and metrical pattern turn up throughout North American tradition; like the limerick, this skeleton seems to have become a favorite framework for humorous material. - PJS This song poses a conundrum (hinted at in Paul's comment), because it merges continuously with the "Crawdad" family; they use the same tune (at least sometimes) and ALL of the same verses. Roud lumps them. Chances are that they are the same song. But the tenor of the song changes somewhat with the presence or absence of a crawdad; after initially lumping the song, the Ballad Index staff decided to split them, based solely on mention of a crawdad. Which meant, e.g., that "The Crow-Fish Man (I)" files here even though it's clearly derived from "Crawdad." So one should definitely check all versions of both to get the complete range of material. - RBW Well, adding to the conundrum, the version of "The Crow-fish Man" in SharpAp *does* mention crawdads, so it gets filed under "Crawdad Song." - PJS File: R443A === NAME: Sweet Thing (II): see Crawdad (File: R443) === NAME: Sweet Town of Anthony, The: see By Kells Waters (Kellswaterside) (File: HHH802) === NAME: Sweet Trinity, The: see The Golden Vanity [Child 286] (File: C286) === NAME: Sweet Violets (II): see Teasing Songs (File: EM256) === NAME: Sweet William (I): see The Famous Flower of Serving-Men [Child 106] (File: C106) === NAME: Sweet William (II): see The Sailor Boy (I) [Laws K12] (File: LK12) === NAME: Sweet William (III): see Lovely Willie [Laws M35] (File: LM35) === NAME: Sweet William (IV): see William and Nancy (I) (Lisbon; Men's Clothing I'll Put On I) [Laws N8] (File: LN08) === NAME: Sweet William (V): see Earl Brand [Child 7] (File: C007) === NAME: Sweet William and Lady Margery: see Fair Margaret and Sweet William [Child 74] (File: C074) === NAME: Sweet William and May Margaret: see Sweet William's Ghost [Child 77] (File: C077) === NAME: Sweet William and Nancy: see Pretty Nancy of London (Jolly Sailors Bold) (File: R078) === NAME: Sweet William's Ghost [Child 77] DESCRIPTION: (Sweet William) dies while engaged. Since he has an unfulfilled commitment, his spirit cannot rest. He goes to his sweetheart, who begs him to wed her/kiss her/etc. When she learns that he is dead, she releases him from his promise AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1740 (Ramsey) KEYWORDS: ghost promise freedom death FOUND_IN: US(NE,SE) Canada(Newf) Britain(Scotland(Bord)) Ireland REFERENCES: (18 citations) Child 77, "Sweet William's Ghost" (8 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #1} Bronson 77, "Sweet William's Ghost" (11 versions+ 1 in addenda) Morton-Ulster 8, "Sweet William's Ghost" (1 text, 1 tune) Percy/Wheatley III, pp. 130-133, "Sweet William's Ghost" (1 text) Davis-More 21, pp. 152-156, "" (1 text, so fragmentary that it might be some other ballad with intrusions from "Sweet William's Ghost") Flanders/Brown, pp. 240-241, "Lady Margaret and Sweet William" (1 text, taken from the Green Mountain Songster) Flanders-Ancient2, pp. 178-183, "Sweet William's Ghost" (2 texts, the first being the Green Mountain Songster version) BrownII 23, "Sweet William's Ghost" (1 text) Greenleaf/Mansfield 9, "Lady Margaret" (1 text) Peacock, pp. 390-395, "Lady Margaret" (1 text, 6 tunes) Karpeles-Newfoundland 9, "Sweet William's Ghost" (2 texts, 9 tunes) {Bronson's #3} Leach, pp. 256-262, "Sweet William's Ghost" (1 text plus a Danish text for comparison) Leach-Labrador 4, "Sweet William's Ghost" (1 text, 1 tune) Friedman, p. 47, "Sweet William's Ghost" (2 texts) Gummere, pp. 203-205+348-349, "Sweet William's Ghost" (1 text) HarvClass-EP1, pp. 78-80, "Sweet William's Ghost" (1 text) DT 77, WILIGHOS* WILIGHO2 (GHOSWILL? -- a very worn down version that might be derived from this piece) ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #428, "Sweet William and May Margaret" (1 text) Roud #50 RECORDINGS: Paddy Tunney, "Lady Margaret" (on Voice03) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 5(1), "Sweet William's Ghost," unknown, n.d. NOTES: Child versions A, B, C and G end the ghost's visit with crowing cocks; in Ireland (Morton-Ulster 8 and Paddy Tunney on Voice03) the cock may be replaced by the moor cock. The ghost/cock motif accounts for the connection, by some, of "Willy O!" to Child 77. - BS Tom Shipley, in _The Road to Middle-Earth_ (third edition), p. 210, notes that Herd's text of this (Child's B) mentioned "Middle-Earth," implying that this song might have been a small part of the inspiration of the world (though not the plot) created by J. R. R. Tolkien. Rather a stretch -- but interesting, the more so as Tolkien did have a strong affinity for folklore and folk song. - RBW File: C077 === NAME: Sweet Willie (I): see Earl Brand [Child 7] (File: C007) === NAME: Sweet Willie (II): see Come All You Fair and Tender Girls (File: WB2080) === NAME: Sweet Willie (III): see On Top of Old Smokey (File: BSoF740) === NAME: Sweeter the Breeze (I), The DESCRIPTION: "Take a deep seat and a faraway look, Keep him between your knees. The higher he goes, the sweeter the breeze. Keep your mind in the middle and let both ends flop!" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 KEYWORDS: cowboy horse nonballad recitation FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ohrlin-HBT 86, "The Sweeter the Breeze" (1 text) NOTES: Even Ohrlin admits this is a "cross between a verse and a saying." But I suppose it might be traditional advice for a bronc rider, so here it is. (Ohrlin made up another piece with this title, not included here.) - RBW File: Ohr086 === NAME: Sweetheart in the Army, A: see Pretty Fair Maid (The Maiden in the Garden; The Broken Token) [Laws N42] (File: LN42) === NAME: Sweetheart, Farewell: see I Can Forgive But Not Forget (Sweetheart, Farewell) (File: BrII166) === NAME: Sweetheart's Appeal to Her Lover, A: see The Lover's Curse (Kellswater) (File: HHH442) === NAME: Swiler's Song, The DESCRIPTION: "Rise up me hearties with gaff and sculp, With hobnail rope and line." The singer repeatedly encourages his comrades in their tasks as they hunt seals. He admits that "many a hearty swiler sleeps 'round the Funks and Baccalieu," but still urges them on AUTHOR: Words: Pat Byrne EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (Ryan/Small) KEYWORDS: hunting nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ryan/Small, pp. 144-145, "The Swiler's Song" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Sinking of the Caribou" (tune) File: RySm144 === NAME: Swiles of Newfoundland, The DESCRIPTION: "Oh, the day we left St. John's, me b'ys, It was a very fine day! Our wives an' sweethearts on the quay Says they, ye'll understand." The singer complains about the bad conditions, but delights in killing "swiles [seals] in Newfoundland." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (England, Vikings of the Ice) KEYWORDS: hunting hardtimes FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ryan/Small, p. 106, "The Swiles of Newfoundland" (1 text) File: RySma106A === NAME: Swine-Herders: see Hog Drovers (File: LoF207) === NAME: Swing Low DESCRIPTION: "Star in the east, swing low, Star in the west, swing low, Stars shining in my breast, Swing low, chariot, swing low. "My father's gone, swing low... Angels took him...." "My mother's gone...." "I got a letter... it was sent from heaven...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (recording, Bascom Lamar Lunsford) KEYWORDS: religious father mother FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Bascom Lamar Lunsford, "Swing Low" (on BLLunsford01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" cf. "Job, Job" (a few lines) NOTES: Bascom Lamar Lunsford thinks this a forerunner of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," and it's likely enough that I decided to include the song even though I'm not sure how strong it is in tradition. On the other hand, it is possible that it is a filed-down version, without the strong freedom motif of the better-known song. - RBW File: RcSwinLo === NAME: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot DESCRIPTION: Black spiritual: "Swing low, sweet chariot/Coming for to carry me home"; "I looked over Jordan and what did I see/.../A band of angels comin' after me"; "If you get there before I do/.../Tell all my friends I'm a-comin' too" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1872 (publ. in Theodore B. Seward, "Jubilee Songs, as Sung by the Jubilee Singers of Fisk University") KEYWORDS: religious nonballad slavery floatingverses FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (5 citations) PSeeger-AFB, p. 16, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 608-610, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" (1 text, 1 tune) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 28, (no title) (1 fragment of 2 lines) Silber-FSWB, p. 353, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" (1 text) DT, SWINGLOW Roud #5435 RECORDINGS: Carroll Clark, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" (Black Swan 2024, 1921) Cotton Pickers Quartet, "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" (OKeh 8917, 1931) Lt. Jim Europe's Four Harmony Kings, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" (Pathe 22187, 1919) (Pathe 020581, 1923 [as Jim Europe's Four Harmony Kings]) Fisk University Jubilee Quartet, "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" (Victor 16453, 1910; rec. 1909) Fisk University Male Quartet, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" (Columbia A1883, 1915; Silvertone 3294 [as Border Male Quartet], n.d.) The Four Jacks, "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" (Allen 21000, n.d. but post-wwii) Mabel Garrison, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" (Victor 640, 1901) Hampton Institute Quartette, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" (RCA 27470, 1941) Roland Hayes, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" (Vocalion [US & UK] 21003, n.d.; Supertone, 1931) Hall Johnson Negro Choir, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" (Victor 36020, 1930) Kanawha Singers, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" (Brunswick 205, 1928) Mitchell's Christian Singers, "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" (Melotone 6-04-64, 1936) Norman Phelps & his Virginia Rounders, "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" (Decca 5247, 1936) Paul Robeson, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" (Victor 20068, 1926) (HMV [UK] 8372/Victor 25547, 1937) Pete Seeger, "Swing Low" (on PeteSeeger24) Southern Four, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" (Edison 51364, 1924) Standard Quartette, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" (CYL: Columbia, no #, 1894) Taylor Sisters, Mae Helen Blakeney, soloist, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" (on HandMeDown2) Tuskegee Institute Singers, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" (Victor 17890, 1916) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Swing Low" cf. "Wade in the Water" (floating lyrics) and references there cf. "Dawsonville Jail" (tune) NOTES: Guy Logsdon & Jeff Place state that the songs were taught to the Fisk Jubilee Singers in 1871 by two former slaves from the Indian Territory (Oklahoma), Aunt Minerva Willis & Uncle Wallace. See "The Presbyterian", Sept. 10, 1890, and Thoburn & Wright's "Oklahoma: A History of the State and Its People." The subtext of running away to freedom is clear throughout this song; the fact that the title is a pun on the name of the most famous conductor on the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman, may or may not be accidental. - PJS File: PSAFB016 === NAME: Swinging in the Lane: see Rosie Nell (File: San114) === NAME: Swinish Multitude, The DESCRIPTION: Give me the man who bids "the sun of Freedom rise" against tyrants, and the soul who "inlists for Freedom's cause." May you "no longer unavenged be called 'The swinish multitude.'" Freedom is coming to the world. Dare to die pursuing statecraft's crimes. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1804 (_Paddy's Resource_, according to Moylan) KEYWORDS: nonballad political FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Moylan 80, "The Swinish Multitude" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Moylan: "Edmund Burke in his _[Reflections on the Revolution] in France_ described the common people as the 'swinish multitude'.... The phrase was adopted as a mock compliment by sympathizers with the revolution and several United Irish songs played upon the phrase." - BS Burke's precise quote is "Learning will be cast into the mire, and trodden down under the hoofs of the swinish multitude." Thomas Pakenham, _The Year of Liberty_, p. 173, reports that the United Irishmen of Henry Joy McCracken sang a "workingmen's song called 'The Swineish (sic.) Multitude." If he has a source for this, it appears to be E. Thompson, _Working Class_, p. 90. - RBW File: Moyl080 === NAME: Sword of Bunker Hill, The DESCRIPTION: An old veteran, dying, bid his son to bring "the sword of Bunker Hill." Grasping the sword, in a burst of energy, he tells the boy how he captured the blade from a British officer. The old man dies AUTHOR: "Covert"? EARLIEST_DATE: 1949 (Flanders/Olney) KEYWORDS: battle dying patriotic HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: June 17, 1775 - American defeat at the Battle of Bunker Hill FOUND_IN: US(NE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Flanders/Olney, pp. 224-225, "The Sword of Bunker Hill" (1 text, 1 tune) Thomas-Makin', p. 88, (no title) (1 fragment, very likely not this song but associated by the informant with Bunker Hill, and it fits better here than anywhere else) ST FO224 (Partial) Roud #4684 NOTES: Although this song, by implication at least, praises American conduct at Bunker Hill, the record of the Colonials at that battle was in fact rather poor. Sent on the night of June 16 to garrison Bunker Hill, American troops instead occupied Breed's Hill, which was lower, less defensible, and closer to the British artillery. The British under General Gage attacked the next day. The Americans did show unaccustomed discipline, which caused the battle to last longer than usual, but ultimately the British forced them back. The battle was a dreadful strain on the British, though, who suffered more than 1100 casualties (see Stanley Weintraub, _Iron Tears: America's Battle for Freedom, Britain's Quagmire: 1775-1783_, Free Press, 2005, p. 9), compared to 441 American losses. The "Warren" of the song is Dr. Joseph Warren, the man who had organized Paul Revere's Ride and a leading figure in the rebel forces (although not one of their commanding officers). He was killed in the battle. (It will tell you something about conditions at the time that Warren, although he worked as a physician, actually earned his degree in theology, because that was the only curriculum taught at Harvard College at the time; see Weintraub, p. 8). I have in my collection a damaged songster, date unknown but almost certainly from the period 1865-1885, attributing this to "Covert"; in the same songster, a piece called "Follow the Drum" is credited to "B. Covert." The Flanders/Olney text is nearly identical to the songster version. - RBW File: FO224 === NAME: Sycamore Tree, The: see The Maid Freed from the Gallows [Child 95] (File: C095) === NAME: Sydney Cup Day DESCRIPTION: Joe Thompson comes up to the singer on race day and asks him to back his horse. The singer is not interested AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1954 KEYWORDS: horse racing gambling Australia FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Meredith/Anderson, p. 35, "Sydney Cup Day" (1 text, 1 tune) File: MA035 === NAME: Sylvania Lester: see Locks and Bolts [Laws M13] (File: LM13) === NAME: Sylvia: see The Female Highwayman [Laws N21] (File: LN21) === NAME: Sylvia's Request and William's Denial: see The Female Highwayman [Laws N21] (File: LN21) === NAME: Sympathizing with the Fenian Exiles DESCRIPTION: Keep your mouth shut and beware spies. We visit the Fenians jailed like "dogs kept in a manger." General Burk's turnkey "is worse than a Turk." Rossa, Luby and others are named. God is watching inside the walls. Our day will come. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1966 (Zimmermann) KEYWORDS: exile prison political FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) Zimmermann, p. 52, "A New Song Sympathizing With The Fenian Exiles" (1 fragment) Healy-OISBv2, pp. 131-133, "(A new song sympathising with) The Fenian Exiles" (1 text) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, 2806 c.8(40), "A New Song Sympathising With the Fenian Exiles" ("My Irish frlends [sic] aome [sic] rally round"), unknown, n.d. NOTES: Zimmermann p. 52 is a fragment; broadside Bodleian 2806 c.8(40) is the basis for the description. Is the topic prisoners as in the text, or exiles as in the title? If the former the date is probably before 1871; else, after. - BS For O'Donovan Rossa and the Fenian Exiles, see "Rossa's Farewell to Erin." - RBW File: BrdSwtFE === NAME: Syng Hoit Faleri (Listen Little Bosun) DESCRIPTION: Norwegian shanty. "Listen little bosun, what I want to tell you, do you want to play dice with me? Ch: Sing high falleri, fallala-lala." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1888 (L.A. Smith, _Music of the Waters_) KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage shanty gambling FOUND_IN: Norway REFERENCES: (1 citation) Hugill, pp. 557-558, "Syng Hoit Faleri" (2 texts-Norwegian & English, 1 tune) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Hor Du Lille Baadsmand File: Hugi557 === NAME: T for Texas (Blue Yodel #1) DESCRIPTION: "It's T for Texas, T for Tennessee (x2), It's T for Thelma, the gal who made a fool out of me." A lonely song for an unhappy man; he will buy a pistol and shoot the woman AUTHOR: Jimmie Rodgers EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1928 (recording, Jimmie Rodgers) KEYWORDS: floatingverses hardtimes homicide FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE) REFERENCES: (3 citations) BrownIII 339, "Leave for Texas, Leave for Tennessee" (2 texts) MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 71, "T for Texas, T for Tennessee" (1 text) Lomax-FSNA 152, "Mule Skinner Blues" (1 text, 1 tune, with one stanza of "T for Texas" thrown in at the end) Roud #11743 RECORDINGS: Jim Eanes, "Blue Yodel No. 1" (Rich-R-Tone 1058, n.d.) NOTES: Jimmie Rodgers is apparently responsible for this song in its present form, but he built it up largely from floating verses. To add to the fun, the Lomaxes took a verse of this and tacked it on to another Rodgers piece, "Muleskinner Blues." Given that neither song has much of a plot, it can be hard to separate the resulting hybrids. It will show how strong was the influence of Rodgers that the song was in tradition within five years (Brown's "a" text is from 1930, and Henry's from 1934 or earlier). - PJS, RBW File: LoF152A === NAME: T for Texas, T for Tennessee: see T for Texas (Blue Yodel #1) (File: LoF152A) === NAME: t-Oilean Ur, An DESCRIPTION: Gaelic. The singer goes to America and sees nothing familiar: not a Christian, horse, cow, sheep, but only roaring wild animals and people. When he meets people from Ireland he realizes he would be fortunate to be home even just to find proper mourners. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1976 (OBoyle) KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage emigration America Ireland FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OBoyle 19, "t-Oilean Ur, An" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: The description follows O Boyle's translation. - BS I would assume that when the singer says he saw no Christians he meant he saw no *Catholics*. This would be almost reasonable if he migrated to, say, New England, especially in the eighteenth or early nineteenth century. - RBW File: OBoy019 === NAME: T.V.A. Song: see The TVA (File: Arn172) === NAME: T'ain't Gonna Rain No Mo': see Ain't Gonna Rain No More (File: R557) === NAME: T'Owd Yowe wi' One Horn DESCRIPTION: Old "yowe" (ewe) resists penning and kicks the farmhand around the yard. The butcher is sent for; the yowe charges him and breaks his legs. She is sent to fight for the king, and kills soldiers in quantity. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1905 (collected from Dean Robinson) KEYWORDS: farming humorous talltale animal sheep FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, p. 82, "T'Owd Yowe wi' One Horn" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #1762 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Grey Goose" cf. "The Killing of the Big Pig (Iso Sika)" NOTES: This seems to have been collected only once, but cognate stories of big animals that are hard to kill and cook are common (see cross-references). "The Derby Ram" is also connected. -PJS Kennedy apparently regards it as the same as the piece "The Ewie wi' the Crookit Horn" (#271 in his collection). But neither the plot, nor the words, nor the music is the same. - RBW Then there's the "Yowie wi' the Crookit Horn," which seems to be slang for an illegal whiskey still. - PJS File: VWL082 === NAME: Ta Me Mo Shui (I Am Awake) DESCRIPTION: Gaelic. The singer lies awake until cock crow though the rest of the household sleeps: he had met a banshee the night before and she had doomed him to love her "until crack of Doomsday" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1976 (OBoyle) KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage love magic FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) Tunney-SongsThunder, pp. 37-39, "Ta Me Mo Shui" (1 text) OBoyle 24, "Ta me 'mo Shui" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: If you were brought up on the stories I was brought up on, you probably just think of a banshee as a (non-human) creature whose cry causes death. Not so in Irish legend; "Bean Sidhe" is a "woman of the hills" -- a member, presumably, of the old fairy folk, the Aes Sidhe, the "people of the hills." The Bean Sidhe may be young and beautiful, or an old hag; a family may have its own special Bean Sidhe -- an immortal, who announces the death of each member of the family. Legends of a young man falling in love with one are rare, but it fits the Irish concept. - RBW File: TST037 === NAME: Ta Ra, Limavady DESCRIPTION: The singer praises Limavady. He lists the boasts of other towns (e.g. "Coleraine for Kitty justly proud"), but prefers the local product ("But the girls that take the shine off both Are the girls that come from Limavady"). He asks others to praise it also AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1937 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: home nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H706, p. 180, "Ta Ra, Limavady" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #8007 File: HHH706 === NAME: Ta-Ra-Ra Boom De Ay (II) DESCRIPTION: Descriptions of how various people came to be in their present psychological and sexual states, to the tune of "Ta-ra-ra Boom-der-e" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 KEYWORDS: bawdy sex FOUND_IN: US(MW,NE,SW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cray, pp. 271-273, "Ta-Ra-Ra Boom De Ay" (4 texts, 1 tune) File: EM271 === NAME: Ta-ra-ra Boom-der-e DESCRIPTION: The words often consist of floating lyrics. The chorus, "Ta-ra-ra(-ra) Boom-de-ay," is diagnostic. Sayers' lyrics: "A sweet Tuxedo girl I see, Queen of swell society, Fond of fun as fond can be, When it's on the strict Q.T...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1888 KEYWORDS: nonballad nonsense FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,So) REFERENCES: (5 citations) FSCatskills 144, "Ta-ra-ra-ra Boom, Hurray!" (1 text plus many fragments, 2 tunes) Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 144-146, "Ta-ra-ra Boom-der-e" (1 fragmentary text) Gilbert, pp. 206-208, "Ta-ra-ra-boom-der-e" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 25, "Ta-Ra-Ra Boom-Der-E" (1 text) Fuld-WFM, pp. 570-571+, "Ta-Ra-Ra boom-Der-E" RECORDINGS: Land Norris, "Bum Delay" (OKeh 45058, 1926) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "I'm the Man that Wrote Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay" cf. "Will You Go Boom Today?" (tune) SAME_TUNE: Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay (We Have No School Today) (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 102) NOTES: Cazden et al present a list of the various authors who have claimed this piece while denying credit to any of them. (They concede the form "Ta-ra-ra Boom-der-e" to Henry J. Sayers, 1890; published in 1891 by Willis Woodward; cf. Spaeth, _Read 'em and Weep_, pp. 144-146.) There was actually a lawsuit over the issue (Henry J. Sayers vs. Sigmund Spaeth et al, 1932). Fuld reports "Judge Robert P. Patterson later held that the music and words of the chorus were not original, but the first two verses were." Randolph quotes Gilbert to the effect that the tune "is said to have originated in Babe Connors' famous St. Louis brothel" (!). Something very similar appears in a Strauss piece. This uncertainty resulted in the comic parody "I'm the Man that Wrote Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay." - RBW File: FSC144 === NAME: Ta-ra-ra-ra Boom, Hurray!: see Ta-ra-ra Boom-der-e (File: FSC144) === NAME: Tacking of a Full Rigged Ship Off Shore: see Tacking Ship Off Shore (File: CrNS147) === NAME: Tacking Ship Off Shore DESCRIPTION: In a storm the ship is driven toward "the lighthouse tall on Fire Island Head" but the skillful captain and crew avoid "a dangerous shoal" and "steady the helm to the open sea" AUTHOR: Words: Walter F. Mitchell EARLIEST_DATE: 1932 (Creighton-NovaScotia) KEYWORDS: sea ship storm sailor FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-NovaScotia 147, "Tacking of a Full Rigged Ship Off Shore" (1 text, 1 tune) ST CrNS147 (Partial) Roud #1845 NOTES: The author, according to Creighton-NovaScotia, is "a native of Nantucket Island"; perhaps the Fire Island lighthouse is the one on the Long Island shore of New York. - BS The title "Tacking Ship Off Shore" does not seem to be found in tradition, but it appears to be the author's title. The poem seems to have been fairly popular; _Granger's Index to Poetry_ cites five anthologies, mostly of the sentimental sort, containing the piece. - RBW File: CrNS147 === NAME: Taffy Was a Welshman (I) DESCRIPTION: "Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a thief, Taffy came to my house And stole a piece of beef." Taffy and the singer engage in a campaign of theft against each other -- e.g. Taffy takes a bone; the singer finds it and beats Taffy with it AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1842 (Halliwell, according to Opie-Oxford2) KEYWORDS: abuse food theft FOUND_IN: Britain REFERENCES: (3 citations) Opie-Oxford2 494, "Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a thief" (2 texts) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #67, pp. 72-73, "(Taffy was a Welshman)" DT, TFFYWLCH CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Napper" (floating lyrics) NOTES: "Taffy" is an English twisting of the Welsh pronunciation of "David" (Daffyd), the patron saint of Wales. The English of course had a habit of baiting the Welsh, especially on Saint David's day. And the analogy here is rather exact: When it came to a war of raids, the English -- who had the English law on their side -- could do more damage. Taffy could steal, but the Englishman could not only steal but beat Taffy. It's not clear to me that this is a folk *song*, but the notes in Brown connect it with "Napper," which is, so I thought it had better go in the Index for reference. - RBW See the following broadside on the same theme: Bodleian, Harding B 11(3724), "The Welshman" ("Taffy came out of the border of Wales"), unknown, n.d.) See the following reworked broadside "signed" by J.W. Ebsworth March 1, 1895: Bodleian, Harding B 11(3724), "Taffy Up To Date," unknown, 1895 - BS File: OOxf494 === NAME: Taffy Was a Welshman (II): see Napper (File: Br3123) === NAME: Taffy Was a Welshman, Taffy Was a Thief: see Taffy Was a Welshman (I) (File: OOxf494) === NAME: Taglioni DESCRIPTION: "Her mother had a nice wee dog, she used to call it Tony, And every time I kissed the girl he bit my Tagglieownie" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1977 (IRClare01) KEYWORDS: bawdy derivative nonballad dog FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Tunney-StoneFiddle, p. 9, "Tagglieownie" (1 fragment) Roud #3569 RECORDINGS: Martin Reidy, "Tangaloni" (on IRClare01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Taglioni Coat" (line pattern and some text) and references there NOTES: The current description is all of the Tunney-StoneFiddle fragment. The following text is in the discussion of "As I Went Out Upon the Ice (Ag Dul amach ar an Leac Oighir dom)" at Andrew Kuntz's The Fiddler’s Companion site. As I went out upon the ice, [or "One day as I went out to skate"] The ice being rough and stony, The ice it broke and down I went, And wet my Taglioni. [or "tanlee ownee"] Tunney-StoneFiddle: "My mother said it wasn't a nice song...." The pattern of the four-line verse fragments, but not the bawdiness, seems based on the eight-line verse broadside "Taglioni Coat". Here is a verse that seems the original for the previous fragment: One chilly day, not long ago, I met a sad disaster, When on the Serpentine to show, Myself a skating master, I circles cut, the ice gave way, Transparent, but not stony, It cracked, gave way, I tumbled, And soaked my Taglioni. but, in this case, it's clear from the context that the singer considers himself a fashion plate whose Taglioni coat is literally soaked (or maybe I'm being naive again; see the LONG DESCRIPTION at "Taglioni Coat"). Reidy's "The Tangaloni" on IRClare01 mixes the broadside eight-line verse form and story with the four-line verse verse form bawdy verses and adds a chorus. I have included it under both songs. "ta-glio-ni \tal'yone\ n -s [after Filippo Taglioni 1871 Ital. ballet master]: an overcoat worn in the early 19th century." (source: _Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged_ (1976)); Filippo Taglioni (1777-1871). - BS File: RcTaglio === NAME: Taglioni Coat, The DESCRIPTION: Singer left his vulgar cronies behind when he bought a Taglioni coat. His fortunes changed when the coat led him to a wealthy lady, marriage and privilege. Clothes make the man. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1856 (broadside, Harding B 14(168)) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer used to be "shabby, low and mean" with vulgar cronies, but has put that behind him. Now, wearing a Taglioni coat, he is "known in all fashionable quarters" and admired by "London's fairest daughters" One day, ice skating, he falls into the Serpentine, soaking his coat. He is invited, by a lady with "lots of money" to go home with her, change his clothes and dry his coat. While drying his coat before her fire he proposes marriage, she accepts, they marry, and, among his advantages he gains "a flunkey, too, to curl my hair, And brush my Taglioni." Moral: to marry well "don't sport a Blouse, or Mackintosh, But try a Taglioni" KEYWORDS: courting marriage clothes humorous servant FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #3569 RECORDINGS: Martin Reidy, "Tangaloni" (on IRClare01) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 14(168), "Taglioni Coat" ("I once was shabby, low, and mean"), W. Jackson and Son (Birmingham), 1842-1855 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Taglioni" (line pattern and some text) and references there cf. "Umbrella Courtship" (tune, per broadside Bodleian Harding B 14(168)) NOTES: Broadside Harding B 14(168) is the basis for the description. "ta-glio-ni \tal'yone\ n -s [after Filippo Taglioni 1871 Ital. ballet master]: an overcoat worn in the early 19th century." (source: _Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged_ (1976)); Filippo Taglioni (1777-1871). - BS File: RcTagCoa === NAME: Tailing a Kangaroo: see The Old Man Kangaroo (File: MA040) === NAME: Tailor and the Crow, The: see Carrion Crow (File: LoF072) === NAME: Tailor Ban, The DESCRIPTION: Singer and tailor Ban are drinking buddies often mistaken for one another. They plan "a mad trip to Kilgarvin"; singer will marry Miss Foley but their alikeness will allow them some freedom. But if there's a child "let nobody ask who's the father" AUTHOR: Sean O Tuama (Johnny Nora Aodha) (source: OCanainn) EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (OCanainn) KEYWORDS: marriage disguise drink humorous FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OCanainn, pp. 76-77,123, "The Tailor Ban" (1 text, 1 tune) File: OCan076 === NAME: Tailor Boy, The: see The Weaver and the Tailor (File: Log407) === NAME: Tailor By His Trade, The: see The Wearing of the Britches (File: K215) === NAME: Tailor in the Tea Chest, The: see The Boatsman and the Chest [Laws Q8] (File: LQ08) === NAME: Tain't Gwine Rain No Mo': see Ain't Gonna Rain No More (File: R557) === NAME: Tak It, Man, Tak It (I) DESCRIPTION: "When I was a miller in Fife, Losh, I thought that the sound o' the happer, said, 'Tak hame a wee flow to your wife.'" The singer lives his life, and constantly hears the temptation, upon seeing an item (especially drink) to "Tak it, man, tak it." AUTHOR: David Webster (?) EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Ford); Webster died 1837 KEYWORDS: drink humorous theft FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 15-18, "Tak It, Man, Tak It" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, TAKITMAN Roud #5591 ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Mill and the Kiln NOTES: Roud links this song with "The Working Chap" as found in Ord, etc. I flatly don't see it. - RBW File: FVS015 === NAME: Tak It, Man, Tak It (II) DESCRIPTION: "Langsyne, fine I mind, little mair than a lad, I wrocht wi' John Jackson at Inkaboot Mill," where Jackson's daughter teases him and flirts. Asked for a kiss, she rejects him -- but at last he steals one, and in the end they are happily married AUTHOR: Walter Towers? EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord) KEYWORDS: courting marriage FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, p. 54-56, "Tak It, Man, Tak It" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #5590 NOTES: Apart from the title line and the notion of temptation, this has nothing in common with "Tak It, Man, Tak It (I)" -- but I rather suspect one inspired the other. I'm not sure which way the dependence went; both have listed authors. This is clearly the less popular of the two. - RBW File: Ord054 === NAME: Take a Drink on Me DESCRIPTION: Chorus "Take a drink on me/All you rounders, take a drink on me...." Verses float: "What did you do with that gun in your hand You give it to a rounder and he shot a good man", "If you keep on stalling, you'll make me think... your daddy was a monkey..." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recording, Charlie Poole) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Floating verses, linked by chorus "Take a drink on me/All you rounders, take a drink on me/Oh, Lord, honey take a drink on me." Verses include "What did you do with that gun in your hand/You give it to a rounder and he shot a good man", "If you keep on stalling, you'll make me think/That your daddy was a monkey and your mama was an ape"; "You see that gal with a hobble on/She's good looking just as sure as you're born" KEYWORDS: crime drink nonballad floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (6 citations) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 156-157, "Take a Drink on Me" (1 text, 1 tune) Rorrer, p. 77, "Take a Drink on Me" (1 text) Darling-NAS, p. 289, "Take a Drink on Me" (1 text) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 239, (no title) (1 fragment, in which the listener is urged to "take a one on me!"; it seems more likely that it's this than "take a whiff") Silber-FSWB, p. 28, "Take A Whiff On Me" (1 text); p. 235, "Take A Drink On Me" (2 texts) DT, DRNKONME* Roud #10062 RECORDINGS: New Lost City Ramblers, "Take a Drink on Me" (on NLCR01) Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers, "Take a Drink on Me" (Columbia 15193-D, 1927; on CPoole01, CPoole05) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Take a Whiff on Me" (tune, words) cf. "Coney Isle" (lyrics) SAME_TUNE: Take Your Leg Off Mine (listed by Rorrer, p. 77, as a bawdy version of the above) NOTES: This is a problem in classification. On the one hand, it's clearly a version of "Take a Whiff on Me." On the other, none of the verses of the latter show up in this song. So I call them siblings but, since we're being splitters here, different songs. [The version on page 28 of the Folksinger's Wordbook], although it uses the "whiff" chorus, consists entirely of floating verses -- none of them the same as the verses in the Cohen/Seeger/Wood version, but many shared with common fiddle tunes. - PJS File: CSW156 === NAME: Take a Whiff on Me DESCRIPTION: The singer "Walked up Ellum and... come down Main / Tryin' to bum a nickel, just to buy cocaine / Ho, ho, honey take a whiff on me." The singer devotes considerable energy to seeking women and drugs, with slight success and open disregard for the risks AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (recording, Grant Brothers) KEYWORDS: drugs sex FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,So) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Randolph-Legman I, pp. 130-132, "Take a Whiff on Me" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Lomax-FSUSA 89, "Take a Whiff on Me" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 186-188, "Honey, Take a Whiff on Me" (1 text, 1 tune) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 277, "Oh, Ho, Baby, Take a One On Me!" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, WHIFFME Roud #10062 RECORDINGS: Anonymous singer, "Take A Whiff On Me" (on Unexp1) Freeny's Barn Dance Band, "Croquet Habits" (OKeh 45524, 1931; rec. 1930; on StuffDreams1) Grant Brothers & Their Music, "Tell It to Me" (Columbia 15322-D, 1928; on RoughWays1) Memphis Jug Band, "Cocaine Habit Blues" (Victor V-38620, 1930) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Take a Drink on Me" (tune, words) cf. "Tom Cat" (lyrics, form) cf. "Cocaine Blues (I)" (subject) and references there NOTES: "Ellum" ("Elem," "Deep Elem") refers to Elm Street in Dallas, the heart of that city's red light district. The various versions of this song, naturally, differ considerably in local color. - RBW The recording "Tell It to Me" presents another classification problem; also known as "Let the Cocaine Be," it has a chorus "Tell it to me, tell it to me/Drink corn likker, let the cocaine be" that other "Take a Whiff on Me" songs do not, and sometimes different verses. I'm joining them primarily because many versions of "Tell It to Me" include the "Honey, take a whiff on me" refrain, but a case could also be made for splitting. - PJS File: RL130 === NAME: Take Back Your Gold DESCRIPTION: The singer sees a man and a woman. She is begging him to be honorable and marry her; he refuses. He is going to be married to another. He offers money to soothe her. She says, "Take back your gold, for gold can never buy me." AUTHOR: Monroe H. Rosenfeld & Louis W. Pritzkow EARLIEST_DATE: 1921 (copyright assignment) KEYWORDS: courting marriage betrayal money gold FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Randolph 820, "Take Back Your Gold" (1 text) Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 183-184, "Take Back Your Gold" (1 text, 1 tune) Geller-Famous, pp. 144-149, "Take Back Your Gold" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7427 RECORDINGS: Walter Morris, "Take Back Your Gold" (Columbia 15101-D, 1926) File: R820 === NAME: Take her Out of Pity: see The Old Maid's Song (File: R364) === NAME: Take It Out, Take It Out, Remove It: see Crazy Song to the Air of "Dixie" (File: San342) === NAME: Take Me Back to the Cumberland Mountains DESCRIPTION: "Take me back to the Cumberland Mountains, I don't like Lynchburg any more; I want to go home to our old log cabin...." The singer looks back to seeing Pap, Mammy, Uncle Mose, old dog Tray, and the various farm animals AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas) KEYWORDS: home family return father mother animal FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Thomas-Makin', pp. 126-127, (no title) (1 text) NOTES: Thomas seems to have thought this was "Uncle Noah Bentley's Coon Hunting Song," but it has nothing to do with raccoons or hunting. It was said to have "the favorance of 'Sourwood Mountain,'" but with no tune, this cannot be proved. The item has all sorts of references to other songs (e.g. "old dog Tray"), but it appears to be a matter of allusion rather than common floating material. - RBW File: ThBa126 === NAME: Take Me Back to the Sweet Sunny South: see Sweet Sunny South (II) (File: DTsunsou) === NAME: Take Me Down the Harbour DESCRIPTION: "Take me down the Harbour on a Sunday afternoon, To Manly Beach or Watson's Bay Or round to Coogee for a day... Good old Harbour, Sydney Town, They can't beat you." The singer enjoys his girl and sailing in Sydney Harbour AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1954 KEYWORDS: Australia nonballad FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Meredith/Anderson, pp. 35-36, "Take Me Down the Harbour" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Said to have been a popular music hall song in the early twentieth century in Australia. - RBW File: MA035A === NAME: Take This Hammer DESCRIPTION: The singer tells a (fellow prisoner?) to take his hammer to the captain; the singer is running away. The hammer (which killed John Henry) will never kill him. The versions show considerable variations AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: "Take This Hammer": 1915 (collected by Newman Ivey White); "Nine Pound Hammer" variant: 1927 (Sandburg; recording, Al Hopkins & his Buckle Busters) KEYWORDS: prisoner work escape nonballad worksong FOUND_IN: US(SE) Jamaica REFERENCES: (18 citations) Cohen-LSRail, pp. 571-582, "Nine Pound Hammer" (1 text, 1 tune) Friedman, p. 383, "John Henry" (6 texts, but the last three belong with this song) Sandburg, p. 376, "Ever Since Uncle John Henry Been Dead" (1 text, 1 tune, which I believe belongs here although the text is too short to be sure); 457-458, "My Old Hammah" (1 text, 1 tune) BrownII 280, "John Henry" (2 texts plus 5 fragments, 1 excerpt, and mention of 1 more, but it appears that fragments "B," "D," "E," and "G" go here) BrownIII 241, "Some of These Days and It Won't Be Long" (1 text plus a fragment; the "A" text shows hints of incorporating another ballad); also 240, "I Been a Miner" (1 4-line fragment, consisting of the stanza "I been a miner most of my life" and the stanza, "Big John Henry (x3) poor boy blind") Chappell-FSRA 104, "The John Henry Hammer Song" (1 short and 1 very long text, 1 tune; the short text might be anything and the long, though it ends with these verses, includes much floating material about railroad construction) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 219, (no title) (1 short texts; neither has the "take this hammer" line, but they fit metrically and mention the hammer that killed John Henry); p. 220, "Work-song" (1 short text, 1 tune, at least related to this); p. 220, "Nine-Pound Hammer" (1 short text); p. 220, "Work-song" (1 short text, with a verse of this song although it also mentions shooting Ida in the leg) Colcord, p. 186, "Rocks In De Mountens" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSUSA 93, "Take This Hammer" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 145, "Roll On, Buddy"; 297, "East Colorado Blues" (2 texts, 2 tunes -- both, especially the former, folk processed and expanded and perhaps derived in part from other songs.) GreenMiner, p. 329-331, "Nine Pound Hammer" (7 texts, 2 tunes) Asch/Dunson/Raim, p. 100, "Spike Driver Blues" (1 text, 1 tune); p. 112, "Nine Pound Hammer" (1 text, 1 tune) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 94-95, "Nine-Pound Hammer" (1 text, 1 tune) Botkin-AmFolklr, p. 913, "Take This Hammer" (1 text, 1 tune) Courlander-NFM, pp. 137-138, "(John Henry)" (1 text, with a fragment of the plot of "John Henry" but many lyrics from "Take This Hammer"); pp. 285-286, "John Henry (Version III)" (1 text, 1 tune) Darling-NAS, pp. 234-235, "Spike Driver Blues" (1 text, filed with three texts of "John Henry"); also pp. 327-328, "John Henry, " "This Old Hammer" (2 texts) Silber-FSWB, p. 69, "Take This Hammer" (1 text); p. 124, "Nine Pound Hammer" (1 text) DT, NINEPND* TAKEHAMR* Roud #4299 RECORDINGS: Frank Blevins & his Tar Heel Rattlers, "Nine Pound Hammer" (Columbia 15280-D, 1928; on LostProv1) Emmett Brand, "Take This Hammer" (on MuSouth06) Carolina Tar Heels, "Roll On, Boys" (Victor V-40024, 1929; rec. 1928) [I include this here for want of a better place; its chorus is from "Nine Pound Hammer/Roll On, Buddy," but the verses are unrelated floaters] Palmer Crisp, "Roll On, John" (on Crisp01) Delmore Bros. "Take It to the Captain" (King 718, 1948) [G. B.] Grayson & [Henry] Whitter, "The Nine-Pound Hammer" Victor V-40105, 1929; rec. 1928) Roscoe Holcomb, "Roll On, Buddy" (on Holcomb2, HolcombCD1) Al Hopkins & his Buckle Busters, "Nine Pound Hammer" (Brunswick 177, 1927) Mississippi John Hurt, "Spike Driver Blues" (OKeh 8692, 1929; rec. 1928; on AAFM3, BefBlues3, MJH01, MJH02) Aunt Molly Jackson, "Roll On Buddy" (AFS 2548 B, 1939; on LC61) Buffalo Johnson, "Nine Pound Hammer" (Rich-R-Tone 1023, 1952) Buell Kazee, "Roll On John" (Brunswick 144, 1927) [a "Nine Pound Hammer" version] Monroe Brothers, "Nine Pound Hammer Is Too Heavy" (Bluebird B-6422, 1936) Paul Robeson, "Water Boy" (Victor 19824, 1925; HMV [UK] B-8103, 1934) South Carolina ditch diggers, "Ten Pound Hammer" (on LomaxCD1700) Horace Sprott, "Take This Hammer" (on MuSouth04) Ernest Stoneman & Eddie Stoneman, "Nine Pound Hammer" (Vocalion 02655, 1934) Sweet Brothers, "I Got a Bulldog" (1928; on TimesAint04) Henry Grady Terrell, "Old John Henry Died on the Mountain" (on FolkVisions2) Art Thieme, "Railroad Blues and Nine Pound Hammer" [medley] (on Thieme01) Merle Travis, "Nine Pound Hammer" (Capitol 48000, 1947; on 78 album "Folk Songs of the Hills", Capitol AD 50; rec. 1946) Doc Watson, "Spike-Driver Blues" (on RitchieWatson1, RitchiteWatsonCD1) Tex Williams, "Nine Pound Hammer" (Decca 29764, 1955) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "John Henry" [Laws I1] (lyrics) cf. "Jumpin' Judy" (lyrics) cf. "Walking Boss" (lyrics) cf. "Swannanoah Tunnel" (floating lyrics) cf. "Drivin' Steel" (theme, lyrics) cf. "Don't You Hear My Hammer Ringing" (lyrics) cf. "Old Rattler" (lyrics) cf. "Hammer Ring" cf. "If I Had the Gov'nor" (theme) cf. "Pickaxe Too Heavy" (theme) cf. "Roll On, Boys" (lyrics, theme) NOTES: The connection between this song and "Swannanoa Tunnel" is very strong; there are so many intermediate versions that we can hardly draw a clear distinction. But the extreme versions are sufficiently different that I have listed them separately. - RBW Paul Stamler suggests that "Take This Hammer" and "Nine Pound Hammer" can be distinguished by the chorus (found in the latter) "Roll on buddy/Don't you roll so slow/How can I roll/When the wheels won't go." Paul adds, ""According to the liner notes on LC61, the cited 78s (by Charlie Bowman and Al Hopkins) are the first recorded under the names 'Roll On, Buddy' and 'Nine Pound Hammer,' indicating the variant existed when these records were published. The Aunt Molly Jackson field recording dates from 1939. So I think we've established the variant's presence in tradition as early as the late 1920s. I think it's time to split 'em, with cross-referencing notes." He's probably right. Sadly, we now have four references I can no longer check. So they remain lumped until I can find a way to get those books back. - RBW Unfortunately, the liner notes to LC61 misled me. While it's true that the title "Roll On, Buddy" was first used by Charlie Bowman & his Brothers, his recording (placed here in earlier versions of the Index) wasn't this song. Instead, it was the one we have indexed as "Roll On, Buddy (II) [Roll On, Buddy, Roll On]." Sorry. We can go further: Archie Green interviewed Charlie Bowman of Al Hopkins & his Buckle Busters, who stated that he and Al Hopkins had put together the "Roll On Buddy" variant from traditional fragments during their 1927 recording session, and the song was in fact copyrighted in their name. Bowman stated that he'd learned many of the fragments from African-American railroad workers in 1903-1905. - PJS Norm Cohen has an extensive discussion, based on Archie Green's examination in _Only a Miner_. They note two basic elements: The "Take this hammer" stanzas, in non-rhyming couplets, and the "roll on buddy" verses, which do rhyme. They therefore suspect that Hopkins was the source of the combination. The problem is simply too great to fully explicate here; I can only recommend the discussions in Green and Cohen. - RBW I place Robeson's "Water Boy" here for want of a better place. It contains several floating verses from this song (e.g., "There ain't no hammer that's on this mountain/That rings like mine..."). - PJS File: FR383 === NAME: Take Thy Old Cloak About Thee: see The Old Cloak (File: OBB170) === NAME: Take Your Fingers Off It DESCRIPTION: "Take your (fingers/hands) off it, and don't you dare touch it, You know it don't belong to you." Various people try to keep others away from their sexual partners. One complains of "a house full of children and none of them mine." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 KEYWORDS: sex adultery betrayal FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 80, "Take Your Fingers Off It" (1 text) DT, FINGROFF CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Salty Dog" File: FSWB080 === NAME: Take Your Time DESCRIPTION: "Honey Baby, take your time, Please don't break this leg of mine. Don't like, an' I ain't goin' to have it no more." About a difficult family meal (?): Mama picks on Sam; Sister is out of control (doing the twist); the singer gets in trouble in town AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1944 (Wheeler) KEYWORDS: food family bawdy FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) MWheeler, pp. 97-98, "Take Yo' Time" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #10036 NOTES: Yes, Wheeler's text reads "Please don't break this leg of mine"! But she admits that her informants were expurgating the song as they went. Under it all, it is probably a bawdy song. - RBW File: MWhee097 === NAME: Taking Back Gear in the Night: see Taking Gair In the Night (File: FowM018) === NAME: Taking Gair In the Night DESCRIPTION: "Come all you good people, come listen you might. It's only a ditty I'm going to write,... It's all about taking your gair [=gear -- the trawls used in capelin fishing] in the night." Song lists the fishermen of Penguin Island, their boats and hardships. AUTHOR: Jerry Fudge ? EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 KEYWORDS: fishing home work sea ship shore FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Fowke/MacMillan 18, "Taking Gair in the Night" (1 text, 1 tune) Peacock, pp. 145-146, "Taking Back Gear in the Night" (1 text, 1 tune) Lehr/Best 105, "Taking Gear in the Night" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2327 ALTERNATE_TITLES: Gerry Fudge File: FowM018 === NAME: Taking Gear in the Night: see Taking Gair In the Night (File: FowM018) === NAME: Taking His Chance DESCRIPTION: Bushranger Jack Dean comes to the door of the inn and dances with May Carney. Although all know he is an outlaw, the bushmen do not betray him. But at last someone notifies the police. Dean is shot and killed as he prepares to flee AUTHOR: Henry Lawson EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 KEYWORDS: outlaw death police Australia FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Meredith/Anderson, pp. 270-271, "Taking His Chance" (1 text, 1 tune) File: MA270 === NAME: Talcahuano Girls: see Spanish Ladies (File: ShH89) === NAME: Tale of a Little Pig: see There Was an Old Woman and She Had a Little Pig (File: E068) === NAME: Tale of a Tramp: see The Tramp's Story (File: R844) === NAME: Tale of Jests, A: see Little Brown Dog (File: VWL101) === NAME: Tale of the Trail, A DESCRIPTION: "It ain't so far from right to wrong, The trail ain't hard to lose. There's times I'd almost give my horse To know which one to choose." The poet admits the difficulty of telling which is which, and so promises to help those who have gone astray AUTHOR: James W. Foley EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (Foley, "Tales of the Trail") KEYWORDS: cowboy nonballad recitation FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ohrlin-HBT 41, "A Tale of the Trail" (1 text) File: Ohr041 === NAME: Talk About Jesus DESCRIPTION: "Talk about Jesus -- he has blessed my soul, And he is gone. Must Jesus bear the cross alone? For there's a cross for everyone And... for me." "I heard the voice of Jesus saying, Come unto me and rest." "'Tis Jesus Christ I want to hear...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious Jesus nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 639, "Talk About Jesus" (1 text) Roud #11935 File: Br3639 === NAME: Talking Blues DESCRIPTION: "If you want to get to Heaven let me tell you what to do, Gotta grease your feet in mutton stew...." The singer boasts of the ways he avoids work and easily acquires food, sex, etc. Many of the verses float AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: work nonsense animal bird nonballad courting humorous floatingverses FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (7 citations) BrownIII 444, "If You Want to Go to Heaven" (1 fragment, apparently this piece) Lomax-FSNA 224, "Talking Blues" (1 text with metrical markings) Spaeth-WeepMore, pp. 116-117, "Jest Talkin'" (1 text) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 254-258, "When de Good Lord Sets You Free" (1 text, 1 tune -- an immense composite containing elements of "Moanish Lady," "Talking Blues," and probably other materials, to the tune of "Mourner, You Shall Be Free") Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 225, (no title) (1 fragment, perhaps one of the items that inspired the Lomax mess) Silber-FSWB, p. 80, "Talking Blues" (1 text) DT, TALKBLUE TALKBLU2 Roud #13912, etc. RECORDINGS: Chris Bouchillon, "Talking Blues" (Columbia 15120-D, 1927; Vocalion 02977, 1935; rec. 1926) Pete Seeger, "Talking Blues" (on PeteSeeger32) Roy Shaffer, "Talking Blues" (Bluebird B-8234, 1939/Montgomery Ward M-8493, c. 1940) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. every other song with the words "talking" and "blues" in the titles cf. "Mourner, You Shall Be Free (Moanish Lady)" (this piece is sometimes sung to a tune similar to that) cf. "Henhouse Door (Who Broke the Lock?)" (floating verses) SAME_TUNE: Talking Dustbowl Blues (File: LoF225) Talking Hard Luck (File: CSW214) Talking Atom (DT, TALKATOM; Sam Hinton, ABC-Eagle ABC-230, 1950; on PeteSeeger19, PeteSeeger48) Chris Bouchillon, "New Talking Blues" (Columbia 15262-D, 1928) Hersal Brown & his Band, "New Talking Blues" (OKeh 45247, 1928) Hersal Brown & his Band, "Talking Nigger Blues" (OKeh 45247, 1928) Hershal Brown, "New Talking Blues No. 2" (OKeh 45337, 1929) Hershel Brown & his Boys, "Nigger Talking Blues No. 2" (OKeh 45337, 1929) Curly Fox, "Curly's New Talking Blues" (Decca 5185, 1936; rec. 1935) Jesse Rodgers, "Jesse's Talking Blues" (Bluebird B-6143, 1935) NOTES: Robert Lunn and Chris Bouchillon both claim to have written and recorded the canonical "Talking Blues," with the above-quoted lyrics; however, it's likely they acquired the form and some of the verses from anonymous African-American musicians. [Given that Scarborough's text precedes them, I'd say it's nearly certain. - RBW] [For the items in the "same tune" list, the] discographical information lists Mr. Brown's name as "Hersal" for one record and "Hershel" for another. I don't know which is right. And I've since found one spelled "Hershal." Are we confused yet? - PJS File: LoF224 === NAME: Talking Columbia DESCRIPTION: "I was down along the river, just sittin' on a rock, Lookin' at the boats in the Bonneville lock." The singer describes what he sees along the river -- and how it inspired this song. He concludes that the world should be run by electricity, not dictators AUTHOR: Woody Guthrie EARLIEST_DATE: 1941-2 (recording by author) KEYWORDS: political river technology FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lomax-FSNA 232, "Talking Columbia" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Talking Blues" (and its assorted relatives) File: LoF232 === NAME: Talking Dustbowl Blues DESCRIPTION: Talking Blues about the dustbowl: The farmer sees his farm turn to dust, trades it for a Ford, heads out to California, has engine trouble, and winds up in California starving and having to beg. The song ends with sarcastic remarks about politicians AUTHOR: Woody Guthrie EARLIEST_DATE: April 26, 1940 (recording by author) KEYWORDS: poverty hardtimes travel technology work political derivative dustbowl FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (3 citations) Lomax-FSNA 225, "Talking Dustbowl Blues" (1 text) Woody Guthrie, "Talkin' Dust Bowl Blues" (Victor 26619, 1940) DT, DUSTBOWL RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "Talking Dust Bowl" (on PeteSeeger41) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Talking Blues" (and its assorted relatives) NOTES: Should we change "Dustbowl" in the title to "Dust Bowl"? That was Guthrie's title, and he wrote it. - PJS Ordinarily, I'd agree. But people may well search for "dustbowl." Urk. - RBW File: LoF225 === NAME: Talking Hard Luck DESCRIPTION: Talking blues, describing the singer's hard times in surrealistic terms: "I've been bawled out and balled up, held down and held up... lost all I had and part of my furniture...and if that ain't hard luck, folks, then you tell me what is." AUTHOR: Chris Bouchillon & Lonnie Glosson (each supplying part) EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recording, Chris Bouchillon)+1936 (recording, Lonnie Glosson) KEYWORDS: hardtimes nonsense recitation talltale FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 214-215, "Talking Hard Luck" (1 text with musical accompaniment) DT, ARKLUCK RECORDINGS: Clarence Ashley & Tex Isley, "Tom's Talking Blues (Hard Luck Blues)" (Ashley01) Chris Bouchillon, "Born in Hard Luck" (Columbia 15151-D, 1927) Clay Chapman, "Born in Hard Luck" (Velvet Tone 2498-V, 1932) Lonnie Glosson, "Talking Hard Luck" (Conqueror 8732, 1936) New Lost City Ramblers, "Talking Hard Luck" (on NLCR03, NLCR12, NLCREP1, NLCRCD1) Buddy Starcher, "After I Lost That Job" (Starday SEP 158, c. 1960) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Born In Hard Luck Good Place to Be From, Anyway NOTES: This is a group of recitations on similar themes, basically grouped around the Bouchillon, Glosson, and Starcher pieces, all part of minstrel, circus and medicine-show traditions. The Ashley piece combines Bouchillon's and Starcher's with a couple of verses from "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down," while the New Lost City Ramblers stitch together Bouchillon's and Glosson's. Much of the material also shows up in the work of medicine-show artist Harmonica Frank Floyd. - PJS File: CSW214 === NAME: Talking with the Social Union: see Tobacco Union (Talking with the Social Union) (File: R508) === NAME: Tall Pine Tree, The (The Samsonville Song) DESCRIPTION: At the foot of the tall pine tree is a brook which runs through Samsonville. The brook powers the mill that feeds Samsonville. The singer(s) love the pine tree, where they "get a chance for to take a glance at the girls in Samsonville" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1982 KEYWORDS: nonballad FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (1 citation) FSCatskills 177, "The Tall Pine Tree, or, The Samsonville Song" (1 text, 1 tune) ST FSC177 (Partial) NOTES: A parody of "The Old Pine Tree," written in 1849 by Charles White. - RBW File: FSC177 === NAME: Tallyho! Hark! Away!: see Bold Reynard the Fox (Tallyho! Hark! Away!) (File: DTReynrd) === NAME: Talt Hall DESCRIPTION: "Come all you fathers and mothers And brothers and sisters all, I'll relate to you the history Concerning old Talt Hall." "He shot and killed Frank Salyers." Hall is taken and condemned to die. He writes to bid his brother farewell. He regrets his acts AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1908 KEYWORDS: homicide punishment execution crime FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Combs/Wilgus 62, pp. 157-158, "Talt Hall" (1 text) Roud #4102 NOTES: Combs/Wilgus reports that "Talt Hall, [a] native of Kentucky... was hanged in Virginia toward the end of the nineteenth century" and that "he had on his conscience more than twenty assassinations." This song is item dE42 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW File: CW157 === NAME: Tam Barrow DESCRIPTION: Widower Tam goes out courting a second wife. He finds that "a' the lasses blinkit blythe, but few o' them had tocher," so at last he settles on a rich widow. He soon grows tired of her and casts her out. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1827 (Kinloch) KEYWORDS: wife dowry money courting abandonment FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Kinloch-BBook XXIV, pp. 77-78, "Tam Barrow" (1 text) ST KinBB24 (Full) Roud #6217 File: KinBB24 === NAME: Tam Bo: see Tam Buie (Tam Bo, Magherafelt Hiring Fair) (File: HHH748) === NAME: Tam Broon: see The King Takes the Queen (File: FSWB232) === NAME: Tam Brown: see The King Takes the Queen (File: FSWB232) === NAME: Tam Buie (Tam Bo, Magherafelt Hiring Fair) DESCRIPTION: The (widow) attempts to hire Tam. He asks about his wages. He talks her into an increase, then asks about his diet. Satisfied, he asks where he will sleep. After turning down several offers, he agrees to sleep with, and marry, her AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: worker courting marriage home bargaining FOUND_IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) SHenry H748, p. 263, "Magherafelt Hiring Fair" (1 text, 1 tune) Kennedy 194 (notes), (no title) (1 text, probably incomplete, but recognizably this, treated as a version of "Bargain With Me"; Kennedy also includes a portion of the Sam Henry text) Roud #366 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Bargain With Me" (plot) cf. "My Good Old Man" (format) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Tam Bowie NOTES: In plot, this is identical with "Bargain With Me," but the form resembles nothing so much as "My Good Old Man." It seems to me best to keep "Tom Buie" and "Bargain With Me" separate, while noting their extreme similarity. Roud of course lumps them. - RBW File: HHH748 === NAME: Tam Frew's Hat DESCRIPTION: "You've a' heard tell o' auld Tam Frew... Whase only way o' livin noo Is gaun aboot and cleanin' clocks... But the oddest o' his queerest ways -- He keeps his smiddy in his hat." Tam's hat, his behaviors, and his old age are humorously described AUTHOR: John McLay? EARLIEST_DATE: 1899 (Ford) KEYWORDS: clothes humorous technology FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 65-68, "Tam Frew's Hat" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #13113 File: FVS065 === NAME: Tam Gibb and His Sow: see Matty Broon's Soo (Tam Gibb and the Soo) (File: HHH671) === NAME: Tam Gibb and the Soo: see Matty Broon's Soo (Tam Gibb and the Soo) (File: HHH671) === NAME: Tam Lane: see Tam Lin [Child 39] (File: C039) === NAME: Tam Lin [Child 39] DESCRIPTION: Janet goes to Carterhaugh to pull flowers. She meets Tam Lin, who makes her sleep with him. She finds herself pregnant, and demands Tam Lin marry her. But to do so, she must rescue him from thralldom to the Elven queen. With difficulty, she does so. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1769; perhaps cited in 1549 (see notes) KEYWORDS: magic pregnancy marriage rescue shape-changing FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland,England) Ireland US(NE) REFERENCES: (15 citations) Child 39, "Tam Lin" (15 texts) Bronson 39, "Tam Lin" (4 versions plus 1 in addenda) Dixon II, pp. 11-20, "Tam-a-Line, the Elfin Knicht" (1 text) Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 250-254, "Tam Lane" (1 text; tune on p. 422) {Bronson's #4} Leach, pp. 136-141, "Tam Lin" (1 text) OBB 2, "Tam Lin" (1 text) Friedman, p. 41, "Tam Lin" (1 text) PBB 23, "Tam Lin" (1 text) Gummere, pp. 283-289+360, "Tam Lin" (1 text) Hodgart, p. 129, "Tam Lin" (1 text) DBuchan 27, "Tam Lin" (1 text) Tunney-SongsThunder, pp. 163-169, "Tamlin" (1 text) Darling-NAS, pp. 28-31, "Tam Lin" (1 text) DT 39, TAMLIN1* TAMLIN2* TAMLIN3 ADDITIONAL: Iona & Peter Opie, The Oxford Book of Narrative Verse, pp. 32-37, "Tam Lin" (1 text) Roud #35 RECORDINGS: Anne Briggs, "Young Tambling" (Briggs2, Briggs3) A. L. Lloyd, "Tamlyn (Young Tambling)" (on Lloyd3) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Seven Virgins (The Leaves of Life)" (tune) NOTES: Carterhaugh, also mentioned as the site of magic in "The Wee Wee Man," "is a plain at the confluence of the Ettrick and Yarrow in Selkirkshire" (Scott). The idea of gaining a lover who is changing shape has ancient roots. We find it in Ovid's "Metamorphoses," where Peleus (the father of Achilles) has the problem of coupling with his wife Thetis. The problem was, Thetis was very attractive, and a lot of the Gods (including Zeus and Poseidon) wanted her for themselves. But there was that prophecy that her son would be greater than his father. (This is the prophecy that finally got Prometheus free of his torture, because he knew who was involved and Zeus didn't). Once the gods knew that Thetis was the dangerous party, they decided to wed her off to a mortal so she could have a son and they could get back to the serious business of hitting on her. They chose Peleus, and held a great marriage feast (it was at that feast that Eris threw out the Apple of Discord, causing the fight between Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera which led to the Judgment of Paris, and hence to the abduction of Helen and the Trojan War). The gods could marry Thetis off; they couldn't make her like it. Peleus found himself in the interesting position of having to locate and, in effect, capture his wife. Given help from the gods, he found Thetis in a cave and attempted to couple with her. To defeat him, she turned into a bird, a tree, and a tigress. The latter scared him off, but eventually he caught her while asleep (Metamorphoses XI.225ff.). Dixon quotes a possible mention of this song from Wedderburn's _Complaynt of Scotland_: He refers once to a dance of "thom of lyn," and elsewhere to the "tayl of yong tamlane." But we cannot prove that either of these is this piece, even if it's the same story. Indeed, Dixon hints that the references might be to "Tom o' the Linn," which appears to be the song we index as "Brian O'Lynn (Tom Boleyn)." - RBW File: C039 === NAME: Tam Pierce: see Tom Pearce (Widdicombe Fair I) (File: K308) === NAME: Tam-a-Line, the Elfin Knicht: see Tam Lin [Child 39] (File: C039) === NAME: Tambaroora Gold DESCRIPTION: The singer, down on his luck, redeems himself by moving to Tambaroora and finding gold. Now he has respect, but it is only for the money. When his money is gone, his girl abandons him for someone else with Tambaroora gold. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1968 KEYWORDS: gold elopement abandonment work hardtimes FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (2 citations) Manifold-PASB, pp. 40-41, "Tambaroora Gold" (1 text, edited; 2 tunes collated into one) Meredith/Anderson, p. 206, "Tambaroora Gold" (1 text, fragmentary; 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Wild Rover No More" (theme) File: MA206 === NAME: Tambaroora Ted: see Tomahawking Fred (Tambaroora Ted) (File: FaE138) === NAME: Tamping Ties DESCRIPTION: Call and response for tie-laying. "Tamp 'em up solid...Then they'll hold that midnight mail....Well, work don't hurt me...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1940 KEYWORDS: worksong railroading FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Botkin-RailFolklr, p. 445, "Tamping Ties" (1 text, 1 tune) File: BRaF445 === NAME: Tan-Yard Side, The [Laws M28] DESCRIPTION: The singer loves a girl who lives by the tan-yard side. After a year of courtship, they prepare to be wed, but her father has him sent to sea. He vows to marry her if he ever returns AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1884 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(3956)) KEYWORDS: courting exile sea return FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond)) US(MA) Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland REFERENCES: (8 citations) Laws M28, "The Tan-Yard Side" Peacock, pp. 592-593, "The Slaney Side" (1 text, 2 tunes) Creighton-NovaScotia 76, "Down By the Tan-Yard Side" (1 text, 1 tune) O'Conor, p. 25, "The Tan Yard Side" (1 text) OLochlainn 41, "Down by the Tanyard Side" (1 text, 1 tune) SHenry H52b pp. 429-430, "The Slaney Side" (1 text, 1 tune) DT 585, TANYARD ADDITIONAL: Maud Karpeles, _Folk Songs of Europe_, Oak, 1956, 1964, p. 69, "Down by the Tanyard Side" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #1021 RECORDINGS: Frank Quinn, "The Tan Yard Side" (on Voice10) Phoebe Smith, "The Tan Yard Side" (on Voice11) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(3956), "The Tan-Yard Side," H. Disley (London), 1860-1883; also Firth b.26(335), 2806 b.11(19), "The Tan-Yard Side"; Firth c.16(467), "The Tanyard Side"; 2806 c.15(330)[some lines illegible], "The Slaney Side" NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(96b), "The Slaney Side," James Lindsay (Glasgow), c.1855 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Fish and Chips" (tune) SAME_TUNE: Fish and Chips (File: OLcM250) File: LM28 === NAME: Taney County: see Young Companions [Laws E15] (File: LE15) === NAME: Tapscott: see Yellow Meal (Heave Away; Yellow Gals; Tapscott; Bound to Go) (File: Doe062) === NAME: Tar-ry Sailor, The: see The Saucy Sailor (Jack and Jolly Tar II) [Laws K38] (File: LK38) === NAME: Tardy Wooer, The: see No Sign of a Marriage [Laws P3] (File: LP03) === NAME: Tarpaulin Jacket: see Wrap Me Up in my Tarpaulin Jacket (File: FR439) === NAME: Tarriers' Song, The: see Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill (File: LoF217) === NAME: Tarry Sailor: see Jack the Jolly Tar (I) (Tarry Sailor) [Laws K40] (File: LK40) === NAME: Tarry Trousers (I): see Wheel of Fortune (Dublin City, Spanish Lady) (File: E098) === NAME: Tarry Trousers (II): see As I Roved Out (I) (Tarry Trousers II) (File: LoF014) === NAME: Tartan Plaidy, The (O My Bonnie Highland Laddie) DESCRIPTION: "When first he landed on our strand," Prince Charlie charms all who meet him. "When Geordie heard the news belyve, That he had come before his daddy," the king sends John Cope north. Cope and Charlie play cat and mouse. Stories of the '45 AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1821 (Hogg) KEYWORDS: Jacobites rebellion battle HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1720-1788 - Life of Charles Edward Stuart, "Bonnie Prince Charlie," the Young Pretender, eldest son of James Stuart the "Old Pretender" Jul 23, 1745 - Bonnie Prince Charlie lands on Eriskay Jul 25, 1745 - Charlie transfers to Moidart Aug 8, 1745 - Approximate date that firm word reaches George II's court of Charles's landing Aug 19, 1745 - "Gathering of the Clans." Official raising of the standard at Glenfinnan Aug 27, 1745 - Charlie expects to catch the army of General John Cope at Corriearrack, but Cope evades him and heads for Inverness. Cope from there heads to Aberdeen, to take ship south to Dunbar, moving from there to Prestonpans on Sep 20 Sep 4, 1745 - Charles enters Perth and proclaims his father King Sep 17, 1745 - Jacobite army enters Edinborough Sep 21, 1745 - Battle of Prestonpans. Bonnie Prince Charlie's Highland army routs the first real Hannoverian force it encounters Apr 16, 1746 - Battle of Culloden Muir ends the 1745 Jacobite rebellion FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #5778 BROADSIDES: NLScotland, APS.4.95.15(2), "The Tartan Plaidie," unknown, c. 1830; also L.C.Fol.70(141), "Prince Charlie and his Tartan Plaidie," L.C.Fol.70(141a) [a trimmed version of the preceding], L.C.1270(005), "Charlie Stuart and his Tartan Plaidy," James Kay (Glasgow), c. 1845 NOTES: Looking at the texts available to me, this seems to be rather a catchall piece, describing the 1745 rebellion in as much detail as the singer wants to tell. On the whole, the versions seem fairly accurate, implying literary composition somewhere along the line. This fits with the anonymity of many of the prints. The statement that "The graceful/manly looks o' that brave laddie Made every Hieland heartie warm" is, incidentally, true -- when Charlie landed, Lochiel of Cameron (the single most important chief to support him) sent messengers to urge him to go home. But Charlie arranged a meeting, and Lochiel was swept away. So were other chiefs. The song describes a speech Charlie made to his troops before Prestonpans. This is real, though the details are doubtless unreliable; Charlie did give a speech which inspired his forces. If Cope did the same, obviously, it didn't work. The comment that George II "thirty thousand pounds would give To catch him in his Hieland plaidie" is correct; within days of Charlie's landing, the government offered 30,000 pounds for his capture. Charlie initially made a contemptuous offer of thirty pounds for the head of George II, though political considerations later forced him to match the Hannoverian sum (obviously no one ever collected either reward). In using the above dates, incidentally, it should be recalled that the Catholic continent was on the Gregorian calendar, but Protestant England still on the Julian (until 1752), making English dates 11 days behind continental dates. It is sometimes very hard to know which system a particular source is using; some, indeed, switch back and forth. The dates given here and in most places in the Ballad Index are based on British Julian dates, since this is what seems to be most common -- e.g. Culloden, by modern standards, took place on April 27, 1746, but the references above list it as April 16, because that was the day marked on Cumberland's calendar (assuming he had enough brains to know what a calendar was, which is somewhat dubious). - RBW File: BrAPS495 === NAME: Tarves Rant, The DESCRIPTION: A group of bothies go on a Sunday tear. After leaving the tavern, the singer is separated from his companions, and gets in a fight with a policeman. He's thrown in jail, escapes, is caught again, and has to pay for the policeman's torn coat, plus a fine. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1909 KEYWORDS: drink police punishment FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) DBuchan 71, "The Tarves Rant" (1 text, 1 tune in appendix) Roud #4847 RECORDINGS: Davie Stewart, "The Tarves Rant" (on Voice05) NOTES: Hall, notes to Voice05: "Tarves lies to the north-west of Aberdeen, between Old Meldrum and Nethermill." - BS File: DBuch71 === NAME: Tassels on Her Boots DESCRIPTION: The singer is intrigued by the tassels on a girl's boots. He courts her; she speculates that he is sad because he always stares at the ground. He explains that he is looking at the tassels. Now they are married; he intends to tassel the childrens' boots AUTHOR: Robert Combs EARLIEST_DATE: 1869 (publication) KEYWORDS: clothes courting FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Randolph 491, "Tassels on Her Boots" (1 text) Spaeth-WeepMore, pp. 93-94, "Tassels on the Boots" (1 text, 1 tune) Gilbert, p. 60, "Tassels on Her Boots" (1 partial text) Roud #3275 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 "Jockey Hat and Feather." - RBW File: R491 === NAME: Tassels on the Boots: see Tassels on Her Boots (File: R491) === NAME: Tattie Time, The DESCRIPTION: Bothy ballad. Singer describes members of the crew harvesting potatoes, people to avoid, and humorous incidents during the harvest. He warns againt drink. When the harvest is over they scatter to their other trades such as scrap and rags AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (recorded from Ronnie White) KEYWORDS: farming harvest work humorous moniker boss worker FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) MacSeegTrav 105, "The Tattie-Liftin'" (1 text, 1 tune) Kennedy 357, "The Tattie Time" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2162 NOTES: Almost a nonballad, but there are enough bits of narrative for it to squeak through. - PJS File: McCST105 === NAME: Tattie-Liftin', The: see The Tattie Time (File: McCST105) === NAME: Tattletale Birdy, The: see The Bonny Birdy [Child 82] (File: C082) === NAME: Tattooed Lady, The DESCRIPTION: "I paid a (franc/bob) to see a fair tattooed lady...." The rest of the song describes the various sights to be seen on the lady's skin. These are generally localized (e.g. in Australia they see the ANZAC logo), ending with "my home in (wherever)" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1975 KEYWORDS: nonballad parody humorous FOUND_IN: Australia US REFERENCES: (2 citations) Fahey-Eureka, pp. 230-231, "The Tattooed Lady" (1 text, 1 tune) Spaeth-ReadWeep, p. 221, "The Tattooed Lady" (1 text) Roud #9622 NOTES: Listed as a parody on "My Home in Tennessee," and the American versions seem to support that claim. The Australian version, however, could have picked up its tune from "Les Darcy." - RBW File: FaE230 === NAME: Tavern in the Town DESCRIPTION: Singer laments her lover, who courted her ardently but now goes to a tavern and courts others while leaving her pining. She hopefully anticipates dying and being buried. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1883 KEYWORDS: loneliness courting infidelity rejection abandonment FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond,South,West)) US Canada(Newf) Ireland REFERENCES: (17 citations) Sharp-100E 94, "A Brisk Young Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune) Leather, pp. 205-206, "A Brisk Young Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune) Belden, pp. 478-480, "The Blue-Eyed Boy" (4 texts, though "D" is a fragment, probably of "Tavern in the Town" or "The Butcher Boy" or some such) BrownIII 259, "I'll Hang My Harp on a Willow Tree" (2 fragments, named for that key line from "Tavern in the Town" which occurs in both fragments, but the "A" text is mostly "Pretty Little Foot") SHenry H683, p. 393, "The Apron of Flowers" (1 text, 1 tune -- apparently a collection of floating verses including one that goes here) RJackson-19CPop, pp. 210-213, "There Is a Tavern in the Town" (1 text, 1 tune) Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 84-85, "There Is a Tavern in the Town" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 180, "There Is A Tavern In The Town" (1 text) Fuld-WFM, pp. 572-573, "There Is a Tavern in the Town" LPound-ABS, 23, p. 62, "There Is a Tavern in the Town" (1 text; the "A" text is "The Butcher Boy") Peacock, pp. 705-706, "She Died in Love" (1 text, 1 tune) Darling-NAS, pp. 140-141, "The Tavern in the Town" (1 text, filed under "The Butcher Boy") DT, TAVTOWN* SEE ALSO: Lomax-FSNA 229, "Hard, Ain't It Hard" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 185, "Hard, Ain't It Hard" (1 text) DT, TAVTOWN AINTHARD* ST ShH94 (Full) Roud #60 RECORDINGS: Amy Birch, "Over Yonder's Hill" (on Voice11) "Pops" Johnny Connors, "There is an Alehouse" (on IRTravellers01) Geoff Ling, "Died for Love" (on Voice10) Rudy Vallee, "Tavern in the Town" (Victor 24739, 1934) SEE ALSO: Almanac Singers, "Hard, Ain't It Hard" (General 5019A, 1941; on Almanac01, Almanac03, AlmanacCD1) Woody Guthrie, "Hard Ain't It Hard" (Folk Tunes 150, n.d., probably mid-1940s) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Firth b.28(6a/b) View 7 of 8, "There Is A Tavern In The Town," R. March and Co. (London), 1877-1884 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Butcher Boy" [Laws P24] (plot) cf. "The Sailor Boy (I)" [Laws K12] (lyrics) cf. "Love Has Brought Me to Despair" [Laws P25] cf. "I Know My Love" (floating lyrics) cf. "Oh, Johnny, Johnny" (floating lyrics) ALTERNATE_TITLES: There Is an Alehouse in Yonder Town There's a Tavern in the Town Up The Green Meadow NOTES: The overlap between this song and the "Butcher Boy" cluster is obvious; whether they're the same song is a Talmudic question. -PJS The 1891 sheet music credits this piece to F. J. Adams. The earliest known printing of "Tavern" (as opposed to the presumably related Cornish miners' song "There is an Alehouse in Yonder Town"), however, does not give the author's name. Alan Lomax calls "Hard Ain't It Hard" a reworking of this piece, and I'm going along on the principle that it certainly isn't a traditional song (given that it's by Woody Guthrie). I don't think it's that simple, though; the "Hard ain't it hard" chorus clearly derives from "Ever After On." - RBW Yes, Rudy Vallee recorded it too. And blew the lyrics, I might add [My understanding is that the people around him were trying, with great success, to crack him up - RBW]. But clearly the song remained current in pop culture as well as folk culture. It was also reputed to have been popular among collegiates. - PJS "Hang my harp on a willow tree" may be taken from Psalms 137.2 [King James] via Thomas Haynes Bayly. Cf. "I'll Hang My Harp on a Willow Tree." Broadside Bodleian Firth b.28(6a/b) View 7 of 8 ascribes "There Is A Tavern In The Town" to W.H. Hills. - BS Somewhere in my youth, someone (probably school authorities) forced upon us a game, "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." Thirty-odd years later, I recalled it for some reason, and realize that the tune is an up-tempo version of this. If the song was inflicted upon other classes than mine, it may be that the song has had some sort of horrid second life. - RBW Amy Birch's version on Voice11 has a first line "Over yonder's hill there is an old house" but continues to be enough like "Tavern in the Town" that I put it here rather than Laws P25 or any of the other songs in this cluster. - BS File: ShH94 === NAME: Taxation of America DESCRIPTION: "While I relate my story, Americans give ear, Of Britain's fading glory You presently shall hear." The singer tells the "true relation" or "the taxation of North America." "North, and Bute his father" propose to tax the Americas, but the Americans rebel AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Spaeth) KEYWORDS: money patriotic HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1760-1820 - Reign of George III FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (2 citations) Spaeth-WeepMore, pp. 3-5, "Taxation of America" (1 text) cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 477, "American Taxation" (source notes only) Roud #3687 NOTES: After the French and Indian War (Seven Year's War, for which see "Brave Wolfe"), Britain faced both a new obligation (the need to administer Quebec) and a huge financial burden (a national debt of 122,603,336 pounds, according to Robert Middlekauff, _The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution 1763-1789_ (Oxford, 1982), p. 57. And Britain had been taxed to the hilt. So attempts were made to gain additional money from the American colonies. It's interesting to note that the Spaeth text never says *what* tax North and Bute wished to gather. As a matter of fact, the taxes on the Americans were quite mild compared to what the British suffered, and in many cases the British actually lowered the duties (e.g. the tariff on imported molasses was cut in half) -- it's just that the administration would actually attempt to *collect* the taxes, which had been widely evaded (Middlekauff, p. 61). The amounts were trivial (the most optimistic projection was 200,000 pounds per year, according to Middlekauff, p. 62, which wouldn't even cover the interest on the British debt, and most estimates were in the 75,000 pound range). Given the overall incompetence of this song (which seems to have been known only from broadside and perhaps the Guernsey manuscript), it strikes me as quite possible that the author didn't *know* what taxes caused the colonists to revolt. For a song on the subject that's a little closer to actual reality, see "Old Granny Wales (Granny O'Whale, Granua Weal)." Among those mentioned in Spaeth's text of this piece: "North": Lord Frederick North, second Earl of Guilford (1732-1792). A political success from an early age, he became First Lord of the Treasury (in effect, prime minister) in 1770; he was the leader most responsible for the increased friction between the government and the colonies, though he was perhaps more willing to compromise than the ministers under him -- certainly more so than the King he served. North repeatedly tried to find solutions for the American problems, or failing that to resign (see, e.g., Don Cook, _The Long Fuse: How England Lost the American Colonies, 1760-1785_, pp. 294-295), but George III would not release him because North was the only man with enough clout to form a government who also would go along with George's wishes. He finally was allowed to leave office after Yorktown, when the opposition in parliament became so strong that North simply could not maintain a government. (Cook, pp. 357-358, tried to keep him on even then, but North knew the confidence motion was coming, and quit.) The American mess really wasn't his fault; it was George III's. But it was easy to blame things on North. Ironically, North would briefly return to the government, working with Charles James Fox, in effect in opposition to George III (February 1783; Cook, p. 375); this was the government that in September finally ratified the peace with the U. S. -- though it might have come some months earlier had not the Fox/North coalition interfered with the work of the previous Shelburne government. The King hated the Fox/North team so much that he called upon 24-year-old William Pitt the Younger to form a government in December (Cook, p. 377) "Bute his father": Presumably John Stuart, Third Earl of Bute (1713-1792). He wasn't North's father, but he was Prime Minister 1762-1763. His brief period of power, however, had little effect on colonial relations that I can see, though he was personally close to George III, to whom he had once been tutor. (Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson, _Blood Royal: The Illustrious House of Hannover_, Doubleday, 1980, p. 115, even speculates that "perhaps [George III's] deep devotion for the handsome and elegant Lord Bute was not entirely platonic,Ó though he offers no evidence for this. Given how straitlaced George III was, I rather doubt that particular implication -- especially given his myriad children.) ItÕs just possible that we should re-reference the pronoun and treat "his father" not as North's father but as George III's. Walter R. Borneman, _The French & Indian War_, Harper-Collins, 2006, p. 264, does say that George "idealized" Bute and implies that George may have treated him as a father-figure (George's father Frederick had died when George was 13, and in any case there was an unwritten law in the Hannoverian dynasty that fathers and their heirs always despised each other). A third possibility is that the remark "Bute, his father" is a slam at George III's legitimacy. Middlekauff, p. 20, has much to say of Bute, "a Scot, the advisor -- not, as some whispered, the love -- of George's mother." Obviously the song might have been making the whispers explicit. However, there is no evidence of a relationship between the two -- and George III had clear resemblances to his Hannoverian ancestors. Middlekauff adds, "For the next five years [Bute] served as the prince's tutor and friend. The friendship seems to have developed easily -- in part, we may suppose, because George craved affection and kindness and Bute responded with both. Yet... Bute held the upper hand: he was twenty-five years older, strongly opinionated, obviously intelligent, and he was in charge of the prince's education. Although Bute possessed the learning required, he was not a good teacher.... Bute himself knew much but did not understand men or human conduct.... Master and pupil then and later commonly mistook inflexibility for personal strength and character" (p. 20). The colonies blamed Bute for the much-hated Stamp Act, but in fact it was proposed by Grenville after Bute had ceased to be Prime Minister. At worst, Bute's responsibility was indirect: As Prime Minister, he had created a plan to have the colonies pay for the troops based there (Middlekauff, p. 51). This is obviously reasonable, if you assume a standing army was needed there (and it probably was, with rebellious Canada to the north, Spanish Florida to the south, and constant conflicts with the Indians to the west as colonists kept trying to grab Indian land; Middlekauff, p. 54) -- but George III and Bute's successors refused to consult with the colonies about how to raise this money. By contrast with his predecessor William Pitt, who had been largely responsible for beating the French in Canada, Bute must have seemed a great disappointment. "Green" (sic.): Presumably Nathaniel Greene (1742-1786), largely responsible for the success of the Colonial campaigns in the south after he succeeded Gates in 1780 Gates: Horatio Gates (c. 1728-1806), the theoretical victor at the key battle of Saratoga, though hindsight shows that he really had little to do with it; he was later appointed to command in the south, but botched matters and had to be relieved by Greene. Putnam: Probably Israel Putnam (1718-1790), though it might be his cousin Rufus (1738-1824). Neither was a great success (in fact, both were rather disastrously bad officers), but Israel Putnam was still popular in 1779 when he was paralyzed and had to retire from the military. Conquering Washington: Presumably you know who he is. - RBW File: CG477a === NAME: Taxes, The DESCRIPTION: "There never was such taxes in Ireland before." There are seven verses of things to be taxed. "They'll double tax the hobble skirts and table up some laws, But the devil says he'll tax them if he gets them in his claws" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (OLochlainn) KEYWORDS: humorous political FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OLochlainn 4, "The Taxes" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #3033 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Sales Tax On the Women" (theme) NOTES: The British government was notorious for the number of fees it charged (recall that this was the cause of the American revolution). My guess, though, is that this comes from the period of the Napoleonic Wars. For one thing, Ireland lost its independent parliament after the 1798 rising. For another, the British government, which hated deficits, had to raise revenue dramatically to keep up its war spending. The result was a long list of new taxes. - RBW File: OLoc004 === NAME: Tay, The DESCRIPTION: The singer warns young men against women overly dependent upon tay (tea). He works and earns a good living, but his wife wastes the money on tay. At last he breaks kettle and pot. She attacks him; he gives in and lets her have her tay AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: drink humorous husband wife fight warning FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H25a, pp. 502-503, "The Tay" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #1310 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Wee Cup of Tay" (theme) File: HHH25a === NAME: Teach the Rover DESCRIPTION: Teach, an outlaw captain, goes to Carolina after the Act of Grace, but soon turns pirate. Finally he is overtaken by Maynard's crew. In the desperate battle that follows, Maynard boards the pirate ship and himself kills Teach AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1906 KEYWORDS: pirate battle HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1717 - Act of Grace pardons most of the Jacobite leaders of the 1715 rebellion. 1718 - Lieutenant Robert Maynard's frigate captures the pirate ship of Edward Teach. Teach is shot in the fighting FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) PBB 78, "Teach the Rover" (1 text) ADDITIONAL: C. H. Firth, _Publications of the Navy Records Society_ , 1907 (available on Google Books), p. 166, "The Downfall of Piracy" (1 text) ST PBB078 (Partial) Roud #8115 NOTES: Edward Teach is the actual name of the pirate usually known as "Blackbeard." This song agrees with _The General History of Pirates_ (usually attributed to Daniel Defoe, but this is now much doubted) in describing him as quite successful and bloody, but available records (such as the log of a ship the _History_ asserts fought against Teach) seem to indicate that much of the _History's_ account is fiction. It is also true that Teach's short career did not yield many rich prizes, and the records do not indicate that he harmed his victims. According to Arthur Herman, _To Rule the Waves_, pp. 248-249, Teach was a Bristolman who had fought in the War of the Spanish Succession. He made his base in the maze that was North Carolina's Outer Banks, making it hard for large ships to pursue him. This kept him safe from the two Royal Navy sloops of war sent to hunt him down, but the captain of the _Pearle_ sent Lt. Maynard aboard a small boat to catch Teach. Their battle, on November 21, was fought in conditions of no wind, so apart from one broadside Teach managed to fire at the navy force, it was all hand-to-hand combat. Reportedly Teach's body had been pierced by five pistol shots and 25 sword wounds. But the corpse was beheaded and the body thrown overboard, so this cannot be proved. But, of course, what counts is not what actually happened but what people thought happened. David Cordingly, _Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates_, 1995 (I use the 1997 Harcourt Brace edition), p. 13, quotes the _History_ as follows: "Captain Teach assumed the cognomen of Black-beard, from that large quantity of hair, which, like a frightful meteor, covered his face, and frightened America more than any other comet that has appeared for a long time. "This beard was black, which he suffered to grow of an extravagant length; as to breadth, it came up to his eyes; he was accustomed to twist it with ribbons... and turn them about his ears; in time of action, he wore a sling over his shoulders, with three brace of pistols, hanging in holsters like bandoliers, and stuck lighted matches under his hat, which appearing on both sides of his face, his eyes naturally looking fierce and wild, made him altogether such a figure, that imagination cannot form an idea of a fury, from Hell, to look more frightful." Some of this, like the part about the matches, is probably exaggerated, but Cordingly, pp. 13-14, quotes several sources supporting his long beard tied with ribbons. There was, according to Cordingly, p. 24, a successful (but far from accurate) play from 1798 called "Blackbeard, or The Captive Princess." I don't know if it influenced this song; it doesn't sound like it would have. According to Firth, the earliest version of this is from _The Worcester Garland_, a copy of which is in the British Library (1162.c.4 [89]). But he offers no date. - RBW File: PBB078 === NAME: Teams at Wanapitei, The DESCRIPTION: "In eighteen hundred and ninety-five Away to the woods we thought we'd strike... To go to work at Wanapitei." The song briefly describes the trip to the woods, and the work -- but most of the song is devoted to the horses in the teams AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1964 (Fowke) KEYWORDS: logger work lumbering horse FOUND_IN: Canada(Ont,West) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fowke-Lumbering #21, "The Teams at Wanapitei" (1 text, tune referenced) Roud #4463 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "How We Got to the Woods Last Year" (tune) File: FowL21 === NAME: Teamster in Jack MacDonald's Crew, The DESCRIPTION: Leslie Stubbs was a teamster "who came to the lumberlands his family to maintain," He complains of headache and becomes sick. MacDonald and Tom Proctor take him home to his wife in Sherman Mills. Doctor Harris cannot save him. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (Ives-DullCare) KEYWORDS: death lumbering disease doctor HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Jan 23, 1908 - death of Earl Stubbs FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ives-DullCare, pp. 165-167, 256, "The Teamster in Jack MacDonald's Crew" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #13997 NOTES: Ives-DullCare: "Earl Stubbs, aged 28, having contracted spinal meningitis in a lumbercamp, died at his home in Sherman Mills, Maine, January 23, 1908, and Dr Francis Harris had signed the death certificate" - BS File: IvDC165 === NAME: Teapots at the Fire, The DESCRIPTION: A midnight fire at Labor Union Hall. As the fire burns to the basement the local women, who are named, have their eyes on the teapots. Now, "In every home in St John's town, If you go in today, You'll find a fancy teapot in a cupboard stowed away." AUTHOR: John Burke EARLIEST_DATE: 1964 (Blondahl) KEYWORDS: theft fire humorous moniker FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Blondahl, p. 27, "The Teapots at the Fire" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Kelligrews Soiree" (tune) cf. "Mariposa" (theme) cf. "The Middlesex Flora" (theme) cf. "The Old Mayflower" (theme) cf. "The Irrawaddy" (theme) File: Blon027 === NAME: Tearin' Out-a Wilderness: see The Old Gray Mare (The Old Gray Horse; The Little Black Bull) (File: R271) === NAME: Teasing Songs DESCRIPTION: A teasing song hints of a bawdy or ribald rhyme, but avoids it at the last minute, as in this example: Suzanne was a lady with plenty of class / Who knocked the boys dead when she wiggled her... Eyes at the fellows as girls sometimes do...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1615 (The Percy Folio Manuscript has one such teasing song, "A Friend of Mine.") KEYWORDS: bawdy nonballad FOUND_IN: Australia Britain(England) US(MW,So,SW) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Cray, pp. 256-265, "Suzanne Was a Lady," "The Ship's in the Harbor," "There Once Was a Farmer," "Two Irishmen, Two Irishmen"; "Sweet Violets" (5 texts, 2 tunes) Randolph-Legman II, pp. 649-652, "The Handsome Young Farmer" (7 texts) DT, SWTVILT2 Roud #10404 RECORDINGS: Anonymous singer, "Frankie and Johnny" (Zest record, matrix FJ, n.d.) Ben Light & his Surf Club Boys, "The Girl from Atlantic City" (Hot Shots from Hollywood 0317/Hollywood Hotshots 317/Good Humor 2/Good Humor 10A/Good Humor unnumbered [the Good Humor records are anonymous]/Arrow 311/Kicks 5 /Kicks unnumbered [as "The Gal from Atlantic City"]/blank label, unnumbered [anonymoous; as "Atlantic City"], rec. 1936; on Doity1) Anonymous singers, "Mamie Had A Baby" (on Unexp1) Callahan Brothers, "Sweet Violets" (Perfect 6-07-51/Conqueror 8682, 1936) Bob Dickson, "Sweet Violets" (Victor 23633, 1930) Harry "Haywire Mac" McClintock, "Sweet Violets" (on McClintock02) Norman Phelps & his Virginia Rounders, "Sweet Violets" (Decca 5191, 1936) Joel Shaw, "Sweet Violets" (Crown 3271, 1932) Dinah Shore, "Sweet Violets" (RCA Victor 20-4174, 1951) Sweet Violet Boys [pseud. for Prairie Ramblers], "I Haven't Got a Pot to Cook In" (Vocalion 03402, 1937); "Sweet Violets" (Vocalion 03110, 1935); "Sweet Violets No. 2" (Vocalion 03256, 1936); "Sweet Violets No. 3" (Vocalion 03587, 1937) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Peter Murphy's Little Dog" cf. "Down on the Farm" cf. "At Brighton" cf. "Shine Your Buttons With Brasso" cf. "Butcher Town" cf. "The Girl from Atlantic City" NOTES: Legman lumps all teasing songs together under the generic title of "The Handsome Young Farmer." - EC I do the same thing because I can't tell them apart otherwise. (Hey, I got this job because nobody else would take it, not because I knew what I was doing.) - RBW File: EM256 === NAME: Teddy McGraw: see Mrs. McGrath (File: MA126) === NAME: Teddy O'Neal: see Teddy O'Neill (File: DTtedone) === NAME: Teddy O'Neill DESCRIPTION: The singer has a dreadful dream of Teddy courting another girl. She recalls where they used to meet. They cannot meet now; he has gone across the sea to seek his fortune. She would rather he were still present, even if poor AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1867 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(3747)) KEYWORDS: love courting separation emigration poverty dream FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) O'Conor, p. 14, "Teddy O'Neal" (1 text) DT, TEDONEIL Roud #5207 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(3747), "Teddy O'Neale", J. Harkness (Preston)), 1840-1866; also Firth c.22(91), Harding B 11(3645), "Teddy O'Neale"; Firth b.28(6a/b) View 6 of 8, "Teddy O'Neal"; also 2806 c.15(168), Harding B 19(30), "Teddy O'Neile" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Maggie of Coleraine" (tune) cf. "The Girls of Coleraine" (tune) SAME_TUNE: Maggie of Coleraine (File: HHH657) The Girls of Coleraine (File: HHH064) NOTES: The Bodleian broadsides reverse the first two verses so that the first line is "I went to the cabin ..." and the second verse begins "I dreamt but last night ..." - BS File: DTtedone === NAME: Teem Wa's, The (The Toom House) DESCRIPTION: "Come hark a while, and I will speak Yonder's a house where I never saw reek." The young man who owns it explains that "the lasses they're so very scant." Assured that he can find a woman if he tries, he vows that there will be life in the house soon AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord) KEYWORDS: home rejection FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, pp. 89-91, "The Teem Wa's" (1 text) Roud #3859 File: Ord089B === NAME: Telegraph Wire, The DESCRIPTION: "Oh, dear me, the world's on fire, news sent around on a telegraph wire! Lord have mercy, only think, news sent to Mexico quicker than a wink! Oh dear, what shall I do? Every year brings something new!" A catalog of marvels and changes of the modern age AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1940 (Warner) KEYWORDS: technology HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1752 and following - Franklin's experiments with lightning 1844 - Samuel Morse installs the first electromagnetic telegraph 1857, 1858, 1866 - Cyrus Field attempts to lay a transatlantic cable. (The 1857 attempts failed, the 1858 cable was briefly operational; the 1866 cable was the first true success) FOUND_IN: US(NE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Warner 75, "The Telegraph Wire" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Wa075 (Partial) File: Wa075 === NAME: Tell It to Me: see Take a Whiff on Me (File: RL130) === NAME: Tell Me What Month Was My Jesus Born In?: see What Month Was Jesus Born In? (File: CNFM245) === NAME: Tell Old Bill DESCRIPTION: "Tell old Bill, when he leaves home this morning, Tell old Bill, when he leaves home this evening, Tell old Bill... To let them downtown coons alone...." (An hour after) Bill left he is dead/murdered and being brought home in a "hurry-up wagon" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg) KEYWORDS: death whore homicide FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Sandburg, pp. 18-19, "Dis Mornin', Dis Evenin', So Soon" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 100-102, "Old Bill" (2 texts, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 78, "Tell Old Bill" (1 text) DT, OLDBILL* Roud #7876 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Ain't No Use Workin' So Hard" (structure, refrain) File: San018 === NAME: Tell Your Horse's Age DESCRIPTION: Detailed instructions for determining a horse's age from its teeth, beginning "To tell the age of any horse, Inspect the lower jaw, of course," and ending "They longer get, project before, Till twenty, when we know no more." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1948 ("Bit and Spur") KEYWORDS: horse age nonballad recitation FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ohrlin-HBT 74, "Tell Your Horse's Age" (1 text) File: Ohr074 === NAME: Temperance Song (I): see Drunkard's Doom (I), The (File: R306) === NAME: Temperance Song (II): see Rum By Gum (Temperance Union Song) (File: R317) === NAME: Tempest, The (Cease Rude Boreas) DESCRIPTION: "Cease rude Boreas blustering killer... Messmates hear a brother sailor Sing the dangers of the sea." A storm comes up; the crew struggles mightily to survive. The mast falls, the ship leaks; they make it home and rejoice AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1827 (Journal from the Galaxy) KEYWORDS: storm disaster ship sea FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 70-72, "The Tempest" (1 text) Roud #949 ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Storm Cease Rude Boreas File: SWMS070 === NAME: Tempy: see I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground (File: BAF900) === NAME: Ten Broeck and Mollie: see Molly and Tenbrooks [Laws H27] (File: LH27) === NAME: Ten Commandments, The: see Green Grow the Rushes-O (The Twelve Apostles, Come and I Will Sing You) (File: ShH97) === NAME: Ten Days of Finals, The DESCRIPTION: On successive days of final examinations, the singer's true love gives to him a special gift. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: bawdy parody humorous cumulative derivative FOUND_IN: Canada US(MW,SW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cray, pp. 373-374, "The Ten Days of Finals" (2 texts) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (tune) File: EM373 === NAME: Ten Dollar Bill, The: see The Brisk Young Butcher (File: DTxmasgo) === NAME: Ten Little Indians (John Brown Had a Little Indian) DESCRIPTION: "John Brown he had a little Indian (x3), One little Indian boy." "One little, two little, three little Indians, four little, five little, six little Indians, Seven little, eight little, nine little Indians, Ten little Indian boys" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1940 (Ford) KEYWORDS: nonballad Indians(Am) FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Randolph 594, "John Brown Had a Little Indian" (1 text) BrownIII 136, "John Brown Had a Little Injun" (1 text) MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 241-242, (no title) (1 short text, consisting of this chorus counted forward then backward; John Brown is not mentioned) Fuld-WFM, p. 205, "Drunken Sailor (Monkey's Wedding -- John Brown Had a Little Injun -- Ten Little Injuns)" cf. Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #597, p. 237, "(Tom Brown's)" Roud #4993 RECORDINGS: Doreen Elliott, "Old Joe Badger" (on Elliotts01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Drunken Sailor" (tune, floating lyrics) cf. "Old Brass Wagon" (tune) cf. "Ten Little Injuns" (chorus) NOTES: Of the Mother Goose item "Tom Brown's Two little Indians," the Baring-Goulds write, "Whether or not this rhyme inspires the writing of 'Two Little Injuns...' is an interesting speculation." I must say that they are quite close -- close enough that pure coincidence seems unlikely. - RBW File: R594 === NAME: Ten Little Injuns DESCRIPTION: Ten Indians stand in a line, one goes home and there are nine. Each disappears in a new way until only one is left. The last one lives alone until "he got married and then there were none" AUTHOR: Septimus Winner (1868), with adaptions by Frank Green and others EARLIEST_DATE: 1868 (S Winner, according to Opie-Oxford2) KEYWORDS: humorous Black(s) Indians(Am.) FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Opie-Oxford2 376, "Ten little nigger boys went out to dine" (2 texts); 511, "Tom Brown's two little Indian boys" (1 text) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #818, pp. 304-305, "(Ten little Injuns standin' in a line)" Roud #13512 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(1572), "Ten Little Niggers" ("Ten little niggers going out to dine"), unknown, n.d.; also Firth c.16(335), Firth b.27(94), "Ten Little Niggers"; Firth c.16(334), "Ten Little Ministers" ("Ten little ministers, sitting in a line"), unknown, 1874; also Johnson Ballads fol. 386a, "A new version of a popular song" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer" (counting) cf. "Eight Little Cylinders" (counting) cf. "Ten Little Indians" ("John Brown Had a Little Indian") (chorus) NOTES: Opie-Oxford2 511 is one verse "Tom Brown's two little Indian boys; One ran away, The other wouldn't stay, Tom Brown's two little Indian boys." (Opie-Oxford2 has an early date c.1744 from _Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book_). The Opie-Oxford2 376 texts are "Ten little nigger boys went out to dine" and "Ten little Injuns standin' in a line." Opie-Oxford2 376 lists the following names and publication dates of adaptations: "Ten Little Niggers" Feb. 1869 [According to the Baring-Goulds, this is by Frank Green - RBW] "Ten Little Negroes" Mar. 1869 "Ten Little Darkies" June 1869 "The Ten Youthful Africans" Sep. 1869 "Ten Little Darkies" c.1870 "Ten Little Negro Boys" Dec. 1874 The things that reduce the number vary from text to text. So, for example, for the ministers of broadside Johnson Ballads fol. 386a, the last minister "was so very Low, Everybody told him they thought he'd better go." For broadside Harding B 11(1572) the last one gets married and raises a family of ten more. Some versions, including Winner's original, share the chorus with "Ten Little Indians" ("John Brown Had a Little Indian") - BS File: OO2376 === NAME: Ten Little Nigger Boys Went Out To Dine: see Ten Little Injuns (File: OO2376) === NAME: Ten Stone DESCRIPTION: Windlass shanty. "I nebber seen de like sence I ben born! Way, ay, ay, ay, ay! Nigger on de ice an a hoein' up corn, Way, ay, ay, ay, ay! Ten stone! ten stone! ten stone de win' am ober, Jenny get along, Jenny blow de horn, as we go marchin ober!" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (Bullen & Arnold, _Songs of Sea Labor_) KEYWORDS: shanty worksong sailor FOUND_IN: West Indies REFERENCES: (1 citation) Hugill, p. 268, "Ten Stone" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, p. 198] Roud #9129 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "I Belong to that Band" (lyrics) NOTES: This may well be related to the mess of material filed under "I Belong to that Band"; it has some of the same lines, and is utterly disorganized. But the total material found in each is simply too small to be sure. - RBW File: Hugi268 === NAME: Ten Thousand Cattle DESCRIPTION: Perhaps as a result of a bad winter, "Ten thousand cattle have gone astray, Left my range and traveled away." The singer is left destitute. His girl has also left him (for another). Other verses may complain about the weather, his girl's lover, etc. AUTHOR: Owen Wister (1888?) EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 KEYWORDS: cowboy hardtimes separation disaster FOUND_IN: US(Ro) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Larkin, pp. 151-153, "Then Thousand Cattle" (1 short text, 1 tune) Ohrlin-HBT 6, "Ten Thousand Cattle" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, TENTHOU* TENTHOU2* Roud #5763 NOTES: Reported to have been written by Owen Wister (1860-1938; author of _The Virginian_ plus assorted minor poetry) in 1888 based on the experiences of the dreadful winter of 1886/7 in Wyoming. - RBW File: Ohr006 === NAME: Ten Thousand Miles: 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: Ten Thousand Miles Away DESCRIPTION: "Sing ho! for a brave and a gallant ship, And a fair and fav'ring breeze, With a bully crew and a captain too To carry me over the seas...." The singer wishes for a ship to carry him to his sweetheart, transported to Botany Bay "ten thousand miles away" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1867 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(3763)) KEYWORDS: love separation transportation ship FOUND_IN: Australia US(NE) Britain(England(South)) Ireland REFERENCES: (11 citations) Colcord, pp. 159-161, "Ten Thousand Miles Away" (1 text, 1 tune) Harlow, pp. 116-118, "Ten Thousand Miles Away" (1 text, 1 tune) Hugill, pp. 409-410, "Ten Thousand Miles Away" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, pp. 311-312] Meredith/Anderson, pp. 84-85, 272-273, "Ten Thousand Miles Away" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Flanders/Brown, pp. 148-149, "Ten Thousand Miles Away" (1 text, 1 tune) Fahey-Eureka, pp. 31-32, "Ten Thousand Miles Away" (1 text, 1 tune) Sandburg, pp. 100-101, "Ten Thousand Miles Away" (1 text, 1 tune) Copper-SoBreeze, pp. 232-233, "Blow the Winds I Oh" (1 text, 1 tune) Manifold-PASB, pp. 8-9, "Ten Thousand Miles Away" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 86, "Ten Thousand Miles Away" (1 text) DT, THOUSMIL* Roud #1778 RECORDINGS: Robert Cinnamond, "Ten Thousand Miles Away" (on IRRCinnamond03) Eugene Jemison, "Ten Thousand Miles Away" (on Jem01) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(3763), "Ten Thousand Miles Away" ("Sing oh! for a brave and valiant bark"), J. Harkness (Preston), 1840-1866; also Firth c.13(286), 2806 c.16(88), Harding B 16(286c), "Ten Thousand Miles Away" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "A Capital Ship" (tune & meter) cf. "Ho for California (Banks of Sacramento)" (tune & meter) cf. "The Old Palmer Song" (tune) SAME_TUNE: The Old Palmer Song (File: PASB038) No More Shall I Work in the Factory (File: Grnw122) File: MA084 === NAME: Ten Thousand Miles Away (On the Banks of Lonely River) DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls his aged mother "on the banks of a lonely river, Ten thousand miles away." He wishes he (were a little bird so he could be) with her. A letter from his sister says his mother has died; he wishes she were there. He prays for his mother AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1882 (broadside, LOCSheet sm1882 16161) KEYWORDS: death mother loneliness separation age grief burial mourning family sister FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE,So) Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Randolph 697, "Ten Thousand Miles Away" (1 text plus a fragment, 1 tune) BrownII 170, "The Homesick Boy" (2 texts) Roud #3514 RECORDINGS: Asa Martin & Doc Roberts, "I Must See My Mother" (Champion 16568, 1933; Champion 45176, c. 1935; rec. 1932; on KMM [as Martin & Hobbs]) Fred Redden, "The Banks of Claudy" (on NovaScotia1) BROADSIDES: LOCSheet, sm1882 16161, "Ten Thousand Miles Away on the Banks of a Lonely River," Balmer & Weber (Saint Louis), 1882 (tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "To the West A While to Stay" (plot) NOTES: Several of Randolph's informants credited this to a Missouri musician named Hubbard. Given the general feebleness of the song, it is quite likely that it comes from such an obscure source. The presence of the North Carolina texts, however, argues that it is not local to the Ozarks. - RBW Broadside LOCSheet sm1882 16161: "composed by I.M. Williams" whatever that means. Is it a coincidence that the publisher is so close to the Ozarks? [NovaScotia1] begins "In youth I craved adventure To Australia I did stray, I left my home and mother For a fortune far away, She bade me not to leave her Or to return some day To the banks of far off Claudy Ten thousand miles away." This verse is missing from LOCSheet sm1882 16161, which begins with the letter verse, followed by the dream verse.- BS File: R697 === NAME: Ten Thousand Miles Away from Home (A Wild and Reckless Hobo; The Railroad Bum) [Laws H2] DESCRIPTION: The reckless hobo cannot stay still; the sound of a train keeps calling him. (He may become involved with various girls, but even they cannot hold him.) AUTHOR: (credited to Jimmie Rodgers by John Greenway) EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (recording, George Reneau) KEYWORDS: railroading train travel rambling floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,So,SE) REFERENCES: (16 citations) Laws H2, "Ten Thousand Miles Away from Home (A Wild and Reckless Hobo; The Railroad Bum) " Cohen-LSRail, pp. 355-366, "Waiting for a Train/Wild and Reckless Hobo" (2 texts plus a print from Richard Burnett's songbook and a peculiar "Wabash Cannonball" mix, 2 tune) Randolph 836, "A Wild and Reckless Hobo" (1 short text, 1 tune) Sandburg, pp. 456-457, "Ten Thousand Miles Away from Home" (1 text, 1 tune, which from its form appears to go here although the plot is somewhat different; the singer misses the true love who abandoned him) Davis-More 29, pp. 221-228, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows" (3 texts plus a fragment, 2 tunes; the two longest texts, AA and DD, both contain floating material, in the case of "D" probably from this piece) BrownII 30, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows" (4 texts, 5 excerpts, 1 fragment, plus mention of two more; the final text, M, probably combined with this piece) BrownIII 359, "The Wild and Reckless Hobo" (1 text); 361, "Waiting for a Train" (1 short text) Hudson 111, pp. 250-251, "The Railroad Bum" (1 text) Fuson, pp. 128-129, "Ten Thousand Miles From Home" (1 text) Cambiaire, pp. 3-4, "A Wild and Reckless Hobo" (1 text); p. 101, "The Railroad Bum" (1 text, which seems to be mixed with other material) MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 107-108, "A Wild and Reckless Hobo" (1 text. Same source as Cambiaire's, though with differences in presentation) Lomax-AFSB, pp. 28-30, "Ten Thousand Miles from Home" (2 texts, 1 tune) Ohrlin-HBT 42, "Sam's 'Waiting for a Train'" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 54, "Danville Girl" (1 text) Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 130, "At the Jail" (2 texts, 1 tune; the result looks to me to be a mix between this and "Logan County Jail," though it's one of those vague cases....) DT 781, DANVGIRL (DANVILL2) Roud #699 RECORDINGS: Dock Boggs, "Danville Girl" (Brunswick 132B, 1927); (on Boggs2, BoggsCD1) [Richard] Burnett & [Leonard] Rutherford, "Ramblin' Reckless Hobo" (Columbia 15240-D, 1928; rec. 1927; on BurnRuth01. KMM) Vernon Dalhart, "Wild and Reckless Hobo" (Brunswick 2942, 1925) Morgan Denmon, "Wild and Reckless Hobo" (Velvet Tone 2366-V, 1930); "The Wild and Reckless Hobo" (OKeh 45327, 1929) Dixon Brothers, "The Girl I Left in Danville" (Montgomery Ward M-7337, c. 1937/Bluebird B-7674, 1938) Bill Baker w. Bob Miller's Hinky-Dinkers, "Wild and Reckless Hobo" (Brunswick 445/Supertone S-2059, 1930) New Lost City Ramblers, "Danville Girl" (on NLCR06) Pine Mountain Ramblers [or Virginia Mountain Boomers], "Ramblin' Reckless Hobo" (Champion 15610, 1928; Supertone 9305, 1929) Charlie Powers, "The Wild and Reckless Hobo" (CYL: Edison 5131, n.d.) George Reneau, "Wild and Reckless Hoboes" (Vocalion 14999, 1925) Pete Seeger, "Danville Girl" (on PeteSeeger02, PeteSeegerCD01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Bigler's Crew" [Laws D8] (meter) cf. "More Pretty Girls Than One" (words, tune) cf. "Waiting For a Train (II)" (subject, some lyrics) cf. "Ninety-Nine Years (I)" (tune) cf. "A Thousand Miles Away" (words, tune) SAME_TUNE: "A Thousand Miles Away" (File: PFS213) NOTES: I question the attribution of this to Rodgers, as it seems to take quite a few forms. It seems more likely that he used floating verses in composing his song, "Waiting for a Train." - PJS You'll note that I didn't say I believed Rodgers wrote it -- note that it was being parodied around 1900 in "A Thousand Miles Away." Best guess is that he created a recension which became fairly popular. - RBW Paul Stamler suggests that "The Danville Girl" subtext deserves separate listing, noting that "It has certain verses that set it apart, including the'You bet your life she's out of sight/She wore those Danville curls' and 'She wore her hair on the back of her head/Like high-toned people do.' It's also got floating verses, including some from "Gambling Man...." The difficulty, for me at least, is that none of these are characteristic of the song; I've seen versions without either verse. Thus, while the extremes are different, there is no good way to draw a line. We could simply call all texts which mention Danville "The Danville Girl" -- but there are otherwise identical versions which omit that key name. Plus, the Brown "Wild and Reckless Hobo" text is certainly a "Danville Girl" version, but Laws lists it here. - RBW, PJS From Alan Lomax's notes to PeteSeeger02, "There are stanzas in this one from so many different hobo songs, sung in so many different ways, that one might call this the master hobo song. Actually I had some hand in mixing the verses together in _American Ballads and Folk Songs_ (Macmillan, 1934), from which this version comes." Can we say, "smoking gun"? - PJS I wonder if that might explain the Danville Girl mixup, too.... - RBW Naw. That was already going on when Dock Boggs recorded the song in 1927. - PJS When I finally read Cohen's notes on this, I thought seriously about sweeping out all the previous notes, since it includes a complex analysis of sources. But I finally decided that Cohen, while authoritative, is not definitive. His opinion is that there were originally three separate songs, which he entitles "Wild and Reckless Hobo," "Waiting for a Train," an "Danville Girl." But he admits so much mixture that drawing sharp lines is impossible. Lumping is generally against our policy, but when splitting forces notes to every version, I'll do lumping. - RBW File: LH02 === NAME: Ten Thousand Miles from Home: see Ten Thousand Miles Away from Home (A Wild and Reckless Hobo; The Railroad Bum) [Laws H2] (File: LH02) === NAME: Tenaouich' Tenaga, Ouich'ka DESCRIPTION: Canadian French: A trapper is met by an Indian, who tells him that the comrade from whom he had earlier parted has died. The Indians have (buried/brought) the body. The recurrent word "Ouich'ka" seems to be an attempt to imitate Indian dialect AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1865 (Gagnon) KEYWORDS: death Indians(Am.) burial Quebec foreignlanguage FOUND_IN: Canada(Que) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 32-33, "Tenaouich' Tenaga, Ouich'ka" (1 text, 1 tune) File: FMB032 === NAME: Tenderfoot, The: see The Horse Wrangler (The Tenderfoot) [Laws B27] (File: LB27) === NAME: Tennessee Killer, The DESCRIPTION: "Oh I've killed men in Georgia And men in Alabam', But kill a man in Arkansas And God your soul will damn!" The singer admits to widespread murders, but was taken in Little Rock. Now he will hang. He warns others against guns AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1942 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: homicide punishment execution warning FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 175, "The Tennessee Killer" (1 text) Roud #4101 NOTES: This song is item dE41 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW File: R175 === NAME: Tennis Balls, The: see King Henry Fifth's Conquest of France [Child 164] (File: C164) === NAME: Tent Poles are Rotten, The DESCRIPTION: "The tent poles are rotten, and the campfires dead And the possums they ramble in the trees overhead. I'm out on the wallaby, I'm humping my drum..." The singer describes the pleasures and virtues of a wanderer's life AUTHOR: Words: Henry Lawson (various tunes used) EARLIEST_DATE: 1984 KEYWORDS: rambling Australia FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fahey-Eureka, pp. 188-189, "The Tent Poles are Rotten" (1 text, 1 tune) File: FaE188 === NAME: Tenting on the Old Camp Ground: see Tenting Tonight (File: RJ19206) === NAME: Tenting Tonight DESCRIPTION: "We're tenting tonight on the old camp ground... Many are the hearts that are weary tonight, wishing for the war to cease... Tenting tonight (x2) Tenting on the old campground" The singer describes how the soldiers are lonely -- and often dying AUTHOR: Walter Kittredge EARLIEST_DATE: 1864 KEYWORDS: Civilwar battle death home music FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (8 citations) RJackson-19CPop, pp. 206-209, "Tenting on the Old Camp Ground" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-CivWar, pp. 50-51, "Tenting on the Old Camp Ground" (1 text, 1 tune) Hill-CivWar, pp. 222-223, "Tenting on the Old Camp Ground" (1 text) Arnett, pp. 86-87, "Tenting Tonight" (1 text, 1 tune) Krythe 10, pp. 150-157, "Tenting on the Old Camp Ground" (1 text, 1 tune) Darling-NAS, pp. 348-349, "Tenting Tonight" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 289, "Tenting On The Old Camp Ground" (1 text) DT, TENTTNT* (TENTTNT2*) ST RJ19206 (Full) Roud #14045 RECORDINGS: Apollo Quartet, "Tenting on the Old Camp Ground" (Berliner 4264, 1898) Colonial Quartet, "Tenting Tonight" (Phono-Cut 5097, c. 1913) Columbia Stellar Quartet, "Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground" (Columbia A1808, 1915) Haydn Quartet, "Tenting on the Old Camp Ground" (Victor 119, 1900) Knickerbocker Quartet, "We're Tenting Tonight" (CYL: Edison [BA] 1881, n.d.) Mount Vernon Quartet, "Tenting on the Old Camp Ground" (Columbia 15245-D, 1928) Peerless Quartet, "Tenting on the Old Camp Ground" (Zon-O-Phone 892, c. 1908) (Emerson 7160, 1917) (Pathe 40032 [as "Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground"], 1916) Pete Seeger, "Tenting Tonight" (on PeteSeeger28) Frank C. Stanley, "Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground" (CYL: Edison 8151, 1902) Sterling Trio, "Tenting Tonight" (Little Wonder 266, 1915) Unidentified vocal quartet "Tenting To-night on the Old Camp Ground" (Harvard 514, 1903-1906; prob. rec. 1900; Oxford 11964, c. 1906) SAME_TUNE: Emmett Brand, "Singing on the Old Church Ground" (on MuSouth06) NOTES: Civil war historian Bruce Catton says that, during the war, this piece was second in popularity only to "When This Cruel War Is Over" among the sad songs. After the war, when the defeatist tone of "Cruel War" made it seem less patriotic, "Tenting Tonight" came to be first in the veterans' hearts. Walter Kittredge (born 1834) composed this song in 1863 while under the threat of the draft. As it turned out, he was rejected for ill health. Publishers at first rejected the song as not martial enough -- but then it was picked up by the Hutchinson Family, and the rest is history. - RBW File: RJ19206 === NAME: Terence McSwiney: see Shall My Soul Pass Through Ireland (File: PGa067) === NAME: Terence's Farewell to Kathleen DESCRIPTION: "So, my Kathleen, you're going to leave me All alone by myself in this place." She is leaving Terence for England. He warns her against the deceitful men. He can't stop her going and when she returns "spaking such beautiful English" he "won't know" her AUTHOR: Words: Helen Selina Blackwood, Lady Dufferin, Countess Gifford (1807-1867) EARLIEST_DATE: before 1860 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(3764)) KEYWORDS: courting separation England nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) O'Conor, p. 89, "Terence's Farewell to Kathleen" (1 text) Roud #3826 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(3764), "Terence's Farewell", A. Ryle and Co. (London), 1845-1859; also Firth b.26(248), Harding B 26(638), Firth c.26(121), 2806 c.15(333), Harding B 11(3766), Harding B 11(3767), Firth c.13(267), Firth b.27(99), "Terence's Farewell" LOCSinging, as113450, "Terence's Farewell to Kathleen", H. De Marsan (New York), 1859-1860; also sb40522b, "Terence's Farewell to Kathleen" NOTES: Broadside LOCSinging as113450: 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 According to [no author listed], _The Library of Irish Music_ (published by Amsco), the tune for this is "The Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow." - RBW File: OCon089 === NAME: Terra Nova Seal Fishing DESCRIPTION: "Ye talk o' this, and talk o' that... But list taw me -- I ken ye weel Wad like tae hear aboot the seal." The singer describes the difficulties of sailing north to the ice, the difficulties of killing adult seal; he ends by describing the types of pelts AUTHOR: Robert Brown EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Harbour Grace Standard) KEYWORDS: hunting ship nonballad recitation FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ryan/Small, pp. 27-28, "Terra Nova Seal Fishing" (1 text) File: RySm027 === NAME: Terra Nova, The DESCRIPTION: "One Monday morning March the tenth, it opened fine and clear." "Slob ice" was to be seen, but Captain Kean still takes the Terra Nova sealing. Blocked by a pan, three men die before they escape. The song describes the three dead men AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1967 (collected from Norman Payne by Halpert & Fiander) KEYWORDS: hunting ship death FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ryan/Small, p. 98, "The Terra Nova" (1 text) File: RySm098 === NAME: Terrible Privateer, The DESCRIPTION: The singer's ship sails from Plymouth and is intercepted by the Terrible. The fight continued until "our captain and our men being slain, We could no longer the fight maintain." Twenty-seven are held in prison until "the Carteel did fetch us away" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: battle prison rescue death sea ship sailor FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (0 citations) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Firth c.12(18)[some words illegible], "The Terrible Privateer" ("You sailors all of courage bold"), printer barely legible but probably J. Pitts, Seven Dials, (n.d. but if it is by Pitts it must be from before 1844) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Captain Coulston" (plot) cf. "Warlike Seaman (The Irish Captain)" (plot) cf. "The Dolphin" (plot) cf. "The French Privateer" (plot) NOTES: There seem to have been at least two songs about this incident, this one and one called "Captain Death." Both appear on the same semi-legible Bodleian broadside, and they are printed together in the _Publications of the Navy Records Society_ by C. H. Firth available on Google Books (p. 204 in the print copy; p. 335 of the Google Books PDF file). Logan, _The Pedlar's Pack_, prints another text of "Captain Death" on pp. 30-31. According to the online book _How Britannia Came to Rule the Waves_, by W. H. G. Kingston, this refers to an incident of the Seven Years' War. The _Terrible_, 26 guns, commanded by Captain Death (really! -- though his true name seems to have been "Osborn"), had already taken one prize, but had suffered in the fight and was defeated by another privateer, the _Vengeance_ of St. Malo; Death and half his crew were killed in the battle. The story of the _Terrible_ so aroused the British that a subscription was raised which eventually bought the freedom of the remaining privateers. Logan's version of the legend is even more amazing than that of the broadsides: The _Terrible_ "was equipped at Execution Dock, commanded by CaptainDeath. The appellation of his Lieutenant was Devil, and the surgeon's name was Ghost.." Logan does note that Ritson thought this catalog of coincidences "entirely void of foundation." - RBW File: BdTerPri === NAME: Terrier Dog, The DESCRIPTION: The terrier pup has a distinguished career of extreme viciousness -- until it encounters an oversized cat. The pup's owner, seeing his dog killed, demands satisfaction of the cat's owner. She shoots him; though cured, he "never... raise[d] another pup." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1870 KEYWORDS: animal dog fight death FOUND_IN: US(MA,SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) FSCatskills 123, "The Terrier Dog" (1 text, 1 tune) ST FSC123 (Partial) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Terrier Pup File: FSC123 === NAME: Terrier Pup, The: see The Terrier Dog (File: FSC123) === NAME: Terry Toole's Cabbage DESCRIPTION: "Torbay boys and did ye hear..." a goat got into Terry O'Toole's cabbage. Terry stabbed it to death and the boys dressed it "on the sly." They chipped in for the $3.50 fine. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 (Peacock) KEYWORDS: animal food punishment FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Peacock, p. 100, "Terry Toole's Cabbage" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9958 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Moose Song" (plot) NOTES: Torbay is about seven miles north of St John's - BS File: Pea100 === NAME: Texas DESCRIPTION: "We'll travel on together Till you and I must part, So fare you well, my honey, my love, I love you to my heart." The singer says he will die when they are parted; and rejoices when she returns; "We'll travel on together... We'll settle down in Texas." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (Hudson) KEYWORDS: love courting separation reunion playparty home FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Hudson 156, pp.301-302 , "Texas" (1 text) Roud #4510 File: Hud156 === NAME: Texas Cowboy (I), The DESCRIPTION: "Come all you Texas cowboys and warning take by me, Don't go out to Montana for wealth or liberty." The cowboy has worked in all sorts of places, but Montana is colder, you can only work (and so get paid) for six months a year, the food is bad, etc. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1888 (The Glendive Independent) KEYWORDS: cowboy work hardtimes warning FOUND_IN: US(MW,Ro,So) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Larkin, pp. 65-67, "The Texas Cowboy" (1 text, 1 tune) Thorp/Fife VIII, pp. 97-103 (21-22), "The Texas Cowboy" (4 texts, 1 tune) Fife-Cowboy/West 31, "The Texas Cowboy" (3 texts, 1 tune) DT, TXASCWBY* Roud #4632 RECORDINGS: Arkansas Woodchopper [pseud. for Luther Ossenbrink], "I'm a Texas Cowboy" (Conqueror 7883, 1931) File: TF08 === NAME: Texas Cowboy (II), The: see The Wagoner's Lad (File: R740) === NAME: Texas Cowboy (III), The DESCRIPTION: "With a sort of careless swagger, with a movement half a stagger... Is the way the Texas cowboy seems in town." Most of the rest of the song describes how the cowboy responds to various situations AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1884 (broadside) KEYWORDS: cowboy FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fife-Cowboy/West 35, "Cowboy Boasters" (5 texts, 2 tunes; this is the "D" text) Roud #11216 File: FCS035D === NAME: Texas Cowboy, The: see Texas Rangers, The [Laws A8] (File: LA08) === NAME: Texas Idol, A DESCRIPTION: "I'm a buzzard from the Brazos on a tear, hear me toot!" The people call him "a pirate from the pampas." He lovingly describes how he abuses and flouts the law in various small towns AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1884 (Kansas Cowboy) KEYWORDS: cowboy outlaw police FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fife-Cowboy/West 35, "Cowboy Boasters" (5 texts, 2 tunes; this is the "B" text) Roud #11215 File: FCW025B === NAME: Texas Isle: see The Banks of the Nile (Men's Clothing I'll Put On II) [Laws N9] (File: LN09) === NAME: Texas Jack DESCRIPTION: The singer will "try to tell you the reason why we are bound to roam." The singer was part of a caravan that was attacked by Indians. Only he and two other children were saved by Texas Jack. Brought up among cowboys, he knows no other life AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1905 KEYWORDS: death battle Indians(Am.) rescue family FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (2 citations) Fife-Cowboy/West 44, "Texas Jack" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, TEXASJCK* Roud #11211 File: FCW044 === NAME: Texas Jack (II): see My Heart's Tonight in Texas [Laws B23] (File: LB23) === NAME: Texas Ranger's Lament: see Come List to a Ranger (The Disheartened Ranger) (File: R181) === NAME: Texas Rangers, The [Laws A8] DESCRIPTION: The singer has left family and girlfriend to join a troop that finds itself fighting Indians. Many of the whites are killed; the singer describes the fight and what he left behind. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1874 KEYWORDS: battle Indians(Am.) warning army Civilwar fight violence war mother sister soldier HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: July 21, 1861 - First battle of Bull Run/Manasses fought between the Union army of McDowell and the Confederates under Johnston and Beauregard. (There was a second Bull Run battle a year later, but "Come All Ye Southern Soldiers" probably refers to this one, since it's the soldier's first battle) FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,NW,Ro,SE,So) Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (23 citations) Laws A8, "The Texas Rangers" (sample text in NAB, pp. 37-38) Belden, pp. 336-339, "Texas Rangers" (3 texts plus plus mention of 5 more, 1 tune) Randolph 177, "The Texas Rangers" (3 texts plus 2 fragments, 2 tunes) Eddy 130, "Come, All Ye Roving Rangers" (1 text, 1 tune) Gardner/Chickering 95, "The Texas Rangers" (1 text plus mention of 2 more) FSCatskills 20, "The Texas Rangers" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Leach-Labrador 105, "Western Ranger" (1 text, 1 tune) McNeil-SFB1, pp.44-46, "Texas Rangers" (1 text, 1 tune) BrownII 234, "The Texas Ranger" (2 texts plus mention of 2 more; the "B" text is a Civil War adaption) Hudson 96, pp. 227-228, "The Texas Cowboy" (1 text) Fuson, pp. 191-192, "The Roving Ranger" (1 text) Brewster 73, "The Texas Ranger" (1 text, 1 tune) SharpAp 179, "Come all ye Southern Soldiers" (1 text, 1 tune) Thomas-Makin', p. 45, (no title) (1 text) Lomax-FSNA 169, "The Texas Rangers" (1 text, 1 tune) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 134-135, "Texas Rangers" (1 text, 1 tune) Ohrlin-HBT 53, "The Texas Rangers" (1 text, 1 tune) LPound-ABS, 73, pp. 163-164, "The Texas Rangers" (1 text) JHCox 63, "War Song" ( text) Darling-NAS, pp. 161-162, "The Texas Rangers" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 274, "Texas Rangers" (1 text) Saffel-CowboyP, pp. 180-181, "Texas Rangers" (1 text) DT 363, TEXRANG* Roud #480 RECORDINGS: Cartwright Brothers, "Texas Ranger" (Victor V-40198, 1930; Montgomery Ward M-4460, 1934; rec. 1929; on AuthCowboys, WhenIWas1) Paul Joines, "Roving Ranger" (on Persis1) Sloan Matthews, "The Texas Rangers" (AFS, 1940s; on LC28) Harry "Mac" McClintock, "The Texas Rangers" (Victor 21487, 1928) Lester McFarland & Robert Gardner, "The Texas Rangers" (Vocalion 5177/Brunswick 168 [as Robert Gardner], 1927) New Lost City Ramblers, "Texas Rangers" (on NLCR02) Ernest Stoneman, "The Texas Ranger" (OKeh 45054, 1926); Ernest Stoneman [and Eddie Stoneman], "Texas Ranger" (Vocalion 026320) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Come All Ye Southern Soldiers" (words, structure, plot) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Texas Soldier NOTES: Laws lists this as a native American ballad, and in its current form, it certainly is. Belden and others, however, note many similarities to British ballads; it is likely an extensive reworking of some earlier piece. - RBW Digital Tradition notes, "Probably a rewrite of a Civil War song." Bingo; it's almost word-for-word identical to "Come All Ye Southern Soldiers," with only names, places and enemies changed. - PJS This particular case is rather a conundrum. Paul Stamler supplies this description of "Come All Ye Southern Soldiers," known primarily from collections by Sharp in the North Carolina mountains: "Singer joins the 'jolly band' to fight for the South; their captain warns that before they reach Manassas they'll have to fight. Singer hears the Yankees coming and fears for his life; the battle is bloody and several of his comrades are lost. Singer invokes mothers, sisters, and sweethearts, and warns prospective soldiers that 'I'll tell you by experience you'd better stay at home.'" That this is recensionally different from "Texas Rangers" is clear; I would normally agree with Paul in splitting the two. Laws, however, explicitly lumps them, and of course Roud does the same. Given how rare "Southern Soldiers" is, I decided to do the same. - RBW File: LA08 === NAME: Texas Song: see Going to Leave Old Texas (Old Texas, Texas Song, The Cowman's Lament) (File: FCW066E) === NAME: Texian Boys, The: see Come All You Virginia Girls (Arkansas Boys; Texian Boys; Cousin Emmy's Blues; etc.) (File: R342) === NAME: Thank You, Ma'am, Says Dan DESCRIPTION: Courting song in which Dan says "Thank you, ma'am," whatever the girl's mother says. She invites him in; he thanks her. She allows him to marry her daughter. She will stay with her daughter; he will have to support the whole family. He thanks her AUTHOR: Gerald and Joseph M. Crofts? EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: love courting mother humorous FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) SHenry H184=689, pp. 469-470, "'Thank You, Ma'am,' Says Dan" (1 text, 1 tune) OLochlainn 92, "I Thank You, Ma'am," Says Dan (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #3044 NOTES: It would appear that copyright on this song was claimed by the Crofts. Given the various collections containing the song, however, I wonder if they really originated it. - RBW File: HHH184 === NAME: That Bloody War : see Battleship of Maine (File: CSW100) === NAME: That Crazy War DESCRIPTION: Singer, drafted into World War I, humorously describes awful experiences, saying everyone (including him) was just trying to avoid getting shot "in that war, that crazy war." In one version, he says that if there's another war he'll be hard to find. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (recording, Jimmy Yates & His Boll Weevils) KEYWORDS: army war France humorous soldier HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1914 - World War I begins in Europe 1917 - U.S. enters World War I FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (4 citations) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 102, "That Crazy War" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 275, "That Crazy War" (1 text) BrownII 239, "That Bloody War" (4 texts, of which "C" and "D," both short, probably belong here; "A" and "B" are "Battleship of Maine") DT, CRAZYWAR* Roud #779 RECORDINGS: Lulu Belle & Scotty, "That Crazy War" (OKeh 06103, 1941) New Lost City Ramblers, "The Crazy War" (on NLCREP2) Jimmy Yates & His Boll Weevils, "Bloody War" (Victor V-40065, 1929) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Battleship of Maine" (lyrics) NOTES: This song seems to have been adapted to fit almost every war in existence. It is fitting, though, that it apparently comes from World War I -- the stupidest, most wasteful conflict of them all. Some of the versions in Brown hint that this ended up mixing with "Battleship of Maine," and Roud apparently lumps them. - RBW File: CSW102 === NAME: That Dang Boat that First Took Me Over DESCRIPTION: Paddy leaves Ireland for Scotland "where everything is free." His father and sweetheart are unhappy and his mother is sure he'll drown. There's a storm. He asks the captain to stop the ship so he can walk home. If he ever gets home he'll not roam again. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1970 (Morton-Ulster) KEYWORDS: farewell home parting sea ship storm Ireland Scotland humorous FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Morton-Ulster 29, "That Dang Boat that First Took Me Over" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2907 NOTES: This sounds a bit like it might be a parody on one of the songs in which an Irishman goes to Scotland and falls in love. Examples of that type include "Paddy's Land" and "The Shamrock Shore (The Maid of Mullaghmore)." - RBW File: MorU029 === NAME: That Dear Old Land DESCRIPTION: "I'll sing tonight of a fairyland in the lap of the ocean set.... I'll sing tonight of Ireland's ancient days ... the dear old land, that sweet old land where the beautiful rivers flow." An exile remembers his home and its history. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield) KEYWORDS: homesickness exile Ireland lament nonballad patriotic FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Greenleaf/Mansfield 70, "That Dear Old Land" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #6368 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Scarborough Settler's Lament" (theme) and references there File: GrMa070 === NAME: That Is Even So DESCRIPTION: "When first I heard the people tell Of finding gold in veins... [I] started o'er the plains." On the way west, the food runs short and the train has to winter at Salt Lake. The Mormons treat them badly. The singer advises leaving the "land of gold" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1858 (Put's Golden Songster) KEYWORDS: gold mining hardtimes travel FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fife-Cowboy/West 17, "That Is Even So" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #11206 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Fools of Forty-Nine" (plot) File: FCW017 === NAME: That Last Fierce Charge: see The Last Fierce Charge [Laws A17] (File: LA17) === NAME: That Last Fierce Fight: see The Last Fierce Charge [Laws A17] (File: LA17) === NAME: That Lonesome Train Took My Baby Away DESCRIPTION: "Woke up this morning, found somethin' wrong, My lovin' babe had caught that train and gone...." The singer asks the depot agent to shut the depot down so she cannot leave. But the girl is lost, and the train "will take you baby and run right over you." AUTHOR: Words: Probably Charlie McCoy, influenced by the lyrics of "Cow Cow's Blues"/Tune: "Cow Cow's Blues" by Charles "Cow Cow" Davenport EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (recording, Charlie McCoy) KEYWORDS: train separation abandonment floatingverses FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Cohen-LSRail, pp. 431-434, "That Lonesome Train Took My Baby Away" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, LONETRN RECORDINGS: Charlie McCoy, "That Lonesome Train Took My Baby Away" (OKeh 8863, 1931?; rec. 1930) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Cannonball" (floating verses) File: LSRai431 === NAME: That Old Time Religion DESCRIPTION: "Give me that (or: It's the/that) old time religion (x3), And it's good enough for me." Verses describe those for whom it was good enough: "It was good for Paul and Silas" "It was good for the Hebrew children," "It was good for my dear parents," etc. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1872 ("Jubilee Songs as sung by the Fisk Jubilee Singers") KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE,So) REFERENCES: (5 citations) BrownIII 640, "That Old-Time Religion" (1 text) Chappell-FSRA 91, "The Old Time Religion" (1 short text, 1 tune) Randolph 628, "The Old Time Religion" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 438-440, "The Old-Time Religion" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 628) Silber-FSWB, p. 362, "Give Me That Old Time Religion" (1 text) Roud #6423 RECORDINGS: The Blue Chips, "Give Me That Old Time Religion" (ARC 6-07-60, 1936) Brother Son Bonds, "Give Me That Old Time Religion" (Decca 7024, 1934) Emmett Brand, "Give Me That Old Time Religion" (on MuSouth06) Morris Brown Quartet, "That Old Time Religion" (Bluebird B-8428/Montgomery Ward M-8765, 1940) Columbia [Male] Quartet, "The Old-Time Religion" (Columbia A-827, 1910; rec. 1909) Cotton Belt Quartet, "Give Me That Old Time Religion" (Vocalion 1022, 1926) Cotton Top Mountain Sanctified Singers, "Give Me That Old Time Religion" (Brunswick 7100, 1929) Dixie Jubilee Singers, "Give Me That Old Time Religion" (Banner 7237/Domino 4220/Challenge 937 [as Jewel Male Quartet], 1928) Wally Fowler, "Old Time Religion" (Capitol 2182, 1952) Golden Eagle Gospel Singers, "Gimme That Old Time Religion" (Decca 7314, 1937) Hampton Institute Quartet, "Ole Time Religion" (Musicraft 233, 1939) Haydn Quartette, "The Old Time Religion" (Victor 4656, 1906) Heavenly Gospel Singers, "Old Time Religion" (Bluebird B-8077, 1939; Montgomery Ward M-7871, n.d.) Jubliee Quartet, "Old Time Religion" (Banner 1550/Regal 9848, 1925; Ajax 31582, n.d.) Mellowmen, "That Old Time Religion" (Decca 28081, 1952) Old Southern Sacred Singers, "The Old Time Religion" (Brunswick 161, 1927) Old-Time Jubilee Singers, "That Old Time Religion" (Perfect 113/Ajax [Can.] 17041, 1924) Original Valentine Quartet, "Give That Old Time Religion" (OKeh 8135, 1924) Pace Jubilee Singers, "Old-Time Religion" (Victor 22097, 1929; Bluebird B-5811, 1935; rec. 1928) Paramount Jubilee Singers, "That Old Time Religion" (Paramount 12073, rec. 1923) Homer Rodeheaver, "Old Time Religion" (Columbia A-3856, 1923) Ernest Thompson, "The Old Time Religion" (Columbia 15007-D, 1924) Tuskegee Institute Quartet, "Old Time Religion" (Victor 18075, 1916; rec. 1915) Tuskegee Quartet, "The Old Time Religion" (Victor 20519, 1927) Congregation of Wesley Methodist Church, "Give Me That Old Time Religion" (on JohnsIsland1) SAME_TUNE: Old Time Religion [parody] (DT, OLTIMREL, OLTIMR2, OLTIMR3; on PeteSeeger47) NOTES: This piece was copyrighted in 1891 by Charlie D. Tillman -- but given that the text sung by the Fisk Jubilee Singers was printed in 1880, the claim is obviously bogus. This seems, for all intents and purposes, to have become a parody of itself of late. All three Digital Tradition versions, for instance, are modern versions praising various improbable deities (I suspect that most of the verses are filk). It's not really surprising, given the excellent tune and the asinine lyrics of the original. - RBW File: R628 === NAME: That Pretty Little Gal: see The Girl I Left Behind Me (lyric) (File: R546) === NAME: That Rogue Reilly DESCRIPTION: "There's a boy that follows me every day, although he declares that I use him vilely." He is like "the very shadow at my feet." Her mother sends her away to make hay but Reilly is there. Her aunt recommends a nunnery but she would rather be bothered. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1863 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(3382)) KEYWORDS: courting farming FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) O'Conor, p. 57, "That Rogue Reilly" (1 text) Roud #6980 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(3382), "That Raking, Ranting, Reilly", H. Such (London), 1849-1862; also Harding B 11(3231), "The Ranting Reilly"; Harding B 20(144), "Raking, Ranting Reilly"; also Harding B 11(3306), "The Rogue Reilly " File: OCon057 === NAME: That the Stones of the Street May Turn Up the Pig's Feet DESCRIPTION: "That the stones of the street may turn up the pig's feet If ever I cease to the love. That the tay may come down to three ha'pence a pound If ever I cease to the love" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1979 (Tunney-StoneFiddle) KEYWORDS: love nonballad parody food FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Tunney-StoneFiddle, p. 9, "That the Stones of the Street May Turn Up the Pig's Feet" (1 fragment) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "If Ever I Cease to Love" (subject and some text) NOTES: The current description is all of the Tunney-StoneFiddle fragment. The fragment is a parody of the "if ever I prove false" theme floating among songs such as "When First Into this Country" and "I Live Not Where I Love." It could be derived from "If Ever I Cease to Love" but the only line shared is "If ever I cease to [the] love." - BS File: RcSSTUPF === NAME: That Tumble Down Shack in Athlone DESCRIPTION: "IÕm a long way from home and my thoughts ever roam To ould Erin far over the sea." The singer remembers his home in Ireland, says there are people waiting there for him, and looks forward to returning to Athlone AUTHOR: Words: Richard M. Pascoe / Music: "Monte Carlo" and Alma Sanders EARLIEST_DATE: 1918 (sheet music) KEYWORDS: home Ireland emigration return FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Dean, pp. 66-67, "That Tumble Down Shack in Athlone" (1 text) Roud #21716 NOTES: This song was apparently popular enough to inspire a movie in 1927, but I have no idea what the film,may have been like. - RBW File: Dean066 === NAME: That's All Right DESCRIPTION: Floating verses: "Mind my mother how you're walking along/Your feet might slip and your soul be lost"; "Hush little baby don't you cry." "Jacob ladder so long and tall." Cho: "That's all right (x2) Since my soul got a seat up in the kingdom...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: mid-1960s (recording, Laura Rivers) KEYWORDS: warning floatingverses nonballad religious mother FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Laura Rivers, "That's All Right" (on BeenStorm1) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Down on Me" (floating verses) File: RcThAlRi === NAME: That's Where My Money Goes DESCRIPTION: "That's where my money goes, To buy my baby clothes, I'd do 'most any old thing To keep that woman in style. She's worth her weight in gold, My coal-black Venus, Say, boys, that's where my money goes." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Brown) KEYWORDS: money clothes FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 464, "That's Where My Money Goes" (1 short text) Roud #11797 File: Br3464 === NAME: Thatchers of Glenrea, The DESCRIPTION: The singer works in Argyle, then does a quick thatching job in Glrenrea. When it is all done, he at last is able to return to his wife in Ireland, though he has been cheated (?) of some of the money he hoped he would earn. He will not return to Glenrea AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: work home separation return reunion money FOUND_IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H186, pp. 46-47, "The Thatchers of Glenrea" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #13358 File: HHH186 === NAME: Then Turn Out You Jolly Tars: see The Mermaid [Child 289] (File: C289) === NAME: Then We'll Have a New Convention DESCRIPTION: "Katy, Katy, don't you want to marry? Your mother says you shall not marry... Until we kill the turkey hen." "Then we'll have a new convention And we'll kill the turkey hen... And we'll have the rights of man." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Brown) KEYWORDS: marriage political bird FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 370, "Then We'll Have a New Convention" (1 text); also 371, "Colonel Harry, He Was Scared" (1 fragment, probably the same as the above or a parody, though it may be mixed) Roud #11747 NOTES: The notes in Brown connect this with the Civil War: The "convention" refers to the state conventions called to bring states out of the Union, and the song reportedly was used to recruit soldiers. Which makes sense, though it hardly explains the song. The "turkey hen" presumably refers to the Union, or to Lincoln, but this is hardly a common usage. The "Colonel Harry" of the second Brown text is unidentifiable in context. And the two songs between them have only eight distinct lines, making it very hard to tell what's going on. But the second looks like it might be a later answer to the first: Brown 370 is a triumphant call for a convention (and hence secession); #371, which mentions a convention of "the volunteers and the drafted men" must have arisen in 1862 or later, as opposition to Confederate policies increased. - RBW File: Br3370 === NAME: There Ain't No Bugs on Me: see Ain't No Bugs on Me (File: CSW226) === NAME: There Ain't No Flies on Jesus DESCRIPTION: "There's flies on me, There's flies on you, But there ain't no flies on Jesus." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad bug FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 201, (no title) (1 fragment) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Ain't No Bugs on Me" (concept) NOTES: There is an obvious temptation to link this to "Ain't No Bugs on Me." But, apart from the religious reference, the form seems to imply that they are separate. - RBW File: ScNF201A === NAME: There Cam a Laddie Frae the North DESCRIPTION: "There cam a laddie frae the north... And he's fa'en in love wi' a bonnie lass That lived in Dundee." He offers to take her north to his home in Strathspey. She refuses; he goes home -- then comes again, asks again, and she consents AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Ord) KEYWORDS: love courting marriage travel home FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, pp. 103-105, "There Cam' a Laddie Frae the North" (1 text) Roud #3951 File: Ord103 === NAME: There Comes a Fellow with a Derby Hat DESCRIPTION: Lost love song: "There comes a fellow with a derby hat, They say he's jealous, but what of that? If he is jealous, I am gay; I can get a sweetheart any day." The rest floats -- the blind bird, a request that the sweetheart return AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: love bird clothes betrayal floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 265, "There Comes a Fellow with a Derby Hat" (1 text) Roud #15742 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Farewell He" (subject) and references there File: Br3265 === NAME: There Is a Fountain DESCRIPTION: "There is a fountain of Christ's blood, Wide open stretch'd for to drown our sins, Where Jesus stands with open arms Of mercy to invite us in." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Leather) KEYWORDS: Jesus religious nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain(England(West)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Leather, pp. 197-198, "There Is a Fountain" (4 single-stanza texts, all effectively identical; 4 tunes) ST Leath197 (Partial) Roud #663 File: Leath197 === NAME: There Is a Happy Land DESCRIPTION: "There is a happy land, far far away, Where saints in glory stand, Bright bright as day, Oh how they sweetly sing, Worthy is our savior king, Loud let his praises ring." The listener is told of the pleasures of heaven and urged not to hesitate AUTHOR: Words: Andrew Young? EARLIEST_DATE: 1847 (Southern Harmony) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Fuson, pp. 210, "The Happy Land" (1 text) DT, HPPYLAND* Roud #13784 RECORDINGS: Rufus Crisp, "Brighter Day" (on Crisp01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "I Know a Boarding-House" (tune, form) SAME_TUNE: Old Soldiers Never Die (I) (File: FSWB277A) NOTES: In the Sacred Harp (where it is given with the tune-name "Happy Land"), this melody is said to be derived from Hindu religious music. I know of no supporting evidence. Roud lumps this with another song with the title "Happy Land," but they do not appear the same to me. - RBW "Original Sacred Harp" gives a composition date of 1838, but with no citation; pending more research, I'm going with the earliest known printed version. Much parodied, this hymn seems to have been enduringly popular in the south. And elsewhere, as witness, "Cook House," popular among soldiers of the Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish Civil War. We've listed that, more or less, as "Old Soldiers Never Die (I)" - PJS File: DTtiahl === NAME: There Is a Happy Land (II): see I Know a Boarding-House (File: R479) === NAME: There Is an Alehouse in Yonder Town: see Tavern in the Town (File: ShH94) === NAME: There Is No Place in the Height of Heaven DESCRIPTION: "There is no place in the height of Heaven, There is no place like home, home, home, sweet home, There is no place like home. Kind friends, I bid you all farewell. I leave you in God's care. And if I never see you any more, I will see you there." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1919 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious home separation nonballad floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 548, "There Is No Place in the Height of Heaven" (2 short texts) Roud #11825 NOTES: This steals lines from all over the place ("Home Sweet Home," "Now Our Meeting Is Over," and probably at least one unidentifiable spiritual). But it seems to be a free composition on these themes rather than a version of any of those songs. - RBW File: Br3548 === NAME: There Is Somebody Waiting for Me DESCRIPTION: "Oh the moon shines bright and the stars they give light And the evening invites (you/me) to (stay/stray)." The singer describes (her)self as a bird in a cage, but happily announces "There is somebody waiting... There is somebody waiting for me." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: love nonballad FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 741, "There Is Somebody Waiting for Me" (2 texts) Roud #7394 NOTES: The first line of this, of course, is from the "Bellman's Song." Don't ask me where the rest of the song went. - RBW I don't know where it went, but someone is waiting for it. - PJS File: R741 === NAME: There Lived an Old Man in Dover: see The Man of Burningham Town (File: VWL068) === NAME: There Once Was a Farmer: see Teasing Songs (File: EM256) === NAME: There She Blows: see The Wounded Whale (File: SWMS023) === NAME: There She Stands, a Lovely Creature: see Wheel of Fortune (Dublin City, Spanish Lady) AND The Drowsy Sleeper [Laws M4] (File: E098) === NAME: There Was a Crooked Man DESCRIPTION: "There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile, He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile, He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse, And they all lived together in a little crooked house." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1842 (Halliwell, according to Opie-Oxford2) KEYWORDS: home animal FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Opie-Oxford2 324, "There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile" (1 text) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #224, p. 148, "(There was a crooked man)" Roud #4826 NOTES: The Baring-Goulds suggest that the crooked man of this song was the Covenanter Alexander Leslie, and the crooked sixpence Charles I (who was willing to use the Covenanters if it would preserve his throne but had no real use for them). This is another of those "possible but hardly demonstrable" cases. - RBW File: BGMG224 === NAME: There Was a Girl Her Name Was Young: see The Cruel Mother [Child 20] (File: C020) === NAME: There Was a Knight: see Riddles Wisely Expounded [Child 1] (File: C001) === NAME: There Was a Lady in Merry Scotland: see The Wife of Usher's Well [Child 79] (File: C079) === NAME: There Was a Lady in the East DESCRIPTION: A lady with many suitors loves Jimmy, her father's clerk. Her father would disown her but she says she wants Jimmy more than treasure. Her father shoots her. Her mother faints and Jimmy commits suicide. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1820 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 c.18(76)) KEYWORDS: grief courting love homicide suicide father mother money FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar,Newf) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Peacock, pp. 726-728, "There Was a Lady in the East" (1 text, 3 tunes) Karpeles-Newfoundland 68, "There Was a Lady in the East" (1 text, 1 tune) Manny/Wilson 84, "The Maid of the East" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Pea726 (Partial) Roud #2298 RECORDINGS: Marie Hare, "The Maid of the East" (on MRMHare01) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, 2806 c.18(76), "The Cruel Father and Constant Lover," J. Pitts (London), 1802-1819 ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Cruel Father and Constant Lover NOTES: Peacock claims this is Laws M19, "The Young Sailor Bold (I) (The Rich Merchant's Daughter)." ["Although the story is the same ... the texts and tunes are completely different."] I think that makes this a different ballad. And the stories are not so close either. [I agree; there is no hint of accident or mistake here, and it's a different set of suicides. Roud also splits them. - RBW] - BS File: Pea726 === NAME: There Was a Lady Lived in the West: see Willie o Winsbury [Child 100] (File: C100) === NAME: There Was a LIttle Bird DESCRIPTION: "There was a little bird that went hop-hop-hop. I said, 'Little bird, won't you stop, stop, stop?' I opened the window to say, 'How do you do?' He shook his little tail and away he flew." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (Henry, from Minnie Stokes) KEYWORDS: bird nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) MHenry-Appalachians, p. 241, (no title) (1 short text) File: MHAp241A === NAME: There Was a Little Man DESCRIPTION: "There was a little man, And he had a little gun, And the ball was made of lead." The little man goes out to hunt ducks. He hits the duck in the head and brings her home to his wife to cook. (He goes out to shoot the drake, but it escapes) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1744 (Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book) KEYWORDS: bird hunting food FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Opie-Oxford2 325, "There was a little man, and he had a little gun" (1 text) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #25, p. 38, "(There was a little Man)" Roud #1289 File: BGMG025 === NAME: There Was a Little Woman: see The Old Woman Who Went to Market (The Old Woman and the Pedlar) (File: Lins258) === NAME: There Was a Man and He Was Mad DESCRIPTION: The madman spends his life jumping into things -- pudding bag, bottle of wine, bottle of beer, notched stick, etc. Finding each one unsatisfactory, he moves on to the next. Finally he winds up in a situation he cannot handle, and quits/dies AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Eddy) KEYWORDS: humorous talltale FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Eddy 99, "There Was a Man and He was Mad" (1 text, 1 tune) Opie-Oxford2 321, "There was a man, he went mad" (1 text) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #178, p. 128, "(There was a man, he went mad)" ST E099 (Full) Roud #5336 RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "There Was a Man and He Was Mad" (on PeteSeeger03, PeteSeegerCD03) File: E099 === NAME: There Was a Man Lived in the Moon: see Aiken Drum (File: OO2007) === NAME: There Was A Man, He Went Mad: see There Was a Man and He Was Mad (File: E099) === NAME: There Was a Pig Went Out to Dig DESCRIPTION: "There was a pig went out to dig, Chris-e-mas day, Chris-e-mas day, There was a pig went out to dig, On Chris-e-mas day in the morning." Similarly, "There was a sparrow went out to harrow," "There was a cow went out to plow," etc. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (Ritchie-Southern) KEYWORDS: animal work Christmas nonballad FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ritchie-Southern, p. 28, "There Was A Pig Went Out to Dig" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #1369 File: RitS028 === NAME: There Was a Piper Had a Cow DESCRIPTION: The piper has no food for his cow but plays her a tune for consolation. The cow is either happy enough to give the piper a penny to play "corn rigs are bonny," or tells the piper to play for money and use that to feed her. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1805 (Songs for the Nursery, according to Opie-Oxford2) KEYWORDS: poverty food music animal humorous FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Opie-Oxford2 416, "There was a piper had a cow" (1 text) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #156, p. 117, "(There was a piper had a cow)" Roud #13046 File: OO2416 === NAME: There Was a Rich Englishman: see Jolly Thresher, The (Poor Man, Poor Man) (File: R127) === NAME: There Was a Rich Man Who Lived in Jerusalem: see Hi Ho Jerum (File: FSWB025) === NAME: There Was a Sea Captain: see The Sea Captain and the Squire [Laws Q12] (File: LQ12) === NAME: There Was a Watermelon DESCRIPTION: "There was a watermelon, A-growing in the garden, And in the garden wall there was a hole. A skinny little nigger Said if he's a little bigger, He'd climb over the garden wall. He's sneak up like a rabbit, And then he'd grab it...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Brown) KEYWORDS: food thief FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 465, "There Was a Watermelon" (1 text) Roud #11798 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Watermelon on the Vine" (theme) File: Br3465 === NAME: There Was a Wealthy Farmer: see The Plains of Baltimore (File: Wa005) === NAME: There Was a Young Lady: see A Rich Irish Lady (The Fair Damsel from London; Sally and Billy; The Sailor from Dover; Pretty Sally; etc.) [Laws P9] (File: LP09) === NAME: There Was an Old Farmer: see The Twa Sisters [Child 10] (File: C010) === NAME: There Was an Old Frog: see Kemo Kimo (File: R282) === NAME: There Was an Old Lady (I) DESCRIPTION: Floating bawdy or scatological verses to the tune of Turkey in the Straw. The chorus urges, "Come on you bastards, come on you whores, Pull up your dresses, pull down your drawers...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1953 KEYWORDS: bawdy scatological sex nonballad FOUND_IN: US(Ro,So,SW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cray, pp. 253-255, "There Was an Old Lady" (1 composite text, 1 tune); see also under "Ditties," pp. 264-268, which contain other verses that fit "Turkey in the Straw" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Turkey in the Straw" (tune & meter) and references there File: EM253 === NAME: There Was an Old Lady (II): see Marrowbones [Laws Q2] (File: LQ02) === NAME: There Was an Old Man: see Old Man Came Over the Moor, An (Old Gum Boots and Leggings) (File: R066) === NAME: There Was an Old Miller: see The Miller's Will (The Miller's Three Sons) [Laws Q21] (File: LQ21) === NAME: There Was an Old Miser DESCRIPTION: The old miser's daughter is courted by a sailor. When the miser finds out, he pays a captain to impress the boy. The girl fails to save the boy, but his ship is wrecked and he escapes to shore almost alone. He finds the girl; they are married. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1854 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 c.16(16)) KEYWORDS: courting sailor father pressgang wreck escape marriage FOUND_IN: US(MA) Britain(England(Lond)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) FSCatskills 48, "There Was an Old Miser" (1 text, 1 tune) ST FSC048 (Partial) Roud #3913 RECORDINGS: Chris Willett, "The Old Miser" (on Voice04) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, 2806 c.16(16), "Old Miser" ("It's of an old miser in London did dwell"), Swindells (Manchester), 1796-1853; also Johnson Ballads 572, "The Old Miser" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Disguised Sailor (The Sailor's Misfortune and Happy Marriage; The Old Miser)" [Laws N6] NOTES: Although this song shows many similarities to Laws N6 (plus a slight similarity to "William and Harriet," Laws M7), Cazden et al consider the ending sufficiently different that they regard it as a separate ballad. Since the policy of this index is to split rather than lump, here it stands. Roud, interestingly, lumps it with Laws N10, "The Silk Merchant's Daughter." - RBW Chris Willett's version on Voice04 and Bodleian broadsides 2806 c.16(16) and Johnson Ballads 572 include the verses in the [Supplemental Tradition text, from Cazden et al] but omit the ending: no shipwreck or happy ending. - BS File: FSC048 === NAME: There Was an Old Nigger, His Name Was Dr. Peck DESCRIPTION: "There was an old nigger, his name was Dr. Peck, He fell in de well an' broke his neck. De cause ob de fall was all his own, 'Case he order look atter de sick An' let de well alone!" With the "mourner, you shall be free" chorus and floating verses AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: doctor death humorous floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 197, "There Was an Old Nigger, His Name Was Dr. Peck" (1 text) File: ScaNF197 === NAME: There Was an Old Soldier: see The Old Tobacco Box (File: FSC143) === NAME: There Was an Old Woman and She Had a Little Pig DESCRIPTION: "There was an old woman and she had a little pig, It didn't cost much 'cause it wasn't very big." Despite good care, the pig never grows up. One day it dies. The owner(s) soon follow. The song ends; "if you want any more, you can sing it yourself" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1784 (Gammar Gurton's Garland, according to Opie-Oxford2) KEYWORDS: animal death FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,NE,SE) Britain(England) REFERENCES: (12 citations) BrownIII 130, "The Old Woman and Her Pig" (2 texts plus mention of 1 more) Eddy 68, "Old Sam Fanny" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Gardner/Chickering 195, "Uncle Sam Simmie" (1 text, 1 tune) SharpAp 235, "The Old Woman and the Little Pigee" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Sharp/Karpeles-80E 77, "The Old Woman and the Little Pig" (1 text, 1 tune -- a composite version) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 308-310, "Tale of a Little Pig" (1 text, 1 tune) Ritchie-SingFam, pp. 207-210, "There Was an Old Woman and She Had a Little Pig" (1 text, 1 tune) Ritchie-Southern, p. 21, "The Old Woman and the Pig" (1 text, 1 tune) Opie-Oxford2 42, "Little Betty Pringle she had a pig" (1 text) BaringGould-MotherGoose #37, p. 53, "(Little Betty Winkle she had a pig)" JHCox 175, "Old Sam Fanny" (2 texts) Botkin-NEFolklr, pp. 574-575, "The Little Pig" (1 text, 1 tune) ST E068 (Partial) Roud #746 File: E068 === NAME: There Was an Old Woman Lived Under a Hill DESCRIPTION: "There was an old woman lived under a hill, And if she isn't gone, she lives there still." Various endings seem to have been grafted on. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1744 (Tom Thumb's Pretty Song Book) KEYWORDS: home nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Opie-Oxford2 541, "There was an old woman" (1 text) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #4, p. 28, "(There Was an Old Woman)" Roud #1613 File: BGMG004 === NAME: There Was an Old Woman Tossed up in a Basket DESCRIPTION: "There was an old woman tossed up in a blanket" with a broom, many times higher than the moon. The singer asks what she's doing. She says she is brushing the cobwebs, or clouds, out of the sky. The singer asks to go with her, or says well done. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1784 (Gammar Gurton's Garland, according to Opie-Oxford2) KEYWORDS: nonballad talltale FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (3 citations) Opie-Oxford2 544, "There was an old woman tossed up in a basket" (1 text) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #35, p. 50, "(There was an old woman tossed in a blanket)" Montgomerie-ScottishNR 175, "(There was a wee wifie rowed up in a basket)" (1 text) Roud #1297 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Lilliburlero" (tune) (per Opie-Oxford2) NOTES: Opie-Oxford2: "Rimbault says this song is supposed to allude to James II.... In spite of the rhyming, the original wording was probably 'tossed up in a blanket Ninety-nine [instead of seventeen or nineteen] times as high as the moon', as in the William and Mary ballad, The Jacobite tossed up in a blanket." - BS The Baring-Goulds report an even more extravagant story, connecting this to Henry V (reigned 1413-1422) and his invasion of France. But they add "The only trouble with this story is that there doesn't seem to be a word of truth in it." I couldn't have put it better myself. - RBW File: OO2544 === NAME: There Were Three Jovial Welshmen: see Three Jolly Huntsmen (File: R077) === NAME: There Were Three Ravens: see The Three Ravens [Child 26] (File: C026) === NAME: There Were Two Birds Sat on a Stone DESCRIPTION: ""There were two birds sat on a stone, Fa la la lal de, One flew away and then there was one, Fa la la... The other flew after, and then there was none... And so the poor stone was left all alone." The (birds/crows) then fly back AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1767 (Newbery) KEYWORDS: bird FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (4 citations) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #49, pp. 59-60, "(There were two birds sat on a Stone)" Montgomerie-ScottishNR 19, "(There were two crows sat on a stone)" (1 text) Opie-Oxford2 51, "There were two birds sat on a stone" (2 texts) DT, CRAWSTAN Roud #8906 NOTES: Sounds like "The Twa Corbies" told from the standpoint of their original perch. But there are just enough mentions of it that I thought it had better go in the Index. Charles Kingsley quoted two stanzas of this in _The Water Babies_. (1863): Two little birds they sat on a stone, One swam away, and then there was one, With a fal-lal-la-lady. The other swam after, and then there was none, And so the poor stone was left all alone, With a fal-lal-la-lady. The quotation is in chapter seven. - RBW File: BGMG049 === NAME: There Were Two Crows Sat on a Stone: see There Were Two Birds Sat on a Stone (File: BGMG049) === NAME: There'll Be a Hot Time (In the Old Town Tonight) DESCRIPTION: A quatrain ballad, this is essentially an ever-changing collection of floating bawdy verses. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1896 (sheet music) KEYWORDS: bawdy nonballad FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Randolph-Legman I, pp. 532-534, "There'll Be a Hot Time" (2 texts, 1 tune) Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 203-204, "A Hot Time in the Old Town" (1 text, 1 tune -- from the sheet music) Geller-Famous, pp. 138-143, "A Hot Time in the Old Town" (1 text, 1 tune) Fuld-WFM, pp. 278-279, "A Hot Time in the Old Town" ST RL532 (Partial) Roud #4324 RECORDINGS: Edward M. Favor, "Hot Time in the Old Town" (Berliner 0791-L, 1899) Bill Mooney & his Cactus Twisters, "Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight" (Imperial 1096, n.d. but post-World War II) Dan W. Quinn, "A Hot Time in the Old Town" (Berliner 527-Z, 1897) Bessie Smith & her Blue Boys, "There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town" (Columbia 3173-D/Parlophone R-2477 [UK], 1938) Gid Tanner & his Skillet Lickers, "There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight" (Columbia 15695-D, 1931; rec. 1929) SAME_TUNE: West Wallsend Football Song (Meredith/Covell/Brown, pp. 253) NOTES: Fuld points out that the earliest (1896) sheet music refers not to "the old town" but to "Old Town" (in Louisiana). This version is by Joe Hayden (words) and Theodore A. Metz (music), and involves a dance and/or camp meeting. This camp meeting version, according to Spaeth, came to be "indelibly associated with the Spanish[-American] War." This may be true, but clearly the folk have taken things into their hands from there. - RBW Indeed; [Dan W.] Quinn's recording, only a year after the sheet music, already calls it "The Old Town." - PJS The cover sheet to the 1896 sheet music at LOCSheet Music B-570 [cover only] has the title as "A hot time in the old town"; the commentary notes the chorus as "There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight, ma baby" - BS File: RL532 === NAME: There'll Be Joy, Joy, Joy: see In My Father's House (File: San483) === NAME: There'll Be No Distinction There DESCRIPTION: "There'll be no sorrow on that heavenly shore, There'll be no woes at the cabin door...." Singer describes heaven as a place without sorrow, poverty, class distinctions, racism, adultery, nagging women, or booze. AUTHOR: Blind Alfred Reed EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (recording, Blind Alfred Reed) KEYWORDS: nonballad religious FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (3 citations) BrownIII 563, "Dar'll Be No Distinction Dar" (1 text) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 232-233, "There'll Be No Distinction There" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, DISTNCTN Roud #11883 RECORDINGS: Carter Family, "There'll Be No Distinction There" (OKeh 05982/Conqueror 9572, c. 1940) New Lost City Ramblers, "There'll Be No Distinction There" (on NCLR09) Blind Alfred Reed, "There'll Be No Distinction There" (Victor 23550, 1931) File: CSW232 === NAME: There's a Dear Spot in Ireland DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls the "dear spot" where his aged mother lived with his brothers and sisters. Poverty has brought him over the sea. Now mother is dead. He hopes his brothers and sisters can join him; they will make a poor but honest home AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: homesickness emigration mother death separation orphan home FOUND_IN: Ireland US(MW,SE) REFERENCES: (3 citations) SHenry H821, p. 220, "There's a Dear Spot in Ireland" (1 text, 1 tune) BrownII 134, "I Left Ireland and Mother Because We Were Poor" (1 short text) Dean, pp. 117-118, "I Left Ireland and Mother Because We Were Poor" (1 text) Roud #4962 File: HHH821 === NAME: There's A Girl in the Heart of Maryland DESCRIPTION: "In a quaint, old-fashioned garden in a quaint, old-fashioned town... Where the old Potomac's llowing, that is where I long to be." "There's a girl in the heart of Maryland with a heart that belongs to me." He asks that the parson be ready when he returns AUTHOR: Words: Ballard MacDonald / Music: Harry Carroll EARLIEST_DATE: 1913 (sheet music) KEYWORDS: love reunion marriage FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Dean, pp. 88-89, "ThereÕs a Girl in the Heart of Maryland" (1 text) Roud #9571 NOTES: According to Sigmund Spaeth, _A History of Popular Music in America_, MacDonald and Carroll had two big hits in 1913: This and "On the Trail of the Lonesome Pine" (the latter apparently being the first-published, since it is mentioned on the sheet music of this piece). Both produced quite a few other pop hits, though very few of them made the jump into oral tradition. - RBW File: Dean088 === NAME: There's a Herring in the Pan: see I Wish That You Were Dead, Goodman (File: HHH531) === NAME: There's a Hole in the Bottom of the Sea DESCRIPTION: "There's a hole in the bottom of the sea, There's a hole (x2), There's a hole in the bottom of the sea." "There's a rock in the bottom of the sea... There's a rock in that hole in the bottom of the sea." "There's a frog in the bottom of the sea." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1923 (Brown) KEYWORDS: nonballad cumulative FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 135, "There's a Hole in the Bottom of the Sea" (1 text) Roud #15766 File: Br3135 === NAME: There's a Hole in the Bucket DESCRIPTION: Circular song, "There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza." "Then fix it..." "With what?" "Straw." "The straw is too long." Etc., until "...too dry." "Then wet it." "With what?" "Water." "With what shall I fetch it?" "The bucket." "There's a hole..." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (recording, Pete Seeger) KEYWORDS: questions tasks dialog humorous husband wife FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, HOLEBCKT* RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "Hole in the Bucket" (on PeteSeeger31) (on PeteSeeger47) File: DTholebc === NAME: There's a Little Box of Pine on the 7:29 DESCRIPTION: "'Dear warden,' wrote a mother, 'how much longer must I wait'" until her boy is sent home. The warden is forced to answer, "There's a little box of pine on the 7:29 Bringing back a lost sheep from the fold." The mother and community mourn the dead sinner AUTHOR: Jos. Ettlinger, George Brown (Billy Hill), and De Dette Lee (De Dette Lee Hill) EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (copyright; recording by Tommy Reynolds an Wilie Robinson) KEYWORDS: death train mother funeral prison FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cohen-LSRail, pp. 338-340, "There's a Little Box of Pine on the 7:29" (1 text, 1 tune) RECORDINGS: Asa Martin/Martin and Roberts, "There's A Little Box of Pine On The 7:29" (Conqueror 8062, 1933) Tommy (Reynolds) and Willie (Robinson), "There's A Little Box of Pine On The 7:29" (Champion 16432/Champion 4518/Montgomery Ward 4958/Superior 2935 [as by Reynolds and Robinson], 1931) File: LSRai338 === NAME: There's a Little Hand Writing on the Wall DESCRIPTION: "There's a little hand writing on the wall, There's a little hand writing on the wall, All I say and all I do, that hand writing on the wall." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 519, "There's a Little Hand Writing on the Wall" (1 fragment) Roud #11814 NOTES: The "hand writing on the wall" is obviously an allusion to Daniel 5. But, as 5:24-28 reveal, it was not writing the actions of King Belshazzar (who, incidentally, was never King of Babylon; he was the son of the last King, Nabonidas, if he is historical at all). Rather, the hand wrote a message of condemnation. The bit about "all I say and all I do" may be an allusion to John 8:6, 8, where Jesus writes upon the ground. A few late manuscripts say that he wrote "the sins of every one of them," though most omit (and the earliest manuscripts all omit John 7:53-8:11). If it is not an allusion to John 8, it may be a reminiscence to John 4:29, where Jesus told the Samaritan woman "all that I ever did." - RBW File: Be3519 === NAME: There's a Little Wheel a-Turning DESCRIPTION: "There's a little wheel a-turning in my heart, In my hear, yes, Lord, in my heart... O, for you, yes, Lord, for you." Remaining lines are variations on this theme AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 641, "There's a Little Wheel a-Turning" (1 short text) Roud #11936 File: Br3641 === NAME: There's a Long, Long Trail DESCRIPTION: The singer misses (his sweetheart), noting that "Nights are getting very lonely, days are very long." He remembers her in dreams. Chorus: "There's a long, long trail a-winding To the land of my dreams Where the nightingales are singing...." AUTHOR: Words: Stoddard King / Music: Zo Elliot EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (sheet music) KEYWORDS: separation loneliness nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain(England) US REFERENCES: (2 citations) Fuld-WFM, pp. 573-574, "There's a Long, Long Trail" DT, LNGTRAIL RECORDINGS: [?] Campbell & [Henry] Burr, "There's a Long, Long Trail" (Little Wonder 563, c. 1916) John McCormack "There's a Long, Long Trail" (Victor 64694, 1917) SAME_TUNE: There's a Long, Long Worm A-Crawling (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 162) NOTES: Not a proper folk song, but its popularity in World War I argues for its inclusion here. - RBW File: DTlngtra === NAME: There's A Man Going Round Taking Names DESCRIPTION: "There's a man going round taking names (x2), And he took my mother's name, And he left my heart in pain, There's a man going round taking names." Similarly with father, sister, brother, etc. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1921 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: family death FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Sandburg, p. 447, "Man Goin' Roun'" (1 short text, 1 tune) Randolph 606, "The Angel of Death" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, p. 591, "Man Goin' Round" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 56, "There's A Man Goin' 'Round Takin' Names" (1 text) Roud #7548 RECORDINGS: Carolina Tar Heels, "There's A Man Goin' Round Takin' Names" (Victor V-40053, 1929, rec. 1928) G. B. Grayson & Henry Whitter, "There's a Man Going 'Round Taking Names" (Victor, unissued, 1928) Paul Robeson, "Dere's a Man Goin' Round Takin' Names" (HMV[UK]8637/Victor 25809, 1937) Kenneth Spencer, "There's a Man Goin' Roun' Takin' Names" (Sonora 1119, n.d.) Joshua White, "There's a Man Going Around Taking Names" (Melotone 12861, 1933/Conqueror 8271, 1934) File: San447 === NAME: There's a Star in the East: see Rise Up, Shepherd (File: LoF253) === NAME: There's a Tavern in the Town: see Tavern in the Town (File: ShH94) === NAME: There's Bound to be a Row DESCRIPTION: Singer has "an awful wife." "If I do everything that's right, she'll find a fault somehow." He sleeps on the sofa when she takes in a lodger. She takes his money, gives him a meager allowance, "and if I spend it all at once, there's bound to be a row" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1867 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(3778)) KEYWORDS: shrewishness marriage humorous wife FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #1616 RECORDINGS: Jimmy McBeath, "Bound to be a Row" (on Voice01) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(3778), "There's Bound to be a Row," J. Harkness (Preston), 1840-1866; also Harding B 11(3777), "Theres Bound to be a Row" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Devilish Mary" [Laws Q4] (theme) cf. "The Wearing of the Britches" (theme) File: RcTBTBAR === NAME: There's Many a Man Killed on the Railroad: see perhaps The Fate of Talmadge Osborne (File: RcTFOTO) === NAME: There's No One Like Mother to Me DESCRIPTION: The singer thinks of his childhood home "in that cottage far over the sea" He recalls that his mother had asked him to wait but then blessed him with a kiss. "I'll go back to that home o'er the sea For there's no one like mother to me" AUTHOR: Gussie L Davis (1885) EARLIEST_DATE: 1885 (broadside, LOCSheet sm1885 25967) KEYWORDS: homesickness separation nonballad mother home FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #17330 RECORDINGS: The Carter Family, "There's No One Like Mother to Me" (Decca ???, 1935) BROADSIDES: LOCSheet, sm1885 25967, "There's No One Like Mother to Me ," J. C. Groene & Co. (Cincinnati), 1885 (tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "My Gray Haired Irish Mother" cf. "My Mother's Last Goodbye" (subject) NOTES: "There's No One Like Mother to Me" and "My Gray Haired Irish Mother" are clearly related but clearly distinct. The question is: which is the original and which the derivative? The tunes are closely related though the rests in "There's No One Like Mother To Me" are filled with text in "My Gray Haired Irish Mother." The theme of both songs is: an expatriot remembers his childhood in a "cottage far over the sea" and recalls especially the mother that blessed him with tears on her cheeks. "There's No One Like Mother to Me" has two verses and a chorus. "My Gray Haired Irish Mother" has five verses and no chorus. Here is the first verse of "There's No One Like Mother to Me" Sadly I'm thinking tonight Thinking of days long gone by Memories of childhood so bright Come back like a dream with a sigh I'm thinking of friends and of home In that cottage far over the sea Oh no matter where-ever I roam There is no one like mother to me. and the first two verses of "My Gray Haired Irish Mother" How sadly I'm thinking tonight of my sire-land Thinking of scenes and of days long gone by. Memories of childhood so bright and so airy Come rushing back to me with many's a sigh I'm thinking of one whom I left far behind me In that little thatched cottage far over the sea Oh the one only cried Barney every noon and morning Darling won't you come back to me. The pattern is repeated in the remaining verse of "There's No One Like Mother to Me" and the third and fourth verses of "My Gray Haired Irish Mother." We have sheet music dated 1885 for "There's No One Like Mother to Me" (LOCSheet sm1885 25967, by Gussie L Davis). The version recorded in 1936 by The Carter Family is almost identical to that original (source: _Country Music Sources_ by Guthrie T Meade Jr, p. 324; the Bluegrass Lyrics site) The John McGettigan recording of "My Gray Haired Irish Mother" in 1929 demonstrates that the songs co-existed. - BS File: BrLsm188 === NAME: There's No One Like the Old Folks DESCRIPTION: A father tells his wandering boy not to go away, saying, "There's no one like the old folks after all...but your dad and mother too / Will always stand by you..." But the boy goes away, never to return, while his father grieves AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1906 (recording, Frank Stanley) KEYWORDS: grief rejection farewell home parting father family FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #17222 and 11512 RECORDINGS: [Leonard] Rutherford & [John] Foster, "There's No One Like the Old Folks" (prob. Brunswick, c. 1930; on KMM) Frank Stanley, "There's No One Like the Old Folks" (Manhattan 208, c. 1906; Columbia A-314, 1909) NOTES: There *must* be a broadside or sheet music for this someplace, but I haven't found it yet. - PJS File: RcTNOLOF === NAME: There's Whiskey in the Jar: see Whisky in the Jar (The Irish Robber A) [Laws L13A]/The Irish Robber B (McCollister) [Laws L13B] (File: LL13) === NAME: These Temperance Folks DESCRIPTION: "These temp'rance folks do crowd us awfully, crowd us awfully, crowd us awfully. These temp'rance folks.... they think I do not care." The singer complains about the threat to his liberty, concedes that drink has made him poor, and asks to be left alone AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1916 (Cox) KEYWORDS: drink political FOUND_IN: US(Ap,So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Randolph 323, "These Temperance Folks" (1 text, 1 tune) JHCox 130, "Forward, Boys, Hurrah!" (1 text) Roud #7797 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Jolly Grinder" (theme) File: R323 === NAME: They All Love Jack DESCRIPTION: "Oh, for 'is heart is like the sea, Ever hopen (sic), brave, an' free, And his girl must lonely be, Till 'is ship comes back. But if love's the best of all, What can a man befall? For every girl at all, They all love Jack!" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1943 KEYWORDS: sailor love separation FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Doerflinger, p. 166, "They All Love Jack" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9444 File: Doe166b === NAME: They Locked Me Up in Bonavist' Jail: see The County Jail (File: GC147) === NAME: They Put Me up to Kill Him DESCRIPTION: "They put me up to kill him, my pore old white-haired dad, I done it with a horseshoe rasp, The only thing I had." The singer describes the murder, then voices his regrets at his foolishness AUTHOR: Lloyd Robinson? EARLIEST_DATE: 1935 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: homicide father family HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: June 3, 1935 - Lloyd Robinson murders his father, Robert Robinson. The younger Robinson was sentenced to life imprisonment, and allegedly wrote this song in prison FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 174, "They Put Me up to Kill Him" (1 text) Roud #5489 File: R174 === NAME: They Say I Am Nobody's Darling: see Nobody's Darling on Earth (File: R723) === NAME: They Say It is Sinful to Flirt: see Willie Down by the Pond (Sinful to Flirt) [Laws G19] (File: LG19) === NAME: They Were Standing by the Window: see The Broken Engagement (I -- She Was Standing By Her Window) (File: R771) === NAME: They Were Very Very Good to Me: see I Wish They'd Do It Now (File: Gil111) === NAME: They're Down and They're Down: see A Comical Ditty (Arizona Boys and Girls) (File: JHCox057) === NAME: They're Moving Father's Grave DESCRIPTION: "They're moving Father's grave to build a sewer." Father's remains are being moved "to irrigate some posh bloke's residence"; the singer hopes his ghost will haunt the pipes, "for they had the bleeding nerve/To muck about a British workman's grave" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: death burial worker ghost humorous FOUND_IN: Britain REFERENCES: (2 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 267, "They're Moving Father's Grave" (1 text) DT, SEWERMOV SEWERMO2 Roud #10391 NOTES: Pity we don't have the keyword "class-struggle". - PJS File: FSWB267 === NAME: Thief of the World, The DESCRIPTION: The singer loves "the thief of the world ... My heart was gone, my head was gone, my peace of mind likewise ... I'll have her up in court, I'll charge her with the felony." Her sentence: "Around my neck she'll have to hang until her dying day" AUTHOR: Francis Arthur Fahy (1854-1935) (source: OLochlainn-More) EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (OLochlainn-More) KEYWORDS: love humorous nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OLochlainn-More 63, "The Thief of the World" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Francis Arthur Fahy is probably most famous as the author of "The Ould Plaid Shawl." - RBW File: OLcM063 === NAME: Thimble Buried His Wife at Night DESCRIPTION: Thimble's scolding wife dies; preparations are made for her burial. Thimble regrets that her diamond ring must stay on her finger. When an attempt is made to remove it, the dead woman walks to protect it. Thimble refuses any dealings with her AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (Brown) KEYWORDS: death husband wife burial corpse ring FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownII 205, "Thimble Buried His Wife at Night" (1 fragment) Roud #6494 File: BrII205 === NAME: Things About Comin' My Way DESCRIPTION: "Ain't got no money, can't buy no grub... Now after all my hard trav'ling, Things about comin' my way." The singer complains about all the effects of poverty: Mother's cupboard is bare, the rent is due, sister can't get a doctor AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 KEYWORDS: poverty hardtimes food disease FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (2 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 76, "Things About Comin' My Way" (1 text) DT, COMMYWAY* NOTES: Without the other text it's hard to be sure, but I think this is a separate song from "I've Got the Left Hind Foot of a Rabbit, Things Are Coming My Way." - PJS File: FSWB076A === NAME: Things I Used to Do DESCRIPTION: "Things I used to do I don't do no mo' (x3), There's been a great change since I been born." "Chickens I used to steal I don't steal no mo' (x3), There's been a great change..." "Whisky I used to drink, I don't drink no mo' (x3), There's been...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad virtue FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Sandburg, p. 482, "Things I Used To Do" (1 text, 1 tune) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Great Change Since I Been Born File: San482 === NAME: Things Impossible DESCRIPTION: "As I was walking in a grove All by myself as I supposed," the singer meets a pretty girl who asks "To tell her when I would marry." He sets conditions: "When saffron grows on every tree," "When Michaelmas falls in February," etc., then he will marry AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1869 (Logan) KEYWORDS: love courting humorous rejection FOUND_IN: Britain(England) US(MW) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Gardner/Chickering 158, "Things Impossible" (1 text) Logan, pp. 360-362, "Improbability" (1 text) ST GC158 (Partial) Roud #3686 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "My Wife Went Away and Left Me" (lyrics) NOTES: This song has lyrics in common with the one indexed as "My Wife Went Away and Left Me"; both involve lists of impossible conditions. But this is a song in which the girl seeks the young man's hand; that is a song in which the man begs her to return after she abandons him. The conditions set are similar, the plots are not. In addition, although there is a report of this song from Michigan, it seems to exist mostly in Britain, whereas "My Wife Went Away and Left Me" seems to be mostly from the southern United States. On this basis, I split them; Roud of course lumps them. Rorrer's notes on "My Wife Went Away and Left Me" mention a song by Charles D. Vann called "Then My Darling I'll Come Back to Thee." I have not seen it, but it strikes me as possible that Vann took the English piece and rewrote it, resulting in the American version. - RBW File: GC158 === NAME: Thinnest Man, The DESCRIPTION: "The (thinnest/skinniest) man I ever saw Lived over in (Hoboken), And if I told you how thin he was, You'd think that I was joking." Various tall tales about the thin man's exploits, and the dangers he faces (e.g. falling through his pants and choking) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1881 (Tom Warfield's "Helen's Babies" Songster) KEYWORDS: humorous talltale FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 175, "The Skinniest Man I Ever Knew" (2 text, tune referenced) Roud #15357 NOTES: The Pankakes list at least one of their versions as being to the tune of "Take Me Back to Tulsa," but as they date this song to 1941, this can hardly be the original melody. - RBW File: PHCFS175 === NAME: Thirteen Yule Days: see The Twelve Days of Christmas (File: FO213) === NAME: Thirteenth Lock, The DESCRIPTION: A canal boat sails for the unlucky thirteenth lock. Women on shore cry. The man at the mast refuses to steer and is kicked overboard as a mutineer. A monster appears. Those on shore, including one who had lent the captain half his gold, wait in vain. AUTHOR: Arthur Griffith (1872-1922) EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (OLochlainn-More) KEYWORDS: canal humorous mutiny drowning parting disaster ship talltale monster sailor FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OLochlainn-More 1, "The Thirteenth Lock" (1 text, 1 tune) File: OLcM001 === NAME: Thirty Days in Jail DESCRIPTION: "Good mornin', Blues; Blues, how do you do? (x2) I just come here to have a few words with you." "Thirty days in jail... back turned to the wall... Mr. Jailkeeper, put another man in my stall." "I don't mind being in jail, but I got to stay here so long." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Warner) KEYWORDS: prison nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE,So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Warner 174, "Thirty Days in Jail" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Wa174 (Partial) Roud #7492 File: Wa174 === NAME: Thirty White Horses DESCRIPTION: "Thirty white horses Upon a red hill, Now they tramp, Now they champ, Now they stand still." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1849 (Halliwell) (but see NOTES) KEYWORDS: riddle animal FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Opie-Oxford2 229, "Thirty white horses" (1 text) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #704, p. 275, "(Thirty white horses)" NOTES: Chances are, if you've met this riddle, it's from Tolkien's_The Hobbit_ (p. 85 in my edition, in the chapter "Riddles in the Dark"; he uses a slightly different form). But it is much older (even Gollum calls it a "chestnut"). Tolkien's use of an item from oral tradition is not coincidence; Tolkien uses familiar riddles to imply the common ancestry of Gollum and Bilbo. The answer is "the teeth" or "the teeth and gums." The Opies refer this to a riddle in the Holme manuscript, "Four and twenty white Bulls sate upon a stall, forth came the red Bull & licked them all." I suppose they're related, in that the answer is the teeth (plus, in this case, the tongue). But I wouldn't consider it exactly the same (apart from the fact that neither gets the number of teeth right: A person with wisdom teeth will have 32 teeth; one whose wisdom teeth are out will have 28). The "Thirty white horses" form goes back at least to Halliwell. Duncan Emrich seems to think there is an American version of this; he quotes almost exactly this form on page 168 of _Folklore on the American Land_. But he cites no precise source, simply crediting much of the chapter to the research of Archer Taylor. - RBW, (BS) File: BGMG704 === NAME: Thirty Years Ago (The Stinger) DESCRIPTION: "In a recent Independent I read a sketch that told of affairs and folks in Ashland way back in days of old When the Stinger ran each Sunday...." The singer looks back on his good old days as he worked for the newspaper AUTHOR: Rush Pennypacker? EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas) KEYWORDS: nonballad age FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Thomas-Makin', pp. 194-196, "Thirty Years Ago" (1 text) NOTES: Frankly, if this is the way the guy edited the newspaper, it's no wonder he's out of the job. - RBW File: ThBa194 === NAME: Thirty-Two Special on a Forty-Four Frame, A: see Railroad Bill [Laws I13] (File: LI13) === NAME: This Day (The Battle of Bull Run) DESCRIPTION: "This day will be remembered by America's noble sons! / If it hadn't been for Irishmen, what would our Union done? / It was hand to hand we fought 'em, all in the blazing sun, / Stripped to the pants we did advance in the battle of Bull Run." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Warner) KEYWORDS: Civilwar battle HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: July 21, 1861 - First Battle of Bull Run FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Warner 25, "This Day (or, The Battle of Bull Run)" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, BULLRUN Roud #7465 NOTES: We can only assume this song refers to the First Battle of Bull Run; presumably, had the second (fought Aug. 29-30, 1862) been meant, the song would say so. It's hard to imagine what the Unionists were boasting of in this song. The First Battle of Bull Run was a fairly closely-fought fight, but ended with the complete rout of the Union forces. Federal commander Irvin McDowell, whose army was composed mostly of ninety-day volunteers (!), was pressured by Washington to do something before the enlistments ran out. He had no choice but to push his raw army forward. The Confederate troops were equally raw, but were on the defensive, and held off the Federals. The Union army then went completely to pieces -- but the Confederates, their forces just as badly off as the Federals, could not pursue. - RBW File: Wa025 === NAME: This House is Haunted: see Calliope (This House is Haunted) (File: San349) === NAME: This Is Halloween DESCRIPTION: "This is Halloween, And the morn's Hallowday; If you want a true love, It's time you were away. Tally on the window-board Tally on the green, Tally on the window-board, The morn's Halloween." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1964 (Montgomerie) KEYWORDS: nonballad courting FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Montgomerie-ScottishNR 130, "(This is Hallowe'en)" (1 text) Roud #5911 File: MSNR130 === NAME: This Is No My Plaid DESCRIPTION: "This is no my plaid... Bonnie though the colours be." "The ground o' mine was mixed with blue, I gat it frae the lad I lo'e." The lad who wore the plaid "is now upon a distant shore," and "his name I daurna tell," but she hopes he will return and wed her AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Ford) KEYWORDS: love clothes Jacobites separation exile FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 260-262, "This Is No My Plaid" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #6720 NOTES: Neither Ford nor Whitelaw connects this with Bonnie Prince Charlie, but there seems no doubt that he is the subject; hence the "Jacobite" keyword. - RBW File: FVS260 === NAME: This Is the Key of the Kingdom DESCRIPTION: "This is the Key of the Kingdon: In that Kingdom is a city; In that city is a town; In that town there is a street" all leading to "A basket of sweet flowers. The game reverses: "Flower in a basket, basket on the bed... this is the key of the Kingdom" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1923 (de la Mare) KEYWORDS: playparty nonballad flowers FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #664, pp. 264-265, "(This is the key of the kingdom)" ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #1=#483, "This Is the Key" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "I Got a Key to the Kingdom" (lyric) File: CHit483 === NAME: This Is the Nicht My Johnnie Set DESCRIPTION: "This is the nicht my Johnnie set, And promised to be here; Oh, what can stay his longing step? He's fickle grown, I fear." She describes how carefully she has prepared for his coming. At last he arrives and they prepare for a snug evening. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Ford) KEYWORDS: love separation nightvisit FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 84-86, "This Is the Night My Johnnie Set" (1 text) Ord, pp. 146-147, "This Is the Nicht My Johnnie Set" (1 text) Roud #5553 File: FVS084 === NAME: This Is the Night My Johnnie Set: see This Is the Nicht My Johnnie Set (File: FVS084) === NAME: This Is the Truth Sent From Above: see The Truth Sent From Above (File: Leath196) === NAME: This Is the Way We Wash Our Clothes DESCRIPTION: "This is the way we wash our clothes, Wash our clothes, wash our clothes, This is the way we wash our clothes, (all on a summer's day)." Similarly, "Here we come with our dollies dear," "This is the way we comb their hair," etc. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1918 (Cecil Sharp collection) KEYWORDS: playparty nonballad clothes FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) BrownIII 96, "The Dolly-Play Song" (1 text) SharpAp 264, "Early Sunday Morning" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #3645 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush" (lyrics) cf. "The Old Soap-Gourd" (form) NOTES: This looks much like "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush," and the two share lyrics, but the intent seems different, so I tentatively split them, pending discovery of more versions and tunes. - RBW File: Br3096 === NAME: This Lady She Wears a Dark Green Shawl DESCRIPTION: "This lady she wears a dark green shawl, A dark green shawl, a dark green shawl, This lady she wears... I love her to my heart." "Now choose for your lover, honey, my love...." "Now dance with your lover, honey, my love...." "Farwell to your lover...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: playparty clothes courting FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 142-143, "This Lady Dhe Wears a Dark Green Shawl" (1 text, 1 tune) ST ScaNF142 (Partial) File: ScaNF142 === NAME: This Land is Your Land DESCRIPTION: Singer, a wanderer, describes beauty of American (or other) land, sometimes with verses lamenting poverty. "As I went walking that ribbon of highway/I saw above me that endless skyway/I saw below me that golden valley/This land was made for you and me" AUTHOR: Woody Guthrie EARLIEST_DATE: February 1940 (composed) KEYWORDS: patriotic nonballad rambling beauty America FOUND_IN: US(All) REFERENCES: (2 citations) PSeeger-AFB, p. 30 "This Land is Your Land" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, THISLAND* Roud #16378 RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "This Land is Your Land" (on PeteSeeger41) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "My Lovin' Father (When the World's On Fire)" (tune) cf. "Little Darling, Pal of Mine" (tune) SAME_TUNE: Is This Land Your Land? (Silber-FSWB, p. 315) ALTERNATE_TITLES: God Blessed America (Guthrie's original title) Esta Es Mi Tierra NOTES: I include this composed song (originally an "answer song" to Irving Berlin's jingoistic "God Bless America") because it has entered into oral and aural tradition within my lifetime; it's taught in schools and camps, often as a traditional song, and is in oral currency among most of America's children. More important, there have been dozens or hundreds of variants collected in the last forty years, in many nations and languages. These include an American Indian version: "This land is your land/But it once was my land..." Heck, my eight-year-old student wrote a couple of verses. - PJS To me, there is no doubt that this is now a folk song. It is interesting to note, however, that unlike most folk songs, the establishment has largely managed to circulate "cleaned up" versions, so it no longer attacks the faults of the American political system.... The tune is a slight modification of "When the World's On Fire," perhaps learned from the Carter Family's recording (Victor V-40293). - RBW No perhaps about it: Guthrie was a devoted admirer of the Carter Family. There's also a strong resemblance to another Carter Family song, "Little Darling, Pal of Mine" (Victor 21638, 1928), which we have not indexed. - PJS File: PSAFB030 === NAME: This Little Light of Mine DESCRIPTION: "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine (x3), Ev'ry day (x4), Gonna let my little light shine." The singer thanks God for gifts given every day, warns that there is no hiding from sin, and urges all to let their lights shine. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1956 (recording, Montgomery Improvement Association high school trio) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 352, "This Little Light of Mine" (1 text) DT, LITEMINE RECORDINGS: W. Emmons & Mt. Olive Soul Stirrers, "This Little Light of Mine" (Fortune 1318, n.d.) Pete Seeger, "This Little Light of Mine" (on PeteSeeger27) NOTES: I've heard another song by this name floating around in Sunday School classes. Mercifully, I have forgotten it, but it clearly wasn't a traditional song. - RBW File: FSWB352C === NAME: This May Be Your Last Time DESCRIPTION: "This may be your last time (x3), May be your last time, I don't know." The singer travels about, observes various people and their misdeeds, and warns against the dangers of sin. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recording, Jaybird Coleman) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Courlander-NFM, pp. 70-71, "(This May Be Your Last Time)" (1 text); pp. 229-230, "This May Be Your Last Time" (1 tune, partial text) Roud #10965 RECORDINGS: Rich Amerson, "This May Be Your Last Time" (on NFMAla4) Jaybird Coleman, "May Be My Last Time, I Don't Know" (Gennett, unissued; rec. 1927) File: CNFM070B === NAME: This Night We Part Forever DESCRIPTION: "This night we part forever; Thou are nothing more to me. From thee each tie I'll sever That binds my heart to thee." She will not admit to sorrow, says she does not want his love, tells him to court another, says he blighted her hopes, and blesses him AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: love separation nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownII 159, "This Night We Part Forever" (1 text) Roud #3630 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "I'll Be All Smiles Tonight" (theme) NOTES: Sort of an "I'll Be All Smiles Tonight" with less smiling and more griping. - RBW File: BrII159 === NAME: This Old Hammer: see Take This Hammer (File: FR383) === NAME: This Old Man DESCRIPTION: "This old man, he played one, He played knick-knack on my thumb, With a knick-knack, paddy wack, Give the dog a bone, This old man went rolling home." Similarly, "This old man, he played two, he played knick-knack on my shoe," and on upward AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1953 (recording, Pete Seeger) KEYWORDS: nonballad FOUND_IN: US Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 390, "This Old Man" (1 text) Peacock, p. 21, "Old Tommy Kendal" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, THOLDMAN* Roud #3550 RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "This Old Man" (on PeteSeegeer3, PeteSeegerCD03) File: FSWB390C === NAME: This Old World DESCRIPTION: Chorus: "This old world is full of sorrow, Full of sickness, weak and sore, If you love your neighbor truly, Love will come to you the more." Floating verses from other hymns: "We're all children of one father." "I will arise and go to Jesus." etc. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1966 KEYWORDS: religious nonballad floatingverses FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Darling-NAS, p. 259, "This Old World" (1 text) ST DarN259B (Full) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing (I)" (tunes) SAME_TUNE: Mercy O Thou Son of David (Sacred Harp, pp. 52, 56, 458) NOTES: The background to this song is confusing. The Golden Ring lists it as a set of words for "Mercy O Thou Son of David" (listed as by John Newton). But the Sacred Harp lists three tunes for those lyrics (which it also credits to John Newton): "Charlestown," "Villulia," and "Friendship." To make matters worse, while all of those tunes fit "This Old World," none appear (at least in my copy of the Sacred Harp) seem to exactly match it. If this song is anything, it's a placeholder for a variety of texts. There is almost a continuous gradation from this to songs of the "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" group. - RBW File: DarN259B === NAME: This Old World Ain't Going to Stand Much Longer DESCRIPTION: "Because this ole world ain't goin' to stand much longer... Gettin' us ready for the judgment day." The singer praises his mother for teaching him to pray, warns of judgment, and points up the example of King Hezekiah AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1944 (Wheeler) KEYWORDS: religious Bible death FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) MWheeler, p. 73-75, "This Ole Worl' Ain't Goin' to Stan' Much Longer" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Little Black Train Is A-Comin'" (subject) NOTES: The story of Hezekiah's bout with sickness, God's threat, Hezekiah's repentance, and Isaiah's promise of fifteen additional years of life is told in 2 Kings 20:1-11 and briefly summarized in 2 Chronicles 32:24-26. This story of Hezekiah is told in much the same words in "Little Black Train"; the two are certainly dependent in some way. But it may be just a case of spirituals mixing themes. The two songs appear to be independent except for that one bit of material. - RBW File: MWhee073 === NAME: This Ole Worl' Ain't Goin' to Stan' Much Longer: see This Old World Ain't Going to Stand Much Longer (File: MWhee073) === NAME: This Train DESCRIPTION: "This train is bound for glory... If you ride it, you must be holy." "This train don't pull no gamblers..." (And so forth, through various sinners the train doesn't pull.) "This train don't pull no extras... Don't pull nothin' but the Heavenly Special." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (recording, Florida Normal Industrial Institute Quartet) KEYWORDS: train religious FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (5 citations) Cohen-LSRail, pp. 629-632, "This Train/Same Train" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 255, "This Train" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 593-594, "This Train" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 56, "This Train" (1 text) DT, THSTRAIN* Roud #6702 RECORDINGS: Biddleville Quintette, "This Train is Bound for Blory" (Paramount 12448, 1927) Big Bill Broonzy, "This Train" (on Broonzy01) Florida Normal Industrial Institute Quartet, "Dis Train" (OKeh 40010, 1924; rec. 1922) Garland Jubilee Singers [pseud. for Bryant's Jubilee Quartet] "This Train" (Banner 32267/Oriole 8098/Romeo 5098, all 1931/Perfect 190, 1932; on RoughWays2) Lulu Belle & Scotty, "This Train" (OKeh 04910, 1939) S. E. Mullis Blue Diamond Quartet, "Dis Train" (Champion 16424, 1932) Southern Plantation Singers, "This Train is Bound for Glory" (Vocalion 1250, 1929; rec. 1928) Sister Rosetta Tharpe, "This Train" (Decca 2558, 1939) (Down Beat 104 [as Sister Katty Marie], n.d.) NOTES: Cohen observes that there are two basic forms of this song, the "This Train" version in the description and a type he calls "Same Train": "Same train carry my mother, same train (x2). Same train carry my mother, Same train be back tomorrow, same train." There isn't much different in age, but Cohen argues that "Same Train" is older because it is much less interesting. I would say he is almost certainly right. Cohen also notes the Lomax Special nature of this song. The version in _American Ballads and Folk Songs_, which probably is the source of most pop folk versions, claims to be based on a field recording by Walter McDonald, but in fact does not agree with that recording, and the later Lomax version in _Folk Songs of North America_ says it's based on _American Ballads and Folk Songs_, but it again is rewritten. - RBW File: LoF255 === NAME: This Train Is Bound for Glory: see This Train (File: LoF255) === NAME: This Very Unhappy Man DESCRIPTION: Bachelor decides to marry; he goes to a girl's house in his Sunday best and proposes. Her parents appear, he panics and runs, the dog chases him, he falls over a hornet's nest, and laments, "I can't begin to tell you the half of this very unhappy man." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1963 (recording, Margaret MacArthur) KEYWORDS: courting humorous father mother FOUND_IN: US(NE) REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Margaret MacArthur, "This Very Unhappy Man" (on MMacArthur01) NOTES: Not to be confused with "The Very Unfortunate Man." - PJS File: RcTVUM === NAME: This World Is Not My Home DESCRIPTION: "This world is not my home; I'm just a passing through." "Oh Lord, you know, I have no friend like you. If Heaven's not my home, then, Lord, what will I do? Angels beckon me to Heaven's open door, And I can't feel at home in this world any more." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (recording, Stove Pipe No. 1) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Warner 135, "The World Is Not My Home" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 354, "I Can't Feel At Home In This World Any More" (1 text) DT, CANTHOME* Roud #7481 RECORDINGS: Alphabetical Four, "I Can't Feel At Home In This World Anymore" (Decca 7840, 1941; on AlphabFour01) Carter Family, "Can't Feel at Home" (Victor 23569, 1931/Bluebird B-6257, 1936) Pete Cassell, "I Can't Feel At Home in this World" (Decca 6077, 1942; rec. 1941) Kentucky Thorobreds, "This World Is Not My Home" (Paramount 3014, 1927) Collins Bros. "I Can't Feel At Home In This World" (Decca 5635, 1939; rec. 1938) Golden Echo Quartet, "This World Is Not My Home" (Columbia 14572-D, 1931; rec. 1927) Jessie May Hill, "This World Is Not My Home" (OKeh 8546, 1927) J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers, "This World Is Not My Home" (Bluebird B-6088/Montgomery Ward M-4714, 1935) Monroe Brothers, "This World Is Not My Home" (Bluebird B-6309/Montgomery Ward M-4745, 1936) Prairie Ramblers, "This World Is Not My Home" (Banner 33449/Melotone 13416/Conqueror 8503, 1935) Claude Sharpe & Old Hickory Singers, "This World Is Not My Home" (Columbia 20450, 1948; rec. 1946) Southern Sons Quartette, "I Can't Feel At Home Any More" (Trumpet 143, n.d.) Stove Pipe No. 1, "Lord Don't You Know I Have No Friend Like You" (Columbia 210-D, 1924) Hank Thompson, "Can't Feel At Home In The World Anymore" (Capitol 1163, 1950) Frank Welling & John McGhee, "This World Is Not My Home" (Champion 16585, 1933; rec. 1932) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "I Ain't Got No Home" (structure, lyrics, tune) NOTES: This is really a group or cluster of songs with verses that float effortlessly between them. - PJS File: Wa135 === NAME: Thomas and Ellen: see Lord Thomas and Fair Annet [Child 73] (File: C073) === NAME: Thomas and Nancy [Laws K15] DESCRIPTION: Thomas's ship is ready for sea, forcing him to leave Nancy. She calls to him to remember his sweetheart and family. His ship is wrecked almost at once. Nancy finds Thomas's body, kisses its lips, and dies of grief AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(3473)) KEYWORDS: separation wreck death FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Laws K15, "Thomas and Nancy" Greenleaf/Mansfield 54, "Thomas and Nancy" (1 text, 1 tune) Peacock, pp. 729-732, "Thomas and Nancy" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Lehr/Best 107, "Thomas and Nancy" (1 text, 1 tune) DT 812, TOMNANCY Roud #3232 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(3473), "Thomas and Nancy," J. Catnach (London), 1813-1838; also Harding B 11(4123), Firth b.27(273), Firth b.25(109), 2806 c.16(120), Firth b.26(156), Harding B 16(287c), Firth c.13(298), Johnson Ballads 2915, "Thomas and Nancy" Murray, Mu23-y1:119, "Thomas and Nancy," unknown, 19C CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Wreck of the Lady Shearbrooke" (theme) cf. "The Lady of the Lake (The Banks of Clyde II)" [Laws N41] (theme) SAME_TUNE: Gallant Hussar (per broadsides Bodleian Firth b.27(273), Bodleian 2806 c.16(120)) NOTES: Although the Bodleian broadsides list the tune as "Gallant Hussar," this doesn't really match "The Gallant Hussar (A Damsel Possessed of Great Beauty)" metrically; you can make it fit, but it's work. I suspect a different "Gallant Hussar" song is meant. - RBW File: LK15 === NAME: Thomas Cromwell [Child 171] DESCRIPTION: (Someone) makes a request of (the King), who offers anything short of his crown. The petitioner asks the head of Thomas Cromwell. The king orders two earls to fetch Cromwell and have him executed. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1750 (Percy folio) KEYWORDS: trial execution royalty nobility HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: June 10, 1540 - Arrest of Thomas, Lord Cromwell at the order of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk. July 28, 1540 - Execution of Cromwell by Henry VIII. (His fifth wife Katherine Howard, the Duke of Norfolk's niece, is said to have put him up to it) FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Child 171, "Thomas Cromwell" (1 text) Roud #4002 NOTES: This ballad exists only as a fragment in the Percy folio. There is a ballad in Percy's _Reliques_ called "On Thomas Lord Cromwell," but it is not the same piece. Cromwell (c. 1487-1540) was one of Henry VIII's chief ministers; he held power for many years as a result of his willingness to serve his master's needs. As such, he was one of the main forces behind the Anglican Revolution (though Cromwell probably didn't have strong feelings on the issue either way). Born in obscurity, he entered Wolsey's service in 1514, and grew steadily in important and influence thereafter, being elected to parliament in 1523, then entering Henry's service in 1530. Among his productions was the 1534 Act of Supremacy (making the King of England head of the English church). Made Earl of Essex in 1540, he arranged Henry's marriage with Anne of Cleves (wife #4); when this marriage proved an instant disaster, Henry sent him to the tower. Catherine Howard (wife #5) and her family probably helped secure his execution. Ironically, Cromwell's great-great-nephew Oliver Cromwell would later pull down a King (though Charles I, of course, was not a descendent of Henry VIII). - RBW File: C171 === NAME: Thomas J Hodder, The DESCRIPTION: Thomas J Hodder leaves Sydney. Captain Lake runs aground taking a short cut in Placentia Bay on March 8, 1952. People from Placentia Bay come out to offload Hodder. Evette also runs aground. Both are tugged free and Hodder is repaired at Burin. AUTHOR: Lil Fitzgerald and Rose Pickett EARLIEST_DATE: 1977 (Lehr/Best) KEYWORDS: sea ship ordeal FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lehr/Best 108, "The Thomas J Hodder" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Placentia Bay is on the south coast of Newfoundland. The song notes that Hodder is "a splendid boat, about one hundred ton" that ran from Placentia Bay to Boston. - BS File: LeBe108 === NAME: Thomas Murphy DESCRIPTION: Thomas Murphy ships on The Dolphin from Liverpool to Africa. On the way home the ship springs a leak, and the crew escape in long boats. "But when our boat she struck the shore she was burst in by a wave." Of fourteen, twelve, including Murphy, are lost. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1946 (Ranson) KEYWORDS: drowning sea ship wreck sailor Africa FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ranson, pp. 98-99, "Thomas Murphy" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7356 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Georgina" (tune) File: Ran098 === NAME: Thomas o Yonderdale [Child 253] DESCRIPTION: Thomas gets Lady Maisry pregnant and, hearing her lamenting, promises to marry her. He goes to sea and courts another woman, but a dream causes him to summon Maisry to be wed. Both prospective brides show up; he sends the other girl away AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: love courting pregnancy separation dream reunion marriage FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Child 253, "Thomas o Yonderdale" (1 text) Bronson 253, "Thomas o Yonderdale" (2 versions) Roud #3890 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Young Beichan" [Child 53] cf. "Fair Annie" [Child 62] cf. "Lord Thomas and Fair Annet" [Child 73] NOTES: Child comments, "This looks like a recent piece, fabricated, with a certain amount of cheap mortar, from recollections of 'Fair Annie,' No 62, 'Lord Thomas and Fair Annet,' No 73, and 'Young Beichan,' No 53." I'd say that pretty well sums it up. - RBW File: C253 === NAME: Thomas Rymer [Child 37] DESCRIPTION: Thomas the Rhymer of Ercildoune meets the Queen of Elfland. She takes him away from earth for seven years, putting him through various rituals which no doubt instill his prophetic powers. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1800 KEYWORDS: magic prophecy abduction FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) US(SE) REFERENCES: (15 citations) Child 37, "Thomas Rymer" (3 texts) Bronson 37, "Thomas Rymer" (2 versions) BrownII 10, "Thomas Rhymer" (1 text) Leach, pp. 131-135, "Thomas Rhymer" (2 texts) OBB 1, "Thomas the Rhymer" (1 text) Friedman, p. 39, "Thomas Rymer" (1 text) PBB 22, "Thomas Rhymer" (1 text) Gummere, pp. 290-292+361-362, "Thomas Rymer" (1 text) Hodgart, p. 127, "Thomas Rymer" (1 text) DBuchan 6, "Thomas Rymer" (1 text) TBB 35, "Thomas Rymer" (1 text) Ord, pp. 422-425, "Sir John Gordon" (1 text, a truly curious version which retains the plot and lyrics of this song so closely that it cannot be called anything else, but with a different and inexplicable name for the hero) HarvClass-EP1, pp. 76-78, "Thomas Rymer and the Queen of Elfland" (1 text) DT 37, TOMRHYM* TOMRHYM2 TRUTOMAS ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #136, "Thomas Rymer" (1 text) Roud #219 ALTERNATE_TITLES: True Thomas NOTES: Very many of Thomas of Ercildoune's (True Thomas's) predictions are in circulation, though only a few are precisely dated or can be tied to specific events. Perhaps the most famous prophecy dates from 1286, the year Alexander III of Scotland died. The day before Alexander's death, he had forecast that "before the next day at noon, such a tempest shall blow as Scotland has not felt for many years." When the next day proved clear, Thomas was taunted, but his forecast proved true -- Scotland would not again see peace until after the battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Real and verifiable facts about Thomas are far fewer, but he does appear to have been a real person. "Thomas of Ercildoune" is a witness to a charter of c. 1265 (about the Haigs of Bemerside, also the subject of one of his couplets), and another Thomas, the son of "Thomas the Rhymer of Ercildoune," was an adult transacting in property in 1294. Thomas's prophecies, however, were not "collected" until 1603; it would be difficult to prove the authenticity of most of these. - RBW File: C037 === NAME: Thomas Rymer and the Queen of Elfland: see Thomas Rymer [Child 37] (File: C037) === NAME: Thomas the Rhymer: see Thomas Rymer [Child 37] (File: C037) === NAME: Thorn Rose: see Sleeping Beauty (Thorn Rose, Briar Rose) (File: HHH599) === NAME: Thornaby Woods: see The Nottinghamshire Poacher (File: E053) === NAME: Thorneymoor Woods: see The Nottinghamshire Poacher (File: E053) === NAME: Thorny Woods: see The Nottinghamshire Poacher (File: E053) === NAME: Thornymuir Fields: see The Nottinghamshire Poacher (File: E053) === NAME: Thorwaldsen, The DESCRIPTION: "Twas a noble craft and a gallant crew That leaved the port that day, The sea was calm and the sky was blue As she sped on her course that day," leaving behind women and babies depending on the crew. The ship is wrecked by a winter storm on its way home. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1920 (Greenleaf/Mansfield) KEYWORDS: death drowning commerce sea ship storm wreck family sailor HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Feb 18, 1873 - Schooner _Thorwaldsen_, en route from Newfoundland to Gloucester reported missing (according to the orthern Shipwrecks Database 2002) FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Greenleaf/Mansfield 143, "The Thorwaldsen" (1 text) Roud #17755 File: GrMa143 === NAME: Those Gambler's Blues: see Saint James Infirmary (File: San228) === NAME: Those Poor Convicts DESCRIPTION: Consider the sentencing and departure of Irish convicts bound for "Vandiamonds Land": O'Reilly from Cavan, three Duffys and Bryan Seery in Mullingar. "Unto their prosecutors they never done a wrong." "Think upon those traitors that's swore our lives away" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1846 (Zimmermann) KEYWORDS: transportation Ireland lament FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Zimmermann 53, "The Sorrowful Lamentation of Those Poor Convicts" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Van Dieman's Land (I)" (tune) NOTES: Incongruously -- considering that these are supposedly innocent men -- this ballad shares lines with "The Edinburgh Convicts" and "Botany Bay" versions of "The Boston Burglar" [Laws L16]): "A warning take by me,I'd have you quit night walking,And shun bad company." - BS File: Zimm053 === NAME: Those Wedding Bells Shall Not Ring Out! DESCRIPTION: A couple is about to be married. When the sexton asks if there are any objections, a man cries out, "Those bells shall not ring out"; the bride is his wife! He stabs her, then himself, saying "She's mine till death shall set her free." AUTHOR: Monroe H. Rosenfeld? EARLIEST_DATE: 1896 (sheet music) KEYWORDS: marriage wedding betrayal homicide suicide FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Randolph 822, "Those Wedding Bells Shall Not Ring Out!" (1 text) Spaeth-WeepMore, pp. 231-233, "Those Wedding Bells Shall Not Ring Out!" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7435 BROADSIDES: NLScotland, RB.m.143(124), "Those Wedding Bells shall not Ring Out," Poet's Box (Dundee), c. 1880-1900 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Fatal Wedding" (subject) NOTES: Randolph lists an 1896 London copyright in the name of Charles W. Heid. It seems more likely, however, that the claim by Monroe H. Rosenfeld is correct. Joan Morris writes of him, "Though he was a notorious womanizer and lost most of his money to bookmakers, Rosenfeld never wrote a song without a moral." For a selection of Rosenfeld's more noteworthy pieces, which eventually start to seem rather like potboilers, see Spaeth, _Read 'Em and Weep_, pp. 181-187. The original sheet music claims that this is an unamplified portrayal of something that actually happened in "a western city." The exaggerated tone of the song, and the failure to provide details, leave the matter open to question. Spaeth (_A History of Popular Music in America_, p. 232) calls it a "flagrant imitation" of "The Fatal Wedding." - RBW File: R822 === NAME: Thou Hast Learned to Love Another DESCRIPTION: "Thou hast learned to love another, Thou hast broken every vow." The singer recalls how she and her false love "met in scenes of pleasure," notes how he now dotes upon another, wishes they had never met, and bids "Farewell, farewell forever" AUTHOR: Charles Slade EARLIEST_DATE: 1842 (Journal of the Courier) KEYWORDS: love betrayal FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 249-250, "Thou Hast Learned to Love Another" (1 text, 1 tune) Belden, p. 211, "Thou Hast Learned to Love Another" (1 text) Randolph 755, "The Broken Heart" (9 texts, 2 tunes, of which the "F" text is this piece) Roud #2065 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Ella Lea" (floating lyrics) cf. "Parting Words" (floating lyrics) File: Beld211A === NAME: Thought I Fell in Ten Foot of Water DESCRIPTION: Hammering song. "Thought I fell in, Uh! ten foot o' water, Uh! (x3), Over my head, Uh! over my head. Uh!" "Jay bird sat on, Uh! a hickory limb, Uh! (x3), Over my head, Uh! over my head. Uh!" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: worksong bird FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 217-218, "Work-Song" (1 short text, 1 tune) NOTES: Scarborough says the first part of this tune is "I've Been Working on the Railroad." Not quite, though it's close. - RBW File: ScaNF217 === NAME: Thoughts of Long Ago, The DESCRIPTION: The singer invites "in fancy ... a trip across the sea" in order to think of those left behind. "Can you recall, sweetheart of mine, The place where I met you?" He recalls "when we set sail." "God forbid that we'd e'er forget Our dear little Isle" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1980 (IRHardySons) KEYWORDS: emigration home parting Ireland nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #2954 File: RcToLAg === NAME: Thoughts on the Newfoundland Sailing Voyage DESCRIPTION: "Heigho, my lads, for the tenth of March, And a gallant ship and crew." The singer declares that the crew will happily go to sea, brave the conditions, fill the holds, and return to Harbor Grace AUTHOR: George T. Sheppard EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (Ryan/Small); reportedly written 1926 KEYWORDS: hunting ship FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ryan/Small, p. 117, "Thoughts on the Newfoundland Sailing Voyage" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: The lyrics of this appear to be based on "A Capital Ship" or one of its relatives; the verse form is the same and there are reminiscences in the lyrics (including an excessive fondness for "heigh-ho"). But there is no chorus; the author may not have meant it to be sung. - RBW File: RySm117 === NAME: Thousand Miles Away, A DESCRIPTION: "Hurrah for the Roma railway! Hurrah for Cobb and o., An of! for a good fat horse or two to carry me Westward Ho." The singer enjoys the freedom of Australia, and boasts of the climate and of the meat it produces AUTHOR: Charles Flower? EARLIEST_DATE: 1894 (The Queenslander) KEYWORDS: food nonballad horse FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 213-214, A Thousand Miles Away"" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Ten Thousand Miles Away from Home (A Wild and Reckless Hobo; The Railroad Bum)" [Laws H2] (words, tune) File: PFS213 === NAME: Thousands Are Sailing to America DESCRIPTION: "Your sons and brave daughters are now going away, And thousands are sailing to America." The singer addresses those staying in Ireland and describes sad partings. You raise children, try to support them, "and when they are reared sure they will go away" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 (Morton-Maguire) KEYWORDS: emigration parting America Ireland nonballad family friend FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Morton-Maguire 15, pp. 37-38,107,162-163, "Thousands Are Sailing to America" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2904 RECORDINGS: John Maguire, "Thousands Are Sailing to Amerikay" (on IRJMaguire01) NOTES: Morton-Maguire: "This is a song from the 1880s, by which time the enforced emigration of famine times had become a ritual, almost part of growing up." - BS We should be a little careful in how we interpret these words. There were famines in Ireland before the potato blights, and all resulted in emigration, and the rate of emigration increased with the great famines of the 1840s. But the potato blight, which resulted in the death or emigration of almost half the population, largely solved the problem of actual starvation; with the population down to a reasonable level, there were no more Mathusian catastrophes. The real problem was that the landlords owned the land, meaning that the tenants were still working for almost no reward. As another emigration song says, "'Twas not for the want of employment at home That causes the sons of old Ireland to roam. But those tyrannizing landlords, they would not let us stay...." And so the emigrant ships were filled, and stayed full for many years even after Ireland became independent.... - RBW File: MoMa015 === NAME: Thousands or More DESCRIPTION: Singer says time passes more cheerfully since they've found a new way (drink) to drive sorrows away. He has no credit, but you will find him at home with his bottle and friend. Neither rich nor poor, he's "as happy as those that's got thousands or more" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 (recorded from Jim Copper) KEYWORDS: drink nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Kennedy 284, "Thousands or More" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #1220 NOTES: Kennedy suggests this may be a version of "Drive the Cold Winter Away". I don't hear it myself.... It's worth noting that... all versions of this song have come from one or another members of the Copper family of Rottingdean. - PJS File: K284 === NAME: Thra DESCRIPTION: "Henry Thra he did invite The boys to go on Halloweve night" and get drunk and make a racket on the roads until morning. "When Thra raised up that dreadful noise He took brave Hughie by surprise." Hughie chases the boys on his horse. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 (Dibblee/Dibblee) KEYWORDS: drink humorous horse FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Dibblee/Dibblee, p. 16, "Thra" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #12482 File: Din016 === NAME: Thrashing Machine (I), The DESCRIPTION: Farmer show his servant Nell the works of his thrashing machine. He straps her into the harness, she takes the handle and turns on the steam. Nine months later, when her apron won't pin, she says she'll have him transported for his thrashing machine AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1855 (broadside, Bodleian Firth b.25(339)) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Farmer show his servant Nell the works of his thrashing machine; she tells him to come into the barn where they won't be seen. He straps her into the harness, she takes the handle and turns on the steam, and they begin working the thrashing machine. Nine months later, when her apron won't pin and her drawers won't go on, she says she'll have him transported for his thrashing machine KEYWORDS: sex punishment transportation pregnancy farming technology bawdy servant FOUND_IN: Ireland Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ives-NewBrunswick, pp. 92-94, "The Thrashing Machine" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #1491 RECORDINGS: Anne [Annie] O'Neill, "The Thrashing Machine" (on FSB2, FSB2CD) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Firth b.25(339), "Thrashing Machine," E.M.A. Hodges (London), 1846-1854; also Harding B 15(330a), Firth b.27(87), Harding B 11(3808), Firth b.34(290), "Thrashing Machine" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Threshing Machine (I)" (subject, sort of) NOTES: This doesn't seem to be a parody of "The Threshing Machine" -- the tune and meter are different, and there's no overlap in the words. You should probably check that one out anyway, though. - PJS File: RcThraM === NAME: Thrashing Machine (II), The: see The Threshing Machine (I) (File: K231) === NAME: Three Black Crows: see The Three Ravens [Child 26] (File: C026) === NAME: Three Blind Mice DESCRIPTION: "Three blind mice (x2), See how they run (x2); They all ran after the farmer's wife. She cut off their tails with a carving knife. Did you ever see such a sight in your life As three blind mice?" AUTHOR: Thomas Ravenscroft? EARLIEST_DATE: 1609 (Ravenscroft's Deuteromelia) KEYWORDS: animal disability FOUND_IN: Britain(England) US(NE) REFERENCES: (6 citations) Linscott, pp. 283-284, "Three Blind Mice" (1 text, 1 tune) Opie-Oxford2 348, "Three blind mice, see how they run!" (2 texts) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #253, p. 156, "(Three blind mice, see how they run!)" Silber-FSWB, p. 413, "Three Blind Mice" (1 text) Fuld, p. 576, "Three Blind Mice" DT, (THREEBLN*) ST FSWB413A (Full) Roud #3753 SAME_TUNE: The (Blind/Decrepit/Myopic) Rodents (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 208) NOTES: Fuld reports this as "the earliest printed secular song which is still extremely well known" (but compare "Greensleeves"). Fuld also prints a plate of the 1609 music -- in a somewhat pre-modern notation, and with words noticeably different from those sung today. Neither Fuld nor any other source I have seen offers an explanation for why this bit of silliness survives when so many better pieces died out. The Baring-Goulds note that there have been attempts to link it to political events -- e.g. the Farmer's Wife is Mary I Tudor, and the mice are Protestant leaders who opposed her. None of these explanations is very convincing. - RBW File: FSWB413A === NAME: Three Boocher Lads: see The Three Butchers [Laws L4] (File: LL04) === NAME: Three Brave Blacksmiths DESCRIPTION: Three brave blacksmiths from County Clare refuse to work for a grabber, are thrown in jail, refuse bail, and are treated as heroes when their term is up. "Blacksmiths, whitesmiths, tradesmen everywhere, Fathers, labourers, see your model there" AUTHOR: T.D. Sullivan (1827-1914) (source: OLochlainn-More) EARLIEST_DATE: 1888 (_Prison Poems or Lays of Tullamore,_ according to OLochlainn-More) KEYWORDS: prison work Ireland patriotic political HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1888 - Maguire, Maloney and Heaney are jailed in Miltown Malbay for supporting the boycott of a local landlord (source: notes to IRClare01). FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OLochlainn-More 71, "Three Brave Blacksmiths" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9768 RECORDINGS: 1888 - Maguire, Maloney and Heaney are jailed in Miltown Malbay for supporting the boycott of a local landlord (source: notes to IRClare01). CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Sing a Song of Sixpence" (tune, according to OLochlainn-More) NOTES: OLochlainn-More: "Another of Sullivan's Land League songs." - BS Sullivan is the author of a number of Irish patriotic poems, of which "God Save Ireland" is probably the best-known. - RBW File: OLcM071 === NAME: Three Brothers from Spain (Knights of Spain, We Are Three Jews) DESCRIPTION: "We are three (brothers/dukes/knights/jews) come from Spain, Come to court your daughter Jane." "My daughter Jane is yet too young...." "It is for gold she must be sold." The (knight) turns away. The mother calls him back; he chooses the fairest AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1903 (Newell) KEYWORDS: courting beauty playparty FOUND_IN: US(MW,NE) Britain(England) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #633, pp. 250-251, "(We're three Brethren out of Spain)" (DT, THREDUKE mixes this with "Three Dukes") ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #353, "Three Knights from Spain" (1 text) Roud #8251 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Three Dukes" (plot) NOTES: This has some points of similarity with "Three Dukes," and it appears some scholars have lumped them. But even Roud, who is generally a lumper, splits them, and I do so without hesitation. - RBW File: BGMG633 === NAME: Three Brothers, The DESCRIPTION: "A ship rides on the cruel wave" in sight of the Tuskar light at Carnsore. Three brothers leave shore and "steer for the vessel's side ... Then sink in the yawning wave." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1948 (Ranson) KEYWORDS: drowning sea ship storm wreck sailor rescue FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ranson, p. 115, "The Three Brothers" (1 text) NOTES: Tuskar Lighthouse and Carnsore Point are on the Wexford coast. - BS File: Ran115 === NAME: Three Butchers, The (Dixon and Johnson) [Laws L4] DESCRIPTION: Three butchers are riding when they hear a woman calling out. They find her naked and bound. They free her; she blows a whistle which summons robbers. Two butchers yield, but Johnson fights and is close to winning when the woman stabs him from behind AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1678 KEYWORDS: outlaw trick death fight FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,NE,SE,So) Canada(Mar,Newf) Britain(England(South),Scotland) Ireland REFERENCES: (21 citations) Laws L4, "The Three Butchers" Randolph 97, "Dixon and Johnson" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 74-75, "Dixon and Johnson" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 97) FSCatskills 111, "The Three Jolly Butchers" (1 text, 1 tune) Kennedy 335, "Three Jolly Sportsmen" (1 text, 1 tune) Copper-SoBreeze, pp. 254-255, "Young Butcher Boy" (1 text, 1 tune) JHCox 86, "Jackison and Dickison" (1 text) SharpAp 60, "The Three Butchers" (4 texts, 4 tunes) SHenry H185, pp. 128-129, "The Three Huntsmen/Wilson, Gilmore, and Johnson" (1 text, 1 tune) MacSeegTrav 24, "The Three Butchers" (1 text, 1 tune) BrownII 80, "The Three Butchers" (2 texts) Chappell-FSRA 46, "Good Woman" (1 fragment) Creighton/Senior, pp. 120-122, "The Three Jovial Huntsmen" (2 texts, 2 tunes, with the first being a peculiar variant in which the huntsmen all resist and Johnson kills the deceitful woman) Creighton-NovaScotia 97, "The Three Gallant Huntsmen" (1 text, 1 tune; this resembles the Creighton/Senior version in which the huntsmen win the battle) Greenleaf/Mansfield 37, "Johnson" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Peacock, pp. 817-818, "Jolly Butchermen" (1 text, 1 tune) Karpeles-Newfoundland 33, "The Three Butchers" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Leach-Labrador 59, "Three Boocher Lads" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 223, "Johnson" (1 text) BBI, ZN782, "Did you never hear of worthy butchers three"; ZN1365, "I'll tell you a story of lovely butchers three" DT 325, BUTCHER2 BUTCHER3* Roud #17 RECORDINGS: Bob Scarce, "Three Jolly Sportsmen" (on FSB8) Pete Seeger, "The Three Butchers" (on PeteSeeger16) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 28(206), "The Three Butchers," W. Wright (Birmingham), 1820-1827; also 2806 c.16(200), Harding B 11(4230), Firth c.17(1), Harding B 11(876), Firth c.17(2), Harding B 25(1901), Harding B 15(330b), Harding B 16(288a), "[The] Three Butchers"; Harding B 11(1767), Firth c.17(3), "Ips, Gips, and Johnson" or "The Three Butchers[!]" ALTERNATE_TITLES: Jinkson Johnson The Three Riders The Jolly Butchermen File: LL04 === NAME: Three C Railroad DESCRIPTION: Hammer song. "Oh, baby, Uh! what you gwine to do? Uh! Three C railroad, Uh! done run through! Uh!" "My and my partner, him and me!" "Oh, baby, what you gwine to do? Seaboard Air-line (or other train) done run through." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: railroading work FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 216-217, "Work-Song" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: There are hints of this in some of Lead Belly's songs. But that may just be the common stuff of all railroad work songs. - RBW File: ScNF216C === NAME: Three Children Sliding On The Ice: see Three Little Girls A-Skating Went (File: R588) === NAME: Three Crows, The: see The Three Ravens [Child 26] (File: C026) === NAME: Three Dogs in a Row DESCRIPTION: "Ho, ho, ho! Three dogs in a row! Three dogs in a row! One dog's white, and so are the others, All three dogs are watching for their mother." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (Henry, from Minnie Stokes) KEYWORDS: dog mother FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) MHenry-Appalachians, p. 241, (no title) (1 short text) File: MHAp241B === NAME: Three Drunken Maidens: see Drunken Maidens (File: Log240) === NAME: Three Dukes DESCRIPTION: "Here comes (three dukes) a-ridin', a-ridin', a-ridin', Here comes a duke a-ridin' The raz-ma-taz-a-ma-tee." The duke comes to be married; the girls ask him to choose one of them. He calls them ugly; they say they're as good as he is. He chooses one. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1898 (Gomme) KEYWORDS: playparty courting nobility FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,NE,So) Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (8 citations) Randolph 551, "Raz-Ma-Taz-A-Ma-Tee" (2 texts, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 406-407, "Raz-Ma-Taz-A-Ma-Tee" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 551A) BrownIII 68, "Here Comes Three Lawyers" (1 text) Ritchie-Southern, p. 51, "Two Dukes A-Roving" (1 text, 1 tune) Linscott, pp. 13-15, "Here Come Three Dukes A-Riding" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton/Senior, pp. 260-262, "Here Comes a Duke A-Riding" (3 texts, 2 tunes) MHenry-Appalachians, p. 242, (no title) (1 short text) DT, THREDUK1 THREDUK2 Roud #730 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Hog Drovers" (plot, lyrics) cf. "Three Brothers from Spain (Knights of Spain, We Are Three Jews)" (plot, lyrics) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Here Come Three Kings A-Riding File: R551 === NAME: Three English Rovers: see Campbell the Rover (File: K269) === NAME: Three Flowers of Chivalry, The DESCRIPTION: The soldiers in the Crimea are depressed, when three Irishmen spring up, recall their homes and sweethearts, and rally the troops. In battle the next day, the British are victorious, but the three heroes die AUTHOR: Andrew Orr EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Sam Henry collection, from a book said to have been published c. 1865) KEYWORDS: soldier death HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1853-1856 - Crimean War (Britain and France actively at war with Russia 1854-1855) FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H99, pp. 89-90, "The Three Flowers of Chivalry" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #8146 File: HHH099 === NAME: Three Flowers, The DESCRIPTION: Singer met a girl with three flowers. He asked where she found them. She named each for where she found it: Michael Dwyer from the Wicklow hills, Wolfe Tone on Antrim Hill, and Robert Emmet in Dublin. She will keep them "Though all the world should fall" AUTHOR: Norman G. Reddin (source: Moylan) EARLIEST_DATE: 2000 (Moylan) KEYWORDS: flowers patriotic Ireland FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Moylan 162, "The Three Flowers" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Moylan: "Michael Dwyer was a Wicklow man, a member of the United Irishmen, who fought during the 1798 rebellion, and who waged a guerilla war in the Wicklow mountains for several years afterwards." [For more on his story, see the notes to "Michael Dwyer (I)." - RBW] Wolfe Tone: see the notes to "The Shan Van Voght." Robert Emmet: see the notes to "Bold Robert Emmet." - BS There is a certain asymmetry here; Tone and Emmet were killed, but Dwyer surrendered and was transported, even becoming a civic official in Australia. It would seem more logical to list someone such as Henry Joy McCracken as the third flower. But then, I'm not Irish. - RBW File: Moyl162 === NAME: Three Gallant Huntsmen: see The Three Butchers [Laws L4] (File: LL04) === NAME: Three Girls Drowned [Laws G23] DESCRIPTION: Three young ladies, all Sunday School teachers, and a man named John Ash are on their way to church when they try to ford Gravel Run. The three girls are swept away and drowned, although Ash manages to survive AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recording, Vernon Dalhart) KEYWORDS: river death drowning HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1849 - drowning of the three girls FOUND_IN: US(MA,MW,SE) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Laws G23, "Three Girls Drowned" Gardner/Chickering 123, "Three Girls Drowned" (1 text, 1 tune) BrownII 210, "The Three Drowned Sisters" (1 text plus quotations from Gardner and Chickering) Roud #3257 RECORDINGS: Vernon Dalhart, "Three Drowned Sisters" (Brunswick 100, 1927) (Columbia 15126-D [as Al Craver], 1927) File: LG23 === NAME: Three Grains of Corn DESCRIPTION: "Give me three grains of corn, mother, only three grains of corn, 'Twill keep this little life I have Till the coming of the morn." The dying singer asks what Ireland has done to deserve death by famine and neglect, and notes that others are starving too AUTHOR: Words: Amelia Blandford Edwards? EARLIEST_DATE: 1848 (broadside, LOCSheet sm1848 431920) KEYWORDS: death Ireland starvation poverty HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1848 - First of several Irish potato blights. Although the blights did not mean that there was no food in Ireland, prices shot up to the point that many could not afford it. Many died in the famines, and others fled to America FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Sandburg, p. 41, "Give Me Three Grains of Corn, Mother" (1 text, 1 tune) Hudson 56, pp. 172-173, "Three Grains of Corn" (1 text) Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 360-363, "Give Me Three Grains of Corn, Mother" (2 texts; 1 tune on p. 454) DT, THREEGRN* GRANCORN Roud #4492 BROADSIDES: LOCSheet, sm1848 431920, "Give Me Three Grains of Corn, Mother", Oliver Ditson (Boston), 1848 (tune) NOTES: Scarborough speculates, "Perhaps the American pioneer's affection for [this] song is the remembrance of the famine among the early settlers in New England, when starvation was held off as long as possible by the rationing of food, the giving of three frains of corn as each person's daily supply." New England did face famine several times in its early existence. But this sounds strangely symbolic. The authorship of this is slightly uncertain, due probably more to transcription errors than anything else. Hazel Felleman's _The Best Loved Poems of the American People_ attributes the words to Amelia Blandford Edwards. But broadside LOCSheet sm1848 431920 lists "words by Mrs A.M. Edmond, Music by O.R. Gross." - (RBW, BS) File: San041 === NAME: Three Huntsmen, The: see The Three Butchers [Laws L4] (File: LL04) === NAME: Three Jews, The: see Once There Were Three Fishermen (File: FSWB240A) === NAME: Three Jolly Bums: see The Great American Bum (Three Jolly Bums) (File: FaE192) === NAME: Three Jolly Butchers, The: see The Three Butchers [Laws L4] (File: LL04) === NAME: Three Jolly Coachmen: see Landlord, Fill the Flowing Bowl (File: FSWB229A) === NAME: Three Jolly Fishermen: see Once There Were Three Fishermen (File: FSWB240A) === NAME: Three Jolly Frenchmen: see Three Jolly Huntsmen (File: R077) === NAME: Three Jolly Huntsmen DESCRIPTION: Three jolly (Frenchmen/Welshmen/other) go hunting. Periodically they see things (barn, frog, moon) which they cannot identify. In each case they propound their theories and move on. Finally they see an owl. One says it is the "evil one"; they flee AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1613 (broadside, "Choice of Inventions, Or Seuerall sort of the figure of three"; earliest complete form 1219?) KEYWORDS: humorous hunting nonsense FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South),Wales) US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,SE,So) Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (21 citations) Belden, pp. 246-248, "Three Jolly Welshmen" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph 77, "We Hunted and Hollered" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph-Legman I, pp. 306-307, "Three Jolly Huntsmen" (1 text, 1 tune) Eddy 87, "Three Jolly Frenchmen" (1 text) McNeil-SFB2, pp. 55-57, "Three Jolly Welshmen" (1 text, 1 tune) Fuson, pp. 183-184, "Three Jolly Welchmen" (1 text) FSCatskills 152, "The Three Huntsmen" (1 text, 1 tune) BrownII 190, "Three Jolly Welshmen" (5 text, but only "A" and "B" go here; the rest are "The Bold Ranger") Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 57-58, "So We Hunted and We Hollered," "Old Circus Song" (2 texts, the second from a newspaper) Flanders/Brown, pp. 125-126, "We Hunted and We Hallooed" (1 text) Linscott, pp. 290-292, "Three Jovial Huntsmen" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 2, "Cape Ann" (1 text, 1 tune) Kennedy 306, "Three Men Went A-Hunting" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton-NovaScotia 93, "Three Men Went A-Hunting" (1 text, 1 tune) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 168, "Three Men Went A-Hunting" (1 text, 1 tune) Botkin-NEFolklr, pp. 529-530, "Cape Ann" (1 text, 1 tune) JHCox 165, "The Three Farmers" (1 text, 2 tunes) Opie-Oxford2 524, "There were three jovial Welshmen" (5 texts) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #348, pp. 183-184, "(There were three jovial Welshmen)" Silber-FSWB, p. 243, "Cape Ann" (1 text) DT 315, THREWLSH* JOLLWLCH Roud #283 RECORDINGS: Jack Elliott, "We Went Along a Bit Further" (on Elliotts01) George Endicott, "Three Scamping Rogues" (on FieldTrip1) Byrd Moore & his Hot Shots, "Three Men Went A-Hunting" (Columbia 15496-D, 1929, sung to the tune of "Wish I'd Stayed in the Wagon Yard") New Lost City Ramblers, "Three Men Went a-Hunting" (on NLCR03) Hywel Wood, "Three Men Went a-Hunting" (on FSB10) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Bold Ranger" (theme, some lyrics) cf. "The Wild Cat Back on the Pipe Line" (theme, form) ALTERNATE_TITLES: We Hunted and We Halloed Look Ye There, Now Three Jolly Hunters The Three Huntsmen Twas of Three Jolly Welshmen Three Jovial Welshmen NOTES: What appears to be a stanza of this piece is quoted in the Shakespeare/Fletcher play "The Two Noble Kinsmen" (c. 1611). In III.v.67-71, immediately after singing a snatch of "The George Aloe and the Sweepstake," the mad jailer's daughter sings, There was three fools, fell out about an howlet, The one sed it was an owl, the other he sed nay, The third he sed it was a hawk, and her bels were cut away. A stanza in William Davenant's 1668 play "The Rivals" seems to be on the same theme, though it uses a different metrical pattern: There were three Fools at Mid-summer run mad About an Howlet, a quarrel they had. The one said 't was an Owle, the other he said nay, The third said it was a Haek but the Bells were cutt away. - RBW The "Cape Ann" versions of the song should not be confused with Gordon Bok's recent composition of the same name. - PJS File: R077 === NAME: Three Jolly Sportsmen: see The Three Butchers [Laws L4] (File: LL04) === NAME: Three Jolly Welshmen: see Three Jolly Huntsmen (File: R077) === NAME: Three Jovial Huntsmen: see Three Jolly Huntsmen (File: R077) === NAME: Three Jovial Huntsmen, The: see The Three Butchers (Dixon and Johnson) [Laws L4] (File: LL04) === NAME: Three Knights from Spain: see Three Brothers from Spain (Knights of Spain, We Are Three Jews) (File: BGMG633) === NAME: Three Leaves of Shamrock DESCRIPTION: The singer, about to leave Ireland, meets a poor girl who bids him take a message to her brother Ned: "Three leaves of shamrock... 'Take these to my brother, for I have no other. And these are the shamrock from his dear old mother's grave.'" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: death mourning burial mother brother sister emigration separation Ireland FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownII 135, "Three Leaves of Shamrock" (1 text plus mention of 4 more) ST BrII135 (Full) Roud #3769 RECORDINGS: The North Carolina Ramblers and Roy Harvey, "Three Leaves of Shamrock" (Paramount, unissued, 1927) File: BrII135 === NAME: Three Little Babes, The: see The Wife of Usher's Well [Child 79] (File: C079) === NAME: Three Little Babies: see The Cruel Mother [Child 20] (File: C020) === NAME: Three Little Girls A-Skating Went DESCRIPTION: "Three little girls a-skating went, a-skating went, a-skating went, Three little girls a-skating went All on a summer day." "The ice was thin, they all fell in, they all fell in, they all fell in... Or else they've run away." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1651 (The Loves of Hero and Leander, according to Opie-Oxford2) KEYWORDS: playparty humorous drowning FOUND_IN: US(MW,NE,So) Britain REFERENCES: (4 citations) Linscott, pp. 288-289, "Three Children Sliding on the Ice" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph 588, "Three Little Girls A-Skating Went" (1 text) Opie-Oxford2 99, "Three children sliding on the ice" (2 texts) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #32, p. 46, "(Three children sliding on the ice)" ST R588 (Full) Roud #3744 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Lamentations of a Bad Market" (and notes there) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Six Little Girls A-Sliding Went The Ice Was Thin NOTES: Although most American editors seem unaware of the connection, this goes back at least to the eighteenth century in Britain, and was common in garlands in that period. It has been ascribed to John Gay and to the editor of _Mother Goose's Melody_ (Oliver Goldsmith?). However, its appearance in Tommy Thumb's storybook pretty well precludes Goldsmith's authorship, and I know of no reason to believe in Gay's. The original air is said to have been "Chevy Chase," but this does not appear to have been the tune used in the U. S. - RBW Opie-Oxford2, p. 19: "In The Lamentations of a Bad Market ... it is the twelfth, eighteenth, and nineteenth stanzas which are known to the world; thet tell of 'Three children sliding on the ice' [Opie-Oxford2 99, "Three children sliding on the ice"]." - BS File: R588 === NAME: Three Little Kittens DESCRIPTION: Mother cat says the kittens can't have pie because they have lost their mittens. When they find the mittens they put them on to eat pie and soil them. They wash the mittens and hang them out to dry. They smell a rat close by. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1853 (New Nursery Songs, according to Opie-Oxford2) KEYWORDS: food animal humorous clothes FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Opie-Oxford2 289, "Three little kittens they lost their mittens" (1 text) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #815, pp. 303-304, "(Three little kittens they lost their mittens)" Roud #16150 NOTES: Opie-Oxford2: "The tune is a variant of "The Seven Joys of Mary." - BS The Baring-Goulds note that these lines are sometimes attributed to Eliza Follen, author of _New Nursery Songs for All Good Children_, but her notes call the piece traditional. - RBW File: OO2289 === NAME: Three Lost Babes of Americay, The DESCRIPTION: "Come uncle, come tell me that wonderful tale ..." Three children are lost. Their father, mother and neighbors search in vain. They ask an Indian chief for help. The father, Indian chief and "two youths of [the] tribe" find the children AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (Peacock) KEYWORDS: help rescue America children father mother Indians(Am.) FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Peacock, pp. 30-32, "The Three Lost Babes of Americay" (1 text, 1 tune) Leach-Labrador 50, "Babes in the Wood" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9944 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Children in the Wood (The Babes in the Woods)" [Laws Q34] (theme) cf. "The Lost Babe" (theme) NOTES: The similarity to "Babes in the Woods" will be evident; it appears that some scholars lump some of them. - RBW File: Peac030 === NAME: Three Lovers: see Lord Thomas and Fair Annet [Child 73] (File: C073) === NAME: Three Maidens to Milking Did Go DESCRIPTION: "The maidens to milking did go (x2), And the wind it did blow high and the wind it did blow low And it tossed the milking pails to and fro." The singer asks a friend to help him hunt "birds." The singer wishes luck to blackbird and thrush AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1856 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(3968)); tune listed from 1828) KEYWORDS: bird hunting courting seduction FOUND_IN: Britain(England(All),Wales) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Kennedy 191, "Three Maidens to Milking Did Go" (1 text, 1 tune) Copper-SoBreeze, pp. 280-281, "Three Maidens" (1 text, 1 tune) MacSeegTrav 50, "The Bird in the Bush" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 160, "Two Maids Went A-Milking One Day" (1 text) Roud #290 RECORDINGS: Frankie Armstrong, "The Bird in the Bush" (on BirdBush1, BirdBush2) Fred Hewett, "Three Maidens To Milking Did Go" (on Voice10) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(3968), "Three Maids A Milking Would Go", W. Jackson and Son (Birmingham), 1842-1855; also Harding B 11(3815), "Three Maids A-milking Would Go" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Spotted Cow" (theme) cf. "Kitty of Coleraine" (theme) cf. "Blackberry Grove" (theme) cf. "Three Maidens to Milking Did Go" (theme) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Blackbird in the Bush The Bird in the Lily-Bush NOTES: Most printed versions of this are "clean," but clearly there is much going on beneath the surface.... - RBW Indeed, there is. In fact, this is one of the few descriptions of group sex in traditional music -- unless, of course, you count "The Ball at Kerriemuir," and I'd be more inclined to describe that with the word "mob." - PJS File: K191 === NAME: Three McFarlands, The [Laws C18] DESCRIPTION: A gang of teamsters "that knew not who was boss" sign up to work under the three McFarlands. The bosses drive them hard and treat them badly; the men look forward to leaving the camp and seeing the girls AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Rickaby) KEYWORDS: work abuse boss FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Laws C18, "The Three MacFarlands" Rickaby 15, "The Three McFarlands" (1 text, 1 tune) DT 826, MCFARL3* Roud #2225 File: LC18 === NAME: Three Men Drowned (The Grand River) DESCRIPTION: Four men go boating on the Grand River. In rough water, they are flung from the boat; Benjamin Moore and two others drown. A boy brings word to Benjamin's parents. The singer talks about God's planning (and placing rocks in the river) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Rickaby) KEYWORDS: river ship death drowning FOUND_IN: US(MW) Canada(Ont) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Rickaby 34-I, (first of three "Fragments of Shanty Songs") (1 text) Fowke-Lumbering #38, "The Grand River" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Rick129 (Partial) Roud #3680 NOTES: This is item dC35 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW File: Rick129 === NAME: Three Men Went A-Hunting: see Three Jolly Huntsmen (File: R077) === NAME: Three O'Donnells, The DESCRIPTION: Singer dreams of a meeting in Innishowen "when we heard of liberty," of a barge with 24 Irish boys saying "Gainne's sons are free." A health to the O'Donnells. Father William fought at Waterloo; "He once was a bold lieutenant But he's now our clergyman" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1979 (Tunney-StoneFiddle) KEYWORDS: dream nonballad political clergy FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Tunney-StoneFiddle, p. 145, "The Three O'Donnells" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Battle of Carrickshock" (subject: The Tithe War) and references there NOTES: Tunney-StoneFiddle: "In fact it is an anti-tithe song from Innishowen. The hero whose praises it sings was none other than Father William O'Donnell, the Waterloo Priest, as he is still affectionately referred to in his native Innishowen." Tunney gives the biography of William O'Donnell (1779-1856), including his 1839 arrest for being in arrears of tithe on his property. I cannot explain the references to "that meeting boys That was held at Innishowen" or "the loaded barge Going floating down the main With four and twenty Irish boys To guide her on the stream." - BS For background on the Tithe War (the successful attempt by the Catholic Irish to stop paying a tithe to support the Protestant Church of England), see especially the notes to "The Battle of Carrickshock." - RBW File: TSF145 === NAME: Three Old Jews, The: see Once There Were Three Fishermen (File: FSWB240A) === NAME: Three Old Whores (From Winnipeg/Baltimore): see Four Old Whores (File: EM006) === NAME: Three Perished in the Snow [Laws G32] DESCRIPTION: A woman and her three young children are struggling through a snowstorm. The children ask their mother to make them warm, but she cannot help. The next morning the three are found clasped in each others' arms, dead AUTHOR: Eddie Fox EARLIEST_DATE: 1878 (as "She Perished in the Snow") KEYWORDS: family children death mother FOUND_IN: US(MA,SE) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Laws G32, "Three Perished in the Snow" McNeil-SFB2, pp. 101-102, "Three Perished in the Snow" (1 text, 1 tune) FSCatskills 69, "She Perished in the Snow" (1 text, 1 tune) DT 715, PRSHSNOW* Roud #1931 RECORDINGS: Lester McFarland & Robert Gardner, "Perished in the Snow" (Brunswick 561, c. 1930) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Hush-oh-bye Baby" (plot) File: LG32 === NAME: Three Pigs DESCRIPTION: "There was an old sow, she lived in a sty, And three little piggies had she." The grown pig said "Oink," the little ones "Wee! Wee!" The little pigs resolve to try to say "Oink" like grown-up pigs -- but can't do it, sicken, and die AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 KEYWORDS: animal youth humorous death FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 307-308, "Three Pigs" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #4575 File: LxA307 === NAME: Three Quarters of the Year: see The False Young Man (The Rose in the Garden, As I Walked Out) (File: FJ166) === NAME: Three Ravens, The [Child 26] DESCRIPTION: (Three) ravens decide that a new-slain knight would make a nice lunch. He is guarded by hawk, hounds, and leman, who either guard the body from the birds or abandon it to its fate AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1611 (Ravenscroft) KEYWORDS: death bird food FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland,England) US(MW,NE,SE,So,SW) Canada(Mar,Newf) REFERENCES: (41 citations) Child 26, "The Three Ravens" (2 texts) Bronson 26, The Three Ravens" (21 versions) BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 435-437, "The Three Ravens" (notes plus a partial reprint of Ravenscroft) Belden, pp. 31-33, "The Three Ravens" (2 texts, plus 2 tunes not derived from Missouri) Randolph 9, "The Three Crows" (2 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #18} Davis-Ballads 10, "The Three Ravens" (17 texts, some very short; the "Q" fragment may be another song; the additional songs in the appendix are "Johnny Fill Up the Bowl"; 4 tunes entitled "The Three Ravens," "[The] Three Crows"; 10 more versions mentioned in Appendix A) {I=Bronson's #16 J=K=#17, P is not printed by Bronson} Davis-More 13, pp. 84-88, "The Three Ravens" (3 texts, 2 tunes) BrownII 9, "The Three Ravens" (1 very short text) Chappell-FSRA 5, "Three Black Crows" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #4} Hudson 6, pp. 72-73, "The Three Ravens" (1 fragment) Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 193-195, "The Three Ravens/The Twa Corbies" (1 short text, entitled "Three Old Crows" and typical of that type, plus the text from Ravenscroft for comparison) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 149, (no title) (1 fragment, mentioning three crows on a tree with an ending about a sick old horse; the whole might well be a dead horse song with a few "Three Ravens" lines, but without more text we cannot tell) Brewster 8, "The Three Ravens" (1 text plus a fragment) Creighton/Senior, p. 21, "The Three Ravens" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #11} Creighton-SNewBrunswick 1, "The Three Crows" (1 text, 1 tune) Flanders/Brown, p. 129, "Three Black Crows" (1 text, 1 tune) Flanders-Ancient1, pp. 243-256, "The Twa Corbies" (10 texts, many of them quite short, 3 tunes; the last two items, "I" and "J," appear to be somewhat rewritten) Linscott, p. 289, "Three Crows" (1 short text, 1 tune) Leach, pp. 111-113, "The Three Ravens/The Twa Corbies" (2 texts) Leach-Labrador 1, "The Three Ravens" (1 text, 1 tune) OBB 67, "The Twa Corbies"; 68, "The Three Ravens" (2 texts) Friedman, p. 23, "The Three Ravens (The Twa Corbies)" (3 texts) PBB 28, "The Three Ravens" (1 text) Doerflinger, p. 21, "Blow the Man Down (IV)" (this text combines the words of "The Three Crows" with the tune and metre of "Blow the Man Down") Hugill, p. 212, "The Three Ravens" (1 text sung to the tune of "Blow the Man Down," taken from Doerflinger) Niles 17, "The Three Ravens" (3 texts, 3 tunes, although the first piece, "Lovers' Farewell," is at best distantly related to this ballad) Gummere, pp. 167+336, "The Three Ravens" (1 text) SharpAp 11 "The Three Ravens" (1 short text plus 2 fragments, 3 tunes){Bronson's #16, #15, #14} Sharp/Karpeles-80E 5, "The Two Crows (The Three Ravens)" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #15} Chase, pp. 114-115, "The Two Ravens" (1 text, 1 tune) Hodgart, p. 37, "The Three Ravens"; p. 38, "The Twa Corbies" (2 texts) JHCox 31, "The Three Ravens" (2 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #10} JHCoxIIA, #5, pp. 19-20, "The Crow Song" (1 short text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #5} TBB 36, "The Three Ravens" (1 text) Chappell/Wooldridge I, pp. 75-76, "There Were Three Ravens" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #1} HarvClass-EP1, pp. 73-74, "The Three Ravens"; p. 74, "The Twa Corbies" (2 texts) Abrahams/Foss, pp. 173-176, "The Three Ravens"; "The Twa Corbies"; "The Three Crows" (3 texts, 3 tunes) {Bronson's #1, #8; the third tune was not known to Bronson} Darling-NAS, pp. 26-28, "The Three Ravens (or, 'Rauens')"; "The Twa Corbies"; "The Three Crows" (3 texts) Silber-FSWB, p. 405, "Billy Magee Magaw"; p. 215, "The Three Ravens" (2 texts) DT 26, THRERAVN* THRERAV2* THRERAV3* THRERAV4 THRERAV5* THRERAV6 ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #117, "The Twa Corbies" (1 text) Roud #5 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Blow the Man Down" (lyrics) cf. "Lover's Farewell (I)" (lyrics) cf. "The Crow Song (I)" (lyrics, theme) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Billie Magee Magaw Willie McGee McGaw Two Old Crows Three Black Crows NOTES: The degree of degeneration suffered by the American versions of this song is phenomenal (They are often quite silly, and if they retain the theme of the birds eating carrion, it is usually an animal, such as a horse). Brewster's longer version is, in fact, a trick upon listeners: "You may think there is another verse -- but there isn't." If it weren't for the intermediate versions, we could hardly recognize them as one piece. But that's oral tradition -- though Belden says the song was part of the minstrel tradition in the 1860s, and Flanders-Ancient notes the inclusion of a "rewritten form in books like _Cleveland's Compendium_ of 1859." In many of these versions it is a horse, not a man, which supplies the birds' meal. The by-blow "The Twa Corbies" is one of the handful of traditional songs in Palgrave's _Golden Treasury_ (item CXXXVI). Not sure what that says about either Palgrave or the song. Properly, "The Twa Corbies" should probably be split off, since it is recensionally different from "The Three Ravens." But this is impossible in practice, because the degenerate forms often could come from either, or indeed recombine the two. - RBW File: C026 === NAME: Three Rogues, The: see In Good Old Colony Times (File: R112) === NAME: Three Sailor Boys: see The Mermaid [Child 289] (File: C289) === NAME: Three Sailors of Bristol City: see Little Boy Billee (Le Petite Navire, The Little Corvette) (File: K114) === NAME: Three Scamping Rogues: see In Good Old Colony Times (File: R112) === NAME: Three Scotch Robbers, The: see Henry Martyn [Child 250] AND Sir Andrew Barton [Child 167] (File: C250) === NAME: Three Ships Came Sailing In: see I Saw Three Ships (File: OBB104) === NAME: Three Sons, The: see In Good Old Colony Times (File: R112) === NAME: Three Weeks Before Easter: see The False Bride (The Week Before Easter; I Once Loved a Lass) (File: K152) === NAME: Three Wise Old Women DESCRIPTION: Three wise old women go walking in winter. One carries a ladder; another, a basket; "the wisest one, she carried a fan to keep off the sun." (At least) one climbs the ladder and is blown to sea. (They use the basket to bail, the fan as a sail) AUTHOR: Mrs. E. T. Corbett, according to Felleman _The Best Loved Poems of the American People_ EARLIEST_DATE: 1942 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: humorous animal talltale FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 130, "Three Wise Old Women" (1 text) ST R130 (Partial) Roud #3271 NOTES: Although hardly known in tradition, Randolph's text differs enough from the presumed original in Felleman that I have to think there was folk processing along the way. E.g., in the original, they climb the tree for fear of a bear; it seems as if the informant would remember that. - RBW File: R130 === NAME: Three Young Ladies: see Babylon, or, The Bonnie Banks o Fordie [Child 14] (File: C014) === NAME: Thresherman (and the Squire), The: see Jolly Thresher, The (Poor Man, Poor Man) (File: R127) === NAME: Threshing Machine (I), The DESCRIPTION: "It's all very well to have a machine To thresh your wheat and your barley clean, To thresh it and win(now) it, all fit for sale, Then go off to market so brisk and well." Singer tells of the wonders of the new threshing machine and the people who tend it AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1905 (Gardiner manuscript) KEYWORDS: farming technology work moniker nonballad worker FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Kennedy 231, "The Machiner's Song" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, THRSHSNG* Roud #874 RECORDINGS: Jim Copper, "The Thrashing Machine" (on Lomax41, LomaxCD1741) NOTES: While this is a non-ballad, I've included it -- mostly so that we may reference it when we get to "The Thrashing Machine", a bawdy song. - PJS In any case, some of the stanzas have plots. - RBW File: K231 === NAME: Threshing Machine (II), The: see The Thrashing Machine (I) (File: RcThraM) === NAME: Through All the World Below DESCRIPTION: "Through all the world below God is seen all around, Search hills and valleys through, There he's found. The growing of the corn, the lily and the thorn...." The song describes God's part in the entire universe, and how the creation praises the deity AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1825 (Columbian Harmony) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lomax-FSNA 34, "Captain Kidd-II" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #6667 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Wayfaring Stranger" (tune) and references there File: LoF034 === NAME: Through Bushes and Briars: see Bushes and Briars (File: FSOE026) === NAME: Through the City Where He Rode DESCRIPTION: "Through the city where he rode Was spotless white. He will lead me where No tears don't never fall. Oh yes, he is leading me, For I feel his hands on mine." "I shall know him by the prints Of the nails in his hands." All verses are variants on the first AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 642, "Through the City Where He Rode" (1 text) Roud #11937 NOTES: It was Thomas (John 20:24-29) who demanded to see the marks of the nails on Jesus's hands. The rest of the song doesn't make much sense. If the description of the city and the rider is a reference to Jesus's entry into Jerusalem, well, nowhere is there any mention of white in any of the gospel narratives. That leaves only references in the Apocalypse -- e.g. the white horse of Rev. 6:2 or the white robes of Rev. (3:4), 4:4, 6:11, 7:9, 13. Perhaps the likeliest reference is to Rev. 19:11, 14, where the King of Kings rides a white horse. No white *city*, though. - RBW File: Br3642 === NAME: Thyme, It Is a Precious Thing DESCRIPTION: The singer laments her precious thyme, which she had and lost. A sailor gave her a rose "that never would decay" to remind her of "the night he stole my bonny thyme away." She warns others against the same mistake AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 KEYWORDS: loneliness sailor seduction virginity FOUND_IN: Britain REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, THYMEPRE* Roud #3 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "In My Garden Grew Plenty of Thyme" 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 chorus, "Thyme, it is a precious thing; Thyme brings all things to your mind. Thyme with all its labours Along with all its joys, And it's thyme brings all things to an end," is quite characteristic in its lyric strength. The plot is less diagnostic. - RBW File: DTthymep === NAME: Tibo (Thibault) [Laws C6] DESCRIPTION: Tibo is one of a crew trying to clear a logjam. The logs he is on give way; Tibo is washed away and his comrade cannot keep hold of him. He leaves a widow and young children; the lumbermen make contributions for their support AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: logger death drowning FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Laws C6, "Tibo (Thibault)" DT 808, TEBO Roud #2221 File: LC06 === NAME: Tickle Cove Pond DESCRIPTION: A man hauling wood with his mare "Kitty" takes a short cut across a frozen pond. The horse hesitates to cross the weak ice. The man ignores the horse and they fall in. The man shouts for help and neighbors come to haul the mare out with a chanty song. AUTHOR: Mark Walker ? EARLIEST_DATE: 1940 (Doyle) KEYWORDS: horse work rescue FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Blondahl, pp. 16-17, "Tickle Cove Pond" (1 text, 1 tune) Doyle2, pp. 18-19, "Tickle Cove Pond" (1 text, 1 tune) Doyle3, pp. 75-76, "Tickle Cove Pond" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, TCKLCOVE* Roud #7313 RECORDINGS: Omar Blondahl, "Tickle Cove Pond" (on NFOBlondahl01,NFOBlondahl05) NOTES: A "tickle" is a narrow inlet of water. Tickle Cove is on the north-east coast of Newfoundland. Also, the song has a chanty included in it that is contextualized for the narrative of the song. For a colorful explanation of Newfoundland usage, see Harold Horwood, "Newfoundland" (Toronto: Macmillan of Canada, 1969) 83-84. - SH The author is named by GEST Songs of Newfoundland and Labrador site. If you are interested in the Newfoundland song tradition in general and the history of this song in particular be sure to read _Taking Apart "Tickle Cove Pond"_ in Canadian Journal for Traditional Music, vol. 29, 2002 by Philip Hiscock, pp. 32-68, also available in PDF format at //cjtm.icaap.org/content/29/05-Hiscock.pdf. Hiscock does not just discuss the origins of the song. From his abstract: "Nowadays, the song has certain meanings for listeners. This paper suggests they reflect contemporary beliefs and 'imaginings' about Newfoundland's past." "The tune is derived from the Irish tune 'Tatter [i.e., Father] Jack Walsh,' which also goes by several other names in Ireland." Hiscock, p. 40. The words of some of the songs Hiscock attributes to Mark Waller may be found at the Bonavista Bay Songs section of the Newfoundland's Grand Banks sites - BS File: Doy18 === NAME: Tickle My Toe DESCRIPTION: In successive verses of this bawdy cumulative song, the singer lays his finger or touches his lady friend on the toe, knee, thigh, "funny thing," etc. With each he asks what it is and she gives a nonsensical reply. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: bawdy cumulative FOUND_IN: US(So) Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph-Legman I, pp. 545-551, "Tickle My Toe" (5 texts, 1 tune) RECORDINGS: Pat MacNamara, "I Left My Hand" (on IRClare01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Gently Johnny My Jingalo" cf. "A-Roving" (plot, such as it is) cf. "Baltimore (Up She Goes)" (theme) cf. "Yo Ho, Yo Ho" (plot) NOTES: Legman offers substantial notes on the history of this song in Randolph-Legman I. - EC It can, obviously, be difficult to tell this from "A-Roving" and, especially, "Yo Ho." The reader is strongly advised to check that song as well as this. - RBW File: RL545 === NAME: Tiddliewink Old Man DESCRIPTION: "Tiddliwink, old man, get a woman if you can. If you can't get a woman, get an old tin can. If it wasn't for your name and it wasn't for your shame, I'd let you have a go in a minute, young man" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1974 (recording, Jasper Smith) KEYWORDS: humorous nonballad nonsense FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond)) REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Jasper Smith, "Tiddliewink Old Man" (on Voice14) NOTES: The current description is all of the Voice14 text. - BS File: RcTidOMa === NAME: Tiddy High O! DESCRIPTION: "An' now we are bound for ol' Bristol Town, Tiddy high O! high hay! Good-bye to them black gals, the yellars an' the browns, Tiddy high O! hay, high hay!" Verses give references to rum and sugar trading/loading. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (Sharp-EFC) KEYWORDS: shanty worksong clothes food drink FOUND_IN: West Indies Britain REFERENCES: (2 citations) Hugill, p. 453, "Tiddy High O!" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, p. 339] Sharp-EFC, XLI, p. 46, "Tiddy I O" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #8288 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Haul 'Er Away (Little Sally Racket)" (character of Sally Rackett) File: Hugi453 === NAME: Tiddy I O: see Tiddy High O! (File: Hugi453) === NAME: Tiddy, the Tailor: see The Trooper and the Tailor (File: FSC139) === NAME: Tideo: see Jingle at the Window (Tideo) (File: R525) === NAME: Tidy Irish Lad DESCRIPTION: "IÕm a tidy bit of an Irish lad, as you can plainly see, And I like a drop of the creature when I go out upon a spree." The singer boasts of Irish drink, and notes how the English need the Irish, who won the battles of Waterloo, Inkerman, and Sebastopol AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Dean) KEYWORDS: Ireland drink soldier HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: June 18, 1815 - Battle of Waterloo Nov 5, 1854 - Battle of Inkerman clears the way for the siege of Sevastopol (the city fell in the fall of 1855) FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Dean, pp. 64-65, "Tidy Irish Lad" (1 text) Roud #9561 File: Dean064 === NAME: Tie Pile Song (Duke See the Tie Pile) DESCRIPTION: "Oh, (Duke) see the tie pile and Duke git mad, Oh, Duke see the money pile and Duke git glad, Oh Daddy, git one." "Oh, tain't no use in foolin' around, Oh, all of them ties got to go to town, Oh Daddy, git one." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1944 (Wheeler) KEYWORDS: work nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) MWheeler, pp. 23-24, "Duke See the Tie Pile" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #10000 NOTES: Wheeler explains that the call, "Oh Daddy, git one" was the call used by rousters to tell the next person in line to pick up his tie. For this reason, I have conjectured that this is not a composition by "Duke" Sims (Wheeler's informant), but a tie-carrying call. I have named it accordingly. Wheeler's version is more or less a standard blues form, using only four tones of the scale, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are "true" ballad versions in existence. - RBW File: MWhee023 === NAME: Tie-Hackin's Too Tiresome: see Rye Whisky (File: R405) === NAME: Tie-Shuffling Chant: see Can'cha Line 'Em (File: LxU078) === NAME: Tie-Tamping Chant DESCRIPTION: "Oh, tamp 'em up solid, So dey won't come down... Oh, you can do it." Any suitable verse may be used. Last line of chorus is repeated until the task is finished. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 KEYWORDS: work worksong nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 17-19, "Tie-Tamping Chant" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #15522 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Pay Me My Money Down" (floating lyrics) NOTES: The Lomaxes quote all sorts of verses for this song. One suspects that not all actually came from their informant. - RBW File: LxA017 === NAME: Tiger and the Lion, The: see Bold Dighton [Laws A21] (File: LA21) === NAME: Tigery Orum: see Marrowbones [Laws Q2] (File: LQ02) === NAME: Till Cock Gets Higher DESCRIPTION: A cante-fable, this tale with interpolated song tells of the encounter of a country boy with a prostitute, and their bargaining for price. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: bawdy whore bargaining FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph-Legman II, p. 603, "Till Cock Gets Higher" (1 text) File: RL603 === NAME: Tim Finnegan's Wake: see Finnegan's Wake [Laws Q17] (File: LQ17) === NAME: Timber (I) DESCRIPTION: "We are trying to carry this timber to the building, Hallelujah, I don't know." "We will make doors and windows in that building, Hallelujah, I don't know." "We will build it to the glory of the Lord, Hallelujah, I don't know." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg) KEYWORDS: religious FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Sandburg, p. 386, "Timber" (1 short text, 1 tune) File: San386 === NAME: Timber (Jerry the Mule) DESCRIPTION: The singer encourages his mule, "Hollerin', Tmber, Lord, this timber's gotta roll." He complains about his miserable boss. Jerry the mule can't pull more, so the boss beats him. Jerry kills the boss. The singer wonders why he didn't kill the boss himself AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 KEYWORDS: work animal death boss FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 130, "Timber/Jerry the Mule" (1 text) DT, JERRYMUL File: FSWB130B === NAME: Timbrook DESCRIPTION: "Timbrook has done gone and thrown the rider (x2), If you'd been there when the horses come around, You'd a swore to your maker they never touched ground." "Oh mister, oh mister, I'm risking my life To win money for you and your wife...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: racing horse gambling HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: July 4, 1878 - race between Ten Broeck and Miss Mollie McCarthy (won by Ten Broeck) FOUND_IN: US(S0) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Randolph 881, "Timbrook" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 391-392, "Timbrook" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 881) Roud #2190 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Molly and Tenbrooks" [Laws H27] (subject) cf. "Old Timbrook Blue" (subject) NOTES: Although Randoph's informant, almost certainly correctly, believe this to refer to the race that also spawned "Molly and Tenbrooks," the songs appear to be distinct (though Roud lumps them, and Cohen's notes to Randolph also seem to equate them). - RBW File: R881 === NAME: Time: see No Hiding Place (File: FSWB370C) === NAME: Time Draws Near: see My Dearest Dear (File: SKE40) === NAME: Time Enough Yet DESCRIPTION: The young man begs the girl to marry; she replied that there is "time enough yet." After hearing enough of this he says he will never return. She soon asks him to come back. He replies there is "time enough yet." Girls are warned not to delay marraige AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1905 (Belden) KEYWORDS: love courting rejection FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Belden, pp. 197-198, "Time Enough Yet" (1 text plus an excerpt from 1 more) Randolph 369, "Time Enough Yet" (2 texts, 1 tune) Roud #4264 File: R369 === NAME: Time for Us to Leave Her: see Leave Her, Johnny, Leave Her (File: Doe089) === NAME: Time Has Come, My Dearest Dear, The: see My Dearest Dear (File: SKE40) === NAME: Time to be Made a Wife: see The Old Maid's Song (II) (File: FJ162) === NAME: Time to Leave Her: see Leave Her, Johnny, Leave Her (File: Doe089) === NAME: Times Gettin' Hard DESCRIPTION: "Times gettin' hard, boys, Money's gettin' scarce. If times don't get much better, boys, I'm bound to leave this place." "Take my true love by the hand, lead her through the town...." The singer prepares to depart for (California?) where times are better AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg; recording by Jaybird Coleman) KEYWORDS: hardtimes poverty exile FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Sandburg, p. 242, "Times Gettin Hard, Boys" (1 short text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 117, "Times Are Getting Hard" (1 text) Roud #15620 RECORDINGS: Jaybird Coleman, "Times Gettin' Hard -- Work's Been Gettin' Scarce" (Gennett, unissued; rec. 1927) Pete Seeger, "Time's A-getting Hard" (on PeteSeeger06, PeteSeegerCD01) (on PeteSeeger26) File: San242 === NAME: Times Gettin' Hard, Boys: see Times Gettin Hard (File: San242) === NAME: Tinker Behind the Door, The: see The Beverly Maid and the Tinker (The Tinker Behind the Door) (File: Pea318) === NAME: Tinker, The DESCRIPTION: The lady of the manor sends for the jolly tinker, who services her, her staff (including the butler) and then rides off, "little drops of semen pitter-patting at his feet." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: adultery bawdy Gypsy lover sex tinker FOUND_IN: Australia Britain(England,Scotland) US(MA,MW,So,SW) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Cray, pp. 29-36, "The Tinker" (3 texts, 2 tunes) Randolph-Legman I, pp. 113-117, "The Jolly Tinker" (3 texts, 1 tune) DT, JOLITINK JOLLTNK3 Roud #863 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Jolly Beggar" [Child 279] cf. "Clout the Cauldron" cf. "The Jolly Tinker (I)" cf. "The Jolly Tinker (III)" ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Highland Tinker The Jolly Tinker NOTES: Randolph-Legman provides a detailed history of this ballad. - EC This song can be told from "The Jolly Tinker" by its description of the tinker's, um, improbable physical attributes. - RBW File: EM029 === NAME: Tinker's Wedding, The: see The Tinkler's Waddin (The Tinker's Wedding) (File: RcTTWttw) === NAME: Tinkler's Waddin, The (The Tinker's Wedding) DESCRIPTION: Amid drink and celebration, bridegroom Norman Scott is wed for the fourth time (no mention of divorce or widowerhood), to fortune-teller Meg McNeil; a cheerful brawl ensues AUTHOR: William Watt EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Ford); reportedly published 1835 KEYWORDS: marriage wedding fight drink party humorous tinker Gypsy FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 1-4, "The Tinkler's Waddin'" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #5408 RECORDINGS: Willie Kemp and Curly MacKay, "The Tinklers' Wedding" (on Voice13) Jimmy Scott, "The Tinker's Weddin'" (on Borders1) John Strachan, "The Tinkler's Waddin" (on Lomax43, LomaxCD1743) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Firth b.27(397/398), "The Tinkler's Wedding" ("In June when broom in bloom was seen"), unknown, n.d. NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(141b), "The Tinker's Wedding," unknown, c. 1840-1860; also L.C.Fol.70(141) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Rothesay-O" (tune) NOTES: The work "tinker" in Britain is applied both to workers in tin (i.e., menders of pots and kettles) and "travellers," or Gypsies. In many songs, including this, it's ambiguous which is meant -- but since many or most of the travelling tinkers *were* Gypsies, it barely matters. - PJS According to Kennedy, William Watt was born in 1792, and also wrote "Kate Dalrymple," as well as a version of "The Peddlar." The tune used is reportedly identical to "Rothesay-O," though it is not entirely clear which came first. - RBW File: RcTTWttw === NAME: Tinna Clinnama Clinchama Clingo: see The Wife Wrapt in Wether's Skin [Child 277] (File: C277) === NAME: Tinnaberna Fishermen (I), The DESCRIPTION: Tinnaberna fishermen out at nightfall November 14, 1815 are overtaken by a squall blowing them northwest. They can see "Poulder fading fastly from our view," the lighthouse at Tuskar, and the warning "bonfire on the hill" but cannot return to shore. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1942 (Ranson) KEYWORDS: drowning sea ship storm wreck fishing HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Nov 1815 - Six of seven fishing boats were lost with their crews when they were blown across the channel to the Welsh coast (source: Ranson) FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ranson, pp. 42-43, "The Tinnaberna Fishermen" (1 text, 1 tune) File: Ran042 ===