NAME: Tinnaberna Fishermen (II), The DESCRIPTION: "On the dark rocks of Wales our poor neighbors were lost ... Those tender-hearted Welshmen, we for them will ever pray That God may grant them pardon against their dying day" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1946 (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. 43-44, "The Tinnaberna Fishermen" (1 text) File: Ran043 === NAME: Tippecanoe DESCRIPTION: "A bumper around now, my hearties, I'll sing you a song that is new; I'll please to the buttons all parties And sing of Old Tippecanoe." The singer details the history of Tippecanoe, and declares, "Bid Martin Van Buren adieu." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1840 (Tippecanoe Song-Book) KEYWORDS: political nonballad derivative HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Dec 2, 1840 - William Henry Harrison defeats Martin Van Buren Mar 4, 1841 - Harrison (the first Whig to be elected President) is inaugurated. He gives a rambling inaugural address in a rainstorm and catches cold April 4, 1841 - Harrison dies of pneumonia, making him the first president to fail to complete his term. After some hesitation, Vice President John Tyler is allowed to succeed as President FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 397, "Tippecanoe" (1 text) Roud #6950 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Rosin the Beau" (tune) and references there cf. "Old Tippecanoe" (subject) cf. "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" (subject) cf. "Harrison Campaign Song" (subject) NOTES: For details on the (thoroughly dirty) 1840 Presidential campaign, and the purely false picture it drew of William Henry Harrison, see the notes to "Old Tippecanoe." - RBW File: Be3397 === NAME: Tipperary DESCRIPTION: "Way out in old South Dakota... Once roamed the greatest of outlaws... His name was old Tipperary, Tipperary of rodeo fame, The greatest of all the bronc riders Will never forget that great name." The horse's methods of throwing riders are recounted AUTHOR: Tex Fletcher EARLIEST_DATE: 1954 ("Hoofs and Horns") KEYWORDS: horse cowboy FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ohrlin-HBT 68, "Tipperary" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: According to Ohrlin, Tipperary was a great rodeo horse of the period following the First World War. Only one rider is recorded as having stayed on his back, and even that feat has been questioned. - RBW File: Ohr068 === NAME: Tipperary Christening, The DESCRIPTION: Dennis is christened in Tipperary. Everyone is there. "After dancing, they went in to lunching ... They had all kinds of tea ... and everything that would please." After dinner there was speaking, match making... "they wished the next would be twins" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1901 (O'Conor) KEYWORDS: childbirth dancing food party moniker twins FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) O'Conor, p. 15, "The Tipperary Christening" (1 text) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(3840), "The Tipperary Christening", unknown, n.d. File: OCon015 === NAME: Tipperary Far Away DESCRIPTION: A rebel, Sean Treacy, is dying by moonlight on Talbot Street in Dublin. He asks a passing comrade to take a lock of his hair and take it to his mother in his "native home In Tipperary far away." His comrades bury him. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (IRClancyMakem03) KEYWORDS: battle rebellion death Ireland IRA hair FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, "Tipperary Far Away" (on IRClancyMakem03) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Sean Treacy" (subject: the death of Treacy) cf. "The Station of Knocklong" (for other activities of Treacy) NOTES: According to _Phoenix Publishing Short History of the 3rd Tipperary Brigade_ on the eircom site, this song refers to Sean Treacy, shot October 14, 1920 in Talbot Street, Dublin. Treacy's body was returned to Tipperary for burial at Kilfeacle. Treacy was a member of the Third Tipperary Brigade. - BS Perhaps the most popular of at least two and possibly three Sean Treacy songs. Robert Kee, in _Ourselves Alone_, being volume III of _The Green Flag_, p. 116, quotes another, "Our lovely Sean is dead and gone, Shot down in Talbot Street." This is said to have been adapted from an "ancient Irish lament." He does not cite a source for this statement. For more on Treacy's short, tumultuous career, see the notes to "Sean Treacy." - RBW File: RcTipFaA === NAME: Tipperary Recruiting Song, The DESCRIPTION: "'Tis now we'd want to be wary, boys, The recruiters are out in Tipperary, boys...." The Irish youths are advised to avoid the British sergeants and the free drinks they offer. They are reminded of all the harm John Bull has done in the past AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1962 (Galvin) KEYWORDS: Ireland recruiting drink soldier FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) PGalvin, p. 88, "Tipperary Recruiting Song" (1 text, 1 tune) Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 299-300, "Tipperary Recruiting Song" (1 text) NOTES: It is not immediately evident what time period this song refers to. The British desperation for soldiers might seem to imply World War I -- but in 1916 Britain instituted the draft (in England; it took a little longer in Ireland); the recruiting sergeant was a thing of the past. So an earlier period is indicated. - RBW File: PGa088 === NAME: Tipperty's Jean DESCRIPTION: "In a wee thacket hoosie, far doon i' the glen, There lived a young lassie, the plague o' the men." Tipperty Jean's beauty has ensnared many, but she rejects them all -- even the Laird as too old. She has enough money to live, and so marries Puir Johnnie AUTHOR: Peter Buchan ? EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord); Buchan died 1881 KEYWORDS: love courting money rejection marriage FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, p. 283-284, "Tipperty's Jean" (1 text) Roud #5602 File: Ord283 === NAME: Tiranti, My Love: see Lord Randal [Child 12] (File: C012) === NAME: Tiree Tragedy, A: see Mo Nighean donn a Cornaig (File: K019) === NAME: 'Tis Not Always the Bullet that Kills DESCRIPTION: "Please, dear Uncle, now tell me why you're sighing." The boy wonders why, if he survived the war, he is always sad. The boy's mother says that she loved the uncle, but married her sweetheart's brother when she thought the uncle dead. Both regret this AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1920 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: love soldier betrayal war family FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 715, "'Tis Not Always the Bullet that Kills" (1 text) Roud #7431 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Two Little Girls in Blue" (plot) File: R715 === NAME: Tis Now, Young Man, Give Me Attention DESCRIPTION: The singer complains of his sad life. He courts and marries a girl. After seven years, he finds her untrue, but cannot gain a divorce because he can't prove her infidelity. He wishes to sail away, but hates to live his little girl (?). He dies at sea AUTHOR: Napoleon Stetson? EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: marriage betrayal sailor death ring FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownII 312, "'Tis Now, Young Man, Give Me Attention" (1 text) Roud #6648 File: BrII312 === NAME: Tis the Gift To Be Simple: see Simple Gifts (File: DarN259A) === NAME: Titanic (I), The ("It Was Sad When That Great Ship Went Down") [Laws D24] (Titanic #1) DESCRIPTION: (Though the builders called her unsinkable), "On Monday morning... the great Titanic began to reel and rock." Rich and poor will not mix, so the poor on the lower decks drown first. The band plays "Nearer My God to Thee" and sixteen hundred people die AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (recording, Ernest V. Stoneman) KEYWORDS: sea wreck family disaster death HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: April 14/15, 1912 - Shortly before midnight, ship's time, the Titanic strikes an iceberg and begins to sink. Only 711 survivors are found of 2224 people believed to have been aboard. FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE,So) REFERENCES: (12 citations) Laws D24, "The Titanic I" Randolph 693, "The Great Titanic" ("B" fragment only; Randolph's "A" text is "The Titanic (IV)" ("Lost on the Great Titanic") (Titanic #4)) BrownII 287, "The Titanic" (5 texts plus an excerpt and mention of 2 more. The Laws data for this book is badly confused, but it appears the "C" and "D" texts are this song, and apparently the "E" fragment also; "A" and "B" are broadsides Laws does not classify (The first clearly based on "The Golden Vanity"; the second seems to be an adaption of this song to "There Will Be a Hot Time"), and "H" is "God Moves on the Water") MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 88-89, "The Great Titanic" (1 text) Friedman, p. 323, "The Titanic" (1 text+2 fragments) Asch/Dunson/Raim, p. 60 "When That Great Ship Went Down" (1 text, 1 tune) Botkin-SoFolklr, p. 723, "The Ship Titanic" (1 text, 1 tune) Courlander-NFM, p. 77, "(The Titanic)" (1 text) Pankake-PHCFSB, pp. 280-281, "The Titanic" (1 text, 1 tune) Darling-NAS, pp. 184-185, "The Coast of Peru" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 55, "The Titanic" (1 text) DT 616, TITANIC5* Roud #774 RECORDINGS: Pink Anderson, "The Titanic" (on PinkAnd1) George Reneau, "The Sinking of the Titanic" (Vocalion 5077, 1926) Ernest V. Stoneman, "The Titanic" (OKeh 40288, 1925; rec. 1924); "Sinking of the Titanic" (Edison 51823, 1926) (CYL: Edison [BA] 5200, 1926); "Sinking of the Titanic" (on Stonemans02) William & Versey Smith, "When That Great Ship Went Down" (Paramount 12505B, 1927; on AAFM1) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. all the other Titanic songs (plot) NOTES: Despite this song (and other folklore), the band on the _Titanic_ did NOT play "Nearer My God to Thee" as the ship sank. Instead, they played light music to prevent panic. The reference to rich and poor not mixing is accurate enough, though hardly unique to the _Titanic_. As with most liners of the time, the _Titanic_ carried three classes of passengers: First class, second class, and steerage, for the poorest people (mostly emigrants, and mostly jammed in their cabins as tight as sardines) Steerage passengers, of course, were stuck far down in the ship. Dr. Robert D. Ballard's _The Discovery of the Titanic_ has a side view of the ship's plans on page 168, showing that many of the steerage passengers were four floors below the main deck, near the waterline, whereas the first class passengers were mostly above the main deck, with easy access to the lifeboats. It showed in the casualties. According to Lincoln P. Paine's _Ships of the World_, 60% of the first class passengers survived (Ballard, p. 149, reports that every child in first class, save one, survived, and she died only because she wouldn't leave her mother, who wouldn't leave her husband). 42% of second class passengers survived, but only 25% of steerage (comparable to the 24% of the crew who survived). Some versions of this, including Friedman's, have a reference to Paul's promise that "not a man should drown"; this is a reference to Acts 27:34, when Paul is on his way to Rome and the ship in which he is being held prisoner is driven by a storm. Friedman wonders if there might not be an earlier song which gave rise to a _Titanic_ text. It seems likely enough, and the verse about Paul is a likely survival, since it is almost irrelevant in its current place in the text. In fact, we might even make a guess as to the source of the verse. Most recordings of this song use an approximation of Ernest Stoneman's tune. But Wade Mainer eventually recorded a version (not cited here because I don't know the album number) which uses a tune effectively identical to the one he uses for "Home in the Rock." So that could be a source for scripture references. To tell this from the other _Titanic_ songs, consider the chorus: It was sad when that great ship went down, It was sad when that great ship went down. There were husbands and wives, Little children lost their lives, It was sad when that great ship went down. For an extensive history of the _Titanic_, with detailed examination of the truth (or lack thereof) of quotes in the _Titanic_ songs, see the notes to "The Titanic (XV)" ("On the tenth day of April 1912") (Titanic #15) - RBW File: LD24 === NAME: Titanic (II), The ("The Titanic, Out on that Ocean") (Titanic #2) DESCRIPTION: "The rich folks 'cided to take a trip On the finest ship was ever built. The cap'n persuaded these people to think This Titanic too safe to sink. Cho: Out on that ocean, The great wide ocean, The Titanic, out on that ocean, sinking down!" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg) KEYWORDS: ship wreck family disaster death HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: April 14/15, 1912 - Shortly before midnight, ship's time, the Titanic strikes an iceberg and begins to sink. Only 711 survivors are found of 2224 people believed to have been aboard. FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Sandburg, pp. 254-255, "De Titanic" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #4172 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. all the other Titanic songs (plot) NOTES: Despite this song (and other folklore), the band on the _Titanic_ did NOT play "Nearer My God to Thee" as the ship sank. Instead, they played light music to prevent panic. This song is item dI26 in Laws's Appendix II. For an extensive history of the _Titanic_, with detailed examination of the truth (or lack thereof) of quotes in the _Titanic_ songs, see the notes to "The Titanic (XV)" ("On the tenth day of April 1912") (Titanic #15) - RBW File: San254 === NAME: Titanic (III), The ("God Moves on the Water") (Titanic #3) DESCRIPTION: The story of the Titanic. The women have to watch their husbands drown. Captain Smith awakens to gunshots. Millionaire Jacob Nash cannot pay his fare (to survive). Chorus: "God moves on the water (x3) And the people had to run and pray. AUTHOR: Blind Willie Johnson? EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (recording, Blind Willie Johnson) KEYWORDS: death ship wreck disaster religious HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: April 14/15, 1912 - Shortly before midnight, ship's time, the Titanic strikes an iceberg and begins to sink. Only 711 survivors are found of 2224 people believed to have been aboard. FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Courlander-NFM, pp. 76-77, "(God Moves on the Water)" (1 text) BrownII 287, "The Titanic" (5 texts plus an excerpt and mention of 2 more. The Laws data for this book is badly confused, but the "H" text is this song; "C" and "D" are "The Titanic (I)," and apparently the "E" fragment also; "A" and "B" are broadsides Laws does not classify (The first clearly based on "The Golden Vanity"; the second seems to be an adaption of this song to "There Will Be a Hot Time")) DT, TITANIC4* Roud #4173 RECORDINGS: Blind Willie Johnson, "God Moves on the Water" (Columbia 14520-D, 1930; rec. 1929; on BWJ02, CGospel1) Bessie Jones et al, "The Titanic" (on LomaxCD1700) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. all the other Titanic songs (plot) NOTES: This song is item dI27 in Laws's Appendix II. It should probably be given a proper entry, though; it seems to be the most popular of the _Titanic_ songs except for "The Titanic (I) ('It Was Sad When That Great Ship Went Down')" [Laws D24]. The statement 'God moves on the water" is probably an allusion to Genesis 1:2, where "the spirit of God moved on the face of the water" ("ocean" or "abyss" might be a better translation here, but of course what matters is what the King James Bible says). Lyle Lofgren makes the interesting observation that the oldest known version, Blind Willie Johnson's, does not actually use the phrase "God moves on the water." He lets the guitar play the phrase "on the water." Lyle speculates that that there may have been an older gospel song which would have let listeners know the missing phrase. This seems not impossible (perhaps "Wade in the Water" -- there are some similarities in the tunes I have heard). But the other possibility he suggests is that the song was already well known in 1929, so Johnson didn't need to sing the words. And, indeed, the Lomaxes report collecting it in 1933. For an extensive history of the _Titanic_, with detailed examination of the truth (or lack thereof) of quotes in the _Titanic_ songs, see the notes to "The Titanic (XV)" ("On the tenth day of April 1912") (Titanic #15) - RBW File: CNFM076 === NAME: Titanic (IV), The ("Lost on the Great Titanic") (Titanic #4) DESCRIPTION: The Titanic is only a few hours' sailing from shore when it strikes an iceberg and sinks. Both rich and poor are lost with the ship. Husbands gallantly stand aside to let their wives be saved. The band plays "Nearer my God to Thee" as she goes down AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: ship wreck family disaster death HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: April 14/15, 1912 - Shortly before midnight, ship's time, the Titanic strikes an iceberg and begins to sink. Only 711 survivors are found of 2224 people believed to have been aboard. FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Randolph 693, "The Great Titanic" ("A" text only; Randolph's "B" text is "The Titanic I") McNeil-SFB2, p. 104, "The Titanic" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, TITANIC2* Roud #3526 RECORDINGS: Vernon Dalhart, "The Great Titanic" (Champion 15121, 1926) (Radiex 4131 [as Jeff Calhoun], 1927) [I'm not certain this is the right placement for this song, but I'll bet ya. - PJS] CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. all the other Titanic songs (plot) cf. "Lost on the Lady Elgin" (tune) NOTES: This song is dD40 in Laws's Appendix I. Despite this song (and other folklore), the band on the _Titanic_ did NOT play "Nearer My God to Thee" as the ship sank. Instead, they played light music to prevent panic. To tell this from the other _Titanic_ songs, consider these stanzas: The great _Titanic_ went sailing Ninety-eight miles from shore, It suddenly struck an iceberg And sank forevermore. Lost, lost on the great Titanic, Sinking to rise no more, A number of sixteen hundred Had failed to reach the shore. For an extensive history of the _Titanic_, with detailed examination of the truth (or lack thereof) of quotes in the _Titanic_ songs, see the notes to "The Titanic (XV)" ("On the tenth day of April 1912") (Titanic #15) - RBW File: R693A === NAME: Titanic (IX), The (Sinking of the Titanic): see Sinking of the Titanic (Titanic #9) (File: RcTitaIX) === NAME: Titanic (V), The (Many Hearts Surrendered to the Shipwreck) (Titanic #5) DESCRIPTION: "The Titanic left Southhampton With all its sports and gang, When they struck the iceberg, I know their mind was changed." The story of the wreck is briefly told, with a mention of John Jacob Astor, who is credited with trying to save the women AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (Gardner/Chickering) KEYWORDS: sea wreck family disaster death HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: April 14/15, 1912 - Shortly before midnight, ship's time, the Titanic strikes an iceberg and begins to sink. Only 711 survivors are found of 2224 people believed to have been aboard. FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Gardner/Chickering 120, "The Titanic" (1 text) ST GC120 (Partial) Roud #3525 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. all the other Titanic songs (plot) NOTES: Perhaps best recognized by the chorus: Many hearts surrendered to the shipwreck; On the sea many hearts surrendered, Crying "Nearer My God to Thee." This even though, as we've said in the notes to all the other _Titanic_ songs, the band did not play "Nearer My God to Thee"; it played light music to prevent panic. John Jacob Astor (1864-1912) did indeed die on the _Titanic_, though I don't know of any evidence that he was the prime mover in saving women and children. In fact, the only report I know of about his behavior while aboard was that, when the lifeboats were being loaded with women and children, he tried to make his way aboard the lifeboat holding his (trophy) wife. He had to be ordered back by the crew. This is item dD41 in Laws's Appendix II. Roud lumps this with The _Titanic_ (VI), but I don't see any common elements except the boat. For an extensive history of the _Titanic_, with detailed examination of the truth (or lack thereof) of quotes in the _Titanic_ songs, see the notes to "The Titanic (XV)" ("On the tenth day of April 1912") (Titanic #15) - RBW File: GC120 === NAME: Titanic (VI), The ("Cold and Icy Sea") (Titanic #6) DESCRIPTION: The Titanic sets out from Liverpool and sinks in the cold waters off Newfoundland. The ballad notes how both rich and poor, upper and lower classes, were lost in the disaster AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 KEYWORDS: ship wreck disaster death HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: April 14/15, 1912 - Shortly before midnight, ship's time, the Titanic strikes an iceberg and begins to sink. Only 711 survivors are found of 2224 people believed to have been aboard. FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) McNeil-SFB2, p. 103, "The Titanic" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, TITANIC1* Roud #3525 RECORDINGS: Almeda Riddle, "The Titanic" (on LomaxCD1707) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. all the other Titanic songs (plot) NOTES: Despite this song (and other folklore), the band on the _Titanic_ did NOT play "Nearer My God to Thee" as the ship sank. Instead, they played light music to prevent panic. Roud lumps this with The _Titanic_ (V), but I don't see any common elements except the boat. For an extensive history of the _Titanic_, with detailed examination of the truth (or lack thereof) of quotes in the _Titanic_ songs, see the notes to "The Titanic (XV)" ("On the tenth day of April 1912") (Titanic #15) - RBW File: MN2103 === NAME: Titanic (VII), The ("As the Moon Rose in Glory/Gone to Rest/The Watchman") (Titanic #7) DESCRIPTION: "As the moon rose in glory... She told her sad, sad story / Sixteen hundred had gone to rest." A watchman dreams of the Titanic's fate, but cannot get anyone to save the ship or even their families. The widows and orphans are left mourning AUTHOR: Seth Newton Mize EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (recording, Darby & Tarlton) KEYWORDS: ship wreck family disaster death HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: April 14/15, 1912 - Shortly before midnight, ship's time, the Titanic strikes an iceberg and begins to sink. Only 711 survivors are found of 2224 people believed to have been aboard. FOUND_IN: US(Ap,So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) McNeil-SFB2, p. 105, "The Titanic" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, TITANIC3* Roud #4779 RECORDINGS: Carter Family, "The Titanic" (Acme 1000-B, mid-1950s) New Lost City Ramblers, "The Titanic" (on NLCR14, NLCRCD2) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. all the other Titanic songs (plot) NOTES: Despite this song (and other folklore), the band on the _Titanic_ did NOT play "Nearer My God to Thee" as the ship sank. Instead, they played light music to prevent panic. For an extensive history of the _Titanic_, with detailed examination of the truth (or lack thereof) of quotes in the _Titanic_ songs, see the notes to "The Titanic (XV)" ("On the tenth day of April 1912") (Titanic #15) - RBW File: MN2105 === NAME: Titanic (VIII), The ("Fare Thee Well, Titanic, Fare Thee Well") (Titanic #8) DESCRIPTION: "It was midnight on the sea, The band was playing 'Nearer, My God, to Thee"; Fare thee well, Titanic, fare thee well." The Titanic hits an iceberg; women and children survive; men die. Jack Johnson survives because he is refused passage AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1949 KEYWORDS: death ship wreck disaster religious Black(s) HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: April 14/15, 1912 - Shortly before midnight, ship's time, the Titanic strikes an iceberg and begins to sink. Only 711 survivors are found of 2224 people believed to have been aboard. FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Courlander-NFM, pp. 77-78, (no title) (1 text) Roud #11693 RECORDINGS: Art Thieme, "Faretheewell Titanic" (on Thieme01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. all the other Titanic songs (plot) NOTES: Despite this song (and other folklore), the band on the _Titanic_ did NOT play "Nearer My God to Thee" as the ship sank. Instead, they played light music to prevent panic. This particular version, known and sung by Lead Belly, is based on the story of Black boxer Jack Johnson, who was refused passage on the _Titanic_ due to his color. For an extensive history of the _Titanic_, with detailed examination of the truth (or lack thereof) of quotes in the _Titanic_ songs, see the notes to "The Titanic (XV)" ("On the tenth day of April 1912") (Titanic #15) - RBW File: CNFM077 === NAME: Titanic (X), The ("Down With the Old Canoe") (Titanic #10) DESCRIPTION: The Titanic sets sail, but sinks. The singers then draw morals, including that the hand of Man is no match for God Chorus: "Sailing out to win her fame, the Titanic was her name... Many passengers and her crew went down with that old canoe" AUTHOR: Dorsey Dixon EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (recording, Dixon Brothers) LONG_DESCRIPTION: The Titanic sets sail amid gaiety and laughter, but sinks. The singers then draw morals, including that the hand of Man is no match for God, and that one should obey the commands of Jesus. Chorus: "Sailing out to winter pain, the Titanic was her name/When she had sailed 500 miles from shore/Many passengers and her crew went down with that old canoe/They all went down to never ride no more" KEYWORDS: pride death ship party disaster wreck religious Jesus HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: April 14/15, 1912 - Shortly before midnight, ship's time, the Titanic strikes an iceberg and begins to sink. Only 711 survivors are found of 2224 people believed to have been aboard. FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) ADDITIONAL: Steven Biel, _A Cultural History of the Titanic Disaster_, 1996, pp. 98-99 (in the Norton edition), "Down with the Old Canoe" (1 text) ST RcTDWtOC (Full) RECORDINGS: Dixon Brothers, "Down With the Old Canoe" (Bluebird B-7449, 1938; on Dixons01, Dixons04) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. all the other Titanic songs (plot) NOTES: This can be distinguished from the other Titanic songs by the presence of the phrase, "Down with the old canoe," and by the proportion of narrative (1 verse) to moralizing (3 verses). - PJS In light of the song's ludicrously un-Christian attempt at theology, it should probably be noted that, at the time the _Titanic_ sank, the Germans already had an even bigger liner under construction. The _Imperator_ had a number of design flaws, but she never hit any icebergs, and was retired, quite un-sunk, in 1938 (by which time she had become the British _Berengeria_). Lyle Lofgren thinks this is a rewrite of the Cofer Brothers song "The Titanic Was Her Name." There is some similarity in the chorus, but the rewriting is substantial; I'd be inclined to regard that as just an instance of a floating verse. But there seems no doubt that Dorsey Dixon wrote the song, because it is dated 25 years after the _Titanic_ sank, i.e. around 1937. Which is right about the time the Dixon Brothers recorded the song. For an extensive history of the _Titanic_, with detailed examination of the truth (or lack thereof) of quotes in the _Titanic_ songs, see the notes to "The Titanic (XV)" ("On the tenth day of April 1912") (Titanic #15) - RBW File: RcTDWtOC === NAME: Titanic (XI), The ("The Titanic Nobly Bore Along") (Titanic #11) DESCRIPTION: Titanic stops at Queenstown for Irish girls and boys. An iceberg floats by but "Titanic proudly bore along unmindful of her foe." Wireless operators send an SOS but help is too late. The Carpathia saves those in lifeboats and took them to New York. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1947 (Ranson) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Titanic, the pride of Belfast, leaves Southampton with millionaires and poor. She stops at Queenstown for Irish girls and boys. At night an iceberg floats by but "Titanic proudly bore along unmindful of her foe." When struck, Captain Smith has wireless operators send an SOS but help arrivesd too late. "Women and children" first saved seven hundred. The Carpathia saves those in lifeboats and takes them to New York. KEYWORDS: drowning sea ship wreck rescue HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: April 14/15, 1912 - Shortly before midnight, ship's time, the Titanic strikes an iceberg and begins to sink. Only 711 survivors are found of 2224 people believed to have been aboard. FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (3 citations) McBride 67, "The Titanic" (1 text, 1 tune) Ranson, p. 128, "The Titanic" (1 text) Hammond-Belfast, pp. 30-31, "The Titanic" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. all the other Titanic songs (plot) NOTES: McBride: "In the Irish Tradition there are at least eight distinct ballads on the subject.... [This] version is the one most favoured by Irish traditional singers." - BS For an extensive history of the _Titanic_, with detailed examination of the truth (or lack thereof) of quotes in the _Titanic_ songs, see the notes to "The Titanic (XV)" ("On the tenth day of April 1912") (Titanic #15) - RBW File: Ran128 === NAME: Titanic (XII), The (You Landsmen All, on You I Call) (Titanic #12) DESCRIPTION: "The Titanic called at Queenstown ... And eight hundred emigrants From Ireland sailed away." After four days "our ship struck an iceberg." The crew tries to save the women and children. Millionaires died but we mourn for our Irish lads that drowned. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1976 (IRClare01) KEYWORDS: drowning sea ship wreck HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: April 14/15, 1912 - Shortly before midnight, ship's time, the Titanic strikes an iceberg and begins to sink. Only 711 survivors are found of 2224 people believed to have been aboard. FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #18475 RECORDINGS: Jamesie McCarthy, "The Titanic" (on IRClare01) NOTES: The Irish grief over the passengers on the _Titanic_ is easily understood. As with most liners of the time, the _Titanic_ carried three classes of passengers: First class, second class, and steerage. And steerage was mostly emigrants, and many of the emigrants Irish. Steerage passengers, of course, were stuck far down in the ship. Dr. Robert D. Ballard's _The Discovery of the Titanic_ has a side view of the ship's plans on page 168, showing that many of the steerage passengers were four floors below the main deck, near the waterline, whereas the first class passengers were mostly above the main deck, with easy access to the lifeboats. The steerage passengers, by contrast, were actually barricaded into their below-decks area -- a quarantine measure to prevent the spread of disease (see Wyn Craig Wade, _The Titanic: End of a Dream_, p. 22). But it meant that the third class passengers had to break down, or at least have the knowledge and nerve to talk their way past, the barriers to get off the ship! It showed in the casualties. According to Lincoln P. Paine's _Ships of the World_, 60% of the first class passengers survived (Ballard, p. 149, reports that every child in first class, save one, survived, and she died only because she wouldn't leave her mother, who wouldn't leave her husband). 42% of second class passengers survived, but only 25% of steerage (comparable to the 24% of the crew who survived). Walter Lord's famous book _A Night to Remember_ (1955) gives a passenger list. Pages 207-209 catalogs the third class passengers who embarked at Queenstown (Cobh). There were 114 of them, mostly with typical Irish names. Only 40 (35%) survived. Other sources differ slightly, Stephanie Barczewski's _Titanic: A Night Remembered_ (Hambledon Continuum, 2004), p. 9, says that 123 passengers boared at Queenstown, of whom 113 paid the six pound ten shilling third class fare. Obviously the presence or absence of one passenger doesn't change the casualty rate much. For an extensive history of the _Titanic_, with detailed examination of the truth (or lack thereof) of quotes in the _Titanic_ songs, see the notes to "The Titanic (XV)" ("On the tenth day of April 1912") (Titanic #15) - RBW File: RcTita12 === NAME: Titanic (XV), The ("On the tenth day of April 1912") (Titanic #15) DESCRIPTION: "On the tenth day of April 1912 her whistles they did sound, Her power of motion was released, her twin screws turned around." The ship gives little attention to the dangers of the sea. The ship sinks 400 miles from cape race AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 2004 (Leach collection web site) KEYWORDS: sea ship wreck technology HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: April 14/15, 1912 - Shortly before midnight, ship's time, the Titanic strikes an iceberg and begins to sink. Only 711 survivors are found of 2224 people believed to have been aboard. FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (0 citations) ST RcTita15 (Partial) Roud #774 RECORDINGS: Mrs. John Powers, "The Titanic" (MacEdward Leach Collection, Songs of Atlantic Canada, Accession # 78-054 NFLD 1 Tape 2 Track 5) NOTES: Roud, following the Leach web site, includes this with "The Titanic (I)" ("It Was Sad When That Great Ship Went Down") [Laws D24] (Titanic #1). Clearly, though, it is a separate song; it lacks the chorus of Laws D24, has no lyrics in common that I can see, and includes a lot of details I haven't seen elsewhere, most though not all of them accurate. Because this is one of the less inaccurate _Titanic_ ballads, I'm going to use it as my basis for historical notes on the wreck. I hesitated long before deciding to include a note on the _Titanic_ disaster; after all, there are many much fuller accounts elsewhere, which are the basis for this note (for the sources used in what follows, see the annotated bibliography at the end of this essay). I've included this relatively short history to document some of the features mentioned in the _Titanic_ songs. In what follows, I have included references to the various _Titanic_ songs, in curly brackets for lack of a better notation. For example, the _Titanic_ was, according to "The Loss of the Titanic (Titanic #13)," "The beauty of the White Star Line." The goal in building the _Titanic_ was indeed to make a very ornate ship, so where I say White Star "would make their name on comfort," this is followed by the citation {#13}, meaning that this accords with "The Loss of the Titanic." Where the songs are wrong (as, e.g., in the claim that the band played "Nearer, My God to Thee"), the citation will be {contra #1, #2...}. The story of the _Titanic_, in a way, begins in 1870, when the _Oceanic_ created the transatlantic passenger liner (Wade, p. 13) and made the White Star Line's reputation for luxury crossings (Brinnin, p. 241). You could argue for an even earlier date -- e.g. Brinnin, p. 4, begins his account with the _James Madison_ of 1818, which was the first packet to keep a regular schedule. But the _Madison_ was a sailing ship, and not very comfortable. Samuel Cunard had replaced the sailing ships with steamers in the following decades, but though Cunard ships were very safe in an era when wrecks were common on other lines (Brinnin, p. 245 notes that they never lost a passenger in the entire nineteenth century!), they weren't particularly enjoyable to be aboard, The idea was simply to get across the Atlantic. The _Oceanic_ converted the trip "across the pond" from a burden to something to be enjoyed. Brinnin, p. 242, calls her "the eponymous instance of the modern ocean liner." Very long and narrow, she did not confine her passengers to the stern areas as so many earlier ships had done. Staterooms were made larger. There was steam heat. She was far from perfect; many changes had to be made after her first voyage (Brinnin, p. 243). But she had changed the whole nature of transatlantic travel. It didn't take long for competition to become intense. Three British lines -- White Star, Inman (which was rapidly failing and would soon be taken over by American interests), and the more-established Cunard -- were joined by several German competitors and a few small fry from other countries. By the end of the nineteenth century, it was becoming almost impossible to make passenger traffic pay due to the cuthroat competition (Ramsay, p. 11). The various companies all formed alliances. The Germans had some government support. Cunard eventually turned to the government as well, offering to produce fast liners that the Royal Navy could take over as auxiliary cruisers as needed. Thus were born the _Lusitania_ and her sister the _Mauretania_ (Brinnin, p. 328fff., Ramsay, pp. 15-17; Paine, p. 330). White Star had to respond, but answer was different. Rather than turn their independence over to the British government (a deal with the devil that would in fact eventually pose great difficulties for Cunard during World War I), they were in effect taken over by J. P. Morgan (Wade, pp. 14-15; Butler, p. 9), which already owned Inman and some smaller American lines and had a deal with the Germans (Brinnin, p. 325). For all his deep pockets and his cartel-like control over several shipping firms, even Morgan had to field a competitive steamer line. The _Lusitania_ was a fine, fast ship (capable, in ideal conditions, of sustained speeds of 26 knots), but her design was radical in many ways -- long, narrow (which made the idea of using her as a warship rather silly; she would have been a lousy gun platform), and driven by the newfangled turbines. White Star, a more conservative company, preferred not to be so daring in designing their answer. They didn't even rely on turbine-driven engine (Wade, pp. 270-271) {contra #15}. (Ironic, given that the Ismays, managers of White Star, had taken a ride on the world's first turbine-powered ship, _Turbinia_, on the day of her unveiling at Victoria's Diamond Jubilee; _Turbinia_ at the time was the world's fastest ship, by a large margin; Brinnin, pp. 307-308.). The center screw used a turbine, but the port and starboard screws used the old, less efficient reciprocating engines (Butler, p. 16). Rather than compete on crossing time {contra #2, #15}, White Star's ships would make their name on comfort {#13; cf. #16, which describes her one voyage as a "pleasure trip"}. White Star's new liners -- to become the _Olympic_, _Titanic_, and _Britannic_ -- would be about three or four knots slower than Cunard's. That speed difference allowed a huge savings in engine weight; to get that three knot advantage, _Lusitania_ needed 68,000 horsepower engines (Ramsay, p. 21) despite a gross tonnage of only 32,000 tons; _Titanic_, at 46,300 tons, had according to the advertisement reprinted in Ballard, p. 169, engines developing a mere 50,000 horsepower (a figure also quoted by Paine, p. 520; Ballard, p. 220, lists her as 46,000 horsepower; Barczewski, p. 3, as 55,000. Lord-Night, p. 174, says she was registered as 50,000 hp, but could reach 55,000. It is probable that the exact figure was never known; _Titanic_ never once went up to full speed). Unlike the _Lusitania_ and _Mauretania_, which had four propellers, she had only three screws {contra #15, which lists her as having two}. The weight saved on the engines would all go into more ship -- and more comforts for the passengers. _Olympic_ and _Titanic_ were, for instance, the first liners to include swimming pools (Barczewski, p. 7); they also had Turkish baths (Brinnin, p. 362). So large were the designs that builders Harland and Wolff of Belfast {#15} had to build new slips to hold the ships -- replacing three of their old slips with just two, one for _Olympic_ and one for _Titanic_ (Wade, p. 16). First class was so fancy that it was simply expected that its occupants would bring their servants; there were separate facilities for first class passengers and the servants of those passengers (Butler, p. 54). Over 3000 workers were involved in the construction of each ship (Barczewski, p. 214, who notes that the Belfast shipyard employed mostly Protestants, making _Olympic_ and _Titanic_ toys in the battle over Home Rule and the contest over relations between Ulster and the rest of Ireland. Little wonder that it was called "The Pride of Belfast" {#11}). The potential degree of luxury available seems almost obscene today. Butler, pp. 36-37, lists the standard load of food and kitches equipment. This included, among other things, 1000 pounds of hothouse grapes (from England, in April 1912, remember; there were no hybrid fruits that could last long enough to be shipped from a southern climate) and 100 pairs of grape scissors. The cost of the two ships was on the order of a million and a half pounds each (see that advertisement in Ballard, p. 169). And that's 1908 pounds (I somewhere saw an estimate that it would take a half a billion 1990s dollars to build a replica.). _Titanic_ was 882 feet long, her beam was 92 feet, and 60.5 feet from the waterline to the boat deck (she was eight decks tall), with the funnels rising another 115 feet (cf. Paine, p. 520, and the deck plans in Wade, pp. 174-183). Lord-Night, p. 174, puts this in down-to-earth terms: "11 stories high and four city blocks long." Ballard, p. 219, reveals that _Olympic_ and _Titanic_ each were roughly two years on the slips before launching, and needed another year after that to complete. Perhaps never in history has a class of ships been so ill-fated. _Olympic_ was the lucky one; she stayed afloat until she was taken out of service in 1935 (though she had to be heavily rebuilt after the _Titanic_ wreck, so that she became much harder to sink; Wade, p. 328). But in her two dozen years of service she had had *four* collisions with other ships: with the tug _O. L. Hallenbeck_ and with the H.M.S. _Hawke_ in 1911 (Lord-Lives, pp. 29-31), with the _Fort St. George_ in 1924 (Paine, p. 376), and with the _Nantucket Lightship_ in 1934 (Paine, p. 349). When Cunard and White Star merged in 1934, Cunard promptly got rid of _Olympic_ (Paine, p. 376; Wade, p. 329). The _Britannic_ never sailed as a liner; she was not finished at the start of World War I, and was converted to a hospital ship. In that capacity, she hit a mine in 1916 and sank in less than an hour (Paine, p. 81) -- another example of the inadequate internal subdivisions of the design. As for the _Titanic_ -- well, we're getting to that. The _Olympic_ was finished first, starting her maiden voyage to New York on May 31, 1911 (Wade, p. 17). The ship seemed to work well, but the designers learned a few things (mostly cosmetic) which caused the _Titanic_ to be slightly modified, primarily to add more passenger accommodations (Wade, pp. 18-19); in the process, her displacement increased by about a thousand tons. _Titanic_ could still be considered _Olympic's_ sister, but she was heavier -- the largest ship in the world at the time {#15} -- and somewhat more luxurious. The _Titanic_ would set out on her maiden voyage on April 10, 1912 {#9, #15}. At noon, she left Southampton {#5, #9, #11, #15, contra #6, which says she sailed from Liverpool}, reached Cherbourg that evening, left France just a couple of hours later, arrived at Queenstown {#11, #12} around noon the next day, and set out for New York {#6} around 2:00 p.m. on April 11 (Lord-Night, p. 175). It was not an auspicious start, really; there had been coal strike (Wade, p. 23; Barczewski, p. 263, notes that the strike ended April 6, but of course coal was only just starting to go back "into the pipeline"; it hadn't reached Southampton yet), causing White Star to requisition coal from other vessels, cancel their voyages, and transfer the passengers to _Titanic_. In the process, they started a small coal fire that never was entirely put out; the coal smoked the entire time of the voyage (Butler, p. 37). Meaning that, unknown to the passengers, there was always a slight danger of a coal dust explosion (which, we note, is the most likely explanation for why the _Lusitania_ sank three years later). Borrowing coal and shifting passengers was not unreasonable. Sailing the largest ship in the world with a raw crew was more of a problem. _Titanic_ would be going on her maiden voyage with a crew that did not know the ship; at this time, crews were mostly hired on a by-the-voyage basis (Barczewski, p. 264; cf. Wade, p. 24) -- and, on a vessel her size, they wouldn't be able to learn their way around in a day or two! Even second officer Lightoller, a veteran seaman with much experience on White Star ships, said it took him two weeks to learn his way around (Barczewski, p. 5; Butler, p. 46). Many of the crew didn't have that much time, and though a lot of them had done at least one voyage on the _Olympic_ (Barczewski, p. 266), most didn't have his background to help them learn their way. Even if you ignore their unfamiliarity with the ship, it turns out that only 83 of the crew were actual sailors, used to dealing with a ship at sea (Wade, p. 210). The rest were stewards and other specialists -- important for the passengers, but they couldn't really run the ship. Nor had _Titanic_ completed anything like proper sea trials -- for instance, she had never once worked up to full speed, and done very little emergency maneuvering (Wade, p. 184). In a great irony, it is reported that, it was only as she arrived in the vicinity of the ice that she worked her way up to the fastest speed she had ever attained (Wade, p. 28). Apparently she never tested her turning radius at full speed (Lord-Lives, p. 56), and she only did one "emergency stop"; it took her three and a quarter minutes, and 3000 feet, to halt from a speed of 18 knots (Lord-Lives, p. 33) -- a speed she would exceed on her voyage across the Atlantic. And there had never been a true boat drill conducted. There had been one partial demonstration, inadequate in every regard (Wade, p. 211). Normally drills were conducted on Sunday, but on _Titanic's_ maiden voyage, Captain Smith cancelled it to hold a religious service (Barczewski, p. 10). The passengers didn't know what to do should they need to get to the boats; worse, few of the crew knew how to lower them! (Lord-Lives, pp. 88). So, when the crisis came, the same few crewmen had to do all the work, meaning that the boats could not all be lowered at once (Lord-Lives, pp. 95-96; cf. {#9}, which says they lowered the lifeboats "one by one." It was actually one by one on each side, but close enough). The handful of officers doing the lowering had to work so hard that, even on that cold night, they ended up sweating heavily; Officer Lightoller would take off his coat before the last boats were lowered, leaving him in dripping-wet pajamas (Lord-Night, p. 79). Finally, the captain was not someone you'd be likely to pick to deal with an emergency situation. E. J. Smith had much experience, starting as a boy on a sailing passenger ship and quickly working his way up to mate and then captain (Barczewski, p. 162). Not satisfied with that, he transferred to the passenger liners and working his way up to command those as well. He had commanded over a dozen different liners (Lord-Lives, p. 28) when he was promoted to the pinnacle of the White Star line, the _Olympic_ (Barczewski, p. 163). He was so well-liked that White Star made it a policy for him to command new vessels (Barczewski, p. 165). On paper, he was the perfect captain for _Titanic_ {#15}; his time on _Olympic_ meant that he was one of the handful who had some real idea how her new sister ship worked. But Smith's resume sounded better than it was. He was a good manager and diplomat -- but he had never had to deal with real problems. In an interview, he once declared, "When anyone asks how I can best describe my experience in nearly forty years at sea, I merely say, uneventful. Of course there have been winter gales, and storms and fogs and the like, but in all my experience I have never been in any accident of any sort worth speaking about" (quoted in Barczewski, p. 185; Butler, p. 48; Lord-Lives, p. 29; Wade, p. 38). And he didn't have a mind set suited to surprises. In 1906, aboard the _Adriatic_ -- a ship no one ever claimed was unsinkable -- he said, "I cannot imagine any condition which would cause a ship to founder" (Lord-Lives, p. 18; Tibballs, p 227, gives a _Boston Post_ story with the quote). Maybe he knew better, and was trying to encourage passengers -- but such statements surely encourage complacency. Even before the _Titanic_ set sail, it was known that there were icebergs in the North Atlantic -- though {contra #11} she had not seen any herself. A warm year had caused many to break loose from the polar cap; another liner, the _Niagara_, in fact collided with one at about the time _Titanic_ set out (Wade, p. 31). No one in authority aboard _Titanic_ seemed worried. Though several ships had been damaged by icebergs in recent years, all had survived (Wade, p. 32). And _Titanic_ was much stronger than most of those ships. She was divided into 16 sections, designed to be watertight, with a central control on the bridge that could, in theory, instantly isolate the sections. She was designed to stay afloat if any two of the sections flooded, or if the front four (which were of course narrower) were breached (Ballard, p. 22). This was not really such good protection as was claimed. Lord-Lives, pp. 20-22, discusses how early liners (notably the _Great Eastern_ of 1858) had been designed to be unsinkable. _Great Eastern_ had a true double hull (_Titanic_ had a double bottom but not a full double hull; Barczewski, p. 4), a true set of partitions (15 bulkheads from front to back, as on _Titanic_, but with subdivisions within each cell, as on a battleship, so she was a true honeycomb), and her divisions reached all the way up to the upper deck. Water in one section simply could not work its way into another. But this had proved very inconvenient -- a steward or passenger in one section had to go all the way to the upper deck to move to another. Gradually, the partitions dividing port and starboard sides went out of ship designs, the bulkheads were lowered so that the upper decks were not partitioned, and doors were built into the bulkheads on the lower levels. The diagram in Ballard (p. 22) purports to shows the bulkheads on _Titanic_. The six toward the stern reach two or three decks above the waterline -- an adequate distance, though higher would have been better. But those amidships and at the bow -- the ones most likely to suffer damage! -- are much lower; most reach only one deck above the waterline, and #6 and #7 are barely higher than the water (Lord-Lives, p. 22, says they rose only 10 feet above the waterline, though his description doesn't seem to match the diagram in Ballard). If the ship went down by the nose -- as _Titanic_ did -- the water could overtop the barriers, flooding at least eight to ten compartments. And the ship of course could not (and did not) survive *that*. Finally, the _Titanic's_ watertight doors were theoretically controlled from the bridge, and also had floats so they could automatically close if they detected water. In fact, some had to be closed manually, so making the ship watertight was *not* an instantaneous process. Lord-Lives, p. 23, comments acidly that _Titanic_ was treated as unsinkable {#1, #2} not because she was properly built but because she looked too big to sink. "The appearance of safety was mistaken for safety itself." Lynch/Marschall, p. 194, makes the interesting point that _Titanic's_ near-sister _Britannic_ sank when she hit a mine. That means that the damage was confined to a small area of the hull -- yet she sank anyway, and much faster than the _Titanic_. There really does seem to have been a problem with the partitioning in the _Olympic_ class ships. One personal observation, based on looking at very many photos of the _Titanic_ in the process of writing this article: It really doesn't appear to have been all it was cracked up to be. It was opulent, yes, in a heavy-handed Edwardian sort of way. But it didn't really appear all that well-built. There is a look to good construction, and it doesn't have it. _Titanic_ had neither the hand-crafted strength of pre-nineteenth century construction, nor the technological veneer of the second half of the twentieth century. In that context, an illustration in Lynch/Marschall (p. 21) is perhaps relevant. It shows one of the anchors of the most advanced ship in the world, forged by modern metallurgy -- being hauled to the ship by horses. (My opinion about the construction of these ships seems to be borne out by the stories of the leading liners of the time. Very many of the new ships had design problems. The _Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse_ of 1897 had "lubberly propensities," according to Brinnin, p. 317, which caused her to be nicknamed "Rolling Billy." Cunard's flagship of the period, _Lusitania_, had had to be refitted due to excessive vibrations; see "The Lusitania." _Titanic's_ record as the largest ship in the world would not last long; 14 months later, Germany's Hamburg-Amerika line would bring out the _Imperator_; Barczewski, p. 65. She was roughly 6000 tons heavier than _Titanic_, but top-heavy enough that she needed her funnels shortened and some of her fixtures replaced, plus they had to add 2000 tons of extra ballast; she also lost her figurehead due to her extreme rolling on just her third voyage; Brinnin, p. 388. After the war, Cunard took her over as _Berengaria_, but overhauled her again in 1921, and she suffered a series of fires in the late Thirties; Paine, p. 60. Luxurious the monster liners were, but they were perhaps too big for the designers of a pre-computer age.) Interestingly, _Titanic_ was nowhere near full on her maiden voyage. (Tibballs, p. xi, thinks this is because of the coal strike, which caused many people to postpone plans since they weren't sure the ship would sail, but most sources seem to think the real reason was that people didn't want to risk taking a new ship which han't had a shakedown voyage.) According to Wade, pp. 25-26, _Titanic_ left Southampton on April 10, 1912 with only 46% of first class berth occupied, 40% of second class, and 70% of steerage space booked. (That's 337 first class passengers, 271 second class, and 712 in third class; cf. the table in Barczewski, p. 51, which gives capacity, number carried, and number lost. Considering that _Titanic_ was taking passengers from several liners, the totals are amazingly low.) She stopped at Queenstown the next day to take on a few more. One song {#12} refers to 800 emigrants sailing from Ireland. This presumably refers to the total third class passengers; in all, only about 125 passengers boarded at Queenstown (now Cobh, or the Cove of Cork), of which number 113 (Barczewski, p. 9, 281) or 114 (Lord-Night, pp. 207-209) were third class, and hence presumably emigrants. (It will tell you something about the size of _Titanic_ that she could not even dock at Queenstown's pier; she had to anchor offshore and have passengers and cargo ferried aboard; Barczewski, p. 281). The _Titanic_ did have a near-disaster at the very beginning of her life; as the _Olympic_ had sucked the _Hawke_ into a collision, _Titanic_ produced so much pull that she snapped the ropes of the _New York_. But, in this case, a collision was averted -- just barely (Lord-Lives, p. 26; Barczewski, p. 4; Tibballs, pp, 31-38). For the first four days of the voyage, everything of course went well; the ship maintained a good speed, sailed smoothly, and everyone apparently had a fine time. Then came the "Night to Remember." Complete details of what happened on the night of April 14-15 probably cannot be known. Captain Smith went down with his ship, as did his chief officer (second in command) Henry Wilde, who was almost invisible in the saga (except that Lightoller, who had reason to resent him, accused him of slowing the evacuation; Lynch/Marschall, p. 109. Ironically, Captain Smith had requested Wilde be transferred from the _Olympic_ so he could have a second who knew the ship; Butler, p. 44; Lynch/Marschall, p. 76. Fat lot of good it did; as Butler, p. 90, comments, he "demonstrat[ed] very little initiative of his own, seemingly content to pass on Captain Smith's [incomplete] instructions, but never expanding them or clarifying them... and rarely issuing any orders of his own"). Also lost was first officer William M. Murdoch, who was the officer in command on the bridge when the ship hit the iceberg and who also had charge of lowering the boats on one side (like Smith, he an officer brought over from the _Olympic_; Barczewski, p. 189. Sort of makes you wonder who was running the _Olympic_ after they took all her officers). Chief Engineer Joseph Bell and almost all of the engineering crew, who kept several boilers running to maintain electricity for the lights and pumps (Ballard, p. 25; Butler, p. 109), were lost as well. Many witnesses pay well-deserved testimony to the bravery of the crew in the emergency which followed. (There were four officers senior enough to stand watches, Smith, Wilde, Murdoch, and second officer Charles H. Lightoller; Butler, p. 53. Of these, only Lightoller survived, and he did not go off in a boat; he was washed away from the wreck as she went down and was able to make his way to an overturned "collapsible" lifeboat); as {#13} says, the crew stayed with the ship and sent the passengers off. Their problem lay not in courage but in intelligence. Instead of information from her senior officers about what went wrong, what we have is the testimony of several more junior officers (including second officer Lightoller, who however was in his cabin at the time of the collision, and fourth officer Joseph G. Boxhall, responsible for plotting of icebergs as the warnings came in and for fixing the ship's position when she hit the iceberg). We also have accounts from the junior wireless operator, of some of the lookouts, and of course numerous passengers, none of whom, however, had any part in the ship's decision-making. Plus we have the information derived from Ballard's exploration of the sunken hull (which was not very helpful, however, since the part of the starboard bow which was damaged seems to be almost entirely buried in the mud; Ballard, p. 196). One thing is certain: the _Titanic_ did not go to its fate unwarned. One crucial safety feature she did have was a wireless, and two wireless operators, allowing one to be on duty at all times. (This wasn't just for safety; many of the first class passengers were sending messages all over the place. Barczewski, p. 11, notes that this was how the Marconi company earned its money; they didn't get paid for talk between ships.) Just on April 14, many ice warnings had come through -- one at 9:00 a.m. from the _Caronia_, one at 11:40 from the _Noordam_, two almost simultaneously around 1:45 from _Amerika_ and from White Star's own _Baltic_, one from the _Californian_ at 7:30, and one at 9:40 from _Mesaba_ -- this one for the very region in which the _Titanic_ was already sailing (Ballard, pp. 13-20; Lord-Lives, pp. 48-49). And, finally, one more from the _Californian_, which was almost next door and had been stopped by ice. How many of these warnings were actually read by the senior officers is not clear. Ballard claims that some never reached the senior officers. It is worth remembering that wireless operators were not a proper part of the ship's crew. The shipping lines hired them from the Marconi company or one of its competitors. (This was common; many of the "staff" on the _Titanic_ were in fact employees of other companies. The restaurant staff, for example, worked for organizations such as Gatti which had bought concessions on the _Titanic_ -- Lord-Night, p. 68.) When one of _Titanic's_ radiomen received an ice warning, he could do little except hand it to an officer, who might pay attention or might just slip it in his pocket. To add to the problems, the apparatus had broken down on April 14 -- it was unusually powerful for the time (1500 watts -- Butler, p. 62), but probably cantankerous as a result. Senior operator Jack Phillips had repaired it (radiomen at the time had intense training in electronics and such, and Phillips, though onlly 25, was one of the best; Butler, p. 61), but was far behind on commercial traffic and had at times brushed off messages from other ships in order to get it out (Wade, pp. 143-144, 254) -- the more so since that final and most important ice warning, from the _Californian_, had not been sent as a priority message (Wade, p. 255). Plus, as Lord-Lives, pp. 51-52, points out, the radiomen were not navigators; they really had no idea which messages were most important. And So we don't know how much the crew knew about conditions. What is clear is that Captain Smith did not adjust her course significantly in response to the warnings, and the ship did not slow down. Based on the reports from the _Californian_ on the day of April 14, and from the _Carpathia_ and the _Mount Temple_ the following day, it appears that there was an almost-solid ice barrier across the _Titanic's_ path. There would have been almost no way through without encountering ice (cf. Lord-Lives, p. 130; Lord-Night, p. 147, and the diagrams in Ballard, pp. 198-200). Under the circumstances, the decision to proceed full speed ahead was very dangerous. Although the ship had no hope of setting a record {contra #7}, it is possible that Captain Smith was pressured to try to make the first crossing faster than the _Olympic_ had made hers the year before (Butler, p. 249; on p. 59, he speculates that Smith did this under pressure from White Star boss J. Bruce Ismay). If there is a fault, it's Captain Smith's for treating the ice messages utterly cavalierly. (According to Barczewski, p. 190, junior officers did not even have authority to reduce the ship's speed, though she cites no authority for this statement.) The warnings needed to be studied; it was only when the messages were combined that they showed a wide band of ice all across the ship's path (Lord-Lives, p. 53). The officers did worry about the cooling of the air and sea -- but, apparently, their chief concern was that it might freeze the fresh water supply! (Ballard, p. 19; Butler, p. 63; Lynch/Marschall, p. 77). Captain Smith, in fact, was asleep at the time of the collision {#3}; he was content to let junior officers take him through the ice zone, though he did tell them to call him in the event of doubtful conditions (Ballard, p. 19). He was, after all, a fairly old man by the standards of the time -- 59, and planning to retire after _Titanic_ made her maiden voyage (Lord-Lives, p. 32; Lord-Night, p. 27, says that he might not even have made this trip, except that he made a habit of captaining ships on their maiden voyages. It says something about how much the company respected him -- and about how fortunate he had been in avoiding accidents.). The claim of {X} that "Captain Smith... must have been a-drinking" is, however, quite certainly wrong. White Star regulations forbid it (Lynch/Marschall, p. 77), and even if he were fool enough to risk his pension on his very last voyage (which he was not), he was with a party that would have spotted it had he touched liquor. Conditions for spotting icebergs were horrible. (Lynch/Marschall, p. 79, has the interesting note that a lookout on an earlier shift had *smelled* ice -- not as strange as it sounds, since most icebergs calved off glaciers carrying soils and sometimes lichens; the wet earth would not smell like salt water. But though that lookout smelled ice, he never saw any.) It was, of course, dark, and there was no moon (Lord-Lives, p. 47) {#16}. And observers agree that the sea was very calm, with hardly any waves at all -- and one of the best ways to spot an iceberg was to see the waves lapping at it. To top it all off, the lookouts in the crow's nest did not have any binoculars (Wade, pp. 169-170; Butler, p. 44, explains how they came to be missing). The British inquiry would conclude that binoculars are no help in spotting icebergs (Lord-Lives, pp. 59-60) -- which is sort of true, but only sort of. Yes, as any birdwatcher can tell you, it's almost always easier to spot things with bare eyes. But shifting between eyes and binoculars keeps you alert, and using the binoculars sometimes causes you to see things you wouldn't otherwise see. It is now thought the solution to the Binoculars Problem is known: The key to the locker containing the optics was in the hands of an officer who was on the _Titanic_ from Belfast to Southampton, but was bumped in the latter city to make room for the completely ineffectual Chief Officer Wilde. The bumped officer accidentally took the key to the locker with him, so the binoculars were left locked up. The key was auctioned off in 2007. (Lord-Lives, p. 129, makes the interesting note that, when the _Carpathia_ was steaming toward the _Titanic_, she dodged half a dozen bergs -- and all of them were spotted from the bridge, not the crow's nest. Apparently, on that dark and calm night, the lookouts aloft were at a severe handicap. It's not clear whether this is due to their angle or, perhaps, just the weather -- on a ship making 20+ knots, or even 17 as the _Carpathia_ was doing, looking straight ahead into the wind of the ship's passage would have been very painful on that cold night.) Very little is known about the actual iceberg. No other ship saw it with certainty (Butler, in an illustration facing page 149, and Lynch/Marschall, pp. 92-93, have a photo of a berg taken by the _Prinz Adelbert_ that may have been it, but the only evidence was some red that might have been paint, which is hardly proof), and _Titanic_ saw it for only minutes. But the statement {#13} that it was a growler (small berg) seems to have been false, since it was big enough for chunks of ice to fall onto _Titanic's_ boat deck, more than sixty feet above the water. According to Ballard, p. 21, most witnesses stated that the berg reached only to about boat deck level. That's still pretty big. The testimony of Frederick Fleet, who had been on lookout that night, was perhaps not as helpful as it might have been; when called before an investigating committee, he was nervous, his Cockney talk almost unintelligible, and at one point he actually said, "I ain't got no judgment" in response to a question about distances. (He would eventually commit suicide in 1965, though probably not over the _Titanic_; Tibballs, p. 516.) But he did say that he spotted the iceberg around 11:40 on the night of April 14 (Wade, pp. 166-167) {#5; contra #6, which gives the date as April 17, and Lomax's #3, which says April 13; #15 has the right date, but gives the time as an hour before the dawn}. (Incidentally, Fleet wasn't the only person aboard to eventually kill himself; so did surviving passenger Jack Thayer, in 1945; Butler, p. 231. And wireless operator Harold Bride retired from his job in 1913 and literally vanished; Butler, p. 234, says that he assumed a new identity and no one knew where he went until decades after his death in 1956.) Fleet called the bridge the moment he spotted the berg off the starboard bow. There was little time to react. What we know of the events comes mostly from helmsman Robert Hitchens -- not, perhaps, the most reliable witness; he ended up in command of Molly Brown's lifeboat, and his record in that job was of petty tyranny, lies, and panic; Lynch/Marschall, pp. 152-154, 161-163; in the end, White Star found him a job in South Africa, allegedly to silence him; Lynch/Marschall, p. 223) According to Hitchens, First Officer Murdoch ordered the engines stopped and the ship turned to port. It was too late; moments later (Lord-Lives, p. 59, says 37 seconds later), the iceberg hit the _Titanic_ on the starboard side (Wade, pp. 171-172; Ballard, pp. 20-21). A post-mortem found that Murdoch's actions, while they seemed the natural thing to do, in fact were very unwise -- better a head-on collision, which would have destroyed the first few compartments but left the rest intact, than a glancing blow which opened many (Wade, pp. 182-183). But many ships have hit icebergs and survived. Indeed, there hadn't been a major disaster on a passenger ship since the _Atlanic_ wreck of 1873 (Butler, p. 73; for background on that, see "The Loss of the Atlantic (I)"). Why did _Titanic_ go down? It is widely stated that the iceberg opened her front five (or even six) compartments. This has not, to my knowledge, ever been proved; all took on water, but it's not clear that anyone saw the leaks in all the compartments. What is certain is that it opened the fourth and fifth compartment, and at least two compartments before that. As the water rose, it went over those low bulkheads, and finally overcame the ship's buoyancy (Lord-Lives, p. 64). In a way, it was lucky the ship lasted as long as it did. The fifth compartment contained some of the boilers, which were of course running when water started coming in. Stokers had to work like mad in the rising waters to shut down the boilers and keep them from exploding (Lord-Night, pp. 19-21; Barczewski, p. 18). Ballard's findings do much to confirm the theory that the ship sank because the bulkheads between the allegedly-watertight sections were overtopped. The most notable finding was that _Titanic_ snapped in two on her way down (see diagrams in Ballard, pp. 204-205). The stern, obviously, still had enough buoyancy to float when the bow wanted to sink, and the strain was too much for the ship's structure. The conclusion at the time, based on what testimony was available from belowdecks and the rate the ship filled, was that the iceberg had opened a gash about 250 feet long and less than an inch high on average (Lord-Lives, p. 64). A modern guess is that the gash itself was not so big as was thought at the time, but that the impact caused the cold steel (which would be brittle) to pop rivets and start to weep water. It wasn't a hole; it was a slow leak -- but a very large slow leak, or rather, a very large number of them (Ballard, pp. 196-197). It is also possible that the collision damaged the watertight bulkheads, so that compartments which were still watertight with respect to the ocean were not tight relative to the interior of the ship and could take in water from the compartments next to them; there was evidence of this in boiler room four (Lord-Lives, p. 65). She picked a bad place to get hit, too. {#6} says she was off Newfoundland, {#4} claims the ship was only 90 (so McNeil's version) or 98 miles from shore (Randolph's version), but the 500 mile estimate in {#10, #16} is much closer; _Titanic's_ broadcast distress call stated her position as 41 degrees 46 minutes north, 50 degrees 14 minutes west (Ballard, p. 22). This was Boxhall's dead reckoning fix (Lynch/Marschall, p. 108), based probably on assuming a higher speed than the ship actually managed (or, perhaps, ignoring the local current); Butler, p. 242, also observes that there may have been an error in her chronometer at the time of the impact because no one had reset it for distance covered. Ballard, p. 199, moves the ship some 13.5 miles east southeast of her reported position. But the error in the estimate hardly matters in reckoning her distance from land; in round numbers, she was 400 miles from the closest land at Cape Race {#13; #15 accurately puts her 400 miles from Cape Race but gives the wrong distance to Boston}, 450 miles from St. John's (the nearest significant port), 800 miles from Halifax (the closest port truly suitable for large ships), and 1200 from her destination in New York. She was actually off the continental shelf, even though the shelf (the Grand Banks) extends unusually far out to sea in this area. It would be some time before it was determined that the ship was in danger. The impact felt slight. Frederick Fleet initially thought the ship had merely had a "narrow shave" (Wade, p. 173). (Hence, perhaps, the report in some versions of {#1} that the ship "began to reel and rock" at 1:00 on Monday, which would have been April 15. The impact was on Sunday, April 14, but evacuation began the next day. The April 15 date is also found in {#2}.) There was no single source which reported the damage {contra #2, which credits "Bill" with reporting the problem}; Fourth Officer Boxhall was sent on an inspection tour (Butler, p. 70), which revealed some water coming in, and the carpenter Jim Hutchinson then reported significant water below (Barczewski, p. 16, though there is some uncertainty here, since Tibballs, p. 496, lists Hutchinson as a joiner, abd Tibballs, p. 51, says that the carpenter, unnamed, who was sent to sound the ship never reported. Butler, p. 70, and Lynch/Marschall, pp. 91-92, say that Hutchinson was sent to sound the ship, and came back reporting water below, with a postal clerk reporting the same at about the same time). By this time, the instruments showed a significant list. Butler, p. 71, cites the testimony of Officer Boxhall, who reports that the commutator listed the ship as listing five degrees to the right and down two degrees at the head. This appears to have been what convinced Captain Smith that the ship was in trouble; Boxhall claims he muttered "Oh, my God" upon seeing that value. The disaster might have been worse had not Thomas Andrews (1873-1912), the managing director of the shipyard that built _Titanic_, been aboard (he wanted to inspect her performance; Barczewski, p. 147). Captain Smith called on him to inspect the damage and estimate the situation (Butler, p. 71). Andrews -- who seems to have been both a good people person and a highly competent engineer -- quickly realized the ship was doomed (Barczewski, p. 148; Butler, pp. 71-72; Lord-Night, pp. 22-23, 26). Smith, to his credit, accepted the estimate and started evacuation procedures, himself going to give instructions to the wireless crews (Lord-Night, p. 27). Andrews helped with the evacuation as best he could (Lynch/Marschall, p. 99), then reportedly went to the first class smoking room; he reportedly was not wearing a lifebelt, and apparently had no intention of trying to save himself; his body was never found (Barczewski, p. 149). But it is clear that there had been absolutely no planning for an evacuation. Passengers apparently weren't even told to get their lifejackets and go on deck; many of them went to the purser to reclaim their valuables, as if they were threatened with a stock market drop rather than a sinking ship (Lynch/Marschall, p. 99). According to Wade, p. 144, the first wireless distress call went out 35 minutes after the collision -- just a few minutes too late; the wireless operator on the _Californian_ had gone to bed. No one thought to send up rockets until a quartermaster at the stern of the ship noticed lifeboats leaving (he had not been told the ship was in danger!) and called the bridge. That aroused someone enough to order him to bring up the rockets (Lord-Night,p. 47). But, obviously, it took him some time to get them and bring them to the bridge of the great ship. (We might incidentally note that the wireless distress call is said to have been the first "SOS" call at sea {#9, #11}; at first, the operators send "CQD" messages, which were the original distress code. But "SOS" had been sent recently adopted as the emergency call -- it's much easier to transmit in Morse -- and eventually the operators decided to send that; Lord-Night, p. 52. The distress call went out not long after midnight {contra #9, which says it was "about the break of day," probably confusing the beginning of the day with daybreak}.) Adding to the controversy is the fact that survival rates for the different groups on board were very different. Because women and children were given priority {#3, #9, #11}, they of course had a higher survival rate than men -- but the first class men did almost as well as the third class women and children. Some initial news reports apparently claimed that no one in third class survived (Tibballs, p. 237). In fact, there were even two dogs rescued from first class (Lynch/Marschall, pp. 100-101). This being the era of the Filthy Rich, was -- even more than today -- the era of the Completely Useless (and frequently disagreeable) Pet Dog. The _Titanic_ had kennels, and even had crew members whose task was to walk the animals. In the early stages of the evacuation, when the boats were going down half-empty, the two First Class Pooches were given spaces that could have gone to people. Much of the difference in casualty rates was due to the layout of the ship. The passengers in first class were around the level of the boat deck, and were the first to reach the boats (the boats, absurdly, were at the very top of the ship, well above the main deck, which meant that there was less room for boats and that they were far above nearly every passenger on the ship). As a result, 94% of first class women and children were saved (there is a table of casualty rates in Wade, p. 67, and a graph in Lord-Lives, p. 82). Ballard, p. 149, says that only one first-class child went down with the ship, and that because she would not leave her mother, who in turn would not leave her husband; cf. Lord-Lives, p. 83. (And, indeed, there was eventually a woman who turned up claiming to he a grown-up Loraine Allison, but she was pretty clearly trying to get her hands on the money the two-year-old would have inherited had she lived; Lynch/Marshall, p. 214). Lord-Night, p. 105, notes that only four first class women died, and three of them decided to stay with their husbands. 31% of first class men were saved. In all, 60% of first class passengers survived. Of second class passengers, 44% lived. In steerage, the figure was only 25% -- 47% of the women and 14% of the men. The survival rate for the crew was comparable to that for third class -- 24% (212 out of 890 crew members, according to Lord-Lives; note that {#15} says with fair accuracy there were 900 crew). It should be remembered that the third class passengers were physically blocked off from the upper decks due to quarantine regulations (steerage passengers were subjected to a physical examination before they could even board; Butler, pp. 39-40), and in any case were many decks below the boats. (Hence the statement in {#1} that they "left the poor below.") And they had previously been strictly told to stay in their areas. There were, in fact, only seven doors connecting third class to areas with access to boats (Butler, p. 106), and of course the steerage passengers didn't know how to find those doors or get to anywhere useful if they did find them. Based on testimony from the survivors, they were not blocked from going to the boat deck (with some exceptions -- and of course there could have been major exceptions which simply weren't reported; see Wade, pp. 276-277, Lord-Lives, pp. 84-88). But the crew -- which of course had to tell them what to do and guide them to the boats -- were mostly concentrated on the upper decks. By the time the third class passengers knew of the disaster and could reach the boat decks, the boats were mostly away (one witness told of a great flood of third class passengers swarming the boat deck at the very end). Butler, p. 105, has perhaps the best summary: "[Steward John] Hart's efforts [which helped many female passengers escape the lower decks] underscored the fact that... there really was no deliberate policy of discrimination against Third Class. What there was, and what may have been all the more insidious by being purely unintentional, was that simply no policy or procedure for looking after the Third Class passengers existed.... Somewhere in the chain of command communications had broken down, and... when Captain Smith had given no specific instructions, Chief Officer Wilde seemed incapable of initiating any action himself. The other officers [who were lowering the boats] were already thoroughly occupied and had little time to spare for wondering about what or who the captain an chief officer might have overlooked." This had an interesting side effect: although the rule was "women and children first," or where Second Officer Lightoller was in charge, "women and children only," because of the way passengers made their way to the boats -- or, rather, didn't -- the *number* of men to survive actually was larger than the number of women: 338 adult men, compared to 316 adult women, according to Lord-Lives, p. 82. The reason a higher percentage of women survived was because there were a lot more men than women aboard -- 1667 men, 425 women. The male survivors even included J. Bruce Ismay, the man in charge of running White Star; he had crowded into a boat at the last minute. Widely blamed for causing the disaster -- after all, he had allowed the ship to go to sea without enough lifeboats or a trained crew -- he lived another 25 years, mostly as a recluse; Lord-Lives, pp. 180-181. (Reading the histories, I don't think Ismay should be blamed for the disaster as such -- he didn't run the ship; Captain Smith did. Ismay did bear significant blame for the lack of boats, though, which at the very least demonstrates that he hadn't properly researched the ship's capabilities. Plus he was a busybody who did nothing but get in the way during the evacuation -- one of the officers had to force him away from the boats. And, on a more individual note, when the ship's musicians were subjected to a pay cut and harsher working conditions, he pretty well blew them off; Barczewski, p. 129. So my verdict is: Criminal, not guilty; Jerk, guilty.) The _Titanic_ myth of men standing aside to let the women live did create some problems for adult male survivors, many of whom felt pressure to justify their continued existence. Biel, pp. 28-29, notes how Lawrence Beesley, a second class male survivor, later tried to get a part in a _Titanic_ movie so he could be seen going down with the ship this time. (He was denied the role of an extra because he wasn't a member of Actor's Equity.) One final observation on casualties: All numbers are slightly imprecise, because the lists of those aboard are slightly imperfect. In round numbers, 1500 were lost {#9}. Lord-Night, p. 176, notes that the American inquiry put the figure at 1517, the British Board of Trade came up with 1503, and the British Enquiry 1490. Lord-Night inclines toward the middle figure. The figure of 1600 in {#1, #4, #5, #7, #16} is certainly too high, though not by much. One suspects the songs citing this figure were composed very soon after the wreck, before the enquiries had sorted things out. The other possibility is that it refers to the number of people actually on the ship when the last boats pulled away, estimated by Lord-Lives (p. 2) to be 1600. But a few of these survived, being hauled out of the water by the boats. For the most part, the evacuation was orderly. Women and children were put in the boats, and men generally accepted it. Still, it appears that a few shots were fired. (The shots did not {contra #3} wake Captain Smith, who of course was awake to order the evacuation.) The officers had pistols, and fifth officer Lowe at one point fired a few rounds to prevent a rush on the boat (Lord-Night, p. 75; Lord-Lives, p. 99). This ended the rush, and no one was hurt in the incident. First officer Murdoch may also have used his pistol (Lord-Lives, p. 100; cf. Lord-Night, p. 76), but again, he fired in the air. So at most one passenger was killed by an officer to prevent chaos, and even this is relatively ill-documented (Lord-Lives, pp. 101-102). The real tragedy of the _Titanic_, of course, is that everyone could have been saved had there been enough lifeboats. British Board of Trade regulations said merely that any ship over 15,000 tons had to have at least sixteen lifeboats. And the regulations were carefully enforced; Butler, p. 38, tells of the officers getting very upset with the Board of Trade inspector because he was so thorough. _Titanic_ in fact had twenty (counting the four collapsible lifeboats that were not on davits and so were much harder to lower; two in fact were on a roof near one of the funnels and almost inaccessible; Lord-Lives, p. 97) -- but she was 46,000 tons, or three times the size envisioned when the regulation was written. Adding more lifeboats would not have been a great hardship. More boats would have added some weight, of course, but they did not need more space; her davits were designed to carry multiple boats. Had she been fitted with a suitable number of lifecraft, and had crew competent to lower them, there was time to get everyone off. But there were boats for only 1178 people (Lord-Lives, p. 72). It was fortunate, in a way, that the ship was only half full; had she carried her full complement of 3547, there would have been boat space for only a third of them. Making the matter worse, the lifeboats that did go out weren't full. This was not callousness or over-excitement; the lifeboat officers were not certain that fully-loaded boats could survive the drop after being lowered the long distance from the _Titanic's_ decks (Wade, pp. 132-133), or that the crew were competent to lower full boats. Plus, with the ship going down, they were trying to get every boat down before she was swamped -- meaning they didn't wait to bring in as many people as possible. So most of the boats that were sent off in the first hour or so were lowered half-empty -- and apparently no one ever considered using one or another boat as an elevator to send down more passengers. Toward the end, the officers were willing to put more people aboard, but with most of the passengers at the stern, there was no one around near the bow when the last boats at that end were lowered (Lord-Lives, pp. 94-95). As a result, about 400 seats in the boats that could have been filled instead were left empty. That was not the end of the mishandling. Though the _Titanic_ did not have enough boats, she did have enough lifebelts to keep everyone afloat -- if they were rescued quickly enough from the chill waters. In fact, a few people who did not make it off the sinking ship were rescued by the boats, though many of the boats rowed away from the wreck as fast as they were able (Wade, pp. 233-235; Lynch/Marschall, p. 129, claims that Captain Smith tried to call some of the half-full boats back, but I have not seen this claim elsewhere, and in any case, none of them obeyed). We note that many bodies would eventually be discovered, still afloat in their lifebelts {#4}, carried northward by the current; most seem to have died of the cold (Wade, pp. 273-274; according to Lynch/Marschall, p. 176, one of the rescue ships found 17 bodies in the sea, an only one had water in the lungs, i.e. had drowned. The rest all died of hypothermia). Had more of the boats come to their rescue, it is probable that at least a few hundred more people would have survived. When the song calls it a "cold and icy sea" {#6}, it was only the truth; the waters were at 28 degrees F, and Second Officer Lightoller, who spent time in the water before reaching an overturned lifeboat (one of a number of men who survived by swimming to Collapsible A or Collapsible B, the lifeboats that the officers were still trying to get down when the ship sank), said that it felt like being stabbed with "a thousand knives" when he went into the sea (Barczewski, p. 29; Lord-Night, p. 114). In several cases, it took only a few minutes to kill; Barczewski, on the same page, relates the testimony of several people who pulled passengers into the lifeboats only to find them already dead, or to watch them die even after they were pulled from the water. A recovery ship called the _MacKay-Bennett_ (chartered by White Star in one of their few recorded instances of voluntary compassion; Butler, p. 199) brought in over 306 bodies (Barczewski, p. 41), mostly unhurt except for sea and cold, and many more were seen by other ships (Wade, p. 274); 22 more bodies were brought in by other vessels (Barczewski, p. 42). Many went unidentified; Barczewski, p. 45, notes the case of a baby whose identity was not firmly established until DNA testing was used in 2002. What would have spared most of the grief was another ship to arrive quickly. And there was another ship in the vicinity, the freighter _Californian_. The _Californian_ had been one of the ships sending ice warnings, and in fact she had halted for the night in the face of the ice barrier; her commander Stanley Lord was still fairly new, and had not faced ice before. And since he was carrying freight only (there was some passenger space on the ship, but it was not occupied), there was no real urgency about arriving at his destination. So he decided to sit tight (Butler, p. 159). According to Ballard's calculations, she was not more than 21 miles from where _Titanic_ went down, and probably closer due to drift (Ballard, pp. 200-201, following the work of Jack Grimm; cf. Butler, p. 243). And there is also suspicion that her log was "cleaned up"; the official log has no record of seeing any rockets (when it is universally agreed that she did) -- and the "scrap log," which usually contains information to be cross-checked before being entered into the official log, is missing for that time period, even though it is usually preserved (Butler, pp. 243-244). Butler, p. 244, argues that the course she was on would have left her south of her official position when stopped -- i.e. closer to the _Titanic_. Compounding the problem, the _Californian_ had only one wireless operator, who went off duty before the _Titanic_ started sending distress signals. but the officers of the _Californian_ certainly saw _Titanic's_ emergency rockets -- and ignored them until too late (Paine, p. 87). She didn't even have the excuse that she had to protect her passengers; since she was carrying only cargo (Lord-Lives, p. 134). Her inaction was at the instigation of her captain, whose only response to the rockets was to tell his officers to try to contact the other ship by searchlight. It's not clear why there was no response to the lights -- Lord and his defenders claim there was a third ship between the two of them and the _Californian_ never saw the _Titanic_ -- but the likely explanation is that the officers of the _Titanic_ had other things on their minds than sending lamp signals. _Titanic's_ wireless operators could stay at their posts; they had no other duties -- but the ship's officers were busy evacuating. (Fourth officer Boxhall had tried signalling the mystery ship; according to Lynch/Marschall, p. 109, Captain Smith's words were "Tell him to come at once. We are sinking" -- the exact words quoted in {#9}, though they are there credited to the wireless officers.) Captain Smith did order the boats to head for the ship on the horizon, which by every reckoning but Captain Lord's was the _Californian_ (Barczewski, p. 168), but she was too far away for the disorganized rowers to reach in any reasonable time. (Apparently none of the _Titanic's_ boats were powered. They did have sails, but only a couple of sailors on the _Titanic_ knew how to sail a boat, so that was no help.) Had _Californian_ responded when the rockets went up, her speed of 13.5 knots would have allowed her to reach _Titanic_ at least half an hour before the ship went down (that based on her official position; it would have been sooner if, as suspected, the two ships were closer together than the _Californian's_ official position indicated), allowing for much more complete rescue efforts. Condemnation of _Californian's_ skipper Stanley Lord has not quite been universal -- Butler, p. 241, notes that some maritime unions have a strong interest in not having them condemned -- but it is widespread; if the _Californian_ was the mystery ship, there can be little doubt that Lord's behavior caused hundreds of avoidable deaths. Of the books I have read, only Lynch/Marschall can be considered Lordite; on pp. 190-191, it argues, first, that the _Californian's_ reported position and the _Titanic's_ actual position were too far apart to allow easy visual contact; second, that it took the _Californian_ two hours to reach the _Titanic's_ death site, so she couldn't have gotten there quickly even had she responded to the pleas; third, that there may have been a third ship; fourth, that many on the _Californian_ did not think the ship was big enough to be the _Titanic_, fifth, that the witnesses on both ships thought the other ship was moving even though both were stopped. The first objection is meaningless, since it is based on one actual and one estimated position; the second is also meaningless, because the _Californian_ headed for the reported position, not the actual position; the third is a self-justifing excuse; the fourth may have been an illusion of distance; and the fifth may also have been an illusion, or it may have been caused by the drift of the two vessels, which would have responded to ocean currents differently. And not one of these objections in any way overcomes the basic flaw in the Lordite position: That Captain Lord saw distress rockets and ignored them. We don't know if Lord could have helped the _Titanic_. We *do* know that he ignored an obvious cry for help. This is surely inexcusable. The Lordite controversy is covered in detail in almost every book on the _Titanic_; see e.g. Barczewski, p. 35 and after; Lord-Lives, p. 135 and following; Butler, pp. 191-194, 241-245, who accuses Stanley Lord of terrorizing his officers until they couldn't act without his permision. Nonetheless, it seems not to have been mentioned much in the songs, perhaps because the _Californian_ did not show up in the news stories until some time after the disaster. Not every ship and captain was so inert. Captain Arthur Roston of the _Carpathia_ heard the distress call, and at once turned ship {#9, #11}. His was by far the most decisive and effective action of the night. Unfortunately, his ship was roughly 60 miles from the _Titanic_, and the _Carpathia_, though only nine years old, had a normal top speed of just 14 knots (Paine, p. 96). Captain Roston and crew gave it everything they had, and supposedly got her going at 17 knots (Lord-Night, p. 141). It still took her some three and a half hours to reach the site of the _Titanic_, meaning that the larger liner had gone down about an hour before. _Carpathia_ rescued such survivors as she could find, taking in the last boat at 8:30 (or about six hours after _Titanic_ sank); by then of course the only survivors were those who had been in the boats. Indeed, some even of those pulled from the water by the boats had died; the cold and the shock (and, in a few cases, the effort of keeping a half-flooded boat afloat) proved too much. After picking up every survivor, Captain Roston turned his ship about. She was supposed to be heading east for Europe, but he knew he had to get the survivors to land quickly. The only question was whether to head for New York (the passengers' intended destination) or Halifax (the nearest major port). After some consideration, he headed for New York {#11} (Lord-Night, pp. 160-161). It was to prove a difficult trip, both because of the crowding and because storms made some passengers fear that the _Carpathia_ too was in danger (Lynch/Marschall, p. 163). Lord-Night, pp. 189-209, gives the official passenger list, with those lost and saved, though he notes in Lord-Lives (pp. 36-38) that there were some errors in the list. Tibballs, pp. 483-506, gives a list which includes the crew, though some are miscategorized. Most other sources content themselves with naming a handful of the "celebrity" passengers -- e.g. the very wealthy Isidor and Ida Strauss (just two of several millionaires {#6}), and American President Taft's advisor Archie Butt. (Several others big names booked passage but did not actually sail. J. P. Morgan, who ultimately owned the ship, was too ill to sail. Alfred W. Vanderbilt changed his mind so late that there wasn't even time to get his luggage off the ship; Ballard, p. 14.) The Strausses are mentioned in the Cowboy Loye version of {#16}; they were an "elderly philanthropist" and his wife (Lord-Lives, p. 35) who owned the Macy's department store (Ballard, p. 14). They reached the deck early on, but Isador Strauss, being a man, was denied a place in the lifeboats (Butler, p. 109, in fact says that he refused to enter a boat when given a chance). His wife could have left, but she declared that she would share his fate ("We have been living together for many years; where you go, I go"), went back aboard the ship, and of course died in the wreck (Wade, p. 61). But if Ida Strauss gets the award for Most Romantic Gesture, no passenger was given more publicity than John Jacob Astor (1864-1912) {#5; probably the "Jacob Nash" of Lomax's #3}. He was probably the richest man aboard, though he had inherited rather than earned most of the money. He kept 18 automobiles, and had raised a regiment for the Spanish-American War, allowing him to take the title of Colonel (Barczewski, p. 58), even though he had no military training (and probably less aptitude, except for the mercilessness that came from his financial background). As the boats went off, Astor apparently asked if he could go aboard with his (much younger trophy) wife, who was pregnant. (No, they didn't have the phrase "trophy wife" in 1912, but they had the idea, and Astor was largely cast out of society; Barczewski, p. 58. Barczewski adds that the girl was visibly pregnant even though they had been married only four months. It is perhaps revealing that Madeleine Force Astor would remarry in 1918 even though it meant giving up about seven million dollars in money from a prenuptual agreement. The flip side is, at least Astor married her; other rich men pretended to be faithful and took mistresses. Benjamin Guggenheim, another of the ultra-rich passengers, had left his wife in New York to travel with his girlfriend; Butler, p. 28.) Second officer Lightoller, who (as noted above) survived but only by swimming to a boat, flatly refused Astor's request to join her in the boat (Barczewski, p. 25). Astor allowed her to go in the boat without him, but said that he would meet her in the morning (Barczewski, p. 60); either he expected the ship to survive (unlikely by then) or he expected to find another boat. Quite a few legends arose about Astor immediately after the wreck, generally very positive {#5 says "all the women he tried to save"}; Biel, p. 41, reports an account in which he is credited with saying "Not a man until every woman and child is safe in the boats." Not one of these accounts is from from an actual beneficiary of his kindness, or even a reliable witness; all were reports of people who claimed they saw something he did (Barczewski, p. 63); we cannot in any instance prove that Astor was actually the man involved. (This "men stepped aside" legend is found, e.g., in {#4};Biel, pp. 23-25, documents that this arose in the first hours after the sinking, before any of the survivors had told their tale; the stories weren't exactly false, but it was the ship's officers, not the passengers, who controlled access to the boats, an in the end, many men did survive.) Astor's body was one of those found by the _MacKay-Bennett_; it was in very bad shape, but he could be identified by the monograms on his clothing (Barczewski, p. 40). Lord-Lives, p. 172, observes that the Astor family did not even file any claims for damages over his death -- something that obviously would not have happened in today's litigious society. There were, to be sure, lawsuits filed -- a lot of them, totalling about $16 million. This led to interesting problems in dealing with British and American law (after all, it was a British ship owned by an American conglomerate.) In the end, White Star paid out $664,000 (Lord-Lives, pp. 172-177). The fate of Captain Smith, mentioned in folklore, is in fact uncertain, except that he certainly did not survive. Wade, p. 58, and Barczewski, pp. 169-171 list several reports, from suicide to rescuing other passengers at the expense of his life. (Barczewski suggests that most of the more heroic stories stemmed from some deep British urge to make him look good, and reports on p. 172 that those responsible for building his memorial were mostly passengers who had enjoyed sailing with him on other vessels.) Butler, pp. 251-252, examines his decisions in the ship's last hours, and (with the concurrence of a psychologist) suggests that the mental blow was so strong that he largely lost the power of decision -- we might informally say that he was in shock. (Lynch/Marschall, p. 137, says he "seemed almost in a daze, a strangely passive figure.") If so, he probably didn't do anything especially noteworthy in the last moments of the ship's life. (Incidentally I can't help but note that Smith doesn't seem to have been the only one. There was little panic on the _Titanic_ -- but very little ingenuity once Andrews gave the bad news. Did the engineers try to rig more pumps to lengthen the ship's life? Seemingly not. Did the carpenter use the wood furnishings to try to make coracles or something to keep a few more people afloat? There is no evidence of it, though we do hear of a baker throwing deck chairs overboard in hopes people could cling to them; Lynch/Marschall, p. 134. Did anyone counterflood, to try to keep the water from overtopping the forward bulkheads? Certainly not. The sinking ship saw much heroism and very little intelligence.) The likeliest scenario is that Smith went into the water with so many other passengers (so, e.g., explicitly Lynch/Marschall, p. 137), and -- like them -- died of exposure. It was probably an easier death than that suffered by the engineers and stokers in the lower parts of the ship, who stayed down there to keep the electricity going; they would have asphyxiated or drowned or both. Smith somehow became a hero -- legend had it that one of his last orders was, "Be British!" In other words "Keep a stiff upper lip (even though you're about to die an agonizing death)"; it became a legendary command and inspired various poems and non-folk songs. There is some irony in noting that the memorial to Smith cites his "great heart," "brave life," and "heroic death" (the last of which, as noted, cannot be proved) -- but does not include the name of the _Titanic_ (Barczewski, p. 180). First officer Murdoch, the officer on watch when the ship hit the berg, also had various ends ascribed to him, including suicide (Barczewski, p. 193). Apparently Hollywood threw in some even worse charges (Barczewski, p. 199). But the best evidence is that he simply ended up in the water like everyone else, and the citizens of his home town eventually won an apology, including some cash, from the studio (Barczewski, p. 198, 202). Surviving officers such as Lightoller, however, found their careers blighted. Wade seems to think that Lightoller was evasive before the investigating committees, but Lord considers him a decisive and capable officer, noting that he served in the Royal Navy in World War I and, as an old man, took his private boat to assist in the evacuation of Dunkirk. But he was never given a ship to command (Lord-Lives, pp. 192-193). The junior officers did no better, even though they surely could not be blamed for the outcome. The survivor who earned the most publicity (other than Ismay) was probably "Unsinkable" Molly Brown: Margaret Tobin Brown, 1867-1932. Born poor, her husband, a mining supervisor, discovered gold in the Little Johnny Mine (Barczewski, p. 85). Molly, suddenly rich, then became active in a variety of social causes -- and became a world traveller after she and her husband drifted apart. She was in Europe when her grandson became ill, so she hurried back to the United States on the _Titanic_ (Barczewski, p. 86). When the ship hit the iceberg, she gathered some of her things (fortunately not all; no spartan, she abandoned 25 gowns, 14 hats, and 13 pairs of shoes purchased in Paris; Barczewski, p. 87). Hustled into a lifeboat, she distributed some of the seven pairs of socks she was wearing to those who had come aboard less well-supplied (Barczewski, p. 89), and also tried to convince the quartermaster in charge of the boat to rescue those left behind. If the account in Barczewski, pp. 88-89, is even vaguely correct, his was one of the most despicable stories on that night; he refused to go back, and refused even to hand over the tiller, instead leaving it to the middle-aged Brown and one other woman to row. Aboard the _Carpathia_, Brown tried to send out messages on behalf of poorer passengers who could not pay for wireless messages (Barczewski, p. 90). She also tried to comfort some of the grieving survivors (her skill in several languages helped), and set up a subscription to make up for their losses. It all added up to a legend -- which was confirmed in 1925, when she survived a hotel fire and helped others escape the building (Barczewski, p. 92). But Barczewski notes that the popular accounts which made her legendary were largely fictionalized. Brown was active in relief causes in World War I, but after that fell into quarrels with her children and grandchildren, and her money dried up after her husband died in 1922 (Barczewski, p. 91) There was one small consolation out of the _Titanic_ wreck: The British and Americans toughened regulations for liners. They had to have enough lifeboats, the crew had to know how to deal with them, they had to have full-time wireless officers, etc. (Wade, pp. 302-303). These would not prevent future disasters, as the _Lusitania_ would demonstrate just over three years later, but they made them less inherently deadly -- the loss of life on the _Lusitania_ was mostly because she sank in twenty minutes. Had she stayed afloat for more than two hours, as the _Titanic_ did, nearly everyone aboard would have survived. Wade, p. 318, notes the additional irony that this disaster did not strike one much-oppressed community: There were apparently no Blacks aboard the ship as she sank (Biel, p. 112). Of course, this eliminates the whole plot of "Shine and the Titanic" {contra #14}. That's just as well for Shine, given the report in the song that Captain Smith's daughter offered him her body if he would rescue her. Smith had only one child, a daughter, Helen Melville Smith -- and she was still just a girl, born in 1902 (Barczewski, p. 163); imagine what would have happened had he so much as touched a child that age! In any case, her name isn't in the passenger list in Lord-Night, and she was alive to dedicate a memorial to Smith in 1914 (Barczewski, p. 179). "Shine and the Titanic" is also ruled out by the fact that Shine could not have swum to safety; the water, as noted, was just too cold. Racism also tinged the stories about the people who tried to rush the boats; they were usually labelled Asian or Italian or otherwise less than Anglo-Saxon. There is absolutely no evidence for this, and much reason to think it false (Barczewski, pp. 55-56). There is one documented instance of a crewman trying to steal another crewman's life vest; since there were no Blacks aboard, he cannot have been Black, and in fact the surviving witness never said he was -- but one press report calls him a Negro (Biel, pp. 50-51). The story of boxer Jack Johnson is more complicated; it appears that Leadbelly's song on the topic ({#8}: "Jack Johnson want to get on board, Captain said, "I ain't haulin' no coal") conflates two incidents. Lyle Lofgren tells me that Johnson was in Chicago at the time _Titanic_ sank, but according to Barczewski, p. 64, Johnson was refused passage on a liner due to his skin color on another occasion. According to Lord-Lives, p. 8, no books on the _Titanic_ were published between 1913 to 1955. In the publishing business, _A Night to Remember_ started a _Titanic_ boom (Biel, p. 149, calls the 1955 publication of _A Night to Remember_ the biggest date in _Titanic_ history other than 1912 itself.). But the songs on the subject hardly stopped -- indeed, some time around 1970, they taught us a comic parody of {#1} ("Oh, they built another ship Called the S.S. 92... And they christened it with beer, and it sank right off the pier, Wasn't it sad when that great ship went down") in elementary school. Ironically for the parody, the _Titanic_ was never formally christened (Lord-Lives, p. 11). In the late twentieth century, of course, the movie "Titanic" was released. I have not seen it, but the reports I've read (e.g. in Barczewski) say that it contains many historical inaccuracies. Perhaps it will be starting a new round of _Titanic_ folklore. Another irony is the effort which White Star went to to suppress the memory of the ship -- which obviously failed. After _Carpathia_ dropped off the lifeboats at White Star's dock in New York, White Star stripped off all identifying markings; we don't even know what became of the boats (Lynch/Marschall, pp. 166-168). They would probably be worth millions today. Which brings us to one of the most vexed of all questions about the _Titanic_: What the band played on that last night. There are a lot of misconceptions about the performance that night. For starters, the musicians were not a band as properly so understood -- they did not have a brass section. Their instruments were strings and piano. In fact, the eight performers weren't even a group in the usual sense. They rarely if ever played together as an eight-piece ensemble (Lord-Lives, pp. 96-97). The musicians consisted of a string quartet with piano (the primary group, led by newly-engaged violinist Wallace Hartley, which played the main evening concerts and Sunday religious services), and a violin/'cello/piano trio which played mostly at receptions and in the cafes (Barczewski, pp. 130-131). They can't have been very loud (especially away from a piano), and in an emergency situation, with the ship listing and sheet music not usable, they would have to rely on things everyone knew -- and even for that, they might not have parts properly assigned. I can't help but note the irony that two of them had been lured away from the _Carpathia_ to serve on the _Titanic_ (Lord-Night, p. 44). Though Butler, p. 122, reports that Hartley was once asked what he would do on a sinking ship, and he ha answered, "I would gather the band together and begin playing." We don't even know how long they played (Lord-Lives, pp. 107-108). Going down with the ship was not really part of their job. Although musicians on German ships actually doubled as ship's stewards (Brinnin, p. 312; this had the ironic effect that German ships, unlike English, *did* play "Nearer My God to Thee" on Sundays), English ships employed specialist musicians who were not formally employees of White Star. (In fact, White Star's passenger list shows them as second class passengers.) Shortly before the _Titanic_ voyage, White Star had started contracting with an agent to supply musicians. The hiring agents booked most of the same musicians the liner companies had always employed -- but inflicted a large pay cut on them and used the difference to make their profits (Lord-Lives, pp. 114-116). White Star refused even to pay death benefits to the musicians (Lord-Lives, p. 117). However long they played, it was above and beyond the call of duty. In the end, all eight of them went down with the ship (Ballard, p. 24 -- a page which also shows a poster for the band). Whether the musicians made attempts to save themselves cannot be known; some passengers stated that they quit playing about half an hour before the ship sank (Barczewski, p. 132) -- perhaps when the last boats left? But it is touching to quote the remark of Steward Edward Brown, who, when asked when they ceased playing, said "I do not remember hearing them stop" (Lord-Lives, p. 108). Hence, perhaps, the statement that the music "played as they went down" {#9}. In a minor folkloric touch, Hartley's body was recovered; the face was almost beyond recognition, but he still was wearing his uniform, and his violin case was on his back, allowing identification (Barczewski , p. 139); he was buried in his home town of Colne (which he had left 17 years before) in a rosewood casket (Lord-Lives, p. 118). Interestingly, though most reports say the musicians played either hymns or ragtime on that last night, neither was the Hartley quintet's specialty; their primary clientele was the first class passengers (worth, according to Barczewski, over $500 million in 1912 dollars!), who apparently preferred classical music -- on the night the boat went down, the evening concert included Wagner, Dvorak, and Puccini, according to Lord-Lives, pp. 43-44. Apparently some of the listeners felt the band not quite up to the task (Lord-Lives, p. 43) -- but imagine five musicians trying to play Wagner! We might add that ship's bands of this period played largely for charity (Preston, p. 141) -- though it seems that few passengers were particularly generous. When the ship hit the iceberg, Captain Smith apparently roused the musicians to play during the evacuation (Barczewski, p. 132). At first, they seem to have played in the first class lounge; later, they moved toward the boats (though the piano players would have been unable to play on the boat deck itself, and without the piano the group would have been quiet indeed. Perhaps -- personal speculation only -- one of the piano players took over conducting, to try to keep the group together without the piano playing rhythm?). As for what they played, most reports agree that the band started out by playing ragtime tunes (or at least "Alexander's Ragtime Band," which had been a big hit the year before but which critics have indignantly charged isn't ragtime), mixed with other light pieces (Lord-Lives, p. 109). Butler, p. 91, mentions "Alexander's Ragtime Band," "Great Big Beautiful Doll," "Can't You Hear Me Caroline," "A Little Love, A Little Kiss," and "Moonlight Bay," apparently based on the report of Lawrence Beesley. According to Wade, pp. 61-62, it was a Mrs. Vera Dick who started one of the most enduring false stories. She was the one who reported that the band played "Nearer, My God, to Thee" as the ship went down {#1, #2, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #16}. Obviously, if she had been near enough to hear the band, she would have been sucked down with it; Lord-Lives, p. 109, says she was at least a quarter of a mile away. Of course, one newspaper account claimed that the sound of the hymn continued *after* the ship sank! (Barczewski, p. 137). Lord also observes that "Nearer, My God, To Thee" has different tunes in Britain and America -- yet passengers from both sides of the ocean claim to have heard it played. Odds are that someone, probably Mrs. Dick, started the story ,and it sounded so appropriate that people thought they remembered it. Or maybe it was a transferred memory from the memorial services; "Nearer, My God, To Thee" *was* played at some of the funerals (Barczewski, p. 44), including Hartley's (Barczewski, p. 139). The single most reliable account is that from junior wireless operator Harold Bride: "The water was then coming into our cabin. From aft came the tunes of the band. It was a ragtime tune. I don't know what. Then there was 'Autumn.' Phillips [the senior wireless operator] ran aft, and that was the last I ever saw of him alive" (Tibballs, p. 97; cf. Wade, p. 63). This statement has frequently been taken to refer to the lively hymn "Autumn." "Autumn" was considered extremely appropriate, since it contains the line "Hold me up in mighty waters." But Lord-Lives, p. 110, offers very strong evidence against this suggestion; it is unlikely the band knew it or that passengers would recognize it. Lord-Lives, p. 112, suggests that Bride's reference was in fact to Archibald Joyce's "Songe d'Autumne," popular in 1912. We cannot possibly know; the evidence is too thin. But at least this piece is a reasonable suggestion, unlike "Nearer, My God, to Thee." Still, there are authorities who stand by "Nearer, My God, to Thee" -- e.g. Butler, p. 131. I have to think this is wishful thinking; though he addresses the counter-claim for "Autumn," he does not acknowledge the various problems with the claim for "Nearer...." (It is ironic to note that the sinking does seem to have inspired a publishing boomlet -- Lycnh/Marschall, p. 213, shows three editions of "Nearer, My God, to Thee" with the _Titanic_ on the cover.) (I will add a minor speculation of my own here. Tibballs, p. 320, prints a report that a single violinist played "Nearer..." "[a]fter all his fellow musicians had been washed away." Speaking only for myself, if I were in a situation where I knew death was coming soon, I'd haul out one or another instrument and start playing -- it would be the best distraction and farewell I can think of. And Butler, p. 57, says that there were many musicians among the third class passengers, who staged their own dances along the way. We also have tales of hymn-sings and such; Lynch/Marschall, p. 77. Could it be that one of the passengers played "Nearer..."?) That report Tibballs cites (from the _Western Daily Mercury_) was an extensive one, printed two weeks after the accident, and it seems to have contained nearly every inaccuracy contained in the _Titanic_ songs: A. That Murdoch shot himself (pp. 320, 326, 333 in the Tibballs reprint). B. "Explosions" (pp. 320, 325, 326, 328, 335; an exploding boiler is mentioned in Bessie Jones's version of {#3}, but in fact the _Titanic_ crew shut down the boilers early to prevent an explosion, and Ballard saw no evidence of any such thing; if there were explosions, they were simply of compressed air and probably occured far below the surface). To be charitable, the process of shutting down the boilers did involve venting steam, which was a noisy process (it even made it hard for the wireless operators to work; Lynch/Marschall, p. 108) which someone might have interpreted as an explosion. Or, perhaps, a passenger below-decks might have heard the launching of the distress rockets and thought that was an explosion (cf. the description of the sound in Butler, pp. 97-98; Lynch/Marschall, p. 99, calls it an unearthly roar which forced passengers to shout in order to be heard over the sound.). C. An attempt to cross the ocean in "record time" (p. 324; cf. {#7}), when the _Titanic_ had no chance whatsoever to cross faster than the _Mauretania's_ record D. Sundry claims to have been on "the last boat" (p. 324), when in fact the last boat was Lightoller's, which hadn't even been launched when the water rolled over it, and its passengers are well known E. A claim that _Titanic's_ "plates were ripped open from a dozen feet in from the bow to the second funnel" (p. 327) or "from the forecastle to the bridge (p. 335), which of course would have sunk her much faster F. Two "Italians" trying to rush the boats; one "Dago" (yes, that was the word used, which will tell you the quality of this particular report) had to be shot (pp. 329, 338) G. Plus, of course, several stories of the "last musician" (pp. 320, 326). Even if no one played "Nearer, My God, to Thee," there was at least one hymn directly associated with the sinking: Philip Paul Bliss's "Pull for the Shore." This was sung aboard one of the lifeboats as they rowed away from the scene of the wreck (Wade, p. 236). There was bitter logic in the words: Pull for the shore, sailor, pull for the shore! Heed not the rolling waves, but bend to the oar; Safe in the life boat, sailor, cling to self no more! Leave the poor old stranded wreck, and pull for the shore. Harland & Wolff, which built the _Titanic_, continued to prosper into the Twenties, but the partition of Ireland and the decline of the shipping fleet cost it much business. From a peak in the tens of thousands of employees, it now has only a few hundred (one of the biggest factors in the decline of the Belfast economy), and is now Norwegian-owned; the land on which _Titanic_ was built was sold off in 2003 (Barczewski, p. 245). Southampton, the _Titanic's_ home port, suffered more immediate losses; the larger part of the ship's crew came from there, meaning that hundreds of families lost a loved one. The _Daily Graphic_ printed a report headed "Stricken Southampton" (Tibballs, pp. 239-240). Barczewski, p. 248, notes that there was one school in the town where no fewer than 125 students had lost a close relative. On p. 264, she notes that the population in 1912 was around 120,000, meaning that more than one Southampton resident in 200 was aboard the _Titanic_ (p. 266 says that 699 of 898 crewmembers lived in the Southampton area, whilte, Butler, p. 172, says that 80% of the crew came from the city), and more than one in 250 died aboard the ship. Many of the _Titanic_ songs of course stress the theme of hubris and how the ship had to be punished somehow. {#10 is the most extreme, but we also find this e.g. in versions of #1}. This bit of theology did not originate with the songwriters; Biel, pp. 59-63, and at other points in the chapter labelled "Mammon," shows how preachers of the time offered this argument (which is at best dubiously Biblical); he in fact cites {#10} as an example of how this doctrine became entrenched. Butler, pp. 222-223, also discusses the mass religious outpouring on the theme of "God did it to show that humans are incompetent worms." (To which I say, the very fact that they can come up with such notions proves that they're right: We *are* incompetent worms. But it was the complacent British Board of Trade, and the cheapskate managers like Ismay, not the engineers, who are to blame.) There were a number of goofy ideas proposed over the years to, well, raise the _Titanic_ {#7}. Most are pre-Ballard -- the first was proposed in 1914 (Lord-Lives, p. 194) -- so they didn't realize the ship was in two pieces, and most were unworkable even with an intact ship; it seems unlikely that anything will ever come of this (though Arthur C. Clarke produced some ideas that might actually work). Nor did anyone really have any idea what to do with the ship once raised; the idea of a museum was proposed, but one wag calculated that it would be economically unviable just because of the amount of paint required for the ship (Lynch/Marschall, p. 201). It is sad to report that scavengers *have* recovered some scrap metal -- and, reportedly, are turning it into wrist watches. Sadly, the Gods have not seen to strike these grave-robbers with the sort of punishment they deserve. >>BIBLIOGRAPHY<< Ballard: Dr. Robert D. Ballard, _The Discovery of the Titanic_ (Warner, 1987). The standard work on the story of the _Titanic_ herself after the last survivors left her, with many photos both of the ship as she sailed and of her as was found on the bottom. But most of the material is modern and does not come into the _Titanic_ songs. Barczewski: Stephanie Barczewski, _Titanic: A Night Remembered_ (Hambledon Continuum, 2004). One of the few books I've seen that is properly footnoted, though the author seems to have a fascination with people stories (it's perhaps revelatory that she dedicates the book to her dogs). And large sections seem to be taken almost verbatim from Lord-Lives. On the other hand, it's very useful as a counterweight to the "Titanic" movie. Biel: Steven Biel, _Down with the Old Canoe: A Cultural History of the Titanic Disaster_ (1996; I use the 1997 Norton edition). Not really a history of the ship, but of people's reactions to the sinking. Of course, the reactions are what inspired the songs.... A caution about his accuracy, though: He calls Kirsty MacColl (Ewan's daughter, unless there are two of them) "Irish"! Brinnin: John Malcolm Brinnin, _The Sway of the Grand Saloon: A Social History of the North Atlantic_ (1986; I use the 2000 Barnes & Noble edition). A history of transatlantic liners, regrettably lacking footnotes, but useful for background. Butler: Daniel Allen Butler, _"Unsinkable": The Full Story_ (Stackpole, 1998). Properly footnoted, for once. Occasionally it's off the wall (e.g. it claims the band did in fact play "Nearer, My God, to Thee), but for the most part it is a clear and readable summary, and it has interesting insights into some of the key players in the tragedy. Lord-Night: Walter Lord, _A Night to Remember_ (1955; I use the 1997 Bantam edition). The classic book, pre-Ballard; it is unfortunately not footnoted though widely regarded as reliable. Lord-Lives: Walter Lord, _The Night Lives On_ (1987; I use the Avon paperback edition). Like Lord-Night, it is not footnoted. Whereas _A Night to Remember_ is about the sinking itself, _The Night Lives On_ gives much more detail about events before and after -- and, in some cases, corrects Lord's earlier book, based in part on research he himself helped inspire. Lynch/Marschall: _Titanic: An Illustrated History_, text by Don Lynch, paintings by Ken Marschall, introduction by Robert D. Ballard, 1992; I use the 1998 Hyperion edition. A few too many illustrations, and an inconvenient format, but if a graphic can explain something, it probably has it. Paine: Lincoln P. Paine, _Ships of the World_ (Houghton Mifflin, 1997). A general reference, used mostly to find data on the other ships (_Olympic_, _Carpathia_, etc.) involved in the _Titanic_ story. Preston: Diana Preston, _Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy_ (Walker, 2002; I use the 2003 Berkley edition). Obviously another book about the _Lusitania_ rather than the _Titanic_, but it is properly footnoted and has useful background about the liners of the era. Ramsay: David Ramsay, _The Lusitania: Saga and Myth_ (Norton, 2001). Used primarily for the information it gives on competition in the transatlantic trade in the early twentieth century. Tibballs: Geoff Tibballs, editor, _The Mammoth Book of the Titanic_ (Carroll & Graf, 2002). A selection of statements by survivors and witnesses, plus press accounts. Unfortunately, it has no index, and a minimal table of contents, so it contains a lot of useful information I couldn't cite because I couldn't find it when I was writing the relevant portions of this essay. Wade: Wyn Craig Wade, _The Titanic: End of a Dream_ (revised edition, Penguin, 1986). This calls itself a _Titanic_ book. It's more a book about William Alden Smith and an American post-mortem on the ship's sinking. Wade seems to think Smith was a great man. He really sounds more like a demagogue populist to me, though the legislation he introduced certainly made liners safer. Wade also views the sinking of the _Titanic_ as ending some sort of Great Romantic Era. Most would consider World War I more important in that regard. I should probably also mention Arthur C. Clarke's fictional _The Ghost from the Grand Banks_ (1990), the last solo novel from the last of the great titans of Science Fiction, and the one who always gave the most attention to the science. It's not one of Clarke's great works, and the background comes almost entirely from Ballard and Lord (which made it rather pointless to cite it), but it is gives some genuine life to some of Ballard's more clinical descriptions of the dead hulk -- and also gives some actually useful ideas about how to raise the ship. - RBW File: RcTita15 === NAME: Titles of Songs (Song of Songs, Song of All Songs, Song of Song Titles) DESCRIPTION: Lyrics composed of titles or pieces of other songs, e.g. "Mickey O'Flannigan he had a Bull Pup, Down Where the Pansies Grow, Don't You Leave Your Mother, Tom, For Mary Kelly's Beau." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1863 (Foster's sheet music) KEYWORDS: lyric nonballad parody FOUND_IN: US(MW,So) REFERENCES: (6 citations) Randolph 515, "Titles of Songs" (4 texts, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 380-381, "Titles of Songs" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 515A) BrownIII 234, "Working on the Railroad" (1 text plus two unrelated fragments, the "B" and "C" fragments probably belong with "Roll on the Ground (Big Ball's in Town)"; the "A" text is a jumble starting with "Working on the Railroad" but followed up by what is probably a "Song of All Songs" fragment) Dean, p. 131, "Reminiscences" (1 text) Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 45-46, "The Song of All Songs" (1 text) Saunders/Root-Foster 2, pp. 339-342+450, "The Song of All Songs" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7598, 7599 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Songs of Old Ireland" (theme) NOTES: There are actually several pieces which go under this title (Randolph's A, B, and C form one group, his D another; Dean's a third, specifically of Irish songs; Stephen Foster with Tony Pastor produced the piece printed by Spaeth in 1863, though Saunders and Root note that the lyrics are not by Pastor or Foster, and suggest John F. Poole as the writer). All these songs have a common mechanism, however, and since it is often hard to tell one from another, I am lumping them here. This has, of course, no relation to the Song of Songs (Song of Solomon, Canticles) in the Bible. For one thing, the Biblical book is erotic (arguably obscene), while this is clean. - RBW File: R515 === NAME: Tittery Nan [Laws H16] DESCRIPTION: Joe Dimsey steals old Josiah's mare; the old man repays the younger back by recovering his horse and pummeling him AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Linscott) KEYWORDS: robbery fight thief injury FOUND_IN: US(NE) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Laws H16, "Tittery Nan" Linscott, pp. 292-293, "Tittery Nan" (1 text, 1 tune) DT 712, TITERNAN Roud #2194 NOTES: Laws says, correctly, that "this little piece with its gay refrain is hardly more than a nonsense song," though Linscott is of the opinion that it's based on fact. What fact she does not know. - RBW File: LH16 === NAME: Titus Andronicus's Complaint: see references under Fortune My Foe (Aim Not Too High) (File: ChWI076) === NAME: To Anacreon in Heaven DESCRIPTION: "To Anacreon in heav'n where he sat in full glee, A few sons of harmony sent in a petition." They ask the poet to be their patron, describe how they intend to drink and enjoy themselves, and wander off into sundry classical allusions AUTHOR: Words: Ralph Tomlinson / Music: John Stafford Smith (?) EARLIEST_DATE: 1778 (The Vocal Magazine) KEYWORDS: drink nonballad gods FOUND_IN: Britain(England) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 8-11, "To Anacreon in Heaven" (1 text, 1 tune) Fuld-WFM, pp. 528-533, "The Star Spangled Banner" DT, ANCREON, ANACRON2 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Star-Spangled Banner" (tune) and references there NOTES: Anacreon (c. 563-476 B.C.E.) was a Greek poet for whom the anacreonitic metre (^^-^-^--) was named. Only fragments of his poetry survive; what scraps remain are in praise of wine, love, and pleasure. John Stafford Smith is most frequently listed as the author of this tune, and his name appears on the first dated sheet music (1799; the earliest printing, probably c. 1782, has no author listed). However, Samuel Arnold, who conducted the Anacreonitic Society's orchestra, has also been named. This song was written for the Anacreonitic Society, devoted (like Anacreon's writings) to wine and pleasure. The society broke up in 1786. For commentary on the various obscure allusions in this piece, the reader is referred to Spaeth's _Read 'Em and Weep_. Those who wish to see a list of all the (generally dreadful) lyrics set to the tune around the beginning of the nineteenth century, see Spaeth's _History of Popular Music in America_, p. 40. - RBW Anyone who complains that our national anthem is bad poetry (and some do) should look at the lyrics to this song, its ancestor. They are immeasurably worse. The Library of Congress conducted a study of the song's origins in the early part of this century; among other issues, they considered (and rejected) a suggestion that the tune was composed by the Irish harper Turlough O'Carolan. - PJS File: SRW008 === NAME: To Be a Good Companion: see I'll Drink One (To Be a Good Companion, The Sussex Toast) (File: K285) === NAME: To Cheer the Heart: see Farewell He (File: FSC41) === NAME: To Hear the Nightingales Sing: see One Morning in May (To Hear the Nightingale Sing) [Laws P14] (File: LP14) === NAME: To Huntsville: see The Boston Burglar [LawsL16] (File: LL16) === NAME: To London I Did Go: see Little Brown Dog (File: VWL101) === NAME: To Morrow: see I Want to Go to Morrow (File: DTmorrow) === NAME: To Pad the Road wi' Me?: see Paddle the Road with Me (File: Wa032) === NAME: To Reap and Mow the Hay DESCRIPTION: The singer is in Scotland, driven from Ireland by the landlord and bad times. He is invited to stay a week "putting in the hay" with a 1914 veteran. He marries the farmer's niece. They'll go to Ireland now but return yearly to Scotland to make the hay. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1977 (recording, Paddy and Jimmy Halpin) KEYWORDS: marriage war travel return farming hardtimes Ireland Scotland family FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #12937 RECORDINGS: James and Paddy Halpin, "To Reap and Mow the Hay" (on Voice20, IRHardySons) File: RcTRAMTH === NAME: To Roll Her In My Plaidie DESCRIPTION: "There lives a lass by yonder burn... And aft she gies her sheep a turn That feed amang the bracken." "Could I believe she'd woo wi' me... I'd afttimes slip out owre yon lea And roll her in my plaidie." The poor lovestruck lad tells how he would woo her AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord) KEYWORDS: love courting FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, p. 420, "To Roll Her In My Plaidie" (1 text) Roud #3948 File: Ord420 === NAME: To the Beggin' I Will Go: see A-Begging I Will Go (File: K217) === NAME: To the Memory of the Late Captain Kennedy DESCRIPTION: "Slowly today we wend our way To a grave in Belvedere Behind the corpse of a hero bold." The singer tells of Kennedy's voyages, and describes his heroism when the Viking caught fire. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (King, The Viking's Last Cruise) KEYWORDS: ship fire rescue FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ryan/Small, p. 105, "To the Memory of the Late Captain Kennedy" (1 text) File: RySm105 === NAME: To the Pines, to the Pines: see In the Pines (File: LoF290) === NAME: To the Spanish Main -- Slav Ho: see Saltpetre Shanty (Slav Ho) (File: Colc097) === NAME: To the Weaver's Gin Ye Go DESCRIPTION: "My heart was ance as blythe and free As simmer days were lang," but a weaver "has gart me change my sang." Sent to the weaver, he "conveyed me through the glen." As for what happened after, "I fear the kintra soon Will ken as weel's mysel'." AUTHOR: Words: Robert Burns EARLIEST_DATE: 1788 (according to Kinsley, _Burns_) KEYWORDS: weaving seduction sex pregnancy warning FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) MacColl-Shuttle, p. 23, "To the Weavers Gin Ye Go" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, GINYOUGO* File: MacCS23 === NAME: To the West A While to Stay DESCRIPTION: "As I sit here sad and lonely, Thinkin' of my dear old home, Of my home an' dear old mother, How much further must I roam?" The singer recalls the sad parting when he told mother he was leaving. Now he learns that mother died while he was far away AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: death separation mother FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Randolph 191, "To the West Awhile to Stay" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 189-190, "To the West Awhile to Stay" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 191) Roud #4050 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Ten Thousand Miles Away (On the Banks of Lonely River)" (plot) NOTES: This song is item dB37 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW File: R191 === NAME: To Wear a Green Willow: see The Nobleman's Wedding (The Faultless Bride; The Love Token) [Laws P31] (File: LP31) === NAME: To Your Tents O Erins DESCRIPTION: "In Union, blessed Union, will Freedom be found." Union's first year is ending. Union "fills the traitors with fear." "'Men to your Tents', now through Erin be sung ... Till Erin, loved Erin, from tyranny's freed." AUTHOR: Theobald Wolfe Tone (1763-1798) (source: Moylan) EARLIEST_DATE: before 1804 (_Paddy's Resource_, according to Moylan) KEYWORDS: freedom Ireland nonballad patriotic political HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Oct 1791 - Society of United Irishmen founded in Belfast FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Moylan 36, "To Your Tents O Erins" (1 text) NOTES: Union, here, cannot be the Union of Ireland with Britain (which occurs in 1801, after Tone's death); it must be the formation of the United Irishmen, co-founded by Tone in 1791. The text begins by enthusiastically supporting "Union." It ends by repeating references to I Kings 12:16 in which deceased Solomon's kingdom is permanently split into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah; this, following Rehoboam's rejection of Israel's call for relief ("So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king [Rehoboam], saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse [Rehoboam again]: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David [Rehoboam once again, and/or Judah [actually the Davidic dynasty, as represented by Rehoboam, David's grandson and Jesse's great-grandson - RBW]]. So Israel departed unto their tents.") - BS Like so much in Irish history, I personally would regard the "to your tents" phrase as words of ill omen, not good. Effectively the same phrase occurs in 2 Samuel 20:1 (slightly obscured in the King James rendering, it seems to me) as part of the rebellion of Sheba son of Bichri, which was quickly crushed. The rebellion of Israel against the Davidic dynasty was not crushed, but neither was Israel very successful; it took half a century before a dynasty was established which lasted for more than a year beyond the death of its founder, and the nation as a whole lasted only about 200 years. The phrase "every man to his tent" occurs on a number of other occasions as well -- after battles in which the Israelites are defeated: The routed warriors flee to their own tents after the battle is lost. - RBW File: Moyl036 === NAME: Toad's Courtship, The: see Frog Went A-Courting (File: R108) === NAME: Toast to Beara, A DESCRIPTION: "Let's drink a toast to Beara to the gallant sporting team: On the football fields of the County Cork today they reign supreme." Their victories are listed. The members of the team are named. "Here's success to all their followers" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (OCanainn) KEYWORDS: sports moniker nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OCanainn, pp. 86-87, "A Toast to Beara" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: OCanainn: This song is about the 1933 Beara [Gaelic] football team. - BS File: OCan086 === NAME: Tobacco: see Tobacco's But an Indian Weed (File: Log262) === NAME: Tobacco Song, The DESCRIPTION: "Ye fellows smokes tobacco, come pity my case, I'm here on this island without a damn taste." Desperate people without a draw or chaw are smoking tea and worse, or chewing wax. When the wind changes and the ice goes they'll get tobacco at St Peter's. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1977 (Lehr/Best) KEYWORDS: ordeal nonballad drugs FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lehr/Best 109, "The Tobacco Song" (1 text, 1 tune) RECORDINGS: Anita Best, "Tobacco" (on NFABest01) File: LeBe109 === NAME: Tobacco Union (Talking with the Social Union) DESCRIPTION: "Come young and old and hear me tell / How strong tobacco smokers smell, / Who love to smoke the pipe so well. / For tobacco they will smell, To burn and smoke in union." A condemnation of tobacco, of those who spend money to buy it, and of its effects AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: drugs accusation FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Randolph 508, "Tobacco Union" (1 text, 1 tune) (compare also the "B" fragment of 408, "The Little Brown Jug")) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 378-380, "Tobacco Union" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 508) Warner 91, "Talking with the Social Union" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, TOBBACUN* Roud #5721 NOTES: Apparently an adaption of the hymn "Heavenly Union." - RBW File: R508 === NAME: Tobacco's But an Indian Weed DESCRIPTION: Tobacco is offered as a parable for life: "Grows green at morn, cut down at eve." "The pipe... Is broke with a touch -- man's life is such." "The smoke... shows us man's life must have an end." The moral: "Think on this when you smoke tobacco." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1699 (Pills to Purge Melancholy); also in Trinity College (Dublin) MS. G.2.21 KEYWORDS: nonballad drugs FOUND_IN: Britain(England) REFERENCES: (6 citations) Beck 93, "A Peculiar Sermon for Shanty Boys" (1 text) Logan, pp. 262-263, "Tobacco" (1 text) Chappell/Wooldridge II, pp. 78-79, "Tobacco's But an Indian Weed" (1 text, 1 tune) BBI, ZN2658, "Tobacco is but an Indian weed" ADDITIONAL: Norman Ault, _Elizabethan Lyrics From the Original Texts_, pp. 56-57, "A Religious Use of Taking Tobacco" (1 text) DT, INDNWEED* ST Log262 (Full) Roud #1457 NOTES: This also appears as a portion of a poem, "Smoking Spiritualized." The remaining portion is said to be "very inferior." "Smoking Spiritualized" was published under the name of Rev. Ralph (or "Ebenezer") Erskine in a book of _Gospel Sonnets_. Although some have thought that the Erskine version is older than that in _Pills_, the fact that Erskine was born in 1685 argues that the song is older than his work. Ault offers an even earlier claim, crediting the piece to "Wisdome" and dating the poem "before 1568" (I'm not sure if that is based on the Trinity College manuscript or the dates for Wisdome or just pure fancy; my suspicion is the last). - RBW Beck credits this to "some moralizing shanty boy of 1892." Surprise! - PJS File: Log262 === NAME: Tobasco DESCRIPTION: The singer notes, "You can talk about your cities... But the little place of Tobasco is good enough for me." Tobasco has no fancy buildings, ornate churches, or sidewalks, and is not right for everyone -- but it suits the singer just fine AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1982 KEYWORDS: nonballad home FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (1 citation) FSCatkills 158, "Tobasco" (1 text, 1 tune) ST FSC158 (Partial) File: FSC158 === NAME: Tobias Murphy and Tom Hann DESCRIPTION: Two captains, Murphy and Hann, are on St Mary's banks in a September gale. Hann's boat runs aground rounding Cape St Mary's and all hands are lost. Murphy's boat heads for North Harbour but two men are swept overboard. AUTHOR: Peter Leonard EARLIEST_DATE: 1983 (Lehr/Best) KEYWORDS: death sea ship storm wreck FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lehr/Best 110, "Tobias Murphy and Tom Hann" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Lehr/Best: "According to Aunt Carrie Brennan, this sea tragedy occurred in 1878" - BS File: LeBe110 === NAME: Tochineal DESCRIPTION: "Come a' my young lads, ye'll mak haste and be ready... An' we ane and a'... Maun leave Tochineal, nae mair to come back." "Awa to the West we maun a' gang thegither." Many are forced to depart; the singer laments that the new home will not be Tochineal AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord) KEYWORDS: home emigration FOUND_IN: B ritain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, p. 353, "Tochineal" (1 text) Roud #4591 NOTES: Nowhere does this song explain the reason for this mass emigration, but one has to suspect it is the result of the Highland Clearances. Given the title and the metrical form, I suspect this of having been sung to "Teddy O'Neill," though neither Ord nor Grieg had a tune. - RBW File: Ord353 === NAME: Tocowa: see The State of Arkansas (The Arkansas Traveler II) [Laws H1] (File: LH01) === NAME: Toddlin' But and Toddlin' Ben (The Wee Little Totum) DESCRIPTION: "Some say to live single it is the best plan, But I was ne'er happy till I got a man, When I got a man I soon got a wean...." "It gangs toddlin' but, and gangs toddlin' ben." The singer describes the toddler's cheerful rambles, and rejoices in her life AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord) KEYWORDS: marriage love baby wife FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, p. 137, "The Wee Totum" (1 text) Roud #5551 File: Ord137 === NAME: Tolliver Song, The: see The Rowan County Crew (Trouble, or Tragedy) [Laws E20] (File: LE20) === NAME: Tolliver-Martin Feud Song, A: see The Rowan County Crew (Trouble, or Tragedy) [Laws E20] (File: LE20) === NAME: Tom a Bedlam (Bedlam Boys) DESCRIPTION: The singer is determined to find her Tom. She describes (his or her) visions. Chorus: "Still I sing bonny boys, bonny mad boys, Bedlam boys are bonny. For they all go bare, and they live by the air...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1720 (Pills to Purge Melancholy) KEYWORDS: madness love separation FOUND_IN: Britain(England) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Logan, pp. 172-189, "Tom a Bedlam" (there are eight texts in this section; the one labelled "Mad Maudlin" on pp. 181-182 is this one) Chappell/Wooldridge I, pp. 175-178, "Tom a Bedlam" (7 fragmentary texts, at least one of which is this one; 1 tune; the next piece, "Gray's Inn Masque, or Mad Tom, or New Mad Tom of Bedlam," (for which see also BBI, ZN910, "Forth from my sad and darksome cell") appears to be an unrelated literary song, found also in Percy, pp. 344-347, "Old Tom of Bedlam," the first of six "Mad Songs") DT, BEDLMBOY* ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #310, "Tom O'Bedlam" (1 text) ST Log172 (Full) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "A Maid in Bedlam" (theme) NOTES: The Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem (Bedlam), in London, was the first hospital for insane men in England. Magdalene Hospital (Maudlin), mentioned in some versions of the song, was the first hospital for insane women. - PJS "Bedlam songs" seem to have been a phenomenon in the eighteenth century and after. To make matters worse, they all seem to mix and match. Many of Percy's texts, e.g., resemble Logan's, which resemble Chappell's. It's very hard to tell them apart. Under the circumstances, I've listed the most traditional-seeming of the bunch ("Tom a Bedlam") here, and hope cross-references in the "References" field will suffice for the others. Aldington's _The Viking Book of Poetry of the English-Speaking World_ we find a Tom o' Bedlams Song starting From the hag and hungry goblin That into rages would rend ye, And the spirit that stands By the naked man In the book of moons defend ye.... It's not this piece (the chorus is different), but there is undeniable dependence. Aldington attributes the piece to Giles Earle (dates unknown but early seventeenth century). Granger's Index to Poetry, however, lists the author of this as unknown -- and it has plenty of supporting evidence, since it cites 18 different references. Nor does Granger's list any other works by this alleged Earle. - RBW File: Log172 === NAME: Tom Bird's Dog DESCRIPTION: The singer goes bird hunting. Tom Bird's dog pursues. The singer escapes. "I don't know how many birds you got" but wishes someone had killed the dog. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (Peacock) KEYWORDS: escape hunting humorous dog FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Peacock, pp. 101-102, "Tom Bird's Dog" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9959 File: Pea101 === NAME: Tom Bo-lin: see Brian O'Lynn (Tom Boleyn) (File: R471) === NAME: Tom Boleyn: see Brian O'Lynn (Tom Boleyn) (File: R471) === NAME: Tom Bowline: see Tom Bowling (File: DTtombow) === NAME: Tom Bowling DESCRIPTION: "Here a sheer hulk lies poor Tom (Bowling/Bowline), the darling of our crew." Tom, faithful, kind, virtuous, and beautiful, has now "gone aloft." His family and friends are mentioned. They hope he finds "pleasant weather" in heaven AUTHOR: Charles Dibdin (1745-1815) EARLIEST_DATE: 1948 (Shay) KEYWORDS: death sailor religious FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Shay-SeaSongs, pp. 96-97, "Tom Bowline" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, TOMBOWLI Roud #1984 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Frank Fidd" NOTES: As a folk song, this hasn't been very popular (I indexed it mostly for the parallels to "Frank Fidd," which see). But, like many Dibdin pieces, it was widely published in broadsides, and has also shown up in a number of modern anthologies; there are six citations in _Granger's Index to Poetry_. - RBW File: DTtombow === NAME: Tom Brown: see The King Takes the Queen (File: FSWB232) === NAME: Tom Brown's Two Little Indian Boys: see Ten Little Injuns (File: OO2376) === NAME: Tom Cat DESCRIPTION: "Funniest thing that ever I seen Was a tom cat stitchin' on a sewin' machine! O-ho, my baby, take a-one on me!" "Sewed so easy and he sewed so slow, Took ninety-nine stitches on the tom-cat's toe, O-ho, my baby...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: animal technology FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 91, "Tom Cat" (1 text, 1 tune) ST ScaNF091 (Full) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Take a Whiff on Me" (lyrics, form) NOTES: Presumably from the same roots as "Take a Whiff On Me" or something like it. With only two verses, I can't really tell if it's a separate song or not -- but we're splitters, so we file it as if it is. - RBW File: ScaNF091 === NAME: Tom Cat Blues DESCRIPTION: Singer praises old "Ring Tail Tom" for his sexual prowess: "I got an old tom cat; When he steps out All the pussy cats in the neighborhood, They begin to shout, 'Here comes Ring Tail Tom, He's boss around the town...." Etc. AUTHOR: Probably Cliff Carlisle EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (recording, Cliff Carlisle) KEYWORDS: sex bawdy humorous nonballad animal FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 213, "Tom Cat Blues" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 160, "Tom Cat Blues" (1 text) DT, TOMCATBL* RECORDINGS: Cliff Carlisle, "Ringtail Tom" (Vocalion 02656, 1934); "Tom Cat Blues" (Vocalion 5492, 1940; on TimesAint04) Jimmie Davis, "Tom Cat and Pussy Blues" (Bluebird B-6272, 1936) New Lost City Ramblers, "Tom Cat Blues" (on NLCR01) NOTES: I can't tell without hearing them whether the two Cliff Carlisle recordings are the same performance, but they're clearly the same song. - PJS File: CSW213 === NAME: Tom Cornealy DESCRIPTION: Tom ships on board the Lighter Home, bound to Labrador. "At last we reached that awful land Where the snow and ice was beating" and head north to Ungava "Up in the Arctic Ocean ... the salmon was so thick" but all we found were starving "huskies" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 (Creighton-Maritime) KEYWORDS: fishing ordeal sea ship Eskimo FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-Maritime, p. 188, "Tom Cornealy" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2716 File: CrMa188 === NAME: Tom Corrigan DESCRIPTION: Corrigan is racing on the horse "Waiter." He is just overtaking the leader when he is thrown and killed. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: death racing horse FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Meredith/Anderson, pp. 138-139, "Tom Corrigan" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Donald Campbell" (theme) cf. "The Death of Alec Robertson" (theme) cf. "Alec Robertson (I)" (theme) cf. "Alec Robertson (II)" (theme) NOTES: "Banjo" Paterson wrote a piece, "Tommy Corrigan (Killed, Steeplechasing at Flemington)" -- but the two are not the same. - RBW File: MA138 === NAME: Tom Dixon DESCRIPTION: "Tom Dixon runs a cathouse way down on Harlow street," a frequent destination for loggers. "The girls are not so pretty, but I guess they're not so slow." The singer talks of his trips back and forth between lumber camp and Dixon's establishment AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 KEYWORDS: logger whore bawdy FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Doerflinger, p. 251, "Tom Dixon" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9423 File: Doe251 === NAME: Tom Dooley [Laws F36A] DESCRIPTION: Tom Dula/Dooley has killed Laura Foster. He has few regrets except that he didn't get away with it. He curses Sheriff Grayson, who has captured him. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1921 (Brown) KEYWORDS: homicide execution HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1866 (probably January 25) - Murder of Laura Foster by Thomas C. Dula (and his new sweetheart Ann Melton). Dula apparently killed Foster because he had contracted a venereal disease from her, which she had reportedly caught from Grayson. May 1, 1868 - Dula is hanged for the murder. FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (11 citations) Laws F36A, "Tom Dooley" Friedman, p. 228, "Tom Dooley" (1 text) Warner 118, "Tom Dooley" (1 text, 1 tune) BrownII 303, "Tom Dula" (3 texts, all very short; in addition, the "B" text of Brown's #304, "Tom Dula's Lament," is a single stanza found in the Proffitt version of "Tom Dooley") Lomax-FSUSA 82, "Tom Dooley" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 139, "Tom Dula" (1 text, 1 tune) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 137, "Tom Dooley" (1 text, 1 tune) Darling-NAS, pp. 207-208, "Tom Dooley" (1 text) Arnett, p. 188, "Tom Dooley" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 225, "Tom Dooley" (1 text) DT, TOMDOOLY* Roud #4192 RECORDINGS: Sheila Clark, "The Ballad of Tom Dula" (on LegendTomDula) [G. B.] Grayson & [Henry] Whitter, "Tom Dooley" (Victor 40235, 1930; rec. 1929; on GraysonWhitter01) Glenn Neaves & band, "Tom Dooley" (on GraysonCarroll1) New Lost City Ramblers, "Tom Dooley" (on NLCR02) (NLCR12) Frank Profitt, "Tom Dooley" [excerpt] (on USWarnerColl01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Murder of Laura Foster" [Laws F36] (subject) cf. "Tom Dula's Lament" (subject, lyrics) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Tom Dooly NOTES: G. B. Grayson, who (along with Henry Whitter) made the earliest known recorded version of the song, was descended from the sheriff who captured Dula. - PJS I know of no absolute confirmation of the story that Foster, Dula, and company suffered from a venereal disease, but the notes in Brown to "The Murder of Laura Foster" mention that Melton in later life is said to have admitted a part in the killing -- and that she later went blind. According to court records, Dula was charged with the murder and Melton with being an accessory before the fact. The trial was moved to a different venue, and after some maneuvering, Dula and Melton were tried separately. The trial was badly conducted, and Dula was granted a new trial by the state supreme court. The verdict did not change. Dula, on his last day, wrote a statement to the effect that he was solely responsible for the murder. Belief at the time, and Melton's later testimony, both seem to contradict this. Reading the accounts of Dula's behavior after the Civil War (where he fought with courage on the Confederate side) makes one wonder about some sort of post-traumatic disorder. At least one witness said that Melton would have hung with Dula had she not been so beautiful. In 2001/2, an attempt was made in North Carolina to convince the governor to grant Dula a posthumous pardon. This seems rather far-fetched. Dula may not have been guilty of murder, but he *did* abandon Foster (possibly after getting her pregnant, though of course that could have been the man who gave her the venereal disease), and was at the very least an accessory after the fact to murder by Melton. - RBW File: LF36A === NAME: Tom Dula: see Tom Dooley [Laws F36A] (File: LF36A) === NAME: Tom Dula's Lament DESCRIPTION: "I pick my banjo now, I pick it on my knee, This time tomorrow night, It'll be no more use to me." Dula says that Laura (Foster) loved his banjo playing, and says he never knew how true her love was. He bids Ann (Melton) to kiss him goodbye AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: death execution music love FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownII 304, "Tom Dula's Lament" (2 texts, but the second is a single-stanza fragment, not found in the "A" text, and is included in the "Tom Dooley" text sung by Frank Profitt) ST BrII304 (Full) Roud #6645 RECORDINGS: Sheila Clark, "Tom Dula's Own Ballad" (on LegendTomDula) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Murder of Laura Foster" [Laws F36] (subject) cf. "Tom Dooley" [Laws F36A] (plot, lyrics) NOTES: This song may possibly be a rewritten version of "Tom Dooley" (or vice versa); they share lyrics, and can be sung to the same tune. But this one is in the first person, "Tom Dooley" mostly in third person. Plus this one shows Dula lamenting his errors. They look separate to me, as they did to the editors of Brown. - RBW File: BrII304 === NAME: Tom Halyard DESCRIPTION: Tom Halyard, mortally wounded, asks his ship's captain if he has done his duty. Assured that he has, he asks the captain to send his love a lock of his hair. He dies with Kate's name on his lips AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 KEYWORDS: battle death farewell hair FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) McNeil-SFB1, pp. 42-43, "Tom Halyard" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #4773 File: MN1042 === NAME: Tom Kelly's Cow DESCRIPTION: Tom Kelly brews poteen "that exceeds them all." John's cow drinks up the still and wakes drunk with a broken horn. She makes a deal with Tom: if he won't tell John about her drinking she "will bring [him] against Lammas a fine heifer calf." AUTHOR: John Maguire (source: Morton-Maguire) EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 (Morton-Maguire) KEYWORDS: promise drink humorous animal FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Morton-Maguire 8, pp. 17,103,158, "Tom Kelly's Cow" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2924 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Cow that Drank the Poteen" (theme: cow hides drinking problem) NOTES: Morton-Maguire: John Maguire wrote the song on request of the schoolmaster who had kept John after school one day to inquire about John's cow and Tom Kelly's poteen. - BS File: MoMa008 === NAME: Tom O'Bedlam: see Tom a Bedlam (Bedlam Boys) (File: Log172) === NAME: Tom O'Neill [Laws Q25] DESCRIPTION: A rich girl tries to convince Tom O'Neill to leave the priesthood and marry her. When he refuses, she claims that Tom got her pregnant. He is sentenced to transportation. He is reprieved when another man admits he fathered the child for money AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1853 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 26(189)) KEYWORDS: money clergy pregnancy trick trial punishment transportation lie sex FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) Ireland REFERENCES: (5 citations) Laws Q25, "Tom O'Neill" Creighton-NovaScotia 87, "Tom O'Neil" (1 text, 1 tune) O'Conor, pp. 8-9, "Father Tom O'Neil" (1 text) McBride 29, "Father Tom O'Neill" (1 text, 1 tune) DT 534, TOMONEIL Roud #1013 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 26(189), "Father Tom O'Neale," J. Moore (Belfast), 1846-1852; also 2806 b.11(240), "Father Tom O'Neale"; Harding B 26(574), "The Rev'd Father Tom O'Neil" File: LQ25 === NAME: Tom Pearce (Widdicombe Fair I) DESCRIPTION: The singer asks Tom Pearce to lend his old mare to go to the fair. Tom wants the horse back soon, but it is slow in returning, for it has taken sick and died. (Now the horse's ghost can be seen haunting the moors at night) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1889 KEYWORDS: horse ghost travel FOUND_IN: Britain(England) Canada(Ont) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Kennedy 308, "Tom Pearce" (1 text, 1 tune) OBB 171, "Widdicombe Fair" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 398, "Tam Pierce" (1 text) DT, WIDDECOM* TAMPRCE* ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #80, "Widicombe Fair" (1 text) Roud #137 RECORDINGS: Tom Brown, "Widdlecombe Fair" (on Voice07) George Maynard, "Lansdown Fair" (on FSB10) Bill Westaway, "Widdicombe Fair" (on FSB10, FieldTrip1) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Widdicombe Fair (II)" (lyrics) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Bedford Fair John Jones's Old Mare Stow Fair File: K308 === NAME: Tom Potts [Child 109] DESCRIPTION: A high-born lady loves Tom Potts, a serving man. She refuses Lord Phoenix's offer of marriage but her father overrides her. She sends word to Tom, who, aided by his master, challenges Phoenix. After several forms of contest he wins her. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1657 (broadside) KEYWORDS: nobility servant courting contest father FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Child 109, "Tom Potts" (3 texts) BBI, ZN3263, "All you lords of Scotland fair" Roud #66 File: C109 === NAME: Tom Redman: see Bold Ranger, The (File: R076) === NAME: Tom Sherman's Barroom: see The Streets of Laredo [Laws B1] (File: LB01) === NAME: Tom Twist DESCRIPTION: "Tom Twist was a wonderful fellow; No boy was so nimble and strong." Shipwrecked among cannibals, he escapes; he rides a condor to China and is made a mandarin; he at last returns home, then somersaults out the window and far away AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Flanders and Brown) KEYWORDS: travel ship cannibalism talltale FOUND_IN: US(NE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Flanders/Brown, pp. 173-176, "Tom Twist" (1 text, tune referenced) DT, TOMTWIST* Roud #5448 File: FlBr173 === NAME: Tom, He Was a Piper's Son: see O'er the Hills and Far Away (I) (File: Arn017) === NAME: Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son: see O'er the Hills and Far Away (I) (File: Arn017) === NAME: Tom's Gone to Hilo: see Tommy's Gone to Hilo (File: Doe030) === NAME: Tom's Gone to Ilo: see Tommy's Gone to Hilo (File: Doe030) === NAME: Tomah Stream DESCRIPTION: The singer warns against drinking and hiring out to Tomah Stream. Instead of the easy work and good food he was promised, he finds mud roads, thin shelters, and poor and inadequate rations. He ends by exchanging insults with the boss Natty [Lamb]. AUTHOR: attributed to Larry Gorman EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 KEYWORDS: logger work drink hardtimes boss FOUND_IN: US(NE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Doerflinger, pp. 216-217, "Tomah Stream" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #4074 NOTES: Tomah stream is in eastern Maine, not far from the Canadian border. This song is item dC53 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW- RBW File: Doe216 === NAME: Tomahawking Fred (Tambaroora Ted) DESCRIPTION: The singer is "just about to cut for the Lachlan To turn a hundred out...." He shears for the money, not for pleasure: "Give me sufficient cash and you'll see me make a splash, for I'm (Tambaroora Ted), the ladies' man." He boasts of his shearing skills AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: "Tomahawking Fred" prined 1912 by Jack Bradshaw; collected in 1974 from Joe Watson by Warren Fahey KEYWORDS: sheep work Australia bragging FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (2 citations) Fahey-Eureka, pp. 138-139, "Tambaroora Ted" (1 text, 1 tune) Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 198-200, "Tambaroora Ted" (1 text) NOTES: To "tomahawk" was to sheer a sheep too close to the skin, and was a common result when a poor shearer tried to shear too fat. - RBW File: FaE138 === NAME: Tommy: see Somebody's Tall and Handsome (File: R380) === NAME: Tommy Jones: see Row Boat (Ride About) (File: R678) === NAME: Tommy Murphy was a Soldier Boy DESCRIPTION: Tommy Murphy leaves Katy to join a marching regiment. He loses a leg. It is replaced by a hickory limb. He can't help marching when he hears the band. Katy sees him "after six months or more of adventures in war" but he marches away when the band plays AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (for USBallinsloeFair, according to site irishtune.info, Irish Traditional Music Tune Index: Alan Ng's Tunography, ref. Ng #2614) KEYWORDS: war injury humorous soldier separation FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Dinny (Jimmy) Doyle and Larry Griffin, "Tommy Murphy was a Soldier Boy" (on USBallinsloeFair) File: RcTMWaSB === NAME: Tommy o'Lin, and His Wife, and Wife's Mother: see Brian O'Lynn (Tom Boleyn) (File: R471) === NAME: Tommy Robin: see Who Killed Cock Robin? (File: SKE74) === NAME: Tommy Song, The: see Old Roger is Dead (Old Bumpy, Old Grimes, Pompey) (File: R569) === NAME: Tommy Tompkins and Polly Hopkins DESCRIPTION: "Howdy do, Mr. Tommy Tomplins, Howdy do, Howdy do?" "Howdy do, Miss Polly Hopkins." "Oh, say, Mr. Tommy Tompkins, Won't you buy a broom?" "Oh, yes, Miss Polly Hopkins, I will buy a broom... If you'll be my bride And sweep the room." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (Henry, from Elsie Burnett) KEYWORDS: courting marriage FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) MHenry-Appalachians, p. 227, "Tommy Tompkins and Polly Hopkins" (1 text) NOTES: I can't prove it, but I would guess that this has something to do with the custom of marrying by jumping over a broom. - RBW File: MHAp227 === NAME: Tommy's Gone Away: see Tommy's Gone to Hilo (File: Doe030) === NAME: Tommy's Gone to Hilo DESCRIPTION: Shanty. Characteristic line: "Away, (H)ilo... Tommy's gone to (H)ilo!" The girl complains that her Tommy has left her and gone to Liverpool, Baltimore, Bombay, or wherever it is that she least wants him to be. She may offer/threaten to follow AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1917 (Robinson) KEYWORDS: shanty separation sailor FOUND_IN: US(MA,NE) Ireland REFERENCES: (12 citations) Doerflinger, p. 30, "Tommy's Gone to Hilo" (1 text, 1 tune) Bone, pp. 61-62, "Tom's Gone to Hilo" (1 text, 1 tune) Colcord, p. 71-72, "Tom's Gone to Hilo" (1 text, 1 tune) Harlow, p. 73-74, 260, "Tommy's Gone to Hilo" (1 text, 1 tune) Hugill, pp. 261-264, "Shiloh Brown," "Tom's Gone to Hilo," "Tommy's Gone Away" (5 texts, 3 tunes - 1st text is only a fragment that might appear to be a variant of "Shallo Brown" due to the first chorus of "Shiloh, Shiloh Brown," but all the rest of it is "Tommy's Gone to Hilo") [AbEd, pp. 191-194] Sharp-EFC, LX, p. 64, "Tommy's Gone Away" (1 text, 1 tune) Linscott, pp. 150-151, "Tommy's Gone to Hilo" (1 fragment, 1 tune) Shay-SeaSongs, pp. 36, "Tommy's Gone to Hilo" (1 text, 1 tune) SHenry H53d, p. 96, "Tom's Gone to Ilo" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 92, "Tommy's Gone to Hilo" (1 text) DT, TOMMYHLO* Captain John Robinson, "Songs of the Chantey Man," a series published July-August 1917 in the periodical _The Bellman_ (Minneapolis, MN, 1906-1919). A fragment of "My Tom's Gone to Hilo!" is in Part 3, 7/28/1917. Roud #481 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Hieland Laddie" (floating lyrics) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Johnny's Gone to Hilo (Ilo) NOTES: Most versions of the song use the name "Hilo" (Hugill says all; this was before the Henry collection was published), but the town, according to Doerflinger, Shay, etc., is not the village in Hawaii but the port of Ilo in southern Peru, a major source of nitrates. That's nitrates as in "saltpeter." As in "gunpowder." Gunpowder consists of sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter -- with the mixes used in the nineteenth century requiring 75% saltpeter and just a handful of the other two components. And saltpeter was the hardest component to find -- since ancient times, a little had been made from human urine, and Europe had set up major factories in India starting around the eighteenth century (see Stephen R. Bown, _A Most Damnable Invention: Dynamite, Nitrates, and the Making of the Modern World_, Dunne, 2005, p. 40). But it still wasn't enough. (For background on this, see the notes to "Chamber Lye.") It was Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Baron von Humboldt (1769-1859) who made the next key step. According to _Isaac Asimov's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science & Technology_. revised edition, Equinox Books, 1972, entry #334, he went on a world tour in 1799 in which he explored the west coast of Latin America and discovered the nitrate deposits of Chile and Peru. Bown, p. 143, notes that the Latin American coast is washed by a cold current from Antarctica (the "Humboldt Current"). This carries much organic material, and since the water is cold, it also has much oxygen. As a result, it is full of fish and other life forms which attract birds. The birds nest on the shores nearby, leaving their droppings behind. And the major component of those droppings is urea -- a good source of nitrates. (So much so that the Incas apparently rationed the guano as a fertilizer among their various provinces; Bown, p. 145). A curiosity of the climate in the area is that. due to peculiar air circulation patterns, it almost never rains. So there is absolutely nothing to disturb the heaps of guano. They just kept on piling higher (Bown, pp. 144-145). Chile had a slightly different source of nitrate. Its deserts were never home to much life; according to Isaac Asimov, _The Building Blocks of the Universe_, revised edition, Lancer, 1972, p. 47, the nitrates there were the residue from dried-up ancient lakes. .According to Floyd L. Darrow, _The Story of Chemistry_, Chautauqua Press, 1928, exports of Chilean nitates began in 1830. At this time they were presumably used mostly for explosives -- though the Chilean deposits, known as "caliche," were largely sodium nitrate, with about a 50% mixture of miscellaneous dirt, so they had to be purified and then converted to potassium nitrate (Bown, pp. 148-149). But, once it was learned how to convert sodium nitrate and potassium chloride into saltpeter (a process discovered in 1846), caliche became a fully viable product (Bown, p. 156). In addition, methods were eventually discovered to keep sodium nitrate from absorbing moisture, so it could be made into a fairly reliable gunpowder (Bown, p. 156) Shortly before the discovery of the caliche conversion process, Justus von Liebig (1803-1873) conducted his experiments in soil fertility which proved that nitrogen was a necessary fertilizer. So the demand for nitrates, already high, took another jump. And the guano was organic, and made a better fertilizer than caliche, and was coveted as such. (Though caliche too would be used for fertilizer in time.) Plus the caliche, though readily accessible, was inland, and shipping it to the coast was tricky (Bown, p. 149). This made the guano, available right at the coast, that much more valuable. Indeed, for some decades, fees on the trade provided the vast majority of revenue for Peru, and were all that kept that nation solvent (Bown, pp. 153-154) There was even a war fought over nitrates, though it did not involve a major power; the participants were Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. The problems went back to the period of Spanish rule. According to Hubert Herring, _A History of Latin America from the Beginnings to the Present_, Alfred A. Knopf, 1964, p. 585, "The War of the Pacific (1879-83) was a contest for possession of the bleack Atacama Desert reaching six hundred miles from Chilean Copiapo to Peruvian Arica.... In disdain for this sorry land, Spain had never bothered to establish a boundary between Peru (which in colonial days included Bolivia) and Chile." When the war began, Chile was much smaller. The region from roughly Talta in what is now Chile to the mouth of the rive Loa north of Tocopilla was in Bolivian hands, giving Bolivia a large chunk of the Andean nitrates as well as access to the sea. The region north or that, including the town of Iquique, was part of Peru, and it too contained nitrate beds, though they were not as large as those in Bolivia (for a map of this, see Geoffrey Barraclough, editor, _The Times Concise Atlas of World History_. revised edition, Hammond, 1991, p. 97). But it was Chile which was exploiting the beds, backed by European capital, though they paid royalties to Bolivia and Peru. It was an attempt by Peru and Bolivia to increase these royalties that led to the war. William Spence Robertson, _History of the Latin-American Nations_, D. Appleton and Company, 1932, p. 422, tells how Bolivia and Chile had already been involved in diplomatic wrangles over the caliche beds; Bolivia at that time had very poor access to its seacoast due to the Andes. A dictator in Bolivia set aside the fragile agreement between the two countries, and Chile promptly attacked (though the declaration of war came slightly later; Robertson, p. 423). Peru (which also had only tenuous links to its nitrate region, according to Bown, p. 160) soon joined the Bolivian side, but as Bolivia dissolved in internal squabbles, the allies were utterly defeated by Chile, which conquered the entire nitrate region, and even occupied Lima from 1881 to 1884 (Herring, p. 586). A peace treaty was finally made in 1884. Robertson, p. 426, notes that "This treaty embodied a thinly veiled cession of the nitrate desert to the victor in the War of the Pacific." It also left Bolivia entirely landlocked, and largely lacking in natural resources that could be exploited at the time; little wonder that the nation remained poor and subject to frequent revolutions! (To this day, they want the land back, according to Bown, p. 162, and maintain a navy of sorts on Lake Tititcaca in hopes they will someday have an ocean fleet again.) It is reported that, in the 1850s and 1860s, guano was mined from Peru at an average rate of four hundred thousand tons per year, with about a quarter of that going to the United States and the rest to various ports served by British ships. The guano trade was messy, smelly, and sometimes led to outbreaks of illness, but even so, the profits were high -- according to Bown, p. 146, the demand for South American guano consistently outstripped supply in the mid- to late nineteenth century, and Herring, p. 586, says that it supplied two-thirds of the Chilean government's revenue in the 1890s. The jingoistic American governments of the period went so far as to capture some of the islands, according to Bown, p. 147. The need to bring as much guano as possible to market produced terrible abuses. Heaven help the sailor who got drunk in Callao or Ilo or even Chilean Valparaiso and ended up working the Chincha islands (the best source of guano, off the Peruvian coast not too far from Lima and Callao). Bown, pp. 150-151 describes slavery conditions worse than even those in the American south. The workers sometimes worked 100 hours a week, were given inadequate shelter, limited and poor food, were driven by merciless overseers -- and, of course, had to breath the extraordinary fumes of ammonia and other dangerous chemicals; many also contracted diseases carried by the bird feces. Suicide was common. Bown, p. 152, says that most of the workers were Chinese brought in on five year "contracts" which few of them survived. Others came from the Pacific Islands. This form of slavery was not controlled until the 1870s. Although the quality of guano declined after the 1870s, when the best beds were used up (there was lots of guano left, but it wasn't as high quality due to rain leaching out the nitrates, according to Bown, p. 154), demand for nitrates did not really start to decline until the early twentieth century, and the guano trade was still strong going into the 1920s -- but Darrow, p. 233, notes its collapse in that period. In particularly, in the year 1926, the nitrate companies had a market value of 3,578,000 British pounds at the beginning of 1926, but only 1,634,000 pounds at the end of the year. According to Shay, even ships not carrying guano (e.g. whalers) were likely to stop at Ilo; there were periods when Chilean ports were closed to foreigners, leaving Ilo as the major watering-port for ships rounding Cape Horn. The Panama Canal would have cut into that trade also, starting in 1914. Little wonder, then, that Ilo is now just another medium-sized town in Peru. - RBW File: Doe030 === NAME: Tommy's on the Tops'l Yard: see Sally Brown (File: Doe074) === NAME: Tone de Bell Easy: see Jesus Gonna Make Up My Dyin' Bed (Tone the Bell Easy) (File: LxA605) === NAME: Tons of Bright Gold DESCRIPTION: "Down by the Launey" the singer meets "a handsome and charming young dame ... herding her kine." If he owned many fine lands he would give them all "to obtain her." "For tons of bright gold, of course, I won't tell her name" until their wedding day AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (OCanainn) KEYWORDS: love marriage animal FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OCanainn, pp. 88-89, "Tons of Bright Gold" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Pride of Kilkee" (motif: hiding a sweetheart's name) and references there cf. "Ar Eirinn Ni Neosfainn Ce hi (For Ireland I Will Not Tell Whom She Is)" (motif: hiding a sweetheart's name) NOTES: OCanainn: "[This song's] text is clearly related to the Maigue poem "Ar Eirinn ni neosfainn ce hi" (For Ireland I'd not tell her name)." [In this song the promise not to tell, or to tell, her name is the last line of each verse; that is also the pattern of "Ar Eirinn Ni Neosfainn Ce hi."] - BS File: OCan088 === NAME: Tony Went Walking DESCRIPTION: Tony goes walking on a summer day and finds an apple tree. He climbs, to pick some apples, but the branch breaks and "down came Tony, apples and all" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (recording, Stanley G. Triggs) KEYWORDS: food injury FOUND_IN: Can(West) REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Stanley G. Triggs, "Tony Went Walking" (on Triggs1) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Rock-A-Bye Baby" (lyrics) NOTES: Talk about a minimal plot. But a plot it is. - PJS File: RcTonWWa === NAME: Too Late: see The Last Farewell (The Lover's Return) (File: R761) === NAME: Too Much of a Name DESCRIPTION: "Some people are anxious for honor and fame And they strive all their lifetime in getting a name. But too much of a name is a possible thing" As a practical joke my parents named me Jonathan Joseph Jeremiah ... Jehosaphat." So long a name causes problems AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield) KEYWORDS: wedding humorous nonballad talltale clergy FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Greenleaf/Mansfield 170, "Longest Name Song" (1 text) Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 201, "Too Much of a Name" (1 text) DT, TOONAME Roud #7041 and 4824 NOTES: Greenleaf/Mansfield states that this is "a variant of a once popular music-hall song 'Jonathan, Joseph, Jeremiah.'" - BS File: GrMa170 === NAME: Too Rally DESCRIPTION: This quatrain ballad of naval origins describes the special privileges accorded to officers of increasingly high rank. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: scatological sailor humorous FOUND_IN: Britain(England) US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cray, pp. 400-403, "Too Rally" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #10300 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Botany Bay (I)" (tune) NOTES: This was collected by Pete Seeger in the Pacific theater during the Second World War. - EC File: EM400 === NAME: Too Young: see Pretty Little Miss [Laws P18] (File: LP18) === NAME: Too Young to Marry DESCRIPTION: Dance tune with slight lyrics: "I'm my mammy's youngest child (youngest son, darling child), I am my mother's (baby), I'm my mammy's youngest child, I am too young to marry." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1915 (Brown) KEYWORDS: youth marriage nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 107, "Too Young to Marry" (3 texts) Roud #16864 NOTES: I have to suspect that this is the mnemonic lyric to some well-known fiddle tune. But there is no way to tell *which* tune. - RBW File: Br3107 === NAME: Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, That's an Irish Lullaby DESCRIPTION: The singer remembers a quiet, peaceful home and the lullaby his mother sang: "Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li, Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, hush now don't you cry. Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral... That's an Irish lullaby." AUTHOR: J. R. Shannon EARLIEST_DATE: 1913 (sheet music) KEYWORDS: nonballad lullaby FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Fuld-WFM, p. 585, "Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, That's an Irish Lullaby" DT, LULLBY SAME_TUNE: Study Oft on Sunday (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 98) NOTES: This, obviously, is not a folk song -- and it's not a lullaby! (It contains one, but there is a song around it.) But people think it's a folk song, so here it is.... - RBW File: DTlullby === NAME: Too-Ril-Te-Too (The Robin and the Cat) DESCRIPTION: "Oh! Too-ril-te-too was a bonny cock robin, He tied up his tail with a piece of blue bobbin, His tail was no bigger than the tail of a flea, Too-ril-te-too Thought it pretty as a tail could be." The bird flies to a rail to show off and is eaten by a cat AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Linscott) KEYWORDS: bird food death animal FOUND_IN: US(NE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Linscott, pp. 293-294, "Too-Ril-Te-Too" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Lins293 (Full) Roud #3745 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Rory O'More" (tune) File: Lins293 === NAME: Took My Gal a-Walkin' DESCRIPTION: "I took my gal a-walking', it was on one Saturday night... I asked her if she's marry me... She said she wouldn't marry me If the rest of the world was dead." The lonely singer vows he will "milk the cows and chickens" on the farm if he can't find a girl AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (recording, Charlie Poole) KEYWORDS: courting farming love nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Rorrer, p.81, "Took My Gal a Walkin'" (1 text) Roud #11550 RECORDINGS: Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers, "Took My Gal a Walkin'" (Columbia 15672-D, 1931, rec. 1928; on CPoole01, CPoole05) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Going Across the Sea" (floating lyrics) ALTERNATE_TITLES: I Ain't Got Nobody NOTES: Rorrer observes that there is no known source for this recording; Charlie Poole may well have created the piece. It has, however, proved to be popular with Old-Time performers, and for this reason I include it here. The key verse, about the girl not marrying "if the rest of the world were dead" *is* traditional; a variant is found in the southeastern banjo tune "Italy." - RBW File: RcTMGAW === NAME: Toolie Low DESCRIPTION: "Toolie low, toolie low, toolie low, I am Mammy's little black baby chile. Toodie noodie, mammy's baby, Toodie noodie, mammy's child. Toodie, noodie, toodie." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: love children nonballad lullaby FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 153, (no title) (1 short text) File: ScNF153B === NAME: Top Hand DESCRIPTION: "While you're all so frisky I'll sing a little song... It's all about the Top Hand when he's busted flat." The Top Hand/top screw boasts of his prowess as a cowhandler, but it's all boasting and lies. The cowboys try to expose him, and label him a Jackass AUTHOR: (Credited by Thorp to Frank Rooney, c. 1877) EARLIEST_DATE: 1899 KEYWORDS: cowboy bragging lie trick FOUND_IN: US(SW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Thorp/Fife V, pp. 61-65 (17-18), "Top Hand" (2 texts) Roud #8050 ALTERNATE_TITLES: Top Screw Waddie Cowboy File: TF05 === NAME: Top Loader DESCRIPTION: Recitation; Bill Kirk is top loader. One day he's knocked off the load by a "cannon." His comrades rush to save him, but he's wedged into a crack. They pull the log out, and by a miracle he's not hurt, but he curses because his new pipe is cracked. AUTHOR: Probably Marion Ellsworth EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Beck) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Recitation; Bill Kirk is top loader at Pollock's camp; one day he's knocked off the load by a "cannon" (a log that pivots sideways on top of the load). His comrades, thinking him crushed, rush to save him, but he's wedged into a crack. They pull the log out, and by a miracle he's not hurt, but he curses because his new pipe is cracked. KEYWORDS: lumbering work logger recitation rescue FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Beck 100, "Top Loader" (1 text) Roud #8880 NOTES: Top loaders were always in danger, trying to get the maximum number of logs on the load. This, like the other pieces probably written by Ellsworth, does not seem to have entered oral tradition. - PJS File: Be100 === NAME: Top of Mount Zion DESCRIPTION: "On the top of Mount Zion is a city" -- the city of salvation. The singer briefly describes it and makes plans to go there. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1966 (recorded from Buna Vista Hicks) KEYWORDS: Bible religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #7133 RECORDINGS: Buna Hicks, "Top of Mt. Zion" (on USWarnerColl01) NOTES: In secular usage, the name "Zion" and "Mount Zion" referred to the more eastern of the hills on which Jerusalem rested -- the name first occurs in the Bible in 2 Samuel 5:7, where David attacks the "stronghold of Zion," the key to the city of the Jebusites, which became the City of David -- i.e. the citadel of the Davidic capital. The term is generally used in the Psalms to include the broader area around the Temple -- i.e. the City on Mount Zion is the whole city of Jerusalem. The name is not common in the New Testament, and six of the eight New Testament usages to be Old Testament citations -- most notably, Romans 11:16 (citing Isaiah) says that the deliverer comes from Zion. But the two uses of the name not derived from the Hebrew Bible are noteworthy: Hebrews 11:22 refers to coming to "Mount Zion and the city of the living God, while Revelation 14:1 says that the lamb stood on Mount Zion. Thus Mount Zion is an accepted, though not a common, name for the heavenly city. - RBW File: RcToMZi === NAME: Topsail Shivers in the Wind, The DESCRIPTION: "The topsail shivers in the wind, Our ship she casts to sea, But yet my soul, my heart, my mind, Are, Mary, moored with thee." The singer touches on the difficulties of the voyage and thinks constantly of his return home AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1776 (Journal from the Ann) KEYWORDS: sailor home love FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 59-60, "The Topsail Shivers in the Wind" (1 text plus part of another, 1 tune) Roud #2017 ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Sailor's Adieu File: SWMS059 === NAME: Tornado Blues DESCRIPTION: "I uster own the Chickabee farm, I'm washing dishes today, Becaws a tornado comes along And takes my farm away." "It takes the cows, and the gelding... The doggone thing leaves me nothing But the wife and the mortgage due." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (Cambiaire) KEYWORDS: disaster storm farming hardtimes HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: March 7, 1933 - "[A] terrible tornado caused great damage in East Tennessee (Cambiaire) FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cambiaire, p. 10, "Tornado Blue" (1 text) Roud #12636 File: Camb010 === NAME: Toronto Volunteers, The DESCRIPTION: "In the year of Eighty-five Sure the tidings did arrive.... From the snowy plains afar Where those roving Indians are...." "Oh those volunteers did go And face the storms and snow... And when the drums did beat How the rebels did retreat" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1957 KEYWORDS: battle Canada soldier HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 12, 1885 - Battle of Batoche. Defeat of the Metis under Louis Riel FOUND_IN: Canada(Ont) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 130-131, "The Toronto Volunteers" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #4515 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Riel's Song" and references there (subject) NOTES: For the history of Louis Riel and the Metis Uprising, see "Riel's Song." Edith Fowke's informant claims to have had this piece from soldiers who had actually campaigned in Saskatchewan. - RBW File: FMB130 === NAME: Torramh an Bhairille (Wake of the Barrel) DESCRIPTION: Irish. It's a delight to be at a Ballymacoda wake. No one is turned away without a drink in that pub. "The poor wretch without food or purse will get the cask free To drink without stint" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (OCanainn) KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage drink death nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OCanainn, pp. 68-69, "Torramh an Bhairille" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: The description follows O Canainn's "rough guide to what it's all about." - BS File: OCan068 === NAME: Toss the Turk DESCRIPTION: "One evening lately I dressed up nately, With Sunday clothes, plug had and all." The singer meets a gang which intends to rob him. But he backs up against a wall, and beats them off using tricks he learned at Donegal. AUTHOR: Tom Cannon EARLIEST_DATE: 1877 (sheet music) KEYWORDS: fight FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Dean, pp. 114-115, "Toss the Turk" (1 text) Roud #21718 NOTES: Eric Partridge's _A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English_ lists "Turk" as a gutter word for an Irishman, though it cannot trace it before 1949. This song gives evidence that it is much older, since "Toss the Turk" seems to mean "rob the Irishman." - RBW File: Dean114 === NAME: Tossed and Driven (The Poor Pilgrim) DESCRIPTION: "I am a poor pilgrim of sorrow, I am left in this wide world to roam... I've started to make Heaven my home." "Sometimes I'm so tossed and driven. Sometimes I know not where to roam." The singer has left his family; after death he hopes to see them again AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: religious death travel FOUND_IN: US(Ap,So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Randolph 610, "Tossed and Driven" (2 text plus a fragment, 1 tune) BrownIII 643, "Tossed and Driven" (1 text, a seemingly-simplified form with the same chorus but the verses consist of advice from relatives: "(Father/Mother/Sister/Brother) told me when he was dying... Dear daughter, live for Jesus; This world is not my home") Roud #5425 RECORDINGS: I. D. Beck & congregation, "Poor Pilgrim of Sorrow" (on LomaxCD1704) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "I Am a Pilgrim" NOTES: This song instantly made me think of "Man of Constant Sorrow," and also of "Wayfaring Stranger," but I cannot tell if there is any connection. And "pilgrim" songs all sound alike somehow. - RBW George Pullen Jackson sees a resemblance between this song and the one we've indexed as "Green Mossy Banks of the Lea". Maybe. - PJS File: R610 === NAME: Tossing of the Hay DESCRIPTION: The singer goes out on a summer morning and sees a beautiful girl tossing her hay alone. She reports that her brother has left her alone. He kisses her; she screams; he promises that if she marries him, there will be time to mow the hay AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Karpeles-Newfoundland) KEYWORDS: love courting marriage work FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) SHenry H635, pp. 455-456, "The Tossing o' the Hay" (1 text, 1 tune) Karpeles-Newfoundland 80, "The New Mown Hay" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2940 RECORDINGS: Eddie Butcher, "Tossing the Hay" (on Voice05, IREButcher01) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Raking of the Hay NOTES: Why do I get the feeling that this happened somewhere along the Banks of the Bann? According to Purslow, this occurs as a broadside called "Joy After Sorrow," but the text of that title I've seen does not appear to be the same piece. - RBW File: HHH635 === NAME: Tottenham Toad, The: see Fox and Hare (They've All Got a Mate But Me) (File: FlBr121) === NAME: Touch Not the Cup DESCRIPTION: "Touch not the cup, it is death to the soul... Many I know that have quaffed from that bowl... Little they thought that a demon was there, Blindly they drank and were caught in the snare...." A sermon, without illustrations, on the evils of drink AUTHOR: Words: J.H. Aikman (?) / Music: T.H. Bayley? EARLIEST_DATE: 1885 (Franklin Square Song Collection 3) KEYWORDS: drink virtue FOUND_IN: US(NE,So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Randolph 330, "Touch Not the Cup" (1 text) Warner 76, "Touch Not the Cup" (1 text, 1 tune) ST R330 (Partial) Roud #6951 NOTES: Yes, this piece is as obnoxiously moralizing as it sounds... and I say that as a teetotaler. - RBW File: R330 === NAME: Toura for Sour Buttermilk DESCRIPTION: "Toura for sour buttermilk Belleek for the brandy The Commons was the divil's hole But Mulleek was the dandy" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1979 (Tunney-StoneFiddle) KEYWORDS: Ireland nonballad drink FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Tunney-StoneFiddle, p. 52, "Toura for Sour Buttermilk" (1 fragment) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Fermoy Lasses" (tune, according to Tunney-StoneFiddle) NOTES: The current description is all of the Tunney-StoneFiddle fragment. Mulleek, Belleek and Toura are in County Fermanagh. Commons may be in Belleek. The words of the Tunney-StoneFiddle fragment remind me of "Coffee Grows" and "Weavily Wheat" though its reel tune is not at all similar. - BS File: TSF052 === NAME: Tout Pitit Negresse DESCRIPTION: Creole French: "Tout pitit Negresse en bas bayou, A-pe laver chimise ye' mama! A, alla, mamselle, les blanchiseuses! (x2)" A very small black woman washes shirts on the bayou; a boy washes underclothes AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: worker FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 212-213, "Tout Pitit Negresse" (1 text, 1 tune) File: ScaNF212 === NAME: Town I Loved So Well, The DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls growing up in hard times in "the town I loved so well." He formed a band and married. The music is gone but he hopes for peace and a bright new day "in the town that I loved so well" AUTHOR: Phil Coulter (source: notes to IRHardySons) EARLIEST_DATE: 1980 (IRHardySons) LONG_DESCRIPTION: "In my memory I can always see The town that I loved so well" The singer recalls playing school ball by the smoky, smelly, gas yard wall and "running up the dark lane By the jail." Mothers were called from Creggan, the Moor, and the Bog to work in the shirt factory early in the morning. Men on the dole minded the children and trained the dog without complaining. The singer formed a band and married. Now the music is gone. He hopes for peace. "We can only pray for a bright new day, In the town that I loved so well" KEYWORDS: poverty violence unemployment work hardtimes Ireland FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, TWNLVD* RECORDINGS: Big John Maguire and daughter Kate, "The Town I Loved So Well" (on IRHardySons) NOTES: Notes to IRHardySons: "This is a contemporary song written by Phil Coulter in the early 1970s that has been sucked into the tradition and altered somewhat in the process. Recorded by The Dubliners." Wikipedia re "The Town I Loved So Well": "'The Town I Loved So Well's a song written by Phil Coulter about his childhood in Derry, Northern Ireland. The first three verses are about the simple lifestyle he grew up with in Derry, while the final two deal with the Troubles, and lament how his placid hometown had become a major military outpost, plagued with sectarian violence." "The Town I Loved So Well" at Triskelle site, dated Dec. 13, 2005: "After 21 June 1972, Bloody Friday, the British army started a huge scaled military operation known as Operation Motorman. Army units with tanks and bulldozers cleared the barricades surrounding the so-called no-go areas in Creggan, Bogside and Andersontown. Northern Ireland really had become a war-zone." - BS The mention of the Dole is, in many ways, even more indicative of Ulster's situation in this period than are the references to the Troubles. Violence in Ulster was not as high as we sometimes think -- the murder rate was lower than most big American cities in the same period (according to the chart on p. 260 of Ruth Dudley Edwards, _An Atlas of Irish History_, second edition, Routledge, 1981, even the worst year of the Troubles, 1972, saw fewer than 400 killed, and no other year witnessed as many as 300 deaths -- dreadful, yes, but not so high as to automatically destabilize a society. Northern Ireland's population at this time was about one and a half million, so we have a murder rate of about 25 per 100,000. Comparing this to the data for the United States (as found in the _Statistical Abstract of the United States 2000_, which covers the year 1998 -- the lowest crime rate year I found in a quick and incomplete sample), the murder rate in Detroit was 43.0 per 100,000; that in Baltimore was 47.1; that in New Orleans 48.8; that in Washington, DC, 49.7. In all, there are at least *nine* American cities which, in that good year, had higher murder rates than Ulster in its *worst* year. But the decline of the British merchant fleet, and of the whole British economy, doomed the Belfast shipbuilding industry. The region's other major industry was textiles, and that too faded in the period. And the small size of Ulster made it economically inefficient, and the Irish Republic was an economic basket case due to the inefficiencies of the de Valera period, and the border regions were generally worst of all. Unemployment in Northern Ireland rose steadily in the 1970s to levels well above 10% -- by 1980, half the regions of Ulster had unemployment rates exceeding 15% (Edwards, p. 263); in perhaps a fifth of the country, it exceeded 20%. Edwards shows the Derry area as being in the 15-20% unemployment range. - RBW File: RcTTILSW === NAME: Town o' Arbroath, The DESCRIPTION: "Although far awa frae my ain native heather, And thousands o' miles across the blue sea," the singer still dreams of his home in Arbroath. He recalls the lessons his parents taught him. Now rich, he intends to return to his home. AUTHOR: Words: Charles Myles ? EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord) KEYWORDS: home emigration return FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, p. 345, "The Town o' Arbroath" (1 text) Roud #3946 BROADSIDES: NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(6b), "Toon of Arbroath," Poet's Box (Dundee), c. 1880-1900 File: Ord345A === NAME: Town of Antrim, The DESCRIPTION: The singer bids farewell to Ireland; he will wander "far from Paddy's green countrie."He recalls the beauties of County Antrim, his birthplace. He promises to remember all these things in his new home AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1921 (JIFSS) KEYWORDS: emigration home FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (3 citations) SHenry H632, p. 203, "Paddy's Green Countrie" (1 text, 1 tune) OLochlainn 20A, "The Town of Antrim" (1 text, 1 tune) Hayward-Ulster, p. 25, "The Town of Antrim" (1 text) Roud #2746 File: HHH632 === NAME: Town of Oranmore, The (If You Ever Go Over to Ireland) DESCRIPTION: Singer, possibly American, warns against women of Ireland; one of them has made a fool of him. He picks her up; she asks him to take her to dinner at Cleary's; he wraps her in his cloak; she scratches his nose, tears his clothes, and, apparently, robs him AUTHOR: Shaun O'Nolan EARLIEST_DATE: 1955 (sung by Margaret Barry on Voice04) KEYWORDS: request warning travel theft humorous FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #5277 RECORDINGS: Margaret Barry, "If You Ever Go Over to Ireland" (on Voice04) Margaret Barry w. Michael Gorman, "If You Ever Go Over to Ireland (The Town of Oranmore)" (on Pubs1) NOTES: The plot is somewhat confused. Oranmore is located at the extreme east of Galway Bay, and it was a popular place for Travellers to part their caravans, especially around the time of the Galway race meeting. The song originated in the Irish music-halls. - PJS Hall, notes to Voice04: "in the McNulty Family's original it is his bank roll she swipes." - BS File: RcToOran === NAME: Town of Passage (I), The DESCRIPTION: "The town of Passage is neat and spacious, All situated upon the sea." The boats, sailors, bathers, lovers, and ferry to Carrigaloe are described. Molly Bowen has a lodging house where "often goes in one Simon Quin" to his bed among the fleas. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1839 (Croker-PopularSongs) KEYWORDS: sea ship shore humorous nonballad bug FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 254-256, "The Town of Passage" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Town of Passage (II), (III)" (subject) NOTES: Croker-PopularSongs: "The town of Passage ... is situated between Cork and its Cove...." Croker-PopularSongs: "This song was introduced, with considerable effect, upon the London stage by the late Mr Charles Connor, in Lord Glengall's very amusing farce of the 'Irish Tutor.'" - BS File: CrPS254 === NAME: Town of Passage (II), The DESCRIPTION: "Passage town is of great renown." Steamboats on Lough Mahon, whale-boats "skipping upon the tide," prison ships bound for Botany Bay, foreign ships, ferries, and fishing boats are described. The women hunt snails, shrimp, and cockles at low tide. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1839 (Croker-PopularSongs) KEYWORDS: commerce fishing sea ship shore nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 256-258, "The Town of Passage" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Town of Passage (I), (III)" (subject) NOTES: Croker-PopularSongs: "The town of Passage ... is situated between Cork and its Cove...." Croker-PopularSongs points out that "The Town of Passage (II)" quotes "The Town of Passage (I)" and must therefore be "a subsequent composition to No. I." - BS File: CrPS256 === NAME: Town of Passage (III), The DESCRIPTION: "The town of Passage ... situated Upon the say, 'Tis nate and dacent." Ships at anchor, ferries to Carrigaloe, but also mud cabins, melodious pigs and dead fish abound. Foreign ships deal in whisky-punch. Convicts are bound for Botany Bay. AUTHOR: Father Prout [Rev Francis Sylvester Mahony (1804-1866)] (source: Croker-PopularSongs) EARLIEST_DATE: 1839 (Croker-PopularSongs) KEYWORDS: sea ship shore humorous nonballad FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 258-260, "The Town of Passage" (1 text) Dean, pp. 99-100, "The Town Passage" (1 text) Roud #9574 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Town of Passage (I), (II)" (subject) NOTES: Croker-PopularSongs: "The town of Passage ... is situated between Cork and its Cove...." Croker-PopularSongs notes Father Prout's comment on his "The Town of Passage (III)" as a parody of I and II: "Its reverend author, or rather concocter, has described it as 'manifestly an imitation of that unrivalled dithyramb, 'The Groves of Blarney,' with a little of its humour, and all its absurdity.'" - BS Father Prout, however, did not compose "The Groves of Blarney"; his great work is "Bells of Shandon." - RBW File: CrPS258 === NAME: Town Passage, The: see The Town of Passage (III) (File: CrPS258) === NAME: TP and the Morgan DESCRIPTION: Work song for tie-tamping: "TP throwed the water, Water in Morgan's eye...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1940 KEYWORDS: worksong railroading FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Botkin-RailFolklr, p. 448, "TP and the Morgan" (1 text) File: BRaF448 === NAME: Trace-Boy on Ligoniel Hill, A DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls with pride the days of the horse trams when he was a trace-boy on Ligoniel Hill. Today his "friends all departed, and work now so scarce," he sleeps on open brick kilns. "The only thing left is a ride in a hearse" AUTHOR: Hugh Quinn (1884-1956) (source: Leyden) EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (Hammond-Belfast) KEYWORDS: age poverty pride unemployment hardtimes nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (4 citations) Leyden 16, "A Trace-Boy on Ligoniel Hill" (1 text, 1 tune) Hammond-Belfast, p. 50, "A Trace Boy on Ligoniel Hill" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, LIGONIEL* Bell/O Conchubhair, Traditional Songs of the North of Ireland, pp. 78-80, "A Trace-Boy on Ligoniel Hill" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Green Gravel" (tune) NOTES: Leyden: Two horses were added to a Belfast horse-drawn tram team for the pull up steep inclines. "This task was done by trace-boys who waited at the bottom of steep hills such as Ligoniel.... The Ligoniel Tramway system started up in the summer of 1885." The kiln reference is to open kilns at brick manufacturing companies: "After a day's firing the kilns retained their heat for a considerable time so that many tramps and paupers took advantage of the free heat for the night." - BS File: Leyd016 === NAME: Track Lining Song: see Can'cha Line 'Em (File: LxU078) === NAME: Track to Knob Lake, The DESCRIPTION: The singer signs a contract to spike three months on the Knob Lake track. Food is awful. After a month 18 men quit. Each day the first to finish has lots of food but none is left for the last. He still hopes to come back the next year. AUTHOR: Albert Roche EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (Peacock) KEYWORDS: railroading worker food FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Peacock, pp. 797-798, "The Track to Knob Lake" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9811 ALTERNATE_TITLES: cf. "Twin Lakes" (lyrics) NOTES: First verse -- only -- is stolen from "Twin Lakes." Peacock says "the track to Knob Lake [is] a railroad pushed through the wilderness of central Quebec to rich deposits of iron ore." The track was laid in the 1950s. "In ballads of this type it is customary to complain about working and living conditions, and the composer does his best.... However, with planes flying the workers in and out I suspect that most Newfoundlanders never had it so good." - BS File: Pea797 === NAME: Trader, The DESCRIPTION: The singer tells of the wreck of the Trader, bound from Galway to London. A dream warns the Captain of disaster. A storm blows up; the rudder is wrecked; the ship goes aground; seven of the crew are drowned. The singer hopes they will be remembered AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (Sam Henry collection; reportedly found in an 1827 broadside) KEYWORDS: ship death storm wreck disaster dream FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H11, pp. 110-111, "The Trader" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2952 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Ye Banks and Braes of Bonnie Doon" (tune) File: HHH011 === NAME: Trading-Out Blues DESCRIPTION: "In the middle of the night if you hear a scream And there's a flame burnin'... the road... It's just a bunch of cowboys Tradin' out at the next rodeo." The song describes the wild driving cowboys do as they travel from rodeo to rodeo AUTHOR: Johnny Baker EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 KEYWORDS: cowboy travel technology FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ohrlin-HBT 97, "Trading-Out Blues" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: According to Ohrlin, professional rodeo cowboys would often rearrange their riding schedules so that they could appear at two events simultaneously. This was known as "trading out." Not all rodeos permit trading out, but some do in order to increase the number of top-flight cowboys entered. But, of course, it leaves the riders having to really make time between events. Hence this song. File: Ohr097 === NAME: Tragedia de Heraclio Bernal DESCRIPTION: Spanish: "Ano de noventa y quatro en la ciudad de Mazatlan...." Bernal is a robber who steals from the rich, gives to the poor, kills the police (and uses their skin for boots). But he is killed by treachery in Mazatlan in 1894. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage outlaw robbery death police funeral FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 368-371, "Tragedia de Heraclio Bernal" (1 text plus prose translation, 1 tune) File: LxA368 === NAME: Tragic Romance DESCRIPTION: Singer recalls a girl he loved long ago; he left her her in the arms of another man. Many years later he meets the girl's brother. He learns she died awaiting his return, never knowing why he left. (The brother was the man who was in her arms.) AUTHOR: Louis M. "Grandpa" Jones EARLIEST_DATE: 1946 (recording, Morris Bros.) KEYWORDS: infidelity love rambling abandonment death family FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 41, "Tragic Romance" (1 text with variants, 1 tune) RECORDINGS: Morris Brothers, "Tragic Romance" (RCA Victor 20-1905, 1946) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Poor Omie (John Lewis) (Little Omie Wise)" [Laws F4] (tune) cf. "After the Ball" (plot) cf. "Fatal Rose of Red" (theme) NOTES: When this song first came to my attention, I refused to accept the attribution to "Grandpa" Jones, since the plot is straight from "After the Ball" and the tune is "Omie Wise." Jones, however, confesses, "I had been singing the old 1890s song, After the Ball, and I borrowed the story from that and the tune from the old folk song Naomi Wise and began to work it out." - RBW File: CSW041 === NAME: Tragical Death of an Apple Pie, The: see A Is for Apple Pie (File: R874) === NAME: Trail to Mexico, The [Laws B13] DESCRIPTION: The singer is hired by A.J. Stinson to drive a herd to Mexico. While away, his sweetheart has left him for a richer man. Though she asks him to remain at home and safe, he sets out for the trail again and swears to spend the rest of his life on the trail AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1910 (Lomax) KEYWORDS: cowboy rejection poverty FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (8 citations) Laws B13, "The Trail to Mexico" Larkin, pp. 61-63, "Trail to Mexico" (1 text, 1 tune) Sandburg, pp. 285-286, "The Trail to Mexico" (1 text, 1 tune) Fife-Cowboy/West 66, "The Trail to Mexico" (5 texts, 1 tune, of which only the "A" and "B" texts go here; "C" and "D" are "Early, Early in the Spring" and "E" is "Going to Leave Old Texas") Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 858-859, "Trail to Mexico" (1 text, 1 tune) Ohrlin-HBT 62, "Trail to Mexico" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Saffel-CowboyP, pp. 197-199, "The Trail to Mexico" (1 text) DT 380, TRAILMEX Roud #152 RECORDINGS: Len Nash & his Country Boys, "The Trail to Mexico" (Brunswick 354, 1929; Supertone S-2069, 1930) Harry "Mac" McClintock, "The Trail to Mexico" (Victor V-40016, 1929; Montgomery Ward M-4469 [as Harry "Mac" McClintock and his Haywire Orchestra], 1934) Pete Seeger, "Trail to Mexico" (on PeteSeeger07, PeteSeeger07a) Carl T. Sprague, "Following the Cow Trail" (Victor 20067, 1925; Montgomery Ward M-4468, 1934; on AuthCowboys) Texas Rangers, "The Trail to Mexico" (Decca 5183, 1936) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Early, Early in the Spring" [Laws M1] (plot) cf. "Buffalo Skinners" [Laws B10a] (a few overlapping lyrics) NOTES: Cox and Fife both consider this to be derived from "Early, Early in the Spring" [Laws M1], and even Laws concedes kinship. Roud in fact lumps the songs. However, as Laws also notes, "the cowboy ballad... shows considerable reworking." - RBW It's also worth noting that this song, "Boggy Creek," and "Buffalo Skinners" share enough lyrics, plot elements, etc. to make life interesting and confusing. - PJS File: LB13 === NAME: Train 45: see Reuben's Train; also Nine Hundred Miles (File: Wa133) === NAME: Train Is A-Coming, The DESCRIPTION: "The train is a-coming, oh, yes! Train is a-coming, oh, yes! Train is a-coming, train is a-coming, Train is a-coming, oh, yes!" "Better get your ticket...." "King Jesus is conductor...." "I'm on my way to heaven...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: train religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 253-254, "The Train Is A-Coming" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #11618 File: ScaNF253 === NAME: Train on the Island (June Apple/June Appal) DESCRIPTION: Floating verses, "Train on the island, thought I heard it blow, Go tell my true love, I'm sick and I can't go." "Train on the island, listen to it squeal, Go and tell my true love how happy I do feel." Verses mostly about courting and separation AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recording, J. P. Nestor) KEYWORDS: courting separation floatingverses separation abandonment nonballad music FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Asch/Dunson/Raim, p. 97, "Train on the Island" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, TRAINIS RECORDINGS: Charlie Higgins et al, "June Apple" [instrumental] (on LomaxCD1702) J. P. Nestor, "Train on the Island" (Victor 21070A, 1927; on AAFM3, TimesAint01) New Lost City Ramblers, "Train on the Island" (on NLCR13) Crockett Ward & his Boys "Train on the Island" (OKeh, unissued, 1927); Fields Ward, Glen Smith & Wade Ward, "Train on the Island" (on HalfCen1) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Going Across the Sea" (floating lyrics) NOTES: As a rule of thumb, this seems to be called "Train on the Island" when it is sung but "June Appal" when played as a fiddle tune. There are exceptions, of course. - RBW File: ADR97 === NAME: Train Run So Fast DESCRIPTION: "Train, train, train, train run so fast, Couldn't see nothing but de trees go past." "Don't tell mama where I'm gone, Cause I'm on my way back home." ""Mister, Misters, I don't want to fight, I got de heart disease, don't feel just right." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1919 (Brown) KEYWORDS: train disease floatingverses home nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 466, "Train ... Run So Fast" (1 short text, probably a mixture of several songs) Roud #11786 NOTES: This has a good deal in common with Darby and Tarlton's recording "Captain Won't You Let Me Go Home" ("Show Me the Way to Go Home," emphatically not the same as the other Brown fragment, "Show Me the Way to Go Home, Babe"); there is clearly dependence one way or the other. But the recording uses a different stanza form and is all about war service; I tentatively treat them as separate songs. - RBW File: Br3466 === NAME: Train That Carried My Girl from Town, The DESCRIPTION: Singer asks about the train that's just left; "if I knew the number I'd flag her down." He wishes it would wreck and kill the crew; "some low rounder stole my jelly roll." He asks if there's a woman a man can trust. AUTHOR: possibly Frank Hutchison EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (recording, Frank Hutchison) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer asks about the train that's just left; "if I knew the number I'd flag her down." He wishes it would wreck and kill the crew; "some low rounder stole my jelly roll." He asks if there's a woman a man can trust. Chorus: "Hate that train that carried my girl from town/Hey, hey, hey" KEYWORDS: grief jealousy loneliness infidelity sex train travel abandonment railroading floatingverses lover hate FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cohen-LSRail, pp. 426-430, "The Train That Carried My Girl from Town" (1 text plus a text of Maynard Britton's "I Wish That Train Would Wreck"; 1 tune) Roud #7027 RECORDINGS: Frank Hutchison, "The Train That Carried the Girl from Town" (OKeh 45064, 1926) (OKeh 45111 [45114?], 1927); "Train That Carried My Girl from Town" (OKeh 45114, 1927) Doc Watson, "The Train That Carried My Girl From Town" (on Watson01) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Hate the Train the Carried My Girl from Town NOTES: A white blues; it's possible Hutchison composed this, but he also may have learned it from black musicians. Certainly his performance, with knife-slide guitar, sounds very African-American. - PJS Cohen speculates that Hutchison had it from an acquaintance, Bill Hunt. It's not clear to me why Cohen lists Hunt rather than Hutchison; in any case, the song resembles other blues in that it has many floating lines. - RBW File: RcTTCMGF === NAME: Train That Never Returned, The DESCRIPTION: A train sets out, but "Did she ever return? No, she never returned, Though the train was due at one. For hours and hours the watchman stood waiting For the train that never returned." The song describes some of those who waited for it AUTHOR: Music by Henry Clay Work EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (recording, Fiddlin' John Carson) KEYWORDS: train railroading separation death derivative FOUND_IN: US(SE,So) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Randolph 694, "The Train that Never Returned" (1 text) BrownII 215, "The Ship That Never Returned" (1 text, filed as "c" under the parodies) Spaeth-WeepMore, p. 139, "The Train that Never Returned" (1 text, tune referenced) Roud #775 RECORDINGS: Fiddlin' John Carson, "Did He Ever Return" (OKeh 45176, 1928) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Ship that Never Returned" [Laws D27] (tune & meter) and references there cf. "The Wreck of Old 97" (tune & meter) cf. "The Rarden Wreck of 1893" (tune & metre, theme) cf. "The Flying Colonel" (tune) SAME_TUNE: Whitey Johns, "The Train That Never Arrived" (Romeo 1205, 1930) NOTES: I am assigning the Whitey Johns recording to this title, without having heard it, but I'm calling it a SAME TUNE to be on the safe(r) side. - PJS File: R694 === NAME: Train Whistle Blues DESCRIPTION: "When a woman gets the blues, she hands her little head and cries... When a man gets the blues, he grabs a train and rides." The singer wishes the train would take him home. His whole world is blue; he can't find a job AUTHOR: Jimmie Rodgers (but based on much traditional material) EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (recording, Jimmie Rodgers) KEYWORDS: train home travel FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cohen-LSRail, pp. 452-455, "Train Whistle Blues" (1 text, 1 tune) RECORDINGS: Jimmie Rodgers, "Train Whisle Blues" (Victor 22379, 1930; rec. 1929) File: LSRai452 === NAME: Tramp (I), The DESCRIPTION: The hobo has been wandering till his shoes are worn to pieces. He asks a woman for work; she replies, "Tramp, tramp, tramp, keep on a-tramping, There is nothing here for you." Everywhere he tries, he is threatened with prison if he returns AUTHOR: Joe Hill EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg) KEYWORDS: work hardtimes poverty prison hobo unemployment IWW FOUND_IN: US(Ro) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Sandburg, p. 185, "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, Keep On a-Tramping" (1 text) Darling-NAS, pp. 281-282, "The Tramp" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 52, ""The Tramp (1 text) DT, THETRMP* RECORDINGS: Frank Crumit, "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, Keep On A'Tramping" (Victor V-40214, 1930) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!" (tune) and reference there NOTES: For the life of Joe Hill, see "Joe Hill." - RBW File: San185 === NAME: Tramp (II), The DESCRIPTION: "I'm a broken-down man without money or friends... I wisht I had never been born." The tramp reports that people constantly tell him to get a job, but none will offer a job. He recalls another tramp thrown off a train and killed on the track AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recording, McGee Brothers); a version was printed c. 1880 in _De Marsan's Singer's Journal_ KEYWORDS: hobo death hardtimes unemployment FOUND_IN: US(MW,So) Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Cohen-LSRail, pp. 347-350, "Because He Was Only a Tramp" (2 texts, 1 tune) Dean, p. 71, "The Tramp's Lament" (1 text) Randolph 843, "The Tramp" (1 text, 1 tune) Greenleaf/Mansfield 48, "Broken-Down Sport" (1 text) Roud #4305 RECORDINGS: Jack Edwards, "The Tramp" (Supertone 9711, 1930) McGee Brothers, "The Tramp" (Vocalion 5171, 1927) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Remember the Poor Tramp Has to Live" (plot) NOTES: Cohen theorizes that this started as two songs, one about a tramp who can't find work, the other about a tramp thrown from a train and killed. As evidence he prints a version which lacks the dying tramp stanzas. This seems not unlikely, but until we find a version of the song with the tramp thrown from the train *without* the other part, there isn't much point in splitting. - RBW File: R843 === NAME: Tramp (III), The: see Can I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight? (File: R841) === NAME: Tramp Song, The: see Remember the Poor Tramp Has to Live (File: RcRtPTHL) === NAME: Tramp the Bushes of Australia: see True-Born Irish Man (With My Swag All on My Shoulder; The True-Born Native Man) (File: MA062) === NAME: Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, Keep On a-Tramping: see The Tramp (I) (File: San185) === NAME: Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! DESCRIPTION: The prisoner cries as he recalls mother and home. He recalls the battle where he was taken. But then he recalls that the troops are coming, and cheers his fellows: "Tramp, tramp, tramp, the boys are marching, Cheer up comrades they will come...." AUTHOR: George F. Root EARLIEST_DATE: 1864 KEYWORDS: Civilwar prisoner freedom FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (6 citations) RJackson-19CPop, pp. 214-217, "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! or The Prisoner's Hope" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-CivWar, pp. 86-87, "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!" (1 text, 1 tune) Darling-NAS, pp. 347-348, "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 66, "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!" (1 text) Fuld-WFM, p. 588+, "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!" DT, TRMPTRMP* ST RJ19214 (Full) RECORDINGS: S. H. Dudley, "Tramp Tramp Tramp" (Berliner 0157-Y, rec. 1898) Frank J. Gaskin, "Tramp Tramp Tramp" (Berliner 0157-Z, rec. 1896)[ Arthur] Harlan & [Frank] Stanley, "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp" (Victor 5021, 1907) (CYL: Edison 9439, 1907) (CYL: Edison [BA] Special E [as Harlan & Stanley w. chorus], n.d.) Frank C. Stanley, "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!" (CYL: Edison 5002, c. 1898) Unknown baritone "Tramp Tramp Tramp" (Berliner 0157, rec. before 1895) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Tramp (I)" (tune) cf. "An Anti-Fenian Song" (tune) cf. "The Bounty Jumper's Lament" (tune) cf. "God Save Ireland" (tune) cf. "The Salutation" (tune) SAME_TUNE: The Wallaby Brigade (File: FaE186) File: RJ19214 === NAME: Tramp's Lament, The: see The Tramp (II) (File: R843) === NAME: Tramp's Story, The DESCRIPTION: The tramp asks to sit and rest. Tramps have to live, "though folks don't think we should." He used to be a blacksmith. Then a stranger led his love Nellie astray. She died soon after he abandoned her. The tramp intends to find and punish the stranger AUTHOR: Edward Harrigan? EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 KEYWORDS: hobo love abandonment betrayal death revenge FOUND_IN: US(SE,So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Randolph 844, "The Tramp's Story" (1 text) BrownIII 358, "Tale of a Tramp" (1 text) Roud #7448 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Can I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight?" (plot) cf. "The Lehigh Valley" (plot) cf. "Remember the Poor Tramp Has to Live" (plot) cf. "The Deserted Husband" (theme) NOTES: This is a difficult conundrum: It is unquestionably related to "The Lehigh Valley," with which it shares a plot and occasional words. The question is, which is original? The natural inclination, of course, is to think that "Lehigh Valley," which is more firmly traditional and, in its crude way more vigorous, is the source. And yet, "The Tramp's Story" is *so* much more feeble that it's hard to imagine "Lehigh Valley" being expurgated so far. It is worth noting that Brown's version contains a reference to the Lehigh Valley. Plus, this song adds the moralizing conclusion about the girl's death. It's really a bit thick -- as any half-decent songwriter would surely recognize. So I'm just not sure. The original by Edward Hannigan is said to be from the 1882 play "Squatter Sovereignty." Milburn prints no fewer than six songs on this theme. Obviously the plot proved popular. For background on Edward Harrigan, see the notes to "Babies on Our Block." - RBW File: R844 === NAME: Tramps and Hawkers DESCRIPTION: "Come a' ye tramps and hawker lads and gaitherers o' blaw... I'll tell tae ye a rovin' tale, an' places I hae been, Far up intae the snowy north or sooth by Gretna Green." The singer describes his travels, sights he has seen, worries he hasn't had AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1909 (Greig-Duncan, according to Yates) KEYWORDS: rambling FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Kennedy 358, "Tramps and Hawkers" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, HAWKRS* Roud #1874 RECORDINGS: Jimmy MacBeath, "Come All Ye Tramps And Hawkers" (on Lomax43, LomaxCD1743, Voice20) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Davy Faa (Remember the Barley Straw)" (tune) cf. "Paddy West" (tune) NOTES: This song is best known not for its banal lyrics but for its widely-recognized and used tune (also known as "Paddy West"). - RBW Yates, Musical Traditions site _Voice of the People suite_ "Notes - Volume 20" - 15.1.04: "It was first collected from both James Angus and James Morrison in 1909 and appears in the Greig-Duncan Collection Vol 3 p.271." - BS File: K358 === NAME: Tramway Line, The DESCRIPTION: "Men are toiling night and day" to finish the Belfast Tramway. "Red Roger he's to be a guard ... to keep people from falling out." Lord Lurgan and Lord Lieutenant Went looked it over. A Belfast girl "says she knows Red Roger" who may get her a ticket. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1989 (Leyden) KEYWORDS: commerce humorous nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Leyden 18, "The Tramway Line" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Leyden: "This song recalls the opening of [the Belfast tramway system service to Balmoral] ... in the early 1890s. It is very much in the music hall idiom with its sing-along chorus and light-hearted content." Leyden's tune is close to that of "The Crummy Cow"/"The Bigler." SHenry p. 25, about that tune: "The air is a 'stock' Irish air to which many old songs were sung ...." Unlike the SHenry tune, Leyden's includes the chorus ("Pipe it, twig it, it is a gorgeous show...."). - BS File: Leyd018 === NAME: Tranent Muir DESCRIPTION: "The Chevalier, being void of fear, did march up Birslie brae, man," and prepares for battle against John Cope. The battle results in a complete win for the Jacobites. Many soldiers taking part in the battle are listed. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1797 (Scots Musical Museum #102) KEYWORDS: Jacobites battle moniker humorous HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Sept 21, 1745 - Battle of Prestonpans. Bonnie Prince Charlie's Highland army routs the first real Hannoverian force it encounters FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, TRANMUIR SAME_TUNE: Praelium Gillicrankianum (Scots Musical Museum, appendix to #102; a Latin piece along the same lines but apparently about Killiecrankie) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Battle of Prestonpans NOTES: This has been recorded by Archie Fisher (on "The Fate o' Charlie," under the title "The Battle of Prestonpans"), so it's perhaps worth indexing. Despite the quality of the source, I rather doubt it's traditional; I know no field recordings, and the only printed version is that in the _Scots Musical Museum_. Which is extremely long (15 8-line stanzas), and quite dull unless you're a Jacobite trying to recall all the officers at Prestonpans. Whoever chopped the song down to the length recorded by Fisher did everyone a favor. On the other hand, the _Scots Musical Museum_ tune isn't the same as Fisher's, so maybe there has been some oral tradition in there somewhere. Tranent, like Prestonpans, was a village near the battle site. I am unable to reconcile the information in Stuart Reid's _1745: A Military History of the Last Jacobite Rising_, pp. 29-34, with the map on p. 103 of Clennell Wilkinson's _Bonnie Prince Charlie_ except on the assumption that Wilkinson's map is printed with north and south reversed, but it appears Tranent was south of the battlefield -- actually closer to the field as the crow flies than is Prestonpans on the coast, but separated from the battle site by a large marsh which somewhat restricted maneuver. The Jacobite forces passed through Tranent, in effect using it as a path to Cope's rear; the marshes would have prevented Cope from taking them in flank even had he been alert enough to do so. Thus the name "Tranent" is in some ways more suitable than "Prestonpans." For more details on Prestonpans, see the notes to "Johnnie Cope." - RBW File: DTtranmu === NAME: Traveling Coon: see Traveling Man (Traveling Coon) (File: RcTMTC) === NAME: Traveling Man (Traveling Coon) DESCRIPTION: Protagonist, a trickster, makes his living stealing chickens/money; he's arrested, shot, sent home for burial, but escapes his coffin, etc. Cho: "He was a travelin' man, certainly was a travelin' man/Travelin'est coon that ever come through the land..." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1919 (Brown) LONG_DESCRIPTION: The protagonist is a trickster who makes his living stealing chickens and money; he's arrested, shot, and sent home for burial, but escapes from his coffin; he sails on the Titanic, but when it sinks he's found shooting dice in Liverpool. Carrying water ten miles from a spring, he stumbles, but runs home for another bucket and catches the water before it hits the ground. Chorus: "He was a travelin' man, certainly was a travelin' man/Travelin'est coon that ever come through the land...." KEYWORDS: rambling travel crime theft punishment resurrection burial death gambling ship wreck England humorous talltale thief FOUND_IN: US(SE,So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 428, "The Traveling Coon" (1 text plus mention of 1 more) Roud #11771 RECORDINGS: Smilie Burnett, "He Was a Travelling Man" (Perfect 13011/Melotone 13046, 1934) Virgil Childers, "Traveling Man" (Bluebird B-7487, 1938) Sid Harkreader, "Travelling Coon" (Paramount 3101, 1928) Tony Hollins, "Traveling Man Blues" (OKeh 06523, 1941) Prince Albert Hunt's Texas Ramblers, "Travelling Man" (OKeh 45446, 1930; rec. 1928) Jim Jackson, "Traveling Man" (Victor V-38617, 1930; rec. 1928) Coley Jones, "Traveling Man" (Columbia 14288-D, 1928; rec. 1927) Luke Jordan, "Traveling Coon" (Victor 20957, 1927) Charlie & Bud Newman, "The Old Travelling Man" (OKeh 45431, 1930) Phineas [or 'Finious'] "Flat Foot" Rockmore, "Traveling Man" (AFS 3988 B1, 1940; on LomaxCD1821-2) Dock Walsh, "Travelling Man" (Columbia 15105-D, 1926) Washboard Sam, "Traveling Man" (Bluebird B-8761, 1941) Henry Whitter, "Travelling Man" (OKeh 40237, 1924) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Didn't He Ramble" (lyrics) NOTES: This was the theme song of the East Coast medicine show singer Pink Anderson. - PJS The oldest version, in the Brown collection, bears an interesting relation to "Didn't He Ramble"; in this text, the chorus runs, "Well, he travelled and was known for miles around, And he didn't get enough, he didn't get enough Till the police shot him down." - RBW File: RcTMTC === NAME: Traveling Shoes DESCRIPTION: Death comes to the door of the sinner, the gambler, the Christian, etc., asking if they are "ready to go." The sinner says, "I'm not ready to go; I ain't (got/put on) my travelin' shoes." The Christian, by contrast, is ready and eager to go AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (recording, Selah Jubilee Quartet) KEYWORDS: religious death FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Courlander-NFM, p. 70, "(Got No Travellin' Shoes)" (1 text); p. 233, "Traveling Shoes" (1 tune, partial text) Roud #10968 RECORDINGS: Selah Jubilee Quartet, "Traveling Shoes" (Decca 7628, 1939) Vera Hall Ward, "Travelling Shoes" (on NFMAla5) File: CNFM070A === NAME: Travelling Candyman, The DESCRIPTION: Singer Pat O'Flanagan sails to Glasgow, can't find work, so becomes a "candyman" -- a rag dealer. A woman accuses him of stealing her frock from the line; he denies it, and she hits him. Chorus: "For I take in old iron/I take in old bones and rags..." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1954 (recorded from Jennie Davison) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer, Pat O'Flanagan, sails from Belfast to Glasgow, can't find work, so as a last resort becomes a "candyman" -- a rag dealer. A woman accuses him of stealing her frock from the line; he denies it, and she hits him. Chorus: "For I take in old iron/I take in old bones and rags...My name is Pat O'Flanagan/I'm a travelling candyman" KEYWORDS: poverty accusation violence rambling travel theft clothes commerce work worker Gypsy migrant FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Kennedy 359, "The Travelling Candyman" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2163 RECORDINGS: "Rich" Johnny Connors, "Rambling Candyman" (on IRTravellers01) NOTES: Not to be confused with the American blues song "Candy Man." While ragpicking was usually considered to be a last resort among Travellers, in fact several seem to have made considerable fortunes at the trade. - PJS The version on IRTravellers01, "made and sung by 'Rich' Johnny Connors," describes an event that happened to the singer. Instead of the frock episode, his episode is about an old man who tried to sell him a sack weighted with "bricks you could plainly see" with which he could not fool "any rambling candy man." - BS File: K359 === NAME: Travelling Down the Castlereagh: see The Castlereagh River (File: MA045) === NAME: Treadmill, The DESCRIPTION: "The stars are rolling in the sky, The earth rolls on below, And we can feel the rattling wheel Revolving as we go." The singer urges others to take their turns at the treadmill, and praises the pleasures of life among the mill workers AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1892 (Trifet's Budget of Music) KEYWORDS: work technology FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 497, "The Treadmill" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7587 File: R497 === NAME: Treat Me Right DESCRIPTION: "If you treat me right, I'd sooner work than play; If you treat me mean, I won't do neither way." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (Henry) KEYWORDS: work nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 197, "Treat Me Right" (1 text) File: MHAp197 === NAME: Treat My Daughter Kindly (The Little Farm) DESCRIPTION: The singer meets and falls in love with a girl. Her father asks him to "Treat my daughter kindly, never do her harm. When I die I'll leave you my little house and farm." The two are happily married and live a contented life AUTHOR: James Bland EARLIEST_DATE: 1878 (sheet music for "The Farmer's Daughter, or The Little Chickens in the Garden" published) KEYWORDS: courting marriage father FOUND_IN: US(MW,NE,SE,So) Britain(England) Ireland REFERENCES: (5 citations) Gardner/Chickering 119, "I Once Did Know a Farmer" (1 text plus an excerpt) Randolph 668, "The Little Chickens in the Garden" (1 text plus a fragment, 1 tune) BrownII 175, "The Farmer's Daughter" (1 text) Warner 77, "Treat My Daughter Kindly (or, The Little Farm)" (1 text) McBride 68, "Treat My Daughter Kindly" (1 text, 1 tune) ST R668 (Partial) Roud #2552 RECORDINGS: Riley Puckett, "Farmer's Daughter" (Columbia 15686-D, 1931; rec. 1928) Arthur Smith Trio, "The Farmer's Daughter" (Bluebird B-7893, 1938) BROADSIDES: NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(62a), "The Chickens in the Garden," Poet's Box (Dundee), c. 1890 File: R668 === NAME: Tree in Paradise: see All My Trials (and others) (File: FSWB359B) === NAME: Tree in the Wood (I), The: see The Rattling Bog (File: ShH98) === NAME: Tree in the Wood (II), The: see Little Bird (File: Fus089) === NAME: Tree of Liberty, The DESCRIPTION: "Sons of Hibernia, attend to my song, Of a tree call'd th' Orange." Barbarians and Frenchmen are joined against the tree. "Hundreds they've burn'd of each sex, young and old". Exit Sheares and other traitors. "Derry down, down, traitors bow down" AUTHOR: "by J.B. Esqu, of Lodge No. 471" (Source: Zimmermann) EARLIEST_DATE: 1798 (Zimmermann) KEYWORDS: rebellion execution Ireland patriotic FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Zimmermann 95, "The Tree of Liberty" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Brothers John and Henry Sheares" (subject of the Sheares Brothers) cf. "Croppies Lie Down (I/II)" (tune) NOTES: Zimmermann: "John and Henry Sheares, who were United Irishmen -- and Protestants --, were hanged in Dublin in July 1798." - BS Very many leaders of the 1798 -- including Wolfe Tone -- were in fact Protestant; they had the education and the income to be in position to form such conspiracies. And Ireland was not yet so polarized over religion as it later became; as Robert Kee points out (see _The Most Distressful Country_, being Volume I of _The Green Flag_, p. 99): "This whole system of torture [and repression of the rebellion] was being carried out on the Irish population largely by Irish soldiers, a great proportion of them Catholics of the poorest class in the milition, who were ready enough to do their duty against their fellow-countrymen as unworthy rebels. Of all the troops available for the government in Ireland before and during the coming rebellion, over four-fifths were Irish." The Sheares brothers were lawyers (Kee, p. 54), who succeeded to high places in the United Irish leadership after the arrests of the initial leadership council in March 1798. They themselves were in custody on May 21 (Kee, pp. 100-101). Thus they played no real part in the rebellion, but they were hung as what we might call accessories before the fact. In any case, they don't seem to have been very well equipped for their role; Thomas Pakenham, _The Year of Liberty_, p. 59, says they were "hardly the stuff to lead a revolutionary army," and they were far too trusting, bringing an informant into their confidence based simply on his taste in literature (p. 78). Maybe it was because John Sheares, at least, was given to bombast himself; Pakenham (p. 96) prints a proclamation he was found to have written at the time of his arrest, and it's way over the top. - RBW File: Zimm095 === NAME: Tree Toad, The DESCRIPTION: "A tree toad loved a she toad... She was a three-toed tree toad, A two-toed tree toad he." The male toad courts the female because she lives in a beautiful tree. But "He couldn't please her whim... The she toad vetoed him." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1987 KEYWORDS: animal wordplay love recitation FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Meredith/Covell/Brown, p. 169, "The Tree Toad" (1 text) File: MCB169 === NAME: Tree, The: see The Rattling Bog (File: ShH98) === NAME: Trees So High, The: see A-Growing (He's Young But He's Daily A-Growing) [Laws O35] (File: LO35) === NAME: Trees They Do Be High, The: see A-Growing (He's Young But He's Daily A-Growing) [Laws O35] (File: LO35) === NAME: Trees They Do Grow High, The: see A-Growing (He's Young But He's Daily A-Growing) [Laws O35] (File: LO35) === NAME: Trees They Grow So High, The: see A-Growing (He's Young But He's Daily A-Growing) [Laws O35] (File: LO35) === NAME: Trenton Town: see The Farmer and the Shanty Boy (File: Wa033) === NAME: Trial of John Twiss, The DESCRIPTION: Twiss bids sister Jane farewell from the scaffold. He is innocent of the murder of Donovan. "Paid spies and informers, my life they swore away." At the Cork assizes he is tried, convicted, and sentenced. He blesses the mayor of Cork and other supporters. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (OCanainn) KEYWORDS: execution homicide trial FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OCanainn, pp. 44-45, "The Trial of John Twiss" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: OCanainn: "John Twiss from Castleisland was sentenced to death at the Cork assizes for the murder of James Donovan and was hanged in Cork in 1895." - BS File: OCan044 === NAME: Trial of Willy Reilly, The: see William (Willie) Riley (Riley's Trial) [Laws M10] (File: LM10) === NAME: Trifling Woman DESCRIPTION: "Oh, Lord, I been working like a dog all day, Just to make another dollar for you to throw away." The husband (?) complains of his wife's profligacy; she won't cook or work, but wants fine clothes to look good in. He wishes she would leave or he would die AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (Warner) KEYWORDS: clothes husband wife poverty work FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Warner 136, "Trifling Woman" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Wa136 (Partial) Roud #4626 File: Wa136 === NAME: Trimble's Crew DESCRIPTION: "Oh, it's of a pair of jobbers who had a jolly time All in some old log shanty where the jobbers settle down." A disjointed song describing the work in Trimble's camp and how hard the life is: "A man who'd work for Trimble might better be in jail." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (Fowke) KEYWORDS: logger lumbering work hardtimes FOUND_IN: Canada(Ont) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fowke-Lumbering #8, "Trimble's Crew" (1 text, tune referenced) ST FowL08 (Partial) Roud #4467 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Lumber Camp Song" (theme, tune) File: FowL08 === NAME: Trinity Bay Tragedy DESCRIPTION: The small boats out sealing in Trinity Bay on February 27, 1892, are caught in wind and sleet. Some make shore at Heart's Delight the next morning but most freeze to death. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 (Leach-Labrador) KEYWORDS: death fishing sea storm HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Feb 28, 1892 - the Trinity Bay tragedy FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Leach-Labrador 71, "Trinity Bay Tragedy" (1 text, 1 tune) Ryan/Small, pp. 37-38, "Trinity Bay Tragedy" (1 text, 1 tune) ST LLab071 (Partial) Roud #9983 NOTES: Leach-Labrador reprints a detailed account from D. W. Prowse _History of Newfoundland_ (London, 1896), p. 520. Heart's Delight is on the northwest corner of the Avalon Peninsula, which is separated from the main body of Newfoundland by Trinity Bay - BS The extent of this disaster is somewhat unclear. The Northern Shipwrecks Database says 250 men perished. Prowse's account, as cited by Leach, lists a much smaller total: 215 men out sealing, most of whom survived; 24 froze or otherwise died of exposure. - RBW File: LLab071 === NAME: Trinity Cake (Mrs. Fogarty's Cake) DESCRIPTION: "As I leaned o'er the rail of the Eagle The letter boy brought unto me A little gilt edged invitation Saying the girls want you over to tea" for "a slice of the Trinity Cake." Everyone tries the inedible cake and "all of them swore they were poisoned" AUTHOR: Johnny Burke EARLIEST_DATE: 1955 (Doyle) KEYWORDS: party food humorous moniker nonballad talltale FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) US(MW) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Doyle3, p. 62, "Trinity Cake" (1 text, 1 tune) Dean, pp. 43-44, "Mrs. Fogarty's Cake" (1 text) Roud #5000 RECORDINGS: Omar Blondahl, "Trinity Cake" (on NFOBlondahl05) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Mrs. Fogarty's Cake Miss Fogarty's Cake NOTES: According to GEST Songs of Newfoundland and Labrador site the author died in 1930. - BS File: Doyl3062 === NAME: Trip on the Erie, A (Haul in Your Bowline) DESCRIPTION: "You can talk about your picnics and trips on the lake, / But a trip on the Erie you bet takes the cake!" A summary of life on the Erie canal, ending with comments about the cook: "A dumpling, a pet, / And we use her for a headlight at night on the deck!" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1937 KEYWORDS: cook canal HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1825 - Erie Canal opens (construction began in 1817) FOUND_IN: US(MA,MW) REFERENCES: (4 citations) FSCatskills 94, "Haul in Your Bowline" (1 text+fragments, 1 tune) Warner 35, "A Trip on the Erie" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 455-457, "Ballad of the Erie Canal" (1 text, composite and probably containing stanzas from other Erie Canal songs); pp. 459-463, "The Erie Canal Ballad" (8 texts, some fragmentary, most of which belong here though at least one is "The E-ri-e"); pp. 465-466, "A Trip on the Erie" (1 text) DT, TRIPERIE* Roud #6555 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The E-ri-e" (theme) and references there cf. "The Erie Canal" NOTES: The Erie Canal, as originally constructed, was a small, shallow channel which could only take barges. These vessels -- if such they could be called -- were normally hauled along by mules. The Lomaxes, in _American Ballad and Folk Songs_, thoroughly mingled many texts of the Erie Canal songs (in fairness, some of this may have been the work of their informants -- but in any case the Lomaxes did not help the problem). One should check all the Erie Canal songs for related stanzas. - RBW File: Wa035 === NAME: Trip Over the Mountain, The DESCRIPTION: The singer comes to his girlfriend's door at midnight. He asks if she will come with him over the mountain. (After some hesitation,) she consents; they sneak off while her parents are still asleep. She never regrets her decision AUTHOR: Hugh McWilliams (source: Moulden-McWilliams) EARLIEST_DATE: 1831 (according to Moulden-McWilliams) KEYWORDS: courting elopement FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (3 citations) SHenry H161a+b, pp. 459-460, "I'm from over the Mountain" (1 text, 1 tune) Tunney-SongsThunder, pp. 27-28, "The Trip We Took Over the Mountain" (1 text) ADDITIONAL: John Moulden, Songs of Hugh McWilliams, Schoolmaster, 1831 (Portrush,1993), p. 9, "The Trip o'er the Mountain" Roud #9632 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(2794), "The Truelover's Trip O'er the Mountain" ("One night as the moon illumined the sky"), H. Such (London),1863-1885; also Firth c.18(281), 2806 c.15(129), Harding B 19(92), 2806 b.9(262), "The Truelover's Trip O'er the Mountain"; Firth c.14(377), Harding B 17(319a), "Trip O'er the Mountain" ALTERNATE_TITLES: Come With Me Over the Mountain NOTES: The Bodleian broadsides do not agree on some interesting details. She says, in considering elopement, that "it might be attended with danger": her friends or parents would frown. Then, what happened after the trip over the mountain to "the alter of Hymen"? So now in contentment we spend the long day, Tho' the anger of marriage was soon blown away, We oftimes chat when we've little to say, On the trip we took over the mountain. [Harding B 11(2794), Firth c.18(281), 2806 c.15(129), Harding B 19(92), 2806 b.9(262)] or The danger of marriage was soon blown to an end, And often times talk when with a friend. [Firth c.14(377)] or And the pleasure of it is not soon stole away; [Harding B 17(319a)] but The anger of parents it soon wore away [Tunney-SongsThunder] Moulden-McWilliams' original has "the anger of marriage...." and, quoting a local source, speculates "that McWilliams' wife married without parental blessing...." - BS File: HHH161 === NAME: Trip to the Grand Banks, A DESCRIPTION: When spring comes, "The Penobscot boys are anxious their money for to earn." They set out for the Grand Banks and send out their dories. They persist through summer, despite bad conditions; at last they get to head for home AUTHOR: Amos Hanson ? EARLIEST_DATE: 1932 KEYWORDS: ship fishing work FOUND_IN: US(NE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Doerflinger, pp. 179-180, "A Trip to the Grand Banks" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9430 RECORDINGS: Omar Blondahl, "Off to the Grand Banks" (on NFOBlondahl04) NOTES: Blondahl04 has no liner notes confirming that this song was collected in Newfoundland. Barring another report for Newfoundland I do not assume it has been found there. There is no entry for "A Trip to the Grand Banks" in _Newfoundland Songs and Ballads in Print 1842-1974 A Title and First-Line Index_ by Paul Mercer. - BS File: Doe179 === NAME: Triplett Tragedy, The DESCRIPTION: On Christmas the Triplett brothers are drinking Marshall Triplett's wife tries to stop a fight, but Lum Triplett stabs him to death. Lum meets Marshall's son Gran and confesses. Gran beats him; he dies. Gran is sentenced to 18 months on the chain gang. AUTHOR: Lyrics: Ed Miller/tune: traditional EARLIEST_DATE: 1962 (recorded by Sophronie Miller) LONG_DESCRIPTION: On Christmas the Triplett brothers are drinking together when a fight breaks out. Marshall Triplett's wife tries to stop them, but Lum Triplett stabs him to death. Lum goes away, intending to surrender, but he meets Marshall's son Gran, a deputy, and confesses the murder. Gran beats him severely and takes him to jail, where his injuries become inflamed and he dies. The brothers are buried together; Gran is arrested and sentenced to 18 months on the chain gang. Listeners are warned about the perils of drink KEYWORDS: fight violence abuse crime homicide law prison punishment revenge death drink brother family HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Dec. 25, 1909: Marshall Triplett of Elk, NC is stabbed to death by his brother, Columbus (Lum) Triplett during a fight over whiskey. Lum attempts to surrender to Marshall's son Granville, a deputy; despite Lum's pleas for mercy and refusal to fight back, Granville beats and kicks him and takes him to the jail at Boone, where he dies, either as a result of his injuries or possibly from a heart attack. Mar. 20, 1910: After Sophronie Triplett, Lum's widow, testifies that her husband was subject to heart trouble, which might have caused his death rather than the beating, Granville Triplett is sentenced to 18 months on the chain gang; he seems to have served only 3 months of his sentence. FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Sophronie Miller, "The Triplett Tragedy" (on Watson01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Claude Allen" (tune) NOTES: The singer, Sophronie Miller, was the widow of Columbus Triplett; this is the only ballad of which I'm aware that was verifiably collected from one of the principals in the story it relates. - PJS I don't know if this is the Ed(ward B.) Miller who is also credited with "The Rich Man and Lazarus," but time and place make it possible. - RBW File: RcTripTra === NAME: Tripping Over the Lea [Laws P19] DESCRIPTION: The singer sees a pretty girl on a (May) morning. (Even though she is very young,) he seduces her, then tells her he has no interest in marriage. She is left alone to await the birth of her baby. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1839 (Scots Musical Museum) KEYWORDS: seduction pregnancy abandonment age FOUND_IN: Ireland Britain(England(South)) REFERENCES: (6 citations) Laws P19, "Tripping Over the Lea" SHenry H794, pp. 385-386, "Under the Shade of a Bonny Green Tree" (1 text, 1 tune) OLochlainn-More 10, "The Bonny Green Tree" (1 text, 1 tune) McBride 12, "The Bonnie Green Tree" (1 text, 1 tune) MacSeegTrav 69, "The Bonnie Green Tree" (1 text, 1 tune) DT 501, AEMAYMRN Roud #2512 RECORDINGS: Louis Killen, "One May Morning" (on BirdBush2) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Willie Archer (The Banks of the Bann)" (plot) File: LP19 === NAME: Trois Mois d'Campagne (Three Months in the Country) DESCRIPTION: French. Three months in the country, I'll never do more. My wife is drunk and I have more to drink. Chorus: "P'tits pois, p'tits pois fayot, c'est la musique, sique, sique, c'est la musique tchqu'emploi" meaning "Peas, bean peas, the music of work" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (Peacock) KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage drink food humorous nonballad FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Peacock, p. 799, "Trois Mois d'Campagne" (1 text, 1 tune) File: Pea799 === NAME: Trois Navires de Ble (Three Wheat Ships) DESCRIPTION: French. Three wheat ships are blown to land. The youngest daughter of the king asks a sailor the price of wheat. She asks him to give up sailing and play here with her. She says she hears her children crying. He says she has no children yet. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1972 (Lehr/Best) KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage courting bargaining sea ship shore storm sailor food FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lehr/Best 111, "Trois Navires de Ble" (1 text, 1 tune) File: LeBe111 === NAME: Trooper and Maid [Child 299] DESCRIPTION: A trooper comes to a girl's door and convinces her to sleep with him. In the morning he is called to the colors; she follows and begs him to return or let her come with him. He will not let her come and will not promise to return AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1828 (Buchan) KEYWORDS: courting soldier abandonment FOUND_IN: Britain(England(West),Scotland(Aber,Bord,High)) Ireland Canada US(Ap,MW,NE,SE,So) REFERENCES: (16 citations) Child 299, "Trooper and Maid" (4 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #3} Bronson 299, "Trooper and Maid" (27 versions) SharpAp 45, "The Trooper and the Maid" (3 short texts, 3 tunes) {Bronson's #11, #12, #10} BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 371-373, "The Trooper and the Maid" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #14} Randolph 41, "A Soldier Rode From the East to the West" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #8} Randolph-Legman I, pp. 209-212, "A Soldier Rode" (2 texts, 1 tune) Davis-Ballads 51, "Trooper and Maid" (2 texts, 1 tune entitled "The Trooper and Maid") {Bronson's #16} Davis-More 46, pp. 356-360, "Trooper and Maid" (1 fragment, probably this but short enough that it might be something else) BrownII 49, "Trooper and Maid" (1 text) Brewster 27, "Trooper and Maid" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #9} Leach, pp. 684-686, "The Trooper and Maid" (1 text) Kennedy 121, "As I Roved Out" (1 text, 1 tune) Ord, pp. 365-366, "The Trumpet Sounds at Burreldales; or, The Trooper and the Maid" (1 short text) Niles 65, "Trooper and Maid" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Silber-FSWB, p. 161, "The Trooper And The Maid" (1 text) DT 299, TROOPRMD (TROOPRM2*) LGHTDRAG Roud #162 RECORDINGS: Harry List, "The Light Drag'on" (on FSB2, FSB2CD) Dillard Chandler, "The Soldier Traveling from the North" (on OldLove) Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, "The Trooper and the Maid" (on SCMacCollSeeger01) {the text is Bronson's #18, but the tune is different} Jimmy McBeath, "The Trooper and the Maid" (on FSB5 [as "The Trooper Lad"], FSBBAL2) {Bronson's #17} CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "I Love My Love (I) (As I Cam' Owre Yon High High Hill)" (lyrics) cf. "Ung Sjoman Forlustar Sig, En (A Young Seaman Enjoys Himself)" (theme) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Trooper and the Maid The Bugle Britches The Bugle Boy The Soldier and His Lady The Soldier Travelling From the North NOTES: Randolph's are the first bawdy versions of the venerable ballad to see the light of print. - EC Many versions of this have mixed with the "Seventeen Come Sunday" [Laws O17], the result may be known as "As I Roved Out" (so, e.g., the version in Kennedy), and you should probably check the references under both songs. It is often difficult to decide where to file such a piece (indeed, I managed to file the Kennedy text under both songs!). - RBW Verse 3 of Child 299.B and verse 9 of Child 299.D is close to Opie-Oxford2 180, "Wine and cakes for gentlemen" (earliest date in Opie-Oxford2 is 1898) Child 299.D: "Bread and cheese for gentlemen, An corn and hay for horses, Pipes and tobacco for auld wives, And bonnie lads for lasses." [For this see also Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #173, p. 127, ("Cheese and bread for gentlemen") -- though they describe it as "a fragment of a harvest song." - RBW] Opie-Oxford2 180: "Wine and cakes for gentlemen, Hay and corn for horses, A cup of ale for good old wives, And kisses for young lasses." - BS File: C299 === NAME: Trooper and the Tailor, The DESCRIPTION: The trooper is away on duty, so his wife goes to bed with the tailor. When their business is done, they go to sleep. When the trooper shows up, the tailor hides in a cabinet. The chilly trooper wants to burn the cabinet, and finds the hidden tailor. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1889 KEYWORDS: infidelity husband wife soldier humorous hiding FOUND_IN: US(MA) Britain(England(South,Lond)) Canada(Newf) Ireland REFERENCES: (9 citations) FSCatskills 139, "The Trooper and the Tailor" (1 text, 1 tune) Copper-SoBreeze, pp. 270-271, "The Trooper" (1 text, 1 tune) Kennedy 200, "The Game-Cock" (1 text, 1 tune) Morton-Ulster 45, "The Wee Croppy Tailor" (1 text, 1 tune) Morton-Maguire 50, pp. 144-145,174-175, "The Wee Croppy Tailor" (1 text, 1 tune) Peacock, pp. 243-248, "The Bold Trooper" (3 texts, 3 tunes) Leach-Labrador 116, "Tiddy, the Tailor" (1 text, 1 tune) PBB 86, "The Bold Trooper" (1 text) DT, TRPRTAIL* Roud #311 RECORDINGS: Nora Cleary, "The Bold Trooper" (on Voice06) Harry Cox, "The Groggy Old Tailor" (on HCox01) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, 2806 c.17(414), "Tailor and Trooper," unknown, n.d. CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Boatsman and the Chest" [Laws Q8] (plot) and references there ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Cropped Tailor NOTES: This and similar songs are sometimes traced back to a story in Boccaccio (seventh day, second story: Gianella, Peronella, and her husband). But the story is really one of the basic themes of folktale, and doubtless predates Boccaccio as well as these songs. - RBW The Morton-Ulster text ends when the trooper "caught hold of the tailor just by the two ears, And he clean cut them off with his own little shears...." That explains that text's title: "The Wee Croppy Tailor." Notes to IRClare01 give as one of the explanations of the politically charged term "Croppy," "the practice of punishing convicted felons by cutting off the tops of their ears." - BS File: FSC139 === NAME: Trooper and the Turk, The: see John Thomson and the Turk [Child 266] (File: C266) === NAME: Trooper Cut Down in His Prime, The DESCRIPTION: The singer sees a trooper "wrapped up in flannel yet colder than clay." He dies as "the bugles were playin'," and details of the burial are given. His gravestone warns, "Flash-girls of the city have quite ruined me." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1979 KEYWORDS: death disease whore burial funeral soldier FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Darling-NAS, p. 6, "The Trooper Cut Down In His Prime" (1 text) Roud #2 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Streets of Laredo" [Laws B1] (tune & meter, plot) and references there cf. "The Unfortunate Rake" (tune & meter, plot) cf. "The Bad Girl's Lament (St. James' Hospital; The Young Girl Cut Down in her Prime)" [Laws Q26] (tune & meter, plot) cf. "The Sailor Cut Down in His Prime" (tune & meter, plot) 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 or similar tunes and meter, and all involve a person dying as a result of a wild life, but the nature of the tragedy varies according to local circumstances. - RBW File: DarNS006 === NAME: Trooper Watering His Nag, The DESCRIPTION: Euphemistically, a man and a woman describe their sexual organs as a horse (pony) and a fountain. The horse drinks at the fountain, "An' I reckon you know what I mean." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1707 (Pills to Purge Melancholy) KEYWORDS: bawdy sex FOUND_IN: Canada Britain(England) US(MA,So) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Randolph-Legman I, pp. 44-52, "The Trooper Watering His Nag" (9 texts, 2 tunes) Gilbert, p. 71, "You Know Very Well What I Mean" (1 partial text) DT, TROOPNAG* TRPHORSE* Roud #1613 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Shoemaker's Kiss" (chorus lyrics) ALTERNATE_TITLES: I Reckon You Know What I Mean File: RL044 === NAME: Trooper, The: see The Trooper and the Tailor (File: FSC139) === NAME: Trouble for the Range Cook (The Chuck Wagon's Stuck) DESCRIPTION: "Come wrangle your broncos and saddle them quick, For the chuck wagon's boggin' down there by the crick." The riders make every effort to free the wagon, for "There's nothing to eat when the chuck wagon's mired." AUTHOR: Earl Alonzo Brinistool EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 KEYWORDS: cowboy food disaster cook FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Ohrlin-HBT 98, "The Chuck Wagon's Stuck" (1 text, 1 tune) Saffel-CowboyP, p. 114, "Trouble For The Range Cook" (1 text) File: Ohr098 === NAME: Trouble in Mind DESCRIPTION: "Troubled in mind, I'm blue, but I won't be blue always; The sun's gonna shine in my back do' some day." "I'm gonna lay my head on some lonesome railroad line...." "I love all you pretty women, I love you all the same...." AUTHOR: Richard Jones EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (copyright) KEYWORDS: courting hardtimes floatingverses FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lomax-FSNA 313, "Troubled in Mind" (1 text, 1 tune) RECORDINGS: Bertha "Chippie" Hill, "Trouble in Mind" (OKeh 8312, 1926/Conqueror 8937, 1937; Vocalion 04379, 1938) (Circle J-1003, n.d.) (Vocalion 1248, 1929) Roscoe Holcomb, "Trouble in Mind" (on Holcomb-Ward1, HolcombCD1) Karl Jones, "Trouble in Mind" (Mercury 2002, 1945) R. M. Jones: "Trouble in Mind" (Bluebird B-6569, 1936; Bluebird B-6963, 1937) Lone Star Cowboys, "Trouble in Mind" (Decca 5340, 1937) Jane Lucas [pseud. for Victoria Spivey] "Trouble in Mind" (Vocalion 03346, 1936) Lucky Millinder & his Orch.; Rosetta Tharpe, vocalist, "Trouble in Mind" (Decca 48053, rec. 1941) Jesse Rodgers, "Troubled in Mind and Blue" (Bluebird B-6924, 1937) Georgia White, "Trouble in Mind" (Decca 7192, 1936), "Trouble in Mind Swing" (Decca 7521, 1938) Bob Wills & his Texas Playboys, "Trouble in Mind" (Vocalion 03343, 1936; Columbia 20109, n.d.; Conqueror 9041, 1938; Columbia 37306, 1947) SAME_TUNE: Jack & Lesllie, "Trouble in Mind #3" (Decca 5561, 1938) Shelton Brothers, "New Trouble in Mind" (Decca 5339, 1937) Georgia White, "New Trouble in Mind" (Decca 7332, 1937) File: LoF313 === NAME: Troubled in Mind: see Trouble in Mind (File: LoF313) === NAME: Troubled In My Mind DESCRIPTION: "I'm troubled (x3) in my mind; If (trouble doesn't kill me, I'll live a long long time.") Remainder is mostly floating verses: "My cheeks were as red as the red blooming rose." "I'll build me a cabin on the mountain so high." "I'm sad and I'm lonely." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Brown) KEYWORDS: nonballad loneliness floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Lomax-FSNA 102, "I'm Troubled" (1 text, 1 tune) Greenway-AFP, pp. 98-99, "I'm Troubled In Mind" BrownIII 290, "Troubled in Mind" (2 texts); also 250, "The Wagoner's Lad" (3 texts plus 3 fragments; the texts "A"-"C" are "The Wagoner's Lad," and "D" has an associated verse, but "E" and "F" are fragments of a love song, perhaps "Farewell, Charming Nancy" or "Omie Wise," both of which have similar lyrics; "D" also shares this single verse, and "E" adds a "Troubled in Mind" chorus); also 443, "I Had a Banjo Made of Gold," a fragment of this song or something related) Roud #12091 RECORDINGS: Blue Sky Boys, "I'm Troubled, I'm Troubled" (Bluebird B-6538, 1936) Rufus Crisp, "Trouble on my Mind" (on Crisp01) Doc Watson & Arnold Watson, "I'm Troubled, I'm Troubled" (on Watson01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "I'm Sad and I'm Lonely" (floating verses) cf. "Going Across the Sea" (floating verses) cf. "I Wish That Girl Was Mine" (theme, floating lyrics) NOTES: Other than the tune, and perhaps the first verse, the Lomax text seems to be composed entirely of floating verses from songs such as "The Wagoner's Lad (On Top of Old Smokey)" and "The Cuckoo." But it has so many floating lyrics that it can hardly be associated with any particular song. (Plus Paul Stamler tells me it's quite similar to Rufus Crisp's version.) And the Brown texts, of impeccable ancestry, is also composed mostly of floating material. - RBW File: LoF102 === NAME: Troubled Soldier, The: see The Rebel Soldier (File: R246) === NAME: Troubles, The DESCRIPTION: Orange and Green fight. "Corney" ended the terror; Humbert ended peace. "Orange for Croppies went grousing." "Paddies completely divided" let John Bull adopt Union: "I'll take from them Commons and Peers" leaving "shackles and chains to the slave" AUTHOR: James Hope (?-1847) (source: Moylan) EARLIEST_DATE: 1887 (Madden's _Literary Remains of the United Irishmen of 1798_, according to Moylan) KEYWORDS: rebellion Ireland nonballad political HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May-June 1798 - Irish rebellion against British rule June 1798-March 1801 - Cornwallis is Viceroy of Ireland after the uprising (source: "Charles Cornwallis" at the site of the Grand [Masonic] Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon) August-September 1798 - A French force under General Jean-Joseph-Amable Humbert lands in Ireland and is defeated. January 1801 - Act of Union of Ireland and Great Britain FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Moylan 148, "The Troubles" (1 text) NOTES: "This piece ... was written by Jemmy Hope, one of the Northern United Irish leaders. Hope survived the rising and died in 1847." The ballad makes a hero of Cornwallis as viceroy and commander-in-chief sent to Ireland to keep the peace after the 1798 uprising. Then it blames the Orangemen for the revival of terror after Humbert's defeat. After discussing Union it retells Aesop's fable in which a fox [England] steals the prize [Ireland] for which a lion and bear [Orange and Green] fight. It ends with a sarcastic tribute to "our gracious good monarch ... And also our free Constitution, And shackles and chains to the slave." - BS Lord Lieutenant Camden, who was in charge in Ireland when the 1798 rebellion started -- and he had no idea what to do. The British came up with a typically bad compromise: They put the dreadful General Lake in charge of the army, but appointed Cornwallis to be Lord Lieutenant. Despite his failure in America, Cornwallis had done good service in the fifteen years prior to his appointment; he had spent six years in India, and had demonstrated (and would demonstrate again in Ireland) that he had none of the self-importance of the typical British politician (see Thomas Pakenham, _The Year of Liberty_, pp. 263-264). Cornwallis was clearly more humane than most of the alternatives. Peter and Fiona Somerset Fry, in _A History of Ireland_, p. 206, write that "He overrode Lake: troops were certainly not to be let loose on the countryside and there would be no punishment without trial." He also issued written pardons (called "Cornys") to rank and file rebels who surrendered quickly (see Robert Kee, _The Most Distressful Country_, being Volume I of _The Green Flag_, p. 123) When Humbert invaded, Cornwallis organized the pursuit that captured him (Fry/Fry, p. 207; Kee, p. 140). Cornwallis and his secretary Lord Castlereigh also helped arrange the Act of Union, but this was based on Orders From On High; for himself, Terry Golway (_For the Cause of Liberty_, p. 90; also Kee, p. 159) quotes his statement, "I despise and hate myself for every hour engaging in such work." But he and (especially) Castlereigh bought enough peers to eventually pass Union (Fry/Fry, p. 211). The religious conflicts in Ulster to which this song refers actually began even before 1798; see such songs about the Defenders, the Peep o' Day Boys, and the Orangemen as "The Noble Ribbon Boys," "Bold McDermott Roe," "The Boys of Wexford," and "Lisnagade." Most of the sources I checked do not mention James Hope, but he is all over the pages of Jim Smyth's _The Men of No Property_. He is said (p. 30) to have had only 15 weeks of formal schooling. In 1796, he travelled from Belfast to Dublin to spread the United Irish messaage (p. 152), and also visited Armagh, Monaghan, Cavan, and Leitrim (p.158) to bring the Defenders into the United framework. After the arrests of 1796-1797 he became one of the few remaining United Irish leaders coordinating the activities of the various local chapters (p. 160); perhaps his travels made him harder to catch. It appears that Smyth regards him as a radical inclined toward socialism (p. 165). The _Oxford Companion to Irish History_ lists Hope's birth date as 1764, and says hewrote his memoris in 1843; they were published in 1846. It does not know his death date; it appears that Moylan's date is a conjecture from the fact that Hope was still alive when the memoirs were published, but made little further impression. - RBW File: Moyl148 === NAME: True and Trembling Brakeman, The: see The Dying Mine Brakeman (The True and Trembling Brakeman) [Laws G11] (File: LG11) === NAME: True Love: see Oxford City [Laws P30] (File: LP30) === NAME: True Love from the Eastern Shore DESCRIPTION: Singer tells sweetheart who spurned him/her that s/he "would not serve you as you served me." Singer plans to mourn and weep, and tells sweetheart to grieve over his/her tombstone. (Singer vows to "court the girl, the old lady ain't in") AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1918 (Cecil Sharp collection) KEYWORDS: courting rejection death mourning burial lover FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) SharpAp 187, "True Love from the Eastern Shore" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Roud #3610 NOTES: Sharp's "A" version doesn't define the sex of the singer or sweetheart. The "B" version is a fragment, which doesn't really overlap the "A" version; Sharp may have been using this as a catchall. - PJS File: ShAp2187 === NAME: True Lover of Mine, A: see The Elfin Knight [Child 2] (File: C002) === NAME: True Lover's Farewell (II): see My Dearest Dear (File: SKE40) === NAME: True Lover's Farewell, The: see Who Will Shoe Your Pretty Little Foot (plus related references, e.g. The Lass of Roch Royal [Child 76]) (File: C076A) === NAME: True Lovers' Departure, The: see The Noble Duke [Laws N15] (File: LN15) === NAME: True Lovers' Discoursion, The: see The Two Lovers' Discussion (U) (File: HHH164) === NAME: True Lovers' Discussion (I), The DESCRIPTION: The boy asks the girl why she has changed her mind about him. She explains. He offers counter-arguments, elaborately reasoned. They quarrel. He prepares to leave her. She grows sad and begs him to stay. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1901 (O'Conor); before 1900 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 19(102)) KEYWORDS: love courting rejection accusation FOUND_IN: Ireland Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (4 citations) SHenry H164, pp. 362-364, "The True Lovers' Discussion" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton-SNewBrunswick 39B, "The True Lovers' Discoursion" (1 text, 1 tune) Manny/Wilson 96, "The True Lovers' Discussion" (1 text, 1 tune) O'Conor, pp. 77-79, "The True Lover's Discussion" (1 text) ST HHH164 (Partial) Roud #2948 RECORDINGS: Robert Cinnamond, "The True-Lover's Discussion" (on IRRCinnamond02) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 19(102), "The True Lover's Discussion," J.F. Nugent & Co. (Dublin), 1850-1899; also 2806 b.9(228)[some words illegible], 2806 c.15(65), 2806 c.15(43)[many illegible words], "[The] True Lover's Discussion" NOTES: The notes to Sam Henry credit it to a "schoolteacher M'Kittrick," at a date before 1860, and it certainly seems likely enough that it is composed. But I cannot prove the authorship. The notes to Henry/Huntington/Herrmann list several other versions of this song, so I suppose it must have had some oral currency. But I can't believe it really had much popularity (despite Sam Henry's claims that he had many requests). It is dense, talkative, repetitive, foolish, and *long* (18 8-line stanzas in the Henry text, 20 8-line stanzas in Creighton and in Manny/Wilson). It is also much too fond of elaborate words to be a good folk song. I wonder if Henry wasn't confusing this with "Two Lovers Discoursing" [Laws O22] (a confusion Creighton also suffered; see Ben Schwartz's note); they share a title, and a theme, but the forms are utterly different. - RBW Creighton-SNewBrunswick: "There must be some relation between 39A and B. The former seems to have originated with the folk and the latter to have been a literary composition taken over by the folk. They are placed together because of subject matter and also because singers give variants of the same title." If so they have grown so far apart that there is no hint in the words that they are related. For 39A see "Two Lovers Discoursing" [Laws O22]. On IRRCinnamond02, Cinnamond sings the first two and last verse [of "32"] that are very close to SHenry H164. He points out that the last verse claims "In Magheratimpan [near Ballynahinch], if you inquire, you will find the author of these simple lines"; that corresponds to the note in SHenry about authorship. - BS File: HHH164 === NAME: True Lovers' Discussion (II), The: see Two Lovers Discoursing [Laws O22] (File: LO22) === NAME: True Paddy's Song, The: see The Kerry Recruit [Laws J8] (File: LJ08) === NAME: True Sweetheart, The: see Pretty Fair Maid (The Maiden in the Garden; The Broken Token) [Laws N42] (File: LN42) === NAME: True Tale of Robin Hood, A [Child 154] DESCRIPTION: The Earl of Huntington, incomparable archer, consumes his wealth and is outlawed due to indebtedness to an abbot. Renamed Robin Hood, he is cruel to clergy and kind to the poor. Several adventures and his death by bloodletting are recounted. AUTHOR: Martin Parker (1632) EARLIEST_DATE: 1632 (Stationer's Register) KEYWORDS: Robinhood poverty outlaw clergy death HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1198 - ninth year of Richard I, which the cover of the broadsheet reports as Robin's death date FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Child 154, "A True Tale of Robin Hood" (1 text) Roud #3996 NOTES: For background on the Robin Hood legend, see the notes on "A Gest of Robyn Hode" [Child 117]. - RBW File: C154 === NAME: True Thomas: see Thomas Rymer [Child 37] (File: C037) === NAME: True to the Gray: see The Southern Girl's Reply (True to the Gray) (File: Wa156) === NAME: True-Born Irish Man (With My Swag All on My Shoulder; The True-Born Native Man) DESCRIPTION: The singer arrives in (Australia/Philadelphia) from Ireland and sets out to ramble. The girls rejoice at his presence. (A tavern-keeper's daughter) is scolded by her mother for wanting to follow him. She is determined to do so anyway AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(3353)) KEYWORDS: rambling emigration mother courting FOUND_IN: Australia US(MA,Mw) England(Lond,South) Ireland Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (10 citations) Meredith/Anderson, pp. 62, 122, "Dennis O'Reilly"; p. 138, "Tramp the Bushes of Australia" (3 texts, 3 tunes) FSCatskills 126, "The Roving Irishman" (1 text, 1 tune) Dean, pp.124-125, "The Roving Irishman" (1 text) Fahey-Eureka, pp. 76-77, "Denis O'Reilly" (1 text, 1 tune) Kennedy 353, "The Roving Journeyman" (1 text, 1 tune) Manifold-PASB, pp. 36-37, "With My Swag All on My Shoulder (Denis O'Riley)" (1 text, 1 tune) Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 125-127, "With My Swag All On My Shoulder" (1 text) Smith/Hatt, pp. 86-88, "The Rambling Irishman" (1 text) Creighton-SNewBrunswick 15, "The Roving Journeyman" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, DENNOREI* ROVJOURN* Roud #360 RECORDINGS: Paddy Doran, "The Roving Journeyman" (on FSB3) Tom Willett, "The Roaming Journeyman" (on Voice20) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(3353), "Roving Journeyman," J. Catnach (London), 1813-1838; also Harding B 11(1229), Harding B 11(1479), Johnson Ballads 2807, Harding B 11(3354), Harding B 11(3355), 2806 b.11(33), Firth c.18(249), Harding B 11(3352), Harding B 11(804), 2806 d.31(40), Harding B 11(1228), 2806 b.11(203), Firth c.26(218), Harding B 25(1671), "[The] Roving Journeyman" LOCSinging, sb40459b, "The Roving Journeyman," J. Andrews (New York), 1853-1859 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Roving Gambler (The Gambling Man)" [Laws H4] (plot) cf. "The Union Boy" (floating lyrics) cf. "Neuve Chappelle" (tune) SAME_TUNE: Neuve Chappelle (File: HHH526) NOTES: The popular version of this piece, "With My Swag All on My Shoulder," is by A.B. "Banjo" Paterson, but the song appears to be older. Perhaps more characteristic than any particular plot is the second half of the first verse, which often becomes a chorus: With my (swag/bundle) on my shoulder, My (stick/billy) in my hand, I'll travel round (the country/Australia/etc.) (Like/I'm) a (true-born Irishman/true-born native man/roving journeyman). - RBW Broadside LOCSinging sb40459b: 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: MA062 === NAME: Trumpet Sounds at Burreldales, The: see Trooper and Maid [Child 299] (File: C299) === NAME: Trusty Lariat, The (The Cowboy Fireman) DESCRIPTION: An ex-cowboy, now a railway fireman, sees a child on the track. He throws his lariat around a pole, ties the end to the smokestack. The train is jerked off the track, crushing him. "He killed two hundred passengers/But, thank God, he saved that child" AUTHOR: Attributed to Harry "Mac" McClintock EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (recording, Harry "Mac" McClintock) LONG_DESCRIPTION: A former cowboy is working as a railway fireman because the pay is better. He sees a child on the track ahead. With great presence of mind he throws his trusty lariat around a pole, then fastens the other end to the smokestack. The train is jerked off the track and crashes, crushing the fireman. He is deeply mourned: "He killed two hundred passengers/But, thank God, he saved that child" KEYWORDS: train rescue death railroading work crash disaster wreck humorous talltale children cowboy FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, COWFIRE RECORDINGS: Radio Mac [pseud. for Harry McClintock], "The Trusty Lariat" (Victor V-40234, 1930) NOTES: Unless I miss my guess, McClintock was parodying the 1874 song "Saved From Death" by George William Hersee and J. W. Bischoff. - PJS File: DTcowfir === NAME: Truth From Above, The: see The Truth Sent From Above (File: Leath196) === NAME: Truth Sent From Above, The DESCRIPTION: "This is the truth sent from above, The truth of God, the God of love." The singer tells how God created man, then woman, and set them in Paradise. But they ate from the tree (of knowledge), and now all suffer their punishment AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1909 (Leather) KEYWORDS: religious Bible punishment food carol FOUND_IN: Britain(England(West)) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Leather, p. 196, "The Truth Sent From Above" (1 text, 1 tune) OBC 68, "The Truth From Above" (1 text, 1 tune with two arrangements) DT, TRUABOVE* ADDITIONAL: Ian Bradley, _The Penguin Book of Carols_ (1999), #86, "This Is the Truth Sent From Above" (1 text) Roud #2109 NOTES: The story of the Fall is, of course, found in Genesis chapter 3. The version of creation in which man preceded woman (as opposed to both being created at the same time) is in Genesis 2:4-23. - RBW File: Leath196 === NAME: Truth Twice Told, The DESCRIPTION: "Come all young men and maidens... I will tell you what you are doing, now at this present time." The young folk are treating their parents with disrespect; they are condemned for failing to work AUTHOR: James W. Day ("Jilson Setters") EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas) KEYWORDS: courting warning nonballad FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Thomas-Makin', pp. 187-188, "The Truth Twice Told" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Putting On the Style" (theme) NOTES: Setters claimed that this excrescence "has set many a giddy one to studyin' and they mended their ways." Wishful thinking, I suspect. The result looks like a bad knock-off on "Putting on the Style." - RBW File: ThBa187 === NAME: Truxton's Victory DESCRIPTION: "Come all you Yankee sailors With swords and pikes advance"; the "Brave Yankee Boys" are urged to battle against France. Truxton with the Constellation defeat l'Insurgente and haul her into St.Kitts. The singer toasts Truxton AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1975 (Lawrence), reportedly written March 1799 KEYWORDS: ship battle HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Feb 9, 1799 - Battle between the Constellation and L'Insurgente FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) ADDITIONAL: Vera Brodsky Lawrence, Music for Patriots, Politicians, and Presidents - Harmonies and Discords of the First Hundred Years, "Truxton's Victory" (a copy of the original broadside) NOTES: Obviously not a traditional song, but The Boarding Party recording may have made it well-known enough to deserve documentation. Thanks to Dolores Nichols for digging up the source. The setting is during the Quasi-War with France. France, still lurching back and forth politically in the aftermath of the revolution, with Napoleon gradually gaining power, had little respect for neutral rights, especially when the neutrals were trading with Britain. This naturally incensed the Americans. In November 1796, France suspended diplomatic relations. Soon after, they rejected the credentials of new ambassador Charles C. Pinckney. In May 1797, president John Adams appoints a commission (Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry) to try to smooth things out. At the end of the month, the U. S. government reports 300 ships taken by the French. On October 18, the American commissioners suffer the humiliation of the "XYZ affair" -- three nameless Frenchmen who demand a "loan" (read: tribute) from the Americans plus a large bribe to French foreign minister Tallyrand. This was not as unreasonable as some would present it -- the Americans were paying bribes to the Barbary States at this time. But the United States was also, for the first time, building a genuine (if small) navy. Pinckney allegedly told the French, "Millions for defence, but not one cent for tribute." On May 28, 1798, Congress authorized the Navy to go after French vessels engaged in commerce-raiding. On July 7, Congress formally abrogated the treaty of alliance that went back to the Revolution. As Samuel W. Bryant puts it in _The Sea and the States, A Maritime History of the United States_, p. 124, "The two republics were now thoroughly enmeshed in an undeclated war in the best monarchist manner." The American navy was small, but the quality was very high. Designed Joshua Humphries, knowing that only a handful of ships would be available, created a new class of super-frigates -- rather comparable to the battle cruisers of a century later: Fast enough to outrun any line-of-battle ship, heavy enough to destroy any ordinary frigate. (It tells you a good bit about naval thinking that the American frigates were considered excellent, but the battle crusier was quickly discarded. The reason for the failure of the latter was more bad tactics than anything else.) In the end, six ships were built -- _United States_, _Constitution_, _Constellation_, _President_, _Congress_, and _Chesapeake_ -- of which only the first three were ready for war. The _Constellation_ (called the "Yankee Race Horse") was the first to see action. She met the French _L'Insurgente_, reportedly the fastest sailing frigate in the world (see Fletcher Pratt, _A Compact History of the United States Navy_, p. 61), but in terms of broadside just an ordinary frigate with a weight of broadside only about three-fourths that of the _Constellation_, in the Carribean. The French ship was badly under-manned, and her captain Barreault was not aware he was at war with the United States. She was flying an American flag, but an exchange of signals showed she was not an American ship. The _Constellation_ closed in for the kill, much as described in this song; between the American ship's higher quality and her fuller crew, there wasn't much doubt about the outcome (though no one in Europe yet realized how strong the new American frigates were; this would not become clear until 1812 and the _Constitution_/_Guerriere_ battle). Pratt, p. 61, reports that Truxton had only three casualties, compared to seventy on the French ship. The result was a sensation. There had been sea battles in the Revolutionary War, but the American ships were almost all privateers or purchased in Europe. This was the first battle ever fought by an American "regular navy" ship. It was also the highlight of the _Constellation's_ career. She would fight one more battle in the Quasi-War: On February 1, 1800, she would meet the _Vengeance_, a much heavier ship than the _L'Insurgente_ though slower than the _Constellation_. _Constellation_ could be considered the tactical victor, killing about 50 and wounding over 100 men on the French ship, which barely stayed afloat and had lost two of three masts (Pratt, p. 62). But the _Constellation_ lost 25 killed and 14 wounded (a strange ratio, that), and lost her mainmast; _Vengeance_ escaped, making the battle a strategic draw. Captain Thomas Truxton would be awarded a gold medal anyway. (Bryant, p. 130). Peace with France was concluded two days later. It would be a while before the ships at sea knew it, of course, but the _Constellation's_ part was finished.She would serve for a while in the contest with the Barbary pirates, without any major engagements, and spent almost the entire War of 1812 blockaded in her home port of Norfolk (see Walter R. Borneman, _1812: The War That Forged a Nation_, p. 175; John K. Mahon, _The War of 1812_, p. 122). Thus Truxton was the only commander to lead her in a real battle. In 1854, the _Constellation_ was broken up. Much of the surviving wood was used to make a new _Constellation_, and this is often listed as the same ship. This was a fairly common trick for the U. S. Navy in the nineteenth century: Congress didn't like new defence spending, but would pay to maintain old ships, so the Navy would request money for repairs, then build a new ship with the money plus some timber from the old. But the new _Constellation_ was 12 feet longer than the old, and her hold was half again as deep (19.3 feet for the new, 13.5 feet for the old); it was clearly a new ship. (Sez I. This apparently caused quite a literature to spring up; the bibliography in Lincoln P. Paine, _Ships of the World_, p. 120, lists five writings on this subject). This wasn't her only major rebuild. Howard I. Chapelle, _The History of American Sailing Ships_, Bonanza Books, 1935, pp. 91-92, writes, ÒThe _Constellation_ had a long and distinguished career and is still afloat, though it must be admitted that there is little or nothing of the original ship left. She has been completely rebuilt a number of times, from the keel up, as in 1805-1812 when the was widened 14 inches and again in 1854 when she was lengthened and cut down one deck, each time her lines being altered to some extent." Thomas Truxton himself (1755-1822) was probably the most important American naval figure between John Paul Jones and Stephen Decatur; according to Pratt p. 58, he was "the real prize drawn by the nascent navy... its fifth-ranking captain...." He had served on various privateers in the Revolutionary War (he was a lieutenant in the _Congress_ in 1776, commanded the _Independence_ in 1777, then took charge of the _St. James_ from 1781). He became a regular navy captain from 1794, and acted as commodore during the Quasi-War. According to Pratt, Òeven before putting to sea, [he] drew up a long series of letters to his officers and petty officers laying down the duties of each in the most minute manner, which letter would be the foundation of definitive navy regulations." He was also a firm disciplinarian. Pratt describes, e.g., how when a water cask sprung a leak, he put his entire crew on reduced water rations until discipline met his standards (p. 58) -- though he preferred thought it better to set an example than use the lash (accoring to _Mutiny: A History of Naval Insurrection_, United States Naval Institute, 1992 [I use the 2002 Berkley edition], p. 87, he once said, "Discipline is to be effected by a particular deportment much easier than great severity"). His strict methods also caused at least two of his officers to resign (Pratt, p. 59). He himself ended up resigning early in the nineteenth century in a dispute over authority: Instructed to lead the assault against the Barbary Pirates, he was not promoted to (rear) admiral (the navy did not officially establish ranks above Captain until the Civil War), and so would be simply senior captain commanding the squadron, and still responsible for his own ship. This apparently caused him to quit in a fit of pique (Pratt, p. 65). There is at least one fairly recent biography, Eugene S. Ferguson, _Truxton of the Constellation, The Life of Commodore Thomas Truxton, U. S. Navy, 1755-1822_. - RBW File: BrdTruxt === NAME: Tsimshian Song of Welcome to a Chief, A DESCRIPTION: "Ee-ya-ho-ho ee-ya-heh-eh (x2), Ee-eh-yah-ha-ha-ha hee-yah-heh (x2), Ee-yah-ah-ah-ee-ya-heh! Soo-wa-deh-es Gi-da-ra-nit-zeh! (x2)...." "Now we hail or great chieftain! We hail, we hail our noble chief, We welcome him... From the people of Gidaranitzeh!" AUTHOR: unknown (English translation by Alan Mills) EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 KEYWORDS: Indians(Am.) nonballad foreignlanguage FOUND_IN: Canada(West) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 6-7, "A Tsimshian Song of Welcome to a Chief" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Collected in the 1920s by Marious Barbeau, this song is reported to have been used when a chief came in to join a potlatch ceremony. - RBW File: FMB006 === NAME: Tucky Ho Crew, The: see Come All You Virginia Girls (Arkansas Boys; Texian Boys; Cousin Emmy's Blues; etc.) (File: R342) === NAME: Tugal McTagger DESCRIPTION: "Would you'll know me, my name is Tugal McTagger, She'll brought hersel' down frae the braes o' Lochaber." The Gaelic-speaking girl tries to adapt to Lowland life and business. Unable to handle the life, she ends up bankrupt (and returns to her old home?) AUTHOR: Dougal Graham ? EARLIEST_DATE: 1901 (Ford); alleged author Graham died 1779 KEYWORDS: commerce work poverty trial humorous FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 252-254, "Tugal M'Tagger" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #13092 File: FVS252 === NAME: Tumba-Bloody-Rumba DESCRIPTION: The mustering boss tries the new man at everything. Despite claims of many adventures and skills, he proves incompetent at every job (except drinking and smoking). The crew is glad to see him paid off and heading back to wherever he came from AUTHOR: Words: John Wolfe? (tune set by Warren Fahey) EARLIEST_DATE: 1984 KEYWORDS: talltale work FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Fahey-Eureka, pp. 176-177, "Tumba-Bloody-Rumba" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, TMBARMBA* File: FaE176 === NAME: Tumbling through the Hay: see The Merry Haymakers (File: HHH697) === NAME: Tune The Old Cow Died On, The DESCRIPTION: "The old cow might have been living yet, A-chewin' her cud with glee, If Farmer John hadn't sung of this song...." Farmer John sings, the cows gather in surprise. The old cow tries to join in, and it kills her AUTHOR: Joseph E. Winner? EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: death animal farming music humorous FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Randolph 411, "The Tune the Old Cow Died On" (1 text plus 2 fragments, 1 tune -- although the "C" fragment does not appear related to the first two) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 352-354, "The Tune the Old Cow Died On" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 411A) Roud #4352 RECORDINGS: Warde Ford, "The Tune the old cow died on" (AFS 4212 A2, 1939; in AMMEM/Cowell) NOTES: Carl Sandburg wrote in 1936, "A man having nothing to feed his cow sang to her of the fresh green grass to come; this is the tune the old cow died on." One suspects that this phrase was part of popular idiom, and someone created a song to explain it. Cohen reports an 1880 copyright of a song with this title, credited to George Russell Jackson and Eastburn (Joseph E. Winner), but adds that the song "must date from the 1850s or 1860s." He does not, however, give evidence for this claim. - RBW File: R411 === NAME: Tuplin Song, The: see The Millman and Tuplin Song (File: IvDC046) === NAME: Turfman from Ardee, The DESCRIPTION: Singer meets a turfman on the road. The turfman says his ass is tired; he'd like to sell his load. The singer says cart and ass look old and abused; the turfman says he has abused the ass, but it has never been without shoes, nor his axle without grease AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1945 (learned by Margaret Barry) KEYWORDS: age disability sex accusation travel bawdy humorous animal worker political FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OLochlainn-More 23, "The Turfman from Ardee" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #5187 RECORDINGS: Margaret Barry & Michael Gorman, "The Turfman from Ardee" (on Barry-Gorman1) David Harper, "The Turfman from Ardee" (on TradIre02) NOTES: "Sex"? "Bawdy"? Well, certainly double-entendre on Margaret Barry's part. She notes that she learned it from an 80-year-old man named Tynan in 1945; he, in turn, had learned it from the McNulty Family of Donegal, who put it on a 78. As we have no date earlier than 1945, though, I'm putting that down as earliest -- but I'd love to find that 78. - PJS File: RcTurArd === NAME: Turkey Buzzard DESCRIPTION: "Shoot that turkey buzzard Come flopping down the hollow (x2)." "Shoot old Davy Dugger dead; He eat my meat and stole my bread." "Shoot old Davy Dugger, Take his wife and hug her." "Oh, that girl with the blue dress on, She stole my heart..." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1915 (Brown) KEYWORDS: bird death hunting nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 105, "Turkey Buzzard" (1 text plus 2 fragments which may or may not be related) Roud #7653 RECORDINGS: Chancey Bros., "Shoot That Turkey Buzzard" (on FolkVisions2) J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers, "Shoot the Turkey Buzzard" (King 819, 1949) File: Br3105 === NAME: Turkey Factor in Foreign Parts, The: see The Factor's Garland [Laws Q37] (File: LQ37) === NAME: Turkey in the Straw DESCRIPTION: "As I was going down the road With a tired team and a heavy load... Turkey in the straw, Haw haw haw, Turkey in the hay, Hey hey hey... Whistle up a tune called turkey in the straw." Lyrics usually involve the strange things encountered by a teamster AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1896 (recordings, Billy Golden) KEYWORDS: travel animal bird nonballad dancetune FOUND_IN: US(SE,So) REFERENCES: (11 citations) Randolph 274, "Turkey in the Straw" (2 texts plus a fragment, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 234-237, "Turkey in the Straw" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 274A) BrownIII 94, "Turkey in the Straw" (1 fragment); also 511, "The Preacher Song" (1 text, a complex mix of verses from "Turkey in the Stray" and "Some Folks Say that a Preacher Won't Steal" with the "Uncle Eph" chorus) Sandburg, pp. 94-97, "Turkey in the Straw" (2 texts plus a fragment, 1 tune; the "B" and "C" texts appear to be rewritten or mixed) MHenry-Appalachians, p. 112, "One More Drink" (1 fragment, a single stanza about the hen laying eggs all over the farm and calling for a drink; it might come from anywhere but seems more typical of this than anything else) Lomax-FSNA 49, "Turkey in the Straw" (1 text, 1 tune, plus a "Zip Coon" text) Linscott, pp. 83-85, "Haymaker's Jig" (1 tune with dance instructions) Silber-FSWB, p. 37, "Turkey in the Straw" (1 text) Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 23, "I Went to Cincinnati"; p. 54, "Oh, I Had a Little Chicken" (2 texts, tune referenced) Fuld-WFM, pp. 591-592, "Turkey in the Straw (Zip Coon)" DT, TURKSTRW (TURKST2) Roud #4247 RECORDINGS: Blue Ridge Duo, "Turkey in the Straw" (Edison 51502, 1925) Dock Boggs, "Turkey in the Straw" [instrumental version] (on Boggs3, BoggsCD1) Boone County Entertainers [Red Fox Chasers], "Turkey in the Straw" (Champion 15522/Supertone 9163, 1928) Fiddlin' John Carson, "Turkey in the Straw" (OKeh 40230, 1924); "Turkey in the Hay" (OKeh 45167, 1927) Arthur Collins, "Turkey in the Straw" (Zonophone 637, c. 1907) (CYL: Edison 4011, n.d.) Billy Golden, "Turkey in de Straw" (Berliner 0541V, rec. 1899) (Berliner 0726X, rec. 1896) (Berliner 0726Z, rec. 1896) (Standard 1101, n.d.) (CYL: Lambert 5079, n.d.) (CYL: Albany Indestructible 941, n.d.) (Columbia 1101, 1902; A-1291, 1913) (Victor [Monarch] 65, 1902; Victor 4515, 1905 Imperial Berliner [Can] 587, n. d.) (Zonophone 174, 1905) (Victor 17256, 1913; rec. 1908) (Columbia A-5031, 1908; rec. 1906) (OKeh 4249, 1921; rec. 1920) [Billy] Golden & [?] Hughes "Turkey in the Straw" (CYL: Edison [BA] 1769, n.d.) Hobbs Brothers, "Turkey in the Straw" (Jewel 5458, 1928) Kessinger Brothers, "Turkey in the Straw" (Brunswick 235, 1928) Silas Leachman, "Turkey in de Straw" (Victor A-804, c. 1901) Neil Morris & Charlie Everidge, "Turkey in the Straw" [dance calls] (on LomaxCD1701) George Reneau, "Turkey in the Straw" (Vocalion 5031/Vocalion 14812, 1924) Doc Roberts, "Turkey in the Straw" (Conqueror 7741, 1931; Perfect 12929/Melotone 12746, 1933) Eck Robertson, "Turkey in the Straw" (Victor 19149, 1923) Stove Pipe No. 1 [pseud. for Sam Jones], "Turkey in the Straw" (Columbia 201-D, 1924; Harmony 5100-H, n.d.) Gid Tanner & his Skillet Lickers, "Turkey in the Straw" (Columbia 15084-D, 1926) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Old Tobacco Box (There Was an Old Soldier)" (tune, floating lyrics) cf. "Old Zip Coon" (tune, floating lyrics) cf. "The Catfish (Banjo Sam)" (floating lyrics) cf. "Bunkhouse Orchestra" (tune) cf. "Charleston Gals (Clear the Kitchen)" (floating lyrics) cf. "Mary Mack (I)" (floating lyrics) cf. "There Was an Old Lady" (tune) cf. "The Delhi Jail" (tune) cf. "Whoa! Ha! Buck and Jerry Boy" (portions of tune) SAME_TUNE: Old Zip Coon (File: RJ19258) Old Farmer Brown (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 145) There Was a Little Rooster (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 196) Do Your Ears Hang Low (Pankake-PHCFSB, pp. 210-211) Fiddlin' John Carson, "Turkey in the Hay" (OKeh 45167, 1927) Carson Robison, "1942 Turkey in the Straw" (Bluebird B-11460, 1942) NOTES: Generally regarded as a rewriting of "Old Zip Coon." Sometimes regarded as the forerunner of "The Old Tobacco Box (There Was an Old Soldier)" (with which it often shares a tune), but the latter also has its own independent tune and form. - RBW File: R274 === NAME: Turkish Factor, The: see The Factor's Garland [Laws Q37] (File: LQ37) === NAME: Turkish Lady (II): see Young Beichan [Child 53] (File: C053) === NAME: Turkish Lady, The [Laws O26] DESCRIPTION: A British ship is captured by the Turks and its crew enslaved. The singer suffers until his owner offers to free him if he will accept Islam and marry her. He refuses to abandon Christianity. She eventually decides to turn Christian and marry him AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1782 (broadside, "Four Excellent New Songs") KEYWORDS: love courting religious sailor foreigner FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) Britain(England(South),Scotland) REFERENCES: (9 citations) Laws O26, "The Turkish Lady" Logan, pp. 11-18, "The Turkish Lady" (1 text) Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 141-143, "The Turkish Lady" (1 text, 1 tune) Karpeles-Newfoundland 35, "The Turkish Lady" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton/Senior, pp. 123-124, "Turkish Rover" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton-NovaScotia 13, "Turkish Rover" (1 text, 1 tune) Mackenzie 17, "The Turkish Lady" (2 texts) BBI, ZN797, "Down in a cypress grove as I was lying" (?) DT (53), TURKLADY* ST LO26 (Full) Roud #8124 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 17(322b)[tear: words missing], "The Turkish Lady," T. Birt (London), 1828-1829; also Harding B 11(3907), Firth c.13(303), Harding B 11(1973), Harding B 25(1958), "The Turkish Lady" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Young Beichan" [Child 53] cf. "The Araby Maid" (subject) cf. "Mustang Gray (The Maid of Monterey)" (plot) cf. "The Belfast Sailor" (theme) NOTES: This song is sometimes treated as a variant of "Young Beichan" [Child 53]. The setting, obviously, is similar -- but the difference in the ending marks them as separate ballads. "Young Beichan" stresses the lover's return; "The Turkish Lady," the change in the woman's faith (which, incidentally, was a dangerous thing to do: Islam tolerates Christianity, but many Islamic cultures do not tolerate turning from Islam to Christianity. Though the direct comment on an Islamic woman marrying a pagan, in the Quran, Surah 60:11, merely requires the recovery of her dowry). - RBW File: LO26 === NAME: Turkish Men-o'-War: see The Royal Oak (File: VWL091) === NAME: Turkish Rover: see The Turkish Lady [Laws O26] (File: LO26) === NAME: Turmut [Turmont] Hoer's Song, The: see The Turnip-Hoer (File: K261) === NAME: Turmut-hoeing: see The Turnip-Hoer (File: K261) === NAME: Turn that Cinnamon DESCRIPTION: "Oh turn that cinnamon round and round, Turn that cinnamon round and round, Oh turn that cinnamon round!" "She's my sugar-lump, I'll never give her up, She's my sugar-lump, I'll never give her up, Oh turn that cinnamon round!" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1903 KEYWORDS: love food playparty FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Randolph 583, "Turn that Cinnamon" (1 short text) Botkin-AmFolklr, p. 810, "Sugar Lump" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7667 ALTERNATE_TITLES: Turn, Cinnamon, Turn NOTES: Randolph's and Botkin's songs don't have any lyrics that match precisely -- but what are the odds of two songs mentioning both sugar lumps and turning cinnamon? I quote Randolph's text as more complete; Botkin's runs "All up and down, my honey, All up and down we go. The lady's a-rockin' her sugar lump (x3), O, turn, Cinnamon, turn." Botkin claims a British origin for this piece, but cites no sources. - RBW File: R583 === NAME: Turn, Cinnamon, Turn: see Turn that Cinnamon (File: R583) === NAME: Turn, Julie-Ann, Turn DESCRIPTION: Playparty: "Circle around, my Julie-Ann/Circle around I say...I ain't got long to stay." "I'll go on the mountaintop... If I can't get the girl I want/Let that old girl go." Chorus: "Turn, Julie-Ann, turn/Turn Old Jubilee." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (recording, Jean Ritchie) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Playparty: "Circle around, my Julie-Ann/Circle around I say...I ain't got long to stay." "My truelove spied me down the road/She hung her head and cried/Said, yanner come a booger-man/O where can I hide." "I'll go on the mountaintop, give my horn a blow/If I can't get the girl I want/Let that old girl go." Chorus: "Turn, Julie-Ann, turn/Turn Old Jubilee." KEYWORDS: courting love dancing playparty nonballad floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #5747 RECORDINGS: Jean Ritchie, "Turn, Julie-Ann, Turn" (on Ritchie03) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Liza Jane" (floating verses) cf. "Cindy" (floating verses) NOTES: I rather suspect this is the same as one or another of the floating verse singing games out there; I thought seriously about lumping it with "Julie Ann Johnson." But we're splitters, and in any case it's not obvious just *which* of those songs to lump it with. - RBW File: RcTJAT === NAME: Turner's Camp on the Chippewa [Laws C23] DESCRIPTION: A tale of the lumberman's life and troubles in the woods of Michigan. Most of the events are described in very general terms AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (recording, Bill McBride) KEYWORDS: logger lumbering FOUND_IN: US(MW) Canada(Ont) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Laws C23, "Turner's Camp on the Chippewa" Beck 12, "Turner's Camp on the Chippewa" (1 text) Fowke-Lumbering #10, "Turner's Camp" (2 texts, 1 tune) DT 840, TURNRCMP Roud #1926 RECORDINGS: Bill McBride, "Turner's Camp on the Chippewa" (AFS, 1938; on LC56) Leo Spencer, "Turner's Camp" (on Lumber01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Lumber Camp Song" (theme) and references there File: LC23 === NAME: Turnip Greens DESCRIPTION: Singer dreams he meets Gabriel. Asked what he'll eat; he says, "Turnip greens." Asked why Ozark people are rough, yet clean; "Turnip greens." Gabriel says God's kingdom on earth is coming. Chorus: "...Cornbread and buttermilk/And good old turnip greens!" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (recording, H. K. Hutchison) KEYWORDS: food humorous FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (4 citations) [Randolph 287, "Turnip Greens" -- deleted in the second printing] Randolph/Cohen, pp. 243-245, "Turnip Greens" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 287) Hudson 75, pp. 202-203, "Turnip Greens" (1 text) Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 9, "Turnip Greens" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #4491 RECORDINGS: Shorty Goodwin, "Turnip Greens" (Columbia 15411-D, 1929) H. K. Hutchison, "Good Old Turnip Greens" (Gennett 6464/Champion 15525, 1928) W. A. Lindsay & Alvin Connor, "Good Old Turnip Greens" (Okeh 45346, 1929; rec. 1928) Neil Morris, "Turnip Greens" (on LomaxCD1707) Pie Plant Pete [pseud. for Claude Moye], "Turnip Greens" (Champion 45063, 1935) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Greens" (theme) NOTES: The description of this song is based on the Neil Morris recording. The Pankake text is much shorter, and is about Atmore residents rather than residents of the Ozarks. Similarly, Hudson's text is about the residents of Mississippi. I have not heard all the 78 recordings listed above, so they too may be local or parodized versions. - RBW File: RcTG === NAME: Turnip Patch, The DESCRIPTION: "I went down to the turnip patch... To see if my old hen had hatched." "There set a possum on the rail, Reached up and grabbed him by the tail." "Got him on the ground and he tried to fight... Reached up my right foot and kicked out the light." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: animal chickens fight FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 454, "The Turnip Patch" (1 text) Roud #7602 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Who Broke the Lock (on the Henhouse Door)?" (lyrics) cf. "Sixteen Chickens and a Tambourine" (lyrics) File: R454 === NAME: Turnip-Hoer, The DESCRIPTION: Singer hires on a farm; the farmer says he's first class. He hires elsewhere, and says if he had a son he'd be better off going to jail. He says that while some delight in harvesting and mowing, "of all the jobs that be on a farm/Give I the turnip-hoing." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1893 (Broadwood) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer hires on a farm; the farmer says he's first class. He hires on another farm, and says if he had a son he'd be better off going to jail. He says that while some delight in harvesting and mowing, "of all the jobs that be on a farm/Give I the turnip-hoing." Chorus: "For the flies...got on the turnips/It's all me eye and no use to try/To keep 'em off them turnips" KEYWORDS: farming work worker boss FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Kennedy 261, "The Turnip-Hoer" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #1376 RECORDINGS: Fred Perrier et al, "The Turmut [Turmont] Hoer's Song" (on Lomax41, LomaxCD41) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Flies Are On the Tummits" (them of a turnip farmer's life) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Turmut-hoeing NOTES: Kennedy states, "[T]he song has attached itself to Wiltshire and was adopted as the regimental march of the Wiltshire Regiment... now amalgamated [in 1959] with the Berkshire Regiment [to form] the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment." According to Ian S. Hallows, _Regiments and Corps of the British Army_, however, the quick march of the Duke of Edinburgh's Regiment is The Farmer's Boy and the slow is Auld Robin Gray. And while some regiments dropped their historical tunes on amalgamation, so the Wiltshire regiment could have used this piece, it was normal to keep both tunes. Roud lumps this with "The Flies Are On the Tummits," with which it shares some lyrics, but Ben Schwartz and I both consider the general plots distinict enough to split them. "The Turnip-Hoer" is about the singer's employment history; "The Flies Are On the Tummits" about the hard life of a farmer. Widespread growing of turnips, incidentally, was a relatively recent practice (turnips, after all, are bitter and rather unpleasant to eat); they are grown because they replenish the soil, and can be farmed on a field that would otherwise have to lie fallow (see Derek Beales, _From Catlereight to Gladstone: 1815-1885_, p. 36). - RBW File: K261 === NAME: Turpin Hero: see Dick Turpin and the Lawyer [Laws L10] (File: LL10) === NAME: Turpin's Valour: see Dick Turpin and the Lawyer [Laws L10] (File: LL10) === NAME: Turtle Dove: 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: TVA, The DESCRIPTION: "My name is William Edwards, I live down Cove Creek Way, I'm working on the project They call the TVA." The government is upgrading the valley. The singer writes to Sal to say, "The government has saved us; just name our wedding day." AUTHOR: Buddy Preston EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas) KEYWORDS: work marriage hardtimes technology FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Thomas-Makin', pp. 232-234, (no title) (1 text, 1 tune) Arnett, p. 172, "The TVA" (1 text, 1 tune) Botkin-SoFolklr, p. 732, "T.V.A. Song" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #4910 NOTES: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), founded in 1933, is one of the most enduring of all the New Deal programs. Founded to create jobs and at the same provide electrical power to a primitive part of the country, it is still in existence today, generating power and managing the river. - RBW Botkin quotes his source, Jean Thomas's _Ballad Makin' in the Mountains of Kentucky_, as saying the song was written by a Preston, and "first sung at the American Folk Festival with a kinsman of the composer giving the explanation of its origin." She also says it had indeed become traditional in Kentucky, at least. - NR Reading Thomas's account, I'm not convinced of this; it's properly a folk revival song, if a very early one. But the number of citations perhaps justifies its presence here. File: Arn172 === NAME: Twa and Twa DESCRIPTION: Dance tune lyrics; "Twa and twa made the bed/Twa and twa lay together/When the bed begun to heat/The one got up abune the other." That's all. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1962 (collected from Jeannie Thompson) KEYWORDS: sex dancing FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) MacSeegTrav 124, "Twa and Twa" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, TWANTWA* Roud #5407 NOTES: Runner-up to "Papa Loved Mama" for title of World's Shortest Ballad. - PJS File: McCST124 === NAME: Twa Brothers, The [Child 49] DESCRIPTION: Two brothers agree to wrestle on their way to school. In the process, one is wounded by the other's knife. The unwounded brother (often) tries to save the wounded one, but it is too late; all that is left is to arrange for his burial and make excuses AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1825 (Motherwell) KEYWORDS: contest death fight stepmother brother homicide magic FOUND_IN: Britain(England,Scotland), US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,NW,SE,So) Canada(Mar,Newf) REFERENCES: (32 citations) Child 49, "The Twa Brothers" (8 texts) Bronson 49, "The Twa Brothers" (41 versions plus 4 in addenda) BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 99-106, "The Two Brothers" (1 text plus many excerpts including a complete Kentucky version, 1 tune) {Bronson's #21} Belden, pp. 33-34, "The Two Brothers" (1 text) Randolph 10, "The Two Brothers" (3 texts plus a fragment, 4 tunes) {Bronson's #13, #40, #3, #2} Randolph/Cohen, pp. 24-25, "The Two Brothers" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 10A) {Bronson's #13} Eddy 9, "The Twa Brothers" (2 texts, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #28, #30} Flanders/Olney, pp. 96-99, "Edward Ballad [listed as "Child 13" but obviously this piece though Bronson considers it a "too literary" mix of the two ballads with a peculiar tune]; pp. 230-232, "Martyr John" (2 texts, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #41, #38} Flanders-Ancient1, pp. 316-331, "The Twa Brothers" (4 texts, 5 tunes; the last two tunes are variants taken from the same informant) {A=Bronson's #41, B=38} Linscott, pp. 278-280, "The Rolling of the Stones or The Twa Brothers" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #14} Davis-Ballads 11, "The Twa Brothers" (11 texts, 6 tunes) {#23, #31, #5, #33, #10, #24} Davis-More 15, pp. 92-101, "The Twa Brothers" (5 texts, 5 tunes) BrownII 13, "The Two Brothers" (1 text) Chappell-FSRA 6, "The Two Brothers" (1 text) Hudson 7, pp. 73-74, "The Two Brothers" (2 texts) Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 166-167, "The Twa Brothers" (1 text, locally titled "The Two Brothers") Brewster 9, "The Two Brothers" (2 texts) JHCoxIIA, #6, p. 21, "The Two Brothers" (1 fragment, 1 tune) {Bronson's #8} Creighton/Senior, p. 25-26, "The Twa Brothers" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #39} Peacock, pp. 827-830, "The Two Brothers" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Leach, pp. 163-167, "The Twa Brothers" (2 texts) McNeil-SFB2, pp. 136-138, "Two Brothers" (1 text, 1 tune) OBB 63, "The Twa Brothers" (1 text) Friedman, p. 169, "The Twa Brothers" (2 texts) Niles 20, "The Twa Brothers" (1 text, 1 tune -- a fragmentary text that opens like "The Twa Brothers," but has an ending that might be anything) Gummere, pp. 174-175+343, "The Twa Brothers" (1 text) SharpAp 12 "The Two Brothers" (12 texts, often short, plus a fragment ("E") that may be this; 13 tunes) {Bronson's #17, #10, #31, #24, #18, #19, #11, #9, #1, #15, #27, #25, #32} Sharp/Karpeles-80E 11, "The Two Brothers" (1 text, 1 tune -- an expanded composite version) {Bronson's #11} LPound-ABS, 18, pp. 45-46, "Two Little Boys" (1 text) JHCox 7, "The Twa Brothers" (2 texts) DT 49, TWOBROS TWOBROS2* TWOBROS3* TWOBROS4* ROLLSTON* ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #52-53, "The Wta Brothers" (1 text) Roud #38 RECORDINGS: Nellie McGregor, "The Two Brothers" (on FSBBAL1) Hobart Smith, "The Little Schoolboy" (on LomaxCD1702) Belle Stewart, "The Two Brothers" (on Voice03) {Bronson's #13.2 in addenda} Lucy Stewart, "The Twa Brothers [The Two Brothers]" (on FSB4, FSBBAL1) (on LStewart1) {Bronson's #11.1 in addenda} CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Sir Hugh, or, The Jew's Daughter" [Child 155] (lyrics) cf. "The Unquiet Grave" [Child 78] (lyrics) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Rolling of the Stones The Murdered Boy Two Little Boys Going to School The Cruel Brother NOTES: In Friedman's A version, the brother is killed, not wrestling for fun, but in a fit of passion. - PJS Indeed, this motif (which is not unusual; many of Davis's texts have it, for instance) gives rise to the possibility that what we have here is two songs mixed. Call them "The Twa Brothers" and "The Rolling of the Stones." In the former, the one brother kills the other as a result of accident or perhaps a (step?)mother's malice." "The Rolling of the Stones," though it involves a death and is usually listed as a version of this song, has a very different feel. It is definitely a song of passion and jealousy, and ends with Susie, the girl of the piece, dancing to try to bring the dead man back to life. The two have certainly mixed verses, making them hard to tell apart, but I'm not at all convinced that they are the same song. A curiosity is that the "Rolling of the Stones" texts seem to be mostly American, even though American texts rarely involve magic. But it should be noted that the endings of the texts in Child are very diverse; it may be that he simply hadn't found one of the "magic" endings. Linscott has one of her usual folklorish explanations: "The event from which the ballad gets its theme happened near Edinburgh in 1589, when one of the Somervilles was killed by the accidental discharge of his bother's pistol." This connection ignores the fact that brothers are more than a little apt to quarrel over inheritances.... E. K. Chambers (_English Literature at the Close of the Middle Ages_, p. 72) quotes a passage from a thirteenth(?) century fragment of a song which has not been connected with this piece, but which I find rather interesting: Atte wrestling my lemman I ches, And atte ston-kasting I him for-les. i.e. At wrestling my love I chose, And at stone-casting I him lost. - RBW Also collected and sung by Ellen Mitchell, "Twa Brithers" (on Kevin and Ellen Mitchell, "Have a Drop Mair," Musical Tradition Records MTCD315-6 CD (2001)) - BS File: C049 === NAME: Twa Bumbees, The DESCRIPTION: "There were twa bumbees met on a twig, Fim-fam, fiddle-faddle, fum, fizz!" The two insects set out to find a home, frightening Jenny Wren in the process. After the babies are born, they quarrel; the male warns other bees about a "wayward, wanton wife." AUTHOR: Charles Spence EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Ford); Spence died in 1869 KEYWORDS: bug courting home humorous FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 231-233, "The Twa Bumbees" (1 text) Roud #13086 NOTES: This appears to have been founded on "The Twa Corbies" (or, rather, one of its silly offspring), but without a tune, it's hard to prove. Needless to say, this isn't how bees reproduce. - RBW File: FVS231 === NAME: Twa Corbies, The: see The Three Ravens [Child 26] (File: C026) === NAME: Twa Knights, The [Child 268] DESCRIPTION: A squire bets a knight that, if the knight leaves home for a time, he can seduce the knight's wife. He traps the wife into offering to come to his bed, but she sends her neice instead. When the truth is revealed, the niece weds the squire AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1828 (Buchan) LONG_DESCRIPTION: A squire bets a knight that, if the knight leaves home for a time, he can seduce the knight's wife. He traps the wife into offering to come to his bed, but she sends her neice instead. He cuts off the ring and finger to prove his victory. The knight's wife demonstrates that she still has her finger. The niece is offered the right to either kill the squire or marry him for his abuse. After much hesitation, the niece weds the squire KEYWORDS: gambling trick abuse injury infidelity family marriage wager FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Child 268, "The Twa Knights" (1 text) Roud #303 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Boy and the Mantle" [Child 29] (theme) cf. "The Fiddler's Bitch" (plot) cf. "Redesdale and Wise William" [Child 246] (plot) NOTES: The notion of wagering over a woman's fidelity is common in folklore; in the Child canon, cf. e.g. "The Boy and the Mantle" [Child 29]. - RBW File: C268 === NAME: Twa Magicians, The [Child 44] DESCRIPTION: A (blacksmith) sees a girl who pleases him, and sets out to sleep with her. She tries to foil him with magic transformations, but he proves as sorcerous as she, and gains her maidenhead AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1828 (Buchan) KEYWORDS: magic seduction rape shape-changing FOUND_IN: Britain(England) REFERENCES: (8 citations) Child 44, "The Twa Magicians" (1 text) Bronson 44, "The Twa Magicians" (1 version plus 11 versions of "Hares on the Mountain") BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 442-445, "The Two Magicians" (notes plus a copy of Buchan's text and a stanza of "Hares on the Mountain") Leach, pp. 152-154, "The Twa Magicians" (1 text) PBB 25, "The Twa Magicians" (1 text) Sharp-100E 20, "The Two Magicians" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #1} DBuchan 47, "The Twa Magicians" (1 text) DT 44, MAGICN2* Roud #1350 RECORDINGS: A. L. Lloyd, "Two Magicians" (on Lloyd3, BirdBush1, BirdBush2) [tune by Lloyd] CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Hares on the Mountain" (theme) cf. "Les Metamorphoses (Metamorphoses)" (theme) NOTES: Sharp bowdlerizes "gain my maidenhead" to "change my maiden name" (!) -PJS Bronson believes that the ballad "Hares on the Mountain" is a very-much-worn-down version of this piece. This is, at best, currently beyond proof; personally, I don't believe it. 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) finds Thetis in a cave and attempts to couple with her. To defeat him, she turns into a bird, a tree, and a tigress. The latter scares him off, but eventually he catches her while asleep (XI.225ff.). - RBW File: C044 === NAME: Twa Sisters, The [Child 10] DESCRIPTION: A knight woos two (three) sisters, choosing the younger. The older drowns the younger. Her body is recovered and made into an instrument by a passing miller/musician. As the knight prepares to wed the older sister, the instrument sings out the truth. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1656 (broadside) KEYWORDS: courting homicide music minstrel sister drowning FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland,England(All)) US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,SE,So) Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (44 citations) Child 10, "The Twa Sisters" (25 texts, 3 tunes) {Bronson's #79, #12, #14} Bronson 10, "The Twa Sisters" (97 versions plus 6 in addenda) Stokoe/Reay, pp. 8-9, "Binnorie; or, The Cruel Sister" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #7} BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 40-46, "The Two Sisters" (5 texts plus 2 fragments, one from the same informant as one of the texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #68} Belden, pp. 16-24, "The Twa Sisters" (6 texts, 3 tunes) {Bronson's #38, #46, #30} Randolph 4, "The Miller's Daughters" (8 texts, 5 tunes) {A=Bronson's #66, C=#32, E=#70, F=#94, G=#51} Randolph/Cohen, pp. 18-21, "The Miller's Daughters" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 4C) {Bronson's #32} Ritchie-Southern, p. 57, "Bow Your Bend to Me" (1 text, 1 tune) Eddy 4, "The Twa Sisters" (1 short text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #78} Gardner/Chickering 2, "The Two Sisters" (2 texts, 2 tunes, but the "B" text is "Peter and I Went Down the Lane") {A=Bronson's #22} Flanders/Olney, pp. 209-210, "The Two Sisters" (1 text, 1 tune) Flanders-Ancient1, pp. 150-170, "The Twa Sisters" (5 English texts plus a fragment; also two variants of a Polish text plus tune and translation; 4 tunes for the English versions) {A=Bronson's #96, B=#54} Davis-Ballads 5, "The Twa Sisters" (9 texts plus 2 fragments, 6 tunes entitled "The Old Lord of the North Country, or The Three Sisters," "The Old Woman of the North Countrie," "The Two Sisters, or Sister Kate, or The Miller annd the Mayor's Daughter," "The Two Sisters"; 2 more versions mentioned in Appendix A) {Bronson's #25, #71, #40, #55, #27, #39} Davis-More 6, pp. 35-50, "The Twa Sisters" (10 texts, 7 tunes) BrownII 4, "The Two Sisters" (3 texts plus 2 fragments) Chappell-FSRA 3, "The Two Sisters" (1 short text) Hudson 3, p. 68, "The Two Sisters" (1 text) Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 164-165, "The Twa Sisters" (1 text, locally titled "The Two Sisters") Brewster 6, "The Two Sisters" (4 texts plus a fragment, 1 tune) {Bronson's #44} Greenleaf/Mansfield 3, "The Twa Sisters" (1 text) Peacock, pp. 179-180, "The Bonny Busk of London" (1 text, 1 tune) Leach, pp. 74-78, "The Twa Sisters" (3 texts) McNeil-SFB2, pp. 150-156, "The Two Sisters"; "The Two Sisters (Wind and Rain) (2 texts, 2 tunes) OBB 23, "Binnorie" (1 text) Warner 98, "The Two Sisters That Loved One Man" (1 text, 1 tune) Niles 7, "The Twa Sisters" (3 texts, 3 tunes) Gummere, pp. 171-173+343, "The Twa Sisters" (1 text) SharpAp 5 "The Two Sisters" (14 texts, 14 tunes) {Bronson's #91, #55, #27, #39, #74, #73, #50, #34, #45, #63, #59, #47, #65, #41} Sharp/Karpeles-80E 6, "The Two Sisters" (1 text, 1 tune -- a composite text) {Bronson's #45} Lomax-FSNA 90, "The Two Sisters" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #67} Hodgart, p. 32, "The Twa Sisters" (1 text) DBuchan 3, "The Twa Sisters" (1 text, 1 tune in appendix) {Bronson's #79} JHCox 3, "The Twa Sisters" (3 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #43} JHCoxIIA, #2A-B, pp. 10-13, "There Was an Old Farmer," "All Bow Down" (2 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #69} Ord, pp. 430-432, "The Bonnie Mill-Dams o' Binnorie"; pp. 459-460, "Hey the Rose and the Lindsay, O" (2 texts, 1 tune) MacSeegTrav 3, "The Twa Sisters" (1 text plus two variant verses, 1 tune) TBB 9, "The Twa Sisters" (1 text) HarvClass-EP1, pp. 54-56, "The Twa Sisters" (1 text) Abrahams/Foss, pp. 20-24, "The Two Sisters"; "The Two Sisters (The Wind and Rain)" (2 texts, 2 tunes) LPound-ABS, 4, pp. 11-12, "The Two Sisters"; pp. 12-13, "The Old Man in the North Countree" (2 texts) Darling-NAS, pp. 56-59, "The Two Sisters"; "Rollin' a-Rollin'"; "Wind and Rain" (3 texts) Silber-FSWB, p. 224, "The Two Sisters" (1 text) DT 10, BINNORI* TWOSIS* TWOSIS5* WINDRAIN* SWANSWIM* TWOSIS8 TWOSIS9 TWOSI10 TWOSS11 ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #427, "The Twa Sisters" (1 text) Roud #8 RECORDINGS: Horton Barker, "The Two Sisters" (AAFS 33); "Bow and Balance" (on Barker01) {Bronson's #67} Anita Best and Pamela Morgan, "The Two Sisters" (on NFABestPMorgan01) Loman D. Cansler, "The Two Sisters" (on Cansler1) Lula Curry, "The Squire's Daughter" (on JThomas01) Bradley Kincaid, "The Two Sisters" (Supertone 9212, 1928) Jean Ritchie, "The Two Sisters" (AFS; on LC57); "There Lived an Old Lord" (on JRitchie02) Kilby Snow, "Wind and Rain" (on KSnow1) Lucy Stewart, "The Swan Swims So Bonnie O" (on LStewart1) John Strachan, "The Twa Sisters" (on FSB4) John Strachan, Dorothy Fourbister, Ethel Findlater [composite] "The Twa Sisters" (on FSBBAL1) {cf. Bronson's #16.2 in addenda} CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "An Sgeir-Mhara (The Sea-Tangle, The Jealous Woman)" (plot) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Bows of London The Cruel Sister Rolling a-Rolling The Wind and Rain The Swan Swims Bonnie The Old Lord by the Northern Sea Bowie, Bowerie The Little Drownded Girl Lay the Bent to the Bonny Broom Old Man from the North Countree The Youngest Daughter NOTES: The refrains sung with this ballad vary tremendously, but virtually all versions have a refrain of some sort. - PJS And generally a lyrically attractive one ("the swan swims bonnie," etc.), as has been pointed out by several scholars. I wonder if there isn't something about this ballad that encourages variation; Jean Ritchie reports that, even though they presumably learned the song from the same source, her family had twelve distinct versions. - RBW The Kilby Snow recording is an unusual one; it contains every element of, "The Twa Sisters" except the sisters; the murderer in this case is the girl's lover. Snow reconstructed the song from early childhood memories of his grandfather (a Cherokee) singing it, though, so it may have diverged at that point. - PJS Compare the first verse lines of Child 10.H to Opie-Oxford2 479, "There were three sisters in a hall" (earliest date in Opie-Oxford2 is c.1630) Child 10.H: "There were three sisters lived in a hall, ... And there came a lord to court them all...." Opie-Oxford2 479 is a riddle beginning "There were three sisters in a hall, There came a knight amongst them all ...." - BS This item is also found as Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #702, p. 275, but this appears to be simply a greeting rhyme unrelated to the various rather murderous ballads (notably Child 10 and 11) using these lines. - RBW File: C010 === NAME: Twangman, The DESCRIPTION: A twang hawker and rag-picker Mickey Baggs courted a girl who "kep' a Traycle Billy depot." Baggs won her heart taking her to play "Billy-in-the-bowl." So "with his twang kni-ef [twangman] tuk the li-ef Of the poor ould gather'em-up!" AUTHOR: probably Michael J. Moran (Zozimus) EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (OLochlainn) KEYWORDS: courting homicide humorous FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (3 citations) OLochlainn, pp. 231-232, "The Twangman" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, TWANGMAN ADDITIONAL: Frank Harte _Songs of Dublin_, second edition, Ossian, 1993, pp. 44-45, "The Twangman" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: In response to queries in earlier editions of the Index, Tom O'Leary informs me that "twang" is toffee. He adds that a "'Traycle depot' [was] a sweet shop, which in this case, was near to, or on one side of the Carlisle Bridge, Dublin." Harty, on the other hand, says that it was Treacle Billy that was the toffee and twang another sort of sweetmeat. It makes little difference; the twangman certainly sold toffee. The song says that the twangman only sells his wares "when the mileetia wasn't wantin'"; this is no particular constraint on his schedule, as miltitia in this period was a very part-time organization except when there was a rebellion in process. - RBW, (BS) We might note that Harty questions whether this is actually by Zozimus (for whom see ). But his evidence is negative: The song is not mentioned in the Zozimus memoirs. For background on Zozimus, see the notes to "The Finding of Moses." - RBW File: OLoc231B === NAME: Twanky Dillo: see Twankydillo (The Blacksmith's Song) (File: K286) === NAME: Twankydillo (The Blacksmith's Song) DESCRIPTION: Singer toasts the blacksmith, the pretty girl "who kindles a fire all in her own breast," and the Queen. Chorus: "Which makes his bright hammer to rise and to fall/There's the Old Cole and the Young Cole and the Old Cole of all/Twankydillo..." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1893 (Broadwood) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer raises a health to the blacksmith who works at his anvil while the boy blows the bellows; if a gentleman calls with a horse to be shod, the smith can be persuaded to work by giving him drink. Singer also toasts the pretty girl "who kindles a fire all in her own breast," and to "our sovereign the Queen" and all the Royal Family. Chorus: "Which makes his bright hammer to rise and to fall/There's the Old Cole and the Young Cole and the Old Cole of all/Twankydillo, twankydillo...And the roaring pair of blow-pipes, made from the green willow" KEYWORDS: love work drink nonballad worker royalty FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Kennedy 286, "Twankydillo" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, TWNKDLLO* Roud #2409 NOTES: Hammond, in 1906, reported a Dorset song, "The Life of a Shepherd," with the "Twankydillo" chorus. - PJS File: K286 === NAME: Twas a Love of Adventure: see Diego's Bold Shore (File: SWMS030) === NAME: Twas Down in Cupid's Garden: see Cupid's Garden (I) (Covent Garden I; Lovely Nancy III) (File: SWMS090) === NAME: 'Twas Early in the Spring: see Early, Early in the Spring [Laws M1] (File: LM01) === NAME: 'Twas Getting Late Up in September DESCRIPTION: In Labrador, "'Twas getting late up in September"; the singer meets a girl come to fill her buckets at the fountain. He proposes, she accepts, "a priest came up on the steamer," they marry and "live in a nice little cottage, Down by the side of the sea" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 (Peacock) KEYWORDS: courting love marriage wedding FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Peacock, pp. 601-602, "'Twas Getting Late Up in September" (1 text, 1 tune) Doyle3, p. 78, "'Twas Getting Late Up in September" (1 text, 1 tune) Blondahl, p. 104, "'Twas Getting Late Up In September" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Doyl3078 (Partial) Roud #7288 File: Doyl3078 === NAME: Twas in the Town of Parsboro DESCRIPTION: Drunk in Parsboro ,"the gallant slugger Dunkerson ... challenged Baxter [McLellan] there to fight in Bill Mahoney's barn." Baxter beats him "inside of fifteen seconds." Dunkerson staggers home and cannot get a drink, "badly licked by a sober... man" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1932 (Creighton-NovaScotia) KEYWORDS: fight drink FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-NovaScotia 148, "'Twas in the Town of Parsboro" (1 text, 1 tune) ST CrNS148 (Partial) Roud #1843 NOTES: This song is item dH44 in Laws's Appendix II. Creighton-NovaScotia: Parsboro is a town in Nova Scotia. The song refers to "when the Scott Act was in force." The Scott Act, or Canada Temperance Act was passed in 1878 (source: The _Prohibition_ entry for The Canadian Encyclopedia site).- BS File: CrNS148 === NAME: 'Twas Nine Years Ago: see The Kerry Recruit [Laws J8] (File: LJ08) === NAME: 'Twas on de Bluff: see On the Bluff (Alligator Song) (File: ScaNF072) === NAME: 'Twas on the Napanee DESCRIPTION: A young man leaves his parents' home to become a raftsman; he is drowned while rafting saw logs. His parents and friends mourn AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Beck) KEYWORDS: lumbering death mourning work logger FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Beck 54, "'Twas on the Napanee" (1 text) Roud #4057 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Jam on Gerry's Rock" [Laws C1] (plot) cf. "The Death of Harry Bradford" [Laws C12] (plot, tune) NOTES: In the mid-nineteenth century, a young man named Anthony Barrett was killed on the Napanee river. Beck states that this song seems to have been composed in Canada around 1860; it was collected from a Mrs. Barrett, of Mt. Pleasant, Michigan -- possibly a relative of the deceased? - PJS As "'Twas on the Napene," this song is item dC36 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW File: Be054 === NAME: 'Twas on the Napene: see 'Twas on the Napanee (File: Be054) === NAME: Twelfth of July, The DESCRIPTION: Singer tells how Montreal Irish lick the "yellowbacks." On July 12, Fawcett fires a revolver. Hackett fires back, but is mortally wounded. Listeners are reminded that King Billy "tore down Catholic churches..." but they can't do it in Montreal AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1957 (recording, Tom Brandon) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer tells how the Irish Catholics of Montreal licked the "yellowbacks." On July 12 an Orangemen's parade clashes with Unionists; one Fawcett fires a revolver, swearing to "kill every papist dog." Hackett fires back, but is mortally wounded. Listeners are exhorted to remember that King Billy and his supporters "tore down Catholic churches from Lewis to Donegal," but they can't get away with it in Montreal KEYWORDS: hate battle fight violence death homicide Ireland HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: July 12, 1877: Clash between Irish Catholics and Protestants in Montreal FOUND_IN: Canada(Ont) REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Tom Brandon, "The Twelfth of July" (on Ontario1) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Belfast Riot" (Canadian political situation) NOTES: Despite the song, there was no Orangemen's parade on July 12 (the day when Irish Protestants celebrate William III's victory in the battle of the Boyne); according to newspaper accounts, plans for a parade had been dropped due to rising tensions. However, brawling broke out in a mixed crowd of Orangemen and Unionists in Victoria Square; in the fight, Francis Hackett was fatally shot. - PJS The British had guaranteed Catholic rights in Quebec when they took over the territory in 1760, but the Catholics took many years to believe this. In the aftermath of William Lyon Mackenzie's 1837 rebellion, Governor General John Lambton, Earl of Durham, proposed constitutional changes (e.g. merging Upper and Lower Canada, i.e. Ontario and Quebec) which were viewed as attacking the Canadiens' identity. These and other changes fueled Catholic fears, and the tensions lasted for years. Indeed, the disagreements still persist, though the religious element seems to have largely dropped out. In addition to the disturbance of 1877 apparently cited here, Graeme Wynn reports that "Limbs were bruised and heads broken when Protestant Orangemen celebrated the victory of William of Orange over Irish Catholic forces at the Battle of the Boyne on July 12, 1690, clashed with 'Green' Catholics in and around the Irish districts of several cities [in Canada] in the 1830s and 1840s." (From Craig Brown, editor, _The Illustrated History of Canada_, p. 267).- RBW File: Rc12July === NAME: Twelve Apostles, The: see Green Grow the Rushes-O (The Twelve Apostles, Come and I Will Sing You) (File: ShH97) === NAME: Twelve Blessings of Mary, The: see The Seven Joys of Mary (File: FO211) === NAME: Twelve Days of Christmas, The DESCRIPTION: The singer's true love gives gifts throughout Christmastide, with the quantity of gifts increasing each day AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1780 (Mirth without Mischief) KEYWORDS: Christmas cumulative FOUND_IN: Britain(England,Scotland,Wales) US(Ap,NE,SE,So) Canada(West) REFERENCES: (16 citations) Belden, pp. 512-513, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (1 text) Flanders/Olney, pp. 213-216, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (1 text, 1 tune) Flanders/Brown, pp. 86-87, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (1 text, 1 tune) Linscott, pp. 52-54, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (1 text, 1 tune) Sharp-100E 96, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (1 text, 1 tune) BrownII 52, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (3 texts, though two are summarized) Brewster 94, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (2 texts, apparently summarized) Lomax-FSNA 124, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (1 text, 1 tune) Ritchie-SingFam, p. 172, "Twelve Days of Christmas" (1 text) Opie-Oxford2 100, "The first day of Christmas" (3 texts) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #424, pp. 196-199, "(The First Day of Christmas)" Montgomerie-ScottishNR 123, "Thirteen Yule Days" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 384, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (1 text) DT, XMAS12DY* ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928, notes to #258, ("On the First Day of Christmas") (1 text) Ian Bradley, _The Penguin Book of Carols_ (1999), #59, "On the First Day of Christmas" (1 text) Roud #68 RECORDINGS: John Thomas, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" [sung in Welsh] (on Saskatch01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Ten Days of Finals" (tune) SAME_TUNE: The Ten Days of Finals (File: EM373) NOTES: An legend (passed to me by a friend, with no authorities cited) claims that this was a covert Catholic catechism, composed to sneak by the Protestant authorities. The Baring-Goulds offer some minor supporting evidence, in that a partridge (for the first day) is "known as a bird that deserts its young" -- hence the idea of people who have deserted their faith. Possible, I suppose -- but clearly most people who have sung the song know nothing of such things, and many of their heavily-folk-processed versions would not be suitable for such purposes (assuming the original was). Ian Bradley in the _Penguin Book of Carols_, on the other hand, claims it's a drinking forfeit: You have to remember all the gifts offered by previous givers and add one of your own. The problem with this theory, of course, is that the gifts are stereotyped. They may be even more sterotyped than we realize, in fact. The Baring-Goulds argue that the "five gold rings" of the fifth verse are in fact the rings on the neck of a pheasant (though those rings aren't golden on any pheasant I've seen), meaning that the first seven gifts are all birds. They also argue for a French origin for the piece. A handful of versions of this -- that of the Montgomeries, and Gomme's "B," and Chambers -- is clearly recensionally different: The verses begin, "The king sent his lady on the (first, second, third...) Yule day." The final line is, "Who learns my carol, and carries it away." This may include *thirteen* Yule days. I thought seriously about calling this a separate song -- but the general form appears related, and so are many of the gifts. Besides, most people would probably seek the song here. But it should be clear that it's a deliberate rewrite. There is a partial French analogy, "La Perdriole" or "The Twelve Months of the Year"; it can be found in Maud Karpeles, _Folk Songs of Europe_, Oak, 1956, 1964, p. 130. It counts the months of the year rather than the days of Christmas, and many of the gifts are different -- but it ends (at least in the Karpeles translation) with "Two turtle-doves, And a little partridge... in the woods." We should be cautious with this song, though. Not all texts follow this format, though it appears all are cumulative. Grace Lee Nute, _The Voyageur_, 1931 (I use the 1987 Minnesota Historical Society Press edition), pp. 115-117, examines several versions of the song she calls "Une Perdriole." All are cumulative, but the number of cycles varies, and it counts days in the month of may, not months of the year. I am inclined to suspect that this song began simply as a cumulative song and was perhaps even adapted toward the English form. - RBW File: FO213 === NAME: Twelve Gates to the City DESCRIPTION: Spiritual: "Oh, what a beautiful city/There's twelve gates to the city, halleluiah"; "Three gates in the east, three gates in the west/Three gates in the north, three gates in the south." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (recording, Norfolk Jubilee Quartet) KEYWORDS: nonballad religious FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (3 citations) PSeeger-AFB, p. 81, "Twelve Gates to the City" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 349, "Twelve Gates to the City" (1 text) DT, TWLVGATE RECORDINGS: Marian Anderson, "Oh! What a Beautiful City" (Victor 10-1040, 1943) Blind Gary [Davis], "Twelve Gates to the City" (ARC 7-04-55, 1937; rec. 1935) Blind Boy Fuller w. Sonny Terry, "Twelve Gates to the City" (Vocalion 05465, 1940) Galilee Singers, "What a Beautiful City" (Decca 7765, 1940) Norfolk Jubilee Quartet, "Oh What a Beautiful City" (Paramount 12929, 1930; rec. 1929) Pete Seeger & Sonny Terry, "Twelve Gates to the City" (on SeegerTerry) Pete Seeger, "Beautiful City" (on PeteSeeger18)); "Twelve Gates to the City" (on PeteSeeger42); "Oh, What a Beautiful City [Twelve Gates to the City]" (on PeteSeeger47) Sonny Terry [pseud., Saunders Terrell], "Beautiful City" (on Terry01) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Oh, What a Beautiful City NOTES: I know there are earlier recordings of this piece (it was a showpiece for Rev. Gary Davis), and probably earlier printed citations too, but I haven't found them yet. - PJS The image of the heavenly city may possibly be derived from Chapter 21 of the Apocalypse, but the twelve gates of the city, three on each side, are unquestionably taken from Ezekiel 48:30-34. - RBW File: PSAFB081 === NAME: Twelve Good Joys, The: see The Seven Joys of Mary (File: FO211) === NAME: Twelve Joys, The: see The Seven Joys of Mary (File: FO211) === NAME: Twelvemonth More Has Rolled Around, A DESCRIPTION: "A twelvemonth more has rolled around Since we attended on this ground, Ten thousand scenes have marked the year Since we last met to worship here." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1955 (Ritchie) KEYWORDS: religious FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ritchie-SingFam, p. 83, "[A Twelvemonth More Has Rolled Around]" (1 text, 1 tune) File: JRSF083 === NAME: Twenty Men from Dublin Town DESCRIPTION: Twenty men from Dublin join Michael Dwyer to fight the redcoats and avenge the death of Wolfe Tone. AUTHOR: Arthur Griffith (1871-1922) (source: Moylan) EARLIEST_DATE: 2000 (Moylan) KEYWORDS: rebellion Ireland nonballad patriotic HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1798 - Irish rebellion against British rule Nov 10, 1798 - Wolfe Tone (1763-1798) condemned to execution; he cuts his own throat to avoid hanging as a criminal (his request to face a firing squad had been denied) FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Moylan 147, "Twenty Men from Dublin Town" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Michael Dwyer (I)" (subject of Michael Dwyer) and references there cf. "The Shan Van Voght" (subject of Wolfe Tone) NOTES: For the history of Michael Dwyer, who held out as a rebel for about five years before surrendering to the British, see the notes to Michael Dwyer (I)" or Michael Dwyer (II)." Wolfe Tone's part in the 1798 rebellion is covered in "The Shan Van Voght." Arthur Griffith was the founder of Sinn Fein, the party that eventually led Ireland to (approximate) independence; after the foundation of the Irish Free State, he became the first head of state, dying in that office in no small part because of the pressures of trying to head a state suffering a civil war. - RBW File: Moyl147 === NAME: Twenty Pound Dog, The DESCRIPTION: "My name it is (Michael McCarthy) and I live in this town of renown, I made a bet with one Terrence Mahaffey that my bulldog could wallop the town." But Murphy's dog kills the singer's dog. He cries for vengeance AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Dean) KEYWORDS: dog fight revenge FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Dean, pp. 68-69, "The Twenty Pound Dog" (1 text) Roud #3495 NOTES: I found an online reference to this song, stating that it was widely known in the nineteenth century as a result of a decision in Britain to ban sports such as bear-baiting. Those who liked the blood sports turned to fighting dogs, since they were smaller and more normally kept as pets. According to the site, bulldogs were the typical breed used for this purpose -- but their lack of mobility made the fights uninteresting. So other breeds were mixed in to produce the pit bull. This does seem to fit well with the song, since the dog Murphy wins the fight with has terrier blood. - RBW File: Dean068B === NAME: Twenty Years Ago (Forty Years Ago) DESCRIPTION: "I wandered to the village, Tom, and sat beneath the tree... That sheltered you and me... But none were left to greet me, Tom... Who played with us upon the green Just (twenty/forty) years ago." The singer tells how the people have changed with the years AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1879 (McGuffey's Fifth Reader) KEYWORDS: age home courting FOUND_IN: US(SE,So) Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (4 citations) BrownIII 335, "Twenty (Forty, Sixty) Years Ago" (4 texts) Randolph 869, "Forty Years Ago" (1 text plus an excerpt, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 481-484, "Forty Years Ago" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 869A) Ives-DullCare, pp. 196-197,256, "Twenty Years Ago" (1 text, 1 tune) ST R869 (Partial) Roud #765 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Good Old Days of Adam and Eve" (theme) and references there cf. "Merchants of the Bay" (tune) NOTES: Randolph lists many possible authors for this piece: Dill Armor Smith and Frances Huston are credited with the words, and William Willing with the tune. No solid evidence seems to be forthcoming, though Hazel Felleman's _The Best Loved Poems of the American People_ also credits the song to Smith. Cohen notes that several people stepped forward to claim the song (on behalf of others) and explain the internal references. The texts in Brown are clearly the same song, despite the difference in time period covered, and also the changes described in that time. Randoph's and Felleman's texts make little mention of technology; they're mostly about aging. The other texts are different. Several mention the first cooking stove, and how women wore (woolen/homespun) dresses and boys wore pants of tow. Brown's "D" text concludes, "Oxen answered well for teams, but now they're rather slow. But people didn't live so fast some sixty years ago." I'd love to know the author's reaction, had he lived to see it, to a modern freeway.... - RBW File: R869 === NAME: Twenty-Fourth of May, The DESCRIPTION: "O, the twenty-fourth of May Is the Queen's birthday. If you don't give us a holiday, We'll all run away." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1970 (Manny/Wilson) KEYWORDS: royalty nonballad HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 24, 1819 - birth of the future Queen Victoria FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Manny/Wilson, p.35, (no title) (1 text) NOTES: The songs in Manny/Wilson were collected in two spurts: The Lord Beaverbrook collection was made around 1947, and Manny started gathering material about ten years later. It would be interesting to know how many of her informants went to school during Victoria's reign -- I wonder if Manny didn't recall the piece herself. - RBW File: MaWip35 === NAME: Twenty-One DESCRIPTION: "At twenty-one I first began to court a neighbour's child...." "At twenty-two no man could view what beauty she possessed...." "At twenty-three she slighted me...." The singer laments the girl's falsity, hopes she will change, (and sets out to ramble) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: love courting rejection betrayal rambling beauty FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) SHenry H33+H611, pp. 397-398, "Twenty-One" (1 text with many variant readings, 1 tune) DT, AT21 Roud #4714 RECORDINGS: Robert Cinnamond, "At Twenty One" (on IRRCinnamond03) File: HHH033 === NAME: Twenty-One Years [Laws E16] DESCRIPTION: A convict is sentenced to twenty-one years in prison. He begs his sweetheart, for whom he endured a dirty jail, to ask the governor for clemency. As nothing seems to come of this, he warns young men not to trust women AUTHOR: Bob Miller? EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (recording, Lester McFarland & Robert Gardner) KEYWORDS: prison rejection FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE,So) Britain(England) REFERENCES: (8 citations) Laws E16, "Twenty-One Years" Randolph 168, "Twenty-One Years" (4 texts plus an excerpt, 1 tune, with the last three texts being diverse sequels to the first text and excerpt) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 156-158, "Twenty-One Years" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 168A) BrownIII 352, "Twenty-One Years" (1 text) MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 69-70, "Twenty-One Years" (1 text) MacSeegTrav 100, "Twenty-One Years" (2 texts, 2 tunes) JHJohnson, pp. 41-43, "Twenty-One Years" (1 text) DT 354, (YRS21*) Roud #2248 RECORDINGS: Edward L. Crain, "Twenty-One Years" (Crown 3238, 1932) Lonesome Pine Fiddlers, "Twenty-One Years" (RCA Victor 20-5011, 1952) Frank Luther, "Twenty-One Years" (Polk 9087, n.d.) Lester McFarland & Robert Gardner, "Twenty-One Years" (Brunswick 483, 1930) Bob Miller, "Twenty-One Years" (Supertone S-2764, c. 1931) [Bob] Miller & [Barney] Burnett, "Twenty One Years" (Champion 15985, 1930) (OKeh 45442/OKeh 45541, 1930) (Montgomery Ward M-4964, 1936) New Lost City Ramblers, "Twenty-One Years" (on NLCR13) Riley Puckett, "Twenty-One Years" (Columbia 15719-D, 1932; rec. 1931) Red River Dave, "Twenty-One Years" (Musicraft 287, 1944) Renfro Valley Boys [Karl Davis & Harty Taylor], "Twenty One Years" (Paramount 3311/Broadway 8318, rec. 1932) Dick Robertson, "Twenty-One Years" (Victor 23616, 1932; Montgomery Ward M-3311, n.d.; rec. 1931) Carson Robison's Trio, "Twenty-One Years" (Banner 32305/Oriole 8100, 1931 Kate Smith, "Twenty-One Years" (Columbia 2605-D, 1932) Uncle Bud & his Plow Boys, "Twenty-One Years" (Clarion 5418-C, 1931) Marc Williams, "Twenty-One Years" (Decca 5010, 1934) SAME_TUNE: Gene Autry & Jimmy Long, "Answer to 21 Years" (Banner 32761 [as Gene Autry]/Melotone 12690 [as Gene Autry]/Vocalion 5497/Conqueror 8092, 1933) Don Hall Trio, "Answer to Twenty-One Years" (Victor 23782/Bluebird B-5004 [as the Rose Family], 1933) Log Cabin Boys, "Answer to 21 Years" (Decca 5035, 1934) Jimmy Long, "The Answer to 21 Years" (Champion 16632, 1933; Champion 45023, 1935) Ernest Hare, "New Twenty-One Years" (Columbia 2602-D, 1932) Zora Layman, "The Answer to 21 Years" (Banner 32722/Melotone M-12651, 1933) Frank Luther Trio "New Twenty-One Years" (Vocalion 5491, c. 1932; Melotone 12602/Banner 32679 [both as Buddy Spencer's Trio]/Perfect 12884 [as Buddy Spencer]/Conqueror 8100, 1933; rec. 1932) Bob Miller, "New Twenty-One Years" (Columbia 15739-D [as Bob Ferguson], 1932) (Electradisk 1907 [as Palmer Trio], 1933) (Victor 23693, 1932; Bluebird B-5013[as Bill Palmer Trio]/Montgomery Ward M-4233, 1933) Lester McFarland, "Twenty-One Years, No. 2" (Brunswick 596, 1932) Bob Miller, "New Twenty-One Years" (Columbia 15739-D, 1932) (Electradisk 1907, c. 1932) (Montgomery Ward M-4233, 1933) Dan Parker, "New 21 Years" (Crown 3266, 1932) [I strongly suspect this is a pseudonym, but since I don'e know whether it's Frank Luther or Bob Miller I give it its own listing for now] Dick Robertson, "New Twenty-One Years" (Victor 23647, 1932/Montgomery Ward M-4821, 1935) NOTES: The copyright and collection information on this song reveal something or other. The notes in Randolph's second edition list it as copyright 1931 by Bob Miller. But Randolph's informant, Lillian Short, thought she learned it in 1931, and not from Miller. Henry's version is from 1932; Brown's dates from around 1936. Plus the three sequels, which Laws considers distinct, were collected 1935, 1934, and 1941. Johnson's book, printed in 1935, shows no knowledge of an author; neither does Laws, nor Brown, though Norm Cohen accepts the attribution to Miller. Draw your own conclusions. - RBW Well, the McFarland-Gardner record was made in June 1930 and probably issued later that year, so Ms. Short could well have learned it from there. In the discographical notes to that record, though, the author credit is given to Miller. The Robison recording also dates from that year. - PJS File: LE16 === NAME: Twenty-Third, The DESCRIPTION: "The Twenty-third was drawn in line and ready for the strife, Each man for his country would freely give his life...." A toast to the soldiers who fought bravely "On the thirty-first of May in the Shenandoah lowlands, lowlands low...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Warner) KEYWORDS: battle Civilwar FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Warner 36, "The Twenty-Third" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Wa036 (Partial) Roud #7454 NOTES: The fragment given by the Warners (collected from Yankee John Galusha) is historically troublesome; I suspect it is damaged. There were no Civil War battles fought on May 31 in the Shenandoah valley! The logical guess would be that the reference is to Jackson's Shenandoah campaign of 1862. Fighting was almost constant in May and June of that year -- but on May 31 Jackson was extracting his troops from between converging Federal columns. The song does not really identify the regiment, but here we can make a better guess. Even though John Galusha was from New York, it is not the 23rd New York (which, unlike the formation in the song, did not have a colonel named Neal). I suspect it is the 23rd Pennsylvania, which was commanded from February 1862 by Colonel Thomas Hewson Neill. This regiment, however, was in the Peninsular Campaign, not the Shenandoah campaign (it was in Couch's first division of Keyes's Fourth Corps). If that is the case, we have a "fit" for the battle: It was the battle of Fair Oaks/Seven Pines, May 31-June 1, 1862. At that time, according to _Battles and Leaders of the Civil War_, volume II, p. 218, it was in Abercrombie's second brigage of Couch's division. What's more, it played a major role in the battle -- Abercrombie's brigade suffered 624 casualties, which is probably in excess of 15% of its available strength, and the second-highest brigade total in the Union army. Thus we must suspect the "Shenandoah" reference to be in error -- though even it can be explained. Later in the war, the 23 Pennsylvania was in the Sixth Corps (part of the first brigade, third division from Fredericksburg to Gettysburg; at the Wilderness, it was part of 4/1/VI), and the Sixth Corps was sent to the Shenandoah in 1864. We know, however, that that is not the battle mentioned; by that time Neill was commanding a brigade in a different division of the corps. Still, it might explain the confusion: Originally the song was an ode to the 23 Pennsylvania, with references to its various exploits, and a chorus referring to the Shenandoah campaign was transferred to the section about Fair Oaks/Seven Pines. Who Boggs was I cannot guess; there was no general by that name, but odds are that he was a company officer anyway. It's interesting to observe that John Galusha knew another song ("The Irish Sixty-Ninth") about a Pennsylvania regiment that fought at Fair Oaks. Did he at some point know someone with a large collection of Pennsylvania songs? - RBW File: Wa036 === NAME: Twila Was a City Maiden DESCRIPTION: The singer, a country boy, describes meeting and falling in love with a beautiful city girl. He begs her to marry him, and for a while they exchange love letters. But eventually she grows tired of him and marries another man AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1932 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: love courting separation betrayal marriage FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 821, "Twila Was a City Maiden" (1 text) Roud #7436 File: R821 === NAME: Twilight A-Stealing DESCRIPTION: "Twilight a-stealing over the sea, Shadows are falling, dark on the lea, Borne on the night wind, voices of yore Come from the far-off shore." The singer tells of the home beyond the twilight where memories and good things wait AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (recording, Stoneman Family) KEYWORDS: religious home FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (2 citations) Ritchie-SingFam, pp. 30-31, "[Twilight A-Stealing]" (1 text, 1 tune) Ritchie-Southern, p. 49, "Twilight A-Stealing" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #5745 RECORDINGS: Ritchie Family, "Twilight A-Stealing" (on Ritchie03) The Stoneman Family, "Twilight Is Stealing over the Sea" (Victor, unissued, 1928) File: JRSF030 === NAME: Twin Ballots, The DESCRIPTION: Two ballots are cast together on election day. One is by the local brewer, the other by a "Sunday school man." The Sunday school man spends all day denouncing saloons, but votes for rum. The song waxes sarcastic about this hypocrisy AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: drink political clergy FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Randolph 310, "The Twin Ballots" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 259-206, "The Twin Ballots" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 310) DT, TWNBLLT* ADDITIONAL: Fred W. Allsopp, Folklore of Romantic Arkansas, Volume II (1931), p. 211, "The Twin Ballots" (1 text) ST R310 (Partial) Roud #7787 File: R310 === NAME: Twin Lakes DESCRIPTION: "As I was sitting in my own cozy corner, Thinking all on a few dollars to make, My wife says ... They're making good wages up on the Twin Lakes." He finds the contractors "keep you right down with their foot on your neck ... keep clear ... of Twin Lakes" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield) KEYWORDS: lumbering hardtimes logger work money FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Greenleaf/Mansfield 161, "Twin Lakes" (1 text, 1 tune) Peacock, pp. 761-762, "Twin Lakes" (1 text, 1 tune) Doyle3, pp. 79-80, "Twin Lakes" (1 text, 1 tune) Blondahl, p. 51, "Twin Lakes" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #17693 RECORDINGS: Omar Blondahl, "Twin Lakes" (on NFOBlondahl02, NFOBlondahl03) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Jerry Ryan" (theme) cf. "The Track to Knob Lake" (lyrics) NOTES: The AND [Anglo-Newfoundland Development] company was involved in logging across Newfoundland. Greenleaf/Mansfield says "most of the lumbering is let out to individuals who do it under contract, and 'subbing' means to take a sub-contract. Twin Lakes is in the interior of the island [Newfoundland]." - BS File: Doyl3079 === NAME: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star DESCRIPTION: "Twinkle, twinkle little star." The singer wonders what the star is. It shows its light while the sun is down. It "lights the traveller in the dark" so he can see which way to go. AUTHOR: Jane Taylor (1783-1824) EARLIEST_DATE: 1806 (Rhymes for the Nursery, according to Opie-Oxford2) KEYWORDS: lyric nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (4 citations) Opie-Oxford2 489, "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" (1 text) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #168, pp. 125-126, "(Twinkle, twinkle, little star)" MHenry-Appalachians, p. 243, (no title) (1 fragment) Fuld-WFM, pp. 593-594, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star -- (ABCDEFG; Baa, Baa, Black Sheep; Schnitzelbank)" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Baa Baa Black Sheep" (tune) NOTES: According to Fuld, the tune of this first appeared in 1761 as "Ah! Vous Dirai-Je, Maman." The tune had sundry English lyrics before being united with the Taylor words apparently in 1838. The popularity of the piece shows in the various parodies, notably Carroll's "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bat." - RBW File: OO2489 === NAME: Twins, The DESCRIPTION: AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) The One Thing or the Other File: K209 === NAME: Twist About, Turn About, Jump Jim Crow: see Jump Jim Crow (File: Gilb018) === NAME: Twistification: see Weevily Wheat (File: R520) === NAME: Twisting on the Train: see Brakeman on the Train (File: LLab099) === NAME: Two Born Brothers: see The Twa Brothers [Child 49] (File: C049) === NAME: Two Budding Lumberjacks, The DESCRIPTION: Two lumberjacks work for the Underhills "upon a floating bog Upon Dungarvon's Flats." Whistling Rufus criticizes them for leaving a log behind. Instead of going back for the log their father takes a fence rail from someone else "and call it square" AUTHOR: Ben, Frank and Albert Peters, 1895 (Manny/Wilson) EARLIEST_DATE: 1962 (Manny/Wilson) KEYWORDS: lumbering FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Manny/Wilson 43, "The Two Budding Lumberjacks" (1 text, 1 tune) ST MaWi043 (Partial) Roud #9185 NOTES: Manny/Wilson: The song is about an experience Ben [age 12] and Frank [age 14] Peters, and their father Leon taking sub-contracts from Millet Underhill "who ran lumber camps for the Snowball Lumber Company of Chatham." The ballad says they came from Prince Edward's Isle. - BS Albert Peters, the informant, was the younger brother of the two boys involved in the exploit. Reading the plot, you would probably think this a humorous song. It isn't, somehow. - RBW File: MaWi043 === NAME: Two Cormacks Who Died Innocent in Front of Nenagh Gaol, The DESCRIPTION: The condemned stand on the trap and proclaim their innocence. "The day of their execution, as they stood on the drop, The thunder came so dreadful that it did the people shock." At their death "the thunder still continued, with both lightning and rain" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1858 (Zimmermann) KEYWORDS: execution homicide trial storm lament Ireland political HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 11, 1858 - William and Daniel Cormack, or McCormack, are hanged for murder. (source: Zimmermann) FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Zimmermann 64, "The Lamentation of the Two Cormacks Who Died Innocent in Front of Nenagh Gaol" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: For another broadside on the same subject see Bodleian, Harding B 19(10), "Lamentation of The Two M'Cormacks Who Were Innocently Hanged at Nenagh Gaol" ("Come all yon Roman Catholics, I hope you will attend"), unknown, n.d.; also 2806 b.9(272), 2806 c.15(231), "Lamentation of The Two M'Cormacks Who Were Innocently Hanged at Nenagh Gaol" [the texts for this ballad are the same] This broadside adds some details: the brother's names are William and Daniel, the murdered man's name is Ellis, and the judge's name is Keogh. It says nothing about the storm at the hanging. Zimmermann: "A land agent detested by the people was shot near Templemore, County Tipperary, on 22nd October, 1857. Two brothers ... were charged with the murder upon very suspect evidence.... According to the _Tipperary Examiner_, 'the [execution] day was beautifully fine....' In the following weeks the excitement increased, and on 30th August, from twelve to fifteen thousand men assembled in a protest meeting on the place of the execution." Zimmermann also refers to "a broadside ballad entitled 'The Memory of the two McCormacks Who Was Hanged at Nenagh Gaol', printed and sold in County Tipperary in 1908." - BS File: Zimm064 === NAME: Two Crows, The: see The Three Ravens [Child 26] (File: C026) === NAME: Two Dollar Bill (Long Journey Home) DESCRIPTION: Singer has lost "lost all my money but a two dollar bill"; he's homesick, lonesome and blue. He sees the smoke of a train, and says he's on his long journey home. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (recording, Monroe Brothers) KEYWORDS: poverty homesickness loneliness train travel lyric nonballad FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 177, "My Long Journey Home" (1 text, 1 tune) RECORDINGS: Jim Eanes, "Long Journey Home" (Blue Ridge 201, n.d.) Monroe Brothers, "My Long Journey Home" (Bluebird B-6422, 1936) New Lost City Ramblers, "My Long Journey Home" (on NLCR03, NLCRCD1) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Worried Man Blues" (tune) NOTES: This should not be confused with the song composed by Rosa Lee and Doc Watson, "Your Long Journey." - PJS File: CSW177 === NAME: Two Drummers, The: see My Mother Was a Lady (File: LPnd217) === NAME: Two Dukes: see Six Dukes Went A-Fishing (File: FO078) === NAME: Two Dukes A-Roving: see Three Dukes (File: R551) === NAME: Two Faithful Lovers DESCRIPTION: A story of a couple "yet, though feeble, old and gray / they're faithful lovers still." They've had "dull November hours as well as days of May" since they first courted. "Together hand-in-hand they pass, advancing down life's hill," faithful to the end AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (recording, Rutherford & Foster) KEYWORDS: age love marriage lover FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #11515 RECORDINGS: Recordings: [Leonard] Rutherford & [John] Foster, "The Faithful Lovers" (Challenge 423 [as Crocker & Cannon, "Two Faithful Lovers", 1929) (Brunswick 581, c. 1931; rec. 1930; on KMM) File: Rc2FaLov === NAME: Two Gypsy Girls, The DESCRIPTION: Dandling song. Two pretty Gypsy girls, Hat and Kate, go hawking with bundles on their backs and babies at their breasts. The boys sing, "He's a gay old singer/Here comes the galloping major" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1962 or 1966 (collected from Caroline Hughes) KEYWORDS: hunting humorous nonballad Gypsy FOUND_IN: Britain(England) REFERENCES: (1 citation) MacSeegTrav 125, "The Two Gypsy Girls" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: This seems to be derived from a music-hall song, "The Galloping Major." - PJS File: McCST125 === NAME: Two Hundred Years A-Brewing DESCRIPTION: A song for "thirsty tourists" about "our famous stout" made "down by the Liffeyside," "our grand brewery at the top of James's Street" and "Our barges neat nigh Watling Street ... full of double X," a favourite at the Brien Boru after a funeral. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (recording, Margaret Barry and Michael Gorman) KEYWORDS: commerce drink Ireland nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #12930 RECORDINGS: Margaret Barry and Michael Gorman, "Two Hundred Years A-Brewing" (on Voice13) NOTES: See "The Wreck of the Vartry" for more about Double X, the Guiness brewery and barges on the Liffey. - BS File: Rc200YB === NAME: Two Irish Laborers DESCRIPTION: "We are two Irish laborers, as you can plainly see, From Donegal we came when small unto America." Railroad work did not pay well, so they have turned to construction. They hope to return to Ireland, and promise a welcome to any who visit them there AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Dean) KEYWORDS: work home Ireland FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Dean, p. 70, "Two Irish Laborers" (1 text) Roud #9563 File: Dean070B === NAME: Two Irishmen, Two Irishmen: see Teasing Songs (File: EM256) === NAME: Two Jinkers DESCRIPTION: The two jinkers of the title are Jimmie Walsh and Steven. Bad luck to have on board, they were only hired here because men are hard to find. Their ship runs aground and Jimmie and Steven are responsible. The perturbed singer plans to quit his job. AUTHOR: Patrick Kevin Devine ? EARLIEST_DATE: 1940 KEYWORDS: ship wreck hardtimes work FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Doyle2, p. 11, "Two Jinkers" (1 text, 1 tune) Doyle3, p. 82, "Two Jinkers" (1 text, 1 tune) Blondahl, pp. 34-35, "Two Jinkers" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7315 ALTERNATE_TITLES: Jimmy Walsh and Stephen NOTES: People who are bad luck on ships are referred to as "Jonahs." [After Jonah, in the Bible, whose presence aboard a ship brought on a storm. - RBW] Smaller vessels were usually run on a family basis or by a very close group, which led to intolerance of strangers. For more about Jonahs, consult Horace Beck, _Folklore and the Sea_ (Mystic, Conn.: Mystic Seaport Museum, 1985) 303-304. - SH The author is named by GEST Songs of Newfoundland and Labrador site. - BS File: Doy11 === NAME: Two Lanterns, The: see The Child of the Railroad Engineer (The Two Lanterns) (File: R685) === NAME: Two Letters, The (Charlie Brooks; Nellie Dare) DESCRIPTION: Charlie writes that he wishes to break off the engagement, saying it would never work, and asks for his ring back. (Nellie) returns ring, photos, etc. She asks him to tell his new girl that he once gave another his ring. She claims she burned his letters AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (recording, Vernon Dalhart) KEYWORDS: betrayal love request FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Randolph 735, "Charlie Brooks" (2 texts, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 486-489, "Charley Brooke" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 735A) Roud #3534 RECORDINGS: Leo Boswell and Elzie Floyd, "Nellie Dare" (Columbia 15150-D, 1927) Vernon Dalhart, "Nellie Dare and Charlie Brooks" (Brunswick 143) (Victor 20058, 1926) Bradley Kincaid, "Charlie Brooks" (Superior 2788, 1932) Holland Puckett, "Charles A. Brooks" (Gennett 6163/Herwin 75556 [as by Robert Howell], 1927) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Ella Dare NOTES: Although this is not, to my knowledge, based on an actual incident, things like this were in fact common in the nineteenth century. In fact, it happened to none other than Robert Peary, the future "discoverer" of the North Pole. (For Peary and his almost certainly false polar claim, see "Hurrah for Baffin's Bay"). According tto Robert M. Bryce, _Cook & Peary: The Polar Controversy, Resolved_, Stackpole, 1997, p. 18, "On October 7, 1879, [Peary] asked [his fiancee] for his release [apparently on the basis that they were living in different cities and he had no intention to return]. In return he received a letter asking for an explanation, and when he had given it, another, reproachful in tone. It closed with the remark that he considered their correspondence at an end, and she requested that if Bert [Peary] had anything further to say, he should address it to her father. In December she returned all of his letters, and he hers, along with her ring." - RBW File: R735 === NAME: Two Little Blackbirds DESCRIPTION: "Two little blackbird in the ring, One named Peter, one named Paul. Fly away, Peter, fly away, Paul, Come the sea (?), come the fall." "Under the carpet (?) we must go, Like a jaybird (?) in the air." "Then, Sally, will you marry?" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1947 (recorded from Elda Blackwood); Warner compares it to a 1765 nursery rhyme KEYWORDS: bird marriage floatingverses nonballad FOUND_IN: West Indies REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #16401 RECORDINGS: Elda Blackwood, "Two Little Blackbirds" (on USWarnerColl01) NOTES: The Warners identify this with the mother goose rhynme, "There were two Blackirds Sta upon a Hill, The one nam'd Jack, The other nam'd Gill, Fly away Jack, Fly away Gill, Come again Jack, Come again Jill," now more commonly known as "Two little dicky birds." The similarity in lyrics is obvious, but the shift from Jack and Gill to Peter and Paul is peculiar, and most of Elda Blackwood's version is distinct anyway. Unfortunately, the Warner recording of Blackwood is so noisy as to verge on incomprehensible (note the number of question marks in my transcription). I think we must treat the matter as unsettled. - RBW File: Rc2LiBla === NAME: Two Little Children: see Orphan's Lament (Two Little Children, Left Jim and I Alone) (File: BrII150) === NAME: Two Little Fleas DESCRIPTION: "Two little fleas sat on a rock. One to the other said: I've had no place to hang my hat Since my poor dog's been dead. I've searched this whole world over; No longer shall I roam. The first dog that shall show himself Shall be my home, sweet home." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1923 (Brown) KEYWORDS: dog humorous food bug FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 192, "Two Little Fleas" (1 text) Roud #15771 File: Br3192 === NAME: Two Little Girls in Blue DESCRIPTION: A young man finds his uncle gazing at a photograph in tears. When asked why, the uncle explains the photo is of the boy's mother's sister, who married the uncle. The uncle and his wife have parted, and now he regrets it AUTHOR: Charles Graham EARLIEST_DATE: 1893 (original publication) KEYWORDS: family separation FOUND_IN: US(MA,MW) Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (7 citations) FSCatskills 106, "Two Little Girls in Blue" (1 text, 1 tune) Dean, pp. 74-75, "Two Little Girls in Blue" (1 text) Randolph 816, "Two Little Girls in Blue" (1 text) Cambiaire, p. 12, "Two Little Girls in Blue" (1 text) MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 163-164, "Two Little Girls in Blue" (1 text) Leach-Labrador 61, "Two Little Girls in Blue" (1 text) Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 181-181, "Two Little Girls in Blue" (1 fragmentary text, 1 tune) ST FSC106 (Partial) Roud #2793 RECORDINGS: Leo Boswell, "Two Little Girls in Blue" (Columbia 15290-D, 1928) W. C. Childers, "Two Little Girls in Blue" (Champion 16098, 1930) Murray Keller, "Two Little Girls in Blue" (Brunswick 188, 1927) Bradley Kincaid, "Two Little Girls in Blue" (Decca I.4456, n.d.) Bela Lam and His Green County Singers, "Two Little Girls in Blue" (OKeh, unissued, 1927) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "'Tis Not Always the Bullet that Kills" (plot) SAME_TUNE: Two Little Girls In Blue (Parody) (Meredith/Covell/Brown, pp. 125-126) File: FSC106 === NAME: Two Little Kittens DESCRIPTION: "Two little kittens one stormy night Began to quarrel and then to fight. One had a mouse, the other had none...." The two start to fight; the woman sweeps them out into the snow. When finally allowed back in, they decide warmth is better than fighting AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Flanders/Brown) KEYWORDS: animal storm fight FOUND_IN: US(NE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Flanders/Brown, pp. 184-185, "Two Little Kittens" (1 text, 1 tune) ST FlBr184 (Partial) Roud #5450 File: FlBr184 === NAME: Two Little Niggers Black as Tar DESCRIPTION: "Two little niggers black as tar, Tryin' to git to heaven on a 'lectric car, De street car broke, down dey fell; 'Stead a going to heaven they went to hell." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1919 (Brown) KEYWORDS: death Hell FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 467, "Two Little Niggers Black as Tar" (2 very short texts) Roud #11788 File: Br4367 === NAME: Two Little Orphans: see Orphan's Lament (Two Little Children, Left Jim and I Alone) (File: BrII150) === NAME: Two Lovers Discoursing [Laws O22] DESCRIPTION: Mary accuses her lover of breaking his promise to marry her; he denies this and asks who has spread the rumor that he is courting Nancy. But he still will not wed, until Mary points out that even birds are truer than he is. He gives in; they are married AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1954 (Creighton-Maritime) KEYWORDS: courting marriage promise infidelity FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Laws O22, "Two Lovers Discoursing" Doerflinger, pp. 316-317, "Two Lovers Discoursing" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton-Maritime, p. 50, "Nancy's Courtship" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton-SNewBrunswick 31, "The Most Unconstant of Young Men" (1 text, 1 tune); 39A, "The True Lovers' Discussion" (1 text, 1 tune) DT 481, TWOLOVRS Roud #991 NOTES: Creighton-SNewBrunswick: "There must be some relation between 39A and B. The former seems to have originated with the folk and the latter to have been a literary composition taken over by the folk. They are placed together because of subject matter and also because singers give variants of the same title." If so they have grown so far apart that there is no hint in the words that they are related. For 39B see "The True Lovers' Discussion." - BS It's interesting to note that both of the Creighton-SNewBrunswick versions of this song are from the same informant, but differ in both text and tune. Though it's perhaps not as exceptional as Creighton thinks; consider how many different versions *you* probably know of "The Gypsy Laddie." - RBW File: LO22 === NAME: Two Magicians, The: see The Twa Magicians [Child 44] (File: C044) === NAME: Two O'Donahues, The DESCRIPTION: "We came from Tipperary a few short weeks ago, With spirits light and airy, two emigrants, you know." The two O'Donahues intend to get rich, return to Ireland, and become famous AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Dean) KEYWORDS: home emigration FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Dean, p. 130, "The Two O'Donahues" (1 text) File: Dean130B === NAME: Two Old Crows: see The Three Ravens [Child 26] (File: C026) === NAME: Two Professional Hums, The: see The Great American Bum (Three Jolly Bums) (File: FaE192) === NAME: Two Ravens, The: see The Three Ravens [Child 26] (File: C026) === NAME: Two Rigs of Rye [Laws O11] DESCRIPTION: (The girl tells her lover that her family opposes her marriage.) Uncertain of her dowry, he has doubts about the marriage. When she breaks into tears, he assures her he did not mean it. The two settle down to a long and happy marriage AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord) KEYWORDS: courting dowry marriage FOUND_IN: US(MW) Britain(England,Scotland) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Laws O11, "Two Rigs of Rye" Ord, pp. 31-32, "The Rigs of Rye" (1 text, 1 tune) Gardner/Chickering 58, "Two Rigs of Rye" (1 short text, 1 tune) DT 475, RIGSORYE* ST LO11 (Full) Roud #985 BROADSIDES: NLScotland, RB.m.143(122), "Twas in the Month of Sweet July," Poet's Box (Dundee), c. 1890 ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Rigs of Rye File: LO11 === NAME: Two Ruby Red Lips: see The Wayward Boy" (File: EM086) === NAME: Two Sisters That Loved One Man, The: see The Twa Sisters [Child 10] (File: C010) === NAME: Two Sisters, The: see The Twa Sisters [Child 10] (File: C010) === NAME: Two Sweethearts DESCRIPTION: "A bunch of young fellows one night at a club Were telling of sweethearts they had." They tease one boy about not having a love; he says he loves two women: His mother and his sweetheart AUTHOR: Words: E. P. Moran / Music: J. Fred Holf ? EARLIEST_DATE: 1897 (copyright claim) KEYWORDS: mother love FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 864, "Two Sweethearts" (1 text) Roud #4231 RECORDINGS: Carter Family, "Two Sweethearts" (Bluebird B-6106/Montgomery Ward M-4433, 1935; Regal Zonophone [Australia] G23169, n.d.) File: R864 === NAME: Two T.D.'s DESCRIPTION: Political rhymes: "Artists draw pictures and barmaids draw beer"; the TD's draw 480 a year. Hitler brags of conquering the Rhineland; we conquered Beare Island. Telegram cost is a hardship on us and delivery is faster by bus.... AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (OCanainn) KEYWORDS: humorous nonballad political HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1936 - German forces reoccupy the Rhineland, occupied and demilitarized by the French after World War I FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OCanainn, pp. 78-79, "Two T.D.'s" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: OCanainn: "T.D. (teachta dala or member of parliament)" - BS File: OCan078 === NAME: Two Travellers, The DESCRIPTION: Two travellers compare notes. One has been everywhere, done everything and seen the wonders of the world. The other asks what of Ireland the first has seen: "the man that ne'er saw Mullinahone Shouldn't say he had travelled at all" AUTHOR: C.J. Boland EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (OLochlainn-More) KEYWORDS: travel Ireland humorous nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OLochlainn-More, pp. 259-261, "The Two Travellers" (1 text) SAME_TUNE: cf. "Hannigan's Aunt" (tune) File: OLcM259 === NAME: Two White Horses (I) DESCRIPTION: "Two white horses, Two white horses, side by side (x3), Nobody can ride but the sanctified." "Daniel was a man in the lion's den The good Lord proved to be Daniel's friend." "Zek'l was a man and he rassled with sin Heb'n gate opened... he rolled... in" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg) KEYWORDS: religious Bible nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE,So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) BrownIII 646, "Two White Horses Side by Side" (1 fragment) Sandburg, pp. 472-473, "Two White Horses" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #11939 NOTES: The story of Daniel in the lion's den is found in 6:6-24. There is no explicit reference to Ezekiel wrestling with sin (let alone rolling right into heaven) -- but certainly Ezekiel spent more time than any other prophet wrestling with wild, crazed visions. - RBW File: San472 === NAME: Two White Horses (II): see See That My Grave Is Kept Clean (File: ADR92) === NAME: Two White Horses In a Line: see See That My Grave Is Kept Clean (File: ADR92) === NAME: Two White Horses Side by Side: see Two White Horses (I) (File: San472) === NAME: Two-Gun Cowboy, The (Son of a Gun) DESCRIPTION: "Out on a ranch way out west," the cowboys "never rest" until Saturday. One cowboy rides into town to see his girl, and is greeted by a shot through his hat. He finishes off the assailants, meets his girl, and heads off to be married AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1932 (Henry, collected from Jessie Pressley) KEYWORDS: cowboy fight death marriage horse FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 91-92, "The Two-Gun Cowboy" (1 text) Roud #12709 NOTES: This is so obviously false-to-life that I find myself wondering if it doesn't come from a movie Western. I really doubt it derived from actual cowboys. But I don't know who would make up such a thing. - RBW File: MHAp091 === NAME: Tyburn Hill DESCRIPTION: "A beggar man laid himself down to sleep, Rumsty-o, Rumsty-o. A beggar man laid himself down to sleep, On the banks of the Mersey so wide and steep." Two thieves come by and rob the beggar. The singer sees them in the dock, then on Tyburn gallows AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Linscott) KEYWORDS: thief begging punishment execution FOUND_IN: US(NE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Linscott, pp. 295-296, "Tyburn Hill" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Lins295 (Partial) Roud #3746 NOTES: Linscott points out that executions at Tyburn (Tye Burn) stopped in 1783 (after which time they took place at Newgate), implying that that dates this song. This doesn't really follow; "Tyburn" had by then become a byword of sorts. In fact the song seems somewhat confused; why would robbers who worked near the Mersey be hanged at Tyburn? Also, the form looks rather like a singing game. It's most unfortunate that we can't find more versions of this piece. - RBW File: Lins295 === NAME: Tying a Knot in the Devil's Tail [Laws B17] DESCRIPTION: Two cowboys, having spent a wild time in town, are returning to camp when they meet the Devil. The Devil tries to collect their souls; the cowboys have the better of the fight, leaving the Devil tied up, branded, and with its tail in knots AUTHOR: almost certainly Gail Gardner EARLIEST_DATE: 1917 KEYWORDS: Devil cowboy fight humorous FOUND_IN: US(SW) REFERENCES: (11 citations) Laws B17, "Tying a Knot in the Devil's Tail" Larkin, pp. 75-78, "Rusty Jiggs and Sandy Sam" (1 text, 1 tune) Fife-Cowboy/West 74, "Tying Knots in the Devil's Tail" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 203, "Tyin' a Knot in the Devil's Tail" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 406-409, "Tying a Knot in the Devil's Tail" (1 text) Ohrlin-HBT 27, "The Sierry Petes" (1 text, 1 tune) Logsdon 19, pp. 127-132, "The Soughrty Peaks" (1 text, 1 tune) Darling-NAS, pp. 174-176, "Tying a Knot in the Devil's Tail" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 112, "Tyin' A Knot In The Devil's Tail" (1 text) DT 384, DVLTAIL* ADDITIONAL: Hal Cannon, editor, _Cowboy Poetry: A Gathering_, Giles M. Smith, 1985, pp. 3-5, "The Sierry Petes" (1 text) Roud #3238 RECORDINGS: Cisco Houston, "Tying a Knot in the Devil's Tail" (Disc 5069, 1940s) Harry Jackson, "Tying a Knot in the Devil's Tail" (on HJackson1) Powder River Jack & Kitty Lee, "Tying A Knot In The Devil's Tail" (Victor 23527, 1930; Montgomery Ward M-4462, 1934; on AuthCowboys, BackSaddle, WhenIWas1) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "De Hoffnung" (theme) SAME_TUNE: East Texas Red (by Woody Guthrie) (on Thieme03) NOTES: Logsdon lists various authors who have been credited with this piece, but states pretty unequivocally that Gail Gardner is the actual author. Gardner did obtain the copyright, and Logsdon's evidence does add up to a very strong case; none of the other claimants appear to have any real supporting documentation. According to Cannon, the "Sierry Petes" (Gardner's official title) refers specifically to the Sierra Prieta range in Arizona. - RBW File: LB17 === NAME: Tying Knots in the Devil's Tail: see Tying a Knot in the Devil's Tail [Laws B17] (File: LB17) === NAME: Tylus and Talus DESCRIPTION: "Tylus and talus and rippity-ting, All the girls gather and all the boys sing, Choose you the nearest one, Choose you the dearest one, All join together to make a big ring." Verses begin "Tylus and talus" and encourage the couples AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: playparty courting FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 542, "Tylus and Talus" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7655 File: R542 === NAME: Tyne Exile's Lament, The DESCRIPTION: "I sat by the side of a broad rolling river That sparkles along on its way to the sea; By my thoughts fly again o'er the wide-heaving main... I wish I were again on the banks of the Tyne." The singer recalls Tynside and hopes to be buried there AUTHOR: Words: Anonymous (John Stokoe)/Music: Samuel Reay EARLIEST_DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay) KEYWORDS: homesickness river exile burial FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Stokoe/Reay, pp. 78-79, "The Tyne Exile's Lament" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #3143 NOTES: The notes in Stokoe/Reay say that an anonymous author wrote this and wanted his name to remain secret. It seems rather likely that Stokoe himself was responsible for this banal piece of local patriotism. - RBW File: StoR978 === NAME: U. S. A., The DESCRIPTION: "Tell me, daddy, tell me, why the men in yonder crowd, Can you tell me why they are marching...?" The father tells his son that they are marching because they are proud of American freedom; both his grandfathers died fighting for it AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Dean) KEYWORDS: patriotic America death nonballad FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Dean, pp. 28-29, "The U. S. A." (1 text) Roud #9555 NOTES: A;though it seems certain that this hearkens back to the American Civil War (there was no other war in American history where the odds are significant that both of a child's grandparents would have died), I have been unable to find out anything more about the song. - RBW File: Dean028 === NAME: Uh-Uh, No: see No, John, No (File: R385) === NAME: Ulan Girls: see The Girls of Ulan (File: MA213) === NAME: Umeralla Shore, The: see The Eumerella Shore (File: MA155) === NAME: Un Canadien Errant DESCRIPTION: Canadian French: A Canadien rebel has been forced from his home. Stopping by a stream, he bids it -- should it flow through his homeland -- to greet his friends. He promises not to forget his homeland AUTHOR: M. A. Gerin-Lajoie EARLIEST_DATE: 1842 KEYWORDS: exile rebellion Canada foreignlanguage HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1837 - Revolt in Canada. The failure of the uprising forces many rebels into exile FOUND_IN: Canada(Que) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Fowke/Johnston, pp. 26-27, "Un Canadien Errant" (1 text, 1 tune) Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 82-84, "Un Canadien Errant" (1 text, 1 tune) Fowke/MacMillan 4, "Un Canadien Errant" (1 English and 1 French version, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 339, "Un Canadien Errant (An Exiled Canadien)" (1 text) DT, CANADERR RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "Un Canadien Errant" (on PeteSeeger29) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "An Anti-Rebel Song" (subject) cf. "Farewell to Mackenzie" (subject) NOTES: For further details about the Canadian revolt, caused by the oppression of an oligarchic government, see the songs mentioned in the cross-references. - RBW File: FJ026 === NAME: Un, Deux, Trois DESCRIPTION: Creole French: "Un, deux, trois, Caroline qui fais comme sa, ma chere?" The singer asks Caroline what is the matter. She reports that mama says yes but papa says no. She is determined to have the young man anyway. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: courting love family father mother foreignlanguage FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 120, "Un Deux Trois" (1 short text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 218-219, "Un, Deux, Trois" (1 text plus translation, 1 tune) File: LxA218 === NAME: Una Bhan (Fair Una) DESCRIPTION: Irish Gaelic: Una's father locks her up rather than let her marry the singer. Ill, she sends for him; he finds the gates shut. If he doesn't hear from her before he has crossed the river, he won't return. A servant reaches him too late. Una dies of grief AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 (recording, Maire Aine Ni Dhonnchadha) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Irish Gaelic: Una's father imprisons her in her room rather than allow her to marry the singer. Ill, she sends for him, but he finds the gates shut against him. Angry, he turns away, crying that if he doesn't hear from her by the time he has crossed the river, he'll never return. He hesitates midstream; a servant is sent after him, but he has crossed the river before the servant arrives. Una dies of grief; still bitter, he comes to visit her grave for the last time, asking her spirit to visit him (and telling her it's awful for her to be lying there with the rotting corpses). Nothing happens, and he turns away into the darkness KEYWORDS: captivity disease grief hardheartedness courting love rejection corpse death mourning foreignlanguage lament father lover FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Maire Aine Ni Dhonnchadha, "Una Bhan" (on TradIre01) NOTES: Maire Aine Ni Dhonnchadha learned the song from an old woman in Rosaveel, the only person from whom it's apparently been collected. - PJS File: RcUnaBha === NAME: Uncle Bill Teller DESCRIPTION: "Uncle Bill Teller died las' fall, Young maiden, where ye bound to? We jigged t'ree days an' niver got one, Across de Western Ocean." "Bill K is de divil fer fat, Hang to 'er, b'ys, hang to 'er." "Billy K. got a fine old bark." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (England, Vikings of the Ice) KEYWORDS: hunting derivative FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ryan/Small, p. 106, "Uncle Bill Teller" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Across the Western Ocean" (form, lyrics) NOTES: Evidently a sealing parody of "Across the Western Ocean." - RBW File: RySma106B === NAME: Uncle Bud DESCRIPTION: "Oh, Uncle Bud goin' down the road, Haulin' women by the wagon load, Uncle Bud (x3), Bud, Doggone it, Uncle Bud." About Uncle Bud's odd exploits, sexual anatomy, and extravagant farming methods, as well as poverty and perhaps the hope for salvation AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recording, Gid Tanner & his Skillet Lickers) KEYWORDS: humorous drink death sex bawdy FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) MWheeler, pp. 95-97, "Uncle Bud" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #10035 RECORDINGS: Anonymous singer, "Uncle Bud" (on Unexp1) Grant & Wilson, "Uncle Joe" (QRS, 1929) (Decca, 1938) Booker T. Sapps, "Uncle Bud" (AFS 370 A1, 370 A2, 1935) Gid Tanner & his Skillet Lickers, "Uncle Bud" (Columbia 15134-D, 1927; rec. 1926) (Columbia 15221-D, 1928; rec. 1927) NOTES: Most versions of this song are bawdy, to a greater or lesser extent. A Texas variant, recorded by the anonymous singer on Unexp1, recounts stories about Uncle Bud Russell, who was in charge of transporting prisoners to the state prison at Huntsville -- but the song clearly existed in tradition before then, and was adapted to local use. - PJS File: MWhee095 === NAME: Uncle Dan Song, The DESCRIPTION: "A sly young maid" warns Uncle Dan of a predatory widow who "set her cap" for him. He thanks the maid for the warning; if she marries she should treat her man well but "if he should die and you want another man, Just clear the road for Uncle Dan" AUTHOR: Dan Riley EARLIEST_DATE: 1957 (Ives-DullCare) KEYWORDS: courting warning humorous FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ives-DullCare, pp. 48-49, 256, "The Uncle Dan Song" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #13998 RECORDINGS: Mary Cousins, "The Uncle Dan Song" (on MREIves01) File: IvDC048 === NAME: Uncle Eph DESCRIPTION: About Uncle Eef/Eph/Ephraem's exploits, usually in hunting raccoons. May include recitations. Chorus: "Uncle Eph's got the coon and gone on And left us looking up a tree." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (recording, Dunham Jazz Singers) KEYWORDS: animal hunting nonballad floatingverses humorous talltale FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (3 citations) BrownIII 433, "Broder Eton Got de Coon" (1 text); also 511, "The Preacher Song" (1 text, a complex mix of verses from "Turkey in the Stray" and "Some Folks Say that a Preacher Won't Steal" with the "Uncle Eph" chorus) Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 101-102, "Brother Ephrum Got de Coon and Gone On" (1 text, 1 tune, with even more floating material than usual, e.g. from "Don't Get Weary Children (Massa Had a Yellow Gal)") DT, (BRORPHUS -- on the face of it, a combination of this with a song about Moses) Roud #11775 RECORDINGS: Anglin Twins, "Uncle Eph's Got the Coon" (Vocalion 03904, 1937) Dunham Jazz Singers, "Ephraim Got the Coon" (Columbia 14609-D, 1931) Grandpa Jones, "Uncle Eph's Got The Coon" (King 867, 1950) Art Thieme, "Uncle Eph/The Great Raccoon Hunt" [combines song and tall-tale] (on Thieme03) Wade Ward, "Brother Ephram" (Okeh, unissued, 1925); "Uncle Eef" [instrumental] (on Holcomb-Ward1) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Uncle Reuben" (floating lyrics) cf. "Mourner, You Shall Be Free (Moanish Lady)" (floating lyrics) NOTES: Presumably the same as Bob Allen's 1878 song "Old Uncle Eph," but I haven't seen the latter to prove it. It is interesting to note that at least two versions of this song -- Brown's #511 and the Hedy West text recorded in the Digital Tradition -- combine this with the chorus, "Where you going, Moses? None of your business.Come here, Moses. I ain't gonna do it." - RBW File: RcUncEph === NAME: Uncle Joe: see Hop High Ladies (Uncle Joe) (File: R252) === NAME: Uncle Joe (I): see If I Were As Young As I Used to Be (Uncle Joe) (File: R434) === NAME: Uncle Joe and Aunty Mabel DESCRIPTION: Joe and Mabel are restored to sexual vigor by a glass of Ovaltine. (Alternately, Fleischmann's Yeast or other improbable concoction) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Anecdota Americana) KEYWORDS: bawdy humorous derivative FOUND_IN: Britain(England) US REFERENCES: (3 citations) Cray, pp. 374-376, "Uncle Joe and Aunty Mabel" (1 text, 1 tune) Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 37, "Fleischmann's Yeast" (1 text, tune referenced) DT, OVALTPM* Roud #10325 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" (tune) File: EM374 === NAME: Uncle Joe Cut Off His Toe (Rock the Cradle Joe) DESCRIPTION: "Uncle Joe cut off his toe And hung it up to dry; And all the girls began to laugh And Joe began to cry." "Rock the cradle, rock the cradle, Rock the cradle, Joe...." Remaining verses, if any, appear to float; those quoted are characteristic AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: nonballad injury floatingverses playparty FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) BrownIII 97, "Uncle Joe Cut Off His Toe" (3 texts plus mention of 2 more, but "B" is probably "Shady Grove"; "A" is an incredible mix with verses typical of "Raccoon," "If I Had a Scolding Wife," a "Liza Jane" song, a mule song, and "Shady Grove") Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 153-154, "Cradle Song" (1 text) Roud #741 File: Br3097 === NAME: Uncle John -- The Sealer, 1951 DESCRIPTION: "Among the sealers who came home... was... Uncle John, As mad as he could be." John complains of the new law which allows sealing to begin before March 13, forcing them to take seals too young. He will not rest till the old law is restored AUTHOR: Solomon Samson? EARLIEST_DATE: 1963 (A Glimpse of Newfoundland in Poetry and Pictures) KEYWORDS: hunting political FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ryan/Small, p. 154, "Uncle John -- The Sealer, 1951" (1 text) File: RySm154 === NAME: Uncle John is Sick Abed DESCRIPTION: "Uncle John is sick abed, What shall we send him? Three good wishes, three good kisses, And a slice of ginger bread." "Who shall we send it by?" "[Player's name], so they say, goes a-couring night and day... And takes Miss [name] for his bride." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1916 (Wolford) KEYWORDS: courting playparty food disease FOUND_IN: US(MW,So) Britain REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 678, "Ride About, Ride About" (1 text plus a fragment, 1 tune; the "B" text starts with a stanza of this though the "A" text and the last two stanzas of "B" appear to be something unrelated) Roud #13080 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Cockabendy" (lyrics, theme) cf. "Yankee Doodle" (tune) NOTES: This is rather a puzzling piece. Roud lumps it with the old Scots game of "Cockabendie," collected several times by Grieg, Certainly they share lyrics, and both are game songs. The overall text, however, is fairly distinct. Randolph's version begins with a verse from this, then goes off on what appears a different game -- and yet many of the lyrics appear in Gomme's "Uncle Tom is Very Sick." If we take as our starting point the line "Uncle X is sick abed," we find that one of the few coherent versions is Wolford's, which is used as the basis for the description here. She describes her version as a kissing game, though the figures have been lost. The tune is "Yankee Doodle." Laura Ingalls Wilder, _On the Banks of Plum Creek_, chapter 21 (p. 159 of the paperback edition) has a version which is very similar to Wolford's but shorter -- and peculiar, since it appears to have *ten* lines, not eight or 12 or 16. This raises an interesting question: Wilder seems to imply that her version is a ring game, not a kissing game. But Laura disliked kissing games, and once brushed off a suitor because he put his arm around her waist (see John E. Miller, _Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Woman Behind the Legend_, University of Misouri Press, 1998, p. 64. If you want a measure of how sexually conservative Laura was, consider the fact that, at the end of their lives, she and her husband had separate beds even though the evidence is strong that she still loved him -- after he died, she preferred to sleep in his bed! -- Miller, p. 251). Also, if this were the same as "Cockabendie," how did it end up being sung to the tune of "Yankee Doodle" -- hardly a Scottish tune! My tentative conclusions: 1. That this song, though from the same roots as "Cockabendie," is now so distinct as to deserve separate filing. 2. That it was known as a kissing game, even to Wilder 3. That Wilder really did play it in Walnut Grove, Minnesota -- why else cite it at that point, since she would presumably have disapproved of the song? - RBW File: LIWUJISA === NAME: Uncle Ned DESCRIPTION: Uncle Ned was so old when he died that he had no wool (hair) on his head, no teeth, and was blind. Even so, both his fellow-slaves and his owners grieved at his death AUTHOR: Stephen C. Foster EARLIEST_DATE: 1848 (copyright) KEYWORDS: death mourning slave FOUND_IN: US(SE,So) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Randolph 261, "Uncle Ned" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 223-225, "Uncle Ned" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 261) BrownIII 420, "Uncle Ned" (2 texts plus an exaggerated parody, "There was an ancient colored individual, and his cognomen was Uncle Edward") Thomas-Makin', pp. 236-237, ("Uncle Ned") (1 fragment plus a Great Depression parod noting that "All the Democrats are working on the State Highway Job And the Republicans are all on Relief") ST R261 (Full) Roud #4871 RECORDINGS: Elda Blackwood, "Uncle Ned" [fragment] (on USWarnerColl01) Fiddlin' John Carson, "Old Uncle Ned" (OKeh 40263, 1925; rec. 1924) Al Hopkins & his Buckle Busters, "Old Uncle Ned" (Brunswick 300, 1929; rec. 1928) Uncle Dave Macon, "Uncle Ned" (Vocalion 5011, 1926) Harry "Haywire Mac" McClintock, "Darkie Uncle Ned" (on McClintock02) Chubby Parker, "Uncle Ned" (Silvertone 25103, 1927; Supertone 9192, 1928) Leake County Revelers, "Uncle Ned" (Columbia 15470-D, 1929) Oscar Seagle, "Uncle Ned" (Columbia A-3582, 1922) BROADSIDES: Murray, Mu23-y4:0048, "Uncle Ned," unknown, 19C CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Johnny Walk Along to Hilo" (floating lyrics) cf. "Way Down on the Old Peedee" (plot) SAME_TUNE: Uncle Ned's Ghost (broadside Murray, Mu23-y1:011, "Uncle Ned's Ghost," J. Bristow (Glasgow), no date; a sequel to this song describing Ned's afterlife) Dere Was a Little Man, and His Name was Stevy Dug (Campaign song for Abraham Lincoln, 1870, quoted in Bruce Catton, _The Coming Fury_, p. 93) NOTES: Randolph, following White, says this song is common in African-American tradition, but collections from tradition (Black or White) seem relatively few. (And it's hard to see why African-Americans would make it their own, given its obvious pro-slavery bias. White found several versions, and Talley had one much-modified text, but that's about it for collections from non-Whites.) Brown had a genuine collection; Randolph also has one, plus there is also a fragment in Laura Ingalls Wilder's _Little House in the Big Woods_ (chapter 5). But the latter two versions, we might note, have Ozark connections. This was one of Foster's very earliest pieces, and one of his first big hits. According to Bernard DeVoto, _The Year of Decision: 1846_, Little, Brown and Company, 1943, p. 134, 'in March of [1846] a twenty-year-old Pittsburg youth failed of appointment at West Point, and so at the end of the year he went to keep books in his brother's commission house at Cincinnati. He took with him the manuscripts of three songs, all apparently written in this year, all compact of the minstrel-nigger tradition. One celebrates a lubly collud gal, Lou'siana Belle. In another an old nigger has no wool on the top of his head in the place whar de wool ought to grow.... And in the third American pioneering was to find its leitmotif for all time: it was 'Oh Susanna!'" This is one of the first pieces Foster had published; he *gave* it to W. C. Peter, who proceeded to sell thousands of copies without giving Foster royalties. - RBW File: R261 === NAME: Uncle Reuben DESCRIPTION: "Uncle Reuben caught a coon, done gone, Chick-a-chick, done gone... and left me here behind." Assorted verses about animals, hunting, love: "Rabbit running through the grass, Foxes close behind, Trees and weeds and cockleburrs Is all the foxes find" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 KEYWORDS: animal hunting nonballad floatingverses FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Silber-FSWB, p. 38, "Uncle Reuben" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Possum Up a Gum Stump" (floating lyrics) cf. "Uncle Eph" (floating lyrics) NOTES: This seems to be almost purely floating verses (e.g. "Possum up a 'simmon tree..."), but the collection as a whole does not seem to go with any other song, and so it gets its own listing. Paul Stamler has suggested that this is a version of "Uncle Eph." They probably have some common ancestry. But this is less of a talltale, and the form is different, so I tentatively split them -- at least until I find out where the Silber version came from. (A perpetual problem with Silber.) - RBW Silber's version almost certainly came from folk-revival singer Tom Glazer, who recorded it in the early 1950s on his album "Olden Balads." The "Chick-a-chick" is the most important clue. My guess is that Glazer conflated "Uncle Eph" and some floaters. - PJS File: FSWB038 === NAME: Uncle Sam Simmie: see There Was an Old Woman and She Had a Little Pig (File: E068) === NAME: Uncle Sam's Farm DESCRIPTION: "Of all the mighty nations in the east or in the west, Oh this glorious Yankee nation is the greatest and the best... Here's a general invitation to the people of the world." The singer promises them farms, lists the U.S. boundaries, praises its freedom AUTHOR: The Hutchinson family (credited to Jesse Hutchinson Jr.) EARLIEST_DATE: 1850 (sheet music) KEYWORDS: political nonballad America technology work HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 20, 1862 - President Lincoln signs the Homestead Act FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) BrownIII 399, "Uncle Sam's Farm" (1 text) DT, USFARM Roud #4556 NOTES: The statement, "Uncle Sam's rich enough to give us all a farm" appears to refer to the Homestead Act, allowing anyone to acquire western land for a nominal fee. Obviously it dates from before 1923, when the U. S. effectively closed its doors to immigrants. It will be noted that the song seems to predate the Homestead Act. It does not, however, predate the idea of a homestead act. J. G. Randall's _The Civil War and Reconstruction_ (second edition by David Donald, Heath, 1961), p. 81, notes that "Southern congressmen repeatedly helped defeat homestead legislation which would have encouraged free-soil settlement of the national territories." Once the South was out of Congress due to the Civil War, the act passed. Laura Ingalls Wilder quotes a snippet of this in chapter seven of _By the Shores of Silver Lake_; she does not follow the Hutchinson Family words very closely. I find myself wondering what Laura -- who was quite conservative -- would have thought of the song had she realized that it was by those radical egalitarian liberals the Hutchinsons. - RBW File: Br3399 === NAME: Uncle Tahiah: see Aged Indian, The (Uncle Tohido) (File: LPnd124) === NAME: Unconstant Lover (I), The: see The Nobleman's Wedding (The Faultless Bride; The Love Token) [Laws P31] (File: LP31) === NAME: Unconstant Lover (II), The: see On Top of Old Smokey (File: BSoF740) === NAME: Undaunted Female, The (The Box Upon Her Head; The Staffordshire Maid; The Maid and the Robber) [Laws L3] DESCRIPTION: A servant girl sets out for home to help her father. She meets a robber and kills him. She meets another stranger who returns with her to the body. They find a whistle which summons more robbers. Girl and stranger dispose of them and agree to marry AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1825 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 c.17(446)) KEYWORDS: outlaw marriage FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) Britain(England) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Laws L3, "The Undaunted Female" Mackenzie 130, "The Box Upon Her Head" (1 text) BBI, ZN514, "Come all ye young gallants and listen a while" (?) DT 419, MAIDROBR Roud #289 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, 2806 c.17(446), "The Undaunted Female" ("It's of a fair damsel in London did dwell"), W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also Harding B 11(3939), Firth c.17(22), Firth c.17(23), Johnson Ballads 610, Firth b.25(41/42), Johnson Ballads 3154, Firth c.26(47), Harding B 11(3940), Harding B 11(3934), Harding B 11(3935), Harding B 11(3941), Harding B 11(3937), Harding B 11(3936), Harding B 16(292c), 2806 d.31(40), 2806 c.17(448), 2806 c.17(447), Harding B 20(229), Harding B 25(1962), "The Undaunted Female" Murray, Mu23-y1:052, "The Undaunted Female," James Lindsay (Glasgow), 19C File: LL03 === NAME: Under the Garden Wall DESCRIPTION: The singer spies a man and a maid under or over the garden wall. The two have sex, leaving the spy sexually aroused and unfulfilled. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: bawdy sex hiding FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph-Legman I, pp. 535-537, "Under the Garden Wall" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #8382 File: RL535 === NAME: Under the Greenwood Tree DESCRIPTION: "In summertime, when flow'rs do spring, And birds sit on the tree, Let Lords and Knights say what they will, There's none so merry as we. There's Will and Moll, with Harry and Doll, and Tom and bonny Bettee... Under the greenwood tree AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1686 (The Dancing Master) KEYWORDS: nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain(England) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Chappell/Wooldridge II, pp. 53-54, "Oh, How They Frisk It, or, Leather Apron, or Under the Greenwood Tree" (1 tune; partial text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Dame Durden" (form) cf. "Widdicombe Fair (II)" (form) SAME_TUNE: cf. Bronson's notes to "Robin Hood and the Monk" [Child 119] NOTES: This may not be traditional, but it appears to be the earliest example of this form of "lusty lads and lasses are merry" sort of song, so I put it in here for cross-reference purposes. - RBW File: ChWIII053 === NAME: Under the Juniper Tree: see The Juniper Tree (File: R540) === NAME: Under the Leaves: see The Seven Virgins (The Leaves of Life) (File: OBB111) === NAME: Under the Pale Moonlight: see Out In the Moonlight (I Will Love Thee Always) (File: R803) === NAME: Under the Shade of a Bonny Green Tree: see Tripping Over the Lea [Laws P19] (File: LP19) === NAME: Under the Willow She's Sleeping (The Willow Tree) DESCRIPTION: "Under the willow she's laid with care (Sang a lone mother while weeping,) Under the willow with golden hair, My little one's quietly sleeping. Fair, fair and golden hair...." The mother laments that the girl sings and plays no more AUTHOR: Stephen C. Foster EARLIEST_DATE: 1860 (sheet music) KEYWORDS: death love burial mother children FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Belden, p. 484, "Under the Willow" (1 text) Randolph 711, "The Willow Tree" (1 text, a fragment which Randolph calls "pretty close" to the Foster song, although it has only a few phrases found in the original Foster text) Saunders/Root-Foster 2, pp. 89-92+427, "Under the Willow She's Sleeping" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7377 File: R711 === NAME: Under the Willow Tree: see Bury Me Beneath the Willow (File: R747) === NAME: Underneath Her Apron: see Gathering Rushes in the Month of May (Underneath Her Apron) (File: DTundrap) === NAME: Undutiful Daughter, The: see Gosport Beach (The Undutiful Daughter) (File: SWMS127) === NAME: Unemployment Insurance DESCRIPTION: "I'm sitting here waiting for the mail" with my unemployment insurance cheque. "I go into the office to fill out my claim, Praying to Jesus the jobs will be few." The cheque arrives. "Dear Lord.... If you find work for someone I sure hope it's not me!" AUTHOR: Alton MacLean EARLIEST_DATE: 1982 (Ives-DullCare) KEYWORDS: unemployment political humorous nonballad FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ives-DullCare, pp. 219-221, 256, "Unemployment Insurance" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #13999 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Catch of the Season" (theme) NOTES: Ives-DullCare: "Ten weeks of summer work could be sufficient for a person to file. Then -- after the obligatory but painful six-week waiting period -- the cheques would start coming, and they could very well carry a person through the whole winter and even up to the next summer season, but, of course, the claimant was obligated to be 'actively seeking work' all that time. The song suggests that perhaps not everyone operates fully within the spirit of this program." - BS File: IvDC219 === NAME: Unfinished Letter, The: see The Last Letter (File: GrMa101) === NAME: Unfortunate Man (II), The: see The Warranty Deed (The Wealthy Old Maid) [Laws H24] (File: LH24) === NAME: Unfortunate Man, The DESCRIPTION: The "unfortunate man" has all sorts of troubles. His sweetheart jilts him. He runs off with another man's wife, but is quickly captured. His friends cheat him. Now he can only hope a girl will "think more of my heart than she did of my face." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: courting separation adultery punishment trick loneliness FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Randolph 440, "The Unfortunate Man" (3 texts, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 319-320, "The Unfortunate Man" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 440A) DT, UNFORTU2* Roud #6367 NOTES: Not to be confused with the pop folk song "The Warranty Deed" (sometimes known as "The Unfortunate Man" or "The Very Unfortunate Man") about the poor lawyer and the disassembleable woman. - RBW, PJS File: R440 === NAME: Unfortunate Miss Bailey DESCRIPTION: Captain Smith seduces Miss Bailey, who hangs herself. One night her ghost returns and upbraids him, saying she's been ill-used, and the parson won't bury her. The captain gives her money to bribe the sexton, whereupon she vanishes, content. AUTHOR: George Colman EARLIEST_DATE: 1840 (broadside by Such of London) KEYWORDS: seduction suicide humorous nightvisit ghost soldier FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond)) Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Friedman, p. 54, "Unfortunate Miss Bailey" (1 text) Fowke/Johnston, pp. 183-185, "Unfortunate Miss Bailey" (1 text, 1 tune) PBB 88, "Unfortunate Miss Bailey" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 182, "Unfortunate Miss Bailey" (1 text) DT, BAILYGHO Roud #4549 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Hard B 25(1257), "Miss Bailey's Ghost," J. Evans (London), 1780-1812 [only partly legible]; also probably Harding B 25(1869), "Unfortunate Miss Bailey," J. Jennings (London), 1790-1840 [illegible] CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Hunters of Kentucky" [Laws A25] (tune) NOTES: This song is variously credited to George Colman the elder (1732-1794) and George Colman the younger (1762-1836). As it appears in the latter's play "Love Laughs at Locksmiths," the younger seems a stronger candidate. - RBW File: FR054 === NAME: Unfortunate Rake (II), The: see The Streets of Laredo [Laws B1] (File: LB01) === NAME: Unfortunate Rake, The DESCRIPTION: The singer meets a young man/woman wrapped in flannel. The young person says that he/she is dying, originally of syphilis but in some versions of wounds or unspecified disease. The young person requests an elaborate military funeral. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1790 KEYWORDS: disease death dying funeral lament whore FOUND_IN: Britain (England(All)) Ireland US(Ap) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, p. 108, "The Young Girl Cut Down In Her Prime" (1 text, 1 tune) SharpAp 131, "St. James's Hospital, or The Sailor Cut Down in his Prime" (2 texts, 2 tunes, but the "B" text really belongs with "Streets of Laredo") Silber-FSWB, p. 217, "Young Man Cut Down In His Prime (St. James Hospital)" (1 text) Darling-NAS, p. 5, "The Unfortunate Rake" (1 text) Roud #2 RECORDINGS: Harry Cox, "The Young Sailor Cut Down in His Prime" (on FieldTrip1) Texas Gladden, "One Morning in May" (AFS, 1941; on LCTreas) A. L. Lloyd, "St. James's Hospital" (on Lloyd2, Lloyd3) Pete Seeger, "St. James Hospital" (on PeteSeeger16) BROADSIDES: Murray, Mu23-y4:039, "The Unfortunate Lad," unknown, 19C CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Streets of Laredo" [Laws B1] (tune & meter, plot) and references there cf. "The Bad Girl's Lament (St. James' Hospital; The Young Girl Cut Down in her Prime) [Laws Q26] (tune & meter, plot) cf. "The Sailor Cut Down in His Prime" (tune & meter, plot) cf. "My Home's in Montana" (tune, floating lyrics) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Unfortunate Lad The Whores of the City NOTES: Syphilis first appeared in Europe in epidemic form, with devastating effects, in the early 1500s. It was often treated with compounds of mercury, mentioned in some versions of the song. Clearly this is the ancestral ballad to "The Bad Girl's Lament", "St. James Infirmary", "The Whore's Lament", "Streets of Laredo", "The Dying Marine", etc. -PJS Silber & Silber subtitle their text "St. James Hospital," since the name is mentioned in the text. This title, however, seems to be associated primarily with the "Bad Girl's Lament." At least a few versions refer to dosing syphillis with "arsenic and salts of white mercury." Mercury as a cure is older, as Paul notes, and arsenic was also used in various medicines during the nineteenth century and earlier. But arsenic as a true remedy for syphillis came into use in 1909, when Paul Ehrlich found arsphenamine to be effective; it remained in use until the coming of penicillin (see John Emsley, _Nature's Building Blocks_, p. 42). The use of the "corrosive sublimate" of mercury (i.e. HgCl2) as a treatment for syphillis goes back to the late fifteenth century, though even then it was known that the cure was nearly as bad as the disease (see John Emsley, _Nature's Building Blocks_, pp. 255-256). Henry VIII and Robert Burns are among those found to have had high levels of mercury in their bodies at the time of their death, possibly due to treatments for venereal disease (Emsley, p. 257). - RBW File: VWL108 === NAME: Unfortunate Shepherdess, The: see The Young Shepherd (I) (File: CrMa108) === NAME: Unfortunate Swain, The DESCRIPTION: The singer goes to a meadow to pick a rose and asks why he must "love a girl that will break my heart." He will love only her. "He that loves an unkind maid, I am sure he strives against the stream" When she dies he will still think about her. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1975 (recording, Jasper Smith) KEYWORDS: love separation death ship flowers grief floatingverses nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond)) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #60 RECORDINGS: Jasper Smith, "Down In The Meadow" (on Voice11) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 22(312), "The Unfortunate Swain" ("Down in a meadow fair and gay"), unknown, n.d. NOTES: The description is from broadside Bodleian Harding B 22(312). Roud puts this with "Love Has Brought Me to Despair" [Laws P25]. I agree that it shares floating verses with the family of songs Roud lumps together under that number. If I had only the Jasper Smith version on Voice11 I would have done the same. The broadside Bodleian Harding B 22(312), has (almost) the same first verse and shares the remaining two verses of Smith's version including one that I haven't seen among the floaters: A ship there is that sails the sea. She's loaded deep as deep can be, But not so deep as the love I'm in. I care not whether I sink or swim. The broadside makes it clear that the man of the couple is the singer. It ends When my love is dead and at her rest I'll think of her whom I love best. To wrap her up in linen strong I'll think of her when dead and gone. Smith's version seems so likely to have come directly from this or a closely related broadside that I think I am justified in making the broadside and its derivative a separate song. - BS File: RcUSDitM === NAME: Ung Sjoman Forlustar Sig, En (A Young Seaman Enjoys Himself) DESCRIPTION: Swedish shanty. Sailor meets a maid in a meadow, suggests that they make a bed of roses. By morning the roses have faded, and with them the girl's beauty. She begs him to marry her anyway, he refuses saying his ship is ready to sail. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1840 (Gavle) KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage shanty sailor courting betrayal abandonment beauty FOUND_IN: Sweden REFERENCES: (1 citation) Hugill, pp. 530-532, "En Ung Sjoman Forlustar Sig" (2 texts-Swedish & English, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Trooper and Maid" [Child 299] (theme) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Sjomans Visa Fram Bohuslan (Finnish or Swedish version) Ein Junger Sesmann Schlenderte (German version) NOTES: Hugill took this from Sternvall's "Sang under Segel", and added a note that the oldest known written version is from Gavle, 1840. He mentions several versions of this found in various Scandinavian countries. - SL File: Hugi530 === NAME: Unhappy Jeremiah (The Brats of Jeremiah) DESCRIPTION: The singer, Jeremiah, takes a wife. But soon she turns her attention from her husband to a lodger. She bears two children, but "they did not look... one bit like Jeremiah." At last she runs off with the lodger, "and left the brats for Jeremiah" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1858 KEYWORDS: family children husband wife infidelity FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (1 citation) FSCatskills 134, "The Brats of Jeremiah" (1 text, 1 tune) ST FSC134 (Partial) Roud #4610 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Rocking the Cradle (and the Child Not His Own)" (plot) cf. "Hush-a-Bye, Baby" (plot) File: FSC134 === NAME: Unicorn DESCRIPTION: The orphaned singer is "going home to the old country" as a sailor on Unicorn. It is hard work and hard bread for twelve days to Liverpool. At Glasgow "girls were very kind ... I bid farewell To the darned old Unicorn" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1932 (Creighton-NovaScotia) KEYWORDS: rambling sea ship sailor floatingverses FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-NovaScotia 149, "Unicorn" (1 text, 1 tune) ST CrNS149 (Partial) Roud #1844 NOTES: This song is item dD46 in Laws's Appendix II. - BS Although this seems to be an independent song, I've given it the keyword "floatingverses" because so many of the lines are commonplace. - RBW File: CrNS149 === NAME: Union Boy, The DESCRIPTION: "When first I arrived in Quirindi, those girls they jumped with joy, Saying one unto another, 'Here comes a Union boy.'" A girl falls in love with him. Her father says that he was once a scab. She says he has joined the union and is reformed. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1956 KEYWORDS: labor-movement courting FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (2 citations) Meredith/Anderson, pp. 256-257, "The Union Boy" (1 text, 1 tune) Manifold-PASB, p. 117, "The Union Boy" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Maids of Simcoe (Ontario)" (tune, floating lyrics) cf. "True-Born Irish Man (With My Swag All on My Shoulder; The True-Born Native Man)" (floating lyrics) File: MA256 === NAME: Union from St John's, The DESCRIPTION: On December 18 a heavy storm drives the Union ashore. A rescue team boards the next morning and finds "three frozen seamen lashed to the pumps while six in her cabin lay cold." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Peacock); 19C (broadside, LOCSinging as114210) KEYWORDS: death sea ship storm wreck FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) US(NE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Peacock, pp. 978-980, "The Union from St John's" (1 text, 2 tunes) Lehr/Best 112, "The Wreck of the Union" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Roud #4371 BROADSIDES: LOCSinging, as114210, "Union of St. Johns," L. Deming (New York), 19C NOTES: Broadside LOCSinging as114210, as well as one cited by Lehr/Best as being printed in _Minstrelsy of Maine_ by Eckstorm and Smyth, have the site as Mt Desert Rock. There is a Mount Desert Rock in Maine which has been the site of a number of wrecks; there have also been a number of [ships named] _Union_ with St John's registry wrecked; I cannot find any _Union_ wrecked at Mount Desert Rock, or wrecked around February 9 (the date in the broadside), or November 18 or January 14 (the date in Lehr/Best versions A and B, respectively). Eckstrom and Smythe _Minstrelsy of Maine_: "nobody knew it, but only knew someone else who used to know it. [One of the three] leaders in popularity among the shipwreck songs of the Maine coast ... About 1904, Mr Walter M Hady ... learned that the Union was a brig, wrecked off the Maine coast at least as early as 1837 .... [One broadside] may yet show that the wreck of the Union dates back into the eighteen-twenties." ( pp. 270, 276, 280). Unfortunately the broadside at America Singing is undated (printed by L Deming, No 62 Hanover Street, Boston). It would be nice to be able to date it early enough to rule out the Dec 21, 1884 wreck of the schooner Union, registered at St John, NB, at Mt Desert Island en route from New York to St John. (source: Northern Shipwrecks Database). - BS File: Pea978 === NAME: Union Girl, The DESCRIPTION: The singer oversees a shearer talking with a girl. He is trying to con her into sleeping with him, pointing out that he can get rich as a scab during a strike. [Remainder omitted because Meredith & Anderson refused to print it] AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1968 KEYWORDS: scab money seduction FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Meredith/Anderson, pp. 201-202, "The Union Girl" (1 text) File: MA201A === NAME: Union Volunteer, The: see The Bold Privateer [Laws O32] (File: LO32) === NAME: Union We'll Maintain, The DESCRIPTION: "Ye loyal sons of Ulster, why slumber and be still? Once more your rebel foemen demand a Home Rule Bill." "Had they an Irish Parliament, 'twere '98 again" "Forbid it ... the Union we'll maintain." Remember Bloody Mary; remember Derry and the Boyne. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1987 (OrangeLark) KEYWORDS: Ireland nonballad political FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) OrangeLark 19, "The Union We'll Maintain" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Home Rule for Ireland" (subject: the quest for Home Rule) cf. "A Loyal Song Against Home Rule" (subject: opposition to Home Rule) NOTES: William Ewart Gladstone became British prime minister in 1868 and supported Home Rule for Ireland. He introduced his first Home Rule Bill, which was defeated, in 1885. His second Home Rule Bill was defeated in 1893. (source: "Home Rule" on the Irelandseye site) - BS The invocation to remember Bloody Mary is, at best, pretty improbable. Mary Tudor (reigned 1553-1558) was a Catholic who did violently punish Protestants, but 1. She ruled very little of Ireland; it was not until Elizabeth came along that large parts of Ireland were conquered 2. There were effectively no Protestants in Ireland at the time 3. Mary Tudor did not rule Scotland, and most Ulster Protestants were Scots brought in in the aftermath of Elizabeth's conquest For the siege of (London)derry, see the notes to "The Shutting of the Gates of Derry." For the Battle of the Boyne, see "The Battle of the Boyne (I)." For extensive background on home rule, and the opposition to it, see "A Loyal Song Against Home Rule." - RBW File: OrLa019 === NAME: Union, The DESCRIPTION: "How did they pass the Union?" Perjury and fraud. Pitt and Castlereagh used pitchcap, bayonet, gibbet and rack. "How thrive we by the Union?" Ruined trade, wealth decayed and slavery. "And shall it last?" "All Ireland thunders, No!" We'll conquer again AUTHOR: Sliabh Cuilinn (said to be John O'Hagan, according to Sparling, _Irish Minstrelsy_, pp. 505,508)(source: Moylan) EARLIEST_DATE: 2000 (Moylan) KEYWORDS: Ireland nonballad political HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1801 - Act of Union of Ireland and Great Britain FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Moylan 151, "The Union" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Moylan: "This piece was published in _The Nation_ [; it was composed "around the 1840s or 50s"].... The Act of Union of Ireland and Great Britain was passed in the Irish Parliament on the 1st of August 1800.... Its passage was assured by the exercise of an extraordinary amount of bribery and corruption, even for that time and place." "Pitch capping": filling a cap with boiling pitch and putting it on a peasant's head. (source: "The Search for Weapons" in _1798 Rebellion_ at Rathregan National School site). [This is, in fact, the milder form of pitch capping: Robert Kee, in _The Most Distressful Country_, being volume I of _The Green Flag_, p. 98, describes the more extreme form, in which the pitch was allowed to harden slightly, then set fire. This naturally increased the torture greatly, and generally caused permanent scarring of the scalp and loss of hair. It was not generally fatal, but even George W. Bush would call it torture. - RBW] Sparling, _Irish Minstrelsy_ p. 505: re John O'Hagan (1822-1890) "The splendid ringing songs and heartful poems which appeared in the _Nation_ over the nom de plume of 'Sliabh Cuilinn' have often roused inquiry as to their author, but although attributed with great probability to Judge O'Hagan, have never been publicly acknowledged by him." The 1801 "Act of Union" was supported by Pitt and Robert Stewart (Lord Castlereagh). Pitt was Prime Minister and Castlereach was his Itish chief secretary. The Act formed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland" and abolished the Dublin Parliament. (sources: _Act of Union_ on the Spartacus Educational site site) - BS We should note that the song is inaccurate in its charges -- though the true story is hardly better. The British did use torture (pitch-capping, half-hanging) in suppressing the 1798 rebellion (though the Irish too committed their share of atrocities, notably at Scullabogue). But no torture involved in passing the Act of Union -- because there was no need for popular support. They simply had to bribe enough members of the Irish parliament to pull it off. The bribes were huge -- viceroy Cornwallis would confess, "I despise and hate myself for every hour engaging in such work" (Kee, p. 159; Terry Golway, _For the Cause of Liberty_, p. 90; for the general chicanery involved, see those sources or Peter and Fiona Somerset Fry, _A History of Ireland_, pp. 209-212 and after). But Cornwallis and (especially) Castlereigh bought enough peers to eventually pass Union. It is ironic to note that, around 1770, the American colonies had desperately wanted Union (that is, a place in Parliament), and had been denied it; the Irish despised Union, and had it forced upon them. British colonial policy was an amazing thing.... - RBW File: Moyl151 === NAME: Unite and Be Free DESCRIPTION: "The right hand of friendship to you I'll extend" no matter what Trade or Religion if you love Union. Reject the kings and "dupes of a priest" who say "divide and conquer": "Hibernians were made to unite and be free" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1796 (_Paddy's Resource_(Belfast), according to Moylan) KEYWORDS: Ireland nonballad political freedom FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Moylan 23, "Unite and Be Free" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: From the date, this presumably was a reference to the United Irishmen who were largely responsible for the 1798 rebellion. - RBW File: Moyl023 === NAME: Unknown Pine Log Rider, The DESCRIPTION: Joe Muldoon is trapped by a log drive but a stranger rides a pine log to rescue him from "the rushing roaring timber pack." He "hurtled Muldoon upon the land ... Then disappeared and left no name" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (Ives-NewBrunswick) KEYWORDS: rescue river recitation logger FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ives-NewBrunswick, pp. 177-178, "The Unknown Pine Log Rider" (1 text) Roud #1966 File: IvNB177 === NAME: Unquiet Grave, The [Child 78] DESCRIPTION: After a young man dies/is killed, his lover mourns by his grave for a year and a day and beyond. This prevents the dead man from resting. He comes to his sweetheart begging for release AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1832 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 c.17(460)) KEYWORDS: ghost mourning freedom FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,NE,SE) Britain(England(All),Scotland) Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (25 citations) Child 78, "The Unquiet Grave" (7 texts) Bronson 78, "The Unquiet Grave" (43 versions+9, mostly tunes only, in addenda) Leather, pp. 202-203, "Cold Blows the Wind; or, The Unquiet Grave" (1 text, 1 tune, from different informants) {Bronson's #12} Flanders/Olney, pp. 232-233, "Cold Blows the Wind" (1 text, 1 tune) Flanders-Ancient2, pp. 184-186, ""The Unquiet Grave (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's } Davis-More 22, pp. 157-160, "The Unquiet Grave" (1 text) BrownII 24, "The Unquiet Grave" (1 text) Ritchie-Southern, p. 58, "The Unquiet Grave" (1 text, 1 tune) Greenleaf/Mansfield 10, "The Unquiet Grave" (2 texts, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #36, #31} Peacock, pp. 410-412, "The Unquiet Grave" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Karpeles-Newfoundland 10, "The Unquiet Grave" (1 text, 1 tune) Blondahl, p. 111, "The Auld Song From Cow Head" (1 text, 1 tune) Leach, pp. 262-263, "The Unquiet Grave" (1 text) OBB 34, "The Unquiet Grave" (1 text) Friedman, p. 32, "The Unquiet Grave" (1 text, 1 tune) PBB 31, "The Unquiet Grave" (1 text) Sharp-100E 24, "The Unquiet Grave (or Cold Blows the Wind)" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #35} Hodgart, p. 146, "The Unquiet Grave" (1 text) TBB 30, "The Unquiet Grave" (1 text) Niles 32, "The Unquiet Grave" (3 texts, 3 tunes) Abrahams/Foss, pp. 40-41, "The Unquiet Grave" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #36} Silber-FSWB, p. 218, "The Unquiet Grave" (1 text) Darling-NAS, pp. 31-32, "The Unquiet Grave" (1 text) DT 78, UNQUIGR1* UNQUIGR2* ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #371, "The Unquiet Grave" (1 text) Roud #51 RECORDINGS: Omar Blondahl, "The Auld Ballad from Cow Head" (on NFOBlondahl04) [fragment] New Lost City Ramblers, "The Unquiet Grave" (on NLCR16) Jean Ritchie, "The Unquiet Grave" (on JRitchie02) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, 2806 c.17(460), "The Weeping Lover," W. Wright (Birmingham), 1820-1831; also 2806 c.17(461), "The Weeping Lover"; Firth c.18(123), Harding B 11(634), "Cold Blows the Wind" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Twa Brothers" [Child 49] (lyrics) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Wind Blew Up, the Wind Blew Down The Resurrected Sweetheart The Green Grave The Restless Dead The Restless Grave Charles Graeme Cold Falling Drops of Dew Cold Blows the Winter's Winds NOTES: Bronson speculates that a version of this inspired the carol "There blows a colde wynd todaye, todaye" (c. 1500; in MS Bodl. 7683=Ashmole 1379; Brown/Robbins Index #3525; for texts see Stevick-MEL 93; Luria & Hoffman, _Middle English Lyrics_ #166, though the two offer noticeably different texts of the same unique original). I must say that I find this a stretch; the similarities are slight indeed. The notion that excessive mourning (usually meaning mourning for more than a year and a day) results in the ghost being unable to rest is at least hinted at in several other songs, the most noteworthy being "The Wife of Usher's Well" [Child 79]. - RBW File: C078 === NAME: Unwilling Bride, The: see The Holly Twig [Laws Q6]; also The Wife Wrapped in Wether's Skin [Child 277] (File: LQ06) === NAME: Up DESCRIPTION: It's Spring. The birds united in song are Up. Plants, flowers, weeds are Up. Trees, brambles, crops, frogs, cocks all are Up. "The progress of this rising rage, No human power can stop. Then Tyrants, cease your war to wage, For Nature will be -- Up" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1797 (_Northern Star_, according to Moylan) KEYWORDS: flowers animal bird nonballad political FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Moylan 77, "Up" (1 text) NOTES: Moylan: "The word 'Up' was a password of the United Irishmen." - BS Unfortunately for the United Irish, in 1798 not only were the plants, flowers, trees, weeds, frogs and whatnot not up, but neither were most of the Irish. Large numbers had been disarmed (and they were going to be armed only with pikes anyway). Their leadership was imprisoned. The French came too late and in numbers too small. The rebelion fizzled almost completely; see, e.g., the notes to "The Shan Van Voght," "Boulavogue," "The Boys of Wexford," "General Monroe," and "Edward (III) (Edward Fitzgerald)." - RBW File: Moyl077 === NAME: Up and Down the Railroad Track DESCRIPTION: "Up and down the railroad track And halfway swing around... Do-si-do my darling Miss with the white slippers on." "The higher up the cherry tree...." "Wish I had a needle and thread...." And miscellaneous other floating verses AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 KEYWORDS: dancing floatingverses love horse FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fife-Cowboy/West 100, "Up and Down the Railroad Track" (1 text) Roud #11091 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Jubilee" (floating lyrics) cf. "Fly Around, My Pretty Little Miss" (floating lyrics) NOTES: This text was originally printed in the _Journal of American Folklore_, Vol. 27 [1914]. There is no tune. It will be obvious that it consists mostly of floating verses (from "Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss," "Jubilee," and the like), and it is probably an offshoot of one of these -- but there simply isn't enough information to classify it clearly. - RBW File: FCW100 === NAME: Up at Piccadilly Oh!: see The Bristol Coachman (File: OO2409) === NAME: Up in Gurrane DESCRIPTION: In Gurrane we're such good neighbors we share so that rations and gas restrictions don't bother us. We attacked City Hall "when the Corporation tried to raise the rent." We'll be there at Gabriel's horn because "it's only a step to Paradise up in Gurrane" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (OCanainn) KEYWORDS: pride nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OCanainn, pp. 118-119, "Up in Gurrane" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: OCanainn, quoting the singer: "'Gurrane is situated on the Northside of the city and was built around the time of the second World War.... I suppose it was a fairly tough area at the time....'" -BS File: OCan118 === NAME: Up in London Fair: see In London so Fair (File: HHH203) === NAME: Up Roanoke and Down the River DESCRIPTION: Corn-husking song. "Up Roanoke and down the river, Oho, we are 'most done." "Two canoes, and nary paddle. "There is where we run the devils." Jack de Gillam shoots the devils with "blue ball and a pound of powder," and kills them AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: Devil work FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 205, "Up Roanoke and Down the River" (1 text) NOTES: The first part of this actually sounds like some sort of rafting song, about running a rapids (perhaps a section called "the devil"?). This seems to have suggested the theme of killing the devils. But that's pure speculation on my part. - RBW File: Br3205 === NAME: Up She Goes: see Baltimore (Up She Goes) (File: Hugi418) === NAME: Up She Rises: see Drunken Sailor, The (Early in the Morning) (File: Doe048) === NAME: Up the Raw DESCRIPTION: "Up the Raw, down the Raw, Up the Raw, lass, ev'ry day; For shape and colour, ma bonny hinny, Thou bangs thy mother, ma canny bairn." The mother (?) complains lovingly of the mischief her child gets into. (I think that's what it means) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay) KEYWORDS: nonballad children FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Stokoe/Reay, pp. 122-123, "Up the Raw" (1 text, 1 tune) ST StoR122 (Full) Roud #3155 File: StoR122 === NAME: Up the Streets and Down the Streets DESCRIPTION: "Up the streets and down the streets And in a narrow planting, Isn't (name) a nice young lassie? Isn't (name) as nice as she? They shall be married And they shall agree.... It's love... and don't say 'nay.' Next Monday morning is her wedding day." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Flanders/Brown) KEYWORDS: love playparty nonballad FOUND_IN: US(NE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Flanders/Brown, p. 189, "Up the Streets and Down the Streets" (1 text) Roud #5453 NOTES: _Gammer Gurton's Garland_ (1784) has a piece beginning "Up street and down street," but continues "Each window's made of glass; If you go to Tom Tickler's house, you'll find a pretty lass. Hug her and kiss her and take her on your knee...." Related? Hard to say. RBW File: FlBr189 === NAME: Up to the Rigs DESCRIPTION: Singer goes to Cheapside in London, where he picks up a girl. He takes her to dinner; she invites him to bed. When she falls asleep, he steals a snuff box, gold watch, diamond ring, and money, then locks her in. He tells men to remember his example AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1907 (Sharp, Gardiner mss) KEYWORDS: courting seduction sex crime theft food trick FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)), Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Kennedy 192, "Up to the Rigs" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #868 RECORDINGS: Harry Cox, "Up to the Rigs of London Town" (on HCox01) Charlie Wills, "Up to the Rigs [of London Town]" (on FSB2, FSB2CD, Voice07) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Rigs of London Town NOTES: Tables turned. - PJS File: K192 === NAME: Uphead and Scatter, Boys DESCRIPTION: "Uphead and scatter, boys, to learn how to row, You treat me so dirty it's a mis'ry in my soul." "When I had money, I had friends all around, But now I've no money, no friend can be found." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1944 (Wheeler) KEYWORDS: work poverty hardtimes loneliness FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) MWheeler, pp. 83-84, "Uphead an' Scatter, Boys" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #10029 File: MWhee083 === NAME: Upidee, Upidah DESCRIPTION: German shanty. Chorus: "Upidee, Upidah! Schnalls is goot for de cholera! Upidee, Upidah" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (Baltzer, _Knurrhahn_) LONG_DESCRIPTION: German shanty. Chorus: "Upidee, Upidah! Schnalls is goot for de cholera! Upidee, Upidah" Hugill gives two versions of the verses. The first begins "In the Flying P Line, I served my time" but the rest, according to Hugill is too coarse to include. In the second version the song told by the ship's cook, describing how he rises early to work, keeps the pots clean, and cooks various dishes. KEYWORDS: shanty foreignlanguage cook sailor FOUND_IN: Germany REFERENCES: (1 citation) Hugill, pp. 485-488, "Upidee, Upidah" (3 texts-English & German, 2 tunes) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Julia" (similar tune) File: Hugi485 === NAME: Upside Down DESCRIPTION: The singer and companions used to live a roving life, "but to my sad grief I married a wife...." His wife abuses him for drinking. His sister advises him to "hit her a smack across her back and turn her upside down." The remedy works AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1937 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: husband wife abuse fight FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H694, pp. 503-504, "Upside Down" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9467 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Wife Wrapt in Wether's Skin" [Child 277] (theme) and references there File: HHH694 === NAME: Utah Carl: see Utah Carroll [Laws B4] (File: LB04) === NAME: Utah Carol: see Utah Carroll [Laws B4] (File: LB04) === NAME: Utah Carroll [Laws B4] DESCRIPTION: A cowboy sadly remembers the death of his partner, Utah Carroll. When the herd stampedes, Utah manages to rescue the boss's daughter (who stood in the stampede's path), but himself dies in the process AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1910 (Lomax, Cowboy Songs) KEYWORDS: cowboy death rescue friend FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (11 citations) Laws B4, "Utah Carroll" Randolph 206, "Utah Carl" (1 text) Hudson 94, pp. 224-226, "Utah Carroll" (1 text) McNeil-SFB1, pp. 154-156, "Utah Carroll" (1 text, 1 tune) Larkin, pp. 119-122, "Utah Carroll" (1 text, 1 tune) Fife-Cowboy/West 80, "Utah Carl" (1 text, 1 tune) Ohrlin-HBT 63, "Utah Carol" (1 text, 1 tune) Abrahams/Foss, pp. 128-130, "Utah Carroll" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 113, "Utah Carroll" (1 text) Saffel-CowboyP, pp. 215-216, "Utah Carroll" (1 text) DT 372, UTAHCARL* Roud #1929 RECORDINGS: Charles Baker, "Utah Carroll" (Champion 45052, c. 1935) Cartwright Bros., "Utah Carroll" (Columbia 15410-D, 1929; on WhenIWas1) Harry Jackson, "Utah Carroll" (on HJackson1) Harry "Mac" McClintock, "Utah Carl" (on McClintock01, CowFolkCD1) (on McClintock02) Charles Nabell, "Utah Carl" (Okeh 7009, c. 1925) Carl T. Sprague, "Utah Carroll" (Victor 21194, 1927; on AuthCowboys) Arnold Keith Storm, "Utah Carl" (on AKStorm01) Frank Wheeler & Monroe Lamb, "Utah Carl's Last Ride" (Victor V-40169, 1929; Montgomery Ward M-4470, 1934) Marc Williams, "Utah Carroll" (Brunswick 304, 1929; rec. 1928) NOTES: Logsdon, in his notes to CowFolkCD1, states definitively that [N. Howard] Thorp composed this piece, sending it to Kenneth S. Clark to be included in one of his cowboy song folios. - PJS Against this we must set the observation that Thorp did not include the piece in _Songs of the Cowboys_ even in the 1922 edition after Lomax had already published it. - RBW File: LB04 === NAME: Vacant Chair, The DESCRIPTION: "We shall meet but we shall miss him, There will be one vacant chair, We shall linger to caress him While we breathe our evening prayer." The family remembers its beloved Willie, who now lies dead in a narrow grave, killed for his country AUTHOR: Words: Henry Washburn/Music: George F. Root EARLIEST_DATE: 1861 KEYWORDS: Civilwar death burial mourning family FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Randolph 251, "The Vacant Chair" (1 text) Silber-CivWar, pp. 30-31, "The Vacant Chair" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 269 "The Vacant Chair" (1 text) DT, VCNTCHAR* Roud #7714 RECORDINGS: Columbia Stellar Quartet, "The Vacant Chair" (Columbia A1808, 1915) Frank Coombs, "The Vacant Chair" (Columbia A913, 1910) Byron G. Harlan, "The Vacant Chair" (CYL: Edison 8535, 1903) Charles Harrison, "The Vacant Chair" (Resona 75074, 1920) Frank & James McCravy, "The Vacant Chair" (Brunswick 4455, 1929; Supertone 2024-S, 1930; rec. 1928) McKee Trio, "Vacant Chair" (Victor 18230, 1917) New Lost City Ramblers, "The Vacant Chair" (on NLCREP4) Shannon Four, "The Vacant Chair" (Pathe 20606, c. 1921) Elizabeth Spencer, "The Vacant Chair" (Edison 1713, n.d.) NOTES: Ironically, this song for a dead soldier was written in early 1861, when few battles had been fought. At this time, a few tens of thousands were mourning their lost soldier boys; four years later, those who had lost a loved one or friends would number in the millions (total losses in the Civil War exceeded 600,000, with the bulk of the losses coming in 1862-1864). - RBW File: R251 === NAME: Valiant London Apprentice, The [Laws Q38] DESCRIPTION: The youth, sent to Turkey, praises Queen Elizabeth above all kings. When challenged, the youth breaks the Turkish prince's neck. Thrown to the lions, he kills the beasts. The Turkish emperor admits English superiority; his daughter marries the youth AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1595 KEYWORDS: royalty fight animal contest marriage apprentice HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1558-1603 - Reign of Elizabeth I of England FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Laws Q38, "The Valiant London Apprentice" Creighton/Senior, pp. 124-126, "The Wealthy London Prentice"(1 text, 1 tune) BBI, ZN2080, "Of a worthy London Prentice" DT 749, LONDPREN* Roud #1016 File: LQ38 === NAME: Valiant Sailor, The: see Polly on the Shore (The Valiant Sailor) (File: Wa057) === NAME: Valiant Seaman's Happy Return to His Love, After a Long Seven Years' Absence, The: see A Seaman and His Love (The Welcome Sailor) [Laws N29] (File: LN29) === NAME: Valiant Soldier, The: see The Bold Soldier [Laws M27] (File: LM27) === NAME: Valley Below, The (She Lives in the Valley Below) DESCRIPTION: "The broom bloomed so fresh and fair... As I wandered to breathe the fresh air, By chance a rich treasure I found." The singer praises the beauty and voice of the girl he sees. He will offer her his home and wealth if she will come with him AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: love beauty FOUND_IN: Ireland Britain REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H47, pp. 236-237, "The Valley Below" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9446 NOTES: Henry offers evidence (based on birds mentioned in the song) that this piece must have originated in England, and a British printing is known. But the plot and style are very Irish. Kennedy lumps this with "Well Met, Pretty Maid (The Sweet Nightingale)." He's nuts. - RBW File: HHH047 === NAME: Valley of Kilbride, The DESCRIPTION: On a French battlefield, a soldier from Newfoundland thinks back to "boyhood days in the valley of Kilbride." A dying soldier asks him to comfort his parents, sister, and the girl he used to walk with "in Bowring Park." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1976 (Lehr/Best) KEYWORDS: war dying France soldier death family farewell FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lehr/Best 113, "The Valley of Kilbride" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Lehr/Best speculates that "this song was possibly written by Johnny Burke." If [this] is right, the ballad refers to World War I. Burke died in 1930. Bowring Park in Saint John's was opened in 1911 (Source: Tide's Point Magazine site for the "Newfoundland and Labrador Magazine for Workers"). GEST Songs of Newfoundland and Labrador site includes the following note for "The Valley of Kilbride," but does not claim the battle is the inspiration for the Ballad: "Between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m., on July 1, 1916, the First Newfoundland Regiment, part of the 29th British Division, was virtually annihilated at Beaumont Hamel as they advanced into point-blank enemy fire. Of the 801 who went into battle, only 68 were able to answer the roll call the next day." Kilbride is a suburb south of St John's. I don't know about a Valley of Kilbride. - BS File: LeBe113 === NAME: Valley of Knockanure (I), The DESCRIPTION: Coming from Mass, three IRA flying column boys are caught "on a bridge near Gortaglanna ... In the Valley of Knockanure" in May 1921. The three are named. They are beaten and shot. AUTHOR: Tim Leary (source: OLochlainn-More) EARLIEST_DATE: 1955 (OLochlainn-More) KEYWORDS: battle rebellion execution patriotic IRA HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 12, 1921 - A troop of Black and Tans capture and shoot Lyons, Walsh and Dalton in Gortaglanna, Knockanure, County Kerry. (source: the Moyvane site) FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OLochlainn-More 42, "The Valley of Knockanure" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #17752 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Valley of Knockanure (II)" (subject) NOTES: The "Black and Tans" were British reinforcements to regular British soldiers sent to Ireland in 1920. The "Auxiliary Cadets" were veteran British army officers sent to help the Black and Tans. (source: _Michael Collins: A Man Against an Empire_ copyright by and available on the History Net site). For more information see RBW note for "The Bold Black and Tan" - BS The IRA's "flying columns" were not quite what is usually meant by this term. They were guerrilla groups, usually of only a few dozen men, who did most of their damage in small raids on supply lines. Nonetheless, they were very effective -- the main strength of the rebellion, in fact. As a result, they were subject to severe punishment when caught. This particular atrocity was fairly typical of the Black and Tan war -- minor enough that it is not mentioned in any of the history books I checked. Sadly, there are many similar incidents recorded. This one is remembered because it caught the fancy of poets. The existence of two songs called "The Valley of Knockanure," both referring to the same event, has caused some confusion. (Not least in earlier versions of this index). O Lochlainn lists the author of this as Tim Leary of Listowel, while Tunney lists the author of "Knockanure (II)" as Brian McMahon of Kerry. But the Digital Tradition lists "Knockanure (II)" as by "Tim Leahy" (presumably an error for Leary) Tunney's claim of (II) for McMahon is supported also by Soodlum's Irish Ballad Book. - RBW File: OLcM042 === NAME: Valley of Knockanure (II), The DESCRIPTION: "You may sing and speak of Easter week and the heroes of ninety-eight" but nothing was said about Knockanure. Dalton, Walshe, and Lyons are killed by the Black and Tans. Dalton's mother wishes she could kiss him before burying him. AUTHOR: Bryan McMahon (source: Tunney-SongsThunder) EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 (Tunney-SongsThunder) KEYWORDS: battle rebellion execution patriotic IRA HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 12, 1921 - A troop of Black and Tans capture and shoot Lyons, Walsh and Dalton in Gortaglanna, Knockanure, County Kerry. (source: the Moyvane site) FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) Tunney-SongsThunder, pp. 46-48, "The Valley of Knockanure" (1 text) DT, KNOCKNUR* Roud #9761 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Valley of Knockanure (I)" (subject) and references there NOTES: The first line is a reference to songs: "Who fears to speak of Ninety-Eight?" from John Kells Ingram's "The Memory of the Dead," and the 1916 song "Who fears to speak of Easter Week?" - BS For background on this song, and the confusions about authorship, see the notes to "The Valley of Knockanure (I)." - RBW File: TST046 === NAME: Valleys of Screen, The DESCRIPTION: The singer tells the listeners of the beautiful girl he has seen. He gives directions for finding her, and describes her beauty. He recalls speaking to her, and her refusal to give her name. He compares her to classical beauties AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: love courting beauty FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H752, p. 245, "The Valleys of Screen" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9481 File: HHH752 === NAME: Van Dieman's Land (I) [Laws L18] DESCRIPTION: Three poachers are taken and sent to Van Dieman's Land. Sold to planters, they are used to drive plows and live miserable lives until (Susan Summers), a fellow prisoner now married to a planter, treats them somewhat better AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1830 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 25(1979)) KEYWORDS: transportation abuse help poaching FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond,South),Scotland(Aber)) Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland Australia US(MW) REFERENCES: (17 citations) Laws L18, "Van Dieman's Land" Colcord, p. 172, "Van Dieman's Land" (1 text) Hugill, p. 412, "Van Dieman's Land" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, p. 314] Dean, p. 95, "Vandiemens Land" (1 text) Leach, pp. 708-709, "Van Dieman's Land" (1 text) Creighton-NovaScotia 63, "Van Diemen's Land" (1 text, 1 tune) Mackenzie 122, "Van Dieman's Land" (1 text, 1 tune) Kennedy 262, "Van Dieman's Land" (1 text, 1 tune) OLochlainn 21, "Van Diemen's Land" (1 text, 1 tune) Fahey-Eureka, pp. 20-21, "Van Dieman's Land" (1 text, 1 tune) Hodgart, p.224, "Van Diemen's Land" (1 text) Ord, pp. 384-285, "The Poachers" (1 text, 1 tune) Manifold-PASB, pp. 14-15, "Van Dieman's Land" (1 text, 1 tune) Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 55-58, "Van Diemen's Land" (1 text) MacSeegTrav 93, "Van Dieman's Land" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 334, "Van Dieman's Land" (1 text) DT 426, VANDIEMN* Roud #519 RECORDINGS: Robert Cinnamond, "Van Dieman's Land" (on IRRCinnamond01) Jimmy MacBeath, "Van Diemen's Land" (on FSB7) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 25(1979), "Van Dieman's Land," T. Birt (London), 1828-1829; also Firth b.34(147), Firth c.17(40), Firth c.17(41), Firth c.19(60), Harding B 11(1808), Harding B 11(1850), Harding B 11(2815), Harding B 11(3964), Harding B 17(325b), Harding B 20(177), Johnson Ballads 6, Firth b.34(119), "Van Dieman's Land" Murray, Mu23-y4:034, "Van Dieman's Land," unknown, 19C CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Van Dieman's Land (II - Young Henry's Downfall)" (plot) cf. "Rounding the Horn" (tune) cf. "Those Poor Convicts" (tune) NOTES: The "other" "Van Dieman's Land" has a plot so similar that I was not sure but that they should be classified as one. The tunes and texts are, however, distinct. A typical stanza for this text would run Poor Tommy Brown from Nenagh Town, Jack Murphy and poor Joe We were three daring poachers as the gentry well do know. One night we were trepanned by the keepers hid in sand, Who for fourteen years transported us unto Van Dieman's Land. Van Diemen's Land was named after Anthony Van Diemen of the Dutch East India Company; Van Diemen chartered the expedition which discovered the island. Said expedition was led by Abel Tasman, who found the island in 1642 (as well as sighting New Zealand and some lesser islands). The reputation of Van Diemen's Land was so bad that the residents in the nineteenth century demanded a name change. It therefore was renamed Tasmania after its discoverer. The irony is that Van Diemen's Land was not really overburdened with "hard cases"; some were sent to the island, but most wound up on Norfolk Island or in settlements like Moreton Bay. But the settlers of Van Diemen's Land were perhaps the most destructive of all the colonists; the Tasmanian aborigines were systematically eradicated, as opposed to simply being brushed aside in most of Australia. The reference to convicts driving the plows is an exaggeration -- of the wrong sort. At many of the British colonies, the convicts were indeed used instead of draft animals (few of which were available). But they didn't normally use plows; they had to hoe their own furrows! - RBW File: LL18 === NAME: Van Dieman's Land (II -- Young Henry's Downfall) DESCRIPTION: (Six) poachers are taken and sent to Van Dieman's Land. Destined to work for a planter, the singer is frightened to see the conditions of the workers, but is instead picked out to be a bookkeeper. He meets another prisoner, Rosanna; they fall in love AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1845 (broadside, Bodleian Firth c.19(62)) KEYWORDS: transportation poaching love FOUND_IN: Australia Britain(England(Lond)) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Fahey-Eureka, pp. 16-17, "Henry's Downfall" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, VANDIEM2 Roud #221 RECORDINGS: Walter Pardon, "Van Dieman's Land" (on Voice04) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Firth c.19(62), "Young Henry the Poacher," J. Pitts (London), 1819-1844; also Harding B 11(4369), Harding B 11(4370), Harding B 11(4371), Harding B 11(4372), "Young Henry the Poacher"; Firth c.19(61), "Henry's Downfall"; Harding B 17(349a), "Young Henry's Downfall" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Van Dieman's Land (I)" [Laws L18] (plot) cf. "The Girls of the Shamrock Shore" (floating lyrics) NOTES: Yates, Musical Traditions site _Voice of the People suite_ "Notes - Volume 4" - 19.8.02: "Roy Palmer has traced this song (which has been found only in England [sic]) to two real poaching affrays that occurred in Warwickshire in 1829." - BS The "other" "Van Dieman's Land" has a plot so similar that I was not sure but that they should be classified as one. The tunes and texts are, however, distinct. A typical stanza of this version is: I and five more went out one night To Squire Dunhill's park To see if we could get some game But the night it proved too dark. And to our sad misfortune They've hemmed us in with speed They sent us off to Warwick Gaol Which caused our hearts to bleed. Chorus: Young men all now beware Lest you are drawn into a snare. For notes on the history of Van Diemen's Land, see the entry on "Van Diemen's Land (I)." - RBW File: FaE16 === NAME: Vance Song, The [Laws F17] DESCRIPTION: [Abner] Vance is charged falsely with murder. Recalling his beautiful home, he castigates those who have caused his unjust condemnation. He bids his family farewell AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1918 (Cox) KEYWORDS: homicide execution farewell FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE,So) REFERENCES: (6 citations) Laws F17, "The Vance Song" JHCox 41, "The Vance Song" (3 texts) Hudson 107, pp. 246-247, "The Vance Song" (1 text) Combs/Wilgus 67, pp. 163-164, "The Vance Song" (1 text) Burt, pp. 222-223, "The Vance Song" (1 text plus an excerpt Burt thinks might be of another Vance song) DT 738, VANCESNG Roud #2216 ALTERNATE_TITLES: Vance's Song NOTES: This is one of the few "confession" songs that Laws believes was actually written by the narrator. Abner Vance was hanged for murder after shooting Lewis Horton (for seducing Vance's daughter). Laws does not offer a precise date; it was probably in the second quarter of the nineteenth century. Some further details, including those surrounding the trial and murder, are found in Cox, but again, no date. Burt offers a date c. 1910. We might note, however, the inscription on Cox's "A" text. This appears to be the original broadsheet slip of the song, and is dated 1897. I do not think this (quite) proves the date of the song, but it gives us a rough date for either the song or the murder. - RBW File: LF17 === NAME: Vandiemens Land: see Van Dieman's Land (I) [Laws L18] (File: LL18) === NAME: Varsouvienna: see references under Put Your Little Foot (Varsouvienna) (File: Ohr045) === NAME: Varsouvienne: see references under Put Your Little Foot (Varsouvienna) (File: Ohr045) === NAME: Varsoviana: see references under Put Your Little Foot (Varsouvienna) (File: Ohr045) === NAME: Venadito DESCRIPTION: Spanish: "Young Dear." First line: "Lo que digo de hoy en dia Lo que digo sostengo." The singer promises that "What I say today I will always say." (He) will wait for (her) in the kiosk at eleven o'clock, and "you will know I love you." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg) KEYWORDS: love courting nonballad Mexico foreignlanguage FOUND_IN: Mexico REFERENCES: (1 citation) Sandburg, pp. 294-295, "Lo Que Digo" (1 text plus translation, 1 tune) File: San294 === NAME: Veni Emmanuel (O Come, O Come, Emmanuel) DESCRIPTION: Latin: "Veni veni Emmanuel, Captivum solve Israel...." English: "O come, o come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel." The advent of Emmanuel the savior, descendant of David, is requested, and people are told to celebrate his coming AUTHOR: J. M. Neale (1818-1866) EARLIEST_DATE: English words by J. M. Neale, 1851; Latin words and tune 15th century or earlier KEYWORDS: religious Jesus nonballad rescue FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) ADDITIONAL: Charles Johnson, One Hundred and One Famous Hymns (Hallberg, 1982), p. 13, "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Although I know of no field collections which include this song, it seems to me that it is now widely enough sung that it belongs in the Ballad Index. Certainly it is *old* enough. Johnson claims the words come from the seventh century. This is probably too early (my guess is that that's based on theories about the history of Latin hymnwriting). But the whole is found in the French National Library manuscript (Bibliotheque Nationale) fonds latin MS 10581. Manuscripts of this era are very difficult to date; book hands hardly changed from the twelfth to fifteenth centuries. The _New Oxford Book of Carols_ proposes a thirteenth century date. We can at least say that it is from the fifteenth century or earlier, with the text very likely older. The standard translation is by J. M. Neale, who also gave us the much weaker "Good King Wenceslas." The _New Oxford Book of Carols_ gives an alternate translation (termed a revision) by T. A. Lacey. It appears, at first glance, a more accurate translation -- but distinctly worse as poetry (e.g. the last line of the first Latin stanza is "privatus Dei Filio," loosely, "deprived of the Son of God." Neale butchers this as "until the Son of God appear," but at least gets an easy-to-sing line. Lacey produced "far from the face of God's dear son"). "Emmanuel" ("God With Us") refers back to Isaiah 7:14, where Isaiah prophecies that the threat to Judah from Israel and Damascus shall ease before the new-born child Immanuel (as it is properly transliterated from the Hebrew) reaches the age of having moral sense. This prophecy is picked up in Matthew 1:23, which uses the Greek spelling "Emmanuel" (which worked its way into Latin and hence into the song). There is rather a curiosity here, in that Matthew normally translates the Hebrew himself, but in this particular version cites the previous Septuagint translation, which has in fact a mistranslation (Septuagint and Matthew read "a virgin shall bear a son," but the Hebrew reads "a young woman shall bear a son"). Clearly this ties in somehow with the Matthean doctrine of the Virgin Birth (which is found in full form only in Matthew; while Luke calls Mary a virgin at the time of her betrothal, he doesn't say that Joseph didn't touch her after that). Several verses of the song refer to Emmanuel as a descendent of David. This does not come from Isaiah; again, it's Matthew who provides the link, giving a genealogy of Jesus going back to David (Matt. 1:2-16, though Matthew's genealogy omits several names known from the Book of Kings, plus it is at least six or seven generations too short to bring us from the Exile to the time of Jesus). All of this is somewhat reinforced by Luke. Luke never mentions Emmanuel, but he does have a genealogy linking Jesus to David (Luke 3:23-38), though it differs from Matthew's in irreconcilable ways. (Not that it matters. It was a thousand years from David to Jesus. By the time Jesus was born, everyone in Judea was descended from David, though not necessarily in the male line). Luke also provides much of the imagery of celebration at the arrival of the Messiah (see chapter 2). - RBW File: CJ013 === NAME: Verdant Braes o' Skreen, The: see The False Young Man (The Rose in the Garden, As I Walked Out) (File: FJ166) === NAME: Verdant Braes of Skreen, The: see The False Young Man (The Rose in the Garden, As I Walked Out) (File: FJ166) === NAME: Vermont Sugar-Maker's Song DESCRIPTION: "When you see the vapor pillars lick the forest and the sky, You may know the days of sugar-making then are drawing nigh." A brief description of sugar-making; "Sweetest joys indeed we sugar-makers know." Use of sugar is strongly advised AUTHOR: Perrin B. Fiske ? (born 1837) EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (Flanders/Brown) KEYWORDS: food work nonballad FOUND_IN: US(NE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Flanders/Brown, p. 33, "Vermont Sugar-Maker's Song" (1 text) ST FlBr033 (Partial) Roud #5444 File: FlBr033 === NAME: Versos de Montalgo DESCRIPTION: Spanish. First line: "En el mil nueve cientos y diez -- Y los cuento sin edal...." Montalgo is killed from ambush in 1910 ten years after he killed Encarnacion. A month later, his body is found. His family mourns. Last verse says the other verses are lies AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg) KEYWORDS: Mexico homicide death trick foreignlanguage FOUND_IN: Mexico REFERENCES: (1 citation) Sandburg, pp. 302-303, "Versos de Montalgo" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Sandburg prints this report from Frank J. Dobie: "In the year 1900, Encarnacion Garcia waylaid and killed another Mexican in Cameron County. Montalgo, a Mexican deputy sheriff, rode up on Encarnacion as the latter was burying his victim. Encarnacion resisted arrest, or at least Montalgo always so claimed, and Montalgo killed him. Ten years later to a day, Encarnacion's gente got their revenge by killed Montalgo." - RBW File: San302 === NAME: Very Unfortunate Man, The: see The Warranty Deed (The Wealthy Old Maid) [Laws H24] (File: LH24) === NAME: Vesta and Mattie's Blues DESCRIPTION: "I've got a belly full o' whiskey an' a head full o' gin, The doctors say t'will kill me but they don't say when." Chorus: ""I'm a long line skinner an' my home's out west, Lookin' for a man to buy me a hobble dress." Verses float between blues AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Arrangement copyright by W. C. Handy) KEYWORDS: floatingverses drink love separation clothes FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Handy/Silverman-Blues, p. 60, "Vesta and Mattie's Blues" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Easy Rider" (floating lyrics) NOTES: This looks to me like another one of those blues collections of floating verses (in addition to the first, from "Cocaine Blues" or the like, the second is from "Easy Rider": "Pretty papa, pretty papa, look what you've done: You made your mama love you, now your woman's come"). The notes in Handy, however, imply that it is an actual folk song, so here it is. - RBW File: Handy060 === NAME: Veteran's Song, The DESCRIPTION: The Union veteran lists all the fights he's fought, and all the wounds he's received, and notes that he consistently gave better than he got. He says "[I] will not sheathe my sword Until from Florida to Maine the Stars and Stripes shall proudly float" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: Civilwar soldier injury HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: July 21, 1861 - First Battle of Bull Run May 31-June 1, 1862 - Battle of Fair Oaks/Seven Pines Sept. 17, 1862 - Battle of Antietam Dec. 13, 1862 - Battle of Fredericksburg FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 392, "The Veteran's Song" (1 text) Roud #11754 NOTES: This is unquestionably a composed song, and not about an actual individual. You don't take "a grapeshot in my knee" and walk again thereafter! There are other signs of confusion in the song -- e.g. there is a reference, between the mention of Fair Oaks and that of the Peninsula, to service in "Fighting Joe's Brigade" and crossing the Rapidan at Culpeper with Averell. But "Fighting Joe" Hooker never commanded a brigade in combat in the Peninsular campaign; he was already in charge of a division. And while William Woods Averell did lead a rearguard action in the Peninsula, it was during the retreat to the James. The reference to Culpeper is probably an errant reference to the Chancellorsville campaign. The reference to General Bragg also seems out of place in the story of an Eastern soldier. - RBW File: Br3392 === NAME: Vi Styrte Utover Atlanten (We Set Out Over the Atlantic) DESCRIPTION: Swedish shanty. No story line, just sailing comments and complaints. i.e. "Callao was our port, so we go... Like a louse on a tarry fist." Chorus: "Hala hem! Hala hem! Hala hem a belagg! (Haul them home, haul them home, haul them home and belay)" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1903 (Sternvall, _Sang under Segel_ ) KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage shanty sailor FOUND_IN: Sweden REFERENCES: (1 citation) Hugill, p. 552, "Vi Styrte Utover Atlanten" (2 texts-Swedish & English, 1 tune) NOTES: Note in Sternvall that this was sung aboard the _Richelieu_ of Stromstad in 1903. - SL This is not unlikely, since the late nineteenth century was they heyday of the South American guano trade (for which see the notes to "Tommy's Gone to Hilo"). Ilo and Callao were the two chief ports of this trade. And, of course, carrying guano was one of the less pleasant jobs for a sailor, and did generate complaints. - RBW File: Hugi552 === NAME: Vicar of Bray, The DESCRIPTION: "In good King Charles's golden days... A zealous high churchman was I, and so I got preferment." In the reigns that follow, the Vicar changes his opinions to suit the monarch, "That whatsoever king shall reign, I'll be the Vicar of Bray." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1813 (broadside Bodleian, Douce Ballads 4(49)) KEYWORDS: clergy political royalty HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1660-1685 - Reign of Charles II (an Anglican, but devoted to "High Church" and probably baptised Catholic on his deathbed) 1685-1688 - Reign of James II (brother of Charles II; Catholic) 1688 - Glorious Revolution. William III of Orange overthrows James II in his own behalf and on behalf of his wife, James's daughter Mary II. William is Dutch, and favors a more Reformed faith. 1688-1702 - Reign of William III (first cousin of Mary and nephew of James. Mary died in 1694) 1702-1714 - Reign of Anne (second daughter of James II; Protestant but conservative) 1714-1727 - Reign of George I (a cousin of Charles II and James II, and far down in the line of succession -- but the closest relative of the Stuarts to be safely Protestant) FOUND_IN: Britain(England) US(SE) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Chappell/Wooldridge II, pp. 122-123, "The Country Garden, or, The Vicar of Bray" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 314, "The Vicar of Bray" (1 text) cf. Fuld-WFM, p. 187, "Country Gardens" BBI, ZN1416, "In Charles the second's Golden Reign" DT, VICARBRY* Roud #4998 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Douce Ballads 4(49), "The Time Server, or, Vicar of Bray," T. Evans (London), 1790-1813 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "When the Rebels Come A-Marchin'" (theme) NOTES: For the references cited in these notes, see the bibliography at the end. Although this song is mostly a commentary on political trimming, it also reveals the strange and complex religious situation in late seventeenth century England. The ferment had been rising since the death of Elizabeth, really: James VI and I (reigned over England 1603-1625, having previously been king of Scotland) was inclined toward absolute monarchy, and his son Charles I (reigned 1625-1649) was even more so. This also naturally inclined them toward a heirarchical,ritualistic church. Neither was popular, so they could do little to prevent the rise of the hard-line puritan denominations. And then, of course, came the rebellion against Charles I, with Scotland turning to the Covenanting version of Presbyterian and England increasingly Puritan. When Oliver Cromwell died and the Commonwealth crumbled, Britain restored the monarchy, but it didn't at once solve the issue of the national faith. And, of course, for many years, the monarch had one much to set this: Henry VIII had instituted the Anglican church, Edward VI (or, rather, his ministers) had tried to codify it, then Mary I had inclined back toward Catholicism, leaving it for Elizabeth I to try to find a middle road. It doesn't seem to have been a particularly big deal to Charles II on his restoration. Clark, p. 18, writes, "The king himself was the son and heir of one who was regarded as a martyr for the church of England, but he never showed muchfeeling for that church. He was without serious personal religion, and his theological opinions, so far as he had any, were those of the deism which was by this time common among unprejudiced men of position. He was therefore inclined to be tolerant of differences of belief, and he was disposed to be particularly indulgent to the Roman catholics, that bodyamong his subjects who were the most generally feared and ill-treated." Hence, perhaps, the description of the era as a "golden time." But there seemed to be something about Catholicism that struck a note in the heart of all the Stuarts. Prall, p.44, records that "Charles II had developed a feeling of sympathy for the Roman Catholic Church and for French ways during his years of exile. How deeply his religious views went is certainly problematic, but there was an era about the court at Versailles [where Charles II spent much time after his father's execution and his own exile], Catholic and monarchical, that deeply impressed the young man in exile." Certainly he liked control -- in the latter years of his reign, funded by a subsidy from France as well as revenues voted him for life by his subjects, he dispensed with parliament (Trevelyan, p. 22). Hence, presumably, the line in the song, "Kings are by God appointed" (something his father and grandfather believed even more profoundly; James I had actually written a book _Trew Law of Free Monarchies_, which in fact set forth his belief in the Divine Right of Kings; Davies, p. 30. Charles I didn't write any books, but he did say that he "owe[d] the account of [his] actions to God alone, and that a king "cannot be tried by any superior jurisdiction"; Davies, p. 32. Compare also the quotes from his trial in Wedgwood-Coffin, pp. 121-134. Somehow, that didn't stop parliament from executing him). Charles II is said to have joined the Catholic church on his deathbed (Kenyon, p. 224; Prall, p. 89). And Charles had no heir; he had sundry illegitimate children, the most important of whom became Duke of Monmouth, but even when England had had illegitimate Kings (William the Conqueror, Henry VII), great effort was made to pretend they were legitimate. Nor was Monmouth to prove a particularly good leader; shortly after his father's death in 1685, he tried to raise a rebellion (Chandler, p. 3, and most of the rest of his book; Trevelyan, pp. 26-27; Clark, pp. 113-115, etc.), and was quickly quashed at the battle of Sedgrmoor; he was executed, and his followers suffered very badly (Kenyon, pp. 228-229), as songs of the time tell: Oh Lord, where is my husband now -- Where once he stood beside me? His body lies at Sedgemoor In grave of oak and ivy; Come tell me you who beat the drum, Why am I so mistreated? (Chandler, p. 92) But that left only one other possible successor to Charles II: His brother James (II and VII). James, contrary to the song, did not "usurp" the throne -- but he was Catholic. Proudly and openly Catholic. Maybe it was the family attitude; maybe it was the exile. But he openly professed the Roman faith (Prall, p. 46). At this time, Catholics were barred from almost every office in England by the Test Act and the penal laws. And here was one on the throne! (It is perhaps possible that a parliament might have barred James from the throne, but as noted, Charles II managed to avoid summoning parliament in the latter years of his reign). What's more, James gained firm control in the aftermath of Monmouth's rebellion, and although he failed to induce parliament to repeal the penal laws against Catholics (Trevelyan, pp. 33-34; Kenyon, p. 229, says that he never even raised the issue), he *did* induce them to vote him subsidies for life (parliament would learn from this, and never again give a monarch life subsidies; Trevelyan, p. 26). Free of financial needs, James prorogued the parliament after it met for just a week and a half (this even though it was the most pro-Monarch parliament in decades; Prall, p. 92, says that its composition would have "made any Tudor or earlier Stuart king weep with envy"). Free of outside restrictions, James began to show clear favor to Catholics -- and to turn the machinery of government over to them ("Every effort was made to recruit Catholics and suitable Dissenters as magistrates and sheriffs"--Kenyon, p. 238). And he was intent on creating a standing army -- something that was anathema to both the radical Whigs (because they didn't trust him) and the otherwise reliable Tories (because they remembered Cromwell and the Commonwealth and what it had done to the Church of England; Trevelyan, pp. 29-30). Trevelyan, p. 34, writes, "James, in short, in his desire to restore Romanism in England, found it necessary to become an absolute monarch like the other Princes of Europe." The reference to the Vicar "read[ing] the Declaration" in the reign of James is perhaps somewhat confusing, because the natural thought would be that he is referring to the Declaration of Right, issued by William and Mary when they came to the throne. But James had made his own Declaration -- the Declaration of Indulgence (1687). This was, in effect, a unilateral repeal of the Test Act and anti-Catholic legislation (Prall, p. 126). This, on its face, was a liberal move -- James not only lifted the restrictions on Catholics but on Protestant Dissenters (Kendall, p. 236). But it was clear that he meant to use it to appoint more Catholics to high positions. And -- the key point, this -- he had done it without consent of parliament. The Test Act might be needless; it was certainly (by modern standards) odius, but it was the law. What James had done was patently unconstitutional. Fortunately for the peace of the country, James's two daughters, Mary (born 1662) and Anne (born 1665), were safely Protestant, and Mary, his heir, was safely married to the equally Protestant William of Orange. Unfortunately, his wife Anne Hyde had died in 1671. And his second wife, Mary of Modena (1658-1718), was Catholic (Clark, p. 77). Parliament had opposed this marriage in 1674, but Charles II had allowed it to go forward (Kenyon, p. 209). It had looked for a time as if it wouldn't matter; Mary became pregnant five times, and none of the children lived (Kenyon, p. 239, attributes this to a venereal disease -- James's, not Mary's). And she had been barren for several years by the time James came to the throne. But then, in late 1687, it was announced that she was pregnant (Prall, p. 173). And the child proved to be a boy -- the future Old Pretender, "James III," of Jacobite fame. He proved to be not a very forceful character, but everyone knew he would be raised Catholic, and he was now heir to the throne (Trevelyan, p. 49). The fragile religious balance in England was suddenly no balance at all. And across the channel was William of Orange, stadtholder of the Netherlands, the husband of James's daughter Mary. Being both James's nephew (being the son of James's older sister Mary) and his son-in-law, he had long expected to succeed James (Prall, pp. 173-175). And, indeed, he desperately *needed* to succeed James, because his tiny country was trying to hold off the France of Louis XIV, and he could hardly hope to hold out much longer on his own. (This was a big reason Louis XIV had paid off first Charles II and then James II: To keep England from joining the Dutch war on the side of a fellow Protestant nation.) On June 30, 1688, a group of English barons, frightened of James and his policies, issued an appeal to William of Orange to do something about the King (Trevelyan, p. 50; Clark, p. 127; Kenyon, p. 243, described William as actively inducing them to make their appeal; this may be his interpretation of a comment by William that he would not intervene in English affairs unless invited. For this situation, see Clark, p. 127f., Prall, p. 174fff). Whatever William's original intentions, once the invitation came, he pounced. His timing was excellent; the French navy was unavailable and could not stop him (Clark, p. 129), and the French army headed off on a wild goose chase into Germany (Clark, p. 130; Trevelyan, p. 56). William managed to get to sea by November. And he succeeded in a great gamble: He chose to sail past the English fleet (which, to be sure, was in a state of near-mutiny after James had installed Catholic chaplains; Clark, p. 132). Helpful weather allowed him to sail past them and land in the southwest of England; the conditions worked so well that people called it a "Protestant Wind" (Kenyon, p. 249); note the reference in the song to the "new wind." James of course was still "in possession" in England, but it was not to last. The people were whistling "Lillibullero" (Trevelyan, p. 58), which was to "whistle James from his throne," and the lords started bailing out not long after (Trevelyan, p. 61). Hence the Vicar set aside the "doctrine of non-resistance" and "passive obedience," which basically meant, when ordered by a monarch to do something immoral, to refuse to do it but remain loyal (Clark, p. 33; the doctrine is stated most explicitly in 1 Peter 2:13-17, but is in accordance with passages such as Matthew 5:39). With the whole country turning against him, James's government fell apart. The outcome was settled when James went into a panic. Everyone expected a parliament to be called -- but James, rather than letting it meet and hoping to dominate it, burned the writs of summons and fled to France (Prall, pp. 237-238). Perhaps, with his absolutist trend of mind, he thought that the government would be paralyzed -- it was, after all, the King's government, and without him parliament could not meet. In theory (cf. Trevelyan, p. 67). In practice -- well, England wasn't Iraq; they managed to use a legal fiction to cover up what had happened. By fleeing, James II was held, after some discussion, to have abdicated (Kenyon, pp. 254-257; Prall, p. 261; Trevelyan, p. 77). Parliament was regarded as having been properly summoned. And that parliament declared the infant James (who of course had gone off with his father; Kenyon, p. 255) illegitimate, or at least inelligible for the crown (Kenyon, pp. 259-260) because of his presumed Catholicism (Trevelyan, pp. 77-78). Another compromise made the William of Orange and James's daughter Mary joint monarchs -- William III and Mary II -- with William being given control but it being understood that whichever lived longer would be sole monarch after the death of the other, and their children if any would succeed them, with Mary's sister Anne being next in line. (Since William was a dozen years older than Mary, and sickly, it was expected that she would outlast him, so it wasn't expected that the joing monarch would matter. As it turned out, Mary died in 1694, and William in 1702, and they had no children -- a problem suffered by several other Stuarts as well). A series of additional compromises -- the "Glorious Revolution" -- assured greater religious freedom and a more constitutional government, with an independent judiciary and stronger parliamentary controls (Trevelyan, p. 88, etc.), enshrined in the "Declaration of Right" (Trevelyan, p. 79). Not everyone was reconciled to the Revolution -- most of Ireland would follow James II to the banks of the Boyne, and Scotland would later break out in the Jacobite rebellions -- but the matter was pretty well settled in England, and what England said, went. Hence the Vicar's prompt conversion. (Incidentally, it was probably a very good thing that James was displaced. Had William and Anne not been monarchs at the start of the eighteenth century, the France of Louis XIV would very likely had won the War of the Spanish Succession, resulting in France dominating all of Europe -- possibly for centuries to come.) William himself, and his closest Dutch advisors, were "Calvinists in belief, congregationalists in religious obserrvance -- the English dissenters were in a very real sense their coreligionists" (Kenyon, p. 236). But the Netherlands by this time was fundamentally tolerant; William did not impose any real religious restrictions. The Vicar needed only return to the Protestant fold. But then Mary died, followed by William, and Anne took the throne. William and Mary had in effect governed from the center of the newly-forming Whig/Tory spectrum -- the deposition of James II was entirely a Whig idea, but James's behavior had forced most Tories to join the anti-James crowd (Trevelyan, pp. 76-77); only the Jacobite extremists still held out for the full Tory position. Anne wanted no part of this; she had the Stuart conservatism in a fairly pure form, and insisted on a Tory government. Most agree that she was a firm believer in High Church Anglicanism, and even Kenyon, who thinks she wasn't, admits that everyone *thought* she was (Kenyon, p. 299). And, politically, even Kenyon admits that her "reign opened with a bang, with the dismissal of every Whig in sight and their replacement with firm Tories" (Kenyon, p. 300). And even Kenyon (p. 299) admits she had no use at all for the habit of "occasional conformity" -- the fairly common practice of a Dissenter going to an Anglican church a few times a year to meet the requirements of the Test Act, allowing them to serve in government. Anne in 1711 pushed through a bill stopping this practice (Clark, p. 222), which the vicar naturally approved of, as long as it was on the statute books. It didn't last long. Anne herself died in 1714. Which revived the succession problem. When the Glorious Revolution took place, the succession had been defined only as far as Anne, to succeed William and Mary; Anne had just given birth at that time to the future Duke of Gloucester, and it seemed likely that the succession could pass through him. But the Stuarts truly were jinxed. It is possible that this is due to the genes of King Charles VI of France. The mad king was the father of Queen Katherine of Valois, wife of Henry V. Her son by Henry V, who became King Henry VI, was feeble-minded and had at most one son. By her second husband/paramour Owen Tudor, Katherine was the grandmother of King Henry VII -- and while Henry VII was healthy, his heir Henry VIII's wives repeatedly miscarried, and of his three children to reach the age of one year, none would have offspring of their own. Charles I was the great(x6)-grandson of Charles VI -- via Katherine of Valois, Owen Tudor, Henry VII, Margaret Tudor, James V of Scotland, Mary Queen of Scots, and James VI and I -- and had nine legitimate children, six of whom died without legitimate issue. Of the remaining three, James II, like Henry VIII before, caused his wives to miscarry repeatedly, and Mary the mother of William of Orange had only one child. William and Mary, both grandchildren of Charles I were childless. James the Old Pretender had two sons, but neither produced a legitimate heir. And Anne -- well, Anne went through many pregnancies, almost all of which produced babies who died young. The child of 1689 lived to become the Duke of Gloucester -- but then died in 1700. That produced a crisis, which William of Orange sort of resolved by passing the Act of Settlement in 1701 (Prall, pp. 287-288). This made it official: A Catholic could not ascend to the throne of England (later broadened to all of Britain by the passage of the Act of Union in 1707), nor could the monarch marry a Catholic. This was the "Protestant Succession." Anne had repeatedly talked, at the end of her life, of passing the throne to the Old Pretender, who was after all her closest living relative (her half-brother). Thackeray wrote, "Had the Queen lasted a month longer; had the English Tories been as bold and resolute as they were clever and crafty; had the Prince whom the nation loved and pitied been equal to his fortune, George Louis had never talked German in St. James's Chapel Royal" (quoted in Sinclair-Stevenson, p. 11). But Anne died too soon, and the law was not altered. The hunt was on for a Protestant heir. In fact, the Protestant heir was already known -- except that he was far down the line of succession. Several people could have supplanted him -- but they would have had to give up their Catholic faith. It really helps to see a genealogy here; I used the one in Oman, p. 458. Under strict blood succession, setting aside the heirs of Anne (after setting aside the Old Pretender) would have been the descendants of Henrieta, the daughter of Charles I who had married Philip, Duke of Orleans. These were, apart from the Old Pretender, the only legitimate descendents of Charles I. But they were all Catholic. That left the offspring of Elizabeth, the daughter of James I. (She and Charles I were the only children of James I to live to have children.) Elizabeth -- the "Winter Queen" -- had had a truly sad history: Born in 1596 (Oman, p. 1), her early portraits show a very pretty red-haired girl, who apparently was also quite clever (Oman, p. 36). Not too surprisingly, half a dozen princes were mentioned as possible marriage prospects (for the list, see p. 469 in Oman's index). Somehow, though, James decided to favor the suit of Frederick V, who, when he came of age in 1614, would be the Elector Palatine of the Holy Roman Empire (Oman, pp. 52-53). James's wife Anne of Denmark wasn't so happy (Oman, p. 62), but the young pair (Frederick was the older by just a few days; Oman, p. 54) were formally betrothed at the end of 1612. (Some think that Shakespeare's "The Tempest," or at least the Masque in IV.I.106 and following, was modified to suit her wedding; we know, according to _The Riverside Shakespeare_, p. 1606, that it was performed as part of the elaborate marriage festivities.) The rest of her life was not so happy. Frederick soon decided to accept the vacant throne of Bohemia (Oman, p. 170), against the advice of most of those around him (Wedgwood-Thirty, pp. 97-99; the Bohemians, after all, had just ousted the previous King even as he was being elected Holy Roman Emperor; Wedgwood-Thirty, pp. 90-97). That decision put him squarely at the center of the Thirty Years' War; Bohemia, which was trying assure its Protestantism, was the front line. Elizabeth came to be called "The Winter Queen," because it was foretold that her husband, "The Winter King," would vanish with the snows (Oman, p. 202). He did. In 1620, his forces lost the Battle of the White Mountain (Oman, pp. 223-224, etc.; Wedgwood-Thirty, pp. 122-125, describes the Bohemian forces, who were few, ill-paid because of the poverty of the crown, and ill-led, being destroyed in almost no time despite what should have been a strong position). Frederick, and the Bohemian Protestants, were driven out as the Habsburg Emperor re-imposed Catholicism. (Elizabeth is surely the only Stuart to get in trouble for not being Catholic enough!) Elizabeth spent the rest of her life in exile of one sort or another: She and her husband, living in (by royal standards) poverty, tried to improve their position until Frederick died in 1632. Her son finally regained his status as Elector in 1648, but by then the Stuart dynasty in England was on the ropes. She finally returned to England in 1661 after the Stuart restoration -- and promptly died (Oman, p. 455). It was quite a drama -- but it shouldn't have mattered much in England, except for the failure of the Stuart line. Even if you ignore the sad history of her life, Elizabeth had a typical Tudor/Stuart story: She had thirteen children (ncluding the famous Prince Rupert). But nine died without any children at all, and Rupert had no legitimate children. That left three: Charles Louis, the Elector Palatinate, whose offspring were Catholic; Edward, whose offspring were Catholic, and Sophia, who married the Elector of Hanover. If it's any consolation to the memory of Elizabeth, it appears that *every* remaining crowned head of Europe is her descendant; the monarchs of Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden are all descended from Sophia of Hanover (as were the pre-World War II monarchs of Greece, Yugoslavia, and Romania among others), and the royal house of Belgium, along with the extinct dynasties of Bulgaria and Italy and others, descend from Liselotte daughter of the Elector Palatinate (Oman, p. 457). By 1710, it was of course clear that none of the people ahead of her would turn Protestant, so Sophia became Anne's heir apparent. So she did not quite live to succeed, dying in 1714 at the age of 84 (perhaps, some have argued romantically, as a result of news from England which seemed to imply that Anne would disinherit her; Sinclair-Stevenson, pp. 13-15). And so, in default of anyone else, George Lewis, Elector of Hannover, became King George I of England. He was not in any way exceptional -- Sinclair-Stevenson, p. 24, quotes an unnamed source as saying, "To imagine George I possessed any exalted views regarding either the supremacy of the Protestant religion or the economic and progressive development is to credit a mollusc with the aspirations of an eagle." As it turned out, none of his descendants to the present day has been exceptional, either (except George III, who was exceptional for stupidity); the only one whom I can imagone making even a decent ruler in his own right is George V. But England had had its handsome Plantaganets and its triumphant Lancastrians and its romantic Stuarts, maybe it had had enough of exceptional monarchs. George was much laughed at -- for his lack of English, his two ugly mistresses, his clan of German friends (Sinclair-Stevenson, p. 26). But even though he faced two Jacobite rebellions (1715 and 1719), there was never any serious danger of his overthrow. Even the Vicar had little to say about George's theology -- except that he would follow it. The reference to George arriving in Pudding Time has perhaps as many as three meanings. It refers to a the beginning of a meal, as George was the beginning of a new dynasty. It also implies a good meal, in which case the Vicar might be using it to try to compliment the new king. And -- well, George I, by the time he succeeded to the English throne, was rather pudgy, and his expansive cheekbones made him appear pudgier. He had the look of a man fond of his pudding. There does not seem to have been an actual Vicar of Bray, but this sort of shifting-of-allegiance is by no means unknown in British history. The ultimate example of this is probably the brothers Thomas Stanley (c. 1435-1504), later Earl of Derby, and his brother Sir William Stanley (c. 1440-1495). Thomas Stanley succeeded his father as Lord Stanley in 1459 (a title bringing with it control of the Isle of Man); this was in the reign of Henry VI, though the Wars of the Roses were already underway. Longford, p. 48, says that Henry VI admitted him to the Order of the Garter (though Kendall, p. 381, attributes this to Richard), then Edward IV made him Steward of the Household. Stanley retained power under Richard III, even though he had married Margaret Beaufort (the mother of the future Henry VII) around 1482. He brought an army to Bosworth (where Richard III died), carefully did not fight in the battle, but when Richard died, reportedly put the crown on Henry VII's head. In fact it appears the situation was even more complicated than Longford admits. Kendall, p. 404, notes that the Stanleys "thrived by daring to make politics their trade, by sloughing off the encumbrances of loyalty an honor, by developing an ambiguity of attitude which enabled them to join the winning side." Kendall implies that, early on, the brothers Stanley deliberately played both sides (see pp. 404-406): In 1459, William joined the Yorkists (and was attainted by a Lancastrian parliament), while Thomas, claiming to be Lancastrian, kept his troops idle at Blore Heath. Thomas did fight for the Lancastrians at Northampton, but when Edward IV became King, Thomas was made Chief Justice of Cheshire and Flint. When in the late 1460s the Earl of Warwick made the first of two attempts to bring back Henry VI, Thomas made sympathetic noises but did nothing and was taken back into favor. In the second attempt, he joined Warwick -- but did nothing at the battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury. Since William had joined the Yorkists, Thomas was allowed to rejoin the government. It was after this that he became Steward. During the reign of Richard III, even though his wife lost her estates after Buckingham's rebellion, Thomas Stanley became treasurer. Then came the invasion of Henry VII, which eventually overthrew Richard. Stanley was, by now, the third-greatest landholder in England, after the Howard Duke of Norfolk and the Percy Earl of Northumberland. When Henry VII landed, Stanley asked to be allowed to leave Richard. Richard consented, though he made Stanley turn over his son Lord Strange as a hostage. (But, we note for the Richard III haters out there, once it was clear that Stanley would not support Richard at Bosworth, Richard let Strange live.) Even after the death of Richard, the Stanleys kept their feet in both camps. Thomas became Earl of Derby (a title that is still in his family) -- though Kendall, p. 457, says that Margaret Beaufort eventually refused to share his bed any longer. But William, the man who had ordered the counter-charge that killed Richard III and won England for Henry, did not even receive a peerage. He allegedly conspired with the pretender Perkin Warbeck, and the Stanley luck finally ran out; Henry VII had him executed. It should be noted that Kendall's was the most vigorous defence of Richard III in the twentieth century; to preserve Richard, he must inherently blacken the Stanleys. But others tell the same story. Gillingham seems to try to be balanced, in that it does not condemn Richard out of hand (but he betrays his bias in failing to note that Henry VII faced as many rebellions in his first two years as Richard did in his, and had a little support from peers; the only difference is that Richard was killed at Bosworth, whereas Henry won his battle at Stoke -- fortunately, since there would have been at least one more round of civil wars had he lost). But Gillingham's account of the Bosworth campaign (pp. 233-242) cannot conceal the extensive treachery of the Stanleys, though it tries to hide it under the cloak of necessity. Seward-Roses, pp. 303-304, in the space of two pages manages to refer to "Lord Stanley's well-deserved reputation for trimming," and his "treacherous behavior in 1470-1471," also mentioning that "Thomas Stanley had survived the Wars of the Roses... by his shrewdness in identifying and backing the more powerful side" and noting that Henry and the Stanleys "were men of utmost cynicism," as well as that "the Stanleys were never men of their word." No matter what source you consult, both brothers had careers with even more changes of coat than the Vicar of Bray (who just went along with whoever was in charge). Can you imagine what George W. Bush would have made of these people? For additional details on Richard III's story, see the notes to "The Children in the Wood (The Babes in the Woods) [Laws Q34]" and "The Rose of England" [Child 166]. - RBW The form of broadside Bodleian Firth c.8(33), "Beef and Butt Beer, Against Mum and Pumpernickle" or "A Bumper to Old England, Huzza," B. C. (London), 1743, shows it either to be a forrunner or derivative of "The Vicar of Bray." Here is the first verse: In good King G---'s golden days, Whoe'er advis'd the King, Sir, To give H---r the Bays, Deserv'd a hempen String, Sir. For this is true, I will maintain, Give H----r away, Sir, Or whatsoever K---g shall reign, Will ne'er have a happy Day, Sir. - BS The king in the item above must be one or another King George (no other English king has had the initial "G," unless you count Richard of Gloucester). And since the king mentioned clearly is no longer on the throne, and the song was published in the 1740s, it must be George I. This strongly implies that "H---r" is Hanover, the German principality that England had inherited with George I. My guess is that the reference is to the Battle of Dettingen (1743) during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748). Britain had joined the war on the Austrian side, partly because France was on the other side, partly because Hanover was part of the Holy Roman Empire (of which the Habsburg Emperor of Austria was usually Emperor, though an exception had had to be made at this time; Maria Theresa of Austria was a woman and therefore ineligible), and partly because Britain wanted to maintain the balance of power. The War of the Austian Succession was very expensive for Britain, and unpopular, causing several governments to fall rather spectacularly. Dettingen was of particular note because it was very bloody, and a strategic defeat for the British, who had to retreat -- and because George II personally led troops (the last time a British monarch was directly involved in battle). George I was, of course, the last King mentioned in the "standard" Vicar of Bray. It thus seems likely that the Bodleian broadside is a follow-on to the Vicar -- which in turn implies that the Vicar was in existence by the reign of George II if not earlier. Just how traditional "The Vicar of Bray" is is an open question. That it's well-known, however, cannot be denied. Improbable as it sounds, a bark named _The Vicar of Bray_ was built in 1841. After a complicated career, it ended up in a decrepit state in Port Stanley in the Falklands. It still exists as part of a pier there, and is believed to be the only surviving ship to have made the voyage to San Francisco during the 1849 gold rush. (See Paine, pp. 546-547). The song also gave its name to a biological theory. Ridley, p. 31 etc., describes how biologists for long thought that sex existed in order to promote the diffusion of good genes, helping along evolution. This came to be called the "Vicar of Bray" theory. Alternatives go by such names as the "Tangled Bank" and the "Red Queen" (after the Red Queen's Race in _Through the Looking Glass_). Unlike its namesake, though, the "Vicar" theory proved inadequately adaptable. The basic premise is sound: Sex allows the diffusion of genes (i.e. it allows genes A and B, which arose independenty, to end up in the same organism), and sharing of genes is indeed helpful when a species must seek to optimize behavior; it is the best way to create superior mixes of genes. But this does not explain why so many creatures reproduce only by means of sex. Mammals use sex exclusively, and most other vertebrates and many invertebrates also reproduce exclusively sexually. The problem with the Vicar of Bray is that sex is not needed for genetic diffusion. It's perfectly possible to swap genes without sex; bacteria often do it, and viruses manage it by invading a cell at the same time. And in the ordinary course of things asexual reproduction (cloning or fissioning) is a faster way to reproduce. Indeed, we see a mix of such strategies in many creatures (strawberries, for instance, send out runners to populate their local area, while spreading seeds to the wind. And there are a number of species which reproduce primarily asexually while going through an occasional sexual phase, e.g. at the end of a growing season). Plus, while sex serves to distribute good genes, it also serves to break up good gene combinations. As Ridley puts it on page 47, "Sex disobeys that great injunction, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it.'" It has been noted, however, that asexual reproduction seems to be a very rare thing; if one looks at a "Tree of Life" (one of those drawings that show species splitting off from each other), and marks the multicellular creatures which reproduce asexually, they are few and scattered (see the description in Dawkins, p. 425). The one major exception is the bdelloid rotifers, which -- unlike all other rotifers -- reproduce exclusively asexually, and have managed to persist for an estimated 85 million years and spawn some 360 species (Judson, pp. 219-220; Dawkins, p. 425). Judson, p. 213, calls it a "notorous scandal" (in the circles of evolutionary biology). According to Ridley, p. 85, it was John Maynard Smith who first used the term. Scandal they may be, but they are still very much the exception. Almost every other species reproduces sexually. It must have some strong advantage -- but no one knows what. (This gives rise to an irony: The Vicar of Bray in the song kept himself in business by selfishly concerning himself solely with his own survival. The Vicar of Bray hypothesis regarding evolution failed because it does not take into account the selfish desires of each creature that its genes, and only its genes, survive.) Because of these problems, there is still debate about why sex persists. It will be interesting to see the name applied to the consensus theory if and when a consensus forms. - RBW >>*BIBLIOGRAPHY*<< Chandler: David Chandler: _Sedgemoor 1685: From Monmouth's Invasion to the Blody Assizes_ (Spellmount, 1985, 1999) Clark: G.N. Clark, M.A., _TheLater Stuarts, 1660-1714_ (Oxford, 1934, 1944) Davies: Godfrey Davies, _The Early Stuarts: 1603-1660_ (Oxford, 1937) Dawkins: Richard Dawkins, _The Ancestor's Tale_ (2004; I use the 2005 Mariner Books edition) Gillingham: John Gillingham, _The Wars of the Roses_ (Louisiana State University, 1984) Judson: Olivia Judson, _Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation_ (Henry Holt, 2002; I use the 2003 Owl Books edition) Kendall: Paul Murray Kendall, _Richard the Third_ (Norton, 1955, 1956) Kenyon: J. P. Kenyon, _Stuart England_ (The Pelican History of England 6) (Pelican, 1978) Longford: Lord Longford, _A History of the House of Lords_ (Sutton, 1988, 1999) Oman: Carola Oman, _The Winter Queen: Elizabeth of Bohemia_ (1938; I used the 2000 Phoenix edition) Paine: Lincoln P. Paine, _Ships of the World: An Historical Encylopedia_ (Houghton Mifflin, 1997) Prall: Stuart Prall, _The Bloodless Revolution: England, 1688_ (Doubleday Anchor, 1972) Ridley: Matt Ridley, _The Red Queen_ (Penguin, 1993) Seward-Roses: Desmond Seward, _The Wars of the Roses_ (Penguin, 1995) Sinclair-Stevenson: Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson, _Blood Royal: The Illustrious House of Hanover_ (Doubleday, 1980) Trevelyan: G. M. Trevelyan, _The English Revolution 1688-1689_ (Oxford, 1938) Wedgwood-Coffin: C. V. Wedgwood, _A Coffin for King Charles: The Trial and Execution of Charles I_ (1964; I used the 1966 Time-Life edition with introduction by A. L. Rowse) Wedgwood-Thirty: C. V. Wedgwood, _The Thirty Years War_ (1938; I used the 1961 Doubleday-Anchor printing) File: ChWII122 === NAME: Vicksburg Round the Bend: see Captain Jim Rees and the Katie (File: MWhee010) === NAME: Vicksburg Soldier, The: see The Battle of Vicksburg (File: R225) === NAME: Victorious Goalers of Carrigaline and Kilmoney, The DESCRIPTION: "There's joy throughout the nation... our goalers ... have won the victory... on the plains of Onnabuoy" Ancient heroes of the game would join the acclamation. The game is described. O'Day is the hero. Players on both teams are named. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1839 (Croker-PopularSongs) KEYWORDS: pride sports Ireland moniker FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 148-155, "The Victorious Goalers of Carrigaline and Kilmoney" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Mourneen Gal Ma Chree" (tune, according to Croker-PopularSongs) cf. "Bold Thady Quill" (subject of hurling) and references there cf. "The Carrigaline Goalers Defeated" (subject of hurling, plus these particular games) NOTES: The name of the Irish game is "goal" or "hurling." This match takes place near Cork harbour. Croker-PopularSongs quoting "Miss Conner, sister to the hero of the ballad": "The famed contests of Onnabuoy occurred in December, 1828, and the second in April, 1829." - BS File: CrPs148 === NAME: Victorious March DESCRIPTION: General Grant sets out to capture Vicksburg. He wins assorted small battles and besieges the city; it surrenders on July 4. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1909 (Belden), based on a diary entry from 1864 KEYWORDS: Civilwar battle HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Nov 1862 - Union general Ulysses S. Grant begins his Vicksburg campaign. His first four attempts to reach the city fail Apr 16, 1863 - Porter's gunboats run past Vicksburg, opening the way for Grant's final successful campaign May 12-17, 1863 - Grant fights a series of minor battles which bring him to the defences of Vicksburg May 22, 1863 - Grant's attempt to take Vicksburg by storm is a bloody failure. The Union army settles down to a siege July 4, 1863 - Lt. General Pemberton surrenders Vicksburg FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Belden, pp. 369-371, "Victorious March" (1 text) Roud #7765 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Battle of Vicksburg" (subject) cf. "Late Battle in the West" (subject) NOTES: Historical allusions in this piece include: "In the early part of May": Grant actually brought his forces across the Mississippi below Vicksburg on April 30, 1863 "Grand Gulf": On May 1, two Confederate brigades arrived from Grand Gulf to dispute Grant's crossing. The actual battle was fought at Port Gibson, and resulted in a rebel defeat. The survivors then abandoned Grand Gulf to Grant. "Raymond": After crossing the river, Grant had intended to head downstream and capture the auxiliary fortress of Port Hudson, but instead decided that Vicksburg was his primary objective. He moved inland, defeating a small force at Raymond, Mississippi on May 12 "Jackson" and "the seniors of rebellion": There were two rebel forces in central Mississippi: Pemberton's Vicksburg garrison, and an additional force under Joseph E. Johnston near Jackson. Johnston was the senior officer in the west, and in theoretical charge of Pemberton -- but he couldn't get Pemberton to obey him, and his own force was small (no more than 12, 000 men, and probably less than 10,000). Grant, with at least a 4:1 advantage, beat the force at Jackson on May 14, freeing him to deal with Pemberton without worrying about his back. "Champion Hill": Properly Champion's Hill. Johnston had vainly tried to get Pemberton to pitch into Grant's army while Johnston was still fighting. Pemberton sat -- then finally came on on May 15, changed his mind, and awaited Grant on the hill. Grant attacked on May 16, and after a bloody battle pushed Pemberton back toward Vicksburg "Black River": On May 17, Pemberton tried a rearguard action at the river crossing. Grant forced a crossing without much trouble, and Pemberton was trapped. Grant besieged the city starting May 19, although his initial assault was defeated "Genral Pem": Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton (1814-1881), the commander of the Vickburg garrison. His handling of the campaign was so inept that some confederates accused him of treason (he was born in the North). "General Logan": John A. Logan (1826-1886). Commander of a division in the Union army "Their works he undermined": Union engineers twice (June 25, July 1) exploded mines under the confederate works. Neither explosion produced a breakthrough, though they may have influenced Pemberton's decision to surrender. "All hope of Johnston's aid": After the battle of Jackson, Johnston tried to assemble a relieving force, but the only troops available were green as grass. In addition, Grant was given some 30,000 additional troops, with which to hold off Johnston. Johnston declared on June 15 that Vicksburg could not be saved. - RBW File: Beld369 === NAME: Victory: see On Board of The Victory (File: Peac484) === NAME: Victory Shall Be Mine DESCRIPTION: "Victory, victory shall be mine (x2); Just hold your peace and the Lord will fight your battles, Victory, victory shall be mine." "Victory, victory shall be mine in the morning..." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1937 (Warner) KEYWORDS: religious FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Warner 176, "Wictory Shall Be Mine" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Wa176 (Partial) Roud #16403 NOTES: Yes, the Warners' informant (name uncertain) pronounced it "wictory" -- a peculiar error for an American, as it is considered characteristic of Cockney speech (and even in that dialect, some insist that its frequency is exaggerated). The tune has another, even more surprising, peculiarity: It uses quarter tones. And not just any quarter tone; it has a quarter tone in place of the fifth (i.e. Ab# instead of G in the key of C). - RBW File: Wa176 === NAME: Victory Won at Richmond, The DESCRIPTION: "The southern boys may longer lie On the first and fourth of sweet July, Our General Beauregard resound For his southern boys at Richmond." In a bloody battle, the southerners save Richmond while the Yankees run AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1917 (Cox) KEYWORDS: battle Civilwar FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (2 citations) JHCox 66, "The Victory Won at Richmond" (1 text) DT, VRCHMND ST JHCox066 (Full) Roud #3629 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Heights of Alma (I)" [Laws J10] (meter, lyrics) NOTES: This song is item dA37 in Laws's Appendix II. Laws lists two texts in Cox, but this is a typographical error. This song is truly a curiosity. The form and lyrics are straight from "The Heights of Alma" (with this clearly being a rewrite) -- yet "The Heights of Alma" was about an event of the Crimean War; what was it doing being parodied in the American South in the 1860s? I suppose there could be an earlier song which inspired both (Alma was hardly the sort of battle to produce a brilliant broadside), but I hadn't found it. The history here is also confused. The only general named on either side is Beauregard. But Beauregard never commanded at Richmond. He could be treated as the Confederate commander at First Bull Run/Manasses (though the actual field commander was Joseph E. Johnston), but that was a long way from Richmond. Beauregard did command the defenses of Petersburg (south of Richmond) in 1864, and fought the Yankees in the Bermuda Hundred campaign -- but this was as a subordinate of Lee's. It seems likely that this line is an interpolation, as it does not fit the stanza form. But that just leaves things more murky. So do the initial dates: The first and fourth of July. No significant battles happened on those days -- except the Battle of Gettysburg and the surrender of Vicksburg, neither of which a Confederate would celebrate. The description of the battle also fails to match any actual battle. The casualty ratios are reminiscent of two fights (Fredericksburg and Cold Harbor), but again, these were Lee's battles, and neither was fought near Richmond. In any case, the Confederates fought all of the above battles on the strict defensive; nowhere did they capture a height. If one were to list one battle as a "Victory at Richmond," it would probably be the Seven Days' Battles, but this was Lee's fight, with an army recently Johnston's; Confederate losses *exceeded* Union casualties, and at no point did the Confederates take a ridge (they in fact signally failed to take one in the Battle of Malvern Hill). I think the only possible conclusion is that this is a localized version of "The Heights of Alma," not based on an actual battle but rather on a few names the writer had heard. It may even be conflation of northern and southern versions (that would explain a lot of the confusions). It's too bad, in a way; the version of "Heights of Alma" I know is incredibly energetic, and could use a solid American version. As a footnote, there was a "Battle of Richmond" in Civil War annals. But it was a small conflict fought near Richmond, Kentucky in August 1862. Beauregard was not involved, of course. - RBW File: JHCox066 === NAME: Vilikens and his Dinah (William and Dinah) [Laws M31A/B] DESCRIPTION: Dinah is in love with (William/Vilikens); her father insists that she will marry someone else. Dinah steals away, writes a note to her love, and drinks poison. Her love finds her body and in turn kills himself. They are buried in the same grave AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: M31A: before 1821 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 c.17(469)). M31B: before 1853 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 26(662)) KEYWORDS: courting death poverty FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,So,SE) Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (18 citations) Laws M31A, "William and Dinah A"/M31B "Vilikens and His Dinah (William and Dinah B)" Belden, pp. 147-148, "Wilkins and Dinah" (1 text) Randolph 80, "Vilikens and Dinah" (1 text plus an excerpt, 1 tune) Eddy 50, "Vilikens and his Dinah" (2 texts, 1 tune) Gardner/Chickering 162, "Young Diana" (2 texts plus mention of 1 more, 1 tune; the "A" text is "William and Dinah"; "B" is "Vilikens") JHCox 105, "Vilikins and His Dinah" (1 text) Fuson, p. 90, "Billy and Diana" (1 short text) BrownII 204, "Wilkins and His Dinah" (1 text plus 1 excerpt and mention of 3 more) Hudson 33, pp. 146-147, "Villikins and His Dinah" (1 text) Flanders/Brown, p. 49, "Dinah's Lovers" (1 text, in which William becomes "Sambo"!) Linscott, pp. 301-303, "Willikins and His Dinah" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton-NovaScotia 17, "Diana and Sweet William" (1 text, 1 tune); 18, "Villikens and his Dinah" (1 text, 1 tune) Leach, pp. 767-769, "Villkins and his Dinah" (2 texts) Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 53-54, "Vilikins and His Dinah" (1 text, 1 tune) Darling-NAS, pp. 118-119, "William and Dinah" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 266, "Villikins And His Dinah" (1 text) Fuld-WFM, pp. 603-604, "Vilikens and His Dinah -- (Sweet Betsey from Pike)" DT 435, VILDINAH* Roud #271 RECORDINGS: Logan English, "William and Dinah" (on LEnglish01) BROADSIDES: Laws M31A: Bodleian, 2806 c.17(469), "William and Diana," G. Thompson (Liverpool), 1789-1820; also Harding B 15(379a), Harding B 11(3592), Harding B 11(1311), Johnson Ballads 1842, "William and Dinah" Laws M31B: Bodleian, Harding B 26(662), "Villikins and His Dinah," J. Moore (Belfast) , 1846-1852; also Firth c.18(231), Firth b.27(61), "Vilikens and His Dinah"; Firth b.27(159), Harding B 11(3981), Firth c.18(232), "Vilikins and His Dinah"; Harding B 11(3982), "Vilikins and His Dinah!" LOCSheet, sm1854 551640, "Vilikens and His Dinah," Horace Waters (New York), 1854 (tune) LOCSinging, as114360, "Villikins and Dinah," unknown, 19C CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Sweet Betsy from Pike [Laws B9]" (tune & meter) cf. "The Grand Hotel" (tune & meter) cf. "Squarin' Up Time" (tune & meter) cf. "Blinded by Shit" (tune & meter) cf. "Dinky Die" (tune) cf. "Pokegama Bear" (tune) cf. "The H'Emmer Jane" (tune) cf. "Johnston's Hotel" (tune) cf. "Moses Ritoora-li-ay" (tune) cf. "Duncan Campbell (Erin-Go-Bragh)" [Laws Q20] (tune) cf. "Four Horses" (tune) cf. "Nothing at All" (tune) SAME_TUNE: Sweet Betsy from Pike [Laws B9] (File: LB09) The Grand Hotel (File: FJ180) Squarin' Up Time (File: FJ182) Blinded by Shit (File: EM125) Dinky Die (File: EM403) Pokegama Bear (File: RcPokegB) Johnston's Hotel (File: RcJohHot) Four Horses (File: Rc4Horse) Nothing At All (File: RcNoAtAl) We Sing of the Polar Bear (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 43) The Abolition Show (words by Stephen Foster; Saunders/Root-Foster 2, pp. 12-13+418) They Died as They Lived (per broadside Bodleian Firth b.27(61)) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Diana Jimmy and Diana NOTES: As Laws's numbers show, this ballad has two versions. The first, "William and Dinah," is a straightforward tragic piece. At some point this was rewritten as a comic piece, "Vilikens and His Dinah." The two retain enough similarity that they can still be treated as one song. In the department of Truly Useless Knowledge, we might note that the cat Dinah of Caroll's _Through the Looking Glass_ derived its name from this song. The two cats kept by the Liddell family were Vilikens and Dinah. - RBW File: LM31 === NAME: Village Pride (I), The: see The Paisley Officer (India's Burning Sands) [Laws N2] (File: LN02) === NAME: Village Pride (II), The: see Mary of the Wild Moor [Laws P21] (File: LP21) === NAME: Villkins and his Dinah: see Vilikens and His Dinah [LawsM31A/B] (File: LM31) === NAME: Vince Leahy DESCRIPTION: The singer tells of the drowning of Leahy. The young man is well liked for his hard work at Young's Point. The morning of his death, his mother begs him to stay home. But he goes to work, slips into a "stop log place," and is found much later AUTHOR: Dave McMahon EARLIEST_DATE: 1957 (Fowke) KEYWORDS: death drowning lumbering river family HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1927 - Death of Vince Leahy of Peterborough FOUND_IN: Canada(Ont) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fowke-Lumbering #43, "Vince Leahy" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #3683 File: FowL43 === NAME: Vingt-cinq de Juillet, Le (The Twenty-fifth of July) DESCRIPTION: French. July 25 the ship sets sail for France. Surviving a storm, the ship arrives safely at Rochelle. The girls go on board with their men. When the owner is told that his ship has arrived safe and sound with a load of cargo and silver he thanks God. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1971 (Lehr/Best) KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage sex commerce sea ship storm FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lehr/Best 114, "Le Vingt-cinq de Juillet" (1 text, 1 tune) RECORDINGS: Anita Best and Pamela Morgan, "Le Vingt-cinq de Juillet" (on NFABestPMorgan01) File: LeBe114 === NAME: Virgin Mary Had a Little Baby DESCRIPTION: "The Virgin Mary had a little baby, O, glory hallelujah. O, pretty little baby, Glory be to the newborn King." "What you gonna name that pretty little baby?" "Some call him one thing, think I'll call him Jesus" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1953 (R. C. Seeger, American Folk Songs for Christmas) KEYWORDS: religious Jesus Christmas FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Silber-FSWB, p. 384, "Virgin Mary Had One Son" (1 text) Roud #12207 RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "Glory to the New Born King" (on PeteSeeger37, PeteSeeger42) File: FSWB384A === NAME: Virgin Mary Had One Son: see Virgin Mary Had a Little Baby (File: FSWB384A) === NAME: Virgin Mary's Bank, The DESCRIPTION: A ship sees Virgin Mary praying on the bank. The captain leads the crew in jeering and a storm wrecks the ship "on Ichidony's rock." The crew are drowned. Local fishermen call "that hillock green 'the Virgin Mary's bank.'" AUTHOR: J. J. Callanan EARLIEST_DATE: 1855 (Edward Hayes, The Ballads of Ireland (Boston, 1859), Vol II) KEYWORDS: death ship storm wreck religious supernatural FOUND_IN: Ireland Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Lehr/Best 115, "The Virgin on the Strand" (1 text, 1 tune) O'Conor, p. 77, "The Virgin Mary's Bank" (1 text) ADDITIONAL: Edward Hayes, The Ballads of Ireland (Boston, 1859), Vol II, pp. 177-178, "The Virgin Mary's Bank" NOTES: 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: LeBe115 === NAME: Virgin Most Pure, A DESCRIPTION: "A virgin most pure, as the prophets do tell, Hath brought forth a baby, as it hath befell." "Set sorrows aside; Christ Jesus, our Savior, was born on this tide." Jesus is born in Bethlehem, in a stable -- you know the rest AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1822 (Gilbert) KEYWORDS: Jesus religious animal FOUND_IN: Britain(England) REFERENCES: (1 citation) ADDITIONAL: Ian Bradley, _The Penguin Book of Carols_ (1999), #3, "A Virgin Most Pure" (1 text) Roud #1378 NOTES: The history of this song is a little murky; according to the _New Oxford Book of Carols_, the "rejoice and be merry" refrain and 11-syllable lines is attested as early as 1661. It then fades away for a century and a half until found in Gilbert and Sandys. Bradley cites the tune as "Admiral Benbow" as given in Chappell. - RBW File: PBOC003 === NAME: Virgin on the Strand, The: see The Virgin Mary's Bank (File: LeBe115) === NAME: Virgin Sturgeon, The: see Caviar Comes from the Virgin Sturgeon (File: EM240) === NAME: Virginia Lived down in Treoqueen DESCRIPTION: "Virginia lived down in Treoqueen, Married a Baltimore boy who was long and lean." Sam two-times her; she declares, "You thought I was blind but now I see" -- and admits to having an "off-side man [whp] keeps his light-house on the sea." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Henry, collected from Ray Bohanan) KEYWORDS: infidelity humorous FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) MHenry-Appalachians, p. 17, "Virginia Lived down in Treoqueen" (1 text) NOTES: I strongly suspect that this was learned, perhaps indirectly, from a recording (this based on the "hip" euphemisms and the stanza form), but I can't locate a probably original. - RBW File: MHAp17 === NAME: Virginia Lover, The DESCRIPTION: Singer courts (Martha), who returns his affection. Her mother/brother opposes the marriage because he is unpropertied, and offers her land/gowns if she'll reject him. She weeps; he tells her "if you hadn't been so faithful, I wouldn't have been so true" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1916 (Cecil Sharp collection) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer courts fair Martha (Polly) (of Blackwaters, dark waters), who returns his affection, but her mother (brother) opposes their marriage because he is unpropertied, and offers her land (or gowns) if she'll reject him. She weeps; he asks if he's given her any occasion to be angry, and tells her "if you hadn't been so faithful, I wouldn't have been so true" KEYWORDS: grief poverty courting marriage brother lover mother clothes FOUND_IN: US(Ap, SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) SharpAp 124, "The Virginia Lover" (3 texts, 3 tunes) Roud #420 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Wagoner's Lad" (plot) NOTES: The plot of this song powerfully resembles others, notably "The Wagoner's Lad," but it seems to be distinct. - PJS File: ShAp2124 === NAME: Virginia Strike of '23, The DESCRIPTION: "In the dear old town of Princeton... Fire hundred railroad employees were as happy as could be... But they believed in Satan and quit their jobs that fall." The singer was one of those fooled into striking. Now he wishes he had his job back. AUTHOR: Roy Harvey EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (recording, Roy Harvey and Earl Shirkey) KEYWORDS: train strike hardtimes request HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1923 - about two thirds of the employees of the Virginia Railroad go on strike. The union brings in replacements; the company suffers several accidents in coming years but never rehires the strikers FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cohen-LSRail, pp. 591-595, "The Virginia Strike of '23" (1 text, 1 tune) RECORDINGS: Roy Harper [pseud. for Roy Harvey] and Earl Shirkey, "The Virginia Strike of '23" (Columbia 15535-D, 1930; rec. 1929) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "When the Work's All Done This Fall" [Laws B3] (tune) NOTES: According to Cohen, Roy Harvey was an engineer on the Virgina Railroad, and was one of those who struck in 1923. He and many of his fellow workers came to believe that they had been deceived by their union. He reportedly wrote this song to try to get his job back. Reportedly there was some sympathy for him in the company, but not enough. And then, of course, came the Depression. - RBW File: LSRai591 === NAME: Virginia's Alders: see Friends and Neighbors (Virginia's Alders) (File: FSC035) === NAME: Virginia's Bloody Soil DESCRIPTION: The singer calls on his audience to listen as he tells of the troubles of the Civil War, and describes how Unionists sprang to the colors after Fort Sumter. The rest of the song describes the battle of the Wilderness, and the death of the captain there AUTHOR: James McCoy? EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Warner) KEYWORDS: Civilwar battle death HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 5-7, 1864 - Battle of the Wilderness FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Warner 24, "Virginia's Bloody Soil" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-CivWar, pp. 80-81, "Virginia's Bloody Soil" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 52, "Virginia's Bloody Soil" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Wa024 (Partial) Roud #2802 NOTES: It appears that this song has been collected only once, by the Warners. Their informant, "Yankee" John Galusha, said that this was a song local to his area, written by James McCoy about Captain Dennis Barnes, killed at the Battle of the Wilderness. This seems likely enough. Although two battles were fought in the Rappahannock Wilderness (The Wilderness in 1864 and the earlier Battle of Chancellorsville on May 1-4, 1863), the song seems better suited to the 1864 battle, as it mentions the fires which consumed the Wilderness and also denies that the Federals retreated (after Chancellorsville the Union forces retreated; after the Wilderness, although it had suffered almost as bad a pounding as at Chancellorsville, Grant and Meade forced the federal army on to Spotsylvania). This song is item dA35 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW File: Wa024 === NAME: Virginny: see Australia (Virginny) (File: FaE012) === NAME: Visit to Morans, The DESCRIPTION: "In the month of January, ninety-two... We harnessed up our team" and visited John Moran in DeGros Marsh. On the way home the snow forces them off the road. They replace a broken harness with rope and make it to Martin's for beer, then go home next day. AUTHOR: Lawrence Doyle and Patrick William Farrell EARLIEST_DATE: 1969 (Ives-DullCare) KEYWORDS: ordeal storm travel FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ives-DullCare, pp. 204-207, 256, "The Visit to Morans" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #14000 NOTES: DeGros Marsh is on the east coast of Kings County, Prince Edward Island. - BS File: IvDC204 === NAME: Vivandeer, The DESCRIPTION: Vivandeer was built "to sail the ocean round ... But they left her on Blackwater Bank, a dire and total wreck." Tinnaberna men launch their boats, step aboard, and, with help of a tug, "brought the gallant Vivandeer safe into Wexford Quay" AUTHOR: Miley Roche, Kilmuckridge EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Ranson) KEYWORDS: sea ship wreck sailor help FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ranson, pp. 112-113, "The Vivandeer" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7354 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The North Star" (tune) NOTES: 1885: "The new sailing ship Vivandiere struck the Blackwater Bank.... She was abandoned by her crew. A local group from Tinnabearna put out and boarded her. They succeeded in bringing her into Wexford with the aid of a tug." (source: Bourke in _Shipwrecks of the Irish Coast_ v1, p. 71) - BS File: Ran112 === NAME: Vive la Canadienne! DESCRIPTION: French: The singer rejoices in his Canadien girl. He celebrates her blue eyes. He describes their meeting, mentioning how quickly their hearts are beating. "So go the hours a-flying Until our wedding day." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1880 (E. Gagnon, "Chansons Populaires de Canada") KEYWORDS: love courting marriage foreignlanguage FOUND_IN: Canada(Que) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Fowke/Johnston, pp. 146-147, "Vive la Canadienne! (Of My Canadian Girl I Sing)" (1 text, 1 tune) Fowke/MacMillan 45, "Vive La Canadienne!" (1 English and 1 French text, 1 tune) RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "Vive La Canadienne" (on PeteSeeger29) File: FJ146 === NAME: Vive la Compagnie DESCRIPTION: "Let Bacchus to Venus libations pour forth, Vive la compagnie. And let us make use of our time while it lasts, Vive la compagnie. Vive la, vive la, vive l'amour...." Bachelors toast their lasses, husbands their wives, all toast their friends AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1818 KEYWORDS: drink friend nonballad FOUND_IN: US Britain(England) Germany REFERENCES: (5 citations) RJackson-19CPop, pp. 218-221, "Vive la Compagnie" (1 text, 1 tune) Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 288, "Vive la Compagnie" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 235, "Vive La Compagnie (Vive l'Amour)" (1 text) Fuld-WFM, pp. 606-607, "Vive la Compaigne" DT, VIVLAMOR ST RJ19218 (Full) SAME_TUNE: Vive le Captain John (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 161) NOTES: Fuld points out that this song has been printed in England, America, and Germany, but no early French printings are known. It may, in fact, be an English song; at least, the tune is close to "The Lincolnshire Poacher." - RBW File: RJ19218 === NAME: Vive les matelots! DESCRIPTION: French (Voyageurs): "Nous etions trois garcons, tous jolis capitaines (x2), Y'en a un a Paris, et a'autre a La Rochelle. Vive les matelots dessus la mer jolie...." Song concerns three captains. One comes to court a girl. He cares not if he is rejected AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1937 KEYWORDS: courting sailor nonballad foreignlanguage FOUND_IN: Canada REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 21-24, "Vive les matelots!" (1 text, 1 tune) File: FMB021 === NAME: Voice from the Tombs (Lonely Tombs) DESCRIPTION: The singer passes a tomb and hears a voice, "I once lived as you live, walked and talked as you talk, Then from earth I was soon torn away." Other voices chip in about the joys of heaven and the brevity of life. At last his mother's voice says she is safe AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (recording, Wade Mainer) KEYWORDS: death ghost religious grief loneliness mother FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Warner 87, "Voice from the Tombs" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Wa087 (Partial) Roud #3399 RECORDINGS: J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers, "Lonely Tombs" (King 661, 1947) Wade Mainer, "Lonely Tombs" (Bluebird B-7424, 1938) Preston & Hobart Smith, "Lonely Tombs" (on LomaxCD1704) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Hark from the Tombs (Plenary)" (theme) NOTES: I find, in looking through our keywords, that we have Hell as a place name but not Heaven. Given our subject matter, that's probably appropriate. - PJS File: Wa087 === NAME: Volunteer Organist, The DESCRIPTION: The preacher announces that the organist is ill. No one volunteers to play except a drunken-looking man. He tells his story in music, amazing them all. The preacher doesn't try to preach; he just has the congregation pray as the man leaves AUTHOR: Words: William B. Gray ("Glenroy") / Music: Henry Lamb EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: music clergy FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Randolph 826, "The Volunteer Organist" (1 text) Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 191-192, "[The Volunteer Organist]" (1 excerpt) Roud #5378 RECORDINGS: John McGhee, "The Volunteer Organist" (Champion 15483, 1928) NOTES: Spaeth (_A History of Popular Music in America_, p. 271) calls this "the sport of 1893," and goes on to detail how it spawned a play of the same title -- as well as a short-lived rush to produce imitations. - RBW File: R826 === NAME: Volunteers, The DESCRIPTION: Mabel asks her mother about the passing troops and their leader. Mother answers that the men are the Volunteers and Grattan their leader. "They rose to guard from foreign foes, as well from British guile" Witness "the baffled hosts of Gaul" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1855 (Hayes) KEYWORDS: pride army England France Ireland dialog patriotic FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) O'Conor, pp. 117-118, "The Volunteers" (1 text) ADDITIONAL: Edward Hayes, The Ballads of Ireland (Boston, 1859 (reprint of 1855 London edition)), Vol I, pp. 235-236, "The Volunteers" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Song of the Volunteers" (subject) and references there 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) O'Conor shows the author as "M.O.B." I posted an inquiry for speculation as to who "M.O.B." might be. John Moulden -- 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" -- gave me two leads. First, he pointed out that Hayes (see ADDITIONAL, above) -- possibly O'Conor's source -- has the author as "M.O'B" and that another good resource might be David James O'Donoghue, _The Poets of Ireland: a Biographical Dictionary_ (O'Donoghue, 1892-3). One possibility in O'Donoghue is O'Brien, M.E., a "very frequent contributor of verse to _Sentimental and Masonic Magazine_ of 1794-5.... He may have been the 'O'B' of _Sentimental and Masonic Magazine_ 1794." (p. 180). - BS For more on Grattan, see e.g. "Ireland's Glory." For the Volunteers, see among others "The Green Cockade," "The Shamrock Cockade," and "The Song of the Volunteers." The reference to the "baffled hosts of Gaul" makes me think this might refer to a period somewhat after Grattan's great success (which Ben's research on the author indirectly supports). This sounds as if it might come from around the period of the French failure at Bantry Bay -- when Grattan's parliament was functioning but before the 1798 rebellion. - RBW File: OCon117 === NAME: Volunteers' March, The DESCRIPTION: "Was she not a fool, When she took off our wool, To leave us so much of the Leather, the leather? It ne'er entered her pate, That a sheepskin well beat, Would draw a whole nation Together, together." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1780s (Zimmermann) KEYWORDS: nonballad patriotic clothes FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Zimmermann 2, "The Volunteers' March" (1 fragment, 1 tune) NOTES: The current description is all of the Zimmermann fragment. Zimmermann p. 117: "'The Volunteers' March' ... represents the first group of really nationalist Irish songs written in English, though most of the words are lost." Moylan notes the tune Zimmermann uses for this entry and thinks it unlikely. "In fact the verse would fit a slide or jig tune, but not one in 2/4 time. In fact the verse would fit perfectly to the tune 'Larry Grogan' to which song [Zimmermann] 40 below is set, and was in all probability made with that tune in mind." (Moylan 2, "Favourite March of the Old Irish Volunteers") Consider this comment when using the tunes assigned by both Moylan and Zimmermann. - BS Though it rarely is mentioned in song, one of the worst ways Britain oppressed Ireland was by controlling her trade. One instance of this was that they restricted Irish clothing from entering England. On several occasions England seemed to encourage one or another industry (e.g. linen) only to chop it down. Robert Kee, in _The Most Distressful Country_ (Volume I of _The Green Flag_) writes on page 21, "The later English parliament took advantage of this constitutional subservience to see that local economic interests in the Kingdom of Ireland should present no threat to those in the Kingdom of England. Irish trading and manufacturing opportunities were severely restricted to protect England's own trades and manufactures. For instance, in 1699 the export of woolen goods from Ireland... was totally forbidden to everywhere but England where English import duties were themselves prohibitive." (Compare Michael Cronin, _A History of Ireland_, pp. 86-87: "The 1699 legislation destroyed the Irish woolen industry at a stroke.") Similarly, P. Berresford Ellis, _A history of the Irish Working Class_, p. 48, reports, "In 1666 Parliament forbade irish cattle being imported into England thus bringing about the ruin of the cattle industry." I don't know if this song reflects that, but it might. - RBW File: Zimm002 === NAME: Voodoo Man, The DESCRIPTION: Of a woman courted by a man; when she rejects his advanced because "he had no situation," he "hoodoes" her elaborately. Now she is sick and hopes someone can stop the voodoo man even though all are afraid of him. She wonders if *she* is dead AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: courting poverty rejection magic disease FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 429, "The Voodoo Man" (1 text) Roud #11773 File: Br3429 === NAME: Vowels, The DESCRIPTION: "B-a, ba; b-e, be; B-i, bick-a-bi; B-o, bick-a-bi-bo; B-u, bu, bick-a-bi-bo-bu." Similarly through the alphabet: "C-a, ca; C-e, ce, C-i, cick-a-ci." (The text does not specify whether "cick" is pronounced "sick" or "kick.") AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Brown) KEYWORDS: wordplay nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE,So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) BrownIII 139, "The Vowels" (1 text) Randolph 873, "The Alphabet Song" (6 texts, 6 tunes, but the "E" and "F" texts are "The Vowels") Roud #3303 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Alphabet Songs" File: Br3139 === NAME: Voyage, Le DESCRIPTION: "Ah! c'est un mariage Que d'epouser le yoyage. Je plains qui s'y engage Sans y etre invite." The life of a voyageur is like a marriage. Safety, comfort and contentment must be given up "dans le course du voyage." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1944 KEYWORDS: nonballad foreignlanguage marriage travel FOUND_IN: Canada(Queb) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Botkin-MRFolklr, p. 582, "Le Voyage (The Voyage)" (1 text, 1 tune) File: BMRF582 === NAME: Voyez Ce Mulet La DESCRIPTION: Bamboula in Creole French: "Voyez ce mulet la, Miche Bainjo, Comme il est insolent! Chapeau sur cote, Miche Bainjo, La canne a la maine, Miche Bainjo...." The singer describes the strutting about of "Mister Banjo." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage music dancetune nonballad FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 119-120, "Voyez Ce Mulet La" (1 short text plus loose English translation, 1 tune) File: ScaNF119 === NAME: Vulture (of the Alps), The DESCRIPTION: A family of shepherds is out with their sheep when a vulture swoops down and carries off their youngest child. Though the baby cries and reaches out to its father, there is nothing the others can do AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: set to music c. 1842 and sung by the Hutchinson Family KEYWORDS: bird family disaster death FOUND_IN: US(Ap,So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) McNeil-SFB2, pp. 108-113, "The Vulture"; "The Vulture of the Alps (2 texts, 1 tune) ST MN2108 (Partial) Roud #4777 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Lonesome Dove (I - The Minister's Lamentation)" (theme) cf. "The Lost Babe" (theme) NOTES: On its face, this has nothing to do with "The Lonesome Dove," in which a child is carried off by consumption. But that song describes the disease as a vulture. I wonder if this might not be a badly messed up form of the same idea. It is highly unlikely that a vulture would carry off a baby, and only slightly more likely that an eagle or other carrion bird would do so. At least in America; our babies are too big. But this may well be one of those subliminal fears, like the fear of snakes (now known to be an instinct in monkeys, even those which have never seen a snake). I base this on comments in Lee R. Berger, _In the Footsteps of Eve: The Mystery of Human Origins_, Adventure Press, 2000. pp. 157-163. On page 162, Berger mentions that the Crowned Eagle of South Africa "is a specialist in primate hunting and has even been known to take human children." What is more, it is Berger's belief that the Taung child -- a member of the species _Australopithecus africanus_ now about three million years old and first documented by Raymond Dart in 1925 -- was killed by an eagle. There remains much debate about just where _Australopithecus africanus_ stands in the lineage of humanity, but it hardly matters. If eagles were hunting that sort of australopithecine, they would hunt the others -- and one of those australopithecine species was our ancestor. American parents probably don't have to worry about vultures -- but we have at least two and a half million years of thinking we should. - RBW File: MN2108 === NAME: W. P. and A. DESCRIPTION: "Where did you get that pretty dress all so bright and gay? I got it from my loving man on the W. P. and A." The singer tells of how the WPA allowed him to re-establish credit and earn good money for little work -- but also how he is resented by friends AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (Warner) KEYWORDS: work unemployment hardtimes HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 6, 1935 -- Creation of the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.), which had been authorized April 8. The program lasted until Dec. 4, 1942 FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Warner 138, "W. P. and A." (1 text, 1 tune) ST Wa138 (Partial) Roud #7476 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The W.P.A. Gathering" (subject) NOTES: The Works Progress Administration was responsible for a number of important building projects during the Depression. One of the key pieces of the New Deal, it helped many unemployed people survive the period. In the North Carolina backwoods, the wages it paid were considered very good, and the work relatively slight. But not everyone could sign on with the W.P.A. Hence this song -- and the resentment it describes. - RBW File: Wa138 === NAME: W.P.A. Gathering, The DESCRIPTION: "Uncle Sam was very kind, He gave the people aid; The W.P.A. is working hard, Good roads will soon be made." This effort makes possible the Lost Hope Hollow Singing Gathering. AUTHOR: James W. Day ("Jilson Setters")? EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas) KEYWORDS: music travel nonballad HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 6, 1935 -- Creation of the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.), which had been authorized April 8. The program lasted until Dec. 4, 1942 FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Thomas-Makin', p. 244, (no title) (1 text) Roud #13961 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The W. P. and A." (subject) NOTES: This is even more suspicious than most of the songs in Thomas, since it actually mentions her by her ridiculous title of "The Traipsin' Woman." The piece is likely by Jilson Setters, but Thomas's notes make it impossible to be absolutely certain. - RBW File: ThBa244 === NAME: Wabash Cannonball, The DESCRIPTION: In praise of the amazing Wabash Cannonball, a train which can apparently accomplish anything. The song mentions various places the train visits and the impression it makes on the townsfolk. It may close with a eulogy for "Daddy Claxton" AUTHOR: Original ("TheGreat Rock Island Route") credited to J. A. Roff; rewritten as "Wabash Cannon Ball," perhaps by William Kindt, who copyrighted it; Cohen suspects the rewrite preceded Kindt's 1904 publication, and common tune is not the same as either Roff's or Kindt's EARLIEST_DATE: 1882 (sheet music, as "The Great Rock Island Route"; first use of the "Wabash Cannonball" title is Kindt, in 1904) KEYWORDS: train railroading travel FOUND_IN: US(SE,So) REFERENCES: (8 citations) Cohen-LSRail, pp. 373-381, "The Wabash Cannonball" (2 texts, one of them Kindt's, plus a text and sheet music cover of Roff's "The Great Rock Island Route," 1 tune) Randolph 840, "The Wabash Cannonball" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 385-386, "The Wabash Cannonball" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 840) Lomax-FSNA 220, "The Wabash Cannon Ball" (1 text, 1 tune) Botkin-RailFolklr, p. 462, "The Wabash Cannonball" (1 text, 1 tune) PSeeger-AFB, p. 85, "Wabash Cannonball" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 100 "The Wabash Cannonball" (1 text) DT, WABASHCB* Roud #4228 RECORDINGS: Roy Acuff & his Crazy Tennesseeans, "Wabash Cannonball" ((Vocalion/OKeh 04466/Conqueror 9121/Conqueror 9128, 1938; rec. 1936) [despite the band title, Dynamite Hatcher sang lead on this recording] Roy Acuff & his Smoky Mountain Boys, "Wabash Cannonball" (Columbia 37008/Columbia 37598/Columbia 20034, 1947) [Note: Some pressings of these issues used the Vocalion/OKeh master listed above] Bill Carlisle, "Wabash Cannon Ball" (Decca 5713 [as Bill Carlisle's Kentucky Boys]/Melotone [probably Can.] 45326, 1939) The Carter Family, "Wabash Cannonball" (Victor 23731, 1932; Montgomery Ward M-7444, 1938; Bluebird B-8350, 1940; rec. 1929) Clark & Edans, "Wabash Cannonball" (Gennett, unissued, 1928) Hugh Cross, "Wabash Cannonball" (Columbia 15439-D, 1929) Delmore Brothers, "The Cannon Ball" (Bluebird B-7991, 1939; rec. 1938) Roy Hall & his Blue Ridge Entertainers, "Wabash Cannonball" (Vocalion 04717/Conqueror 9230, 1938) Bill Mooney & his Cactus Twisters, "Wabash Cannonball" (Imperial 1150, n.d.) Morris Brothers, "Wabash Cannonball - No. 2" (Bluebird B-8252, 1939) Pete Seeger, "Wabash Cannonball" (on PeteSeeger17) Art Thieme, "Wabash Cannonball" (on Thieme04) Doc Watson, "Wabash Cannonball" (on RitchieWatson1, RitchieWatsonCD1) Mac Wiseman, "Wabash Cannonball" (Dot 1262, 1950s) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Gatesville Cannonball" (tune) cf. "We Work for Hay and Company" (tune) cf. "The Boys at Ninety-Five" (tune) cf. "The Gospel Cannonball" (lyrics) SAME_TUNE: "Hail! Ye Brave Industrial Workers" (Greenway-AFP, p. 178) "We Work for Hay and Company" (File: FowL26) The Grand Coulee Dam (by Woody Guthrie) (Greenway-AFP, pp. 292-293; DT, GRNCOULE) Delmore Brothers, "New Wabash Cannon Ball Blues" (Bluebird B-8404, 1940) Delmore Brothers, "Gospel Cannon Ball" (Decca 5970, 1941) Charles Stowe, "Carolina Cannonball" (on OBanks1) File: R840 === NAME: Wade in the Water DESCRIPTION: "Wade in the water, Wade in the water, children, Wade in the water, God's gonna trouble the water." The singer warns of the coming signs of the end. The victory of Heaven over Hell is considered assured. The singer looks forward to future freedom AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (recording, Sunset Four Jubilee Singers) KEYWORDS: religious freedom nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (4 citations) Lomax-FSNA 242, "Wade in the Water" (1 text, 1 tune) Arnett, p. 63, "Wade in the Water" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 356, "Wade in the Water" (1 text) DT, WADEWATR* Roud #5439 RECORDINGS: Birmingham Jubilee Quartet, "Wade in the Water" (Vocalion 1563, 1930) Empire Jubilee Quartet, "Wade in de Water" (Victor 23340, 1932; rec. 1929) Famous Blue Jay Singers of Birmingham, "Children Wade in de Water" (Paramount 13128, 1932; Broadway 1246, n.d.; Champion 50026, 1935; on VocalQ2) Lincoln Four Quartette, "Wade in the Water" (Paramount 12621, 1928) Sunset Four Jubilee Singers, "Wade in the Water" (Paramount 12273, 1925) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Bear the News, Mary" (floating lyrics) cf. "Walk In Jerusalem Just Like John" (floating lyrics) cf. "Hand Me Down My Walking Cane" (floating lyrics) cf. "Heaven and Hell" (floating lyrics) cf. "If You Get There Before I Do" (floating lyrics) cf. "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" (floating lyrics) cf. "Is Your Lamps Gone Out" (floating lyrics) File: LoF242 === NAME: Wadham's Song DESCRIPTION: Coast sailing pilot's guide "from Bonavista Cape to the Stinking Isles ... till Pilley's Point covers Syme's Stage." Directions on how to reach Notre Dame Bay from Bonavista AUTHOR: R.N. Wadham EARLIEST_DATE: 1756 (cf. Greenleaf/Mansfield) KEYWORDS: sea ship nonballad recitation sailor FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Greenleaf/Mansfield 119, "Wadham's Song" (1 text) Ryan/Small, p. 13, "Wadhams Song" (1 text) ST GrMa119 (Partial) Roud #5449 NOTES: According to GEST Songs of Newfoundland and Labrador site, "although called a song it was always recited and there is no tune available"; Greenleaf/Mansfield heard it recited. On the other hand, the Renaissance Dance site claims "Pilot verses were sailing directions sung to popular tunes ... Hugill [apparently not in _Shanties from the Seven Seas_] quotes [Wadham's Song] to the tune of 'I'll Tell me Ma', which is still well known." - BS File: GrMa119 === NAME: Waggin' o' Our Dog's Tail, The DESCRIPTION: "We hae a dog that wags his tail -- He's a bit o' a wag himsel', O! A' day he wanders thro' the toun -- At nicht as news to tell, O!" The dog tours the town, sees many silly people, and concludes that, if people had tails, they'd be almost as good as dogs AUTHOR: Norman McLeod ? EARLIEST_DATE: 1901 (Ford) KEYWORDS: dog humorous FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 214-217, "The Waggin' o' Our Dog's Tail" (1 text) Roud #6292 File: FVS214 === NAME: Waggoner, The DESCRIPTION: "September last, on the seventh day, I geared my team to start away, To the South Yadkin...." The singer describes his route, talks of the cold and difficulties of the trip, and happily recounts his arrival AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1905 (Belden) KEYWORDS: travel FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Belden, pp. 300-301, "The Waggoner" (1 text) Roud #3584 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Heights of Alma (I) [Laws J10]" (meter, lyrics) NOTES: Belden believes this piece tells of travel across the Appalachians, which, given the geography, makes sense. The initial line and the meter seem to imply acquaintance with "The Heights of Alma" (though in this case the song is rather worn down). That is a rather late date for such a piece. This may be further evidence of the "proto-Alma" song. Roud for some reason lumps this with the Lomax "Ox-Driving Song." The only thing I can see in common is that they both involve travel. - RBW File: Beld300 === NAME: Wagoner's Lad, The DESCRIPTION: Young woman is courted by wagoner's lad. Her parents don't like him because he is poor; he tells her he is self-supporting and not ashamed. He tells her he is leaving; she asks him to linger with him, but he refuses. She laments women's hard fortune AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1908 (collected by Olive Dame Campbell; in SharpAp); +1907 (JAFL20) KEYWORDS: courting love farewell parting dialog worker lyric rejection warning floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE,So) REFERENCES: (18 citations) Leach, pp.738-740, "The Wagoner's Lad" (2 texts, with the "A" text belonging here and the "B" text a composite of "Wagoner's Lad" and "Old Smokey" verses) Randolph 740, "Texas Cowboy" (1 text, with much floating material but the plot seems to be here) BrownIII 250, "The Wagoner's Lad" (3 texts plus 3 fragments; the texts "A"-"C" are "The Wagoner's Lad," and "D" has an associated verse, but "E" and "F" are fragments of a love song, perhaps "Farewell, Charming Nancy" or "Omie Wise," both of which have similar lyrics; "D" also shares this single verse, and "E" adds a "Troubled in Mind" chorus) Chappell-FSRA 42, "Lamkins" (1 text, apparently a fragment of Child #93 (containing only a threat of cannibalism) plus three "My Horses Ain't Hungry" stanzas) Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 272-282, "The Waggoner's Lad" (9 texts, 6 tunes on pp. 428-431, but the entry combines many songs; A (no title), B ("My Fortune's Been Bad"), and E ("My Horses Ain't Hungry") are extended versions of "The Wagoner's Lad"; C ("The Last Farewell") is a short text probably of "The Wagoner's Lad"; D ("Old Smokie") combined one "Smokey" verse with three "Wagoner's Lad" verses; "F" ("Old Smoky") is a very long "Old Smokey" text which seems to have gained parts of other songs; G ("A False Lying True Love") is "Old Smokey" minus the first verse; H ("I'll Build My Cabin on a Mountain So High" is "Old Smokey" with a first verse from a drunkard song and a final floating verse supplying the title; I (no title) is a fragment probably of "Old Smokey") SharpAp 117, "The Wagoner's Lad" (6 texts, 6 tunes) Cambiaire, p. 37, "Loving Nancy" (1 text) Wyman-Brockway I, p. 62, "Loving Nancy" (1 text, 1 tune) Sandburg, pp. 284-285, "Rabble Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune -- a strange version, probably composite, in which the wanderer is a "rabble soldier") Lomax-FSNA 112, "The Wagoner's Lad"; (1 text, 1 tune) Asch/Dunson/Raim, p. 30 "The Wagoner's Lad" (1 text, 1 tune) Fife-Cowboy/West 6, "The Wagoner's Lad" (1 text, 1 tune); 83, "Old Paint" (3 texts, 1 tune, of which the "C" text appears actually to be a version of this piece or perhaps "Rye Whisky") Chase, pp. 181-182, "The Wagoner's Lad" (1 text, 1 tune) Abrahams/Foss, pp. 38-39, "Wagonner's Lad" (1 text) PSeeger-AFB, p. 21, "My Horses Ain't Hungry" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 171 "The Wagoner's Lad"; p. 174 "My Horses Ain't Hungry"; p. 186 "Hard Is The Fortune Of All Womankind" (3 texts) Saffel-CowboyP, pp. 211-213, "Jack o' Diamonds" (1 text; this particular Lomax offering contains elements of "Jack o Diamonds/Rye Whisky," "The Wagoner's Lad," The Rebel Soldier," and others) DT, WAGONLAD* MOONSHI2* ST R740 (Full) Roud #414 RECORDINGS: Dock Boggs, "Loving Nancy" (on Boggs3, BoggsCD1) Vernon Dalhart, "My Horse's Ain't Hungry" [sic] (Edison 52077, 1927) [G. B.] Grayson & [Henry] Whitter, "My Mind is to Marry" (unissued; on StuffDreams1) Kelly Harrell, "My Horses Ain't Hungry" (Victor 20103, 1926; on KHarrell01) Buell Kazee, "The Wagoner's Lad" (Brunswick 213B, 1928; Brunswick 437, 1930; on AAFM1) (on Kazee01) Mr. & Mrs. John Sams, "Wagoner's Lad" (on MMOKCD) Pete Seeger, "Fare You Well, Polly" (on PeteSeeger07, PeteSeeger07a);The Wagoner's Lad" (on PeteSeeger17) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Cuckoo" (floating lyrics) cf. "Goodbye, Old Paint" (floating lyrics) cf. "Rye Whiskey" (floating lyrics) cf. "The Gambler (I)" (floating lyrics) cf. "Oh Lily, Dear Lily" (floating lyrics) cf. "The Lady's Case" (floating lyrics) cf. "I Am a Young Maiden (If I Were a Blackbird)" (lyrics) cf. "The Rebel Soldier" (floating lyrics) cf. "The Rue and the Thyme (The Rose and the Thyme)" (floating lyrics) cf. "Farewell, Sweet Mary" cf. "Goodbye, Little Bonnie, Goodbye" (theme) cf. "Moonshiner" (floating lyrics) cf. "The Virginia Lover" (plot) ALTERNATE_TITLES: An Inconstant Lover I'm a Rambler, I'm a Gambler The Rambling Gambler NOTES: This song, which barely qualifies as a ballad even in its full forms, has produced many non-ballad offspring, of which "On Top of Old Smokey" is the best known. Randolph apparently thinks his "Texas Cowboy" piece to be related but separate, but (based on his text) I would have to say they are the same. It is very hard to tell certain versions of this from "Rye Whiskey"; the two have exchanged many verses. But the "core" versions seem to be distinct. An even greater problem is posed by the relationship between this song and "On Top of Old Smoky." The two are occasionally listed as one song (e.g. by Leach); indeed, this was done in early versions of the Index. This was done under the influence of the Lomaxes, who classify the songs together. Further study, however, seems to show that all versions which have common material are derived from the Lomaxes. The plots of the two songs are different, their tunes are distinct, and true cross-fertilization seems very rare. It would appear that the identification of the two is purely the result of the sort of editorial work the Lomaxes so often committed. Due to this inconsistency, it is suggested that the reader check all versions of both songs, as well as both sets of cross-references, to find all related materials. Another closely related song is "Farewell, Sweet Mary," as much as three-quarters of which may derive from this song. It has taken a slightly different direction, however, and is at least a distinct subfamily of this piece. Since it doesn't have anything about horses or wagoners, I list it separately. - RBW File: R740 === NAME: Wagoners, The: see Jacket So Blue, The (The Bonnet o' Blue) (File: FSC43) === NAME: Wagonner's Lad: see The Wagoner's Lad (File: R740) === NAME: Waillie, Waillie!: see Waly Waly (The Water is Wide) (File: K149) === NAME: Wait for the Wagon DESCRIPTION: The singer invites Phyllis "to yon blue mountain free." He describes his cabin and the fine lands around it. Another suitor offers wealth, but he offers youth and health. He bids her to "Wait for the wagon (x3) And we'll all take a ride." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1851 (copyright registry; the relevant sheet music is dated 1850) KEYWORDS: courting home money farming pioneer playparty FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (6 citations) RJackson-19CPop, pp. 222-225, "Wait for the Wagon" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph 563, "Wait for the Wagon" (1 text, 1 tune) Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 285-286, "Wait for the Wagon" ( text) Silber-FSWB, p. 175, "Wait For The Wagon" (1 text) Fuld-WFM, pp. 609-610, "Wait for the Wagon" DT, WAITWAGN* (WAITWAG2* -- Confederate Parody) ST RJ19222 (Full) Roud #2080 RECORDINGS: Wenatchee Mountaineers, "Wait for the Wagon" (Melotone [Canada] 93041, 1934) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Brass-Mounted Army" (tune) cf. "We're Coming, Arkansas (We're Coming, Idaho)" (tune) cf. "The Southern Wagon (Union)" (tune) SAME_TUNE: Wait For the Dragon (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 229) NOTES: Many authorities credit this piece to R. Bishop Buckley (1810-1867). Certainly there are editions which record that it was sung by Buckley's Minstrels starting in 1843. The earliest printing, however, (from 1850) gives the music as by "Wisenthal"; the words are by "a lady." The next printing, in 1851, gives the name of "G. P. Knauff" (at least, that is what it appears to say; several scholars consider Knauff the arranger). A few editions give only the letters "GAS." It's worth noting that it was already popular enough in 1853 to be copied into the journal of the _Smyrna_. Personally, I think we simply cannot list an author. Which is probably just as well; the sundry parodies (both sides in the Civil War, for instance, produced knock-offs) would likely have produced lawsuits otherwise. - RBW File: RJ19222 === NAME: Wait for the Wagon (II): see The Southern Wagon (Confederate) (File: Br3374) === NAME: Wait on the Lord DESCRIPTION: "I wonder where Spencer gone, That used to preach up town. The church is all in mourning...." "I'm waitin' on de Lord...." "Some say John de Baptist Is nothing but a Jew." "A Baptist, Baptist is my name, And a Baptist I will die" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad floatingverses death FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 344, "Wait on de Lord" (1 text) Roud #11740 NOTES: This is one of those all-floating-verse assemblies that can't really be identified with anything because it has so many different parts. - RBW File: Br3344 === NAME: Wait Till the Ship Comes Home DESCRIPTION: "Jack went away to sea one day and left his Polly behind." An old man comes courting Polly. She refuses, saying "Wait till the ship comes home." At last word arrives that the ship is home and Jack safe. The old man dies and leaves Polly his money AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: love separation courting age lastwill money death FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H481, pp. 484-485, "Wait till the Ship Comes Home" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9055 NOTES: Sort of an Irish version of the story of Penelope.... - RBW File: HHH481 === NAME: Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie DESCRIPTION: A girl mourns her rained-out Sunday picnic. Her sweetheart comforts her: "Wait till the sun shines, Nellie, and the clouds go drifting by...." She had hoped to "show off her brand new gown"; suddenly the sun comes out; she says he has won her heart AUTHOR: Words: Andrew B. Sterling / Music: Harry von Tilzer EARLIEST_DATE: 1905 (copyright; others list a 1902 copyright) KEYWORDS: courting clothes FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (5 citations) Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 215-216, "Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie" (1 text, 1 tune) Geller-Famous, pp. 187-190, "Wait 'Till the Sun Shines, Nelly" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 254, "Wait Till The Sun Shines, Nellie" (1 text) Fuld-WFM, p. 610, "Wait 'till the Sun Shines, Nellie" DT, SUNELLIE RECORDINGS: Charleston Entertainers, "Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie" (Supertone 9718, 1930) Byron G. Harlan, "Wait 'Till the Sun Shines, Nellie" (Columbia 3321, 1906) (CYL: Edison 9130, 1905) Riley Puckett, "Wait Till The Sun Shines Nellie" (Columbia 15073-D, 1926; rec. 1925.) NOTES: And you thought the chorus was stupid! Aren't you sorry you ever looked up the plot? - RBW File: SRW215 === NAME: Waiting for a Train (I): see Ten Thousand Miles Away from Home (A Wild and Reckless Hobo; The Railroad Bum) [Laws H2] (File: LH02) === NAME: Waiting For a Train (II) DESCRIPTION: Singer waits to hop a train. A brakeman tells him that if he has money "I'll see that you don't walk," then puts him off the train in Texas. "My pocketbook is empty/And my heart is filled with pain/I'm a thousand miles away from home/Waiting for a train" AUTHOR: Jimmie Rodgers EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (recording, Jimmie Rodgers) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer, a hobo, is out in the rain waiting for a train to hop. A brakeman tells him that if he has money "I'll see that you don't walk." He has no money; the brakeman slams the boxcar door, then puts him off the train in Texas. "My pocketbook is empty/And my heart is filled with pain/I'm a thousand miles away from home/Waiting for a train" KEYWORDS: loneliness poverty rejection rambling train travel hobo FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Gene Autry, "Waiting for a Train" (Diva 6031, c. 1930) Riley Puckett, "Waiting for a Train" (Columbia 15408-D, 1929) Bud Reed, "Waiting for a Train" (on Reeds1) Hoke Rice, "Waiting for a Train" (Champion 15767/QRS 9012, 1929) Jimmie Rodgers, "Waiting for a Train" (Victor V-40014, 1929) Ed (Jake) West, "Waiting for a Train" (Broadway 8109, c. 1931) Harry Wilson, "Waiting for the Train" (Perfect 12556, 1930) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Ten Thousand Miles Away from Home (A Wild and Reckless Hobo; The Railroad Bum)" (subject, a few lyrics) SAME_TUNE: Let the Mermaids Flirt With Me (recorded by Mississippi John Hurt) NOTES: This composed song seems to be moving into oral tradition, both Anglo- and Afro-American (blues singer Furry Lewis used to perform it); Mississippi John Hurt used its melody for "Let the Mermaids Flirt With Me." - PJS File: RcWFAT2 === NAME: Waiting for the Day (The Worst Old Ship) DESCRIPTION: Singer describes life on "the worst old brig that ever did weigh." Built in "Roman time," it's held together with twine and undermanned. They spring a leak and bail their way to dock. Chorus: "Waiting for the day (x3) that we get our pay" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1950s (recorded from Bob Roberts) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer describes life on "the worst old brig that ever did weigh." Built in "Roman time," it's held together with twine and seriously undermanned. They spring a leak off Orford Ness and bail their way along the coast and up the Humber to dock. Chorus: "Waiting for the day, waiting for the day/Waiting for the day that we get our pay" KEYWORDS: sea ship work sailor worker FOUND_IN: Britain(England) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #1855 RECORDINGS: Bob Roberts, "Waiting for the Day (The Worst Old Ship)" (on LastDays) NOTES: Again, pity we don't have a keyword "bitching." - PJS File: RcWftD === NAME: Waiting for the Rain: see Another Fall of Rain (Waiting for the Rain) (File: MA154) === NAME: Wake Nicodemus DESCRIPTION: "Nicodemus, the slave, was of African birth And was bought for a bagful of gold." When he dies at a great age, he asks to be awakened when freedom came. He forecasts the end of slavery and the battles it causes. Freedom proves his words true AUTHOR: Henry Clay Work EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: slave slavery freedom FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 291, "Wake Nicodemnus" (1 text) DT, NICDEMUS Roud #4988 File: FSWB291 === NAME: Wake of William Orr, The DESCRIPTION: "Here our murdered brother lies." He called for his countrymen to unite. The singer recalls 600 years of warfare, "Crumbled by a foreign weight; And by worse, domestic hate" "Monstrous and unhappy sight! Brothers' blood will not unite" A new day begins AUTHOR: William Drennan (1754-1820) (source: Moylan; Hoagland) EARLIEST_DATE: 1855 (Edward Hayes, _The Ballads of Ireland_ (Boston, 1859), Vol I) KEYWORDS: death funeral Ireland nonballad political HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Oct 14, 1797 - William Orr executed after being charged with administering the United Irish oath to two soldiers of the Fifeshire Fencibles. (source: Moylan) FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (4 citations) Moylan 48, "The Wake of William Orr" (1 text) ADDITIONAL: Edward Hayes, The Ballads of Ireland (Boston, 1859), Vol I, pp. 237-239, "Wake of William Orr" Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 359-361, "The Wake of William Orr" (1 text) Donagh MacDonagh and Lennox Robinson, _The Oxford Book of Irish Verse_ (Oxford, 1958, 1979), pp. 26-28, "The Wake of William Orr" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "My Lagan Love" (tune) NOTES: Hayes describes the trial, reprieve and execution. The reprieve followed statements by jurors that "whisky had been introduced into the jury room, and the verdict agreed to under the joint influence of drunkenness and intimidation." The crown witness, supposedly the person to whom the oath had been administered, then admitted that the evidence he had given was "false or distorted in essential particulars." After Orr was reprieved and awaiting commutation he was executed. "A storm of indignation followed this arbitrary and merciless decision." - BS To give the other side, _The Oxford Companion to Irish History_ in its entry on Orr says that "The evidence against him was less flimsy than sympathizers claimed." In another irony, he was a Protestant (see Thomas Pakenham, _The Year of Liberty_, p. 354). But even Pakenham, who is almost entirely an apologist for the English, admits that Orr became a martyr (pp. 219-220). William Drennan also wrote the poem we index as "Erin" (also known as "Eire"). - RBW File: Moyl048 === NAME: Wake Up: see The Drowsy Sleeper [Laws M4] (File: LM04) === NAME: Wake Up, Jacob DESCRIPTION: "Wake up, Jacob, day's a-breakin', Peas in the pot and hoe-cake's caking'. Bacon's in the pan and coffee's in the pot, Come on round and get it while it's hot. (Spoken:) Wake, snakes, and bite a biscuit!" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1910 KEYWORDS: cowboy food nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (3 citations) Lomax-FSNA 184, "Wake Up, Jacob" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, p. 375, "Cowboys' Gettin'-Up Holler" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 109, "Wake Up, Jacob/Cowboy's Gettin' Up Holler" (1 text) Roud #6694 RECORDINGS: Harry Jackson, "Morning Grub Holler" (on HJackson1, CowFolkCD1) Pete Seeger, "Wake Up, Jacob" (on PeteSeeger07, PeteSeeger07a) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Shanty Boy's Reveille" (theme) File: LoF184 === NAME: Wake Up, Jonah (Jonah III) DESCRIPTION: "Wake up, Jonah, you are the man! Reelin' and a-rockin' o' the ship so long!" "Captain of the ship got trouble in mind...." The sailors throw Jonah into the sea; he is swallowed by a whale and proceeds to Ninevah AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 (recording, Rich Amerson & Earthy Anne Coleman) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Captain of a rolling ship has troubles, searches for the cause, finds Jonah asleep and says, "Wake up Jonah, you are the man". They pitch him overboard; a whale swallows him, then pukes him onto dry land again. A gourd vine grows over his head; an inchworm comes and cuts it down, forming a cross over his head KEYWORDS: religious Bible ship accusation travel religious animal whale sailor FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Courlander-NFM, pp. 57-58, "(Wake Up, Jonah") (1 text); pp. 223-224, "Wake Up, Jonah" (1 tune, partial text) Roud #10960 RECORDINGS: Rich Amerson & Earthy Anne Coleman, "Jonah" (on NFMAla2) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Hide Away (Jonah and the Whale)" (subject) and references there NOTES: This song summarizes the Book of Jonah, emphasizing the events of the first chapter: Jonah flees from God aboard ship; the ship is caught in a storm; the sailors cast lots to see who is to blame; the lot falls on Jonah, who is sleeping through the storm. - RBW This song omits much of the Bible story and adds its own bits. Note that it says "whale"; the Hebrew Bible unambiguously says "fish." - PJS, RBW File: CNFM223 === NAME: Wake, O Wake, You Drowsy Sleeper: see The Drowsy Sleeper [Laws M4] (File: LM04) === NAME: Wakes in the Morning DESCRIPTION: "Mommy wakes in the morning, Mommy wakes in the pukkah, Hee-ho, coffee cannot please her." Similarly, "Johnny wakes in the morning," etc. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (recorded from Edith Perrin) KEYWORDS: nonballad mother food FOUND_IN: West Indies REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #16396 RECORDINGS: Edith Perrin, "Wakes in the Morning" [excerpt?] (on USWarnerColl01) File: RcWitMo === NAME: Wakken: see The Song of Joaquin (Wakken) (File: GC135) === NAME: Wal I Swan (Giddyap Napoleon, Ebenezer Frye) DESCRIPTION: Singer's adventures as he wanters and meets various crooks. He takes a prize at a fair, gets drunk, gives away his bull. A sharper asks him for "two tens for a five." Etc. Chorus: "Wal I swan, must be getting on/Giddyap Napoleon, it looks like rain..." AUTHOR: Benj. Hapgood Burt EARLIEST_DATE: 1907 (sheet music) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer meets two bunco men on a train, sends them packing. He goes to a county fair, takes a prize, gets drunk and gives away his old bull. At a tent show, a sharper asks him for "two tens for a five"; the singer arrests him. His horse runs off at the sound of a train. He has suspicions that his son, off in Philadelphia, is "up to some kind of hell." Chorus: "Wal I swan, must be getting on/Giddyap Napoleon, it looks like rain..." KEYWORDS: crime theft farming drink humorous animal police FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, WALISWAN Roud #4647 RECORDINGS: John Bennett, "Wal I Swan" (Madison 1928, 1928) Al Bernard, "Wal I Swan" (Vocalion 15262, 1926) (Harmony 154-H, 1926) Byron G. Harlan, "Wal, I Swan!" (Victor 17263, 1913; rec. 1912) Riley Puckett, "Wal I Swan" (Columbia 15078-D, 1926) Gid Tanner & his Skillet Lickers, "Giddap Napoleon" (Columbia 15695-D, 1931; rec. 1929) NOTES: Spaeth (Read 'Em and Weep, p. 234) does not print this song, but does mention that it is "in constant demand both as a solo and as a rural quartet number. The interpretation is traditionally in a high-pitched, nasal voice, with a facial expression indicating toothlessness." - RBW File: RcWelIS === NAME: Walk Along John DESCRIPTION: Weasel invades the henhouse, rats invade the dairy, Black Sam invades the kitchen, etc. Chorus: "Walk along, John, piper's son, Now ain't you mighty glad your day's work's done. Walk along, John, git towards home, Ain't you mighty glad...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1942 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: animal work nonballad FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 296, "Walk Along John" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7824 File: R296 === NAME: Walk Along Rosey: see Walkalong, My Rosie (File: Hug363) === NAME: Walk in Jerusalem Just Like John DESCRIPTION: "I want to be ready (x3) To walk in Jerusalem just like John." "John said the city was just foursquare... And he declared we'd meet him there." "When Peter was preaching at Pentecost, He was endowed with the Holy Ghost" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (recording, Excelsior Quartet) KEYWORDS: religious Bible nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (3 citations) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 11, (no title) (1 fragment) Silber-FSWB, p. 356, "Walk In Jerusalem, Just Like John" (1 text) DT, WALKJERU Roud #12109 RECORDINGS: Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys, "Walking In Jerusalem Just Like John" (Decca 28608, 1953) Excelsior Quartet, "Walk In Jerusalem Just Like John" (OKeh 4619, 1922) Homer Rodeheaver, "Walk In Jerusalem Just Like John" (Rainbow 1092, 1923) Sunset Four Jubilee Quartette, "Walk In Jerusalem Just Like John" (Paramount 12292, 1925) West Virginia Collegiate Institute Glee Club, "Walk in Jerusalem Just Like John" (Brunswick 3498, 1927; Supertone S-2126 [as Harmony Glee Club], 1930) NOTES: The Biblical references here are a bit confused. The New Jerusalem is said to be descending in Rev. 21:2, and is said to be foursquare in Rev. 21:16 -- but there is no promise to meet John there. The coming of the Spirit at Pentecost is told in Acts 2 -- but the Spirit came FIRST, upon a large group, and only then did Peter preach about it. - RBW File: FSWB356A === NAME: Walk in the Parlor: see Walkin' in the Parlor (File: Wa177) === NAME: Walk Me Along, Johnny: see Carry Him To the Burying Ground (General Taylor, Walk Him Along Johnny) (File: Hugi078) === NAME: Walkalong, Miss Susiana Brown DESCRIPTION: Halyard shanty. No story line to any of the available verses. The characteristic last chorus line is "Walkalong Miss (Susiana/Juliana) Brown." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (Colcord) KEYWORDS: shanty worksong FOUND_IN: US(SE) West Indies REFERENCES: (3 citations) Colcord, p. 59, "Juley" (1 fragment, 1 tune) Hugill, pp. 391-392, "Walkalong, Miss Susiana Brown" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, pp. 299-300] DT, JULEY* Roud #4694 ALTERNATE_TITLES: Miss Juliana Brown NOTES: The swing of the tune would indicate this is of West Indies/Negro origin. It probably began life as a Negro worksong used for stowing cotton, and was picked up by ship's crews to become part of the shanty repertoire. - SL File: Hugi391 === NAME: Walkalong, My Rosie DESCRIPTION: Halyard shanty. "Oh, Rosie, she'm the gal for me. Away you Rosie, Walkalong! She hangs around the big levee. Walkalong my Rosie!" Rhyming verses, no story line. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (Hugill) KEYWORDS: shanty worksong nonballad FOUND_IN: West Indies Britain REFERENCES: (1 citation) Hugill, p. 363, "Walkalong, My Rosie" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, pp. 273-274] Roud #9130 ALTERNATE_TITLES: Walk Along Rosey File: Hug363 === NAME: Walker Hill and Byker Shore: see Byker Hill (File: DTbykerh) === NAME: Walker Shore and Byker Hill: see Byker Hill (File: DTbykerh) === NAME: Walkie in the Parlor: see Walkin' in the Parlor (File: Wa177) === NAME: Walkin' in the Parlor DESCRIPTION: "I never went to free school nor any other college, But... I will tell you how the world was made in the twinkling of a crack. Walk in, walk in, walk in I say, go in the parlor and hear the banjo ring." Sundry observations about the creation and the Bible AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: religious Bible humorous FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (11 citations) Warner 177, "Walking in the Parlor" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph 288, "History of the World" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 246-248, "History of the World" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 288) BrownIII 341, "Walk in the Parlor" (4 texts plus 1 excerpt and 1 fragment; the "E" text seems more a floating verse collection with this chorus, and "C" lacks the chorus and is at best marginally related) Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 181-182, "Story of Creation" (1 text, 1 tune) Harlow, pp. 203-205, "The Darky Sunday School" (1 text, t tune) Hugill, p. 344, "De History ob de World" (1 text) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 351-354, "Darky Sunday School" (1 text, 1 tune) JHCox 178, "Creation Song" (1 text) Pankake-PHCFSB, pp. 186-189, "Young Folks, Old Folks (or The Silly Sunday School)" (1 text, tune referenced) DT, SUNSCHOL Roud #766 RECORDINGS: Charlie Oaks, "Adam and Eve or 'Darkie's Sunday School'" (Vocalion 5113, c. 1927; rec. 1925) Obed Pickard, "Walking in the Parlor" (Columbia 15246-D, 1928; rec. 1927) Kilby Reeves, "Walkin in the Parlor" (on Persis1) Art Thieme, "Walkie in the Parlor" (on Thieme02) (on Thieme06) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Bible Story" cf. "Windy Bill (I)" (theme) cf. "Old Jesse" (lyrics) cf. "Root, Hog, or Die (V)" (lyrics) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Sunday School Song Walkie in the Parlor NOTES: Not to be confused with a fiddle tune of the same name. - PJS The chorus of this song varies quite a bit; the Lomax version is "Young folks, old folks, everybody come, Join our darky Sunday School, and make yourself to hum. There's a place to check your chewing gum and razors at the door, And hear such bible stories as you never heard before." The Pankakes have something similar, but less racist. (Their version is also incredibly full -- 21 verses! If they didn't conflate it, someone else did.) It is quite likely that these versions originated as separate songs, and I thought about splitting them. But the only distinguishing feature is the choruses. Under the circumstances, it seemed better to place all listings in the same place. I initially excluded Randolph's "History of the World," partly by accident, as just too distinct from the versions I had seen. It's now clear that it's the same song. Those who wish to know more are referred to Cox's extensive notes on songs of this type. - RBW Among the sundry references in this song: "Jonah... took a steerage passage in a transatlantic whale": The Bible says "fish," and the fish never left the Mediterranean, and Jonah wasn't planning on entering the Atlantic either. "Esau... sold [his farm] to his brother for a sandwich and a beer": In Gen. 25:29-34, Esau came back hungry from hunting, and sold his birthright (probably pasturage, not a farm) to his younger fraternal twin Jacob for "bread and lentil stew." "Noah was a mariner... with half a dozen wives and a big menagerie": Although many of the patriarchs had multiple wives, Noah himself seems to have had only one (cf. Gen. 7:7). "Elijah was a prophet who attended county fairs, He advertised his business with a pair of dancing bears": hardly worth refuting, but it is worth noting that Elijah was a solitary prophet at a time when most prophets came in groups ("the sons of the prophets"). He spent much of his time trying to be left alone, not advertising his services (cf., e.g., 1 Kings 19:3-4, 2 Kings 1:9fff.) "Ahab had a wife, and her name was Jezebel... She's gone to the dogs... Ahab said he'd never heard of such an awful thing": Jezebel was indeed Ahab's wife, and was eaten by dogs (2 Kings 9:30-37) -- but Ahab had been dead for a dozen years by the time she was killed. "Salome was a chorus girl who had a winning way": This is textually complicated. All accounts say that a girl captivated Herod Antipas by dancing for him, and that he executed John the Baptist as a result. Matt. 14:6 says that the girl was "the daughter of Herodias"; the best manuscripts of Mark 6:22 call her his [Herod's] daughter Herodias. But nowhere is she called "Salome"; we learn this name from Josephus. "Now Joey was unhappy in the bowels of the soil": Refers to the selling of Joseph into Egypt (Genesis 37). Joseph, however, was not a farmer but a herdsman, and there is no evidence he was unhappy; he spent his time dreaming about ruling over his brothers. "Samson was a husky guy from the P.T. Barnum show": While Samson probably belonged in a circus (it's hard to imagine someone so thoroughly inept; had he not been a strong man, he would have been a joke), the Bible tells his story "straight" (Judges 13-16). "Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego": The Hebrews in the Fiery Furnace (Daniel 3). "Methuselah was crabby 'cause he couldn't save a joke": Methuselah lived longer than any other figure in the Bible (the Hebrew of Gen. 5:25-27 lists him as living to the age of 969), but gives no indication of his character or the length of his whiskers. "Pharaoh kept the Israelites to make his cigarettes": This is almost accurate, in that the Israelites did, in effect, go on strike in Exodus. However, tobacco was not known in Egypt at the time (it grows only in the New World); the Israelites "struck" for the right to worship in their own way, plus better living conditions. "David was a fighter, a plucky little cuss": 1 Samuel 17. "Daniel was a naughty man, he wouldn't mind the King" -- Formally, Daniel defied the king, but it was actually the King's counselors who came up with the law Daniel defied (Daniel 6). - RBW File: Wa177 === NAME: Walking Boss DESCRIPTION: "Walking boss (x2), I don't belong to you. I belong (x2) to that steel driving crew." "Work one day, just one day, just one day, Then go lay in the shanty two." Etc. Verses loosely descriptive of life on a railroad crew. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1906 (collected by Newman Ivey White) KEYWORDS: railroading work nonballad worksong boss FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 96, "Walking Boss" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7693 RECORDINGS: Clarence Ashley, "Walking Boss" (on Ashley03, WatsonAshley01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Take This Hammer" (lyrics) NOTES: A "walking boss" was a foreman who gave orders to workers' immediate supervisors, rather than to the workers themselves. Source: Clarence "Tom" Ashley recalled this song being sung by railroad workers, probably in the 1920s. - PJS File: CSW096 === NAME: Walking Down Canal Street DESCRIPTION: This formula song chronicles the difficulties the narrator encounters in attempting to (find and) have sex with a whore. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: bawdy sex whore FOUND_IN: US(MW,Ro,So,SW) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Cray, pp. 213-214, "Walking Down Canal Street" (2 texts, 1 tune) Randolph-Legman I, pp. 560-563, "Walking Down Canal Street" (2 texts, 2 tunes) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Rosemary Lane" ("Bell-bottomed Trousers" tune) ALTERNATE_TITLES: This Mornin' File: EM214 === NAME: Walking John DESCRIPTION: "Walking John was a big rope horse" who "was willing and stout and strong," but "he sure enjoyed his joke." Every morning he tried to throw his first rider -- but then settled down to be a hard worker AUTHOR: Henry Herbert Knibbs EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Knibbs, Songs of the Last Frontier) KEYWORDS: animal cowboy FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (2 citations) Larkin, pp. 79-82, "Walking John" (1 text, 1 tune) Ohrlin-HBT 24, "Walking John" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #5766 NOTES: Larkin notes, "The poems of Henry Herbert Knibbs have been plagiarized and adapted so often that he is entitled to be named the poet laureate of hte cowboys." She adds that this sog is "the biography of a real horse." It would appear that the song was in oral tradition before Knibbs published it; since Larkin published her book in 1931 and it had passed through at least two stages of tradition by the time she collected it. - RBW File: Ohr024 === NAME: Walking on the Green Grass DESCRIPTION: "Walking on the green grass, Walking side by side, Walking with a pretty girl, She shall be my bride." Boys and girls pair off and dance; the "king" chooses a "queen"; they go around the ring AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1903 KEYWORDS: playparty courting dancing nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 807-809, "Walking on the Green Grass" (1 text plus a possibly related fragment, 1 tune) ST BAF807 (Full) Roud #1381 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Green Grass" (lyrics) NOTES: Roud lumps this with "Green Grass," apparently on the basis that they're both playparties about green grass. They look distinct to me. - RBW File: BAF807 === NAME: Walky-Talky Jenny DESCRIPTION: Minstrel recitation with chorus: "O, walky-talky Jenny an' a hubble for your trouble...." Incidents include a fight with a racist, an argument with a woman he has rescued from a fire, and an incident with his baby and a dog AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg) KEYWORDS: recitation nonballad Black(s) FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Sandburg, pp. 48-49, "Walky-Talky Jenny" (1 text, 1 tune) File: San048 === NAME: Wallabug DESCRIPTION: Sundry silliness: "Bought an old cow from Farmer Jones, She weren't nothing but skin and bones. Fattened her up as fine as silk; She jumped the fence and skimmed her milk. Wallabug, wallabug, you can't fool me...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Warner) KEYWORDS: nonsense animal nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Warner 164, "Wallabug" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, WALLABUG* ST Wa164 (Full) Roud #7483 File: Wa164 === NAME: Wallaby Brigade, The DESCRIPTION: The singer boasts of the life of the swagman. He gives advice for finding (or not finding) work, and surviving the travelling life. "When the shearing's at an end we'll go fishing in the bend, Then hurrah for the Wallaby Brigade." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1905 (Paterson, _Old Bush Songs_) KEYWORDS: work sheep Australia rambling FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (2 citations) Fahey-Eureka, pp. 186-187, "The Wallaby Brigade" (1 text, 1 tune) Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 288-290, "The Wallaby Brigade" (1 text) ALTERNATE_TITLES: cf. "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!" (tune) File: FaE186 === NAME: Wallaby Track, The DESCRIPTION: "Roll up your bundle and make a neat swag, Collar onto your billycan and the old tuckerbag. It's no disgrace to be seen with your swag on your back, While searching for work on the wallaby track." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1968 KEYWORDS: Australia work rambling FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Meredith/Anderson, p. 186, "The Wallaby Track" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Not to be confused with "The Springtime It Brings on the Shearing (On the Wallaby Track)" - RBW File: MA186 === NAME: Wallflowers DESCRIPTION: Playparty. "Wallflowers, wallflowers, growing up so high, All of you young ladies Are meant to die." One girl is excepted, because of her great skill at (something). AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1898 (Gomme) KEYWORDS: playparty death nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland Britain(England(All),Scotland(All)) US(Ap,NE) REFERENCES: (4 citations) SHenry H48d, p. 11, "Water, Water, Wallflowers" (1 text, 1 tune) Linscott, pp. 54-56, "Water, Water, Wild Flower" (1 text, 1 tune) Fuson, p. 174, "Lily-White Flower" (1 text) Montgomerie-ScottishNR 72, "(Water, water, wall-flower, growing up so high)" (1 short text) ST HHH048d (Full) Roud #6307 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Row Boat (Ride About)" (form, floating lyrics) File: HHH048d === NAME: Wallins Creek Girls DESCRIPTION: Singer and a friend come to Wallins Creek and pick up girls. "The only thing they want to do, smoke cigarettes and car-ride." Men offer boys loose tobacco but the prefer cigarettes. "If [girls] could get them one cigarette, they'd car-ride every day" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1937 (field recording, Daw Hudson) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer and a friend, rounders, come to Wallins Creek and pick up two girls in their car. "The only thing they want to do, smoke cigarettes and car-ride." He says the girls regularly flag drivers down and go from town to town. The men offer the boys Prince Albert (loose tobacco) but they'd rather have Old Gold (rolled cigarettes). Singers says the girls are pretty, but "if they could get them one cigarette, they'd car-ride every day" KEYWORDS: drugs courting travel technology FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Daw Henson, "Wallins Creek Girls" (AFS, 1937; on KMM) File: RcWaCrGi === NAME: Walnut Girl, The DESCRIPTION: Singer meets a pretty walnut vendor. He tells her he's sick of single life, and "O won't we be happy until wedlock breaks us here?" Chorus: "Ten-a-penny walnuts, my Nellie she were by/Fresh from Common Garden, please to come and try...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1974 (collected from Nelson Ridley) KEYWORDS: courting love marriage beauty commerce work food worker FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) MacSeegTrav 35, "The Walnut Girl" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2520 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Molly Malone" (subject) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Little Walnut Gel NOTES: According to MacColl & Seeger, "When John Lydgate (1370?-1450?) wrote 'The London Lykpeny,' he started a fashion for poems and songs about London's street-vendors and their cries which was to last for more than four hundred years...lavender, oysters, water-cresses, pretty flowers, codlings, cockles and mussels, and even cat-meat." Haven't heard that last one.- PJS Of course, many of these songs are on rather less pleasant topics. Consider "The Oyster Girl" or "Queer Bungo Rye." I think the claim a little strong anyway; while Lydgate was a prolific author, just try to find anything he wrote! He's usually lumped with the "other poets" of the Chaucerian era. His may well be just another example of an author taking advantage of a popular street form. - RBW File: McCST035 === NAME: Walsingham DESCRIPTION: Coming from "the holy land Of Blessed Walsingham," the singer asks (a jolly palmer) about the singer's love. The (palmer) asks questions and is told that she has left him, but his love endures AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1765 (Percy folio; tune dates at least to 1596) KEYWORDS: love separation travel FOUND_IN: Britain(England) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Percy/Wheatley II, pp. 101-105, "As Ye Came From the Holy Land" (2 text, one from the Percy folio and the other the touched-up version in the _Reliques_) Chappell/Wooldridge I, pp. 69-71, "Walsingham" (1 tune, partial text) ADDITIONAL: Norman Ault, _Elizabethan Lyrics From the Original Texts_, pp. 282-284, "As You Came From the Holy Land" (1 text) BBI, ZN284, "As I went to Walsingham" ST Perc2101 (Partial) NOTES: Ault tentatively credits this to Raleigh, and dates the manuscript containing it (Bodley MS. Rawl. Poet. 85) "before 1600." Of course, Ault also claims that this is "How Should I Your True Love Know." Which it isn't, though it has similar lines; I wouldn't be surprised if this inspired that. The tune too is different (at least from the version of "How Should I" that I've heard), though again there are some similarities, probably caused more by the metrical form than anything else. Several references mention the great popularity of this song, and it is quoted in John Fletcher and Francis Beaumont's 1611 play "The Knight of the Burning Pestle," Act II, scene vii: As you came from Walsingham, From that holy land, There met you not with my true love By the way as you came? There seem to be two openings to the piece, the one above (found also in the Percy folio) and that quoted by Chappell: As I went to Walsingham, To the shrine with speed, Met I with a jolly palmer, In a pilgrim's weed. Something similar is quoted in the Pepys collection. I have not seen a full text of the latter, and it is possible that they are distinct, but I cannot prove it. The piece does not seem to survive in oral tradition, but there are enough references to it that I thought it proper to include it here. It also seems to have given rise to yet another song, King Richard's gone to Walsingham, To the Holy Land, To kill the Turk and Saracen, the the truth do withstand.... The notes to Chappell and Percy (on "Gentle Herdman, Tell to Me") note that Walsingham was a pilgrimage site at least from the time of Henry III, but was closed down in 1538 when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries. This piece has been very popular in poetry anthologies; _Granger's Index to Poetry_ lists some two dozen printings, noting that some attribute the piece to Sir Walter Raleigh, without accepting the attribution. Walsingham figures in other poems as well, also seemingly as a pilgrimate destination. Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928, in the notes to #473 prints a fragment beginning, "Gentle herdsman, tell to me, Of courtesy I thee pray, Unto the town of Walsingham Which is the right and ready way." - RBW File: Perc2101 === NAME: Walter Lesly [Child 296] DESCRIPTION: Walter Lesly invites the girl to drink. He then makes off with her; he intends to marry her (for her money). But he falls asleep before she does, and she escapes. She outruns his men and makes her way home. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1828 (Buchan) KEYWORDS: courting abduction escape money FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Child 296, "Walter Lesly" (1 text) Leach, pp. 680-682, "Walter Lesly" (1 text) Roud #3925 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Eppie Morrie" [Child 223] (plot) NOTES: There was a Walter Leslie who married the heiress of the Earldom of Ross in the reign of David II of Scotland; he was involved in many political quarrels in the reign of the next king, Robert II, and died in 1382. Another Walter Lesley was a crusader in this period. There is no reason to connect either with the villain of this piece except similarity of names (and, of course, the fact that there was a lot of this sort of thing in the anarchic Scotland of Robert II). - RBW File: C296 === NAME: Walter Mullin DESCRIPTION: Walter Mullin "changed his home in Whitneyville For a Canadian soldier's grave ... in the European War" The singer recalls the youth they shared. "Now you are wanted at the Front, But you will not take your stand. O why can't you be like my comrade" AUTHOR: Wallace Travis (Manny/Wilson) EARLIEST_DATE: 1962 (Manny/Wilson) KEYWORDS: request army war death memorial patriotic FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Manny/Wilson 44, "Walter Mullin" (1 text, 1 tune) ST MaWi044 (Partial) Roud #9184 NOTES: Whitneyville, now Whitney, is near the junction of the Little Southwest and Northwest Miramichi Rivers, about 10 miles west of Newcastle, New Brunswick. Manny/Wilson: "The song was made up by Wallace Travis of the Nor'West Miramichi, in memory of a friend killed in the First World War." Since the song is a plea for others to enlist to fight in a war my guess is that this was written during the second World War. - BS On the other hand, there is no hint of a second War -- or even of the end of the first. I incline to think it comes from the early part of the first War. This is apparently based on "The Graves of a Household" by one Mrs. Henmans, found in the "Royal Readers" used in the nineteenth century in New Brunswick schools. More evidence for an early date, I'd say; I don't know about you, but I can't remember *anything* from my grade school readers.... - RBW File: MaWi044 === NAME: Waltz the Hall DESCRIPTION: "First couple out, couple on the right, Charge them pards an' waltz 'em out of sight." "When you're through remember my call, Charge 'em again an' waltz the hall." "Skip to my Lou, boys, skip to my Lou... When you're through remember my call...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: playparty nonballad FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 517, "Waltz the Hall" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7649 and 7927 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Skip to My Lou" (lyrics) NOTES: Randolph notes that this is derived from "Skip to my Lou," but since it has new lyrics and its own dance elements, it deserves separate listing. - RBW File: R517 === NAME: Waltzing Matilda DESCRIPTION: A swagman (rover) camps by a pool. He sees a sheep come down to drink, and grabs it. He is spotted by (three troopers/the landowner), who call on him to justify his actions. Rather than face up to his crime, the swagman drowns himself in the pool AUTHOR: words widely attributed to "Banjo" Paterson EARLIEST_DATE: 1903 KEYWORDS: sheep suicide robbery ghost rambling FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (9 citations) Meredith/Anderson, pp. 73-74, 95, "Waltzing Matilda" (2 texts, 1 tune, the latter being a fragment of a bawdy version) Fahey-Eureka, pp. 234-235, "The Blackboy's Waltzing Matilda" (1 text, 1 tune -- a pidgin English semi-parody) Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 308-310, "Black Boy's Waltzing Matlida" (1 text -- the same adaption as the preceding) PBB 119, "Waltzing Matilda' (1 text) SHenry H566, pp. 122-123, "Waltzing Matilda" (1 text, 1 tune -- but collected from Australian children rather than Ulster natives) Manifold-PASB, pp. 160-163, "Waltzing Matilda" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Silber-FSWB, p. 339, "Waltzing Matilda" (1 text) Fuld-WFM, pp. 619-620, "Waltzing Matilda" DT, WALTZMAT* Roud #9536 RECORDINGS: John Greenway, "Waltzing Matilda" (on JGreenway01) A. L. Lloyd, "Waltzing Matilda" (on Lloyd4, Lloyd10) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Bold Fusilier" (form) NOTES: Virtually every aspect of this song -- its historical basis, its words, its tune(s) - has been the subject of disputation, athough there is now consensus among scholars on the following basic facts: 1. While visiting Dagworth station (a pastoral holding in outback Queensland) in 1895, the poet A.B. (Banjo) Paterson heard a tune hummed and played on the autoharp by Miss Christina McPherson, sister of station manager Robert McPherson. 2. Miss McPherson indicated she had heard the tune some time previously at a race meeting in Warrnambool in Victoria, played by a local band. She understood the tune was called "The Bonnie Wood of Craigielea." (A ballad of this name by Robert Tannahill of Scotland was set to music by Robert Barr in the early 1800s and, according to Magoffin, a march arrangement by Gordon Parker was performed at the Warnambool races on 24 April 1894.) At Dagworth Miss McPherson rendered the tune from memory. 3. While at Dagworth Paterson wrote words to fit Miss McPherson's tune. The words he wrote were those of the poem/song "Waltzing Matilda." 4. Paterson's setting of McPherson's tune was quickly picked up and sung around the district, including at the Winton races on 24 and 25 May 1895. 5. At these races Christina McPherson wrote out and gave to family friends the Barlams the song's words and music. (This manuscript only came to light in 1971. Its authenticity has since been verified by, for example, by the National Library of Australia, which included it in its recent major exhibition of treasures from the world's libraries.) 6. Following the Winton race meeting the song travelled further afield, entering oral tradition. In the process the song's words (and possibly also its tune) evolved through the "folk process." The major change was that Paterson's wimpish "drowning himself by the Coolibah tree" in the last verse gave way to the more defiant "'You'll never catch me alive!' said he." 7. The song first appeared on sheet music in 1903, published in Sydney by James Inglis & Co. While the lyrics were attributed to Paterson they were in fact the "folk processed' words (possibly with additional textual changes introduced by the publisher); the music was cited as being "arranged' by Marie Cowan. Cowan was the spouse of Mr. W. Cowan, James Inglis & Co.'s Manager. (Cowan's version has similarities with, but is distinct from, the tune in the McPherson manuscript. The extent to which the Cowan version reflects the tune as it evolved through oral transmission, and the extent to which it incorporates changes introduced by Mrs. Cowan, is not known. While Mr. Cowan later claimed the sheet music tune was entirely his wife's composition, its similarities with that in the 1895 McPherson manuscript suggests "arrangement' was indeed the more appropriate term.) The sheet music version became the standard rendering of the song. 8. Paterson gave his approval to the 1903 sheet music text and music. Fourteen years later he included his original text as a poem in his book _Saltbush Bill J.P. and Other Verses_. 9. An entirely different tune, set to Paterson's original 1895 lyric, was obtained in the early 1950s by John Manifold from John O'Neill, who later indicated he had heard his father singing it around 1912. This is known as the Queensland, or sometimes the "Buderim," version. There have been suggestions the song predates 1895, and so was, at best, modified by Paterson. Certainly, it is possible that Paterson, either consciously or unconsciously, drew upon an earlier song in writing his text. Claims however that the song itself predates Paterson rely upon second-hand accounts of persons who claim to remember hearing it prior to 1895. No documentary evidence to support this proposition has come to light, and these days the claim is given little credence. In 1941 the suggestion was raised via the Sydney Bulletin that the tune and word structure of Waltzing Matilda is based upon a song "The Bold Fusilier' which, on account of its reference to the Duke of Marlborough, was assumed to date from the early 1700s. Several correspondents attested to the song's existence. One claimed to have heard it as a child in England, another to have heard it in Australia from his grandfather. The tune was said to be recognisable as that used for Waltzing Matilda, and while only one verse and a chorus of the text were remembered in either case, a strong structural resemblence to that song was apparent. Unfortunately, extensive efforts by scholars to trace the song have thus far been fruitless, and no full text, musical notation or other documentary evidence of its existence prior to 1895 has come to light. The "Bold Fusilier' vs "Craigilea' debate impacts hardly at all on Paterson's claim to authorship. Should further research establish the existence of the Bold Fusilier prior to 1895, then obviously it is a possibility that Paterson knew of it and drew upon its word structure in writing Waltzing Matilda. A number of Australian bush songs are parodies, and so such a circumstance would be unremarkable. Regarding the Bold Fusilier tune we can say little, for at present the only version of it we have dates from the 1940s, some four decades after the publication of the Cowan tune for Waltzing Matilda. In that time all manner of opportunity existed for failures or tricks of memory to occur. For these various reasons, the consensus in Australia is clear: Paterson wrote the words in 1895 to a tune played from memory by Christina McPherson, and subsequently both text and tune evolved in oral transmission. Further changes may have been introduced consciously at the time the song was published as sheet music in 1903. - MK The above was written in response to my original rather caustic comments about the authorship of "Waltzing Matilda." I must admit that I still have misgivings. First, I think it likely that "The Bold Fusilier" is an authentic folk song, and most unlikely that it was composed after "Waltzing Matilda." Nor do I regard it as believable that this form would have been evolved independently by Paterson. Of course, it, or something like it, could have been the "Craiglie" tune Paterson heard. This does not affect Paterson's authorship of "Waltzing Matilda" in any way, of course. But I think dependence a practical certainty. It strikes me as curious that Paterson wrote this piece for music, but his other poetry is just that: Poetry, and rarely in a style suitable for folk song. John Meredith met informants who claimed *their* sources (fathers) knew the song before Paterson's composition. None of these claims can be verified, and all are secondhand -- but of course written records of Australian folk songs before 1895 are quite rare. There are scholars, such as John Greenway, who clearly did not believe in Paterson's authorship. Even John Meredith had his doubts. Most of these stated their opinions before the McPherson manuscript was discovered. But the manuscript, while it strengthened the arguments on the pro-Paterson side, did not weaken those on the anti- side. Thus, despite Keith McKenry's well-researched statements above, I still consider the matter open. Another possibility, which I have not seen mentioned, is that Paterson included some fragments of an existing song into a largely new composition based on a local event. This would explain the informants who thought they knew the song before 1895 -- but there is no evidence whatsoever for it. - RBW File: PBB119 === NAME: Waly Waly (The Water is Wide) DESCRIPTION: The singer laments the effects of unrequited love and an untrue lover. Typical symbols include the rotten-hearted oak that looks solid but breaks and the beautiful flower protected by thorns. In some versions the lover is untrue; sometimes (s)he is dead AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1765 (Percy) KEYWORDS: love rejection lyric nonballad lament lover death FOUND_IN: Britain(England,Scotland) Ireland US(Ap,NE,SE) Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (18 citations) Bronson (204), 8 versions (including "Jamie Douglas") Percy/Wheatley III, pp. 145-148, "Waly Waly, Love Be Bonny" (1 text) BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 469-474, "Jamie Douglas" (notes and scattered stanzas; the only full text is in fact this piece) Kennedy 149, "Deep in Love" (1 text, 1 tune) Logan, pp. 336-337, "Picking Lilies" (1 text) Peacock, pp. 475-476, "Love is Lovely" (1 text, 1 tune, strongly composite, starting with a verse perhaps from "Peggy Gordon," then the chorus of "Waly Waly (The Water Is Wide)," two more which might be anything, and a conclusion from "Carrickfergus") Leach, pp. 546-551, "Jamie Douglas" (3 texts, with only the third text belonging with this piece) Friedman, p. 101, "Jamie Douglas" (2 texts, with only the second text belonging with this piece) Sharp-100E 39, "O Waly Waly" (1 text, 1 tune) Sandburg, pp. 16-17, "Waillie, Waillie!" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #8} Copper-SoBreeze, pp. 218-219, "Love" (1 text, 1 tune) Hodgart, p. 143, "O Waly, Waly" (1 text) Lomax-FSNA 70, "Love is Pleasin'" (1 text, 1 tune, of four verses, two of which go here, one belongs with "Fair and Tender Ladies," and the fourth could be from several sources; the whole could be a "Love is Teasing" variant) HarvClass-EP1, pp. 323-324, "O Waly, Waly" (1 text) PSeeger-AFB, p. 77, "The Water Is Wide" (1 text, 1 tune) SHenry H683, p. 393, "The Apron of Flowers" (1 text, 1 tune -- apparently a collection of floating verses including one that goes here) Silber-FSWB, p. 145, "Waillie"; p. 163, "The Water Is Wide" (2 texts) DT (204), WALYWALY WALYWAL2* WALYWAL3* CCKLSHLL* WATRWIDE* Roud #87 RECORDINGS: Liam Clancy, "The Water is Wide" (on IRLClancy01) Mobile Strugglers, "Trouble, Trouble's Followed Me All My Days" (on AmSkBa, classified there for want of a better place; it's really a collection of floaters, and could as easily go with "I Wish, I Wish/Love Is Teasing." It shares the verse "If I had wings like Noah's dove" with "Dink's Song," but not its distinctive chorus. - PJS) Pete Seeger, "The Water is Wide" (on PeteSeeger18) (on PeteSeeger34) (on PeteSeeger47) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Jamie Douglas" [Child 204] (lyrics) cf. "Love Is Teasing" cf. "Careless Love" cf. "Died for Love" cf. "The Butcher Boy" [Laws P24] (floating lyrics) cf. "Dink's Song" (floating lyrics) cf. "Oh, Johnny, Johnny" (floating lyrics) ALTERNATE_TITLES: A Ship Came Sailing When Cockle Shells Turn Silver Bells NOTES: Some scholars consider this a degraded form of "Jamie Douglas" [Child 204], with which it shares several lyrics. It can hardly be denied that they are related. Since, however, "Waly Waly" has worn away to a purely lyric piece (and some even believe it to be the older of the two songs, which has provided a few chance lyrics to "Jamie Douglas"), it is my firm opinion that the two should be kept separate. Paul Stamler considers at least some of the versions of "I Wish, I Wish/Love is Teasing" to belong here. To me, they look more like versions of "The Butcher Boy." Still, it shows you how lyric this piece has become. Under the title "Forsaken," this is one of the handful of traditional songs in Palgrave's _Golden Treasury_ (item CXXXIII)- RBW File: K149 === NAME: Waly Waly, Love Be Bonny: see Waly Waly (The Water is Wide) (File: K149) === NAME: Wanderer, The: see A Distant Land to Roam (File: FORA201) === NAME: Wanderer's Warning, The DESCRIPTION: Singer quarrels with his father and prepares to leave home. His mother begs him not to; her heart will be broken. He leaves anyway. Now he is in a boxcar while his mother longs for the boy who will never return. He cautions others not to imitate him AUTHOR: Carson Robison - Frank Luther EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (recording, Frank Luther) KEYWORDS: grief homesickness loneliness warning farewell home parting rambling train travel father mother hobo FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Ken Houchins, "Wanderer's Warning" (Champion 16553, 1933) Frank Luther, "The Wanderer's Warning" (Banner 6464/Jewel 5667/Conqueror 7396, 1929) File: RcWanWar === NAME: Wanderin' DESCRIPTION: "My daddy is an engineer, My brother drives a hack, My sister takes in washin' An' the baby balls the jack, An' it looks like I'm never gonna cease my wanderin'." Tales of work and poverty, held together by the refrain "never gonna cease my wanderin'." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg) KEYWORDS: work hardtimes rambling nonballad FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (7 citations) Sandburg, pp. 188-189, "Wanderin'" (2 texts, 1 tune) Scott-BoA, pp. 335-336, "Wandering" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 218, "Wand'rin" (1 text, 1 tune) Darling-NAS, p. 281, "Wandering" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 59, "Wandering" (1 text) BrownIII 507, "I Got de Hezotation Stockings and de Hezotation Shoes" (1 short text, with a verse and chorus from "Hesitation Blues" and a verse from "Wanderin'") DT, WANDERIN* Roud #4399 RECORDINGS: Vernon Dalhart, "Wanderin'" (Columbia 1585-D, 1928) NOTES: The total irrelevance of plot to this song is shown by the fact that Scott's version (which is mostly about the traveler's rambles, except for the line "If the Republicans don't get you, the Democrats must") shares only three lines, apart from the refrain, with the DT version. - RBW File: San188 === NAME: Wandering Boy, The DESCRIPTION: "Out in this cold world and far away from home, Somebody's boy is wandering alone...." The mother begs, "Bring me back my wandering boy, He's all that's left to give me joy." She tells how his place still waits for him AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (unissued recording, Kentucky Thorobreds) earliest publication 1928 (recording, Emry Arthur) KEYWORDS: rambling mother children separation FOUND_IN: US(Ap,So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Randolph 845, "The Wandering Boy" (1 text) Fuson, p. 149, "The Wandering Boy" (1 short text) ST R845 (Partial) Roud #4227 RECORDINGS: Emry Arthur, "Bring Back to Me My Wandering Boy" (Vocalion 5244, 1928) Blue Sky Boys, "Brink Back My Wandering Boy" (Bluebird B-8128, 1939) W. C. Childers, "Bring Back My Wandering Boy" (Champion 16052, 1930) Kentucky Thorobreds, "Bring Back My Wandering Boy" (Paramount, unissued, rec. 1927) NOTES: This should not be confused with "Where Is My Wandering Boy Tonight," which is a different song. - PJS File: R845 === NAME: Wandering Cowboy (I), The [Laws B7] DESCRIPTION: A cowboy sadly tells the tale of why he left home: He had killed a childhood friend in a quarrel over a girl: "So that's the reason why I am compelled to roam. A sinner of the darkest strain, Far far away from home" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 KEYWORDS: death fight cowboy rambling love friend homicide burial FOUND_IN: US(SE,So,SW) Canada REFERENCES: (8 citations) Laws B7, "The Wandering Cowboy" Randolph 190, "The Wandering Cowboy" (3 texts, 2 tunes) BrownII 265, "A Jolly Group of Cowboys" (1 text) Larkin, pp. 144-146, "Wandering Cowboy" (1 text, 1 tune) McNeil-SFB1, pp. 157-159, "The Wandering Cowboy" (1 text, 1 tune) Fife-Cowboy/West 89, "Cowboy's Home Sweet Home" (2 texts, 1 tune) Ohrlin-HBT 66, "Franklin Slaughter Ranch" (1 text, 1 tune) DT 798, WANDCOWB Roud #633 RECORDINGS: Edward L. Crain, "Cowboy's Home Sweet Home" (Columbia 15710-D, 1932; rec. 1931) (Crown 3250/Melotone [Can.] 93027/Conqueror 8010 [as Cowboy Ed Crane], 1932; Montgomery Ward M-3016/Varsity 5034 [as Cowboy Rodgers], n.d.; rec. 1931) Jimmie Davis, "Cowboy's Home Sweet Home" (Victor 23718, 1932; Montgomery Ward M-7359, 1937; on WhenIWas2) Arthur Miles, "The Lonely Cowboy (Parts 1 & 2)" (Victor V-40156, 1929; on MakeMe, When I Was1) Frank Wheeler & Monroe Lamb, "A Group of Jolly Cowboys" (Victor C-40169, 1929) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Fugitive's Lament" (plot) NOTES: The Arthur Miles recording contains one of the few examples of "throat singing" (overtone singing) I've heard in American tradition. The song should not be confused with "The Wandering Cowboy (II)," which is unrelated. - PJS File: LB07 === NAME: Wandering Cowboy (II), The DESCRIPTION: Cowboy describes ranches he's worked at. He signs on with a ranch, works summer and fall, then drifts to Arizona for a winter job. It's too lonely and boring, so he moves on again. One night in Wyoming, he dreams of his home rancho and decides to return AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (recording, Patt Patterson & Lois Dexter) KEYWORDS: loneliness home rambling travel work cowboy worker FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Patt Patterson & Lois Dexter, "The Wandering Cowboy" (Banner 32091, 1931) Patt Patterson & his Champion Rep Riders, "The Wandering Cowboy" (on WhenIWas1) NOTES: Pretty thin plot, yes. But a plot nonetheless, and I've indexed it chiefly to distinguish the song from "The Wandering Cowboy (I)", which has a real narrative. - PJS File: RcTWCII === NAME: Wandering Cowboy (III), The DESCRIPTION: Singer has no home, no one to love him. He's wandering down the trail, coming to the end of his life, and thinking the only home he will ever find is "on some other shore" AUTHOR: B. Cartwright EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (recording, Cartwright Bros.) KEYWORDS: loneliness love death nonballad cowboy FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Cartwright Brothers, "The Wandering Cowboy" (Victor V-40247, 1930) NOTES: Darn near no plot at all, even thinner than "Wandering Cowboy (II)," and depressing besides. I index it solely to distinguish it from the other "Wandering Cowboy" songs. - PJS File: RcTWaC3 === NAME: Wandering Girl, The DESCRIPTION: The singer's lover has deserted her and their baby. She'll go home but knows she'll be turned away by her mother. "She'll tell me to wander as I've wandered before." She warns girls not to trust young men. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1829 (broadside, Bodleian Firth c.18(104)) KEYWORDS: sex desertion floatingverses baby mother youth FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond)) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #1691 RECORDINGS: Freda Palmer, "The Wandering Girl" (on Voice10) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Firth c.18(104), "The Wandering Girl" ("Once I loved a young man as dear as my life"), T. Batchelar (London), 1817-1828; also Harding B 11(4028), Harding B 25(1998), Harding B 11(4027), "[The] Wandering Girl"; Harding B 25(1996), Harding B 11(244), Harding B 11(245), "The Wandering Girl" or "The Bud of Rose" NOTES: The Bodleian broadsides have the girl turned away by her father as well as her mother. Floating lines may include "Once I loved a young man as dear as my life He oftentimes told me he'd make me his wife," "Once I was as fair as the bud of a Rose And now I'm as pale as the Lilly [sic] that grows" and "They'll kiss you and court you and swear they'll be true And the very next moment they'll bid you adieu." - BS File: RcTWaGir === NAME: Wandering Nellie: see Corunna's Lone Shore (Wandering Nellie) (File: FVS081) === NAME: Wandering Shepherd Laddie, The DESCRIPTION: Bring my crook and bring my plaid." The singer would go to her "wandering shepherd laddie." She'll go through mountain storms to "his black-face yowes on the heather hills" and rest with him "when the moon comes over the top o' the hill" AUTHOR: John MacDonald (source: Yates, Musical Traditions site _Voice of the People suite_ "Notes - Volume 20" - 15.1.04) EARLIEST_DATE: 1974 (recording, John MacDonald) KEYWORDS: nonballad lover sheep shepherd FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #5150 RECORDINGS: John MacDonald, "The Wandering Shepherd Laddie" (on Voice20) File: RcWaShLa === NAME: Wandering True Loves, Too: see The Cuckoo (File: R049) === NAME: Wanton Seed, The DESCRIPTION: Singer meets a pretty maid who wants "the chiefest grain"; she accepts his services, asking him to sow her meadow with "the wanton seed." After forty weeks she returns with a slender waist (presumably having borne a child), wanting more of the wanton seed AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: sex pregnancy farming magic FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, WNTNSEED* Roud #1018 RECORDINGS: A. L. Lloyd, "The Wanton Seed" (on BirdBush1, BirdBush2) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Seeds of Love" (theme) cf. "The Next Market Day" (plot) and references there cf. "The Mower" ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Chiefest Grain NOTES: Again, I've refrained from calling this "bawdy," preferring "erotic." And I've keyworded it as "magic" because of the clear connection the song makes between the fertility of grain and sexuality, a common folk strain of sympathetic magic. - PJS In at least some versions of his index, Round lumps this (accidentally, I'm sure) with "The Building of Solomon's Temple" [Laws Q39]. - RBW File: DTwntnse === NAME: War Bird's Burlesque, A DESCRIPTION: "A portly Roman Senator was sipping his Rock and Rye When a classic Vestal Virgin caught his educated eye." But while the "Senator" is away, a junior young officer slips into her bed. Finally the "Senator" forgives her AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg) KEYWORDS: adultery seduction humorous FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Sandburg, pp. 438-439, "A War Bird's Burlesque" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Sea Captain and the Squire" [Laws Q12] (plot) File: San438 === NAME: War Correspondent, The DESCRIPTION: "You've all heard of 'Banjo' Paterson and of course I needn't say That he's the best and the greatest correspondent of the day...." The singer, alleged to be Paterson, boasts of all the people he knows and of his great journalistic skills AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1968 KEYWORDS: bragging humorous FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Meredith/Anderson, pp. 274-275, "The War Correspondent" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Meredith and Anderson's informant, "Duke" Tritton, was of the opinion that Banjo Paterson wrote this piece as a parody of his exploits (Paterson was a war correspondent during the Boer War). Given Paterson's observed behavior, however, this seems unlikely. - RBW File: MA274 === NAME: War in Missouri in '61, The DESCRIPTION: The title tells the subject. "Claybourn Jacks" tries to pull Missouri out of the Union, and Harney does little to stop him. Price and Blair and the Lion (Lyon) stop him. But the Lion is killed by McCulloch. The author asks forgiveness for his rough verse AUTHOR: B. F. Lock? EARLIEST_DATE: 1916 (Belden) KEYWORDS: Civilwar battle death HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Aug 10, 1861 - Battle of Wilson's Creek FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Belden, pp. 366-367, "The War in Missouri in '61" (1 text) Roud #3698 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Jolly Union Boys" and references there (concerning Battle of Wilson's Creek) NOTES: To explain everything about this song (if it is a song and not just a poem) would take a small book; in any case, the narrative itself and Belden's notes cover most of the ground. (Some additional background is found in the songs in the cross-references). I'll just give sketch information about the characters named. "Claybourn Jacks": Claiborne Fox Jackson (1806-1862), Governor of Missouri from 1860; tried and failed to pull the state out of the Union. "Tom Price": Thomas Lawson Price (1809-1870), railroad builder and war democrat, who opposed secession "Harney": William A. Harney (1800-1889), commander of the Deparment of the West (centered at St. Louis) when the war began. A friend of slaveholders, he did little to control Missouri secessionists, was suspected of sympathy with the rebellion, and was superseded May 29, 1861. "Frost": Daniel M. Frost (c. 1823-1900), West Point graduate and Missouri businessman. Appointed by the Confederates to take the St. Louis arsenal, he was captured by Lyon instead, later being exchanged and becoming a Confederate general. "Lyon" or "the Lion": Nathaniel Lyon (1818-1861), initially a regular army captain serving in St. Louis. Alarmed by Jackson's actions and Harney's inaction, he and Frank Blair conspired to keep Missouri in the Union. On May 10. he captured Frost and his hundreds of supporters at Camp Jackson (the only Union casualties were Lyon and Franz Sigel, and they were lighly wounded by their own horses). He died at Wilson's Creek. "Frank Blair": Francis Preston Blair, Jr. (1821-1875), Missouri congressman and later union general. While Nathaniel Lyon ran the military operations in Missouri, Blair handled the politics, pulling the strings to get rid of Harney and put Lyon in charge "Sigel": Franz Sigel (1824-1902), Union officer (later general). He would prove dreadfully incompetent, but at the time, he was one of the few trained officers available. (Though the training had come in Germany). Union commander at Carthage (July 5), he was forced to retreat. At Wilson's Creek, his failed flanking movement cost the Union forces any chance of victory. Parson: Belden conjectures this is Lewis Baldwin Parsons (1818-1907), who was from Missouri but who became a Union officer. "Price": Sterling Price (1809-1867), Confederate commander of Missouri troops. Leader of half the troops at Wilson's Creek. "McCullough" or "Old Ben": Ben McCulloch (1811-1862), commander of Arkansas troops at Wilson's Creek and theoretical commander (though in effect he and Price led two independent armies). He would be killed in 1862 at Pea Ridge. - RBW File: Beld366 === NAME: War Song: see Bull Run (War Song) (File: JHCox068) === NAME: War Song (I): see The Rebel's Escape [Laws A19] (File: LA19) === NAME: War Song (II): see Texas Rangers, The [Laws A8] (File: LA08) === NAME: War Song of the Revolution DESCRIPTION: "Come ye Americans and tremble Here before your might God." The singer describes women and children slain and husbands and families destroyed by war. Storms and fires destroy cities. Listeners are warned to turn to God AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1905 (Belden) KEYWORDS: battle death storm disaster warning religious FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Belden, p. 295, "War Song of the Revolution" (1 text) Roud #7953 NOTES: Belden knew nothing of this save that the informant thought it concerned the Revolutionary War. Belden notes that, if it does date back that far, it's probably Tory. He's likely right -- but I wonder if it isn't two songs merged together, with the second being some sort of hymn based on the Apocalypse. - RBW File: Beld295 === NAME: Warfare is A-Raging, The: see The Girl Volunteer (The Cruel War Is Raging) [Laws O33] (File: LO33) === NAME: Warfare is Raging, The: see The Girl Volunteer (The Cruel War Is Raging) [Laws O33] (File: LO33) === NAME: Wark o' the Weavers, The: see The Work of the Weavers (File: FSWB127) === NAME: Warlike Seamen (The Irish Captain) DESCRIPTION: Singer's ship sails for the coast of Ireland. They encounter a French ship. They report that they're from Liverpool and they will show the Frenchmen what they're made of. They badly damage the French ship,which surrenders; they drink the captain's health AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1950s (recorded from Bob & Ron Copper) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer, a sailor on an English ship with an Irish captain, sails for the coast of Ireland. They encounter a French ship, which hails them and demands to know their name and port. They reply that they're from Liverpool (their ship is the, "London", "Lion" or "Marigold") and they will show the Frenchmen what they're made of. They fire the cannons, and the French ship, badly damaged, surrenders; they land in Plymouth and drink the captain's health KEYWORDS: pride battle fight navy violence ship drink France sailor FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, WARLIKES Roud #690 RECORDINGS: Bob & Ron Copper, "Warlike Seamen (The Irish Captain)" (on LastDays) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The French Privateer" (plot, lyrics) cf. "The Dolphin" (plot, lyrics) cf. "The Terrible Privateer" (plot) NOTES: While the second half of this song is identical to that of "The French Privateer," their openings are different, so I've split them. - PJS Roud lumps them, naturally, and throws in "The Dolphin" (and perhaps others) for good measure. - RBW File: DTwarlik === NAME: Warning to Girls, A DESCRIPTION: "I once loves a young man So dear to my life, He told me so often He would make me my wife." "He fulfilled his promise, He made me his wife... I have ruined my whole life." In floating verses, she laments her sick baby and drunken husband and warns others AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (Cox) KEYWORDS: love betrayal drink floatingverses baby disease FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) JHCoxIIB, #14, pp. 153-154, "A Warning to Girls" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #413 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "On Top of Old Smokey" (floating lyrics) cf. "Green Grows the Laurel (Green Grow the Lilacs)" (floating lyrics) cf. "I'm Sad and I'm Lonely" (floating lyrics) NOTES: This song, or at least the version collected by Cox, is almost all floating verses (the only significant exception is the second stanza in which the man marries the singer). But that verse changes the tone of the whole piece (what would otherwise be a lost love song becomes a bad marriage song), causing me to file it separately. Roud, curiously, files it with "The Cuckoo." If I had to file it with one well-known song, it would be "On Top of Old Smokey." - RBW File: CoxII14 === NAME: Warranty Deed, The (The Wealthy Old Maid) [Laws H24] DESCRIPTION: A lawyer, underemployed and impoverished, at last decides to marry a wealthy old maid. The bride prepares for their wedding night by taking off wig, false teeth, false eye, and other decorations. The husband, who failed to get a "warranty deed," flees AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1940 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: oldmaid marriage humorous disguise FOUND_IN: US(NE,So) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Laws H24, "The Warranty Deed" Randolph 465, "The Warranty Deed" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 333-335, "The Warranty Deed" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 465) DT 651, (UNFORTUN) Roud #2188 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Old Maid and the Burglar" [Laws H23] cf. "Only Nineteen Years Old" (theme) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Unfortunate Man The Very Unfortunate Man NOTES: Gilbert has a piece (pp. 194-195), "It Takes A Girl to Fool You Every Time," which has this exact plot but entirely different lyrics, reportedly by Ned Oliver. I strongly doubt the latter went into oral tradition (it's not as good a song, anyway), but it may have been inspired by this piece. Arnold Keith Storm also sings a piece, "Patched Up Old Devil," on this theme. It appears to be from family tradition; I have not encountered it elsewhere. As with Gilbert's piece, the plot is the same but the song quite distinct. The pop folk version of this, "The Very Unfortunate Man," was reportedly assembled (I use the word advisedly) by Jimmy Driftwood. I have heard that there was an unpublished 1898 play by Mark Twain with this exact plot. It sounds *extremely* close to this song. It sounds as if there has to be dependence -- with this probably the original, since the Twain play ended up in a drawer, almost entirely unseen until around 2005. - RBW File: LH24 === NAME: Warrego Lament, The DESCRIPTION: The singer asks if the listener has ever been in Queensland. In Warrego, in Queensland, is his love. "She was black -- but what of that?... She was just the sort for a bushman." He enjoyed her company, but then found she had given him a social disease AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1968 KEYWORDS: disease whore bawdy FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Meredith/Anderson, pp. 190-191, 223, "The Warrego Lament" (2 texts, 1 tune) File: MA190 === NAME: Wars o' Germanie, The DESCRIPTION: "O, wae be to the orders that marched my love awa', And wae be to the cruel cause that gars my tears down fa'." The singer recalls her soldier's departure for the wars overseas. Her family chides her, but she says they do not understand AUTHOR: William Motherwell ? EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord) KEYWORDS: love separation soldier war FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, p. 359, "The Wars o' Germanie" (1 text) Roud #5608 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "High Germany" (lyrics, theme) NOTES: Ord credits this to William Motherwell, and it's perfectly reasonable to assume Motherwell padded out a fragment of an existing song (probably "High Germany"). I do think there was that traditional fragment, though. - RBW File: Ord359 === NAME: Wars of America, The DESCRIPTION: "I have two sons and a son-in-law, Fightin' in the wars of America. But I don't know if I'll see them more Or whether they'll visit old Ireland's shore." The singer seeks the boys; at last one comes home -- but crippled from the wars AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 KEYWORDS: mother children separation war soldier injury disability FOUND_IN: US(NE) Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Lomax-FSNA 17, "The Wars of America" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton-SNewBrunswick 75, "My Son Ted" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #678 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye" (plot) cf. "By the Hush" (plot) cf. "Mrs. McGrath" (plot) NOTES: Roud links this to "Mrs. McGrath." The plot similarity is obvious, but the songs themselves appear distinct to me. In Lomax's version, the conflict appears to have been the French and Indian Wars, and the soldier is named Terry. Perhaps the name "Ted" in Creighton's version was influenced by "Mrs. McGrath?" - RBW File: LoF017 === NAME: Wars of Germany (I), The: see Jack Monroe (Jackie Frazer; The Wars of Germany) [Laws N7] (File: LN07) === NAME: Wars of Germany (II), The: see High Germany (File: ShH56) === NAME: Was You Ever See? DESCRIPTION: "There was John and Jane and Betsy/Eating buns and drinking whisky/Dancing jigs upon the fiddle/Up the sides and down the middle"; singer's sister Bella is never without her umbrella; brother Joe went to Chester College for to get a bit of knowledge; etc. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1954 (recorded from Manfrie Wood) LONG_DESCRIPTION: "There was John and Jane and Betsy/Eating buns and drinking whisky/Dancing jigs upon the fiddle/Up the sides and down the middle"; singer's sister Bella is never without her umbrella; his brother Joe went to Chester College for to get a bit of knowledge; etc. Chorus: "Was you ever see?/Was you ever see?/ Was you ever see such a jolly time before?" KEYWORDS: nonsense moniker nonballad music FOUND_IN: Britain(Wales) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Kennedy 309, "Was You Ever See" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2144 RECORDINGS: Manfrie Wood, "Was You Ever See?" (on FSB10) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Cosher Bailey's Engine" (tune, structure) and references there NOTES: Because this is identical in form to "Cosher Bailey," I was tempted to lump them -- but Cosher isn't in it, so I split them. - PJS Kennedy regards "Cosher Bailey" as an offshoot of this song. But Kennedy thinks everything is a version of everything else; he offers no evidence. - RBW File: K309 === NAME: Washing Day DESCRIPTION: "The sky with clouds was overcast, The rain began to fall, My wife she whipped the children And raised a pretty squall... Oh, the deil a bit o' comfort's here upon a washing day." The singer describes how his good wife turns evil on washing day AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1849 (Logan) KEYWORDS: work wife husband punishment FOUND_IN: Britain(England,Scotland) US(NE) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Linscott, pp. 296-299, "Washing Day" (1 text, 1 tune) Ord, p. 153, "The Washing-Day" (1 text) Logan, pp. 381-382, "The Washing Day" (1 text) ST Lins296 (Partial) Roud #3747 NOTES: The similarities between the handful of truly-traditional texts of this song (Ord and Linscott) is such that I have to suspect broadside influence -- and, indeed, most of the texts listed by Roud are broadside or songster versions. - RBW File: Lins296 === NAME: Washington DESCRIPTION: "We have a bold commander, Who fears no sword or gun, A second Alexander, Whose name is Washington." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (Fuson) KEYWORDS: soldier nonballad HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1732-1799 - Life of George Washington FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fuson, p. 196, "Washington" (1 fragment, fifth of seven "Quatrains on the War") ST Fus196A (Full) NOTES: Doubtless a fragment of one of the many broadsides about Washington, but with such a short text, I can't identify a source. Honesty forces us to point out that this song is over-fulsome; Alexander the Great never lost a major battle, and Washington lost more than he won. But, of course, Washington won the battles that ended up counting most. - RBW File: Fus196A === NAME: Washtub Blues, The DESCRIPTION: "I washed dat woman's clo'es And I hung 'em on de line, My back most a-breakin', I's a-hurtin' all de time." The singer brings the clothes to their owner, who races "and she flung 'em on de flo'." The singer laments her pain and labor AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Brown) KEYWORDS: work FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 247, "The Washtub Blues" (1 text) File: Br3247 === NAME: Wasn't That a Mighty Storm: see Mighty Day (Wasn't That a Mighty Storm) (File: BSoF728) === NAME: Wassail Song (I): see Somerset Wassail (File: ShH92) === NAME: Wassail Song (II): see Here We Come A-Wassailing (File: JRDF166) === NAME: Wassail Song (III) DESCRIPTION: "Jolly come to our jolly wassail." Wishes for a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Have "pockets of money and a cellar of beer" A ship in full sail is in the ocean gale. Get apples for cider. "I know you'll reward us for singing wassail" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 (recording, Wassailers on Voice16) KEYWORDS: request drink nonballad wassail ship storm Christmas FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #209 RECORDINGS: Wassailers, "Wassail Song" (on Voice16) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Somerset Wassail" (subject, one verse) and references there File: RcWasSo3 === NAME: Wassail, Wassail All Over the Town: see Gloucestershire Wassailers' Song (File: RcGlWasS) === NAME: Waste Not, Want Not: see You Never Miss the Water till the Well Runs Dry (File: SRW125) === NAME: Watch that Lady DESCRIPTION: "I been all around my last time, last time, last time, I been all around my last time. Young lady hold the key. Just watch that young lady how she hold that key (x2). Young lady, hold the key." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 (recording, children of Lilly's Chapel School) KEYWORDS: nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) West Indies REFERENCES: (1 citation) Courlander-NFM, p. 158, "(Watch That Lady)" (1 text); pp. 278-279, "Just Watch That Lady" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #11006 RECORDINGS: Children of Lilly's Chapel School, "Watch That Lady" (on NFMAla6) File: CNFM158 === NAME: Watchet Sailor, The: see The Sailor and the Tailor [Laws P4] (File: LP04) === NAME: Water Boy (I -- Water on the Wheel) DESCRIPTION: "Water boy, water boy! (x2) Water on the wheel, How does the sun shine that I feel, Little water time, hey, little water boy (x2), Water on the wheel, How does the sun shine that I feel, Little water boy." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 (recording, Annie Grace Horn Dodson) KEYWORDS: worksong nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Courlander-NFM, pp. 86-87, "(Water Boy)" (1 text, 1 tune) RECORDINGS: Annie Grace Horn Dodson, "Water on the Wheel" (on NFMAla6) File: CNFM086 === NAME: Water Boy (II): see Take This Hammer (File: FR383) === NAME: Water Creases: see Watercresses (File: Peac320) === NAME: Water is Wide, The: see Waly Waly (The Water is Wide) (File: K149) === NAME: Water o' Gamery, The: see Rare Willie Drowned in Yarrow, or, The Water o Gamrie [Child 215] (File: C215) === NAME: Water o' Wearie's Well, The: see Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight [Child 4] (File: C004) === NAME: Water of Tyne, The DESCRIPTION: "I cannot get to my love, if I would dee, The waters of Tyne stand between him and me, And here I must stand with a tear in my e'e, Both sighing and sickly my true love to see." She begs for a boatman to carry her across the river AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1812 (Bell) KEYWORDS: love separation river FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North)) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Stokoe/Reay, pp. 30-31, "The Waters of Tyne" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, WATRTYNE* Roud #1364 NOTES: I've never seen this mentioned as an explanation for this song, but for much of history the Tyne, not the Tweed, marked the eastern boundary between Scotland and England -- Hadrian's Wall ended at the Tyne, and the border still stood there into the second millennium C.E. (with the complication that the independent kingdoms of Northumbria for a long time stood between what would become England and what would become Scotland, occupying what we would now call the Scottish lowlands, Cumbria, Northumbria, and even as far down as Yorkshire). The city of Newcastle, in fact, was founded in the reign of William the Conqueror (1066-1087) as the New Castle on the Tyne after Northumbria was claimed by Malcolm III Canmore of Scotland (see Magnus Magnusson's_Scotland: The Story of a Nation_, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2000, p. 66). The current Solway-to-Tweed border was finally settled in the reign of Alexander II in the first half of the thirteenth century (Magnusson, pp. 90-92). From that time on, the Tyne no longer divided nations. Obviously this song cannot have existed in its present form at that time. But perhaps it's just possible that this represents a memory of that time. - RBW File: StoR030 === NAME: Water Witch, The DESCRIPTION: Water Witch is wrecked on a Horrid Gulch reef near Pouch Cove. Pouch Cove fishermen save some. The Humane Society of Liverpool sent "Gold medals to those fishermen who never knew no fear, The Governor's lady pinned them on" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1980 (Lehr/Best) KEYWORDS: rescue death sea ship storm wreck FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lehr/Best 116, "The Water Witch" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7316 NOTES: Harbour Main is at almost the southernmost point of Conception Bay. Pouch [pronounced "Pooch"] Cove is near Cape St Francis which is turned on the way from St John's to Conception Bay. - BS The sources checked (Lehr/Best, Northern Shipwrecks Database) disagree on details of this tragedy, dating it November 25 or 29, 1873 or 1875. The casualty count also differs: nine of 20 or 11 of 24. - BS, (RBW) This ship, incidentally, should not be confused with the American survey ship _Water Witch_, built in 1853, which served as a blockade ship during the American Civil War, but was captured by the Confederates in 1864 and later burned. - RBW File: LeBe116 === NAME: Water, Water, Wallflowers: see Wallflowers (File: HHH048d) === NAME: Water, Water, Wild Flower: see Wallflowers (File: HHH048d) === NAME: Waterbound (I) DESCRIPTION: Singer can't go home because of flooding. His girl's father is mad, but the singer doesn't care "as long as I get his daughter": "If he don't give her up, we're gonna run away." He and his friends state that they're going home "before the water rises." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (unissued recording, Grayson County Railsplitters) KEYWORDS: courting elopement flood father FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Darling-NAS, pp. 252-253, "Waterbound" (1 text) DT, WATRBOND RECORDINGS: Grayson County Railsplitters, "Way Down in North Carolina" (unissued, 1929; on TimesAint05) Art Thieme, "Waterbound" (on Thieme06) Wade Ward & Bogtrotters, "Waterbound" (on Holcomb-Ward1) NOTES: Yes, there's a narrative buried in there -- two of them, really. - PJS I suspect it may have been stronger, once upon a time, but gotten rather submerged after years of the tune being used primarily as a fiddle/banjo instrumental. As Paul notes, there are two plots -- one about the rising flood and one about courting. - RBW The Grayson Co. Railsplitters' recording is essentially identical to the canonical version sung in the folk revival, mostly learned from the Wade Ward/Bogtrotters recording. It should be noted that Fields Ward, Wade's brother, was a member of the Railsplitters, along with Sampson Ward, Eck Dunford and Ernest "Pop" Stoneman -- an old-time music all-star show if ever there was one. - PJS File: DTwatrbo === NAME: Waterbound II: see Alabama Bound (Waterbound II) (File: BMRF598) === NAME: Watercresses DESCRIPTION: The singer meets a damsel who has "a bunch of watercresses." She agrees to marry but "has some bills to pay" first, so he gives her money. Next day he get a letter that she's already someone's wife. "Sure you must have been greener than watercresses" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1886 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(4046)) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer, a dairy farmer, goes to town, meets a pretty girl, asks the way to Camberwell and falls in love. He proposes, citing his farm and herds; she accepts, but tells him she will need money for wedding expenses. He gives her a sovereign; they kiss and part. She sends him a letter telling him that next time he proposes, he should be certain his intended is a maiden or a widow, not a wife, and promises to repay the sovereign, someday. Refr.: "She promised she would marry me upon the first of May/And she left me with a bunch of water cresses" KEYWORDS: courting promise money love marriage rejection beauty humorous lover wife FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar,Newf) US(So) Britain(England) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Peacock, pp. 320-321, "Watercresses" (1 text, 1 tune) Leach-Labrador 66, "Water Creases" (1 text, 1 tune) Ives-NewBrunswick, pp. 106-108, "Watercresses" (1 text, 1 tune) Manny/Wilson 63, "The Dairy Farmer (Water Cresses)" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Peac320 (Partial) Roud #1653 RECORDINGS: O. J. Abbott, "The Bunch of Water Cresses" (on Abbott1) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(4046), "Water Cresses!," H. Such (London), 1863-1885 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Park in Portadown" (theme: the married woman pretending to be single) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Watercrest The Watercress Girl NOTES: In [O. J. Abbott's version of] the song, the young man says he is from Belvishire. There is no such shire in England. On the other hand, Camberwell is a borough of London. - PJS The Southwest Missouri State University site Max Hunter Folk Song Collection includes "Watercrest" ["T'was on the first of April When I arrived in town ..."], a version collected in Arkansas. In this one Mrs. Tray writes "But to think that I would marry you Upon the first of May You must think that I'm as green as watercrest's." I don't consider this to be the same as the following ballad at Bodleian Library site Ballads Catalogue: Bodleian, Harding B 11(4047), "The Water-Cress Girl" ("While strolling out one evening by a running stream"), unknown, n.d.; also Harding B 11(1233), "The Water-Cress Girl" In this one the singer finds Martha gathering water-cresses, they "often strolled together," marry and live happily ever after. - BS File: Peac320 === NAME: Waterford Boys, The DESCRIPTION: The singer pays 5 shillings for a room and dry bread and cheese; he fight rats all night. Tavern-keeper would refund 5s for a cure for rats. "Just invite them to supper" and "charge them five shillings and never the rat will again cross your floor." AUTHOR: Harry Clifton ? EARLIEST_DATE: before 1879 (broadside, LOCSinging as203820) KEYWORDS: bargaining emigration Ireland humorous FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Greenleaf/Mansfield 72, "The Waterford Boys" (1 text) O'Conor, pp. 115-116, "The Waterford Boys" (1 text) Roud #3107 BROADSIDES: LOCSinging, as203820, "Waterford Boys," H. De Marsan (New York), 1864-1878 SAME_TUNE: The Flaming O'Flannigans (per broadside LOCSinging as203820) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Wrestling With Rats NOTES: According to GEST Songs of Newfoundland and Labrador site the tune is "The Humours of Whiskey" and the dates for the author are 1832-1872. The "Waterford Boys" title is sensible considering the first lines Well boys, for diversion, we're all met together: I'll tell you how from Waterford hither I came and the last line of the chorus: "Who can compare with the Waterford boys." Broadside LOCSinging as203820: 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: GrMa072 === NAME: Waterford Girl, The: see The Wexford (Oxford, Knoxville, Noel) Girl [Laws P35] (File: LP35) === NAME: Waterford Strike, The DESCRIPTION: Waterford staff strikes for pension rights. Union "Meter Maids" cross the line. Police are scabs and a crowd is treated to an ice hockey shutout of the Police by "Fire Boys." Nevertheless, the "cops keep order, and they're taking home the pay." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1979 (Lehr/Best) KEYWORDS: strike labor-movement worker HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1977 - Four month strike at Waterford Hospital, St John's (Lehr/Best) FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lehr/Best 117, "The Waterford Strike" (1 text) File: LeBe117 === NAME: Waterloo (I) [Laws J2] DESCRIPTION: The singer is pressed and forced to leave his sweetheart. The new Redcoat serves in Belfast, then is sent to Waterloo, where he loses an arm and a leg. Now he is at least free of the army and due a pension of thirty pounds AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield) KEYWORDS: war Napoleon HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: June 18, 1815 - Battle of Waterloo FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Laws J2, "Waterloo I" Greenleaf/Mansfield 81, "Waterloo" (1 text, 1 tune) Peacock, pp. 1020-1023, "Waterloo" (2 texts, 2 tunes) DT 815, WATLOOX Roud #1921 File: LJ02 === NAME: Waterloo (II) DESCRIPTION: AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) The Plains of Waterloo (I) [Laws N32] File: LN32 === NAME: Waterloo (III): see The Plains of Waterloo (VI) (File: HHH015) === NAME: Waterloo (IV): see The Plains of Waterloo (III) [Laws J4] (File: LJ04) === NAME: Watermellon Hangin' on the Vine: see Watermelon on the Vine (File: Br3454) === NAME: Watermelon on the Vine DESCRIPTION: "You may talk about your apples, your peaches, and your pears... But... The watermelon am de fruit for me." "But gimme, oh, gimme me... That watermelon hanging on the vine." The singer begs for, or makes other plans to acquire, the watermelon AUTHOR: unknown (credited to Johnny Marvin on the Whitter recording) EARLIEST_DATE: 1920 (Brown) KEYWORDS: food theft floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 454, "Oh, Dat Watermilion" (2 fragments, possibly other songs mixed with this, but too short to bother classifying separately); 468, "Watermelon Hanging on the Vine" (1 text) ST Br3454 (Partial) Roud #11795 RECORDINGS: Bela Lam and His Green County Singers, "Watermelon Smiling on the Vine" (OKeh, unissued, 1929) The Monroe Brothers, "Watermellon Hangin' on the Vine" (Bluebird 6829) Ernest Stoneman, "Watermelon Hanging on the Vine" (Edison 51864, 1926) (CYL: Edison [BA] 5191, 1926) Uncle Dave Macon, "Watermelon Smilin' on the Vine" (Vocalion 15063, 1923) Henry Whitter, "Watermelon Hanging on the Vine" (OKeh 40296, 1925; rec. 1924) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "There Was a Watermelon" (theme) NOTES: Bob Black, who played with the Blue Grass Boys for a couple of years, describes this as Bill Monroe's "theme song" (_Come Hither to Go Younder_, p. 40), but obviously it preceded him. - RBW File: Br3454 === NAME: Watkin's Ale DESCRIPTION: A girl laments "I am afraid to die a maid." A man overhears and offers her "Watkin's Ale." She accepts. After much witty repartee, they part. Nine months later, her child is born. The moral: "It is no jesting with sharp-edged tools." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: mentioned twice in 1592 (Mundy, Chettle) KEYWORDS: seduction pregnancy sex bawdy bastard FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (3 citations) Chappell/Wooldridge I, p. 265, "Watkin's Ale" (1 tune) BBI, ZN3278A, "As Watkin walked by the way" (also "There was a maid this other day") DT, WATKALE* NOTES: This probably is not a traditional tune; the words are too fiendishly clever and the music too complex to have arisen in oral tradition. The song is rather frequently mentioned, however, particularly for such a bawdy piece. Chances are it was popular enough to include here. And I happen to think it too clever to omit. - RBW File: ChWI265 === NAME: Watty Grimes DESCRIPTION: Watty Grimes blames Billy McKeever for blackmailing him into leaving his family to join a raid to aid Antrim. They "spent that whole night with a bottle and glass." Watty is deserted in the field, flees, is taken, jailed in Coleraine, tried and executed. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1845 (Shield's _Songs and Ballads in use in the Province of Ulster...1845_, according to Moylan) KEYWORDS: rebellion execution manhunt prison trial drink gallows-confessions family HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Jun 7, 1798 - "A party of insurgents led by William M'Keiver assembled at Crew Hill, near Maghera, Co. Derry, in order to assist the United Irishmen of Antrim" (source: Moylan) FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Moylan 81, "Watty Grimes" (2 texts) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 26(666), "Watty Grimes" ("In the year '98, as you may understand"), The Poet's Box (Belfast), 1846-1852 File: Moyl081 === NAME: Watty's Wooing DESCRIPTION: "Watty Wylie was a grieve and served at Whinnyknowe, And he had gien his promise to marry Bessie Lowe," but repeatedly puts off the wedding, pleading poverty. At last she gives up on him and marries another. She is happy, but Watty is mocked AUTHOR: William "Ryming Willie" Penman ? EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord); Penman died 1877 KEYWORDS: love courting betrayal rejection poverty FOUND_IN: Britain±(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, pp. 282-283, "Watty's Wooing" (1 text) Roud #5601 File: Ord282 === NAME: Waukin' o' the Kilne, The: see The Miller's Daughter (The Fleeing Servant) (File: KinBB06) === NAME: Wave Over Wave DESCRIPTION: The singer is a sailor who loves the sea. His wife doesn't understand why he leaves home ten months a year, with children to raise, while he "must sail the salt sea" AUTHOR: Jim Payne EARLIEST_DATE: 1983 (Lehr/Best) KEYWORDS: sea children wife sailor FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lehr/Best 118, "Wave Over Wave" (1 text, 1 tune) File: LeBe118 === NAME: Waves on the Sea: see The Mermaid [Child 289] (File: C289) === NAME: Waxies' Dargle, The DESCRIPTION: "Says my aul' one to your aul' one, Will ye come to the Waxies' Dargle?" The hearer hasn't a farthing to take a trip. Neither can they go to the Galway races. They agree, "When food is scarce, And you see the hearse, You'll know you died of hunger." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1982 (Soodlum's Irish Ballad Book) KEYWORDS: food travel hardtimes poverty FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, WAXDARGL* CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Girl I Left Behind Me" (II - lyric) (tune) cf. "Brighton Camp" (tune) NOTES: Waxies were candlemakers; the Waxies' Dargle was an annual meeting of candlemakers held in Bray in County Wicklow. The versions I've seen don't make it clear why times are so hard in this song; it doesn't sound like a famine song. I suspect its survival has much to do with being fitted to the much-loved tune "Brighton Camp." - RBW File: DTWaxDar === NAME: Way Bye and Bye DESCRIPTION: "Way bye and bye (x2), We goin' a have a good time, Way bye and bye." "Way in Beulah land (x2), we goin' a have a good time, way bye and bye." "Meet my mother over there...." "One morning soon...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1963 KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Courlander-NFM, pp. 253-254, "Way Bye and Bye" (1 text, 1 tune) File: CNFM253 === NAME: Way Down Below DESCRIPTION: "Oh, a good beef steak and' a mutton chop, Way down below! Make dat nigger's lip go flip flap flop. Way down below (x2), Ole Aunt Kitty am honin' for de sea, Way down below." Verses float (e.g. "My old master promised me"); lines 2 and 4-6 are the chorus AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: slave freedom floatingverses food FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 492, "Way Down Below" (1 text) Roud #11870 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "My Ole Mistus Promised Me" (floating lyrics) and references there NOTES: This looks like it might have been built on the broken fragments of a sea shanty, but the verses have clearly come from tradition ashore. - RBW File: Br492 === NAME: Way Down by the Green Bushes: see Green Bushes [Laws P2] (File: LP02) === NAME: Way Down in Columbus, Georgia: see Columbus Stockade Blues (File: Wa137) === NAME: Way Down in Cuba DESCRIPTION: Fragment of a shanty: "I've got a sister nine feet tall, 'Way down in Cuba, Sleeps in the kitchen with her feet in the hall, 'Way down in Cuba." "I've got a girl friend, name is Jane, 'Way down in Cuba, You can guess where she gives me a pain...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1948 (Shay) KEYWORDS: shanty talltale FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Shay-SeaSongs, p. 95, "'Way Down in Cuba" (1short text) Roud #8820 NOTES: I suspect this may be a broken-off fragment of a better-known shanty (Shay says it's from the Mississippi River), but with only two verses and no tune, it's hard to tell. - RBW File: ShSea095 === NAME: Way Down in Old Virginia DESCRIPTION: "'Way down in old Virginia Where I was bred and born, On the sunny side of that country I used to hoe the corn." The singer recalls those happy times: "And I couldn't stay away." He recalls his old mistress and master, who were "good and kind" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Dean) KEYWORDS: slave home work food FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 225-226, "'Way Down in Ole Virginia" (1 text) Dean, p. 111, "I CouldnÕt Stay Away" (1 text) ST ScaNF225 (Partial) Roud #9578 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny" (theme) NOTES: I find it highly unlikely that this is of actual Black composition; I suspect that the woman who sent it to Scarborough was unclear or inaccurate about its source. The fact that Dean (whose repertoire is strongly northern and contains much from the stage) has it may be indicative. - RBW File: ScaNF225 === NAME: Way Down in Rackensack (Old Coon Dog) DESCRIPTION: "Somebody stole my old coon dog, I wish they'd bring him back, He drove the big 'uns over the fence An' the little ones through the crack. It's gettin' out the way o' the fiddler O (x3), Way down in Rackensack." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (recording, Fiddlin' Doc Roberts) KEYWORDS: animal dog theft FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 350, "Way Down in Rackensack" (1 text) Roud #7627 RECORDINGS: Bradley Kincaid, "Old Coon Dog" (Brunswick 485, c. 1930) George "Shortbuckle" Roark, "My Old Coon Dog"(Columbia 15383-D, 1929; rec. 1928; a melange that also includes bits of, among other songs, "Whoa, Mule," "Possum Up a Gum Stump," and "Shoo Fly") Fiddlin' Doc Roberts, "My Old Coon Dog" (Gennett 6558, 1928) File: R350 === NAME: Way Down in Rockingham: see Jinny Go Round and Around (File: R272) === NAME: Way Down in Tennessee DESCRIPTION: "Farewell you girls of this cold countree," "I can no longer stay with you. " "I left my wife and a baby." Chorus: "Away over the ocean." "Tennessee is a-rolling." Lines are repeated three times, followed by "I'm bound/way-down for Tennessee" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1940 (Smith/Hatt) KEYWORDS: nonballad shanty FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Smith/Hatt, p. 23, "Way Down in Tennessee" (1 text) Roud #9415 NOTES: Smith/Hatt: Smith's comment is "A favourite with Liverpool [Nova Scotia] sailormen." - BS File: SmHa023 === NAME: 'Way Down Near Alpena DESCRIPTION: "Way down near Alpena in a far-distant lad, There's a hard-hearted, hard-spoken band." The men go on a spree. The singer describes their fights. Chorus: "Hurray, hurrah! For the fruit you can bet/Let's take of a drink, boys, for our credit's good yet." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Rickaby) KEYWORDS: logger drink party fight moniker FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Beck 39, "'Way Back Near Alpena" (1 text) Rickaby 34-II, (second of three "Fragments of Shanty Songs") (1 text) ST Be039 (Partial) Roud #6503 File: Be039 === NAME: Way Down on the Old Peedee DESCRIPTION: "Away down south, on the old Peedee, Away down in the cotton and the corn, There lived old Joe, and he lived so long That nobody knows when he was born." The song describes how the old, old slave was buried AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Brown) KEYWORDS: slave death burial age FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 421, "Way Down on the Old Peedee" (1 text plus a possibly-related fragment) Roud #11770 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Uncle Ned" (plot) NOTES: This song is so like "Uncle Ned" in its ideas, and even its style, that I can't help but think it designed to take advantage of that early Foster work. But I haven't located a source. - RBW File: Br3421 === NAME: Way Down the Ohio DESCRIPTION: Fragment: "Way down the Ohio my little boat I steered/In hopes that some pretty girl on the banks will appear/I'll hug her and kiss her till my mind is at ease/And I'll turn my back on her and court who I please" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: courting sex infidelity travel lover FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) SharpAp 198, "Way Down the Ohio" (1 fragment, 1 tune) Roud #3616 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Green Brier Shore (II)" (lyrics) NOTES: This is very like the chorus of "Green Brier Shore (II)," itself a composite, but it lacks that song's theme of parental disapproval. And in this one, the young man's a cad. - PJS File: ShAp2198 === NAME: Way Down the Old Plank Road DESCRIPTION: Floating verses, some mentioning jail, stitched together with the usual Uncle Dave Macon logic. Chorus: "Won't get drunk no mo' (x3), Way down the old plank road." AUTHOR: Uncle Dave Macon EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (recording, Uncle Dave Macon) KEYWORDS: prison drink humorous nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (4 citations) Asch/Dunson/Raim, p. 94, "Way Down The Old Plank Road" (1 text, 1 tune) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 202, "Way Down the Old Plank Road" (1 text, 1 tune) SharpAp 252, "Marina Girls" (1 short text, 1 tune) DT, OLPLNKRD Roud #18527 RECORDINGS: Uncle Dave Macon, "Way Down the Old Plank Road" (Vocalion 5097, 1926; on AAFM3, RoughWays1) CROSS_REFERENCES: 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)" (words) cf. "The Old Gray Goose (I) (Lookit Yonder)" (words) cf. "My Wife Died on Saturday Night" (floating verse) NOTES: I put SharpAp 252 ("Marina Girls") here only because because half of it is a floating verse that's also in this song ("Sixteen pounds of meat a week/Whisky for to sell/How can a pretty girl stay at home/The soldiers fare so well" -- note that Uncle Dave reversed the sexes!) Although it was collected in 1918, I'm not assigning it as "Earliest Date" because it's not really "Way Down the Old Plank Road," but I note the fact of the floater. - PJS Roud makes "Marina Girls" a separate song (his item #3661), but the only known text appears to be Sharp's short fragment from Laura V. Donald; until and unless more distinct text shows up, it's hard to know how to file the thing anyway. - RBW File: ADR94 === NAME: Way Down upon the Swanee River: see Old Folks at Home (File: RJ19163) === NAME: Way Down Yonder in Pasquotank: see May Irwin's Frog Song (The Foolish Frog, Way Down Yonder) (File: Br3189) === NAME: Way Down Yonder on Cedar Street: see Roll, Jordan, Roll (II) (File: R303) === NAME: Way Downtown: see Late Last Night When Willie Came Home (Way Downtown) (File: CSW166) === NAME: Way Out in Idaho (I) DESCRIPTION: A railroad man, enticed by "Kilpatrick's man, Catcher," goes to Idaho to work on the Oregon Short Line. Disillusioned by hard work and bad food, he winds up "happy, down in the harvest camps" and plans to marry a girl and bring her "back to Idaho." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (recording, Blaine Stubblefield) KEYWORDS: railroading work marriage train travel FOUND_IN: US(Ro) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Cohen-LSRail, pp. 560-566, "Way Out in Idaho" (1 text plus a text of "The Arkansaw Navvy"="The State of Arkansas (The Arkansas Traveler II)" [Laws H1], 1 tune) Botkin-RailFolklr, p. 440, "Way Out in Idaho" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, OUTIDAHO* Roud #16409 RECORDINGS: Blaine Stubblefield, "Way Out in Idaho" (AFS 1634 B1, 1938; on LC61) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Son of a Gambolier (I)" and references there (tune) cf. "The Buffalo Skinners" (lyrics, plot) cf. "The State of Arkansas (The Arkansas Traveler II)" [Laws H1] (lyrics) NOTES: The Digital Tradition notes that the tune for its version is a "slight variant on Son of a Gambolier." - RBW File: BRaF440 === NAME: Way Out in Idaho (II): see We're Coming, Arkansas (We're Coming, Idaho) (File: R343) === NAME: Way Out in Idyho: see We're Coming, Arkansas (We're Coming, Idaho) (File: R343) === NAME: Way Out There DESCRIPTION: Singer, a hobo, jumps off a freight train, makes camp, falls asleep, dreaming "the desert sand was a milk and honey land." He awakens to the sound of a returning train; he catches it on the fly. Refrain: "It gets lonesome way out there" or similar AUTHOR: Bob Nolan EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (recording, Sons of the Pioneers) KEYWORDS: homesickness loneliness rambling train travel dream hobo FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Bill Boyd & his Cowboy Ramblers "'Way Out There" (Bluebird [US, Canada] B-6670, 1936; Montgomery Ward M-7193, 1937) Callahan Brothers, "Away Out There" (Melotone 7-05-59, 1937) Hall Brothers, "'Way Out There" (Bluebird B-6843, 1937) Riley Puckett, "'Way Out There" (Bluebird B-8354, 1940) Sons of the Pioneers, "Way Out There" (Decca 5013, 1934) File: RcWOT === NAME: Way Out West in Kansas DESCRIPTION: Complaints about life "Way out west in Kansas": "The sun's so hot the eggs will hatch... It'll pop the corn in a popcorn patch." The people are prone to fighting and often physically peculiar; the lack of amusements makes for a boring life AUTHOR: Carson Robison EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (recording, Billy Murray & Ed. Smalle) KEYWORDS: home family FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fife-Cowboy/West 32, "In Kansas" (2 texts, 1 tune, the "B" text being this piece while the "A" text is "In Kansas") Roud #4455 RECORDINGS: Vernon Dalhart & Co. "Way Out West in Kansas" (Edison 51459, 1925) Art Gilliam (The Whispering Pianist), "Way Out West in Kansas" (Columbia 238-D, 1924) Billy Murray & Ed. Smalle "Way Out West in Kansas" (Victor 19442, 1924) Anna Underhill, "Away Out West in Kansas" (on FineTimes) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "In Kansas" (theme) NOTES: There's a Gene Autry recording, "'Way Out West in Texas" (Conqueror 8193, 1933; Conqueror 9513, 1940) which is probably the same song, but as I haven't heard it I'm putting it here as a note instead of adding it to the official recordings list. - PJS File: FCW032B === NAME: Way Over in the Blooming Garden DESCRIPTION: Playparty/courting game. "Sweet peas and roses, Strawberries on the vine Way over in the blooming garden Where sweet lilies grow." "Choose you a partner and choose him to your side." "Hug him neatly and kiss him so sweetly." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 KEYWORDS: courting playparty nonballad FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 293-294, "Way Over in the Blooming Garden" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #15583 File: LxA294 === NAME: Way Over in the Heavens DESCRIPTION: "I wish't I had-a heard when ye called me (x3) To sit on the seat by Jesus. Way over in the heavens...." "Sister, my soul's happy...." "I have a mother in the heavens...." "Won't you be glad when he calls you...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1943 KEYWORDS: religious nonballad Jesus FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lomax-FSNA 127, "Way Over in the Heavens" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #6681 File: LoF127 === NAME: Way Over in the New Buryin' Groun' DESCRIPTION: "The hammer keeps ringin' on somebody's coffin (x2), Way over in the new buryin' groun'." "Somebody's dying way over yonder (x2), Way over in the new buryin' groun'." "Hearse keeps a-rollin' -- somebody's dyin'...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Brown) KEYWORDS: death burial FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) BrownIII 614, "The New Buryin' Ground" (3 texts, with common verses though "A" never mentions the burying ground) Sandburg, p. 473, "Way Over in the New Buryin' Groun'" (1 short text, 1 tune) Roud #11052 SAME_TUNE: Woody Guthrie, "Union Burying Ground" (on Struggle2) File: San473 === NAME: Way Over in the Promised Land: see Where Is Old Elijah? (The Hebrew Children, The Promised Land) (File: San092) === NAME: Way Sing Sally: see Sally Brown (File: Doe074) === NAME: Way Stormalong John: see Stormalong (File: Doe082) === NAME: Way to Spell Chicken, De: see C-H-I-C-K-E-N (File: RcCHICKE) === NAME: Way to Wallington, The DESCRIPTION: "O canny man, o! Shew me the way to Wallington: I've got a mare to ride, and she's a trick o' galloping." Sandy tells of his determination to reach the town; he is told he is on the road. He sets off "like the wind" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay) KEYWORDS: horse travel FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Stokoe/Reay, pp. 148-149, "Shew Me the Way to Wallington" (1 text, 1 tune) ST StoR148 (Partial) Roud #3165 NOTES: This is said to be a pipe tune, with words defective. It looks as if it might be political -- but too little is left, at least in the texts I've seen, to make even an intelligent guess as to what. - RBW File: StoR148 === NAME: Way Up in Sofield: see The Sheffield Apprentice [Laws O39] (File: LO39) === NAME: Way Up on Clinch Mountain: see Rye Whiskey AND Sweet Lulur (File: R405) === NAME: Way, Me, Susiana!: see Susiana (File: Doe083) === NAME: Wayerton Driver, The DESCRIPTION: "I'm a heart-broken driver, From Wayerton I came, I courted a sweetheart, Mary Dolan by name." Paul buys her a ring but she turns him down. He gets drunk and visits her again. She prefers Melvin Grant. Pretty fair maids, warns Paul, are "slyer than mice" AUTHOR: probably Paul Kingston EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 (Manny/Wilson) KEYWORDS: courting ring rejection drink FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Manny/Wilson 45, "The Wayerton Driver" (1 text, 1 tune) ST MaWi045 (Partial) Roud #9183 NOTES: Wayerton is far up the Northwest Miramichi River in New Brunswick. - BS The note on the tune says that this derives from "The Girl I Left Behind Me," and there is in fact a strong resemblance in the shape of the melody. But the first verse, at least, is clearly based on "Jack Haggerty (The Flat River Girl)" [Laws C25]. - RBW File: MaWi045 === NAME: Wayfaring Pilgrim: see Wayfaring Stranger (File: FSC077) === NAME: Wayfaring Stranger DESCRIPTION: The singer confesses, "I'm just a poor, wayfaring stranger / A-travelling through this world of woe." The singer plans to cross the Jordan (into heaven), there to meet with family and loved ones and live forever free from trouble and burden AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1816 (Kentucky Harmony, as "Judgement") KEYWORDS: religious death FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,SE) REFERENCES: (10 citations) FSCatskills 77, "Poor and Foreign Stranger" (1 text, 1 tune) Warner 93, "A Poor Wayfaring Pilgrim" (1 text, 1 tune) Fuson, p. 208, "I'm Just A-Going Over Jordon" (1 text, clearly this though it lacks the "Wayfaring Stranger" lines) Lomax-FSUSA 97, "Wayfaring Stranger" (1 text, 1 tune) Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 880-881, "Wayfaring Stranger" (1 text, 1 tune, plus verses from several parodies) Arnett, p. 32, "Wayfaring Stranger" (1 text, 1 tune) Chase, pp. 162-165, "Wayfaring Stranger" (1 text, 3 tunes) Abrahams/Foss, pp. 124-125, "Wayfaring Stranger" (1 text, 1 tune) PSeeger-AFB, p. 15, "Wayfaring Stranger" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 352, "Wayfaring Stranger" (1 text) ST FSC077 (Partial) Roud #3339 RECORDINGS: Clarence Ashley, "Wayfaring Pilgrim" (on WatsonAshley01) Horton Barker, "Wayfaring Stranger" (on Barker01) Linzy Hicks, "A Poor Wayfaring Pilgrim" (on USWarnerColl01) Roscoe Holcomb, "Wayfaring Stranger" (on MMOK, MMOKCD) Almeda Riddle, "Poor Wayfaring Stranger" (on LomaxCD1701, LomaxCD1704) Pete Seeger, "The Wayfaring Stranger" (on PeteSeeger07, PeteSeeger07b) Vaughn's Texas Quartet, "The Wayfaring Pilgrim" (Victor V-40231, 1930) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Dear Companion (The Broken Heart; Go and Leave Me If You Wish To, Fond Affection)" (tune) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Judgement Wayfaring Pilgrim File: FSC077 === NAME: Wayward Boy, The DESCRIPTION: The Wayward Boy has sex with a girl, who gives him "pimples thick" upon his penis in exchange for the "two little mutts up her guts." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: bawdy rake rambling seduction sex pregnancy disease FOUND_IN: US(SW,So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Cray, pp. 86-89, "The Wayward Boy" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph-Legman I, p. 146, "Two Ruby Red Lips" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #10408 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Fire Ship" (plot) and references there cf. "The Girl I Left Behind Me (lyric)" (tune & meter) and references there NOTES: Legman styles the one-stanza fragment in Randolph-Legman I by an alternate title. - EC Not to be confused with the Charlie Poole song of the same title (Rorrer, p. 87), which does not appear to be a traditional song. - RBW File: EM086 === NAME: We Are Anchored By the Roadside, Jim DESCRIPTION: Singer (a "sacker" in the lumber camps) tells Jim that times were formerly good for drinkers, but that good booze is now hard to find. He says that despite this, cold water (i.e., temperance) is not for either or them, so they will "drink the old jug dry" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (recording, Pat Ford) KEYWORDS: drink worker logger FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, ROADJIM Roud #5750 RECORDINGS: Pat Ford, "We're anchored by the roadside, Jim" (AFS 4210 B2, 1939; in AMMEM/Cowell) File: RcWAABTR === NAME: We Are Coming , Father Abraam, 300,000 More: see We Are Coming, Father Abraham (File: SCW44) === NAME: We Are Coming, Father Abr'am: see We Are Coming, Father Abraham (File: SCW44) === NAME: We Are Coming, Father Abraham DESCRIPTION: "We are coming, Father Abraham, three hundred thousand more... We leave our plows and workshops Our wives and children dear...." The song describes how those left behind are doing the young men's work so they may put down the rebels AUTHOR: Words: James Sloan Gibbons EARLIEST_DATE: 1862 (New York Evening Post) KEYWORDS: Civilwar soldier FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (3 citations) Silber-CivWar, pp. 44-45, "We Are Coming, Father Abr'am" (1 text, 1 tune) Saunders/Root-Foster 2, pp. 217-220+436, "We Are Coming , Father Abraam, 300,000 More" (1 text, 1 tune) Hill-CivWar, pp. 213-214, "We Are Coming, Father Abraham" (1 text) ST SCW44 (Full) BROADSIDES: LOCSheet, rpbaasm 1180 ["words from the New York Evening Post ; music composed and arranged by S.J. Adams"], "We Are Coming Father Abraham 3000,000 More," Henry Tolman & Co. (Boston), c.1862; also rpbaasm 1184 ["set to music by P.S. Gilmore"], "We Are Coming Father Abraam Three Hundred Thousand More"; rpbaasm 1185 ["words by William Cullen Bryant music by G. R. Poulton"], "300,000 more!" (tune) LOCSinging, sb40573b, "We Are Coming, Father Abraham," H. De Marsan (New York), 1861-1864; also cw10594a, "Three Hundred Thousand More" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Hold On, Abraham" NOTES: This was originally published as a poem, "Three Hundred Thousand More," in the July 16, 1862 edition of the _New York Evening Post_. It was so popular that at least eight musical arrangements were published, including those by L.O. Emerson (this last may have been the most popular; at least, it's the one Silber quotes), Stephen C. Foster (the Foster sheet music doesn't even mention the name of Gibbons!), and P. S. Gilmore. (For the full list, see the notes to Saunders & Root). I don't know if this can be considered a traditional song, under the circumstances, but it certainly shows up in a lot of anthologies! - RBW The attribution to William Cullen Bryan is also on LOCSheet Music #577 [cover only] "We Are Coming Father Abra'am 300.000 More," Oliver Ditson & Co. (Boston), 1862: "Poem by Wm Cullen Bryant Music by L.O. Emerson." Broadside LOCSheet rpbaasm 1180 commentary: "From poem first published in the New York Evening Post, July 16, 1862: We are coming, Father Abraham / James Sloan Gibbons. Cf. BAL, v. 1, p. 346. The words sometimes erroneously attributed to Wm. Cullen Bryant, or J. [!] Cullen Bryant." Broadside LOCSinging sb40573b: 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: SCW44 === NAME: We Are Four Bums: see The Great American Bum (Three Jolly Bums) (File: FaE192) === NAME: We Are Jolly Fellows that Follow the Plough: see All Jolly Fellows That Handles the Plough (File: K241) === NAME: We Are Marching On DESCRIPTION: "We are marching on (x2), To the land of light, To the land of love, We are marching on." "Where the angels wait At the golden gate, To conduct us there To a mansion fair...." "We are marching on, Happy pilgrim band... To the heavenly land." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 647, "We Are Marching On" (1 text) Roud #11940 File: Br3647 === NAME: We Are the Peckham Boys DESCRIPTION: The Peckham boys "know our manners," spend our money, are well respected, "winners of the boys." "When you hear a copper shout, 'Put that dirty Woodbine [cigarette brand] out.'" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1993 (recording, Ray Driscoll) KEYWORDS: nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond)) REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Ray Driscoll, "We Are the Peckham Boys" (on Voice14) File: RcWATPB === NAME: We Be Three Poor Mariners DESCRIPTION: "We be three poor mariners, newly come from the seas, We spend our lives in jeopardy, while others live at east. Shall we do dance the Round, around, around (x2)...." The singer praises merchantmen "that do our states maintain." AUTHOR: Thomas Ravenscroft? EARLIEST_DATE: 1609 (Deuteromelia) KEYWORDS: ship sailor commerce nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain REFERENCES: (3 citations) Chappell/Wooldridge I, pp. 134-135, "We Be Three Poor Mariners" (1 partial text, 1 tune) Shay-SeaSongs, pp. 120-121, "We Be Three Poor Mariners" (1 text, 1 tune) ADDITIONAL: Noah Greenberg, ed., An Anthology of English Medieval and Renaissance Vocal Music, pp. 202-204 (1 text, 1 tune with harmonization) NOTES: The text of this is pretty definitely not traditional (it looks like Ravenscroft hacked it up as a merchant sailor's equivalent of "We Be Soldiers Three"), but the tune, which Chappell describes as a dance tune "Brangill/Branle of Poictu," may be. - RBW File: ShaSS120 === NAME: We Dear Labouring Men: see We Poor Labouring Men (File: McCST103) === NAME: We Fought Like the Divil: see Larry O'Gaff (File: E148) === NAME: We Go to College DESCRIPTION: The ladies of this quatrain ballad -- who go to college to major in bed -- recount their various sexual adventures with students, faculty, administration, and staff. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Anecdota Americana) KEYWORDS: bawdy humorous sex nonballad FOUND_IN: Australia Britain(England) US(MA,MW,So,SW) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Cray, pp. 295-301, "We Go to College" (3 texts, 1 tune) Randolph-Legman I, pp. 229-230, "We Go to College" (1 text, 1 tune Roud #10286 ALTERNATE_TITLES: We Are the Pi Phi's We Are from Campus Hall We Are Whoredean We Are from Rodeen (sic) File: EM295 === NAME: We Had to Walk from the Train to the Camp DESCRIPTION: "We had to walk from the train to the camp. My shoes got dusty. The white dust came up and settled on my shoes. I looked down at them and began to cry. Never before had my shoes been dusty. It was the first time I cried." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (Burt) KEYWORDS: clothes exile war HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Jan 14, 1942 - President Roosevelt issues his Alien Registration proclamation, calling for the registration of foreigners. From there, it was only a short step to the detention of aliens. Roosevelt authorized sending Japanese immigrants to concentration camps on February 20 FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Burt, p. 155, (no title) (1 short text) NOTES: Burt reports this to be a verse by a nisei boy upon being sent to one of the American detention camps for the Japanese. It's not very good, and it surely was not perpetuated -- but, in context, it surely qualifies as a Folk piece! - RBW File: Burt155 === NAME: We Have Fathers Gone to Heaven DESCRIPTION: "We have fathers gone to heaven, O do tell me if you know, Will those fathers know their children, When to heaven they do go?" Similarly with mothers, brothers, sisters, children ("Will those children know their parents") AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1967 KEYWORDS: religious nonballad family FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Combs/Wilgus 318, pp. 191-192, "We Have Fathers Gone to Heaven" (1 text) Roud #4213 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Departed Loved Ones" (floating lyrics) cf. "Bright Morning Stars" (theme, floating lyrics) NOTES: This may be an expanded repetition of a single verse in "Departed Loved Ones," or that piece may be an elaboration of this. Dependence seems nearly certain -- but since this is just a set of repeated stanzas, and that one has distinct verses, they must be listed separately. - RBW File: CW191A === NAME: We Have Loved Ones Over Yonder: see probably The Other Bright Shore (File: R611) === NAME: We Have Met and We Have Parted: see The Broken Engagement (II -- We Have Met and We Have Parted) (File: Beld212) === NAME: We Have the Navy DESCRIPTION: A parody of the Federal "On to Richmond"; both begin "Well, we have the navy an' we have the men...." The song catalogs the various Southern generals and troops who fought McClellan in the Peninsula AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1866 (manuscript known to Randolph) KEYWORDS: Civilwar battle patriotic parody HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Mar 17, 1862 - General George McClellan moves the first troops of the Army of the Potomac to Fort Monroe, inaugurating the "Peninsular Campaign" (the attempt to capture Richmond by proceeding up the "Peninsula" between the York and James Rivers) May 31-June 1, 1862 - Battle of Fair Oaks/Seven Pines. Confederates under Joseph E. Johnston attack McClellan's army. The battle is roughly a draw (McClellan continued his advance), but Johnston is wounded and Robert E. Lee appointed in his place June 25-July 1, 1862 - Seven Days' Battle - In a series of battles, Lee induced McClellan to abandon the attack on Richmond FOUND_IN: US(SE,So) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Randolph 212, "We Have the Navy" (1 text, 1 tune) BrownIII 382, "Never MindYour Knapsack" (1 short text) Scott-BoA, pp. 231-232, "On to Richmond!" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7702 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "On to Richmond! (I)" NOTES: Although details about the battle are lacking in this song, the generals mentioned clearly indicate that it refers to the Peninsular Campaign (and the fact that it quotes "On to Richmond" demonstrates that it is a parody). The generals listed include: Lee - Robert E. Lee, the Confederate commander. Although his tactical performance was imperfect (the Confederates took nearly 25% casualties in the Seven Days' Battle; the Federals less than 15%), his strategy was brilliant Jackson - Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, who had just fought a brilliant campaign in the Shenandoah Valley but performed poorly when recalled to Richmond Longstreet - James Longstreet, Lee's second in command and leader of one of his largest divisions. His performance was not inspired, but he went on to serve as one of Lee's best corps commanders McGruder - John Bankhead Magruder, commander of the Department of the Peninsula His division had done a fine job of slowing McClellan's advance up the Peninsula (mostly through playacting), but his performance in combat was poor; he was soon sent off to Texas. "Butler was the Cry" - Refers to the brutal Union general Benjamin F. Butler, who commanded occupied New Orleans and came to be called "Beast Butler" McClellan - George B. McClellan, the Federal commander, who did a fine job of training and inspiring his troops but was too cautious to lead them effectively. - RBW File: R212 === NAME: We Hunted and Hollered: see Three Jolly Huntsmen (File: R077) === NAME: We Hunted and We Halloed: see Three Jolly Huntsmen (File: R077) === NAME: We Left the Port of Sydney DESCRIPTION: The crew leaves Sydney for Argentia with a load of coal and extra men on board. A storm comes up and sinks the ship and the passengers below deck are trapped and drowned. They had gone to Lunenburg to save money since the fishery was bad. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1977 (Lehr/Best) KEYWORDS: drowning sea ship storm wreck FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lehr/Best 119, "We Left the Port of Sydney" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: No names are mentioned here. Lunenburg, like Sydney, is in Nova Scotia. Argentia is on the west side of the Avalon Peninsula (about 60 air miles from St John's) - BS File: LeBe119 === NAME: We Live on the Banks of the Ohio DESCRIPTION: "We live on the banks of the O-hi-o, O-hi-o, O-hi-o, Where the mighty waters rapidly flow And the steamboat sweeps along." "Ole Massa to his darkies is good... He gives us our clothers...." Slaves, being so well-treated (!), are encouraged not to "droop" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1910 (Brown) KEYWORDS: slave work river FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 224, "We Live on the Banks of the Ohio" (1 text) NOTES: While the editors of Brown are probably right in considering this a "plantation melody" -- i.e. minstrel propaganda to keep the slaves in line -- it's worth noting that slaves in the border region *were* generally better treated. This wasn't because slave owners there were more enlightened. The explanation is simple: With freedom within easy reach, slaves were more likely to bolt if harshly treated. Few slaves ever escaped from the deep south -- but by the time of the Civil War, it was nearly dead in more northerly states *simply because slaves couldn't be kept*. - RBW File: Br3224 === NAME: We May and Might Never All Meet Here Again: see A Health to the Company (Come All My Old Comrades) (File: CrSe222) === NAME: We Met, 'Twas in a Crowd DESCRIPTION: "We met, 'twas in a crowd, and I thought he would shun me." The singer meets an old lover; they say little, but both are clearly moved. She, the rich girl, could not marry him because of her mother's opposition; both are now wed to others AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: love separation reunion mother husband wife FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H638, p. 431, "We Met, 'Twas In a Crowd" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7959 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Lady Mary (The Sad Song)" NOTES: This reminds me very much of "Lady Mary (The Sad Song)," though the form and the details are very different. There is also something of the feeling of Dickens here; see the ending of _Great Expectations_. This is reported by Sam Henry to be quite popular, and is mentioned in John Masefield's "The Bird of Dawning." I will admit to some surprise; the song is distinctly flowery. - RBW File: HHH638 === NAME: We Part My Love to Meet Nae Mair DESCRIPTION: "We part, my love, to meet nae mair, 'Tis cruel fate's decree; And a' the waes o' bleak despair This widowed heart maun dree." The singer recalls his lost love. He hopes to be reunited with her in death AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord); Ord claims a date of 1817 KEYWORDS: death separation FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, p. 364, "We Part, My Love, To Meet Nae Mair" (1 text) Roud #4595 File: Ord364 === NAME: We Poor Labouring Men DESCRIPTION: "O, some do say the farmer's best, but I do need say no, If it weren't for we poor labouring men what would the farmers do?...There's never a trade in old England like we poor labouring men." The singer toasts laborers; good times will come again AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1962 or 1966 (collected from Caroline Hughes) LONG_DESCRIPTION: "O, some do say the farmer(baker, butcher)'s best, but I do need say no, If it weren't for we poor labouring men what would the farmers do? They would beat up all their old odd stuff until some new come in. There's never a trade in old England like we poor labouring men." After several of these verses, the singer offers a toast to labourers, saying that when the hard times pass, good times will come again KEYWORDS: pride farming work hardtimes nonballad worker FOUND_IN: Britain(England) REFERENCES: (2 citations) MacSeegTrav 103, "We Dear Labouring Men" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, WELABOUR Roud #1394 RECORDINGS: Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, "We Poor Labouring Men" (on ENMacCollSeeger02) NOTES: MacColl/Seeger [write,] "During the years between 1790 and 1816, the English peasant was turned into a wage-labourer. The transformation was not a peaceful one; the intensification of the enclosure system, repressive poor-law legislation, extension of more rigorous application of the game-laws coupled with an unprecendented rise in the cost of living, all combined to produce a new and intense class-consciousness among the labouring poor." - PJS In fact the process took a good deal longer than this, and it was the pressure of unemployed workers which forced the British government to open the vent by sending convicts to Australia. The Industrial Revolution began to produce unemployment in the early eighteenth century, and the unrest was not entirely eased until the dawn of the twentieth. - RBW File: McCST103 === NAME: We Shall Not Be Moved DESCRIPTION: "The Union is behind us, We shall not be moved... Just like a tree That's standing by the water, We shall not be moved." Similarly "We're fighting for our freedom, We shall not be moved"; "We're fighting for our children"; "We'll build a mighty Union." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1955 (recording, Pete Seeger) KEYWORDS: labor-movement nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (3 citations) Scott-BoA, pp. 344-345, "We Shall Not Be Moved" (1 text, 1 tune) PSeeger-AFB, p. 38, "We Shall Not Be Moved" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 135, "We Shall Not Be Moved" (1 text) RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "We Shall Not Be Moved" (on PeteSeeger01) (on PeteSeeger47) Union Boys, "We Shall Not Be Moved" (on "Songs for Victory", Asch 346, 1944) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "I Shall Not Be Moved" SAME_TUNE: We Shall Not Be Moved -- union parodies (Greenway-AFP, p. 17) NOTES: [Although not printed at that time, the union version of this song goes back at least to] 1941, [since] Woody Guthrie, in _Bound for Glory_, refers to singing it with Cisco Houston on Dec. 7, 1941, to break up a possible lynching of Japanese-Americans after the attack that day on Pearl Harbor. The song was adapted from a traditional hymn, "I Shall Not Be Moved," by labor organizers working with southern tenant farmers in the 1930s. It was also adapted into an anthem of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. - PJS Given the extreme variations in traditional versions of the hymn (one of Brown's informants actually sang the chorus as "I Shall Not Be Blue!"), we originally listed the source and its adaptions here. The civil rights version, in particular, is close to the hymn. Best to check both. - RBW File: SBoA344 === NAME: We Shall Overcome DESCRIPTION: "We shall overcome (x3), Some day, Oh deep in my heart, (I know that) I do believe, We shall overcome some day." Verses about the troubles of life, and how (with help from God/brothers/etc.) they can be overcome/survived. Many modern verses known AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1908 (sung in miner's union meeting in Alabama, as reported in the United Mine Workers' journal) KEYWORDS: religious discrimination nonballad FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Scott-BoA, pp. 352-353, "We Shall Overcome" (1 text, 1 tune) Arnett, p. 216, "We Shall Overcome" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 296, "We Shall Overcome" (1 text) Fuld-WFM, pp. 623-627+, "We Shall Overcome" DT, OVERCOM* RECORDINGS: Mississippi Bracy [pseud. for Ishmon Bracey?] "I'll Overcome Some Day" (Okeh 8904, 1931; rec. 1930) Pete Seeger, "We Shall Overcome" (on PeteSeeger05) (on PeteSeeger38) (on PeteSeeger48) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "I'll Be All Right" (tune, structure, lyrics) NOTES: The "common version" of this song was created by Zilphia Horton, Frank Hamilton, Guy Carawan, and Pete Seeger. In this form it became an anthem of the civil rights movement. Traces of the old spiritual survive, however, and it is of course very easy to make up new verses to fit a particular situation. Fuld gives a detailed analysis of the musical and textual sources of the piece. Reading them, though, one cannot help but think that he has completely missed the actual sources of the black spiritual. - RBW Isn't one of the sources "I'll Be All Right," a traditional spiritual? - PJS It at least has associated texts, but is not mentioned as a source by Fuld, and is mentioned only tangentially in a footnote. Hence my comment. - RBW The recent discovery that "We Will Overcome," the earlier form of the song (Pete Seeger changed "will" to "shall" because it was better for singing) was being sung as early as 1908, and in the context of a labor struggle no less, casts some ambiguity on the question of which song was the ancestor and which the descendant. See the entry for "I'll Be All Right." - PJS File: SBoA352 === NAME: We Shall Rise, Hallelujah DESCRIPTION: "We shall sing until we die! We will preach and testify! In that Holy Ghost religion we shall rise, Oh hallelujah! Oh we'll sing until we die, We will preach... Till my Savior's precious face again I see... On the resurrection morning we shall meet him" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1940 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 634, "We Shall Rise, Hallelujah" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #4309 RECORDINGS: Byron Parker & his Mountaineers, "We Shall Rise" (Bluebird B-8551, 1940) File: R634 === NAME: We Shall Walk Through the Valley DESCRIPTION: "We shall walk through the valley of the shadow of death, We shall walk though the valley in peace, And if Jesus himself shall be our leader, We shall walk through the valley in peace." "We will meet our Father over there...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Silber-FSWB, p. 359, "We Shall Walk Through The Valley" (1 text) Roud #11691 File: FSWB359A === NAME: We Shepherds Are the Best of Men DESCRIPTION: "We shepherds are the best of men that e'er trod English ground." We spend freely at the ale-house. We pen our sheep safely in spite of hale, rain and snow; then "unto a jovial company good liquor for to taste" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1793 (according to Broadwood) KEYWORDS: drink storm England nonballad sheep shepherd FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South,West)) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #284 RECORDINGS: Fred Jordan, "We Shepherds Are the Best of Men" (on Voice20) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Ye Gentlemen of England (I)" [Laws K2] (stucture and theme:virtue and courage of an occupational group) NOTES: Yates, Musical Traditions site _Voice of the People suite_ "Notes - Volume 20" - 15.1.04: "Fred learnt this from the song-collector Fred Hamer, who had it from Lucy Broadwood's _English County Songs_ [1893]." Broadwood said it was taken in 1793 in Gloucestershire (source: "The Shepherds' Song" in _Song Database_ at the Folkinfo site). File: RcWSATBM === NAME: We Three Kings (Kings of Orient) DESCRIPTION: "We three kings of orient are, Bearing gifts we travel afar." The three "kings" come from different lands to visit the Christ Child; they offer their gifts and explain that they have been guided by a star AUTHOR: John Henry Hopkins, Jr. EARLIEST_DATE: 1865 (sheet music); probably composed 1857, and there is a published edition with a dedication claiming a date of 1863 KEYWORDS: Jesus Bible Christmas carol religious FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (4 citations) OBC 195, "Kings of Orient" (1 text, 1 tune) Fuld-WFM, pp. 627-628, "We Three Kings" DT, WE3KING* ADDITIONAL: Ian Bradley, _The Penguin Book of Carols_ (1999), #94, "We Three Kings of Orient Are" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Golden Carol (The Three Kings)" (subject) SAME_TUNE: We Three Kings (The Rubber Cigar) (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 115; DT, WE3KING2) NOTES: The basis for this song is Matthew 2:1-12. The story has been expanded and modified heavily, however. We note the following: 1. There is no reason to believe that there were three visitors. All we know is that they gave three gifts. Their names are completely unknown. They may not even have been from the east (the orient); it was the *star* which was in the east. 2. The visitors were not kings and were not wise men. They were "magi" -- Babylonian mystics and perhaps astrologers. Jews would generally consider magi to be evil sorcerers (the Greek word "magos," apart from the uses in Matt. 2:1, 7, 16, is used only in Acts 13:6, 8 of Simon Magus, a magician who claimed to be "the great power of God"). - RBW File: OBC195 === NAME: We Three Kings of Orient Are: see We Three Kings (Kings of Orient) (File: OBC195) === NAME: We Will Always Have Our Sealers DESCRIPTION: "We will always have our sealers While there's a ship to sail, While sturdy crews have fish and brewis, While there is rain and hail." The poet admits that there are many changes, but affirms that there will always be a need for the seal hunt AUTHOR: Otto Kelland EARLIEST_DATE: 1945 (Kelland, Anchor Watch: Newfoundland Stories in Verse) KEYWORDS: hunting technology FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ryan/Small, p. 155, "We Will Always Have Our Sealers" (1 text) NOTES: This reportedly was written as Kelland watched the sealing fleet set out in 1945. An old sealer commented that the few ships sailing would be the last (apparently meaning that they would not be replaced when they broke down). Kelland wrote this piece as a counter-argument. Obviously the truth was somewhere in between. Seal-hunting continued, and continues, but between the over-harvesting that has destroyed the herds, and the general changes in the economy, and environmental protests, it seems likely that the seals of Canada will soon be safe -- such of them as remain. - RBW File: RySm155 === NAME: We Will Go To The Wood, Says Robin To Bobbin: see Hunt the Wren (File: K078) === NAME: We Will Not Go to White Bay with Casey Any More DESCRIPTION: "Tom Casey being commander Of the Saint Patrick by name," 28 men sign up to go sealing. They quickly become "jammed in White Bay Until the last of May." After many hard times, the sealers manage to return home AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Murphy, Songs Sung by Old Time Sealers of Many Years Ago) KEYWORDS: hunting wreck disaster hardtimes ship FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ryan/Small, p. 16, "We Will Not Go To White Bay With Casey Any More" (1 text) ST RySm016 (Partial) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Davy Lowston" (plot) NOTES: Although this sounds as if it should refer to an actual event, no one seems to know the time or date. It's not clear that it's traditional, either, though Ryan and Small don't list an author, and claim there is a different version known. - RBW File: RySm016 === NAME: We Will Walk Through the Streets of the City DESCRIPTION: A "Come Though Fount of Every Blessing" text, with distinctive chorus: "We will walk through the city, Where our friends have gone before, We will sit on the banks of the river Where we meet to part no more." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 562, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" (1 short text) Roud #11885 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" (text) File: Br3562 === NAME: We Wish You a Merry Christmas DESCRIPTION: "We wish you a merry Christmas (x3) And a happy New Year." "We want some figgy pudding (x3) And a cup of good cheer." "We won't go until we get some (x3), So bring it out here!" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: Christmas food nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 376, "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" (1 text) DT, MERYXMAS Roud #230 File: FSWB376C === NAME: We Won't Go Home Until Morning DESCRIPTION: "We're all met here together (x3) To eat and drink good cheer." "(For) we won't go home until morning (x3) Till daylight does appear." "We'll sing, we'll dance and be merry (x3) And kiss the lasses dear." "The girls they love us dearly (x3)..." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1842 (arrangement published by William Clifton) (tune dates to 1783 or earlier) KEYWORDS: drink friend nonballad FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,So) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Randolph 528, "We'll All Go Down to Rowser's" (3 texts plus an excerpt, 1 tune) Cambiaire, pp. 141-143, "The Game of 'Howsers'" (1 text with game instructions, seemingly most closely related to Randolph's version but probably a combination of several game songs) RJackson-19CPop, pp. 226-228, "We Won't Go Home Until Morning" (1 text, 1 tune) LPound-ABS, 119, pp. 237-238, "We'll All Go Down to Rowser's" (1 text, with "Rowser's" and "Pig in the Parlor" verses) Fuld-WFM, pp. 231-233, "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow -- (Malbrouk -- We Won't Go Home till Morning! -- The Bear Went over the Mountain)" ST RJ19226 (Full) Roud #4251 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Malbrouck" (tune) cf. "The Bear Went over the Mountain" (tune) cf. "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" (tune) cf. "Christ Was Born in Bethlehem" (tune)" cf. "Old Tippecanoe" (tune) cf. "Pig in the Parlor" (floating lyrics, form) cf. "Chickens They Are Crowing" (floating lyrics in a few texts) cf. "I'll Never Get Drunk Any More (III)" (tune) SAME_TUNE: The Bear Went Over the Mountain (File: DTbearmt) Malbrouck (File: K108) For He's a Jolly Good Fellow (File: FSWB250) Christ Was Born in Bethlehem (File: MA189) Old Tippecanoe (File: Wa073) The Reformed Drinker (Logan, pp. 231-232) I'll Never Get Drunk Any More (III) (File: CrPS096) NOTES: The earliest dated example of this tune ("Malbrouk") comes from 1783, though there are hints that it was in circulation in France for some decades before this (it is reliably reported to have been sung to one of Marie Antoinette's children in 1781, and see the tune cited for BBI, ZN1337, "I sing not the battle (so famed) of Lepanto"). Its origin is unknown, though fanciful stories (e.g. of Spanish or even Arabic origin) are common. (Spaeth compares it with a Chanson of 1563, "Le Convoi de Duc de Guise.") After 1783 the tune became popular in France, and was used by Beethoven in 1813, but no evidence of English versions is found until the 1840s. The American sheet music of "We Won't Go Home..." dates to 1842; the English is undated but probably dates between 1841 and 1846. By 1854, the song was popular enough that crowds were using it to heckle Senator Douglas when he spoke in favor of the Kansas/Nebraska Act in Chicago. (Douglas said he would silence the mob if it took all night, and the crowd answered with this song.) "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" appears to have been first printed in 1870; "The Bear Went over the Mountain" is not attested until 1920, but is probably older. All four of Randolph's versions mention "Rowser" or "Rowser's" in the first verse, but the only tune given is this one, three of the four are about drink (the fourth, Randolph's "D" text, could possibly be a separate piece), and the "A" text has the "We won't go home until morning" stanza. Pound describes her text (also a "Rowser's" version) as a "game song," but offers no further details. Linscott, in her notes to "A Bear Went Over the Mountain," claims the tune "is said to have been sung by Crusaders under Godefrey de Bouillon in the latter part of the eleventh century." Uh-huh. - RBW File: RJ19226 === NAME: We Won't Let Our Leader Run Down DESCRIPTION: The Irish Parliamentary Party and Gladstone want to condemn Parnell. "Give Parnell the thing he requires, Home Rule and Prosperity ... then he will retire." "He has fought for prosperity unto the last, That is what the people say in Ireland" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1891 (Zimmermann) KEYWORDS: Ireland nonballad political FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Zimmermann 89, "We Won't Let Our Leader Run Down" (1 text) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 26(671), "We Won't Hear our Leader Run Down," unknown, n.d. CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Bold Tenant Farmer" (subject of Charles Stewart Parnell) and references there NOTES: "In December 1889, Parnell became involved in a divorce that was to end his political influence and the trauma of this divorce probably hastened his early death.... Parnell managed to split the party that represented many of the people of Ireland at Westminster - the Irish Parliamentary Party. Some sided with Parnell while others did not." He married the divorced woman in June 1891 and died in October. (source: "Charles Stuart Parnell" at History Learning Site) - BS [We should note that almost all sources spell Parnell's name "Charles Stewart Parnell."] In fact the situation was even more complicated than the above can describe. Parnell (1845-1891), who had helped found the Land League and won major rights for Irish tenants (see "The Bold Tenant Farmer"), had for long led the Irish parliamentary faction -- which he had finally welded into a cohesive enough block that it generally held the controlling hand in the House of Commons. Since he was in alliance with Gladstone, who wanted Home Rule for Ireland, a Home Rule bill were introduced in 1886. But the political opposition in the Lords, and the overwhelming revulsion caused by the Phoenix Park murders (for which see, e.g., "The Phoenix Park Tragedy"), caused it to go down. And then there was Parnell's Great Indiscretion. In 1880, before his power had even reached its peak, he had begun an affair with Katherine O'Shea, the wife of Captain William O'Shea, a Home Rule M.P. (See Peter and Fiona Somerset Fry, _A History of Ireland_, p. 259). Their first child was born in 1882; although she died, they had two more children in 1883 and 1884. Some men might have gotten away with this (Bill Clinton, anyone?). It was harder for Parnell. According to Ulick O'Connor, _Michael Collins & The Troubles_, p.16, Parnell "was a landlord and an aristocrat who challenged the aristocracy and defied the landowners. He was not witty or eloquent as traditional Irish leaders had been. He was cold and often disdainful." In other words, his power was based on his opinions, not his personality. He didn't charm anyone -- except "Kitty" O'Shea. Exactly how Parnell and Captain O'Shea felt about each other is not entirely clear (see Robert Kee, _The Bold Fenian Men_, being Volume II of _The Green Flag_, pp. 85-86, 112-113; also Fry/Fry, p. 259). But by 1886 O'Shea resigned from Parliament, and in 1889, he divorced his wife. Parnell married her in 1891 (Fry/Fry, p. 260). If Parnell had resigned, his platform might have survived. But he didn't, and it didn't; he was voted out of office in 1890 (Martin Wallace, _A Short History of Ireland_, p. 140). It will tell you what the politics of the time were like that a preacher in the run-up to the election of 1892 said, "Parnellism is simply love of adultery and all those who profess Parnellism profess to love and admire adultery" (Kee, p. 117). Parnell tried to rebuild his support by a series of lectures and speeches, but collapsed and died not long after (Kee, p. 115, who writes, "He died at Brighton with his wife by his side on 10 October, and his body was brought into Kingston harbour on... 11 October, and buried in Glasnevin cemetary. The chances of Home Rule for the next twenty years were buried with him." Despite his final failure, Parnell became part of Ireland's folklore. O'Connor, p. 18, writes, "[His] coffin was drawn in sielnce through Dublen past stricken crowds who stood in the streets in numbers that have never been equalled since.... To an extent it is true that the Irish never got over Parnell's death....Ó - RBW File: Zimm089 === NAME: We Work for Hay and Company DESCRIPTION: "We work for Hay and Company, we do the best we can, I'll tell you what our jobs are, each and every man." The singer proceeds to do so, ending with himself: "I start at five in the morning, and it's six before I'm through...." AUTHOR: Ron Sisson ? EARLIEST_DATE: 1964 (Fowke) KEYWORDS: logger work lumbering FOUND_IN: Canada(Ont) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fowke-Lumbering #26, "We Work for Hay and Company" (1 text, tune referenced) Roud #4466 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Old Holly, Crab, and I" (subject) cf. "The Wabash Cannonball" (tune) and references there File: FowL26 === NAME: We'd Better Bide a Wee DESCRIPTION: "The poor aul' folks at hame, ye min', are frail an' ailin' sair, An weel I ken they'd miss me, lad, if I came hame nae mair... I canna lea' the aul' folk, lad, we'd better bide a wee." The girl gives reasons why she must stay with her parents for now AUTHOR: Credited to Claribel in Heart Songs EARLIEST_DATE: 1909 (Heart Songs) KEYWORDS: family mother father loneliness age FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H598, pp. 61-62, "Better Bide a Wee" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #13365 BROADSIDES: NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(26b), "I Canna Leave the Auld Folk," Poet's Box (Dundee), c. 1890 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Castleroe Mill" (theme) cf. "Betsy of Dramoor" (theme) NOTES: According to the notes at the NLScotland site, this was quoted by Louisa May Alcott's 1886 novel _Jo's Boys_. - RBW File: HHH598 === NAME: We'll All Go A-Hunting Today DESCRIPTION: "What a fine hunting day and as balmy as may And the hounds of the village will come... We'll all go a-hunting today." A lame farmer, a judge, a doctor, a parson conducting a marriage -- all leave their work to go hunting AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (collected by Kennedy) KEYWORDS: hunting work clergy marriage FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Kennedy 263, "We'll All Go A-Hunting Today" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #1172 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Hunting Priest (Parson Hogg; Sing Tally Ho!)" (theme) NOTES: The thene of gentlemen who prefer hunting to church is an ancient complaint in Britain; "The Mourning of the Hare" is the tale of a creature which is pursued by huntsmen who do not wait for mass; it is thought to date to the fifteenth century. - RBW File: K263 === NAME: We'll All Go Down to Rowser's: see We Won't Go Home Until Morning (File: RJ19226) === NAME: We'll All Go to Boston: see Going to Boston (File: SKE67) === NAME: We'll Crown Them with Roses DESCRIPTION: "We'll take up our stand for the youth of our land And weave them a garland to wear, Though no leaves of the vine in our wreath we'll entwine For we'll crown them with roses so fair." The singers will bring up their children to stay away from alcohol AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: drink flowers children FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 334, "We'll Crown Them with Roses" (1 text) Roud #7806 File: R334 === NAME: We'll Fight for Uncle Abe DESCRIPTION: "Way down in old Virginny, I suppose you all do know, They have tried to bust the Union, But they find it is no go... We're going down to Washington To fight for Uncle Abe." The song describes the various attacks being made on the rebel cause AUTHOR: Words: C.E. Pratt / Music: Frederick Buckley EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: Civilwar battle patriotic FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Silber-CivWar, pp. 34-35, "We'll Fight for Uncle Abe" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: The historical references in this song are rather confused. The second stanza refers to Grant and his Vicksburg campaign, which was in full swing in 1863. It also refers to his move to the East to command the armies against Richmond; this took place in 1864. Finally, it mentions Grant being opposed by "General Johnson." There was no important Confederate general named Johnson. The commander at Vicksburg was Pemberton. General J.E. Johnston (with a t) did command a force in central Mississippi, and Grant had fought general A.S. Johnston at Shiloh. The third verse refers to events BEFORE Grant made a name for himself, when George McClellan commanded the Army of the Potomac in the Peninsular Campaign. As it happened, McClellan was beaten back in the Peninsula. He fought the Confederates to a bruising draw at Antietam, but hardly "ma[de] the Rebels fly." The third verse refers to the possibility of England and France recognizing the Confederacy. This might have happened in early 1862; both had use for southern cotton. But Antietam allowed Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, which made the war into a crusade against slavery (to a limited extent). England could not recognize a country devoted to the preservation of slavery, and France could not go it alone. In summary, there is no time of the war which fits all the references in the song. - RBW File: SCW34 === NAME: We'll Get There All the Same DESCRIPTION: The singer promises that the temperance crusaders will "get there [to Prohibition] just the same." As examples of those who overcame equal adversity, the singer cites the oppressed Hebrews, Noah, and the American revolutionaries AUTHOR: H. S. Taylor and J. B. Hebert? EARLIEST_DATE: 1942 (Randolph); reportedly composed 1887 KEYWORDS: drink political FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Randolph 321, "We'll Get There All the Same" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 271-273, "We'll Get There All the Same" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 321) Roud #7795 File: R321 === NAME: We'll Go To Sea No More: see Dixie Brown [Laws D7] (File: LD07) === NAME: We'll Have a Little Dance Tonight, Boys: see Buffalo Gals (File: R535) === NAME: We'll Have Another Drink before the Boat Shoves Off DESCRIPTION: "We'll have another drink before the boat shoves off (2x), And we'll go to Mother Rackett's and we'll pawn our monkey jackets, And we'll have another...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 KEYWORDS: sailor drink parting FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Doerflinger, p. 167, "We'll Have Another Drink before the Boat Shoves Off" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9443 NOTES: According to Doerflinger's informant, Mother Rackett kept a waterfront saloon in Hong Kong around 1875. - RBW File: Doe167 === NAME: We'll Pay Paddy Doyle For His Boots: see Paddy Doyle (I) (File: Doe010) === NAME: We'll Rant and We'll Roar DESCRIPTION: Sailor Bob Pittman describes his skills as a sailor, then settles down to describing his wedding plans. Having settled on a suitable wife (after much soul-searching), he makes arrangements for wedded life and bids farewell to all the other girls AUTHOR: W. H. Le Messurier EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1880 KEYWORDS: courting marriage sea FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar,Newf) REFERENCES: (7 citations) Greenleaf/Mansfield 132, "The Ryans and the Pittmans" (1 text, 1 tune) Fowke/Johnston, pp. 42-43, "We'll Rant and We'll Roar (The Ryans and the Pittmans)" (1 text, 1 tune) Fowke/MacMillan 12, "The Ryans and the Pittmans" (1 text, 1 tune) Blondahl, p. 10, "We'll Rant and We'll Roar" (1 text, 1 tune) Doyle2, p. 53, "The Ryans and the Pittmans" (1 text, 1 tune) Doyle3, p. 51, "The Ryans and the Pittmans" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, RANTROAR* Roud #687 RECORDINGS: Omar Blondahl, "We'll Rant and We'll Roar" (on NFOBlondahl05) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Spanish Ladies" (plot, tune, lyrics) and references there NOTES: A Canadian rewrite of "Farewell and Adieu to you Spanish Ladies." The author's title is "The Ryans and the Pittmans," but tradition has paid little attention to that, though scholars often respect it. - RBW Bruce Fisher's Songs of Newfoundland site points out that the song, in each version, tours a local circuit of ports and outports. - BS File: FJ042 === NAME: We'll Ranzo Way: see Huckleberry Hunting (File: Doe032) === NAME: We'll Roll the Golden Chariot Along: see We'll Roll the Old Chariot Along (File: Doe049) === NAME: We'll Roll the Old Chariot Along DESCRIPTION: Chorus: "And we'll roll the (old/golden/omit) chariot along (x3), and we'll all hang on behind." Sometimes sung as a shanty, with the sailors describing what they would want on shore; alternately, "If the devil's in the way, we will roll it over him..." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg) KEYWORDS: shanty religious Devil FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,SE) REFERENCES: (7 citations) BrownIII 650, "We'll Roll the Old Chariot Along" (1 text) Doerflinger, pp. 49-50, "We'll Roll the Golden Chariot Along" (1 text, 1 tune) Gardner/Chickering 117, "Roll the Old Chariot Along" (1 text) Sandburg, pp. 196-197, "Roll the Chariot" (1 text, 1 tune) Hugill, pp. 151, "Roll the Old Chariot" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, pp. 122-123] Thomas-Makin', pp. 215-216, (no title) (1 text) DT, ROLLCHAR* Roud #3632 RECORDINGS: Paul Robeson, "Roll the Chariot Along" (HMV [UK] B-4421, 1933) SAME_TUNE: Roll the Union On (various authors cited) (Greenway-AFP, p. 223; DT, ROLUNION) NOTES: This song has seen very diverse use; sailors used it as a "stamp and go" shanty; Sandburg had it from Salvation Army singers, and in another form it was quoted by Laura Ingalls Wilder in chapter 11 of _The Long Winter_. I wonder what she would have done if someone told her that sailors often sang, "Oh, a night with a woman wouldn't do me any harm...." - RBW Not to mention the next verse, "Oh, a trip to the doctor wouldn't do me any harm...." - PJS Some versions refer to "Nelson's Blood"; since Nelson's body was preserved in a vat of liquor after Trafalgar, alcoholic beverages came to be called "Nelson's Blood." The Union adaption quoted by Greenway was a deliberate adaption (said to have been made up "in 1937 by a Negro woman in Little Rock"), but this song has so little plot that the versions cannot properly be separated. - RBW Sorry, but this isn't the same tune as any version of , "Roll the Union On " I've ever heard, although they may be related. "Roll the Union On, " is, I think, derived from another, separate hymn. - PJS It doesn't fit the tune I know for "Roll the Old Chariot" either, but it's the tune cited by Greenway. - RBW I think Greenway may be wrong; see the notes to "Roll the Union On". - PJS File: Doe049 === NAME: We'll Sail Away to Heaven (Like a Feather in the Wind) DESCRIPTION: "We'll sail away to heaven Like a feather in de wind (x3), We'll sail away... We'll sail away to heaven by me by." "O, (sisters/brothers/fathers/mothers), don't be weary, weary, Lord, weary, Oh, (sisters), don't be waey, We'll sail away to heaven...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1918 (copyright) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 651, "We'll Sail Away to Heaven" (1 text) Roud #11942 File: Br3651 === NAME: We'll Shoot the Buffalo: see Shoot the Buffalo (File: R523) === NAME: We're A' John Tamson's Bairns DESCRIPTION: "John Tamson was a merry auld carle, And reign'd proud king o' the Dee... We're all John Tamson's bairns... There ne'er will be peace till the world again Has learned to sing wi' micht and main." The singer describes how he and the company celebrate AUTHOR: Joseph Roy ? EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Ford) KEYWORDS: drink friend FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 199-200, "We're A' John Tamson's Bairns" (1 text) Roud #6321 NOTES: There is a broadside, NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(11a), "John Tamson's Cart," Poet's Box (Dundee), c. 1890, in which John Tamson nods off as he rides home from the fair. Usually his horse finds its way home on its own, but this time it too drops off. John's wife finds the horse and takes it home, leaving John to desperately try to figure out what happened. I don't know that it's intended to be the same John Tamson, but there is something of the same feeling about the two. - RBW File: FVS199 === NAME: We're All A-Singing DESCRIPTION: "O we're all a-singing, a-sing-sing-singing, Oh we're all singing so happy and gay. We open wide our lips with a soft fa-fa, And merrily we skip o'er the tra la la la." Other verses mention weaving, sewing, sawing, dodging.... AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1943 (Brown) KEYWORDS: nonballad music playparty FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 95, "We're All A-Singing" (1 text) Roud #7887 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Dodger" (lyrics, form) File: Br3095 === NAME: We're All Away to Sea: see Yellow Meal (Heave Away; Yellow Gals; Tapscott; Bound to Go) (File: Doe062) === NAME: We're All Bound to Go: see Yellow Meal (Heave Away; Yellow Gals; Tapscott; Bound to Go) (File: Doe062) === NAME: We're All Dodging: see The Dodger (File: R462) === NAME: We're All Nodding DESCRIPTION: "We all are nodding, nid-nid-nodding, And falling off to sleep." "can't keep awake, we did our best, Heavy-like and weary, We have to get our rest." "It sure is late, we can't delay, We'll get our hats and bonnets and we'll all go away." AUTHOR: Words: Jean Neal? EARLIEST_DATE: 1909 (McConathy's School Song Book) KEYWORDS: nonballad FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Randolph 883, "We're All Nodding" (1 text, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 392-393, "We're All Nodding" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 883) Roud #3122 NOTES: Cohen thinks this is the source for "The Dodger," and certainly the form is very similar; this song instantly reminded me of that. But that does not really mean that they are source and offspring. - RBW File: R883 === NAME: We're All Surrounded DESCRIPTION: "Martha wept and Mary cried. We're all surrounded. That good old man he up and died. We're all surrounded." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1945 (Harlow) KEYWORDS: shanty worksong FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Harlow, p. 6, "We're All Surrounded" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9164 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Marthy Wept (Mary Wept and Marthy Moaned)" (lyrics) NOTES: Harlow gives this as an example of a Negro cotton stowing song that was adapted as a shanty. - SL The reference to "Martha wept and Mary cried" is presumably a reference to the sisters of Lazarus who mourned over their brother in John 11. I don't have a good explanation for the "We're all surrounded" chorus (unless it's a mistake); it occurs to me that it might, just possibly, be a reference to Hebrews 12:1, where we are told that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses (who might well include Martha and Mary). The problem, is, the King James version uses the verb "compassed about" rather than "surrounded" (the Greek means something like "having an encirclement"). There is, in fact, no instance of the English verb "to surround," in any form, in the King James Bible. - RBW File: Harl006 === NAME: We're Coming, Arkansas (We're Coming, Idaho) DESCRIPTION: The singer mentions reports of a fine fountain in Arkansas/Idaho. The family heads out toward this wonderful place of health and wealth: "We're coming, Arkansas/Idaho, We're coming, ---, Our four horse team will soon be seen, Way out in ---" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1864 KEYWORDS: emigration FOUND_IN: US(MW,Ro,So) REFERENCES: (7 citations) Randolph 343, "Eureka!" (3 texts, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 279-280, "Eureka!" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 343A) Warner 195, "Away, Idaho (We're Coming, Idaho)" (1 text, 1 tune) Larkin, pp. 86-90, "Way Out in Idyho" (1 short text with some unusual lyrics, 1 tune) Fife-Cowboy/West 113, "Way Out in Idaho" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 156, "We're Coming, Arkansas" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 47, "Way Out in Idaho" (1 text) ST R343 (Partial) Roud #4760 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Wait For the Wagon" (tune) NOTES: The "Idaho" version was published in 1864 with Frank French listed as its author. Warner speculates that French rewrote an old Arkansas song to deal with the Idaho gold rush, though Cohen thinks French version original. The only useful thing I can add is that Arkansas versions seem to prevail in Texas and Arkansas and vicinity, while Idaho is mentioned in the versions collected elsewhere. and the latter versions seem to be at least as common, though they come from areas where collection efforts have been spotty. The implication is that the Idaho variant was probably more widely known. Though that doesn't prove much. - RBW File: R343 === NAME: We're Coming, Sister Mary DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls a cold night in winter when he was with (his young wife) Mary when a voice came through the window, "We are coming, sister Mary." (The performance is repeated for two nights), and the singer finds Mary dead AUTHOR: original music: Henry Clay Work (Words by Work and/or Edwin Pearce Christy) EARLIEST_DATE: 1853 (sheet music) KEYWORDS: death dream supernatural FOUND_IN: US(MA,MW,So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) FSCatskills 84, "We're Coming, Sister Mary" (1 text plus the lyrics found in the sheet music, 1 tune) cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 483, "We Are Coming, Sister Mary" (source notes only) ST FSC084 (Partial) Roud #4861 File: FSC084 === NAME: We're Gonna Move When the Spirit Says Move DESCRIPTION: "We're gonna move when the Spirit says move (x2), Cause when the Spirit says move, Then you move with the Spirit; We're gonna move." Similarly, "We're gonna singe when the Spirit says sing." "We're gonna talk" "We're gonna march" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 KEYWORDS: political religious nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Silber-FSWB, p. 305, "We're Gonna Move When The Spirit Says Move" (1 text) Roud #12302 NOTES: Listed in the Folksinger's Wordbook as a Civil Rights song, though I've met it as a sort of religious playparty. - RBW File: FSWB305 === NAME: We're Homeward Bound: see Get Up, Jack! John, Sit Down! (File: Wa071) === NAME: We're Marchin' 'Round the Levee: see Go In and Out the Window (File: R538) === NAME: We're Marching Down to Old Quebec: see Marching Down to Old Quebec (File: R519) === NAME: We're Marching On to War DESCRIPTION: "We're marching on to war, we are, we are, we are, We do not care what people say, nor what they think we are, We're going to work for Jesus who did salvation bring, We're hallelujah children and we're going to see our king!" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: religious FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph 632, "We're Marching On to War" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7560 File: R632 === NAME: We're Off to the Wars (Arkansas War Song) DESCRIPTION: "Come along, boys, we'll off to the wars... Yo ho, yo ho, in Dixie!" The singer promises to fight for "the 'Federate states," intends to talk about the girls, and lists his leaders who will "bring Montgomery and Lane to taw." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (Allsopp) KEYWORDS: soldier Civilwar FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) ADDITIONAL: Fred W. Allsopp, Folklore of Romantic Arkansas, Volume II (1931), pp. 224-225 ST FORA224 (Partial) NOTES: The references in this piece are, at best, confusing. The Confederate officers are clear: McCulloch is Ben McCulloch (1811-1862), who assembled the Arkansas troops which fought at the battle of Wilson's Creek (August 10, 1861); he would later be killed at Pea Ridge. One of the Confederate batteries at that battle was commanded by an officer named Woodruff. But who are "Montgomery and Lane"? There were two Union generals named Montgomery; neither could have fought McCulloch. Neither was there a suitable Union officer named Lane, though James Henry Lane (1814-1866) was a fiery Kansas politician. My guess is that there are two errors here. One is an error of hearing: "Lane" is actually "Lyon," i.e. Nathaniel Lyon, the Union captain hastily promoted Brigadier General who ran the Union forces in Missouri. He cleared northern Missouri of Confederate forces, then turned south. Finding himself trapped by superior forces, he tried a spoiling attack at Wilson's Creek and was killed. "Montgomery" is even trickier. My shot in the dark is that this is a confusion of the two Blair brothers. Montgomery Blair, the older brother, became Lincoln's Postmaster General. Francis P. Blair, based in Missouri, was sort of Lyon's co-conspirator in saving Missouri for the Union: He raised the money and troops which Lyon used. Since Montgomery was the better-known Blair (among other things, he had argued Dred Scott's side in the famous slavery case), the southern poet might have thought it was Montgomery Blair, not Frank, who was operating in Missouri. In any case, this song sounds very much like something one of McCulloch's volunteers might have sung before Wilson's Creek. Were it of later date, we would presumably hear more of Earl Van Down, McCulloch's superior, and of Union commander Samuel R. Curtis, who won the Battle of Pea Ridge at which McCulloch was killed. - RBW File: FORA224 === NAME: We've Aye Been Provided For: see And Sae Will We Yet (File: FVS256) === NAME: We've Come to Judgment DESCRIPTION: "We've come to judgment, O yes my Lord, In that great giving up morning; We've come to judgment...." "O where you going, sinner, with your head bowed down?" The sinner is warned of Hell and told to get with it or face judgment AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (Chappell) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad sin FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Chappell-FSRA 88, "We've Come to Judgment" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #16935 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "In that Great Gettin' Up Morning" (lyrics) File: ChFRA088 === NAME: We've Done Our Hitch in Hell DESCRIPTION: "I'm sitting here a-thinking Of the things I left behind." The singer complains of digging trenches, cooking, fighting rattlesnakes, and the rest of army life, and claims a front seat in heaven for the Third Wyoming AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 KEYWORDS: army soldier hardtimes FOUND_IN: US(Ro) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 552-554, "We've Done Our Hitch in Hell" (1 text) Roud #15545 NOTES: The irony of this song is that it appears the Third Wyoming never went into combat! Observe: There is reference to the digging of trenches. But only two American wars involved digging trenches: The Civil War and World War I. At the time of the Civil War, Wyoming wasn't a state (it joined the Union in 1890), and in World War I there were no rattlesnakes. In addition, there is no reference to combat. One hates to think what the soldier would have had to say if someone had actually bothered to shoot at him. - RBW File: LxA552 === NAME: We've Got Franklin Delano Roosevelt Back Again: see Franklin D. Roosevelt's Back Again (File: CSW230) === NAME: Wealthy Farmer, The: see Father Grumble [Laws Q1] (File: LQ01) === NAME: Wealthy London Apprentice, The: see The Valiant London Apprentice [Laws Q38] (File: LQ38) === NAME: Wealthy Merchant, The: see The Boatsman and the Chest [Laws Q8] (File: LQ08) === NAME: Wearing of the Blue, The: see Canada-I-O (The Wearing of the Blue; Caledonia) (File: HHH162) === NAME: Wearing of the Britches, The DESCRIPTION: Singer marries a girl for money, not love; they struggle over who will "wear the britches." She spends all he makes, even though he beats her black and blue. Eventually she dies; "now at last her tongue lies still/And she must wear the wooden britches." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1825 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 28(157)) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer marries a girl for money, not love, and they struggle over who will "wear the britches." Although she's small, and he can beat her in a fight, she swears she'll wear them; he's a tailor but she spends all he makes, even though he beats her black and blue. When he goes drinking she comes after him, "cursing like a dragon"; she's thrown the teapot at him, putting him on crutches. Eventually she dies; "now at last her tongue lies still/And she must wear the wooden britches." He warns young men to marry for love and work for riches KEYWORDS: marriage warning fight abuse death burial husband wife shrewishness FOUND_IN: Ireland Britain(England(South)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Kennedy 215, "The Wearing of the Britches" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #1588 RECORDINGS: Joe Tunney, "The Tailor by Trade" (on FSB3) Paddy Tunney, "The Wearing of the Breeches" (on IRPTunney01); "The Wearing of the Britches" (on Voice15) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 28(157), "The Breeches" ("Come all ye young men wherever you be"), W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also Harding B 25(275), "The Breeches" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Struggle for the Breeches" [Broadside NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(45a), "Struggle for the Breeches," unknown, c. 1890; Murray, Mu23-y4:026, Struggle for the Breeches," unknown, 19C] (subject) cf. "Devilish Mary" [Laws Q4] (subject) cf. "There's Bound to be a Row" (theme) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Tailor By His Trade NOTES: This is so close to "Devilish Mary" I was tempted to lump them. But this song's events are different; in this one she dies, in "Devilish Mary" he leaves her. So I split them, but they're close cousins. - PJS The temptation to lump is indeed strong. Curiously, Kennedy never mentions "Devilish Mary," and Laws never mentions this. I guess that makes them separate. - RBW File: K215 === NAME: Wearing of the Green (I), The DESCRIPTION: The singer tells of the dreadful fate of Ireland, the "most distressful country," where "they are hanging men and women for the wearing of the green." The singer bids defiance, and notes that the grass on the martyrs' graves grows green. AUTHOR: some versions by Dion Boucicault (per O'Conor) EARLIEST_DATE: c.1800 (Zimmermann but see the notes re: Zimmermann and Sparling to accomodate the Boucicault claim); 1865 (copyrights) KEYWORDS: Ireland freedom death execution hardtimes FOUND_IN: Ireland US(MW) REFERENCES: (13 citations) O'Conor, p. 69, "The Wearing of the Green" (1 text) PGalvin, pp. 84-85, "The Wearing of the Green" (1 text) Zimmermann 21B, "The Wearing of the Green" (1 text, 1 tune) Moylan 33, "The Wearing of the Green" (1 text, 1 tune); 35, "The Wearing of the Green" (1 text, 1 tune) Tunney-StoneFiddle, p. 17, "The Wearing of the Green" (1 fragment) Dean, pp. 97-98, "Wearing of the Green" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 323, "Wearing Of The Green" (1 text) Fuld-WFM, pp. 628-630, "The Wearin' o' the Green" DT, WEARGREN* ADDITIONAL: Charles Sullivan, ed., Ireland in Poetry, p. 111, "The Wearing of the Green" (1 text) Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 300-301, "The Wearin' of the Green" (1 text plus a portion of the Boucicault version) H. Halliday Sparling, Irish Minstrelsy (London, 1888), pp. 515-516, "The Wearing of the Green" ADDITIONAL: Thomas Kinsella, _The New Oxford Book of Irish Verse_ (Oxford, 1989), pp. 257-258, "The Wearing of the Green" (1 text) Roud #3278 RECORDINGS: John McCormack, "Wearin' o' the "Green" (HMV [UK] DA-322, n.d.) J. W. Myers, "Wearing of the Green" (Columbia 194, 1901) (Victor 4274, 1905) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 18(476), "The Wearing of the Green" ("O Paddy dear, and did you hear the news that's going round?"), H. De Marsan (New York), 1864-1878; also 2806 c.16(209), 2806 b.10(215), 2806 c.15(254), "Wearing of the Green" ("O Kitty dear ...") LOCSinging, as115040, "The Wearing of the Green" ("Oh, Paddy dear, then did you hear"), unknown, 19C; also as114610, "The Wearing of the Green" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Rising of the Moon" (tune) cf. "Benny Havens" (tune) cf. "Flunky Jim (Gopher Tails)" (tune) cf. "John McBride's Brigade" (tune) cf. "Green Upon the Cape" SAME_TUNE: The Rising of the Moon (File: PGa035) Benny Havens (File: R232) The Drought (File: MCB158) Magilligan (File: HHH052a) A Knot of Blue and Gray (File: RcAKOBAG) John McBride's Brigade (File: Zimm092) The Man Behind (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 86) Nearly Sae Will We Yet (per broadside Bodleian 2806 c.15(254)) NOTES: Probably originally associated with the 1798 rebellion, although topical versions have emerged on occasion in Irish history. An 1802 printing of "The Green Upon My Cape" is clearly related but not really the same song. The "Napper Tandy" of some versions is an Irish patriot, James Napper Tandy (c. 1737-1803), one of the few Dublin members of the United Irishmen to escape capture. Tandy is one of those irritatingly complex figures so common in Irish history (as well as a patriot, he has been called a drunk, and after campaigning for reforms in 1784, he fled to the United States in 1793, then to France in 1797, which is how he ended up involved with the whole invasion fiasco). Tandy apparently wasn't easy to get along with; he and Wolfe Tone had major disagreements while in France, which doubtless hurt their chances to accomplish anything. Still, he eventually managed to convince the French to give him a single ship, the _Anacreon_, and a force of about 275 soldiers; he was given arms and ammunition for many more -- he had, after all, declared that, if the French would just take him to Ireland, his presence would cause 30,000 men to rally to him. On September 16, 1798, he landed with a company of Frenchmen in Donegal. He apparently expected to coordinate with General Humbert, but that invasion had ended a week earlier (see "The Men of the West"), and the expected rising in Mayo had fizzled. Upon confirming the news, Tandy got drunk with some local friends in Rutland, and was carried back to the _Anacreon_ unconcious. The ship went home, and the last French invasion of Ireland was over. Tandy was arrested (one might well say "hijacked") in neutral Hamburg late in 1798, sentenced to death, but turned over to France in 1802, where he died soon after. A final French expedition, with Wolfe Tone aboard, was also a failure, never even making it to shore; see the notes on "The Shan Van Vogt." The charge that the English were "hanging men and women for the wearing of the green" is the sort of half-truth that often is heard during wars. Wearing green was not a crime and wouldn't result in execution by itself -- but green was a recognized revolutionary token; wearing it would certainly get the government's attention. Which could lead to trouble. And, of course, ordinary soldiers, especially militia, were likely to be that much harder on possible enemies. It seems likely enough that a few people died for wearing green -- but not due to official policy. And anyone who wore green in those times was definitely asking for trouble. - RBW The note to the Bodleian broadside cited is "Sung by T.H. Glenny, at Niblo's Theatre in the Great Sensation Play of 'Arrah-na-Pogue'" Dion Boucicault (1820-1890) was an Irish playwright. He wrote and acted in the 1865 hit Arrah-na-Pogue. "This, and his admirable creation of Con in his play The Shaugraun (first produced at Drury Lane in 1875), won him the reputation of being the best stage Irishman of his time". Source: "Dion Boucicalt" quoted from Encyclopedia Britannica Eleventh Edition Volume IV on the Theatre History site. Sparling: [The Wearing of the Green (I)] "was a hash-up by Boucicault of an old variant [Zimmermann 21B], using most of the old words ... [in which] the land of refuge it is written from is France, and not America." Zimmermann: "Boucicault is said to have written this version at the suggestion of his mother, who remembered some lines of the older version. (Townshend Walsh _The Career of Dion Boucicault_, p. 144)" Hoagland: Boucicault's main change was to add a verse about the possibility of emigration to "a country that lies beyond the sea, Where rich and poor stand equal in the light of freedom's day." There are other songs with the same title, including O'Conor p. 40 ("Farewell, for I must leave thee, my own, my native shore...") and O'Conor p. 130 by H.G. Curran ("One blessing on my native isle! One curse upon her foes..."). [The latter being indexed as "The Wearing of the Green (II)." - RBW] The "old variant" includes specifically anti-Union sentiment dropped by Boucicault: "I care not for the Thistle [Scotland], and I care not for the Rose [England]." Moylan 33 is the Zimmermann 21B "old variant"; Moylan 35 is Boucicault's "hash-up." More from Moylan about Napper Tandy: "Napper Tandy was the secretary of the first Dublin Society of United Irishmen. He made his way to Hamburg after the failure of the rising but was arrested there at the instigation of the British representative, Imprisoned for two years, he was released in 1801 on condition that he left Ireland. He went into exile in France where he died, at Bordeaux, in 1803." Broadside LOCSinging as114610: "The following is the celebrated song which created such intense excitement throughout Great Britain, and for the incorporation of which in his piece, Mr. Bourcicault' play of 'Arrah na Pogue,' had to be withdrawn." Tunney-StoneFiddle fragment has the singer start with the Napper Tandy/hanging men and women verse, followed by So shoulder high your hurleys boys and grasp your rifles tight The mangy bulldog let him bark; he's got no teeth to bite When English law can paint the moon and put the Hun to flight Then we'll shed our rebel coats and put the hurleys out of sight "'I learned that verse in America', he told me." - BS Which sounds very much as if it comes from the First World War period, probably before the Easter Rebellion. - RBW Broadside Harding B 18(476): 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: PGa084 === NAME: Wearing of the Green (II), The DESCRIPTION: "One blessing on my native isle! One curse upon her foes!" In exile the singer thinks of Mary left behind and his parents buried in Ireland. The foe "might have let the poor man live." "But watch the hour that yet will come, For the Wearing of the Green" AUTHOR: Henry Grattan Curran (1800-1876) EARLIEST_DATE: 1888 (Sparling) KEYWORDS: exile separation Ireland nonballad patriotic FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) O'Conor, p. 130, "The Wearing of the Green" (1 text) ADDITIONAL: _Irish Minstrelsy_ by H. Halliday Sparling (London, 1888), pp. 13-14, 497, "The Wearing of the Green" BROADSIDES: Bodleian, 2806 b.10(108), "The Wearing of the Green" ("One blessing on my native isle!"), unknown, n.d. NOTES: For information about the author see The Princess Grace Irish Library (Monaco) site entry for Henry Grattan Curran. - BS File: OCon130 === NAME: Wearing of the Green (IV), The DESCRIPTION: "Farewell, for I must leave thee, my own, my native shore." The singer's father is buried in Ireland. His mother weeps but would weep more if he were a traitor, like some others. Exiles love to sing 'The wearing of the green" and think about return AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1855 (Edward Hayes, The Ballads of Ireland (Boston, 1859), Vol I) KEYWORDS: exile farewell Ireland nonballad patriotic FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (3 citations) Moylan 34, "The Wearing of the Green" (1 text) O'Conor, p. 40, "The Wearing of the Green" (1 text) ADDITIONAL: Edward Hayes, The Ballads of Ireland (Boston, 1859), Vol I, p. 277, "The Wearing of the Green" File: Moyl034 === NAME: Weary Farmers, The DESCRIPTION: "There's some that sing o' (Comar) Fair... But the best sang that e'er was sung... It was about the term... When we will a' win free." With their contracts expired, the farm hands set out to enjoy themselves and hope to improve conditions next year AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Ford) KEYWORDS: farming work drink FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 202-204, "The Weary Farmers" (1 text) Ord, pp. 211-212, "The Weary Farmers" (1 text) Roud #2181 File: FVS202 === NAME: Weasel and the Rat, The: see Fox and Hare (They've All Got a Mate But Me) (File: FlBr121) === NAME: Weave Room Blues DESCRIPTION: "Working in a weave-room, fighting for my life, Trying to make a living for my kiddies and my wife, Some are needing clothing... some are needing shoes, But I'm getting nothing but the weave room blues." Singer describes horrid conditions in textile mills AUTHOR: Dorsey Dixon EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (recording, Dixon Brothers) KEYWORDS: factory technology weaving work worker poverty hardtimes FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 88-89, "Weave Room Blues" (1 text, 1 tune) Greenway-AFP, pp. 128-129, "Weave Room Blues" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 125, "Weave Room Blues" (1 text) DT, WEAVBLUE* Roud #15150 RECORDINGS: Dixon Brothers, "Weave Room Blues" (Bluebird B-6441/Montgomery Ward M-7024, 1936) Fisher Hendley, "Weave Room Blues" (Vocalion 04780, 1939) New Lost City Ramblers, "Weave Room Blues" (on NLCR03) Pete Seeger, "Weave Room Blues" (on PeteSeeger13); "Working in the Weave Room" (on PeteSeeger23) NOTES: [According to Cohen/Seeger/Wood], many of the mill workers in North Carolina were mountain people who had come out of the hills seeking work in the 1920s. - PJS File: CSW088 === NAME: Weaver (I), The DESCRIPTION: A weaver roves out and meets a pretty maid carrying a loom under her apron. Upon learning the manÕs trade, she asks him to weave upon her loom. The remaining verses feature sexual exploits euphemized as various weaving techniques and patterns. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: weaving seduction bawdy FOUND_IN: Canada(Ont) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Fowke/MacMillan 61, "The Weaver" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, THE WEAVR* Roud #2311 NOTES: According to Fowke, the song would date from the pre-industrial era when handloom weavers traveled from town to town weaving yarn that housewives had spun. Fowke says the ballad was collected by O.J. Abbott from learned from a Dan Leahy in Marchurst, Ontario in 1890. A ten-stanza version appears in the 19th century Jones-Conklin manuscript of an American sailor. - SL File: FowM061 === NAME: Weaver (II), The: see The Foggy Dew (The Bugaboo) [Laws O3] (File: LO03) === NAME: Weaver (III), The: see One Morning in May (To Hear the Nightingale Sing) [Laws P14] (File: LP14) === NAME: Weaver and the Factory Maid, The DESCRIPTION: The singer, a hand-weaver, loves a woman who works in a factory. He visits her in her bedroom despite his family's scorn. All the girls have gone to weave with steam; "If you would see them you must rise at dawn/And trudge to the mill in the early morn" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1955 (IRRCinnamond01) KEYWORDS: love sex factory weaving family worker technology nightvisit FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, WVFACTGL WEAVFACT (both transcribed from the recording by Steeleye Span; the former is the better transcription) RECORDINGS: Robert Cinnamond, "The Weaver and the Factory Maid" (on IRRCinnamond01) (fragment; only the first verse) A. L. Lloyd, "The Weaver and the Factory Maid" (on Lloyd3, IronMuse1) File: DTwvfact === NAME: Weaver and the Tailor, The DESCRIPTION: The singer overhears a couple talking; "it was concerning love." The young man, a weaver, is trying to talk the girl out of her affection for a tailor. He describes all the tailor's faults. She gives in and consents to marry him. (They live happily.) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1869 (Logan) KEYWORDS: love courting dialog marriage apprentice FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) Logan, pp. 407-409, "The Weaver and the Tailor" (1 text) SHenry H199, p. 39, "The Tailor Boy" (1 text, 1 tune) ST Log407 (Full) Roud #13355 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Rocks of Bawn" (tune) cf. "The River Roe" (tune) cf. "Paddle the Road with Me" (tune) NOTES: Sam Henry discovered this piece with three different tunes in three different districts. It is not clear if it ever enjoyed popularity outside Ireland; Logan's text, while English, is a broadside. - RBW File: Log407 === NAME: Weaver is Handsome, The: see Disguised Sailor (The Sailor's Misfortune and Happy Marriage; The Old Miser) [Laws N6] (File: LN06) === NAME: Weaver's Daughter, The DESCRIPTION: Singer is smitten by a weaver's daughter. He proposes. She demurs; her late mother taught her to wed for love not gold, and that her aged, blind father's heart would break. She vows that she and her father will not be separated until he lies in the grave AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 c.17(455)) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer meets, and is smitten by, a poor weaver's daughter. He proposes, saying he will make her a rich lady. She demurs, saying her late mother taught her to wed for love, not for gold, and that her aged, blind father's heart would be broken. She vows that she and her father will not be separated until he lies in the grave KEYWORDS: courting love rejection weaving family father mother money FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond,South) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #1277 RECORDINGS: George Maynard, "The Weaver's Daughter" (on Maynard1, Voice05) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, 2806 c.17(455), "The Weaver's Daughter" ("Across the fields one sweet May morn"), J. Catnach (London), 1813-1838; also Harding B 11(2017), "The Weaver's Daughter" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Squire and the Gipsy" (theme) NOTES: This sounds like the first half of the story. - PJS I agree, though there are several possible further courses for the narrative (she changes her mind, the father dies, the father dies but the suitor has changed his mind, the suitor murders the father, etc.). But there are songs where the story ends here, such as "The Squire and the Gipsy." - RBW File: RcWeaDau === NAME: Weaver's Life DESCRIPTION: Description of hard life in a weaving mill. Follows the pattern of "Life's Railway to Heaven": "Weaver's life is like an engine/Coming 'round a mountain steep." Singer describes showing newcomers "breakouts" to discourage them from working in the mill. AUTHOR: Probably Dorsey Dixon EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (recording, Dixon Brothers) KEYWORDS: factory weaving work technology FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (4 citations) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 90-91, "Weaver's Life" (1 text, 1 tune) Greenway-AFP, pp. 15-16, "(Life Is Like a Mountain Railroad)" (1 text, plus fragments of assorted parodies, of which this is the second) Silber-FSWB, p. 125, "Weaver's Life" (1 text) DT, WEAVLIFE* RECORDINGS: Almanac Singers, "The Weaver's Song" (recorded 1941, unissued at the time; on AlmanacCD1) Dixon Brothers, "Weaver's Life" (Montgomery Ward M-7170, 1937/Bluebird B-7802, 1938) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Life's Railway to Heaven (Life Is Like a Mountain Railroad)" (tune) and references there File: CSW090 === NAME: Weaver's Song, The: see Weaver's Life (File: CSW090) === NAME: Webster of Brechin's Mare, The DESCRIPTION: When the webster's (weaver's) old mare declares she can work no more; when the man threatens her, she faints. He skins the horse. Awakening in the night, it comes to the door; a lad kills it fears he has done murder, then discovers it is a horse AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1815 (chapbook used by Logan) KEYWORDS: horse clothes death humorous homicide FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Logan, pp. 402-405, "The Webster of Brechin's Mare" (1 text) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 154-156, "The Webster of Brechin's Mare" (1 text) ST FVS154 (Partial) Roud #13121 File: FVS154 === NAME: Wedding at Ballyporeen DESCRIPTION: The singer asks the muses' help to describe the wedding. The guests are listed. After the ceremony, the great feast is devoured. The bride is nervous; her mother tells her to be happy; she'd marry again if she could. A happy if exaggerated occasion AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1825 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 17(329b)) KEYWORDS: wedding humorous party mother food FOUND_IN: Ireland Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (3 citations) SHenry H93, pp. 72-73, "The Wedding at Ballyporeen" (1 text, 1 tune) Mackenzie 140, "The Wedding of Ballyporeen" (1 text) O'Conor, pp. 63-64, "The Wedding of Ballyporeen" (1 text) Roud #3277 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 17(329b), "Wedding of Ballyporeen," W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also Harding B 28(183), Harding B 11(3505), Harding B 11(3506), 2806 b.11(38), Harding B 16(302b), Harding B 11(3964), Harding B 28(183), Harding B 25(2020), "Wedding of Ballyporeen"; Harding B 11(4075), "The Wedding of Ballpoyreen [sic]" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Blythesome Bridal" (theme) SAME_TUNE: Ballinamona Ora (per broadside Bodleian 2806 b.11(38)) File: HHH093 === NAME: Wedding at Kouchibouguac, The DESCRIPTION: The bride is "the primrose of Kishimaguac." The beef was from an ox that had died of old age and the rest of the food, was no better but, like everything else, was what "is common for supper in Kishimaguac" The usual wine, the usual songs, i.e., ho hum. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1948 (Manny/Wilson) KEYWORDS: wedding music party wine food humorous FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Manny/Wilson 46, "The Wedding at Kouchibouguac" (1 text, 1 tune) ST MaWi046 (Partial) Roud #9182 NOTES: Manny/Wilson: "This is ... said to have been made up by two disgruntled souls ... who had not been invited to the wedding." - BS Given their behavior, I can see why. If you're wondering about the two different town names, "Kouchibouguac" is the name in the atlas, "Kishimaguac" the local pronunciation. - RBW File: MaWi046 === NAME: Wedding of Lochan McGraw, The: see references under Bluey Brink (File: FaE148) === NAME: Wedding of the Frog and Mouse, The: see Frog Went A-Courting (File: R108) === NAME: Wedding Song, The: see Come Write Me Down (The Wedding Song) (File: K126) === NAME: Wedding, The DESCRIPTION: "Hurrah for the wedding." Give an "Hurray" each for the bride and groom and notable attendees as well. Drinking, dancing, eating and fun. Bride and groom "stole off At the dawning of day ... nobody missed them Till P.M. at one." A grand time was had. AUTHOR: Brian Doherty (cousin of the bride) EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 (Dibblee/Dibblee) KEYWORDS: wedding dancing drink food music party humorous moniker FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Dibblee/Dibblee, pp. 10-11, "The Wedding" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #12485 File: Dib010 === NAME: Wedhen War An Vre, An (The Tree on the Hill): see The Rattling Bog (File: ShH98) === NAME: Wedlock: see When Adam Was Created (Wedlock) (File: SKE55) === NAME: Wednesbury Cocking, The DESCRIPTION: Stories of cockfighting at Wednesbury. The competition is fierce, and many are the addicts of the sport and of gambling on it. The song relates many incidents, concluding when "Jack Baker he whacked his own father, and thus ended Wednesbury Cocking" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1957 (Graves, English and Scottish Ballads) KEYWORDS: fight bird gambling sports chickens moniker FOUND_IN: Britain REFERENCES: (2 citations) PBB 85, "The Wednesbury Cocking" (1 text) Hodgart, p. 191, "The Wednesbury Cocking" (1 text) ST PBB085 (Partial) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Firth c.19(37) view 1, "Wednesbury Cooking" (sic.), unknown, n.d.; also 2806 c.17(458), "Wednesbury Cocking"; 2806 c.17(459); Douce 3(109)=Harding B 39(43) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Cock-Fight" (theme) NOTES: The curious comment, "I'll pay thee as Paul paid the Ephesians," is hard to understand in context. Ephesus was one of Paul's favorite cities. The reference may be to Acts 19:23-41, where Paul's preaching in Ephesus caused certain locals to turn away from the cult of Artemis (a major source of income in the city). The result was a riot. The PBB version of this is metrically strange; it does not appear possible to sing all the verses to the same tune.- RBW File: PBB085 === NAME: Wee Article, The DESCRIPTION: "I 'm a jolly servant lass, my name is Mary Ann, I'm going to sing about a thing that calls itself a man; He wanted me his wife to be, he's only four foot four...." She reviles the short suitor, and details why she wants no part of such a man AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: courting rejection humorous FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H833, p. 257, "The Wee Article" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2739 ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Wee Daft Article File: HHH833 === NAME: Wee Bridelie, The DESCRIPTION: "There was a little wee bridelie, In Pitcarles toun... There was few folk bidden to it, And as few fowk did come." The smallness of the feast is described: No meat but a sheep without a tongue, etc. When the bride goes to bed, the groom refuses to follow AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1827 (Kinloch) KEYWORDS: wedding humorous betrayal FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Kinloch-BBook XXVIII, pp. 84-85, (no title) (1 text) Roud #5508 NOTES: This strikes me as a sort of answer to songs such as "The Blythesome Bridal" and "The Ball of Kerrimuir." It's not clear whether that makes it traditional. - RBW File: KinBB28 === NAME: Wee Cooper of Fife, The: see The Wife Wrapt in Wether's Skin [Child 277] (File: C277) === NAME: Wee Croodin Doo, The: see Lord Randal [Child 12] (File: C012) === NAME: Wee Croppy Tailor, The: see The Trooper and the Tailor (File: FSC139) === NAME: Wee Cup of Tay, The DESCRIPTION: "As Jack from the market came the other day, His wife she sat drinking her wee cup of tay." Jack complains "I must work hard, not a shirt to my back" while she has finery and her tea. She attacks "what money you spend in whisky and beer." They argue. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (Ives-DullCare) KEYWORDS: shrewishness drink humorous husband wife accusation FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ives-DullCare, pp. 167-169, 256, "The Wee Cup of Tay" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #13985 BROADSIDES: NLScotland, L.C.Fol.178.A.2(026), "John and his Wife on using Tea," James Lindsay (Glasgow), c. 1855; also L.C.Fol.178.A.2(054) (same publication data as the preceding, though the title is reset) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Tay" (theme) File: IvDC167 === NAME: Wee Cutty Pipe, The (The Derry Pipe) DESCRIPTION: Sam asks Bill if he has tobacco, then gives a long justification based on the use of tobacco by Adam, Pharaoh, Jonah, Noah, Belshazzar, and Jason and the Argonauts. Bill concedes the point, and will continue to bring in tobacco in truckloads AUTHOR: James O'Kane EARLIEST_DATE: 1932 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: drugs Bible FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H465, pp. 49-50, "The Wee Cutty Pipe" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #13363 NOTES: The alleged Biblical references in this song are, of course, pure nonsense. Tobacco was not known in the Old World until introduced from the New; it is not mentioned in the Bible. - RBW File: HHH465 === NAME: Wee Drappie O't, A DESCRIPTION: "O, life is a journey we a' hae to gang, And care is the burden we carry alang, But though grief be our portion... We are happy a' thegither owre a wee drappie o't." The singer notes tragedies of life -- and how they are relieved by fellowship and drink AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Ford) KEYWORDS: drink friend nonballad hardtimes FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 181-183, "A Wee Drappie O't" (1 text, 1 tune) Ord, pp. 370-371, "A Wee Drappie O't" (1 text) Roud #5610 NOTES: Several versions of this song have a line something like, "Job in his lamentation says man was made to mourn." This may be a reference to Job 14:22, the only time the King James Bible quotes Job as using the verb "to mourn" in anything like this sense. The overall feeling, however, is more like 14:1 or even the speech of Eliphaz in 5:7. I suspect this is allusion rather than citation. - RBW File: FVS181 === NAME: Wee Duck, The (The Duck from Drummuck) DESCRIPTION: "I once had a duck when I lived in Drummuck, I was quite in luck when I lived in that land." The duck, said to be related to (Nell) Flaherty's drake, is said to be very productive -- but now has been stolen. The singer will keep better guard hereafter AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: animal bird curse thief theft FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H228a, pp. 19-20, "The Duck from Drummuck" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #5075 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Nell Flaherty's Drake" (plot, subject?) NOTES: If "Nell Flaherty's Drake" is about Robert Emmet, then this song presumably is about some later freedom fighter. The song mentions "the year forty-nine," so presumably 1849 (i.e. the aftermath of the 1848 revolt) -- but the leaders of that revolt, such as John Mitchel (for whom see "John Mitchel"), William Smith O'Brien (for whom see "The Shan Van Voght (1848") and Thomas Meagher (for whom see "The Escape of Meagher") , were transported rather than imprisoned. - RBW File: HHH228a === NAME: Wee Falorie Man, The DESCRIPTION: "I am the wee falorie man A rattling roving Irishman. I can do all that ever you can." Sister Mary Ann "washes her face in the frying pan And she goes to hunt for a man." "I am a good old working man Each day I carry a wee tin can" with a bun and ham. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (_Rann Magazine_ Summer 1952, according Roud) KEYWORDS: work food nonballad FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) Hammond-Belfast, p. 13, "The Wee Falorie Man" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, WEEFALRY* Roud #5106 NOTES: Also collected and sung by David Hammond, "The Wee Falorie Man" (on David Hammond, "I Am the Wee Falorie Man: Folk Songs of Ireland," Tradition TCD1052 CD (1997) reissue of Tradition LP TLP 1028 (1959)) Sean O Boyle, notes to David Hammond, "I Am the Wee Falorie Man: Folk Songs of Ireland": "The word 'falorie' is not of Gaelic origin, but probably derives from the English word 'forlorn,' which in rural Ulster is pronounced 'fa-loorn' and is associated not only with lonliness, but with mystery. The song is used in a singing game by the children of Belfast." - BS File: Hamm013 === NAME: Wee House in the Wood DESCRIPTION: "There it stood, the Wee-House-in-the-Wood," which inspires visions of folklore: English music, King Arthur, much that is gone, all revealed by a "phantom minstrel." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas) KEYWORDS: home music nonballad FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Thomas-Makin', pp. 266-267, (no title) (1 text) NOTES: There are many pieces in Thomas that I don't really trust -- but there is none I more suspect of being Thomas's own work than this (and "The Singin' Gatherin'," which bears the same traits). It's anonymous, it's about Thomas's own home base, and it rather sounds like her style. - RBW File: ThBa266 === NAME: Wee Little Piute DESCRIPTION: "Wee little piute, hi yi ya, Jolting cayuse. mountain trail, Strapped to the back of your ma ma ma, Gazing away o'er the pony's tail." Images of what the child sees as it travels the trail AUTHOR: Words: Albert R. Lyman / Music: Casse Lyman Monson EARLIEST_DATE: 1966 KEYWORDS: baby family Indians(Am.) travel nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fife-Cowboy/West 87, "Wee Little Piute" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #11203 File: FCW087 === NAME: Wee One, The: see Rocking the Cradle (and the Child Not His Own) (File: R393) === NAME: Wee Pickle Tow, The DESCRIPTION: John Grumely brings tow for his wife to spin. A spark from her pipe lights it. She refuses to spin (Eve wore leaves rather than spin), or churn butter. And he can sleep with his back to her. Then, he says, they'll sleep in separate beds. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Hayward-Ulster) KEYWORDS: shrewishness marriage dialog husband wife clothes FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Hayward-Ulster, pp. 80-81, "The Wee Pickle Tow" (1 text) Roud #5506 NOTES: And, he pointed out, that he earns the money [Hayward-Ulster text]. From the liner notes to Margaret MacArthur, "An Almanac of New England Farm Songs," Green Linnet SIF 1039 LP (1982)} "Norman Kennedy, weaver and singer, tells me that the fine long linen fibers are separated from the flax by hackling, leaving the short coarse fibers of tow, guaranteed to give the spinner pricked fingers and short temper." - BS I can't help but note that John Grunm[e]ly is the husband in some versions of "Father Grumble" [Laws Q1]. This almost sounds like the "prequel" to that. - RBW File: HayU080 === NAME: Wee Tailor from Tyrone, The DESCRIPTION: Mollie agrees to marry a tailor. She becomes a lady's waiting maid. The tailor accepts the lady's[?] offer of marriage, money, and gentleman's life. The marriage, in the dark, is a sham. When the light is on he sees "the lady" is Mollie. She rejects him AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 (Morton-Maguire) LONG_DESCRIPTION: A tailor courts Mollie and she agrees to marry him. She becomes a lady's waiting maid. The tailor receives a letter, supposedly from the lady, offering her own hand and ten thousand pounds. He'd rather be a gentleman than an apprentice so he agrees. She insists the marriage be held in the dark. The marriage is a sham. When the light is on he sees "the lady" is Mollie. She rejects him: "Ah but you thought you were a gentleman, and now you see you're none" KEYWORDS: courting infidelity wedding rejection trick humorous money FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Morton-Maguire 34, pp. 87-89,120,169, "The Wee Tailor from Tyrone" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2931 NOTES: An interesting twist on the Eros and Psyche legend, isn't it? The same trick also occurs in the Bible, in Genesis 29, where Jacob thinks he is marrying Rachel, but her father instead slips in Rachel's older sister Leah. The difference being that the customs of the time allowed polygamy, so Jacob eventually had both of them. - RBW File: MoMa034 === NAME: Wee Totum, The: see Toddlin' But and Toddlin' Ben (The Wee Little Totum) (File: Ord137) === NAME: Wee Toun Clerk, The: see The Keach i the Creel [Child 281] (File: C281) === NAME: Wee Weaver, The DESCRIPTION: "I am a wee weaver confined to my loom." Willy loves Mary. They roam by Lough Erne and Willy proposes. "So this couple got married and they'll roam no more" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (IRTunneyFamily01) KEYWORDS: courting marriage weaving Ireland FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Tunney-StoneFiddle, p. 81, "The Wee Weaver" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #3378 RECORDINGS: Brigid Tunney, "The Wee Weaver" (on IRTunneyFamily01) Paddy Tunney, "The Wee Weaver" (on Voice20) NOTES: Lough Erne is in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. - BS. File: RcWeeWea === NAME: Wee Wee Man, The [Child 38] DESCRIPTION: The singer meets a "wee wee man," who, despite his size, proves amazingly strong. He takes the singer on a tour to his home, and shows him the finest ladies he has ever seen -- but then disappears. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1776 (Herd) KEYWORDS: magic home FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) US(SE,So) REFERENCES: (11 citations) Child 38, "The Wee Wee Man" (7 texts) Bronson 38, "The Wee Wee Man" (1 version) BrownII 11, "The Wee, Wee Man" (1 text) Randolph-Legman II, pp. 587-588, "The Wee Wee Man" (2 texts, one of them the Brown version) Leach, pp. 135-136, "The Wee Wee Man" (1 text) OBB 11, "The Wee Wee Man" (1 text) PBB 11, "The Wee Wee Man" (1 text) Gummere, pp. 293-294+362, "The Wee Wee Man" (1 text) Montgomerie-ScottishNR 198, "(THe WEe, Wee Man)" (1 text) DT 38, WEEWEEMN ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #315, "The Wee Wee Man" (1 text) Roud #2865 NOTES: Carterhaugh, also mentioned as the site of magic in "Tam Lin," "is a plain at the confluence of the Ettrick and Yarrow in Selkirkshire" (Scott). Child prints as an appendix to this ballad the poem "Als Y Yod on ay Mounday," found in a single copy in British Museum MS. Cotton Julius A5, dated firmly to the fourteenth century. This is curious in a number of ways. There is no doubt that the two items go back to the same folkloric roots -- but "Wee Wee Man" seems to be purely Scottish, and "Als Y Yod" is a very difficult Northumbrian dialect. E. B. Lyle, in "The Wee Wee Man and Als Y Yod on y Mounday" (reprinted in Lyle, Ballad Studies, 1976), examines the nature of the parallels between the two, but does not reach any clear conclusions. His suggestion is that both derive from some lost proto-romance does not strike me as compelling, though it is certainly possible. - RBW File: C038 === NAME: Wee Wifeikie, The: see The Wee Wifikie (File: HHH714) === NAME: Wee Wifikie, The DESCRIPTION: The Wee Wifikie takes too much drink, and lies down to rest. A peddler steals her purse and cuts her hair. She awakens and finds herself changed. She thinks she is not herself. She tells her husband, who asks the minister, who reassures him all is well AUTHOR: Alexander Watson ? EARLIEST_DATE: 1853 (Scots Musical Museum) KEYWORDS: husband wife humorous hair drink dog theft thief disguise FOUND_IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (4 citations) SHenry H714, pp. 513-514, "The Wee Wifukie" (1 text, 1 tune) Hayward-Ulster, pp. 49-51, "The Wee Wifiekee" (1 text) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 23-26, "The Wee Wifukie" (1 text, 1 tune) Opie-Oxford2 534, "There was a wee bit wiffikie And she held to the fair" (1 fragment) ST HHH714 (Full) Roud #5857 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Whiskey Is My Name (Donald Blue)" cf. "The Old Woman Who Went to Market (The Old Woman and the Pedlar)" (theme, lyrics) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Wee Wifeikie There Was a Wee Bit Wiffikie NOTES: Grieg/Duncan mentions a pamphlet (1921) by William Walker, presenting evidence that this song was written by Alexander Watson in the years around 1775. Ford, however, credits it to one Dr. Alexander Geddes. The song, if composed, seems to have come somewhat unraveled in tradition; the audience is too often left asking "Why?" (Why, e.g., did the peddler clip the Wifikie's hair? Steal her purse, yes, but why risk being caught cutting her hair?) - RBW File: HHH714 === NAME: Wee Wifukie, The: see The Wee Wifikie (File: HHH714) === NAME: Wee Willie Winkie Runs Through the Town DESCRIPTION: "Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town, Upstairs and downstairs in his night gown, Rapping at the window, crying through the lock, Are the children all in bed, for now it's eight o'clock?" AUTHOR: William Miller? EARLIEST_DATE: 1841 (Whistle-Binkie, according to Opie-Oxford2) KEYWORDS: nonballad children FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (3 citations) Opie-Oxford2 529, "Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town" (1 text) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #813, p. 303, "(Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town)" Montgomerie-ScottishNR 132, "(Wee Wilie Winkie)" (1 text) Roud #13711 NOTES: Opie-Oxford2: "'Willie Winkie, as may be seen in Jacobite songs, was a nickname for William III (d.1702), and according to Robert L. Ripley the rhyme refers to that king." - BS The Baring-Goulds also note that "Wee Willie Winkie was the nickname given to William Prince of Orange" (who became William III in 1689). But they doubt its political significance. And, if they are correct in attributing it to William Miller, they are almost surely right in questioning it. Who would be writing concealed verse about William III in the reign of Victoria? - RBW File: OO2529 === NAME: Wee Woman in Our Town, The: see Marrowbones [Laws Q2] (File: LQ02) === NAME: Week Before Easter, The: see The False Bride (The Week Before Easter; I Once Loved a Lass) (File: K152) === NAME: Week's Matrimony, A (A Week's Work) DESCRIPTION: Monday the singer marries; Tuesday his wife sees a girl frying his "sausage"; Wednesday he finds a man in bed with her; Thursday they fight; Friday they part and she hangs herself in sorrow; Saturday he buries her and finds another AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian Johnson Ballads 289) KEYWORDS: adultery marriage fight suicide drink bawdy wife FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Peacock, pp. 322-323, "A Week's Work" (1 text, 1 tune) Leach-Labrador 120, "Days of the Week" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #1692 BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Johnson Ballads 289, "A Week's Matrimony"("On Sunday I went out on a spree"), J. Catnach (London), 1813-1838; also Firth c.20(135), Harding B 20(185), Harding B 11(4082), Harding B 11(4083), Harding B 11(4084), 2806 c.16(23)[some words illegible], Firth c.20(136)[some words illegible], Harding B 11(4081), 2806 b.9(271), Firth c.20(134), "[A] Week's Matrimony[!]" Murray, Mu23-y1:088, "The Week's Matrimony," James Lindsay (Glasgow), 19C CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Holly Twig" [Laws Q6] (theme) cf. "In Duckworth Street There Lived a Dame" (imagery) cf. "Charming Sally Ann" (imagery) SAME_TUNE: The Devil in Search of a Wife (per broadsides Bodleian Johnson Ballads 289, Bodleian Harding B 11(4084), Bodleian Harding B 11(4081)) NOTES: Peacock makes A Week's Work the same ballad as The Holly Twig although the only similarity is that they both account for the days of the week and both start with a marriage. - BS File: Pea322 === NAME: Week's Work Well Done, A: see The Holly Twig [Laws Q6]; also The Wife Wrapped in Wether's Skin [Child 277] (File: LQ06) === NAME: Week's Work, A: see A Week's Matrimony (A Week's Work) (File: Pea322) === NAME: Weep-Willow Tree, The: see The Golden Vanity [Child 286] (File: C286) === NAME: Weeping Mary DESCRIPTION: "Are there anybody here like Mary a-weeping? Call to my Jesus and he'll draw nigh. Glory (x5) be to my God on high." "Are there anybody here like Peter a-sinking?" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1855 (Social Harp) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lomax-FSNA 128, "Weeping Mary" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #6680 RECORDINGS: Roswell Sacred Harp Quartet, "Weeping Mary" (Bluebird B-8582, 1940) NOTES: The reference to "Peter sinking" goes back to Matt. 14:28f. Jesus had been walking on the water, and Peter (in this account; not in the source in Mark) said, "Lord, if it's you, call me to come to you on the water." Jesus did, and Peter walked on the water for a few moments, but then started to doubt -- and sink. Jesus, of course, rescued him. Lomax claims this is in the Sacred Harp. There *is* a song with the title "Weeping Mary" in the Sacred Harp, but it isn't the same thing. According to Jackson, the song is found in the Social Harp, though. - RBW File: LoF128 === NAME: Weeping Sad and Lonely: see When This Cruel War is Over (Weeping Sad and Lonely) (File: SCW42) === NAME: Weeping Willow (I), The: see Jealous Lover, The (Florella, Floella) (Pearl Bryan II) (Nell Cropsey II) [Laws F1A, B, C] (File: LF01) === NAME: Weeping Willow (II), The: see Bury Me Beneath the Willow (File: R747) === NAME: Weeping Willow Tree: see Bury Me Beneath the Willow (File: R747) === NAME: Weeping Willow Tree, The: see The Golden Vanity [Child 286] (File: C286) === NAME: Weevily Wheat DESCRIPTION: "Charlie, he's a nice young man, Charlie he's a dandy." Stories about Charlie's attempts at courting and his visits to town. The mention of "Weevily wheat" and lines such as "Over the river to feed my sheep" are common AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1911 KEYWORDS: courting nonballad playparty floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,SE,So) REFERENCES: (21 citations) Randolph 520, "Weevily Wheat" (7 texts, some fragmentary or excerpted, 1 tune) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 397-399, "Weevily Wheat" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 520A) BrownIII 67, "Weevily Wheat" (1 text plus a possibly-rewritten fragment) Fuson, p. 164, "Over the River to Charlie" (1 text) Cambiaire, p. 140, "Weevily Wheat" (1 short text) Linscott, pp. 262-263, "Over the Water to Charlie" (1 short text, 1 tune, primarily a version of this although it incorporates a single verse of "Over the Water to Charlie") SharpAp 167, "Charlie's Sweet" (4 texts, 4 tunes) Sandburg, p. 161, "Weevily Wheat" (1 text, 1 tune) Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 286, (no title) (3 fragments) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 290-293, "Weevily Wheat" (2 texts, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 163, "Twistification" (1 text, 1 tune, with a counting chorus and modified verses) Fowke/MacMillan 44, "Who'll be King but Charlie?" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton-Maritime, p. 125, "Charlie" (1 text, 1 tune) Ritchie-SingFam, pp. 60-61, "[Charlie]" (1 text, 1 tune) Ritchie-Southern, p. 72, "Over the River Charlie" (1 text, 1 tune) Opie-Oxford2 96, "Over the water and over the lea" (3 texts) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #144, p. 115, "(Over the Water and over the lea)" Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 161, "Charley, He's a Good Ol' Man" (1 text, 1 tune) Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 813-814, "Weevily Wheat" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 36, "Weevily Wheat" (1 text) DT, WEEVWHT* Roud #729 RECORDINGS: Granville Bowlin, "Charlie's Neat" (on MMOK, MMOKCD) Kelly Harrell, "Charley, He's a Good Old Man" (Victor 21069, 1927; on KHarrell02, CrowTold02) New Lost City Ramblers, "Charley, He's a Good Old Man" (on NLCR10) Jean Ritchie, "Over the River Charlie" (on RitchieWatsonCD1) Ritchie Family, "Charlie" (on Ritchie03) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Roll the Tater (Rolly Rolly)" (floating lyrics, meter) cf. "Fly Around, My Pretty Little Miss" (floating lyrics) cf. "Rosey Apple Lemon and Pear" (floating lyrics) NOTES: Certain authorities have conjectured that the "Charlie" of this song is Bonnie Prince Charlie. (Alan Lomax goes so far as to derive it from the Scots "Charlie Over the Water.") It would be hard to prove either way. Those seeking to find every version of this song should also check "Fly Around, My Pretty Little Miss," which I think might be another version of this song. But others disagree.... - RBW Well, I'd say they're at least siblings; at least one version of "Weevily Wheat" has the same tune as "Fly Around, My Pretty Little Miss." - PJS Creighton-Maritime matches the Weevily Wheat pattern but includes the lines "cross the water to Charlie" and -- in the chorus -- "There's none like royal Charlie." In this sense at least it's close to Fowke/MacMillan 44. - BS File: R520 === NAME: Welcome (to Lyda Messer Caudill) DESCRIPTION: "The banners of our county bright Are waving in the breeze; Now we are living in the light...." "In accents sweet proclaim the news... We have a worthy leader, Our superintendant dear." The singer hopes the school superintendent will lead well AUTHOR: Edgar Hamm EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas) KEYWORDS: nonballad FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Thomas-Makin', pp. 254-255, "Welcome" (1 text) NOTES: I can't say with certainty that this is the most trivial thing I've ever seen memorialized in song -- but, other than Edgar Hamm's other school song, "Inspiration (The Rowan County Teachers)," I haven't a better candidate off the top of my head. - RBW File: ThBa254 === NAME: Welcome Table (Streets of Glory, God's Going to Set This World on Fire) DESCRIPTION: "God's going to set this world on fire... One o' these days." "I'm going to walk and talk with Jesus... "I'm going to climb up Jacob's ladder." "All you sinners gonna turn up missing." "God don't want no coward soldiers... Some of these days." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (recording, Florida Normal Quartet) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad floatingverses rejection death resurrection gods Jesus FOUND_IN: US(SE) Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (6 citations) BrownIII 517, "Some of These Days" (2 texts); 536, "Jacob's Ladder" (3 texts, of which the third is apparently this) Creighton/Senior, pp. 280, "Welcome Table" (1 text, 1 tune) Creighton-Maritime, p. 173, "The Welcome Table" (1 text, 1 tune) Sandburg, pp. 478-479, "God's Goin' to Set This World on Fire" (1 text plus a fragment, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 354, "Streets of Glory" (1 text) DT, STGLORY Roud #11812 RECORDINGS: Emmett Brand, "I'm Going to Cross the Rivers of Jordan, Some of These Days" (on MuSouth06) Carter Family, "River of Jordan" (Victor 21434, 1928; Montgomery Ward M-4430, 1934; on Babylon) Jaybird Coleman, "I'm Gonna Cross the River of Jordan - Some o' These Days" (Silvertone 5172, 1927; on Babylon) Florida Normal Quartet, "The Welcome Table" (OKeh 40079, 1924; rec. 1922) West Virginia Night Owls, "I'm Goin' to Walk on the Streets of Glory" (Victor 21533, 1928) Charles Owens w. Isabel Owens, "The Welcome Table" (on NovaScotia1) West Virginia Snake Hunters [John & Emery McClung], "Walk the Streets of Glory" (Brunswick 119, 1928, rec. 1927) Alice Wine, "I'm Gonna Sit at the Welcome Table" (on BeenStorm1) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "When I'm Gone (I)" (floating verses) cf. "I'm Going to Ride in Pharaoh's Chariot" (form) SAME_TUNE: "I'm Gonna Sit at the Freedom Table" (civil rights movement song) ALTERNATE_TITLES: I'm Gonna Tell God How You Treat Me NOTES: This song carries several titles; I chose the one by which it's most commonly known among revival singers. While the song seems to have originated in African-American tradition, it has spread to Anglo singers as well. - PJS Reported by Sandburg to be the favorite verse of the IWW, but evidently not of their composition. I had originally split this song up under several titles, because the versions don't really relate much (Sandburg's and that in the Digital Tradition, for instance, appear to have no words in common whatsoever). But Paul Stamler thinks they're the same, and certainly there is continuous variation, so here they lump. - RBW File: San478 === NAME: Well Met, Pretty Maid (The Sweet Nightingale) DESCRIPTION: Singer invites girl to hear the nightingale; he offers to carry her pail. She demurs; "I've hands of my own." They agree to marry; now she's not afraid to go out walking or to "hear the fond tale of the sweet nightingale/As she sings in the valley below" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1776 (Journal from the _Ann_) KEYWORDS: courting love sex marriage bird rejection seduction FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 187-188, "A New Song" (1 text, 1 tune) Hugill, p. 562, "Sweet Nightingale" (1 text, 1 tune) Kennedy 89, "An Eos Whek [The Sweet Nightingale]" (1 text + Cornish translation, 1 tune) DT, NITINGAL Roud #371 ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Nightingale NOTES: Kennedy's Cornish words are a revivalist translation from the English. The song has been collected from tradition several times, but positively shouts out a composed origin. Kennedy lumps it with "The Valley Below," but as the plots are notably different, I don't. They certainly share a common ancestor, though, possibly in Thomas Arne's opera "Thomas and Sally" (1761). - PJS I doubt even that much, and the fact that Kennedy lumps them (on no basis at all that I can see) makes me doubt all his other references. The one thing I'll allow is his claim that the song has a very fine melody. I've used a title from JFSS because that's the way I learned the song. It's very difficult to know what to do with songs of this type. Huntington thinks his text is a survival of the Corydon/Colin-and-Phyllis/Phoebe type. As Paul observes, it sounds more like a minstrel than a folk piece. But Theodore Bikel and Cynthia Gooding recorded something quite similar (under the "Well Met" title), and there are enough broadsides with similar form that I decided I needed to include the song. The trick now is to decide which of these many pieces actually belong here, and which are orphan broadsides.... - RBW File: K089 === NAME: Well of Spring Water, The DESCRIPTION: Singer met a lass on her way to a well "who at once won my admiration" (more than his mother!). He declares his love. They fall into the well. They can't remember the rest that was said but married soon after. Their daughter Maureen is like her mother. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1972 (Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan) KEYWORDS: courting love marriage children derivative FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan 6, "The Well of Spring Water" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #5215 RECORDINGS: Tom Lenihan, "The Well of Spring Water" (on IRTLenihan01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Can of Spring Water" (form) NOTES: There can be no doubt that this song derives from "The Can of Spring Water" but that is a seduction ballad with different details, lines and tone from this. Roud assigns the same number to both. - BS File: RcWeSpWa === NAME: Well Sold the Cow: see The Crafty Farmer [Child 283; Laws L1] (File: C283) === NAME: Wellington and Waterloo: see The Plains of Waterloo (V) (File: LJ03) === NAME: Wells and Fargo Line, The DESCRIPTION: The singer tells of "...the men who served their time For robbing mountain stages on the Wells and Fargo Line." Among the criminals who haunted the route were Major Thompson, Jimmy Miner, Old Jim Hughes, and Black Bart AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1966 KEYWORDS: travel robbery prison FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fife-Cowboy/West 18, "The Wells and Fargo Line" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #11083 File: FCW18 === NAME: Went Down Town: see Deep Elem Blues (File: DTdeepel) === NAME: Went to the River (I) DESCRIPTION: "I went to the river an' I couldn't get across, I jumped on a (log/alligator/nigger/possum/etc.) an' thought it was a horse." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Randolph) KEYWORDS: river floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(SE,So) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Randolph 258, "Ease that Trouble in the Mind" (1 fragment) BrownIII 193, "Went to the River and I Couldn't Get Across" (1 fragment) Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 184-185, (no title) (3 fragments plus an item entitled "Sister Cyarline" which has a chorus and might perhaps be something else) Roud #469 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Johnny Booker (Mister Booger)" (floating lyrics) cf. "Limber Jim" (floating lyrics) cf. "Mary Mack (I)" (floating lyrics) NOTES: Another of those ubiquitous floating verses, filed separately because it so often *appears* separately. Randolph's version of this has a chorus: "I went to the river an' I couldn't get across, Ease that trouble in the mind, I jumped on a log an' thought it was a horse, Ease that trouble in the mind." But he has only a single four-line stanza, so it's not clear if the verse floated into something else or if there is a complete song. - RBW Opie-Oxford2 362, "My mother said that I never should" includes an "I came to a river and I couldn't get across" verse: "'I came to a river' has had a long life as a make-weight verse in American play-party and minstrel songs. It is first noted in 'Clare de Kitchen, or Old Virginia Never Tire' (c.1838)." (cf. "Charleston Gals (Clear the Kitchen)") TakingOpie-Oxford2's lead, the Public Domain Music site has an entry from "Minstrel Songs, Old and New" (1883) pp 152-153 for "'Clare de Kitchen; or, De Kentucky Screamer' (1832) Words and Music by Thomas Dartmouth (Daddy) Rice, 1808-1860" with verse 2 "I went to de creek, I couldn't git across, I'd nobody wid me but an old blind horse; But old Jim Crow came riding by, Says he, 'old feller, your horse will die.'" - BS File: R258 === NAME: Went to the River (II): see The Swapping Boy (File: E093) === NAME: Went to the River and I Couldn't Get Across: see Went to the River (I) (File: R258) === NAME: Were You Ever in Dumbarton? DESCRIPTION: "Were you ever in Dumbarton, Where they wear the tartan (x2), little above the knee.... My love she is so neat and small, She won't have me at all (x2), But try to get her full and then she'll marry me... Oh, if I had her, happy I would be." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1971 KEYWORDS: courting clothes travel love FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Doerflinger, pp. 307-308, "Were You Ever in Dumbarton?" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9421 File: Doe307 === NAME: Were You There When They Crucified My Lord? DESCRIPTION: "Were you there when they crucified my Lord (x2), Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble; Were you there when...." "Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?" "...pierced him in the side?" "...the sun refused to shine...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (recording, Paul Robeson) KEYWORDS: religious Jesus nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (2 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 367, "Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?" (1 text) ADDITIONAL: Charles Johnson, One Hundred and One Famous Hymns (Hallberg, 1982), p. 147, "Were You There?" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #11409 RECORDINGS: Roy Acuff, "Were You There When They Crucified My Lord" (Columbia 20550, 1949) Fisk Jubilee Singers, "Were You There?" (on Fisk01) Roland Hayes, "Were You There" (Columbia 69812-D, 1939) Uncle Dave Macon, "Was You There When They Took My Lord Away" (OKeh 45522, 1931; rec. 1930) Wade Mainer, "Were You There" (Bluebird B-8273, 1939) File: FSWB367A === NAME: West River Railroad DESCRIPTION: "We've got a little railroad And it isn't very wide. We put in twenty thousand And quite a lot beside." Few travelers take the train: "A sheriff and a parson, Three ladies... and a little red calf." After humorous incidents, all arrive AUTHOR: Mr. and Mrs. Julian Johnson ? EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (Flanders/Brown) KEYWORDS: railroading train humorous money FOUND_IN: US(NE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Flanders/Brown, pp. 198-199, "West River Railroad" (1 text) ST FlBr198 (Partial) Roud #5454 NOTES: Reportedly written for a home talent play, which somehow survived thirty years to be included in Flanders and Brown. (To be fair, it's much funnier than most such songs). Apparently the song is about a locally-financed railroad which was, at best, only mildly successful. No tune is shown, but I suspect "I Hard a Little Nut Tree." - RBW File: FlBr198 === NAME: West Virginia Feud Song, A DESCRIPTION: A story of the "Lincoln County crew." Ale Brumfield is shot, perhaps by Milt Haley, but Brumfield (who survives) blames "McCoy." Later, at George Fries's house, a fight begins and many are killed. The singer blames the fight on drink AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1916 (Cox) KEYWORDS: feud death drink FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) JHCox 40, "A West-Virginia Feud Song" (1 text) Roud #465 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Rowan County Crew (Trouble, or Tragedy)" [Laws E20] NOTES: Cox views this as a reworking of "The Rowan County Crew," and Laws (in the notes to that song) evidently agrees. (Roud lumps them.) The resulting song is rare, and the Cox text is confused; it's not even clear who feuded with whom! The informants believed that the fight took place in 1890, near Hamlin, West Virginia. - RBW File: LE20A === NAME: West-Country Damosel's Complaint, The [Child 292] DESCRIPTION: The girl begs William to marry her; if he will not, she bids him kill her. He callously tells her to live in the greenwood. She tries, but at last begs her sister for alms. The sister drives her away. Willie finds her dead and mourns his cruelty AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1695 KEYWORDS: courting abandonment poverty death sister love FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Child 292, "The West-Country Damosel's Complaint" (1 text) BBI, ZN2899, "When will you Marry me William" Roud #3959 NOTES: Child is of the opinion that this is a composite piece, with the first eleven stanzas being popular and the remaining thirteen being literary. As both the tone and the rhyme scheme change in the final stanzas, he is quite possibly correct. - RBW File: C292 === NAME: West's Asleep, The DESCRIPTION: "While every side a vigil keep, The West's asleep, the West's asleep." The singer laments the "slumbering slaves" in a land that demands Freedom and Nationhood. But a voice announces "'the West's awake!' 'Sing, oh hurra! let England quake!'" AUTHOR: Thomas Davis (1814-1845) (source: Moylan; Hoagland) EARLIEST_DATE: 1947 (Hoagland) KEYWORDS: Ireland England nonballad patriotic FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (3 citations) Moylan 115, "The West's Asleep" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, WSTASLEP ADDITIONAL: Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 472-473, "The West's Asleep" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Brink of the White Rocks" (tune, according to Hoagland) cf. "The Men of the West" (subject: The landing of General Humbert) and references there NOTES: The 1798 rebellion was a very patchy thing, due in no small part to the arrests of nearly all the United Irish leaders well before it was supposed to come off. The biggest rising, in Wexford, was largely unplanned, but at least it was a rising. There was a lot of stirring in Ulster, though it accomplished very little. Connaught and Leinster, however, saw nothing of any significance at all. Until the French came. This song apparently refers to General Humber's activity (for which see especially "The Men of the West"). The O'Connors, mentioned in the song, were the hereditary kings of Connaught before the Norman invasion. For the disastrous Battle of Aughrim, see the notes to "After Aughrim's Great Disaster." - RBW File: Moyl115 === NAME: Wester Snow: see Easter Snow (File: HHH066) === NAME: Western Boat (Let Me Fish Off Cape St Mary's) DESCRIPTION: "Take me back to my Western boat, Let me fish off Cape St Mary's." Singer recounts good times and wants to be buried in "that snug green cove where the seas roll up their thunder" AUTHOR: Otto P. Kelland EARLIEST_DATE: 1955 (Doyle) KEYWORDS: fishing sea lyric nonballad work death FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Doyle3, p. 39, "Let Me Fish Off Cape St Mary's" (1 text, 1 tune) Blondahl, pp. 88-89, "Let Me Fish Off Cape St Mary's" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, CAPSTMAR* Roud #7301 RECORDINGS: Omar Blondahl, "Let Me Fish Off Cape St Mary's" (on NFOBlondahl01) NOTES: Cape St Mary's is now a sea-bird sanctuary at the southwest corner of the Avalon Peninsula, about 100 miles from St John's - BS Although the printed editions seem to call this "Let Me Fish Off Cape St Mary's," I've assigned the basic title "Western Boat" on the assumption that most people know it from the recording by Gordon Bok. - RBW File: Doyl3039 === NAME: Western Home: see Home on the Range (File: R193) === NAME: Western Ocean: see Here's to the Grog (All Gone for Grog) (File: K274) === NAME: Western Ranger: see Texas Rangers, The [Laws A8] (File: LA08) === NAME: Wet Sheet and a Flowing Sea, A: see Britannia on Our Lee (File: SWMS049) === NAME: Wexford City (I): see The Female Highwayman [Laws N21] (File: LN21) === NAME: Wexford City (II): see The Wexford (Oxford, Knoxville, Noel) Girl [Laws P35] (File: LP35) === NAME: Wexford Girl (II), The: see My Name is Edward Gallovan (File: CrSNB092) === NAME: Wexford Girl, The (The Oxford, Lexington, or Knoxville Girl; The Cruel Miller; etc.) [Laws P35] DESCRIPTION: The singer invites the girl for a walk. They discuss their wedding. Then he takes up a club and attacks her. She begs him to spare her life. He beats her to death and throws her in the river. He is taken and hanged AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1796 (broadside, Bodleian Firth c.17(216); c.1700 (broadside, Bodleian Antiq. c. E.9(125)) KEYWORDS: wedding river homicide trial execution FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,SE,So) Canada(Mar,Newf) Britain(Scotland,England) Ireland REFERENCES: (31 citations) Laws P35, "The Wexford Girl (The Oxford, Lexington, or Knoxville Girl; The Cruel Miller; etc.)" (Laws gives three broadside texts on pp. 104-112 of ABFBB) Belden, pp. 133-136, "The Oxford Girl" (2 texts) Randolph 150, "The Noel Girl" (7 texts plus 3 excerpts and 2 fragments, 5 tunes) Randolph/Cohen, pp. 108-111, "The Noel Girl" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 150A) Eddy 104, "The Murdered Girl" (8 texts, 2 tunes, but Laws assigns the B text to "The Banks of the Ohio" and omits the others. It would appear that Eddy's A and C texts belong here) Gardner/Chickering 19, "The Knoxville Girl" (2 texts) BrownII 65, "The Lexington Murder" (3 texts plus 6 excerpts, 1 fragment, and mention of 3 more) Chappell-FSRA 63, "Nell Cropsey, III" (1 text, which despite its title does not mention Cropsey and appears to be simply a version of this song with perhaps some mixture with "Banks of the Ohio") Hudson 30, pp. 141-143, "The Wexford Girl" (1 text) Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 159-164, "The Wexford Girl; Hanged I Shall Be; The Prentice Boy" (3 texts, which despite the collective title are all called "Knoxville Girl"; 1 tune on p. 402) Shellans, pp. 68-69, "The Jealous Lover" (1 text, 1 tune, probably this but with some curious variants which hint at recomposition) Brewster 36, "The Wexford Girl (The Cruel Miller)" (1 text) Flanders/Brown, pp. 88-90, "Hang-ed I Shall Be" (1 text, 1 tune) SharpAp 71, "The Miller's Apprentice, or The Oxford Tragedy" (5 texts, 5 tunes) Greenleaf/Mansfield 56, "Wexford City" (1 text) Peacock, pp. 634-636, "The Wexford Girl" (2 texts, 2 tunes); pp. 638-640, "The Worcester Tragedy" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Mackenzie 115, "Waterford Town" (1 text) Manny/Wilson 98, "The Wexford Lass" (1 text, 1 tune) Leach, pp. 785-787, "The Lexington Murder" (2 texts) Doerflinger, pp. 288-290, "The Wexford Girl" (2 texts, 1 tune) Friedman, p. 225, "The Wexford Girl" (1 text+5 fragments of another text) Warner 7, "The Waxford Girl" (1 text, 1 tune) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 150-151, "Knoxville Girl" (1 text, 1 tune) Botkin-SoFolklr, p. 737, "The Knoxville Girl" (1 text, 1 tune) Kennedy 327, "The Oxford Girl" (1 text, 1 tune) Abrahams/Foss, pp. 115-116, "Knoxville Girl" (1 text, 1 tune) JHCox 90, "The Wesford Girl" (2 texts) MacSeegTrav 75, "The Wexford Girl" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 224, "Knoxville Girl" (1 text) BBI, ZN1624, "Let all pretending Lovers"; ZN3196, "Young men and maidens all, give ear unto what I relate" DT 353, CRUELMIL* OXFRDTRG* PRETPOL2; (628), WXFRDGRL Roud #263 RECORDINGS: Blue Sky Boys, "Story of the Knoxville Girl" (Montgomery Ward 7327, c. 1937) Cope Brothers, "Knoxville Girl" (King 589, 1947) Mary Delaney, "Town of Linsborough" (on IRTravellers01) Foster & James "The Knoxville Girl" (Supertone 9260, 1928) [also issued as by Jim Burke, possibly a pseudonym for Doc Roberts] Marie Hare, "The Wexford Lass" (on MRMHare01) Louisiana Lou, "The Export Girl" (Bluebird B-5424, 1934) Asa Martin & James [Doc] Roberts "Knoxville Girl" (Conqueror 7837, 1931) Lester McFarland & Robert Gardner, "The Knoxville Girl" (Brunswick 110/Vocalion 5121, 1927) Aulton Ray, "Maxwell Girl" (Gennett 6205/Champion 15332/Challenge 335 [as Charlie Prescott]/Silvertone 5084, 1927; Supertone 9250, 1928; on KMM [as Taylor's Kentucky Boys]) Arthur Tanner, "The Knoxville Girl" (Silvertone 3515, 1926) (Columbia 15145-D, 1927) Mildred Tuttle, "Expert Town (The Oxford Girl)" (AFS; on LC12) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Antiq. c. E.9(125), "The Berkshire Trgedy [sic]" or "The Wittam Miller" ("Young men and maidens all give ear"), unknown, c.1700; also Firth c.17(216), "The Berkshire Tragedy" or "The Wittam Miller," unknown, 1796; Harding B 6(100), Douce Ballads 3(1b), Harding B 6(101), Harding B 6(102), Firth b.28(40a), "The Berkshire Tragedy" or "The Wittam Miller"; Harding B 6(96), "The Berkshire Trgedy [sic]" or "The Wittam Miller"; Harding B 6(98), "The Wittham-Miller" or "The Berkshire Tragedy"; 2806 c.17(40), Harding B 28(224), "Bloody Miller" ("My parents educated, and good learning gave to me"); Firth c.17(110), Harding B 11(752), Harding B 11(753), Harding B 11(754), Harding B 11(755), "[The] Cruel Miller"; Harding B 15(74a), "Cruel Miller" or "Love and Murder"; Firth c.17(109), "Cruel Miller" or "Love and Murder!" CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Banks of the Ohio" [Laws F5] (plot) cf. "Camden Town" (plot) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Oxford Tragedy The Expert Girl Johnny McDowell The Prentice Boy The Cruel Miller The Miller Boy Never Let the Devil Get the Upper Hand of You (Carter Family version) NOTES: Ozark folklore links this to the murder of one Lula Noel, whose body was discovered by the Cowskin River in Missouri in 1892. The song, however, is obviously older. Doerflinger traces it to a broadside about a murder committed at Reading, England in 1774. - RBW Botkin, following Cox (who follows Belden), traces it to a British broadside, "Berkshire Tragedy" or "The Wittam Miller", circa 1700. - NR Laws also lists this broadside in his catalog (it is, indeed, one of the texts he prints), but adopts his title based on common traditional usage. Laws, in fact, draws a stemma, starting from the "Berkshire Tragedy," and listing a total of seven "recensions" (p. 119), though he considers the broadside to be merely of eighteenth century date. I have a problem with the whole reconstruction, though: It's too literary. Even if one assumes the original ballad was a broadside (and I think Laws assumes this more often than is justified), it does not follow that its entire history is found in the broadsides. The song is so common that one must suspect the larger share of the broadsides to be derived from tradition, rather than being the source of tradition. - RBW In Peacock pp. 638-640 version A the girl is pregnant, as in Laws' text of "The Cruel Miller" ( _American Ballads from British Broadsides_ chapter IV, p. 111). Broadside Bodleian Firth b.28(40a), printed in London between 1800 and 1811, has 22 8-line verses; shelfmark Antiq. c. E.9(125), with the same text as Firth b.28(40a) has an estimated print date of c.1700. These are all clearly recognizable as the same ballad, down to the "bleeding at the nose" line. - BS The "Love and Murder" broadsides listed here should not be confused with the other numerous broadsides of that title, many of which are versions of The Cruel Ship's Carpenter (The Gosport Tragedy; Pretty Polly) [Laws P36A/B]. ["Love and Murder" is a very common title for broadsides, which I suppose proves that cheap journalism is not a modern invention. - RBW] - BS, (RBW) File: LP35 === NAME: Wexford Insurgent, The DESCRIPTION: "The heroes of Wexford have burst through their chains." The Shelmaliers lead the attack and trail the retreat. The Sassenach dragoons "have been trampled to death ... O! long in fair England each maiden may mourn." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 2000 (Moylan) KEYWORDS: battle rebellion death England Ireland HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1798 - Irish rebellion against British rule FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Moylan 71, "The Wexford Insurgent" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: This anonymous, probably mid-19th-century piece, displays the marks of the drawing-room rather than the tap-room or cottage in its language." _Webster's Third New International Dictionary_: sassenach: "a typical Englishman or something considered typical of England -- often used disparagingly by Scots and Irish." [Derived from the same root as "Saxon" -- an ironic description, given that the first invaders of Ireland were almost all Anglo-Norman barons and their French-speaking retainers. - RBW] The Irish baronies of Shelmalier, East and West, are in County Wexford. - BS File: Moyl071 === NAME: Wexford Lass, The: see The Wexford (Oxford, Knoxville, Noel) Girl [Laws P35] (File: LP35) === NAME: Wexford Massacre, The DESCRIPTION: "They knelt around the cross divine, the matron and the maid... Three hundred fair and helpless ones... Had battled for their own." The three hundred have fallen at the hands of Cromwell's English. They pray Heaven will avenge the wrong AUTHOR: M. J. Barry EARLIEST_DATE: 1855 (Edward Hayes, The Ballads of Ireland (Boston, 1859), Vol I) KEYWORDS: Ireland battle death HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Oct 23, 1641 - Outbreak of the revolt which eventually becomes "The War of the Three Kingdoms." Catholics in Ulster rebel to earn religious liberty, but commit too many brutalities against Protestants to allow peace. To make matters worse, one of their leaders, Sir Phelim O'Neill, claims authority from Charles I (see P. Berresford Ellis, _A History of the Irish Working Class_, p. 42; C.V. Wedgwood, _The King's War 1641-1647_, p. 26). Charles declares that O'Neill's commission is a forgery, but the forces arrayed against Charles in England refuse to believe this. Nov. 29, 1641 - Battle of Julianstown. A small force of loyalist troops is scattered by rebels. The "Old English" (English immigrants who arrived before the reign of Elizabeth), afraid of the rebels, feel compelled to join their revolt. The English are forced to raise large forces to suppress the movement. They raise the money for this by selling the rights to land expected to be confiscated from rebels. The English government is now committed to punishing Ireland -- and to blaming Charles for the troubles Aug 1642 - The English Civil War turns "hot," causing England to concentrate mostly on its internal affairs and leave Ireland to tend its own house Oct 1642 - "Confederation of Kilkenny." The rebels try (and fail) to form a united governmental and religious front 1643 - Inconclusive fighting. The English Civil War draws off more and more English soldiers. All sides in Ireland alternate between fighting, negotiating, and calling on King Charles. In the coming years, Charles will make various deals (usually of toleration in return for troops), but none amount to anything. The Irish factions are unable to unite in any way. Assorted battles are fought, but none are decisive. The Irish have placed themselves in the worst possible position: Clearly opposed to the English, but without the organization to oppose them. As soon as there is a united English government, the Irish can expect to face its wrath. 1649 - The English execute King Charles and declare a commonwealth. England is at last united and ready to deal with Ireland. August 1649 - Oliver Cromwell (the future Lord Protector of England) arrives in Ireland to regain control of the island. In theory, he is fighting Irish rebels; in practice, his chief opponents are royalists (as at Drogheda) Sep 11, 1649 - Cromwell captures Drogheda. He backs this up with a massacre -- at the very least, the garrison and the Catholic clergy are killed. His enemies report that he slaughtered indiscriminately October 1649 - Cromwell attacks and captures Wexford May 26, 1650 - Cromwell leaves Ireland. In his absence, the struggle continues until May 1652, but the Irish/Royalist position is already doomed; they can neither agree on a plan nor find an acceptable leader. The closest thing they have to a commander, the Duke of Ormonde (1610-1688, a staunch supporter of the Stuarts who would be Lord Lieutenant under Charles II), flees to the continent in December 1650 1652 - The English parliament passes its Act of Settlement. Cromwell will significantly alter the Act in 1653, but not in a way as to benefit the Irish. The Act is such as to deprive nearly everyone alive in Ireland of at least some property. The English send in settlers to take their places. The poverty which is to afflict Ireland for centuries dates largely from this incident FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) PGalvin, pp. 96-97, "The Wexford Massacre" (1 text, 1 tune) ADDITIONAL: Edward Hayes, The Ballads of Ireland (Boston, 1859), Vol I, pp. 205-206, "The Wexford Massacre" NOTES: In the 1630s, as Charles I found himself in more and more trouble in England, he tried to strengthen his Irish position by offering the rights to Catholics known as the "Graces" (see Mike Cronin, _A History of Ireland_, pp. 70-71). They didn't really make the Irish happy, but at least his lieutenant Wentworth was a good administrator. He was recalled in 1639, and executed 1641. The rebellion started in Ulster as the Catholics tried to throw off the Protestants who ran the plantation and made life nearly impossible for Catholics. The rebellion probably could have been quashed easily -- except that Charles I and parliament couldn't agree on what to do, letting things get out of hand. Charles negotiated with all parties, but -- being Charles -- he never took his promises seriously. The 1641 revolt had resulted in the death of some Protestants (and of course the tales grew with the telling). Oliver Cromwell -- who had no mercy even on the English -- was appointed in 1649 to stamp out royalists and rebels in Ireland. Cromwell took Drogheda on September 11, 1649, and put the garrison, and the general population, to death. (Ironically, most of the population of Drogheda was English; see Peter and Iona Somerset Fry, _A History of Ireland_, pp. 154-155.) Garrisons which surrendered quickly were allowed to live, but soon after Wexford was subjected to the same treatment; according to Terry Golway, _For the Cause of Liberty_, p. 17, Cromwell killed 2000 people there, including 250 women (cf. Fry/Fry, p. 155). Cromwell left Ireland in 1650, but later saw to it that any who had not fervently supported him was punished, usually by loss of lands (The Frys compare the residue of Irish land to "an impoverished wilderness, rather like a South African homeland"). Exactly how much damage Cromwell did is hard to tell. The Frys state that "A third of the country's Catholics had been killed" (p. 156; compare Robert Kee, _The Most Distressful Country_, being volume I of _The Green Flag_, p. 16). Cronin states that the surviving population "numbered no more than half a million"; the Frys also quote a figure of half a million. P. Berresford Ellis, _A History of the Irish Working Class_, p. 43, quotes Leyburn's comparison with the Mongol hordes and cites (pp. 43-44) Petty's statistics that, of an Irish population of 1,448,000, "some 616,000 perished by sword, famine, and plague. Of this number 504,000 were native Irish while 112,000 were colonists. A further 40,000 decided to leave Ireland to enlist in European armies... 100,000 Irish... were sold as slaves to the West Indies and other colonies." This of course is more than half the population of Ireland, which is impossible; I've never seen anyone else quote such numbers. But it still surely qualifies as the worst genocide of the era. And Cromwell then imposed the 1652 Act of Settlement, which pushed the entire native population into Connaught (sending them "to Hell or Connaught" -- Golway, p. 28; Cronin, p. 74); Golway reports that, before the Act of Settlement, Catholics still owned 60% of the land; afterward, only 20%. And from the time the act was passed to the time it finally went into effect was less than three years -- and the initial law had allowed less time than that! (Fry/Fry, p. 157). Cromwell's mass deportation -- again, something not seen for thousands of years; the last to practice such a thing seems to have been the Romans with Carthage, and before that the Assyrian and Babylonian tyrants -- had the interesting effect of bringing together two long-separate groups: The native Irish and the "Old English" settlers who had arrived in Norman times suddenly found themselves on the same side -- and both opposed to the Protestants (Kee, pp. 15-16). The goal, of course, was to make the Protestants the dominant population. But, of course, it didn't work; there weren't enough Protestants in Britain to occupy the land, so the same old situation prevailed; The Protestants owned the land, but their tenants were Catholic. The only effect was to reduce the tenants' rights to nothing: They could be displaced at whim. This of course assured that the tenants would spend everything they had to try to stay on their land. Cromwell cannot be considered the sole source of the Irish problems, but he probably contributed more to them than any other man. Indeed, more than any other five or six, including even William of Orange. - RBW File: PGa096 === NAME: Wexford Schooner, The DESCRIPTION: The singer dreams of Kelly shot on Tara Hill. Then he dreams of "a schooner down from Wexford town cast on Wicklow's coast." Captain Laurence Murphy and the crew, who "have met a watery grave," are named. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1947 (Ranson) KEYWORDS: drowning sea ship storm wreck sailor FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ranson, p. 61, "The Wexford Schooner" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: Wicklow county is north of Wexford. - BS I have this funny feeling that this refers to the 1798, with Kelly being "Kelly, the Boy from Killane," wounded at the Three Bullet Gate at New Ross. The wrecked ship may be the one by which Bagenal Harvey, the commander at New Ross, tried to flee; according to Thomas Pakenham, _The Year of Liberty_, p. 268, Harvey was captured in a cave, though he doesn't mention a shipwreck. But this is only speculation based on very little information from the song. - RBW File: Ran061 === NAME: Wha Saw the Forty-Second DESCRIPTION: "(Wha saw/Saw ye) the forty-second? Wha saw then gaun away? Wha saw the forty-second Marching to the (Broomielaw)?" The singer describes the equipment (often poor) and the rations assigned to the soldiers of the regiment AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1964 (Montgomerie) KEYWORDS: soldier travel nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Montgomerie-ScottishNR 98, "(Who saw the Forty-Second)" (1 text) DT, MARCH42* Roud #13073 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Gallant Forty-Twa" (subject) NOTES: The Forty-Second is the famous Black Watch, which fought in the '45 Jacobite Rebellion and the Crimea and beyond. According to Michael Brander, _The Scottish Highlanders and their Regiments_, and Ian S. Hallows, _Regiments and Corps of the British Army_, six companies were raised in the Highlands in 1729 and designated the Black Watch (Brander, p. 203). In 1739 (Hallows, p. 202) or 1740 (Brander, p. 203), it was raised to regimental strength and numbered the 43rd Infantry. In 1751, this number was changed to the 42nd (Hallows). In 1758 it was designated the Royal Highlanders (Brander). A second battalion was added in 1780 (Brander, p. 205). This was split off in 1784 and became the 73rd Regiment, though it later rejoined the Black Watch; since 1881, they have been the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) (Hallows). This recombination and reorganization, part of the Cardwell Reforms of 1881, changed the character of the regiment, which until then had been a Highland force. The Black Watch's recruiting area was now designated as Fife, Forfar, and Perth, with Perth as the headquarters. These shires are almost entirely Lowland. So, while the regiment is still designated a Highland regiment, it isn't really (Brander, p. 199). The companies which comprised the Black Watch had been raised starting around 1725 (Brander, p. 19); the name itself apparently came from the dark tartan they wore when they were amalgamated and given a common uniform. Their record was quite impressive. Hallows lists their battle honors, which include (but are not limited to) fighting in the Carribean in the Seven Years War; much service in India; ten battles in the Peninsular Wars against Napoleon; Waterloo; battles in South Africa; awards for Alma and Sebastopol in the Crimean War; Egypt; the Sudan; in the First World War, the Marne, all three battles at Ypres, the Somme, and some troops were in Palestine; there are honors for Tobruk, El Alamein, Sicily, and Burma in the second World War, and beyond. This may explain why the regiment is listed in the song as marching to various places. It certainly got around a lot! And few regiments were more famous. I can't help but add that this greatest of British regiments, which held together despite service in the Crimea and the Sudan and so many other failures, has in the early twenty-first century been amalgamated into a "Super Scottish Regiment." The reason? People won't join because they refuse to go to Iraq. - RBW File: MSNR098 === NAME: Whack Fol the Diddle (God Bless England) DESCRIPTION: "We'll sing you a song of Peace and Love." "'God Bless England.'" When we were savages she raised us up "and sent us to heaven in her own good time." "Irishmen, forget the past." Soon we shall be civilized. "Won't Mother England be surprised." AUTHOR: Peadar Kearney EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (OLochlainn-More) KEYWORDS: England Ireland humorous nonballad political FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (4 citations) OLochlainn-More, pp. 250-251, "Whack Fol the Diddle" (1 text) DT WHACKFOL* ADDITIONAL: Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 686-688, "Whack Fol the Diddle" (1 text) Frank Harte _Songs of Dublin_, second edition, Ossian, 1993, pp. 52-53, "Whack Fol the Diddle" (1 text, 1 tune) RECORDINGS: The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, "Whack Fol the Diddle" (on IRClancyMakem03) NOTES: Most of the charges in this song are, of course, true -- and, in fact, the final stanza has in some ways come true also; in the early twenty-first century, the Irish economy is growing much faster than the English. I can't help but point out one irony, though: The Anglo-Irish conflicts were caused, more than anything else, by the problems between Catholic and Protestant -- and it was the English who made the Irish firmly Catholic! Celtic Christianity had been largely monastic rather than Episcopal, and had celebrated Easter according to a different calendar. It was England, at the Synod of Whitby, that forced the English Celtic church to follow the Catholic calendar, and the English invasion of Ireland was authorized by Pope Adrian IV to bring the Irish back into proper episcopal practice. The Irish have followed those English practices for over 800 years; it is the English who have abandoned them. According to Hoagland, p. 784, Peadar Kearney (O'Cearnaigh; 1883-1942) was a member of the IRA and participated in a minor role in the 1916 Easter Rebellion. He also wrote the words to "The Soldier's Song" ("Soldiers are we Whose lives are pledged to Ireland; Some have come From a land beyond the waves"; in Gaelic, "Amhran na bhFiann"; composed 1907), one of the best-known rebel songs and a future national anthem, but a song which does not seem to have entered into tradition. Happily, since such a violent item would be reasonable as a military song but which is, frankly, completely unsuitable to be used as national anthem of a civilized country. Other Keaney songs in this index include "Down By the Glenside (The Bold Fenian Men)," "Michael Dwyer (II)," "Fish and Chips (Down by the Liffey Side)," and perhaps "Erin Go Braugh! (I)." According to Hoagland, the British banned the singing of three Kearney songs, "The Soldier's Song," this item, and "The Tri-Colored Ribbon." The effect, of course, was to make them more popular. - RBW File: OLcM0250 === NAME: Whale Song, The: see Crazy Song to the Air of "Dixie" (File: San342) === NAME: Whale-Catchers, The DESCRIPTION: Singer and his shipmates sail to Greenland after whales. He describes hardships of their lives, and looks forward to arrival back home, when they will make the alehouses of London roar. When they've spent all their money, they'll go back to Greenland. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1900 KEYWORDS: ship shore work whale whaler FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, p. 100, "The Whale Catchers" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #3291 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy" NOTES: This song is distinct from "The Greenland Whale Fishery." It shares much of its final verse with a song called "Adieu, My Lovely Nancy" [indexed as "Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy"] collected from an Irish immigrant in Missouri and sung by the Copper family in Sussex. - PJS File: VWL100 === NAME: Whale, The: see The Greenland Whale Fishery [Laws K21] (File: LK21) === NAME: Whalefish Song, The: see The Greenland Whale Fishery [Laws K21] (File: LK21) === NAME: Whaleman's Lament, The DESCRIPTION: "'Twas on the briny ocean On a whaleship I did go; Oft times I thought of distant friends...." The singer relates the voyage around Cape Horn and describes how Captain and officers abuse the crew. He vows to go sailing no more. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1856 (Journal from the Catalpa) KEYWORDS: whaler hardtimes abuse FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 15-17, "The Whaleman's Lament" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2000 NOTES: Huntington does not indicate what tune he used for this song; perhaps he made it up. (He can hardly have used a tune from other versions of this song, since he doesn't list any.) The metrical form, however, strongly suggests "Jim Jones at Botany Bay." - RBW File: SWMS015 === NAME: Whalemen's Wives, The DESCRIPTION: Cautionary song, warns whalemen of what their wives will do while they're "on the raging deep." Wives spend their husbands' half pay, pawn their belongings & run around with fancy men, only wanting their husbands back when their pockets are well lined. AUTHOR: Captain R. W. Nye EARLIEST_DATE: 1945 (Harlow) KEYWORDS: whaler warning wife sailor FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Harlow, pp. 232-234, "The Whalemen's Wives" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9156 File: Harl232 === NAME: Whalen's Fate: see James Whalen [Laws C7] (File: LC07) === NAME: Whaler's Song (II): see Greenland (The Whaler's Song, Once More for Greenland We Are Bound) (File: Ord317) === NAME: Whalers' Song (I), The DESCRIPTION: "There she lies there she lies Like an isle on the ocean's breast...." The crew spots a whale and pursues; they take the animal. They think about returning home to New England, and remind those who use the oil of the dangers whalers face AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1853 (Journal from the Lexington) KEYWORDS: whaler home return FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 17-20, "The Whaler's Song" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2001 File: SWMS017 === NAME: What a Friend We Have in Jesus DESCRIPTION: "What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry Ev'rything to God in prayer." The singer describes all the ways in which God can help with life's troubles and burdens AUTHOR: Words: Joseph Medlicott Scriven (1819-1886) / Music: Charles Crozat Converse (1832-1919) EARLIEST_DATE: Words written 1855, tune 1870 (Johnson) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad Jesus FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (3 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 364, "What A Friend We Have In Jesus" (1 text) DT, FRNDJSUS* ADDITIONAL: Charles Johnson, One Hundred and One Famous Hymns (Hallberg, 1982), pp. 182-183, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #16213 RECORDINGS: Caravans, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" (States S-128, n.d.) E. R. Nance Singers, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" (ARC, unissued, 1930) Old Southern Sacred Singers, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" (Brunswick 172, 1927; Supertone S-2117, 1930) Frank Welling & John McGhee, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" (Broadway 8136, c. 1931) SAME_TUNE: Hymn to Cheeses (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 12) What a Friend We Have in Congress (on PeteSeeger39, PeteSeeger44) Dump the Bosses Off Your Back (by John Brill; DT, DUMPBOSS) NOTES: According to Johnson, Scriven had two fiancees die shortly before marriage. He ended up writing this, in 1855, for his mother. - RBW File: FSWB364A === NAME: What are Little Boys made of?: see What's Little Babies Made Of? (File: SKE79) === NAME: What Are Little Girls Made Of?: see What's Little Babies Made Of? (File: SKE79) === NAME: What Blood on the Point of Your Knife: see Edward [Child 13] (File: C013) === NAME: What Brought the Blood?: see Edward [Child 13] (File: C013) === NAME: What Can A Young Lassie Do Wi' An Auld Man DESCRIPTION: Jenny curses the money that caused her mother to sell her to an old man. She cannot please him. She will try to follow her aunt Kittie's plan: "I'll cross him, I'll crack him until I have brak him." "Oh, weary's my life with a crazy old man" AUTHOR: Robert Burns EARLIEST_DATE: 1792 (see NOTE) KEYWORDS: age marriage nonballad husband mother wife FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, WHATCANA Roud #1295 RECORDINGS: Jane Turiff, "What Can a Young Lassie Dae Wi' An Auld Man?" (on Voice15) NOTES: Musical Traditions site _Voice of the People suite_ "Reviews - Volume 15" by Fred McCormick - 27.2.99: "I suspect however that he [Burns] re-created it from a traditional original, and my supposition is supported by the fact that he set it to a pre-existing air, which already bore the title of the present piece" [but Jane Turiff's version on Voice15 uses one of "The False Bride" tunes (for example, "I Loved a Lass" on SCMacCollSeeger01)]. - BS The dating of this piece is slightly problematic. Ben Schwartz sent in a 1791 EARLIEST DATE based on the Burns Country web site. The Wordsworth _Works of Robert Burns_ (p. 633) also dates it to that year. The best reference I have, however, is James Kinsley's _Burns: Complete Poems & Songs_, which dates it 1792. That is, I think, based on its publication in volume IV of the _Scots Musical Museum_. My best guess is that the song was written 1791, published 1792 -- but I'm listing the 1792 date just in case. - RBW File: RcWCAYLD === NAME: What Child Is This? DESCRIPTION: In response to the question, "What child is this" whom Mary cradles and angels hymn, we are tols "This, this is Christ the king." The child's humble estate is described, and listeners urged to praise him AUTHOR: Words: William Chatterton Dix EARLIEST_DATE: 1871 (Bramley & Stainer); reportedly written c. 1865 KEYWORDS: Christmas religious Jesus nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (3 citations) Silber-FSWB, p. 379, "What Child Is This?" (1 text) DT, WHATCHLD ADDITIONAL: Ian Bradley, _The Penguin Book of Carols_ (1999), #95, "What Child Is This Who Laid to Rest" (1 text) RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "What Child Is This?" (on PeteSeeger37, PeteSeeger42) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Greensleeves" (tune) File: FSWB379A === NAME: What Do You Think o' Me Noo, Kind Sirs? DESCRIPTION: "I am a young man, I live wi' my mither, A braw decent kimmer, I trow, Bu when I speak o' takin' a wife, She aye gets up in a lowe." He notes that someone is needed to care for the property. He courts Betty; she answers, "Who cares for you or your kye?" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Ford) KEYWORDS: mother home age youth courting rejection humorous FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 115-116, "What Do You Think of Me Noo, Kind Sirs?" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #6141 File: FVS115 === NAME: What Do You Think of Me Noo, Kind Sirs?: see What Do You Think o' Me Noo, Kind Sirs? (File: FVS115) === NAME: What Do You Think of My Darling? DESCRIPTION: The singer lives on a small pension. His wife makes him do the nasty jobs around the house and "if I don't do it right it's a slap ... a kick or a clout" She drinks, gossips, is ugly and dirty. He prays "the devil like lightening might sweep her away" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Dean) KEYWORDS: shrewishness marriage drink ordeal wife FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) US(MW) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Dibblee/Dibblee, p. 102, "What Do You Think of My Darling?" (1 text, 1 tune) Dean, p. 127, "The Shrew Wife" (1 text) Roud #9602 File: Dib102 === NAME: What Does the Deep Sea Say? DESCRIPTION: The big boat is coming around the bend, doing nothing but killing good men. Vicksburg was a hilly town, until the Yankee gunboats blew it down. Cho: "What does the deep sea say?...It moans and it groans, it slashes and it foams/And rolls on its weary way" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (recording, Vernon Dalhart) KEYWORDS: battle Civilwar fight violence war river sea ship HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Nov 1862 - Union general Ulysses S. Grant begins his Vicksburg campaign. His first four attempts to reach the city fail Apr 16, 1863 - Porter's gunboats run past Vicksburg, opening the way for Grant's final successful campaign May 12-17, 1863 - Grant fights a series of minor battles which bring him to the defenses of Vicksburg May 22, 1863 - Grant's attempt to take Vicksburg by storm is a bloody failure. The Union army settles down to a siege July 4, 1863 - Lt. General Pemberton surrenders Vicksburg FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, DEEPSEA RECORDINGS: Vernon Dalhart, "What Does the Deep Sea Say" (Velvet Tone 1960-V, 1929) Bob Ferguson (pseud. for Bob Miller) "What Does the Deep Sea Say" (Columbia 15727-D, 1932; prob. rec. 1931) Lester McFarland & Robert Gardner, "What Does the Deep Sea Say" (Brunswick 483, 1930) Bill Palmer's Trio, "What Does the Deep Sea Say?" (Bluebird B-5034, 1933) Uncle Bud & his Plow Boys, "What Does the Deep Sea Say?" (Clarion 5418-C, 1931) NOTES: Digital Tradition assigns authorship to Woody Guthrie. Given the date of Dalhart's recording, this is pretty near impossible. The McFarland-Gardner record credits this to "Miller." - PJS File: DTdeepse === NAME: What Folks Are Made Of: see What's Little Babies Made Of? (File: SKE79) === NAME: What Gives the Wheat Fields Blades of Steel? DESCRIPTION: "What gives the wheatfields blades of steel? What points the rebel cannon?... What breaks the oath Of the men of the south?... Hark to the answer: Slavery." The evils of slavery, and the poison and treason it causes, are described in detail AUTHOR: Words: John Greenleaf Whittier / Music: Martin Luther EARLIEST_DATE: 1862 KEYWORDS: slave slavery freedom political nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Scott-BoA, pp. 236-237, "What Gives the Wheat Fields Blades of Steel?" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "A Mighty Fortress" (tune) File: SBoA236 === NAME: What Harm Has Jesus Done? DESCRIPTION: "Tell me what harm has Jesus done you Sinners all hate him so." Jews nailed him to the tree and gave him a cup of vinegar which he drank. Gabriel in the morning will separate the "sheep on the right and the goats on the left" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1953 (Creighton-Maritime) KEYWORDS: nonballad religious Jesus Jew violence execution dying Bible FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-Maritime, p. 174, "What Harm Has Jesus Done?" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2285 RECORDINGS: Chas Owens and family, "What Harm Has Jesus Done?" (on MRHCreighton) NOTES: At the time of recording, Charles Owens was 99, living in a small colony of Negroes in the Maritimes; they are descendants of slaves, and Creighton theorizes that they brought this jubilee song with them from the U.S. - PJS We should probably recall that the Romans, not the Jews, crucified Jesus. The reference to Jesus drinking vinegar is a mistranslation, though "vinegar" is the word used by the King James Bible in all four references (Matthew 27:48, Mark 15:36, Luke 23:36, and John 19:29 all use the same word). The four Gospels also use the same word for the beverage (while disagreeing on the delivery method), but its normal usage is "sour wine" (which was less expensive than sweet), not "vinegar," though of course vinegar could be made from it. Still, the best translation would probably be something like "cheap wine." It was a painkiller -- and, in context, it might well hasten death, since alcohol is a diuretic, and dehydration is one of the main causes of death during crucifixion. The parable of the Sheep and the Goats is in Matthew 25:31-46. In it, Jesus, not Gabriel, separates the souls into groups. - RBW File: CrMa174 === NAME: What Irish Boys Can Do DESCRIPTION: "They insult an Irishman ... it happens every day." But the Irish are noble and hospitable. Think of Irish warriors, like Wellington and the 69th at Bull Run, and poets Lover and Moore. Think of Irish songs and plays. "Then, why slur upon the Irish?" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1865 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 31(102)) KEYWORDS: Ireland nonballad patriotic FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) O'Conor, p. 23, "What Irish Boys Can Do" (1 text) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 31(102), "What Irish Boys Can Do", H. De Marsan (New York), 1861-1864 LOCSinging, sb40474a, "What Irish Boys Can Do", H. De Marsan (New York), 1864-1878 NOTES: Broadside Bodleian Harding B 31(102): The subtitle is "Answer to No Irish Need Apply." Printer H. De Marsan is at 54 Chatham Street The reference to the Civil War dates and places this song: "And then, too, in the present war between the North and South, Let no dirty slur on Irish ever escape your mouth; Sure, did you ne'er hear tell of the 69th, who bravely fought at Bull-Run! And Meagher, of the seven days fight, that was in front, of Richmond, With General Shields, who fought so brave for the Flag Red. White, and Blue? And anything like a bayonet-charge the Irish boys can do." For more on the Irish in the American Civil War see the Index notes to "By the Hush." [Also "The Irish Sixty-Ninth." - RBW] For the general issue see "No Irish Need Apply." Broadsides LOCSinging sb40474a and Bodleian Harding B 31(102): 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: OCon023 === NAME: What is a Home Without Love?: see What is Home Without Love? (File: RcWIAHWL) === NAME: What is Home Without Babies?: see What is Home Without Love? (File: RcWIAHWL) === NAME: What is Home Without Love? DESCRIPTION: A lonely rich man, passing a cottage window, sees a happy husband, wife, and baby. He weeps, "What is a home without baby To kiss, to tease and adore...." Alone in a mansion, with the wife who married him for his money, he repeats his lament AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recordings, Roy Harvey) KEYWORDS: loneliness marriage baby children family husband wife FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Rorrer, p. 82, "What Is Home Without Babies?" (1 text) Roud #15947 and 12395 RECORDINGS: Arkansas Woodchopper [pseud. for Luther Ossenbrink], "What is a Home Without Love" (Conqueror 7881, 1931) Boone County Entertainers, "What Is Home Without Babies" (Supertone 9492, 1929) Loman D. Cansler, "What Is a Home Without Love?" (on Cansler1) Roy Harvey, "What Is Home Without Love" (Columbia, unissued, 1927) Roy Harvey & The North Carolina Ramblers, "What Is Home Without Babies" (Brunswick 268, 1928) (Paramount 3267, 1931) Monroe Brothers, "What Is Home Without Love" (Montgomery Ward M-4746, 1935; Bluebird B-6363, 1936) Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers, "What Is Home Without Babies" (Columbia 15307-D, 1928) Red Fox Chasers, "What Is Home Without Babies" (Supertone 9492, 1929) SAME_TUNE: Reoording: Howard Dixon & Frank Gerald (The Rambling Duet) "Woman's Answer to 'What Is Home Without Love'" (Bluebird B-7450, 1938) NOTES: Again, Cansler implies that this is in Randolph or Belden, but we don't seem to have indexed it, or I haven't found it. - PJS It's not in Randolph, at least, and if it's in Belden, it's under an odd title and uses an unusual first stanza. When I indexed Rorrer, I initially omitted the song because I couldn't believe such a piece of slop was traditional. - RBW File: RcWIAHWL === NAME: What Kin' o Pants Does the Gambler Wear?: see Sweet Thing (I) (File: R443A) === NAME: What Kind of Crowns Do the Angels Wear DESCRIPTION: "What kind of crowns do the angels wear? The angels wear the golden crown, the golden crown, I'm bound to rest, I'm bound to rest... bound to rest with God." "What kind of robe do the angels wear?" "What kind of slippers do the angels wear?" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 655, "What Kind of Crowns Do the Angels Wear" (1 text) Roud #11835 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Can't Cross Jordan" (floating verses) cf. "Going Up (Golden Slippers II)" (floating verses) NOTES: The key line of these verses obviously float, but the form makes it an independent song. Barely. - RBW File: Br3655 === NAME: What Month Was Jesus Born In? DESCRIPTION: "What month was Jesus born in? Last month in the year." The song details Jesus' birth in December and the humble cercumstances of his birth. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (recording, Heavenly Gospel Singers) KEYWORDS: Bible religious Jesus FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Courlander-NFM, pp. 58-59, "(What Month Was Jesus Born In?") (1 text); pp. 245-246, "What Month Was Jesus Born In?" (1 tune, partial text) Silber-FSWB, p. 384, "Tell Me What Month Was My Jesus Born In?" (1 text) Roud #13975 RECORDINGS: Vera Ward Hall, "No Room At the Inn/The Last Month of the Year" (on NFMAla5) (on LomaxCD1706); "What Month Was Jesus Born In" (on ReedWard01) Heavenly Gospel Singers, "When Was Jesus Born?" (Bluebird B-8907, 1941; on Babylon) Pete Seeger, "What Month Was Jesus Born" (on PeteSeeger12) NOTES: It should be noted that there is no Biblical evidence that Jesus was born in December; indeed, those scholars who have an opinion generally think he was born in spring. In any case, December was not always the "last month of the year"; in the classical Roman calendar, it was the tenth month, and even after this changed, it was remembered for quite some time. In addition, for much of the Middle Ages, the new year began on March 25 (approximating the equinox). Even if we ignore all that, Jesus was Jewish, and would have used the Jewish calendar, which had no month of December. Nor was its (approximate) equivalent of December the last month of the year. - RBW File: CNFM245 === NAME: What Put the Blood?: see Edward [Child 13] (File: C013) === NAME: What Shall We Do with a Drunken Sailor?: see The Drunken Sailor (Early in the Morning) (File: Doe048) === NAME: What the Old Hen Said DESCRIPTION: Singer hears an old hen, looking over her brood of chicks, exclaim that she loves them just as a cat loves its kittens, or a ewe its lamb. She calls them to her; they nestle in their "feather bed" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Flanders/Brown) KEYWORDS: pride love lullaby animal chickens FOUND_IN: US(NE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Flanders/Brown, pp. 185-186, "What the Old Hen Said" (1 text) ST RcWTOHS (Partial) Roud #5451 RECORDINGS: Margaret MacArthur, "What the Old Hen Said" (on MMacArthur01) NOTES: A very small narrative, but a narrative nonetheless. - PJS File: RcWTOHS === NAME: What Was Your Name in the States? DESCRIPTION: "Oh, what was your name in the States? Was it Thompson, or Johnson, or Bates? Did you murder your wife and fly for your life? Say, what was your name in the States?" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg) KEYWORDS: migrant travel crime FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (3 citations) Sandburg, p. 106, "What Was Your Name in the States?" (1 short text, 1 tune) Botkin-AmFolklr, p. 861, "What Was Your name in the States?" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, NAMESTAT Roud #4754 RECORDINGS: Logan English, "What Was Your Name in the States?" (on LEnglish02) File: San106 === NAME: What Will We Do When We'll Have No Money? DESCRIPTION: Questions and answers. What will we do when we: have no money? hawk through town; marry a tinker? sell a tin can and walk with me man; marry a soldier? handle his gun; have a daughter? take it in hand and walk with me man. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1985 (IRTravellers01) KEYWORDS: bawdy humorous nonballad money FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, WHATWILL Roud #16879 RECORDINGS: Mary Delaney, "What Will We Do When We'll Have No Money?" (on IRTravellers01) NOTES: The format of each verse of Mary Delaney's version on IRTravellers01 is "What will we do when [question]? All true lovers, what will we do then? [Answer], And we'll yodel it over again." - BS Despite which, there is no yodel in this version. Delaney was the source for the song as sung by the Silly Sisters (Maddy Prior and June Tabor), which will be faniliar to many folk fans. - RBW File: RcWWWDNM === NAME: What Will You Do, Love DESCRIPTION: He: What will you do when I sail away? She: I'll be true and pray for you. He: If I were untrue?" She: "I'd still be true but ... could not bear it!" He: If, near home, my ship were lost. She: If you were spared "I'd bless the morrow ... welcome thee" AUTHOR: Samuel Lover (1797-1868) EARLIEST_DATE: 1842 (Samuel Lover's novel "Handy Andy") KEYWORDS: love questions separation sea ship dialog FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) O'Conor, p. 139, "What Will You Do, Love" (1 text) ADDITIONAL: Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 407-408, "What Will You Do, Love?" (1 text) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(4223), "What Will You Do, Love?", A. Ryle and Co. (London) , 1845-1859 ; also Harding B 11(3584), "What Will You Do, Love"; Firth b.25(432), "What Will You Do, Love!"; Harding B 11(4222), "What Will You Do, Love?" LOCSheet, sm1885 23659, "What Will You Do, Love", Grand Conservatory Pub. Co. (New York), 1885 (tune) LOCSinging, sb40552a, "What Will You Do, Love?", H. De Marsan (New York), 1864-1878; also as103050, "What Will You Do, Love" NOTES: Just what we needed. A Riley ballad before the guy has even been gone for seven years to let the girl realize what a jerk he is. - RBW Broadside LOCSinging sb40552a: 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: OCon139 === NAME: What Will You Give Me If I Get Up?: see Lazy Mary (She Won't Get Up) (File: R396) === NAME: What You Going To Do With a Drunken Sailor: see The Drunken Sailor (Early in the Morning) (File: Doe048) === NAME: What You Gon'er Do That Day? DESCRIPTION: "Venus, Venus, beautiful star, Beautiful star, beautiful star, Venus, Venus, beautiful star, Oh, what you gon'er do on that day?" Similarly, "Rocks in the mountains, fall on me...." "Some to the right, some to de left...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 649, "What You Gon'er Do That Day?" (1 text) Roud #11941 File: Br3649 === NAME: What You Gwina Do When the World's on Fire? DESCRIPTION: "What you gwina do when the world's on fire? I'm gonna jump in a hole o' water. What you gwina do when the water gets to boilin'? I'm a gonna kick and squeal and hollo." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1919 (Brown) KEYWORDS: fire FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 470, "What You Gwina Do When the World's on Fire?" (1 fragment) Roud #11789 File: Br3470 === NAME: What'll I Do with the Baby-O DESCRIPTION: Song describes various things to do with baby: wrap him up in calico, put him in his cradle, wrap him in the table cloth, throw him in the hayloft, hang him in the tree top, etc. Also, "How in the world do the old folks know I like sugar in my coffee-O?" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1917 (Cecil Sharp collection) KEYWORDS: drink food humorous lullaby playparty baby floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE) REFERENCES: (6 citations) SharpAp 228, "What'll we do with the Baby?" (1 text, 1 tune) Ritchie-Southern, pp. 26-27, "What'll I Do with the Baby-O" (1 text, 1 tune) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 162, "What'll I Do with the Baby-O" (1 text, 1 tune) Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 234, "Charlie, Won't You Rock the Cradle" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 407, "Prettiest Little Baby In The County-O"; 408, "What'll We Do With The Baby-O?" (2 texts) DT, DOBABYO Roud #826 RECORDINGS: Coon Creek Girls, "What Do I Do With the Baby-O" (Songs from Renfro Valley - Bell, mx. 2002, n.d., postwar) Crockett's Kentucky Mountaineers, "Sugar in my Coffee" (Crown 3075, c. 1930) [G. B.] Grayson & [Henry] Whitter, "What You Gonna Do with the Baby?" (Victor V-40268, 1930; rec. 1929) Happy-Go-Lucky Boys, "Whatcha Gonna Do With the Baby?" (Bluebird B-8391, 1940) J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers, "What You Gonna Do With the Baby-O?" (King 538, 1946) Frank Proffitt, "Baby-O" (Proffitt03) Jean Ritchie & Roger Sprung, "What'll I Do With the Baby-O?" (on RitchieWatson1, RitchieWatsonCD1) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Rock-A-Bye Baby" (words) cf. "Sugar In My Coffee" (floating lyrics) File: R565 === NAME: What's Little Babies Made Of? DESCRIPTION: "What's old women made of?... Reels and jeels and old spinning wheels, And that's what old women are made of." "What's little boys made of?... Piggins and pails and puppy dogs' tails." "What's little babies made of?... Sugar and..." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1844 (Halliwell, according to Opie-Oxford2) KEYWORDS: nonballad children FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE) REFERENCES: (6 citations) SharpAp 227, "What are Little Boys made of?" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Sharp/Karpeles-80E 79, "What's Little Babies Made Of?" (1 text, 1 tune) BrownIII 143, "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" (1 text) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 303-304, "What Folks Are Made Of" (1 text, 1 tune) Opie-Oxford2 76, "What are little boys made of?" (2 texts) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #320, pp. 175-176, "(What are little boysmade of?)" Roud #821 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Song of All Nations" (concept) NOTES: The notes to _The Annotated Mother Goose_ say that this has been attributed to Robert Southey, but also say that no supporting evidence has been offered. It does note that the first published version, Halliwell's, describes only what little boys and girls are made of. - RBW File: SKE79 === NAME: What's Poor Mary Weepin' For (Poor Jenny Sits A-Weeping) DESCRIPTION: "Poor (Mary/Jenny/Nellie/Sally) sits a-weeping, sits a-weeping, sits a-weeping, Poor Mary sits a-weeping All on a summer's day." "What's poor Mary weeping for...." "Because she wants to see her lad." "Rise up and choose another love." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1898 (Gomme) KEYWORDS: playparty courting separation love FOUND_IN: Britain(England(All),Scotland(Aber)) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Montgomerie-ScottishNR 70, "(Oh, what is Jeannie weeping for)" (1 text) DT, JEANWEEP Roud #2118 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Little Sally Walker" (lyrics) NOTES: There are versions of this which look a little like "Little Sally Walker," but the overall thrust is different enough that I had no hesitation in splitting them. The version I know best is that recorded by Jeannie Robertson and picked up by the Fisher Family; I've used her title on that basis. - RBW File: MSNR070 === NAME: What's Poor Mary Weeping For?: see Little Sally Walker (File: CNFM157) === NAME: What's That Blood On Your Sword?: see Edward [Child 13] (File: C013) === NAME: What's the Lady's Motion? (Skip O'er the Mountain) DESCRIPTION: "Skip o'er the mountain, tra-la-la-la-la (x3), Oh, she loves sugar and cheese." "What's the lady's motion, tra-la-la-la-la (x3), Oh, she loves sugar and cheese." "It's a very lovely motion...." "Yonder goes a redbird...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Brown) KEYWORDS: food playparty FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 87, "What's the Lady's Motion" (1 text) Roud #7885 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Monkey Motions" (form) File: Br3087 === NAME: What's the Life of a Man? DESCRIPTION: Singer, walking, observes the leaves that have fallen, noting that a few days ago they were green and growing. He calls attention to the churchyard, and to those who have withered and passed like a leaf." (But man, unlike leaves, will rise to be judged.) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Sharp mss.) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer, walking, observes the leaves that have fallen, noting that a few days ago they were green and growing, but a frost has withered them and a storm knocked them down. He calls attention to the churchyard, and to those who have withered and passed "like a leaf from a tree." (But man, unlike leaves, will rise again, according to scripture, and be judged.) Chorus: "What's the life of a man any more than the leaf?/A man has his seasons so why should he grieve?/For although in this world we appear bright and gay/Like a leaf we must wither and soon fade away" KEYWORDS: age disability death nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) Canada(Ont) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Kennedy 264, "What's The Life of a Man?" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, LIFEMAN* Roud #848 RECORDINGS: Mrs. William Towns, "What Is the Life of a Man Any More than the Leaves?" (on Ontario1) NOTES: Some folks really know how to brighten up a day. - PJS File: K264 === NAME: What's the Matter Now? DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls how, when she was 17, Damon wooed her with "ardent flame" and a "wounded heart." When she consented to marry, he at first gave in to her every whim. But now, his response to all requests is, "What's the matter now?" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1820 (New Musical and Vocal Cabinet) KEYWORDS: love courting marriage request rejection FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Belden, p. 255, "What's the Matter Now?" (1 text) Roud #7757 NOTES: Even if the flowery tone were not a giveaway, the name Damon would surely prove the English broadside origin of this piece. How it wound up in tradition in Missouri neither I nor Belden could guess. - RBW File: Beld255 === NAME: What's the Rhyme to Porringer? DESCRIPTION: "O what's the rhyme to porringer? Ken ye the rhyme to porringer? King James the seventh had ae dochter, And he gave her to an Oranger." "The lad has into England come And taken the crown." "James shall have his own again." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1819 (Hogg) KEYWORDS: royalty marriage Jacobite HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1688/1689 - Glorious Revolution deposes King James (II and VII) and replaces him with his nephew William III and his daugher Mary II FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Montgomerie-ScottishNR 100, "(O what's the rhyme to porringer?)" (1 text) DT, RHYMPORR NOTES: I'm indexing this item with some qualms. The Montgomeries do not cite a source, and the handful of other references I've found aren't "folk." But the context is clear: James (II of England and VII of Scotland; 1633-1701) was Catholic, but his heirs when he succeeded to the throne were his Protestant daughters Mary (1662-1694) and Anne (1665-1714). Mary was married to William of Orange (1650-1702), Stadtholder of Holland. William, after a chaotic period in Dutch politics, seemed early in life to be almost disinherited, but gradually gained power in the 1670s. Charles II of England, meanwhile, was getting himself in a foreign policy mess, taking French money to avoid answering to Parliament for his anti-Dutch policy. William was able to take advantage in 1677 to marry the young princess Mary -- his first cousin; William was the son of James's sister. Who just happened to be third in line for the throne. Charles II had no legitimate children, and his brother James had no sons (and neither of his daughters would leave an heir). James II succeeded Charles II in 1685. The British were already worried -- James had been openly Catholic for 15 years. Early in his reign, he gave indications of favoring Catholics. And then his second, Catholic, wife had a son. The "Old Pretender," potentially James III. James III was not a pretender; he was the proper heir in male descent. But he was Catholic. Meanwhile, the French, who had been attacking the Dutch, instead sent an army into Germany. William of Orange saw the opening, and invaded England in 1688. In England, the Stuart regime collapsed like a house of cards; James "abdicated" by force in 1689. William and Mary were crowned jointly, the English succession was made officially Protestant, and a series of liberal reforms were agreed to that gave the coup the name "The Glorious Revolution." Scotland didn't entirely agree. There was only one real battle against the invaders in 1689 (Killiekrankie), and it resulted in the death of Dundee, the leader of the anti-Orange faction. That largely calmed the revolt until 1714, when Anne, the last Stuart, died and was succeeded by the Hannoverian George I. But there were always rumbles below the surface, which would eventually result in the 1715, 1719, and 1745 Jacobite rebellions. Obviously this item is about that. The question is, is it traditional? If the Montgomeries really found a copy in Scotland in the twentieth century, then it just about has to be, and deserves to be indexed. But mightn't they have just lifted it from Hogg? I suspect so, but there is enough doubt that I index the item. Incidentally, this had a very small part in inspiring one of the greatest literary works of the twentieth century. According to Christopher Tolkien's notes in his father's _The War of the Ring: The History of the Lord of the Rings, Part 3_, Houghton Mifflin, 1990, p. xi, J. R. R. Tolkien admitted that this fragment inspired his poem "Errantry." Which in turn seems to hve been "upgraded" to produce Bilbo's poem in Rivendell. - RBW File: MSNR100 === NAME: Wheel of Fortune (Dublin City, Spanish Lady) DESCRIPTION: The young man comes to the young woman and asks her to wed. He offers her gold, silver, and land. She tells him she is not interested in these; "all I want is a (good young/handsome) man." That being offered, the two agree to marry AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1883 KEYWORDS: courting marriage money virtue playparty FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,SE,So) Ireland REFERENCES: (19 citations) Belden, pp. 506-507, "Madam, I Have Gold and Silver" (1 text) Eddy 98, "Spanish Lady" (1 text); Eddy 131, "The Quaker's Wooing" (1 text, 1 tune); possibly Eddy 132, "The Sober Quaker" (1 text, 1 tune) Gardner/Chickering 173, "The Wooing" (2 texts, the "A" text being "The Courting Case" and "B" being probably this piece) Flanders/Brown, pp. 154-155, "Yonder Hill There Is a Widow" (1 text, 1 tune) SharpAp 205, "Come My Little Roving Sailor" (3 texts, 3 tunes) Sharp/Karpeles-80E 55, "Come, My Little Roving Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune) Sandburg, p. 71, "The Quaker's Wooing" (1 text, 1 tune); also Sandburg, p. 144, "Kind Miss" (1 text, 1 tune, primarily this piece but with one verse of "The Drowsy Sleeper") Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 804-805, "There She Stands, a Lovely Creature" (1 text, 1 tune) SHenry H532, p. 367, "Tarry Trousers" (1 text, 1 tune -- a curious version in which, after all the business about riches and a good young man, the girl finally sends the lad off by saying she has a sailor love) OLochlainn-More 79A, "The Tarry Trousers" (1 text, 1 tune) BrownIII 12, "Madam, I Have Gold and Silver" (1 text, starting with this song but ending with a "Ripest of Apples" verse and ending with a Riley stanza) Hudson 37, pp. 151-152, "Annie Girl" (1 text, which conflates 2 verses of "The Drowsy Sleeper" [Laws M4], 2 or 3 of "Wheel of Fortune (Dublin City, Spanish Lady)" or "No, John, No: or similar, and 3 verses probably of "Pretty Fair Maid (The Maiden in the Garden; The Broken Token)" [Laws N42]) JHCox 158, "The Spanish Lady" (1 text)SHenry H641, p. 383, "Ripest of Apples" (1 text, 1 tune, a tiny fragment of two verses, one of which often occurs with this song while the other is associated primarily with "Carrickfergus." The tune is not "Carrickfergus") Creighton/Senior, pp. 199-200, "Quaker's Courtship" (1 fragment, 1 tune, which might be either this or "The Quaker's Courtship") Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 194-195, "Song on Courtship" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 149, "Wheel Of Fortune" (1 text) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #290, pp. 168-169, "(Madam, I have come to court you)" (a short text, which might well be "The Quaker's Wooing" with beginning and end lost, but as it stands, it has no Quakers and must be filed here) DT, WHEELFOR* DUBLNCTY* DUBLNCT2 (VANDY2) (DUBLNCI2) ADDITIONAL: Frank Harte _Songs of Dublin_, second edition, Ossian, 1993, pp. 48-49, "The Spanish Lady" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #542 RECORDINGS: Seamus Ennis, "Dublin City" (on FSB2, FSB2CD) BROADSIDES: Murray, Mu23-y1:104, "The Wheel of Fortune," James Lindsay (Glasgow), 19C [an incredible mixture, with the "Wheel of Fortune" verse, though the rest seems an amalgam of thyme songs -- here spelled "time"]; also Mu23-y1:105, "The Wheel of Fortune," James Lindsay (Glasgow), 19C [even more mixture, with the "Wheel of Fortune" verse, a thyme stanza, a bit of "Fair and Tender Ladies," a "Queen of Heart" verse, and more] CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Keys of Canterbury" cf. "No, John, No" cf. "Madam, Madam, You Came Courting" (theme) cf. "The Quaker's Courtship" (theme) ALTERNATE_TITLES: Chester City NOTES: Although several versions listed here mention Quakers in their titles (e.g. Eddy's text, also that printed by Sandburg), their texts make no mention of the Quaker, and so I list them here. This obviously began life as a ballad, but was collected in New York as a playparty, and Belden also found it as a singing game. - RBW The text in the Silber-FSWB version is extremely fragmentary, and contains almost nothing of the plot described above. All that happens is that the man and woman meet; she washes her feet and dries them, then he laments young girls' deceiving ways and sings about numbers. - PJS What Paul describes is fairly typical. The description above is of the fullest texts, but this ballad seems to be unusually good at losing pieces of itself. Often it descends into a purely lyrical piece -- and sometimes it seems to "re-ascend" by taking on a new ending of abandonment. The existence of the numbers chorus ("Twenty, eighteen, sixteen, fourteen...") seems to be characteristic of a particular, very widespread, sub-version. It appears likely that we can positively date this song to at least 1822, when John Randolph of Virginia asked a niece if she had heard a ballad with the verse What care I for your golden treasures? What care I for your house and land? What care I for your costly pleasures? So as I get but a handsome man. For some reason, scholars have claimed this verse is from "Lord Randal." But it certainly appears to belong here. - RBW File: E098 === NAME: Wheels of the World, The DESCRIPTION: Spinners turn the wheels of the world. Some spinners are named with their product: Pitt, Castlereagh, Napoleon, Wellington, John Mitchell, John Bull, factory owners and the rich. "Let liberty be your bright motto and glory will turn your big wheel" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: before 1867 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 20(190)) KEYWORDS: death suicide exile nonballad political worker Napoleon Ireland FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Moylan 200, "The Wheels of the World" (1 text, 1 tune) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Harding B 11(4120), "Wheels of the World" ("Come all you true sons of old Erin"), J. Pitts (London), 1819-1844[?]; also Harding B 20(190) [J. Harkness(Preston), 1840-1866], Firth c.14(127), "Wheels of the World," Firth b.27(49) [mostly illegible and probably trimmed] CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Game of Cards (II)" (subject: the elimination of Grattan's parliament) NOTES: According to "Wheels of the World," Pitt [ "banish'd in Charon's old boat": d.1806] and Castlereagh spun the union of Ireland to England [1800] but were unhappy at the end, and Castlereagh committed suicide [1822]; Napoleon spun freedom and Wellington spun Waterloo [1815] "but if Grouchy had never been bribed sure the French would have split him in two"; John Mitchell spun to free Ireland but John Bull spun him to exile [1848]; factory owners and the rich spin to grind the poor. Broadside Bodleian Harding B 11(4120) mentions other spinners: Luther, Henry VIII, John Calvin, Nelson and the French that killed him at Trafalgar [1805], Prince Albert [1840] and Victoria: "For 300 years they've been spinning, Destruction all over the land." There is a dating problem for broadside Bodleian Harding B 11(4120): it mentions John Mitchel's exile to Bermuda [subsequently Cape Colony and finally to Van Dieman's Land] which occurred after 1844. [I think the problem is an error in the attribution to the printer Pitts; the defaced imprint does not contain his name as it stands, merely the words "toy warehouse." Pitts also owned a toy warehouse, but the appearance of the broadside is unlike any of the other Pitts broadsides I checked. Given that this piece, if circulated in Ireland, would be considered perilously close to treason, I wonder if a printer might not try to fake the attribution. There is probably a good thesis in there somewhere, on broadside printers and their fonts and clip art collections. - RBW] The ballad is recorded on one of the CD's issued around the time of the bicentennial of the 1798 Irish Rebellion. See: Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "Wheels of the World" (on Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "1798 the First Year of Liberty," Hummingbird Records HBCD0014 (1998)) - BS It is interesting to note that, of the three legible Bodelian broadsides of this song, only one carries an actual printer's imprint, and that defaced. The Bodleian editors did manage to determine two of the printers, but one of those attributions is questionable -- and it's also interesting that this song of interest primarily to the Irish was printed on British soil. There is much interesting history in this song, which can be dated fairly precisely by the events it mentions. The three legible Bodleian broadsides (Harding B 11(4120), Harding B 20(190), Firth c.14(127)) all have nearly the same text, and must have been printed at about the same time. The references which give us our dates are as follows: "I'll sing you a song about spinning, it was a good trade in its time" -- This might (or might not) refer to the direct control Britain exerted over Irish textile manufacturing; for more on this, see e.g. "The Volunteers' March." "Luther... King Henry the eighth... John Calvin" -- the founders of the three basic branches of non-Catholic Christianity: Protestant (a name falsely applied to all three types), Anglican, and Reformed/Presbyterian. In Protestant England they were mostly approved of; not so in Catholic Ireland! Thomas ("Tom") Cranmer (1489-1556) was Henry VIII's Archbishop of Canterbury; though hardly a noteworthy theologian, he was largely responsible for implementing Henry's new church. It is odd to note that the song does not mention his hard end (Mary Tudor had him burned at the stake) "John Mitchell the brave son of Erin" -- John Mitchel (1815-1875), for whom see the song of the same name, started as a writer, and founded the publication _The United Irishman_. He ended up calling stridently for change in Ireland, and in 1848 was sentenced to transportation. Sent briefly to Bermuda, he then was moved to Australia, and escaped to the United States, there to advocate slavery and flogging of prisoners. Since his exile to Bermuda is mentioned, the song must date after 1848. (One suspects this verse, the third in all the broadside texts, has been displaced; were it moved after the seventh verse, the song would be in chronological order. On the other hand, Mitchel is the only Irishman referred to; maybe he was shoved forward as a result.) The Lord C--n--n of all the broadsides is Lord Clarendon, i.e. George Villiers, fourth earl of Clarendon (1800-1870), the Lord Lieutenant from 1847-1852 before becoming foreign secretary. Although nominally responsible for the case against Mitchel, and the suppression of the sort-of-revolt of 1848, he had so little influence on the course of Irish history that I found only one mention of him in the histories I checked. In the broader world, his work seems to have been successful and relatively enlightened. "Lord Nelson he was a good spinner" -- For Horatio Nelson, see e.g. "Nelson's Victory at Trafalgar (Brave Nelson)" [Laws J17] "Billy Pitt, too, was a good spinner, and so was Lord Castlereigh... they spun the Union from Ireland" -- William Pitt the Younger (1759-1806) was an MP as early as 1781 (from a "rotten" borough) and Prime Minister while still in his early twenties (1783). He would be Prime Minister for most of the rest of his life. He tried to pass several measures to help Ireland (free trade, catholic emancipation), but all were stymied. Therefore he is remembered mostly for the much-hated Act of Union, which eliminated the Irish parliament while introducing Irish members into the British Lords and Commons. The reference here reminds me very strongly of a similar reference in "The Game of Cards (II)," though the direction of the dependence is not clear to me. Robert Stewart Viscount Castlereagh (1769-1822) was actually Irish (from Ulster). He entered the English parliament in 1794, and became a member of Pitt's government. His was a brilliant career; he served at various times as both war and foreign secretaries, was largely responsible for the Peninsular campaign, and helped direct the last battles against Napoleon. He was by rational standards an outstanding success -- but in Ireland he was remembered as being the actual director of the campaign for Union. In his later years, when it was clear that the Congress system for governing Europe was failing, he became despondent. The responsibilities of his offices overwhelmed him, and he had a nervous breakdown and committed suicide. "Napoleon he was a great spinner" -- The Irish held out great hopes for Napoleon, though he never did much for them; for what encouragement and help he did give, see the notes to "The Shan Van Voght." "Old Wellington" -- obviously the Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), winner of the Peninsular campaign and victor at Waterloo (1815), much disliked by the masses because he finally defeated Napoleon. If Mitchell's 1848 exile offers the earliest date for this song, the "Iron Duke's" death may supply the latest; two of the three broadsides have the line "Old Wellington he went a-spinning," but Firth c.14(127) patches this to "Old Wellington he now is dead"; this presumably was a topical change made 1852 or 1853, with the other versions coming from (though perhaps not printed) before 1852. "If Grouchy had never been bribed" -- Emmanuel Grouchy (1766-1847) commanded one of the wings of Napoleon's army in the Waterloo campaign, and his failure to arrive at Waterloo may have cost Napoleon the battle. The charge that he betrayed Napoleon occurs also in "Napoleon Bonaparte (III)" (see that song for a discussion) and in "The Removal of Napoleon's Ashes," but there is no reason whatsoever to believe that it is true. "Prince Albert" -- Albert of Saxe-Coburg (1819-1861), the husband of Queen Victoria, upon whom she doted almost irrationally. He was not particularly well-liked in England, being suspected (as in this song) of being "on the make," since he was of far less note than Victoria. But though she seems to have fallen in love first, there is no evidence that he tried to tempt her into anything. Indeed, as long as he lived, he proved a capable consort and diplomat, even if the people did not take to him. "For the Queen has another young son That was spun in the City of Cork" -- Victoria had four sons: Edward (the future Edward VII, 1841-1910), Alfred (1844-1900), Arthur (1850-1942), and Leopold (1853-1884). Arthur later became Duke of Connaught, and is surely the child intended. The more so since Victoria visited Cork (which was renamed Queenstown at that time) in 1849, so it is possible (though hardly proved) that he was conceived in Cork. Thus the strong internal evidence is that this piece was written between 1850 and 1852. - RBW File: Moyl200 === NAME: Wheelwright, The (John Hunter) DESCRIPTION: John Hunter is apprenticed to a wheelwright. He and the master's daughter fall in love. When his apprenticeship is finished, he prepares to leave her as he seeks work. She offers to marry him and come with him. He accepts AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Sam Henry collection) KEYWORDS: apprentice love father marriage FOUND_IN: Ireland US REFERENCES: (1 citation) SHenry H125a+b, pp. 475-476, "John Hunter (a)/John Hunter (b)/The Wheelwright" (2 texts, 1 tune) Roud #9058 NOTES: The notes in Henry/Huntington/Herrmann imply that there is an Irish Gaelic version of this -- possibly even two. - RBW File: HHH125 === NAME: When a Man's in Love [Laws O20] DESCRIPTION: The singer asks his sweetheart to allow him into her room; she convinces him to stay by the fire. He tells her he has courted her long enough despite her parents' opposition; he will go to America. She agrees to be married (or spend the night together) AUTHOR: Hugh McWilliams (source: Moulden-McWilliams) EARLIEST_DATE: 1831 (according to Moulden-McWilliams) KEYWORDS: courting marriage emigration request FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland US(MW) REFERENCES: (10 citations) Laws O20, "When a Man's in Love" Dean, pp. 110-111, "The Boy of Love" (1 text, lacking the ending) Creighton/Senior, pp. 214-215,"When A Man's In Love" (1 text, 1 tune) Karpeles-Newfoundland 59, "A Man in Love" (1 text, 3 tunes) SHenry H211, p. 479, "When a Man's in Love" (1 text, 1 tune) Tunney-StoneFiddle, pp. 96-97, "When a Man's In Love He Feels No Cold" (1 text, 1 tune) Kennedy 143, "When a Man's in Love" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 76, "When a Man's in Love" (1 text, 1 tune) DT 747, MANLOVE ADDITIONAL: John Moulden, Songs of Hugh McWilliams, Schoolmaster, 1831 (Portrush,1993), p. 2, "A Man in Love" Roud #990 RECORDINGS: Robert Cinnamond, "When a Man's In Love" (on IRRCinnamond02) A. L. Lloyd, "When a Man's In Love" (on Lloyd1) Paddy Tunney, "When a Man's In Love" (on FSB1); "When A Man's in Love He Feels No Cold" (on Voice01); "When a Man's in Love" (on IRPTunney01) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Star of the County Down" (tune) and references there NOTES: In McWilliams's version she agrees to be married. - BS File: LO20 === NAME: When a Man's In Love He Feels No Cold: see When a Man's in Love [Laws O20] (File: LO20) === NAME: When a Woman Blue DESCRIPTION: "When a woman blue, when a woman blue, she hang her head and cry... When a man get blue He grab a railroad train and ride." "I'm gonna lay my head, I'm gonna lay my head Down on that railroad line... Let the train roll by And that'll pacify my mind." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1919 (Brown) KEYWORDS: train suicide FOUND_IN: US(SE,So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Sandburg, pp. 236-237, "When a Woman Blue" (1 short text, 1 tune) BrownIII 506, "Oh! When a Man Get the Blues" (1 fragment) Roud #11808 File: San236 === NAME: When Adam Was Created (Wedlock) DESCRIPTION: "When Adam was created, he dwelt in Eden's shade, As Moses has related, before his bride was made." Then Eve was made from Adam's rib. The rest of the song describes the duties of wedlock, based on this account of the creation AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1918 (Cecil Sharp collection); Dumas's tune dated 1869 KEYWORDS: religious Bible marriage FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE) REFERENCES: (5 citations) BrownIII 53, "When Adam Was Created" (1 text) SharpAp 193, "When Adam was Created" (1 text, 1 tune) Sharp/Karpeles-80E 55, "When Adam Was Created" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 567-569, "Wedlock" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, WEDLOK* Roud #728 NOTES: I can't help but note that all the details here come from the "J" account of the creation (Gen. 2:4f.). In the "P" account, which occupies Genesis 1:1-2:4, men and women were created together. Make of it what you may. Brown quotes Jackson to the effect that this derives from Chaucer's "Parson's Tale" or its folk/churchly sources. In the Sacred Harp, this appears with the tune "Edmonds," credited to E. Dumas and dated to 1869. - RBW File: SKE55 === NAME: When Barney Flew Over the Hills: see Barney and Katie (File: LO21) === NAME: When Carbine Won the Cup DESCRIPTION: "The race was run, the Cup was won, The great event was o'er. The grandest horse e'er trod a course Had led them home once more." A description of how Carbine and his rider Ramage (?) won the Melbourne Cup AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1968 KEYWORDS: horse racing FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Meredith/Anderson, pp. 212-213, "When Carbine Won the Cup" (1 text) NOTES: According to the _Encyclopedia of Australia_, the Melbourne Cup was first run in 1861; it is run on the first Tuesday in November. Carbine, who won it in 1890, is noteworthy for having carried the most weight ("10 st. 5 lb.") of any winner. - RBW File: MA212 === NAME: When Clon Came Home DESCRIPTION: "At Croke Park last Sunday I hear that the Cork men faced Cavan whose fame was so dear ... but we held them and led them and beat them" The team members are named. "The Sam Maguire Cup has come home to the Lee" AUTHOR: Paddy Meeghan (source: OCanainn) EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (OCanainn) KEYWORDS: pride sports moniker HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Sep 23, 1945 - Cork beat Cavan in the All-Ireland Football Championship (source: OCanainn). FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) OCanainn, pp. 116-117, "When Clon Came Home" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: "Clon" - short for Clonakilty[?] - is not in the text. OCanainn: "Between team and reserves there were nine Clonakilty men with Cork, which explains the elation felt in Clonakilty at the result." - BS File: OCan116 === NAME: When Cockle Shells Make Silver Bells: see Seventeen Come Sunday [Laws O17] (File: LO17) === NAME: When Cockle Shells Turn Silver Bells: see Waly Waly (The Water is Wide) (File: K149) === NAME: When de Good Lord Sets You Free: see Mourner, You Shall Be Free (Moanish Lady) (File: San011) === NAME: When Fanning First to Orange Came DESCRIPTION: "When Fanning first to Orange came He looked both pale and wan, An old patched coat upon his back An old mare he rode on. Both man and mare wa'nt worth five pounds... but by his civil robberies He's laced his coat with gold." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1826 (Raleigh Register and North-Carolina Gazette) KEYWORDS: robbery gold political HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1738?-1818 - Life of Edmund Fanning FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownII 277, "When Fanning First to Orange Came" (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "From Hillsborough Town the First of May" (subject) cf. "Said Frohock to Fanning" (subject) cf. "Who Would Have Tho't Harmon" (subject) NOTES: One of four "regulator" songs in Brown. The regulators were a group of protesters against high taxes and fees, found mostly in North Carolina though some also were active in South Carolina. The Regulators formally organized in 1766, when William Tryon (1725-1788) was governor of North Carolina (1765-1771) ; he defeated them at Almance in 1771. That was Tryon's way; as governor of New York (1771-1778) he was equally harsh. His successors then turned to compromise. Fanning, a Yale graduate of 1757, was a favorite of Tryon's; after moving to North Carolina, he went from being a local attorney to a Superior Court clerk and legislator. He also built a reputation for extreme avarice, making him a particular target for the regulators (and vice versa). A loyalist during the Revolution (commanded the King's American Regiment of Foot), he died in London. - RBW File: BrII277 === NAME: When First I Seen This Lovely Queen DESCRIPTION: "When first I seen this lovely queen, On her I fixed my eyes, And thought in time, while in my prime,To gain her I would try. "But all in vain; could not obtain This virgin's love at all... My portion was too small." If she remains coy, he'll seek another AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: love rejection beauty FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 294, "When First I Seen This Lovely Queen" (1 text) Roud #12199 File: Br3294 === NAME: When First Into this Country DESCRIPTION: The stranger arrives and finds no one cares about him. He is accused of crimes, but the only crime he admits is involvement with three girls. Forced into a harsh apprenticeship, he at last earns his freedom and marries his love AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1847 (Journal of William Histed of the Cortes) KEYWORDS: love courting work abuse freedom marriage apprentice FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond)) US REFERENCES: (4 citations) Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 195-197, "When First Into this Country" (1 text, 1 tune) Ord, pp. 127-128, "The American Stranger" (1 text, a somewhat confused version in which the singer seems to shift from having one girl to three back to one) Stokoe/Reay, pp. 170-171, "The American Stranger" (1 text, 1 tune, similar to but shorter than Ord's text) DT, WHNFRST2* Roud #1081 RECORDINGS: Chris Willett, "The American Stranger" (on Voice11) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, 2806 c.17(4) View 2 of 2, "American Strander [sic]" ("I am a stranger in this country"), G. Thompson (Liverpool), 1789-1820; also 2806 c.17(3) View 2 of 2,, "America [sic] Stranger"; Harding B 11(48), Firth b.25(273), Harding B 15(3a), Harding B 25(46), Harding B 20(237), Harding B 11(3053A), Harding B 11(3056), 2806 b.11(29), Harding B 11(49), Harding B 16(6a), Harding B 28(159), "American Stranger[!]"; Harding B 25(1845) [illegible lines], "The Stranger"; 2806 b.11(215), "Sporting Youth" ("I'm a stranger in this country from Ireland I came") Murray, Mu23-y2:013, "The Sporting Youth," Poet's Box (Glasgow), 1856 NLScotland, L.C.Fol.178.A.2(019), "The American Stranger," McIntosh (Glasgow), 1849 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "When First To This Country (I)" ("When First Unto This Country" lyrics) and references there ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Irish Stranger NOTES: This shares a first line or two with "When First To This Country," but the similarity ends by the end of the second stanza. The first few verses probably did transfer (I suspect from this song to that, since "When First To This Country" barely survived in tradition), but the two songs are clearly separate. To add to the confusion, the song seems to exist in two forms. Huntington's gives full details of the youth's troubles. Ord's and Stokoe's, both known by the title "The American Stranger," gloss over it, and end with the singer emigrating but saying something like the lovers are "In a plentiful country, (they are/and) God bless the King." - RBW Chris Willett's version on Voice11 takes lines found on broadside Harding B 11(48), among others, ("But to prove myself loyal, You shall come along with me, And I'll take you to America, My darling for to be.") and turns them into a chorus ("Just to prove myself royal, if you're go along with me, I will take you to America my own darling to see"); it also has a verse from Johnson Ballads 458, among others, ("The moon shall be in darkness, And the stars shall give no light If ever I prove false to my hearts delight," "In the middle of the ocean There shall grow a myrtle [or plum, or willow] tree") that float in other songs. - BS File: SWMS195 === NAME: When First To This Country (I) DESCRIPTION: The singer courts Nancy, who turns him down; he steals a horse and is imprisoned. He complains of his ill-treatment, then adds "With my hands in my pockets and my cap put on so bold/With my coat of many colors, like Jacob of old" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (field recording, Gant Family) KEYWORDS: courting love rejection prison theft thief FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 29, "When First To This Country" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 71, "When First Unto This Country" (1 text) DT, WHENFRST* Roud #15600 RECORDINGS: Maggie & Foy Gant, "When First Unto This Country" (LC 65 A2) New Lost City Ramblers, "When First Unto This Country" (on NLCR02, NLCRCD1) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "In Eighteen-Forty-Nine" (floating lyrics) cf. "When First To This Country (II)" ("When First Unto This Country" lyrics) cf. "The Banks of the Bann (I)" [Laws O2] ("When First Unto This Country" lyrics) cf. "The Frowns That She Gave Me" ("When First Unto This Country" lyrics) and references there cf. "When First Into this Country" ("When First Unto This Country" lyrics) and references there cf. "When First To This Country (II)" ("When First Unto This Country" lyrics) and references there cf. "In Eighteen-Forty-Nine" ("When First Unto This Country" lyrics) and references there ALTERNATE_TITLES: When First unto this Country NOTES: This should not be confused with the kids' song "When I First Came to This Land," written -- well, translated -- by Oscar Brand in the 1940s. -PJS [Or with the whalers' song "When First Into this Country." - RBW] Paul Stamler mentions the prisoner's "coat of many colors," which he believes unconnected with the rest of the song. He may be right -- considering that the person who wore the "coat of many colors" (properly a "long robe with sleeves") was Jacob's son Joseph. However, it is worth noting that Joseph's possession of the robe (which the author presumably thought resembled prison apparel) caused his brothers to resent him; the end result was that Joseph became a prisoner in Egypt. - RBW File: CSW029 === NAME: When First To This Country (II) DESCRIPTION: "[My] poor heart beat sore" on leaving Molly. She pleads to come with him: "Short trouser, and jacket, my love I'll put on" He could not stand to see her beaten "So you can't come down with me, oh no my love, no." She will wait for his return. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 (Creighton-Maritime) KEYWORDS: love farewell separation cross-dressing sailor FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-Maritime, pp. 70-71, "When First To This Country" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2732 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Banks of the Nile (Men's Clothing I'll Put On II)" [Laws N9] (theme) and references there cf. "The Maid in Sorrow (Short Jacket)" [Laws N12] (theme) cf. "When First To This Country (I)" ("When First Unto This Country" lyrics) and references there File: CrMa070 === NAME: When First Unto This Country: see When First To This Country (I) (File: CSW029) === NAME: When Fortune Turns Her Wheel DESCRIPTION: "Come, fill a glass, let's drink about... To meet ye a' ance mair, my friends, A sacred joy I feel, Though far awa I noo maun stray Till fortune turns her wheel." The singer has been betrayed by love and comrades, and bids farewell to Scotland and home AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord) KEYWORDS: parting drink FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Ord, pp. 180-181, "When Fortune Turns Her Wheel" (1 text) DT, FORTRNWH* Roud #3798 File: Ord180 === NAME: When He Comes, He'll Come in Green DESCRIPTION: "Don't cry, little baby, don't you cry. Your sweetheart will come by and by. When he comes, if he's dressed in green, Then you may know you'll be his queen." Similarly with other colors: "Dressed in blue, Then you may know his love is true," etc. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (Brown) KEYWORDS: colors courting playparty lullaby FOUND_IN: US(SE,So) REFERENCES: (2 citations) BrownIII 70, "Oh, Pretty Polly" (1 text); 71, "Don't Cry" (1 text) ADDITIONAL: Fred W. Allsopp, Folklore of Romantic Arkansas, Volume II (1931), p. 163, (no title) (1 fragment) Roud #7870 NOTES: The editors of Brown concede their two texts to be the same song, but split them anyway. They admit they don't know if the piece is a singing game of some kind, a lullaby, or something else. (Allsopp calls it a lullaby but has only one verse.) I've used both keywords because both look like they fit. It looks like a very good song for both purposes; I'm surprised it isn't more widely known. - RBW File: Br3070 === NAME: When He Who Adores Thee DESCRIPTION: The singer states "though guilty to them [my foes], I have been but too faithful to thee [Ireland]!" "Oh! blessed are the lovers and friends who shall live The days of thy glory to see"; next best "is the pride of thus dying for thee" AUTHOR: Thomas Moore (1779-1852) (source: Moylan) EARLIEST_DATE: 2000 (Moylan) KEYWORDS: execution Ireland nonballad patriotic HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Sep 20, 1803 - Robert Emmet (1778-1803) is hanged FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Moylan 158, "When He Who Adores Thee" (1 text, 1 tune) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Firth b.27(14), "When He Who Adores Thee," unknown, n.d. CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Oh! Breathe Not His Name" (subject: concealed allusions to Robert Emmet) cf. "She is Far From the Land" (subject: concealed allusions to Robert Emmet) cf. "The Man from God-Knows-Where" (subject: concealed allusions to Robert Emmet) NOTES: Moylan: "In this song Moore paraphrases parts of Emmet's speech from the dock and has him address these sentiments to Ireland." You can find copies of Emmet's speech on the Web. See, for example, "Robert Emmet's Speech from the Dock (Document)" quoted on wiki.politics.ie site from "Politics.ie, the Irish politics website." None of Moore's text follows Emmet's, though Emmet is speaking over the court's head: "if there is a true Irishman present let my last words cheer him in the hour of his affliction." - BS We should probably note that there is no official transcript of Emmet's speech (see Robert Kee, _The Most Distressful Country_, being volume I of _The Green Flag_, p. 168). We don't know his precise words. It hardly matters, any more than it matters that his rebellion was ill-organized and completely inept; he could hardly have said anything more effective than what was reported, and it was that which kept his myth alive. Moore, we should add, knew Emmet; according to Kee, Moore was "Emmet's old friend and fellow student at Trinity." Kee regards Moore as having "set the tone" for Emmet's legend. - RBW File: Moyl158 === NAME: When I Can Read My Titles Clear (Long Time Traveling) DESCRIPTION: "When I can read my titles clear to mansions in the sky, I will bid farewell to every tear and wipe my weeping eye." Chorus: "I'm a long time traveling here below, I'm a long time traveling away from my home...." Other verses vary AUTHOR: unknown (portions by Isaac Watts) EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recording, J. T. Allison's Sacred Harp Singers) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, LONGTIME Roud #5732 RECORDINGS: J. T. Allison's Sacred Harp Singers, "I'm A Long Time Travelling Away From Home" (Gennett 6255, 1927) Daniels-Deason Sacred Harp Singers, "Primrose Hill" (Columbia 15323-D, 1928; on Babylon) Denson Sacred Harp Singers, "The Ninety-Fifth" (Brunswick 287, rec. 1928) Elder Golden P. Harris, "I'll Lead a Christian Life" (Melotone 12178, 1931; on Babylon) Frank Proffitt, "I'm a Long Time Travelling Here Below" (on FProffitt01) NOTES: This song, or one of the same title, is said to have been one of Abraham Lincoln's favorites. The verses are so generic that it is really hard to call it one song; it's a family held together by the refrain "Been a long time traveling here below" and (often but not always) the mansions in the sky. The first stanza is from a poem by Isaac Watts, "The Hopes of Heaven Our Support Under Trials on Earth," and reportedly published 1809. This shows up in several forms in the shape note book (e.g. with the tunes "Ninety-Fifth," "Primrose Hill," "Akers," and "Saints' Delight") -- but all these seem to be the Watts poem, which is not (to my ears at least) nearly as strong. - RBW As far as I can tell from reading the Sacred Harp book [a demonstrably unreliable source - RBW], Watts seems to have composed all of the lyrics. I've placed the Daniels-Deason and Elder Harris recordings here for want of a better place; they share lyrics but use different tunes. - PJS File: DTlongti === NAME: When I Die (I) DESCRIPTION: Because the singer has found salvation, "When I die, I'll live again." He's made confession and will transgress no more. Ch: "When I die I'll live again/Hallelujah, I'll live again/Because I'm forgiven, my soul will find heaven/When I die I'll live again" AUTHOR: James Rowe & Ernest Rippetoe EARLIEST_DATE: 1935 (Stamps-Baxter book, "Harbor Bells #4") KEYWORDS: resurrection death nonballad religious FOUND_IN: US(MA,SE) REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Rev. Gary Davis, "When I Die I'll Live Again" (on GaryDavis02) Watson Family, "When I Die" (on Watson01) ALTERNATE_TITLES: When I Die I'll Live Again NOTES: D. K. Wilgus, in his comments on Watson01, notes (speaking of this song and "The Lost Soul"): "The Watson family apparently sang these songs directly from a song book, but I have been unable to locate them in any source available to me, despite the conviction that I have met them before." Almost certainly he was remembering Davis's skeletal version, released the year before the Watson recordings were made, or the Stamps-Baxter hymnal. - PJS File: RcWIDILA === NAME: When I Die (II): see Pickle My Bones in Alcohol (File: Br3038) === NAME: When I Die Don't Wear No Black DESCRIPTION: "When I die don't wear no black, For if you do My ghost come a-creeping back." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: death mourning clothes ghost FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 489, "When I Die Don't Wear No Black" (1 text) Roud #11871 File: Br3489 === NAME: When I Dream of Old Erin DESCRIPTION: "When the nightingaleÕs singing its sweet melodies, And the scent of the flowers perfumes the night breeze," the singer dreams of Ireland and his love. He describes his old home, repeating, "When I dream of old Erin, I'm dreaming of you." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Dean) KEYWORDS: love separation home Ireland FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Dean, p. 97, "When I Dream of Old Erin" (1 text) Roud #9593 File: Dean097 === NAME: When I First Came To This Land DESCRIPTION: Immigrant comes to the USA, gets a shack, cow, duck, wife and son, and sings about them in a cumulative fashion: "Called my wife 'Run for your life'; called my duck, 'Out of luck'", etc. AUTHOR: Words translated by Oscar Brand from Pennsylvania Dutch song EARLIEST_DATE: 1957 (Oscar Brand, "Our Singing Holidays") KEYWORDS: animal cumulative emigration farming marriage nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (3 citations) PSeeger-AFB, p. 13, "When I First Came to this Land" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 120 "When I First Came To This Land" (1 text) DT, FIRSTCAM Roud #16813 RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "When I First Came to This Land" (on PeteSeeger24) NOTES: This should not be confused with the traditional "When First To This Country." - PJS File: PSAFB013 === NAME: When I Get On My Bran' New Suit DESCRIPTION: "When I git on my brand-new suit, Boots to my knees, Go to see my lovely gal And kiss her when I please." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (Fuson) KEYWORDS: courting clothes FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fuson, p. 158, "Going to See My Girl (fifth of 12 single-stanza jigs) (1 text) ST Fus158A (Full) Roud #16414 File: Fus158A === NAME: When I Get on Yonder Hill: see Shule Agra (Shool Aroo[n], Buttermilk Hill, Johnny's Gone for a Soldier); also "I Want You All to Be There" (File: R107) === NAME: When I Go Up to Shinum Place DESCRIPTION: "When I go up to shinum place" there will be red, white and black men. "There is no need of wigwam there, He send his angels to take care, And Jesus good and kind" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (Creighton-Maritime) KEYWORDS: nonballad religious Jesus Indians(Am.) FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-Maritime, p. 171, "When I Go Up to Shinum Place" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #2728 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Little Indian Maid" (theme) cf. "Indian Hymn" (theme) NOTES: See "Indian Hymn" for similar phrases. - BS Presumably the title of this piece is a patronizing corruption of "shining." - RBW File: CrMa171 === NAME: When I Landed in Glasgow: see The Young Maid's Love (File: HHH058) === NAME: When I Leave These Earthly Shores DESCRIPTION: Recitation: "When I leave this earthly shore And mosey 'round this world no more, Don't weep, don't sob; I may have found a better job." After this introduction, the speaker spends two stanzas asking for small gifts now rather than big ones after death AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1957 KEYWORDS: death recitation poverty FOUND_IN: US(MA) REFERENCES: (1 citation) FSCatskills 104, "When I Leave These Earthly Shores" (1 text) ST FSC104 (Partial) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Give Me the Roses While I Live" (theme of giving roses) File: FSC104 === NAME: When I Saw Sweet Nellie Home: see Seeing Nellie Home (File: RJ19229) === NAME: When I Set Out for Glory DESCRIPTION: "When I set out for glory, I left this world behind, Determined for a city that's hard to find, And to begging I will go. And to begging I will go, I'll go...." Despite warnings, the singer is set on this path, and would rather be Christian than rich AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (Fuson) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad travel begging poverty FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fuson, p. 212, "The Begging Song" (1 text) ST Fus212 (Partial) Roud #5426 File: Fus212 === NAME: When I Wake in the Morning DESCRIPTION: The singer is "surrounded by sorrow ... lovely Jimmie if you knew what I knew." "When the boys come to court ... I do them disdain ... I never will marry till [my love] comes back again" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1954 (Creighton-Maritime) KEYWORDS: grief love separation nonballad floatingverses FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-Maritime, p. 91, "When I Wake in the Morning" (1 text fragment, 1 tune) ST CrMa091 (Full) Roud #2707 RECORDINGS: Angelo Dornan, "When I Wake in the Morning" (on MRHCreighton) NOTES: Angelo Dornan is a major source for Creighton-Maritime and Creighton-SouthNB. Many of his songs, like this one, are fragments that are too brief for me to identify. - BS Paul Stamler and I also puzzled over this independently. We've given up and are filing it as a loose fragment. - RBW File: CrMa091 === NAME: When I Was a Boy: see Old MacDonald Had a Farm (File: R457) === NAME: When I Was a Cowboy DESCRIPTION: "When I was a cowboy, out on the western plains (x2), I made a half a million pulling on the bridle reins." The cowboy boasts of fighting Jesse James and Buffalo Bill. He advises, in the event of fire, abandoning the house and saving the "jelly" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 KEYWORDS: cowboy bragging outlaw fight nonsense FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (3 citations) Lomax-FSNA 197, "When I Was a Cowboy" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 379-380, "When I Was a Cowboy" (1 text, 1 tune) Fife-Cowboy/West 29, "When I Was a Cowboy" (2 texts, 1 tune) Roud #3438 NOTES: The Lomax version of this song comes from Lead Belly, and the Fife versions derive from Lomax. So it's not clear how much of this is truly traditional and how much Lead Belly. The "B" text in Fife looks a bit like a Lomax rework; it has stanzas reminiscent of "The Foggy, Foggy Dew" and "Rosemary Lane." - RBW File: LoF197 === NAME: When I Was a Fair Maid: see The Soldier Maid (File: DTsoldma) === NAME: When I Was a Little Boy (I): see Little Brown Dog (File: VWL101) === NAME: When I Was A Little Boy (II): see Now I Am a Big Boy (File: R358) === NAME: When I Was a Little Boy (III): see The Swapping Boy (File: E093) === NAME: When I Was a Wee Thing DESCRIPTION: "When I was a (little girl/wee thing), About (seven) years old, I hadna worth a petticoat To keep me frae the cold." The singer travels to (Edinburgh), buys clothes, goes to the woods, and builds a kirk with the help of the birds of the wood AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1964 (Montgomerie) KEYWORDS: bird animal clergy clothes FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Baring-Gould-MotherGoose 232, p. 151, "(When I was a little girl)" Montgomerie-ScottishNR 139, "(When I was a wee thing)" (1 text) File: BGMG222 === NAME: When I Was a Young Girl: see All For the Men (File: LoF260) === NAME: When I Was A Young Man DESCRIPTION: As a young man the singer "was drinking and a-smoking, boys, from morning unto night." When he had spent all his money he worked for more. He was enraged when he "walked into the public house and I called for a pint of the best" but got "the slop" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1995 (recording, Wiggy Smith) KEYWORDS: drink lie FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #12931 RECORDINGS: Wiggy Smith, "When I Was A Young Man" (on Voice13) File: RcWIWAYM === NAME: When I Was a Young Man (I) DESCRIPTION: The singer proposes to his long-time sweetheart but she rejects him as an idler. "In the spring had you cropped my wing" he would have won her. He says he'll "sail the ocean o'er, For the loss of one is a gain of two And a choice of twenty more" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1932 (Creighton-NovaScotia) KEYWORDS: courting rejection farewell FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Creighton-NovaScotia 50, "When I Was a Young Man" (1 text, 1 tune) ST CrNS050 (Partial) Roud #1797 NOTES: This is one of those songs that sounds like you've heard it before; the plot is common and the images commonplace. But neither Creighton nor Roud nor I can recall another version. - RBW File: CrNS050 === NAME: When I Was a Young Man (II): see I Wish I Were Single Again (I - Male) (File: R365) === NAME: When I Was a Young Thing DESCRIPTION: "When I was a young thing I lived with my granny, my mama was dead and my pa gone to sea." The singer always wanted to be a sailor "and follow my dada," but he finds that a sailor's life is filled with hard work. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (Peacock) KEYWORDS: work sailor ship father mother orphan FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Peacock, pp. 893-894, "When I Was a Young Thing" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #9939 File: Pea893 === NAME: When I Was Lost in the Wilderness DESCRIPTION: "King Jesus handed the candle down, An' I hope dat trumpet goin' to blow me home Yer de new Jerusalem." "When Moses smote de water wid his shepherd's rod, De waters rared back...." "When Joshua ordered dat de sun stand still...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious Jesus Bible nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 652, "When I Was Lost in the Wilderness" (1 text) Roud #11943 NOTES: Don't ask me where Brown's title came from; there is no mention of wilderness in the song. Moses's parting of the Red Sea is described in Exodus 14; Joshua's request that the sun stand still is in Joshua 10:12-13. - RBW File: Br3652 === NAME: When I Was Noo But Sweet Sixteen (The Bothy Lads, The Plooboy Lads) DESCRIPTION: Singer complains that the ploughboys are "false and deceiving-o They say all and the gang awa'." At sixteen she was "just in blooming." At nineteen she's home with her baby with no idea where the father may be. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1953 (recording, Jeannie Robertson) KEYWORDS: seduction sex nonballad baby abandonment FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) REFERENCES: (1 citation) DT, PLOOLAD* Roud #5138 RECORDINGS: Jeannie Robertson, "When I Was Noo But Sweet Sixteen" (on Voice10) File: RcWIWNBS === NAME: When I Was One-and-Twenty: see The Backwoodsman (The Green Mountain Boys) [Laws C19] (File: LC19) === NAME: When I Was Single (I): see I Wish I Were Single Again (I - Male) (File: R365) === NAME: When I Was Single (II) DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls the gay nights he lived when single. Now married, his wife leaves him to watch the cradle and run errands. He laments that "the poor man's labor is never done." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Eddy) KEYWORDS: marriage nonballad FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Eddy 71, "When I Was Single" (1 text) ST E071 (Full) Roud #5357 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "I Wish I Were Single Again (I - Male)" cf. "Rocking the Cradle (and the Child Not His Own)" (plot) cf. "Married and Single Life" (subject) NOTES: This may be a version of "Rocking the Cradle (and the Child Not His Own)"; Eddy's fragment is too short for me to be sure. - RBW File: E071 === NAME: When I Was Single (III): see I Wish I Were a Single Girl Again (File: Wa126) === NAME: When I Was Single (IV): see Do You Love an Apple? (File: K203) === NAME: When I Was Young (Don't Never Trust a Sailor) DESCRIPTION: A girl laments the loss of her virginity to a sailor, (who gives her half a dollar for "the damage I have done," and advises if she has a son to send him off to sea). She is found to be pregnant. Her parents throw her out. She warns girls against sailors AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield) KEYWORDS: bawdy sailor seduction sex warning FOUND_IN: US(MW,So,SW) Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (8 citations) Cray, pp. 75-78, "When I Was Young" (2 texts, 1 tune) Randolph 806, "Don't Never Trust a Sailor" (1 text) Randolph-Legman I, pp. 74-80, "When I Was Young and Foolish" (2 texts, 2 tunes) Greenleaf/Mansfield 58, "The Lass that Loved a Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune) Hugill, pp. 500-501, "Home, Home, Home" (1 text, 1 tune, with a chorus probably derived from "Ambletown" or some other member of the "Rosemary Lane" family) [AbEd, pp. 368-369] JHJohnson, p. 65, "The Lass That Loved a Sailor" (1 text) Sandburg, p. 219, "When I Was Young and Foolish" (1 short text, 1 tune, which appears to go with this piece although the ending is missing) Blondahl, p. 106, "The Lass That Loved a Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune) ST EM075 (Full) Roud #954 RECORDINGS: Dillard Chandler, "The Sailor Being Tired" (on OldLove) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Rosemary Lane" [Laws K43] cf. "The Gatesville Cannonball" cf. "Oh, No, Not I" (floating lyrics) cf. "Rambleaway" (plot) ALTERNATE_TITLES: The Night Hawk The Sailor-Girl's Lament NOTES: Randolph-Legman has extensive historical notes, separating this "inch-above-the-knee" song from "Bell Bottom Trousers/Rosemary Lane." - EC For discussion of this song and its ancestry, see the entry on "Rosemary Lane" [Laws K43]. The pieces here may not be a unity; one might describe this as bawdy remnants of that ballad. - RBW File: EM075 === NAME: When I Was Young (II) DESCRIPTION: Singer laments married life, saying when she was young she lived well and happily, but now she lives in poverty and misery. The chorus warns, "Ye'd better be a maiden as a poor man's wife." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1850 KEYWORDS: poverty marriage warning FOUND_IN: Britain(North,West,South) Ireland REFERENCES: (2 citations) Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, p. 102, "When I Was Young" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, BTTRSNGL* Roud #894 RECORDINGS: Margaret Barry & Michael Gorman, "It's Better to be Single Than a Poor Man's Wife" (on Barry-Gorman1) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Single Girl, Married Girl" cf. "Sorry the Day I Was Married" cf. "I Wish I Were a Single Girl Again" (theme) cf. "I Wish I Were Single Again (II - Female)" (theme) cf. "Do You Love an Apple?" (theme, floating lyrics) cf. "For Seven Long Years I've Been Married" (theme) NOTES: Obviously, this is extremely close to the songs listed as cross-references, and they have either cross-fertilized or share a common ancestor, but it has a distinctly different chorus, emphasizing being a poor man's wife, and as such I think it deserves a separate listing. -PJS File: VWL102 === NAME: When I Was Young and Foolish: see When I Was Young (File: EM075) === NAME: When I Was Young and in My Prime DESCRIPTION: The singer boasts that when he was young, he could "fetch" a kid every time, but now that he is old, he can't get a "bit to save my soul." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: KEYWORDS: bawdy age sex FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Randolph-Legman I, pp. 159-161, "When I Was Young and in My Prime" (3 texts, 2 tunes) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "I Am Growing Old and Gray" (theme) ALTERNATE_TITLES: I Ain't So Young When I Was in My Prime File: RL159 === NAME: When I Went for to Take My Leave DESCRIPTION: Singer, leaving to fight for the Union in the Civil War, weeps to leave his child and wife, and vows that "if the Davis boys don't bind me" he will return as quickly as possible when it's over AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (recording, Loman D. Cansler) KEYWORDS: grief Civilwar war farewell parting return separation baby family wife husband FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Loman D. Cansler, "When I Went for to Take My Leave" (on Cansler1) File: RcWIWFTT === NAME: When I'm Dead and Buried: see Don't You Weep After Me (File: R262) === NAME: When I'm Gone (I) DESCRIPTION: "It'll be Lawd, Lawd, Lawd, when I'm gone." "I'm gonna fly from mansion to mansion, when I'm gone." "I'll be done with troubles and trials." "I'm gonna walk and talk with Jesus." "I'm gonna set at the welcome table." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Lomax-FSNA 243, "When I'm Gone" (1 text, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Welcome Table (Streets of Glory, God's Going to Set This World on Fire)" (floating verses) NOTES: Alan Lomax claims -- on the basis of a few words in the chorus -- that this is the same as "Don't You Grieve After Me (I)." I don't buy it. - RBW File: LoF243 === NAME: When Jesus Christ Was Here Below DESCRIPTION: "When Jesus Christ was here below, He taught his people what to do, And if we would his precepts keep We must descend to washing feet." The song details the footwashing at the Last Supper AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas) KEYWORDS: Jesus Bible religious FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Thomas-Makin', pp. 198-199, "When Jesus Christ Was Here Below" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7132? NOTES: This song closely follows the account of the footwashing in John 13:1-11; the incident is not mentioned in the other three gospels or elsewhere in the Bible. - RBW File: ThBa198 === NAME: When Jesus Christ Was Here On Earth DESCRIPTION: Jesus, on earth, is called a spy. He walks past a sinful crowd, hears a woman say, "I'd go prophesy." He tells Peter, James, and John, "It's written I must die/Shed my blood on Calvary/And never more to die" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (recording, I. D. Beck & congregation) KEYWORDS: death prophecy religious Jesus FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #7386 RECORDINGS: I. D. Beck & congregation: "When Jesus Christ Was Here On Earth" (on LomaxCD1704) NOTES: This is fragmentary, but still clearly a narrative, so I include it. - PJS File: RcWJCWHE === NAME: When John's Ale Was New: see When Jones's Ale Was New (File: Doe168) === NAME: When Johnny Comes Marching Home DESCRIPTION: The singer promises that Johnny will receive a hearty welcome when he returns home from the war. Everyone will turn out; all will be gay; the old church bell will ring; there will be shouting and flowers; they will wreathe his brow with laurel AUTHOR: Words: "Louis Lambert" (Patrick S. Gilmore) EARLIEST_DATE: 1863 KEYWORDS: home war return reunion nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (10 citations) RJackson-19CPop, pp. 233-236, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (1 text, 1 tune) Scott-BoA, pp. 327-329, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-CivWar, p. 94, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 51, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (1 text, 1 tune) Arnett, p. 130, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (1 text, 1 tune) Hill-CivWar, p. 204, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 282, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (1 text) Thomas-Makin', p. 54, (no title) (1 text, mostly "Johnny Fill Up the Bowl (In Eighteen Hundred and Sixty-One)" but with this chorus) Fuld-WFM, pp. 639-641, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" DT, JHNMARCH* ST RJ19233 (Full) Roud #6673 RECORDINGS: Harry Evans, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (Emerson 7373, 1918) Pete Seeger & Bill McAdoo, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (on PeteSeeger28) Frank C. Stanley, "When Johnnie Comes Marching Home" (CYL: Edison 5003, c. 1898) BROADSIDES: NLScotland, R.B.m169(220), "When Johnny Comes Marching Home," unknown, n.d. CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye" (tune) cf. "Johnny Fill Up the Bowl (In Eighteen Hundred and Sixty-One)" (tune) cf. "Snapoo" (tune) cf. "Mademoiselle from Armentieres" (approximate tune) SAME_TUNE: Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye (File: PBB094) Johnny Fill Up the Bowl (In Eighteen Hundred and Sixty-One) (File: R227) Snapoo (File: EM379) The Widow-Maker Soon Must Cave [Anti-Lincoln campaign song of 1864] (James M. McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, p. 790) NOTES: Scholars continue to argue whether "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" or the doleful "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye" is the original. "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" can be firmly dated to the beginning of the Civil War, while "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye" does not appear until slightly later (1869) -- but as a traditional song. The earliest known printing is, in fact, that of "Johnny Fill Up the Bowl" (early 1863). If I were to make a guess, I think I would put "Johnny Fill Up the Bowl" first; it's a logical tune for Gillmore to steal (and some anonymous Irishman to turn into an anti-war song). But what do I know? - RBW File: RJ19233 === NAME: When Johnny Went Plowing for Kearon DESCRIPTION: Kearon, too old to plow, hires Johnny. But Kearon had an "enjyne" with the team which Johnny did not understand. Kearon tries it himself but cannot do it. Kearon gives him some instruction. "Johnny took heed to what Kearon had said" and finishes the job AUTHOR: Lawrence Doyle EARLIEST_DATE: 1968 (Ives-DullCare) KEYWORDS: age farming technology humorous FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Dibblee/Dibblee, pp. 19-20, "When Johnny Went Plowing for Kearon" (1 text, 1 tune) Ives-DullCare, pp. 191-193,256, "When Johnny Went Plowing for Kearon" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #12480 NOTES: Ives-DullCare: "A story of a greenhorn's plowing mishap and how his boss decided to show him how it's done, only to wind up worse off than his pupil." File: Dib019 === NAME: When Johnson's Ale Was New: see When Jones's Ale Was New (File: Doe168) === NAME: When Jones's Ale Was New DESCRIPTION: Stories from Jones's Bar. Various drinkers come in, each with his tale or his unruly behavior or his demand. Most are hard workers whose burdens are relieved by the ale. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1594 (stationer's register) KEYWORDS: drink nonballad landlord ritual FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA) Britain(England(All),Scotland) Australia REFERENCES: (9 citations) Doerflinger, pp. 168-169, "When Johnson's Ale Was New" (1 text, 1 tune) Ford-Vagabond, pp. 273-277, "When John's Ale Was New" (1 text, 1 tune) Copper-SoBreeze, pp. 284-285, "Four Jolly Fellows" (1 text, 1 tune) Kennedy 287, "When Jones's Ale Was New" (1 text, 1 tune) Combs/Wilgus 166, pp. 132-133, "The Jovial Tinker (Joan's Ale is Good)" (1 text -- a heavily modified version with a floating first verse and a final verse that may imply a Civil War setting) Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 245-248, "When Jones's Ale Was New" (1 text plus an excerpt from a British broadside) Silber-FSWB, p. 231, "Johnson's Ale" (1 text) BBI, ZN2502, "There was a jovial Tinker" DT, JONESALE JONESAL2 JONESAL3 Roud #139 RECORDINGS: Bob & Ron Copper, "The Jovial Tradesman" (on LomaxCD1700); "The Jovial Tradesman" (on FSB3) Fred Jordan, "When Jones's Ale Was New" (on Voice13) John M. (Sailor Dad) Hunt, "When Jones's Ale Was New" (AFS, 1941; on LC27) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Douce Ballads 1(105b), "Joan's Ale is New"["Jones" in the text], T. Vere (London), 1644-1680; also Douce Ballads 1(99b), "Joan's Ale is New"["Jones" in the text]; Harding B 28(139), "Joan's Ale"["Joan's" in the text]; Harding B 11(652), "When John's Ale Was New"; Harding B 16(336b), "Joan's Ale Was New"["Joan's" in the text]; 2806 c.18(169), "Joan's Ale is New"["Joan's" in the text] Murray, Mu23-y2:014, "When John's Ale was New," Poet's Box (Glasgow), 19C CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Young Man Who Travelled Up and Down" ALTERNATE_TITLES: Jone's ale is newe When John's Sail Was New NOTES: The song was sung by the "jolly boys" (pace-eggers) in Overton, Lancs, as part of their Easter house-to-house ritual. - PJS File: Doe168 === NAME: When Mary Came Wandering Home: see Mary of the Wild Moor [Laws P21] (File: LP21) === NAME: When McGuinness Gets a Job: see Last Winter Was a Hard One (File: FSC098) === NAME: When Morning Stands on Tiptoe: see The Echoing Horn (File: K246) === NAME: When Mursheen Went to Bunnan DESCRIPTION: The singer's "spirits has completely left" since Mursheen went to Bunnan. She left because he drinks. He drank with her father, who turned against her when she left. He had been "bound for the west" but now he "gave up all my palaver with Yankees" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1974 (recording, Micho Russell) KEYWORDS: love separation drink father FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #8146 RECORDINGS: Micho Russell, "When Mursheen Went to Bunnan" (on Voice13) File: RcWMuWtB === NAME: When My Blood Runs Chilly and Cold DESCRIPTION: "When my blood runs chilly and cold, I've got to go... Way beyond the moon. Do lord, do, Lord, do remember me.... If you can't bear no crosses, you can't wear no crown.... I've got a mother in Beulah land, she's calling me...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 KEYWORDS: religious nonballad death FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Lomax-FSUSA 104, "When My Blood Runs Chilly an' Col'" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-ABFS, pp. 610-611, "When My Blood Runs Chilly an' Col'" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #15548 File: LxU104 === NAME: When My Lord Went to Pray DESCRIPTION: "Way over yonder beyond the mountain, Where my Lord went to pray, They dressed my Lord in a long white robe...." "He hewed him out a cross..." "Come and help me bear this old cross along...." The singer tells of Jesus's death and salvation AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious Bible Jesus FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 654, "When My Lord Went to Pray" (1 text) Roud #11944 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Never Said a Mumbling Word" (floating lyrics) NOTES: According to Mark 15:21, etc., Jesus needed help to carry his cross, though John (19:17) says he carried his own cross. The size of the cross is not specified, and when the soldiers dressed Jesus in fine clothes, they put him in a *purple* cloak (Mark 15:20). - RBW File: Br3654 === NAME: When O'Connor Drew His Pay DESCRIPTION: O'Connor (a logger), after drawing his pay, goes on a spree, starts a fire, and is arrested. Taken to "limbo" (jail), he pays his fine and they ship him (as freight) back to the woods. He swears he's "never spent his savings quite so pleasurably before" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Beck) KEYWORDS: lumbering drink prison fire money humorous FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Beck 35, "When O'Connor Drew His Pay" (1 text) Roud #4065 NOTES: The text is incomplete, but gives the flavor of the song. I used "prison" as a keyword only because we don't have "jail." - PJS This song is item dC44 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW File: Be035 === NAME: When Our Boys Gave Up Squiddin' DESCRIPTION: "Our boys give up squiddin', they all joined the Navy To fight for old England, her King and her Crown." The boys get their parents consent, go "up to the court-house to join up that day," leave their women and family and go to "Keep Hitler Down" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1955 (Doyle) KEYWORDS: moniker war navy patriotic family derivative England separation FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Doyle3, p. 83, "When Our Boys Gave Up Squiddin'" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, SQUIDJI2* CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Squid-Jiggin' Ground" (tune) File: Doyl3083 === NAME: When Paddy McGinty Plays the Harp DESCRIPTION: "When Paddy McGinty plays the harp you've got to get up and dance ... It's wonderful Irish music that is neither flat nor sharp When Paddy McGinty plays the harp" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1964 (NFOBlondahl04, NFOBlondahl05) KEYWORDS: dancing harp music nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Omar Blondahl, "When Paddy McGinty Plays the Harp" (on NFOBlondahl04) NOTES: Is this even a music hall song? There is a 1940 recording on OKEH 5849 by the McFarland Twins and their Orchestra [sources: Steven Abrams site as The Online Discographical Project; Northwest Internet Technologies copyright owner of World of Grampophones site]; "the McFarland twins, Arthur and George, were handsome blonds who played reeds and had own corny band late '30s, suddenly became more modern c'42 but never hit the big time" [Source: MusicWeb site Encyclopedia of Popular Music re Fred Waring]. Blondahl04 and NFOBlondahl05 have no liner notes confirming that this song was collected in Newfoundland. Barring another report for Newfoundland I do not assume it has been found there. There is no entry for "When Paddy McGinty Plays the Harp" in _Newfoundland Songs and Ballads in Print 1842-1974 A Title and First-Line Index_ by Paul Mercer. - BS File: RcWPMPTH === NAME: When Pat Came Over the Hill: see The Whistling Thief (File: HHH710) === NAME: When Saint Peter's Day Was A-Dawning DESCRIPTION: Singer describes "the deeds of the sons of Saint Patrick" at a secret society meeting. "The Harp of old Ireland played Orange Lie Down" and woke the Brunswickers. "Banish this crew that our land did pollute" and let them go to some other island. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Tunney-StoneFiddle) KEYWORDS: Ireland political FOUND_IN: Ireland REFERENCES: (1 citation) Tunney-StoneFiddle, pp. 127-128, "When Saint Peter's Day Was A-Dawning" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: "Brunswickers" is a synonym here for "Orangemen." There is another apparent reference to Orangemen: "the Black Hare of Luther"; Luther is clear enough but I don't understand "the Black Hare" in this context [there is a reference to "these Luthers black" in Tunney-StoneFiddle: "The Defender's Song"]. "Orange Lie Down" may not be a real song; in any case, that title is a reference to "Croppies Lie Down," one of the Orange songs most resented by the nationalists. - BS File: TSF127 === NAME: When Shall We Be Married: see The Country Courtship (File: K127) === NAME: When Shall We Get Married: see The Country Courtship (File: K127) === NAME: When Sherman Marched Down to the Sea: see Sherman's March to the Sea (File: SBoA248) === NAME: When Sorrows Encompass Me 'Round DESCRIPTION: "When sorrows encompass me 'round, And many distresses I see, Astonished, I cry, 'Can a poor mortal be found Surrounded with troubles like me?'" The weary singer hopes for peace, and expects at last to find it with Jesus AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (Fuson) KEYWORDS: religious FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (2 citations) Warner 94, "When Sorrows Encompass Me 'Round" (1 text, 1 tune) Fuson, pp. 217-218, "Death-Bed Song" (1 text) ST Wa094 (Partial) Roud #16402 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Am I Born to Die? (Idumea)" (tune) File: Wa094 === NAME: When That Great Ship Went Down: see The Titanic (I) ("It Was Sad When That Great Ship Went Down") [Laws D24] (Titanic #1) (File: LD24) === NAME: When the Battle it was Won (Young Jimmy and the Officer) [Laws J23] DESCRIPTION: Jimmy deserts (in the face of the enemy!) when he hears his mother is dying. An officer arrives, hauls him from his mother's bedside, and orders him to face a firing squad. The officer may have wanted Jimmy's sweetheart (but she shoots him) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (Mackenzie) KEYWORDS: war family death trial execution FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar,Newf) REFERENCES: (5 citations) Laws J23, "When the Battle it was Won (Young Jimmy and the Officer)" Greenleaf/Mansfield 178, "Young Jimmy and the Officer" (1 text) Peacock, pp. 994-995, "The Deserter" (1 text, 1 tune) Mackenzie 117, "When the Battle It Was Won" (1 text) DT 553, BATLEWON Roud #1890 File: LJ23 === NAME: When the Boys Go A-Courting (Over the Mountain, Poll and Sal) DESCRIPTION: The young man goes out courting; the girl thinks him too poor. He borrows his master's horse to impress her. Later, he and his (cousin) go courting together. The girls' mother kicks them out. His mistress punishes him. He keeps chasing girls AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1817 (Journal from the Herald) KEYWORDS: love courting disguise trick sex mother apprentice FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 312-314, "Poll and Sal" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, POLLSAL* Roud #385 NOTES: The final verses of this seem to be from "The Keyhole in the Door" or something similar, but the whole song is rather disjointed. What's clear is the motivation: The singer devotes his whole attention to courting and watching girls -- and pays for it, until at last he gets married. - RBW File: SWMS312 === NAME: When the Caplin Come In DESCRIPTION: "Oh, now is the time when the men are all ready ... And live on the beach while the caplin is in." The crowd nets caplin from the beach; row boats and motor boats and horses "full breeds and ponies" haul the netted fish away AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1955 (Doyle) KEYWORDS: moniker fishing commerce FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Doyle3, pp. 85-86, "When the Caplin Come In" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7318 RECORDINGS: Omar Blondahl, "When the Caplin Come In" (on NFOBlondahl02) NOTES: Caplin are small deep water fish that come to shore in June and July to spawn. They are netted for bait, food or manure [per GEST Songs of Newfoundland and Labrador site]. - BS File: Doyl3085 === NAME: When the Curtains of Night Are Pinned Back DESCRIPTION: "When the curtains of night are pinned back by the stars And the beautiful moon sweeps the sky, I'll remember you, love, in my prayers." "When the curtains of night are pinned back by the stars And the dew drops of heav'n kiss the rose, I'll remember...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg) KEYWORDS: love nonballad FOUND_IN: US(MW,So) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Sandburg, p. 259, "When the Curtains of Night Are Pinned Back" (1 short text, 1 tune) Fife-Cowboy/West 90, "Curtains of Night" (1 text, 1 tune) MHenry-Appalachians, p. 196, "I'll Remember You, Love, In My Prayers" (1 text) Roud #4367 RECORDINGS: Emry Arthur, "I'll Remember You Love In My Prayers" (Vocalion 5206, c. 1928) Blue Ridge Mountain Singers, "I'll Remember You in My Prayers" (Columbia 15550-D, 1930) J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers, "I'll Remember You Love" (King 550, 1946) Betsy Lane Shepherd, "I'll Remember You, Love, In My Prayers" (Edison 80484, n.d.) Floyd Skillern, "I'll Remember You Love in My Prayers" (Melotone 7-07-60, 1937) Walter Smith, "I'll Remember You Love In My Prayers" (Champion 15730, 1929) Tenneva Ramblers, "The Curtains of Night" (Victor 21289, 1928) NOTES: Hazel Felleman's 1936 book _The Best Loved Poems of the American People_, p. 32, has a long version of this with the title "I'll Remember You, Love, in My Prayers." That version looks very composed, but she lists no author. It's not clear whether that is the original or if it is based on traditional materials. - RBW File: San259 === NAME: When the Day's on the Turn DESCRIPTION: "Though the house be couth and warm, And aye a blazing fire, The lang nichts o' winter Maks everybody tire." They look forward to the time when "the day be on the turn." The song lists how people will rejoice after the solstice AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord) KEYWORDS: work nonballad FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ord, p. 279, "When the Day's on the Turn" (1 text) Roud #5598 File: Ord279 === NAME: When the End of the Month Rolls Around DESCRIPTION: A coarse description of women's monthly troubles AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1963 KEYWORDS: bawdy nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cray, pp. 346-348, "When the End of the Month Rolls Around" (2 texts, 1 tune) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "As the Caissons Go Rolling Along (Field Artillery Song)" (tune) File: EM346 === NAME: When the Flippers Strike the Town DESCRIPTION: "You may talk about the pancakes That your mother used to fry... But this I got to tell you... The pancakes won't be 'in it' When the flippers 'strike the town.'" The song describes the enjoyable times when the flippers come back to home and family AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (Newfoundland Ballads and Stories) KEYWORDS: sea hunting reunion food FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ryan/Small, p. 70, "When the Flippers Strike the Town" (1 text, 1 tune) NOTES: The reference is to eating seals, and to the sealers coming back from the ice with their carcasses. According to Bob Bartlett (who should know; see his biography under "Captain Bob Bartlett"), "The flesh [of the seal] is by no means disagreeable, though it has a general flavor of fish, which constitutes the seal's chief food" (see p. 54 of _The Last Voyage of the Karluk_, as told to Ralph T. Hale; published 1916; now available with a new introduction by Edward E. Leslie as _The Karluk's Last Voyage_). - RBW File: RySm070 === NAME: When the Golden Sun Is Setting DESCRIPTION: "When the golden sun is setting And your face I cannot see, Will you step before the looking-glass And kiss yourself for me?" AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Henry, from Mary King) KEYWORDS: love separation FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) MHenry-Appalachians, p. 231, (third of several "Fragments from Tennessee") (1 fragment) File: MHAp231C === NAME: When the Ice Worms Nest Again DESCRIPTION: "There's a dusky husky maiden in the Arctic, And she waits for me but it is not in vain, For some day I'll put my mukluks on and ask her If she'll wed me when the ice-worms nest again." There follows a description of a wedding feast in an igloo AUTHOR: unknown (various copyright claims) EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 KEYWORDS: Eskimo marriage humorous FOUND_IN: US(Alaska) Canada(NW,West) REFERENCES: (4 citations) Fowke/Johnston, pp. 186-188, "When the Ice Worms Nest Again" (1 text, 1 tune) Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 189-191, "When the Ice Worms Nest Again" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 169, "When the Iceworms Nest Again" (1 text) DT, ICEWRM Roud #4537 RECORDINGS: Wilf Carter, "When the Ice Worms Nest Again" (Bluebird [Canada] 58-0129, c. 1950) Loewen Orchestra, "When the Iceworms Nest Again" (on SaskMan1) NOTES: Often associated with Robert W. Service (who did publish the song), Fowke thinks this piece "may date back to the Klondike gold rush of 1898." It was apparently first published in 1938, by the "Yellowknife Prospector" (which credited it to four men working along the Yukon River around 1919) and by Service in "Bath-Tub Ballads." Service reported that he wrote it in Dawson in 1911 -- but Fowke reports his version shows significant differences from the "common" text and tune. "Ice worms" seemingly first appeared in "ice worm cocktails" (a term which may go back to Service). They were simply strands of pasta with eyes drawn on -- but the legend goes that they were used to intimidate inexperienced travellers who visited the Yukon, and who thought they were actual living things. To be sure, there are actual creatures called "ice worms" (creatures that live on glaciers, coming out mostly at night, and somehow are able to increase their metabolism as temperatures go down. It is feared that global warming will render them extinct). But, based on a National Public Radio report at the end of 2005, even now, no one knows how these creatures reproduce, or how long they live; the author of this poem probably didn't know the real creatures even existed. - RBW File: FJ186 === NAME: When the King Enjoys His Own Again DESCRIPTION: The singer scorns the prognostications of prophets and the like; "all will be well When the King enjoys his own again." He points out the age and quality of the Stuart monarchy. He says he will "never rejoyes" until the king (Charles I) returns to power AUTHOR: Words: Probably Martin Parker EARLIEST_DATE: 1671 ("The Loyal Garland") KEYWORDS: royalty political rebellion HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1603 - James I (James VI of Scotland), the first of the Stuart monarchs, succeeds Elizabeth I as monarch of England 1625 - Charles I succeeds James I 1628 - Charles I comes in conflict with Parliament. He is forced to grant Civil Rights (the "Petition of Rights") in return for money. 1629 - Charles I dissolves Parliament and attempts to rule England directly 1640 - Charles I is forced to summon a Parliament (the "Short Parliament") to raise money. When it refuses to grant subsidies, he dissolves it and summons what would become the "Long Parliament" 1642 - Charles attempts to arrest five members of parliament. Eventually Parliament goes to war against Charles 1645 - Battle of Naseby. Charles decisively defeated. 1646 - Charles surrenders to the Scots. They eventually give him to the English, but Charles twists and turns and escapes before the English finally get him firmly in custody. 1649 - Trial and execution of Charles I. England formally a commonwealth. 1660 - Commonwealth dissolved. Accession of Charles II FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (2 citations) Chappell/Wooldridge I, pp. 210-214, "When the King Enjoys His Own Again" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, KINGNJOY* SAME_TUNE: Come brave England, be of good cheare/England's Joyful Holiday, Or, St. Georges Day (BBI ZN559) The Whigs are small, and of no good race/ .. The Unfortunate Whigs (BBI ZN2905) Cheer up your hearts, and be not afraid/The Cavaliers Comfort (BBI ZN481) All you that do desire to know/The last Newes from France (BBU ZN126) Good people all sing and rejoyce/The Christian Conquest [over Turks at Vienna, 1683] (BBI ZN1040) What Booker can Prognosticate/Englands Great Prognosticator (BBI ZN2787) NOTES: An obviously political piece, evidently written in the early 1640s. (This is proved both by the politics of the piece and by the "forty years" the house of Stuart is said to have reigned.) The oldest broadside copies do not indicate a printer; no doubt they were printed secretly. After the Restoration (1660), of course, the song was openly circulated. It's hard to say which side in the Civil War was worse. Charles tried to be an absolute monarch, claiming powers no English king had exercised since Edward I (died 1307) -- indeed, he demanded some powers no king had ever had. Even after the Roundheads had defeated Charles's Cavaliers, he could have salvaged most of his power by simply working with Parliament. But he continued to oppose them at every step of the way. Even when on trial for his life, he refused to recognize the validity of the court. On the other hand, the members of the Long Parliament were no great bunch either. More or less forced into rebellion, they eventually turned into an unrepresentative group of bigots (by the end of the Parliament, over half those originally elected were retired, dead, imprisoned) who sought to enforce their Puritan opinions almost as aggressively as Charles had pursued his royalist agenda. - RBW File: ChWI214 === NAME: When the Kye Come Hame DESCRIPTION: The singer says "the greatest bliss" for shepherds when "his ewes are in the fold and his lambs are lying still" "'tis to woo a bonnie lassie when the kye comes hame ... beneath the spreading birch in the dell" AUTHOR: James Hogg (1770-1835) (Bodleian notes to broadside Firth b.26(194) and others; NLScotland commentary to L.C.Fol.70(5a)) EARLIEST_DATE: 1822 (Hogg's novel _The Three Perils of Man_ and revised with music in 1823 in _Blackwood's Magazine_, according to NLScotland commentary to L.C.Fol.70(5a)) KEYWORDS: sex nonballad animal sheep shepherd FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Bord)) REFERENCES: (0 citations) Roud #12919 RECORDINGS: Willie Scott, "When the Kye Comes Hame" (on Voice20) BROADSIDES: Bodleian, Firth b.26(194), "When the Kye Come Hame" ("Come all ye jolly shepherds"), John Ross (Newcastle), 1847-1852; also 2806 d.31(51), Harding B 11(4129), Harding B 11(4131), Harding B 11(3410), 2806 c.14(123), Harding B 11(4132), Harding B 26(670), Harding B 26(672), "When the Kye Come Hame" LOCSheet, sm1846 410220, "When the Kye Come Hame," G. P. Reed (Boston), 1846; also sm1876 11358, "When the Kye Come Hame" (tune) Murray, Mu23-y4:028, "When The Kye Come Hame," unknown, 19C NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(5a), "When the Kye Come Hame," unknown, c.1875 CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Blathrie O't" (tune, per broadside Bodleian 2806 c.14(123)) NOTES: The cover to broadside LOCSheet sm1846 410220 states "Written by Hogg, the Etrick Shepherd Music by Wm Rogers." - BS File: RcWTKCHa === NAME: When the Logs Come Down in the Spring DESCRIPTION: Singer is lonesome for her lover, a logger who is off in the woods. She prays for his safety, and vows that she will rush to embrace him "when the logs come down in the spring." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Beck) KEYWORDS: loneliness lumbering lover logger separation work love FOUND_IN: US(MW) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Beck 47, "When the Logs Come Down in the Spring" (1 text) Roud #8875 File: Be047 === NAME: When the New York Boat Comes Down: see The Glendy Burk (File: MA109) === NAME: When the Outport Member's Family Comes to Town DESCRIPTION: A family from a remote outport had a successful season fishing, so they have moved to the town that is busily waiting for them and their money. They exchange outport ways for city habits. AUTHOR: M. A. Devine EARLIEST_DATE: 1940 KEYWORDS: recitation money vanity FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Doyle2, p. 76, "When the Outport Member's Family Comes to Town" (1 text) Roud #7319 NOTES: The social satire in this song seems to be directed more at the vanities of urban life than outport life. Outports are small fishing villages outside of the cities and there have always been marked social distinctions between the inhabitants of the two. - SH File: Doy76 === NAME: When the Rebels Come A-Marchin' (The Turncoat Piece) DESCRIPTION: "When the rebels come a-marchin' I'm a Southern man, And I feed their horses my best. When the Yankees come a-marchin' I'm a Northern man, And I feed their horses what the rebels left." The singer describes how he cooperates with both sides AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas) KEYWORDS: Civilwar humorous horse betrayal FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Thomas-Makin', p. 68, (no title) (1 text) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Vicar of Bray" (theme) NOTES: Collected in Kentucky, where sentiments of course were split at the time of the Civil War and where both sides occasionally were in control. - RBW File: ThBa068 === NAME: When the Roses Bloom Again Beside the River: see I'll Be With You When the Roses Bloom Again (File: RcIBWYWt) === NAME: When the Saints Go Marching In DESCRIPTION: "O when the saints go marching in (x2), Lord I want to be in that number, When the saints...." Similarly "When the sun refuse to shine"; "When the moon goes down in blood"; "We are traveling in the footsteps of those who've gone before"; etc. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1896 (copyright) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad FOUND_IN: US Bahamas REFERENCES: (4 citations) Lomax-FSNA 236, "When the Saints Go Marching In" (1 text, 1 tune) Arnett, p. 154, "When the Saints Go Marching In" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 369, "When The Saints Go Marching In" (1 text) Fuld-WFM, pp. 641-642, "When the Saints Go Marching In" Roud #13983 RECORDINGS: Fiddlin' John Carson, "When The Saints Go Marching In" (Bluebird B-5560, 1934) Chosen Gospel Singers, "When the Saints Go Marching In" (Nashboro 567, n.d.) Chuck Wagon Gang, "When The Saints Go Marching In" (Columbia 20630, 1949) Blind Willie Davis, "When the Saints Go Marching In" (Paramount 12658, 1928; Herwin 93005 [as Blind Willie Jackson], 1929; on Babylon) Slim Ducket & Pig Norwood, "When the Saints Go Marching In" (OKeh 8899, 1931; rec. 1930) Eureka Jubilee Singers, "When the Saints Go Marching In" (Sharon X-507, n.d.) The Georgia Peach [Clara Belle Gholston] "When the Saints Go Marching In" (Banner 32654/Oriole 8191/Romeo 5191/Perfect 0221 [possibly as Clara Belle Gholston]/Melotone 12571, 1933; rec. 1932; on Babylon) Elder Ella Hall, Effie Fitts, Jennie Jackson & congregation "When the Saints Go Marching" (on MuSouth10) Eureka Band, "When the Saints Go Marching In" [instrumental version] (on MuSouth10) Frank & James McCravy, "When the Saints Go Marching Home" (Brunswick 196, 1928; rec. 1927) (OKeh 45435, 1930) Monroe Brothers, "When the Saints Go Marching In" (Montgomery Ward M-7142, 1937) Mozelle Moore, "When the Saints Go Marching" [instrumental version] (on MuSouth10) John D. Mounce et al, "When the Saints Go Marching In" (on MusOzarks01) Pace Jubilee Singers w. Hattie Parker, "When The Saints Go Marching In" (Victor 21582, 1928) Paramount Jubilee Singers, "When All The Saints Come Marching In" (Paramount 12073, 1923) Snowball & Sunshine, "When the Saints Go Marching In" (Columbia 15722-D, 1932; rec. 1931) Horace Sprott & group "When the Saints Go Marching Home" (on MuSouth02) Wheat Street Female Quartet, "When the Saints Go Marching In" (Columbia 14067-D, 1925) NOTES: This song was published twice in 1896, once (according to the copyright records; no copies of the music survive) as by J. M. Black and once with words credited to Katherine E. Purvis and music by Black. (We should note, however, that Eldar Hasund, who has seen the copy which survives, does not consider it the same in either text or tune). The song is very likely older in any case, as it was collected in Nassau by the McCutcheons in 1917 (again in a form unlike modern pop versions, though recognizably the same song and with much the same tune), and may have originated in the Bahamas. - RBW File: LoF236 === NAME: When the Shantyboy Comes Down: see The Lumberman in Town (File: LxU051) === NAME: When the Snow Was Deep (Feeding the Birds) DESCRIPTION: "When the snow was deep, I sprinkled crumbs for the birds to eat. They would chirp for food -- The bluebirds and sparrows were in pleasant mood. They would go and come back, but not all would go, Some would stay... and eat the crumbs...." AUTHOR: George Mefford Bell? EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas) KEYWORDS: bird food nonballad FOUND_IN: US(Ap) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Thomas-Makin', p. 255, "When the Snow Was Deep (Feeding the Birds)" (1 text) NOTES: Reportedly written when Bell was only seven years old. - RBW File: ThBa255 === NAME: When the Stars Begin to Fall DESCRIPTION: Chorus: "My Lord, what a morning (x3) When the stars begin to fall." Verses: "You'll hear the sinner moan...." "You'll hear the gambler groan...." "You'll hear the sinner pray...." "You'll hear the Christians sing...." "You'll see my Jesus come...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (recording, Sunset Jubilee Quartet) KEYWORDS: religious Jesus nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (3 citations) Lomax-FSNA 237, "When the Stars Begin to Fall" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 360, "My Lord, What A Mourning" (1 text) DT, STARFALL Roud #3408 RECORDINGS: Blue Sky Boys, "When The Stars Begin to Fall" (Bluebird B-7472, 1938) Campbell College Quartet, "My Lord What a Morning" (OKeh 8900, 1931; rec. 1930) Pace Jubilee Singers, "My Lord What a Morning" (Victor 20225, 1926) Frank Proffitt, "Oh, Lord, What a Morning" (on FProffitt01) Rambling Kid and the Professor, "When the Stars Begin to Fall" (Melotone 7-08-71, 1937) Preston & Hobart Smith, "When the Stars Begin to Fall" (on LomaxCD1704) Sunset Jubilee Quartet, "Oh Lord What a Morning" (Paramount 12285, 1925; as Down Home Jubilee Quartette, Herwin 92008, n.d.) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Sinners Will Call for the Rocks and the Mountains" (words) File: LoF237 === NAME: When the Stormy Winds do Blow: see Ye Gentlemen of England (I) [Laws K2] (File: LK02) === NAME: When the Train Comes Along DESCRIPTION: "I may be blind and cannot see, But I'll meet you at the station when the train comes along. "When the train comes along (x2), I'll meet you at the station when the train comes along." The singer looks forward to meeting Jesus and a happy life AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (recording, Odette Jacson and Ethel Grainger) KEYWORDS: religious train nonballad FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Cohen-LSRail, pp. 633-635, "When the Train Comes Along" (2 texts, 1 tune) ST LSRai633 (Full) Roud #11525 RECORDINGS: Uncle Dave Macon, "When the Train Comes Along" (Champion 16805/Champion 45105/Decca 5373/Decca 34317, 1934) NOTES: Cohen notes that Dave Macon significantly modified this song from the usual version recorded several times in the 1920s and 1930s. In this case, though, Macon actually made the song more full and coherent. Which perhaps tells you how short most of the other known versions are. - RBW File: LSRai633 === NAME: When the Wild Roses Bloom Again Beside the River: see I'll Be With You When the Roses Bloom Again (File: RcIBWYWt) === NAME: When the Work is Done This Fall: see When the Work's All Done This Fall (File: LB03) === NAME: When the Work's All Done This Fall [Laws B3] DESCRIPTION: A cowboy tells of his plans to at last go home and see his mother "when the work's all done this fall." Soon after, the cattle stampede. The cowboy controls the herd but is fatally injured in the process. He will not see his mother; he sends tokens home AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1893 (published by D. J. O'Malley in _Stock Grower's Journal_) KEYWORDS: cowboy work death mother FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE,So,Ro) Canada(Newf) REFERENCES: (8 citations) Laws B3, "When the Work's All Done This Fall" Sandburg, pp. 260-262, "When the Work's All Done This Fall" (1 text, 1 tune) BrownII 264, "When the Work is Done This Fall" (1 text) Fife-Cowboy/West 81, "When the Work's All Done This Fall" (1 text, 1 tune) Pankake-PHCFSB, pp. 282-283, "When the Work's All Done This Fall" (1 text, 1 tune) Leach-Labrador 97, "The Cowboy" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 263, "When The Work's All Done This Fall" (1 text) DT 371, WORKDONE* Roud #450 RECORDINGS: Jules Allen, "When The Work's All Done This Fall" (Victor V-40263, 1930; rec. 1929) Fiddlin' John Carson, "The Dixie Cowboy" (OKeh 7004, 1924) The Cartwright Brothers, "When The Work's All Done This Fall" (Columbia 15346-D, 1929) Bill Childers, "When the Work's All Done This Fall" (OKeh 45203, 1928) Al Cramer [possible pseud. Vernon Dalhart], "When the Work's All Done This Fall" (Broadway 8060, n.d.) Vernon Dalhart, "When the Work's All Done This Fall" (Banner 6086/Domino 0192, 1927; Challenge 683/Challenge 688, 1928; Conqueror 7737, 1931) J. D. Farley, "I'm a Lone Star Cowboy" (Victor V-40269, 1930; Montgomery Ward M-4300, 1933; rec. 1929; on WhenIWas2) Harry Jackson, "When the Work's All Done This Fall" (on HJackson1) Bradley Kincaid, "When The Work's All Done This Fall" (Gennett 6989, 1929) (Brunswick 403/Supertone S-2017, 1930) Frank Luther, "When the Work's All Done This Fall" (Grey Gull 4264 [as Jeff Calhoun]/Van Dyke 74264 [as Jeff Calhoun]/Radiex 4264 [as Carlton Boxill], 1929; Madison 5013 [as Tom Cook], c. 1930) (Melotone M-12143 [as Phil & Frank Luther]/Vocalion 5483 [as Luther Bros.], 1931) Claude Moye, "When the Work's All Done This Fall" (Champion 15688 [as Asparagus Joe]/Supertone 9351 [as Pie Plant Pete], 1929; Champion 45064 [as Asparagus Joe], c. 1935) Aulton Ray, "The Dixie Cowboy" (Challenge 335 [as Charlie Prescott]/Champion 15277/Silvertone 5084, 1927; Supertone 9250, 1928) (Herwin 75552, c. 1927) George Reneau, "When The Work's All Done This Fall" (Vocalion 15150/Vocalion 5079, 1925) Rodeo Twins, "When the Work's All Done this Fall" (Victor V-40186, 1930; rec. 1929) Carl T. Sprague, "When the Work's All Done This Fall" Victor 19747, 1925; Montgomery Ward M-8060, 1939; on AuthCowboys, BackSaddle) Ernest V. Stoneman, "When The Work's All Done This Fall" (Edison 51788, 1926) (CYL: Edison [BA] 5188, 1926) Taylor's Kentucky Boys "The Dixie Cowboy" (on WhenIWas1, KMM) [Note: As Aulton Ray sang the lead on this recording, it's possible, maybe even likely, that it is identical with the recording on Challenge/Champion/Supertone. But until I've verified that, I'm keeping them separate] Vagabonds, "When the Work's All Done This Fall" (Bluebird B-5300/Montgomery Ward M-4442, 1934) Frankie Wallace, "When the Work's All Done This Fall" (Romeo 913, 1929) Frank Wheeler & Monroe Lamb, "A Jolly Group of Cowboys" (Victor V-40169, 1929; Montgomery Ward M-4470, 1934) Marc Williams, "When the Work's All Done This Fall" (Brunswick 244, 1928; Supertone S-2054, 1930) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "The Virginia Strike of '23" (tune) SAME_TUNE: The Virginia Strike of '23 (File: LSRA591) ALTERNATE_TITLES: After the Roundup (published by D. J. O'Malley under that title) NOTES: The most likely author of this is D. J. O'Malley, who seems to have been responsible for the earliest printed version. But Laws does not mention the attribution to O'Malley, and notes that J. Frank Dobie attributes it to Marshall Johnson of Texas. I know of no verifiable field collection before the Carl T. Sprague recording from 1925. - RBW File: LB03 === NAME: When the World Is on Fire DESCRIPTION: "The world is on fire. What are you going to do? What are you going to do When the world is on fire?" "I am going to fly... I am going home... I am going to shout." "Sinners want to pray... I am going to fly." A "very fluid" song. AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown) KEYWORDS: religious nonballad floatingverses FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) BrownIII 653, "When the World is On Fire" (1 text) Roud #11789 File: Br3653 === NAME: When the World's on Fire: see My Lovin' Father (When the World's On Fire) (File: R637) === NAME: When Things Go Wrong with You DESCRIPTION: "I love you, baby, I ain't gonna lie, Without you, honey, I just can't be satisfied. Cause when things go wrong, so wrong with you, Well, it hurts me too." The singer hopes to be the girl's man, and wants to make her happy. He promises to treat her well AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 KEYWORDS: love nonballad FOUND_IN: REFERENCES: (1 citation) Silber-FSWB, p. 78, "When Things Go Wrong With You" (1 text) NOTES: This comes from the singing of Big Bill Broonzy, and he probably had at least some hand in the text, but it is generally not listed as his composition. - RBW File: FSWB078 === NAME: When This Cruel War is Over (Weeping Sad and Lonely) DESCRIPTION: The girl asks her soldier, "Dearest love, do you remember, when we last did meet, How you told me that you loved me...." She fears for him, but urges him to fight. She is "weeping sad and lonely... When this cruel war is over, pray that we meet again." AUTHOR: Words: Charles C. Sawyer / Music: Henry Tucker EARLIEST_DATE: 1864 KEYWORDS: Civilwar soldier separation injury battle FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (7 citations) Belden, p. 381, "When This Cruel War is Over" (1 text) BrownIII 390, "When This Cruel War is Over" (1 text plus 1 excerpt, 1 fragment, and mention of 2 more; the one full text is the Southern adaption of the song) Silber-CivWar, pp. 42-43, "Weeping Sad and Lonely" (1 text, 1 tune) Hill-CivWar, pp. 232-233, "When This Cruel War Is Over" (1 text) Arnett, pp. 88-89, "When This Cruel War is Over" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 276, "Weeping Sad And Lonely (When This Cruel War Is Over)" (1 text) DT, WHENOVER* ST SCW42 (Full) Roud #3446 NOTES: This is widely believed to be the most popular of the war songs (at least among Union troops). After the war, however, its rather maudlin sentiments caused it to lose its place to songs such as "Tenting Tonight." (For details, as well as a sample stanza, see Bruce Catton, _Mr. Lincoln's Army_, p. 171). - RBW File: SCW42 === NAME: When This Old Hat Was New DESCRIPTION: A litany of complaints about the days "When this old hat was new." Subject can seemingly vary as long as it talks about long ago. At least one version talks about the evolution of American politics (used during the 1840 campaign) AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1912 (Belden) KEYWORDS: political HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Dec 2, 1840 - William Henry Harrison defeats Martin Van Buren Mar 4, 1841 - Harrison (the first Whig to be elected President) is inaugurated. He gives a rambling inaugural address in a rainstorm and catches cold April 4, 1841 - Harrison dies of pneumonia, making him the first president to fail to complete his term. After some hesitation, Vice President John Tyler is allowed to succeed as President FOUND_IN: US(So) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Belden, p. 336, "When This Old Hat Was New" (1 text) Roud #7841 NOTES: Although the only version of this I can pin down is Belden's, a campaign piece from the 1840 Harrison/Van Buren election, the catch phrase is much more common (see Roud #1693). It seems as if the idea was too good to let alone. The "locos" are the "loco-foco" faction of the Democratic party, a radical group which emerged 1835. (They were so-called for the matches, or "loco-focos," they used to light candles after the Tammany Hall group tried to suppress them by turning out the gas lights at a convention.) They didn't have a clear platform so much as a desire to clean up government, monopolies, and banking. The statement that "Van Buren was a Fed" is a reference to the Federalist party -- hardly a fair criticism, since the Democratic party did not exist in his youth. - RBW File: Beld336 === NAME: When Uncle Sam's Doughboy Roped a Wild Irish Rose DESCRIPTION: An "Uncle Sam's Doughboy" goes to Ireland and pursues a "wild Irish rose" who "ran through the trees like a wild mountain deer." But now she "gets tamer each day" and is becoming willing to return to the West with him AUTHOR: Rusty Holman (?) EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 KEYWORDS: courting cowboy FOUND_IN: US REFERENCES: (1 citation) Ohrlin-HBT 79, "When Uncle Sam's Doughboy Roped a Wild Irish Rose" (1 text) File: Ohr079 === NAME: When We Get Our Tuppence Back DESCRIPTION: The bosses at Lithgow lower the pay rate for coal by a tuppence. The miners go on strike: "We will never work for you Till you give that tuppence back, Charlie dear." The strike is bitter, with many scabs brought in. But the miners hold firm AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 KEYWORDS: mining scab strike work Australia HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1911 - Strike at the Hoskin Mine near Lithgow, New South Wales. The miners asked for a raise of tuppence per load; mine boss Charles Hoskin responded by lowering pay rates the same amount. Hoskin brought in scabs and resorted to intimidation, but eventually the miners won. FOUND_IN: Australia REFERENCES: (1 citation) Fahey-Eureka, pp. 208-209, "When We Get Our Tuppence Back" (1 text, 1 tune) File: FaE208 === NAME: When We Were Two Little Boys DESCRIPTION: Two boys are playing; one's hobby-horse breaks; his brother says "I couldn't bear to see you crying/When there's room on my horse for two." They become soldiers; one is wounded, the other rescues him, saying "I couldn't bear to see you dying...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1903 (recording, Billy Murray) LONG_DESCRIPTION: Two boys are playing; one's hobby-horse breaks; his brother comforts him, saying "I couldn't bear to see you crying/When there's room on my horse for two." They grow up and become soldiers; one is wounded, the other rescues him, saying "I couldn't bear to see you dying/When there's room on my horse for two." They remember when they were two little boys KEYWORDS: love army battle fight war reunion rescue injury brother family soldier FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (0 citations) RECORDINGS: Dixon Brothers, "Two Little Boys" (Montgomery Ward M-7336, c. 1937) Billy Murray, "When We Were Two Little Boys" (Monarch [Victor] 2468, 1903) NOTES: Although the text doesn't say so, this song is almost certainly set in the Civil War. - PJS And it has the sickeningly saccharine sound of songs of that era, too. - RBW File: RcWWW2LB === NAME: When Will Ye Gang Awa'? (Huntingtower) [Laws O23] DESCRIPTION: Janie asks what Jamie will bring her when he crosses the sea. He promises a new gown, then a "gallant gay." She wants only him. He submits that he has a wife and children. She is distressed; he promises to marry her AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 (Creighton/Senior); related text from 1827 (Kinloch) KEYWORDS: courting clothes trick marriage FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) US(NE) REFERENCES: (6 citations) Child 232, "Richie Story" (9 texts; the text in the Appendix is this song) Bronson 232, "Richie Story" (9 versions, but #9 is "When Will Ye Gang Awa'? (Huntingtower)" [Laws O23], and #7 and #8 may be as well) Laws O23, "When Will Ye Gang Awa'? (Huntingtower)" Creighton/Senior, pp. 217-218,"When Will Ye Gan Awa'?" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #9} Flanders-Ancient3, pp. 273-277, "Huntingtower" (2 texts, 1 tune) DT 482, DATHOL Roud #345 BROADSIDES: NLScotland, RB.m.143(127), "Hunting Tower, Or when ye Gang Awa' Jamie," Poet's Box (Dundee), unknown CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Richie Story" [Child 232] NOTES: For the relationship of this song to "Richie Story" [Child 232], see the notes on that song. - RBW File: LO23 === NAME: When You and I Must Part: see My Dearest Dear (File: SKE40) === NAME: When You and I Were Young, Maggie DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls the days when he and Maggie were young -- the creek and the mill they wandered by, the meadows they wandered, the birds they heard. Now the mill is still, and the flowers are gone, but she is still just as beautiful in his eyes AUTHOR: Words: George W. Johnson / Music: J. A. Butterfield EARLIEST_DATE: 1866 KEYWORDS: love courting age nonballad FOUND_IN: US(MW,SE) Britain(Scotland) REFERENCES: (8 citations) RJackson-19CPop, pp. 237-240, "When You and I Were Young, Maggie" (1 text, 1 tune) Ord, p. 159, "When You And I Were Young" (1 text) Dean, pp. 93-94, "When You and I Were Young, Maggie" (1 text) BrownII 137, "When You and I Were Young, Maggie" (1 text plus mention of 1 more) Silber-FSWB, p. 248, "When You And I Were Young, Maggie" (1 text) Gilbert, p. 22, "When You and I Were Young Maggie" (1 text) Fuld-WFM, p. 643, "When You and I Were Young, Maggie" DT, YOUNGMAG* ST RJ19237 (Full) Roud #3782 RECORDINGS: Archie Anderson, "When You and I Were Young, Maggie" (Columbia A-1447, 1913) Fiddlin' John Carson, "When You And I Were Young, Maggie" (Okeh 40020, 1924; rec. 1923) Frank & James McCravy, "When You and I Were Young, Maggie" (Brunswick 197, 1928; rec. 1927) McMichen's Melody Men, "When You and I Were Young" (Columbia 15247-D, 1928; rec. 1927) [?] Morgan & [Frank] Stanley, "When You and I Were Young Maggie" (Victor 4428, 1905) Roy Newman's Boys, "When You and I Were Young, Maggie" (Vocalion 03598, 1937) Will Oakland, "When You and I Were Young, Maggie" (CYL: Edison 9980, 1908) (CYL: Edison [BA] 1873 [as Will Oakland & chorus], n.d.) Riley Puckett, "When You And I Were Young, Maggie" (Columbia 15005-D, c. 1924) George Reneau, "When You And I Were Young, Maggie" (Vocalion 14814, 1924) Howard Shelley, "When You and I Were Young, Maggie" (Bell 1117, c. 1923) Walter Van Brunt, "When You and I Were Young, Maggie" (CYL: Edison [BA] 3130, n.d.) CROSS_REFERENCES: cf. "Sweet Genevieve" (theme) cf. "Silver Threads among the Gold" (theme) cf. "The Old Rustic Bridge by the Mill" (theme) File: RJ19237 === NAME: When You Feel Like Moaning DESCRIPTION: "When you feel like moanin', it ain't nothin' but love... It must be the Holy Ghost comin' down from above.... When you hear me prayin', that ain't nothin' but love.... When you love everybody... Do you love your preacher...." AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 (recording, Rich Amerson) KEYWORDS: religious clergy nonballad FOUND_IN: US(SE) REFERENCES: (1 citation) Courlander-NFM, pp. 238-240, "When You Feel Like Moaning" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #10963 RECORDINGS: Rich Amerson, "When You Feel Like Moaning" (on NFMAla4) File: CNFM238 ===