NAME: Hello, My Boy, Not I: see Oh, No, Not I (File: DTmarryn)
===
NAME: Hello, Somebody
DESCRIPTION: Shanty. Characteristic line: "Hello, somebody, hello!" "There's somebody knocking at the garden gate...." "Somebody wants to know my name...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1933
KEYWORDS: shanty
FOUND_IN: US(MA)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Doerflinger, p. 46, "Hello, Somebody" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill, pp. 256-257, "Hello, Somebody!" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, pp. 186-187]
ST Doe046 (Partial)
Roud #9441
File: Doe046
===
NAME: Help Me Drive
DESCRIPTION: Hammering song. "Help me drive 'er, Uh! Help me drive 'er, Uh! Help me drive 'er, Uh! ah, home. Uh!" "Little Mary... ah, home!" "To de mountain... ah, home!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: worksong
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 218, "Work-Song" (1 short text, 1 tune)
File: ScaNF218
===
NAME: Hembrick Town: see Katharine Jaffray [Child 221] (File: C221)
===
NAME: Hen and the Duck, The
DESCRIPTION: "The hen to herself said one beautiful day, Cluck, cluck, The day is so fine we'll step over the way And call on my neighbor and friend Madam Duck." The hen warns her chicks not to join the ducklings in the water -- but the chicks don't listen and drown
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (Gardner/Chickering)
KEYWORDS: bird chickens death drowning river
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Gardner/Chickering 199, The Hen and the Duck"" (1 text)
ST GC199 (Partial)
Roud #3712
File: GC199
===
NAME: Hen Cackle
DESCRIPTION: Characterized by the structure, "The old hen cackled... The next time she cackled...," E.g. "The old hen cackled, she cackled in the lot, The next time she cackled, she cackled in the pot." Material floats freely.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1923 (recording, Fiddlin' John Carson)
KEYWORDS: bird nonballad food floatingverses
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Darling-NAS, p. 252, "Old Hen Cackled and the Rooster's Going to Crow" (1 text)
Fuson, p. 157, "The Hen Cackled" (first of 12 single-stanza jigs) (1 text, perhaps from this though it's just a floating verse)
Roud #11058
RECORDINGS:
Fiddlin' John Carson, "The Old Hen Cackled and the Rooster's Goin' to Crow" (OKeh 4890, 1923)
Bill Chitwood & Bud Landress, "Hen Cackle" (Brunswick 2811, 1925)
Coleman & Harper "Old Hen Cackle" (Perfect 12751, 1931) (Oriole 8095, 1931)
Homer Davenport & the Young Brothers, "The Old Hen Cackled and the Rooster Crowed" (Silvertone 4009, 1925; Challenge 110 or 304, 1927 [both Challenge records as The Three Howard Boys])
George Edgin's Corn Dodgers, "Corn Dodger No. 1 Special" (Columbia 15754-D, 1932)
Fruit Jar Guzzlers, "Cacklin' Hen" (Broadway 8108, 1928)
Whit Gayden, "Hen Cacklin' Piece" (Victor V-40315, 1930)
[G. B.] Grayson & [Henry] Whitter, "Barnyard Serenade" (Victor V-40038, 1929; rec. 1928)
J. D. Harris "The Cackling Hen" (OKeh 45024, c. 1926; rec. 1925)
The Hillbillies, "Cackling Hen" (Vocalion 5020, c. 1926)
Earl Johnson & his Dixie Entertainers, "Hen Cackle" (OKeh 45123, 1927)
Clayton McMichen & his Georgia Wildcats, "The Old Hen Cackled" (Varsity 5064, c. 1942/Joe Davis 3512, n.d.)
Short Creek Trio, "The Old Hen Cackled and the Rooster Crowed" (Silvertone 8178, 1928)
Gid Tanner & Riley Puckett, "Hen Cackle" (Columbia 110-D, 1924)
Gid Tanner & his Skillet Lickers, "Hen Cackle" (Columbia 15303-D, 1928); "Cacklin' Hen and Rooster Too" (Columbia 15682-D, 1931)
Gordon Tanner, Smokey Joe Miller & Uncle John Patterson, "Medley: Cumberland Gap/Gid Tanner's Bucking Mule/Hen Cackle" (on DownYonder)
Tennessee Ramblers, "Cackling Pullet" (Brunswick 225, 1928; Supertone S-2083, 1930)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Cluck Old Hen"
NOTES: This merges almost continuously with "Cluck Old Hen," and readers may want to check both. The line "The old hen cackled and the rooster's going to crow" is highly characteristic of this song.
According to _The Old-Time Herald_, Volume 11, #10, April-May 2009, p. 26, "[Ralph] Peer recorded Carson -- grudgingly, country music lore has it -- in cnnditions that were less than ideal. The sound of Carson's record, Peer would later say, was 'pluperfect awful.' Nevertheless, a test pressing of 500 of Carson's debut -- "Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane" on the A-side and "The Old Hen Cackled and the Rooster's Going to Crow on the reverse -- sold out in the space of an afternoon." Although this was not the first "country" recordings waxed, it began the southern music boom. - RBW
File: RcOHCRGC
===
NAME: Henhouse Door (Who Broke the Lock?)
DESCRIPTION: Floating verses: "Down in the henhouse, down on my knees/I thought I heard a chicken sneeze" "Hen... told the rooster, I love you best... you're a pop-eyed liar...." Ch.: "Who broke the lock? I don't know/Who broke the lock on the henhouse door..."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1894 (recording, Standard Quartette)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Floating verses: "Down in the henhouse, down on my knees/I thought I heard a chicken sneeze" "Hen and a rooster went out west/Hen told the rooster, I love you best/Rooster told the hen, you're a pop-eyed liar/Saw you in the alley with the big Shanghai" "My old hen's a good old hen/Ain't laid an egg since I don't know when" etc. Chorus: "Who broke the lock? I don't know/Who broke the lock on the henhouse door..."
KEYWORDS: jealousy theft farming floatingverses humorous nonballad animal chickens
FOUND_IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES: (0 citations)
RECORDINGS:
Alabama Washboard Stompers, "Who Broke the Lock" (Vocalion 1587, 1931)
H. M. Barnes & his Blue Ridge Ramblers, "Who Broke the Lock on the Hen-House Door" (Brunswick 310, 1929/Supertone S-2052, 1930/Brunswick 1027)
Jack Bland's Rhythmakers, "Who Broke the Lock" (Banner 32605/Melotone M-12513/Oriole 2593/Perfect 15694, all 1932; Columbia 35841, 1940)
Bryant's Jubilee Quartet, "Who Stole De Lock Off De Henhouse Door" (Gennett 6608/Champion 15543 [as Southland Jubilee Singers]/Supertone 9081 [as Dixie Jubilee Choir]/Supertone 9293 [as Dixie Jubilee Singers], all 1928); "Who Stole De Lock" (Banner 32173/Oriole 8060/Perfect 175 [as Famous Garland Jubilee Singers]/Romeo 5060/Conqueror 7749, all 1931)
Vance Dixon & his Pencils, "Who Stole the Lock" (OKeh 8891, 1931)
Dunham Jazz Singers, "Who Stole the Lock" (Columbia 14609-D, 1931)
Otto Gray & his Oklahoma Cowboys, "Who Broke the Lock" (Vocalion 5479, c. 1931/Polk P9017, n.d./Panachord [UK] 25449, 1933)
Dick Hartman & his Tennessee Ramblers, "Who Broke the Lock?" (Montgomery Ward M-4914, 1936)
Texas Jim Lewis, "Who Broke the Lock" (Vocalion 3754/Perfect 7-12-55 [as Texas Jim Lewis' Lone Star Cowboys], 1937)
Frank Luther, "Who Broke the Lock" (Decca 5322, 1935)
Riley Puckett, "Riley's Hen House Door" (Bluebird B-7373, 1938)
Standard Quartette, "Who Broke the Lock on the Henhouse Door?" (CYL: Columbia, no #, rec. 1894)
Washboard Rhythm Kings, "Who Broke the Lock" (Victor 23283, 1931)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Talking Blues" (floating verses)
cf. "Cluck Old Hen" (floating verses)
cf. "The Chicken Song (I Ain't Gonna Take It Settin' Down)" (floating verses)
NOTES: The Bryant's Jubilee Quartet recordings are a perfect illustration of why discographers get migraines. - PJS
File: RcWBTL
===
NAME: Hennessy Murder, The
DESCRIPTION: "Kind friends, if you will list to me, A sad story I'll relate, 'Tis of brave Chief Hennessy And how he met his fate." The song mentions the time of his death, and opines that his killers were working with Satan
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (Burt)
KEYWORDS: murder police
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Burt, pp. 165-166, "The Hennessy Murder" (1 text, 1 tune); also "Hennessy Avenged" (1 text)
Roud #4128
NOTES: This is item dF58 in Laws's Appendix II.
File: Burt165
===
NAME: Henpecked Man, The
DESCRIPTION: "I'm the most henpecked man in town, I used to have lots of fun..." until his wife discovers him having an affair when he forgets to have receipts for the errands he allegedly was running. She makes sure he can't do it again. He warns against lies
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (recording, Kelly Harrell)
KEYWORDS: husband wife adultery hardtimes trick lie clothes
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #13148
RECORDINGS:
Kelly Harrell, "The Henpecked Man" (Victor 23689, 1929; on KHarrell02)
NOTES: I've never seen a version of this other than Harrell's, but it sounds traditional. The problem may be that no man would sing it for a collector.
Alfred Steagall's guitar accompaniment on this song is fascinating -- somewhere between ragtime and Mississippi John Hurt. I've heard nothing else like it on a recording of this era. I wonder if Steagall didn't influence later guitar stylists. - RBW
File: RcTHM
===
NAME: Henry and His Maryanne: see Henry and Mary Ann (Henry the Sailor Boy) (File: HHH037)
===
NAME: Henry and Mary Ann (Henry the Sailor Boy)
DESCRIPTION: Mary Ann bids Henry to stay with her. He refuses, and also refuses her offer to come with him. He goes to sea, where he performs valiantly and saves the Captain's life. When he comes home, the Captain gives him fifty pounds; the couple get married
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1853 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 26(246))
KEYWORDS: love separation sailor money
FOUND_IN: Ireland Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
SHenry H37, pp. 485-486, "Henry, the Sailor Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Tunney-SongsThunder, pp. 96-97, "Henry and His Maryanne" (1 text)
Peacock, pp. 899-900, "Young Henry" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 32, "My Mary Ann" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Roud #2284
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 26(246), "Henry and Mary Ann," J. Moore (Belfast), 1846-1852; also Firth c.12(284), Firth b.27(353), "Henry and Mary Ann"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The River Roe" (tune)
cf. "Jeannette and Jeannott" (tune, per broadside Bodleian Firth c.12(284))
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
My Mary Ann
NOTES: SHenry, re the tune for "Henry, the Sailor Boy": "almost all the [Irish] murder songs were composed to it." The tune is close to the one used by A.L. Lloyd for the verse of "Paddy West" (on Ewan MacColl and A.L. Lloyd, "Blow Boys Blow," Tradition TCD 1024 (1996)) - BS
File: HHH037
===
NAME: Henry and Nancy
DESCRIPTION: Henry courts Nancy. Her parents lock her in their castle. Nancy writes Henry a letter. He dreams of her and wakes to find her letter. He goes to the castle, kills her, and kills himself. Her parents blame themselves. Nancy's ghost blames her mother.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: courting love murder suicide dream father mother ghost prison
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Peacock, pp. 675-676, "Henry and Nancy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9943
File: Pea675
===
NAME: Henry and Servilla
DESCRIPTION: Broadside. Henry and Servilla are in love, but her mind changes; "perhaps it was a better match Within the mother's eye." Henry is bidden not to return. Henry intercepts her on her way to school, and shoots her then himself
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (Burt)
KEYWORDS: love courting betrayal murder suicide
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: January 13, 1854 - Murder/suicide of Servilla (Jones?) and Henry
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Burt, pp. 45-47, "Henry and Servilla, or the Death Bridal -- being a graphic account of the New Boston Tragedy" (1 text, slightly shortened)
NOTES: What I want to know is, why didn't someone shoot the mother who named her daughter "Servilla"?
This is as bad as it sounds, being littered, e.g. with small caps:
One had a DAUGHTER, just sixteen....
He loved SERVILLA long and well,
(Surely it was not strange,)
And happy was he in her love,
But ah! THERE CAME A CHANGE!
He took the maiden by the hand,
"YOU SHALL BE MINE," he said;
Then drew a pistol from his breast
AND SHOT HER THROUGH THE HEAD.
On second thought, I want to know why Henry didn't shoot the so-called "poet" who would inflict *that* on the world. - RBW
File: Burt044
===
NAME: Henry Clay Beattie
DESCRIPTION: Beattie is convicted of murdering a girl, but denies his guilt. His family tries to get him to confess, lest he "go to [his] doom with a lie." At last he confesses. On a Friday morning he is executed in the electric chair
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recording, Kelly Harrell)
KEYWORDS: death murder prison punishment execution Hell
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1911 - Execution of Henry Clay Beattie
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #13147
RECORDINGS:
Kelly Harrell, "Henry Clay Beattie" (Victor 20797, 1927; on KHarrell02)
NOTES: The use of the electric chair as a means of execution obviously dates this song to the few decades before Harrell's recording. This would seem to imply that it is based on actual events. But I found no references to Beattie until Paul Stamler found an online auction of a publication entitled _The Great Beattie Murder Case: Henry C. Beattie Jr., Life and Crime. Sensational story of the life of Beulah Binford, 'the woman in the case.'"_
How far one can trust anything with a title like that is an open question, but apparently Beattie (1884-1911) lived in Richmond, Virginia, with his wife when he took Beulah Binford as his mistress (supposedly she did not know he was married). Beattie then murdered his wife with a shotgun. He claimed she was killed by a highwayman, but was tried and executed. - RBW
File: RcHCB
===
NAME: Henry Clay Songs
DESCRIPTION: Tunes in favor of "The Statesman, the Patriot, Clay" during his presidential campaigns. Sung to popular tunes such as "Rosin the Beau," they include "The Mill-Boy of the Slashes" and "Old Hal of the West"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE:
KEYWORDS: political nonballad derivative
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1777 - Birth of Henry Clay in Hannover County, Virginia -- a region known as "The Slashes," hence the song title "The Mill-Boy [=miller-boy] of the Slashes"
1824 - Clay's first campaign for President (in the first election where popular votes are recorded, Andrew Jackson is the clear winner in the voting, but no one wins in the Electoral College. John Quincy Adams is elected president by the House of Representatives, due mostly to backing from Clay)
1832 - Clay's second campaign for President. He is defeated by Andrew Jackson
1844 - Clay's third campaign for President, producing both ""The Mill-Boy of the Slashes," with its erroneous reference to Van Buren (who failed to earn the Democratic nomination) and "Old Hal o' the West." Clay is defeated by James K. Polk.
1852 - Death of Henry Clay
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 39-40, "The Mill-Boy of the Slashes" and "Old Hal o' the West" (2 texts, filed under "Old Rosin, the Beau," tune referenced)
Hudson 84, p. 211, "Henry Clay" (1 short text, to the tune of "Old Dan Tucker," with many floating elements)
ADDITIONAL: John Siegenthaler, _James K. Polk_, Times Books, 2003, p. 91, (A single stanza of a Clay campaign song beginning "Hurrah for Henry Clay" and ending "And Polk will soon burst his boiler")
Roud #4495
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Rosin the Beau" (tune) and references there
NOTES: This is a lumping entry, for all the various political songs associated with Henry Clay and his sundry campaigns for president. They're all of separate origin, but since they had tenuous hold on tradition (at best), it seemed easier to put them all here.
My old high school history text described the period of 1830-1850 as the era of Clay, John C. Calhoun, and Daniel Webster. This is a little unfair; no matter how weak Martin van Buren and John Tyler were, there is no questioning the importance of Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk!
Nonetheless, Clay was one of the greatest voices of the era, and the single most important force behind the Whig party -- one might almost say he *was* the Whig party, since it died almost the moment he did.
These days, he is usually remembered either for his many compromises, ending finally with the Compromise of 1850, or for his many presidential campaigns. But he was more. Michael F. Holt, in his massive _The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party_, p. 25, gives this description:
"Clay was five years the senior of Webster, his great rival in the anti-Jackson camp. Whereas the granite-like Webster inspired awe and admiration, the irresistably appealing Kentuckian inspired love, affection, and often rapturous adoration from virtually everyone he met... Clay was a brilliant conversationalist, sparkling, witty, playful. Tall and thin, with a sandy complexion, a shock of brunette hair... gray, laughing eyes, and a straight, thin-lipped mouth that broke readily into a smile, the gracious, fun-loving clay charmed both men and women wherever he went. Neither as profound nor as learned as Webster, he exuded emotion and charisma when he addressed public audiences." - RBW
File: SRW039
===
NAME: Henry Connor of Castledawson: see Henry Connors [Laws M5] (File: LM05)
===
NAME: Henry Connors [Laws M5]
DESCRIPTION: Dejected Henry tells his story. A serving man, he fell in love with his master's daughter. The girl's mother aids the match, but the father is opposed. When the two plan to flee to Scotland, the father plants evidence against Henry and has him transported
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: servant courting father emigration transportation betrayal trick love
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) Ireland
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Laws M5, "Henry Connors"
SHenry H128, pp. 440-441, "Henry Connor of Castledawson" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 94, "Henry Connors" (1 text)
DT 816, HENRCONR
Roud #1909
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Erin's Lovely Home" [Laws M6] (plot)
cf. "Jock Scott" (plot)
cf. "Matt Hyland" (plot)
cf. "The Footboy" (plot)
File: LM05
===
NAME: Henry Downs
DESCRIPTION: "Many an Orange villain fell Beneath the hand of Downs" "The trembling tyrants did propose A partial amnesty" which took "unsuspecting clowns" out of the battle. Downs continued to fight. In Dublin he was taken by Sirr, tried, condemned, and hanged.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1887 (Madden's _Literary Remains of the United Irishmen of 1798_, according to Moylan)
KEYWORDS: rebellion execution trial Ireland patriotic police
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: April 1799 - Henry Downs is hanged at Malahide after being taken by Major Sirr in a Dublin alehouse.(source: Moylan)
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Moylan 125, "Henry Downs" (1 text)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Edward (III) (Edward Fitzgerald)" (character of Major Sirr)
cf. "The Man from God-Knows-Where" (character of Major Sirr)
cf. "The Major" (character of Major Sirr)
NOTES: For more about Major Sirr see "Edward" (III), "The Man from God-Knows-Where," "The Major" and the notes to "Who Killed Cock Robin?" (II).
Moylan adds some information illuminating the events here. There was an amnesty and it was accepted by many insurgents. Downs, while a member of Joseph Holt's guerilla band, killed Jonathan Eves, mistakenly taking him to be an informer. He broke with the guerillas on this account. He came close to killing Major Sirr while being taken. Moylan reports Madden, in _Literary Remains of the United Irishmen of 1798_, believed that Downs was executed for shooting Eves. - BS
File: Moyl125
===
NAME: Henry Green (The Murdered Wife) [Laws F14]
DESCRIPTION: Henry Green threatens suicide if Mary Wyatt will not marry him (she is unsure about the idea because he is rich and she is poor). Soon after the marriage, he poisons her. She forgives him before she dies, but he is sentenced to death
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: murder marriage poverty execution poison
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1845 - Murder of Mary Ann Wyatt Green (February) and execution of Henry Green (September)
FOUND_IN: US(MA,NE,SE,So) Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (11 citations)
Laws F14, "Henry Green (The Murdered Wife)"
Belden, p. 321, "Henry Green" (1 text)
Randolph 157, "Henry Green" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Flanders/Brown, pp. 65-68, "Henry Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Leach, pp. 792-793, "Henry Green" (1 text)
FSCatskills 66, "The Arsenic Tragedy" (1 text, 1 tune)\
Gardner/Chickering 142, "Young Henry Green" (1 text plus an excerpt, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 624-627, "The Murder of Miss Wyatt" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Leach-Labrador 100, "Henry Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Burt, pp. 11-13, (no title) (1 partial text, 1 tune, plus an excerpt from this or a related ballad)
DT 666, ARSENICT*
Roud #693
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Billy Vite and Molly Green" (plot)
cf. "The Murdered Wife or the Case of Henry G. Green" (subject, plot)
NOTES: The Digital Tradition editors speculate that this was adapted from the music hall song "Billy Vite and Molly Green." This is conceivable, but a significant stretch -- this song is serious, "Billy" comic; "Billy" involves a supernatural element, and in "Billy" it is the boy who is poor and the girl rich. - RBW
Leach-Labrador notes that "the murder took place in Rensselaer County, New York" - BS
File: LF14
===
NAME: Henry Joy
DESCRIPTION: The singer from Ulster tells how he left his wife and children to follow Henry Joy McCracken. They are defeated at Antrim. Henry Joy is taken to Belfast by the redcoats and hanged in the barrack square.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1998 (Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "1798 the First Year of Liberty," Hummingbird Records HBCD0014 (1998))
KEYWORDS: battle rebellion Ireland execution patriotic
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: July 17, 1798 - Henry Joy McCracken, a founder of the United Irishmen, is executed outside the Market House in Belfast (source: notes to Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "1798 the First Year of Liberty," Hummingbird Records HBCD0014 (1998))
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Moylan 110, "Henry Joy" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Henry Joy McCracken (I)" (character of Henry Joy McCracken) and references there
NOTES: Moylan: "This song possibly dates from the early 19th century" - BS
The ballad is recorded on one of the CD's issued around the time of the bicentenial of the 1798 Irish Rebellion. See:
Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "Henry Joy" (on Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "1798 the First Year of Liberty," Hummingbird Records HBCD0014 (1998)) - BS
Henry Joy McCracken was one of the most admirable of the United Irishmen. Sadly, he was no soldier, and his attempt to fight the British at Antrim a disaster; for details, see the notes to "Henry Joy McCracken (I)." - RBW
File: Moyl110
===
NAME: Henry Joy McCracken (I)
DESCRIPTION: "It was on the Belfast mountains I heard a maid complain... Saying, 'Woe is me... Since Henry Joy McCracken died on the gallows tree." Henry fought against the English, but was taken; now only his ghost comes got her. She dies and is buried
AUTHOR: attributed by different writers to P. J. McCall, William Drennan, and T. P. Cunning (source: Moylan)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (OLochlainn)
KEYWORDS: rebellion Ireland love death burial execution ghost
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: June 7, 1798 - Henry Joy McCracken, a founder of the United Irishmen, leads several thousand men against Antrim, but is driven off. The Ulster phase of the 1798 rebellion is completely defeated by June 13, and the leaders later executed
July 17, 1798 - Henry Joy McCracken hanged in Belfast. (source: Moylan)
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
PGalvin, pp. 34-35, "Henry Joy McCracken" (1 text, 1 tune)
OLochlainn 60, "Henry Joy McCracken" (1 text, 1 tune)
Moylan 109, "Henry Joy McCracken" (1 text, 1 tune)
Leyden 39, "Henry Joy McCracken" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3008
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Henry Joy" (subject)
cf. "Henry Joy McCracken (II)" (subject)
cf. "McCracken's Ghost" (subject)
cf. "The Social Thistle and the Shamrock" (written by McCracken)
NOTES: OLochlainn writes about finding the tune in 1913 in George Petrie [1789-1866], _The Complete Petrie Collection._ "The song here given was written by P. J. McCall [1861-1919], author of 'Boolavogue.'"
Leyden's source is OLochlainn 60. - BS
The ballad is recorded on two of the CD's issued around the time of the bicentenial of the 1798 Irish Rebellion. See:
Tim Lyons, "Henry Joy McCracken" (on "The Croppy's Complaint," Craft Recordings CRCD03 (1998); Terry Moylan notes)
Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "Henry Joy McCracken" (on Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "1798 the First Year of Liberty," Hummingbird Records HBCD0014 (1998)) - BS
Thomas Pakenham, in _The Year of Liberty_ (p. 172) says of McCracken (1767-1798) that he was "a remarkable man -- in may way the most attractive of all the original United brotherhood of Ireland." A Presbyterian, he tried to promote learning and social justice (not something that interested most Irish leaders); Jim Smyth, in _The Men of No Property_, p. 117, describes him as part of the "often socially radical" faction of the United Irishmen. He was also religiously tolerant (his brothers, according to Terry Golway, _For the Cause of Liberty_, p, 68, had attended the opening of BelfastŐs first Catholic Church in 1784, along with other members of the Belfast volunteers, as a gesture of ecumenicalism. McCracken himself, according to Golway, p. 69, actually supported Catholics when they were attacked by Protestants.)
McCracken, it appears, was not inherently opposed to Britishrule; he simply thought that Ireland could not achieve the social order he felt desirable without independence.
Sadly, British justice cared little for nobility of character. And, as a leader of troops, McCracken was contemptible. And several of his senior officers were in contact with the British General Nugent. McCracken, in attacking Antrim, made no provisions to guard against reinforcements. Nor could he make any real use of his ancient, ill-mounted cannon. The result was a complete defeat for the United Men at Antrim.
Four days later, the remnants of the United forces abandoned their camp at Donegore Hill. As an army, that was the end of them.
McCracken had not expected to command the Ulster army. Robert Simms had originally commanded the troops in County Antrim. But he wasn't going to fight without the French. He resigned, leaving McCracken in command (Golway, p. 84). McCracken had no military experience. A veteran army might have survived an ignorant commander. But the troops were as raw as he. They scared the British, but they posed little real danger.
McCracken himself escaped the rout, and hid in the home of his "lover" Mary Bodle (by whom he apparently had an illegitimate daughter; see Golway, p. 85). Contrary to what is reported in "Henry Joy McCracken (II),Ó Golway says that a patrol of militia simply stumbled onto him -- but he was taken into custody. His trial began on July 16, and he was hung July 17 after refusing an offer to turn informer (Golway, pp. 87-88). - RBW
File: PGa034
===
NAME: Henry Joy McCracken (II)
DESCRIPTION: McCracken is betrayed for 50 pounds by Niblock. Why is there no song from 1798 to mark his hanging on High Street, Belfast? He is buried in Clifton Street cemetery with his sister Mary.
AUTHOR: Mrs Eileen Keaney (source: Moylan)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (written 1964, published _Ceol_ vol. 2, no. 1, according to Moylan)
KEYWORDS: rebellion betrayal execution patriotic burial
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: July 17, 1798 - Henry Joy McCracken hanged in Belfast. (source: Moylan)
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Moylan 111, "Henry Joy McCracken" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Henry Joy McCracken (I)" (character of Henry Joy McCracken) and references there
NOTES: For background on Henry Joy McCracken, one of the most admirable but perhaps not the most competent of the 1798 rebels, see the notes to "Henry Joy McCracken (I)." According to Terry Golway, _For the Cause of Liberty_, pp. 85, 87-88, is sister Mary Ann (1770?-1866) had tried to smuggle him out of the country before his death, but he was captured before arrangements were completed.
She kept on having ideas. She tried to come with him to the gallows. (Interestingly, he apparently gaveno last speech.) After his hanging, she tried to have a doctor revive him., naturally without success. She then helped care for his illegitimate(?) daughter Maria. Mary Ann McCracken never married, and died in Maria's house. - RBW
File: Moyl111
===
NAME: Henry K. Sawyer [Laws G5]
DESCRIPTION: Henry K. Sawyer is fatally burned when he is trapped under a derailed train. He is taken from the wreck, but all he can do is bid farewell to his wife before he dies
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE:
KEYWORDS: train wreck farewell death
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: June 8, 1848 - Henry Sawyer, superintendent of repairs for the Bangor and Oldtown Railroad, is fatally injured when his train derails
FOUND_IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Laws G5, "Henry K. Sawyer"
Cohen-LSRail, p. 272, "Henry K. Sawyer" (notes only)
DT 757, HENRSAWY
Roud #3249
File: LG05
===
NAME: Henry Lee: see Young Hunting [Child 68] (File: C068)
===
NAME: Henry Martyn [Child 250]
DESCRIPTION: Henry Martin (Martyn), the youngest of three brothers, is chosen by lot to turn pirate "to maintain his brothers and he." Martin overhauls a merchant ship; he either sinks her or is himself mortally wounded
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1825 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 28(181))
KEYWORDS: brother pirate
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(All),Scotland(Aber),Wales) US(Ap,MW,NE,SE,So,SW) Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES: (19 citations)
Child 250, "Henry Martyn" (5 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #42}
Bronson 250, Henry Martyn" (50 versions+2 in addenda)
Belden, pp. 87-89, "Henry Martin" (1 text, called by the singer "Andy Bardan")
Randolph 31, "Andrew Bardeen" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #50}
Eddy 24, "Henry Martyn" (2 texts, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #16, #47}
Gardner/Chickering 81, "The Three Scotch Robbers" (1 text plus a fragment, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #6, #10}
Flanders/Olney, pp. 72-74, "Andrew Marteen"; pp. 201-203, "Andrew Batan" (2 texts, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #31, #46}
Flanders-Ancient4, pp. 15-44, "Sir Andrew Barton" "but including Henry Martyn" (11 texts plus a fragment, 10 tunes; in every text but "L," the robber is Andrew Bardeen or something like that, but many of the texts appear more Henry Martin-like) {K=Bronson's #2 tune for Child #167; B=#46, C=#31 for Child #250}
JHCox 150, "Henry Martin" (1 text)
Davis-More 37, pp. 290-299, "Henry Martyn" (1 text)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 86-87, "Henry Martyn" (1 text, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #3, #4}
Karpeles-Newfoundland 22, "Henry Martin" (3 texts, 3 tunes)
Mackenzie 13, "Bolender Martin" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #17}
Leach, pp. 615-616, "Henry Martyn" (1 text)
Friedman, p. 358, "Henry Martyn" (2 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #36}
Sharp-100E 1, "Henry Martin" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #36}
Silber-FSWB, p. 215, "Henry Martin" (1 text)
DT 250, HENRMART* HENRMRT3
ADDITIONAL: Maud Karpeles, _Folk Songs of Europe_, Oak, 1956, 1964, pp. 36-37, "Henry Martin" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #104
RECORDINGS:
Warde Ford, "Andrew Batan" (AFS 4194 B1, 1938; on LC58, in AMMEM/COWELL) {Bronson's #8 under "Sir Andrew Barton"}
A. L. Lloyd, "Henry Martin" (on ESFB1, ESFB2)
Sam Larner, "The Lofty Tall Ship" (on SLarner01, Voice12);"Henry Martin" (on SLarner02) [I do not know that the two Larner recordings are in fact different -- these two compilations drew from the same collection of field tapes -- but as the titles are given as different I thought it prudent to separate them. - PJS]
Lawrence Older, "Elder Bordee" (on LOlder01)
Pete Seeger, "Elder Bordee" (on PeteSeeger29)
Phillip Tanner, "Henry Martin" (on FSB5); "Young Henry Martin" (on Voice02) {one of these recordings, which may be the same, is Bronson's #33}
Tony Wales, "Henry Martin" (on TWales1)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 28(181), "Henry Martin," W. Armstrong (Liverpool) , 1820-1824; also Firth c.12(87), Harding B 11(1367), Harding B 11(4096), 2806 c.16(273), Harding B 17(295a), Harding B 11(4207), Firth b.26(253), Firth c.26(210), "Henry Martin"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Sir Andrew Barton" [Child 167] (plot, lyrics)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Elder Bordee
NOTES: This ballad cannot always be distinguished in practice from "Sir Andrew Barton" [Child 167]; see also the discussion under that song. - RBW
Having looked at the lyrics to "Elder Bordee," I'd place it somewhat closer to "Henry Martyn" than to "Sir Andrew Barton" [even though the Lawrence Older recording lists it as Child #167]; it's shorter, and it doesn't include the theme of the complaining merchants. Frankly, I think Child goofed when he split these ballads. - PJS
Child had the "advantage," if such it can be called, of seeing only British versions. Those are distinct enough. I've yet to see such clear distinctions in American versions.
Checking through the sources available to me, here are the "votes" of the various scholars:
Barry: One ballad (but with some rather farfetched conjectures about its evolution)
Belden: Apparently two (but based on the close similarities of the "Henry Martin" texts, which really proves only that this is a distinct family)
Bronson: One ballad (apparently, but based mostly on others' comments)
Child: Two ballads (probably), with "Andrew Barton" the elder and the source
Coffin: One ballad, following the arguments from Barry.
Davis: Two ballads
Sharp: Two ballads
Editors who print texts from their collections but state no clear opinion: Cox, Eddy, Flanders, Randolph
- RBW
File: C250
===
NAME: Henry Munroe
DESCRIPTION: At Ballynahinch General Nugent attacks the rebels under Clokey and Munroe. Having exhausted ammunition Munroe escapes. Betrayed by a woman, he was taken and executed. "His head was put up" but retreived by rebels. Young Teeling is alo killed at Killala.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: c.1893 (Young's _Ulster in '98_, according to Moylan)
KEYWORDS: betrayal battle execution rebellion Ireland
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: June 13, 1798 - Battle of Ballynahinch (source: Moylan)
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Moylan 85, "Henry Munroe" (1 text)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "General Monroe" (subject) and references there
cf. "The Frenchmen" (character of Bartholomew Teeling)
NOTES: While sympathetic to the Defender cause the song blames the rebels "In attacking the Government when their strength it was so; It caused many to die like brave Henry Munroe."
"Teeling" is apparently Bartholomew Teeling hanged with Matthew Tone in Dublin (source: Moylan p.87 re "The Frenchmen") - BS
For Munroe/Monroe, see the notes to "General Monroe."
Jim Smyth, _The Men of No Property_, pp. 118-119, describes a whole Teeling family. Luke Teeling was the patriarch, an Ulster linen merchant; he bankrolled some revolutionary publications. His son Charles H. Teeling is described as "The chief architect of the revamped Defenders." Charles's older brother Bartholomew journeyed on foot across most of Ireland, apparently campaigning against the British. A third Teeling, George, seems to have been slightly less active.
Charles Teeling, though not much past twenty, was imprisoned in 1796; Bartholomew fled to France in 1797 (Smyth, p. 159), to return (and die) with Wolfe Tone.
Thomas Pakenham, _The Year of Liberty_, esp. p. 344, mentions two Teelings, Batholomew and Matthew. The index cites Bartholomew once, and Matthew three times. But the first two references to Teeling do not mention is first name, and the third could be a conflation of Bartholomew Teeling and Matthew Tone. - RBW
File: Moyl985
===
NAME: Henry Stewart
DESCRIPTION: "Our gallant captain to us did say, 'We had better give ourselves up to pray ...' We had scarce lost sight of the Scottish shore When the sea most furiously began to roar." Only Captain Henery Stewart and one man more live to land ashore.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 (Creighton-SNewBrunswick)
KEYWORDS: death sea ship shore storm wreck Scotland
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 99, "Henry Stewart" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Roud #2773
NOTES: The current description is based on the Creighton-SNewBrunswick fragment. - BS
File: CrSNB099
===
NAME: Henry the Sailor Boy: see Henry and Mary Ann (Henry the Sailor Boy) (File: HHH037)
===
NAME: Henry Was a High-Learnt Man: see Caroline of Edinborough Town [Laws P27] (File: LP27)
===
NAME: Henry, My Son: see Lord Randal [Child 12] (File: C012)
===
NAME: Henry's Downfall: see Van Dieman's Land (II - Young Henry's Downfall) (File: FaE16)
===
NAME: Henry's Tribute: see King Henry Fifth's Conquest of France [Child 164] (File: C164)
===
NAME: Her Age It Was Red: see Crazy Song to the Air of "Dixie" (File: San342)
===
NAME: Her Bonny Blue E'e
DESCRIPTION: The singer describes the beautiful girl "doon by the burn brae," and admits to thinking of her bonny blue eyes when he should be saying his prayers. But he is going across the sea; he must leave her for another to wed. He wishes her happiness
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love beauty separation emigration
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H71, pp. 246-247, "Her Bonnie Blue E'e" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13336
NOTES: Sam Henry claims this is a Scottish song. The only evidence for this is the dialect. The plot seems more typically Irish. - RBW
File: HHH071
===
NAME: Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still
DESCRIPTION: "It's been a year since last we met, We may never meet again. I have struggled to forget, But the struggle was in vain. For her voice lives in the breeze...." The sailor lives, dreams, and ornately alludes to the memory the sweetheart he left behind
AUTHOR: Words: J. E. Carpenter / Music: W. T. Wrighton
EARLIEST_DATE: 1909 (Heart Songs); reportedly written 1864
KEYWORDS: love separation nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Warner 157, "Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still" (1 text plus a songster version, 1 tune)
Colcord, pp. 165-166, "Her Bright Smile" (1 text, 1 tune)
Spaeth-WeepMore, pp. 31-32, "Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, BRITESML*
Roud #4353
RECORDINGS:
Eleazar Tillett and Martha Etheridge, "Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still" (on USWarnerColl01)
File: Wa157
===
NAME: Her Servant Man: see The Iron Door [Laws M15] (File: LM15)
===
NAME: Her White Bosom Bare: see Olban (Alban) or The White Captive [Laws H15] (File: LH15)
===
NAME: Herd Laddie, The (The Herdie)
DESCRIPTION: "Oh for the innocent days I hae see, When a' my young thoughts they were happy and keen." In those days he herded the cattle and swam with "wee Jenny," then used their clothes for beds. He recalls other details of his early life
AUTHOR: William Scott of Fetterangus (1785-?) (source: Greig)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1832 (Scott, Poems, Chiefly in the Buchan Dialect, according to Greig)
KEYWORDS: courting animal sex home work
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Greig #3, p. 1, "The Hirdie"; Greig #6, p. 1, "The Hirdie" (2 short texts)
GreigDuncan3 429, "The Herd Laddie" (7 short texts, 6 tunes)
Ord, pp. 269-270, "The Herdie" (1 text)
Roud #5594
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Hills of Glenorchy" (tune, per Greig)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Herd Loon
NOTES: Greig: "'The Hirdie,' another of his [Scott's] songs, is perhaps as well-known as 'Johnnie Sangster.' A verse will recall it to many readers:...." It was well-known enough that Greig never thought it worth while to print more than that one verse.- BS
This seems like it should lead to a conclusion -- the girl getting pregnant, the lad getting fired, something. But it doesn't. Unless Ord, like Greig, was suppressing the ending. - RBW
File: Ord269
===
NAME: Herd Laddie's Lament
DESCRIPTION: "A wee laddie sat wi' the tear in his e'e," and complains of his life: His feet are sore, wrapped in unrepairable shoes; he has no money for a new pair. His clothes are just as bad, he is hungry and worked too hard. He wishes for a better master
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord)
KEYWORDS: work poverty clothes hardtimes
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ord, p. 274, "The Herd Laddie's Lament" (1 text)
Roud #5596
File: Ord274
===
NAME: Herdie Derdie
DESCRIPTION: "Herdie Derdie, blaw your horn, A' your nowt's [cattle] among the corn; First ane, and syne twa, Herdie Derdie beats them a'"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1881 (Gregor, Notes on the Folk-Lore of the North-East of Scotland, according to GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: farming nonballad animal
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Greig #159, p. 2, "Herdie Derdie" (1 text)
GreigDuncan3 431, "Herdie Derdie" (2 texts)
Roud #5947
NOTES: GreigDuncan3 quotes Gregor with other lines ("... Sic a hird a nivir saw, Here aboot or far awa..." and, sometimes the last line of "Deel blaw the hirdie's plaid awa"). - BS
Looking at the lyrics of this, I wonder if "Herdie Derdie" is indeed an animal, or perhaps a "Yowie wi' a Crookit Horn." - RBW
File: GrD3431
===
NAME: Herdie, The: see The Herd Laddie (The Herdie) (File: Ord269)
===
NAME: Herding Lambs Amongst the Heather: see Queen Among the Heather (File: K141)
===
NAME: Here Come Three Dukes A-Riding: see Three Dukes (File: R551)
===
NAME: Here Come Three Kings A-Riding: see Three Dukes (File: R551)
===
NAME: Here Comes a Duke A-Riding: see Three Dukes (File: R551)
===
NAME: Here Comes a Lusty Wooer
DESCRIPTION: "Herecomes a lusty wooer, My a Dildin my A Daldin, Here comes a lusty wooer, Lilly bright and shine, A." "Pray who do you woo for?" "For your fairest daughter." "Then there she is for you."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1744 (Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book)
KEYWORDS: playparty courting
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #26, p. 39, "(Here comes a lusty Wooer)"
Roud #13184
NOTES: The Opies include this in "The Singing Game" -- and it certainly looks like one. On that basis, I include it in the Index, though it seems quite rare. - RBW
File: BGNMG026
===
NAME: Here Comes Three Lawyers: see Three Dukes (File: R551)
===
NAME: Here I Stand All Ragged and Dirty: see All Ragged and Dirty (Here I Stand All Ragged and Dirty) (File: R573)
===
NAME: Here Is the Church
DESCRIPTION: "Here is the church, and here is the steeple. Open the doors and here are the people. Here is the parson going upstairs And here he is a-saying his prayers."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (Wood)
KEYWORDS: clergy
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Opie-Oxford2 102, "Here is the church, and here is the steeple" (1 text)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #605, p. 240, "(Here is the Church)"
Roud #16226
NOTES: Opie-Oxford2: "Newell (1883) collected the first two lines of the text in the U.S.A." - BS
File: BGMG605
===
NAME: Here Lies de Body uv Po' Little Ben
DESCRIPTION: "Here lies de body uv po' little Ben. We ain't gwyne to see 'im in I dunno when. 'Twas hard to part, but it could 'a' been wuss, 'Case Ben mou'ter been a no-'count cuss." Other verses may float
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: death burial floatingverses
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 440, "Here Lies de Body uv Po' Little Ben" (1 short text, with a second stanza probably from "Watermelon on the Vine")
Roud #11779
File: Br3440
===
NAME: Here Stands an Old Maid Forsaken
DESCRIPTION: Kissing game: "Here stands an old maid forsaken, She's of a contented mind, She's lost her own true lover And wants another as kind; She wants another a kind, sir, I'll have you all to know, She's very well provided for With 45 strings to her bow (x2)."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Linscott)
KEYWORDS: love courting oldmaid playparty
FOUND_IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Linscott, pp. 15-16, "Here Stands an Old Maid Forksaken" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Lins015 (Full)
Roud #8065?
File: Lins015
===
NAME: Here We Come A-Wassailing
DESCRIPTION: "Here we come a-wassailing Among the leaves so green." Chorus: "Love and joy come to you And to you your wassail too, And God bless you and send you a happy new year." The singers remind the listeners that they are not beggars, and bless them
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1868 (Husk)
KEYWORDS: request ritual drink food begging nonballad wassail
FOUND_IN: Britain(England) US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Ritchie-SingFam, p. 166, "Wassail Song" (1 fragmentary text, 1 tune)
OBC 15+16, "Wassail Song" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Silber-FSWB, p. 379, "Wassail Song" (1 text)
DT, WASSCOME* WASSBUD
ADDITIONAL: Ian Bradley, _The Penguin Book of Carols_ (1999), #33, "Here We Come A Wassailing" (1 text)
Roud #209
NOTES: The custom of "wassailing" (going from house to house, usually on January 5, begging food, drink and hospitality) is mentioned as far back as the 12th century in England; similar rituals are found across the continent of Europe and in the United States. - (PJS)
"Wassail," incidentally, is from Old English "Wes hael," "Be hale/whole," i.e. "Be in good health."
To tell this wassail song from all the others (most if not all of which are lumped by Roud), consider either the first verse:
Here we come a-wassailing
Among the leaves so green,
Here we come a-wassailing
So fairly to be seen,
or the chorus, not met with in all versions:
Love and joy come to you
And to you your wassail too,
And God bless you and send you a happy new year,
(And God send you a happy new year)
- RBW
File: JRDF166
===
NAME: Here We Go Gathering Nuts in May: see Gathering Nuts in May (File: R561)
===
NAME: Here We Go in Mourning
DESCRIPTION: "Here we go in mourning, In mourning is my cry, I have gone and lost my true love, And surely I must die." "It's yonder he comes, And it's How do you do? And it's how have you been since I parted from you?" "Come now and let's go and get married."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: courting playparty mourning
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 72, "Here We Go in Mourning" (1 text)
Roud #7871
File: Br3072
===
NAME: Here We Go Looby Loo: see Looby Lou (File: R554)
===
NAME: Here We Go Looby Lou: see Looby Lou (File: R554)
===
NAME: Here We Go Round the Jing-a-ring: see Jingo Ring (Merry-Ma-Tanzie, Around the Ring) (File: Fus173)
===
NAME: Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
DESCRIPTION: "Here we go round the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, Here we go round... So early in the morning." "This is the way we wash our clothes." "This is the way we bake the bread." And so forth, through many household tasks
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1847 (Chambers)
KEYWORDS: work nonballad playparty
FOUND_IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Linscott, pp. 38-40, "Mulb'ry Bush" (1 text, 1 tune)
MHenry-Appalachians, p. 244, (no title) (1 short text)
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 138, (no title) (1 text, in which the bush becomes a "strawberry bush"!)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #638, p. 253, "(Here we go round the bramble bush)"
DT, MULBERBS
Roud #7882
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Gathering Nuts in May" (tune)
cf. "This Is the Way We Wash Our Clothes" (lyrics)
cf. "The Old Soap-Gourd" (form)
NOTES: Linscott reports this to the tune "Nancy Dawson," also used for "Nuts in May," and they do use the same tune in my experience, though I've never heard it called "Nancy Dawson."
I find it hard to imagine how Scarborough's version about a "strawberry bush" arose; strawberries don't grow on bushes.
There is another song, indexed as "This Is the Way We Wash Our Clothes," which shares lyrics and feeling with this. But it's a doll-dancing song; I've very tantatively split them. - RBW
File: Lins038
===
NAME: Here We Go Up (Hey My Kitty)
DESCRIPTION: "Here we go up, up, up, up, up, Here we go down, down, downy; Here we go over and over and over, And here we go round, round, roundy." "O, my kitty, my kitty, my kitty, O my kitty my dearie, Never was such a kitty as this, Never so far nor neary."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1740 (Tea-Table Miscellany, according to Opie-Oxford2)
KEYWORDS: nonballad animal lullaby
FOUND_IN: US(NE) Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Linscott, pp. 209-210, "Here We Go Up" (1 text, 1 tune)
Opie-Oxford2 288, "Hey, my kitten, my kitten" (1 text)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #560, p. 228, "(Oh my Kitten a Kitten)"
Montgomerie-ScottishNR 51, "(Hey my kitten, my kitten)" (1 text)
Roud #3748
NOTES: Linscott claims this is a lullaby. The second verse, perhaps; the first seems more like a rhyme a parent would use while swinging a child through the air. - RBW
File: Lins209
===
NAME: Here, Jola, Here
DESCRIPTION: Used for cornhusking, but perhaps a hunting song: "Jola was a coon dog, Here, Jola, here." "Jola was a possum dog, Here, Jola, here." "Jola was a rabbit dog, Here, Jola, here." "Jola was a bird dog, Here, Jola, here."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: dog nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 207, "Here, Jola, Here" (1 text)
File: Br3207
===
NAME: Here, Rattler, Here: see Old Rattler (File: CNFM104)
===
NAME: Here's a Chorus
DESCRIPTION: "Here's a chorus; -- Irish slaves -- End your quarrels." Remember Emmet and Tone. "Union makes the nations great, End your quarrels." Remember the graves of 1798. "Steel is true and God is just, Chains or laurels"
AUTHOR: R.D. Williams (source: Moylan)
EARLIEST_DATE: 2000 (Moylan)
KEYWORDS: rebellion nonballad political Ireland
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Moylan 167, "Here's a Chorus" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: This song is a plea for the position of the United Irishmen. For information about the early history of the United Irishmen see "The Boys of Wexford." Wolfe Tone, a founder of the United Irishmen, was executed in 1798. United Irishman Robert Emmet was executed in 1803. The Irish rebellion against British rule was started, and put down, in 1798. - BS
For the history of Wolfe Tone, see in particular "The Shan Van Voght." For Robert Emmet, see "Bold Robert Emmet" and the many cross-references there. - RBW
File: Moyl167
===
NAME: Here's a Health To All True Lovers: see The Ghostly Lover (File: GrMa34)
===
NAME: Here's a Health to My Molly
DESCRIPTION: The singer gives a "health to my Molly where ever she be She is worthy of company better than me." If he were a sailor and she a fleeing fish he'd net her. "Of all the pretty maidens lovely Molly's for me"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1955 (IRRCinnamond03)
KEYWORDS: love lyric
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #6996
RECORDINGS:
Robert Cinnamond, "Lovely Molly" (on IRRCinnamond03)
File: RcHaHtmM
===
NAME: Here's a Poor Widow: see Poor Widow (File: HHH048f)
===
NAME: Here's a Poor Widow from Sandiland: see Lady of the Land (Here's a Poor Widow) (File: BGMG641)
===
NAME: Here's Adieu to All Judges and Juries
DESCRIPTION: "Here's adieu to all judges and juries, Justice and Old Bailey too; Seven years you've transported my true love, Seven years he's transported you know." The singer wishes he had wings of an eagle to return to Polly. He vows to be rich if he ever returns
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1967
KEYWORDS: love separation transportation
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Fahey-Eureka, pp. 34-35, "Here's Adieu to All Judges and Juries" (1 text, 1 tune)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 346-351, "New Jail/Prisoner's Song/Here's Adieu to all Judges and Juries" (1, not collected by Scarborough, of "Judges and Juries," plus 6 texts from her collections)
Roud #300
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Botany Bay (I)" (theme, lyrics)
cf. "The Fenian's Escape (The Catalpa)" (tune)
NOTES: This may well be the piece from which the music hall song "Botany Bay" arose. The earliest broadsides are dated c. 1815. - RBW
File: FaE034
===
NAME: Here's Adieu to Old England
DESCRIPTION: The singer is leaving parents and sisters and "London city where I took great delight" to join the convoys; "with our twenty-six pounders we will fight blow for blow" and "never will yield"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: navy war separation nonballad patriotic
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Peacock, pp. 1002-1003, "Here's Adieu to Old England" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9941
File: Pea1002
===
NAME: Here's an Oul' Widow: see The Rich Widow (File: Lins019)
===
NAME: Here's the Rosebud in June: see Rosebud in June (File: ShH93)
===
NAME: Here's the Tender Coming
DESCRIPTION: "Here's the tender coming, Pressing all the men, Oh! dear, hinny, What shall we do then? Here's the tender coming, Off at Shields Bar...." Despite attempts to avoid the pressgang, "They tyuek maw bonny laddie, Best iv all the crew."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay)
KEYWORDS: pressgang separation
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North))
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Stokoe/Reay, p. 177, "Here's the Tender Coming" (1 short text, 1 tune)
DT, TNDRCOMN*
Roud #3174
File: StoR177
===
NAME: Here's to the Black Watch
DESCRIPTION: The Black Watch fought in Japan, India, and Waterloo. "Let foreign countries think of us, and if they want to war, They will soon be taught a lesson by the gallant Forty-twa." "Here's to the Black Watch"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1910 (GreigDuncan1)
KEYWORDS: army Scotland nonballad
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Greig #158, p. 3, "The Gallant Forty-Twa" (1 text)
GreigDuncan1 71, "Here's to the Black Watch" (1 text)
Roud #5798
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Gallant Forty-Twa" (subject: 42nd Highlanders or Black Watch) and references there
NOTES: It is sad to note that this toast to the greatest of British regiments is no longer relevant; the Black Watch, the Forty-Second regiment, has been consolidated out of existence. For background, see the notes to "Wha Saw the Forty-Second." - RBW
File: GrD1071
===
NAME: Here's to the Grog (All Gone for Grog)
DESCRIPTION: The singer describes his "nobby, nobby" coat, breeches, etc. All are decrepit, but will not be replaced, for "It's all gone for grog, Jolly, jolly grog... I've spent all my tin with the lassies drinking gin, And across the western ocean I must wander."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Sharp MS.)
KEYWORDS: clothes drink poverty hardtimes sailor
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond,North,South),Scotland(Aber)) Canada(Mar) Australia
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
GreigDuncan3 580, "Ale and Tobacco" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Kennedy 274, "Here's to the Grog" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-NovaScotia 64, "Western Ocean" (1 text, 1 tune)
Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 238-240, "Across the Western Ocean I Must Wander" (1 text)
DT, HEREGROG*
Roud #475
RECORDINGS:
Liam Clancy, "All For Me Grog" (on IRLClancy01)
Tom Newman, "My Old Hat That I Got On" (on Voice13)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Nobby Hat
My Jolly, Jolly Tin
NOTES: Although some versions of this song make no reference at all to the sea, the singer's references to grog (which is technically rum mixed with water) label him as a sailor; only a seaman would speak of grog as opposed to some other sort of alcoholic beverage.
Creighton thinks the song might have originated as a music hall piece. - RBW
File: K274
===
NAME: Here's to Ye A' and a Happy New Year
DESCRIPTION: "Here's to the lassie that aye proves sae true Here's tae the lad that's aye fill'd in beer ... I'll toss o'er this glass and I'll drink it with cheer For a health tae ye a' and a Happy New Year"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: drink
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan3 638, "Here's to Ye A' and a Happy New Year" (1 text)
Roud #6074
File: GrD3638
===
NAME: Hermit of Killarney, The
DESCRIPTION: On Killarney's bank the singer sees a hermit who says "Adieu, adieu, thou faithless world, thou wert not made for me!" The hermit's pitiful condition is recounted. He criticizes the world's pomp, state, and ambition and laments his own credulity. He dies
AUTHOR: George Ogle (1739-1814) (source: Croker-PopularSongs)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1839 (Croker-PopularSongs)
KEYWORDS: dying nonballad river
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 199-204, "The Hermit of Killarney" (1 text)
NOTES: Croker-PopularSongs quotes Mr Weld who believes the inspiration for this song may be "an Englishman, of the name of Ronayn. The spot which he selected for his retreat was this small island, which yet retains his name; and when first I visited Killarney (1800), the ruins of his little habitation, planted in the midst of rocks very near the water, were still visible." Croker also quotes John Bernard Trotter['s reference] to this "celebrated song." - BS
Sir George Ogle the Younger (c. 1740-1814) was a poet and politician born in county Wexford. He served in the Irish parliament in the 1790s, and was briefly a Tory representative to Westminster. His best-known works are considered to be "Banna's Banks" (in the Index as "The Banks of Banna") and "Molly Astore" (in this index as "Gramachree"). - RBW
File: CrPS199
===
NAME: Herod and the Cock: see The Carnal and the Crane [Child 55] (File: C055)
===
NAME: Heroes, British Heroes
DESCRIPTION: "We sing of these soldiers and sailors, The deeds they have done on the foam, But what of the lads that work in the mine? Little of these do we know. They are heroes, British heroes." They face danger and death with no warning, and often die without hope
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1954 (MacColl-Shuttle)
KEYWORDS: mining death
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North))
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
MacColl-Shuttle, pp. 12-13, "Heroes, British Heroes" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, BRITHERO*
File: MacCS12
===
NAME: Herring Gibbers, The
DESCRIPTION: "It's all about the herring gibbers and how they get along." The packers and gibbers wake and cannot find their pants or socks. Some others laugh at the joke. The song names the captain, second hand, cook and one leaving Newfoundland.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: fishing sea ship derivative moniker
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Peacock, pp. 132-135, "The Herring Gibbers" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Roud #667
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Lumber Camp Song" (theme and tune)
NOTES: Peacock re [the Lumber Camp Song]: "The Herring Gibbers [could be] the original version. However, considering the fact that the lumbering version has been traced back at least a hundred years I am inclined to give it priority" - BS
The Lumber Camp Song is also much more widespread, making it a better candidate for parodying. Roud resolves the question by lumping the two. - RBW
File: Pea132
===
NAME: Herring Loves the Moonlight, The (The Dreg Song)
DESCRIPTION: "The herring loves the moonlight, The mackerel loves the wind; But the oyster loves the dredging song, For she comes of a gentle kind." The oysters are called, and hearers are urged to buy them.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1962 (Baring-Gould-MotherGoose), with related materials going back to at least 1776 (Herd)
KEYWORDS: food fishing
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #870, p. 325, "(The herring loves the merry moonlight)"
DT, DREGSONG?
Roud #8628?
NOTES: This is rather a conundrum, though it may be the fault of one or another of the Fisher Family (probably Archie). There is, in Herd, a song beginning "I rade to London yesterday," and continuing
Hay-cock, quo' the seale to the eel,
Cock nae I my tail weel?
Tail-weel, or if hare,
Hunt the dog frae the deer,
This was recorded by Cilla Fisher. The version in the Digital Tradition ends with
The oysters are a gentle kin,
They winna tak unless you sing.
Come buy my oysters aff the bing,
To serve the sheriff and the king,
And the commons o' the land,
And the commons o' the sea;
Hey benedicte, and that's good Latin.
Murray Shoolbraid's Digital Tradition notes imply that this is from another source.
And Archie Fisher has recorded that as "Dreg Song." But he prefaces it with a verse quoted as a Mother Goose rhyme by the Baring-Goulds: "The herring loves the moonlight...." But this is from Walter Scott. So I don't know what genuinely goes with what. For the moment, I'm lumping the whole mess here. - RBW
File: BGMG870
===
NAME: Herring Song, The: see The Red Herring (File: VWL086)
===
NAME: Herring, The: see The Red Herring (File: VWL086)
===
NAME: Hesitation Blues
DESCRIPTION: "Well, standing on the corner with a dollar in my hand, Lookin' for a woman who's lookin' for a man, Tell me, how long do I have to wait...?" The women want to see the money before they become friendly. The singer grumbles about sex
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1923 (recording, Esther Bigeou)
KEYWORDS: sex whore money
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
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'")
Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 276-277, (no title) (1 text, beginning "Ships in de ocean, rocks in de sea, Blond-headed woman Mak a fool out of me" but with chorus "Tell me how long I'll have to wait! Oh, tell me, honey, don't hesitate!")
Silber-FSWB, p. 75, "Hesitation Blues" (1 text)
Roud #11765
RECORDINGS:
Allen Brothers, "Can I Get You Now" (Vocalion 02890, 1935)
Jesse Ashlock w. Bill Boyd & his Cowboy Ramblers, "Must I Hesitate?" (Bluebird B-6351, 1936)
Esther Bigeou, "Hesitating Blues" (OKeh 8065, 1923)
Milton Brown & his Musical Brownies, "The Hesitation Blues" (Decca 5266, 1936)
[Richard] Burnett & [Leonard] Rutherford, "Curly Headed Woman" (Columbia 15240-D, 1928, rec. 1927; on KMM)
Sam Collins, "Hesitation Blues" (Gennett 6379, 1927; Champion 15472, 1928; Bell 1173/Supertone 350/Silvertone 5181?, all n.d.; rec. 1927)
Walter "Buddy Boy" Hawkins, "Voice Throwing Blues" (Paramount 12802, 1929; on TimesAint01)
Jim Jackson, "Hesitation Blues (Oh! Baby, Must I Hesitate?)" (Vocalion 1477, 1930)
Sara Martin (& Eva Taylor), "Hesitation Blues" (OKeh 8082, 1923)
Wingy Manone & his orchestra, "Hesitation Blues (Oh! Baby Must I Hesitate)" (Bluebird B-6394, 1936)
Reaves White County Ramblers, "Hesitation Blues" (Vocalion 5217, 1928)
Arthur Smith Trio, "Hesitating Blues" (Bluebird B-8101, 1939)
cf. Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers, "If the River Was Whiskey" (with verses from this song and "Rye Whiskey"; Columbia 15545-D, 1930; on CPoole02)
NOTES: W. C. Handy produced a song, "The Hesitating Blues" (copyright 1915; see Handy/Silverman-Blues, pp. 100-103) which uses this key line, but it is much more elaborate and with a different plot; I suspect they are separate songs, with one inspiring the other. Though the Brown text shows how mutable such blues can be. - RBW
The Esther Bigeou recording gives the writing credit to Handy; the Sara Martin (note the different title) attributes the song to Billy Smythe & Scott Middletonn. Is it the same song? Are they variants? We need to hear the actual records to sort all this out. - PJS
File: FSWB075
===
NAME: Hesleys, The
DESCRIPTION: Stories about the outcast Hesley family. Mrs. Hesley throws a man's boots in the street for refusing to board with her. She steals sheep. Her daughter cannot not find a husband even when she goes to Newark. And so forth
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1958
KEYWORDS: family
FOUND_IN: US(MA)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
FSCatskills 163, "The Buck Sheep-The Hesleys" (1 text+fragment, 1 tune)
ST FSC163 (Partial)
File: FSC163
===
NAME: Hevey's Mare
DESCRIPTION: "The Major," Jemmy at his side, takes Hevey's mare so that he need not chase traitors on foot. Sirr's need was sufficient to name Hevey criminal. But Hevey complains in court. "Adieu to all our seizures ... Loyalty now has few pleasures"
AUTHOR: "Ierne" (R.R. Madden) (source: Moylan)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1887 (Madden's _Literary Remains of the United Irishmen of 1798_, according to Moylan)
KEYWORDS: humorous horse police theft
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Moylan 169, "Hevey's Mare" (1 text)
NOTES: Moylan makes "The Major" in this song Major Sandys. Maybe so. In other songs about Jemmy O'Brien (see the notes to "The Major") "The Major" is Town Major Sirr [for whom see, e.g., "The Major" - RBW]. Here is Moylan quoting P.J. McCall: "In turning their prisoners to pecuniary account Sirr and Sandys played into each one another's hands. The Major made the arrests, turned over the prisoners to Sandys and O'Brien (Jemmy the Informer), and the latter duly worked upon their hopes and fears ... [to obtain either] goods or money..... Heavey's liberation cost him a mare..." This, from "Who Killed Cock Robin?" (II):
Who stole the brewer's mare?
His worship turning round,
This soft impeachment owned,
He stole the brewer's mare! - BS
Madden's pen-name of "Ierne" is one of the sundry ancient names for Ireland. - RBW
File: Moyl169
===
NAME: Hexhamshire Lass, The
DESCRIPTION: "Hey for the buff and the blue, Hey for the cap and the feather, Hey for the bonny lass true That lives in Hexhamshire." The singer wishes he could have the girl; he cannot sleep without her, and says his heart will break
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1812 (Bell)
KEYWORDS: love rejection
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North))
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Stokoe/Reay, pp. 64-65, "The Hexhamshire Lass" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, (HEXHMLAS)
Roud #3182
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Katie Cruel (The Leeboy's Lassie; I Know Where I'm Going)" (lyrics)
NOTES: Fragments of this seem to have made their way into Burns's "Ay Waukin Oh" (1790), but it's not really clear if this piece mixes Burns's source with something like "Katie Cruel" or if Burns reworked this song. - RBW
File: StoR064
===
NAME: Hey Betty Martin
DESCRIPTION: "Hey Betty Martin, tip-toe, tip-toe, Hey Betty Martin, tip-toe fine." Other verses, if there are any, are usually equally simple and may relate to dancing
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: dancing nonballad playparty
FOUND_IN: US(NE,So)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Sandburg, p. 158, "Hey Betty Martin" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Botkin-NEFolklr, pp. 587-588, "Hey, Betty Martin!" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 280, "Hey Betty Martin" (1 text)
Linscott, p. 85, "High, Betty Martin" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Roud #15418
File: San158
===
NAME: Hey How Johnny Lad
DESCRIPTION: "Hey how, my Johnny Lad, ye're no sae kind's ye sud hae been." The singer complains that Johnny had the opportunity to meet her as her parents were away, but he never arrives. She concludes she needs a more ardent lover.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1792 (Scots Musical Museum); known to Herd
KEYWORDS: courting abandonment
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #7148
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.178.A.2(110), "Och Hey, Johnnie Lad," unknown, c. 1840
NOTES: This is found in the fourth volume of the Scots Musical Museum, but it is not known whether it is by Burns or whether he touched it up. The NLScotland broadside is dramatically different from the SMM version.
File: BrHHJL
===
NAME: Hey Rube: see Si Hubbard (Hey Rube) (File: San350)
===
NAME: Hey the Bonnie Breistknots: see The Bonnie Breist-knots (File: FVS303)
===
NAME: Hey the Mantle!
DESCRIPTION: "Early in the morning whan the cat crew day, Hey the mantle! how the mantle! Our gudeman saddl'd the bake-bread and fast rade away...." As he travels, he sees many marvels
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1827 (Kinloch)
KEYWORDS: humorous talltale clothes travel
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Kinloch-BBook XII, pp. 45-47, "Hey the Mantle!" (1 text)
ST KinBB12 (Full)
Roud #8149
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Four and Twenty Tailors" (style)
File: KinBB12
===
NAME: Hey the Rose and the Lindsay, O: see The Twa Sisters [Child 10] (File: C010)
===
NAME: Hey Wi' the Rose and the Lindsay, O: see The Cruel Mother [Child 20] (File: C020)
===
NAME: Hey, Ho, Nobody Home
DESCRIPTION: "Hey, ho, nobody home, Meat nor drink nor money have I none, Yet will I be merry...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1973
KEYWORDS: nonballad
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 231, "Ho-Hum, Nobody's Home" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 412, "Hey, Ho, Nobody Home" (1 text)
File: FSWB412G
===
NAME: Hey, Rufus
DESCRIPTION: "Hey Rufus, hey boy, Where in the world you been so long? Hey buddy, hey boy, Well, I been in the jungle, ain't goin' there no more."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1963
KEYWORDS: worksong nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Courlander-NFM, pp. 85-86, "(Hey Rufus)" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #10994
File: CNFM085
===
NAME: Hey, Then, Up Go We (Hey Boys Up Go We)
DESCRIPTION: "Know this, my brethren, Heaven is clear, and all the clouds are gone: The righteous man shall flourish now, good days are coming on. Then comes my brethren and be glad, and eke rejoice with me... And hey then up go we"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1681 (broadside, Bodleian Vet. A3 c.29(6))
KEYWORDS: religious death nonballad
FOUND_IN: Britain(England,Scotland)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Hogg1 9, "Hey, Then, Up Go We" (6 texts, 1 tune)
Chappell/Wooldridge I, pp. 204-208, "Hey, Then Up Go We" (1 tune, partial text)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Vet. A3 c.29(6), "A proper new Brummigham ballad to the tune of Hey then up go we" ("Know now my brethren heaven is clear"), unknown (London), 1681
SAME_TUNE:
Good Fellows all come lend an ear/The Good Fellows Consideration (BBI ZN1002)
Here is a crew of jovial Blades/The Good Fellow Frolick, Or, Kent Street Club (BBI ZN1126)
I walking near a Prison a Wall [sic]/ The Jesuits Exaltation (BBI ZN1343)
As Tom met Roger upon the Road/Tom and Rogers Contract (BBI ZN315)
A thumping lusty country lad/ Love in a Mist (BBI ZN2613)
Come listen young lovers/The Country Lass for me (BBI ZN662)
Come lovers all both great and small/ The Country Lass for me (BBI ZN669)
Come ye merry men all, of Watermans-hall/The Thames Uncas'd (BBI ZN703)
Where have you been, you drunken Dog/A Dialogue between a Baker and his Wife (BBI ZN2903)
Come, England, make a joyful Day/ England's Joy, For the Taking of the Chimney-Money (BBI ZN574)
Now now the Papists all go down/ Popery's Downfal, and The Protestants Uprising..Crowning of King William and Queen Mary (BBI ZN1951)
A Country Lad and bonny Lass/Have-at a Venture (BBI ZN726)
A frolick strange I'le to you tell/The Westminster Frolick, Or, the Cuckold of his own procuring (BBI ZN924)
A story strange I will declare/News from Crutchet- Fryers (BBI ZN2399)
Young maidens all, to you I call/Crafty Maids Invention (BBI ZN3183)
I am a Maiden in my prime/The Wanton Maidens Choice (BBI ZN1209)
You Batchelors that single are/Advice to Batchelors (BBI ZN2993)
Brave Bristol boys, where e're you be/The Brave Boys of Bristol (BBI ZN433)
Walking one Evening in a Grove/The Jesuits Lamentation (BBI ZN2723)
Since women they are grown so bad, I'le lead a single life/The Politick Countreyman (BBI ZN2364)
Fair maids draw near to me awhile/The West Country Maids Advice] (BBI ZN845)
You Dukes and Lords, and English Knights/.. Great Victory at Sea/ ..by Admiral Russel, May 1692 (BBI ZN3007)
See how the Tories drives their trade/A New Ballad, With the Definition of the Word Tory (BBI ZN2328)
The wanton Girls of Graves-end Town have now quite lost my heart/A Farewel to Graves-end (BBI ZN2724)
Now, now King James of high renown/.. Gratulation of King James the Second (BBI ZN1947)
The Lady Marquess and her gang are most in favour seen/Animadversions on the Lady Marquess (BBI ZN1594)
Come, come, my roaring ranting boys/The Merry Boys of Christmas (BBI ZN571)
What silly senseless country clown has put this wit in print/ The Citizen's Vindication Against the Downright Countryman (BBI ZN2810)
This twenty years and more that I have liv'd a single life/The Unsatisfied Lover's Lamentation (BBI ZN2584)
I am a downright Country-man, both faithful, and true/The Downright Country- Man (BBI ZN1195)
NOTES: The title of broadside Bodleian Vet. A3 c.29(6) indicates that the "original" predates 1681 by enough that the tune was already popular at that time.
Hogg1 has one entry in his main text which "I am informed ... is one of Charles I.'s time, and that it was originally an English song, though popular in this country"; that text follows the description above and broadside Bodleian Vet. A3 c.29(6). The other five texts are in his notes. Four are fragments but the fifth, which probably deserves its own entry in the index, is complete and "plainly relates to what was termed the Fanatic Plot, in the reign of Charles II." - BS
Yet another song I can't show to have existed in tradition, but which was so popular as a source of broadsides that I think it belongs here. Hard to tell, in this case, why the tune was so popular; it's not particularly effective. Perhaps it was liturgical use. - RBW
File: ChWI204
===
NAME: Hey! John Barleycorn: see John Barleycorn's a Hero Bold (File: K277)
===
NAME: Hi For the Beggarman: see The Gaberlunzie Man [Child 279A] (File: C279A)
===
NAME: Hi Ho Jerum
DESCRIPTION: "There was a rich man and he lived in Jerusalem, Glory hallelujah hi ro je-rum." The rich man rejects a request for help from a "human wreckium." The poor "wreckium" dies and goes to "Heavium"; the rich man ends up in "Hellium"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: Early 1950s (recording, Sam Hinton)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Macaronic song with pseudo-Latin phrases, e.g. "The rich man died, but he didn't fare so wellium/He couldn't get to Heaven, so he had to go to Hellium." In some versions, it's a retelling of the Dives and Lazarus tale: the poor man at the rich man's gate asks for bread; the rich man calls a "policium"; when they die, the poor man goes to Heaven, the rich man goes to Hell. Chorus inevitably includes the line, "Glory Hallelujah, Hi-Ho-Jerum" or similar.
KEYWORDS: poverty humorous warning hardheartedness death begging Hell
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 184, "There Was a Rich Man Who Lived in Jerusalem" (1 text, tune referenced)
Silber-FSWB, p. 25, "The Rich Man and the Poor Man" (1 text)
DT, RICHPOOR*
ADDITIONAL: _Sing Out_ magazine, Volume 33, #1 (1987), pp, 28-29, "Hi-Ho-Jerum" (1 text, 1 tune, as sung by Sam Hinton and learned from Dr. Norris Rakestraw)
Roud #4571
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Lazarus and the Rich Man" (theme)
cf. "Dives and Lazarus" [Child 56] (theme)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Hi Ro Jerum
NOTES: This, obviously, is Jesus's parable of the rich man and Lazarus, with the names removed and a trace of feeble humor added. For background, see the other Lazarus songs. - RBW
This song has bawdy variants; I'm surprised they didn't turn up in Cray. - PJS
File: FSWB025
===
NAME: Hi Rinky Dum: see Seventeen Come Sunday [Laws O17] (File: LO17)
===
NAME: Hi Yo Boat Row: see De Boatman Dance (File: BMRF566)
===
NAME: Hi, Bara Manishee
DESCRIPTION: Travellers' cant. "Hi, bara manishee, will ye bing wi' me?" Translated: "Hi, bonnie lassie, will you go with me?/Hi, bonnie laddie, I didn't know your face/Will you come, will you hurry... to the camp?/If you don't get food, you'll get some drink"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1963 (collected from Charlotte Higgins)
KEYWORDS: courting drink food foreignlanguage nonballad Gypsy migrant
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
MacSeegTrav 131, "Hi, Bara Manishee" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #6330
File: McCST131
===
NAME: Hibernia's Lovely Jane: see Hibernia's Lovely Jean (File: HHH467)
===
NAME: Hibernia's Lovely Jean
DESCRIPTION: The singer returns to Ireland from fighting in Spain, where he meets Hibernia's Lovely Jane. He says that her beauty exceeds that of goddesses or legendary beauties. But her parents will not let her marry a soldier. The singer despairs
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1890 (Kenedy)
KEYWORDS: love soldier separation father mother beauty
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H467, p. 428, "Hibernia's Lovely Jane" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #4385
File: HHH467
===
NAME: Hicarmichael
DESCRIPTION: The sheriff goes to arrest Hicarmichael on a Sunday; as the sheriff reads the warrant, Hicarmichael shoots him dead. Hicarmichael is arrested and taken to Knoxville. The singer warns listeners not to live a "wrecked" life
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1963 (recording, Dillard Chandler)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: The sheriff goes to arrest Hicarmichael, a black man, on a Sunday; as the sheriff reads the warrant, however, Hicarmichael shoots him dead. Hicarmichael is eventually arrested and taken to Knoxville. The singer warns listeners not to live a "wrecked" life, nor to take life, for they cannot give it, and that money will not save them before God
KEYWORDS: violence warning crime murder law prison punishment death police Black(s)
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #6981
RECORDINGS:
Dillard Chandler, "Hicarmichael" (on Chandler01)
File: RcHicarm
===
NAME: Hick's Farewell: see The Dying Preacher (Hick's Farewell) (File: R617)
===
NAME: Hickety, Pickety, My Black Hen: see Higgledy Piggledy, My Black Hen (File: BGMG299)
===
NAME: Hickory Dickory Dock
DESCRIPTION: "Hickory Dickory Dock, A mouse ran up the clock, The clock struck one, The mouse fell down...." Other time-related verses may be added.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1744 (Tom Thumb's Pretty Song Book)
KEYWORDS: animal nonballad
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Opie-Oxford2 217, "Hickory, dickory, dock" (1 text)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #8, p. 31, "(Hickory Dickory Dock)"
Roud #6489
File: BGMG008
===
NAME: Hicks's Farewell: see The Dying Preacher (Hick's Farewell) (File: R617)
===
NAME: Hidden Still, The: see Good Old Mountain Dew (File: LxA180)
===
NAME: Hide Away (Jonah and the Whale)
DESCRIPTION: Bible tales with warnings for sinners who don't heed: "Get your baggage on the deck and don't forget to take your check For you can't steal on board, hide away." Verses concern Jonah and the whale, Moses and Pharoah, (Daniel, Noah, etc.)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1920
KEYWORDS: Bible religious warning humorous
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Randolph 286, "Jonah and the Whale" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownIII 346, "Jonah and the Whale" (6 text and/or fragments, but only the "C" text is this piece; "A" and "B" are "Jonah and the Whale (Living Humble)" and "D"-"F" are "Who Did Swallow Jonah?")
JHCox 133, "Jonah" (1 text)
Roud #7786
RECORDINGS:
Ford & Grace, "Hide Away" (OKeh 45157, 1927)
McCravy Brothers, "Hide Away" (Victor V-40104, 1929)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Jonah and the Whale (Living Humble)" (subject)
cf. "Wake Up, Jonah (Jonah III)" (subject)
cf. "Who Did Swallow Jonah?" (subject)
NOTES: I had some difficulty deciding whether to include the Cox "Jonah" song here. It's completely straight, and lacks the lyrics of most of the other versions (including the "hideaway" lines). But it uses the same (somewhat uncommon) metrical pattern, and it's on the same theme, and I don't know of any other similar texts. One or the other song may be a rewrite, but I'm listing both here.
All the texts, of course, are based on the Biblical book of Jonah. The humorous versions exaggerate; Cox's text stays fairly close to the actual content of chapters 1 and 2 of Jonah (except for, at times, calling the fish a "whale"; the Hebrew Bible emphatically says "fish"). - RBW
File: R286
===
NAME: Hide Thou Me: see Rock of Ages (II -- Hide Me Over the Rock of Ages) (File: Br3547)
===
NAME: Hidi Quili Lodi Quili
DESCRIPTION: "Hidi, quili, lodi, quili, Hidi, quili, quackeo, If you'd a-been as I'd a-been, You would a-been so pretty, o!" (Someone) maakes a song, "heels in the path and toes in the grass, Don't take nothing but a dollar and half."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1913 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: music floatingverses work
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 206, "Hidi Quili Lodi Quili" (1 text)
NOTES: Listed in Brown as a corn-husking song, but it appears to be more than that. The first two verses look like a song about a migrant singer, or at least a migrant worker who sang, with the first verse being his song.
The third stanza, "The ole fish hawk said to the crow, I hope to the Lord tonight it'll rain; The creeks am muddy and millpond dry; 'Twasn't for tadpoles minnows all die," floats (e.g. from "The Crow Song (I)"); whether it played a role in the original song is unclear. - RBW
File: Br3206
===
NAME: Hielan' Hills, The
DESCRIPTION: "The Hielan' hills are high high The Hielan' miles are long But Hielan' whisky is the thing To mak a body strong." "She'll tak a glass" or five or six "what business that tae you." A whisky "is the thing To paint it [her nose] like the rose"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1907 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: drink nonballad
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan3 558, "The Hielan' Hills" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #6032
File: GrD3558
===
NAME: Hielan' Jane: see Highland Jane (File: HHH477)
===
NAME: Hielan's o' Scotland, The: see The Blaeberry Courtship [Laws N19] (File: LN19)
===
NAME: Hieland Jane: see Highland Jane (File: HHH477)
===
NAME: Hieland Laddie
DESCRIPTION: Used by sailors as they stowed cotton or lumber. "Were you ever in Quebec? Bonnie Laddie, Hieland Laddie, Stowing timber on the deck, Bonnie Hieland Laddie"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1857
KEYWORDS: nonballad shanty work
FOUND_IN: US(MA,SE) Britain(Scotland) Canada(Que)
REFERENCES: (11 citations)
Doerflinger, pp. 50-51, "Highland Laddie" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Walton/Grimm/Murdock, p. 102, "Bonbie Highland Laddie (1 text, with localization to the Great Lakes, including mentions of Marquette and Grand Marais)
Colcord, p. 95, "Highland Laddie" (1 text, 1 tune)
Harlow, pp. 72-73, "Riding on a Donkey" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill, pp. 143-150, "Heiland Laddie," "Donkey Riding," "My Bonnie Highland Lassie-O" (5 texts, 5 tunes plus fragments) [AbEd, pp. 115-121]
Sharp-EFC, XXVI, p. 30, "Heave Away, My Johnny" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 38-39, "Donkey Riding" (1 text, 1 tune)
Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 64, "Donkey Riding" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 96, "Hieland Laddie" (1 text)
DT, DONKEYRD* HIELND* HIELND3* HIELNDLD*
ADDITIONAL: Captain John Robinson, "Songs of the Chantey Man," a series published July-August 1917 in the periodical _The Bellman_ (Minneapolis, MN, 1906-1919). "Highland Laddie" is in Part 2, 7/21/1917.
Roud #4691
RECORDINGS:
Pete Seeger, "Hieland Laddie" (on PeteSeeger26)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Belle-a-Lee" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Stow'n' Sugar in de Hull Below" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Tommy's Gone to Hilo" (floating lyrics)
cf. "The Powder Monkey (Soon We'll Be in England Town)" (similar chorus)
cf. "Geordie Sits In Charlie's Chair" (tune and structure)
SAME_TUNE:
Mussel Mou'd Charlie (Kinloch-BalladBook, pp. xi-xiii)
Geordie Sits In Charlie's Chair (File: GrD1131)
NOTES: Some versions of this song have verses or chorus about "Donkey riding, donkey riding, Riding on a donkey." This is legitimate shipboard technology, referring to a donkey engine (which might indeed need someone "riding" it to keep it running), but also caused the song to be tempting to children.
Since, however, there is no possible way to separate sea versions from kids' versions, I keep them as one song.
Riding the donkey might also be known as "donkeying around." Modern folkies may recognize this from Larry Kaplan's song "Old Zeb." - RBW
File: Doe050
===
NAME: Hieland Rory
DESCRIPTION: This song is about the wedding of Hieland Rory and Mary Morrison. The songs sung and played are listed. "The piper he got drunk" so a fiddler was brought in for the dancing.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1971 (recording, Jimmy McBeath)
KEYWORDS: wedding dancing drink music party
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #5146
RECORDINGS:
Jimmy McBeath, "Hieland Rory" (on Voice14)
File: RcHieRor
===
NAME: Higgledy Piggledy, My Black Hen
DESCRIPTION: "Higgledy piggledy, my black hen, She lays eggs for gentlemen, Gentlemen come every day To see what my black hen doth lay, Sometimes nine and sometimes ten, Higgledy piggledy, my black hen."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1853 (according to Opie-Oxford2)
KEYWORDS: Bird chickens food
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #299, p. 171, "(Hickety, pickety, my black hen)"
Opie-Oxford2 209, "Hickety, pickety, my black hen" (1 text)
Roud #13043
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Cluck Old Hen" (partial theme)
NOTES: The spelling of the first couple of words of this piece vary greatly ("Hickety, pickety," "Hickerty, pickerty," "Higgledy Piggledy"). I doubt any particular form is authoritative, so I spelled it the way I learned it way back when. I don't recall a tune, but there are enough references that it may be a traditional song. - RBW
File: BGMG299
===
NAME: High Above a Theta's Garter: see Far Above Cayuga's Waters (Parodies) (File: EM348)
===
NAME: High Barbaree [Child 285; Laws K33]
DESCRIPTION: (Two) ships meet a pirate man-o-war. In the ensuing battle, the pirate is sunk, disabled, or taken.
AUTHOR: unknown (the "High Barbaree" recension is by Charles Dibdin)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1670 (the title is mentioned 1611; a fragment is found in 1634)
KEYWORDS: battle navy ship pirate
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South,West),Scotland(Aber)) Ireland US(MA,NE,NW,SE)
REFERENCES: (23 citations)
Child 285, "The George Aloe and the Sweepstake" (1 text)
Bronson 285, "The George Aloe and the Sweepstake" (15 versions)
GreigDuncan1 38, "The Coasts of Barbary" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #12}
Laws K33, "High Barbaree"
Shay-SeaSongs, pp. 91-92, "The High Barbaree" (1 text, 1 tune)
Colcord, p. 153, "High Barbaree" (1 text, 1 tune)
Harlow, pp. 161-162, "High Barbaree" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill, pp. 419-4212, "High Barbaree" (3 texts, 3 tunes) [AbEd, pp. 320-321]
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 413-418, "High Barbary" (1 text plus 2 songster and 1 broadside version)
BrownII 118, "High Barbaree" (1 short text)
Chappell-FSRA 25, "The Queen of Russia and the Prince of Wales" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #14}
Flanders/Brown, pp. 229, "New Barbary" (1 fragment, 1 tune) {Bronson's #8}
Flanders-Ancient4, pp. 176-187, "The Coast of Barbary" (4 texts plus 3 fragments, 5 tunes) {F=Bronson's #8}
Leach, pp. 665-667, "The George Aloe and the Sweepstake"; pp. 777-778, "High Barbaree" (2 texts)
Friedman, p. 399, "The George Aloe and the Sweepstake"; p. 407, "High Barbaree" (2 texts, 1 tune)
OBB 131, "The 'George-Aloe'" (1 text)
Warner 142, "Barbaree" (1 text, 1 tune)
PBB 79, "The Salcombe Seaman's Flaunt to the Proud Pirate" (1 text)
Sharp-100E 12, "The Coasts of High Barbary" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #1}
Darling-NAS, pp. 100-101, "High Barbaree" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 91, "High Barbaree" (1 text)
BBI, ZN953, "The George-Aloe and the Sweep-stake too"
DT, HIGHBARB* HIGHBRB3*
Roud #134
RECORDINGS:
Almanac Singers, "The Coast of High Barbary" (General 5017B, 1941; on Almanac02, Almanac03, AlmanacCD1)
Bob Roberts, "High Barbaree" (on LastDays)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 4o Rawl. 566(183), "The Saylors Only Delight; shewing the brave fight between the George-Aloe, the Sweepstake, and certain Frenchmen at sea" ("The George-Aloe, and the Sweep-stake too"), F. Coles (London), 1663-1674; also Douce Ballads 2(196b), "The Seaman's Only Delight: shewing the brave fight between the George-Aloe, the Sweepstakes and certain French men at sea"
LOCSinging, as102370, "Coast of Barbary," L. Deming (Boston), n.d.
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Sailor's Joy" (tune, broadsides Bodleian 4o Rawl. 566(183) and Douce Ballads 2(196b))
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Blow High, Blow Low
NOTES: Scholars continue to debate the relationship between Child's text "The George Aloe..." and the better-known "High Barbaree." Laws considers them separate, as does Roud (listing "The George Aloe" as #6739 and "Barbaree" as #134, which will give you some idea of their relative popularity); Coffin, in Flanders-Ancient4, reports that "High Barbary" retains "little of [its] model beyond the plot outline and the Barbary refrain."
I, obviously, think them the same. (Or, more correctly, regard them as separate recensions, but see no point in separating two songs so often filed together, particularly given the rarity of "The George Aloe.") Bronson doesn't even note the difference.
Frank Shay and Coffin, among others, reports that "High Barbaree" was written by Charles Dibdin (1745-1814), who wrote a number of songs for the Royal Navy (including "Blow High Blow Low"). If so, it seems likely that he was inspired by "The George Aloe..."; I do not consider this by itself reason to separate the two (again, most especially since certain publications do not distinguish them).
The first known text of "The George Aloe..." is found in the Shakespeare/Fletcher play "The Two Noble Kinsmen" (perhaps written c. 1611; printed 1634), Act III.v.59-66 (a section generally attributed to Fletcher):
The _George Alow_ came from the south,
From the coast of Barbary-a;
And there he met with brave gallants of war,
By one, by two, by three-a.
Well hail'd, well hail'd, you jolly gallants!
And whither now are you bound-a?
O let me have your company
Till [I] come to the sound-a." [The word "I" is missing in the quarto print; conjectured by Tonson.]
Child can find no historical records of a voyage of these ships, particularly in the vicinity of Barbaree. But it is noteworthy that, in the 1540s, Henry VIII had a ship called the _Sweepstake_. According to N. A. M. Rodger, _The Safeguard of the Sea_, p. 181, this ship and three others were set to patrolling Scotland in 1543 (?). And the enemy ship in "The George Aloe" was French, and the English squadron kept a French fleet from joining with the Scots.
We also find a ship called the _Sweepstake_ in commission in the 1580s, commanded by Captain Diggory Piper; she was a privateer who took at least a couple of Spanish ships. This is interesting because Piper seemed to inspire music; there is a "Captain Diggory Piper's Galliard" mentioned on p. 343 of Rodger.
I won't say that either event inspired this song, but it might have influenced the name of the ship. - RBW
File: C285
===
NAME: High Barbary: see High Barbaree [Child 285; Laws K33] (File: C285)
===
NAME: High Blantyre Explosion, The [Laws Q35]
DESCRIPTION: The singer tells of meeting a young girl mourning her lover, John Murphy. Murphy, only 21, was killed in the mines of High Blantyre in a great explosion. She transplants the daisies they walked among to his grave and waters them with her tears
AUTHOR: John Wilson? (source: broadside, NLScotland L.C.Fol.70(46b))
EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 (collected by A. L. Lloyd); c.1877 (broadside, NLScotland L.C.Fol.70(46b))
KEYWORDS: mining death love flowers
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Oct 22, 1877 - Explosion at the Dixon Colliery in High Blantyre near Glasgow. Over two hundred are killed
FOUND_IN: US(MA) Britain(Scotland) Ireland
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Laws Q35, "The High Blantyre Explosion"
Morton-Ulster 6, "The Blantyre Explosion" (1 text, 1 tune)
Morton-Maguire 27, pp. 69-70,115,167, "The Blantyre Explosion" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 543, BLANTYRX*
Roud #1014
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(46b), "The Sorrowful Lamentation of Jane Sneddon for the Loss of her Lover, John Murray, in the Disaster at High Blantyre," unknown, c.1877
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Collier Lad (Lament for John Sneddon/Siddon)" (theme, characters?)
NOTES: Broadside NLScotland L.C.Fol.70(46b) is "signed" by "John Wilson, B.S.,G." - BS
And that broadside poses rather a conundrum, because of the name "Sneddon." The broadside is clearly this song (though unusually full), but the name might well be derived from "The Collier Lad (Lament for John Sneddon/Siddon)." Since both are on the same theme, I have to suspect some sort of connectin. - RBW
File: LQ35
===
NAME: High Chin Bob: see The Glory Trail (High Chin Bob) (File: FCW124)
===
NAME: High Germany
DESCRIPTION: Young man, conscripted into the war in Germany, bids his sweetheart come with him. She demurs, saying she is not fit for war. He offers to buy her a horse, and also to marry her by and by. She laments the war (and/or her pregnancy)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1830 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(2899))
KEYWORDS: love war soldier
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1714 - Hannoverian succession causes Britain to become involved in German wars
FOUND_IN: Britain(England,Scotland(Aber)) Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (6 citations)
GreigDuncan1 96, "High Germany" (14 texts, 11 tunes)
Sharp-100E 56, "High Germany" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 679-680, "High Germany" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 279, "High Germany" (1 text)
BBI, ZN3231, "O cursed be the wars that ever they began" (?)
DT, WARGRMNY* WARGRMN2*
Roud #904
RECORDINGS:
Phoebe Smith, "Higher Germany" (on PhSmith01, HiddenE)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(2899), "High Germany" ("O Polly love, O Polly love, the rout it is begun"), T. Birt (London), 1828-1829; also Harding B 11(1536), Harding B 17(127b), Firth c.14(154), Harding B 25(836), Firth c.26(222)[some words illegible], Harding B 11(829), "[The] High Germany"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Jack Monroe" [Laws N7]
cf. "William and Nancy I" [Laws N8]
cf. "The Banks of the Nile (Men's Clothing I'll Put On II)" [Laws N9]
cf. "The Manchester Angel"
cf. "Across the Blue Mountain" (floating lyrics)
cf. "The Wars o' Germanie" (lyrics, theme)
cf. "In Low Germanie" (lyrics, theme)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Wars of Germany
Germany
High Germanie
NOTES: Sharp cites a date of c. 1780 for this song. That the current forms of the song date from the eighteenth century is almost a historical necessity. The Hannoverian Succession (1714) brought a German prince to the British throne, meaning that English troops might be sent to intervene in German affairs. British interest in Germany ended when Napoleon rebuilt the Holy Roman Empire on his own terms, leaving the Hannoverian princes out of the picture.
This was reinforced a few years later, when King William IV died (1837). William's heir under English law was his niece Victoria, but Hannoverian law did not permit a female succession, so the throne of Hannover fell to Victoria's uncle Ernest. And, of course, Hannover, like the rest of Germany, was absorbed by Prussian in the 1860s and 1870s.
It's also worth noting that, by the nineteenth century, it was common for the wives of British soldiers to accompany them; the army actually made allowance for a certain number of wives per regiment.
In at least one of these cases, that of Fanny Dubberly, she even took a part in the fighting: At Gwalior, India (1858?), cavalrymen of the Eighth Hussars started a charge at the Indian mutineers. Mrs. Dubberly's horse was nearby and joined the charge (without her husband!). It's not clear what she would have done had she caught anyone, since she wasn't really a soldier -- but she did add weight of numbers to the charge. - RBW
File: ShH56
===
NAME: High O, Come Roll Me Over
DESCRIPTION: Shanty. "One man to strike the bell, High-O, come roll me over." Verses continue with "Two men to man the wheel", Three men to'gallant braces", etc.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (Hugill)
KEYWORDS: shanty worksong cumulative
FOUND_IN: Britain US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hugill, p. 169, "High O, Come Roll Me Over" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, p. 136]
Roud #8294
File: Hugi169
===
NAME: High Rocks o' Pennan, The
DESCRIPTION: "Cauld blaws the wind o'er the high rocks o' Pennan" as the singer laments the absence of Jamie, gone to America. She discusses their parting, at which he complained that the laws are too strict. He promises to fetch her once he has the money
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord)
KEYWORDS: love separation emigration crime
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ord, pp. 342-343, "The High Rocks o' Pennan" (1 text)
Roud #3944
NOTES: This is the only emigration song I can recall where the singer's main reason is the laws against poaching. The overall feeling reminds me a lot of "Teddy O'Neill" (to which it can be sung), but I doubt there is dependance. - RBW
File: Ord342
===
NAME: High Times in Our Ship
DESCRIPTION: "It's of Martin Hurley, you bet he's not slack, He gets the two Daltons to work his cod trap." They meet rough water but get a good haul. The song continues with episodes showing "high times in our ship."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: fishing sea ship nonballad
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Peacock, pp. 136-137, "High Times in Our Ship" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9964
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Martin Hurley
File: Pea136
===
NAME: High Times in the Store
DESCRIPTION: Low on bread, the singers stop at the store at Lance au Loop hoping for help. The shopkeepers complain that they are expected to give bread away. "These are two sturdy old fellows, gives nothing away"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 (Leach-Labrador)
KEYWORDS: bargaining rejection shore hardtimes commerce food
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Leach-Labrador 84, "High Times in the Store" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST LLab084 (Partial)
Roud #9976
NOTES: L'Anse au Loup is on the lower Labrador coast on the Strait of Belle Isle. - BS
File: LLab084
===
NAME: High-Toned Dance, The
DESCRIPTION: "Now you can't expect a cowboy to agitate his shanks In the etiquettish fashion of aristocratic ranks." The singer is out of his depth at a dance in Denver. Still, the ladies enjoy the chance "To see an old-time puncher at a high-tone dance."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1935 (recording, Wilf Carter)
KEYWORDS: cowboy dancing humorous
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Fife-Cowboy/West 104, "The High-Toned Dance" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #11094
RECORDINGS:
Wilf Carter, "The Cowboy's High-Toned Dance" (Bluebird [Canada] B-4991, 1935)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Mormon Cowboy (I)" (plot)
File: FCW104
===
NAME: High-Topped Shoes: see Don't Let Your Deal Go Down; also Who Will Shoe Your Pretty Little Foot (File: CSW182)
===
NAME: High, Betty Martin: see Hey Betty Martin (File: San158)
===
NAME: Highbridge (Through Every Age, Eternal God)
DESCRIPTION: Shape note hymn: "Through every age, eternal God, thou art our rest, our safe abode; High was thy throne ere heav'n was made Or earth thy humble footstool laid." "Death, like an overflowing stream, Sweeps us away; Our life's a dream, an empty tale..."
AUTHOR: Words: Isaac Watts
EARLIEST_DATE: 1707
KEYWORDS: religious Bible nonballad death
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Sandburg, p. 155, "Highbridge" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #15052
RECORDINGS:
Singers from Stewart's Chapel, Houston, MS, "Stratfield" (on Fasola1)
NOTES: This is set to the tune "Highbridge" in the Missouri Harmony but to "Stratfield" in the Sacred Harp. There is a second Sacred Harp version, opening with the "Death, like an overflowing stream" stanza, which has the most evocative tune-name "Exit."
The "Death like an overflowing stream" stanza is in the Missoury Harmony with the tune Amanda. - RBW
File: San155
===
NAME: Highland Harry
DESCRIPTION: Highland Harry's banished and the singer mourns she'll "never see him back again!" She wishes some "villains [were] hangit high" so he could return. He had "rush'd his injur'd prince to join; But, Oh! he ne'er came back again!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1821 (Hogg2)
KEYWORDS: rebellion exile nonballad Jacobites
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Hogg2 30, "Highland Harry" (1 text, 1 tune)
GreigDuncan1 134, "Highland Harry" (3 texts, 3 tunes)
ADDITIONAL: James Kinsley, editor, Burns: Complete Poems and Songs (shorter edition, Oxford, 1969) #164,, pp. 276-277, "My Harry Was a Gallant Gay" (1 text, 1 tune, from 1787)
Roud #3809
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Oh For Him Back Again
NOTES: Hogg2: "This edition is taken from Mr Moir's collection. The first three verses were altered by Burns from an old song; the other two were added by Sutherland."
Burns: "The chorus I picked up from an old woman in Dunblane; the rest of the song is mine." - BS
The tune is listed as "Highlander's Lament." Which obviously fits. It is interesting to note that Burns's text never mentions *which* villians should be hanged high; it's perhaps worth noting that (according to my Burns editions) he wrote the song in 1787, at which time Bonnie Prince Charlie was still alive though not for much longer. - RBW
File: GrD1134
===
NAME: Highland Heather
DESCRIPTION: "The heather's queen o' mountain flowers." The singer compares the heather to the red and white rose, the lily, daisy and forget-me-not. "Search roon the world -- she beats them a'."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1908 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: flowers nonballad
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan3 527, "Highland Heather" (1 text)
Roud #5876
File: GrD3527
===
NAME: Highland Jane
DESCRIPTION: The singer overhears another cry, "I have lost my bonny bride, My bonny blooming hielan' Jane." He describes her beauty. She was taken away soon after marriage. He hopes that death will soon take him as well
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: death separation marriage mourning
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H477, p. 140, "Hielan' Jane" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2554
File: HHH477
===
NAME: Highland Lad and Lawland Lass, The
DESCRIPTION: A couple argue. He is bound to fight for Charles. She is unhappy that he would leave her so freely. He assures he he will be true and finally convinces her that he should go. She sends him off to fight for Charles, "procure renown" and return to her.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1821 (Hogg2)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: The Highland Lad says "the pipers play" and it is time "for freedom and our prince to fight." Jenny complains that he would "so freely part." He says king and country outweigh his love. She says Whigs will mock her for trusting him. He says he will always be true and when he returns "Charles shall reign, and she's be mine." She concedes that she would not want "your manly courage stay." He praises "your charms, your sense, your noble mind" and says his "sole delight shall br My prince's right and love of thee." She sends him off to "procure renown, And for your lawful king his crown" before he returns to his Jenny.
KEYWORDS: dialog political Jacobites separation
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Hogg2 106, "Lawland Lassie" (1 text, 1 tune)
GreigDuncan1 123, "Lowland Lassie" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: James Kinsley, editor, Burns: Complete Poems and Songs (shorter edition, Oxford, 1969) #578,, p. 683-684, "Highland Laddie" (1 text, 1 tune, from the Scots Musical Museum)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Highland Laddie" (tune and structure)
NOTES: The alternate lines for the male part are "[My] bonny lassie, Lawland lassie" and for the female part "[My] bonny laddie, Highland laddie."
The GreigDuncan1 and Burns texts are almost identical.
GreigDuncan1: "This text combines stanzas found in two separate songs, both sung to the tune 'Bonny laddie, Highland laddie'.... St. 1 occurs in 'A Song' beginning 'The bonniest lad that e'er I saw' and sts. 2-3 occur in 'The Highland Lad and Lawland Lass' beginning 'Trumpets sound and cannons roar'." I have kept it with the latter since the GreigDuncan1 version retains the dialog form. - BS
The Burns and Grieg/Duncan forms may be alike, but they are much worn down from the full form found in the description. The Burns form has only six stanzas -- two for the girl, then two for the guy, then two more for the girl. What's more, it never mentions Charles. That, to be sure, may have been a factual correction, since Bonnie Prince Charlie's father was still alive at the time of the 1745 rebellion -- even had the revolt succeeded, Charles would not have been King for many years. - RBW
File: GrD1123
===
NAME: Highland Lad, The
DESCRIPTION: he singer says "I'll follow up my Highland lad." "I've been in Inverness Commend me to the Highland lad He wears the Highland dress." She describes his uniform: scarlet coat, green philabeg [kilt], sky-blue ribbons
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: clothes nonballad soldier
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan3 528, "The Highland Lad" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #6007
File: GrD3528
===
NAME: Highland Laddie (I): see Hieland Laddie (File: Doe050)
===
NAME: Highland Laddie (II), The
DESCRIPTION: "Princely is my lover's weed, Fu' his veins o' princely blude." "Brows wad better fa' a crown" "a hand the sceptre bruiks," "a hand the broad sword draws." "He'll wake the snorers round the throne, Till frae his daddie's chair he blaw"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1810 (R.H. Cromek, _Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song_, according to Hogg2)
KEYWORDS: rebellion return nonballad Jacobites
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hogg2 63A, "The Highland Laddie" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: The alternate lines are minor variations on "Bonnie laddie, Highland laddie." In this case the subject is clearly Bonnie Prince Charlie himself. - BS
File: Hog2063A
===
NAME: Highland Laddie (III), The
DESCRIPTION: "I canna get my mare ta'en, Master had she never nane, Take a rip an' wile her hame, Nought like heffing by the wame"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1821 (Hogg2)
KEYWORDS: nonballad horse
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hogg2 63B, "The Highland Laddie" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: The current description is all of the Hogg2 63B fragment, omitting the "Bonnie laddie, Highland laddie" lines. Hogg says of it, "I think it probable that this had, likewise [to Hogg2 63A], been a Jacobite song, but I do not remember any more of it." - BS
File: Hog2063B
===
NAME: Highland Laddie (IV): see The Highland Lad and Lawland Lass (File: GrD1123)
===
NAME: Highland Maid, The
DESCRIPTION: "Again the laverock seeks the sky And warbles dimly seen... Nae mair can cheer this heart forlorn, Or charm the Highland Maid." "My true love fell by Charlie's side." Her home is lonesome, her sleep troubled; the girl hopes to join him in the grave
AUTHOR: William Blair (b.1800) (source: Greig)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan1)
KEYWORDS: Jacobites death battle soldier separation
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Greig #44, p. 2, "The Highland Maid" (1 text)
GreigDuncan1 130, "The Highland Maid" (5 texts, 4 tunes)
Ord, p. 297, "The Highland Maid" (1 text)
Roud #2183
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Harp that Once through Tara's Halls" (tune)
NOTES: GreigDuncan1 has the tune as "The Maid in Bedlam," "originally called 'Will ye go to Flanders' ... found in Ireland and called 'Molly Astore' ... also 'Grammachree.'"
Greig: "'The Highland Maid' I have always heard sung to a tune which is practically the same as 'The Harp that once through Tara's Halls.'" - BS
Ord repeats the attribution of this to William Blair, but lists him as being born in 1880. This is clearly an error in date.. - RBW
File: Ord297
===
NAME: Highland Mary
DESCRIPTION: "Ye banks, and braes, and streams around The castle o' Montgomery, Green be your woods... For there I took the last fareweel O' my sweet Highland Mary." The singer recalls their love and their parting and laments her death
AUTHOR: Words: Robert Burns
EARLIEST_DATE: 1792 (original publication)
KEYWORDS: love courting separation farewell death
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1786 - Romance between Robert Burns and Mary Campbell. They met in spring and pledged faith at their parting in May; Campbell died that autumn, probably of typhus
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Creighton/Senior, p. 161-162, "Highland Mary" (1 texts, 1 tune, including 3 stanzas not part of the Burns poem)
DT, HIGHMARY
Roud #1095
RECORDINGS:
Brigid Tunney, "Burns and His Highland Mary" (on IRTunneyFamily01)
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, L.C.1270(001), "Highland Mary," unknown, c. 1845; also RB.m.143(029), "Highland Mary," unknown, c. 1890
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Katharine Ogie" (tune)
cf. "Burns and His Highland Mary" [Laws O34] (subject)
NOTES: The Brigid Tunney song on IRTunneyFamily01 is mis-titled. On the recording itself Brigid Tunney identifies the song as "Highland Mary." - BS
File: CrSe161
===
NAME: Highland Soldier, The: see The Gallant Soldier (Mary/Peggy and the Soldier) (File: HHH782)
===
NAME: Highlanders' War-Cry at the Battle of Alma, The
DESCRIPTION: The Highlanders fight "where the Gaul and the Briton their legions unite To tread on the neck of the Czar." Their war cries "give wings to the slaves of the Czar." "And the tyrants shall tremble to hear That 'Cry' in the battle again"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1908 (GreigDuncan1)
KEYWORDS: war death Russia nonballad patriotic
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Sept 20, 1854 - Battle of Alma. The allies win an expensive victory over the Russians
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan1 159, "The Highlanders' War-Cry at the Battle of Alma" (1 text)
Roud #5828
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Heights of Alma (I) [Laws J10]" (subject) and references there
NOTES: GreigDuncan1: "The Royal Highlanders, the Cameron Highlanders and the Sutherland Highlanders under the command of Sir Colin Campbell played a prominent part of the battle." - BS
For background on the Battle of Alma, see "The Heights of Alma (I)" [Laws J10]. For Sir Colin Campbell (the one and only competent general in the Crimea) and his Highland Brigade, see also "The Grand Conversation on Sebastopol Arose (II)" and especially "The Kilties in the Crimea." - RBW
File: GrD159
===
NAME: Highlands! The Highlands, The
DESCRIPTION: "Though bleak be your clime and though scanty your fare My heart's in the Highlands, oh! gin I waur there!" The singer thinks about his mother in her cottage "croonin', 'Haste ye back, Donald, to leave us na mair."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: homesickness travel nonballad mother home
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan3 522, "The Highlands! The Highlands" (1 text)
Roud #6004
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
My Heart's in the Highlands
NOTES: This is one of a group of songs in which mother waits in her cottage (or so the son believes) for her son who is far away; for example, "Cottage With the Horsheshoe o'er the Door," "My Gray Haired Irish Mother," and "There's No One Like Mother To Me" (and, lacking the cottage, songs like "When the Work's All Done This Fall"). - BS
File: GrD3522
===
NAME: Highly Educated Man, The: see I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago (Bragging Song) (File: R410)
===
NAME: Highway Robber, The: see The Highwayman Outwitted [Laws L2] (File: LL02)
===
NAME: Highwayman Outwitted, The [Laws L2]
DESCRIPTION: A highwayman stops a merchant's daughter. When she dismounts, her horse runs home with her money. He abuses her and strips her, then has her hold his horse as he bundles up his gains. She jumps on the horse and rides home, still naked but with his money
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1820 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 c.18(142))
KEYWORDS: outlaw escape clothes
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) Britain(England)
REFERENCES: (6 citations)
Laws L2, "The Highwayman Outwitted"
Logan, pp. 133-136, "The Maid of Rygate" (1 text)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 21, "The Highway Robber" (1 text)
Peacock, pp. 226-228, "The Rich Merchant's Daughter" (1 text, 2 tunes)
MacSeegTrav 89, "The Highwayman Outwitted" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 682, HIOUTWIT
ST LL02 (Full)
Roud #2638
RECORDINGS:
Wiggy Smith, "There Was a Rich Farmer at Sheffield" (on Voice11)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 c.18(142), "The Highwayman Outwitted by the Farmer's Daughter," J. Pitts (London), 1802-1819; also Harding B 11(92), Firth c.17(17), "The Lincolnshire Farmer's Daughter"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Crafty Farmer" [Child 283; Laws L1]
NOTES: It's just possible that this has a real-life origin, though I doubt it: David Brandon, in _Stand and Deliver! A History of Highway Robbery_, pp. 29-31, reports that one Isaac Atkinson held up a young woman, who -- apparently thinking he wanted something harder to recover than her money -- threw a bag of coins in the ditch. Atkinson, instead of either pursuing his seduction or doing anything to control the girl, simply jumped off his horse to pick up the coins.
The girl then flew away on her horse, and by chance his horse followed. She was able to report where she had left him, and he was taken and hanged.
Brandon, however, cites no sources; I almost wonder if his tale wasn't based on this, or perhaps on something like "The Crafty Farmer" and/or "Lovely Joan." - RBW
File: LL02
===
NAME: Hill o' Callivar, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer advises to "Ask her for to be your wife and tak' her at her will And tak' her for a ramble on the Callivar Hill." The site "wad mak' your heart contented." He's old now but he'd "drink the health o' Scotland yet and Forbes Arms Hotel."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1907 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: courting nonballad
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan3 507, "The Hill o' Callivar" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5992
NOTES: GreigDuncan3 has a map on p. xxxv, of "places mentioned in songs in volume 3" showing the song number as well as place name; Coiliochbhar Hill (507) is at coordinate (h1-2,v5) on that map [near Alford, roughly 28 miles W of Aberdeen]. - BS
File: GrD3507
===
NAME: Hills Above Drumquin
DESCRIPTION: "Drumquin, you're not a city, but you're all the world to me." The singer has seen the Scottish Highlands and Lowlands but "always toiled content" because at the end of the day his heart goes back to Drumquin.
AUTHOR: Felix Kearney (source: Tunney-SongsThunder)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 (Tunney-SongsThunder)
KEYWORDS: nonballad lyric
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Tunney-SongsThunder, pp. 68-70, "Hills Above Drumquin" (1 text)
Roud #9320
NOTES: Drumquin is in County Tyrone. - BS
File: TST068
===
NAME: Hills and Glens, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer was born "on North River's sloping bank" and lived 40 years among "the hills and glens around St Ann's. He taught, opened a store, and loses two sons and a cousin in the army "killed in France ... while fighting the Germans"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (Creighton-Maritime)
KEYWORDS: war death soldier children
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Creighton-Maritime, p. 210, "The Hills and Glens" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2726
NOTES: Creighton-Maritime: "The war referred to is that of 1914-1918" - BS
File: CrMa210
===
NAME: Hills o' Ballyboley, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer recounts the pleasures of life in Ballyboley: The birds, the flowers, the friends. He says that no such flowers grow elsewhere. Even now, grown old, he remembers the beauties of the place
AUTHOR: William Hegan
EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: home nonballad
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H511, pp. 157-158, "The Hills o' Ballyboley" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13454
File: HHH511
===
NAME: Hills o' Gallowa', The
DESCRIPTION: The singer and his lassie "softly slid the hours awa' Till dawnin'" If he were with her "amang the hills o' Gallowa'" he would blythely steer through life in spite of the world's gloom. "Oh bury me ... amang the hills o' Gallowa'"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1908 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: love Scotland nonballad lover burial
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan3 504, "The Hills o' Gallowa'" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Roud #5989
File: GrD3504
===
NAME: Hills o' Trummach, The
DESCRIPTION: "The hills o' Trummach pe ill to clim' Pe ill to clim' pe ill to clim', The hills o' Trummach pe ill to clim', Tre hoey an' tre hoey."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1907 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: nonballad
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan3 531, "The Hills o' Trummach" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #6010
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Braes o' Mar" (tune, per GreigDuncan3)
NOTES: The current description is all of the GreigDuncan3 entry. - BS
File: GrD3531
===
NAME: Hills of Cumberland
DESCRIPTION: The singer meets "the Rose of Cumberland" who invites him to sit and talk; she babbles. He explains that he is from a nearby village "where there are maidens just as handsome" and advises her to let her beauty speak for her rather than her mouth.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 (Dibblee/Dibblee)
KEYWORDS: courting beauty rejection
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Dibblee/Dibblee, pp. 110-111, "Hills of Cumberland" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #12458
NOTES: This is a Prince Edward Island song not to be confused with the similar ballad Bodleian, Harding B 11(1205), "The Blooming Rose of Cumberland," W. Stephenson (Gateshead); , 1821-1838 ; also Harding B 25(220), "The Blooming Rose of Cumberland." Cumberland Hill is near Dundas near the east coast of Kings, Prince Edward Island. - BS
File: Dib110
===
NAME: Hills of Dan, The
DESCRIPTION: "The world is not one garden spot Or pleasure ground for man; Few are the spots that intervene Such as the Hills of Dan." The singer recalls the weather and the friends now buried; though he departs, he hopes in the end to "rest Amid the Hills of Dan"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1947 (Greensboro Daily News)
KEYWORDS: home nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 403, "The Hills of Dan" (1 text)
Roud #11759
NOTES: Although the only collections of this seem to be from North Carolina, it *really* sounds Irish to me. - RBW
File: Br3403
===
NAME: Hills of Donegal, The
DESCRIPTION: "Oh, Donegal, the pride of all, My heart still turns to thee...." The singer describes how he left Donegal, looking back the while, and sailed away via Lough Foyle. He wishes he could return to his old home
AUTHOR: James Moore ?
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: homesickness emigration
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H196, p. 120, "The Hills of Donegal (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #10685
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Scarborough Settler's Lament" (theme) and references there
File: HHH196
===
NAME: Hills of Glenshee, The: see The Lass of Glenshee [Laws O6] (File: LO06)
===
NAME: Hills of Glensuili, The
DESCRIPTION: An exile curses "those tyrannical laws that bind our native land" and thinks about the birds, fields, and dances of Glensuili. He has left his harp there to remind those left behind of him. He hopes "the time soon come around when I'll return"
AUTHOR: Michael and Brigid McGinley (source: notes to IRPTunney02)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1963 (IRPTunney02)
KEYWORDS: exile separation Ireland nonballad patriotic harp
FOUND_IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Tunney-SongsThunder, pp. 97-99, "The Hills of Glensuili" (1 text)
McBride 36, "Glenswilly" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5087
RECORDINGS:
Paddy Tunney, "The Hills of Glenswilly" (on IRPTunney02)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Hills of Tandragee (I)" (form, lyrics, tune)
NOTES: Loch Suili and Gleann Suili (Glenswilli), mentioned in the song, are in Donegal, Ireland.
This is the same song, with only place names and a few words changing the political viewpoint, as "The Hills of Tandragee (II)." The tunes of McBride 36, and Morton-Ulster 41, "The Hills of Tandragee" are very similar. Morton-Ulster: "Here's a fairly modern Orange song ["The Hills of Tandragee"], and a great favorite among 'the brethren' because they can all join in on the last line of each verse. Dick Bamber, who gave it to me, is generally credited as the writer, but he tells me this is not correct. An old lady who lived beside him in Ballylisk near Tandragee, 'wrote it years ago.' It is a parody of a song she had on an old 78 r.p.m. record called 'The Hills of Glenswilly'. Just how long ago she wrote it he doesn't remember, but he says she gave it to him and he was the first to sing it in public. Now it's an Orange standard." These songs are not to be confused with "Craiganee," sometimes called "The Hills of Tandragee"; there is no love interest here.
Also collected and sung by Kevin Mitchell, "The Hills of Glen Swilly" (on Kevin and Ellen Mitchell, "Have a Drop Mair," Musical Tradition Records MTCD315-6 CD (2001)) - BS
File: TST097
===
NAME: Hills of Mexico, The: see Boggy Creek or The Hills of Mexico [Laws B10b] (File: LB10B)
===
NAME: Hills of Tandragee (I), The
DESCRIPTION: The singer says to those who see him leave Tandragee that he hopes the Orange flag will soon fly over its hills. He thinks about the birds and fields of Tandragee. He hopes for peace in Ulster and that "the time soon come around when I return"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1970 (Morton-Ulster)
KEYWORDS: emigration farewell Ireland nonballad patriotic
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Morton-Ulster 41, "The Hills of Tandragee" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2884
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Hills of Glensuili" (form, lyrics, tune)
NOTES: This is the same song, with only place names and a few words changing the political viewpoint, as "The Hills of Glensuili." The tunes of McBride 36, "Glenswilly," and Morton-Ulster 41 are very similar.
Morton-Ulster: "Here's a fairly modern Orange song, and a great favorite among 'the brethren' because they can all join in on the last line of each verse. Dick Bamber, who gave it to me, is generally credited as the writer, but he tells me this is not correct. An old lady who lived beside him in Ballylisk near Tandragee, 'wrote it years ago.' It is a parody of a song she had on an old 78 r.p.m. record called 'The Hills of Glenswilly'. Just how long ago she wrote it he doesn't remember, but he says she gave it to him and he was the first to sing it in public. Now it's an Orange standard."
These songs are not to be confused with "Craiganee," sometimes called "The Hills of Tandragee"; there is no love interest here. - BS
File: MorU041
===
NAME: Hills of Tandragee (II), The: see Craiganee (File: HHH749)
===
NAME: Hills of Tyrone, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls watching the sun rise this morning in Tyrone. He is already far away, ready to sail away. He reports that his heart is breaking at leaving home, friends, girl. He says he will always regard it as the fairest place on earch
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1935 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: emigration farewell
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
SHenry H609, p. 199, "The Hills of Tyrone" (1 text, 1 tune)
Morton-Maguire 4, pp. 6,101,156, "Behind Yon Blue Mountain" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2925
File: HHH609
===
NAME: Hillsville, Virginia: see Sidney Allen [Laws E5] (File: LE05)
===
NAME: Hilo, Boys, Hilo
DESCRIPTION: Halyard shanty. "The blackbird sang unto the crow, Ch: Hi-lo boys Hi-lo! I'll soon be takin' you in tow, Ch: Oh! Hilo somebody below." Other verses have the birds talking to each other or to the crew.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (Hugill)
KEYWORDS: shanty worksong bird
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hugill, pp. 254-255, "Hilo, Boys, Hilo," "Hilo, Come Down Below" (2 texts, 2 tunes) [AbEd, pp. 185-186]
Roud #8291
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Crow Song (I)" (lyrics)
SAME_TUNE:
Shallow Brown (II) (File: Hugi257)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Hilo Somebody Below
Hilo Somebody Hilo
NOTES: Both [of Hugill's] versions are of Negro origin and likely began as cotton-hoosier's songs. - SL
Several verses, indeed, appear to be derived from "The Crow Song (I)." One suspects that this is an adaption of that for use at sea -- or perhaps the reverse. - RBW
File: Hugi254
===
NAME: Hilo, Come Down Below: see Hilo, Boys, Hilo (File: Hugi254)
===
NAME: Hilo, Johnny Brown: see Sally Brown (File: Doe074)
===
NAME: Hilo, My Ranzo Way: see Huckleberry Hunting (File: Doe032)
===
NAME: Hind Etin [Child 41]
DESCRIPTION: Lady Margaret is lured by a sound to Elmond's Wood, where (Akin/Etin) keeps her while she bears 7 sons. The eldest seeks to know why his mother is sad, then accomplishes (a reunion with her family, a pardon for his father, and) a churching for all.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1828 (Buchan); Danish versions are said to date to the sixteenth century
KEYWORDS: pregnancy captivity children escape
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (9 citations)
Child 41, "Hind Etin" (3 texts)
Bronson 41, "Hind Etin" (2 versions)
Greig #157, p. 1, "Young Aiken" (1 text)
GreigDuncan2 331, "Young Aiken" (2 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #2}
Leach, pp. 141-148, "Hind Etin" (2 text -- 1 from Danish)
OBB 36, "Hynd Etin" (1 text)
PBB 21, "Hind Etin" (1 text)
DBuchan 28, "Hind Etin" (1 text)
DT 41, HINDETIN*
Roud #33
File: C041
===
NAME: Hind Horn [Child 17]
DESCRIPTION: Jean gives Hind Horn a ring that will tell him if her love remains true. When the ring fades, he sets out for court disguised as a beggar. He shows her the ring, and her love returns. "The bridegroom has wedded the bride but... Hind Horn took her to bed"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1825 (Motherwell)
KEYWORDS: magic love wedding
FOUND_IN: US(NE) Britain(England(South),Scotland) Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES: (18 citations)
Child 17, "Hind Horn" (9 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #23}
Bronson 17, "Hind Horn" (23 versions plus 2 in addenda)
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 73-80, "Hind Horn" (1 text (with two variant forms) plus a fragment, 2 tunes); pp. 479-481 (additional notes and fragments) {Bronson's #4, #5}
Flanders/Olney, pp. 47-48, "Hind Horn" (1 short text, properly titled "The Jolly Beggar," which might be "Hind Horn" [Shild #17] or "The Jolly Beggar" [Child #279] or a mix; 1 tune) {Bronson's #18}
Flanders-Ancient1, pp. 223-225, "Hind Horn" (1 short text, properly titled "The Jolly Beggar," which might be "Hind Horn" [Shild #17] or "The Jolly Beggar" [Child #279] or a mix; 1 tune) {Bronson's #18}
Creighton/Senior, pp. 11-17, "Hind Horn" (3 texts plus 2 fragment, 3 tunes) {C=Bronson's #17, E=#22}
Creighton-Maritime, p. 5, "Hind Horn" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 5, "The Beggarman" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #21}
Karpeles-Newfoundland 4, "Hind Horn" (1 text, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #2}
Ives-DullCare, pp. 72-73,246,252, "The Old Beggar Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Manny/Wilson 55, "The Old Beggar Man (Hind Horn)" (1 text, 1 tune)
Leach, pp. 96-100, "Hind Horn" (2 texts)
OBB 35, "Hynd Horn" (1 text)
Niles 12, "Hind Horn" (1 text, 1 tune, plus a single stanza which might be this ballad -- but could be something else)
Gummere, pp. 260-262+357, "Hind Horn" (1 text)
DBuchan 44, "Hind Horn" (1 text)
HarvClass-EP1, pp. 59-61, "Hind Horn" (1 text)
DT 17, HINDHORN HNDHORN2* HNDHORN3*
Roud #28
RECORDINGS:
Edmund Doucette, "The Old Beggar Man" (on MREIves01)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Kitchie-Boy" [Child 252] (lyrics)
cf. "The Bird's Courting Song (The Hawk and the Crow; Leatherwing Bat)" (tune)
SAME_TUNE:
The Bird's Courting Song (The Hawk and the Crow; Leatherwing Bat) (File: K295)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Pale Ring
The Jeweled Ring
NOTES: For Bronson's proposed relationship between this song and "The Whummil Bore" [Child 27], see the entry on that piece.
Literary historians have connected this ballad with the thirteenth century romance "King Horn" (who lost his kingdom to Saracens, then won it and his sweetheart back after heroic adventures) -- but if so, there has been a lot of folk processing along the way.
Child mentions the romance, but notes that the ballad contains only the "catastrophe" of the written epic.
The Horn legend found in "King Horn" appears in various forms. "King Horn" itself is listed as "the earliest of the extant romances in [Middle English]" (Bruce Dickins & R. M. Wilson, _Early Middle English Texts_, p. 29), and exists in three manuscripts: Cambridge Univeristy Library Gg.4.27.II (XIII century), Bodleian Laud Misc. 108 (early XIV century), and B.M. Harley 2253 (early XIV century), the latter the famous source of the "Harley Lyrics."
The legend also appears in a French epic, "Horn et Rimel," and there is a second English version, probably of the fourtheenth century, called "Horne Childe."
According to Garnett and Gosse, _English Literature: An Illustrated Record_, volume i, p. 115, "King Horn is another romance with a Scnadinavian groundwork going back to thetime of the expeditions of the Danish Vikings before their conversion to Christianity."
Garnett and Gosse add that it has "no great poetical merit." In support of this we might note that the meter is so irregular that scholars have not even managed to agree on whether it's supposed to be trochaic or iambic! - RBW
The magic stones of the ring in "King Horn" make the wearer invulnerable; Horn is to look at the ring just to remind him of her. [Walter Hoyt French and Charles Brockway Hale, editors, _Middle English Metrical Romances_ (New York, 1930), "King Horn," ll. 541-576] He happens to return to Westernesse after seven years when "word bigan to springe Of Rymenhilde weddinge" [French and Hale, ll. 1007-1018] The rest of the story, including the return of the ring in the wine horn [French and Hale, ll. 1159-1170] agrees well enough with the plot, for example, of Child 17B.
The magic stones of the ring in "Horn Childe and Maiden Rimnild" have the property of changing color, as in the ballad, when Rimnild changes her mind or loses her maidenhead [Maldwyn Mills, Horn Childe and Maiden Rimnild (Heidelberg,1988), ll. 565-576]. It happens that when seven years have passed that Horn notices that the stones have changed color [Mills, ll. 836-840]. Here too, the ring is returned in a wine cup [Mills, ll. 994-996].
Child notes the similarities in plot between the ballad and "Horn Childe and Maiden Rimnild." However, he denies that "the special approximations of the ballads to the romance of Horn Child oblige us to conclude that these, or any of them, are derived from that poem." He goes on further to say "It is often assumed, without a misgiving, that oral tradition must needs be younger than anything that was committed to writing some centuries ago; but this requires in each case to be made out; there is certainly no antecedent probability of that kind." - BS
Several other ballads also derive loosely or from Middle English romance, or from the legends that underlie it, examples being:
* "King Orfeo" [Child 19], from "Sir Orfeo" (3 MSS., including the Auchinlek MS, which also contains "Floris and Blancheflour")
* "The Marriage of Sir Gawain" [Child 31], from "The Weddynge of Sir Gawe and Dame Ragnell" (1 defective MS, Bodleian MS Rawlinson C 86)
* "Blancheflour and Jellyflorice" [Child 300], from "Floris and Blancheflour" (4 MSS, including Cambridge Gg.4.27.2, which also contains "King Horn," and the Auchinlek MS, which also contains "Sir Orfeo")
Of these ballads from romances, this is the only one that really seems to have gone solidly in tradition ("Sir Orfeo" came from tradition, but in circumstances that make a minstrel origin a strong possibility).
Child has a very extensive discussion of the relationship between this ballad and the literary romances.
Incidentally, it appears that some of the language of "King Horn" influenced J. R. R. Tolkien. - RBW
File: C017
===
NAME: Hinky Dicky, Parlee-Voo: see Mademoiselle from Armentieres (File: RL513)
===
NAME: Hinky Dinky Parley-Voo?: see Mademoiselle from Armentieres (File: RL513)
===
NAME: Hiram Hubbard: see Hiram Hubbert [Laws A20] (File: LA20)
===
NAME: Hiram Hubbert [Laws A20]
DESCRIPTION: Hiram Hubbard is captured and brought to trial. Although he is not guilty of anything, he is tried and convicted on the evidence of his captors. He makes a will and is summarily shot. (He is reported to have been ninety miles from the crime scene.)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1909
KEYWORDS: trial execution lastwill trial Civilwar
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Laws A20, "Hiram Hubbert"
Combs/Wilgus 48, pp. 171-172, "Hiram Hubbert" (1 text)
Ritchie-Southern, p. 77, "Hiram Hubbard" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 367, HIRAMHUB*
Roud #2208
RECORDINGS:
Jean Ritchie & Doc Watson, "Hiram Hubbard" (on RitchieWatson1, RitchiteWatsonCD1)
NOTES: Reported to be "an echo of the guerilla warfare in the [Kentucky/Tennessee?] Highlands during the Civil War" (indeed, the RItchie text refers explicitly to rebels) This strikes me as not unlikely. These regions were filled with Unionists who did not like the fact that their states had put them into the Confederacy. It took the Union two years to get troops to Knoxville. Until they did, there was generally trouble between the locals and the Confederate government.
I have not located any actual references to a Hiram Hubbard who was executed in this period. - RBW
File: LA20
===
NAME: Hirdie, The: see The Herd Laddie (The Herdie) (File: Ord269)
===
NAME: Hireing Fairs of Ulster, The: see The Hiring Fairs of Ulster (File: OLcM025)
===
NAME: Hireman Chiel, The
DESCRIPTION: A baron's son disguised as a laborer wins the heart of a young lady. Her parents do not approve, but they escape together and at last the young man reveals his station.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1908 (collected by Ord from Robert Mellis)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: A baron's son, told by his father to marry, disguises himself as a laborer to find a lady who will marry for love. He sees a beauty at a castle gate, and gets himself hired by the grieve. The lady falls in love (of course), and writes him a letter to arrange a meeting. They meet, declare their love, and arrange to meet again by night, with the young man's assurances not to wrong her honor. They begin meeting every night, and her parents become suspicious. She tells the young man of her father's threats to hang him, and he scoffs at them. But they are overheard and confronted by her mother. The young man departs, telling the mother her daughter is still marriageable. A nobleman courts and wins the young lady, but as they are going to be married the young man reappears and the two lovers escape. The father pursues them to the young man's home. His identity revealed, the young man asks the father's blessing, saying, "Seven years I served for her sake, But now I've got my fee."
KEYWORDS: courting disguise nobility worker love virginity family
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Ord, pp. 480-486, "The Hireman Chiel" (1 text)
DBuchan 64, "The Hireman Chiel" (1 text, 1 tune in appendix)
ST DBuch64 (Full)
Roud #5624
NOTES: That last section ("Seven years I served for her sake, But now I've got my fee") sounds to me very much like an echo of the story of Jacob, Rachel, and Laban (Gen. 29:15-30) -- but I suppose it could be coincidence. - RBW
File: DBuch64
===
NAME: Hiring Fair at Hamiltonsbawn, The
DESCRIPTION: At the Hamiltonsbawn hiring fair the singer hires for six winter months to Tom McCann. After one good meal, the food "no human eye could stand," the work is hard, the fleas unbearable at night. "My trousers got too wide ... my hair got like a wig"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1970 (Morton-Ulster)
KEYWORDS: humorous hardtimes farming food bug work clothes bug
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Morton-Ulster 23, "The Hiring Fair at Hamiltonsbawn" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2890
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Bad Luck Attend the Old Farmer" (subject: hiring fair servant's half-year term hard times)
NOTES: Morton-Ulster: "If you travel the road from Armagh City to Tandragee, you pass through the snug town of Hamiltonsbawn.... Hiring fairs were in full swing up to fifty years ago and the one at 'the Bawn' is remembered as recently as forty years ago [c.1929].... May and November seem to have been the months favoured for 'hiring'; no doubt because May marked the beginning of the harvest season and November heralded preparation of the ground and planting." - BS
File: MorU023
===
NAME: Hiring Fair, The
DESCRIPTION: On the way to Strabane, or Antrim, singer meets a maid on the way to the hiring fair. He offers his umbrella to keep her from the rain. They stop for drinks and miss the fair. They spend the night, marry next day, and have been happy since.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (IRTunneyFamily01); c.1845 (broadside, NLScotland L.C.1270(018))
KEYWORDS: courting marriage drink work travel
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
McBride 39, "The Hiring Fair" (1 text, 1 tune)
Morton-Ulster 24, "The Hiring Fair" (1 text, 1 tune)
Morton-Maguire 14, pp. 34-35,106,162, "The Strabane Hiring Fair" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2905
RECORDINGS:
Michael Gallagher, "The Hiring Time" (on IRTunneyFamily01)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Feeing Time (I)" (plot)
NOTES: This follows the same general story line as "The Maid of Lismore" but ends happily. - BS
The similarity to "The Feeing Time (I)" is even greater; it's esentially the same plot, and there are some common lyrics as well. They maybe the same song. But it clearly falls into Scottish and Irish families, so -- with some hesitation -- I've allowed them to stay separate. - RBW
File: RcHiriFa
===
NAME: Hiring Fairs of Ulster, The
DESCRIPTION: In May there are hiring fairs for servants in Ulster. Plough boys, dairy maids, cowboys and shoe boys, labouring boys and kitchen maids are interviewed by farmers. "The servants' wages now should rise" to offset rising prices
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1945 (OLochlainn-More)
KEYWORDS: work nonballad money
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
OLochlainn-More 25, "The Hiring Fairs of Ulster" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hayward-Ulster, pp. 89-90, "The Hireing Fairs of Ulster" (1 text)
Roud #6533
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Hiring of the Servants" (subject)
cf. "Copshawholm Fair" (subject)
File: OLcM025
===
NAME: Hiring of the Servants, The
DESCRIPTION: "The time of the hiring is coming." Working conditions on Irish farms are hard and "not like the day of the good old time." Farmers are warned that Ireland's youth are going to England for better wages; "You must double their wages or give up your land"
AUTHOR: Patrick O'Sullivan (source: broadside Bodleian 2806 c.8(218))
EARLIEST_DATE: 1976 (recording, Jamesy McCarthy)
KEYWORDS: farming England Ireland nonballad
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #12936
RECORDINGS:
Jamesy McCarthy, "Come To the Hiring" (on Voice20)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 c.8(218), "The Hiring of the Servants" ("Young men and maidens draw near for awhile"), unknown, n.d.
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Spailpin Fanac" and references there
cf. "The Hiring Fairs of Ulster" (subject)
File: RcHirOTS
===
NAME: His Jacket Was Blue: see Jacket So Blue, The (The Bonnet o' Blue) (File: FSC43)
===
NAME: His Lordship Had a Coachman
DESCRIPTION: His Lordship discharges coachman John. John claims to be the finest coachman alive. To demonstrate, "I'll drive you all around Belfast town, And I won't go through a street." His Lordship agrees John can keep his job if he succeeds. John keeps his job.
AUTHOR: Fred Ginnet (source: Leyden)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1989 (Leyden)
KEYWORDS: humorous wordplay servant unemployment
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Leyden 9, "His Lordship Had a Coachman" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Leyden: "The song dates from 1888 when the Lord Mayor was Sir James Horner Haslett." The trick to the song is that it "takes us all around Belfast without going through a single street!" So, the tour goes up Rugby Road, down Agincourt Avenue, South Parade, Carrickfergus Way, King Street Mews, Glengall Place, and the like. - BS
Jonathan Bardon, _A History of Ulster_, Blackstaff Press, 1992, first mentions Haslett on pp. 382-383 as MP for West Belfast, defeated in the "home rule" election of 1886 by Catholic votes. He became Lord Mayor not too long after, for he greeted Queen Victoria when she visited the city in 1888. He later went back to parliament as the member from North Belfast, and died in office in 1905. - RBW
File: Leyd009
===
NAME: His Wants: see Rye Whiskey; also The Rebel Soldier (File: R405)
===
NAME: Historian, The: see I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago (Bragging Song) (File: R410)
===
NAME: History ob de World, De: see Walkin' in the Parlor (File: Wa177)
===
NAME: History of Prince Edward Island, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer tells of the "dismal fate" of the Island. He complains that the rich folk of Canada have "made us slaves and sold Prince Edward Isle." He tells of a time of troubles and of many leaving their homes. At last he too must depart
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 (Ives-DullCare)
KEYWORDS: Canada lament exile political patriotic
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1867 - Prince Edward Island declines to join the newly-formed Canadian Confederation
1873 - Prince Edward Island joins Canada
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Doerflinger, pp. 256-257, "The History of Prince Edward Island" (1 text)
Dibblee/Dibblee, pp. 120-121, "Prince Edward Isle, Adieu" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 108-110, "Prince Edward Isle, Adieu" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ives-DullCare, pp. 230-233,253, "Prince Edward Isle, Adieu" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #4517
NOTES: According to Doerflinger, Prince Edward Island has a long history of trouble with government. The original settlement left the island owned primarily by a handful of absentee landlords who had little sympathy for the common people. When the Canadian Confederation was formed, PEI at first opted out. When Confederation was at last passed, a number of Islanders fled to New England.
Despite their fears, Confederation was probably good for PEI. The Canadian government bought out the absentee landholders, allowing the local residents the chance to own the land.
Various poets have been suggested as the author of the verses. Larry Gorman, naturally, has been mentioned -- but it hardly sounds like his work. Other candidates include Larry Doyle and "a schoolteacher named Fitzgerald." - RBW
Ives-DullCare: "Briefly ... it is a ... view of the political situation around 1880.... The song has been a significant presence in Island folklore for over a century." - BS
File: Doe256
===
NAME: History of the World: see Walkin' in the Parlor (File: Wa177)
===
NAME: Ho Boys Ho: see Ho for California (Banks of Sacramento) (File: E125)
===
NAME: Ho for California (Banks of Sacramento)
DESCRIPTION: The "plot" of the song varies widely, according to its use by pioneers, sailors, or gold-diggers. The chorus is fixed: "(Then) Ho! (boys), Ho! To California go! There's plenty of gold in the world, we're told, on the banks of the Sacramento"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1849 (Journal of William F. Morgan of the La Grange)
KEYWORDS: gold shanty travel
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1849 - California gold rush
FOUND_IN: US(MA,MW,NE) Australia Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (17 citations)
Eddy 125, "California" (1 text, 1 tune)
Warner 70, "Ho, Boys, Ho" (1 text, 1 tune)
Doerflinger, pp. 68-70, "Sacramento" (3 texts, 2 tunes, though the last of these derives its verses from "Rolling in the Dew (The Milkmaid)")
Colcord, pp. 105-106, "Sacramento" (1 text, 1 tune)
Walton/Grimm/Murdock, pp. 39-40, "Banks of Sacramento" (1 composite text, 1 tune)
Harlow, pp. 109-110, "Banks of Sacramento" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill, pp. 106-114, "California," "Sacramento" (7 texts-1 in German, 3 tunes) [AbEd, pp. 95-100]
Shay-SeaSongs, pp. 82-83, "The Banks of Sacramento" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sandburg, pp. 110-111, "California"; 111, "The Banks of Sacramento" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Smith/Hatt, p. 37, "On the Banks of the Sacramento" (1 text)
Lomax-FSUSA 42, "Sacramento" (1 text, 1 tune)
Meredith/Covell/Brown, p. 91, "Banks of the Sacramento" (1 fragmentary text, in which the singer seeks girls rather than gold; 1 tune)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 174-176, "The California Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 88, "Sacramento" (1 text)
Fuld-WFM, pp. 158-159, "(De) Camptown Races--(Sacramento)"
DT, SACRMNTO* SACRMNT2*
ADDITIONAL: Captain John Robinson, "Songs of the Chantey Man," a series published July-August 1917 in the periodical _The Bellman_ (Minneapolis, MN, 1906-1919). "Sacramento" is in Part 2, 7/21/1917.
Roud #309
RECORDINGS:
Logan English, "Sacramento" (on LEnglish02)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Ten Thousand Miles Away" (tune)
cf. "A Capital Ship" (tune)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Californi-O
Blow, Boys, Blow for Californi-O
Der Hamborger Veermaster
Der Hamborger Vullrigger
NOTES: Possibly created and certainly popularized by the Hutchinson Family (who published a text in their 1855 songbook), versions of this song are found throughout the U.S., and are well-known among sailors.
The texts are diverse (Hugill, for instance, has a version in which a sailor courts a girl and winds up with a venereal disease), but most seem to be related to the California gold rush. The tune is a variation on "Camptown Races," perhaps in turn based on "A Capital Ship." - RBW
File: E125
===
NAME: Ho-Hum, Nobody's Home: see Hey, Ho, Nobody Home (File: FSWB412G)
===
NAME: Hob-Y-Derri-Dando
DESCRIPTION: Welsh shanty often sung mixing English verses and the Welsh chorus. The translation of the Welsh version has a chorus something like "Jane, sweet Jane, full of charm, the birds are singing merrily."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (Hugill)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Welsh shanty often sung mixing English verses and the Welsh chorus. The translation of the Welsh version has a chorus something like "Jane, sweet Jane, full of charm, the birds are singing merrily." The most common English verses featured nonsense rhymes about "Davy Davy" from Nevin and various members of his family. However other versions also borrowed from "Sally Brown" among others. The English verses sung to this were also often put to the tune of another Welsh shanty, "Mochyn Du.
KEYWORDS: shanty foreignlanguage
FOUND_IN: Britain Wales
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hugill, pp. 525-528, "Hob-Y-Derri-Dando" (4 texts-English & Welsh, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Mochyn Du" (English verses often interchanged with this)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Hob-Y-Derrin-Dando
File: Hugi525
===
NAME: Hoban Boys, The
DESCRIPTION: On the night of October 27, a hurricane blows in. The next day, the singer sees the wrecks of the Minnie and Lilly & Jim. The singer's own Mayflower has been towed to St Pierre and looted; they pay the fee to the French, clear customs, and head home.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1976 (Lehr/Best)
KEYWORDS: sea ship storm wreck
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Lehr/Best 51, "The Hoban Boys" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: "The Hoban Boys" text mentions no year. My guess is that it refers to the October 28, 1921 storm but, while there is documentation for damage by that storm in Trinity Bay and Conception Bay (Fred Martin's site has a list of those losses) and Robert Parsons mentions damage at Hermitage Bay and Fortune Bay, I find no information about losses in between, at Placentia Bay.
Northern Shipwrecks Database, and that database's owner -- David Barron -- also has no specific information about ships lost on that date; he recommends I review microfilm of local papers for that week. I contacted a Placentia Bay newspaper, _The Southern Gazette_, but they have no information about the storm (they started publication in 1975) and thought "only the Telegram or the defunct Daily News would have recorded that info." The Telegram has not responded to my inquiry.
Neither Ms. Lehr nor Ms. Best could pin down the year for this storm; Ms. Best, noting that "sometimes dates in songs are imperfectly remembered and passed on, as you will no doubt realise" wondered why I would take the dates mentioned in the ballad so literally. Obviously, that's a good point. Even for such a famous sinking as "The Loss of the Atlantic," for which I've seen six distinct versions, Ranson _[Songs of the Wexford Coast]_ p. 88 has the sailing date from Liverpool April 18 -- rather than March 20 -- for a wreck that occurred on April 1; Ranson's other version has the sailing from Queenstown on March 21 -- as should be -- but the departure from Liverpool as March 14.
Any further research will have to be done in Newfoundland. - BS
"The Old Mayflower" also mentions a ship named _Mayflower_ being looted. Whether that describes the same event as this I do not know. - RBW
File: LeBe051
===
NAME: Hobbies, The
DESCRIPTION: In praise of hobbies, "for each has a hobby from cobbler to king." Some have unfortunate hobbies (e.g. "The hobbies of scolds are their husbands to tease,") some have the hobbies of courting; "The Americans'... hobby is Madison, peace, and free trade."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE:
KEYWORDS: political sports patriotic nonballad
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1809-1817 - Presidency of James Madison
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Arnett, p. 36-37, "The Hobbies" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: Arn036
===
NAME: Hobie Noble [Child 189]
DESCRIPTION: The singer tells how Hobie, an Englishman exiled to Scotland, was convinced by the traitor Sim of the Mains to raid England. Warned of Noble's coming, the land-sergeant (whose brother Noble had killed) takes him. Noble is hanged at Carlisle
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1775 (Percy)
KEYWORDS: borderballad fight punishment execution revenge
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Child 189, "Hobie Noble" (1 text)
Leach, pp. 516-519, "Hobie Noble" (1 text)
Friedman, p. 252, "Hobie Noble" 1 text)
OBB 139, "Hobbie Noble" (1 text)
DT 189, HOBINOBL
Roud #4014
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Jock o the Side" [Child 187] (characters)
File: C189
===
NAME: Hobo Bill's Last Ride
DESCRIPTION: "Riding on an eastbound freight train, speeding through the night, Hobo Bill, a railroad bum, was fighting for his life." Bill dies alone and is found with a smile on his face, but none mourn; "he was just a railroad bum who died out in the cold."
AUTHOR: Waldo O'Neal (born 1908, according to Cohen)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (recording, Jimmie Rodgers)
KEYWORDS: death hobo
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Cohen-LSRail, pp. 393-396, "Hobo Bill's Last Ride" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7513
RECORDINGS:
Gene Autry, "Hobo Bill's Last Ride" (Supertone 9702)
Frank Marvin, "Hobo Bill's Last Ride" (Banner 773/Domino 4601/Jewel 6024/Challenge 785/Romeo 1388/Conqueror 7592 [all as Frankie Wallace], 1930) (Brunswick 474, rec. 1930)
Jimmie Rodgers, "Hobo Bill's Last Ride" (Victor 22421, 1930; rec. 1929/Montgomery Ward 4210)
File: LRai393
===
NAME: Hobo Diddle De Ho: see Old Bob Ridley (Hobo Diddle De Ho) (File: R499)
===
NAME: Hobo from the T & P Line, The
DESCRIPTION: Singer, a hobo, gets a job in (Wellford). He courts the boss's daughter; the boss calls him "a bummer, all dressed up." Bidding farewell to the daughter, he sets off down the road with tears in his eyes, vowing to return
AUTHOR: Almoth Hodges & Bob Miller?
EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (recording, Almoth Hodges w. Bob Miller's Hinky Dinkers)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer, a hobo, lands in (Wellford), is hired by a boss who gives him easy work and treats him well. He and the boss's daughter court; the boss calls him in, saying, "They say you're a bummer, all dressed up." Singer tells boss he does his work well; if the boss doesn't like it, he'll leave. Bidding farewell to the daughter, he sets off down the road with tears in his eyes, vowing to return
KEYWORDS: grief courting love rambling work boss worker hobo
FOUND_IN: US(SW)
REFERENCES: (0 citations)
RECORDINGS:
Almoth Hodges with Bob Miller's Hinky Dinkers, "The Hobo from the T & P Line" (Brunswick 399 [in two parts], probably 1930; rec. 1929; Part 1 is on Rose1)
Clayton McMichen, "Bummin' on the I. C. Line" (Varsity 5097, 1930s)
Mary Sullivan, "The T & P Line" (AFS 5099 A, 1941; on LC61)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Farmer's Boy [Laws Q30]" (plot) and references there
NOTES: The "T & P" was the Texas and Pacific Railroad. - PJS
File: RcTHFTPL
===
NAME: Hobo's Grave, The
DESCRIPTION: Singer comes upon a hobo's grave. The wolves howl over it; the box cars roll on, but the hobo, his father's only son, his mother's pride, lies at rest. There's no stone to mark the spot, no one to watch over it, "none to direct the money or the checque"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1957 (recording, Tom Brandon)
KEYWORDS: loneliness grief burial death mourning hobo
FOUND_IN: Canada(Ont)
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #4825
RECORDINGS:
Tom Brandon, "The Hobo's Grave" (on Ontario1)
NOTES: The lyrics sound like a commercial "hobo song" from the 1920s, or perhaps a poem, but so far I haven't been able to locate a source from that period. Tom Brandon says he learned it from his brother, who worked in northern Ontario in the 1930s.
The reference to "the money or the checque" suggests the hobo may have been a "remittance man," perhaps an English ne'er-do-well shipped off to Canada and supported by an allowance so that he wouldn't embarrass his wealthy family. - PJS
File: RcHobGra
===
NAME: Hobo's Last Ride (I), The
DESCRIPTION: A hobo lifts his dying partner Jack into a boxcar, then reminisces about their past. He is keeping his promise to take Jack back home to be buried. He sighs for the old days and "for his pal so cold/Who was taking his last long ride"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (recording, Buell Kazee)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: A hobo lifts his dying partner Jack into a boxcar, then reminisces to him as they ride about the places they've been and the lines they've ridden. He is keeping his promise to take Jack back home to be buried, and laments the doctor who was "too busy with the wealthy folks/To doctor a worn-out bum." As the train rolls east, he sighs for the old days and "for his pal so cold/Who was taking his last long ride"
KEYWORDS: grief poverty rambling train travel burial death dying friend hobo
FOUND_IN: US(SE) Canada
REFERENCES: (0 citations)
RECORDINGS:
Buell Kazee, "The Hobo's Last Ride" (Brunswick 330, 1929; Supertone S-2056, 1930)
Goebel Reeves, "The Hobo's Last Long Ride" (MacGregor 858, n.d.)
Hank Snow, "The Last Ride" (RCA Victor, c. 1959)
Art Thieme, "The Hobo's Last Ride" (on Thieme03)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Dying Hobo" [Laws H3] (plot)
NOTES: Despite the obvious similarity in plot, this is an entirely separate song from "The Dying Hobo."
The Kazee and Reeves recordings use a tune that Kazee composed as a setting for a poem by A. L. Kirby, which he said he found in a book of Northwest poems. Hank Snow's recording, cited above, uses a different tune, possibly composed by Ted Daffan. To confuse things, Snow recorded another song called "The Hobo's Last Ride," which we have indexed separately as "Hobo's Last Ride (II)."- PJS
File: RcTHLR
===
NAME: Hobo's Lullabye
DESCRIPTION: "Go to sleep you weary hobo, Let the town drift slowly by. Listen to the steel rails humming, That's the hobo's lullabye." The hobo is urged not to think about tomorrow, to ignore the police (who will not be found in heaven), and to remember mother's love
AUTHOR: Goebel Reeves
EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (recording, Goebel Reeves)
KEYWORDS: hobo rambling lullaby
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Silber-FSWB, p. 410, "Hobo's Lullabye" (1 text)
DT, HOBOLULL*
Roud #16629
RECORDINGS:
Goebel Reeves, "Hobo's Lullabye" (Champion 45181, 1936); (Vocalion 02828, 1934)
NOTES: Although composed, this has become so popular that I think it qualifies as a genuine folk song. Woody Guthrie, for instance, was very fond of it, and many people must have learned it from his singing. - RBW
File: FSWB410C
===
NAME: Hoboes Grand Convention, The
DESCRIPTION: "If you give me your attention, A few facts I will mention Concerning a convention That was held last fall." The hoboes gather in Montreal, and have a quiet convention, "For every bum was loaded To the neck with alcohol."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Flanders/Brown)
KEYWORDS: hobo party drink
FOUND_IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Flanders/Brown, pp. 51-52, "The Hoboes Grand Convention" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, HOBOCONV*
ST FlBr051 (Partial)
Roud #5445
NOTES: Unlike most hobo songs, this one is clearly unsympathetic to the hobos; it equates them directlly with bums and indirectly with thieves. - RBW
File: FlBr051
===
NAME: Hobson, the Cobbler: see The Cobbler (I) (File: R102)
===
NAME: Hoe-Cake, The: see Jinny Get Your Hoecake Done (File: Fus158C)
===
NAME: Hoffnung, De
DESCRIPTION: Hugill lists this as a German version of "Long Time Ago." Translated text tells of a captain making a deal with the devil to get him to port on time. The Devil complies but then the Captain gets the best of him by splicing his tail to the anchor.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (Hugill)
KEYWORDS: shanty sailor Devil bargaining trick
FOUND_IN: Germany
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hugill, pp. 104-105, "De Hoffnung" (2 texts-German & English)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "A Long Time Ago" (tune, chorus)
cf. "Tying a Knot in the Devil's Tail" [Laws B17] (theme)
File: Hugi104
===
NAME: Hog Drovers
DESCRIPTION: Playparty. "Hog drovers (x3) we air, A-courtin' your daughter so handsome and fair. Kin we get a largin' here?" The father turns them down. Others (gold miners, cowboys, etc.) ask for her hand. Most are rejected; one (a farmer?) may be acceptable
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1898 (Gomme)
KEYWORDS: courting playparty rejection father children
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Randolph 555, "Hog Rovers" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hudson 148, pp. 296-297, "Hog Drovers" (1 text)
Lomax-FSNA 207, "Hog Drovers" (1 text, 1 tune)
Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 810-812, "Swine-Herders (Hog Drovers)" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST LoF207 (Full)
Roud #3596
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Three Dukes" (plot, lyrics)
NOTES: Randolph reports that this is based on the Irish game "The Nine Daughters." - RBW
File: LoF207
===
NAME: Hog Rovers: see Hog Drovers (File: LoF207)
===
NAME: Hog-Eye (I): see Roll the Boat Ashore (Hog-eye I) (File: San380)
===
NAME: Hog-eye (II): see Sally in the Garden (File: CSW067)
===
NAME: Hog-Eye Man (I), The
DESCRIPTION: The Hog-Eye Man [read: "The Vagina-hungry Man"] meets Sally or Jenny or Molly who is lying in the grass or the sand and who does good service with him.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1922
KEYWORDS: bawdy shanty sex
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (8 citations)
Randolph-Legman I, pp. 401-404, "The Hog-Eye Man" (8 texts, 1 tune)
Colcord, p. 104, "The Hog-Eye Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Harlow, pp. 54-55, "The Hog-Eye Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill, pp. 269-272, "The Hog-Eye Man" (3 texts & several fragments, 3 tunes) [AbEd, pp. 199-200]
Sharp-EFC, V, p. 6, "The Hog-Eyed Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sandburg, pp. 410-411, "The Hog-Eye Man" (1 fragment, 1 tune, evidently bowdlerized)
DT, HOGEYEMN*
ADDITIONAL: Captain John Robinson, "Songs of the Chantey Man," a series published July-August 1917 in the periodical _The Bellman_ (Minneapolis, MN, 1906-1919). "The Ox-eyed Man" is in Part 4, 8/4/1917.
Roud #331
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Sally in the Garden" (the "clean" version of this piece)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Ox-Eye Man
The Hogs-Eye Man
The Hawks Eye Man
Oh, Who's Been Here?
NOTES: Ed Cray explains "hog-eye man" as one deeply interested in sex. Sandburg explains a "hog-eye" as the barges that traveled from the Atlantic ports around Cape Horn to San Francisco. A "hog-eye man" would therefore be a crewmember of such a barge.
Give the length of the voyage around the Horn in the 1850s, the two definitions may not be mutually exclusive. - RBW
"Oh, Who's Been Here?" is quoted by Hugill, from a shanty which Cecil Sharp gave in the Journal of the Folk Song Society. Hugill only quotes one line, which has the same melody and very similar words as "Hog-Eye Man" though not the usual "Hog-eye" chorus. - SL
File: RL401
===
NAME: Hog-Eye Man (II): see Roll the Boat Ashore (Hog-eye I) (File: San380)
===
NAME: Hog-eyed Man (III), The: see Sally in the Garden (File: CSW067)
===
NAME: Hog-tub, The
DESCRIPTION: Singer is invited home by his "pretty young lass." She pushes him in the hog-tub and, had not a friend come by to save him, he would have drowned. He takes his love to a dance. He defends kissing: if bad it would not have approval of parsons and ladies.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1846 (Halliwell, according to Opie-Oxford2)
KEYWORDS: courting rejection rescue dancing Bible humorous
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Opie-Oxford2 298, "It's once I courted as pretty a lass" (1 fragment)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #282, pp. 165-166, "(It's once I courted as pretty a lass)"
Roud #1273
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth b.33(36), "The Hog-tub," unknown, n.d.
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Kissing's No Sin (I)" (theme, lyrics)
NOTES: Opie-Oxford2 298, "It's once I courted as pretty a lass" has only the first verse. The description is from broadside Bodleian Firth b.33(36). - BS
There is a very complicated situation here, with "The Hog-Tub" sharing lyrics with "Kissing's No Sin (I)," which shares them with "The Mautman." I have no idea how these strands are to be disentangled. For more, see the notes to "Kissing's No Sin (I)." - RBW
File: OO2298
===
NAME: Hogan's Lake
DESCRIPTION: "Come all you brisk young fellows that assemble here tonight, Assist my bold endeavors while these few lines I write...." The singer tells of the exploits of the logging gang Bill and Tom Hogan led to Hogan's Lake
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1957 (Fowke-Lumbering)
KEYWORDS: logger work
FOUND_IN: Canada(Que)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Fowke-Lumbering #6, "Hogan's Lake" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 174-176, "Hogan's Lake" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/MacMillan 20, "Hogan's Lake" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST FMB174 (Partial)
Roud #3682
RECORDINGS:
O. J. Abbott, "Hogan's Lake" (on Lumber01)
File: FMB174
===
NAME: Hogs in the Garden
DESCRIPTION: "Hogs in the garden, catch 'em, Towser; Cows in the corn-field, run, boys, run! Cats in the cream-pot, run, girls, run; Fire on the mountain, run, boys, run!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1843 (Only True Mother Goose's Melodies)
KEYWORDS: animal
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #660, p. 260, "(Hogs in the garden, catch 'em, Towser)"
File: BGMG660
===
NAME: Hold My Hand, Lord Jesus
DESCRIPTION: "Hold my hand, Lord Jesus, hold my hand (x2), There's a race that must be run, And a vict'ry to be won. Every hour, give me power, to go through." The devotion of the singer to Jesus is emphasized
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (Warner)
KEYWORDS: religious Jesus nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Warner 169, "Hold My Hand, Lord Jesus" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, LORDJSUS*
Roud #7487
RECORDINGS:
Sue Thomas, "Hold My Hand, Lord Jesus" (on USWarnerColl01)
File: Wa169
===
NAME: Hold My Mule: see Coffee Grows (Four in the Middle); also Little Pink, etc. (File: R524)
===
NAME: Hold On: see Keep Your Hand on the Plow (File: LxU111)
===
NAME: Hold On, Abraham
DESCRIPTION: "We're going down to Dixie, to Dixie, to Dixie... To fight for the dear old flag.... Hold on, Abraham... Uncle Sam's boys are coming right along." The song catalogs soldiers and generals who are fighting to recover the South for the Union
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1915
KEYWORDS: Civilwar battle nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 529-530, "Hold On, Abraham" (1 text)
Roud #15567
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "We Are Coming, Father Abraham"
NOTES: The chorus of this song implies kinship with "We Are Coming, Father Abraham," but the verses are completely different.
The mention of 600,000 enlistees does not exactly match any of Lincoln's calls for enlistments (the closest was the 1861 authorization of a 500,000 man army), but two levies in the summer of 1862 totalled 600,000 men.
A date of late 1862 also fits the list of generals mentioned in the song, all of whom were in senior posts in 1862 (but often replaced by 1863). Among those listed:
"General Grant": Ulysses S. Grant, eventual Union high commander, who by late 1862 had already captured Fort Henry and Fort Donelson as well as the bloody battle of Shiloh.
"Our Halleck": Henry W. Halleck, who never actually fought a battle as a Union general, but was Grant's theatre commander and received credit for all victories in the west. A good organizer, the one time he led armies in the field (Corinth campaign, late spring 1862), he showed so little initiative that he took a month to cover 20 miles in the face of slight resistance. Despite this, he was promoted to command of all Union armies in July 1862. He held the post until 1864, when Grant took over the job.
"Bold Kenney": There was no Union General Kenney. The reference is probably to General Philip Kearny, probably the most aggressive and competent officer in the Army of the Potomac (though he was only a division commander). He was killed at Chantilly on Sept. 1, 1862.
"General Burnside": Ambrose Burnside, commander of the Army of the Potomac in the final months of 1862. A complete incompetent, he lost the Battle of Fredericksburg and was returned to subordinate roles for the rest of the war.
"Picayune Butler": Benjamin F. Butler, called "Old Picayune" (apparently a reference to a female character, "Picayune Butler," in the minstrel song of that title).
Butler was a complete incompetent, but he managed to remain a general for years because of his political connections. In late 1862 he was commander of occupied New Orleans, and so brutal and corrupt that the southerners called him "Beast Butler" and accused him of stealing spoons with his own hands. - RBW
File: LxA529
===
NAME: Hold Out to the End
DESCRIPTION: "All them Mount Zion member, they have many ups and downs, But cross come or no come, for to hold out to the end. Hold out to the end, hold out to the end, It is my 'termination for to hold out to the end."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Allen/Ware/Garrison, p. 57, "Hold Out to the End" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #12016
NOTES: Inspired, I suspect, by chapter 13 of Mark, or its parallels -- Jesus's apocalypse shortly before his arrest. Mark 13:13 reads, in the King James translation. "He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." - RBW
File: AWG057A
===
NAME: Hold the Fort
DESCRIPTION: "Ho, my comrades, see the signal, Waving in the sky; Reinforcements now appearing, Victory is nigh. 'Hold the Fort, for I am coming,' Jesus signals still...." The "great Commander" will defeat Satan's "mighty host."
AUTHOR: Philip Paul Bliss (1838-1876)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1880
KEYWORDS: religious battle nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Silber-CivWar, pp. 82-83, "Hold the Fort" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 363, "Hold the Fort" (1 text)
DT, HOLDFRT2*
RECORDINGS:
Chautauqua Preachers' Quartette, "Hold The Fort" (Columbia A1585, 1914)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Hold the Fort (Union Version)"
SAME_TUNE:
Hold the Fort (Union Version) (File: PSAFB020)
Storm the Fort, Ye Knights (Darling-NAS, pp. 371-372)
Columbia's Daughters (by Harriet H. Robinson; Darling-NAS, p. 358)
NOTES: Inspired by, though hardly based on, a Civil War event. After Atlanta had fallen to the Union, Sherman set up a supply dump at Allatoona. A Confederate force under General French attacked this base on October 5, 1864, and called upon Union General Corse to surrender. Soon after, General Sherman send a simple message to Corse: "Hold the fort; I am coming." Corse held out, and Sherman's troops arrived in time to drive off French.
For more on Philip Paul Bliss, see the notes to "Let the Lower Lights Be Burning." - RBW
File: SCW82
===
NAME: Hold the Fort (Union Version)
DESCRIPTION: Rewrite of traditional hymn: "Hold the fort, for we are coming/Union men be strong/Side by side we battle onward/Victory will come"
AUTHOR: Tune by Philip Paul Bliss (1838-1876); words attributed to English transport workers, late 19th century and said to have been circulated by the Knights of Labor
EARLIEST_DATE: 1955 (recording, Pete Seeger)
KEYWORDS: labor-movement nonballad worker derivative
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
PSeeger-AFB, p. 20 "Hold the Fort" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 372-373, "Hold the Fort" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 138, "Hold the Fort" (1 text)
DT, HOLDFORT*
RECORDINGS:
Pete Seeger, "Hold the Fort" (on PeteSeeger01)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Hold the Fort" (tune) and references there
File: PSAFB020
===
NAME: Hold the Wind
DESCRIPTION: "Hold the wind (x3), Don't let it blow." "You may talk about me just as much as you please... I'm gonna talk about you on the bendin' of my knees." The singer assures us that (s)he, at least, has been redeemed, and plans to enjoy Heaven
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (recording, Sparkling Four)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Lomax-FSNA 247, "Hold the Wind" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #11946
RECORDINGS:
Famous Garland Jubilee Singers, "Hold the Wind" (Banner 32249, 1931; Conqeror 8354 [as Bryant's Jubilee Singers], 1934)
Sparkling Four, "Hold the Wind" (OKeh 8741, 1929)
Southern University Quartet, "Hold the Wind" (Bluebird B-5846, 1935)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "On My Journey (II) [Mount Zion]" (floating verse)
File: LoF247
===
NAME: Hold the Woodpile Down
DESCRIPTION: Original and floating verses: "Saw my love the other night/Hold the woodpile down/Everything wrong and nothing was right...." Chorus: "But I was a-travelling, travelling/As long as the world goes round/For the backyard shine on the Georgia line/Hold...."
AUTHOR: unknown (verses possibly Uncle Dave Macon)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (recording, Sam Patterson Trio)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Original and floating verses: "Saw my love the other night/Hold the woodpile down/Everything wrong and nothing was right/Hold the woodpile down"; "Gave her a little kiss to make her happy/Gave me a little love lick and in came her pappy"; "Come to town the other night/Heard a lot of noise and seen a big fight/Police running and jumping all round/Load of moonshine done come to town"; "Down in the packinghouse, stole a ham/Folks don't know how bad I am/Carried it home and I laid it on the shelf/I'm so bad, I'm scared of myself." Chorus: "But I was a-travelling, travelling/As long as the world goes round/For the backyard shine on the Georgia line/Hold the woodpile down."
KEYWORDS: courting drink humorous nonsense floatingverses
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 210-212, "Hold That Woodpile Down" (1 text, 1 tune)
RECORDINGS:
Uncle Dave Macon & his Fruit Jar Drinkers, "Hold That Wood-Pile Down" (Vocalion 5151, 1927)
New Lost City Ramblers, "Hold That Woodpile Down" (on NLCR03)
Sam Patterson Trio, "Haul De Woodpile Down" (Edison 51644, 1925)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Roll the Woodpile Down" (chorus)
NOTES: This song is a conundrum. The verses are pure minstrel (Uncle Dave played minstrel shows in his youth), but the chorus is almost identical to that of "Roll the Woodpile Down," a chanty from African-American riverboat workers: "Rolling, rolling/Yes, rolling the whole world around/That brown gal of mine's down the Georgia line/And we'll roll the woodpile down." Other versions of "Hold the Woodpile Down" say, "Black gals shine on the Georgia line", which is closer to the chanty form. -PJS
I'll admit that I would have classified this as a "Dave Macon-ised" version of "Roll the Woodpile Down" -- but Paul has probably examined the matter more than I have. - RBW
File: CSW210
===
NAME: Hold Your Hands, Old Man: see The Maid Freed from the Gallows [Child 95] (File: C095)
===
NAME: Hold Your Light
DESCRIPTION: "What make ole Satan da follow me so? Satan hain't nothin' all all for to do with me. (Run Seeker.) Hold your light (Sister Mary), Hold your light (Seeker turn back), Hold your light on Canaan's shore."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad Devil
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Allen/Ware/Garrison, p. 10, "Hold Your Light" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #11851
File: AWH010A
===
NAME: Hold-Up at Eugowra Rocks, The: see The Morning of the Fray (File: FaE084)
===
NAME: Hole In The Wall, The
DESCRIPTION: "On a Saturday night the crowd were invited to be there on Sunday to open the ball ... I'll title the harbour 'The Hole In The Wall.'" The singer, a stranger on this shore, "saw at a glance that the girls they were plenty ... We danced the whole night."
AUTHOR: Peter Leonard
EARLIEST_DATE: 1955 (Doyle)
KEYWORDS: dancing party shore
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Doyle3, pp. 69-70, "The Hole In The Wall" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lehr/Best 52, "The Hole in the Wall" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #4416
NOTES: Lehr/Best: The song "refers to the village of Little Bona in Placentia Bay." - BS
File: Doyl3069
===
NAME: Holland Handkerchief, The: see The Suffolk Miracle [Child 272] (File: C272)
===
NAME: Holland is a Fine Place: see The Lowlands of Holland (File: R083)
===
NAME: Holland Song, The: see The Sheffield Apprentice [Laws O39] (File: LO39)
===
NAME: Hollin, Green Hollin
DESCRIPTION: "Alone in the greenwood I must roam, Hollin, green hollin, A shade of green leaves is my home, Birk and green hollin." "Where nought is seen but boundless green." "A weary head a pillow finds." "Enough for me... To live at large with liberty."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1964 (Montgomerie)
KEYWORDS: home rambling nonballad
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Montgomerie-ScottishNR 116, "(Alone in the greenwood I must roam)" (1 text)
NOTES: This doesn't sound much like a folk song, but it apparently made some popular poetry anthologies, so I thought I'd better include it for future reference. - RBW
File: MSNR116
===
NAME: Holly and the Ivy, The
DESCRIPTION: "The holly and the ivy, when they are both full grown, Of all the trees that are in the wood, The holly bears the crown." The holly's attributes are detailed; each ties to a reason Mary bore Jesus
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1861 (Sylvester's "Christmas Carols")
KEYWORDS: religious Christmas Jesus nonballad
FOUND_IN: Britain(England)
REFERENCES: (6 citations)
OBC 38, "The Holly and the Ivy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 383, "The Holly And The Ivy" (1 text)
Bronson 54, "The Cherry Tree Carol" (version #29 contains a scrap of "The Holly and the Ivy")
DT, HOLLYIVY*
ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #228, "The Holly and the Ivy" (1 text)
Ian Bradley, _The Penguin Book of Carols_ (1999), #78, "The Holly and the Ivy" (1 text)
Roud #514
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Holly Bears a Berry" (theme, lyrics)
NOTES: This clearly derives from the same roots as "The Holly Bears a Berry," and a strong case could be made that they should be considered one song. [Indeed, Kennedy lumps them. - PJS. As does Roud. - RBW] As, however, both are circulated in fairly fixed forms, I decided to separate them.
Elizabeth Jenkins, _The Princes in the Tower_ (Coward, McCann, & Geoghan, 1978), p. 32, for some reason quotes this song in connection with the 1464 marriage of England's King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. She does not, however, justify the inclusion in any way I can see. - RBW
File: FSWB383
===
NAME: Holly Bears a Berry, The
DESCRIPTION: "The holly she bears a berry as white as the milk/And Mary bore Jesus who was wrapped up in silk"; similarly "... berry red as the blood/...to do sinners good", "green as the grass/...who died on the cross."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Dunstan)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: "The holly she bears a berry as white as the milk/And Mary bore Jesus who was wrapped up in silk", similar verses for "The holly bears a berry as red as the blood/...to do sinners good", "green as the grass/...who died on the cross." Cho.: "And Mary bore Jesus Christ our Saviour for to be/And the first tree that's in the greenwood it was the holly"
KEYWORDS: religious Christmas Jesus nonballad
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South))
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Kennedy 91, "'Ma Grun War 'n Gelynen [The Holly Bears a Berry]" (1 text, 1 tune)
OBC 35, "Sans Day Carol" (1 text, 1 tune)
Bronson 54, "The Cherry Tree Carol" (version #27 contains "The Holly Bears a Berry")
Ritchie-Southern, p. 42, "The Holly Bears a Berry" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, HOLLYBR*
Roud #514
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Holly and the Ivy" (theme, lyrics)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Sans Day Carol
NOTES: This clearly derives from the same roots as "The Holly and the Ivy," and a strong case could be made that they should be considered one song. [Indeed, Kennedy lumps them. - PJS] As, however, both are circulated in fairly fixed forms, I decided to separate them. - RBW
Agreed. Norma Waterson, incidentally, places this as a spring carol, appropriate between Passiontide and Easter. Kennedy's Cornish words are a revivalist translation from the English. - PJS
According to the Oxford Book of Carols, the title the "Sans Day Carol" does not mean "Carol Without a Day," nor is it a reference to [All] Saints' Day; rather, the song was taken down as St. Day in Cormwall.
Jean Ritchie learned this in the United States, but it was not from her family tradition; I have not listed it as found in the Appalachians, because she does not give full details about the source of her version. - RBW
File: K091
===
NAME: Holly Bough, The/The Maid of Altibrine
DESCRIPTION: "In Altibrine there lives a maid, a maid of beauty rare, The violet or primrose with her never could compare." He praises her beauty, and offers to take her away. The girl (?) says that her dowry is too small. He says that the holly will never fade
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love courting beauty dowry
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H111, pp. 229-230, "The Holly Bough/The Maid of Altibrine" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7981
File: HHH111
===
NAME: Holly Twig, The [Laws Q6]
DESCRIPTION: The singer finds that his new wife is a scold and a nag. He recounts his misery day by day. After a few days he goes to the woods and cuts a (holly twig), (whipping her so hard her soul is sent to hell). (A devil/her father comes to take her back).
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1760 (_West Country Garlands_)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: On Monday the singer marries; on Tuesday he cuts a holly stick; on Wednesday he beats her with the stick until it breaks. On Thursday she takes sick (presumably from the beating); he says if she isn't better by tomorrow the devil can take her. On Friday the devil takes her. On Saturday the bells toll her death and the singer is jolly. On Sunday he relaxes alone, saying "Here's good luck to a week's work's end."
KEYWORDS: husband wife abuse violence death
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(West,South)) US(Ap,MW,SE,So)
REFERENCES: (12 citations)
Laws Q6, "The Holly Twig"
Randolph 367, "I Married Me a Wife" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownII 184, "The Holly Twig" (2 texts)
Chappell-FSRA 43, "The Holly Twig" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Hudson 58, pp. 174-175, "The Holly Twig" (1 text)
SharpAp 53, "The Holly Twig" (3 texts, 3 tunes)
MHenry-Appalachians, p. 246, "The Holy Twig" (sic.) (1 text, which the singer knew to be defective and in which the wood, rather than being holly, is willow)
Shellans, pp. 16-17, "The Brisk Young Bachelor" (1 text, 1 tune)
Niles 59, "The Unwilling Bride" (1 text, 1 tune, listed as Child 277 but appearing to me to be more similar to this ballad)
Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, pp. 78-79, "On Monday Morning" (1 text, 1 tune)
Abrahams/Foss, pp. 72-73, "Scolding Wife" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 520, HOLLYTWG*
Roud #433
RECORDINGS:
Ollie Gilbert, "Willow Green" (on LomaxCD1707)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Wife Wrapt in Wether's Skin" [Child 277] (plot)
cf. "A Week's Matrimony (A Week's Work)" (theme)
cf. "The Old Gray Goose (I)"
cf. "I Had a Wife"
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
A Week's Work Well Done
A Bachelor Bold and Young
File: LQ06
===
NAME: Holmes Camp
DESCRIPTION: "It was early last April when the logging was done I went to Fort Francis to join in the fun. My intentions were good -- one drink and no more...." But he (and others) get drunk; he hits on a girl, is rejected, has a headache, vows not to get drunk again
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1963 (Fowke)
KEYWORDS: logger drink rejection
FOUND_IN: Canada(West)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Fowke-Lumbering #48, "Holmes Camp" (1 text, tune referenced)
Roud #4562
File: FowL48
===
NAME: Holy Babe, The: see Children Go Where I Send Thee (File: LoF254)
===
NAME: Holy Ground Once More, The: see Swansea Town (The Holy Ground) (File: Doe152)
===
NAME: Holy Ground, The: see Swansea Town (The Holy Ground) (File: Doe152)
===
NAME: Holy Is the Lamb of God
DESCRIPTION: "O holy Lord, holy my Lord, holy Lord, Holy is the lamb of God. I was in the dark and I could not see... Till Jesus brought this light to me." "If you talk about shouting here below... Just wait till you get upon the other shore."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (Chappell)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad Jesus
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Chappell-FSRA 97, "Holy Is the Lamb of God" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #16939
NOTES: The most famous reference to the Lamb of God is of course John 1:29, "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world." Though the Lamb as an actual being, as opposed to a metaphor, is found in the Apocalypse only, starting at Rev. 5:6. - RBW
File: ChFRA097
===
NAME: Holy Nunnery, The [Child 303]
DESCRIPTION: Willie's parents vow that he shall not marry Annie. Told of this, Annie vows to become a nun and never kiss a man again. After seven years, Willie can bear no more; he dresses as a woman and goes to see Annie in the nunnery. She will not break her vow
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1828 (Buchan)
KEYWORDS: love separation father mother clergy disguise cross-dressing
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Child 303, "The Holy Nunnery" (1 text)
Leach, pp. 686-689, "The Holy Nunnery" (1 text)
Roud #3886
File: C303
===
NAME: Holy Twig, The: see The Holly Twig [Laws Q6] (File: LQ06)
===
NAME: Holy Well, The
DESCRIPTION: Mary sends Jesus out to play. He meets a group of noble children, who scorn him as poor. Jesus bitterly runs home to Mary. She urges him to curse/damn them. Jesus, as the worlds's savior, realizes he cannot do so
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1828 (broadside, Bodleian Johnson Ballads 1484)
KEYWORDS: abuse Jesus poverty
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South,West))
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Leach, pp. 690-691, "The Holy Well" (1 text)
Leather, pp. 186-187, "The Holy Well" (1 text, 2 tunes)
OBB 110, "The Holy Well" (1 text)
OBC 56, "The Holy Well" (1 text, 2 tunes)
PBB 9, "The Holy Well" (1 text)
ST L690 (Partial)
Roud #1697
RECORDINGS:
Wiggy Smith, "The High-Low Well" (on Voice11)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Johnson Ballads 1484, "The Holy Well" ("As it fell out one May morning"), T. Wood (Birmingham), 1806-1827; also Douce adds. 137(12), Harding B 7(10), "The Holy Well"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Bitter Withy" (plot)
File: L690
===
NAME: Home Brew Rag
DESCRIPTION: "Well, I've never been drunk but about one time, And it think it was on home brew; If you ever drink any brew yourself, You know just what it'll do.... Ick-poo, home brew, We know what we'll do." The singer proposes a little drink to test the brew
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (recording, Roanoke Jug Band)
KEYWORDS: drink
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: ()
ST RcHoBreR (Full)
RECORDINGS:
Roanoke Jug Band, "Home Brew Rag" (OKeh 45393, 1929)
Lowe Stokes & His North Georgians, "Home Brew Rag" (Columbia 15241-D)
File: RcHoBreR
===
NAME: Home Brew Song, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer "makes the whiskey That some people calls home brew." He is arrested and taken for trial to Newcastle. Condemned by a woman's testimony, he is sentenced to $200 or 6 months. He chooses bug-ridden prison because "they feed on bread and tea"
AUTHOR: Frank O'Hara (Manny/Wilson)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1947 (Manny/Wilson)
KEYWORDS: crime prison trial food drink humorous bug
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Manny/Wilson 21, "The Home Brew Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST MaWi021 (Partial)
Roud #9192
SAME_TUNE:
Manny/Wilson: "The Home Brew Song was written in Prohibition Days by Frank O'Hara of Grey Rapids while he was serving a term in the County Jail for selling home brew." - BS
File: MaWi021
===
NAME: Home Came the Old Man: see Four Nights Drunk [Child 274] (File: C274)
===
NAME: Home I Left Behind, The
DESCRIPTION: "An Irish boy he sat alone by Susquehanna shore" thinking sadly of "the home he left behind." He recalls summer, dances, and a girl in Ireland. He and his widowed mother were driven from home "when landlord, bailiffs and police broke in our cottage door"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1987 (Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan)
KEYWORDS: homesickness emigration separation dancing hardtimes America Ireland nonballad mother landlord
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan 46, "The Home I Left Behind" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5235
RECORDINGS:
Tom Lenihan, "The Home I Left Behind" (on IRTLenihan01)
File: RcHILBh
===
NAME: Home in that Rock
DESCRIPTION: "I've got a home in(-a) that rock, don't you see, don't you see? Up between earth and sky, Though I heard my savior cry, 'You've got a home....'" The fates of Dives and Lazarus are alluded to, or David, or Judas, or the happy fate of Noah
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1920 (recording, Biddle University Quartet)
KEYWORDS: Bible religious
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
BrownIII 608, "Little David" (1 short text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 355, "Home In That Rock" (1 text)
Roud #12209
RECORDINGS:
Elder Charles Beck, "I Got a Home In That Rock" (Eagle 103, n.d.)
Biddle University Quartet, "I've Got a Home In That Rock" (Pathe 22400, 1920/Perfect 11225, 1925)
Birmingham Jubilee Singers, "Home in that Rock" (Columbia 14163-D, 1926)
Carter Family, "God Gave Noah the Rainbow Sign" (Victor V-40110, 1929) (Conqueror 8693, 1936)
J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers "Got a Home In That Rock" (Bluebird B-6539, 1936)
Otis Mote, "Home in the Rock" (OKeh 45429, 1930)
Paul Robeson, "I Got a Home In-a Dat Rock" (Victor 21109, 1927)
Smith's Jubilee Singers, "I've Got a Home in That Rock" (Sterling 1503, n.d.)
Marshall Smith, "Home in the Rock" (Columbia 15080-D, 1926)
Kid Williams & Bill Morgan [pseuds. for Walter Smith & Lewis McDaniel], "When He Died He Got a Home in Hell" (Homestead 16094, c. 1929; Conqueror 7739, 1931)
NOTES: The editors of Brown think that their "Little David" version is linked to "Little David, Play On Your Harp." That may perhaps have asserted some influence, but the final line, "He got [or "lost," in the case of Judas] a home in that rock, don't you see?" strikes me as the key characteristic.
The parable (not an actual historical event!) of the rich man ("Dives") and Lazarus is found in Luke 16:19-31. The story of Noah's flood is in Genesis 6-8, with the covenant of the rainbow in Gen. 9:12-17. - RBW
File: FSWB355A
===
NAME: Home on the Mountain Wave, A
DESCRIPTION: Chorus: "Ha ha my boys, these are the joys of the noble and the brave, who love the life in the tempest's strife and a home on the mountain wave." Several verses basically describing the thrills of sailing, especially in stormy weather.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1860 (Broadside)
KEYWORDS: sailor storm foc's'le
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Harlow, pp. 214-216, "A Home on the Mountain Wave" (1 text)
Roud #9152
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Mountain Wave
A Bold Brave Crew
NOTES: This is found on two broadsides in the Bodleian collection, published in New York and Philadelphia. - SL
File: Harl214
===
NAME: Home on the Range
DESCRIPTION: "Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam...." The singer praises the land of the west, "Where the sky is not cloudy all day." Details vary from version to version, and besides, you all know the song anyway....
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1873 (lyrics published in Smith County [KS] Pioneer)
KEYWORDS: cowboy home
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (9 citations)
Randolph 193, "Home on the Range" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Larkin, pp. 166-168, "Home on the Range" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSUSA 62, "Home on the Range" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fife-Cowboy/West 108, "Home on the Range" (3 texts, 1 tune)
PSeeger-AFB, p. 26, "Home On The Range" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 49, "Home on the Range" (1 text)
Saffel-CowboyP, pp. 178-179, "Home on the Range" (1 text)
Fuld-WFM, pp. 273-274, "Home on the Range"
DT, HOMERANG
Roud #3599
RECORDINGS:
Jules Allen, "Home On The Range" (Victor 21627, 1928; Montgomery Ward M-4343, 1933)
Arkansas Woodchopper [pseud. for Luther Ossenbrink], "Home on the Range" (Supertone 9571, c. 1929)
Black Bros., "Home on the Range" (OKeh 45572, 1932)
Vernon Dalhart, "Home on the Range" (Brunswick 137, 1927)
Hank Keene, "Home on the Range" (Bluebird B-5241/Montgomery Ward M-4397, 1933)
Frank Luther Trio, "Home on the Range" (Banner 32966/Perfect 12975 [both as Buddy Spencer's Trio], 1933; Conqueror 8273 [as Buddy Spencer Trio], 1934)
Frank Luther & Carson Robison, "Home on the Range" (Columbia 2642-D, 1932)
Ken Maynard, "Home on the Range" (Columbia test recording, c. 1930; on MakeMe, WhenIWas2)
Patt Patterson & Lois Dexter, "Home on the Range" Perfect 12650, 1930 [as "A Home on the Range"]; Conqueror 7711, 1931)
Red River Dave, "Home on the Range" (Sonora 1063, n.d.)
Roy Rogers, "Home on the Range" (RCA Victor 21-0077, 1949)
Pete Seeger, "Home on the Range" (on PeteSeeger17, CowFolkCD1)
SAME_TUNE:
Toys, Beautiful Toys (Pankake-PHCFSB, pp. 32-33)
Alaska: Home on the Snow (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 243)
Frank Luther & Trio, "Home on the Range Part 5/Part 6" (Decca 1429, 1937)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Western Home
Arizona Home
NOTES: Various candidates have been proposed as the author of this piece, e.g. Daniel Kelley and Dr. Brewster Higley (1873; for this story, see Fuld), "C.O. Swartz... and other prospectors" (1885), and probably others. Given the feel of the piece, it seems likely that there is only a single author -- but I'd have a hard time saying WHICH single author.
Various adaptions have been published over the years, e.g. "Arizona Home" by William and Mary Goodwin (1904), but none depart far from the original form. - RBW
File: R193
===
NAME: Home Rule for Ireland
DESCRIPTION: Hearers are urged to join the Home Rule Movement. Mr Butt and other leaders are named. Gladstone thought that the church bill would suffice, "but Paddy wants to rule himself." America and France support Home Rule. Butt leads "his little band" of MPs
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1966 (Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: Ireland nonballad patriotic political
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Zimmermann, p. 61, "Home Rule" (1 fragment)
Healy-OISBv2, pp. 145-146, "Home Rule" (1 text)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 13(340), "Home Rule for Ireland" ("Come all you sons of Erin"), unknown, n.d.; also 2806 b.10(224), Firth c.16(407)[first nine lines illegible], "Home Rule for Ireland"
NLScotland, L.C.1270(009), "Home Rule for Ireland," unknown, n.d.
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "A Loyal Song Against Home Rule" (subject: the quest for Home Rule) and references there
NOTES: Zimmermann p. 61: "Constitutional agitation had been revived in 1869 through meetings demanding an amnesty for the Fenian prisoners. A 'Home Government Association for Ireland', created in 1870 [founded by Isaac Butt], became the 'Irish Home Rule League' in 1872 and soon met with great success as the Irish Parliamentary Party. Broadside ballads praised its leaders, and looked once more for encouragement from overseas." [see also "The Glorious Meeting of Dublin" and references there].
The leaders of the movement named in the broadside are, besides Butt, are John Martin and Shea, Dr Cummins and Galbraith; the "little band" of Home Rule MPs are not named.
The reference to Gladstone and the church refers to his 1869 move disestablishing the Church of Ireland in 1869 so that Catholic farmers did not have to pay tithes to that church. In 1885 Gladstone announced his support for Irish Home Rule. (sources: "Gladstone and Home Rule 1886" in _Northern Ireland Timeline_ at the BBC site; "Gladstone and Ireland" at the History Learning site)
Zimmermann p. 61 is a fragment; broadside NLScotland L.C.1270(009) is the basis for the description. The NLS probable period of publication as 1840-1850 is obviously incorrect when the broadside refers to events after 1870. - BS
The initial organization of the Home Government Alliance was rather ironic, as it included Protestants upset about the disestablishment of the Protestant Church (see Robert Kee, _The Bold Fenian Men_, being Volume II of _The Green Flag_, p. 61; also the notes to "The Downfall of Heresy").
If Kee is to be believed, the Home Rulers were right about Gladstone: "Gladstone seems at first to have imagined that he could solve the problem of Ireland forever by two measures: first, By disestablishing the Irish Protestant Church and, second, legislating to compensate a tenant financially on conviction" (p. 58). The first measure came into force in 1869, and was universally welcomed. The second took the form of the first Land Bill, passed in 1870. But it corrected only a few minor abuses: Evicted tenants had to be paid for improvements they had made, but they could still be evicted. Something stronger was needed.
The mention of the Church Bill dates the song after 1869. The lack of reference to the second Land Bill, and of Gladstone's Home Rule proposal surely dates it before 1886 -- and the lack of reference to Parnell probably dates it very early in that period. Isaac Butt had been a moderately important figure since 1848, when he defended Smith O'Brien and some of his confederates. But it wasn't until 1869 that he became a major political force, urging a program of constitutional reform.
Part of Butt's problem was that he didn't really have a program, except a parliament for Ireland. On that basis he managed to recruit a number of Irish MPs -- but he couldn't hold them together in Westminster (Kee, pp. 64-66. This was epecially so since he had to work part-time, and wasn't really in position to head a party). From 1875, when Charles Stewart Parnell made his maiden speech declaring Ireland to be "not a geographical fragment but a nation," Butt was a spent force.
Home Rule nearly took care of Gladstone, too. He introduced the bill in 1886 -- and it split the Liberal party; a block of about fifty M.P.s, headed by Joseph Chamberlain, bolted. (See Robert K. Massie, _Dreadnought_, pp. 235-238). For about twenty years, Britain had what amounted to four political parties: Orthodox liberals (committed to social reform and home rule), Conservatives (opposed to social reform and home rule), the Irish delegation (which often split many ways; the most important faction, led by John Redmond, believed in home rule, though many were liberal on other issues), and the Chamberlainites (the "Liberal Unionists," who were liberal on social issues but adamantly opposed to Home Rule). It made Britain nearly ungovernable, except when the Chamberlainites managed to extract liberal concessions from the Conservatives. The Conservatives developed a policy of "killing Home Rule with kindness" (Kee, p. 111), but kindness wasn't really their specialty.
A few years later, Parnell died (October 10, 1891), and Kee (p. 115) writes that "The chances of Home Rule for the next twenty years were buried with him"; see also the notes to "We Won't Let Our Leader Run Down." For the future course of the Home Rule movement, see the notes to ŇA Loyal Song Against Home Rule.Ó
Chamberlain, in addition to splitting the liberal party and postponing home rule, had one more dubious gift to give to Britain: His younger son, Neville Chamberlian. - RBW
File: BrdHoRuI
===
NAME: Home, Boys, Home: see Ambletown; also Rosemary Lane [Laws K43] (File: LK43A)
===
NAME: Home, Dearie, Home: see Ambletown; also Rosemary Lane [Laws K43] (File: LK43A)
===
NAME: Home, Home, Home: see When I Was Young; also Rosemary Lane [Laws K43] (File: EM075)
===
NAME: Home, Sweet Home: see Home! Sweet Home! (File: RJ19080)
===
NAME: Home! Sweet Home!
DESCRIPTION: "'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, Be it ever so humble there's no place like home." The singer yearns to return to that "lowly thatched cottage" which brings peace of mind
AUTHOR: Words: John Howard Payne
EARLIEST_DATE: 1823
KEYWORDS: home nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (7 citations)
RJackson-19CPop, pp. 80-82, "Home! Sweet Home!" (1 text, 1 tune)
Dean, p. 120, "Home, Sweet Home" (1 text)
Gilbert, p. 87, (no name; a partial text of a parody)
Krythe 3, pp. 40-61, "Home, Sweet Home" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 254, "Home, Sweet Home" (1 text)
Fuld-WFM, pp. 274-275, "Home! Sweet Home!"
DT, HOMSWEET
Roud #9597
RECORDINGS:
The Breaux Freres, "Home Sweet Home" [in Cajun French] (Vocalion 2961B, 1934; on AAFM2)
Elizabeth Cotten, "Home Sweet Home" (on Cotten03)
Edward Franklin, "Home Sweet Home" (Columbia 44, 1901)
Frank Jenkins, "Home Sweet Home" (Silvertone 5080, 1927)
Lester McFarland & Robert Gardner, "Home Sweet Home" (Brunswick 475, 1930)
Margarethe Matzenauer, "Home, Sweet Home" (Pathe Actuelle 027519, n.d.)
McMichen's Melody Men, "Home Sweet Home" (Columbia 15288-D, 1928)
Royal Hawaiians, "Home Sweet Home" (Broadway 8100, c. 1930)
DaCosta Woltz's Southern Broadcasters, "Home Sweet Home" (Supertone 9162, 1928)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth b.28(7a/b) View 7 of 8, "Home, Sweet Home" ("Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam"), R. March and Co. (London), 1877-1884; also Harding B 25(854), Harding B 11(1564), Firth c.17(40), Harding B 11(2341), Harding B 11(4032), "Home, Sweet Home"
LOCSheet, sm1851 490710, "Home, Sweet Home" ("'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam"), Firth, Pond and Co. (New York), 1851; also sm1851 670130, sm1852 510930, sm1852 692100, sm1883 17251, sm1883 21656, "Home, Sweet Home" (tune)
LOCSinging, as105460, "Home, Sweet Home," J. Andrews (New York), 1853-1859; also sb20169b, "Home, Sweet Home"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "There Is No Place in the Height of Heaven" (floating lyrics)
cf. "The Song That Reached My Heart" (recalls this song)
NOTES: Krythe gives extensive notes on the career of John Howard Payne (1791-1852), actor, playwright, poet, minor American diplomat, expatriate, and man with absolutely no idea how to manage his affairs. This song was originally part of an operetta, "Clari, the Maid of Milan," which Payne sold for fifty pounds in 1823.
The music to the opera "Clari" was by Henry Rowley Bishop. Some have questioned, however, whether he wrote the music for this particular song. It has been claimed that it is an old French tune.
The sheet music sold hundreds of thousands of copies, but of course none of the proceeds went to the composers. - RBW
Broadside LOCSinging as105460: 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: RJ19080
===
NAME: Homesick Boy, The: see Ten Thousand Miles Away (On the Banks of Lonely River) (File: R697)
===
NAME: Homespun Dress, The
DESCRIPTION: "Yes, I am a southern girl, and glory in the same, And boast it with far greater pride than glit'ring wealth or fame...." The girl proudly boasts that, though her dress is homespun and her clothing poor, it is all southern and better than northern finery
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Southern Poems of the War)
KEYWORDS: clothes Civilwar patriotic
FOUND_IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES: (8 citations)
Belden, p. 360, "The Homespun Dress" (1 text)
Randolph 215, "The Southern Dress" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownIII 380, "The Homespun Dress" (2 texts plus a reprinting of a printed version)
Hudson 125, pp. 265-266, "The Homespun Dress" (1 text)
Scott-BoA, pp. 229-230, "The Homespun Dress" (1 text, tune referenced)
Arnett, pp. 78-79, "The Homespun Dress" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, CNFEDGAL*
ADDITIONAL: Fred W. Allsopp, Folklore of Romantic Arkansas, Volume II (1931), p. 224, "The Homespun Dress" (1 short text)
Roud #4504
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Bonnie Blue Flag" (tune & meter) and references there
cf. "Young Ladies in Town" (theme)
NOTES: The authorship of this piece is disputed; several sources list a Lt. Harrington, killed at Perryville (Oct 9, 1862); others credit the song to Carrie Bell Sinclair. The notes in Brown contain an extensive, but inconclusive, discussion, which consists mostly of citations of unauthoritative sources. - RBW
File: R215
===
NAME: Homestead Strike, The
DESCRIPTION: "We are asking one another as we pass the time of day Why men must have recourse to arms to get their proper pay." The union workers go on strike; the company hires Pinkertons to break it. The result is bloodshed
AUTHOR: J. W. Kelly?
EARLIEST_DATE: 1942
KEYWORDS: labor-movement fight hardtimes strike
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: July 1, 1892 - Declaration of the Homestead Strike (one of many strikes taking place about this time). The Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers strikes Carnegie's Homestead Steel Works in Pennsylvania, trying to win the right to collective bargaining.
Relations between the Union and management has, until this time, been fairly good, but manager Henry Clay Frick decided the expiration of the current contract was a good opportunity to break the union. He cut wages and refused to negotiate.
July 6, 1892 - Frick brings in 300 Pinkertons (the "paid detectives" of the song) to battle the strikers and relatives (who number about 5000). Twenty people were killed in the ensuing battle, in which the Pinkertons were repelled (and, without exception, injured)
July 9, 1892 - Frick convinces Pennsylvania Governor Pattison to send in 7000 militia to break the strike
July 15, 1892 - Despite appeals from all over the world (including President Cleveland), the Homestead Mill is re-opened by scabs
Nov 14, 1892 - The Homestead workers give up their strike. They have made no real gains (except in public opinion), and many have lost their jobs to scabs
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Gilbert, pp. 198-199, "A Fight for Home and Honor " (1 text)
DT, HOMESTD*
Roud #7744
RECORDINGS:
Pete Seeger, "Homestead Strike Song" (on PeteSeeger47)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Father Was Killed by the Pinkerton Men" (subject)
File: Gil198
===
NAME: Homeward Bound (I)
DESCRIPTION: Shanty. Characteristic line: "Goodbye, fare you well, goodbye, fare you well... Hurrah, my boys, we're homeward bound." While the rest of the shanty usually tells a story about sailors' return, the stanzas are often compiled from floating verses
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1845 (from the log of the Minerva)
KEYWORDS: shanty reunion
FOUND_IN: US(MA,MW) Canada(Mar,Newf) Britain(England,Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (19 citations)
Doerflinger, pp. 87-89, "Homeward Bound" (3 texts, 1 tune. The first text is largely "Outward and Homeward Bound"; the third partakes of "Rolling in the Dew" and "Ratcliffe Highway"")
Walton/Grimm/Murdock, pp. 50-52, "Homeward Bound" (1 text, 1 tune)
Bone, p. 117, "Homeward Bound" (1 text, 1 tune)
Colcord, pp. 113-114, "Good-bye, Fare You Well!" (1 text, 1 tune)
Harlow, pp. 119-121, "Homeward Bound" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill, pp. 120-124, "Goodbye, Fare-Ye-Well" (8 texts-5 English, 2 Norwegian, 1 French, 2 tunes. Version c's verses are from "Blow the Man Down," version d's are from "The Dreadnaught") [AbEd, pp. 103-106]
Shay-SeaSongs, p. 85, "Goodbye, Fare You Well" (1 text, 1 tune)
Linscott, pp. 140-141, "Homeward Bound" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Doyle2, pp. 63, "Homeward Bound" (1 text, 1 tune)
Doyle3, p. 29, "Homeward Bound" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 165, "Homeward Bound" (1 text, 1 tune)
Blondahl, p. 23, "Homeward Bound" (1 text, 1 tune)
Smith/Hatt, p. 34, "Goodbye, Fare Ye Well" (1 text)
Creighton-NovaScotia 37, "Homeward Bound" (1 text, 1 tune)
Mackenzie 103, "We're Homeward Bound" (1 text)
GreigDuncan1 5, "Good-Bye, Fare Ye Well" (2 texts, 1 tune)
SHenry H53a, p. 97, "I'm Going Home" (1 text, 1 tune - a fragment, probably of this song)
DT, GDBYFWL*
ADDITIONAL: Captain John Robinson, "Songs of the Chantey Man," a series published July-August 1917 in the periodical _The Bellman_ (Minneapolis, MN, 1906-1919). We're Homeward Bound" is in Part 4, 8/4/1917.
Roud #927
RECORDINGS:
Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, "Homeward Bound" (on ENMacCollSeeger02)
Capt. Leighton Robinson w. Alex Barr, Arthur Brodeur & Leighton McKenzie, "Goodbye, Fare You Well (Homeward Bound)" (AFS 4229 A, 1939; on LC27 as "Homeward Bound"; in AMMEM/Cowell)
W[illiam] H. Smith, "Goodbye, Fare You Well" (on NovaScotia1)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Et Nous Irons a Valapariso" (partial tune and chorus)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Goodbye, Fare You Well
Ved Ankerhioning (Anchor Song) [Norwegian versio]
As-tu-connu le Pere Lancelot [French version]
The Glasgow Lasses
NOTES: Horace Beck in his book _Folklore and the Sea_ (Mystic Conn.: Mystic Seaport Museum, 1985), p. 137, explains that this chanty was sung by British sailors as they "walked the capstan round" bound for home. Other ships hearing this would give them mail and messages to take with them. On American ships "Shenandoah" was sung instead. - SH
File: Doe087
===
NAME: Homeward Bound (II -- Loose Every Sail to the Breeze)
DESCRIPTION: "Loose every sail to the breeze, The course of my vessel improve... Ye sailors I'm bound to my love." The sailor rejoices to be going home to his faithful Emma. He toasts the ship and the wind which carries her home
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1795 (Journal from the Joseph Francis)
KEYWORDS: sailor sea home
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 52-53, "Loose Every Sail to the Breeze" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2016
NOTES: Huntington thinks this a traditional song, but his tune, at least, can hardly be regarded as traditional. It requires a range of two full octaves. Some singers could handle this, but probably not enough to keep the song current. - RBW
File: SWMS052
===
NAME: Homeward Bound (III): see Get Up, Jack! John, Sit Down! (File: Wa071)
===
NAME: Honest Farmer, The
DESCRIPTION: "I saw an honest farmer, his back was bending low, Picking out his cotton... until the merchant come.... That he might pay them some." "Goodbye boll weevil, for you know you've ruint my home." Weary, and poor, his wife advises him to trust in the Savior
AUTHOR: Probably Fiddlin' John Carson
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (recorded by Fiddlin' John Carson)
KEYWORDS: farming hardtimes bug
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
DT, BOLWEEV3*
ADDITIONAL: _Sing Out_ magazine, Volume 22, #5 (1973), p, 22, "The Honest Farmer" (1 text, 1 tune, the John Carson version)
Roud #17582
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Palms of Victory (Deliverance Will Come)" (form)
File: SOv22n5a
===
NAME: Honest Girl (I Went to Church Like an Honest Girl Should)
DESCRIPTION: "I went to church like an honest girl should, And the boys come too, Like other boys would." I come home like an honest girl should, And the boys came too.... She ends up pregnant and has a baby, "And the boys denied it, just like boys would."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (Henry, collected from Mrs. Samuel Harmon)
KEYWORDS: courting pregnancy abandonment lie
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 28-29, "Honest Girl" (1 text)
NOTES: This may be the best five-stanza summary of the relationship between the sexes I've ever seen. - RBW
File: MHAp028
===
NAME: Honest Irish Lad, The
DESCRIPTION: "My name is Tim McNare, I'm from the County Clare In that lovely little isle across the sea." The singer loved Ireland, but his farm could not support his family. Now in America, he can find no work. He still hopes to bring his family to join him
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1956
KEYWORDS: poverty emigration family separation unemployment
FOUND_IN: Canada(Ont)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 89-91, "The Honest Irish Lad" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #4522
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "No Irish Need Apply" (subject)
cf. "An Irish Laborer" (subject)
File: FMB089
===
NAME: Honest Working Man, The
DESCRIPTION: "Way down in East Cape Breton, where they knit the sock and mitten, Cezzetcook is represented by the husky black and tan. May they never be rejected, and home rule be protected, and always be connected with the honest working man."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Fowke/MacMillan)
KEYWORDS: work fishing
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Fowke/MacMillan 31, "The Honest Working Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, HONSTWR*
Roud #4535
NOTES: Written as a piece of irony aimed at the importation of surplus labor in the summer months.... Referred to in several sources as "the national anthem of Cape Breton workers." - SL
File: FowM
===
NAME: Honey Babe (I): see New River Train (File: AF073)
===
NAME: Honey Babe (II): see Sound Off (Cadence Count, Jody Chant) (File: LoF317)
===
NAME: Honey, Take a Whiff on Me: see Take a Whiff on Me (File: RL130)
===
NAME: Honkytonk Asshole
DESCRIPTION: "I hang out in bars and bother the dollies, I peak when I'm not spoken to." The singer describes his performance in bars, and tells how he gets thrown out of the place as "bad for business.'
AUTHOR: Baxter Black
EARLIEST_DATE: 1989 (Logsdon)
KEYWORDS: drink work
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Logsdon 61, pp. 275-277, "Honkytonk Asshole" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #10111
NOTES: Logsdon thinks this a typical example of modern bawdy songwriting. This strikes me as unlikely; it's dirty, but it's much too much like pop-country whining-because-I'm-on-the-road songs. - RBW
File: Logs061
===
NAME: Hook and Line
DESCRIPTION: "Gimme the hook and gimme the line; Gimme the girl you call Caroline." Possibly part of the same song: "Set my hook and give it a flip; Caught old (name) by the lip."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (Fuson)
KEYWORDS: fishing courting nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Fuson, p. 157, "Hook and Line" (third of 12 single-stanza jigs) (1 fragment); also possibly p. 157, "The Hook" (the fourth jig)
ST Fus157 (Full)
Roud #13943
File: Fus157
===
NAME: Hooker John
DESCRIPTION: "Oh me Mary she's a sailor's lass. Ch: To me Hooker John, me Hoo-john! Oh we courted all day on the grass (Ch) "Full Ch: Way Suzanna Oh way, hay, high, high, ya! Johnny's on the foreyard, Yonder way up yonder!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (Hugill)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: "Oh me Mary she's a sailor's lass. Ch: To me Hooker John, me Hoo-john! Oh we courted all day on the grass (Ch) "Full Ch: Way Suzanna Oh way, hay, high, high, ya! Johnny's on the foreyard, Yonder way up yonder!" Verses continue with other girls, "Flora she's a hoosier's friend, Sally she's a nigger's gal" etc.
KEYWORDS: shanty worksong courting
FOUND_IN: West Indies
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hugill, pp. 290-291, "Hooker John" (2 texts, 1 tune) [AbEd, pp. 214-215]
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Ooker John
File: Hugi290
===
NAME: Hooly and Fairly (I)
DESCRIPTION: "Doun in yon meadow a couple did tarry": the wife drank and the husband complained that she drank his liquor also. Not only did she sell all her clothes for drink, but all his as well. When drunk she insulted him and their children.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1845 (Whitelaw)
KEYWORDS: shrewishness drink children husband wife
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
GreigDuncan3 584A,584B, "Hooly and Fairly" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Alexander Whitelaw, A Book of Scottish Song (Glasgow, 1845), p. 29, "Hooly and Fairly"
Roud #5654
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Hooly and Fairly (II)" (subject) and references there
NOTES: The theme, chorus and a few lines in the first verse are the same as in "Hooly and Fairly (I)" but the verses are different. In fact, while this version ends each verse "gine my wifie wid drink hooly and fairly" Baillee's song ends each verse differently asking only in the first verse that she drink hooly and fairly; other verses wish that she feast, spend, dress, strike, sleep timely, and speak "hooly and fairly." - BS
File: GrD3584
===
NAME: Hooly and Fairly (II)
DESCRIPTION: Singer wonders why he married; his wife drinks and calls him cheap. She dines out and dresses well while he must wear rags. She overdresses, fails to keep house, and sleeps too much. He wishes he were single, and that she would live "hooly and fairly"
AUTHOR: Joanna Baillee (source: Whitelaw)
EARLIEST_DATE: text 1751 (published in "Yair's Charmer" as "The Drucken Wife o' Gallowa'"); melody 1759 (The Caledonian Pocket Companion, same title); both together under title "Hooly and Fairly," 1757 (Thirty Scots Songs for Voice and Harpsichord)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer wonders why he married; his wife drinks canary wine and calls him cheap. She dines with her gossiping friends, goes to fairs, "bridals," and preachings well-dressed while he must wear rags. She overdresses in church, fails to keep house, and sleeps while the neighbors are waking. She won't take advice, arguing with the minister. He wishes he were single, and that his wife would drink/spend/dress/speak "hooly and fairly"
KEYWORDS: shrewishness marriage clothes drink nonballad wife
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
GreigDuncan3 584C, "Hooly and Fairly" (1 text)
MacSeegTrav 111, "Hooly and Fairly" (1 text, 1 tune)
ADDITIONAL: Alexander Whitelaw, A Book of Scottish Song (Glasgow, 1845), p. 30, "Hooly and Fairly"
Roud #5654
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Hooly and Fairly (I)" (theme, chorus and a few lines in the first verse)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Drucken Wife o' Gallowa'
NOTES: The singer is a kvetch. "Hooly" = "slowly, softly, gently." Joanna Baillie (1762-1851) was a child prodigy who composed verses before she could read; in addition to writing songs, for forty years she was a dramatist for the London Theatre. - PJS
"Hooly and Fairly (I)" seems the basis for Baillee's rewrite.
Whitelaw: "Written by Joanna Baillee for George Thomson's collection of Scottish melodies." [Is this George Thomson, _A Select Collection of Original Scotish Airs for the Voice_ in 5 volumes (London,1804-1818)?] - BS
File: McCST111
===
NAME: Hooraw for the Blackball Line: see The Black Ball Line (File: LxA489)
===
NAME: Hoosen Johnny: see The Old Gray Mare (The Old Gray Horse; The Little Black Bull) (File: R271)
===
NAME: Hootchy-Kootchy Dance, The
DESCRIPTION: "There's a place in France/Where the women wear no pants" and similar bawdy verses. Cho: "Do what your mama says and do what your papa says/But don't split your pants, doin' the hootchy-kootchy dance"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1893
KEYWORDS: sex clothes bawdy nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (0 citations)
RECORDINGS:
Anonymous singer "The Hootchy-Kootchy Dance" (on Unexp1)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Bonaparte's Retreat" (sometimes used as a C part for that tune)
NOTES: Yes, you know it. This is the piece that is *always* used in a cartoon as the music when anything having to do with Arabia, Egypt, belly dancing, snake charming or Muslims in general is depicted. Originally a Tin Pan Alley song, popular at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where exotic dancers adopted it instantly; Sol Bloom, entertainment director at the Exposition, claimed he wrote it, but it has also been connected to traditional tunes in Iraq and Algeria. The title usually associated with the tune is "The Streets of Cairo." (See http://www.shira.net/streets-of-cairo.htm for more history.) It's a tune nearly everyone in America knows, and many older Americans (and maybe kids?) know the "women wear no pants" verse. A folk song if ever there was one. - PJS
File: RcTHoKoD
===
NAME: Hop High Ladies (Uncle Joe)
DESCRIPTION: Floating verses ("Did you ever go to meeting, Uncle Joe?" "Every time you turn around you jump Jim Crow"). Characterized by the refrain "Hop high ladies, (the cake's all dough/Three in a row), Don't mind the weather when the wind don't blow"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (recording, Henry Whitter)
KEYWORDS: nonballad dancing dancetune floatingverses
FOUND_IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES: (8 citations)
Randolph 252, "Jump Jim Crow" (1 text, 1 tune, a short text with the chorus of "Jump Jim Crow" and other material that might float)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 219-220, "Jump Jim Crow" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 252)
BrownIII 85, "Hop Light, Ladies" (2 fragments)
Hudson 147, pp. 293-294, [no title] (1 text, a square dance sample with a lot of material appropriate to that setting but with a chorus that seems to place it here)
Lomax-FSNA 116, "Uncle Joe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 64-65, "Hop High Ladies, the Cake's All Dough" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 33, "Uncle Joe" (1 text)
DT, HOPUPLAD*
Roud #6677
RECORDINGS:
Fiddlin' John Carson, "Hop Light Lady" (OKah 45011, 1925)
Uncle Dave Macon, "Hop Light Ladies The Cake's All Dough" (Vocalion 5154, 1927)
New Lost City Ramblers, "Hop High, Ladies" (on NLCR10) ; "Hop High, Ladies, the Cake's All Dough" (on NLCR12)
Fiddlin' Powers and Family, "Did You Ever See the Devil, Uncle Joe?" (OKeh 45268, 1927)
Riley Puckett, "Hop Light Ladies" (Bluebird B-5514, 1934)
Red Fox Chasers, "Did You Ever See The Devil, Uncle Joe" (Gennett 6461/Champion 15522, 1928)
Doc Roberts, "Did You Ever See the Devil Uncle Joe" (Perfect 12724, 1931; Melotone 12390, 1932; Conqueror 8136, 1933)
Oliver Sims, "Hop About Ladies" (Columbia 15103-D, 1926)
Ernest V. Stoneman, "Hop Light Ladies" (Edison 52056 [may also have been listed as by the Dixie Mountaineers, same record number], 1927)
Henry Whitter, "Hop Light Ladies and Shortenin' Bread" (OKeh 40064, 1924)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Miss McCleod's Reel " (tune)
cf. "Jump Jim Crow" (floating lyrics)
NOTES: Randolph has a report that this song has been heard as far afield as Delhi, India, but seems to be referring to "Jump Jim Crow" (of which his version has just the chorus). - RBW
File: R252
===
NAME: Hop High Ladies, the Cake's All Dough: see Hop High Ladies (Uncle Joe) (File: R252)
===
NAME: Hop Light, Ladies: see Hop High Ladies (Uncle Joe) (File: R252)
===
NAME: Hop-Joint, The
DESCRIPTION: "I went to the hop-joint And thought I'd have some fun, In walked Bill Bailey With his forty-one! (Oh, baby darlin', why don't you come home?)" Bailey, or somebody, shoots the singer in the side: "Don't catch me playin' bull In the hop-joint any more!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: cards drugs violence injury murder
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 90-91, "The Hop-Joint" (1 text, apparently incomplete, plus a fragment; 1 tune); also some additional lyrics on p. 91
ST ScaNF090 (Partial)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home?" (some lyrics; character of Bill Bailey)
NOTES: Scarborough's source apparently had a great deal of trouble acquiring a complete text of this song, and the resulting fragments are difficult to interpret.
It also is a peculiar composite; quite a few lines, and of course the main character, are reminiscent of "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home?" (though it's not clear whether that song, from 1902, was the inspiration of this or derived from it); the feel seems more like "Duncan and Brady," and of course there are lots of stories of violence in drug-houses. We really need more information than we have. - RBW
File: ScaNF090
===
NAME: Hop-Pickers' Tragedy, The
DESCRIPTION: A group of hop-pickers on their way from work approaches (Larklake) Bridge in a horse-drawn vehicle. The horses shy; the vehicle plunges over the bridge into the River Medway with great loss of life
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 (recording, Jasper Smith)
KEYWORDS: death drowning farming harvest work disaster horse worker
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Oct. 20, 1853 - The Medway accident
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond,South))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
MacSeegTrav 120, "The Hop-Pickers' Tragedy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #1729
RECORDINGS:
Jasper Smith, "Hartlake Bridge" (on Voice08)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
There Was Four-and-Twenty Strangers
NOTES: [On October 20, 1853,] A horse-drawn brake carrying a party of hop-pickers plunged over Hartlake Bridge into the River Medway. Thirty people, including four children, were drowned. The dead included Travellers, Irish, and English.
[MacColl and Seeger write,] "In spite of being very well known among Kent and Surrey Travellers, the song does not appear to have been printed at any time." - PJS
Regarding the date of the event, Hall, notes to Voice08, re "Hartlake Bridge" cites Mike Yates as source for an October 1858 date. Yates, Musical Traditions site _Voice of the People suite_ "Notes - Volume 8" - 1.3.03 also has the date as October, 1858. - BS
It appears this is a nmisreading. I found a reference to the accident in the October 29, 1853 edition of the _London Illustrated News_. It claims 32 people were killed. As of this writing, a citation may be found at http://www.iln.org.uk/iln_years/year/1853.htm. - RBW
File: McCST120
===
NAME: Hop, Old Squirrel: see Peep Squirrel (File: ChFRA119)
===
NAME: Hopalong Peter
DESCRIPTION: Nonsense song. "Old mother Hubbard and her dog were Dutch/A bow-legged rooster and he hobbled on a crutch/Hen chawed tobacco and the duck drank wine/The goose played the fiddle on the pumpkin vine" and similar verses.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1937 (recording, Mainer's Mountaineers)
KEYWORDS: nonsense animal chickens drink wordplay
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
BrownIII 160, "Get Along, John, the Day's Work's Done" (1 text, of only three lines, but two of them correspond to this song)
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 104-105, "Hopalong Peter" (1 text, 1 tune)
RECORDINGS:
Fisher Hendley & his Aristocratic Pigs, "Hop Along Peter" (Vocalion 04780, 1939, on CrowTold01)
J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers, "Hop Along Peter" (Bluebird B-6752 [as Mainer, Morris & Sherrill?]/Montgomery Ward M-7131, 1937)
New Lost City Ramblers, "Hopalong Peter" (on NLCR10, NLCRCD1)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Hallelujah"
cf. "Johnny Fell Down in the Bucket" (technique)
cf. "I'll Rise When the Rooster Crows" (lyrics)
cf. "Hannamaria" (theme)
NOTES: A number of verses to this song rely on the "unexpected final word." For example, a common first verse runs
Old Uncle Peter, he got tight,
Started up to Heaven on a stormy night.
The road being rough and him not well,
He lost his way and he went... to...
(Chorus)
Hopalong Peter, where you going (x2)
Hopalong Peter, won't you bear in mind
I ain't coming back till the gooseberry time. - RBW
File: CSW104
===
NAME: Hopkin Boys, The: see The Rifle Boys (File: GrD1089)
===
NAME: Hopping Down in Kent
DESCRIPTION: "Some say hopping's lousy. I don't believe it's true," but then the singer describes the hoppers' hard life, poor wages, and bad food. And when the money's spent "don't I wish I'd never went A-hopping down in Kent"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1975 (recording, Mary Ann Haynes)
KEYWORDS: harvest work hardtimes
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond))
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #1715
RECORDINGS:
Mary Ann Haynes, "Hopping Down in Kent" (on Voice05)
NOTES: Hops are picked in September. Most hoppers in Kent were the poor and unemployed from London. "At the hop industry's peak more than 80,000 people poured into Kent every autumn. Whole families came and there are many records of families visiting the same gardens for several generations." (source: "History of Hop Picking in Kent" in _A History of Hop Growing in Kent and the South East_ at the National Hop Association of England site; the article describes hopping and some of the terminology used in the song) - BS
File: RcHoDIKe
===
NAME: Horn of the Hiram Q, The
DESCRIPTION: Singer describes a whaling trip -- he was the best man aboard, and the "worst of them was you." Cho: "With a yo ho and there she blows; Steer for her tail and you'll fetch her nose, with a la-de-da, and a how d'ye do, and hark for the horn of the Hiram Q"
AUTHOR: L. E. Richards
EARLIEST_DATE: 1945 (Harlow)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Mostly nonsense, written in dialect. Singer talks of a whaling voyage -- he was the best man aboard, and the "worst of them was you." Cho: "With a yo ho and there she blows; Steer for her tail and you'll fetch her nose, with a la-de-da, and a how d'ye do, and hark for the horn of the Hiram Q"
KEYWORDS: whaler humorous nonballad nonsense
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Harlow, pp. 227-228, "The Horn of the Hiram Q" (1 text)
Roud #9155
NOTES: I'm just guessing that this is a piece of composed poetry because it is in the section of Harlow's book where he's including things like excerpts from the Wizard of Oz (see "Hurrah for Baffin's Bay"). The author is given as L.E. Richards and I couldn't make any further determination who that might be. However, it does *not* appear to be Laura E. Howe Richards (daughter of Julia Ward Howe). She wrote a good bit of poetry, but this piece doesn't seem to be one of hers. -SL
File: Harl227
===
NAME: Horn, Boys, Horn: see So Selfish Runs the Hare (Horn, Boys, Horn) (File: So38n2b)
===
NAME: Hornet and the Peacock, The
DESCRIPTION: "King George says [to the Peacock] 'To America go / The Hornet, the Wasp is the British king's foe.'" However, the Hornet defeats the Peacock: "The Peacock now mortally under her wing / Did feel the full force of the Hornet's sharp sting/"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Eddy)
KEYWORDS: sea battle
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1760-1820 - Reign of George III of Britain
1812 - Battle between the U.S.S. Hornet and the H.M.S. Peacock off the coast of South America. The American ship won
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Eddy 107, "The Peacock that Lived in the Land of King George" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
DT, HRNTPEAK
Roud #5339
NOTES: What seems to be the most widely distributed text of this ballad runs, "The peacock that lived in the land of King George / His feathers were fine and his tail very large / He spread out his wings like a ship in full sail / And prided himself on the size of his tail... The hornet doth tickle the British bird's tail." _Hornet_ and _Wasp_ were American ships.
The battle between U.S.S. _Hornet_ and H.M.S. _Peacock_ was strange. The _Hornet_ was commanded by James Lawrence, a brash young officer barely in his thirties. On February 24, 1812, cruising off Brazil, the 18-gun _Hornet_ spotted H.M.S. _Espiegle_, another 18-gun ship, off Brazil (see Walter R. Borneman, _1812, The War That Forged a Nation_, p. 112).
Before the two ships could engage, another 18-gun brig, H.M.S. _Peacock_, showed up. _Peacock_, unlike _Espiegle_, wanted to fight. It was a bad decision; she had to strike her colors after only a quarter of an hour. And she was so badly damaged that Lawrence quickly abandoned the prize and took off _Peacock's_ crew. (According to Fletcher Pratt, _A Compact History of the United States Navy_, p. 82, the _Peacock_ sank even before the crew could get off. John K. Mahon, _The War of 1812_, p. 123, notes that the only three Americans who died in the battle were drowned on the _Peacock_ as she sank.)
Lawrence's reward was a promotion to full captain. That also meant was due command of a frigate. The frigate he received (Borneman, p. 113) was the ill-fated U.S.S. _Chesapeake_ (for its story, see the notes to "The Chesapeake and the Shannon (I)" [Laws J20]). - RBW
File: E107
===
NAME: Horrors of Libby Prison, The
DESCRIPTION: "Did the soldier dream of plenty on the Richmond prison floor? Did he dream that he was marching with his own brave army corps?" The singer describes the starvation and wretched conditions in southern prisons and hopes for release
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas)
KEYWORDS: Civilwar soldier prisoner food death
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Thomas-Makin', pp. 59-63, "The Horrors of Libby Prison" (1 text)
NOTES: I rather doubt that this is an actual song, though Thomas describes it so; it's too long and plodding to survive in oral tradition. Nonetheless conditions in Confederate prisons were always bad; they hadn't enough to feed their own soldiers, so how could they feed prisoners?
Although the song refers to Libby Prison (and Pemberton Prison), I doubt it is based on anyone's actual experiences at that place; the song seems to describe the fate of enlisted men, but Libby Prison (in Richmond, on the James River, the former warehouse of Libby and Sons) was reserved for officers, and was largely shut down after May 1864. - RBW
File: ThBa059
===
NAME: Horse Named Bill, A
DESCRIPTION: "I had a horse, his name was Bill And when he ran, he couldn't stand still. He ran away one day And also I ran with him." Nonsense verses about the singer, his girlfriend, her cat, birds, balloons, and all else that comes to mind
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: animal nonsense
FOUND_IN: US(MW,SW)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Sandburg, pp. 340-341, "A Horse Named Bill" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 69, "The Horse Named Bill" (1 text, 1 tune)
Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 174, "A Horse Named Bill" (1 text, tune referenced)
Silber-FSWB, p. 241, "A Horse Named Bill" (1 text)
DT, HORSEBIL
Roud #6674
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Dixie" (tune) and references there
NOTES: Sandburg describes the tempo of this as "with lucid intervals if possible." The tune is the same as the first part of "Dixie." - RBW
I incline to the opinion that Sandburg wrote most of these verses. - PJS
Certainly a fair possibility, though he clearly started with some piece of craziness which he amplified (compare the "Crazy Song to the Air of 'Dixie'") - RBW
Verse 1 of Sandburg is similar to verse 4 of Opie-Oxford2 355, "There was a monkey climbed a tree" (earliest date in Opie-Oxford2 is 1626).
Sandburg: "I had a horse, his name was Bill And when he ran, he couldn't stand still He ran away, one day And also, I ran with him"
Opie-Oxford2 355: "There was a horse going to the mill, When he went on, he stood not still."
Unlike "Horse Named Bill," all of Opie-Oxford2 355 is of this type. For another example, "There was a crow sat on a stone, When he was gone, then there was none." - BS
File: San340
===
NAME: Horse Shit
DESCRIPTION: "A pilot of great reknown" attempts intercourse with a young woman, and fails in successive tries. The name derives from the refrain.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE:
KEYWORDS: bawdy nonballad pilot sex
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Cray, pp. 42-43, "Horse Shit" (1 text)
Roud #10137
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Monk of Great Renown"
NOTES: This technically is not a ballad at all. - EC
As Ed notes, this is really a simplified version of "The Monk of Great Renown." He classifies them separately because this one has taken on odoriferous life of its own. Also, the versions of this piece seem to have lost the theme of abusing the girl to death found in some texts of "The Monk." - RBW
File: EM042
===
NAME: Horse Teamster, A
DESCRIPTION: Brady, a horse teamster driving for Cooley, comes to the skidway and asks for a tow. The teamster protests that his horses are stiff and lame, but Brady insists. The horses balk despite all his whipping; eventually he's hauled out by another team
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Beck)
KEYWORDS: lumbering work horse
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Beck 32, "A Horse Teamster" (1 text)
Roud #4055
NOTES: In the early days, the teamsters in the pinewoods drove oxen, later horses and (less often) mules. - PJS
This song is item dC30 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW
File: Be032
===
NAME: Horse Trader's Song, The
DESCRIPTION: "It's do you know those horse traders, It's do you know their plan? (x2) Their plan it is for to snide you And git whatever they can; I've been all around the world." About the tricks and travels of horse traders
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: horse commerce travel trick
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Randolph 495, "The Horse-Traders' Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 355-357, "The Horse-Trader's Song" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 495)
Lomax-FSNA 168, "The Horse Trader's Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5728
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Hang Me, Oh Hang Me (Been All Around This World)" (tune, floating lyrics)
NOTES: Clearly a specialized adaption of "Hang Me, Oh Hang Me" -- but the difference in plot makes them separate songs. - RBW
File: R495
===
NAME: Horse Traders' Song, The: see The Horse Trader's Song (File: R495)
===
NAME: Horse Tramway, The: see Riding on the Tramway (File: Leyd015)
===
NAME: Horse Wrangler, The (The Tenderfoot) [Laws B27]
DESCRIPTION: A young fellow decides to try cowpunching. The foreman assures his that it is an easy job, but the young man soon finds reason to disagree. Hurt by a fall, he gives up the job or is fired
AUTHOR: words credited to D. J. O'Malley (but see below); tune "The Day I Played Base Ball"
EARLIEST_DATE: 1894 (Miles City, Montana Stock Growers' Journal, credited to "R. J. Stovall")
KEYWORDS: cowboy injury work horse humorous
FOUND_IN: US(MA,NW,So) Canada
REFERENCES: (11 citations)
Laws B27, "The Horse Wrangler (The Tenderfoot")
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 96-97, "The Tenderfoot" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sandburg, pp. 274-275, "The Tenderfoot" (1 text, 1 tune)
Thorp/Fife III, pp. 44-57 (13-14), "The Tenderfoot" (7 texts, 4 tunes)
Fife-Cowboy/West 72, "The Tenderfoot" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ohrlin-HBT 19, "Cowboy's Life" (1 text, 1 tune)
Logsdon 17, pp. 118-122, "The Skewbald Black" (1 text, 1 tune)
LPound-ABS, 82, pp. 176-178, "Breaking in a Tenderfoot" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 114, "The Tenderfoot" (1 text)
DT 599, TNDRFOOT
ADDITIONAL: Hal Cannon, editor, _Cowboy Poetry: A Gathering_, Giles M. Smith, 1985, p. 28-29, "D-2 Horse Wrangler" (1 text)
Roud #3246
RECORDINGS:
Slim Critchlow, "D-Bar-2 Horse Wrangler" (on Critchlow1, BackSaddle)
Glenn Ohrlin, "The Tender Foot" (on Ohrlin10)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Day I Played Base Ball" (tune)
NOTES: The authorship of this piece is uncertain. Lomax credits it to D. J. O'Malley (writing under the name R. J. Stovall); in 1932 O'Malley emphatically claimed authorship, claiming to have written in the piece in 1893. Logsdon apparently has no hesitation about crediting it to O'Malley; neither does Cannon. Sam Hinton heard a story that the real R. J. Stovall gave O'Malley a $5 hat for the right to publish the song under his name (so Sing Out!, volume41, #2 [1996], p. 134). However, the song was also claimed by an R. D. Mack, and Thorp's 1921 edition credits it to "Yank Hitson, Denver, Colorado, 1889." Perhaps more significantly, Thorp reports collecting it in Arizona in 1899.
In support of O'Malley's authorship, we note that O'Malley is also credited with "Charlie Rutledge," which also appeared in the Miles Ciry journal in the 1890s. On the other hand, O'Malley has also been credited with "Little Joe the Wrangler," and the evidence is strong that Thorp wrote that. - RBW
File: LB27
===
NAME: Horse-Thief, The: see Wild Rover No More (File: MA069)
===
NAME: Horse's Complaint, The: see The Drunkard's Horse (File: R318)
===
NAME: Horsey Song: see All the Pretty Little Horses (File: LxU002)
===
NAME: Horsham Boys
DESCRIPTION: Jarvis and James go to the pub and treat all the local low-lifes to drink, in the hope of buying their votes for Jarvis in the Parliamentary election. The rogues drink and smoke with the voters all night; the singer remonstrates with his fellow citizens
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 ("A Parliamentary History of Horsham, 1295-1885" by William Albury)
KEYWORDS: drink political
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1847 - John Jarvis stands for Parliament
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South))
REFERENCES: (0 citations)
RECORDINGS:
Tony Wales, "Horsham Boys" (on TWales1)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Buffalo Gals" (tune)
File: RcHorBoy
===
NAME: Hostler Joe
DESCRIPTION: Hostler Joe and pretty Annie wed and have a child. After four years, though, a stranger lures Annie away from her home with promises of fame and fortune. Her beauty wins her fame, but both fade in time. Joe arrives as she is dying
AUTHOR: Words: George Robert Sims
EARLIEST_DATE: 1890 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: death beauty marriage abandonment children
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Randolph 830, "Hostler Joe" (1 text)
ST R830 (Partial)
Roud #7440
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Ostler Joe
NOTES: If I were to use one word to describe this piece of moralizing tripe, the word would be
"sickening." Randolph remarks, "It is often recited by people of the same kind who recite 'The Face on the Barroom Floor.'"
Based on Hazel Felleman's _The Best Loved Poems of the American People_, it appears that the author's title of this is "Ostler Joe." But since Randolph's appears to be the only traditional collection (if it is truly traditional -- note the lack of a tune), I use his title. - RBW
File: R830
===
NAME: Hot Ash-Pelt, The
DESCRIPTION: Singer McGuire leaves the farm for the asphalt crew. A peeler insults the men, and the singer knocks him into the boiler. They pull him out but the tar won't come off; now he hangs in the National Museum, "an example of the dire effects of hot ash-pelt"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (collected from John McLaverty)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer McGuire leaves the farm to be boss of the asphalt crew. A peeler (policeman) asks to light his pipe on the boiler fire; he insults the men, and the singer hits him, knocking him into the boiler. They pull him out and scrub him, but the asphalt won't come off; now he hangs by his belt in the National Museum, "an example of the dire effects of hot ash-pelt"
KEYWORDS: fight violence work humorous boss worker police technology
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland) Ireland
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Kennedy 225, "The Hot Ash-Pelt" (1 text, 1 tune)
MacColl-Shuttle, pp. 26-27, "Hot asphalt" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, HOTASPLT
Roud #2134
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(70a), "Hot Ashfelt," unknown, c. 1890
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Napoleon Crossing the Alps" (tune)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Hot Asphalt
NOTES: Although we tend to think of paved roads as a modern contrivance (with, perhaps, the exception of the Roman roads), paving has been around for quite a while. The first modern paved roads were built by John Loudon McAdam (1756-1836), who as paving commissioner of Bristol from 1806 began using crushed rock to build solid surfaces ("macadam").
The idea caught on quickly; by the mid-nineteenth century, most "turnpikes" in the United States were paved. (A fact which could have important historical effects, e.g. during the Civil War. It's often stated that the Battle of Gettysburg took place where it did because it was a road center -- which is true, but there are plenty of road centers in Pennsylvania. Gettysburg was especially noteworthy because no fewer than three turnpikes -- the Baltimore, Chambersburg, and York Pikes -- met there.)
The earliest macadamized roads were made simply of rock, but by the end of the century, bitumen was being used as a binder, requiring a device to keep the asphault hot. - RBW
File: K225
===
NAME: Hot Ashfelt
DESCRIPTION:
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE:
KEYWORDS:
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
The Hot Ash-Pelt
File: K225
===
NAME: Hot Asphalt: see The Hot Ash-Pelt (File: K225)
===
NAME: Hot Corn, Cold Corn (I'll Meet You in the Evening)
DESCRIPTION: Stanzas about drink, courting, drink, slavery, drink (you get the idea). Recognized by the themes of the chorus: Corn, a demijohn, evening meetings: "Hot corn, cold corn, bring along a demijohn (x3), I'll meet you in the (morning/evening), Yes, sir."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1906 (recording, Arthur Collins)
KEYWORDS: drink nonballad courting floatingverses
FOUND_IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Randolph 267, "I'll Meet You in the Evening" (2 texts, 2 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 228-230, "I'll Meet You in the Evening" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 267A)
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 164-165, "Hot Corn" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #4954
RECORDINGS:
Fiddlin' John Carson, "Old Aunt Peggy, Won't You Set 'em Up Again?" (OKeh 40108, 1924)
Arthur Collins, "Hot Corn" (Columbia A-493, 1909; rec.1907) (CYL: Columbia 33075, 1907)
[Asa] Martin & [James] Roberts, "Hot Corn" (Champion 16520, 1932; Champion 45065, 1935) (Melotone 6-03-52 [as Fiddlin' Doc Roberts Trio], 1936; rec. 1934) [One of these discs is on KMM, but I don't know which]
Fiddlin' Doc Roberts Trio, "Hot Corn" (Perfect 6-03-52, 1936)
New Lost City Ramblers, "Hot Corn" (on NLCR03)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Black-Eyed Susie (Green Corn)" (floating lyrics)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Green Corn
NOTES: It is possible that this song and "Black-Eyed Susie (Green Corn)" spring from the same sources, since they share lyrics and themes. However, they have evolved far enough apart that I feel I have to split them. - RBW
I place the Fiddlin' John Carson record here for want of a better place. - PJS
File: R267
===
NAME: Hot Nuts
DESCRIPTION: To a chorus beginning "Hot nuts. Hot nuts. Get 'em from the peanut man," we hear descriptions of various men's nuts, and various girls' reaction to same. All verses end with the exclamation "Nuts!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1935 (recording, Lil Johnson)
KEYWORDS: bawdy nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Cray, pp. 344-346, "Hot Nuts" (1 text)
RECORDINGS:
Lil Johnson, "Get 'Em from the Peanut Man" (Champion 50002, 1935) (Vocalion 03199/Vocalion 03241, 1936); "Get 'em from the Peanut Man (Hot Nuts)" (Champion 50002, 1935) (ARC 6-5-58/Vocalion 03199, 1936)
Georgia White, "Get "em from the Peanut Man" (Decca 7152, 1936)
SAME_TUNE:
Georgia White, "New Hot Nuts" (Decca 7631, 1939)
Lil Johnson, "Get 'em from the Peanut Man (The New Hot Nuts)" (Vocalion 03241, 1936)
File: EM344
===
NAME: Hot Time in the Old Town, A: see There'll Be a Hot Time (In the Old Town Tonight) (File: RL532)
===
NAME: Hound Dawg Song, The: see The Hound Dog Song (File: R512)
===
NAME: Hound Dog Song, The
DESCRIPTION: "Ev'ry time I come to town, The boys keep kickin' my dog around, Makes no diff'rence if he is a hound, They gotta quit kickin' my dog around." The details of the tussle between dog and people is described, ending when the dog's owners counterattack
AUTHOR: Words: Ebb M. Oungst; music: Cy Pekins (according to the Edison comnpany)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1912 (sundry sheet music publications)
KEYWORDS: fight dog injury
FOUND_IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES: (6 citations)
Randolph 512, "The Hound Dog Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 357-360, "The Hound Dog Song" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 512)
Lomax-FSNA, "The Hound Dawg Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 253-254, "The Hound Dog Song" (1 text)
DT, KICKDAWG*
ADDITIONAL: Fred W. Allsopp, Folklore of Romantic Arkansas, Volume II (1931), pp. 196-198, "The Ozark Dog Song" (1 fragment plus extensive folklore about whether the song is from Missouri or Arkansas)
Roud #6690
RECORDINGS:
American Quartet & Byron G. Harlan, "They Gotta Quit Kicking My Dog" (Victor 17065, 1912)
Byron G. Harlan, "Gotta Quit Kickin' My Dawg Aroun'" (Columbia A-1150, 1912) (Edison Amberol 1023, 1912)
Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers, "Ya Gotta Quit Kickin' My Dog Aroun'" (Columbia 15084-D, 1926)
Cy Stebbins, "They Gotta Quit Kickin' My Dawg Aroun'" (Vocalion 14378, 1922)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
You Gotta Quit Kickin' My Dog Around
NOTES: This was the campaign song of Champ Clark, [representative] from Missouri, during his campaign for President of the United States. He lost. -PJS
As a matter of fact, James Beauchamp "Champ" Clark was never even nominated for the Presidency, though he came very close. As Congressman from Missouri, he had been a leader in the fight to strip the Speaker of the House of his dictatorial powers in that chamber. This made him an obvious candidate for the Presidency in 1912. But the Democratic Party required that candidates receive two-thirds of the votes of the nominating convention delegates, and Clark -- though he was the clear favorite among the candidates -- never did gain that many votes (this was in the days when most delegates were chosen by caucus). Eventually his support started to fail, and a series of deals made Woodrow Wilson the Democratic nominee.
With the Republican Party split between the factions of Taft and Theodore Roosevelt, the Democratic nominee's election was assured. Thus Clark was only a rule change away from being elected President -- but not a single person ever voted for him in a national election.
Randolph heard a story which based this on a pre-Civil-War incident in Forsyth, Missouri. Proof is, of course, lacking, and if the attribution to Oungst and Pekins is correct (which I don't quite believe), it seems unlikely to be true. - RBW
File: R512
===
NAME: Hourra, Mes Boues, Hourra!
DESCRIPTION: Shanty. Sailor is gathering strawberries and feeding them to a girl. Her mother arrives; he says he's using the berries to fix her teeth. The mother wants her share too, but the sailor says they're only for girls of 15. The old ones are for the captain.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (Hugill)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage shanty bawdy food
FOUND_IN: Canada France
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hugill, pp. 137-138, "Hourra, Mes Boues, Hourra!" (2 texts, 1 tune)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Derriere chez nous y a z'un petit bois (Behind Our House There is a Little Wood)
NOTES: If sung in French, the text is full of bawdy double entendres. This was possibly derived from a French-Canadian folk song with a similar story. - SL
File: Hugi137
===
NAME: House Carpenter and the Ship Carpenter, The: see The Daemon Lover (The House Carpenter) [Child 243] (File: C243)
===
NAME: House Carpenter, The: see The Daemon Lover (The House Carpenter) [Child 243] (File: C243)
===
NAME: House o' Glenneuk, The: see The Pedlar (I) (File: FVS126)
===
NAME: House of the Rising Sun, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer laments, "There is a house in New Orleans / They call the Rising Sun / It's been the ruin of many a poor girl / And me, O God, I'm one." She tells of her troubled childhood, laments that she cannot escape her life, and warns others against it
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (recording, Ashley & Foster)
KEYWORDS: whore lament gambling drink husband father mother
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Randolph-Legman I, pp. 250-253, "The House of the Rising Sun" (5 texts, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 151, "The Rising Sun Blues" (1 text, 1 tune)
PSeeger-AFB, p. 18, "House Of The Rising Sun" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 184, "House Of The Rising Sun" (1 text)
DT, HOUSESUN*
Roud #6393
RECORDINGS:
Roy Acuff & his Smoky Mountain Boys, "The Rising Sun" (Vocalion 04909, 1939)
Almanac Singers, "House of the Rising Sun" (General 5020B, 1941; on Almanac01, Almanac03, AlmanacCD1)
Clarence Ashley & Doc Watson, "Rising Sun Blues" (on Ashley03, WatsonAshley01)
[Clarence] Ashley & [Gwen] Foster, "The Rising Sun Blues" (on Vocalion 02576, 1933)
Homer Callahan, "Rounder's Luck" (Melotone 6-02-59, 1936; rec. 1935)
Dillard Chandler, "Sport in New Orleans" (on Chandler01)
Tom Darby & Jimmie Tarlton, "Rising Sun Blues" (Columbia 15701-D, c. 1931)
Woody Guthrie, "House of the Rising Sun" (on AschRec2)
Esco Hankins, "The Rising Sun" (King 650, 1947)
Daw Henson, "The Rising Sun Blues" (AAFS 1508 B2)
Roscoe Holcomb, "The Rising Sun" [LP] or "House in New Orleans" [CD] (on Holcomb-Ward1, HolcombCD1)
Bert Martin, "The Rising Sun Blues" (AAFS 1496 B2)
Pete Seeger, "House of the Rising Sun" (on PeteSeeger18)
Georgia Turner, "The Rising Sun Blues" (AAFS 1404 A1)
NOTES: Legman offers extensive, if rambling, notes in Randolph-Legman I. - EC
While this song is generally associated in the public mind with African-American tradition, it clearly circulated in the Anglo-American community extensively; Clarence Ashley said he learned it from his grandmother. - PJS
Tex Alexander in 1928 recorded a song with the "Rising Sun" title, which we took for a time to be the earliest reference. But Mark R. Fletcher sends me information making it clear that this is a different piece with the same name. - RBW
File: RL250
===
NAME: House That Jack Built, The
DESCRIPTION: Jack built his house." "This is the malt that lay in the house that Jack built" "This is the sack that held the malt that lay in the house that Jack built" ....
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1780 (J. Marshall, according to Opie-Oxford2)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: "Jack built his house" The master of hounds chases the fox that killed the cock that woke the priest that married the man that married the maiden that milked the cow that tossed the dog that tossed the dog that worried the cat that killed the rat that gnawed the string that tied the sack that held the malt that lay in the house that Jack built.
KEYWORDS: cumulative nonballad marriage farming animal clergy home
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South))
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Opie-Oxford2 258, "This is the house that Jack built (1 text)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #30, pp. 44-45, "(This is the house that Jack built)"
Roud #12921
RECORDINGS:
Charlie Wills, "The House That Jack Built" (on Voice18)
File: RcTHTJBu
===
NAME: House-Burning in Carter County, The
DESCRIPTION: A mother sets out from home to get some mullen oil, but -- despite her child's encouragement to hurry -- stays to talk. Before she returns, her house catches fire and her children die in each other's arms. The mother is told they are at rest
AUTHOR: James W. Day ("Jilson Setters")?
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas)
KEYWORDS: fire death children mother
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Thomas-Makin', pp. 108-109, (no title) (1 text)
ST ThBa108 (Partial)
Roud #13945
File: ThBa108
===
NAME: Housekeeper's Tragedy, A: see The Housewife's Lament (File: FSC097)
===
NAME: Housewife's Lament, The
DESCRIPTION: The housewife complains of her never-ending war against dirt: "Oh life is a toil and love is a trouble, Beauties will fade and riches will flee, Pleasures they dwindle and prices they double...." At last she dies "and was buried in dirt."
AUTHOR: H. A. Fletcher?
EARLIEST_DATE: 1871
KEYWORDS: work wife lament death burial dream
FOUND_IN: US(MA,MW,SE)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
BrownIII 312, "A Housekeeper's Tragedy" (1 text plus an excerpt)
FSCatskills 97, "Life Is a Toil" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 67, "The Housewife's Lament" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 184, "The Housewife's Lament" (1 text)
DT, HSEWFLAM
Roud #5472
RECORDINGS:
Loman D. Cansler, "The Housekeeper's Complaint" (on Cansler1)
File: FSC097
===
NAME: How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?
DESCRIPTION: Times are hard; goods used to be cheap, but they're now exorbitant. Schools are bad, but all children are sent nonetheless. Prohibition, although good, is inappropriately enforced. Preachers and doctors are corrupt.
AUTHOR: Blind Alfred Reed
EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (recording, Blind Alfred Reed)
KEYWORDS: hardtimes nonballad money
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Darling-NAS, pp. 383-384, "How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?" (1 text)
RECORDINGS:
New Lost City Ramblers, "How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?" (on NLCR09, NLCRCD1)
Blind Alfred Reed, "How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?" (Victor V-40236, 1929; on HardTimes1)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Rigs of the Times" (subject)
NOTES: Pity we don't have a keyword "bitching." - PJS
File: RcHCPMSS
===
NAME: How Can I Keep from Singing
DESCRIPTION: "My life flows on in endless song Above earth's lamentation... It sounds an echo in my soul, How can I keep from singing." The singer notes all the troubles swirling around, but refuses to be influences by such things
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1868 (New York Observer and Chronicle, according to John Garst)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Silber-FSWB, p. 353, "How Can I Keep From Singing" (1 text)
DT, KEEPSING*
NOTES: My original notes on this mentioned it as a Quaker song, based on liner notes on an album that shall remain nameless (and certainly it fits Quaker doctrine regarding the individual conscience, plus there is that line about "When friend (Friends?) by shame are undefiled..."). But John Garst has found out more about it:
"The text was first published with a tune by Robert Lowry in _Bright Jewels for the Sunday School_, 1869. The text alone, entitled Always Rejoicing, was published in the _New York Observer and Chronicle_, August 27, 1868 (information from Barbara Swetman). The text was submitted to the Observer, apparently as an original work, by 'Pauline T.' The song has nothing to do with Quakers, who did not sing hymns in their early days, except that Doris Plenn's Quaker grandmother knew it. One of the stanzas sung by Pete Seeger, beginning "When tyrants tremble, sick with fear," is by Doris Plenn. It is a protest of McCarthyism." - JG (RBW)
File: FSWB353A
===
NAME: How Come That Blood?: see Edward [Child 13] (File: C013)
===
NAME: How Dry I Am
DESCRIPTION: "How dry I am/How dry I am/Nobody knows/How dry I am"
AUTHOR: Music: Edward Rimbault, adapted by Tom A. Johnstone; Words: Will B. Johnstone
EARLIEST_DATE: 1921 (sheet music)
KEYWORDS: drink nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Fuld-WFM, pp. 279-280, "How Dry I Am"
RECORDINGS:
Bar Harbor Society Orchestra, "Old Timers" (Vocalion A-14315, 1922)
Wise String Orchestra, "How Dry I Am" (Vocalion 05360, 1939)
NOTES: This fits Dave Para's definition of folklore perfectly: What everybody knows, and no one gives a second thought. I'm astonished it's not listed in any books we've indexed thus far.
Fuld describes the melody as an adaptation of the hymn "(O) Happy Day," published in the 1855 "Wesleyan Sacred Harp." A short version of the song appeared in the musical "Up in the Clouds", and we've listed that as "Earliest Date." The complete song was published in Gaskill & Ernest's "Good Fellow Songs," published in 1933 -- just in time for Repeal. - PJS
File: RcHDIA
===
NAME: How I Love the Old Black Cat
DESCRIPTION: "Who so full of fun and glee? Happy as a cat can be, Polished sides so nice and fat, How I love the old black cat! Yes I do." The boys try to sick dogs on the cat, but the girl (?) rescues it. She prefers it to other pets
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: animal nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 147, "How I Love the Old Black Cat" (1 text)
Roud #15767
File: Br3147
===
NAME: How I Wish I Was Single Again: see I Wish I Were Single Again (II - Female) (File: E070)
===
NAME: How Long Blues
DESCRIPTION: "How long, how long Has that evening train been gone, How long, Baby, how long, how long?... How long will it be Before you learn to quit mistreating me?" The singer complains about his lost woman and the travelling he has done.
AUTHOR: Leroy Carr?
EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (recordings, Tampa Red's Hokum Jazz Band, Gladys Bentley); perhaps 1921 (recorded by Daisy Martin)
KEYWORDS: loneliness separation travel
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Cohen-LSRail, pp. 437-440, "How Long, How Long Blues" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 314, "How Long Blues" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, HOWLONG*
ADDITIONAL: _Sing Out_ magazine, Volume 25, #1 (1976), p, 39, "How Long" (1 text, 1 tune, from Mable Hillery, which is a somewhat dubious relative; it has this general tone and many similar lyrics but also has much floating material and a different final line); Volume 38, #4 (1994), pp. 40-41, "How Long Blues" (1 text, 1 tune, the original Carr/Blackwell version)
RECORDINGS:
Shelley Armstrong [Bumble Bee Slim] , "How Long, How Long Blues" (Champion 50008, 1935)
Gladys Bentley, "How Long - How Long Blues" (OKeh 8612, 1928)
Leroy Carr [and Scrapper Blackwell], "How Long -- How Long Blues" (Vocalion 1191, 1928; Vocalion 1241, 1929; Banner 32557/Oriole 8166/Perfect 0215/Romeo 5166, 1932)
Jed Davenport, "How Long How Long Blues" (Vocalion 1440, 1930)
Folkmasters, "Rising Sun" (on Fmst01) [This is *not* "House of the Rising Sun," but a Brownie McGhee partial rewrite of "How Long Blues"]
Bertha "Chippie" Hill w. Baby Dodds' Stompers "How Long Blues" (Circle J-1003, n.d.)
Wingy Manone & his orchestra, "How Long Blues" (Bluebird B-10749, 1940)
Daisy Martin, "How Long? How Long?" (OKeh 8009, 1921, possibly this song)
Tampa Red's Hokum Jug Band, "How Long How Long Blues" (Vocalion 1228, 1928)
SAME_TUNE:
Leroy Carr, "How Long, How Long Blues Part 2" (Vocalion 1279, 1929; Banner 32557/Oriole 8166/Perfect 0215/Romeo 5166, 1932; rec. 1928); Carr later released additional "How Long" sequels
Leroy Carr w. Earl, "Scrapper" Blackwell, "The New How Long How Long Blues" (Vocalion 1435, 1930)
NOTES: I have not heard the Daisy Martin recording; it may be a different song. If it's the same, however, that shoots Carr's authorship in the foot. - PJS
According to Cohen, Martin's recording is "not closely related"; neither is a song recorded in 1928 by Alberta Brown, "How Long." Cohen of course does note some earlier materials which may have inspired Carr.
Cohen adds that their June 1928 recordings "inaugurat[ed] a major change in the nature of recorded blues music. Smoother, more urbane than most of the country blues that preceded them, more polished, and considerably more danceable, their style was immediately emulated." The result was to make piano-and-guitar blues much more common. - RBW
Except that they *didn't* get much more common, unless Carr and Blackwell were doing them. It's a difficult combination. - PJS
Carr and Blackwell alone were responsible for quite a few; the 1994 article in Sing Out! quotes William Barlow's _The Emergence of Blues Culture_ as saying the two had to re-record the song three times because the master kept wearing out! It was one of the best-selling "race" records of the period.
Carr unfortunately died in 1935 of alcohol abuse; he was only 30 years old. This probably means that a number of questions about this song will never be answered. - RBW
File: LoF314
===
NAME: How Long, How Long Blues: see How Long Blues (File: LoF314)
===
NAME: How Many Biscuits Can You Eat?
DESCRIPTION: "How many biscuits can you eat, this mornin', this mornin'? (x2) Forty-nine, and a ham of meat, this mornin'." Discussion of food, work, etc., with many floating verses ("Ain't no use me workin' so hard," "If you get there before I do").
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (recording, Humphrey Bate)
KEYWORDS: food nonballad work
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #7876
RECORDINGS:
Dr. Humphrey Bate & his Possum Hunters, "How Many Biscuits Can You Eat?" (Brunswick 232, 1928)
Gwen Foster, "How Many Biscuits Can I Eat" (Bluebird B-8082/Montgomery Ward M-7859 [as "How Many Biscuits Can You Eat"], 1939)
Grandpa Jones, "How Many Biscuits Can You Eat?" (King 740, 1948)
Pickard Family, "How Many Biscuits Can You Eat" (Coast 253, n.d.)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Crawdad" (tune)
SAME_TUNE:
Crawdad (File: R443)
NOTES: This is pretty definitely built about "Crawdad," or one of its relatives, and manages to be even sillier than that silly song. But it's been recorded enough that I finally decided it went in the Index. - RBW
File: RcHMBCYE
===
NAME: How Many Miles to Babyland?: see How Many Miles to Babylon? (File: HHH040a)
===
NAME: How Many Miles to Babylon?
DESCRIPTION: Singing game: "How Many Miles to (Babylon)? (Three) score and ten. Can I get there by candlelight? Yes, and back again." The rest of the song may refer to the pleasures of "Babyland" (Henry text), or to courting, or traveling -- or something else
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1805 (Songs for the Nursery, according to Opie-Oxford2)
KEYWORDS: playparty travel nonballad
FOUND_IN: Ireland Britain(England(All), Scotland) US(NE)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
SHenry H40a, p. 12, "How Many Miles to Babyland?" (1 text, 1 tune)
Linscott, pp. 18-19, "How Many Miles to London Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
Opie-Oxford2 26, "How many miles to Babylon?" (2 texts)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #146, p. 115, "(How many miles to Babylon?)"
Montgomerie-ScottishNR 81, "(How many miles to Glasgow Lea?)" (1 text)
Roud #8148
NOTES: Sam Henry was of the opinion that the original text of this song referred to "Babyland," with "Babylon" as a corruption. Gomme, however, has nineteen texts (though a handful may not be this piece), and seven refer to Babylon, three to Banbury (Cross/Bridge), a couple of others to variants on Bethlehem, a few to London, and none to Babyland.
In defence of Sam Henry, there is a piece called "Babyl-land" with several sheet music settings, by Jeannette Amidon (LOCSheet, sm1877 04182, "Baby-land," Wm. A. Pond (New York), 1877 (tune)) and Gerrit Smith (LOCSheet, sm1884 24704, "Baby-land," Wm. A. Pond (New York), 1884 (tune)). But these really look like by-blows to me. I have to think "Babylon" is original even though it's hard to explain.- RBW
File: HHH040a
===
NAME: How Many Miles to Banbury?: see How Many Miles to Babylon? (File: HHH040a)
===
NAME: How Many Miles to Glasgow Lea?: see How Many Miles to Babylon? (File: HHH040a)
===
NAME: How Many Miles to London Town?: see How Many Miles to Babylon? (File: HHH040a)
===
NAME: How Old Are You, My Pretty Little Miss?: see Seventeen Come Sunday [Laws O17] (File: LO17)
===
NAME: How Paddy Stole the Rope
DESCRIPTION: Paddy and Mick rob a church. They need rope to bind the loot. Paddy climbs the bell rope to the top, cuts the rope above himself and falls. Mick climbs up, cuts the rope beneath himself and can't get down. The boys are caught and thrown in jail
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1901 (O'Conor)
KEYWORDS: prison robbery unemployment humorous
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
O'Conor, pp. 68-69, "How Paddy Stole the Rope" (1 text)
McBride 57, "Paddy Stole the Rope" (1 text, 1 tune)
ADDITIONAL: Hazel Felleman, Best Loved Poems of the American People, p. 474, "How Paddy Stole the Rope" (1 text)
ST OCon068 (Partial)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 20(65), "How Paddy Stole the Rope," unknown, n.d.
File: OCon068
===
NAME: How Sad Was the Death of My Sweetheart: see Saint James Infirmary (File: San228)
===
NAME: How Sadly My Heart Yearns Toward You: see Broken Ties (I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes) (File: BrII156)
===
NAME: How Sweet the Rose Blaws
DESCRIPTION: "How sweet the rose blaws, it fades and it fa's; Red is the rose and bonnie, O! It brings to my mind what my dear laddie was; So bloomed -- so cut off was my Johnnie, O!" Peace is come, but the singer's love is dead. She will meet him soon (in death)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Ford)
KEYWORDS: love soldier death flowers
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ford-Vagabond, p. 176, "How Sweet the Rose Blaws" (1 text)
Roud #13166
NOTES: This is almost the only song in Ford which is offered entirely without comment. Whatever that means. - RBW
File: FVS176A
===
NAME: How Tattersall's Cup Was Won
DESCRIPTION: "Fair, every heights are gleaming Beneath the sun God gave, Great waves of life are swaying Along the wheel-worn wave." A very detailed description of the race, listing many of the horses as well as the rider who was thrown and killed
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1968
KEYWORDS: racing death horse
FOUND_IN: Australia
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Meredith/Anderson, pp. 249-253, "How Tattersall's Cup Was Won" (1 text)
NOTES: Meredith and Anderson believe this piece pertains to the race in which Alec Robertson was killed. This is quite reasonable, but the accident plays a relatively minor role. - RBW
File: MA249
===
NAME: How Tedious and Tasteless the Hours: see Greenfields (How Tedious and Tasteless the Hours) (File: San154)
===
NAME: How We Got Back to the Woods Last Year: see How We Got Up to the Woods Last Year (File: FowL45)
===
NAME: How We Got Up to the Woods Last Year
DESCRIPTION: "Come all you lads that would like to hear How we got up to the woods last year." The singer and colleagues gather (to go logging). They hire a coach and feel grand. They perhaps get drunk. They arrive.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1957 (Fowke)
KEYWORDS: travel drink logger
FOUND_IN: Canada(Ont,Que)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Fowke-Lumbering #45, "How We Got Up to the Woods Last Year" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Fowke/MacMillan 22, "How We Got Up to the Woods Last Year" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3676
RECORDINGS:
O. J. Abbott, "How We Got Back to the Woods Last Year" (on Lumber01)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Conroy's Camp" (tune, lyrics, theme)
cf. "Rantin', Roarin', Drunk on the Way" (lyrics)
SAME_TUNE:
Conroy's Camp (File: FowL46)
NOTES: This is about as interesting as the description implies; even Fowke admits that the song lacks "any dramatic incident."
The chorus is shared, in general form, with "Rantin', Roarin', Drunk on the Way" -- but the plot is different; it appears to be simply a case of the cross-fertilization so common among lumbering songs. - RBW
File: FowL45
===
NAME: Howard Carey [Laws E23]
DESCRIPTION: The singer, Howard Carey, recalls his happy youth. But he left home and parents and, despite his mother's warnings, turns to a dissolute life. Blaming his fate on whiskey and bad women, he kills himself
AUTHOR: probably Joe Scott
EARLIEST_DATE: 1948 (Manny/Wilson)
KEYWORDS: suicide drink family
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 5, 1897 - "Howard Carrick, a woodsman, aged 33, hanged himself in his room at Annie Siddal's boarding house in Rumford, Maine..." (source: Ives-DullCare)
FOUND_IN: US(NE) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Laws E23, "Howard Carey"
Dibblee/Dibblee, pp. 59-60, "Howard Kerry" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ives-DullCare, pp. 131-132,247, "Howard Carey" (1 text, 1 tune)
Manny/Wilson 22, "Howard Carey" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 834, HOWCAREY*
Roud #9191
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Howard Carragher
NOTES: Ives-DullCare is unequivocal about the author being Joe Scott. - BS
Manny/Wilson attributes it without hesitation to Scott as well. They note, however, what appear to be allusions to British material. Their background notes that this is described as "the true story of Howard Carey (variously spelled Kerrick, Currie, Carrick...) who was born in Grand Falls on the Upper St. John River. Howard led a wandering life, went to the bad, and finally hanged himself in Rumford Falls, Maine." - RBW
File: LE23
===
NAME: Howes o' King-Edward, The
DESCRIPTION: "Though lovely the land where in childhood I wandered," the singer looks back on a different, more gloomy world. He recalls happy days of the past; now, "O, changed are the Howes o' King-Edward to me!"
AUTHOR: William Cruikshanks (died 1868)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord)
KEYWORDS: home nonballad
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ord, pp. 339-340, "The Howes o' King-Edward" (1 text)
Roud #3942
File: Ord339
===
NAME: Hu, Hu, Hu!
DESCRIPTION: German shanty. Translation: "Oh the bosun's great big fid boys, Hu, hu, hu, hu, hu! Is as long as a tops'l yard boys. Hu... Ch: Yaw, yaw, yaw we'll sing boys, an' we'll heave away (x2)."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (Baltzer, _Knurrhahn_)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage shanty
FOUND_IN: Germany
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hugill, pp. 536-537, "Hu, Hu, Hu!" (1 text, 1 tune -- a translation only; Hugill says the original was too rough)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Reise, Reise!
File: Hugi536
===
NAME: Huckleberry Hunting
DESCRIPTION: Shanty. Characteristic line: "To me, Hilo, me Ranzo boy!" Boys and girls went huckleberry hunting, with the boys naturally chasing the girls. In the end a boy proposes to a girl (perhaps after seeing her garter)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1917
KEYWORDS: shanty courting
FOUND_IN: US(MA) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (8 citations)
Doerflinger, p. 32, "Huckleberry Hunting" (1 text, 1 tune)
Colcord, p. 69, "Huckleberry Hunting" (1 text, 1 tune)
Harlow, pp. 88-89, "Hilo, My Ranzo Way" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Hugill, pp. 249-250, "We'll Ranzo Way" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, pp. 181-182]
Sharp-EFC, XIV, p. 17, "Huckleberry Hunting" (1 text, 1 tune)
Mackenzie 102, "The Wild Goose" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, (RANZORAY* -- the text here is very similar to Doerflinger's, but the tunes are so different that one wonders if they could be the same shanty)
ADDITIONAL: Captain John Robinson, "Songs of the Chantey Man," a series published July-August 1917 in the periodical _The Bellman_ (Minneapolis, MN, 1906-1919). "Huckleberry Picking" is in Part 1, 7/14/1917.
Roud #328
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Ranzo Ray" (floating lyrics, form of chorus)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Sing Hilo, Me Ranzo Ray
The Wild Goose Shanty
File: Doe032
===
NAME: Huckleberry Picking: see Huckleberry Hunting (File: Doe032)
===
NAME: Hudson River Steamboat
DESCRIPTION: "Hudson River steamboat, sailing up and down, New York to Albany or any river town, Choo choo to go ahead, Choo choo to slack her...." Sketches of places one would pass and things one might see from the steamboat
AUTHOR: perhaps adapted by John Allison?
EARLIEST_DATE: 1955
KEYWORDS: river ship nonballad technology
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Lomax-FSNA 40, "Hudson River Steamboat" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, HUDSNRVR
Roud #6671
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Hudson River Steamer
File: LoF040
===
NAME: Hugh Hill, the Ramoan Smuggler
DESCRIPTION: The singer, a member of Hill's smuggling crew, recalls how Dixon betrayed them. A cutter captures Hill's ship, but when the crew is brought to trial, no proof is available; Hill and crew go free and will smuggle more
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: trial punishment ship escape
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H494, pp. 127-128, "Hugh Hill, the Ramoan Smuggler" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13372
NOTES: One of the less-intelligent British colonial policies was to cut off all sorts of external (and even internal) trade. This made smugglers like Hugh Hill heroes. There really weren't many of them, though -- Ireland didn't have enough excess income to support a large smuggling industry. - RBW
File: HHH494
===
NAME: Hugh of Lincoln: see Sir Hugh, or, The Jew's Daughter [Child 155] (File: C155)
===
NAME: Hugh of Lincoln and The Jew's Daughter: see Sir Hugh, or, The Jew's Daughter [Child 155] (File: C155)
===
NAME: Hugh Spencer's Feats in France [Child 158]
DESCRIPTION: Hugh Spencer is sent to the king of France to know whether there be peace or war; answer: War. The French queen challenges him to joust with her knight. French horses and spears are inferior but he wins, then fights others until the king sues for peace.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1750 (Percy folio)
KEYWORDS: royalty war France knight fight
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1337-1453 - Hundred Years' War between Britain and France
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Child 158, "Hugh Spencer's Feats in France" (3 texts)
Roud #3997
NOTES: In trying to match the events here with actual history, we should note the reigns of the various Kings Henry of England before 1525:
Henry I, 1100-1135 (no war with France; skirmishing in Normandy)
Stephen, 1135-1154 (no war with France; civil war in England)
Henry II, 1154-1189 (constant skirmishing with France)
Richard I, 1189-1199 (continued skirmishing with France)
John, 1199-1216 (John, bankrupted by Richard's spending, cannot defend Normandy)
Henry III, 1216-1272 (cold war with France but no direct fighting)
Edward I, 1272-1307 (cold war with France but no direct fighting)
Edward II, 1307-1327 (cold war with France but no direct fighting)
Edward III, 1307-1377 (war declared with France 1337. Victories at Sluys, Crecy, Poitiers. Peace of Bretigny 1360.)
Richard II, 1377-1399 (Technical peace, but France keeps retaking land)
Henry IV, 1399-1413 (technically at war with France but no direct fighting; France continues to recapture land)
Henry V, 1413-1422 (invaded France 1415; appointed heir to Charles VI 1421)
Henry VI, 1422-1461 AND 1470-1471 (all British possessions in France except Calais lost by 1453; fighting was constant, though Henry hated it and eventually went mad)
Edward IV, 1461-1470 AND 1471-1483 (plans and mounts but does not carry through an invasion of France)
Edward V, 1483 (did not reign in fact)
Richard III, 1483-1485 (no time for war with France)
Henry VII, 1485-1509 (too cheap to even think about war)
Henry VIII, 1509-1547 (last English king to threaten France)
During this period France had several Kings Charles:
Charles IV, 1314-1328
Charles V, 1364-1380 (and sometimes regent while his father John was in English captivity)
Charles VI (Charles the Mad), 1380-1422
Charles VII 1422-1461 (not crowned until 1430)
Charles VIII 1470-1498
Thus, although the song is not dated, it seems very likely that it is intended to refer to the time of Henry V. It's true that Charles VI was not in very good mental shape at the time (a madness that would, in fact, come to affect Henry V's son Henry VI, who was Charles's grandson) -- but an English song could easily ignore that fact. - RBW
File: C158
===
NAME: Hughie Grame [Child 191]
DESCRIPTION: Hugh the Graeme is taken for horse thieving. Many pray for his life, but the Bishop (of Carlisle) is bitterly opposed and has his way. (Hugh is executed.) The reason is that the Bishop has seduced Hugh's wife, and the horse stealing was in retaliation
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1803 (Scott; reference in Ritson, 1790)
KEYWORDS: execution revenge adultery robbery
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North),Scotland(Aber,High))
REFERENCES: (9 citations)
Child 191, "Hughie Grame" (9 texts)
Bronson 191, "Hughie Grame" (7 versions)
Dixon XV, pp. 73-76, "Sir Hugh, the Graeme" (1 text)
GreigDuncan2 271, "Sir Hugh the Graeme" (2 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #4}
Stokoe/Reay, pp. 98-99, "Hughie the Graeme" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #5}
OBB 143, "Hughie the Graeme" (1 text)
BBI, ZN287, "As it befel upon one time"; ZN1008, "Good Lord John is a hunting gone"
DT 191, HUGRAME* HUGRAME2*
ADDITIONAL: James Kinsley, editor, Burns: Complete Poems and Songs (shorter edition, Oxford, 1969) #342, pp. 474-476, "Hughie Graham" (1 text, 1 tune, from 1792)
Roud #84
RECORDINGS:
Ewan MacColl, "Hughie the Graeme" (on ESFB1, ESFB2) {Bronson's #6}; Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, "Hughie Grame" (on SCMacCollSeeger01) {for tune cf. Bronson's #4}
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Gallant Grahams" (lyrics)
cf. "Druimionn Dubh" (tune, according to Burns)
File: C191
===
NAME: Hullaballo-Balay: see Hullabaloo Belay (File: FSWB084A)
===
NAME: Hullabaloo Belay
DESCRIPTION: Shanty. Characteristic line: "Hullabaloo belay, Hullabaloo bela belay." The singer's mother keeps a boarding house. With the boarders at sea, Shallo Brown courts the mother. She runs off with Shallo (but returns the next day). The father pines away
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: Early 1950s (recording, Richard Dyer-Bennet)
KEYWORDS: shanty home mother father abandonment death jealousy adultery infidelity return humorous
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Hugill, pp. 484-485, "Hullaballo-Balay" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 84, "Hullabaloo Belay" (1 text)
DT, HULLABOO*
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Shallo Brown (Shallow Brown)" (character)
cf. "Ali Alo" (similar tune and chorus)
File: FSWB084A
===
NAME: Humble Farmer, The
DESCRIPTION: "I saw a humble farmer, His back was bending low, A-pickin' out the cotton, Along the cotton row." The ragged farmer meets the merchant, who demand, "Pay me all you owe." The farmer cannot pay it all; he hopes for an extension until next fall
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: work poverty hardtimes farming
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 213, "The Humble Farmer" (1 text)
Roud #6709
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Farmer Is the Man" (theme)
cf. "Po' Farmer" (theme)
cf. "Down on the Farm (III)" (theme)
File: Br3213
===
NAME: Humble Village Maid Going a-Milking, The
DESCRIPTION: Maid going milking rejects advances of rich suitor "for Edmund he's the lad I love He won my heart,she said, And he has promised for to wed his humble village maid"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield)
KEYWORDS: poverty courting love marriage rejection money
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 77, "The Humble Village Maid Going a-Milking" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: GrMa077
===
NAME: Humoresque
DESCRIPTION: An omnibus of disparate stanzas, bawdy and scatological, set to Dvorak's familiar piano composition.
AUTHOR: unknown (music by Antonin Dvorak)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1940 (music published 1894)
KEYWORDS: bawdy scatological humorous
FOUND_IN: Australia Britain(England) US(MW,SW)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Cray, pp. 235-239, "Humoresque" (4 texts, 1 tune)
DT, HUMORESQ*
Roud #10262
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Footprints on the Dashboard" (tune)
NOTES: The late Supreme Court Associate Justice William O. Douglas claims that he and fellow Yale Law School professor Thurman Arnold wrote at least one of the verses to this in the early 1930s. See Douglas's _Go East, Young Man_ (pp. 171-172). - EC
File: EM235
===
NAME: Humours of Donnybrook Fair (I), The
DESCRIPTION: "To Donnybrook steer, all you sons of Parnassus, Poor painters, poor ... To see what the fun is": pig hunts, fights, horse races, tradesmen of all kinds, tinkers, singers, dancing dogs, pickpockets, barbers, whisky. "There's naught more uproarious"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1839 (Croker-PopularSongs)
KEYWORDS: commerce sports drink food music begging humorous nonballad animal dog horse
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 184-189, "The Humours of Donnybrook Fair" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 265-267, "The Humours of Donnybrook Fair"
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding Harding B 25(28), "The Humours of Donnybrook ("To donnybrook steeer [sic] all ye sons of parnassus"), unknown, n.d.
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Ballynafad" (tune, according to Croker-PopularSongs)
NOTES: Donnybrook is less than three miles from Dublin. - BS
Parnassus is a mountain near Delphi in Greece, considered sacred to Apollo and the muses. Hence the soms of Parnassus are artists, poets, and the like.
According to Partridge's _Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English_, the term "donnybrook" for a fight is originally Australian and comes from c. 1920, but it derives from the reputation of Donnybrook Fair for wild events such as those described here. - RBW
File: CrPS184
===
NAME: Humours of Donnybrook Fair (II), The
DESCRIPTION: Dermot O'Nolan M'Figg, "that could properly handle a twig" goes to Donnybrook Fair intent on dancing. At each tent he "took a small drop." He sees his Kate dancing and clubs her partner, who, she explained, is her cousin. They are reconciled.
AUTHOR: Charles O'Flaherty (1794-1828) (source: Hoagland)
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1886 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(937))
KEYWORDS: fight dancing drink humorous
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
ADDITIONAL: Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 390-392, "The Humours of Donnybrook Fair"
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(937), "The Donnybrook Jig" ("Oh, 'twas Dermot O'Nolan M'Figg"), W.S. Fortey (London)), 1858-1885
NOTES: Broadside Bodleian B 11(937) is the basis for the description.
Donnybrook is less than three miles from Dublin. - BS
According to Partridge's _Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English_, the term "donnybrook" for a fight is originally Australian and comes from c. 1920, but it derives from the reputation of Donnybrook Fair for wild events such as those described here. - RBW
File: Hg10390
===
NAME: Humphrey Marshall
DESCRIPTION: "Oh General Humphrey Marshall Who weighs all of three hundred pound, To fetch here safe your message, On that purpose I am bound." "Humphrey Marshall he's our boss, Brave as hell and big as a hoss."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas)
KEYWORDS: Civilwar nonballad soldier
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Thomas-Makin', pp. 55-56 (no title) (2 very short fragments)
NOTES: Humphrey Marshall (1812-1872) was a Confederate politician (a Kentuckian, he served in congress as a Whig 1849-1852 and as a Know-Nothing in 1855-1859 as well as in the Confederate congress 1864-1865).
Marshall, who had graduated West Point (barely) but resigned after only a year of military life, was appointed a Confederate general in 1861, and -- in an interesting sidelight to Thomas's narrative about General Garfield -- fought against that Union general in early 1862.
Marshall had originally tried to keep Kentucky neutral in the Civil War, and only "went south" after his hopes failed. He probably received appointment because the Confederates needed Kentucky officers for recruiting purposes; this caused Marshall to be given a command during Bragg's 1862 invasion of Kentucky.
His record, however, was apparently not very distinguished; his weight is mentioned in both my biographic sources, and he is said to have been a poor disciplinarian. He finally resigned from the Confederate army in 1863 (he had already quit once in 1862), perhaps because he couldn't acquire a meaningful command. - RBW
File: ThBa055
===
NAME: Humping Old Bluey (The Poor Bushman)
DESCRIPTION: "Humping old bluey it is a stale game... You're battling with poverty, hunger, sharp thorn -- Things are just going middling with me." The shearer complains about the life after the shearing is over
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1964
KEYWORDS: rambling sheep Australia
FOUND_IN: Australia
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Meredith/Anderson, p. 125, "Humping Old Bluey" (1 text, 1 tune)
Manifold-PASB, p. 142, "Humping Old Bluey" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: MA125
===
NAME: Humpty Dumpty
DESCRIPTION: "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. Threescore men and threescore more Cannot place Humpty Dumpty as he was before." (Or, ... All the kings horses And all the king's men Couldn't put Humpty together again.)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1810 (Gammer Gurton's Garland)
KEYWORDS: death riddle
FOUND_IN: Britain(England,Scotland)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Opie-Oxford2 233, "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall" (1 text)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #670, pp. 268-269, "(Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall)"
Roud #13026
NOTES: These days, we all know this from Lewis Carroll -- though, interestingly, we don't use his last line ("Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty in his place again," which Alice correctly notes doesn't scan). It's found in the chapter "Humpty Dumpty" in _Through the Looking Glass_. But the first form quoted here is that found in _Gammer Gurton's Garland_, which according to the Baring-Goulds is the first appearance of the rhyme in print.
They claim, however, that the rhyme is much older as a riddle (presumably it ended with a question asking who Humpty was, the answer being "an egg"). - RBW
File: BGMG670
===
NAME: Humpy Hargis: see Buddy Won't You Roll Down the Line (File: ADR98)
===
NAME: Hundred Years Ago (I), A
DESCRIPTION: Shanty or windlass song, "A hundred years is a very long time, Oh, aye, oh, A hundred years on the Eastern Shore, A hundred years ago." "Ol' Bully John from Baltimore, Oh, aye, oh, I knew him well, that son-of-a-whore, A hundred years ago."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: sailor work shanty
FOUND_IN: US(MA,NE) Britain
REFERENCES: (6 citations)
Colcord, pp. 67-68, "A Hundred Years on the Eastern Shore" (1 text)
Harlow, pp. 62-63, 150, "A Long Time Ago (version 3)," "A Hundred Years Ago" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Hugill, pp. 101, "A Long Time Ago" (1 text, version "g" of "A Long Time Ago") [AbEd, p. 92]; pp. 509-511 "A Hundred Years Ago" (2 texts, 2 tunes) [AbEd, pp. 375-376]
Sharp-EFC, LII, p. 57, "A Hundred Years on the Eastern Shore" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sandburg, p. 485, "A Hundred Years Ago" (1 text, 1 tune, curiously listed as a religious song!)
DT, HUNDAGO*
Roud #926
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Yankee John, Stormalong (Liza Lee)" (lyrics)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Tis Time For Us to Go
File: San485
===
NAME: Hundred Years Ago, A: see A Long Time Ago (File: Doe037)
===
NAME: Hundred Years on the Eastern Shore, A: see A Hundred Years Ago (I) (File: San485)
===
NAME: Hung My Bucket on de White Folks' Fence
DESCRIPTION: "Hung my bucket on de white folks' fence, Hain't seen my bucket sense. Oh Lawd! Oh Lawd! Old Aunt Dinah, well she bounce around, Leave her wooden leg on de ground, Save her meat skin, lay dem away, To grease her wooden leg every day."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: theft dancing
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 475, "Hung My Bucket on de White Folks' Fence" (1 short text)
Roud #11801
File: Br3475
===
NAME: Hungry Army (I), The
DESCRIPTION: Having fought with his sweetheart, the Irishman enlists in the army. He quarrels with his NCOs, then is sent off to (China?) in a boat too small and ill-equipped for the soldiers. Sent into battle, he is injured and discharged
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Sam Henry collection); c. 1856 (broadside NLScotland, L.C.Fol.178.A.2(054))
KEYWORDS: soldier battle injury disability
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H92, p. 86, "The Hungry Army" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #1746
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 b.11(27), "The Hungry Army" ("The wind in thundering gales did roar"), unknown, n.d.
Murray, Mu23-y1:097, "The Hungry Army," James Lindsay (Glasgow), 19C
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.178.A.2(054), "The Hungry Army," James Lindsay (Glasgow), c.1856
NOTES: The notes to broadside Bodleian 2806 b.11(27) make the subject "War, Opium War, 1840-1842, Ireland"
Broadside Murray Mu23-y1:097 has the site of the war in China and the battle simply "on the field of battle."
Broadside NLScotland L.C.Fol.178.A.2(054) has the site of the war in Russia, rather than China; the singer is wounded November 5 at Inkerman. - BS
File: HHH092
===
NAME: Hungry Army (II), The
DESCRIPTION: The singer enlists and is sent to Ballarat. The men are so thin a strong wind "blew the lot away"; the singer gets a medal for surviving. He eats cabbage broth. Utensils are only used to cut hair. Sent to drill still strong recruits, he is beaten.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1886 (broadside, Bodleian Firth b.25(254))
KEYWORDS: army ordeal starvation Australia humorous
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond))
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #1746
RECORDINGS:
Walter Pardon, "The Hungry Army" (on Voice14)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth b.25(254), "The Hungry Army" ("When I was young and in my prime"), W.S. Fortey (London), 1858-1885; also Firth c.19(219), 2806 c.8(288), "The Hungry Army"
NOTES: Hall, notes to Voice14: "Servicemen also have the gift of moaning, and 'The Hungry Army', set in mid-nineteenth century Australia, is a typical squaddie beef at conditions and authority."
Ballarat is in Victoria, Australia, about 65 miles east of Melbourne. - BS
According to Andrew and Nancy Learmouth, _Encyclopedia of Australia_ (article on Ballarat in the second edition), the Ballarat region was not opened for settlement until 1837, during a drought. The population remained small until the 1851 gold rush; in 1851 "a septuagenarian digger named John Dunlop discovered the richest field of all, at Ballarat" (see Robert Hughes, _The Fatal Shore_, p. 562). I suspect that this is what brought Ballarat to the broadside-writers' attention -- especially since the British government charged the large fee of 30 shillings a month for a gold license (Hughes, p. 562),meaning that they needed some sort of law and order in the area. But gold rushes are almost always attended by squalor, since there are few supplies in the area. Hence, presumably, this song. But we note that it has mentions absolutely nothing about Australia except the name "Ballarat." I assume it is in fact an older piece adapted to the Australian gold rush.
Roud lumps this with "The Hungry Army (I)." But while the theme is the same, the plot is different enough that Ben Schwartz and I both believe it should be split. - RBW
File: RcHunAr2
===
NAME: Hungry Confederate Song, A
DESCRIPTION: "The streets are all lonely and drear, love, And all because you are not here, love, if you were here, you would shed a sad tear And open your cupboard to me." The singer describes his woeful condition and wishes that he had stew or cornbread or something
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (Hudson)
KEYWORDS: food love
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hudson 114, p. 257, "A Hungry Confederate Song" (1 text)
Roud #4498
NOTES: Hudson lists this as a Civil War song, and certainly it fits that conflict, in which Southern troops in particular often went hungry -- but there is no actual evidence in Hudson's text that it is a Civil War song, and neither he nor I knows another version to settle the claim. - RBW
File: Hud114
===
NAME: Hungry Fox, A: see The Fox and the Grapes (File: GC479a)
===
NAME: Hungry Hash House
DESCRIPTION: "I'm a boarder and I dwell in that second-rate hotel. If I stay here long, I think I'll go insane...." "Well, she promised she would meet me when the clock struck seventeen...." "She's my darling, she's my daisy. She's hump-backed and she's crazy...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (recording, Uncle Dave Macon)
KEYWORDS: poverty hardtimes home disease nonballad nonsense madness food
FOUND_IN: US(MA,MW,SE,So,SW)
REFERENCES: (7 citations)
Randolph 478, "The Boarding-House" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 371-373, "The Boardinghouse" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 478)
Sandburg, p. 207, "She Promised She'd Meet Me" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 220-221, "Hungry Hash House" (1 text, 1 tune)
Rorrer, p. 74, "Hungry Hash House" (1 text)
Gilbert, pp. 191-192, "The All Go Hungry Hash House" (1 text)
DT, HASHOUSE*
Roud #11719
RECORDINGS:
Arkansas Charlie [pseud. for Charlie Craver], "That Old Go Hungry Hash House" (Vocalion 5401, 1930)
Binkley Brothers' Dixie Clodhoppers, "All Go Hungry Hash House" (Victor 21758, 1928)
Charley Blake, "Hungry Hash House" (Supertone 9534, 1929)
Cofer Brothers, "All Go Hungry Hash House" (OKeh 45099, 1927)
Bill Cox, "Hungry Hash House Blues" (Champion 15792, 1929)
Uncle Dave Macon, "All Go Hungry Hash House" (Vocalion 15076, 1925)
New Lost City Ramblers, "Hungry Hash House" (on NLCR13)
Charlie Poole & the North Carolina Ramblers, "Hungry Hash House" (Columbia 15160-D, 1927; Velvet Tone 2492-V/Clarion 5432-C [both as Pete Harrison & his Bayou Boys], 1932; rec. 1926; on CPoole03)
Ernest V. Stoneman, "The Old Go Hungry Hash House" (Okeh 45062, 1926); "All Go Hungry Hash House" (Victor 20237, 1926); [Ernest Stoneman &] The Dixie Mountaineers, "All Go Hungry Hash House" (Edison, unissued, 1927) (Edison 52350, 1928) (CYL: Edison [BA] 5528, 1928)
Gordon Tanner, Smokey Joe Miller & Uncle John Patterson, "Lonesome Hungry Hash House" (on DownYonder)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane" (tune) and references there
cf. "Sara Jane" (tune, floating lyrics)
NOTES: The verse "She's my darling, she's my daisy, She's humpbacked and she's crazy... She's my freckled-faced consumptive Mary Ann" floats (e.g. Charlie Poole uses it in his version of "I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago (Bragging Song)"), and it also appears in "Sara Jane." Paul Stamler thinks that the most likely source, so we are now, somewhat tentatively, listing lose citations of that verse there unless we can determine their source. See, however, "Dennis McGonagle's Daughter Mary Ann." - RBW
File: San207
===
NAME: Hungry Hash House Blues: see Hungry Hash House (File: San207)
===
NAME: Hunt the Buffalo: see Shoot the Buffalo (File: R523)
===
NAME: Hunt the Squirrel
DESCRIPTION: "Hunt the squirrel through the wood, I lost him, I found him; I have a little dog at home, He won't bite you, He won't bite you, And he *will* bite you."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Linscott)
KEYWORDS: playparty animal hunting dog
FOUND_IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Linscott, pp. 37-38, "Lucy Locket" (1 text, 1 tune)
Botkin-AmFolklr, p. 806, "Hunt the Squirrel (Itisket, Itasket)" (1 text)
ST BAF806 (Full)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Atisket, Atasket (I Sent a Letter to My Love)" (floating lyrics, playparty form)
NOTES: Botkin, following Newell, lumps this with "Atisket, Atasket." There is, however, little contact in the lyrics; if they are connected, it is because both are used as platforms for the "drop glove" playparty game. For details, see the notes on "Atisket, Atasket (I Sent a Letter to My Love)."
Linscott has still a different version, opening with the verse "Lucy Locket lost her pocket, Kitty Fisher found it, There was not a penny in it, only ribbon 'round it." This also occurs in nursery rhymes (see Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #279, p. 165, "(Lucy Locket lost her pocket)"). But the second verse is the "I wrote a letter to my love," and the third is "I have a little dog at home" -- plus she says the game is "Hunt the Squirrel." So I file the piece here. Possibly it should be with "Atisket, Atasket (I Sent a Letter to My Love)." Or maybe the two should be lumped.... - RBW
Verse 1 of Linscott is the same as Opie-Oxford2 312, "Lucy Locket" (earliest date in Opie-Oxford2 is 1842). - BS
This is also the name of an English country dance. - PJS
File: BAF806
===
NAME: Hunt the Wren
DESCRIPTION: "Let's go to the wood, said Robin-the-Bobbin, Let's go to the wood, said Richard to Robin. Let's go to... said John Tullane, Let's go to... said everyone." They hunt, kill, and eat the wren, and argue over disposing of the body
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1744 (Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book, Volume II)
KEYWORDS: wren hunting foreignlanguage
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Bord),Wales) US(NE)
REFERENCES: (7 citations)
Kennedy 78, "Helg yn Dreean [Hunt the Wren]" (1 Manx Gaelic text+translation, 1 tune, plus fragments and a text of "The Cutty Wren" in the notes)
LPound-ABS, 117, pp. 235-236, "Let's Go to the Woods" (1 text)
Linscott, pp. 230-233, "Let's Go to the Woods or The Hunting of the Wren" (1 text, 1 tune)
Opie-Oxford2 447, "We will go to the wood, says Robin to Bobbin" (1 text)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #29, p. 41-44, "(We will go to the Wood)"
Montgomerie-ScottishNR 16, "The Hunting of the Wren" (1 text)
DT, HNTWRN2 HUNWREN2
Roud #236
RECORDINGS:
Jack Elliott, "Billy the Bob" (on Elliotts01)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Wren (The King)" (subject)
cf. "Billy Barlow" (form)
cf. "Cricketty Wee" (form)
cf. "The Cutty Wren" (form, subject)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Robin-the-Bobbin
NOTES: Many have identified this song with "Billy Barlow," "Cricketty Wee," or (especially) "The Cutty Wren," but while the form is similar, and in the latter case even the subject is the same, the plot is distinct enough that the Index splits them.
In some cases, e.g. the Kennedy text, I'll admit this is doubtful, but some of the Digital Tradition texts are more distinct, and even pick up pieces of "The Wren (The King)." In another Digital Tradition text (HNTWRN2), the plot doesn't even involve a wren; it's just a bunch of kids(?) finding a bird's next; that one seems to have some "Billy Barlow" in its ancestry (or, more likely, the reverse).
For a little information, and a lot of speculation, on the history of wrenning, see the notes to "The Wren (The King)." - RBW
File: K078
===
NAME: Hunter from Kentucky, A: see The Hunters of Kentucky [Laws A25] (File: LA25)
===
NAME: Hunter's Log Camp: see Burns's Log Camp (File: Doe217)
===
NAME: Hunter's Song, The: see Come All You Virginia Girls (Arkansas Boys; Texian Boys; Cousin Emmy's Blues; etc.) (File: R342)
===
NAME: Hunters of Kentucky, The [Laws A25]
DESCRIPTION: The hunters of Kentucky are praised and offered as a specimen based on their performance at the Battle of New Orleans
AUTHOR: Samuel Woodworth
EARLIEST_DATE: 1822 (published 1826)
KEYWORDS: war patriotic bragging
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Jan 8, 1815 - Battle of New Orleans. Although a peace had already been signed, word had not yet reached Louisiana, which Pakenham sought to invade. Andrew Jackson's backwoodsmen easily repulsed Pakenham's force; the British commander is killed in the battle.
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,So)
REFERENCES: (11 citations)
Laws A25, "The Hunters of Kentucky"
Belden, pp. 298-299, "The Hunters of Kentucky" (1 text plus 2 fragments, 1 tune, but the "A" fragment and part of "C" is "Pakenham")
Randolph 666, "A Hunter from Kentucky" (1 short text, 1 tune)
MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 93-94, "The Hunters of Kentucky" (1 text)
Rickaby 40, "The Hunters of Kentucky" (1 text (Woodworth's original) plus a fragment, 1 tune)
Sandburg, pp. 427-429, "The Hunters of Kentucky or Half Horse and Half Alligator" (1 text, 1 tune)
Scott-BoA, pp. 113-117, "The Hunters of Kentucky" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 163-164, "The Hunters of Kentucky" (1 text)
Arnett, pp. 34-35, "The Hunters of Kentucky" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 288, "Hunters of Kentucky" (1 text)
DT 369, HUNTKENT*
Roud #2211
RECORDINGS:
Bob Atcher, "Hunters of Kentucky" (Columbia 50484, 1948; rec. 1947)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Battle of New Orleans" [Laws A7] (subject)
cf. "Pakenham" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Unfortunate Miss Bailey" (tune)
NOTES: Samuel Woodworth's only other noteworthy composition was "The Old Oaken Bucket." His novels and plays are mercifully forgotten.
For a Creole account of this battle, see Courlander-NFM, pp. 167-168 (an untitled piece which appears to be about the Battle of New Orleans).
For the general background of the final campaigns of the War of 1812, see the notes on "The Siege of Plattsburg." For the Battle of New Orleans itself, see The Battle of New Orleans" [Laws A7].
It should probably be noted that the Kentucky and Tennessee militia weren't all that great in themselves; in a series of Indian engagements in 1814, they showed a disastrous tendency to fall apart. Some of them, in fact, were routed at New Orleans -- only to be saved when general Pakenham refused to take advantage of the opening. But Andrew Jackson executed some of the deserters, and managed to tighten discipline. - RBW
File: LA25
===
NAME: Huntin' for Fun
DESCRIPTION: "Ain't no use in foolin' around, Too many cops in this old town." The singer advises going to the country for corn liquor and women, more common there than in town. "Just fill up your belly and roll in the leaves, Sing and whistle and do as you please."
AUTHOR: probably adapted by John Daniel Vass
EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (collected by Shellans from John Daniel Vass)
KEYWORDS: drink courting police nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Shellans, p. 52, "Huntin' for Fun" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7332
NOTES: Shellans notes the similarity of this tune to a military cadence, though he does not state whether informant John Daniel Vass was ever in the military. Nonetheless, given the nature of the material collected from Vass, and the degree of repetition in this piece (in essence, it consists of a threefold repetition: No drink in this town, go to the country; No women in this town, go to the country; No fun in this town, go to the country) I have to suspect that Vass put it together himself based on the cadence chant. - RBW
File: Shel052
===
NAME: Hunting Ballad: see Shoot the Buffalo (File: R523)
===
NAME: Hunting for a City
DESCRIPTION: "I am hunting for a city, to stay a while (x3), O, believer got a home at last."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Allen/Ware/Garrison, p. 18, "Hunting for a City" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Roud #11840
File: AWG018A
===
NAME: Hunting for the Lord
DESCRIPTION: "Hunt till you find him, Hallelujah, And a-hunting for the Lord. till you find him, And a-hunting for the Lord."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Allen/Ware/Garrison, p. 13, "Hunting for the Lord" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #11848
File: AWG013B
===
NAME: Hunting of the Cheviot, The [Child 162]
DESCRIPTION: Percy, Earl of Northumberland, goes deer hunting into Earl Douglas' land of (Cheviot/Chevy Chase), in defiance of a warning from Douglas. In battle they earn each other's respect, but both die, along with many of their men.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1765 (Percy; mentioned in "Wit's End" in 1617 and in the Stationer's Register in 1624)
KEYWORDS: battle hunting death nobility
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1388 - Battle of Otterburn. Scots under Douglas attack England. Although Douglas is killed in the battle, the Scots defeat the English and capture their commander Harry "Hotspur" Percy
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North),Scotland) US(NE,SE)
REFERENCES: (20 citations)
Child 162, "The Hunting of the Cheviot" (2 texts)
Bronson 162, "The Hunting of the Cheviot" (10 versions)
Percy/Wheatley I, pp. 20-35+notes on pp. 51-52, "The Ancient Ballad of Chevy Chase"; pp. 249-264, "The More Modern Ballad of Chevy Chace" (sic.) (2 texts)
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 243-248, "Chevy Chase" (1 text)
Flanders-Ancient3, pp. 135-144, "The Hunting of the Cheviot, or Chevy Chase" (1 text, from "The Charms of Melody" rather than tradition)
Davis-Ballads 34, "The Hunting of the Cheviot" (1 text)
Davis-More 31, pp. 239-244, "The Hunting of the Cheviot" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #5}
Leach, pp. 446-463, "The Hunting of the Cheviot" (3 texts)
Friedman, p. 276, "Chevy Chase" (1 text, 2 tunes) {approximating Bronson's #1, #4}
Stokoe/Reay, pp. 1-3, "Chevy Chase" (1 text, 1 tune) {cf. Bronson's #6, also from Stokoe's collection but differing in one note}
OBB 128, "Chevy Chase" (1 text)
PBB 71, "Chevy Chase (The Hunting of the Cheviot)" (1 text)
Gummere, pp. 105-115+325-327, "The Hunting of the Cheviot" (1 text)
Hodgart, p. 96, "Chevy Chase (The Hunting of the Cheviot)" (1 text)
TBB 21, "The Hunting of the Cheviot" (1 text)
HarvClass-EP1, pp. 93-101, "Chevy Chase" (1 text)
Abrahams/Foss, pp. 43-45, "Chevy Chase" (1 text)
Chappell/Wooldridge I, pp. 90-92, "Chevy Chase" (1 tune, perhaps linked to this piece)
BBI, ZN980, "God prosper long our Noble King"; ZN982, "God prosper long our noble king" (?)
DT 162, CHEVCHAS*
Roud #223
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Battle of Otterburn" (subject)
cf. "Lord Thomas and Fair Annet" [Child 73] (tune)
SAME_TUNE:
Of Turkey lately I did read/The Patient Wife betrayed; Or, The Lady Elizabeths Tragedy (BBI ZN2124)
Give o'er you rhiming Cavaliers/ Bloody News from Chelmsford (BBI ZN971)
In bloody town of Newberry/...Shuff of Newberry (BBI ZN1413)
In Popish time when Bishops proud/The King and the Bishop ((BBI ZN1452)
In searching ancient chronicles/A pleasant history of a Gentleman in Thracia (BBI ZN1461)
Strange news, strange news, I here have write/..Relation from the Faulcon.. Mr Powel [a ghost] (BBI ZN2405)
Amongst the Forresters of old/The Unfortunate Forrester ...Lord Thomas.. fair Elener (BBI ZN173)
God prosper long our noble King, and send him quickly o'er/Hunting-Match (BBI ZN986)
When as my mind was fully bent/ Bloudy News from Germany (BBI ZN2821)
All you which sober minded are/Terrible News from Branford (BBI ZN155)
All tender hearts that ake to hear/The Spanish Virgin (BBI ZN97)
God prosper long our noble king, His Turks and Germans all/An excellent new Ballad (BBI ZN983)
God hath preserved our Royal King/The Royal Patient Traveller [Charles II] (BBI ZN978)
NOTES: Child opines that this is based on the same events as "The Battle of Otterburn" (Child #161) rather than some other border battle between Percies and Douglases. The historical Henry Percy (Hotspur) fought [and] was captured [by the Scots], but did not in fact die at Otterburn in 1388 or at any other battle with Scots but was instead slain in battle with Henry IV's forces. - KK
In addition, Harry Hotspur was never Earl of Northumberland. His father (the first of five generations of Henry Percys of Northumberland) was the first Earl, and lived until 1408. Hotspur was killed in 1403, and thus never succeeded to the title, although Hotspur's son became the second Earl.
However, none of the various Earls Percy died in battle with the Scots. The first Earl was a traitor against Henry IV; the second (d. 1455) and third (d. 1461) were casualties of the Wars of the Roses, and the fourth was killed by the people of his own Earldom because he had not supported Richard III at Bosworth. (Richard, despite his later reputation, was loved in the north of England for being fair and honest and keeping the Scots away from the borders.) - RBW
File: C162
===
NAME: Hunting of the Wren, The: see Hunt the Wren (File: K078)
===
NAME: Hunting Priest, The (Parson Hogg; Sing Tally Ho!)
DESCRIPTION: The singer will tell of the priest "with constitution strong," who regularly goes out "to 'Tally ho, the hounds, sir.'" He will interrupt anything -- a sermon, a wedding -- when he hears the sound of the hunt.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: clergy hunting
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H222, pp. 29-30, "The Hunting Priest" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #1861
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "We'll All Go A-Hunting Today" (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: HHH222
===
NAME: Hunting Seals
DESCRIPTION: "With knife and fork, with kettle and pan, With spoon and mug, and glasses.... For we are swoilers fearless, bold, As we copy from pan to pan, sir." The singer describes hunting seals, facing polar bears, and enticing girls with furs
AUTHOR: probably James Murphy
EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (Ryan/Small)
KEYWORDS: hunting courting animal
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ryan/Small, p. 133, "Hunting Seals" (1 text, tune referenced)
NOTES: The original manuscript of this lists the tune as "The Rigs O Barley" -- i.e. presumably Burns's "Corn Rigs and Barley Rigs." The verse fits the first four lines of that tune, and the chorus of this fits the last four lines of the verse, but the chorus of "Corn Rigs" has to be omitted. - RBW
File: RySm133
===
NAME: Hunting Song
DESCRIPTION: The singer tells about hare-hunting dogs. When Timer hunts the hare, "she knows that her life's nearly run." When the formal hunt is over too soon, Gay-Lad "will go by himself on the mountain and will hunt by the light of the moon"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 (Morton-Maguire)
KEYWORDS: hunting nonballad dog animal
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Morton-Maguire 10, pp. 23-24,104,158-159, "Hunting Song" (1 text fragment, 1 tune)
Roud #2932
File: MoMa023
===
NAME: Hunting Tale, A: see The Sally Buck (File: SKE70)
===
NAME: Huntingdon Shore
DESCRIPTION: The singer narrates preparations for a fishing journey to Huntingdon Shore. Conditions aboard and the itinerary are described. They meet girls on Round Island, Labrador but the singer insists that the place can't compare with the Huntingdon Shore.
AUTHOR: Doyle (A fisherman of St. John's and not the editor of the collection)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1940
KEYWORDS: fishing work travel
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Doyle2, p. 23 , "Huntingdon Shore" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lehr/Best 53, "The Huntingdown Shore" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #4415
RECORDINGS:
Omar Blondahl, "Huntingdon Shore" (on NFOBlondahl05)
NOTES: Said to have been composed in the 1860s. - SH, RBW
"Young Goodridge," according to Doyle, was a renowned merchant of the time. - SH
Lehr/Best: "The Huntingdown or Huntingdon shore was a fishing area on the Labrador coast." - BS
File: Doy23
===
NAME: Huntingdown Shore, The: see Huntingdon Shore (File: Doy23)
===
NAME: Huntsman's Horn, The
DESCRIPTION: "The sturdy boys from Newton and the boys from College Land" hunt hare in Kilnacran. The hounds are named as well as the landmarks passed. At least two hare are killed. A health to Ned Crudden and Comely who "did bring the cup to old Loughgar"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1979 (IRHardySons)
KEYWORDS: death hunting animal dog horse moniker Ireland
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #12920
RECORDINGS:
James and Paddy Halpin, "The Huntsman's Horn" (on IRHardySons)
Big John Maguire, "The Huntseman's Horn" (on Voice18, IRHardySons)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Fair of Rosslea" (subject: competitive hare hunt from the huntsman's point of view)
cf. "Killafole Boasters" (subject: competitive hare hunt from the huntsman's point of view) and references there
NOTES: The hunt takes place in the area around Lough Erne, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. - BS
File: RcHuntHo
===
NAME: Hurling Down the Pine: see The Lumber Camp Song (File: Doe210)
===
NAME: Huron Carol, The (Jesous Ahatonhia)
DESCRIPTION: The Christmas story in Indian terms: "'Twas in the moon of wintertime when all the birds had fled That mighty Gitchi Manitou sent angel choirs instead. Before their light the stars grew dim, and wand'ring hunters heard the hymn...."
AUTHOR: Father Jean de Brebeuf (English text by J. E. Middleton, 1926)
EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1642
KEYWORDS: Christmas Jesus religious Indians(Am.)
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1634 - the Jesuit Jean de Brebeuf leads the first missionary party to evangelize by living among the Hurons
1639 - Father Jemore Lalemant founds the mission of Ste-Marie.
FOUND_IN: Canada(Que)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 130-132, "The Huron Carol (Jesous Ahatonia)" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 29-31, "The Huron Carol" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Une Jeune Pucelle" ("A Young Maiden") (tune)
NOTES: Having been unable to teach the Indians old Catholic hymns, Father Brebeuf created this song for the Hurons in 1641 or 1642 (long after the first permanent missions to the Hurons were created in 1625). They sang it every Christmas until 1648, when the Hurons were attacked by Iroquois (the Hurons had by then been badly weakened by the white man's diseases).
In a twist of irony, few Hurons showed to that time had shown any interest in Catholicism; Catholic ways were very different, the French themselves brought disease, and often they looked down on native ways.
To an exent, the Iroquois attack changed that. The Iroquois set out starting in 1645 to destroy all their neigbours (which they would succeed in doing by 1655); the Huron were the 1648 victims.
This caused some Hurons to turn Catholic. The Iroquois were winning with the white man's weapons; perhaps the Hurons thought the white man's religion might answer. But it was too late; Huronia was destroyed in 1649. (A severe blow to the French settlement, which was closely allied to the Hurons.)
Father Jean de Brebeuf and Father Gabriel Lalemant (the nephew of Jerome Lalemant of Ste.-Marie), the leading spirits of the Jesuit missions, refusing to flee to safety, were captured, tortured, and killed. (We should note that they were *not* tortured for their faith; the Iroquois simply tortured captives as part of a policy of terror.)
Even then, the song continued to be sung in Huron circles; it was collected by another Jesuit, Father de Villeneuve, and was translated into French (as "Jesus est ne") as well as English.
"Gitchi Manitou" -- in other Algonquian-language-family traditions, Keeche Keeche Manitou -- is "The Great, great Spirit... the master of life... [who] leaves the human race to their own conduct, but has placed all other living things under the care of [lesser] Manitos" (from the notes of the early explorer David Thompson, though he was writing of the Cree, not the Huron; the Huron language is part of the Iroquoian family, which is not Algonquian, so there appears to be some cultural contamination here). - RBW
File: FJ130
===
NAME: Hurrah for Baffin's Bay
DESCRIPTION: Nonsense song. Ch: "Avast belay, Hurrah for Baffin's Bay! We couldn't find the pole, because the barber moved away. The boat was cold we thought we'd get the grip so the painter put three coats, upon the ship! Hip, hip! Hip, hip! Hurrah for Baffin's Bay!"
AUTHOR: Theodore F. Morse/Music: Vincent Bryan
EARLIEST_DATE: 1903 (Broadway "Wizard of Oz")
KEYWORDS: sailor nonsense nonballad humorous
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Harlow, pp. 230-231, "Baffin's Bay" (1 text)
Roud #9157
NOTES: From the 1903 Broadway production of "The Wizard of Oz." It was performed by the comedy team of Fred A. Stone and David C. Montgomery (and may have been written with them in mind). - SL
And a surprisingly topical item it is, because there was a "polar push" going on, but the participants had a pretty astounding record of failures. At the time this was written, the quest for the North Pole was looking much like the quest for the Northwest Passage fifty years earlier, or the quest to climb Mount Everest forty or fifty years later: Lots of attempts, little luck -- and the prospects for success rather poor.
Indeed, Mirsky observes (p. 293; for references, see the Bibliography at the end of this note) that "In the recent history of Arctic Exploration undue stress was laid on the attainment of the North Pole. In 1896 Nansen showed conclusively by the _Fram's_ drift across the polar basin that the Pole lay somewhere on a shifting, ice-covered sea, at a point that had to be mathematically determined." In other words, by the time this song was written, everyone knew that the North Pole was sea, not land; there would never be a base or research station there.
It's interesting to note that the serious quest for the North Polebegan relatively late (though earlier than the quest for the South Pole); people had been seeking the Northwest Passage for years before they really started looking for the Pole. (For background on the quest for the Passage, see the notes to "Lady Franklin's Lament (The Sailor's Dream)" [Laws K9].) Indeed, the first two serious Northward Nuts (Elisha Kent Kane and Charles Francis Hall) started their careers searching for Franklin's lost expedition. Charles Francis Hall managed to bring home some Franklin artifacts and tales, as well as relics from Frobisher's very first Northwest Passage quest -- but he also started a ridiculous story that Franklin's second-in-command Crozier was still alive as late as 1860.
The Pole expeditions never produced the casualties that the Franklin expedition did -- but only because no one was willing to send so many men.
The first fairly modern attempts to reach the pole were made in the early nineteenth century by the British Navy. The first, in 1818, was commanded by David Buchan in the _Dorothea_, with John Franklin in the _Trent_ as his second-in-command. The goal was to go forward by ship, but they made it only about to the north end of Spitsbergen. They gave up after a long summer, their ships much battered but with the crews intact (Fleming-Barrow, pp. 52-55).
The second naval attempt, in 1827, was made by William Edward Parry, the Admiralty's darling boy for his near-conquest of the Northwest Passage in 1819. This time, the ship _Hecla_ was only to take them to Spitzbergen; from there they would proceed with sledges and small boats. They quickly discovered that the polar ice was not smooth, so the sledges were slow, and that the ice had a southward drift. The expedition set a new record for "Farthest North" that would stand for half a century (Fleming-Barrow, pp. 239-240), but finally had to return.
That ended naval attempts at exploration; there just wasn't the money for more expeditions with such feeble results. When polar exploration resumed, it was largely done by amateurs, who found amazing ways to get in trouble.
It probably didn't help that, where the Northwest Passage expeditions were led by sober men like Parry and Franklin, many North Pole expeditions were organized by fruitcakes like Elisha Kent Kane, who had little contact with reality. (It is probably not coincidence that, when Farley Mowatt published a book about arctic exploratoin in the 1960s, it was entitled _The Polar Passion_; Bryce, pp. 944-945). In the expedition Kane commanded, he faced multiple near-mutinies, ended up eating rats, and finally lost his ship (Berton, pp. 250-258, 273-295). His problems may even have been genetic; reading histories of the Mormons, I find that his brother Thomas Leiper Kane was also given to wild plans, grandiose notions, and illnesses that sound psychosomatic. (T. L. Kane was not an explorer, but he mediated between the U. S. Government and the Mormons, and later became a Civil War general, with limited success.)
Charles Francis Hall had no relevant training (he was an engraver who had run a no-account newspaper in Cincinnati) and was given to prophetic dreams, quarrels with everyone, and perhaps a mild case of bipolar disorder; on an earlier expedition, he had murdererd one of his crew, but was never prosecuted because no one could figure out which jurisdiction the case fell under (Henderson-Fatal, p. 44). At one point, he tried to forbid his sailors from cursing (Henderson-Fatal, p. 69), which has to be one of the most quixotic orders ever given.
Robert Peary, who came later, wasn't given to visions, but he was secretive to the point of paranoia, and so obsessed that he refused to have his toes treated for frostbite on one expedition. He ended up losing eight toes -- and being forced to stop anyway; see Berton, p. 525. Fleming-North, p. 284, calls him "probably the most unpleasant man in the annals of polar exploration," noting that in his youth he liked to trip his grandfather just to see the old man fall down. Bryce, p. 871, quotes an observer who said, "Peary strikes me as a man who never smiles except when he thinks it would be rude not to."
The Pole really did seem to lure people who were in it for the glory. This was utterly unlike the Northwest Passage expeditions, which had strong scientific components (John Franklin's _Journey to the Polar Sea_, for instance, which describes his disastrous 1819 expedition, notes that he was instructed to "register the temperature of the air at least three times in every twenty-four hours; together with the state of the wind and weather and any other meteorological phenomena. That I should not neglect any opportunity of observing and noting down the dip and variation of the magnetic needle, and the intensity of the magnetic force; and should take particular notice whether any, and what kind or degree of, influence the Aurora Borealis might exert on the magnetic needle..." and so forth. See the introduction to Franklin's work, p. 28 in the 2000 Brassey edition with introduction by James P. Delgado). Peary's sole goal, by contrast, was to reach the Pole. So strong was Peary's obsession that, when he heard of other attempts, he gave orders to his subordinates to automatically discount them -- see Henderson-True, p. 210.
Hall's third expedition, 1871-1873, in the ship _Polaris_, shows how badly a polar expedition could fail: They made an incredible push northward, heading up Baffin Bay to the Kane Basin between Ellesmere Island and Greenland, then continuing up the Kennedy Channel to reach the north shore of Greenland at the place now called Hall Basin.
But the expedition crew by then was in near-total disarray, with a drunken ship's captain and a rebellious scientific staff (Henderson-Fatal, pp. 42-45, notes that this conflict started before they even really reached the ice). Although George Tyson, clearly the best of the officers under Hall (though, unfortunately, he had no real role; Hall had hired him as a sort of spare captain), thought that Hall was emergetic, persevering courageous, and unselfish (Henderson-Gatal, p. 48), he also wondered how any expedition could survive such divisions. It is clear that Hall, who of course had no experience of military command, was unable to exert control. Yet, as events proved, the other senior officers (captain Buddington and senior scientist Bessels) were even worse. It was a disaster for the expedition when, in November 1871, Hall died.
Almost a century later (1968), Chauncey Loomis led an expedition that excavated Hall's grave -- and found he had been poisoned with arsenic.
Unlike the Franklin Poisoned By Lead theory, this doesn't seem to have been questioned, though it's not clear if it was murder or accident -- though Henderson-Fatal, p. 71, reports an ominous incident in which Captain Buddington, before Hall set out on his last sledge voyage, says that Hall won't live long. For the story, see Loomis, especially the epilogue starting on p. 303, which describes the trip to conduct the Hall autopsy. A shorter summary can be found in Berton, pp. 390-394. A third vivid account is found in Fleming-North, pp. 138-141. In Berton and Fleming, the pages before and after describe the horrid plight of the crew on the expedition, giving rather more detail than Loomis, who devotes most of his work to Hall himself.
Other than Hall, most of the members of the expedition eventually made it home, but the _Polaris_ was lost and the crew suffered extreme privations.
The 1879-1882 expedition of the _Jeannette_ was worse. Lincoln R. Paine's _Ships of the World_ (entry on the _Jeanette)_ tells of how the former H.M.S. _Pandora_ was sold to U. S. Navy Lt. George W. de Long. The ship was renamed for the sister of James Gordon Bennett, editor of the _New York Herald_, which had earlier sent reporter Henry M. Stanley into Africa to find Dr. Livingstone (Guttridge-Ice, p. 21) and who had also sent a reporter on de Long's one previous arctic expedition, to search for Hall's _Polaris_ (Guttridge-Ice, p. 14). Bennett loved to publish exploration stories, so he decided to fund a new polar venture. At least, he promised to fund it. In practice, he demanded that de Long keep the cost under control, causing a lot of dangerous corner-cutting (Guttridge-Ice, pp. 41-44, etc.) The ship's boilers were inefficient, she had divided objectives, she didn't acquire a tender until the last minute, and she really wasn't designed to withstand the ice. Some changes were made before she sailed, including strengthening of the sides -- but certainly not enough (Guttridge-Ice, pp. 55-56).
The ship's voyage began on July 8, 1879 (Guttridge-Ice, p. 2). On August 28, 1879, _Jeannette_ set out through the Bering Straight, to try to reach the Pole from western Canada. (They were seeking the alleged open Polar Sea, even though the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey determined in that year that such a sea almost certainly did not exist.; Guttridge-Ice, p. 80).
After numerous delays for this and that, the _Jeannette_ finally passed through the Bering Strait. It was late in the year, and coal was relatively low (de Long was rather profligate with fuel; he had gone through too much on the _Polaris_ rescue mission and had used it up at a prodigious rate pushing toward the Arctic; Guttridge-Ice, pp. 15, 63), but de Long didn't hesitate; he tried to make it as far north as possible even after the ice started to close in (Guttridge-Ice, pp. 80-81). He made little northward progress, and within days, the ship was trapped in the ice (Guttridge-Ice, p. 83).
It wasn't long before the ship sprung the first of several leaks (Guttridge-Ice, p. 114); it took all the ingenuity of chief engineer George Melville to rig enough pumps to keep the ship afloat (Guttridge-Ice, pp. 115-128, etc.) -- and even with all his exertions, much of the ship was flooded and many supplies destroyed, plus, until Melville managed a wind-powered pump, they were burning irreplaceable coal. And they were trapped in a trap they would never escape. They could perhaps have tried to leave the ship to reach Wrangel Island (which, until then, had been known as "Wrangel Land," because it wasn't until de Long passed north of it that it was demonstrated to be an island). They had sighted it just before they became trapped (Guttridge-Ice, pp. 79-81), and it would still have been within reach. But de Long wasn't ready to abandon ship for an unexplored island; not yet. (And, though he couldn't know it, Wrangel Island would prove very inhospitable for the crew of the _Karluk_ thirty years later; see the notes to "Captain Bob Bartlett." Of course, de Long would have had his expedition in better shape than Bartlett had he abandoned immediately.)
The next summer, when they hoped to get free of the pack, they were able to make some repairs (Guttridge-Ice, p. 133 and following), but the ice had carried them north; it never quite thawed enough to let them loose. By the summer of 1881, they were passing north of the New Siberian Islands, several of which they had discovered and named (Guttridge-Ice, pp. 157-158). In June 1881, the ice finally destroyed the _Jeannette_ (Guttridge-Ice, p. 163). The islands nearby were far too cold and small to support them; the crew sledged painfully over the ice, then upon reaching open water set out for home in three smaller boats they had hauled with them (Guttridge-Ice, pp. 185-190). Fleming-North, pp. 221-229, tells how they were separated in bad waather. One boat simply vanished. Two landed near the outlet of the Lena river in Siberia, but not together. The crew led by engineer Melville managed to survive. De Long and his party starved to death; in all, over half the crew was killed.
The story of Andrew Greely's party, which set out shortly after the _Jeanette_ went missing, was similar. Greely and his party of 25 was sent to explore northern Ellesmere Island, gathering scientific data and perhaps making a run for the pole. They were supposed to stay several years, with supplies arriving in summer. They were ill-equipped for the task; it was mostly an army signal corps expedition, and few men had arctic experience (Guttridge-Sabine, p. 7).
Even though the expedition had to sail north to their base at Lady Franklin Bay, was little inter-service cooperation (Greely had boats, but no navy men; apart from one former seaman and a sergeant brought up on Cape Breton, no one even knew how to manage a boat! -- Berton, p. 459). Greely had a congressional appropriation to outfit his party, but it was too small and long-delayed; it was nearly impossible for Greely to acquire the supplies he required with the money he had available (Guttridge-Sabine, pp. 39-47). He had a hard time finding the officers and specialists he needed. Finally, on deadline, the party set out despite not really being ready.
It didn't take long for trouble to arise. Greely had a strange notion of discipline (reading Guttridge-Sabine, pp. 117-118, and other passages, he seems to have been the sort who felt that forcing people to obey silly and arbitrary orders promoted military order; Berton, p. 437, calls him a martinet and humorless -- very bad for an expedition in the arctic, where initiative is key). He sacked his second in command (Guttridge-Sabine, pp. 64-66) almost the moment the expedition arrived at its destination, then (p. 118) started taking duties away from the doctor/naturalist. When trouble came, he was in a position where he had no intelligent subordinates whose advice he could trust.
The first supply ship, which was supposed to arrive in 1882, never showed up; the army bureaucracy in effect placed all the arrangements in the hands of a private, who was given conflicting orders and had no useful experience (Guttridge-Sabine, pp. 92-97); the ship he chartered was blocked by ice, and he gave up after caching a bare handful of the supplies he had brought (Guttridge-Sabine, pp. 100-101). Not long after, the private would die of a drug overdose (Guttridge-Sabine, p. 203).
The next year's supply expedition was bigger -- it included the _Proteus_, which had brought the expedition north in the first place, and the naval vessel _Yantic_ -- but the _Yantic_ was neither fitted nor supplied for the ice (Guttridge-Sabine, p. 130), and the _Proteus_ ended up "nipped"; she sank with most of her supplies (Guttridge-Sabine, p. 138). Plagued by indiscipline in the transport's crew (her excellent complement of two years earlier having been replaced by a different and more mutinous bunch; see e.g. Guttridge-Sabin p. 139), it took some effort just to get the relief expedition home; they left no supplies (Guttridge-Sabin, pp. 144-146).
After two years without contact, Greely decided to abandon Fort Conger, the base on northern Ellesmere. This was written into his instructions: If he hadn't been resupplied by September 1, 1883, he would depart. After 721 days at their base, Greely decided to leave just a little early, on August 9 (Guttridge-Sabine, p. 152; Berton, p. 448). Greely can hardly be blamed; while there was still sufficient food for at least another year, the men were unhappy (especially with him, as it would prove), and travel in the arctic winter was never easy.
What followed showed the disastrous effects of inadequate planning; Greely did not really know what course to take, and made assorted errors along the way. He took too many records and equipment (which could always have been recovered from Fort Conger at a later date) and too few rations. Plus, being the nut case he was, he insisted on hauling along his heavy dress uniform (Berton, p. 458). Had everything gone exactly as planned, he had just enough food to get to where he was going (Guttridge-Sabine, p. 157)
But nothing ever goes according to plan in the arctic. The engineer in charge of keeping the motorboat's engine running was an alcoholic, and Greely couldn't keep him sober (Berton, p. 459; Guttridge-Sabine, p. 158, 162, etc.). Greely eventually decided to take passage on an ice floe, leading the rest of the edition to discuss mutiny (Berton, p.. 460; Guttridge-Sabine, p. 163-164). Greely himself fell in the water, and though he was rescued, many of the party thought he should have been left to drown (Guttridge-Sabine, p. 164). His failed planning caused one of the boats to be destroyed (Guttridge-Sabine, p. 173). Even his most reliable sergeant described this part of the trip as "madness" (Guttridge-Sabine, pp. 198-199). The map in Guttridge-Sabine, p. 213 shows how the ice drove them around the Kane Basin as they tried to get to the island of Cape Sabine; twice they came within sight of it only to have the ice turn them around).
As all this went on, the _Yantic_ headed south on September 15 (Guttridge-Sabine, p. 171), and the war department decided not to send further help (Guttridge-Sabine, p. 184).
Greeley's crew came ashore south of their destination at Cape Sabine, with sone of the men starting to become ill from their ordeal (Berton, p. 462). They had perhaps three months' worth of food to last the entire arctic winter (Berton, pp. 463-464). They built a shelter that was more cave than hut (25 feet long, 18 wide, but only 5 feet high; Guttridge-Sabine, p. 222), and basically prepared for rescue or death. (They hoped at first to be able to sledge to the Greenland side, but the ice, for once, never closed over the passage, and they were too debilitated to try the remaining boats; Guttridge-Sabine, p. 239).
By New Year's, the doctor was amputating a soldier's foot and fingers due to frostbite (Guttridge-Sabine, p. 226). They had lived at Fort Conger for two years without scurvy, but now, with little fresh food, the traces began to appear; when the first man died on January 18, 1884, it was of a mix of scurvy and starvation (Guttridge-Sabine, p. 234; Berton, p. 469).
Ironically, Greely, a failure until this point, managed to be a good fairly leader at this time (Berton, p. 472), rationing the food and keeping the the men relatively sane (Berton, pp. 467). But they slowly died off due to malnutrition. There were several instances where men stole food (Berton, pp. 467, 470, 473, etc.); in the end, they had to execute the worst thief, who had enlisted under an assumed name to hide his history (Berton, p. 475; Guttridge-Sabine, p. 272, notes that he was not really given a trial, simply shot -- though he admits that, in the circumstances, the formality of a court-martial "was out of the question"). On the last day before rescue, when the tent by the burial plot (to which they had moved their base, Guttridge-Sabine, p. 266) fell in, no one was strong enough to put it up again. And it was later shown that someone had engaged in cannibalism (Berton, pp. 484-485). It was probably the doctor, since it was skillfully done and ceased at about the time he died (none of the men who died after him had any flesh removed), but Guttridge-Sabine, pp. 271, 275, offers a few cryptic hints that others might have been involved.
By early June, the deaths were happening almost daily, and the survivors had no strength left to bury the corpses; the last one was simply pushed out into the snow. When they were finally rescued in the fourth week of the month, only seven men were still alive, and one of them was the man who had had his feet amputated; he would soon after die of his injuries, leaving only six. Out of 25 who had set out. Apparently only two were still relatively mobile when found. Greely was the only officer to live.
A constant theme, from exploratory party after exploratory party, is men who went out of control. Some of this, no doubt, is commanders who didn't know how to command (even Peary was a civil engineer, not a line officer). But I wonder a little about seasonal affective disorder. In any case, in 1903, the quest for the polehad a worse record than the quest for the Passage had been when Franklin set out.
No wonder, then, that the repeated Polar expeditions became the subject of mirth: What sane person would risk what the explorers had been through? Besides, there were all the mad inventor types the quest encouraged: Peary was mailed ideas for building a wooden tunnel to the pole, for building a pipe to transport hot soup, and to fire himself to the pole by cannon (Henderson-True, p. 185; compare Fleming-North, p. 353).
In 1904, about the time this song came out, Peary founded the Peary Arctic Club with the declared mission of "altering... public opinion so that existing prejudice against Arctic work would be lessened" (Henderson-True, p. 159). You almost wonder if it was cause and effect.
Note that the Pole was not reached until 1908 at the earliest, five years after this song was performed -- and it was probably much later. The first person we are certain saw the North Pole was Roald Amundsen and the crew of the dirigible _Norge_, which flew over the pole in 1926.
This was days after Robert Byrd' attempt to fly over the Pole. Although he claimed success, the evidence is against him (for Byrd's failure, see Roberts, pp. 155-168. Roberts, pp. 159-160, summarizes the case against Byrd: In trials, his plane never exceeded 75 miles per hour, and was slower with landing skis, but his flight time of only fifteen and a half hours meant he had to average 87 miles per hour. He returned with an engine leaking oil, which would have forced him to turn around as soon as it was noticed whether he had reached the Pole or not. And his only sextant had been broken, so that, even if the readings were accepted, the instrument's error could not be checked. It was very Peary-like: No one could prove he didn't make it, but there was no good evidence and the claim required travel speeds while unobserved which Byrd had never managed while observed. Byrd's claim isn't as outrageous as Peary's -- he claimed a tailwind helped him out, which at least means he acknowledged the problem -- but the probability is low. And he went to great lengths to hide his records; Roberts, p. 164. Bryce, p. 921, makes the interesting point that the man who "verified" Byrd's record was the same one who "'proved,' and improved, Peary's observationsat the 'Pole.'").
The following list shows key dates in the quest for the North Pole (adapted from Berton, p. 637 and following).
1818 - David Buchan's expedition from Spitzbergen (two ships, the other commanded by Lt. John Franklin)
1827 - William Edward Parry's expedition from Spitzbergen passes the latitude of 82 degrees N
1860-1861 - An American expedition under Isaac Hayes seeks (and naturally fails to find) the "Open Polar Sea"; it also produces some hideously inaccurate maps (Berton, pp. 353-364; Fleming-North, pp. 61-78)
1871-1873 - North Pole expedition of the _Polaris_ (Hall's third northward expedition, but the first devoted to the Pole rather than Franklin), which features the death of Hall and the stranding of half his crew; see description above
1875-1876 - British naval expedition under George Nares. This was to be the last try by the British navy, and it does briefly set a new Farthest North record -- but scurvy, which the Admiralty thought it had solved, forces the expedition home a year early (Berton, pp. 413-429; Fleming-North, pp. 161-186)
1879-1882 - _Jeannette_ expedition, described above. All told, 20 out of 33 involved die.
1881-1884 - Adolphus Greely explores Ellesmere Island and his team sets a new "farthest north" record, but only six of 25 survive (due mostly to American government errors), and at least one man was guilty of cannibalism
1886 - Robert Peary fails to cross Greenland (crossing Greenland may not sound like a big deal, but the island is all glacier; there is no life at all for hunters to harvest, and the Inuit wouldn't go near the interior. Had Peary succeeded, it would have been a testimony to his techniques; also, there was at the time a hope that Greenland might provide a route to the Pole). Peary also claims to chart shoreline later shown not to exist
1888 - Fridtjof Nansen crosses Greenland
1891-1892 - Another Peary expedition to Greenland. He doesn't chart any more territory -- and makes off with sacred and irreplaceable Inuit artifacts which he sells entirely for his own profit. Later he will lure six Inuit back to "civilization" where they will become the victims of "scientific" experimentation; all will die young, and it will be decades before their bones are returned north for burial
1893-1895 - Nansen, using a new type of boat (the _Fram_) and later sledges, sets a new Farthest North but does not reach the pole
1897 - Salomon Andree tries and fails to reach the pole by balloon. He and his crew make it back to the uninhabited islands of Franz Joseph Land but die there; their bodies are not discovered for more than thirty years
1898-1902 - Another Peary expedition fails -- this time leaving Peary with damaged feet
1899-1900 - Abruzzi expedition sets another Farthest North record but doesn't approach the Pole
1901-1902 - Ziegler/Baldwin expedition from Norway fails to reach the pole
1903-1905 - Ziegler/Fiala expedition, again from Norway, fails with the loss of the ship _America_
1905-1906 - Peary fails again
1908-1909 - Peary claims to reach the Pole (April 6, 1909). So does Dr. Frederick Albert Cook (April 21, 1908).
Examination of the incomplete records of Cook and Peary makes it unlikely that either ever made the Pole -- but Peary saw to it that Cook's instruments and many of his records were lost, making it impossible for him to offer proper evidence for his claims. (In fact, Bryce, p. 848, notes that Peary began a six-part plan to discredit Cook the moment he learned the doctor had set out for the pole. To make things even harder for Cook, an accident also destroyed many of his photos -- Bryce, pp. 335 -- but these probably would not have affected the case, since they were taken before his run for the pole.)
In addition, Edward Barrill, who had accompanied Cook on an expedition to Mt. McKinley (Bryce, p. 280, etc.), released a report claiming Cook never made the summit (Henderson-True, pp. 267-269, offers evidence that Barrill's account was made up after the fact and that he was paid by Peary supporters to concoct it,and Bryce, p. 797, notes that he *was* paid a great deal for producing it, but Fleming-North, p. 386, offers evidence that Cook's description doesn't match reality, and Roberts,pp. 120-124, covers attempts to retrace Cook's actual footsteps, which allowed them to take photos which matches Cook's but from points other than where he said he took them). With Cook's claim definitely unprovable, and with his reputation damanged, Peary's equally unprovable claim was accepted almost by default (for details on this, see the notes to "Captain Bob Bartlett").
So did Cook or Peary reach the pole? The controversy continued for years, with Cook's supporters and his descendents fighting to clear his name until the last of them died out. Cook's case is much weakened by his lack of observations; indeed, there are charges that he could not so much as use a sextant to find his latitude (Bryce, p. 860fff.). Peary's partisans also stuck to their guns, and the National Geographic Society apparently still refuses to re-examine the matter; they initially accepted Peary's claim -- after all, they had supported his expedition; in fact they never really tested his data. Forty years later, just discussing the matter was enough to get Walt Gonnason thrown out of their offices (Bryce, p. 747). They still maintain that attitude; the eighth edition of their World Atlas (no copyright date but released after 2000) still lists him as the first to reach the pole (Roberts, pp. 153-154, considers this to be the result of loyalty to its own reputation).
Of other authorities I checked, Henderson-True thinks Cook made it and Peary may have. Asimov does not state an explicit opinion but strongly implies that Peary made it and Cook didn't. Berton thinks neither did (though Berton, whose general policy is to consider everyone a disreputable idiot, does make the observation that, though Peary didn't reach the Pole, he came closer than anyone else to go there solely by muscle power, without support from aircraft, and returning under his own power; see p. 624.) Roberts of course is sure that neither Cook nor Peary made it. Fleming thinks Peary didn't but doesn't see why it matters (a view more meaningful in hindsight: We now know there is no land under the pole, so there is no real distinction between 88 or 89 or 90 degrees north. But Peary *didn't* know that -- in fact, he reported seeing land that wasn't there -- and he wasn't doing science anyway). The 1972 edition of_Webster's Geographical Dictionary_ did not mention Peary and says the Pole was first crossed by foot and dogsled 1968-1969, though the 1998 edition credits Peary with reaching the Pole while admitting the claim is disputed.
Bryce, p. 876, makes an interesting observation. On p. 864, he hypothesizes that the navigationally-challenged Cook might have tried to reach the Pole by "following the magnetic meridian." This in fact would not work, but Cook might have throught it would. This allows two possibilities: That he was trying to cheat all along -- or that he tried his meridian trick, came back thinking he had made it, learned when he returned that his method was not adequate -- but tried to revive his claimed once he realized that Peary's 1909 effort had not reached the Pole. But, as Bryce points out, his behavior would have been much the same either way, so we can't tell which is true. I will admit that I find much of Cook's behavior incomprehensible,making me wonder if he was entirely sane; it's interesting that several other witnesses cited by Bryce (pp. 844, 901), including Roald Amundsun thought the same thing -- and, indeed, the Arctic was good at driving people mad; see again "Lady Franklin's Lament (The Sailor's Dream)" [Laws K9]. Bryce, however, does not accept this explanation
Bryce's first conclusion on Peary (p. 880) is that "All of Peary's ations after April 6, 1909... give every inication of a guilty man trying to shield his greatest deceit from the spotlight of any impartial investigation. Moreover, evidence preserved by Peary himself shows thatall his expeditions before 1909h ad produced exaggereated or false claims." Interestingly, though Bryce absolutely rejects Cook's claim to have reached the Pole, he considers his story of attaining it far more plausible than Peary's (p. 916).
At this time, the matter probably cannot be settled by direct evidence; we must rely on the (very strong) indirect evidence. It seems unlikely that either Cook or Peary made it to the pole.
But I would make a secondary observation: We don't let athletes who use steroids earn credit for winning races. Nor are candidates who commit vote fraud generally allowed to win elections. Why shouldn't Peary be held to the same standard? Did he reach the Pole? Maybe. Did he lie (to the Inuit), cheat (Bartlett, whom he had promised to take to the Pole) and steal (from Cook and from the Inuit -- taking at various times their meteorites, their people to be museum exhibits, and, for his last expedition, their much-needed dogs; Bryce, p. 332)? Yes. Indeed, at one point, his behavior could be called murder, since he refused to allow a doctor to treat Inuit who needed help (Bryce, pp. 319-320). By today's definitions, he was guilty of abduction and perhaps even rape of underage girls (Bryce, p. 341) and child pornography (Roberts, between pages 100 and 101, reprints one of his nude photos of a 14-year-old Inuit girl). Bryce, p. 854, reports that some Inuit labelled him "the great tormentor" for decades. His behavior should disallow his claim.
Incidentally, the first people to stand at the Pole may not have arrived (by plane) until 1953 (Roberts, p. 166). And, although trips to the North Pole are now almost routine (since a traveler in trouble can always radio for help and be rescued by air), the arctic has not entirely relented since Peary's time. Alfred Wegener, who did noteworthy work on meteorology and lunar craters and who invented the modern theory of Continental Drift in the period before the first world war (though it did not come to be accepted until decades after his death) sought evidence for his theories in Greenland, and died there in 1930 when the expedition ran into trouble (see Asimov, p. 595; John Gribbin, _Science: A History 1543-2001_, BCA, 2002; p. 448). And, of course, no less a man than Roald Amundson died on the polar cap while searching for the survivors of another wreck (Asimov, p. 561; Mirsky, pp. 314, 317).
>>*BIBLIOGRAPHY*<<:
In writing this summary, in addition to the standard references, I have consulted the following works, of varying quality.
Isaac Asimov, _Isaac Asimov's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science & Technology_ (revised edition, 1972; I use the 1976 Equinox edition) is of course about scientists, not polar exploration, but has entries on people like Amundson, Peary, and Wegener.
A classic is Pierre Berton's _The Arctic Grail_ (Viking, 1988), which covers nearly the entire history of Northwest Passage and Polar explanation, though its harsh descriptions of failures make little allowance for hindsight.
Robert M. Bryce's _Cook & Peary: The Polar Controversy, Resolved_ (Stackpole, 1997) is an exhaustive -- maybe I should say exhausting -- look at the Cook/Peary controversy. If anything, it's too detailed, and the index has to be better if it is to be useful as a quick reference. But just about everything known about those two explorers is probably in there.
Fergus Fleming, _Barrow's Boys_, (Grove Press, 1998; cited as Fleming-Barrow). A general-purpose book about exploratory expeditions by the British Navy from about 1816 to 1846, only the handful of chapters on polar exploration are of interest here.
Fergus Fleming, _Ninety Degrees North_, (Grove Press, 2001; cited as Fleming-North) is a history of northward exploration starting roughly at the time the search for Franklin ended (and hence a semi-sequel to Fleming-Barrow). This pays particular attention to expeditions not mounted from Britain or the U. S. Although less negative than Berton, it does give much of its attention to the ways the various expeditions failed.
Guttridge-Sabine is Leonard F. Guttridge, _Ghosts of Cape Sabine: The Harrowing True Story of the Greely Expedition_ (Berkley, 2000 , which is Guttridge's account of the Greely disaster. Like his book on the _Jeannette_, it is specific to that one event, and shares many of the strengths and weaknesses of his earlier book.
Guttridge-Ice is Leonard F. Guttridge, _Icebound_ (Naval Institute Press, 1986; I used the 2001 Berkeley edition), which is specific to the _Jeannette_ expedition. The ending is a bit confusing -- he spends a lot of time considering who should bear the blame, then never assigns any! -- but it's a readable reference on this sad, largely avoidable disaster.
Henderson-Fatal is Bruce Henderson, _Fatal North_ (New American Library, 2001), a book about Hall's _Polaris_ expedition. I'd trust it more if I hadn't read Henderson-True first.
Henderson-True is Bruce Henderson, _True North_ (Norton, 2005) is devoted almost entirely to the explorations of Cook and Peary, approaching the status of biography of the two. Its only real purpose appears to be to vindicate Cook (which it would do better if it didn't whitewash over so much of the evidence against him), but it has much useful detail about the final phases of Peary's quest also.
Chauncey Loomis, _Weird and Tragic Shores: The Story of Charles Francis Hall, Explorer_ (Modern Library edition, with a new afterword, published 2000) is more a life of Hall than a story of arctic exploration, but it inevitably details the early stages of his last voyage -- and of the inquiry that followed.
Mirsky: Jeannette Mirsky, _To the Arctic: The Story of Northern Exploration from the Earliest Times to the Present_, revised edition, Knopf, 1948. Unduly generous; it never questions anything (except the claims of Cook -- and this, according to Bryce, pp. 721-722, 726, was mostly under legal pressure from the Peary and Cooks factions). But if it praises everyone who ever so much as looked toward the north, it also lists a lot of expeditions that get no other coverage
David Roberts, _Great Exploration Hoaxes_ (Sierra Club, 1982; I use the 2001 Modern Library edition with an Introduction by Jan Morris) covers much more than arctic exploration, and is perhaps a little one-sided in situations where balance might be better, but it has much useful information on Peary and Cook. - RBW
File: Harl230
===
NAME: Hurrah, Hurrah, Hurrah!
DESCRIPTION: German shanty. Sailors arrive in David street in Hamburg where they can buy girls for five pennies. Song enumerates various girls and their attributes. The sailors spend all the money and go back to sea.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (Hugill)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage shanty sailor whore sex money
FOUND_IN: Germany
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hugill, pp. 138-140, "Hurrah, Hurrah, Hurrah!" (2 texts-German & English, 1 tune)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Wat Wi Doht
David Straat
File: Hugi138
===
NAME: Hurrah, Lie!: see Martin Said To His Man (File: WB022)
===
NAME: Hurrah, Sing Fare Ye Well
DESCRIPTION: Shanty. "We're bound away to Callyo, Hurrah sing fare ye well. Oh fare ye well, me Liverpool gal, Hurrah sing fare ye well." Verses have vague courting, whoring, and sailing themes.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (Hugill)
KEYWORDS: shanty separation farewell
FOUND_IN: US Britain
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hugill, pp. 119-120 "Hurrah, Sing Fare Ye Well" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, pp. 102-103]
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Goodbye, Sing Fare You Well
Fare Ye Well
My Bonnie Young Girl
File: Hugi119
===
NAME: Hurry Up, Harry: see The Lumber Camp Song (File: Doe210)
===
NAME: Husband Lamenting the Death of the Wife, The
DESCRIPTION: "Come, my dear friends, and mourn with me In my afflicted state. I am bereaved, as you may see, Of my dear loving mate." He tells his grief, notes how the children miss their mother, and says it is God's will
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (Belden), from a diary of the Civil War era
KEYWORDS: husband wife death loneliness orphan
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Belden, p. 467, "The Husband Lamenting the Death of the Wife" (1 text)
Roud #7957
File: Beld467B
===
NAME: Husband With No Courage In Him, The: see My Husband's Got No Courage in Him (File: K213)
===
NAME: Husband-man and the Servant-man, The: see The Husbandman and the Servingman (File: K226)
===
NAME: Husband's Departure, The
DESCRIPTION: The husband prepares to go to war against the south. His wife tries to dissuade him. He says she would not respect him if he were a coward. He finally convinced her and departs
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1906 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: husband wife battle Civilwar dialog
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Belden, pp. 378-39, "The Husband's Departure" (1 text)
Roud #7761
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Rolling Stone" [Laws B25] (form, lyrics)
NOTES: Sort of a cross between "The Rolling Stone" (which Belden lists as a probable source) and Lovelace's "To Lucasta, Going to the Wars." - RBW
File: Beld378
===
NAME: Husband's Dream, The: see The Drunkard's Dream (I) (File: R307)
===
NAME: Husbandman and the Servingman, The
DESCRIPTION: A husbandman and a servingman meet and discuss their occupations. The servant describes all the rich people he associates with; the husbandman details the pleasure of a good season in the fields. The servingman wishes he had chosen the other occupation
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1843 (Broadwood)
KEYWORDS: work dialog farming servant
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South))
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Kennedy 226, "The Husband-man and the Servant-man" (1 text, 1 tune)
cf. Chappell/Wooldridge I, pp. 282-283, "Paul's Steeple, or I Am the Duke of Norfolk" (1 tune, partial text, said by Kennedy to be this piece)
DT, HUSBSERV
Roud #873
RECORDINGS:
Mummers from Symondsbury, "The Symondsbury & Eype Mummer's Play & The Singing of the Travels" (on Lomax41, LomaxCD1741, FSB9)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Farmer and the Shanty Boy" (plot)
cf. "The Plooman Laddie (I)" (theme)
cf. "Soldier Boy for Me (A Railroader for Me)" (theme)
cf. "Buttercup Joe" (subject, a few phrases)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Singing of the Travels
NOTES: Kennedy claims that Chappell's piece "I Am the Duke of Norfolk" is this tune. This overstates the case -- Chappell's tune is similar but not identical in the tenor line. And neither tune is the one I know. "I Am the Duke of Norfolk" is, however, a popular tune; it is cited many times in the Broadside Ballad Index (ZN338, ZN1208, ZN1839, ZN2168, ZN2570, ZN2671, ZN2955). - RBW
File: K226
===
NAME: Hush Alee
DESCRIPTION: "I sit up all night with the fire burning bright, While rocking my baby to sleep, Singing, 'Hush a-le la lee, hush a-lo lee, Your daddy will come by and by, So close your eyes and go to sleep, Your dear mother she is tired, Singing hush alee..."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1935 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: lullaby nonballad father mother
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
SHenry H591b, p. 6, "Hush Alee" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kennedy 343, "Hush, Little Babbie" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, HUSHALEE*
Roud #2158
NOTES: It's far from certain that these songs are the same. Kennedy, who knew the Henry collection, did not equate them, speculating instead that "Hush, Little Babbie" came from a Gaelic original.
But both the Kennedy and Henry texts are from Northern Ireland, and they share lines and somewhat similar choruses. I decided to equate them.
The text cited in the description is from Henry. Kennedy's version has a curious floating segment, "Where are you going, my old man, Where are you going, my honey?" - RBW
File: HHH591b
===
NAME: Hush You (The Black Douglas)
DESCRIPTION: "Hush you, hush you, Little pet you, Hush you, hush you, Dinna fret you, The Black Douglas Shall not get you."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1964 (Montgomerie)
KEYWORDS: lullaby
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Montgomerie-ScottishNR 137, "(Hush you, hush you)" (1 text)
NOTES: Whether this is a traditional song I do not know -- but it's old enough to have folklore about it. Unfortunately, I don't remember the source, but the tale went as follows:
A singer, high in a castle, was singing "The Black Douglas shall not get you" to her bairn, when Douglas, who was raiding the castle and had come up behind her, announced, "I'm not so sure of that."
Probably too good to be true, to be sure.
The Douglas family arose to prominence in the reign of Robert I Bruce (King of Scotland 1306-1329); Sir James Douglas (died 1330) was Bruce's right-hand man, and I seem to recall one version of the above story in which he was the Douglas involved.
But James Douglas was not a "Black Douglas"; at the time, there was but the one Douglas family. His descendants became Earls of Douglas. It was the second Earl, another James, who died young at Otterburn (for which see "The Hunting of the Cheviot [Child 162]"). He had no direct heir, so the Douglas family split into Red and Black branches.
The Black Douglases were the stronger -- indeed, they were the strongest family in Scotland, probably stronger than the King. For half a century, they were a constant menace, until James II killed William Douglas (the eighth earl) in 1452. His brother James succeeded as ninth earl, but was driven into exile a few years later, and the Douglases were finally broken.
Thus this piece, if real, would have to date from between 1388 and 1455. Probably it comes from the earlier end of that period, in the period of the most intense border wars -- which were not really battles between England and Scotland; like Otterburn, they were between the Percies of Northumbria and the Douglases of Lothian. - RBW
File: MSNR137
===
NAME: Hush-a-Bye, Baby
DESCRIPTION: The singer is forty-five with a young wife who "loves to go out on a spree" leaving him to watch the baby. One night he goes out for a stroll while the baby is sleeping and "my dear wife I spied hugging a soldier sixteen"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 (Leach-Labrador)
KEYWORDS: infidelity marriage baby wife
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Leach-Labrador 115, "Hush-a-Bye, Baby" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST LLab115 (Full)
Roud #9971
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Rocking the Cradle (and the Child Not His Own)" (theme)
cf. "Unhappy Jeremiah (The Brats of Jeremiah)" (plot)
File: LLab115
===
NAME: Hush-a-bye, Baby, On The Tree Top: see Rock-A-Bye Baby (File: Wa190)
===
NAME: Hush-a-Bye, Don't You Cry: see All the Pretty Little Horses (File: LxU002)
===
NAME: Hush-oh-bye Baby
DESCRIPTION: The singer meets a woman with her three children on a sleeting night. She say her husband, a farmer, was killed in town by a gang. She spent all she had to bury him and was put on the road when she could not pay rent. She and the babies die of the cold.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1974 (Lehr/Best)
KEYWORDS: poverty burial death children mother husband storm
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Lehr/Best 54, "Hush-oh-bye Baby" (1 text, 1 tune)
RECORDINGS:
Anita Best, "Hush-o-bye Baby" (on NFABest01)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Three Perished in the Snow" [Laws G32] (plot)
NOTES: In the song the couple are said to live "in a place they called Newton Perry." Newton Perry is a sector of Limerick City, County Limerick, Ireland (source: inforing Ireland Gateway site). Lehr/Best (viz., Anita Best): "This is no doubt a song which originated in Ireland where, in the nineteenth century, evictions of poor tenant farmers unable to pay rent was extremely common." - BS
File: LeBe054
===
NAME: Hush, Honey, Hush: see Go Slow, Boys (Banjo Pickin') (File: R278)
===
NAME: Hush, Little Babbie: see Hush Alee (File: HHH591b)
===
NAME: Hush, Little Baby
DESCRIPTION: "Hush little baby, don't say a word, Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird. And if that mockingbird won't sing. Papa's gonna buy you...." And so forth, through many objects, ending "And if that () won't (), you'll still be the prettiest little baby in town."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1918 (Cecil Sharp collection)
KEYWORDS: lullaby bird commerce gift
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE,So) Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (10 citations)
Randolph 359, "Mamma, Mamma, Have You Heard?" (1 short text plus a fragment, 1 tune)
BrownII 196, "Swapping Songs" (4 text plus 2 excerpts, with most texts being "The Swapping Boy," but "E" and "F" are this song)
SharpAp 234, "The Mocking Bird" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Peacock, p. 15, "Lullaby" (1 text, 1 tune)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #558, p. 228, "(Hush, little baby, don't say a word)"
Scott-BoA, p. 164, "Hush, Little Baby" (1 text, 1 tune)
Arnett, p. 61, "Hush, Little Baby" (1 text, 1 tune)
Pankake-PHCFSB, pp. 224-225, "Mockingbird" (1 text, with some unusual verses; the ending may be a parody)
Silber-FSWB, p. 409, "Hush Little Baby" (1 text)
DT, HUSHLIL*
Roud #470
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Say, Darling, Say" (lyrics, tune)
cf. "Mamma's Goin' to Buy Him a Little Lap Dog (Come Up Horsie)" (theme, lyrics)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Mockingbird Song
Papa's Going to Buy Me a Mockingbird
NOTES: An Ozark version of this song ends "If that lookin-glass doesn't shine, Papa's going to shoot that beau of mine!" -- referring to a belief that mirrors only shone for chaste women.
Although this particular song seems to have become popular only recently, the form with progressive items is old; Gammer Gurton's Garland (1784), for instance, has a poem beginning
A man of words and not of deeds
Is like a garden full of weeds;
And when the weeds begin to grow,
It's like a garden full of snow;
And when the snow begins to fall,
It's like a bird upon the wall....
(For this poem, see Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #75, p. 81; also in Talley's _Negro Folk Rhymes_). - RBW
File: SBoA164
===
NAME: Hush, Little Baby (II): see Jesus Done Taken My Drifting Hand (File: Br3580)
===
NAME: Hush, Little Bonnie: see More Pretty Girls Than One (File: CSW192)
===
NAME: Hushabye (I): see All the Pretty Little Horses (File: LxU002)
===
NAME: Hustling Gamblers: see Little Maggie (File: CSW048)
===
NAME: Hut that's Upside Down, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer has travelled many places, but now is "anchored hard and fast in the hut that's upside down." He describes the wild behaviors there -- gambling, frantic shearing, and watching the cook beat a brownie or dance a highland fling
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1955
KEYWORDS: rambling sheep Australia cook
FOUND_IN: Australia
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Meredith/Anderson, pp. 58-59, "The Hut that's Upside Down" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Thought to refer to a shed in Big Burrawang in New South Wales. Meredith and Anderson report that this shed was "so big that a wooden tramway ran around it to move the wool." - RBW
File: MA058
===
NAME: Hypocrite and the Concubine, The
DESCRIPTION: "Hypocrite and the concubine, Living among the swine, They run to God with the lips and tongue, And leave all the heart behind. Aunty, did you hear when Jesus rose? (x3), He rose and 'scend on high."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Allen/Ware/Garrison, p. 70, "The Hypocrite and the Concubine" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #12029
NOTES: A curious combination of images; there is no book in the King James Bible which contains both the word "hypocrite" and the word "concubine." - RBW
File: AWG070B
===
NAME: I Ain't A-Gonna Work a No Mo'!
DESCRIPTION: "I ain't a-gonna work a no mo'! (x2), Done an' work-ed till my hands got sore. I ain't a-gonna work a no mo!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1919 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: work nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 242, "I Ain't A-Gonna Work a No Mo'!" (1 short text)
File: Br3242
===
NAME: I Ain't Gonna Grieve My Lord No More: see Ain't Gonna Grieve My Lord No More (File: R300)
===
NAME: I Ain't Got Nobody: see Took My Gal a-Walkin' (File: RcTMGAW)
===
NAME: I Ain't Got Time to Tarry: see Don't Get Weary Children (Massa Had a Yellow Gal) (File: BAF904)
===
NAME: I Am a Brisk Young Sprightly Lad
DESCRIPTION: "I am a brisk and sprightly lad, But just come home from sea, sire... A sailor's life for me, sir." "Yeo, yeo, yeo, Whilst the bosun pipes all hands With a yeo, yeo, yeo!" The sailor loves foreign ports, and promises to fight for the nation when attacked
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1948 (Shay)
KEYWORDS: sailor battle money
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Shay-SeaSongs, p. 138, "I Am a Brisk and Sprightly Lad" (1 text)
NOTES: This is another of those sea-poems Shay seems to have dug up somewhere; I have not found it elsewhere.
The boast about each man "hasten[ing] to his guns" would surely have sounded very strange to the sailors who fought in the Napoleonic wars -- it is estimated that half of the men in Nelson's fleet were impressed, and more were quota men. - RBW.
File: ShaSS138
===
NAME: I Am a Done-Up Man
DESCRIPTION: "I am a done-up (hic) man, You'll agree with me ev'ry one (hic), Tis true I've seen the bright side of (hic) life (hic), But now I'm a poor old bum (hic)." The drunkard believes that, when he dies, Heaven turn him out, and Satan will reject him too
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1942 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: drink death devil
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Randolph 406, "I Am a Done-Up Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7683
File: R406
===
NAME: I Am a Girl of Constant Sorrow: see Girl of Constant Sorrow (File: FSWB128B)
===
NAME: I Am a Great Complainer
DESCRIPTION: "I am a great complainer, that bears the name of Christ... I feel my faith declining...." The singer calls on Christ to repair (his) wavering faith and help (him) in (his) stumbling in a fast-moving world: "I am so full of folly, and have no time to pray"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1848 (Hesperian Harp)
KEYWORDS: religious Jesus nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Randolph 647, "I Am a Great Complainer" (1 text)
Roud #7568
File: R647
===
NAME: I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow: see Man of Constant Sorrow (File: CSW113)
===
NAME: I Am a Newfoundlander
DESCRIPTION: "I am a Newfoundlander, I go out to the ice. I'm always in the best of ships.... The man I wish to sail with is Captain Harry Dawe." The Adventure sets out in 1906 and takes 20,000 seal. The singer tells of the voyage, the crew, and an injured Irishman
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (Ryan/Small)
KEYWORDS: ship hunting moniker injury doctor
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ryan/Small, pp. 89-90, "I Am a Newfoundlander" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Pride of Logy Bay" (tune)
File: RySm089
===
NAME: I Am a Pilgrim
DESCRIPTION: "I am a pilgrim and a stranger Traveling through this wearisome land, I have a home in yonder city, And it's not made, not made by hand." The singer's family has gone before; the singer hopes to be made whole
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1917 (recording, Imperial Quartet)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Silber-FSWB, p. 353, "I Am A Pilgrim" (1 text)
DT, IAMPLGRM*
RECORDINGS:
Imperial Quartet, "I'm a Pilgrim, I'm a Stranger" (Victor 18199, 1917)
Silver Leaf Quartet, "I Am A Pilgrim" (OKeh 8594/ARC 6-12-63/Vocalion 04395, 1928)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Tossed and Driven (The Poor Pilgrim)"
NOTES: The Digital Tradition lists this as by Merle Travis. The Folksinger's Wordbook doesn't list an author. I haven't a clue -- but there are a lot of traditional lines in here. - RBW
I think the 1917 recording effectively washes out the claim of Merle Travis as sole author, although he certainly put the song into the form in which it's most commonly sung today. Sam Hinton learned a version in his childhood which is probably closer to the 1917 version than to Travis's. - PJS
File: FSWB353B
===
NAME: I Am a Pretty Wench
DESCRIPTION: "I am a pretty wench, And I come a great way hence, And sweethearts I can get none: But every dirty sow Can get sweethearts enow, And I, pretty wench, can get never a one."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1784 (Gammer Gurton's Garland)
KEYWORDS: oldmaid
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Opie-Oxford2 525, "I am a pretty wench" (1 text)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #82, p. 84, "(I am a pretty wench)"
cf. Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, p. 84, "The Ploughman" (1 text, 1 tune, not this song as printed, but the notes reveal that the informant's version began with a verse of this)
Roud #2538
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Condescencing Lass
Pretty Wench
File: BGMG082
===
NAME: I Am a Rambling Rowdy Boy: see The Butcher Boy [Laws P24] (File: LP24)
===
NAME: I Am a Rich Widow: see The Rich Widow (File: Lins019)
===
NAME: I Am a River Driver: see The River-Driver's Lament (I Am a River Driver) (File: FowL69)
===
NAME: I Am a Union Woman
DESCRIPTION: The singer proclaims, "I am a union woman, Just as brave as I can be... And the bosses don't like me." She tells all to "join the C.I.O./N.M.U." She is called a Red and shot at for her activities; her husband denied work; but she still supports the union
AUTHOR: Words: Aunt Molly Jackson/Music: Traditional
EARLIEST_DATE: 1930s (recorded by author)
KEYWORDS: work unemployment labor-movement
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Arnett, pp. 174-175, "I Am a Union Woman" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greenway-AFP, pp. 269-270, "I Am a Union Woman" (1 text)
Roud #16050
RECORDINGS:
New Lost City Ramblers, "Join the C.I.O." (on NLCR09)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Which Side Are You On?" (tune)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Join the N. M. U.
Join the C. I. O.
NOTES: The radical National Miners' Union (N.M.U.) attempted to organize miners in the 1930s, but were defeated by the mine owners after bitter and bloody conflicts. The United Mine Workers of America (U.M.W.), part of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (C.I.O.) succeeded a few years later, again after terrible struggle. The song was rewritten [it is based on "Which Side Are You On" - DGE] to suit the new organizing drive.
The note from DGE states that this was based on, "Which Side Are You On?," but this song may predate it. Both were based on a traditional hymn tune. - PJS
File: Arn174
===
NAME: I Am a Wee Laddie, Hard, Hard Is My Fate: see Green Grows the Laurel (Green Grow the Lilacs) (File: R061)
===
NAME: I Am a Wee Lassie
DESCRIPTION: The singer complains "how false was that young man that I loved so dear." He swore to be true. Now that Spring has returned "I'll go down to the green woods where the small birds do sing ... Where no one shall see me till I cry my fill"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Hayward-Ulster)
KEYWORDS: courting love rejection lyric
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hayward-Ulster, p. 109, "I Am a Wee Lassie" (1 text)
Roud #6542
File: HayU109
===
NAME: I Am a Wild Young Irish Boy [Laws L19]
DESCRIPTION: The Irish convict, trained as a sailor, flees the farm where he has been sent. He turns outlaw, but never robs the poor or kills without cause. Trapped by the police, he kills five and escapes. Only when he is dying does he let the police be tipped off
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1959
KEYWORDS: sailor outlaw fight escape death
FOUND_IN: US(MA) Australia
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Laws L19, "I Am a Wild Young Irish Boy"
Doerflinger, pp. 270-272, "I Am a Wild Young Irish Boy' (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 573, YNGIRSHB
Roud #1907
File: LL19
===
NAME: I Am a Young Maiden (If I Were a Blackbird)
DESCRIPTION: The girl has been courted by a sailor, but now is deserted. She wishes she were a blackbird so she could follow her love. She tells of how her parents' dislike caused her to love him the more. He promised to buy her ribbons, but now has left her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Sam Henry collection); c.1920 (OLochlainn)
KEYWORDS: separation courting love floatingverses
FOUND_IN: US(MA) Ireland Canada(Newf) Britain(England(Lond),Scotland)
REFERENCES: (7 citations)
FSCatskills 38, "I Am a Young Maiden" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H79, pp. 428-429, "If I Were A Blackbird" (1 text, 1 tune)
OLochlainn 46, "If I Was a Blackbird" (1 text, 1 tune)
Meredith/Anderson, pp. 170-171, "If I Was a Blackbird" (1 text, 1 tune)
MacSeegTrav 31, "If I Was a Blackbird" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Blondahl, p. 119, "If I Were a Blackbird" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, (IFBLKBRD -- apparently a reworking of the song from a man's perspective) IFBLKBR2*
Roud #387
RECORDINGS:
Diddy Cook, "The Blackbird" (on Voice15)
Blanche Wood, "I'm a Young Bonnie Lassie" (on FSB1)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Wagoner's Lad" (lyrics)
NOTES: Although this song is composed entirely of floating lyrics -- from "The Wagoner's Lad," "Oh, Dear, What Can the Matter Be" and others -- this combination is sufficiently widespread that it must be considered a song in its own right - RBW
File: FSC38
===
NAME: I Am Bound for the Promised Land: see Bound for the Promised Land (File: LxU099)
===
NAME: I Am Gaun to the Garret
DESCRIPTION: "My mither has three butter platies. Platies? Ay, platies... And she's nae ither dochters but me. But I maun gang tae the garret... Since there's nae bonnie laddie for me." After lamenting her fate, she at last reports that she is to marry a miller
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord)
KEYWORDS: oldmaid courting dowry beauty marriage miller
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ord, p. 58, "I Am Gaun to the Garret" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #818
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "I Wonder When I Shall Be Married" (lyrics, theme)
NOTES: This is fundamentally the same song as "I Wonder When I Shall Be Married," and both very possibly derive from a broadside "The Maiden's Sad Complaint for Want of a Husband." But this version ends with the girl getting married, and the other with her still an old maid. That's a sufficient change in the plot that I list the two separately, but there is clearly overlap. Roud unsurprisingly lumps them. - RBW
File: Ord058
===
NAME: I Am Going to Heaven
DESCRIPTION: "I am going to Heaven (x3), (To see/I and) the bleeding lamb." "Come, my loving father, And don't you want to go? Come go with me to glory To see the bleeding lamb." Similarly with mother, brother(s), sister(s)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 534, "I Am Going to Heaven" (1 text)
Roud #11873
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Religion Is the Best of All" (lyrics)
File: Br3534
===
NAME: I Am Going Where the Blood Flows Stronger
DESCRIPTION: "I am going where the blood flows stronger (x2), Way over in the promised land." "I wonder where is my dear old mother?" "Who will rise and go to my father?" "I know those angels are having a good time, Eating of honey and drinking of wine."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad wine
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 582, "I Am Going Where the Blood Flows Stronger" (1 text, with irregular lyrics that strongly hint two songs were combined)
Roud #11898
File: Br3582
===
NAME: I Am Growing Old and Gray
DESCRIPTION: The old man laments, "I am growing old and gray ev'ry year," and laments his loss of sexual power, as well as the ability to hold liquor. The women "ask for much more" every year, but he can no longer supply it
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927
KEYWORDS: sex age bawdy
FOUND_IN: US(SW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Cray, pp. 53-54, "I Am Growing Old and Gray" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #10140
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain" (tune) and reference there
cf. "When I Was Young and in My Prime" (theme)
File: EM053
===
NAME: I Am Napoleon Bonaparte: see Napoleon's Farewell to Paris (File: GC089)
===
NAME: I Am Now a Poor Auld Man in Years: see When This Old Hat Was New (III) (File: GrD3541)
===
NAME: I Am On My Way: see Jacob's Ladder (I) (File: CW190A)
===
NAME: I Am Sold and Going to Georgia
DESCRIPTION: "O! When shall we poor souls be free? When shall these slavery chains be broken? I am sold and going to Georgia, Will go go along with me." The singer has lost his wife and child. He bids farewell, and says, "Go sound the jubilee."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1953
KEYWORDS: slavery travel separation family
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Greenway-AFP, pp. 95-96, "I Am Sold and Going to Georgia" (1 text)
NOTES: Greenway, for some reason, is convinced that this is of white origin. I suppose it is possible, but it clearly refers to the plight of the Black slave. - RBW
File: Grnw095
===
NAME: I Am Standing in the Shoes of John
DESCRIPTION: "I am standing in the shoes of John (x2), I am standing, I am standing, I am standing in the shoes of John." "If they fit me, I will wear them on...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1923 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad clothes
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 589, "I Am Standing in the Shoes of John" (1 short text)
Roud #11837
NOTES: There is, of course, no Biblical reason to think that there was anything special about the shoes of either John the Baptist (who said he wasn't even worthy to untie Jesus's shoes) or John the Apostle. The reference is probably to the John of the Apocalypse anyway. - RBW
File: Br3589
===
NAME: I Am the Duke of Norfolk: see references under The Husbandman and the Servingman (File: K226)
===
NAME: I am the Master (Dusty Bluebells)
DESCRIPTION: Singing game: "In and out those dusty bluebells (x3), I am the master. Tip a little apple on my shoulder (x3), I am the master." "Tippety, tappety, on your shoulder (x3), I am the master"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: playparty nonballad
FOUND_IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
SHenry H48a, p. 10, "I Am the Master" (1 text, 1 tune)
Montgomerie-ScottishNR 79, "(In and out the dusty bluebells)" (1 text)
Roud #734
NOTES: Roud classifies this as a version of "In and Out the Window/Marching Round the Levee." I would say the "I am the master" line makes them distinct. - RBW
File: HHH048a
===
NAME: I Am the True Vine
DESCRIPTION: "I am the true vine (x3), My father is the husbandman." "I am in him and he's in me, My father is the husbandman, Every day he comforts me." "I know my Lord has set me free." "Look over yonder in the harvest field." "I know my Lord is kind and true."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1940 (Work)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad farming floatingverses
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
ADDITIONAL: _Sing Out_ magazine, Volume 23, #2 (1974), p, 22, "Lord, I'm the True Vine" (1 text, 1 tune, from Eddie Head)
Roud #12222
NOTES: The Sing Out! and Work versions of this have hardly a word in common, except the chorus, but the pattern is so distinctive that I have no doubt they should be lumped. The mention of Jesus as the true vine and the Father as tender comes from John 15:1. (I note that, contrary to what some translations imply, the words for the vine itself and the farmer are not related; "vine" is Greek "ampelos"; the word used to describe the father is "georgos," "farmer.") - RBW
File: SOv23N2A
===
NAME: I Am Waiting on the Levee
DESCRIPTION: "I am waitin' on the levee, Waitin' for the steamboat to come down, I hope she's loaded pretty heavy, I hope she's loaded to the ground. I think I hear her whistle blowin'... It must be the Natchez or the Robert Lee."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1944 (Wheeler)
KEYWORDS: racing ship river
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Jun 30, 1870 - Race between the Natchez and the Robert E. Lee.
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
MWheeler, pp. 57-58, "I Am Waitin' on the Levee" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #10019
NOTES: The Natchez, built 1869, and the Lee, built 1866, were regular competitors on the Natchez/New Orleans run. In 1870, the two captains agreed to a race.
It wasn't an equal contest, though -- the Natchez (thought by many to have been the slightly faster boat) took an ordinary load of passengers and cargo; the Lee was stripped for the race and drove through a fogbank. The Lee won the race by seven hours -- six of which the Natchez spent waiting out the fog to protect her passengers' safety.
The race was famed in popular folklore (see, for instance, Botkin's Mississippi River Folklore, pp. 58-61), but it didn't really set any records; it was just a straight race. And, interestingly, true folk songs about it are rare. Wheeler's is the first I've encountered to mention it, and it's only a fragment; the real subject might be something else. - RBW
File: MWhee057
===
NAME: I an' Satan Had a Race
DESCRIPTION: "I and Satan had a race, hallelu, hallelu" (x2). "Win de race agin de course." "Satan tell me to my face." "He will break my kingdom down." "Jesus whisper in my heart." "Satan mount the iron gray." "Jesus mount the milk-white horse."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad racing horse
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Allen/Ware/Garrison, p. 40, "I an' Satan Had a Race" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #11993
File: AWG040
===
NAME: I Ask that Gal
DESCRIPTION: When the singer asks her to give him some, she tells him to wait until the 'taters are done. He can't wait, and forces himself on her, only to lament "the 'taters got burnt an' so did I."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE:
KEYWORDS: bawdy sex disease lament
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Randolph-Legman I, pp. 133-134, "I Ask that Gal" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Roud #11500
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Frog Went A-Courtin'" (tune)
NOTES: Sung to the melody of "Frog Went A-Courtin'." - EC
This instinctively reminds me of the story of King Alfred and the Cakes. But it's not the same story, and I would be shocked at any evidence of literary dependence. - RBW
File: RL133
===
NAME: I Been a Miner: see Take This Hammer (File: FR383)
===
NAME: I Believe This Dear Old Bible
DESCRIPTION: Sundry Bible stories told briefly and linked by the refrain, "I believe this dear old Bible from beginning to the end." Sample: "I believe that Father Adam was the first created man."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: religious Bible
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Randolph 648, "I Believe This Dear Old Bible" (1 fragment)
Roud #7569
File: R648
===
NAME: I Belong to that Band
DESCRIPTION: "I never saw the like since I been born, People keep coming and the train done gone." "I belong to that band, Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, I belong to that band, Hallelujah." "Some come crippled and some come lame." "Clouds look heavy...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (Chappell)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad floatingverses train disability
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
BrownIII 583, "I Belong to that Band" (1 text); also 624, "Old Satan's Mad" (5 texts, of which the short "A" text is probably "Free at Last"; "B" is a variation on "Down By the Riverside (Study War No More)"; "C" has the "Old Satan's Mad" stanza but a "climbing Zion's walls" chorus; D" is an unidentifiable fragment perhaps related to "I Belong to that Band; and "E" is also a fragment, perhaps of "Free At Last")
Chappell-FSRA 87, "O I Believe in Jesus" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #11900
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Ten Stone" (lyric)
File: Br3583
===
NAME: I Bid You Goodnight (The Christian's Good-Night)
DESCRIPTION: Funeral hymn/spiritual, recognized by the chorus line, "And I bid you goodnight, goodnight, goodnight." The hymn form describes a farewell and the afterlife. Other versions encourage repentance or sound almost like a lullaby
AUTHOR: F. A. and J. E. Sankey (?) Sarah Doudney?
EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (recording, Lonnie McIntorsh)
KEYWORDS: death funeral religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US Britain(England(North)) Bahamas
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
DT, BIDGNITE
ST DTbidgni (Full)
Roud #15632
RECORDINGS:
Men from Andros Island, "I Bid You Goodnight" (on LomaxCD1822-2)
Five Gospel Souls [pseud. for the Five Soul Stirrers] "Sleep On Darling Mother" (Ebony 137, rec. 1945)
Lonnie McIntorsh, "Sleep On, Mother, Sleep On" (Victor 21271, 1928)
Mound City Jubilee Quartette, "Sleep On, Darling Mother" (Decca 7158, 1936; rec. 1935)
Sister Rosetta Tharpe, "Sleep On, Darling Mother" (Decca 8657, 1944; rec. 1943)
Lena Thompson, Lucy Scott, & Lucy Smith, "Sleep On" (on VaWork)
NOTES: This song has an incredibly tangled history. Bob Bovee tells me that he found a 78 of this song: "It's by Lonnie McIntorsh with the title 'Sleep On, Mother, Sleep On' (Victor 21271). He's [a] black gospel singer with guitar recorded in Memphis in 1928."
The Sankey Brothers version of the song appeared in the Cokesbury Worship Hymnal in 1928.
In 1936, Hazel Felleman's _The Best Loved Poems of the American People_ (pp. 342-343) lists a version as by Sarah Doudney. (Perhaps Doudney wrote the lyrics, with the Sankeys adding a tune?)
And then there is the recording by Joseph Spence, with what amounts to only a single verse, applied to different relatives. It's hardly even the same song.
This hymn thoroughly deserves a detailed research project. Did the Sankeys write it, or just adapt it? Which versions of the song are traditional, and where? Did Spence create his version, or did it exist before him? I can't answer any of these questions from my library. - RBW
Spence's version is quite similar to another, collected in the Bahamas in 1935 by Alan Lomax; both include traditional Bahamian "rhyming" -- improvised verses over a sung or chanted background. And to another, found in Virginia in 1980 among crabpickers, who sang it as they worked.
It's also found in Yorkshire, and interestingly enough it is used there as a lowering-down song at funerals, just as it is in the Bahamas. - PJS
File: DTbidgni
===
NAME: I Binged Avree
DESCRIPTION: Travellers' cant. Singer meets two men in a North Scotland lodging house. They get drunk and start a fight; he hits one, then flees. He buys an accordion with the money he has begged and goes to Ireland. He meets two Tinkers who ask why he left Scotland
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (recorded from Davie Stewart)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Travellers' cant. Singer takes to the road, heads for northern Scotland, far from home, where he meets two men in a lodging house. They get drunk and start a fight; he hits one, then flees. He goes into a music shop and buys an accordion with the money he has begged; he gets tea and two shillings from a woman whose man is away at work. She tells him he'd best get away; he goes to Ireland. There he meets two Irish Tinkers who ask why he left Scotland
KEYWORDS: homesickness fight violence rambling travel music Ireland Scotland foreignlanguage Gypsy
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Kennedy 344, "I Binged Avree" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2159
File: K344
===
NAME: I Bless the Lord, I'm Born to Die
DESCRIPTION: Fragment: "I bless the Lord, I'm born to die; Keep me from sinkin' down; I'm gwine to jedgment bye an' bye, Keep me from sinkin' down."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 13, (no title) (1 fragment)
File: ScaNF013
===
NAME: I Bought Me a Rooster: see I Had a Little Rooster (Farmyard Song) (File: R352)
===
NAME: I Bought Myself a Cock: see I Had a Little Rooster (Farmyard Song) (File: R352)
===
NAME: I Called My Dogs
DESCRIPTION: "I called my dogs through the rye To get to see them run and try. Ho oggie, ho doggie, harpin, tarpin rusty gills... call all your dogs home." The singer calls the dogs through various types of ground to see how they will perform
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (Henry)
KEYWORDS: animal nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
MHenry-Appalachians, p. 4, "I Called My Dogs" (1 text)
File: MHAp004
===
NAME: I Came to This Country: see The Backwoodsman (The Green Mountain Boys) [Laws C19] (File: LC19)
===
NAME: I Can Buckle a Wheeler: see Levee Camp Holler (File: BMRF569)
===
NAME: I Can Forgive But Not Forget (Sweetheart, Farewell)
DESCRIPTION: "Sweetheart, farewell; at last we part. I leave you with an aching heart." The singer tells how (her?) lover scorned her. She says she loves him yet; "I can forgive but not forget." She thinks his false friends may prove untrue, and he will remember her.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: love separation betrayal nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownII 166, "Farewell, Sweetheart" (1 text)
Roud #6579
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Forget You I Never May" (theme)
File: BrII166
===
NAME: I Can't Feel At Home In This World Any More: see This World Is Not My Home (File: Wa135)
===
NAME: I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound
DESCRIPTION: The singer describes the life of a rambler, commenting "I can't help but wonder where I'm bound." He sees worried people everywhere, he misses his former girlfriend and his buddy; he advises people who have homes to stay there
AUTHOR: Tom Paxton
EARLIEST_DATE: 1963
KEYWORDS: rambling home
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Silber-FSWB, p. 52, "I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound" (1 text)
DT, WHERBOND*
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound
Can't Help But Wonder
NOTES: Obviously this isn't a traditional song, and it probably never will become one. On the other hand, it has been sung so widely by pop/folk singers (themselves ramblers, and so perhaps unusually sympathetic to the song) that I have seen a number of bluegrass sources list it as traditional. It may be that the song belongs in the Index just to refute that claim. - RBW
File: FSWB052
===
NAME: I Can't Stand the Fire
DESCRIPTION: "I can't stand the fire (dear sister), I can't stand the fire (O Lord), I can't stand the fire, While the Jordan roll so swift."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1866 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Allen/Ware/Garrison, p. 42, "I Can't Stand the Fire" (1 short text which the author suspect is a fragment, 2 tunes)
Roud #11997
File: AWG042B
===
NAME: I Can't Stay Behind
DESCRIPTION: "I can't say behind, my Lord, I can't say behind." "There's room enough (x3) in the heaven, My Lord,.. I can't stay behind." "I been all around." "I've searched every room." "The angels singing, all around the throne." "My father call...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Allen/Ware/Garrison, p. 6, "I Can't Stay Behind" (1 text with extensive notes on variants, 1 tune)
Roud #11857
File: AWG006
===
NAME: I Cannot Be Your Sweetheart
DESCRIPTION: Singer asks his beloved to marry him. She refuses; she loves him, but is pledged to another. Ch.: "I cannot be your sweeheart, I cannot stay by your side, Another is patiently waiting, waiting to call me his bride, My heart it is almost broken,,,,"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (recording, Howard & Peak)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer courts his beloved, asks her to marry him. She refuses, saying that though she loves him, she's promised to another. They part; he pines. Chorus: "I cannot be your sweeheart, I cannot stay by your side / Another is patiently waiting, waiting to call me his bride / My heart it is almost broken, your vows only add to my pain / I love you, sweetheart, I love you / Though we never meet again"
KEYWORDS: grief virtue courting love marriage promise rejection lover
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #4964
RECORDINGS:
[Blind James] Howard & [Charles] Peak, "I Cannot Be Your Sweetheart" (Victor V-40189, 1930; rec. 1928; on KMM)
NOTES: A classic plot, but apparently not a member of another song family. Nor could I find it in sheet music; possibly Howard or Peak wrote it. - PJS
File: RcICBYSH
===
NAME: I Cannot Call Her Mother (The Marriage Rite is Over; The Stepmother)
DESCRIPTION: "The marriage rite is over," and the children have seen their father take a new wife. Their mother's picture is replaced by the pretty new girl's. The child "could not call her mother." She calls herself an orphan; "God gave us but one mother."
AUTHOR: Henry Harrison
EARLIEST_DATE: 1855 (date of composition)
KEYWORDS: family marriage mother father children stepmother orphan
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Randolph 726, "The Stepmother" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Rorrer, p. 79, "I Cannot Call Her Mother" (1 text)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 298-299, "I Can Not Call Her Mother" (1 text, 1 tune)
cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 482, "The Stepmother" (source notes only)
ADDITIONAL: Fred W. Allsopp, Folklore of Romantic Arkansas, Volume II (1931), pp. 201-202, "(The Stepmother)" (1 short text)
ST R726 (Partial)
Roud #2091
RECORDINGS:
Bradley Kincaid, "I Cannot Call Her Mother" (Supertone 9565, 1929; Champion 15968, 1930 [as Dan Hughey])
[Roy Harvey and the] North Carolina Ramblers "I Cannot Call Her Mother" (Silvertone 5181 [as The Three Kentucky Serenaders], 1927; Supertone 9246/Silvertone 8147, 1928)
Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers, "I Cannot Call Her Mother" (Columbia 15307-D, 1928)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Blind Child" (theme)
File: R726
===
NAME: I Catch-a Da Plenty of Feesh
DESCRIPTION: "I sail over the ocean blue, I catch-a da plenty of feesh; The rain come down like hell, And the wind blow through my wheesk. Oh, Marian, my good compan, O Viva le Garibaldi! Viva, viva, viva l'Italiane!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: sailor work patriotic
FOUND_IN: US(SW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Sandburg, p. 409, "I Catch-a Da Plenty of Feesh" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Garibaldi was, of course, the soldier who (in a military sense) was most responsible for the unification of Italy. The mention presumably dates the song to the period around 1861 when Cavour (sometimes helped, and sometimes hindered, by Garibaldi) was unifying Italy under the Piedmont dynasty. - RBW
File: San409
===
NAME: I Come from Salem City: see Oh California (File: ShaSS114)
===
NAME: I Come Up Put uv Egypt: see Balm in Gilead (File: FSWB360A)
===
NAME: I Could'n Live Bedout de Flowers
DESCRIPTION: About southern living habits. "I could'n live bedout de flowers Ur fdat sweet magnolia tree. I could'n sleep where de mockin' bird Could'n sing he song to me." The singer claims he would "pine an' die on Boston beans, 'Caze possum is what we eat."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: food home nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 442, "I Could'n Live Bedout de Flowers" (1 text)
Roud #11781
NOTES: The editors of Brown say this is of minstrel origin, and it seems likely enough.
File: Br3442
===
NAME: I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray
DESCRIPTION: "Couldn't hear nobody pray, I couldn't hear nobody pray, Well, way down yonder by myself I couldn't hear nobody pray." "In the valley... On my knees... Callin' Jesus... So lonesome... In the mornin'... In the evenin'...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1909 (recording, Fisk University Jubilee Quartette)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Lomax-FSNA 246, "I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 351, "I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray" (1 text)
Roud #11949
RECORDINGS:
Emory University Glee Club, "Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray" (Victor 20594, 1927)
Fisk University Jubilee Quartette, "I Couldn't Hear Nobody" (Victor 16448, 1909)
Fisk University Jubilee Singers, "Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray" (Columbia A-1932, 1916); "I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray" (on Fisk01)
Four Blues, "I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray" (DeLuxe 1003, 1945)
Paramount Jubilee Singers, "I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray" (Paramount 12070, 1923)
Southern Four, "I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray" (Edison 50885, 1921)
Vaughan Quartet, "Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray" (Vaughan 300, n.d.)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Wreck on the Highway" (words)
NOTES: Not to be confused with "Wreck on the Highway," which uses a similar phrase in its chorus. -PJS
File: LoF247
===
NAME: I Couldn't Stay Away: see Way Down in Old Virginia (File: ScaNF225)
===
NAME: I Died My Petticoat Red: see Shule Agra (Shool Aroo[n], Buttermilk Hill, Johnny's Gone for a Soldier) (File: R107)
===
NAME: I Do Love Sugar in My Coffee O: see Sugar in My Coffee (File: R565A)
===
NAME: I Do Wonder Is My Mother on That Train
DESCRIPTION: "I do wonder is my mother on that train (x2). Train is a-comin' roun' de curve, an' she's strainin' ever' nerve, I do wonder...." Sinners are told of the arrival of the train in heaven and told they should behave better.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: religious train nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 586, "I Do Wonder Is My Mother on That Train" (1 text)
Roud #11902
File: Br3586
===
NAME: I Don't Care If I Do: see I Don't Mind If I Do (File: MA263)
===
NAME: I Don't Feel Weary
DESCRIPTION: "I don't feel weary and noways tired, O glory hallelujah. Just let me in the kingdom While the world is all on fire, O glory hallelujah." "Going to live with God forever." "And keep the ark a-moving."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Allen/Ware/Garrison, p. 70, "I Don't Feel Weary" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #12028
File: AWG070A
===
NAME: I Don't Know When Old Death's Gwine ter Call Me
DESCRIPTION: "I don't know when old death's gwine ter call me, He's ridin' every day. He don' let nobody stay. My heart is full of sorrow, my eyes is full of tears, Old death is gwine ter call me 'fore many more years."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: death
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 590, "I Don't Know When Old Death's Gwine ter Call Me" (1 fragment)
Roud #11903
NOTES: Although the editors of Brown list this among the religious songs, and it certainly *could* be one of those laments-on-death-but-I'll-wait-for-Jesus type songs -- but there is no indication of such in the actual text. - RBW
File: Br3590
===
NAME: I Don't Like a Nigger
DESCRIPTION: "I don't like a nigger, I'll be dinged if I do. Feet's so big Till he can't wear a shoe. Head like a hay-stack, Mouth like a frog's; Eats more bread than Forty Bull-dogs. Got de glory and honor! Praise de Jesus, to my dyin' land!...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: Black(s) discrimination Jesus
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 484, "I Don't Like a Nigger" (1 text)
Roud #11866
NOTES: For some reason, the notes in Brown equate this with "I Don't Like No Railroad Man." I wonder if this isn't an error -- "I Don't Like No Railroad Man" is much more like "Don't Like a Rich White Man Nohow," which occurs a few entries earlier in Brown. This may be a white man's answer to the latter complaint -- but if so, it is a clearly inferior product. As well as much less justified. - RBW
File: Br3484
===
NAME: I Don't Like No Railroad Man
DESCRIPTION: "I don't like no railroad man, Railroad man he'll kill you if he can, I don't like no railroad man." "I don't like no railroad boss, Railroad boss got a head like a hoss...." "I don't like no railroad fool, Railroad fool got a head like a mule...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1913 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: railroading nonballad floatingverses discrimination Black(s)
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Sandburg, p. 326, "I Don't Like No Railroad Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownIII 481, "Don't Like a Rich White Man Nohow" (1 short text)
Roud #11802 and 11865
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground" (floating lyrics)
NOTES: The similarity in lyrics between the Brown and Sandburg versions clearly make them the same, though Brown's is a clear reminiscence of the bitter era in the American South after the Civil War, when Jim Crow laws made life miserable for Blacks. The Brown lyrics are much more explicit:
Don't like a rich white man nohow (x2),
Head like a hoss, and he tries to be de boss,
An' I don't like a rich white man nohow.
Don't like a poor white man nohow (x2),
Head like a mule, an' he tries to act a fool....
An' I don't like a poor white man nohow.
The resulting texts, though almost entirely the same in form, have completely different feelings. I have to suspect Sandburg's text is a cleaned up version -- but it too is seemingly early, and it was indexed first, so I retain its title. - RBW
File: San326
===
NAME: I Don't Love Nobody
DESCRIPTION: "I love a nobody, nobody loves me, Ain't gonna get married, Live single and free, They're after my money, ain't after me, I love a nobody, nobody love me."
AUTHOR: original version by Lew Sully
EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1896 (sheet music published)
KEYWORDS: love money
FOUND_IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Randolph 782, "I Love a Nobody" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 384-385, "I Love a Nobody" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 782)
Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 229, (no title) (1 fragment, possibly of this)
Roud #7414
RECORDINGS:
Elizabeth Cotten, "I Don't Love Nobody" (on Cotten01)
George Gaskin, "I Don't Love Nobody" (Berliner 928Z/0928Z, 1896)
Earl Johnson & his Dixie Entertainers "I Don't Love Nobody" (OKeh 45101, 1927)
Walter Morris, "Crazy Coon" (Columbia 15079-D, 1926)
Poplin Family, "I Don't Want to Get Married" (on Poplin01)
Riley Puckett "I Don't Love Nobody" (Columbia 150-D, 1924)
Hoke Rice & his Gang, "I Don't Love Nobody" (Brunswick 482, 1930)
Doc Roberts "I Don't Love Nobody" (Perfect 12929/Conqueror 8239, 1933)
Gid Tanner & his Skillet Lickers "I Don't Love Nobody" (Columbia 15123-D, 1927; rec. 1926)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
I Don't Want to Get Married
Duplin County Blues
I Ain't Got Nobody
NOTES: Paul Stamler points out that this was a "popular string ragtime song in the 1920s," but I don't know whether that is the immediate source of Randolph's version, which was collected around that time.
Cohen speculates that this is derived from Lew Sully's 1899 song "I Don't Love Nobody," while admitting that that in turn may have been a reworking of something else. - RBW
And the date on the George Gaskin recording suggests it may have been. The chorus is often all that remains of the original, which was a "coon song." - PJS
File: R782
===
NAME: I Don't Love Old Satan
DESCRIPTION: "I don't love old Satan, Old Satan don't love me, And under the circumstances, Me and old Satan don't agree." "I'se gwine to Mount de Zion, My beautiful home." "I stepped in de water, And the water was cold; Got a free body, And I want a free soul."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: religious Devil nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 584, "I Don't Love Old Satan" (1 text plus an excerpt from 1 more, both from the same informant); also 595, "I'se Gwine Land on Dat Shore" (1 text, with a "I'se gwine land on dat shore" chorus, but not long enough to classify with anything else)
Roud #11899
File: Br3584
===
NAME: I Don't Mind If I Do
DESCRIPTION: Various reminiscences about courting, all ending with something like, "Bedad, then, says I, I don't mind if I do." The singer comes courting, enters the house, takes a drink, kisses the girl, learns she has a dowry, and marries her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1885 (broadside Bodleian, Harding B 11(2164))
KEYWORDS: courting marriage
FOUND_IN: Australia Canada(Mar) Ireland
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Meredith/Anderson, pp. 263-264, "Oh, Bedad Then, Says I" (1 text, 1 tune)
Meredith/Covell/Brown, pp. 268-269, "I Don't Care If I Do" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ives-DullCare, pp. 106-107,252, "Pat Murphy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ives-NewBrunswick, pp. 97-99, "Pat Murphy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Morton-Maguire 20, pp. 46-47,111,164, "Joe Higgins" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #847
RECORDINGS:
John Maguire, "Joe Higgins" (on IRJMaguire01)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(2164), "Joe Muggins"/"I Don't Care If I Do," ("If you listen to me I will sing you a song"), unknown (London), 1863-1885
File: MA263
===
NAME: I Don't Sing Like I Used to Sing
DESCRIPTION: "I don't sing like I used to sing, Jesus done changed, changed, changed Dis heart o' mine (x4). Jesus done changed this heart of mine." Similarly, "I don't pray like I used to pray," and also shout, talk, walk, moan, etc.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad Jesus
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 585, "I Don't Sing Like I Used to Sing" (1 text)
Roud #11901
File: Br3585
===
NAME: I Don't Think Much of You
DESCRIPTION: An entertainer sings embarassing or suggestive remarks about people in the room, each ending "I don't think much of you." He criticizes appearance or assumes the target to be simple-minded. The final verse usually claims "it's all in jest"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1855 (broadside, Bodleian Firth b.25(396))
LONG_DESCRIPTION: An entertainer sings embarassing or suggestive remarks about people in the room, each ending "I don't think much of you" The singer says I can "reckon you up with half an eye": "why didn't you wash your face?" ... no soap -- why not then make water do; a young man is buying plenty of drinks for a woman while he owes his washerwoman for last week's washing; the singer finds a pawn ticket in a pocket book and a bustle in a lady's shopping bag; a shabbily dressed man "thinks himself a swell"; some verses critique hats, shirts and other articles of clothing. Other verses are about simple-minded targets: "you made the pigs two wooden legs, for you broke the poor thing's two Because your pig would not lay eggs"; "you bought a cow to suck a calf, and set two fleas to fight"; you lit a carrot in a candlestick "to give light." The final verse usually claims "it's all in jest."
KEYWORDS: clothes humorous nonballad
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan3 673, "I Don't Think Much of You" (3 fragments, 2 tunes)
Roud #1602
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth b.25(396), "I Don't Think Much of You" ("Ah! you may chaff and wink your eye, and laugh and make a rout"), E.M.A. Hodges (London), 1846-1854; also Bodleian, Harding B 11(4003), Harding B 18(269), Firth b.26(385), "I Don't Think Much of You"
LOCSinging, as105830, "I Don't Think Much of You," H. De Marsan (New York), 1861-1864; also sb20193a, "I Don't Think Much of You"
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
There Is a Man Sittin' There
NOTES: GreigDuncan3 entries are fragments; The broadsides are the basis for the long description.
The broadsides are more varied than other sets of broadsides of one song than I have seen. Verses float among broadsides with words changing -- pigs vs hogs, flies vs fleas, .... Introductory verses may be entirely different and no two choruses, where there are choruses, are the same. Nevertheless, the broadsides have the same general format and do share lines, including the tag line, "I don't think much of you."
Broadside LOCSinging as105830: 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: GrD3673
===
NAME: I Don't Want to Be a Gambler
DESCRIPTION: "Oh, I don't want to be a gambler, An' I'll tell you the reason why, My Lord, sittin' in his Kingdom, Got his eyes on me, God got his eyes on me...." "Oh, I don't want to be a lawyer, An' I'll tell you the reason why" "Oh, I don't want to be a drunkard"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: religious virtue nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Sandburg, p. 465, "I Don't Want to Be a Gambler" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: San465
===
NAME: I Don't Want to Join the Army
DESCRIPTION: Rather than join the army, the singer prefers to hang around Picadilly, "living off the earnings of a highborn ly-dee."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE:
KEYWORDS: bawdy humorous soldier
FOUND_IN: Australia Canada US(MW,SW) New Zealand
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Cray, pp. 384-386, "I Don't Want to Join the Army" (2 texts, 1 tune)
DT, JOINARMY*
Roud #10263
File: EM384
===
NAME: I Don't Want to Play in Your Yard
DESCRIPTION: Two girls were neighbors and close friends until "one day a quarrel came." The one tells the other "You can't play in our yard;" the other replies, "I don't want to play in your yard"; she will be sorry for all the fun she misses. Then they make up
AUTHOR: Words: Philip Wingate / Music: H. W. Petrie
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927
KEYWORDS: youth fight
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Spaeth-WeepMore, pp. 254-256, "I Don't Want to Play in Your Yard" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #16802
NOTES: Reported by Spaeth to be "the most popular child's song of the [1890s]" other than the works of Charles K. Harris. - RBW
File: SWM254
===
NAME: I Don't Want Your Millions, Mister
DESCRIPTION: "I don't want your millions, mister; I don't want your diamond ring; All I want is the right to work, Mister; Give me back my job again." The worker describes his toils that made the owner rich. But he doesn't need riches -- just food for his children
AUTHOR: Words: Jim Garland
EARLIEST_DATE: 1938
KEYWORDS: unemployment hardtimes work
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Lomax-FSNA 153, "I Don't Want Your Millions, Mister" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 313, "I Don't Want Your Millions Mister" (1 text)
DT, MLLIONMR*
RECORDINGS:
Almanac Singers , "All I Want" (on Almanac04, PeteSeeger01)
Pete Seeger , "I Don't Want Your Millions, Mister" (on PeteSeeger39)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "East Virginia (Dark Hollow)" (tune & meter)
cf. "Greenback Dollar" (tune & meter)
File: LoF153
===
NAME: I Don't Work for a Living
DESCRIPTION: "I don't work for a living, I get along all right without, I don't toil all day, I suppose it's because I'm not built that way." The singer describes all the things he can accomplish if someone else does the work, and describes his relaxed way of living
AUTHOR: James Mullen & Edward Leroy Freeman
EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (recording, Hobo Jack Turner)
KEYWORDS: work humorous unemployment
FOUND_IN: Australia US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Meredith/Covell/Brown, pp. 142-143, "I Don't Work for a Living" (1 text, 1 tune)
RECORDINGS:
Frank Crumit, "I Don't Work for a Living" (Victor V-40214, 1930)
Walton Dalton, "I Don't Work for a Living" (Perfect 12574, 1930)
Jack Kaufman, "I Don't Work for a Living" (Broadway 8145, n.d. but c. 1930)
Frankie Marvin, "I Don't Work for a Living" (Brunswick 401, 1930); (Conqueror 7449/Romeo 1145 [both as Frankie Wallace], c. 1930)
Hobo Jack Turner [pseud. Ernest Hare], "I Don't Work for a Living" (Velvet Tone 2070-V, 1929)
Pete Wiggins, "I Don't Work for a Living" (OKeh 45412/Parlophone [UK] E-6357, 1930)
File: MCB142
===
NAME: I Dream of Jeanie: see Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair (File: FSWB249)
===
NAME: I Dreamed Last Night of My True Love: see Locks and Bolts [Laws M13] (File: LM13)
===
NAME: I Dreamed of my True Lover: see Locks and Bolts [Laws M13] (File: LM13)
===
NAME: I Dreamt Last Night of My True Love: see Locks and Bolts [Laws M13] (File: LM13)
===
NAME: I Drew My Ship into the Harbour: see I Will Put My Ship In Order (File: Ord318)
===
NAME: I Dropped the Baby
DESCRIPTION: "I dropped the baby in the dirt, I asked the baby if it hurt, But all the little thing could say was, 'Waa, waa, waa.'"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1949 (recording, Dorothy Howard)
KEYWORDS: humorous baby
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #14046
RECORDINGS:
Dorothy Howard, "I Dropped the Baby" (on USWarnerColl01)
File: RcIDtBab
===
NAME: I Dyed My Petticoat Red: see Shule Agra (Shool Aroo[n], Buttermilk Hill, Johnny's Gone for a Soldier) (File: R107)
===
NAME: I Fight Mit Sigel
DESCRIPTION: "Dutch dialect" song, describing how a German immigrant came to the United States and worked, apparently with little success, at various occupations. Now he has given it up; "Dey dress me up in soldier clothes To go und fight mit Sigel"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1913 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: humorous Civilwar foreigner
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Randolph 217, "I Fight Mit Sigel" (1 fragmentary text, 1 tune, plus another fragment and tune which might be a chorus)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 210-211, "I Fight Mit Sigel" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 217A)
ADDITIONAL: Fred W. Allsopp, Folklore of Romantic Arkansas, Volume II (1931), pp. 222-223, "I Fights Mit Seigle" (1 text)
ST R217 (Partial)
Roud #4867
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
I Goes to Fight Mit Sigal [sic]
NOTES: Franz Sigel (1824-1902), a German immigrant, was the leading German in the Union armies. His fame and influence brought many Germans to the colors.
Despite having had officer training in Germany, he proved a poor soldier; his performance at Wilson's Creek contributed to the Union's loss of that battle, and his performance at Pea Ridge, though adequate, was hardly exceptional. Transferred to the east after that battle, his troops were badly mauled by "Stonewall" Jackson, and his XI (German) Corps came to be the laughingstock of the Army of the Potomac even before Jackson routed it at Chancellorsville in May 1863.
Sigel had retired from active duty in February of 1863, but his political clout led to him being re-appointed in 1864. Sent to the Shenandoah Valley, his incompetence once again shone through. One wonders if the Germans were as ardent for him in 1864 as they had been in 1861.
Foote: Shelby Foote, _The Civil War: A Narrative_ (Volume I: Fort Sumter to Perryville) (Random House, 1958), reports that the phrase "I fights mit Sigel" was popular after Pea Ridge, during the brief time when people might delude themselves into thinking Sigel was a competent soldier.
Cohen reports that this is a parody of an obscure piece "I Fights Mit Sigel," said to be by Grant P. Robinson and printed in _Songs of the Soldiers_ in 1864. It can also be found in Hazel Felleman's _The Best Loved Poems of the American People_, pp. 439-440.
Roud seems to lump this with a completely unrelated piece, "Why Did They Dig Grandmother's Grave So Deep." - RBW
File: R217
===
NAME: I Fights Mit Seigle: see I Fight Mit Sigel (File: R217)
===
NAME: I Found a Horseshoe
DESCRIPTION: "I found a horseshoe, I found a horseshoe, I picked it up and nailed it to a door. And it was rusty and full of nail holes, Good luck 'twill bring you forevermore." "The man who owned the horse he lives in New York." "The horse... his name was Mike"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: horse nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Sandburg, pp. 382-383, "I Found a Horseshoe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #10077
File: San382
===
NAME: I Gave My Love a Cherry
DESCRIPTION: The singer gave his love "a cherry without a stone... a chicken without a bone," etc. He is asked how these things are possible. The reply: "A cherry when it's blooming, it has no stone," etc.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1430 (British Museum -- Sloane MS. 2593, "I have a yong suster")
KEYWORDS: riddle nonballad love gift
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South),Scotland) Canada(Mar) US(Ap,MW,NE,SE,So)
REFERENCES: (29 citations)
Bronson (46), 18 versions given as an appendix to "Captain Wedderburn's Courtship"
Randolph 123, "The Four Brothers" (1 text)
BrownII 12, "Captain Wedderburn's Courtship" (1 text plus mention of another, but it is nothing but riddles and not to be connected with Child #46)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 230-231, "Captain Wedderburn's Courtship" (1 text with no listed local title; it is nothing but riddles and not to be connected with Child #46)
Eddy 8, "Captain Wedderburn's Courtship" (1 text, 1 tune, with little except the riddles and no sign that it was ever part of the longer ballad) {Bronson's #15}
Flanders-Ancient1, pp. 299-315, "Captain Wedderburn's Courtship" (3 texts plus two fragments, 5 tunes; the "I" and II" texts and tunes are "I Gave My Love a Cherry")
Gardner/Chickering 188, "Gifts From Over the Sea" (1 text plus mention of 1 more, 1 tune) {Bronson's #13}
SharpAp 144, "The Riddle Song" (3 texts, 3 tunes) {Bronson's #7, #6, #5}
MHenry-Appalachians, p. 25, "I Gave My Love a Cherry" (1 text)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 162-163, "I'll Give My Love an Apple" (1 text plus 1 fragment, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #2a,2b}
Linscott, pp. 267-269, "Perrie, Merrie, Dixi, Domini" (1 text, 1 tune)
Friedman, p. 137, "Captain Wedderburn's Courtship" (2 texts, but only the second belongs with this song)
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 136-137, "I'll Give My Love an Apple" (1 text, 1 tune)
Niles 1, "Riddles Wisely Expounded" (3 texts, 3 tunes, of which the second, "The Riddle Song," and the third, "Piri-miri-dictum Domini," go with this piece)
Scott-BoA, pp. 9-10, "I Will Give My Love an Apple" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 11, "I'll Give My Love an Apple" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 59, "The Riddle Song" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #7}
Opie-Oxford2 478, "I have four sisters beyond the sea" (3 texts)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #270, pp. 162-163, "(My true love lives far from me)"
Montgomerie-ScottishNR 189, "(I had three little sisters across the sea)" (1 text)
Arnett, p. 41, "The Riddle Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Chase, pp. 156-157, "The Riddle Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Stevick-100MEL 56, "(I Have a Yong Suster)" (1 text)
Abrahams/Foss, pp. 55-56, "Peri Meri Dixie Dominie" (1 text, 1 tune)
PSeeger-AFB, p. 72, "Riddle Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 408, "Riddle Song" (1 text)
DT, RIDDLSNG RDDLSNG3* (GONORUSH*) PERIMERI*
ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #65, "I Have a Young Sister" (1 text); notes to #258 ("I have three presents from over the sea") (1 excerpt)
Brown/Robbins, _Index of Middle English Verse_, #1303
Roud #36
RECORDINGS:
Pete Seeger, "The Riddle Song" (on PeteSeeger18)
Tony Wales, "Piri-iri-igdum" (on TWales1)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Captain Wedderburn's Courtship" [Child 46]
cf. "Riddles Wisely Expounded" [Child 1]
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
I Have a Young Sister
NOTES: Certain scholars have seen this as a worn-down form of "Captain Wedderburn's Courtship" [Child 46]. Since, however, it goes back at least to 1430, the dependency is if anything in the other direction. But there is no real reason to believe they are related in any but a casual way; riddle songs were popular for a long time. Still, because many scholars list versions of this song under "Captain Wedderburn," one should check both songs for complete references
"Go No More A-Rushing" (DT GONORUSH) appears to be an Elizabethan prologue tacked on to the old song.
In modern English and in far eastern folklore, cherries are associated with sex. Whether that has any significance here I do not know. - RBW
File: R123
===
NAME: I Give My Horn a Blow: see Whoop 'Em Up, Cindy (File: CSW196)
===
NAME: I Got a Bonnet Trimmed with Blue
DESCRIPTION: "I got a bonnet trimmed with blue Which I like to wear and so I do, Oh I do wear it when I can Oh when I go out with my man." The rest is all "chin music"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: courting clothes nonballad
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Peacock, pp. 60-61, "I Got a Bonnet Trimmed with Blue" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #8212
NOTES: Most of Peacock's version is "chin music." Specifically, a text verse is "Oh da diddle la diddle la diddle la Da da diddle la da da da da Da da da da diddle la diddle la Da da diddle la da da da da."
Peacock explains "'Chin' or 'mouth' music is a vocal imitation of instrumental music and is used for dancing when a fiddle or accordion is not handy. Some singers ... become so proficient that they are often called upon even when instruments are available." - BS
File: Ord060
===
NAME: I Got a Gal at the Head of the Holler: see Sourwood Mountain (lyric) (File: R417)
===
NAME: I Got a Gal in Baltimore
DESCRIPTION: "I got a gal in Baltimore, Street-car runs right by her door, Crazy baby a-settin' on the floor, Get your hair cut pompadour!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recording, The Georgia Crackers)
KEYWORDS: technology hair
FOUND_IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Randolph 452, "I Got a Gal in Baltimore" (1 fragment)
Roud #7601
RECORDINGS:
Georgia Crackers "I've Got a Gal in Baltimore" (OKeh 45192, 1928; rec. 1927)
NOTES: Randolph, taking a lead from Spaeth (in _Read 'Em and Weep_, p. 146 [Randolph prints 166 in error]), thinks this may be connected to "Ta-ra-ra boom-de-ay." The form suggests a connection to "Old Joe Clark" or a relative. But until we have more text to work with, any conclusions are shaky. - RBW
Well, here's a bit more [a second half-verse to the half-verse above]: "She don't wear no -- yes, she do/She don't wear no Sunday shoes." The tune is nothing like either "Old Joe Clark" or "Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay"; it's a string-ragtime sort of tune. - PJS
Which, however, still leaves us with only a single verse.... - RBW
File: R452
===
NAME: I Got a Girl
DESCRIPTION: "I got a girl, she lives in town. She wrote me a letter, she's a comin' down." "Down the road and across the creek, I ain't had a letter since away last week." "I do red she ain't no fool, Tryin' to put a saddle on a hump-backed mule."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: love animal
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII I Got a Girl, "" (1 short text)
Roud #11791
NOTES: Almost certainly a fragment of something more detailed -- but I've no idea what. - RBW
Ida Red? Pretty close to "I do red." - PJS
File: Br3448
===
NAME: I Got a Key of De Kingdom: see I Got a Key to the Kingdom (File: Br3587)
===
NAME: I Got a Key to the Kingdom
DESCRIPTION: "Preacher, I got de key of de kingdom, De world can't do me no harm... Watch your secret keeper, Always bringin' you news, Tell a lie upon you And keep you all confuse'." The singer warns of false friends but doesn't think they matter
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (cf. Brown)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 587, "I Got a Key of De Kingdom" (1 text)
Roud #11829
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "This Is the Key of the Kingdom" (lyric)
File: Br3587
===
NAME: I Got a Letter from Jesus
DESCRIPTION: "I got a letter from Jesus, Ahah, ahah, I got a letter, I got a letter, I got a letter from Jesus, Mm--, mm--."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: Jesus religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Sandburg, p. 487, "I Got a Letter from Jesus" (1 short text, 1 tune)
File: San487
===
NAME: I Got de Hezotation Stockings and de Hezotation Shoes: see Hesitation Blues (File: FSWB075)
===
NAME: I Got Mine
DESCRIPTION: The singer gets into all sorts of scrapes, getting out in some manner while maintaining "I got mine." Example: The police raid a craps game in which the singer is involved. He grabs the pot and successfully makes off.
AUTHOR: John Queen and Charles Cartwell
EARLIEST_DATE: 1901 (recording, Collins & Natus)
KEYWORDS: gambling chickens robbery trial escape trick
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
BrownIII 52, "I Got Mine" (1 text)
Gilbert, p. 243, "I Got Mine" (1 partial text)
DT, IGOTMINE
Roud #7852
RECORDINGS:
Chris Bouchillon, "I Got Mine" (Columbia 15317-D, 1928)
Fiddlin' John Carson, "I Got Mine" (OKeh 40119, 1924)
Bill Chitwood & Bud Landress, "I Got Mine" (Brunswick 2810, 1925)
[Arthur] Collins & [Joseph] Natus, "I Got Mine" (CYL: Edison 7889, 1901) (Victor [Monarch] 1297, 1902)
Fleming & Townsend, "Yes, I Got Mine" (Victor 23676, 1932)
Jenkins Family, "I Got Mine" (OKeh 40247, 1924)
John McGhee, "I Got Mine" (Gennett 6403, 1928)
Peg Moreland, "I Got Mine" (Victor 23510, 1930)
Jesse Oakley ,"I Got Mine" (Supertone 9256, 1928)
Gid Tanner & his Skillet Lickers, "I Got Mine" (Columbia 15134-D, 1927; rec. 1926)
Unknown baritone & tenor [probably Collins and Harlan] "I Got Mine" (Standard 597, c. 1901)
NOTES: The Digital Tradition footnotes claim that this is from McNeil's Southern Folk Ballads. This is incorrect; I have not been able to discover the source of the DT version. - RBW
Perhaps the DT transcription came from the Carson recording? Or, more likely, from one of the several revival performances of the song, such as Roy Bookbinder's. - PJS
Brown's text seems to be a racist version of the original (or other texts are cleaned up); the singer devotes his efforts to cheating "coons." - RBW
Looking at the sheet music on the American Memory website makes it clear that the other texts were cleaned up; this was originally a "coon song." It was recorded by a duo that was probably Collins & Harlan, who specialized in "coon songs." - PJS
File: Gil243
===
NAME: I Got My Questionnairy
DESCRIPTION: "Well I got my questionnairy, and it leads me to the war (x2), Well, I'm leavin', pretty baby, Child, can't do anything at all." "Uncle Sam ain't no woman, but he sure can take your man (x2), Boys, they got them in the service...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1963
KEYWORDS: war soldier separation
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Courlander-NFM, p. 137, "(I Got My Questionnairy)" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, DRAFTBLU*
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Draftee's Blues
File: CNFM137
===
NAME: I Got to Roll
DESCRIPTION: "Ham and eggs, pork and beans, I woulda et more, but the cook wasn't clean." "I got to roll, roll in a hurry, Make it on the side of the road." "If I'd-a known my Captain was blind... If I'd known my Captain was bad... If I'd known my Captain was mean..."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1937
KEYWORDS: chaingang work hardtimes prison
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Lomax-FSNA 292, "I Got to Roll" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, GOTROLL*
Roud #6713
File: LoF292
===
NAME: I Had a Banjo Made of Gold: see Troubled In My Mind (File: LoF102)
===
NAME: I Had a Handsome Fortune: see Oh, Once I Had a Fortune (File: R316)
===
NAME: I Had a Heart that Doted Once
DESCRIPTION: "I had a heart that doted once In passion's boundless pain, An' though the tyrant I abjured, I could not break his chain."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: love
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Randolph 616, "I Had a Heart that Doted Once" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Roud #7553
File: R616
===
NAME: I Had a Little Horse Whose Name Was Jack
DESCRIPTION: "I had a little horse whose name was Jack, Put him in the stable and he jumped through the crack."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: horse
FOUND_IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 176, "I Had a Little Horse Whose Name Was Jack" (1 short text)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "I Had a Little Pony (I)"
cf. "I Had a Little Pony (II)" (lyrics)
NOTES: The notes in Brown connect this with the English nursery rhyme, "I had a little pony, his name was Dapple Gray." This is possible -- but only that. - RBW
I don't see the connection either but Brown is refering to Opie-Oxford2 127, "I had a little pony" or--less likely--Opie-Oxford2 223, "I had a little horse." [See also Montgomerie-ScottishNR 12, 25, and especially Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #157, pp. 118-119, about dapple gray, and notes there. - RBW]
There seems a more complete version from Texas at the Real Live Preacher site in _Finding the Man in the Picture Part One_:
"I had a little dog, his name was Rover. He died all over except for his tail, and it turned over."
"I had a little mule, his name was Jack. I put him in the stable but he jumped through the crack." - BS
File: Br3176
===
NAME: I Had a Little Nut Tree
DESCRIPTION: "I had a little nutmeg, nothing would it bear But a silver nutmeg and a golden pear. The King of Spain's daughter came to visit me And all for the sake of my little nut tree." "Her dress was all of crimson.... She asked me for my nutmeg...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Linscott); first printing appears to have been in one of the Tom Thumb songbooks (n.d. but c. 1790)
KEYWORDS: royalty food courting
FOUND_IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Linscott, pp. 210-211, "I Had a Little Nut Tree" (1 text, 1 tune)
Opie-Oxford2 381, "I had a little nut tree" (2 texts)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #130, p. 106, "(I had a little nut tree)"
Roud #3749
NOTES: Folklorists, ever desperate for an event upon which to hang a song, have connected this to the visit of Juana (Joanna) of Castile (the future Juana the Mad, 1479-1555, queen of Castile from 1505), the father of the future Emperor Charles V, who visited England in 1506 during the reign of Henry VII.
This has the usual problems. For starters, Juana's father Ferdinand of Aragon was not King of Spain; he was King of Aragon, and it was not until Juana succeeded him in 1516 that Spain was properly a united kingdom. (Though, in fairness, Ferdinand was regent of Castile after his wife's death, so one might loosely call him King of Spain.)
Problem #2 is the dating; there is no hint of the song at the time of Juana's visit.
It's also worth noting that, even if you project this song back 250 years before the earliest known version, there is still no real reason to connect it to Juana. Why not connect it to, say, Catherine of Aragon, Juana's sister, who happened to marry the son of Henry VII?
In the incidentals department: I learned this song somewhere along the line, I think from my mother, and my tune is not Linscott's (and I know of no other printed traditional tune).
Whatever the origin of this item, it has inspired various imitations and parodies. Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #208, prints two under the collective title "Two Nut Trees." The first, credited to "Thomas Anon," simply adds a fewline. The second, by Edith Sitwell, is an independent poem about "The King of China's daughter," but clearly dependent upon this, because it also mentions nutmeg trees and the courting of the princess. - RBW
File: Lins210
===
NAME: I Had a Little Pony (I)
DESCRIPTION: "I had a little pony, I rode him down town. And ev'ry time I turned him round, Turn him on an acre ground! Boots and show-line come down, Lady show-line come down; Boots and show-line come down, Lady show-line come down."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: animal floatingverses
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 184, (no title) (1 fragment)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "I Had a Little Horse Whose Name Was Jack"
cf. "I Had a Little Pony (II)"
File: ScNF184A
===
NAME: I Had a Little Pony (II)
DESCRIPTION: "I had a little (pony/mule), His name was Jack; I rid his tail To save his back." "The lightning roll, the thunder flash, And split my coat-tail clear to smash."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: animal
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 184, (no title) (1 fragment, with only the first four lines); p. 185 (no title) (1 fragment, adding the "lightning roll" verse; I have a feeling those two floated together)
Roud #16341
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "I Had a Little Horse Whose Name Was Jack"
cf. "I Had a Little Pony (I)"
SAME_TUNE:
This might be a variant on any of several things -- the Brown piece "I Had a Little Horse Whose Name Was Jack"; the English folk poem "I had a little pony, his name was Dapple Gray" (for which see Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #157, pp. 118-119 and notes there); perhaps others. But all such links are just possibilities. - RBW
File: ScNF184B
===
NAME: I Had a Little Puppy (Pussy Willow, Hot Dog)
DESCRIPTION: Riddle-song, with a description of something (cat, dog, etc.) that actually describes something else. E.g., 'I had a little puppy, it had a stubby tail... you buy it at a butcher's shop" (describing a hot dog)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1972
KEYWORDS: wordplay riddle nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 68, "Pussy Willow" (1 text, tune described but not printed)
Roud #10248
NOTES: There are a whole class of songs of this sort. I learned "I had a little puppy" somewhere in an (obviously mis-spent) youth, and also heard "pussy willow" many years ago. Both use the same tune (or, rather, tune device: Each word in a line sung to a single note, with each line one note higher than the preceding). I imagine there are more of these things around. I'll just lump them here. - RBW
File: PHCFS068
===
NAME: I Had a Little Rooster (Farmyard Song)
DESCRIPTION: The singer enjoys the company of various animals, e.g. "I had a little rooster by the barnyard gate, And that little rooster was my playmate, And that little rooster went Cock-a-doodle-doo...." And so forth, cumulatively, for various animals
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1849 (Halliwell)
KEYWORDS: animal cumulative nonballad farming humorous chickens sheep horse dog
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond,South),Scotland) Ireland US(Ap,SE,So) Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (12 citations)
Randolph 352, "I Bought Me a Rooster" (4 texts, 2 tunes)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 290-291, "I Bought Me a Rooster" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 352A)
BrownIII 124, "Barnyard Song" (1 text plus3 excerpts and mention of 2 more); also 127, "The Dogs in the Alley" (1 text, with a slightly different form but too short to classify separately)
Wyman-Brockway I, p. 6, "The Barnyard Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kennedy 297, "I Bought Myself a Cock" (1 text, 1 tune)
SharpAp 218, "The Farmyard" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 78, "The Farmyard" (1 text, 1 tune -- a composite version)
Lomax-FSNA 230, "Fiddle-I-Fee" (1 text, 1 tune)
Chase, pp. 171-174, "Fiddle-i-Fee" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 387, "I Had a Rooster" (1 text)
Montgomerie-ScottishNR 13, "(I had a wee cock and I loved it well)" (1 text)
DT, ROOSTR2
Roud #544
RECORDINGS:
George Blackman, "I Bought Myself a Cock" (on FSB10)
John Curtis, "Farmyard" (on NFMLeach)
Maud Long, "Fiddle-I-Fee" (AFS; on LC14)
Jamesie McCarthy, "Kerry Cock" (on IRClare01)
Marieo Perkins, "I Love My Rooster" (on JThomas01)
Pete Seeger, "Bought Me a Cat" (on PeteSeeger03, PeteSeegerCD03); "I Had a Rooster" (on PeteSeeger08, PeteSeegerCD02)
Asher Sizemore & Little Jimmie, "My Little Rooster" (Bluebird B-5495, 1934)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Le Marche des Animaux (The Animal Market)" (theme and structure)
File: R352
===
NAME: I Had a Wee Cock and I Loved It Well: see I Had a Little Rooster (Farmyard Song) (File: R352)
===
NAME: I Had a Wife
DESCRIPTION: Singer describes how he got rid of his wife by chopping off her head. Without evidence, the killing is ruled an "act of providence." Listeners are advised to follow the singer's example
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 (recording, Pete Seeger)
KEYWORDS: marriage violence murder death wife humorous
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Silber-FSWB, p. 174, "I Had A Wife" (1 text)
DT, HADAWIFE
RECORDINGS:
Pete Seeger, "I Had a Wife" (on PeteSeeger02, PeteSeegerCD01)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Drunken Sailor" (tune)
File: FSWB174B
===
NAME: I Had But Fifty Cents
DESCRIPTION: The singer takes a girl to the ball. He thinks, since she is so delicate, that it is safe to take her to a restaurant, even though he has but fifty cents. But she orders a huge meal. The singer, unable to pay, is beaten up by the restaurant staff
AUTHOR: Words: Billy Mortimer; Music: Dan Lewis
EARLIEST_DATE: 1881 (sheet music, with the title "Fifty Cents")
KEYWORDS: food money poverty courting
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Randolph 485, "I Had But Fifty Cents" (1 text)
Gilbert, p. 121, "I Had But Fifty Cents" (1 text)
DT, FIFTYCNT*
Roud #2798
RECORDINGS:
Binkley Brothers' Dixie Clodhoppers, "When I Had But Fifty Cents" (Victor V-40129, 1929)
Bill Chitwood & his Georgia Mountaineers, "I Had But Fifteen Cents" (OKeh 45131, 1927)
Otto Gray & his Cowboy Band, "I Had But Fifty Cents" (Vocalion 5256, c. 1928)
Jack Golding, "I Had But Fifty Cents" (Champion 16072 [as Jerry Ellis]/Supertone 9711 [as Jack Edwards], 1930)
Peg Moreland, "When I Had But Fifty Cents" (Victor V-40209, 1930)
Riley Puckett, "When I Had But Fifty Cents" (Columbia 15015-D, 1925; rec. 1924)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Bill Morgan and His Gal" (theme)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Fifty Cents
NOTES: A piece entitled "Fifty Cents," by Billy Mortimer and Dan Lewis, was published in 1881. Paul Stamler has verified that this is the same song. - PJS, RBW
File: R485
===
NAME: I Hate That Train Called the M & O
DESCRIPTION: "I hate that train that they all call the M and O (x2), It took my baby away, and he ain't comin' back to me no more." Her man sticks his head out the window and says "I'm going away, baby." She wishes the train had not parted them
AUTHOR: unknown, but probably adapted by Lucille Bogan
EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (recording, Lucille Bogan)
KEYWORDS: train separation
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Cohen-LSRail, pp. 444-445, "I Hate That Train Called the M & O" (1 text, 1 tune)
RECORDINGS:
Lucille Bogan, "I Hate That Train Called the M. and O." (Banner 6-02--04/Oriole 6-02-04/Melotone 6-02-04/Perfect 6-02-04, 1936; rec. 1934)
File: LSRai444
===
NAME: I Have a Dog
DESCRIPTION: "I have a dog, I call him Pen; He's just as smart as lots of men. He goes with me to feed the cow...." "He will bound around, bark and yelp." ""He makes the cats walk the chalk, And it does seem he tries to talk... He can already say 'bow-wow-wow.'"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (Henry, from Mrs. L. S. Eams)
KEYWORDS: dog nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
MHenry-Appalachians, p. 226, "I Have a Dog" (1 text)
File: MHAp226
===
NAME: I Have a Father Gone to Glory (I Am Alone in this World)
DESCRIPTION: "I have a father gone to glory, I am alone in this world. I have a father gone to glory, I am alone.... Take me home, bless the Savior, take me home." Repeat with mother, sister, etc. with a conclusion that there is room in heaven for all.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (Henry, from Granville Gadsey)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad home
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 201-202, "I Have a Father Gone to Glory" (1 text)
Roud #4213
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Other Bright Shore" (lyrics)
NOTES: Roud lumps this with "Where Is Old Elijah? (The Hebrew Children, The Promised Land)," which seems a bit strong, and also with "The Other Bright Shore" and other material. The link to "The Other Bright Shore" is obvious, but there are no shores of any sort in Henry's version, so I think they have to be separated. - RBW
File: MHAp201
===
NAME: I Have a Father in My Native Land
DESCRIPTION: "I have a father in my native land, Oh, he's looking for me tonight, night, night, Oh, he's looking for me tonight." "He may look, he may look with his withering watery eyes, And it's oh, he may look to the bottom of the sea, sea, sea...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: sailor death father separation mourning
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 231, "I Have a Father in My Native Land" (1 text)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "He Lies in the American Land" (theme)
File: Br3231
===
NAME: I Have a Wife: see Smiggy Maglooral (File: OCon143)
===
NAME: I Have a Yong Suster: see I Gave My Love a Cherry
(File: R123)
===
NAME: I Have a Young Sister: see I Gave My Love a Cherry
(File: R123)
===
NAME: I Have Been Redeemed
DESCRIPTION: "I have been redeemed, I know I have been redeemed, O hallelujah, I know I have been redeemed, O sinner, you better obey." "This world is not my home.... Oh, sinner, you better obey." "O, heaven is my home...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (Chappell)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Chappell-FSRA 84, "I Have Been Redeemed" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #16934
File: ChFRA084
===
NAME: I Have Finished Him a Letter: see Anna Lee (File: R775)
===
NAME: I Have Four Sisters Beyond The Sea: see I Gave My Love a Cherry
(File: R123)
===
NAME: I Have Long Since Been Learned
DESCRIPTION: "I have long since been leaned Dat de trumpets will be sounding... in dat day. Oh, sinner, where will you stand in dat day?" "He can able de blind to see... Jesus is knocking at de door." The singer describes heaven and resurrection.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 588, "I Have Long Since Been Learned" (1 text)
Roud #11838
File: Br3588
===
NAME: I Have No Loving Mother Now (Oh, See My Father Layin' There)
DESCRIPTION: "Oh, see my father layin' there (x3), I cannot stay here by myself." "Lord, I cannot stay here by myself (x2), When de wind blows east and de wind blows west, Lord I cannot...." "Oh, see my mother layin' there...." "Oh, see my brother layin' there...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
[Randolph 612, "I Have No Loving Mother Now" -- deleted in the second printing]
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 432-433, "I Have No Loving Mother Now" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 612)
BrownIII 622, "Oh, See My Father Layin' There" (1 text)
Roud #11925
RECORDINGS:
Kelly Harrell, "I Have No Loving Mother Now" (Victor C-20935, 1927; on KHarrell02)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "I Wish I Was a Little Bird (Nobody Cares for Me)" (lyrics)
NOTES: This is a very amorphous song, recognized mostly by its form and its vaguely religious theme. - RBW
File: Br3622
===
NAME: I Have No One to Love Me: see The Deep Blue Sea (I) (File: R794)
===
NAME: I Have Worked in the Woods
DESCRIPTION: Singer describes all the things he's done while working as a logger, including both work and recreation: logged, driven, danced, fought, sung and slept on the floor.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Beck)
KEYWORDS: lumbering work logger
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Beck 7, "I Have Worked in the Woods" (1 text)
Roud #8868
File: Be007
===
NAME: I Hear from Heaven Today
DESCRIPTION: "Hurry on, my weary soul, and I heard from heaven today" (x2). "My sin is forgiven and my soul set free, And I heard from....." "A baby born in Bethlehem." :"The trumpet sound in the other bright land." "My name is called and I must go."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad travel
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Allen/Ware/Garrison, p. 2, "I Heard from Heaven Today" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #11862
File: AWG002B
===
NAME: I Heard Somebody Call My Name: see Little Bessie (File: MN2172)
===
NAME: I Heard the Reports of a Pistol
DESCRIPTION: "Well, I heard the reports of a pistol, whoa man, down the right-a-way.... Must a been my partner... tryin' a make a getaway. Whoe, they killed my partner...." A man serving a life term, he wishes he could escape, but warns others against trying
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (recorded from J. B. Smith by Jackson)
KEYWORDS: death prison escape
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Jackson-DeadMan, pp. 155-157, "I Heard the Reports of a Pistol" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: JDM155
===
NAME: I Hope I'll J'ine the Band: see I Hope I'll Join the Band (Soon in the Morning) (File: R266)
===
NAME: I Hope I'll Join the Band (Soon in the Morning)
DESCRIPTION: Sundry verses about the pleasures of heaven ("Goin' to see my Jesus," "Meet our fathers there," "Lookin' over Jordan," etc.). Usual internal refrain is "Soon in the morning"; final chorus, "And I hope I'll join the band."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough); probably 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: music religious
FOUND_IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Randolph 266, "I Hope I'll J'ine the Band" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 227-228, "I Hope I'll J'ine the Band" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 266A)
BrownIII 598, "I Wanter Jine de Ban'" (1 text)
Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 16-17, (no title) (1 text); also. p. 198, "Bullfrog" (1 text, 1 tune, with the chorus from here though the verses are about the frog)
Allen/Ware/Garrison, p. 95, "I Want to Join the Band" (1 short text, 1 tune)
ST R266 (Partial)
Roud #7816
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "I'm Going to Ride in Pharaoh's Chariot" (lyrics, theme)
NOTES: This is one of those songs with extreme variations, especially between the Brown and Randolph versions (Brown's text has stanzas without repeats and doesn't use the "Soon in the morning" refrain). But the similarities are too great to split them.
The Allen/Ware/Garrison text, which is the earliest, is perhaps even more problematic, since it's really just the chorus, and even that is slightly different from the others. But with so little text to go on, we can hardly split it from the others. - RBW
File: R266
===
NAME: I Keep My Dogs: see Gamekeepers Lie Sleeping (File: K249)
===
NAME: I Know a Boarding-House
DESCRIPTION: "I know a boarding-house Not far away Where they have ham and eggs Three times a day." "Lord, how those boarders shout..." "Lord, how those boarders yell When they hear that dinner-bell!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (recording, Uncle Dave Macon)
KEYWORDS: food home humorous nonballad derivative
FOUND_IN: US(MW,So)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Randolph 479, "I Know a Boarding-House" (1 text)
Pankake-PHCFSB, "At the Boarding House Where I Live" (1 text, tune referenced); also p. 190, "While The Organ Pealed Potatoes" (1 text, tune referenced)
DT, BORDHOUS* (HAPYLND2*)
ADDITIONAL: _Sing Out_ magazine, Volume 42, #2 (1997), p, 120, "Country Ham and Red Gravy" (1 text, 1 tune, a slightly cleaned-up transcription of the Dave Macon version)
Roud #7636
RECORDINGS:
Uncle Dave Macon, "Country Ham and Red Gravy" (Bluebird 7951, 1938)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "There Is a Happy Land" (tune, form)
cf. "The Barefoot Boy with Boots On" (floating lyrics)
NOTES: This is one of those composite songs -- the key element is humorous verses to the tune of "Silver Threads." The most common verse -- shared with "The Barefoot Boy" -- is "while the organ pealed potatoes"; my father learned this from a substitute teacher in Detroit around 1941.
Dave Macon copyrighted his "Country Ham and Red Gravy" version of this song, which does indeed seem to be a rewrite (rather racist), but it's clearly from the same roots. Though he may have supplied the tune, also known as "New Five Cents."
Laura Ingalls Wilder printed a stanza of this in _By the Shores of Silver Lake_, chapter 4. If she actually heard it then, it would date the song from 1879. But, of course, she was writing half a century later, and her work is much fictionalized anyway, so that's not a very trustworthy date. - RBW
File: R479
===
NAME: I Know a Little Feller: see He's Got the Money Too (File: R299)
===
NAME: I Know Moonlight
DESCRIPTION: "I know moonlight, I know starlight, I lay this body down." "I walk in the moonlight, I walk in the starlight, I lay...." "I walk in the graveyard, I lay in my grave, I lay...." "I go to the judgment, In the evening of the day, When I lay this body down."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: religious death burial nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (7 citations)
Allen/Ware/Garrison, pp. 19-20, "Lay This Body Down" (1 text, 1 tune, both with variants)
Sandburg, p. 451, "I Know Moonlight" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownIII 611, "Mary Bowed" (1 short text, with a verse "I wonder where Sister Maryy's gone... She's gone to some new buryin' ground For to lay her feeble body down" and a second verse from "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks")
Scott-BoA, pp. 209-210, "Lay This Body Down" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 577-578, "Lay Dis Body Down" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, p. 322, "Lay This Body Down" (1 text)
DT, KNOWMOON*
Roud #11839
RECORDINGS:
Bertha Smith & Moving Star Hall Singers, "Lay Down Body" (on BeenStorm1)
File: San451
===
NAME: I Know My Love
DESCRIPTION: "I know my love by his way of walking," his speech, his clothes. She laments, "If my love leaves me, what will I do?" She knows he is courting strange girls in Maradyke. He rejects her because of her lack of money
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (sung by David Hammond on "I Am the Wee Falorie Man: Folk Songs of Ireland")
KEYWORDS: love courting abandonment poverty
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Silber-FSWB, p. 143, "I Know My Love" (1 text)
DT, KNOWLOVE
Roud #60
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Tavern in the Town" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Queen of Hearts"
NOTES: Paul Stamler suggests that this is a version of "Tavern in the Town" (based on the stanza about the dancehouse in Maradyke, which is almost the same as in "Tavern"). I am more reminded of "Queen of Hearts." The first half-stanza, we might note, seems to exist independently of any plot at all, and is fairly popular.
The inevitable result: I list this as a separate song, with a lot of cross-references. Roud lumps it with "Love Has Brought Me to Despair" (Laws P25) -- which for him is a huge family, though Laws lists only a handful of songs in the group. - RBW
Also collected and sung by David Hammond, "I Know My Love" (on David Hammond, "I Am the Wee Falorie Man: Folk Songs of Ireland," Tradition TCD1052 CD (1997) reissue of Tradition LP TLP 1028 (1959)) - BS
File: FSWB143
===
NAME: I Know When I'm Going Home
DESCRIPTION: "Old Satan told me to my face, O yes, Lord, The God I seek I never find, O yes Lord. True believer, I know when I gwine home, True believer, I know when I gwine home, True believe, I know when I gwine home, I been afraid to die."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad death
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Allen/Ware/Garrison, p. 30, "I Know When I'm Going Home" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #11984
File: AWG030A
===
NAME: I Know Where I'm Going: see Katie Cruel (The Leeboy's Lassie; I Know Where I'm Going) (File: SBoA050)
===
NAME: I Know Where They Are: see The Old Barbed Wire (I Know Where They Are) (File: San442)
===
NAME: I Know You Rider
DESCRIPTION: "I know you rider, gonna miss me when I'm gone (x2), Gonna miss your li'l mama from rollin' in your arms." The singer sets out to find a man who will give her some "decent care." If she can't be her man's love, she won't be his dog. Many verses float
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (Lomax)
KEYWORDS: love separation abandonment abuse floatingverses
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 196-197, "Woman Blue" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 77, "I Know You Rider" (1 text)
DT, KNOWRIDR
Roud #15575
NOTES: The Lomaxes claim to have gotten one verse of this from a female prisoner (location unidentified). No word of the source for the other ninety percent of their text. - RBW
File: LxA196
===
NAME: I Lay Around the Old Jail House (John C. Britton)
DESCRIPTION: Perhaps a composite song: The singer complains of life in jail and of working in the coal mines. There follows a brief item about a raid or a race from "Manthus" to Cairo in which John C. Britton suffers a grave loss of men
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: prison mining work hardtimes racing war death
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 364, "I Lay Around the Old Jail House (John C. Britton)" (1 text)
Roud #11734
NOTES: It's not often that one encounters a song this confusing. The first four stanzas seem to be your standard prison/poverty song. Stanza 5 is a floater. Stanzas 6 and 7 are suspected of being from at least one and perhaps two other songs.
The editors of Brown suggest that the last stanzas might be a description of a Civil War raid. Possible, but if so, it's too small to have left a dent in the standard histories. But I rather doubt it. It looks to me like a race between two boats, the John C. Britton and the (Robert E.?) Lee, from Memphis to Cairo. The rest must be referred to the reader. - RBW
File: Br3364
===
NAME: I Learned about Horses from Him
DESCRIPTION: The singer describes the horses (and others) he has met in his life. Every incident ends with the rueful comment, "I learned about horses from him." There is a "horse," Conscience, he hasn't ridden; he expects hereafter to learn about that horse from Him
AUTHOR: George B. German
EARLIEST_DATE: 1932
KEYWORDS: cowboy horse humorous gods
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ohrlin-HBT 71, "I Learned about Horses from Him" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Modeled after Kipling's poem "The Ladies" ("I Learned about Women from Her"). - RBW
File: Ohr071
===
NAME: I Left Inverquhomery
DESCRIPTION: The singer "left Inverquhomery and gaed to New Deer To plunge in the bogs wi' a bull and a steer." The plough breaks in two and the oxen carry half away home.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1907 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: farming work animal
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan3 380, "I Left Inverquhomery" (1 text)
Roud #5917
NOTES: GreigDuncan3 has a map on p. xxxv, of "places mentioned in songs in volume 3" showing the song number as well as place name; Auchmaliddie (380) is at coordinate (h4-5,v9) on that map [near New Deer, roughly 28 miles N of Aberdeen]; Inverquhomery (380,426) is at coordinate (h4-5,v0) on that map [roughly 26 miles N of Aberdeen] - BS
File: GrD3380
===
NAME: I Left Ireland and Mother Because We Were Poor: see There's a Dear Spot in Ireland (File: HHH821)
===
NAME: I Like to Be There
DESCRIPTION: "I like to be there when the engine starts early in the morning; I like to sit me down at breakfast time, Just when the engine's roaring.... Then hurrah for the life of the factory While we're waiting for the judgment day."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1954 (MacColl)
KEYWORDS: technology work
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
MacColl-Shuttle, p. 5, "I Like to Be There" (1 short text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Country Life" (form, lyrics)
NOTES: This reminds me very strongly of "Country Life"; I'm fairly sure there is influence. But the tunes are different. - RBW
File: MacCS05
===
NAME: I Live Not Where I Love
DESCRIPTION: The girl laments that "I live not where I love." In flowery phrases she describes her fidelity. She hopes that she and her lover may be reunited/never part.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1845 (broadside, Bodleian Harding 11(39))
KEYWORDS: love separation
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Chappell/Wooldridge I, p. 200, "I Live Not Where I Love" (1 fragment of text; the text and tune listed are not this piece)
cf. BBI, ZN1787, "Must the absence of my mistresse"; ZN3048, "You loyal Lovers that are distant"
DT, NOTWHERE NOTWHER2
Roud #593
RECORDINGS:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(39), "I Live Not Where I Love" ("Come all you maids that live at a distance"), J. Pitts (London), 1819-1844; also Harding B 11(1638), "I Live Not Where I Love"
NOTES: On the basis of the ornate lines in the text ("All the world should be one religion, All living things should cease to die, If ever I prove false to my jewel Or any way my love deny"), it would seem likely that this piece began life as an art song. How far it made it into the traditional repertoire remains to be determined.
The most likely antecedent appears to be Martin Parker's 1740 piece, "A Paire of Turtle Doves." Whether this song is directly derived from Parker's piece, or has simply exchanged some lines, is hard to tell. - RBW
File: ChWI200
===
NAME: I Long to be Wedding: see The Old Maid's Song (File: R364)
===
NAME: I Love a Nobody: see I Don't Love Nobody (File: R782)
===
NAME: I Love Little Willie
DESCRIPTION: "I love Little Willie, I do, mama, I love Little Willie, But don't you tell Pa! For he wouldn't like it, you know, mama." Similarly: "He wrote me a letter," "He gave me a ring," "And now we are married," "We fuss and we scratch."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: love courting marriage trick father mother
FOUND_IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
BrownIII 307, "I Love Little Willie, I Do, Mamma" (1 text plus 1 fragment, 4 excerpts, and mention of 3 more)
Randolph 382, "I Love Little Willie" (3 texts, 2 tunes)
MHenry-Appalachians, p. 23, "I Love Little Willie" (1 text)
Lomax-ABFS, p. 327, "I Love Little Willie" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3538
SAME_TUNE:
I Love My Union (Greenway-AFP, p. 128)
File: R382
===
NAME: I Love Little Willie, I Do, Mamma: see I Love Little Willie (File: R382)
===
NAME: I Love My Love (I) (As I Cam' Owre Yon High High Hill)
DESCRIPTION: The singer meets a pretty girl, asks who her father is, asks where she lives, asks if she would marry. She is not overly enthusiastic. He bids farewell and hopes she will be kinder when he returns. In the chorus, he admits "But I love her yet...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord)
KEYWORDS: courting rejection love floatingverses
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ord, p. 129, "As I Cam' Owre Yon High High Hill" (1 text)
Roud #5548
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Seventeen Come Sunday" [Laws O17] (floating lyrics)
cf. "Trooper and Maid" [Child 299] (floating lyrics)
NOTES: So much of this piece is shared with "Seventeen Come Sunday" and "Trooper and Maid" (which themselves cross-fertilize) that it cannot be regarded as an independent song. But this ends with the woman rejecting the man, and also has that interesting chorus: But I love my love, and I love my love, And I love my love most dearly; My whole delight's in her bonnie face, And I long to have her near me." So we split. - RBW
File: Ord129
===
NAME: I Love my Love (II)
DESCRIPTION: "All my friends fell out with me/Because I kept my love's company." The singer must leave to go over the mountain because his fortune is low. "When I have gold she has her part/And when I have none she has my heart... And upon my honor I love her still."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1918 (Cecil Sharp collection)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer says "All my friends fell out with me/Because I kept my love's company." He must leave to go over the mountain because his fortune is low. "When I have gold she has her part/And when I have none she has my heart/And she gained it too with a free good will/And upon my honor I love her still." "The winter's past and summer's come/The trees are budding one by one/And when my true love chooses to stay/I'll stay with her till the break of day"
KEYWORDS: poverty courting love sex parting travel lover
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SharpAp 190, "I Love my Love" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3612
NOTES: It's hard to distinguish this from the plethora of songs with similar themes. The verses "All my friends fell out with me..." and "Over the mountain I must go/Because my fortune is so low/With an aching heart and a troubled mind/For leaving my true love behind" are good delineators.
Jean Ritchie used most of the lyrics for her song "One I Love," changing the sex of the singer and adding the chorus "One I love; two, he loves/Three, he's true to me" - PJS
File: ShAp190
===
NAME: I Love My Love with an A
DESCRIPTION: "I love my love with an A, because he's A(greeable), I hate him because he's A---, He took me to the sign of the A---, And treated me with A---, His name is A---, and he lives in A---." Similarly through the rest of the letters of the alphabet.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1871 (Through the Looking Glass)
KEYWORDS: love wordplay playparty nonballad
FOUND_IN: Britain(England)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #667, p. 264, "(I love my love with an A, because he's Agreeable)"
NOTES: This probably isn't a song, since it's based on alliteration (meaning that the meter can suffer). But it is certainly ancient, and well-enough known that Lewis Carroll used it in the chapter "The Lion and the Unicorn" (itself named for a folk rhyme) in _Through the Looking Glass_. Alice uses the letter "H" and describes the White King's messenger Haigha.
Martin Gardner, in _The Annotated Alice_ (pp. 279-280) refers the business back to Halliwell -- and notes a likely hidden wordplay, in that Alice was actually doing the "A" verse, because Haigha would probably have dropped the "H" in his name (i.e. it would be pronounced "ay-yore. Any resemblance to A. A. Milne is probably coincidence). - RBW
File: BGMG667
===
NAME: I Love My Sailor Boy
DESCRIPTION: The singer overhears a girl declare, "Let my friends say what they will, I love my sailor boy." She praises his appearance and virtues. Her mother calls her foolish and bids her wed a "steady farmer's son." The girl disdains such a lover
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Dean)
KEYWORDS: love sailor mother farming floatingverses
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Dean, pp. 84-85, "I Love My Sailor Boy" (1 text)
Rickaby (notes to #10, "The Shanty-boy and the Farmer's Son"), "I Love My Sailor Boy" (1 text)
ST Rick203 (Partial)
Roud #9603
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Farmer and the Shanty Boy" (theme)
cf. "Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy" (lyrics)
NOTES: This song is one of those items where every line has parallels elsewhere (especially in "Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy," but the parallels are truly to numerous to list). I'm not really sure it exists on its own. But when in doubt, we split. - RBW
File: Rick203
===
NAME: I Love My Sweetheart the Best
DESCRIPTION: "The sun was sinking slowly, Sinking in the west; I love all those pretty boys, But I love my sweetheart the best." The girl regrets ignoring mother's advice; boys have led her astray. She points out that mother is wise and a friend; men are deceivers
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recording, Kelly Harrell)
KEYWORDS: love mother betrayal
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: ()
ST RcILMSTB (Full)
Roud #13150
RECORDINGS:
Kelly Harrell, "I Love My Sweetheart the Best" (Victor 20867, 1927; on KHarrell02)
NOTES: I don't know Harrell's source for this -- but so much of his material is traditional that I have to think this is another traditional song. - RBW
File: RcILMSTB
===
NAME: I Love Old Ireland Still
DESCRIPTION: The singer wants to see "old Ireland once more free." Ireland would prosper if allowed "the wealth that lies beneath her soil." "Let friends all turn against me, let foes say what they will, My heart is with my country, I love old Ireland still."
AUTHOR: probably J.H. Woodhouse (per broadside Bodleian Harding B 11(4009)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1901 (O'Conor)
KEYWORDS: Ireland nonballad patriotic
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
O'Conor, p. 131, "I Love Old Ireland Still" (1 text)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(4009), "I Love Old Ireland Still", Howard & Co (London), n.d.
NOTES: Broadside Bodleian, Harding B 11(4009): "Written, composed, and sung with tremendous success by J.H. Woodhouse." - BS
File: OCon131
===
NAME: I Love Sixpence
DESCRIPTION: "I love sixpence," spend a penny, lend a penny, and take fourpence home to the wife. The singer repeats the process with fourpence and twopence. With nothing left he says "I have nothing, I spend nothing, I love nothing better than my wife"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1810 (Gammar Gurton's Garland, according to Opie-Oxford2)
KEYWORDS: poverty humorous nonballad wife
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Opie-Oxford2 480, "I love sixpence, jolly little sixpence" (1 text)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #113, pp. 93-95, "(I love sixpence, a jolly, jolly sixpence)"
GreigDuncan3 572, "I've Got a Shilling" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Roud #1116
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Jolly Tester
The Shilling
File: OO2480
===
NAME: I Love the Blue Mountains
DESCRIPTION: Halyard shanty: "I love the blue mountains of Tennessee, that's the place for you and me." Singer is a former slave who was set free (in 1863), he's going back to Tennessee to get his wife and child (pickanniny) and then will quit sailing.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1945 (Harlow)
KEYWORDS: shanty slave return family home
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Harlow, pp. 143-144, "I Love the Blue Mountains" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9147
NOTES: Harlow apparently attributed this to Black sailors. It strikes me as a little too "still longing for the old plantation"-ish for me to trust that claim without more data. - RBW
File: Harl143
===
NAME: I Love to Tell the Story
DESCRIPTION: "I love to tell the story Of unseen things above, Of Jesus and his glory, Of Jesus and his love.... I love to tell the story, 'Twill be my theme in glory." The singer says repeatedly how it is "pleasant to repeat" the inspiration supplied by Jesus
AUTHOR: Words: [Arabella] Katherine Hankey (1834-1911) / Music: William Gustavus Fisher (1835-1912)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1869 (source: Johnson)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
ADDITIONAL: Charles Johnson, One Hundred and One Famous Hymns (Hallberg, 1982), pp, 186-187, "I Love to Tell the Story" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #17488
File: BdILtTtS
===
NAME: I Love You And I Can't Help It
DESCRIPTION: "I love you and I can't help it, fol dol day, fol dol day (x2)" "Oh my love you're too hard-hearted." "Oh my love I will call you honey." "If you do I will call you beeswax."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1940
KEYWORDS: dialog courting rejection humorous
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Randolph 363, "I'm Going Away to Texas" (3 texts, 1 tune, but only the "B" text goes here; "A" is the true "I'm Going Away to Texas" and "C" is a "Quaker's Wooing" type)
Roud #6691
NOTES: This may, as Randolph suggests, be a form of one or another of the courting-and-rejection songs -- but the verses which survive look independent to me. - RBW
File: R363B
===
NAME: I Love You Well: see My Dearest Dear (File: SKE40)
===
NAME: I Love-ed a Lass
DESCRIPTION: "I love-ed a lass, She prove-ed unkind, I'll sing you as arkard as ever I can, and I'll sing you as arkard as ever I can." "Her beautiful looks so enravished my mind, I'll sing you as arkard...." The rest is mostly nonsense verses about animal behavior
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Henry, collected from Samuel Harmon)
KEYWORDS: love humorous animal
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 20-22, "I Love-ed A Lass" (1 text)
Roud #4197
NOTES: Looking at this, I have a very strong feeling that it's based on "Way Up on Clinch Mountain" or "Drunkard's Hiccups," with a lot of nonsense and floating material thrown at it. But with only one version known, and no access to the tune, I can't prove it. - RBW
File: MHAp020
===
NAME: I Loved a Lass: see The False Bride (The Week Before Easter; I Once Loved a Lass) (File: K152)
===
NAME: I Loved You Better Than You Knew
DESCRIPTION: "Our hands are clasped at last forever, Perhaps we'll never meet again, I loved you as I could no other, This parting fills my heart with pain." The singer rehearses all that she will suffer, demonstrating the theme "I loved you better than you knew."
AUTHOR: Johnny Carroll ((?)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1893 (copyright)
KEYWORDS: love farewell betrayal rambling
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Randolph 738, "I Loved You Better Than You Knew" (1 text); also 755, "The Broken Heart" (the "A" text includes a stanza from this piece)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 493-495, "The Broken Heart" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 755A)
Roud #6434
RECORDINGS:
The Carter Family, "I Loved You Better Than You Knew" (Victor 23835, 1933)
File: R738
===
NAME: I Married Me a Wife (I): see The Holly Twig [Laws Q6] (File: LQ06)
===
NAME: I May Be Gone: see Oh, Lord, How Long (File: R615)
===
NAME: I Mean to Go to Heaven Anyhow
DESCRIPTION: "I mean to go to heaven anyhow... Jesus died, oh, he died on the cross, To set every sinner free." "You told mother when she was living... You would treat her chilluns good... But... you've driven us from your door."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: orphan hardtimes mother death Jesus religious
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 592, "I Mean to Go to Heaven Anyhow" (1 text)
Roud #11905
File: Br3592
===
NAME: I Measure My Love to Show You: see Go In and Out the Window (File: R538)
===
NAME: I Met a Handsome Lady
DESCRIPTION: Singer meets a lady who invites him into her parlor and says nice things; he says she can send for the preacher, he'll be ready and have his shoes greased. The preacher says she is too young; all sit down to a supper of chicken and underdone turkey
AUTHOR: Unknown; some verses added by H. N. Dickens
EARLIEST_DATE: 1957 (recording by H. N. Dickens)
KEYWORDS: age courting marriage wedding food party bird chickens clergy lover
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #12644
RECORDINGS:
H. N. Dickens, "I Met a Handsome Lady" (on Stonemans01)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Cindy" (lyrics)
cf. "Pig at Home in the Pen" (lyrics)
cf. "Roving Gambler" (lyrics)
NOTES: A most disjointed song, and I can't tell whether it was used as a dance tune or not (but I suspect not). - PJS
File: RcIMAHaL
===
NAME: I Met a Possum in the Road
DESCRIPTION: "I met a possum in the road, 'Bre'r Possum, whar you gwine?' 'I bless my soul and thank my stars To sunt some muscadine.'" "I met a possum in the road, and 'shamed he looked to be. He stuck his tail between his legs And gave the road to me."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: animal nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 177, (no title) (1 fragments, perhaps floating or not the same song)
File: ScNF177A
===
NAME: I Met Her in the Garden Where the Praties Grow: see Garden Where the Praties Grow (File: San463)
===
NAME: I Must And Will Get Married (The Fit)
DESCRIPTION: Mother and daughter are talking. The daughter says, "I must and will get married; I'm in the notion now" (or "...the fit comes on me now"). Mother asks who she will marry; she names the (miller Sam). If he won't agree, she'll find another
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1918 (Cecil Sharp Collection)
KEYWORDS: marriage mother loneliness
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
SharpAp 128, "I Must and I Will Get Married" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 53, "I Must And Will Get Married" (1 text, 1 tune)
Chappell/Wooldridge II, pp. 27-28, "The Fit's Upon Me Now" (1 tune, which may be this piece; no text is provided)
Roud #441
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Lolly-Too-Dum" (theme)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Fit Comes On Me Now
NOTES: This song is thematically identical to "Lolly-Too-Dum," but the stanza form is different enough that I have separated them. - RBW
File: SKE53
===
NAME: I Must See My Mother: see Ten Thousand Miles Away (On the Banks of Lonely River) (File: R697)
===
NAME: I Need Another Witness: see Witness (File: RcWtnss1)
===