NAME: Lovers' Quarrel (I), The: see The Courting Case (File: R361)
===
NAME: Lovers' Quarrel (II), The: see The Keys of Canterbury (File: R354)
===
NAME: Lovers' Tasks, The: see The Elfin Knight [Child 2] (File: C002)
===
NAME: Lovewell's Fight
DESCRIPTION: Captain Lovewell and his men set out to attack the Indians. They find and kill one, only to find their baggage plundered and the Indians planning an ambush. Lovewell is killed, and many others, but at last the Europeans reach their destination
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1725 (broadside)
KEYWORDS: battle Indians(Am.)
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 9, 1725 - Battle between Captain Lovewell and the Indians at Pigwacket (near Fryeburg, Maine)
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Leach, pp. 714-716, "Lovewell's Fight" (1 text)
Roud #4026
NOTES: Lest the Indians be blamed for this battle, it should be noted that Lovewell and his men were scalphunters -- receiving one hundred pounds for each trophy they brought in. This song is item dA27 in Laws's Appendix II - RBW
File: L714
===
NAME: Lovin' Babe: see Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor (File: Handy190)
===
NAME: Lovin' Nancy (II): see If I Were a Fisher (File: HHH709)
===
NAME: Loving Girl, The
DESCRIPTION: "Adieu, my lovin' girl, adieu, It wounds my heart to part with you, The time has come for me to go, Therefore your mind I wish to know." He recalls that "you loved me first," but she has lost interest; he wishes her well and sadly departs
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: love separation parting infidelity
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Randolph 732, "The Loving Girl" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, LOVNGIRL*
Roud #7393
File: R732
===
NAME: Loving Hannah: see Farewell Ballymoney (Loving Hannah; Lovely Molly) (File: R749)
===
NAME: Loving Henry: see Young Hunting [Child 68] (File: C068)
===
NAME: Loving Nancy (I): see The Wagoner's Lad (File: R740)
===
NAME: Loving Nancy (II): see Nancy (II) (The Rambling Beauty) [Laws P12] (File: LP12)
===
NAME: Loving Reilly: see William Riley's Courtship [Laws M9] (File: LM09)
===
NAME: Low Back Car, The
DESCRIPTION: "When first I saw sweet Peggy... A low-backed car she drove." "The man at the turnpike bar" was too stunned by her appearance to collect the toll. Men are knocked down by her glance. The singer imagines driving in the low-backed car to be married.
AUTHOR: Samuel Lover (1797-1868)
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1853 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 26(397))
KEYWORDS: beauty nonballad
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
O'Conor, pp. 87-88, "The Low Back Car" (1 text)
Roud #6954
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 26(397), "The Low-Backed Car", J. Moore (Belfast) , 1846-1852; also Johnson Ballads 1101, "The Low Back'd Car"; Harding B 11(2253), Harding B 20(148), "The Low Back Car"; Harding B 11(2254), Firth b.26(233), 2806 b.11(253), "The Low-Back Car"
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(122b), "The Low-Backed Car," Poet's Box (Glasgow?), 1878
NOTES: Note that there is no connection, save the title, between this and the song we have indexed as "The Low-Backed Car."
The tune to this is said to be "The Jolly Ploughboy," but since there are several songs with that approximate title, it isn't much help. - RBW
File: OCon087
===
NAME: Low Down in the Broom
DESCRIPTION: "My daddy is a canker'd carle, He'll ne'er twine wi' his gear," the girl admits as she wishes to be with her lad. She details all the ways her family reigns her in. But she meets her love beneath the broom, and at last they escape and live happily
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1804 (Scots Musical Museum)
KEYWORDS: love courting family elopement
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 234-236, "Low Down in the Broom" (1 text)
Ord, p. 161, "Low Down in the Broom" (1 text)
Roud #1644
NOTES: Said to be the tune Burns used for "My Love Is Like a Red, Red Rose."
Ford's version of this is distinctly longer than the versions in Ord and the Scots Musical Museum; it starts with several stanzas about how Jenny and "Pate" meet, whereas the SMM text simply outlines how difficult the girl's parents are. It is not clear which form is older; Ford had it from a chapbook. - RBW
File: FVS234
===
NAME: Low Down the Chariot and Let Me Ride: see Let Me Ride (File: Wa170)
===
NAME: Low-Backed Car, The
DESCRIPTION: "It's onward we travel through life's weary journey Our thoughts oft returns to the bright days of yore, To the scenes of our childhood" in and around St John's. Some day good times will return and we will go back to "be happy by the old low-backed car"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield)
KEYWORDS: homesickness emigration hardtimes lament lyric
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 120, "The Low-Backed Car" (1 text)
Roud #17751
NOTES: Greenleaf/Mansfield notes that "This is a song about a boy who grew up in St John's but was forced to leave Newfoundland when economic conditions prevented him from getting a living there ... The low-backed car marked a street in St John's" - BS
Note that there is no connection, save the title, between this and the song we have indexed as "The Low Back Car." - RBW
File: GrMa120
===
NAME: Lowell Factory Girl, The: see No More Shall I Work in the Factory (File: Grnw122)
===
NAME: Lower the Boat Down
DESCRIPTION: Halyard shanty. "There's only one thing grieves me. Ch: Oh, lower the boat down! It's my poor wife and baby, Ch: Oh, lower the boat down."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (Colcord)
KEYWORDS: shanty worksong separation
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Colcord, p. 63, "Lower the Boat Down" (1 single-verse fragment)
Hugill, p. 158-159, "Lower the Boat Down" (1 fragment, quoted from Colcord)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Roll the Cotton Down" (similar tune)
File: Colc063
===
NAME: Lowland Lass, The
DESCRIPTION: 
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 
KEYWORDS: 
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
The Highland Lad and Lawland Lass
File: GrD1123
===
NAME: Lowlands (My Lowlands Away)
DESCRIPTION: Sometimes a ballad: The singer is at sea when his love comes to him in a dream. She is dressed in white, and he realizes that his love is dead. Other times a lyric, in which the sailor talks about his travels, his ship, low pay, and/or a bad captain
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1870
KEYWORDS: shanty sailor sea love death dream ghost
FOUND_IN: US(MA) Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland
REFERENCES: (14 citations)
Doerflinger, pp. 80-82, "Lowlands" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Bone, pp. 124-126, "Lowlands" (1 text plus an excerpt, 1 tune)
Colcord, p. 100-101, "Lowlands" (2 texts, 2 tunes; the first is the dead lover version, the second the "Dollar and a half" version)
Harlow pp. 127-128 "Lowlands" (1 text, 1 tune, a "Dollar and a half" version")
Hugill, pp. 65-70 "Lowlands Away," "Lowlands or My Dollar An' A Half A Day" (4 texts, 2 tunes -- three dead lover versions, one Dollar and a half" version) [AbEd, pp. 61-64]
Sharp-EFC, XVIII, p. 21, "Lowlands Away" (1 text, 1 tune, a"Dollar and a half" version)
Mackenzie 109, "A Dollar and a Half a Day" (1 text)
Shay-SeaSongs, pp. 43-44, "Lowlands" (1 text, 1 tune); pp. 46-47, "Lowlands, II" (1 text); p. 47, "Lowlands, III" (1 fragment)
PBB 100, "Lowlands Away" (1 text)
Lomax-FSUSA 43, "Lowlands" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H469, p. 144, "My Lowlands, Away" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 89, "Lowlands" (1 text)
DT, LOWLNDS LOWLND2 LOWLND3
ADDITIONAL: Captain John Robinson, "Songs of the Chantey Man," a series published July-August 1917 in the periodical _The Bellman_ (Minneapolis, MN, 1906-1919). "Johnny Boker" is in Part 1, 7/14/1917. "Lowlands" is in Part 1, 7/14/1917.
Roud #681
RECORDINGS:
Anita Best and Pamela Morgan, "Lowlands Low" (on NFABestPMorgan01)
Anne Briggs, "Lowlands" (on Briggs1, Briggs3)
NOTES: This tune pattern ("Lowlands, lowlands away, my John...," with final line either "My lowlands away" or "My dollar and a half a day") has been used for at least three separate plots (which have perhaps cross-fertilized a bit): A dead sailor, a dead sailor's girl, and a more lyric piece about the bad conditions sailors face, the latter often having the "dollar and a half" refrain.
Shay, who apparently regards the dead sailor version as original, thinks this lyric item a much-decayed version of "The Lowlands of Holland." This is certainly possible, especially thematically, but there is a lot of evolution along the way....
Bone comments on this subject, "'Lowlands' is a very old song. There are many versions, but it seems to me that the lament in the air establishes it as an adaption of some old ballad....
"I have heard it sung on many occasions -- as a capstan shanty -- and always there were the three standard lines, repeated, as verses, 'I dreamt a dream the other night.' ... 'I dreamt I saw my own true love.' ... 'And then I knew my love was dead.' With these the chantyman felt that he had held to tradition and then warranted in his own right to hawk his own wares.'"
Hugill adds that it was Ònever too popular, as it was too difficult to sing properlyÓ -- which strikes me as true; it feels more like a ballad than a shanty. Most shanties have a very regular rhythm; this has very little.
Hugill thinks the "'dead lover' theme definitely originated in Scotland or the North of England" (which again feels right, not that that's proof). But he also thinks the tune as "a negro touch about it." That part I'm not so sure about. He adds that it is "the only chanty in which Sailor John allowed 'sob-stuff,'" which he again takes as evidence that it was not originally a shanty or even a sea-song. - RBW
File: PBB100
===
NAME: Lowlands Low (I), The: see The Golden Vanity [Child 286] (File: C286)
===
NAME: Lowlands Low (II), The: see Edwin (Edmund, Edward) in the Lowlands Low [Laws M34] (File: LM34)
===
NAME: Lowlands Low (III)
DESCRIPTION: Halyard shanty. "Our packet is the Island Lass, Low-lands, low-lands, low-lands, low! There's a nigger howlin' at the main top mast, Low-lands, low-lands, low-lands, low!" Verses mostly complaints and rhymes about sailing.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (Sharp-EFC)
KEYWORDS: shanty work
FOUND_IN: West Indies
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Hugill, pp. 70-71, "Lowlands Low" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEb, pp. 64-65]
Sharp-EFC, XXIX, p. 34, "Lowlands Low" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #8286
NOTES: Hugill says this is from ships the West Indian trade (sugar and rum), many of which had "chequerboard" crews, i.e. one watch white and one watch coloured. - SL
File: Hugi070
===
NAME: Lowlands O, The: see The Golden Vanity [Child 286] (File: C286)
===
NAME: Lowlands of Holland, The
DESCRIPTION: A young couple are parted (when the young man is taken away to sea). While in service, he is drowned. The girl vows she will not dress in fine clothes nor seek another man until the day she dies
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1760
KEYWORDS: recruiting death parting pressgang separation ship marines
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South,Lond),Scotland(Aber)) US(Ap,NE,So) Canada(Newf) Ireland Australia
REFERENCES: (21 citations)
Bronson (92), 22 versions
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 55-57, "The Lowlands of Holland" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #9}
SharpAp 26, "The Lowlands of Holland" (1 fragment, 1 tune) {Bronson's #12}
Sharp-100E 23, "The Low, Low Lands of Holland" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph 83, "The Lily of Arkansas" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 72-74, "The Lily of Arkansas" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 83A)
Shay-SeaSongs, pp. 45-46, "The Lawlands o' Holland" (1 text)
Flanders/Olney, pp. 113-114, "The Lowlands of Holland" (1 text)
Meredith/Anderson, p. 179, "The Lowlands of Holland" (1 text, 1 tune)
Logan, pp. 22-25, "The Lowlands of Holland" (2 texts)
OBB 160, "The Lowlands o' Holland" (1 text)
Combs/Wilgus 132, p. 150, "The Soldier Bride's Lament" (1 text)
SHenry H180, pp. 149-150, "Holland Is a Fine Place" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hayward-Ulster, pp. 54-55, "The Lowlands of Holland" (1 text)
Ord, pp. 328-332, "The Lowlands of Holland (Scottish Version)"; "The Lowlands of Holland (English Version)"; "The Rocks of Gibraltar" (3 texts)
MacSeegTrav 12, "Lowlands of Holland" (1 text, 1 tune)
OLochlainn-More 7A, "The Lowlands of Holland" (1 text, 1 tune)
Morton-Maguire 48, pp. 140-141,174, "The Rocks of Giberaltar" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT (92), LOWHOLLD* LOWHOLL2* LOWHOLL3* LOWHOLL4 LOWHOLL5 LOWHOLL6 LOWHOLL7* LOWHOLL8
ADDITIONAL: Fred W. Allsopp, Folklore of Romantic Arkansas, Volume II (1931), p. 213, "(The Lily of Arkansas)" (1 fragment)
Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #377, "The Lawlands o' Holland" (1 text)
ST R083 (Full)
Roud #484
RECORDINGS:
Anita Best and Pamela Morgan, "The Lowlands of Holland" (on NFABestPMorgan01)
Paddy Tunney, "The Lowlands of Holland" (on IRPTunney01) (on Voice02)
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(68b), "The Rocks of Bonnie Gibraltar ," Poet's Box (Dundee), c.1890; also RB.m.143(121) "The Lowlands of Holland," Poet's Box (Dundee), c.1890
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Bonny Bee Hom" [Child 92] (given as an appendix to that ballad)
cf. "All Things Are Quite Silent" (theme)
cf. "The British Man-of-War" (tune)
cf. "Our Ship She Is Lying in Harbour" (lyrics)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Lily of Arkansas
NOTES: "The Lowlands of Holland" is frequently connected to "Bonny Bee Hom" (Child 92), a link dating back to Child (who printed four stanzas of Herd's text). The matter has been much studied, without clear conclusion. It might be noted, however, that "Bonny Bee Hom" involves a magic device (the stone that tells the lover whether his sweetheart is true), a theme not found in "The Lowlands of Holland."
It will also be obvious that "The Lowlands of Holland" has been enduringly popular, whereas "Bonny Bee Hom" has had very little currency in tradition. - RBW
File: R083
===
NAME: Lowrie (The Adventures of Larry McFlynn)
DESCRIPTION: Dubliner Lowrie enlists in ignorance. Sentenced to be whipped on his bare skin he puts a bear skin on his back. He drinks his kit empty and stuffs a young cat in his knapsack. The captain recognizes a hopeless case and makes Lowrie his personal servant.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1843 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(14))
KEYWORDS: army ordeal humorous soldier
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan1 81, "Lowrie" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Roud #5772
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(14), "The Adventures of Larry M'Flinn ("In the year eighteen hundred and thirty and three"), W. and T. Fordyce (Newcastle), 1832-1842; also Harding B 11(17), Johnson Ballads 456, "Adventures of Lary O'Flinn"
NOTES: GreigDuncan1 and broadside Bodleian Harding B 11(14) intersperse verses and spoken story line. - BS
File: GrD1081
===
NAME: Loyal Song Against Home Rule, A
DESCRIPTION: "I'm an Irishman born in loyal Belfast." Ireland "would be ruined for ever if Home Rule was passed." Gladstone "has got no idea of the blood it would spill ... don't let old Gladstone get you in a snare ... It's time long ago he was upon the shelf" 
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1893 (Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: Ireland nonballad political
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Zimmermann 100, "A New Loyal Song Against Home Rule" (1 text)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Home Rule for Ireland" (subject: the quest for Home Rule)
cf. "The Union We'll Maintain" (subject: opposition to Home Rule)
NOTES: William Ewart Gladstone became British prime minister in 1868 and supported Home Rule for Ireland. He introduced his first Home Rule Bill, which was defeated, in 1885. His second Home Rule Bill was defeated in 1893. (source: "Home Rule" on the Irelandseye site) - BS
For the sources cited in what follows, see the Bibliography at the end of this note.
Gradually during the nineteenth century, the restrictions on Catholics in Ireland were lifted. But the memory remained -- and most of the land was still in Protestant hands.
Gladstone devoted much of his energy as Prime Minister to improving conditions in Ireland, disestablishing the Church (see, e.g., "The Downfall of Heresy") and granting increased tenant rights (see especially "The Bold Tenant Farmer," though the need for land reform inspired many songs).
Gladstone apparently thought initially that ordinary reforms would be enough to satisfy Ireland (see "Home Rule for Ireland"; also Kee, p. 58: 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).
The success of the Land League and the rise of Charles Stewart Parnell eventually forced him to see otherwise (for Parnell, see e.g. "The Blackbird of Avondale (The Arrest of Parnell)"; also "We Won't Let Our Leader Run DownÓ).
For most of the nineteenth century, the Irish had given their support primarily to the Liberals, who were more sympathetic to their cause. But Parnell, who by 1882 was the dominant force in Irish politics, wasn't willing to settle for that. In 1885, he urged his supporters to vote Conservative just to try to shake things up.
The result as an election in which the Liberals held 335 seats in parliament, the Conservatives 249 -- and Parnell controlled 86 seats and the balance of power (Kee, p. 89).
Prime Minister Gladstone tried to improve the situation with his proposal for Home Rule (partial internal autonomy  for Ireland). Gladstone's 1886 Home Rule proposal was limited -- the British would still control foreign and trade policy, for instance. But internal affairs would largely be in Irish hands.
Unfortunately, his own party was not united on the issue. A handful of members openly went over to the Conservatives; a larger block, headed by Joseph Chamberlain, remained devoted to other liberal reforms, but simply would not support Home Rule (see Kee, pp. 89-90; Massie, pp. 235-238).
The government fell, and Home Rule was shelved for seven years.
The second attempt was no more successful. According to Kee, p. 124, the 1893 Home Rule bill "occupied more parliamentary time than any other bill in the history of the century." You have to wonder why the Ulster Unionists -- who, as we shall see, went into conniptions -- were so worried; some wit quipped that Gladstone had no more power to pass Home Rule (through the Lords) than he did to install waterworks on the moon. The Lords not only rejected it, they rejected it 419-41 (Kee, p. 125).
That was about the end for Gladstone. It wasn't good for the Liberals, either; for fifteen years Parliament was split into four groups: Conservatives, classic Liberals, residual Parnellites (now led by John Redmond insofar as they had a leader; in the election of 1892, nearly 90% of the Irish MPs claimed to be anti-Parnellite, but that faded over time), and Liberal Unionists (Chamberlainites). For the most part, it was gridlock, though the Chamberlainites occasionally managed to extract liberal reforms from the Conservatives. But there was no possibility of serious legislation for Ireland.
Still, Home Rule naturally concerned the Irish Protestants, who would inevitably find Catholics in charge of a Home Rule Ireland. In most of Ireland, they were too few to really resist. But in Ulster, or at least in parts of it, they were the majority. And they didn't want the Catholics doing unto them as they had done unto the Catholics. (They knew what it was like: Unlike the Anglicans in the rest of Ireland, the Ulstermen *had* been subjected to religious persecution -- see Kee, pp. 96-97.) 
So the Presbyterians strenuously opposed Home Rule. The old Orange Society, which had been banned in 1836, was revived in 1845 in Enniskillen (Kee, p. 100), and a Protestant Defence Association came into being in 1867-1868 (Kee, p. 101-102) in response to the Land League and the British government's relatively mild reaction (Kee, p. 103). By 1884, Kee reports that 20,000 Orangemen were demonstrating on the anniversary of the Boyne. 
If Zimmermann's 1893 date is reliable, the probable inspiration for this song (apart from Gladstone's 1893 attempt at a Home Rule bill)  was the great Ulster Unionist Convention of 1892 (Kee, p. 122); some 12,000 were said to have attended; resolutions stated that Ulster was an integral part of the United Kingdom, rejected an Irish parliament, and declared against Home Rule. One speaker declared that Ulster would defend itself if threatened with rule from Dublin.
Finally, in 1904, came the foundation of the Ulster Unionist Council. (Which was, ironically, to help divide the Unioninist movement; as Townshend notes, p. 32, Unionists in southern Ireland were a small enough minority that their only hope was to retain Union. The Ulster Unionists had a fallback position: Partition. The two groups thus ended up pursuing different ends.)
Even before the founding of the UUC, the Unionists had had a spokesman in Edward Carson (1854-1935). He was denouncing Home Rule in the government by the 1890s, and helped along the split in the Liberal Party that made Home Rule impossible. Eventually he managed to take Ulster out of Ireland. The irony in this is that he wasn't an Ulsterman -- and on issues other than Union, he was even relatively liberal (Kee, p. 169-170). But he openly declared that would support anarchy rather than Home Rule (O'Connor, p. 45).
By 1911, Ulstermen were rallying and marching -- with compliant Justices of the Peace being more than willing to grant them permits to drill (Kee, p. 171; Townshend, p. 35). Nearly 450,000 would sign a "Solemn League and Covenant" to oppose Home Rule, some with their own blood (Kee, p. 180). 20,000 signed on the first day alone (O'Conor, p. 46). They were pledged to "Stand by one another in using all means which may be found necessary to defeat the present conspiracy to set up a Home Rule Parliament and in the even of such a Parliament being forced upon us, we further solemnly pledge ourseves to refuse to recognize its authority" (O'Connor, pp. 45-46).
Starting in 1913, the Ulster Unionist Council formed a provisional government (O'Connor, p. 46) and started raising a private army which woul eventually reach 100,000 men (Kee, p. 182; O'Connor, p. 46, credits them with 50,000 men withing three months of their foundation), though at first few had weapons (Townshend, p. 33); they practiced with wooden mock-ups. They would raise a million-pound insurance fund (Townshend, p. 42).
Members of the British government called it treason (O'Connor, p. 46). That didn't even slow them down.
Home Rule finally came back in 1910, long after Gladstone was dead. The Liberal government of H. H. Asquith, which needed the Irish votes controlled by Redmond (Dangerfield, pp. 52-53), passed Home Rule -- only to have the Lords block it again.
Asquith finally hit upon the radical solution of limiting the veto power of the House of Lords -- in effect setting up a system where the Lords could block a measure for two years, but have to give in if the Commons kept passing it. Asquith won a narrow parliamentary victory on this point (for an intensely detailed description of how all this came about, see Massie, pp. 640-662 -- the chapter entited "The Budget and the House of Lords"; for something shorter, see the notes to "My Father's a Hedger and Ditcher (Nobody Coming to Marry Me)").
With the Lords rendered relatively powerless, a preliminary Home Rule bill eventually passed in 1913 (see Cronin, pp. 177-179). But English opinion had not really been tested on the matter (Kee, p. 176, notes that "Only some 94 of the 272 successful Liberal candidates... had actually mentioned Home Rule at all in their election addresses" -- and that the Prime Minister was one of the many cabinet officials who did not mention the subject).
Worse, the army was not prepared to enforce the law; a number of officers resigned rather than prepare to suppress Ulster loyalists -- the so-called "Curragh Mutiny" (see Kee, p. 192). In trying to calm the mutiny, the British government made it effectively impossible to control Ulster loyalists. Indeed, future Conservative prime minister Andrew Bonar Law stood with Carson at a rally against Home Rule in Belfast (O'Connor, p. 45)
Then came World War I, which caused the law to be suspended (the Home Rule bill had been unravelling over the Ulster problem anyway). Kee reports that Prime Minister Asquith, after consultation with the main parties, "agreed... that Home Rule should become law and be placed on the statute book, but simultaneously with a Suspensory Act which would prevent it coming into force until a new Amending Bill could be introduced" (which, in practice, meant "until after the War").
Still, the bill formally passed and gained the KingÕs assent in 1914. There was celebration in the streets of Ireland (Kee, p. 222)
And then came the Easter Rising of 1916 -- something that real Home Rule might have prevented (Townshend, p. 30, believes that the passage of full home rule, including Ulster, would have turned many Irish nationalists, including rebellion leader Paidraig Pearse and perhaps Sinn Fein founder Arthur Griffith, away from rebellion. O'Connor, p. 41, makes the same argument, noting that Pearse gave a speech, in Irish, applauding Home Rule when it came. I have to add, though, that Pearse in the same speech rejected the notion of even nominal obedience to the crown.)
But the rebellion meant that Home Rule never did really come into effect -- in part because of British brutality in the aftermath of the Easter Rising, and partly because Ulster simply wouldn't accept it. Plus, of course, many of the more moderate Irish had joined the British army, and had died in droves in Flanders. The more militant nationalists had refused to serve. Thus, after the war, nationalist feeling was much stronger, and pro-British Irishmen fewer. Plus John Redmond, the man who had fought -- and compromised -- to win Home Rule had died in 1918, leaving Sinn Fein as the strongest political element.
When the pressure on Britain became intolerable, they gave Ireland the Free State and Partition rather than Home Rule in its initial form. In some ways, the Free State *was* Home Rule -- but it felt different, and opened the door for Eamon de Valera to make separation (and partition) complete.
We should note incidentally that the Orangemen did not really represent any particular segment of society; theirs was the minority no matter how you sliced the demographics. In the parliamentary election after Gladstone's Home Rule attempt, they lost even in Ulster (Kee, p. 106, reports that they won 16 seats, to 17 for their opponents). In Ulster as a whole, the population is said to have been 52% Protestant, 49% Catholic -- but a large share of those Protestants were Anglican, whereas the Orangemen were Presbyterian. Thus Catholics were the plurality in the nine counties of Ulster (three of which, to be sure, would end up in Ireland rather than Northern Ireland). And the Ulstermen didn't represent the majority of Ireland's Protestants, either; although Anglicans were everywhere else a small minority, there were enough of them that they outnumbered the Ulster Presbyterians.
For more on how all this played out, see especially the notes to "The Irish Free State." - RBW
>>BIBLIOGRAPHY<<:
In writing this summary, in addition to standard references such as the _Oxford Companions_ to British and Irish history, I have consulted the following works, cited by author's name above:
Cronin: Mike Cronin, _A History of Ireland_ (Palgrave, 2001(
Dangerfield: George Dangerfield, _The Damnable Question: One Hundred and Twenty Years of Anglo-Irish Conflict_ (Atlantic Little Brown, 1976)
Kee: Robert Kee, _The Bold Fenian Men_, being Volume II of _The Green Flag_  (Penguin, 1972)
Massie: Robert K. Massie, _Dreadnought_ (Random House, 1991)
O'Connor:  Ulick O'Connor, _Michael Collins & the Troubles: The Struggle for Irish Freedon 1912-1922_ (1975, 1996; first American edition published as _The Troubles_; I used the 1996 Norton edition)
Townshend: Charles Townshend, _Easter 1916: The Irish Rebellion_ (Ivan R. Dee, 2006) - RBW
File: Zimm100
===
NAME: Lubin's Rural Cot
DESCRIPTION: "Returning homeward o'er the plain Upon a market day, A sudden storm of wind and rain O'ertook me on the way." The singer shelters in Lubin's rural cot, where he entertains her delightfully. He offers marriage; she happily accepts
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Ford)
KEYWORDS: home courting marriage storm
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 178-180, "Lubin's Rural Cot" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #6263
NOTES: Why do I suspect there is more going on here than meets the eye? - RBW
File: FVS178
===
NAME: Lucindy, Won't You Marry Me
DESCRIPTION: "Lucindy, won't you marry me, Won't you marry me in the mornin'? If you'll marry me your mother'll Cook a shine-eyed-hen."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: food courting marriage
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 6, "Lucindy, Won't You Marry Me" (1 fragment)
Roud #7854
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Richard (Irchard) of Taunton Dean" (theme)
File: Br3006
===
NAME: Luck Went With the Sealers Since Brave Colloway Led the Strike, The: see notes under The Sealer's Strike of 1902 (The Sealers Gained the Strike) (File: RySm064)
===
NAME: Lucky Elopement, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer drinks. He courts a girl whose mother calls him a drunkard. He elopes with the daughter to London where they are found and sent to Carrick Jail. At his trial for theft the daughter attests to his virtues, he is acquitted and they marry.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (OLochlainn); c.1867 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 b.9(96))
KEYWORDS: elopement marriage trial drink mother
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
OLochlainn 43, "The Lucky Elopement" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2559
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 b.9(96), "Luckey Elopement," P. Brereton (Dublin), c.1867
LOCSinging, as108270, "Luckey Elopement," P. Brereton (Dublin), 19C
NOTES: Broadside LOCSinging as108270 appears to be the same as Bodleian 2806 b.9(96) printed by P. Brereton (Dublin). - BS
File: OLoc043
===
NAME: Lucky Escape, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer, born a plowman, meets a "Carsindo" who convinces him to go to sea. After a dreadful time aboard ship, he goes home and is told that his family has met disaster. When he declares that he will roam no more, he is told that all is well at home
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 
KEYWORDS: ship sailor farming separation home reunion reprieve
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Arnett, pp. 20-22, "The Lucky Escape" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #1446
File: Arn020
===
NAME: Lucy and Colin: see Colin and Lucy (File: GC478b)
===
NAME: Lucy Locket: see Hunt the Squirrel (File: BAF806)
===
NAME: Lucy Long (I)
DESCRIPTION: "If I had a scolding wife, As sure as you are born, I'd take her down to New Orleans And trade her off for corn."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: apparently  1854, when a "Lucy Long" tune was cited in Put's Golden Songster
KEYWORDS: wife shrewishness
FOUND_IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Randolph 279, "If I Had a Scolding Wife" (1 fragmentary text, 1 tune)
BrownII 200, "If I Had a Scolding Wife" (1 fragment)
BrownIII 415, "Lynchburg Town" (3 texts plus 2 fragments, 2 excerpts, and mention of 2 more, all with the "Lynchburg Town" chorus, but "A" and "B" have verses from "Raccoon" and "Possum Up a Gum Stump and "D" and "E" are partly "If I Had a Scolding Wife" ("Lucy Long (I)"); only "C" seems to be truly "Lynchburg Town")
Roud #7413
NOTES: Randolph and Brown both report this as a fragment of "Lucy Long," and I file it as such. It is interesting to note that both have the *same* single-stanza fragment; it seems likely enough that that one verse circulates on its own -- perhaps as the only traditional part of the song. - RBW
File: R279
===
NAME: Lucy Long (II)
DESCRIPTION: "One night when the moon was beaming, I strayed with my Lucy Long." The singer describes the beauties of their evening walk. He asks her to marry; she blushes, hesitates, and consents.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Randolph); a "Lucy Long" tune was cited in 1854 in Put's Golden Songster
KEYWORDS: love courting marriage
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Randolph 780, "Lucy Long" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7413
File: R780
===
NAME: Lucy Long (III)
DESCRIPTION: Shanty. Characteristic line: ""Why don't you try for to ring Miss Lucy Long?" Verses involve meeting Miss Lucy, making various attempts at seduction, and being rejected. A frequent first line is "Was you ever on the Brumalow/Brumielaw?"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1796-1853 (Broadsides); 1926 (Terry)
KEYWORDS: shanty sailor seduction rejection
FOUND_IN: West Indies Britain
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Hugill, p. 396, "Miss Lucy Long" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, p. 301]
Sharp-EFC, XXII, p. 25, "Lucy Long" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #8285
NOTES: There are several versions of this in the Bodleian Broadside collection, though they lack the shanty's chorus lines. [These should perhaps be filed under Lucy Long (II).- RBW] Hugill says that Miss Lucy Long is a girl that often appears in Negro songs. - SL
File: Hugi396
===
NAME: Ludlow Massacre, The
DESCRIPTION: Faced with a strike, the mine owners drive the workers from their (company-owned) homes. The National Guard moves in and kills thirteen children by fires and guns. Since President and Governor cannot not stop the guard, fighting continues
AUTHOR: Woody Guthrie
EARLIEST_DATE: 1945 (recording, Woody Guthrie)
KEYWORDS: mining strike violence death labor-movement
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Sept 1913 - Beginning of the strike by coal workers against John D. Rockefeller's Colorado Iron and Fuel Co.
April 1914 - A state militia company (actually composed of company thugs) attacks the Ludlow colony of strikers using machine guns and coal oil. 21 people die, including two women and thirteen children; three strikers are taken and murdered. Eventually federal troops are called in
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Scott-BoA, pp. 279-281, "The Ludlow Massacre" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greenway-AFP, pp. 152-154, "Ludlow Massacre" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 134, "The Ludlow Massacre" (1 text)
DT, LUDLWMAS*
RECORDINGS:
Woody Guthrie, "Ludlow Massacre" (Asch 360, 1945; on on AmHist2, Struggle2)
File: SBoA279
===
NAME: Luir A Chodla (Put the Old Man to Sleep)
DESCRIPTION: Gaelic: Luir a chodla, cuir a chodla, cuir a chodla, an sean-cluine, luira chodle, nigh a chosa agus bog deoch do'r tsean duine. English: Put to sleep (x2) put to sleep the old man. Put him to sleep, wash his feet, and draw a drink for the old man
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1960
KEYWORDS: age nonballad
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Lomax-FSNA 191, "Put the Old Man to Sleep" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Lomax claims this is a Gaelic version of "Rocking the Cradle (and the Child Not His Own)." The evidence is thin. - RBW
File: LoF191
===
NAME: Luke and Mullen
DESCRIPTION: Sam Mullen goes looking for Luke; Luke says he doesn't want trouble, but Mullen picks a fight until Luke shoots him. Cho: "Wake up, Sam Mullen, put on your shoes/Get ready to catch ol' Luke before he leave this town/For Luke done laid Mullen body down"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1954 (recording, Horace Sprott)
KEYWORDS: fight violence murder death
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (0 citations)
RECORDINGS:
Horace Sprott, "Luke and Mullen" (on MuSouth02)
NOTES: That the song continues in tradition is doubtful, but Horace Sprott said he learned it from a fellow packinghouse worker, so it was part of oral tradition at one time. - PJS
File: RcLukMul
===
NAME: Lukey's Boat
DESCRIPTION: A song describing Lukey and his boat. The boat is "painted green... the finest boat you've ever seen," etc. Lukey observes that his wife is dead, but "I don't care; I'll get another in the fall of the year."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield)
KEYWORDS: ship humorous nonballad
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES: (6 citations)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 126, "Lukey's Boat" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 46-47, "Lukey's Boat" (1 text, 1 tune)
Doyle2, p. 71, "Lukey's Boat" (1 text, 1 tune)
Doyle3, p. 40, "Lukey's Boat" (1 text, 1 tune)
Blondahl, pp. 44-45, "Lukey's Boat" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-NovaScotia 127, "Loakie's Boat" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST FJ046 (Partial)
Roud #1828
RECORDINGS:
Omar Blondahl, "Lukey's Boat" (on NFOBlondahl05)
NOTES: [According to Blondahl, Doyle attributes this to] Mr Roberts, and others, Mrs Ira Yates, Mr Andrew Young, Twillingate, 1929. - BS
Creighton's informants say that the subject of the song lived in Lunenburg. - RBW
File: FJ046
===
NAME: Lula Gal: see The Jawbone Song AND Crawdad, etc. (File: R259)
===
NAME: Lula Viers [Laws F10]
DESCRIPTION: John Coyer weighs his fiancee Lula Viers down with metal and throws her into the river. The body is not discovered for several months. Coyer is arrested, but is handed over to the army before going on trial
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas)
KEYWORDS: murder river
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Oct 1917 - Murder of Lula Viers by John Coyer. Viers was pregnant by Coyer, and he apparently preferred murder to marriage
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Laws F10, "Lula Viers" (sample text in NAB, pp. 62-64)
Thomas-Makin', pp. 144-146, "Lula Vires" (1 text)
McNeil-SFB2, pp. 79-81, "Lula Viers" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 203-204, "Lula Viers" (1 text)
DT 804, LULAVIER
Roud #1933
NOTES: Laws was able to verify the basic facts of this ballad from the records of Floyd County, Kentucky (learning in the process that she was pregnant); see his notes in NAB, p.  65. - RBW
File: LF10
===
NAME: Lula Vires: see Lula Viers [Laws F10] (File: LF10)
===
NAME: Lula Wall: see Lulu Walls (File: R383)
===
NAME: Lulie: see Shout Lula (File: RcShLulu)
===
NAME: Lullaby: see Hush, Little Baby (File: SBoA164)
===
NAME: Lullaby for a Sailor's Child
DESCRIPTION: "Roar, roar, thunder of the sea, Wild waves breaking on the sandy bar, And my true love is sailing, sailing far For his rosy little boy and Shena." The singer bids the child sleep, and wishes a blessing on her sailor far away
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: lullaby sailor separation nonballad
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H517, p. 7, "Lullaby for a Sailor's Child" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: HHH517
===
NAME: Lully, Lullay, Lully, Lullay: see The Corpus Christi Carol (File: L691)
===
NAME: Lulu (I): see My Lulu (File: San378)
===
NAME: Lulu (II)
DESCRIPTION: Composite of verses about Lulu and mountain life, e.g. "Lulu, get your hair cut Just like mine." "I went a fishin' an' fished for shad, First I caught was my old dad." "I'll give you a nickel, An' I'll give you a dime To see little Lulu Cut her shine"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1909 (JAFL 22)
KEYWORDS: courting fishing nonballad floatingverses
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 183, "Lulu" (1 text, clearly composed of parts of different songs as some stanzas are twice the length of others)
Roud #4202
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Shad" (floating verse)
NOTES: This might be connected in some way with "My Lulu." But the Brown and Sandburg versions have only the woman's name in common, so I've separated them. - RBW
File: Br3183
===
NAME: Lulu Walls
DESCRIPTION: The singer describes "that aggravating beauty, Lulu Walls." She has stolen his heart and left him in "sad misery." He plans to offer to wed, but knows she will turn him down. If she were his, he would surround her with walls so no one else would see her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recording, Walter Morris)
KEYWORDS: love courting rejection
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,So)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Randolph 383, "Lulu Walls" (1 text, 1 tune)
MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 37-38, "Lula Wall" (1 text)
DT, LULUWALL*
Roud #3338
RECORDINGS:
Carter Family, "Lulu Walls" (Victor V-40126, 1929; Montgomery Ward M-4437, 1934) (Romeo 06-05-53, 1936)
A'nt Idy Harper & the Coon Creek Girls, "Lulu Wall" (Conqueror 9065 [as Coon Creek Girls]/Vocalion 04203, 1938)
Bascom Lamar Lunsford, "Lulu Wall" (Brunswick 229/Vocalion 5252, 1928)
Walter Morris, "Lulu Walsh" (Columbia 15115-D, 1927)
Marvin Williams, "Lula Wall" (OKeh 45467, 1930)
NOTES: Recorded by the Carter Family, and credited to A. P. Carter -- but given that the song was in circulation in the Ozarks in 1928 (Randolph), and in the Appalachians in 1933 (Henry), it seems a fair bet that the song predates the Carters. Though it is quite likely that the Carters rewrote it. - RBW
The Ozark folks may well have learned the song from the Morris recording. - PJS
And ditto Frank W. Anderson, who was Henry's informant, and so on. I wonder if Morris wrote it? It doesn't sound very traditional to me. - RBW
File: R383
===
NAME: Luluanna: see Lovana (File: Beld223)
===
NAME: Lumber Camp Song, The
DESCRIPTION: A song describing life in the lumber camp. The shanty boys are men of all places and occupations. Most of the song is devoted to details of meals, smoking in the evening, and sleep. Details of the song vary widely
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1896 (Delaney's Song Book #13)
KEYWORDS: logger separation lumbering moniker
FOUND_IN: US(MA,MW,NE) Canada(Mar,Newf,Ont)
REFERENCES: (12 citations)
Doerflinger, pp. 210-211, "The Lumber Camp Song" (1 text)
Rickaby 14, "Jim Porter's Shanty Song" (2 texts plus a fragment, 2 tunes)
Gardner/Chickering 104, "The Shanty Boys" (1 text)
Flanders/Olney, pp. 141-143, "The Shanty Boys" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 72-73, "The Lumber Camp Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 159, "The Lumber Camp Song" (1 text)
Peacock, pp. 750-751, "Hurling Down the Pine" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke-Lumbering #5, "The Lumbercamp Song" (4 short texts, tune referenced); #7, "Hurry Up, Harry" (1 text, 1 tune)
Dibblee/Dibblee, pp. 38-39, "Shanty Boys" (1 text, 1 tune)
FSCatskills 2, "Cutting Down the Pines" (1 text, 1 tune)
Beck 11, "The Shanty Boys in the Pine" (2 texts, 1 tune)
DT, CUTPINES*
ST Doe210 (Full)
Roud #667
RECORDINGS:
Emery DeNoyer, "Shantyman's Life" (AFS, 1941; on LC55)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Jim, the Carter Lad" (lyrics)
cf. "The Herring Gibbers" (theme, tune)
cf. "Turner's Camp on the Chippewa" [Laws C23] (theme)
cf. "Falling of the Pine" (theme)
cf. "Johnny Carroll's Camp" (theme)
cf. "Dans Les Chantiers (The Winter Camp)" (theme)
cf. "The Winter of '73 (McCullam Camp)" (theme)
cf. "Burns's Log Camp" (theme)
cf. "Bunkhouse Ballad" (theme)
cf. "Winter Desires" (theme)
cf. "Hall's Lumber Crew" (theme)
cf. "Peaslee's Lumber Crew" (structure)
cf. "Dempsey's Lumber-Camp Song" (theme)
cf. "Trimble's Crew" (theme, tune)
cf. "Poupore's Shanty Crew" (theme, tune)
cf. "The Oxen Song" (theme)
cf. "The Boys at Ninety-Five" (theme)
cf. "The Fisherman Yankee Brown" (tune)
NOTES: Fowke states that this is derived from "Jim the Carter Lad." That they have shared verses is undeniable. I'm not quite as sure that this is a direct descendant.
Fowke lists her unique text "Hurry Up, Harry" as a separate song, and Roud surprisingly consents (#4363) -- but it has the same form and many of the same lyrics as this piece; the only substantial difference is the addition of the chorus "So it's hurry up, Harry, and Tom or Dick or Joe....  (and even that shows up in the verses of some versions such as Gardner/Chickering and Cazden et al). I'd still call it the same song, at least until someone finds a version other than LaRena Clark's. - RBW
Peacock: "For a marine variant with the same tune see... The Herring Gibbers, [which 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
Much of logging camp routine was determined by the climate and seasons. It was easier to cut trees when the sap was not running, so the camps were active during the winter; this also let them run the logs downstream in the spring when the water levels were higher. This had the final benefit that it let some of the loggers farm during the summer. But it did mean that life in camp was rather limited in its possibilities. - RBW
File: Doe210
===
NAME: Lumbering Boy: see Harry Dunn (The Hanging Limb) [Laws C14] (File: LC14)
===
NAME: Lumbering Boys, The: see The Jam on Gerry's Rock [Laws C1] (File: LC01)
===
NAME: Lumberjack, The
DESCRIPTION: Recitation; the speaker praises the character of lumberjacks, despite their rough-hewn ways.
AUTHOR: Probably Marion Ellsworth
EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Beck)
KEYWORDS: lumbering work nonballad recitation logger
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Beck 98, "The Lumberjack" (1 text)
Roud #8879
NOTES: This, like the other pieces probably written by Ellsworth, does not seem to have entered oral tradition. - PJS
File: Be098
===
NAME: Lumberjack's Revival: see Silver Jack [Laws C24] (File: LC24)
===
NAME: Lumberman in Town, The
DESCRIPTION: "When the lumberman comes down, Ev'ry pocket bears a crown, And he wanders, some pretty girl to find." He stays at a fine inn till his money is gone, whereupon he regretfully returns to the woods. (When he is old, he marries a young girl who mocks him)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939
KEYWORDS: logger work drink marriage age
FOUND_IN: US(NE) Canada(Ont)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Lomax-FSUSA 51, "The Lumberman in Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke-Lumbering #44, "When the Shantyboy Comes Down" (1 text plus a fragment, 1 tune)
Fowke/MacMillan 28, "When the Shantyboy Comes Down" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST LxU051 (Partial)
Roud #4374
File: LxU051
===
NAME: Lumberman's Alphabet, The: see The Logger's Alphabet (File: Doe207)
===
NAME: Lumberman's Life, The: see The Shantyman's Life (I) (File: Doe211)
===
NAME: Lupe: see Charlotte the Harlot (III) (File: EM169B)
===
NAME: Lurgan Town (I)
DESCRIPTION: The singer steps up to a girl and tries to court her. She says she is pledged to Jamie. He says Jamie died in China, and shows the (broken) ring he gave her. She laments, and curses her parents who exiled him. He reveals that he is Jamie; they get married
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love separation reunion brokentoken exile soldier
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H563, p. 316, "Lurgan Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #6871
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. esp. "John (George) Riley (I)" [Laws N36] and references there
File: HHH563
===
NAME: Lurgan Town (II)
DESCRIPTION: Catholic Inspector Hancock has changed Lurgan. You'd be jailed two days for singing an Orange song. He keeps the Fenian meetings safe. The police come to our dance and dance the girls to Garryowen. He breaks up an Orange demonstration on July 12.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (OLochlainn-More)
KEYWORDS: discrimination Ireland political police dancing
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
OLochlainn-More 54, "Lurgan Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
OrangeLark 21, "Lurgan Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #6870
NOTES: OLochlainn-More: "The ballad was occasioned by the unpopular appointment of a Catholic Inspector of Police in Lurgan, Co. Armagh."
July 12 celebrates the Battle of the Boyne, 1690. When Hancock breaks up the demonstration, says the song, "We turned, shook hands, all we could do Was say 'Boys remember the Boyne water!'" - BS
File: OLcM054
===
NAME: Lurgy Stream, The (The Lurgan/Leargaidh Stream)
DESCRIPTION: The singer arrives in the country and sees a beautiful woman by the (Lurgy) stream. He asks her to marry him and come across the seas. She turns him down. He promises to be true, and tries again. She rejects him again. He mopes and leaves home
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love courting rejection beauty
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
SHenry H65a, pp. 293-294, "Alt[i]mover Stream" (1 text, 1 tune); H229a+b, p. 360-361, "The Lurgan Stream" (2 texts, 1 tune. The two texts are probably different redactions of the same original)
McBride 52, "The Lurgy Stream" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #6881 and 6889
RECORDINGS:
Mary Anne Connelly, "Lurgan Stream" (on Voice15, IRHardySons)
NOTES: McBride: "This is another Donegal song, popular in many parts of Ireland, especially the northern parts. Versions of this song were made famous in the earlier half of this century through recordings made in America by people like John McGettigan. Old 78 rpm records were sent home to the kinfolk by emigrants." - BS
File: HHH229
===
NAME: Lusitania, The
DESCRIPTION: Lusitania sails from New York for Ireland. "Three thousand souls she had on board ... Until those cruel German dogs, for her they lay unseen, And shattered her to fragments with their cursed submarine" Vanderbilt gives his life-belt to a mother.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1948 (Ranson)
KEYWORDS: drowning sea ship wreck sailor war
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 7, 1915: "At lunchtime ... a torpedo from U-20 struck the _Lusitania_. A further explosion rent the ship and she sank in two hours with the loss of 1200 lives" (source: Bourke in _Shipwrecks of the Irish Coast_ v1, pp. 117-118)
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Ranson, p. 76, "The Lusitania" (1 text)
Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan 2, "The Lusitania" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7349
RECORDINGS:
Tom Lenihan, "The Lusitania" (on IRTLenihan01)
NOTES: The _Lusitania's_ tragic story tells a great deal about the peculiar circumstances of the early twentieth century. The British, though long known for their merchant fleet, were losing the edge in passenger service, especially high-speed passenger service; the German lines NDL and HAPAG were taking over the market (see Ramsey, pp. 5-8. For references, see the bibliography at the end of this note). Britain had only three companies competing in this market, Inman, White Star, and Cunard. Inman had sold out in the late nineteenth century, and J. P. Morgan by the early twentietThe _Lusitania's_ tragic story tells a great deal about the peculiar circumstances of the early twentieth century. The British, though long known for their merchant fleet, were losing the edge in passenger service, especially high-speed passenger service; the German lines NDL and HAPAG were taking over the market (see Ramsey, pp. 5-8. For references, see the bibliography at the end of this note). Britain had only three companies competing in this market, Inman, White Star, and Cunard. Inman had sold out in the late nineteenth century, and J. P. Morgan by the early twentieth century owned the remnants of Inman and was controlling the White Star Line (Brinnin, p. 325; Ramsey, p. 12); Brinnin, p. 328, and Barczewski, p. 260, note that he was sniffing after Cunard as well, hoping to create a dominating transatlantic cartel.
To top it all off, the German lines were in alliance with their government (Ramsey, p. 10) and had a working arrangement with Morgan (Brinnin, pp. 325-327).
Cunard had long built its reputation on an amazing safety record (no passengers lost, *ever*; see Brinnin, pp. 272, 275, etc.; Preston, p. 62), but now, seeing its position drastically affected, it had little choice but to get into the alliance game itself. Dangling the threat of a Morgan takeover, they negotiated with the British government (Brinnin, pp. 328-331), and came away with a big subsidy in return for rights to requisition Cunard ships in event of war. The first ships to come under this arrangement were the _Caronia_ and _Carmania_ -- but the real prize, for Cunard, was an agreement to build two fast liners that could be requisitioned and converted to auxiliary cruisers. These were the _Lusitania_ and her sister the _Mauretania_.
It was a difficult task to design such ships; PeekeEtAl, p. 4, notes that the designers were called upon to combine "the bottom third of the latest Admiralty design for a heavy cruiser [with] the top two-thirds of a super-liner." It didn't work; they ended up having to widen the beam (and, as we shall see, the result still wasn't as stable as a slower ship).
There were other interesting "naval" touches -- e.g. the equipment on her bridge was similar to that used on navy ships rather than civilian vessels, to make it easier for naval crewmen to use her should she be taken over (PeekeEtAl, p. 23).
When she was launched in 1907, the 30,396 ton _Lusitania_ was the largest ship afloat, capable of over 26 knots for brief spells (Ramsey, p. 24). She soon won the Blue Riband for fastest transatlantic crossing, making the trip in less than five days and averaging almost 24 knots for the entire trip (Ramsey, pp. 27-28). She thus became the first-ever "four day ship" (Brinnin, p. 342). The only ship to compete with her in speed was her sister _Mauretania_, which proved to be ever so slightly faster and in fact held the Blue Riband for an incredible 22 years (Brinnin, p. 344). _Mauretania_ also managed the incredible feat of completing all her crossings over a long period in a time that varied by only about ten minutes (Brinnin, p. 345).
(We should note that a misconception found in many histories is false. The _Lusitania_ and _Mauretania_ were *not* the fastest ships in the world -- contrary even to an assertion made by _Lusitania's_ crew to her passengers in 1915; see Simpson, p. 112. The sisters were the fastest *liners*, but by 1915, there were all sorts of ships capable of catching her. Taking the data in _Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I_, the 1912 battlecruiser _Tiger_ could reach 28 knots, the 1913 light cruisers of the _Aurora_ class averaged about 28, and the 1911 "K" class destroyers hit 31 knots. Even the battleships of the _Queen Elizabeth_ class could reach 24-25 knots. And ships with an even higher turn of speed were produced during the war. Germany had no _Queen Elizabeths_, but they had battlecruisers and destroyers that could catch _Lusitania_ and _Mauretania_. It's just that their submarines couldn't. Nor would any knowledgeable person have denied the existence of faster ships; even her builders at the time of her launching claimed only that he could move "at a speed only previously accomplished by a torpedo boat destroyer"; PeekeEtAl, p. 16).
Apart from being fast, the sisters was also allowed passengers luxuries never before seen (and not to be matched until White Star produced the _Olympic_ and _Titanic_ four years later). They used electricity for many functions previously done by hand or hydraulically, and their cabins were half again as large as previous liners (Brinnin, p. 342). As designed, the _Lusitania_ had four boiler rooms and capacity for 552 first class passengers, 460 second class, 1186 third class, and 827 crew (Ramsey, p. 25). 
There were a few glitches in the basic design. As originally built, _Lusitania_ vibrated so badly at high speed that she had to be taken in for a major refit (Ballard, p. 22; Preston, p. 62). The repairs succeeded, for the most part, but they perhaps indicated some structural problems -- PeekeEtAl, pp. 25-26, says that the problem was the lack of decent reduction gearing to allow fast-running turbines to drive the screw propellers (which operate better at a lower rotation rate) at a reasonable speed. Other than that, the ship performed better than expectations in every regard.
Reading PeekEtAl, though, I can't help but note how much time she spent in the dock, getting new screws, having her turbine blades repaired, or having the structure reworked -- just generally being fiddled with. Not the best testimony to her strength of design.
Despite her design problems, _Lusitania_ was in many ways a stronger ship than her slightly later contemporary, the _Titanic_; _Titanic_ had only 16 watertight cells, _Lusitania_ 34 (Ballard, p. 23). Unlike _Titanic_, she was pretty close to iceberg-proof.
But, of course, she never ran into an iceberg. The surprise was that she proved so vulnerable to man-made attack. This was a at least partly due to the many demands placed on her design. A 1907 heavy cruiser had a displacement in the 14,000 ton range. Lusitania was over twice that. Which meant a lot of boilers, which had to run most of the width of the ship, as did the coal bunkers. The boiler rooms and bunkers were so large that, if flooded, they would cost the ship most of its buoyancy. The only solution was "longitudinal bulkheads" -- that is, instead of a full honeycomb, with from one to three bulkheads along the length of the ship and assorted bulkheads across the width, in the area of the boilers and bunkers, the rooms took up nearly the whole width of the ship, with only small compartments to the port and starboard sides for additional protection (PeekeEtAl, pp. 6-7). The arrangement really was iceberg-proof -- but if, somehow, one of those longitudinal bulkheads was breached, it meant that the ship would lose power and also would run the risk of sinking. If hit just wrong, so that two such bulkheads were breached, she would almost certainly sink.
And there was more. To keep the ship moving at full speed required huge amounts of coal. And the only place to put it, given that the rest of the ship was spoken for, was in the longitudinal bunkers. Which meant cutting doors in the wall. And it turns out that they were almost impossible to close, once opened, because of all the coal and coal dust in them. This wasn't considered a major concern at the time; the designers had thought of icebergs, and plunging shellfire -- but not torpedo hits below the waterline (PeekeEtAl, p. 7).
It's also worth noting that _Lusitania_ wasn't really suited to be a warship, despite the gun mountings built into her original design (which were actually fitted at a refit in 1913; PeekeEtAl, p. 37); to achieve her high speed, she was very long and lean. This meant that she (and _Mauretania_ as well) was not particularly stable; in heavy weather, the bow could pitch wildly into the air, then bury itself in the seas; she was a very "wet" ship (Barczewski, p. 261). This would have made her a poor gun platform; battleships in particular tend to be very broad of beam, to help keep the guns on target. Indeed, the Admiralty soon after the start of the War refitted the _Carmania_ as an auxiliary cruiser, and she succeeded in sinking a German refitted liner, the _Cap Trafalgar_ -- but the experiment showed how ineffective the _Carmania_ was as a warship (Brinnin, pp. 407-409, tells of the battle, which resulted in severe damage to the _Carmania_ as well; both ships needed dozen of hits to sink their opponents. Brinnin, p. 410, calls it a "Gilbert and Sullivan gunfight.").
This should probably have been obvious all along. Most converted liners -- "auxiliary cruisers" -- were armed with guns in the four inch to six inch range, with no more than twelve fitted, and obviously none of them centerline mounted. This meant that most liners would have offensive power somewhere between a destroyer and a weak light cruiser (and without a destroyer's antisubmarine weapons).  But the liner needed at least as many men as a light cruiser, was slower than some cruisers and all destroyers, and burned more coal. Armed merchant cruisers weren't useful offensive weapons. The Admiralty largely abandoned the idea of arming the luxury liners; they just weren't effective enough for the task (Preston, p. 386).
The plans for the _Lusitania_ apparently specified a dozen six inch guns (Ramsey, p. 188). The _Lusitania_ would have been in the light cruiser range, but unarmored and making a much bigger target. Nor would there have been a good place for a gun platform to centrally direct the guns.
That didn't mean the Admiralty wouldn't use the liners, though. Britain had a lot of soldiers to move, and a lot of freight to haul, and liners were excellent for the first function and could be refitted to do the latter also. _Lusitania_ would be one of the ships so modified.
It's at this point that things get a little murky. That _Lusitania_ underwent a refit is certain. But many claims have been made about what was done during the refit. Simpson, pp. 27-28, claims that she actually was given guns at this time during a dockyard stay beginning August 8 (pretty amazing, given that the war had started only four days earlier).
But even Simpson allows that she never sailed as an auxiliary cruiser (p. 37), and seems to admit that she never went out armed. A member of the expedition of John Light, who dived to the ship in the 1960s, thought he saw guns (O'Sullivan, p. 36) -- but he worked in very bad conditions, in which mistakes were quite possible (Preston, pp. 386-387); O'Sullivan admits that "to date nothing has been found to substantiate his claims." The passengers' accounts uniformly denied seeing weapons (Preston, p. 387), even though at least one specifically searched for them (Preston, pp. 133). A few paranoids have suggested that she carried guns in her holds which could be put into the gun rings when needed -- but this is simply ridiculous; you don't take 6" guns and casually haul them up an elevator and drop them in a gun mounting. And even if you did, the guns would need to be calibrated (Ramsey, p. 188).
Ramsey, pp. 186-192, documents how the story that she was armed arose, but also shows why it is false. Even if you doubt the British records, Ballard's exploration (much more thorough than Light's) would have shown guns on her decks, and evidence of secondary explosions from her shells, and it showed neither.
So what was the Admiralty doing to _Lusitania_ during the refit? Primarily converting her to carry more cargo. They opened out some passenger space for storage and other purposes (Ramsey, p. 36; PeekeEtAl, p. 43), incidentally affecting her stability somewhat and worsening that pesky vibration (Ramsey, p. 39; Simpson, p. 45). It also caused significant inconvenience for the passengers. But the navy left her in merchant service, though it began to control her route, schedule, and loading (Preston, p. 64; PeekeEtAl, p. 43).
This was actually against Cunard's wishes. With the war on, transatlantic traffic fell dramatically. _Lusitania_ didn't have enough passengers to make a profit (PeekeEtAl, p. 43, estimates a two thousand pound loss per trip), but the admiralty wouldn't let her change her schedule; they wanted her bringing supplies. The government's only promises were to continue the subsidy to the ships, to pay for cargo space, and to insure the ship (Simpson, p. 38). The admiralty would determine her course and sailing time.
It was a recipe for big losses. The only answer Cunard could find was to close down one of her four boiler rooms (to save coal; Ballard, pp. 30-31, and also to reduce the number of stokers needed; Simpson, p. 85). The shut-down of the boilers allowed her to roughly break even despite the reduced passenger load, but it also reduced her speed significantly (to about 21 knots; PeekeEtAl, p. 44) -- and all that time spent fiddling around also reduced her efficiency and caused some of her equipment to deteriorate (Ramsey. p. 51).
Therre does not seem to have been any fear at the time that a submarine would attack her; the Germans did not start unrestricted submarine warfare until later, and in any case, no submarine had sunk a ship moving faster than 14 knots (Preston, p. 93), and she would still easily exceed that. There had been a story that, early in the war, she was chased by a German cruiser -- a story which Simpson accepts. But PeekeEtAl, p. 42, shows that this simply did not happen.
The war didn't just cause the _Lusitania_ to change what she carried and how she sailed. It also cost her most of her more experienced crew; the sailors ended up in the navy and some of the stewards and such were in the army. Their replacements were inexperienced (Simpson, p. 102, says that she managed to find only 41 able seamen for the last trip, though she was supposed to have at least 77), and such crew as could be found had a significant tendency to desert upon reaching New York (Ballard, p. 59). Some spoke poor English, and few knew their way around the ship.
It was not a good combination should there be an emergency. And as for lowering the boats -- well, unlike the _Titanic_ three years earlier, they had boat drills, but a passenger reported that they involved only two boats, and even those were not actually lowered (Ballard, p. 63; Preston, p. 131, and PeekeEtAl, p. 58, describe a few crew members simply climbing into a selected boat and then getting out -- PeekeEtAl, pp. 58-59 argues that this was about all that could have been done, since the boats could not be lowered while the ship was moving, but surely the passengers could at least have been shown how to board). Obviously the crew and passengers would not be ready in the event of disaster. (Simpson, p. 102, is of the opinion that the crew simply lied about her disaster preparedness; PeekeEtAl, p. 59, thinks the boat drills were solely to reassure the passengers.)
Topping it all off, _Lusitania's_ schedule was reduced to one round trip per month, making it harder for the crew to become accustomed to their tasks (Ballard, p. 208).
During the war, the ship continued to run primarily passengers, but she did carry some war-related cargo on her final voyages. (The British naturally concealed some of this until after the war, contributing to Simpson's air of paranoia.) O'Sullivan, p. 117, notes that under American law "no vessel could legally sail with any explosives likely to endanger the health or lives of passengers or the safety of the vessel."
The question, of course, is whether her cargo did in fact violate the American rules. It appears, contrary to O'Sullivan, that it did not. Just what she was carrying on her last trip is slightly uncertain; some of it was munitions -- some four million rifle cartridges (Hoehling, p. 96,calls them practice cartridges, but mot sources seem to think they were for ordinary military use) and 5000 3-inch shells (Ramsey, p. 56). Ballard, p. 27, notes that these were considered legitimate items to transport on a passenger liner even in wartime, since they were not explosive (cf. O'Sullivan, p. 133; Preston, pp. 368-369, which has some of the court evidence on the matter). Brinnin, p. 422, observes that the shell casings were not loaded with explosives (they were "filled," i.e. the shrapnel had been loaded -- but shrapnel is not itself explosive; O'Sullivan, pp. 131-132. The actual charges would be installed in England).
This has actually been verified; a handful of unfilled fuses have been brought up from the wreck (Preston, p. 389), and the measurement of the weight of the shells shows they were unfilled (Preston, p. 390).
Simpson observes that the British were playing a bit fast and loose with cargo manifests at the time. In effect, they submitted one well in advance with her "standard" cargo, then another with last-minute changes. Not too surprisingly, most of the last-minute changes involved perishable items like food -- given Britain's need for foodstuffs, the local buyers would naturally take whatever they could lay their hands on and find space for in the cargo holds (which had to be loaded very carefully, since the ship wasn't really designed for cargo-hauling and didn't have elevators or passages designed for freight). But it would presumably have been easy to slip in some contraband with the last-minute items.
A suspicious mind could have a field day with this. Simpson makes a great deal about 3863 large boxes of cheese (p. 105), which PeekeEtAl, p. 100, notes was unrefrigerated (though a cargo hold near the bottom of a ship in the North Atlantic needn't have been too hot, we should note. Cheese might well survive. There was, hwoever, also butter listed in the shipment, which sounds pretty strange). Stranger still was something listed on her cargo manifest as 205 barrels of oysters, which would certainly go bad before they could be distributed (Ramsey, p. 57). The obvious assumption was that they were actually military materials. The flip side is, even if those oysters were actually explosives (say), 205 barrels of explosives weren't going to change the outcome of the war. Others have questioned a consignment of furs -- but in fact some of the furs floated to shore after the wreck (Preston, p. 390).
The German government issued warnings in 1915 threatening unrestricted submarine attacks on "civilian" shipping sailing too close to the British Isles; one such message was published in a newspaper just as the Lusitania started her final run (Ramsey, p. 53; Ballard, p. 31, and Preston, p. 91, print a copy of the ad). Supposedly some of the passengers also received warnings, but these had an air of the crank about them (Ballard, p. 32; PeekeEtAl,p. 53, says that it was newspapermen seeking a story, not Germans, who sent them). Few changed their plans. Simpson, p. 114, claims there was a melancholy air about the passengers as they went aboard, but cites no source for this claim.
After all, the _Lusitania_, even with her speed reduced, was faster than any German submarine (her new cruising speed was about 18 knots, and she could still hit 21 in a pinch -- twice the speed of a submerged submarine, and at least five knots faster than a submarine on the surface), so no attempt was made to give her an escort (Paine, p. 311. Preston, p. 399, notes that there had been an attempt to give her an escort on a previous trip -- and, given the need for radio silence, the escort had never found her; cf. Ramsey, p. 245). Indeed, had she been given a naval escort, it would have made her a legitimate target in any reckoning.
On May 1, 1915 _Lusitania_ sailed from New York with nearly two thousand people on board. This was by no means a full load; she had only 291 passengers in first class (53% of capacity); there were 601 second class passengers (31% over capacity). Steerage was almost empty, with only 31% of berths filled: 373 out of 1186 possible (Ballard, p. 37). Nonetheless, it was the largest load of passengers she had had on the eastbound route since the start of the war (Preston, pp. 102-103). For some reason, the number of children was unusually high (Preston, p. 128).
To make things doubly unfortunate, the Germans had sent a number of submarines to the area where she was sailing; this, ironically, was in response to British disinformation: To mask the invasion of the Dardanelles, the British were trying to give the impression they would launch an amphibious assault on Germany. The Germans took the bait and sent submarines to try to interfere (Preston, p. 163).
On May 6, _Lusitania_ entered Germany's declared "war zone." The claims that she made no attempts to avoid her fate are, however, false; Ballard, p. 72, notes that she extinguished her lights at night, closed several watertight doors -- and swung out her boats, just in case (cf. PeekeEtAl, p. 62).
On the other hand, no orders were given to shut the portholes; many of them were apparently left open, and they probably caused the ship to flood even faster than she otherwise would have, and increased the list that was to make it so hard to lower the boats (Preston, p. 368).
And she did receive some warnings of submarines (PeekeEtAl, p. 63). It's just that they didn't describe how severe the danger was (fully 23 ships in the area had been sunk since _Lusitania_ left New York, including several sunk by _Lusitania's_ nemesis U-20; O'Sullivan, pp. 85-88, though this report is marred, e.g., by calling H. M. S. _Juno_ a "battle cruiser"; _Juno_ was a light cruiser from the 1890s, meaning that, rather than being one of the fanciest and newest ships in the fleet, she was a piece a junk the British would have been better off without. It's like calling a Yugo a Mercedes). The commander in Queenstown (Cobh), in fact, issued a specific advisory that a U-boat was operating off the south Irish coast (Preston, p. 166), and a specific order was given to make sure the _Lusitania_ was warned (Preston, p. 179; Hoehling, p. 100).
Other ships were warned in detail and redirected; _Lusitania_ was not (O'Sullivan, p. 87). Of course, _Lusitania_ was not expected to be anywhere near the Old Head of Kinsale at that time. Except -- she was.
In the absence of detailed knowledge of conditions in the area, Captain Turner chose to sail past Ireland at 18 knots; _Lusitania_ was big enough that he needed the right tide or a pilot to enter Liverpool, and he didn't want to have to sit around outside the bar, where he would be an even better U-boat target (Ballard, p. 78; Preston, p. 326). So he ignored what were claimed to be standing orders to proceed at full speed near harbors, to sail away from headlands, and to zigzag in the war zone (Ballard, p. 79), later claiming (probably with some truth) that the rules had not been made sufficiently clear. According to PeekeEtAl, pp. 83-84, while en route, he also was wirelessed a secret order to head to Queenstown (a fact which never came out during the inquiries, because it was secret -- according to PeekeEtAl, it was also hidden by the removal of the relevant page from the Admiralty's signal log.
It was unfortunate that the _Lusitania_ had encountered a lot of fog in the days before she reached the Irish coast (PeekeEtAl, pp. 67-68; Hoehling, p. 100). That left her dependent on dead reckoning. And the ship, when it left the fog, proved to be slightly off its dead reckoning position. Captain Turner, when he spotted Ireland, of course realized where he was (it was hard to mistake the Old Head of Kinsale, especially as it was marked by a lighthouse with a distinctive white-and-black paint job; PeekeEtAl, p. 70) -- but for some reason he ordered what is known as a "four point fix" to determine his exact location. That meant he had to sail a straight course for some 20 minutes while the fix was being taken (Preston, p. 185, with details on the fog spread over the preceding pages).
Ramsey, p.162, notes that "other captains had testified that an accurate position could be obtained by taking cross bearings in only three minutes." On pp. 284-285, he notes that it was usually accurate to within a mile, with current and wind being the main things which affected its accuracy. It was used in circumstances when only one landmark with a known location could be seen.
I can't help but note that the _Lusitania_ was 787 feet long. If accurate bearings were taken simultaneously from bow and stern, and the angles compared, there would have been a significant difference -- on the order of a degree if the estimated distance from the coast was correct. So, given proper equipment and crew, even the three minute course was not needed. If navigators hadn't developed the trig tables to perform that particular calculation, it was time they did so! The four point fix was surely the greatest gift Turner could possibly have given to an attacking vessel; what was he afraid of -- that Ireland had moved overnight? I have seen dozens of excuses for Turner, most of them valid -- but nothing can excuse the four point fix when the ship's position was adequately known.
Early in the afternoon of May 7, off the Kinsale coast not far from Queenstown, while taking the four point fix, _Lusitania_ encountered the U-20 under KapitanLeutenant (Lt. Commander) Walter Schwieger. By this time, the weather was clear and bright (Ramsay, p. 223), so the German had no trouble tracking the liner.
Schwieger had already had several run-ins with British merchant ships, and was low on torpedoes; he fired only one (some sources, including Marshall, p. 166, says there were two; it appears this was based on the first British investigation, for which see O'Sullivan, p. 122; this claimed two torpedo hits, one forward and one aft. This was presumably inspired by the fact witnesses agreed there were two explosions; cf. Ramsey, p. 269. The claim of two torpedoes was at various times affirmed but and retracted by Captain Turner -- Ramsey, p. 274; Preston, pp. 325, 402. Preston seems to think this was because Cunard wanted there to have been two torpedoes, presumably so they wouldn't look so bad, and the Admiralty also wanted two, because it would spare them having to explain a secondary explosion. A few passengers went so far as to claim three torpedoes; Preston, pp. 368, 402. The British investigation, of course, had no access to the German records showing only one torpedo -- the intelligence service may have known, but it wasn't talking -- so it may have seemed logical to assume two explosions meant two hits. It was nonetheless wrong).
In a major stroke of luck, that one torpedo hit _Lusitania_ squarely, and exploded properly (many German torpedoes at this time were duds -- Preston, p. 165, says that 60% misfired in one way or another), and caused a secondary explosion. The ship instantly started listing, and sank within 20 minutes (Paine, p. 311), relieving Schwieger of the need to decide whether to fire another torpedo (Ballard, p. 90). Indeed, he found the sight "too horrible to watch" (Brinnin, p. 420).
There has been much argument over whether the sinking was justified. Some, like Simpson, seem to think it entirely justified. Others think it a pure atrocity. The truth is surely somewhere in between: The ship *was* carrying military materials, and the Germans probably knew that -- though the submarine commander didn't; he supposedly didn't even know it was the _Lusitania_ at the time he fired -- but the ship was neither armed nor armored, and it could have been given proper notice and sunk after the boats were off. Indeed, it would have been more reasonable to stop her: She was clearly a target worth sinking, just based on her size, but the chances of one torpedo sinking such a big ship would ordinarily be small even if the torpedo hit -- and it would have been easier to hit her were she standing still. By stopping her, the crew of U-20 would have been much more certain to put her under, *plus* there would have been no risk to innocent lives. (Sez I. But back to our story....)
The speed with which the ship sank turned what could have been a relatively minor incident into a disaster. The crew began evacuating almost at once -- but it took time to round up the passengers and lower the boats. This was all the more problematic because the ship was listing so heavily; within minutes, it was difficult to walk or even stay balanced. It was also hard to lower the boats and keep passengers in them (Simpson, p. 22, claims that a list of five degrees -- which could be caused by only one compartment flooding -- would makes half her boats inoperable, and Preston, pp. 132-133, reports that Cunard had refused to install better davits when they upgraded her lifeboats after the _Titanic_ sinking).
Plus Turner apparently wouldn't let the boats be lowered until several minutes after it was clear _Lusitania_ was sinking (Preston, p. 215). His argument was that the ship was moving too fast to allow the boats to enter the water safely. This was obviously true for a few minutes, though the ship surely slowed rapidly. By the time he allowed the boats to go, the list was so severe that the portside boats could not be lowered without hitting the hull, at minimum damaging them and dumping passengers (PeekeEtAl, pp. 76-77, cites an example where a ship's officer was responsible for the carnage); many could not be launched at all (Preston, pp. 218, 220). Those on the starboard side, by contrast, swung far away from the ship and were difficult to enter (Preston, p. 219). In the end, only six boats made it to the water intact (PeekeEtAl, p. 78).
Many passengers never even made it to the deck; the ship's electrical system failed only minutes after the explosion (Ballard, p. 99; Preston, p. 209, says it took only four minutes for the power to go out as the boilers lost steam.PeekeEtAl, p. 74, attributes the quick failure to a decision by Captain Turner to order "full astern" to stop the ship -- an order caused the piping to blow off an end cap, probably because it caused certain damaged-and-not-easily-repaired valves to fail), so many below decks would have had no lights to guide them upward.
Worse, it took time for rescue to come. Although the authorities responded quickly, the ships they sent out were slow, and none had a wireless (Preston, p. 260). The _Juno_, which despite its age was the largest and fastest ship available, was called back as it would have made too vulnerable a U-boat target. (PeekeEtAl, p. 79. There had earlier been talk of sending her out as an escort, but she was withdrawn for the same reason; PeekeEtAl, pp. 59-60.) The decision not to send her probably added hundreds to the casualty list.
There were 764 survivors (Paine, p. 311; Ramsey, p. 94 says they consisted of 474 passengers and 290 crew). There were about 1200 casualties, though the number is slightly uncertain (Brinnin, p. 417, says it took months even to come up with a number). According to Keegan, p. 265; also Paine, p. 311, a total of 1201 lives were lost. On the other hand Marshall, p, 166, Barczewski, p. 289, Brinnin, p. 417, and O'Sullivan, p. 27 say that 1198 people were killed, which is also the figure we find if we subtract 764 from the 1962 people Ramsey claims were on board (p. 94). Simpson, p. 1, prefers the figure 1201, explaining on p. 9 that the figure of 1198 excludes three stowaways (!) not on the official passenger list; similarly Preston, p. 303, and  PeekeEtAl, p. 80. (The stowaways were thought to be German spies; PeekeEtAl, p. 55, tells of the capture of their cameras and reports, which were probably preserved though no one seems aware of what they revealsed). Ballard, p. 13, says that 1195 died.
Preston, p. 303, breaks this down: 785 of 1257 registered passengers were lost, and 413 out of 702 crew. She says 94 of 129 children were killed, including fully 35 of 39 infants (cf. PeekeEtAl, p. 80). Ramsey, p. 100, notes that Liverpool suffered particularly heavily, since it was Liverpool's home port. (There were riots throughout Britain, but those in Liverpool were among the worst; Ramsey, p. 102).
Most sources seem to agree that 128 of the victims were Americans (Ballard, p. 13, says there were 123 Americans; O'Sullivan, p. 89 gives the number as 140 but on p. 107 says there were 127 Americans), producing a diplomatic crisis (Preston, p. 311, talks of how the description "Hun" for the Germans became common at this time). Although the uproar did not at the time lead to war, Germany was forced for a time to back off from unrestricted submarine warfare.
The Vanderbilt of the song is Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, who died on the _Lusitania_ (though he wasn't one of the more famous Vanderbilts; his wealth was primarily inherited; Ballard, p. 32). According to Ramsey, p. 85, he did indeed give his lifebelt to a female passenger, Alice Middleton. (Though, in the salt water off Ireland, the real threat was not drowning but hypothermia -- the water temperature was about 53F/11C; Preston, p. 249 -- or being washed away from land. And a person with no training in water might drown despite the fact that his body would float.) Ballard, p. 116, reports that Vanderbilt made no effort to save himself (he could not swim); his body was never found.
Indeed, Brinnin, p. 425, says some 900 bodies were not recovered; either they were swept out to sea or they went down to the ship. Sadly, as with the _Titanic_ disaster, there are reports of passengers already in boats refusing to help those who were not (Preston, p. 250).
Brinnin's comment (p. 421) may help explain the notoriety of what happened: "Dresden, Hiroshima, Biafra, My Lai [to which we might now add Armenia, Bosnia, 9/11, Iraq, Darfur....] -- after [these and] all the other names and instances of the murderous course of the middle years of the twentiety century, it is all but impossible to recapture, even to understand, the sense of outrage, 'the universal shout of execration,' generated by the sinking of the _Lusitania_."
There was of course an inquiry held after the sinking, but it being wartime, very little was done to punish Cunard or the captain and crew for sloppiness; instead, the blame was placed squarely on the Germans. _Lusitania_ became just another atrocity story, used to inflame American opinion against Germany, causing the Germans to temporarily abandon unrestricted submarine warfare.
It is interesting to observe that, although the Germans briefly celebrated the sinking of the _Lusitania_, they later quieted down. And, when it came time to publish the U-20's war log, skipper Schwieger signed off on every page except for May 7 (Preston, p. 314). There is also evidence that the record was fiddled with and even "humanized" (Preston, pp. 416-418; she calls the record "institutional afterthoughts"). Sadly, we do not know what Schwieger originally wrote; the original log has perished, and we have only the official transcription. Plus he died in the course of the war; the U-20 was later sunk (with the wreck being discovered in 1984; Hoehling, p. 119), and Schwieger died in the U-88 in 1917.
O'Sullivan's chapter on the aftermath of the sinking is entitled "The Sham Tribunals." A sham they obviously were in that it was certain the Germans would be blamed for sinking the ship (though it can hardly be denied that they did so!). But they could at least have sought to find out what else went wrong -- and they didn't. O'Sullivan accuses the Admiralty of suppressing evidence (pp. 118-121), offering several particulars but not documenting any of them -- but it must be confessed that the tribunal, at least in its open sessions, skipped over a lot of important material. And the Admiralty made sure that certain information was not revealed in open court (Preston, p. 320) -- though this is hardly surprising in a period of wartime secrecy.
They were a sham in another sense, too, in that one of the parties tried to fix the outcome. It seems certain that the Admiralty was out to "get" Captain Turner.  O'Sullivan accuses the Admiralty of making Turner the scapegoat; p. 115. Preston, pp. 316-319, 325-327, 403, documents the case the Admiralty built against Turner, sometimes on flimsy evidence; she notes on p. 405 that he probably did not recieve some of the orders allegedly sent to him. Even the pro-British Ramsey notes that the Admiralty, not Cunard, was getting most of the blame in the press (Ramsey, p. 113), so the officers were determined to find someone else to suffer the odium.
PeekeEtAl, p. 82, say explicitly, "Reading the collective correspondence in its original, unedited state would have made it abundanrly clear to anyone that Captain Turner... had followed his Admiralty instructions to the letter. This is why Oliver and Webb were now busily 'tailoring' the Admiralty signals register...."
In fact, PeekeEtAl, p. 84, says that Turner was shown the evidence against him, which made it clear that it was being faked -- and yet Turner somehow didn't do anything to protest or correct the record. According to PeekeEtAl, p. 88-89, Turner was saved only because there were two different editions of the evidence against Turner (Ramsey, p. 148), and when Lord Mersey discovered this, he realized what was going on and effectively halted the hearings. And since there was a government change at this time, the Admiralty was shaken up and no longer needed a scapegoat as much, so they let things drop.
Mersey's conclusion was that Turner may have ignored Admiralty advice, but he consistently obeyed his actual orders (PeekeEtAl, p. 90).
Mersey retired as Receiver of Wrecks shortly thereafter, and preserved the documents needed to show what happened.
The tribunal's final conclusion was all of two paragraphs long, "placing the entire blame for the disaster on Germany" (Ramsey, p. 154), with a ten-page addendum exonerating everybody in sight (Preston, p. 330).
In defence of Captain Turner, we should probably note that, although very experienced overall, and a former captain of the _Lusitania_, he had little wartime experience on the refitted _Lusitania_; her previous captain, David Dow, had had something of a breakdown shortly before the final voyage (Preston, p. 110; PeekeEtAl, p. 48). Turner in fact sent a number of letters complaining of the _Lusitania's_ state, and saying he would not sail her again unless the problems were repaired.
On the other hand, these problems do not appear to have contributed to her demise (except perhaps for a minor problem with her ballasting). And Turner had told a reporter before the sailing, "It's the best joke I've heard in many days, this talk of torpedoing the_Lusitania_" (Preston, p. 108). He may have simply been trying to calm nervous potential passengers -- but it sounds like complacency. Especially since he generally disliked having anything to do with the passengers, whom he once called "bloody monkeys" (Preston, p. 108). In fact, Turner requested the services of an assistant in this regard; he was assigned Staff Captain John Anderson to deal with the passengers (PeekeEtAl, pp. 50-51).
Even if we accept that Turner followed his orders exactly, there is still the idiocy of the four point fix. And it also came out during the investigations that Turner had not ordered the passengers to learn how to put on their life belts. And the belts had to be fitted properly to work -- and, with many of the passengers being non-English speakers, it proved impossible to instruct them at the last moment (Preston, pp. 206-207, describes some of the problems it caused. Several passengers would die from wearing the belts wrong), nor he had ordered them to wear them, or even keep them close at hand, in the danger zone (Ballard, p. 132). Many would die because they could not find their belts.
And, of course, Turner had not ordered adequate boat drills (Ballard, p. 135; Preston, p. 325, in fact reports that Turner said in open court that his crew was not proficient in handling boats, to which he added a grumble about the crews available in 1915 compared to those in his youth. PeekeEtAl, p. 57, tells of him challenging his officers to tie a knot he had learned to tie aboard a sailing vessel in his youth. All of them being trained for steam, only one knew how. Turner really does sound like he was still living in the nineteenth century). Nor had the ship's daily newsletter told the passengers anything useful (Preston, p. 183).
Preston, p. 406, notes that the passengers would have taken ill to boat drills and lifebelt practice -- even though the lifebelts were a new, tricky model that even many experienced travelers would not have known how to use. That the passengers would have resented the drills is likely enough. I can't see how this justifies not having them, though.
I can't help but think, reading Captain Turner's responses at the inquiries, that he sounds like a senile old man. Preston notes that his answers were monosyllables, and that "He seemed anxious and, on occasion, confused" (Pretson, p. 326). Admittedly he had just lost his ship, which might account for his befuddled state (Preston suggests post-traumatic stress, and the description in PeekeEtAl, p. 79, certainly sounds like it) -- but his behavior *before* the sinking, if not befuddled, is certainly inexplicable.
Presumably Turner could no more believed that the Germans would attack without warning than could the passengers. He was, more or less, exonerated (Preston, p. 404).
To put this in perspective: A similar tribunal, under the same man (Lord Mersey) had earlier investigated the _Titanic_ sinking, and had exonerated Captain Smith of sailing too fast in an ice zone.
My personal verdict on Turner would have to be, Not guilty of malice or criminal intent, but much, much too casual. In light of that, the failure of Lord Mersey's tribunal to blame anyone but the Germans may have been unfortunate, since Captain Turner was given another ship -- which also ended up being torpedoed and sunk (Ballard, p. 137). Turner again survived, but apparently that finally caused authorities to put him on the beach.
Captain Turner retired from the sea in 1919 and died in 1933 at the age of 76. His marriage had ended decades earlier, and he became a near-recluse (Preston, p. 431). Reportedly he claimed that he had not been given a "fair deal" (Preston, p. 432), claiming e.g. that he had never been instructed to zigzag.
Few of my sources really talk about theeffects of zigzagging (probably because the authors are not mathematicians) -- e.g. Ramsey, in discussing it on pp. 224-225, merely says that it was costly, since it used more fuel, and would be uncomfortable for the passengers.
This is certainly true is the ship had gone through the sorts of sudden turns, of up to ninety degrees, recommended by the Admiralty for navy ships. But smaller turns would not be so bad. And they might well have saved the ship.
There is much we don't know about the geometry of the _Lusitania_ and the _U-20_. Schweiger (quoted by Ramsey, p. 81, and implicitly by Preston, p. 191) estimated the distance at 700 meters. If anything, he probably estimated low, since the _Lusitania_ was bsurely igger than he expected. Nonetheless, PeekeEtAl, p. 72, give the distance as 550 meters. The Lusitania was moving at 18 knots, or about 9 meters per second. I've seen estimates that place the torpedo's speed as high as 38 knots, or 20 m/sec, but fromeverything else I've read, a speed more on the order of 18 m/sec is more likely. That means the approximate time from firing to impact was about 40 seconds.
The best guess is that Schweiger's torpedo hit somewhere around the boundary between #1 and #2 boiler rooms. Both flooded, which wasenough to sink the ship.
If the _Lusitania_ had changed course by 15 degrees at the moment the torpedo was fired -- a course that surely would not have caused the passengers too much discomfort -- the hit would have been about 15 meters further forward, taking out #1 boiler room but possibly reducing the damage to #2 enough that the ship, even if she sank, would at least have gone down more slowly, allowing better evacuation. Had _Lusitania_ turned 30 degrees at the time the torpedo was fired, the hit would have been 50 meters forward, and she might have been saved, since only boiler room #1 would have been threatened. Had _Lusitania_ turned 45 degrees, the strike would have been 110 meters forward, and she certainly would have lived; she might not even have been hit. Even if she had started a hard turn just 15 seconds before impact, she probably would have taken the impact only to boiler room 1, and she would have slowed down more rapidly, reducing the water inflow slightly and also making evacuation safer. Thus the straight course of the four point fix was a major cause of the disaster.
I would add that, though Turner was certainly guilty of taking the four point fix, which was the final cause of the disaster, he was not the first cause. The Admiralty certainly bears blame on several grounds. (Hardly a surprise, given its disastrous disorganization; there really was no central coordinating authority short of the First Sea Lord, who simply could not do everything; Ramsey, pp. 233, 250-251, etc.) The information sent to the _Lusitania_ and to Turner was probably inadequate. But the real problem was their penny-pinching and limitations of the _Lusitania's schedule_. The crew's desperate lack of experience was largely due to this niggling. Had they paid enough, they could either have sailed the ship more regularly, allowing the crew to gain experience -- or they could have kept the crew on duty while the _Lusitania_ sat in port, allowing them to practice with the boats. This was something Cunard could not afford to do on its own.
The bad crew also may have contributed to actual torpedo hit. We know that a watchman, Leslie Morton, saw the torpedo long before it hit (Ramsey, p. 82, etc.). Had he not been an untrained nitwit who failed to pass the message to the bridge, the ship would have had a few more seconds to avoid the torpedo -- which, as the geometry shows, might have saved boiler room #2 and the ship. But Morton was an untrained 18-year-old who hesitated, shouted a message into the communicator, and ran off to find his brother without even making sure his message was heard. Best guess is that it wasn't.
On the other hand, the Admiralty can hardly be faulted for failing to provide a destroyer to escort her. Destroyers were in short supply, and at this time, destroyers did not have sonar or radar or any other means of detecting submarines except to see them or their torpedoes. Even in World War II, when sonar was universal and radar coming into use, destroyers didn't keep U-boats from sinking the vessels they escorted; they just made them more miserable afterward. There is little reason to think an escort would have saved _Lusitania_.
There would later be an American court case (Preston, pp. 366-370); this didn't really bring out much in the way of new facts, but it supported the claim that the _Lusitania_ was not an actual warship: the plaintiffs admitted that the ship was not armed, that she was not carrying Canadian troops (something alleged because of the curious coincidence that a lot of the passengers listed Canadian addresses; Ramsey, p. 195), and some lesser points supporting the contention that she was not a legitimate target.
Unlike the other great disaster of the period, _Lusitania's_ transatlantic rival the _Titanic_, the _Lusitania_ went down in relatively shallow waters, and the wreck was visited as early as the 1930s. But it wasn't until the late twentieth century that Ballard really investigated the wreck with adequate equipment.
The question of why she sank has long been a topic of controversy: What caused the second explosion, which most passengers thought the larger of the two? Many have speculated that it was in fact an explosion of war materials she had secretly taken aboard (Ballard, p. 14; Preston, p. 448). Against this is Captain Turner's testimony; he said that there was no cargo near the area where (he thought) the torpedo hit. Ballard's exploration also argues against this; he notes on p. 151 that there was only one hole in her hull. The second explosion, then, did not do further damage to the exterior, but damaged the interior and destroyed her watertight integrity. It is Ballard's belief, based on the opening in the hull and the distribution of coal around her grave, that the second explosion was caused by coal dust: Since the ship was nearing her destination, her bunkers were relatively empty, except for dust. The torpedo sent the dust up into the air, and then sparked it, and the explosion of all the coal was what brought the ship down (Ballard, p. 195). (We should note, however, that PeekeEtAl, p. 93, argue that Ballard's exploration did not turn up facts sufficient to justify his conclusions, and Ramsey, pp. 209-210, also doubts this, on the grounds that no similar instanecs of coal dust explosions are recorded.)
O'Sullivan, pp. 134-136, holds out for an explosion caused by powdered aluminum (which can attract oxygen from water, causing the leftover hydrogen to burn). There was aluminum in the cargo -- a lot of it -- though it, unlike the coal, was carefully packagaed. And aluminum, even if powdered (as O'Sullivan says it was, though he as usual does not cite a source) is certainly a legitimate cargo. Ramsey, p. 209, offers strong evidence that this is not the case -- while fine-ground aluminum can produce an explosive flash, coarser particles are more likely to simply burn, and 1915 aluminum powder was not very finely ground.
Another possibility is that her boilers blew up (Preston, pp. 451-452) -- not an unusual occurence in ships of this period; it was part of what had caused the _Atlantic_ tragedy forty-odd years earlier. But there wasn't much time for that to happen.
After examining all of these theories, and noting their weaknesses, Preston, pp. 452-454, argues for a failure of her steam lines -- or even a series of failures, perhaps accounting for the quick failure of the electrical system and the fact that the second explosion seemed to be heard everywhere; it may have been several explosions.
Under any of these theories, it is an "industrial accident" (O'Sullivan, p. 137).
Arguing against this are PeakeEtAl, p. 103, who argue that the torpedo hit was in the vicinity of the ammunition the ship carried, and that the ammo caused the second explosion, blowing out many bulkheads. Sadly, because the ship settled on its starboard side, we cannot entirely disprove this (if we could see the hole of the explosion, we could observe whether the metal is twisted inward or outward), but unless there were hidden munitions, I frankly don't see how enough explosive could go up at any given moment to cause damage exceeding that of the torpedo hit.
Preston, p. 443, notes that the corridors in passenger liners were often smaller than in other ships, meaning that the pressure wave from the explosion(s) could not dissipate as easily as in a cargo ship. This would have increased the damage in the area of the torpedo hit. Her ultimate conclusion is that the torpedo hit in just about the worst possible spot, and the _Lusitania_ simply wasn't designed to take that sort of damage. Ramsey says explicitly (p. 206), "Although earlier authors have generally ascribed_Lusitania's_ loss to the second explosion, current opinion suggests convincingly tht the effect on the liner's stability resulting from the impact of Schweiger's torpedo was by itself sufficiently lethal to secure her destruction." (This because so much water would enter the starboard side that she could not stay on an even keel; Ramsey, p. 208.) He also suggest that there was a leak in a steam pipe somewhere, leading to rapid loss of boilder pressure (pp. 209-211), aggravated by mishandling of the situation (pp. 212-213). This would not have sunk the ship (the torpedo leak did that), but it was responsible for the rapid loss of power and propulsion.
Reading all the arguments, I am inclined to think we will never know with certainty what happened. or what caused the second explosion, though I too incline toward the "industrial accident" belief; contrary to the claims by Simpson and his followers, the evidence for a large ammunition explosion seems strong.
Apart from causing a diplomatic incident, there was one other effect of the sinking: The Admiralty gave in to the economics of the situation. For the remainder of the war, there was no British passenger service on the Atlantic (Brinnin, p. 426).
An interesting side note is that the _Titanic_, three years before, inspired almost too many songs to count. The _Lusitania_ seems to have inspired just this one, and it not particularly well-known. Why? It can't be just the war, since the _Lusitania_ got plenty of coverage. Maybe it's that the disaster couldn't so easily be blamed on "the hand of God." Though, in fact, the fault in both cases was largely "the hand of complacency."
Because the _Lusitania_ is in shallow water (a depth of only 312 feet, according to Preston, p. 372, with parts of the hull 82 feet higher), the wreck has been visited many times. The first was in 1935, but the equipment of the time was so bad that the diver actually thought the ship was resting on its port side; explorations since have shown that it lies on its starboard side (Preston, p. 373). In the 1960s, the aforementioned John Light and colleagues tried to explore using newer technologies; this is the group that thought they saw guns (but Preston, p. 373, notes that this was still the era of nitrogen/oxygen mixes; the divers suffered from cold and nitrogen narcosis). They did not produce usable film of the weapons. (We might add that the problems Light had pretty well demolish the theory that the British could have disarmed the wreck, and the hull was intact enough that the Admiralty could hardly have depth-charged it, as is claimed, e.g., by PeekeEtAl, p. 91.) Light hopes to eventually publish, but all that came of his work was Simpson's volume, which Light himself disputed (Preston, p. 374).
A few artifacts were brought up by a 1982 television expedition (Preston, pp. 374-375); interestingly, these did not sell well at auction. Ballard took his turn in 1993, and produced the first good documentation of the wreck. A team of free divers working in 1994 largely reaffirmed his conclusions (Preston, pp. 376-377), and also discovered the annunciator which relayed speed and drive instructions to the engine room. This showed the ship still in forward drive -- contrary to what Turner said he ordered. Of course, since the engines failed within minutes, it hardly matters. But it makes you wonder what else Turner got wrong.
A curiosity about the whole story is the way the _Lusitania_ legend still grips people. The _Titanic_ fascinates people, but there is little real controversy about the history (yes, Hollywood distorted the story, but that's Hollywood). But the _Lusitania_ continues to inspire polemics and conspiracy theories -- a common one is that the Churchill and/or Fisher (the men most responsible for naval policy) sent out the _Lusitania_ as live bait in an attempt to get the Americans involved in the war. This is patently absurd -- not because Churchill or Fisher were above such things (in fact, Churchill hinted at the idea of live bait in a letter -- PeekeEtAl, p. 47), but because it just wasn't likely to work. The _Lusitania_ was faster than any ship sunk by submarines to date; she also had good underwater protection that would make her hard to sink. And, if the Admiralty wanted her sunk, would they have put aboard such war materials as they did put aboard?
Preston, pp. 395-396, also makes the argument that the British in 1915 did not want the Americans in the war; they would be too likely to meddle with the peace.
Such logic does not stop the polemicists. Both Simpson's and O'Sullivan's books both strike me as screeds intended to place as much blame as is possible on the British authorities. (O'Sullivan's in fact seems almost to be the work of two authors -- half the time he's going straight after the Admiralty; the other half, he calms down and tries to be objective. Was there a hidden ghost writer who only did half the book?) The reason defeats me -- whatever their faults, those men are long dead, and their policies dead with them.
And the need for polemic produced books that are clearly bad. Simpson's book is littered with small errors of fact -- e.g. he can't even spell "blue riband," consistently calling it "blue ribbon" (O'Sullivan, p. 17, and Preston, p. 374, observe that Simpson was criticized even by John Light, whose research originally inspired what was to have been a collaboration). But O'Sullivan is in no position to talk, his unfootnoted work has its own set of substantial errors, some of which distort the whole history of World War I.
The question of "a legitimate target" is still argued today; Preston, e.g. has a chapter with that title, noting that, within days of the tragedy, a coroner in Ireland offered the verdict "wilful murder." We must remember, as the American judge later wrote, that the incident must be judged in light of the knowledge of the time (Preston, p. 383). (Which is surprisingly easy to do, given that the British Admiralty is still concealing records, either by refusing to release them or by blanking out pages, and some of the papers Simpson claims to have seen have now vanished; Preston, p. 384).
Preston, p. 393, probably has the best last word: "The truth was that no government, British, German, or American, was entirely free of blame for the situation leading up to the attack. Nor, in its wake, was any government hesitant to twist the facts, or use the disaster, to its own political ends."
On pp. 424-426, Preston makes another point: Two weeks before the _Lusitania_ was sunk, the Germans had launched the first gas attack. A few weeks afterward saw the first bombing of civilians from the air. Germany, for a short time, backed away from unrestricted submarine warfare (a mistake, in Preston's view, and I think she's right: Once Germany started, they would have been better off to keep it up). But Germany did not back away from gas, or bombings, and it built the "Big Berthas" to shell Paris. The age of limited, civilized warfare was over.
I would add only one more thing: whoever was "to blame" for the _Lusitania_ tragedy, many hundreds of complete innocents perished needlessly. In this regard, the song knows what the true issue was, and the polemicists do not. - RBW
>>BIBLIOGRAPHY<<
Ballard: Dr. Robert D. Ballard with Spencer Dunmore, _Exploring the Lusitania_ (Warner, 1995).
Barczewski: Stephanie Barczewski, _Titanic: A Night Remembered_ (Hambledon Continuum, 2004).
Brinnin: John Malcolm Brinnin, _The Sway of the Grand Saloon: A Social History of the North Atlantic_ (1986; I use the 2000 Barnes & Noble edition).
Hoehling: A. A. Hoehling, _Ships that Changed History_ (1992; I use the 2007 Barnes & Noble edition)
Keegan: John Keegan, _The First World War_ (Knopf, 1999).
Marshall: S. L. A. Marshall,  _World War I_ (American Heritage, 1964).
O'Sullivan, _The Lusitania_ (1998; I use the 2000 Sheridan House edition)
Paine: Lincoln P. Paine, _Ships of the World_ (Houghton Mifflin, 1997)
PeekeEtAl: Mitch Peeke, Kevin Walsh-Johnson, Steven Jones, _The Lusitania Story_, Naval Institute Press, 2002
Preston: Diana Preston, _Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy_ (Walker, 2002; I use the 2003 Berkley edition)
Ramsay: David Ramsay, _The Lusitania: Saga and Myth_ (Norton, 2001).
Simpson: Colin Simpson, _The Lusitania_ (Little Brown, 1972). - RBW
File: Ran076
===
NAME: Lydia Pinkham
DESCRIPTION: A bawdy and scatological testimonial in multiple stanzas for the restorative powers of Mrs. Pinkham's patent medicine for women.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: bawdy scatological sex drugs
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Randolph-Legman I, p. 485-489, "Lydia Pinkham" (5 texts, 1 tune)
Sandburg, p. 210, "Lydia Pinkham" (1 text, 1 tune, expurgated)
DT, LYDIAPNK
Roud #8368
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "I Will Sing of My Redeemer" (tune)
NOTES: This is sung to the Protestant hymn tune "I Will Sing of My Redeemer," Legman notes in his extensive annotations in Randolph-Legman I. - EC
Unlike most patent remedies found in the nineteenth century, Lydia Pinkham's concoction was not originally designed simply to lure the public. Joe Schwartz, _That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles_, ECW press, 2002, pp. 218-222, reports that she was originally just a schoolteacher who devised a vegetable brew to deal with "female complaints." It was not until her husband lost his money in the Panic of 1873 that Lydia (1819-1873) started trying to sell the glop. She was successful enough to become the first millionairess in America.
Schwartz lists the compound's ingredients as licorice, chamomile. pleurisy root, Jamaica dogwood, life plant, dandelion root, and black cohosh. Plus, of course, alcohol. Interestingly, there is some evidence that black cohosh actually can ease some of the symptoms associated with menopause. But the main "active ingredient" was doubtless the booze.
Schwartz notes that "Lydia Pinkham's" is actually still sold. But it's been reformulated, and is now apparently mostly a vitamin mix. - RBW
File: RL485
===
NAME: Lydia Sherman
DESCRIPTION: "Lydia Sherman is plagued with rats, Lydia has no faith in cats, So Lydia buys some arsenic, And then her husband he gets sick, And then her husband, he does die...." Her children follow, and eventually Lydia ends up in prison.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (Burt)
KEYWORDS: murder poison humorous children mother father husband wife
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 1864 - Death of Edward Struck, first husband of Lydia Sherman (she eventually had three)
August 1864 - Deaths of George and Ann Eliza, Lydia's children
May 16, 1878 - Lydia Sherman dies in prison in Wethersfield, Connecticut
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Burt, p. 5, "Lydia Sherman" (1 text)
NOTES: I would love to see a contemporary newspaper account of this trial.
Burt doesn't claim this as a traditional song; it was in a notebook of her mother's, probably from a contemporary publication.
It should perhaps be noted that fatal overdoses of arsenic are not always the result of deliberate poisoning. John Emsley, _Nature's Building Blocks_, article on arsenic (pp. 40-46) notes various common uses of arsenic, including pigments and even a commercial remedy, "Dr. Fowler's Solution."
According to Bruce Henderson, _Fatal North: Adventure and Survival Aboard USS Polaris, the First U. S. Expedition to the North Pole_ New American Library, 2001, p. 284, "[arsenic] was a commonly administered medicine in the nineteenth century in the form of arsenious acid, which was prescribed for a great variety of diseases, such as headaches, ulcers, gout, chorea, syphilis, even cancer. Used in a popular patent medicine called "Fowler's Solution," it was a well-known remedy for fever and various skin diseases. It would have been a standard part of any sizeable medical kit."
Also, it is possible to build up arsenic tolerance, so if Lydia were tolerant, she might have accidentally poisoned her family while surviving herself. - RBW
File: Burt005
===
NAME: Lying Song, The: see Little Brown Dog (File: VWL101)
===
NAME: Lyke-Wake Dirge, The
DESCRIPTION: A warning to those not yet dead. Those who gave to the poor shall receive as they have given; those who have not will pay the penalty. "This ae nicht, this ae nicht, ilka nicht and alle -- Fire and sleet and candlelicht, and Christ receive thy soule"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 
KEYWORDS: death funeral lament religious Hell
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
OBB 33, "A Lyke-Wake Dirge" (1 text)
DT, LYKEDIRG
ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #278, "A Lyke-Wake Dirge" (1 text)
Roud #8194
NOTES: De la Mare quotes Sidgwick to the effect that sleet means not falling water but salt (the token of eternal life) -- or perhaps is an error for "fleet."
Malcolm Douglas gave the following information about the tune to the Ballad-L list in 2008 (slightly edited, mostly for formatting reasons):
"The tune Hans Fried got from Peggy Richards [which was recorded by the Young Tradition[ was written by Sir Harold Boulton, and first appeared in his _Songs of the North_(Vol I, c.1885) set to the text (slightly edited) from Scott. It had changed a bit in detail by the time it got to The Young Tradition, but not fundamentally. _Songs of the North_ was immensely popular (at least 23 editions) and there would seem to be a decent chance that Peggy Richards (described as 'old') had learned it at school, or directly from print.
"It is *just* possible that a tune that may perhaps have been traditionally associated with the text survives. A song ('The Silkstone Disaster', written by Rowland Kellett) appeared in 'English Dance and Song' (XXXIII No 2 Summer 1971), set to a tune described as 'The Yorkshire Lyke-Wake'. Kellett noted that it was played as a funeral march in the Yorkshire Dales, but didn't say where, when or from whom he had got it. It bears no resemblance to Boulton's melody, but the words would fit.
"Some years later, the same tune (though slightly variant and in a different key) turned up in Blowzabella's tunebook 'Encyclopedia Blowzabellica'. There, it was titled 'Lyke Wake Dirge' and described as 'traditional' (but with a query if I remember correctly). No source was identified, and it's unclear whether the change of name is significant or not." - RBW
File: OBB033
===
NAME: Lynchburg Town
DESCRIPTION: Usually a comic song about a farmer's troubles with wife, horse, merchants, prices, machinery, and anything else that comes along. Chorus: "I'm going down to town, I'm going down to town, I'm going down to Lynchburg town, toting my tobaccer down."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: farming humorous wife
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE)
REFERENCES: (6 citations)
BrownIII 415, "Lynchburg Town" (3 texts plus 2 fragments, 2 excerpts, and mention of 2 more, all with the "Lynchburg Town" chorus, but "A" and "B" have verses from "Raccoon" and "Possum Up a Gum Stump and "D" and "E" are partly "If I Had a Scolding Wife" ("Lucy Long (I)"); only "C" seems to be truly "Lynchburg Town"); also 480, "Hard Times" (1 text, massively composite: Chorus from "Lynchburg Town" and verses from "Old Bee Makes the Honey Comb" and the "White Folks Go to College" version of "Hard to Be a Nigger")
Warner 181, "Lynchburg Town" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Sandburg, p. 145, "Goin' Down to Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 192, "Hawkie Is a Schemin' Bird" (1 text, with the "Hawkie" first stanza, a chorus from "Lynchburg Town," and verses such as "Went up on a mountain To give my horn a blow" and "Climbed up on a mountain... To sweeten Liza Jane")
Lomax-FSNA 260, "Lynchburg Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, LYNCHBRG*
Roud #3444
RECORDINGS:
Blue Ridge Highballers, "Going Down to Lynchburg Town" (Columbia 15096-D, 1926)
The Highlanders [Lonnie Austin, Roy Harvey, Charlie Poole, Odell Smith, Lucy Terry], "Lynchburg Town" [instrmental] (Paramount 3171, 1929) [May also have been issued under Poole's name with the same record number]
Al Hopkins & his Buckle Busters, "Lynchburg Town" (Brunswick, unissued, 1928)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Lebeck Town
File: Wa181
===
NAME: Lyttle Musgrave: see Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard [Child 81] (File: C081)
===
NAME: M. and I. Goo-goo Eyes, The
DESCRIPTION: Recitation about logging life, with musical chorus, "Just because that jack makes goo-goo eyes, They piled them logs clear up into the skies." The singer discusses what happens when the train comes to collect the logs
AUTHOR: Ed Springstad
EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Rickaby)
KEYWORDS: logger work train recitation
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Rickaby 25, "The M. and I. Goo-goo Eyes" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Even Rickaby, who prints this piece, says of it, "Here lies the Song of the White Pine woods, sans originality, sans meaning, sans everything." Which about sums it up. Rickaby's final comment is, "This is Arkansaw Springstad's own work, composed at the time when _Just because She made those Goo-goo Eyes_ was popular. He could sing only the chorus for me, and could not recall quite all of the final stanza. Perhaps it is just as well."
"Just Because She Made dem Goo-goo Eyes," by John Queen and Hughie Cannon, came out in 1900,  if I read Spaeth correctly. - RBW
File: Rick101
===
NAME: M'Dermott's Farewell
DESCRIPTION: A young man on the Limeric city quay is bound for America. "For want of wages and employment, home and country I must flee." He thinks of his parents and sweetheart left behind. He hopes "fortune [will] smile upon me" so he can return.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (OLochlainn-More)
KEYWORDS: poverty emigration farewell America Ireland nonballad family
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
OLochlainn-More 79, "M'Dermott's Farewell" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: OLcM079
===
NAME: M'Ginty's Meal and Ale: see M'Ginty's Meal-an-Ale (File: DBuch72)
===
NAME: M'Ginty's Meal-an-Ale
DESCRIPTION: A pig escapes and wreaks havoc. Chorus: "They war howlin' in the kitchen like a caravan o' tinkies, An' some wis playin' ping-pong... Up the howe or doon the howe there never wis sic jinkies As M'Ginty's meal-an-ale far the pig gaed there tae see."
AUTHOR: George Bruce Thomson
EARLIEST_DATE: 1909 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: animal humorous game
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
GreigDuncan3 630, "McGinty's Meal-an-Ale" (2 texts, 1 tune)
DBuchan 72, "M'Ginty's Meal-an-Ale" (1 text)
DT, MEALNALE*
Roud #2518
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Roxburgh Castle" (tune)
cf. "Sheelicks" (lyrics)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
M'Ginty's Meal and Ale
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; Balmannocks (630) is at coordinate (h0-1,v6-7) on that map [roughly 20 miles W of Aberdeen]. - BS
File: DBuch72
===
NAME: M'Pherson's Farewell: see MacPherson's Lament (File: K348)
===
NAME: Ma Grun War 'n Gelynen: see The Holly Bears a Berry (File: K091)
===
NAME: Ma Petite Marguerite (My Little Marguerite)
DESCRIPTION: French. The singer say, Little Marguerite, I am leaving to sail on the waves around the world but I will love you until I die. She says she will cry a thousand tears waiting for his return; all is useless; she would prefer them both lost at the same time.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage courting separation dialog love
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Peacock, p. 558, "Ma Petite Marguerite" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: Pea558
===
NAME: Mac and Shanahan
DESCRIPTION: Miko Mac and Shanahan are tracked to Newtown by bloodhounds and taken by Black and Tans. They refused to give their comrades' names. They are executed by shooting "in the Ennis Road." The pride of West Clare, they are buried in Doonbeg.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1974 (Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan)
KEYWORDS: rebellion execution manhunt burial patriotic IRA
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1920-1921 - The Black and Tan War
Dec 22, 1920 - Commandant Willie Shanahan of the West Clare Brigade of Republican Police and Captain Michael McNamara of Doonbeg Company IRA are executed by the Black and Tans (source: Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan).
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan 25, "Mac and Shanahan" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5221
RECORDINGS:
Nora Cleary, "Mac and Shanahan" (on IRClare01)
Tom Lenihan, "Mac and Shanahan" (on IRTLenihan01)
NOTES: "The Black and Tans" (for which see "The Bold Black and Tan") were a special English constabulary recruited to quell Irish violence. They failed, and in fact contributed to the brutality.
It will tell you something of the violence of the period that none of the six histories I checked (including three devoted specifically to this period, one of which is largely a catalog of atrocities) mentions any of these events. - RBW
File: RcMacASh
===
NAME: Mac's and the O's, The
DESCRIPTION: "When Ireland was founded by the Mac's and the O's, I never could learn..." but the singer lists all the various great family names of Ireland. Some specific names are mentioned, but most are simply references to clans
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1901 (O'Conor)
KEYWORDS: nonballad wordplay Ireland
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
SHenry H484, p. 176, "The Mac's and the O's" (1 text, 1 tune)
O'Conor, p. 79, "The Mac's and the O's" (1 text)
Roud #4812
NOTES: Even when a specific character is named in this song, it is often a legendary figure such as Finn MacCool. A handful, however, are historical, such as Hugh O'Neill of Tyrone, whose name is naturally connected with O'Donnell (for these two, see the notes to "O'Donell Abou").
The final stanza refers to women, and most of these, interestingly, are women of song, e.g. Eileen Aroon and Kathleen Mavourneen. - RBW
File: HHH484
===
NAME: MacAfee's Confession: see McAfee's Confession [Laws F13] (File: LF13)
===
NAME: MacDonald's Camp
DESCRIPTION: "One evening last fall when we felt well inclined, We hired with D. A. MacDonald to work at the pine." MacDonald pushes so hard that "He brought bread seven miles and he got it there hot." The loggers are described, and Caldwell called "no use at all."
AUTHOR: reportedly Jack Caldwell
EARLIEST_DATE: 1963 (Fowke)
KEYWORDS: work logger lumbering moniker
FOUND_IN: Canada(Ont)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Fowke-Lumbering #17, "MacDonald's Camp" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #4469
File: FowL17
===
NAME: MacDonald's Return to Glencoe (The Pride of Glencoe) [Laws N39]
DESCRIPTION: The singer tries to woo a woman of Glencoe, but she says she is loyal to MacDonald, gone to war these ten years. He suggests that MacDonald may have forgotten her; she says she will remain single even so. He then reveals himself as MacDonald
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1835 (broadside, Bodleian Johnson Ballads 1641)
KEYWORDS: courting disguise separation reunion
FOUND_IN: US(MW,So) Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland Australia
REFERENCES: (21 citations)
Laws N39, "MacDonald's Return to Glencoe (The Pride of Glencoe)"
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 247-248, "Donald and Glencoe" (1 text)
Ord, pp. 65-66, "Donald's Return to Glencoe" (1 text, tune referenced)
Randolph 126, "MacDonald's Return to Glencoe" (1 fragment)
FSCatskills 25, "Glencoe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Gardner/Chickering 87, "The Pride of Glencoe" (1 text plus mention of 2 more)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 86, "Glencoe" (1 text)
Smith/Hatt, pp. 67-69, "The Pride of Glencoe" (1 text)
Peacock, p. 579, "The Pride of Glencoe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-Maritime, p. 60, "The Pride of Glencoe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 35, "The Pride of Glencoe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Leach-Labrador 129, "Glencoe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Karpeles-Newfoundland 56, "The Pride of Glencoe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ives-NewBrunswick, pp. 70-72, "Glencoe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Mackenzie 68, "The Pride of Glencoe" (1 text)
O'Conor, p. 136, "McDonald's Return to Glenco" (1 text)
Meredith/Anderson, pp. 52-53, "Donald of Glencoe" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H655, p. 319, "The Pride of Glencoe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 113-115, "The Banks of Glenco" (2 texts, 1 tune)
MacSeegTrav 28, "The Lass o' Glencoe" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 464, PRIGLENC*
Roud #515
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Johnson Ballads 1641, "Donald's Return to Glencoe," G. Walker (Durham), 1797-1834; also 2806 c.14(133)[many illegible words], Firth c.17(300)[some illegible words], Harding B 11(932), Firth c.14(158), Firth c.14(160), Harding B 19(109), 2806 c.18(89), Harding B 16(324a), Firth b.26(11)[a few illegible words], Firth b.25(226), Firth b.27(454), Harding B 16(323b), 2806 c.15(174), "Donald's Return to Glencoe"; Firth b.27(462), "Donand's Return to Glencoe" ["Donald" in the text]
LOCSinging, as202320, "Mc'Donald's Return to Glenco," H. De Marsan (New York), 1861-1864; also sb30347b, "Mc'Donald's Return to Glenco"
Murray, Mu23-y4:036, "Donald's Return to Glencoe," unknown, 19C
NLScotland, L.C.178.A.2(206), "Donald's Return to Glencoe," unknown, c. 1840; also L.C.Fol.70(73a), "Donald's Return to Glencoe," James Lindsay (Glasgow), c. 1875
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "John (George) Riley (I)" [Laws N36] and references there
cf. "The Silk Merchant's Daughter (I) [Laws N10]" (tune)
cf. "The Lass o Glencoe" (lyrics)
SAME_TUNE:
The Silk Merchant's Daughter [Laws N10] (File: LN10)
NOTES: Broadside LOCSinging as202320: H. De Marsans 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: LN39
===
NAME: Machine-Guns They Rattle
DESCRIPTION: "Machine-guns they rattle, Jack Johnsons they roar, I don't want to fight With these Fritz any more. Take me over the sea, Where the Germans they can't get at me, Oh, my, I don't want to die, I want to go home"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1968
KEYWORDS: war cowardice homesickness
FOUND_IN: Australia
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Meredith/Anderson, pp. 143-144, "Machine-Guns They Rattle" (2 texts, 1 tune)
NOTES: Although this piece is probably a parody, Meredith and Anderson report a shearer's parody of it. - RBW
File: MA143
===
NAME: Machiner's Song, The: see The Threshing Machine (I) (File: K231)
===
NAME: Mack McDonald: see Casey Jones (I) [Laws G1] (File: LG01)
===
NAME: Mack's Blues
DESCRIPTION: "Say, I told the Captain, he don't worry me, Got a hundred and twenty-nine summers, partner, never will go free." The singer complains of hard work and getting up so early, calls for water, works with mules, wishes for mercy, and tells of prison life
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (collected from Mack Maze by Jackson)
KEYWORDS: prison hardtimes nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Jackson-DeadMan, pp. 81-82, "Mack's Blues" (2 texts, 1 tune)
NOTES: This is an amazing demonstration of the fluidity of prison moans (this is properly not a blues; the form is wrong). *Both* of Jackson's versions come from Mack Maze, but while they have the same tune, only one verse is common. Maze's first text is apparently a mule song; the second has a large dose of "Easy Rider" material. I could make a strong case for splitting them, but it is not likely that we will find an exact match for either one elsewere. - RBW
File: JDM081
===
NAME: MacPherson's Farewell: see MacPherson's Lament (File: K348)
===
NAME: MacPherson's Lament
DESCRIPTION: MacPherson tells how a woman betrayed him to the Laird o' Grant. He challenges all to a duel in defense of his honor. He breaks his fiddle, "the only friend I hae," rather than see it in bad hands. A rider is coming to reprieve him, so he is hanged early
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1803 (_Scots Musical Museum_ #114)
KEYWORDS: execution betrayal reprieve fiddle outlaw
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Nov 16, 1700 - Execution of James MacPherson
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (8 citations)
GreigDuncan3 697, "MacPherson's Rant" (6 texts, 6 tunes)
Kennedy 348, "MacPherson's Lament" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ord, pp. 443, "M'Pherson's Farewell" (1 text)
MacSeegTrav 88, "Macpherson's Farewell" (1 text, 1 tune)
Flanders-Ancient3, pp. 163-169, "Mary Hamilton" (2 texts plus a fragment, with the "C" fragment containing parts of "MacPherson's Lament"; 3 tunes; the tune for the "MacPherson" portion is not given)
Silber-FSWB, p. 205, "MacPherson's Farewell" (1 text)
DT, MACPHER* MACPHER2* MCPHERST
ADDITIONAL: James Kinsley, editor, Burns: Complete Poems and Songs (shorter edition, Oxford, 1969) #196,, pp. 306-307, "McPherson's Farewell" (1 text, 1 tune, from 1788)
ST K348 (Full)
Roud #2160
RECORDINGS:
Jimmy MacBeath, "MacPherson's Lament" (on Lomax43, LomaxCD1743)
Davie Stewart, "MacPherson's Rant" (on Voice08)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "MacPherson's Rant" (subject)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
MacPherson
NOTES: Legends about MacPherson's death are many. The basic one has it that he played this tune before his death and offered the fiddle to anyone who could play it back for him. None could, so he broke the fiddle rather than leave it in incompetent hands. The (ruins of) the instrument are now said to be in the MacPherson clan museum in Inverness-shire.
That MacPherson was a freebooter seems almost certain -- but only spite could have hung him for his deeds; most of Scotland was the same way!
The earliest reported version of this piece seems to have been Burns's, but (given the variations), it seems certain that several traditional forms are older. - RBW
File: K348
===
NAME: MacPherson's Rant
DESCRIPTION: "I've spent my time in rioting, Debauch'd my health and strength... But now, alas! at length, I'm brought to punishment direct." MacPherson laments that he is to be hanged, blames the Laird of Grant and Peter Brown, and tells people to live well
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord)
KEYWORDS: punishment execution betrayal outlaw
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Nov 16, 1700 - Execution of James MacPherson
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Ord, pp. 444-445, "M'Pherson's Farewell" (1 text)
BBI, ZN1339, "I spent my time in rioting, debauch'd my health and stength" (?)
Roud #2160
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "MacPherson's Lament" (subject)
NOTES: Often treated (e.g. by Roud) as a variant of the now-better-known "MacPherson's Lament," the two have so little in common that it seems certain that the two are separate. There is, at the very least, a great deal of editing (by Burns?) separating the two.
This piece, which can be told from the other by the first line in the description, is much poorer poetry; nonetheless, it is generally held to be older. I doubt it's traditional by origin; it reads like a moralizing broadside. - RBW
File: Ord444
===
NAME: MacTavish is Dead: see McTavish is Dead (File: PHCFS122)
===
NAME: Mad Maudlin: see Tom a Bedlam (Bedlam Boys) (File: Log172)
===
NAME: Mad Trapper of Rat River, The
DESCRIPTION: The Mounties learn that a trapper has gone mad; he shoots one and flees. During the manhunt, he kills another Mountie, then a third, but is surrounded and shot dead. Credit is given to the Mounties: "They always get their man"
AUTHOR: Probably Wilf Carter
EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1934 (recording, Wilf Carter)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Two Indians report to the Mounties that a trapper has gone mad; the Mounties visit him, but he shoots one and flees. A manhunt ensues; in the process, he kills another Mountie, backtracks and escapes. Eventually he kills a third, but is surrounded and shot dead. Credit is given to the Mounties: "They always get their man"
KEYWORDS: madness fight violence crime murder death police
FOUND_IN: Canada(West)
REFERENCES: (0 citations)
RECORDINGS:
Wilf Carter, "The Capture of Albert Johnson" (Bluebird [Canada] B-4966, c. 1934)
Stanley G. Triggs, "The Mad Trapper of Rat River" (on Triggs1)
NOTES: Trapper Albert Johnson was hunted and killed by Mounties (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) in the 1930s.
Triggs reports this ballad as widespread in western Canada "from the Rockies to the coast." - PJS
File: RcTMTORR
===
NAME: Madam, I Have Come A-Courting: see The Quaker's Courtship (File: R362)
===
NAME: Madam, Madam, You Came Courting
DESCRIPTION: When the girl comes courting the boy agrees to "entertain you If you will not call me names." She spurns his wealth: "All I want is a fancy man." He says she can look to the trees to keep her warm "when nights are cold and frosty"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 (Creighton-Maritime)
KEYWORDS: courting rejection humorous
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Creighton-Maritime, p. 121, "Madam, Madam, You Came Courting" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #542
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Wheel of Fortune" (Dublin City, Spanish Lady) (theme)
NOTES: Creighton-Maritime: "Although a different song, this is very like 'The Quaker's Courtship'"; Creighton's song is "Wheel of Fortune" with roles reversed. Nevertheless, though I find no lines shared with that group of songs it is close enough that it may belong there. - BS
Roud, indeed, lumps them -- but logic says that this is rewritten, and hence should be split. - RBW
File: CrMa121
===
NAME: Madam, Will You Walk: see The Keys of Canterbury (File: R354)
===
NAME: Mademoiselle from Armentieres
DESCRIPTION: The mademoiselle "hasn't been kissed [or other appropriate verb] for forty years." The soldiers complain about her or cajole her to do their laundry; they complain about their superiors (and their relations with the lady?) and grouse about army life
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1919
KEYWORDS: bawdy soldier humorous nonballad
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1914-1918 - First World War, during which this ballad clearly arose
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (9 citations)
Randolph-Legman I, pp. 513-515, "Mademoiselle from Armentieres" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Sandburg, pp. 440-442, "Hinky Dinky, Parlee-Voo" (1 text, 1 tune)
Scott-BoA, pp. 331-333, "Mademoiselle from Armentieres" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSUSA 38, "Mademoiselle from Armentieres" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 557-560, "Hinky Dinky Parley-Voo?" (1 text, 1 tune)
Arnett, pp. 152-153, "Hinky Dinky Parlay-Voo!" (1 text, 1 tune)
JHJohnson, pp. 110-111, "Hinky Dinky" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 277, "Mademoiselle from Armentieres" (1 text)
Fuld-WFM, pp. 344-345, "Madamoiselle from Armentieres"
Roud #4703
RECORDINGS:
Benny Bell, "Hinky Dinkey Polly Voo" (Cocktail Party Songs 101, n.d.)
Bell Record Quartet, "Hinky Dinky Parlez Vous" (Bell 285, 1924 - but it's possible this is Benny Bell's post-WWII recording for his similarly-named label)
Broadway Quartet, "Hinky Dinky Parlez Vous" (Banner 1382/Regal 9678, 1924)
Jan Garber & his Orch. "Hinky Dinky Parlay Voo" (Victor 19405, 1924)
Happiness Boys [Billy Jones & Ernest Hare]  "Hinky Dinky Parlay Voo" (Columbia 132-D, 1924)
Lawrence Loy & Wilbur Waite, "Hinky Dinky Parlez Vous" (Columbia 20638, 1949)
[Billy] Murray and [Ed] Smalle, "Hinky Dinky Parlay Voo" (Victor 19388, 1924)
Sweet Violet Boys, "Hinky Dinky Parley Voo, Part 1/Part 2" (Vocalion 03281, 1936; this number was also used for Part 1 only, with the reverse side another song; Part 1 is also on Conqueror 9067, 1938; Columbia 20283/Columbia 37704, 1947. Part 2 was also issued as, "Hinky Dinky Parley Voo #2", Vocalion 03327, 1936; Columbia 20284/Columbia 37705, 1947)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (approximate tune)
cf. "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye" (approximate tune)
cf. "Johnny, Fill Up the Bowl" (approximate tune)
cf. "Snapoo" (approximate tune; theme)
cf. "The Little Red Train" (tune)
SAME_TUNE:
What's Become Of Hinky Dinky Parlez Vous? (What Has Become of Hinky Dinky Parlez Voo?) (Al Bernard & J. Robinson, Cameo 572, 1924; Carl Fenton & his Orch., Brunswick 2618, 1924; Billy Jones, Vocalion 14817, 1924); Billy Jones & Ernest Hare, OKeh 40128, 1924)
NOTES: Both plot and tune of this song show a relationship with "Snapoo" (indeed, they sometimes mix, and Roud lumps them); it is reasonable to ask which came first and which influenced the other. As both appear at about the same time, however, it is effectively impossible to settle the matter.
Fuld has extensive notes about the origin of this song, with some interesting folkloric twists; the legends, while possible, are not convincing. - RBW
File: RL513
===
NAME: Mag's Song: see The Orphan Girl (The Orphan Child) (File: R725)
===
NAME: Magdalen Green, The: see Down By the Magdalen Green (File: MorU016)
===
NAME: Magdalene's Lament, The
DESCRIPTION: "As I cam in by Tanzie's wood... Four-and-twenty o' Geordie's men Kiss'd me against my will." The girl recalls flirting happily in a tavern, "But now I'm in the correction-house And whipped to my turn." She hopes to be released and marry
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1827 (Kinloch)
KEYWORDS: seduction sex prison abuse whore
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Kinloch-BBook III, pp. 12-13, "The Magdalene's Lament" (1 text)
Roud #8153
NOTES: Traditional? I don't know. Kinloch of course does not list sources.
The term "Magdalene" for a reformed prostitute is of course a reference to the Biblical Mary Magdalene ("maudlin"). But while Mary of Magdala was a follower of Jesus, from whom he "cast seven demons" (Mark 16:9), there is no reason to think she had formerly been a prostitute; Luke 7:37-50 describes a reformed prostitute wiping Jesus's feet with her hair, but never calls her Mary. John 12:1-8 has Mary wipe his feet -- but this is Mary of Bethany, not Mary of Magdala!
Not that this matters; while Kinloch calls the song "The Magdalene's Lament," the word "magdalene" is not used in the song. - RBW.
File: KinBB03
===
NAME: Magelhan
DESCRIPTION: German shanty. Original was a capstan (gangspill) shanty. The Magelhan/Magellan is the name of the ship. The verses (or at least the translation) are mostly good natured complaints about work and the captain.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Baltzer's _Knurrhahn_ (reprint))
KEYWORDS: shanty foreignlanguage ship
FOUND_IN: Germany
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hugill, pp. 191-192, "Magelhan" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Rolling Home" (adaptation of text)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Magellan
NOTES: Hugill included this with the versions of "Rolling Home" stating that this was the original shanty from which the German version of "Rolling Home" was derived. - SL
File: Hugi191
===
NAME: Maggie C, The
DESCRIPTION: Maggie C is "built by George E Saville a man of high degree." Nevertheless, she is unstable. Everyone laughs at the effort to get to the dock. The owner says "It's that blooming Saville's fault" but Saville claims "No better boat's afloat"
AUTHOR: Victor La Pierre, Annandale, P.E.I.
EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 (Dibblee/Dibblee)
KEYWORDS: ship humorous
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Dibblee/Dibblee, pp. 47-48, "The Maggie C" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #12471
File: Dib047
===
NAME: Maggie Goddon: see Peggy Gordon (File: Gil127)
===
NAME: Maggie Gordon: see Peggy Gordon (File: Gil127)
===
NAME: Maggie Howie
DESCRIPTION: Michael Lee tells of courting Maggie Howie of Napanee; she wore his ring, but refused to marry him; her parents disapprove. He kills her with an axe, flees to the woods, is captured and jailed. He states his guilt and his readiness to be tried and hanged
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1957 (recording, Mrs. Tom Sullivan)
KEYWORDS: courting love marriage rejection violence crime execution murder punishment death family lover prisoner
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: c. 1887: Maggie Howie murdered by Michael Lee
FOUND_IN: Canada(Ont)
REFERENCES: ()

Roud #3838
RECORDINGS:
Mrs. Tom Sullivan, "Maggie Howie" (on Ontario1)
NOTES: Despite the last verse of the song, Michael Lee was not hanged, but instead found to be criminally insane, and confined in a special wing of Kingston Penitentiary until his death. Maggie Howie's ghost is said to haunt the offices of the local newspaper, which stands on the spot where the murder occurred. - PJS
File: RcMagHow
===
NAME: Maggie Hunter, The
DESCRIPTION: The Maggie Hunter leaves Oswego bound for Toronto, but runs into a gale. Various crew members do their best, but the ship is lost, with only bits recovered. Six months later, the cook's body  is found. Listeners are told to remember whenever a storm blows
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (collected from William Head by Walton)
KEYWORDS: corpse death drowning ship disaster storm wreck moniker cook sailor
FOUND_IN: Canada(Ont)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Walton/Grimm/Murdock, pp. 194-196, "Loss of the Maggie Hunter" (1 text, heavily composite)
Roud #3841
RECORDINGS:
C. H. J. Snider, "The 'Maggie Hunter'" (on GreatLakes1)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Persian's Crew" (subject, tune)
NOTES: Snider said he learned the song in July of 1947. Fowke reports that it was widespread in the Prince Edward County area (where the cook's body came ashore) in the 1880s, but has not been reported elsewhere. - PJS
This seems to be true. Walton's version is based on material from six different informants, all from Ontario (towns Picton, Port Credit, Bront, and Hillier)
The history of the ship itself is more uncertain. Fowke's notes apparently caused Paul Stamler to write this historicaly reference: "Oct. 13, 1876 -- telegram to ship's owner announces the coming ashore of the Maggie Hunter's cabin work (acc." Walton/Grimm/Murdock, though, report that it was in the "early 1880s" that the _Maggie Hunter_ sailed from Oswego to Toronto with a load of coal and was lost.
I checked four references on Great Lakes shipping; none of them mention the _Maggie Hunter_. None of the four are comprehensive, but one tried to be, and all tend to emphasize "good stories." it seems the story of the _Maggie Hunter_ is known primarily from this song, not from historical records. - RBW
File: RcTMagHu
===
NAME: Maggie Lauder
DESCRIPTION: Maggie meets a piper, Rab the Ranter, and encourages him to strike up a tune while she dances. He does, and she praises his work; he says, "It's worth my while to play indeed When I hae sic a dancer." She encourages him to ask for her if he comes again
AUTHOR: Francis Sempill? (c. 1616-1682)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1794 (Ritson); reportedly written 1642
KEYWORDS: music dancing
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: ()

Roud #5625
BROADSIDES:
Murray, Mu23-y4:002, "Maggie Lauder," J. Pitts (London), 1819-1844
NLScotland, S.302.b.2(094), "Maggie Lauder," Simms and McIntyre (Belfast), probably 1825; also APS.3.84.2, "Maggy Lawder," Charles Pigott (London), after 1825 (with many distortions in the lyrics)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Northumberland Bagpipes" (theme)
cf. "Cripple Kirsty" (parody)
SAME_TUNE:
Cripple Kirsty (File: GrD3556)
Cornwallis Burgoyned (broadside of 1781; see Spaeth, _A History of Popular Music in America_, p. 25)
The Joyful Widower (Scots Musical Museum, #98)
NOTES: One can only suspect that more than piping and dancing lies behind this song. This, indeed, may explain its rarity in the older collections; it sounds like a hidden story of something extremely indelicate. (The National Library of Scotland site, in fact, claims that Maggie ended up pregnant. The NLScotland broadsides do not show this, however.) 
Habbie Simpson, to whom Rab the Ranter is compared, was a historical person, living in Kilbarchan (near Paisley) in the late sixteenth century; it may be significant that the father of Francis Sempill, Robert Sempill (c. 1595-c. 1665; not to be confused with another Scots poet named Robert Sempill, 1530?-1595), composed Simpson's elegy, _The Life and Death of the Piper of Kilbarchan, or the Epitaph  of Habbie Simpson_ (c. 1640).
There is a broadside text (not a song) about Simpson at NLScotland L.C.1270(019), "Habbie Simpson and his Wife,"  unknown, c. 1845.
I don't know if Maggie and Rab are historical. - RBW
File: NSMagLau
===
NAME: Maggie Mac: see The Cumberland [Laws A26] (File: LA26)
===
NAME: Maggie May
DESCRIPTION: The sailor returns home and soon falls in with Maggie May. She takes him to her room, gets him drunk, and walks off with his money (and clothes). Maggie is arrested and transported to Australia
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1906 (recording, John W. Myers)
KEYWORDS: whore robbery sailor transportation
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(West)) Australia
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Hugill, pp. 404-408, "Maggie May" (4 texts, 1 tune) [AbEd, pp. 307-311]
Fahey-Eureka, pp. 30-31, "Maggie May" (1 text, 1 tune)
Manifold-PASB, pp. 6-7, "Maggie May" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MAGGIMAY*
Roud #1757
RECORDINGS:
Bob Roberts, "Maggie May" (on LastDays)
J. W. Myers, "Goodbye Maggie May" (Oxford 11582, c. 1906)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Gold Watch" [Laws K41] (plot) and references there
File: FaE030
===
NAME: Maggie of Coleraine
DESCRIPTION: The singer praises Coleraine; it is the home of beautiful Maggie. He recalls meeting her by the Bann, and the various places he courted her. He hopes he will soon be able to meet her again
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love courting beauty
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H657, p. 242, "Maggie of Coleraine" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9480
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Teddy O'Neill" (tune)
File: HHH657
===
NAME: Maggie Was a Lady: see Frankie and Albert [Laws I3] (File: LI03)
===
NAME: Maggie, The: see The Wreck of the Maggie (File: LLab080)
===
NAME: Maggie's Secret
DESCRIPTION: "Oh! many a time I am sad at heart." Boys come to court Maggie "but I tell them they needn't come wooing to me." Her secret is that she loves a sailor: "my heart is over the sea." His mother guesses her secret and approves.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1886 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 15(180a))
KEYWORDS: courting love separation mother sailor
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
O'Conor, pp. 143-144, "Maggie's Secret" (1 text)
Roud #12886
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 15(180a), "Maggie's Secret", H. Such (London), 1863-1885; also Harding B 11(1663), Firth b.26(257), "Maggie's Secret"
File: OCon143B
===
NAME: Magherafelt Hiring Fair: see Tam Buie (Tam Bo, Magherafelt Hiring Fair) (File: HHH748)
===
NAME: Magic Glass, The
DESCRIPTION: "I went one night with a high-priced thirst to loaf in a booze bazaar." The singer, glancing at himself in the mirror, sees a "cringing bum" -- then looks again and it's gone. The bartender says that the "Magic Glass" lets men see what they might become
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Dean)
KEYWORDS: drink warning
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Dean, p. 130, "The Magic Glass" (1 text)
Roud #9586
NOTES: Dean's version ends with the bartender explaining the Magic Glass -- but one has to suspect that the full song goes on to have the singer swear off drinking. Though what *I'd* like is to know why a bartender would be so foolish as to install a glass that would scare off his customers. Obviously some people would approve -- but those people aren't going to become bartenders! - RBW
File: Dean130A
===
NAME: Magilligan
DESCRIPTION: The singer praises Mary and their beautiful home country of Magilligan. He recalls carving their names in a bench, and drinking together. They watch a ship sail away, but again agree never to leave Magilligan
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love home emigration
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H52a, pp. 244-245, "Magilligan" (1 text, 1 tune, the latter derived from O'Neill on the basis of Henry's statement that the tune is "The Wearing of the Green")
Roud #2965
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Wearing of the Green (I)" (tune) and references there
File: HHH052a
===
NAME: Magpie's Nest, The
DESCRIPTION: Singer praises his love, saying if he was a king he would make her queen and set her down in the "magpie's nest" -- a cottage alongside the River Shannon. He says he's never seen anyone more lovely than "the little Irish fairy in the magpie's nest."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (recorded from Aunt Jane Kelly)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer praises his love, saying if he was a king he would make her queen and set her down in the "magpie's nest" -- a cottage alongside the River Shannon. He says he's never seen anyone more lovely than "the little Irish fairy in the magpie's nest." Chorus: "Shiddly-idle-daddle-diddle-dadle-diddle-didle-dum/I would l'ave you down to rest in the magpie's nest"
KEYWORDS: love beauty dancetune lyric nonballad lover
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Kennedy 182, "The Magpie's Nest" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2127
RECORDINGS:
Aunt Jane Kelly "The Magpie's Nest" (on FSB1, FSB2CD)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Cuckoo's Nest (I)" (tune)
cf. "The Cuckoo's Nest (II)" (tune)
cf. "Around the Hills of Clare" (tune)
cf. "Heather Down the Moor (Among the Heather; Down the Moor)" (lyrics)
NOTES: This shares the tune and structure with both versions of "The Cuckoo's Nest," the latter of which sometimes incorporate "dowdling" (mouth music) as here. However, "The Cuckoo's Nest" is almost inevitably bawdy or erotic, while "The Magpie's Nest" is invariably clean, so I split them. For completeness, though, better check them out. - PJS
File: K182
===
NAME: Maguire's Brae
DESCRIPTION: "Have you ever stood on the Carn street.. And viewed those hills with their limpid rills..." The singer has traveled widely, but never seen a place so fair. "Though here today in the U. S.A. I toil on a foreign strand," he wishes he were still at home
AUTHOR: Words: James O'Kane
EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: emigration homesickness
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H747, pp. 214-215, "Maguire's Brae" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Scarborough Settler's Lament" (theme) and references there
File: HHH747
===
NAME: Maid and the Horse, The
DESCRIPTION: A maid walking in the cold meets three men riding. She tells one that she craves the thing that "sits between your two legs" to make her warm. He gets off his horse. She gets on his horse and rides off. He goes after her until she threatens to shoot him.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1825 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 28(83))
KEYWORDS: sex escape trick bawdy horse rake
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Peacock, pp. 214-215, "The Maid and the Horse" (1 text, 2 tunes)
Roud #1624
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 28(83), "The Crafty Maid" ("Come listen awhile and I will sing you a song"), W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also Johnson Ballads 323, Harding B 25(441), "The Crafty Maid's Policy"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Lovely Joan" (plot)
cf. "The Broomfield Hill" [Child 43] and references there
NOTES: There is another broadside at Bodleian as "The Crafty Maid" [Come all you lads and lasses ..."] in which a farmer's daughter is hiding a rabbit between her legs to keep it warm and a lord "buys that between her legs"; unsatisfied with the rabbit he takes her to a justice who resolves the dispute in favor of the farmer's daughter.
There is yet another broadside at Bodleian as "The Frolicsome Maiden or The Gentleman Outwitted" which combines both Crafty Maid stories: it is a cold morning; she does offer to go with him in exchange for what is between his legs; he is unsatisfied by the outcome and takes her to a justice who rules in her favor.
Roud seems to consider these all as #1624.
Cf. "Handsome Shone the Dairymaid" [Crawfurd 115] (theme) in E. B. Lyle _Andrew Crawfurd's Collection of Ballads and Songs_ (The Scottish Text Society, Edinburgh, 1996) which is similar to "Lovely Joan." - BS 
File: Pea214
===
NAME: Maid and the Magpie, The
DESCRIPTION: The sailor goes to sea, leaving his girl and the magpie. The girl spends time with the parson, and tells the bird she prefers him. The lonely sailor hurries home; the bird reveals the truth. Neither sailor nor parson want the girl thereafter
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1968
KEYWORDS: bird infidelity sailor clergy humorous
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond)) Australia
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Meredith/Anderson, pp. 44-45, "The Maid and the Magpie" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #1532
RECORDINGS:
Cyril Poacher, "The Maid and the Magpie" (on Voice06)
NOTES: I have not found a broadside but evidence that there is one is that there is a broadside parody: Bodleian, Harding B 11(2273), "The Maid and the Dustman. A popular parody on the 'Maid & magpie'" ("Once there was a maid who was thought very shy"), unknown, n.d. The parody description: The maid's lover is a tailor; she said they'd marry when he "signed the pledge again." She "hook'd it with the dustman" when her pa goes to church. The girl talks all day to the dustman [instead of the magpie]. When the tailor is asleep the girl goes to the dustman but they are interrupted by her mother. The tailor gets drunk and returns home to find the girl gone. He complains to her parents [instead of the magpie] who tell him about the dustman. The take her to court and she puts the blame on the dustman, who disappears; the bird reveals the truth. Neither tailor nor dustman want the girl thereafter "and she's got no one to cuddle, so she sleeps by herself." - BS
File: MA044
===
NAME: Maid and the Palmer, The [Child 21]
DESCRIPTION: A woman comes to a well, where she meets a man who asks of her a drink. She says she can offer him none because her leman/husband is away. The man tells her that she has no leman, and goes on to tell of her sins
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 
KEYWORDS: Jesus religious adultery
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (8 citations)
Child 21, "The Maid and the Palmer" (2 texts)
Bronson's (21 in addenda), "The Maid and the Palmer" (2 versions in addenda)
Leach, pp. 106-107, "The Maid and the Palmer" (1 text)
OBB 99, "The Maid and the Palmer" (1 text)
PBB 3, "The Maid and the Palmer" (1 text)
TBB 37, "The Maid and the Palmer" (1 text)
 Niles 15, "The Maid and the Palmer" (1 text, which Niles identifies with Child 21, but the fragment is so short that it could equally be part of Child 20)
DT 21, MAIDPALM MAIDPAL2*
ST C021 (Full)
Roud #2335
RECORDINGS:
John Reilly, "The Well Below the Valley" (on Voice03)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Jesus Met the Woman at the Well" (subject)
cf. "See the Woman at the Well" (subject)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Samaritan Woman
The Well Below the Valley
Jesus Met the Woman at the Well (?)
Seven Years
NOTES: For the story of Jesus and the Woman of Samaria, see John 4:5-26 - RBW
File: C021
===
NAME: Maid and the Robber, The: see The Undaunted Female (The Box Upon Her Head; The Staffordshire Maid; The Maid and the Robber) [Laws L3] (File: LL03)
===
NAME: Maid Freed from the Gallows, The [Child 95]
DESCRIPTION: A (woman) is about to be hanged. If she could pay her fee, she would be freed. One by one, father, brother, (and other family members) come to see her hanged, refusing to ransom her. Then her sweetheart arrives to rescue her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1770 (Percy collection, according to Child)
KEYWORDS: execution love rescue
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland,England(North,South,West)) US(Ap,MW,NE,SE,So,SW) Bahamas Jamaica
REFERENCES: (45 citations)
Child 95, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows" (11 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #5}
Bronson 95, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows" (68 versions+2 in addenda, but the last four main entries are "Gallows" [Laws L11], and some of the fragments may be also)
GreigDuncan2 248, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows" (1 fragment)
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 206-213, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows" (4 texts plus assorted folktale versions)
Flanders-Ancient3, pp. 15-41, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows" (8 texts plus a fragment, 8 tunes, but of the texts, only "A," "B1," and "B2" are 'The Maid Freed" [Child 95]; the remaining six are "Gallows" [Laws L11]
Belden, pp. 66-67, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #54}
Randolph 24, "Hold Your Hands, Old Man" (5 texts plus a fragment, 4 tunes) {A=Bronson's #41, D=#61, E=#12, F=#50}
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 45-47, "Hold Your Hands, Old Man" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 24E) {Bronson's #12}
Eddy 18, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows" (2 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #28}
Gardner/Chickering 50, "The Golden Ball" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #22}
Davis-Ballads 95, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows" (24 texts plus a fragment, 5 tunes plus a variant entitles "Maid Freed from the Gallows," "The Hangerman's Tree, or Freed from the Gallos," "The Maid Saved," "Hangsman"; 9 more versions mentioned in Appendix A) {Bronson's #9, #26, #42, #46, #40}
Davis-More 29, pp. 221-228, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows" (3 texts plus a fragment, 2 tunes;  the two longest texts, AA and DD, both contain floating material, in the case of "D" probably from "Ten Thousand Miles Away from Home (A Wild and Reckless Hobo; The Railroad Bum)" [Laws H2])
BrownII 30, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows" (4 texts, 5 excerpts, 1 fragment, plus mention of two more, as well as one mixed text, M, probably a combination of this with "Ten Thousand Miles Away from Home (A Wild and Reckless Hobo; The Railroad Bum)" [Laws H2])
Chappell-FSRA 15, "Maid Freed from the Gallows" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #34}
Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 35-42, (no general title; one version is listed as "Hangman, Slack on the Line")  (3 texts plus 3 excerpts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #10}
Hudson 17, pp. 111-114, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows" (4 texts plus an excerpt and mention of 1 more; the "D" text is mixed with floating verses from prison songs)
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 284, (no title) (1 text)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 196-200, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows" (2 texts plus an excerpt, with local titles "The Hangman's Son" and "Hangman, Hold Your Rope"; 2 tunes on pp. 408-409) {Bronson's #37, #38}
Brewster 17, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows" (1 text)
Leach, pp. 295-300, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows" (4 texts)
Wyman-Brockway I, p. 44, "The Hangman's Song" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #35}
Fuson, pp. 113-114, "The Hangman's Song" (1 text, with an introductory verse related to "In the Pines," ending "I have done no hanging crime")
Cambiaire, pp. 15-16, "The Hangman's Song" (1 text)
Friedman, p. 131, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows" (4 texts)
Warner 105, "Hang Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
McNeil-SFB1, pp. 86-87, "Jimmy Loud"; pp. 88-90, "Hangman" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
SharpAp 28, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows" (11 texts, most of which appear to be fragments though it's often hard to tell with this song, 11 tunes){Bronson's #30, #33, #9, #42, #6, #25, #58, #31, #39, #32, #15}
Sharp-100E 17, "The Briery Bush" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #49}
Niles 39, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 14, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #30}
Sandburg, p. 72, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #23}; p. 385, "Hangman" (1 short text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #64}
Scott-BoA, pp. 14-15, "The Sycamore Tree"; pp. 207-208, "Hangman, Slack on the Line" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Copper-SoBreeze, pp. 282-383, "Prickle-holly Bush" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ritchie-SingFam, pp. 139-141, "[Hangman, Slack Up Your Rope]" (2 texts, 2 tunes) {second tune is Bronson's #36, with differences}
Ritchie-Southern, p. 27, "The Hangman Song" (1 text, 1 tune) {approximately Bronson's #36, but Bronson's transcription, from  recording, is noticeably different}
Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 822-824, "The Hangman's Tree" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #23}
TBB 5, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows (The Hangman's Tree)" (1 text)
LPound-ABS, 13, pp. 31-33, "The Hangman's Song" (1 text)
JHCox 18, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows" (7 texts)
JHCoxIIA, #9, pp. 38-39, "Slack Your Rope" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #27}
Abrahams/Foss, pp. 41-42 "Hangman, Hangman" (1 text, 1 tune)
Rorrer, p. 74, "The Highwayman" (1 text, with a significant mixture of unrelated material from songs such as "The Roving Gambler"); p. 80, "Hangman, Hangman, Slack the Rope" (1 text, a fairly normal American variant)
Darling-NAS, pp. 69-71, "The Hangman"; "Gallows Pole" (2 texts, the first "modernized" by Darling)
Silber-FSWB, p. 211, "The Gallows Pole" (1 text)
DT 95, HANGMN1* HANGMAN2*
Roud #144
RECORDINGS:
James "Iron Head" Baker, "Young Maid Saved from the Gallows" (AFS 204 A2, 1934)
Bentley Ball, "Gallows Tree" (Columbia A3084, 1920)
Roy Harvey, Jess Johnston & the West Virginia Ramblers, "John Hardy Blues" (Champion 16281, 1931; on StuffDreams1) [see NOTES]
Fred Hewett, "The Prickle Holly-Bush" (on Voice03)
Harry Jackson, "The Hangman's Song" (on HJackson1) (in this version the true love pays the hangman to ensure that the hanging will take place)
Lead Belly, "The Gallis Pole" (Musicraft 227, rec. 1939)
A. L. Lloyd, "The Prickly Bush" (on ESFB1, ESFB2)
Walter Lucas & the people of Sixpenny Handley, Dorset, "The Prickle Holly Bush"  (on Lomax41, LomaxCD1741) {Bronson's #20}
[Asa] Martin & [Bob] Roberts, "Hang Down Your Head and Cry" (Conqueror 8207, 1933) [see NOTES]
Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers, "The Highwayman" (a heavily modified version; Columbia 15160-D, 1926; on CPoole03); "Hangman, Hangman, Slack the Rope" (a more normal version; Columbia 15385-D, 1929; rec. 1928)
Almeda Riddle, "Hangman Tree" (on LomaxCD1705)
Jean Ritchie, "Hangman" (on JRitchie01) {Bronson's #36?}
Julia Scaddon, "The Prickelly Bush [The Pricketty Bush]" (on FSB4, FSBBAL1)
Sarah Anne Tuck, "The Pricketty Bush (The Maid Freed from the Gallows)" (on FSBBAL1)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Gallows" [Laws L11] (plot)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Golden Ball
The Prickilie Bush
The Gallows Pole
Granny and the Golden Ball
NOTES: This very popular ballad is identical in plot with "Gallows" [Laws L11], and lumping editors will lump them; individual collections should be checked carefully.
Scarborough notes that southern Blacks turned this song into drama -- in a rather depressing way: The magical ball could be used to turn a Black girl into a pretty White. - RBW
The Martin & Roberts recording is a weird mishmosh: one verse that sounds like it's from the "Ten Thousand Miles Away from Home" family, one from this song, and one more or less from "Roving Gambler." I put it here because that middle verse is most explicitly from here, whereas the others are vaguer.
The Roy Harvey, recording, meanwhile, is equally weird; the tune is from "John Hardy," all right, but the lyrics are "Maid Freed from the Gallows." Don't ask me what's going on. - PJS
File: C095
===
NAME: Maid from the Carn Brae, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls the other girls described in songs -- the girl in the Galway shawl, the girl from the County, Down, etc. -- but "she was queen alone, The maid from the Carn Brae." No amount of searching will reveal another such girl
AUTHOR: James O'Kane
EARLIEST_DATE: 1937 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: beauty music
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H704, p. 241, "The Maid from the Carn Brae" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9478
NOTES: Curiously, the singer in this song makes no attempt to court the girl; he just describes her as irresistable. - RBW
File: HHH704
===
NAME: Maid from the County Tyrone, The
DESCRIPTION: Far from the city live Michael Murphy and his beautiful daughter. The singer praises her beauty at great length, and desires to wed her though she is only a farmer's daughter. If she agrees to marry, he will cease rambling and live in the country with her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love courting beauty home
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H528, p. 246, "The Maid from the County Tyrone" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13335
File: HHH528
===
NAME: Maid from Tidehead, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer hears a young lumberjack tell how "I long once again for the Maid from Tidehead." He describes their parting and decides to return to Restigouche: "No more will I roam from the Maid of Tidehead"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1948 (Manny/Wilson)
KEYWORDS: love separation logger reunion
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Manny/Wilson 31, "The Maid from Tidehead" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST MaWi031 (Partial)
Roud #9187
NOTES: The Restigouche River is in the central Miramichi area of New Brunswick. Tide Head is on that river near Chaleur Bay. - BS.
File: MaWi031
===
NAME: Maid Gaed to the Mill, The
DESCRIPTION: "The maid's gaed to the mill by night, sae wanton... That she should hae her corn ground, mill and multure free." The miller's man obliges her. When she has a child "Her mother baid her cast it oot." "Her faither baid her keep it in," and she does.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (SCMacCollSeeger01)
KEYWORDS: sex childbirth bastard mother father miller money
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
DT, MAIDMILL*
ADDITIONAL: _Sing Out_ magazine, Volume 39, #4 (1995), p, 38, "The Maid Gaed Tae the Mill" (1 text, 1 tune, Ewan MacColl's version, supposedly from his father)
Roud #2575
RECORDINGS:
Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, "The Maid Gaed to the Mill" (on SCMacCollSeeger01)
File: RcTMGTTM
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NAME: Maid Gathering Mushrooms, The: see Gathering Mushrooms (File: RcTGMus)
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NAME: Maid I Am In Love, A: see The Maid in Sorrow (Short Jacket) [Laws N12] (File: LN12)
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NAME: Maid I Left Behind, The: see The Girl I Left Behind [Laws P1A/B] (File: LP01)
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NAME: Maid in Bedlam, A
DESCRIPTION: The singer hears a woman in Bedlam lamenting. She went mad when friends sent her lover  away. In some versions, she reproaches him with this but continues to love him. In others, he returns and rescues her.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1787 (Scots Musical Museum)
KEYWORDS: madness betrayal love rescue
FOUND_IN: Britain(England) US(MW)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Sharp-100E 41, "Bedlam" (1 text, 1 tune)
Logan, pp. 187-188, "Bedlam City, or The Maiden's Lamentation" (1 text, part of the longer entry "Tom a Bedlam")
Gardner/Chickering 65, "A Maid in Bedlam" (1 text, very possibly from print)
BBI, ZN670, "Come maidens all and pity me"; ZN3182, "Young maidens all, pray pity me, and think of my extremity"
ST ShH41 (Partial)
Roud #605
RECORDINGS:
Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, "Through Moorfields" (on ENMacCollSeeger02)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 25(602), "The Fair Maid in Bedlam" ("It was down in Moorfields, as I walked one day"), J. Marshall (Newcastle), 1810-1831; also Harding B 22(65), "The Distracted Maiden"; Firth c.18(138), Firth c.12(229), "Nancy's Complaint in Bedlam"; Firth b.26(457), Harding B 11(1116), "The Fair Maid in Bedlam" 
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Tom a Bedlam (Bedlam Boys)" (theme)
cf. "Gramachree" (tune)
cf. "William (Willie) Riley (Riley's Trial)" [Laws M10] (theme of a maid in Bedlam)
NOTES: Bethlehem Hospital ("Bedlam") was the first hospital in London for patients with mental illnesses. It was for men, I believe; Magdalene Hospital ("Maudlin"), established somewhat later, was for women. - PJS
Roud has at least three numbers meeting the general description for "A Maid In Bedlam" (Roud #605). The #605 broadsides are listed above. Their description is: The singer, wlking in Moorfields, hears an inmate girl complain that her parents had her apprentice lover sent to sea which "has distracted my brain." The sailor returns and bribes the porter and rescues her. They marry and he gives the "unworthy parents" a tongue-lashing.
Roud #575 is represented by the following broadsides. Their description is: The singer hears "a Maid in Bedlam" rattling her chains and complaining that her lover's parents had him sent to sea. She prays that if she die she might claim "a guardian angel's charge, around my Love to fly" She tells what she would do were she a flower garland, nightingale, or eagle, to be with her lover.
Bodleian, Harding B 14(34), "The Maid in Bedlam" ("One morning, very early, one morning in the spring"), Fowler (Salisbury), 1770-1800; also Firth c.18(139), "The Maid of Bedlam"
Roud #968 is represented by the following broadsides. Their description is: The singer hears an inmate maiden complain that Billy is her love and they are separated by her parents. She thinks of flying to his side and seeing him die on the battlefield. She sees him coming "in the cloud With guardian angels standing round him"
Bodleian, Harding B 28(92), "Bedlam City" ("Down by the side of Bedlam city"), W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also Firth c.18(140)[some lines illegible], 2806 c.18(197)[only the first verse and chorus are legible], Harding B 28(273), Harding B 25(155), 2806 c.17(26), Firth c.19(186), "Bedlam City"
The following broadside, only slightly modified from the Roud #968 broadsides above, has been, according to its printer, "altered from the vulgar ballad."
Bodleian, Johnson Ballads fol. 26, "Bedlam City" ("Down by Bedlam I walk'd one ev'ning"), J. Catnach (London), 1813-1838
There are at least three similar broadsides not yet assigned a Roud number.
In one "Amelia's Complaint": Amelia's is in chains because her father sent her sailor away where, she thinks, he was slain. Her mind wanders as she cannot make ouut what approaches. She prays to die.
Bodleian, Harding B 25(43), "Amelia's Complaint, in Bedlam for the Loss of her Sailor" ("Young women with attention listen to what I mention"), G. Pigott (London) , n.d.
In another "Amelia's Complaint": Amelia's lover is imprest to fight in the war She prays that the war will end. If he is slain she'll be undone forever. She'll be true."
Bodleian, Harding B 25(41), "Amelia's Complaint for the Loss of Young Edward" ("Young lovers all awhile attend")[some words illegible], J. Jennings (London), 1790-1840
In "Pity a Maiden": "They" have imprest Billy and sent him over the sea. If he returns she will be free of Bedlam and her chains. She thinks of being with Billy and sends him a letter by a friend saying that she hopes they will meet again.
Bodleian, 2806 c.18(246), "Pity a Maiden" ("Pity an innocent maiden in Bedlam I lay confin'd"), J. Pitts (London), 1802-1819 
Opie-Oxford2: "In 1675 the Old Bethlem Hospital was moved to Moorfields" - BS
File: ShH41
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NAME: Maid in Sorrow, The (Short Jacket) [Laws N12]
DESCRIPTION: A girl dresses as a sailor and goes to sea to seek her true love. The captain finds her attractive and wishes she were a girl. She puts him off, pointing out that there are handsome girls ashore. Only as she is leaving the ship does she reveal her sex
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield)
KEYWORDS: cross-dressing ship sea
FOUND_IN: US(MA,MW,NE) Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES: (7 citations)
Laws N12, "The Maid in Sorrow (Short Jacket)"
Greenleaf/Mansfield 46, "Short Jacket" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 327-328, "Blue Jacket and White Trousers" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-Maritime, p. 78, "A Maid I Am In Love" (1 text, 1 tune)
Warner 1, "Cabin Boy"; 48, "Cabin Boy" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Gardner/Chickering 164, "The Maid in Sorrow" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 444, SHORTJKT* SHORTJK2*
Roud #231
RECORDINGS:
A. L. Lloyd, "Short Jacket and White Trousers" (on Lloyd2, Lloyd3)
Mrs. Stan Marshall, "Maid I Am in Love" (on MRHCreighton)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
A Maid That's Deep in Love
File: LN12
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NAME: Maid of Aghadowey, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls his time by the Banks of the Ban, where he met a beautiful girl. Her parents are "dead against me," but he begs her to be true to him, and says that he would give her all his riches if he had any
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love courting separation father mother
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H673, p. 429, "The Maid of Aghadowey" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7958
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Banks of the Bann (I)" [Laws O2] (plot)
NOTES: This song is similar in plot to Laws O2, "The Banks of the Bann," and also takes place by the Bann. Some have tentatively equated the songs. But songs of parents opposing lovers are common, and songs set by the Bann are common; there is no reason there shouldn't be two such. There is no lyrical similarity that I can see. Different songs, in my book. - RBW
File: HHH673
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NAME: Maid of Altaveedan, The
DESCRIPTION: "I met her on the brow of Altaveedon Hill, The lambs were calling after her to stay there." He describes the hills and her, saying "There's a head of gold far lovelier than yon hill." Her beauty has enraptured the singer; he will wander no more
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1935 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love beauty
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H603, p. 239, "The Maid of Altaveedan" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9474
File: HHH603
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NAME: Maid of Altibrine, The: see The Holly Bough/The Maid of Altibrine (File: HHH111)
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NAME: Maid of Amsterdam, The: see A-Rovin' (File: EM064)
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NAME: Maid of Australia, The: see Oxeborough Banks (Maids of Australia) (File: FaE044)
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NAME: Maid of Ballydoo, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer meets a maid. He asks if she were Helen, or Aurora, or "Flo the queen of May." He takes her to Hilltown and gets her drunk so that "she soon forgot the vows she made." He recalls now "when I first composed these verses" sitting at his loom.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1976 (OBoyle)
KEYWORDS: seduction weaving drink
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
OBoyle 15, "The Maid of Ballydoo" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3477
NOTES: O Boyle: "Ballydoo is a small townland between Hilltown and Mayobridge [in County Down]...." - BS
I have a recording of this made by David Hammond and released on "Irish Folk Songs: The Clancy Brothers, David Hammond and Families" (Excelsior/Madacy, 1994). Most of the material on this disc was previously released in 1959, but I cannot verify that this song was, so I am forced to use O Boyle as the earliest date. - RBW
File: OBoy015
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NAME: Maid of Ballyhaunis, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer courts Mary, saying that her beauty has ensnared him. He begs her to love him, but notes that his father has told him they may not marry. He asks her to come away with him "to the land of ships," where they will be happy
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1831 (Hardiman _Irish Minstrelsy,_ according to OLochlainn-More)
KEYWORDS: love courting father
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
SHenry H483, p. 427, "The Maid of Ballyhaunis" (1 text, 1 tune)
OLochlainn-More 45, "Mary of Ballyhaunis" (1 text, 1 tune)
O'Conor, p. 157, "Maid of Ballyhaunis" (1 text)
Roud #7960
NOTES: This strikes me as far too intricate to be a genuine traditional song; the evidence strongly implies that it originated in a broadside. - RBW
File: HHH483
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NAME: Maid of Ballymore, The
DESCRIPTION: Markie Bawn loves the heiress "maid of Ballymore." If he wants to marry, she says, he must have her parents' consent. He puts on his shoes, has her mother's consent, and they marry. "A happier couple were never saw before"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (recording, Mary Ann Carolan)
KEYWORDS: courting marriage mother
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: ()

Roud #2991
RECORDINGS:
Mary Ann Carolan, "The Maid of Ballymore" (on Voice06)
NOTES: Ballymore is in County Kerry. - BS
File: RcMaiBal
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NAME: Maid of Belfast Town, The
DESCRIPTION: "In Belfast town of high renown, There lives a comely maid." The singer approaches her and asks her to come away with him. She rejects him because of a vow made seven years before. Now, "each night I dream, rave and complain" because she refused him.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1826 (according to Leyden)
KEYWORDS: courting rejection separation
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Leyden 26, "The Maid of Belfast Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 25(1193)[some words in last verse illegible], "The Maid of Belfast" ("In Belfast town of high renown there l[i]ves a comely maid"), J. Pitts (London), 1819-1844; also Harding B 11(2279), "The Maid of Belfast"; Harding B 11(337), "The Belfast Maid"
NOTES: Among other classic [Roman] references here: "Diana fair cannot compare, Or Venus from the tide, Or Dido sure that virgin pure, That for Aeneas died ...." See the notes to "Sheila Nee Iyer" for some traits of the "hedge school master" school of Irish ballad writing. - BS
Someday, someone should do a study on why Diana (Greek Artemis) became so noted for beauty in British tales (see, e.g., "The an-Yard Side" [Laws M28], "The Beaver Brig," and "The Fair of Balamina"). She was not one of the three goddesses who competed for the title of "the Fairest" in the Judgment of Paris. that was contested between Hera (Roman Juno), Aphrodite (Roman Venus), and Athena (Roman Minerva). That contest of course was won by Aphrodite, leading to the Trojan War.
Not every account says that Aphrodite was born of the sea-foam; Homer simply calls her the daughter of Zeus and Dione. But Hesiod tells of her birth from the sea-foam after the gonads of Ouranos were cast into the ocean after his castration by his son Chronos (Hesiod, _Theogony_, lines 185-195); indeed, the name "Aphrodite" is in these lines falsely equated with Greek "aphros," "foam."
Aphrodite was of course the mother of Aeneas, which lead smoothly into the story of the latter, and his betrayal of Dido, which is a major theme of Virgil's _Aeneid_, which I would assume is the major source for most of the material here. - RBW
File: Leyd026
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NAME: Maid of Bonnie Strathyre, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer wants nothing better "than to herd the fine cattle on bonnie Strathyre" with "Mary, the pride of Strathyre." He dances with Mary, and Flora with Colin. Others can go to the lowlands, or soldier far away, but he'll stay home with Mary
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1988 (McBride)
KEYWORDS: love farming dancing Scotland nonballad animal
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
McBride 53, "The Maid of Bonnie Strathyre" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: McBride: "The song originates in the beautiful vale of Strathyre in Perthshire.... It would seem to be a very localised ballad and it must have been imported by migratory workers who traversed between Insihowen and Scotland." - BS
File: McB053
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NAME: Maid of Bunclody, and the Lad She Loves So Dear, The: see The Streams of Bunclody (File: BroaTSoB)
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NAME: Maid of Burndennet, The
DESCRIPTION: "Oh, fair (are the) vales of (my) own native soil," particularly Burndennet, where a beautiful girl lives. The singer praises her beauty and describes their courting. Though their rivals sneer, their love will emerge victorious
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love courting beauty
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H96a+b, pp. 230-231, "The Maid of Burndennett" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Roud #7982
NOTES: Curiously, although Sam Henry lists only one source for this song, he preserved two texts -- each of four verses, but only two and a half verses in common, with a different order, and with substantial differences even in the common material. The differences are just what one would expect from oral tradition -- but with only one listed source, and no other versions known, one must suspect editorial tampering. - RBW
File: HHH096
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NAME: Maid of Carrowclare, The: see Killyclare (Carrowclare; The Maid of Carrowclare) (File: HHH298)
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NAME: Maid of Castle Craigh, The
DESCRIPTION: When the singer left Ireland to fight in the wars he had loved his "Maid of Castle Craigh" but thought she did not love him. Somehow, in the three years passed, he learned "that I had won thy gentle heart." The war is over and he has returned to her.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1901 (O'Conor)d
KEYWORDS: love war separation return Ireland
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
OLochlainn-More 72, "The Maid of Castlecraig" (1 text, 1 tune)
O'Conor, p. 146, "The Maid of Castle Craigh" (1 text)
File: OLcM072
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NAME: Maid of Colehill, The: see The Flower of Corby Mill (File: HHH612)
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NAME: Maid of Craigienorn, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer praises the Maid of Craigienorn, whom he sees as he rambles. He begs her to come away. She refuses; she has another love and will not leave her parents. He says her love has abandoned her. The ending is confused
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love courting rejection abandonment beauty
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H500, pp. 359-360, "The Maid of Craigienorn" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #6880
NOTES: The first several stanzas of this are your standard guy-sees-girl/guy-hits-on-girl/girl-says-leave-me-alone ballad. Then we get a John Riley-like scene in which he says her love has abandoned her. (And how, given that the singer has never seen her before, does he know?) Then there seems to be a section from the woman's viewpoint, and another in which she is revealed as a Protestant, and another in which the singer complains about England's laws and wishes the couple happiness.
There seems little doubt that the ending of this song is confused. I would guess at least three other songs have contributed. But it's hard to identify them from the small fragments extant. - RBW
File: HHH359
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NAME: Maid of Croaghmore, The
DESCRIPTION: The well-born young man falls in love with the maid of Croaghmore. He describes her beauty, says he would make her queen if he were king, and promises to serve for her hand as Jacob served Laban. Her parents say she is too young
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love courting rejection father mother beauty
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H522, pp. 355-356, "The Maid of Croaghmore" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #6878
NOTES: One wonders what was wrong with this wealthy young man, that the girl's parents refused to wed her to him (the song says she was nineteen, so hardly too young!).
The story of Jacob serving Laban for fourteen years to win the hands of Rachel and Leah is told in Genesis 29:15-30.
The song refers in the third verse to the Duke of Cumberland. Sam Henry explained that this was the same Duke of Cumberland (Williams Augustus, 1721-1765) who destroyed the Jacobite cause at Culloden. I can see no basis for this assertion. - RBW
File: HHH522
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NAME: Maid of Culmore, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer praises the harbour and women of Culmore. He recalls the girl he loved, who cried bu "sailed down Lough Foyle and away from Culmore." He wishes a storm would bring her back. He will follow her and seek her in America
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1937 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love separation ship emigration
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H687, p. 302, "The Maids of Culmore" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2493
File: HHH687
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NAME: Maid of Don, The: see The Haughs o Newe (File: Ord193)
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NAME: Maid of Dunmore, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer meets a maid whose sweetheart is fighting the French with Nelson. He asks her to leave Dunmore and live with him in Ireland. She refuses. He "picked up my alls and left for Ireland, And left that fair maid in Dunmore"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Dean)
KEYWORDS: love sailor war separation courting rejection Ireland
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) US(MW)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Manny/Wilson 83, "The Maid of Dunmore" (1 text, 1 tune)
Dean, pp. 47-48, "The Lass of Dunmore" (1 text)
ST MaWi083 (Partial)
Roud #9177 and 3668
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Lass of Dunmore
NOTES: This hits so many familiar themes that it sounds like it ought to be a version of something else (compare, e.g., "The Plains of Waterloo (I)" [Laws N32] and "The Banks of Clyde (I)") -- but I can't locate a true parallel. - RBW.
File: MaWi083
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NAME: Maid of Dunysheil
DESCRIPTION: The singer praises Dunyshiel, "the place where my true love does dwell." He recalls meeting her at Rasharkin Fair. He must leave for Nova Scotia, but as long as he is away, "my heart shall be with the Maid of Dunyshiel."
AUTHOR: Paddy McGuckian
EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love courting emigration separation
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H530, p. 298, "The Maid of Dunyshiel" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #6894
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Erin's Flowery Vale (The Irish Girl's Lament)" [Laws O29] (plot) and references there
File: HHH530
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NAME: Maid of Erin's Isle, The
DESCRIPTION: "Oh, the sun does set down in the west when his daily journey's o'er.... With ruby wine I'll fill my glass... And I'll drink a health to my sweetheart, she's the maid of Erin's isle." He praises Mary's beauty, and vows to love her as long as he lives
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love beauty nonballad wine
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H57b, p. 228, "The Maid of Erin's Isle" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7978
BROADSIDES:
Murray, Mu23-y4:002, "The Maid of Erin's Isle," J. Pitts (London), 1819-1844
File: HHH057b
===
NAME: Maid of Fainey, The
DESCRIPTION: "There was a maid of Fainey, of youth and beauty bright, Who had scores of sweethearts to court her day and night...." She loves her father's servant. They break a ring, then he flees. Her father threatens him. The end is confused
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1968
KEYWORDS: brokentoken courting love father separation
FOUND_IN: Australia
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Meredith/Anderson, pp. 167-168, "The Maid of Fainey" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MAIDFAIN
Roud #3353
File: MA167
===
NAME: Maid of Faughan Vale, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer meets a beautiful girl near Faughan Vale. He asks her about the road, and then admits to being besotted with her. She tells him she is engaged to another, and they will soon sail for America. He laments his fate
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: beauty courting rejection emigration
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H167, p. 369, "The Maid of Faughan Vale" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #6885
File: HHH167
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NAME: Maid of Lismore, The
DESCRIPTION: Singer meets Kathy from Lismore, going to sell turkeys at Dungarvan. She pays for drinks. He claims to be rich. They sleep until the market closed. The price for turkeys falls. Now he claims poverty. She is ruined and would have him "hung or transported"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1886 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(2283))
KEYWORDS: seduction lie drink commerce poverty bird food
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: ()

Roud #9284
RECORDINGS:
Martin Reidy, "Lismore Turkeys" (on IRClare01)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(2283), "The Maid of Lismore" ("One day as I chanced to go roving"), H. Such (London), 1863-1885; also 2806 b.9(111), 2806 c.8(187), 2806 c.8(257)[some words illegible], 2806 c.15(12)[some words illegible], 2806 b.11(135), "The Maid of Lismore"
NOTES: The places mentioned -- Lismore, Dungarvin and Cappoquin (where they stopped) -- are in County Waterford. It's about three miles from Lismore to Cappoquin, and about 11 miles farther to Dungarvan. - BS
File: RcMaLism
===
NAME: Maid of Magheracloon, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer complains that the man who courted her on the hills of Magheraclon, "behind yon hawthorn tree," no longer courts her. "Oh he's not to blame, the fault's my own ... I gave my love to another young man." Now she is broken-hearted.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1970 (Morton-Ulster)
KEYWORDS: courting infidelity rejection love
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Morton-Ulster 21, "The Maid of Magheracloon" (1 text, 1 tune)
Morton-Maguire 6, pp. 9,102,157, "The Maid of Magheracloon" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2486
NOTES: Magheracloon is a parish in County Monaghan.
Morton-Maguire: "The song seems to be very well known in Co. Fermanagh." - BS
File: MorU021
===
NAME: Maid of Monterey, The: see Mustang Gray (The Maid of Monterey) (File: FT09)
===
NAME: Maid of Mourne Shore, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer ask is he will ever again see the region of Mourne. He goes to his sweetheart, and begs her to love him lest he go over the sea. She says she loves a sailor and will remain true to him. The singer sadly prepares to emigrate
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love rejection sailor emigration
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
SHenry H34b (+tune in H27a), pp. 371-372, "The Maid of Mourne Shore" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MOURNESH*
Roud #2946
RECORDINGS:
Robert Cinnamond, "The Maids of Mourne Shore" (on IRRCinnamond03)
Martin Reidy, "Maid of Moorlough Shore" (on IRClare01)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Foggy Dew" (II) (version on IRClare01) (tune)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Banks of Moorlough Shore
The Moorlough Shore
The Mourne Shore
File: HHH034b
===
NAME: Maid of Mullaghmore, The: see The Shamrock Shore (The Maid of Mullaghmore) (File: HHH20a)
===
NAME: Maid of Newfoundland, The
DESCRIPTION: The beauties of the maid are compared with the flowers, jewels, women of other lands, etc. The singer tells us that he met her in Labrador and will go far away if he cannot have her.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield)
KEYWORDS: love beauty exile
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 118, "The Maid of Newfoundland" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 372-374, "The Maid of Newfoundland" (1 text, 1 tune)
Doyle2, p. 21, "The Maid of Newfoundland" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lehr/Best 71, "The Maid of Newfoundland" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MAIDNEWF
Roud #4412
RECORDINGS:
Anita Best and Pamela Morgan, "The Maid on the Shore" (on NFABestPMorgan01)
NOTES: The song has a formulaic introduction by the singer who evokes the Muses to help sing praises to his beloved. - SH
File: Doy21
===
NAME: Maid of Prairie Du Chien, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer bids farewell, noting "There's nothing doth my footsteps detain But the beautiful maid of Prairie du Chien." He offers marriage; she rejects him. He hopes she will turn to him "when lovers get scarce." He wishes he were a soldier far away
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1903 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: love rejection
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Belden, p. 201, "The Maid of Prairie Du Chien" (1 text)
Roud #7947
NOTES: Belden notes, correctly, that Prairie du Chien is in southwestern Wisconsin, where the Wisconsin River joins the Upper Mississippi. But he fails to note that it was the site of Fort Crawford, founded in 1816, which at the time was the northwesternmost point of functional United States control of the Midwest (to be superseded in 1819 by the founding of Camp New Hope, which eventually was moved to the site of Fort Snelling at the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers).
If Belden's informant was correct about when he learned it, the song must have dated back to at least 1850 or so. In that case, it seems quite likely that the singer was intended to be a soldier at Fort Crawford; the girl may have been a local Indian, though by 1850 there were a fair number of Europeans in the area. - RBW
File: Beld201
===
NAME: Maid of Rygate, The: see The Highwayman Outwitted [Laws L2] (File: LL02)
===
NAME: Maid of Seventeen, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer steps up to a beautiful girl and says that she entices him. She answers that she is only seventeen, and knows nothing of courting. He offers her a lesson in the subject. She says he should not visit her; she will return in a week
AUTHOR: Hugh McWilliams (source: Moulden-McWilliams)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1831 (according to Moulden-McWilliams)
KEYWORDS: love courting youth beauty
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
SHenry H144, p. 270, "The Maid of Seventeen" (1 text, 1 tune)
ADDITIONAL: John Moulden, Songs of Hugh McWilliams, Schoolmaster, 1831 (Portrush,1993), p. 11, "The Maid of Seventeen"
Roud #2958
RECORDINGS:
Robert Cinnamond, "The Maid of Seventeen" (on IRRCinnamond02)
File: HHH144
===
NAME: Maid of Sweet Gartheen, The: see  (File: HHH594)
===
NAME: Maid of Sweet Gartine, The: see  (File: HHH594)
===
NAME: Maid of Sweet Gorteen, The: see The Maid of Sweet Gurteen (File: HHH594)
===
NAME: Maid of Sweet Gurteen, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer tells the praises of the beautiful Maid of Gorteen. His father opposes the match; she is only a serving girl. The father locks her up; when the singer still professes his love, he has the girl sent away. The ending is confused
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1863 (broadside, Harding B 11(2292))
KEYWORDS: love separation father beauty
FOUND_IN: Ireland Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
SHenry H594, p. 430, "The Maid of Sweet Gorteen" (1 text, 1 tune)
OLochlainn 22, "The Maid of Sweet Gurteen" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 375-376, "The Maid of Sweet Gartheen" (1 text, 1 tune)
Manny/Wilson 85, "The Maid of Sweet Gartine" (1 text, 1 tune)
O'Conor, p. 31, "The Maid of Sweet Gorteen" (1 text)
ST HHH594 (Partial)
Roud #3025
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(2292), "Maid of Sweet Gortein," H. Such (London), 1849-1862; also 2806 b.11(146), "Maid of Sweet Gortein"; 2806 b.11(271), Harding B 11(2721), "The Maid of Sweet Gorteen"; 2806 c.8(263), Harding B 11(2290), Harding B 11(2291), 2806 c.15(200)[many illegible words], 2806 b.9(277), 2806 b.9(234), Harding B 19(39), "The Maid of Sweet Gurteen"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Suffolk Miracle" [Child 272] (theme)
NOTES: Child would have liked this; the plot is "The Suffolk Miracle" ("The Holland Handkerchief"), minus that ghost he so despised. It's not clear how this song is supposed to end; the Sam Henry texts gives hints that the lovers would reunite, but they never do.
Peacock's version has a clear stopping point ("So now my song is ended"), but again, no resolution; it leaves the singer wandering, seemingly between England and Ireland, still coming back to where he found her. Similarly Manny/Wilson, save that he is in Florida. - RBW
File: HHH594
===
NAME: Maid of Tardree, The
DESCRIPTION: In this confused song, the singer falls in love with a  girl, who also says she loves him. But then he falls in love with another girl. But his "first expectations were blighted." He prepares to emigrate
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1937 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love emigration
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H733, p. 342, "The Maid of Tardree" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #6872
NOTES: There is no doubt in my mind that this song is damaged somehow. But I can't guess how. - RBW
File: HHH733
===
NAME: Maid of the East, The: see There Was a Lady in the East (File: Pea726)
===
NAME: Maid of the Logan Bough, The: see The Foot of the Mountain Brow (The Maid of the Mountain Brow) [Laws P7] (File: LP07)
===
NAME: Maid of the Mountain Brow: see The Foot of the Mountain Brow (The Maid of the Mountain Brow) [Laws P7] (File: LP07)
===
NAME: Maid of the Sweet Brown Knowe, The: see The Foot of the Mountain Brow (The Maid of the Mountain Brow) [Laws P7] (File: LP07)
===
NAME: Maid of Tottenham, The: see Haselbury Girl, The (The Maid of Tottenham, The Aylesbury Girl) (File: K176)
===
NAME: Maid on the Shore, The (The Fair Maid by the Sea Shore; The Sea Captain) [Laws K27]
DESCRIPTION: The captain sees a pretty girl on the shore, and vigorously entreats her to come aboard. At last she does, but then sings captain and sailors to sleep. She robs captain and sailors, then rows back to shore -- using the captain's sword for an oar!
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1859 (Journal from the Ocean Rover)
KEYWORDS: courting seduction trick escape robbery magic shore feminist
FOUND_IN: US(MA,NE,NW,So,SW) Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland
REFERENCES: (16 citations)
Laws K27, "The Maid on the Shore (The Fair Maid by the Sea Shore; The Sea Captain)"
Bronson (43), "The Broomfield Hill" -- the appendix includes 6 versions (#25-#30) which are this song
Belden, pp. 107-109, "The Maid on the Shore" (1 text, 1 tune)
Leach, pp. 731-732, "The Fair Maid by the Sea Shore" (1 text)
Friedman, p. 403, "The Sea Captain" (1 text)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 28, "The Maiden who Dwelt by the Shore" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #29}
Peacock, pp. 296-297, "The Maid on the Shore O" (1 text, 1 tune)
Karpeles-Newfoundland 28, "The Sea Captain" (3 texts, 3 tunes) {Bronson's #27, #30}
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 158-159, "The Maid on the Shore (The Sea Captain)" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #29, perhaps slightly modified}
Creighton-Maritime, p. 41, "The Sea Captain" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 49, "The Sea Captain" (1 text, 1 tune)
Mackenzie 19, "The Sea Captain" (2 texts, 1 tune)
FSCatskills 75, "The Maid on the Shore" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 136-137, "The Maid on the Shore" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 73, "The Maid on the Shore" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #29}
DT 322 (43?), MAIDSHOR* MAIDSHR2*
Roud #181
RECORDINGS:
Frankie Armstrong, "The Maid on the Shore" (on BirdBush2, Armstrong1)
Omar Blondahl, "The Maid on the Shore" (on NFOBlondahl04)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Broomfield Hill" [Child 43] (plot) and references there
cf. "Drimindown" (tune)
File: LK27
===
NAME: Maid Peeped Out at the Window, The: see The Friar in the Well [Child 276] (File: C276)
===
NAME: Maid Who Sold Her Barley, The: see Mowing the Barley (Cold and Raw) (File: ShH60)
===
NAME: Maid with the Bonny Brown Hair, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer sees a beautiful maiden, "brighter than Venus." He courts her; at last they set a wedding day. But she breaks off the engagement; she has "another more kinder." He laments; he or she or both set out for another country
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1905 (JIFSS)
KEYWORDS: love rejection emigration beauty
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
SHenry H43, p. 394, "The Maid with the Bonny Brown Hair"; H575, pp. 394-395, "The Maid with the Bonny Brown Hair" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
OLochlainn 6, "The Maid With the Bonny Brown Hair" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hayward-Ulster, pp. 39-40, "The Maid with the Bonny Brown Hair" (1 text)
Roud #3032
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Lough Erin's Shore (I)" (tune)
cf. "The Bonnie Wee Lass of the Glen" (tune)
cf. "Erin's Green Shore" [Laws Q27] (tune)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Lass with the Bonny Brown Hair
File: HHH024
===
NAME: Maiden City, The
DESCRIPTION: Derry is the Maiden City, threatened in 1688. Her defenders shouted "No Surrender" and vowed Derry "should be a Maiden still." She rejected "a Kingly wooer" and her defenders won a terrible battle. "The Maiden on her throne boys, Shall be a Maiden still"
AUTHOR: Charlotte Elizabeth (source: Hayes)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1987 (OrangeLark)
KEYWORDS: battle Ireland patriotic
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
OrangeLark 39, "The Maiden City" (1 text, 1 tune)
ADDITIONAL:Edward Hayes, The Ballads of Ireland (Boston, 1859 (reprint of 1855 London edition)), Vol I, p. 278, "The Maiden City"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Shutting of the Gates of Derry" (subject: The Siege of Derry) and references there
NOTES: For background on the Siege of (London)derry, see the notes to "The Shutting of the Gates of Derry" as well as "No Surrender (I)."  - RBW
File: OrLa039
===
NAME: Maiden in the Garden, The: see Pretty Fair Maid (The Maiden in the Garden; The Broken Token) [Laws N42] (File: LN42)
===
NAME: Maiden of Drumdurno, The
DESCRIPTION: "Busy baking for her bridal, Durno's maiden lilts wi' glee." A stranger taunts her for baking too slowly. She wagers she can finish baking before he can build a road. He, the devil in disguise, wins the wager. She flees and turns to stone to escape him
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord)
KEYWORDS: cook food wager marriage trick Devil
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ord, pp. 434-435, "The Maiden of Drumdurno" (1 text)
NOTES: According to Ord, this is a poetic version of a legend regarding the "maiden stone of Bennachie." The tall stone, said to bear the marks of a fleeing girl, is reported to have been created when the condemned girl cried for help. Rather than obtaining rescue from the tempter, she was turned to stone.
The legend may have arisen naturally. The song, I think, is a purely modern composition. - RBW
File: Ord434
===
NAME: Maiden Pined by Derry's Walls, A
DESCRIPTION: A maiden starving in Derry tells "her 'Prentice Boy lover" not to weep for her: live free or die "not like a popish slave." The message is repeated in Derry by a young wife and mother to her husband, and by a widowed mother to her son.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1987 (OrangeLark)
KEYWORDS: battle death starvation Ireland patriotic husband lover mother wife
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
OrangeLark 32, "A Maiden Pined by Derry's Walls" (1 text)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Slave" (tune, according to OrangeLark)
NOTES: See "No Surrender (I)" and references there for information about the 1688-1689 Seige of Derry. - BS
Also "The Shutting of the Gates of Derry." It's perhaps worth noting, in light of the girl addressing her "'Prentice Boy." that it was the apprentices of the town who were first credited with closing Derry's gates. - RBW
File: PrLa032
===
NAME: Maiden Sat a-Weeping, A: see As Sylvie Was Walking (File: VWL014)
===
NAME: Maiden Who Dwelt by the Shore, The: see The Maid on the Shore (The Fair Maid by the Sea Shore; The Sea Captain) [Laws K27] (File: LK27)
===
NAME: Maiden's Grave, The
DESCRIPTION: "What is that crucifix gleaming so whitely, Here in the desert standing so brave? Let us go softly, let us go lightly, To read its inscription, 'The Maiden's Grave.'" No one, save the cross that marks the grave, knows who she was or how she died
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1909 (Deseret News)
KEYWORDS: death burial nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Burt, pp. 135-136, "(The Maiden's Grave)" (1 text)
NOTES: Reportedly based on an incident of 1904, when the Central Pacific railroad was realigning its tracks. This involved moving one grave of a woman whose history was not know. - RBW
File: Burt135
===
NAME: Maiden's Lament (I), The
DESCRIPTION: The girl laments that her parents have denied her poor lover's proposal of marriage. She bids farewell to parents, friends and foes. "Come all you fair maids like me a-dying, It's now I'm taking my last farewell." She believes her death is near.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Karpeles-Newfoundland)
KEYWORDS: love courting separation dying father mother death poverty
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Karpeles-Newfoundland 82, "The Maiden's Lament" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2305
File: KaNew082
===
NAME: Maiden's Lament (II), The: see I Never Will Marry [Laws K17] (File: LK17)
===
NAME: Maiden's Lament (III): see Garners Gay (Rue; The Sprig of Thyme) and related songs (File: FSWB163)
===
NAME: Maiden's Lamentation, The: see A Maid in Bedlam (File: ShH41)
===
NAME: Maiden's Prayer, The: see The Butcher Boy [Laws P24] (File: LP24)
===
NAME: Maidens of Sixty-Three (The Old Maid)
DESCRIPTION: "When I was a girl of eighteen years old... I was taught to expect wit, wisdom, gold, and nothing less would do for me." She rejected a youth as too poor, a duke as too old, etc. By  her forties, the suitors were fewer; at (63), she begs for anyone
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1911 (Grieg)
KEYWORDS: courting oldmaid rejection
FOUND_IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
SHenry H679, pp. 255-256, "Maidens of Sixty-Three" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, OLDMD53*
Roud #5643
NOTES: Sort of a combination of "My Thing Is My Own" with "The Old Maid's Song." - RBW
File: HHH679
===
NAME: Maidin Luan Chincise
DESCRIPTION: Gaelic. The speaker laments that while Leinster and Ulster rose in rebellion, Munster did not.
AUTHOR: Micheal Og O Longain (1766-1837) (source: Moylan)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (Toibin's _Duanaire Deiseach_, according to Moylan)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage rebellion
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1798 - Irish rebellion against British rule 
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Moylan 102, "Maidin Luan Chincise" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: The description is, verbatim, Moylan's.
Moylan states that his text is not O Longain's original, but a version from tradition. - BS
This is one of those "technically correct" laments: There were lots of hot spots in Ulster in 1798. In Munster, outside of Dublin, there wasn't much -- except in Wexford. Wexford is right on the borther with Munster, but there were few spontaneous uprisings in Munster. But Munster was a backwater. Had the Ulster rebels held together until the French came, or the Wexford rebels raised more of Leinster and moved on Dublin, they might have succeeded. Had Munster risen but all else stayed the same, the effect would simply have been to increase the bloodshed: The British would have pacified the northeast, then concentrated all their forces in the south. - RBW
File: Moyl102
===
NAME: Maids of Australia: see Oxeborough Banks (Maids of Australia) (File: FaE044)
===
NAME: Maids of Culmore, The: see The Maid of Culmore (File: HHH687)
===
NAME: Maids of Downhill, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls wandering by Magilligan strand to Downhill. He describes the shore, the old castle, the fields, the girls. He complains that the famous poets never mentioned Downhill. He would rather be here than anywhere else in the world
AUTHOR: Frances Heaney ?
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: home nonballad
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H809, p. 162, "The Maids of Downhill" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13462
File: HHH809
===
NAME: Maids of Mourne Shore, The: see The Maid of Mourne Shore (File: HHH034b)
===
NAME: Maids of Simcoe (Ontario)
DESCRIPTION: The singer urges the girls to remember the loggers while waiting at home with the farmers. He remarks sarcastically on the dangers farmers face. The boys head for (Quebec) to party, then for home. (In some texts a girl at an inn falls in love with him)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Rickaby)
KEYWORDS: logger separation
FOUND_IN: US(MA,NE)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Doerflinger, pp. 241-242, "The Maids of Simcoe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Rickaby 16, "Ye Maidens of Ontario" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 76-77, "Ye Maidens of Ontario" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Doe241 (Partial)
Roud #3289
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Union Boy" (tune, floating verses)
NOTES: There are two places in Ontario called "Simcoe." Arthur Lant, of New York (who sang the version found in Doerflinger), thought it referred to Simcoe *county* (on the southeastern corner of Georgian Bay, and extending down to Lake Simcoe). The town of Simcoe, which is farther from the logging regions, is in Norfolk County in southern Ontario, a short distance from Lake Erie and almost due north of Erie, Pennsylvania.
Fowke reports that this song "is descended from an old English broadside, 'Ye Gentlemen of England, or The Stormy Winds Do Blow.'" - RBW
File: Doe241
===
NAME: Maids When You're Young Never Wed an Old Man
DESCRIPTION: Examples of why young women should not marry old men. A girl married at sixteen, and has lived an unsatisfactory life. Details are given of the old man's various performance problems. The girl notes that she eventually found solace with a young man
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1791 (Herd)
KEYWORDS: age marriage
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North,South,Lond),Scotland(Aber)) Ireland US(Ro) Canada(Ont)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Kennedy 207, "Never Wed a' Auld Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/MacMillan 60, "An Old Man He Courted Me" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 156, "Maids When You're Young, Never Wed An Old Man" (1 text)
Gilbert, p. 72, "Don't Wed an Old Man" (1 text)
DT, NOWEDOLD*
Roud #210
RECORDINGS:
Sam Larner, "Maids When You're Young Never Wed an Old Man" (on SLarner02)
Jeannie Robertson, "Maids When You're Young [Never Wed a Auld Man]" (on FSB2, FSB2CD); "An Old Man Came a Courting Me" (on Voice01) 
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "An Old Man Came Over the Moor (Old Gum Boots and Leggings)"
cf. "I Wouldn't Marry an Old Man"
cf. "I Wouldn't Have an Old Man"
cf. "No Balls at All"
cf. "My Husband's Got No Courage In Him"
cf. "A Bird in a Gilded Cage"
cf. "The Whirly Whorl"
cf. "The Old Bachelor (I)"
cf. "The Burnt-Out Old Fellow [An Seanduine Doighte]"
cf. "Le Mari de Quatre-Vingt-Dix Ans (The Ninety Year Old Husband)"
cf. "Roll Me From the Wall" (theme)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Scant of Love, Want of Love
NOTES: In their notes to Sam Larner's recording, MacColl & Seeger cite a version from the appendix to the 1791 edition of Herd's "Scottish Songs," which they call a "remarkably close parallel to Mr. Larner's." Without seeing it, I'm hesitant to assign "EARLIEST DATE," but that has the ring of certainty about it rather than careless lumping. - PJS
I'm assured by others that they're the same, and have adjusted the Earliest Date accordingly (the more so as every other version is rather recent). But I'm leaving the comment here because, well, I still haven't seen it.
The problem of this song, incidentally, was common enough to apparently produce some special vocabulary. The unattributed _1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue_,republished 1971 with a forward by Robert Cromie, defines COURT OF ASSISTANTS as "A court often applied to by young women who marry old men." - RBW
File: K207
===
NAME: Maighre an Chuil Orbhui
DESCRIPTION: Gaelic. The singer's wife was stolen and replaced by a fairy woman without his knowledge. In Dublin he meets his real wife whom he eventually recognizes. He joins his real wife.
AUTHOR: Colla Mac Seain (source: O Boyle, citing O'Reilly's _Irish Writers_)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1976 (OBoyle)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage reunion disguise supernatural wife
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
OBoyle 16, "Maighre an Chuil Orbhui" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: O Boyle summarizes the text in English but does not translate it. The description follows the summary. He says, at the end, that "the song does not tell us the fate of [the] fairy wife and children."- BS
File: OBoy016
===
NAME: Mail Boat Leinster, The
DESCRIPTION: On October 10, 1918, "the Dublin Mail Boat Leinster was sunk in the Irish Sea" by a German submarine. "The passengers, their life-belts on, unto the boats repair, While cries for help do rend the skies in sad and wild despair."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1946 (Ranson)
KEYWORDS: drowning sea ship wreck sailor war
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Oct 10, 1918: World War I. Leinster with 680 passengers sunk "by torpedoes fired by a German submarine U 123 .... Of the total of 757 aboard 501 were lost" (source: Bourke in _Shipwrecks of the Irish Coast_ v1, p. 32)
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ranson, p. 35, "The Mail Boat, Leinster" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7344
NOTES: Ranson: Tune is "Poulshone Fishermen" on p. 102. - BS
File: Ran035
===
NAME: Mail Day: see Every Mail Day (File: Wa173)
===
NAME: Mail Day Blues: see Every Mail Day (File: Wa173)
===
NAME: Maine-ite in Pennsylvania, The
DESCRIPTION: "I landed safe in Williamsport in a lumberman's rendezvous, 'Twas there I hired with Jacob Brown as one of winter's crew." The singer serves six months in the wild country, talking of the waters and the great variety of animals
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Rickaby)
KEYWORDS: logger work river animal humorous
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Rickaby 19, "The Maine-ite in Pennsylvania" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Rick089 (Full)
Roud #7739
NOTES: This is a very strange little song: After one verse about hiring out, which could come from another lumbering song, the singer describes the territory in which he worked. But this description is so exaggerated as to be funny -- "the wild ferocious rabbit"? And Caribou are an arctic mammal. - RBW
File: Rick089
===
NAME: Mains o' Boyndie
DESCRIPTION: "If ye want to learn high farmin'" come to Mains of Boyndie: it takes 14 pair and some odd-jobmen to work it. The foreman for the day is the first to start. The scythe there slashes more in a day than you'd cut with a sickle in a week.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1901 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: farming work nonballad
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan3 396, "Mains o' Boyndie" (1 text)
Roud #5929
NOTES: Here is one song that praises, rather than condemns, the conditions at a farm.
GreigDuncan3 has a map on p. xxxv, of "places mentioned in songs in volume 3" showing the song number as well as place name; Mains of Boyndie (396) is at coordinate (h6-7,v7) on that map [near Banff, roughly 42 miles NNW of Aberdeen]. - BS
File: GrD3396
===
NAME: Mains o' Culsh
DESCRIPTION: "I hear ye're gyaun to Mains o' Culsh." The singer will not work there again. You are expected to be in the yoke by half past six. Loanie wouldn't rehire him anyway: "I learned his bairns to curse and sweer" though Loanie swears worse himself.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1906 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: farming work nonballad
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan3 397, "Mains o' Culsh" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5925
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Lamachree and Megrum" (tune, per Greig "Folk-Song in Buchan," p. 73)
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; Mains of Culsh (397) is at coordinate (h4,v98) on that map [near New Deer, roughly 28 miles N of Aberdeen] - BS
File: GrD3397
===
NAME: Mains o' Elrick
DESCRIPTION: "'Twad be a crime, shame, and disgrace, To hear the people say, That the folk o' Little Elrick Works upon the Sabbath day."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: farming work nonballad religious
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan3 361, "Mains o' Elrick" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Roud #5904
NOTES: The current description is all of the GreigDuncan3 fragment.
GreigDuncan3: "Noted [by Duncan] 1905 from Mrs Gillespie. A fragment of a doggerel song made about 1855. The queen visited Haddo House that year, and the servants at Little Elrick were angry because they received no holiday .... The servants took revenge by working on Sabbath, while the people passed to church, a fact alluded to in this verse." 
GreigDuncan3 has a map on p. xxxv, of "places mentioned in songs in volume 3" showing the song number as well as place name; Little Elrick (361) is at coordinate (h4-5,v9-0) on that map [near New Deer, roughly 25 miles N of Aberdeen] - BS
File: GrD3361
===
NAME: Mains O' Fogieloan, The
DESCRIPTION: Singer hires on in May at Turra as the lowest labourer at a Fogieloan farm. The foreman and second, kitchen maid and other labourers are named. Times in town are described with drink, fiddlers, and street dealers. He'll be back next May at a hiring day.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1974 (recording, John MacDonald)
KEYWORDS: farming drink fiddle moniker nonballad
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: ()

Roud #5148
RECORDINGS:
John MacDonald, "The Mains O' Fogieloan" (on Voice05)
NOTES: Turra [Turriff, according to the notes] and Fogieloan [Aberchirder] are in Aberdeenshire. - BS
File: RcMaoFog
===
NAME: Mainsail Haul
DESCRIPTION: The sailor, broke, goes to a boarding-master and signs up to serve on the "Oxford." He comes aboard to find "sailors... from every nation"; "There wasn't one man that could understand another." At last he jumps ship or is paid off (with the entire crew!)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1951
KEYWORDS: sailor poverty humorous foreigner
FOUND_IN: US(MA)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Doerflinger, pp. 117-122, "Mainsail Haul" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
ST Doe117 (Partial)
Roud #653
NOTES: According to Doerflinger, the Black Ball Line ran the _Oxford_ on the transatlantic packet run from her launching in 1836 until 1850. - RBW
File: Doe117
===
NAME: Mairin Ni Ghiobhalain
DESCRIPTION: Tradesmen, with their tools, come to fix "a new foundation In Maureen from Gippursland" to stop her leak: a blacksmith, saddler, baker, tailor, ploughman and timberman. Each fails. Finally, a big tinkerman, with a soldering iron, fixes her.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1906 (_The Journal of the Irish Folk Song Society_, according to Jim Carroll's notes to IRTravellers012)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: radesmen, with their tools, came to fix "a new foundation In Maureen from Gippursland" to stop her leak: a blacksmith with hammer and anvil, a saddler with needle and thread, a baker with flour and soda, a tailor with cloth and scissors, a ploughman with horse and plough, and a timberman with an axe. Each work "until his sides was sick and sore, And after all his labour she leaked In the place where she leaked before." Finally, a big tinkerman, with a soldering iron, "rosined her, he soldered her ... but after all his labour she never leaked In the place where she leaked before"
KEYWORDS: sex bawdy tinker
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: ()

Roud #7269
RECORDINGS:
Bill Bryan, "Marie from Gippursland" (on IRTravellers01)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Auld Mairin's Gibberlin
Mairins Gibberlin
NOTES: Jim Carroll's notes to IRTravellers01 includes the complete text of a "version entitled 'The Jolly Weaver', described as an old Ulster weaving song ... to be found in _The Journal of the Irish Folk Song Society_ of 1906...."; the tradesmen in that text are a weaver with his shuttles and jacks, a sailor with his compass, a mason with his hammer, trowel and plumb-line, and a ploughman "with two ploughshares in his hand." In addition he refers to "a fragment entitled 'Mairins Gibberlan,' described as 'decidedly objectionable', included in _The Greig Duncan Folk Song Collection_ [vol 7]."
There are many examples in traditional song of tradesmen's use of tools of their trade as code for sexual activity. See, for example, "Donnelly," "Anything (II)," "Bill Wiseman," "The Bonny Black Hare," "Coachman's Whip," "Cruising Round Yarmouth," "The German Clockwinder," "The Jolly Tinker (III)," "The Long Peggin' Awl," "Miller Tae My Trade" and "The Thrashing Machine (I)." - BS
File: RcMaNiGh
===
NAME: Major and the Weaver, The [Laws Q10]
DESCRIPTION: The weaver comes home suddenly, forcing the major (who is visiting his wife) to hide under the bed. The weaver goes out wearing the major's breeches, containing money and a watch. He claims the same right to the breeches as the major has to his wife
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (Henry)
KEYWORDS: seduction trick bawdy humorous hiding
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Laws Q10, "The Major and the Weaver"
Flanders/Brown, pp. 91, "Lie Low" (1 fragment, 1 tune, a single stanza which can only tentatively be identified with this song)
DT 522, WEAVWIFE
Roud #1005
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Boatsman and the Chest" [Laws Q8] (plot) and references there
NOTES: The Copper text of "The Little Cobbler" appears to have cross-fertilized with this piece; the two are similar in plot, and the Copper version shares some words as well. But the extreme versions are distinct.
This and similar songs are sometimes traced back to a story in Boccaccio (seventh day, second story: Gianella, Peronella, and her husband). But the story is really one of the basic themes of folktale, and doubtless predates Boccaccio as well as these songs. - RBW
File: LQ10
===
NAME: Major Andre's Capture [Laws A2]
DESCRIPTION: The young gentleman, John Paulding, escapes from a British prison and helps capture Major Andre. American general Benedict Arnold escapes and leaves Andre to be executed. "And every one wished Andre clear, and Arnold in his stead."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1817 (New American Songster)
KEYWORDS: betrayal execution war prison
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Oct 2, 1780 - Execution of Major Andre
FOUND_IN: US(MA,MW)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Laws A2, "Major Andre's Capture"
Eddy 114, "Major Andrews' Execution" (1 text)
Scott-BoA, pp. 84-86, "The Ballad of Major Andre" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, ANDREXEC
Roud #798
NOTES: The story of Benedict Arnold and John Andre perhaps demonstrates why the American Revolution lasted so long: Neither side could really get its armed forces organized or find good officers to put in charge. In the case of Arnold, that very nearly cost the Americans deeply.
Benedict Arnold (1741-1801) was one of the best American officers of the Revolutionary War; he was the key figure, e.g., in the first great battle of the war, at Saratoga (Ketchum, p. 404, reports that he "managed to be everywhere when needed" and lists him first among those responsible for the victory. For references, see the Bibliography at the end of this note).
What he didn't have was political clout. A bullet in the knee during the attack on Quebec had lamed him (Marrin, p. 80), which should have made him a hero -- but his victories were never properly recognized in Congress, and there were questions about his financial dealings (Lancaster, p. 243; Ferguson, pp. 217-218; Marrin, p. 228, describes how easily he fell into debt once he left field command, and Weintraub, p. 206, says he actually faced a court-martial, though he didn't suffer any real punishment). After being passed over for promotion too many times (allegedly on the grounds that his state of Connecticut had too many generals already; Weintraub, p. 206), he turned to the British. (There may have been more to it than that; Cook, p. 328, writes of how he was making profit off the black market as early as 1778, and in 1779 he married as his second wife Peggy Shippen, who was half his age and came from a family with Tory sympathies.) Within weeks of his wedding, he was making covert contacts with the British (Marrin, pp. 228-229) -- though he wanted a high price (10,000 pounds!) for his betrayal. This initial proposal was rejected.
Meanwhile, the British had their eyes on West Point. The Saratoga offensive had been intended to slice the northern colonies in two, but had failed. But they could achieve much the same end by capturing West Point, a narrow point in the Hudson River valley. If it were in British hands, they would be able to control the whole Hudson, and prevent contact between New England and the mid-Atlantic colonies (Marrin, p. 229). West Point was perhaps the most strategic point in the whole state of New York.
In 1780, Benedict Arnold asked George Washington to give him control of the West Point fortifications. Washington didn't want to waste Arnold on a post where so little action was expected.He would have preferred to give Arnold charge of his left wing -- an important field command. But Arnold had a pretty good argument: His lame knee had been hit again at Saratoga (Lancaster, p. 221; Marrin, p. 140; Ketchum, p. 403 tells how, after being hit, his horse went down and his leg was broken), and he simply wasn't the same physically. He claimed that field command was too strenuous (Marrin, p. 230).
I've read that he asked for command of West Point under British orders (e.g. Marrin, p. 229), but Cook implies that he had not yet gone over to the British. The other possibility is that he was toying with the British, giving them a certain about of information but not really doing anything to support their cause (this seems to be the situation described on p. 207 of Weintraub). The only thing that is sure is that he would be serving the British soon -- and being called upon to do more than just release a little stale intelligence. If he wanted a traitor's fee, he had to do something that would really help win the war. In short, he had to work out a deal. Which meant talking to John Andre.
Andre (1751-1780) was, according to Marrin,p. 227, "a remarkable person... [H]e was a gentle, lovable man who wrote poetry and enjoyed putting on plays for brother officers. Always cheerful and polite, he had a way of making others want to be his friend." Washington Irving wrote of him "The character, appearance, deportment, and fortunes of Andre had interested the feelings of the oldest and sternest soldiers around him, and completely captivated the sympathies of the younger ones.... Never has any many, suffering under like circumstances, awakened a more universal sympathy even among those of the country against which he practiced" (Walsh, p. 4).
Even George Washington, who had him executed, later said, "He was more unfortunate than criminal, and there was much in his character to interest, while we yielded to the necessity of rigor, we could not but lament it" (Walsh, p. 6). Yet Walsh, on the very same page, notes pointely that "he made a blundering failure of his supremely important mission" and calls it "an incredibly inept performance." And he declares, on p. 7, that Andre was "Not at all the open, accomodating personality he seemed, he was as I see it one of the most calculating of individuals, keenly aware of his peculiar power to impress and fascinate."
Andre was eventually appointed the adjutant of the British commander Henry Clinton, and as such acted as British intelligence chief -- which in turn made him the liason with Arnold.
Arnold by this time was working to weaken the West Point defences (Marrin, p. 230), but the British would need a plan of the fortifications and other details if they were to take adcantage of these weaknesses. (According to Walsh, p. 72, the British even hoped to capture George Washington, which would make the blow doubly severe.) To this point, Arnold had been using a go-between by the name of Joseph Stansbury (Weintraub, pp. 206-207), who helped furnish Arnold's lodgings. But this information could hardly be sent by coded letter. Arnold was using what is called a "book code," which forced him to dig through a volume looking for a code for each word. It took forever (Kippenhahn, pp. 45-46, says that Arnold eventually switched to a dictionary, which made things a little faster, but still too slow -- and not especially secure). For a long description, with drawings, that sort of manual encoding was simply impossible. Someone had to physically collect the plans. Andre was the logical candidate. (Walsh, p. 73, says that Andre was under orders not to carry any papers. ItÕs hard to imagine how anyone could have considered this a viable idea.)
On September 20, 1780, the British ship _Vulture_ dropped Andre off for a meeting with Arnold. Andre was in uniform at this time (Walsh, p. 26). But they didn't just exchange plans; they also talked until four in the morning (Cook, p. 329). Caught in the fire of American guns, the _Vulture_ slipped a short distance downstream, leaving Andre behind (Walsh, pp. 79-81, who adds that the ship suffered some minor damage but no casualties). It left Andre behind, what's more, with the tide going against him; rowing to the ship was out of the question (Walsh, pp, 74-75). The ship in fact didn't go far, but apparently far enough to be out of sight from where Andre and Arnold were meeting (Walsh, p. 82). Walsh also reports (though I supect it is only his conjecture) that Arnold expected a tightening of security, making it impossible for Andre to simply go back to the ship (p. 85). Plus George Washington was in the vicinity, so everyone was especially vigilant,
Andre was close to neutral ground, but either he or Arnold apparently decided he had no choice but to return to the British lines on land, through the American positions. A British sympathizer outfitted him with civilian clothes, and Arnold gave him a pass with a false name (Walsh, pp. 32, 85; he quotes the passes, with the name "John Anderson," on pp. 87-88). It was at this point that Andre became, formally, a spy. Worse, he was an ignorant spy; he needed a guide (Walsh, p. 90), and the guide chose a long and, as it turned out, dangerous route. They were soon stopped by a patrol, and ended up making an unexpected stop for the night (Walsh, pp. 94-95). When they set out the next morning, they were again stopped, though they were allowed to proceed soon after. Later, they encountered an American officer who actually knew Andre's appearance (Walsh, p. 96), but managed to slip by him. Finally Andre left the guide behind and set out on the last leg of his journey. It was then that he was caught.
Sergeant John Paulding (1758-1818) was almost as romantic a figure as Andre; twice captured by the British, he had twice escaped to return to his regiment (Walsh, pp. 99-100, tells how, in his latest escape, he had pretended to be a British soldier and stolen a rowboat to get away. Thus Paulding, we note, was guilty of the very crime for which Andre was hung -- more guilty than Andre, in fact, since Andre was merely out of uniform but Paulding wore a Hessian uniform coat). A force led by Paulding found Andre, seemingly by accident, and captured him with the plans  to West Point in his boots. (Walsh, p. 30, says they were actually inside his stockings. One wonders what sort of state they were in by the time the authorities saw them.)
According to Marrin, p. 231, the men who captured Andre were robbers as well as militia; this seems to have been based on Andre's own statement that they probably would have let him go had they found any money (so Walsh, p. 37, while noting that Paulding denied it). But Andre had no cash to give them, so they searched him closely  and found the plans. Andre, it should be noted, was taken on "neutral ground," between the lines, so it was formally proper for him to be out of uniform (Walsh, pp. 40-41). Possessing the papers was another matter.
Unfortunately, the papers did not reveal Arnold as the traitor. Lt. Colonel John Jameson, into whose command Andre fell, sent a message to Arnold describing Andre's capture (Cook, p. 330). Arnold managed to flee and make it to the _Vulture_ (Marrin, p. 232). Still, with Arnold gone, the West Point plans safe in American hands, and the whole plot revealed, the fortifications were safe.
Andre was captured September 23. Once he realized his predicament, made no secret of his situation; he seems to have hoped for leniency.  He was tried before a court of six major generals and eight brigadiers (Walsh, p. 17, but don't take that as too impressive -- the Colonial Congress made far too many generals; those 14 officers would have been majors and colonels in a proper army -- assuming they were promoted that far; many were not worthy of the rank). Walsh, p. 46, says that Washington wanted the Court Martial to return a verdict quickly. So the trial was very speedy; neither side called witnesses, and Andre had no lawyer or counsel. Andre was tried and convicted as a spy on September 29. All 14 judges signed the paper recommending death (Walsh, p. 48). Washington approve the order and scheduled Andre to be executed at once (Walsh, p. 54) -- though he delayed the sentence for a day during negotiations with the British.
General Clinton tried to have Andre's execution postponed. But the American rebels wanted blood, and were not very courteous anyway (note, e.g., their refusal to parole the British soldiers after Saratoga). Walsh, pp. 55-57, described what amounts to mutual blackmail concealed as a prisoner exchange: Clinton threatened American prisoners, and the Americans would accept no less a prize than the betrayal of Arnold. Neither side would give in on the crucial point, and so Andre went to the gallows on October 2; he was denied a firing squad (Cook, p. 331).
The ballad's praise of Andre and dislike of Arnold seems to reflect widespread opinion. Even the men who condemned and hanged Andre respected him; one called him his brother; Lancaster reports (p. 248) that "Unnumbered Americans" felt deeply about his execution. Lafayette, one of the men who condemned him, called him a "charming man" and said he deeply regretted the sentence (Walsh, p. 61). George III gave his mother and sisters pensions, and made his brother a baronet. Arnold, by contrast, was hated in America and despised in Britain.
By contrast, it was Arnold's incompetence which had caused the whole thing to fail: He talked too long, and he refused to make sure Andre made it home. Had it not been for his failures, the capture of West Point would have gone off as planned.
Despite his failure, Arnold was well rewarded for his treachery: a British brigadier's commission, six thousand pounds in cash, pensions for his family, and land in Canada (Marrin, p. 234). Walsh, p. 73, say that the offer made to him was for six thousand pounds in cash, plus a brigadier's commission, with the total payout rising to twenty pounds if West Point fell -- and that Arnold held out for at least ten thousand pounds, even if things fell through. Andre supposedly agreed during their conference -- but since Clinton never approved Andre's deal, Arnold was paid only the previously promised six thousand.
Arnold proved unable to use the rewards of his treachery; troops refused to serve under him, and in the end he lost most of his ill-gotten gains in bad business deals (Marrin, p.236).
Walsh does consistently try to change the image of Andre, painting him as a manipulative schemer who lied, e.g., about the girl he claimed to be in love with (Walsh, p. 60), and accuses him of briefly losing his composure upon being sentenced to death (p. 61. One wonders what Walsh would do is suc a situation). He credits Andre's ability to make a good sketch of himself to the major's repeated use of himself as a subject (p. 62). It really does seem to be the picture of a man grasping at straws to find a reason to condemn Andre.
This was, incidentally, one of the last major events of the American Revolution in the north. The British navy at this time was at a rather low ebb; you would never know that it was the fleet that, 25 years later, would win Trafalgar. Despite their theoretical naval superiority, the British were in effect fighting two wars, one from New York and one from Charleston. And, by this time, most of the effort was going into Charleston. Had Arnold's treachery succeeded, the war in the north might have heated up again -- but Arnold failed.
Spaeth (_A History of Popular Music in America_, p. 24) refers to a song called "Sergeant Champe" which has this precise plot, and which was published in 1780 to the tune of "Barbara Allen," but I have never encountered his title in tradition.
>>BIBLIOGRAPHY<<
Cook: Don Cook, _The Long Fuse: How England Lost the American colonies 1760-1785_, Atlantic Monthly Press, 1995
Ferguson: E. James Ferguson, _The American Revolution: A General History 1763-1790_, revised edition, Dorsey Press, 1979
Ketchum: Richard M. Ketchum, _Saratoga: Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War_, Henry Holt, 1997
Kippenhahn: Rudolph Kippenhahn, _Code Breaking: A History and Exploration_, English translation/adaption by Kippenhahn and Ewald Osers, Overlook Press, 1999
Lancaster: Bruce Lancaster (with a chapter by J. H. Plumb), _The American Revolution_ (originally published as _The American Heritage Book of the Revolution_, 1971), Houghton Mifflin, 1987
Marrin: Albert Marrin, _The War for Independence: The Story of the American Revolution_, Athenaeum, 1988
Walsh: John Evangelist Walsh, _The Execution of Major Andre_, Palgrave/St. Martin's Press, 2001
Weintraub: Stanley Weintraub, _Iron Tears: Amerca's Battle for Freedom, Britain's Quagmire: 1775-1783_, Free Press, 2005 - RBW
File: LA02
===
NAME: Major Andrews's Execution: see Major Andre's Capture [Laws A2] (File: LA02)
===
NAME: Major Special, The
DESCRIPTION: "Oh you come down on this Ramsey, partner, 'specially Ramsey Two, Hmmm, fix it in your mind, buddy, you got your time to do." The Major knows the river too well for convicts to escape. The singer recalls many years in the prison
AUTHOR: J. B. Smith
EARLIEST_DATE: 1966 (recorded from J. B. Smith by Jackson)
KEYWORDS: prison hardtimes
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Jackson-DeadMan, pp. 163-164, "The Major Special" (1 text)
NOTES: All of the songs Jackson recorded from J. B. Smith included a large amount of material unique to Smith, but this one has perhaps the highest proportion of all; there is very little recognizable traditional material. As a result, I have listed Smith as the author.
I almost thought of tagging the piece with the "moniker" keyword, since it refers to several of the prison staff that Smith dealt with. But it doesn't really fit the general form of a moniker song. - RBW
File: JDM163
===
NAME: Major, The
DESCRIPTION: Dublin 1798: "The Major" supported Orange "hangman hacks," "told informers what to swear," tried to prevent his Jemmy's execution and finally converted to Methodism. All "who have their catechism well" agree "whene'er he dies [he] will go to hell"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1810 (Cox's _Irish Magazine_, according to Moylan)
KEYWORDS: violence death nonballad political police
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Moylan 165, "The Major" (1 text)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Henry Downs" (character of Major Sirr) and references there
cf. "Jemmy O'Brien's Minuet" (characters)
NOTES: Moylan: "The Major of the title was Town-Major Sirr, chief of the Dublin police, captor of Lord Edward Fitzgerald and Thomas Russell... The Jemmy referred to ... was Sirr's creature, Jemmy O'Brien.... In 1800 he [O'Brien] killed a man near Steevens' Lane in a fit of temper, was convicted of the crime and was sentenced to hang. Sirr tried [unsuccessfully] to 'fix' the trial.... In later life Major Sirr turned to religion and became a Methodist."
For more about Major Sirr see "Henry Downs," "Edward" (III) (Edward Fitzgerald)," "The Man from God-Knows-Where" and the notes to "Who Killed Cock Robin?" (II). For more about Jemmy O'Brien see "Hevey's Mare," "Jemmy O'Brien" and "Jemmy O'Brien's Minuet." - BS
The _Oxford Companion to Irish History_ gives Sirr's dates as 1764-1841. He came from a firmly loyalist family; his father Joseph would for a time be Dublin's Town Major (roughly equivalent to police chief). Henry joined the army at about 14, ending his service in 1791. He went into business in Dublin in that year, but was appointed Town Major in 1796. He held that office until it was abolished in 1808, and retained the title even after that; he continued to serve as a magitrate until 1826. He reportedly became very interested in Irish antiquties late in his life. - RBW
File: Moyl165
===
NAME: Majuba Hill
DESCRIPTION: The singer sighs for "my militia man That sleeps on Majuba Hill" She met her man on Clifton Street on Sunday night and "I let him have his will" He sailed away. She heard a Banshee cry and dog moan one November night and at dawn had news he was dead.
AUTHOR: Hugh Quinn (1884-1956) (source: Hammond-Belfast)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (_Rann Magazine_ Summer 1952, according Roud)
KEYWORDS: grief courting sex battle parting death lover soldier
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Feb 26, 1881 - Boers defeat the British at Majuba Hill ("By the second Boer War the battle cry was 'Remember Majuba!'""). (source: "The Battle of Majuba Hill -The First Boer War 1881" at Books on Hector MacDonald site)
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hammond-Belfast, pp. 38-39, "Majuba Hill" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Hammond-Belfast: The song "recalls the garrison town of Belfast in Victorian times when streets like Clifton Street were thronged with soldiers and female admirers on a Sunday night." - BS
The opening conflict of the (first) Boer War came on December 20, 1880, at Bronkhorstspruit, when "264 officers of  the 94th Regiment (Connaught Rangers), marching from Lydenburg to Pretoria, were halted on the march by a Boer  commando and ordered to turn back. The lieutenant-colonel in command was given two minutes to reply to the demand. He refused to surrender and was killed by the Boers' opening shots." Most of the other British soldiers were killed as well. (See Byron Farwell, _Queen Victoria's Little Wars_, pp. 244-245).
The British commander on the scene, Sir George Pomeroy Colley, wanted both revenge and glory. He found neither. He suffered a nasty and unneccessary defeat at Laing's Nek (Farwell, p. 246),then for some reason decided that the Commander in Chief needed to escort a mail wagon; he took with him only six companies. He suffered heavily in a running battle, and then found himself confronted by an entrenched Boer position. At least he had the sense not to attack that; instead, he headed for high ground; his force by this time, according to Farwell, consisted of 490 soldiers and 64 sailors.
Colley's forces reached the position at night, but -- despite the entreaties of his subordinates -- did not order his men to entrench.
On February 26, 1881, at Majuba Hill (properly Amajuba Hill, the Hill of Doves), The British forces were routed and  Colley himself killed (see Fred R. van Hartsveldt, _The Boer War_, Sutton, 2000, p. 4). Van Hartesveld, p. 5,  adds that the British took no heavy weapons up the hill, and perhap were exhausted, and the slope of the hill was such that it was hard to defend with small arms.
The Boers lost one (Farwell, p. 250) or two men killed (see Thomas Pakenham, _The Boer War_, Random House, 1979, p. xxix), and perhaps five wounded. British loses were 93 killed, 133 wounded, 58 taken prisoner.
A more conservative government might have kept up the fight; losses were still relatively slight. But the liberal goverment of Gladstone was not imperialist; it gave the Boers something analogous to Home Rule: Internal self-direction as long as they accepted nominal British authority and did not insist on an independent foreign policy (van Hartesveldt, p. 5).
Majuba Day would become something of a holiday to the Boers -- at least until Boers under Cronje surrendered on that day in the second Boer War (see Eversly Belfield, _The Boer War_, Leo Cooper, 1993, p. 88).
"If one were forced to say, as in a school examination paper, at what exact moment in history the mighty British Empire began to crumble, it would perhaps not be far wrong to point to that Sunday afternoon in February 1881 when British soldiers, fleeing from Boer farm boys, ran down the steep slopes of Majuba Hill" (Farwell, p. 252). - RBW
File: Hamm038
===
NAME: Make Me a Cowboy Again: see Cowboy Again for a Day (File: FCW116)
===
NAME: Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor
DESCRIPTION: Possibly about life in the south (Atlanta?) and the singer's desire to return or a meeting between the singer's lover and girl. Chorus: "Make me a pallet on your floor (x2),  Make it soft, make it low, so my good gal won't know Make me..."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1923 (version copyrighted by W. C. Handy)
KEYWORDS: nonballad separation loneliness home return floatingverses sex infidelity
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
BrownIII 291, "Cornbread When I'm Hungry" (2 fragments; the "A" text combines "Moonshiner" with "Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor"; "B" mixes "Moonshiner" with what appears to be a minstrel song)
Handy/Silverman-Blues, pp. 190-192, "Atlanta Blues (Make Me One Pallet on Your Floor)" (1 text, 1 tune, loosely based on this song)
Darling-NAS, pp. 292-294, "Lovin' Babe" (1 text, composite of floating verses including this one)
DT, PALLTFLR*
RECORDINGS:
Mississippi John Hurt, "Ain't No Tellin'" (OKeh 8759, 1930; rec. 1928; on MJHurt01, MJHurt02); "Pallet on the Floor" (on FOTM)
Merline Johnson (the Yas Yas Girl) "Pallet on the Floor" (Bluebird B-7166, 1937)
Grandpa Jones, "Fix Me a Pallet" (King 1069, 1952)
Virginia Liston, "Make Me a Pallet" (OKeh 8247, 1925)
Stripling Brothers, "Pallet on the Floor" (Decca 5367, 1936)
Ethel Waters, "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor" (Columbia 14125-D, 1926)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Chilly Winds" (floating lyrics)
File: Handy190
===
NAME: Make Me More Holy: see Lord, Make Me More Patient (File: AWG052B)
===
NAME: Make We Merry Both More and Less
DESCRIPTION: "Make we mery bothe more and lasse, For now is the time ofd Christimas." All who come to the feast are enjoined to bring some entertainment: A song, a sport, etc. "If he say he can nought do... But to the stokkes then let him go."
AUTHOR: unknown (contemporary tune by Martin Shaw)
EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1504 (Hill MS., Balliol Coll. Oxf. 354)
KEYWORDS: carol Christmas food party nonballad
FOUND_IN: Britain(England)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
OBC 172, "Make We Merry" (1 text, 1 tune)
Stevick-100MEL 98, "(Make We Myrie Bothe More and Lasse)" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Brown/Robbins, _Index of Middle English Verse_, #1866
NOTES: Very possibly not traditional, but widely quoted -- and many of the pieces in the Hill manuscript *are* traditional, so I included it. - RBW
File: OBC172
===
NAME: Makes a Longtime Man Feel Bad: see It Makes a Long-Time Man Feel Bad (File: LoF291)
===
NAME: Making My Will (Father Abdey's Will)
DESCRIPTION: The singer, who is dying, leaves his entire estate to his wife. The estate is detailed in exquisitely rhymed, exquisitely monotonous detail
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1945 (Flanders/Olney)
KEYWORDS: dying bequest lastwill
FOUND_IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Flanders/Olney, pp. 14-16, "Making My Will (Father Abdey's Will)" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MAKEWILL*
Roud #4676
File: FO014
===
NAME: Malahide Fishermen, The
DESCRIPTION: On a calm November 18 "four brave seamen ... took their nets and line." Neptune, Boreas, and Death conspire to "rise an awful squall" and they "were lost here in Fingal" The four are named.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1943 (Ranson)
KEYWORDS: drowning sea ship storm wreck fishing
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Ranson, pp. 14-15, "The Malahide Fishermen" (1 text)
OLochlainn-More 56A, "The Malahide Fishermen" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Malahide is in the Fingal administrative area on the County Dublin coast, north of Dublin city. - BS
File: Ran014
===
NAME: Malbrouck
DESCRIPTION: French language: "Malbrouck s'en va-t-en dguere-re/Marlborough he's gone to war." Marlborough is slow in returning home; he is dead and in his tomb. Details of his funeral are given
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1896 (Trebucq)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage nobility death burial funeral
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1650-1727 -  Life of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
1701-1714 - War of the Spanish Succession, pitting France and Spain against Britain, Austria, and many smaller nations. Marlborough made a reputation by winning the battles of Blenheim (1704), Ramillies (1706), and Oudenarde (1708) (he fought a draw at Malplaquet in 1709)
FOUND_IN: France
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Kennedy 108, "Malbrouck" (1 text, 1 tune)
Chase, pp. 202-205, "Molly Brooks" (1 tune plus dance figures)
Fuld-WFM, pp. 231-233, "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow -- (Malbrouk -- We Won't Go Home till Morning! -- The Bear Went over the Mountain)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "We Won't Go Home Until Morning" (tune) and references there
NOTES: For the history of this tune, see the entry on "We Won't Go Home Until Morning."
It should be noted that this song has nothing to do with the historical Marlborough.
Chase describes "Molly Brooks" as an American "wearing-down" of Marlborough. Hence the classification of his dance piece here rather than under one of the other Malbrouck tunes. - RBW
File: K108
===
NAME: Mallard, The
DESCRIPTION: "I have et, and what have I et, I have et the toe of a mallard." And so forth, through foot, heel, leg, etc., culminating in the entire bird. "And," we are assured, "good-a meat was the mallard."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1889
KEYWORDS: bird food cumulative nonballad
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Kennedy 299, "The Mallard" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 16-17, "The Mallard" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #1517
RECORDINGS:
Henry Mitchelmore, "Most Beautiful Leg of the Mallard" (on Voice07)
Bunny Palmer et al, "The Mallard" (on Lomax41, LomaxCD1741)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Red Herring" (theme)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Mullard
File: K299
===
NAME: Mally Leigh
DESCRIPTION: An extravagant description of Mally's beauty and its effect on men. Men turn aside to see her; a countess "pines" for her; nobles "each one thocht his Kate or Moll a drab to Mally Leigh." Even royalty is not immune (but she is true to the man she loves)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Ford)
KEYWORDS: beauty courting
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 176-178, "Mally Leigh" (1 text)
Roud #6130
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Mally Lee
NOTES: Generally held to commemorate one Mally Sleigh, who is said to have married Lord Lyon Brodie in 1725. I know of no supporting evidence except widespread belief; Ford cites a manuscript of the song "subsequent to 1760." If Sleigh (or Brodie) had any subsequent influence on history, I do not know of it. - RBW
File: FVS176B
===
NAME: Malone
DESCRIPTION: Pat claims Mick Malone borrowed half-a-crown and "never brough it back." He won't lend him more because Malone "well knows how to borrow But he don't know how to pay." If Pat catches Malone he'll "stop his dirty tricks ... I'll give him cause to moan"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1985 (IRTravellers01)
KEYWORDS: accusation nonballad money thief
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: ()

Roud #16689
RECORDINGS:
Mikeen McCarthy, "Malone" (on IRTravellers01)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Half Crown
NOTES: The repeated lines here are "A half-a-crown is a half-a-crown, Of course it's two and six." - BS
Every time I read this, I'm reminded of the Blind Blake song "Jones." The feel of the lyrics is much alike, but the item stolen is different (money versus girlfriend), and of course they're very different in style. I guess it just shows how certain emotions exist across cultures. - RBW
File: RcMalone
===
NAME: Mama Don't 'Low
DESCRIPTION: "Mama don't 'low no banjo playin 'round here... Well, I don't care what mama don't 'low, Gonna play my banjo anyhow...." Mama forbids all sorts of things, from jazz playing to motorcycle riding, but the singer is not discouraged
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (recording, Charlie Jackson)
KEYWORDS: music mother nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
BrownIII 452, "Mama Don't Allow No Low Down Hanging Around" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 21, "Mama Don't 'Low" (1 text)
DT, MAMADONT
Roud #11793
RECORDINGS:
Allen Bros., "No Low Down Hanging 'Round" (Bluebird B-5448, 1934)
Connie Boswell & her Swing Band, "Mama Don't Allow It" (Decca 747, 1936)
Smilie Burnett, "Mama Don't Like Music" (Perfect 13011, 1934)
Bill Boyd & his Cowboy Ramblers, "Mama Don't Like No Music" (Bluebird B-5855, 1935)
Charlie Jackson, "Mama Don't Allow It" (Paramount 12296, 1925)
Riley Puckett, "Mama Don't Allow No Low Down Hanging Around" (Columbia 15261-D, 1928)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Johnny and Jane" (lyrics)
NOTES: The Brown text is very distinct from the common, bluegrass/jazz-type arrangements of this piece; the first verse and chorus are"
Well, I get up in the morning,
See no rain;
Looked in the pantry,
See the same old thing.
Mama don't allow no low down hanging around.
Chorus:
Mama don't allow it,
Sister don't care.
Papa don't 'low it,
Won't have it here.
Mama don't low no low down hanging around.
But the ending is familiar: "Well, I don't care What your mama don't 'low, Gonna have fun anyhow." Clearly the same song, with the popular texts presumably a modern adaption. - RBW
File: FSWB021
===
NAME: Mama Don't Allow No Low Down Hanging Around: see Mama Don't 'Low (File: FSWB021)
===
NAME: Mama Sent Me to the Spring: see Jumbo (Mama Sent Me to the Spring) (File: BrII142)
===
NAME: Mama Told Me: see Old Man Came Over the Moor, An (Old Gum Boots and Leggings) (File: R066)
===
NAME: Mama, Have You Heard the News: see Joseph Mica (Mikel) (The Wreck of the Six-Wheel Driver) (Been on the Choly So Long) [Laws I16] (File: LI16)
===
NAME: Maman Donne Moin un Pitit Mari: see Mamman Donne Moi  un Pitit Mari (Mama Gave Me a Little Husband) (File: ScNF123B)
===
NAME: Mamma, Mamma, Have You Heard?: see Hush, Little Baby (File: SBoA164)
===
NAME: Mamma's Goin' to Buy Him a Little Lap Dog (Come Up Horsie)
DESCRIPTION: Lullaby: "Mama's goin' to buy him a little lap dog/Put him in his lap when she goes off...Go to sleep and don't you cry/Mamma's goin' to buy you some apple pie" Cho: "Come up horsie, hey hey (2x)"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 (recording, Vera Hall Ward)
KEYWORDS: food lullaby nonballad animal dog horse
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (0 citations)
RECORDINGS:
Vera Hall Ward, "Mamma's Goin' to Buy Him a Little Lap Dog" (on NFMAla1)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Hush, Little Baby" (theme, lyrics)
File: RcMGtBHL
===
NAME: Mamman Donne Moi  un Pitit Mari (Mama Gave Me a Little Husband)
DESCRIPTION: Creole French. "Maman donne moin un pitit mari. Bon Dieu, quel un homme comme li pitit! Mo mette le couche dans mo lite, Bon Dieu, comme li si t'on pitit!" Mama gave me a little husband. My god, he's tiny! ... The cat mistakes him for a mouse."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: husband wife foreignlanguage animal
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 21-22, "Maman Donne Moin un Pitit Mari" (1 fragment, 1 tune);  p. 123, "Mamman Donne Moi  un Pitit Mari" (1 short text with loose English translation)
NOTES: Scarborough, in transcribing her first text, notes that Creole French "is no more like correct French than Negro dialect is like ordinary English. The songs are difficult to capture...." I suspect she is trying to say, "I've no idea what this means." If she, who had contact with the informants, did not, I'm not even going to try until we get a better text.
Although Scarborough's second fragment does not make it clear, one suspects that the girl's complaint is not with her husband's height but with, um, certain other dimensions. - RBW
File: ScNF123B
===
NAME: Mammy in the Kitchen
DESCRIPTION: "Mammy in the kitchen cookin' pink beans; Daddie on the ocean dodgin' submarines."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1919 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: food work war technology
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 497, "Mammy in the Kitchen" (1 text)
Roud #11764
NOTES: Since this was collected in 1919, it clearly refers to World War I and the German submarine blockade of Great Britain. It is said to have been sung by soldiers in France. It's unfortunate that we don't have more of it. - RBW
File: Br3497
===
NAME: Mammy Loves: see All the Pretty Little Horses (File: LxU002)
===
NAME: Mammy's Little Boy
DESCRIPTION: "Who all de time a-hidin' In de cotton an' de corn? Mammy's little boy, Mammy's little boy, Who all de time a-blowin' Ol' Massa's dinner horn?" The little boy runs, steals away to the kitchen, fusses; Mammy keeps careful watch 
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: lullaby food baby
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 158-159, "Mammy's Little Boy" (1 text)
ST ScaNF158 (Partial)
File: ScaNF158
===
NAME: Man Ain't Nothin' But a Stupid Fool
DESCRIPTION: "Yes, a man ain't nothin' but a stupid fool To think he got a woman all by himself... Well, I say, as soon as his back is turned, You know she cuttin' out with somebody else... Yes, man ain't nothing but a crazy fool To give one woman all his pay"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1963
KEYWORDS: love infidelity
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Courlander-NFM, pp. 130-131, (no title) (1 text)
File: CNFM130
===
NAME: Man Behind the Plough, The
DESCRIPTION: A defense of "the man that walks behind the plough." He is glad for his sons to be in school, learning to read and write and sporting round at night, but his strength is failing and he needs them to raise food on the farm.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (Ives-NewBrunswick)
KEYWORDS: farming nonballad age children
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ives-NewBrunswick, pp. 62-65, "The Man Behind the Plough" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #1947
File: IvNB062
===
NAME: Man Behind, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer's father warns, "Don't ever be too forward, lad, but act with modesyt; In battle it's the man in fromt that's always shot... But the general gets the credit, for he's the man behind." Other examples show that it's best to be "the man behind"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 (Collected by Shellans from John Daniel Vass)
KEYWORDS: warning humorous soldier clothes food technology
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Shellans, pp. 82-83, "The Man Behind" (1 text, 1 tune)
Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 86, "The Man Behind (1 fragment, tune references)
Roud #7358 and 12812
NOTES: Shellans speculates that this might have originated in Vaudeville. I agree that it has that sort of feeling (or, even more, the music hall or comic opera), but I failed to turn up any versions in web searches. (The fact that the title is a very common phrase doesn't help...).
The Pankakes say that their fragment is sung to "The Wearing of the Green." Not so the version in Shellan -- so, at the very least, there has been folk processing. - RBW
File: Shel082
===
NAME: Man from Conner's Crew, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer, a novice "river hog" in the pinewoods, chances the "Hulling Machine" rapids rather than portage his canoe. Caught, he prepares to die, gamely shouting "Halloo" to Conner's crew as he passes them. One of them rescues him.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Beck)
KEYWORDS: lumbering work rescue dying logger worker recitation
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Beck 29, "The Man from Conner's Crew" (1 text)
Roud #4063
NOTES: Beck leaves it up in the air whether this was a recitation or a song to which his informant had forgotten a tune. However, it reads more like a recitation, so I've assigned it that keyword. - PJS
This song is item dC42 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW
File: Be029
===
NAME: Man from God-Knows-Where, The
DESCRIPTION: A mysterious stranger joined the men around the fire at Andy Lemon's Inn and rode on into the snow. "Two winters more, then the Trouble Year": the French are defeated. Some time after that the singer sees the stranger hanged at Downpatrick gaol
AUTHOR: Florence M. Wilson (-1946) (source: Moylan)
EARLIEST_DATE: 2000 (Moylan)
KEYWORDS: rebellion execution Ireland patriotic recitation
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May-June 1798 - Irish rebellion against British rule
August-September 1798 - A French force under General Jean-Joseph-Amable Humbert lands in Ireland and is defeated.
1803 - Emmet attempts a new rebellion. The revolt is quickly crushed.
Sep 20, 1803 - Robert Emmet is hanged
Oct 21, 1803 - Thomas Russell is hanged
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Moylan 161, "The Man from God-Knows-Where" (1 text)
BROADSIDES:
cf. "Henry Downs" (character of Major Sirr) and references there
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Oh! Breathe Not His Name" (subject: concealed allusions to Robert Emmet)
cf. "She is Far From the Land" (subject: concealed allusions to Robert Emmet)
cf. "When He Who Adores Thee"  (subject: concealed allusions to Robert Emmet)
NOTES: Moylan: "The poem was written in 1918 as a recitation."
Moylan: "Upon hearing of Emmet's arrest, Thomas Russell hurried to Dublin to attempt a rescue." He was taken there by Town Major Sirr. "Russell had been the United Irish organizer in Co. Down. After his conviction for treason he was hanged in Downpatrick on the 21st of October 1803." I am too dense to connect Moylan's dots and make Russell's execution the subject of Wilson's poem. Others, seeing more clearly, make the connection. [Personally, I can connect too many dots -- e.g. an alternate possibility is that Emmet is hanged in 1803, the French are defeated two years later at Trafalgar, and then someone else is hanged the time after that. - RBW] See, for example, "Man from God-knows-where," June 23, 2005, at the Newry Journal site. Also, from the Down County Museum site article on "Thomas Russell" states that Russell was the gaol's most famous prisoner known now to many County Down people as "the man from God knows where" from Wilson's ballad "which generations of school children learnt!"; the museum site has information about Russell's career and documents related to the trial. 
Town Major Sirr is a frequent villain in Dublin incidents after "the Troubles"; see, for example, "Henry Downs," "Edward (III) (Edward Fitzgerald), "The Major" and the notes to "Who Killed Cock Robin?" (II). - BS
File: Moyl161
===
NAME: Man Going Round: see There's A Man Going Round Taking Names (File: San447)
===
NAME: Man in Love, A: see When a Man's in Love [Laws O20] (File: LO20)
===
NAME: Man in the Moon, The: see Martin Said To His Man (File: WB022)
===
NAME: Man is Free by Nature
DESCRIPTION: "Why vainly do we waste our time, Repeating our oppression? ... See Gallia's bright example; The glorious scene before our eyes, Let's every tyrant trample.... future ages prove this truth, That man is free by nature"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1796 (_Paddy's Resource_ (Philadelphia), according to Moylan)
KEYWORDS: France nonballad patriotic freedom
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: July 14, 1789 - The Bastille is taken, marking the beginning of the French Revolution
1791-1792 - Thomas Paine publishes _The Rights of Man_
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Moylan 12, "Man is Free by Nature" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Glorious Exertion of Man" (subject of the French Revolution)
NOTES: Moylan: "This song may have been written by Thomas Russell." - BS
It does sound like something Russell (1767-1803) might have written, since he was a radical -- reportedly a friend of Wolfe Tone --  hung in the aftermath of Robert Emmet's rebellion. If so, though, he obviously lived to see the promise of the French Revoution drowned in blood. Indeed, it's hard to see how the song could have been published as late as 1796, assuming the author was rational; the Terror had run from 1793-1794, which should have shown how dangerous uncontrolled "populist" movements could be. - RBW
File: Moyl012
===
NAME: Man Killed by Falling From a Horse: see Come All You Young of Wary Age (File: R705)
===
NAME: Man of Burnham Town, The: see The Man of Burningham Town (File: VWL068)
===
NAME: Man of Burningham Town, The
DESCRIPTION: A man of (Burningham) goes to sea; his wife spends her time carousing. He returns to see her out on the town; he sneaks home and sends the maid to announce his arrival. She proclaims her delight, but he beats her with a rope. She promises to reform.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Sharp MS)
KEYWORDS: infidelity marriage warning return abuse humorous sailor
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South,Lond)) Canda(Mar)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, pp. 68-69, "The Man of Burningham Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kennedy 195, "The Birmingham Boys" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-Maritime, p. 123, "There Lived an Old Man in Dover" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #665
RECORDINGS:
Harry Cox, "The Birmingham Man" (on HCox01)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Man of Burnham Town
In Burnham Town
The Man of Dover
File: VWL068
===
NAME: Man of Constant Sorrow
DESCRIPTION: "I am a man of constant sorrow, I have been troubled all my days, I'll bid farewell to old Kentucky, The place where I was born and raised." Singer describes his hard, rambling life, and bids farewell to his lover, country, and friends.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1913 (Richard Burnett's songbook)
KEYWORDS: loneliness farewell rambling train lament lyric hobo
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE)
REFERENCES: (6 citations)
SharpAp 167, "In Old Virginny" (4 texts, 4 tunes, with the "C" text being this song; "A" and "B" are "East Virginia (Dark Hollow)" and D is a collection of floaters)
Shellans, pp. 26-27, "Constant Sorrow" (1 text, 1 tune, beginning with "Man of Constant Sorrow" but with most of "Fair and Tender Ladies" grafted on at the end)
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 113, "Man of Constant Sorrow" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, p. 260, "Man of Constant Sorrow" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 57, "Man of Constant Sorrow" (1 text)
DT, CONSTSOR* CONSTSR3*
Roud #499
RECORDINGS:
Emry Arthur, "Man of Constant Sorrow" (Paramount 3289, 1931; on ConstSor1); "I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow" (Vocalion 5208, c. 1927)
Roscoe Holcomb, "Man of Constant Sorrow" (on Holcomb-Ward1)
Frank Proffitt, "Man of Constant Sorrow" (on FProffitt01)
The Stanley Brothers, "I'm A Man of Constant Sorrow" (Columbia 20816, 1951)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Girl of Constant Sorrow" (structure, tune)
SAME_TUNE:
Girl of Constant Sorrow (File: FSWB128B)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow
Farewell Song
NOTES: The words of this song have the curious characteristic of sounding like floating verses, even though they are not. - PJS
Although Emry Arthur claims to have composed this piece, a significantly different version was found in the Blue Ridge Mountains in 1957. One suspects that, when Arthur claimed authorship, he meant (as many other old-time singers meant) that he put it in shape for collection.
In later years, Richard Burnett was asked about the song. He himself could not remember, at that time, if he had composed it, or copied it, or -- perhaps most likely -- adapted it from something traditional. - RBW
File: CSW113
===
NAME: Man of Dover, The: see The Man of Burningham Town (File: VWL068)
===
NAME: Man of the Earth
DESCRIPTION: "By profession and birth I'm a man of the earth; I burrow in it like a mole." The singer tells of the life of a miner -- often poor, often overworked, often blamed for problems not of his making. He recalls the price paid in blood for "socialised coal"
AUTHOR: Words: Jock Graham / Music: Phyl Lobl (?)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1975
KEYWORDS: mining work nonballad
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Fahey-Eureka, pp. 204-205, "Man of the Earth" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: FaE204
===
NAME: Man of the North Countrie, The
DESCRIPTION: "He came from the North, so his words were few." The singer is happy she married him and moved to Limerick. "I wish that in Munster they only knew The kind kind neighbors I came unto" so that there would be no hatred between South and North.
AUTHOR: T.D. M'Gee (source: Hayes)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1855 (Hayes)
KEYWORDS: marriage travel nonballad
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Hayward-Ulster, p. 46, "He Came from the North" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Edward Hayes, The Ballads of Ireland (Boston, 1859 (reprint of 1855 London edition)), Vol II, p. 46, "The Man of the North Countrie"
Roud #6548
NOTES: County Limerick is in the north-central area of the region of Munster. - BS
File: HayU046
===
NAME: Man on the Flying Trapeze, The: see The Flying Trapeze (File: RJ19069)
===
NAME: Man That Lives, The
DESCRIPTION: "The man that lives must learn to die, Christ will no longer stay...." Listeners are reminded that their bodies will be food for worms; their lives are grass. They are in danger of hell, and one who ends there, "no physic shall him cure."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1909 (Leather)
KEYWORDS: death Hell religious nonballad carol
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(West))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Leather, pp. 195-196, "The Man That Lives" (1 text, 2 tunes)
ST Leath195 (Partial)
Roud #2110
File: Leath195
===
NAME: Man that Waters the Workers' Beer, The
DESCRIPTION: "I am the man, the very fat man, that waters the worker's beer." The man waters the beer to make more profit (he admits to having "a car, a yacht, and an aeroplane") and to keep the workers in subjection. To this end he even uses poison
AUTHOR: Words: Paddy Ryan / Music: Traditional
EARLIEST_DATE: 1937
KEYWORDS: drink poison worker humorous
FOUND_IN: Britain(England)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Silber-FSWB, p. 29, "The Man That Waters the Workers' Beer" (1 text)
DT, WATRBEER*
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Son of a Gambolier" (tune & meter) and references there
NOTES: I was hesitant about including this song, but it is narrative, more or less, and it does seem to have entered tradition. - PJS
Reading this, I can't help but think of the charges filed against the founder of chemistry, Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794). According to William H. Brock, _The Chemical Tree: A History of Chemistry_ Norton, 2002 (published in 1992 as _The Norton History of Chemistry_), p. 123, Lavoisier was charged with "having mixed water and other 'harmful' ingredients in tobacco." He went to the guillotine.
To be sure, he was a stockholder of a tax farming company, and this was his real crime (though he did not himself collect taxes). But it was a terrible loss for France, and an even greater loss for chemistry. Much as I sympathize with the British working class, charges such as these are usually oversimplified.
The song lists three poisons placed in the beer: Strychnine, methylated spirits, and kerosene. Kerosene is a highly unlikely contaminant, since it is a hyrdrocarbon and does not dissolve in water. Strychnine, which is a natural biological alkaloid, is a more plausible contaminant. Methylated spirits are even more likely -- methylated spirits usually refers to ethyl alcohol contaminated with methyl alcohol to make it undrinkable, but in this case probably is intended to mean pure methyl alcohol. This has the effect of giving the impression of alcohol, but is in fact a poison (John Emsley, _Molecules at an Exhibition_, Oxford, 1998, p. 110, says that methylated spirit is more poisonous than bleach).
The inclusion of strychnine is much more complicated. Although now known as a poison, it was not always so. John Buckingham, _Chasing the Molecule_, pp. 35-47, has notes on the discovery of vegetable alkaloids (which is what strychnine is). It started when it was noted that "Jesuit bark" is effective against malaria (Buckingham, p. 35). It would eventually turn out that "Jesuit bark" contains quinine, the first effective anti-malaria medication (now pretty useless, but it worked fine in the nineteenth century). The incompetent chemistry of the time figured out that a bitter agent was responsible for the curative effect -- but not which bitter agent. It was assumed that most bitter vegetable products -- the vegetable alkaloids -- were active against fevers. One such alkaloid was from the Strychnos nux-vomica tree (Buckingham, p. 36). This was strychnine.
Apparently it began poisoning people very early on, but it took a century and a half before apothecaries ceased to supply it (Buckingham, p. 46). If the statement that strychnine was added to workers' beer is based on an actual news report (which I doubt, but I don't know), it *might* have been added in an attempt to keep workers healthy. The effect, of course, would have been the reverse. - RBW
File: FSWB029
===
NAME: Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer rejoices in the happiness he experienced since he "broke the bank at Monte Carlo." The girls follow him, and he leads a carefree life. He sets out to marry "a madamoiselle [who] with twenty tongues swears she will be true."
AUTHOR: Fred Gilbert
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927
KEYWORDS: gambling money
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 136-137, "The Man That Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo" (1 text, 1 tune)
Geller-Famous, pp. 124-126, "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo" (1 text, 1 tune)
Gilbert, pp. 237-239, "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo" (1 text)
DT, BROKEBNK*
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(90b), "The Man That Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo," unknown, c. 1890
NOTES: This is one of those pieces that is carried entirely by its tune. The words are banal (so much so that a large number of singers instantly rejected it), but it was quite popular in its day (now, thankfully, over).
Gilbert reports that, in 1891, Monte Carlo hired a man to toss money about in the streets of London, describing himself as the man who broke the bank. Fred Gilbert, observing this spectacle, wrote his song.
According to Geller, the man who tossed the money was Arthur DeCourcy Bower, who died poor, but Geller mentions his hiring by Monte Carlo officials as a mere possibility.
NLScotland claims that the song was instead inspired by the success of Joseph Hobson Jagger (died 1892), who reportedly won a million pounds in Monte Carlo in 1875. - RBW
File: SRW136
===
NAME: Man Who Wouldn't Hoe His Corn, The: see The Young Man Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn [Laws H13] (File: LH13)
===
NAME: Man Who Wrote Home Sweet Home Never Was a Married Man, The: see The Brisk Young Bachelor (File: ShH69)
===
NAME: Man You Don't Meet Every Day, The (A): see Jock Stewart (The Man You Don't Meet Every Day) (File: R476)
===
NAME: Man-of-War Piece, The
DESCRIPTION: "I have kept my true love company For better than three year; He promised that he'd marry me" but he's left on a man-of-war. If he's slain "in heaven I hope his soul will shine through all eternity"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield)
KEYWORDS: grief love war parting ship sailor
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 45, "The Man-of-War Piece" (1 text)
Roud #7578
File: GrMa045
===
NAME: Man's a Man for A' That, A
DESCRIPTION: "Is there for honest poverty That hangs his head and a' that... For a' that and a' that, Our toils obscure and a' that, The rank is but the guinea stamp, The man's the gowd for a' that." Praising equality, with a final prediction that all will be brothers
AUTHOR: Robert Burns
EARLIEST_DATE: 1800 (Currie)
KEYWORDS: political nonballad freedom 
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Silber-FSWB, p. 297, "A Man's A Man For A' That" (1 text)
DT, MANSAMAN*
ADDITIONAL: James Kinsley, editor, Burns: Complete Poems and Songs (shorter edition, Oxford, 1969) #482, pp. 602-603, "For a' that and a' that" (1 text, from 1795-1796)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "For A' That and A' That (I)" (stanza form, lyrics)
SAME_TUNE:
A Tidy Suit for A' That (Broadside Bodleian Firth B.26(289))
George the Fourth is Coming Down (by John Mayne; see Christoper Sinclair-Stevenson, _Blood Royal: The Illustrious House of Hanover_, Doubleday, 1980, p. 180)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
For A' That And A' That
Is There for Honest Poverty
NOTES: Reported to be based on "The Bard's Song" in "The Jolly Beggars," and written in 1795, making it one of the last of Burns's "big" pieces. On the other hand, Ord has a song ("For A' That and A' That," p. 196) which looks like a model and which he calls an "old bothy song." And there is still another song "For a' that an' a' that" credited to Burns in the _Scots Musical Museum_ (#290). Clearly the history of the song is complicated.
Though that's nothing compared to the use to which the tune is currently put. According to  John Baynes with John Laffin, _Soldiers of Scotland_, Brassey's, 1988 (I use the 1997 Barnes & Noble edition), p. 105, five Scots regiments use this as the tune to announce Commanding Officer's Orders. Off the top of my head, I can hardly imagine a song more inappropriate -- this is an open rejection of authority, after all! - RBW
File: FSWB297A
===
NAME: Mananitas
DESCRIPTION: Spanish: Title means "Early morning." The singer wishes for sun, moon, and stars to help him court, or separate from Marianita. Chorus: "Ya viene a maeciendo Ya la lus del dia nos vio, Ys dispierta amiga mia, Mira que ya amanecio."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: courting separation Mexico foreignlanguage
FOUND_IN: Mexico
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Sandburg, pp. 292-293, "Mananitas" (1 text plus free translation, 1 tune)
NOTES: The accentuation of the chorus is left as an exercise for the Spanish-speaking reader. - RBW
File: San292
===
NAME: Manassa Junction: see The Battle of Bull Run [Laws A9] (File: LA09)
===
NAME: Manchester Angel (II), The: see The Irish Girl (File: HHH711)
===
NAME: Manchester Angel, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer meets a girl in Manchester and promises to marry her. She sleeps with him; his regiment prepares to march. She begs to go with him; he refuses. She offers to buy his discharge; he refuses. She vows to enter a nunnery until he returns.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1825 (broadside, Bodleian Harding Harding B 28(14))
KEYWORDS: courting sex army parting dialog soldier
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South,North))
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, pp. 66-67, "The Manchester Angel" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MNCHESTR*
Roud #2741
RECORDINGS:
Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, "The Manchester Angel" (on ENMacCollSeeger02)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 28(14), "In Coming Down to Manchester," W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also Harding B 11(2306), Harding B 25(1206), "The Manchester Girl"; Harding B 28(249), Harding B 25(1801), Firth c.14(196), Harding B 11(2388), Harding B 11(3575), Harding B 15(301a), Harding B 15(301b), Harding B 16(254a), "Soldier's Farewell to Manchester"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Girl Volunteer (The Cruel War Is Raging)" [Laws O33]
cf. "Jack Monroe (Jackie Frazer; The Wars of Germany)" [Laws N7]
cf. "William and Nancy (I) (Lisbon; Men's Clothing I'll Put On I)" [Laws N8]
cf. "The Banks of the Nile (Men's Clothing I'll Put On II)" [Laws N9]
cf. "High Germany"
cf. "The Jacket So Blue (The Bonnet o' Blue)" (theme)
cf. "Oh! No, No" (lyrics)
NOTES: [According to A.L. Lloyd,] "The Angel Inn is said to have stood in the Market Place adjoining Market Sted Lane, Manchester."
Given the large number of ballads with this plot, I was tempted to lump this with one of the others. However, it has enough unique elements, in my judgment, to warrant a separate listing. -PJS
Although most of the elements of this song are duplicated elsewhere, the combination is unique. So is the (frequently Dorian) tune. So I agree with Paul: This piece is unique. There is another song with this title in Sam Henry, but it is distinct (and fragmentary). - RBW
File: VWL066
===
NAME: Manchester Canal, The: see The Calabar (File: HHH502)
===
NAME: Manchester Martyrs (I), The
DESCRIPTION: Colonel Kelly and another man come to Manchester "to free old Ireland from her tyrant's chain." They are jailed. Allen, Larkin and O'Brien stage a rescue. They are taken, found guilty, and hanged.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (OLochlainn-More)
KEYWORDS: execution prisoner rescue political England
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Sep 11, 1867 - Kelly and Deasy are arrested and rescued a week later by 30 Fenians
Nov 24, 1867 -  Three of the ambushers are hanged (source: _The Manchester Martyrs_ on the Gorton Local History Group site)
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
OLochlainn-More 76, "The Manchester Martyrs" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3029
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Allen, Larkin and O'Brien" (subject: The Manchester Martyrs)
cf. "The Smashing of the Van(I)" (subject: The Manchester Martyrs)
cf. "God Save Ireland" (subject: The Manchester Martyrs)
NOTES: OLochlainn-More: "The Manchester Martyrs were Allen, Larkin and O'Brien, all three hanged in revenge for the accidental shooting of Constable Brett in the attempted rescue of Kelly and Deasy, two Fenian Leaders in 1867." - BS
We should probably note that Kelly and Deasy, while in British custody, were not really in danger of execution. Thomas J. Kelly, who had been proclaimed chief executive of the Fenian's Irish Republic, and one Captain Timothy Deasy were simply being transported from court to prison, but they were "rescued" anyway on September 18.
In the course of the  "rescue," a police sergeant, Charles Brett, was killed. William Allen, Michael Larkin, and Michael O'Brien were convicted of the murder and executed on November 23. The three men came to be known as the "Manchester Martyrs." A later rescue attempt also failed, but managed to kill a dozen bystanders.
Nonetheless, both sides blamed the other, increasing Anglo-Irish tensions. The incident also increased rebel recruiting, despite the fact that the Irish had committed the initial crime and the fact that the British followed the law throughout.
For additional background, see the notes to "The Smashing of the Van (I)."  - RBW
File: OLcM076
===
NAME: Manchester Martyrs (II), The: see The Smashing of the Van (File: PGa050)
===
NAME: Mandalay
DESCRIPTION: "By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin' eastward to the sea, There's a Burma girl a-settin', and I know she thinks of me." The soldier, in London, seeing the dirt and the squalor, thinks with longing of the green land and the girl on the road to Mandalay
AUTHOR: Rudyard Kipling
EARLIEST_DATE: 1890 ("The Scots Observer")
KEYWORDS: love separation soldier
FOUND_IN: Britain
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Fuld-WFM, p. 415, "On the Road to Mandalay"
NOTES: I had to think long and hard about whether to put this song in the Index. It is, of course, composed. It has not been found in oral tradition. But it has been extremely popular, and has been set to music at least twice (once by Oley Speaks, in 1907, and again by Peter Bellamy, to an adaption of "Ten Thousand Miles Away"; the latter version will probably be more familiar to folk fans).
I finally decided to include the piece because it is so familiar, and used in so many contexts, and is one of the "folkiest" of the works of Kipling, who was probably closer to the average lower-class Englishman than any other poet.
It originally appeared in the Scots Observer in 1890, and was published as one of the _Barrack-Room Ballads_  (1892).
I am going to opine, also, that this reveals the nuances in Kipling's beliefs, which few realize. Kipling was an imperialist; he believed in the White Man's Burden. But he did NOT think white men were superior to other "races"; in this song, the white man falls in love -- but does the girl? Or does she simply do what she must to survive? (Compare Gunga Din -- "a better man than I am.") In this sensitivity, Kipling was far ahead of the imperialists of his time (though hardly modern).
The geography here is rather confused, as in various stanzas it appears to be looking from Mandalay, Rangoon, Moulmein, and the road to Mandalay (from Rangoon).
Mandalay was one of the key cities of British Burma (modern Myanmar), on the Irrawaddy (now the Ayeyarwady) where the Myitnge flows into the river. The main road from Rangoon also passes through the town. It was (and is), therefore, the main city of inner Burma. The "old flotilla" sailed the Irrawaddy from Rangoon to Mandalay.
The chorus seems to be set in or near Rangoon, where the "sun comes up like thunder" from across the bay (though the far side of the bay is not China but part of Burma -- Moulmein, in fact. From Moulmein, the apparent setting of the song, the sun *sets* over the bay). - RBW
File: Fuld415
===
NAME: Mandi Went to Poov the Grais: see Mandi Went to Poove the Grys (File: K349)
===
NAME: Mandi Went to Poove the Grys
DESCRIPTION: Travellers' cant. Singer goes to put horses out to graze; a policeman is after the family. The farmer tries to impound the horses; the aunt chases them around the haystacks and steals some hay. Finally the policeman tells them to move on
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 (recorded from Frank Copper)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Travellers' cant. Singer goes to put horses out to graze; a policeman is after the family (the daughter remarks, "It's just as Father said; we can't get away"). The farmer tries to impound the horses; the aunt (or the singer) chases them around the haystacks (or srikes the policeman) and steals some hay. Finally the policeman tells them to move on
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage horse family police Gypsy migrant
FOUND_IN: Britain(England)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Kennedy 349, "Mandi Went to Poove the Grys" (1 text, 1 tune)
MacSeegTrav 129, "Mandi Went to Poov the Grais" (1 text, 1 tune)
ADDITIONAL: Tim Coughlan, Now Shoon the Romano Gillie, (Cardiff,2001), #82, pp. 280-281, "O, 'Tis Mandi Went to Poov the Grais" [from MacSeegTrav]
Roud #852
RECORDINGS:
Peter Ingram, "Mandi Went to Poove the Girl" (on Voice11)
NOTES: This song was apparently widespread among English Travellers. "Mandi" = I; "poov(e) the grys (grais)" = put the horses to grass. It was common practice for Travellers to camp in an unauthorized place, then let their horses into a farmer's field after dark with the intention of retrieving them before dawn. Often as not, they were caught and the horses impounded. - PJS
For a more general discussion see Coughlan, #74, #78-93, pp. 274-285. - BS
File: K349
===
NAME: Manila Bay
DESCRIPTION: "You have heard about he battle over in Manila Bay, How the Yankees met the Spaniards, fought them on the first of May. Our commander's name was Dewey...." Dewey is praised and Spanish boasting ridiculed
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: Spain battle war navy
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1895 - Cubans rebel against Spain
Feb 15, 1898 - Explosion of the battleship "Maine" in Havana harbor
May 1, 1898 - Battle of Manila Bay. Dewey's fleet destroys the entire Spanish fleet in the Philippines
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownII 238, "Manila Bay" (1 text)
Roud #6623
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "My Sweetheart Went Down with the Maine" (theme) and references there
NOTES: This has more than the usual amount of American bluster. It is certainly true that Dewey won a decisive victory and did it at the cost of only eight minor injuries to his men (the Spaniards suffered nearly 400 casualties and lost their entire fleet). However, the Spanish knew the American fleet was much superior -- hence their desperate but unsuccessful efforts to prevent war. - RBW
File: BrII238
===
NAME: Manley Pankey
DESCRIPTION: "Here I stand in the jail house door, Here I'll stand no more. Goodbye to my mother And friends forevermore. My mother she did warn me, She warned me when I 'as young, 'I'll raise you up for the gallows; My son, you will be hung.'"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1947 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: mother warning murder gallows-confession
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownII 292, "Manley Pankey" (1 text)
ST BrII292 (Full)
Roud #6636
NOTES: According to the notes in Brown, Pankey was a laborer and musician who murdered his employer, a farmer named Curry. As usual, the song is described as sung by the condemned man before his execution. However, the editors can provide no precise dates or real details, and the song is a scrap with no circumstantial details at all. - RBW
File: BrII292
===
NAME: Manning, The Pirate: see Bold Manan the Pirate [Laws D15] (File: LD15)
===
NAME: Mantle of Green, The: see The Mantle So Green [Laws N38] (File: LN38)
===
NAME: Mantle So Green, The [Laws N38]
DESCRIPTION: The well-dressed girl refuses the singer's offer of marriage; she is pledged to Willie O'Reilly, whose name is embroidered on her fine mantle. He tells her O'Reilly died at Waterloo; seeing how she grieves, he reveals that he is O'Reilly in disguise
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1859 (Journal from the Ocean Rover); before 1853 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 26(417))
KEYWORDS: love disguise separation grief
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: June 18, 1815 - Battle of Waterloo
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,MA,So) Canada(Mar,Newf) Britain(Scotland) Ireland Australia
REFERENCES: (20 citations)
Laws N38, "The Mantle So Green"
Belden, pp. 151-152, "The Mantle of Green" (1 text)
Randolph 94, "The Mantle So Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
FSCatskills 24, "Famed Waterloo" (1 text, 1 tune)
Gardner/Chickering 56, "Fain Waterloo" (1 text plus mention of 1 more, 1 tune)
Ritchie-Southern, pp. 93-94, "Her Mantle So Green" (1 text, 1 tune, expanded by Ritchie from a traditional fragment)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 87, "The Mantle of Green" (2 texts)
Peacock, pp. 555-557, "The Mantle So Green" (1 text, 2 tunes)
Leach-Labrador 130, "Mantle of Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-NovaScotia 30, "Mantle So Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 29, "The Mantle So Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Manny/Wilson 91, "Round Her Mantle So Green (Willie O'Reilly; Famed Waterloo)" (1 text, 1 tune)
OLochlainn 7, "The Mantle so Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Moylan 188, "The Mantle So Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Meredith/Anderson, pp. 33, 214-215, "As I Was A-Walking" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
SHenry H76, pp. 314-315, "The Mantle So Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
O'Conor, p. 38, "Mantle So Green" (1 text)
Ord, pp. 155-156, "The Mantle So Green" (1 text)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 122-123, "The Mantle So Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 463, MANTLGRN
Roud #714
RECORDINGS:
Margaret Barry, "Her Mantle So Green" (on IRMBarry-Fairs, and not the same as the next item)
Margaret Barry & Michael Gorman, "Her Mantle So Green" (on Barry-Gorman1); "Her Mantle So Green" (on IRMBarry-Fairs)
Robert Cinnamond, "Willie Slain at Waterloo" (on IRRCinnamond02)
Marie Hare, "Round Her Mantle So Green" (on Miramichi1) (on MRMHare01)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 26(417), "The Mantle So Green," J. Moore (Belfast), 1846-1852; also Firth c.14(212), 2806 c.15(246), "The Mantle So Green"
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(85a), "The Mantle So Green," unknown, c.1890
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "John (George) Riley (I)" [Laws N36] and references there
cf. "The Plains of Waterloo (I)" [Laws N32] (theme and some lines)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
William O'Roley
NOTES: Ord, in his remarks on this song, notes that green was considered an unlucky color for clothing. I'm not sure what significance that might have. - RBW
See the notes to "The Plains of Waterloo (I)" [Laws N32] for Mackenzie's discussion of Laws N36 as source for "The Mantle So Green" [Laws N38] and "The Plains of Waterloo (I)" [Laws N32].
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, "The Mantle of Green" (on Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "My Name is Napoleon Bonaparte," Hummingbird Records HBCD0027 (2001)) - BS
File: LN38
===
NAME: Many Say I Am Too Noisy
DESCRIPTION: "Many say I am too noisy, But I know the reason why, If they only felt the glory They would shout as loud as I." "Hallelujah, bound for glory... I have crossed the River Jordan, Now I'm safe in Beulah Land." "...In his ranks I still remain."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Randolph 602, "Many Say I Am Too Noisy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7549
File: R602
===
NAME: Many Thousand Go: see Many Thousand Gone (Auction Block) (File: FJ030)
===
NAME: Many Thousand Gone (Auction Block)
DESCRIPTION: The freed slave rejoices to be done with abuse: "No more auction block for me... Nor more pint of salt for me... No more peck of corn for me... No more driver's lash for me..." (etc.)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: slavery freedom
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) US(SE)
REFERENCES: (11 citations)
Allen/Ware/Garrison, p. 45, (no title; filed with "Hail Mary" on the basis of the tune); p. 48, "Many Thousand Go" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 30-31, "Auction Block" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 279, "Auction Block" (1 text, 1 tune)
Scott-BoA, pp. 238-239, "Many Thousand Gone" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-CivWar, p. 71, "Many Thousand Gone" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, p. 577, "Many T'ousand Go" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 238, "Many Thousands Gone" (1 text, 1 tune)
Arnett, p. 83, "Many Thousand Go" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greenway-AFP, pp. 101-102, "Many Thousand Gone" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 353-354, "Many Thousand Go (No More Auction Block)" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 296, "Many Thousand Gone" (1 text)
ST FJ030 (Partial)
Roud #3348
RECORDINGS:
Pete Seeger, "No More Auction Block" (on PeteSeeger31)
File: FJ030
===
NAME: Maple Leaf Forever, The
DESCRIPTION: "In days of yore, from Britain's shore, Wolfe, the dauntless hero came.... The Maple Leaf, our emblem dead, The Maple Leaf forever, God save our Queen, and heaven bless The Maple Leaf forever." In praise of the heroes and people of Canada
AUTHOR: Alexander Muir
EARLIEST_DATE: 1867
KEYWORDS: Canada patriotic nonballad
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Sept 13, 1759 - Battle of Quebec. Forces under Wolfe capture Quebec and firmly establish British rule in Canada, although Wolfe is killed
1812 - Battle of Queenston. British forces under Brock repel an American invasion, although Brock is killed
1867 - Canadian Confederation formed
FOUND_IN: Canada
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 111-113, "The Maple Leaf Forever" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MAPLFREV
NOTES: The story goes that Alexander Muir (1839-1906) was out walking in the fall of 1867 when a maple leaf floated down and stuck to his sleeve. It proved hard to brush off, and the phrase "the maple leaf forever" sprang to mind. Eventually he turned it into a song celebrating the new dominion of Canada.
Muir's song was a bit optimistic; the proud dominion he envisioned ("from Cape Race to Nootka Sound") did not exist at the time he wrote, and would not until 1949, when Newfoundland (which includes Cape Race) entered the Confederation. Nor did Nootka Sound enter the dominion until 1871, when British Columbia joined Canada.
The song has proved popular in British Canada, but its complete neglect of Quebec has kept it from any official status.
For background on the Battle of Quebec, see the notes to "Brave Wolfe" [Laws A1]. For Queenston, see "Brave General Brock" [Laws A22] and "The Battle of Queenston Heights." The issue of Canadian confederation led to quite a few songs, especially in Newfoundland; "The 'Antis' of Plate Cove" is typical. - RBW
File: FMB111
===
NAME: Maple on the Hill
DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls the maple on the hill "Where I sat with my Geneva long ago." Now, as he is dying, he bids her, "Don't forget me, little darling, when they lay me down to die"; he must "leave you and that maple on the hill."
AUTHOR: Gussie L. Davis
EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Recording, Vernon Dalhart); said to have been written 1880)
KEYWORDS: death separation
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
DT, MAPLHILL
Roud #4333
RECORDINGS:
Callahan Brothers, "Maple on the Hill" (Melotone 6-06-57, 1936)
Vernon Dalhart, "We Sat Beneath the Maple on the Hill" (Vocalion 5044, 1926)
(Tom) Darby & (Jimmie) Tarlton, "Maple on the Hill" (Columbia 15591-D, 1930)
Farmer Sisters, "Maple on the Hill" (Vocalion 03104, 1935)
Uncle Dave Macon, "Maple on the Hill" (Vocalion 5158, 1927)
J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers, "Maple on the Hill"  (Bluebird B-6065/Montgomery Ward M-4710, 1935; Montgomery Ward M-4969, 1936; RCA Victor 20-3241, 1948)
Holland Puckett, "The Maple On The Hill" (Gennett 6532/Supertone 9186, 1928)
Posey Rorrer & The North Carolina Ramblers, "As We Sat Beneath The Maple On The Hill" (Edison 20005/Ed 52414/CYL: Edison 5615 [as by Posey Rorer's North Carolina Ramblers], 1929; rec. 1928)
Frank Welling & John McGhee, "The Maple On The Hill" (Perfect 5-12-59, 1935; Conqueror 8638, 1936)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Don't Forget Me, Little Darling (I)" (floating lyrics)
SAME_TUNE:
Crowder Brothers, "New Maple on the Hill" (Conqueror 8782, 1937) (Oriole 07-02-63, 1937) 
Dixie Reelers, "Answer to Maple on the Hill - Part 2"
Dixon Brothers, "Answer to Maple on the Hill - Part 1" (Bluebird B-6462, 1936)
Dixon Brothers, "Maple on the Hill - Part 3" (Bluebird B-6630, 1936)
Dixon Brothers, "Maple on the Hill - Part 4" (Montgomery Ward M-7170, 1937)
Wade Mainer, "Maple on the Hill - Part 2" (Bluebird B-6293, 1936)
Wade Mainer & Zeke Morris, "Maple on the Hill, Part 2" (Bluebird B-6293, 1936)
J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers "Maple on the Hill - Part 3" (Bluebird B-6293, 1936)
Prairie Ramblers, "Maple on the Hill - Part 2" (Perfect 6-09-60, 1936)
Prairie Ramblers, "Maple on the Hill No. 4" (Melotone 7-09-51, 1937)
Don Weston, "Maple on the Hill Is Gone" (Decca 5421, 1937)
NOTES: The Dixon Brothers had an "Answer to Maple on the Hill" and at least two additional "parts" to the song. Mainer's Mountaineers also had a "Part 3." What did the guy do, come back as a ghost?
This song has rarely if ever been collected in tradition, but its popularity with old-time singers (see the recording list and the "Same Tune" knock-offs) eventually made me decide to include it here. - RBW
[Ten] recordings by old-time singers between 1927 and 1936 -- yes, it absolutely belongs in. I call that "being collected from tradition," albeit in a roundabout way. - PJS
File: DTmaplhi
===
NAME: Maple Sweet
DESCRIPTION: "When you see the vapor pillar lick the forest and the sky, You may know the days of sugar making then are drawing nigh." "Oh, bubble, bubble, bubble, bubble, bubble goes the pan." A mention of the sights and sounds of the syrupping season
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Linscott)
KEYWORDS: food nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Linscott, pp. 238-239, "Maple Sweet" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3737
File: Lins238
===
NAME: Marafray
DESCRIPTION: The people at Marafray are described in unflattering terms: "Bell Lowe she rises in the mornin Wi' a nose sae neat and fine She jabbers and curses ...." "The [end of] term time is comin'" when we'll be paid and have a parting glass.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: farming work nonballad drink
FOUND_IN: Birtain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan3 399, "Marafray" (1 text)
Roud #5930
File: GrD3399
===
NAME: March of Intellect, The
DESCRIPTION: "Let schoolmasters bother their brain In their dry and their musty vocation; But what can the rest of us gain By meddling with such botheration?" Examples of people that work very well without esoteric knowledge: must the tailor know Conic Sections?
AUTHOR: Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774) ? (attribution by O Lochlainn in OLochlainn-More)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1802 (printed by Hicks, according to OLochlainn-More)
KEYWORDS: commerce humorous nonballad
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
OLochlainn-More 52, "The March of Intellect" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: O Lochlainn's attribution to Oliver Goldsmith is difficult to assess. I'm fairly sure that the song he refers to is Tony Lumpkin's song from Act I of _She Stoops to Conquer_, beginning
Let schoolmasters puzzle their brain
With grammar, and nonsense, and learning;
Good liquor, I stoutly maintain,
Gives _genus_ a better discerning....
But the song simply calls for drink and roast fowl -- no conic sections mentioned. Did the song go into oral tradition and get modified? If so, why are there no other mentions? Or was it written somewhere along the way, perhaps by the printer Hicks?
If Oliver Goldsmith did write this, it may have been a sarcastic comment on his own experience; Barnhart and Halsey's _The New Century Handbook of English Literature_ (revised edition, 1967) comments of him that his career was "a record of almost unbroken failure in everything that he tried to reach by study or effort: he tried law, medicine, the church, and teaching, and failed in all of them; the only thing he succeeded in was literature, which he did not study and for which he had no technical preparation."
The _Handbook_ adds that "Facts meant little to him." - RBW
File: OLcM052
===
NAME: March of the Men of Garvagh
DESCRIPTION: "We're marching, marching thro' Garvagh town, We're ready to fight for queen and crown, If any man won't we'll knock him down." The singer sees the marchers come by, led by "fighting Phil," and her (?) heart beats loud
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1913 (JIFSS)
KEYWORDS: nonballad
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H17b, p. 180, "March of the Men of Garvagh" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13540
NOTES: The Henry text appears to be composite; the first verse is a marching song (perhaps of Ulstermen opposed to Home Rule late in the reign of Victoria?), while the second and third appear to be the song of a girl in love with one of the marchers.
Garvagh, in county (London)derry, almost due south of Coleraine, was the site of some sectarian violence on July 16, 1813 (sometimes referred to as the "Battle of Garvagh," though it sounds more like a riot) -- but 1813 is during the reign of George III, so there is no reason to mention the queen. - RBW
File: HHH017b
===
NAME: Marche des Animaux, Le (The Animal Market) 
DESCRIPTION: French. "One day I go to the market to buy a cock. My cock goes coquelicou, cou, cou." Cumulative for: "My chipmunk, my horse, my cow, my pig, my ewe, my goose, my hen." Chorus: "Jamais je n'en serais jaloux"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage cumulative humorous nonballad animal
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Peacock, p. 18, "Le Marche des Animaux" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "I Had a Little Rooster" (theme and structure)
NOTES: Re "Mon suisse" as "My chipmunk": or does "suisse" in this case really mean Swiss which goes "souisse-souisse-souisse"? or a play on swine=suide? - BS
File: Pea018
===
NAME: Marching Down to New Orleans: see Marching Down to Old Quebec (File: R519)
===
NAME: Marching Down to Old Quebec
DESCRIPTION: "We're marching down to (old Quebec/New Orleans), Where the drum is loudly beating, The 'Merican boys have won the day And the (British) are retreating." The soldier describes marching, and his plans to go home/to New Orleans/to visit a girl
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1903 (Newell)
KEYWORDS: playparty soldier war battle floatingverses courting rejection Canada
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1775-1776: American attack on Canada. The chief battle of the campaign was fought outside Quebec on December 31, 1775
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 repulse Pakenham
FOUND_IN: US(NE,MW,So) Canada(Ont)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Randolph 519, "We're Marching Down to Old Quebec" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 57-59, "Marching Down to Old Quebec" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST R519 (Full)
Roud #735
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Little Pink" (floating verses)
NOTES: The history behind this song is somewhat confusing. Although America in its early years coveted Canada, and sent troops northward during the War of 1812, Americans never successfully attacked Quebec (for their unsuccessful Canadian campaigns, see, e.g., "The Battle of Queenston Heights").
If the song refers to an actual event, it probably dates to the invasion of Canada by Montgomery and Benedict Arnold in 1775. Montgomery captured Montreal, and rendezvoused with Arnold to attack Quebec, but the assault of December 31, 1775 was repulsed. Montgomery was killed and hundreds of Americans killed, wounded, and captured.
As it turned out, both British and Americans sang about the invasion of Canada, with Americans lauding the capture of Montreal (which they obviously did not manage to retain) and the British celebrating the defense of Quebec.
This confusion may explain why the song was transferred to New Orleans, which was American property and where Jackson did repel a British army (for which see "The Battle of New Orleans" [Laws A7]).
The Randolph version of this piece has more than a little connection with "Little Pink," and may even be the same song -- but at this point it's hard to tell; I've heard a "Little Pink" variant which goes in a completely different direction.
Roud tosses the whole family in with "Coffee Grows." - RBW
File: R519
===
NAME: Marching On
DESCRIPTION: "Old Abe's in the White House, taking a snooze, Gen'ral Grant is a-busting his gut with his booze... but let's keep marching on." Complaints about life in the Union army: Lincoln freed the Blacks but not the soldiers, the rebels keep coming back, etc.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (Warner)
KEYWORDS: Civilwar soldier
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Sept 23, 1862 - Abraham Lincoln issues the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which on Jan 1, 1863 will free all slaves in Confederate-controlled areas
Sept 19-20, 1863 - Battle of Chickamauga (calld "Chickamaugie" in the song). Braxton Bragg's reinforced Confederate army routs most of William S. Rosecrans' Federal force, which is saved only by a desperate stand by George H. Thomas. Although the most decisive victory the Confederates ever won, it is the last Rebel victory of the war, and will be avenged a few months later at the Battle of Chattanooga
Feb 1, 1865 - Thirteenth Amendment, which finally prohibits slavery, proposed by congress (It was declared ratified on Dec 18)
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Warner 130, "Marching On" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MARCHON*
Roud #7475
RECORDINGS:
Frank Proffitt, "Old Abe" (on Proffitt03)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "John Brown's Body" (tune & meter) and references there
cf. "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" (tune & meter)
cf. "Pass Around the Bottle" (lyrics)
NOTES: This song implies that Grant, who was unquestionable a heavy drinker in his younger days, continued his alcoholic ways during the Civil War. Most observers agree, however, that he *did not* drink during the war. Grant was by no means a brilliant general, but at least he was stubborn enough to keep fighting until he won the war. - RBW
File: Wa130
===
NAME: Marching Round the Gum Stump (Marching Round the Fodder Stack)
DESCRIPTION: "Marching round the gum stump, The gum stump, the gum stump, Marching round the gum stump, Rolly roly oh!" "If you want a sweetheart, A sweetheart, a sweetheart, If you want a sweetheart, Choose one and play."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1942 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: playparty
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Randolph 591, "Marching Round the Gum Stump" (1 text)
Roud #7676
NOTES: I have this vague feeling that this is based on, or at least incorporates fragments of, a wren song. But I can hardly prove it.... - RBW
File: R591
===
NAME: Marching Round the Levee: see Go In and Out the Window (File: R538)
===
NAME: Marching Song of the First Arkansas
DESCRIPTION: "Oh, we're the bully soldiers of the 'First of Arkansas,' We're fighting for the Union, we are fighting for the law, We can hit a Rebel further than a white man ever saw..." The soldiers tell how they will show their prowess by defeating the Rebels
AUTHOR: Words: Capt. Lindley Miller?
EARLIEST_DATE: 1960
KEYWORDS: Civilwar battle Black(s) slavery freedom soldier derivative
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Jan 1, 1863 - Effectiveness date of the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all slaves in the portions of the U.S. not then in Federal hands
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Silber-CivWar, p. 38, "Marching Song of the First Arkansas (Negro) Regiment" (1 text, tune referenced)
DT, MARARKAN*
RECORDINGS:
Pete Seeger, "Marching Song of the First Arkansas" (on PeteSeeger28)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "John Brown's Body" (tune & meter) and references there
NOTES: The Union first began enlisting Black troops (informally) in 1862. By the end of that year, four regiments were raised, only to have Lincoln shut them down. After the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, however, Lincoln allowed the formation of (segregated) "colored" regiments.
In the end, over a hundred and fifty such regiments were raised. Their performance was mixed -- but this was probably the fault of the (white) officers rather than the Black troops. A large fraction of the officers in the "Colored" regiments were soldiers who had given up on promotion in the white army, and shifted to the "Colored" troops to get ahead.
The "Colored" troops had other reasons for bad morale; their pay was much lower than their white counterparts, and their equipment less good. And soldiers from both sides looked down on them.
A large fraction of the "Colored" regiments were raised from free Northern blacks, but some were taken from freed slaves. If anything, the soldiers of these regiments fought better than their free kindred. - RBW
File: SCW38
===
NAME: Marching Song of the First Arkansas (Negro) Regiment: see Marching Song of the First Arkansas (File: SCW38)
===
NAME: Marching Through Georgia
DESCRIPTION: Sundry boasts, mostly too optimistic, about Sherman's march to the sea: "How the darkeys shouted when they heard the joyful sound.... Yes, and there were Union men who wept with joyful tears... While we were marching through Georgia."
AUTHOR: Henry Clay Work
EARLIEST_DATE: 1865 (copyright)
KEYWORDS: Civilwar patriotic
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Nov 15, 1864 - William T. Sherman splits his army (which had conquered Atlanta on September 1) into two parts. One, under Thomas, is to defend Atlanta, while Sherman takes nearly 60,000 men on the "March to the Sea"
Dec 10, 1864 - Sherman's forces reach Savannah
Dec 21, 1864 - Sherman captures Savannah
FOUND_IN: US(MW) Australia
REFERENCES: (8 citations)
RJackson-19CPop, pp. 126-129, "Marching Through Georgia" (1 text, 1 tune)
Meredith/Anderson, p. 34, "The Battle Cry of Freedom" (1 text, 1 tune, composed of equal parts of this song and "The Battle Cry of Freedom")
Dean, pp. 119-120, "Marching Through Georgia" (1 text)
Silber-CivWar, pp. 78-79, "Marching Through Georgia" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hill-CivWar, pp. 207-208, "Marching Through Georgia" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 278, "Marching Through Georgia" (1 text)
Fuld-WFM, p. 349, "Marching Through Georgia"
DT, MRCHGRGA*
ST MA034A (Full)
Roud #9596
RECORDINGS:
[Byron G.] Harlan & [Roba] Stanley, "Marching Through Georgia" (CYL: Edison 8606, 1904) (Columbia 1776, 1904) (Victor 4217, 1905)
J. W. Myers, "Marching Through Georgia" (Victor 4289, 1905)
Pete Seeger & Bill McAdoo, "Marching Through Georgia" (on PeteSeeger28)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Golden Gullies of the Palmer" (tune & meter)
cf. "The Workingmen's Army" (tune & meter)
cf. "Coxey Army" (tune)
cf. "Marching to Cuba" (tune)
SAME_TUNE:
Marching to Cuba (File: BrII237)
The Workingmen's Army (Greenway-AFP, pp. 59-60)
Coxey Army (Greenway-AFP, pp. 62-63)
NOTES: Although Work can hardly be blamed for his cheerful view of the March to the Sea, it was in fact little better than terrorism. Sherman's expressed goal was to "make Georgia howl," and he certainly succeeded; a region some fifty miles across was devastated. (Sherman was, in fact, reviving the chevauchee, the method by which the armies of the Middle Ages destroyed their enemies' agricultural base).
Even if there had been Union men in the region before, there were none left afterward.
"Marching Through Georgia" has been called "the most hated song in the south."
The one other person who hated the song was none other than Sherman himself; he reportedly said, "If I had thought when I made that march that it would have inspired anyone to compose the piece, I would have marched AROUND the state."
Sherman became the most hated man in the south for the rest of his life. It's ironic to note that, when Joseph E. Johnston surrendered the last real southern army to Sherman, Sherman gave such generous terms (to Johnston and anyone else willing to take them) that the North instantly repudiated them. There were loud calls for his removal -- as being too soft! - RBW
File: MA034A
===
NAME: Marching to Cuba
DESCRIPTION: "We're going down to Cuba, boys, to battle for the right, We're going to show the Spaniards that we Yankee boys can fight... While we are marching to Cuba." The victories at Manila Bay and Santiago are briefly mentioned
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: Spain battle war navy soldier derivative
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1895 - Cubans rebel against Spain
Feb 15, 1898 - Explosion of the battleship "Maine" in Havana harbor
May 1, 1898 - Battle of Manila Bay. Dewey's fleet destroys the entire Spanish fleet in the Philippines
May 19, 1898 - The Spanish fleet enters Santiago Bay
July 2, 1898 - The Spanish fleet at Santiago, acting under orders from Madrid, sails out into the teeth of the American fleet and is destroyed
July 10, 1898 - U. S. troops attack Santiago
July 17, 1898 - U. S. troops capture Santiago
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownII 237, "Marching to Cuba" (1 text)
Roud #6622
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Marching Through Georgia" (tune) and references there
cf. "My Sweetheart Went Down with the Maine" (theme) and references there
NOTES: The editors of Brown were able to identify this with a piece "Marching to Cuba" credited to Josie M. Galloway, with words by J. H. Dohrmann. Since, however, it is instantly obvious that the tune is "Marching through Georgia," the authorship claims must be treated as slightly dubious.
The military figures mentioned in this song include:
Dewey - George Dewey (1837-1917), commander of the U. S. Navy's Asiatic Squadron from early 1898, he won the Battle of Manila Bay at slight cost: The Spanish lost their entire fleet, the Americans didn't have a single sailor killed
Sampson - William Thomas Sampson (1840-1902), who led the Board of Inquiry into the _Maine_ explosion. He was appointed to command the North Atlantic squadron during the War, and hence was responsible for the blockade of Santiago harbor. His direct involvement in the Battle of Santiago was limited as he was not in the immediate presence  of the enemy when the Spanish sortied
Hobson - Richmond Pearson Hobson (1870-1937) helped close Santiago harbor by sinking the collier _Merrimac_ as a blockship.
Schley - Winfield Scott Schley (1839-1909) commanded the Flying Squadron of the fleet blockading Santiago. When the Spaniards attempted to break out, Schley was the senior officer present -- a fact which later led to severe arguments with Sampson over who deserved credit for the victory. - RBW
File: BrII237
===
NAME: Marching to Pretoria
DESCRIPTION: Shanty version sung to the Pretoria tune, though with changed verses, which Hugill says he had to camouflage to print. Cho: "We are marchin' to Pretoria, oh gloria, Victoria. We are marchin' to Pretoria, Victoria rules the waves!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1954 (recording, Joseph Marais and Miranda)
KEYWORDS: shanty army travel Africa food
FOUND_IN: South Africa Britain
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Hugill, p.425, "Pretoria" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. ???, "Marching to Pretoria" (1 text)
DT, MARPRET
NOTES: I was surprised not to find this in the index already, considering how common I thought was. From what I could find it dates or at least refers to the Boer or Zulu war. - SL
It is not in the Index because it's not really found in tradition. As best I can tell, it was fixed up by Joseph Marais and Miranda, based on a South African original, and the adaption has been sung very widely at camps -- typically on hiking expeditions. But only starting in the 1960s.
This is the first time I've met the sea version, which may be an alternate adaption.
It would be very interesting to find the earliest version of this, to know the setting (including which Boer War it dates from).
The opening conflict of the (first) Boer War came on December 20, 1880, at Bronkhorstspruit, when "264 officers of the 94th Regiment (Connaught Rangers), marching from Lydenburg to Pretoria, were halted on the march by a Boer commando and ordered to turn back. The lieutenant-coloonel in command was given two minutes to reply to the demand. He refused to surrender and was killed by the Boers' opening shots." Most of the other British soldiers were killed as well. (See Byron Farwell, _Queen Victoria's Little Wars_, pp. 244-245).
Britain was defeated again early the next year, on February 26, 1881, At Majuba Hill, British General George Pomeroy Colley took his force onto high ground, but failed to create a defensive position; his forces were routed and Colley himself killed (see Fred R. van Hartsveldt, _The Boer War_, Sutton, 2000), p. 4.
Rather than keep up the fight, the British negotiated, A year later, the Pretoria Convention would end the war. "It gave the South African Republic independence subject to a vague assertion of British suzerainty whatever that might mean" (van Hartsfeldt, p. 5).
In the second (1899-1902) Boer War, Pretoria would again be key -- and the site of a lot of marching. On October 30, 1899, after their victory at Lombard's Kop, the Boers marched a number of British prisoners through Pretoria (see Eversley Belfield, _The Boer War_, pp. 20-22).
On March 13, 1900, Frederick Singh Roberts captured Bloemfontein, then prepared to march on the Boer capital of Pretoria. He set out on May 3 and arrived June 5 (Belfield, pp. 95-100). This did not end the war -- there would be two more years of guerrilla fighting, in which world opinion turned against England and the international situation became ever more complicated. But it was nearly the end of the direct military phase (and it earned Roberts an earldom and the command of the British army), and at the time it was thought it would end the conflict; the soldiers must have thought they were making the last big push.
Thus, a march to Pretoria could have been bad news for Britain or for the Boers, depending on the war and the situation. Or it could be about something else. - RBW
File: Hugi425
===
NAME: Marden Forfeit Song: see Green Grow the Leaves (File: Leath206)
===
NAME: Margaret Gray
DESCRIPTION: Margaret Gray and her baby bid farewell to Robert Gray as he goes to work in the field. They agree to meet at a neighbor's house. She becomes lost in the woods. Her baby dies. Long after, she finally finds her way home.
AUTHOR: Julia C. R. Dorr
EARLIEST_DATE: 1872 (Lippincott's)
KEYWORDS: baby separation death love
FOUND_IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Flanders/Brown, pp. 19-26, "Margaret Gray" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST FlBr019 (Partial)
Roud #5440
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Margery Gray -- A Legend of Vermont (author's title)
NOTES: Flanders and Brown claim this piece was well-known in Vermont, and indeed they seem to list two informants. But it doesn't appear to have turned up in any other collection.
Julia Caroline Ripley Dorr (1825-1913) was successful enough as a writer to earn a place in the _Dictionary of American Biography_, but I checked eight anthologies without finding a single word she had written. _Granger's Index to Poetry_, which cites some 300 anthologies, lists a few of her poems -- but not one of those 300 volumes includes this piece. Given how wordy this poem is, it's perhaps not surprising. - RBW
File: FlBr019
===
NAME: Margot Evans (Let the Bullgine Run)
DESCRIPTION: "Oh the smartest clipper you can find, Oh hey, oh ho, are you 'most done? Is the (Margot Evans) of the (Blue Cross) line, So clear the track, let the bullgine run!" The singer describes the fast passage of the ship, and hopes Liza Lee will marry him
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1921 (Terry)
KEYWORDS: sailor work ship courting nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (7 citations)
Lomax-FSNA 29, "The Bullgine Run" (1 text, 1 tune)
Colcord, p. 99, "Clear the Track" (1 text, 1 tune)
Harlow, pp. 18-19, "Clear the Track, Let the Bulgine Run" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill, pp. 344-347, "Clear the Track, let the Bulgine Run" (2 texts, 2 tune) [AbEd, pp. 258-259]
Sharp-EFC, VI, p. 7, "Clear the Track" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, p. 317, "Clear the Track and Let the Bullgine Rune" (1 text)
DT, MARGOEVN*
Roud #810
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Eliza Lee
NOTES: Hugill, following Sharp, claims this is sung to the tune similar to "Shule Agrah" (Lomax says they're the same), though it's not any variant I've ever heard.
Colcord thinks that explains the strange combination of bullgine engine (railroad engine) and low-backed car: Someone from the _Margot Evans_ (the ship in her version, though Hugill has a _Wild Cat_ or similar) heard Irish sailors singers sing it, and adapted it.
The _Margot Evans_, according to Colcord, was a packet running apparently from Mobile to New York.
Personally, I think the whole song needs a lot more historical study. - RBW
File: LoF029
===
NAME: Margot, La
DESCRIPTION: French shanty. Chorus: "Oh hisse! et ho! Tire larigot, Hourra pour la Margot!" "With a heave an'a ho! Blow the flute boys, O! Hurrah for La Margot!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Hayet, _Chansons de bord_)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: French shanty. Chorus: "Oh hisse! et ho! Tire larigot, Hourra pour la Margot!" "With a heave an'a ho! Blow the flute boys, O! Hurrah for La Margot!" Translation is vague, verses seem to refer to Margot as both a ship and a woman and has thinly disguised bawdy lyrics, and several of the repeating words in both the verses and chorus can have different meanings
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage shanty bawdy
FOUND_IN: France
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hugill, pp. 398-400, "La Margot" (2 texts-English & French, 1 tune)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Le Bihor
File: Hugi398
===
NAME: Mari de Quatre-Vingt-Dix Ans, Le (The Ninety Year Old Husband)
DESCRIPTION: French. The singer's father marries her to a ninety year old man. When she complains, her father said that her husband is rich. She would rather have a man that satisfies her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage age marriage dialog father husband
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Peacock, pp. 298-299, "Le Mari de Quatre-Vingt-Dix Ans" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Maids When You're Young Never Wed an Old Man" and references there
File: Pea298
===
NAME: Maria
DESCRIPTION: "I wonder where Maria's gone (x3). Ear-lye in the morning." "Guess she's gone and I can't go (x3), Ear-lye in the morning." "Yonder she comes and howdy-do (x3), Ear-lye in the morning."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1917 (Cecil Sharp collection); *1907 (JAFL20)
KEYWORDS: nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Ritchie-SingFam, pp. 66-67, "[Maria]" (1 text, 1 tune)
SharpAp 258, "Maria's Gone" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3625
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Drunken Sailor (Early in the Morning)" 
NOTES: The similarity to "The Drunken Sailor" will be obvious even from the lyrics -- but since the theme of the song is different, the chorus is absent, and the tune somewhat modified, I decided to classify these as separate songs. Presumably at some point someone put new lyrics to the "Drunken Sailor" melody. - RBW
The 1917 version collected by Sharp -- in Hindman, KY, where many of the Ritchies attended the settlement school --  has a rather different melody; perhaps the words and earlier melody came first, then someone switched tunes to "Drunken Sailor." - PJS
File: JRSF066
===
NAME: Maria and Caroline: see The Folkestone Murder (File: K320)
===
NAME: Maria Barberi
DESCRIPTION: "'Tis not for me to speak aloud On lofty themes. I tell As one among the lowly crowd How young Maria fell." "Swift as a flash a glittering blade Across his throat she drew. 'By you,' she shrieked, 'I've been betrayed." She apparently avoids conviction
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (Burt)
KEYWORDS: murder revenge betrayal
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: April 1895 - Maria Barberi kills Domenico Cataldo, apparently because he would not marry her
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Burt, p. 55, "(Maria Barberi)" (1 text, probably a fragment)
File: Burt055
===
NAME: Maria Bewell
DESCRIPTION: Fifteen year old Maria's stepfather comes to her bed one night and asks to sleep with her. She begs him not to; he persists. Finally his desire is too strong; he lies in wait for her and kills her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Eddy)
KEYWORDS: incest murder  rejection father
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1832 - Murder of Maria Buell by Ira West Gardner. Gardner was later hung, though details of the sentencing were lost in a fire
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Eddy 120, "Maria Bewell" (1 text)
ST E120 (Full)
Roud #4116
NOTES: This song is item dF44 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW
File: E120
===
NAME: Maria Marten
DESCRIPTION: Maria tells her mother she is going to meet William at the red barn. They are to be married next day in Islip. Maria is never seen alive again. After eleven months her mother dreams the body will be found buried in the red barn. The body is found there.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1972 (recording, Freda Palmer)
KEYWORDS: courting murder dream mother corpse
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Aug 11, 1828 - William Corder is executed for the May 1827 murder of Maria Marten (source: NLScotland commentary to broadside L.C.Fol.70(71b))
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South))
REFERENCES: ()

Roud #215
RECORDINGS:
Freda Palmer, "Maria Marten" (on Voice03)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Murder of Maria Marten" (subject) and references there
File: RcMariaM
===
NAME: Maria's Gone: see Maria (File: JRSF066)
===
NAME: Marian Parker (I) [Laws F33]
DESCRIPTION: Pretty schoolgirl Marian Parker and her family are preparing for Christmas when the girl is kidnapped from school. "Young Hickman" is arrested and tried after the body is found
AUTHOR: Bill Barrett?
EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (recording, Al Craver [Vernon Dalhart]; also copyrighted in that year, but the Dalhart recording was probably made in 1927; collected by Brown as early as 1930)
KEYWORDS: murder corpse trial abduction
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Dec 14, 1927 - Kidnapping and murder of twelve (eleven?)-year-old Marian Parker
Dec 17, 1927 - Discovery by her father of the girl's mutilated body
Oct 19, 1928 - Execution of William Edward Hickman for the murder
FOUND_IN: US(MW,SE,So)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Laws F33, "Marian Parker"
BrownII 254, "Marian Parker" (1 text)
McNeil-SFB2, pp. 68-70, "Little Marian Parker" (1 text, 1 tune)
Burt, pp. 65-66, "(Marion Parker)" (1 text, tune referenced)
DT 731, MARPARK1
Roud #781
RECORDINGS:
Al Craver [pseud. for Vernon Dalhart] & Charlie Wells [pseud. for Carson Robison], "Little Marian Parker" (Columbia 15218-D. c. 1928)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Marian Parker (II)" (subject)
cf. "Marian Parker (III)" (subject)
cf. "Edward Hickman (Marian Parker IV)" (subject)
NOTES: Laws lists a total of four Marian Parker ballads (the others are dF56, dF57, and dE49, "Edward Hickman"). This one, popularized by Vernon Dalhart, begins "Away out in California lived a family bright and gay. They were planning for their Christmas not very far away...."
The 1928 printing, credited to Bill Barrett (though I wonder if Carson Robison may not have been involved), titles the song "Little Marian Parker." - RBW
File: LF33
===
NAME: Marian Parker (II)
DESCRIPTION: Marian Parker, "a sweet little darling," is "lured away from school" so that the kidnapper (unnamed) can demand a ransom. Her father finds her mangled body. The ballad concludes with moralizing stanzas
AUTHOR: John McGhee?
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: abduction murder death
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Dec 14, 1927 - Kidnapping and murder of twelve (eleven?)-year-old Marian Parker
Dec 17, 1927 - Discovery by her father of the girl's mutilated body
Oct 19, 1928 - Execution of William Edward Hickman for the murder
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownII 255, "The Murder of Marian Parker" (1 text)
Roud #4126
RECORDINGS:
John McGhee, "The Marion Parker Murder" (Champion 15427=probably Gennett 6362)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Marian Parker (I)" [Laws F33] (subject)
cf. "Marian Parker (III)" (subject)
cf. "Edward Hickman (Marian Parker IV)" (subject)
NOTES: This is item dF56 in Laws's Appendix II. Laws lists a total of four Marian Parker ballads (the others are F33, dF57, and dE49, "Edward Hickman"). This one, with no details and an extremely sticky tone, begins "In a home out in Los Angeles Lived a sweet little darling so fair. 'Twas a pleasure her loved ones to be, But her loved ones her joy no more they'll share." - RBW
File: LdF56
===
NAME: Marian Parker (III)
DESCRIPTION: Marian and her sister set out for school. Edward Hickman tells her her father had an accident, and kidnaps her. He demands a $1500 ransom. Her father brings the money, but finds her dead body. The song blames Hickman but does not tell his fate
AUTHOR: Andrew Jenkins
EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (recording, Andrew Jenkins)
KEYWORDS: murder execution trial abduction mother
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Dec 14, 1927 - Kidnapping and murder of twelve (eleven?)-year-old Marian Parker
Dec 17, 1927 - Discovery by her father of the girl's mutilated body
Oct 19, 1928 - Execution of William Edward Hickman for the murder
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownII 256, "Little Marion Parker" (1 text)
Roud #4127
RECORDINGS:
Blind Andy [pseud. for Andrew Jenkins], "Little Marian Parker" (OKeh 45197, 1928) [The flip side is also a Marian Parker ballad, "Edward Hickman"]
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Marian Parker (I)" [Laws F33] (subject)
cf. "Marian Parker (II)" (subject)
cf. "Edward Hickman (Marian Parker IV)" (subject)
NOTES: This is item dF57 in Laws's Appendix II. Laws lists a total of four Marian Parker ballads (the others are F33, dF56, and dE49, "Edward Hickman"). This, one of two by Andrew Jenkins and appearing in the Brown collection, has the opening stanza, "Now little Marion (sic) Parker, She left her home one day, She started to the schoolhouse, Her heart was light and gay." - RBW
File: LdF57
===
NAME: Marie Madelaine (Son Petit Jupon -- The Little Dress of Gray)
DESCRIPTION: French: The singer is her father's only daughter, and he sent her to sea in her little dress of gray. A sailor courts her and asks to kiss her. She is afraid of what her papa would do. He points out that her father is far away
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1966
KEYWORDS: Quebec love courting sea father foreignlanguage
FOUND_IN: Canada(Que)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Scott-BoA, pp. 294-296, "Son Petit Jupon" (2 texts (1 English, 1 French), 1 tune)
File: SBoA294
===
NAME: Marigold, The: see The Royal Oak (File: VWL091)
===
NAME: Marina Girl: see (references and notes under) Way Down the Old Plank Road (File: ADR94)
===
NAME: Mariposa
DESCRIPTION: The steamer Mariposa, loaded with general cargo and sheep, runs on shore at Grassy Point, Labrador. "A portion of her cargo is gone up and down the shore, Honestly and hardly earned by the people of Labrador"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 (Leach-Labrador)
KEYWORDS: ship wreck sea humorous theft
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Sep 27, 1895 - Mariposa, sailing from Montreal to Liverpool sinks in the Strait of Belle Isle at L'Anse Au Clair (source: Northern Shipwrecks DataBase)
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Leach-Labrador 79, "Mariposa" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST LLab079 (Partial)
Roud #9980
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Old Mayflower" (theme)
cf. "The Teapots at the Fire" (theme)
cf. "The Middlesex Flora" (theme)
cf. "The Irrawaddy" (theme)
NOTES: Leach-Labrador: "The general attitude toward wrecks was summed up for me by one man, who said, 'If the good Lord sees fit to wrack a vessel, we hope it'll be hereabouts; we can use anything on board.'" - BS
File: LLab079
===
NAME: Maritime Memories of Wexford
DESCRIPTION: "Tis often I dream of the old Wexford fleet," "golden memories" of the end of the nineteenth century. "Ah! those were the days of the sailing ship, days of a rare old sport, When the Devereux flag was carried on the ships that sailed from our port"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1945 (Ranson)
KEYWORDS: sea ship commerce lyric nonballad
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ranson, p. 10, "Maritime Memories of Wexford" (1 text)
File: Ran010
===
NAME: Mark Murphy
DESCRIPTION: Mark Murphy from Avondale "could fight and farm and swing his arm and drive this world along, But the only thing he left undone was to try and hold his tongue." He bragged once too often about his boxing and was shown up by a boxer he said he could beat
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 (Dibblee/Dibblee)
KEYWORDS: bragging fight humorous
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Dibblee/Dibblee, pp. 103-104, "Mark Murphy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #12454
NOTES: Avondale is inland at central eastern Queens, Prince Edward Island. - BS
File: Dib103
===
NAME: Marksman, The
DESCRIPTION: In '45 the singer fell in love with a maid who wore the Orange and Blue. He inquired of her home: "her index it came from above." Other questions were answered in Masonic code. Bring your sweethearts and "see if yours tells you what my love told me"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1987 (OrangeLark)
KEYWORDS: courting ritual religious
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
OrangeLark 31, "The Marksman" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Inniskilling Dragoon" (tune, according to Orange Lark)
cf. "The Grand Templar's Song" (Masonic symbolism: Aaron's rod) and references there
NOTES: Within the Orange Lodges, "Purple Marksman" refers to one of the Master degree, above "Orange" and "Orange Marksman," of the Orange Institution (source: "The Formation of the Orange Order 21st September 1795" in the anti-Orange _Evangelical Truth_ at NIreland.com site).
OrangeLark has no comment on the code. The song says "if you want to know the secret, go search and you'll see." - BS
File: OrLa031
===
NAME: Marriage of Sir Gawain, The [Child 31]
DESCRIPTION: Arthur must fight a huge knight or come back later and say what women most desire. An ugly woman will give the answer if Arthur marries her to one of his knights. Gawain agrees, leaves it up to her to be beautiful by day or night, and lifts the spell
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1794 (Percy)
KEYWORDS: courting marriage shape-changing royalty magic
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (6 citations)
Child 31, "The Marriage of Sir Gawain" (1 text)
Percy/Wheatley III, pp. 13-24, "The Marriage of Sir Gawaine"; pp. 323-330, "The Ancient Fragment of the Marriage of Sir Gawain" (2 texts, the second being the damaged stanzas in the Percy folio and the first being Percy's reconstructed version)
Leach, pp. 118-123, "The Marriage of Sir Gawain" (1 text)
OBB 19, "The Marriage of Sir Gawain [A Fragment]" (1 text)
Niles 18, "The Marriage of Sir Gawain" (1 text, 1 tune, clearly a form of this ballad but of doubtful authenticity)
DT 31, GAWAIN1
Roud #3966
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Half-Hitch" [Laws N23] (theme)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Sir Gaunie and the Witch
NOTES: This story is also found in the fifteenth century romance "The Wedding of Sir Gawen and Dame Ragnell," viewed by Sir Frederic Madden to be the source of the ballad.
The theme of the "loathly woman" is, of course, common, but certain scholars have tried to link every ballad on this theme (e.g. "The Half-Hitch") to this ballad. The links are usually very dubious. We should note that, apart from the dubious piece in Niles, the only extant version of this ballad is the copy in the Percy folio.
On the other hand, the connection between this ballad and "Dame Ragnall" are hard to deny. If this is not a recomposition of that romance, it certainly derives from the same immediate source.
The romance is found in only one manuscript, Bodleian MS Rawlinson C 86, which has lost a leaf containing probably about 70 lines after line 628.
The manuscript is generally regarded as dating from about 1500. The poem itself is probably 50-150 years older -- though the very confused writing makes things harder. I observe that, in the first 60 lines, there the name "Arthur" is spelled "Arthoure," "Arture," "Arthoure" again, "Arthure, and "Arthour."
Several other ballads also derive loosely or from Middle English romance, or from the legends that underly it, examples being:
* "Hind Horn" [Child 17], from "King Horn" (3 MSS., including Cambridge Gg.4.27.2, which also contains "Floris and Blancheflour")
* "King Orfeo" [Child 19], from "Sir Orfeo" (3 MSS., including the Auchinlek MS, which also contains "Floris and Blancheflour")
* "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") - RBW
File: C031
===
NAME: Married and Single Life
DESCRIPTION: Singer warns young people of the perils of marriage, tells them to wait until age 21, and be sure of their sweethearts. "When a man's married he ain't his own man... But when a man's single he can live at his ease..."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1916 (Cecil Sharp collection)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer warns young people (mostly men) of the perils of marriage, tells them to wait until age 21, and be sure of their sweethearts, who can be deceitful. "When a man's married he ain't his own man...For selling his freedom to buy him a wife...But when a man's single he can live at his ease...he can rove through the country and live at his will/Kiss Polly, kiss Betsy, and he is the same still." He offers healths to the single and married alike
KEYWORDS: age marriage warning drink nonballad bachelor husband
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
SharpAp 73, "Married and Single Life" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MARRSING
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Bachelor's Hall (I)" (subject)
cf. "Single Life, A (Single Is My Glory)" (subject)
cf. "Single Girl, Married Girl" (subject)
cf. "I Wish I Were a Single Girl Again" (subject)
cf. "I Wish I Were Single Again (I - Male)" (subject)
cf. "When I Was Single (II)" (subject)
cf. "Sporting Bachelors" (subject)
NOTES: This has parallel content to a lot of other "stay single" songs, but it's separate nonetheless. - PJS
File: ShrAp73
===
NAME: Married Man (II), The: see I Wish I Were Single Again (I - Male) (File: R365)
===
NAME: Married Man, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer looks back fondly on seven years of marriage: His wife cares for him (even when he drinks too much), and never questions or scolds. He advises girls to keep this in mind" So, girls, mind you this when you marry."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1937 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: marriage drink husband wife warning
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H701, p. 501, "The Married Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST HHH701 (Full)
Roud #9465
File: HHH701
===
NAME: Married to a Mermaid
DESCRIPTION: Farmer loves a knight's daughter, the knight has him pressed. At sea the farmer falls overboard. As his comrades look for him he pops up and tells them how he found and then married a mermaid. The sailors wish him well. Choruses of "Rule Britannia."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1870 (Broadside, Bodleian library)
KEYWORDS: sailor mermaid/man pressgang farming marriage
FOUND_IN: Britain US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Harlow, pp. 174-176, "Married to a Mermaid" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Rule Britannia" (tune and chorus)
cf. "The Merman (Pretty Fair Maid with a Tail)" [Laws K24] (theme of marrying a mermaid)
cf. "Down in the Diving Bell (The Mermaid (II))" (theme of marrying a mermaid)
NOTES: This was obviously based on "Rule Britannia," keeping the tune and popular chorus and replacing all the other text. According to contemplator.com it was credited in the "Scottish Student's Handbook" to "A.J.C." and also appeared in Toser's "Sailor's Songs of Chanties." It seems to have been made popular by [music hall performer] Arthur Lloyd (1839-1904) but I could find no indication that he was responsible for the words. One of the Bodleian broadsides state that it was sung to the tune of "The Revelers." - SL
File: Harl174
===
NAME: Married Woman's Lament, A: see I Wish I Were Single Again (II - Female) (File: E070)
===
NAME: Marrow Bones: see Marrowbones [Laws Q2] (File: LQ02)
===
NAME: Marrowbones [Laws Q2]
DESCRIPTION: An old wife goes to the doctor for a potion to blind her husband. The doctor suggests (eggs and) marrowbones. He says  he wishes to die and asks her to push him off a cliff. As she runs to do so, he steps aside. She drowns; he says he cannot see to help
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1874 (quoted in Mark Twain, _Life on the Mississippi_)
KEYWORDS: suicide trick drugs death
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,SE,So) Britain(England(Lond,South),Scotland) Canada(Newf) Ireland
REFERENCES: (32 citations)
Laws Q2, "The Old Wife of Slapsadam (The Wily Auld Carle; The Old Woman in Dover; etc.)"
Greig #13, p. 1, "The Wily Auld Carle" (1 text)
GreigDuncan2 318, "The Wife o' Kelso" (11 texts, 7 tunes)
Belden, pp. 237-239, "Johnny Sands" (2 texts, but only the second, with no letter, is this piece)
Randolph 754, "Johnny Sands" (2 texts, 2 tunes, but the "A" text goes with "Johnny Sands" [Laws Q3] while the "B" text belongs with this piece)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 239-240, "A Cruel Wife" (1 text)
Eddy 30, "An Old Woman's Story" (1 text)
Flanders/Olney, pp. 13-14, "The Drowning Lady (The Witch Song)" (1 fragment, 1 tune, which might be either "Marrowbones" or "Johnnie Sands")
Linscott, pp. 255-258, "The Old Woman in Dover" (1 text, 1 tune)
FSCatskills 141, "The Old Woman from Boston" (1 text, 1 tune)
SharpAp 55, "The Rich Old Lady" (3 texts, 3 tunes)
Peacock, pp. 261-264, "Eggs and Marrow-Bones" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Leach-Labrador 113, "A Cruel Wife" (1 text, 1 tune)
Karpeles-Newfoundland 39, "The Rich Old Lady" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-Maritime, p. 122, "Marrow Bones" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 73, "Marrow Bones" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ives-DullCare, pp. 109-110,243, "Cheese and Marrowbones" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownII 182, "The Old Woman's Blind Husband" (2 texts)
Chappell-FSRA 44, "The Old Woman" (1 text, 1 tune)
Brewster 60, "An Old Woman's Story" (1 text)
Doerflinger, p. 281, "The Wife of Kelso (The Wily Auld Carle)" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 51, "The Rich Old Lady" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 274, "The Rich Old Lady" (1 text, 1 tune)
Chase, pp. 130-131, "The Rich Old Lady" (1 text, 1 tune -- with a second verse created by Chase)
SHenry H174, p. 507, "The Auld Man and the Churnstaff" (1 text, 1 tune)
McBride 70, "The Wee Woman in Our Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
Morton-Maguire 35, pp. 89-90,121,170, "Marrow Bones" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kennedy 208, "The Old Woman of Blighter Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
JHCox 157, "An Old Woman's Story" (1 text)
Darling-NAS, pp. 144-145, "There Was an Old Lady" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 173, "Eggs And Marrowbones" (1 text)
DT 344, MARBONES* MARBONE2* MARBONE3* MARBONE4 MARBON5 MARBON6*
Roud #183
RECORDINGS:
Horton Barker, "There Was an Old Lady" (on Barker01)
Harry Cox, "Marrowbones" (on HCox01)
Betty Garland, "Love My Darlin' O" (on BGarland01)
Jimmy Knights, "Marrowbones" (on Voice06)
A. L. Lloyd, "Tigery Orum" (on Lloyd1)
John Maguire, "Marrowbones" (on IRJMaguire01)
Red Mick McDermott, "Marrowbones" (on IRHardySons)
Lawrence Older,  "Woman from Yorkshire" (on LOlder01)
Ken Peacock, "Woman from Dover" (on NFKPeacock)
Wesley Smith, "Cheese and Marrowbones" (on MREIves01)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Johnny Sands" [Laws Q3]
cf. "The Keach in the Creel" (tune,according to GreigDuncan2)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Eggs and Marrowbones
Old Woman from Wexford
Dover
NOTES: At one time witches were killed by drowning, and Flanders and Olney connect their fragmentary text (which mentions only the drowning and the husband pushing the wife in) with this phenomenon.
Mark Twain quotes a fragment of this piece in _Life on the Mississippi_.
The Catskills version has a peculiar ending in which the lady swims to the other shore and survives. Much as we would like this to be a feminist touch, it seems more likely that it was a lapse of memory.
Sam Henry had a text in which the man eventually rescued her. Perhaps there was an onlooker around somewhere?
A number of editors confuse "Johnny Sands" [Laws Q3] and "Marrowbones" [Laws Q2]. They obviously have thematic similarity, and probably have exchanged parts. But the "gimmick" is different in each case; there seems no doubt that they are now separate songs. - RBW
File: LQ02
===
NAME: Marseillaise, La
DESCRIPTION: French language: "Allons, enfants de la Patrie! Le jour gloire est arrive!" The listeners are urged to fight for France and freedom, and drive foreigners off French soil
AUTHOR: Rouget de Lisle
EARLIEST_DATE: 1792 (sheet music)
KEYWORDS: patriotic France nonballad
FOUND_IN: France
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Silber-FSWB, p. 302, "La Marseillaise" (1 French text plus English version)
Fuld-WFM, p. 354, "La Marseillaise"
DT, LAMARSEI
Roud #11238
SAME_TUNE:
The Texan Marseillaise (by James Haines; [H. M. Wharton], War Songs and Poems of the Southern Confederacy, pp. 191-192)
The Swineish Multitutde (1798 rebel song; cf. Thomas Pakenham, The Year of Liberty, p. 173)
NOTES: Summarizing the notes in Fuld:
There are all sorts of ironies associated with this song. To begin with, it wasn't associated with Marseilles; it was published as "Chant de Guerre pour l'Armee du Rhin" (more or less at the far end of France). Even more ironically, the author (Rouget de Lisle, 1760-1836) is reported to have been a royalist, and even to have been imprisoned for his support for the crown.
The song was written in 1792, when France still had a king though it was doing its best to ignore him. France wound up at war with Austria and Prussia. It appears that the association with Marseilles came about because volunteers from Marseilles heard it sung, and then joined in storming the Tuileries (August 10, 1792). - RBW
File: FSWB302
===
NAME: Martha Dexter
DESCRIPTION: Young Martha Dexter and her niece set out to visit the niece's mother. When they come to the river, the water is high and Martha's excitable horse throws her. She drowns. When her body is found at last, the family mourns
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1910 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: death river drowning horse mourning
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Aug 1, 1824 - Death of Martha Decker near what is now Wilawanna, Pennsylvania
FOUND_IN: US(MA,So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Belden, pp. 417-418, "Martha Dexter" (1 text)
Roud #4134
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Ballad of the Drover (Death of Harry Dale)" (theme)
cf. "The Mother's Malison, or Clyde's Water" [Child 216] (theme)
NOTES: This is item dG34 in Laws's Appendix II.
My first reaction, upon reading the first half-dozen stanzas in Belden, was that this is basically a variant of a "Marian Parker" ballad. It has that same cloying feel. But, of course, the song is based on an earlier event, and it takes a different direction at the end. The similarity is presumably due simply to the way semi-professional balladeers treat children. - RBW
File: Beld417
===
NAME: Martha, the Flower of Sweet Strabane: see The Flower of Sweet Strabane (File: HHH224a)
===
NAME: Marthy Wept (Mary Wept and Marthy Moaned)
DESCRIPTION: "Marthy wept and Mary moaned, A-weeoing on a willow tree -- tree -- tree, Don't you know? A-weeping...." "What did you do with my Lord? I left him on the other shore." "What did you do with that sinful man...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1932 (Henry, collected from Mrs. Samuel Harmon)
KEYWORDS: religious Jesus burial
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
MHenry-Appalachians, p. 190, "Marthy Wept" (1 text)
Roud #12123
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "We're All Surrounded" (lyrics)
NOTES: The reference to "Martha wept and Mary cried" is presumably a reference to the sisters of Lazarus who mourned over their brother in John 11. The mention of a willow is not directly related to Jesus; the word "willow" is not even used in the King James New Testament. The reference is probably to Psalm 137.
The question, "What did you do with my Lord?" seems to be an allusion to John 20:15. The question "What did you do with that sinful man" isn't ever asked in that form, though there are plenty of warnings to sinners. - RBW
File: MHAp190
===
NAME: Martin Said To His Man
DESCRIPTION: The singer says s/he saw various animals performing various activities, some of which are impossible or unlikely (E.g. "Saw a crow flying low"; "Saw a mule teachin' school"). In some versions, the narrator(s) are drunk, competing to tell the tallest tale.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1609 (Deuteromelia; registered as a ballad 1588)
KEYWORDS: contest drink lullaby nonballad nonsense paradox talltale animal bug
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE,So) Britain(England)
REFERENCES: (8 citations)
Kinloch-BBook XIV, pp. 50-54, "The Man in the Moon" (1 text)
Randolph 445, "Johnny Fool" (2 texts)
BrownIII 114, "Kitty Alone" (1 text)
Hudson 128, p. 274, "Old, Blind, Drunk John" (1 text)
Wyman-Brockway I, p. 22, "The Bed-time Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 136, "Hurrah, Lie!" (1 text, 1 tune)
Chappell/Wooldridge I, p. 140, "Martin Said to His Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, HURRALIE* WHOSFOOL*
Roud #473
RECORDINGS:
Martha Hall, "Kitty Alone" (on MMOK, MMOKCD)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Gossip Joan (Neighbor Jones)" (theme)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Who's the Fool Now?
Old Blind Drunk John
Fooba-Wooba John
NOTES: Referred to in Dryden's 1668 play "Sir Martin Mar-all, or the Feign'd Innocence"  (act IV). It seems to have been very popular in the century prior to that.
The American versions can generally be told by their narrative pattern, "(I) saw a () (doing something)," e.g. "Saw a crow flying low," "Saw a mule teaching school," "Saw a louse chase a mouse," "Saw a flea wade the sea."
The versions under the title "Kitty Alone" are sometimes a mix of this and "Frog Went A-Courting"; the first such text seems to have been in Gammer Gurton's Garland (1784), which has clearly a "Frog" plot but the form (and some of the exaggerations) of this piece.
I'm sure there are some who have argued that the ancient English "Martin Said To His Man" is not the same as the modern American texts. But there is continuity of verses, believe it or not, and the theme never changes. And there is no way to draw a dividing line. - RBW
File: WB022
===
NAME: Martin, Tim, and Dan
DESCRIPTION: "Come all ye hustling chanty boys, a lesson take from me; Work steady in the lumber woods and don't go on a spree." The singer advises saving to buy a farm; he recalls learning to work as a logger. Chorus: "Martin, Tim, and Dan, Barney, Pat, and Sam...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (Gardner/Chickering)
KEYWORDS: logger lumbering farming work moniker
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Gardner/Chickering 116, "Martin, Tim, and Dan" (1 short text)
ST GC116 (Partial)
Roud #3698
NOTES: This may be related to some other lumbering song, but with only two verses and an easily-modified chorus, it will be very difficult to identify. - RBW
File: GC116
===
NAME: Martinmas Time
DESCRIPTION: Troop of soldiers forces farmer's daughter to promise she will come to their quarters that night. She arrives in disguise, but the quartermaster sends her away. She leaves her garters and ribbons tied to the gates to prove she'd been there.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan1)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Troop of soldiers forces farmer's daughter to promise she will come to their quarters that night; she has her hair cut off and dresses in men's clothes. She goes to the soldiers' quarters, asking for lodgings for another troop of soldiers, but the quartermaster sends her away, saying there is no more room. She persists; he gives her money, for "tonight there comes a wench." She leaves her garters and ribbons tied to the gates to prove she'd been there, then blows a whistle, saying "you're not for a girl at all," and goes home in triumph
KEYWORDS: sex rape trick soldier cross-dressing disguise
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North),Scotland)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Greig #84, p. 2, "It Fell Aboot the Mart'mas Time" (1 text) 
GreigDuncan1 161, "The Irish Dragoons" (16 texts, 10 tunes)
Ord, pp. 308-309, "It Fell About the Martinmas Time" (1 text)
DT, MARTINMA*
Roud #2173
RECORDINGS:
Anne Briggs, "Martinmas Time" (on BirdBush1, BirdBush2, Briggs3)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Broomfield Hill" (Child 43) and references there
cf. "The Brisk Young Rover" (tune)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Troop o' Soldiers
File: DTmartin
===
NAME: Martyr John: see The Twa Brothers [Child 49] (File: C049)
===
NAME: Mary Acklin (The Squire's Young Daughter) [Laws M16]
DESCRIPTION: The father of a girl secretly sees her giving a ring to her sweetheart. He confines the girl and arrests the singer for robbery. The girl pleads for her lover and, rather than being transported, he is freed. The two marry and settle down
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Hayward-Ulster)
KEYWORDS: ring robbery prison reprieve marriage love
FOUND_IN: US(NE) Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland
REFERENCES: (6 citations)
Laws M16, "Mary Acklin (The Squire's Young Daughter)"
Greenleaf/Mansfield 93, "The Squire's Young Daughter" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H30b, pp. 437-438, "Young Mary of Accland (a)"; H721, p. 438, "Young Mary of Accland (b)" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Hayward-Ulster, pp. 110-111, "Mary Acklin" (1 text)
Mackenzie 40, "Mary Riley" (1 text)
DT 581, MARYRILY
Roud #540
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "William (Willie) Riley (Riley's Trial)" [Laws M10] (plot)
cf. "Lady Elspat" [Child 247] (plot)
cf. "The Footboy" (plot)
File: LM16
===
NAME: Mary Alling: see Bonny Barbara Allan [Child 84] (File: C084)
===
NAME: Mary Ambree
DESCRIPTION: Mary disguises herself to join her lover's regiment. When he is slain, she becomes an officer. She leads her men bravely, but is at last captured when her supply officer betrays her. Threatened with death by the enemy, she reveals her sex and is spared
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1765 (Percy; alluded to by Ben Johnson, 1609)
KEYWORDS: war cross-dressing disguise battle reprieve
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Percy/Wheatley II, pp. 232-237, "Mary Ambree" (2 text, one from the Folio manuscript and one touched up by Percy for the _Reliques_)
OBB 165, "Mary Ambree" (1 text)
BBI, ZN468, "Captains courageous"; ZN2826, "When captains courageous, whom death could not daunt"
ST OBB165 (Partial)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Female Warrior (Pretty Polly)" [Laws N4] (plot)
cf. "The Blind Beggar's Daughter of Bednall Green" [Laws N27] (tune)
SAME_TUNE:
The Blind Beggar's Daughter of Bednall Green [Laws N27] (File: LN27)
NOTES: "The Female Warrior" and "Mary Ambree" have many points of similarity; I was tempted to classify them as the same ballad. Since, however, the former involves the navy and the latter the army, I have kept them separate. - RBW
File: OBB165
===
NAME: Mary and Sandy: see Mary o' the Dee (Mary's Dream) [Laws K20] (File: LK20)
===
NAME: Mary and Sweet Caroline: see The Folkestone Murder (File: K320)
===
NAME: Mary and the Soldier: see The Gallant Soldier (Mary/Peggy and the Soldier) (File: HHH782)
===
NAME: Mary and Willie: see Willie and Mary (Mary and Willie; Little Mary; The Sailor's Bride) [Laws N28] (File: LN28)
===
NAME: Mary Ann: see The Iron Door [Laws M15] (File: LM15)
===
NAME: Mary Anne
DESCRIPTION: "Oh fare thee well, my own true love, Oh fare thee well my dear, For the ship is waiting and the wind blows free, And I am bound away to the sea, Mary Ann." The singer compares his pain at parting to that of a mourning dove or a lobster in a pot
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1860 (broadside, LOCSinging as110580)
KEYWORDS: sailor separation love sea floatingverses
FOUND_IN: Canada(Que) US(Ap,MA,SE) Britain(England)
REFERENCES: (6 citations)
BrownIII 300, "My Martha Ann" (1 text)
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 142-143, "Mary Ann" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/MacMillan 48, "Mary Ann" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 75, "Mary Ann" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 147, "Mary Ann" (1 text)
DT MARYAN* 
Roud #4438
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Johnson Ballads 1111, "My Mary Ann," A. Ryle and Co. (London), 1845-1859; also Firth c.12(366), Firth c.12(368), "My Mary Ann"
LOCSinging, as110580, "Our Mary Ann," J. Andrews (New York), 1853-1859; also sb30400b, "Our Mary Ann"; as109170, "My Mary Ann"; Harding B 15(288b), "My Mary Anne"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Who Will Shoe Your Pretty Little Foot" (floating lyrics) and references there
cf. "Fare You Well, My Own True Love (The Storms Are on the Ocean, The False True Lover, The True Lover's Farewell, Red Rosy Bush, Turtle Dove)" (lyrics)
cf. "The Lass of Roch Royal" [Child 76] (lyrics)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Ten Thousand Miles
NOTES: Cazden et al report that the distinct subtext of "pretty little foot" group "...was written by stageman Barney Williams to a variant of the traditional tune, ascribed to M. Tyle. It was published as sheet music in Baltimore during 1856...." 
Don Duncan reports of this version, "The melody is clearly related to the version re-popularized by Ian & Sylvia; Revels lists it in their songbook as having been collected by Marius Barbeau from a Canadian who had learned it from an Irish sailor "around 1850."  I&S's "lobster/bluefish" verse is from the Williams version, which apparently was a bit of a spoof; the fourth verse is downright funky:
The pride of all the produce rare,
That in our garden grow'd
 Was punkins, but none could compare
In angel form to my Mary Ann,
In angel form to my Mary Ann.
The Library of Congress has at least three song sheets (that is, I found three, one published in Baltimore and two in New York) in their American Memory 19th century song sheets collection... These have almost identical lyrics to the original, but rather than
repeating the final line of each verse (as the original did) they use the first verse as a chorus.  "Our Mary Ann," by de Marsan in New York... identifies it as a minstrel song."
It is likely that some badly worn down versions of this song are filed with "Fare You Well, My Own True Love (The Storms Are on the Ocean, The False True Lover, The True Lover's Farewell, Red Rosy Bush, Turtle Dove)"; the latter song is a catch-all for songs of this type that don't mention Mary Anne or have the Roch Royal plot. - RBW
Broadside LOCSinging as110580: 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: FJ142
===
NAME: Mary Anne McGuinan
DESCRIPTION: Mary Anne McGuigan: if your "pritties" are good you must spray them again with bluestone. John James leads the dance with her and buys her a blouse of silk. Who will help her fix her house and thresh her oats? She is "swiggin'" her porter.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1979 (Tunney-StoneFiddle)
KEYWORDS:  farming dancing drink humorous nonballad clothes home
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Tunney-StoneFiddle, p. 68, "Mary Anne McGuinan" (1 text)
Roud #17843
NOTES: Each verse is independent of the others and of the chorus. Bluestone is sprayed as a potato fungicide. - BS
"Bluestone" in this case is not lapis lazuli, which is sometimes called by that name, but rather copper (II) sulfate, or chalcanthite, a copper mineral (CuSO4.5H2O), also known as blue vitriol. According to John Emsley, _Nature's Building Blocks_, p. 124, "Copper in the form of Bordeaux mixture(a blue gelatinous suspension of copper sulfate and lime in water) was one of the first agrochemical pesticides, developed to control downy mildew on vines."
David L. Heiserman, _Exploring Chemical Elements and their Compounds_, TAB Books, 1992, p. 120, says that "Copper(II) sulfate, CuSO4, is the best known and most popular of the copper compounds. It is a white crystal in its pure, anhydrous (waterless) form. It is better known in its pentahydrate form, CuSO4.H20, which is a deep blue crystal. Sometimes called _blue vitriol_, the primarey commercial applications of hydrated copper sulfate are in fungicides and algicides, and in ink pigments."
For another song involving bluestone, see "Sergeant Neill." - RBW
File: TSF068
===
NAME: Mary Arnold the Female Monster
DESCRIPTION: Mary Arnold, for reasons unknown, decides to blind her baby by covering its eyes with beetles held in walnut shells. Her deed is discovered, and she is sentenced to transportation
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1888 (Ashton)
KEYWORDS: mother children injury disability transportation
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
PBB 101, "Mary Arnold the Female Monster" (1 text)
ST PBB101 (Partial)
File: PBB101
===
NAME: Mary Bowed: see While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks AND I Know Moonlight (or something similar) (File: OBC033)
===
NAME: Mary Dear: see I'll Be There, Mary Dear (File: RcGoMaDe)
===
NAME: Mary Doyle: see The Wreck of the Lady Shearbrooke (File: HHH570)
===
NAME: Mary from Dungloe
DESCRIPTION: The singer is leaving Donegal and Mary from Dungloe for America. "It was your cruel father" that drove him from her but he plans to return. "I wished I was in sweet Dungloe and seated on the grass And by my side a bottle of wine and on my knee a lass"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1913 (OLochlainn)
KEYWORDS: courting separation America Ireland floatingverses father
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
OLochlainn 75, "Mary from Dungloe" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MARYDNGL*
Roud #3001
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Bowling Green" (floating verse)
cf. "Shady Grove" (floating verse)
NOTES: The Digital Tradition lists this to the tune of "The Star of the County Down." The version I've heard (admittedly from The Irish Rovers) isn't quite that, but it may be a variant. - RBW
File: OLoc075
===
NAME: Mary Glennie
DESCRIPTION: "Marie Glennie she was there Dressed up like ony doo And aye as she gaed thro' the reel, Says Sandy I'm for you"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1906 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: dancing
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan3 623, "Mary Glennie" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Roud #6061
NOTES: The current description is all of the GreigDuncan3 fragment.
GreigDuncan3: "'Local ditty -- about a ball in the Ironside district, dealing with local characters -- perhaps twenty-five years ago" [March 1906].
The following songs are all one or two verses or fragments with a verse beginning "[so-and-so he/she] was there": "Mary Glennie," "Jean Dalgarno,"  "The Singing Class" and "The Auchnairy Ball." Should two or more be considered the same song? - BS
File: GrD3623
===
NAME: Mary Had a Baby
DESCRIPTION: "Mary had a baby, oh Lord... People keep a-coming and the train done gone." "What did she name him?" "She named him Jesus." "Where was he born?" "Born in a stable." "Where did they lay him?" "Laid him in a manger"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1953 (R. C. Seeger, American Folk Songs for Christmas)
KEYWORDS: Christmas childbirth Jesus religious
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Silber-FSWB, p. 375, "Mary Had A Baby" (1 text)
DT, MARYBABY
Roud #11619
RECORDINGS:
Pete Seeger, "Mary Had a Baby" (on PeteSeeger37, PeteSeeger42)
File: FSWB375B
===
NAME: Mary Had a Little Lamb
DESCRIPTION: "Mary had a little lamb whose fleece was white as snow." Surely you know the rest....
AUTHOR: Words: Sarah Josepha Hale
EARLIEST_DATE: 1830 ("Poems For Our Children")
KEYWORDS: animal children
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (6 citations)
Randolph 360, "Mary Had a Little Lamb" (1 text, 1 tune, with some unusual words in the first verse)
Opie-Oxford2 341, "Mary had a little lamb" (1 text)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #174, p. 127-128, "(Mary had a little lamb)"
Fuld-WFM, pp. 354-355, "Mary Had a Little Lamb"
cf. Greenway-AFP, pp. 51-52, "Mary's Little Lot" (1 text)
DT, (MARYLAM2* -- if you're broad-minded about what constitutes a version)
Roud #7622
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Mary Had a William Goat" (tune & meter)
cf. "Goodnight Ladies" (partial tune)
SAME_TUNE:
Mary's Little Lot (Greenway-AFP, pp. 51-52)
Mary Had a William Goat (File: San336)
NOTES: Reported to be based on a true story. Which seems likely enough; who would make up something so trite?
The Baring-Goulds report a variant by "modern teenager[s]": The response to "Mary had a little lamb" is "And was the doctor ever surprised!" - RBW
File: R360
===
NAME: Mary Had a William Goat
DESCRIPTION: "Mary had a William goat, William goat, William goat, Mary had a William goat, Its stomach lined with zinc." "One day it ate an oyster can... And a clothesline full of shirts." "The shirts can do no harm inside... But the oyster can."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: parody animal food derivative
FOUND_IN: US Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Sandburg, pp. 336-337, "Mary Had a William Goat" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Peacock, p. 19, "Mary Had a William Goat" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #4567
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Mary Had a Little Lamb" (tune & meter)
File: San336
===
NAME: Mary Hamilton [Child 173]
DESCRIPTION: Mary Hamilton, servant to the queen, is pregnant (by the queen's husband). She tries to hide her guilt by casting the boy out to sea, but is seen and convicted. She is condemned to die
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1790
KEYWORDS: pregnancy murder abandonment punishment execution
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1542 - Accession of Mary Stewart
1548 - Mary Stewart sent to France (later married to King Francis II)
1561 - Mary Stewart returns to Scotland
1567 - Death of Lord Darnley. Mary Stewart deposed
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber,Bord)) US(Ap,NE,SE,So,SW) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (26 citations)
Child 173, "Mary Hamilton" (27 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's#5}
Bronson 173,  "Mary Hamilton" (12 versions+1 in addenda)
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 258-264, "Mary Hamilton" (2 texts plus some variants and a verse of "Peter Amberley" they claim floated in from this song, 1 tune plus some cited extracts) {Bronson's #7; the first short excerpt is from Bronson's #6}
Randolph 26, "The Four Maries" (1 fragment)
Flanders/Olney, pp. 79-80, "The Four Marys" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #7}
Flanders-Ancient3, pp. 163-169, "Mary Hamilton" (2 texts plus a fragment, with the fragment containing parts of "MacPherson's Lament"; 3 tunes) {B=Bronson's #7}
Davis-Ballads 36, "Mary Hamilton" (2 fragments from the same informant, 1 tune) {Bronson's #6}
Davis-More 32, pp. 245-252, "Mary Hamilton" (1 text plus 2 fragments, 1 tune) {Bronson's #8}
Leach, pp. 481-483, "Mary Hamilton" (1 text)
Friedman, p. 184, "Mary Hamilton"; p. 219,  "Mary Hamilton's Last Goodnight" (2 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #6}
Creighton-Maritime, pp. 22-23, "Mary Hamilton" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 3, "Mary Hamilton" (1 text, 1 tune)
OBB 83, "The Queen's Marie" (1 text)
PBB 61, "Mary Hamilton" (1 text)
Niles 51, "Mary Hamilton" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Gummere, pp. 159-161+334-335, "Mary Hamilton" (1 text)
Combs/Wilgus 32, pp. 124-126, "Mary Hamilton" (1 text)
Hodgart, p. 138, "Marie Hamilton" (1 text)
DBuchan 33, "Mary Hamilton" (1 text)
GreigDuncan2 195, "The Four Maries" (4 texts, 3 tunes) {B=#6, C=#11}
Ord, p. 457, "The Queen's Maries" (1 text)
TBB 23, "Mary Hamilton" (1 text)
HarvClass-EP1, pp. 117-119, "Mary Hamilton" (1 text)
Abrahams/Foss, pp. 49-52, "Mary Hamilton" (2 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #6}
Silber-FSWB, p. 211, "The Four Maries" (1 text)
DT 173, MARYHAM1* MARYHAM2 MARYHAM3* MARYHAM4*
Roud #79
RECORDINGS:
Jeannie Robertson, "Mary Hamilton (The Four Marys)" (on FSB5 [as "The Four Maries"], FSBBAL2)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Purple Dress
Mary Mild
The Duke o' York's Dother
NOTES: Mary Stewart (the French used the spelling "Stuart") became Queen of Scotland when she was eight days old (1542).
Scotland being the chaotic place that it was, she was only a child when she was sent abroad to marry into and be brought up at the court of France (1548). To keep her good company, four well-bred Scots girls were sent with her to keep her company (it should be noted, though, that none of them was named Hamilton). Her husband Francis II died in 1560, however, and Mary Stewart went home.
There she married her cousin, Henry, Lord Darnley. It does not seem to have been an overly happy match, so Darnley might well have engaged in extracurricular activities. In any case, Darnley was murdered in 1567. Soon after, Mary was (forcibly?) married by the Earl of Bothwell; in that same year she was deposed in favor of her son.
Nowhere in her troubled reign do we find reference to a serving girl's pregnancy; one theory has it that the story arose with the troubles of a Mary Hamilton at the Russian court. Another theory, first advanced by Scott, connects it with members of Mary Stuart's court *other than* the four Maries and Lord Darnley.
It also occurs to me that there is the case of the son of George III, who in due time would become George IV. According to Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson, _Blood Royal: The Illustrious House of Hanover_ (Doubleday, 1980), p. 118, Prince George at one time "had fallen in love with Mary Hamilton, one of his sisters' governesses." Whether this is relevant depends of course on the earliest date of the song. There are a number of mentions in the early nineteenth century. If we can push it before about 1780, then of course this Mary Hamilton is out of the question. Of course George IV's Mary Hamilton didn't kill her baby, but her affair with the Prince of Wales might have influenced the character in this song.
For extensive discussion of the matter (which is, however, rather more theoretical than practical) see Davis-More, pp. 246-248. - RBW
Also collected and sung by Ellen Mitchell, "Mary Mild" (on Kevin and Ellen Mitchell, "Have a Drop Mair," Musical Tradition Records MTCD315-6 CD (2001)) - BS
File: C173
===
NAME: Mary Hamilton's Last Goodnight: see Mary Hamilton [Child 173] (File: C173)
===
NAME: Mary Hebrew: see The Wife of Usher's Well [Child 79] (File: C079)
===
NAME: Mary in the Silvery Tide: see The Silvery Tide [Laws O37] (File: LO37)
===
NAME: Mary L. Mackay, The
DESCRIPTION: About a voyage by the Mackay from Portland to Yarmouth. Driven by a gale, and handled by uninhibited officers, she ran 220 miles in 18 hours. The singer challenges others to best the mark, but admits the voyage was made on the power of Portland rum
AUTHOR: Words: Frederick W. Wallace
EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (Canadian Fisherman)
KEYWORDS: ship racing sailor drink storm
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Lomax-FSNA 74, "The Mary L. Mackay" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-NovaScotia 132, "The Mary L MacKay" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MARYMKAY*
Roud #1831
NOTES: This song is item dD50 in Laws's Appendix II.
According to Creighton, Wallace wrote this poem to describe an experience he had aboard the _Effie Morrissey_ in 1913. She believes her informant, Edmund Henneberry, supplied the tune.  - RBW
File: LoF074
===
NAME: Mary Le More
DESCRIPTION: "As I strayed o'er the common on Cork's rugged border" the singer meets Mary Le More, distracted. She tells that her brother and friend Connor have been murdered by soldiers and she has no one to avenge them. When troops appear she screams and runs away.
AUTHOR: George Nugent Reynolds (1770-1802) (see Notes)
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian Firth b.34(174))
KEYWORDS: grief madness rebellion death brother friend soldier
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
O'Conor, pp. 11-12, "Mary Le More" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 366-367, "Mary Le More" (1 text)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth b.34(174), "Mary-le-More" ("As I stray'd o'er the common on Cork's rugged border"), J. Ferraby (Hull), 1803-1838; also Harding B 11(2350), "Mary-le-More"; 2806 c.15(321), "Mary Le More"; Harding B 11(495), "Mary le Moor"; Harding B 25(1223), "Mary-le More"
NLScotland, RB.m.169(007), "Mary Le More," Robert McIntosh (Glasgow), after 1848
NOTES: Broadside Bodleian Firth b.27(277), "Mary La More" is almost entirely illegible.
 _The Ballad Poetry of Ireland_ by Charles Gavan Duffy (Dublin, 1845), pp. 119-120, "Mary Le More" makes the attribution to Reynolds. [A claim backed by Hoagland. - RBW]
See another similar broadside Bodleian Harding B 22(166), "Mary Le More" ("Oh! S---s of B---n, your merciless doings") in which Mary's father, Dermot, is killed. - BS
File: OCon011
===
NAME: Mary Machree
DESCRIPTION: "The flower of the valley was Mary Machree," whose beauty is described at length. Her soldier love goes away for many years, leaving her pining on the shore. At last, in the winter, he returns to her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1842 (broadside, Bodleian Firth b.25(44))
KEYWORDS: love soldier separation reunion
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
SHenry H485, p. 308, "Mary Machree" (1 text, 1 tune)
O'Conor, p. 154, "Mary Machree" (1 text)
Roud #3231
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth b.25(44), "Mary Machree," Birt (London), 1833-1841; also Harding B 15(187a), Firth c.26(239), "Mary Machree"
LOCSinging, sb30316a, "Mary Machree," H. De Marsan (New York), 1864-1878
SAME_TUNE:
Come Home to Me, Love (per broadside LOCSinging sb30316a)
NOTES: Broadside LOCSinging sb30316a: 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: HHH485
===
NAME: Mary Mack (I)
DESCRIPTION: "Oh Mary Mack, Mack, Mack, All dressed in black, black, black...." The singer speaks of love, and engages in a series of unprofitable transactions. Much of the song consists of floating verses, e.g. "I went to the river... And I couldn't get across."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 (recording, children of Lilly's Chapel School)
KEYWORDS: playparty nonballad courting commerce
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Courlander-NFM, pp. 158-159, "(Mary Mack)" (1 text); p. 279, "Mary Mack" (1 tune, partial text)
Roud #11498
RECORDINGS:
Hunter children "Miss Mary Mack" (on JohnsIsland1)
Children of Lilly's Chapel School, "Mary Mack" (on NFMAla6, RingGames1)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Swapping Boy" (plot)
cf. "Turkey in the Straw" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Went to the River (I)" (floating lyrics)
NOTES: Not to be confused with the music hall song of the same title, which involves what sounds to be a shotgun wedding. - RBW
File: CNFM158B
===
NAME: Mary Mahoney
DESCRIPTION: Mary Mahoney is a servant maid in Indiantown. She rejects Archie, a "brisk young mutineer." The landlady resolves to help him and sends him to Newcastle to get jewelry. Mary rejects him again when the "gold" rings prove fake.
AUTHOR: probably Larry Gorman
EARLIEST_DATE: 1947 (Manny/Wilson)
KEYWORDS: courting rejection humorous ring
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Manny/Wilson 32, "Mary Mahoney" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST MaWi032 (Partial)
Roud #9186
NOTES: Indiantown, now Quarryville, is near the junction of the Renous River and Main Southwest Miramichi River. Newcastle is about twenty miles away, down river, near Miramichi Bay.
Manny/Wilson: "'And THAT'S by Larry Gorman,' he [the singer, Thomas Coughlan] said.... One of Larry's devastating satires, this song is aimed at the 'silly young gaw gaw,' Archie Woodworth, and his unsuccessful love affair.... Sandy Ives ... says several people have doubted Larry's authorship of the song, saying 'It just doesn't sound like him' but we both think it is authentic Gorman." - BS
File: MaWi032
===
NAME: Mary McVeagh
DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls being young and handsome and having all the girls follow him. He loved only Mary McVeagh. Now he is old and fat and tired, but has grown rich. He returns to find Mary -- and finds a girl who looks just like her. Her grandmother was Mary
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love separation return family mother children age
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H773, p. 229, "Mary McVeagh" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Obviously a piece of fiction -- how many old men would actually admit to being nicknamed "Tubby" and confess that they are completely unattractive to women except for their money? - RBW
File: HHH229
===
NAME: Mary Nail: see Mary Neal [Laws M17] (File: LM17)
===
NAME: Mary Neal [Laws M17]
DESCRIPTION: The singer is on trial for kidnapping Mary Neal. She pleads for him and he is released. She steals some of her father's wealth; they marry and set off overseas. After a near-disaster on the ship, they reject her father's offer of land if they return
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1867 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(3843)); "from an Athlone ballad slip of about 1840," according to Sparling)
KEYWORDS: trial emigration love abduction
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar,Newf) Britain(England(South)) Ireland
REFERENCES: (8 citations)
Laws M17, "Mary Neal"
Greenleaf/Mansfield 92, "Mary Neal" (1 text)
Peacock, pp. 216-217, "Mary Neal" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-NovaScotia 80, "Mary Nail" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H55, pp. 479-480, "Charming Mary O'Neill" (1 text, 1 tune)
OLochlainn 38, "Charming Mary Neill" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 582, MARYNEAL
ADDITIONAL: H. Halliday Sparling, Irish Minstrelsy (London, 1888), pp. 321-323, 511, "Charming Mary Neal"
Roud #142
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(3843), "Mary Neal and John M'Cann," J. Harkness (Preston), 1840-1866; also 2806 b.11(66), "Mary Neil" ("I am a bold undaunted youth my name is John M'Cann"); 2806 b.11(259), Harding B 15(41b), "Charming Mary Neal"
Murray, Mu23-y1:044, "Mary Neal," James Lindsay Junr (Glasgow), 19C
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.178.A.2(063), "Mary Neil," James Lindsay Jr. (Glasgow), c.1875
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "William (Willie) Riley (Riley's Trial) [Laws M10]" (tune)
NOTES: A correspondent of Sam Henry's claimed that this was a true story, with the girl being kidnapped to prevent a fight between two rival suitors. Yet another case where we can't prove it false but can hardly credit it, either.
Michael Harron of County Tyrone offers more substantial details. He reports that the ship involved was the _Charlotte Douglas_, which sank June 9, 1836. Harron has seen newspaper accounts of the ship's voyage, and reports that only three were killed in the wreck. - RBW
File: LM17
===
NAME: Mary o' the Dee (Mary's Dream) [Laws K20]
DESCRIPTION: Mary falls asleep thinking of Sandy. His ghost appears to her, bidding her to stop weeping; his body lies at the bottom of the sea and he is at rest. He warns her that they will soon meet. The cock crows and the ghost vanishes
AUTHOR: John Lowe
EARLIEST_DATE: 1798 (The Vocal Magazine)
KEYWORDS: dream ghost separation death drowning
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,SE) Britain(Scotland(Aber)) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (10 citations)
Laws K20, "Mary o' the Dee (Mary's Dream)"
GreigDuncan2 339, "Mary's Dream" (1 text, 1 tune)
Eddy 83, "Mary o' the Dee (Mary's Dream)" (1 text)
SHenry H54, pp. 144-145, "Mary's Dream" (1 text, 1 tune -- the latter added by Sam Henry)
JHCox 147, "Mary o' the Dee" (1 text)
Chappell-FSRA 40, "Mary and Sandy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 246-248, "Mary's Dream" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 65, "Mary's Vision" (1 text, 1 tune)
cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 481, "Mary's Dream" (source notes only)
DT 562, MARYDREM
ST LK20 (Full)
Roud #713
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 17(191b), "Mary's Dream" ("The moon had clim'd the highest hill"), T. Birt (London), 1833-1841; also Firth b.27(534), 2806 c.17(266), Firth b.27(240), Firth b.27(407), Harding B 11(2368), Harding B 11(2369), Harding B 25(1230), Firth b.25(18), Harding B 11(1875), 2806 c.14(49), 2806 c.14(166), Harding B 15(189a), "Mary's Dream"
LOCSinging, as108650, "Mary's Dream," L. & J. L. Appley (New York), 19C
Murray, Mu23-y1:056, "Mary's Dream," James Lindsay (Glasgow), 19C
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.178.A.2(075), "Mary's Dream," James Lindsay (Glasgow), c.1875
NOTES: Although traditionally considered a Scots song (there is a version in Scots dialect, possibly by Allan Cunningham), and often found is Scottish song collections, its grip on Scottish tradition is weak -- I wouldn't be surprised if most are ultimately derived from the _Scots Musical Museum_. There are a number of printed versions, but traditional collections are mostly from North America. The author, John Lowe, emigrated to the American colonies shortly before the Revolutionary War, and the song was written in what later became the U.S. - RBW
The commentary for NLScotland, L.C.Fol.178.A.2(075) for "Mary's Dream": "The lyrics for this ballad were written in 1772 by John Lowe. Lowe was tutor to the McGhie family, and wrote the song for Mary, one of the daughters. She had been engaged to a surgeon named Alexander (Sandy) Miller who was lost at sea." - BS
File: LK20
===
NAME: Mary o' the Wild Moor: see Mary of the Wild Moor [Laws P21] (File: LP21)
===
NAME: Mary of Ballyhaunis: see The Maid of Ballyhaunis (File: HHH483)
===
NAME: Mary of Sweet Belfast Town
DESCRIPTION: The singer meets Mary. He asks why she frowns. Her lover has "gone over the main And I hear he is married." The singer reveals that he is her lover returned after seven years. They marry next morning and settle, with his riches, in Belfast.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Hayward-Ulster)
KEYWORDS: love separation marriage reunion
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Hayward-Ulster, pp. 70-71, "Mary of Sweet Belfast Town" (1 text)
Hammond-Belfast, p. 55, "Mary of Sweet Belfast Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #6535
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. esp. "John (George) Riley (I)" [Laws N36] and references there
File: HayU070
===
NAME: Mary of the Wild Moor [Laws P21]
DESCRIPTION: Abandoned Mary comes with her child to her father's door on a bitter winter night. Her father fails to hear or ignores her cries, leaving her all night on the doorstep. In the morning he finds her body. He dies of grief and the child of neglect
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian Johnson Ballads fol. 27)
KEYWORDS: death father children family hardheartedness grief
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,NE,SE,So) Britain(England) Canada(Mar,Newf,Ont)
REFERENCES: (20 citations)
Laws P21, "Mary of the Wild Moor"
Belden, pp. 207-208, "Mary of the Wild Moor" (1 text plus references to 5 more)
Randolph 72, "The Wild Moor" (3 texts, 3 tunes)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 107-108, "The Wild Moor" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 72A)
Eddy 88, "Mary of the Wild Moor" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownII 78, "Mary of the Wild Moor" (1 text)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 335-336, "The Wind That Blew O'er the Wild Moor" (1 text, with local title "Poor Mary"; tune on p. 448)
Brewster 45, "Mary of the Wild Moor" (1 text)
Leach, pp. 733-734, "Mary of the Wild Moor" (1 text)
Leach-Labrador 62, "Mary Across the Wild Moor" (1 text)
Mackenzie 61, "The Village Pride" (1 text)
McNeil-SFB1, pp. 132-134, "Mary of the Wild Moor" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sandburg, p. 466, "When Mary Came Wandering Home" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Botkin-NEFolklr, pp. 548-549, "Mary of the Wild Moor" (1 text, 1 tune)
LPound-ABS, 35, pp. 81-82, "Mary o' the Wild Moor" (1 text)
JHCox 148, "Mary of the Wild Moor" (1 text plus mention of 3 more)
JHCoxIIA, #27, p. 103, "Mary of the Wild Moor" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
DSB2, p. 28, "Mary of the Wild Moor" (1 text)
cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 481, "Mary of the Wild Moor" (source notes only)
DT 503, WILDMOOR* WLDMOOR1*
ST LP21 (Full)
Roud #155
RECORDINGS:
Blue Sky Boys, "Mary of the Wild Moore" (Montgomery Ward 8667, c. 1941)
Letys Murrin, "Mary of the Wild Moor" (on Ontario1)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Johnson Ballads fol. 27[many illegible words], "Mary of the Moor," J. Catnach (London), 1813-1838; also Johnson Ballads 1802 View 2 of 2, Harding B 11(3), Harding B 11(2364), Harding B 11(2365), Harding B 11(1501), Firth c.12(443), Harding B 11(4232), Harding B 11(4233), Firth b.25(147), Harding B 15(188b), "Mary of the Moor"; Firth b.27(69), Harding B 26(600), "Poor Mary of the Wild Moor"; Firth b.34(229), Firth c.26(275)[some illegible lines], 2806 c.16(261), 2806 c.14(78), 2806 c.14(13)[some illegible words], "Mary of the Wild Moor[!]"; Harding B 11(2789), Harding B 17(243b), Harding B 25(1538)[some illegible lines], 2806 c.18(252) [some illegible/missing words], "Poor Mary of the Moor"
LOCSheet, sm1882 10438, "Mary of the Wild Moor," Oliver Ditson & Co. (Boston), 1882 (tune)
LOCSinging, sb30333b, "Mary of the Wild Moor," H. De Marsans (New York), 1861-1864; also as108620, as108630, "Mary of the Wild Moor"
Murray, Mu23-y4:018, "Poor Mary of the Wild Moor," unknown, 19C
NLScotland, L.C.178.A.2(072), "Poor Mary of the Wild Moor", unknown, c.1860
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Fatal Snowstorm" [Laws P20] (theme)
SAME_TUNE:
Robin's Petition (per broadside Bodleian Harding B 25(1538))
NOTES: Quoted by Laura Ingalls Wilder in chapter 14 of _By the Shores of Silver Lake_. She does not repeat the sad ending, of course. - RBW
Broadside LOCSinging sb30333b: H. De Marsans 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: LP21
===
NAME: Mary on the Banks of the Lee
DESCRIPTION: Before the singer leaves Mary to go on the ocean he warns her her not to stay out late on the moors. He writes her a letter but recieves no reply. He returns and brings roses to place on her grave.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (IRPTunney01)
KEYWORDS: love warning separation death flowers
FOUND_IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
OCanainn, p. 56, "The Banks of the Lee" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, BNKSLEE*
Roud #6857
RECORDINGS:
Paddy Tunney, "Mary on the Banks of the Lee" (on IRPTunney01)
Sheila Stewart, "The Banks of the Lee" (on SCStewartsBlair01)
NOTES: The description is from the text of "Lovely Banks of Lea" on "Oak - Country Songs and Music," Musical Traditions Record MTCD327-8 (2003) sung by Peta Webb, apparently following the text from Mary Connors. It is longer than Paddy Tunney's. - BS
File: DTbnksle
===
NAME: Mary on the Silvery Tide: see The Silvery Tide [Laws O37] (File: LO37)
===
NAME: Mary Phagan [Laws F20]
DESCRIPTION: Mary Phagan works in a pencil factory. While there she is beaten to death by Leo Frank. An innocent bystander (who happens to be black) is arrested, but then Frank's guilt is established and he is sentenced to death
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1918 (JAFL XXXI)
KEYWORDS: murder accusation factory abduction rape execution lie abuse mother corpse Jew
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: April 26/27, 1913 - Murder (and suspected rape) of thirteen-year-old Mary Phagan at the National Pencil factory in Atlanta
Aug 26, 1913 - Despite evidence that Jim Conley committed the murder, Leo Frank found guilty of the crime and sentenced to death
June 22, 1915 - Georgia Governor Stanton commutes Frank's sentence to life imprisonment
Aug 16/17, 1915 - A lynch mob captures Frank and kills him
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,SE)
REFERENCES: (10 citations)
Laws F20, "Mary Phagan"
Eddy 110, "Leo Frank and Mary Phagan" (1 text)
Gardner/Chickering 144, "Little Mary Phagan" (1 text)
McNeil-SFB2, pp. 71-75, "Little Mary Fagan"; "Little Mary Phagan" (2 texts)
BrownII 253, "Little Mary Phagan" (4 texts plus 1 excerpt and mention of 1 more; Laws lists only three of these as this song, but this appears to be an error)
Cambiaire, p. 104, "Little Mary Fagan" (1 text)
Burt, pp. 61-64, "(Mary Phagan)" (1 text plus 2 long excerpts, 1 tune; one of these versions blames Conley rather than Frank, and is probably a rewrite); also an isolated couplet on p. 123
DT 774, MARYFAG
ADDITIONAL: Leonard Dinnerstein, _The Leo Frank Case_, second edition, University of Georgia Press, 1987, pp. 166-168, "The Ballad of Mary Phagan" (1 text, from JAFL)
Robert Seitz Frey and Nancy C. Thomson, _The Silent and the Damned: The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank_), 1988; Cooper Square, 2002, pp. 139-141( 3 texts, one from Burt, one from Pearl Flake of Atlanta, and one unidentified; there is also a separate Mary Phagan poen)
Roud #696
RECORDINGS:
Rosa Lee Carson, "Little Mary Phagan" (OKeh 40446, 1925)
Vernon Dalhart, "Little Mary Phagan" (Columbia 15031-D [as Al Craver], 1925) (Romeo 332, 1927; rec. 1925)
Charlie Oaks, "Little Mary Phagan" (Vocalion 15099, 1925; Vocalion 5069, c. 1927)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Death of Roy Rickey" (tune)
SAME_TUNE:
The Death of Roy Rickey (File: ThBa163)
NOTES: [This] story was later made into a movie, "They Won't Forget," in which Lana Turner made her debut as Mary. - PJS
I've seen it called "They Don't Forget," though Internet sources seem to indicate that Paul is correct. The stills on the web don't make Turner a very good likeness of Mary Phagan, if it matters. (McNeil, p. 74, says that Turner was "totally inappropriate" in the role, though he gives no explanation. Hollywood would hardly care that the two didn't look alike.)
Although probably the best-known, "They Won't Forget" was in fact only one of many movies inspired by the case, beginning with a contemporary documentary of sorts, "Leo M. Frank and Governor Slaton," which included actual footage of Leo Frank in prison (it could hardly be called an "interview" in the days of silent film!) but largely ignored the actual case. The Turner movie was based on Ward Green's novel _Death in the Deep South_, which was not intended to be factually accurate. There was also a later TV movie. Books about the tragedy are commonplace, and continue to be published to this day. I have three, which as best I can tell are the most recent serious treatments of the subject still in print:
Leonard Dinnerstein, _The Leo Frank Case_, was originally published by Columbia University Press in 1968 (it began as a doctoral thesis). I use a special edition from "The Notable Trials Library," 1991, which includes Dinnerstein's new preface to a 1987 edition of his book, plus the special article from the March 7, 1982 edition of _The Tennessean_ which details the evidence given by Alonzo Mann. Cited as "Dinnerstein." Of the three books, this is the only one written before Alonzo Mann gave his testimony, so it operates on essentially the same data as was available in 1915. This gives it an interesting perspective in light of what followed. It is also, I think, the volume most interested in the matter of Frank's Judaism, and certainly the  one most concerned with how the social unrest caused by urbanization created a climate of xenophobia. (I'm not sure I believe that part; recent indications are that some of the things Dinnerstein blames on culture are in fact  biological.) . The text of the article from _The Tennessean_ is cited under that name, since it has its own separate pagination.
Robert Seitz Frey and Nancy C. Thompson, _The Silent and the Damned: The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank_, 1988 (I use the 2002 Cooper Square Press edition). Cited as "F/T." This is, apart from its appendices, the shortest of the three books, and perhaps more popular and less scholarly than the others; it has footnotes, but is not nearly as heavily documented as the others. My guess is that it was inspired by the Mann revelations; it claims to be the first book about the Phagan case written after Mann's testimony.
Steve Oney, _And the Dead Shall Rise: The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank_, 2003 (I use the 2004 Vintage Books edition). Cited as "Oney." This is by far the most detailed book --  in some ways, too detailed, more of a chronicle than an analysis, and much of the detail not really relevant (does it really *matter* that one of those who arranged Frank's lynching had a brother who got in trouble at school?). Sometimes it feels more like a ping-pong match, as pro- and anti-Frank forces gain an advantage. Strangely, Oney never once says who he thinks murdered Mary Phagan. This is the third of the three books I read, and I'm glad of that. It would be too easy to lose the overall thread of the case otherwise.
After this article was almost finished, I found at http://www.lawsch.uga.edu/academics/profiles/dwilkes_more/his38_wrongly.html a review of Oney, part of which apparently appeared first in _Flagpole_ magazine and which is in fact much more than a review; it is an analysis of the case almost entirely from scratch. It doesn't really add much new information, but it includes much analysis; on the occasions I cite it, it is as "WebFlag." The site also includes information gathered since Oney was published, including notably much information on research on members of the lynching party.
In addition to these three books, Dinnerstein's bibliography cites at least five other books devoted exclusively to the Leo Frank case, and numerous articles. WebFlag lists 13 books about the case, but four are novels and one appears to be more a sociological study than a work about the case itself.
Laws, for what reason I do not know (it may be just one of the many typos in his work), gives the date of Mary Phagan's death as April 5, and this was used in earlier editions of the Index. Gardner/Chickering incorrectly give it as August 5. McNeil reports April 27, 1913 as the date of Mary Phagan's death; I think this is meant to refer to the date on which the body was discovered. A New York Times story (August 18, 1915) quoted by Brown gives a date of April 26. Mary's tombstone says April 26. This is also the date cited in Dinnerstein and Oney. F/T, p. 1, states that the body was found at 3:20 a.m. on April 27; Dinnerstein, p. 1, gives the time as 3:00 a.m., and Oney, p. 18, says it was found at 3:30 a.m.
The date of the murder isn't the only thing that is uncertain. For example, Laws lists the date of the commutation of Leo Frank's sentence as June 22, but I made a note (from what source, sadly, I do not recall) that it took place in August. The June date is correct; Governor Slaton was out of office by August.
There seems to have been confusion over the date of Frank's murder as well.
Even the date of Mary Phagan's birth is slightly uncertain, though this is not a case of modern misprints; it's an early error. Her tombstone says she was born June 1, 1900 (a photo is found in F/T following p. 68), but her mother implied a date in 1899 (F/T, p. 6). The best guess is that she was not quite fourteen at the time of her death. Her family's history is not entirely clear in the sources; her biological father was dead at the time of her murder, but F/T, p. 6, says her father was named John and died in 1911, while Oney, p. 4, says that her father William Joshua Phagan died in 1899 before Mary was born. F/T and Oney also disagree on her birthplace; F/T says Marietta, Georgia, which is where she grew up; Oney claims Alabama, saying the family moved to Marietta in 1900, then to Atlanta in 1907. WebFlag agrees with Oney.
What is certain is that Mary Phagan worked in the National Pencil Factory in Atlanta in 1913. If you're wondering what a thirteen-year-old was doing working in a pencil factory, Atlanta at this time was a very poor area, little more than a big sweatshop; child labor was considered normal (Dinnerstein, p. 8) though it was considered dangerous to let girls work in such places among grown men. But with her father dead, Mary had to work in the factory to make ends meet. Later, Mrs. Frances Phagan remarried -- to John W. Coleman in 1912, according to Oney, p. 4 -- but Mary chose to keep working in the factory; she reportedly enjoyed the job; Dinnerstein, p. 11.
Oney, p. 5, says that Mary had quit school at the age of ten, and her job at National Pencil was already her third. On p. 6, he says that Georgia was the only state that still allowed ten-year-olds to work in is factories. (The first attempt at a national child labor law was passed in 1916; it was not until Franklin Roosevelt's administration that such a law passed court scrutiny. Dinnerstein, p. 7, states that in Georgia at this time, even children under ten often worked illegally in the factories, which were never inspected; some of these children earned only 22 cents a week -- by this measure, Mary Phagan was actually relatively well off. At least she seems not to have been one of the more than 50%  of Atlanta children who, according to Dinnerstein, p. 8, suffered malnutrition or work-related illnesses.)
Atlanta at this time was a very rough place; 1905, it is claimed that a fifth of the population had some sort of run-in with the police. The poverty made the city a powderkeg; Dinnerstein, p. 9, thinks this explains the public hysteria caused by the Phagan case.
While in the factory, Mary was murdered.
She wasn't even supposed to be there. April 26 was Confederate Memorial Day, so the factory was closed down and only a few people were in the building (F/T, pp. 4-5). As the song says, she went to the factory to collect her pay.
The body was discovered by night watchman Newt Lee in the early hours of Sunday, April 27, 1913 (Dinnerstein, p. 1). Lee had apparently gone down to the basement to use the "colored" toilet (F/T, p. 32 -- remember, this was Atlanta in 1913, so the facilities were thoroughly segregated. Oney, p. 21, makes the observation that Lee was born a slave -- whatever that tells us).
Lee called the police, who found the corpse of a girl concealed by sawdust and grime so thick that the police could not immediately determine her race, her mouth filled with dirt, her skin covered with cinders (they probably stuck to her as the murderer choked her with her face to the ground), her cheeks slashed, her fingers out of joint, her head bashed in, blood coming from mouth and ears, with a 3/4 inch cord and a strip of her underclothes tied around her neck, and her clothing in shreds (F/T, p. 2; Dinnerstein, p. 2, Oney, p. 18; on p. 391, Oney notes that her clothing was *cut* with knife or scissors, to expose body parts -- seemingly evidence of sexual fetishism). She clearly had fought her murderer, but equally clearly, the murderer had been a brute, and probably a very strong one. The issue in the Mary Phagan case is not whether the murderer deserved to be hung -- clearly the human race would have been better off without him (and I say that as an opponent of the death penalty). The issue is, who was the beast.
The police investigation was inept, leaving much physical evidence unexamined. The police expended a lot of energy, searching subjects' homes and checking time clock records (F/T, pp. 10-11), but showed little intelligence. (F/T, p. 11, notes the interesting fact that the Atlanta police chief would in later years be twice demoted for incompetence!)
The coroner does not seem to have examined the body fully enough to rule on whether the murderer had engaged in anal rape, checking only for vaginal intercourse -- and even there, the results would prove less than definitive.
Mary's purse, described as a mesh handbag, had been taken and was never found (F/T, p. 3) -- a fact which is significant in considering the motive for the murder. Jim Conley would accuse Leo Frank of taking it (Oney, p. 257), but it never surfaced in Frank's possessions. Dinnerstein, pp. 169-171, mentions that a prisoner later claimed that Jim Conley gave him a purse which matched the description of Mary's -- but the account was said by the newspapers to have been discredited, though no explanation was given as to why.
Whoever got it, the purse can't have held much; Mary was paid a few pennies an hour to put erasers in their metal holders (F/T, p. 5, says she earned 12 cents an hour; Oney, p. 5, claims 10 cents an hour). Other employees had been paid the Friday before the holiday, but because the eraser room had been temporarily shut down due to a supply problem, Mary had not been in the plant at the time and did not know about this. As a result, she came in a day late to pick up her $1.20 (F/T, p. 5. Ordinarily, she worked 55 hours a week, but this week she had worked only eight or ten hours; Oney, p. 9). Manager Leo Frank being in the office to compile the weekly production report, she collected her pay from him (he reportedly did not know who she was, according to Oney, p. 27 -- not too surprising, since the factory employed 170 people, mostly teenage girls, according to Oney, p. 16. In the trial, it was shown that he rarely talked to his workers; Oney, p. 215). No one admitted to seeing her again until her body was found (F/T, p. 6).
It was obviously murder, and a brutal one; some suspected rape as well. (McNeil, p. 72, says unequivocally that she had been raped, but it must be repeated, this is unproved.) The claim of rape was apparently was based on the testimony of janitor Conley (_The Tennessean_, p. 3), and also on the fact that there was blood around her genitals (Oney, p. 19), though the limited physical evidence supplied by examiners, as we shall see, would prove inconclusive. The room in which she was found was almost inaccessible; the only ways to reach it were by an elevator, a few shafts from the upper floors which could not be climbed from below, or a plank ladder which led to a long, narrow, minimally lighted corridor (Oney, p. 19). It sounds as if, had luck been different, Mary's body might not have been found for days.
Remember that elevator, because Jim Conley later claimed that it was by this means that he and Leo Frank had carried Mary's body to the basement. Despite this, there seems to be no evidence that her body was ever in the elevator cage.
Support for the theory of rape probably came from the descriptions of Mary Phagan; according to _The Tennessean_, p. 6, she was "a beautiful girl -- four feet, eight inches tall and weighing about 105 pounds. She had long, reddish-blond hair...." F/T, p. 6, says she was considered the prettiest girl in her neighborhood, and Oney describes her on p. 3 as follows: "Eyes blue as cornflowers, cheeks high-boned and rosy, smile beguiling as honeysuckle, figure busty (later, everyone acknowledged that 'she was exceedingly well-developed for her age'), she had undoubtedly already tortured many a boy." This largely matches the description of Mary given by a friend at the Leo Frank trial; Oney, p. 213.
(Two men who sniffed after her actually became suspects in the case, according to Oney: first, a 24-year-old named Arthur Mullinax who supposedly had been attracted to her at a Baptist Christmas pageant in which she played Snow White; Oney, p. 33. There seems to be some confusion about this pageant; F/T, p. 7, says Phagan played "Sleeping Beauty" at the First Christian Church, which doesn't sound like a Baptist congregation. In any case, the police questioned Mullinax but eventually let him go; a sighting of him in suspicious circumstances was a case of mistaken identity; Oney, p. 62. Mary also apparently attracted the attention of James Milton Gantt, a 26-year-old former National Pencil employee; Oney, p. 47. He too came under suspicion, but had an alibi; Oney, p. 62.)
Dinnerstein, p. 12, has a photo which does make her quite attractive, though her hair looks rather dark and I would have guessed her to be older than thirteen. It appears that the photos from this set are the only ones of her available, at least as a teenager; at least, the cover of F/T, F/T, p. 26, and Oney, after p. 278, all show pictures of her in what appears to be the same clothing, though the photos themselves are not quite identical.
People also described her as a "model girl" and said that everyone liked her (F/T, p, 6), though Oney, p. 3, sees a more rebellious streak in her letters, which talk about escaping her circumstances. But she had never done anything that seriously troubled her family; when she didn't come home on time, her mother and stepfather were frantic; when word eventually came (long delayed because the body had been hard to identify and because the Colemans had no phone, so a neighbor had to carry word), Mrs. Coleman literally collapsed over the fate of her daughter (Oney, pp. 23-24). Mary had not until then even been considered old enough to go dating. (In this context, we should probably mention the reports of the medical examiners. Two examiners eventually looked at her body. One thought that she had been sexually abused but found no sperm in her vagina; Oney, p. 234. The other found that her hymen was not intact but, because there was little blood there, did not think it had been broken in the assault -- perhaps evidence that she had not been raped; Oney, p. 237. She definitely was not pregnant; F/T, p. 37.)
The police abused and detained watchman Lee (Dinnerstein, p. 14), and brought to light some inconsistencies in his testimony (F/T, p. 14) as well as finding a suspiciously stained (bloody?) shirt in his trash (Oney, p. 65). He had, however, punched his time clock pretty regularly on the night of the murder (Oney, p. 30), and they finally concluded he was innocent. (Unlike the papers, which at one point declared him unequivocally guilty.) The authorities also used strongarm tactics on fired former bookkeeper Gantt, again without results (F/T, p. 8).
The police had been so incompetent that plant manager Leo Max Frank called in the Pinkertons (Dinnerstein, p. 4; Oney, p. 20, thinks the first men on the scene did a relatively good job, but even he notes on p. 30 that the detectives messed up the trail over which Mary had been dragged, as well as destroying physical evidence when they took the elevator to the basement. In light of their performance, Oney, p. 54, makes the interesting observation that Atlanta's policemen at this time had only a week's training before being given a badge, and the department had no fingerprint expert. This is important, because Dinnerstein, p. 4, says that there were fingerprints on Mary's clothes, and probably in the vicinity, some bloody, but no examination was made of them, even though Frank himself asked if they had been looked at ).
Hiring the Pinkertons may have been a mistake; Oney, p. 62, observes that the Pinkertons at this time were often hired to whitewash businesses, so hiring them was seen as a sign of some sort of guilt. In any case, they seem to have turned against Frank under pressure of public opinion; Dinnerstein, p. 20. Plus they weren't much help F/T, p. 28, notes that an Atlanta ordinance forced them into subservience to the police.
Nothing much happened for a week after the murder: Investigators did haul in seven suspects -- but couldn't offer any real evidence (Dinnerstein, p. 15). Meanwhile, tensions in the community were increasing.
Because of the lack of results, Atlanta Solicitor-General H. M. Dorsey stepped in on May 5 (Oney, p. 92; "Solicitor-General" was the then-current term for what we would now call "District Attorney"; his main duty was managing prosecutions). He certainly brought more energy to the case, but it was hardly his job. (Dinnerstein, p. 154, calls his action "conduct unbecoming a state official.") Nor was he the last to intervene -- a coalition including one of the newspapers would hire the William Burns detective agency (Dinnerstein, p. 16). Burns was probably the most famous sleuth of the time (Oney, pp. 102-105), but though he sent a subordinate, he would not personally get involved until things had turned ugly. In the meantime, there were four competing organizations investigating the Phagan case (Dinnerstein, p. 19): The Atlanta police, Dorsey's office, the Pinkertons, and Burns and Company. It was far more a competition than anything else -- the investigators were actually spying on each other (Oney, p. 108). Sadly, this caused Burns -- the one competent investigator -- to pull out temporarily (Dinnerstein, p. 20; Oney, p. 112). By the time he returned, public opinion was too set for him to do much good.
While police were striking out with their original suspects, Leo Frank, the manager of the National Pencil factory, had come under suspicion. Oney, p. 24, describes Atlanta Detective John Black as a suspicions sort; he seems to have been set off by the fact that it was some hours before anyone answered the phone at the home where Leo and Lucille Frank lived with Lucille's parents. It didn't help that, when detectives came to the home, Frank appeared to be very agitated (Oney, p. 25). Frank's explanation -- which makes sense to me -- is that, when the police came to his door, no one was willing to say what was going on! (Oney, p. 26).
Later, the police put Newt Lee (whom they still suspected) and Frank in a room together to try to shake something loose, but with no results (Oney, p. 69). This somehow caused investigators to suspect Frank even more (Oney, p. 70).
By that time, the papers had roused tensions to a fever pitch. Unfortunately,  one of the local papers was a Hearst organ -- and one that had only been part of the chain for a year, so it needed beefing up (Oney, p. 40). Crime stories were a favorite (Oney, p. 41). The _Atlanta Georgian_ devoted over 17,000 column inches to the Phagan case in the first five months after the murder, forcing the other papers to give it attention as well (Dinnerstein, p. 13). The _Georgian_ did not break the story; a sensationalist writer named Britt Craig induced the _Atlanta Constitution_ to publish an extra (Oney, pp. 22-23). But that was just the opening salvo. The papers competed in lurid coverage (including, e.g., a faked photo of Mary's head on another body; Oney, p. 35); naturally public opinion was inflamed! On the Monday after the murders, the _Georgian_ printed at least eight extras, perhaps more (Oney, p. 37). The _Georgian_ was not actually anti-Frank (according to Dinnerstein, pp. 29-31, only the _Atlanta Constitution_, which was closest to the police department, accepted police statements without question), but it hardly mattered. The Mayor of Atlanta, under pressure, proceeded to order the police to find the murderer or lose their jobs (Dinnerstein, p. 16). After all, they already had 13 unsolved murders on their books (F/T, p. 27) and a reputation for corruption (Oney, p. 54) -- though they also had a crusading reputation (Oney, p. 59).
Later on, another paper, Tom Watson's _Jeffersonian_, would prove even more troublesome. Watson called himself a populist, which in practice means that he combined the worst aspects of William Jennings Bryan populism with bigotry, appealing to base prejudices against foreigners, Jews, and Yankees, including the non-Georgian detective Williams Burns (Oney, p. 397. Dinnerstein, p. 95, notes that -- in his early days at least -- Watson was not anti-Black. But that changed as he went from politician to publisher -- he even went so far as to rejoin the Georgia Democratic party, which at that time was still the party of racism and reactionary opinion.). Watson had been the populist vice-presidential nominee in 1896 -- producing a very strange situation, since William Jennings Bryan ended up being nominated for President by both the Democrats and the Populists, but with different vice presidential nominees. The Democrats chose Arthur Sewell, the Populists Watson. (That was the last time -- the only time, really -- that a presidential candidate had two significant vice presidential candidates associated with him.)
According to Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., Fred L. Israel, and William P. Hansen, editors, _History of American Presidential Elections_, Volume II,  p. 1874, the populists were pretty well skunked in the popular vote -- William McKinley earned 7.1 million votes, Bryan with Sewell (or no specified vice president) 6.5 million, the Populist ticket only 222,000. In Georgia, Watson earned only 440 votes, to 94,672 for Bryan and Sewell. Yet, of the 176 electoral votes for Bryan that year, only 149 voted for Sewell, giving Watson 27 electoral votes.  It was one of the strongest showings ever by a third party vice presidential candidate, and the high point of Watson's political career. Watson was the populist presidential candidate in 1904, but went nowhere in that election.
Since his days on the national stage, Watson had turned into a popularity-grubbing nativist whose message was largely about hate; see Oney, p. 8, and his entry in the _Dictionary of American Biography_. Richard Hofstadter, _The Age of Reform_, Vintage, 1955, p. 81, comments on his behavior in the Frank case and on pp. 82-83 offers up a quote which seems to sum up the man. Watson argued (obviously falsely) that there was no poverty in the early United States (Hofstadter, p. 62n.), but "We have become the world's melting pot. The scum of creation has been dumped upon us.... What brought these Goths and Vandals to our shores? The manufacturers are mainly to blame." Dinnerstein, p. 119, notes that he called Frank a "jewpervert."
As the above shows, Watson had a way with words -- and his way was to flamingly condemn anything that his uneducated, poor, parochial readers must dislike. As best I can tell, the only thing he had in common with the broad-minded Thomas Jefferson is that both believed in an agrarian society.
The time of the murder was never firmly established (F/T, p. 37). The prosecution's doctor would estimate that she was killed around the time she was given her pay (Dinnerstein, p. 3). However, the forensics of the time had very little to go on -- the examiner's only evidence was the state of digestion of the contents of her stomach, which led him to estimate that she had eaten within an hour of the time she was killed. This worked out to a time between 12:00 and 12:15, which fit the state's case against Leo Frank; Oney, pp. 233-234. But while this might have been the most likely time, the defence brought in an expert who argued that the death might have occurred much later (Oney, p. 262) -- energetic activity could slow digestion, and even if you ignored being murdered, Mary had a fairly busy itinerary on the last day of her life.
The whole chronology is difficult (the following comes from Dinnerstein, pp. 48-49). Two employees said they came in to be paid around 11:45; Jim Conley said they came in around 1:00. Conley said that Mary Phagan had reached the factory before Monteen Stover. Stover testified that she reached Frank's office at 12:05, failed to see him in his office (he may have been hidden behind an inner door, assuming her account is accurate), and left at 12:10. The conductor of the trolley Mary rode to work said she had gotten off at 12:10 at a point about three minutes' walk from her work. Frank was seen at home (where he had lunch) between 1:00 and 1:30. Conley said Frank was at the factory at 1:30. And, as noted, the doctor claimed Mary was dead by 12:15. Obviously these times cannot all be reconciled, and the primary contradictions are between Conley, Stover, and the doctor who estimated the time of death -- all prosecution witnesses.
Quite a few people apparently visited the factory on April 26 (F/T, pp. 11-12). But it was alleged that at the time of the murder (based on the prosecution's timeline, of course) only two men were in the factory -- manager Leo Frank and (Black) janitor Jim Conley. (Frank's stenographer and office boy had both left around noon, shortly before Mary came to draw her pay; Oney, p. 29). The claim that no one else was there was extravagant -- the building was not ordinarily locked (F/T, p. 32), and Newt Lee, during the trial, would state that "anyone" could enter; Oney, p. 202. Plus the building was huge -- four stories high, and it occupied a whole city block. Oney, p. 9, reports that it was big enough to produce an average of 4.374 gross of pencils per week, or about 630,000. And the pencils weren't even all identical; Oney, p. 273, quotes a staff member as saying they made dozens of different kinds of pencil, which meant that it wasn't just one continuous assembly line. The obvious conclusion is that a sufficiently determined person could enter the building, and hide for an extended period if he so desired.
Still, the evidence indicates that Leo Frank was apparently the last person, other than the murderer, to see Mary alive, when he gave her her pay (Dinnerstein, p. 3). He said he heard no signs of a row during his time in his office. This even though a stain, which was said to be a pool of blood, was found in the "metal room" near Frank's office (Dinnerstein, p. 5). Oney, p. 46, says witnesses thought it was new, and that an attempt had been made to hide it. Apparently, though, the only "proof" that the fluid was blood was the fact that it did not dissolve in alcohol. (Oney, p. 47, thinks the blood was Mary's, but it appears no valid testing was done.) Hair was also found there, and one of the other workers in the metal room was sure it was Mary's.
(The claim that it was Phagan's blood and hair turned out to be extremely weak; staff at the factory said that there was often blood there because saws were in use; F/T, p. 35. Plus it was on the path to the first aid station, so people sometimes came in bleeding; Oney, p. 231. In any case, Dinnerstein, p. 234, says that the stain was eventually demonstrated not to be blood. Also, a girl who had worked there with Mary noted that the floor of the room often was spotted with paint and other fluids, and that girls sometimes combed out their hair there -- and that one of those girls had hair much like Mary's; Oney, p. 216. The state biologist would later declare unequivocally that the hair was not Mary's; Dinnerstein, pp. 84-85.)
Given Monteen Stover's testimony that Frank was not in his office around the alleged time of the murder (Dinnerstein, pp. 37-38), Frank was arrested on suspicion of murder on April 29 (F/T, pp. 11-12; Oney, p. 60). He would later be interrogated harshly without his lawyer being present. (In the light of what followed, we have to note that Frank was Jewish and came from New York; Phagan of course was a southern girl.)
Since her purse was missing, it was evident that she had been robbed as well as murdered. Frank, however earned a salary of $150 per month (F/T, p. 37), which was at least five times Mary's income, and no one seems ever to have alleged that his pay was inadequate to his needs. Even if his salary *hadn't* been enough, what are the odds that he would have cared about Mary's $1.20?
No physical evidence was ever found to implicate Frank. The only real evidence against Frank seems to have been his nervousness when informed of the murder and his vigorous attempts to blame someone else (Oney, p. 63. To which I say, What would *you* do if you were falsely charged with murder?)
A number of witnesses came forward to attack Frank's sexual morality. A young man named George Epps said Mary Phagan was afraid of him (Dinnerstein, p. 17). This seems dubious -- given the labor shortage in Atlanta, she could have found other work had she been suffering harassment. Plus the strong evidence is that Leo Frank did not know who she was. Topping it all off -- would she have gone to collect her pay on that day, when no one else was around, if she had been afraid of him? If she were really afraid, she would surely have gone to the factory only when there were witnesses around!
Accounts differed about whether Frank hassled other female employees (and, naturally, when one made charges against him, it got bigger headlines in the papers than when someone denied it; Dinnerstein, pp. 30-31). One "rooming house" owner claimed that Frank had tried to secure a room for part of a day (Dinnerstein, pp. 17-18), though an employee, despite pressure from the police, declared unequivocally that this was not so (Dinnerstein, p. 28). There were rumors, seemingly unsubstantiated, of paedophilia or other "perversions" (Dinnerstein, p. 19).
I would note that Frank had married as recently as 1910 (Dinnerstein, p. 6; F/T, p. 20). His wife was still only 25, described as pretty if plump (Oney, p. 81, though the photo he prints don't make her appear very attractive), and she was said to be quite endearing. One would think that Frank would still have been fairly happy with his wife, and their letters seem to have been very loving. In addition, his wife frequently visited Frank at work, so he could hardly use the factory for lecherous liaisons (F/T, p. 41; Oney, pp. 269, 271, notes that several reliable witnesses reported that these visits were often on Saturdays, when Frank's alleged trysts with other girls took place).
In light of the extensive force used in Phagan's murder, it is worth noting that Frank was skinny and rather frail and probably weighed no more than 132 pounds (F/T, p. 20; Oney, p. 10, says he was five feet six inches and weighed 120 pounds. To be sure, Dinnerstein, p. 136, says he lost 60 points in prison, which is obviously impossible if he started at 120 or even 132. I wonder if this wasn't an error of hearing, at some point, for 16 pounds, which makes more sense and would also account roughly for the difference between F/T's and Oney's numbers). It is likely that he was hardly bigger than Mary herself (F/T, p. 35). The adjective "birdlike" could almost have been invented for him; in his photos, his head seems bigger than all the rest of him. He hardly seemed strong enough to be able to apply that much force. In addition, a few days after the murder, he showed the detectives that his body had none of the cuts and bruises that would have been expected had he been in a fight (Oney, p. 51).
We might note in addition that he was Reform Jew (Oney, p. 597); he was clean-shaven and had attended Cornell (Oney has several photos of him in college). His subject was mechanical engineering (Dinnerstein, p. 5).
Police hauled in a servant of the Franks, and sweated some comments out of her that vaguely supported their theory of the case (Oney, pp. 162-165). Once released, she declared her entire affidavit false (Dinnerstein, pp. 26-27). Given the circumstances, her statements against Frank are clearly unreliable; she had been kept in prison without charge or warrant, and police apparently gave her the impression she would be hanged. In essence, it was a confession under torture.
The strange question is, why wasn't 27-year-old janitor Jim Conley, the other person who was known to have been in the National Pencil factory around the time of the murder, given this sort of attention? Although he was taken into custody a few days after the murder, Oney, p. 118, states that no one even took a statement from him for fifteen days after he was arrested! True, he was eventually questioned repeatedly, but apparently this was because the examiners expected him to lie because he was Black (Oney, pp. 140-141). Instead of the changes in his story being considered evidence against him, they were considered evidence that his final story was true! The prosecution was so intent on making a case against Frank that at one point they formally put Conley back on the street on the grounds that he wasn't even a material witness! (Oney, p. 173).
Dinnerstein, p. 19, and Oney, p. 94, hypothesize that prosecutor Dorsey needed to win a high-profile case for political reasons, which seems likely enough given his rather poor record in past cases; Oney argues on p. 100 that Dorsey intended to use pubic opinion to make it easier to win a conviction. But that still doesn't explain why he went after Frank rather than Conley.
Notes which proved to be in Conley's handwriting were found by Mary's body (Dinnerstein, p. 21), yet at one time he claimed to be unable to write (F/T, p. 26; Oney, p. 119; Dinnerstein, p. 22, says that Frank himself had told police that Conley could write -- he had gotten notes from the man asking for loans). Later, having admitted literacy, Conley claimed Frank dictated the "murder notes," but outside analysts generally felt that Conley composed them to try to divert suspicion (they accuse someone of the murder, and they blame it on a Black -- but seemingly a tall dark-skinned Black; Conley had relatively light skin; WebFlag). Some of these claims were based on racist opinions about Black intelligence, but most were based on sober stylistic analysis. One would come from Conley's own lawyer (Oney, pp. 427-430, 483).
Conley was found trying to wash blood from his shirt (Oney, p. 118, though Conley claimed the stain was rust) -- but no one even subjected the blood to scientific examination! (Dinnerstein, p. 21). Conley was the one who charged Frank with having sexual liaisons at the factory, adding that Frank was physically abnormal -- but doctors testified that he was not (Oney, p. 276). When asked to re-enact the murder, Conley -- who had not been present when Mary's corpse was found or removed -- knew just where the body had lain (Oney, p. 142). To be sure, his final story said that he took Mary's body to the basement after Frank murdered her, so this did not prove his guilt. But it should be kept in mind.
Conley had an extensive record of petty crime (F/T, pp. 37-28, says he had been in prison seven or eight times in five years, and three times in the two years he had worked for National Pencil). His job performance had been bad enough that he had been demoted from elevator operator to sweeper (Oney, p. 119). There was eyewitness testimony that he was drinking in the period before the murder (Dinnerstein, pp. 21-22), and there were other reports of him being drunk on the job in the past (Oney, p. 119). We might also note that he lived with a woman without being married to her (Oney, p. 145, etc.)
Under questioning, Conley changed his story repeatedly (how often depends on how you count changes, but it was certainly three times, and F/T, p. 39, would make it five times). Each recital adding more incriminating statements against Frank (Dinnerstein, pp. 22-25), with his version on the witness stand being even more detailed than the statements to police. His final pre-trial story was that he only helped Frank dispose of the body, plus he was almost the only person to describe actual sexual liaisons in the National Pencil building. He never mentioned the fact (which came out later) that Mary's clothing had been carefully cut up.
The story he told had inconsistencies; the _Georgian_ stated clearly, "Careful study of the negro's story has revealed absurdities in its structure which bring the deed to Conley's door" (Oney, p. 133).
Much of Conley's testimony was contradicted by reputable witnesses during the trial (F/T, pp. 40-41). A senior National Pencil employee testified that Conley often tried to borrow money from his co-workers (F/T, p. 42), which would provide motive for robbery. Two women he claimed to have seen on the day of the murder contradicted his timeline for the encounters (Oney, p. 283). An expert testified that Conley's claims for the time he needed to transport Mary's body was too short to be physically possible (Oney, p. 284).
Conley stated that he repeatedly stood watch while Frank engaged in his sexual activities (Oney, p. 239). Had this been true, of course, he would almost certainly have been seen doing it, and he never was.
We do not know if Mary was raped, but if rape it was, Conley seems the much more likely perpetrator; letters he wrote from prison are pornographic and utterly disrespectful to women (Oney, pp. 390-391. quotes a small sample. They make disgusting reading -- Dinnerstein alludes to them on p. 102, but, even in 1966, apparently didn't dare quote such filth).
Conley was also crude enough to have defecated down an elevator shaft in the factory on the day of the murder (F/T, p. 46) -- an important point, because it proved that part of his testimony about Frank was a lie. He claimed that he and Frank had used the elevator on that day in moving the body -- but if they had, it would have smashed the pile of excrement, which was untouched when the police arrived. This point -- the "shit in the shaft" -- was not brought out until later, but it is still evidence against him.
In summary, here we have a robber, a liar, and a drunk -- yet, somehow, he became  the prosecution's star witness.
On the witness stand, Conley would confess to lying repeatedly, and whenever a question came up regarding a matter on which he had not given specific testimony, he "disremembered." Somehow, he managed to remember many details about Leo Frank's misdeeds, but he "disremembered" almost everything else (Oney, p. 249).
After the trial, a witness would come forward to say that he had tried to assault her (F/T, p. 67; Oney, p. 120, reports that he once shot at a lady friend and wounded a bystander).
Mary Phagan's mother Fannie Phagan Coleman eventually brought suit for $10,000 against National Pencil in what we would now call a Wrongful Death case (F/T, p. 74). I can't help but think she would have had a great case -- if Conley had been convicted of murder. I find it incomprehensible that National Pencil did nothing to control or fire this hooligan. It seems the question of why he wasn't fired came up at trial; an officer of the company apparently declared that "trustworthy" Blacks were hard to find (Oney, p. 275).
Eventually a Grand Jury wanted to indict Conley; in fact, a week before Frank's trial, they tried to bring a charge against Conley when they hadn't even been convened (Oney, p. 185). Solicitor Dorsey, who clearly wanted to convict Frank, browbeat them out of it (Dinnerstein, p. 29). At the trial, a Pinkerton agent testified that the police guided Conley to his story (F/T, p. 40). When the time came, Frank was placed on trial for murder, and Conley was primarily as a witness for the prosecution. The trial began on July 28, 1913 (Oney, p. 190).
Due to the high levels of poverty, and the extremely low levels of education, the population of Atlanta is said to have been very xenophobic. Lynchings were common. People even raised the suggestion of "blood libel" -- that Phagan's killing had been a ritual murder. Despite this, jury selection went surprisingly quickly, considering that four of the first seven groups of prospective jurors produces no jurors at all (Oney, p. 195). It took less than a day to form the jury.
The prosecution treated the case very seriously -- Dorsey and his staff evidently knew they had a weak case, so they worked jurors' emotions to the limit. The first witness called was Fannie Coleman, Mary Phagan's mother (Oney, p. 196). She of course had absolutely no evidence to bring against Leo Frank (in all likelihood she had never even seen him before!) -- but she broke down several times on the stand, including when her daughter's bloodstained clothes were brought in; it was a clear attempt to make the jurors desperately want revenge on the murderer. (I can't say I blame them. I would have wanted to avenge Mary, also. I'd just like to have gotten the man who murdered her rather than a scapegoat.)
In addition, the prosecution (plus his lawyer William Smith) had clearly gotten to Jim Conley, tidying him up and, based on his behavior on the witness stand, coaching him on how to present his story (Dinnerstein, pp. 40-44; Oney, pp. 188-189). In the court, he gave a dramatic -- though not very reasonable -- account of how Frank had had him dispose of Phagan's body. And the defence could not shake him (Dinnerstein, p. 45). Having failed, they made little attempt to point up the inconsistencies of his story.
Frank hired top-flight defence lawyers (Dinnerstein, p. 37; Oney, p. 191, notes that no fewer than eight attorneys were present for the defence). But they handled the case badly. F/T, p. 55, suggested that the lawyers simply didn't believe a Georgia jury would convict a white man on the testimony of a black man. Despite the mob baying for blood, they never requested a change of venue (Dinnerstein, p. 57), which was clearly necessary (in fact, the failure to request a change of venue was later used by the prosecution as support for the claim that the trial was fair; Oney, p. 493). Given the Georgia summer heat, it was sometimes necessary to open the court windows, allowing outside demonstrations to be heard (Oney, pp. 210-211). The judge never even cleared the court (F/T, p. 51), except for a brief time when he ordered the women out (Oney, p. 246), which turned the whole thing into a circus. I don't understand why the defence even wanted a jury trial; it cost Frank his life.
The defence did break down the testimony of the first investigators (Oney, p. 208), and of the  lead detective (F/T,  p. 33; Oney, pp. 218-220). They also largely demolished the testimony of George Epps and Helen Ferguson, young people who vaguely linked Frank to Mary (Oney, pp. 270-271, 273), and Oney, p. 238, seems to think they were ahead "on points," so to speak, when Conley came to the stand. But Conley was the key to the whole case -- the *only* witness or evidence linking Leo Frank to the murder of Mary Phagan -- and they did not break him down. They didn't even object when Conley testified to other misdeeds allegedly committed by Frank (Oney, p. 242. Presumably they thought they would be able to discredit these charges. To a great extent, they did -- but it didn't matter. The jurors got the message.)
When it came time to present a defence, the real disaster began. The defence lawyers had failed to penetrate Jim Conley in cross-examination, but they never presented a real alternative to Conley's claims. They surely could have gone after Conley (who, if Frank was innocent, was almost certainly the murderer). Instead, they  spent most of their energy to paint Frank as a saint who would never have done such a thing.
The primary argument seemed to be that Frank had done nothing unusual on the day of the murder (Dinnerstein, p. 48). They did demonstrate the inconsistencies in the times of events as stated by the various witnesses, and showed that Frank's whereabouts were accounted for in most of the two hours around the time the murder was thought to have been committed (Dinnerstein, p. 49). Indeed, a stenographer testified that he had asked her to stay the entire period (Oney, p. 279), but she had other duties. But they made no real use of the limited forensic evidence available, and made no attempt to find more (F/T, p. 56).
And then there were the character witnesses. Under 1913 Georgia law, all witnesses had to be sworn in at the start of the trial. Oney, p. 192, notes that the defence wanted to delay submitting its witness list. Told they could not do so, but allowed additional time to compile the list, they huddled, then turned in the list. They proceeded to offer the names of many prominent Jews and alumni of Cornell, Frank's old college. "Plainly, this list of well over one hundred names was more than just a list -- it was a theory of the defence, one that carried with it the prospect that in rebuttal, the state would introduce witnesses to testify to Frank's bad reputation" (Oney, p. 192). The main effect of these witnesses seems to have been simply to stretch out the proceedings and irritate all involved (F/T, p. 56). Plus they gave Dorsey the chance to ask all of them more questions about Frank's alleged perversions (e.g. Oney, p. 286). In all this, probably the only defence witnesses who really mattered were the outside accountants who testified that the work he did on the fatal Saturday would have required him to stay at his desk all day (Oney, pp. 277-279) -- he would have had no time for attempted seduction, rape, or murder .
Oney, p. 281, shows a typical example of how the character witnesses were treated. Dorsey took a defence witness who had done distinct damage to the prosecution case and kept asking him about homosexual acts by Frank. As the defence stated, no one could get a fair trial in those circumstances (Oney, p. 282). The judge often struck Dorsey's questions from the record, and the witnesses usually said that Frank didn't do any such thing anyway, but  it didn't matter; the insinuation that he was some sort of pervert was kept before the jury's mind.
The whole trial took four weeks (Dinnerstein, p. 52). Dinnerstein's description makes the whole prosecution case little more than a smear campaign, and the accounts in F/T and Oney are only slightly more charitable to Dorsey. Dorsey's tactics were so vile that at times it appeared the attorneys for the two sides would come to blows (Oney, p. 290).
The outcome, in Dinnerstein's view, was inevitable; judge and lawyers had been presented with death threats, and possibly the jurors also (Dinnerstein, p. 60. F/T, p. xix, declare that "The jury were scared, the judge was scared, and the prosecutors were scared"). The prosecution spent three days theatrically summing up the case (Oney, p. 337), reminding the jury again and again that Frank was a Jew (Dinnerstein, p. 53). The defence called for a mistrial (Oney, p. 339), but was turned down. The judge spent mere minutes instructing the jury (Oney, pp. 339-340), and then, only an hour and a half after Dorsey finished shrieking "guilty! guilty! guilty!" like a demented fury as church bells tolled, the jury began to deliberate.
It took the jury only four hours to decide the case (Dinnerstein, p. 55); they reported only two ballots; (Oney, p. 340). To prevent riots, the court had (finally!) been cleared (F/T, pp. 52-53), so there were few people around when the court declared Frank guilty of first degree murder. (Frank would comment, "My God! Even the jury was influenced by mob law" -- Dinnerstein, p 56; Oney, p. 342). Not even Frank was allowed to be present when the verdict was announced, which, according to F/T, p. 53, should have been by itself grounds for a new trial. (The jurors needed to see the accused they were about to convict.) The next day, Frank was sentenced to hang, in a proceeding so secret that not even his wife was allowed to be present (Dinnerstein, p. 57). The execution was scheduled for October 10, 45 days after the sentencing date of August 26 (F/T, p. 54).
Despite the claim by F/T that the jury was scared of the mob, they seem to have been more playful than anything; they had become friends and made up nicknames for each other (F/T, p. 52). From what we know of their deliberations, not one seems to have been bothered by the possibility that they were committing judicial murder.
When the verdict came down, it did much to arouse the nation's Jewish community. There were comparisons to the Dreyfus Affair in France, where a Jewish officer had been falsely convicted of treason on even flimsier evidence (Oney, p. 346; Chapter III of Dinnerstein is titled "An American Dreyfus"). In one sense, the outrage helped -- it brought in more money for Frank's legal defence (Frank's initial defence had cost about $50,000, according to Oney, p. 365, and he of course didn't have that sort of money). But it also caused the xenophobic Georgians to suspect some sort of Jewish conspiracy (Dinnerstein, p. 92). There was a widespread belief that anyone who supported Frank had been bribed. As a result, there was fear in the Jewish community that they would suffer if they seemed to be openly supporting him.
While the verdict convinced the mob, it did not convince Frank's bosses. National Pencil executives still consulted him on policy while in his prison cell (Oney, p. 349).
There was, of course, an appeal -- but the Georgia constitution didn't care about guilt or innocence, or tainted juries; the only grounds for appeal was an error in law or procedure (Dinnerstein, p. 77; F/T, p. 66, remarks that this was the effect of a constitutional amendment adopted in 1906. To put it another way, having bad lawyers was a hanging offense.)
There were good grounds for the appeal. Frank's lawyers listed 115 reasons why there should be a new trial (Oney, p. 349) -- though some of them should surely have been brought up in the first trial. The most dramatic of the reasons: Two jurors had apparently declared Frank guilty in advance (Oney, p. 350). The judge who tried the original case declared in refusing the motion for a mistrial, "I have thought more about this case than any other I have tried. I am not certain of the man's guilt. With all the thought I have put on this case, I am not thoroughly convinced that Frank is guilty or innocent. The jury was convinced. There is no room to doubt that. I feel that it is my duty to order that the motion for a new trial be overruled" (Dinnerstein, p. 79; Oney, p. 364, points out that the jury's verdict, once reached, bound the judge -- he could not overrule them unless there were procedural errors, and the defence should have pointed those out earlier). The flip side is, Judge Roan ruled that his uncertainty should be included in the appeal request. In other words, he felt bound by the law but probably hoped Frank would get a new trial.
F/T, to be sure, have another hypothesis: based on a book published in 1959, they think Judge Roan knew (based on an account from Conley's lawyer) that Conley was guilty. But, rather than inflame public opinion, he denied the motion for a new trial, hoping the furor would die down and that the appeal would clear Frank (F/T, p. 58-59). Roan's brother said something similar about his brother's motives before the pardon commission (Oney, p. 481). I can't see how this is in any way morally superior to the other.
(F/T say on page 74 that Judge Roan died in March 1915 of a blood clot; Oney, followed by Oney, says the cause of death was cancer. There was speculation that the pressure of the trial contributed to his demise. On his deathbed, he wrote a letter appealing for clemency for Frank; Oney, p. 469.)
That left the Georgia Supreme Court. They listened to arguments from the lawyers for four hours, then decided 4-2 not to allow a new trial (Dinnerstein, p. 81).  Oney, pp. 368-370, notes that this appeal opened very little new ground, so perhaps it is no surprise that nothing came of it -- though the judges needed 142 pages to say so. But it appears that their ruling boiled down to "it's up to the trial judge." Judge Roan, as we have seen, thought it was up to the Supreme Court. Frank's first appeal was denied because both courts said, "You go first." As a result, a new execution date was set, by a new judge -- April 17, 1914, Frank's thirtieth birthday (Oney, p. 377).
In the period after the first appeal, much new evidence came out. The parties finally consulted a scientist, who said that hairs alleged to have been torn from Mary's head during the murder were not hers (Dinnerstein, pp. 84); those hairs were important to the prosecution's case, but the scientific evidence was suppressed by prosecutor Dorsey (Oney, p. 371), who declared the testimony of his witnesses to be worth more than mere scientific fact (Dinnerstein, p. 85). This was clear misconduct by the prosecution (Oney, p. 370). There was even a witness who said the blood in the "metal room" was probably his.
The "murder notes" that Conley had written and left by the body were shown to have been written on old stationary, stored in the factory basement, not on the current stationary Frank would have had in his office (Dinnerstein, p. 87; Oney, pp. 379-380). Yet Conley claimed that he had written them in Frank's office. The prosecution argued that Frank had dictated the notes to Conley, but there was strong evidence that Frank could not have used the language they contained (Dinnerstein, p. 90); they used words which strongly implied that Conley -- who certainly did the actual writing -- also composed them. This issue would come up again, even more forcefully.
In addition, a number of witnesses changed their story (Dinnerstein, pp. 86-87), with most though not all of them saying that their previous evidence against Frank was false. One of these, George Epps, had been one of the keys to Dorsey's reconstruction of events (Oney, pp, 197-198), and he now accused the police of telling him what to say on the stand (Oney, p. 373). At least seven girls who had testified to Frank's "bad character" changed their accounts, most way that they had been coached (Oney, p. 389, who adds that one testified as she died because she didn't know what "lasciviousness" meant). There were reports of the police having bribed or threatened other witnesses (F/T, pp. 66-67; Oney, p. 372).
Two separate sources, in this period, gave evidence that Frank had not committed the murder (Dinnerstein, pp. 102-105). One was a woman who said Conley had confessed to it while proposing (! -- Oney, p. 395), the other was hearsay testimony from a minister who overheard a congregant saying that he, not Frank, had committed the murder (Oney, p. 396). The minister, C. B. Ragsdale, said he didn't know who had made the comments -- but it obviously wasn't Frank!  I suspect both would have been inadmissible in court; in any case, both ended up being retracted. The girlfriend later denied receiving Conley's letters and promises, perhaps under pressure from the prosecutors; the minister also retracted his testimony, claiming that he had been bribed (Oney, p. 398). This ruined one possible grounds for appeal and of course made Frank look bad (F/T, p. 69). The minister involved eventually resigned his pastorate -- after all, he had both sides mad at him!
Other witnesses who changed their stories were threatened by Dorsey with perjury charges (Oney, p. 394). In the end, most of those who recanted would re-recant (Oney, pp. 411-413). None of it mattered anyway; under Georgia law, perjured testimony stood unless the witness were convicted of perjury (Oney, p. 418). In other words, here again, Georgia law did not consider innocence to be grounds for a new  trial.
During this period, the famed detective Williams Burns finally took a personal role in the case, showing that Mary's clothing had been cut up in a sexually explicit way, implying "deviancy" on the part of the murderer (Oney, p. 391); they failed to find any genuine witnesses to deviancy of this sort on Frank's part (Oney, p. 392) 
It is noteworthy that Conley's lawyer refused to let Conley talk to Burns (Oney, p. 393). Monteen Stover, the young girl who claimed Frank was out of his office at a crucial time (making her one of the most important prosecution witnesses other than Conley) also avoided Burns.
Burns eventually was driven from Georgia; when he went to visit Mary's hometown of Marietta, he was chased from the town (Oney, pp. 401-403). Witnesses for Frank also suffered the wrath of Georgia; Mineola McKnight, who had testified for Frank, was slashed in the face during the appeals (Oney, p. 422).
In the end, Georgia justice refused to act; the judge (not Judge Roan) responsible for deciding on a new trial barred most of the defence's best evidence (Oney, pp. 403-411), and the state Supreme Court promptly concurred (Oney, p. 446).. Frank's lawyers finally appealed to the United States Supreme Court. Reading the description in Dinnerstein, pp. 109-113, it really sounds as if the Court used a series of quibbles to refuse to intervene -- but refuse they did. A first appeal was denied without explanation (F/T, p. 70; Oney, p. 452, notes that the only statement was the single word "denied"). The second appeal (on the broader grounds of _habeas corpus_) at least reached the full court (Oney, p. 460), but was denied on April 19, 1915 (Dinnerstein, p. 117) by a vote of 7-2, with justices Hughes and Holmes dissenting. (You have to wonder what might have happened had the case come up two years later, after Justice Brandeis joined the court, but this was 1914, not 1916. Those wishing to look up the case in legal articles will find it under "Frank v. Mangum"). F/T, pp. 71-72, notes that the court would later reverse itself in a similar case: In Moore v Dempsey, in 1922, the court found that irregularities such as those found in the Frank case were grounds for a new trial. But that was later. The 1914  decision left Frank's friends with no recourse but an appeal for clemency.
While that was going on, William Smith, the lawyer for Jim Conley, released a statement concluding that Conley had committed the murder (Dinnerstein, pp. 114-115). This obviously sounds like a violation of attorney-client privilege, but Smith had two reasons for thinking otherwise. First, Conley had never told him what he felt was the truth, so he was not violating a confidence. Smith's declaration, according to Oney, pp. 427-430, was based solely on evidence he had found that Conley had lied (Dinnerstein, p. 115, says that Smith offered "no [single] convincing proof"; he was convinced by an accumulation of evidence). In any case, Smith felt that to Conley was safe from further prosecution due to the law against double jeopardy; Conley had already been convicted of a lesser charge. In this connection, it is noteworthy that Dorsey declared that he thought Conley should not be punished at all. But the jury needed only twelve minutes to convict Conley of the lesser crime with which he was charged; Oney, p. 385. He was sentenced in February 1914 to a year on the chain gang, and actually served ten months (WebFlag). So Smith made the statement to try to save Frank (F/T, pp. 70, 78). But such was the climate of the time that those convinced of Frank's guilt thought Smith had been bribed; Dinnerstein, p. 115. Georgians by and large dug in their heels and refused to listen to reason.
Smith, like Judge Roan, would carry the Frank case to his death; the last words he ever wrote  were a testament to the "innocence and good character of Leo Frank" (Oney has a photo preceding p. 455).
The appeals for clemency came from all over the country; Dinnerstein, p. 118, counts nine governors (many of them southern), at least seven senators, "scores" of congressmen, and many resolutions by state legislatures. F/T, p. 75, says that the state received 15,000 petitions for clemency; p. 86, claims that the governor was sent more than a hundred thousand requests. Dinnerstein, p. 118, claims that over a million people signed one or another petition. Eventually, even vice president Thomas R. Marshall would speak up, though not until later (Oney, p. 491). But the Georgia Prison Commission, claiming incredibly that no additional evidence had come in (Dinnerstein, pp. 121-122), voted 2-1 to deny Frank relief (F/T, p. 78). They did not explain their reasoning (Oney, p. 488), but one suspects that they were influenced by the large crowds who demonstrated against clemency (Oney, p. 486).
That left only governor John M. Slaton, whose term came to an end a few days after Frank's scheduled execution (Dinnerstein, p. 123). He apparently had hoped that the appeals process would drag out  long enough that ye would not have to make a decision before his term ended (F/T, p. 70; Oney, p. 472, notes that he did not wish to act on a case involving Frank's lead defence lawyer Luther Rosser, who was technically his law partner, though Dinnerstein, p. 124, notes that the firms of Slaton & Phillips and Rosser & Brandon did not combine until after Slaton became governor; Slaton was a courtesy partner in the new firm and the two had never practiced together). In the end, though, the matter landed on his desk.
As had happened in all these cases, Hugh Dorsey represented the prosecution and a large team handled the presentation of the defence case. The one major new point was the state of the excrement Conley had left in the elevator shaft (Oney, p. 489). This of course demonstrated that a major portion of Jim Conley's testimony was inaccurate.
Slaton examined the evidence more thoroughly than any other judicial investigator, even testing the workings of the National Pencil elevator which played such a large role in the case (Oney, p. 501). The governor spent many days on his decision, apparently knowing that commuting Frank's sentence to life imprisonment would damage his political career and maybe even cause his assassination. (There was apparently no question of pardoning Frank; that would have been too controversial.) Finally Slaton decided to commute the sentence (Dinnerstein, p. 125).
It was, as F/T remark on p. 81, "political suicide." In a folkloric touch, his wife is said to have told him, "I would rather be the widow of a brave and honorable man than the wife of a coward" (Dinnerstein, p. 126). She very nearly was; it took militia to force the crowds away from Slaton's home (Oney, p. 504). He ended up leaving the state for years (Dinnerstein, p. 159), even taking up residence in ruined Romania during World War I (Oney, p. 609). Prosecutor H. M. Dorsey, on the other hand, rode his fame into the governor's mansion. To give him his due, Oney, p. 614, says that he proposed the broadest civil rights agenda of any southern governor of the time.
Slaton's summary of the case brought forward much more evidence than the actual criminal trial, and showed strong evidence of Conley's guilt (Dinnerstein, pp. 126-129) -- most, including Dinnerstein, consider it overwhelming evidence. Slaton pointed out the absolute proof that Conley had lied about using the elevator to move the body, argued that Frank was not strong enough to carry the body as far as he would have had to, and noted that there was not enough blood in the room where Conley said the body was found, and that the hairs did not match (F/T, pp. 86-87).
Slaton knew the commutation would cause trouble, and he prepared carefully for his ruling, trying to move Frank to a safer location (Dinnerstein, p. 126). Decoys were actually used to keep Frank safe on his journey (F/T, p. 86). Slaton also called out the militia -- wisely, since rioters tried to reach his home (Dinnerstein, p. 132); martial law continued until the new governor took office (F/T, p. 89).
The reprieve didn't help Frank much; he paid a high price for being left in custody. Although the commutation of his sentence meant that he was moved to a more pleasant prison, four weeks after he arrived, another inmate, William Creen, cut his throat (Dinnerstein, p. 137) using a butcher knife from the prison kitchen (Oney, p. 547); he would have died had their not been doctors among the prisoners to treat him immediately. Such was the sickness of the time that letters reached the new governor demanding that Creen be pardoned for his attempted murder (Dinnerstein, p. 138). The demagogue who led this campaign, Thomas Watson, publisher of _The Jeffersonian_, openly advocated lynching Frank (F/T, p. 90), and rejoiced when it was said, falsely, that the knife had been used to butcher hogs (Oney, p. 550).
About a month later, on the night of August 16, 1915 a mob broke into the prison where Frank was housed, where they handcuffed him (Dinnerstein, pp. 139-141). This was no casual break-in; F/T, p. 93, says that 25 men were involved, and they drove seven cars. Oney, pp. 511-524, catalogs some of those involved in planning the operation; they included lawyers, a judge, and a former governor (though none of these took part in the actual raid). One of them, in fact, was the solicitor responsible for prosecuting crimes in the area of the lynching! Naturally, he did nothing to seek the lynchers (Oney, p. 586). They had tools, knowledge of the prison, and a careful plan. Insiders may have had some knowledge of it; Oney spends many confusing pages discussing this, and Alan M. Dershowitz, who wrote an introduction to the Notable Trials edition of Dinnerstein, explicitly states that some prison officials were in on the plan. It took only seven minutes to kidnap Frank (F/T, p. 94) It was hard for the authorities to call for help; most of the phone and telegraph lines had been cut, and the warden's car's gas line was cut. Clearly, the lynch mob didn't care that they were creating an opening for other prisoners to escape.
The mob then drove 175 miles, over mostly unpaved roads, to Marietta, Mary Phagan's home town (F/T, p. 95). There they hooded and hanged Frank. Inexpertly; his neck was not broken; rather, he suffocated and bled to death after his neck wound reopened; Oney, p. 566. Despite their ineptitude, the lynchers had accomplished their goal; Frank was dead.
At least one witness kicked the body and stomped on Frank's face after he was cut down (Dinnerstein, p. 144). Souvenir hunters cut off portions of his clothing (F/T, p. 97), and photos of his lifeless body were sold for 25 cents (F/T, p. 98). The oak from which he was hung became the site of a perverse sort of pilgrimages (Dinnerstein, p. 145). A local coroner's jury refused to return indictments against men known to have taken part (Dinnerstein, p. 145; Oney, p. 586, says that the local coroner had been a member of the original Ku Klux Klan) -- even though some of the lynch mob actually volunteered to talk to reporters (F/T, p. 105). Only one man had the decency to recover Frank's wedding ring for his wife, and he seemingly had to do so anonymously (F/T, p. 106).
Supposedly the whole incident led to a revival of the Ku Klux Klan in the area (Dinnerstein, p. 150; F/T, p. 95; Oney, p. 607, tells of them openly applying for a state charter in 1915); certainly the Klan was still making pilgrimages to Mary's grave more than half a century later. They also sent a great cross of flowers when Tom Watson died (Oney, p. 615); after all, it was his poisoned pen that had inspired their rebirth.
Is it any wonder that Frank's family took his body north for burial?
It is worth noting that, in this period, Georgia experienced several dozen lynchings per year, and is said to have been the lynching-est state in the Union (Oney, p. 122). In 1915, all but one of the 22 people lynched were Black (Oney, p. 513). The one exception was Frank. Whether innocent or guilty, there is no real question that the reason Frank died is that he was a Jewish Yankee living in Georgia.
More data came in after Frank's death. In 1922, a reporter discovered that there were photos of bite marks on Mary's body, and concluded based on what was known about Frank's teeth that Frank could not have made those bites (Dinnerstein, p. 158; Oney, p. 617). The reporter's reward was to have his car forced off the road; for years, the data was suppressed.
Even more dramatically, in 1982, a witness came forward with evidence that Conley had lied about his part in the affair. Alonzo Mann, a boy who had been in the factory on the fatal day, had seen Conley carrying Mary Phagan's body around the time of her murder. What's more, he saw  Conley with the body *on the first floor* and not in the presence of Frank; according to Conley's testimony, he had taken it from the second floor to the basement via the elevator, meaning that he should never have stopped on the first floor, and that Frank should have been with him even if he had (WebFlag). Having been threatened by Conley, Mann was advised by his mother to keep quiet at Frank's trial (F/T, p. 157). He did tell his story to a few people, but for a long time no one, not even the Jewish community, wanted to reopen old wounds (F/T, p. 148). Only much later did _The Tennessean_ become interested and interview Mann. He took a polygraph test to verify his story. (See _The Tennessean_, p. 2.) He was also examined psychologically (F/T, p. 150). He passed both tests.
Several of the major witnesses against Frank had interesting careers in the years after his trial. Monteen Stover, the fourteen-year-old girl who claimed that Frank was not at his desk at the time the prosecution claimed the murder took place, would some years later be charged with being the lure in a "badger scam" to extort money from married men who had affairs (Oney, p. 618). George Epps, who had claimed Mary Phagan was afraid of Frank (an odd claim, given that she risked being alone with him when she collected her pay) was sent to a reformatory in late 1913 for stealing (Dinnerstein, p. 86). It was Jim Conley, though, who had a truly extraordinary record.
On November 1, 1915, Conley (who, you will recall, had a common law wife) was picked up in a "disorderly house." He escaped a prostitution charge by claiming he wanted to marry one of the girls -- and he was so popular that the judge and spectators put up the licence fee which he said he could not afford. But he was arrested *three times* for wife eating in the next three and a half months (Oney, p. 612). In 1919, he was injured in an attempt to burglarize a drug store, and was sentenced to twenty years. In 1941, he was arrested for gambling. In 1947, he was picked up for drunkenness. Dinnerstein, pp. 158-159, cites at second hand an obituary notice from 1962. Oney, p. 647, says that there is no record of his death though a witness in 1970 said he had died. WebFlag notes the lack of an obituary or death notice but cites the 1962 date.
A memorial to Mary Phagan was erected in 1915. One speaker went so far as to refer to her as "sainted" (Dinnerstein, p. 136). The inscription was written by none other than Tom Watson, according to WebFlag.
Although we have no absolute evidence for when this song was composed, it seems to be a pretty good reflection of the murderous mood in Georgia. It is also a fairly accurate reflection of the story told at the trial. The list below summarizes factual details listed in the various versions. I have listed the versions which contain each fact. I have also listed which statements are true, false, or disputed.
The versions cited are those of:
Burt1: The first full text of Burt, pp. 61-62, sung by Thelda Barris and collected probably around Ibapah, Utah, c. 1926; quoted by F/T (with incorrect stanza divisions), pp. 139-140. This version is fascinating in that it never mentions Leo Frank, which makes it seem that Newt Lee was the criminal. However, it cannot be an early version of the song, since it mentions Judge Roan and prosecutor Dorsey. The version of Cambiaire, interestingly, also seems to follow this outline, and does not mention Roan or Dorsey.
Burt2: a partial text of Burt, pp. 62-63, from Pearl Flake, who was originally from Atlanta though apparently she was working for Burt c. 1940 when the song was collected. F/T quote this on pp. 140-141.
Burt3: A fragment, printed by Burt, pp. 63-64 with no source listed and repeated by F/T on p. 141.
Cambiaire: From Cambiaire, p. 104. No source information given. The murderer is unnamed, and the trial is not mentioned.
Carson1: Fiddlin' John Carson, as given by Wiggins, _Fiddlin' Georgia Crazy_, and quoted by Oney, p. 492f.
Carson2: Fiddlin' John Carson, apparently as given in the _Atlanta Constitution_, August 18, 1915, and quoted by Oney, p. 571f. This seems to be the earliest report of the song, but I suspect the reporter managed to take down only part of it.
Eddy: Eddy, p. 252. A very incomplete text, which Eddy had from Mrs. Lawrence Davis of Perrysville, Ohio. In this, the version is called "Mary Pickford" (obviously an error for the actress, who however was still alive at the time Eddy collected the song!). I suspect fragments of other songs may have mixed with this -- it even appears to say  that *Mary* called a policeman. The murderer is not named.
G/C: Gardner/Chickering, p. 144. Sung by Margaret Tuggle of Detroit but apparently learned in Virginia.
JAFL: Journal of American Folklore, 1918; quoted by Dinnerstein on pp. 166ff.
McNeil1: McNeil, Southern Folk Ballads II, p. 71, from Mrs. Artie Waggoner, Creston, Louisiana, 1977. In this the murderer is called "Leo Benton," presumably a mix-up with other ballads of this type.
McNeil2: McNeil, Southern Folk Ballads II, p. 72, from Reba Cheyne, Fort Smith, Arkansas, 1979. A defective version which appears to include primarily the early verses.
The historical details found in the versions are as follows:
* Correctly states that Mary worked in a pencil factory (versions of JAFL, Cambiaire, Carson1, Carson2, Burt1, Eddy, G/C, McNeil1, McNeil2)
* Correctly states that Mary was going to collect her pay (Carson1, Carson2, Burt1, Cambiaire, Eddy, G/C, McNeil1, McNeil2)
* Correctly states that Mary was very pretty (G/C)
* States, probably correctly, that Mary was going to see the Memorial Day parade (JAFL)
* Correctly states  that the murder took place on a holiday, in this case, Confederate Memorial Day (JAFL, Carson1, Burt1)
* Correctly states  that she went left home around 11:00 on the fatal day; she had the lunch of cabbage and bread that caused the forensics people so much trouble shortly after 11:00 and then set out for the trolley (JAFL, Carson1, Carson2; Burt1 and McNeil2 incorrectly give the time as 7:00)
* Correctly states  that  Jim Conley was given a year's sentence (though the song implies that Frank and Conley were tried together, which is false) (JAFL)
* Correctly states  that the body was found in the basement (JAFL, Cambiaire, Carson1, Burt1, Burt2, McNeil1)
* Correctly states  that Newt Lee found her body and was imprisoned for a time (JAFL, Carson1, Burt1; Cambiaire spells it "Nute Lee"; Burt2 calls him "Nemphon"; McNeil1 has "Jim Newt" -- perhaps combining "Jim Conley" and "Newt Lee"?)
* Correctly states  that Lee was imprisoned for a time (JAFL, Carson1)
* Correctly states  that Mary's mother was wild with grief (JAFL, Carson1, Burt1, Burt 2, Burt3, G/C, McNeil1)
* Correctly states  that  Solicitor H. M. [Dorsey] was the prosecutor (JAFL, Carson1, Burt1)
* Correctly states that Judge Roan tried the case (Carson1, Carson2, Burt1; McNeil1 calls him "Judge Long")
* States that Mary was murdered in the metal room, agreeing with the prosecution but not the defence (JAFL, Carson1, Burt1; McNeil1 and others call it the "little room"; Cambiaire has "middle room")
* States that Leo Frank called on Jim Conley to carry the body, agreeing with the prosecution but not the defence (JAFL, Carson1)
* States that "the janitor" lured Mary to a dreadful fate, agreeing with the defence but not the prosecution (Burt3, G/C)
* States incorrectly that "the janitor" let Mary into the factory (Burt3, G/C); since the factory was not locked, she would not have needed admission
* States incorrectly that Frank had children (JAFL); that may, however,  be a holdover from its source, since the song is based on the "Charles Guitea"/"Murder of F. C. Benwell"/"Ewing Books" family. 
* States incorrectly that Mary  was "bound both hands and feet" (JAFL, Carson1); there was cord around her neck, but none on her hands and feet. 
* States incorrectly that Mary was her mother's "sole support" (Burt3, G/C)
* States incorrectly that "the janitor," rather than Frank, was strung up (Eddy, G/C)
Looking at the versions, it appears that the song exists in three "states." In one, it seems to have ended with the discovery of the body and the police telling Newt Lee that he "must go" (presumably to prison). A second state, associated particularly with Fiddlin' John Carson, brings in Leo Frank, accuses him of the murder, and credits H. M. Dorsey with convicting him, but does not mention the appeals or the lynching. A third state mentions the lynching, though the versions I've seen seem to describe the janitor (i.e. Conley), rather than Frank, as being lynched.
The data is not sufficient to form an absolute conclusion, of course, but this would seem to imply three stages of composition: A very early version, in circulation before Frank's trial; a second completed after he had been convicted (and probably after Conley had been convicted also, given the mention of his sentence), and a third after the lynching. Possibly this last stage involved *two* rewrites, one to add the lynching, the other (perhaps northern) to blame Conley, and these two fused.
And, yes, I know that's an extremely complicated reconstruction based on very flimsy evidence! But how else to explain versions which explicitly blame Leo Frank, explicitly blame "the janitor," and implicitly blame Newt Lee? It's hard to see such changes happening by accident.
Few of the sources I've seen credit this song to an author, but Bill C. Malone (_Don't Get Above Your Raisin'_, p. 220) credits it to Fiddlin' John Carson, whose daughter Rosa Lee is credited with the first recording of it. His footnote lists several sources for the murder, but it's not clear how authorship was established. Dinnerstein, p. 121, says that Carson was singing the song at rallies in Georgia in this period -- but his footnote as to sources contains no reference to Carson. Oney, p. 491, cites _Fiddlin' Georgia Crazy_ by George Wiggins as the source of the attribution, and says that Carson sang it during the hearing before Governor Slaton. 
Nonetheless, I don't think the evidence quite strong enough to prove that Carson wrote the song (or, rather, the lyrics, since the tune is borrowed). He *does* seem to be particularly associated with the second version, which convicts Frank but does not mention the lynching. It strikes me as likely that he converted the first stage of the song to the second, and the evidence is strong that he made it popular enough that Vernon Dalhart recorded it -- and that, of course made it popular indeed. But I would not wish to bet on whether he wrote the first version. And I strongly doubt that the lynching version is his.
So who killed Mary Phagan? It is unlikely that we will ever be able to acquire any evidence beyond what has already been discussed. Alonzo Mann, the last significant witness, died soon after giving his testimony. Oney, p. 647, says that the physical evidence collected by Hugh Dorsey is gone. WebFlag notes that the National Pencil Company building was demolished June 6, 1994. Even if the family consented to having it exhumed (which seems unlikely), we can hardly hope to learn anything from Mary's body at this late date. Jim Conley's last resting place seems to be unknown, so we couldn't get DNA evidence from him under any circumstances. So all we have is the records of the evidence collected at the time. On this basis, Oney manages the curious summary that "the argument [will] never move beyond Conley's word versus Frank's" (p. 647). That is indeed the key point, but surely we can go beyond "He said, he said" to express probabilities.
(To give Oney his due, according to WebFlag, which reviews Oney's book, Oney is personally convinced that Frank is innocent and Conley guilty.)
Basically, we have three possible murderers: Leo Frank, Jim Conley, or an unknown someone else. There is no evidence for someone else, though we cannot deny the possibility given the ease with which many people entered the National Pencil building. (The one person we know was there at the time, Monteen Stover, seems never to have come under suspicion. Nor does she seem a likely suspect; I mention her only to show that the possibilities have not been fully examined.) However, if it were someone else, why would Conley have implicated Frank? And why write the murder notes if not to divert suspicion? (For this point see WebFlag.) Since Conley is unequivocally known to have carried the body, based on Mann's testimony, and also wrote the murder notes, he surely knew who committed the crime. Since he mentioned only himself and Frank, Conley's testimony strongly implies that either he or Frank did it.
If we look at the classic tests of a crime, "motive, means, and opportunity," we know  that Conley had greater motive (either man might have had a sexual motive, but Conley also had robbery as a motive, plus we known that he had quite the sex life). Conley is known to have had the opportunity -- after all, Mann saw him carrying her body! By contrast, there is no evidence linking Frank directly with Mary, though he of course did see her on the day of her death. As for means, Conley was a strong man who could have overcome her; Frank was a weak man who was unlikely to win a battle to the death even with a thirteen year old, and he showed no scars of such a fight.
Also, nearly all testimony against Frank was either perjured (if a witness makes a claim and then denies it, we can hardly treat either claim as reliable, no matter what Georgia law said) or from very questionable sources such as Monteen Stover.
Finally, we have the known facts that Conley was a robber, and a wife-beater, and a drunk. His first accounts of the crime were perjured, and the "shit in the shaft" and the testimony of Alonzo Mann show that his final testimony was also perjured. I can imagine no reasons to commit perjury except to cover up crimes of his own (which must mean the murder of Mary Phagan) or to punish Frank somehow (which is hard to believe, given that Frank had kept him on the payroll despite his repeated petty crimes. Conley should have been incredibly grateful to Frank!)
Unlike Conley, Frank had no criminal record. Yes, he ran a company that was little more than a sweatshop, but that was the law at the time. Oney wonders why there were so many allegations of sexual impropriety against him, but ignores the fact that the witnesses didn't even agree on whether he was a homosexual, a heterosexual paedophile, or a fetishist (and very few people are all of these). Plus most of his accusers were ex-employees who might have carried a grudge. And, while many people claimed to have seen him having illicit liaisons, *no one every came forward admitting to being one of the liaisons*.  As best I can tell from Oney, only one of Frank's alleged conquests, a woman named Daisy Hopkins, was ever mentioned by name (Oney, p. 245; it was Conley who gave her name, and Oney, p. 247, shows that Conley knew nothing about her except a name, though one C. Brutus Dalton also mentioned her; Oney, p. 258). A Daisy Hopkins was brought before the court, and she denied any sexual relationship with Frank (Oney, pp. 265-266), though she apparently wasn't a very convincing witness (Oney, p. 268). Still, William Smith, who apparently knew her, later declared that he didn't believe there was such a liaison (Oney, pp. 436-437).
So my conclusion is that it is nearly certain that Jim Conley killed Mary Phagan. Dershowitz in the introduction to Dinnerstein, Dinnerstein himself, F/T, WebFlag , and the _Tennessean_ all agree with this. It is probably impossible to prove beyond reasonable doubt at this stage, but it is clearly the highest probability. And even if Conley were innocent, he was still guilty of perjury, for which he was never tried.
The next highest probability is surely that, despite Jim Conley's behavior in accusing Frank, an unknown person (probably someone known to Jim Conley) committed the crime. In this case, the unknown person must also have had a hold on Conley. (Not unlikely, given Conley's history.)
Leo Frank is almost certainly innocent. Even if (perhaps a chance in a thousand) he were guilty, the testimony presented at his trial clearly was not enough for conviction. It wasn't even enough for a mistrial. Judge Roan should have declared him innocent and not even sent the case to the jury. But that would very likely have cost Roan his life (and, very possibly, Frank's as well; he would probably have been lynched before he could get out of the state).
After Alonzo Mann came forward, a first attempt to have Frank cleared failed when, amazingly, some of Mary's living relations objected (F/T, p. 153), but a second appeal succeeded. Frank's name was formally cleared in 1986 (F/T, p. .xix), 71 years after he died, an innocent man whose only crime was to be "different." Frank's wife Lucille had remained faithful to him all her life, but died in 1957 without seeing him given the justice he deserved.
Dinnerstein, p. 156, states that "With the Supreme Court so zealous in its defence of civil liberties today, it is extremely unlikely that another Frank case could occur." He wrote that in the days of the Warren Court. But the "convict 'em or else" mentality that motivated so much of what happened in the Frank case persists today, and increasingly the courts and legislatures are re-imposing the sort of "innocence is no excuse" rules that deny appeals not filed in a timely and legally correct way. The old-time singers often added the interjection "Young girls, take warning" to this song. But the real warning may be for us. - RBW

File: LF20
===
NAME: Mary Riley: see Mary Acklin (The Squire's Young Daughter) [Laws M16] (File: LM16)
===
NAME: Mary she went out one day: see The Gallant Soldier (Mary/Peggy and the Soldier) (File: HHH782)
===
NAME: Mary Smith, the Maid of Mountain Plain
DESCRIPTION: "Ye maids of Columbia... I beg your attention and now pity me"; he has been wounded by love. He spells out Mary Smith's name to describe her beauty and virtues. He wishes he were Adam and she Eve. He will wander forever if he can't gain her love
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love rejection wordplay
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H636, p. 235, "Mary Smith, the Maid of Mountain Plain" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9469
File: HHH636
===
NAME: Mary Thompson
DESCRIPTION: "In Manchester in Lancashire A damsel she did dwell, In service a long time she lived, Till this to her befell"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1910 (GreigDuncan2)
KEYWORDS: courting murder servant
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Greig #148, p. 2, ("In Manchester in Lancashire") (1 fragment) 
GreigDuncan2 205, "Mary Thompson" (1 fragment)
Roud #2458
NOTES: The current description is all of the Greig/GreigDuncan2 fragment.
Greig: "Her sweetheart murdered her." - BS
File: GrD2205
===
NAME: Mary Vickery and Connelly Donnelly
DESCRIPTION: Mary runs way from home. Her father thinks her dead. When a woman's body is found it is thought to be Mary. Conley is arrested for the murder. A jealous woman swears she saw him do it. He is sentenced to life. Mary returns and clears Conley.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: murder prison trial jealousy lie return pardon hiding
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Peacock, pp. 819-820, "Mary Vickery and Connelly Donnelly" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9806
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Return of Mary Vickery
NOTES: "Conley Dabney, sentenced to life imprisonment in 1926 for the supposed murder of Mary Vickery at Williamsburg, Ky., was freed when she returned home on Mar 19, 1927, to clear his name" -- from _Country Music Sources_ by Guthrie T Meade Jr, p. 93 - BS 
File: Pea819
===
NAME: Mary With Her Young Son
DESCRIPTION: "Then Mary took her young son, And set him on her knee, Saying, 'My dear son, tell me, Tell me how this world shall be.'" Jesus responds by foretelling his death and resurrection
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (Terry)
KEYWORDS: Jesus religious
FOUND_IN: Britain(England)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Bronson 54, "The Cherry Tree Carol" (Item #31 to this song, in the appendix, is this piece under the title "Mary's Question")
OBC 66, "The Cherry Tree Carol" (1 text (separated into smaller parts, the last being "Mary With Her Young Son"), 4 tunes)
Roud #453
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Cherry Tree Carol" [Child 54]
NOTES: The earliest extant version of these stanzas is in Sandys's version of "The Cherry Tree Carol," allowing the possibility that they are an original part of that ballad. But it is certainly not necessary to that ballad -- which is, of course, very episodic.
Of the thirty versions of "The Cherry Tree Carol" in Bronson (not all of which have complete texts), only two have this item in its full form, but many more have a brief section in which Joseph asks the unborn baby about the future. This could well have attracted a separate song on the same theme.
Thus it is equally possible that "Mary With Her Young Son" is a broken-off fragment *or* that it is a separate song grafted in. A. L. Lloyd, in his notes to the recording by The Valley Folk, is noncommittal, and Bronson's treatment is equally noncommittal.
There is, of course, no scriptural basis for any of this; although the adult Jesus repeatedly spoke of his future fate, only the Gospel of Luke mentions any foretellings before his ministry, and even that passage (Luke 2:49, "Didn't you realize that I must be in my Father's house?") is dated to the twelfth year of Jesus's life. - RBW
File: C054A
===
NAME: Mary Wore Three Links of Chain
DESCRIPTION: Floating religious verses with the chorus, "All my sins been taken away, taken away." Sample verses: "Mary wore three links of chain (x3), Ev'ry link bearing Jesus's name." "I don't know but I've been told (x3) Streets of heaven are paved with gold."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: religious Bible nonballad sin floatingverses
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
BrownIII 543, "Mary Wore Three Links of Chain" (1 text plus mention of 1 more)
Sandburg, pp. 474-475, "Mary Wore Three Links of Chain" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5027
RECORDINGS:
George Herod, "Sister Mary Wore Three Lengths (Links) of Chain" (on MuSouth07)
Bradley Kincaid, "Mary Wore Three Links of Chain" (Supertone 9666, 1930)
Dock Reed, "I'm Going Home on the Morning Train" (on NFMAla5)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Oh, Mary Don't You Weep" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Hand Me Down My Walkin' Cane" (lyrics)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
cf. "All Night Long" (floating verses)
NOTES: This is probably a religious adaption of "Hand Me Down My Walkin' Cane."  Since, however, it seems to circulate widely on its own, it gets its own listing.
I sure hope I remember that I split them.... - RBW
File: San474
===
NAME: Mary, my dear Mary: see The Wexford (Oxford, Knoxville, Noel) Girl [Laws P35] (File: LP35)
===
NAME: Mary, She Did Dream a Dream
DESCRIPTION: "Mary, she did dream a dream, As she was floating down the stream. When she woke, she gave a sigh, The grey cat kicked out the black cat's eye."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: animal dream fight
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 190, (no title) (1 fragment)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Gray Cat on the Tennessee Farm" (lyrics)
File: ScaNF190
===
NAME: Mary, The: see Captain Conrod (File: SmHa014)
===
NAME: Mary, the Pride of Killowen
DESCRIPTION: The singer describes the fine summer night when he emigrated from Coleraine and Mary. He recalls courting her, and says he will never forget the place or the girl  He blesses the spot they met.
AUTHOR: Andrew Orr
EARLIEST_DATE: 1847 (Derry Standard)
KEYWORDS: love separation emigration
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H26b, p. 250, "Mary, the Pride of Killowen" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13340
NOTES: In this particular instance, the song's author Andrew Orr did emigrate (to Australia). Whether the rest of the song is historical is not clear; it's interesting that he wrote at least one other song (Ann o' Drumcroon) with the same plot but a different heroine. - RBW
File: HHH026b
===
NAME: Mary, the Pride of the Shamrock Shore 
DESCRIPTION: Henry returns and finds Mary with a squire. The squire is her true love now since her previous sweetheart "is no more." Henry kills the squire in a duel. Mary kills Henry and recognizes him by a private token. She is sentenced to life in jail.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(699))
KEYWORDS: courting murder prison fight return lover
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Peacock, pp. 630-631, "The Pride of the Shamrock Shore" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Pea630 (Partial)
Roud #9797
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(699), "Mary, the Pride of the Shamrock Shore," J. Catnach (London), 1813-1838; also 2806 c.9(26), Harding B 11(2377), "Mary, the Pride of the Shamrock Shore"
File: Pea630
===
NAME: Mary's Ass
DESCRIPTION: The singer mentions Mary, "a beautiful lass, And the song I will sing is about Mary's ass." She rode the beast, a gift from her uncle, regularly. At last it falls, knocking Mary off, and dies. It  is buried, and the bad smell from the Ass Hole described
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1968
KEYWORDS: bawdy humorous animal
FOUND_IN: Australia
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Meredith/Anderson, pp. 158-159, "Mary's Ass" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3351
File: MA158
===
NAME: Mary's Question: see Mary With Her Young Son (File: C054A)
===
NAME: Mary's Vision: see Mary o' the Dee (Mary's Dream) [Laws K20] (File: LK20)
===
NAME: Maryborough Miner, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer describes all the places where he has been digging. At Fitzroy River the boss calls him a loafer, so he burns his office and left. He tells further tall tales, ending "I'm a Maryborough miner, and I'm one of the good old time."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1934
KEYWORDS: mining work rambling
FOUND_IN: Australia
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Fahey-Eureka, pp. 78-79, "The Maryborough Miner" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Murrumbidgee Shearer" (tune, theme)
NOTES: Fahey's version was collected by A.L. Lloyd, and he suspects Lloyd may have retouched it. The notes to Patterson/Fahey/Seal on "The Murrumbidgee Shearer" make this even more explicit: they declare this to be Lloyd's rewrite of that. - RBW
File: FaE078
===
NAME: Maryland! My Maryland
DESCRIPTION: "The despot's heel is on thy shore, Maryland, my Maryland." The state's heroic history is recalled; the singer wants and expects her to join the Confederacy: "Huzza! She spurns the northern scum! She breathes! She burns! She'll come!"
AUTHOR: Words: James Ryder Randall
EARLIEST_DATE: 1861
KEYWORDS: Civilwar patriotic nonballad derivative
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: April, 1861 - Clashes between Massachusetts troops and the residents of Baltimore
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
RJackson-19CPop, pp. 130-133, "Maryland! My Maryland" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-CivWar, pp. 60-61, "Maryland, My Maryland" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hill-CivWar, pp. 195-197, "My Maryland" (1 text)
Krythe 9, pp. 142-149, "Maryland, My Maryland" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fuld-WFM, pp. 355-357, "Maryland, My Maryland -- (O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum!; Lauriger Horatius)"
ST RJ19130 (Full)
RECORDINGS:
Harry Macdonough, "Maryland, My Maryland" (CYL: Edison 2033, c. 1897)
Tandy Mackenzie, "Maryland, My Maryland" (Columbia 80320, n.d.)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "O Tannenbaum (Oh Christmas Tree)" (tune) and references there
cf. "General Lee's Wooing" (tune, subject)
NOTES: James Ryder Randall was a native of Baltimore. At the time of the Civil War he was teaching English at Poydras College in Louisiana. He wrote this poem on April 26, 1861, after hearing of the Baltimore riot; the piece was published in a New Orleans paper on May 5. Randall hoped it would help encourage Maryland to secede.
Randall's expectations were disappointed; Maryland never joined the Confederacy. The Union could not possibly allow it; the loss of Maryland would place Washington inside Confederate territory. The federal government moved quickly to prevent the state's succession. One side effect of this was the riots in Baltimore that inspired "Maryland! My Maryland."
Chances are, however, that Maryland would not have seceded. Baltimore favored the rebellion, but the rest of the state seems to have been Unionist. A fair number of Maryland citizens went south -- Lee's army contained a Maryland battalion -- but more served in the Northern armies.
The reference to the "patriotic gore / that flecked the streets of Baltimore" is, of course, to the Baltimore riots. "Carroll" is Charles Carroll, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. I believe "Howard's warlike thrust" refers to Major John Eager Howard, who led the handful of troops who cut their way out of a British trap at the Battle of Camden (1780).
It should be noted that the sung version of this song does not quite match the written version. In Randall's poem, the internal refrain was not "Maryland, my Maryland"; he used this only in the final line. The internal phrase was simply "Maryland." This was expanded to fit the tune. For a time the poem was sung to the tune "Manormandie," but this was not a success. The "O Tannenbaum" tune is said to have been fitted by a Baltimore girl, Jennie Cary.
Even though Randall's authorship was widely known, a few other names also circulated. Wharton's _War Songs and Poems of the Southern Confederacy_, for instance, credits it to Lamar Fontaine. - RBW
File: RJ19130
===
NAME: Maskin' Rung, The
DESCRIPTION: A maid puts off a young man by saying she'll meet him that night in the woods. She makes a "maid" from a masking rung, branches, and an old widow's clothes. This "maid" smiles but does not speak. When he lifts her skirt he sees he has been fooled.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan2)
KEYWORDS: courting clothes trick
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Greig #173, p. 2, "The Maskin Rung"; Greig #177, p. 2, "The Maskin Rung" (2 texts)
GreigDuncan2 323, "The Maskin' Rung" (8 texts, 6 tunes)
DT, MASKNRNG*
Roud #5868
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Battle of Harlaw" (tune of the chorus,according to GreigDuncan2)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Masculine Rung
The Holland Green
The Hollin It Grows Green
NOTES: Greig: "'masking rung' is defined as a rod for stirring malt in the mash-tub."
A number of the GreigDuncan2 texts have a title taken from the chorus: "For the holland grows, the holland grows, And the holland it grows green. There's nae a tree in a' the wood Like the birk and the holland green." - BS
File: GrD2323
===
NAME: Mason Laddie, The
DESCRIPTION: "Leaning oer a window ...I spied a mason laddie who gave my heart a wound." She compares masons to ministers, millers, ploughmen, cobblers, weavers, and smiths, and prefers "my bonnie mason laddie" to each.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1845 (Whitelaw)
KEYWORDS: love work nonballad
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Greig #40, pp. 1-2, "The Bonnie Mason Laddie" (1 fragment) 
GreigDuncan3 465, "The Mason Laddie" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
ADDITIONAL: Alexander Whitelaw, A Book of Scottish Song (Glasgow, 1845), p. 119, "The Mason Laddie"
Roud #5883
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Johnny Lad" (tune, per GreigDuncan3)
cf. "Sandy Ower the Lea" (tune, per Whitelaw)
cf. "The Masons" (subject: praise of masons)
cf. "The Bonnie Mason Laddie" (subject: praise of masons)
NOTES: Greig's text fragment is the first and last verses from Whitelaw's _Book of Scottish Song_. - BS
File: GrD3465
===
NAME: Mason's Daughter, The
DESCRIPTION: Isabel refuses to marry her steward. He drugs and seduces her. She tries to kill her baby in a well. He rescues it. When Isabel admires the baby the steward reveales that it is hers. She murders the baby. The steward cries when she was arrested.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1907 (GreigDuncan2)
KEYWORDS: love seduction murder childbirth baby servant
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan2 196, "Fair Isabel" (1 text, 2 tunes)
Roud #3850
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
In Fair London City
File: GrD2196
===
NAME: Masons, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer sees a bridge where masons are working. She praises their work and would give up her fortune to wed a mason. She admires smiths but "if it had not been for oor mason lads ye would all died of cold." She admires soldiers, printers and tailors.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1907 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: work nonballad
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Greig #40, p. 1, "The Mason Lads" (1 text) 
GreigDuncan3 463, "The Masons" (5 texts, 5 tunes)
Roud #5644
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Bonnie Mason Laddie" (subject: praise of masons)
cf. "The Mason Laddie" (subject: praise of masons)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Freemasons
From the City to the New Toon
From the Seatown to the Newtown
NOTES: GreigDuncan3: "'Heard at Aberdour fifty-three years ago.'" [counting from 1909?] - BS
File: GrD3463
===
NAME: Massa Had a Yaller Gal: see Don't Get Weary Children (Massa Had a Yellow Gal) (File: BAF904)
===
NAME: Massa Had a Yellow Gal: see Don't Get Weary Children (Massa Had a Yellow Gal) (File: BAF904)
===
NAME: Massacre of Glencoe, The
DESCRIPTION: Glencoe is wakened by cannon. "Naked mothers were shot with their babes as they ran, For the English had risen to murder the clan." Five hundred McDonalds are killed including Flora's Donald. She dies of grief. "The pride of Glencoe" are buried together.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1867 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 c.14(26))
KEYWORDS: battle burial death Scotland
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Feb 13, 1692 - The Massacre of Glencoe
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan1 115, "The Massacre of Glencoe" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Roud #5783
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 c.14(26), "Flora and Donald" or "The Massacre of Glencoe" ("O dark lour'd the night on the wide distant heather"), J. Harkness (Preston), 1840-1866
Murray, Mu23-y1:082, "Flora and Donald" or "The Massacre of Glencoe," James Lindsay (Glasgow), 19C
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.178.A.2(021), "The Massacre of Glencoe," James Lindsay (Glasgow), c.1856
NOTES: GreigDuncan1: .".. 13 February 1692 ...."
When Maclain of Glencoe, a MacDonald clan subdivision, was late in swearing loyalty to the crown, William III's forces, augmented by the MacDonald enemy Campbells killed 38 in Glencoe and forced "countless others into the snow-topped Scottish mountains (where many died)." (source: "British Timeline: Massacre of Glencoe 1692" at the BBC site). - BS
The Massacre of Glencoe remains controversial to this day. The reason is the complicated set of circumstances which led to it. In some ways it was just another case of clan-on-clan warfare (Campbells versus MacDonalds), and by no means the most bloody. But it ended up with a taint of royal favoritism and injustice.
For sources cited in this note, see the Bibliography at the end.
The story, according to Thomson, p. xv, began "with the violent death of a Campbell chief in 1296[. T]he feud then went on for about 450 years. There were numerous clashes and cullings inflicted by both sides, among which the incident at Glencoe in 1692 just happens to have been the best publicised."
It became known because King William III (William of Orange) approved it.
The problem was that William III, who had come to power by ousting James II, was shaky on the throne. (The "Glorious Revolution" which brought him to the throne had happened as recently as 1689; see the notes to songs such as "Lilliburlero" and "The Vicar of Bray.")
Scotland in particular was restive, and the Highlands most restive of all. "The Jacobite Rising of 1689 had left the Highlands in a turmoil. The government hurriedly built a new garrison fortress at Fort William, at the head of Loch Linnhe, and troops were deployed at several other strategic points. These were men King William urgently needed in Flanders, where he was embroiled in a war with France. How was the problem to be settled?" (Magnusson, pp. 522-523).
"It is probable that the government, and especially the Joint-Secretary, Dalrymple, hoped that the recalcitrance of the Highland chiefs would provide a pretext for a crusade against them" (Mackie, p. 251).
"In the spring and summer of 1691 there were signs of unrest among the clans of the north-west, who had hopes of a French invasion; and the government distributed several thousands of pounds of bribes to keep them quiet, at the same time ordering the suspected chiefs to take an oath of allegiance before the fixed date of New Year's Day 1692. In anticipation of widespread refusals 'letters of fire and sword' were drawn up in the long accustomed form, ordering wholesale ravaging and slaughter" (Clark, p. 269).
"The kingÕs secretary of state in Scotland was now the lord advocate, Sir John Dalrymple, the Master of Stair. Dalrymple was an able and dedicated civil servant, totally committed to achieving the security and stability of the new regime. He saw the Highlands as a constant threat, and was convinced that the only way to establish law and order in Scotland was to make an example of one or another of the recalcitrant clans. He was also sure that few of the clan chiefs would submit to William voluntarily, and started drawing up grandiose plans for an exemplary punitive expedition" (Magnusson, p. 522).
"The time of year was carefully chosen. 'The winter time,' wrote Stair, 'is the only season in which we are sure the Highlanders cannot escape, and carry their wives, bairns, and cattle to the hills.... This is the proper time to maul them in the long dark nights" (MacLean, p. 143).
Not everyone views Stair's behavior in this light. Mitchison, p. 286, suggests that "Stair, in London, in the confidence of the King, wanted to see what negotiation would do. He took over Tarbat's scheme [of settling Highland quarrels by buying up disputed areas for the crown], but did not know or understand Highland issues -- he was impatient with the attitudes of the chiefs to William's sovereignty and did not appreciate their values and way of life.... To negotiate with the chiefs he rightly chose a Highlander who could go among them but unwisely chose a man whom nobody could ever begin to trust. The Earl of Breadalbane had never been known to do anything straightforwardly...."
(Tarbat's career was fascinating, incidentally -- he had gotten in trouble in the reign of Charles II, had wormed his way into favor with James II, but then managed to gain the trust of William III also; Prebble, p. 85. Talk about slick....)
Prebble, p. 87, describes what happened this way: "Joining in the clamour of voices and the prodigal expenditure of ink there came the Earl of Breadalbane, whom few men trusted but all credited with a umique knowlege of Highland robbers and murderers, being descended from a long line of them himself. He had no original proposal. He blandly took Tarbat's, with this difference -- he should treat with the chiefs, he should distribute the money among them. He had a plausible tongue, and he persuaded the King... to give him a commission 'to meet, treat and correspond with any of the Highlanders in order to reduce them to submission and obedience'. But if few men in the Lowlands could be found to trust the Earl of Breadalbane there were even fewer in the Highlands, and for the moment his commission was no more than paper in his pocket. He had not, in any case, been sent the money, and felt no obligation to move until he was."
The continued Jacobite threat (leading to the Battle of the Boyne) made William especially worried about Scotland. He wanted the place pacified, whatever it took. And the battle of the Haughs of Cromdale in 1690 (the real one, not the fictional story in the song of that name) inclined him to be forceful; Cromdale gave the government forces the initiative they had largely lost after Killiecrankie.
In practice, it hardly matters whether Stair preferred to use the carrot or the stick. He prepared both -- and in the end used both. "Tarbat's plan had miscarried because Stair was not the right man to carry it out, but the unity of the band of chiefs was gone" (Mitchison, p. 287). "By the end of the year it was clear that nearly all the clan chiefs were prepared to swear the required oath of allegiance" (Magnusson, p. 522). (It may not have been a sign that their allegiance to the Jacobite cause was waning; MacLean, p. 143, notes that "From his exile in France King James at the last moment authorized the chiefs to swear allegiance to his Dutch son-in-law.")
What happened next is somewhat unclear. What is certain is that the MacDonalds of Glencoe were not liked. Their chief "had fought at Killiecrankie and his men were reputed to be as troublesome as any in the Highlands" (Clark, p. 269). It sounds as if they raided Campbell lands on their way back from Killiecrankie, where of course they fought for the Stuarts (Prebble, pp. 71-72). "The MacDonalds were thus still seen as semi-barbarian and the Glencoe branch of the family was particularly unpopular for its frequent raids on Glenlyon and Inverary" (Thomson, p. 83). "By the end of the sixteenth century it was agreed that the men of Glencoe were the most incorrigble and troublesome of the gallows herd, and had their land been as desirable and as accessible as Clan Gregor's they too might have come under the Crown's proscription" (Prebble, p. 45). The chief himself had already been imprisoned once, and was accused of executing some of his own men -- a severe crime by Highland standards (Prebble, p. 57). Plus, they had fought with Montrose on behalf of Charles I (Prebble, p. 48) -- though Prebble thinks this was because of the usual rivalry with the Campbells, not true loyalty to the Stuarts. And -- their chieftain was late to submit. (MacLean, p. 143, claims that he was one of only two chiefs -- the powerful MacDonell of Glengarry being the other -- not to take the oath on time.)
Thomson, pp. 84-85, takes a very low view of Alastair MacIain MacDonald, the twelfth chief of Glencoe. "He had spend some time acquiring polish in Paris.... The Glencoe MacDonalds had joined in virtually every raid southwards or eastwards since Alastair MacColla first mobilised the MacDonalds in 1645....
"Numerous mysteries still surround the massacre, not least with regard to the behavior of the 12th Chief.... [H]e had been accused of murdering some of his own men. He had been arrested in 1673 and imprisoned at Inveraray but then escaped." [Prebble, p. 58, says that no one knows how he pulled this off, but notes that it caused quite a stir.]
Thomson continues, "The other mystery about Alastair MacIain is why he made such a mess of his capitulation. He as an experienced campaigner and not a stupid man. Soon after the end of August 1691 he must have received the offer of pardon extended to all Highlanders by William of Orange as long as they reported to their local sheriff by 1 January of the following year. He knew that for him it meant a trip down to Inveraray, yet he left everything to he last minute and then reported to the wrong town, Fort William.... Then after a slow midwinter journey from Fort William to Inveraray he arrived too late and because it was the new year holiday had to wait another three days before being allowed to sign. Since the Sheriff, Colin Campbell of Ardkinglas, had been a heavy recent sufferer from Glencoe depredations it was not surprising that he made Glencoe sweat it out."
MacLean, p. 143, agrees that Glencoe's delay was "partly from dilatoriness and partly through the inclemency of the weather." Few other authorities are so willing to blame Glencoe. Clark, p. 269, says that he arrived late "by accident."
Magnusson, p. 523, declares, "By an extraordinary series of mishaps, Alasdair MacIain Macdonald of Glencoe had missed the deadline for taking the oath of binding loyalty to King William. He was one of the many chieftains who had waited for formal permission from 'the king across the water' to take the oath, which permission did not arrive in the Highlands until 28 December. With time running out fast, Macdonald set out at once and presented himself at the newly-built government fortress at Fort William on 31 December. But there he was told that the military commander could not accept the oath -- only the sheriff at Inverary could do that. Macdonald now had to make the freezing, ninety-five kilometre journey... carrying a helpful explanatory letter from the commander at Fort William. On the way he was stopped by a party of grenadiers who refused to accept the validity of the letter and held him for twenty-four hours. By the time he reached Inverary the deadline had passed.... His oath was forwarded to Edinburgh, but the government lawyers refused to accept responsibility for it."
"Some very underhanded dealings by the clerks of the Privy Council meant that the Council had not been officially informed that Glencoe had taken the oath; and Stair, who had been informed, stuck to it that all that mattered was that the time limit had been passed" (Mitchison, p. 287).
And so the government decided to use Glencoe as an example: they "were a much softer target [than the other chiefs who had not sworn], living in scattered huts at the foot of a glen which could easily be blocked at both ends. According to Dalrymple, they were also 'the only popish clan in the kingdom, and it will be popular to take severe course with them'; in fact, they were probably Episcopalian, if anything. But they were the ideal victims for a terrible and symbolic act of punishment to frighten everyone else into submission" (Magnusson, p. 523).
(The statement that the Glencoe sept was Episcopalian is probably based on the fact that they were part of the Highland Host of 1678 that tried to convert the Lowlands from Calvinism to episcopacy; Prebble, p. 59. However, a Catholic sept might well have supported episcopacy against Presbyterianisn; Prebble, p. 34, agrees with the claim that the MacDonalds were were Catholic.)
The glen was indeed a trap: "Running east to west along the northern border of Argyll, and eight miles in length, [the vale of Glencoe] is a deep scar left by the agony of Creation. It is an arm bent at the elbow, with sinews of quartz and muscles of granite. It is both fortress and trap, for the only natural entrances are at either end -- across Rannoch Moor in the east and by Loch Levenside in the west, and the high passes to the north and south lead ignorant men to higher hills only. Before the building of a road the Rannoch gate itself was frequently closed by winter snows and summer storms.... Only the people of Glencoe, and the broken men of Clan Gregor who hid on its fringe, knew the paths across Rannoch.... The northern wall of the glen is a rippling, saw-toothed escarpment called Aonach Eagach, the Notched Ridge. It is three thousand feet and more in height, and unbroken except in the west where it twists sharply toward Loch Leven, dips, and rises again.... At the eastern end of Aonach Eagach is the only path to Glencoe from the north, a narrow, crooked path that climbs cautiously from the head of Loch Leven... It is rightly called The Devil's Staircase.... [O]pposite the Devil's Staircase [stands] Lairig Gartain, the green pass to Glen Etive in the south, and this too is no escape from or entrance to Glencoe..." (Prebble, pp. 19-20).
It was neither a large nor a productive territory, which never could field more than 150 swords, and so presumably never had more than about 500 people (Prebble, p. 27). The population seems to have been significantly less than that in 1689, even though the land was good (Prebble, p. 29). The glen did support about a thousand cattle, a major source of food for the winter (Prebble, pp. 30-31). There was no central keep or defensive fortification of any kind (Prebble, p. 28).
Little is known of the history of the MacDonalds of Glencoe. Although Alastair MacDonald was said to be the twelfth chief, we have no list; the number may be wrong (Prebble, p. 34). Indeed, Alastair is almost the only chief about whom we know anything: "He was born late in the third decade of the [seventeenth] century, with the red hair of his family, and he grew to an extraordinary height, six feet seven inches it was said. In his youth he went to Paris, where the sons of Highland chiefs were often sent to lacquer their splendid savagery and pride.... The death of his father brought him home in 1650" (Prebble, p. 34).
"[Alastair MacDonald] took a wife from among the Keppoch MacDonalds who, living to the north of Loch Leven, were the Glencoe men's constant companions in raiding and in war. By her he had two sons, John who would succeed him, and Alasdair Og, Alexander the Younger, a man of eager spirits and a hot temper. There was also at least one daughter, of whom little is known but her existance. John's wife was the daughter of the tacksman of Achtriachan, but Alasdair Og's came from outside the glen. She was Sarah Campbell, daughter of Campbell of Lochnell, great-granddaughter of a Breadalbane Campbell, and niece of the Glenlyon Campbell who would one day come to cut her husband's throat" (Prebble, p. 35).
How much William of Orange knew about the plan is uncertain; Clark, p. 269, says that Dalrymple "laid before the king an order for their extirpation. It is probable that the king did not read it: we know that he often signed papers so hurriedly that he did not know their contents." But whether he agreed with the idea or not, "his signature is still to be seen on the paper" (Clark, p. 269). The sept of Glencoe was to be destroyed.
"Hamilton [the commander of Fort William]... passed on the orders to Major Duncanson of the Earl of Argyll's regiment on 12 February 1692: '...pursuant to the commander in chief's orders for putting into execution the service against the rebels in Glencoe the orders are that none be spared'.
"That same day Duncanson wrote to Captain Robert Campbell of Glenlyon... 'You are hereby ordered to fall upon the rebels, the MacDonalds of Glencoe and to put all to the sword under seventy. You are to have a special care that the old fox and his sons upon no account escape your hands. This you are to put in execution at 5 of the clock precisely.' Thus, like so many war crimes over the centuries, the guilt was spread thinly from top to bottom" (Thomson, p. 85. MacLean, p. 145, has a copy of the written order).
Campbell, being a Campbell, had a grudge against the MacDonalds anyway, and he was not the sort to show mercy: "Captain Robert Campbell of Glenlyon, a kinsman of the Earl of Breadalbane... was sixty years old, an inveterate gambler, and in a notoriously hard-drinking age he drank harder than most" (Magnusson, p. 524).
The way the attack was carried out was particularly odious. The day before, "Robert Campbell actually dined with the head of the sept, who was totally unaware of the plot about to be murderously carried out" (Fry/Fry, p. 180). "Rather more than a hundred soldiers from Fort William, most of them highlanders of Argyll's regiment, were quartered on the valley. After living amicably with their hosts for more than a week they set about the work of massacre" (Clark, p. 269).
"[Campbell's] obedience [to the order for massacre] is even less remarkable when we remember that it was mainly the Glencoe MacDonalds who had caused his ruination by so many raids on his farms. They had also recently burned down the castle of Achallader, south of Glencoe, which belonged to his cousin, Campbell of Glenorchy. What is more surprising -- and this is the main reason why Robert Campbell's reputation has remained so black -- is that if he was aware of the purpose of his expedition to Glencoe for the ten days between arriving there and receiving his final orders, how could he bear to enjoy the MacDonalds' hospitality to hypocritically for all that time? This dishonesty was made even more objectionable by the fact that his own niece was married to one of Alastair MacIain's sons and was living in the glen" (Thomson, p. 86).
"At about five in the morning the next day the Campbells rose quietly and crept toward the homes of the Macdonalds, and in a few swift minutes slaughtered thirty-eight people, including two women and a child of six" (Fry/Fry, p. 180).
The only good news is that the massacre was not as complete as intended. "It was a botched affair -- the passes were to have been closed by Argyll's followers and by troops from Fort William, but many of the victims got through in spite of the bad weather that the high mountains bring down upon the narrow glen" (Mitchison, p. 287). "It was snowing hard, and additional contingents from Fort William and Ballachulish who were intended to block off the escape routes did not arrive in time.
"At five in the morning, two of Glenlyon's officers burst into the house of 'the old fox' at Carnoch and shot him as he was getting out of bed. The sound of gunfire there, and in another house at Achtriachtan, alerted the rest of the Macdonalds, who ran, half-naked, for the icy sanctuary of the hills. Both of Alasdair MacIain Macdonald's sons, and his baby grandson, escaped. Nevertheless, at least thirty-eight of the clan -- men, women, and children -- were systematically slaughtered; many others died in the raging snowstorm" (Magnusson, pp. 524-525).
"Parties of soldiers went from cottage to cottage, slaughtering the sleeping MacDonalds and setting light to their houses. MacIain himself was shot by one of his guests of the night before. A Campbell soldier gnawed the rings from Lady Glencoe's fingers with his teeth. A child of six, who clung, begging for mercy, to Glenlyon's knees, was promptly dispatched. As the massacre proceeded, snow began to fall. Some of the inhabitants of the glen were able to escape in the confusion. Others died in the snow" (MacLean, pp. 144-146).
"The final mystery about Glenlyon is that, given the fact that he did so totally deceive the unsuspecting MacDonalds... why did he not do a better job of exterminating them? ... He had not obeyed his orders very thoroughly; indeed, he had left people alive who could act as witnesses of the way he had behaved. And he managed to lose three of his own men as well... Of the roughly 150 men who took part in the massacre, under 10 per cent were Campbells, but these included the commanding officer, two junior officers and a corporal" (Thomson, p. 86).
"Such was the public outcry that the Scottish parliament was forced to react when it met in March 1693. A committee was appointed to look into the Massacre, but its report was not published and nothing was done. Two years later, as public revulsion showed no signs of abating, a royal commission was appointed to examine the chain of events leading up to the events at Glencoe. It published its report a month later, in June 1695. This time there was no cover-up: the Massacre had been an act of murder, and the government was condemned for having 'barbarously killed men under trust'. There had to be a scapegoat; the blame was laid squarely at the door of Dalrymple, who resigned his office as secretary of states, unrepentant but totally discredited" (Magnusson, p. 525).
"In due course, however, Stair was rewarded with an earldom, while Campbell of Glenlyon was promoted to colonel" (MacLean, p. 147).
"The earl of Breadalbane, who had acted with [Dalrymple/Stair], was charged with high treason, but never brought to trial. That was all that was done to punish the offenders" (Clark, p. 270).
William III "attempted to deny prior knowledge of the plot, but the documents showed otherwise and he was never trusted again in Scotland" (Fry/Fry, p. 180).
"In its immediate object terrorism succeeded, as it usually does. The resistant chiefs made their peace at once. Within a fortnight of the slaughter Colonel Hill had occupied Glengarry and Castle Eilean Donan, and was expecting the submission even of McNeill of Barra. But though the clans yielded to the threat of force the basic cause of discontent in the growth of Campbell power remained.
"William's government to the end of his reign rested on uncertain foundations. Jacobitism remained an open, or openable, question far longer in his northern kingdom than in England" (Mitchison, p. 288).
"The general execration of the deed helped to build up the British sense of justice and humanity. There were still to be scenes of cruelty in the Highlands as long as the Stuarts called their friends to arms; but never again were the worst methods of frontier warfare combined with the worst methods of secret police" (Clark, p. 270).
It will be observed that the song bears almost no resemblance to the actual masssacre: The first shots were not fired by artillery, and the casualties in  the song are exaggerated more than tenfold. You almost wonder if the song might not be about another clan-on-clan massacre. Except -- it blames it all on the English....
>>BIBLIOGRAPHY<<
Clark: G. N. Clark, _The Later Stuarts 1660-1714_, corrected edition, Oxford, 1944
Fry/Fry: Peter and Fiona Somerset Fry, _The History of Scotland_, 1982 (I use the 1995 Barnes & Noble edition)
MacLean: Fitzroy MacLean, _A Concise History of Scotland_, Beekman House, 1970
Mackie: J. D. Mackie, _A History of Scotland_, Pelican, 1964
Magnusson: Magnus Magnusson, _Scotland: The Story of a Nation_, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2000
Mitchison: Rosalind Mitchison, _A History of Scotland_, second edition, Methuen, 1982
Prebble: John Prebble, _Glencoe_, Martin Secker & Warburg, 1966 (I use the 1968 Penguin edition)
Thomson: Oliver Thomson, _The Great Feud: The Campbells & The MacDonalds_, revised edition, Sutton, 2001 - RBW
File: GrD1115
===
NAME: Massacre of ta Phairshon, Ta
DESCRIPTION: "Phairshon (MacPherson) swore a feud Against the Clan MacTavish And marched into their land...." His small force quickly disperses to chase cattle. He encounters his rival; they exchange insults, and Phairshon is killed
AUTHOR: Aytoun and Martin?
EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Ford); reputedly composed 1844
KEYWORDS: feud death humorous
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 287-290, "Ta Massacre of ta Phairshon" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13100
NOTES: Said to be based on an extended party joke, and with about that level of quality. - RBW
File: FVS287
===
NAME: Master Had a Bran' New Coat: see Jinny Go Round and Around (File: R272)
===
NAME: Master McGrath
DESCRIPTION: The great Irish greyhound wins the Waterloo Cup, beating Rose, "the pride of all England." (The two dogs discuss their respective countries. The owners bet large sums. The Irish celebrate the fact that their dog was better than an English dog.)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: racing dog gambling
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1868, 1869, 1871 - Years in which Master McGrath, a hound belonging to Lord Lurgan, won the Waterloo Cup
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (6 citations)
SHenry H161c, pp. 32-33, "A Ballad of Master M'Gra[th]" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hodgart, p. 215, "A ballad of Master McGrath" (1 text)
OLochlainn 33, "Master McGrath" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hayward-Ulster, pp. 61-62, "A Ballad of Master McGrath" (1 text)
DT, MASMCGR*
Richard Hayward, Ireland Calling (Glasgow,n.d.), p. 16, "The Ballad of Master McGrath" (text, music and reference to Decca F-2604 recorded Oct 4, 1931)
Roud #3041
NOTES: The date and master id (GB-3359) for Hayward's record is provided by Bill Dean-Myatt, MPhil. compiler of the Scottish National Discography. - BS
File: Hodg215
===
NAME: Master of the Sheepfold, The
DESCRIPTION: Cho.: "The Master guards the sheepfold bin/Comes and calls, is my sheep brung in?/And he's calling...for them all to be gathering in." The Master calls the sheep; the shepherd says some are lost, but the rest will come. The Master goes out and gathers
AUTHOR: Sarah Pratt McLean Greene
EARLIEST_DATE: 1986 (recording, Art Thieme)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Cho.: "The Master guards the sheepfold bin/Comes and calls, is my sheep brung in?/And he's calling, calling...for them all to be gathering in" The Master calls the sheep; the shepherd answers that some are wan, weathered, lost or good-for-nothing, but the rest will come. The Master goes out on the wind and rain path, lets down the bars to the sheepfold, and gently calls the sheep to come in; they do
KEYWORDS: religious sheep
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
DT, SHEEPFOL
RECORDINGS:
Art Thieme, "The Master of the Sheepfold" (on Thieme04) (on Thieme06)
NOTES: Please pardon a personal remark: this song is unlike any other I've heard in the emotional effect it creates from a spare lyric; the only comparison, I think, is with Blind Willie Johnson. - PJS
Although Art Thieme comments that the song, "means different things to different folks," there is little doubt that it comes from the New Testament images of Jesus and the sheep, e.g. John 10:7-16, especiallay v. 14: "I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me." Compare also the parable of the lost sheep (Matt. 18:12f., etc.). - RBW
File: DTsheepf
===
NAME: Master Watch, The: see The Master-Watch (File: Doy77)
===
NAME: Master-Watch, The
DESCRIPTION: While men are preparing for the seal hunt, an old man reminisces in a long nostalgic monologue about the days when he used to go sealing. He dies at the end of his recital.
AUTHOR: Dan Carrol
EARLIEST_DATE: 1940 (Doyle)
KEYWORDS: recitation age hunting
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Doyle2, p. 77, "The Master-Watch" (1 text)
Blondahl, pp. 81-82, "The Master-Watch" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ryan/Small, p. 118, "The Master Watch" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Doy77 (Partial)
Roud #4423
NOTES: The author, Dan Carrol (1865-1941), was a wood carver and poet from St. John's. He seems to have published poems mostly in local newspapers and they have a collection of these at the Memorial University of Newfoundland library. - SH
File: Doy77
===
NAME: Masters in This Hall
DESCRIPTION: "Masters in this hall, hear ye news today." The singer announces the good news "brought from oversea" of the birth of Jesus. The shepherds go to visit the child.
AUTHOR: Words: William Morris
EARLIEST_DATE: 1860 ("Antient (sic) Christmas Carols"); the tune is said to be French and to predate the lyrics
KEYWORDS: Christmas religious
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
OBC 137, "Masters in this Hall" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 375, "Masters In This Hall" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Ian Bradley, _The Penguin Book of Carols_ (1999), #51, "Masters in This Hall." (1 text)
RECORDINGS:
Pete Seeger, "Master in This Hall" (on PeteSeeger42)
File: FSWB375C
===
NAME: Matha Grove: see Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard [Child 81] (File: C081)
===
NAME: Matin Je Me Leve, Un (One Morning I Get Up)
DESCRIPTION: French. A young soldier is being sent away for six years; he comes to his beloved's chateau to tell her. She despairs; he says other young men of the village will entertain her in his absence. She says they will never take his place in her heart
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1956 (recording, Mrs. Louis Amirault & Mrs. Sephora Amirault)
KEYWORDS: courting love farewell parting separation foreignlanguage lover soldier war
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (0 citations)
RECORDINGS:
Mrs. Louis Amirault and Mrs. Sephora Amirault, "Un Matin Je Me Leve" (on NovaScotia1)
File: RcUMJMLe
===
NAME: Matt Hyland
DESCRIPTION: A lord's daughter loves Matt. "But when her parents came to know, They swore they'd drive him from this island." The girl bids Matt flee before he is transported. Eventually her father relents, and she bids him come home to marry her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1825 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 c.18(344))
KEYWORDS: nobility love separation exile transportation servant
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Morton-Ulster 1, "Matt Hyland" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MATTHYL
Roud #2880
RECORDINGS:
Liz Jefferies, "Matt Highland" (on Voice06)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 c.18(344), "Young Mat Hyland," W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also 2806 b.9(235), 2806 c.15(139), "Mat Hyland"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Young M'Tyre" (plot)
cf. "Erin's Lovely Home" [Laws M6] (plot)
cf. "Henry Connors" [Laws M5] (plot)
cf. "Richie Story" [Child 232] (plot)
cf. "The Kitchie-Boy" [Child 252] (plot)
NOTES: This song has been claimed by Irish and Scottish sources, and I've also heard it sung by English singers. Interestingly, all the versions are very close, suggesting there is some single, recent source. This theory is supported by the ornate language, so atypical of traditional song. But no one seems to know what the source is.
There are several broadsides, at least one dated c. 1825 (though such datings are notoriously unreliable), entitled "Mat Hyland" or "Young Mat Hyland." None match the traditional text commonly sung; they are without exception wordier and poorer poetry. Still, they provide a strong indication that the song originated as a broadside -- though these prints (e.g. in the Bodleian collection) are probably not the original source, as no tune seems to be indicated!
In addition, a manuscript volume called "Songs and Ballads in use in the Province of Ulster...1845" is said by Hugh Shields to contain a version of the song, but I do not know if the dating of the volume is considered reliable. Still, there seems no doubt that the song was in existence by the early nineteenth century. - RBW
File: DTmatthy
===
NAME: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (I)
DESCRIPTION: A child's prayer, asking the apostles for a blessing: "Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John / Bless the bed that I lie on / Four bright angels at my bed / Two at the bottom and two at the head / Two to hear me as I pray / And two to bear my soul away"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1891 (Baring-Gould); original probably from 1656 (Ady, according to Opie-Oxford2)
KEYWORDS: nonballad religious
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,NE)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Flanders/Olney, p. 33, "White Paternoster (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) (1 short text)
Chase, p. 209, "The Bedtime Prayer" (1 text)
Opie-Oxford2 346, "Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John" (4 texts)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #548, p. 221, "(Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)"
ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #457, "Before Sleeping" (1 composite text, of a number of children's prayers; it may have inspired some later uses of the text.)
ST FO033 (Full)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Go And Dig My Grave" (lyrics)
cf. "The Little Beggar Boy" (floating verses)
cf. "Old Lead (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John II)" (lyrics)
NOTES: The first two lines of this piece can be dated to Thomas Ady in 1656 -- but could easily have been used in another context. Similar pieces are common e.g. Montgomerie-ScottishNR 95 runs "Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Hold the horse till I leap on; Hold it succar, hold it sure, Till I win o'er the misty moor". Peter and Iona Opie, _I Saw Esau: Traditional Rhymes of Youth_, # 84, is similar: "Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Joh, Hold the horse till I leap on; When I leapt on I could not ride; I fell off and broke my side."
I'm not really convinced, e.g., the Chase and Flanders/Olney texts are the same -- but how do you separate two pieces with the same words and no tune? - RBW
File: FO033
===
NAME: Matty Broon's Soo (Tam Gibb and the Soo)
DESCRIPTION: Song with recitation. Tam's wife says they could afford a pig. He goes to buy Matty's sow. Old lovers, they fall to joking; he leaves lightheaded. The sow does not want to follow; when he trips over a stone, it escapes him; he says he likes fish anyway
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan3); 19C (broadside, NLScotland L.C.Fol.70(51))
KEYWORDS: animal commerce humorous escape
FOUND_IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Greig #162, pp. 1-2, "Tam Gibb and the Soo" (1 text) 
GreigDuncan3 497, "Tam Gibb and the Soo" (3 texts, 2 tunes)
SHenry H671, p. 22, "Matty Broon's Soo" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5879
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(51), "Tam Gibb and His Sow," unknown, c. 1880-1900
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Tam Broon and His Soo
NOTES: Apparently broadside Bodleian, 2806 c.11(253), "Tam Gibb, and the Sow" ("Quo Nell my wife, the ither day"), unknown, no date is this song but I could not download and verify it. - BS
File: HHH671
===
NAME: Matty Groves: see Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard [Child 81] (File: C081)
===
NAME: Maud Wreck: see The Wreck at Maud (Al Bowen) (File: LSRa272H)
===
NAME: Maurice Crotty
DESCRIPTION: Green hand Crotty understands nothing about sealing. When the Dan reach the seals Crotty boxes with a big one until he is rescued. Crotty is thankful the seal's breath smelled of whisky, else he might have been beaten to death
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1900 (Burke & Oliver)
KEYWORDS: fight rescue hunting ship humorous animal
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Peacock, pp. 73-74, "Maurice Crotty" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lehr/Best 74, "Maurice Crotty" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Ryan/Small, pp. 86-87, "Maurice Crotty"; p. 88, "The Spring of the Wadhams" (2 texts, 1 tune)
ST Pea073 (Partial)
Roud #6649
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Grandfather Bryan" (tune)
NOTES: According to Ryan/Small, "1852 is generally known and spoken of as the 'Spring of the Wadhams.'" Seals were found very plentiful in the vicinity of the Wadhams, (islands located in Notre Dame Bay S.E. of Fogo Island), and the majority of vessels were caught in a fearful gale of NNE wind which caused great destruction to the fleet." - RBW
File: Pea073
===
NAME: Maurice Hogan's Song
DESCRIPTION: The singer, now sixty-four, compares the happy "dark depression days" of his youth to the go-go girl, T.V., mini-skirt-changed times he sees now. "O how I long for those bright days"
AUTHOR: Maurice Hogan
EARLIEST_DATE: 1977 (Lehr/Best)
KEYWORDS: age lament nonballad
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Lehr/Best 75, "Maurice Hogan's Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Good Old Days of Adam and Eve" (theme) and references there
NOTES: As best I can tell, all the many songs in which old guys complain about young women's casual clothing (and there are many; see the cross-references) come from guys who aren't having the slightest luck with said young women.... - RBW
File: LeBe075
===
NAME: Maurice Kelly
DESCRIPTION: "Maurice Kelly one night when about three parts loaded" is beaten by a ghost. "Twas Kelly's wife dressed up in white to keep him from drinking... he got such a fright he won't stir after night But right after supper goes ... straight off to bed."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield)
KEYWORDS: fight drink humorous wife ghost
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 78, "Maurice Kelly" (1 text, 1 tune)
Leach-Labrador 122, "Kelly and the Ghost" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MAUKELLY*
Roud #16894
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Kate and Her Horns" [Laws N22] (gimmck)
File: GrMa078
===
NAME: Mautman, The
DESCRIPTION: The mautman arrives to demand his pay, "or maut ye'll ne'er get mair." He says it is very good maut, but she complains of the"unruly crew" that "pierc'd my dochter's barrel." (The answer is that kissing is no sin, else so many would not do it.)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1827 (Kinloch)
KEYWORDS: food seduction sex money
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Kinloch-BBook XXIX, pp. 86-88, "The Mautman" (1 text)
Roud #5508
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Kissing's No Sin (I)" (lyrics)
cf. ÒBehave Yoursel' Before Folk" (theme of avoiding public kissing)
NOTES: The Kinloch text of this song seems to be composite; the first part is an argument about seducing an auld wife's daughter, in very irregular meter. It then breaks into a much more regular section stating that "some say kissing's a sin, but I think it's nane ava, For kissing has been in the world When there was but only twa."
Ewan MacColl has a fragment, "Kissing's No Sin," with only that second part, followed by a part about how lawyers and others go kissing. The latter also appears in "The Hog-Tub." The nature of the dependence is not clear to me given the small number of texts I've seen.  - RBW
File: KinBB29
===
NAME: Maw Bonny Gyetside Lass: see The Gyetside Lass (File: StoR182)
===
NAME: Maw Canny Hinny
DESCRIPTION: "Where hes te been, maw canny hinny? An where hes te been, maw bonny bairn?" The singer tells of all the places she(?) has looked for him, and the people she has talked to. He describes what he has been doing
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay)
KEYWORDS: questions reunion
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Stokoe/Reay, pp. 156-157, "Maw Cann Hinny" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST StoR156 (Partial)
Roud #3168
NOTES: This is a difficult song to describe; it spends to much time talking about people and places that it becomes almost a moniker song. The Stokoe version, at least, has a curious change in mid-song: After seven verses with the same chorus, the last two use two different choruses. - RBW
File: StoR156
===
NAME: Maxwell's Doom: see Ewing Brooks (Maxwell's Doom) [Laws E12] (File: LE12)
===
NAME: May Colven: see Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight [Child 4] (File: C004)
===
NAME: May Day Carol
DESCRIPTION: The singer has been wandering and will return with a branch of may. It is to celebrate the Lord's handiwork (in bringing forth the plants in spring). The singer wishes the listeners well: "God bless you all both great and small And send you a joyful May."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (de la Mare)
KEYWORDS: religious ritual carol
FOUND_IN: US(Ap) Britain(England)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Ritchie-SingFam, pp. 238-239, "[May Day Carol]" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ritchie-Southern, p. 52, "The May Day Carol"; p. 86, "Cambridgeshire May Song" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
DT, MAYCAROL MAYCAR2
ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #18, "Song of the Mayers" (1 text)
Roud #305
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Moon Shines Bright (The Bellman's Song)" (lyrics)
NOTES: The two May carols in Ritchie-Southern are so different that I almost split them. This is a distinct problem with May songs; Roud lumps a great variety (many of them clearly distinct) under his #305. I've split a lot of them, but in the case of the Ritchie songs, I lump them because they have many of the same words plus tunes which, while not identical, look as if they might have come from the same original. - RBW
File: JRSF238
===
NAME: May Day Song: see Padstow May Day Song (File: K086)
===
NAME: May I Go With You, Johnny?: see The Girl Volunteer (The Cruel War Is Raging) [Laws O33] (File: LO33)
===
NAME: May I Sleep In Your Barn To-Night, Mister: see Can I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight? (File: R841)
===
NAME: May Irwin's Frog Song (The Foolish Frog, Way Down Yonder)
DESCRIPTION: "Way down yonder in Pasquotank, Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank, They jump so high they break their shank, The old grey goose went 'yankety-yank.'"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1913 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: animal humorous talltale
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 189, "Way Down Yonder in Pasquotank" (1 fragment); also 435, "The Dummy Line" (2 short texts; the "B" version is a mixed text that seems to be mostly this with a "Some Folks Say a Nigger Won't Steal" verse)
Roud #15891
NOTES: This is a confusing situation. I have met this chorus only once in tradition, in the form quoted above from Brown. But folkies will know it from Pete Seeger's "Foolish Frog." That is apparently a tall tale concocted by Charles Seeger based on a vaudeville item called "May Irwin's Frog Song." Hence the title I use. Beyond that I cannot trace the piece.
May Irwin was a notable popular singer who was at the height of her powers in the 1890s; In Sigmund Spaeth's _A History of Popular Music in _America__ she is credited with the song, "Mamie, Come Kiss Your Honey Boy" (pp. 265-266), and with popularizing George M. Cohan's  "Hot Tamale Alley"(pp. 282, 339) as well as such songs as "I Couldn't Stand to See My Baby Loose" (p. 347) and  "Mister Johnson, Turn Me Loose" (p. 285). Her biggest success of all was apparently "May Irwin's Bully Song," written by Charles E. Trevathan; it is indexed as "The Bully of the Town [Laws I14]," though most folk versions are far removed from the May Irwin original  - RBW
File: Br3189
===
NAME: May Morning Dew
DESCRIPTION: Winter is pleasant but summer is coming with memories of old times when "we tripped through the heather" The old house has fallen, garden overgrown, and all the neighbors "like the red rose they are faded from the May Morning Dew"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1979 (Tunney-StoneFiddle)
KEYWORDS: flowers nonballad family home
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Tunney-StoneFiddle, pp. 30-31, "May Morning Dew" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MAYMRNDW
Roud #5405
RECORDINGS:
Kitty Hayes, "May Morning Dew" (on IRClare01)
File: DTmaymor
===
NAME: May Pole Song, The: see All Around the Maypole (File: BSoF706)
===
NAME: May Queen, The
DESCRIPTION: "Our Queen up the river And we'll keep her there forever with your yah-yah-yah ... Your Queen down the river ... Our Queen can tumble a pole ... birl her leg ... smoke a fag ... ate a hard bap ... The darkie says he'll marry her Because she is a Queen"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (Hammond-Belfast)
KEYWORDS: bragging ritual nonballad
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hammond-Belfast, pp. 14-15, "The May Queen" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Hammond-Belfast describes Belfast May Day rituals and children's May Queen parades. "The encounters with rival Queens are always exciting and vituperative. Modesty and restraint are not predominant features of the occasion." - BS 
File: Hamm014
===
NAME: Mayn Yingele (My Little Son)
DESCRIPTION: Yiddish: The father comes home to his little boy, whom he sees "only while he sleeps." The mother tells him that he is a fine boy but he misses his father. But father can only be there while the child sleeps; he must work all day
AUTHOR: Morris Rosenfeld
EARLIEST_DATE: 1887
KEYWORDS: work family separation foreignlanguage
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Scott-BoA, pp. 290-291, "Mayn Yingele (My Little Son)" (2 texts (1 English, 1 Yiddish), 1 tune)
File: SBoA290
===
NAME: Mayogall Asses, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer describes a "cavalcade of donkeys" taken to Mayogall. The animals, in all sorts of conditions, are set to carry a load of cabbages to market. The driver convinces the animals to come, where he sells cabbages and animals both
AUTHOR: Words: James O'Kane
EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: animal commerce
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H130, pp. 26-27, "The Mayogall Asses" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13350
NOTES: When I read this, I get the feeling something has been lost -- it seems completely pointless.
The story of Saul and his father's missing donkeys is told in 1 Samuel 9:3-10:16. - RBW
File: HHH130
===
NAME: Mayor of Waterford's Letter, The
DESCRIPTION: The letter is addressed to the Archbishop of Dublin. It makes the argument for the legitimacy of Henry's claim and ridicules the claim of Lambert, now in the Tower of London. It critisizes the archbishop's silence and asks for reconciliation.
AUTHOR: John Butler (Mayor of Waterford), James Rice, Wm Lyncolle (source: manuscript quoted by Croker-PopularSongs)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1487 (quoted in Dr Smith's _History of Waterford_, according to Croker-PopularSongs)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: O thou most noble pastour, chosen by God, Walter, Archbishop of Dublin." The song hopes that the traditional closeness between the people of Dublin and Waterford, "now late broken of thy parte onely," be restored. It claims "that Henry vijth is king" by descent on his mother's side, like Christ, and other kings of England. It claims his marriage to Elizabeth [heir presumptive], "maried both by amiable accord" settles the matter. It recounts his claims, including "bull papall ... affirming theis titles." Of the opposition to Henry "if thow be cause for this perversitie ... We know it not; but certaine we can saie, Thou keepest silence, and said not once nay" The claim of Lambert, "now kept in the Tower of London," is ridiculed. "It is tyme for you to be reconciled ... Correct yourself." "Thinke not in us no malice." 
KEYWORDS: rebellion England Ireland nonballad political religious clergy royalty Jesus
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1485-1509: Reign of Henry VII (associated with Elizabeth of York until her death in 1503)
1487 - Battle of Stoke. Defeat of the forces supporting Lambert Simbel
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 293-312, "The Mayor of Waterford's Letter" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Thomas Kinsella, _The New Oxford Book of Irish Verse_ (Oxford, 1989), pp. 130-131, "A Letter Sent by the Mayor and Inhabitants of Waterford unto Walter, archbishop of the Citie of Dublin, the Mayor and Citizens of the same, in the time of their Rebellion"  (1 text, excerpted from Croker)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Praise of Waterford" (structure)
NOTES: Croker-PopularSongs: The texts of "The Mayor of Waterford's Letter" and "The Praise of Waterford" are included in "the collection of some laborious antiquary about the end of the reign of Elizabeth.... 'Ballad royal,' or rhyme royal, was the name given to the measure in which the ballads or songs about Waterford are written: each verse has seven ten-syllable lines with an a/b/a/b/b/c/c rhyme scheme.
"To the end of his reign Henry [VII] was troubled by Yorkist claimants to the throne and by pretenders... In the autumn of 1486 ... came disturbing news of a pretender, claiming to be the young Warwick, who, it was rumoured, had escaped from the Tower. Lambert Simnel, who had been carefully groomed for this impersonation ...." (Source: "The Tudors" by Neville Williams in _The Lives of the Kings & Queens of England_, ed. Antonia Fraser, University of California Press, 1995, p. 171)
Croker-PopularSongs quotes the prose introduction to "The Mayor of Waterford's Letter." It discusses Lambert, "a boy, an organ-maker's sonne, [who] was crowned at Dublin Kinge of England and Lord of Ireland, in the third yere of Henry the 7." The Mayor of Dublin, the governor Earl of Kildare, and Walter, Archbishop of Dublin, then Lord Chanceler of Ireland, were among Lambert's supporters. Among those loyal to Henry VII was the Mayor of Waterford. He sent messages to other mayors to support Henry. In the end "the counterfeit kinge, with his Erle tutor, Walter, Archbishop of Dublin, and many others, wer taken prisoners, and carried to the towr of London...." The Mayor of Warwicke sent a "metrical letter" to the Archbishop of Dublin on October 20, 1487. Croker says "it does not seem improbable that the mayor's metrical letter was sung before Sir Richard [Edgecombe], upon the occasion of his public entertainment by the city of Waterford." - BS
This immensely complex poem (I doubt it was ever a song) is an argument from history supporting the claims of King Henry VII. It is an argument worthy of a very fancy lawyer with a guilty client: There is a lot of stuff thrown out to the listener, most of it completely invalid. This is understandable, for the good and simple reason that Henry's only serious claim to the throne was right of conquest over Richard III (prior to his crowning, his highest title had been Earl of Richmond, and even that was a shadow title: He claimed it, but another was in possession of the Earldom).
Henry was descended from King Edward III (died 1377, more than a century before Henry took the throne in 1485), but it was through Edward's third son John of Gaunt, and the claim ran through the Beaufort family, children of a woman who was not even John's wife when they were born; they had been specifically excluded from the succession. What's more, Henry VII's mother Margaret Beaufort was still alive when Henry took the throne, so even if his claims were upheld, she, not he, should have been the monarch. (For background on all this, see "The Rose of England" [Child 166], "The Children in the Wood (The Babes in the Woods)" [Laws Q34], and "The Vicar of Bray." The essential point is that Henry didn't have supporters because he had a claim to the throne; he had supporters because it is human nature to form factions and he was the only faction head left other than Richard III.) Little wonder, then, that he was troubled by pretenders!
But the song refers to events long before the time of Henry VII. Croker has some note on this, but there is a great deal more to be said.
"Henry [VII]... is king, by grace, of England and Fraunce, and lord of Ireland": King Edward III had claimed the title "King of France," and started the Hundred Years' War to back it up, and although England had lost all French soil except Calais by 1453 (an event which in fact helped provoke the Wars of the Roses and eventually led to Henry VII's taking the Kingdom), the English monarch continued to claim the title for centuries.
"Moses had... commandment, If a man died without issue male": The song links this to the "daughters of Sulphact in Numery 17." Croker correctly refers this to the daughters of Zelophehad in Numbers 27 (also Numbers 26, 37, Joshua 17:3), and wonders about the chapter numbering in earlier Bibles. The easiest explanation is, of course, that this is an error -- or maybe a combination of Numbers 27 with Joshua 17. In the Greek Old Testament, the chapter is still Numbers 27, though the man's name is Salpaad. It's chapter 27 in the Latin Bible also, but the name is "Salphaad," which isn't far from "Sulphact."
"King Henry the First... he passed his traunce without issue male." Henry I of England (reigned 1100-1135), the third and youngest son of William the Conqueror, had dozens of bastard children, but only two legitimate offspring who lived past infancy: Matilda (sometimes called Maud, as in the song) and William of the White Ship. William, Henry's only legitimate son, died in 1120 in the wreck of the White Ship (see Christopher Brooke, _The Saxon and Norman Kings_, Fontana, 1963, p. 175). At this time, England had no law of primogeniture (until William the Conqueror, the Witan elected the new king, from the royal family of course, and William himself had been succeeded initially by his second son William II Rufus, and then by his third son Henry I, even though the Conqueror's eldest son Robert Curthose was still alive at the time both William Rufus and Henry succeeded. For that matter, William the Conqueror in his lifetime was called "William the Bastard," because he succeeded to the Duchy of Normandy despite being illegitimate). What's more, few thought a woman competent to rule. So when Henry I died, there was much debate over the succession. Stephen, the son of William the Conqueror's daugher Adela, was the male heir closest to the conqueror (see Brooke's genealogy of the Norman kings, and Brooke, p. 39).
Stephen (who inherited the title Count of Blois, hence the description "Earle of Bloyes" in the song) proved an absolute disaster; he was too indecisive to rule, especially with many of his barons rallying to Matilda's cause. In theory, he reigned from 1135 to 1154, but there was civil war for much of that time, and in 1153, Matilda's son Henry of Anjou invaded. (The title Henry inherited from his father was Count of Anjou, hence the reference to his "Earldome of Angeoi" in the song.) A peace was patched up in which Henry became Stephen's heir (Brooke, p. 39); he was crowned Henry II in 1154, reigning until 1189. He was called "Fitz Empress" (son of the empress) because his mother Matilda had for a brief time been married to the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V (who, however, died in 1125, while she was still young. Matilda lived until 1167, so she was still alive when her son became King).
The statement that Henry's "issue raigned King of England... from sonne to sonne" shows this particular item to be a piece of propaganda. Henry was indeed succeeded by his son Richard I (reigned 1189-1199) -- but Richard had no sons (he was probably homosexual), and the throne then passed to Henry's youngest son John (reigned 1199-1216) rather than Henry's grandson Arthur, the child of the son between Richard and John in age. John was succeeded by his son Henry III (1216-1272) , and Henry by his son Edward I (1272-1307), Edward I by his son Edward II (1307-1327), Edward II by his son Edward III (1327-1377) -- but Edward III was succeeded by his grandson Richard II (1377-1399), who was deposed by his cousin Henry IV (1399-1413), who was the grandson of Edward III's third son John of Gaunt even though there were living descendents of Edward's second son Lionel, Duke of Clarence. Henry IV was succeeded by his son Henry V (1413-1422), and Henry V by his son Henry VI (1422-1461).
Henry VI was ineffectual and eventually went insane; his incapacity eventually caused the Wars of the Roses to break out. He was suceeded by Edward IV (1461-1483, minus a brief interruption due to a revolt in 1470-1471), who was the proper heir of Edward III via Lionel, but who -- far from being Henry VI's son -- was his third cousin twice removed. (To be fair, the song may simply be noting that Henry VI was descended from Henry II entirely in the male line, while Edward IV had two female links in the chain. But in fact Edward IV also had a link in direct male line to Edward III; we'll get to that, too.)
The song finally manages to cover Edward IV's descent, noting that Edward was descended from "Leonell" via "the Duke's daughter of Clarence." Lionel's daughter was indeed named Philippa; her son was Roger Mortimer, his daughter Anne Mortimer, her son Richard of York, and Richard's son was Edward IV.
The song draws from the examples of Henry, Stephen, and Edward IV the ironic conclusion that the "female In England shall succeed for fault of the male." This is by contrast to France, where the Salic Law was held to bar succession in the female line (not only were female ruling queens barred, but the royal title could not be transmitted through a woman; see Desmond Seward, _The Hundred Years War: The English in France, 1337-1453_, Atheneum, 1982, though Seward describes the Salic Law as an after-the-fact discovery). However, these precedents are mostly meaningless, because Stephen and Henry II were elected kings, and Edward IV, while his claim to priority over Henry VI was based on descent from Lionel of Clarence in the female line, was also descended from Edward III's fourth son Edmund of York in the male line, and -- if you treated the Beauforts as illegitimate, as nearly everyone did -- was Henry VI's heir in the male line once Henry's son Edward was disposed of.)
The song then goes on to seemingly claim that Jesus was King of Jerusalem by female line. But there are two genealogies tracing the ancestry of Jesus back to David: One in Matthew 1, the other in Luke 3. These two genealogies cannot be reconciled, leading some to claim that one is a genealogy of Mary -- but this is simply balderdash; both link Jesus to David via Joseph, not Mary.
It is really, really interesting to note that the song eventually, in effect, gives up its claim on behalf of Henry VII, noting that Edward's title "is fallen to our soveraigne ladie, Queene Elizabeth, his [Edward IV's] eldest daughter liniall; To her is com all the whole monarchie." In other words, Elizabeth -- not "the" Elizabeth of a century later, but her grandmother -- is the woman with the real right to the throne. Which lies at the heart of Henry VI's kingship. Keep in mind that, as noted above, Henry's claim in his own right was pitifully weak.
The one thing Henry could do to bolster his claim was to marry into the real Royal Family. Which he did; he married Elizabeth. There was some slight doubt about Elizabeth's legitimacy (which is why Richard III had been able to seize the throne), but there wasn't really much doubt but that she was Edward IV's surviving heir. (And, since all of Henry's children were her offspring, and every monarch of England has been descended from that union, in fact every King of England since has been legitimate heir. It was only Henry VII who had a problem.)
The song goes one to note six supports to Henry's claim: first, "Gode's provision" (hard to prove either way); second, election by the Lords and Commons (meaningless, since parliament was always tossing the crown back and forth during this period); third, Elizabeth's claim to the throne (his single best argument, but it was an argument for her, not him); fourth, right of conquest; fifth, "the old Brittaine storie." Croker is not sure what this refers to; I think it refers to Henry's Welsh ancestry on his father's side; he claimed to be descended from Rhys ap Gruffyd of Deheubarth (see Mike Ashley, _British Kings and Queens_, 2000, originally published as _The Mammoth Book of British Kings  and Queens_, 1998, p. 625), and before that to Cadwallader and maybe even King Arthur (Henry in fact named his oldest son Arthur to support this claim); and finally, Papal sanction (received in 1486, according to Ashley, p. 627 -- but that, again, was easily changed; in all likelihood, if someone overthrew Henry, that someone would quickly earn Papal sanction also).
Thus every one of Henry's claims to the throne cited in the song is rather weak. Everyone knew that Henry had usurped the throne, and had little strength of his own. Even after Bosworth, there were many people with clear prior claims -- a fact which, ironically, would help Henry, since it made it hard for the opposition to coalesce around a particular potential monarch.
Making everyone's problems worse was the matter of The Princes in the Tower (for details on this, see the notes to "The Children in the Wood (The Babes in the Woods)" [Laws Q34]). Edward IV had had two boys, Edward (briefly Edward V in 1483) and Richard, Duke of York. The elder was only twelve when Edward IV died, too young to rule (Edward IV had died while in his early forties), and Edward's brother Richard of Gloucester had convinced the leaders of the realm to set them aside (digging up a claim against their legitimacy to make it look legal).
Early in Richard's reign, the Princes vanished. Literally. Their fate is a complete mystery; we don't know when or how they died, though there seems little doubt that they did. There are some bones which some have thought are theirs -- but the British royal family has refused to dig them up to allow DNA testing. Odds are that the boys were killed by Richard (or, just possibly, by someone in his official family without him knowing about it), but it was done so secretly that, when the time came, Henry VII couldn't prove who did them in; it's even possible he killed them himself. (It seems pretty safe to say that, had they still been alive, Henry would have disposed of them.) But if Henry didn't know where they were, neither did anyone else. Hence the possibility of pretenders.
And all this was in the aftermath of the Wars of the Roses, in which the crown had changed hands six times (though there were only five kings involved), and every reign had either begun or ended in blood. Henry came to the throne as a result of the Battle of Bosworth on August 22, 1485, where Richard III was killed in a death-or-glory charge. That was late enough in the year that there really wasn't time for another revolt in 1485. But early in 1486, Humphrey Stafford and Lord Lovell rebelled. This revolt was quickly suppressed. (See John Gillingham, _The Wars of the Roses_, Louisiana State University, 1981, p. 247.)
The Stafford revolt had quickly run into the Heir Problem caused by the mystery of the Princes in the Tower. To vastly oversimplify, there were four potential Yorkist heirs after Edward IV and Richard III died: The Princes in the Tower, if they were alive; Elizabeth of York, their older sister; the Earl of Warwick, who was the son of Edward and Richard's brother George of Clarence (who was born after Edward but before Richard); and the Earl of Lincoln, the son of Edward and Richard's oldest sister. The problem with the Princes was that they weren't available. Elizabeth was hardly a possible Yorkist heir since she was married to Henry. The Warwick claim was weak; he was alive and his location known (since he was in Henry's custody), but George of Clarence had been attainted and executed for rebelling against his brother Edward. (And, yes, he was guilty, and no, Richard III had nothing to do with the execution!) It was generally held that an act of attainder barred all heirs from the succession; in any case, it was reported -- we don't know how accurately -- that young Warwick was feeble-minded (see Paul Murray Kendall, _Richard the Third_, Norton, 1956, p. 349. Henry VII would eventually solve the Warwick problem by executing the boy.)
John, Earl of Lincoln was in many ways the best candidate -- he was an adult, male, known to be competent, undeniably legitimate, and with no acts of parliament against him. Richard III had in fact appointed him his heir  (Kendall, p. 350) after flirting with the idea of Warwick. Unfortunately, Lincoln was also junior in the succession to the Princes, to Elizabeth, and to Warwick, assuming their disabilities were eliminated.
As it turned out, the Stafford rebellion threw its support behind Warwick -- but failed in part because they couldn't get their hands on him (see Desmond Seward, _The Wars of the Roses_, Penguin, 1995, p. 315).
The next attempt, in 1487, did better -- not least because it had, or pretended to have, the actual Warwick. This was the first of two significant imposters to arise against Henry: First Lambert Simnel, then Perkin Warbeck.
Lambert was apparently the creation of an Oxford priest named Richard Simons, who passed him off as Warwick (Gillingham, p. 248); Seward, p. 315, agrees with Croker's notes in calling him an organ-builder's son, from Oxford, and Alison Weir, _The Princes in the Tower_, Ballantine, 1992, p. 235, says he was born around 1475 -- the same year that Warwick was born and a bit more than a year after the birth of Richard of York. She notes, however, that she can find no records of a Simnel family in Oxford (or, indeed, anywhere in England at this time); she suspects that even Lambert's "real" name was a pseudonym. Weir, p. 232, says that the original plan was to have him portray Richard of York, the younger of the Princes in the Tower, but the decision to have him portray Warwick was made before Lambert had become well-known.
James A. Williamson, _The Tudor Age_, 1953, 1957, 1964 (I use the slightly revised 1979 Longman paperback edition), p. 25, offers a possible reason for the change: The conspirators thought that Henry VII had executed Warwick, and so would need to reveal his guilt if he wished to expose them.
Unfortunately for them, Henry was smarter than that; he hadn't executed Warwick -- yet. He was able to answer the conspirators by bringing out the real live earl.
It hardly mattered. Very many Yorkists would have supported *anyone* who might overthrow Henry Tudor. (It's hard to blame them, since one of Henry's acts was to repeal almost every grant of title or lands made since 1455; Williamson, p. 20. That cost the surviving nobles a *lot* of money; little wonder they were resentful!) Lambert was a cause to rally. He earned major support: John of Lincoln (who doubtless intended to use Lambert to get rid of Henry and then intended to take charge himself; Weir, p. 232); Gerald Fitzgerald, eighth Earl of Kildare, the of the family which produced most of the Deputy Lieutenants of Ireland (meaning in effect that he was the ruler of English Ireland -- which, to be sure, was by this time only a small strip on the east coast); and Margaret of Burgundy, another sister of Edward and Richard (Gillingham, p. 249).
It was a situation in which Ireland was unusually crucial in English affairs. The old Duke of York, father of Edward IV and Richard III and grandfather of the Princes in the Tower, had for a time been Lieutenant of Ireland -- and he was unique among Lieutenants in actually doing a good job and treating the Irish fairly; the Irish were firm supporters of the Yorkist dynasty. If Ireland supported a pretender, it meant big trouble for Henry VII; if Ireland rejected the pretender, Henry was probably safe.
And most of Ireland supported Lambert. Williamson, p. 26, reports, "Margaret [of Burgundy] and the English leaders knew without a doubt that Simnel was an imposter.... The Irish lords seem to have believed in him. They crowned him as Edward VI, did homage to him, called a parliament, struck coins and issued writs in his name. Waterford in the south held out for Henry VIII, but for the moment he had lost all the rest of Ireland."
The Archbishop of Dublin was actually responsible for crowning him "Edward VI" (Seward, p. 316). Hence this song.
Waterford had a strong tradition of loyalty to the crown (a loyalty which had earned it significant privileges), and it stayed loyal to Henry VII, trying to convince the Yorkist Archbishop to come back to the fold -- a not-very-successful quest, obviously. (In fact, it was in many ways a really dumb idea; after all, it was the Tudors who finally really conquered Ireland. And when Henry VIII turned England Protestant, Waterford stayed even more staunchly Catholic than the rest of Ireland, and suffered for it.)
In that context, it is interesting to note than one of Henry Tudor's claims against Lambert was that his entourage included a Lollard, or proto-Protestants (see Conrad Russell, _The Crisis of Parliaments: English History 1509-1660_, Oxford, 1971, pp. 56-57). The story is clearly not true (Henry claimed the guy said something anti-Catholic, dropped dead, and turned black), though it it likely enough that Lollards were against the oh-so-Catholic Henry VII. But it earned Henry more support from the Pope.
The song argues that an English king could not be crowned in Ireland, but while Ireland had never produced a monarch, English kings *had* been crowned away from Westminster -- e.g. Henry III was crowned at Gloucester (Ashley, p. 531), and Edward IV, although formally crowned at Westminster, had made himself king well before that. Indeed, Henry VII had picked up Richard III's crown at Bosworth. Nor had the Archbishop of Canterbury always been responsible for the coronation; Aldred, Archbishop of York, had crowned William the Conqueror (see Eric Linklater, _The Conquest of England_, Doubleday, 1966, p. 225).
Lambert eventually sailed from Ireland to Lancashire and took an army south (Gillingham, p. 250). Due to a lack of sources, we know very little about the resulting Battle of Stoke (June 16, 1487). A. H. Burne, _The Battlefields of England_ (a compilation of two volumes from the 1950s, _Battlefields of England_ and _More Battlefields of England_, with a new introduction by Robert Hardy), Pen & Sword, 2005, pp. 308-309, notes that there are only two independent sources, Polydore Vergil's history (followed by all the later Tudor historians) and an anonymous herald in Henry's army. The herald was an eyewitness but had a limited viewpoint; Vergil was not an eyewitness, and though he tried to be objective, it appears based on his coverage of other events that it was extremely easy to lead him around by the nose. In any case, both these accounts are from Henry's side.
It seems that the rebels sailed from Ireland to Lancashire (Williamson, p. 27), because they wanted to take advantage of the Yorkist support in the north of England (Richard III had been very popular in the north, and the Yorkists in general were preferred there). The Yorkist force supposedly included 2000 continental mercenaries, assorted Irishmen (mostly poorly equipped), and of course the English exiles (Burne, p. 305). Burne thinks they may have totalled as many as 9000 troops, though they were a very mixed bag; Williamson (who has a very strong pro-Tudor bias) however thinks that they found little support in England. Estimates at the time of course varied heavily; Gillingham, p. 252, cites two Acts of Attainder against the rebels, one of which claims they numbered 8000, the other 5000.
However many they were, the rebels did not head for York, where they could probably have expected support. Instead, they headed south. Henry VII gathered an army very quickly, and both sides seemed to be heading for Newark when they ran into each other at Stoke (about three miles from Newark, near the river Trent). The herald, disappointingly, gives us no details of the battle, and Vergil has hardly more, and Burne's map on pl 312 shows them to be irreconcilable anyway. The bottom line is, Henry VII's forces won (with the credit perhaps largely due to the Earl of Oxford rather than Henry; Burne, p. 313); Lincoln was killed, as was mercenary commander Schwartz; Richard III's friend Viscount Lovell vanished, and Lambert captured (Gillingham, p. 252; Williamson, p. 27; Burne, p. 314). Henry, who rarely showed much evidence of humanity, in this case was merciful and sent Lambert to work in the kitchens (Gillingham, p. 253). Apparently the lad was loyal enough to eventually be let out of the King's service, and he lived until at least 1525 (see Stanley B. R. Poole, _Royal Mysteries and Pretenders_, Barnes & Noble, 1993, p. 15).
Stoke was the last battle of the Wars of the Roses, though hardly the end of opposition to Henry VII. The people of Northumberland murdered their earl Henry Percy for failing to support Richard III at Bosworth (Kendall, pp. 458-459; contrary to the lies Shakespeare told, Richard III was very popular in the north of England, where he had ruled a sort of palatinate in the final years of Edward IV's reign). Henry VII himself executed Sir William Stanley, the man who had won the Battle of Bosworth for him by killing Richard III! (Kendrick, p. 457; Weir, p 236; Poole, p. 18, mentions the suspicion that Henry killed him out to get his hands on Sir William's money). He even went so far as to seize the property of his mother-in-law Elizabeth Woodville (Weir, pp. 232-233, who notes the strangeness of the idea of Elizabeth plotting against her own daughter, while noting a theory that she believed Henry VII, not Richard III, had killed her sons. But Weir thinks, and I tend to agree, that Elizabeth did not plot against Henry; Henry degraded her just to get his hands on her money).
And then there came Pretender #2, Perkin Warbeck, who (after some indecision about which member of the Yorkist dynasty to impersonate) decided that he was Richard of York, the younger of the Princes in the Tower. He proclaimed himself in 1491, and managed to get the support of Margaret of Burgundy and others. But by this time, Henry had quite a spy network built; Perkin aroused a lot of interest, but never managed to mount a real invasion; he landed in Cornwall with a few hundred men (Weir, p. 238), but ended up in Henry's custody, tried to escape, and was executed in 1499 (Seward, pp. 320-323). Warwick was executed soon after (Weir, p. 239). Presumably that was after this piece was written; for the story of Warbeck, see "The Praise of Waterford." - RBW
File: CrPS293
===
NAME: Mazlim's Mill
DESCRIPTION: "Now I am a bullock driver and I work for Mazlim's Mill, And pulling timber from Vine Creek I've nearly had my fill." The singer complains about the rain and advises listeners that it's better to "turn your bullock out" than work at the mill
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1968
KEYWORDS: work hardtimes
FOUND_IN: Australia
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Meredith/Anderson, p. 108, "Mazlim's Mill" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: MA108
===
NAME: McAfee's Confession [Laws F13]
DESCRIPTION: McAfee, the singer, is raised by an uncle after being orphaned. As a youth he runs away and turns wild. Married to a good woman, he has an affair with Hettie Stout and murders his wife by giving her poison instead of medicine. He is condemned to die
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1903 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: murder orphan adultery execution
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Mar 28, 1825 - Hanging of John McAfee
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,SE,So)
REFERENCES: (12 citations)
Laws F13, "McAfee's Confession"
Belden, pp. 317-321, "McAfee's Confession" (2 texts plus references to 4 more, 1 tune)
Randolph 133, "McFee's Confession" (2 texts plus a long excerpt, 1 tune)
Eddy 129, "McAfee's Confession" (1 text)
Gardner/Chickering 138, "McAfee's Confession" (1 text)
LPound-ABS, 68, pp. 153-154, "Young McFee" (1 text)
JHCox 37, "McAfee's Confession" (2 texts plus references to 5 more, 1 tune)
JHCoxIIB, #6A-B, pp. 133-136, "McAfee's Confession" (1 text plus a fragment, 1 tune)
SharpAp 79, "Macafee's Congession, or Harry Gray" (4 texts, 4 tunes)
Burt, pp. 22-24, "McAfee's Confession" (1 text)
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 136, "MacAfee's Confession" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 630, MCAFEECN*
Roud #449
NOTES: Laws lists this as a native American ballad, but there is British influence; Pound notes that her text concludes with a wish by McFee that he had "ten thousand pounds" to bring her back to life. This may be a moralizing addition, but clearly from a British source. - RBW
File: LF13
===
NAME: McAllum's Lament
DESCRIPTION: McAllum, a poacher, bids farewell to the woods and the game he hunted. He had been trapped by police and shot one man dead. He curses the lairds and laws and warns poachers to "lay aside your guns while you're able and free"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan2)
KEYWORDS: murder poaching prison police
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan2 251, "McAllum's Lament" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Roud #5847
File: GrD2251
===
NAME: McCaffery (McCassery)
DESCRIPTION: A young man enlists in the 42nd Regiment; mistreated by his captain and confined to barracks for a trivial offense, he decides to kill the captain. He accidentally shoots his colonel instead, and is tried (at Liverpool Assizes) and hanged.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1962 or 1966 (collected from Caroline Hughes)
KEYWORDS: army violence crime execution murder punishment revenge death soldier
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland,England) Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
MacSeegTrav 86, "McCaffery" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MCASSERY
Roud #1148
RECORDINGS:
May Bradley, "Calvery" (on Voice08)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Gallant Forty-Twa" (subject: 42nd Highlanders or Black Watch) and references there
cf. "The Croppy Boy (I)" [Laws J14] (tune for Voice08)
NOTES: Hall, notes to Voice08, re "Calvery": "The story in the ballad is true in all its essentials. Patrick McCafferty was born in Mullingar, Co. West Meath, and in October 1860 enlisted at the age of seventeen in the 32nd Regiment.... McCafferty was tried at Liverpool Assizes and was hanged in Liverpool in front of Kirkdale gaol on January 11th, 1862. [ref. Roy Palmer, ed., _The Rambling Soldier_ (Alan Sutton, 1985).]" Yates, Musical Traditions site _Voice of the People suite_ "Notes - Volume 8" - 1.3.03 has a more detailed account. - BS
When I met this song, I was surprised to find a soldier from the 42nd Regiment (the famous Black Watch) being tried in Liverpool; their base is in Perth. The likeliest explanation is that several sources confused the obscure 32nd regiment (which was, improbably enough, the Cornwall Regiment) with the famous 42nd, for which see songs such as "Wha Saw the Forty-Second." - RBW, (PJS)
File: McCST086
===
NAME: McCarthy's Song
DESCRIPTION: McCarthy stops in Pope's Harbour for a bottle at Brian's tavern. He treats all hands and he sleeps it off on the floor. Next morning the landlord wants his money. He staggers to Mrs. Haws who nursed his wounds at no charge. He swears not to return again.
AUTHOR: Michael McCarthy, school teacher at Taylor's Harbour, N.S. (Source: Creighton-NovaScotia)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1932 (Creighton-NovaScotia)
KEYWORDS: drink ordeal landlord
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Creighton-NovaScotia 133, "McCarthy's Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST CrNS133 (Partial)
Roud #1832
NOTES: This song is item dH52 in Laws's Appendix II. - BS
File: CrNS133
===
NAME: McCarty's Widow
DESCRIPTION: "It's just a year ago today I took to me a wife, And ever since she's proved to be the burden of my life." The woman licked McCarty to death, but now that he is married to her, the singer vows she won't beat him. He hopes to beat her until she behaves
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Dean)
KEYWORDS: marriage fight
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Dean, p. 93, "McCarty's Widow" (1 text)
Roud #5490
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
McCarthy's Widow
File: Dean093
===
NAME: McCassery: see McCaffery (McCassery) (File: McCST086)
===
NAME: McClenahan's Jean
DESCRIPTION: The singer praises the beauty of McClenahan's Jean. When her father learns that they are courting, he vows "that in merriage we ne'er should be buckled thegither." He wants her to wed a rich old man. The singer casts scorn on her potential husband
AUTHOR: David Herbison? (Tune supplied by Sam Henry)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love courting father beauty lover
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H81, pp. 430-431, "McClenahan's Jean" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7959
File: HHH081
===
NAME: McClure, The
DESCRIPTION: McClure sails for Naples with cargo of fish. They are boarded by sailors from a submarine who sink McClure with bombs. The crew are allowed to leave and are rescued by an Italian destroyer who take the Captain and crew of six to Cadiz
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1977 (Lehr/Best)
KEYWORDS: war sea ship ordeal
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 22/24, 1917 - McClure, out of St John's, captured and bombed by a German submarine off Cape Carbonara, Sardinia (Lehr/Best, Northern Shipwrecks Database)
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Lehr/Best 76, "The McClure" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: LeBe076
===
NAME: McCracken's Ghost
DESCRIPTION: The singer encounters McCracken's ghost at midnight. He recounts the deaths of Irish heroes of the rebellion. He advises: take by force the Reform the English would not yield. You will free "the Green Isle and receive the world's thanks"
AUTHOR: James Hope and James Orr (source: Moylan)
EARLIEST_DATE: c.1893 (Young's _Ulster in '98_, according to Moylan)
KEYWORDS: rebellion England Ireland patriotic ghost
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1798 - Irish rebellion against British rule
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Moylan 112, "McCracken's Ghost" (1 text)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Henry Joy McCracken (I)" (character of Henry Joy McCracken) and references there
NOTES: It sounds as if this may have been written with reference to Gladstone's unsuccessful proposals for Home Rule. For background, see the notes to "Home Rule for Ireland"; for Henry Joy McCracken, see the notes to "Henry Joy McCracken (I)." - RBW
File: Moyl112
===
NAME: McDonald's (Is Your Kind of Place)
DESCRIPTION: "McDonalds is your kind of place, Hamburgers in your face, (French fries) up your nose, (Catsup) between your toes. The last time I was there, They stole my underwear, McDonalds (is the place for me/is your kind of place)."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1984
KEYWORDS: nonballad parody humorous
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 38, "McDonald's" (1 text, tune referenced)
NOTES: I make the assumption that, if I learned a kids's song from a source other than my parents or school, it qualifies as a folk song. This seems to fit that bill.
The Pankakes claim that the tune of this is "Down by the Riverside." Not in the version I know! There is similarity, but they are definitely not the same. But I may not be typical. - RBW
File: PFCF038b
===
NAME: McDonald's Farm: see Old MacDonald Had a Farm (File: R457)
===
NAME: McFee's Confession: see McAfee's Confession [Laws F13] (File: LF13)
===
NAME: McGinty's Meal-an-Ale: see M'Ginty's Meal-an-Ale (File: DBuch72)
===
NAME: McGinty's Model Lodge
DESCRIPTION: The singer is "a kind of overseer in a famous hotel" in Glasgow: "a 'Model' lodging house where working men do stay.... All the fighting men in Glasgow's in MacGinty's model Lodge." He describes the fights over imagined offenses.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1988 (McBride)
KEYWORDS: fight humorous nonballad worker
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
McBride 54, "McGinty's Model Lodge" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: McB1054
===
NAME: McGinty's Wedding: see Sheelicks (File: McCST109)
===
NAME: McKenna's Dream, The
DESCRIPTION: McKenna dreams of Ireland's heroes: Brian Boru, Sarsfield, St Ruth, Billy Byrne from Ballymanus, Reilly "on the hill of Screen," Father Murphy, the pikemen, Napoleon. "I looked around, but could not see One foeman on the plain... So ends McKenna's dream"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1850's (Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: rebellion war Ireland dream patriotic
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Zimmermann 65, "The McKenna's Dream" (1 text, 1 tune)
Moylan 133, "McKenna's Dream" (1 text, 1 tune)
Healy-OISBv2, pp. 48-50, "M'Kenna's Dream" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 279-281, "MacKenna's Dream"  (1 text)
H. Halliday Sparling, Irish Minstrelsy (London, 1888), pp. 89-92, 513, "MacKenna's Dream"
Roud #2377
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth b.25(357), "The Irishman's Vision," E.M.A. Hodges (London), 1855-1861; also Firth b.25(357), "The Irishman's Vision"; 2806 b.10(133), "MacKenna's Dream"; Harding B 19(92), Harding B 26(434), 2806 c.8(115), "M'Kenna's Dream[!]"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Captain Rock" (tune, per Zimmermann, Hoagland))
NOTES: Zimmermann: "Donal O'Sullivan ... tells me that towards the end of the last century, at Buncrana, a street-singer would often be brought before the R.M. who asked: 'What is the charge in this case?' The answer would usually be: 'Singing McKenna's Dream, Sir.'"
At the Battle of Clontarf, 1014, Brian Boru defeated a combined force of Vikings and rebels from Leinster, but died in the battle. [For Brian, see "Remember the Glories of Brian the Brave." - RBW]
At the Battle of Aughrim, 1691, the Irish Catholic forces [are finally defeated] and the commander of their French allies, St Ruth dies [see "After Aughrim's Great Disaster" - RBW].
Sarsfield is the Irish commander in 1691 who is on the field at Aughrim and Limerick (cf. "The Jackets Green")
United commander Billy Byrne is hanged in 1799 (cf. "Billy Byrne of Ballymanus")
The Wexford rebels under Father John Murphy defeat the North Cork militia in 1798. Father Murphy is caught and executed later in 1798 (cf. "Father Murphy (I).")
The pikemen fought for the rebels in the 1798 rebellion (cf. "General Monroe").
Reilly "on the hill of Screen" [i.e., Tara]. I don't know the reference, but "Rebels posted on Tara Hill, County Meath, were routed on May 26." (Zimmermann, p. 155) - BS
Although one would expect, from the contents of this song, that McKenna was a well-known Irish patriot, I have not been able to find any suitable candidate to be the dreamer. - RBW
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, "McKenna's Dream" (on "The Croppy's Complaint," Craft Recordings CRCD03 (1998); Terry Moylan notes) - BS
File: Zimm065
===
NAME: McKinley Brook
DESCRIPTION: The singer describes the poor conditions in the McKinley Brook logging camp: The buildings leak ("for comfort, as you plainly see"); there is a risk of flood ("for they deserve it well, it's true") and the gambling and bawdy singing rarely stops
AUTHOR: George Calhoun (around 1869?)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1951
KEYWORDS: logger work hardtimes flood
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Doerflinger, pp. 220-221, "McKinley Brook" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9426
File: Doe220
===
NAME: McLellan's Son
DESCRIPTION: On April 18 Daniel McLennan is shot accidentally by Tim who claims he was playing carelessly with a gun he did not know was loaded.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1883 (Smith/Hatt)
KEYWORDS: murder death friend youth
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Peacock, pp. 831-832, "Young Daniel" (1 text, 1 tune)
Smith/Hatt, pp. 72-73, "Mind How You Trifle With a Gun" (1 text)
Mackenzie 151, "McLellan's Son" (1 text)
Roud #1969
NOTES: Peacock quotes Mackenzie in _Ballads and Songs of Nova Scotia_ re "McLellan's Son," his name for the song, that it was "made in commemoration of an accidental shooting ...[circa 1875] in Pugwash [Nova Scotia]" - BS
This is item dG43 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW
File: Pea831
===
NAME: McNab's Island
DESCRIPTION: Sergeant John McCafferty marches you "forty hours a day ... in the regular army." "I went down to McNab's Island" to fight Indians but "we got bald-headed And never lost a hair." "I got blisters... bunions...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1932 (Creighton-NovaScotia)
KEYWORDS: army humorous nonballad soldier
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Creighton-NovaScotia 134, "McNab's Island" (1 short text, 1 tune)
ST CrNS134 (Partial)
Roud #1833
NOTES: Creighton-NovaScotia: "McNab's Island includes part of the fortification of Halifax Harbour" - BS
File: CrNS134
===
NAME: McPherson's Farewell: see MacPherson's Lament (File: K348)
===
NAME: McSorley's Beautiful Twins: see McSorley's Twins (File: Dean046)
===
NAME: McSorley's Twins
DESCRIPTION: "Mrs. McSorley had fine bouncing twins, Two fat little devils they were." The parents determine on a grand christening; many come to join the party. As guests get drunk, fights break out; at last "they smothered the two little twins."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Dean)
KEYWORDS: baby humorous party mother father fight twins
FOUND_IN: US(MW) Canada
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Dean, pp. 46-47, "McSorley's Twins" (1 text)
DT, MCSORTWN
Roud #5501
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
McSorley's Beautiful Twins
File: Dean046
===
NAME: McTavish is Dead
DESCRIPTION: "Oh, McTavish is dead and his brother doesn't know it, His brother is dead and McTavish doesn't know it. They're both of them dead and they're lying in bed And neither one knows that the other is dead."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1988
KEYWORDS: death
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 122, "McTavish Is Dead" (1 text, tune referenced)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Irish Washerwoman" (tune)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
MacTavish is Dead
NOTES: Said to have been used as mouth music for dancing. Presumably it is one of the several attempts to provide a lyric for "The Irish Washerwoman" -- in this case, probably just to help remember the tune. - RBW
File: PHCFS122
===
NAME: Me and My Baby and My Baby's Friend
DESCRIPTION: Floating verse song (even the chorus changes): "Me 'n' my baby 'n' my baby's friend Can pick mo' cotton dan a cotton gin." "I got a baby and a honey too." "Boat's up de ribber and she won't come down." Etc.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: floatingverses love work
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 236, (no title) (1 text, which appears more a collection of blues stanzas than an actual song, but verses from songs such as "Boat's Up the River" and "I Got a Gal in de White Folks' Yard")
File: ScaNF236
===
NAME: Me Father Is a Lawyer in England: see My God, How the Money Rolls In; also My Father's a Hedger and Ditcher and The Cobbler (File: EM107)
===
NAME: Me Father's a Lawyer in England: see My God, How the Money Rolls In (File: EM107)
===
NAME: Me Johnny Mitchell Man
DESCRIPTION: A miner's song in "Slavic" dialect, telling how the immigrant has been working in the mines, in bad conditions, for many years. When "Me Johnny Mitchell man" calls a strike, the singer will welcome it
AUTHOR: Con Carbon
EARLIEST_DATE: 1938
KEYWORDS: emigration mining strike labor-movement
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1899 - John Mitchell becomes President of the United Mine Workers of America. He devoted much of his energy to soothing tensions between Slavs and longer-settled workers so that the UMW could effectively strike against the mine owners
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 865-867, "Me Johnny Mitchell Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #4757
File: BAF865
===
NAME: Me Old Ragadoo
DESCRIPTION: Michael Chaser was born "with me hands in the pockets of me old ragadoo." At forty he meets Suzy Lagan but claims he won't shame her by taking her to the altar in his old ragadoo. She is fine with that and bids him adieu. He marries someone else.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1977 (Lehr/Best)
KEYWORDS: poverty courting clothes humorous
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Lehr/Best 77, "Me Old Ragadoo" (1 text, 1 tune)
RECORDINGS:
Anita Best, "Me Old Ragadoo" (on NFABest01)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Little Beggarman" (tune, words)
NOTES: Lehr/Best: "A 'ragadoo' is a general name for a tattered garment, presumably with pockets."
This is close enough to "The Little Beggarman" that I could not argue too long if they were considered the same song. Clearly, one is derived from the other. The difference is that this song, in Lehr/Best, actually has a story (having nothing to do with begging). Nevertheless, I would bet that this is the derivative. - BS
File: LeBe077
===
NAME: Me One Man: see One Man Shall Mow My Meadow (File: ShH100)
===
NAME: Meagher's Children [Laws G25]
DESCRIPTION: Two girls, four and six years old, lose their way in the woods and die. It takes a hundred men a week to find their bodies.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1932 (Creighton-NovaScotia)
KEYWORDS: children death
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Apr 11, 1842 - "Two little girls from Preston Road into the woods did stray"
FOUND_IN: US(NE) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (6 citations)
Laws G25, "Meagher's Children"
Creighton-NovaScotia 135, "Meagher's Children" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-Maritime, pp. 204-205, "Meagher's Children" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ives-DullCare, pp. 75-77,248-249, "Lost Babes of Halifax" (1 text, 1 tune)
Manny/Wilson 30, "The Lost Babes of Halifax (Meagher's Children)" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 347, MEAGCHLD
Roud #1834
NOTES: Manny/Wilson: The initials of the author are disputed. Creighton refers to a copy with initials B.G.V. and Manny/Wilson refers to a copy with initials D.G.B. "An article in the Dartmouth Free Press, by Dr J P Martin, April 12, 1962, says decidedly that the author is Daniel G Blois, of The Gore, Hants County, Nova Scotia." - BS
File: LG25
===
NAME: Measles in the Spring, The: see The Sow Took the Measles (File: LoF015)
===
NAME: Meditations of an Old Bachelor (The Good Old-Fashioned Girl)
DESCRIPTION: "The girls today are different from those I used to know, They never seem contented unless they're on the go." He complains about makeup, short hair, etc.; "Womenly characteristics we loved and prized are few." He wants a "good old-fashioned girl."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: hair clothes courting bachelor
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 57, "Meditations of an Old Bachelor" (1 text)
Roud #7843
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Good Old Days of Adam and Eve" (theme) and references there
cf. "The Braw Servant Lasses" (subject)
NOTES: All I can say to the singer is, "You couldn't get a woman back when they *were* modest; why should they want you now when you're old and a grump?"
Despite this sort of whine, it's worth noting that the population of the planet has doubled repeatedly since this grouse was written (1920s?). Evidently most men can adapt to modern women. - RBW
File: Br3057
===
NAME: Meeks Family Murder (I), The [Laws F28]
DESCRIPTION: The Meeks Family (husband, wife, and three children) are lured from home by the Taylors. The parents and two children are killed, but wounded Nellie escapes to report the crime (the song details Nellie's story, and ends before the villains are captured)
AUTHOR: Arthur Wallace
EARLIEST_DATE: 1913
KEYWORDS: murder family escape
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 11, 1894 - Gus Meeks, his wife, and two children are killed by William and George Taylor (who are suspected of cattle stealing). William Taylor was hanged; George escaped and was not recaptured
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Laws F28, "The Meeks Family Murder I"
Belden, pp. 404-412, "The Meeks Family Murder" (11 texts, 2 tunes, grouped into types A-E; the "A" group of 3 texts and 1 tune is this song; Belden however believes that A1 and A3 are mixtures of F28 and "The Meeks Family Murder (IV)," which is Belden's "B" group. "C" is "The Meeks Family Murder (V)", "D" is too brief to categorize, and "E" is not traditional)
Randolph 152, "The Meeks Murder" (4 texts, 1 tune; with the "B" and "C" texts being this song; the A text is Laws F30, and D is Laws F29)
Burt, pp. 232-234, "(The Meeks Massacre)" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 719, MEEKMUR1*
Roud #2266
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder II" [Laws F29]
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder III" [Laws F30]
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder IV"
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder (V -- Nellie's Lament)"
NOTES: Belden has detailed notes on the history of this piece; it appears that the Taylors were unsavory sorts, perhaps guilty of cattle stealing, and their employee and tenant Gus Meeks -- given a pardon by the governor -- was going to provide evidence of their financial wrongdoing
The Taylors, knowing they were in trouble, offered Meeks a better job, and convinced him to go along with them, then tried to kill the whole family with axes and burn their bodies. The hay used in the fire, however, was wet, and so Nellie Meeks, once she awoke, was able to escape alive and report the crime.
Both brothers were sentenced to be hanged, but George escaped and no reliable evidence of his later career is available. Folklore, however, attended both George Taylor and Nellie Meeks for many years (e.g. Nellie is said to have borne a "dint" from the blow of the axe to her head for the rest of her life).
To tell this piece from the other Meeks ballads, consider this first stanza:
About a mile from Brownington
At the foot of Jenkins's hill,
Took place this awful murder
By the Taylors, George and Bill.
(Other versions of the song use stanzas of eight lines of this sort.)
This song seems to have mixed heavily with "The Meeks Family Murder IV."
- RBW
File: LF28
===
NAME: Meeks Family Murder (II), The [Laws F29]
DESCRIPTION: The Meeks Family (husband, wife, and three children) are lured from home by the Taylors. The parents and two children are killed, but wounded Nellie escapes to report the crime. The Taylors are captured and sentenced to die
AUTHOR: credited to Marion Anderson (1894)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1942 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: murder children escape execution
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 11, 1894 - Gus Meeks, his wife, and two children are killed by William and George Taylor (who are suspected of cattle stealing). William Taylor was hanged; George escaped and was not recaptured
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Laws F29, "The Meeks Family Murder II"
Randolph 152, "The Meeks Murder" (4 texts, 1 tune, but Laws considers only the "D" text to be this song; "A" is F30 and "B" and "C" go with F28)
Burt, p. 235, "(The Meeks massacre)" (1 excerpt)
DT 797, MEEKMUR2
Roud #2267
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder I" [Laws F28]
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder III" [Laws F30]
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder IV"
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder (V -- Nellie's Lament)"
NOTES: For more historical details on this piece, see the notes to "The Meeks Family Murder" (I).
To tell this piece from the other Meeks ballads, consider this first stanza:
'Twas in the lovely springtime,
In the merry month of May,
When Meeks, his wife, and children
Were induced to go away. - RBW
File: LF29
===
NAME: Meeks Family Murder (III), The [Laws F30]
DESCRIPTION: Nellie Meeks recounts her fate. Her family (father, mother, and three children) are lured from home by the Taylors. The parents and two children are killed, but wounded Nellie escapes to report the crime and tell of being an orphan
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1915 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: murder family children orphan
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 11, 1894 - Gus Meeks, his wife, and two children are killed by William and George Taylor (who are suspected of cattle stealing). William Taylor was hanged; George escaped and was not recaptured
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Laws F30, "The Meeks Family Murder III"
Randolph 152, "The Meeks Murder" (4 texts, 1 tune, but Laws considers only the "A" text -- which has the only tune -- to be part of F30; "B" and "C" are F28 and "D" is F29)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 151-153, "The Meeks Murder" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 152A)
Burt, pp. 235-236, "(Nellie's Lament)" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 796, MEEKMUR3
Roud #2268
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder I" [Laws F28]
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder II" [Laws F29]
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder IV"
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder (V -- Nellie's Lament)"
NOTES: For more historical details on this piece, see the notes to "The Meeks Family Murder" (I).
Rumor has it that Nellie (elsewhere called Sadie) Meeks herself sang this variant in the 1890s. One person who claimed to be a family relative denied this, saying that Nellie stayed with her grandmother until she married, gave birth, and died at the age of eighteen.
To tell this piece from the other Meeks ballads, consider this first verse:
We lived upon the Taylor's farm
Not many miles from town;
One night while we were all asleep
The Taylor boys came down.
 - RBW
File: LF30
===
NAME: Meeks Family Murder (IV), The
DESCRIPTION: George Meeks is in prison, but is offered a pardon to testify against the Taylors. The Taylors offer him a job and money to come with him, but then kill him and his family. Nellie escapes and laments being an orphan
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1912 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: murder family children orphan
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 11, 1894 - Gus Meeks, his wife, and two children are killed by William and George Taylor (who are suspected of cattle stealing). William Taylor was hanged; George escaped and was not recaptured
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Belden, pp. 404-412, "The Meeks Family Murder" (11 texts, 2 tunes, grouped into types A-E; the "B" group of 5 texts and 1 tune is this song, though Laws lists only three texts -- B1, B3, and either B2 or B4, probably the latter -- as this piece; in addition, some of Belden's "A" texts, which belong to "The Meeks Family Murder (I)", appear to have mixed with this piece. Belden's "D" is too brief to categorize, and "E" is not traditional)
Roud #2269
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder I" [Laws F28]
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder II" [Laws F29]
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder III" [Laws F30]
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder (V -- Nellie's Lament)"
NOTES: For more historical details on this piece, see the notes to "The Meeks Family Murder" (I).
This is item dF49 in Laws's Appendix II.
To tell this ballad from the other Meeks Murder songs, consider this first stanza:
In Milan, Sullivan County,
There lived a family poor,
A father and a mother,
Three children around the door. - RBW
File: Beld408A
===
NAME: Meeks Family Murder (V -- Nellie's Lament), The
DESCRIPTION: The singer laments, "Once I had a mamma, likewise a papa too." She recalls a beautiful, sunny day; the next thing she can remember is a pain in her head and the bodies of her family. Having told her tale, she regrets her fate
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1913 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: murder family children orphan
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 11, 1894 - Gus Meeks, his wife, and two children are killed by William and George Taylor (who are suspected of cattle stealing). William Taylor was hanged; George escaped and was not recaptured
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Belden, pp. 404-412, "The Meeks Family Murder" (11 texts, 2 tunes, grouped into types A-E; the "C" text is this song, while "A" is "The Meeks Family Murder (I)" and "B" is "The Meeks Family Murder (IV). Belden's "D" is too brief to categorize, and "E" is not traditional)
Roud #2270
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder I" [Laws F28]
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder II" [Laws F29]
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder III" [Laws F30]
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder (IV)"
NOTES: For more historical details on this piece, see the notes to "The Meeks Family Murder" (I).
This is item dF50 in Laws's Appendix II.
To tell this ballad from the other Meeks Murder songs, consider the first line above and the chorus:
Sad, sad to be an orphan here,
No more to see my little sisters dear,
They are in heaven, the voices they are still,
The fatal blows were given upon the Jenkins Hill. - RBW
File: Beld407B
===
NAME: Meet Me at the Fair: see Meet Me in Saint Louis (File: R514)
===
NAME: Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis
DESCRIPTION: Louis returns from work to find Flossie not at home. Her note says that life is too slow, and tells him to "Meet me in St. Louis, Louis, Meet me at the fair; Don't tell me the lights are shining Any place but there." A despondent Louis prepares to move
AUTHOR: Words: Andrew B. Sterling / Music: Kerry Mills
EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (sheet music)
KEYWORDS: love travel separation abandonment
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1904 - St. Louis Louisiana Purchase Exposition (World's Fair), for which Kerry Mills wrote this song
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Randolph 514, "Meet Me at the Fair" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 255, "Meet Me In St. Louis, Louis" (1 text)
Geller-Famous, pp. 241-244, "Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7597
RECORDINGS:
Billy Murray, "Meet Me In St. Louis, Louis" (Victor 2850, 1904)
NOTES: Although the song pronounces the name of the town "St. Louie", no St. Louis resident ever uses that pronunciation, and we look upon it with disdain. - PJS
According to Geller, Sterling and a couple of friends visited a bar run by a man named Louis (Louie), and they called his product Louie as well. When Sterling came in, one of the others said, "Another Louie, Louie," and that inspired the idea.
Incidentally, the 1904 World's Fair turned out to have a great deal of cultural influence (and waistline influence). Joe Schwartz, _That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles_, ECW press, 2002, pp. 214-218, notes that among the inventions popularized there were the ice cream cone (ice cream was well known, but until then it had been served mostly in dishes), the hot dog bun, peanut butter (originally designed as a protein source for those with poor or no teeth), cotton candy, and Dr. Pepper soda. - RBW
File: R514
===
NAME: Meet Me in the Bottoms
DESCRIPTION: "Meet me in the bottoms with my boots and shoes, Whoo Lordy mamma, Great God A'mighty...." The singer "got to leave this town now." He notes that he sees both the woman he loves and the woman he hates every day
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 (recording, Davie Lee)
KEYWORDS: love separation clothes
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Courlander-NFM, pp. 97-98, (no title) (1 text); p. 274, "Meet Me in the Bottoms" (1 tune, partial text)
RECORDINGS:
Davie Lee, "Meet Me in the Bottoms" (on NFMAla6)
NOTES: Despite the fact that Davie Lee's version appears in the series of recordings, "Negro Folk Music of Alabama," he was recorded in Mississippi. - PJS
File: CNFM097
===
NAME: Meet Me in the Moonlight: see The Prisoner's Song (File: FSC100)
===
NAME: Meet Me Tonight in the Moonlight
DESCRIPTION: The singer calls on his sweetheart to "Meet me tonight in the moonlight." He bids her come alone and hear his sad story. He is being sent to sea, and they must part. He expresses his hope to return in metaphors of a fine ship, angels' wings, etc.
AUTHOR: Joseph A. Wade
EARLIEST_DATE: 1924
KEYWORDS: separation love
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (6 citations)
Randolph 746, "Meet Me Tonight" (3 texts plus a gragment, 1 tune, although the "C" text is probably "The Prisoner's Song (I)")
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 489-491, "Meet Me Tonight" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 746A)
BrownIII 350, "The Prisoner's Song" (7 texts plus 1 fragment, 2 excerpts, and mention of 1 more; "A"-"C," plus probably the "D" excerpt, are "The Prisoner's Song (I)"; "E" and "G," plus perhaps the "H" fragment, are "Meet Me Tonight in the Moonlight"; "J" and "K" are "Sweet Lulur")
Sandburg, pp. 216-217, "Moonlight" (1 text plus an excerpt, 1 tune)
Belden, p. 494, "Beautiful Light o'er the Sea" (1 text, possibly mixed with something else)
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: "New Jail," "I'm Going To My New Jail Tomorrow," "New Jail," "Meet Me in the Moonlight," "The Great Ship," "Prisoner's Song"; 3 tunes on pp.449-450; the "A" fragment is probably "Meet Me Tonight in the Moonlight"; "B" and "D" are "New Jail" types; "C" is too short to classify; "E" is a mix of floating verse, "If I had a great ship on the ocean," "Let her go, let her go and God bless her," "Sometimes I'll live in the white house, sometimes I live in town..."; "F" may well have some Dalhart influence)
Roud #767
RECORDINGS:
Burnett & Rutherford, "Meet Me in the Moonlight" (Supertone 9443, 1929)
Carter Family, "Meet Me by Moonlight Alone" (Victor 23731, 1928) (Perfect 7-01-54/7-05-55, both 1937)
Bradley Kincaid, "I Wish I Had Someone to Love Me" (Vocalion 02686, 1934)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Prisoner's Song (I)"
cf. "I'm Dying for Someone to Love Me" (lyrics)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
I Wish I Had Someone to Love Me
NOTES: This song later became merged with a version of "Botany Bay/Here's Adieu to All Judges and Juries" to produce "The Prisoner's Song." See notes on that piece also, as they often cannot be distinguished. It doesn't help that that song was built out of traditional materials by Vernon Dalhart (or someone), and the Carter Family patched up a version also.
Belden's "Beautiful Light o'er the Sea" is a curiosity; it doesn't really look like this song -- but two of its three verses go with this song, and the whole theme is very similar. Since I haven't met the "other half" that gave it its title (indeed, it sounds more like a hymn than anything else), it seemed proper to file it here so people will realize that the "half and half" song exists.
Richard Dress informs us that Joseph Augustine Wade (1796?-1845) wrote the lyrics 'Meet me by moonlight alone, And then I will tell you a tale Must be told by the moonlight alone" around 1826. It seems to have been the only thing he ever did of significance; my sources don't even agree on whether his middle name was "Augustus" or "Augustine."
This latter piece can be found as broadside NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(83b) "Meet Me by Moonlight Alone," Poet's Box (Dundee), n.d. - RBW
File: R746
===
NAME: Meet, O Lord!
DESCRIPTION: "Meet, O Lord, on the milk-white horse, An' de nineteen wile in his hand. Drop on, drop on the crown on my head, And rolly in my Jesus's arms. In that morning all day (x3), When Jesus the Christ been born." "Moon went into the poplar tree...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad Jesus
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Allen/Ware/Garrison, p. 43, "Meet, O Lord!" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #11998
File: AWG043A
===
NAME: Meeting at the Building
DESCRIPTION: "Meeting at the building Soon be over (with) (x3), Meeting at the building soon be over (with), All over this world." "Preaching at the building...." Continue with shouting, praying, etc.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1973
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Silber-FSWB, p. 354, "Meeting At The Building" (1 text)
Roud #11694
SAME_TUNE:
Elizabeth Cotten, "Praying Time Will Soon Be Over" (on Cotten03) 
File: FSWB354
===
NAME: Meeting of Tara, The
DESCRIPTION: Thousands attend to support O'Connell and Repeal. The counties are represented. Dan appears: 3 cheers for Victoria, 9000 for Repeal. Wellington and Peel would face more men at Tara than at Waterloo. "Come rouse my brave Repealers be obedient to the law"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1900 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 19(102))
KEYWORDS: Ireland political
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Aug 15, 1843 - Repeal meeting at Tara (source: Zimmermann)
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Zimmermann 50B, "The Meeting of Tara" (1 fragment)
Healy-OISBv2, pp. 79-81, "The Meeting of Tara" (1 text)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 19(102), "Meeting of Tara" ("On the 15th day of August in the year of 43"), J.F. Nugent & Co. (Dublin), 1850-1899; also 2806 b.9(269), 2806 c.15(118), "The Meeting of Tara"; 2806 c.15(277), "The Tara Monster Meeting"
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.178.A.2(065) , "The Tara Monster Meeting," James Lindsay (Glasgow), c.1843 [? see Notes] 
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Glorious Repeal Meeting Held at Tara Hill" and references there
cf. "Daniel O'Connell (I)"  (subject: Daniel O'Connell) and references there
NOTES: The description is from broadside Bodleian Harding B 19(102). A line from the broadside hints that it may date from after October 8 when the Clontarff meeting was abandoned: "Such a grand sight was never seen nor will till times no more."
The commentary for broadside NLScotland L.C.Fol.178.A.2(065) states "The meeting at Tara, Co. Meath in the summer of 1843, is now estimated to have been attended by 750,000 people." It is interesting that that version, seemingly a duplicate of Bodleian 2806 c.15(277), is shortened to omit all reference to O'Connell: not only the final five verses but also the lines in the first verse ("On the Royal Hill of Tara, Irish thousands did prevail, In Union's hands to join their hands with Dan, for the Repeal" becomes "On the Royal Hill of Tara, Where thousands did prevail, In union's bonds to join their hands, To sign for the repeal.")
Be skeptical about NLS dating. L.C.Fol.178.A.2(065) has two entries which, when put together, seem the same as Bodleian 2806 c.15(277). "The Irish Girl" half has the printer's information; "The Tara Monster Meeting" half, of course, has no printer information. NLS dates "The Irish Girl" "Probable period of publication: 1860-1890" and "The Tara Monster Meeting" "Probable date published: 1843" - BS
Be skeptical about NLS numbers estimates, too -- 750,000 people was a tenth of the population of Ireland! Robert Kee (p. 208 of _The Most Distressful Country_, which is volume I of _The Green Flag_) mentions this estimate, but notes that it was from _The Nation_ -- which was pro-Irish. O'Connell's estimate was an even more absurd million and a half. A more realistic estimate is a quarter of a million (from Cecil Woodham-Smith, _The Great Hunger_, p. 11).
Nonetheless it is clear that O'Connell faced more people than Wellington at Waterloo. Wellington (who had been Prime Minister from 1828, and in fact granted Catholic emancipation) at Waterloo had faced only about 72,000 men under Napoleon.
"Repeal" was of course O'Connell's basic political platform; he wanted repeal of the Union between Ireland and Great Britain. 
Sadly, the Monster Meetings accomplished little. As Kee writes on p. 209, "The real question was whether the giant had a giant's strength. The closer O'Connell got to his goal the nearer came the moment whenthe question of how exactly he hoped to get Repeal if the government continued to stand firm had to be answered. This critical moment was in fact just seven weeks away."
O'Connell published a platform of reforms he sought, then scheduled another Monster Meeting for Clontarf, where Brian Boru had won his great victory.
The day before the meeting was to take place (October 5), the government decided it didn't trust O'Connell's protestations of loyalty. They banned the meeting. O'Connell could sure have held it anyway. But he stood firm to his principle of loyalty, cancelled the meeting -- and saw his movement all but collapse. He had blinked, and from being distrusted by the British, he now saw himself distrusted by the extreme radicals also.
Shortly after this, the government had O'Connell arrested. He was convicted in a farce trial and was sentences to a fairly brief spell of minimum-security detention. But, by the time he was free to move about again, the potato blight had arrived. Repeal was a fine principle, but what Ireland needed was food; the Liberator perforce spent his last years trying to prod a stubbornly non-interventionist government to provide aid.
The "Iron Duke" is of course the Duke of Wellington, victor at Waterloo, and a former Prime Minister; although his official government role was relatively slight by this time, he had an important role as an advisor to Sir Robert Peel's government and was overjoyed at the ending of the Monster Meetings. Sir Robert Peel himself (1788-1850) was Prime Minister for most of this period; some of his legislation, ironically, was pro-Irish, but he was anti-Whig and anti-O'Connell (and later would earn deserved infamy for his lack of response to the potato famine). Basically he believe in small government -- in all the bad senses. - RBW
File: Zimm050B
===
NAME: Meeting of the Waters, The
DESCRIPTION: "There is not in the wide world a valley so sweet As the vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet" The magic of the spot "'twas that friends, the beloved of my bosom, were near" 
AUTHOR: Thomas Moore (1779-1852)
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1835 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(2174))
KEYWORDS: lyric nonballad friend river
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
O'Conor, p. 54, "The Meeting of the Waters" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Charles Sullivan, ed., Ireland in Poetry, p. 15, "The Meeting of the Waters" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Thomas Kinsella, _The New Oxford Book of Irish Verse_ (Oxford, 1989), p. 269, "The Meeting of the Waters" (1 text)
ST OCon054B (Partial)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(2174), "Meeting of the Waters", G Walker (Durham), 1797-1834; also Harding B 11(584), Johnson Ballads fol. 18 View 2 of 2, Harding B 45(23) View 3 of 3, Harding B 11(4323), Harding B 11(4189), Harding B 15(195a), Harding B 17(193a), "[The] Meeting of the Waters"
SAME_TUNE:
The Head of Old Dennis (broadside Bodleian Harding B 17(193a))
NOTES: This is among the most popular of Moore's poems; _Granger's Index to Poetry_ cites four anthologies -- and none of them the usual suspects. - RBW
File: OCon054B
===
NAME: Melancholy Accident, A -- The Death of M. Hodge
DESCRIPTION: "Far distant friends will drop a tear When of this accident they hear." A group of girls visits Betsy Green's school. With bad weather coming, parents gather six girls -- but the horses fall on a slope; Mira is killed instantly; Eliza succumbs weeks later
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Gardner/Chickering)
KEYWORDS: death horse injury disaster wreck
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Gardner/Chickering 126, "A Melancholy Accident -- The Death of M. Hodge" (1 text)
ST GC126 (Partial)
Roud #3701
NOTES: This looks very historical, but it's not really specific enough (or clear enough; it's poor poetry) to allow much hope of dating it. - RBW
File: GC126
===
NAME: Memory of the Dead, The
DESCRIPTION: "Who fears to speak of Ninety-Eight? Who blushes at the name?" The listeners are urged to recall the soldiers of the Irish rebellion, and to cherish their values
AUTHOR: Words: Joseph Kells Ingram (1823-1907)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1843 (Zimmermann: "According to _The Nation_, 12 April, 1843, 'The Memory of the Dead' was first sung in a 'Symposium' held on St. Patrick's Day")
KEYWORDS: Ireland rebellion memorial
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1798 - the 1798 Rebellion
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (10 citations)
O'Conor, pp. 48-49, "The Memory of the Dead" (1 text)
Zimmermann 51, "The Memory of the Dead" (1 text, 1 tune)
Moylan 136, "The Memory of the Dead" (1 text, 1 tune)
PGalvin, pp. 39-40, "The Memory of the Dead" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MEMRYDED*
ADDITIONAL: Edward Hayes, The Ballads of Ireland (Boston, 1859), Vol I, pp. 276-277, "The Memory of the Dead"
Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 505-506, "The Memory of the Dead (1798)" (1 text)
H. Halliday Sparling, Irish Minstrelsy (London, 1888), pp. 63-64, 501, "The Memory of the Dead"
Charles Sullivan, ed., Ireland in Poetry, p. 90, "The Memory of the Dead" (1 text)
Donagh MacDonagh and Lennox Robinson, _The Oxford Book of Irish Verse_ (Oxford, 1958, 1979), pp. 80-82, "The Memory of the Dead"  (1 text)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Orange Yeomanry of '98" (lyrics)
SAME_TUNE:
Easter Week (The Song of 1916) (Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 263-264)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Who Fears to Speak of Ninety-Eight?
NOTES: According to Robert Kee in _The Most Distressful Country_  (being Volume I of _The Green Flag_), p. 203, this poem served to rehabilitate Ireland's memory of the 1798 rebellion, which at the time it was published "had been under a polite historical cloud for nearly half a century."
In an irony pointed out by the semi-parody "The Orange Yeomanry of '98," it was initially published anonymously. - RBW
File: PGa039
===
NAME: Memphis Flu
DESCRIPTION: In 1929 people in Memphis are dying from influenza. Doctors say they will control the flu soon, but God shows his power by making them sick too. Influenza, "puts a pain in every bone/a few days you are gone/to a place in the ground called the grave." 
AUTHOR: Words: Elder David Curry/Music: Benjamin Hanby
EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (recording, Elder Curry & congregation)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: In 1929 people in Memphis are dying from influenza. Doctors say they will have the flu under control in a few days, but God shows his power by sending the doctors and nurses to sickbeds too. Influenza, "puts a pain in every bone/a few days you are gone/to a place in the ground called the grave." Ch.: "It was God's mighty hand/He is judging this old land...Yes, He killed the rich and poor/And he's going to kill more/If you don't turn away from your shame"
KEYWORDS: disease death religious doctor gods
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1918 - Influenza pandemic kills tens of millions worldwide.
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (0 citations)
RECORDINGS:
Elder Curry & Congregation, "Memphis Flu" (OKeh 8857, 1931; rec. 1930; on Babylon)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Darling Nelly Gray" (tune)
NOTES: The 1918 pandemic was the most devastating in [recent] history; smaller outbreaks occurred in later years. Curry may be conflating one of these with the 1918 disease, the symptoms of which were closer to his description than those of "normal" flu. - PJS
File: RcMemFlu
===
NAME: Men Awaiting Trial for the Murders in Phoenix Park, The
DESCRIPTION: The men will be tried for murder on the evidence of the double-dyed informer Carey. He duped them and "pointed out the victims, the men that were to be stabbed"; "let us hope further fair play won't be denied." Carey should be given justice
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1966 (Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: betrayal murder trial nonballad
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: The Phoenix Park murders (source: primarily Zimmermann, pp. 62, 63, 281-286.)
May 6, 1882 - Chief Secretary Lord Frederick Cavendish and the Under Secretary Thomas Henry Burke are murdered by a group calling themselves "The Invincible Society."
January 1883 - twenty seven men are arrested.
James Carey, one of the leaders in the murders, turns Queen's evidence.
Six men are condemned to death, four are executed (Joseph Brady is hanged May 14, 1883; Daniel Curley is hanged on May 18, 1883), others are "sentenced to penal servitude," and Carey is freed and goes to South Africa.
July 29, 1883 - Patrick O'Donnell kills Carey on board the "Melrose Castle" sailing from Cape Town to Durban.
Dec 1883 - Patrick O'Donnell is convicted of the murder of James Carey and executed in London (per Leach-Labrador)
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Zimmermann, p. 63, "A New Song on the Men Awaiting Trial for the Murders in Phoenix Park" (1 fragment)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 26(427), "A New Song on The Men Awaiting Trial for the Murders in the Phoenix Park ("In the dark dismal dungeons and the cold prison cell ," unknown, n.d.
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Phoenix Park Tragedy" (subject: the Phoenix Park murders) and references there
NOTES: Zimmermann p. 62: "The Phoenix Park murders and their judicial sequels struck the popular imagination and were a gold-mine for ballad-writers: some thirty songs were issued on this subject, which was the last great cause to be so extensively commented upon in broadside ballads."
Zimmermann p. 63 is a fragment; broadside Bodleian Harding B 26(427) is the basis for the description. - BS
File: BrdMATMP
===
NAME: Men of County Clare, The
DESCRIPTION: Toast "The men of County Clare!" Brian Boru's call to defeat of the Danes, and de Valera's call "to strike for native land" were answered by "the mighty men of Clare". Toast "'Our land a nation free again From Cork to Antrim's shore!'"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1987 (Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan)
KEYWORDS: battle Ireland nonballad patriotic
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan 48, "The Men of County Clare" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5237
NOTES: At the Battle of Clontarf, 1014, Brian Boru defeated a combined force of Vikings and rebels from Leinster, but died in the battle.
The song mentions Eamon de Valera. The Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 6, 1921 established the Irish Free State. The Civil War that followed was between the pro-treaty and anti-treaty factions. De Valera led the ant-treaty faction. (source: _Irish Civil War_ at the Wikipedia site).- BS
For more on Brian Boru, see the notes to "Remember the Glories of Brian the Brave." For de Valera, the Free State, and the Civil War, see e.g. the notes to "The Irish Free State" and "General Michael Collins"; also "The Boys from County Cork." - RBW
File: RcMoCoCl
===
NAME: Men of the West, The
DESCRIPTION: "Forget not the boys of the heather Who rallied their bravest and best When Ireland was broken in Wexford And looked for revenge to the West." The brief success and final failure of the western rising are recounted.
AUTHOR: William Rooney
EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (IRClancyMakem03)
KEYWORDS: rebellion Ireland death derivative
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1798 - Irish rebellion
Aug 22, 1798 - 1100 French troops under General Humbert land at Killala Bay in County Mayo. He would surrender on Sept. 8, and by May 23 the Mayo rising had been suppressed with some brutality
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
PGalvin, pp. 30-31, "The Men of the West" (1 text, 1 tune)
Moylan 114, "The Men of the West" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MENWEST*
RECORDINGS:
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, "The Men of the West" (on IRClancyMakem03)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Rosin the Beau" (tune) and references there
cf. "Eoghan Coir" (tune according to Moylan, which tune we generally index as "Rosin the Beau")
cf. "Rouse, Hibernians" (subject)
cf. "The West's Asleep" (subject)
cf. "The Frenchmen" (subject)
NOTES: The 1798 rising had already been crushed (see the notes on ""The Shan Van Vogt" and "Boulavogue") when French general Humbert landed, largely on his own initiative, in County Mayo (August 1798). A few local peasants rose, and the local British forces were defeated at the "Races of Castlebar."
Castlebar was one of the most ignominous defeats in history: The Loyalists were on the defensive, in prepared trenches; their forces are thought to have been larger, and they had the overwhelming edge in artillery. But their Irish militiamen fled, and the handful of steadier forces could not hold in those circumstances.
Humbert, however, had only three ships, all frigates -- not enough men to do anything of significance. There was supposed to be another French force, under Hardy -- but it was delayed while its commander tried to get the money needed to pay  the troops out of the French government. 
Nor was the country particularly receptive when Humbert landed. Connaught had not rebelled at the height of the 1798 rising; a few French troops could not inspire a real rebellion. Worse still, the recruits he did get were Catholics, with few weapons, poor training, and no contact with the United Irish movement.
Humbert hardly helped his cause by an explosive temper. Nor did he help his cause by having no money; he issued drafts on the "Republic of Connaught," but in a country that had no banks, few even understood the cheques they were given in lieu of payment for what was requisitioned.
It's probably no surprise that Humbert soon had to surrender. He chased around the west of Ireland, and tried to open a way to Dublin, but eventually was trapped between forces led by Cornwallis and Lake; with no reliable troops except his French veterans, he had no choice but to yield to superior force on September 8, 1798. That was the effective end of Humbert's career; indeed, most references I checked don't even list his death date.
(If it matters, Robert Kee's _The Most Distressful Country_, being Volume I of _The Green Flag_, gives a brief account of his later career on page 140: He fell out with Napoleon and went to the United States, participating in the Battle of New Orleans. He participated in Mexico's 1815 rebellion against Spain, then went back to the U.S. where he died in 1823.)
There would be two more French naval expeditions in 1798; for the second, a single ship carrying Napper Tandy, see the notes to "The Wearing of the Green." The third and largest expedition, with Wolfe Tone aboard, is described under "The Shan Van Vogt." -  RBW
"Eoghan Coir" [the listed tune for this piece in some Irish sources] is a poem by Riocard Bairead (1740-1819) (source: "Riocard Bairead" in the _Ar gCeantar and Beyond_ project at the Inver National School site). - BS
File: PGa030
===
NAME: Men's Clothes I Will Put On (I): see William and Nancy I (Lisbon; Men's Clothing I'll Put On I) [Laws N8] (File: LN08)
===
NAME: Men's Clothes I Will Put On (II): see The Banks of the Nile (Men's Clothing I'll Put On II) [Laws N9] (File: LN09)
===
NAME: Men's Clothes I Will Put On (III): see Jack Monroe (Jackie Frazer; The Wars of Germany) [Laws N7] (File: LN07)
===
NAME: Menschikoff: see Our Brave Scotch Lads (File: GrD1157)
===
NAME: Merchant and the Beggar Wench, The: see The Beggar Wench (File: K338)
===
NAME: Merchant's Daughter (I), The: see The Bramble Briar (The Merchant's Daughter; In Bruton Town) [Laws M32] (File: LM32)
===
NAME: Merchant's Daughter (II), The: see The Slighted Suitor (File: HHH159)
===
NAME: Merchant's Daughter and Her Sailor: see Disguised Sailor (The Sailor's Misfortune and Happy Marriage; The Old Miser) [Laws N6] (File: LN06)
===
NAME: Merchant's Daughter Turned Sailor, The: see The Silk Merchant's Daughter [Laws N10] (File: LN10)
===
NAME: Merchant's Only Son, The [Laws M21]
DESCRIPTION: A young man's parents send him to America to keep him from marrying a poor girl. He reaches land despite his ship's wreck. He meets a rich girl who offers marriage, but he remains true to the girl at home. The rich girl gives him money to return to her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1900 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 b.11(224))
KEYWORDS: transportation exile courting poverty ship wreck escape return
FOUND_IN: US(MW) Ireland
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Laws M21, "The Merchant's Only Son"
Ranson, pp. 48-49, "The North Star" (1 text, 1 tune)
Gardner/Chickering 74, "The Merchant's Only Son" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 764, MERCHSON
Roud #1019
RECORDINGS:
Martin Howley, "The North Star" (on IRClare01)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 b.11(224), "The Belfast Lovers" ("You lovers all attention pay, the truth I will pen down"), T. Pearson (Manchester), 1850-1899; also Johnson Ballads 1895, "The Belfast Lovers"; 2806 c.8(156), "The Limerick Lovers"; 2806 b.9(65), "The Lovers of Derry"
NOTES: Ranson: Tune is "Thomas Murphy" on p. 98.
Ranson's version makes the lost ship the _North Star_, an historical wreck on the Welsh coast (see "The North Star") - BS
File: LM21
===
NAME: Merchant's Son and the Beggar Wench, The: see The Beggar Wench (File: K338)
===
NAME: Merchants of Fogo, The
DESCRIPTION: "Come all ye toil-warn fishermen ... lend an ear; Beware of those cursed merchants, in their dealings they're not fair; For fish they'll give half value." All local merchants are thieves except the Hodge brothers; "they've showed justice to each man"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield)
KEYWORDS: greed accusation commerce nonballad
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 149, "The Merchants of Fogo" (1 text)
Roud #17749
NOTES: Fogo, on Fogo Island, is up the East Coast about 170 miles north of Saint John's. Greenleaf/Mansfield states "This song with its coarse slander and gossip was made up in praise of the Hodge Brothers [by] ... a man ... hoping to curry favor." Mr Hodge, however, was not impressed. - BS
File: GrMa149
===
NAME: Merchants of the Bay
DESCRIPTION: The merchants of the village of St Peter's Bay are named and characterized: good and bad. "Oh those were spirit stirring times, some twenty years ago" Times have changed for the worse; some remaining moderns are named.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 (Dibblee/Dibblee)
KEYWORDS: commerce nonballad
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Dibblee/Dibblee, pp. 23-24, "Merchants of the Bay" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #12478
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Twenty Years Ago (Forty Years Ago)" (tune)
NOTES:  St Peter's is on the north coast of Kings, Prince Edward Island - BS
File: Dib023
===
NAME: Merchants, The
DESCRIPTION: "It's all about the cruel rogues of merchants No pity or love do they show." They live a life of ease and luxury and sell poor goods and show no charity. But death found rich and poor on Florizel and Titanic and will find the merchants too.
AUTHOR: Paddy Dover
EARLIEST_DATE: 1977 (Lehr/Best)
KEYWORDS: hardheartedness poverty commerce nonballad
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Lehr/Best 78, "The Merchants" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Florizel and Titanic, of course, are famous Newfoundland wrecks with songs of their own. - BS
It's a sad irony to note that, on the Titanic at least, losses were heavier among the third class passengers (who were down below) than the rich in first class. - RBW
File: LeBe078
===
NAME: Mercy, O Thou Son of David: see references under This Old World (File: DarN259B)
===
NAME: Mermaid, The [Child 289]
DESCRIPTION: A group of sailors see a mermaid (meaning that they can expect a shipwreck). Various crew members lament the families they are leaving behind. The ship sinks.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1765?
KEYWORDS: mermaid/man ship sea wreck
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(All),Scotland(Aber)) US(Ap,MA,NE,NW,Ro,SE,So,SW) Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland
REFERENCES: (39 citations)
Child 289, "The Mermaid" (6 texts)
Bronson 289, "The Mermaid" (42 versions)
GreigDuncan1 27, "The Mermaid" (8 texts, 3 tunes) {A=Bronson's #16, B=#2, C=#6}
Ord, pp. 333-334, "The Mermaid" (1 text plus a fragment)
SharpAp 42, "The Mermaid" (3 texts plus 1fragment, 4 tunes) {Bronson's #17, #41, #24, #14}
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 363-368, "The Mermaid" (3 texts plus a fragment and a version from the Forget-me-not Songster, 1 tune) {Bronson's #25}
Flanders-Ancient4, pp. 271-280, "The Mermaid" (4 texts plus a fragment, 3 tunes) {E=Bronson's #39}
Belden, pp. 101-102, "The Mermaid" (1 text)
Randolph 39, "The Wrecked Ship" (3 texts, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #42, #40}
Davis-Ballads 48, "The Mermaid" (8 texts plus 4 fragments, the last of which may not be this song; 2 tunes entitled "The Stormy Winds," "The Mermaid"; 1 more version mentioned in Appendix A) {Bronson's #22, #12}
Davis-More 44, pp. 344-349, "The Mermaid" (3 texts, 1 tune)
BrownII 48, "The Mermaid" (2 texts)
Chappell-FSRA 23, "The Mermaid" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #9}
Hudson 26, p. 127, "The Mermaid" (1 short text)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 189-190, "TheMermaid" (1 text)
Creighton-Maritime, p. 26, "The Mermaid" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 106-107, "The Mermaid" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #31}
Mackenzie 16, "The Royal George" (1 text)
Blondahl, p. 90, "Black Friday" (1 text, 1 tune)
Smith/Hatt, p. 38, "Then Turn Out You Jolly Tars" (1 fragment)
Mackenzie 16, "The Royal George" (1 text)
Thomas-Makin', pp. 34-35, (no title) (1 fragment)
Leach, pp. 673-674, "The Mermaid" (1 text)
Friedman, p. 404, "The Mermaid" (2 texts, 1 tune)
FSCatskills 71, "The Mermaid" (1 text, 1 tune)
Niles 62, "The Mermaid" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, pp. 70-71, "The Mermaid" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #36}
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 98-99, "Waves on the Sea" (1 text, 1 tune)
Botkin-NEFolklr, pp. 562-563, "The Mermaid" (1 text, 1 tune)
Harlow, pp. 147-149, "The Mermaid" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill, pp. 560, "The Mermaid" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Shay-SeaSongs, p. 124, (no title) (1 fragment, almost certainly of this song)
Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 71-73, "The Mermaid" (1 text, 1 tune)
LPound-ABS, 11, pp. 26-27, "Three Sailor Boys" (1 text)
JHCox 33, "The Mermaid" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 93, "The Mermaid" (1 text)
BBI, ZN2143, "On a Friday morning we set sail"
DT 289, MERMDFRI* MERMAID3* WAVESSEA* MERMAID5*
ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #413, "One Friday Morn" (1 text)
ST C289 (Full)
Roud #124
RECORDINGS:
Emma Dusenberry, "The Mermaid" (AFS, 1936; on LC58) {Bronson's #40}
William Howell, "The Mermaid" (on FSBBAL2)
Bascom Lamar Lunsford, "The Mermaid Song" (on BLLunsford01) {cf. Bronson's #32}
New Lost City Ramblers, "Raging Sea" (on NLCR02)
Ernest Stoneman & His Blue Ridge Corn Shuckers, "The Raging Sea, How It Roars" (Victor Vi 21648, 1928) {Bronson's #20}
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 c.17(273), "The Mermaid" ("One Friday morning we set sail"), W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also Harding B 11(3641), Harding B 11(3642), 2806 c.17(272), Harding B 11(2228), Harding B 11(2519), Firth c.12(413), 2806 c.17(271), 2806 c.17(275), Harding B 11(2404), Harding B 11(2603), Harding B 11(2403), "The Mermaid"; 2806 c.13(248), Firth c.12(414), Harding B 11(3146), "The Mermaid" or "The Gallant Ship"
LOCSinging, sb20297a, "The Mermaid," H. De Marsan (New York), 1864-1878 
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Sinking Ship
Oh, the Lamp Burns Dimly Down Below
The Stormy Winds Do Blow
The Gallant Ship
NOTES: Legend has it that a ship that sees a mermaid will be destroyed. (Some versions say that all aboard are to be drowned as well, but they could hardly drown at the time; else how would anyone know what destroyed the ship?) Ord also notes that it was considered unlucky for ships to sail on a Friday -- and most versions do seem to involve sailing on that day.
One of the verses of this, "three times around went our gallant ship," seems to have circulated independently as a nursery rhyme; see, e.g., Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #862, p. 322. - RBW
Creighton-Maritime moves the locale to New York City: "board bill on Fifth Avenue," "sweetheart in Madison's Square," and the wreck [took place] as "we neared Jersey flats, Sandy Hook was on our lea." - BS
Mackenzie's "The Royal George" ("O the Royal George turned round three times") would seem to have adapted "The Mermaid" to the sinking of the Royal George, "flagship of Admiral Kempenfelt, ... on 29 August 1782 with the loss of eight hundred lives, including Admiral Kempenfelt himself." (source: "The Loss of the Royal George" at The Cowper and Newton Museum web page at the Milton Keynes Heritage Association site). You can see William Cowper's poem on the subject at Charles W. Eliot, editor, English Poetry Vol II From Collins to Fitzgerald (New York, 1910), #314, pp. 533-534, "Loss of the Royal George." - BS
I note parenthetically that John Keegan, _The Price of Admiralty: The Evolution of Naval Warfare_, Penguin, 1988, 1990, p. 51, spells the name "Kemenfelt." This may be a printing error, however, as the name is used only once, with reference to the revised signal system he invented. The _Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography_ gives his dates as 1718-1782, and says of him, "Am intelligent and learned officer, Kempenfelt was noted as a scientist, scholar, and author, known both for his oncern for his men's health and welfare, and for his scholarly approach to naval issues; his success at Ushant showed initiative, daring, and a clear grasp of strategy and tactics."
The _Royal George_ itself, according to Lincoln P. Paine, _Ships of the World_, Houghton Mifflin, 1997, p. 439, was ordered in 1749 but not finished until 1759; she was a first rate battleship, said to be the "first warship to exceed 2,000 tons burden." She fought under Hawke at Quiberon Bay (for which see "Bold Hawke").
Put in the reserve in 1763 with the conclusion of the Seven Years' War, she was put back in commission in 1778 as the French and Americans made war on Britain. She was taking on supplies at Spithead "when on August 29 _Royal George_ was being heeled at a slight angle to make some minor repairs below the waterline. At the same times, casks of rum were being loaded aboard  and the lower deck gunports were not properly secured. At about 0920 the ship suddenly rolled over on her beam ends, filled with water, and sank, taking with her 800 people,including as many as 300 women and 60 children who were visiting the ship." - RBW
File: C289
===
NAME: Merman, The (Pretty Fair Maid with a Tail) [Laws K24]
DESCRIPTION: The crew is waiting for a breeze to carry them south when a merman appears with a shout. The ship's anchor has stopped his front door! The merman reveals that he is a sailor who was washed overboard. Having married a mermaid, he grew a tail
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1900 (broadside, Bodleian Firth c.26(152))
KEYWORDS: ship mermaid/man
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf) Ireland
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Laws K24, "The Merman (Pretty Fair Maid with a Tail)"
Greenleaf/Mansfield 64, "The Pretty Fair Maid with a Tail" (1 text, 1 tune)
Harlow, pp. 131-133, "The Merman" (1 text)
Ranson, pp. 30-31, "The Merman" (1 text)
DT 564, MERMAN
Roud #1898
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth c.26(152), "The Merman", T. Pearson (Manchester), 1850-1899
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Down in the Diving Bell (The Mermaid (II))" (plot)
cf. "Change Islands Song" (plot)
cf. "Married to a Mermaid" (theme of marrying a mermaid)
File: LK24
===
NAME: Merner Song, The
DESCRIPTION: In November Billy Merner came to Darlingtown and moved in with the Sargents. At Christmas he got drunk, "raked poor Bessie," and left. No one whose "Head is good and sound ... let Will Merner come back to Darlingtown."
AUTHOR: Wilmot MacDonald
EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (Ives-NewBrunswick)
KEYWORDS: home drink hunting
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ives-NewBrunswick, pp. 83-87, "The Merner Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #1950
File: IvNB083
===
NAME: Merrily We Roll Along: see Goodnight Ladies (File: FSWB258A)
===
NAME: Merrimac (I), The
DESCRIPTION: "The Merrimac she went out; The Yankees wa'n't a-thinking. The fust thing the Yankees knew, the Cumberland was a-sinking... Holler, boys, oh, holler! ... You ought to seen her go down." The Merrimac sinks the Congress also
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 
KEYWORDS: battle Civilwar navy war ship
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: March 8, 1862 - U.S. frigates Congress and Cumberland sunk by the CSS Virginia (formerly USS Merrimac). The Minnesota runs aground; had not the Monitor arrived the next day, the Merrimac would have sunk that ship also
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownII 226, "The Merrimac" (1 text, probably fragmentary)
Roud #6569
File: BrII226
===
NAME: Merrimac (II), The: see The Cumberland [Laws A26] (File: LA26)
===
NAME: Merry Bagpipes, The: see The Northumbrian Bagpipes (File: StoR032)
===
NAME: Merry Golden Lee, The: see The Golden Vanity [Child 286] (File: C286)
===
NAME: Merry Golden Tree, The: see The Golden Vanity [Child 286] (File: C286)
===
NAME: Merry Green Fields of the Lowland, The: see Old MacDonald Had a Farm (File: R457)
===
NAME: Merry Haymakers, The
DESCRIPTION: In (May), the creatures cavort in the fine weather. Assorted men and women join together to cut the hay and frolic. Several are introduced as they arrive. In addition to cutting the fields, they may find other ways of making hay....
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1857 (Bell); c.1720 (broadside, Bodleian Douce Ballads 2(154))
KEYWORDS: farming work love courting
FOUND_IN: Ireland Britain(England(Lond,South))
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
SHenry H697, pp. 278-279, "Tumbling through the Hay" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kennedy 255, "The Merry Haymakers" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MONTH MAY
Roud #153
RECORDINGS:
Bob & Ron Copper, "The Merry Haymakers" (on FSB3)
Sam Larner, "The Pleasant Month of May" (on Voice05)
Levi Smith, "The Haymakers" (on Voice11)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Douce Ballads 2(154), "The Merry Hay-makers" or "Pleasant Pastime, Between the Young- Men and Maids, in the Pleasant Meadows" ("In our country, in our country"), S. Bates (London), [c.1720]; also Mus. 1 c.118(6e)[title and many words illegible], "The Merry Hay-makers"
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Month of May
NOTES: For another version see Robert Bell, editor, [The Project Gutenberg EBook (1996) of] Ancient Poems, Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of England (1857), "The Haymaker's Song" ("In the merry month of June") - BS 
File: HHH697
===
NAME: Merry Man, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer drinks whisky with friends from morning till night. He hates men too miserly to spend their money on drink. He wants no crying or paid keeners at his wake: everyone should toast his journey. All should sing when carrying his body to the grave.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1820 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 25(549))
KEYWORDS: death money drink nonballad
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 101-105, "The Merry Man" (1 text)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 25(549), "Drinking Song" ("I am a young fellow that loves to be mellow"), J. Pitts (London), 1802-1819
File: CrPS101
===
NAME: Merry May the Keel Row: see The Keel Row (File: StoR041)
===
NAME: Merry May the Maid Be
DESCRIPTION: "Merry may the maid be that marrys the miller." Jamie wooed the singer; she was impressed by his home, animals, and food. Her mother advised her to marry. Now her mother is happy with them. "Who'd be a king a petty thing when a miller lives sae happy"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1796 (Scots Musical Museum #123)
KEYWORDS: courting marriage food animal mother miller
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Greig #56, p. 2, ("Merry may the maid be") (1 fragment) 
GreigDuncan3 453, "Merry May the Maid Be" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5656
NOTES: Greig in 1908: ." .. an old song that appeared in the _Charmer_ about 150 years ago." - BS
File: GrD3453
===
NAME: Merry Shanty Boys, The
DESCRIPTION: "We are a band of shanty boys, as merry as can be, No matter where we go, my boys, We're always gay and free." The men go out in the morning to cut the trees, sharpen their axes and relax in the evening, bring the logs to market, and celebrate
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Rickaby), from a nineteenth-century broadside
KEYWORDS: logger work food nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Rickaby 31, "The Merry Shanty Boys" (1 text)
NOTES: Rickaby prints this, but it appears to be entirely from print. And, despite his comment about its quality, it strikes me as something no shantyman would actually sing. - RBW
File: Rick122
===
NAME: Messenger Song, The
DESCRIPTION: The horse, a descendent of Messenger, reports on its frisky behavior with its handlers. They respond by beating the animal. It breaks down the door and flees; it boasts of its new freedom and its abilities
AUTHOR: John Calhoun?
EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 (Manny/Wilson)
KEYWORDS: horse abuse escape freedom
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Doerflinger, p. 266, "The Messenger Song" (1 text)
Manny/Wilson 33, "The Messenger Song (John Calhoun's Colt)" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Doe266a (Partial)
Roud #4166
NOTES: Messenger was a famous horse of the nineteenth century; Manny and Wilson note that he "was foaled in 1780, imported to the United States in 1788, and died in 1808, leaving a large progeny."
This song is item dH49 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW
File: Doe266a
===
NAME: Met Mister Rabbit
DESCRIPTION: "Met Mister Rabbit one night, All dressed in his plug hat, He turned his nose up in the air, Said, 'I'se gwine to Julia's ball, So good night, possums all."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: animal dancing
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 176, (no title) (1 short text)
File: ScaNF176
===
NAME: Metamorphoses, Les (Metamorphoses)
DESCRIPTION: French. The male magician is trying to seduce the female. She will be game in a pond and he will hunt her.... She will die and go to heaven and he will be St Peter to open the door. She says, Since you are inevitable, you may as well have me as another.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage rape seduction shape-changing magic
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf,West)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Peacock, pp. 788-789, "Je me mettrai gibier dans un etang" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Twa Magicians" [Child 44] (theme)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Si tu reviens Dimanche
NOTES: Child, in his notes to The Twa Magicians [Child 44] gives an extensive description of this ballad [in] the French form. He cites 14 sources, often with names that translate along the lines of "Transformations," "The Mistress Won," and "The Pursuit of Love." Incidentally, he notes that the "French ballad generally begins with a young man's announcing that he has won a mistress, and he intends to pay her a visit on Sunday...." 
In that connection, the Brandon [Manitoba] University site for the journal Ecclectica inludes two verses of the ballad, collected in Manitoba, under the title "Si tu reviens dimanche" (If you return Sunday), "The Songs of Their Fathers" by Lynn Whidden, _Ecclectica_, August 2003
Peacock's version is not as complete as Child's summary. The male verses end "par amitie" (by friendship) while the female verses end "Tout ce que t'auras de moi aucun agrement" (what you have of me is without my agreement). She will be game in a pond and he will hunt her. She will be a rose and he will be a fireman to warm her. She will be the moon and he will be a cloud to cover her.  She will become sick and he will be a doctor to cure her. She will die and go to heaven and he will be St Peter to open the door.
 Peacock ends here but, according to Child, "she says, Since you are inevitable, you may as well have me as another; or more complaisantly, Je me donnerai a toi, puisque tu m'aimes tant." - BS
File: Pea788
===
NAME: Methodist Pie
DESCRIPTION: The singer attends a camp meeting and reports on the goings-on. (S)he enjoys food and music greatly. (S)he maintains, "Oh, little children, I believe (x3); I'm a Methodist till I die...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1912 (Perrow)
KEYWORDS: music religious
FOUND_IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Randolph 291, "Methodist Pie" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 248-250, "Methodist Pie" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 291A)
DT, METHPIE
Roud #7823
RECORDINGS:
Ashley's Melody Men, "Methodist Pie" (Victor 23661, 1932)
Bob Atcher, "Methodist Pie" (Columbia 20482, 1948; rec. 1947)
Gene Autry, "Methodist Pie" (Oriole 8103, c. 1932)
Bradley Kincaid, "Methodist Pie" (Gennett 6417/Champion 15631 [as Dan Hughey]/Supertone 9210/Silvertone 8220, 1928) (Brunswick 420/Supertone S-2018, 1930)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Hard Trials" (floating verses)
File: R291
===
NAME: Mexico, The
DESCRIPTION: Mexico is wrecked on Keeragh rocks when the captain "lost his bearings." Fourteen Fethard men set out to rescue the crew "but their boat was smashed upon the rocks": Nine are drowned; the remaining five get the crew to an island and 12 are rescued.
AUTHOR: John Codd
EARLIEST_DATE: 1937 (Ranson)
KEYWORDS: drowning sea ship storm wreck sailor rescue
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Feb 20-21, 1914 - The Mexico wreck
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ranson, pp. 28-30, "The Mexico" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Fethard Life-Boat Crew (I)" (subject)
cf. "The Fethard Life-Boat Crew (II)" (subject)
cf. "The Fethard Life-Boat Crew (III)" (subject)
cf. "Loss of the Life-Boat Crew at Fethard" (subject)
NOTES: February 20, 1914: "Nine members of the Fethard lifeboat were drowned when going to the assistance of the Norwegian steamer _Mexico_.... Eight of the Mexico's crew were saved by the five lifeboat survivors. All but one of the stranded survivors were saved with great difficulty the next day." (source: Bourke in _Shipwrecks of the Irish Coast_ v1, pp. 52-53) - BS
We note that at least four poems were written about this disaster (see the cross-references); one suspects a campaign to raise money for someone's family. - RBW
File: Ran028
===
NAME: Mhaighdean Mara, An (The Mermaid)
DESCRIPTION: Irish Gaelic. Blond Mary Chinidh, whose mother is a mermaid, swims Lake Erne forever. She loves blond sailor Patrick.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 (recording, Kitty Gallagher) 
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage love nonballad supernatural family mother mermaid/man
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Tunney-StoneFiddle, p. 58, "An Mhaighdean Mara" (1 text)
RECORDINGS:
Kitty Gallagher, "An Mhaighdean Mhara (The Mermaid Song)" [fragment] (on Lomax42, LomaxCD1742)
NOTES: The description follows the translation for "An Mhaighdean Mara" at _Clannad_ on Celtic Lyrics Corner site. - BS
Paul Stamler gives this description of Kitty Gallagher's version, which is however a translation of an excerpt of a fragment: "The singer, Mary Heeney, having swum the Erne, speaks to her girl Maire and (husband?) Patrick. Maire then speaks, saying that her mother was a mermaid." - PHS, (RBW)
File: TSF058
===
NAME: Michael Boylan
DESCRIPTION: Boylan, a United man, is taken prisoner to Drogheda June 3. Dan Kelly swears falsely that Boylan had 10,000 at his command "to assist the French invaders as soon as they would land ... and the jury cried out, Boylan you must die by martial laws"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1798 (Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: rebellion betrayal execution prison Ireland
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: June 22, 1798 - Michael Boylan is hanged at the Tholsel, Drogheda. (source: Moylan)
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Zimmermann 15, "Michael Boylan" (1 text, 1 tune)
Moylan 66, "In Collon I Was Taken" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: "Michael Boylan" has the form of a gallows-confession except that the condemned man is a hero rather than a criminal. We have the usual farewell to an "aged father" and mother and the final request that "good Christians pray for me."
Moylan's account of the event has Kelly, the informer, enraged by Boylan's defection: Boylan was supposed to lead the pikemen to fight on Tara May 23, 1798 but, on that night, he refused to leave his house. - BS
Drogheda, we note, is in County Louth, near the border with Meath, north of Dublin and at the southern edge of Ulster. Collon is about a dozen miles north and west of there, again in County Louth.
Unless Boylan was taken far away from the city where he was tried, the charges against him do sound exaggerated; there weren't that many active rebels in that area. The nearest rebel activity was in County Meath, and that pretty feeble. - RBW
File: Zimm015
===
NAME: Michael Davitt
DESCRIPTION: "Oh, the Lords and and the Commons, Bill Gladstone and Bright" passed Coercion "and arrests and evictions are going on still." Davitt, Dillon, Parnell, "Kettle and Brennan, and two hundred more" are arrested. "[T]he land it is ours and we mean to be free"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1881 (Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: prison farming Ireland political
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Zimmermann 80, "A New Song on Michael Davitt" (1 text, 1 tune)
BROADSIDES:
cf. "The Blackbird of Avondale" or "The Arrest of Parnell" (subject)
cf. "The Land League's Advice to the Tenant Farmers of Ireland" (subject)
cf. "Erin's Lament for her Davitt Asthore" (subject of Michael Davitt)
cf. "Garryowen (II)" (tune, per broadside Bodleian Harding B 40(17))
NOTES: Bodleian, Harding B 40(17), "A New Song on Michael Davitt ("Then up with the flag, raised by Davitt, our head"), J.F. Nugent and Co.? (Dublin?), 1850-1899 is apparently this ballad but I could not download the image to verify that. It has the tune as "Garryowen." 
"A Coercion Act, I should explain, is defined to be a statute which is not a part of the general law, but applies only to some specified portion of the kingdom. And within the limits to which it applies it arms the police with powers unknown to the ordinary law, and sometimes foreign to the spirit of that law." (source: _The Lighter Side of My Official Life_ by Sir Robert Anderson, 1910 on the Casebook site re Jack the Ripper).
In 1881 Gladstone established "the Irish Coercion Act that let the Viceroy detain people for as 'long as was thought necessary.'" (source: "William Ewart Gladstone" in Wikipedia)
Zimmermann: "A.J Kettle and Thomas Brennan were Land Leagers arrested in 1881.... John Dillon was arrested in May 1881, but was released later on grounds of ill-health." 
Zimmermann p.281: "Michael Davitt, who had been sentenced in 1870 to fifteen years' penal servitude for his share in the Fenian movement and released in 1877, was re-arrested in February 1881. Released in 1882, he was again prosecuted for seditious speeches and imprisoned for four months in 1883 ...." - BS
Considering that Gladstone worked for most of his career trying to improve conditions in Ireland, and passed much relief legislation, and on one occasion lost a confidence vote over a proposal for Home Rule, this is a pretty unfair accusation. It was the Tories who opposed rights for Ireland. Yes, Gladstone at times was forced to clamp the lid down, but it was hardly something he desired. Unfortunately, he inherited an Ireland which was in turmoil over tenants' rights (see, e.g., "The Bold Tenant Farmer"). He also had to contend with the Phoenix Park Murders (see the notes to "The Phoenix Park Tragedy"). The situation was bad enough that any government would have been forced into a crackdown.
John Bright (1811-1889) is a more confusing case: He was a pacifist, but an imperialist, and supported more freedom for Ireland and India, but opposed Home Rule in 1886.
Michael Davitt (1846-1906), having seen his family evicted from their land at five and then lost his arm in an industrial accident at the age of 12 (see Robert Kee, _The Bold Fenian Men_, being volume II of _The Green Flag_, p. 74), started out as a radical, and though he moderated over the years, he was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in 1870. Released after half that time, he allied with Charles Stewart Parnell to form the Land League, though they would later fall out violently. He was imprisoned again from 1881-1882, this time apparently for more conservative views. (Altogether he is a very confusing figure, at least to me.) In 1886, he suppored home rule (Kee, p. 119).
His popularity is a bit ironic, given that he was anti-clerical and inclined toward socialist solutions.
For more on Davitt, see the notes to "The Bold Tenant Farmer" and "Erin's Lament for her Davitt Asthore."
John Dillon (1851-1927) came from a wealthy background but spent most of his life campaigning for land reform; he was four times imprisoned despite spending most of the years 1880-1918 in parliament.
For Parnell (1846-1891), see the various songs in the cross-references.
The other imprisoned Land Leaguers, Kettle and Brennan, were not noteworthy enough to show up in hte histories I checked. - RBW
File: Zimm080
===
NAME: Michael Dwyer (I)
DESCRIPTION: "At length brave Michael Dwyer and his undaunted men Were scented o'er the mountains and tracked into the glen." Dwyer and three men are trapped by the British in a house afire. One, wounded, tries to delay the police, but only Dwyer escapes
AUTHOR: Timothy Daniel Sullivan (1827-1914)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1901 (O'Conor)
KEYWORDS: Ireland rebellion police escape death
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: February 15, 1799 - Michael Dwyer escapes from the Glengarry Regiment (source: Moylan)
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
O'Conor, pp. 44-45, "Michael Dwyer" (1 text)
Moylan 142, "Michael Dwyer" (1 text, 1 tune)
Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan 30, "Michael O'Dwyer" (1 text, 1 tune)
PGalvin, pp. 95-96, "Michael Dwyer" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5219
RECORDINGS:
Tom Lenihan, "Michael O'Dwyer" (on IRTLenihan01)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Michael Dwyer (II)" (subject)
cf. "Captain Dwyer" (subject)
cf. "Michael Dwyer's Lament" (subject)
cf. "The Mountain Men" (subject)
cf. "Twenty Men from Dublin Town" (subject)
NOTES: Moylan: "Michael Dwyer was a Wicklow man, a member of the United Irishmen, who fought during the 1798 rebellion, and who waged a guerilla war in the Wicklow mountains for several years afterwards."
Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan: "Michael Dwyer (1771-1826) is a genuinely romantic figure in Irish history. An outlaw 'on his keeping' in the Wicklow hills after the rebellion of 1798 he is remembered by the folk is the same light as Robin Hood or Jessie James are in other traditions." - BS
Sullivan is the author of a number of Irish patriotic poems, of which "God Save Ireland" is probably the best-known. Dwyer also attracted the attention of that militant writer, Peadar Kearney, who produced the Irish national anthem "The Soldier's Song," as well as such pieces as "Whack Fol the Diddle (God Bless England)."
As a historical figure, Dwyer was less important; of the five histories I checked, only Robert Kee's _The Green Flag_ mentions him, and only to note that he was a Catholic (unlike many leaders of the 1798 rebellion), and that after the United Irish collapse, he fought on in the Wicklow Mountains until about the time of Robert Emmet's rebellion.
According to the _Oxford Companion to Irish History_, his dates were 1771-1826; he surrendered to the British in 1803 and was transported to Australia. He became High Constable of Sydney in 1815. He does not seem to have been notable in that post (none of my histories of Australia mention him) -- but I find it somewhat ironic to imagine the former outlaw commanding the forces responsible for tracking down outlaws and bushrangers. - RBW
File: PGa095
===
NAME: Michael Dwyer (II)
DESCRIPTION: "Have you heard of Michael Dwyer and his mountain men?' Dwyer fought when "our flag went down And the nation's hope was banished." Ireland won't have Liberty again "till we strike like Michael Dwyer and his mountain men"
AUTHOR: Peadar Kearney (source: Moylan)
EARLIEST_DATE: 2000 (Moylan)
KEYWORDS: rebellion nonballad patriotic Ireland
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1798 - Irish rebellion against British rule 
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Moylan 143, "Michael Dwyer" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Michael Dwyer (I)" (subject of Michael Dwyer) and references there
NOTES: Moylan: "Michael Dwyer was a Wicklow man, a member of the United Irishmen, who fought during the 1798 rebellion, and who waged a guerilla war in the Wicklow mountains for several years afterwards." - BS
Peadar Kearny was the author of, among other things, the Irish national anthem "The Soldier's Song," as well as such pieces as "Whack Fol the Diddle (God Bless England)"; for more on him, see the notes to the latter song. It is perhaps no surprise to find him writing in praise of a covert warrior. Dwyer also attracted the attention of T. D. Sullivan, author of "God Save Ireland," who wrote "Michael Dwyer (I)."
As a historical figure, Dwyer was less important; of the five histories I checked, only Robert Kee's _The Green Flag_ mentions him, and only to note that he was a Catholic (unlike many leaders of the 1798 rebellion), and that after the United Irish collapse, he fought on in the Wicklow Mountains until about the time of Robert Emmet's rebellion.
According to the _Oxford Companion to Irish History_, his dates were 1771-1826; he surrendered to the British in 1803 and was transported to Australia. He became High Constable of Sydney in 1815. He does not seem to have been notable in that post (none of my histories of Australia mention him) -- but I find it somewhat ironic to imagine the former outlaw commanding the forces responsible for tracking down outlaws and bushrangers. - RBW
File: Moyl143
===
NAME: Michael Dwyer's Lament
DESCRIPTION: "To Wicklow's Glens he'd started, from Father Murphy parted." Michael Dwyer continues the fight from the mountains. Some 1798 battles and United Men are listed: "Their Cause it could have gained, then, a Liberty for all!"
AUTHOR: Mick Fowler (source: Moylan)
EARLIEST_DATE: 2000 (Moylan)
KEYWORDS: rebellion Ireland nonballad patriotic
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1798 - Irish rebellion against British rule 
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Moylan 145, "Michael Dwyer's Lament" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Michael Dwyer (I)" (subject of Michael Dwyer) and references there
NOTES: Moylan: "This song ... was written in 1998 by Dublin singer Mick Fowler."
Moylan: "Michael Dwyer was a Wicklow man, a member of the United Irishmen, who fought during the 1798 rebellion, and who waged a guerilla war in the Wicklow mountains for several years afterwards." - BS
For background on Dwyer -- and his eventual surrender to the British authorities -- see the notes to "Michael Dwyer (I)" or "Michael Dwyer (II)." - RBW
File: Moyl145
===
NAME: Michael Finnegan
DESCRIPTION: Of the exploits of Michael Finnegan, constantly urged to "begin again" after a variety of escapades such as the wind blowing his whiskers back into his chin, or growing fat and then growing thin
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1971
KEYWORDS: nonballad nonsense humorous
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Silber-FSWB, p. 242, "Michael Finnigan" (1 text)
Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 201, "Michael Finnigan" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MIKFINEG
Roud #10541
NOTES: It perhaps says something about the American education system that this song was forced upon me in grade school, but the schools would never have even contemplated a serious ballad with something resembling actual content.... - RBW
File: FSWB242B
===
NAME: Michael FinnIgan: see Michael Finnegan (File: FSWB242B)
===
NAME: Michael James
DESCRIPTION: "IÕm as happy as can be, Faith, there is merriment in me," because the singer, when he came home, found he was the father of a boy. He had waited ten years for his first child. He will name the boy Michael James, and boasts of how he will care for it
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Dean)
KEYWORDS: baby father
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Dean, p. 77, "Michael James" (1 text)
Roud #9566
File: Dean077
===
NAME: Michael O'Brien
DESCRIPTION: "Come all you girls ... A man like me with property free -- how can you pass him by?" He lists his assets. But "the girls won't keep my company, they say my breath is bad ... So I'll take a stroll for the good of my soul and see my neighbor's wife"
AUTHOR: Larry Gorman
EARLIEST_DATE: 1957 (Ives-DullCare)
KEYWORDS: courting bragging humorous nonballad bachelor
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ives-DullCare, pp. 52-53, 249, "Michael O'Brien" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13990
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Bachelor's Hall (III)"
NOTES: Ives-DullCare: "It's worth pointing out that this song exhibits three Gorman hallmarks. First, it is about a man looking for a wife. Second, like 'Bachelor's Hall,' it develops its theme through a list of possessions. And third, it is said to have been made up on someone who had asked Gorman to song someone else." - BS
File: IvDC052
===
NAME: Michael O'Dwyer: see Michael Dwyer (I) (File: PGa095)
===
NAME: Michael Power
DESCRIPTION: "On my road to Dungarvan" Michael Power finds a pistol, holds up a postboy and a dragoon, kills four yeomen on the road, twelve more in Carrick and Carey the hangman. He goes to Fulham barracks where he is convicted and sentenced to be hanged.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1976 (recording, Straighty Flanagan)
KEYWORDS: rebellion execution trial humorous outlaw
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: ()

Roud #8141
RECORDINGS:
Straighty Flanagan, "Michael Power" (on Voice08)
NOTES: Hall, notes to Voice08, describes "Michael Power" as "a humorous unlikely tale of fiction, ... set in the counties of Waterford and Wexford in those dangerous times of 1798." - BS
File: RcMicPow
===
NAME: Michael, Row the Boat Ashore
DESCRIPTION: "Michael, row the boat ashore, (h)allelujah" (x2). Remaining verses tend to be about the difficulty of crossing (Jordan) to heaven: "Jordan's river is chilly and cold, (h)allelujah; Chills the body but not the soul...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Allen, Ware, Garrison)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad travel river ship work worksong floatingverses shanty
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Allen/Ware/Garrison, pp. 23-24, "Michael Row the Boat Ashore" (2 texts, 1 tune)
PSeeger-AFB, p. 75, "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 97, "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore" (1 text)
DT, MICHAELR
Roud #11975
RECORDINGS:
Jane Hunter & Moving Star Hall singers, "Row, Michael, Row" (on BeenStorm1)
Pete Seeger, "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore" (on PeteSeeger12) (on PeteSeeger15)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "I'm Crossing Jordan River" (floating lyrics)
cf. "All My Trials" (lyrics)
cf. "Is Your Lamps Gone Out?" (lyrics)
NOTES: Seeger dates this Georgia sea islands worksong from the mid-19th century. - PJS
File: DTmichae
===
NAME: Michie Preval
DESCRIPTION: Creole French: "Michie Preval li donne youn bai..." Preval hosts a ball, charging three dollars for admission. The festivities reach the stable, where the horses are "astonished." The prison warden likes it so much that he is tempted to stage his own ball
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage party animal clothes
FOUND_IN: US West Indies
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Alllen/Ware/Garrison, p. 111, "Calinda" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 213-214, "Michie Preval" (1 text plus translation, 1 tune)
Courlander-NFM, pp. 166-167, (no title) (1 text plus literal translation, 1 tune)
NOTES: Lomax and Courlander accent the name of the title character differently, but the plot is the same in both versions of the song. The earliest version, Allen/Ware/Garrison's, agrees with Lomax. - RBW
File: CNFM166
===
NAME: Michigan-I-O: see Canaday-I-O/Michigan-I-O/Colley's Run I-O [Laws C17] (File: LC17)
===
NAME: Michigania
DESCRIPTION: "Come all ye Yankee farmers who would like to change your lot." The singer lists the problems with life in various parts of the country (from cold Vermont to "the land of Blue Laws" to tax-heavy Massachusetts) and urges listeners to come to "Michigania"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939
KEYWORDS: home nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Botkin-NEFolklr, pp. 555-556, "Michigania" (1 text)
Roud #4745
File: BNEF555
===
NAME: Mick Magee
DESCRIPTION: Magee is a dealer in tobacco and tea who does not bother with licenses. Accidentally taking his wares to a police station, he is pursued by the force. He lends his bag to a beggar and lets himself be trapped. Since he has nothing illegal, he is released
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: commerce trick police escape
FOUND_IN: Ireland Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
SHenry H740, pp. 56-57, "Mick Magee" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 74, "Mick McGee" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST HHH740 (Partial)
Roud #2764
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Mick McGee
File: HHH740
===
NAME: Mick McGee: see Mick Magee (File: HHH056)
===
NAME: Mick McGuire: see Let Mr. McGuire Sit Down (File: RcLMMSD)
===
NAME: Mick Riley
DESCRIPTION: "'Twas in the summer season in the year of seventy-six" the singer fished one summer on Ocean Lark, whose owner is a cobbler in winter. The song claims this cobbler is a cheat and robber and will be so until "he'll find himself in Hell's eternal flames"
AUTHOR: Larry Gorman
EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (Ives-DullCare)
KEYWORDS: greed thief fishing ship humorous
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ives-DullCare, p. 87, "Mick Riley" (1 text)
Roud #14003
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Gull Decoy" (characters)
NOTES: Ives-DullCare: "This song was about the Gull Decoy's son Mick, who, during the off-season, worked as a cobbler." See the notes to "The Gull Decoy" for another example of Gorman's reputed vindictiveness. - BS
File: IvDC087
===
NAME: Mickey's Warning: see Blue Bleezin' Blind Drunk (Mickey's Warning) (File: RcBlBlBl)
===
NAME: Middlesex Flora, The
DESCRIPTION: Bound from London in a storm, "the proud waves did beat her to staves, her name was The Middlesex Flora, and they did sweep our men to the deep." Strangers on the coast pick up the rich cargo. Captain James Bell and the lost crew of thirteen are named.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1907 (GreigDuncan1)
KEYWORDS: drowning sea ship storm wreck sailor shore
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1825: "Middlesex Flora of London was wrecked at Dundrum... en route from Barcelona to Belfast.... Twenty four were drowned." (source: Bourke in _Shipwrecks of the Irish Coast_ v2, p. 25; Irish Wrecks Online site)
FOUND_IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Greig #63, pp. 2-3, "The Middlesex Flora" (1 text) 
GreigDuncan1 29, "The Middlesex Flora" (5 texts, 4 tunes)
Ranson, pp. 72-74, "The Middlesex Flora" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3810
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth c.12(119), "The Middlesex Flora," H. Such (London), 1863-1885
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Mariposa" (theme)
cf. "The Teapots at the Fire" (theme)
cf. "The Old Mayflower" (theme)
cf. "The Irrawaddy" (theme)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Downs
File: Ran072
===
NAME: Middletack Cliack
DESCRIPTION: The singer, a miller, is invited to "a meal and ale" at Middletack farm. "When we got the lasses out we did commence to dance." He names some of the "pretty charming maids"  and some of the men. The party ended peacefully after three o'clock.
AUTHOR: John Sim (composed 1860) (source: GreigDuncan3)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1917 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: dancing drink food party moniker
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan3 631, "Middletack Cliack" (1 text)
Roud #6066
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Castles in the Air" (tune, per GreigDuncan3)
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; Middletack (631) is at coordinate (h6,v0) on that map [roughly 35 miles N of Aberdeen]. - BS
File: GrD3631
===
NAME: Midnight
DESCRIPTION: "Under this sod lies a great bucking horse. There never lived a cowboy he couldn't toss. His name was Midnight, his coat black as coal, If there's a hoss heaven, please, God, rest his soul."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1963
KEYWORDS: horse death recitation
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1924 - First appearance of the bucking horse "Midnight" at the Calgary Stampede
1933 - Midnight is retired
1936 - Death of Midnight. This poem was reportedly inscribed on his monument
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ohrlin-HBT 80, "Midnight" (1 text)
File: Ohr080
===
NAME: Midnight Dew, The: see Nine Hundred Miles (File: LxU073)
===
NAME: Midnight Special, The
DESCRIPTION: "Let the Midnight Special shine its light on me; Let the Midnight Special shine its ever-loving light on me." The prisoner describes how he was arrested, the difficult conditions in prison, and a visit from his girlfriend
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (recording, Dave Cutrell)
KEYWORDS: prison hardtimes warning crime police train
FOUND_IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES: (11 citations)
Cohen-LSRail, pp. 478-484, "The Midnight Special" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph 292, "The Midnight Special" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sandburg, pp. 26-27, "The Midnight Special"; 217, "Midnight Special" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSUSA 91, "The Midnight Special" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 71-75, "The Midnight Special" (1 text, 1 tune)
Jackson-DeadMan, pp. 70-71, "Yon' Come Roberta" (1 text, 1 tune. The song lacks a chorus and the tune is "completely different," according to Jackson, but most of the lyrics belong here); pp. 92-93, "Midnight Special" (1 text, 1 tune, unusually full)
Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 908-909, "The Midnight Special" (1 text, 1 tune)
Arnett, p. 142-143, "Midnight Special" (1 text, 1 tune)
PSeeger-AFB, p. 55, "Midnight Special" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 71, "Midnight Special" (1 text)
DT, MDNTSPCL
Roud #6364
RECORDINGS:
Jesse Bradley, "Midnight Special" (AFS 218 A1, 1934)
Dillard Chandler, "Gastony Song" (on Chandler01)
Dave Cutrell (known as "Pistol Pete") with McGinty's Oklahoma Cowboy Band, "Pistol Pete's Midnight Special" (OKeh 45057, 1926); McGinty's Oklahoma Cowboy Band (now led by Otto Gray), "The Midnight Special" (Vocalion 5337; c. 1929)
Folkmasters, "The Midnight Special" (on Fmst01)
Frank Jordan & Group, "Midnight Special" (AFS 619 A1, 1936)
Leadbelly & the Golden Gate Quartet, "The Midnight Special" (Victor 27266, 1941; rec. 1940)
Pete Seeger, "The Midnight Special" (on PeteSeeger18) (on PeteSeeger26) (on PeteSeeger43)
Pete Seeger & Big Bill Broonzy, "The Midnight Special" (on BroonzySeeger1) (on BroonzySeeger2)
[Wilmer] Watts & [Frank] Wilson, "Walk Right In Belmont" (Paramount 3019, 1927; on TimesAint04)
Ernest Williams, "Midnight Special" (AFS CYL-11-5, 1933)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Jumpin' Judy"
cf. "Mississippi Jail House Groan" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Early in the Morning (IV -- prison song)" (lyrics)
NOTES: I seem to recall a legend that, should the light of the Midnight Special shine on a convict, he would soon be freed. I can'r remember where I heard this, though. I've more recently found this mentioned in _Sing Out_ magazine, Volume 37, #2 (1992), pp, 54, but I'm sure I heard it somewhere else. That issue of _Sing Out_ refers to another legend, in which highly favored convicts were allowed visits from prostitutes brought in on a special train. (The problem with this, of course, is that someone had to pay the prostitutes, so I rather doubt it.)
Carl Sandburg, on the other hand, believes that the song refers to suicide: That the convict would rather be dead under the wheels of the train than spend another twenty years in prison.
Cohen quotes Mack McCormick to the effect that several versions show localization to an unsuccessful 1923 jailbreak, but offers evidence that the song, or at least pieces of it, are much older. The version he prints, "Pistol Pete's Midnight Special" by Dave Cutrell, has several verses not heard in the common Leadbelly version. - RBW
File: R292
===
NAME: Midnight Train and the 'Fo' Day Train, The: see The Midnight Train (File: San325)
===
NAME: Midnight Train, The
DESCRIPTION: "The midnight train and the fo' day train run all night long (x2) They run till the break of day." "'Twas the same train carried yo' mother 'way, run all night long (x2) It run until the break of day."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: train mother
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Sandburg, p. 325, "The Midnight Train" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 240-241, "The Midnight Train and the 'Fo' Day Train" (1 short text, 1 tune)
ST San325 (Full)
File: San325
===
NAME: Mighty Bright Light
DESCRIPTION: First verse/chorus: "(It was) a mighty bright light that was shining down." "Oh, tell me who was that light that was shining down?" "King Jesus was the light that was shining down." "My mother saw the light that was shining down...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1951 (recorded by Texas state farm prisoners)
KEYWORDS: worksong chaingang religious
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Courlander-NFM, p. 101, "(Mighty Bright Light)" (1 text)
RECORDINGS:
Texas state farm prisoners, "Mighty Bright Light" (on NPCWork)
NOTES: A work song, with the gang joining in on the word "down," perhaps striking the hammer at that point. - RBW
File: CNFM101
===
NAME: Mighty Day (Wasn't That a Mighty Storm)
DESCRIPTION: The story of the Galveston tidal wave. Despite evacuation efforts, many die on land and at sea. Chorus something like, "Wasn't that a mighty day/storm, when the storm winds struck/swept the town."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1934
KEYWORDS: storm disaster death
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Sep 8, 1900 - Galveston hurricane and flood. Some 6000 die
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Botkin-SoFolklr, p. 728, "Wasn't That a Mighty Storm!" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 53, "Mighty Day" (1 text)
DT, MIGHTDAY
Roud #12206
RECORDINGS:
"Sin-Killer" Griffin & congregation, "Wasn't That a Mighty Storm" (AFS 185 B2, 1934; on LC10)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Wasn't That a Mighty Time (Galveston Flood)" (subject, floating lyrics)
NOTES: This song shares many of its lyrics, and even some musical elements, with "Wasn't That a Mighty Time (Galveston Flood)." It is quite likely that the two have common roots. The "feel" of the resulting songs is so different, however, that I list them as separate pieces.
The "popular" version, as recorded by the Chad Mitchell trio, reportedly was touched up somewhat by Bob Gibson. - RBW
In the LC version... the chorus is: "Wasn't that a mighty storm/Wasn't that a mighty storm, great water/Wasn't that a mighty storm/That blew the people away." - PJS
File: BSoF728
===
NAME: Mighty Maulin', A: see Fod (File: LoF213)
===
NAME: Mighty Mississippi
DESCRIPTION: "Way out in the Mississippi valley, Just along the plain so grand, Rose the flooded Mississippi River, Destroying the works of man." The Mississippi River flood of 1927 is described, and the plight of those flooded out detailed
AUTHOR: Words: Kelly Harrell
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recording, Ernest Stoneman)
KEYWORDS: flood river disaster
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 87, "Mighty Mississippi" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MGHTYMSS*
RECORDINGS:
New Lost City Ramblers, "Mighty Mississippi" (on NLCR02)
Mike Seeger, "The Story of the Mighty Mississippi" (on MSeeger01)
Ernest Stoneman, "The Story of the Mighty Mississippi" (Victor 20671, 1927)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Great American Flood Disaster" (subject)
NOTES: Kelly Harrell wrote this poem but never attempted to record it (shows how different attitudes toward composed songs were back then); it was Ernest Stoneman who took the piece, found a traditional tune for it, and recorded the result. - RBW
And the recording was out within a few months of the disaster -- probably by September, 1927. - PJS
According to Kip Lornell, _Virginia's Blues, Country & Gospel Records 1902-1943_, the recording session was even more timely: It was made May 21, 1927. Stoneman also cut "Jim Hoover's Mississippi Flood Song" in that session, but Victor declined to issue it. - RBW
File: CSW087
===
NAME: Mike
DESCRIPTION: "Section men a-workin' there all side by side." One of them, Mike, boasts of his work on the railroad. He works and fights hard. One day he works in the jimson, picks up a crosstie, is attacked by a snake, and flees
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1934
KEYWORDS: work railroading animal
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 1869 - Transcontinental railroad complete
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Lomax-ABFS, p. 23, "Mike" (1 text)
Roud #15523
NOTES: The chorus of this piece runs, "Damned be the President, My name's Mike, I got a hand in it, I drive the spike." I assume this refers to the famous "driving of the golden spike" (May 10, 1869 in Promontory, Utah), completing the first transcontinental railroad. This is only a guess, though. - RBW
File: LxA023
===
NAME: Milatraisse Courri Dans Bal
DESCRIPTION: Creole French. "Militraisse courri dans bal, Cocodrie po'te fanal, Trouloulou! C'est pas zaffaire a tou (x2), Trouloulou!" The mixed-blood woman goes to the dance; a full-blood black "holds the lantern"; the musician is asked what difference it makes
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1886 (Cable in Century Magazine)
KEYWORDS: Black(s) dancing foreignlanguage
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 122-123, "Milatraisse Courri Dans Bal" (1 short text plus loose English translation, 1 tune)
File: ScaNF1222
===
NAME: Milking Pails (China Doll)
DESCRIPTION: The child begs, "Mama, buy me a china doll." The mother asks where the money will come from. The child proposes selling Papa's bed. Mama asks where Papa will sleep. The child keeps proposing ideas, each more impractical. Finally Mama ends the discussion
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1894 (Gomme)
KEYWORDS: commerce children family mother playparty
FOUND_IN: US(So) Britain(England)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Randolph 356, "Buy Me a China Doll" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 291-293, "Buy Me a China Doll" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 356)
Montgomerie-ScottishNR 192, "(Buy me a milking pail)" (1 text)
DT, MILKPAIL
ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #75, "Milking Pails" (1 text)
ST R356 (Full)
Roud #3515
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Chiney Doll
NOTES: Randolph's informant claims to have learned this in Oklahoma. I know of only two verified American collections, though: Randolph's, and a version ("Chiney Doll") by Almeda Riddle. Thus American texts, and the "China Doll" wish, may be confined to the Ozarks.
On the other hand, Newell's text, "Milking-Pails" (from England) is so close in form (if not in the object of desire) that the song must be considered ancient, and Gomme has more than a dozen British texts. The British version is a singing game, though the American texts seem to have lost this trait. - RBW
File: R356
===
NAME: Milking Song, The
DESCRIPTION: "Pbroo, pbroo! my bonnie cow! ... Ye ken the hand that's kind to you; Sae let the drappie go, hawkie." The calf is sleeping in the pen, but will come soon. The milk makes visitors glad.
AUTHOR: Robert Jamieson
EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord)
KEYWORDS: animal food nonballad
FOUND_IN: 
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ord, p. 244, "The Milking Song" (1 text)
Roud #3939
NOTES: Ord believes that Jamieson produced this as an imitation, or perhaps an improvement, of an actual milking song. It seems likely enough. I know of no purely traditional collection.
And, no, I have no idea how one pronounces "pbroo"!
Similar milking rhymes are of course common. Baroing-Gould-MotherGoose 490, p. 213, runs
Cushy cow, bonny, let down thy milk,
And I will give thee a gown of silk;
A gown of silk and a silver tee,
If thou will let down thy milk to me.
There is a similar text in Montgomerie-ScottishNR -- #29, "(Bonnie lady, Let down your milk)." - RBW
File: Ord244
===
NAME: Milking-Pails: see Milking Pails (China Doll) (File: R356)
===
NAME: Milkmaid, The (Milking Maid, The): see Rolling in the Dew (The Milkmaid) (File: R079)
===
NAME: Milkman's Lament, The: see Rocking the Cradle (and the Child Not His Own) (File: R393)
===
NAME: Mill and the Kiln, The: see Tak It, Man, Tak It (I) (File: FVS015)
===
NAME: Mill o Tifty's Annie: see Andrew Lammie [Child 233] (File: C233)
===
NAME: Mill o' Lour, The
DESCRIPTION: "We a' agreed at Martinmas On Mill o' Lour to dwell, They said it was a very fine place, But it turned out not so well." The singer describes how hard it is to work the mill, and the people and teams involved.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Ford)
KEYWORDS: work home horse miller
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 330-331, "The Mill o' Lour" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ord, p. 255, "The Mill o' Lour" (1 text)
Roud #5573
File: FVS330
===
NAME: Mill of Boyndie: see Mullnabeeny (Mill of Boyndie) (File: Ord249)
===
NAME: Mill-Boy of the Slashes, The: see Henry Clay Songs (File: SRW039)
===
NAME: Mill, Mill O, The
DESCRIPTION: "Beneath a green shade I found a fair maid, Was sleeping sound and still." The singer has his way with her, then departs to fight in Flanders. Ten years later, he returns to find that she has a child and knows not the father. He marries her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1803 (_Scots Musical Museum_ #242)
KEYWORDS: sex rape mother children reunion marriage soldier
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ord, p. 165, "The Mill, Mill, O" (1 text)
Roud #8486
File: Ord165
===
NAME: Mill, The
DESCRIPTION: "Clip, clap goes the mill by the swift running brook, clip, clap, By day and by night is the miller at work, clip clap! He grindeth the corn to make bread for the year, And with plenty of this we have nothing to fear; Clip clap...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Linscott)
KEYWORDS: miller work river nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Linscott, pp. 240-241, "The Mill" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3750
NOTES: Linscott says of this, "This song in transition has lost its music-box characteristics, which are so apparent in the German form." A curious statement, since she never tells us what the German form is. - RBW
File: Lins240
===
NAME: Miller (I), The: see Miller Tae My Trade (File: K218)
===
NAME: Miller and His Sons, The: see The Miller's Will (The Miller's Three Sons) [Laws Q21] (File: LQ21)
===
NAME: Miller Boy, The (Jolly is the Miller I)
DESCRIPTION: Playparty: "Happy is the miller boy who lives by the mill, The mill turns around with its own free will, Hand on the hopper and the other on the sack, Lady keeps a-going, gents turn back." Other verses about courting, milling, weather
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1719? (Pills to Purge Melancholy) (American version 1916/Wolford)
KEYWORDS: playparty nonballad miller
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,SE,So)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Randolph 518, "The Miller Boy" (5 texts, 2 tunes)
BrownIII 75, "The Miller Boy" (3 one-stanza fragments)
Hudson 153, pp. 300-301, "The Jolly Miller" (1 text)
Cambiaire, p. 137, "The Miller's Boy" (1 text)
DT, OVRHILL5*
Roud #733
RECORDINGS:
Pete Seeger, "Jolly is the Miller" (on PeteSeeger22) (on PeteSeeger33, PeteSeegerCD03)
NOTES: Wolford traces this piece back to _Pills to Purge Melancholy_, and Randolph reports that Gomme has English versions. But they don't look like the same item to me. - RBW
File: R518
===
NAME: Miller o' Straloch, The: see The Jolly Miller (I) (File: K229M)
===
NAME: Miller of Dee, The
DESCRIPTION: The jolly miller "worked and sang from morn till night, no lark more blythe than he." He is happy because "the bread I eat my hands have earned... in debt to none I be." Listeners are urged to follow his example
AUTHOR: probably Isaac Bickerstaffe (see NOTES)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1762 ("Love in a Village"; cf. Chappell)
KEYWORDS: work drink nonballad miller worker
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Kennedy (229), "The Jolly Miller" (1 text, located in the notes)
cf. Chappell/Wooldridge II, p. 124, "The Budgeon It Is a Delicate Trade" (1 tune, partial text)
DT, MILLDEE* MILLDEE2*
Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 347-348, "(Song)" (1 short text)
Roud #503
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth b.25(278), "Miller of the Dee," W.S. Fortey (London), 1858-1885; also Harding B 15(200a), "Miller of the River Dee"; Harding B 15(199b), "The Miller of the Dee"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Jolly Miller" (subject)
SAME_TUNE:
The Budgeon It Is a Delicate Trade (Chappell/Wooldridge II, p. 124)
The Jolly Grinder (File: DTjollgr)
NOTES: Kennedy makes rather a hash of his notes on this song, observing that it is quite close to "The Jolly Miller," which may derive from the same sources. True enough. But "The Jolly Miller" is not "The Miller of Dee," and though Kennedy identifies the tune of the latter (correctly) with "The Budgeon It Is a Delicate Trade," "The Miller of Dee" and "The Budgeon" do *not* use the same tune as "The Jolly Miller," at least as transcribed by Kennedy.
"The Budgeon," which Chappell finds in "The Quaker's Opera" in 1728, is in the natural minor; Kennedy's "The Jolly Miller" is in Ionian (major).
Kennedy makes things worse by saying "The Budgeon" is the same tune as "All Around My Hat" -- which again is in Ionian, not natural minor. - RBW
The Bodleian attributes authorship to Isaac Bickerstaffe, though none of the broadsides have that attribution on its face. Opie-Oxford2 352: "This song, a general favourite in Scotland, and of Sir Walter Scott in particular, became well known after it was sung by John Beard in Bickerstaffe's _Love in a Village_. The music of this successful opera, performed at Covent Garden in 1762 ...."
Verse 1 of broadside Bodleian Firth b.25(278) is almost the same as verse 1 of Opie-Oxford2 352, "There was a jolly miller once" (earliest date in Opie-Oxford2 is 1762). - BS
I looked up several editions (Hoagland; RIchard Aldington, _The Viking Book of Poetry of the English-Speaking World_) of the "Love in a Village" text, and it's clearly this song -- but there appears to be only one verse. So Bickerstaffe (1735?-1812?) isn't the whole story; the additional text must have come from another source.
Bickerstaffe, incidentally, is almost as confusing as the piece he wrote, because he was a real person, but shared a name (almost) with Isaac Bickerstaff, who was not. Bickerstaff was a pseudonym adopted by Jonathan Swift in a controversy with John Partridge. Bickerstaff made a claim Partridge was dead, and even wrote an elegy  (1708), provoking an indignant exchange of pamphlets with the very-much-alive Partridge. This was amusing enough that Richard Steele used the Bickerstaff name for a writer of _The Tatler_ Starting 1709). Then Bickerstaffe (with an e) was born a few decades later.- RBW
File: K229A
===
NAME: Miller of Derbyshire, The: see The Miller's Will (The Miller's Three Sons) [Laws Q21] (File: LQ21)
===
NAME: Miller Tae My Trade
DESCRIPTION: The singer reports, "I am a miller tae my trade... And mony a bag of meal I've made, And mony a lassie I hae laid." He describes one night on which a girl came to his mill and sought his services. (They end up being married)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1906
KEYWORDS: miller work seduction bawdy marriage sex work
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South),Scotland(Aber)) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Kennedy 218, "The Buchan Miller" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-Maritime, p. 31, "The Miller" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MILLTRAD
Roud #888
RECORDINGS:
John McDonald, "The Buchan Miller" (on FSB3)
Davie Stewart, "I Am a Miller To My Trade" (on Voice05)
File: K218
===
NAME: Miller's Advice to His Three Sons, on Taking of Toll, The: see The Miller's Will (The Miller's Three Sons) [Laws Q21] (File: LQ21)
===
NAME: Miller's Apprentice, The: see The Wexford (Oxford, Knoxville, Noel) Girl [Laws P35] (File: LP35)
===
NAME: Miller's Daughter, The (The Fleeing Servant)
DESCRIPTION: The youth and the miller's daughter find themselves on the hill; she starts to seduce him. He flees to the miller, saying, ""O, I have served you seven long years and never sought a fee, And I will serve you seven more if you'll keep your lass from me."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1827 (Kinloch)
KEYWORDS: seduction humorous miller sex rejection
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Kinloch-BBook V, pp. 23-24, (no title) (1 text)
PBB 84, "The Miller's Daughter" (1 text)
ST KinBB06 (Full)
Roud #7151
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Waukin' o' the Kilne, The
NOTES: Kinloch has no title for this piece, and of course doesn't list a source -- but I have to think it's traditional, simply because it doesn't make much sense as it stands. If he wants nothing to do with the girl, why does he go walking with her? It seems likely that a stanza is missing -- either one explaining how she trapped him alone, or one along the lines of "The Warranty Deed," explaining why she is desirable only when clothed.
The Penguin version of this apparently comes from A. L. Lloyd, and isn't much more detailed -- but looks to have been tidied up just a little.
This is one of the handful of humorous treatments of male fidelity -- a theme going back to the tale of Joseph and Potiphar's wife (Genesis 39:1-20), and the source of such tragic ballads as "Child Owlet" and "The Sheffield Apprentice." - RBW
File: KinBB06
===
NAME: Miller's Daughters, The: see The Twa Sisters [Child 10] (File: C010)
===
NAME: Miller's Last Will, The: see The Miller's Will (The Miller's Three Sons) [Laws Q21] (File: LQ21)
===
NAME: Miller's She-Ass, The
DESCRIPTION: A miller could not pay the rent on his mill. The landlord offered the mill and arrears for the miller's wife. For appearances' sake they contract that the miller lend the landlord his she-ass in return for the mill. The miller enforces the contract.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1845 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(2055))
LONG_DESCRIPTION: An honest miller could not pay the rent on his mill. The landlord loved the miller's wife. Drunk, he offered to trade the mill and arrears to sleep with the miller's wife. For appearance sake they agreed that the miller would appear to loan the landlord his she-ass in return for the mill. A lawyer wrote the contract. The next day the landlord's servant called on the miller to complete the deal. The miller had the servant take the she-ass. Sight unseen, the landlord ordered the she-ass put in his bed. The ass kicked the landlord out of bed and was turned out on the street. "The miller he came and his ass he did own And through all the village the story was known"
KEYWORDS: sex bargaining trick hardtimes drink humorous animal wife landlord miller lawyer
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan2 310, "The Miller's She-Ass" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5864
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(2055), "The Landlord Outwitted" or "The Crafty Miller and his She-ass" ("Good people attend I pray you draw near"), J. Pitts (London), 1819-1844
File: GrD2310
===
NAME: Miller's Three Sons, The: see The Miller's Will (The Miller's Three Sons) [Laws Q21] (File: LQ21)
===
NAME: Miller's Wife o' Blaydon, The
DESCRIPTION: "The miller's wife o' Blaydon (x2), Sair she bang'd her ain gudeman For kissing o' the maiden." "Yet aye the miller sings and swears... For one kiss o' that bonny mouth He'd freely give up twenty."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay)
KEYWORDS: miller abuse adultery
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Stokoe/Reay, pp. 152-153, "The Miller's Wife o Blaydon" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST StoR152 (Full)
Roud #3167
File: StoR152
===
NAME: Miller's Will, The (The Miller's Three Sons) [Laws Q21]
DESCRIPTION: The dying miller, to decide which of his three sons will inherit, asks each boy how much he would charge. The first son would take an honest toll; the second, half; the last, all and swear to the sack. The miller joyfully gives the mill to the last son
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1764 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 5(7))
KEYWORDS: death father children robbery crime bequest lastwill
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,NE,SE,So) Canada(Mar) Britain(England(All),Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (26 citations)
Laws Q21, "The Miller's Will (The Miller's Three Sons)"
Belden, pp. 244-246, "The Miller and his Three Sons" (3 texts)
Randolph 359, "There Was an Old Miller" (4 texts plus an excerpt, 3 tunes)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 126-129, "There Was an Old Miller" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 91D)
Eddy 61, "The Dishonest Miller" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Gardner/Chickering 98, "The Dying Miller" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownII 177, "The Miller and His Three Sons" (2 text plus 5 excerpts and mention of 3 more)
Chappell-FSRA 106, "The Miller" (1 fragment)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 240-242, "The Miller's Advice to His Three Sons, on Taking of Toll" (2 texts, both called "The Old Miller"; 2 tunes on p. 419)
JHCoxIIB, #18A-B, pp. 163-165, "The Miller and His Sons," "The Miller" (1 text plus a fragment, 1 tune)
Creighton/Senior, pp.234-236 , "The Miller of Derbyshire" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-NovaScotia 94, "The Miller" (1 text, 1 tune)
SharpAp 161, "The Miller's Will" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 56, "The Miller's Will" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kennedy 232, "The Miller's Last Will" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greig 41, p. 1, "The Miller's Three Sons" (1 text)
GreigDuncan3 703, "The Miller's Will" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Stokoe/Reay, pp.  58-59, "The Miller and His Sons" (1 text, 1 tune)
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 80-81, "The Miller's Will" (1 text, 1 tune)
Chase, pp. 144-145, "The Miller's Will" (1 text, 1 tune)
Botkin-NEFolklr, pp. 546-547, "The Miller's Three Sons" (1 text, 1 tune)
JHCox 155, "The Dishonest Miller" (3 texts plus mention of six more, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 149-151, "The Miller's Will" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 120, "The Miller" (1 text)
BBI, ZN2524, "There was a miller who had three sons"
DT 348, MILLWILL MILLWIL2 MILLWIL3*
Roud #138
RECORDINGS:
Horton Barker, "The Miller's Will" (on Barker01)
Jumbo Brightwell, "The Derby Miller" (on Voice14)
Carson Brothers & Sprinkle, "The Old Miller's Will" (OKeh 45398, 1929; on TimesAint01)
Margaret MacArthur, "New Hampshire Miller" (on MMacArthur01)
New Lost City Ramblers, "The Miller's Will" (on NLCR04)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 5(7), "The Miller's Advice to His Three Sons, in Taking of Toll," W. and C. Dicey (London) , 1736-1763; also Douce Ballads 4(44), "The Miller's Advice to His Three Sons, in Taking of Toll"
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Old Miller Rake
File: LQ21
===
NAME: Millman and Tuplin Song, The
DESCRIPTION: June 18 at Margate, Mary "went to meet her young lover, who a few nights before Said he'd make all things right when they'd meet on that shore." He shoots her and "sunk her body deep down" in the river. He is convicted in 1898.
AUTHOR: Dan Riley
EARLIEST_DATE: 1957 (Ives-DullCare)
KEYWORDS: courting murder trial lover
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: June 28, 1887 - Murder of Mary Tuplin by William Millman
1888 - Execution of Millman
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Ives-DullCare, pp. 46-47, 249-250, "The Millman and Tuplin Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Manny/Wilson 50, "Young Millman (The Tuplin Song)" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST IvDC046 (Partial)
Roud #9179
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Prince Edward Island Murder" (subject)
cf. "The Murder of Mary Tuplin" (subject)
cf. "The Millman Song" (subject)
NOTES: Roud has at least five different numbers for this event:
Roud #1837: Creighton-NovaScotia 140, "Prince Edward Island Murder" [Laws dF59]
Roud #4129: Doerflinger, pp. 285-286, "The Millman Song" (also Ives-DullCare, pp. 180-181, "The Millman Murder Trial") [LawsdF60]
Roud #9179: Ives-DullCare, pp. 46-47, "The Millman and Tuplin Song" (also Manny/Wilson 50, "Young Millman")
Roud #9552: Shea, pp. 174-179, "The Millman Tragedy"
Roud #12463: Dibblee/Dibblee pp. 72-73, "The Murder of Mary Tuplin"
The Ives-DullCare text has the trial in 1898 instead of 1888. That's understandable since the rhyme still holds. [We note that the version in Manny & Wilson has the date right. - RBW] - BS
File: IvDC046
===
NAME: Millman Murder Trial, The: see The Millman Song (File: Doe285)
===
NAME: Millman Song, The
DESCRIPTION: Mary "Cuplon" is pregnant by Millman. The father, rather than admit the deed or marry the girl, murders her and throws her in the river. Her body is found, and Millman is sentenced to death. The singer reminds parents to watch their children
AUTHOR: Attributed to John Calhoun
EARLIEST_DATE: 1968 (Ives-DullCare)
KEYWORDS: murder pregnancy river trial execution
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: June 28, 1887 - Murder of Mary Tuplin by William Millman
1888 - Execution of Millman
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Doerflinger, pp. 285-286, "The Millman Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ives-DullCare, pp. 180-181,250, "The Millman Murder Trial" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Doe285 (Partial)
Roud #4129
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Prince Edward Island Murder" (subject)
cf. "The Murder of Mary Tuplin" (subject)
cf. "The Millman and Tuplin Song" (subject)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Millman Murder Trial
NOTES: This song is item dF60 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW
Roud has at least five different numbers for this event:
Roud #1837: Creighton-NovaScotia 140, "Prince Edward Island Murder" [Laws dF59]
Roud #4129: Doerflinger, pp. 285-286, "The Millman Song"(also Ives-DullCare, pp. 180-181, "The Millman Murder Trial") [LawsdF60]
Roud #9179: Ives-DullCare, pp. 46-47, "The Millman and Tuplin Song" (also Manny/Wilson 50, "Young Millman")
Roud #9552: Shea, pp. 174-179, "The Millman Tragedy"
Roud #12463: Dibblee/Dibblee pp. 72-73, "The Murder of Mary Tuplin" - BS
File: Doe285
===
NAME: Milwaukee Blues: see Joseph Mica (Mikel) (The Wreck of the Six-Wheel Driver) (Been on the Choly So Long) [Laws I16] (File: LI16)
===
NAME: Milwaukee Fire, The [Laws G15]
DESCRIPTION: The "oft-condemned" Newhall House catches fire; passers-by watch in horror as the residents die in the flames. In particular, a servant girl leaps to her death, and a mother watches her son trapped in the fire
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1922
KEYWORDS: fire disaster death
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Jan 1883 - Fire at the Newhall House. At least 63 people die
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,SW)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Laws G15, "The Milwaukee Fire"
LPound-ABS, 62, pp. 138-140, "The Milwaukee Fire" (1 text)
DT 682, MILWAUKF
Roud #3255
RECORDINGS:
Warde Ford, "Milwaukee Fire" (AFS 4198 B1, 4198 B2, 1938; tr.; in AMMEM/Cowell)
Robert Walker, "The Milwaukee Fire" (AFS, 1941; on LC55)
NOTES: John W. Kelley (who also produced such pieces as "The Bowery Grenadiers") wrote a piece called "The Milwaukee Fire" in 1884, and some sources equate this song with that item. The fire, however, was the subject of a great deal of press coverage, and doubtless produced several pierces. None of the folk sources I have consulted equate the traditional song with the Kelley piece, and so I am holding off until I see better evidence. - RBW
File: LG15
===
NAME: Min Mand Han Var en Sjomand (My Man He Was a Seaman)
DESCRIPTION: Swedish shanty. Cautionary song, children ask "where is father? He's resting in the grave." Warns girls not to wed a sailor or they'll end up a widow with children. Source doesn't give a chorus, verses may have been repeated as refrains.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Eivind Jartved)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage shanty sailor wife death
FOUND_IN: Sweden
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hugill, pp. 529-530, "Min Mand Han Var en Sjomand" (2 texts-Swedish & English, 1 tune)
NOTES: Hugill got this from Sternvall's _Sang under Segel_ (1935) with a note that it was taken from "Eivind Jartved" in 1904. - SL
File: Hugi529
===
NAME: Mind How You Trifle With a Gun: see McLellan's Son (File: Pea831)
===
NAME: Mind Your Eye: see Quare Bungo Rye (File: Log416)
===
NAME: Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory of the Burning of the School
DESCRIPTION: "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the burning of the school, We have tortured every teacher, we have broken every rule." The students describe (with many variations) how they overthrew the scholastic regime
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1975
KEYWORDS: rebellion derivative
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 100, "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory of the Burning of the School" (1 text with many variants, tune referenced)
DT, BURNSCHL
ST PHCFS100 (Full)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "John Brown's Body" (tune)
cf. "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Horror of the Ending of the Term"
NOTES: I wonder if this isn't the most popular folk song in America today. - RBW
File: PHCFS100
===
NAME: Miner Boys, The: see The Cross Mountain Explosion (Coal Creek Disaster) [Laws G9] (File: LG09)
===
NAME: Miner Child's Dream, The: see The Dream of the Miner's Child (File: R859)
===
NAME: Miner, The
DESCRIPTION: The miner goes to work "With his calico cap and his old flannel shirt, his pants with the strap round the knee, His boots watertight and his candle alight His crib and his billy of tea." He works to support his family, and hopes to have money for tobacco
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1964
KEYWORDS: mining work family poverty
FOUND_IN: Australia
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Fahey-Eureka, pp. 74-75, "The Miner" (1 text, 1 tune -- collected as a fragment inserted into another piece)
Manifold-PASB, p. 43, "The Miner" (1 text, 1 tune)
Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 131-134, "The Miner" (1 text, collected as a conflation of "The Miner" and "The Dream of the Miner's Child")
NOTES: Manifold comments, "This is one of the few songs from the later period of gold-mining, after the alluvial gold was finished." In other words, it is a true mining song, not a prospecting song. Such things are not rare in America, of course, but they do seem to be unusual in Australia. - RBW
File: FaE074
===
NAME: Miner's Doom, The [Laws Q36]
DESCRIPTION: Although a miner's life may be happy, the risks are great. This miner is riding back to the surface when the elevator rope breaks. His death causes his wife to die of grief, leaving their three children orphans
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recording, Vernon Dalhart)
KEYWORDS: mining death orphan
FOUND_IN: US(MA) Britain(Wales)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Laws Q36, "The Miner's Doom"
DT 544, MINRDOOM*
Roud #1015
RECORDINGS:
 Vernon Dalhart, "The Miner's Doom" (Brunswick 139, 1927; Supertone S-2014, 1930)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Orphan Girl" (the subtext "The Coal Miner's Child" has a plot very like this)
NOTES: Laws lists this as an old Welsh song, and Korson claims to have picked it up from a Welshman in 1925. But I wonder. There seem to be only two known traditional versions: Korson's, which he claims to have heard in 1925 but who did not record it until 1946, and Lloyd's. Thus, apart from Korson's unverifiable claim of a 1925 date, there is no evidence of this song being in circulation prior to Vernon Dalhart's recording. One has to suspect that Dalhart at least contributed to its (bare) survival. - RBW
File: LQ36
===
NAME: Miner's Lifeguard
DESCRIPTION: A union song with religious overtones. The miner is advised to "Keep your hand upon the dollar and  your eyes upon the scales."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1940
KEYWORDS: nonballad mining religious labor-movement
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Botkin-SoFolklr, p. 730, "Miner's Lifeguard" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greenway-AFP, pp. 15-16, "(Life Is Like a Mountain Railroad)" (1 text, plus fragments of assorted parodies, of which this is the first)
Silber-FSWB, p. 138, "Miner's Lifeguard" (1 text)
DT, MNRLFGRD*
Roud #3510
RECORDINGS:
Mary Travers , "Miner's Lifeguard" (on PeteSeeger01)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Life's Railway to Heaven (Life Is Like a Mountain Railroad)" (tune) and references there
NOTES: A parody of "Life Is Like a Mountain Railroad." - RBW
File: BSoF730
===
NAME: Miners' Fate, The [Laws G10]
DESCRIPTION: A cave-in five hundred feet below the ground traps the Pittston miners. There can be no rescue; not even the bodies can be brought out. The families grieve
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 
KEYWORDS: mining disaster death family
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: June 28, 1896 - The Pittstown cave-in
FOUND_IN: US(MA)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Laws G10, "The Miners' Fate"
DT 786, MINRFATE
Roud #3261
File: LG10
===
NAME: Minister's Dochter o' Newarke, The: see The Cruel Mother [Child 20] (File: C020)
===
NAME: Minister's Wedder, The: see Parson Brown's Sheep (File: GrD2309)
===