Boll Weevil, The [Laws I17]

DESCRIPTION: The boll weevil, which is just "a-lookin' for a home," inevitably comes in conflict with the cotton farmer. The farmer tries many techniques to drive the weevil out; the weevil, far from being inconvenienced, is often represented as thanking the farmer
AUTHOR: possibly Postal McCurdy & Emabel Palmer
EARLIEST DATE: 1921 (recordings, Al Bernard & Ernest Hare)
KEYWORDS: animal bug poverty farming
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
c. 1898 - Boll Weevil arrives in the southern U.S. from Mexico
FOUND IN: US(Ap,So,SE)
REFERENCES (17 citations):
Laws I17, "The Boll Weevil"
BrownIII 214, "Boll Weevil Blues" (2 texts)
Hudson 72, pp. 199-200, "Mister Boll Weevil" (1 text)
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 66, (no title) (1 excerpt, probably of this song); pp. 77-79, "Mr. Boll Weevil" (plus other versions with no title) (2 texts plus 3 excerpts, 1 tune)
Friedman, p. 319, "The Ballet of the Boll Weevil" (2 texts+1 fragment, 1 tune)
Sandburg, pp. 8-10, "Boll Weevil Song"; 252-253, "De Ballet of de Boll Weevil" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Scott-BoA, pp. 316-318, "The Ballad of the Boll Weevil" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Lomax-FSUSA 69, "The Boll Weevil" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 112-117, "De Ballit of de Boll Weevil" (1 text, 1 tune, composite)
Lomax-FSNA 285, "The Boll Weevil Holler" (1 text, 1 tune)
Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 916-918, "Boll Weevil Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Arnett, pp. 140-141, "Boll Weevil" (1 text, 1 tune)
Botkin-SoFolklr, p. 751, "Boll Weevil" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 244-246, "Mississippi Bo Weavil Blues"; "The Boll Weevil" (2 texts)
Silber-FSWB, p. 118, "Ballad Of The Boll Weevil" (1 text)
DT, BOLLWEEV* BLLWEEV2* (BOLWEV2)
ADDITIONAL: Fred W. Allsopp, Folklore of Romantic Arkansas, Volume II (1931), p. 163, (no title) (1 fragment)
Roud #3124
RECORDINGS:
Pink Anderson, "Bo Weevil" (on PinkAnd1)
Arkansas Trio, "Boll Weevil Blues" (Edison 51373-R, 1924)
Al Bernard, "Boll Weevil Blues" (Brunswick 2092, 1921)
Fiddlin' John Carson, "Dixie Boll Weevil" (OKeh 40095-B, 1924)
Jaybird Coleman, "Boll Weevil" (Black Patti 8055, 1927; on StuffDreams1)
[Vernon] Dalhart, [Ed] Smalle & [Harry] Reser, "Boll Weevil Blues" (OKeh 40156, 1924)
Fats Domino, "Bo Weevil" (Imperial 5375, 1956)
Vera Hall, "Boll Weevil" (AFS 1323 A1, 1937)
Ernest Hare, "Boll Weevil Blues" (Vocalion 14151, 1921)
Lead Belly, "The Boll Weevil" (Musicraft 226, rec. 1939)
W. A. Lindsay & Alvin Condor, "Boll Weevil" (OKeh 45346, 1929; rec. 1928)
The Masked Marvel (pseud. for Charley Patton), "Mississippi Boweavil Blues" (Paramount 15805B. 1929; on AAFM1, BefBlues2)
Charlie Oaks, "Boll Weevil" (Vocalion 5113, c. 1927)
Ma Rainey w. Lovie Austin & her Blues Serenaders, "Bo-Weavil Blues" (Paramount 12080, 1924)
Tex Ritter, "Boll Weevil" (Capitol 40084, 1948)
Carl Sandburg, "The Boll Weevil" (Victor 20135, 1926)
Pete Seeger, "Boll Weevil" (on PeteSeeger05) (on PeteSeeger43); "Ballad of the Boll Weevil" (on PeteSeeger31)
Bessie Smith, "Boweavil Blues" (Columbia 14018-D, 1924)
Gid Tanner & Riley Puckett, "Boll Weevil Blues" (Columbia 15016-D, c. 1924)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Poor Man Blues" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Frankie and Albert" [Laws I3] (tune)
NOTES: Sandburg reports collections of Boll Weevil verses dating back to 1897, but it is not clear in context whether these are actually part of this song. - RBW, PJS
And indeed, the origins of the song are obscure, or at least messy. The Bernard, Hare & Arkansas Trio recordings credit the authorship to McCurdy & Palmer, as does a regional guide to the town of Fakes Chapel [state unknown] which claims that McCurdy wrote the "'well-known' folk song" there in 1923. The recordings, of course, make this date impossible, but he seems to have had a hand in the creation of some well-known verses. Fiddlin' John Carson copyrighted his version in 1924, and it certainly contains some of the classic lines. - PJS
Sandburg, incidentally, enjoyed this song so much that he occasionally signed letters "Boll Weevil"; see Herbert Mitgang, editor, The Letters of Carl Sandburg, Harcort Brace & World, 1968, pp. 207, 241. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: LI17

Bollochy Bill the Sailor

DESCRIPTION: A dialogue song in which Bill -- who "just got paid and wants to be laid" -- seeks to get the fair young maiden into bed.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1917 (GreigDuncan8)
KEYWORDS: bawdy dialog sailor seduction
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) US
REFERENCES (9 citations):
GreigDuncan8 1759, "Blickerty Brown the Sailor" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 49, "Abram Brown the Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune)
Cray, pp. 81-86, "Bollochy Bill the Sailor" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Shay-SeaSongs, p. 204, "Rollicking Bill the Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune, probably truncated since it ends with Bill asking for a place to sleep and the girl declaring she has only one bed)
Colcord, pp. 182-183, "Abram Brown" (1 text, 1 tune)
Harlow, pp. 164-166, "Barnacle Bill the Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill, pp. 440-442, "Abel Brown the Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbrEd, pp. 331-333]
Fuld-WFM, pp. 128-129, "Barnacle Bill the Sailor"
DT, BARNBILL BARNBIL2
Roud #4704
RECORDINGS:
Anonymous singers, "Barnacle Bill the Sailor" (on Unexp1)
Bix Beiderbecke w. Paul Whiteman's Orchestra, "Barnacle Bill the Sailor" (Victor 25371, 1936)
Bud & Joe Billings (Frank Luther & Carson Robison), "Barnacle Bill The Sailor" (Victor V-40043, 1929; Victor V-40153, 1929 [as Bud Billings & Carson Robison])
Ned Cobbin [pseud. for Irving Kaufman], "Barnacle Bill the Sailor" (Harmony 861-H/Diva 2861-G, 1929)
Billy Costello (Popeye), "Barnacle Bill, the Sailor" (Decca 1573, 1937)
Frank Luther & His Pards, "Barnacle Bill the Sailor" (CYL: Edison 5678, c. 1929) (Edison 52532, 1929)
Carson Robison, "Barnacle Bill, the Sailor" (Broadway 4054, c. 1932)
Pete Wiggins, "Barnacle Bill, the Sailor" (OKeh 45295, 1929)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Quaker's Wife" (tune, per GreigDuncan8)
SAME TUNE:
Frank Luther & his Pards "Barnacle Bill the Sailor, No. 2" (Edison 20008, 1929)
Bud & Joe Billings (Frank Luther & Carson Robison), "Barnacle Bill The Sailor No. 2" (Victor V-40102, 1929)
Bud & Joe Billings (Frank Luther & Carson Robison), "Barnacle Bill the Sailor No. 2" (Victor V-40102, 1929); "Barnacle Bill The Sailor No. 3" (Victor V-40153, 1929)
Carson Robison, "Here I Go to Tokyo, Said Barnacle Bill, the Sailor" (Bluebird B-11460, 1942)
Vernon Dalhart, "Barnacle Bill the Sailor - No. 2" (Harmony 1304, 1931)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Barnacle Bill the Sailor
NOTES: For a history of this onetime sea song, see Cray, Erotic Muse II, pp. 83-85. - EC
Most of the printed versions of this song are fairly "clean." But Cray and Fuld are in agreement that it is properly a bawdy song. Fuld doubts the existence of its ancestor "Abram Brown the Sailor," but Cray quotes a text from the Gordon collection [and there is a version in Greenleaf/Mansfield- (BS)].
There is also a nursery rhyme about Abram Brown, found in Opie-Oxford2, #6, and in Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #230, p. 150, ("Abram Brown is dead and gone"), but if that is associated with any song, it is probably "Old Grimes Is Dead."
Carson Robison is sometimes credited with a popular version of this ("Barnacle Bill the Sailor"), but obviously his part was no more than a clean-up (and production of sequels). - RBW
In the interest of history, it is worth recording that the scientists of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, during the Sojourner mission, named a particularly lumpy rock on the surface of Mars "Barnacle Bill the Sailor." - PJS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: EM081

Bolsum Brown

DESCRIPTION: "There's a red light on the track for Bolsum Brown, for Bolsum Brown, for Bolsum Brown... And it'll be there when he comes back." "Hop along, sister Mary, hop along.... There's a red light on the track And it'll be there when he comes back."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: railroading
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Sandburg, p. 355, "Bolsum Brown" (1 short text, 1 tune)
ST San355 (Full)
File: San355

Bon Vin, Le (The Good Wine)

DESCRIPTION: French. We drink and a friend sings [the chorus] in my ear. Be careful of this beautiful woman. She had three captains, one in Bordeaux, one in La Rochelle and the other in Versailles. Chorus: "Good wine makes me dead, Love wakes me again."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1961 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage sex wine bawdy nonballad rake mistress
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Peacock, pp. 249-250, "Le Bon Vin" (1 text, 1 tune)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Passant par Paris
File: Pea249

Bonaparte

DESCRIPTION: "Come all you natives far and near Come listen to my story... Boni would not be content Until he was master of the whole world." He divorces his wife, fights the church, fights England, fails at Waterloo, and is exiled
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1834 (Journal from the L.C. Richmond)
KEYWORDS: Napoleon war wife pride exile
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1769 - Birth of Napoleon Bonaparte
1796 - Napoleon marries Josephine de Beauharnais (1763-1814)
1796 - Napoleon given command of the Army of Italy. Over the next eight years he will have many conflicts with Austria and the Pope in the Italian peninsula
1809 - Napoleon divorces Josephine (partly on the grounds of her notorious infidelity, partly because she is barren); he marries Maria Louisa (Marie Louise) of Austria the next year
June 18, 1815 - Battle of Waterloo
July 15, 1815 - Napoleon is sent to Saint Helena on the Bellerophon
1821 - Death of Napoleon. He died with Josephine's name on his lips
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 209-212, "Bonaparte" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST SWMS209 (Full)
Roud #1992
NOTES: This seems to be the only text of this song known; it may never have gone into tradition. But I decided to include it to show the wealth of Napoleon songs.
File: SWMS209

Bonaparte on St. Helena

See Saint Helena (Boney on the Isle of St. Helena) (File: E096)

Bonaparte's Farewell

DESCRIPTION: Bonaparte bids farewell to France which has abandoned him because of its weakness: "Decay'd in thy glory and sunk in thy worth!" "But when Liberty rallies Once more in thy regions, remember me then ... and call on the Chief of thy choice"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1865 (broadside, LOCSinging as200400 and Bodleian Harding B 18(52))
KEYWORDS: freedom Napoleon
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Moylan 208, "Bonaparte's Farewell" (1 text, 1 tune)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 18(52), "Bonaparte's Farewell," H. De Marsan (New York), 1861-1864 [same as LOCSinging, as200400]; also Harding B 18(593) [yet another copy of the same sheet]
LOCSinging, as200400, "Bonaparte's Farewell," H. De Marsan (New York), 1861-1864 [same as Bodleian, Harding B 18(52)]
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Captain O'Kean" (tune, per broadsides LOCSinging as200400 and Bodleian Harding B 18(52))
NOTES: This song has absolutely no historical references; the only proper noun in the whole song is "France." Theoretically, the speaker might not even be Napoleon -- though the bombast fits him. The only specific reference is that a diadem crowned him -- more relevant to a parvenu emperor than to the legitimate Bourbons, but Bourbon *could* have said such a thing.
Still, Napoleon seems to be the intended speaker. It sounds like something he would have said before his exile to Elba (1814), rather than the exile to St. Helena (1815). This because, in 1813-1814, Paris and the government actually voted him out of power. In 1815, there wasn't time for any of that. - RBW
Broadsides LOCSinging as200400 and Bodleian Harding B 18(52): 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: Moyl208

Bonavist Line, The

DESCRIPTION: Hard times for "the red roarin' devils on the Bonavist [or Riverhead] Line." The railway construction workers are charged high rates for terrible food and simple services. Go to the store and the old woman there won't give you a thing without "a tip"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1952 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: sex food hardtimes railroading nonballad worker
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Peacock, pp. 768-771, "The Bonavist Line" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Leach-Labrador 92, "Riverhead Line" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5206
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The North Shoreman's Line
The Shoal Harbour Line
NOTES: Peacock says the Bonavista Line serving the tip of the Bonavista peninsula and Riverhead Line serving Conception Bay are spurs of Newfoundland's now defunct narrow-gauge trans-insular railway. - BS
File: Pea768

Bonavista Harbour

DESCRIPTION: "They started to make a harbour here quite early in the Spring; The people came from Canada with all kinds of machines ...." A list of people doing all the jobs but now that they've finished they'll surely have to come back and patch it every year.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1955 (Doyle)
KEYWORDS: moniker warning technology work tasks worker nonballad
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Doyle3, pp. 16-17, "Bonavista Harbour" (1 text, 1 tune)
Blondahl, p. 52, "Bonavista Harbour" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7290
NOTES: [The breakwater described was built sometime between 1943 and 1945.]
As the song predicts, by the end of 1945 there are already comments about improving the harbour by dredging [per Charles Granger, "Bonavista Cold Storage Co., Limited" in Fishermen's Advocate, December 21, 1945] - BS
File: Doyl3016

Boney

DESCRIPTION: Napoleon's story in the space of a shanty: "Boney was a warrior, Way up! A warrior and a tarrier, John Francois!" He fights the Russians, comes to Waterloo, is defeated, goes to Saint Helena, and dies
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1909
KEYWORDS: shanty Napoleon exile battle
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1812- Napoleon's Russian campaign
1815- Battle of Waterloo
1821- Death of Napoleon on Saint Helena
FOUND IN: US(MA,MW)
REFERENCES (12 citations):
Doerflinger, pp. 6-7, "Boney" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Walton/Grimm/Murdock, pp. 78-79, "Boney" (1 composite text, 1 tune)
Bone, p. 42, "Boney" (1 partial text, 1 tune)
Shay-SeaSongs, p. 29, "Boney" (1 text, 1 tune)
Colcord, pp. 40-41, "Boney" (1 text, 1 tune plus 1 fragment of "Jean Francois")
Harlow, pp. 27-28, "John Francois (Boney Was a Warrior)" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill, pp. 445-446, 448 "Boney," "Hilonday" (2 English and 1 French text, 2 tune) [AbrEd, pp. 333-335]
Sharp-EFC, XLIX, p. 54, "Bonny Was a Warrior" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, p. 310, "Boney" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 88, "Boney Was A Warrior" (1 text)
DT, BONEYNAP*
ADDITIONAL: Captain John Robinson, "Songs of the Chantey Man," a series published July-August 1917 in the periodical _The Bellman_ (Minneapolis, MN, 1906-1919)." Boney was a Warrior" is in Part 4, 8/4/1917.
Roud #485
ALTERNATE TITLES:
John Francois
Jean Francois de Nantes
File: Doe006

Boney on the Isle of St. Helena

See Saint Helena (Boney on the Isle of St. Helena) (File: E096)

Boney Was a Warrior

See Boney (File: Doe006)

Boney's Defeat

See Saint Helena (Boney on the Isle of St. Helena) (File: E096)

Bonhomme Tombe de L'Arbre, Le (The Fellow Falls from the Tree)

DESCRIPTION: French. Willie goes hunting for partridges. He goes up in a tree to see his dogs running. The branch breaks; Willie falls and breaks his thigh. All the girls in the village hear his cries and run to bandage his leg.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1959 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage help hunting injury
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Peacock, p. 45, "Le Bonhomme Tombe de L'Arbre" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: Pea045

Bonhomme! Bonhomme!

DESCRIPTION: French: "Bonhomm', Bonhomm', sais-tu jouer?" "My friend, my friend, can you play this? Can you play the violin... flute... drum... horn... jug."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1954
KEYWORDS: cumulative nonballad music foreignlanguage
FOUND IN: Canada(Que)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 120-121, "Bonhomme! Bonhomme!" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: FJ120

Bonnet o' Blue

See Jacket So Blue, The (The Bonnet o' Blue) (File: FSC43)

Bonnet o' Blue, The

DESCRIPTION: "I'm nae for a lass that rins hame to her mither Whenever it comes on a skelp o' ill weather, If she couldna gang bare leggit thro' the long heather She wadna dee weel wi' a bonnet o' blue"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (GreigDuncan4)
KEYWORDS: marriage hardtimes nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan4 856, "The Bonnet o' Blue" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Roud #6225
NOTES: The current description is all of the GreigDuncan4 texts.
The blue bonnet seems to mark the singer as a Scottish soldier. See, for example, "Scots Soldiers True," "Our Brave Scotch Lads," "The Bonnet o' Blue" version of "The Jacket So Blue" and, maybe, "Cock Your Beaver." Also, consider the following lines in "Haud Awa, Bide Awa": "What think ye o' the Highland dress ... Wi' his bonnet blue and brocklamore Twad gar a' the French dogs flee ...." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD4856

Bonnet of Blue, The

See Jacket So Blue, The (The Bonnet o' Blue) (File: FSC43)

Bonnet sae Blue, The

See Jacket So Blue, The (The Bonnet o' Blue) (File: FSC43)

Bonnets o' Blue, The

DESCRIPTION: "I'll sing ye a sang in praise o that land Whaur the snaw never melts ..." Culloden is recalled: "nae traitors were there mang the bonnets o blue" The "brave Forty Twa" in Egypt, Waterloo, Lucknow and "avenging Cawnpore" is recalled.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1908 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: pride army war Scotland nonballad patriotic
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Apr 16, 1746 - Battle of Culloden Muir ends the 1745 Jacobite rebellion
1801 - Black Watch fought at Aboukir (Mar 8) and subsequent battles between March and August in the Egyptian campaign against Napoleon (source: "French & Napoleonic Wars, 1793-1815: Egyptian Campaign 1801" at Land Forces of Britain, the Empire and Commonwealth [regiments.org] site)
June 18, 1815 - Battle of Waterloo
Sept 20, 1854 - Battle of Alma. The allies win an expensive victory over the Russians
July 17, 1857 - Recapture of Cawnpore in the Sepoy Rebellion (source: "Background" in _Second Battle of Cawnpore_ at Wikipedia)
November 1857-March 1858 - Capture of Lucknow in the Sepoy Rebellion (source: "Indian Sepoy Rebellion 1857-1858" at Land Forces of Britain ...)
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan3 524, "The Bonnets o' Blue" (1 text)
Roud #6006
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(22a), "The Bonnets o' Blue," The Poet's Box (Dundee), c.1890
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "McCaffery (McCassery)" (subject: 42nd Highlanders or Black Watch) and references there
cf. "Wha Saw the Forty-Second" (subject: 42nd Highlanders or Black Watch) and references there
cf. "The Gallant Forty-Twa" (subject: 42nd Highlanders or Black Watch)
cf. "Here's to the Black Watch" (subject: 42nd Highlanders or Black Watch)
NOTES: Commentary to broadside NLScotland L.C.Fol.70(22a): "This ballad sings the praises of the Royal Highland Regiment, better known as the Black Watch, who wore small round blue bonnets. It concerns an incident during the Crimean War, 1854-6, when Queen Victoria sent her 'lads wi' the Bonnets o' Blue' 'up the Alma's grim heights for tae conquror[sic] or die'." If so, it celebrates other deeds as well. GreigDuncan3 replaces "Victoria" with "King Edward" in broadside lines "Victoria kens ; aye, she kens braw an' weel, That oor ain kiltie lads are as true sa their steel" - BS
Re "avenging Cawnpore": Cawnpore was captured by the Indian rebels in 1857. The rebels broke a safe-conduct agreement condition of surrender, killed some of the British and took others hostage. When the British were about to recapture Cawnpore in July "the prisoners, about two-thirds of whom were women, children & babies, were butchered by their captors." (source: "First War of Independence 1857" in Kanpur at Wikipedia).
General Neill was left in charge of Cawnpore and avenged the massacre by lashing and hanging those identified as perpetrators, "a piece of savagery unrivalled in British military history." (source: "James George Neill" at FirstFoot.com, which describes itself as "Scotland's humour site." )
For another discussion of Cawnpore see David. The massacre of the British is discussed on pp. 199-200, the retribution on pp. 258-260. The discussion of the retribution illustrates how the perpetrators were forced through tabus against their caste. David writes (p. 259) that the retribution was considered just by most Britons in India at the time. - BS
Farwell, p. 107, gives an example of British feeling. Major William Hodson "appears to have worked himself into a frenzy. Seizing a carbine from one of his sowars, he ordererd the princes to strip and then personally shot each of them in cold blood, one after the other. The horrified crowd drew back in silence. Hodson ordererd the corpses to be thrown into a bullock cart and then carried them into Delhi. 'I am not cruel,' he wrote to his brother, 'but I confess I did rejoice at the opportunity of ridding the earth of those wretches.'"
Chandler/Beckett, p. 184, report, "British authority [in India] was restored only after fourteen months of fierce fighting which assumed, on both sides, the horrors of a war of races marked by mindless slaughter and bloodthirsty reprisals. Public opinion at home [in Britain] was shocked and outraged at the challenge to Britain's civilizing mission and lurid accounts in newspapers of atrocities perpetrated on European women and children stirred up fears, fantasies, and racial animosities. Vengeance and retribution were demanded of the army, and subsequent victories were reported by a jubilant press which overlooked the indiscriminate killing, burning, and looting committed by British troops, the vital contributions of loyal sepoy troops, and the defects of supply and medical service (8,987 of the 11,021 British casualties died from sickness or sunstroke)."
Spear, p. 142, notes that the British were greatly shaken by the attack on their supremacy: "The British on their side seemed hopelessly outnumbered and saw themselves and their families suddenly threated with destruction. Their world of easy authority had dissolved in a moment, their most trusted subordinates had risen in revolt, they could no longer distinguish between friend and foe; their former self-confidence was profoundly shaken. Many of the atrocities on the British side were an index of this shaken morale. The later reprisals were inexcusable but must be understood as the acts of men distraught by the loss of their families as well as their comrades, and by many months of campaigning in conditions of terrible strain."
Spear, p. 139, blames it ultimately on cultural differences: "[The] Mutiny of 1857-1858... has been variously regarded as a military mutiny only, as a deep-laid conspiracy set off too soon, as a popular movement of protest against innovations of various kings, and as the first modern Indian war of independence. There were elements of all these factors to be found in the upheaval, but it is best understood by viewing it against the social and ideological background of nineteenth-century India....
"[A]n exhausted country in 1818 was quite ready to accept another foreign regime... provided that the socio-religious fabric of society, both Hindu and Muslin, was left untouched.... But this imposition of neutral rule over a traditional society was... just what the British did not do.... Western civilization, through the medium of western education and learning, of Christian missionary propaganda, of western material techniques and instruments, and above all the English language, was to be introduced. There was to be no destruction of the old, but an introduction of the new alongside."
The mutiny started over the stupidest of reasons: rifle bullets greased with animal fat -- of both cows and pigs, which made the bullets unclean to both Hindus and Moslems (Spear, p. 141). The British apologized -- but the lack of cultural sensitivity was obvious. He does point out that planning for revolt had apparently begun earlier: the Mutiny, "though commencedc on caste grounds by Hindus, was blamed on the Muslim community as an anti-British revolt."
Still, before we start making pious-sounding comments about cultural imperialism, I have three words: the already-mentioned "Caste," plus "Thuggee" and "Suttee." The latter two had in fact largely been suppressed by 1857 -- but the memory was still very recent. Three wrongs no more make a right than do two, but British-Indian relations were still scarred by the very recent memories of ritual murder.
For the Battle of Culloden, see especially the notes to "The Muir of Culloden." For Alma, see "The Heights of Alma (I)" [Laws J10]. It is interesting to note that the commander of the Highlanders at both Alma (where he commanded the Highland Brigade) and the Indian Mutiny (where he was the overall boss) was Sir Colin Campbell, for whom see "The Kilties in the Crimea." - RBW
Bibliography

Chandler/Beckett: David Chandler, general editor; Ian Beckett, associate editor, The Oxford History of the British Army, 1994 (I use the 1996 Oxford paperback edition)
David: Saul David, The Indian Mutiny: 1857, Viking, 2002
Farwell: Byron Farwell, Queen Victoria's Little Wars (1972; I used the 1985 Norton edition)
Spear: Percival Spear, A History of India 2, 1965, 1978 (I use the 1984 Penguin paperback)

Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD3524

Bonnie Annie [Child 24]

DESCRIPTION: A ship's captain seduces (Annie) and takes her to sea with him. The ship they are sailing is caught in a storm which will not die down. (The crew) decides that Annie is the guilty party and throws her overboard. (The captain may order her rescue)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1827 (reported by Lloyd)
KEYWORDS: seduction sea death storm childbirth pregnancy bastard
FOUND IN: Britain(England(South),Scotland) US(NE)
REFERENCES (8 citations):
Child 24, "Bonnie Annie" (3 texts)
Bronson 24, "Bonnie Annie" (18 versions)
OBB 20, "Bonnie Annie" (1 text)
Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, p. 15, "The Banks of Green Willow" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #2}
Butterworth/Dawney, p. 12, "The Banks of Green Willow" (1 text, 1 tune)
DBuchan 45, "Bonnie Annie" (1 text)
GreigDuncan6 1225, "Bonnie Annie" (2 texts, 1 tune)
DT 24, GREWILLO* BONNYANN*
Roud #172
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Captain Glen/The New York Trader (The Guilty Sea Captain A/B) [Laws K22]" (Jonah theme) and references there
ALTERNATE TITLES:
There Was a Rich Merchant that Lived in Strathdinah
NOTES: In the Vaughan Williams/Lloyd version, the sailor Johnny has persuaded the girl to steal her mother's money and run away to sea with him. When she has his baby, he (not the crew) throws her overboard, along with her baby. - PJS
Many versions seem to blame the disaster on the simple fact that there is a woman aboard the ship. This Female Jonah idea was well-known among sailors. Even such a relatively enlightened character as Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, Nelson's second in command at Trafalgar, could write, "I never knew a woman brought to sea in a ship that some mischief did not befall the vessel" (see David Cordingly, Women Sailors and Sailors' Women, Random House, 2001 (I use the undated, but later, paperback edition), p. 154).
Last updated in version 2.5
File: C024

Bonnie Banks o' Airdrie, The

See Babylon, or, The Bonnie Banks o Fordie [Child 14] (File: C014)

Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond, The

See Loch Lomond (File: FSWB257B)

Bonnie Banks o' Ugie, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer seduces a maid on Ugie banks. She tells a church session he is the father. He is called to appear at church and is scolded and fined. He pays the fine and promises the parson that he won't do it again.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan7)
KEYWORDS: sex accusation promise punishment pregnancy nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan7 1314, "The Bonnie Banks o' Ugie" (7 texts, 6 tunes)
Roud #7206
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Johnny Doyle" (tune, per GreigDuncan7)
File: GrD71314

Bonnie Banks of the Virgie, O, The

See Babylon, or, The Bonnie Banks o Fordie [Child 14] (File: C014)

Bonnie Barbara, O

See Bonnie Lass of Fyvie, The (Pretty Peggy-O) (File: SBoA020)

Bonnie Bell the Bravity

DESCRIPTION: "The Davidsons and their heigh heids There wisna word o' lammer [amber] beads, There wisna word o' auld pleugh [plough] heids, Wi' bonnie Bell the Bravity [elegantly dressed], She's bonnie braw baith neat and sma' She's bonnie Bell the Bravity"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (GreigDuncan4)
KEYWORDS: beauty clothes nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan4 730, "Bonnie Bell the Bravity" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #6163
NOTES: The current description is all of GreigDuncan4 730. The translations are from GreigDuncan4- BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD4730

Bonnie Bennachie

DESCRIPTION: The singer dreams about Mary, far away in Scotland. "The gowd is gained, the gems are won" and he would give them to her for a smile. He asks her to write "To say ye mind on me." He wishes he were home.
AUTHOR: Miss Farquharson (source: GreigDuncan6)
EARLIEST DATE: 1917 (GreigDuncan6)
KEYWORDS: homesickness love separation money Scotland nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan6 1251, "Bonnie Bennachie" (1 text)
Roud #6787
File: GrD61251

Bonnie Betsy

See Betsy Is a Beauty Fair (Johnny and Betsey; The Lancaster Maid) [Laws M20] (File: LM20)

Bonnie Black Bess

See My Bonnie Black Bess I [Laws L8] AND My Bonnie Black Bess II [Laws L9] (File: LL09)

Bonnie Blue Flag, The

DESCRIPTION: "We are a band of brothers, and native to the soil, Fighting for the property we gained by honest toil... Hurrah for the bonny blue flag that bears the single star." The states which joined the Confederacy are chronicled and praised
AUTHOR: Words: Harry McCarthy
EARLIEST DATE: 1861
KEYWORDS: Civilwar patriotic
FOUND IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES (10 citations):
Belden, pp. 357-359, "The Bonnie Blue Flag" (1 text)
Randolph 214, "The Bonnie Blue Flag" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownIII 379, "The Bonnie Blue Flag" (1 text plus mention of 1 more probably from the same informant)
RJackson-19CPop, pp. 34-38, "The Bonnie Blue Flag" (1 text, 1 tune)
Scott-BoA, p. 220, "The Bonny Blue Flag (Southern)" (1 partial text, tune referenced)
Silber-CivWar, pp. 52-53, "The Bonnie Blue Flag" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hill-CivWar, p. 210, "The Bonnie Blue Flag" (1 text)
Krythe 8, pp. 133-141, "The Bonnie Blue Flag" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 349-350, "The Bonnie Blue Flag" (1 text)
DT, BONBLUE*
ST R214 (Full)
Roud #4769
RECORDINGS:
Mary C. Mann, "Bonnie Blue Flag" (AFS A-488, 1926)
Old South Quartette, "The Bonnie Blue Flag" (Cyl.: Edison Amberol 389, 2175, 1909)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Irish Jaunting Car" (tune& meter)
cf. "The Homespun Dress" (tune & meter)
cf. "The Northern Bonnie Blue Flag" (tune & meter)
cf. "The Southern Girl's Reply (True to the Gray)" (tune & meter)
cf. "Counties of Arkansas" (tune & meter)
SAME TUNE:
The Southern Girl's Reply (True to the Gray) (File: Wa156)
The Homespun Dress (File: R215)
The Northern Bonnie Blue Flag (File: SBoA218)
The Counties of Arkansas (File: R876)
Gathering Song (by Annie Chambers Ketchum) (War Songs and Poems of the Southern Confederacy, pp. 329-330)
NOTES: This song, written by an immigrant Irishman very early in the Civil War (Belden has a note that Fitz-Grald credits the words to Annie Chambers Ketchum, with Harry McCarthy supplying the tune, but almost all sources credit the song to McCarthy), refers to the first Confederate flag, later succeeded by the "Stars and Bars."
The order the states are mentioned is roughly the order in which they left the Union. South Carolina was first, obviously, followed by the various states of the Deep South (Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida; Louisiana and Texas took slightly longer because of their remote location). It was not until after the attack on Fort Sumter that the border states of Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and (last of all) North Carolina seceded.
Jefferson Davis was, of course, the first and only President of the Confederacy, and Alexander Stephens its Vice President.
Krythe's notes on this song contain several errors. The captain of the Alabama was not "Admiral Symmes" but Captain (later Admiral) Raphael Semmes, and General Wickham's first name was not William but Williams (with an s).
Harry McCarthy was only 27 when he wrote this song, but managed to avoid Confederate service as a British citizen. What's more, he fled to the North once the outlook for the Confederacy turned bad enough. He never wrote anything else of note, either. - RBW
File: R214

Bonnie Bogie

DESCRIPTION: She says Bogie is cold and bare. He says it is not. She fears he will steal her heart and tempt her to follow far away to Bogie. He says he would keep her from care. She agrees to go. They marry and she's "ne'er had cause to dree"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (GreigDuncan4)
KEYWORDS: courting marriage travel dialog
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig #49, p. 1, "Bonnie Bogie" (1 text)
GreigDuncan4 868, "Bogie" (3 texts, 3 tunes)
Roud #5645
NOTES: The Bogie is a tributary of the Deveron River in Aberdeenshire. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD4868

Bonnie Bonnie Banks of the Virgie-O, The

See Babylon, or, The Bonnie Banks o Fordie [Child 14] (File: C014)

Bonnie Bower, The

See The Famous Flower of Serving-Men [Child 106] (File: C106)

Bonnie Boy I Loved, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer says "Once I loved a bonny boy ... the more that I loved him, the sacerer [saucier] he grew." He left her, but then sent a rose to win her back. She returned his rose: "her's to you and your love and hear's [sic] to me and mine"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (GreigDuncan6)
KEYWORDS: courting flowers nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan6 1137, "The Bonnie Boy I Loved" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #6827
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Farewell He" (theme) and references there
File: GrD61137

Bonnie Braes o' Turra

See The Braes o' Turra (File: GrD61124)

Bonnie Breist-knots, The

DESCRIPTION: "Hey, the bonnie, ho, the bonnie, Hey, the bonnie breist-knots, Blythe and merry were they a' When they got on their bonnie breist-knots." "There was a bridal in the toun" to which many came; the song tells of their happy and wild adventures
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1803 (_Scots Musical Museum_ #214)
KEYWORDS: marriage music dancing clothes husband wife food
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 303-306, "The Bonnie Breist-knots" (1 text, 1 tune)
GreigDuncan3 611, GreigDuncan8 Addenda, "Hey the Bonnie Breistknots" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5888
BROADSIDES:
Murray, Mu23-y1:087, "The Bonnie Breast-Knots," James Lindsay (Glasgow), 19C
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Hey the Bonnie Breistknots
The Breast Knots
NOTES: According to the Vocal Companion [(no author listed), "The Vocal Companion, second edition, D'Almaine and Co., 1937 (available from Google Books), pp. 1810-181., T'he Bonnie Breast-Knot"], the music to this is by "Parry." I strongly suspect, however, that this refers to the arrangement; several other pieces in the book are also listed as by "Parry." - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: FVS303

Bonnie Brier Bush, The

DESCRIPTION: "There grows a bonnie brier bush in oor kailyaird, And sweet are the blossoms on't in oor kaildyaird. Beneath the... bush a lad and lass were scared... busy courtin'." The singer tells of the joys of courting in the kailyaird, as was first done by Adam
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1904 (Ford)
KEYWORDS: love courting nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 157, "The Bonnie Brier Bush" (1 text)
Roud #1506
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(39b) "Bonnie Brier Bush," Poet's Box (Dundee), c. 1890
NOTES: Kennedy lumps this with "The Cuckoo's Nest (II)" and this equation is accepted by Roud. But that song is definitely erotic, and this is merely a courting song. I can't see lumping them, though I'm sure other sources have been guilty of doing so. - RBW
File: FVS157

Bonnie Broom-Fields, The

See The Broomfield Hill [Child 43] (File: C043)

Bonnie Buchairn

DESCRIPTION: The singer asks, "Quhilk o' ye lasses will go to Buchairn (x3) And be the gudewife o' bonnie Buchairn?" He turns down the pretty girls, wanting "the lass wi' the shaif o' bank notes." He describes his plans for the wedding
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1827 (Kinloch)
KEYWORDS: courting wedding money
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Kinloch-BBook XX, pp. 69-70, "Bonnie Buchairn" (1 text)
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 119-121, "Glowerowerum" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greig #19, pp. 1-2, "Glowerowerem" (1 text)
GreigDuncan4 816, "Glowerowerem" (6 texts, 3 tunes)
ST KinBB20 (Full)
Roud #1101
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Balcairn's Knowes
NOTES: In dealing with old songbooks which do not list sources, it is a perpetual problem to determine what is traditional and what is just space-filling garbage. Kinloch's looks a little artsy and archaizing, as if touched up -- but the basic text seems very traditional.
Either that, or it's the first-ever proposal for an urban renewal grant. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: KinBB20

Bonnie Farday

See Babylon, or, The Bonnie Banks o Fordie [Child 14] (File: C014)

Bonnie Fisher Lass, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer meets and is captivated by "a bonny fisher lass" on her way "to get my lines in order" and get bait. Her father's "on the ocean wide, a toiling on his boat" and she worries "when a storm arises ... lest he should meet with a watery grave"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1904 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: fishing sea father
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig #153, p. 2, "The Bonnie Fisher Lass" (1 text)
GreigDuncan3 485, "The Bonnie Fisher Lass" (3 texts, 3 tunes)
Roud #5881
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Fisher Lass
NOTES: Greig: "There are not many traditional songs dealing with fisher folk; and as for fisher folk themselves they do not seem to have any old minstrelsy dealing with their special calling and interests." - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: GrD3485

Bonnie George Campbell [Child 210]

DESCRIPTION: Bonnie George Campbell sets out on his horse. The horse comes home, but he does not: "High upon Hielands and low upon Tay, Bonnie George Campbell rade oot on a day; Saddled and bridled and gallant rade he; Hame cam his guid horse but never cam he"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1807
KEYWORDS: death horse
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Bord)) US(Ap,NE,SE)
REFERENCES (19 citations):
Child 210, "Bonnie James Campbell" (4 texts)
Bronson 210, "Bonnie James Campbell" (5 versions)
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 279-284, "Bonnie George Campbell" (2 text plus a printed version and a composite reconstruction, 1 traditional plus one printed tune) {The "C" reprint is Bronson's #1, the traditional tune "D" is Bronson's #23}
Flanders-Ancient3, pp. 237-238, "Bonnie James Campbell" (1 badly damaged fragment)
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 31-311, "Bonnie George Campbell" (1 text, with a peculiar final verse probably not traditional and edited by Ford)
Davis-More 35, pp. 267-269, "Bonnie James Campbell" (1 text)
Thomas-Makin', pp. 25-26, "Bonnie George Campbell" (1 text, 1 tune)
Leach, p. 560, "Bonnie James Campbell" (2 texts)
OBB 96, "Bonnie George Campbell" (1 text)
Warner 106, "James Campbell" (1 text, 1 tune)
PBB 57, "Bonnie George Campbell" (1 text)
Gummere, pp. 162+335, "Bonnie George Campbell" (1 text)
Combs/Wilgus 34, pp. 126-127, "Bonnie James Campbell" (1 text)
Hodgart, p. 145, "Bonnie George Campbell" (1 text)
TBB 18, "Bonnie James (George) Campbell" (2 texts)
HarvClass-EP1, p. 27, "Bonnie George Campbell" (1 text)
DT 210, GEORCAMP* GEORCMP2*
ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #50, "Bonnie George Campbell" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: _Sing Out_ magazine, Volume 25, #4 (1977), p, 21, "Bonnie James Campbell" (1 text, 1 tune, from Frank Proffitt)
Roud #338
RECORDINGS:
Margaret Caudill Hurst & Carolyn Margaret Hurst, "Bonnie George Campbell" (on JThomas01)
Bascom Lamar Lunsford, "Bonnie George Campbell" (on BLLunsford01) {Bronson's #2}
Frank Proffitt, "James Campbell" [excerpt] (on USWarnerColl01)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Cumberland Gap" (tune)
cf. "The Killin' in the Gap"(Stevie Allen) (theme)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Bonnie Johnnie Campbell
NOTES: Although several names have been suggested as the original hero of this ballad, the details suggested in the song are so few that none can be viewed as more than a possibility. There were, after all, many casualties in the long conflict between the MacDonalds and the Campbells -- including the very first Campbell known to history, Collin Campbell, ambushed at the String of Lorne in 1296 (see Thomson: Oliver Thomson, The Great Feud: The Campbells & The Macdonalds, Sutton Publishing, 2000, p. 3).
In an interesting twist, it seems likely that this song was known to relatively upper-class southerners in the Civil War era. Shelby Foote, The Civil War: A Narrative (Volume I: Fort Sumter to Perryville) (Random House, 1958), p. 131 quotes a South Carolina lady's description of an early visit from Robert E. Lee to her area: "Preux chevalier, booted and bridled and gallantrode he, but so far his bonnie face has only brought us ill luck." - RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
File: C210

Bonnie Glasgow Green

DESCRIPTION: "As I went out one morning fair On Glasgow green to tak the air, I spied a lass wi' yellow hair And twa bewitching e'en, O." The girl will not betray her mason. He asks if she can trust a mason. She decides to turn to the singer. He praises Glasgow Green
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan6)
KEYWORDS: love courting rejection betrayal
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Ord, pp. 121-122, "Bonnie Glasgow Green" (1 text)
Greig #119, pp. 1-2, "Glasgow Green" (1 text)
GreigDuncan6 1130, "Glasgow Green" (6 texts, 4 tunes)
Roud #6262
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Birken Tree" (form); also tune per GreigDuncan4)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Bonny Glasgow Green
The Banks o' the Don
Ythan Side
NOTES: And the singer *wants* a girl who changes her mind that easily? Ouch.
At least some versions of this appear to have been sung to "The Birken Tree," to which it is highly similar in detail. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: Ord121

Bonnie Highland Laddie

See Hieland Laddie (File: Doe050)

Bonnie Hind, The [Child 50]

DESCRIPTION: A sailor, new come from the sea, sees a girl and sleeps with her. After the deed is done, they exchange names, only to find they are brother and sister. The sister stabs herself; the brother buries her and goes home grieving
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1771 (Herd)
KEYWORDS: incest death seduction mourning suicide grief
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Child 50, "The Bonnie Hind" (1 text)
Friedman, p. 172, "The Bonny Hind" (1 text)
DT 50, BONNYHND
Roud #205
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The King's Dochter Lady Jean" [Child 52] (plot)
cf. "Sheath and Knife" [Child 16] (plot, lyrics)
cf. "Babylon, or, The Bonnie Banks o Fordie" [Child 14] (plot)
cf. "Lizie Wan" [Child 51] (theme)
NOTES: Friedman states that the only recorded collection of this song was from a Scottish milkmaid in 1771. -PJS
On the scientific evidence that brothers and sisters raised apart are particularly likely to fall in love, and some further speculation as to why, see the notes to "Babylon, or, The Bonnie Banks o Fordie [Child 14]." - RBW
File: C050

Bonnie House o Airlie, The [Child 199]

DESCRIPTION: Argyle sets out to plunder the home of his enemy Airlie while the latter is away (with Bonnie Prince Charlie?). Argyle summons Lady Airlie, asking for a kiss and threatening ruin to the house if she will not. She refuses; they plunder the house
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: c. 1790 (broadside)
KEYWORDS: feud courting
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1640 - Argyle commissioned to clean up certain "unnatural" lords
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber,Bord)) Canada(Mar) US(Ap,MA,MW,NE)
REFERENCES (17 citations):
Child 199, "The Bonnie House o Airlie" (4 texts)
Bronson 199, "The Bonnie House o Airlie" (15 versions)
Hogg2 76, "Young Airly" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greig #58, p. 2, "The Bonnie House o' Airlie" (1 text)
GreigDuncan2 233, "The Bonnie Hoose o' Airlie" (9 texts, 5 tunes) {A and E=Bronson's #4 and #10, C=#9, D=#5}
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 266-269, "The Bonnie House of Airlie" (2 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #11}
Flanders-Ancient3, pp. 191-192, "The Bonnie House of Airlie" (1 fragment, "The Sacking of Arlee")
Gardner/Chickering 80, "Prince Charlie" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #8}
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 296-299, "The Bonnie House o' Airlie" (1 text)
JHCox 20, "The Bonnie House o' Airlie" (1 text)
Ord, p. 470, "The Bonnie House o' Airlie" (1 text)
MacSeegTrav 15, "The Bonnie House o' Airlie" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 70-71, "The Bonny House o' Arlie" (1 text plus 1 fragment, 1 tune) {Bronson's #16}
Leach, pp. 537-538, "The Bonnie House of Airlie" (2 texts)
OBB 135, "The Bonnie House o Airlie" (1 text)
DT 199, BONAIRLI*
ADDITIONAL: R. H. Cromek, Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song, (London, 1810), pp. 226-228, "Young Airlie"
Roud #794
RECORDINGS:
John MacDonald, "The Bonnie Hoose O' Airlie" (on Voice17)
Belle Stewart, "The Bonny Hoose o' Airlie" (on FSBBAL2) (on SCStewartsBlair01)
Lucy Stewart, "The Bonnie Hoose o' Airlie" (on LStewart1)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 c.15(264), "The Bonnie House o' Airly" ("It fell on a day, a bonny summer day"), R. McIntosh (Glasgow), 1849-1859; also Firth b.26(179), "The Bonnie House o' Airly"
Murray, Mu23-y1:027, "The Bonnie House o' Airly," James Lindsay Jr. (Glasgow), 19C
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Young Airly" (subject and tune)
SAME TUNE:
Bonnie Den o' Airlie (broadside NLScotland L.C.Fol.70(130b), "Bonnie Den o' Airlie" ("It fell upon a day, on a bonnie simmer's day"), Poet's Box (Dundee), n.d, with no tune indicated but clearly this is meant)
NOTES: This song seems to have originated in the period when Scotland was in open rebellion against Charles I over the issue of religion -- Charles had tried to impose an Episcopal prayer book on Scotland; that Presbyterian nation reacted with the Covenant, a defiant rejection of Charles's religious schemes. (For this see, e.g. Mitchison, p. 206ffff.)
Although almost all of Scotland accepted the Covenant, a religious agreement was not a government. The various factions proposed various ways to govern their nation. The two key factions were those headed by Montrose (who still stood by the monarchy, and who would by his military genius later become its chief prop) and Argyle (who was anti-royalist and out for his own profit).
On June 12, 1640, as Charles I was trying to attack Scotland but being delayed by his finances and the increasing unrest of his English subjects, Argyle was empowered by the Scottish parliament (then meeting for the first time without a royal representative) to deal with certain lords as enemies of the Church. One of those under suspicion was the Earl of Airlie (then away in England, apparently to avoid signing the Covenant).
Montrose had taken the lands of Airlie from the Earl's son Lord Ogilvie, but Argyle felt the urge to deal with the house more strenuously.
The earliest copies of the ballad refer to Airlie being present with "King Charlie" (Charles I, reigned 1625-1649). In later versions, "King Charlie" became "(Bonnie) Prince Charlie," a confusion perhaps encouraged by the fact that the Earl of Airlie of 1745 was a follower of Charlie.
Another possibility, mentioned by Cowan on p. 45, is that although the ballad "is usually thought to refer to Argyll'e sacking of Airlie in 1640... it may have originated in an earlier Campbell invasion of the Braes of Angus in 1591." Other than citing an article of his own, however, he gives no evidence for this, and the description above is not enough to identify the incident in the standard histories. There is a logic to the claim, since this was a period of significant conflict between James VI (who had only recently taken power in his own hands) and the Kirk over the relative responsibilities of each (Magnusson, pp. 388-390), but conflicts of that sort were so common as to prove nothing.
Cowan, p. 46, notes that the Argyle of 1640 was a prim presbyterian who surely would not have asked for a kiss; he suggests that this insertion was symbolic: Just as Argyle had plundered and ravaged the lands of Airlie (supposedly causing seven thousand pounds of damage), he was metaphorically ravising his wife as well.
The "B" text in Barry et al is even more confused, it dates itself to the days of "the wars of Roses white and red And in the days of Prince Charlie" -- which is, of course, impossible, since the Wars of the Roses took place two and a half centuries before the Jacobite rebellions, and a century and a half before Airlie's first commission. Nor were any of the royal pretenders of the period named Charles. (Indeed, until the Stuart succession, there was never a member of the English royal family named Charles; it was, after all, a French name!) The context of the version suits the Forty-Five. - RBW
Among the parodies is NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(130b), "Bonnie Den o' Airlie," Poet's Box (Dundee), c.1890.
Hogg2 76 is one of two texts Hogg has entitled "Young Airly." The other is not the Child ballad, though it shares its subject and tune.
Hogg2: "... from the verses in Cromek [i.e. Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song], and a street ballad collated." Cromek's text is one of the ones cited by Child as a source for his version C.
"Cromek died [1812] shortly after the issue [1810] of Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song, which was mostly written by Cunningham, though palmed upon Cromek as recovered antiques." (source: J. Ross, The Book of Scottish Poems: Ancient and Modern, (Edinburgh, Edinburgh Publishing Co, 1878), "Allan Cunningham 1784-1842," p. 738; other sources agree) - BS
Bibliography

Cowan: Edward J. Cowan, editor, The People's Past: Scottish Folk, Scottish History 1980 (I use the 1993 Polygon paperback edition)
Magnusson: Magnus Magnusson, Scotland: The Story of a Nation, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2000
Mitchison: Rosalind Mitchison, A History of Scotland, second edition, Methuen, 1982

Last updated in version 2.5
File: C199

Bonnie James Campbell

See Bonnie George Campbell [Child 210] (File: C210)

Bonnie Jean

DESCRIPTION: Bonnie Jean meets Robie, "the flower and pride of a' the glen." He courts her and asks her to "leave the mammie's cot And learn to tent the farms wi' me?" "At length she blush'd a sweet consent And love was aye between them twa"
AUTHOR: Robert Burns
EARLIEST DATE: before 1887 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 25(1627))
KEYWORDS: seduction farming
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
GreigDuncan7 1335, "There Was a Maid and She Was Fair" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
ADDITIONAL: James Kinsley, editor, Burns: Complete Poems and Songs (shorter edition, Oxford, 1969) #414, pp. 551-553, "A Ballad" [Bonnie Jean] (1 text, from 1793)
Roud #7147
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 25(1627), "Robie and Jeanie" ("There was a lass, and she was fair"), G. Walker, jun. (Durham), 1834-1886; also Harding B 15(264a), "Ronnie and Jeanie"
NOTES: GreigDuncan7: "Burns's song was written for a traditional tune which has been listed as "untraced"; it seems that this fragment, both words and music, is a version of his source." Burns's text is the source of the description. The Bodleian broadside texts are almost identical to Burns's text.
Poems and Songs of Robert Burns (New Lanark,2005): "Jean McMurdo, daughter of John McMurdo of Drumlanrig ... is said to have been the heroine of this ballad song." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD71335

Bonnie Jean O' Aberdeen, She Lang'd for a Baby

DESCRIPTION: "Oh, there was a farmer's daughter And she longed for a baby And she rolled up a big grey hen And she put it into the cradle ... she rocked the cradle, saying: If it wasn't for your big long neb I would gie ye a draw of the diddy, oh"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1803 (Mother Goose's Melody, according to Opie-Oxford2)
KEYWORDS: bird baby humorous
FOUND IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (3 citations):
GreigDuncan7 1419, "Bonnie Jean o' Aberdeen, She Lang'd for a Baby" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Opie-Oxford2 183, "A girl in the army" (4 texts)
ADDITIONAL: Robert Chambers, The Popular Rhymes of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1870 ("Digitized by Google")), p. 25, ("There was a miller's dochter")
Roud #2293
RECORDINGS:
Eddie Butcher, "The Farmer's Daughter" (on IREButcher01)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Rose Tree in Full Bearing" (tune, notes to IREButcher01)
NOTES: The opening lines of the four Opie-Oxford2 texts are "A girl in the army She longed for a baby,' "There was a miller's dochter, She couldna want a babie,' "The little lady lairdie She longt for a baby" and "There once was a lady Who longed for a babby oh."
"Neb" can be either beak or nose. "Diddy" is teat. (source: Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged, 1976).
See Tim Coughlan, Now Shoon the Romano Gillie, (Cardiff,2001), #28, pp. 227-228, "As I Bung Through the Dodder's Wood" [Scotto-Romani/Tinklers' Cant from MacColl and Seeger, Till Doomsday in the Afternoon (1986)].
In Chambers's text (also reported in Opie-Oxford2 as Chambers 1842) the girl takes her father's greyhound and complains about its "lang beard." Maybe a grey goat is meant. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: OOx2183

Bonnie Jean o' Bethelnie

See Glenlogie, or, Jean o Bethelnie [Child 238] (File: C238)

Bonnie Jean o' Foggieloan

DESCRIPTION: "Bonnie Jean o' Foggieloan ... As sure as a gun, she'll get a son"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1917 (GreigDuncan7)
KEYWORDS: sex pregnancy
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan7 1420, "Bonnie Jean o' Foggieloan" (1 fragment)
Roud #7264
NOTES: NOTES:
The current description is based on the GreigDuncan7 fragment.
The fragment follows "Bonnie Jean O' Aberdeen, She Lang'd for a Babye" in GreigDuncan7. It shares Jean's wish with that song but is certainly not the same song. - BS.
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD71420

Bonnie Jeanie Cameron

DESCRIPTION: "You'll a' hae heard tell o' bonnie Jeanie Cameron, how she fell sick... And a' that they could recommend her Was ae blythe blink o' the Young Pretender." She sends a letter to Prince Charlie, who arrives soon after and takes her in his arms.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1901 (Ford)
KEYWORDS: love disease Jacobites
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 221-223, "Bonnie Jeanie Cameron" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13082
NOTES: Ford has several stories allegedly about the later life of this young woman, who supposedly died in 1773. I checked both a biography of Bonnie Prince Charlie and assorted histories of the Forty-Five, however, and found no mention of a liaison, even brief, with a woman of this name.
Abby Sale pointed me to the apparent solution to the question. According to a web commentary on Eyre-Todd's Ancient Scots Ballads, based on Ray's Complete History of the Rebellion, Cameron had been born as early as 1695, and had been in trouble with men by the time she was in her mid-teens. Not even putting her in a nunnery could apparently control her passions, and after the death of her father and brother, managed to take a spot as "tutor" to her nephew, who reportedly was of limited intellectual capacity.
At the time of the 1745 rebellion, Ray reports, Cameron raised the Camerons of Glendessary, bringing some 250 men to Bonnie Prince Charlie, who under the circumstances naturally treated her to a large dose of his considerable charm. Considering that Jean Cameron was rather older than Charlie's mother, one doubts any romantic connection. But singers might easily ignore that.
The Eyre-Todd report continues through much contradictory data, finally going so far as to speculate that perhaps there were *two* Jean Camerons. I must add that the histories no more mention Jean Cameron of Glendessary as a leader of soldiers than as a love interest of Prince Charles. - RBW
File: FVS221

Bonnie Jeanie Shaw

DESCRIPTION: "I'm far awa frae Scotland, Nae lovin' voice is near, I'm far frae my ain folk... I'll wander hame to Scotland An' my bonnie Jeaanie Shaw." The singer misses the sights, sounds, people of home, and repeatedly promises to go back
AUTHOR: Words: Alexander Melville
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (GreigDuncan7)
KEYWORDS: home emigration return
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
GreigDuncan7 1326, "Jeannie Shaw" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Ord, p. 344, "Bonnie Jeanie Shaw" (1 text)
Roud #3945
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(24a), "Bonnie Jeanie Shaw," Poet's Box (Dundee), c. 1890
File: Ord344

Bonnie Jeannie Deans

DESCRIPTION: The singer is far from Scotland but thinks of "Auld Reekie" [Edinburgh] "home of Scotland's bonniest lass, my bonnie Jeannie Deans." She wins a pardon for her sister from the Queen. "Sir Walter Scott's immortalized you"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 908 (GreigDuncan4); c.1890 (broadside, NLScotland L.C.Fol.70(119a))
KEYWORDS: pardon Scotland royalty
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan4 715, "Bonnie Jeannie Deans" (1 text)
Roud #6129
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(119a), "Bonnie Jeanie Deans," Barr (Glasgow), c.1890; also L.C.Fol.70(118b), "Jeanie Deans"
NOTES: From the NLScotland commentary to broadside L.C.Fol.70(119a): "Jeanie Deans, 'the cow-feeder's daughter', was the heroine of Walter Scott's 'The Heart of Midlothan' (1818). This song outlines her journey on foot to London to obtain a pardon for her sister, Effie." From the NLScotland commentary to broadside L.C.Fol.70(118b): "The character of Jeanie Deans was loosely based on Helen Walker [d.1791] who did indeed walk to London to obtain a pardon for her sister who was imprisoned for murdering her child." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD4715

Bonnie Jeannie o Bethelnie

See Glenlogie, or, Jean o Bethelnie [Child 238] (File: C238)

Bonnie John Seton [Child 198]

DESCRIPTION: Forces from north and south prepare for battle at the Brig o' Dee. John Seton, with great foresight, makes his will. He is killed in the battle, and the highlanders routed by cannon. The leaders of the enemy forces despoil Seton's body
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1832
KEYWORDS: battle death nobility
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Junw 18, 1639 - Montrose's attack on the Bridge of Dee
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Child 198, "Bonnie John Seton" (2 texts)
Leach, pp. 535-536, "Bonnie John Seton" (1 text)
DBuchan 36, "Bonny John Seton" (1 text)
Roud #3908
NOTES: Were it not for the mention of Montrose in the final stanzas of Child's "B" version, it would be almost impossible to connect this with historical events. As it is, the ballad focuses entirely on Seton; the setting of the battle is entirely ignored. It relates to a minor incident of the English Civil Wars, but this is rather trivial in context. Child provides such additional background as is available. - RBW
File: C198

Bonnie Johnnie Campbell

See Bonnie George Campbell [Child 210] (File: C210)

Bonnie Johnnie Lowrie

See Johnny Lowre (File: FVS193)

Bonnie Kellswater

See The Lover's Curse (Kellswater) (File: HHH442)

Bonnie Lad That Handles the Plough, The

See The Laddie That Handles the Ploo (File: Ord081)

Bonnie Laddie, But Far Awa, A

DESCRIPTION: The singer complains that her parents have "ta'en frae me my dearest dear He's over the seas and far far awa'." They'll give her no money unless she gives him up. She will work for money and go to join him, and tell him what she has gone through.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1907 (GreigDuncan6)
KEYWORDS: love separation nonballad father mother money
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan6 1113, "A Bonnie Laddie, But Far Awa" (4 texts plus a single verse on p. 546, 3 tunes)
Roud #6848
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Lurgan Town (I)" (theme: parents drive lover away)
cf. "Richard and I" (theme: parents drive lover away)
cf. "Ye Guardian Powers (Nancy Wilson)" (theme: parents drive lover away)
cf. "The Flowers of Edinburgh" (I) (theme: parents drive lover away)
cf. "As I Was Walking Down in Yon Valley" (theme: parents drive lover away)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Laddie that Is Far Awa
File: GrD61113

Bonnie Laddie, Hieland Laddie

See Hieland Laddie (File: Doe050)

Bonnie Lass Among the Heather

DESCRIPTION: Singer meets a shepherdess and offers to buy her sheep if she would live with him: he has cattle and lives on "level ground," not in the cramped highlands among the heather. She tells him to keep his land and money; she is happy at home with her parents.
AUTHOR: Paddy Tunney
EARLIEST DATE: 1991 (Tunney-SongsThunder)
KEYWORDS: courting rejection dialog sheep
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Tunney-SongsThunder, pp. 30-31, "Bonnie Lass Among the Heather" (1 text)
Roud #2894
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Queen Among the Heather" (theme) and references there
cf. "The Fair o' Balnaminna (The Lass Among the Heather)" (theme)
NOTES: Although Tunney's title "Bonnie Lass Among the Heather" suggests "Queen Among the Heather," the two share only a few lines and the story outcome is different. In answer to a query, John Moulden clarified the relationship between McWilliams's "The Lass Among the Heather" [see John Moulden's book Songs of Hugh McWilliams : schoolmaster, 1831]/"The Fair O' Balnaminna"/"The Blooming Heather" versions and Tunney's song. In a note posted to IRTRAD-L on September 21, 1996 he wrote "almost certainly, all this except [four lines] have been written by Paddy Tunney." John Moulden is researcher at the "Centre for the Study of Human Settlement and Historical Change" at National University of Ireland, Galway whose subject is "the printed ballad in Ireland."
To compare Tunney-SongsThunder with the "original" see
John Moulden, Songs of Hugh McWilliams, Schoolmaster, 1831 (Portrush,1993), p. 15, "The Lass among the Heather"
Gavin Greig, Folk-Song in Buchan and Folk-Song of the North-East (Hatboro,1963), XLIV, p.1, "The Fair o' Balnaminna" - BS
File: TST030

Bonnie Lass o' Benachie, The

DESCRIPTION: William Graham was secretly married to Lady Jean. Her father has him sent to war. Her father intercepts his letter and tells her that William is slain. She goes to Germany to find his grave. She finds him alive. Her father accepts the marriage.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1808 ("a chapbook by J. and M. Robertson, Glasgow," according to GreigDuncan5)
KEYWORDS: love marriage separation reunion lie father soldier
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Greig #8, p. 1, "The Bonnie Lass o' Benachie" (1 text)
GreigDuncan5 1005, "The Bonnie Lass o' Benachie" (2 texts plus 2 fragments on pp. 612-613, 3 tunes)
Ord, pp. 440-441, "The Lass o' Bennochie" (third version) (1 text)
Roud #6737
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Jack Monroe (Jackie Frazer; The Wars of Germany" [Laws N7] (plot) and references there
cf. "The Lass o' Bennochie" (plot) and references there
cf. "The Gallant Grahams" (tune, per GreigDuncan5 quoting an 1808 chapbook)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Lass o' Benachie
NOTES: GreigDuncan5 notes that Greig's version is a composite.
Greig: "Tradition says that 'The Bonnie Lass o' Benachie' was a Miss Erskine, heiress of Pittodrie, an estate close to Benachie in the parish of Chapel of Garioch. She was born about 1747 and married to her soldier lover about 1770. There is another and better known ballad ["Locks and Bolts"] which is said to refer to the same love episode." Greig then goes on to note "certain chronological difficulties to be faced." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD1005

Bonnie Lass o' Fyvie, The

See Bonnie Lass of Fyvie, The (Pretty Peggy-O) (File: SBoA020)

Bonnie Lass of Fyvie, The (Pretty Peggy-O)

DESCRIPTION: A troop of soldiers comes to town. The (captain) falls in love with (Peggy). He asks her to marry; she says she will never marry a soldier. When ordered to leave, he asks more time to persuade her. It is denied. He departs, and dies for love
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 c.16(125))
KEYWORDS: love courting soldier hardheartedness rejection death
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) US(Ap,SE,So)
REFERENCES (12 citations):
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 121-123, "Bonnie Barbara, O" (1 text)
GreigDuncan1 84, GreigDuncan8 Addenda, "The Bonnie Lass O' Fyvie" (23 texts, 19 tunes)
Greig #15, pp. 1-2, "The Bonnie Lass O' Fyvie" (2 texts)
Ord, pp. 304-305, "The Bonnie Lass o' Fyvie" (1 text)
Belden, p. 169, "Pretty Peggy O" (1 text)
BrownIII 381, "Pretty Peggy" (1 text)
Hudson 49, pp. 165-166, "Pretty Peggy-O" (1 text)
SharpAp 95, "Pretty Peggy O" (4 texts, 4 tunes)
Scott-BoA, pp. 20-22, "The Bonnie Lass o' Fyvie" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 282, "Peggy-O" (1 text)
DT, FYVIOLAS* FENARLAS* FYVIOLS2 (FYVINOTE -- background notes)
ADDITIONAL: W. Christie, editor, Traditional Ballad Airs (Edinburgh, 1876 (downloadable pdf by University of Edinburgh, 2007)), Vol I, pp. 276-277, "The Bonny Lass o' Fyvie" (1 tune)
Roud #545
RECORDINGS:
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, "The Maid of Fife-E-O" (on IRClancyMakem02)
Jimmy McBeath, "Bonnie Lass O' Fyvie" (on Voice01)
John Strachan, "The Bonnie Lass O' Fyvie" (on Lomax43, LomaxCD1743)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 c.16(125), "Pretty Peggy of Derby" ("There was a regiment of Irish dragoous [sic]"), J. Catnach (London), 1813-1838; also Harding B 15(244a), "Pretty Peggy of Derby"; Harding B 25(1565), "Pretty Peggy of Derry"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Noble Duke O'Gordon" (tune)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Pretty Peggy of Derby
Lowlands o' Fyvie
NOTES: Christie: "[The informant] was of the opinion that the Ballad was composed after a company of Dragoons had escorted the O'Connors to Fort-George, who had been engaged in the Irish rebellion in 1798. If so, this would account for the 'Irish Dragoons' in the Ballad. The Dragoons may have been at 'Lewes of Fyvie' on their way to, or from Fort-George."
Christie's captain "was ca'd Captain Ward." He notes, "In one of the copies of the Ballad sent to the Editor, the hero is called 'Captain Ned,' in another 'Captain Ade.' He has given the name 'Captain Ward,' from the copy referred to in the note." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: SBoA020

Bonnie Lass Owre the Street

DESCRIPTION: The singer says: "bonnie lassie o'er the street" [is she a street-walker?], don't weep; I'm your baby's father. He asks what "sorra ails ye?"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1907 (GreigDuncan7)
KEYWORDS: sex nonballad baby questions
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan7 1400, "Bonnie Lass Owre the Street" (2 fragments, 1 tune)
Roud #7254
File: GrD71400

Bonnie Lassie O

See The Shearin's Nae for You (File: RcShNaYo)

Bonnie Lassie, Braw Lassie, Faur Are Ye Gaun?

DESCRIPTION: A man meets a maid "gaun to the greenwoods for to milk kye." He says he would lay with her if the grass weren't wet. She says the sun will soon dry it. "He laid her doon ...." She becomes pregnant.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan7)
KEYWORDS: sex pregnancy
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan7 1317, "Bonnie Lassie, Braw Lassie, Faur Are Ye Gaun?" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Roud #7209
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Bonnie May
File: GrD71317

Bonnie Lassie, Come to the North Hielands

See The North Highlands (File: Ord087)

Bonnie Lassie's Answer, The

DESCRIPTION: "Farewell to Glasgow city, likewise to Lanarkshire, Farewell, my dearest parents, I'll never see you more." Poverty forces the young man to sea. The girl wishes he would stay, or that she could come along, "the bonnie lassie's answer was aye no, no."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1835 (broadside, Bodleian Firth b.26(493))
KEYWORDS: poverty separation love rejection sailor war navy cross-dressing
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 68-70, "The Bonnie Lassie's Answer" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greig #53, pp. 2-3, "The Bonnie Lassie's Answer" (1 text)
GreigDuncan1 98, "The Bonnie Lassie's Answer" (8 texts, 8 tunes)
Ord, pp. 73-75, "The Bonnie Lassie's Answer Was Aye Oh No" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3326
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth b.26(493), "The Bonny Lassie's Answer ("Farewell to Glasgow, Likewise to Lanarkshire"), G. Walker (Durham), 1797-1834; also Harding B 26(70), 2806 c.15(269), "The Bonny Lassie's Answer"; Harding B 11(2149), 2806 c.14(48), 2806 c.14(52), "The Bonnie Lassie's Answer"
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.73(127b), "The Bonnie Lassies' Answer," James Lindsay (Glasgow), c.1870; also RB.m.168(063), L.C.Fol.178.A.2(087), L.C.Fol.178.A.2(078), "The Bonnie Lasses' (sic.) Answer," James Lindsay (Glasgow), c. 1880; also L.C.Fol.178.A.2(087), "The Bonnie Lassie's Answers," unknown, n.d. (part of a multi-song sheet also containing a "Kangaroo" song)
File: FVS070

Bonnie Light Horseman, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer calls on listeners to hear of a "maid in distress" who wanders forlorn; "She relies upon George for the loss of her lover." She tells how he went to fight Napoleon and was slain. (She wishes she could join her lover at his grave, and die there)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1820 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 25(1107))
KEYWORDS: soldier death separation burial bird Napoleon
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1760-1820 - reign of George III (the George of the song)
June 18, 1815 - Battle of Waterloo
FOUND IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland(Aber)) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
GreigDuncan8 1584, "Broken Hearted I Wander" (4 texts, 4 tunes)
SHenry H122a, pp. 88-89, "The Bonny Light Horseman" (1 text, 1 tune, with many variations in the source texts)
Moylan 181, "The Bonny Light Horseman" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-NovaScotia 69, "Bonny Light Horseman" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, BONLGHT* BONLGHT3 BONLGHT4*
Roud #1185
RECORDINGS:
Martin Howley, "The Young Horseman" (on Voice08)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 25(1107), "The Light Horseman Slain in the Wars ," J. Pitts (London), 1802-1819; also Harding B 25(260), Harding B 28(165), Firth c.14(182), Firth c.14(183), Firth c.26(266), "[The] Bonny Light-Horseman"; Harding B 18(55), Harding B 16(34a), 2806 c.16(249), Johnson Ballads 1914, Harding B 20(174), "[The] Bonny Light Horseman"; Firth b.25(230), Harding B 11(413), Harding B 15(29b), "Bonny Light Horseman Slain in the Wars"; Harding B 11(3413), "Bonny Light Horseman Slain in the Wars!"; Harding B 11(1106), "The Light Horseman Slain in the Wars" or "The Lamenting Maiden"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Bonny Light Horseman" (adult version, per GreigDuncan8)
NOTES: Napoleon was famous for his handling of artillery (he was the one who gave a crowd the "whiff of grapeshot"), so it is no surprise to find a reference to "Boney" "[fixing] his cannon the victory to gain." - 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 and Donal Lunny, "The Bonny Light Horseman" (on Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "My Name is Napoleon Bonaparte," Hummingbird Records HBCD0027 (2001)) Hall, notes to Voice08: "'The Young Horseman' is the story of a British soldier who dies in the Egyptian campaign, 1798-1802"; "I once loved a soldier ... To the dark plains of Egypt he was forced for to go.... It was brave Napoleon ... slew brave MacDonald coming over from Spain." - BS
Though, to be nitpicky, Napoleon didn't himself fight the British in any significant way in Egypt. After the British beat the French fleet in Aboukir Bay, Napoleon fooled around a little in Palestone, then left the area, leaving his army in Egypt to be defeated and captured. - RBW
Probably should not be split. See Henry pp. 88-89 to help decide. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: HHH122a

Bonnie Lyndale

DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls "bonnie Lyndale, My dear and early home." He recalls the glens, peaceful homes, the robin's and milkmaid's songs. He thinks of the plowman: since leaving "I've plowed the sea. I've sailed with sailors ... Far from bonnie Lyndale"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1973 (Dibblee/Dibblee)
KEYWORDS: home lyric nonballad emigration
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Dibblee/Dibblee, pp. 115-116, "Bonnie Lyndale" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #12460
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Scarborough Settler's Lament" and references there
File: Dib115

Bonnie Mally Stewart

DESCRIPTION: "The cold winter is past and gone, And now comes on the spring, And I am one of the King's Life-Guards, And must go fight for my king, my dear, And must go fight...." She offers to go with him. When he leaves, she follows; (when they meet, he denies her)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1904 (Ford)
KEYWORDS: soldier separation reunion betrayal cross-dressing
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 174-175, "Bonnie Mally Stewart" (1 text)
GreigDuncan1 97, "Molly Stuart" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5789
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "It Was A' for Our Rightfu' King" (lyrics)
cf. "I Once Loved a Boy" (tune)
NOTES: This song ends with a verse also associated with Burns's "It Was A' for Our Rightfu' King," and follows the same metrical pattern. Ford thinks it the source of the Burns song, and this is certainly possible -- except that this song, which also looks composed, is not attested until the nineteenth century, and in broadsides. - RBW
The verse shared with "It Was A' For Our Rightfu' King" -- and the only lines shared -- is "He turn'd him right and round about, Upon the Irish shore; And gae his bridle reins a shake, With adieu for evermore, my dear, And adieu for evermore." - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: FVS174

Bonnie Mason Laddie (I), The

DESCRIPTION: "Simmer's gaun awa'... And the bonnie mason laddies They'll be comin' home... And the bonnie mason laddie He will marry me." The singer describes all the men she will not have (sailor, ploughman, blacksmith, weaver), "But I will hae the mason."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1908 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: love courting work
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Greig #40, pp. 1-2, "The Bonnie Mason Laddie" (1 text)
GreigDuncan3 464, "The Bonnie Mason Laddie" (1 text)
Ord, p. 108, "The Bonnie Mason Laddie" (1 text)
Roud #5540
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Soldier Boy for Me (A Railroader for Me)" (theme, lyrics)
cf. "The Masons" (subject: praise of masons)
cf. "The Mason Laddie" (subject: praise of masons)
cf. "Yon Bonnie Lad" (theme)
NOTES: This is so like "Soldier Boy for Me" in lyrics and theme that at first I lumped them. I still suspect cross-fertilization, but this is sufficiently close-knit that I've split it off. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
File: Ord108

Bonnie Mason Laddie (II), The

See The Mason Laddie (File: GrD3465)

Bonnie Mill-Dams o' Binnorie, The

See The Twa Sisters [Child 10] (File: C010)

Bonnie Moorhen, The

DESCRIPTION: "My bonny moorhen's gane over the main" and won't return before summer. Her feathers are red, white, green and gray, "but nane o' them blue" "Ronald and Donald are out on the fen, To break the wing o' my bonny moorhen"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1819 (Hogg1)
KEYWORDS: Jacobites bird exile colors
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Hogg1 77, "The Bonny Moorhen" (1 text, 1 tune)
Montgomerie-ScottishNR 17, "(The bonnie moor-hen)" (1 short text)
Roud #2944
NOTES: With only the internal evidence of the text, Hogg says "the song is only a fragment."
Hogg comments that "the allegory is ... perfectly inapplicable, but there can be no doubt who is meant [James III and VIII]. Had it been a moorcock the likeness would have been much better. The colours are supposed to allude to those in tartans of the Clan-Stuart." - BS
This is one of those conundrums. The lyrics by the Montgomeries seem to be a simple rhyme about a bird. But sources going back to Hogg's Jacobite Relics have a fuller text in which the singers give a toast to the bonnie moorhen, who is in exile, and who wears red, green, white, and grey but not blue feathers (colors associated with the Stuart tartan).
It seems clear that these two forms are related, though which is earlier I cannot tell.
Then there is the version that provides most of Roud's texts, often starting "You brave lads of Wardhill/Wardale I pray tend an ear." This exists in several Bodleian broadsides [Harding B 25(261), ""Bonny moor hen," Stephenson (Gateshead), 1821-1850; also Harding B 11(414), Firth c, 19(39)]. This is an even fuller text, mostly about hunting, though there might be some Jacobite elements in there somewhere. My feeling is that that should be split off, though Roud lumps them.
Incidentally, it might be noted that Bonnie Prince Charlie, handsome though he was, would not have met the moorhen standard for attractiveness. According to Olivia Judson's tongue-in-cheek book on evolutionary biology, Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation (Henry Holt, 2002), p. 126, the ideal male moorhen is fat (because the males sit on the eggs, and a fat bird can sit on them longer) and small (because a small bird can get fat more easily). - RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
File: RcMyBoMu

Bonnie Muirhen (I), The

See The Bonnie Moorhen (File: RcMyBoMu)

Bonnie Muirhen (II), The

See The Muir Hen (File: KinBB18)

Bonnie Parks o' Kilty, The

DESCRIPTION: "On the south side o Perth there lived a fair maid, She wandered late and ear' and never was afraid." A young man stops her and lays her down. Her father comes out and demands that the lad marry her. He agrees, and she becomes lady o' Kilty
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1930 (Ord)
KEYWORDS: love courting seduction sex marriage nobility
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ord, pp. 113-114, "The Bonnie Parks o' Kilty" (1 text)
Roud #3953
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Broom of Cowdenknows" [Child 217] (plot)
cf. "The Wylie Wife of the Hie Toun Hie" [Child 290] (plot)
cf. "The Dainty Doonby" (plot)
File: Ord113

Bonnie Redesdale Lassie, The

DESCRIPTION: "The breath of spring is gratefu', As mild it sweeps alang... Yet the bonnie Redesdale lassie Is sweeter still to me." The singer praises each season, but loves the girl best; he would not trade her for kingdoms
AUTHOR: Words: Robert White
EARLIEST DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay)
KEYWORDS: love nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(England(North))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Stokoe/Reay, pp. 37-38, "The Bonnie Redesdale Lassie" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST StoR037 (Partial)
Roud #3057
File: StoR037

Bonnie Sandy's Red and White

DESCRIPTION: "Bonnie Sandy's red and white And he's a' my heart's delight." Sandy did "vow and swear" to make the singer "his dear" but "cruel fate" has interfered. She still hopes to "get him for my portion"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1908 (GreigDuncan6)
KEYWORDS: courting promise nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan6 1105, "Bonnie Sandy's Red and White" (1 text)
Roud #6835
File: GrD61105

Bonnie Ship the Diamond, The

DESCRIPTION: "The Diamond is a ship my lads, For the Davis Straight she's bound." The ship goes whaling near Greenland, "Where the sun it never sets." The singer toasts various ships, and promises to return home. When the ship returns, sailors and girls go on sprees
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan1)
KEYWORDS: ship sea whaler return sex
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Greig #85, p. 2, "The Diamond Ship"; Greig #87, p. 2 (2 texts)
GreigDuncan1 11, "The Diamond Ship" (10 texts, 8 tunes)
Ord, pp. 312-313, "The Bonnie Ship the Diamond" (1 text)
Darling-NAS, pp. 319-320, "The Diamond" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 94, "The Bonny Ship the Diamond" (1 text)
DT, BDIAMOND*
Roud #2172
RECORDINGS:
A. L. Lloyd, "The Bonny Ship the Diamond" (on Lloyd9)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Pretty Ship the Diamond
NOTES: According to Ord, The Bonnie Ship the Diamond sailed from Aberdeen -- and, yes, he considers the ship's name to be The Bonnie Ship the Diamond, not just The Diamond. He does not, however, cite a source.
The internal date for this song seems to be the first quarter of the nineteenth century, based on its mention of the Resolution. According to Lincoln P. Paine's Ships of the World, p. 430, the ship sailed from North Whitby. Her most famous captains were William Scoresby Senior, who commanded from her fitting out in 1803 until 1810, and his son William Junior, captain from 1810 to 1813.
In 1806, Scoresby took Resolution to 82 degrees 30 minutes north latitude (see Pierre Berton, The Arctic Grail, p. 97) -- the unofficial record for "farthest north" at the time, not to be broken for twenty years, and not to be broken by a ship for many years after that. The Scoresbys became famous, and some thought the younger one (whose discoveries set the Admiralty to thinking about the Northwest Passage, since they reported that the polar ice was retreating) should have led John Ross's northward expedition (for background on these, see the notes to "Lady Franklin's Lament (The Sailor's Dream)" [Laws K9]). The navy wouldn't trust a civilian whaler, however.
The Resolution was sold in 1813 (Scoresby the Younger would eventually turn to the priesthood), but Paine reports that she continued to work out of Whitby until 1829. She was sold to Peterhead interests in 1829; Paine does not record her final fate. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
File: FSWB094

Bonnie Susie Cleland

See Lady Maisry [Child 65] (File: C065)

Bonnie Udny

DESCRIPTION: "O Udny, bonnie Udny, you shine whaur you stand." The singer praises the land and its people; he recalls walking the land and going out to meet his beloved. "Wherever I wander, I'll still think on you"; he hopes to return to the place and its people
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan6)
KEYWORDS: home travel separation
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Greig #32, pp. 1-2, "Bonnie Udny" (2 texts)
GreigDuncan6 1089, "Bonnie Udny" (19 texts, 12 tunes)
Ord, pp. 341-342, "Bonnie Udny" (1 text)
Roud #3450
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Lang Walks o' Wudny
All the Lads in Bonnie Wodny
File: Ord341

Bonnie Wee Lass of the Glen, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer goes "up to a neat little cottage" and is amazed at the beauty of the girl living here. When he courts her, she accuses him of flattery and deception, and says she is too young to marry. He wishes her happiness and hopes to change her mind
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1924 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love courting rejection beauty
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H14a, pp. 356-357, "The Bonnie Wee Lass of the Glen" (1 text, 2 tunes)
Roud #6879
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Maid with the Bonny Brown Hair" (tune)
File: HHH014a

Bonnie Wee Lassie Fae Gouroch, The

DESCRIPTION: Piper MacFarlane will wed the daughter of a grocer in Gouroch. He's "popped her the question and bought her the ring." Everywhere the couple go she causes a stir among men. In "a first-class hotel" they show they are not city folk.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1976 (recording, Belle Stewart)
KEYWORDS: courting fight humorous
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
Roud #5212
RECORDINGS:
Belle Stewart, "The Bonnie Wee Lassie Fae Gouroch" (on Voice01)
NOTES: Gourock is about 25 miles west of Glasgow at the mouth of the Clyde. - BS
File: RcTBWLFG

Bonnie Wee Lassie That Never Said No, The

See The Bonnie Wee Lassie Who Never Said No (File: DTnevsay)

Bonnie Wee Lassie Who Never Said No, The

DESCRIPTION: Singer invites a lass to drink with him; she accepts; she is the "bonnie wee lassie who never said no." She says to take the night's rent from her pocket, but he'll owe half a crown for laying her down. He reaches in, finds 5 pounds, and takes off with it
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1856 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(985))
KEYWORDS: sex abandonment money drink landlord whore
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland) Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Morton-Maguire 30, pp. 72-74,117,168, "Bonnie Wee Lassie that Never Said No" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, NEVSAYNO
Roud #2903
RECORDINGS:
Jeannie Robertson, "The Bonnie Wee Lassie Who Never Said No" (on FSB2, FSB2CD, Voice13)
BROADSIDES:
John Maguire, "Bonny Wee Lassie That Never Said No" (on IRJMaguire01)
Bodleian, Harding B 11(985), "The Bonny We [sic] Lassie That Never Said No" ("You lads of this nation, of high and low station"), W. Wright (Birmingham), 1842-1855
File: DTnevsay

Bonnie Wee Tramping Lass, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer passed the carter's mill on a Saturday night and meets "a bonnie wee tramping lass", She explains her job "winding hanks of yarn." They discuss love and go home together. They marry happily and now have three children.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1910 (GreigDuncan8)
KEYWORDS: love marriage sex children
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber,Bord))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
GreigDuncan8 1917, "The Bonnie Wee Trampin' Lass" (1 text)
Greig #157, p. 2, "The Bonnie Wee Trampin' Lass" (1 text)
Roud #5129
RECORDINGS:
Willie Scott, "The Bonnie Wee Tramping Lass" (on Voice10)
NOTES: Hall, notes to Voice10, describes this as an "innocent courtship" leading to a "fortunate and happy marriage." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: RcBWTrLa

Bonnie Woodha'

DESCRIPTION: The singer and his Annie must part; he is a soldier and has been called away. His regiment goes into battle and he is wounded. He says he would recover better if Annie were there. He regrets leaving the collier's trade. (He thinks of deserting)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1909 (GreigDuncan5)
KEYWORDS: mining soldier separation injury desertion
FOUND IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (4 citations):
SHenry H476, p. 84-85, "Bonnie Woodha'" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greig #82, p. 2, "Bonnie Woodha'" (1 text)
GreigDuncan5 947, "Bonnie Woodha" (1 text)
Ord, p. 310, "Sweet Calder Burn; or Bonnie Woodha'" (1 text)
Roud #3778
File: HHH476

Bonnie Woodhall

See Bonnie Woodha' (File: HHH476)

Bonnie Woods o' Hatton, The

DESCRIPTION: "Ye comrades and companions... To my sad lamentation I pray ye give an ear." The singer courted a beautiful girl, but at last she bid him depart. Now he prepares to leave home, still remembering her in Hatton and hoping that she will regret her decision
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1930 (Ord)
KEYWORDS: love courting separation
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ord, p. 185, "The Bonnie Woods o' Hatton" (1 text)
Roud #5531
RECORDINGS:
Cathie Stewart, "Hatton Woods" (on SCStewartsBlair01) [called "Hattan Woods" on the LP jacket but "Hatton Woods" on the lyrics sheet]
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(32), "Hatton Woods or the Bonnie Woods o' Hatton," Poet's Box (Dundee), c. 1890
CROSS-REFERENCES:
Hattan Woods
File: Ord185

Bonny Anne

See The Sea Apprentice (File: HHH739)

Bonny at Morn

DESCRIPTION: "The sheep's in the meadows, The kye's in the corn, Thou's ower lang in thy bed, Bonny at morn." "Canny at night, Bonny at morn, Thou's ower lang in...." The parents complain of the children's laziness: "The lad winnot work And the lass winnot lairn."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay)
KEYWORDS: work mother children
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Stokoe/Reay, pp. 66-67, "Bonny at Morn" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, BONMORN BONYMORN
Roud #3064
File: Stor066

Bonny Baby Livingston [Child 222]

DESCRIPTION: Glenlion carries Bonny Baby Livingston off to the Highlands. She refuses to show any favor unless she is returned. At Glenlion Castle, Glenlion's sister helps Baby get a letter away to her true love. He arrives with armed men, and carries Baby back home.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1800
LONG DESCRIPTION: Bonny Baby Livingston is carried off to the Highlands by Glenlion. She refuses to smile or speak or show any favor unless she is returned. Glenlion's brother John wants to return her, but Glenlion hopes to win her love. At Glenlion Castle, Glenlion's youngest sister helps Baby get a letter away to her true love Johnny at Dundee. He arrives with armed men, and carries Baby back home.
KEYWORDS: love abduction rescue family
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (7 citations):
Child 222, "Bonnie Baby Livingston" (5 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's [#1]}
Bronson 222, "Bonnie Baby Livingston" (1 version+1 in addenda)
GreigDuncan6 1264, "Bawbie Livingstone" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Leach, pp. 579-583, "Bonny Baby Livingston" (1 text)
OBB 147, "Baby Livingston" (1 text)
DBuchan 24, "Bonny Baby Livingston" (1 text)
DT, BABLIVST*
Roud #100
File: C222

Bonny Banks of Ardrie-O, The

See Babylon, or, The Bonnie Banks o Fordie [Child 14] (File: C014)

Bonny Barbara Allan [Child 84]

DESCRIPTION: A knight lies dying for love of Barbara Allan. His servant summons her, but she scorns him. As she returns home, she hears the death-bell, repents, and in turn dies. Buried close together, a briar grows from her grave, a rose from his; they entwine
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1740 (Tea-Table Miscellany; mentioned by Pepys in 1666)
KEYWORDS: love hardheartedness death flowers
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber,Bord,Hebr),England(All)) US(All) Canada(Mar,Newf,West) Ireland
REFERENCES (66 citations):
Child 84, "Bonny Barbara Allan" (3 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #79}
Bronson 84, "Bonny Barbara Allan" (198 versions+2 in addenda)
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 195-200, "Barbara Allen" (3 texts plus 1 fragment, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #15, #188}
Percy/Wheatley III, pp. 128-130, "Barbara Allen's Cruelty"; pp. 133-135, "Sir John Grehme and Barbara Allen" (2 texts)
Belden, pp. 60-65, "Barbara Allen" (1 full text+3 fragments, 4 tunes, plus references to 11 other versions) {G=Bronson's #55, K=#159, M=#158, N=#181}
Randolph 21, "Barbara Allen" (11 texts plus 4 fragments, 6 tunes) {A=Bronson's #114, B=#135, E=#172, J=#163, M=#119, N=#162}
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 41-44, "Barbara Allen" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 21M) {Bronson's #119}
Eddy 16, "Bonny Barbara Allen" (4 texts plus 2 fragments (the fragments might be any rose-and-briar song); 4 tunes) {Bronson's #191, #53, #22, #160}
Gardner/Chickering 8, "Barbara Allen" (1 text plus an excerpt and mention of 1 more; 1 tune) {Bronson's #187}
Flanders/Olney, pp. 197-200, "Mary Alling" (1 text, 1 tune)
Flanders-Ancient2, pp. 246-292, "Barbara Allen" (16 texts plus 9 fragments, 13 tunes -- some of the items rather oddly related, e.g. H1, H2, H3 are said to derive from the same informant but the melodies of H2 and H3 differ)
Linscott, pp. 163-164, "Barb'ry Ellen or Barbara Allen" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Davis-Ballads 24, "Bonny Barbara Allan" (28 texts plus 4 fragments, 12 tunes, all entitled "Barbara Allen"; 56? more versions mentioned in Appendix A) {Bronson's #89, #101, #102, #189, #169, #75, #182, [#s, unprinted], [#t, unprinted], #141, #171, #184}
Davis-More 25, pp. 182-198, "Bonny Barbara Allen" (7 texts plus a fragment, 8 tunes)
BrownII 27, "Bonny Barbara Allen" (9 texts plus 10 excerpts and citations of 12 more)
Chappell-FSRA 13, "Bonny Barbara Allen" (1 short text)
Hudson 15, pp. 95-107, "Bonny Barbara Allen" (6 texts plus 7 excerpts and mention of 3 more)
Fuson, pp. 47-48, "Barbara Allen" (1 text)
Cambiaire, pp. 66-68, "Barbara Allen" (1 text)
MHenry-Appalachians, p. 248, "Barbara Ellen" (1 fragment)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 83-96, collectively titled "Bonny Barbara Allen"; individual versions are "The Ballet of Barbara Allan," "Barbry Ellen," "Barbara Allen," (no title), "Barbare Allen," (no title), "Barbara Ellen," "Barbara Ellen," "Barbarie Allen" (9 texts; 5 tunes on pp. 386-388) {Bronson's #183, #107, #180, #168, #118}
Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 59-60, (no title; the song uses the name "Bob-ree Allin") (1 text)
Brewster 15, "Barbara Allen" (12 texts plus a fragment and mention of 1 more, 1 tune) {Bronson's #150}
Creighton/Senior, pp. 49-58, "Bonny Barbara Allen" (6 texts plus 1 fragment, 4 tunes) {Bronson's #85, #36, #37, #38}
Creighton-Maritime, pp. 13-14, "Bonny Barbara Allan" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 12, "Barbree Ellen" (1 text)
Peacock, pp. 649-661, "Barbara Allen" (4 texts, 6 tunes)
Mackenzie 9, "Barbara Allan" (1 text); "Barbara Ellan" (2 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #18}
Leach, pp. 277-280, "Bonny Barbara Allen" (3 texts)
Wyman-Brockway I, p. 1, "Barbara Allen" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #151}
Friedman, p. 88, "Barbara Allen" (3 texts, 1 tune)
OBB 158, "Barbara Allen's Cruelty" (1 text)
Warner 40, "Barbara Allen"; 187, "Barbara Allen" (2 texts, 2 tunes; the first tune is in 5/4 and seems to be the only American instance of this metre, commonly found in British tunes in Bronson's "A" group)
PBB 59, "Bonny Barbara Allen" (1 text)
McNeil-SFB1, pp. 102-105, "Barb'ry Allen" (1 text, 1 tune)
SharpAp 24 "Barbara Allen" (7 texts plus 6 fragments, 16 tunes){Bronson's #88, #116, #136, #76, #176, #152, #178, #184, #106, #121, #110, #48, #49, #78, #111, #137}
Sharp-100E 7, "Barbara Ellen" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #1}
Niles 36, "Bonny Barbara Allan" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 19, "Barbara Ellen" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #49}
Sandburg, p. 57, "Barbara Allen" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #35}
Scott-BoA, pp. 7-8, "Bawbee Allen" (1 text, 1 tune)
Copper-SoBreeze, pp. 278-279, "Barbara Allen" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 89, "Barbara Allen" (1 text, 1 tune, probably composite as no source it listed)
Ritchie-SingFam, pp. 169-171," [Barbry Ellen]" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #142}
Ritchie-Southern, p. 73, "Barbry Ellen" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #142}
Greig #165, p. 1, "Barbara Allan"; Greig #166, p. 1, "Bawbie Allan"; Greig #173, p. 2, "Barbara Allan" (4 texts)
GreigDuncan6 1193, "Barbara Allan" (7 texts, 5 tunes) {a=Bronson's #43, b=#127, c=#128, d=#44, e=#42}
Ord, pp. 476-477, "Barbara Allan" (1 text)
Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 820-822, "Bonny Barbara Allen" (1 text, 1 tune)
TBB 12, "Bonny Barbara Allan" (1 text)
SHenry H236, pp. 375-376, "Barbara Allen" (1 text, 1 tune)
Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan 9, "Barb'ry Ellen" (1 text, 1 tune)
MacSeegTrav 11, "Bonny Barbara Allen" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Gilbert, pp. 25-26, "Barbara Allen" (1 text)
HarvClass-EP1, pp. 68-69, "Bonny Barbara Allen" (1 text)
Abrahams/Foss, p. 143, "(Barbara Allen)" (1 tune, partial text)
LPound-ABS, 3, pp. 7-9, "Barbery Allen"; p. 10, "Barbara Allen" (2 texts)
JHCox 16, "Bonny Barbara Allen" (9 texts plus mention of 3 more; 2 tunes) {Bronson's #138, #91}
Darling-NAS, pp. 50-54, "Barbara Allen"; "Barbro Allen" (2 texts)
PSeeger-AFB, p. 79, "Barbara Allen" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 179 "Barbara Allen" (1 text)
BBI, ZN1459, "In Scarlet Town where I was bound"
DT 84, BARBALEN* BARBALN2* BARBALN3* BARBALN4 BARBALN5
ADDITIONAL: Fred W. Allsopp, Folklore of Romantic Arkansas, Volume II (1931), pp. 212-213, "(Barbara Allen)" (1 text)
Leslie Shepard, _The Broadside Ballad_, Legacy Books, 1962, 1978, p. 148, "The True Ballad of Barbara Allen's Cruelty" (reproduction of a broadside page)
Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #368, "Bonny Barbara Allan" (1 text)
Roud #54
RECORDINGS:
Bob Atcher, "Barbara Allen [pts. 1 & 2]" (Columbia 20481, c. 1948; rec. 1947)
Alex Barr, "Barbara Allen" (AFS 4228 A/4228 B, 1939; in AMMEM/Cowell)
Andy Cash, "Barbary Ellen" (on IRTravellers01)
James B. Cornett, "Barbara Allen" (on MMOK, MMOKCD)
Vernon Dalhart, "Barbara Allen" Brunswick 117/Vocalion 5140, 1927; Supertone S-2002, 1930 {Bronson's #131}) (Okeh 45090 [as Tobe Little], 1927) (Columbia 15126-D [as Al Craver], 1927) (Grey Gull 4239 [as Jeff Calhoun], 1928) (Champion 15246/Black Patti 8028, 1927; Supertone 9228, 1928) (Challenge 268, 1927)
Rosie Day, "Barbara Ellen" (on JThomas01)
Patsy Flynn, "Barbara Allen" (on IRHardySons)
Newton Gaines, "Barbara Allen" (Victor V-40253 [as Jim New?], 1930) {cf. Bronson's #71}
Molly Galbraith, "Barbara Allen" (on Saskatch01)
G. Marston Haddock, "Barbara Allen" (Musicraft 262, c. 1944)
Seena Helms, "Barbara Allen" (on HandMeDown2)
(Queen) Hule Hines, "Barbara Allen" (AFS 2714 B2, 1939)
Rebecca King Jones, "Barbara Allen" [excerpt] (on USWarnerColl01)
Bradley Kincaid, "Barbara Allen" (Supertone 9211, 1928); (Melotone 12349/Conqueror 7982, 1932; Vocalion 02685, 1934; rec. 1930)
Sam Larner, "Barbara Allen" (on SLarner01)
Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, "Barbara Allen" (on ENMacCollSeeger02)
Sarah Makem, "Barbara Allen" (on Voice17)
Jessie Murray, Fred Jordan, Charlie Wills, Ma[r]y Bennell, Thomas Moran, Phil Tanner [composite] "Barbara Allen" (on FSB4, FSBBAL1)
New Lost City Ramblers, "Barbara Allen" (on NLCR10)
Bill Nicholson w. Zane Shrader, "Barbara Allen" (AFS; on LC14) {Bronson's #70}
Mose "Clear Rock" Platt, "Barbara Allen" (AFS 201 A, 1933; on LC54)
Granny Porter w. Wade Ward, "Barbry Allen" (on Persis1)
Mr. Rew, "Barbara Allen" (on FieldTrip1)
Jean Ritchie, "Barbry Ellen" (on JRitchie01) {cf. Bronson's #142}
Pete Seeger, "Barbara Allen" (on PeteSeeger16) (on PeteSeeger40)
Lucy Stewart, "Barbary Allen" (on LStewart1)
Art Thieme, "The Cowboys' Barbara Allen" (on Thieme01) (on Thieme06)
The Vagabonds, "Barbara Allen" (Bluebird B-5300/Montgomery Ward M-4442, 1934; rec. 1933)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 3(49), "Barbara Allen's Cruelty" or "The Young Man's Tragedy," J. Davenport (London), 1800-1802; also Douce Ballads 3(3a), "Barbara Allen's Cruelty" or "The Young Man's Tragedy"; Harding B 25(115), Harding B 11(730), Johnson Ballads 266, Firth c.21(22), Firth c.21(23), Harding B 16(14a), 2806 c.17(19), Harding B 11(1011), Firth c.21(21), Harding B 11(729), "Barbara Allen"; Harding B 11(2121), "The Life, Death, and Love, of Barbara Allen"
Murray, Mu23-y1:138, "Barbara Allen" and "Barbara Allen the Cruel," Poet's Box (St. Andrew's), 19C [two distinct texts, with critical introduction]
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Shantyman's Life (I)" (tune)
cf. "Brother Green" (tune)
cf. "Leslie Allen" (tune)
cf. "Mother, Mother, Make My Bed" (floating verses)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Barbara Ellen
Barbary Allen
NOTES: Ed Cray makes the interesting note that, in a study he did with Charles Seeger, he found four basic versions of the text of this song (which can be initially sorted by their first lines), and Seeger found four basic tune families. But the text groupings and tune groupings do not overlap.
Bronson, too, finds four tune families (Group A of 39 tunes, B of 11, C of 87, and D of 54, plus a handful of odds and ends). Not all of Bronson's texts can be proved to be Barbara Allen (e.g. #1 could come from several ballads), but spot checks of Bronson seem to support at least partly Cray's thesis. While many versions could not be identified based solely on first lines, I found the following:
Of the 39 texts in Bronson's "A" group, 12 have the opening "In Scarlet Town (Reading Town, London Town, Scotland) where I was born," 7 start with "All in the merry month of May (June)," and 3 open with "So early, early in the Spring."
Of the texts in the "B" group, 4 begin "It was about the Martinmas time," two are "Merry month of May," and one is "Scarlet Town."
In the huge "C" group, 34 versions were "Merry month," 20 were "Scarlet Town," 2 were "Martinmas," and 4 were "So early."
In the "D" group, 27 were "Merry Month," 9 were "Scarlet Town," and 2 were "So early."
Based on this, we might speculate that:
1. The original text was "All in the merry month of May" (70 instances) and that the tune was, if anything, Bronson's "C" group. This group is described as pentatonic, though the timing varies.
2. "Scarlet Town" goes with the "A" group, and might be next in age, since the first line is second to "Merry month" in popularity (42 instances). Bronson considers this tune to be primarily English, and perhaps somewhat related to the "C" tune.
3. "Martinmas" is originally (and still primarily) associated with the "B" group. Bronson lists this group as primarily Scottish.
4. "So Early," might seem, by elimination, to go with the "D" group. But this group is entirely American, and the tune (according to Bronson) is related to "Boyne Water," so this seems unlikely. Perhaps "D" has no special text associated with it.
But this is all very tentative (and based on only a few minutes' work on my part); if studies of classical texts teach us anything, it's that variants are to be weighed and not counted!
Phillips Barry speculates that this is based on the lives of Barbara Villiers and King Charles II. This is characteristic of Barry: Clever but completely unconvincing. - RBW
The name "Barbara," cognate with "barbarian," means "foreigner" [technically, someone who doesn't speak Greek - RBW]; Martin Carthy has conjectured that the original story involved a Gypsy or North African woman, and that racial prejudice explains why William slights her, and why she is so cold to him as a result. - PJS
If we're going for the way-far-out, Underwood, pp. 343-344, has a tale which sounds amazingly like this one: Edmund Graeme (a name not far from that sometimes used for Barbara's swain) fell in love with an unnamed girl. They were engaged, but she betrayed his trust. He died for love. She repented within moments of his death. She asked to be buried (alive, in Underwood's version) with him. His story is that her ghost haunts the site.
Of course, all this would be much better for documentation. And dates; it might well be more recent than Barbara's story.
There is one element in the song which does have a strong foreign element: The rose-and-briar ending. This, of course, is not unique to this song, though it's most strongly associated with Barbara and her love. But the rose-and-briar-and-lover's-knot theme has been found as far away as Hungary (Romania?); Karpeles, p. 228, prints a Transylvanian version, "Kadar Kata," "Katie Kadar," with a loose English translation. In that version, the mother has drowned the girl, and the boy drowns himself where he finds her ghost. In that version, he is the rose, she the briar -- and the mother tears them out of the ground. The rose then curses his mother. (Could this be the origin of some sort of legend of the undead?)
The story also has roots in Ireland. For a version of the story of Deirdre of the Sorrows, see Colum, pp. 73-83; also the much shorter summary in Ellis, pp. 80-81. Deirdre, it was foretold at her birth, would grow up to be the most beautiful woman in Ireland, but also to cause great grief to the one who married her and to his nation. Although Conor cared for the child, promising to wed her himself (and hence prevent any sorrow for anyone who mattered), she was not interested in an old man (more to the point, perhaps, she may have felt the normal aversion children feel for those they grow up with; for background, see the notes to "Babylon, or, The Bonnie Banks o Fordie [Child 14]"). She instead fell in love with Naisi, and though strenuous efforts were made to keep them apart, he was killed and she killed herself. They slept side by side, and a tree grew from each, and the trees intertwined.
The intertwining of branches is also found in the romance of Tristan and Iseult.
Cambiaire claims there is a Spanish romance parallel to "Barbara Allen." Unfortunately he does not name it. Still, it seems clear that the rose-and-briar-intertwining theme is widespread at least across Europe. Cultural cross-fertilization, independent invention, or does this go back all the way to Indo-European? Perhaps there is a dissertation in there somewhere. - RBW
Broadside Murray Mu23-y1:138, "Barbara Allan the Cruel," ends as a parody in which Barbara "gets another spark" after Johnny dies and, when she eventually dies," she is buried beside him "For she wished to be his bride in death, Though in life she couldn't abide 'un." - BS
Bibliography

Colum: Padraic Colum, A Treasury of Irish Folklore, 1954; revised edition 1967 (I use the 1992 Wings Books edition)
Ellis: P. Berresford Ellis, A Dictionary of Irish Mythology, 1987 (I use the 1991 Oxford paperback edition)
Karpeles: Maud Karpeles, Folk Songs of Europe, Oak, 1956, 1964, p. 228
Underwood; Peter Underwood: Gazetteer of British, Scottish & Irish Ghosts, originally published as two volumes, A gazetteer of British Ghosts (1971?) and A gazeteer of Scottish and Irish Ghosts (1973?); although the two volumes still have separate title pages, the 1985 Bell edition I use has continuous pagination and a single index

Last updated in version 2.5
File: C084

Bonny Bay of Biscay-O, The

DESCRIPTION: The sailor fondly recalls his home, knowing that in a year he will be able to settle down with his love: "Of all the harbors east or west, There is one place that I love best, So whichever way the wind doth blow, I'll steer for the bonny Bay of Biscay-O"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1941 (Warner)
KEYWORDS: sailor love
FOUND IN: US(NE) Britain
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Warner 67, "The Bonny Bay of Biscay-O"
DT, BISCAYO*
Roud #6949
File: Wa067

Bonny Bee Hom [Child 92]

DESCRIPTION: The lady sits lamenting her absent love. She vows to wait seven years. Meanwhile, her love has received a talisman which will tell him if his love is dead or untrue. (After a year), the talisman turns dark. He sails for home, but his love is already dead
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE:
KEYWORDS: death separation magic
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Child 92, "Bonny Bee Hom" (2 texts)
Leach, pp. 287-288, "Bonny Bee Hom" (1 text)
OBB 74, "Bonny Bee Ho'm" (1 text)
Roud #3885
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Lowlands of Holland"
NOTES: "Bonny Bee Hom" is often linked with "The Lowlands of Holland" ("The Lily of Arkansas"), a link dating back to Child. 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."
The idea of a token which reveals infidelity is widely known. Emeralds in particular were said to ensure fidelity -- and to lose their color if a lover was unfaithful. (Note that George MacDonald was still using this idea in the nineteenth century in The Princess and Curdie). This idea was so widespread that it was actually used by monarchs -- around 1525, the English sent an emerald ring from the young Mary Tudor, heir to the English throne, to the Emperor Charles V, who was officially engaged to her but still shopping for other brides (see H. F. M. Prescott, Mary Tudor: The Spanish Tudor, revised edition, 1952 (I use the 2003 Phoenix paperback), p. 32). It didn't work -- Charles married a Portugese princess, although Mary Tudor would in time marry a younger Habsburg (who quickly ignored her).
It probably goes without saying that emeralds don't lose their color that easily. Chances are that someone found a green gem of some other sort (green quartz, perhaps? I haven't found a clear suggestion on that). It was mistaken for an emerald, then denatured perhaps in sunlight -- and so gave rise to the legend. - RBW
File: C092

Bonny Birdy, The [Child 82]

DESCRIPTION: A bird tells a knight that his wife is unfaithful. The two speed to his home, to find his wife in the arms of another man. He slays the intruder.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE:
KEYWORDS: infidelity death bird
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Child 82, "The Bonny Birdy" (1 text)
Niles 35, "The Bonny Birdy" (1 text, 1 tune -- another instance where it is left to the reader to decide if Niles's version could possibly be legitimate)
Roud #3972
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard" [Child 81] (plot)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Tattletale Birdy
File: C082

Bonny Black Hare, The

DESCRIPTION: A hunter goes out to shoot at the bonny black hare (hair), meets a willing maid, and beds her until his "ramrod is limber" and he cannot fire more.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1856 (broadside, Bodleian Firth b.25(347))
KEYWORDS: bawdy sex hunting
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar) Britain(England,Scotland(Aber)) US(So)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
GreigDuncan7 1427, "The Bonnie Black Hare" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Randolph-Legman I, pp. 42-43, "The Bonny Black Hare" (2 texts, 1 tune)
DT, BLACKHAR*
ADDITIONAL: Roger Elbourne, Music and Tradition in Early Industrial Lancashire 1780-1840 (Totowa, 1980), p. 76, "The Bonny Black Hare" (fragment)
Roud #1656
RECORDINGS:
A. L. Lloyd, "The Bonnie Black Hare" (on BirdBush1, BirdBush2)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth b.25(347), "Black Hare" ("One morning in summer by the dawn of the day"), E.M.A. Hodges (London), 1846-1854
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Bonnie Moorhen"
NOTES: Legman's notes link this broadside ballad to the older Scottish "The Bonnie Muir Hen." - EC
Last updated in version 2.5
File: RL042

Bonny Blue Handkerchief, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer meets a girl with a blue kerchief under her chin. She says that it is a local fashion. Entranced by her beauty, he offers her marriage and wealth. In some versions, she accepts; in others, she refuses; the handkerchief is a token from her love
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(400))
KEYWORDS: love courting clothes work factory
FOUND IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
SHenry H161a+b, p. 456-457, "The Pretty Blue Handkerchief (I and II)" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
GreigDuncan5 1040, "The Hanky" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Roud #378
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(400), "The Bonny Blue Handkerchief" ("As early one morning I chanced for to stray"), J. Catnach (London), 1813-1838; also Johnson Ballads fol. 122, "Bonny Blue Handkerchief"; Harding B 11(2521), "My Bonny Blue Handkerchief"
Murray, Mu23-y4:024, "Blue Handkerchief," unknown, 19C
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Jersey-Blue Handkerchief" (parody of this piece)
cf. "Jersey-Blue Handkerchief" (parody)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Under Her Chin
NOTES: In the first Sam Henry text, we are explicitly told that the two went to church. In the second, it's not made explicit, but the song ends after his proposal, so it sounds as if she agrees to marry. In the Murray broadside, she turns him down. Looking at the three, I thing the broadside text more likely to be original; the Henry texts are choppy, and the verse where she accepts appears an intrusion. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: HHH161

Bonny Blue-eyed Jane

DESCRIPTION: Leaving his native home, the singer will think of "my blooming girl, my bonny blue-eyed Jane." The girls from sunny Spain may win his friendship but not his love. If he gets rich he'll hurry back to marry Jane.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1979 (Lehr/Best)
KEYWORDS: courting love separation Spain
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Lehr/Best 12, "Bonny Blue-eyed Jane" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: LeBe012

Bonny Bobby Shaftoe

See Bobby Shaftoe (File: FSWB170A)

Bonny Boy (I), The

DESCRIPTION: The girl says, "I once had a boy, a bonny bonny boy, / A boy that I thought was my own." But the boy has taken another girl. She adds, "Let him go... I never will mourn." The ending varies; she may unsuccessfully seek another or refuse to do so
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan6) (Chappell dates it to "the reign of Charles II")
KEYWORDS: courting separation loneliness abandonment betrayal love
FOUND IN: US(MA,MW) Ireland Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (6 citations):
GreigDuncan6 1141, "I Once Loved a Boy" (4 texts plus a single verse on p. 553, 2 tunes)
Eddy 90, "Now, My Bonny, Bonny Boy" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
FSCatskills 37, "The Bonny Boy' (1 text, 1 tune)
Sharp-100E 52, "My Bonny, Bonny Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H215, pp. 393-394, "The Bonny Bonny Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, BONNBOY*
Roud #293
RECORDINGS:
Recordings: Anne Briggs, "My Bonny Boy" (on Briggs1, Briggs3)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Dear Companion (The Broken Heart; Go and Leave Me If You Wish To, Fond Affection)" (lyrics)
cf. "The Grey Hawk"
cf. "The Twitcher" (tune)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Cupid's Trappan
The Bonny Bonny Bird
I Once Loved a Girl
File: FSC037

Bonny Boy (II), The

See A-Growing (He's Young But He's Daily A-Growing) [Laws O35] (File: LO35)

Bonny Boy in Blue, The

See My Sailor Boy (A Sailor Boy in Blue) (File: HHH759)

Bonny Braw Lad an' a Swagg'rin, A

DESCRIPTION: "A bonny braw lad an' a swagg'rin' A bonny braw lad an' a swagg'rin' Gin ever I marry a man in my life, He maun be a braw lad a' a swagg'rin'"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1907 (GreigDuncan4)
KEYWORDS: courting
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan4 753, "A Bonny Braw Lad an' a Swagg'rin" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Roud #6178
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Ca'eries Hae Sookit the Kye Dry" (tune, per GreigDuncan4)
NOTES: The current description is all of the GreigDuncan4 fragment. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD4753

Bonny Brown Hen, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer's brown hen is missing. He tells how it laid six eggs a week and never strayed. He gives the bird's pedigree. He offers a reward for the return of the hen
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: chickens abduction
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H88, p. 18, "The Bonny Brown Hen" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9053
File: HHH088

Bonny Bunch of Roses (II), The

DESCRIPTION: "Father, mother, may I go?" The singer is allowed to go [to the ball? wall?] for "the bonny bunch of roses." She dresses, goes, and meets her lover on the way. They kiss, and, in some versions, part.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1907 (GreigDuncan8)
KEYWORDS: courting clothes father lover mother
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan8 1614, "The Big Big Bunch o' Roses" (1 text)
Roud #12980
NOTES: Opie-Game: "In some curious way the game appears to be connected with... 'The Birks of Abergeldy,'" referring specifically to Herd's version in which the suitor promises "a gown of silk" to accompany him; she rejects the offer because "my minnie she'll be angry." The verse structure is similar. Opie-Game: "Mother, mother, may I go, May I go, may I go? Mother, mother, may I go, To the bonny bunch of roses?" Herd: "Bonnie lassie, will ye go, Will ye go, will ye go, Bonnie lassie, will ye go To the birks o' Abergeldie?" - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD81614

Bonny Bunch of Roses, The [Laws J5]

DESCRIPTION: Young Napoleon promises his mother that he will capture "The Bonny Bunch of Roses" (Great Britain). She warns him of his father's disaster in Russia and of the strength of the British. They sorrowfully prepare for the lad's death.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1847 (Journal of William Histed of the Cortes); c.1830 (Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: Napoleon dialog family political war Russia
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1805 - Battle of Trafalgar ends Napoleon's hopes of invading Britain
1811 - Birth of Napoleon Francis Joseph Charles Bonaparte (Napoleon II)
1812-1813 - Napoleon's Russian Campaign
June 18, 1815 - Battle of Waterloo. Napoleon forced into exile
1821 - Death of Napoleon I
July 22, 1832 - Death of Napoleon II
FOUND IN: US(MA,SE) Canada(Mar,Newf) Britain(England(Lond),Scotland) Ireland
REFERENCES (22 citations):
Laws J5, "The Bonny Bunch of Roses"
Greig #94, pp. 1-2, "The Bonnie Bunch of Roses" (1 text)
GreigDuncan1 155, "The Bonnie Bunch o' Roses" (6 texts, 6 tunes)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 84, "The Bonny Bunch of Roses" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-NovaScotia 68, "Bonny Bunch of Roses O" (1 text, 1 tune)
Warner 3, "The Bonny Bunch of Roses-O" (1 text, 1 tune)
Scott-BoA, pp. 105-107, "The Bonny Bunch of Roses O" (1 text, 1 tune)
Copper-SoBreeze, pp. 202-203, "Bonny Bunch of Roses, O" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hodgart, p. 200, "The Bonny Bunch of Roses" (1 text)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 207-209, "The Bonny Bunch of Roses-O" (1 text, 1 tune)
OLochlainn 16, "The Bonny Bunch of Roses" (1 text, 1 tune)
Zimmermann 32B, "The Bonny Bunch of Roses, O" (1 text, 1 tune)
Moylan 184, "The Bonny Bunch of Roses" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hayward-Ulster, pp. 17-18, "The Bonny Bunch of Roses" (1 text)
Ord, pp. 301-302, "The Bonny Bunch of Roses" (1 text)
MacSeegTrav 85, "The Bonnie Bunch of Roses" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Peacock, pp. 988-989, "The Bonny Bunch of Roses" (1 text, 1 tune)
Mackenzie 72, "The Bonnie Bunch of Roses" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
O'Conor, p. 127, "The Bonny Bunch of Roses" (1 text)
DT 392, BONBUNCH* BONBUNC2
ADDITIONAL: Richard Hayward, Ireland Calling (Glasgow,n.d.), pp. 18-19, "The Bonny Bunch of Roses" (text, music and reference to Regal Zonophone recording [probably Regal Zono MR-2830 recorded ca. May 1938])
_Sing Out_ magazine, Volume 22, #1 (1973), p, 15, "The Bonny Bunch of Roses-O" (1 text, 1 tune, the Seamus Ennis version)
Roud #664
RECORDINGS:
Sam Larner, "Bonny Bunch of Roses" (on SLarner01)
Cyril Poacher, "The Bonny Bunch O' Roses" (on Voice08)
Brigid Tunney, "The Bonny Bunch of Roses" (on IRTunneyFamily01)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(403), "The Bonny Bunch of Roses, O!" ("By the dangers of the ocean"), J. Harkness (Preston) , 1840-1866; also 2806 c.16(296), Harding B 16(31d), Harding B 11(404), Harding B 11(406), Harding B 11(405), "Bonny Bunch of Roses, O"; Harding B 17(350a), Harding B 11(18), Firth b.25(245), Harding B 11(4381), "Young Napoleon" or "The Bonny Bunch of Roses"; Firth b.27(457/458) View 1 of 4, "Bonny Bunch of Roses"; Firth b.27(8), "Young Napoleon"
LOCSinging, as109240, "Young Napoleon" or "The Bonny Bunch of Roses," Taylor's Song Mart (London), 19C
Murray, Mu23-y1:115, "Bonny Bunch of Roses," James Lindsay (Glasgow), 19C
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The New Bunch of Loughero" (theme)
SAME TUNE:
The Bunch of Rushes, O! (per broadsides Bodleian Harding B 17(350a), Bodleian Harding B 11(18), Bodleian Harding B 11(4381))
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Bold Blucher
NOTES: Zimmermann: "The bunch of roses is usually said to symbolize England, Scotland, and Ireland, or the red coats of the English soldiers. In a ballad printed both in England and in Ireland, 'The Grand Conversation on Napoleon', we find the lines: 'The bunch of roses did advance And boldly entered into France,' alluding to Napoleon's enemies after Waterloo."
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 Bonny Bunch of Roses" (on Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "My Name is Napoleon Bonaparte," Hummingbird Records HBCD0027 (2001))
The probable recording date and id for Hayward's record is provided by Bill Dean-Myatt, MPhil. compiler of the Scottish National Discography. - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: LJ05

Bonny Bunch of Rushes Green

See An Binnsin Luchra (The Little Bench [or Bunch] of Rushes) (File: RcABLtlb)

Bonny Bush o' Broom, The

DESCRIPTION: He: Sit by "the bonny bush o broom" and don't be afraid of me. She: I'm afraid you would kiss me. He: "a desenter young fellow ye ne'er did see." She sits, he kisses her, and gives her three guineas.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 906 (GreigDuncan7)
KEYWORDS: seduction money dialog nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan7 1313, "The Bonny Bush o' Broom" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Roud #3860
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Next Market Day' (seduction theme and three guinea payment)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
To Newcastle I Wad Be
File: GrD71313

Bonny Bushes Bright, The

See The Grey Cock, or, Saw You My Father [Child 248] (File: C248)

Bonny Busk of London, The

See The Twa Sisters [Child 10] (File: C010)

Bonny Ca' Laddie for Me, A

DESCRIPTION: "On a mossy bank Jenny was sitting She had on a gay gown sae new And busily she was a knitting A yarn of bonny sky blue" "Last night ... He fed me with gingerbread sweet, He called me his dear and his honey And everything else that was neat"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1956 (Creighton-Maritime)
KEYWORDS: courting clothes food
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Creighton-Maritime, p. 33, "A Bonny Ca' Laddie for Me" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2276
File: CrMa033

Bonny Earl of Murray, The [Child 181]

DESCRIPTION: The Earl of Huntly slays the Earl of Murray (in his own bed?) as a result of the violent feud between them. The largest part of some versions is devoted to describing how noble Murray was
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1750 (Ramsay)
KEYWORDS: feud murder
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Feb 7, 1592 - Murder of the Earl of Moray. James VI ordered the Earl of Huntley to apprehend Moray/Murray (said to be involved in rebellion), and Huntley apparently decided to do more than that
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland) US(MA,MW,SE)
REFERENCES (16 citations):
Child 181, "The Bonny Earl of Murray" (2 texts)
Bronson 181, "The Bonny Earl of Murray" (6 versions)
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 468-469, "The Bonny Earl of Murray" (notes to a version called "The Treachery of Huntley" plus parts of 2 texts from Child)
Percy/Wheatley II, pp. 226-228, "The Bonny Earl of Murray" (1 text)
Flanders/Olney, pp. 133-134, "Earl of Murray" (1 text)
Flanders-Ancient3, pp. 185-189, "The Bonnie Earl of Murray" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
BrownII 36, "The Bonny Earl of Murray" (1 text)
Leach, pp. 491-493, "The Bonny Earl of Murray" (2 texts)
Friedman, p. 264, "The Bonny Earl of Murray" (1 text)
OBB 95, "The Bonny Earl of Murray" (1 text)
Gummere, pp. 155+334, "The Bonny Earl of Murray" (1 text)
Hodgart, p. 144, "The Bonny Earl of Murray" (1 text)
TBB 24, "The Bonny Earl of Murray" (1 text)
HarvClass-EP1, pp. 107-108, "The Bonny Earl of Murray" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 212, "The Bonny Earl Of Murray" (1 text)
DT 181, EARLMURY* EARLMUR2*
ST C181 (Full)
Roud #334
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Willie Macintosh" [Child 183] (characters & situation)
NOTES: James Stewart (c. 1567-1592) became Earl of Moray as a result of marrying a daughter of Lord James Stewart (1531-1570), the bastard of James V who had been Regent of Scotland for much of the early reign of James VI prior to being murdered (Mitchison, p. 160). The younger James succeeded to the Moray earldom in 1590.
Moray's murder by Huntley seems to have been the result of a feud between the two, though James VI (by then ruling in fact as well as name) didn't seem too bothered by it; Huntly (c. 1563-1636), despite several quarrels with James VI (some of which look suspiciously like rebellion) was made a marquis in 1599. It probably helped that Huntly had married a daughter of the Earl of Lennox, a favorite of James's (Mitchison, p. 151).
The murdered Moray doesn't seem to have been a particularly noteworthy figure, except for his looks and the fact that he was murdered. In a place as messed-up as sixteenth century Scotland, getting killed by a rival was probably a positive.
In a combination of police work and propaganda, Moray's mother had a painting made of his corpse, of which a copy can be seen in one of the photo sections of Magnusson. The corpse has a caption (it almost looks like a speech balloon), "God revenge my cavs [cause]."
The artist looks to have been completely incompetent -- but, if the drawing is accurate enough to depict where the blows fell, it's hard to tell what actually killed Moray. There is a large wound on his leg, but that could not have been fatal unless he bled to death. The only wounds in the chest area are a couple of small scratches on his right side, the largest near the shoulder and not in a particularly vital area; in any case, it does not appear deep. There are the scratches on the face, but both look like flesh wounds (though one came close to Moray's right eye).
According to Thomson, p. 60, the conspiracy was also supposed to eliminate several senior members of Clan Cambell, who controlled the great Earldom of Argyll, but little came of that part of the plot.
According to Magnusson, pp. 396-397, the conspiracy arose because James VI was having trouble with his barons (in other words, nothing unusual in Scotland). The Earl of Bothwell had been fighting against the King -- at one time almost capturing him -- and Moray was allied with Bothwell.
James was even more afraid of Bothwell than he would have been of an ordinary rebel, because he was deeply superstitious, and Bothwell was reputedly involved with witches (Mitchison, p. 150). The king commissioned Huntley to put down Bothwell's faction, meanwhile negotiating with Moray. But Huntley had a grudge against Moray (whose father had enriched himself at the expense of an earlier Huntley -- plus Huntley had a chance to perhaps inherit the Monray earldom).
Moray was at Donibristle, awaiting the chance to confer with the King, when Huntley showed up on February 7 and set fire to the castle. Moray reportedly escaped out a side gate, but was found and killed -- folklore claims that Huntley struck the first blow.
James may have been prepared to negotiate with Moray, but he certainly didn't grieve for him; Huntley was merely placed under house arrest for a week. This is what caused Moray's mother to raise such a stink; she wanted justice for her son.
James VI never did catch up with Bothwell, though the earl eventually fled into exile. But he did not die until 1624, only a year before James himself.
Cowan, in the article "Calvinism and the Survival of Folk," notes on p. 43 that, shortly before Moray was killed, Sir John Campbell of Cawdor was also killed. These two were both strong supporters of the Kirk, and Cowan reports a speculation that, instead of being killed for political reasons, they were killed by enemies of Calvinism. Cowan suggests, "The ballad was almost certainly Kirk-inspired and it attacks King James at several vulnerable points."
It appears that Cowan is referring to the lines stating that the earl, "He might have been a king," and "He was the Queen's love." Moray, as the husband of the descendent of a bastard of James V, was not in line for the kingship -- but some might have seen him so. As for being the Queen's love, this is pretty definitely false -- but it plays upon James VI's apparent homosexuality; James had children by his wife Anne, but was known for his male favorites.
Cowan on p. 44 says that James was forced to accept legislation establishing Presbyterianism in May 1592.
This is certainly an interesting speculation but its ultimate weakness is that there seems no hint of it in the chronicles, and the ballad as we now have it has no Presbyterian references that I can see.
It is ironic to note that this ballad is best-known for an error of hearing *after* it moved out of tradition: The lines "They ha(v)e slain the Earl of Murray And laid him on the green" was heard as "They have slain the Earl of Murray and Lady Mondegreen," giving us the word "mondegreen." - RBW
Bibliography

Cowan: Edward J. Cowan, editor, The People's Past: Scottish Folk, Scottish History 1980 (I use the 1993 Polygon paperback edition)
Magnusson: Magnus Magnusson, Scotland: The Story of a Nation, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2000
Mitchison: Rosalind Mitchison, A History of Scotland, second edition, Methuen, 1982
Thomson: Oliver Thomson, The Great Feud: The Campbells & The Macdonalds, Sutton Publishing, 2000

Last updated in version 2.5
File: C181

Bonny Flora Clark, The

DESCRIPTION: "Six sporting youths" borrow Donald's Bonny Flora Clark "in the chilly months of autumn" and sail up Grand River Harbour. They go through ice to a party and drink and fight. As Donald dreams, Bonny Flora Clark is wrecked in the ice on the way home.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1969 (Ives-DullCare)
KEYWORDS: moniker fight ship dream drink party river wreck humorous
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ives-DullCare, pp. 210-212, 242, "The Bonny Flora Clark" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13986
NOTES: Grand River is on the north coast of Prince County, Prince Edward Island. - BS
File: IvDC210

Bonny Garrydoo

DESCRIPTION: On March 1, 1845, the singer leaves his comrades in Garrydoo. He crosses the seas (? or to Ballydoo?). He joins (departs?) a Masonic lodge, where McCracken is the master; there are 31. He praises the Orangemen and their girls, "Orange flowers."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1939 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: emigration home
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H800, p. 164, "Bonny Garrydoo" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13473
NOTES: This is a confusing song. Does the singer leave Garrydoo, or come there? If he started and ended there, why did he go to sea? Is he a Mason or a patriot? Did he join before or after sailing? I can't tell. - RBW
File: HHH800

Bonny Green Tree, The

See Tripping Over the Lea [Laws P19] (File: LP19)

Bonny Grey, The

See The Cock-Fight (File: VWL027)

Bonny Helen Symon

DESCRIPTION: "There are three lads into this braes... They made an oath to take her frae us, I do mean Helen Symon." They want her not for money but for her beauty. They take her away on a horse. She eventually marries (one of them,) George
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1776 (broadside, according to Lyle)
KEYWORDS: abduction horse beauty foreignlanguage
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
ADDITIONAL: Emily Lyle, _Fairies and Folk: Approaches to the Scottish Ballad Tradition_, Wissenschaflicher Verlag Trier, 2007, pp, 253-254, "The Abduction of Nelly Symon" (1 short text, perhaps partly Gaelic); pp. 255-257, "Bonny Helen Symon" (1 text plus a reduced copy of a British Library broadside)
NOTES: The extant copies of this song don't really make it clear what is going on -- just what role was Helen Symon's role in this? Was she willing to be abducted? And who did she choose to marry, and how? Unless additional versions come to light, we may not be able to find out. Lyle thinks she married one of her abductors, which is indeed the most obvious interpretation, but as I read the broadside, it seemed to me that there was a gap where a verse had probably been lost, and this missing verse might have had her marry one of her rescuers instead.
Lyle considers this to be earlier than any of the four abduction ballads with which she links it: "Bonny Baby Livingston" [Child 222]; "Eppie Morrie" [Child 223]; "The Lady of Arngosk" [Child 224]; and "Rob Roy" [Child 225].
Abductions for dowry were not rare in Scotland. Abductions of a woman for her looks, especially with three or four men involved, strike me as much more peculiar. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: AdBoHeSy

Bonny Hind Squire, The

See Proud Lady Margaret [Child 47] (File: C047)

Bonny Irish Boy

DESCRIPTION: "His name I love to mention, in Ireland he was born." The girl recalls her Irish boy, now gone to America. She follows him, seeking him in New York and other cities. She dreams of him -- and finds him at her door. They marry and live free and happy
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1901 (O'Conor)
KEYWORDS: love courting separation emigration dream reunion marriage
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Peacock, pp. 560-561, "My Bonnie Irish Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
O'Conor, p. 54, "Bonny Irish Boy" (1 text)
File: Pea560

Bonny Irish Boy, The

See The Bonny Young Irish Boy [Laws P26] (File: LP26)

Bonny Kilwarren

DESCRIPTION: The singer overhears two lovers beside the canal in Kilwarren. He is leaving and he'll miss her sweet smile. He says birds must leave -- "gone to their nest" -- in their time. "Make few words excuse me for I must away"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1955 (IRRCinnamond01)
KEYWORDS: love parting
FOUND IN: Ireland
Roud #6991
RECORDINGS:
Robert Cinnamond, "Bonny Kilwarren" (on IRRCinnamond01)
NOTES: Cinnamond says this is about lovers parting as he goes to war. Kilwarren is a parish in County Galway. - BS
File: RcBoKilw

Bonny Laboring Boy, The [Laws M14]

DESCRIPTION: A rich girl loves a working boy. Her parents try to prevent the marriage by locking up the girl and exiling the boy. Both manage to escape; they flee to Belfast and prepare to take ship for America
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1860 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(2525))
KEYWORDS: love prison exile escape emigration
FOUND IN: US(MA,MW) Canada(Mar,Newf,Ont) Britain(England(South)) Ireland
REFERENCES (12 citations):
Laws M14, "The Bonny Labouring Boy"
FSCatskills 52, "The Bonny Laboring Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Gardner/Chickering 66, "The Bonny Laboring Boy" (1 text)
Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 200-202, "The Railroad Boy" (1 text, 1 tune -- a Canadian adaption which has lost most of the plot, including the girl's imprisonment and the escape to America, but which retains so many of the lyrics that it can still be considered the same song)
Fowke/MacMillan 69, "The Bonny Labouring Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H576, pp. 435-436, "The Bonny Labouring Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 564-565, "My Bonny Labouring Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Karpeles-Newfoundland 69, "The Bonny Labouring Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
O'Conor, pp. 84-85, "My Bonny Laboring Boy" (1 text)
OLochlainn 9, "The Bonny Labouring Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kennedy 147, "The Bonny Labouring Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 433, LABORBOY* LABORBO2
Roud #1162
RECORDINGS:
Paddy Beades, "The Bonnie Labouring Boy" (on Voice05)
Harry Cox, "The Bonny Labouring Boy" (on HCox01)
Martin Sullivan, "The Railroad Boy" (on Ontario1)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(2525), "My Bonny Labouring Boy," A. Ryle and Co. (London), 1845-1859; also Johnson Ballads 311, Firth b.27(109/110) View 1 of 2, Firth c.18(178), 2806 c.8(287), 2806 b.9(252), Harding B 19(17), Harding B 19(18), Harding B 19(43), "[The] Bonny Labouring Boy"; Harding B 11(838), "Bonny Laboring Boy"; Firth c.18(179), Johnson Ballads 1110, Harding B 25(256) (largely illegible), "My Bonny Labouring Boy"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Plains of Baltimore" (theme)
cf. "My Jolly Shantyboy" (tune, theme)
File: LM14

Bonny Lad That's Comin' in the Mirk to Me, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer waits for her lover to come to her this night. "Come he late or e'ar when there's ne'en to see He's welcome aye in the mark to me." She will spin at her wheel and think "wi mirth and glee" of his coming. He arrives and promises to marry her.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan4)
KEYWORDS: love marriage nightvisit
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan4 796, "The Dark" (6 texts, 4 tunes)
Roud #6203
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Comin' Thro'n the Dark
The Weary Dree
NOTES: The first three lines here ("This is the night my lovey set And promised for to come and see But I'm afraid he's lost the way") are close to the first three lines of "This Is the Nicht My Johnnie Set" ("This is the nicht my Johnnie set, And promised to be here; Oh what can stay his laggin' step"), but the fourth lines ("The bonnie lad that's comin in the mark to me" and "He's fickle grown I fear," respectively) set the tones to be entirely different, though both end happily. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD4796

Bonny Lass of Anglesey, The [Child 220]

DESCRIPTION: A group of lords is come to "dance and win" the crown away from the king (?!). The king, knowing he cannot prevail, summons the Bonny Lass of Anglesey, who easily out-dances all comers
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1776 (Herd)
KEYWORDS: dancing royalty contest
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Child 220, "The Bonny Lass of Anglesey" (2 texts)
DT 220, ANGLELAS*
Roud #3931
File: C220

Bonny Light Horseman, The

See The Bonnie Light Horseman (File: HHH122a)

Bonny Lighter Boy (I), The

See Disguised Sailor (The Sailor's Misfortune and Happy Marriage; The Old Miser) [Laws N6] (File: LN06)

Bonny Lighter Boy (II), The

See The Bonny Sailor Boy [Laws M22] (File: LM22)

Bonny Lizie Baillie [Child 227]

DESCRIPTION: Lizie goes to Gartartain to visit her sister, and there meets Duncan Grahame. She falls in love, and declares that she will have a Highlander rather than any lowland or English lord. Her family tries and fails to change her mind
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1776 (Herd)
KEYWORDS: love courting family
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Child 227, "Bonny Lizie Baillie" (1 text)
Bronson 227, "Bonny Lizie Baillie" (1 version)
Leach, pp. 585-588, "Bonnie Lizie Baillie" (1 text)
DT, LIZBAILI*
Roud #341
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, Ry.III.a.10(045), "Bonny Lizie Balie," unknown, n.d.
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Glasgow Peggy" [Child 228] (theme)
NOTES: Reportedly based on an actual story, but no real details are forthcoming. The NLScotland notes claim the broadside was printed in 1701, but offers no basis for this. - RBW
File: C227

Bonny Mary Hay

DESCRIPTION: "Bonny Mary Hay, I will lo'e thee yet, For thine ee is the slae and thy hair is the jet." After praising Mary's looks, the singer asks her to come away with him. He says it is a holiday for him when she is with him. He begs her not to refuse him
AUTHOR: Archibald Crawford?
EARLIEST DATE: 1829 (Chambers)
KEYWORDS: love courting
FOUND IN: Ireland Britain
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H568, p. 226, "Bonny Mary Hay" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7975
File: HHH568

Bonny Moor Hen, The

DESCRIPTION: Hard times and "almost starving" Wardhill miners, as in the past, hunt the moorhen. "The fat man of Oakland ... lays claim to the moors," preventing the miners from hunting. An army of gamekeepers is driven off by the miners in a battle at Stanhope.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1867 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(414))
KEYWORDS: battle poaching hunting mining hardtimes bird landlord
FOUND IN:
Roud #2944
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(414), "Bonny Moor Hen" ("You brave lads of Wardhill I pray lend an ear"), J. Harkness (Preston), 1840-1866; also Firth c.19(39), "Bonny Moor Hen"
NOTES: The last two verses,
Oh this bonny moor hen she's gone over the plain,
When summer returns she'll come back again,
They will tip her so neatly that no one can tell,
That ever they ruffled the vbonny moor-hen
Oh this bonny moor-hen has got feathers anew,
She has many fine colours but none of them bluw
Oh the miners of Wardhill are all valiant men,
They will fight till they die for the bonny moor-hen.
are close to two verses of Hogg's Jacobite "The Bonny Moorhen,"
My bonny moorhen's gane over the main,
And it will be simmer or she come again;
But when she comes back again, some folk will ken.
Joy be wi' thee, my bonny moor hen!
My bonny moorhen has feathers enew,
She's a' fine colours, but nane o' them blue;
She's red, and she's white, and she's green, and she's gray.
My bonny moorhen, come hither away.
So, have I taken this too seriously? Is it just a parody? There is no incident about a miner's battle at Stanhope in the Times of London. On the other hand, this may have been a serious event that was beneath the Times's notice. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: BdTBoNH

Bonny Paisley

DESCRIPTION: The singer regrets "leaving of my sweetheart In Paisley behind." He wishes he were in Paisley where the weavers "are clever young blades" and lasses "despise all other trades." He'd build her a bower and be her weaver.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1795 ("From a Chap copy," according to Logan)
KEYWORDS: homesickness courting separation weaving nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig #32, p. 2, "Bonny Paisley" (1 text)
Logan, pp. 405-406, "Bonny Paisley"
Roud #5638
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Bonny Portmore" (theme and "shines where it stands") and references there
NOTES: Logan in 1869: "Those who are familiar with the Irish song ... entitled "The Boys of Kilkenny," which was written about forty years ago, ... will recognize several of the stanzas ...." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: Gre0032

Bonny Peggy Irvine

See The Earl of Aboyne [Child 235] (File: C235)

Bonny Portmore

DESCRIPTION: The singer mourns the loss of Portmore's trees which have been cut down and floated away by "the long boats from Antrim" The birds weep saying "Where will we shelter or where will we sleep?"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1976 (OBoyle)
KEYWORDS: lament nonballad
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
OBoyle 5, "Bonny Portmore" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3475
RECORDINGS:
Robert Cinnamond, "Bonny Portmore" (on IRRCinnamond01)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Portmore" (origin[?] of "O bonny [wherever], ye shine ...") and notes there
NOTES: OBoyle: In 1761 the castle built in 1664 by Lord Conway was removed. When the estate was broken up many of its trees were sold. The text comments on the "woeful destruction of your ornament tree"; O Boyle says this refers to "the Great Oak of Portmore which was blown down in 1760.... It was fourteen yards in circumference."
See SHenry H775, p. 171, "Bonny Portrush" (1 text, 1 tune), apparently written by Henry "by request.... The first verse is parodied on the old ballad 'Bonny Portmore.'" I wouldn't call it a parody: the O Boyle lines are "If I had you [Portmore] as I had once before All the Lords in Old England would not purchase Portmore"; the Henry lines are "Were I near you now as I once was before, All the gold of old England would ne'er part us more."
Greig #32 dicusses parallels between "Bonny Portmore" and "Bonny Udny" and similar songs. While his "Bonny Portmore" is not this song (Greig's has nothing to do with trees) it begins with practically the same lines: "O bonny Portmore, ye shine where ye charm, The more I think on you it makes my heart warm" but continues "But when I look on you it makes my heart sore To think of the valiant in bonny Portmore." Greig notes the same sort of pattern in "The Boys of Kilkenny" ("Kilkenny's a pretty town, and shines where it stands, And the more I think on it the more my heart warms; Oh! If I was in Kilkenny I'd think myself at home, For 'tis there I get sweethearts, but here I get none.") and "Bonnie Paisley."
See the notes to "Glenlogie, or, Jean o Bethelnie" [Child 238] for an example of the floating fill-in-the-blanks verse found in Bonny Portmore.
See "Bonny Paisley" for Logan's comment on the relationship of "Bonnie Paisley" and "The Boys of Kilkenny." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: OBoy005

Bonny Robin

See As Robin Was Driving (File: BuDa008)

Bonny Sailor Boy, The [Laws M22]

DESCRIPTION: A rich girl and a poor sailor are in love. The girl's father hears them courting in the garden, bursts in, and threatens the boy with transportation. The girl swears to remain faithful
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan6)
KEYWORDS: poverty sailor love transportation
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar) Britain(Scotland(Aber),England(South)) Ireland
REFERENCES (9 citations):
Laws M22, "The Bonny Sailor Boy"
Kennedy 163, "My Darling Ploughman Boy" (1 text, 1 tune, much worn down)
GreigDuncan3 413, "My Ploughman Boy" (1 text)
GreigDuncan6 1117, "My Darling Sailor Boy" (2 fragments plus a single verse on p. 547, 2 tunes)
Ord, p. 328, "My Bonnie Sailor Boy" (1 text)
Creighton/Senior, p. 179, "Jolly Young Sailor Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
OLochlainn-More 18, "The Newry Prentice Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Morton-Maguire 39, pp. 127-128,171, "The Dandy Apprentice Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 745, BONSAIL*
Roud #843
RECORDINGS:
Jimmy McBeath, "My Darling Ploughman Boy" (on FSB1)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Servant Man" (plot)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Bonny Lighter Boy
NOTES: This seems a group of songs sharing a single verse in which the father overhears the lovers and threatens to transport the man and a verse in which the woman talks of making her bed with leaves. Roud numbers GreigDuncan3 as #5935.
OLochlainn-More 18: the boy is "a weaver lad and him apprentice bound." Roud makes this version #2934.
Morton-Maguire is like another Irish version (OLochlainn-More) in that the apprentice is a weaver; it ends "And so she sang and the valleys rang and she gained her apprentice boy." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: LM22

Bonny Saint John

DESCRIPTION: "Where have you been, My bonny Saint John? You've bidden sae lang (x2)." "Up on yon hill... And I couldna win hame." "Now, what will you give me Unto my supper?" "A clean dish for you And a clean spoon, For biding sae long."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1964 (Montgomerie)
KEYWORDS: food home travel
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Montgomerie-ScottishNR 191, "Bonny Saint John" (1 text)
Roud #3899
NOTES: Sort of a cross between "Lord Randall" and a scold to a child for being late for dinner. If it didn't go back to Buchan, I'd have guessed a sixties parody. - RBW
File: MSNR189

Bonny Tavern Green

DESCRIPTION: The singer falls in love with a girl in Tavern Green. Her killing glances wounded his heart. "If I was Queen of England as Queen Ann was long ago ... she never would want money while I would rule as queen"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1952 (IRPTunney01)
KEYWORDS: love floatingverses nonballad royalty
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1702-1714 - Reign of Queen Anne of England, daughter of James II. She was succeeded by her cousin Geroge I
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Tunney-StoneFiddle, p. 155, "Bonnie Tavern Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3110
RECORDINGS:
Paddy Tunney, "Tavrin Green" (on IRPTunney01); "Bonny Tavern Green" (on Voice15)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Irish Girl" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Lover's Resolution" (floating lyrics)
NOTES: Floating verses: from "The Irish Girl": "Oh, love it is a killing thing, I hear the people say."
Musical Traditions site Voice of the People suite "Reviews - Volume 15" by Fred McCormick - 27.2.99: "I am also curious over the fact that this song is told from a man's perspective, since the last verse fantasises about him being Queen of England 'as Queen Ann was long ago'. Are we witnessing a former woman's song which has undergone a less than perfect gender change?"
Maybe this is a corrupted version, with roles reversed, of "Lover's Resolution." That would explain the "If I was Queen of England" line which both share; they also share "love it is a killing thing, I hear the people say." - BS
The reference to Queen Anne is interesting. Anne was hardly the most famous Queen of England (obviously Elizabeth I earns that distinction), and she wasn't particularly noteworthy for brains or (especially) looks, but she was the *last* ruling queen until Victoria ascended in 1837. Indeed, prior to Victoria, Anne and Elizabeth I had been the only queens to really rule England. So maybe that explains the references to her.
The other possibility is that Queen Anne was not ruling queen, but merely wife of a king. The last wife of a King named Anne was Anne Hyde, wife of James II, but she died before he succeeded and can be ignored.
Prior to that, James VI and I was married to Anne of Denmark. And Henry VIII had had two wives named Anne.
Given the careers of those consorts Anne, I have to think the ruling queen is meant. - RBW
File: RcBoTaGr

Bonny Wee Lass (As I Went Out One Summer's Day)

DESCRIPTION: The singer goes out and meets a shy girl on the road. He cajoles her into talking to him; they talk of her work and of love. They are married and live happily ever after; he looks fondly on the road where he met her.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1938 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love courting marriage
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H763, p. 458, "The Bonny Wee Lass" (1 text, 1 tune)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Wee Trampin'
File: HHH763

Bonny Wee Window, The [Laws O18]

DESCRIPTION: Johnny comes to visit Nellie, whose window lacks a pane. The two talk until Nellie must go to bed, when Johnny sticks his head through the window for a kiss -- and finds himself stuck! Nellie's grandmother beats him till he pulls out frame and all
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1899
KEYWORDS: courting humorous nightvisit
FOUND IN: US(So) Britain(Scotland,England(North)) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (8 citations):
Laws O18, "The Bonny Wee Window"
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 20-23, "The Bonnie Wee Window" (1 text, 1 tune)
GreigDuncan7 1512, "The Bonnie Wee Window" (3 texts, 3 tunes)
Randolph 122, "The Bonny Wee Window" (1 text)
Kennedy 123, "The Bonny Wee Window" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ord, pp. 99-100, "The Bonnie Wee Window" (1 text)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 76, "The Neat Little Window" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 479, WEEWINDO*
Roud #989
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 26(314), "Kissing at the Window," Haly (Cork), 19C; also Firth b.27(282), 2806 b.11(278), Harding B 19(41), "Kissing at the Window"; Harding B 26(312), "Kissing Through the Window"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Crockery Ware" (plot)
SAME TUNE:
Imphm (by James Nicholson)
File: LO18

Bonny Willie Macintosh

See Willie Macintosh [Child 183] (File: C183)

Bonny Wood Green

DESCRIPTION: Singer enlists at Kells Barracks "to fight for my Queen" and leaves Nellie behind in Wood Green. He leaves in a troop ship from Larne Harbour. He is shot in Flanders and asks his comrades to take a message to Nellie in Ireland near Portaballintree.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1979 (IRHardySons)
KEYWORDS: love war parting death Ireland soldier
FOUND IN: Ireland
Roud #9246
RECORDINGS:
Packie McKeaney, "Bonny Wood Green" (on IRHardySons)
NOTES: Notes to IRHardySons: "It would appear to be an Antrim song, given the mention of Portballintree, but there's no parish or townland called Wood Green anywhere nearby." - BS
There is also the curiosity of fighting "for [the] Queen" in Flanders. Which Queen? Elizabeth I? Too early. Victoria? There were no major British interventions in Flanders in her time. Which leaves us only Queen Anne and the War of the Spanish Succession. But that's a lot of time for things to get confused. My guess is that this is a song from some earlier war, perhaps in Victoria's reign, imperfectly updated for World War I. - RBW
File: RcBoWooG

Bonny Young Irish Boy, The [Laws P26]

DESCRIPTION: The girl is sorely hurt when her Irish boy leaves her to cross the ocean. She follows him across the sea, only to learn that he has married another. She dies of a broken heart and asks to be buried in Ireland
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1867 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 20(178))
KEYWORDS: separation rejection marriage death burial
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) Ireland Canada(Newf,Ont)
REFERENCES (9 citations):
Laws P26, "The Bonny Young Irish Boy"
GreigDuncan6 1080, "My Bonnie Irish Boy" (9 texts, 6 tunes)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 95, "The Bonny Young Irish Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 562-563, "My Bonnie Irish Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H168, pp. 399-400, "My Bonnie Irish Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Morton-Maguire 40, pp. 128-129,171, "The Bonny Irish Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ord, pp. 162-163, "My Bonnie Irish Boy" (1 text)
MacSeegTrav 64, "The Bonnie Irish Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 506, YNGIRISH*
Roud #565
RECORDINGS:
O. J. Abbott, "The Bonny Irish Boy" (on Abbott1)
John Maguire, "The Bonny Irish Boy" (on IRJMaguire01)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 20(178), "The Bonny Irish Boy" ("It's once I was courted by a bonny Irish boy"), J. Harkness (Preston), 1840-1866; also 2806 b.11(276), "Bonny Irish Boy"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Cupid's Trepan (Cupid's Trappan, The Bonny Bird)" (tune)
NOTES: In the Bodleian broadsides the singer has not died yet: "In rattling of my chains and on a bed of straw I lie." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: LP26

Bonny, Bonny

DESCRIPTION: The singer, or his love, recalls his beautiful home and situation. But now he has been taken by the press gang and serves aboard the Nightingale. He will depart soon, and expects once more to be pressed
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1909 (JIFSS)
KEYWORDS: pressgang
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H75b, pp. 199-200, "Bonny, Bonny" (1 text, 1 tune, a fragment to which Henry added four stanzas)
NOTES: 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 Nightingale" (on Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "My Name is Napoleon Bonaparte," Hummingbird Records HBCD0027 (2001)) - BS
File: HHH075b

Bony Lost it Fairly

DESCRIPTION: "Lord Wellington long kept him down, And boldly did advance, He drew his armies out of Spain, And then invaded France. For all his quick and warlike tricks, They tossed him from his station, No more to rise and reign again The scourge of every nation"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1908 (GreigDuncan1)
KEYWORDS: war France Spain Napoleon
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan1 150, "Bony Lost it Fairly" (1 fragment)
Roud #5823
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Miller of Drone" (tune)
NOTES: The current description is all of the GreigDuncan1 fragment. - BS
It is, at least, reasonably accurate as a description of the situation in 1814. Wellington had finally won the battle for Spain (the Peninsular campaign) and was preparing to cross the Pyrenees into France as the other allies closed in on Paris; Napoleon agreed to abdicate and went to Elba. Of course, Napoleon didn't stay abdicated; he came back and fought at Waterloo. Given the state of the fragment, we don't know whether that was covered. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
File: GrD1150

Bony's Lament

See Napoleon's Farewell to Paris (File: GC089)

Boodie Bo

DESCRIPTION: The singer courts a girl unsuccessfully. He dresses his friend Boodie Bo in white one night. They meet his girl. She is frightened and goes to the singer's chamber "for fear of Boodie Bo." They have sex. When she rues her action he marries her.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1689 (see note)
KEYWORDS: courting marriage seduction disguises trick ghost
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
GreigDuncan7 1496, "Boodie Bo" (1 text)
DT, BOGLEBO
Roud #7163
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Foggy Dew (The Bugaboo)" [Laws O3] (theme and many lines)
NOTES: GreigDuncan7 quoting Bell Robertson: "This was mother's and Mr Greig said it [was] the only version that had point as the foggy dew ["The Foggy Dew (The Bugaboo)" [Laws O3]] seemd so senseless."
That the effect is intended is shown by "when she meant to go away again came Boodie Bo."
The only difference between this song and Laws O3 is that the bugaboo, or foggy dew, is an apparently frightening person named Boodie Bo.
Jno Pauraig's Drinking Songs & Barroom-lore site has a copy of a 1689 broadside "from vol. 5 page 250 of the Pepys Ballad collection": "The Fright'ned York-shire Damosel, or, Fears Dispersed by Pleasure." The broadside and GreigDuncan7 texts share line fragments. The only difference in plots is that the broadside ghost -- Bogulmaroo, a grinning sprite -- may be real. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD71496

Boogaboo, The

See The Foggy Dew (The Bugaboo) [Laws O3] (File: LO03)

Bookerman, The

DESCRIPTION: "Got to sleep, little baby, Before the bookerman catch you, Turkey in the next Can't get a rest, Can't get a rest for the baby."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: lullaby nonballad
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 157, (no title) (1 short text)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Wind Is in the West" (theme)
File: ScNF157B

Books of the Bible, The

See Old Testament in Verse (The Books of the Bible) (File: R875)

Booth Killed Lincoln

DESCRIPTION: "Wiles Booth came to Washington, An actor great was he, He played at Ford's Theater And Lincoln went to see." Booth sneaks up on Lincoln and shoots him, then flees. The dying Lincoln says "'Of all the actors in this town, I loved Wilkes Booth the best'"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1958 (Burt)
KEYWORDS: death Civilwar murder
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Apr 14, 1865 - John Wilkes Booth shoots Abraham Lincoln.
Apr 15, 1865 - Lincoln dies
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Burt, pp. 224-225, "(Booth Killed Lincoln)" (1 text)
Silber-CivWar, pp. 90-91, "Booth Killed Lincoln" (1 text, 1 tune)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Booth Shot Lincoln
NOTES: Five days after Lee's surrender, John Wilkes Booth (1838-1865) entered Abraham Lincoln's box at Ford's Theatre and shot the President. Booth fled across the stage and, despite breaking his leg, escaped. Eventually he and his fellow conspirators were caught; Booth died when the barn in which he was hiding took fire. Most of the other conspirators were sentenced to death or long imprisonment. - RBW, (PJS)
File: SCW90

Boothbay Whale, The

DESCRIPTION: Lauding the clever fisherfolk of Boothbay. One-legged Skipper Jake sets out to catch a whale, even though it is too big for his boat. He jumps on the whale's back, sticks his peg in its blowhole, and causes it to blow out its brains as it tries to exhale
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1973
KEYWORDS: whale humorous talltale fishing
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Silber-FSWB, p. 399, "The Boothbay Whale" (1 text)
File: FSWB399A

Bootlegger, The (Trammell's Bootlegger)

DESCRIPTION: "Hee-haw, hee-haw, Blind Jack is my name, I romp, I paw, I snort, I snooze, For I am in the business of selling booze." But the police are after him; he hopes to escape, but apparently is punished -- and hopes to win a prize for his poetry about it
AUTHOR: "Trammell"
EARLIEST DATE: Dated to 1915; printed by Fuson 1931
KEYWORDS: drink punishment judge
FOUND IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Fuson, p. 154, "The Bootlegger" (1 text)
ST Fus154 (Partial)
Roud #16369
NOTES: Seemingly not traditional, and certainly not very good (or very easy to understand), but Fuson includes it as a "type of extreme modern ballad." - RBW
File: Fus154

Border Affair, A

See Spanish Is the Loving Tongue (A Border Affair) (File: FCW052)

Border Widow's Lament, The

See The Famous Flower of Serving-Men [Child 106] (File: C106)

Bordon's Grove

DESCRIPTION: The singer wanders by Bordon's Grove and hears a girl lamenting. He courts her; she says she is waiting for Johnny. He asks about Johnny, and she says he was wounded in Flanders. She sees his love token, and declares they will never meet again
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1934 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love courting separation reunion brokentoken
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H529, pp. 320-321, "Bordon's Grove" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2322
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Borland's Groves
NOTES: The Sam Henry version of this is very fragmentary; there is little real deceit. Presumably more happened in the original versions. - RBW
File: HHH529

Boring for Oil

DESCRIPTION: The singer goes boring for oil with his "auger," and in some versions contracts a venereal disease.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1976 (collected from Riley Neal by Logsdon)
KEYWORDS: bawdy sex disease warning
FOUND IN: Canada(West) US(MA,MW,NE,So,SW)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Randolph-Legman I, pp. 58-60, "Boring for Oil" (4 texts, 1 tune)
Logsdon 26, pp. 160-162, "Boring for Oil" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, BOREOIL*
Roud #10094
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Fire Ship" (plot) and references there
NOTES: Logsdon says this "may be the oldest bawdy oil occupation song in tradition." There isn't much competition for that title. But Logsdon's version refers to "Oil City," which he believes to be in the Pennsylvania oil fields, which might date the song as early as the 1860s. And one of Randolph's variants apparently did date back to c. 1910. So while proof is lacking, Logsdon's claim is possible. - RBW
File: RL058

Boss of the Section Gang, The

DESCRIPTION: Mike Cahooley, an Irish immigrant, goes to work on the railroad; he advances to boss of the section gang. When the company president comes around, he shakes Mike's hand; his workers fear him. He is going home to his wife, but hearers are welcome to visit
AUTHOR: Possibly "Cyclone" Harry Hart
EARLIEST DATE: 1893 (broadside by Harry Hart)
KEYWORDS: pride bragging emigration railroading work family boss worker
FOUND IN: US(So)
Roud #8585
RECORDINGS:
Minta Morgan, "The Boss of the Section Gang" (AFS 922 B2, 1937; on LC61)
File: RctBotSG

Boston

See Boston Harbor (File: BAF831)

Boston Burglar, The [Laws L16]

DESCRIPTION: The youth is brought up by honest parents, but turns wild. At last he is taken and, despite his parents' entreaties, sentenced to transportation (in American texts, prison). He dreams of release, plans to give up bad ways, and warns others to do the same
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1886 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(4372)); c.1840 (broadside, NLScotland APS.4.86.33)
KEYWORDS: crime outlaw trial punishment warning father mother transportation prison
FOUND IN: US(All) Britain(Scotland) Australia Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland
REFERENCES (32 citations):
Laws L16, "Botany Bay A [Laws L16A]/The Boston Burglar (Botany Bay B) [Laws L16B]"
Greig #132, p. 1, "The Boston Smuggler" (1 text)
GreigDuncan2 260, "Boston Smuggler" (3 texts)
Randolph 136, "The Louisville Burglar" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Eddy 85, "The Boston Burglar" (1 text, 1 tune)
Gardner/Chickering 131, "Botany Bay" (1 short text); 137, "The Boston Burglar" 1 text pllus an excerpt and mention of 1 more, 1 tune)
Meredith/Anderson, pp. 64-65, "Bound for Charlers Town"; pp. 96-97, "Bound for Sydney Town"; pp. 139-140, "Moreton Bay"; pp. 257-258, "Boston City" (4 texts, 4 tunes)
Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 48-50, "The Botany Bay Transport" (1 text)
Flanders/Brown, pp. 53-54, "Boston Burglar" (1 text)
Friedman, p. 220, "Botany Bay; p. 222, "The Boston Burglar" (2 texts)
FSCatskills 114, "The Boston Burglar" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownII 242, "The Boston Burglar" (1 text plus 2 excerpts and mention of 3 more)
Chappell-FSRA 56, "The Boston Burglar" (1 text)
Cambiaire, pp. 69-71, "Botany Bay (The Boston Burglar)" (1 text)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 289-296, "The Boston Burglar" (5 texts plus a fragment of a playparty, with local titles "The Boston Burglar," "Covington," "I Was Borned and Raised in Covington," "Frank James, the Burglar" (which despite the title is clearly not about Jesse's brother), "The Boston Burglar"; 3 tunes on pp. 433-435)
Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 243-244, "To Huntsville" (1 text, which seems to have lost the beginning)
Brewster 41, "The Boston Burglar" (2 texts plus mention of 3 more)
Fahey-Eureka, pp. 10-11, "Bound for Botany Bay" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H691, p. 119, "Botany Bay"; H202, pp. 119-120, "The Boston Burglar" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
OLochlainn 44, "Boston City" (1 text, 1 tune)
Dibblee/Dibblee, p. 73, "The Boston Burglar" (1 text, 1 tune)
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 132-133, "Louisville Burglar" (1 text, 1 tune)
Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 158-160, "The Boston Burglar" (1 text, 1 tune)
LPound-ABS, 23, pp. 57-58, "The Boston Burglar"; pp. 59-60, "Charlestown" (2 texts)
JHCox 84, "The Boston Burglar" (3 texts)
JHCoxIIA, #29, p. 105, "The Boston Burglar" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
MacSeegTrav 92, "The Boston Burglar" (1 text, 1 tune)
Leach-Labrador 101, "The Boston Burglar" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-NovaScotia 96, "Boston Burglar" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 108-110, "Botany Bay"; "Louisville Burglar" (2 texts)
Silber-FSWB, p. 67, "The Boston Burglar" (1 text)
DT 425, BSTNCITY BOTNYBAY
Roud #261
RECORDINGS:
Fiddlin' John Carson, "The Boston Burglar" (OKeh 40419, 1925)
Vernon Dalhart, "Boston Burglar" (Brunswick 2942, 1925) (Edison 51608 [as Vernon Dalhart & Co.], 1925)
Hickory Nuts, "Louisville Burglar" (OKeh 45169, 1927; on RoughWays2, ConstSor1)
Frank Hutchison, "The Boston Burglar" (OKeh 45425, 1930; rec. 1929)
Claude Moye, "Boston Burgular" (Gennett 6748 [as Pie Plant Pete]/Champion 15752 [as Asparagus Joe]/Supertone 9351 [as Pie Plant Pete], 1929) (Conqueror 8435 [as Pie Plant Pete], 1934)
New Lost City Ramblers, "Louisville Burglar" (on NLCR02)
Riley Puckett, "The Boston Burglar" (Columbia 15050-D, 1926; rec. 1925)
L. D. Smith, "Frank James, the Roving Gambler (The Boston Burglar)" (AFS; on LC14)
Carl T. Sprague, "The Boston Burglar" (Victor 20534, 1927)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(4372), "Botany Bay" ("Come all young men of learning, take warning by me"), H. Such (London), 1863-1885; also Firth c.17(55), "The Transport" or "Botany Bay"
NLScotland, APS.4.86.33, "The Edinburgh Convicts," Walker (Durham), after 1840
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Harrison Town" (theme)
cf. "The Prisoner's Song (II)" (floating lyrics)
cf. "The Coon-Can Game" [Laws I4] (floating lyrics)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Bound for Charlestown
Bound for Sydney Town
I Was Born in Boston
NOTES: For the history of the penal colony (that never was) at Botany Bay, see the song with that title.
The original version of the piece was a transportation song to Botany Bay, but this seems to have been largely overshadowed by the ""X Burglar" type, so we have lumped them and filed them under the "Burglar" type.
The subfamily of texts known as "The Boston Burglar" is now credited (Marks, Spaeth, Cazden et al; cf. Randolph) to Michael J. Fitzgerald. The amount of reworking done by Fitzgerald, however, was slight, and older and newer versions continue to mix. - RBW
One of the Meredith/Anderson references goes under the name "Moreton Bay". This should not be confused with the song by the same name, indexed as "Moreton Bay (I), which includes the killing by an Aborigine of the oppressive Captain Logan. - PJS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: LL16

Boston City

See The Boston Burglar [LawsL16] (File: LL16)

Boston Come-All-Ye, The

See Song of the Fishes (Blow Ye Winds Westerly) (File: LxA496)

Boston Harbor

DESCRIPTION: "From Boston Harbor we set sail, The wind was blowing the devil of a gale." The captain gives cruel orders, curses the sailors, demands drink, and goes to his cabin to avoid the storm. They hope he dies; (when he does, they threaten his son)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1938 (Colcord)
KEYWORDS: ship sailor storm death hardtimes drink children
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Colcord, pp. 168-169, "Boston" (1 text, 1 tune)
Harlow, pp. 155-157, "Boston" (1 text, 1 tune)
Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 831-832, "Boston" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, BSTNMRBR*
Roud #613
File: BAF831

Boston Smuggler, The

See The Boston Burglar [LawsL16] (File: LL16)

Boston Tea Tax, The

DESCRIPTION: "I snum [declare] I am a Yankee lad, And I guess I'll sing a ditty." The singer describes all that his people would have done then had America been free (e.g. crossed a bridge that wasn't built yet). Failing that, they dumped the tea
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1933
KEYWORDS: rebellion ship patriotic
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Dec. 16, 1773 - Boston Tea Party. Americans protest the British tax on tea by dumping a shipload into Boston Harbor
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Botkin-NEFolklr, pp. 539-541, "The Boston Tea Tax" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, TEATAX*
NOTES: Although this song refers to events of 1773, the references to changes which took place after that time make it clear that it is more recent. Botkin dates it to the period 1830-1840. - RBW
File: BNEF539

Bosun's Alphabet, The

See The Sailor's Alphabet (File: RcTSAlp)

Bosun's Story, The

DESCRIPTION: Walkaway (stamp and go) shanty. Exaggerated story about a whaling voyage. The crew nails the ship to a whale's tail and thus sails to the North Pole and back. Each stanza ends with "'And that's the truth', said he."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1935 (_Sea Breezes_)
KEYWORDS: shanty whale bragging talltale
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Harlow, pp. 157-159, "The Bos'un's Story" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9141
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Bos'un's Song
NOTES: [Harlow's version is] taken from a 1935 issue of Sea Breezes magazine, published in Liverpool, as given by Capt. A.G. Cole. - SL
File: Harl157

Botany Bay (I)

DESCRIPTION: The singer is paying for his life of crime by being transported to Botany Bay. He describes the miserable fate of the convicts on board the prison vessel, warns others against such crimes, and wishes he could return to his love at home
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1885
KEYWORDS: transportation separation crime Australia
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1788 - First penal colony founded in Australia
FOUND IN: Britain(England) US(So) Australia
REFERENCES (7 citations):
Randolph 96, "Botany Bay" (1 text, 1 tune)
Meredith/Anderson, pp. 36-37, 113, "Botany Bay" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Sharp-100E 86, "Botany Bay" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fahey-Eureka, pp. 24-25, "Botany Bay" (1 text, 1 tune)
Manifold-PASB, p. 22, "Botany Bay" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 67, "Botany Bay" (1 text)
DT, BOTBAY2*
Roud #3267
RECORDINGS:
John Greenway, "Botany Bay" (on JGreenway01)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Here's Adieu to All Judges and Juries" (theme, lyrics)
cf. "Too Rally" (tune)
cf. "The Prisoner's Song (I)"
NOTES: The American Revolutionary War meant that, after the 1780s, Britain could no longer transport convicts to America. In 1788, therefore, an expedition was mounted to carry prisoners to Australia.
The fleet's original destination was Botany Bay (so-called because of all the wildlife found by the original explorers), but this proved so barren that the fleet's commander, Captain Arthur Phillip (1738-1814; governor 1788-1792), decided to move a short way up the coast to Sydney. Despite the fact that Botany Bay was never settled, its name came to be synonymous with Australian penal colonies.
This song seems to have begun life in the music halls, perhaps as a rewrite of "Here's Adieu to All Judges and Juries." It is credited to Stephens and Yardley, and appeared in the 1885 comedy "Little Jack Shepherd." - RBW
File: R096

Botany Bay (II)

See The Boston Burglar [LawsL16] (File: LL16)

Botany Bay Courtship (The Currency Lasses)

DESCRIPTION: "The Currency Lads may fill their glasses And drink to the health of the Currency Lasses, But the lass I adore... Is a lass in the Female Factory." Having met Molly (who was "tried by the name of Polly"), the two plan marriage
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1832
KEYWORDS: courting Australia punishment robbery drink transportation
FOUND IN: Australia
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Fahey-Eureka, pp. 68-69, "The Currency Lasses" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Irish Washerwoman" (tune & meter)
NOTES: The "Female Factory" was the compound at Parramatta where female immigrants were kept. Settlers were allowed to come in and seek wives.
The Factory wasn't much of a solution to Australia's problems; fewer than one transportee in six was female, and not all of them were of "marriagable age" (though the authorities eventually started trying to send young women). The women at the Factory, in addition, were those who were not wanted by contractors.
To top it off, the Factory was quite a dreadful place, a hall above a prison, not nearly large enough for all the women sent there. Many had to be lodged on the town, and the whole place presented a picture of squalor and, hence, of other vices as the women strove to survive.
A "currency lad" or "currency lass" was a child born in Australia in the colony's early years, and usually illegitimate. The title arose because Australia had very little money, and so turned to odd, makeshift native products. Since the children, too, were native products, they were called "currency." (As opposed to the handful of British-born non-convict landowners, the "Sterling.") - RBW
File: FaE068

Botany Bay Transport, The

See The Boston Burglar [LawsL16] (File: LL16)

Bothwell Bridge [Child 206]

DESCRIPTION: Earlston bids farewell to his family and sets out for Bothwell Bridge (to join the Covenanters). Monmouth, who commands the enemy, welcomes him but orders him to disarm. The two sides cannot agree, and a bloody battle ensues
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1803 (Scott)
KEYWORDS: battle death nobility
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
June 22, 1679 - Battle of Bothwell Bridge (Bothwell Brig)
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Child 206, "Bothwell Bridge" (1 text)
Bronson 206, "Bothwell Bridge" (4 versions)
Leach, pp. 551-553, "Bothwell Bridge" (1 text)
Roud #337
NOTES: The battle of Drumclog (1679; see "Loudon Hill, or Drumclog," Child 205), at which Dundee was defeated, brought many more men to the Covenanter cause. These new men, however, were anything but disciplined; they didn't even really agree on what they wanted (they were anti-Episcopal, but there were all sorts of ways to oppose bishops!).
As a result of this disorganization (abetted by bad leadership), the Covenanters were routed at Bothwell Bridge by Charles II's illegitimate son Monmouth, the royalist commander. According to G. N. Clark's The Later Stuarts, 1660-1714, the presbyterian forces lost about 400 killed and over 1000 captured; many were sold into slavery in Barbados.
Despite the failure of the rising, the mere fact that it happened caused the Duke of Lauderdale (John Maitland, 1616-1682), the Secretary of State for Scotland who had implemented the High Church policy, to lose most of his power.
The ballad implies that Claverhouse was a senior officer at Bothwell Bridge -- but in fact he was only a captain of no great importance at this battle.
It should be noted that various sources list July 2 as the date of the battle. This is, I believe, a case of Old Style (Julian) versus New Style (Gregorian) dates.
There is at least one unrelated (but quite old) broadside about this battle, NLScotland, APS.4.99.4, "Bothwell-Bridge: Or, Hamilton's Hero," T.B. (London), 1679 - RBW
File: C206

Bothy Lads o' Forfar, The

See Tattie Jock (File: GrD3377)

Bottle O

See Sailor Likes His Bottle-O, The (File: Hugi055)

Bottle Up and Go

DESCRIPTION: "She may be old, ninety years, But she ain't too old to shift them gears. You got to bottle up and go... All you high-power women." The singer encourages women to have fun, and appreciates their existence
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1932 (recording, Picaninny Jug Band)
KEYWORDS: courting sex nonballad
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Silber-FSWB, p. 73, "Bottle Up and Go" (1 text)
RECORDINGS:
Tommy McClennan "Bottle It Up and Go" (Bluebird B-8373, 1940, rec. 1939)
Memphis Jug Band, "Bottle Up and Go" (OKeh 8959/Vocalion 03080, 1935; rec. 1934)
Picaninny Jug Band, "Bottle Up and Go" (Champion 16615, 1933; Varsity 6025, n.d.; rec. 1932)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Salty Dog" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Step it Up and Go"
NOTES: This song and "Step It Up and Go" look very alike at first glance, but the verses seem to be very different. They might both be "Salty Dog" spinoffs. Until I see an intermediate version, I am (tentatively) classifying them separately. - RBW
File: FSWB073B

Bottler

See Sir Lionel [Child 18] (File: C018)

Boulavogue

DESCRIPTION: "At Boulavogue, as the sun was setting... A rebel hand set the heather blazing And brought the neighbors from far and near." Father Murphy's rebels for a time defeat the English, but at last are defeated and Murphy executed
AUTHOR: P.J. McCall (1861-1919) (Source: Zimmermann)
EARLIEST DATE: 1898 ("First printed in the _Irish Weekly Independent_, 18th June, 1898," according to Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: rebellion Ireland death clergy execution
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
May 26, 1798 - Beginning of the Wexford rebellion
May 27, 1798 - The Wexford rebels under Father John Murphy defeat the North Cork militia
June 5, 1798 - The Wexford rebels attack the small garrison (about 1400 men, many militia) at New Ross, but are repelled
June 21, 1798 - The rebel stronghold a Vinegar Hill is taken, and the Wexford rebellion effectively ended
FOUND IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (4 citations):
PGalvin, pp. 28-29, "Boulavogue" (1 text, 1 tune)
Zimmermann 90, "Father Murphy of the County Wexford" (1 text, 2 tunes)
Moylan 58, "Boolavogue" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, BOULVOGE*
Roud #2356
RECORDINGS:
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, "Boulavogue" (on IRClancyMakem03)
Davie Stewart, "Boulavogue" (on Voice08)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Father Murphy (I)" (subject of Father Murphy) and references there
NOTES: Zimmermann pp. 65: "The ceremonies marking the centenary of the 1798 rebellion brought out a new flow of ballads, (the best was song [Zimmermann] 90)"
Zimmermann 90: "P.J. McCall most probably found the inspiration for this song in the old ballads "Come all you warriors" and "Some treat of David" (Songs [Zimmermann] 10 and 11), though he never borrowed more than half-a-line at a time." - BS
Boulavogue is a small town in County Wexford.
Although many parts of Ireland rose in rebellion in 1798, the revolts were uncoordinated and much too late; the leaders of the rebellion, for the most part, were already in British hands (the British authorities arrested most leaders of the United Irishmen in March 1798; the last major leader, Lord Edward Fitzgerald, was taken into custody, mortally wounded, on May 19. For more about him, see the notes to "Edward (III) (Edward Fitzgerald)").
The Irish had been waiting for foreign help, but it was not forthcoming (for the Bantry Bay fiasco and the Battle of Camperdown, see the notes on "The Shan Van Vogt").
What was left of the organization (which wasn't much, really; with the leaders gone, there was no way to coordinate a rebellion) decided to proceed with their planned attack Dublin on May 23. The idea was to pin down the British leaders. Unfortunately, the United Irishmen had nothing left in Dublin; all the forces there were dispersed.
In Ulster, rebellion did break out, but it was so uncoordinated that it really amounted to little more than rioting (with absolutely no coordination between Irish Catholics and Protestants, whose distrust of each other was heightened by events in Wexford), and was quickly put down.
As a result, only the Wexford uprising had any success. Led by the "Croppy Priest," Father John Murphy (for whom see especially "Father Murphy (I)"), the Catholics killed hundreds of Protestants at Vinegar Hill and other places and forced the English (who were already engaged in pacifying the county, as they feared a French invasion) to gather real forces to defeat them. But defeat them she did, with much violence -- and though the English government disclaimed the violence and offered more liberal terms, it was the violence that the Irish remembered.
The British, now led by Cornwallis, proceeded to offer generous amnesties -- only to have the French finally invade! (See "The Men of the West") - RBW
File: PGa028

Bould Tadhy Quill

See Bold Thady Quill (File: RcBoThQu)

Boum-Ba-Di-Boum

DESCRIPTION: French. Singer's mother wakes her at dawn and has her fetch water from the fountain. She talks with a cavalie. She asks, "What shall I say to mother?" "Just say to your mother / The fountain boiled today". Refrain: "Boum-ba-di-boum tra-la-la-la!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1946 (BerryVin)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage courting work humorous lover
FOUND IN: US(MW) Canada(Que) France
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BerryVin, p. 74, "Boum-ba-di-boum!" (1 text + translation, 1 tune)
NOTES: The French word for what the fountain did is "brouillait" or "brouillee"; the editors of BerryVin translate that as "boiled" but online translators say "blurred" or "scrambled". None of them make sense. I note, however, that Lead Belly's song "Scrambled Eggs" uses "brouillee", but how would a fountain get scrambled? In any case, French for "the fountain boiled" is "la fontaine bouillie". - PJS
If it's a natural spring, the flow of water might, under certain circumstances, dramatically increase, causing the water to bubble and roil. I suspect this is the intent. I have no idea why this would be an excuse for delay, however. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: BerV074

Bounce Upon Bess

DESCRIPTION: The Irishman every night spends what he earns each day on Walker's "Bounce upon Bess." English porter and ale grow bad as they grow stale; this whisky improves with age. It's good in all weather. Give your sweetheart some and her heart will grow soft.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1839 (Croker-PopularSongs)
KEYWORDS: drink nonballad
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 86-88, "Bounce Upon Bess" (1 text)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Priest and His Boots" (tune, according to Croker-PopularSongs)
NOTES: Croker-PopularSongs: "'Bounce upon Bess' seems to have been a cant term for strong whisky." Croker [explains the term by telling] a long story about a woman who had such strong liquor that "it knocked her down so flat, she couldn't stand after it." As in the song, the liquor was "Walker's best whisky.... The song is given from a manuscript copy, which has been in the Editor's possession upwards of twenty years [that is: before 1819]. Mr Walker was an eminent distiller in Cork." - BS
Despite Croker's improbable tale, my guess is that "Bounce upon Bess" is rhyming cant, perhaps inspired by hope of revenge upon Queen Elizabeth ("Bess"), during whose reign much of Ireland was conquered. The problem, with this theory, I admit, is that "Bess' does not rhyme with any term for strong drink that I can think of except for "Guinness." Which obviously doesn't fit very well here. - RBW
File: CrPS086

Bouncing Girl in Fogo, The

DESCRIPTION: "There's a bouncing girl in Fogo that I am going to see... She is the sweetest colour of roses a soldier ever knew... You may talk about your Scotland girls, from Boston or the Strand, But you'll get no girl to suit you like the girls from Newfoundland"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1952 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: courting love separation derivative soldier
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Peacock, p. 354, "The Bouncing Girl in Fogo" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Pea354 (Partial)
Roud #2800
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Yellow Rose of Texas" (theme, lyrics)
NOTES: Peacock says "This is the only surviving fragment of a native love eulogy. Fogo is a strongly Irish community off the northeast coast of Newfoundland. The song probably dates from the World War I period."
Considering how close an adaptation the words are of "The Yellow Rose of Texas" [Roud in fact lumps them - RBW], it is strange that the tune has not also been used. The "Bouncing Girl" tune is in 6/8 time and is not at all related to "Yellow Rose." - BS
File: Pea354

Bound Away on the Twilight

DESCRIPTION: "She's an iron ore vesel, a vessel of fame, She sails from Oswego and the Twilight's her name." The singer tells of saiing west to Marquette, where the singer's hands get sore loading ore. He proceeds to describe the voyage back east
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1933 (collected from John S. Parsons by Walton)
KEYWORDS: sailor ship travel
FOUND IN: US(MA)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Walton/Grimm/Murdock, pp. 122-124, "Bound Away on the Twilight" (1 text)
RECORDINGS:
Ed Vandenberg, "Bound Away on the Twilight" (1955; on WaltonSailors; this version, with guitar accompaniment, seems to be sung by a revival singer, not an original informant)
NOTES: The notes to Walton/Grimm/Murdock think this is based on "Red Iron Ore," which it obviously resembled thematically. The difficulty is that its form is more typical of "The Dreadnought" [Laws D13]. Of course, Walton/Grimm/Murdock's version of "Red Iron Ore" seems to use the tune of "The Dreadnought." But at least one other Great Lakes version of "Red Iron Ore," Dean's, uses the Derry Down tune. So we have a complicated question of dependence here, which Walton/Grimm/Murdock ignore. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
File: WGM122

Bound Down to Newfoundland [Laws D22]

DESCRIPTION: Young Captain Stafford Nelson of the Abilene falls sick. Unable to get up on deck, he cannot navigate the ship, and none of the other sailors know the coast. Unable to reach Halifax, they wind up in Arichat, where the captain dies
AUTHOR: Captain Cale White
EARLIEST DATE: 1928 (Mackenzie)
KEYWORDS: sea wreck disease death
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES (9 citations):
Laws D22, "Bound Down to Newfoundland"
Greenleaf/Mansfield 156, "The Schooner Mary Ann" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 905-906, "Bound Down for Newfoundland" (1 text, 1 tune)
Doerflinger, pp. 201-203, "Bound Down to Newfoundland" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lehr/Best 73, "The Schooner Mary Ann" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-NovaScotia 104, "Banks of Newfoundland" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-Maritime, pp. 195-196, "Bound Down to Newfoundland" (1 text, 1 tune)
Mackenzie 87, "Newfoundland" (1 text)
DT 615, BNDNEWF* BNDNEWF2*
Roud #647
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(588), "The Loss of the Mary Ann" A. Ryle and Co. (London), 1845-1859; also Firth c.13(58)=Harding B 16(132b), "The Loss of the Albion," unknown, no date
NOTES: In Greenleaf/Mansfield the schooner is Mary Ann and the illness, which kills all but two, is smallpox. - BS
This story has interesting similarities to the story of the clipper Neptune's Car, though that ship sailed around Cape Horn rather than in Canada. The story has been widely retold; I found versions Baker/AmHist; in Paine, p. 356; in Cordingly, pp. 109-115; and in Hoehling, pp.11-12.
Shortly before the Car was to set sail from New York to San Francisco in 1857, her first mate broke her leg. Captain Joshua Adams Patten was forced to sail with a mate hired by the shipping company.
It turned out to be a bad decision; the mate may have been a ringer (Patten was racing two other ships around the Horn). Whatever the mate's reasons, he seems to have tried to slow the ship's passage. Patten had him arrested.
But that left Patten as the only qualified navigator aboard -- and he was suffering from tuberculosis (so Paine and Baker/AmHist; Hoehling calls it a "mysterious" ailment; Cordingly says that they thought at the time that it was pneumonia -- but it also caused him to temporarily lose his sight, and later his hearing. I wonder if he didn't have a venereal disease). He tried to work two shifts, and eventually collapsed.
In a sense, the story of Neptune's Car was happier than this song. Salvation came in the form of Patten's wife, a teenager who was pregnant for the first time -- but whom Joshua Patten had taught navigation on a previous voyage. With the help of the crew and the second mate (who could handle sail but could not navigate), she took over the ship, brought her through Cape Horn, and eventually got it to San Francisco. It was a slow passage, but they made it.
Her name? Mary Ann.
But if the Neptune's Car made it to port, the story then reverts to what is found in this song: The captain did not survive. Joshua Patten, who was barely 30, died in mid-1857, and Mary Ann Patten, not yet 25, had contracted tuberculosis and died in 1861. (The ship itself outlived them; Neptune's Car was still in service, under the British flag, in 1870.)
The Neptune's Car doesn't seem to have had a particularly happy history. According to Cordingly, on a previous voyage under Captain Patton, she had been hit by lightning, causing several injuries. Mary Ann Patten helped nurse the injured -- clearly she was a useful person to have around.
There were other instances of captain's wives helping to run ships, documented in Cordingly, p. 118fff. These do not seem to have been as well known.
The source of this song? Probably not. But one wonders if there might not have been a Neptune's Car song which mixed with the Greenleaf/Mansfield version. - RBW
Bibliography

Baker/AmHist: Julie Baker, "The Troubled Voyage of Neptune's Car," article in American History magazine, February 2005, pp. 58-65
Cordingly: David Cordingly, Women Sailors and Sailors' Women, Random House, 2001 (I use the undated, but later, paperback edition)
Hoehling: A. A. Hoehling, Ships that Changed History (1992; I use the 2007 Barnes & Noble edition)
Paine: Lincoln P. Paine, Ships of the World: An Historical Encylopedia, Houghton Mifflin, 1997

Last updated in version 2.5
File: LD22

Bound for Botany Bay

See The Boston Burglar [LawsL16] (File: LL16)

Bound for Canada

See My Dear, I'm Bound for Canady (File: GrMa154)

Bound for Charlestown

See The Boston Burglar [Laws L16] (File: LL16)

Bound for Glory Noo

DESCRIPTION: The singer is a "really saved" carter "wha loves the Lord and hates the drink." He used to whip and kick his horse. He was known by police "when drink set me aflame." "Withoot an oath I couldna speak." He's "bound for glory noo"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: drink nonballad religious horse
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan3 680, "Bound for Glory Noo" (1 text)
Roud #6103
File: GrD3680

Bound for South Australia

See South Australia (File: Doe071)

Bound for Sydney Town

See The Boston Burglar [LawsL16] (File: LL16)

Bound for the Promised Land

DESCRIPTION: "On Jordan's stormy banks I stand And cast a wishful eye To Canaan's fair and happy land Where my possessions lie. I am bound for the promised land...." The rest of the song describes the wonders of the promised land.
AUTHOR: Words: Samuel Stennett
EARLIEST DATE: 1787 (lyrics only)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND IN: US(Ap,SE)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
BrownIII 581, "I Am Bound for the Promised Land" (1 text)
Randolph 624, "I'm Bound for the Promised Land" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSUSA 99, "Bound for the Promised Land" (1 text, 1 tune)
Arnett, p. 98, "I Am Bound for the Promised Land" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #11897
RECORDINGS:
Charles Butts Sacred Harp Singers, "Promised Land" (OKeh 45252, 1928)
Harmon E. Helmick, "Bound for the Promised Land" (Champion 16744, 1934)
Alfred G. Karnes, "I Am Bound for the Promised Land" (Victor 20840, 1927)
Frank & James McCravy, "The Promised Land" (OKeh 40371, 1925)
Old Southern Sacred Singers, "I Am Bound for the Promised Land" (Brunswick 161, 1927; Supertone S-2096, 1930)
Singers from Stewart's Chapel, Houston, MS, "New Jordan" (on Fasola1)
Turkey Mountain Singers, "I Am Bound for the Promised Land" (Victor 20942, 1927)
Walker Brothers, "I'm Bound for the Promised Land" (Broadway 4121, c. 1932?)
Frank Welling & John McGhee, "I'm Bound for the Promised Land" (Perfect 12780, 1932)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Heavenly Port," "Jordan," "Jordan's Shore," "My Home," "New Jordan," "Sweet Prospect" (all share "On Jordan's Stormy Banks" verses)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Promised Land
NOTES: Randolph describes his fragmemt ("I'm bound for the promised land, I'm bound for the promised land, Oh who will come an' go with me? I'm bound for the promised land") as a "jump-up song" which could be used as the chorus to several hymns. It is apparently used most often with "On Jordan's Stormy Banks."
The Sacred Harp lists no fewer than seven tunes ("Heavenly Port," "Jordan" [this not the same as the Missouri Harmony's "Jordan"], "Jordan's Shore," "My Home," "New Jordan," "Sweet Prospect," "The Promised Land") for Samuel Stennett's "On Jordan's Stormy Banks." The Missouri Harmony has it to the tune "Canaan."
One of those shape note tunes (according to the editors of Brown, quoting Jackson) is described as "practically identical with the old Scottish 'The Boatie Rows."" The lyrics do fit "The Boatie Rows," but to declare any of the Sacred Harp tunes the same as "The Boatie Rows" appears an extreme stretch to me. - RBW
The Karnes recording is a hybrid; the words are "Bound for the Promised Land," but the tune is a direct lift from "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down." - PJS
File: LxU099

Bound for the Stormy Main

See The Greenland Whale Fishery [Laws K21] (File: LK21)

Bound to Australia

See The First of the Emigrants (File: Doe149)

Bound to California

DESCRIPTION: Shanty. "Good-bye my lads good-bye, no one can tell me why. I am bound to California, to reap the shinning gold. Good-bye, my lads, good-bye."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (C. Fox Smith, _A Book of Shanties_)
KEYWORDS: shanty mining farewell gold
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Hugill, p. 118, "Bound to California" (1 short text, 1 tune) [AbEd, o. 101]
Roud #11253
NOTES: Hugill guesses this is of Negro origin. C. Fox Smith thinks it has some relationship to "Shallow Brown." - SL
File: Hug118

Bound to Go (I)

DESCRIPTION: "I built my house upon the rock, O yes, Lord, No wind, no storm can blow it down, O yes, Lord. March on, member, bound to go; Been to the ferry, bound to go...." The singer builds a stout house, picks sweet berries, and gathers in brothers and sisters
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Allen/Ware/Garrison, pp. 22-23, "Bound to Go" (1 text, 2 tunes)
Scott-BoA, pp. 202-203, "Bound to Go" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 323-324, "Bound to Go" (1 text)
Roud #11974
NOTES: For the story of the men who built their houses on rock and sand, see Matt. 7:24-27; Luke 6:47-49. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
File: SBoA202

Bound to Go (II)

See Yellow Meal (Heave Away; Yellow Gals; Tapscott; Bound to Go) (File: Doe062)

Bound to Rio

See Rio Grande (File: Doe064)

Boundless Mercy (Drooping Souls, No Longer Grieve)

DESCRIPTION: "Drooping souls, no longer grieve; Heaven is propitious. If in Christ you can believe, you will find him precious." "From his hands, his feed, his side Flows the healing balsam." "Boundless mercy, how it flows; Now I hope I feel it."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1838 (Knoxville Harmony)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
BrownIII 528, "Drooping Souls, No Longer Grieve" (1 text)
Chappell-FSRA 95, "The Mourner's Comfort" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Roud #11820
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Zion's Sons and Daughters"
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Mourner's Comfort
File: Br3528

Bounty Jumper, The

DESCRIPTION: "Friends and jolly citizens, I'll sing you a song... It's all about a jumper, Old Donald was his name." Captured at last, he prefers death to revealing where his money is hidden. The jumper is condemned, executed, and buried.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1883 (Smith/Hatt)
KEYWORDS: death execution money Civilwar
FOUND IN: US(MA,MW) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
FSCatskills 17, "The Bounty Jumper" (1 text, 1 tune)
Smith/Hatt, pp. 92-93, "The Bounty Jumper" (1 text)
Dean, p. 101, "The Bounty Jumper" (1 text)
ST FSC017 (Partial)
Roud #1976
NOTES: During the Civil War, the Union grew so desperate for men that it began to use drastic recruitment measures. One of these was the bounty -- paying a man a large sum (sometimes as much as $300) to enlist, and then giving him leave to go off and spend it. Naturally, a large number of men -- the "Bounty Jumpers" -- took the money and ran. The harsh punishment a captured jumper received did little to discourage the practice. - RBW
File: FSC017

Bow Wow Wow

DESCRIPTION: Primarily as tune used for various broadsides and late folk songs, recognized monotonal measures followed by arpeggios on a pentatonic scale. Chorus something like "Bow wow wow, all the dog did say to them was, Bow wow wow."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1859 (Chappell); before 1770 (according to Kidson; see note)
KEYWORDS: dancetune nonballad animal
FOUND IN: Britain
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Chappell/Wooldridge II, p. 183, "The Barking Barber" (1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Guy Fawkes" (tune)
cf. "Jog Along Till Shearing" (tune)
cf. "Row-Dow-Dow" (tune)
cf. "The Carrier's Song" (tune)
cf. "Joseph Tuck" (tune)
NOTES: I've yet to find a complete text of this piece, which makes it hard to write a proper description. I'm not sure Bow Wow Wow, as a song in its own right, exists in tradition. But it was used for so many traditional songs (see the cross-references) that it clearly belongs here.
With regard to the date, Conrad Bladey sends me this useful material from Frank Kidson (I think; the references Conrad sent me required a user ID which I of course did not have):
"[W]e may takethe famous "Bow, wow, wow" as a typical example. The original song was a feeble production that first came into notice about 1760 or 1770. In a rather lame manner it showed in doggerel verse (no pun meant), how every class of humanity might be likened to the canine race. A barking chorus of "Bow, wow, wow!" with some "fol-diddle-dols" to fill up, gave every one a chance to join in. This is a specimen verse out of at least a dozen, all equally bad:
A swindler he's a sorry dog, he's always cheating;
A Frenchman he's a nimble dog, he runs from every beating;
The soldier he's a noble dog, in every rank and station,
And a sailor he's a hearty dog, as any in the nation.
Bow, wow, wow, etc.
Nevertheless the tune is good and it quickly took the public's fancy. The words underwent revision and were frequently sung. Then ,as a natural consequence, came "mew,mew, mew," in which with equal banality, the human race was compared to cats; this was publicly sung in 1788....
Dogs and cats banished, a classical flavour was imparted by a song written and sung by Collins in a table entertainment, about 1790. This was a sort of moral comic, ditty which dealt in scholastic fashion with the misfortunes of Belisarius its title was "Date obolum Belisario," and it was even worse than the original of the dogs. Then the tune changed a little, to fit more neatly other songs, which included "The Barking Barber" and others...." - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: ChWII183

Bow-Legged Rabbit

DESCRIPTION: A dance song: "Bow-legged rabbit, A box ankle Joe, Flea bite me so bad I can't dance no mo'."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1949
KEYWORDS: dancing nonballad
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Botkin-SoFolklr, p. 709, "Bow-Legged Rabbit" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: BSoF709

Bowie, Bowerie

See The Twa Sisters [Child 10] (File: C010)

Bowl of Green Peas, The

DESCRIPTION: "I'll sing you a ditty Of a fair maid so pretty Who lives from the city Some seventeen miles." The singer went to court "Mariar" in a briar. When he asked to wed, she smashed a bowl of green peas over his head. Now his friends are always offering him peas
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1934 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: love courting marriage humorous
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Randolph 378, "The Bowl of Green Peas" (1 text)
Roud #7629
File: R378

Bowling Green

DESCRIPTION: "Wish I was in Bowling Green sittin' in a chair, One arm 'round my pretty little miss, the other 'round my dear." The singer offers to let her man go, wishes she were a bumblebee who could settle on her man, and sets out to ramble because she has no home
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1947 (recording, Cousin Emmy)
KEYWORDS: home love betrayal abandonment rambling
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Silber-FSWB, p. 43, "Bowling Green" (1 text)
Green-Miner, p. 230, "Bowling Green" or "Shady Grove" (1 fragmentary text)
DT, BOWLGREN*
RECORDINGS:
Cousin Emmy [Cynthia May Carver], "I Wish I Was in Bowling Green" (Decca 24214, 1947)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Mary from Dungloe" (floating verse)
File: FSWB043

Bows of London, The

See The Twa Sisters [Child 10] (File: C010)

Box Them Off, My Jolly Tars

See The Little Fighting Chance [Laws J19] (File: LJ19)

Box Upon Her Head, The

See The Undaunted Female (The Box Upon Her Head; The Staffordshire Maid; The Maid and the Robber) [Laws L3] (File: LL03)

Boy and the Mantle, The [Child 29]

DESCRIPTION: A boy enters King Arthur's court wearing a rich mantle. He offers the mantle to whichever woman proves virtuous (the appearance of the mantle will show who is chaste and who is not). Only one woman in the court proves virtuous.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1765 (Percy)
KEYWORDS: clothes infidelity magic
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Child 29, "The Boy and the Mantle" (1 text)
Percy/Wheatley III, pp. 3-12, "The Boy and the Mantle" (1 text); cf. pp. 315-323, "The Boy and the Mantle" (a rewritten version)
Flanders-Ancient1, pp. 257-264, "The Boy and the Mantle" (1 text, from "The Charms of Melody" rather than tradition)
Leach, pp. 113-118, "The Boy and the Mantle" (1 text)
OBB 17, "The Boy and the Mantle (A Ballad of King Arthur's Court)" (1 text)
DT 29, BOYMANT1
Roud #3961
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Twa Knights" [Child 268] (theme)
NOTES: The custom in Arthur's court of always having an entertainment before dinner (at least on a high day) occurs also in the (somewhat earlier) "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," Stanza 4 (lines 85-106) -- a story in which, interestingly, it is the *man's* fidelity which comes under attack. We also find a variant on it in "A Gest of Robyn Hode" [Child 117].
The contest over women's fidelity is common in folklore; in the Child canon, cf. e.g. "The Twa Knights" [Child 268]. Flanders-Ancient mentions the French fabliau Le Mantel Mautaillie (which is also the first analog mentioned in Child's notes) and von Zatzikhoven's Lanzelet. Garnett/Gosse, volume I, p. 300, also believe this ballad derived from a French fabliau, though they do not specify the particlar tale. Lacy, p. 155, notes thematic parallels to The Romance of Sir Corneus of c. 1450.
Incidentally, the Sir Craddoccke (Caradoc) of this song makes a brief appearance in Gilbert and Sullivan: In The Pirates of Penzance, the Modern Major General tells us that "I know our mythic history, King Arthur's and Sir Caradoc's"; one suspects Gilbert got it from Percy (the notes in Gilbert/Sullivan/Bradley, p. 118, appear to contain a reference to this song). - RBW
Bibliography

Garnett/Gosse: Richard Garnett and Edmund Gosse, English Literature: An Illustrated Record four volumes, MacMillan, 1903-1904 (I used the 1935 edition published in two volumes)
Gilbert/Sullivan/Bradley: Ian Bradley, editor, The Annotated Gilbert and Sullivan 1, Penguin, 1982 (I use the slightly revised 1985 edition)
Lacy: Norris J. Lacy, Editor, The Arthurian Encyclopedia, 1986 (I use the 1987 Peter Bedrick paperback edition)

Last updated in version 2.5
File: C029

Boy He Had an Auger, A

DESCRIPTION: "A boy, he had an auger, It bored two holes at once; A boy, he had an auger, It bored two holes at once. And some were eating popcorn, And some were eating pickles (Spoken:) And the 'G' is silent as in 'fish.'"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: nonsense nonballad technology wordplay
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Sandburg, p. 343, "A Boy He Had an Auger" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Louisiana Lowlands" (another parody of "The Golden Vanity" verse beginning "Some were playing cards and some were playing dice")
NOTES: The only part of this I'll try to explain is the line about "the 'G' is silent as in 'fish.'" This may go back to Shaw, who proposed to spell the word fish "ghoti." Other verses and other conclusions (e.g. "The Q is silent as in electricity") make even less sense.
This may, I suppose, have been *very* loosely inspired by "The Golden Vanity." - RBW
File: San343

Boy in Blue, The

See The Express Office (He Is Coming to Us Dead) (File: R696)

Boy Killed by a Falling Tree in Hartford

DESCRIPTION: Young Isaac Alcott, newly arrived in Hartford, goes riding. He goes to "cut some timber for a sled" and is hit by a falling branch. Found many hours later, it is too late to save his life. His funeral is described; the song ends with a moralizing stanza
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1953 (Flanders/Olney)
KEYWORDS: death burial mourning injury warning
FOUND IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Flanders/Olney, pp. 167-169, "Boy Killed by a Falling Tree in Hartford" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST FO167 (Partial)
Roud #4680
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Harry Dunn (The Hanging Limb)" [Laws C14]
cf. "Chance McGear" (plot)
cf. "The Substitute (plot)
File: FO167

Boy of Love, The

See When a Man's in Love [Laws O20] (File: LO20)

Boy on the Land, The

DESCRIPTION: Little boy, working on the land, is given an old coat, "old stiff collar button'd to the throat." Second, he's given an old gun; "Sometimes she gave fire, sometimes she gave smoke, She gave my shoulder the devil's own poke"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1917 (Cecil Sharp collection)
KEYWORDS: farming work worker
FOUND IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SharpAp 164, "The Boy on the Land" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Kerry Recruit" (hints of plot)
NOTES: This is a conundreum; from the fragmentary text it's not clear whether the boy gets the coat and gun for his agricultural work or because he's been conscripted into the army. If the latter, just possibly "The Kerry Recruit" is related, but it's all very tenuous. - PJS
Roud in fact lumps them, but until we find some sort of substantial version, it will be hard to prove either way. - RBW
File: ShAp2164

Boy That Found a Bride, The (Fair Gallowa')

DESCRIPTION: The singer, born in Gallowa', has taken to rambling when he sees a beautiful girl. He courts her urgently until he must return home. He asks her to marry him before he takes to the road. After some hesitation, she agrees; they marry and live in Gallowa'
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1868 (Poet's Box broadside, according to GreigDuncan5)
KEYWORDS: home rambling marriage
FOUND IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (3 citations):
SHenry H665, pp. 454-455, "The Boy that Found a Bride" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greig #167, pp. 1-2, "Fair Gallowa'" (1 text)
GreigDuncan5 949, "Fair Gallowa'" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Roud #6300
NOTES: Apparently broadside Bodleian, 2806 c.11(43), "Fair Galloway" ("It was in the month of August"), unknown, no date is this song but I could not download and verify it. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: HHH665

Boyndlie Road

DESCRIPTION: "The year 1803 Our gentlemen did all agree To make a live road o'er the lea Out through the haughs o' Boyndlie." When nothing was being done Forbes made a plan and he and a few men fought "our esquires ... to make the roads thro' Boyndlie"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1908 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: commerce travel
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig #8, p. 3, ("'Twas in the year eighteen hundred and three") (1 fragment)
GreigDuncan3 459, "Boyndlie Road" (1 text)
Roud #5962
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Buchan Turnpike" (subject: road building)
NOTES: Greig: "We give a few verses of the homely rhyme." Greig gives the first four verses reported in GreigDuncan3. - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: GrD3459

Boyndlie's Braes

DESCRIPTION: "Boyndlie's banks and braes are steep And decked wi' flo'ers o mony a hue...." "There does dwell my bonnie Nell... And I cam' ower frae Aberdour To lat her taste my fruits sae rare." He is young and poor, but they expect to keep company in the future
AUTHOR: John Anderson of Upper Boyndlie (d.c.1870) (source: Greig)
EARLIEST DATE: 1908 (GreigDuncan4)
KEYWORDS: love courting
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Greig "Folk-Song in Buchan," pp. 36-37, "Boyndlie's Braes"; Greig #21, pp. 1-2, "Boyndlie's Braes" (2 texts)
GreigDuncan4 718, "Boyndlie's Braes" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Ord, p. 88, "Boyndlie's Braes" (1 text)
Roud #5585
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Drumdelgie" (tune, per Ord)
cf. "The Barnyards o' Delgaty" (tune, per GreigDuncan4)
File: Ord088

Boyne Water (I), The

DESCRIPTION: "July the First in Ouldbridge Town there was a grievous battle...." The song describes William's attack on the Irish positions at the Boyne. The listeners are reminded that the "Protestants of Drogheda have reason to be thankful"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1798 (_Constitutional Songs_, according to Zimmermann)
LONG DESCRIPTION: "July the First in Oldbridge town there was a grievous battle." William, shot in the arm, refused Schomberg's advice to avoid personal involvement. "William said, 'He don t deserve the name of Faith's Defender, Who would not venture life and limb to make a foe surrender'." When Schomberg was killed William "would be the foremost; 'Brave boys,' he said, 'be not dismayed, for the loss of one commander, For God will be our King this day, and I'll be general under.'" He rescued the Protestants of Drogheda who had been tried at the Millmount. The French left Duleek for Dublin, setting the fields on fire as they fled. William let his men rest rather than pursue the French: "sheathe your swords and rest a while, in time we'll follow after."
KEYWORDS: battle Ireland royalty rebellion
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1685-1688 - Reign of James II (James VII of Scotland), the last Catholic king of Britain
1688 - Glorious Revolution overthrows James II in favour of his Protestant daughter Mary II and her husband and first cousin William III of Orange
Mar 12, 1689 - James arrives in Ireland and begins, very hesitantly, to organize its defense.
April-July, 1689 - Siege of Londonderry. James's forces fail to capture the Protestant stronghold, leaving Ireland still "in play" for William
August, 1689 - Marshal Schomberg brings the first of William's troops to Ireland. James continues to be passive, allowing more troops to reinforce them
March, 1690 - James receives reinforcements from France but still does nothing
June 14, 1690 - William lands in Ireland
July 1, 1690 - Battle of the Boyne. William III crushes the Irish army of James, at once securing his throne and the rule of Ireland. Irish resistance continues for about another year, but Ireland east of the Shannon is his, and the opposition is doomed.
FOUND IN: Ireland US(MW)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Hayward-Ulster, pp. 117-119, "The Battle of the Boyne" (1 text, mixing this and "The Boyne Water (I)")
PGalvin, p. 15, "The Boyne Water" (1 partial text)
Brewster 72, "The Battle of the Boyne" (2 texts, one short and from tradition, the other an excerpt from Peter Buchan's 1817 text; it is probably this version, since it mentions William's injury and title as Faith's Defender, but it's too fragmentary to be sure)
DT, BOYNWATR*
Roud #795
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(186), "Battle of the Boyne. Enniskillen, Aughrim, Boyne, Derry, 1690" ("July the first in Oldbridge town," The Poet's box (Glasgow), 1854
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Battle of the Boyne (I)" (subject: The Battle of the Boyne) and references there
cf. "The Battle of the Boyne (II)" (lyrics)
NOTES: The cross reference in broadside Bodleian Harding B 11(186) implies that there is a previous song as source of the tune.
Three ballads seem confused: the most commonly recorded "The Boyne Water (I)," the "old version," "The Boyne Water (II)," and Colonel Blacker's "The Battle of the Boyne." The three are clearly distinct though Roud currently numbers both "Boyne Water" ballads as #795 and Colonel Blacker has been named by some as author of "The Boyne Water (I)" for more than 100 years. While this discussion may not settle the confusion, it may provide a fair starting point.
One missing piece of evidence is Rev Abraham Hume's "The Two Ballads on the Battle of the Boyne," in Ulster Journal of Archeology (1854).
Zimmermann, pp. 300-301, says "An old ballad on this subject, known as 'The Boyne Water' [II], was later replaced by a shorter one entitled 'The Battle of the Boyne' [I]. Gavan Duffy gave a fragment of the old version in 1845, and Rev Abraham Hume published the whole ballad - nineteen stanzas - in 1854 [OrangeLark 9 has twenty]. The shorter version was then said to have first appeared in 1814, which is not true, as it is found in song books printed in the 1790's [Fn 28] For instance in Constitutional Songs, 1798 [when Colonel Blacker was 21 years old], pp. 9-12]"
Duffy (Charles Gavan Duffy, editor, The Ballad Poetry of Ireland (1845)) prints (I) as an anonymous "Old Ballad" though he knew Colonel Blacker's work and included Blacker's "Oliver's Advice" in his book. He comments that "This version of the 'Boyne Water' is in universal use among the Orangemen of Ireland, and is the only one ever sung by them. But that it is not the original song, written a century and a half ago, is perfectly certain" [p. 144] In Note A to the Appendix he prints the fragments. He comments that "They appear to us infinitely more racy and spirited than anything in the song which has strangely superseded them."
H. Halliday Sparling, Irish Minstrelsy (London, 1888), reprints Duffy's texts and some of Duffy's comments. On page 509 he writes of his "Battle of the Boyne" that it is the "accepted version of this famous song which is sung at Orange meetings; wrongly attributed to Colonel Blacker"; on p. 495 he notes "The 'Battle of the Boyne' is wrongly attributed to him; he wrote a poem of that name, but not the famous song."
As Sparling noted, Colonel William Blacker (1777-1855) did write a poem on the subject which Hayes printed in 1855 (Edward Hayes, The Ballads of Ireland (Boston, 1859 (reprint of 1855 London edition)), Vol I, pp. 210-211) and O'Conor reprinted in 1901. I don't know that it was ever sung; it is included in the Index to help clear up the confusion.
The Index entry for each of the three ballads includes a LONG DESCRIPTION that should eliminate any thought that the three are related. The texts of Duffy's fragments (II) and Colonel Blacker's poem are included in the Supplemental Tradition Text File; the text of (I) is available at a Digital Tradition site.
Versions of (I) and (II) share only the two lines of William's comment on the death of Schomberg ("He says, 'my boys, feel no dismay at the losing of one commander For God shall be our king this day, and I'll be general under.'") though OrangeLark 9 (II) replaces them ("I'll go before and lead you on-Boys use your hands full nimble; With the help of God, we'll beat them all, And make their hearts to tremble.") Colonel Blacker's poem shares no lines with the other two.
Of the songs collected since Duffy I know of only one that is clearly the "old version." Art Rosenbaum, in Folk Visions & Voices (1983) prints "King William, Duke Shambo, collected in Georgia in 1980 (p. 65).
The last two verses of Hayward-Ulster are from "the old version": the Prince Eugene reference and "Now, praise God, all true Protestants ..." [see the Supplemental Tradition Text File].
The common fragment (for example, George Korson,Pennsylvania Songs & Legends)
They fought with clubs and they fought with stones, King William on a charger,
"He says now boys, don't be dismayed on losing a commander"
On and on the battle raged, 'til caught by the fearful slaughter
Ten thousand Micks got killed with sticks at the Battle of Boyne Water
might be from either version (I) or (II). - BS
The Battle of the Boyne was nearly the last gasp of fighting directly connected with the Glorious Revolution of 1688. James II, having been forced to abdicate, fled, but returned to Ireland to try to regain his throne. William of Orange gathered an army and followed.
James showed some military sense in choosing his position along the Boyne; William's army was larger, better equipped, better trained, and better disciplined. The only Jacobite hope was to hold a strong defensive position. But this wasn't enough; the English and their allies quickly got across the Boyne, and from then on, the battle was little more than a rearguard action by Irish cavalry against the advancing English.
In the aftermath, the power of the Old Ireland, and of the Old English who were the primary Irish leaders from the time of Henry II to that of Elizabeth -- already much diminished by Cromwell -- was completely and finally broken.
For a fuller description and background, see the notes to "The Battle of the Boyne (I)."
The Hoagland text includes several scriptural references. Nabal of Carmel lived during the time of King Saul of Israel, and David's rebel band asked him for protection money. (The Bible doesn't say so straight out, but that's what it was.) Nabal refused; his wife Abigail paid behind his back, then told him; it sounds as if he had a stroke and died a few days later. The story occupies most of 1 Samuel 25.
The reference to Zerubbabel as deliverer is strange; Zerubbabel led one of the several Jewish returns to Jerusalem after the Babylonian Captivity, and was the secular leader who started the building of the Second Temple -- but, if we piece together the data in Ezra, Haggai, and Zechariah together, he wasn't around at the end. And he was too young for a natural death to have been likely. The best guess is that the Persian authorities thought him a rebel and removed him. - RBW
File: PGa015

Boyne Water (II), The

DESCRIPTION: "July the First, of a morning clear, on thousand six hundred and ninety, King William did his men prepare...." The forces of James and William clash; Schomberg is killed; William's forces win the battle; Protestants are urged to plaise God
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1845 (Duffy)
LONG DESCRIPTION: July the First, of a morning clear," 1690, King William and 30000 men faced King James near the Boyne. They advanced to "Lillibalero." When Duke Schomberg was killed William said, "my boys, feel no dismay at the losing of one commander For God shall be our king this day, and I'll be general under." William's forces formed a body bridge to cross the Boyne. Dermot Roe fled. Lord Galmoy advanced but "never three from ten of them escaped." The French were battered. Prince Eugene advanced against James's forces who ran away because "the brandy ran so in their heads." The Enniskillen men were restrained from following the fleeing Jacobite forces; in contrast, though James would have tried to restrain them, "had the Papists gain'd the day, there would have been open murder."
KEYWORDS: battle Ireland royalty rebellion drink
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1685-1688 - Reign of James II (James VII of Scotland), the last Catholic king of Britain
1688 - Glorious Revolution overthrows James II in favour of his Protestant daughter Mary II and her husband and first cousin William III of Orange
Mar 12, 1689 - James arrives in Ireland and begins, very hesitantly, to organize its defense.
April-July, 1689 - Siege of Londonderry. James's forces fail to capture the Protestant stronghold, leaving Ireland still "in play" for William
August, 1689 - Marshal Schomberg brings the first of William's troops to Ireland. James continues to be passive, allowing more troops to reinforce them
March, 1690 - James receives reinforcements from France but still does nothing
June 14, 1690 - William lands in Ireland
July 1, 1690 - Battle of the Boyne. William III crushes the Irish army of James, at once securing his throne and the rule of Ireland. Irish resistance continues for about another year, but Ireland east of the Shannon is his, and the opposition is doomed.
FOUND IN: Ireland US(SE)
REFERENCES (9 citations):
OrangeLark 9, "The Boyne Water" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hayward-Ulster, pp. 117-119, "The Battle of the Boyne" (1 text, mixing this and "The Boyne Water (I)")
PGalvin, pp. 14-15, "The Battle of the Boyne" (1 text)
Graham, p. 8, "The Boyne Water" (1 text, 1 tune)
ADDITIONAL: Charles Gavan Duffy, editor, The Ballad Poetry of Ireland (1845), pp. 248-249, "The Boyne Water"
Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 249-250, "The Boyne Water"
H. Halliday Sparling, Irish Minstrelsy (London, 1888), pp. 13-14, 448-450, "The Boyne Water"
Charles Sullivan, ed., Ireland in Poetry, pp. 105-106, "The Boyne Water" (1 text)
Thomas Kinsella, _The New Oxford Book of Irish Verse_ (Oxford, 1989), pp. 179-180, "The Boyne Water" (1 text)
ST PGa014 (Partial)
Roud #795
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Battle of the Boyne (I)" (subject: The Battle of the Boyne) and references there
NOTES: "[On the Duleek road during the retreat,] there was a small riot when some men broke ranks and smashed open barrels of spirits and proceeded in a number of cases to become very drunk" (source: Michael McNally, Battle of the Boyne 1690: the Irish Campaign for the English Crown (Oxford, 2005), p.86). For another ballad with the theme of drink after a loss see "The Boys of Wexford."
Viscount Galmoy's mounted regiment joined the French brigade, Maxwell's dragoons and Sarsfield's horse. When James left the field Sarsfield's and Maxwell's regiments were sent to protect him, leaving Galmoy's among the inadequate force left to counteract the Williamite cavalry. (source: McNally, p. 86)
I found no reference in McNally to McDermott Roe or Prince Eugene of Savoy in this battle. [Since McDermott Roe lived in the era of the Defenders, a century after the Boyne, he obviously was not there. Eugene was at least alive at this time, but he was making his reputation in Italy at the time. I think this is an extended confusion -- Eugene worked with Marlborough, and Marlborough with William III and Anne. - RBW]
Of the songs collected since Duffy I know of only one that is clearly the "old version." Art Rosenbaum, in Folk Visions & Voices (1983) prints "King William, Duke Shambo, collected in Georgia in 1980 (p. 65).
The last two verses of Hayward-Ulster, pp. 117-119, "The Battle of the Boyne" [version I] are from "the old version": the Prince Eugene reference and "Now, praise God, all true Protestants...."
Was Prince Eugene at the Battle of the Boyne? McNally, quoted above, does not mention him. Neither does Ellis [Peter Barresford Ellis, The Boyne Water: the Battle of the Boyne, 1690 (London, 1976)], nor Plunket [ascribed to Nicholas Plunket, Derry and the Boyne: a contemporary Catholic account of the Siege of Derry, the Battle of the Boyne, and the general condition of Ireland in the Jacobite war (Belfast, c1990)]. McKay says, "soon after the [antiFrench coalition] alliance was signed [June 1690] Eugene, now promoted to general of cavalry, arrived in Turin with his close friend Commercy to take command of five regiments of Imperial troops being transferred to Italy'; he fought against the French at Staffarda 18 August 1690 [Derek McKay, Prince Eugene of Savoy (London, c1977), pp. 33, 270.] - BS
(I have also checked several sources for the Boyne, including notably G. A. Hayes-McCoy, Irish Battles: A Military History of Ireland, Barnes & Noble, 1969, 1997, and none of them mention Eugene being at the Boyne. It is clear he was not. Possibly the song was inspired by one of the Wild Geese who later fought against Eugene on the continent? - RBW)
For background on the Battle of the Boyne, see "The Battle of the Boyne (I)." For the relationship between this song and "The Boyne Water (I)" (which are much confused because both begin "July the First" and refer to many of the same events), see the notes to "The Boyne Water (I)." - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: PGa014

Boys and Girls Come Out to Play

DESCRIPTION: "Girls and boys come out to play. You must have a holiday. Heigh-o, heigh-o, have a holiday." "If you want hay sweet and fine, Rake it when the sun doth shine. Heigh-o, heigh-o, when the sun doth shine."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1930 (Flanders/Brown)
KEYWORDS: work nonballad playparty
FOUND IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Flanders/Brown, p. 187, "An English Round" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST FlBr187 (Full)
Roud #5452
NOTES: The first line of this occurs in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book, Volume II (1744?), and the Tommy Thumb text occurs in various texts of the period (see Opie-Oxford 75); this may explain why Flanders and Brown call this "An English Round," but I know of no English collections of the actual form in Flanders/Brown. - RBW
File: FlBr187

Boys Around Here, The

See A Comical Ditty (Arizona Boys and Girls) (File: JHCox057)

Boys at Ninety-Five, The

DESCRIPTION: Mike takes the Bonavista Branch to Deer Lake and is sent to lumbercamp 95 "with not a decent tree." The skipper, foreman, and cook are named with comments on drink and dawn-to-dark hard work
AUTHOR: Mike Brennan
EARLIEST DATE: 1952 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: lumbering drink moniker cook logger
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Peacock, pp. 746-747, "The Boys at Ninety-Five" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9802
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Wabash Cannonball" (tune)
cf. "The Lumber Camp Song" (theme)
NOTES: The melody shown by Peacock is very close to "The Wabash Cannonball." He notes that the "writer was away during my visit, so I had no opportunity to get the 'correct' tune." He collected the song at Stock Cove, near Bonavista.
The Bonavista Branch of the narrow gauge Newfoundland Railway started at Bonavista on the northeast coast. Deer Lake is about 350 miles west by Trans-Canada 1 and other roads that pretty much follow the route of the railway. The Bonavista Branch ran from 1913 to 1989 according to the Blanford site. - BS
The failure to collect a tune is particularly sad given the likelihood that this is derived from some other logging song, e.g. "We Work for Hay and Company" (which also uses "The Wabash Cannonball"). - RBW
File: Pea746

Boys Can Whistle, Girls Can Sing

DESCRIPTION: "Grandma Grunt said a curious thing, Boys can whistle but girls must sing." Various people confirm this observation: "[Papa] said to me, 'It's the usual thing For boys to whistles and girls to sing.'" Whistling girls will reportedly meet a bad end
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1940 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: music nonballad
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
BrownIII 145, "Whistling Girls and Crowing Hens" (1 text)
Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 73, "Boys Can Whistle, Girls Can Sing" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7012
NOTES: The first place I saw this was in the Prairie Home Companion book, and the Brown collection proves that it is a genuine folksong. Sadly, the Prairie Home Companion book does not document sources, so we do not know where this song survives. - RBW
File: PHCFS073

Boys from County Cork, The

DESCRIPTION: "You've read in history's pages of heroes of great fame...." The singer notes that the heroes of Ireland's history are those who died in the 1916 rebellion. The singer lists heroes from old Ireland, noting that the Boys from Cork beat the Black and Tans
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1962
KEYWORDS: Ireland rebellion nonballad IRA
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Apr 24, 1916 (Easter Monday) - beginning of the Easter Rebellion
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
PGalvin, p. 70, "The Boys from County Cork" (1 text, 1 tune)
OLochlainn-More 95, "The Boys from Rebel Cork" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9774
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Foggy Dew (III)" (subject)
NOTES: People and things mentioned in this song include:
"The Black and Tans" (for which see "The Bold Black and Tan") -- a special English constabulary recruited to quell Irish violence. They failed, and in fact contributed to the brutality.
MacSweeney -- presumably Terence MacSwiney, Lord Mayor of Cork, who was arrested for seditious speech, then died in a hunger strike (1920; OxfordComp, p. 339). (See the notes to "Shall My Soul Pass Through Ireland"), though others in his family were also involved in the struggle against the British.
The other possibility is Terence's sister Mary, who was one of the die-hards who fought in parliament against the Free State Treaty with England. (Coogan, p. 307, quotes her speech against the Anglo-Irish treaty: "This is a betrayal, a gross betrayal... I tell you there can be no union between the representatives of the Irish Republic and the so-called Free State." In Coogan's view, her statement ended any hope of peace between the radicals and the more rational majority. Certainly a pointless civil war followed.)
Cathal Brugha - An officer in the resistance forces, famed for how hard he fought. He was also a political leader, arguing strenuously for a Republican government; he refused to join the delegation that negotiated with Lloyd George to negotiate the treaty of semi-independence. He was killed in 1922 (OxfordComp, p. 61); for details of his eventual fate, see "The Death of Brugh."
de Valera -- Eamon de Valera (1882-1975) was born in America but became a leader of the 1916 rising, and barely avoided execution after its collapse. (He was among those about to be executed, but the British government realized he was an American citizen and halted the executions). Having survived, he was nominated in a parliamentary by-election in 1917 (the first chance to nominate a Nationalist since the Easter Rising) -- and was elected by a 2:1 margin (Kee III, pp. 27-28). He became the President of Sinn Fein in 1917, then of the rebel Irish parliament; he opposed the Treaty which led to the partition of Ireland, but formed the Fianna Fail party and won the 1932 election, then established the 1937 constitution. He remained Ireland's leading politician for fifty years, serving as President from 1959 to 1973.
Padraic Pearse (1879-1916) -- Irish poet and historian, acclaimed provisional president of the 1916 Irish Republic. He declared the Republic on Easter Monday of 1916, surrendered it the following Saturday, and was executed on May 3 of that year. According to Kee (II, pp. 206-207), "Patrick Pearse [his name before he Gaelicized it] [was a] Gaelic League poet and schoolmaster, son of a Birmingham stone-mason and an Irish mother, who since 1908 had been running a nationally minded school for boys called St Enda's at Rathfarnham on the outskirts of Dublin." Townshend, p. 13, notes that his first major activity was with the Gaelic League journal An Claideamh Soluis: "When he became editor in 1903 his position as chief ideologue of the language movement was cemented."
But Irish nationalism at this stage was very fragmented (even Pearse apparently started out by trying for a Gaelic revival, not a revolt). What the vast majority opposed could still come about in the hands of a determined minority (the whole thing, frankly, reminds me of how Lenin first hijacked Russian Communism and then all of Russia).
In May 1915, a small part of the leadership of the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood appointed Pearse, Joseph Plunkett, and Eamonn Ceannt to look into a rebellion. Kee notes that it wasn�t until September that even the full Supreme Council of the IRB knew of Pearce's committee. And the IRB was a minority in the Sinn Fein Volunteers, which was a minority of the National Volunteers, who did not represent all of Ireland (Kee II, p. 236). The Easter Rebellion was not a popular rebellion; had it somehow succeeded, it would have been called a coup d'etat, and its leaders a junta. But, of course, it did not succeed in anything except laying much of Dublin in ruins.
In one sense, the rebels' timing was bad; with millions of British troops fighting in France, Britain had to end the rebellion with all possible speed -- i.e. with great brutality. But that made the rebels martyrs -- and *that* reawakened the nationalist cause. Many English leaders begged to have the rebels treated leniently (see Kee III, p. 1).
Pearse, perhaps more than any other, foresaw the course of the Rising -- including its spectacular failure. The failure was fully expected, at least by Pearse and some of his associates. (Indeed, Pearse in 1915 wrote a play, "The Singer," about a hypothetical Irish rebellion, in which he described a handful of men going into battle against a multitude; told it was foolish course, one of the lost-hopers replied "And so it is a foolish thing. Do you want us to be wise?" -- see Kee II, p. 255. The hero went forth unarmed, but declaring "One man can free a people as one Man redeemed the world"; Townshend, p. 15).)
Many nationalist leaders opposed the Rising for this very reason (Kee II, p. 235). In a way, Pearse didn't even want to succeed. He thought Irish independence could only be achieved by a sort of mystic sacrifice -- and set out to make it. In this sense, they were wise -- think how the fate of William Wallace roused Scotland, or in later years how the destruction of the Algerian liberation organizations caused the Algerian public to demand independence. It's the modern version of Tertullian's dictum "The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church."
Kee summarize this attitude as follows (II, p. 235): "Pearse... consistently proclaimed to the effect that a blood sacrifice, however hopeless its chances of military succes, was necessary to redeem Ireland from her loss of true national pride, much as Jesus Christ by his blood had redeemed mankind from its sins." It's probably not coincidence that Pearse much admired Robert Emmet despite the utter futility of the latter's rebellion (Townshend, p. 23. For background, see the notes to "Bold Robert Emmet.�)
And, because the rebels were repressed, it changed public opinion. Until then, it seems certain that most Irish wanted home rule and peace. After the Rising, the IRA and resistance took over. Pearse sacrificed himself to win a free Ireland. One might say that the gods accepted the sacrifice. But they also exacted a price. J. C. Beckett (amplifying and paraphrasing a comment of Michael Collins) remarks that Pearse's sacrifice placed Ireland under the "tyranny of the dead." The dead cannot compromise. If the Rising had not taken place, Ireland might have found a peaceful solution. Because it did take place, Ireland was condemned to the Black-and-Tan War and the Civil War which followed.
The whole story shows how tragic the fate of Ireland was. The rebels destroyed much of Dublin, and the ordinary Irish, who had no part in the rebellion, at first reviled them. But, as Golway notes (240-241), the speed and brutality of British justice caused public opinion "to turn against Britain's pursuit of vengeance. The spat-upon rebels were becoming martyrs." In the end, it was Pearse's mystic incompetents -- schoolteachers and poets who thought themselves soldiers, though it turned out that Pearse couldn't even stand the sight of blood -- who became the Irish heroes. Kee III, p. 15, mentions a case of a girl actually making reference to "Saint Pearse. - RBW
Bibliography

Coogan: Tim Pat Coogan, Michael Collins (Roberts Rinehart, 1996). A biography of Collins, but since Collins nearly *was* Ireland from 1918 until his death, there is much good history here
Golway: Terry Golway, For the Cause of Liberty (Simon & Schuster, 2000). A full history of relations between Britain and Ireland, though with curious gaps.
Kee II: Robert Kee, The Bold Fenian Men, being volume II of The Green Flag (Penguin, 1972), seems to me to be among the most balanced histories of Ireland I've seen. This second of three volumes covers the period from around 1848 until the Easter Rising.
Kee III: Robert Kee, Ourselves Alone, being volume III of The Green Flag (Penguin, 1972) is of course the sequel to Kee II; it covers the brief but intense period from 1916 to the establishment of constitutional government in the 1920s.
OxfordComp: S. J. Connolly, editor, The Oxford Companion to Irish History, Oxford, 1998. I've used this mostly for dates and quick facts, so there are few direct citations
Townshend: Charles Townshend, Easter 1916: The Irish Rebellion (Ivan R. Dee, 2005, 2006). This is specific to the 1916 rebellion, but tries to offer a good historical context.

Last updated in version 2.5
File: PGa070

Boys from Rebel Cork, The

See The Boys from County Cork (File: PGa070)

Boys of Bedlam

See Tom a Bedlam (Bedlam Boys) (File: Log172)

Boys of Coleraine, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer invites listeners to drink to the boys of Coleraine. He recalls the exiles, and calls for another drink. He looks over the sea, and the thought saddens him. He once again toasts the boys of Coleraine
AUTHOR: Robert Thompson ?
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: home emigration drink nonballad
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H87b, p. 182, "The Boys of Coleraine" (1 text, tune referenced)
Roud #8005
File: HHH087b

Boys of Fair Hill, The

DESCRIPTION: The boys of Fair Hill love the girls, hunting with the Harrier Club, drinking water at Fahy's well and porter at Quinlan's pub, and spending "a day with our Hurling Club." "Here's up 'em all say the boys of Fair Hill"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1978 (OCanainn)
KEYWORDS: hunting sports drink nonballad
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
OCanainn, pp. 34-35, "The Boys of Fair Hill" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Fair Hill is a suburb of Cork City.
OCanainn: "This is one of Cork's most popular songs." The current [1978] pub version had inconsequential or disrespectful lines compared to the original. For example, "Shandon steeple stands up straight and the River Lee flows underneath," "The Blarney hens don't lay at all and when they lays they lays them small," "The Blackpool girls are very small up against the Sunbeam wall," "The Montenotte girls are very rude; they go swimming in the nude," and so on. - BS
File: OCan034

Boys of Kilkenny, The

DESCRIPTION: "Oh the boys of Kilkenny are brave roaring blades." They kiss and coax every girl they meet. The singer remembers a "pretty dame" from Kilkenny. Now he's in exile; if he were in back there, he could get "sweethearts but here can get none"
AUTHOR: Words: Arthur Matthison/Music: W. F. Wellman
EARLIEST DATE: 1807 (sung by Thomas Moore, according to Croker-PopularSongs)
KEYWORDS: homesickness courting exile nonballad rake
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (3 citations):
OLochlainn 73, "The Boys of Kilkenny" (1 text, 1 tune)
O'Conor, p. 44, "The Boys of Kilkenny" (1 text)
Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 196-199, "The Boys of Kilkenny" (1 text)
Roud #1451
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(2403), "The Boys of Kilkenny," J. Pitts (London), 1819-1844; also Firth b.26(318), Firth b.25(595/596) View 2 of 2, 2806 b.11(171), "[The] Boys of Kilkenny"
LOCSinging, as101550, "The Boys of Killkenny," J. Andrews (New York), 1853-1859
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. The Boys of Virginia (theme, some lyrics)
cf. "The Old Head of Denis" (tune, according to Croker-PopularSongs)
NOTES: Source: Re author--the Bodleian Library broadside.
Croker-PopularSongs says Thomas Moore, whom he admits he incorrectly believed wrote the song, "sung 'The Boys of Kilkenny' in England, where he became a permanent resident about 1807."
Broadside LOCSinging as101550: 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: Ocon044

Boys of Kilmichael, The

DESCRIPTION: When honouring "the martyrs who have long since died," remember the boys of Kilmichael who "conquered the red white and blue." The Tans left Macroom November 28 with two Crossley tenders and were wiped out by the Column. The Column returned to Glenure.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1978 (OCanainn)
KEYWORDS: rebellion battle Ireland patriotic IRA
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Nov 28, 1920 - Tom Barry's IRA Flying Column ambushes Auxiliaries at Kilmichael (source: Donal Buckley, _The West Cork Trail: Scenes From the Anglo-Irish Civil Wars, 1920-1922_, "The Kilmichael Ambush" on The Wild Geese Today site).
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
OCanainn, pp. 50-51,121-122, "The Boys of Kilmichael" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Bold Black and Tan" (subject: Irish Civil War) and references there
cf. "Rosin the Beau" (tune) and references there
cf. "The Men of the West" (tune and some phrases)
cf. "The Piper of Crossbarry" (subject: the exploits of Tom Barry)
NOTES: OCanainn: "At Kilmichael, West Cork's Flying Column under Commander Tom Barry, ambushed a group of Auxiliaries - a force introduced by the British some three months previously."
Kilmichael and Macroom are in County Cork. - BS
Robert Kee in Ourselves Alone, being Volume III of The Green Flag, pp. 120-121, describes this event (and quotes am accurate version of this song which uses language coarse enough that he expurgated it):
"Two lorry-loads of the company of Auxiliaries stationed at Macroom Castle ran into a well-laid ambush position prepared by Tom Barry an the West Cork Flying Column on a lonely site of bogland and rocks near Kilmichael. It was the Auxiliaries' first major engagement and a terrible one.
"After a savage fight at close quarters in which three IRA were killed and, according to Barry, the Auxiliaries made use of the notorious 'false surrender' tactics, the entire convoy as wiped out, and seventeen of the eighteen Auxiliaries were killed. The eighteenth was so severely wounded that he was in hospital for long afterwards. Some of the Auxiliaries' bodies were afterwards found to have wounds inflicted after death and the first officer on the scene after the fight said that although he had seen thousands of men lying dead in the course of the war, he had never before seen such an appalling sight as his eyes met there."
Calton Younger has a stronger stomach for atrocity. In Ireland's Civil War, pp. 13-14, he writes:
"Tom Barry set up his ambush, not in a place he would have chosen, but one dictated by circumstances, a little to the south of Kilmichael on the road to Gleann. It is treacherous, eerie country, where heather grows sparsely on the bogland and the only cover is provided by outcrops of gaunt rock. Barry's plan was brilliantly conceived an his column, only one or two of whom ha fired a shot in anger, matched with courage his inspiration.
"Eighteen Auxiliaries in two lorries died that day. Some need not have died but their own treachery recoiled upon them. Crying surrender, they fired again when some of the column showed themselves. Barry was merciless then and his men did not let up until every one of the enemy was dead. An when the morale of his own men showed signs of cracking, he drilled them in the light of the burning lorries until discipline gripped again. Three men he had lost, two of them because of the surrender trick."
Younger does not supply a citation for his information, I suspect Barry's Guerilla Days in Ireland. Kee also examined Barry's book, but took additional information from the Irish Times (which documented the mutilations the Auxiliaries suffered after death) and other sources. It will be evident that all eyewitness testimony was from Barry's side. Given Barry's overall record, I don't think this can be trusted very far, particularly as regards the false surrender. - RBW
File: OCan050

Boys of Mullabawn, The

DESCRIPTION: "A vile deceiving stranger ... has ordered transportation for the boys of Mullabawn." The women lament and "without hesitation, we are charged with combination And sent for transportation from the hills of Mullabawn"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Hayward-Ulster); c.1867 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 b.9(265))
KEYWORDS: farming transportation Ireland political
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (4 citations):
OLochlainn-More 56, "The Boys of Mullabawn" (1 text, 1 tune)
Moylan 42, "The Boys of Mullaghbawn" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hayward-Ulster, pp. 26-27, "The Boys of Mullabawn" (1 text)
OBoyle 6, "Boys of Mullaghbawn" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2362
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 b.9(265), "The Boys of Mullaghbawn," W. Birmingham (Dublin), c.1867; also 2806 c.15(180), Harding B 19(40), "The Boys of Mullaghbawn"
NOTES: OLochlainn-More: "This song records a real happening during the last quarter of the eighteenth century, the transportation of peasant farmers for some agrarian offence at Mullaghbawn near Newry, Co. Armagh. (See F. J. Bigger: The Ulster Land War.)"
Moylan: "This song could be about Defenderism or United Irishmen or, according to one theory, the transportation of men who had attempted to abduct an heiress, an activity for which clubs existed in 18th-century Ireland. It is set in the heart of Defender country in south Armagh, but local tradition associates the song with the United Irishmen." At the end of the eighteenth century the Catholic "Defenders" were opposed to the Protestant "Peep o'Day Boys" or "Orangemen" (source: Zimmermann). - BS
File: LcMullB

Boys of Mullaghbawn, The

See The Boys of Mullabawn (File: LcMullB)

Boys of Old Erin the Green, The

DESCRIPTION: "Concerning that terrible battle, Where bloodshed and battery was seen, With the beef-eating bullies of England And the boys of old Erin the Green." The boys stop at an alehouse and head for the English in the market. The "cowardly English" are banished
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (OLochlainn)
KEYWORDS: battle drink Ireland humorous patriotic
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
OLochlainn 101, "The Boys of Old Erin the Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3050
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Irish Harvestmen's Triumph" (subject)
File: OLoc101

Boys of Sandy Row, The

DESCRIPTION: Orangemen, remember King William who "ended Popish sway." Presbyterians, defend your rights "from Fenians and Papists vile." At Sandy Row we made the Papists "fly like chaff before the wind." Toast Johnston. Remember the Boyne and Derry Walls
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1987 (OrangeLark)
KEYWORDS: violence Ireland nonballad political religious
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Jul 12-19, 1857 - Belfast riots between Catholics of the Pound and Protestants of Sandy Row (source: Janice Holmes, "The Role of Open-Air Preaching in the Belfast Riots of 1857," Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy_ v. 102c, pp. 47-66 (2002)).).
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
OrangeLark 25, "The Boys of Sandy Row" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: The chorus is "Then band together firmly, and Popery overflow, Like to your gallant brethren, the boys of Sandy Row."
OrangeLark: "[The song] refers to the riots of 1857 over the open-air preaching of Rev. Hugh 'Roaring' Hanna and other Protestant Evangelicals... Despite the reference to William Johnston [see 'Bangor and No Surrender' and references there] the song may have been written 1868 by which time he was already well-known as a champion of Orangeism through his editorship of the Downshire Protestant"
I wonder if the riots referred to are not the 1872 riots in Belfast opposing the parade in support of Home Rule on Lady's Day (the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin). Both Rev. Hanna, Catholics from the Pound and Protestants from Sandy Row were involved [again, as they were in 1857] (source: Neil Jarman and Dominic Bryan, From Riots to Rights; Nationalist Parades in the North of Ireland (1997), pp. 13-14). That date would also make toasting William Johnston more reasonable. Johnston was, admittedly, a public figure in 1857, the date of "his first and unsuccessful bid to enter Parliament as the Member for Downpatrick"; in the 1860's he bacame "the leading campaigner against the unpopular Party Processions Act of 1850. It was his opposition to this legislation which was to make William Johnston of Ballykilbeg a folk-hero." (source: Ian McShane, "William Johnston of Ballykilbeg" on OrangeNet site).
On the other hand, the reference to Johnston may be to one of the Presbyterian Ministers of that name involved in the 1857 conflict (see Holmes, cited in Historical References, above). [But William Johnston fits very well; see in this index the notes to "William Johnston of Ballykilbeg." - RBW]
For background on "Derry Walls" see "Derry Walls Away" and its Notes.[Also "The Shutting of the Gates of Derry." - RBW
For background on the Fenians see Notes to "A Fenian Song (I)." - BS
File: OrLa025

Boys of Sanpete County, The [Laws B26]

DESCRIPTION: A wagon train from Sanpete County, headed by Captain (William Stewart) Seeley, must cross the Green River. The wagons are safely ferried, but as the crew attempts to bring the cattle over, six of them are drowned
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE:
KEYWORDS: travel river death
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1868 - Captain Seeley's expedition sets out for Laramie, Wyoming
FOUND IN: US(Ro)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Laws B26, "The Boys of Sanpete County"
DT 830, SANPETE*
Roud #3245
File: LB26

Boys of the Island, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer, from Prince Edward Island, warns against life in the logging camps. Many Islanders have headed for the Maine woods, to be instantly spotted by the old hands. In an place of bad drink and hard work, he must suffer without recourse to the law
AUTHOR: Larry Gorman?
EARLIEST DATE: 1897 (Gray)
KEYWORDS: logger abuse hardtimes foreigner
FOUND IN: US(NE) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Gray, pp. 49-52, "The Boys of the Island" (1 text plus a fragment)
Dibblee/Dibblee, p. 44, "The Boys of the Island" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ives-DullCare, pp. 19-20,242, "The Boys of the Island" (1 text, 1 tune)
Doerflinger, pp. 218-219, "The Boys of the Island" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9427
RECORDINGS:
Arthur Dalton, "The Boys of the Island" (on MREIves01)
File: Doe218

Boys of Virginia, The

DESCRIPTION: "Oh the boys of Virginia are brave roaring blades, Deceiving young maidens is part of their trade...." "I'll build you a castle on Virginia's free ground... And if anyone asks you whatever's my name, My name is Joe Thorpe, from Virginia I came"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1942 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: rake courting home parody
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Randolph 670, "The Boys of Virginia" (1 text)
Roud #1451
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Boys of Kilkenny" (tune, meter, floating lyrics)
NOTES: This is so close to the "Boys of Kilkenny" that I thought of classifying it as a localized variant; Roud unsurprisingly lumps them. But it has some lyrics I have not seen in "Kilkenny" versions, and Randolph's text does not specify a tune, so I tentatively keep them separate. - RBW
File: R670

Boys of Wexford, The

DESCRIPTION: "In comes the captain's daughter, the captain of the yeos Saying 'Brave United Irishmen, we'll ne'er again be foes.'" They win at Ross and Wexford, lose at Vinegar Hill. "For bravery won each battle But drink lost evermore"
AUTHOR: Robert Dwyer Joyce (1830-1883) (source: Moylan)
EARLIEST DATE: 1873 (Joyce's _Ancient Irish Music_, according to Moylan)
KEYWORDS: rebellion battle death drink Ireland patriotic
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
October 1791 - Society of United Irishmen founded in Belfast
September 1795 - The Battle of the Diamond
May 23, 1798 - United Irishmen seize the Dublin mail coaches as a signal to start the uprising
May 26, 1798 - 34 suspected United Irishmen executed at Dunlavin
May 26, 1798 - Father John Murphy launches the Wexford rebellion
May 27, 1798 - Murphy's almost-unarmed force defeats a small militia force at Oulart (called "Oulast" in one version)
May 29, 1798 - Father Murphy leads the insurgents against Enniscorthy
May 29, 1798 - new leaders appointed to head the Ulster Provincial Council of the United Irishmen
June 5, 1798 - The Wexford rebels attack the small garrison (about 1400 men, many militia) at New Ross, but are repelled
June 7-8, 1798 - Rebel defeat at Antrim
June 9, 1798 - Father Murphy, trying to lead his forces into Wicklow, defeated at Arklow
June 12, 1798 - United Irishmen under Henry Monro defeated at Ballynahinch
June 21, 1798 - Vinegar Hill is lost
[some dates from _The 1798 Irish Rebellion_ by Professor Thomas Bartlett at the BBC History site)]
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (4 citations):
OLochlainn 48, "The Boys of Wexford" (1 text, 1 tune)
Moylan 68, "The Boys of Wexford" (1 text, 1 tune); 69, "The Boys of Wexford" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, BOYSWEXF* BOYSWEX2*BOYSWEX3*
ADDITIONAL: C. Day Lewis, editor, English Lyric Poems (1961), "The Boys of Wexford"
Roud #3015
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Boulavogue" (historical setting)
cf. "Father Murphy (I)" (subject of Father Murphy) and references there
NOTES: Re "In comes the captain's daughter, the captain of the yeos": "Following an affray at Loughgall in Co. Armagh in 1795 the Orange Order was founded [the successor of the earlier Peep o' Day Boys - RBW], while the Yeomen were also established in June 1796. These were made up mainly of men from the Orange Lodges." (source: The 1798 Rebellion on the Hogan Stand site).
Zimmermann p.64 and fn.20: "'The Boys of Wexford' was ... one of the rallying songs of the Parnellites" [in the 1890's]. "Some of Parnell's well-known supporters were from County Wexford."
Moylan attributes Moylan 68 to Robert Dwyer Joyce; Moylan 69 is a revision by Edmund Leamy (1848-1904) and published in 1922. They are similar enough that I have not split them. - BS
The riot that turned the Peep o' Day Boys into the Orange Order was a Protestant/Catholic clash known as "The Battle of the Diamond" (for which see "The Battle of the Diamond"). A group of Defenders attacked a smaller party of Peep o' Day Boys, but were driven off "leaving twenty or thirty corpses on the field" (see Robert Kee, The Most Distressful Country, being Volume I of The Green Flag, p. 71).
It would be hard to claim that alcohol ruined the 1798 rebellion; that was foredoomed by lack of planning and the fact that the United Irish leadership was informant-riddled. (As, indeed, some versions of this song note: "...for want of leaders We lost at Vingegar Hill"). But the Fenians of the nineteenth century did often fall prey to drink. A still later rebel, Vinnie Byrne, claims it nearly cost them even after the 1916 rebellion: "[Michael] Collins was a marvel. If he hadn't done the work he did, we'd still be under Britain. Informers and drink would have taken care of us." (See Tim Pat Coogan, Michael Collins, p. 116.) - RBW
P.W. Joyce, in A Concise History of Ireland. 1916, Chapter LXVI "The Rebellion of 1798 A.D. 1798 - George III" discusses the part played by drink in the defeats after Vinegar Hill. For example, "But there was no discipline; they fell to drink; and the soldiers returned twice and twice they were repulsed. But still the drinking went on; and late in the evening the military returned once more, and this time succeeded in expelling the rebels." (source: A Little Bit of Ireland site at Celtic Cousins). Drink in battle, after defeat, is a theme of "The Boyne Water (II)"; in 1798 that ballad was apparently still in wide use, at least among Orangemen. - BS
File: OLoc048

Boys Won't Do to Trust, The

DESCRIPTION: "The boys are very pretty, And sweet as they can be... But now you'd better watch them For they won't do to trust." The girl describes the tricks boys use, and the fine letters they write, but experience shows that none (at most one) can be trusted
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: courting trick betrayal
FOUND IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Randolph 461, "The Boys Won't Do to Trust" (1 text plus a fragment and an excerpt of 1 more)
BrownII 207, "The Boys Won't Do to Trust" (1 text)
Roud #6495
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Beware, Oh Take Care" (theme)
cf. "Dark and Dreary Weather" (floating lyrics)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Girls Won't Do to Trust
File: R461

Boys, Keep Away from the Girls

See The Bald-Headed End of the Broom (File: FaE190)

Bra' Rabbit (Oyscha')

DESCRIPTION: Gullah dialect song: "Bra' Rabbit, wa' 'ere da do dere?" "I da pickin' oyscha' fa' young gal. Da oyscha' bite mah finger, Da young gal tek dat fa' laugh at."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: animal courting
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 175, "Bra' Rabbit -- (Oyscha')" (1 short text, 1 tune)
File: ScaNF175

Braddock's Defeat

DESCRIPTION: "It was our hard general's false treachery Which caused our destruction that great day." The singer tells how Braddock attacks his own men (?). Other generals take command, but it is too late; the forces across the river are slaughtered.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1934 (Lomax)
KEYWORDS: battle death trick river
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1754-1763 - French and Indian War ("Great War for Empire"; fought in Europe 1756-1763 as the Seven Years' War)
July 9, 1755 - Defeat and Death of Edward Braddock in the Battle of the Wilderness
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 526-527, "Braddock's Defeat" (1 text)
ST LxA526 (Full)
Roud #4027
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Courrier, Courrier, Qu'y a-t-il de Nouveau? (Courier, Courier, Say What News Hast There?)" (subject)
NOTES: "Not until the golden-haired Custer failed to emerge from the Little Bighorn more than a century later would another leader's defeat be so personalized" as that of Major General Edward Braddock (Borneman, p. 40).
Braddock (1695-1755) was appointed in 1754 to command the American colonies in the French and Indian War. (Which technically hadn't been declared yet, but hey, if we can fight undeclared wars in this century, why couldn't they do it then?) According to Borneman, p. 41, this was based on the recommendation of the Duke of Cumberland, the infamous butcher of Culloden, who had little good on his military record except that one victory. (And who would be held responsible for England's loss of its one continental possession in Hanover. After that, even George II had to get rid of his less than brilliant son. Borneman, pp. 96-97.)
The English colonial situation at this time was uncomfortable. They had many more colonists in the Americas than had the French, but the French controlled most of the land beyond the Appalachians. The English colonists wanted more land, but the French would not allow it. Braddock's objective was to do something about that. If possible, he was to do this quietly, so as to prevent the trouble from spreading to Europe (Borneman, p. 42)
Braddock was assigned portions of two understrength regiments, in need of discipline, training, and recruits, all of which he was to supply in the colonies. Braddock, who had spent most of his career in non-combat posts (he had been an officer in the Coldstream Guards), seemed well enough suited for this task. But he had no combat experience (Pulliam, p. 53), and soon was called upon to do something that couldn't be done "by the book." It didn't help that he quickly angered the colonials with his peremptory orders (Borneman, p. 46).
In early 1755, Braddock set out to capture Fort Duquesne -- a work begun by Americans, at the confluence of the Allegheny and the Monongahela (the site of modern Pittsburgh; see Pulliam, p. 53), but taken over by French Canadians. Unfortunately for Braddock, it was very well built and situated. Knowing it would he a hard nut to crack, Braddock decided to bring as much heavy artillery as possible (Borneman, p. 48). Neither it nor he would ever come within range of the walls.
Braddock has his defenders -- Chandler/Beckett, pp. 117-118, argues that he tried to train his troops for their task but didn't have time to whip them into shape. This is true as far as it goes, but it doesn't change the fact that he moved slowly in order to keep his forces together.
Braddock would have been better off striking as quickly as possible. Instead, he wasted a lot of time and effort building a road in the forest for his wagon train, which accomplished nothing much except to give the French a clear area in which to take pot shots at the British, and a whole month in which to do it (Braddock spent 32 days covering an estimated distance of 110 miles; Morison, p. 162. To manage even that, he had to leave a third of his force behind; Pulliam, p. 55). And he didn't even have a force of Native American scouts to watch for the enemy (Borneman, p. 52)
The French and Indians ran into Braddock about twelve kilometers from Fort Duquesne -- not an ambush, technically, since the French were surprised too. But they responded quickly and effectiviely. Braddock apparently reacted by shoving more troops into the battle without making any attempt to build a defensive position (Borneman, p. 54). He wouldn't even let his men position themselves behind natural objects such as trees (Pulliam, p. 56). Naturally the situation quickly turned to chaos. Braddock was mortally wounded (he died four days later; Pulliam, p. 57), and two-thirds of his 1300 or so men men became casualties. The French had suffered less than a hundred, their Indian allies even fewer (Borneman, p. 55).
It was a major French victory, as it left the western parts of the American colonies exposed (Braddock's successor, Colonel Dunbar, made it worse by abanding several defensible forts and going into "winter quarters" in July; Borneman, p. 67, Morison, p. 163); many settlers were forced back across the Allegheny Mountains. On top of it all, it helped turn a local war into a world war (Borneman, p. 60).
Formally, the name of the fight was "The Battle of the Monongahela" (Pulliam, p. 50), but everyone seems to call it "Braddock's Defeat."
Despite this song, there is absolutely no record in our sources hinting that Braddock was a traitor. We also note that the song is incorrect in speaking of a river battle; although the French planned to attack the British at a river crossing, they could not actually mount the attack because their Indian allies were not ready.
That isn't the only inaccuracy in the (Lomax) text of this song. The command structure is all wrong. Braddock's title was "major general," but that was the title then assigned to brigade commanders; his successor, as noted, was Colonel Thomas Dunbar. He did have an officer named Horatio Gates, but his rank was captain, not general! For the life of me I can't imagine what this is based on.
Thus the only really historical part of this song is the fact that Braddock was defeated.
If the vicious description in the song is based on anything, it perhaps has to do with rumors that Braddock was killed by his own men; the story is that one Thomas Fausett killed Braddock after Braddock killed Fausett's brother Joseph for hiding behind a tree (a smart thing to do, but not something Braddock understood). But the only evidence for this was Fausett's own word, and most historians disbelieve the story.
One thing about Braddock's Defeat would prove very important: It allowed a young officer by the name of George Washington (a member of Braddock's staff) to gain combat experience. Two decades later, when the Continental Congress needed someone to run the army, "George Washington, a Virginia planter, was appointed to chair a committee on military supply. [He was t]he highest ranking former British officer with active military experience" (as a brevet brigadier); Weintraub, pp. 11-12.
Fort Duquesne would eventually fall, much later in the war, after British victories in the Great Lakes area had cut it off from France. An expedition under John Forbes (who was dying as his army slowly advanced) reached the site to find that the French had burned the fort (Stokesbury, p. 146). They built Fort Pitt on the site, naming it for William Pitt the Prime Minister, whence the name Pittsburgh.
This song is item dA28 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW
Bibliography

Borneman: Walter R. Borneman, The French & Indian War: Deciding the Fate of North America, Harper Collins, 2006
Chandler/Beckett: David Chandler, general editor; Ian Beckett, associate editor, The Oxford History of the British Army, 1994 (I use the 1996 Oxford paperback edition)
Morison: Samuel Eliot Morison, The Oxford History of the American People (Oxford, 1965)
Pulliam: Ted Pulliam, "A Huge, Red Bull's Eye," article in American History magazine, August 2005 issue, pp. 50-57
Stokesbury: James L. Stokesbury, Navy & Empire, Morrow, 1983
Weintraub: Stanley Weintraub, Iron Tears: Amerca's Battle for Freedom, Britain's Quagmire: 1775-1783, Free Press, 2005

Last updated in version 2.5
File: LxA526

Brady

See Duncan and Brady [Laws I9] (File: LI09)

Braemar Poacher, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer is "a rovin' Highlander, a native of Braemar." He recalls poaching, his capture in Benabourd, and trial in Aberdeen. He wishes success to poachers: "May they always be at liberty, with money at command." Now he is bound for Van Dieman's land.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan2)
KEYWORDS: poaching transportation trial
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig #33, pp. 1-2, "The Poacher of Benabourd"; Greig #35, p. 2, "The Roving Highlander" or "Braemar Poacher" (2 texts)
GreigDuncan2 253, "The Braemar Poacher" (3 texts, 2 tunes)
Roud #373
NOTES: Greig: "Benabourd is on Upper Deeside [about 60 miles west of Aberdeen]. The ditty appears to deal with a real character who had a reputation as a poacher. Caught at length he was tried and sentenced to transportation." - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: GrD2253

Braes o Yarrow, The

See The Dowie Dens o Yarrow [Child 214]; also Rare Willie Drowned in Yarrow, or, The Water o Gamrie [Child 215] (File: C214)

Braes o' Abernethy, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer sees a lass behind her father's locked gates. If she were cold he would give her his "plaidie to rollabout her." If he were rich he'd give everything for one night with her. There's another girl he likes better but she's far away.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan4)
KEYWORDS: sex nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan4 867, "The Braes o' Abernethy" (6 texts, 5 tunes)
Roud #3784
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Lad Wi' the Tartan Plaidie" (tune, per GreigDuncan4)
cf. "Over Hills and Mountains" (theme: singer would give up the crown or great wealth he doesn't have for love)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Braes o' Invernessie
Invernessie
Ye'll Bring to Me
NOTES: GreigDuncan4 quoting Greig: "The author ... was Alexander Lesley, Esq. of Edin, on Doverin side .... The fair one whom he thus immortalizes was Helen Christie, who afterwards proved with child to him.... The song was composed in the year 1636." Greig, as quoted by GreigDuncan4, notes "Cf. 'Banks of Invernessie', etc." Roud also lumps "The Banks o' Deveron Water" with "The Braes of Abernethy." I am not convinced. The songs share some lines and themes. For example, Ord includes
Tho' I had a' King Croesus' rents,
And all possessed by Alexander;
I'd gie it all, and ten times mair,
For ae poor nicht to be beside her.
The closest GreigDuncan4 versions agree, replacing Croesus by Caesar or Queen Sheba. Other songs come close to the same sentiment. "The Belfast Beauty" includes
Had I wealth and grandeur like Great Alexander
That noble commander who lived in days of yore
All earthly treasure I'd resign with pleasure
To wed with this damsel whom I do adore.
"Lough Erne Shore" includes
"O had I the Lamp of Great Aladdin, [I think 've heard "Alexander" - RBW]
His rings and his genie, that's more,
I would part with them all for to gain you
And live upon Lough Erne Shore.
"The Braes o' Abernethy" includes up to three verses of a theme not in Ord at all: the singer is from the lowlands, a girl that loves him is in a nearby town, but his sweetheart is in the highlands behind her father's locked gates. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD4867

Braes o' Ballochmyle, The

DESCRIPTION: In winter Maria sang "Fareweel the braes o' Ballochmyle." While the birds, silent now, will sing again in spring, she won't be here to hear them.
AUTHOR: Robert Burns
EARLIEST DATE: 1852 (broadside, LOCSheet sm1852 501500); written before 1796
KEYWORDS: farewell nonballad bird
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
ADDITIONAL: James Kinsley, editor, Burns: Complete Poems and Songs (shorter edition, Oxford, 1969) #96, pp. 96-97, "The Braes o' Ballochmyle" (1 text, 1 tune, from before 1796)
Roud #6168
BROADSIDES:
LOCSheet, sm1852 501500, "The Braes o' Ballochmyle," Sarles and Adey (Springfield), 1852 (tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Lass o' Ballochmyle" (form, rhyme and reference to "The Braes o' Ballochmyle") and references there
File: BrdBrBal

Braes o' Balquhidder (II), The

DESCRIPTION: The singer says "Let us go lassie, go To the braes o' Balquhither." "I will twine thee a bower" and cover it with flowers. In winter "we'll sing As the storm rattles o'er us" in our dwelling. "Summer us in prime ... Let us journey together"
AUTHOR: Robert Tannahill(1774-1810)
EARLIEST DATE: before 1843 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(431)); c.1838 (Ramsay)
KEYWORDS: courting lyric
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
ADDITIONAL: Phillip A Ramsay, The Poetical Works of Robert Tannahill (London, c.1838), pp. 15-16, "The Braes o' Balquhither"
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(431), "Braes o' Balquhither" ("Let us go, lassie, go"), W. and T. Fordyce (Newcastle), 1832-1842; also Harding B 11(2422), "Braes o' Balquither"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Three Carls o' Buchanan" (tune, per broadside Bodleian Harding B 11(431) and Ramsay)
File: BrdBroBa

Braes o' Birniebouzle, The

DESCRIPTION: "Will ye gang wi' me Lassie, To the braes of Birnibouzle?" The singer details all the things he will supply if the girl will wed, and promises that she will be content
AUTHOR: James Hogg (source: Whitelaw)
EARLIEST DATE: before 1845 (broadside NLScotland, RB.m.168(070))
KEYWORDS: courting promise clothes food dialog nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
GreigDuncan4 876, "The Braes o Birniebouzle" (3 texts)
ADDITIONAL: Alexander Whitelaw, A Book of Scottish Song (Glasgow, 1845), pp. 509-510, "Birniebouzle"
Roud #3343
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 17(37a), "Braes o' Birniebouzle" ("Will ye gang wi' me, lassie"), Sanderson (Edinburgh), 1830-1910
NLScotland, RB.m.168(070), "Braes of Birniebouzle," J. Pitts (London), 1819-1844
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Braes of Tullinmet" (tune, per Whitelaw)
NOTES: The broadsides and GreigDuncan4 876B give one verse to the woman who says her chiefest aim shall be "ever to content ye" and help him fish and farm; even that verse is given to the man in GreigDuncan4 876A.
"About twenty years ago, this was a popular street song. It was written by the Ettrick Shepherd to the tune of 'Braes of Tullinmet'" (Whitelaw, 1845). - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: BrBrBirn

Braes o' Broo, The

DESCRIPTION: "Get up, get up, ye lazy loons, Get up, and waur them a', man, For the braes o' Broo are ill to ploo." "But the plooman laddie's my delight." The plowman must work very hard on the poor land, but the girl loves him enough to support him even so
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1907 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: love farming hardtimes
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Greig #65, pp. 1-2, "The Braes o' Broo" (1 text)
GreigDuncan3 443, "The Braes o' Broo" (6 texts, 5 tunes)
Ord, pp. 254-255, "The Braes o' Broo" (1 text plus an excerpt from Greig consisting of "modern verses")
Roud #5572
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Plooman Laddie
The Ploughman Laddie's My Delight
NOTES: GreigDuncan3: "'From Mary Duffus, servant, about 1850. Noted 1905.'" - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: Ord254

Braes o' Strathblane, The

See Braes of Strathblane (File: McCST053)

Braes o' Strathdon, The

See Braes of Strathblane (File: McCST053)

Braes o' Turra, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer meets a maiden lamenting that she has been deserted by "false deluding" Johnny the schoolmaster. His education made her think him a man of honor while she, a servant and poor shepherd's daughter, has "neither gold nor breeding"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (GreigDuncan6)
KEYWORDS: love servant abandonment
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig #131, p. 3, ("As I walked out one mornin' fair"); Greig #134, p. 2, "The Bonnie Braes o' Turra" (2 texts)
GreigDuncan6 1124, "The Braes o' Turra" (3 texts, 3 tunes)
Roud #6323
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Johnny the Schoolmaster
File: GrD61124

Braes of Balquhidder (I), The

DESCRIPTION: The singer asks a lass to "leave your father and your mither" and join him "on the braes o' Balquither" She refuses. He wins her over and she agrees to "leave acquaintance a' for thee"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1843 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(431))
KEYWORDS: courting rejection elopement
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar) Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (4 citations):
GreigDuncan4 862, "The Braes o' Balquhidder" (1 text, 3 tunes)
Smith/Hatt, pp. 84-85, "The Braes of Balquhidder" (1 text)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 23, "The Braes of Belquether" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, BALQUID
Roud #541
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 25(267), "The Braes O Balquither" ("Frae far beyond the Grampian hills"), unknown, n.d.; also Harding B 25(269), "The Braes o' Gleniffer"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Saint Helena (Boney on the Isle of St. Helena)" (tune, per broadside Bodleian Firth c.16(84))
cf. "The Fair o' Balnaminna" (tune, per GreigDuncan4)
NOTES: GreigDuncan4 quoting Duncan: "Tannahill wrote a song ["The Braes of Balquhidder (II)"] called by the name beginning, 'Will ye go, lassie, go to the braes o' Balquhidder?' and mentioning 'the deer and the roe', but otherwise different -- except that the stanza (not very usual) is the same. Are Mrs Walker's verses [GreigDuncan 862A] from the old song, and the basis of Tannahill's?"
This is not the poem/broadside of the same name by Robert Tannahill (1774-1810). That is a lyric: "Let us go, lassie, go To the braes o' Balquither." The singer will build her "a bower By the clear siller fountain" He describes their happy life in winter and summer among the moors "and the wild mountain thyme":
NLScotland, L.C.178.A.2(202), "Braes o' Balquhither," unknown, c.1880
Bodleian, Harding B 11(431), "Braes o' Balquhither" ("Let us go, lassie, go"), W. & T. Fordyce (Newcastle), 1832-1842; also 2806 c.14(84), 2806 c.14(36), Firth b.25(231), Harding B 11(429), Harding B 25(266), Harding B 11(3873), 2806 c.14(109)[partly illegible], Harding B 11(2422), "Braes o' Balquhither." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: SmHa084

Braes of Belquether, The

See The Braes of Balquhidder (I) (File: SmHa084)

Braes of Carnanbane, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer prepares to leave Carnabane for America, and will praise it as he leaves. He recalls the beauties of the land and the girls; it pains him to leave, but he has no choice. He blesses Carnabane
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1936 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: home emigration
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H651, p. 160, "The Braes of Carnanbane" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13457
File: HHH651

Braes of Strathblane

DESCRIPTION: Singer meets a girl. He wants to marry her; she says her parents would be displeased if she married a rover. He'll go court another. She begs him to come back; she's changed her mind. She regrets slighting him, fearing she'll never find another
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1904 (Ford); c.1850 (broadside, NLScotland L.C.Fol.178.A.2(063))
LONG DESCRIPTION: Singer meets a young girl, bleaching her clothes. He tells her he's been wanting to marry her for the past year; she tells him to hold his tongue, as her parents would be displeased if she married a rover. He tells her the clouds are heavy, and he fears it will rain, so he'll go court another. She tells him to come back, for she's changed her mind. But he leaves, and she regrets slighting him, fearing she'll never find another man
KEYWORDS: courting rejection parting rambling lover
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber,High)) Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES (9 citations):
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 77-78, "The Braes o' Strathblane" (1 text)
Ord, p. 125, "The Braes o' Strathblane" (1 text)
MacSeegTrav 53, "The Braes of Strathblane" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greig #18, pp. 1-2, "The Braes o' Strathdon" (1 text)
GreigDuncan6 1132, "The Braes o' Strathdon" (8 texts, 9 tunes)
Peacock, pp. 499-500, "The Beach of Strablane" (1 text, 1 tune)
Karpeles-Newfoundland 61, "The Bleaches So Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 45, "Just As I Was Going Away" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Manny/Wilson 60, "The Braes of Strathblaine" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #1096
RECORDINGS:
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.178.A.2(063), "The Braes of Strathblane," unknown, c.1850
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 26(73), "The Braes of Strathblane," unknown, n.d.; also Firth c.26(240), "The Braes of Strathblane"
Murray, Mu23-y1:044, "The Braes of Strathalbene," James Lindsay Jr. (Glasgow), 19C
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.178.A.2(063) "The Braes of Strathblane," unknown, n.d.
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Rejected Lover" [Laws P10] and references there
cf. "The Chippewa Girl" [Laws H10] (words, theme)
cf. "As I Stood At My Cottage Door" (tune, see notes for broadside NLScotland L.C.Fol.178.A.2(063))
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Blades of Strawblane
NOTES: Commentary to broadside NLScotland L.C.Fol.178.A.2(063): "This song, indeed, an identical match to the lyrics of 'The Braes of Strathdon', which lies in Aberdeenshire. On other broadsides the suggested to tune to these lyrics is often 'As I stood at my cottage door'." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: McCST053

Braes of Sweet Kilhoyle, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer asks his listeners to hear him sing of Kilhoyle. He describes how all the boys and girls play there, admits that "Sometimes I work, more times I rest" there. He describes all the towns you can see, and says the locals are always friends in need
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1932 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: home nonballad
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H464, pp. 167-168, "The Braes of Sweet Kilhoyle" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13480
File: HHH464

Braes of Yarrow (I), The

DESCRIPTION: A man tells his bride-to-be to forget Yarrow where he killed her lover. She had warned her lover against the fight. Now her brother Douglas wants her to marry. She thinks of the dead body and won't marry. The groom tells her: "dry thy useless sorrow"
AUTHOR: William Hamilton (1704-1754)
EARLIEST DATE: 1794 (Ritson, _Scotish Songs_, GreigDuncan2 refers to the 1869 reprint of the 1794 publication)
KEYWORDS: wedding fight death brother
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
GreigDuncan2 216, "The Braes of Yarrow" (1 fragment)
ADDITIONAL: Charles W. Eliot, editor, English Poetry Vol II From Collins to Fitzgerald (New York, 1910), #341, pp. 572-576, "The Braes of Yarrow" (William Hamilton of Bangour)
Roud #5838
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, RB.m.143(003), "Braes of Yarrow," The Poet's box (Glasgow), 1870
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Busk Ye
NOTES: Child notes to 214, "The Braes o Yarrow": "'The Braes of Yarrow' ('Busk ye, busk ye, my bonny, bonny bride'), by William Hamilton of Bangour, was suggested by the present ballad."
GreigDuncan2 is a fragment; Eliot is the basis for the description.
Broadside Bodleian, 2806 c.11(203), "Braes of Yarrow" ("Busk ye, busk ye, my bonnie, bonnie bride!"), The Poet's box (Glasgow), 1870 could not be downloaded and verified. It appears to be the same as NLScotland RB.m.143(003).
This is not to be confused with Broadside Bodleian, Johnson Ballads fol. 28, "The Braes of Yarrow" ("Busk ye, busk ye, my bony [sic] bride"), J. Catnach (London), 1813-1838 by Allan Ramsay. That song ends with the man saying "O Queen of smiles, I ask nae mair, Since now my bony Bell's consenting." - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: GrD2216

Braes of Yarrow (II), The

See The Dowie Dens o Yarrow [Child 214]; also Rare Willie Drowned in Yarrow, or, The Water o Gamrie [Child 215] (File: C214)

Braiding Her Glossy Black Hair

DESCRIPTION: The April sun is shining, the larks singing, when the singer sees Mary as he heads off to work. His heart is ensnared as he watches her braid her hair. Others report that he is never the same cheerful worker again; he is distracted by dreams of Mary
AUTHOR: Words: Andrew Doey
EARLIEST DATE: 1933 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love beauty
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H493, pp. 237-238, "Braiding Her Glossy Black Hair" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9472
File: HHH493

Brake of Briars

See The Bramble Briar (The Merchant's Daughter; In Bruton Town) [Laws M32] (File: LM32)

Brakeman on the Train

DESCRIPTION: (O')Shaughnessy takes a job as brakeman. He doesn't know the signal to stop the train. The train is derailed though no one is killed. They tell him to throw a switch; the train goes in the ditch. He gets the blame. And it's a hard, cold, dirty job.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1922 (Dean)
KEYWORDS: railroading ordeal wreck train wreck
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf) US(MW.So)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Leach-Labrador 99, "Brakeman on the Train" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph 510, "Twisting on the Train" (1 text)
Dean, pp. 16-17, "O'Shaughanesey" (1 text)
ST LLab099 (Partial)
Roud #8587
RECORDINGS:
Nobel B. Brown, "Oh, I'm a Jolly Irishman Winding on the Train" (AFS 8473 A2, 1946; on LC61)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
O'Shaughnessy
NOTES: I assume this is the same person as the "Noble B. Brown" featured on other LC recordings. Again, I have no idea which spelling is correct. - PJS
File: LLab099

Bramble Briar, The (The Merchant's Daughter; In Bruton Town) [Laws M32]

DESCRIPTION: A girl wishes to marry a man her family disapproves of. Her brothers take the lad hunting and kill him. They claim to have lost him, but he appears to his lover in a dream and reveals the truth. Accused by their sister, the two brothers are forced to flee
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1904
KEYWORDS: murder brother love accusation dream
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MW,SE,So) Britain(England(South)) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (18 citations):
Laws M32, The Bramble Briar (The Merchant's Daughter; In Bruton Town)"
Belden, pp. 109-111, "The Bramble Briar" (2 texts)
Randolph 100, "The Jealous Brothers" (1 text, 1 tune)
Eddy 27, "The Bramble Brier" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownII 62, "The Bramble Brier" (2 texts)
Brewster 32, "The Bramble Briar" (1 text plus a mention of 1 more, 1 tune)
Gardner/Chickering 11, "The Apprentice Boy" (1 text)
Leach, pp. 705-707, "In Brunton Town" (1 text)
SharpAp 48, "In Seaport Town" (9 texts, 9 tunes)
Sharp-100E 2, "Bruton Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, pp. 24-25, "The Bramble Briar" (1 text, 1 tune)
LPound-ABS, 22, pp. 53-54, "The Bamboo Briars"; pp. 54-58, "The Apprentice Boy" (2 texts)
JHCox 88, "The Bramble Briar" (2 texts)
JHCoxIIA, #16, pp. 70-72, "The Merchant's Daughter" (1 text, probably composite, 1 tune)
MacSeegTrav 20, "Brake of Briars" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Darling-NAS, pp. 119-120, "In Zepo Town" (1 text)
DT 309, JEALBROS JEALBRO2 JEALBRO3 JEALBRO4* SEAPRTWN*
ADDITIONAL: Bob Stewart, _Where Is Saint George? Pagan Imagery in English Folksong_, revised edition, Blandford, 1988, pp. 48-49, "In Bruton Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST LM32 (Full)
Roud #18
RECORDINGS:
Logan English, "Bruton Town" (on LEnglish01)
Louis Killen, "The Bramble Briar" (on ESFB2)
Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, "The Bramble Briar" (on ENMacCollSeeger02)
Lisha Shelton, "In Zepo Town (In Seaport Town)" (on OldLove)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Constant Farmer's Son" [Laws M33]
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Bamboo Briers
The Bomberry Briar
NOTES: Boccaccio includes the story, hence my "14th century" date. It's also listed by Hans Sachs in the 16th century. Sachs' was in verse form, whereas Boccaccio's was prose. I'm tempted to list Sachs' version. -PJS
H. M. Belden wrote an article on the relationships of these texts, "Boccaccio, Hans Sachs, and The Bramble Briar," published in Publications of the Modern Language Association of America in 1918.
The Boccaccio story involved is the fifth story of the fourth day, the Tale of Isabetta and Lorenzo. Keats would in turn make this into a poem, "Isabella, or the Pot of Basil." It should be noted, however, that the Boccaccio version is fuller than the song. The beginning is the same, with the young couple falling in love and the brothers murdering their sister's swain, after which she finds the body. But the sequel in the Decameron is macabre: She takes her lover's head and hides it in a pot of basil. The brothers steal the pot and bury it. I would not categorically deny the link between the Italian story and the English, but the English tale is noticeably more natural.
Stewart suggests that the second half of the tale, of the girl preserving the head but not the body, is a link to the tale of the decapitated Celtic hero Bran, which became an oracle. Of course, this doesn't explain how the head came into the Italian version of the tale but not the British. - RBW
Logan English learned this piece from a young Kentucky woman practicing it with a dulcimer on the sidelines of a folk festival... and concluded from textual evidence that she'd learned it from Cecil Sharp's book. Tradition, twentieth century style. - PJS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: LM32

Bramble Brier, The

See The Bramble Briar (The Merchant's Daughter; In Bruton Town) [Laws M32] (File: LM32)

Bramble, The

DESCRIPTION: "Thy fruit full well the schoolboy knows, Wild bramble of the brake, So put forth thy small white rose, I love thee for his sake." The singer tells how the tame flowers fade or are put aside; the wild bramble still blooms and lets the singer feel young
AUTHOR: Words: Ebenezer Elliot
EARLIEST DATE: 1935 (Sam Henry collection); the author died 1849
KEYWORDS: flowers nonballad age
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H628, pp. 62-63, "The Bramble" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13333
File: HHH628

Branded Lambs [Laws O9]

DESCRIPTION: A girl, seeking her branded lambs, sees Johnny asleep under a thorn and asks if he has seen the flock. He tells her to seek them in a distant meadow. She seeks them; Johnny follows. They are not there, but he takes the chance to woo her. They are married
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan5) -- but see NOTE on Broadside Bodleian Harding B 22(266)
KEYWORDS: sheep courting marriage love shepherd
FOUND IN: Britain(England(South),(Scotland(Aber)) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Laws O9, "Branded Lambs"
GreigDuncan5 966, "The Strayed Lambs" (1 text)
Copper-SoBreeze, pp. 252-253, "Young Johnny" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kennedy 134, "The Long and Wishing Eye" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 133-134, "Branded Lambs" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST LO09 (Full)
Roud #1437
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 22(266), "The sex, by Mr. Holt. Jockey and the Damsel's Courtship" ("As Jockey was walking one midsummer morn"), unknown, no date (but apparently pre-1825; see note)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Searching for Lambs" (theme)
NOTES: This song represents an instance where Laws perhaps produced a great deal of confusion with his classification. He cites only two texts, Creighton/Senior and Joyce, the latter of which he calls incomplete.
But is the Joyce text incomplete, or is it a different song? Laws's "Branded Lambs" has a plot, summarized in the description. The Joyce text doesn't really.
On its face, Joyce appears to be an instance of another song group, "Searching for Lambs" ("One Morning Clear"), which has no plot beyond the elementary one of "boy meets girl while watching flocks."
The problem is, the two have common lyrics as well as a common theme. Either they've cross-fertilized or the lyric "Searching for Lambs" is a wearing down of "Branded Lambs." Scholars are divided; Kennedy (who admittedly lumps songs based on only the feeblest of connections) lumps them; the notes to Henry/Huntington/Herrmann explicitly deny the connection.
Unfortunately, almost all the texts are in manuscript and not readily available. Roud distinguishes the two; "Searching for Lambs" seems to be his #576; "Branded Lambs" is #1437.
The earlier editions of the Index lumped the song, in desperation. I still feel desperate about some versions -- e.g. the Copper text is difficult; it has the length of the lyric version but is more reminiscent of the ballad version in its wording. But we're splitters, and have now separated the songs. Still, readers should probably consult both entries for absolute certainty. - RBW
Broadside Bodleian Harding B 22(266) attributes its text to a Mr Holt. I would guess from the long-s typography that the date is between 1625 and 1825, and more likely between 1660 and 1790. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: LO09

Brands

See Whose Old Cow (File: TF21)

Brandy Leave Me Alone

DESCRIPTION: "Oh, brandy leave me alone (x3), Remember I must go home." "Oh, brandy, you broke my heart (x2); Oh, brandy, leave me alone; Remember I must go home."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1955 (recording, Pete Seeger)
KEYWORDS: drink home nonballad Africa
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Silber-FSWB, p. 231, "Brandy Leave Me Alone" (1 text)
DT, BRNDYLV*
RECORDINGS:
Pete Seeger, "Brandy Leave Me Alone" (on PeteSeeger06, PeteSeegerCD01); "Brandy Leave Me Alone" (on PeteSeeger12)
NOTES: The history of this song is rather obscure; it probably does not qualify as a true ENGLISH-language folksong. Joseph Marais and Miranda seem to have found the chorus in South Africa, and added enough material to make it an actual song. - RBW
File: FSWB231

Brandywine

See Earl Brand [Child 7] (File: C007)

Brannan Fair o' Banff

DESCRIPTION: The people at the fair -- Cocker, Shusie, "Geordie Raeburn an' Willie Beer, But noo I see they're wantin there"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: farming moniker
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan3 370, "Brannan Fair o' Banff" (2 fragments, 1 tune)
Roud #5913
NOTES: GreigDuncan3 text count includes one verse on p. 626.
The current description is based on the GreigDuncan3 fragments. While placed among songs about hiring fairs it is not clear to me that this is about a hiring fair.
GreigDuncan3: "The song described those that used to appear at the fair, but then all gone, with other sights of the day." - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: GrD3370

Brannigan's Pup

DESCRIPTION: Brannigan's pup fought "seventeen hours of battle." The dog was ugly to begin with, and scarred, but it would attack anything -- clothes, other dogs, a young girl's leg -- until at last it attacked an organ grinder's monkey and choked on the tail
AUTHOR: Gus Phillips
EARLIEST DATE: 1879
KEYWORDS: animal talltale dog
FOUND IN: US(MA)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
FSCatskills 122, "Ol' Mickey Brannigan's Pup" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MICKPUP*
Roud #2971
File: FSC122

Brannit Coo, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer meets a maid going to milk her "brannit [streaked brown] coo." They greet and she asks how far he's going; she's going a mile or two to milk her cow. He asks "what harm could I do love, to come along with you. And I will wait ..."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan7)
KEYWORDS: courting animal
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan7 1318, "The Brannit Coo" (1 text)
Roud #7210
File: GrD71318

Brannon on the Moor

See Brennan on the Moor [Laws L7] (File: LL07)

Brass-Mounted Army, The

DESCRIPTION: The soldier complains of the unfairness of Army life and the abuse he suffers at the hands of officers: "Oh, how do you like the army, The brass-mounted army, The high-falutin' army Where eagle buttons rule?"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1865
KEYWORDS: Civilwar abuse soldier army
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Randolph 221, "The Brass-Mounted Army" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 211-213, "The Brass-Mounted Army" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 221)
Silber-CivWar, pp. 20-21, "The Brass-Mounted Army" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 180, "The Brass-Mounted Army" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, BRSSARMY*
Roud #6693
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Wait for the Wagon" (tune)
NOTES: Attributed to "an anonymous soldier of Col. A Buchel's regiment." Some southern versions refer to a [General] Kirby, presumably General Edmund Kirby Smith, sent to command in Texas when Grant's Vicksburg campaign was cutting the Confederacy in two. - RBW
File: R221

Brats of Jeremiah, The

See Unhappy Jeremiah (The Brats of Jeremiah) (File: FSC134)

Brave Defender, The

See The Banished Defender (File: Zimm024)

Brave Fireman, The (Break the News to Mother Gently)

DESCRIPTION: A fireman, mortally injured while rescuing a child, makes his last request: "Break the news to mother gently, Tell her how her son had died, Tell her that he done his duty...." His family and colleagues grieve but honor his memory
AUTHOR: Charles K. Harris
EARLIEST DATE: 1891 (sheet music)
KEYWORDS: death fire rescue farewell mother
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Randolph 687, "The Brave Fireman" (1 text)
Roud #7371
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Break the News to Mother" (tune, theme)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Break the News Gently
NOTES: Spaeth (Read Em and Weep, pp. 175-176) has another song built around the line "Break the news to mother." The plot, however, is completely different, and involves a soldier boy killed while rescuing a company's battle flag. That piece is by Charles K. Harris - RBW
The Spaeth song is Harris's 1897 rewrite, "Break the News to Mother," of his own "The Brave Fireman." - BS
Randolph's appears to be the only printed version of this piece taken from oral tradition, but it appears to have been found elsewhere. Tim Murphy contacted me about a fragment of the song he heard from his grandmother, Francis Mary Lawlor Skinner, born in 1880 in St. John's, Newfoundland; she later migrated to the United States. Based on Mr. Murphy's comments, it may be that the song was repeated in fire houses. In any case, it was known somewhere in eastern North America. - RBW
File: R687

Brave General Brock [Laws A22]

DESCRIPTION: Brock leads his men on a forced march against the Americans. The surprised U.S. commander surrenders soon after the fighting begins.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1959
KEYWORDS: war Canada
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1812 - The Michigan campaign of Hull and Brock
FOUND IN: Canada(Ont)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Laws A22, "Brave General Brock"
Doerflinger pp. 272-274, "Come All You Bold Canadians" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 62-65, "Come All You Bold Canadians" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 697, GENBROCK
Roud #2210
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Battle of Queenston Heights" (for the death of Isaac Brock)
NOTES: One of the major American aims in the War of 1812 was to conquer Canada. The primary responsibility for the defense of Canada fell on the shoulders of Brigadier General Isaac Brock, Governor of Upper Canada, who faced several threats.
According to Mahon, pp. 17-18, Brock had had a rather spectacular career, joining the army when very young and commanding a regiment by the time he was 28. He had combat experience in Europe, and had also spent years in Canada, so he was close to the ideal commander in Upper Canada (what we now call Ontario).
The overall British commander in North America, Sir George Prevost, thought him a little too impetuous, but there were only three active-duty infantry general officers in Canada (Prevost, Brock, and Major General Francis Rottenberg; Mahon, p. 34), so Prevost had little choice but to employ Brock. Very short of soldiers, and wanting to enforce the strategic defensive, Prevost limited Brock to 1600 regular troops to keep him from getting too lively (Mahon, p. 19). It was to prove a fateful decision for Brock, who would perform brilliantly but eventually die at Queenstown in part because of lack of troops.
There were supposed to be three American attack on Canada: One in the Detroit area (or, at least, in the region between Lakes Huron and Erie), one in the Niagara region between Lakes Erie and Ontario, and one up from Lake Champlain. The goal was to coordinate these attacks. The goal failed (which would allow Brock to personally deal with two of them).
The first attack came from the west (Mahon, pp. 38-39). The governor of Michican Territory was William Hull (1753-1825), a veteran of the Revolutionary War -- but he was by training a lawyer, and the highest rank he had held in the Revolution was lieutenant colonel (Mahon, p. 43). He was still relatively young at 58, but looked older; he had lost much of his energy (Berton, p. 92, calls him "a flabby old soldier, tired of war, hesitant of command, suspicious of the militia who he knows are untrained and suspects are untrustworthy. He has asked for three thousand men; Washington finally allows him two thousand. He does not really want to be a general, but he is determined to save his people from the Indians.... There is a soft streak in Hull, no asset in a frontier command. As a young man he studied for the ministry, only to give it up for the law, but something of the divinity student remains").
Similarly Catton, p. 62, "Hull was a stout old smooth-bore, with a good record in the Revolutionary War, but he was in decay now and the fire was gone out of him."
Gathering a motley and ill-equipped force of militia, with only a few regulars (and their commander outranked by the untrained militia officers; Mahon, p. 44), Hull crossed from Michigan into Ontario on July 12 (Hickey, p. 81; Mahon, p. 45), only to find that the local inhabitants didn't care and didn't want to be liberated (Borneman, p. 62). Especially by a blowhard giving speeches about how they lived under tyranny and demanding that they *like* being invaded and then saying that the Indians -- allies of the British -- would scalp them if they didn't become Americans (McNaught, p. 72, who prints part of the speech. It makes it quite clear that Hull had absolutely no idea what was going on).
Meanwhile, Brock was maneuvering behind Hull's rear, taking Fort Mackinac in northern Michigan. According to Caton, p. 63, "The American garrison consisted of fifty-odd men under Lieutenant Porter Hanks, and since it took a long time for news to reach the Straits from the Atlantic seaboard, these people, on July 17, did bot yet know there was a war on; signs of impending trouble had been visible, but no one in the American government had thought to do what British General Brock did, who got speedy woods runners to gake the news to the British post on St. Joseph Island, at the mouth of the St. Mary's River." The local officer quickly assembled a force, occupied ground above Fort Mackinac, and forced the fort to surrender. This also had the effect of putting the local Indians firmly on the British side (McNaught, p. 72).
Facing what seemed to be a threat to his rear (although the British force was too weak to go much farther), Hull fell back on Detroit (Borneman, p .67; Mahon, p. 48).
Brock brought up a few British forces to Detroit, made them look like more, and threatened to turn the Indians loose on Hull (Hickey, pp. 82-83). The American commander seemed utterly unable to comprehend what was going on as Brock maneuvered forces all around him (Mahon, p. 50). Although he could in fact have defeated Brock in detail, and very possibly could have prevailed in an open battle because of superior numbers, Hull -- to the shock of his subordinates (Catton, p. 62) -- surrendered Detroit on August 16, 1812 (Borneman, pp. 68-69).
Brock reportedly had 2500 prisoners; he listed his own forces as 750 whites and 600 Indians (Mahon, p. 50). Hull eventually would be court-martialed for cowardice (McNaught, p. 73) and sentenced to death, though his life would be spared (Borneman, p. 69; Hickey, p. 84; Mahon, p. 51). The only good thing that came out of the debacle, for the American side, was that it forced them to start working on a fleet on Lake Erie, because they would need control of the lake to securely retake Detroit.
For the later career of Brock, see "The Battle of Queenston Heights."
Incidentally, as well as a good soldier, Brock seems to have had more liberal feelings than most people of his time. In an era when most people sneered at the Native Americans, Brock wrote of the "wrongs they continually suffer" (Berton, p. 66). Of course, he was trying to enlist them as allies in any possible war with the United States, so maybe he had an ulterior motive.
Berton, pp. 81-82, says that Brock was utterly frustrated in Canada, and repeatedly requested transfer -- but, when finally granted the right to take a post in Britain, the War of 1812 was at hand, and he decided to stay at his post out of a sense of duty.
Berton, pp. 82-83, describes him as follows: "He is a remarkably handsome man with a fair complexion, a broad forehead, clear eyes of grey blue (one with a slight cast), and sparkling white teeth. His portraits tend to make him look a little feminine -- the almond eyes, the sensitive nostrils, the girlish lips -- but his bearing belies it; he is a massive figure, big-boned and powerful, almost six feet three in height. He has now, at forty-two, a slight tendency to portliness... but he is, in his own words, 'hard as nails.'
"He is popular with almost everybody, especially the soldiers who serve him -- a courteous, affable officer who makes friends easily and can charm with a smile. But there is also an aloofness about him. -RBW
Bibliography

Berton: Pierre Berton, The Invasion of Canada [Volume I], 1812-1813, Atlantic-Little Brown, 1980
Borneman; Walter R. Borneman, 1812: The War That Forged a Nation, Harper Collins, 2006
Catton: Bruce Catton, Michigan, A History, 1972, 1976 (I use the 1984 Norton edition)
Hickey: Donald R. Hickey, The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict, University of Illinois Press, 1989, 1995
Mahon: John K. Mahon, The War of 1812, Da Capo, 1972
McNaught: Kenneth McNaught, The Pelican History of Canada, Pelican, 1969, 1982

Last updated in version 2.5
File: LA22

Brave Irish Lady, A

See A Rich Irish Lady (The Fair Damsel from London; Sally and Billy; The Sailor from Dover; Pretty Sally; etc.) [Laws P9]; also "The Brown Girl" [Child 295] (File: LP09)

Brave Marin (Brave Sailor)

DESCRIPTION: French. A brave sailor returns from war and stops at an inn. The hostess cries; she recognizes him as her husband. He asks why she has more children. She had reports that he had died and so remarried. He leaves silver and returns to his regiment.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1961 (Hugill), with a possible origin in the period 1562-1630
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage marriage reunion children wife sailor husband wife money return foc's'le
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf) France
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Lehr/Best 13, "Brave Marin" (1 text, 1 tune)
Colcord, p. 111-112, "Le Retour du Marin" (1 fragment (in French), 1 tune)
ADDITIONAL: Grace Lee Nute, _The Voyageur_, Appleton, 1931 (reprinted 1987 Minnesota Historical Society), pp. 145-147, "Le Retour du Mari Soldat" (1 text plus English translation, 1 tune)
RECORDINGS:
Anita Best and Pamela Morgan, "Brave Marin" (on NFABestPMorgan01)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Le Jeune Militaire" (theme)
cf. "Jack Robinson" (theme)
cf. "Snapoo" (similar tune)
NOTES: Lehr/Best: Best says "It dates from the wars of Louis XIV (the late 1600s) and was very popular in the southwest of France." Lehr/Best makes "Le Jeune Militaire" a version of "Brave Marin"; while the themes are very close the words are not. - BS
Colcord theorizes that this is the ballad from which "Snapoo" and subsequently "Mademoiselle from Armentieres" were derived. The tune is similar (though slower) and the lines end with the words "tout doux" which could have been transliterated into "snapoo." Tennyson used the same theme in his classic poem "Enoch Arden" in 1864.
Hugill (in Songs of the Sea, 1977) says that the song comes from the days of Louis XIII (1610-1643) and that the theme may have been derived from the story of Martin Guerre, which took place around 1560, though a significant difference in the two is that in "Retour du Marin" (and in "Enoch Arden") the returning sailor eventually goes on his way, rather than impersonating someone as Martin Guerre did. - SL
Obviously none of these theories of origin can be proved, though in some ways, the earlier, the better, as long as the song is of French/Catholic origin. By the eighteenth century, a Catholic woman could not remarry unless she could not only show her husband was dead but could point out the body -- a cause of much distress at Trafalgar, e.g.; the English would bury their dead at sea, but the French and Spanish wanted to stack their ships full of bodies.
Incidentally, in "Enoch Arden," the returned sailor dies for love. Whether that is a better ending is, I think, debatable. - RBW
File: LeBe013

Brave Nelson

See Nelson's Victory at Trafalgar (Brave Nelson) [Laws J17] (File: LJ17)

Brave Queen's Island Boys, The

DESCRIPTION: "Belfast may boast ... of its far-famed ships." "May the name of Harland and Wolff still stand At the top of the ship-building trade" "The Island Boys are marvels .... With their 'White Star Liner.'" If a "Greyhound" is needed Belfast gets the contract.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: c.1890-1918 (J Nicholson ballad sheet, according to Leyden)
KEYWORDS: pride commerce ship nonballad
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Leyden 37, "The Brave Queen's Island Boys" (1 text)
NOTES: Leyden: "The song dates from the 1880s." Dargan's Island, renamed Queen's Island "after Queen Victoria's visit to the town in 1849," in the River Lagan, was part of the world-famous Belfast ship-building industry. "This reputation was largely due to the efforts of the Harland and Wolff company which formed in 1861.... In 1870 Harland and Wolff signed a contract to build ships for the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, better known as the White Star Line." [The Titanic was built in Belfast for the White Star Line.] - BS
According to Butler, p. 4, "The origins of Harland and Wolff dated back to the 1840, when dredging of a deep-water passage in the of section of the River Lagan known as the Victoria Channel created Queen's Island in the middle of the channel. Robert Hickson built a shipyard on the new island and began construction of iron ships there in 1853. Edward J. Harland came to the yard, which was known as Hickson and Company, as a manager in 1854 and bought it outright from Hickson in 1859. Gustav Wolff was a silent partner when he first joined Harland in 1861, but by 1862 the yard was known as Harland and Wolff."
It was a line which produced many innovations, mostly at the instigation of Edward Harland, eliminating most of the equipment of sailing ships from the steamers of the White Star and other lines (Butler, p. 5). It also managed to build what we would now call a "vertical monopoly": It designed the ships, built them, and even built the primary components such as boilers and propellers.At its peak, the shipyard employed 14,000 men. It was a Harland and Wolff ship, the Oceanic, which created the luxury liner concept and put White Star at the forefront of the transatlantic trade. The two ended up with an arrangement that was satisfactory to both: Harland and Wolff produced the ships for White Star, and billed the line for its actual costs plus a fixed percentage of profit.
After Harland's death in 1894, William James Pirrie (who had started with the firm as an apprentice in 1862 at the age of 15) succeeded him; he became Lord Pirrie in 1895 (Butler, p. 6). He was still in charge at the time the Titanic and her sisters were ordered, though Thomas Andrews handled most of the detail work.
"Harland and Wolff were considered the highest-priced and most painstaking shipbuilders in Europe" (Wade, p. 13).
Not even the Titanic could change that. Irish partition and a series of economic downturns could. The Belfast shipping industry went into recession. Eventually Harland and Wolff was sold to a Norwegian company. Not even that could save the shipyards. And that company in 2003 sold the land of Harland and Wolff's old shipyard to a property developer. It may become a Titanic memorial. It almost certainly won't be used to build ships (Barczewski, pp. 244-245.
The reference to a "greyhound" is ironic. If the song really does come from the 1880s, it predates the time of the most extreme transatlantic competition, when German and British companies were constantly building bigger, faster ships. At last two ships were built that were called "greyhounds," and for nearly a quarter century, no one tried to build faster ships. The two ships were the Lusitania and Mauretania -- but they were built for Cunard, not White Star, and Harland and Wolff was not involved in the design. They were built in Britain, not Ireland. - RBW
Bibliography

Barczewski: Stephanie Barczewski, Titanic: A Night Remembered, Hambledon Continuum, 2004
Butler: Daniel Allen Butler, "Unsinkable": The Full Story, Stackpole, 1998
Wade: Wyn Craig Wade, The Titanic: End of a Dream, revised edition, Penguin, 1986

Last updated in version 2.5
File: Leyd037

Brave Volunteers, The

DESCRIPTION: Henry leaves Margaret, his wife, and baby to volunteer "to fight 'neath a monarch of Portugal's banner." All 500 volunteers from Ireland and Scotland are lost with his ship on Galway's coast, outbound from Greenock, on Wednesday, November 28/29.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1886 (broadside, Bodleian Firth c.12(120))
KEYWORDS: grief marriage war drowning wreck Ireland Scotland lament baby wife
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
c. Dec 4, 1832 - The Rival, out of Greenock bound for Oporto in Portugal with 472 volunteer troops to support Dom Pedro in the Miguelista War, sinks off the Galway coast.
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Peacock, pp. 432-433, "The Brave Volunteers" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Pea432 (Partial)
Roud #9784
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth c.12(120), "The Brave Volunteers" ("One cold stormy night in the month of November"), H. Such (London), 1863-1885; also Harding B 26(74), "The Brave Volunteers"
NOTES: Greenock is on the west coast of Scotland across the North Channel from Ireland. Galway is on the west coast of Ireland.
[The song refers to the Miguelist] War of Two Brothers [and] an expedition from Britain supporting Pedro II [November 28, 1832 was a Wednesday ]
The real work on the historical basis of the ballad is in the following notes on other sources and historical references, posted between 3/8/2004 and 3/28/2004 to [the Ballad-L mailing list] by John Moulden. The references are used with his permission. In response to my [BS] query re the possible historical basis for the ballad John looked at his source texts to help narrow the date to the Miguelista War and then pinned down the likely actual disaster.
Begin John Moulden's notes:
Other Sources:
This appears on Irish printed ballad sheets and eight page song-books
The references I have are:
8 page song book:
The bonny light horseman together with The brave volunteers. The burial of General Sir John Moore. Steady she goes all's well. Waterford. Printed at W Kelly's. Cut - oval -horse (nose at right) , left foreleg raised, unsaddled, tail up, under tree. [Walter Kelly printer evidently worked in the 1830s - the sole firm date I have for him is 1839 but he was probably working as early as 1835.]
National Library of Ireland I6551 Song books Waterford (LO560) 4(3) British Library 11621aaa16 #9
Royal Irish Academy Irish song books Volume 1 12b'11 - 7
Queen's University Belfast Massey Gibson Collection Item 7:5
Ballad sheet:
Brave Volunteers The One cold stormy night in the month of November
Trinity College Dublin John Davis White Collection 189t1 273 7 verses [8 lines] [The White Collection was made around the 1860s to 70s - this ballad has no imprint]
According to Steve Roud's Broadside index it was also printed by Such (Catalogue Entry only) and a copy is in the British Library's Crampton Collection
Further to this: Kelly, Waterford printed this song in another 8 page book:
The loss of the Brave Volunteers together with Auld Lang Syne, Shule Agra, Molly Brannigan Waterford printed at W Kelly's, National Library of Ireland I6551 Song books Waterford (LO560) 33, Dublin City Library 821.04 (Song-books 1820-1845) No 12 Dix Donation 2588
British Library 11622 b 30 #16
Trinity College Dublin Early Books 66 u 165 - 35
Royal Irish Academy Irish song books Volume 1 12b'11 - 5
I copied the copy of this in DCL. It bears a text identical in all respects but for one word to the other Kelly printing (dreams for thoughts in the Line "Dark were my thoughts that night on my pillow." ) Kelly in both versions, has the ship sailing from Greenock on December 1st and foundering on "That night of the dark 21st of December" and it is said to have been a Saturday!
The Bodleian offerings are by Such (presumably the print referred to [above]) but the print by Haly of Hanover Street is another Irish printing, made in Cork. Such dates the event [November 28], Haly [November 29]. The range of (probable) dates I can offer for Haly in his occupancy of the Hanover Street Address are 1826-1852. He occupied those premises in 1821 but is listed as a Straw Hat Maker and by 1853, he (or his daughter) had moved to South Main Street.
Historical References:
I am fortunate to have a friend, Robert Anderson of Coleraine, who is an expert on matters maritime in Ireland and has good resources. On the basis that this happened, from the likely dates that the song was printed, in the range of years 1830-35 he searched the Shipwreck Index of Ireland and came up with a probability: The Rival, a brig, Captain John Wallace which had been hired to transport soldiers to Portugal, left the Clyde bound for Oporto and was reported lost on 4th December 1832.
I then used my own resources to investigate further. Edward J Bourke Shipwrecks of the Coast of Ireland vol 3. cites Lloyd's List and gives a sailing date for the Rival of 24th November. Straw bedding and casks of rum were washed ashore. Citing the Dublin Newspaper the Freeman's Journal Bourke says it's not clear how many were aboard and says "This wreck may be the subject of a ballad."
It seems fairly conclusive. More extensive newspaper search is indicated
End of John Moulden's notes.
Further confirmation is from two notes in the London Times archives
"Yesterday the Lusitania sailed from the Broomielaw, having on board 172 men for Oporto, to join forces under Dom Pedro. n the course of the present week another vessel, the Rival, will sail from the Broomielaw, having on board 472 men, destined for the same port and service. Glasgow Chronicle of Monday" [The Times Nov 16, 1832; pg. 2; Issue 15011; Start column: D 2048 words. Elec. Coll.: CS34627440. (Copyright 2002 The Gale Group)]
"Dublin, JULY 16. The Sarah, of Pwlheli, was lately fitted up with a diving-bell and suitable apparatus for the purpose of raising 11 vessels wrecked close to the Galway shore during the last severe winter, amongst which are understood to be the Thais, Falmouth packet; the Whitbread of London, the James of Tynemouth, the Rival of Glasgow, which had Don Pedro's troops on board ..." [The Times Jul 19, 1834; pg. 7; Issue 15534; Start column: C 854 words. Elec. Coll.: CS118514419.( Copyright 2002 The Gale Group)]
The following information has been supplied by Charlie Napier, President of the Clan Napier Society, and is quoted with his permission. While looking for information about the Miguelist War that might shed some light on "The Brave Volunteers" disaster I found no helpful references. The only promising reference was a book not available to me: "An Account Of The War In Portugal Between Don Pedro And Don Miguel" by Admiral Sir Charles Napier. Since Admiral Napier was a major player in that war and apparently remained popular with volunteers from Ireland and Scotland through the early Crimean War I hoped that he would have considered a loss like the Rival to be worth a comment.
Fortunately, I came across the Clan Napier Society website and asked if there might be a reference in the 1836 book to support what was, at the time, a speculation. Charlie Napier researched the matter at the National Library of Scotland. Here is his report:
1. The book is in two volumes, with approximately 300 pages in each and about 9 inches by 5 inches.
2. The book was published in 1836, only two years after the War finished.
3. There are no dates anywhere in the main text of the book, so it is very difficult to work out which year you are in if you just dip into the book.
4. Each volume has an Appendix which contains a number of transcripts of letters, proclamations and speeches. These are dated, which is a little help.
5. There is no index in either volume, although there are voluminous "Contents Lists" at the beginning of each volume. These were really no help in trying to find the relevant passage.
6. After skim-reading Volume I from the beginning, I eventually found what I think is the passage relevant to your question.
7. It starts about two thirds of the way down page 121 and finishes about one third down page 122. It reads as follows:
"On the 5th of January nearly two hundred Scotch arrived and were put under the orders of Major Shaw, who was much pleased with having the command of his countrymen. Six hundred had been recruited in Glasgow, four hundred of whom were wrecked on the coast of Ireland, and every soul perished. This was a severe blow to the cause at a time when both men and money were so much wanted at Oporto. On the 15th a reinforcement of two hundred Portuguese arrived from the islands, and four hundred French; the whole were safely disembarked under the lighthouse, whose provisions continued to be landed, though frequently interrupted by surf."
8. There was no mention of the name of the ship that was lost and I think that the year in question must be 1833. - BS
File: Pea432

Brave Wolfe [Laws A1]

DESCRIPTION: Disappointed in love, Wolfe gives his beloved a ring and leaves her. He lands at Quebec to battle the French. Wolfe is mortally wounded, but when he learns that a British victory is assured, he says, "I die with pleasure."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1759 (broadside)
KEYWORDS: death war courting battle separation Canada
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1727-1759 - Life of General James Wolfe, British commander at the Battle of Quebec
1754-1763 - French and Indian War (in Europe, the Seven Years' War, fought 1756-1763)
Sept 13, 1759 - Battle of Quebec. Wolfe and Montcalm killed.
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MA,NE,SE,So) Canada(Newf,Mar) Britain(England(South))
REFERENCES (20 citations):
Laws A1, "Brave Wolfe"
Randolph 664, "Brave Wolfe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Flanders/Olney, pp. 120-122, "Brave Wolfe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Flanders/Brown, pp. 55-57, "Brave Wolfe/General Wolfe" (2 texts, 1 tune; the first text is in half-stanzas and does not use the "Blacksmith" tune; the second is the Green Mountain Songster version)
Leach, pp. 716-719, "Brave Wolfe" (2 texts)
Friedman, p. 288, "Brave Wolfe" (1 text)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 44, "Bold Wolfe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 986-987, "Bold Wolfe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 21-23, "Brave Wolfe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/MacMillan 2, "Bold Wolfe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 46-49, "Brave Wolfe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Mackenzie 75, "Quebec" (1 text)
Warner 21, "The Ballad of Montcalm and Wolfe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Scott-BoA, pp. 36-38, "The Death of General Wolfe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Combs/Wilgus 43, pp. 153-155, "Brave Wolfe" (1 text)
Lomax-FSUSA 36, "Brave Wolfe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 16, "Brave Wolfe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 156-157, "Brave Wolfe" (1 text)
cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 478, "Brave Wolfe" (source notes only)
DT 358, BRAVWOLF* BRVEWLF2*
ST LA01 (Full)
Roud #961
BROADSIDES:
LOCSinging, as111310, "General Wolfe" ("Cheer up your hearts, young men, let nothing fright you"), Leonard Deming (Boston), 19C; also as102840, "The Death of General Wolf"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Blacksmith" (tune & meter)
cf. "The Dark-Eyed Sailor (Fair Phoebe and her Dark-Eyed Sailor)" [Laws N35] (tune)
cf. "General Wolfe" (subject)
SAME TUNE:
The Blacksmith (File: K146)
NOTES: When William Pitt the Elder came became Britain's Prime Minister in 1757 (the first man ever to hold that title, which was coined because there was no real cabinet role for him otherwise), he decided that the army -- newly involved in the Seven Years' War (known in the American colonies as the French and Indian War) -- needed a good dose of youthful energy. In 1755-1756, British results had been disastrous (see, e.g., the notes to "Braddock's Defeat"; also McNaught, pp. 40-41). The American colonies were in danger of being boxed in by the French, and the British were suffering losses -- mostly pinpricks, but losses -- all over Europe.
The Canadian expedition is an example of Pitt's determination to shake things up. Carroll, p. 61, notes that the French at this time were giving military commands to the nobility, competent or not, but "Pitt was constantly on the lookout for a sizzling young patriot willing to do the impossible -- to the devil with his ancestry." At the time of his appointment in 1758, North American army commander Jeffrey Amherst (1717-1797) was only forty years old, and newly jumped up from Lieutenant Colonel (Borneman, p. 100) and naval commander Edward Boscawen (1711-1761) was still on the young side of fifty (Bryant, p. 64).
Even in this company, James Wolfe (1727-1759) was almost a baby; he was commanding the equivalent of a division at the age of 30. The most famous story about him has to do with his appointment to the command in Quebec. A courtier, shocked, asked George II how he could appoint such a man. The courtier allegedly said that Wolfe was mad. King George replied, "Mad, is he? Then I wish he'd bite some of my other generals." (The exact words of this legend vary. I�m not sure where I met the above phrasing. Borneman, p. 207, has George II say "Then I hope he will bite some of my other generals!�)
According to Borneman, p. 105, Wolfe was "tall and slight -- one might say gangly [Carroll, p. 23, lists his height as 6'3"] -- with reddish hair and a constitution given to a host of chromic ailments. He had been born in Westerham, Kent, on January 2, 1727... In 1741, at the age of fourteen, young Wolfe was given a commission as a second lieutenant in his father's marine regiment, though he soon transferred to the army because of his seasickness (Carroll, p. 22). Two years later, at Dettingen in Bavaria, Wolfe... received his first real test in battle.... Two years after that, at Culloden against the last gasp of the Stuarts, his regiment against suffered the most, losing one-third of its men."
The assault on Canada began with an amphibious assault on the great fortress of Louisbourg in Cape Breton, a fortress and naval base which, if properly supplied, could prevent any expedition up the Saint Lawrence. Bryant, p. 64, says that 8000 sailors and 12,000 soldiers were involved in capturing the place; Wolfe, though not in charge, served bravely in the battle. (He also gained a reputation as a well-rounded man; Carroll, p. 27, notes that he was a flute player who kept up his practicing even in wartime. His cousin, the famous author Oliver Goldsmith, once sent him a dog -- Carroll, p. 39 -- though this was before Goldsmith achieved his real fame. And, as the ships headed for the landing above Quebec, he is reported to have said that he would rather have written Thomas Gray's "Elegy in a Country Churchyard" than capture Quebec -- Stacey, p. 122, though he doubts the detailed truth of the legend.)
Although Wolfe's illnesses are not a major subject of this song, they do seem to have affected his behavior: Since he thought he was gravely ill anyway, he probably didn't worry much about his survival. But no one eems to have figured out his problem.Carroll, p. 20, notes that he has been called a hypochondriac, though she dismissed the charge. Page 215 of Borneman, describing Wolfe's final illness, sounds to me rather like a venereal disease (Borneman, p. 215), though Carroll, p. 6, offers the opinion that it was kidney stones (on p. 37, she lists his full catalog of complaints as "fevers, scurvy, rheumatism, kidney stones, and possibly tuberculosis"). Keegan/Wheatcroft, p. 334, suspect consumption. Carroll, p.31, says that Wolfe's brother Ned died of consumption, so there is a likelihood that Wolfe himself would have been subject to the disease (not all people are), but in that case, it would be surprising if he took so long to contract it.
Although Amherst was in overall command of the attack on Louisbourg, it was Wolfe who led most of the tactical thrusts, including the initial landing west of the town (Borneman, pp. 108-114). Surrounded, and starving even before the siege started, the defenders surrendered on July 27, 1858 (Borneman, p. 116).
Louisbourg was the main French base in Canada. With it gone, the British could safely advance up the Saint Lawrence. They also could attack on other fronts -- and they did.
Much of the credit for the loss of Canada must go not to Wolfe himself but to the foolish enemy commanders. After the Battle of Fort Dequesne (for which see "Braddock's Defeat") and the victory at Ticonderoga, where the French had captured Fort William Henry and seem the Indians massacre defenders after they surrendered (Borneman, pp. 90-94), the French really had only to stand on the defensive and hold their ground (Brabant/Masters, p. 71, notes that the French success in the Champlain forced the British to give up on that area and turn to the St. Lawrence, which should have been much easier for the French to hold).
But the French had several problems. One was divided command. The governor of New France was Pierre de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil (who, according to Carroll, p. 47, cared only about Quebec, not about France, and who even in Quebec did little to control corruption; Carroll, pp. 48-49). The general-in-chief was an officer sent from France, the Marquis de Montcalm, who would fight Wolfe at Quebec. And the two didn't see eye to eye on anything (Borneman, pp. 82-83. According to Carroll, p. 43, Montcalm at one point commented on the inept administration in Quebec, "What a country! Here all the knaves grow rich and the honest men are ruined!"; she adds on p. 44 that he did not wish to go, but took the Canadian command out of duty.)
After the Battle of Fort Carrillon (or Ticonderoga -- the battle where Major Duncan Campbell was killed), Montcalm's prestige went sky-high (Keegan/Wheatcroft, p. 214, credit him with "virtually invent[ing] a new method of warfare"); he had, after all, defeated a much larger British force under Abercromby (Borneman, pp. 129-139). The fact that Abercromby had ordered a frontal attack on a strongly-defended position he had never seen was irrelevant. Montcalm was promoted over Vaudreuil, without really clarifying their relationship.
And that didn't solve the other problem of New France: The French had never really built a self-supporting colony, and there were shortages of food and other things (Borneman, pp. 98-99). In late 1758, the one thing Montcalm and Vaudreuil agreed on was that thing were close to collapse (Borneman, p. 189). And Montcalm was not a local to know how to deal with this fact; he tried to run a colonial war as if it were a European war, and failed badly. By 1759, the English had taken other forts besides Louisbourg, and the Quebec economy was being strained to the breaking point. Though most of Canada was still in French hands, there was a feeling that this was a last stand. Particularly since the British were attacking on several fronts.
Even though Amherst had been in charge at Louisbourg, he was relegated to the background in 1759, being handed command of the overall American theater. Wolfe was given command of the Quebec expedition -- a surprising appointment for a man who had only been made a colonel in 1757, and who had only had command of a brigade for one brief campaign (Stacey, p. 2).
Wolfe almost blew it by returning to England in the absence of orders (Borneman, pp. 204-205). But there was a reason: He was courting a woman named Katherine Lowther, and they became engaged during his time at home (Borneman, pp. 205-206. Carroll, p. 8, says that he had fallen in love three times; presumably this was love #3. We know little about the romance, though, since not one letter between them survives, according to Stacey, p. 123. He does report that she later became Duchess of Bolton). Wolfe then set out for his date with destiny.
The Battle of the Plains of Abraham is not really as much of a contest as is generally made out. Wolfe had 9000 men, of very high quality (Stacey, p. 5), though not all made it to the plateau; his opponent, Montcalm, only 4500 actually present in the field. Wolfe himself noted the quality difference: "Montcalm is at the head of a great number of bad soldiers and I am at the head of a small number of good ones," (Brown, p. 186).
Brumwell, p. 49, argues that Wolfe was relying on another advantage: A different fighting technique. British soldiers in the past had used a fire discipline going back to Marlborough a century before. This resulted in inaccurate fire and battle chaos. The new order made soldiers more effective in combat. Thus Wolfe probably thought his soldiers not just more disciplined than Montcalm's (which they certainly were) but also capable of inflicting more damage.
Wolfe's ability showed best in his ability to get his troops to the battlefield. Quebec is a very hard nut to crack -- the name itself is Algonquin for "river narrows" (Borneman, p. 208), and the city is atop a large triangular bluff with cliffs carved by rivers on two sides. The city is effectively impregnable from land attack except from the southwest (upstream), and completely immune to naval gunfire. Wolfe did manage to get some batteries erected on neighbouring heights, and they tossed in a few cannonballs, but they did trivial damage (Borneman, p. 211). So Wolfe's task was somehow to get his troops ashore in a position where they could get to the Plains of Abraham southwest of the city.
His first attempt, on July 31, was a disaster (Bryant, p. 64); Montcalm had twice as many troops in the theater as Wolfe; they were numerous enough that the French could man the banks of the Saint Lawrence at every useful landing place, and even though they were inferior soldiers, they had the advantage of fighting from land. That July 31 landing cost the British 443 men and accomplished nothing (Borneman, pp. 212-213).
There was no choice for it. Wolfe had to go above the town, even though it meant that the French might be able to cut his supply line (Borneman, pp. 213-214). Six weeks after the July fiasco, he had most of his troops upriver, and he proceeded to sneak his troops across the river and up an "impassable" cliff by night (Borneman, pp. 217-218). The admiral in charge of getting the troops to the foot of the cliff called the plan "the most hazardous and difficult task I ever engaged in" -- but he pulled it off (Borneman, pp. 218-219). It helped that the French were expecting to shift supplies by water that night, so they failed to note all the naval coming and goings (Stacey, p. 120). Apparently they were challenged by a small sentry post, but one of Wolfe's French-speaking officers bamboozled them (Stacey, p. 127). Some 4000 troops -- half of Wolfe's army -- managed to climb up to the Plains of Abraham. Finally they were in position to actually attack the city.
Needless to say, the line in the song about Montcalm and Wolfe meeting before the battle is false -- Wolfe would have had to have been truly insane to allow Montcalm more time to bring up troops. Carroll, p. 6, says in fact that the two never met in their lives. I wonder if the notion might not have arisen because they spent so much time dressing their line before the battle (Carroll, p. 15, says that this took an hour -- which is quite a delay for a maneuver that troops would have much experience in performing. Maybe Wolfe really did want his troops arranged "in a line so pretty").
By this time, Wolfe was in dreadful health (see the description above), and it may have encouraged some of his earlier errors in the campaign. But it was Montcalm who made the big mistake. He still had that two to one edge in numbers in the theater, and he could have tried to stand on the defensive. But he didn't. With perhaps 4500 men -- a quarter of his total forces -- he attacked Wolfe head-on on September 13 (Borneman, p. 221). This even though reinforcements were on the way and would have arrived in short order (Stacey, p. 169). In Montcalm's defence, he probably hoped to take advantage of the British disorganization after they climbed the cliffs (Brown, pp. 187-188). It might have seemed like a good idea -- if it had worked. Instead, the British regulars calmly awaited the assault, and tore them apart.
Wolfe had been hit in the wrist by then (Borneman, p. 221). But he wouldn't let it slow him down; he ordered a bayonet charge, and in leading it suffered fatal injuries, dying on the field of battle (Borneman, p. 222). There is some dispute about how many wounds he suffered; although many accounts say he was hit three times (wrist, then groin, then breast), Stacey, p. 149, observes that the groin wound ("an inch below the navel," according to the Gentleman's Magazine) would almost certainly have been crippling if real, and notes that Brigadier Townshend witnessed only two wounds, wrist and breast. In any case, he stayed with the colors after the wrist injury (which he bound up with a handkerchief), and was killed by the breast wound.
Leckie, p. 364, tells a story of Wolfe's last words which almost parallels the song. One of his men declared, "The run! See how they run!" Wolfe asked which side ran. "The enemy, sir. Egad, they give way everywhere!" Wolfe made few final orders, concluded,"Now, God be praised, I will die in peace!" -- and breathed his last. Stacey, p. 150, reports that the words came from the careful research of Captain Knox, and may be accurate -- but notes that there are other versions.
In terms of deaths of commanders, the battle was a draw; Montcalm too suffered a mortal wound (perhaps during the retreat; Stacey, p. 151) and died the day after the battle. But the ratio of casualties heavily favored the British (Borneman, p. 223, lists 60 British soldiers killed and 600 wounded; the French had 200 killed, 1200 wounded).
Not everyone was impressed with Wolfe's leadership in the campaign. Brebner/Masters, p. 71, declares, "The men who won the British victory have received too much attention, for students of warfare have demonstrated that their talents were moderate." Stacey, p. 170, notes that Lord Wolseley, the best British general of the late nineteenth century, regarded him as "never anything more than 'a good regimental officer.'" Stacey himself says that "His performance as a strategist... was sadly ineffective," and notes that he seemed unable to make a plan and stick with it. Even the strategy which finally worked, of landing above Quebec, Stacey notes on p. 172, was largely the idea of Wolfe's subordinates; his only real contribution was to choose the landing point (closer to the town than the brigadiers would have chosen; Wolfe's plan was more likely to win big but also carried greater risks, and Stacey, p. 173, thinks the plan unsound. I'm frankly not convinced).
Keegan/Wheatcroft, p. 334, "Wolfe was a safely dead hero, and many of the less attractive features of his personality were forgotten. Had he lived, he might have been the brilliant general which the British so desperately needed in the War of American Independence; but perhaps (more likely) he would have been yet another of those insubordinate generalswhose wild schemes were to ruin the British cause."
The apotheosis of Wolfe began quickly. The most famous painting of his death is by Benjamin West, who painted several versions -- with certain officers allegedly paying West to include them in the picture! (Brumwell, p. 53). Indeed. the fame of Wolfe and of the painting was so great that a Wedgwood pottery series incorporated it! (Chandler/Beckett, p. 111, although if I were Wolfe, I'm not sure I'd have wanted people eating off a picture of me dying. Not sure I'd want to be the eater, either).
After Montcalm's defeat, Governor Vaudreuil told the new commander at Quebec City to surrender once his supplies were exhausted (Borneman, p. 223). That took place on September 18.
The French around Quebec could perhaps have fought on -- Borneman, pp. 223-224, gives arguments why the could and perhaps should have. Indeed, the coming April, a force from Montreal came down to attack Quebec, and the British officer in charge after Wolfe's death emulated Montcalm, attacked from a poor position, and was whipped back into the town (Borneman, pp. 235-237). But the French government was too busy at home to support those remote efforts, and after its defeat at Quiberon Bay (for which see "Bold Hawke") had no way to support the colony anyway.
The population stopped supporting the militia, and it became almost impossible to put a strong force in the field. The British forces under Amherst came at Montreal from several directions. Montreal surrendered in 1760 (Borneman, pp. 251-252), and Britain ruled Canada.
It took a few more years to settle the Seven Years War -- peace was not made until 1763, and there were some Indian problems even after that -- but little that happened after than mattered much. The Treaty of Paris did some small shuffling around of European and Caribbean territories, but the main result was to put Canada in British hand (Borneman, p. 279).
There was one other side effect. Pitt had beaten the rest of the world -- but he had spent a vast amount of money doing it, and the Treasury needed to make it up. Pitt himself certainly would not have placed that burden on the colonies (see Borneman, p. 298) -- but Pitt had been out of power for four years by then. George III's new ministry, headed by people like Bute and Grenville, passed laws such as the Stamp Act to get the money out of the Americans. The result would cost the British more than the taxes ever gained them. For further details, see "Taxation of America." - RBW
While the Bodleian collection has a number of broadsides for other ballads on the death of General Wolfe it has none for this one. It has:
* Bodleian, Firth c.14(14), "Death of General Wolfe" ("In a mouldering cave where the wretched retreat"), J. Pitts (London), 1802 and 1819 ; also Harding B 11(832), Firth c.14(13) View 1 of 2, "The Death of General Wolfe"; Harding B 25(718), "Death of Wolfe"
* Bodleian, Harding B 25(718), "Gen. Wolfe's Song" ("How stands the glass around"), W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also Johnson Ballads 2584, "General Wolfe's Song"; Harding B 28(7), "How Stands the Glass Around"; Harding B 11(1588), Harding B 25(866), 2806 c.18(146), "How Stands the Glass Around?" [Digital Tradition "How Stands the Glass Around (Why, Soldiers, Why?)"]
* Bodleian, Firth c.14(12), "Wolfe and Saunders" ("We'll gang abroad in a king's ship, and lead a soldier's life"), J. Pitts (London), 1802-1819
* Bodleian, Harding B 25(716), "General Wolfe" ("Now general Wolfe to his men did say"), J. Grundy (Worcester), 18C; also Harding B 25(717), "General Wolfe"; Harding B 28(208), "General Wolf" [Digital Tradition "Bold General Wolfe (3)"]
* Bodleian, Firth c.14(16), "Britain in Tfars [sic] for the Loss of the Brave General Wolfe ("If ancient Romans did lament"), J. Jennings (London) , 1790-1840
* Bodleian, Firth c.14(11), "The Siege of Quebec"("Sound your silver trumpets, now, brave boys"), unknown, n.d.
My other usual online net broadside sources have none at all for other ballads on the death of General Wolfe. This all seems to support Mackenzie: "In both England and America the death of young General Wolfe in 1759 stimulated the ballad-makers to the production of songs of admiration and sorrow. [Mackenzie 75] is evidently of American composition."
Lines are similar to Opie-Oxford2 270, "Brave news is come to town" (earliest date in Opie-Oxford2 is 1842).
Firth c.18(130): "Strange news has come to me, strange news is carried, And now it's all the talk, my love he is married."
Opie-Oxford2 270: "Brave news is come to town, Brave news is carried; Brave news is come to town, Jemmy Dawson's married." - BS
Bibliography

Borneman: Walter R. Borneman, The French & Indian War: Deciding the Fate of North America, Harper Collins, 2006
Brebner/Masters: J. Bartlett Brebner, Canada, revised and enlarge by Donald C. Masters, University of Michigan Press, 1970
Brown: Craig Brown, editor, The Illustrated History of Canada, Key Porter, 1987-2000
Brumwell: Stephen Brumwell, Wolfe's Men, article in History Today magazine, September, 2009
Bryant: Samuel W. Bryant, The Sea and the States: A Maritime History of the United States, Crowell, 1947
Carroll: Joy Carroll, Montcalm & Wolfe; their Lives, Their Times, and the Fate of a Continent, Firefly, 2004
Chandler/Beckett: David Chandler, general editor; Ian Beckett, associate editor, The Oxford History of the British Army, 1994 (I use the 1996 Oxford paperback edition)
Keegan/Wheatcroft: John Keegan and Andrew Wheatcroft, Who's Who in Military History from 1453, 1976, 1987 (I use the 1991 LPR reprint)
Leckie: Robert Leckie, A Few Acres of Snow: The Saga of the French and Indian Wars, 1999 (I use the 2006 Castle reprint). Note: I found several major errors in the very first pages of this book, and have tried to use it only for matters not found elsewhere.
McNaught: Kenneth McNaught, The Pelican History of Canada, Pelican, 1969, 1982
Stacey: C. P. Stacey, Quebec, 1859: The Siege and the Battle, Macmillan Canada, 1959, 1966

Last updated in version 2.5
File: LA01

Braw Black Jug, The

See Good Ale (I) (File: K273)

Braw Irish Lad, The

See Limerick Races (File: GrD81751)

Braw Servant Lasses, The

DESCRIPTION: "Ye decent auld women, I'll sing you a song" to complain about the follies of the young. They dress up, go out "like a ship in full sail," visit the church but ignore what is said -- and end up pregnant. The singer admits being a 63-year-old bachelor
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: clothes vanity pregnancy age bachelor
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Greig 98, pp. 1-2, "The Braw Servan' Lasses" (1 text)
GreigDuncan3 654, "The Servan' Lasses" (7 texts, 4 tunes)
Ord, pp. 275-276, "The Braw Servant Lasses" (1 text)
Roud #5597
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Meditations of an Old Bachelor (The Good Old-Fashioned Girl)" (subject)
cf. "The Hills of Glenorchy" (tune, per Greig)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
I Am an Aul' Bachelor
NOTES: I'm tempted to create a keyword "sour-grapes." - RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
File: Ord275

Bread and Cheese to Rorie

DESCRIPTION: "Bread and cheese to Rorie, For doin o't, for doin o't And cheese and bread to Rorie, To do't again, to do't again again"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1917 (GreigDuncan8)
KEYWORDS: food humorous nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan8 1878, "Bread and Cheese to Rorie" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Roud #13571
NOTES: The current description is all of the GreigDuncan8 fragment.
GreigDuncan8: "The tune is the well-known fiddle tune. It was sung widely to the above, the words being coarse." [I don't recognize the tune.] - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD81878

GSPLITRBalladIndex.HTMLGSplit Archive&{FCCE7D5C-7BB5-4EC3-B04B-4F0350F5B7B7}�4��4�

Bold William Taylor (I)

Bold William Taylor (II)

Bold Wolfe

Bold, Brave Bonair, A

Boll Weevil Blues, The

Boll Weevil Song

Boll Weevil, The [Laws I17]

Bollochy Bill the Sailor

Bolsum Brown

Bon Vin, Le (The Good Wine)

Bonaparte

Bonaparte on St. Helena

Bonaparte's Farewell

Bonavist Line, The

Bonavista Harbour

Boney

Boney on the Isle of St. Helena

Boney Was a Warrior

Boney's Defeat

Bonhomme Tombe de L'Arbre, Le (The Fellow Falls from the Tree)

Bonhomme! Bonhomme!

Bonnet o' Blue

Bonnet o' Blue, The

Bonnet of Blue, The

Bonnet sae Blue, The

Bonnets o' Blue, The

Bonnie Annie [Child 24]

Bonnie Banks o' Airdrie, The

Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond, The

Bonnie Banks o' Ugie, The

Bonnie Banks of the Virgie, O, The

Bonnie Barbara, O

Bonnie Bell the Bravity

Bonnie Bennachie

Bonnie Betsy

Bonnie Black Bess

Bonnie Blue Flag, The

Bonnie Bogie

Bonnie Bonnie Banks of the Virgie-O, The

Bonnie Bower, The

Bonnie Boy I Loved, The

Bonnie Braes o' Turra

Bonnie Breist-knots, The

Bonnie Brier Bush, The

Bonnie Broom-Fields, The

Bonnie Buchairn

Bonnie Farday

Bonnie Fisher Lass, The

Bonnie George Campbell [Child 210]

Bonnie Glasgow Green

Bonnie Highland Laddie

Bonnie Hind, The [Child 50]

Bonnie House o Airlie, The [Child 199]

Bonnie James Campbell

Bonnie Jean

Bonnie Jean O' Aberdeen, She Lang'd for a Baby

Bonnie Jean o' Bethelnie

Bonnie Jean o' Foggieloan

Bonnie Jeanie Cameron

Bonnie Jeanie Shaw

Bonnie Jeannie Deans

Bonnie Jeannie o Bethelnie

Bonnie John Seton [Child 198]

Bonnie Johnnie Campbell

Bonnie Johnnie Lowrie

Bonnie Kellswater

Bonnie Lad That Handles the Plough, The

Bonnie Laddie, But Far Awa, A

Bonnie Laddie, Hieland Laddie

Bonnie Lass Among the Heather

Bonnie Lass o' Benachie, The

Bonnie Lass o' Fyvie, The

Bonnie Lass of Fyvie, The (Pretty Peggy-O)

Bonnie Lass Owre the Street

Bonnie Lassie O

Bonnie Lassie, Braw Lassie, Faur Are Ye Gaun?

Bonnie Lassie, Come to the North Hielands

Bonnie Lassie's Answer, The

Bonnie Light Horseman, The

Bonnie Lyndale