Dying Aviator, The

DESCRIPTION: The aviator has crashed and is surrounded by the refuse of the wreck. He advises his comrades to gather the sundry pieces which have pierced him; "there's a lot of good parts in this wreck." He is granted admission to heaven, since the Air Force is Hell
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1968
KEYWORDS: parody technology pilot flying
FOUND IN: Australia US
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Meredith/Anderson, pp.142-143, "The Dying Aviator" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fahey-Eureka, pp. 228-229, "The Dying Aviator" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sandburg, pp. 436-437, "Wrap Me Up in My Tarpaulin Jacket and The Handsome Young Airman" (2 text, 1 tune, with the "B" text going here and the "A" text being "Wrap Me Up...")
Lomax-FSNA 234, "Stand to Your Glasses" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, TARPJKT2*
Roud #3454
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Wrap Me Up in My Tarpaulin Jacket" (tune & meter)
NOTES: Although clearly a parody of "Wrap Me Up in My Tarpaulin Jacket," Meredith and Anderson claim there is a British version sung to "My Bonnie." Lomax's version was collected among U.S. troops in Korea. - RBW
File: MA142

Dying Bagman, The

See Wrap Me Up in my Tarpaulin Jacket (File: FR439)

Dying Boy, The

DESCRIPTION: "On a summer day as the sun was setting... A young boy lay on a bed of fever.... I am dying, mother, I am surely dying, And Hell is my awful doom...." The young man heard God's voice, but chose to go sporting with his friends. Now he pays the price
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1941 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: death farewell Hell youth mother
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Randolph 597, "The Dying Boy" (1 text)
Roud #7552
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Death is a Melancholy Call" [Laws H5] (theme)
cf. "Wicked Polly" [Laws H6] (plot)
File: R597

Dying British Sergeant, The

DESCRIPTION: The British soldier recalls sailing to America to suppress the rebels. Told to expect easy duty and a swift victory, the soldiers instead find an implacable enemy; "Freedom or death! was all their cry." The singer is mortally wounded and bids farewell
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1931
KEYWORDS: war death patriotic
FOUND IN: US(MA,NE)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Warner 10, "The British Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fuson, p. 195, "Our Fleet," "Our British Troops," "American Boys" (3 fragments, first three of seven "Quatrains on the War"; the date in "Our Fleet" should of course be 1776, not 1770)
Scott-BoA, pp. 69-71, "The Dying Redcoat" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, DYSARGE* DYSARGE2*
Roud #2801
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The British Soldier (I)" (subject)
NOTES: As "The Dying Sergeant," his song is item dA29 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW
File: Wa010

Dying Californian (I), The

DESCRIPTION: The singer tells a comrade he is dying. He confesses to a firm belief in God. He sends messages to his father and mother. He wishes his wife to know that he thought of her while dying, and bids her care for his children
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1850
KEYWORDS: dying farewell religious
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) US(Ap,MA,MW,Ro,So) Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES (14 citations):
GreigDuncan8 1790, "Lay Up Brother Near Brother" (1 text)
Belden, pp. 350-351, "The Dying Californian" (1 text)
Randolph 183, "The Dying Californian" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 179-182, "The Dying Californian" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 183)
Eddy 126, "The Dying Californian" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hudson 92, pp. 221-222, "The Dying Californian" (1 text)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 177, "Californian Brothers" (1 text)
FSCatskills 86, "The Dying Californian" (1 text, 1 tune)
Scott-BoA, pp. 187-189, "The Dying Californian" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fife-Cowboy/West 15, "The California Brothers" (1 text, 1 tune)
LPound-ABS, 90, pp. 191-193, "The Dying Californian" (1 text)
JHCox 49, "The Dying Californian" (1 text)
cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 478, "The Dying Californian" (source notes only)
DT, DYINGCAL
Roud #2283
BROADSIDES:
LOCSheet, sm1855 580660, "Dying Californian" or "The Brother's Request" ("Lie up nearer, brother, nearer"), Oliver Ditson (Boston), 1855 (tune)
LOCSinging, sb10096b, "The Dying Californian" ("Lay up nearer, brother, nearer, for my limbs are growing cold"), J. Andrews (New York), 1853-1859; also as103250, as10325a, "The Dying Californian"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Dying Mine Brakeman (The True and Trembling Brakeman)" [Laws G11] (lyrics)
cf. "The Dying Californian (II)" (theme)
SAME TUNE:
The Dying Fifer (File: BrII227) (per broadside Bodleian Harding B 31(29))
NOTES: This appears, under its own name, in the Sacred Harp, credited to "Ball and Drinkard 1859." - RBW
Broadside LOCSheet sm1855 580660 has the cover sheet attribution "Poetry from the New England Diadem Music by A.L. Lee"
Broadside LOCSinging sb10096b: 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.
Broadside LOCSheet, sm1857 620570, "Prayer of the Dying Californian," Oliver Ditson (Boston), 1857 (tune) shares lines with "The Dying Californian." The cover sheet attribution is "Arranged from the Spanish of Marechio by E. Williams Denison." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: R183

Dying Californian (II), The

DESCRIPTION: "Comrades come gather round me for I am dying now." He has messages for father and mother. He sends his ring back to Mary but keeps "a token, she gave it me, from which I cannot part ... I must slumber here alone on San Francisco shore"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1960 (Creighton-SNewBrunswick)
KEYWORDS: dying request father mother wife separation
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 58, "The Dying Californian" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2283
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Dying Californian (I)" (theme)
NOTES: Roud does not distinguish this song (which seems to have been known only in Canada) from the much more popular "Dying Californian (I)." - RBW
File: CrSNB058

Dying Cowboy of Rim Rock Ranch

DESCRIPTION: The dying cowboy is "Riding away... Where the sun is sinking low." He bids goodbye to all parts of the cowboy's life -- the sounds, the sunrises, the girl he loves. He bids his comrades to remember him "when you're far from the rimrock."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1966
KEYWORDS: cowboy death farewell
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Fife-Cowboy/West 120, "The Dying Cowboy of Rim Rock Ranch" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Roud #11098
File: FCW120

Dying Cowgirl, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer goes west as a youth. Once there, he turns to a life of cattle rustling (perhaps chasing strays?). One night, in a storm, he finds a cowgirl helpless on the ground. She says she will meet the singer in heaven, and dies
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1933 (recording, Gene Autry)
KEYWORDS: cowboy death parting love
FOUND IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
McNeil-SFB1, pp. 146-147, "The Dying Cowgirl" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, DYCOWGRL*
Roud #4775
RECORDINGS:
Gene Autry, "The Dying Cowgirl" (Conqueror 8193, 1933)
NOTES: McNeil believes -- with justice -- that the Florida text cited here (collected from Louise Sanders of Perry, Florida) is incomplete, but can find no other texts. One may speculate that the girl was fatally wounded while trying to protect her herd from the singer's band of rustlers. - RBW
File: MN1146

Dying Crap Shooter's Blues

See Saint James Infirmary (File: San228)

Dying Drunkard, The

DESCRIPTION: "What a terrible doom I have met. My teeth are now chattering, my eyes almost dead." "Oh, terrible, terrible doom of despair, My soul, you are landing I do not know where." At first, drinking was fun. Now the singer is dying; he warns others of drink
AUTHOR: John Daniel Vass
EARLIEST DATE: 1956 (collected by Shellans from John Daniel Vass)
KEYWORDS: drink warning death nonballad family
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Shellans, pp. 56-57, "The Dying Drunkard" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7321
File: Shel056

Dying Fifer, The

DESCRIPTION: "When the battle was hot and raging Shot and shell around did fly... When I heard a piercing cry." The ship's fifer is mortally wounded. He sends dying messages to his mother and the rest of his family
AUTHOR: C. G. Wright?
EARLIEST DATE: before 1865 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 31(29))
KEYWORDS: death battle sailor
FOUND IN: US(SE) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
BrownII 227, "The Dying Fifer" (1 text)
Smith/Hatt, pp. 94-95, "Our Fifer Boy" (1 text)
Roud #1977
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 31(29), "Our Fifer-Boy," H. De Marsan (New York), 1861-1864
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "James Bird" [Laws A5] (tune)
cf. "The Dying Californian (I)" (tune, per broadside Bodleian Harding B 31(29))
NOTES: Broadside Bodleian Harding B 31(29) seems to be exactly the source for Smith/Hatt, word-for-word, including parenthesis and headnote "Composed by C.G. Wright, on board the U.S. Steam-ship Mississippi, (New Orleans.) Air: James Bird; or Dying Californian."
Broadside Bodleian Harding B 31(29): 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: BrII227

Dying From Home and Lost (Companions, Draw Nigh)

DESCRIPTION: "Companions draw nigh, They say I must die... Only a sigh, only a tear, Only if sister or mother was here Only a hope to comfort and cheer, Only a word from the Book so dear." The dying singer seeks some sort of Christian comfort before the end
AUTHOR: S. M. Brown
EARLIEST DATE: 1892 (Songs of Zion)
KEYWORDS: death Bible religious
FOUND IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Randolph 609, "Companions, Draw Nigh" (1 text plus an excerpt, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 429-431, "Companions, Draw Nigh" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 609A)
BrownIII 61, "Dying From Home and Lost" (1 text)
Roud #7547
NOTES: Randolph reprints a clipping that allegedly explains this song. A young man was fatally wounded in a construction accident. He asked for a hymn, or for the reading of some Bible verses; neither could be supplied (the other workers knew no relevant songs, and no Bible was at hand). The young man lamented his death away from home, family, and the comforts of church.
It should be noted that neither the date nor the name of the young man is supplied. - RBW
File: R609

Dying Girl's Message, The

DESCRIPTION: "Raise the window, mother darling, For no air can harm me now." The dying girl remembers the man who falsely courted her. She bids her mother return the ring he gave her with her blessing. She sees Jesus, bids farewell (and dies)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: death love betrayal ring
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Belden, pp. 217-218, "The Dying Girl's Message" (2 texts)
Randolph 707, "The Dying Girl's Message" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3530
RECORDINGS:
Mabel Cawthorne, "The Dying Girl" (on FolkVisions2)
Vernon Dalhart, "The Dying Girl's Message" (Columbia 15051-D, 1926; rec. 1925.) (Brunswick 2927, 1925/Supertone S-2010, 1930)
Sid Harkreader, "The Dying Girl's Message" (Vocalion 15075, 1925)
Asa Martin, "The Dying Girl's Message" (Supertone 9179, 1928)
Ernest V. Stoneman, "The Dying Girl's Farewell" (OKeh 40384, 1925) (Victor 21129, 1927)

CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Dying Nun" (tune, meter, floating lyrics)
NOTES: Belden suggests a connection between this and Tennyson's "The May Queen" -- based seemingly on the meter. This strikes me as an extreme stretch. "The May Queen" has a few incidental lyric similarities, and mentions a lover dying for love -- but the speaker is not the one dying; she is unrepentantly exultant that she is to be the Queen o' the May. - RBW
File: R707

Dying Hobo, The [Laws H3]

DESCRIPTION: An old hobo lies dying as winter approaches. He speaks of the "better land... where handouts grow on bushes" that he is destined for, sends a message to his girlfriend, and dies. His partner "swiped his (coat and hat) and caught an eastbound train"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (Gray)
KEYWORDS: railroading train death friend robbery
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MW,NE,SE,So,SW)
REFERENCES (11 citations):
Laws H3, "The Dying Hobo"
Gray, pp. 102-103, "The Dying Hobo" (1 text)
Cohen-LSRail, pp. 367-372, "The Dying Hobo" (1 text plus a large collection of alternate verses, 1 tune)
Randolph 837, "The Dying Hobo" (1 text)
BrownIII 360, "The Dying Hobo" (2 texts plus mention of 1 more)
Hudson 112, pp. 251-252, "The Dying Hobo"; 113, p. 252, "The Hobo's Death" (2 texts)
Lomax-FSNA 219, "Around a Western Water Tank" (1 text, 1 tune)
Spaeth-WeepMore, p. 131, "The Dying Hobo" (1 text)
JHCox 56, "The Dying Hobo" (1 text)
cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 478, "The Dying Hobo" (source notes only)
DT 644, DYINHOBO LTTLSTRM
Roud #1937
RECORDINGS:
[Richard] Burnett & [Leonard] Rutherford, "Little Stream of Whiskey" (Columbia 15133-D, 1927; rec. 1926; on BurnRuth01, on KMM)
Travis B. Hale & E. J. Derry, Jr., "The Dying Hobo" (Victor 20796, 1927)
Kelly Harrell, "The Dying Hobo" (Victor 20527, 1926; on KHarrell01 -- a rather strange version combining the first verse of "The Dying Hobo" with a story, taken from "George Collins," of a girl mourning her dead lover)
Dick Justice, "One Cold December Day" (Brunswick 367, 1929 -- like the Harrell recording, this starts with a "Dying Hobo" verse, then parallels "George Collins")
George Lay, "The Dying Hobo" (AFS 12,050 A19, 1959; on LC61)
McMichen's Melody Makers, "The Dying Hobo" (Columbia 15464-D, 1929; rec. 1928)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" (lyrics)
cf. "The Hobo's Last Ride" (plot)
NOTES: Several sources list this as a parody of "Bingen on the Rhine." Laws, however, does not mention the connection; perhaps he knew versions with different tunes? - RBW
File: LH03

Dying Hogger, The

DESCRIPTION: "A hogger on his deathbed lay, His life was oozing fast away...." He does not want a tombstone, merely memorials of his career. He asks to be buried in the shade of the watertank, "And put within my cold, still hand, A monkey-wrench and the old oil can."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: railroading train death burial lastwill
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Sandburg, pp. 186-187, "The Dying Hogger" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13615
File: San186

Dying Irish Boy, The

DESCRIPTION: Burt is wounded in battle at Santiago Bay, Cuba, "while Victoria shall reign." He tells his friend, Bill O'Shea, to break the news of his death to his mother and to tell O'Shea's sister Mary that he still loves her.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1960 (Leach-Labrador)
KEYWORDS: army battle death Ireland friend mother soldier
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Feb 15, 1898 - destruction of the U. S. S. Maine
Apr 19, 1898 - Although the Spanish have agreed to all American demands, including peace with the Cuban rebels, the U. S. issues a sort of preliminary declaration of war, listing U. S. goals
Apr 24, 1898 - Spain declares war on the U. S.; the U. S. will next day do the same, backdating it to April 21
May 19, 1898 - The Spanish fleet enters Santiago Bay
July 2, 1898 - The Spanish fleet at Santiago, acting under orders from Madrid, sails out into the teeth of the American fleet and is destroyed
July 10, 1898 - U. S. troops attack Santiago
July 17, 1898 - U. S. troops capture Santiago
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Leach-Labrador 44, "The Dying Irish Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST LLab044 (Partial)
Roud #9988
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Farewell to Slieve Gallen" (plot, themes, setting)
NOTES: The ballad must have originally referred to "Columbia" rather than "Victoria." - BS
Or, just possibly, "Victoria" is correct and "Santiago Bay" is wrong, meaning the song might date to some other battle in British history during the reign of Victoria; other than the first verse, there are no real time or place references. - RBW
File: LLab044

Dying Miller, The

See The Miller's Will (The Miller's Three Sons) [Laws Q21] (File: LQ21)

Dying Mine Brakeman, The (The True and Trembling Brakeman) [Laws G11]

DESCRIPTION: The young mine train motorman is horrified to discover that, because he could not stop in time, he has run over his brakeman. The dying brakeman speaks to his sister and sends messages to his parents
AUTHOR: Orville J. Jenks (?)
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (recording, Aulton Ray)
KEYWORDS: mining death farewell family
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1915 - Death of the brakeman
FOUND IN: US(Ap,So)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Laws G11, "The Dying Mine Brakeman (The True and Trembling Brakeman)"
Cohen-LSRail, pp. 257-260, "The True and Trembling Brakeman" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph 695, "The True and Trembling Brakeman" (1 text)
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 92, "True and Trembling Brakeman" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 783, TREMBRAK*
Roud #8599
RECORDINGS:
Cliff Carlisle, "True and Trembling Brakeman" (Superior 2669/Champion 16295 [as the Lullaby Larkers], 1931; Champion 45029, 1935; Montgomery Ward M-8036, 1939)
Jess Johnson, "The Dying Brakeman" (Champion 16255, 1931)
Carter Family, "The Reckless Motorman" (Decca 5722, 1938)
Bradley Kincaid, "True and Trembling Brakeman" (Melotone 12184, 1931; Conqueror 8091, 1933; Vocalion 02683, 1934; Panachord [UK] 25901, 1937; Polk 9064/Panachord [Australia] P-12184, both n.d.)
Paul Mason, "True and Trembling Brakeman" (OKeh 45479, 1930)
New Lost City Ramblers, "True and Trembling Brakeman" (on NLCR05)
Aulton Ray, "True and Trembling Brakeman" (Gennett 6129/Herwin 75552/Champion 15277/Challenge 269/Bell 1186 [as Carl Bunch]/Superior 385, all 1927)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Dying Californian (I)" (words)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Reckless Motorman
NOTES: Reportedly written by Jenks in the three months following the accident in 1915. Jenks was one of those involved in taking the brakeman's body from the wreckage. Cohen observes that this may be a case where a singer took traditional materials and reworked them, but there is no clear evidence of a version of this song (as opposed to "The Dying Californian" and its relatives) predating Jenks. - RBW
File: LG11

Dying Minister, The

See The Dying Preacher (Hick's Farewell) (File: R617)

Dying Newsboy, The

See Poor Little Joe (The Dying Newsboy) (File: R716)

Dying Nun, The

DESCRIPTION: The dying nun asks that the window be opened so that she can feel the cool air and see the sky. She remarks that it is hard to die. She thanks Sister Martha for her care. She cherishes the ring she received from Douglas, and says she will join him soon
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1912 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: death clergy reunion separation love ring
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Belden, pp. 218-219, "The Dying Nun" (1 text plus mention of 1 more, 1 tune)
Randolph 706, "The Dying Nun" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 455-457, "The Dying Nun" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 706A)
Abrahams/Foss, pp. 124-125, "The Dying Nun" (1 text, 1 tune)
cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 478, "The Dying Nun" (source notes only)
Roud #3532
RECORDINGS:
Foreman Family, "The Dying Nun" (Victor V-40165, 1929)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Dying Girl's Message" (tune, meter, floating lyrics)
File: R706

Dying Outlaw, The

DESCRIPTION: "Come gather around me, my comrades and friends, The sun it is setting on life's short day.... Oh bury me on the lone prairie Where the hooves of the horses shall fall." The singer, killed by a "red-coated foeman," asks that his pony be buried with him
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1958
KEYWORDS: death burial outlaw police
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1873 - Establishment of the North West Mounted Police, who wore red jackets (hence the "red-coated foeman" of the song)
FOUND IN: Canada(West)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 139-141, "The Dying Outlaw (1 text, 1 tune)
Fife-Cowboy/West 118, "The Dying Outlaw" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #10957
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Streets of Laredo" [Laws B1] and references there
NOTES: A Canadian member of the "Dying Cowboy/Unofrtunate Rake" family. Despite the line in the refrain, it does not seem to have been influenced by "Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie." - RBW
File: FMB139

Dying Ploughboy, The

DESCRIPTION: Singer, a ploughboy, feels a blood vessel burst in his chest; although his doctor tells him he'll be all right, he senses death is near. He bids farewell to his friends, his team of horses, and his plough
AUTHOR: Rev. R. H. Calder?
EARLIEST DATE: 1908 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: disease farewell death dying farming horse friend worker
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Greig 26, p. 2, "The Term" (1 text)
GreigDuncan3 700, "The Term" (3 texts, 2 tunes)
MacSeegTrav 108, "The Dying Ploughboy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ord, p. 235, "The Dying Ploughboy" (1 text)
Roud #2514
NOTES: Ord lists this as by the Reverend Calder of Glenlivet, who granted permission to print it. The curiosity, in that case, is how MacColl and Seeger found a tune for the thing, and how it came to be so widespread. Also, what are the odds of Greig picking up anonymous versions of a song written by a man still living when Ord published? - RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
File: McCST108

Dying Preacher, The (Hick's Farewell)

DESCRIPTION: "The time is swiftly rolling on When I must faint and die, My body to the dust returned And there forgotten lie." The dying preacher bids farewell to his wife and remembers his family fondly. He bids his fellow preachers to do their work well
AUTHOR: probably Rev. Berryman Hicks 1778-1839)
EARLIEST DATE: 1835 (Southern Harmony)
KEYWORDS: religious clergy death farewell
FOUND IN: US(Ap,SE,So)
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Randolph 617, "The Dying Preacher" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownIII 530, "Hicks' Farewell" (1 text)
Fuson, pp. 73-74, "Hick's Farewell" (1 text)
SharpAp 122, "Hicks's Farewell" (6 texts, 6 tunes)
DT, DYPREACH* HCKSFRWL*
ADDITIONAL: Original Sacred Harp, 1971 Denson Revision, p. 83, "The Dying Minister" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2869
RECORDINGS:
Dillard Chandler, "Hick's Farewell" (on OldLove)
Texas Gladden, "Hicks' Farewell" (on LomaxCD1702)
Doc Watson & Gaither Carlton, "Hick's Farewell" (on FOTM, WatsonAshley01)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Preacher's Legacy" (theme)
cf. "The Iron Mountain Baby" (tune)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Minister's Last Goodbye
NOTES: In the Sacred Harp (which has a much-shortened text), this is called "The Dying Minister" and the tune is said to have been written by E. Dumas in 1854.
The attribution of this song to someone named Hicks seems strong, given the number of versions with his name in the title, but of course there were a lot of, um, hick preachers out there. The most famous Hicks in American religious history is surely Elias Hicks (1748-1830), a Quaker who eventually caused a split within that denomination. But this *really* doesn't sound like the work of a Quaker.
That leaves Berryman Hicks, whose career was researched by Jackson (White Spirituals in the Southern Uplands, pp. 203-205). He was a "noted revivalist," and a poet and violinist. Though this attribution too has its problems; he became "financially embarrassed for a large amount," and was apparently dropped from his (Baptist-affiated) church. On the other hand, that might explain the cranky tone of the piece.
The mid-nineteenth century seems to have witnessed a number of these "Preacher's Confession" sorts of pieces. No doubt it was the usual situation of the elderly frowning on the degenerate morals of the young. - RBW
Properly speaking, this should be "Hicks's Farewell." - PJS the nitpicker
And I thought I was the only one who remembered such things! Of course, this particular error is more that of the transcriber than the singer.... - RBW
"More sung against than singing?" - PJS
File: R617

Dying Queen, The

See Queen Eleanor's Confession [Child 156] (File: C156)

Dying Ranger, The [Laws A14]

DESCRIPTION: A cowboy/soldier tells of his sister left alone at home. His comrades promise to treat her as their sister. The wounded man dies happy. (Other details occur in localized versions; the verses -- and the dying hero -- vary widely)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1910
KEYWORDS: death family farewell
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MA,So,SE) Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES (12 citations):
Laws A14, "The Dying Ranger"
Belden, pp. 397-398, "The Dying Cowboy" (1 text)
Randolph 188, "The Dying Cowboy" (2 texts, 2 tunes) AND 216, "The Dying Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune)
Doerflinger, pp. 274-276, "The Dying Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune)
FSCatskills 19, "The Shades of the Palmetto" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Ohrlin-HBT 50, "Ranger's Prayer" (1 text, not recognized as a version of this song, but with the same plot, metrical pattern, and some lyrics); 52, "The Dying Ranger" (1 text, 1 tune)
JHCox 64, "The Dying Ranger" (1 text)
JHCoxIIB, #10, p. 144, "The Dying Ranger" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 243-245, "The Dying Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune)
Leach-Labrador 53, "The Dying Soldier" (1 text)
Ives-NewBrunswick, pp. 17-20, "The Dying Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 689, DYRANGR DYNGCWBY
Roud #628
RECORDINGS:
Dock Boggs, "Dying Ranger" (on Boggs3, BoggsCD1)
Cartwright Brothers, "The Dying Ranger" (Victor V-40198, 1930; Montgomery Ward M-4460, 1934; on WhenIWas2)
Buell Kazee, "The Dying Soldier" (Brunswick 214, 1928)
Glenn Ohrlin, "The Dying Ranger" (on Ohrlin01)
Luther Ossenbrink, "The Dying Ranger" (Champion 16095 [as West Virginia Rail Splitter]/Supertone 9665 [as Arkansas Woodchopper], 1930)
Johnny Prude, "The Dying Ranger" (AFS, 1940s; on LC28)
Marc Williams, "The Dying Ranger" (Brunswick 497, c. 1930)
File: LA14

Dying Rebel, The

DESCRIPTION: Singer finds a wounded man dying. He asks to be given last rites. He has been deceived by the French and betrayed by a friend. His wife and brother are dead, his children alone. Unwittingly, he caused his landlord's death at pikemen's hands. He dies
AUTHOR: William Ball (source: Moylan)
EARLIEST DATE: "shortly after 1798" (according to Moylan)
KEYWORDS: betrayal rebellion death France Ireland injury family
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1798 - Irish rebellion against British rule
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Moylan 138, "The Dying Rebel" (1 text)
NOTES: William Ball was a writer of humorous verse about Irish history; in this index, see "Cockledemoy (The French Invasion)," "Do as They Do in France," "The Dying Rebel," "Faithless Boney (The Croppies' Complaint)" -- though he doesn't seem to have made much impression on the wider world of literature; I have been unable to find any of his writings in any of my literary references.
I wonder if this isn't an answer to something like "Betsy Gray." - RBW
File: Moyl138

Dying Redcoat, The

See The Dying British Sergeant (File: Wa010)

Dying Seal-Hunter, The

DESCRIPTION: "I can hear their sirens blowing As they steam to hunt the foe Where the young whitecoats are growing...." The dying man asks to watch as his ship sails away. He recalls the work of sealing, and bids farewell to the people and life he is leaving
AUTHOR: Otto Kelland ?
EARLIEST DATE: 1960 (Kelland, Anchor Watch, Newfoundland Stories in Verse)
KEYWORDS: death hunting ship
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ryan/Small, p. 149, "The Dying Seal-Hunter" (1 text)
File: RySm149

Dying Sergeant, The

See The Dying British Sergeant (File: Wa010)

Dying Soldier (I), The (Erin Far Away II) [Laws J7]

DESCRIPTION: A dying soldier asks a comrade to send a lock of his hair from India to his mother in Ireland. He sends his sister and brothers word of his death in the fight against the Sepoys. He dies and is buried.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1926 (Rickaby)
KEYWORDS: war soldier death family
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1857-1858 - Sepoy Mutiny in India. The inhabitants of Northern India revolt against the East India Company on behalf of their ancestral customs (many of which, such as the murder of widows, were abhorrent to Western opinion)
FOUND IN: US(MW) Ireland Canada(Ont)
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Laws J7, "The Dying Soldier (Erin Far Away II)"
Rickaby 50, "The Dying Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-Maritime, p. 166, "Old Erin Far Away" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H816, p. 92, "Old Ireland Far Away" (1 text, 1 tune)
Dean, pp.. 5-6, "The Dying Soldier" (1 text)
DT 827, DYSOLDR*
Roud #893
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Dying Soldier (Erin Far Away I)" [Laws J6] (plot, theme) and references there
NOTES: This song is frankly so close to Laws J6 that I find it impossible to tell them apart. Even the first lines in Laws's sample versions are similar. Laws does not give reasons for the distinction. One should therefore examine the references for both songs. - RBW
File: LJ07

Dying Soldier (II), The

See The Dying Ranger [Laws A14] (File: LA14)

Dying Soldier (IV), The

See Brother Green (File: R211)

Dying Soldier to His Mother, The

DESCRIPTION: "On the field of battle, mother, All the night alone I lay; Angels watching o'er me, mother, Till the breaking of the day." The soldier thinks of his mother, sends farewells to family, wishes he could repay mother, and bids farewell
AUTHOR: Words: Thomas MacKellar/Music: William U. Butcher
EARLIEST DATE: 1863 (Dime Songster #11)
KEYWORDS: battle death soldier mother
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
BrownII 228, "The Dying Soldier to His Mother" (1 text)
Fuson, pp. 108-109, "The Dying Soldier" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Fred W. Allsopp, Folklore of Romantic Arkansas, Volume II (1931), p. 227 (no title) (1 short text)
Leslie Shepard, _The Broadside Ballad_, Legacy Books, 1962, 1978, p. 159, "The Dying Soldier to His Mother" (reproduction of a broadside page)
ST BrII228 (Partial)
Roud #6568
ALTERNATE TITLES:
On the Field of Battle, Mother
File: BrII228

Dying Soldier, (III) The

DESCRIPTION: "A youth lay on the battlefield of France's blood-stained soil ... The Red Cross nurse beside him ..." Nurse promises to send a letter, book and bible to his mother and his love to his sweetheart
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1955 (Doyle)
KEYWORDS: promise war death France lament soldier love separation
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Doyle3, pp. 65-66, "The Dying Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune)
Leach-Labrador 86, "Blood-Stained Soil" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #4428
NOTES: Leach-Labrador says "This is a World War I song, made in Newfoundland according to the singer" - BS
As you see, Bennett Schwartz, who indexed this song, dates it to World War I, and this seems almost certainly correct. The red cross nurse dates it after the Crimean War, which leaves only the World Wars as possibilities; the dates of the collection argue for the first war. - RBW
File: Doyl3065

Dying Stockman, The

See Wrap Me Up in my Tarpaulin Jacket (File: FR439)

Dying Youth, The

See Death is a Melancholy Call [Laws H5] (File: LH05)

E-choin' Horn, The

See The Echoing Horn (File: K246)

E-ri-e, The

DESCRIPTION: About a "terrible storm" on the Erie Canal. "Oh, the E-ri-e was a-rising And the gin was a-getting low, And I scarcely think we'll get a little drink Till we get to Buffalo." Humorous anecdotes of a highly hazardous voyage
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: canal humorous cook animal wreck
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1825 - Erie Canal opens (construction began in 1817)
FOUND IN: US(MW) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (9 citations):
Creighton-Maritime, p. 144, "It's Let Go Your Bowline" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sandburg, p. 180, "The E-ri-e" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSUSA 45, "The E-ri-e" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 470-471, "The E-ri-e" (1 text, 1 tune); see also pp. 455-457, "Ballad of the Erie Canal" (1 text, composite and probably containing stanzaswhich belong here); pp. 459-463, "The Erie Canal Ballad" (8 texts, some fragmentary, the fourth of which appears to belong here)
Darling-NAS, pp. 333-335, "The Erie Canal" (1 text)
Arnett, p. 56, "The Erie Canal" (1 text, 1 tune)
PSeeger-AFB, p. 87, "Erie Canal" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 43, "E-ri-e" (1 text)
DT, ERICANL1 ERIECNL3*
Roud #6599
RECORDINGS:
Pete Seeger, "Erie Canal" (on PeteSeeger07, PeteSeeger07a)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Raging Canal (I)" (plot)
cf. "A Trip on the Erie (Haul in Your Bowline)" (plot)
cf. "The Erie Canal"
cf. "The Calabar" (theme)
cf. "Stormy Weather Boys" (subject)
cf. "The Farmington Canal Song" (theme)
cf. ""The Wreck of the Mary Jane"" (theme)
cf. "The Wreck of the Varty" (theme)
cf. "On Board the Bugaboo" (theme)
cf. "Changing Berth" (theme)
cf. "The Wreck of the Gwendoline" (theme)
cf. "The Fish and Chip Ship" (theme)
cf. "The Shipwreck on the Lagan Canal" (theme)
NOTES: The Erie Canal, as originally constructed, was a completely flat, shallow waterway. The barges were drawn along by mules. Thus, apart from getting wet, storms posed little danger, and the only way one could run aground was to run into trash that had fallen into the canal.
As for needing a distress signal ("We h'isted (the cook) upon the pole
As a signal of distress"), one could always step off onto dry land....
The Lomaxes, in American Ballad and Folk Songs, thoroughly mingled many texts of the Erie Canal songs (in fairness, some of this may have been the work of their informants -- but in any case the Lomaxes did not help the problem). One should check all the Erie Canal songs for related stanzas. - RBW
File: LxU045

E-ri-o Canal, The

See A Trip on the Erie (Haul in Your Bowline) (File: Wa035)

E. A. Horton, The [Laws D28]

DESCRIPTION: The E. A. Horton is taken by Canadian authorities and her crew imprisoned. The captain leads his men on a daring escape; they recapture their ship and sail home
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1932 (Creighton-NovaScotia)
KEYWORDS: sea prison escape
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Oct 8, 1871 - Canada seizes the E. A. Horton (then in Halifax harbor) on a charge of fishing inside Canadian territorial waters
FOUND IN: US(MW) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Laws D28, "The E. A. Horton"
Flanders/Olney, pp. 239-241, "The Schooner E. A. Horton" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-NovaScotia 144, "Seizure of the E J Horton" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 753, EAHORTON*
Roud #1840
File: LD28

E. C. Roberts, The

See Red Iron Ore [Laws D9] (File: LD09)

E. P. Walker

DESCRIPTION: E. P. Walker's thresher gets caught and fails to work. Someone drops in a wrench; the engineer can't be found. Another farmer buys a different threshing machine. Cho: "E.P. Walker mounted to the separator/E.P. Walker, with his oilcan in his hand...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1912 (composed)
LONG DESCRIPTION: E. P. Walker, a thresher, gets caught in the machinery, then the machine repeatedly fails to work. Someone accidentally drops in a monkey wrench; they try to stop the machine, but the engineer can't be found. Finally another farmer, not wanting to take a chance, goes and buys a different brand of threshing machine. Cho: "E.P. Walker mounted to the separator/E.P. Walker, with his oilcan in his hand...Took his farewell trip to the thresher's land"
KEYWORDS: farming harvest technology work worker
FOUND IN: Canada(West)
RECORDINGS:
Frank Hanson, "E. P. Walker" (on Saskatch01)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Casey Jones (I)" [Laws G1] (tune, structure, a few lyrics) and references there
NOTES: According to Barbara Cass-Beggs, "This song was composed in the fall of 1912, during the delays in threshing, by the young homesteaders who made up the threshing crew. E. P. Walker's threshing machine was the first to be brought into the newly settled district of Malvern Link.... All the names are authentic and so are the incidents.... The song was very popular and is still remembered."
A very local traditional song, but traditional nonetheless. The song was collected from Winnifred Turner of Swift Current, Sask., whose late husband was one of the farmers mentioned. - PJS
File: RcEPWalk

Eamon An Chnuic (Ned of the Hill)

DESCRIPTION: Gaelic. Ned of the Hill sings at Eileen's bower asking that they marry though he has no wealth. Although her castle is guarded she escapes from the tower and goes with him. He spends his life wandering Ireland seeking shelter from his outlawry
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1959 (IRClancyMakem03)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage poverty elopement love exile outlaw
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
OBoyle, p. 33, "Eamon an Chnoic" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
DT, NEDHILL* NEDHILL2* NEDHILL3
RECORDINGS:
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, "Eamon An Chnuic" (on IRClancyMakem03)
NOTES: Sleeve notes to IRClancyMakem03: "Edmond O'Ryan, the hero of this Gaelic song, was born in Kilnamanagh, County Tipperary, before the wars of 1690. After the defeat of James II, whom he supported, he was outlawed and had his estates confiscated.... The song, in describing the outlaw driven by pain and beating on the closed door of his beloved, symbolized the lonely cause of Ireland." - BS
There seems to be confusion about (O')Ryan; the Digital Tradition notes to NEDHILL2 say he was displaced after the Boyne, but by *Cromwell*, who of course had been in his grave for more than thirty years at the time of the Boyne.
There is another O'Ryan item, in Kathleen Hoagland, 1000 Years of Irish Poetry (1947), p. 171, "Ah! What Woes Are Mine"; it's just possible that this is another translation of "Eamon An Chnuic," but if so, it's a very different one. Hoagland also dates O'Ryan to the period after the Boyne.
A search of six different books of Irish history covering this period revealed no references to (O')Ryan. Internet searches were no more revealing; one site which discussed this song said that there was no positive evidence of his existence. This despite a large assortment of tales about him -- one version has it that he was eventually betrayed for the reward money, only to have his murderer learn that his proscription had been lifted. The form of this song varies, too; in some texts, O'Ryan is seeking his love; in others, merely shelter from the English.
A summary of the various legends is given in Daithi O hOgain, The Lore of Ireland, Boydell Press, 2006, pp. 398-399. It gives his full name as Eamonn an Chnoic O Maollriain, which easily shortened to O Riain, and hence to Ryan. Legend gave his birthplace as Knockmeoll Castle near Ashanboe in Tipperary.
O hOgain says that he was proclaimed outlaw in 1702 (about the time of William III's death and long after Cromwell was gone); a reward of 200 pounds was offered for his capture. His girlfriend was said to be named Mary Leahy.
O hOgain speculates that the song "Eamonn an Chnuic" actually predates the person, and gave him his name.
The rest, according to O hOgain, is legend; many of the stories are told of other heroes as well as of Eamon An Chnuic. Clearly, whatever the historical truth, the tale has grown in the telling. My guess is that research on the topic has been limited because historians think Eamon a figure of folklore, while folklorists think him historical. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: RcEaAnCh

Earl Bothwell [Child 174]

DESCRIPTION: A tale of the woes of Scotland. David [Riccio], the Queen's servant, is murdered with twelve daggers. King and Queen quarrel over this. Bothwell takes the king and hangs him. This produces such anger that the Queen flees to England
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1765 (Percy)
KEYWORDS: royalty nobility murder death exile betrayal
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1542 - Mary Stewart, at the age of eight days, becomes Queen of Scotland. She later becomes Queen of France by virtue of her marriage to the French King Francis III.
1560 - Death of Francis III. Mary eventually returns to Scotland to rule it directly for the first time
1566 - Murder of David Riccio (falsely called "Lord David), secretary to Mary Stewart (rumour had it that he was her lover, but there is no evidence of this)
1567 - Murder of Henry, Lord Darnley, Mary's husband (he was in a house which blew up, but from the state of his body it appears that he was dead before the explosion). Mary Stewart soon after (forcibly?) married to James Hepburn, the fourth Earl of Bothwell (here called "Bodwell"). She was deposed not long after
1568 - Mary escapes to England
1578 - Death of Bothwell
1587 - Execution of Mary Stewart by Elizabeth I of England
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Child 174, "Earl Bothwell" (1 text)
Percy/Wheatley II, pp. 213-218, "The Murder of the King of Scots" (1 text)
Roud #4004
NOTES: Henry Lord Darnley was Mary Stuart's cousin (and heir if she remained childless), and after their marriage he was addressed as King (although never formally granted the crown matrimonial). Darnley is thus the "king" of this ballad and Mary Stuart the Queen. The Queen of England is, of course, Elizabeth I (reigned 1558-1603). Mary Stuart was Elizabeth's heir.
An investigation determined that Darnley had been killed before the explosion at Kirk o' Field, but it was believed he was suffocated, not hanged.
(A spelling note: The Scottish spelling of Mary's name was "Stewart." Since, however, she spent much of her youth in France, she used the French spelling "Stuart.") - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: C174

Earl Brand [Child 7]

DESCRIPTION: (Earl Brand) falls in love with a high lady against her father's will. They flee together, but are overtaken. Earl Brand slays almost all the pursuers, but is himself sorely wounded. They flee on, but at last Earl Brand must stop and dies.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1803 (Scott)
KEYWORDS: courting death fight
FOUND IN: Britain(England(North),Scotland) US(Ap,MA,NE,SE,So) Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES (38 citations):
Child 7, "Earl Brand" (9 texts)
Bronson 7, "Earl Brand" (42 versions plus 2 in addenda)
Percy/Wheatley I, pp. 131-139, "The Child of Elle" (2 texts, one being that of the Percy Folio and the other the result of Percy's reconstruction of the text)
Greig #57, p. 1, "The Douglas Tragedy" (1 text)
GreigDuncan2 220, "Lord Douglas" (13 texts, 8 tunes) {A=Bronson's #7, E=#8, F=#9, H-#25}
Stokoe/Reay, pp. 6-7, "The Brave Earl Brand" (1 text, 1 tune) {cf. Bronson's #1b}
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 35-40, "The Seven Brothers" (2 texts, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #6, #28}
Randolph 3, "Rise Ye Up" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #27}
Flanders/Olney, pp. 228-230, "Lord William and Lady Margaret" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #38}
Flanders-Ancient1, pp. 128-130, "Earl Brand" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #38}
Davis-Ballads 4, "Earl Brand" (4 texts plus 1 of "The Bold Soldier," 2 tunes entitled "The Seven Brothers, or The Seven Sleepers";"The Seven Brothers, or Lord William"; 1 more version mentioned in Appendix A) {Bronson's #24, #40}
Davis-More 5, pp. 26-34, "Earl Brand" (4 texts, 4 tunes; the "CC" text looks mixed)
BrownII 3, "Earl Brand" (2 texts plus 2 excerpts and mention of 3 more)
Hudson 2, pp. 66-68, "Earl Brand" (1 text)
Warner 79, "Sweet Willie" (1 text, 1 tune)
MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 45-46, "Sweet Willie (Earl Brand)" (1 text)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 115-116, "Earl Brand" (1 text, properly titled "Sweet William," plus an untitled excerpt)
Brewster 4, "Earl Brand" (1 text plus mention of 1 more, 1 tune) {Bronson's #35}
Greenleaf/Mansfield 2, "Lord Robert" (1 text)
Karpeles-Newfoundland 2, "Earl Brand" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #10)
Leach, pp. 66-71, "Earl Brand" (2 texts)
OBB 38, "Earl Brand"; 39, "The Douglas Tragedy" (2 texts)
Friedman, p. 68, "Earl Brand (The Douglas Tragedy)" (1 text+1 fragment)
Ord, pp. 404-406, "The Douglas Tragedy" (1 text, 1 tune)
PBB 33, "Earl Brand"; 49, "The Douglas Tragedy" (2 texts)
Niles 5, "Earl Brand" (3 texts, 3 tunes)
Gummere, pp. 206-208+349-350, "Earl Brand" (1 text)
SharpAp 4 "Earl Brand" (12 texts, 12 tunes) {Bronson's #13, #15, #14, #12, #11, #19, #20, #39, #26, #16, #36, #18}
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 3, "The Seven Sleepers" (1 text, 1 tune -- a single traditional verse filled out from other printed sources by the editor) {Bronson's #20, but Bronson has a different text}
Mackenzie 2, "The Seven Brethren" (1 text)
Hodgart, p. 29, "Earl Brand (the Douglas Tragedy)" (1 text)
TBB 13, "The Douglas Tragedy (Earl Brand)" (1 text)
JHCox 2, "Earl Brand" (1 text)
HarvClass-EP1, pp. 51-54, "The Douglas Tragedy" (1 text)
Abrahams/Foss, pp. 7-8, "Earl Brand" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 216, "Earl Brand" (1 text)
cf. BBI, ZN2487, "There was a bold seaman, a ship he could steer"
DT 7, DOUGTRAD* DOUGTRD2
Roud #23
RECORDINGS:
I. G. Greer & Mrs. I. G. Greer, "Sweet William (Earl Brand)" (AFS; on LC12) {Bronson's #34a/b}; Professor & Mrs. Greer, "Sweet William & Fair Ellen - Pts. 1 & 2" (Paramount 3236, 1930)
Henry McGregor, "The Douglas Tragedy (Earl Brand)" (on FSBBAL1)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Erlinton" [Child 8] (plot)
cf. "The Bold Soldier [Laws M27]" (plot)
cf. "The Child of Elle (II)" (some plot elements: elopement, chase by father)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Sweet Willie
Jolly Soldier
Lord William's Death
William and Ellen
Brandywine
The Child of Ell
Fair Ellender
Sweer William and Fair Ellen
As He Rode Up to the Old Man's Gate
Lady Margaret
NOTES: Child admits that he has "only with much hesitation" separated this from "Erlinton" [Child 8], and many others have inclined to join them. Scott viewed "A Child of Elle" (the Percy text of this piece) as a forerunner of "Erlinton."
Two of Niles's versions seem to be mixed texts; both relate a conversation between the knight and his horse, and end with the intertwined rose-and-briar. (This is not uncommon in American versions; Robert Shiflett, of Brown's Cove, Virginia, had a similar mixed version.) The second, "William and Ellen," consists primarily of these elements; little is left of the plot of "Earl Brand."
Quite a few people (e.g. Eddy) list "The Bold Soldier" [Laws M27] as a version of this balled, and some few of these may have slipped into the above list.
Incidentally, there is at least one historical instance of a man fighting off six enemies but then being wounded from behind: William the Marshal, famous for his service with Kings Richard I and John, and infamous for the role he allegedly played in "Queen Eleanor's Confession" [Child 156], was part of a party that was attacked in 1168. His horse was killed under him before he had donned all his armor, but he killed the horses of six attackers before one came from behind and disabled him by spearing him in the thigh (see Frank McLynn, Richard & John: Kings at War, Da Capo, 2007, pp. 62-63). - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: C007

Earl Colvin

See Lady Alice [Child 85] (File: C085)

Earl Crawford [Child 229]

DESCRIPTION: Lady Crawford marries the Earl at a young age, and soon bears a son. She thinks Crawford loves the child more than he loves her. They quarrel and separate. Both wish to reconcile, both think the other has refused to do so, both die for love
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1873
KEYWORDS: love separation children jealousy death
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Child 229, "Earl Crawford" (2 texts)
Bronson 229, "Earl Crawford" (2 versions)
Leach, pp. 589-592, "Earl Crawford" (1 text)
DT, CRAWFRD*
Roud #3880
File: C229

Earl o' Aboyne, The

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

Earl of Aboyne, The [Child 235]

DESCRIPTION: The Earl goes to London, leaving his wife behind. She hears that he has been courting others. When he returns, she makes a fine show but disdains him. He prepares once again to depart, and says she may not go with him. She dies for love
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1803 (Skene ms.)
KEYWORDS: love separation death accusation infidelity rejection
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (7 citations):
Child 235, "The Earl of Aboyne" (12 texts, 1 tune)
Bronson 235, "The Earl of Aboyne" (9 versions)
Greig #121, p. 1, "The Laird o' Aboyne" (1 text)
GreigDuncan6 1159, "The Earl o' Aboyne" (8 texts plus a single verse on p. 559, 5 tunes)
Ord, pp. 464-465, "The Lord o' Aboyne" (1 text)
Leach, pp. 593-595, "The Earl of Aboyne" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Peter Buchan, Gleanings of Scarce Old Ballads (Norwood, 1974 (reprint of 1891 Aberdeen reissue of 1825 Peterhead edition)), pp. 71-73, "The Earl of Aboyne"
Roud #99
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Bonny Peggy Irvine
NOTES: This rather confused story seems to have no historical basis (at least not based on the names in the ballad). - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: C235

Earl of Errol, The [Child 231]

DESCRIPTION: The Earl of Errol weds Kate Carnegie, perhaps for the sake of her large dowry. Kate complains that "Errol is no' a man." Errol disproves the charge by having an illegitimate child. Kate wishes to abandon him; he will not give up her dowry
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1803 (Edinburgh Magazine)
KEYWORDS: marriage pregnancy infidelity
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1658 - Wedding of Gilbert Hay, tenth earl of Errol, to Catherine Carnegie. The marriage was childless, and apparently unhappy (there was some sort of hearing in 1659), but lasted, at least officially, until Errol's death in 1674
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Child 231, "The Earl of Errol" (6 texts)
Bronson 231, "The Earl of Errol" (6 versions)
GreigDuncan7 1366, "Errol on the Green" (5 texts, 2 tunes)
DBuchan 38, "The Earl of Errol" (1 text)
Kinloch-BBook IX, pp. 31-36,"Earl of Errol" (1 text)
Roud #96
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Dundee, It's a Pretty Place" (floating lyrics)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Lady Errol
File: C231

Earl of Mar's Daughter, The [Child 270]

DESCRIPTION: The earl's daughter brings home a dove, who at night turns into a man and begets seven sons by her. When a man woos the earl's daughter, the earl decides to kill the bird and have her marry. The bird returns with an avian army and reclaims his love
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1828 (Buchan)
KEYWORDS: love courting bird childbirth father marriage rescue
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Child 270, "The Earl of Mar's Daughter" (1 text)
Bronson 270, "The Earl of Mar's Daughter" (1 version)
Leach, pp. 641-645, "The Earl of Mar's Daughter" (1 text)
OBB 25, "Earl Mar's Daughter" (1 text)
DT, MARDAUGH
ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #324, "The Earl of Mar's Daughter" (1 text)
Roud #3879
File: C270

Earl of Murray

See The Bonny Earl of Murray [Child 181] (File: C181)

Earl of Westmoreland, The [Child 177]

DESCRIPTION: Following the failure of his revolt, Neville of Westmoreland flees to Scotland and is taken to Hume Castle. Neville at last sails for Seville, and is given office by the queen. He fights the heathen and is victorious, and receives various rewards
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1750 (Percy folio)
KEYWORDS: rebellion exile nobility royalty battle fight
FOUND IN: Britain
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Child 177, "The Earl of Westmoreland" (1 text)
Roud #4007
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Rising in the North" [Child 175] (subject)
cf. "Northumberland Betrayed by Douglas" [Child 176] (subject)
NOTES: For the background to this song, see the notes on The Rising in the North" [Child 175]; also "Northumberland Betrayed by Douglas" [Child 176].
The song itself is almost pure fiction; the only truth is in the introduction, in which Neville flees to Scotland, goes to Hume, and sails to the Continent. (In reality, he spend the rest of his life in exile in Flanders.)
One suspects that this story somehow got mixed up with a romance. I have this odd feeling the legend of Guy of Warwick is involved (though the only clear similarity between the two is that both fought pagans); Guy was not a Neville, but the most famous Earl of Warwick in English history was of the Neville family (though a cadet branch).
There seem to be no actual ballads about Guy of Warwick, but he did gain a place in popular mythology, as this verse about a local beverage attests:
Of Guy Earl of Warwick our country can boast,
Who in fighting and thuming ruled lord of the roast;
He with courage relentless his foes did assail,
For he strengthened his sinews with Birmingham ale.
(Quoted in Roy Palmer, The Folklore of Warwickshire, Rowman and Littlefield, 1976, p. 133). - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: C177

Earl Rothes [Child 297]

DESCRIPTION: Lady Ann is enamored of Earl Rothes, though he is married. Her (parents?) promise to care for her well if she will forget him. She says she will stay with Earl Rothes until her child is born. Her young brother vows revenge. But she stays with the Earl
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE:
KEYWORDS: love courting infidelity nobility family
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Child 297, "Earl Rothes" (1 text)
Leach, pp. 682-683, "Earl Rothes" (1 text)
Roud #4025
File: C297

Early in the Morning (I)

See The Drunken Sailor (Early in the Morning) (File: Doe048)

Early in the Morning (II)

DESCRIPTION: "Early in the morning, just about the break of day, You ought to see me grab my pillow Where my good gal used to lay." The singer is going up river; he complains about his girl, his life, his failure to listen to mother, the need to travel to escape jail
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1944 (Wheeler)
KEYWORDS: travel separation mother prison
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
MWheeler, pp. 104-105, "Early in the Mornin'" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #10038
File: MWhee104

Early in the Morning (III)

DESCRIPTION: "I meet (little Rosa/my mother/brother Robert/etc.) earty in the morning, and I ask her, 'How you do my (daughter)? Oh, Jerusalem, early in the morning."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: nonballad dancing
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Allen/Ware/Garrison, p. 44, "Early in the Morning" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #12000
File: AWG044

Early in the Morning (IV -- prison song)

DESCRIPTION: An axe song with unfixed lyrics. "Well, it's early in the morning, hear the dingdong ring." "Well, I'm don in the bottom, on a live oak log." "Partner can't hold me, hold me no longer." "Murder on Darrington, Godamighty my lord, Who was the rider?"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1966 (collected from Willie Craig by Jackson)
KEYWORDS: prison work murder separation
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Jackson-DeadMan, pp. 267-274, "Early in the Morning" (2 texts, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Midnight Special" (lyrics)
NOTES: Like many of the songs collected by Jackson -- especially the axe songs -- this is more a framework than an actual song, and could easily have been classified with something else, or split into several songs. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
File: JDM267

Early in the Spring

See Early, Early in the Spring [Laws M1] (File: LM01)

Early Monday Morning

DESCRIPTION: "Early Monday morning the maid came at the door With her shoes and stockings in her hand and I don't know what before. I tied up her garter so neatly and so trim She threw her arms apart and I hugged her quietly in"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1950 (Creighton-Maritime)
KEYWORDS: courting clothes
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Creighton-Maritime, pp. 32-33, "Early Monday Morning" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2275
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Cindy" (floating verses there and many other songs)
NOTES: Creighton-Maritime: "[The singer] probably knew more verses but, being questionable, he refrained from singing them."
From Jefferson Democrat,Hillsboro, Jefferson county, Missouri, FRIDAY, 23 DECEMBER 1870 "JEFFERSON COUNTY SIXTY YEARS AGO - .... If, by chance, a young lady fell heir to a pair of shoes -- as times improved -- when she went abroad she always carried her shoes and stockings in her hand until near her journey's end, when she would stop and put them on, smooth back her hair, and all was right." (Source: rootsweb pub site) See a similar note in Early Settlers of Sangamon County -- 1876 by John Carroll Power at rootsweb site.
Note also the following from "The Maid of Ballymore": Markie Bawn's sweetheart has just told him she will marry if he gets her parents consent. "Markie Bawn he was overjoyed at hearing the good news, And to make him go the quicker, he tied on his shoes. He went straight to my mama ...." Markie may as well been trying to make a good impression, which he does. - BS
File: CrMa032

Early One Morning

DESCRIPTION: "Early one morning, just as the sun was rising, I heard a maid sing in the valley below, Oh don't deceive me, Oh never leave me; How could you use a poor maiden so?" She laments the young made who made promises and then betrayed her for a new girl
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1866 (Hullah, "The Song Book")
KEYWORDS: love courting abandonment
FOUND IN: Britain
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Silber-FSWB, p. 185, "Early One Morning" (1 text)
DT, EARLY1AM*
Roud #12682
File: FSWB185

Early One Morning in the Month of July

DESCRIPTION: "Early one morning in the month of July We finished our crops and laid them all by." The singers depart from their girls. They exhort their patriots to fight hard: "We're bound to whip the Yankees, we'll do it or die." They praise Lee and insult Butler
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1923 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: Civilwar farming separation
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BrownIII 377, "Early One Morning in the Month of July" (1 text)
Roud #11749
NOTES: This is, perhaps, a reference to recruiting some (Civil War) regiment or company: Companies usually formed when an eminent person (usually a man who hoped to be an officer) signed up all the willing men in an area to form a unit.
What unit, though, cannot be told from Brown's fragment. The natural assumption is that it is July 1861, but this renders the reference to Lee and Butler mysterious; Lee did not assume command of the Army of Northern Virginia until 1862, and by that time Butler was in New Orleans.
The closest Lee and Butler came to crossing swords was in the 1864 campaign, when Butler commanded the Army of the James which miserably failed to capture Petersburg by surprise. But by that time, the Confederacy had every man it could find under arms -- by means of a draft. No summer soldiering! - RBW
File: Br3377

Early Spring

See The Sailor and His Bride [Laws K10] (File: LK10)

Early Sunday Morning

See This Is the Way We Wash Our Clothes (File: Br3096)

Early, Early in the Spring (II)

See The Croppy Boy (I) [Laws J14] (File: LJ14)

Early, Early in the Spring [Laws M1]

DESCRIPTION: The singer is (pressed and) sent to sea. (He writes to his true love, but her father withholds the letters.) When he returns, her father tells him she has wed another. He accuses her of unfaithfulness and swears to spend the rest of his life at sea
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1869 (Logan; broadside version appears to date to the seventeenth century)
KEYWORDS: separation courting love poverty sailor pressgang
FOUND IN: US(Ap,SE,So) Britain(England,Scotland(Aber)) Canada (Mar,Newf) Ireland
REFERENCES (24 citations):
Laws M1, "Early, Early in the Spring"
Logan, pp. 28-30, "The Disappointed Sailor" (1 text)
Greig #128, p. 1, "Early in the Spring" (1 text)
GreigDuncan1 51, "The Sailor Deceived" (5 texts, 2 tunes)
Belden, pp. 163-164, "Early, Early in the Spring" (2 texts)
Randolph 81, "Early, Early in the Spring" (4 texts plus an excerpt, 2 tunes)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 77-80, "Early, Early in the Spring" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 81D)
McNeil-SFB1, pp. 144-145, "The Disappointed Lover" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownII 87, "Early, Early in the Spring" (2 texts plus 1 excerpt)
Hudson 41, pp. 155-156, "Early in the Spring" (1 text)
MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 144-146, "Early, Early in the Spring" (1 text)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 328-331, "Early, Early in the Spring" (3 texts, the third very short; 2 texts on p. 444)
SharpAp 125, "Early, Early in the Spring" (5 texts, 5 tunes)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 154-155, "Early Early in the Spring" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-Maritime, p. 98, "Early Early in the Spring" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 549-550, "The Letters of Love" (1 text, 1 tune)
Karpeles-Newfoundland 63, "Early, Early in the Spring" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fife-Cowboy/West 66, "The Trail to Mexico" (5 texts, 1 tune, of which only the "C" and "D" texts go here; "A" and "B" are "The Trail to Mexico" and "E" is "Going to Leave Old Texas")
JHCox 111, "Early in the Spring" (3 texts plus mention of 1 more)
JHCoxIIA, #18, pp. 79-80, "'Twas Early in the Spring" (1 text, 1 tune)
Cambiaire, pp. 55-56, "Early, Early in the Spring (The Girl I Left Behind)" (1 text)
BBI, ZN2863, "When I went early in the Spring"; cf. ZN1423, "In e'ery street I hear 'em sing"
DT 429, EARLYSPR*
ADDITIONAL: _Sing Out_ magazine, Volume 22, #5 (1973), p, 19, "Early in the Spring" (1 text, 1 tune, ending with a suicide; the version was collected in Pennsylvania by Sam Bayard though the informant's name was not recorded)
Roud #152
RECORDINGS:
Robert Cinnamond, "Early, Early, All In the Spring" (on Voice15, IRRCinnamond03)
Margaret Dirrane, "'Twas Early, Early in the Spring" (on Aran1)
Sam Hazel, "Early, Early in the Spring" (AFS 3095 A2, 3095 B1, 1939)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Trail to Mexico" [Laws B13] (plot)
NOTES: Several texts of this song, including Belden's "B" and one found by Lomax, convert the sailor to a cowboy. It is quite likely that this is a deliberate recension, and so perhaps worthy of separate listing. But Laws does not distinguish the versions, so we don't either. But cf. "The Trail to Mexico" [Laws B13]. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
File: LM01

Early, Early, by the Break of Day

See Died for Love (III) (Early, Early) (File: HHH089)

Earsdon Sword-Dancer's Song, The

DESCRIPTION: "Good people, give ear to my story, I've called in to see you by chance; Five lads I have brought blythe and merry." The company welcomes in the new year. The gentlemen are introduced: The sons of Nelson, Elliot, etc. They prepare for the sword dance
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay)
KEYWORDS: dancing nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(England(North))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Stokoe/Reay, pp. 154-155, "The Earsdon Sword-Dancer's Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST StoR154 (Partial)
Roud #610
NOTES: There are a number of songs of this type, which Roud generally lumps under his #610. But they are at the very least different recensions of the same source.
The first character mentioned in this song, Elliot, is George Augustus Elliot, Lord Heathfield (1717-1790), who was governor of Gibraltar from 1776 until his death; from 1779-1783, he defended The Rock during the so-called "Great Siege."
Adam Duncan (1731-1804) was the British admiral at the Battle of Camperdown (1797). The British fleet was still feeling the after-effects of the Spithead and Nore mutinies (for which see "Poor Parker"), and was desperately trying to hold back the Dutch fleet which hoped to support a French invasion of England.
Dutch commander Johann William de Winter (1750-1812) knew his fleet was weak (of the eleven ships lost by the Dutch, the British declined to take any into their navy), but he did at one point try to break out; the British managed to concentrate against him and win a bloody strategic victory, forcing the remnant of the Dutch fleet back into the Texel harbors.
If you've read this far, you doubtless know who Admiral Horatio Nelson (1758-1805) was, so I won't delay you with his story.
So too for Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), victor at Waterloo and designer of the Lines of Torres Vedras, the defensive positions guarding Portugal from French attack.
The final character mentioned is "the son of the Great Buonaparte" (the original Corsican spelling of Napoleon's surname). Napoleon (1769-1821) had only one legitimate son, the Duke of Reichstadt (1811-1832), though there were illegitimate offspring. Not in England, of course. - RBW
File: StoR154

Ease that Trouble in the Mind

See Went to the River (I) (File: R258)

East Bound Train, The

See Going for a Pardon (File: R721)

East Coast Blues

See Chilly Winds (File: MWhee029)

East Colorado Blues

See Take This Hammer (File: FR383)

East Neuk o' Fife, The

DESCRIPTION: "Hey, the east neuk o' Fife! A weel-faur'd lass, and a canty wife." I'll look where there are plenty of girls: in Fife. It's long until Saturday night, and longer until Monday morning. If she doesn't fancy me I won't care, but I wont ask a Fife lass again
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1901 (Ford)
KEYWORDS: courting nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
ADDITIONAL: Robert Ford, editor, Vagabond Songs and Ballads of Scotland [second series] (Paisley, 1901 ("Digitized by Google")), p. 125, "The East Neuk o' Fife"
Roud #13097
NOTES: "Neuk": piece of land; "weel-faur'd": good looking; "canty": cheerful.
Ford: "Who is not familiar with the fiddle-tune, 'The East Neuk o' Fife,' which has put life and mettle in the heels of many generations of our dance-loving Scottish people. Who? one may very reasonably ask, for I trow there are not many. Well, the above are the words which were wont to be sung to it, and I give them because, though once well known, they have seldom been printed, and never before, I think, in any collection of songs." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: RF2p125

East Virginia (Dark Hollow)

DESCRIPTION: "I was born in (east Virginia); North Carolina I did go. There I met a pretty woman, And her name I did not know." The singer grieves that her parents would marry her to another. "I'd rather be in some dark hollow... than see you be another man's darling"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1917 (Cecil Sharp collection)
KEYWORDS: love courting separation grief
FOUND IN: US(Ap,SE)
REFERENCES (9 citations):
BrownIII 279, "Must I Go to Old Virginia" (1 text, with a distorted first line and many floating bits; Roud lumps it with "Porto Rico")
SharpAp 167, "In Old Virginny" (4 texts, 4 tunes, but "C" is "Man of Constant Sorrow" and "D" is a collection of floaters)
Asch/Dunson/Raim, p. 80 "East Virginia" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ritchie-SingFam, pp. 134-135, "[Old Virginny]" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ritchie-Southern, p. 65, "Old Virginny" (1 text, 1 tune)
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 27 "East Virginia Blues" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 115-116, "Oh, Molly Dear" (1 text, very mixed, with verses from this song, from "The Drowsy Sleeper" [Laws M4], and some floaters); pp. 275-276, "East Virginia (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 44, "East Virginia" (1 text)
DT, EASTVIRG*
Roud #3396
RECORDINGS:
Clarence "Tom" Ashley, "Dark Holler Blues" (Columbia 15489-D, 1929)
[Clarence] Ashley & [Gwen] Foster, "East Virginia Blues" (Vocalion 02576, rec. 1933)
Carter Family, "The East Virginia Blues" (Bluebird B-5650/Montgomery Ward 4550, 1934)
Logan English, "East Virginia" (on LEnglish01)
Betty Garland, "I Was Born in East Virginia" (on BGarland01)
Kelly Harrell, "O! Molly Dear Go Ask Your Mother" (Victor 20280, 1926; on KHarrell01 -- primarily a version of "The Drowsy Sleeper" but with several verses belonging here)
Roscoe Holcomb, "East Virginia" (on MMOK, MMOKCD)
Buell Kazee, "East Virginia" (Brunswick 154B, 1927; on AAFM3); "East Virginia" (on Kazee01)
Uncle Dave Macon, "East Virginia Blues" (Victor 27494, 1941; rec. 1935)
New Lost City Ramblers, "East Virginia" (on NLCR01); "Dark Holler Blues" (on NLCR16)
Pete Seeger, "East Virginia Blues" (on PeteSeeger02, PeteSeegerCD01)
Pete Steele, "East Virginia" (on PSteele01)
Doc Watson, "East Virginia" (on RitchieWatsonCD1)
Doc Watson & Clarence (Tom) Ashley, "Dark Holler Blues" (on FOTM)
Walter Williams, "East Virginia" (AFS, 1937; on KMM)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "I Don't Want Your Millions, Mister" (tune)
cf. "Greenback Dollar" (words, tune)
cf. "Little Birdie" (floating lyrics)
SAME TUNE:
Carter Family, "East Virginia Blues, No. 2" (Banner 33463/Melotone 13430/Romeo 5482/Conqueror 8535, 1935)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Dark Holler Blues
File: JRSF134

East Virginia Girls

See Come All You Virginia Girls (Arkansas Boys; Texian Boys; Cousin Emmy's Blues; etc.) (File: R342)

Eastbound Train, The

See Going for a Pardon (File: R721)

Easter Snow

DESCRIPTION: The singer sees a beautiful girl and asks her to come home with him to "Easter Snow." He says she will see foxhunters and other exciting things. She tells him that she is pledged to another who lives far from Easter Snow
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: courting rejection hunting
FOUND IN: Ireland Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Kennedy 128, "Easter Snow" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H66, pp. 369-370, "Wester Snow" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-Maritime, p. 43, "The Easter Snow" (1 text, 1 tune)
Tunney-StoneFiddle, pp. 29-30, "Easter Snow" (1 text, 1 tune)
OBoyle 10, "Estersnowe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2122
RECORDINGS:
Brigid Tunney, "Easter Snow" (on IRTunneyFamily01)
NOTES: There is a lot going on behind the scenes of this commonplace (even banal) text. "Easter Snow" or its variants is conceded to be a folk variant of "Estersnoew," a region in Roscommon. This in turn is a wearing-down of a Gaelic name -- but Kennedy (based on Petrie Coll) gives the Gaelic as "Iseart Nuadhain," while Henry/Huntington/Herrmann list the title in Petrie/Stanford as "Diseart Nuadhain, nó Sneachta Cásga." In any event, it appears that there is a Gaelic tune and a Gaelic name behind the song. - RBW
File: HHH066

Eastern Light, The [Laws D11]

DESCRIPTION: A sailor, having spent his money on a drunken spree, ships on board the "Eastern Light," fishing on the Grand Banks. The captain drives the crew hard until they are forced to return to Gloucester
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925
KEYWORDS: sea work fishing ship
FOUND IN: US(NE) Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Laws D11, "The Eastern Light"
Doyle3, pp. 63-64, "Banks of Newfoundland" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 117, "Song about the Fishing Banks" (1 text)
Peacock, pp. 105-106, "The Banks of Newfoundland" (1 text, 1 tune)
Blondahl, p. 63, "The Banks of Newfoundland" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 820, EASTRNLT
Roud #2235
NOTES: [According to the Digital Tradition,] the year is 1873 -- 1863 [according to] Doyle3 -- and Eastern Light was built in 1866. - BS
File: LD11

Eastern Train, The

See The Harvard Student (The Pullman Train) (File: R391)

Easy Rider

DESCRIPTION: "Easy rider, see what you have done... Made me love you, now your man done come." The singer expresses regret about the relationship between men and women, but hopes to do better in the future
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (recording, Ma Rainey)
KEYWORDS: love courting husband infidelity floatingverses
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Sandburg, pp. 246-247, "C. C. Rider" (2 short texts, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSUSA 22, "Easy Rider" (1 text, 1 tune)
Courlander-NFM, p. 19, "(See See Rider)" (1 tune, partial text); cf. pp. 152-153 (apparently a combination of this song with "Satisfied") (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 75, "Easy Rider" (1 text)
DT, EASYRIDR*
Roud #10056
RECORDINGS:
Texas Alexander, "Easy Rider Blues" (Vocalion 02856, 1934)
Bea Booze [pseud. for Muriel Nichols], "See See Rider Blues" (Decca 8633, 1942; Decca 48055, n.d.)
Jimmie Davis, "Easy Rider Blues" (Bluebird B-5570, 1934)
Scott Dunbar, Celeste Dunbar & Rosie Dunbar, "Easy Rider" (on MuSouth05)
Blind Lemon Jefferson, "Easy Rider Blues" (Paramount 12474, 1927)
Tom Johnson & John Copeland, "See See Mama" (on MuSouth05)
Sam McGee, "Easy Rider" (Vocalion 5254, c. 1929; rec. 1928)
Ma Rainey, "See See Rider Blues" (Paramount 12252, 1925)
Leo Soileau, "Easy Rider Blues" (Paramount 12808, 1929)
Chuck Willis, "C. C. Rider" (Classic Wax CW-0004, rec. 1957)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Little Birdie" (theme)
cf. "Chilly Winds" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Vesta and Mattie's Blues" (floating lyrics)
NOTES: The Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang's "b" definition [of "easy rider"], "a woman who is sexually promiscuous or easily seduced", is the one that applies here. (Another definition, interestingly enough, is "guitar.") - PJS
File: LxU022

Ebenezer, The

DESCRIPTION: The sailor recalls a dreadful voyage: "Ev'ry day was scrub and grease her." The first mate was "the dirtiest man you ever seen"; the second had left his former line when it "got too hot." The food was bread "as tough as any brass" and over-salted meat
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1951
KEYWORDS: ship sailor abuse hardtimes food
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Doerflinger, pp. 200-201, "The Ebenezer" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill, pp. 476-477, "The Ebenezer" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, pp. 354-355]
DT, EBENZER*
Roud #8237
File: Doe200

Echo Canyon

DESCRIPTION: Describes the building of a railroad through Echo Canyon; Mormons work hard and cheerfully. In the fall they will meet their women; in the future the locomotive will gather Saints from afar, bringing them to Zion (Utah) while the wicked are swept away
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1952 (recorded by L. M. Hilton)
KEYWORDS: pride virtue train railroading technology dancing party moniker worker
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1868 - Brigham Young contracts with Union Pacific to furnish Mormon labor for the building of the transcontinental railroad
FOUND IN: US(Ro)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
DT, ECHOCNYN*
Roud #4749
RECORDINGS:
L. M. Hilton, "Echo Canyon Song" (on Hilton01)
NOTES: This almost got the "nonballad" keyword, but there's a thin thread of narrative, albeit in the present tense. - PJS
File: RecEchCa

Echo Mocks the Corncrake, The

DESCRIPTION: "The lass that I loved first of all was handsome, young, and fair." He recalls their happy life. He contrasts the complex, expensive demands of city life with the joys of rural citizenship. He waits for the corncrake to bring back the summer weather
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1904 (Ford)
KEYWORDS: love courting bird home
FOUND IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 325-327, "The Corncraik Amang the Whinny Knowes" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greig #175, p. 1, "The Corncrake Amang the Whinny Knowes" (1 text)
GreigDuncan5 945, "The Corncraik" (2 texts, 1 tune)
SHenry H18b, p. 272, "The Whinny Knowes" (1 text, 1 tune)
Tunney-SongsThunder, p. 182, "The Corncrake Among the Whinny Knowes" (1 text)
DT, CORNCRK*
Roud #2736
NOTES: Broadside Bodleian, 2806 c.11(39), "The Corncraik Amang the Whinny Knowes" ("Oh, the lass that I had first of a'"), The Poet's Box (Glasgow), 1868 could not be downloaded and verified. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: HHH018b

Echoing Horn, The

DESCRIPTION: At the dawn of day the echoing horn calls to the foxhunt; the fox breaks, the dogs chase, the horses leap fences and stiles. When the fox is killed, the hunters take his brush, then go home and drink while their wives give great delight
AUTHOR: unknown, possibly Thomas Arne
EARLIEST DATE: 1923 (Williams)
KEYWORDS: sex death hunting sports nonballad animal dog wife
FOUND IN: Britain(England(South))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Kennedy 246, "The E-choin' Horn" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #878
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Bold Reynard ('A Good Many Gentlemen')" (theme)
cf. "Bold Reynard the Fox (Tallyho! Hark! Away!)" (theme)
cf. "Joe Bowman" (theme)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Glittering Dewdrops
When Morning Stands on Tiptoe
NOTES: In some versions, including "Glittering Dewdrops," the animal being hunted is a hare. Kennedy notes a song "with the same title" being sung in Thomas Arne's operetta "Thomas and Sally," 1761, but without seeing the text I'm not willing to cite this as earliest date, although this song certainly has a composed air about it. - PJS
File: K246

Eclipse

DESCRIPTION: In June of the jubilee year the Eclipse kills a whale beginning a poor season. For the Erik and Hope the season was worse. At season end, the haul was meager and the bonus was low. The crew will not sail again for "one and three"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1909 (GreigDuncan1)
KEYWORDS: sea ship whaler money
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig #86, p. 1, "The Eclipse" (1 text)
GreigDuncan1 14, "Eclipse" (7 texts, 8 tunes)
Roud #5650
RECORDINGS:
A. L. Lloyd, "The Eclipse" (on Lloyd9)
NOTES: Notes to Lloyd9: "In the year of Queen Victoria's jubilee, 1887, the steamer Eclipse of Stonehaven went fishing in the Arctic with her sister ships the Erik and the Hope.... [E]ven the Eclipse, that luckiest of whalers, came home light, and with a bonus of only one-and-threepence a ton for oil. Her crew felt the trip had hardly been worth the hardship, and they marched through the streets of Peterhead to tell the owners so." - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: GrD1014

Ed Hawkins

DESCRIPTION: "Come stand around me young and old And see me welcome death so bold." The singer warns others of his misdeeds, says that he is arraigned for murder and sentenced to die; he prepares for the afterlife and declares, "I do not fear to meet the grave."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1939 (Thomas)
KEYWORDS: prisoner death murder punishment
FOUND IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Thomas-Makin', pp. 165-167, (no title) (1 text, 1 tune; also a fragment on p. 164 allegedly about the same event and by the same author)
NOTES: According to Thomas's informant, "Ed [Hawkins] was promised to seven women, married four, killed seven men, and was scarce twenty-one when he died on the scaffold." Both the songs recorded by Thomas show the singer as penitent -- but neither mentions Hawkins by name; they are not the standard goodnight by any means. - RBW
File: ThBa165

Ed's Thoughts

DESCRIPTION: Recitation; the speaker and comrades try to break a logjam. The jam breaks but Ed McCoy is pinned under a small log. A big log knocks it loose. Asked what he was thinking, Ed answers, "My best girl I never thought of/I was afraid my lice would drown."
AUTHOR: Probably Marion Ellsworth
EARLIEST DATE: 1941 (Beck)
LONG DESCRIPTION: Recitation; the speaker and his comrades Ed McCoy and Bob Joy, are loggers attempting to break a logjam on the Au Sable river; the jam breaks and all head for the shore, but Ed is pinned under a small log. A big log comes along, but instead of crushing Ed, it knocks the small one away, freeing him. Asked if he thought of home, mother and his girlfriend, he answers, "My best girl I never thought of/I was afraid my lice would drown."
KEYWORDS: lumbering humorous logger work recitation escape
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Beck 101, "Ed's Thoughts" (1 text)
Roud #8881
NOTES: This, like the other pieces probably written by Ellsworth, does not seem to have entered oral tradition. - PJS
File: Be101

Eddystone Light

See The Keeper of the Eddystone Light (File: PBB120)

Edgartown Whaling Song

See Hearts of Gold (File: SWMS068)

Edinburgh Town

See Caroline of Edinborough Town [Laws P27] (File: LP27)

Edom o' Gordon

See Captain Car, or, Edom o Gordon [Child 178] (File: C178)

Educated Feller

See The Zebra Dun [Laws B16] (File: LB16)

Edward (II)

See Jealous Lover, The (Florella, Floella) (Pearl Bryan II) (Nell Cropsey II) [Laws F1A, B, C] (File: LF01)

Edward (III) (Edward Fitzgerald)

DESCRIPTION: Surrounded by "ruthless villains" as he slept, Edward wakes and stabs Swan but is seriously wounded by Ryan and Sirr. "Proclaim that Edward's blood is spill'd! By traitor's hand, by coward Sirr, Revenge! Revenge! for Edward's kill'd."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1798 (Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: rebellion fight betrayal death Ireland patriotic
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
June 4 1798 - Lord Edward Fitzgerald, head of the military committee of the United Irishmen dies in Newgate, Dublin after being wounded and arrested by Major Henry Charles Sirr on May 19; Wexford Rebellion begins May 26, 1798 (source: The Princess Grace Irish Library (Monaco) site entry for [Lord] Edward Fitzgerald)
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Zimmermann 8, "Edward" (1 text, 1 tune)
Moylan 52, "Edward" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "When Bidden to the Wake of Fair" (from William Shields' opera _Rosina_, published in 1782, according to Moylan) (tune)
cf. "Henry Downs" (character of Major Sirr) and references there
NOTES: Zimmermann 8: Fitzgerald, hiding in Dublin, is betrayed [by Francis Magan who received a reward] and wounded and captured by a raiding party. Members of the raiding party named in the ballad are Major Sirr, Major Swan and Captain Ryan. One of his captors [Ryan] is killed. Fitgerald was taken to Newgate jail where he died.
For a brief biography of Lord Edward Fitzgerald(1763-1798) see The Princess Grace Irish Library (Monaco) site entry for [Lord] Edward Fitzgerald.
For more about Major Sirr see "Henry Downs," "The Major" and "The Man from God-Knows-Where." - BS
Edward Fitzgerald (1763-1798) was a younger son of the Duke of Leinster. He spent time in the British army (BartlettEtAl, p. 12), but the French Revolution turned him against monarchy. If Pakenham (pp. 38fff.) is to be believed, he was not really very bright -- but the United Irishmen still found him useful, because he was handsome and gallant, a good Man on Horseback to inspire recruiting (BartlettEtAl, p. 91, call him the "talismanic personality among the United Irishmen"). Fry/Fry, p. 202, declare, "He was not particularly clever, but young, handsome, aristocratic and brave; he had the qualities Irishmen looked for in a leader." The brains of the movement -- Thomas Addis Emmet and the like -- knew a good thing when they saw one.
Of course, they had to do something with him to keep him attached to the movement. And he was a hothead. By mid-1798, the moderates were trying to calm things down -- but all of the leaders, except Fitzgerald, were in custody by May (BartlettEtAl, p. 94). Soldiers had come to Fitzgerald's home in March and found his wife shoving incriminating papers into the fire (Golway, p. 80). Fitzgerald was still at large but unable to show himself. He and the few other free leaders decided to rebel even without the French (on whom the wiser leaders had intended to rely). On May 12, the English place a reward of a thousand pounds on Fitzgerald's head.
On May 18, Fitzgerald barely avoided capture. The next day, as he suffered from a severe cold, Major Swann and Captain Ryan arrived at his door and tried to arrest him. Fitzgerald stabbed Swann three times, then Ryan 12 or more times, but Swann was able to run for help, and Ryan grabbed Fitzgerald's legs even while dying. Major Sirr, who was commanding a guard outside, arrived and shot Fitzgerald in the shoulder. He was taken into custody, and died of his wounds and blood poisoning on June 4 (Pakenham, pp. 92fff, 235ffff. Golway, pp. 81-84; BartlettEtAl, p. 96). Still, "When he died a hero's death, the United Irishmen were suffused, for a brief moment, with a romantic glow" (Fry/Fry, pp. 202-203).
There were several spies involved. In addition to Francis Magan, a member of the United Irish executive, Thomas Reynolds was to betray the organization's plans (Pakenham, pp. 43-44; BartlettEtAl, p. 94).
For the general context of the aftermath of Fitzgerald's arrest and the 1798, see the notes to "Boulavogue." Fitzgerald is also mentioned in "The Green above the Red" and "The Shan Van Voght."
There is a recent biography of Fitzgerald, Stella Tillyard, Citizen Lord: The Life of Edward Fitzgerald, Irish Revolutionary (Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1997). It seems to have been fairly popular, but it has no footnotes, an extremely thin list of sources, and -- as I discovered upon trying to read it -- it casually assumes things it cannot possibly know. It appears to me to be more a historical novel than an genuine biography. I gave up on it after about a chapter. - RBW
Bibliography

BartlettEtAl: Thomas Bartlett, Kevin Dawson, Daire Keogh, The 1798 Rebellion: An Illustrated History, Roberts Rinehart, 1998
Fry/Fry: Peter and Fiona Somerset Fry, A History of Ireland, Barnes & Noble, 1988, 1993
Golway: Terry Golway, For the Cause of Liberty, Simon & Schuster, 2000)
Pakenham: Thomas Pakenham The Year of Liberty, 1969, 1997 (I use the 2000 Abacus paperback edition)

Last updated in version 2.5
File: Zimm008

Edward [Child 13]

DESCRIPTION: A mother questions her son about his recent deeds and the blood on his weapon. After many evasions, he reveals that he has killed his brother.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1765 (Percy)
KEYWORDS: murder brother questions
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber),England) US(Ap,MW,NE,SE,So,SW) Ireland
REFERENCES (38 citations):
Child 133, "Edward" (2 texts)
Bronson 13, "Edward" (25 versions -- of which, however, #10 is actually "Lizie Wan" -- plus 2 in addenda)
BarryEckstormSmyth p. 433, "Edward" (notes only)
Percy/Wheatley I, pp. 82-84, "Edward, Edward" (1 text)
Tunney-StoneFiddle, pp. 111-112, "Edward" (1 text, 1 tune)
OBoyle 25, "What Brought the Blood?" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph 6, "What Blood on the Point of Your Knife" (3 texts plus a fragment, 3 tunes) {A= Bronson's#9, B=#6a, D=#23}
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 21-23, "What Blood on the Point of Your Knife" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 6A) {Bronson's #9}
Eddy 6, "Edward" (1 fragmentary text that might be this or "Lizie Wan")
Flanders/Olney, pp. 100-101, "Edward" [listed in error as Child 12] (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #2}; see also "Edward Ballad" on pp. 96-100, which is closer to "The Twa Brothers"
Flanders-Ancient1, pp. 208-212, "Edward" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #2}
Davis-Ballads 7, "Edward" (4 texts plus a fragment; two tunes entitled "What Is That On the End of Your Sword," "Edward"; 1 more version mentioned in Appendix A) {Bronson's #19, #22}
Davis-More 8, pp. 60-67, "Edward" (3 texts, 2 tunes)
BrownII 7, "Edward" (3 texts)
Hudson 5, pp. 70-72, "Edward" (2 texts)
Ritchie-Southern, pp. 6, "Eward" (1 text, 1 tune)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 180-184, "Edward" (3 texts, with local titles "Edward," (no title), "The Murdered Brother"; 3 tunes on pp. 404-406) {Bronson's #5, [b], #3}
JHCoxIIA, #4, pp. 16-18, "Edward" (1 text, 1 tune)
Leach, pp. 85-88, "Edward" (3 texts)
OBB 65, "Edward, Edward" (1 text)
Friedman, p. 156, "Edward" (2 texts)
PBB 63, "Edward" (1 text)
Niles 10, "Edward" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 9, "Edward" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #2}
Gummere, pp. 169-170+342, "Edward" (1 text)
SharpAp 8 "Edward" (10 texts, some of them fragmentary, 10 tunes; the "B" and "F" fragments might be "Lizie Wan") {Bronson's #13, #20, #11, #1, #7, #16, #14, #15, #12, #8}
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 8, "Edward" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #1}
Hodgart, p. 119, "Edward" (1 text)
MacSeegTrav 5, "Edward" (1 text, 1 tune)
TBB 7, "Edward" (2 texts)
LPound-ABS, 9, pp. 23-24, "Edward" (1 text)
Darling-NAS, pp. 59-60, "How Come That Blood?" (1 text)
HarvClass-EP1, pp. 56-58, "Edward" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 223, "Edward" (1 text)
DT 13, EDWARD1* EDWARD2*
ADDITIONAL: Bob Stewart, _Where Is Saint George? Pagan Imagery in English Folksong_, revised edition, Blandford, 1988, pp. 31-32, "Edward" (1 text, 1 tune)
Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #421, "Edward" (1 text)
Maud Karpeles, _Folk Songs of Europe_, Oak, 1956, 1964, p. 4, prints the Danish version, "Svend I Rosensgaard," with a loose English translation; the first few verses are quite close to the English, then turns to a list of impossible wonders
ST C013 (Full)
Roud #200
RECORDINGS:
Mary Ellen Connors, Jeannie Robertson, Thomas Moran, Angela Brasil [composite] "Edward" (on FSBBAL1) {cf. Bronson's #3.1 in addenda}
Mary Delaney, "What Put the Blood?" (on Voice17)
Charles Ingenthron, "Edward" [singer calls it, "The Little Yellow Dog," but the LC folklorists retitle it "Edward"] (AFS; on LC12) {Bronson's #6(b)}
Jean Ritchie, "Edward" (on JRitchie02)
Jeannie Robertson, Paddy Tunney, Angela Brasil [composite] "Edward" (on FSB4) {cf. Bronson's #3.1 in addenda}
Paddy Tunney, "Son, Come Tell It To Me" (on IRPTunney01); "What Put the Blood?" (on Voice03); "What Put the Blood on Your Right Shoulder, Son" (on IRPTunney02)
Mrs. Crockett Ward, "Edward" (AFS; on LC57)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Lizie Wan" [Child 65] (plot,lyrics)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Son Davie, Son Davie
What's That Blood On Your Sword?
The Murdered Brother
Dear Son
NOTES: This song and "Lizie Wan" have cross-fertilized so heavily (especially in the ending, where the murderous son is cross-examined) that it is often not possible to tell fragmentary versions apart. Eddy's text, for instance, has only the questions and answers, and might be either song.
Stewart makes a great deal of the fact that, in his text, the brothers were fighting about "a little hazel bush," observing that the hazel was the "sacred tree of Irish wisdom." Of course, this ignores the fact that, in many versions of the song, it is a holly bush, or in one instance a juniper bush, or just a bush, or sprout, of unspecified type. We could, of course, find a magic explanation for each kind of tree, but the evidence is that the species doesn't matter. The key is probably not the type of tree but the fact that it is *little* -- so, perhaps, a young girl over whom the brothers quarrel.
Stewart also sees this as a sort of sequel to "The Twa Brothers" [Child 49]. Thematically, certainly, "Edward" is a logical follow-on to the versions of "The Twa Brothers" which involve a fight over a girl (a small subset of the whole). But, of course, that does not mean that they are related. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: C013

Edward Ballad

See The Twa Brothers [Child 49] (listed in Flanders/Olney as Child 13) (File: C049)

Edward Boyle

DESCRIPTION: Edward Boyle, helped by friends, leaves his lover, parents and Ireland for America. The singer recalls his flute playing. She curses Columbus: many lovers mourn his follower's return. If she had gold she would give it up for one glimpse of Edward Boyle.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1970 (Morton-Ulster)
KEYWORDS: love emigration separation America Ireland nonballad music
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Tunney-SongsThunder, pp. 139-140, "Edward Boyle" (1 text)
Morton-Ulster 28, "My Charming Edward Boyle" (1 text, 1 tune)
Morton-Maguire 43, pp. 133-134,172, "My Charming Edward Boyle" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2906
File: TST139

Edward Hickman (Marian Parker IV)

DESCRIPTION: Hickman kidnaps Marian Parker, hoping to gain a ransom. After briefly treating her well, he kills her and flees. At last captured, he is tried and sentenced to be hanged. His mother laments his fate
AUTHOR: Andrew Jenkins
EARLIEST DATE: 1928 (recording, Andrew Jenkins)
KEYWORDS: murder execution trial abduction mother
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Dec 14, 1927 - Kidnapping and murder of twelve (eleven?)-year-old Marian Parker
Dec 17, 1927 - Discovery by her father of the girl's mutilated body
Oct 19, 1928 - Execution of William Edward Hickman for the murder
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BrownII 257, "Edward Hickman" (1 text)
Roud #4106
RECORDINGS:
Blind Andy [pseud. for Andrew Jenkins], "The Fate of Edward Hickman" (OKeh 45197, 1928) [The flip side is also a Marian Parker ballad]
Edd Rice, "Fate of Edward Hickman" (Vocalion 5216, c. 1928)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Marian Parker (I)" [Laws F33] (subject)
cf. "Marian Parker (II)" (subject)
cf. "Marian Parker (III)" (subject)
NOTES: This is item dE49 in Laws's Appendix II. Laws lists a total of four Marian Parker ballads (the others are F33, dF56, and dF57). This, one of two by Andrew Jenkins and appearing in the Brown collection, has the opening stanza, "Oh, come all ye good people And listen while I tell The fate of Edward Hickman, A boy we all know well." - RBW
File: LdE49

Edward Lewis

DESCRIPTION: "Oh, we heard a different signal All up and down the Clinchfield Line Since the hand of Edward Lewis Pulls no more old 99." The singer says that those along the line will miss Lewis, an engineer, and says that he has gone on to better things.
AUTHOR: Words: Jack Hartley?
EARLIEST DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: railroading death
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BrownII 291, "Edward Lewis" (1 text)
Roud #6635
File: BrII291

Edward Mathews

DESCRIPTION: "Poor Edward Mathews, where is he? Sent headlong to eternity." "O! V. P. Coolidge, how could you So black a deed of murder do?" "The hay for cattle which he drove You swore within your heart to have." Coolidge murders Mathews and hopes for forgiveness
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1958 (Burt)
KEYWORDS: murder food
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Burt, pp. 83-87, "(Edward Mathews") (1 excerpted text)
NOTES: According to Burt, this happened near Waterville, Maine, where V. P. Coolidge tried to steal a load of hay from Edward Mathews, failed, tricked the fellow into giving him a mortgage (!), and then killed him. But she is unable to provide a date. - RBW
File: Burt083

Edward Sinclair Song, The

DESCRIPTION: "When first I saw Edward Sinclair He was a grown up boy." Sinclair's life is recounted as he starts his lumber mill: "when he was defeated He would always try again." His sons carry on the firm and some key employees are named.
AUTHOR: Patrick Hurley of Cassilis "probably about 1902" (Manny/Wilson)
EARLIEST DATE: 1959 (Manny/Wilson)
KEYWORDS: commerce lumbering ship moniker family boss
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Manny/Wilson 15, "The Edward Sinclair Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST MaWi015 (Partial)
Roud #9197
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Banks of Mullen Stream" (regarding Sinclair's lumber operation)
NOTES: Manny/Wilson: "Edward Sinclair ... was a prominent Miramichi lumber operator in the 1880's and 1890's.... The locality was known as Bridgetown after the Intercolonial Railway bridge was built." - BS
File: MaWi015

Edward, On Lough Erne Shore

DESCRIPTION: Edward has been transported for seven years. His lover, left alone on Lough Erne's shore, remembers their days together. Now she weeps all night: "my rose is fading and my hopes decay." She wishes she could go to him "like a moon o'er the ocean"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1991 (Tunney-SongsThunder)
KEYWORDS: love transportation separation Ireland nonballad
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Tunney-SongsThunder, pp. 141-142, "Edward, On Lough Erne Shore" (1 text)
File: TST141

Edward's Abdication

DESCRIPTION: "Come hearken good friends to this story so true... Concerning the love of this bonny young prince, The King of his own countree." Although his family is opposed, he insists on marrying the woman he loves. Finally, in disgust, he "cast off his crown."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1939 (Thomas)
KEYWORDS: royalty love marriage
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1936 - Abdication of Edward VIII and his marriage to Wallis Simpson
FOUND IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Thomas-Makin', p. 262, (no title) (1 text)
ST ThBa262A (Partial)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "King Edwards" (theme of Edward VIII)
NOTES: Thomas does not indicate a tune for this, other than saying that it is to an English ballad; I strongly suspect it uses "The House Carpenter."
It's worth noting that Edward VIII was *not* a "young prince" when he met the (then-still-married) Mrs. Simpson. Edward's dates were 1894-1972, meaning that he married at 42.
Edward, an easygoing man brought up by strict parents, had by then displayed a strong attraction to married women. In that context, it's perhaps no surprise that Bessie Wallace Warfield Simpson (1896-1986), who was on her second marriage when he met her, gained his attention above all.
When George VI died early in 1936, it became increasingly important that the middle-aged prince marry, but he wanted no one except Mrs. Simpson (who was not divorced until late in that year). This posed many problems: She was not young (meaning that producing an heir might be problematic), she was divorced, she was a commoner, she was American. Edward finally abdicated at the end of 1936, married Mrs. Simpson a few days later, and assumed a career of quiet bitterness against the monarchy. - RBW
File: ThBa262A

Edwin (Edmund, Edward) in the Lowlands Low [Laws M34]

DESCRIPTION: Edwin, now rich, returns to his sweetheart after years at sea. At her advice, he goes to her father's inn in disguise. Her father murders him for his money. The girl learns the truth and turns in her father, who is executed
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(2031))
KEYWORDS: murder father money execution love punishment separation
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,SE,So) Canada(Mar,Newf) Britain(England(Lond,South),Scotland(Aber)) Ireland
REFERENCES (25 citations):
Laws M34, "Edwin (Edmund, Edward) in the Lowlands Low"
Belden, pp. 127-128, "Edwin in the Lowlands Low" (1 text)
Randolph 140, "Young Edmond Dell" (3 texts, 3 tunes)
BrownII 79, "Young Edwin in the Lowlands Low" (2 texts)
Chappell-FSRA 36, "Amy and Edward" (1 text, 1 tune)
Brewster 35, "Young Edwin in the Lowlands Low" (1 text)
Gardner/Chickering 12, "He Ploweed the Lowlands Low" (1 text)
SharpAp 56, "Edwin in the Lowlands Low" (11 texts, 11 tunes)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 220-222, "Young Edmund of the Lowlands" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 641-642, "Young Edmond of the Lowlands Low" (1 text, 1 tune)
Karpeles-Newfoundland 32, "Edwin in the Lowlands Low" (1 text, 1 tune)
Flanders/Brown, pp. 106-108, "Young Edmon Bold" (1 text, 1 tune; the text, from manuscript, is slightly damaged as well as very curiously written)
Mackenzie 27, "Young Edmund" (1 text)
Leach, pp. 703-705, "Young Edwin in the Lowlands Low" (2 texts)
Wyman-Brockway II, p. 42, "Young Edward" (1 text, 1 tune)
FSCatskills 49, The Lowlands Low" (1 text, 1 tune)
Warner 57, "The Ploughboy of the Lowlands" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greig #123, p. 1, "Young Emma" (1 text, a composite)
GreigDuncan2 189, "Young Emma" (11 texts, 10 tunes)
Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, pp. 106-107, "Young Edwin in the Lowlands Low (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H113, p. 434, "Young Edward Bold/The Lowlands Low" (1 text, 1 tune)
Morton-Ulster 32, "Young Edwin in the Lowlands Low" (1 text, 1 tune)
JHCox 106, "Young Edwin in the Lowlands Low" (1 text)
Darling-NAS, pp. 120-121, "Young Emily" (1 text)
DT 330, EDWRDLOW*
Roud #182
RECORDINGS:
Harry Cox, "Young Edmund" (on Voice17)
Ollie Gilbert, "The Diver Boy (Edwin in the Lowlands Low)" (on LomaxCD1701)
Geordie Hanna, "Young Edmund in the Lowlands Low" (on Voice03)
Louis Killen, "Young Edwin in the Lowlands" (on ESFB2)
Maggie Murphy, "Young Edmund" (on IRHardySons)
Doug Wallin, "Young Emily" (on Wallins1) (on Chandler01)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(2031), "Young Edwin in the Lowlands Low," J. Catnach (London), 1813-1838; also Firth c.12(289), Johnson Ballads 214, Harding B 15(394a), Harding B 11(1459), Firth c.12(301), Harding B 11(4363), Harding B 11(4361), "Young Edwin in the Lowlands Low"; Harding B 11(1433), "Young Edmund in the Lowlands Low"; Harding B 11(4362)[some lines illegible], "Young Edwin in the Low-Lands Low"; Harding B 25(2133), Harding B 16(315b), "Young Edwin of the Lowlands Low"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Lovely Willie" [Laws M35] (plot)
cf. "Come All You Worthy Christians" (tune)
cf. "Dives and Lazarus" (tune)
cf. "The Lover's Curse (Kellswater)" (themes)
SAME TUNE:
Bushes and Briars (per broadsides Bodleian Harding B 11(2031), Bodleian Johnson Ballads 214, Bodleian Harding B 11(1459))
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Young Emma
Young Amy
Ploughman Boy
NOTES: In Harry Cox's version on Voice17, Emma -- after singing the "shells in the ocean" verse found in "I Never Will Marry" -- then "sick and broken-hearted to Bedlam had to go, And her shrieks were of young Edmund who ploughed the lowland low." In that, and most of the rest of its text, it follows the Bodleian broadsides. Newfoundland versions -- all from the northern Avalon Peninsula -- seem based on the broadsides, keep or modify the "shells in the ocean" verse, and drop the Bedlam verse (which, I suppose, has no local meaning); see Karpeles-Newfoundland 32, Peacock, pp. 641-642 [the verse is almost unrecognizable] and "Young Edmund in the Lowlands" in Songs of Newfoundland at the "MacEdward Leach and Songs of Atlantic Canada" site. A good, but not infallible, clue that the broadside version is being followed is the opening: "Come all you feeling lovers and listen to my song, While I unfold concerning gold, that guides so many wrong." Greig also has a broadside-based version that modifies "shells in the ocean" and drops the Bedlam verse (Greig 123 p. 1, "Young Emma," Folk-Song of the North-East). BS
The version in the Warner collection is unusual in that Edmund is murdered by a robber rather than by the father, and the truth does not come out for seven years. This version also makes no mention of Edmund's money. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
File: LM34

Edwin and Mary

DESCRIPTION: "When the proud British foe was invading the soil, Oppressing the young men of freedom and toil, Edwin bid his fair Mary adieu." He sets out "to fight over the waves." After long absence, Mary laments him; he "rushed from his ambush" to comfort her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1924 (Chappell)
KEYWORDS: love separation war reunion
FOUND IN: US(MW,SE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Chappell-FSRA 65, "Edwin and Mary" (1 text)
DT, DARKBRIT*
Roud #9070
NOTES: Although this starts with a mention of British invaders, it continues with an account of the young man fighting on or across the ocean. Given how small the American navy was in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, I have to suspect that this is a slightly patched up British song (very likely, given its ornateness, a broadside). - RBW
File: ChFRA065

Eelie Bob

DESCRIPTION: The 1851 whaling ships and their captains and bad characteristics are described ("By all decent people their company is shun") "Wake up Eelie [Oily] Rob, or you're sure to be [out]done, The Mazanthien's home with her two hundred tons"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan1)
KEYWORDS: commerce moniker nonballad whaler
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig #86, p. 1, "Come All Ye Blubber Hunters" (1 text)
GreigDuncan1 13, "Eelie Bob" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Roud #5802
File: GrD1013

Eena, meena, mina, mo

See Eenie Meenie Minie Mo (Counting Rhyme) (File: Lins005)

Eence Upon a Time (Had I the Wyte)

DESCRIPTION: The singer asks "Had I the wyte?" [Was I to blame?] "She was cook aboot the hoose, And I was kitchie laddie, And aye she gae me bread and cheese To kiss 'er fan she bade me" [Hecht-Herd: "And when I could na do't again: Silly loon she ca'd me."]
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: c.1803 (Hans Hecht, editor, _Songs from David Herd's Manuscripts_ (Edinburgh, 1904) 20, pp. 117, 288-289)
KEYWORDS: courting cook pregnancy food
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan7 1399, "Had I the Wyte" (2 fragments)
Roud #7253 and 3361
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Come Kiss Wi' Me, Come Clap Wi' Me" (tune, per Hecht-Herd)
NOTES: The current description is almost all of the GreigDuncan7 text. The Robert Burns text (Robert Burns, The Complete Poems and Songs of Robert Burns (New Lanark,2005), pp. 429-430, "Had I the Wyte? She Bade Me") may give a better line on earlier texts: She invites him in and when he refuses and she calls him a coward he follows her; with her husband gone he kisses, hugs and bruises her ("Could I for shame refuse her?") - BS
On the other hand, Ray Fisher on the recording "The Fisher Family" sang a song, "Aince Upon a Time," which was based on a version by Jeanie Robertson ("Eence Upon a TIme" or "Eenst Upon a Time") to which Ray added some words. I don't know which words, but in that version the key chorus is, "When I was cook aboot the hoose and he was but a laddie, I gied him a' my bried and ale to by my bairnie's daddy," which gives a pretty strong hint as to what is going on. This item is listed by Roud as #3361. I am lumping them until we can find a more substantial text of "Had I the Wyte." - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD71399

Eenie Meenie Minie Mo (Counting Rhyme)

DESCRIPTION: "Eenie meenie minie mo, Catch a (nigger/tiger) by the toe, If he hollers, let him go, Eenie meenie minie mo."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1912 (Leather); Simpson and Roud report an 1885 collection in Canada, and Opie-Oxford2 claims that Bolton had a versin in 1888
KEYWORDS: nonballad
FOUND IN: US(MW,NE) Britain(England(West))
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Opie-Oxford2 149, "Eena, meena, mina, mo" (1 text)
Linscott, p. 5, [no title] (1 text, the second of three "counting out" rhymes)
Leather, pp. 128-129, "Counting-out rhymes" (sundry short texts, not quite the same as the American versions but too close to separate)
MHenry-Appalachians, p. 238, (no title) (2 variants of a short text); p. 240, (no title) (amother variant, quite distinct, with all nonsense words); p. 242 (no title) (another very strange variant, but too short to classify elsewhere)
ADDITIONAL: Iona and Peter Opie, _Children's Games in Street and Playground_, oxford, 1969, 1984, p. 36, "(Eeny, meeny, miney, mo)"
Roud #13610
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Little Bit" (lyrics)
NOTES: A child's counting-out rhyme, used e.g. for choosing who is "it" in a game of tag. The Opies declare it the most popular rhyme of this sort in both the United States and England, and certainly it is the only one I ever personally encountered. I remember, at about age ten, trying to convince other children that this was *not* random and that the counter could always pick who was "it" using this scheme. I suppose I was fortunate that they didn't listen, or I'd have been "it" every time.
More interesting is the fact that we (middle-class kids in Minnesota in about 1970) gave the second line as "Catch a tiger by the toe," compared to the seemingly-older version involving catching a "nigger." Did we modify it to "tiger" because none of us knew the meaning of the racial slur, or did our parents firmly straighten us (or our older classmates, who taught us the rhyme) out? I've no clue.
Simpson and Roud's Dictionary of English Folklore (article on Counting Rymes) suggests that the British original was "chicken" or "tinker," with "beggar" also used. This seems reasonable in context, but I've yet to encounter any of these forms in real life.
It may seem odd to include this in a Ballad Index; it certainly isn't a ballad -- but it is a song, and clearly of the folk variety.
Linscott lists this among three Counting Out Rymes, with the other two being related to each other but not evidently related to this. I have not seen the others elsewhere. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: Lins005

Eensy Weensy Spider, The

DESCRIPTION: "The eensy weensy spider went up the water spout, Along came the rain and washed the spider out. Along came the sun and dried up all the rain So the eensy weensy spider climbed up the spout again."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1962 (Baring-Gould-MotherGoose)
KEYWORDS: bug
FOUND IN: US(MS)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #579, p. 234, "(Incey wincey spider, climbed the water spout)"
Roud #11586
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Eency Weency Spider
NOTES: The Baring-Goulds say that one is to enact the spider's adventures with fingers. I seem to recall seeing this, somewhere, some time in my youth -- but, 40 or so years later, I can't imagine how it was done. Still, it seems a folk game. That would, at least, explain why no two authors seem to spell the words the same way.
It certainly inspired parodies. There are two, both fairly silly, in the Digital Tradition. - RBW
File: BGMG579

Eerie Orie, Virgin Mary

DESCRIPTION: "Eerie orie, Virgin Marie, A' the keetles in a tearie." I've been full seven weeks and shall be seven more until Marie and St John's weeks. Tailors have big feet but short toes. Put his tail to the plow; my tail's long enough.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1908 (GreigDuncan8)
KEYWORDS: nonballad nonsense
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig #22, p. 2, ("Eerie, orie, Virgin Mary") (1 text)
GreigDuncan8 1642, "Eerie Orie, Virgin Mary" (1 text)
Roud #13060
NOTES: Is the reference to "the weeks of Marie -- Marie an' St John" a reference to name days (June 24 for John the Baptist[?] and June 29 for Mary[?])? Is the reference to 14 weeks a pointer to March 15 or the equinox? Is it reasonable to try to make anything out of this rhyme? Tailors and tails? Is it just disconnected phrases or disconnected nonsense?
"Virgin Mary" appears in a number of Bolton's counting out rhymes, but none of them are close to the GreigDuncan8 text. See, for exampple, Henry Carrington Bolton, Counting-Out Rhymes of Children (New York, 1888 ("Digitized by Google")), #527 p. 100, ("One-ery, two-ery, zickery zan"); #532 p. 100 ("One's all, two's all, zig's all zan") and similar rhymes #540 and #544 p. 101. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD81642

Eerie, Oarie, Acktie, Ann

See One-ery, Two-ery, Ickery, Ann (File: GrD81641)

Effects of Love, The

DESCRIPTION: William [W.E.] courted and promised to marry Betsy Watson [B.W.], the singer. He deserted her and her baby. She sends him a letter saying "false man adieu I drown myself for love of you." She asks that eight maidens in white escort her to her grave.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1845 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(1047))
KEYWORDS: grief seduction suicide nonballad baby
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan6 1160, "The Effects of Love" (3 texts, 2 tunes)
Roud #1493
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(1047), "The Effects of Love, by a young lady who drowned herself" ("Young lovers all I pray draw near"), W. Stephenson (Gateshead), 1821-1838; also Firth c.18(155), Firth c.18(156), Johnson Ballads 183, Harding B 25(572), Harding B 6(18), Harding B 11(1046), Harding B 11(1049), Harding B 11(1048), Firth b.28(25a) View 2 of 2[some illegible lines], 2806 b.11(268), "The Effects of Love"
Murray, Mu23-y4:016, "Effects Of Love," John Ross (Newcastle), 19C
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Butcher Boy" [Laws P24] (theme) and references there
cf. "My Blue-Eyed Boy" (theme)
cf. "Must I Go Bound" (theme)
cf. "Love Has Brought Me To Despair" [Laws P25] (theme)
cf. "Died for Love" (I) (theme) and references there
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Miss B.W.
Miss Watson
Betsy Watson.
NOTES: Although there are a few traditional collections, it probably will not surprise anyone to observe that this is known mostly from broadsides. I can't think of any widespread traditional song which refers to lovers by their initials.... - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD61160

Eggs and Marrowbones

See Marrowbones [Laws Q2] (File: LQ02)

Eggs In Her Basket

See The Basket of Eggs (File: VWL018)

Eight Famous Fishermen, The

DESCRIPTION: Eight famous fishermen are "descendents of Adam and offsprings of Cain." The eight are named and described. Then Helen Creighton is described "a-looking for tales And all that she found was six fish without scales"
AUTHOR: Edward Deal
EARLIEST DATE: 1950 (Creighton-Maritime)
KEYWORDS: fishing humorous moniker nonballad
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Creighton-Maritime, pp. 192-193, "The Eight Famous Fishermen" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2718
NOTES: After murdering his brother Abel (Genesis 4:8), God "put a mark" upon Cain (4:15), the nature of which is not described (though it didn't keep him from having children -- see 4:17-24).
If one takes the Bible literally, these descendants should have been wiped out in the flood, but there are quite a few later references to Cain's offspring -- e.g. Grendel in Beowulf. - RBW
File: CrMa192

Eight Hearts

DESCRIPTION: The singer has sent the text: "Eight hearts in one you here behold And they unto each other fold ... And nothing from it you could take Unless that you a heart do break ... If you have any love at all Show it to me though it be small"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1909 (GreigDuncan4)
KEYWORDS: love nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig #101, p. 2, "Eight Hearts" (1 fragment)
GreigDuncan4 920, "Eight Hearts" (2 texts)
Roud #6145
NOTES: Greig: "Mr Milne encloses a very elegant illustration of the 'Eight Hearts' design cut out in paper. When this is spread out all the separate hearts are displayed; but the design and arrangement are such that all the hearts can be folded into one. Mr Milne says: - 'Each verse should be written on one of the paper hearts. I have been told that in the days of Auld Lang Syne they were sometimes so sent by would-be wooers to a prospective sweetheart in a half serious half jocular way, in order to try and ascertain if they would move the receiver to a favourable response, and so pave the way to a more serious and loving intimacy.'" - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD4920

Eight Little Cylinders

DESCRIPTION: "Eight little cylinders sitting facing heaven, One blew its head off, then there were seven. Seven little cylinders used to playing tricks, One warped its inlet valve...." And so on, till the last cylinder "gave its efforts up And ascended up to heaven"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1973
KEYWORDS: technology
FOUND IN: Australia
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Fahey-Eureka, pp. 226-227, "Eight Little Cylinders" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer" (counting)
cf. "Ten Little Injuns" (counting)
File: FaE226

Eight Mile Bridge (Roger O'Hehir)

DESCRIPTION: Roger reports being brought up by honest parents. He runs off with Jane Sharkey, abandons her, and is pursued by her father. He is captured several times, escapes several times, flees to England, is taken again, and will be hanged shortly
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1933 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: elopement thief prison escape punishment execution
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
SHenry H486, pp. 120-121, "Eight Mile Bridge" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, RGROHEHR
Roud #13371
File: HHH486

Eight-Pound Bass, The

DESCRIPTION: Ice-fishing for bass on the Nor'West Miramichi river. "For I did fish in vain, I tried and tried again, I walked around the hole till I was lame, Away up on Whitney's Flats, Amongst the Nor'West brats, But that eight-pound bass I longed for never came"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1947 (Manny/Wilson)
KEYWORDS: fishing river humorous moniker derivative
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Manny/Wilson 16, "The Eight-Pound Bass" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST MaWi016 (Partial)
Roud #9196
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Letter That Never Came" (tune and structure)
NOTES: Manny/Wilson: "This song was made up in the 1890's or early 1900's.... The eight-pound bass ... was the most salable size.... Sandy Ives says the Bass is a parody of The Letter That Never Came, to be found in Sigmund Spaeth's Weep Some More, My Lady, and the Bass has essentially the same tune. From another source I am told the origin of our song was The Beefsteak that I Ordered Never Came." - BS
File: MaWi016

Eileen

DESCRIPTION: "In a town by the sea by the Castle Duneen" Eileen loves "a young fisher laddie" lost in a storm the day before they were to be wed. She dies of a broken heart and is buried by the shore where they used to meet. Now his ghost is heard calling her there.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1959 (NFOBlondahl03)
KEYWORDS: love death mourning fishing sea storm ghost
FOUND IN:
RECORDINGS:
Omar Blondahl, "Eileen" (on NFOBlondahl03)
NOTES: Blondahl03 has no liner notes confirming that this song was collected in Newfoundland. Barring another report for Newfoundland I do not assume it has been found there. There is no entry for "Eileen" in Newfoundland Songs and Ballads in Print 1842-1974 A Title and First-Line Index by Paul Mercer. - BS
The legend doesn't seem to be known in Britain either; at least, I can't find a relevant reference in Peter Underwood's Gazeteer of British, Scottish & Irish Ghosts. An argument from silence, I concede. - RBW
File: RcEileen

Eileen Aroon

DESCRIPTION: The singer compares Eileen to a gem and a flower but "dearest her constancy." If she were not true her lover would never love again. But while all else changes she, like truth alone, "is a fixed star"
AUTHOR: English translation by Gerald Griffin (1803-1840) (source: Sparling)
EARLIEST DATE: 1888 (Sparling)
KEYWORDS: love lyric nonballad
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (4 citations):
DT, EILAROON* (cf. EILAROO.NOT)
ADDITIONAL: Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 117-118, "Eileen Aroon" (a translation from the Irish very unlike the usual English version); pp. 415-417, "Aileen Aroon" (the Griffin version) (2 texts)
H. Halliday Sparling, Irish Minstrelsy (London, 1888), pp. 341-343, 501, "Eileen Aroon"
ADDITIONAL: Maud Karpeles, _Folk Songs of Europe_, Oak, 1956, 1964, p. 64, prints the Irish Gaelic version, "Eibhlin a Ruin," with a loose English translation, "Eileen Aroon" (2 texts, 1 tune)
RECORDINGS:
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, "Eileen Aroon" (on IRClancyMakem02)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Robin Adair" (tune)
cf. "Sadly to Mine Heart Appealing" (portions of Stephen Foster's tune)
File: RcEilAro

Eileen McMahon

DESCRIPTION: "One night as I lay on my pillow, A vision came into my view, Of a ship sailin' out on the ocean." On deck is a beautiful girl "banished from Erin's green shore." She talks of her life as an exile. The singer wakes from his dream to see his mother's face
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1953 (recording, Margaret Barry)
KEYWORDS: love exile emigration beauty courting marriage dream mother Ireland patriotic
FOUND IN: Ireland
Roud #9282
RECORDINGS:
Margaret Barry, "Eileen McMahon/Green Grow the Rushes" (on IRMBarry-Fairs)
Margaret Barry and Michael Gorman, "Eileen McMahon" (on Voice04)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Granuaile" (theme; also the aisling format) and references there
cf. "Caitilin Ni Uallachain (Cathaleen Ni Houlihan)" see references there and note re aislings, below.
cf. "Fergus O'Connor and Independence" see note re aislings, below, re Sheela na Guira.
cf. "Poor Old Granuaile" see references there and note re aislings, below, re Grace O'Malley.
cf. "Erin's Green Shore" (theme)
cf. "Granuwale" (theme)
cf. "The Blackbird of Avondale" or "The Arrest of Parnell" (theme)
NOTES: Frank Harte, in his notes to "Granuaile" [from Grace O'Malley] (on Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "My Name is Napoleon Bonaparte," Hummingbird Records HBCD0027 (2001)) writes: "The older Gaelic poets when they wished to write on the wrongs that Ireland has suffered at the hands of the English since the invasion of Ireland in 1169, they often adopted the type of poem called 'The Aisling'. In the 'aisling', the poet is found reflecting on Ireland's woes .... He sometimes falls asleep, and in his sleep the vision of a most beautiful woman ... appears to him. The vision tells him that she is 'Ireland' ...."
Zimmermann, pp. 54-55, notes that "in allegorical songs, written according to the aisling form or otherwise, the personification of Ireland is often individualized and humanized enough to be called by a proper name; this helps to identify her as a real woman.... In the eighteenth century there were many other names, but it is often difficult to decide whether a song was written originally about some particular person and acquired only later an allegorical meaning, or directly to the country known as Sile Ni Ghadhra [Sheela na Guira], Caitilin Trial [Kathleen Thrail], Caitlin Ni Uallachain [Kathleen Ni Hoolihan]..." Eileen McMahon seems to fit the pattern.
Fred McCormick comments on the "strange offering from Margaret Barry, Eileen McMahon, which turns out to be a recasting of the aisling, 'Erin's Green Shore'." (Musical Traditions site Voice of the People suite "Reviews - Volume 4" by Fred McCormick - 29.1.99) The only connection I see is that both are in the aisling pattern. - BS
The pattern, plus the mentions of "Erin's green shore." When listening to the song, I was instantly reminded of "Erin's Green Shore" [Laws Q27]. The tune, however, feels closer to the "Botany Bay" family.
I note that this song appears to be known only from the repertoire of Margaret Barry, though most of the themes are common.
For more on aislings, see the notes to "Granuaile." - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: RcEilMcM

Eileen, The Flower of Kilkenny

DESCRIPTION: "I once loved a girl in Kilkenny and a beautiful creature was she, I loved her far better than any and I know this young damsel loved me. She's the beautiful flower of Kilkenny...." He left her, "sailed over seas," but still thinks of their sad parting.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield)
KEYWORDS: love emigration parting beauty lament
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greenleaf/Mansfield 76, "I Once Loved a Girl in Kilkenny" (1 text)
DT, BOYSKILK
Roud #6369
File: GrMa76

Eire

See Erin (File: OCon059)

Ej Bor Vi Sorja, Ej Bor Vi Klaga (Oh We Must Not Grieve, We Must Not Grouse)

DESCRIPTION: Swedish shanty. "We must not grieve"... either because the various tasks they have to do have been made easier somehow, or because complaining will get them into trouble. Last line of each verse is repeated for chorus.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1935 (Sternvall, _Sang under Segel_)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage shanty sailor work
FOUND IN: Sweden
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Hugill, pp. 549-550, "Ej Bor Vi Sorja, Ej Bor Vi Klagag" (2 texts-Swedish & English, 1 tune)
File: Hugi549

Eki Dumah!

DESCRIPTION: Short verses in pidgin English, i.e. "Sailorman no likee bosun's mate." Chorus: "Kay, kay, kay, kay! Eki Dumah!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1961 (Hugill)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage shanty worksong
FOUND IN: West Indies
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Hugill, pp. 488-489, "Eki Dumah!" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, pp. 361-362]
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Kay, Kay, Kay
NOTES: Hugill says that while he picked this up in the West Indies, he suspects that it originated aboard ships where the crews were predominately Lascaris from India. The words are a mix of pidgin English and Hindi. - SL
File: Hugi488

Ekkeri, akkery, u-kery an

See One-ery, Two-ery, Ickery, Ann (File: GrD81641)

El Abandonado

See Abandonado, El (File: San295)

El Amor Que Te Tenia (The Love That I Had)

DESCRIPTION: Spanish. "El amore que te tenia, me bien, En uno ramo quedo." "The love that I had for you, my dear, hanging from a branch remained." The singer's great love was blown away by a wind. He is going to San Diego. He advises that she not look for him
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1934
KEYWORDS: love separation foreignlanguage
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 362-364, "El Amor Que Te Tenia" (1 text plus translation, 1 tune)
File: LxA362

El-A-Noy

See The Plains of Illinois (File: FSC089)

Elanoy

See The Plains of Illinois (File: FSC089)

Elder Bordee

See Sir Andrew Barton [Child 167] AND Henry Martin [Child 250] (File: C167)

Elderman's Lady, The

See The Alderman's Lady (File: Pea783)

Eldorado Mining Disaster, The

DESCRIPTION: "With sorrow we remember, the middle of July, When those six noble miners were all destined to die." The song describes the slow death of the trapped miners, and describes the pathetic farewell message "Poor Dawkins" wrote
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1973
KEYWORDS: mining death disaster Australia
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
July, 1895 - Collapse of the Eldorado Mine near Chiltern, Victoria, Australia
FOUND IN: Australia
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Fahey-Eureka, pp. 206-207, "The Eldorado Mining Disaster" (1 text, 1 tune)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Poor Dawkins
File: FaE206

Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog

DESCRIPTION: "In Ixlington there was a man Of whom the world might say That still he was a godly man...." The man befriends a stray dog. The dog goes mad and bites the man. All expect the man to die, but he recovers
AUTHOR: Oliver Goldsmith?
EARLIEST DATE: 1819 (Journal from the Diana)
KEYWORDS: dog death disease
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 295-296, "Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2088
NOTES: On its face, this looks about as likely to be traditional as a the flip side of an Elvis Presley single. But Huntington found a printing in addition to his manuscript copy, so here it is. - RBW
File: SWMS295

Eleven More Months and Ten More Day

DESCRIPTION: Singer is in jail; he went on a spree after seeming to find his wife unfaithful. In jail he plays baseball, meets a man who is to be hung, and has other mildly humorous adventures
AUTHOR: Arthur Fields & Fred Hall
EARLIEST DATE: 1930 (recordings, Vernon Dalhart & Lem Greene)
KEYWORDS: captivity jealousy infidelity accusation execution prison sports humorous prisoner
FOUND IN: US Britain(England(South))
Roud #13327
RECORDINGS:
Jim Baird [pseud. for Bill Elliott] "Eleven More Months and Ten More Days" (Victor 23658, 1932; Montgomery Ward M-4328, 1933)
Billy Cotton & his band, "Eleven More Months and Ten More Days" (Harmony 1416-H/Velvet Tone 2522-V, 1932)
Vernon Dalhart, "Eleven More Months and Ten More Days" (Columbia 15512-D [as Al Craver]/Harmony 1095-H [as Mack Allen]/Velvet Tone 2095-V [pseudonym unknown], 1930)
Lem Greene [possibly a pseud. for Vernon Dalhart] "Eleven More Months and Ten More Days" (OKeh 45418, 1930)
Lone Star Ranger [pseud. for John I. White] "Eleven More Months and Ten More Days" (Banner 0649/Conqueror 7509/Jewel 5904/Romeo 1268, 1930; Conqueror 7727, 1931; Broadway 8150/Challenge 877/Perfect 12598, n.d.)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Four Nights Drunk" [Child 274] (lyrics)
SAME TUNE:
Jim Baird [pseud. for Bill Elliott] "Eleven More Months and Ten More Days, pt. 2" (Victor 23670, 1932)
Billy Cotton & his band "Eleven More Months and Ten More Days, pt. 2" (Harmony 1416-H/Velvet Tone 2522-V, 1932)
Frank Dudgeon, "Eleven More Months and Ten More Days #2" (Champion 16580, 1933)
NOTES: This essentially non-traditional song is included here for one reason only: the verse describing the prisoner's wife's possible infidelity is straight out of "Four Nights Drunk." Folk process in action. - PJS
There have in fact been a couple of seemingly-traditional collections, far from the song's source, so I think it's become "folk" in a small way -- not unusual for a Dalhart song. It appears the song was first published in 1930, shortly before the first recordings, but I haven't seen a copy of the actual sheet music. - RBW
File: RcEMMTMD

Eleven Slash Slash Eleven

DESCRIPTION: A song of the cowboy's life: Finding himself in jail, but released by the sheriff (a former cowboy), going to town and "mak[ing] the tenderfoot dance"; playing cards with a crooked gambler. The conclusion: "You'll find every dirty cuss exactly the same."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1928
KEYWORDS: cowboy work gambling rambling cards prison
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Fife-Cowboy/West 78, "The Old Chisholm Trail" (2 texts, 1 tune; this is the "B" text)
Roud #3438
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Chisholm Trail (I)" (tune & meter)
NOTES: Since, as it has been remarked, the song "The Old Chisholm Trail" is longer than the trail itself, it is possible that this is simply a version of that piece (Roud lumps them). However, except for its tune and the cowboy theme, it lacks the distinctive features of the earlier song. I have therefore (tentatively) listed them separately. - RBW
File: FCW078

Eleven to Heaven

DESCRIPTION: "I will sing you 11." 11:gate of heaven, 10:Big Ben, 9:sunshine, 8:day-break, 7:key of heaven, 6:crucifix, 5:narrow eye, 4:narrow door, 3:eternity, 2:broad heresy, 1:upon the right eye, enter over t'other eye, who can sing and dance as well as me?
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1952 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: cumulative nonballad religious
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Peacock, p. 785, "Eleven to Heaven" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #133
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Children Go Where I Send Thee" (theme and structure)
cf. "Green Grow the Rushes-O (The Twelve Apostles, Come and I Will Sing You)" (theme and structure)
NOTES: Roud lumps this with the great "Green Grow the Rushes-O" family -- but the similarity is only in format.
The references here are even less Biblical than is usual in songs like this, though the "narrow door" is doubtless suggested by the "narrow ('straight') gate" of Matt. 7:13, etc. - RBW
File: Pea785

Eleventh Street Whores, The

DESCRIPTION: A sailor (?) rows his boat up to the Eleventh Street whores, has sex, laments contracting gonorrhea, and curses the Eleventh Street whores.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE:
KEYWORDS: bawdy disease whore sailor curse
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Randolph-Legman II, pp. 600-601, "The Eleventh Street Whores" (1 partial text)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Fire Ship" (plot) and references there
File: RL600

Elfin Knight, The [Child 2]

DESCRIPTION: A man (sometimes an "Elfin" knight) and a woman exchange tasks. He offers to marry her if she performs his (impossible) tasks; she shows how she feels by making equally unperformable requests
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1673 (broadside)
KEYWORDS: courting magic bargaining dialog paradox tasks
FOUND IN: Britain(England(All),Scotland(Aber)) US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,SE,So,SW) Canada(Newf,West) Ireland
REFERENCES (42 citations):
Child 2, "The Elfin Knight" (13 texts)
Bronson 2, "The Elfin Knight" (56 versions plus 6 in addenda)
Greig #100, pp. 1-2, "The Elfin Knight" (3 texts)
GreigDuncan2 329, "The Elfin Knight" (7 texts, 2 tunes) {A=Bronson's #1, B=#50}
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 3-11, "The Elfin Knight" (4 texts plus a fragment, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #3, #23}
Gray, pp. 78-79, "Strawberry Lane" (1 text, from JAFL XXX, 1917)
Flanders-Ancient1, pp. 51-78, "The Elfin Knight" (12 texts plus 3 fragments, not all from New England; 8 tunes; the "N" text appears to be "My Father Had an Acre of Land") {A=Bronson's #47C=Bronson's #6; F=Bronson's #45}
Belden, pp. 1-3, "The Elfin Kinght" (3 texts)
Randolph 1, "The Cambric Shirt" (2 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #40}
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 13-15, "The Cambric Shirt" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 1A) {Bronson's #40}
Eddy 1, "The Elfin Knight" (2 texts, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #39, #43}
Gardner/Chickering 47, "A True Lover of Mine" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #38}
Davis-More 2, pp. 8-13, "The Elfin Knight" (3 texts, all short, one reconstructed)
BrownII 1, "The Elfin Knight" (1 text plus an edited excerpt and a fragment)
Chappell-FSRA 1, "The Cambric Shirt" (1 fragment)
Brewster 1, "The Elfin Knight" (4 texts plus a fragment, though the "D" text is not a conversation but a series of requests from the singer to his mother; it may be a related song)
Flanders/Brown, pp. 194-196, "Scarborough Fair" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #6}
Linscott, pp. 169-171, "Blow, Ye Winds, Blow or The Elfin Knight" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #2}
Leach, pp. 51-53, ""The Elfin Knight" (2 texts)
Peacock, pp. 6-7, "The Cambric Shirt" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Friedman, p. 7, "The Elfin Knight" (2 texts)
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 138-139, "A True Lover of Mine" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #32}
FSCatskills 40, "Petticoat Lane" (1 text, 1 tune)
PBB 15, "The Elfin Knight" (1 text)
SharpAp 1 "The Elfin Knight" (2 texts, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #30, #48}
Sharp-100E 74, "Scarborough Fair" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #21}
Sharp/Karpeles-80E1, "The Lovers' Tasks (The Elfin Knight)" (1 slightly edited text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #30}
Niles 2, "The Elfin Knight" (3 texts, 3 tunes, all rather degenerate)
Lomax-FSNA 7, "Strawberry Lane" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #23, with some modifications}
Chase, pp. 112-113, "The Cambric Shirt" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hodgart, p. 26 ,"The Elfin Knight" (1 text)
DBuchan 41, "The Elfin Knight" (1 text)
MacSeegTrav 1, "The Elfin Knight" (1 text, 1 tune)
Stokoe/Reay, pp. 54-55, "Whittingham Fair" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #22, with key changed}
OLochlainn-More 99, "Rosemary Fair" (1 text, 1 tune)
Opie-Oxford2 86, "Can you make me a cambric shirt" (2 texts)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #70, p. 79-80, "(Can you make me a cambric shirt)"
Darling-NAS, pp. 19-23, "The Elfin Knight," "The Elfin Knight," "Every Rose Grows Merry in Time," "Flim-A-Lim-A-Lee" (4 texts)
Silber-FSWB, p. 151, "Scarborough Fair" (1 text); p. 152, "Cambric Shirt" (1 text)
BBI, ZN821, "The elfin knight sits on yon hill"
DT 2, SCARFAIR*
ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #312, "My Plaid Away" (1 excerpt)
Roud #12
RECORDINGS:
Sara Cleveland, "Every Rose Grows Merry in Time" (on SCleveland01) {Bronson's #34.1 in addenda}
Bob & Ron Copper, "An Acre of Land" (on FSB4)
Liz Jefferies, "Rosemary Lane" (on Voice15)
Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, "The Elfin Knight" (on SCMacCollSeeger01)
Thomas Moran, "Strawberry Lane (The Elfin Knight)" (on FSB4, FSBBAL1)
Lawrence Older, "Flim-A-Lim-A-Lee" (on LOlder01)
Anna Underhill, "The Elfin Knight" (on FineTimes)
Margaret Winters, "Cambric Shirt" (on JThomas01)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "My Father Had an Acre of Land" (theme)
cf. "O'er the Hills and Far Away (I)" (floating lyrics)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Devil's Courtship
Rosemary and Thyme
The Wind Hath Blown My Plaid Away
My Father Gave Me an Acre of Ground
The Parsley Vine
The Shirt of Lace
Redio-Tedio
The Laird o' Elfin
NOTES: The song "My Father Had an Acre of Land" is sometimes listed as a variant of this, but falsely. The basic point of Child #2 is the dialog making impossible demands; in "My Father Had an Acre of Land," the song simply boasts of impossible deeds
The now well-known refrain "Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme" does not appear original to the song, but has been associated with it at least since 1784, when a version appeared in Gammer Gurton's Garland.
The Opies think the song derives ultimately from a plot also found in the Gesta Romanorum, in which a king seeks a wife and wants to make sure of her competence. This is of course possible, but that version ends with the king wedding a clever but low-born girl, whereas this ballad tends to end with mutual rejection. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: C002

Elisha Thomas

DESCRIPTION: "Unhappy man! I understand You are condemned to die. In a few days you must away To vast eternity." The murderer is lectured about the need to turn to God
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1958 (Burt)
KEYWORDS: murder religious
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Burt, p. 237, (no title) (1 excerpted text)
NOTES: Burt claims this relates to the death of one Elisha Thomas, executed on June 5, 1788 for the murder of Peter Downe. There is no evidence of this in the verses she cites, which are standard moralizing relieved only slightly by the idea that God might have mercy on the sinner. - RBW
File: Burt237

Eliza

See The Young Maid's Love (File: HHH058)

Eliza Jane (I)

See Li'l Liza Jane (File: FSWB037)

Eliza Jane (II)

See Liza Jane (File: San132)

Ella Dare

See The Two Letters (Charlie Brooks; Nellie Dare) (File: R735)

Ella Lea

DESCRIPTION: "If you will listen to me I will sing you the song Of the unfortunate Ella Lea." The singer recalls loving Ella. He wishes she would be return to him; "life without thee is lonely." But "thou hast learned to love another."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1909 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: love betrayal
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Belden, pp. 211-212, "Ella Lea" (1 text)
Roud #7949
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Thou Hast Learned to Love Another" (lyrics)
cf. "Anna Lee (The Finished Letter)"
cf. "Thou Hast Learned to Love Another" (floating lyrics)
NOTES: This song, at least as recorded by Belden, seems badly confused. The first two lines, and the second verse, imply Ella Lea is the singer. But in the third line of the first verse, we read, "The girl that I love is handsome and fair, and I called her my sweet Ella Lea."
What's more, the verse are of the form 4 long lines, 6 long lines, 4 short lines, 4 short lines. It seems clear that it's a composite -- perhaps of "Thou Hast Learned to Love Another" and "Anna Lea." But it adds other material, too. The result is a mess I can't disentangle. RBW
File: Beld211B

Ella M Rudolph, The

DESCRIPTION: Ella M Rudolph sails with a crew of eight, including Mary Jane Abbott. When the ship strikes a rock in a storm the only survivor "was hurled into the cliff." He reaches Levi Dalton's door. A rescue party finds Mary Jane's body washed ashore
AUTHOR: Hugh Sexton and Dukey Blackwood
EARLIEST DATE: 1976 (Lehr/Best)
KEYWORDS: death sea ship storm wreck
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Dec 6, 1926 - Ella M. Rudolph with Captain Blackwood en route from St John's to Port Nelson with a cargo of fish was stranded in a storm at Brook Cove in Trinity Bay (Northern Shipwrecks Database)
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Lehr/Best 32, "The Ella M Rudolph" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: LeBe032

Ella Ree

See Ellie Rhee (Ella Rhee, Ella Ree) (File: R860)

Ella Speed (Bill Martin and Ella Speed) [Laws I6]

DESCRIPTION: Ella Speed goes out to "have a li'l fun." Her man, Bill Martin, finds out and shoots her because she has been unfaithful to him. He is sentenced to (hanging/life imprisonment).
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: murder punishment death trial
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Laws I6, "Ella Speed (Bill Martin and Ella Speed)"
Sandburg, pp. 28-29, "Alice B." (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 117-118, "Bill Martin and Ella Speed" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 658, ELLASPED*
Roud #4175
RECORDINGS:
Huddie Ledbetter [Lead Belly], "Ella Speed" (AFS 120 B5, 1933)
File: LI06

Ellen More

DESCRIPTION: "Young Henry was fair Ellen's love And Emma to her heart was dear." When Henry turns from Ellen to Emma, Ellen "o'ercome with grief she sought the steep Where Yarrow falls with sullen roar" and commits suicide.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan6)
KEYWORDS: grief courting infidelity suicide
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan6 1162, "Ellen More" (1 text)
Roud #6816
File: GrD61162

Ellen O'Connor

DESCRIPTION: Ellen O'Connor is leaving Ireland because the famine and eviction have reached Mayo. The singer hopes she will remember their good times and will return soon. He says "Him that sent the famine will make the cornfields smile." Better times are coming.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1970 (Morton-Ulster)
KEYWORDS: love emigration separation hardtimes starvation Ireland dialog nonballad political
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Morton-Ulster 26, "Ellen O'Connor" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2887
NOTES: Morton-Ulster: "I don't think it is too tenuous to see Ellen O'Connor as yet another allegory for Ireland." To understand Morton's point, see the discussion of "aisling" in the notes to "Eileen McMahon." - BS
File: MorU026

Ellen of Aberdeen

DESCRIPTION: "My earthly pleasures now are fled, My joyful days are done, Since Ellen in her grave was laid...." Orphaned at 11, the girl grew sick at 17 before she could marry the singer. He sees to her burial, and now waits to join her in heaven
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan6)
KEYWORDS: love orphan death burial
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Greig #62, p. 2, "Ellen of Aberdeen" (1 text)
GreigDuncan6 1235, "Ellen of Aberdeen" (15 texts, 9 tunes)
Ord, pp. 400-401, "Ellen of Aberdeen" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2179
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Greenland" (tune, per GreigDuncan6)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Pride o' Aiberdeen
Nellie o' Aiberdeen
File: Ord400

Ellen Smith (II)

See Poor Ellen Smith (I) (File: CSW143)

Ellen Smith [Laws F11]

DESCRIPTION: Peter Degraph claims that he has been falsely accused of murdering his sweetheart Ellen Smith. He describes his apprehension and sentence. He will be hanged, but says "My soul will be free when I stand at the bar"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1936 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: murder execution
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1893 - Peter Degraph (sometimes spelled De Graff) is sentenced to die for the murder of Ellen Smith
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,SE)
REFERENCES (8 citations):
Laws F11, "Ellen Smith"
BrownII 305, (No title; in a section headed "Ellen Smith and Peter De Graff" (1 text plus mention of 3 more)
Hudson 67, pp. 193-194, "The Ellen Smith Ballet" (1 text)
Combs/Wilgus 65, pp. 188-189, "Ellen Smith" (1 text)
Fuson, p. 132, "Poor Ellen Smyth" (1 defective text, too short to classify with certainty; Laws places it here though I would incline to classify it with "Poor Ellen Smith (I)")
Darling-NAS, pp. 204-206, "Poor Ellen Smith" (2 text, of which the "B" text goes here and the "A" text with "Poor Ellen Smith (I)")
DT, ELLNSMT2*
ADDITIONAL: _Sing Out_ magazine, Volume 21, #2 (1772), p, 21, "Poor Ellen Smith" (1 text, 1 tune, the Mollie O'Day version. The notes make the curious observation that, soon after recording this song with a hymn tune, O'Day gave up singing secular songs and turned to singing just gospel music)
Roud #448
RECORDINGS:
Henry Whitter, "Ellen Smith" (OKeh 40237, 1924)
Mollie O'Day and the Cumberland Mountain Folks:, "Poor Ellen Smith" (Columbia 20629, 1949)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Poor Ellen Smith (I)"
SAME TUNE:
How Firm a Foundation (Bellevue) (Original Sacred Harp/Denson Revisions. 1971 edition, p. 72)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Poor Ellen Smith
NOTES: To distinguish this from the other Ellen Smith ballad (which begins "Poor Ellen Smith, How was she found, Shot through the heart, Lying cold on the ground"), refer to these stanzas:
Come all kind people, my story to hear,
What happen'd to me in June of last year.
It's of poor Ellen Smith and how she was found,
A ball in her heart, lyin' cold on the ground.
...
I choked back my tears, for the people all said
That Peter Degraph had shot Ellen Smith dead!
My love is in her grave with her hand on her breast
The bloodhound and sheriff won't give me no rest.
The crime took place near Mount Airy, North Carolina. Folklore has it that DeGraph sang this song as he awaited execution. Richardson reports that "So great was the feeling, for and against Degraph, that it had to be declared a misdemeanor for the song to be sung in a gathering of any size for the reason that it always fomented a riot."
Paul Stamler notes that various versions of this song end with Degraph sentenced to prison rather than execution. This may be derived from the other ballad, "Poor Ellen Smith," which often ends before sentence is passed. The two often exchange verses.
A column by Dan Barry in the February 1, 2009 New York Times describes meetings with Peter DeGraff's grand-niece and other relatives, one of whom has a Bible DeGraff apparently took with him to the gallows. The story also gives a few details of the crime. Ellen Smith was a "poor, simple" woman, a teenager, who apparently was impregnated by Peter DeGraff (the spelling prefered by Barry and now used by the family). The child died at birth, but Smith continued to pester DeGraff even though he rejected her. At last, he sent her a note, full of orthographic errors, telling him to meet him. She came; he shot her. He fled, but later returned to town. He disclaimed responsibility for the murder, but the note in his hand was on Smith's body. He was sentenced to be hanged, and finally admitted shooting her. Her last words, according to DeGraff, were "Lord, have mercy on me." Supposedly it was the last public hanging in the county. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
File: LF11

Ellen Smith Ballet, The

See Ellen Smith [Laws F11] (File: LF11)

Ellen the Fair (Helen the Fair) [Laws O5]

DESCRIPTION: The narrator, a nobleman, sees and falls in love with Ellen, who is very beautiful although she is only a flower seller. He woos and wins her. The noble ladies all envy her beauty
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1823 (broadside, Bodleian Johnson Ballads fol. 17)
KEYWORDS: nobility courting poverty beauty
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Laws O5, "Ellen the Fair (Helen the Fair)"
Mackenzie 41, "Ellen the Fair" (1 text)
DT 470, ELLNFAIR
Roud #359
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Johnson Ballads fol. 17, "Helen the Fair," J. Catnach (London), 1823 ; also Harding B 11(1060), Harding B 16(80b), Harding B 11(1682), Firth c.26(18), Harding B 11(48), Harding B 11(3327), Harding B 16(79d), "Ellen the Fair"; Harding B 11(1519), Firth b.27(332), Johnson Ballads 858, Harding B 11(237A), Harding B 22(390), Johnson Ballads fol. 33, Harding B 11(2549), "Helen the Fair"
LOCSinging, as113270, "Sweet Helen the Fair," L. Deming (Boston), n.d.
File: LO05

Ellie Rhee (Ella Rhee, Ella Ree)

DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls Ella Rhee, beautiful and kind, with whom he used to live (before the war). (He wonders why he ran away; he is free but is no longer with Ella.) He wishes he were by her (grave). He laments, "Carry me back to Tennessee...."
AUTHOR: Septimus Winner ?
EARLIEST DATE: 1904 (War Songs and Poems of the Confederacy; the Winner song was copyrighted 1865)
KEYWORDS: love separation death burial home slave freedom
FOUND IN: US(MW,SE,So)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
BrownIII 412, "Ella Rhee" (1 text)
Randolph 860, "Ella Rhee" (1 fragment)
Dean, p. 96, "Ella Ree" (1 text)
ST R860 (Full)
Roud #7428
NOTES: Randolph's informant, who knew only the chorus, says this is about an Indian girl. The other texts I've seen, Brown's, Dean's, and that in Wharton's War Songs and Poems of the Confederacy, allow but do not require this. The version in Brown looks like more propaganda: "Don't run away; see what you'll lose?"
Septimus Winter's 1865 song "Ellie Rhee" ("Carry Me Back to Tennessee") is said by Spaeth (A History of Popular Music in America, p. 128) to be based on Ella Ree, by C. E. Steuart and James W. Porter, published 1853. - RBW
File: R860

Ellon Fair

DESCRIPTION: "'Twas in the merry month of May... To Ellon Fair I bent my way... With hopes to find amusement." The singer hires out to a "skrankie chiel," who seems to promise good conditions but demands much work without offering good food or pay.
AUTHOR: John Ker (Carr?) (source: GreigDuncan3 p. 626)
EARLIEST DATE: 1908 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: farming work money
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Greig #26, pp. 1-2, "Ellon Fair"; Greig #34, p. 2, "Ellon Fair" (2 texts)
GreigDuncan3 353, "Ellon Fair" (2 texts)
Ord, p. 262, "Ellon Fair" (1 text)
Roud #2166
NOTES: GreigDuncan3 has a map on p. xxxv, of "places mentioned in songs in volume 3" showing the song number as well as place name; Ellon (353,354) is at coordinate (h3,v9-0) on that map [roughly 16 miles N of Aberdeen]. - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: Ord262

Ellon Market

DESCRIPTION: e singer recalls how good the work was "when I was young." "But noo the warld's turned upside doon ... Some toons hae got a thrashin' mill ... the steam mill beats them a'." "When work gets less and money scarce, We winna gang sae braw."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1908 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: farming worker technology unemployment
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan3 354, "Ellon Market" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Roud #5902
NOTES: GreigDuncan3 has a map on p. xxxv, of "places mentioned in songs in volume 3" showing the song number as well as place name; Ellon (353,354) is at coordinate (h3,v9-0) on that map [roughly 16 miles N of Aberdeen]. - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: GrD3354

Elsie M Hart, The

DESCRIPTION: Elsie M Hart heads "for a port down in White Bay." Caught in a storm of sleet and snow they hope to spend the night near Plate Cove. With foresail split they run aground. The captain and another man go to Plate Cove and the people there help the crew.
AUTHOR: Mike Keough
EARLIEST DATE: 1976 (Lehr/Best)
KEYWORDS: rescue sea ship storm wreck
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Nov 18, 1935 - Elsie M. Hart wrecked near Plate Cove, Bonavista Bay. (Lehr/Best)
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Lehr/Best 33, "The Elsie M Hart" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: LeBe035

Elsie Marley

DESCRIPTION: "Elsie Marley's grown so fine, She won't get up to serve the swine, But lies in bed till eight or nine." "Di' ye ken Elsie Marley, honey, The wife that sells the barley, honey?" Stanzas tell of how Elsie leads an elaborate lifestyle
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1870 (Chambers); reportedly collected by Ritson in 1784
KEYWORDS: work clothes drink death
FOUND IN: Britain(England(Scotland))
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Stokoe/Reay, pp. 70-71, "Elsie Marley" (1 text, 1 tune)
Opie-Oxford2 152, "Elsie Marley is grown so fine" (4 texts)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #246, p. 155, "(Elsie Marley has grown so fine)"
DT, ELSMARLY*
ADDITIONAL: Robert Chambers, The Popular Rhymes of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1870 ("Digitized by Google")), p. 385, ("Saw ye Eppie Marly, honey")
Roud #3065
NOTES: According to Stokoe, Alice "Elsie" Marley was an innkeeper's wife in Pictree who, afflicted by fever, wandered from her bed and drowned in a flooded coalpit. Stokoe gives no other particulars (such as a date; the Baring-Goulds say 1768, and claim Elsie was born c. 1715), but this would explain what is otherwise a very strange song, with no real plot and an odd mix of praise and censure: Elsie is dead and being prepared for burial.
A partial against the Baring-Goulds' date is the claim by the Opies that the song was first printed around 1756. However, Ritson, who collected the song in 1784, also claimed that Elsie was from Pic(k)tree, and the Opies also give Alice Marley's dates as 1715-1768; they merely claim the song existed before her death. - RBW
Chambers includes two verses among "anti-Jacobite rhymes." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: StoR070

Elsie Marley Is Grown So Fine

See Elsie Marley (File: StoR070)

Emerald Isle, The

DESCRIPTION: "Of all nations under the sun, Dear Erin does truly excel." The boys are hearty and the girls beautiful. St Patrick drove out the vermin and blessed the shamrock. We have had heroes since with Brian Boroimhe "leathered the Danes black and blue"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1821 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 c.17(116))
KEYWORDS: Ireland nonballad patriotic
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Apr 23, 1014 - Battle of Clontarf. Brian Boru defeats a combined force of Vikings and rebels from Leinster, but dies in the battle
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
O'Conor, p. 153, "The Emerald Isle" (1 text)
Roud #13396
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 c.17(116), "The Emerald Isle" or "St. Patrick's Will", G. Thompson (Liverpool), 1789-1820
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Remember the Glories of Brian the Brave" (character of Brian Boru)
NOTES: The reference is to Brian Boru (c.940-1014) king of Munster (976), High King of Ireland (1002), died on Good Friday April 23, 1014 during the Battle of Clontarf against the Vikings (source: NationMaster Encyclopedia site). - BS
For more details, see the notes to "Remember the Glories of Brian the Brave." - RBW
File: OCon153

Emigrant (I), The

DESCRIPTION: "At dawn of the morning the ship shall be sailing That takes me away from the land of my birth ... It's nought but oppression that tears us asunder." He bids farewell to the dances, colleens, and stories.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1948 (Ranson)
KEYWORDS: emigration farewell sea ship nonballad
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ranson, pp. 16-17, "The Emigrant" (1 text, 2 tunes)
Roud #7353
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Irish Emigrant's Lament" (plot)
NOTES: Ranson: "This song is popular all over the county." - BS
(Given how few the reports of it are, I rather suspect Ranson is confusing this with one of the oh-so-many-other emigrant songs. - RBW
File: Ran016

Emigrant (II), The

DESCRIPTION: "A young aspiring Irishman ... leaving Queenstown quay in Cork" for the Yankee shore on the Teutonic in 1894; "we all gave many a wail, As we took ... one parting glimpse of lovely Inisfail." The ship safely passes icebergs and lands on Ellis Island.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1946 (Ranson)
KEYWORDS: emigration farewell sea ship America
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ranson, pp. 52-53, "The Emigrant" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7350
NOTES: The liner Teutonic was put into service at Belfast in 1889, sailing from Queenstown to Sandy Hook from that year until 1907, when Queenstown was dropped in favor of service to Cherbourg. In 1911, the ship began to sail to Montreal. She was converted to a troopship during the First World War, and scrapped in 1921. (Source: Lincoln P. Paine, Ships of the World).
According to John Malcolm Brinnin, The Sway of the Grand Saloon: A Social History of the North Atlantic, p. 305, the ship had one other distinction: She was armored. The ship, which sailed for the White Star line, was the first liner designed to be capable of conversion into an auxiliary cruiser. She also was among the first to truly dispense with sail-carrying masts (Brinnin, p. 306). I doubt any of this affected her performance as a liner, though. - RBW
File: Ran052

Emigrant from Newfoundland, The

DESCRIPTION: "Dear Newfoundland have I got to leave you To seek employment in a foreign land? Forced by our nation by cruel taxation...." He thinks back to good times around St John's but now must emigrate to work. He hopes the younger generation may stay at home.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1961 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: grief emigration farewell unemployment hardtimes lament poverty
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Peacock, pp. 360-361, "The Emigrant from Newfoundland" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Pea360 (Partial)
NOTES: The lyrics of this song remind me very much of "Farewell, Charming Nancy" [Laws K14], though only a few words are actually the same; the Dorian tune also seems related. - RBW
File: Pea360

Emigrant's Farewell to Donegal, The

DESCRIPTION: It is 1846 and the singer is leaving Donegal. His father's five acres cannot support the family. He proposes to his sweetheart, she agrees, they marry and leave for America where "no rents or taxes we pay at all"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: c.1846 (Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: marriage emigration farewell hardtimes America Ireland
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1845-1847 - The Irish potato famines
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Zimmermann 57, "A New Song Called the Emigrant's Farewell to Donegal" (1 text)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 b.9(81), "A New Song Call'd the Emegrants Farewell to Donegall," P. Brereton (Dublin), c.1867
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Over There (I - The Praties They Grow Small)" (subject: The Potato Famines) and references there
NOTES: The ballad takes place during the famine years in Ireland. - BS
For background on the famines, see the notes to "Over There (I - The Praties They Grow Small)." - RBW
File: Zimm057

Emigrant's Farewell to Donside, The

See A Health to the Company (Come All My Old Comrades) (File: CrSe222)

Emigrant's Farewell, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer bids farewell to Ireland; he will admire his home even though he will never return. He bids his sweetheart come with him. He notes how all the best folk of Ireland are going away. He mentions the gold and alcohol available in the New World
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1938 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: emigration farewell poverty
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
SHenry H743, pp. 200-201, "The Emigrant's Farewell" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, GRNFLDAM*
Roud #15034
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Green Fields of America (I)" (theme)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Green Fields of America
File: HHH743

Emma Hartsell [Laws F34]

DESCRIPTION: Emma Hartsell is found with her throat cut. Two blacks, Tom [Johnson] and Joe [Kiser], are accused of the crime and hanged from a dogwood tree. Even Joe's last request for a drink of water is refused
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: murder execution
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
May 30, 1898 - Rape and murder of Emma Hartsell. Joe Kiser and Tom Johnson are arrested, but -- despite protestations of innocence -- are lynched before they can be tried
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Laws F34, "Emma Hartsell"
BrownII 296, "Emma Hartsell" (1 text plus 1 excerpt and mention of 3 more)
DT 728, HARTSELL
Roud #2272
NOTES: Based on the notes in Brown, it appears that the facts in this particular case can never be known. The notes comment that racial hatred was at a high pitch due to attempts to give Blacks the vote in North Carolina.
The known facts are that Hartsell was raped, then killed by having her throat cut. Kiser came to town to report finding the body, and was arrested. Johnson was arrested soon after, on what basis it is not clear.
That night, a mob attacked the jail, seized the prisoners, and lynched them. The cynic in me suspects that the actual murderer was probably a leader of the lynch mob. - RBW
File: LF34

Emmet's Death

DESCRIPTION: "He dies to-day." The judge smiles because "a demon dwelt where his heart should be." The jailer has a tear in his eye because Emmet had "spoke in so kind a way." A girl "lacked the life to speak ... despair had drank up her last wild tear."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1855 (Edward Hayes, The Ballads of Ireland (Boston, 1859), Vol I)
KEYWORDS: execution patriotic judge prisoner Ireland
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Sep 20, 1803 - Robert Emmet (1778-1803) is hanged
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (3 citations):
O'Conor, p. 69, "Emmet's Death" (1 text)
Healy-OISBv2, pp. 73-74, "Emmet's Death" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Edward Hayes, The Ballads of Ireland (Boston, 1859), Vol I, p. 248, "Emmet's Death"
ST OCon069 (Partial)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 b.10(17), "Emmet's Death", unknown, n.d.
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Bold Robert Emmet" (subject) and references there
NOTES: Hayes's text is attributed to "S.F.C." - BS
For the sad background of this typically Irish story, see the notes to "Bold Robert Emmet." - RBW
File: OCon069

Emmet's Farewell to His Sweetheart

DESCRIPTION: "Farewell, love, farewell, love, I now must leave you." Emmet declares he has never deceived her. "Oh, never in the moonlight we'll roam, love." He asks her to promise to "come to my grave when all others forsake me." He hears "the death token."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1900 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 40(3))
KEYWORDS: love farewell execution
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Sep 20, 1803 - Robert Emmet (1778-1803) is hanged
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (3 citations):
O'Conor, p. 109, "Emmet's Farewell to His Sweetheart" (1 text)
Moylan 160, "Emmet's Farewell" (1 text, 1 tune)
Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan 22, "Emmet's Farewell" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5224
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 40(3), "Emmet's Farewell To His Love", J.F. Nugent and Co.? (Dublin?), 1850-1899
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Bold Robert Emmet" (subject) and references there
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Robert Emmet's Farewell to Sarah Curran
NOTES: For the sad background of this typically Irish story, see the notes to "Bold Robert Emmet."
Robert Kee, in The Most Distressful Country (being volume I of The Green Flag), p. 169, reports that Emmet's girlfriend was Sarah Curran, dauughter of the lawyer John Philpot Curran (1750-1817). Curran had defended the 1798 conspirators at their trials, and opposed the Act of Union -- but his daughter had gone farther, writing letters to Emmet which supported rebellion. He disowned her. - RBW
File: OCon109

En Revenant de la Jolie Rochelle

See C'est L'Aviron (Pull on the Oars) (File: FJ058)

En Roulant Ma Boule

DESCRIPTION: French: "En roulant ma boule roulant...." Typical plot: Three ducks are paddling. A prince comes to hunt. Though he aims for a black duck, he hits the white one with its diamond eyes and its golden feathers. The owner is upset
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1865
KEYWORDS: bird hunting nonsense foreignlanguage
FOUND IN: Canada(Que) US(MA)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 56-57, "En Roulant Ma Boule" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 26-28, "En roulant ma boule" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/MacMillan 41, "En Roulant Ma Boule" (1 English and 1 French text, 1 tune)
ADDITIONAL: Grace Lee Nute, _The Voyageur_, Appleton, 1931 (reprinted 1987 Minnesota Historical Society), pp. 129-133, "En Roulant Ma Boule" (1 text plus English translation, 1 tune)
RECORDINGS:
Lawrence Older, "En Roulante" (on LOlder01)
NOTES: Said to have originated in the fifteenth century. Bastardized versions are common, probably due to the song's popularity. Fowke reports, "[This] is probably the most popular of French-Canadian songs. Marius Barbeau has listed ninety-two different Canadian versions which all tell much the same story but differ widely in melody and refrain." Its popularity with the voyageurs may help explain its wide distribution. - RBW
File: FJ056

En Roulante

See En Roulant Ma Boule (File: FJ056)

Enchanted Isle, The

DESCRIPTION: The singers recalls traveling to Rathlin, where he hears the tale of the Enchanted Isle, which rises from the seas when a mermaid sings. Home to a beautiful city, many have tried to make it stay above the waves, but it always escapes
AUTHOR: Luke Aylmer Conolly ?
EARLIEST DATE: 1934 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: magic sea
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H550, pp. 176-177, "" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13537
NOTES: Sam Henry lists several other instances of folklore of islands rising from the waves. Variations on the theme are common, and go back to antiquity; this seems to be one of the few cases of moving lands with no hostile intent (other than aggravating the spectators, anyway). - RBW
File: HHH550

Engine 143

See The Wreck on the C & O [Laws G3] (File: LG03)

Engineer, The

DESCRIPTION: Singer, an old engineer, tells his friend (and fireman?) Joe about the wreck on the Elgin branch, where two locomotives collided in a storm and his daughter was killed. He looks forward to the day when his own death will reunite him with his child
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1946 (recording, Lester Coffee -- but he says he learned it c. 1893)
KEYWORDS: age grief train death railroading work crash disaster storm wreck children
FOUND IN: US(MW)
Roud #8586
RECORDINGS:
Lester A. Coffee, "The Engineer" (AFS 8419 A, 1946; on LC61)
NOTES: The local references place the story in northern Illinois, which was Lester Coffee's home. - PJS
File: RcThEngi

Engineer's Child, The

See The Child of the Railroad Engineer (The Two Lanterns) (File: R685)

English Lady Gay, The

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)

English Miner, The (The Coolgardie Miner, Castles in the Air)

DESCRIPTION: A newly-arrived prospector sits and dreams of his home and his family left behind. "He was thinking of home, sweet home, far away o'er the restless foam...." (While he is so distracted, a native comes up and kills him)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1968
KEYWORDS: homesickness loneliness mining death
FOUND IN: Australia
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Meredith/Anderson, pp. 115-116, "Castles in the Air"; pp. 180-181, "The Coolgardie Miner" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
File: MA115

English Orphan, The

DESCRIPTION: "My home is in England, my home is not here, But why should I murmur when trials appear? The woman that took me, God has taken away." The child, left alone and friendless, still trusts in Jesus and asks for help to get to heaven
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: orphan religious
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BrownIII 565, "An English Orphan" (1 text)
Roud #11887
NOTES: No author for this seems to be known, but it's clearly composed; oral tradition doesn't tend to preserve such hideously stupid items. - RBW
File: Br3565

English Round, An

See Boys and Girls Come Out to Play (File: FlBr187)

Enniscorthy Fair

DESCRIPTION: A Galtee farmer sells a mare at Enniscorthy fair. The buyer clips and trims it like a racehorse. Fooled, the farmer buys it back for double his price. His wife recognizes the mare and calls him a fool for trimming it because it will get sick.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1985 (IRTravellers01)
KEYWORDS: farming humorous horse trick hair
FOUND IN: Ireland
Roud #5312
RECORDINGS:
Bill Cassidy, "Enniscorthy Fair" (on IRTravellers01)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Galtee Farmer
The Galtee Mare
The Rusty Mare
File: RcEnniF

Enniskillen Dragoon, The

See Fare Ye Well, Enniskillen (The Inniskillen Dragoon) (File: E150)

Enterprise and Boxer

DESCRIPTION: "Come all ye sons of Freedom, Come, listen unto me." American Enterprise and British Boxer fight. "Though the Enterprise is but small, soon made the Boxer tame." The Americans, upon boarding, see much British blood. The singer cheers for liberty
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1818 (The Book of Birds, acccording to Gray)
KEYWORDS: ship battle death nonballad
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Sep 5, 1813 - Battle between the _Enterprise_ and the _Boxer_
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Gray, pp. 148-150, "Enterprise and Boxer" (1 text)
NOTES: There appear to be two songs titled "Enterprise and Boxer," this and another found in the Forget-Me-Not Songster; neither appears to have gone into tradition.
As is almost standard in poetic accounts of battles from the War of 1812, this one ignores much of the story. Jameson, p. 221, has this to say of the Enterprise:
[A]n American brig of fourteen guns, Captain Burrows. September 5, 1813, the brig, while sailing off the Maine coast, met the British brig "Boxer," also of fourteen guns. Both vessels opened fire at the same time. The wind was light and the cannonading very destructive. The "Enterprise," crossing the bows of the "Boxer," gave such a raking that the latter surrendered. The battle lasted forty minutes. Both commanders were killed. Two days later the prize was taken into Portland harbor.
Even before this battle, Enterprise (the third navy ship of that name) had had a complex history, Paine, p. 167, notes that she was built as a schooner during the Quasi-War with France, and captured several French privateers at that time. In 1812, after being laid up for some years, she was refitted as a brig and given the armament of 14 18-pound carronades and two 9-pound long guns which she carried during the War of 1812. Paine says Boxer had only 12 guns during their engagement.
On her next major voyage, Enterprise was forced to flee a British ship, and jettisoned most of her cannon to escape. Like most of the American navy, she spent the latter part of the war stuck in harbor. She was wrecked in 1823 (Paine, p. 168). Just as with the victories of the U. S. S. Constitution, Enterprise had won her battle but done nothing of significance to win the war.
The Enterprise class does not seem to have been much of a success; Heidler/Heidler, p. 169, report that two sisters, Nautilus and Vixen "had both been captured by the British and later wrecked." They add that Lt. William Burrows of the Enterprise and Capt. Samuel Blyth of the Boxer, both of whom died in the battle, were buried side by side in Portland.
The Boxer probably should have avoided battle; although the two ships were the same length, Enterprise had a larger mast (hence more sail, so she was probably faster), and heavier guns, and a much larger crew (102 men, to 66 on Boxer; Mahon, p. 127) ButBoxer had been convoying a Swedish merchantman when she ran into Enterprise (Mahon, pp. 126-127). In any case, Captain Blyth, who was the sort to nail his colors to the mast (Heidler/Heidler, p. 169), wanted to fight -- and paid for it. The Americans managed to "cross the T" and rake the British ship, and the officer who succeeded Blyth surrendered without waiting to be boarded (Mahon, p. 127). Just as well, given that the British had suffered 21 casualties to 12 for the Americans (Heidler/Heidler, p. 169). - RBW
Bibliography

Heidler/Heidler: David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler, editors, Encyclopedia of the War of 1812, 1997 (I use the 2004 Naval Institute Press edition)
Jameson: J. Franklin Jameson, Dictionary of United States History 1492-1895, Puritan Press, 1894
Mahon: John K. Mahon, The War of 1812, 1972 (I used the undated Da Capo paperback edition)
Paine: Lincoln P. Paine, Ships of the World, Houghton Mifflin, 1997

Last updated in version 2.5
File: Gray148

Entre le Boeuf et L'Ane Gris (Dans le Berceau, In the Manger)

DESCRIPTION: French. Christmas carol, lullaby. "Entre le boeuf et l'ane gris / dort, dort, dort le petit fils." Between the ox and the gentle ass the little son sleeps. A thousand cherubim, a thousand seraphim hover above
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1946 (BerryVin)
KEYWORDS: Christmas Jesus nonballad lullaby religious
FOUND IN: US(MW) France
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BerryVin, p. 28 "Dans le berceau (In the Manger)" (1 text + translation, 1 tune)
NOTES: I give the title as it's generally known. The tune given in BerryVin is quite different from the way it's usually sung. - PJS
Although the cherubim and seraphim above Jesus's bed are mentioned elsewhere (e.g. "In the Bleak Midwinter") and we are often told of the animals there, there is no evidence of this in the New Testament. Indeed, the word "seraph/seraphim" isn't even found in the New Testament. "Cherubim" is (in Hebrews 9:4), but not in the Gospels. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: BerV028

Entre Paris et Saint Dennie (Between Paris and Saint Dennie)

DESCRIPTION: French. The king's son asks a shepherdess to sing. She would sing if not for her sorrow at losing her brother and husband in the war. He asks which she regrets more. She says she will find another husband but will never have a brother.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1948 (Creighton-Maritime)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage grief war death music husband brother royalty
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Creighton-Maritime, p. 155, "Entre Paris et Saint Dennie" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: The shepherdess's answer is reminiscent of Lady Margaret's plea in Child 7: "True lovers I can get many a ane, But a father I can never get mair." - BS
File: CrMa155

Entrenchment of Ross, The

DESCRIPTION: French. Sir Maurice and Sir Walter feud. New Ross council decides to build a wall. Each day, beginning Candlemas, a different group of merchants, priests,... work on the ditch. Sunday ladies lay up stones for the wall. The defence plans are described.
AUTHOR: Fr Michael Kyldare (1308) (translated by Mrs George Maclean, 1831) (source: Croker-PopularSongs)
EARLIEST DATE: 1829 (_Archaeologia_ vol xxii, according to Croker-PopularSongs)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage feud music
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 262-287, "The Entrenchment of Ross" (French and English texts plus extensive notes)
ADDITIONAL: Thomas Kinsella, _The New Oxford Book of Irish Verse_ (Oxford, 1989), pp. 102-106, "The Fortification of New Ross" (1 text, excerpted from Croker)
NOTES: Croker-PopularSongs: "The [Anglo-Norman] ballad on the entrenchment of New Ross, in 1265 ... is here given as a specimen of ancient local song.... " Madden writes about an Harleian MS [913, Art 43] in the British Museum containing a "collection of pieces in verse and prose, apparently the production of an Irish ecclesiastic, ...."
Croker-PopularSongs: "It appears evident from [the ballad] that the inhabitants [of New Ross] feared that, in the war between two powerful barons, they should be exposed to insult and reprisal from the Irish who were engaged in the quarrel.... The corporate towns ... walled themselves, in order to be able to preserve their neutrality in the wars of the district which surrounded them.... The whole tenor of this very remarkable song shows that it was written when the fosse [ditch] was nearly finished, but before the walls were begun.... It is ... to be presumed that the fosse was not quite completed when the song now given was composed by some merry minstrel of the place on the day noted at the conclusion, and it was perhaps sung at the corporation dinner after their work." - BS
Although the event is Irish, it really sounds to me as if the song was influenced by the story of Nehemiah's rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem in the book of Nehemiah (especially chapter three). Although the Book of Nehemiah doesn't spend nearly as much time on descriptions of those who worked.
New Ross remained a crossroads and fortified market town at the time of the 1798 rebellion. I gather some of the fortifications still stood, though they were in pretty bad shape by then; according to Thomas Pakenham The Year of Liberty, 1969, 1997 (I use the 2000 Abacus paperback edition), p. 195, portions of the wall had been demolished by Cromwell, and the gates widened to improve commerce.. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: CrPS262

Epitaph on Peter Wilkie

DESCRIPTION: "Here lies Peter Wilkie, a peer an harmless body He wouldna tramp upon a snail, nor yet a carle-doddie [GreigDuncan8: stalk of ribwort]"
AUTHOR: John Tough (source: GreigDuncan8)
EARLIEST DATE: 1916 (GreigDuncan8)
KEYWORDS: death memorial nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan8 1885, "Epitaph on Peter Wilkie" (1 short text)
NOTES: The current description is all of the GreigDuncan8 text.
GreigDuncan8 gives no indication that this was ever sung. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD81885

Epitaph on Wattie Cobban

DESCRIPTION: "Aneth this stane lies Wattie Cobban Wha sta' the horse fae Johnnie Lobban In Perth Penitentiary jyle He learned to gird in style"
AUTHOR: John Tough (source: GreigDuncan8)
EARLIEST DATE: 1916 (GreigDuncan8)
KEYWORDS: death memorial nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan8 1886, "Epitaph on Wattie Cobban" (1 short text)
NOTES: The current description is all of the GreigDuncan8 text.
GreigDuncan8 gives no indication that this was ever sung. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD81886

Eppie Morrie [Child 223]

DESCRIPTION: Willie and his gang steal away Eppie Morrie to make her his bride. The minister refuses to marry them without her consent. Willie forces her to bed and attempts to rape her; she fends off his attempts. In the morning she demands the right to return home
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE:
KEYWORDS: abduction rape rejection escape sex
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Child 223, "Eppie Morrie" (1 text)
Bronson 223, "Eppie Morrie" (1 version)
PBB 51, "Eppie Morrie" (1 text)
DBuchan 37, "Eppie Morrie" (1 text)
DT 223, EPPMORR*
Roud #2583
RECORDINGS:
Jimmy McBeath, "Eppie Morrie" [fragment] (on FSBBAL2)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Lady of Arngosk [Child 224]" (plot)
cf. "Walter Lesly" [Child 296] (plot)
NOTES: Like Willie Macintosh [Child 183; see comment there], the only known tune for this song is that given by Ewan MacColl. - (AS)
Though we note the fragment collected from Jimmy McBeath, which was not known to Bronson.
The idea of rape as a method to secure a marriage is well-documented. Prestwich, pp. 156-157, tells of one Alice de Lacy who may actually have experienced this *twice* in the early fourteenth century:
"In 1317 she was abducted from her husband, the Earl of Lancaster, by one of [Earl] Warenne's knights, Richard de St Martin. He claimed to be her real husband, as he had slept with her before her marriage; a statement which Alice supported. In 1324 she married Eblo Lestrange in an undoubted love match and on his death took vows of chastity. Then in a dramatic scene in Bolingbroke Castle in 1336 she was again abducted, this time by Hugh de Frenes.... When she came down she was placed firmly on horseback. Only then did she realize the gravity of her situation, and she promptly fell off in an attempt to escape. She was put back, with a groom mounted behind her to hold her on, and led off to Somerton Castle. There, according to the record, Hugh raped her in breach of the king's peace. Since she was by then in her mid-fifties, it is likely that Hugh was attracted more by her vast estates than by her physical charms. As frequently happened in medieval cases of rape, the couple soon married."
Prestwich adds that de Lacy chose to be buried by Lestrange.
Abductions not ending in actual rape were doubtless even more frequent, and in one case involved a future Queen of England. Eleanor of Aquitaine, from the moment her father died and she became Duchess, was subject to kidnapping attempts to secure her inheritance (Owen, pp. 14, 31). For background on this, see the notes to "Queen Eleanor's Confession [Child 156]'"
There was also a curious inverse case, in which the a monarch was supposedly willing to rate a woman, but when she fought back, married her instead. Mancini's account of the marriage of King Edward IV and Queen Elizabeth Woodville tells a tale of him holding a knife to her throat and her refusing to sleep with him even then, with the result that he secretly married her. This probably didn't happen, but it shows the sorts of rumors that surrounded their surprise marriage. (Dockray, p. 45). - RBW
Bibliography

Dockray: Keith Dockray, Edward IV: A Source Book, Sutton, 1999
Owen: D. D. R. Owen, Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen & Legend, Blackwell, 1993
Prestwich: Michael Prestwich, The Three Edwards: War and State in England 1272-1377, Weidenfeld, 1980 (I use the 2001 Routledge paperback edition)

Last updated in version 2.5
File: C223

Epsom Races

DESCRIPTION: A fine young man dresses and rides off to the Epsom Races. There he gambles away (ten thousand pounds). After a bad harvest, the landlord confiscates his property and his family mourns when he is confined to debtor's prison
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906
KEYWORDS: racing gambling poverty prison family hardtimes
FOUND IN: Britain(England(South,North))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Kennedy 318, "Epsom Races" (1 text, 1 tune)
Copper-SoBreeze, pp. 208-209, "Epsom Races" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #383
File: K318

Equinoxial

See Father Grumble [Laws Q1] (File: LQ01)

Ere You Ask a Girl to Leave Her Happy Home

DESCRIPTION: "By a dear old mother's side Stood her eldest boy, her pride... As the lad began to tell Of the girl he loved so well... The dear old mother said, My boy, ere you are wed... You must have employment... Ere you ask a girl to leave her happy home."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: love marriage work unemployment mother
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Randolph 861, "Ere You Ask a Girl to Leave Her Happy Home" (1 text)
Roud #7532
File: R861

Erie Canal (II), The

See The E-ri-e (File: LxU045)

Erie Canal, The

DESCRIPTION: "I've got a mule, her name is Sal, Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal." "Low bridge, everybody down, Low bridge, for we're going through a town...." About the long, slow trip along the Erie Canal -- and the mule the singer works with
AUTHOR: Thomas S. Allen?
EARLIEST DATE: 1905
KEYWORDS: canal animal nonballad work
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1825 - Erie Canal opens (construction began in 1817)
FOUND IN: US(MA,MW)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Sandburg, pp. 171-173, "The Erie Canal" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 457-458, "The Erie Canal" (1 text plus a separate verse which may or may not be part of the same song); p. 464, "Erie Canal" (2 texts, the first going here while the second is "The Raging Canal (I)"); p. 466, "(A Trip on the Erie)" (the second song files under the title "A Trip on the Erie," but is actually this piece); pp. 467-469, "Low Bridge, Everybody Down or Fifteen Years on the Erie Canal" (1 text, 1 tune)
Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 102-103, "The Erie Canal" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 126, "The Erie Canal" (1 text)
DT, ERIECANL*
Roud #6598
RECORDINGS:
Vernon Dalhart, "Low Bridge Everybody Down" (Columbia 15378-D, 1929)
Edward Meeker, "Low Bridge! Everybody Down" (CYL: Edison [BA] 1761, 1913)
Pete Seeger, "Erie Canal, " (PeteSeeger31) (on PeteSeeger46)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "A Trip on the Erie (Haul in Your Bowline)"
cf. "The E-ri-e" (plot)
cf. "The Raging Canal (I)"
cf. "Bullhead Boat" (subject)
NOTES: The Erie Canal, as originally constructed, was a small, shallow channel which could only take barges. These vessels -- if such they could be called -- were normally hauled along by mules.
The Lomaxes, in American Ballad and Folk Songs, thoroughly mingled many texts of the Erie Canal songs (in fairness, some of this may have been the work of their informants -- but in any case the Lomaxes did not help the problem). One should check all the Erie Canal songs for related stanzas. - RBW
File: San171

Erin

DESCRIPTION: "... Sons of green Erin, lament o'er the time, When religion was war, and our country a crime ...Drive the Demon of Bigotry home to his den, And where Britain made brutes now let Erin make men. Let my sons like the leaves of the shamrock unite"
AUTHOR: William Drennan (1754-1820)
EARLIEST DATE: 1798 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 19(24))
KEYWORDS: Ireland nonballad patriotic political
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (3 citations):
O'Conor, pp. 59-60, "Erin" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 361-362, "Eire" (1 text)
H. Halliday Sparling, Irish Minstrelsy (London, 1888), pp. 39-40, 499, "Eire" ("When Eire first rose from the dark-swelling flood")
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 19(24), "Erin", unknown (Dublin), 1798
NOTES: Broadside Bodleian Harding B 19(24) imprint states "Dublin, June, 1798." - BS
Which date was, in fact, the height of the Irish rebellion. In mid-May, the English had tried to disarm the Irish at various points. The last ten days of May saw risings in Kildare. Wexford rose starting May 26.
But the collapse came almost as fast as the rising: On May 28, Kildare was relieved and General Dundas took thousands of surrenders at Knockallen. On June 5, the rebels were beaten at New Ross. Henry Joy McCracken was defeated at Antrim on June 7. (see the notes to "Henry Joy McCracken (I)). June 13 saw Munro's rebellion crushed at Ballynahinch. Vinegar Hill was stormed on June 21. There were further sporadic attempts at revolt, but odds are that the rebellion was already failing by the time this item was in circulation.
William Drennan also wrote "The Wake of William Orr." - RBW
File: OCon059

Erin A'Green

DESCRIPTION: The singer is forced by Peggy's father and brothers to leave Armathy for Canada on the day they were to be married. "It's for loving this fair one, and that was a small crime, That I am transported away for a time" but he will return to Erin a'green.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1960 (Creighton-SNewBrunswick)
KEYWORDS: love transportation separation Canada Ireland brother father
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 11, "Erin A'Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST CrSNB011 (Partial)
Roud #2789
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Erin's Lovely Home" [Laws M6] (theme) and references there
File: CrSNB011

Erin Far Away (I) [Laws J6]

DESCRIPTION: An Irish soldier lies fatally wounded in India. He asks his brother to tell his parents that he died nobly. He asks his brother to mark has grave so that his love can plant a shamrock on it. He dies and is buried; the other soldiers return to Erin
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1932 (Creighton-NovaScotia)
KEYWORDS: war death dying farewell soldier
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1857-1858 - Sepoy Mutiny in India. The inhabitants of Northern India revolt against the East India Company on behalf of their ancestral customs (many of which, such as the murder of widows, were abhorrent to Western opinion)
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar,Ont) Ireland
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Laws J6, "Erin Far Away I"
Creighton-NovaScotia 71, "Erin Far Away" (1 text, 1 tune)
Dibblee/Dibblee, pp. 84-85, "Old Erin Far Away" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 548, ERINWAY1
Roud #1805
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Dying Soldier (I) (Erin Far Away II)" [Laws J7] (plot, theme)
cf. "The Soldier's Letter" (plot)
cf. "The Last Fierce Charge" [Laws A17] (plot)
cf. "I'll Be With You When the Roses Bloom Again" (plot)
cf. "The Blessed Zulu War" (plot)
NOTES: This song is frankly so close to Laws J7 that I find it impossible to tell them apart. Even the first lines in Laws's sample versions are similar. Laws does not give reasons for the distinction. One should therefore examine the references for both songs. - RBW
File: LJ06

Erin Go Braugh! (I)

DESCRIPTION: "I'll tell you a story of a row in the town, When the green flag went up and the Crown rag went down." The Irish, though inexperienced, rebel against the English, and cause a captain to die of "lead poisoning." The leaders are hailed.
AUTHOR: Peadar Kearney ?
EARLIEST DATE: 1973
KEYWORDS: rebellion death Ireland
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1916 - Easter Uprising
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Silber-FSWB, p. 321, "Erin Go Braugh!" (1 text)
DT, ERNGBRA2
NOTES: For background on the Easter Rising, its hopelessness, and its quick fizzle, see the notes, e.g., on "The Boys from County Cork"; also "James Connolly" and "Lovely Banna Strand." It seems almost typical that this song focuses on the bravery of the rebels -- and not their complete ineptness, poor organization, bad communications, and ignominous surrender after only a week.
The fact that most Irish songs of rebellion present pictures idealized to the point of falsehood may not be coincidence; it may show why the English and Irish never understood each other.
Peadar Kearney wrote Ireland's national anthem, "The Soldier's Song," plus "Whack Fol the Diddle (God Bless England)"; it would be no surprise if he wrote this song, but I need better documentation than I have. For more on Kearney, see the notes to "Whack Fol the Diddle (God Bless England)." - RBW
File: FSWB321A

Erin Go Bray

DESCRIPTION: In "Jacobin" dialect the singer loves Irish whiskey and girls and meat "while Pat may go starve in his hovel."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 2000 (Moylan)
KEYWORDS: France Ireland humorous nonballad political
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Moylan 26, "Erin Go Bray" (1 text)
NOTES: Moylan: "'Erin go Bray' expresses the loyalist view of the benefits likely to accrue to Ireland from an alliance with revolutionary France. The title and burden lampoons the United Irish slogan Erin go Bragh." - BS
File: Moyl026

Erin the Green (I)

DESCRIPTION: The singer dreams that Napoleon has landed in Ireland, saying, "Rise up my friend." "He was the hero we longed for to see. The bells of the chapel resounded a ditty To welcome Napoleon to Erin the Green"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1979 (Tunney-StoneFiddle)
KEYWORDS: dream Ireland nonballad patriotic Napoleon
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Moylan 130, "Erin the Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Tunney-StoneFiddle, pp. 39-40, "Erin the Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
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, "Welcome Napoleon to Erin the Green" (on Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "My Name is Napoleon Bonaparte," Hummingbird Records HBCD0027 (2001)) - BS
For the likely background to this song, see the notes to "The Shan Van Voght." - RBW
File: Moyl130

Erin the Green (II)

DESCRIPTION: Counterfeiter William Hill has been sentenced for life to Van Dieman's. He hopes for pardon. "I ardently loved all mankind." With notes forged on the Bank of Scotland "the naked I clothed." "My heart shall be true [to Erin] as the needle to the pole"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 19C (broadside, Murray Mu23-y1:113)
KEYWORDS: farewell crime transportation money Australia Ireland
FOUND IN: ireland
Roud #6992
RECORDINGS:
Robert Cinnamond, "Erin the Green" (on IRRCinnamond01)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 c.15(292), "Erin the Green" ("Adieu, lovely Erin, I'm going to leave you"), unknown, n.d.
Murray, Mu23-y1:113, "Erin the Green," James Lindsay (Glasgow), 19C; also Mu23-y3:038, "Erin the Green"
NOTES: Broadside Murray Mu23-y1:113 is the basis for the description. - BS
File: BdErGre3

Erin the Green (III)

See The Flower of Sweet Erin the Green (File: TST144)

Erin-Go-Bragh (II)

See Duncan Campbell (Erin-Go-Bragh) [Laws Q20] (File: LQ20)

Erin, My Country (The Harp of Erin)

DESCRIPTION: "Erin, my country, although thy harp slumbers," the singer loves her still. The singer describes the beauties of Ireland. "Cold, cold must the heart be and void of emotion That loves not the music of Erin-go-bragh"
AUTHOR: William McComb ?
EARLIEST DATE: 1890 (Kenedy)
KEYWORDS: Ireland music nonballad
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
SHenry H478, p. 176, "Erin, My Country" (1 text, 1 tune)
O'Conor, p. 42, "Erin, My Country"; pp. 93-94, "Erin, My Country" (2 texts)
Roud #2683
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(2747), "O Erin! My Country," J. Harkness (Preston), n.d.; also 2806 b.10(191), 2806 c.15(290), "The Harp of Erin"
Murray, Mu23-y1:063, "The Harp of Erin," James Lindsay (Glasgow), 19C
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Harp That Once Through Tara's Hall" (theme)
NOTES: The thematic connection with Moore's "The Harp That Once Through Tara's Hall" is so obvious that it need not be elaborated. I'm sure there is cross-influence. But the songs are distinct. - RBW
File: HHH478

Erin's Flowery Vale (The Irish Girl's Lament) [Laws O29]

DESCRIPTION: The singer chances to see a young couple talking. He is about to take ship for America. She repeatedly expresses her fear that he will forget her. He promises to be true. They kiss; he departs; the singer leaves
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: separation emigration promise parting
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar) Ireland
REFERENCES (9 citations):
Laws O29, "Erin's Flowery Vale (The Irish Girl's Lament)"
Doerflinger, pp. 318-319, "The Irish Girl's Lament" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H85, pp. 300-301, "Dobbin's Flowery Vale" (1 text, 1 tune)
Morton-Ulster 33, "Dobbins Flowery Vale" (1 text, 1 tune)
OLochlainn 82, "Dobbin's Flowery Vale" (1 text, 1 tune)
Tunney-SongsThunder, pp. 85-87, "Dobbin's Flowery Vale" (1 text)
OBoyle 9, "Dobbin's Flowery Vale" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 13, "Overn's Flowery Vale" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 484, ERINVALE
Roud #999
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 25(585), "Erin's Flow'ry Vale," unknown, n.d.; also 2806 c.15(56), "Dobbin's Flowery Vale"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Mullinabrone" (plot, lyrics)
cf. "Caledonia (III -- Jean and Caledonia)" (plot)
cf. "Maid of Dunysheil" (plot)
cf. "Killyclare (Carrowclare; The Maid of Carrowclare)" (plot)
cf. "The Blooming Star of Eglintown" (plot)
cf. "Faithful Rambler, The (Jamie and Mary, Love's Parting)" (plot)
NOTES: For the relationship of this song to "The Irish Girl," see the notes on that song. - RBW
The location of this song is sometimes taken to be in "Dobbins Flowery Vale." Morton-Ulster explains: "Dobbins Flowery Vale is part of what was the estate of Colonel Dobbin, on the edge of the City of Armagh. Colonel Dobbin was M.P. for the area in the late eighteenth century."
Also collected and sung Kevin Mitchell, "Dobbin's Flowery Vale" (on Kevin and Ellen Mitchell, "Have a Drop Mair," Musical Tradition Records MTCD315-6 CD (2001)) - BS
File: LO29

Erin's Green Linnet

DESCRIPTION: Singer asks why a maid weeps. "I once had a Linnet, the pride of this nation, By the fowler he was taken." The Linnet sung throughout Ireland and "upon Tara's old hill" and "famed Mullingar," championed Emancipation in 1829. Now he is lying in Glasnevin.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1847 (Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: death Ireland memorial patriotic political bird
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Zimmermann 56, "Erin's Green Linnet" (1 text)
Healy-OISBv2, pp. 92-94, "Erin's Green Linnet" (1 text)
Roud #12903
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 b.10(23), "O'Connell's Green Linnet," H. Such (London), 1863-1885; also Harding B 19(40), 2806 c.8(41), Harding B 26(173)[some words illegible with heading "Linnet" as "Linne;"], "Erin's Green Linnet"; Firth c.16(83), "The O'Connell, Erin-go-bragh"; Harding B 19(39), "The Green Linnet"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Erin's King (Daniel Is No More)" (subject: O'Connell's death)
cf. "Kerry Eagle" (subject: O'Connell's death)
cf. "Daniel O'Connell (I)" (subject: Daniel O'Connell) and references there
NOTES: "1829 saw Catholic 'emancipation,' allowing them every political right open to Protestants of equivalent position" (- RBW). O'Connell led the movement of 1840-1843 to repeal the act that joined Ireland and Great Britain as the United Kingdom with "monster meetings" at Tara and Mullingar and other places (cf. "Glorious Repeal Meeting Held at Tara Hill" and "The Meeting of Tara"). Zimmermann: "O'Connell died at Genoa, on his way to Rome, 15th May, 1847." (p. 233) "In accordance with his wish his heart was brought to Rome and his body to Ireland. His funeral was of enormous dimensions, and since his death a splendid statue has been erected to his memory in Dublin and a round tower placed over his remains in Glasnevin" (source: "Daniel O'Connell" by E.A. D'Alton in The Catholic Encyclopedia on the New Advent site. - BS
File: Zimm059

Erin's Green Shore [Laws Q27]

DESCRIPTION: The singer dreams of meeting a beautiful girl in a green mantle. She tells him she (is a relative of Daniel O'Connell and) has come to awaken her countrymen who sleep on Erin's shore. The singer awakens and hopes the girl finds success
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1835 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(1085))
KEYWORDS: Ireland dream patriotic clothes
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MA,So) Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland
REFERENCES (19 citations):
Laws Q27, "Erin's Green Shore"
O'Conor, p. 38, "Erin's Green Shore" (1 text)
OLochlainn-More, pp. 262-263, "Erin's Green Shore" (1 text, tune referenced: see OLochlainn 6)
Zimmermann 27, "Erin's Green Shore" (1 text, 2 tunes)
Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan 27, "Erin's Green Shore" (1 text, 1 tune)
Belden, pp. 282-283, "Erin's Green Shore" (1 text)
Randolph 75, "Erin's Green Shore" (1 text, 1 tune)
FSCatskills 73, "Erin's Green Shores" (1 text, 1 tune)
JHCox 151, "Erin's Green Shore" (3 texts plus mention of 1 more)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 69, "Erin's Green Shore" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 362-365, "Erin's Green Shore" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Creighton-NovaScotia 79, "The Mantle of Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-Maritime, pp. 164-165, "Erin's Green Shore" (1 text, 2 tunes)
Ives-DullCare, pp. 140-141,245, "Erin's Green Shore" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 152-153, "Erin's Green Shore" (1 text)
cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 479, "Erin's Green Shore" (source notes only)
DT 351, ERINGREN* ERINSHOR*
ADDITIONAL: _Sing Out_ magazine, Volume 25, #4 (1977), p, 2, "Erin's Green Shore" (1 text, 1 tune, Hedy West's version, learned from her grandmother)
[no author listed], Scenes & Songs of the Ohio-Erie Canal, Ohio Historical Society, 1971, "Erin's Green Shore" (1 text, 1 tune, from Pearl R. Nye)
Roud #280
RECORDINGS:
Robert Cinnamond, "Erin's Green Shore" (on IRRCinnamond01)
Packie Dolan, "Erin's Green Shore" (Montgomery Ward M-8619, c. 1941)
Tom Lenihan, "Erin's Green Shore" (on IRTLenihan01)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(1085), "Erin's Green Shore," G. Walker (Durham), 1797-1834; also 2806 b.10(182), Firth b.25(216), Johnson Ballads 1397, 2806 b.11(109), 2806 c.15(247)[title and beginning lines illegible], Harding B 11(1951), "Erin's Green Shore"
LOCSheet, sm1855 590170, "A Dream" or "Erin's Green Shore," Stayman and Brothers (Philadelphia), 1855 (tune)
LOCSinging, as200830, "Erin's Green Shore," Johnson's Cheap Printing Office (Philadelphia), 19C
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Eileen McMahon" (aisling format)
cf. "Granuaile" (aisling format) and references there
cf. "Poor Old Granuaile" (theme)
cf. "Granuwale" (theme)
cf. "Kate of Glenkeen" (tune)
cf. "The Banks of the Little Eau Pleine" [Laws C2] (tune)
cf. "Harry Dunn (The Hanging Limb)" [Laws C14] (tune)
cf. "The Maid with the Bonny Brown Hair" (tune)
cf. "The Patriot Queen" (theme: beautiful woman to rally Erin)
cf. "The Blackbird of Avondale" or "The Arrest of Parnell" (theme)
cf. "The Patriot Queen" (theme: beautiful woman to rally Erin)
cf. "Daniel O'Connell (I)" (subject: Daniel O'Connell) and references there
NOTES: Daniel O'Connell (1775-1847) was an Irish patriot who worked vigorously for Catholic freedom. He did not take part in the 1798 rebellion, but promoted Irish and Catholic rights for many years, and in 1829 saw Britain lift the ban on Catholics in parliament. One of the greatest of the peaceful Irish leaders, his tragedy is that eventually neither side trusted him.
Creighton's version, "The Mantle of Green," should not be confused with Laws N38, "The Mantle So Green."
For a discussion of this type of song as a example of the genre known as the "aisling," see the notes to "Granuaile." - RBW
Broadside LOCSheet sm1855 590170: "words by James Sanford, music by A. Fletcher Stayman"; the date "created and published by Stayman and Brothers" of 1855 is later than the Bodleian Harding B 11(1085) broadside date. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: LQ27

Erin's Isle (The Boat That Brought Me Over)

DESCRIPTION: "I'm a boy from Erin's Isle just landed here today... Sure they told me England was the place Where everything was gay. Bedad, says I, if that's the case, Sure that's the spot for me." He gets seasick and swears if he gets home not to go again
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield)
KEYWORDS: parting travel sea ship England Ireland family disease
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Greenleaf/Mansfield 68, "Erin's Isle" (1 text)
Roud #3097
File: GrMa068

Erin's King (Daniel Is No More)

DESCRIPTION: A maid sings "Erin's King, brave Dan's no more." Daniel O'Connell's career is reviewed: elected for Clare but did not take the oath, brought Emancipation, defended Father Maguire, defended accused conspirators at Doneraile, led us at Tara and Mullaghmast.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1847 (Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: death Ireland memorial patriotic political lament
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
May 15, 1847 - Daniel O'Connell dies on the way to Rome (source: Zimmermann)
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Zimmermann 54, "Erin's King" or "Daniel Is No More" (1 text)
Healy-OISBv2, pp. 94-96, "Brave Dan's No More" (1 text)
Roud #9278
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 b.10(35), "Erin's Lament for O'Connell," H. Such (London), 1849-1862; also 2806 c.15(211), 2806 b.10(39), Harding B 19(101), "Erin's King" or "Daniel is No More"; 2806 b.10(41), 2806 b.10(33), "Erin's King" or "Brave Dan's No More"; Harding B 13(345), "Lines to the Memory of Daniel O'Connell"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Erin's King (Daniel Is No More)" (subject: O'Connell's death)
cf. "Kerry Eagle" (subject: O'Connell's death)
cf. "Daniel O'Connell (I)" (subject: Daniel O'Connell) and references there
SAME TUNE:
The Riots in Belfast (Healy-O(SBv2, pp. 102-104)
NOTES: Zimmermann: "When O'Connell was elected first Catholic M.P., he refused to take the old oath against transubstantiation" (cf. "The Shan Van Voght" (1828)); "In 1827, he defended successfully Rev Thomas Maguire, a popular Catholic priest scandalously accused by a Miss Annie McGarrahan."; "In 1829, he obtained the acquittal of several peasants from Doneraile, County Cork, accused of a murder-attempt on an unpopular magistrate"; "Mullaghmast and Tara were the seats of two 'monster meetings' in 1843" (cf. "Glorious Repeal Meeting Held at Tara Hill" and "The Meeting of Tara"). - BS
The exact site of O'Connell's death is variously listed; Zimmermann says Genoa; Robert Kee in The Most Distressful Country (being Volume I of The Green Flag), p. 258, says Lyon. All agree that he was on pilgrimage to Rome; he had given his last appeal to the House of Commons shortly before, saying "Ireland is in your hands" (Peter and Fiona Somerset Fry, A History of Ireland, p. 327; Terry Golway, For the Cause of Liberty, p. 117; Kee, p. 258 note his belief that a quarter of the population of Ireland would die if not given aid. This is a slight but understandable exaggeration: Of eight million Irish, about a million died and a million left the country.)
Hearers of the speech noted how far he had fallen, his voice was gone and most of his mental and physical force spent. Disraeli described him as a "feeble old man muttering from a table" (Golway, p. 117). The doctors said he needed rest. He ended up getting the longest rest of all. He was 71.
O'Connell's heart was taken to Rome; the rest of his body was returned to Ireland.
The love the people felt for him is shown by the many songs about him, and the several about his death -- though relatively few went into tradition. - RBW
File: Zimm054

Erin's Lament for her Davitt Asthore

DESCRIPTION: The singer dreams of Richmond prison and Erin as a woman weeps for the loss "of her Green Linnet Davitt ashtore." She sings that he was trapped by the fowler, refused bail, and was caged nine years. The singer wakes to find the dream true.
AUTHOR: Broadside signed P. Hanley (Source: Zimmermann and broadside Bodleian Harding B 26(229))
EARLIEST DATE: 1883 (Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: dream prisoner Ireland patriotic bird
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Zimmermann 83, "The Green Linnet" (1 text, 1 tune)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 26(229), "The Green Linnet" or "Erin's Lament for her Davitt Asthore," unknown, n.d.
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Michael Davitt" (subject of Michael Davitt) and references there
cf. "Erin's Green Shore" [Laws Q27] (theme)
cf. "Poor Old Granuaile" (theme)
cf. "Eileen McMahon" (aisling format)
cf. "Granuaile" (aisling format) and references there
cf. "Granuwale" (theme)
cf. "The Blackbird of Avondale" or "The Arrest of Parnell" (theme)
NOTES: Zimmermann: In Irish "a stoir" = my treasure. - BS
Although Michael Davitt (1846-1905) did spend many years in involuntary servitude, he never spent nine consecutive years in prison. AFenian from 1865, he was convicted in 1870 of gun-running and sentenced to fifteen years. In 1877, he was given a ticket-of-leave, and went on to found the Land League (for which see, e.g. "The Bold Tenant Farmer"). He ended up imprisoned again for just over a year in 1881-1882.
For a discussion of this type of song as a example of the genre known as the "aisling," see the notes to "Granuaile." - RBW
File: Zimm083

Erin's Lovely Home [Laws M6]

DESCRIPTION: The singer, a gentleman's servant, falls in love with his employer's daughter. They plan to flee abroad. But the girl's father stops them as they board the ship; he has the young man transported for seven years. The girl promises to wait for him
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1856 (Journal from the Catalpa)
KEYWORDS: love elopement transportation separation
FOUND IN: US(So) Canada(Mar,Newf) Britain(England,Scotland(Aber)) Ireland
REFERENCES (16 citations):
Laws M6, "Erin's Lovely Home"
O'Conor, p. 25, "Erin's Lovely Home" (1 text)
McBride 24, "Erin's Lovely Home" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph 89, "Erin's Lovely Home" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sharp-100E 54, "Erin's Lovely Home" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H46, pp. 438-439, "Erin's Lovely Home" (1 text, 1 tune)
OLochlainn 102, "Erin's Lovely Home" (1 text, 1 tune)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 199-201, "Aran's Lovely Home" ( text)
Greig #47, p. 1, "Erin's Lovely Home" (1 text)
GreigDuncan6 1098, "Erin's Lovely Home" (12 texts, 8 tunes)
Ord, pp. 106-107, "Erin's Lovely Home" (1 text)
MacSeegTrav 77, "Erin's Lovely Home" (1 text, 1 tune)
Leach-Labrador 10, "Erin's Lovely Home" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-Maritime, pp. 64-65, "Erin's Lovely Home" (1 text, 1 tune)
Mackenzie 38, "Erin's Lovely Home" (1 text)
DT 431, ARANHOME*
Roud #1427
RECORDINGS:
Michael "Straighty" Flanagan, "Erin's Lovely Home" (on IRClare01)
Mary Anne Haynes, "Erin's Lovely Home" (on Voice04)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(1087), "Erin's Lovely Home," A. Ryle and Co. (London), 1845-1859; also 2806 b.11(123), Harding B 11(1086), Harding B 11(1088), 2806 b.11(20), 2806 c.15(248)[some illegible lines], 2806 c.8(297), Harding B 11(1089), "Erin's Lovely Home"
Murray, Mu23-y1:111, "Erin's Lovely Home," James Lindsay (Glasgow), 19C
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Henry Connors" [Laws M5] (plot)
cf. "Erin's Lovely Home" [Laws M6] (plot)
cf. "William Riley's Courtship [Laws M9]" (plot)
cf. "Jock Scott" (plot)
cf. "Matt Hyland" (plot)
cf. "Richard and I" (plot)
cf. "Erin A'Green" (plot)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Old Erin's Lovely Vale
Seven Links on My Chain
File: LM06

Erin's Lovely Lee

DESCRIPTION: Singer leaves Queenstown for New York with the Fenian boys March 6, 1863. They are met by Yankees who ask about the Manchester three, Wolfe Tone's body, Captain Mackey and O'Dwyer. He thinks of going home "to float a Fenian boat down Erin's lovely Lee"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1967 (recording, Willy Clancy)
KEYWORDS: Civilwar America Ireland patriotic
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
OCanainn, pp. 38-39, "Down Erin's Lovely Lee" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, ERINSLEE*
Roud #5327
RECORDINGS:
Willy Clancy, "Erin's Lovely Lee" (on Voice04)
NOTES: Many Irishmen fought on both sides of the American Civil War. Eventually the Fenian Brotherhood supported Civil War participation as "a training ground for the coming battle in Ireland." (source: A Brief History of the Fenian Brotherhood at the Mike Ruddy site). See the notes to "Kelley's Irish Brigade," "Pat Murphy of the Irish Brigade" and "What Irish Boys Can Do" for more information.
Some of the references are anachronistic.
See "The Smashing of the Van (I)" regarding the Manchester three. The event [would take] place in 1867.
See "The Grave of Wolfe Tone" regarding his burial. Tone died in 1798.
Zimmermann p.67: "William Mackey commanded the Fenians at Ballyknockane, County Cork, in an attack upon the police barracks during the rising of 1867."
See "Michael Dwyer" and "Michael Dwyer (II)" regarding "bold O'Dwyer, the Wicklow Mountain lion." Dwyer's mountain men fought in the early years of the nineteenth century.
Robert Emmet, who was hanged in 1803 is also mentioned. - BS
Since the song is badly anachronistic (implying composition well after the fact), we might mention the one ship commissioned specifically for the Fenian movement, the submarine Fenian Ram. According to Paine, p. 183, this was planned in 1876, started in 1878, and finished in 1881. The goal was to use it against British warships. Like most Fenian gadgets, nothing came of it -- though it did go on exhibit during World War I to raise money for the survivors of the Easter Rising. And, according to Preston, p. 36, she was designed by John Holland, who became disenchanted with the Fenians and went on to design another submarine which he sold to the United States Navy -- the first successful naval submarine.
For a bit more on Captain Mackey (whose 1867 exploits were too minor even to earn mention in most of the histories I checked), see the notes to "Bold Jack Donahoe."
The other historical figure mentioned in the song is "Crowley." This appears to be another anachronism, because Crowley was associated with the 1867 Fenian Uprising. Acording to Kee, p. 42, "The last dramatic action [in the aftermath of Ballyhurst, for which see 'Burke's Dream' [Laws J16]] was fought on the last day of March, when three leaders of the successful raid on Knockadoon coastguard station, Peter O'Neill Crowley, McLure and Kelly were surprised in Kilclooney Wood in County Tipperary. After a running action among the trees Crowley was killed and the other two arrested -- one with a small green flag and a manual of military tactics in his pocket."
There is a song about him, "Peter Crowley," which I've heard pop-Irish bands sing as if it's traditional, but I have yet to discover any field collections. - RBW
Bibliography

Kee: Robert Kee, The Bold Fenian Men, being volume II of The Green Flag (covering the period from around 1848 to the Easter Rising), Penguin, 1972
Paine: Lincoln P. Paine, Ships of the World: An Historical Encylopedia, Houghton Mifflin, 1997
Preston: Diana Preston, Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy (Walker, 2002; I use the 2003 Berkley edition)

Last updated in version 2.5
File: RcErLoLe

Erin's Lovely Shore

DESCRIPTION: The singer is "an Irish exile girl." She thinks about the past at home. She dreams she returns to Ireland on an ocean liner and meets her grown sister; she cannot understand the talk because it is Gaelic. She wakes. She warns others to stay in Ireland.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1988 (McBride)
KEYWORDS: homesickness exile dream Ireland ship
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
McBride 25, "Erin's Lovely Shore" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Presumably from the late nineteenth century, since the first real ocean liner was the Great Eastern of 1858 (for background, see e.g. Lincoln P. Paine, Ships of the World, Houghton Mifflin, 1997), and the first successful ocean liner was the Oceanic of 1870. So we must presume the song in its current form is post-1870. But Irish was already in decline by then; the sooner after that the song appeared, the more it makes sense. - RBW
File: McB1025

Erin's Whisky

DESCRIPTION: Others praise wine. "For ever shall the theme be mine To chant old whisky's praise ... And let us sing The joys of Erin's whisky"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1825 (_Captain Rock in London, No. 42_, according to Croker-PopularSongs)
KEYWORDS: drink nonballad
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 77-78, "Erin's Whisky" (1 text)
File: CrPS077

Eriskay Love Lilt, An

See Bheir Me O (File: DTnheirm)

Erlinton [Child 8]

DESCRIPTION: (Erlinton) has a daughter, whom he confines to protect her virtue. A young man nonetheless spirits the daughter away. The lady's guards pursue; the young man slays all but one, and they escape.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1803 (Scott)
KEYWORDS: courting death fight escape
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Child 8, "Erlinton" (3 texts)
OBB 37, "Erlinton" (1 text)
DT, ERLINTON
Roud #24
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Earl Brand" [Child 7] (plot)
cf. "The Bold Soldier [Laws M27]" (plot)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Robin Hood and the Tanner's Daughter
NOTES: Child himself admits that it is "only with much hesitation" that he has separated "Erlinton" from "Earl Brand," and if they are in fact distinct, there has clearly been cross-fertilization. The distinction may not matter much; "Earl Brand" has a lively traditional history, but "Erlinton" was pretty much a dead end. - RBW
File: C008

Errol on the Green

See The Earl of Errol [Child 231] (File: C231)

ESB in Coolea, The

DESCRIPTION: "ESB with 'lectricity is landed in Coolea For to give us light by day or night with bulbs that do not blow." Cullinane "climbs the poles ... watch the sputniks glow." There are jobs digging holes, pegging lines, driving trucks." Not like fifty years ago.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1978 (OCanainn)
KEYWORDS: technology work nonballad
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
OCanainn, pp. 36-37, "Fifty Years Ago" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: OCanainn: "It's less than twenty years since Coolea got its electricity supply (1959) so this is a fairly modern composition." - BS
A point reinforced by the mention of "Sputniks"; Sputnik 1 of course was launched in 1957 (October 4), and it was not until some time later that satellites were large enough to be visible to most people's naked eye.
Gripes about twenty/thirty/fifty years ago, on the other hand, go back about as far as we have records.
ESB is the Electricity Supply Board, founded in 1927 largely to administer the electricity yielded by the Shannon Scheme (for which see "The Shannon Scheme" and "The Straightened Banks of Erne"). - RBW
File: OCan036

Escape of James Stephens, The

DESCRIPTION: Stephens escapes from Richmond. Foolish statements are attributed to the Queen, the Marquis, and Lord Wodehouse. The attempt to recapture him is ridiculed: "But one thing you'll not do, That is get from 'Parley-voo', The bird that thither flew"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1879 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 18(151)); OLochlainn-More 3 refers to a newspaper story in 1868 in _The Irishman_
KEYWORDS: prison escape France Ireland humorous patriotic
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Sep 15, 1865 - _The Irish People_ newspaper raided and leaders arrested; Stephens in hiding
Nov 11, 1865 - Stephens arrested; scheduled for trial Nov 27, 1865.
Nov 24, 1865 - Escapes Richmond prison (source: Princess Grace Irish Library (Monaco) site)
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
OLochlainn-More 3A, "The Escape of James Stephens" (1 text, 1 tune)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 18(151), "The Escape of Stephens, the Fenian Chief," H. De Marsan (New York), 1864-1878
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "James Stephens, the Gallant Fenian Boy" (subject) and references there
cf. "The Shan Van Voght" (tune)
NOTES: The Fenians were an organization devoted to freeing Ireland. The organization was founded in 1858 by James Stephens, and quickly spread; the British government felt the need to suppress the group in 1865. Stephens and others were taken prisoner; although he escaped, it turned him cautious; he no longer had the nerve to take aggressive action. That pretty well killed the group as an active set of rebels; their attempt at an Irish rebellion failed in 1867.
For more on Stephens, see the notes to "James Stephens, the Gallant Fenian Boy." - RBW
Broadside Harding B 18(151): 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: OLcM003A

Escape of Meagher, The

DESCRIPTION: "In the year '48 he was taken, you know, Next on board a ship he had for to go" Meagher escapes in Van Dieman's Land. The police chief refuses to track him "for you know we are Irishmen" He lands safe in New York, greeted by 16,000.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1852 (Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: transportation trial escape America Australia Ireland police
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Jan 1852 - Thomas Francis Meagher escapes from Tasmania to America. "[S]entenced to death after the attempted insurrection in 1848, [he] had been reprieved and transported to Tasmania." (source: Zimmermann)
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Zimmermann 61, "The Escape of Meagher" (1 text)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Johnson Ballads fol. 340[some words are illegible], "The Escape of Meagher," unknown, n.d.
LOCSinging,sb30363a, "A new song, on the Escape of Thomas Francis Meagher, the Irish Exile," J. Andrews (New York), 1853-1859
NOTES: Zimmermann: "He [Meagher] had given notice of his intention to leave the penal colony, but it seems that the police officers were afraid to arrest him. The news of his escape and of his triumphal reception in America reached Ireland several months later and was hailed with delight." - BS
Thomas Francis Meagher (1823-1867) was one of the more amazing characters in Irish history. As a young man, he thought Daniel O'Connell's campaigns for reform too peaceful, declaring that he did not believe that "the God of Heaven withholds his sanction from the use of arms.... I look upon the sword as a sacred weapon" (Kee, p. 254; Fry/Fry, p. 225). As a result, he came to be called "Meagher of the Sword" (Laxton, p. 83).
Ironically, he put forth this view in an English (Stonyhurst) accent (Kee, p. 247).
Along with John Mitchel (for whom see "John Mitchel") and William Smith O'Brien (for whom see "The Shan Van Voght (1848)"), he in 1847 split from Young Ireland to found the Irish Confederation (Golway, p. 116). Kee, p. 255, is of the opinion that no one intended the split to be permanent, but notes that, as far as the campaign for Irish rights was concerned, "[t]he damage proved irrevocable."
Meagher and friends went on to try to organize a rising. The British arrested them in March 1848 on charges of sedition (Laxton, p. 82). The juries deadlocked in the cases of Meagher and Smith O'Brien, who therefore went free (Kee, pp. 267-268). They responded by going back to their old tricks. This time they tried outright rebellion, and it was a complete disaster (for this too see the notes to "The Shan Van Voght (1848)" ). Smith O'Brien and Meagher were found and arrested again; this time, with the treason laws having been strengthened (Laxton, p. 83), they were transported (Fry/Fry, pp. 237-238; Kee, p. 287); sentenced to death, they were reprieved (supposedly by Queen Victoria; Laxton, p. 86)n and sent to Tasmania. This song of course chronicles Meagher's escape, in which he reportedly had help from another Young Irelander (Kee, p. 287); if the Irish had been as good at organizing protests and revolts as they were at organizing escapes, they might have gained independence much sooner.
Meagher arrived in America in 1852 (Jameson, p. 408), where he made a living by lecturing and writing. In the next decade, Meagher gradually turned less radical; when James Stephens approached him in the United States, he said it would be "unworthy" of him to support a revolution (Golway, p. 132).
For his career in the American Civil War, see the notes to "By the Hush." After the war, he was appointed territorial governor of Montana, but drowned in the Missouri River after only a short time in office. His body was not found, but it is likely that he was drunk at the time; there were many reports at the time that he had taken to drink, and his military record was not unspotted. (At the Battle of Antietam, for instance, he fell from his horse and hurt himself, and there were rumors he was drunk, though they were not proved; Murfin, p. 255).
In 1892, Michael Cavanagh published Memoirs of Gen. Thomas Francis Meagher (Messenger Press, Worcester, according to Colum, p. 326). Colum publishes an excerpt on pp. 326-331. If this is indicative of his later writing, he seems to have lost the vitality of expression of his youth. He is still given to strong metaphors, but he is really, really wordy. - RBW
Broadside LOCSinging sb30363a: 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
Bibliography

Colum: Padraic Colum, A Treasury of Irish Folklore, 1954; revised edition 1967 (I use the 1992 Wings Books edition)
Fry/Fry: Peter and Fiona Somerset Fry, A History of Ireland, 1988 (I use the 1993 Barnes & Noble edition)
Golway: Terry Golway, For the Cause of Liberty, Simon & Schuster, 2000
Jameson: J. Franklin Jameson's Dictionary of United States History 1492-1895, Puritan Press, 1894
Kee: Robert Kee, The Most Distressful Country, being volume I of The Green Flag (covering the period prior to 1848), Penguin, 1972
Laxton: Edward Laxton, The Famine Ships: The Irish Exodus to America, 1996 (I use the 1997 Henry Holt American edition)
Murfin: James B. Murfin, The Gleam of Bayonets: The Battle of Antietam and Robert E. Lee's Maryland Campaign, September 1862, 1965 (I use the 1985 Louisiana State University Press edition)

Last updated in version 2.5
File: Zimm061

Escape of Old John Webb, The

See Billy Broke Locks (The Escape of Old John Webb) (File: LoF004)

Escuminac Disaster (I), The

DESCRIPTION: June 19, 1959 "around Escuminac A sudden storm did appear. Oh, wicked waves! Oh, wailing wind!" The men that went out with their nets in the afternoon were in the wrecked fishing fleet in Miramichi Bay. Though 35 were lost, heroics saved some.
AUTHOR: Bernadette Keating of Chatham (Manny/Wilson)
EARLIEST DATE: 1959 (Manny/Wilson)
KEYWORDS: rescue drowning fishing sea ship storm wreck
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
June 19, 1959 - 22 salmon boats and 35 crewmen from Escuminac lost in a storm (Manny/Wilson)
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Manny/Wilson 17, "The Escuminac Disaster" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST MaWi017o (Partial)
Roud #9195
NOTES: Manny/Wilson: A source for information about the disaster is The Ecuminac Disaster by Roy Saunders. - BS
The Escuminac tragedy was one of those defining moments for its community. Manny/Wilson report that performers sang no fewer than five songs about it at the 1959 Miramichi Folk Festival, and another in 1960 -- one, in fact, a tribute to the area by one of the drowned men. Of these six, they reported three, including this one, written by a 13-year-old schoolgirl.
It's interesting to note that Keating is probably still alive. One wonders what has become of her since. - RBW
File: MaWi017o

Escuminac Disaster (II), The

DESCRIPTION: This is the story of the Escuminac Bay disaster. Thirty-five were lost salmon-fishing in the storm but some were saved. "A drive for funds for the widows And for those who lost souls at sea Was organized in New Brunswick To help raise their families"
AUTHOR: Alex Milson of Chatham (Manny/Wilson)
EARLIEST DATE: 1960 (Manny/Wilson)
KEYWORDS: rescue drowning fishing sea ship storm wreck
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
June 19, 1959 - 22 salmon boats and 35 crewmen from Escuminac lost in a storm (Manny/Wilson)
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Manny/Wilson 17a, "The Escuminac Disaster" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST MaWi017a (Partial)
Roud #9194
NOTES: Manny/Wilson: A source for information about the disaster is The Ecuminac Disaster by Roy Saunders. - BS
The Escuminac tragedy was one of those defining moments for its community. Manny/Wilson report that performers sang no fewer than five songs about it at the 1959 Miramichi Folk Festival, and another in 1960 -- one, in fact, a tribute to the area by one of the drowned men. Of these six, they reported three, including this one. - RBW
File: MaWi017a

Eskimo Lullaby

DESCRIPTION: The text literally translates as, "Hello, my little girl, my little girl. / [We have received] a gift of a little lady. / She doesn't really know anything yet."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1954
KEYWORDS: Eskimo lullaby
FOUND IN: Canada(Nor)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Fowke/Johnston, p. 20, "An Eskimo Lullaby" (1 text, 1 tune)
RECORDINGS:
Omar Blondahl, "An Eskimo Lullaby" (on NFOBlondahl04)
File: FJ020

Eskimo Weather Chant, An

DESCRIPTION: "Cha-yun-ga a-cin U-wan-ga a-cin Cha-yun-ga a-cin U-wan-ga na-lu-vit, Cha-yun-ga a-cin U-wan-ga a-cin." "Here I come again, Here I come again, Here I come again, Dost thou not know me...."
AUTHOR: unknown (English words by Alan Mills)
EARLIEST DATE: 1915
KEYWORDS: nonballad Indians(Am.)
FOUND IN: Canada(North)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 8-9, "An Eskimo Weather Chant" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: FMB008

Essequibo River

DESCRIPTION: Shanty. "Essequibo River is the king o' rivers all. Buddy tan-na wa we are somebody O! (2x) Ch: Somebody O, John, somebody O! Buddy tan-na wa we are somebody O!" Verses are similar: Essequibo captain/boson/maidens is/are the king/queen of all.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1961 (Hugill)
KEYWORDS: shanty worksong sailor river
FOUND IN: West Indies
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Hugill, pp. 416-417, "Essequibo River" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd,pp. 317-318]
NOTES: The Essequibo River is in Guyana, and is the largest river between the Orinoco and the Amazon. - SL
It is, in fact, the most significant geographic feature of Guyana. Not too far from the Atlantic coast, at the confluence of the Essequibo, Mazaruni, and Cuyuni rivers is the Bartica, one of the few significant towns in this poor, strongly rural nation. Webster's Geographic Dictionary says that it was the point of departure to the local gold and diamond fields, which I suspect explains why it has a shanty about it. - RBW
File: Hugi416

Estersnowe

See Easter Snow (File: HHH066)

Et Nous Irons a Valapariso

DESCRIPTION: Shanty. Consists of four verses and four different choruses. Verses have general sailing themes. Choruses borrow from "Homeward Bound" and "Blow the Man Down." Mostly in French, some choruses in English.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1961 (Hugill)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage shanty
FOUND IN: England France
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Hugill, pp. 129-130, "Et Nous Irons a Valapariso" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Blow the Man Down" (partial tune)
cf. "Homeward Bound (I)" (partial tune and chorus)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Goodbye, Farewell (French)
NOTES: Note on French shanties with English choruses - Hugill supposes the beginnings of this practice date to the American Revolution when due to blockades in New England, many of the whaling families of that region transported themselves to Milford Haven and Dunkirk, reforming the sperm whaling industry there. This influx of New England whalers into Dunkirk would also have influenced the shanties in that part of the world. - SL
The correct title of this piece is "Et Nous Irons à Valapariso."
File: Hugi129

Euabalong Ball

DESCRIPTION: "Oh who hasn't heard of Euabalong Ball, Where the lads of the Lachlan... Come bent on diversion from far and from near." Description of rowdy annual party among shearers and other sheep-station workers, all get drunk and have a grand time
AUTHOR: rewritten by A. L. Lloyd
EARLIEST DATE: 1956 (recorded by A. L. Lloyd)
KEYWORDS: dancing drink party worker
FOUND IN: Australia
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Manifold-PASB, pp. 98-99, "Euabalong Ball" (1 text, 1 tune)
Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 240-242, "Euabalong Ball" (1 text)
RECORDINGS:
A. L. Lloyd, "Euabalong Ball" (on Lloyd4, Lloyd10)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Wooyeo Ball)
NOTES: According to Paterson/Fahey/Seal, A.L.Lloyd reworked this from "The Wooyeo Ball" to make it more singable. "The Wooyeo Ball" apparently dates back to 1888, but is rare in tradition, so this song seems to justify a separate listing. - RBW
File: RcEBALL

Eumerella Shore, The

DESCRIPTION: "There's a happy little valley by the Eumerella Shore Where I've lingered many happy hours away...." The singer rejoices to be free of the squatters, or even to be able to steal their cattle. He encourages his animals to enjoy their freedom
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1964
KEYWORDS: Australia farming freedom outlaw
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1861 - Sir John Robertson (called Jack Robertson in the song) passes the New South Wales Free Selection Act, allowing the poorer members of the population freer access to land
FOUND IN: Australia
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Meredith/Anderson, pp. 155-156, "The Eumerella Shore"; p. 238, "The Noomanally Shore" ; pp. 278-279, "The Neumerella Shore" (3 texts, 3 tunes)
Manifold-PASB, pp. 106-107, "Eumerella Shore" (1 text, 1 tune)
Meredith/Covell/Brown, pp. 272-273, "The Umeralla Shore" (1 text, 1 tune)
Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 162-165, "The Numerella Shore" (1 text)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Darling Nelly Gray" (tune)
NOTES: Manifold notes that Australia boasts a Eumerella River in Victoria, while New South Wales has a Umerella (Numerella) River. The reference to John Robertson implies a New South Wales setting -- but of course the song could have spread.
Manifold thinks this is a satire of the free selection movement, and I think he is right. (For a more positive view of the situation, see "The Old Bullock Dray.") - RBW
File: MA155

Eureka!

See We're Coming, Arkansas (We're Coming, Idaho) (File: R343)

Evalina

See Dear Evalina (File: R823)

Evangelist's Song, The

See The Pioneer Preacher (File: Hud082)

Evelyn

DESCRIPTION: "She lived at home up on the mountain side... For many miles and miles all people knew Fair Evelyn...." A mountaineer and a rich man court her. She chooses the rich man; she and her parents sneak to his home to avoid the mountaineer's vengeance
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1933 (Cambiaire)
KEYWORDS: courting rejection money home family
FOUND IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Cambiaire, pp. 41-42, "Evelyn" (1 text)
Roud #12638
NOTES: This is thoroughly un-folk-like. Even if you ignore the fact that the rich city man, and not the poor handsome mountaineer, gets the girl, there is the fact that the girl and her parents agree, and the city man cares for the parents. And the poetry is lousy, and Cambiaire's seems to be the only version known. I rather suspect that this was concocted to convince some love-sick girl that not *all* "old stories" end with the girl marrying the poor fellow and living happily ever after. - RBW
File: Camb-41

Evening Sun Goes Down the West, The

DESCRIPTION: "The evening sun goes down the west, The birds sit nodding on the tree; All nature now prepares to rest, But there's no rest prepared for me" ... "Guid nicht and joy be wi' ye a' For this is my departing nicht"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1907 (GreigDuncan8)
KEYWORDS: emigration parting floatingverses
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan8 1532, "The Evening Sun Goes Down the West" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #12955
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Guid-Nicht
NOTES: The current description is all of the GreigDuncan8 verse and part of the chorus.
The chorus is the same as that of "Ye Lan's and Banks o' Bonny Montrose," which, as noted there, is close to the usual first verse of "The Parting Glass" with lines transposed. - BS
In addition, the first verse is similar to "Farewell to Nova Scotia." I wonder if this isn't an assembly of floating materials. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD81532

Evening Train, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer hears laughter at the train depot, but he himself is crying as they put the casket in the baggage coach. He and his child mourn the death of the child's mother
AUTHOR: Hank and Audrey Williams
EARLIEST DATE: 1949 (copyright)
KEYWORDS: death mother wife train
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Cohen-LSRail, pp. 341-342, "The Evening Train" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Even Cohen admits that this is not a traditional song; he included it mostly as a demonstration of how old styles of song still came to be even after the hillbilly country boom was over. - RBW
File: LSRai341

Ever After On

See Late Last Night When Willie Came Home (Way Downtown) (File: CSW166)

Ever Since I Been a Man Full Grown

DESCRIPTION: "Ever since I been a man... a man full grown, I been skippin' and a-dodgin' for old Farmer Jones." The singer complains of the mules, the work, the lack of justice. He misses his woman, and tells the captain to count his men
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1965 (recorded from J. B. Smith by Jackson)
KEYWORDS: prison work hardtimes nonballad floatingverses
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Jackson-DeadMan, pp. 157-159, "Ever Since I Been a Man Full Grown" (1 text)
NOTES: Jackson does not describe this as a recitation (he doesn't describe it at all), so I assume that it has a tune, though none is indicated. It seems to be a typical J. B. Smith production, with many floating verses combined with laments of his own. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
File: JDM157

Ever Since Uncle John Henry Been Dead

See Take This Hammer (File: FR383)

Evergreen, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer finds an evergreen in Inishowen. "They are few and far between in dear old Donegal." The thrush and blackbird sing there, near the river; "nothing can be seen, Like the charming little valley that grows the evergreen"
AUTHOR: Charlie Harkin (source: McBride)
EARLIEST DATE: 1987 (McBride)
KEYWORDS: lyric bird Ireland
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
McBride 23, "The Evergreen" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: This song is accurate about Donegal's trees, for good climatological reasons. Ireland is fairly far north, but with a climate that is both wet and temperate due to the Gulf Stream -- and also rather cloudy. Evergreens are largely an adaption to dry, cold climates where there are relatively few clouds: Their design is intended to gather maximum sun while losing relatively little water. In a wet but cloudy climate, they are at a severe competitive disadvantage. A check of any atlas with decent climate maps (I used Goode's World Atlas) will show that the southern and eastern parts of the country are covered with deciduous forests. But Donegal, in the far northwest, is dominated by heaths and moors; trees of any kind are rare. - RBW
File: McB1023

Every Hour in the Day

DESCRIPTION: "One cold freezing morning I lay this body down; I will pick up my cross and follow the Lord All round my Father's throne. Every hour in the day cry holy, Cry holy, my Lord! ... Oh show me the crime I've done." "Every hour in the night...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Allen/Ware/Garrison, pp. 58, "Every Hour in the Day" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #12018
File: AWG057C

Every Mail Day

DESCRIPTION: "Every mail day (x2) I gets a letter... O Son, come home, Lord, Lord, Son come home." "I couldn't read it... to keep from crying... to save my soul"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1933 (recording, Adie Corbin)
KEYWORDS: prison nonballad
FOUND IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Warner 173, "Mail Day" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Wa173 (Partial)
Roud #7490
RECORDINGS:
Adie Corbin, "Every Mail Day" (AFS 178 B1, 1933)
(Elder) Sykes Jones, "Every Mail Day" (AFS 364 B, 1935)
J. B. Sutton, "Mail Day Blues" [excerp?t] (on USWarnerColl01)
Unidentified convict, Parchman Farm, Mississippi, "Every Mail Day" (AFS 1862 B, 1937)
File: Wa173

Every Night When the Sun Goes In

DESCRIPTION: "Every night when the sun goes in (x3), I hang down my head and mournful cry." The singer says she is leaving, and wishes the train would come to take her home. When her apron was low, he would follow her everywhere; now it is high, he ignores her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1918 (Cecil Sharp collection)
KEYWORDS: seduction suicide pregnancy betrayal
FOUND IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
SharpAp 189, "Every Night when the Sun Goes In" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 149-150, "Every Night When the Sun Goes In" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 180, "Every Night When The Sun Goes In" (1 text)
DT, EVRYNITE*
Roud #3611
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Butcher Boy" [Laws P24] (lyrics, plot)
cf. "Careless Love" (floating lyrics)
NOTES: This is so close to "The Butcher Boy" that I was almost tempted to list them as one. The introductory theme of returning home, however, separates the songs. - RBW
File: LxA149

Every Rose Grows Merry in TIme

See The Elfin Knight [Child 2] (File: C002)

Every Time I Feel the Spirit

DESCRIPTION: "Every time I feel the Spirit Moving in my heart, I will pray." The singer sees God speaking with fire and smoke, asks to be part of it, and is confident in God's care
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1923 (recording, Morehouse Quartet)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 257, "Every Time I Feel the Spirit" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 360, "Every Time I Feel the Spirit" (1 text)
Roud #12358
RECORDINGS:
Marian Anderson, "Ev'ry Time I Feel de Spirit" [medley with "No Hiding Place"] (Victor 2032, 1940)
Birmingham Jubilee Quartet, "Every Time I Feel the Spirit" (Columbia 14176-D, 1926)
Famous Garland Jubilee Singers, "Everytime I Feel the Spirit" (Banner 32433/Romeo 5135, 1932; Conqueror 8358 [as Bryant's Jubilee Singers]; rec. 1931)
Fisk University Jubilee Singers, "Every Time I Feel the Spirit" (Columbia 562-D, 1926)
Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet, "Everytime That I Feel the Spirit" (Bluebird B-8328/Montgomery Ward M-8776, 1940; rec. 1939)
Golden Leaf Quartet, "Every Time I Feel the Spirit" (Brunswick 7050, 1929, rec. 1928)
Rev. H. B. Jackson, "Every Time I Feel the Spirit" (OKeh 8804, 1930; rec. 1929)
C. Mae Frierson Moore, "Every Time I Feel the Spirit" (Paramount 12323, 1925)
Morehouse Quartet, "Every Time I Feel the Spirit" (OKeh 40268, 1925; rec. 1923)
Norfolk Jubilee Quartette, "Every Time I Feel the Spirit" (Paramount 12268, 1925)
Pace Jubilee Singers, "Everytime I Feel the Spirit" (Victor V-38019, 1929)
Plantation Jubilee Singers, "Everytime I Feel the Spirit" (Supertone 9300, 1929)
Richmond's Harmonizing Four, "Every Time I Feel the Spirit" (Decca 48108, rec. 1943)
Stalsby Family, "Every Time I Feel the Spirit" (Decca 5866, 1940)
File: FSWB360B

Everybody Works but Father

DESCRIPTION: Singer describes his father's indolence and the rest of the family's industry. Eventually his father takes a job while everyone else relaxes. Chorus: "Everybody works but Father, he hangs around all day... Everyone works around our house but my old man."
AUTHOR: Jean Havez
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (sheet music published)
LONG DESCRIPTION: Singer describes his father's indolence and the rest of the family's industry. Eventually his father takes a job to clean up Decatur St.; now he works while everyone else vacations. Chorus: "Everybody works but Father, he hangs around all day/Feet stretched out by the fire, smoking his pipe of clay/Mother takes in washing and so does sister Ann/Everyone works around our house but my old man"
KEYWORDS: work father family worker humorous
FOUND IN: US
RECORDINGS:
Fiddlin' John Carson, "Everybody Works but Father" (OKeh 45056, 1926)
Billy Murray, "Everybody Works But Father" (Victor 4519, 1905)
Riley Puckett, "Everybody Works but Father" (Columbia 15078-D, 1926)
Bob Roberts, "Everybody Works But Father" (CYL: Edison 9100, 1905)
Unknown baritone, "Everybody Works But Father" (Busy Bee 1219, c. 1906)
Frank Wilson, "Everybody Works But Father" (Victor 4727, 1906)
File: RcEBWBF

Everybody's Gal is My Gal

DESCRIPTION: "Everybody's gal is my gal. My partner's gal is my gal too. If you ain't might keerful, I'll take 'er right away from you." "If you got a good gal, You better pin 'er to your side, 'Cause if she flags my train, I'm gonna let 'er ride."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: courting
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BrownIII 438, "Everybody's Gal is My Gal" (1 short text)
Roud #11778
File: Br3438

Everybody's Got to Be Tried

DESCRIPTION: "Now, it's everybody's got to be tried (x3), You got to go to judgment, you got to be tried." "Every sinner's got to be tried." "Now you take, every drunkard's got to be tried." "Every liar's got to be tried...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1963
KEYWORDS: religious trial nonballad punishment
FOUND IN: US(SE)
Roud #5738
RECORDINGS:
Frank Proffitt, "Everybody's Got to Be Tried" (on FProffitt01)
File: RcEBGTBT

Everyday Dirt

See Will the Weaver [Laws Q9] (File: LQ09)

Everywhere I Go My Lord

DESCRIPTION: "Everywhere I go, Everywhere I go my Lord... Somebody's talkin' 'bout Jesus. Well my knees been acquainted with the hillside clay... And my head's been wet with the midnight dew"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1950 (recording, Dock Reed & Vera Hall Ward)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Courlander-NFM, p. 61, "(Somebody's Talking About Jesus)" (partial text); p. 247, "Everywhere I Go My Lord" (1 tune, partial text)
RECORDINGS:
Dock Reed & Vera Hall Ward, "Somebody's Talking About Jesus" (on NFMAla5) (on ReedWard01)
File: CNFM061A

Evil Woman, The

See The Farmer's Curst Wife [Child 278] (File: C278)

Evil-Hearted Man

DESCRIPTION: "Well, I woke up this morning, I was feeling mighty bad, My baby said 'Good morning," Hell, it made me so mad, Because I'm evil, well, evil-hearted me." He abuses the woman, not caring if she leaves, "'Cause I got forty-leven others If it comes to that."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1973
KEYWORDS: abuse abandonment
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Silber-FSWB, p. 77, "Evil-Hearted Man" (1 text)
DT, EVILMAN*
File: FSWB077B

Ewe Buchts

See The Broom of Cowdenknows [Child 217] (File: C217)

Ewie Wi' the Crookit Horn

DESCRIPTION: In praise of the ewie -- "a' wha kent her could hae sworn Sic a ewie ne'er was born, Hereabouts or far awa'." All who knew the ewie (i.e. a still) loved her products -- but now she is missing or dead, (taken by revenuers)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1803 (_Scots Musical Museum_, #293)
KEYWORDS: drink animal separation
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Kennedy 271, "The Ewie Wi' the Crookit Horn" (1 text+1 in appendix, 1 tune)
DT, CROKHORN*
Roud #2140
RECORDINGS:
Lucy Stewart, "The Ewie wi' the Crookit Horn" (on FSB10)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Blockader's Trail" (subject)
cf. "The Moonshine Can" (subject)
cf. "The Black Stripper" (subject, theme)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Yowie Wi' the Crookit Horn
NOTES: This humorous song seems innocent enough, but the Rev. John Skinner found its subtle meanings sufficiently problematic that he produced a "clean" version about an actual sheep! This found its way into print before most of the versions about the illicit still, but there can be little doubt about which is older. - RBW
See John Skinner, Songs and Poems (Peterhead, 1859), pp. 67-70, "The Ewie Wi' the Crookit Horn." - BS
File: K271

Ewing Brooks (Maxwell's Doom) [Laws E12]

DESCRIPTION: The singer, Ewing Brooks, departs England and assumes the name [Walter] Maxwell in America. He murders a man out of petty jealousy, then flees west, ending in New Zealand. Extradited to the U.S., he is condemned to die despite his family's plea
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1930 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: exile murder execution
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1885 - Hugh M. Brooks, who used the name Walter Lennox Maxwell, murders Charles Arthur Preller
Aug 10, 1888 - Execution of Brooks (apprehended after fleeing to New Zealand)
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Laws E12, "Ewing Brooks (Maxwell's Doom)"
Belden, pp. 413-415, "Maxwell's Doom" (2 texts)
Randolph 156, "Ewing Brooks" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 148-151, "Ewing Brooks" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's )
DT 690, EWNGBROK
Roud #890
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Charles Guiteau" [Laws E11] (tune & meter)
File: LE12

Excel, The

DESCRIPTION: "Being on a Sunday morning when the wind did roar and rage There was twenty-two of the Excel crew met with a watery grave; There was men, women and children stood on her quarter deck, When a heavy sea broke over her and swept them from the wreck"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1977 (Lehr/Best)
KEYWORDS: death sea ship storm wreck
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Oct 11, 1885 - Excel is wrecked at Black Island, Labrador, "with a loss of about twenty-two men, women and children" (Lehr/Best, Northern Shipwrecks Database)
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Lehr/Best 34, "The Excel" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Lehr/Best quotes a news story describing the loss - BS
File: LeBe034

Exciseman in a Coal Pit, The

DESCRIPTION: An exciseman gets drunk on smugglers' liquor. He falls into a coal pit and colliers lower him underground. He wakes and meets a collier he thinks is the Devil. He promises to reform if returned from Hell, and for a guinea is returned above-ground.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (GreigDuncan2)
KEYWORDS: disguise mining drink Hell humorous Devil
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan2 282, "The Exciseman in a Coal Pit" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5854
NOTES: For the theme of gauger/exciseman as fool see "The Private Still." - BS
The other theme, of impersonating the Devil to set someone straight, occurs in "Kate and Her Horns" [Laws N22]. - RBW
An exciseman is one who collects alcohol taxes and enforces the law on people who don't pay those taxes. - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: GrD2282

Execution of Michael Fagan, The

DESCRIPTION: Joe Brady and Dan Curley have been executed. Michael Fagan is to be executed at Kilmainham Jail. "That vile informer Carey ... In high renown in some foreign town" will be followed by the widow's curse. Fagan bids friends adieu and prays God for mercy
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1966 (Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: execution murder betrayal Ireland
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
The Phoenix Park murders (source: primarily Zimmermann, pp. 62, 63, 281-286.)
May 6, 1882 - Chief Secretary Lord Frederick Cavendish and the Under Secretary Thomas Henry Burke are murdered by a group calling themselves "The Invincible Society."
January 1883 - twenty seven men are arrested.
James Carey, one of the leaders in the murders, turns Queen's evidence.
Six men are condemned to death, four are executed (Joseph Brady is hanged May 14, 1883; Daniel Curley is hanged on May 18, 1883), others are "sentenced to penal servitude," and Carey is freed and goes to South Africa.
July 29, 1883 - Patrick O'Donnell kills Carey on board the "Melrose Castle" sailing from Cape Town to Durban.
Dec 1883 - Patrick O'Donnell is convicted of the murder of James Carey and executed in London (per Leach-Labrador)
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Zimmermann, p. 28, "Lines Written on the Execution of Michael Fagan" (1 fragment)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 26(366), "Lines Written on the Execution of Michl. Fagan" ("Thrice has the English hangman sailed thro' Dublin bay"), unknown, n.d.
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Phoenix Park Tragedy" (subject: the Phoenix Park murders) and references there
NOTES: Zimmermann p. 62: "The Phoenix Park murders and their judicial sequels struck the popular imagination and were a gold-mine for ballad-writers: some thirty songs were issued on this subject, which was the last great cause to be so extensively commented upon in broadside ballads."
Zimmermann p. 28 is a fragment; broadside Bodleian Harding B 26(366) is the basis for the description. - BS
File: BrdExMiF

Execution of Robert Schramle, The

DESCRIPTION: "Not a bark was heard, not a warning note, As we o'er to the calaboose hurried." The vigilantes break into the prison, take the prisoner, hang him, and "left him alone with the devil"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1958 (Burt)
KEYWORDS: murder prison execution
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Burt, p. 169, (no title) (1 text)
NOTES: Burt connects this with the execution in Colorado of Robert Schramle, accused of killing Henry Thiede on October 11, 1877, but there is no supporting evidence in the song that I can see. (To be fair, there is no counter-evidence, either.) If Burt's connection is correct, the vigilante execution took place on December 9, 1877. - RBW
File: Burt169

Exile of Erin (I), The

DESCRIPTION: "There came to the beach a poor exile of Erin." He looks across the ocean toward Erin, mourns for his lost country and remembers "friends who can meet me no more." He thinks of his family. "Erin, an exile, bequeaths thee his blessing"
AUTHOR: probably Thomas Campbell (1777-1844) (but see the note re broadside shelfmark L.C.Fol.70(118a))
EARLIEST DATE: 1805 (according to Moylan)
KEYWORDS: homesickness exile Ireland patriotic
FOUND IN: Ireland US(MW)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
O'Conor, p. 41, "The Exile of Erin" (1 text)
Moylan 126, "The Exile of Erin" (1 text, 1 tune)
Dean, pp. 53-54, "Exile of Erin" (1 text)
Roud #4355
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 28(38), "The Exile of Erin", W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also 2806 b.11(216), 2806 b.10(90), 2806 c.15(300), Harding B 25(593), Harding B 28(209), Harding B 11(3066), Harding B 11(1655), Harding B 16(325b), Harding B 11(3069), Harding B 11(3067), Harding B 11(2496), 2806 b.10(72), Harding B 11(3068), Harding B 17(86a), Harding B 11(740), Harding B 11(378), Harding B 11(4398), Harding B 11(1105), Harding B 11(3748), 2806 c.15(299), "[The] Exile of Erin"; Harding B 26(178), "The Exile o' Erin "
LOCSinging, as103590, "Exile of Erin", George S. Harris (Philadelphia), 19C; also as100640, "The Exile of Erin"
Murray, Mu23-y2:048, "The Exile of Erin" unknown (Glasgow), 19C
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(118a), "The Exile of Erin", unknown, c.1885
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Plains of Emu (The Exile of Erin II)" (theme)
NOTES: Note that there is an early parody: Bodleian, Harding B 16(61c), "The Cottage Maid", J. Pitts (London), 1802-1819.
Broadside NLScotland L.C.Fol.70(118a): The commentary states "There appears to be some doubt over the authorship of 'The Exile of Erin'. Many believe it to be the work of the Scottish-born poet, Thomas Campbell (1777-1844), who is said to have been inspired by an encounter with an Irish exile named McCann. It has also been suggested, however, that it was the work of the Irish ballad writer George Nugent Reynolds (1770-1802)." - BS
Possibly the confusion was inspired by the several other songs with the same or similar titles? There seems to be no doubt that Campbell wrote *a* piece called "The Exile of Erin" (and, if Stevenson's Home Book of Verse 2 is to be credited, it's this poem).
For background on author Campbell, see the notes to "Lord Ullin's Daughter." - RBW
File: OCon041

Exile of Erin (II), The

See The Plains of Emu (The Exile of Erin II) (File: FaE036)

Exile's Return, The

See Sweet Inishcara (File: RcSweIni)

Exiled Crofter's Lament, The

DESCRIPTION: "We're awa, we're awa frae the auld country, To a far awa land, far o'er the sea." "In the wee crofter's garden... nae crofters' families appear on the scene... They are chased ower the ocean that sportsmen may reign." The singer wishes he were home
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1930 (Ord), reportedly from a Canadian book published 1812
KEYWORDS: home separation emigration
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ord, p. 366, "The Exiled Crofter's Lament" (1 text)
Roud #4597
NOTES: Obviously a composed item about the Highland Clearances, and probably not traditional -- but surprisingly effective. - RBW
File: Ord366

Exiled Irishman's Lament, The (The Exiles of Erin)

DESCRIPTION: "Green were the fields where my forefathers dwelt," but the lease expires and the singer is forced to leave. His home burns though he obeys the law. "I supported old Ireland... We have numbers, and numbers do constitute pow'r -- Let us will to be free"
AUTHOR: George Nugent Reynolds (source: Moylan)
EARLIEST DATE: before 1804 (_Paddy's Resource_, according to Moylan)
KEYWORDS: exile Ireland patriotic home
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
O'Conor, p. 100, "The Exiles of Erin" (1 text)
Moylan 25, "The Exiled Irishman's Lamentation" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13387
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 18(150), "Erin Go Bragh!" ("Green was the fields where my forefathers dwelt"), H. De Marsan (New York), 1864-1878 [same as LOCSinging sb10111b]
LOCSinging, sb10111b, "Erin Go Bragh!" ("Green was the fields where my forefathers dwelt"), H. De Marsan (New York), 1864-1878 [same as Bodleian Harding B 18(150)]
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Slieve Gallen Braes" (theme)
NOTES: Broadside LOCSinging sb10111b and Bodleian Harding B 18(150): 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: OCon100

Exiles of Erin, The

See The Exiled Irishman's Lament (The Exiles of Erin) (File: OCon100)

Express Office, The (He Is Coming to Us Dead)

DESCRIPTION: An old man enters the express office and enquires after his boy. Told that this is not the train depot, the man points out "He's coming in a casket, sir, He's coming to us dead." His mother had expected just that result "when he joined the boys in blue."
AUTHOR: Gussie L. Davis
EARLIEST DATE: 1899 (copyright)
KEYWORDS: soldier death burial corpse train family
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Cohen-LSRail, pp. 300-303, "He's Coming to Us Dead" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph 696, "The Express Office" (3 texts, 2 tunes)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 458-460, "The Express Office" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 696A)
DT, COMEDEAD* CMNGDEAD
Roud #3513
RECORDINGS:
[G. B.] Grayson & [Henry] Whitter, "He Is Coming To Us Dead" (Victor 21139, 1927; on GraysonWhitter01); (Gennett, unissued, 1927)
Wade Mainer, "He Is Coming To Us Dead" (King 585)
New Lost City Ramblers, "He Is Coming To Us Dead" (on NLCR14)
Molly O'Day, "A Hero's Death" (Columbia 20441, 1948)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Boy in Blue
The Boys in Blue
NOTES: Cohen notes that the tune sung by G. B. Grayson (which is now more or less the standard) is not the same as the original Davis tune, with a 32-bar verse and a 16-bar chorus, compared to Grayson's 8-bar tune with no chorus. He speculates that Davis may simply have been rewriting an existing piece, perhaps from the Civil War. - RBW
File: R696

Eyes of Texas, The

DESCRIPTION: "The eyes of Texas are upon you All the live-long day. The eyes of Texas are upon you, You cannot get away. Do not think you can escape them From night till early in the morn. The eyes of Texas are upon you Till Gabriel blows his horn."
AUTHOR: Words: John Lang Sinclair
EARLIEST DATE: 1918 (University of Texas Community Songbook)
KEYWORDS: parody nonballad
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Silber-FSWB, p. 42, "The Eyes of Texas" (1 text)
Fuld-WFM, p. 309, "I've Been Working on the Railroad -- (The Eyes of Texas)"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "I've Been Working on the Railroad" (tune)
SAME TUNE:
The Nose of Oklahoma Smells You (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 248)
NOTES: Fuld reports that this text was written by Sinclair in 1903 for use in a minstrel show. The text was inspired by a remark by University of Texas President William L. Prather. - RBW
File: FSWB042B

Ezekiel Saw the Wheel

DESCRIPTION: "Ezekiel saw the wheel, Way up in the middle of the air... And the big wheel (run/turn) by faith, and the little wheel (run/turn) by the grace of God. (There's) a wheel in a wheel, Way in the middle of the air."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1920 (recording, Biddle University Quartet)
KEYWORDS: religious Bible nonballad
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Courlander-NFM, p. 52, (no title) (1 text, probably partial)
Sandburg, pp. 488-492, "Ezekiel, You and Me" (1 heavily composite text, 1 composite tune; this song produces stanza 1)
Silber-FSWB, p. 357, "Ezekiel Saw The Wheel" (1 text)
Roud #12241
RECORDINGS:
Biddle University Quartet, "Ezekiel Saw de Wheel" (Pathe 22400, 1920/Perfect 11225, 1925)
Elkins-Payne Jubilee Singers, "Ezekiel Saw de Wheel" (OKeh 40250, 1925; rec. 1924)
Fisk University Jubilee Quartet, "Ezekiel Saw de Wheel" (Columbia A3370, 1921; Silvertone 3283 [as Border Male Quartet], n.d.; rec. 1920)
Hall Johnson Negro Choir, "Ezekiel Saw de Wheel" (Victor 36020, 1930)
Hampton Institute Quartette, "Exekiel Saw de Wheel" (Musicraft 232, prob. 1939)
Norfolk Jubilee Quartette, "Ezekiel Saw de Wheel" (Paramount 12217, 1924)
Pace Jubilee Singers w. Hattie Parker, "Ezekiel Saw De Wheel" (Victor 21582, 1928)
Paul Robeson & Lawrence Brown, "Ezekiel Saw de Wheel" (Victor 20604, 1927)
West Virginia Collegiate Institute Glee Club, "Ezekial Saw de Wheel" (Brunswick 3498, 1927; Supertone S-2126 [as Harmony Glee Club], 1930)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Rock, Chariot, I Told You to Rock"
cf. "John Done Saw That Number"
NOTES: This is based on Ezekiel's vision in Ezekiel 1. - RBW
File: CNFM052

F. F. V., The

See The Wreck on the C & O [Laws G3] (File: LG03)

Face on the Barroom Floor, The

DESCRIPTION: A drunk enters a bar; he tells his story in exchange for drink. He was a painter, but his girlfriend saw a portrait he was painting, and took up with the fellow, then died. The singer turned to drink; he offers to draw her face on the floor, and dies
AUTHOR: Hugh Antoine D'Arcy
EARLIEST DATE: 1887
KEYWORDS: drink abandonment death love
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (2 citations):
JHJohnson, pp. 21-24, "The Face on the Barroom Floor" (1 text)
Meredith/Covell/Brown, pp. 126-127, "The Face on the Bar Room Floor" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST JHJ021 (Partial)
Roud #9123
RECORDINGS:
Harold Selman, "The Face on the Bar Room Floor, pts. 1 & 2" (OKeh 45249, 1928)
NOTES: Originally titled "The Face Upon the Floor," this qualifies as a folk song only in the sense that certain sorts of people are very fond of quoting it. It has been widely published; Granger's Index to Poetry lists nine citations. - RBW
File: JHJ021

Factor's Garland, The [Laws Q37]

DESCRIPTION: The factor shows his kindness by paying for a dead man's burial and paying the fee of a girl who would otherwise be hanged. It is eventually revealed that the girl is a king's daughter. After many complex adventures, he marries the girl; they have a son
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1725 (A Collection of Old Ballads Vol III)
KEYWORDS: rescue marriage money royalty
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) US(NE,SE,So)
REFERENCES (10 citations):
Laws Q37, "The Factor's Garland"
Greig #120, pp. 1-2, "The Factor's Garland" (1 text)
GreigDuncan5 1062, "The Factor's Garland" (2 texts)
Flanders/Olney, pp. 154-162, "The Factor's Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Flanders/Brown, pp. 81-82, "The Factor's Garland" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownII 60, "The Turkish Factor" (1 text)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 268-271, "The Turkey Factor in Foreign Parts" (1 text)
cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 479, "The Factor's Garland" (source notes only)
DT 545, FACTRSNG
ADDITIONAL: [Ambrose Phillips?,] A Collection of Old Ballads Vol III, (London, 1725), #41, pp. 221-228, "The Factor's Garland"
Roud #572
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 1(61), "The Turkey Factor" ("Behold here is a ditty, 'tis true and no jest"), J. Evans (London), 1780-1812; also Harding B 1(62), "The Turkey Factor"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Wand'ring Lady" (tune, per _A Collection of Old Ballads Vol III_)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Factor
NOTES: There may be a slight hint in here of the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical book of Tobit, which is also motivated by the generosity of the hero in burying the dead. But, if so, it's come a long way. - RBW
re A Collection of Old Ballads Vol III: Ambrose Philips, whose name does not appear in the text is the editor, according to Google Books. The New York Public Library catalog says "Compilation usually attributed to Ambrose Philips." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: LQ37

Factor's Song, The

See The Factor's Garland [Laws Q37] (File: LQ37)

Factory Girl (I), The

DESCRIPTION: The singer sees a beautiful girl, an orphan who works in a factory (linen mill). He courts her, but she must leave to go to work. He offers to marry her. She again rejects him. She eventually marries well -- perhaps to the singer, perhaps to a squire
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (Gardiner)
KEYWORDS: love courting beauty marriage money orphan factory technology
FOUND IN: Ireland Britain(England(South))
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Kennedy 221, "The Factory Girl" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H217, p. 368, "The Factory Girl" (1 text, 1 tune)
Morton-Ulster 19, "The Factory Girl" (1 text, 1 tune)
Morton-Maguire 41, pp. 129-130,171-172, "The Factory Girl" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, FACTGIRL* FACTGRL2
ADDITIONAL: Richard Hayward, Ireland Calling (Glasgow,n.d.), p. 7, "The Factory Girl" (text, music and reference to Decca F-3125 recorded Aug 12, 1932)
Roud #1659
RECORDINGS:
Margaret Barry, "The Factory Girl" (on IRMBarry-Fairs)
Bill Cassidy, "The Factory Girl" (on IRTravellers01)
Sarah Makem, "The Factory Girl" (on Voice10)
NOTES: The date and master id (GB-4733-1) for Hayward's record is provided by Bill Dean-Myatt, MPhil. compiler of the Scottish National Discography. - BS
File: K221

Factory Girl (II), The

See No More Shall I Work in the Factory (File: Grnw122)

Faded Coat of Blue

DESCRIPTION: "My brave boy sleeps in his faded coat of blue, In a lonely grave unknown lies that heart that beat so true." Dying, he bids farewell to mother. The singer is confident they will meet in heaven "Where a robe of white is given for a faded coat of blue."
AUTHOR: J. H. McNaughton
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (GreigDuncan1)
KEYWORDS: Civilwar death farewell
FOUND IN: US(So) Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Hudson 126, pp. 266-267, "The Faded Coat of Blue" (1 text)
GreigDuncan1 104, "The Faded Coat of Blue" (4 texts, 4 tunes)
Hill-CivWar, pp. 227-228, "The Faded Coat of Blue" (1 text)
DT, FADECOAT*
ST HCW227 (Full)
Roud #4293
RECORDINGS:
Carter Family, "Faded Coat of Blue" (Bluebird B-5974/Montgomery Ward M-4543, 1935; Regal Zonophone [Australia] G22656, n.d.; rec. 1934)
Buell Kazee, "Faded Coat of Blue" (Brunswick 206/Brunswick 3802, 1928; Supertone S-2045, 1930)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Coat of Blue
NOTES: Written during the Civil War (or so I've heard, though I've also seen claims that it's a Spanish-American war song), this was apparently collected by A. P. Carter and recorded by the Carter Family in 1934. I know of no other collection in tradition. - RBW
[A]s far as the Carters' being the only collection in tradition -- doesn't Buell Kazee count? His record was issued made and issued in 1928, or six years before the Carter Family's. - PJS
And, of course, we can now add Hudson's and Grieg's versions. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
File: HCW227

Faded Flowers

DESCRIPTION: "I've been gathering wild flowers on the hillside To wreathe upon your brow. But so long you've kept me waiting They ate dead and faded now." When he loved her, she turned him loose; now she wants him back, but he loves another. She will remain true
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1910 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: love abandonment return loneliness flowers
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Belden, pp. 216-217, "Faded Flowers" (1 text)
Roud #6983
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Parting Words" (floating lyrics)
File: Beld216

Fagan the Cobbler

See The Cobbler (I) (File: R102)

Fain Waterloo, The

See The Mantle So Green [Laws N38] (File: LN38)

Fair and Free Elections

DESCRIPTION: "While some on rights and some on wrongs Prefer their own reflections The people's rights demand our song The right of free elections." In praise of democracy and its good effects. Listeners are urged to "stand by the ballot box"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1960 (recording, Oscar Brand)
KEYWORDS: political nonballad
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Silber-FSWB, p. 284, "Fair and Free Elections" (1 text)
DT, FAIRFREE*
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Yankee Doodle" (tune) and references there
NOTES: Wonder what the author would have thought of politics, 1990s style. - RBW
Not to mention Florida, 2000? - PJS
File: FSWB284

Fair and Handsome Girls

See Come All You Fair and Tender Girls (File: WB2080)

Fair and Tender Ladies

DESCRIPTION: Lyric song, in which the narrator, a woman, laments the falseness of men. She sadly remarks, "Oh if I were some little sparrow / And had I wings so I could fly / I'd fly away to my own true lover / And when he courted, I'd deny."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: courting love betrayal nonballad bird lyric
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) US(Ap,MW,SE,So) Ireland
REFERENCES (25 citations):
GreigDuncan6 1156, "Consider All Ye Fair Maids" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Belden, pp. 477-478, "Little Sparrow" (2 texts)
Randolph 73, "You Fair and Pretty Ladies" (3 texts, 2 tunes)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 121-122, "You Fair and Pretty Ladies" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 73A)
BrownII 71, "The Drowsy Sleeper" (2 texts plus 3 excerpts; the "D" excerpt contains "Fair and Tender Ladies" verses)
Hudson 51, p. 167, "Young Ladies" (1 text)
BrownIII 254, "Little Sparrow" (4 texts plus 1 excerpt and 1 fragment; the "F" text, however, is primarily "The Butcher Boy" or an "I Wish I Wish" piece of some sort)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 312-313, "Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies" (1 text, with local title "Come All Ye Maids and Pretty Fair Maidens"; tune on p. 440)
Brewster 80, "Little Sparrow" (1 text)
Wyman-Brockway I, p. 55 "Little Sparrow" (1 text, 1 tune)
Shellans, pp. 26-27, "Constant Sorrow" (1 text, 1 tune, beginning with "Man of Constant Sorrow" but with most of "Fair and Tender Ladies" grafted on at the end)
Lomax-FSUSA 17, "Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 99, "Fair and Tender Ladies" (1 text, 1 tune); see also 70, "Love is Pleasin'" (1 text, 1 tune, of four verses, one of which goes here, one belongs with "Waly Waly," and the fourth could be from several sources)
SharpAp 118, "Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies" (18 texts, 18 tunes)
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 45, "Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies" (1 text, 1 tune -- a composite version)
Cambiaire, p. 61, "O, Waly, Waly" (1 text, clearly mis-titled by Cambiaire [and misfiled by Roud on that basis], since neither the phrase "O Waly Waly" nor "The Water is Wide" are used; the lyrics are entirely consistent with this piece); p. 98, "I Wish I Was A Little Sparrow" (1 single-verse fragment)
Ritchie-SingFam, pp. 185-186, "[Come All Ye Fair]" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ritchie-Southern, p. 18, "Fair and Tender Ladies" (1 text, 1 tune)
Abrahams/Foss, pp. 88-89, "Little Sparrow" (1 text, 1 tune); p. 145, (no title) (1 tune, partial text)
JHCox 140, "Young Ladies (Little Sparrow)" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Tunney-SongsThunder, p. 160, "The Little Swallow" (1 text)
PSeeger-AFB, p. 24 "Come All You Fair And Tender Ladies" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 164, "Come All You Fair And Tender Ladies" (1 text)
DT, FAIR&TEN*
ADDITIONAL: _Sing Out_ magazine, Volume 33, #2 (1988), pp, 44-45, "Come All You Maidens" (1 text, 1 tune, the Sara Cleveland version, which doesn't mention fair and tender ladies and makes the sparrow a swallow)
Roud #451
RECORDINGS:
Sheila Clark, "Come All Ye Fair Ladies" (on LegendTomDula)
Sara Cleveland, "Come All You Maidens" (on SCleveland01)
Martha Hall, "Young and Tender Ladies" (on MMOK, MMOKCD)
Sarah Hawkes, "Little Sparrow" (on Persis1)
Roscoe Holcomb, "Willow Tree" (on Holcomb1, HolcombCD1)
Pete Seeger, "Come All Fair Maids" (on PeteSeeger02, PeteSeegerCD01); "Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies" (on PeteSeeger05)
BROADSIDES:
Murray, Mu23-y1:105, "The Wheel of Fortune," James Lindsay (Glasgow), 19C [extremely mixed, with the "Wheel of Fortune" verse, a thyme stanza, a bit of "Fair and Tender Ladies," a "Queen of Heart" verse, and more]
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Peggy Gordon" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Oh, Johnny, Johnny" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Rambleaway" (theme)
cf. "Lora Williams" (tune)
NOTES: Hudson for some reason lists this as a British import, without offering supporting evidence. Paddy Tunney's Irish version is about all I can find in support of his claim. The evidence would seem to indicate that this is one of those songs that went the other way. - RBW
Steve Roud splits GreigDuncan6 1156 as #6820, noting that -- if they are the same as #450 -- these two texts are the only two British versions found to date. Of the longer GreigDuncan6 text only three of the six verses are very close to the US texts ("star in a summer mornin'," "they'll tell you stories," "little swallow"); the other three verses match in spirit but not in words. The one verse fragment is the "star in a summer's morning" verse.
Edward Bunting, The Ancient Music of Ireland (Mineola, 2000 (reprint of 1840 Dublin edition)), p. 96, quotes "The Little Swallow" "words which have been handed down by tradition ... commencing: 'I would I were a little swallow, I would rise into the air and fly, Away to that inconstant rover'." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: R073

Fair Annie [Child 62]

DESCRIPTION: (Annie's) lover is going off to fetch a bride. On his return, he orders Annie to serve his new bride. She does, but that night weeps for her lost lover. The new bride hears and visits her; they find they are sisters. The bride leaves her husband to Annie
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1769 (Herd)
KEYWORDS: love marriage abandonment adultery sister
FOUND IN: Britain(England(North),Scotland(Aber)) US(Ap,NE,SE) Ireland
REFERENCES (18 citations):
Child 62, "Fair Annie" (10 texts)
Bronson 62, "Fair Annie" (7 versions)
GreigDuncan6 1161, "Fair Annie" (5 texts, 3 tunes)
SharpAp 16 "Fair Annie" (1 text, 1 tune){Bronson's #4}
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 446-448, "Fair Annie" (1 text)
Davis-Ballads 15, "Fair Annie" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #3}
Leach, pp. 196-201, "Fair Annie" (2 texts)
OBB 42, "Fair Annie" (1 text)
Friedman, p. 114, "Fair Annie" (2 texts+2 fragments)
PBB 50, "Fair Annie" (1 text)
Combs/Wilgus 16, pp. 114-118, "Fair Annie" (1 text)
Gummere, pp. 247-251+355, "Fair Annie" (1 text)
Hodgart, p. 44, "Fair Annie" (1 text)
DBuchan 9, "Fair Annie" (1 text)
TBB 3, "Fair Annie" (1 text)
SHenry H126, p. 510, "Fair Annie" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 62, FAIRANNI* FAIRANN2*
ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #423, "Fair Annie" (1 text)
Roud #42
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Thomas o Yonderdale" [Child 253] (plot)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Sister's Husband
Rosanna
NOTES: Child makes much of the relationship between this song and the lai "le Freisne" of Marie de France. That there are similarities cannot be denied; in the lai, a woman bears twins, and leaves one at a convent to preserve her reputation, and eventually the separated reunite.
But the lai is much concerned with the mechanisms of separation and reunion, which are of no consequence at all in the ballad. It is possible that the two pieces are independent, or at best, entirely separate redactions of a very brief fragment of plot. - RBW
File: C062

Fair Annie of the Lochroyan

See The Lass of Roch Royal [Child 76] (File: C076)

Fair at Batesland, The

DESCRIPTION: The poet wanders into town on the day of the Batestown Fair. He signs up for the bronc-riding contest, drinking a bit while he waits. The poet drawn "an old brown mule," and gets thrown. Abused by the crown, gets "a job a-herdin' sheep"
AUTHOR: Raymond Runnels
EARLIEST DATE: 1968
KEYWORDS: cowboy horse recitation
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ohrlin-HBT 76, "The Fair at Batesland" (1 text)
File: Ohr076

Fair at Turloughmore, The

DESCRIPTION: "Come tell me, dearest mother, What makes my father stay, Or what can be the reason he's been so long away?" She tells how the father went to Turloughmore and was killed in an attack by the Peelers. She hopes "their souls are happy"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1845 (Duffy)
KEYWORDS: Ireland death police trial
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1843? - Police fire after an attack and kill Callaghan, Greally, and Mullen (see notes)
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (4 citations):
PGalvin, pp. 93-94, "The Fair at Turloughmore" (1 text, 1 tune)
OLochlainn 31, "The Sorrowful Lament for Callaghan, Greally and Mullen" (1 text, 1 tune, apparenly derived from Duffy)
DT, FAIRTURL*
ADDITIONAL: Charles Gavan Duffy, editor, The Ballad Poetry of Ireland (1845), pp. 196-197, "The Sorrowful Lament for Callaghan, Greally and Mullen"
Roud #3042
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Charles Guiteau" [Laws E11] (floating lyrics)
NOTES: Duffy: "The circumstance on which it is founded took place two years ago, at the fair of Darrynacloughery, held at Turloughmore. A faction fight having occurred at the fair, the arrest of some of the parties led to an attack on the police -- after the attack had abated or ceased, the police fired on the people, wounded several, and killed three men whose names stand at the head of the ballad. They were indicted for murder and pleaded the order of Mr Brew, the stipendary magistrate, which was admitted as a justification. Brew died the day before the day appointed for his trial." - BS
The second stanza of this song, in the Galvin text, begins "Come all you tender Christians, I hope you will draw near," as in "Charles Guiteau" and its relatives. The tunes and the rest of the song, however, appear unrelated. - RBW
File: PGa093

Fair Beauty Bride, A

See Charming Beauty Bright [Laws M3] (File: LM03)

Fair Betsy

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

Fair Brown

DESCRIPTION: Bluesy verses about a poor man's life: "Fair brown, O fair brown, What makes you hold your head so high?" The "Norfolk women" are planning to get money from the "poor workin' man"; they play sick; they drink. The singer says he will not marry
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: love courting poverty betrayal hardtimes
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BrownIII 486, "Fair Brown" (1 text)
Roud #11760
File: Br3486

Fair Captive, The

DESCRIPTION: An infant white girl is abducted and raised by Indians. She considers herself fully Indian, albeit with skin paled by moonlight. When the Indians and whites make peace, she's returned to her parents; betrothed to a white, she runs off on her wedding day.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1938 (recording, Warde Ford)
LONG DESCRIPTION: An infant white girl is abducted and raised lovingly by Indians, taken as daughter by the chief. She considers herself fully Indian, albeit with skin paled by moonlight. When the Indians and whites make peace, she's returned to her parents; betrothed to a white man, she runs off on her wedding day. (She dies of grief in the woods, mourned by the chief's son)
KEYWORDS: captivity wedding return separation abduction escape baby family Indians(Am.)
FOUND IN: US(MW)
Roud #15491
RECORDINGS:
Pat Ford, "The Fair Captive" (tr. only; in AMMEM/Cowell)
Warde Ford, "The Fair Captive" (AFS A4201 B1, 1938, tr.; in AMMEM/Cowell)
Robert Walker, "The Fair Captive" [fragment] (tr. only; in AMMEM/Cowell)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Aged Indian" (plot elements)
cf. "Olban (Alban) or The White Captive" [Laws H15]
cf. "The Aged Indian (Uncle Tohido)" (plot elements)
NOTES: Ford mentions that his source, Charles E. Walker, learned it about 1900 from another singer. It's quite literary-sounding. It's not, however, the same song as, "Olban/The White Captive -- not even close.
Ford also recorded a fragment, AFS A4205 A2, which is misidentified on the on AMMEM website as "The Fair Captive." It's not -- it's "The Lady Leroy." - PJS
It's interesting to see what is almost certainly a "white" song with such sympathy for Indians. - RBW
File: RcTFC

Fair Caroline

See Caroline of Edinborough Town [Laws P27] (File: LP27)

Fair Charlotte

See Young Charlotte (Fair Charlotte) [Laws G17] (File: LG17)

Fair Do, The

DESCRIPTION: Rosslare's Fair Do's crew leave her at Pier Head where the competition "moulded her model and measured her mast, And said, 'tween themselves, 'Let us build one as fast.'" Nevertheless, Fair Do beats Pier's Spitfire by four minutes and takes the cup.
AUTHOR: John Walsh of The Burrow, Rosslare
EARLIEST DATE: 1943 (Ranson)
KEYWORDS: ship racing sports moniker
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ranson, pp. 39-40, "The Fair Do" (1 text)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Cod Liver Oil" (tune) and references there
File: Ran039

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Dying Aviator, The

Dying Bagman, The

Dying Boy, The

Dying British Sergeant, The

Dying Californian (I), The

Dying Californian (II), The

Dying Cowboy (II), The

Dying Cowboy (III), The

Dying Cowboy I, The

Dying Cowboy of Rim Rock Ranch

Dying Cowgirl, The

Dying Crap Shooter's Blues

Dying Drunkard, The

Dying Fifer, The

Dying From Home and Lost (Companions, Draw Nigh)

Dying Girl's Message, The

Dying Hobo, The [Laws H3]

Dying Hogger, The

Dying Irish Boy, The

Dying Miller, The

Dying Mine Brakeman, The (The True and Trembling Brakeman) [Laws G11]

Dying Minister, The

Dying Newsboy, The

Dying Nun, The

Dying Outlaw, The

Dying Ploughboy, The

Dying Preacher, The (Hick's Farewell)

Dying Queen, The

Dying Ranger, The [Laws A14]

Dying Rebel, The

Dying Redcoat, The

Dying Seal-Hunter, The

Dying Sergeant, The

Dying Soldier (I), The (Erin Far Away II) [Laws J7]

Dying Soldier (II), The

Dying Soldier (IV), The

Dying Soldier to His Mother, The

Dying Soldier, (III) The

Dying Stockman, The

Dying Youth, The

E-choin' Horn, The

E-ri-e, The

E-ri-o Canal, The

E. A. Horton, The [Laws D28]

E. C. Roberts, The

E. P. Walker

Eamon An Chnuic (Ned of the Hill)

Earl Bothwell [Child 174]

Earl Brand [Child 7]

Earl Colvin

Earl Crawford [Child 229]

Earl o' Aboyne, The

Earl of Aboyne, The [Child 235]

Earl of Errol, The [Child 231]

Earl of Mar's Daughter, The [Child 270]

Earl of Murray

Earl of Westmoreland, The [Child 177]

Earl Rothes [Child 297]

Early in the Morning (I)

Early in the Morning (II)

Early in the Morning (III)

Early in the Morning (IV -- prison song)

Early in the Spring

Early Monday Morning

Early One Morning

Early One Morning in the Month of July

Early Spring

Early Sunday Morning

Early, Early in the Spring (II)

Early, Early in the Spring [Laws M1]

Early, Early, by the Break of Day

Earsdon Sword-Dancer's Song, The

Ease that Trouble in the Mind

East Bound Train, The

East Coast Blues

East Colorado Blues

East Neuk o' Fife, The

East Virginia (Dark Hollow)

East Virginia Girls

Eastbound Train, The