Fair Eleanor (I)


See Lord Thomas and Fair Annet [Child 73] (File: C073)

Fair Eleanor (II)


DESCRIPTION: Johnny meets Eleanor "in the middle of the night" to go "and married we will be." In the woods he tells her to strip and he "will be your butcher." She begs for mercy but he stabs her to death. He is imprisoned "in Castlebury jail" until he dies.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1958 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: courting betrayal murder prison burial
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Peacock, pp. 608-609, "Fair Eleanor" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Pea608 (Partial)
Roud #9796
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight [Child 4]" (plot)
cf. "Pretty Polly (II)"
File: Pea608

Fair Ellen (I)


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

Fair Ellen (II)


See Child Waters [Child 63] (File: C063)

Fair Ellender


See Lord Thomas and Fair Annet [Child 73] (File: C073)

Fair Fanny Moore [Laws O38]


DESCRIPTION: Fanny marries poor Henry rather than wealthy (Randall). When Henry is away, Randall appears and demands her life (or her love). (When she refuses,) he stabs her. Randall is hanged; Henry wanders distracted until he dies
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1903 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: murder execution marriage jealousy
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,Ro,SE,So) Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES (13 citations):
Laws O38, "Fair Fanny Moore"
Belden, pp. 139-141, "Fair Fannie Moore" (2 texts)
Randolph 141, "Fair Fanny Moore" (3 texts, 2 tunes)
FSCatskills 64, "Fair Fanny Moore" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownII 77, "Fair Fanny Moore" (1 text)
Botkin-SoFolklr, p. 720, "Fair Fanny Moore" (1 text, 1 tune)
LPound-ABS, 97, pp. 206-207, "Fair Fanny Moor" (1 text)
JHCox 150, "Fair Fanny Moore" (1 text)
Flanders/Brown, pp. 58-59, "Fanny More" (1 text)
Peacock, pp. 610-611, "Fair Fanny Moore" (1 text, 1 tune)
Dean, pp. 85-86, "Fair Fanny Moore" (1 text)
cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 479, "Fair Fanny Moore" (source notes only)
DT 337, FANMOORE FANMOOR2
Roud #1001
RECORDINGS:
Ken Maynard, "Fannie Moore" (Columbia, 1930; on TimesAint01)
File: LO38

Fair Flo-ella, The


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

Fair Florella


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

Fair Flower of Northumberland, The [Child 9]


DESCRIPTION: A Scots soldier is captured and imprisoned. He captivates the gaoler's daughter, promising to marry her if she will free him. As soon as he is over the Scots border, he abandons her, saying he is already married. Her mother comforts her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: c. 1597 (see NOTES)
KEYWORDS: courting prison escape trick lie abandonment
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber),England(North))
REFERENCES (10 citations):
Child 9, "The Fair Flower of Northumberland" (7 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #1}
Bronson 9, "The Fair Flower of Northumberland" (7 versions)
Greig #111, pp. 1-2, "The Flower of Northumberland" (1 text)
GreigDuncan6 1149, "The Fair Flower o' Northumberland" (4 texts, 1 tune)
Stokoe/Reay, pp. 94-96, "The Fair Flower of Northumberland" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #3}
Ord, p. 192, "The Flower o' Northumberland" (1 text)
Leach, pp. 71-74, "The Fair Flower of Northumberland" (1 text)
OBB 71, "The Fair Flower of Northumberland" (1 text)
Niles 6, "The Fair Flower of Northumberland" (3 texts, 2 tunes)
DT 9, FAIRFLWR* FAIRFLR2*
Roud #25
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Young Andrew" [Child 48] (theme)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Deceived Girl
The Sinful Maiden
Sin's Reward
NOTES: Chambers: E. K. Chambers, English Literature at the Close of the Middle Ages, Oxford, 1945, 1947, p. 141, declares that Thomas Deloney (1543?-1600?) "in his Pleasant History of John Winchcomb (c. 1597) introduced a ballad of The Fair Flower of Northumberland, of which he says, 'the maidens in dulcet manner chanted out this song, two of them singing the ditty, and all the rest bearing the burden.'" This is the basis for Child's "A," which is similar to Ritson's 1790 text. It would be very interesting to know what was Deloney's source.
Niles claims that all three of his informants used this song to draw a moral; in two instances they gave it a religious tone. This, obviously, is absent from all the Scottish versions. This is another instance where one questions the veracity of Niles's collections; there are no other American versions of this ballad known. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: C009

Fair Flowers of Helio


See The Cruel Mother [Child 20] (File: C020)

Fair Gallowa'


See The Boy That Found a Bride (Fair Gallowa') (File: HHH665)

Fair Janet [Child 64]


DESCRIPTION: (Janet/Annet/Maisry) loves Sweet Willie, but is told by her father she must marry a French lord. She bears Willie's child and has him take it to his mother. At her wedding she hasn't strength to dance, but dances with Willie and dies. (Willie dies.)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1769 (Herd)
KEYWORDS: love pregnancy marriage childbirth dancing death
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (8 citations):
Child 64, "Fair Janet" (7 texts)
Bronson 64, "Fair Janet" (2 versions)
Leach, pp. 205-208, "Fair Janet" (1 text)
GreigDuncan6 1100, "Love Willie" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
OBB 52, "Fair Janet" (1 text)
Gummere, pp. 213-217+351-352, "Fair Janet" (1 text)
TBB 14, "Fair Janet" (1 text)
DT 64, FAIRJAN
Roud #44
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Muckin' o' Geordie's Byre" (tune, per GreigDuncan6)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Liv'd Ance Twa Luvers In Yon Dale
File: C064

Fair John and the Seven Foresters


See Johnie Cock [Child 114] (File: C114)

Fair Julian Bond


See William Riley's Courtship [Laws M9] (File: LM09)

Fair Lady of London


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

Fair Lady of the Plains, A (Death of a Maiden Fair) [Laws B8]


DESCRIPTION: A 'fair maiden" is notable for herding cattle, drinking liquor, and using a six shooter. She is killed by Indians while working with her husband. The cowboys ride to seek revenge.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927
KEYWORDS: death cowboy revenge
FOUND IN: US(So,SE)
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Laws B8, "Fair Lady of the Plains (Death of a Maiden Fair)"
Randolph 189, "A Fair Lady of the Plains" (5 texts, 3 tunes)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 182-184, "A Fair Lady of the Plains" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 189A)
Larkin, pp. 148-150, "Fair Lady of the Plains" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fife-Cowboy/West 42, "Fair Lady of the Plains" (2 texts, 1 tune)
DT 375, LDYPLAIN
Roud #3130
File: LB08

Fair Lucy


See Lizie Wan [Child 51] (File: C051)

Fair Maid by the Seashore, The


See The Maid on the Shore (The Fair Maid by the Sea Shore; The Sea Captain) [Laws K27] (File: LK27)

Fair Maid of Ballyagan


DESCRIPTION: The singer meets a beautiful girl in a village in Aghadowey. He courts her, but she eventually rejects him for a wealthy suitor. He departs, "Intending never to meet again," but he cannot forget her. He curses wealth and the one who has it
AUTHOR: Andrew Orr
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love courting rejection money
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H67, p. 365, "Fair Maid of Ballyagan" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #6883
File: HHH067

Fair Maid of Glasgow Town


DESCRIPTION: The singer meets a pretty girl and asks if she will marry him. She points out that he is a stranger, and adds that she has a fiancee. He starts to leave. She calls him back and says she will marry him. He says he's not interested.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1935 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love courting rejection
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H579, p. 345, "Fair Maid of Glasgow Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5546
NOTES: Too bad they didn't marry; they deserved each other. I doubt there has ever been a song where two people both rejected the other in the space of sixty seconds. Except on a soap opera, of course. - RBW
File: HHH579

Fair Maid of Passage, The


DESCRIPTION: The maid Dermuid loves is "plump as a sassage" and "mild as a kitten" He describes other attributes (red lips, black eyes and hair, sweet breath, moves "like a goddess") Because of her cruelty he "must die, Like a pig in a sty, Or the snuff of a candle"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1839 (Croker-PopularSongs)
KEYWORDS: love courting rejection nonballad
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 260-262, "The Fair Maid of Passage" (1 text)
NOTES: Croker-PopularSongs: "In a note (1838) he [Mr Edward Quin] adds, 'I assure you, from my own recollection, the song is known in my family upwards of thirty-five years. I have no doubt that it originated in Cork, though I do not know its author.'"
Two Bodleian broadsides (Firth c.11(32) View 3 of 4, "Labour in vain. A song, an hundred years old" ("Ye patriots, who twenty long years"), W Webb. (London), 1742; G.A. Warw. b.1(149), "The draper dup'd. A new song" ("Says Tom Dowlas, I pray now discover"), unknown, 1768?) are both to the tune of "Molly Mogg." Quin's version of "The Fair Maid of Passage" is essentially the same as Croker's, but begins "My dear Molly Mogg, You're soft as a bog."
Croker-PopularSongs: "The town of Passage ... is situated between Cork and its Cove...." - BS
File: CrPS260

Fair Margaret and Sweet William [Child 74]


DESCRIPTION: Margaret learns that her lover is to be wed. After the wedding, she (or her ghost) visits the wedding chamber and asks the husband if he is happy with his wife. He says that he would prefer her. But when he calls at Margaret's home, she is dead
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1765 (Percy); c.1720 (broadside, Bodleian Douce Ballads 1(72a))
KEYWORDS: marriage questions death ghost
FOUND IN: Britain(England,Scotland(Aber)) US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,SE,So) Canada(Mar,Newf,Ont)
REFERENCES (38 citations):
Child 74, "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (3 texts)
Bronson 74, "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (79 versions, 4 of which are in one or another appendix, presumably because of the commonplace title and lack of text)
GreigDuncan2 337, "William and Margaret" (1 text, 2 tunes) {A=Bronson's #65, B=#66}
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 134-139, "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (2 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #31}
Percy/Wheatley III, pp. 124-127, "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (1 text); cf. pp. 308-312, "Margaret's Ghost" (a rewritten version, possibly by the eighteenth century poet David Mallet)
Belden, pp. 48-52, "Fair Margaret and Sweet William (4 texts)
Randolph 16, "Lady Margaret" (2 texts plus 2 fragments, 3 tunes) {A=Bronson's #43, C=#20, but very possibly not this song, D=#44}
Eddy 12, "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (2 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #25}
Gardner/Chickering 5, "Sweet William and Lady Margaret" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #58}
Flanders/Brown, pp. 213-214, "Lady Margaret and Sweet William" (1 text)
Flanders/Olney, pp. 80-85, "Prince William and Lady Margaret"/"Lady Margaret and King William" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Flanders-Ancient2, pp. 122-147, "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (7 texts plys 2 fragments, 5 tunes)
Davis-Ballads 19, "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (12 texts plus 3 fragments, of which the "I" and "O" fragments might not be this song; 8 tunes entitled "Sweet William and Lady Margaret," "Lady Marget," "Fair Margaret and Sweet William," Lady Margaret," "Lady Margaret and Sweet William"; 13 more versions mentioned in Appendix A) {Bronson's #30, #51, #50, #59, #14, with alterations, #55, #23, #39}
Davis-More 19, pp. 138-145, "Fair Margaret and Sweet Williams" (3 texts, 2 tunes)
BrownII 20, "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (4 texts plus 2 excerpts and mention of 1 more)
Chappell-FSRA 10, "False William" (1 text)
Hudson 11, pp. 87-90, "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (2 texts)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 103-105, "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (1 text, properly titled "Lady Margaret," plus a quotation; tune on p. 390)
Brewster 11, "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (4 texts plus a fragment, the latter short enough that it might be from something else; 1 tune) {Bronson's #13}
Ritchie-Southern, pp. 12-13, "Sweet William and Lady Margaret" (1 text, 1 tune)
SharpAp 20 "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (8 texts plus 9 fragments, 17 tunes){Bronson's #33, #73, #24, #35, #34, #14, #59, #15, #62, #52, #12, #67, #42, #41, #70, #47, #74}
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 16, "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (1 text, 1 tune, composite and abridged) {Bronson's #67}
Karpeles-Newfoundland 8, "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (1 text, 3 tunes) {Bronson's #68}
Peacock, pp. 383-384, "Fair Marjorie's Ghost" (1 text, 1 tune)
Mackenzie 7, "William and Margaret" (1 text)
Leach, pp. 247-250, "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (2 texts)
Wyman-Brockway I, p. 94, "Sweet William and Lady Margery" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #9}
McNeil-SFB2, pp. 139-142, "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (1 text, 1 tune)
OBB 62, "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (1 text)
Friedman, p. 52, "Fair Margaret and Sweet William (1 text+1 fragment)
Niles 29, "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Gummere, pp. 200-202+348, "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (1 text)
Chappell/Wooldridge II, pp. 131-132, "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (1 text, perhaps abridged, 1 tune) {Bronson's #78}
Abrahams/Foss, p. 180, "(Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (1 tune, with no source listed; partial text)
LPound-ABS, 16, pp. 40-43, "Sweet William" (1 text)
JHCox 11, "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (7 texts, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #10, #26}
Silber-FSWB, p. 220, "Lady Margaret" (1 text)
DT 74, LADYMARG LADYMAR2*
Roud #253
RECORDINGS:
Daw Henson, "Lady Margaret and Sweet William" (AFS, 1937; on KMM)
Martin Howley, "The Old Armchair" (on IRClare01)
Bascom Lamar Lunsford, "Little Marget" (on BLLunsford02) {cf. Bronson's #69}
Jean Ritchie, "Sweet William and Lady Margaret" (on JRitchie02)
Pete Seeger, "Little Margaret" (on BroonzySeeger1); Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (on PeteSeeger16)
Art Thieme, "Fair Margaret & Sweet William" (on Thieme06)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Douce Ballads 1(72a), "Fair Margaret's Misfortune" or "Sweet William's Frightful Dreams on His Wedding Night: With the Sudden Death and Burial of Those Noble Lovers," S. Bates (London), c.1720; also Douce Ballads 3(27a), "Fair Margaret's Misfortunes" or "Sweet William's Dream on his Wedding Night, With the Sudden Death and Burial of Those Noble Lovers"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Colin and Lucy" (theme)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Lady Margot and Sweet Willie
Lady Maggie
Lyddy Margot
Lady Marrit
NOTES: A fragment of this ballad is found in John Fletcher and Francis Beaumont's 1611 play "The Knight of the Burning Pestle," Act II, scene viii:
When it was grown to dark midnight
And all were fast asleep,
In came Margaret's grimly ghost
And stood at William's feet.
Child and Bronson both have cutting remarks about the history of this song, which was rewritten "in what used to be called an elegant style" by David Malloch/Mallet, while "a print of c. 1711 was probably occasioned by someone's invention of a fresh tune, not the least folkish in character." (This is the basis of Bronson's "A" group of tunes.)
Grieg/Keith see this as much the same ballad as Child #73, and Bronson sees similarities in the tunes, but concludes that the melodies, like the texts, justify separating them. (Note that "Fair Margaret" is *not* a murder ballad!) - RBW
See a parody attributed to David Malle: broadside Bodleian, Firth b.22(f. 79), "William and Margaret" ("'Twas at the silent solemn hour"), S. Watts (London), 1785; also Harding B 5(58), "A Lamentable Ballad" or "The Tragical End of William and Margaret" ("When all was wrap'd in dark midnight"); Harding B 5(57), "William and Margaret" - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: C074

Fair Margaret O' Craignaritie


DESCRIPTION: A woman dreams she has a deaf, blind daughter stolen by a raven. A wise woman warns that the raven signifies a false man. She has a daughter, Margaret, who runs off to sea with an outlaw. In a storm she regrets her choice too late. The boat sinks.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1823 (Sharpe _Ballad Book_, according to GreigDuncan1)
KEYWORDS: courting death dream prophecy storm wreck mother outlaw bird
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan1 21, "Fair Margaret O' Craignaritie" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5628
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Lost Babe" (theme)
cf. "The Vulture (of the Alps)" (theme)
File: GrD1021

Fair Marjorie's Ghost


See Fair Margaret and Sweet William [Child 74] (File: C074)

Fair Mary of Livingston


See Fair Mary of Wallington [Child 91] (File: C091)

Fair Mary of Wallington [Child 91]


DESCRIPTION: Of seven sisters, five have died in childbirth. The sixth would prefer not to marry, but is made to wed. She expects to die in childbirth, and does, with the child cut out of her after three days labor. The seventh sister can expect the same fate.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1776 (Herd)
KEYWORDS: family marriage childbirth death
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Child 91, "Fair Mary of Wallington" (7 texts)
Bronson 91, comments only
OBB 81, "Fair Mary of Wallington" (1 text)
Gummere, pp. 236-240+354, "Fair Mary of Livingston" (1 text)
DBuchan 15, "Fair Mary of Wallington" (1 text)
Roud #59
File: C091

Fair Nottamun Town


See Nottamun Town (File: WB2006)

Fair o' Balnaminna, The (The Lass Among the Heather)


DESCRIPTION: Singer meets a shepherdess and offers to marry her. She is happy at home with her parents. He asks for a parting kiss. They "kissed and kissed again" She approves and he will ask her father (or "she's his lassie" or they marry with "bairnies").
AUTHOR: Hugh McWilliams (source: Moulden-McWilliams)
EARLIEST DATE: 1831 (Moulden-McWilliams)
KEYWORDS: courting marriage dialog sheep
FOUND IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Greig #44, p. 1, "The Fair o' Balnaminna" (1 text)
GreigDuncan4 873, "The Fair o' Balnaminna" (12 texts plus a single verse on p. 567, 7 tunes)
Morton-Ulster 4, "The Lass Among the Heather Oh!" (1 text, 1 tune)
ADDITIONAL: John Moulden, Songs of Hugh McWilliams, Schoolmaster, 1831 (Portrush,1993), p. 15, "The Lass among the Heather"
Roud #2894
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(331), "The Blooming Heather" ("As I was coming home"), unknown, n.d.; also 2806 c.14(60), "Blooming Heather"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Bonnie Lass Among the Heather" (theme) and references there
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Fair o' Balquhither
NOTES: For the relationship between this song and Paddy Tunney's "Bonnie Lass Among the Heather," see the notes to the latter piece. - (BS, RBW)
Last updated in version 2.5
File: UNFoBal

Fair of Rosslea, The


DESCRIPTION: Monday, November 8 Frank Hynes meets Dolan at the fair of Rosslea. They agreed to match their dogs in a hunt the next Friday at Annerlaw. The hunt is described as some number of hare are killed, and the dogs are named.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1980 (recording, Philip McDermott)
KEYWORDS: death hunting animal dog moniker Ireland
FOUND IN: Ireland
Roud #12935
RECORDINGS:
Philip McDermott, "The Fair of Rosslea" (on Voice18)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Huntsman's Horn" (subject: competitive hare hunt from the huntsman's point of view)
cf. "Killafole Boasters" (subject: competitive hare hunt from the huntsman's point of view) and references there
NOTES: Rosslea is in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. - BS
File: RcFaRoss

Fair Princess Royal, The


See The Bold Princess Royal [Laws K29] (File: LK29)

Fair Rosa


See Sleeping Beauty (Thorn Rose, Briar Rose) (File: HHH599)

Fair Rosamond


DESCRIPTION: ""'I have a sister,' young Clifford said, 'A sister no man knows...." "...I would not for ten thousand worlds Have King Henery know her name." But Henry overhears, and writes a letter to her. The ending appears confused
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1939 (Linscott)
KEYWORDS: love royalty disguise
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1154-1189 - Reign of Henry II
c. 1176 - Death of Rosamund Clifford
FOUND IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Linscott, pp. 193-195, "Fair Rosamond, or Rosamond's Downfall" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, ROSACLIF
Roud #3729
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Queen Eleanor's Confession" [Child 156] (subject)
cf. "Rosamund Clifford" (subject)
NOTES: For the confusing history of Rosamund Clifford and King Henry II, see the notes to Queen Eleanor's Confession" [Child 156]; there is also a small amount of material in "Rosamund Clifford."
It's interesting to note the extreme lustiness attributed to King Henry II here. This seems to be an exaggeration. Henry obviously was not a dutiful husband to Eleanor of Acquitaine, but neither did he set a record for extra-curricular activities. We do have records of illegitimate children as early as the 1150s, and he was charged with having affairs with many women -- including even Alice/Alys, the daughter of the King of France who was betrothed to Henry's son Richard. But the number of illegitimate children he acknowledged seems to have been fairly small.
According to Warren, p. 601, "the great love of his life, Rosamund Clifford, with whom he had lived openly since the great war [of 1173], died about 1176, and although Henry undoubtedly took mistresses after her death there was no one to match her in his affections or threaten to depose Eleanor as his wife." This is certainly disputed, but the mere fact that it is disputed shows that Henry can't have had too many other affairs. Similarly, the affair with Alice of France was only a rumor (Gillingham, p. 105), substantiated mostly by Richard's later claim that she had slept with his father -- a claim which Richard used to get rid of her, so it is clearly suspect.
I'm going to suggest that the lust of King Henry arises by confusion with his grandfather Henry I, who had on the order of fifty illegitimate children by nearly the same number of mothers
Owen, p. 121, attributes the song of Rosamund Clifford/Fair Rosamund to Thomas Deloney, a sixteenth century weaver and poet, but because there probably were multiple Rosamund songs, I have not listed him as the author. Owen then goes on to devote two dozen pages (pp. 124-148) to various poems, plays, and other non-traditional works about Rosamund. She probably qualifies as the most famous mistress in English history prior to at least the Stuart dynasty. - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 2.5
File: Lins193

Fair Rosamund Clifford


See Fair Rosamund (File: Lins193)

Fair Rosie Ann


See The King's Dochter Lady Jean [Child 52] (File: C052)

Fair Sally


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)

Fair Town of Greenock, The


DESCRIPTION: John lives in Greenock and is called with the "Eighteenth Royal" to fight in India. Jane asks him not to leave. He is killed by a French sword. His last words are "Greenock and sweet Bannockburn," as are hers when she heard the news of his death.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1986 (McBride)
KEYWORDS: courting army battle separation death lover soldier India
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
McBride 27, "The Fair Town of Greenock" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Lad in the Scotch Brigade (The Banks of the Clyde)" (theme)
cf. "The Paisley Officer (India's Burning Sands)" [Laws N2] (theme)
NOTES: This song reminds McBride of "The Paisley Officer." It's a similar theme but "The Lad in the Scotch Brigade" is even closer: the war is different -- Egypt [in that song as opposed to] India [in this one] -- but it does share a line ("She threw her arms around him and cried, 'Do not leave me,'") and the girl's home "on the Banks of the Clyde." The British fought the French in India in the eighteenth century (source: "Rivalries in India: AD 1748-1760" in History of the British Empire, p. 4, at http://tinyurl.com/tbdx-IndiaRivalr). - BS
This song is rather a curiosity. Greenock of course is in Scotland, and the girl lives by the Clyde, and who but a Scot would toast Bannockburn?
And yet, it's found in Ireland. And then there is the reference to the Eighteenth Royal.
It happens that the Eighteenth Foot was the Royal Irish Regiment , according to Hallows, p. 319; it was disbanded in 1922 (when the Irish Free State was formed). (This unit should not be confused with the present Royal Irish Regiment, which is an Ulster unit. This is not to deny the distinction of the latter regiment; it's just not the same as the Eighteenth Foot.)
The site http://tinyurl.com/tbdx-Irish18 lists two occasions on which the Eighteenth served in India. The list of battle honours for the Eighteenth (which I found at www.regiments.org, but the link no longer works) does not appear to include any Indian campaigns, but it did fight in Afghanistan, which is surely close enough. This unit did not fight the French at this time, of course, but it did serve in Madras, which had been the site of Anglo-French quarrels a century earlier.
So how did a seemingly-Irish regiment end up in a seemingly-Scots song? Don't ask me....
I rather suspect the battle referred to is Wandiwash, in 1760. This was one of the few direct conflicts between the English and French in India. The battle took place on January 22, 1760, as Sir Eyre Coote beat the French under Count de Lally. This opened the door for Coote to capture Pondicherry (OxfordCompanion, p. 966).
Anderson, p. 418, says, "In saving his fleet, [Admiral Anne antoine comte] d'Ache doomed Lally and the French trading stations on the Coromandel Coast. The turning point actually came at the beginning of 1760 when the British military commander in the region, Lieutenant colonel Eyre Coote of the 84th Regiment, lured Lally out to do battle at Wandiwash, some forty miles northwest of Pondicherry. On January 22, Coote defeated his opponenet in an open-field engagement; thereafter, Lally broke down psychologically and proved incapable of defending the outposts that protected Pondicherry. By the middle of April only the city and its immediate surroundings remained in French control. Meanwhile, a powerful British naval squadron had beseiged it, allowing coote to besiege the city in August. On January 16, 1761, he would accept the sword of Pondicherry's neurasthenic commandant."
According to Spear, p. 79, "The third and final phase [of the conflict between Britain and France in India] was again an open struggle brought on by the Seven Years War. The English were first in the field but their force was diverted to Bengal. When the French forces arriced in 1758 they were crippled by jealousy and bad leadership. They failed to take Madras and were decisively defeated at Wandiwash.... Brave to the last the wayward Lally endured an agonizing siege in Pondicherry for eight months until its fall. This was the real end of the French bid for Indian power. Their reappearance in 1782 was a passing phase only made notable by the genius of their admiral de Suffren."
It was a nice follow-up to the so-called "Year of Victories" of 1759, in which the British won Canada (Haswell, p. 52), which perhaps explains why Coote and Wandiwash get relatively little attention in the histories -- there was so much else going on....
Keegan/Wheatcroft, p. 179, note that the French commander Thomas Arthur comte de Lally (1702-1766), who was of Irish ancestry, was charged for treason on his return to France, and eventually executed -- unfairly, they think; his record was one of bad luck, not treason. Anderson, p. 418, seems to agree, for he blames most of the French problems on their fleet's failure to reinforce and supply their army. - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 2.5
File: McB1027

Fair Tyrone


DESCRIPTION: The singer's thoughts turn back to Tyrone. He describes the various places in the area, and recalls the flowers' beauty and the birds' songs. His fondest memories are of Tyrone
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: home nonballad
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H189, pp. 173-174, "Fair Tyrone" (1 text with many variants, 1 tune)
Roud #13533
File: HHH189

Fairy Boy, The


DESCRIPTION: "A mother came when stars were paling," crying, calling on the fairy king to return her son. She has no answer and concedes that "In this world I have lost my joy; But in the next we ne'er shall sever, There will I find my fairy boy"
AUTHOR: Samuel Lover
EARLIEST DATE: 1840 (broadside, LOCSheet sm1840 371930)
KEYWORDS: grief death baby supernatural separation
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
O'Conor, p. 150, "The Fairy Boy" (1 partial text)
ADDITIONAL: Edward Hayes, The Ballads of Ireland (Boston, 1859), Vol II, pp. 145-146, "The Fairy Boy"
Roud #9293
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 15(101a), "The Fairy Boy", D. Batchelar (London), 1836-1842; Harding B 18(156), Firth c.18(191), Harding B 15(101b), "[The] Fairy Boy"
LOCSheet, sm1840 371930, "The Fairy Boy", George Willig (Philadelphia), 1840 (tune)
LOCSinging, sb10130a, "The Fairy Boy", H. De Marsan (New York), 1864-1878; also as103670, "The Fairy Boy"
NOTES: O'Conor: "When a beautiful child pines and dies, the Irish peasant believes the healthy infant has been stolen by the fairies, and a sickly elf left in its place." This is a note taken without attribution from The Ballad Poetry of Ireland by Charles Gavin Duffy (Dublin, 1845), p. 79. [Of course, the notion of the changeling is common in British folklore. - RBW]
O'Conor sometimes omits the end of a song when it won't fit on the page and there is no space available on another page. This is one example. "Digging for Gould" is another.
Broadside LOCSinging sb10130a: 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: OCon150

Fairy King's Courtship, The


See John MacAnanty's Courtship (The Fairy King) (File: HHH056)

Fairy Lullaby, The


DESCRIPTION: Irish Gaelic: Singer laments: it's a year since she was taken from her husband and brought to the fairy hill. She gives instructions for spells to release her; if she is not rescued in time, she will become queen of the fairies. She croons to her baby
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE:
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage homesickness abduction rescue death magic ritual lullaby supernatural husband
FOUND IN: Ireland
RECORDINGS:
Maire O'Sullivan, "The Fairy Lullaby" (on Lomax42, LomaxCD1742)
NOTES: In Lomax's interpretation, the woman has died shortly after marriage, and is in the last day of her year with the fairies, rocking a fairy child. If she is not rescued, she can never reassume mortal form - PJS
File: RcTFL

Fais Do Do, Colas


DESCRIPTION: Creole French: "Faies do do, Colas, mon petit frere, Fais do do, t'auras du gateau, Papa e aura, Et moi j'un aurai, Tout un plein panier." The little brother is urged to go to sleep, perhaps with the promise of a reward.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: lullaby family
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 155, "Fais Do Do, Colas" (1 short text)
File: ScaNF155

Fais Do Do, Minette


DESCRIPTION: Creole French: "Faies do do, Minette, Chere pitit cochon du laite. Fais do do, mo chere pitit, Jusqu' a trappe l'age quinze ans." Minette is urged to go to sleep for fifteen years, when she will have "the martine" for a husband
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: lullaby nonballad marriage
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 154-155, "Fais Do Do, Minette" (1 short text plus translation, 1 tune)
File: ScaNF154b

Faithful Lover, or The Hero Rewarded, The


See The Lady of Carlisle [Laws O25] (File: LO25)

Faithful Rambler, The (Jamie and Mary, Love's Parting)


DESCRIPTION: "I am a young man delights in sport; To a strange country I mean to steer, And leave my home... Also the girl that I love dear." The girl promises to be true, but says that he will forget her. He says he will be faithful, and wishes her good fortune
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1939 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love separation emigration
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H825, pp. 299-300, "The Faithful Rambler" (1 text, 1 tune); H788, p. 300, "Love's Parting (Jamie and Mary)" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #6896 and 6897
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Erin's Flowery Vale (The Irish Girl's Lament)" [Laws O29] (plot) and references there
NOTES: Neither Sam Henry nor the notes in Henry/Huntington/Herrmann hint that these two are the same song. But they have identical plots, and there are extreme lyric similarities in both the first verse (about the young man who must ramble) and the scenes where the lovers promise faithfulness. If they aren't originally one song, they have cross-fertilized to the point where they might as well be. - RBW
File: HHH825

Faithful Sailor Boy, The [Laws K13]


DESCRIPTION: A sailor and his true love bid a tearful farewell on the deck of the ship as it is about to sail. He dies on the voyage; his shipmates deliver the girl a letter in which he says they will meet in heaven
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1859
KEYWORDS: sailor separation death
FOUND IN: US(MA,SE) Ireland Britain(Scotland(Aber)) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (12 citations):
Laws K13, "The Faithful Sailor Boy"
Doerflinger, p. 164, "The Sailor Boy" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Greig #74, pp. 1-2, "The Sailor Boy's Farewell" (1 text)
GreigDuncan1 66, "The Faithful Sailor Boy" (8 texts, 3 tunes)
SHenry H543, p. 103, "The Sailor Boy" (1 text, 1 tune); also probably H678, p. 89, "The Irish Soldier Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ranson, pp. 32-33, "The Faithful Sailor Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
McBride 60, "The Sailor Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Manny/Wilson 68, "The Faithful Sailor Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownII 111, "The Faithful Sailor Boy" (1 text plus mention of 3 more)
Chappell-FSRA 33, "Sailor Boy" (1 text)
Fuson, pp. 61-62, "The Soldier Boy" (1 text)
DT 559, FTHFULSL
Roud #376
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(64a), "The Sailor Boy," Poet's Box (Dundee), c. 1890
NOTES: George W. Persley (died) has been listed as the author of this piece, but the song appears older. Steve Roud mentions an attribution of the words to Thomas P. Westendorf and the music to Persley, but has been unable to verify this.
The Sam Henry text "The Irish Soldier Boy" lacks many of the elements of fuller versions of this song, and also has a slightly different form. But it has so many elements in common with Laws K13 that I think it must be listed here. If it isn't Laws K13, it's swallowed several verses whole. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: LK13

Faithless Boney (The Croppies' Complaint)


DESCRIPTION: "Oh dear! what can the matter be Bony's so long coming here. He promised to bring us a budget of freedom" but he did not come from Calais to Dover, he deserted us "just as the crisis drew near." The loyalists laugh while he "minds his own interest"
AUTHOR: William Ball (source: Moylan)
EARLIEST DATE: "shortly after 1798" (according to Moylan)
KEYWORDS: rebellion Ireland humorous nonballad Napoleon
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Moylan 38, "Faithless Bony" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Oh, Dear, What Can the Matter Be?" (tune)
NOTES: For another broadside on "Boney" coming to England, to the same tune, see Bodleian, Harding B 25(1115), "Little Boney A-Cockhorse ("Oh dear! little Boney's a coming"), J. Pitts (London), 1802-1819
The ballad is recorded on one of the CD's issued around the time of the bicentenial of the 1798 Irish Rebellion. See:
Barry Gleeson acc. Mick Willis, "Faithless Bony" (on "The Croppy's Complaint," Craft Recordings CRCD03 (1998); Terry Moylan notes) - BS
Like so many of the Irish complaints about France, this is rather unfair (for the context, see the notes to "The Shan Van Vogt"); France had failed utterly at Bantry Bay, but that wasn't Napoleon's fault. And he didn't promise anything to Wolfe Tone or anyone; he knew all along that an Irish invasion wouldn't pay. Had the rebellion of 1798 in fact gone off properly (meaning that the whole country had risen at one time, rather than a handful of uncoordinated local rebellions), the forces Napoleon sent (with General Humbert, Napper Tandy, and Tone; a total of about 4000 men and arms for many more) might well have allowed the Irish to win a pitched battle. But the 1798 rebellion had failed completely before the French arrived.
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. - RBW
File: Moyl038

Faithless Husband


DESCRIPTION: "One day a faithless husband Unto a maiden said, You know, Bess, though I'm married, I hate the one I've wed." He begs the girl to marry him; she replies "If you love me, leave me But don't be untrue." She says she will wait; he should not leave his wife
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1930 (recording, Darby & Tarlton)
KEYWORDS: love courting infidelity virtue
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Randolph 807, "Faithless Husband" (1 text)
Roud #7424
RECORDINGS:
Tom Darby & Jim Tarlton, "Faithless Husband" (Columbia 15552-D, 1930)
File: R807

Faithless Wife, The


See The Daemon Lover (The House Carpenter) [Child 243] (File: C243)

Falcon (I), The


DESCRIPTION: The Falcon sets out with 35 passengers. The ship is near home when the wind blows up. The engine fails and the ship runs aground. The singer recalls the dead and pities the widows and orphans
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: death wreck ship storm
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Jan 5, 1868 - Reported date of the Falcon wreck
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H95, p. 107, "The Falcon" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9042
File: HHH095

Falcon's Song


See Chanson de la Grenouillere ("Song of Frog Plain," Falcon's Song) (File: FMB121)

Falcon(II), The


See The Corpus Christi Carol (File: L691)

Fall Tree


DESCRIPTION: A convict's tree-cutting song. "You better watch it, better watch it, Better watch-a my timber.... Warn you, don told you, If I hit you, don't you holler.... Timber gettin' limber. Watch-a my timber. Fall, tree.... Won't you fall, tree."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1965 (collected from J. B. Smith by Jackson)
KEYWORDS: prison work
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Jackson-DeadMan, pp. 227-228, "Fall Tree" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Jackson considers most of J. B. Smith's songs to be at least partly his own composition. This one, though, is so close to other convict timber songs that I wouldn't be surprised if other versions are to be found -- somewhere. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
File: JDM228A

Fallen Boney


DESCRIPTION: "The crown has Boney abdicated ... And Louis is again reinstated." When he was Consul he was successful but, crowned, became a "lawless tyrant." He replaced Josephine with Louisa. "He might been happy still in France Had he but rul'd with moderation"
AUTHOR: Hugh McWilliam (source: Moylan)
EARLIEST DATE: 1816 (McWilliam's _Poems and Songs on Various Subjects_, according to Moylan)
KEYWORDS: Napoleon wife royalty
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Moylan 202, "Fallen Boney" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Louis is, of course, Louis XVIII (1855-1824), the younger brother of the pre-revolutionary king Louis XVI, who was brought back to the throne when Napoleon fell.
Napoleon's decision to replace his wife Josephine Beauharnais (1763-1814) was entirely practical; he did not withdraw his favor from her children (or even with her, really, since he died with her name on his lips). But he needed an heir, and she had not given him one. So he went for another woman.
The bit about ruling with moderation is generally right; Napoleon did a fine job of creating a civil code for France; most of the Code Napoleon was retained by the restored monarchy, and much survives to this day. But Napoleon couldn't bring himself to sit still making laws for long. And, frankly, he developed that problem while he was still Consul. - RBW
File: Moyl202

Fallin' Down


DESCRIPTION: A convict's tree-cutting song: "A-well my hammer keep a-hangin', cause it's falling down (x2). "A-well, my timber getting limber, cause it's falling down." "I done a-warned you...." "My diamond striking fire...." "So soon in the morning...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1964 (collected from Johnny Jackson and David Tippett by Bruce Jackson)
KEYWORDS: work lumbering prison nonballad
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Jackson-DeadMan, pp. 222-226, "Fallin' Down" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
File: JDM222

Falling Leaf


DESCRIPTION: Falling Leaf (so named because she was born in autumn) is the beautiful daughter of a chief. One day she meets a "worn and weary" hunter, and falls in love with him. But he vanishes; "his fate was never known" and she spends her life alone and mourning
AUTHOR: F. A. M. Stuart and W. Eben Miles
EARLIEST DATE: 1907 (copyright)
KEYWORDS: love courting Indians(Am.) separation grief mourning
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Randolph 765, "Falling Leaf" (3 texts, 3 tunes; Cohen considers the "C" text separate)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 516-518, "Falling Leaf" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 765A)
Roud #7409
RECORDINGS:
Paul Hamblin, "Fallen Leaf" (Victor V-40280, 1930)
L. K. Reeder, "Falling Leaf" (OKeh 45026, c. 1926; rec. 1925; on MakeMe)
Sue & Rawhide, "Falling Leaf" (OKeh 45577, 1934)
File: R765

Falling of the Pine


DESCRIPTION: Speaker tells of working in lumber camps: "When daylight is a-breakin'/From our slumbers we awaken/When our breakfast we have taken/Our axes we will grind...And the woods we'll make to ring/By the falling of the pine"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1926 (Rickaby)
KEYWORDS: recitation lumbering work logger nonballad
FOUND IN: US(MW) Canada(Ont)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Rickaby 17, "The Falling of the Pine" (1 text, 1 tune)
Beck 10, "Falling of the Pine" (1 text)
Dean, pp. 73-74, "The Falling of the Pine (Square Timber Logging)" (1 tet)
Fowke-Lumbering #3, "The Falling of the Pine" (1 fragment, tune referenced)
ST Be010 (Partial)
Roud #4560
RECORDINGS:
Martin McManus, "The Falling of the Pine" (on Lumber01)
Lester Wells, "The Falling of the Pine" (AFS, 1938; on LC56)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Lumber Camp Song" (theme) and references there
cf. "Driving Saw-Logs on the Plover" (tune)
File: Be010

False Bride, The (The Week Before Easter; I Once Loved a Lass)


DESCRIPTION: The singer reports that the woman he once loved is going to be wed to another. He mopes around in various ways -- e.g. looking for flowers out of season. His friends fail to lift his spirits. He declares his intent to die in hopes of forgetting her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1675 (broadside, Bodleian Douce Ballads 1(83a)); also printed in the reign of James II (1685-1688)
KEYWORDS: love infidelity courting marriage death wedding lyric
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber),England(South,Lond)) Ireland Canada(Newf) Australia
REFERENCES (11 citations):
Meredith/Anderson, pp. 187-188, "I Think by This Time He's Forgot Her" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kennedy 152, "The False Bride" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greig #24, p. 1, "The False Bride" (2 texts)
GreigDuncan6 1198, "The False Bride" (20 texts plus a single verse on p. 568, 17 tunes)
Ord, p. 175, "It Wasna My Fortune to Get Her" (1 text)
OLochlainn 86, "The Lambs on the Green Hills" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 441-442, "The False Maiden" (1 text, 2 tunes)
Karpeles-Newfoundland 31, "The False Bride" (2 texts, 3 tunes)
Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, p. 37, "The False Bride" (1 text, 1 tune)
BBI, ZN2765, "A week before Easter"; ZN2766, "The week before Easter"
DT 848, FLSEBRDE FLSEBRD2* FLSEBRD3* FLSEBRD4 FLSEBRD5* FLSEBRD6* FLSEBRD7* FLSEBRD8
Roud #154
RECORDINGS:
Harry Burgess, "A Week Before Easter" (on Voice15)
Bob Copper, "The False Bride" (on FSB1)
Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, "I Loved a Lass" (on SCMacCollSeeger01)
Sarah Makem, "I Courted a Wee Girl" (on Voice01)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Douce Ballads 1(83a), "The Forlorn Lover" ("A week before Easter"), F. Coles (London), 1663-1674; also Douce Ballads 3(32a), "The Forlorn Lover"
NLScotland, R.B.m.143(128), "It Was Not My Fortune To Get Her," Poet's Box (Dundee), c. 1890
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "My Bonny Brown Jane"
cf. "If I Were a Fisher" (floating verses)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Forlorn Lover
I Ainse Loved a Lass
I Loved a Lass
The Week Before Easter
Three Weeks Before Easter
Six Weeks Before Easter
The Forsaken Bridegroom
My Bonnie Bride
The Forsaken Lover
NOTES: Some versions (for example, "I Loved A Lass" on SCMacCollSeeger01) include a verse close to Opie-Oxford2 318, "A man in the wilderness asked me": "A man in the wilderness asked me, How many strawberries grow in the sea? I answered him, as I thought good, As many as red herrings grow in the wood" (earliest date in Opie-Oxford2 is 1716). [Also in Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #142, p. 114. - RBW]
Is it significant that this verse is not in any of the printed versions that I consulted: Peacock, Karpeles-Newfoundland, Bodleian broadsides or Greig Folk-Song of the North-East 24? - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: K152

False Henry


DESCRIPTION: When the singer "met Henry Twas the saddest night of all." "Take my baby dearest mother And you'll train it up in life." She warns "they'll leave you broken hearted A poor mother, but no wife." She is leaving or, more likely, committing suicide.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan6)
KEYWORDS: grief seduction suicide nonballad baby
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan6 1163, "False Henry" (1 text)
Roud #6817
File: GrD61163

False Knight on the Road, The


See The Fause Knight Upon the Road [Child 3] (File: C003)

False Knight, The


See The Fause Knight Upon the Road [Child 3] (File: C003)

False Lamkin


See Lamkin [Child 93] (File: C093)

False Lanky


See Lamkin [Child 93] (File: C093)

False Lover Won Back, The [Child 218]


DESCRIPTION: A man saddles his horse to leave his lover (and her unborn child). She follows him from place to place, begging him to return. At each stop he buys her a gift and tells her to go home. At last he repents and buys her a wedding ring
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1828 (Buchan)
KEYWORDS: abandonment hardheartedness marriage love
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) US(So)
REFERENCES (10 citations):
Child 218, "The False Lover Won Back" (2 texts)
Bronson 218, "The False Lover Won Back" (5 versions)
Greig #93, pp. 1-3, "The False Lover Won Back" (5 texts)
GreigDuncan5 974, "The False Lover Won Back" (8 texts plus two verses on p. 603, 4 tunes)
Belden, p. 78, "The False Lover Won Back" (1 text)
Leach, pp. 575-576, "The False Lover Won Back" (1 text)
OBB 72, "Young John" (1 text)
DT 218, BONLOVE*
ADDITIONAL: W. Christie, editor, Traditional Ballad Airs (Edinburgh, 1876 (downloadable pdf by University of Edinburgh, 2007)), Vol I, pp. 144-145, "The Place Where My Love Johnny Dwells" [Child 218B]
Peter Buchan, Ancient Ballads and Songs of the North of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1875 (reprint of 1828 edition ("Digitized by Google"))), Vol I, pp. 261, 313, "The Fause Lover"
Roud #201
RECORDINGS:
Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, "The False Lover Won Back" (on SCMacCollSeeger01)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "My Foot Is in the Stirrup"
ALTERNATE TITLES:
It's Hard That I Like You Sae Weel
The Sun Shines High
Oh, When Will Ye Come Back, Bonny Love?
NOTES: Greig's texts include one from Christie, Traditional Ballad Airs (1876-1881), and one from Buchan, Ancient Songs and Ballads of the North of Scotland (1828). - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: C218

False Lover, The


DESCRIPTION: "When I was young, I was well beloved By all young men... When I was blooming... This false young man he decieved me." The girl tells how the false lover abandoned her, hopes for better fortune, and wants God to bring him to trial for his falsehood
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan6)
KEYWORDS: love betrayal
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
GreigDuncan6 1173, "When I Was Young I Was Well Beloved" (4 texts, 2 tunes)
SHenry H790, p. 383, "The False Lover" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #1075
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth c.18(132), "Wheel of Fortune" ("When I was young I was much beloved"), unknown, no date
NOTES: The notes in Henry/Huntington/Herrmann list this as a variant of "Wheel of Fortune" and "Love is Pleasing." Similarly Roud. The theme, of course, is the same as the latter (but that's commonplace). It has only a half stanza in common with "Wheel of Fortune," and less than that in common with "Love is Pleasing." It's at least as close to "Dear Companion." I firmly believe it's a separate song. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: HHH790

False Maiden


See The False Bride (The Week Before Easter; I Once Loved a Lass) (File: K152)

False Mallie


DESCRIPTION: "Oh, did ye hear how Mall was courted... By a young sailor brisk and bold?" Jamie goes to war, and Mallie breaks her vow and marries another. When he returns and finds her false, he goes mad, and ends up in Bedlam cursing her name and her deeds
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (GreigDuncan6)
KEYWORDS: love courting separation betrayal sailor madness
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Greig #88, pp. 1-2, "False Mallie" (1 text)
GreigDuncan6 1202, "False Mallie" (7 texts, 3 tunes)
Ord, pp. 183-184, "False Mallie" (1 text)
Roud #5529
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Lovely Annie" (theme: a man driven "mad" by a woman's infidelity)
cf. "The Green Bushes" [Laws P2]," particularly the "Nut Bushes" version (theme: a man driven "mad" by a woman's infidelity)
File: Ord183

False Nancy


See Nancy (II) (The Rambling Beauty) [Laws P12] (File: LP12)

False Sir John, (The)


See Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight [Child 4] (File: C004)

False True Love


See The False Young Man (The False True Lover) (File: SKE42)

False True Lover


See Fare You Well, My Own True Love (The Storms Are on the Ocean, The False True Lover, The True Lover's Farewell, Red Rosy Bush, Turtle Dove) (File: Wa097)

False True Lover (II), The


See The False Young Man (The False True Lover) (File: SKE42)

False Young Man, The (The False True Lover)


DESCRIPTION: The lover invites (her) old true love in; it has been most of a year since she saw him. He will not come; he has another love. She recalls how he could make her believe "the sun rose up in the west." She stays at home (with the cradle) (and curses him)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1918
KEYWORDS: love courting separation betrayal pregnancy curse
FOUND IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 42, "The False Young Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/MacMillan 58, "The False Young Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 164, "False True Love" (1 text)
DT, FALSTRUE
Roud #419
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Young Hunting" [Child 68] (lyrics)
cf. "A False-Hearted Love" (lyrics, theme)
NOTES: This is clearly a conflate song; the first verses are from American texts of "Loving Henry"; the end is from some sort of betrayal song. - RBW
And one verse seems to be lifted from "House Carpenter." - PJS
File: SKE42

False Young Man, The (The Rose in the Garden, As I Walked Out)


DESCRIPTION: The young man greets the girl after a long separation and asks her to sit down with him. She will not; "You've given your heart to another one...." She remembers his strange oaths, and says young men will prove true when fish fly like birds.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1908 (collected by Olive Dame Campbell; in SharpAp); +1876 (Christie, _Traditional Ballad Airs I_)
KEYWORDS: love courting separation infidelity lie rejection lyric
FOUND IN: Canada(Ont) Britain(England(South),Scotland) Ireland US(Ap,MA,SE)
REFERENCES (11 citations):
BrownII 83, "As I Stepped Out Last Sunday Morning" (2 texts); 162, "The One Forsaken" (1 text, entirely of floating lyrics, but some of them, and the theme, are this song)
Ord, p. 174, "The Fause Young Man" (1 text)
OLochlainn-More 8, "The Verdant Braes of Skreen" (1 text, 1 tune)
McBride 2, "As I Roved Out" (1 text, 1 tune)
SharpAp 94, "The False Young Man" (10 texts, 10 tunes)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, p. 41, "Come Along, My Own True Love" (1 text, with a first verse that might have floated in from "Young Hunting" or the like); pp. 270-272, "The False Young Man" (3 short texts plus an excerpt, with local titles "Come Along, My Own True Love," "Set You Down, My Own True Love," "As I Walked Out One May Morning"; 1 tune on p. 428 )
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 166-168, "The False Young Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Wyman-Brockway II, p. 50, "As I Walked Out" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kennedy 153, "The False Young Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H593, pp. 389-390, "My Love John" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hayward-Ulster, pp. 41-42, "The Verdant Braes o' Skreen" (1 text)
ST FJ166 (Partial)
Roud #419
RECORDINGS:
Frank & Francis McPeake, "The False Young Man" (on FSB1)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "False, False Hae Ye Been To Me, My Love" (theme)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Johnny's The Lad I Love
White Oak Mountain
Rocky Mountain Side
NOTES: In America, this has become almost purely lyric (consider "White Oak Mountain":
"I will never believe a young man any more
Let his eyes be blue, black, or brown
Save he were on the top of a high gallows tree
A-swearing he wished to come down!") -- so much so that I originally classified the versions separately. But there are enough intermediate forms to prove identity.
The song also mixes somewhat with "Foggy Mountain Top," itself a largely mixed and incoherent piece. Short lyric texts might perhaps go with either. - RBW
File: FJ166

False-Hearted Knight, The


See Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight [Child 4] (File: C004)

False-Hearted Lover, A


DESCRIPTION: A complaint toward a false love: "There is more than one, there is more than two, There is more pretty boys than you." ""You slighted me for another girl." "The loss of one is the gain of two [sweethearts]" "I wish to the Lord you had never been born."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1920 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: love betrayal floatingverses nonballad
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BrownII 141, "A False-Hearted Love" (1 text)
Roud #6574
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The False Young Man (The False True Lover)" (lyrics, theme)
NOTES: This is one of those lost-love items, mostly lyric, largely composed of floating elements -- the sort of song that largely defies classification. I know of no other versions of this precise mix. - RBW
File: BrII141

False-Hearted Lover, The


See The Yellow Handkerchief (Flash Company) (File: K360)

False, False Hae Ye Been To Me, My Love


DESCRIPTION: The singer laments that her love is false, ans says "I'm afraid that you're ne'er mair mine." She compares her fate to climbing a tree too high, or rowing against a stream. She says she will yet climb a still taller tree and come down to a true love
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1962 (collected from Christina MacAllister)
KEYWORDS: love betrayal floatingverses
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
MacSeegTrav 60, "False, False Hae Ye Been To Me, My Love" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
DT, FALSTOME*
Roud #8276
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The False Young Man (The Rose in the Garden, As I Walked Out)"
NOTES: MacColl and Seeger note that this is a member of the large class of betrayal songs combined with a demand for, or a curse of, the impossible; "The False Young Man" is another song with this sort of thing. They note that the final stanza, about climbing a higher tree, floats (though it doesn't always show up in the songs they list). But they also regard this as a separate song.
I incline to agree. While it is a typical item of this type, the lyrics are unusual enough to warrant separate classification. - RBW
File: McCST060

Famed Waterloo


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

Famine Song


See Over There (I - The Praties They Grow Small) (File: SBoA148)

Famous Flower of Serving-Men, The [Child 106]


DESCRIPTION: Fair (Elise) has lost father, then husband. She disguises herself as a man and seeks service at the king's court, becoming chamberlain. When only an old man is about, she reveals herself in song. The old man tells the king she is female; he marries her.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1769 (Percy); title found in the Stationer's Register in 1656
KEYWORDS: death family royalty servant disguise cross-dressing marriage
FOUND IN: Britain(England(Lond,West),Scotland(Aber,Bord)) US(MW,NE) Canada(Mar) Ireland
REFERENCES (15 citations):
Child 106, "The Famous Flower of Serving-Men" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #1}
Bronson 106, "The Famous Flower of Serving-Men" (7 versions+5 in addenda)
GreigDuncan1 163, "The Famous Flower of Serving Men" (4 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #2}
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 227-232, "The Famous Flower of Serving-Men" (1 traditional text plus assorted variants and a songster version)
Percy/Wheatley III, pp. 86-90, "The Lady Turned Serving-Man" (1 text)
Flanders/Olney, pp. 127-129, "Sweet William" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #4}
Flanders-Ancient3, pp. 77-88, "The Famous Flower of Servingmen" (4 texts plus a fragment, the "A" text being from "The Charms of Melody" rather than tradition; 1 tune) {Bronson's #4}
MacSeegTrav 13, "The Famous Flower of Serving-Men" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 62-63, "The Famous Flower of Serving-Men" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #3}
OBB 153, "The Lament of the Border Widow"; 166, "The Lady Turned Serving-Man" (2 texts)
PBB 29, "The Lament of the Border Widow" (1 text)
BBI, ZN2994, "You beauteous Ladies great and small"
DT 106, FLRSERV1* FLRSERV2* BRDRWDO*
ADDITIONAL: John S. Roberts, The Legendary Ballads of England and Scotland (n.d.), pp. 248-249, "The Border Widow's Lament"
Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #425, "The Bonnie Bower (The Lament of the Border Widow)" (1 text)
Roud #199
RECORDINGS:
Mary Delaney, "My Brother Built Me a Bancy Bower" (on IRTravellers01)
Caroline Hughes, "The Famous Flower of Servantmen" (on FSBBAL1) {Bronson's #3.3 in addenda}
Jasper Smith, "The Small Birds Whistle" (on Voice11)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Sweet William
My Father Built Me
The Stepmother
NOTES: "The Border Widow's Lament" is given in Child's introduction to "The Famous Flower of Serving-Men," and has been described as "a self-sufficient fragment" of the longer ballad. - KK, RBW
Bronson has extensive notes about the complicated history of this ballad, where both text and tune seem to have suffered from editorial activity. James Reed, e.g., suggests (in "The Border Ballad," p. 26, printed in Edward J. Cowan, editor, The People's Past: Scottish Folk, Scottish History 1980; I use the 1993 Polygon paperback edition) that Walter Scott rewrote "The Border Widow's Lament." and I incline to agree; it's a little too orderly and neat to be the pure result of tradition. - RBW
The title of Jasper Smith's version on Voice11 is from a verse lifted from "The Croppy Boy." The notes for the ballad make it a version of "The Famous Flower of Serving-Men" [Child 106]. At best it is an abridgement and corruption of the first verse of the Percy fragment in Child's headnote to "The Famous Flower of Serving-Men" added to the lily-bower verse of Child/Border Widow [shamrock-bower here to go with "Old Ireland free"]; here is Percy: "My mother showed me a deadly spight; She sent three thieves at darksome night; They put my servants all to flight, They robbed my bower, and they slew my knight." Here is a description of Jasper Smith's "The Small Birds Whistle": A girl runs away with a man who leaves her with a baby; her father builds her a bower but "Then my father he owed me a dreadful spite. He sent nine robbers all in one night To take my baby and to do me harm" and that ends the story.
Also collected and sung by Ellen Mitchell, "Border Widow's Lament" (on Kevin and Ellen Mitchell, "Have a Drop Mair," Musical Tradition Records MTCD315-6 CD (2001)) - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: C106

Famous Light Brigade, The


DESCRIPTION: "It was a famous story, proclaim it far and wide, And let your children's children re-echo it with pride, When old Cardigan, the fearless, his name immortal made, When he charged through that Russian valley with his famous Light Brigade."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1939 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: battle disaster
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Oct 25, 1854 - Battle of Balaclava
FOUND IN: US(MA) Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Doerflinger, pp. 276-277, "The Famous Light Brigade" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H829, p. 91, "Balaclava" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9419
NOTES: It would be an exaggeration to say that the final century of the existence of the Russian and Ottoman Empires was devoted to a contest between the two of them for control of the Dardanelles. But the exaggeration would be mild. The Russians made many attempts in the nineteenth century to gain control of the straights. The Crimean War came about because one of their attempts was so blatant that the British and French felt it simply had to be stopped.
The war was a disaster for both sides; both suffered heavy losses -- due to both bad logistics and bad generalship -- while reaping only minimal gains. Even in that utterly incompetent war, few results were as bad as the fate of the Light Brigade.
The charge of the Light Brigade is, of course, one of the most famous disasters in military history. It took some work to bring about the decbacle, though. The first stage of the combined British/French invasion, which resulted in the Battle of Alma, went well enough if you ignore the severe casualties caused by disease (for background, see the notes to "The Heights of Alma (I)" [Laws J10]). After Alma, the allies could perhaps have tried a direct run for Sebastopol. With the defenses weak and the Russian army defeated and scattered, it might have worked (Royle, pp. 261-262, Warner, pp. 46-57).
The allies didn't try it. British commander Lord Raglan discussed it with the French, but they refused (Palmer, p. 103). So the allied army moved slowly to be prepared for a possible siege -- and thus made the siege inevitable. The allies moved to the south of the city, set up new supply bases, and generally dawdled.
The dawdling gave the Russians time to properly fortify Sebastopol (as well as to get their troops reorganized). And, with the city more defensible, it also gave the Russians troops with which to attempt offensive moves of their own (Royle, pp. 263-264). On October 25, five weeks after the Battle of Alma, with the British, French, and Turkish allies slowly tightening the encirclement of Sebastopol, the Russians counterattacked at Balaclava. With a force reported to total 25,000 men, they struck at the weak British east flank (Royle, p. 265).
This was potentially a war-winner for the Russians (Royle, p. 267); if they could take Balaclava Harbor, which was the sole British supply port (Woodham-Smith, p. 197), the British would be entirely cut off from supplies and the French potentially flanked. And the British had suffered so many losses (primarily to disease rather than battle) that they didn't have enough reserves to garrison Balaclava and maintain their other operations (Woodham-Smith, p. 207). But, of course, the Russians muffed it.
The first Russian charge was a partial success, routing part of the Turkish force (Palmer, p. 125, says that the Turks lost half their numbers; the allies still blamed them for fleeing). The attack failed only in that it had not reached Balaclava.
Still, the Russians were atop the only real road from Balaclava to the British camp -- meaning that they controlled the British supply line unless they were driven back (Woodham-Smith, p. 213). This finally convinced Raglan that he had to do something. He ordered up two divisions of infantry -- and sent Lord Lucan an order which moved the cavalry out of the way (Woodham-Smith, pp. 214-215).
But the British were lucky. They had only a handful of infantry guarding the path to Balaclava itself, but that handful consisted of Highlanders under the command of Colin Campbell -- the one really top-flight officer of the war. (For more on Sir Colin, see the notes to "The Kilties in the Crimea.") Plus they were armed with rifle muskets, rather than the old smoothbores, giving them enough firepower to stop, or at least frighten off, the Russian cavalry (Royle, pp. 266-267; Woodham-Smith, p. 216).
Meanwhile, Lord Raglan, thinking that Campbell would be overwhelmed (as, by rights, he should have been) ordered the Heavy Brigade to counterattack. Because he was far away, the Russian attack had faltered by the time the message reached the cavalry (Woodham-Smith, p. 218). Fortunately, the Heavy Brigade had a commander who, if he had little experience, had a brain and a willingness to listen to his more knowledgeable staff officers. General Scarlett, against immense odds and on terrain which favored the Russians, waited until the enemy had halted, and sent out an amazing counter-charge (Woodham-Smith, pp. 219-223).
The charge of the Heavy Brigade disorganized the Russians but was not in sufficient force to push them back completely (the heavies were outnumbered by at least two to one; Woodham-Smith seems to think the ratio was eight to one). The Russians halted their charge and pulled back to a more secure position (Royle, p. 270) -- but they still threatened the British supply line. Any additional force the British could scrape up might tilt the balance. And there was the Light Brigade -- the other half of the cavalry division -- unengaged.
It was at this point that the deficiencies of the British command arrangements really came out. There were officers in the British army with combat experience, but most of them -- e.g. the officers of the Indian army -- were kept out of the Crimea due to snobbishness; Farwell, p. 69. The handful of other experienced officers were all very old -- e.g. commander-in-chief Lord Raglan had fought at Waterloo (where he had lost his right arm; (Woodham-Smith, p. 156), and he was 65 years old at the start of the Crimean campaign (Woodham-Smith, p. 131).
The cavalry division was commanded by Lord Lucan, who had purchased his commission. The commander of the Light Brigade, Lord Cardigan, was also an officer by purchase; James, p. 337, says that prior to the Crimea his "only previous experience of hostile fire had been when he had fought a duel fourteen years before." (Commission by purchase would not be abolished until 1871; Chandler/Beckett, p. 188).
Cardigan, in fact, had once been dismissed from regimental command for incompetence (Woodham-Smith, pp. 43-44, with the pages before that abundantly documenting why he had to go). Indeed, Cardigan in this period had shown obvious signs of psychosis; Woodham-Smith, p. 7, says he had suffered a fall early in his life which left him subject to almost uncontrollable fits of rage. But he managed, by assiduous nagging, to secure a new appointment (Woodham-Smith, p. 47). This caused such outrage that Parliament investigated -- but Parliament finally gave in when the military in effect drew a line in the sand and said, "Don't Interfere" (Woodham-Smith, p. 49).
Nor was Cardigan in position to learn on the job (even assuming he was capable of it); in the period after the Crimean landing, the horses were too broken down for him to do any scouting (Woodham-Smith, pp. 170-171). To top it all off, by the time of Balaclava, he was sleeping in his yacht in Balaclava harbor rather than among his men (Woodham-Smith, p. 201). Basically, he showed up in mid-morning, gave nonsense orders, ran down his men and horses, and left for the night to enjoy himself.
Lord Lucan was a little more concerned for his soldiers (among other things, he insisted on sharing their camp), and he at least had some field experience, unlike Cardigan, but it was slight and many decades old (Woodham-Smith, p. 132); he couldn't even learn the new manual of command (Woodham-Smith, p. 146). The entire army knew that Cardigan was an impetuous fool, and Lucan they called "Lord Look-On" for his caution (Woodham-Smith, pp. 177-178).
It might not have mattered quite so much had Lucan and Cardigan not been sworn enemies; Lucan had married (Woodham-Smith, pp. 15, 28) and abandoned (Woodham-Smith, pp. 127-128) Cardigan's sister. They should not have been in the same army, let alone in the same division. Lord Raglan tried to keep them separate (Woodham-Smith, pp. 132, 144, 148, etc.), but that just made things worse; Cardigan treated Raglan's concession as a right, and complained whenever Lucan came near him. And Lucan felt, correctly, that he had repeatedly been bypassed. Determined not to give Lord Raglan further grounds for undercutting him, Lucan responded by turning into the sort of cardboard officer who obeys every command with literal precision, regardless of whether it made sense (Woodham-Smith, p. 205).
When the Heavy Brigade counterattacked to regain the lost positions in the heights by Balaclava, the Light Brigade probably should have joined their charge (Palmer, p. 127; Royle, p. 270), but brigade commander Cardigan had been too often accused of impetuosity and decided to sit tight until orders arrived (Woodham-Smith, p. 224).
If the Russians were allowed time to rebuild their position, the whole fruit of the Heavy Brigade's work might be lost. And the infantry that was supposed to show up to take part in the battle was late (Royle, p. 272; Woodham-Smith, p. 226). When Lord Raglan -- who really should have tried to move closer to the scene of the action -- saw the Russians regrouping and preparing to haul off captured guns, he determined that something must be done. He sent an order to the Light Brigade to attack. But the order was imperfectly clear (Raglan seemed almost unable to give explicit orders; Hibbert, p. 50) -- and it appears that the copy received by Lucan differed from what Raglan had dictated (Woodham-Smith, p. 226). Lucan decided that the order meant he should wait until the infantry arrived.
An exasperated Raglan then sent an order for the Light Brigade to attack an overrun battery. Unfortunately, he seems to have had a problem expressing his orders precisely (Woodham-Smith, p. 177) -- and this one was singularly bad. Woodham-Smith has a photo of the message slip (facing p. 101); it is nearly illegible and gives no precise directions as to what he wants done; as written, it seems to say little more than "Charge!" So everything depended on the officer who carried the message.
And the messenger chosen was a bad one; Captain Edward Nolan seems to have been chosen not for his military sense but because he was an excellent horseman (Royle, p. 273). And a good horseman was needed, because Raglan was positioned so far from the front and there was much broken ground to be covered.
When Nolan reached Lord Lucan, Cardigan's division commander, he delivered the order to charge the battery. Unfortunately, from Lucan's position, the battery Raglan had been looking at was invisible (Woodham-Smith, p. 230). And the written order was unclear (Chandler/Beckett, p. 181). When Lucan angrily asked for clarification, Nolan cavalierly pointed at a visible enemy battery and said that the enemy was there (Palmer, p. 129; Royle, p. 273; Woodham-Smith, p. 231). Lucan saw no choice but to order Cardigan to charge. Apparently Lucan and Cardigan both thought the order as given was nonsense -- but they obeyed it (Royle, p. 274).
Maybe, if they had been more willing to talk to each other, the disaster might not have happened. But they weren't willing to talk. Lucan relayed Raglan's order as he understood it, and the charge was made. It was, in a way, the perfect role for Cardigan (Woodham-Smith, p. 235); it required no brains, and his spit-and-polish drill at least meant that the men made the charge as if on the parade ground. But they were still attacking in the wrong place.
It was not, properly speaking, a charge (Warner, p. 66); a charge is a full gallop very close to the enemy. It was in fact something worse: a ride over a mile and a half, under fire the whole way. And cavalry is particularly liable to artillery and rifle fire.
Little surprise, then, that the assault was crushed. Nolan -- who improperly joined the attack (Palmer, p. 127; Royle, p. 274) -- was killed at the first rush (Warner, p. 66, repeats a suggestion that he had realized his error in the moments before his death, and Chandler/Beckett, p. 183, claims he was trying to redirect the charge, but even if true, that was far too late -- and Nolan had no right to give such an order anyway).
At least 107 men were killed with him (Chandler/Beckett, p. 182; Royle, p. 274; Palmer, p. 132; and Warner, pp. 66-67, say that 113 were killed and 134 wounded). Casualties among horses were even higher; Warner, p. 67, gives the number destroyed as "nearly all"; Chandler/Beckett, p. 182, say "most"; Royle, p. 274, says that 397 were destroyed; Palmer, p. 133, gives the number as 475; Woodham-Smith, p. 249, gives the round number of 500. (My guess is that the latter two figures are derived by taking 195, the number of men still mounted at the end of the charge, from the number of men in the brigade.)
The loss of the horses was very difficult loss to make up; many horses had died on their way to the Crimea, and the British still hadn't learned how to ship them (Woodham-Smith, p. 139).
Between loss of horses and loss of men, only 195 cavalrymen were fit for battle at the end of the day, out of 673 soldiers who made the charge (Palmer, p. 132; Woodham-Smith, p. 249, says that only 195 cavalrymen came back, but this appears to be a misreading of the reports).
Lord Cardigan, amazingly, survived, and even broke through the line of guns. He almost ran into a force of enemy cavalry (and Woodham-Smith, pp. 244-245, notes that they made no attempt to kill him -- apparently their commander recognized him and tried to have him captured. A silly notion; an army operating with Lord Cardigan as a general was surely a worse army than one where he was safely out of the way.) And since none of Cardigan's juniors knew where he was (he eventually made it back to where the Heavy Brigade was resting), it meant that the obviously-necessary retreat was delayed. (Of course, being who he waas, he might not have let them retreat just because they were being slaughtered to no effect.)
A French officer said it best: It was "magnificent, but not war." ("C'est magnifique, mais ce n'est pas la guerre" -- Haswell, p. 98)
It was, however, the end of the battle of Balaclava -- really little more than a skirmish: The Russians were stopped less by actual fighting than by the showy charge of the Heavy Brigade, and the Light Brigade rode into oblivion and immortality, which Tennyson would commemorate three weeks later (Royle, p. 276). Perhaps Lord Raglan had might have done more had his cavalry survived. With it ruined, there was no chance (Palmer, p. 133).
The battle did leave the Russians in position to dominate the road to Balaclava, but the British managed to get supplies around the bottleneck. As a result, the whole thing is generally regarded as a draw, though the British came away with heavy casualties and the loss of ground. The only real significance of the battle was that it set the stage for the Battle of Inkerman which followed.
Lucan and Cardigan were both sent home before the end of the war, mildly disgraced -- but even though Lucan was given most of the blame (Royle, pp. 275, 277), neither was forced out of the army, and both would eventually be promoted to higher posts (Royle, p. 278). I would have to say that Lucan was scapegoated -- yes, he was incompetent, and should not have held the command he did. But the real blame lay elsewhere -- with Cardigan, for refusing to admit his incompetence. With Raglan, for not dealing with the Lucan/Cardigan situation. With Raglan again, for sending an incomprehensible order by an irresponsible messenger. And with Captain Nolan, for giving a false interpretation to that incomprehensible order. Of them all, it is probably Raglan who bears the greatest blame.
Tennyson was telling nothing less than the truth when he said of the battle that "someone had blundered." In fact, several someones. But, somehow, in a portion of the population, the steadiness under fire came to be seen as more important than the useless waste, and Balaclava commemorated accordingly (Royle, p. 265. Warner, p. 67, seems to be an example of this form of folly, arguing that an army has to be disciplined enough to be that stupid). James, p. 388, reports a popular ballad, which appears to be this, praising the battle, and notes that it seemed to inspire a World War I parody (p. 443).
Tennyson's account, according to Chandler/Beckett, p. 182, was inspired by W. H. Russell's report in the Times. The poem is said to have been based on the format of Michael Drayton's "Agincourt" -- an ironic pairing if ever there was one. Chandler/Beckett, p. 183, argues that the simple, steady rhythm that made the poem memorable is the reason Balaclava -- in truth a minor battle -- is so well remembered when so many other examples of military stupidity are largely forgotten. I suspect their conclusion is right -- and that the fame of Tennyson's poem helped both to inspire this song and keep it in tradition. - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 2.5
File: Doe276

Famous Wedding, The


See The Nobleman's Wedding (The Faultless Bride; The Love Token) [Laws P31] (File: LP31)

Fan the Lads o' Tough They Ging to Fish


DESCRIPTION: "At Baldyvin far they began for to ca' up the Don man Wi their provisions they brought back an' brunt wi' Gordon John. Fan the lads o' Tough they ging to fish they sidna ging to Don They may begin at Nether Mill, ca' up to Buchan John"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1917 (GreigDuncan8)
KEYWORDS: fishing
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan8 1890, "Fan the Lads o' Tough They Ging to Fish" (1 fragment)
Roud #13567
NOTES: The current description is all of the GreigDuncan8 fragment.
Tough is about 30 miles west of Aberdeen.
"The burn [stream] of the Tore, or Nether mill, (the name of the place at its entrance into the sea,) ... separates the [Gamrif] parish from that of Aberdour ... and is also the boundary between the counties of Banff and Aberdeen" (source: The New Statistical Account of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1845 ("Digitized by Google")), Vol. XIII, p. 275). - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD81890

Fan-a-winnow


DESCRIPTION: "Fan-a-winnow daisy, Fan-a-winnow e-i-oh She's away with Barney the band tier." "A for apple, P for pear, D for dolling on the stairs All the world will never know The love I had for my lady-O" "B for Barney, C for Cross, O but I love Barney Ross"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1959 (sung by David Hammond on "I Am the Wee Falorie Man: Folk Songs of Ireland")
KEYWORDS: love nonballad wordplay
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Hammond-Belfast, p. 26, "Fan-a-winnow" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "'B' for Barney" (text [see Sean O Boyle notes below))
NOTES: Also collected and sung by David Hammond, "Fan-A-Winnow" (on David Hammond, "I Am the Wee Falorie Man: Folk Songs of Ireland," Tradition TCD1052 CD (1997) reissue of Tradition LP TLP 1028 (1959)) Sean O Boyle, notes to David Hammond, "I Am the Wee Falorie Man: Folk Songs of Ireland": "This is an amalgam of verses from two songs (one of them ''B' for Barney') The words are set to a hymn tune common in the 19th century. The title refers to the turning of the big fan that kept the moist air circulating through the mill to save the linen yarn from becoming too dry and brittle."
Also see, "'B' for Barney" [which is also on Hammond's recording]. Sean O Boyle, notes to David Hammond, "I Am the Wee Falorie Man: Folk Songs of Ireland": "This is a song among Belfast weavers and spinners at the beginning of the century.... A Band-tier was the man who bundled the lengths of thread as they came from the spinning frames." - BS
File: Hamm026

Fancy Frigate, The


See The Flash Frigate (La Pique) (File: ShaSS178)

Fanny Blair


DESCRIPTION: Eleven-year old Fanny Blair falsely accuses a young man of molesting her. He is tried and sentenced to death, although the community doubts his guilt. He begs to be buried at home rather than in the prison yard, and hopes God will pardon the child.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1839 (Journal from the Java)
KEYWORDS: accusation lie abuse rape punishment trial execution
FOUND IN: Britain(England) US(Ap)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Wyman-Brockway II, p. 103, "Fanny Blair" (1 text, 1 tune)
Butterworth/Dawney, p. 43, "Thomas Hegan and Sally Blair" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sharp-100E 46, "Fanny Blair" (1 text, 1 tune)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 229-231, "Fanny Blair" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, FANBLAIR* FANBLAI2*
Roud #1393
NOTES: In Sharp's version the crime is robbery, and Fanny Blair is not the victim but an accomplice who is turning king's evidence.-PJS
As Paul's note shows, details of the crime and punishment in this ballad vary, and the girl's age varies from eleven to eighteen. I suspect, however, that Sharp's version is cleaned up, by him or his informant. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: WB2103

Fanny More


See Fair Fanny Moore [Laws O38] (File: LO38)

Fanny's Harbour Bawn


DESCRIPTION: The singer spies his love in the arms of another and loses the ensuing fight. He claims that "baymen," like his opponent, look harmless enough but they are good fighters. The singer refrains from courting and encourages others to do the same.
AUTHOR: Mark Walker (see notes)
EARLIEST DATE: 1940
KEYWORDS: love courting fight
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Doyle2, pp. 34-35, "Fanny's Harbour Bawn" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 185-188, "Fanny's Harbour Bawn" (1 texts, 3 tunes)
Lehr/Best 36, "Fanny's Harbour Bawn" (1 text, 1 tune)
Blondahl, pp. 112-113, "Fanny's Harbour Bawn" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #4418
NOTES: Doyle claims that the song is an account of a real fight that happened "over half a century ago" (from 1940) in Labrador. He also explains that a "bawn" is a beach for drying fish and that the girl was said to have been from Conception Bay where, apparently, the singer is also from (Carbonear). The singer's cursing of the northern "bayman" from Bonavista is perhaps typical of the social status conflicts on the island. - SH
Attribution to Mark Walker is from Taking Apart "Tickle Cove Pond" in Canadian Journal for Traditional Music, vol. 29, 2002 by Philip Hiscock, p. 35. The other songs attributed to Walker in that article are "The Antis of Plate Cove," "Lovely Kitty/Katie-Oh," "The Race on Tickle Cove Pond," "Labrador Squalls," "Down By Jim Long's Stage," "The Girls from Sweet Bay," "Nellie Neil, Me Little Kettie," "Tickle Cove Pond II," "Gains I Owe in Many Lands" and "a single-stanza fragment about a local merchant hiring a Tickle Cove crew to go fishing in the north of Newfoundland."
[Hiscock repeats the attribution] in Ten things to consider about "The Star of Logy Bay" in Canadian Folk Music Bulletin, Summer 2003, Vol 37.2, p.7. - BS
File: Doy34

Far Above Cayuga's Waters


DESCRIPTION: "Far above Cayuga's waters, with its waves of blue, Stands out noble Alma Mater, glorious to view." In praise of Cornell University: "Hail to thee our Alma Mater, Hail! all hail! Cornell!"
AUTHOR: Music: H. S. Thompson. Words: Archibald C. Weeks amd Wilmot M. Smith
EARLIEST DATE: 1876
KEYWORDS: nonballad
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Silber-FSWB, p. 49, "Far Above Cayuga's Waters" (1 text)
Fuld-WFM, p. 102, "Annie Lisle -- (Far Above Cayuga's Waters)"
DT, CRNLALMA
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Far Above Cayuga's Waters (Parodies)"
SAME TUNE:
Far Above Cayuga's Waters (Parodies) [File: EM348]
NOTES: For some reason, this seems to be the most popular of all official college songs. Of course, it is also the most parodied (see the cross-references).
The tune, "Annie Lisle," is dated by Fuld to 1858; the source of the words is uncertain, but Fuld credits them to the authors listed here. They were probably written in 1872, but first published in 1876. - RBW
File: FSWB049

Far Above Cayuga's Waters (Parodies)


DESCRIPTION: To the theme of the Cornell anthem ("Far Above Cayuga's Waters/Alma Mater"), any of a series of parodies: "High Above a Theta's Garter," "Far above Cayuga's waters Rises such a smell," etc.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1955
KEYWORDS: bawdy nonballad parody virginity derivative
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Cray, pp. 348-350, "High Above a Theta's Garter" (2 texts, 1 tune)
cf. Fuld-WFM, p. 102, "Annie Lisle -- (Far Above Cayuga's Waters)"
Roud #10284
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Far Above Cayuga's Waters"
NOTES: The Cornell Song is perhaps the most-parodied of all college songs. One version is among the very few folk songs my father learned by genuine oral tradition (at the University of Michigan): "Far above Cayuga's waters Rises such a smell, Some say it's Cayuga's waters, We say it's Cornell." - RBW
File: EM348

Far Awa


DESCRIPTION: The singer thinks of "the lad that I like best o' a' Is oure the sea and far awa." Before he left he gave her a pair of gloves that she wears "for his sake." She hopes he will return and they'll be married.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1907 (GreigDuncan6)
KEYWORDS: love separation nonballad clothes
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig #129, p. 2, "Far Awa'" (1 text)
GreigDuncan6 1112, "Far Awa" (3 texts, 3 tunes)
Roud #6324
ALTERNATE TITLES:
He's Owre the Seas
File: GrD61112

Far Away, Far Away


DESCRIPTION: "Where now is that merry party I remember long ago... They have all dispersed and wandered, Far away, far away." Many are married, moved, wandering, dead. The singer points out that "nothing in this world can last... What is coming, who can say?"
AUTHOR: Words: Miss M. Lindsay / Music: Mrs. J. W. Bliss
EARLIEST DATE: 1909 (Heart Songs)
KEYWORDS: separation friend
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Randolph 866, "Far Away, Far Away" (1 text)
Roud #7536
RECORDINGS:
Loman D. Cansler, "Far Away" (on Cansler1)
File: R866

Far, Far at Sea


DESCRIPTION: "'Twas night, when the bell had struck twelve, And poor Susan was laid on her pillow, In her ear whispered... 'Your love now lies toss'd on a billo, Far, far at sea." Awakening in a fright, she finds no reason to believe, but still she fears it true
AUTHOR: Music: C. H. Florio
EARLIEST DATE: 1837 (The Vocal Companion), but reportedly some decades older
KEYWORDS: dream sailor death separation
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Gray, p. 115, "Far, Far at Sea" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: (no author listed), "The Vocal Companion_, second edition, D'Almaine and Co., 1937 (available from Google Books), pp. 68-69, "Far, Far at Sea" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: This is a bit of a conundrum. We have testimony that a piece "Far, Far at Sea" was sung by Charles Incledon (1763-1826), and the evidence is that it is this song. There are many broadsides (some cited by Gray, others found in the Roud broadside catalog), although as of 2009 I could not find a copy in any of the major online broadside catalogs.
But is it a folk song? It sounds a bit like a worn-down version of "Mary o' the Dee (Mary's Dream)" [Laws K20], perhaps with an echo of "Susan Strayed on the Briny Beach" [Laws K19] being responsible for the name of the girl. It seems to have been very popular for a time, then faded completely. I include it only very tentatively. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: Gray115

Fare Thee Well Cold Winter


See Farewell He (File: FSC41)

Fare Thee Well, Babe


DESCRIPTION: "Fare thee well, O Babe, fare thee well (x2), I done all I could do try'n to git along with you." The singer declares he loves the woman, but "Fo' I'll be mistreated I'll kill myself an' you." He maintains he treated her well but she didn't want him
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1934
KEYWORDS: love separation abandonment
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 204-205, "Fare Thee Well, Babe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #15576
NOTES: This is one of those songs that illustrates Laws's comments about the instability of Black balladry. This may well be a version of something else -- but between the floating lines, the repetitions, the common plot, and the fact that the Lomaxes are always fiddling with texts, I can't be sure of the original song.
It reminds me a bit of "Going Down This Road Feeling Bad," but the motivation is different. - RBW
File: LxA204

Fare Thee Well, Father


DESCRIPTION: "I've seen those London lights a-burning ... but I'll go home to those that love me." The singer and her baby has been deserted by her lover and hopes to return to her family: "Altho' you've turned me from your bosom, Do not turn me from your door"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan6)
KEYWORDS: courting return nonballad baby family home
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan6 1174, "Fare Thee Well, Father" (1 text)
Roud #6814
File: GrD51174

Fare Thee Well, My Dearest Dear


DESCRIPTION: The singer bids farewell to his love, telling her he must go to sea to obtain riches. She replies that life without him is miserable, so she dresses as a man and accompanies him. A day out of London the ship sinks. She is drowned; he survives to mourn.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1904
KEYWORDS: love separation cross-dressing death ship wreck dialog
FOUND IN: Britain(England(South))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, p. 38, "Fare Thee Well, My Dearest Dear" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #1035
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Farewell, Charming Nancy"
cf. "Farewell, Sweet Mary"
cf. "The Paisley Officer (India's Burning Sands)" [Laws N2]
File: VWL038

Fare Ye Well (I'm Going Home)


DESCRIPTION: "Oh, fare you well, my brother, Fare you well by the grace of God, For I'm gwinen home; I'm gwinen home, my Lord, I'm gwinen home. Massa Jesus give me a little broom, For to sweep my heart clean; Sweep 'em clean by de grace of God, An' glory in my soul."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: religious home
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Allen/Ware/Garrison, pp. 47-48, "Fare Ye Well" (1 text. 1 tune)
Roud #12005
File: AWG047B

Fare Ye Well, Enniskillen (The Inniskillen Dragoon)


DESCRIPTION: The soldier is leaving his beautiful Enniskillen. He grieves to leave home and his fair darling, but when war arises, he has no choice. (He rejoices following his safe arrival home, and hopes never to leave again)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(1760))
KEYWORDS: war parting soldier return grief courting separation father
FOUND IN: US(MW) Ireland Britain(Scotland) Canada
REFERENCES (8 citations):
Eddy 150, "Fare Ye Well, Inniskillen" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
SHenry H631, p. 294, "Fare Ye Well, Enniskillen"; H98b, pp. 472-473, "The Inniskilling Dragoon" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Ord, p. 306, "The Enniskillen Dragoon" (1 text)
Fowke/MacMillan 74, "The Enniskillen Dragoon" (1 text, 1 tune)
O'Conor, p. 78, "The Enniskellen Dragoon" (1 text)
Tunney-SongsThunder, pp. 63-64, "The Enniskilling Dragoon" (1 text)
DT, (ENNISDRG*?) ENNISDR2*
ADDITIONAL: Richard Hayward, Ireland Calling (Glasgow,n.d.), pp. 12-13, "The Inniskilling Dragoon" (text, music and reference to Decca F-3374 recorded Dec 31, 1932)
Roud #2185
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(1760), "Inniskillen Dragoon", J. Catnach (London), 1813-1838; also 2806 c.15(251), Harding B 11(1293), Harding B 11(4221), "Inniskillen Dragoon"; Harding B 19(103), Harding B 26(169), 2806 c.15(124), Firth c.14(179), Firth c.14(181), Firth b.26(199), Harding B 18(617), "Enniskillen Dragoon"
Murray, Mu23-y1:074, "Inniskillen Dragoon," James Lindsay (Glasgow), 19C
LOCSinging, sb10110a, "Enniskillen Dragoon", H. De Marsan (New York), 1859-1860
NLScotland, L.C.1270(005), "Inniskillen Dragoon", James Kay (Glasgow), c.1845
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "A Damsel Possessed of Great Beauty"
cf. "Wyandotte's Farewell Song"
NOTES: The reference to the soldier setting out for Spain probably implies a date during the war of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) or the Peninsular phase of the Napoleonic Wars.
Roud lists Sam Henry #631 as a separate song (#6890), but since he has only the one item by that number, it seems better to lump.
Robert Gogan, 130 Great Irish Ballads (third edition, Music Ireland, 2004), p. 76, lists this as by George Sigerson, who also wrote "The Mountains of Pomeroy" and worked on some Irish Gaelic poetry. But note that the earliest broadsides were published when Sigerson was still a babe in arms, if indeed he had been born at all. "The Mountains of Pomeroy" is a variant on "Rinordine"; I suspect Sigerson might also have penned an alternate form of this song. - RBW
Broadsides NLScotland L.C.1270(005)[c.1845], Bodleian Firth c.14(179)[n.d.], Bodleian Firth c.26(211)[1855-1858] and Bodleian Firth b.26(199)[1847-1852]: a final verse is added in which they marry when the war is over.
Broadside LOCSinging sb10110a: 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.
The date and master id (GB-5416-1/2) for Hayward's record is provided by Bill Dean-Myatt, MPhil. compiler of the Scottish National Discography. - BS
File: E150

Fare Ye Well, Inniskillen


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

Fare You Well, Maggie Darling, Across the Blue Sea


DESCRIPTION: Willie tells Maggie he is going to sea and they agree to be true. In some seaport he writes "a girl named Flora bore down on me Fare you well, Maggie darling, across the blue sea.... on me don't depend." She writes "Fare you well, Willie darling...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1959 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: grief infidelity parting sea sailor
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Peacock, pp. 443-444, "Fare You Well, Maggie Darling, Across the Blue Sea" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Pea443 (Partial)
Roud #6458
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Heave Away" (some words and theme)
NOTES: See Lehr/Best 49, "Heave Away!" - BS
File: Pea443

Fare You Well, My Darling


DESCRIPTION: Fare you well, my darling, Oh fare you well my dear, Don't grieve for my long absence While I'm a volunteer." The singer urges the girl not to grieve, though he is traveling far away (to Pensacola). She says she will wait for his return
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1909 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: love soldier separation
FOUND IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Belden, pp. 380-381, "Fare You Well, My Darling" (1 text)
Randolph 736, "Fare You Well, My Darling" (1 text)
BrownIII 376, "The Soldier's Farewell" (2 texts)
Roud #3582
NOTES: The Ozark (Belden, Randolph) and North Carolina (Brown) versions of this song aren't absolutely parallel; it's possible that they are separate songs with a lot of parallel words. But given the thematic similarity, it seems reasonable to lump them. - RBW
File: R736

Fare You Well, My Own True Love (The Storms Are on the Ocean, The False True Lover, The True Lover's Farewell, Red Rosy Bush, Turtle Dove)


DESCRIPTION: The true lover bids farewell, promising to be true. He asks, "Who will shoe your pretty little foot?" Various floating verses follow, in which the traveller may or may not return and the young woman may or may not grieve at her fate
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (Belden); +1881 (Christie, _Traditional Ballad Airs II_)
KEYWORDS: love separation lyric floatingverses
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) US(Ap,SE,So)
REFERENCES (27 citations):
Bronson 76, "The Lass of Roch Royal" (23 versions, of which at least #17, and possibly others, e.g. #12, #13, and #19, perhaps even #8 and #23, should be placed here)
Warner 97, "Red Rosy Bush" (1 text, 1 tune)
FSCatskills 44, "Fare You Well, My Own True Love" (1 text, 1 tune)
Belden, pp. 480-482, "The False True-Lover" (2 texts)
Davis-Ballads 21, "The Lass of Roch Royal" (of the various texts in the appendices, at least some, e.g. "D," "H," and "I," belong here, as does the fourth tune, "Cold Winter's Night"); 40, "James Harris (The Daemon Lover)" (the 2 texts in the appendix seem to belong here with some "House Carpenter" verses mixed in) {#21AppA=Bronson's #8}
Davis-More 26, pp. 199-206, "Lady Alice" (3 texts plus a fragment, 4 tunes -- but the fourth, fragmentary, text and tune could as well be this)
Friedman, p. 78, "The Lass of Roch Royal" (3 texts, 1 tune, with the "C" text apparently being this ballad)
SharpAp 114, "The True Lover's Farewell" (9 texts, 9 tunes)
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 37, "The True Lover's Farewell" (1 text, 1 tune -- a composite version)
Sharp-100E 55, "The True Lover's Farewell" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph 18, "Oh Who Will Shoe My Foot?" (8 texts, 5 tunes, with the "A," "D," and "E" texts probably belonging here) {A=Bronson's #12, D=#19}
BrownII 22, "The Lass of Roch Royal" (2 texts, which are clearly true versions of "The Lass of Roch Royal", but both have the "Storms are on the ocean" verse -- in the "B" texts, it's the chorus. Either the two songs combined to produce the North Carolina versions, or that song is the source for the Carter versions)
BrownIII 109, "Fare You Well, My Own True Love" (1 text, probably combined with another song); 258, "The False True-Lover" (5 texts); also perhaps 249, "The Turtle-Dove" (1 text, a complex mix of floating verses, some of which may belong here; compare the Lunsford recording of the same name); 264, "Storms Are on the Ocean" (2 texts, with the "Storms" chorus though both have the "Sometimes I live in the country, sometimes I live in town" verse and the "A" text also has a "Blow Gently, the Winds on the Ocean" type verse)
Chappell-FSRA 72, "Who Will Shoe Your Feet?" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hudson 53, p. 53, "The True Lover's Farewell" (1 text plus mention of 3 more; the printed text, amazingly, lacks the "pretty little foot")
Cambiaire, pp. 72-73, "Cold Winter Night" (1 text)
MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 175-176, "The True Lover's Farewell" (1 text)
Brewster 13, "The Lass of Roch Royal" (1 text plus 8 fragments; the "A" text is this; "B"-"I" are "Pretty Little Foot" versions)
Gardner/Chickering 9, "A Lover's Farewell" (1 fragment, with the first verse ["Oh see that pure and lonesome dove"] probably this and the second being "go dig my grave, go dig it deep....")
Sandburg, pp. 3-7, "He's Gone Away" (1 text, 1 tune); 98-99, "Who Will Shoe Your Pretty Little Foot" (3 texts, 1 tune; of the three texts here, "B" is definitely this piece, "C" is a short fragment of Child 76; the "A" is a one-stanza "pretty little foot" text)
Lomax-FSNA 108, "Winter's Night"; 109, "Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Foot" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 44, "The Storms Are on the Ocean" (1 text, 1 tune)
JHCox 137, "The True Lover's Farewell" (1 text)
GreigDuncan8 1542, "O Fare Thee Well, My Dearest Dear" (1 text)
Darling-NAS, p. 268, "Red Rosy Bush" (1 text); p. 270, "The True Lover's Farewell" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 142, "The Storms Are On The Ocean" (1 text) p. 151, "He's Gone Away" (1 text); p. 153, "Turtle Dove" (1 text)
DT, REDRSOY* REJCTLVR* STRMOCAN* (TUTRLDOV) (TURTDOV2) FRWLMRNN TENTHMIL* (TURTDOV2*) (HESGONE* ?)
Roud #49
RECORDINGS:
The Carter Family, "The Storms Are On the Ocean" (Victor 20937, 1927); (Okeh 03160, 1936)
A. P. Carter Family, "Storms are on the Ocean" (Acme 993, c. 1949)
Delmore Brothers, "The Storms Are On the Ocean" (Bluebird B-8613, 1941)
Aunt Molly Jackson, "Ten Thousand Miles" (AFS, 1939; on LC02)
Bascom Lamar Lunsford, "Little Turtle Dove" (Brunswick 229, 1928; on BLLunsford01; a composite of all sorts of floating verses, a few of which may be from this song)
Lewis McDaniel & Gid Smith, "It's Hard to Leave You, Sweet Love" (Victor 40287, c. 1929)
Neil Morris, "The Lass of Loch Royale" (on LomaxCD1701)
New Lost City Ramblers, "It's Hard to Leave You, Sweet Love" (on NLCR16)
Jean Ritchie & Doc Watson, "Storms Are On the Ocean" (on RitchieWatson1, RitchiteWatsonCD1)
[Leonard] Rutherford & [John] Foster, "Storms May Rule the Ocean" (Gennett, rec. 1929; on KMM)
Ruby Vass "10,000 Miles" (on Persis1)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Who Will Shoe Your Pretty Little Foot" (floating lyrics) and references there
cf. "The Lass of Roch Royal" [Child 76] (floating lyrics)
cf. "Mary Anne"
cf. "Sugar Baby (Red Rocking Chair; Red Apple Juice)" (floating lyrics)
cf. "I Truly Understand You Love Another Man"
cf. "Way Down the Old Plank Road"
NOTES: This song is officially a catch-all. The problem is, what to do with all the lost love pieces *with* some hint of a plot plus the floating element "Who will shoe your pretty little foot." After some hesitation, we decided on a four-part primary division (with some exceptions):
* "The Lass of Roch Royal" for the ballad of that title
* "Who Will Shoe Your Pretty Little Foot" for fragments too short to classify at all
* "Mary Anne" for the versions specifically about that girl
* This, for everything else.
There probably are recensional variants within this song family; it's just too big and too complex. But the particular items are such a mess that we finally gave up trying to sort them. - RBW
GreigDuncan8: "Song, written by Lieutenant Hinches, as a farewell to his sweetheart." "Assembled" may be more accurate than "written" since GreigDuncan8 is the familiar assemblage of floating verses. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: Wa097

Farewell and Adieu to You Spanish Ladies


See Spanish Ladies (File: ShH89)

Farewell Ballymoney (Loving Hannah; Lovely Molly)


DESCRIPTION: "Oh, meeting is a pleasure between my love and I; I'll go down to yon low valley to meet her by and by...." The young (man) watches his love turn away from him. He laments her infidelity. (He departs from the town and goes to America)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1909 (Joyce)
KEYWORDS: courting separation emigration
FOUND IN: Ireland Australia US(Ap,MW,SE,So) Canada(Mar,Newf) Britain(England(Lond),Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (16 citations):
Randolph 749, "Black-Eyed Mary" (1 text plus an excerpt, 2 tunes)
BrownII 82, "The Lover's Lament" (4 texts plus a fragment, "E," that is probably "Handsome Molly")
Dean, pp. 111-112, "Down In Yonder Valley" (1 text)
Meredith/Anderson, p. 172, "Lovely Molly" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 44, "The Irish Girl" (1 text, 1 tune, a confused and conflate mix of this song and "The Irish Girl")
Cambiaire, p. 38, "Sweet Willie" (1 text, six verses derived from at least two and probably three or four songs; the largest portion is "On Top of Old Smokey" but there is a bit of "Farewell Ballymoney (Loving Hannah; Lovely Molly)" and something from one of amorphous the "courting is a pleasure" group)
Ritchie-Southern, pp. 95-96, "Loving Hannah" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H625, pp. 342-343, "Dark-Eyed Molly"; H615, p. 343, "Farewell Ballymoney" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Peacock, pp. 465-466, "In Courtship There Lies Pleasure" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-Maritime, p. 71, "Courting Is a Pleasure" (1 text, 1 tune)
GreigDuncan6 1192, "I'll Gang Doon Tae Yonder Valley" (1 text)
Kennedy 155, "Going to Mass Last Sunday" (1 text, 1 tune)
McBride 37, "Going to Mass Last Sunday" (1 text, 1 tune)
MacSeegTrav 63, "I Went to Mass on Sunday" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 103, "Loving Hannah" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, LOVHANNA
Roud #454
RECORDINGS:
Margaret Barry, "Going to Mass on Sunday" (fragment) (on IRMBarry-Fairs)
Robert Cinnamond, "Going to Church Last Sunday" (on IRRCinnamond02) (fragment; two verses)
Jean Ritche, "Lovin' Hannah" (fragment) (on IRMBarry-Fairs)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "In Eighteen-Forty-Nine" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Dark and Dreary Weather" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Handsome Molly"
cf. "The Irish Girl" (floating lyrics)
cf. "The Blazing Star of Drum (Drim, Drung)" (theme)
cf. "I've Travelled This Country (Last Friday Evening)" (floating lyrics)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Courting is a Pleasure
NOTES: The setting of this song varies widely. One stanza, however, is fairly characteristic:
I went to church last Sunday, (this line may vary)
My true love passed me by;
I could see her mind was a-changing
By the rolling of her eye.
Unfortunately, this stanza also shows up in some versions of "The Irish Girl"; these two songs seem to have mixed badly
I believe the old-time country song "Handsome Molly" to be a form of this piece (and most experts agree), but it has achieved such a degree of independent circulation that it is listed in the Index as a separate song. - RBW
I think I should make clear that although I think "Handsome Molly" is indeed derived, vaguely, from "Farewell Ballymoney," it has acquired so many extraneous verses that *don't* duplicate "Farewell B." verses that they've crowded all the originals out except "Went to Church Last Sunday," which I think constitutes speciation, although only just.
Oh, and I've had a communication from Sandy Paton about a talk he had with Jeannie Robertson. Virtually all the versions of the song that are called "Loving Hannah," including the excellent recent one by revival singer Bill Jones, are derived from Robertson's version, and hers came from... Jean Ritchie, when she was over in Britain on a Fulbright, collecting songs that were related to her family's songs. So if it's from Britain, and called "Loving Hannah," it's "really" from Kentucky.
No wonder folklorists drink. - PJS
And just in case that isn't bad enough, it took off in another direction in Ireland. Donagh MacDonagh took the first two lines ("Going to Mass last Sunday my true love passed me by, I knew her mind was altered by the rolling of her eye") and the Lowlands of Holland tune and produced a poem about what the singer actually felt during the mass as he hoped he changed her mind; this adaption can be found in Donagh MacDonagh and Lennox Robinson, The Oxford Book of Irish Verse (Oxford, 1958, 1979), pp. 261, under the title "Going to Mass Last Sunday." - RBW
The version on IRRCinnamond02 is the first two verses of GreigDuncan6 1192, "I'll Gang Doon Tae Yonder Valley," though Cinnamond's soldier is false-hearted rather than faint-hearted. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: R749

Farewell False-Hearted Young Man


DESCRIPTION: A letter from a deserted girl to her lover accuses him of going back on his promise "to mak me yer ain." If she is married he will be invited to the wedding. If she dies first she thinks he will come to the burial. Now, "I've got another to think upon"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1908 (GreigDuncan6)
KEYWORDS: courting nonballad baby
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig #140, p. 2, "Farewell" (1 text)
GreigDuncan6 1177, "Farewell False-Hearted Young Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #6320
File: GrD51177

Farewell He


DESCRIPTION: The singer bids "Fare thee well, cold winter, and fare thee well cold frost. Nothing have I gained, but a lover I have lost...." After seeing him with another girl, she swears off of him, "He's no lad for windy weather; let him go then; farewell he"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: courting farewell abandonment
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MA,So) Ireland
REFERENCES (8 citations):
Belden, pp. 491-492, "Adieu to Cold Weather" (1 text plus mention of 2 more)
FSCatskills 41, "My Love Is Like a Dewdrop" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph 751, "Adieu to Dark Weather" (6 texts plus an excerpt, 5 tunes, all more or less related to this piece, though some are rather mixed; some of the texts reverse the male and female roles and some have a chorus)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 491-493, "Adieu to Dark Weather" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 751A)
Gardner/Chickering 42, "Farewell He" (1 text); 43, "My Love Is on the Ocean" (1 text)
Combs/Wilgus 179, pp. 146-147, "To Cheer the Heart" (1 text)
SHenry H504, p. 347, "Farewell He" (1 text, 1 tune); compare also H241, p. 346, "The Blackbird and Thrush" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, FAREWELH* (RONDHAT5* -- a mixed version also incorporating "All Around My Hat")
Roud #803; also 3729
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Dark and Dreary Weather" (stanza form, floating lyrics)
cf. "I've Two or Three Strings To My Bow" (subject)
cf. "Love Me or No" (subject)
cf. "The Blackbird and Thrush" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Wounded Spirit" (subject)
cf. "Parting Words" (subject)
cf. "There Comes a Fellow with a Derby Hat" (subject)
cf. "Oh, Where Is My Sweetheart?" (subject)
cf. "Like an Owl in the Desert" (subject)
cf. "I'll Cheer Up My Heart" (subject)
cf. "The Days Are Awa That I Hae Seen" (subject)
cf. "It is Not the Cold Wind" (theme)
cf. "My Heart Is As Licht As a Feather" (theme)
cf. "The Bonnie Boy I Loved" (theme)
cf. "Sweethearts I've Got Plenty" (theme)
cf. "Now My Love's Forsaken Me" (theme)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Fare Thee Well Cold Winter
NOTES: Cohen seems to think that the Ozark versions of this piece, known from Belden and Randolph, are a separate song, and it is possible that he's right and that it simply swallowed elements of "Farewell He." But since the swallowing was nearly complete, it seems better to lump them. In this, unusually, I agree with Roud.
The situation is similar with Gardner and Chickering: Their "My Love Is on the Ocean" has distinct first and last stanzas:
My love is on the ocean, O let him sink or swim,
For in how own mind he thinks he's better than I am.
He think that he can slide me as he slided two or three,
But I'll give him back the mitten since he's gone back on me.
Final verse:
Go tell it to his mother; I set her heart at ease.
I hear she is a lady that's very hard to please.
I hear that she speaks of me that's hardly ever done.
Go tell it to her, I do not want her son!
It will be evident, however, that this text fits the tune of "Farewell He," and the material in between, including the chorus, is "Farewell He." Indeed, of Gardner and Chickering's texts, the one they call "Farewell He" actually looks less like the song of that title, except that it uses that key phrase!
So, once again, I lump (this time disagreeing with Roud).
The whole family cold probably use a thorough study, including both these songs, the Ozark versions, and "Dark and Dreary Weather." - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: FSC41

Farewell Logie


DESCRIPTION: "Oh fare thee well Logie, I bid you adieu, And sorry am I at the pairtin' wi' you; At the pairtin' wi' you, and it gives me great pain, For I may and may never return back again"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan8)
KEYWORDS: emigration farewell Scotland
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan8 1527, "Farewell Logie" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #12953
NOTES: The current description is all of the GreigDuncan8 text. - BS
I am strongly reminded of "A Health to the Company"and its relatives, but it's just a feeling. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD81527

Farewell My Friends (Parting Friends; I'm Bound for Canaan)


DESCRIPTION: "Farewell, my friends, I'm bound for Canaan, I'm trav'ling through the wilderness. Your company has been delightful... I go away behind to leave you, Perhaps never to meet again, But if we (n)ever have the pleasure, I hope we'll meet on Canaan's (shore)"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1933 (Jackson)
KEYWORDS: religious separation nonballad friend
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 564-565, "Parting Friends" (1 text, 1 tune)
Thomas-Makin', p. 170, "Farewell to Carter County" (1 short text, possibly this piece though with only three stanzas it is hard to tell)
Roud #15559
NOTES: The Sacred Harp contains a piece called "Parting Friend," and two entitled "Parting Friends." None is the same as this piece. One of them is the same as the piece indexed as "Our Cheerful Voices (Separation).". - RBW
File: LxA564

Farewell Tamintoul


DESCRIPTION: "Farewell, Tamintoul! for the hour's come at last When I can only think of thy joys in the past. For destiny bears me away from the glen." The singer departs, and hopes someday to return to the place where he found hospitality and friendship
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1930 (Ord), with a seeming collection date of 1881
KEYWORDS: home separation
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ord, p. 365, "Farewell, Tamintoul" (1 text)
Roud #4594
File: Ord365

Farewell to Alvah's Woods and Braes


DESCRIPTION: The singer bids farewell to Alvah, "The place of my nativity." He recalls the happy times on Deveron's banks. But 'My ship it lies in readiness, My loving friends I'll bid goodbye." He will be buried where there is none to shed a tear -- but leaves anyway
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan8)
KEYWORDS: home emigration
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
GreigDuncan8 1526, "Farewell to Alvah's Woods and Braes" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Ord, p. 349, "Farewell to Alvah's Woods and Braes" (1 text)
Roud #4590
NOTES: Ord was told that people in Banff called this "The Poacher's Farewell," but the song contains no hint of transportation that I can see. What it does have is echoes of many other songs -- e.g. "The Earl of Errol" or the like ("Oh, Alvah it's a bonnie place"), "Trooper and Maid" ("He turned him right and round about"), etc. They aren't really cross-referenceable; it's just that this is built from many common phrases. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: Ord349

Farewell to Auld Scotland


DESCRIPTION: The singer bids farewell to Scotland and Limerick, Kinghorn and his parents. He is being sent to Van Diemen's Land "but the time will be coming when I will get free, To get back to old Scotland my Nancy to see"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan8)
KEYWORDS: transportation parting Scotland family
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan8 1536, "Farewell to Auld Scotland" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #12957
NOTES: "Kinghorn is a coastal parish, which lies in Fife Council Area, some 3 miles (4 km) southwest of Kirkcaldy and 8 miles (12 km) south of Glenrothes in Fife and includes a small offshore island." (Source: Gazetteer for Scotland site).
Limerick, on the other hand, is in Ireland. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD81536

Farewell to Bonny Galaway


DESCRIPTION: "Ae night as I lay on my bed, The thought of love came into my head." He travels "To see the bonnie lassie lived in Galaway." Her father objects; her mother said she will "have her married to a lord's son." The girl makes him welcome; they flee Galaway
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1916 (Gardner/Chickering)
KEYWORDS: love courting father mother elopement
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Gardner/Chickering 76, "Farewell to Bonny Galaway" (1 text)
ST GC076 (Partial)
Roud #3694
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "One Night As I Lay On My Bed" (lyrics, theme)
NOTES: This is so close to "One Night As I Lay On My Bed" (with which it shares both lyrics and theme) that I thought about lumping them. But that seems to be mostly a nightvisiting song; this is a song of elopement. So I split them. - RBW
File: GC076

Farewell to Caledonia (I)


See Jamie Raeburn (Caledonia) (File: MA085)

Farewell to Caledonia (II)


See Caledonia (III -- Jean and Caledonia) (File: FVS237)

Farewell to Fintray


DESCRIPTION: "Pox upon poverty and all for want of cash Causes me and mony a bonny lad gang wintin his lass." The singer will leave tomorrow. He bids farewell to his sweetheart, family, friends, and Fintray's "beauties rare." His sweetheart chooses not to go with him.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1863 (GreigDuncan8)
KEYWORDS: poverty emigration parting Scotland separation abandonment
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan8 1533, "Farewell to Fintray" (4 texts, 2 tunes)
Roud #12956
NOTES: GreigDuncan8: "Learnt in Fintray fifty-five years ago. Noted December 1906."
Google maps places Fintray about 15 miles northwest of Aberdeen. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD81533

Farewell to Fiunary


DESCRIPTION: "The wind is fair, the day is fine, And swiftly, swiftly runs the time... That wafts me off from (Fiunary). Eirich agus tiugainn, O!" The singer recalls all the ancient places he has visited, and bids farewell to friends and family
AUTHOR: Norman McLeod ?
EARLIEST DATE: 1904 (Ford)
KEYWORDS: home travel family
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 208-211, "Farewell to Fiunary" (1 text)
DT, FAREFUNE
Roud #2317
NOTES: The Gaelic chorus translates as something like "Arise and come away" -- similar to the English chorus in the Digital Tradition text. - RBW
File: FVS208

Farewell to Greta


DESCRIPTION: "Farewell, my home in Greta, my sister Kate farewell...." Ned Kelly, with a price on his head, plans an attack on his foes. His sister points out the number of his foes, and urges him instead to take to the woods with his gang
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1964
KEYWORDS: outlaw Australia family sister farewell
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1855 - Birth of Ned Kelly
1880 - Execution of Kelly. His last words are reported to have been "Such is life."
FOUND IN: Australia
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Fahey-Eureka, pp. 114-115, "Farewell to Greta" (1 text, 1 tune -- a composite version)
Manifold-PASB, pp. 66-67, "Ned Kelly's Farewell to Greta" (1 text, 2 tunes)
DT, NEDKELLY
File: FaE114

Farewell to Mackenzie


DESCRIPTION: "Now Willie's awa frae the field o' contention, Frae the land o' misrule and the friends o' dissension: He's gane owre the wave as an agent befittin' Our claims to support in the councils o' Britain." The people send their leader off with good hopes
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1862 (Lindsey, "Life and Times of Wm. Lyon Mackenzie")
KEYWORDS: Canada political nonballad
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1828 - William Lyon Mackenzie first elected to represent Canada in the British parliament
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 72-74, "Farewell to Mackenzie" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "An Anti-Rebel Song" (subject)
cf. "Un Canadien Errant" (subject)
cf. "Saint Helena (Boney on the Isle of St. Helena)"
NOTES: Fowke and Mills say that "No tune was suggested for the verses at the time [of writing], but the lines follow the pattern of "The Bonnets of Bonnie Dundee." All I can say is, if this wasn't based on "Saint Helena (Boney on the Isle of St. Helena)," it wasn't based on anything.
Following the expulsion of the American invaders in the War of 1812, the government of Canada fell increasingly into the hands of oligarchs. Mackenzie founded a paper in Upper Canada, the Colonial Advocate, dedicated to reforming the system. Thugs destroyed his press, but in 1828 Mackenzie was elected to parliament -- only to be expelled for allegedly libelling the government.
The Canadians responded by re-electing him in 1832 (only to have him expelled again) and gathering 25,000 signatures on a petition to King William IV (reigned 1830-1837; the "King Willie" of the song) for redress of grievances. This was the situation at the time the poem was written, if its inscription ("Markham, April 10, 1832") is to be believed.
Kenneth McNaught, in The Pelican History of Canada (enlarged edition, Pelican, 1982), pp. 85-86, write that "There is no doubt that [Mackenzie] was driven to this extreme, with its inevitable connotation of independence, by the intransigent defence of privilege in Toronto and London."
Sadly, the attempts at reform failed, leading the radicals to rebel in 1837. A thousand pound bounty was placed on Mackenzie's head -- but no one was willing to claim it. Still, Mackenzie and thousands of others were forced to flee to America when the rebellion failed.
For the sequel, see "The Battle of the Windmill." - RBW
File: FMB072

Farewell to Miltown Malbay


DESCRIPTION: Singer recalls his "bright and pleasant youth ... in Clare" He names the places he walked and danced and people he met. Church bells ring and men pray. "If e'er I find this act devout beyond the ocean foam" he'll be reminded of his last day home.
AUTHOR: Tomas O hAodha (Tom Hayes)(1866-1935) of Miltown Malbay (source: Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan)
EARLIEST DATE: c.1922 (O hAodha, _The Hills of Clare and Other Verses_, according to Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan)
KEYWORDS: emigration parting nonballad moniker
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan 5, "Farewell to Miltown Malbay" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5228
RECORDINGS:
Kitty Hayes, "Farewell to Miltown Malby" (on IRClare01)
Tom Lenihan, "Farewell to Miltown Malbay" (on IRTLenihan01)
File: RcFtMiMa

Farewell to Nova Scotia


DESCRIPTION: Even on a calm and beautiful night, the singer cannot rest. The wars force him to return to sea. He bids "Farewell to Nova Scotia, the sea-bound coast... When I am far away on the briny ocean tossed, will you ever heave a sigh and a wish for me?"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1950 (Creighton/Senior)
KEYWORDS: sea farewell Canada
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 44-45, "Nova Scotia Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/MacMillan 19, "Farewell to Nova Scotia" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 264-265, "Nova Scotia Song" (1 text (compilation), 1 tune)
DT, FARWELNS*
Roud #384
File: FJ044

Farewell to Old Bedford


DESCRIPTION: "Farewell to old Bedford, I'm bound for to leave you. Likewise those pretty girls I nevermore shall see." The singer has been forced away by his parents, and intends to "drown away sorrows in a bottle of wine" and ignore his troubles
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1951 (Warner)
KEYWORDS: family drink exile travel rambling
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Warner 99, "Farewell to Old Bedford" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, OLDBDFRD*
ST Wa099 (Full)
Roud #16399
RECORDINGS:
Lee Monroe Presnell, "Farewell to Old Bedford" (on USWarnerColl01)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Farewell Lovely Nancy" (meter)
cf. "Adieu to Bon County" (floating lyrics)
NOTES: I have to suspect that this is a worn-down, possibly reworked, version of something else (e.g. "Farewell, Charming Nancy") -- but I can't identify with any real probability what the original song was. It may well go back to the same ancestor as "Adieu to Bon County," but there has been a lot of drift in between. - RBW
File: Wa099

Farewell to Rhynie, Keith, and Glass


DESCRIPTION: "Farewell to Rhynie, Keith, and Glass, Where sheep and oxen stray, For leavin' you my heart is loath, But oh, I cannot stay"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1907 (GreigDuncan8)
KEYWORDS: emigration farewell Scotland animal
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan8 1524, "Farewell to Rhynie, Keith, and Glass" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Roud #12952
NOTES: The current description is all of the GreigDuncan8 text.
"Keith is a parish, which lies in Moray Council Area, some 10 miles (15 km) northwest of Huntly in Aberdeenshire and 9 miles (15 km) south of Buckie in Moray." (Source: Gazetteer for Scotland site).
GreigDuncan3 has a map on p. xxxv, of "places mentioned in songs in volume 3": Mains of Rhynie is at coordinate (h2-3,v5) on that map [roughly 31 miles WNW of Aberdeen]; Haugh of Glass is at coordinate (h4,v4) [roughly 40 miles NW of Aberdeen]. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD81524

Farewell to Slieve Gallen


DESCRIPTION: The singer writes to warn Irishmen against emigrating to America. He arrived in the U.S. strong and ready to work, but no work was to be had. Forced into the army, he was disabled and wishes he were back in Ireland
AUTHOR: John Canavan
EARLIEST DATE: 1939 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: poverty emigration soldier injury war disability
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: Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
SHenry H795, p. 198, "Farewell to Slieve Gallen" (1 text, 1 tune)
Morton-Ulster 27, "Wild Slieve Gallion Braes" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2888
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "By the Hush" (plot)
cf. "The Dying Irish Boy" (plot, themes, setting)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Wild Slieve Gallon Braes
NOTES: The singer is ashamed "to think I'd backed the Stars and Stripes against the sons of Spain." I assume this is because the Spanish periodically tried to help the Irish against the English (for their own purposes, of course).
The reference to service, and being wounded, on a battleship "when the Spanish fleet was captured and sent to Ego Bay" (so Henry's version; Morton's has more reasonable "When the Spanish fleet was captured near to Santiago Bay") makes little sense; the Spanish fleet was completely destroyed at Santiago, and the Americans suffered one killed and one injured. Nor can this be referred to the Battle of Manila Bay; there were no soldiers along, and, again, the Spanish fleet was destroyed; the Americans suffered eight casualties, all injuries.
Presumably the author conflated an amphibious landing with one of the many land battles, where American losses were much higher, due mostly to the complete ineptitude of the American generals and staff. - RBW
File: HHH795

Farewell to Stirling


See My Last Farewell to Stirling (File: PASB023)

Farewell to Sweet Glenravel


DESCRIPTION: The singer bids farewell to the beauties of his childhood home in Glenravel. He admits childhood cannot linger; now "I cross the deep blue ocean to toil with busy men." He hopes to be able to return
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1937 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: emigration homesickness
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H727, pp. 193-194, "Farewell to Sweet Glenravel" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13551
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Scarborough Settler's Lament" (theme) and references there
File: HHH727

Farewell to Tarwathie


DESCRIPTION: Sailor bids farewell to Tarwathie, his girl and his friends as he sets off for the Greenland whaling grounds. He describes the harsh conditions in Greenland, saying they'll not tarry there, but head for home as soon as possible
AUTHOR: George Scroggie ?
EARLIEST DATE: 1908 (GreigDuncan1)
KEYWORDS: love farewell separation whaler
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Greig #85, p. 1, "Farewell to Tarwathie" (1 text)
GreigDuncan1 15, "Farewell to Tarwathie" (1 text)
DT, TARWATHI*
Roud #2562
RECORDINGS:
A. L. Lloyd, "Farewell to Tarwathie" (on Lloyd3, Lloyd9)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Green Bushes" (tune)
cf. "The Grand Hotel" (tune)
File: DTtarwat

Farewell to the Banks of the Roe


DESCRIPTION: The singer, dying, recalls the "land where the shamrock grows green" and "Mary with snowy white bosom." He lists all the things he enjoyed in Ireland which he cannot do in his new home. He bids farewell to all these lost joys
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1939 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: homesickness death emigration
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H791, p. 218, "Farewell to the Banks of the Roe" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Scarborough Settler's Lament" (theme) and references there
File: HHH791

Farewell to Whisky (Johnny My Man)


DESCRIPTION: The wife goes to the ale-house her husband so often frequents. She reminds him of his poor home and the children starving and lonely. He comes out of his stupor, recognizes his wife, and declares he will never return to the ale-house
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1901 (Ford)
KEYWORDS: drink hardtimes virtue family
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) Ireland
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 327-328, "Johnnie, My Man" (1 text)
GreigDuncan3 587, "Johnnie, My Man" (12 texts, 7 tunes)
Kennedy 272, "Farewell to Whisky" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H807, p. 514, "Johnny M' Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ord, pp. 367-368, "Oh Johnnie, My Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, FARWHIS JONMYMAN FRWLWHSK
Roud #845
RECORDINGS:
Jessie Murray, "Farewell to Whisky" (on FSB3, but credited to Lucy Stewart in Kennedy)
BROADSIDES:
Murray, Mu23-y1:064, "Johnie My Man," James Lindsay (Glasgow), 19C; also Murray, Mu23-y4:030, "Johnnie My Man," unknown, 19C
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Come Hame to Yer Lingles" (theme)
cf. "When Ye Gang Awa Johnnie" (theme)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Oh Johnnie, My Dear
Johnnie, My Lad
File: K272

Farewell, Ballycastle


DESCRIPTION: The singer bids farewell to Ballycastle; "From friends... I go to the land of a stranger." He promises to think of Ireland in his exile, and admits, "How often I'll sigh for the dear ones behind me, To whom, with my loves one, I now bid farewell."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1926 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: emigration separation farewell
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H210, p. 188, "Farewell, Ballycastle" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13544
File: HHH210

Farewell, Charming Nancy [Laws K14]


DESCRIPTION: The sailor bids his sweetheart farewell. She does not wish to part, and offers to go with him. He tells her that she simply is not strong enough for life at sea. They part sadly. Some texts warn girls against trusting sailors
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: c. 1855 (broadside)
KEYWORDS: sailor parting
FOUND IN: US(Ap,SE) Britain(England(South,North)) Ireland Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES (12 citations):
Laws K14, "Farewell, Charming Nancy"
Sharp-100E 30, "Farewell, Nancy" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H755, p. 297, "Johnnie and Molly" (1 text, 1 tune)
OLochlainn-More 22, "Farewell, Dearest Nancy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Tunney-StoneFiddle, pp. 98-99, "Adieu Lovely Nancy" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownII 101, "Charming Nancy" (2 texts plus mention of 2 more)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 373-373, "Lovely Nancy" (1 short text; tune on p. 456)
Chappell-FSRA 38, "Charming Nancy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Karpeles-Newfoundland 51, "Farewell Nancy" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Creighton-Maritime, p. 40, "Lovely Molly" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 44, "Jimmy and Nancy" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 404, FRWLNANC*
Roud #527
RECORDINGS:
Nora Cleary, "Farewell, Lovely Mary" (on Voice12)
A. L. Lloyd, "Farewell, Nancy" (on Lloyd2, Lloyd3)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 25(1704), "The Sailor's Farewell" ("Fare you well dearest Nancy, since now I must leave you"), unknown, n.d.
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Pleasant and Delightful" (plot, lyrics)
cf. "Farewell to Old Bedford" (meter)
cf. "Fare Thee Well, My Dearest Dear"
cf. "Adieu to Bon County" (floating lyrics)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Farewell, Lovely Nancy
The Sailor and His True Love
NOTES: This should not be confused with "Adieu, Sweet Lovely Nancy", which does not include most of the elements of this song. - PJS
The editors of Sam Henry do not list their version,"Johnnie and Molly," here. This is understandable, as the text lacks the characteristic first line, "Farewell, lovely Nancy, for now I must leave you." But the plots of the two songs are the same, they scan the same way, and they have many lyrics in common. Same song, sez I. - RBW
The Bodleian broadside and one of the Karpeles-Newfoundland texts lacks the ending warning to girls against trusting sailors.
Creighton-SNewBrunswick, as much as there is of it, fits the pattern and some of the lines. Roud puts the fragment here but the note in Henry p. 304 notes that Creighton-SNewBrunswick 44 is "a fragment that may be a very different version." It seems close enough for me. - BS
Entirely agreed; it lacks the first two lines "Farewell, Lovely Nancy" -- but informant Angelo Dornan remembered only half of the first stanza; one suspects they were part of the version he learned. And the rest is the same. - RBW
File: LK14

Farewell, Darling


See O'Reilly from the County Leitrim (File: HHH580)

Farewell, Dear Rosanna [Laws M30]


DESCRIPTION: Rosanna's parents send her lover away and cause her to marry a squire. Her lover is lost at sea with all his shipmates save one, who tells Rosanna the sad news. She kills herself with a silver dagger.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1917 (Cecil Sharp collection)
KEYWORDS: death suicide love marriage separation
FOUND IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Laws M30, "Farewell, Dear Rosanna"
SharpAp 172, "Farewell Dear Rosanna" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Combs/Wilgus 96, pp. 168-169, "Rosanna" (1 text)
Ritchie-SingFam, pp. 120-122, "[Farewell, Dear Roseannie]" (1 text, 1 tune)
BBI, ZN2063, "O where's my Rosinda? shall I never more"
DT 586, FRWLROSN
Roud #788
File: LM30

Farewell, Dear Roseannie


See Farewell, Dear Rosanna [Laws M30] (File: LM30)

Farewell, Dearest Nancy


See Farewell, Charming Nancy [Laws K14] (File: LK14)

Farewell, Lovely Nancy


See Farewell, Charming Nancy [Laws K14] (File: LK14)

Farewell, Mother


DESCRIPTION: The soldier intends to survive: "Just before the battle, mother... when I saw the rebels marching, To the rear I quickly flew." "Farewell, mother! for you'll never See my name among the slain. For if I only can skedaddle... I'll come home again."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1964
KEYWORDS: Civilwar parody humorous battle mother cowardice
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Silber-CivWar, p. 14, "Farewell, Mother" (1 text, tune referenced)
DT, JSTBATT2*
Roud #4263
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Just Before the Battle, Mother" (tune)
File: SCW14

Farewell, Nancy


See Farewell, Charming Nancy [Laws K14] (File: LK14)

Farewell, Sweet Mary


DESCRIPTION: The singer points out to Mary that her parents disapprove of him and that he is "ruined forever / By the loving of you." He enters the army; when he returns, his love is lost. He drowns his sorrows in drink
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1909 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: courting drink separation
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MW,So)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Belden, p. 487, "Poor Stranger a Thousand Miles from Home" (1 text, a short item which seems to combine "The Poor Stranger," "Farewell, Sweet Mary," and perhaps some floating items)
Eddy 82, "Farewell, Sweet Mary" (1 text, 1 tune)
JHCox 146, "Farewell, Sweet Mary" (1 text)
DT, (YONDRMTN* -- a version which is mostly "Pretty Saro" but has points of contact with this also)
Roud #414
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Oh Lily, Dear Lily" (floating lyrics)
cf. "In Eighteen-Forty-Nine" (floating lyrics)
cf. "The Wagoner's Lad" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Fare Thee Well, My Dearest Dear"
cf. "The Streams of Lovely Nancy" (floating lyrics)
File: E082

Farewell, Sweetheart (The Parting Lovers, The Slighted Sweetheart)


DESCRIPTION: "Farewell, sweetheart, so fare you well, You've slighted me, but I wish you well... I wouldn't serve you as you've serve well." The singer claims "You are my love till I am dead," and says "I still love you, God knows I do." He prepares to die for love
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1912 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: love betrayal nonballad death separation burial floatingverses
FOUND IN: US(Ap,SE,So)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Randolph 756, "Farewell, Sweetheart" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fuson, pp. 75-76, "The Parting Lovers" (1 text)
BrownII 167, "My Little Dear, So Fare You Well" (3 texts plus mention of 2 more)
BrownIII 261, "The Slighted Sweetheart" (1 text)
ST R756 (Partial)
Roud #7398 and 11422
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Butcher Boy" [Laws P24] (lyrics)
NOTES: The Brown versions of this instantly made me think of "The Butcher Boy." They aren't really the same song; none of the Brown versions mention suicide or pregnancy. But several of the texts have picked up lyrics from that ballad -- or, perhaps, were adapted from it in an attempt to clean up the song. The whole thing is quite commonplace, even cliched.
I'm not sure why the editors of Brown split the "Slighted Sweetheart" text from the others; they have the same plot and the same first lines. Perhaps just a failure to notice their identity? - RBW
File: R756

Farewell, The


See It Was A' For Our Rightful' King (File: SMM5IWAF)

Farewell. Lovely Polly


See The Sheffield Apprentice [Laws O39] (File: LO39)

Farfar Soldier, The


See The Forfar Soldier (File: FVS163)

Farm Life Song


See Kemo Kimo (File: R282)

Farm Servant, The (Rap-Tap-Tap)


DESCRIPTION: The farm servant, is told to mind the business "as servants always do." He minds the business of his master's wife, who says he manages his equipment far better than the master. The master rewards the servant for minding the business so well
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (Gardiner manuscript)
LONG DESCRIPTION: The singer, a farm servant, is told by his master to mind the business "as servants always do." He does, including the business of his master's wife, who says the servant manages his equipment far better than the master. When the master returns, he rewards the servant for minding the business so well; the servant remarks that had the master known what he was up to, he would not have been rewarded
KEYWORDS: farming wife adultery marriage infidelity sex bawdy humorous servant
FOUND IN: Britain(England(Lond,South))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Kennedy 211, "Rap-tap-tap" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, RAPTPTAP*
Roud #792
RECORDINGS:
Bob Hart, "The Farmer's Servant" (on Voice05)
A. L. Lloyd, "The Farm Servant" (on Lloyd1)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Cluster of Nuts" (theme: servant describes sex with the master's wife in hidden terms)
cf. "The Chandler's Wife" (theme)
cf. "The Coachman's Whip" (theme)
cf. "The Jolly Barber Lad" (theme)
NOTES: Lloyd notes that this song had not shown up in print as of the date of recording. - PJS
This was more a matter of suppression than rarity, however; Kennedy noted versions found in the Gardiner MS from 1905 and the Hammond MS in 1906. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: DTraptap

Farmer and His Bride, The


See The Golden Glove (Dog and Gun) [Laws N20] (File: LN20)

Farmer and the Devil, The


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

Farmer and the Shanty Boy, The


DESCRIPTION: Two girls compare their fiancees. The farmer's sweetheart praises her love because he is always at home. The other girl points out that the shanty boy always comes home with his pay, while bad crops can ruin a farmer. The farmer's girl concedes the point
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1912 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: love work dialog logger farming lumbering
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,Ro,So) Canada(Mar,Ont) Ireland
REFERENCES (12 citations):
Rickaby 10, "The Shanty-boy and the Farmer's Son" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Gardner/Chickering 106, "The Mossback" (1 text plus mention of 1 more, 1 tune)
Dean, pp. 51-52, "Shanty Boy" (1 texxt)
Warner 33, "Shanty Boy, Farmer Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Belden, pp. 443-445, "The Farmer and the Shanty Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H676, p. 45, "Shanty Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke-Lumbering #52, "The Farmer's Son and the Shantyboy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ives-NewBrunswick, pp. 20-23, "The Farmer's Son and the Shantyboy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 446-447, "The Shanty-Boy and the Farmer's Son" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 53, "The Farmer and the Shanty Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Beck 42, "Trenton Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, SHANTYBO*
Roud #670
RECORDINGS:
Warde Ford, "The Shanty boy" (AFS 4202 B2, 1938; tr.; in AMMEM/Cowell)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Peter Amberley" [Laws C27] (tune)
cf. "The Husbandman and the Servingman" (plot)
cf. "Soldier Boy for Me (A Railroader for Me)" (theme)
cf. "The Plooman Laddie (I)" (theme)
cf. "The Farmer" (theme)
cf. "I Love My Sailor Boy" (theme)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Shanty Boy Wins
The Mossback
File: Wa033

Farmer Candidate, The


DESCRIPTION: "Your cow she's calved in the byre her lane, And your mare she's taen the mortichin', And it's time that ye were thro' Aberdeen, And awa' frae the poll in the mornin'."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan2)
KEYWORDS: nonballad political
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan2 241, "The Farmer Candidate" (1 fragment)
Roud #5845
NOTES: GreigDuncan2: "Farmer candidate for East Aberdeenshire. ?Hope."
The current description is all of the GreigDuncan2 fragment. - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: GrD2241

Farmer Comes to Town, The


See The Farmer Is the Man (File: San282)

Farmer In His Den, The


See The Farmer in the Dell (File: DTfrmrde)

Farmer In the Dale, The


See The Farmer in the Dell (File: DTfrmrde)

Farmer in the Dell, The


DESCRIPTION: "The farmer in the dell (x2), Hi ho the merry-o, the farmer in the dell." "The farmer takes a wife...." And so forth through a variety of creatures and things, typically ending with "The cheese stands alone."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1883 (Newell)
KEYWORDS: animal family nonballad playparty
FOUND IN: US(NE) Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (6 citations):
GreigDuncan8 1589, "The Farmer in the Dale" (4 texts, 3 tunes)
Greig #152, pp. 1-2, "The Farmer in his Den" (1 text)
Linscott, pp. 7-9, "The Farmer in the Dell" (1 text, 1 tune)
Montgomerie-ScottishNR 83, "(The Farmer in his den)" (1 text)
Fuld-WFM, p. 224, "The Farmer in the Dell"
DT, FRMRDELL*
Roud #6306
RECORDINGS:
Tony Wales, "Four Children's Singing Games (The Farmer in his Den)" (on TWales1)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "A-Hunting We Will Go" (tune of some versions)
SAME TUNE:
The Pumpkin on the Vine (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 153)
File: DTfrmrde

Farmer Is the Man, The


DESCRIPTION: A description of the life of the farmer, "the man who feeds them all." He comes to town "with his wagon broken down" and "lives on credit till the fall." At last he comes to town with his crop -- and loses the profit to the bank
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1923 (recording, Fiddlin' John Carson)
KEYWORDS: farming work poverty commerce money
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (11 citations):
Randolph 492, "The Farmer, He Must Feed Them All" (1 text)
Sandburg, pp. 282-283, "The Farmer" (1 text, 1 tune)
Scott-BoA, pp. 267-269, "The Farmer is the Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 66, "The Farmer is the Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 879-880, "The Farmer Comes to Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
Arnett, pp. 120-121, "The Farmer Is the Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 360-361, "The Farmer Is the Man" (1 text)
PSeeger-AFB, p. 57, "The Farmer Is The Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greenway-AFP, p. 213, "The Farmer Is the Man" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 118, "The Farmer Is The Man" (1 text)
DT, FARMERIS*
Roud #5062
RECORDINGS:
Fiddlin' John Carson, "The Farmer Is The Man That Feeds Them" (Okeh 40071, 1924; rec. 1923)
Frank Wheeler & Monroe Lamb, "The Farmer Feeds Them All" (Victor 23537, 1931; Montgomery Ward M-4334, 1933)
Pete Seeger, "The Farmer is the Man" (on PeteSeeger13) (on PeteSeeger23)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Down on the Farm (III)" (theme)
cf. "The Humble Farmer" (theme)
cf. "The Laddie That Handles the Ploo" (theme)
cf. "The Praise of Ploughmen" (theme)
SAME TUNE:
Fiddlin' John Carson, "Taxes on the Farmer Feeds Us All" (Montgomery Ward M-4848, 1935)
New Lost City Ramblers, "Taxes on the Farmer Feeds Us All" (on NLCR09)
NOTES: Although there is no firm authorship information, this song is thought to date from the populist movement of the 1890s. - (PJS)
Sounds logical to me. Greenway, however, dates it to the period after the Civil War. - RBW
"Taxes on the Farmer Feeds Us All" is a variant form of "Farmer is the Man"; the message and words are close enough that I have lumped them as one song. - PJS
File: San282

Farmer John


DESCRIPTION: "Farmer John was a happy man A happy man was he He rose each morning with the lark And he sang right merrily. Tra la-lal la, tra la-la Tra la lal la la."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan8)
KEYWORDS: farming nonballad music
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan8 1767, "Farmer John" (1 short text)
Roud #13015
NOTES: The current description is all of the GreigDuncan8 text. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD81767

Farmer Michael Hayes


See The General Fox Chase (File: Zimm068A)

Farmer, He Must Feed Them All, The


See The Farmer Is the Man (File: San282)

Farmer, The


DESCRIPTION: The singer overhears a girl singing the praise of her farmer boy. A farmer needs no clock to awake him. He brings home money to his wife. Kings have cares, but farmers are free. Nobles are dependent on farmers, who are always generous to strangers
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1936 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: farming work nonballad
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H676, pp. 41-42, "The Farmer" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13356
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Farmer and the Shanty Boy" (theme)
File: HHH676

Farmer's Boy, The


See The Butcher Boy [Laws P24] (File: LP24)

Farmer's Boy, The [Laws Q30]


DESCRIPTION: A lost boy comes seeking a home, or at least shelter for a night, saying that he can perform all farm tasks. The farmer's wife and daughter convince the farmer to take him in. He serves so well that he marries the farmer's daughter and becomes his heir
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1845 (Journal from the Elizabeth); a possibly-related broadside is said to date from before 1689
KEYWORDS: farming work marriage
FOUND IN: US(MA,MW,NE,Ro,SE,So) Canada(Mar,Ont) Britain(Scotland(Aber),England(North,South))
REFERENCES (14 citations):
Laws Q30, "The Farmer's Boy"
Belden, pp. 272-273, "A Farmer's Boy" (1 text)
Randolph 118, "The Farmer's Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 111-113, "The Farmer's Boy" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 118)
BrownIII 88, "The Farmer's Boy" (1 text plus mention of 3 more)
Warner 37, "The Farmer's Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Flanders/Brown, pp. 118-119, "The Farmer's Boy" (1 text)
GreigDuncan5 960, "The Farmer's Boy" (6 texts, 4 tunes)
Kennedy 247, "The Farmer's Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
LPound-ABS, 28, pp. 69-71, "The Farmer's Boy" (1 text)
Creighton/Senior, p. 158, "The Farmer's Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 216-218, "A Farmer's Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 479, "The Farmer's Boy" (source notes only)
DT 538, FARMRBOY FARMRBO2
Roud #408
RECORDINGS:
O. J. Abbott, "The Farmer's Boy" (on Abbott1)
Warde Ford, "The Farmer's Boy" (AFS 4215 A2, 1939; in AMMEM/Cowell)
Tony Wales, "To Be a Farmer's Boy" (on TWales1)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(1152), "Farmer's Boy" ("The sun went down beyond yon hills"), J. Catnach (London), 1813-1838; also Harding B 26(186), Firth b.26(333), Harding B 11(3663), Firth c.26(199), Harding B 36(27), Harding B 18(164), 2806 c.8(292), Firth b.26(370), Harding B 11(551), "[The] Farmer's Boy"
LOCSheet, sm1847 420620, "The Farmer's Boy," Oliver Ditson (Boston), 1847 (tune)
LOCSinging, as200930, "The Farmer's Boy," H. De Marsan (New York), 1861-1864; also as103730, as103740, "The Farmer's Boy"
Murray, Mu23-y1:045, "The Farmer's Boy," James Lindsay (Glasgow), 19C
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Soldier's Poor Little Boy" [Laws Q28] (plot)
cf. "The Fisherman's Boy" [Laws Q29] (plot)
cf. "The Fisherman's Girl" (plot)
cf. "The Poor Smuggler's Boy" (plot)
cf. "The Hobo from the T & P Line" (plot)
cf. "Peter Amberley" [Laws C27] (tune)
NOTES: Broadside LOCSinging as200930: 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
Last updated in version 2.5
File: LQ30

Farmer's Curst Wife, The [Child 278]


DESCRIPTION: The Devil comes to claim a farmer's wife. She causes great trouble in Hell, attacking the imps with all the vigor she had once used on her family. For safety's sake, the Devil is forced to return her to her family (not necessarily to their joy)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1864
KEYWORDS: family Devil humorous Hell wife feminist
FOUND IN: US(All) Britain(England(South,North),Scotland(Aber,Bord)) Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland
REFERENCES (51 citations):
Child 278, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (2 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #41}
Bronson 278, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (71 versions+2 in addenda)
GreigDuncan2 320, "Kellyburn Braes" (2 texts, 1 tune); also p. 575 (1 fragment) {Bronson's #48}
SharpAp 40, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (6 texts plus 1 fragment, 7 tunes) {Bronson's #31, #54, #53, #35, #56, #66, #50}
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 326-333, "The Farmer's Cursed Wife" (4 texts plus a fragment, 1 tune) {Bronson's #61}
Belden, pp. 94-97, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (2 texts)
Randolph 36, "The Old Man under the Hill" (2 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #63}
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 63-66, "The Old Man Under the Hill" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 36A) {Bronson's #63}
Flanders/Brown, pp. 226-228, "The Scolding Wife" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #13}
Flanders/Olney, pp. 49-51, "Farmer's Curst Wife" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #60}
Flanders-Ancient4, pp. 99-135, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (15 texts plus 5 fragments, 13 tunes) {L=Bronson's #60, M=#13}
Linscott, pp. 188-191, "The Devil and the Farmer's Wife" (1 text, 1 tune)
Davis-Ballads 46, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (13 texts, 7 tunes; 2 more versions mentioned in Appendix A) {Bronson's #37, #54, #11, #46, #24, #36, #25}
Davis-More 40, pp. 316-327, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (7 texts plus a fragment, 5 tunes) {BB=Bronson's #33; EE=#10}
BrownII 45, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (1 text)
Chappell-FSRA 20, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (1 fragment)
Hudson 24, pp. 124-125, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (2 texts)
Shellans, pp. 18-19, "The Evil Woman" (1 text, 1 tune)
Brewster 24, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #65}
Gardner/Chickering 154, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (4 texts plus a fragment, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #27, #23}
Creighton/Senior, pp. 95-99, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (5 texts, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #4, #38}
Creighton-NovaScotia 9, "Farmer's Curst Wife" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #5}
Peacock, pp. 265-268, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (3 texts, 3 tunes)
Mackenzie 15, "The Devil's Song" (1 text)
Leach, pp. 660-662, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (2 texts)
Friedman, p. 452, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (1 text)
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 172-173, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/MacMillan 75, "The Farmer and the Devil" (1 text, 1 tune)
Warner 89, "The Devil and the Farmer's Wife" (1 text, 1 tune)
FSCatskills 137, "The Devil and the Farmer's Wife" (1 text, 1 tune)
Niles 60, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 27, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #54}
Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, pp. 34-35, "The Devil and the Ploughman" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #1}
OLochlainn 54, "The Women Are Worse Than the Men" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #7}
Hayward-Ulster, pp. 33-35, "The Ould Man of Killyburn Brae" (1 text)
Scott-BoA, pp. 152-154, "The Farmer's Curst Wife (The Devil and the Farmer)" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 92, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ritchie-SingFam, pp. 131-132, "[Little Devils]" (1 text, 1 tune) {cf. Bronson's #52}
Ritchie-Southern, p. 25, "The Little Devils" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #52}
Asch/Dunson/Raim, p. 26 "Old Lady and the Devil" (1 text, 1 tune)
TBB 39, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (1 text)
Beck 43, "The Curst Wife" (1 text)
JHCox 164, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (1 text)
PSeeger-AFB, p. 58, "The Devil And The Farmer's Wife" (1 text, 1 tune)
Abrahams/Foss, pp. 99-101, "The Devil and the Farmer's Wife" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 81-83, "The Farmer's Curst Wife"; "Randy Riley" (2 texts)
Silber-FSWB, p. 22, "The Devil and The Farmer's Wife" (1 text)
BBI, ZN960, "Give eare, my loving countrey-men"
DT 278, DEVLWIFE DEVLWIF2* DEVLWIF3* DEVLWIF4*
ADDITIONAL: Leslie Shepard, _The Broadside Ballad_, Legacy Books, 1962, 1978, p. 179, "The Women are worse than the Men" (reproduction of a broadside print of a short version)
Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 274-275, "Killyburn Brae" (1 text)
Roud #160
RECORDINGS:
James "Iron Head" Baker, "The Rich Old Lady" (AFS 201 B1, 204 A1, 206 A1, all 1934); "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (AFS 617 A4, 1936)
Horton Barker, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (on Barker01) {Bronson's #33}
Bill Cox, "Battle Axe and the Devil" (Vocalion 04811, 1939)
George Davis, "Buggerman in the Bushes" (on GeorgeDavis01)
Texas Gladden, "The Devil and the Farmer" (Disc 6082, 1940s)
Carrie Grover, "The Devil and the Farmer's Wife" (AFS, 1941; on LC58) {Bronson's #67}
Thomas Moran, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (on FSB5, FSBBAL2)
Maggie Murphy, "Killyburn Brae" (on IRHardySons)
Lawrence Older, "Randy Riley" (on LOlder01)
Bill & Belle Reed, "Old Lady and the Devil" (Columbia 15336-D, 1928; on AAFM1) {Bronson's #32}
Jean Ritchie, "Little Devils" (on JRitchie02) {cf. Bronson's #52}
Pete Seeger, "The Farmer's Curst Wife" (on PeteSeeger16) (on PeteSeeger24); "Old Woman and the Devil" (on AschRec2)
Pete Steele, "Lack Fol Diddle I Day" [fragmentary version] (AFS, 1938; on KMM)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 25(1855), "The Sussex Farmer", J. Pitts (London), 1819-1844
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Devil Came to My Door" (plot)
cf. "The Massacre of Glencoe" (tune,according to GreigDuncan2)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Old Woman and the Devil
The Farmer and the Devil
The Carle o' Killyburn Braes [Burns]
The Battle Axe and the Devil
The Farmer's Wife
NOTES: Linscott lists this as being sung to "Liliburlero," but Bronson (who knew though he did not print Linscott's version; it's his "g") says it is "not so close to our pattern here." - RBW
Compare, for example, Bill & Belle Reed, "Old Lady and the Devil" verse 1 ("There was an old man lived the foot of the hill If he ain't moved away he's a-living there still") with Opie-Oxford2 541, "There was an old woman" ("There was an old woman Lived Under a hill, And if she's not gone She lives there still"). [Also in Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #4, p. 28. - RBW] Neither of Child's versions use this verse (earliest date in Opie-Oxford2 is 1714). - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: C278

Farmer's Daughter (I), The


See Treat My Daughter Kindly (The Little Farm) (File: R668)

Farmer's Daughter (II), The


See Bonnie Jean O' Aberdeen, She Lang'd for a Baby (File: OOx2183)

Farmer's Ingle, The


DESCRIPTION: "Let Turks triumph and the poets live single But my delight's at the farmer's ingle [fireplace]." Merchants have trade, seamen have ships, the miser has money "but my delight's in the farmer's ingle." "Here's a bumper to the farmer's ingle"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1911 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: home farming drink nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan3 543, "The Farmer's Ingle" (2 texts)
Roud #6019
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth b.27(469), "The Farmer's Ingle" ("Let fools rejoice and monarchs reign"), unknown, no date
NOTES: GreigDuncan3 quotes a version from National Choir beginning "Let Whigs triumph, let tyrants rage."
Bumper: [noun] "a cup or glass filled to the brim or till the liquor runs over esp. in drinking a toast"; [verb] "to fill to the brim (as a wineglass) and empty by drinking," "to toast with a bumper," "to drink bumpers of wine or other alcoholic beverages" (source: Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged, 1976). - BS
The reference to the Turks triumphing is a curious one, since it seems to imply an almost impossibly early date. The Ottoman Turks did, of course, have amazing successes starting in the thirteenth century; in 1453 they captured Constantinople and in 1526 they won the Battle of Mohacs, almost destroying the Kingdom of Hungary and opening doors for the attacks on Vienna. But the reign of Suleiman I "the Magnificent" (1520-1566), which included the Battle of Mohacs and the sieges of Vienna, was the Ottoman high point. It would be some time before the Ottoman Empire became so weak that Napoleon would call it "the sick man of Europe," but by 1750 it was certainly no great threat to the west. The reference to the Whig triumph would also seem to imply a date either in the period 1688-1702 or 1714-1745. What are the odds of a song about the days of Turkish and Whiggish strength still being around to be printed in relatively recent time? - RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
File: GrD3543

Farmer's Son and the Shantyboy, The


See The Farmer and the Shanty Boy (File: Wa033)

Farmer's Son, The


See The London Heiress (The Brisk and Lively Lad) (File: MoMa033)

Farmer's Three Sons, The


See In Good Old Colony Times (File: R112)

Farmers in the Seventeenth Century


DESCRIPTION: "The farmers saw denty, sae weel brag o' plenty, Their weel packiet purses they're grown unco sma'." The singer contrasts their former wealth with their current poverty, brought about by declines in farm prices
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1873 (sent by James Hunter to Furnival, according to Lyle)
KEYWORDS: farming hardtimes
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
ADDITIONAL: Emily Lyle, _Fairies and Folk: Approaches to the Scottish Ballad Tradition_, Wissenschaflicher Verlag Trier, 2007, pp, 221-222, "[Farmers in the 17th Century]]" (1 short text)
File: AdF17C

Farmers, The


See Three Jolly Huntsmen (File: R077)

Farmington Canal Song, The


DESCRIPTION: "Oh! Captain Dick's a gay old bird, Yes he is, upon my word! But that ain't no excuse For his whiskers to be filled with terbacker juice!" The crew of the ship and their voyage are described
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1939 (Linscott)
KEYWORDS: canal ship moniker
FOUND IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Linscott, pp. 195-196, "The Farmington Canal Song" (1 text, 1 tune fitted by Linscott)
DT, FRMCANAL*
Roud #3730
NOTES: In the aftermath of the great success of the Erie Canal, a large number of canals were opened in the American Northeast. Few succeeded. The Farmington Canal connected New Haven, Connecticut with Northampton, Massachusetts, and was one of these short-lived connections. - RBW
File: Lins195

Farmyard


See I Had a Little Rooster (Farmyard Song) (File: R352)

Farmyard Song, The


See Old MacDonald Had a Farm (File: R457)

Farther Along


DESCRIPTION: "Tempted and tried, we're oft made to wonder Why it should be thus all the day long." "Farther along we'll know all about it; Farther along we'll understand why." The singer wonders about the troubles of life, but is sure it will make sense in the end
AUTHOR: credited to W. B. Stephens & J. R. Baxter
EARLIEST DATE: 1921 (recording, Stamps Quartet)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 289, "Farther Along" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 356, "Farther Along" (1 text)
DT, FARALONG
RECORDINGS:
Roy Acuff & his Smoky Mountain Boys, "Farther Along" (OKeh 05766/Conqueror 9433, 1940; Conqueror 9667, 1941; Columbia 20480, c. 1948)
Harmonizing Four, "Farther Along" (Vee Jay 845, rec. 1957)
Rev. R. A. Harris, "Farther Along" (AFS 5438 B3, 5441 B 3, 1941)
Johnson Family Singers, "Farther Along" (Columbia 20867, 1951)
Wade Mainer, "Farther Along" (Bluebird B-8023 [as Mainer's Mountaineers]/Montgomery Ward M-7560, 1938)
Charlie Monroe's Boys, "Farther Along" (Bluebird B-7922/Montgomery Ward M-7574, 1938)
Pineridge Boys, "Farther Along" (Bluebird B-8263/Montgomery Ward M-8473, 1939)
Pete Seeger, "Farther Along" (on PeteSeeger32)
Stamps Quartet, "Farther Along" (Okeh 04236/Vocalion 04236, 1938; Columbia 20337, c. 1948; Columbia 37760, 1947)
J. B. Whitmire's Blue Sky Trio, "Farther Along" (Bluebird B-8512/Montgomery Ward M-8508, 1940)
File: FSWB356B

Farval, Farval, Fortjusande Mo (Farewell, Farewell Fascinating Maid)


DESCRIPTION: Scandinavian shanty. Sailor saying farewell to his sweetheart. Several sentimental verses about pressing her hand, tender whispers and kisses, etc. Translation of chorus: "Farewell, farewell, fascinating maid, we shall soon return again."
AUTHOR: Ossian Limborg (?)
EARLIEST DATE: 1888
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage shanty foc's'le farewell sailor
FOUND IN: Scandinavia
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Hugill, pp. 495-497, "Farval, Farval, Fortjusande Mo" (2 texts-Swedish & English, 1 tune)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
En Sjoman Alskar Havets Vag
Aland Song
NOTES: A note from Sang under Segel says this was written down aboard the barque Chiliâ from Gavle in 1888 by Harold Sundholm, and according to a correspondent in Svenska Dagbladent (5/20/1934) it was written by a captain named Ossian Limborg around 1870. Hugill's source told him it was a very popular song in Finnish ships, but was a forebitter, not sung for work. - SL
This is a rather curious statement, since Finnish is not a Scandinavian or even an Indo-European language. Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish are separate languages in name only; they remain largely mutually intelligible and would almost certainly be called dialects if they weren't the languages of different countries. But Finnish is a separte thing. This song could come from Norwegian, Swedish, or Danish -- perhaps even Icelandic. But it's demonstrably not Finnish. - RBW
File: Hugi495

Fat Folk's Made o


See What's Little Babies Made Of? (File: SKE79)

Fat'll I Dee an My Dearie Dee


DESCRIPTION: "Fat'll I dee [do] an my dearie dee [dies]?" "I'll put on the kettle and mak' a sup tea, And comfort my hert an my dearie dee"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1907 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: love death nonballad food mourning
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan3 694, "Fat'll I Dee an My Dearie Dee" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Roud #6115
File: GrD3694

Fat'll Mak a Bonnie Lassie Blythe an' Glad?


DESCRIPTION: What makes a bonnie lassie "blythe ang glad? A lang winter's nicht an' her ain dearest lad." What makes her pale and wan? "A weel made bed and a braw young man." What makes her weary soon? A long winter night and an ill spinning wheel.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1907 (GreigDuncan5)
KEYWORDS: courting pregnancy nonballad questions
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan5 932, "Fat'll Mak a Bonnie Lassie Blythe an' Glad?" (2 texts, 3 tunes)
Roud #6748
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The White Cockade" (tune, per GreigDuncan5)
cf. "Sandy's the Lad That I'm Gaun Wi'" (tune, per GreigDuncan5)
cf. "I'll Kiss Ye Yet, and I'll Clap Ye Yet" (tune, per GreigDuncan5)
cf. "Yon Town, Bonnie Lassie" (tune, per GreigDuncan5)
File: GrD5932

Fatal Acquantance, The


See Pearl Bryan (III) [Laws F3] AND Pearl Bryan (IV) (File: LF03)

Fatal Flower Garden


See Sir Hugh, or, The Jew's Daughter [Child 155] (File: C155)

Fatal Oak, The


DESCRIPTION: "'Tis a mournful story I relate, Of three young men who met their fate." The logging team takes their raft downriver and stops for the night. The captain says the site is bad. Come morning, an oak crashes and kills the three loggers.
AUTHOR: (Mrs.) Abbie Payne?
EARLIEST DATE: 1926 (Rickaby)
KEYWORDS: logger death river
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Rickaby 29, "The Fatal Oak" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Robert E. Gard and L. G. Sorden, _Wisconsin Lore: Antics and Anecdotes of Wisconsin People and Places_, Wisconsin House, 1962, pp. 99-101, "The Fatal Oak" (1 text, from W. M. Ward of Soldiers Grove)
Roud #9060
NOTES: Rickaby's source stated that this piece was "written by Mrs. Abbie Payne." Based on Rickaby's text, I suspected that Payne was simply the transcriber -- as the song stands it reads as though the Captain deliberately condemned his men to death by not moving the campsite.
It appears, however, that Rickaby's text had suffered some damage in transmission. The Gard/Sorden text is more coherent, although it still appears the captain could have done more.
Gard and Sorden attibute the poem to Abbie J. Payne, so it appears that she (?) was in fact the author.
Gard/Sodern call it a ballad, but neither they nor Rickaby nor Peters have a tune, and Gard/Sorden print it without stanza divisions; I suspect it was never more than a poem.
According to Gard/Sorden, p. 101, the "raft was sunk September 14, 1870."
This is item dC39 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: Rick116

Fatal Rose of Red


DESCRIPTION: A girl bids her uncle to wear a red rose. He will not; a red rose once shattered his life. He had a fight with his sweetheart. He bid her to wear a white rose if she forgave him; otherwise a red. A rival switched notes; he learned the truth years later
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1928 (recording, Leo Boswell)
LONG DESCRIPTION: A girl bids her aged uncle to wear a red rose. He will not; a red rose once shattered his life. He had a fight with his sweetheart, and bid her to wear a white rose if she forgave him; otherwise a red. But a rival switched the note, and she wore a red rose. He saw it, and fled. It was not until years later that he learned the truth, after he came home and she was dead.
KEYWORDS: love courting separation trick rejection
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Randolph 808, "The Fatal Rose of Red" (1 text)
Spaeth-WeepMore, p. 141, "The Fatal Rose of Red" (1 text)
Roud #7425 and 13940
RECORDINGS:
Leo Boswell, "The Fatal Rose of Red" (Columbia 15290-D, 1928)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Tragic Romance" (theme)
cf. "After the Ball" (theme)
File: R808

Fatal Run, The


DESCRIPTION: "Frankie's mother came to him, with his dinner under her arm." She warns her boy of all the crews killed making up for lost time. The lad says he has to take his dead father's place as an engineer. He dies on Dead Man's Curve, and the mother mourns again
AUTHOR: Cliff Carlisle
EARLIEST DATE: 1931 (recording, Cliff Carlisle)
KEYWORDS: train death mother warning
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Cohen-LSRail, pp. 181-182, "The Fatal Run" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #14012
RECORDINGS:
Cliff Carlisle, "The Fatal Run" (Champion 45162=Decca 5398, 1931)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Wreck on the C & O" [Laws G3] (lyrics)
NOTES: Another composed song with no evidence that it has gone into tradition. Cohen notes that some lines (notably "There's many a poor man has lost his life, making up for lost time, If you will run your engine right, you'll never be behind time") are directly derived from "The Wreck on the C & O" [Laws G3]. - RBW
File: LSRai181

Fatal Snowstorm, The [Laws P20]


DESCRIPTION: The singer, out in a severe snowstorm, sees a woman with a baby. She laments the cruelty of her parents and of the child's father, who left her for money. She warns against such deceivers, kisses the frozen child's lips, and dies herself
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1813 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 17(342a))
KEYWORDS: storm family baby death
FOUND IN: Britain(England,Scotland(Aber)) Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland Canada(Ont)
REFERENCES (8 citations):
Laws P20, "The Fatal Snowstorm"
GreigDuncan6 1176, "Cruel Were My Parents" (4 texts, 4 tunes)
MacSeegTrav 71, "The Fatal Snowstorm" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kennedy 154, "The Forsaken Mother and Child" (1 text, 1 tune)
Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan 16, "A Wint'ry Evening" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 447-448, "The Forsaken Mother and Child" (1 text, 1 tune)
Mackenzie 62, "The Fatal Snowstorm" (1 text)
DT, FATALSNW*
Roud #175
RECORDINGS:
Mrs Jack [Vera] Keating, "The Wintry Winds" (on Ontario1)
Tom Lenihan, "A Wint'ry Evening" (on IRTLenihan01)
Paddy Tunney, "The Month of January" (on Voice06)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 17(342a), "Winter's Evening" or "The Deploring Damsel" ("'Twas one winter's evening when fast came down the snow"), J. Evans (London), 1780-1812; also Harding B 25(2088), "The Winter's Evening" or "Deploring Damsel"; Harding B 11(1824), "It Was One Winter's Evening"; or "Deploring Damsel"; Harding B 15(388a), Harding B 25(2087), Harding B 11(3152), Harding B 28(102), "Winter's Evening"; 2806 c.17(315) , 2806 c.17(316), "Oh Cruel" or "Winter's Evening"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Mary of the Wild Moor" [Laws P21] (theme)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
It Was On a Cold and Winter's Night
Twas a Cold and Frosty Evening
File: LP20

Fatal Wedding Morn, The


DESCRIPTION: The girl receives a letter from her fiancee, saying he will be back the next day (after a year's absence) to be married. All is made ready, but he never comes; instead, a message announces he is dead. The bride dies of grief
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1929 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: love death separation grief marriage
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Randolph 767, "The Fatal Wedding Morn" (1 text)
Roud #7410
NOTES: Obviously not to be confused with the better-known "The Fatal Wedding." - RBW
File: R767

Fatal Wedding, The


DESCRIPTION: A woman comes to the church doors as a wedding begins. She is refused admittance, but at last she is granted entrance to save her freezing child. She objects to the wedding; her baby's father is the bridegroom. The baby dies; the father kills himself
AUTHOR: Words: William Windom / Music: Gussie L. Davis
EARLIEST DATE: 1893 (copyright notice)
KEYWORDS: wedding infidelity baby abandonment suicide death
FOUND IN: US(MW,SE,So) Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (10 citations):
Randolph 766, "The Fatal Wedding" (1 text, 1 tune)
Belden, pp. 141-143, "The Fatal Wedding" (1 text plus 1 excerpt and a reference to 1 more, 1 tune)
McNeil-SFB1, pp. 110-112, "The Fatal Wedding" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownII 272, "The Fatal Wedding" (1 text)
Hudson 69, pp. 195-197, "The Fatal Wedding" (1 text)
Brewster 81, "The Fatal Wedding" (1 text plus mention of 3 more)
LPound-ABS, 63, pp. 140-142, "The Fatal Wedding" (1 text)
Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 153-155, "The Fatal Wedding" (1 text, 1 tune)
cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 479, "The Fatal Wedding" (source notes only)
DT, FATALWED
Roud #3273
RECORDINGS:
Vernon Dalhart, "The Fatal Wedding" (Columbia 15051-D, 1926; rec. 1925)
Bradley Kincaid, "The Fatal Wedding" (Gennett 6363/Supertone 9211, 1928) (Regal Zonophone [Australia] G22215, n.d.) (Vocalion 02684, 1934)
Charlie Oaks, "The Fatal Wedding" (Vocalion 15144, 1925; Vocalion 5076, c. 1927)
Steely+Graham Redhead Fiddlers, "The Fatal Wedding" (Brunswick 460, 1930; rec. 1929)
Ernest V. Stoneman, "The Fatal Wedding" (Edison 52026, 1927) (CYL: Edison [BA] 5355, 1927) (Cameo 8220/Romeo 600/Lincoln 2825, 1927) (Pathe 32278/Perfect 12357/Challenge 666/Banner2158/Domino 3984/Oriole 946 [as Sim Harris]/Regal 8347, 1927; Homestead 16498 [as Sim Harris], c. 1929) (Okeh 45084, 1927)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Those Wedding Bells Shall Not Ring Out" (theme)
cf. "The Whorehouse Bells Were Ringing" (tune)
File: R766

Fate of Harry Young, The


DESCRIPTION: Harry Young murders the city marshal of Randolph, Missouri and escapes. Cornered, he kills six policemen and flees to Texas. Taken at last, he is returned to Springfield, Missouri for trial
AUTHOR: Eugene Hilton
EARLIEST DATE: 1935 (Springfield Leader and Press)
KEYWORDS: police murder escape prison trial
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Jan 2, 1932 - Harry and Jennings Young kill six policemen who are on Harry's trail
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Randolph 172, "The Fate of Harry Young" (1 fragment)
Roud #5488
NOTES: The final days of Harry Young were eventful. Having killed the six policemen in a shootout at the family farmhouse, Harry and his brother Jennings fled to Texas (the home state of Harry's new bride). Captured in Houston, the brothers killed themselves (apparently on the advice of their mother, who was herself in prison in Missouri). - RBW
File: R172

Fate of John Burgoyne, The


DESCRIPTION: "When Jack, the King's commander bold, Was going to his duty, He smiled and bowed... At every blooming beauty." He led his forces from Canada toward Ticonderoga and western New York, but was cut off and forced to surrender
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1966
KEYWORDS: war rebellion battle humorous
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Oct 17, 1777 - Surrender of John Burgoyne at Saratoga
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Scott-BoA, pp. 75-76, "The Fate of John Burgoyne" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: In the British parliament in the early 1770s, there was much debate over how to handle the recalcitrant American colonies. Liberals generally favored concessions, conservatives the lash. (Somehow, the idea of electing Americans to parliament didn't seem to appeal to anyone.)
There wasn't much doubt about how John Burgoyne (c. 1722-1792) felt. "Gentleman Johnny" was said to be the illegitmate song of a lord, had run off with the daughter of the Early of Derby, and had purchased a commission in the army surprisingly late, in 1756. As MP for Preston (Lancashire) in 1774, declared that America was "our spoilt child, which we have already spoiled by too much indulgence"; he declared all conciliation "a waste of time" (Weintraub, p. 6).
After the American colonies rose in rebellion, Burgoyne would have his chance to see how his ideas worked. On the whole, the first two years of the war went the British way -- at least in the sense that they won such set piece battles as were fought -- but they couldn't seem to finish off George Washington's army. And Washington's victory at Trenton, though trivial in the grand scheme of things, encouraged rebel spirits; it seemed unlikely they would given in.
Burgoyne had had a frustrating two years as a subordinate, but returned to England in late 1776 to deal with affairs following his wife's death (Ketchum, pp. 65-66). While there, he argued for an independent command -- and came up with a plan that would justify it. The complex campaign he dreamed up for 1777 involved three converging columns. Howe, the British Commander in Chief, would lead an army north from New York. Barry St. Leger would strike from Lake Ontario into western New York with a force of about 2000 regulars supported by Indians (Marrin, p. 134; Ferguson, p. 183, claims St. Leger would lead 9000 men, but that is a ridiculously large force for a colonel and there is no way the British could have supplied them). And Burgoyne would head south from Montreal through the Champlain and Ticonderoga. The three would rendezvous near Albany.
Had it worked, it would have divided the colonies into two parts, unable to reach and reinforce each other, which could be defeated in detail (cf. Weintraub, p. 75). The problem, of course, was that the columns would have to operate completely independently, with the main continental army between them, certainly running the risk that the columns would fail to cooperate and allowing at least the possibility that the colonists would defeat them in detail. Presumably the British thought the ragtag Americans too disorganized to defeat a force of British regulars.
Burgoyne felt great confidence in his own ability; he registered a fifty guinea bet with opposition M.P. Charles Fox that he would win an overwhelming victory by the end of 1777 (Weintraub, p. 86). The mere fact that he made such a bet probably proves that he should not have been given his command, but the British upper class didn't think that way.
The planning for the Grand Operation was not of the best. Burgoyne's preparations consisted mostly of gathering commissions to sell (Weintraub, p. 51). When the forces assembled for the push, too much space was probably devoted to cavalry and too little to supplies (and supply officers -- the British, since they still used commission by purchase, had little use for this vital but unglamorous job).
That lack, plus the inevitable defects in coordination, led to complete failure. Howe -- who had a history of passive behavior, e.g. he had refused to pursue Washington's army after routing it in New York (Weintraub, pp. 73-73) -- eventually headed off to Philadelphia (the closest thing the colonies had to a capital city -- but, as events proved, inessential to their fighting ability); Weintraub attributes this in part to lack of detailed instructions from England (p. 104). In any case, Howe did nothing to support the other two columns. Howe was hoping for a decisive battle against Washington (Weintraub, p. 108). Washington refused to be lured; after suffering a tactical defeat at Brandywine (Ferguson, p. 184), he let Howe have his way.
Howe's move involved two-thirds of the garrison of New York (i.e. about 14,000 men) -- and he took them by sea (Weintraub, p. 107), removing them entirely from the game for six weeks (Weintraub, pp. 113-114) and leaving them in a poor position when they finally did get back on land. That left only about 7000 troops in New York under General Henry Clinton, who judged the force too small to undertake major operations (in this he was probably right). Clinton eventually set off to help Burgoyne -- but started too late and in too small a force, and in the end turned back (Marrin, p. 140). The fiasco was sufficient that Howe would resign his command soon afterward (Weintraub, p. 124), though he claimed it was due to "lack of support."
St. Leger fought a stinging battle at Oriskany (Ferguson, p. 184. Marrin, p. 136, notes that, in tactical terms, the British had the victory; they killed more Americans and mortally wounded the American commander Nicolas Herkimer). The Indians, though, were reportedly spooked by omens, and then Benedict Arnold managed to further trick them into thinking a major American force was coming (Marrin, p. 137). They refused to go on, and St. Leger could not continue the campaign without his allies.
But it was the isolated Burgoyne who suffered the worst defeat by far. It didn't help that he had managed to provoke a quarrel with Sir Guy Carleton, the English governor of Canada, who had brilliantly saved Quebec from the Americans but who now found himself bypassed by Burgoyne and criticized by London (Ketchum, p. 86; Lancaster, p. 200, says that Carleton had been "shamelessly passed over").
Initially things went well; Burgoyne had an easy time moving through the Champlain, and easily forced the rebels out of Ticonderoga by placing artillerty on a crest the Americans had neglected to defend (Lancaster, p. 204); somehow, it seemed as if no one could build a decent fortification at that strategic point.
Then things got complicated. As long has he had been in the Champlain, Burgoyne had been supplied by water. But now Burgoyne's supply train, which was immense (Ketchum, p. 138), had to travel overland, giving the British a very tenuous supply line. (It didn't help that they had to transport such fripperies as Burgoyne's champaigne; Kraus, p. 228.) American Tories, who had been expected to turn out to support the campaign, mostly sat on their hands (Lancaster, p. 201, says only about a hundred colonials joined the colors, and the handful of Indians were too few to be effective scouts). The Americans occupied themselves building obstacles to slow the British advance, and they were very effective (Lancaster, p. 207).
Burgoyne's troubles mounted quickly. A raid on Bennington, which was intended to bring in supplies, instead resulted in the loss of many of his best German troops (see "Rifleman's Song at Bennington"; also Weintraub, p. 119). He grumbled about how the Americans kept fighting from the woods and potshotting British officers (Kraus, p. 229). Between the supply troubles and the skirmishes, his progress slowed to a crawl.
Burgoyne ended up at Saratoga, with limited supplies and his men getting sick. He probably should have retreated at once, but Weintraub, p. 120, considers him "too proud." Americans were arriving on all sides, leaving him effectively surrounded. He finally tried to fight his way through the American army of Horatio Gates. It didn't work. He fought two battles at Freeman's Farm (September 19 and October 7); the British came close to victory at the latter, but Benedict Arnold rallied the Americans and saved the day (Marrin, pp. 138-141). Burgoyne was stuck at Saratoga, and on October 18, 1777, he was forced to surrender. (For background, see e.g. Cook, pp. 275-280). To the end, Burgoyne seemed unwilling to take responsibility. As he handed over his sword, he declared that his defeat was "my fortune, sir, and not my fault" (Weintraub, p. 122).
The British still held Ticonderoga and points north, but the loss of Burgoyne's army left Guy Carleton with too few troops to defend his positions in the north and occupy the Champlain, so Carleton was forced to evacuate the entire area, leaving Britain with no gains at all for its efforts (Ketchum, pp. 438-439).
This was the first great Colonial victory of the war. Some five thousand British troops were taken. As a result, France increased its part in the war. Howe's refusal to support Burgoyne had led to a disaster.
Burgoyne would come out of the matter surprisingly well (Cook, pp. 300-301). The Americans would not parole the soldiers captured at Saratoga (Ketchum, pp. 435-436, notes that they finally were marched all the way to Charlottsville, Virginia; Weintraub, p. 127 says that they surrendered on conditions but the British government in effect refused to recognize an agreement with rebels), but they did parole Burgoyne and send him home. The crown refused to receive him (Weintraub, p. 149), and the government refused to give him the court-martial he desired -- but Burgoyne was still a Member of Parliament (Weintraub, p. 6, attributes his election to the influence of his late father-in-law, the Earl of Derby), and took his case there, arguing that his orders had been too rigid (debateable) and that the cabinet had not forced Howe to properly support him (undeniable).
A large segment of the press took his part (Weintraub, pp. 152-153). In popular opinion, he was considered to be vindicated, though an honest assessment would surely show that he brought many of his troubles on himself.
The government responded to his parliamentary tactics by ordering him to rejoin his troops in their American prison camps (Weintraub, p. 163). He ignored the order, claiming illness (Weintraub, p. 164), and was rehabilitated when the Whigs gained power; he served for a time in Ireland, and wrote plays nearly to the end of his comfortable life. His comedy The Heiress (1786) was supposedly compared favorably with The Shool for Scandal, although it has not stood the test of time as well (Kunitz/Haycraft, p. 67).
Burgoyne remained a source of scandal to the end; when his wife died, he took up with a singer, Susan Caulfield, and left it for his ex-father-in-law Lord Derby to raise the children (Kunitz/Haycraft, p. 67).
Still, he had changed history, and not for British advantage: Saratoga changed the whole course of the American revolution, and caused France to come to the aid of the colonies (Ferguson, p. 180). It would be years before this aid would be effective -- but, when it came, it would be decisive.
It will tell you something about the British government of the time that when the news of Saratoga arrived, the Prime Minister, Lord North, tried to resign (not for the last time), but George III would not allow it (Weintraub, p. 129). - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 2.5
File: SBoA075

Fate of Old Strawberry Roan, The


See (references under) "The Strawberry Roan" [Laws B18] (File: LB18)

Fate of Talmadge Osborne, The


DESCRIPTION: Talmadge Osborn does not get out of the way of a backing train in time, has his hands cut off, and dies. The company is not liable according to the "Johnson Law." Singer warns listeners to walk carefully, lest they be killed by a train
AUTHOR: unknown, but probably Ernest Stoneman
EARLIEST DATE: Late 1920s (recording, Ernest Stoneman & Kahle Brewer)
LONG DESCRIPTION: Talmadge Osborn, a man who behaves oddly, does not get out of the way of a backing train in time, has his hands cut off, and dies. The company is not liable according to the "Johnson Law." He is taken home; people say "Many a man's been murdered by the railroad/And laid in his cold, lonesome grave." Singer warns listeners to walk carefully, lest they be killed by a train, and that their high-living ways may put them on the county road for six months
KEYWORDS: disability warning train death railroading drink injury hobo floatingverses
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Sandburg, p. 371, "There's Many a Man Killed on the Railroad" (1 fragment, 1 tune, with only the "There's man been killed on the railroad" stanza, which could be from this, or "The C. & O.," or others)
Roud #12188
RECORDINGS:
[Ernest Stoneman and] The Dixie Mountaineers, "The Fate of Talmadge Osborne" (Edison 52026, 1927) (CYL: Edison [BA] 5369, 1927); Ernest V. Stoneman, "The Fate of Talmadge Osborne" (OKeh 45084, 1927)(Victor 20672, 1927) (one of these is on RoughWays1, misspelled "Talmedge")
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Wreck on the C & O" [Laws G3] (floating verses)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Death of Talmadge Osborn
NOTES: Stoneman, who knew Osborn(e), remembers that he used to hop freights while drunk, probably the cause of his fatal accident.
The "Many a man killed on the railroad" verse seems to have been spliced into this song as a bridge, having been collected from tradition earlier.
The "Johnson Law" absolved a railroad from liability for accidents occurring on its right-of-way. PJS
File: RcTFOTO

Fate of the Cumberland Crew, The


See The Cumberland Crew [Laws A18] (File: LA18)

Fate of the Nancy Bell, The


DESCRIPTION: An old sailor recounts the aftermath of a shipwreck. 10 survivors wash up on an island and after a month, proceed to draw lots as to who will be eaten by the rest. At the end the narrator is rescued as he is finishing off the last of the others.
AUTHOR: William Schwenck Gilbert (1836-1911)
EARLIEST DATE: 1866 (_Fun_ magazine)
KEYWORDS: sailor ship wreck cannibalism humorous
FOUND IN: Britain US
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Harlow, pp. 194-196, "The Fate of the Nancy Bell" (1 text)
PBB 105, "The Yarn of the Nancy Bell" (1 text)
ST Harl194 (Partial)
NOTES: Harlow's version leaves out the first seven verses of the original. - SL
This seems to be typical; the longest version I've seen has 23 verses, but most of the printed texts I've found have fewer than 20.
Grigson claims that this piece was early set to music and gives the impression that it became traditional. That it was set to music is clear; that it was highly popular is also clear (Granger's Index to Poetry lists no fewer than 20 anthologies containing it, which is a higher total than I can recall for any folk piece). But I've seen no evidence, apart from Harlow, that it was actually traditional. - RBW
File: Harl194

Fateful Blow, The


DESCRIPTION: Fragment: "My partners they come after me/To go on a night's spree/Ten times I did refuse them/They wouldn't let me be/Ten times I did refuse them/To the sorrow of my heart/This caused a loving husband and darling wife to part"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1917 (Cecil Sharp collection)
KEYWORDS: marriage violence drink husband wife
FOUND IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SharpAp 174, "The Fateful Blow" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3641
File: ShAp2174

Fath Mo Mhulaid a Bhith Ann


See An Iounndrain-Mhara (Sea-Longing) (File: K011)

Father Get Ready When He Calls You


DESCRIPTION: "Father get ready when he calls you (x3) To sit on the throne with Jesus. Away up in Heaven (x2), Father get ready... To sit on the throne...." "Mother get ready when he calls you" "This world is a trouble and sorrow" "We'll all be happy in the morning"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1955 (Ritchie)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Ritchie-SingFam, pp. 142-144, "[Father Get Ready When He Calls You]" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ritchie-Southern, pp. 44-45, "Father Get Ready" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7406
File: JRSF142

Father Grumble [Laws Q1]


DESCRIPTION: Grumble says he can do more work in a day than his wife can do in three. She offers to exchange tasks for a day; he agrees. She gives him a long list of household chores and sets out to plow. He fails in most of his tasks and admits his wife's superiority
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1825
KEYWORDS: contest husband wife work humorous feminist
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland,England(Lond)) Ireland US(Ap,MW,NE,SE,So)
REFERENCES (25 citations):
Laws Q1, "Father Grumble"
Belden, pp. 225-228, "Father Grumble" (5 texts)
Randolph 74, "Father Grumble" (3 texts, 2 tunes)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 124-126, "Father Grumble" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 74A)
Eddy 43, "Father Grumble" (1 text, 1 tune)
Gardner/Chickering 172, "Old Grumble" (1 text)
Flanders/Olney, pp. 191-193, "The Wife of Auchtermuchty" (1 text)
Flanders/Brown, pp. 104-105, "John Grumlie" (1 text)
Linscott, pp. 248-250, "The Old Man Who Lived in the Wood" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownII 180, "Father Grumble" (2 text -- one of them "Darby and Joan" -- plus mention of 2 more)
Hudson 59, pp. 175-176, "Father Grumble" (1 text)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 243-244, "Father Grumble" (1 text, with local title "There Was an Old Man"; tune on p. 420)
Brewster 40, "Father Grumble" (3 texts)
SharpAp 188, "The Drummer and His Wife" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Leach, pp747-748, "Father Grumble" (1 text)
Friedman, p. 443, "Father Grumble" (1 text)
Scott-BoA, pp. 41-43, "The Old Man Who Lived in the Woods" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 10, "Father Grumble" (1 text, 1 tune)
Botkin-NEFolklr, pp. 579-580, "The Old Man Who Lived in the Wood" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H702, pp. 504-505, "The Wealthy Farmer" (1 text, 1 tune)
LPound-ABS, 36, pp. 82-84, "Father Grumble" (1 text)
JHCox 156, "Father Grumble" (7 texts)
Silber-FSWB, p. 188, "Little Phoebe"; p. 189, "Old Man In The Wood" (2 texts)
BBI, ZN1410, "In Auchtermuchty lived a man" (?)
DT 343, WIFEWORK WIFEWRK2* WIFEWRK3*
Roud #281
RECORDINGS:
Margaret MacArthur, "Old Mr. Grumble" (on MMacArthur01)
Jean Ritchie, "Father Grumble" (AFS; on LC14)
Pete Seeger, "Equinoxial" (on PeteSeeger12)
SAME TUNE:
Bublin Bay (NLScotland, L.C.1269(173b), "Bublin Bay" ("They sailed away in a gallant barque"), unknown, 1857 -- listed as to the tune of "John Grumlie" but with so many lyrics from "Dublin Bay (Roy Neal)" that it coud almost be considered the same song still -- plus the long introduction asks for the pianist to play "Dublin Bay")
ALTERNATE TITLES:
John Grumlie
Equinoxial
Old Daddy Grumble
NOTES: According to the notes in Brown, "St. John Honeywood of Massachusetts [around 1800] dressed [this] up as 'Darby and Joan," and his version has achieved something like traditional currency; at least, a text clearly enough derived from it is one of the items in our North Carolina collection." - RBW
File: LQ01

Father in Ambush, The


See Lovely Willie [Laws M35] (File: LM35)

Father is Drinking Again


DESCRIPTION: "I've been wandering all day in the cold and the rain To see my poor father again. He's been gone since last night.... She sent me to find him and bring him to her... God... help the poor child Whose father is drinking again"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: drink family children
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Randolph 325, "Father is Drinking Again" (1 text)
Roud #7799
File: R325

Father McFadden


See Come All You Roman Catholics (File: TSF013)

Father Murphy (I)


DESCRIPTION: Father Murphy defeats the Camolin cavalry and the Cork militia. At Tubberneering he turns the army back to Dublin "but our ranks were tattered and sorely scattered." Outnumbered by English, Scots, and Hessians, he would have won with French reinforcement.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1939 (OLochlainn)
KEYWORDS: battle rebellion Ireland clergy patriotic
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
May 26, 1798 - Beginning of the Wexford rebellion
May 27, 1798 - The Wexford rebels under Father John Murphy defeat the North Cork militia at Oulart
May 28, 1798 - Murphy's rebels capture Enniscorthy
May 30, 1798 - Battle of Three Rocks, which led the loyalists to abandon Wexford to the rebels
June 4, 1798 - after a dangerous wait, the United army occupies Gorey
June 5, 1798 - The Wexford rebels attack the small garrison (about 1400 men, many militia) at New Ross, but are repelled
June 21, 1798 - The rebel stronghold a Vinegar Hill is taken, and the Wexford rebellion effectively ended
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (3 citations):
OLochlainn 27, "Father Murphy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Moylan 64, "Father Murphy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Healy-OISBv2, pp. 66-67, "Father Murphy (2)" (1 text)
ST OLoc027 (Partial)
Roud #3020
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Boulavogue" (subject: The Wexford Rebellion and related topics)
cf. "Sweet County Wexford" (subject: The Wexford Rebellion and related topics)
cf. "Come All You Warriors" (subject of Father Murphy and the Wexford rebellion)
cf. "Some Treat of David" (subject of Father Murphy and the Wexford rebellion)
cf. "Father Murphy (II) (The Wexford Men of '98)"
cf. "Come All You Warriors" (subject of Father Murphy and the Wexford Rebellion)
cf. "The Battle of Kilcumney" (subject of Father Murphy after Vinegar Hill)
NOTES: This song is thought to be the original upon which P.J. McCall based his 'Boolavogue'. While the latter piece was written one hundred years after the event, this song was in circulation within a couple of years of 1798." On the other hand, see the notes to "Sweet County Wexford." The ballad is recorded on two of the CD's issued around the time of the bicentenial of the 1798 Irish Rebellion. See:
Jerry O'Reilly, "Father Murphy" (on "The Croppy's Complaint," Craft Recordings CRCD03 (1998); Terry Moylan notes)
Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "Father Murphy" (on Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "1798 the First Year of Liberty," Hummingbird Records HBCD0014 (1998))
Harte's notes that: Father Murphy was among the Catholic clergy allied with the United Irishmen; "the Catholic church was fiercly opposed to the United Irishmen"; "the 1798 rebellion had its roots with the Presbyterians in the North, and it was they who put forward the basic objectives of 'Parliamentary Reform' and 'Catholic Emancipation'; even in Wexford itself, many of those who were initially involved with the united Irishmen and took part in the planning of the rebellion were Protestants."
For a different ballad on the same subject see broadside
Bodleian, Harding B 19(101), "Father Murphy" or "The Wexford Men of '98" ("You Roman catholics throughout this nation"), W. Birmingham (Dublin), c.1867; also 2806 c.8(51), 2806 b.10(11), Harding B 26(188), "Father Murphy" or "The Wexford Men of '98" - BS
This other broadside is also found in Healy-OISBv2, pp. 64-66, "Father Murphy (1) or the Wexford Men of '98."
For historical background to this piece, see the notes to "Boulavogue."
Murphy's own history is interesting. Born around 1753, the son of a farmer, he had the sort of early education a Catholic could expect (i.e. very little) and had to go to Spain to be ordained. By 1798, he was curate of Boulavogue in Wexford. As far as is known, he was not a member of the United Irishmen.
His actions seem to have been somewhat equivocal. According to Golway, pp. 77-78, when the government in 1798 was pressuring people to sign an oath promising not to join the United Irishmen. Murphy and his parishioners signed only under pressure.
But according to Pakenham, pp. 147-148, it appears he initially opposed violent resistance -- he helped draw up a petition of loyalty to George III, and Pakenham and Golway both note that he encouraged his parishioners to lay down their arms.
Kee, p. 109, more neutral than either, accepts thatMurphy's desire for peace was real, basing his conclusion on the reasonable grounds that, if anyone had been planning a Wexford rising, it would have been better organized.
Whatever Murphy's true feelings, he didn't hesitate after word came of the massacre at Dunlavin (for which see "Dunlavin Green") and other atrocities. There were also stories -- partly true -- of the success of rebellions in Kildare and elsewhere. On May 26, Father Murphy agreed to lead the Wexford rebels -- who, however, were by now largely disarmed.
That night, though, the "Camolin cavalry" -- a small patrol led by local gentleman John Donovan and a Lt. Bookey -- came upon Murphy's rabble, called upon the Irish to disperse, and -- being outnumbered and in the dark where their firearms weren't that helpful -- were routed with some loss, including their two officers.
This skirmish wasn't really a battle -- the forces involved numbered in the dozens, and neither side was planning a fight -- but it heartened the rebels. And started everybody shooting at everybody else. (Father Murphy's home and chapel were burned in the following days.) The rebels proceeded to raid the empty house of Lord Mountnorris, who was supposed to command in the district. They rounded up some other arms as well, often killing the residents of the homes holding the weapons.
The battle with the North Cork militia at Oulart was equally improbable. Accounts of the conflict from various sources differ so much that I can't even recognize them as the same battle -- Pakenham, e.g., makes it a case of British military ineptitude; Golway and others stress Irish discipline. Pakenham's account, which at least relies upon verifiable military records, seems the least unreliable:
The militia, under Colonel Foote, were almost untrained, and numbered only about 125 men; many had already deserted, and some had even joined the rebels. They were outnumbered roughly ten to one by Murphy's rebels, though Murphy's troops had even less cohesion than the militia.
Foote of course refused to attack uphill against those odds, and the rebels refused to come down. But when Foote's back was literally turned, his second in command Major Lombard ordered a charge. The attacking force was killed to the last man, even after the troops started to surrender and proclaimed themselves Catholic; Bartlett/Dawson/Keough, p. 111. (Not all atrocities in Ireland were committed by the British!) Foote brought one sergeant and two privates back alive from an engagement he hadn't even commanded (Bartlett/Dawson/Keough, p. 109).
On May 28, the rebels launched a surprisingly disciplined attack on Enniscorthy. The garrison retired to Wexford, but abandoned that town two days later.
Then things started to go bad. The Irish started to dawdle. As Kee notes (p. 114), "The lack of almost any coherent strategic plan, or indeed of any true leadership, was to be the rebels' undoing. Their determination and bravery in the field... was to prove remarkable.... But their discipline even in battle was poor. The Reverend James Gordon wrote, 'As they were not, like regular troops, under any real command of officers, but acted spontaneously... they were watched in battle one of another, each fearing to be left behind in case of retreat, which was generally swift and sudden.'"
They finally arrived at New Ross -- a key stop on the road to Waterford -- on June 5. Their leader, Bagenal Harvey, devised a sort of plan of attack, but gave no detailed instructions then or later, exerted no control over the battle, and had no reserve to exploit success. The rebels broke into the town, and seemingly had the battle won -- and promptly collapsed (Bartlett/Dawson/Keough, pp. 119-120).
The next attack, on Arklow on June 9, was led by Father Murphy himself, and it too was repulsed, with heavy casualties (Bartlett/Dawson/Keough, p. 123).
After that, it was a matter of survival, and even that didn't take long. The English commander in the region, General Lake, assembled his forces and slaughtered most of the remaining rebels at Vinegar Hill on June 21.
Murphy's initial opposition to rebellion did not help him; he was eventually captured in Tullow, County Carlow and hanged. According to Golway, p. 87, Murphy was tortured before his death, and refused to talk. This sounds suspiciously like the death of Jesus, though, and Golway's strange footnote system does not appear to cite a source for this. For a discussion of the matter, see the entry on "Some Treat of David," which details Murphy's death.
The statement that Murphy could have won with French help is sort of true; when small French forces did come to Ireland, they were able to fight the British garrisons on even terms, which the United Irishmen never did. The French might also have helped by supplying the rebels with a hint of tactical reality. But experience seems to indicate that the Irish would have ignored them.
In any case, while Napoleon talked about invading Ireland, and even started to try to assemble the ships, he never really seemed ready to make the push. Ireland had no resources to pay his army and navy, and in 1798, with the world seemingly at his feet, Napoleon's big need was cash.
In the end, the French fleet and army assembling at Toulon did not go to Ireland; it went to Egypt. Perhaps just as well for them; by 1798, the Nore mutiny was over, and the Battle of Camperdown had shown that the English did have naval superiority. The French made it to Egypt, mostly by confusing Nelson's scouts. They could never have gotten to Ireland that way. A few ships came, too late, but Wexford was never their destination; it was considered peaceful. In any case, a success in Wexford alone would not have freed Ireland. - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 2.5
File: OLoc027

Father Murphy (II) (The Wexford Men of '98)


DESCRIPTION: Remember '98 when we lost Father Murphy. The victories are listed until Kilkenny. "Father Murphy was taken ... The blessed priest they burned him sore." The time is coming. "We'll be commanded by some pious teacher Like Father Murphy and his Shelmaliers."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1798 (Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: battle execution rebellion Ireland clergy patriotic
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
May 26, 1798 - Beginning of the Wexford rebellion
May 27, 1798 - The Wexford rebels under Father John Murphy defeat the North Cork militia
June 5, 1798 - The Wexford rebels attack the small garrison (about 1400 men, many militia) at New Ross, but are repelled
June 21, 1798 - The rebel stronghold a Vinegar Hill is taken, and the Wexford rebellion effectively ended
July 2, 1798 - Father Murphy (1753-1798) captured, executed and cremated.
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Zimmermann 11B, "Father Murphy" or "The Wexford Men of '98" (1 text, 1 tune)
Healy-OISBv2, pp. 64-66, "Father Murphy (1) or The Wexford Men of '98" (1 text)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 b.9(238), "Father Murphy" or "The Wexford men of '98," W. Birmingham (Dublin), c.1867; also Harding B 26(188), 2806 b.10(11), 2806 c.8(51), "Father Murphy" or "The Wexford men of '98"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Father Murphy (I)" (subject of Father Murphy) and references there
NOTES: One line of Zimmermann 11B and the Bodleian broadsides seems unusual to me: "On our retreatment burned Scullabogue"; Zimmermann explains: "After the battle of Ross, about one hundred Protestant prisoners, including women and children, were burnt alive in the barn of Scullabogue used as a temporary jail by the insurgents, (5th June, 1798)." In the texts, there are no bad consequences attributed to, or justification ascribed to, this act. For example, this act is not why "we" lost;
If we had conduct to march on forward
And not returned back to Gorey town,
We would have saved the lives of ten thousand heroes
That died in Arklow God rest their souls.
It was by their means Father Murphy was taken ...
I expect there must be other examples of acknowledged terrible acts by the singer's "side" that have no acknowledged terrible consequences, but I don't know them. My point is not that I am surprised at an "atrocity" on the singer's "side" but that it is acknowledged. There were atrocities as well on the British side but are they recorded in songs from that side? Perhaps my quote is out of context; the preceding part of the verse is
When reinforcement came down upon us,
Just in the evening, with fire and smoke,
We were forced to leave them, the town then blazing,
On our retreatment burned Scullabogue."
For more information see "The Scullabogue Massacre 1798" by Daniel Gahan, History Ireland, Autumn 1996, republished on the Republican Sinn Fein site.
For one of innumerable Biblical examples with weak justification and acknowledged bad consequences for the singer's "side" see Genesis 34 (Dinah and Shechem). Even Psalms 137, "Fair Babylon, you predator, a blessing on him who repays you in kind what you have inflicted on us; a blessing on him who seizes your babies and dashes them against the rocks!" is not recounting an actual event and wishes it conditional upon God's blessing after claiming justification. - BS
This is one of those instances where feelings are so strong that genuine historical perspective is hard to come by. Pakenham, pp. 198-199, describes Scullabogue: "a ghastly scene...which was to leave a still more indelible mark on Irish history [than the Battle of New Ross]."
At least a hundred Loyalist prisoners, and perhaps as many as two hundred, were penned in a barn, jammed so tightly that they could not all sit down. The majority of those imprisoned were male Protestants, but there were some women, children, and Catholics.
Somehow a rumor started that British forces were executing captured soldiers. The officer in charge of guarding prisoners refused to engage in retaliations. But after three alleged orders came to kill the prisoners, one allegedly endorsed by a priest, the guards shot some three dozen prisoners and burned the rest in the barn where they were confined. It was pretty definitely the worst atrocity of the 1798 rebellion.
Interestingly, the pro-British Pakenham does not list any consequences either.
Kee, p. 118, devotes only a couple of sentences to Scullabogue, and in effect justifies it by the condition of the Irish peasantry. Smyth, p. 179, mentions it only in passing as a "sectarian atrocity." My other pro-Irish histories do not seem to mention the massacre at all.
Similar uncertainty seems to surround the fate of Father Murphy himself. For this, see the notes to "Some Treat of David"; also "Father Murphy (I)" and "Boulavogue." For the general situation at New Ross, leading to Scullabogue, see "Kelly, the Boy from Killane." - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 2.5
File: Zimm011B

Father Murphy of the County Wexford


See Boulavogue (File: PGa028)

Father Tom O'Neill


See Tom O'Neill [Laws Q25] (File: LQ25)

Father Was Killed by the Pinkerton Men


DESCRIPTION: "'Twas in a Pennsylvania town not very long ago, Men struck against reduction of their pay." The mill owner intends to starve the union into submission; in the process, "Father was killed by the Pinkerton men." The singer appeals to politicians to help
AUTHOR: William W. Delaney (Willy Wildwave)
EARLIEST DATE: 1892 (sheet music)
KEYWORDS: labor-movement strike hardtimes political orphan
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1892 - Homestead Strike
FOUND IN: US(MA)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Spaeth-WeepMore, pp. 235-236, "Father Was Killed by the Pinkerton Men" (1 text, 1 tune)
Gilbert, p. 200, "Father Was Killed by the Pinkerton Men" (1 text)
Burt, p. 185, "(Father was Killed by the Pinkerton Men)" (1 text)
DT, PINKMEN*
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Homestead Strike" (subject)
NOTES: For the details of the Homestead Strike, see "The Homestead Strike."
Incidentally, the Pinkertons were not above murder if it met their ends. A famous example was the case of Frank and Jesse James and their mother and stepfather, Dr. Reuben Samuel and Zerelda Cole James Samuel. On January 28, 1875, a gang of Pinkertons firebombed their home in hopes of catching the James brothers. They didn't capture either brother -- but they did kill Archie Peyton Samuel and do such damage to Mrs. Samuel's hand that it had to be amputated (see Ted P. Yeatman, Frank and Jesse James: The Story Behind the Legend, pp. 134-137).
The Pinkertons were eventually charged with murder (Yeatman, p. 143), but the case never came to trial (p. 147).
Later on, the Pinkertons were regarded as whitewashers -- that is, they were called upon by the guilty to try to protect their guilt (see Steve Oney, And the Dead Shall Rise: The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank, 2003 (I use the 2004 Vintage Books edition), p. 62). To be sure, both the Homestead Strike and their reputation for whitewashing came after Allan Pinkerton died in 1884. But the Samuels case was before that. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: SWM235

Father, Dear Father, Come Home with Me Now


DESCRIPTION: Each hour the child comes into the tavern, saying, "Father, dear father, come home with me now." Each hour brings worse news: Brother Benny is sick, Benny is calling for you, Benny is dead.
AUTHOR: Henry Clay Work
EARLIEST DATE: 1864
KEYWORDS: drink death father brother family disease
FOUND IN: US(Ap,SE,So)
REFERENCES (8 citations):
Randolph 308, "Father, Dear Father, Come Home with Me Now" (1 text, 1 tune, with the chorus lost and "brother Benny" turned into "little Jenny"!)
BrownIII 24, "Father, Dear Father, Come Home with Me Now" (2 texts)
Fuson, p. 144, "The Drunkard Father" (1 text)
Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 56-58, "Come Home, Father" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 356-357, "Father, Dear Father, Come Home With Me Now" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 263, "Father, Dear Father, Come Home With Me Now" (1 text)
cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 478, "Come Home, Father" (source notes only)
DT, COMEHOME*
Roud #839
RECORDINGS:
The Blue Sky Boys, "Father, Dear Father, Come Home" (Bluebird 8522, 1940)
James Scott & Claude Boone, "Father Dear Father Come Home" (Decca 5566, 1938)
Peerless Quartet, "Father, Dear Father, Come Home With Me Now" (Victor 19716, 1925)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(2156), "Come Home Father," unknown, n.d.; same broadside as 2806 c.16(156)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Drunkard's Dream (II)" (theme)
cf. "The Drunkard's Lone Child" (theme)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Come Home, Father
NOTES: Work's title for this piece was "Come Home, Father." Said title seems to be dead in tradition. - RBW
In the words of W. C. Fields, "Father, dear father, come home with me now...and bring a jug with you." - PJS
File: R308

Father, Father, I Am Married


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

Father's Whiskers


DESCRIPTION: "We have a dear old daddy For whom we daily pray, He's got a set of whiskers, They're always in the way." The whiskers are so extensive that they are put to a variety of absurd uses: Straining gas, feeding cattle, serving as camouflage in war
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1973
KEYWORDS: father family humorous nonballad hair
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Pankake-PHCFSB, pp. 262-263, "My Pappy's Whiskers" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 241, "Father's Whiskers" (1 text)
DT, FATHWISK
Roud #13619
File: FSWB241A

Fathers, Now Our Meeting Is Over


See Now Our Meeting Is Over (File: Wa084)

Fathom the Bowl


DESCRIPTION: In praise of drink, perhaps linked with a complaint about one's wife or a reminiscence of one's dead father. Each verse ends with the cry, "Bring (me/in) the punch ladle, (and) (I'll/we'll) fathom the bowl."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1889 (Baring Gould)
KEYWORDS: drink nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(England(South,Lond))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Kennedy 268, "Bring in the Punch Ladle" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, FATHOMBL*
Roud #880
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Punch Ladle
File: K268

Faughan Side, The


DESCRIPTION: The singer describes the beauty of the streams and plants of Faughan. "But still I had the notion Of going to Amerikay." He bids farewell to friends, admits he will miss home -- and miss his girl ten times more. He hopes to return and wed her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1935 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: emigration separation home
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H621, pp. 191-192, "The Faughan Side" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2292
File: HHH621

Faughanvale


DESCRIPTION: The singer thinks of Faughanvale as he rambles. He asks the listener to show him a spot equal to it. He praises the people and fields and festivals. He tells where he has rambled, claiming none can compare. He wishes he were a poet to praise it better
AUTHOR: Thomas Young (Killwill)
EARLIEST DATE: 1939 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: home rambling
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H796, pp. 163-164, "Faughanvale" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13461
File: HHH796

Faughhill Shearing, The


DESCRIPTION: When harvest time approaces the farmer must find "shearers" from among tailors, barnmen, and ploughmen. They complain of the hard and painful work. When the corn is in "they drink and rant" happily and return to their usual work until next harvest
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1909 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: farming work nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig #98, p. 2, "The Harvest Song" (1 text)
GreigDuncan3 405, "The Harvest Song" (1 text)
Roud #3873
File: GrD3405

Faultless Bride, The


See The Nobleman's Wedding (The Faultless Bride; The Love Token) [Laws P31] (File: LP31)

Fause Foodrage [Child 89]


DESCRIPTION: A lady courted by three kings weds one who is then slain (by one of the rivals/a rebel). Her not-yet-born child will be spared if female. She bears a boy, switches him with a baby girl. When grown the boy is told his heritage and avenges his father.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1802 (Scott)
KEYWORDS: royalty death murder children trick revenge
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (7 citations):
Child 89, "Fause Foodrage" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Bronson 89, "Fause Foodrage" (3 versions)
GreigDuncan8 1930, "Tak Ye My Lad" (1 fragment)
OBB 70, "Fause Foodrage" (1 text)
DBuchan 14, "Fause Foodrage" (1 text)
DT 89, KINGLUVE
ADDITIONAL: W. Christie, editor, Traditional Ballad Airs (Edinburgh, 1876 (downloadable pdf by University of Edinburgh, 2007)), Vol I, pp. 172-173, "Fause Foodrage" (1 tune)
Roud #57
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Jellon Grame" [Child 90] (theme)
NOTES: Some texts of this ballad share a verse with Elizabeth Halket Wardlaw's "Hardeknute" (for which see Volume II of Percy's Reliques; at that time, the authorship of Wardlaw (1677-1727) had not been established). This caused Scott to wonder about the authenticity of the piece, but Child thought the informant might have taken the verse from the "tiresome and affected Hardyknute, so much esteemed in her day." - RBW
GreigDuncan8 quotes a Greig letter to the effect that his informant, Bell Robertson, did not know "False Foodrage" but told her mother's story "which Bell thinks must have been the same. She gives an outline of it bringing in a couple of ballad lines when the lady says to the gardener's wife 'Tak ye my lad, gie me your lass, Or else they'll gar 'im dee.'" Only Child 89A, and others that follow Scott's text (for example, Christie), have corresponding lines, 'To change your lass for this lad-bairn King Honor left me wi." Both GreigDuncan8 and Roud consider the fragment at least "closely associated" with Child 89 and I cannot justify making a separate entry of this two-line fragment. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: C089

Fause Knight Upon the Road, The [Child 3]


DESCRIPTION: A grown man (knight, churl, demon) meets a schoolboy on the road. The schoolboy matches wits with the man, finding a defense or matching insult for each thrust, and so survives
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1827 (Motherwell, _Minstrelsy: Ancient and Modern_)
KEYWORDS: contest Devil virtue questions
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland) US(Ap,NE,SE,So) Canada(Mar) Ireland
REFERENCES (24 citations):
Child 3, "The Fause Knight Upon the Road" (3 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #8}
Bronson 3, "The Fause Knight Upon the Road" (10 versions plus 2 in addenda)
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 11-14, "The False Knight Upon the Road" (1 text)
Belden, p. 4, "The False Knight Upon the Road" (1 text)
Flanders/Olney, pp. 46-47, "The False Knight on the Road" (1 text) {Bronson's #10}
Flanders-Ancient1, pp. 79-81, "The False Knight Upon the Road" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #10}
McNeil-SFB2, pp. 119-121, "The False Knight Upon the Road" (1 text, 1 tune)
Davis-Ballads 2, "The Fause Knight Upon the Road" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #4}
Davis-More 3, pp. 14-15, "The Fause Knight Upon the Road" (1 fragmentary text)
Brewster 2, "The False Knight Upon the Road" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #3}
Creighton/Senior, p. 1, "The False Knight upon the Road" (1 text plus 1 excerpt, 1 tune) {Bronson's #2}
Creighton-NovaScotia 1, "False Knight Upon the Road" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #9}
Manny/Wilson 51, "The False Knight Upon the Road" (1 text, 1 tune)
PBB 13, "Harpkin"; 14, "The False Knight Upon the Road" (2 texts)
Niles 3 "The False Knight Upon the Road" (1 text, 1 tune)
SharpAp 2 "The False Knight Upon the Road" (2 texts, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #5, #6}
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 2, "The False Knight Upon the Road" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #5}
OBoyle 13, "The Knight On the Road" (1 text, 1 tune)
Montgomerie-ScottishNR 197, "(O, where are you going?)" (1 text)
TBB 31, "The False Knight upon the Road" (1 text)
LPound-ABS, 20, p. 48, "The False Knight" (1 text)
DT 3, FALSKNGT* FALSKNT2*
ADDITIONAL: Robert Chambers, The Popular Rhymes of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1870 ("Digitized by Google")), pp. 62-64, "The Fause Knight and the Wee Boy"; p. 66, "Harpkin"
Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #344, "The False Knight Upon the Road" (1 text);cf. the notes to #343, with "Meet-on-the-Road," evidently a literary rewrite
Roud #20
RECORDINGS:
Edmund Henneberry [and Kenneth Faulkner], "The False Knight Upon the Road" (on NovaScotia1) {Bronson's #9}
Duncan McPhee, "The False Knight Upon the Road (on FSBBAL1)
Frank Quinn, "The False Knight [Up]on the Road" (on FSB4, FSBBAL1)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Devil and the Schoolchild
The False Knight
The Smart Schoolboy
The Knight on the Road
NOTES: One of Child's three texts is "Harpkin," which he places in an appendix. The two are distinct in plot ("Harpkin" is apparently a contest between two rivals; "The Fause Knight" involves an innocent youth), but the form of the two is so similar that they cannot be reliably distinguished.
Bertrand Bronson discusses the original form of this ballad in "The Interdependence of Ballad Tunes and Texts" (first printed in the California Folklore Quarterly, II, 1944; see now MacEdward Leach and Tristram P. Coffin, eds, The Critics and the Ballad. The relevant discussion is on pages 80-82).
American versions of this piece can be quite degenerate. Pound's text, for instance, sounds very much like a schoolyard quarrel, except that one of the disputants is "false knight Munro." But he sounds just like a bully: "Give your lunch to my dog or I'll throw you down the well." The boy responds by throwing Munro down the well first.
In the "strange footnotes" department, this has to be one of the few ballads to have been turned into a comic book by a famous Hollywood writer. Sing Out!, volume 40, #4 (1996) contains an illustrated version "The False Knight on the Road" by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: C003

Fause Young Man, The


See The False Young Man (The Rose in the Garden, As I Walked Out) (File: FJ166)

Fayette Brown, The


DESCRIPTION: When sailors go on strike, the owner of the lake schooner Fayette Brown hires a crew of non-union Blacks; their failings are described. The singer drinks a health to owners and captains, but "bad luck attend any dirty scut that sails the Fayette Brown"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1952 (Walton collection)
LONG DESCRIPTION: When sailors go on strike, the owner of the lake schooner Fayette Brown hires a crew of non-union Blacks; their failings are described, and it's said they'd wish themselves elsewhere when the snowflakes began flying. The singer drinks a health to ship-owners and captains, and "every lofty schooner that carries a union crew", but "bad luck attend any dirty scut that sails the Fayette Brown"
KEYWORDS: curse strike labor-movement ship work sailor scab worker Black(s)
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1868 - Fayette Brown built at Cleveland
late 1870s - Sailors strike for union recognition
1891 - Fayette Brown sinks after collision
FOUND IN: Canada(Ont) US(MW.MA)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Walton/Grimm/Murdock, pp. 112-114, "The Fayette Brown" (1 composite text)
Roud #4623
RECORDINGS:
Stanley Baby, "The 'Fayette Brown'" [fragment] (GreatLakes1)
NOTES: According to Walton/Grimm/Murdock, the Chicago Seamen's Benevolent Union was formed in 1878 and the lockout which inspired this song took place in 1879. The notes in Walton/Grimm/Murdock call it "one of the nastiest songs to survive the schooner era."
It seems to have been very well-known, though: the Walton/Grimm/Murdock text includes material from eight informants, and Stanley Baby makes nine people who knew the song. This makes it one of the best-know of all Great Lakes songs. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
File: RcFayBro

Faythe Fishing Craft, The


DESCRIPTION: In a sudden night-time storm "each coast-boat to shore quickly flew. Not so with us Wexfordmen," One of two skiffs was sunk "by a huge mountain wave" killing five men. The other skiff was driven on shore near Curracloe. The five lost are named.
AUTHOR: Mr. Twomey
EARLIEST DATE: 1946 (Ranson)
KEYWORDS: drowning sea ship storm wreck fishing
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Dec 12, 1833: the Faythe fishing craft was capsized by a gale (source: Ranson; Bourke in _Shipwrecks of the Irish Coast_ v1, p. 52)
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ranson, pp. 12-14, "The Faythe Fishing Craft" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7345
NOTES: Curracloe and Blackwater are on the Wexford coast - BS
File: Ran012

Fear a Bhata


See Fhear a Bhata (Fhir a Bhata: I Climb the Mountains) (File: HHH834)

Featherin' Oot and In


DESCRIPTION: Singer has a "fine gyang featherin' out and out and ae/Featinerin' oot and addie." Men buy her fine things because of it, and they want her to go to bed for it. Her mother is an 'auld bitch'; so is her granny, but both do well because they also have it
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1962 (collected from Maggie McPhee)
KEYWORDS: sex clothes bawdy humorous whore
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
MacSeegTrav 39, "Featherin' Oot and In" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2519
File: McCST039

Feckless Lover, The


DESCRIPTION: The singer hears Johnny knock on the door. Her mother overhears and drives Johnny away. Now Johnny turns away in fear every time he sees the singer. She refuses to lament; a young man "scared of an auld woman's tongue" does not deserve her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (San Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: courting mother abandonment humorous
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H216, p. 265, "The Feckless Lover" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #6920
File: HHH216

Fee and Flannigan


DESCRIPTION: Joseph Fee's gallows-confession from Armagh County Jail. He murdered John Flanagan "for the greed of money." After nine months the murder was discovered, Fee was arrested, tried and condemned. "The bolt was drew, and Fee soon flew on to Eternity"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1973 (Morton-Maguire)
KEYWORDS: execution murder trial gallows-confessions
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Dec 22, 1904 - Joseph Fee is executed for the April 16, 1903 murder of John Flanigan (source: Morton-Maguire)
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Morton-Maguire 16, pp. 38-40,108,163, "Fee and Flannigan" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2919
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Clones Murder" (subject)
File: MoMa016

Feeing Time (I), The


DESCRIPTION: "A frien' and I struck frae Mulguy" for Glasgow; they meet a girl on her way to feeing day. The singer lures her into a pub, and they drink the day away. She says she has lost her fee; he promises to wed her, and she is "glad she lost the feeing time."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1901 (Ford)
KEYWORDS: love courting drink work marriage
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber) Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 323-325, "The Feeing Time" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ord, pp. 82-83, "The Feeing Time" (1 text)
Roud #2516
RECORDINGS:
Michael Gallagher, "The Hiring Time" (on IRTunneyFamily01)
BROADSIDES:
Murray, Mu23-y1:036, "The Feeing Time," James Lindsay Jr. (Glasgow), 19C; also Murray, Mu23-y1:037, "The Feeing Time," James Lindsay Jr. (Glasgow), 19C [not the same as the preceding], Murray, Mu23-y3:023, "The Feeing Time," James Lindsay (Glasgow), 19C [also distinct]
NLScotland, L.C.1270(018), "The Feeing Time," unknown, c. 1845; also L.C.Fol.178.A.2(067), "The Feeing Time," James Lindsay (Glasgow), c. 1870, L.C.Fol.70(35b), "The Feeing Time," Poet's Box (Dundee), c. 1890
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Hiring Fair" (plot)
SAME TUNE:
Craigmaddie Muir (per broadsides Murray, Mu23-y1:036, Mu23=y3:023, NLScotland, L.C.Fol.178.A.2(067))
NOTES: Not to be confused with "The Feein' Time (II)," which is a complaint about work similar to "The Barnyards o' Delgaty." The song is also very similar to the Irish song "The Hiring Fair," with which it even shares some lyrics. I have split them only very tentatively; it's possible that some versions may be mixed or misfiled.
To earn one's fee was to go to a hiring fair and be taken on for a position. - RBW
File: Ord082

Feeing Time (II), The


DESCRIPTION: Singer goes to Glasgow seeking a job, and is hired by a farmer. He describes the bad working conditions: the servant-maids give food to the dog instead of to the workers; the horses won't work. He'll bundle up his "auld bit rags and gang the road I cam"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1969 (collected from John MacDonald)
KEYWORDS: farming work nonballad horse worker rambling travel
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Bord))
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Greig #26, p. 1, "The Feeing Time" (1 text)
GreigDuncan4 883, "Milguy," GreigDuncan8 Addenda, "Milguy" (13 texts, 12 tunes)
MacSeegTrav 104, "The Feein' Time" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, FEETIME*
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "I Walk the Road Again" (lyrics)
cf. "The Barnyards o' Delgaty" (theme)
cf. "Copshawholm Fair" (subject)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Baker o' Milngavie
The Glasgow Feein' Time
The Glasgow Fair
Feeing Day
The Baker Lad
NOTES: Somehow, the last verse of "I Walk the Road Again" seems to have made it across the Atlantic and gotten translated into Scots. - PJS
Not to be confused with "The Feeing Time (II)," which is a song about a courtship.
To earn one's fee was to go to a hiring fair and be taken on for a position. - RBW
GreigDuncan4: "'Milguy' is a pronunciation spelling of 'Milngavie."
GreigDuncan4 quoting Duncan: "Mrs Gillespie says it is widely known that the persons referred to in [this song] were Alexander Carse who lived in Glasgow, and flourished as a baker, [and his wife]."
Also collected and sung by Ellen Mitchell, "Feein Day" (on Kevin and Ellen Mitchell, "Have a Drop Mair," Musical Tradition Records MTCD315-6 CD (2001)) - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: McCST104

Felix the Soldier


DESCRIPTION: Felix reports, "They took away my brogues... And a soldier of me made...." "But the Injuns they were sly, and the Frenchies they were coy, so they shot off the left leg of this poor Irish boy." Back home, his family grieves but Felix is glad to be safe
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1940 (Warner)
KEYWORDS: soldier war injury
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1754-1763 - French and Indian War (the hottest phase of the colonial conflict between France and England)
FOUND IN: US(Ap,NE)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Warner 50, "Felix the Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 18, "Felix the Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, FELXSOLD*
Roud #2805
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Kerry Recruit" [Laws J8] (theme)
cf. "Mrs. McGrath" (theme)
File: Wa050

Feller from Fortune


See Lots of Fish in Bonavist' Harbour (Feller from Fortune) (File: FJ122)

Feller That Looks Like Me, The


See The Fellow that Looks Like Me [Laws H21] (File: LH21)

Fellow that Looks Like Me, The [Laws H21]


DESCRIPTION: The singer is stopped and made to pay a bill he never incurred, then beaten up for wronging a girl he does not know, and finally arrested and convicted for a crime he didn't commit. Only when the police find "the fellow that looks like me" is he freed
AUTHOR: J. F. Poole
EARLIEST DATE: 1867 (copyright)
KEYWORDS: humorous reprieve courting infidelity accusation trial police prisoner
FOUND IN: US(Ro,SE,So) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Laws H21, "The Fellow that Looks Like Me"
Randolph 463, "The Fellow that Looks Like Me" (1 text)
Mackenzie 145, "The Fellow That Looks Like Me" (1 text)
cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 479, "The Fellow That Looks Like Me" (source notes only)
DT 707, LOOKSME
Roud #2187
RECORDINGS:
Al Hopkins & his Buckle Busters, "The Feller That Looks Like Me" (Brunswick 184, 1927)
Asa Martin, "The Fellow That Looks Like Me" (Supertone 9642, 1930)
Charlie Newman, "The Fellow That's Just Like Me" (OKeh 45116, 1927)
File: LH21

Felton Lonnin (Pelton Lonnin') (I, II, III)


DESCRIPTION: Pipe tune, with assorted incidental lyrics: "The kye's come hame but aw see not ma hinny, The key's come hame but aw see not ma bairn." Or "There's three fames horses frae Felton Lonnin.'" Or "The swine cam jumpin' down Pelton Lonnin'."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay), who attribute one set of words to 1793
KEYWORDS: music animal love separation beauty
FOUND IN: Britain(England(North))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Stokoe/Reay, pp. 150-151, "Felton Lonnin'" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Roud #3166
NOTES: This piece presents a genuine puzzle to the collector: Three songs, or one? Stokoe's first version, a fragment, certainly looks traditional. The third probably is, too, it looks a bit like a singing game. The second looks more like a broadside.
None of the versions seems very well known. And they all use the same tune, described as a pipe tune. I finally decided to lump them. Roud does the same.
The first text was expanded by Johnny Handle into a full-grown missing-love song and recorded by Ray Fisher, but only the first two verses and the tune are traditional. - RBW
File: StoR150

Female Drummer (I), The


See The Soldier Maid (File: DTsoldma)

Female Drummer (II), The


See The Drum Major (The Female Drummer) (File: HHH797)

Female Highwayman, The [Laws N21]


DESCRIPTION: (Sylvie) decides to test her love's faithfulness. Dressed as a (male) robber, she stops him on the road. He gives her his watch and gold, but refuses to hand over his diamond ring. She lets him go, satisfied of his faithfulness, and later reveals herself
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1845 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 25(1877))
KEYWORDS: outlaw cross-dressing disguise love
FOUND IN: US(MA,NE) Canada(Mar,Newf,Ont) Britain(England(South)) Australia Ireland
REFERENCES (11 citations):
Laws N21, "The Female Highwayman"
Warner 58, "Pretty Sylvia" (1 text, 1 tune)
Flanders/Brown, pp. 133-134, "The Female Highwayman" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 27, "Wexford City" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-NovaScotia 25, "Silvy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 342-343, "Gold Watch and Chain" (1 text, 1 tune)
Mackenzie 129, "Zillah" (1 text), "The Diamond Ring" (1 text)
Manny/Wilson 52, "The Female Highwayman (Nelly Ray)" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kennedy 334, "Sylvia" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H35, pp. 327-328, "The Female Highwayman" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 451, FEMHWAY* SOVAY*
Roud #7
RECORDINGS:
A. L. Lloyd, "Sovay, the Female Highwayman" (on Lloyd2, Lloyd3)
Tim Walsh, "Sylvia" (on FSB7)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 25(1877), "Sylvia's Request, and William's Denial" ("Fair Sylvia on a certain day, Drest herself in man's array"), J. Pitts (London), 1819-1844; also 2806 c.16(131), Harding B 11(4362), Firth c.17(26), Harding B 11(3723), Harding B 15(326b), Harding B 15(327a), "Sylvia's Request, and William's Denial"
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Sovay, Sovay
Sophie
Sylvia's Request and William's Denial
NOTES: According to Patrcik Pringle, Stand and Deliver: Highwaymen from Robin Hood to Dick Turpin, chapter 7, "Wicked Ladies," there were a few known instances of female highwaymen during their great era in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.
He mentions specifically Mary Frith ("Molly Cutpurse"), though she was first and foremost a fence rather than a highway(wo)man (to be a highwayman, one had to have a horse, and a pistol generally helped, too). She supposed was the subject of Dekker and Middleton's 1611 play "The Roaring Girls" but her death is dated 1659.
Pringle does not mention a case similar to that in this song.
Jerome S. Epstein, who transcribed the Warner version of Lena Bourne Fish, noted the peculiar tonal peregrination of the tune -- it appears to be in the key of C, but uses all of the following tones (ascending the scale): B C D E F F# G A Bb C. He comments that this sort of modal modulation is very rare in folk song -- but in fact the result, except for that one stray Bb and the ending on C, is pretty close to the Dorian version of "Sovay" I have heard. It sounds to me as if it's a Dorian tune partly and imperfectly moved to Ionian.
Mackenzie's peculiar name for the girl, Zillah, recalls Lamech's wife in Genesis 4:19-23, but I don't know if that is significant. - RBW
File: LN21

Female Rambling Sailor


DESCRIPTION: "Come all you people far and near And listen to my ditty" of a girl who disguises herself and goes to sea after her impressed lover is drowned. She proves a brave sailor, but at last is killed and her sex discovered. The singer wishes her well in death
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1900 (Broadside NLScotland L.C.Fol.70(147))
KEYWORDS: love separation pressgang death sailor cross-dressing
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
DT, RMBSAIL3
BROADSIDES:
Murray, Mu23-y4:042, "Female Rambling Sailor," unknown, 19C
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(147), "Female Rambling Sailor," unknown, c. 1870
NOTES: For notes on legitimate historical examples of women serving in the military in disguise, see the notes to "The Soldier Maid."
Although there are many instances of women serving in the military before the twentieth century, it was generally illegal, and the songs about them fictional. This one is not.
According to David Cordingly, Women Sailors and Sailors' Women, Random House, 2001 (I use the undated, but later, paperback edition), p. 63, "The sex of a female sailor named Rebecca Young was revealed in a tragic accident that arose because she was too confident of her ability to go aloft." She spent two years working on a boat in the Thames, using the name Billy Bridle. In June 1833, she apparently challenged a male sailor to a race up the rigging. Both made it to the top, but when she came down, she hurried, tried to slide down a halyard, burned her hands, let go -- and fell to the deck and died. The inquest at Gravesend declared it an accident.
Cordingly quotes Bell's Weekly Messenger, #1941, June 16, 1833 as the source of this information.- RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: DTrmbsl3

Female Sailor Bold [Laws N3]


DESCRIPTION: (Jane Thornton) dresses as a sailor to seek her lover, a captain. When she reaches New York, she learns that he is dead. She serves at sea for several years before returning to London. There her sex, and eventually her story, are revealed
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1932 (Creighton-NovaScotia)
KEYWORDS: cross-dressing sea love
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Laws N3, "Female Sailor Bold"
Creighton-NovaScotia 34, "Female Sailor Bold" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 591, FSAILBLD
Roud #1699
File: LN03

Female Smuggler, The


DESCRIPTION: The smuggler's daughter dresses in men's clothes to serve her father. She fights off a raider, but eventually is taken by "the blockade." During her trial, she reveals her sex. Her bravery commends her to a gentleman, who gains her pardon and marries her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1948 (Shay)
KEYWORDS: cross-dressing ship sailor trial punishment reprieve marriage
FOUND IN: Britain(England(South)) Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Copper-SoBreeze, pp. 234-235, "The Female Smuggler" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 333-334, "The Female Smuggler" (1 text, 1 tune)
Shay-SeaSongs, pp. 190-194, "The Female Smuggler" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, FEMLSMUG
Roud #1200
BROADSIDES:
Murray, Mu23-y4:034, "The Female Sailor," unknown, 19C
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Dark-Eyed Sailor (Fair Phoebe and her Dark-Eyed Sailor)" [Laws N35] (tune, per broadsides Bodleian Johnson Ballads 2483, Bodleian Harding B 11(498), Bodleian Harding B 11(499))
File: CoSB234

Female Soldier, The


See The Soldier Maid (File: DTsoldma)

Female Warrior, The (Pretty Polly) [Laws N4]


DESCRIPTION: A girl boards ship to learn the sailor's craft. After some years in service, her ship encounters a pirate/raider. The captain is quickly slain, and the girl assumes command. She overcomes the enemy. In some texts she goes to London to be rewarded
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1830
KEYWORDS: cross-dressing battle pirate death ship drink
FOUND IN: US(MW) Canada(Mar,Ont) Britain(England,Scotland) Ireland
REFERENCES (9 citations):
Laws N4, "The Female Warrior (Pretty Polly)"
GreigDuncan1 180, "Sweet William" (3 texts, 2 tunes)
Eddy 47, "The Female Warrior" (1 text)
Gardner/Chickering 85, "Pretty Polly" (1 text)
Mackenzie 84, "As We Were A-Sailing" (1 text)
Doerflinger, pp. 143-144, "The Female Warrior" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ranson, pp. 124-125, "The Beauty of Baltimore" (1 text)
MacSeegTrav 83, "The Rainbow" (1 text, 1 tune, perhaps this piece; see note)
BBI, ZN1749, "Margaret my sweetest, Margaret I must go" (listed as Laws N4 though the description sounds more like N8)
Roud #492
RECORDINGS:
Bob Hart, "A Broadside" (on Voice08)
Cyril Poacher, "A Broadside" (on Voice02)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 16(93a), "Female Captain," unknown, n.d.; Bodleian, Firth c.13(255), "Down by the Spanish Shore", W. Harris (Birmingham), n.d.
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Mary Ambree" (plot: lover becomes officer)
cf. "On the First of November" (plot: lover becomes officer)
NOTES: The song "The Rainbow" collected by MacColl and Seeger from Nelson Ridley in 1974 has lyrics from this song, and their notes makes it clear they identify it with this piece. Ridley's text is hopelessly confused, with no plot and some repetition of lyrics; Paul Stamler notes that it "almost [sounds] like the 'maid' being referred to is actually the ship." - PJS, RBW
Yates, Musical Traditions site Voice of the People suite "Notes - Volume 2" - 11.9.02: "Frank Kidson noted a Yorkshire set of this song and comments that as it concerns a sea battle between the English and the Spanish, it must be of some considerable age. (Traditional Tunes 1891, pp. 99-100).... Kidson also notes the connection between the ship 'The Rainbow' and one of the same name that is to be found in the ballad of 'Captain Ward'...." [ Kidson's text ends "Good health unto this damsel who fought all on the main, And here's to the royal gallant ship called Rainbow by name."; Cyril Poacher's text for that on Voice02 is slightly different; Bob Hart's text on Voice08 names the ship "The Royal."] - BS
Apart from the pirate, incidentally, this song bears some resemblance to an actual happening -- though the song was first recorded before the event. In 1856, the clipper Neptune's Car was to sail from New York to San Francisco under Captain Joshua Adams Patten -- but which endded up being navigated by his wife; for background, see the notes to "Bound Down to Newfoundland" [Laws D22].
The ending isn't very happy; Joshua Patten, who was barely 30, died in mid-1857, and Mary Ann Patten, not yet 25, had contracted his tuberculosis and died in 1861. But she *had* successfully brought the Neptune's Car around Cape Horn. Possibly the story -- which was widely reported, and which brought Mary Ann Patten a thousand dollar reward from the company insuring the Neptune's Car -- could have helped make this song popular. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: LN04

Fency King and the English King, The


See King Henry Fifth's Conquest of France [Child 164] (File: C164)

Fenian Man-of-War, The


See The British Man-of-War (File: FSC013)

Fenian Song (I), A


DESCRIPTION: "The Queen's Own Regiment was their name, From fair Toronto town they came, To put thie Irish all to shame, The Queen and Colonel Booker." But the loyalist forces are routed: "See how they run from their Irish foe, The Queen's and Colonel Booker!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1958
KEYWORDS: Canada battle political
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
May 31, 1866 - Some 1200 Fenians under General O'Neill invade the Niagara area
June 2, 1866 - The Fenian's victory at Lime Ridge near Ridgeway
FOUND IN: Canada(Ont)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 100-101, ""A Fenian Song (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/MacMillan 1, "A Fenian Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, FENIANSG*
Roud #4531
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "An Anti-Fenian Song" (subject)
cf. "The Fenian Song (II)" (theme)
NOTES: Many Irish immigrants in America retained their hatred for Britain. The Fenians were an organization devoted to freeing Ireland. The organization was founded in 1858 by James Stephens (who had been active in the revolution of 1848 and survived partly because he was reported dead; for his story, see "James Stephens, the Gallant Fenian Boy"), 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 would fail in 1867.
But the Fenian movement did not die; individuals kept trying things, though none of their tricks amounted to much. This song chronicles an early example. In the United States, John O'Mahoney became the "moving spirit" (Jameson, p. 232). Mahoney (1816-1877) had come to America in 1854, and founded the American Fenians in 1860 (Jameson, p. 471).
In the aftermath of the Civil War, when the U.S. and Britain were not on the best of terms over the Alabama Claims and the like, American Fenians conceived the idea of invading Canada and holding it hostage for Ireland's freedom. They thought that the American government would go along.
Unfortunately, they were not united; according Golway, pp. 143, by 1866 the American Fenians were split into two groups, one led by O'Mahony, the other by the more radical Thomas Sweeney (1820-1892) -- a man with military experience in the Mexican and Civil Wars, but little political sense.
Mahony, the more rational and established leader, nonetheless let himself be goaded into action, staging a sort of demonstration against Canada: "Members of his decimated Fenian Brotherhood began converging on the town of Eastport in Maine.... The small army went into action on April 15, invading Indian Island, a small chunk of Canada... Washington sent troops and warships to Eastport, and O'Mahony's Fenians immediately withdrew" (Golway, pp. 143-144).
That didn't deter the Sweeney faction.
On May 31, 1866, the Fenian General John O'Neill led 1200 men from Buffalo into the Niagara area. Bourrie quotes their manifesto on pp. 128-130, it states, among other things, that "We are here as the Irish army of liberation, the friends of liberty against aristocracy, of people against their oppressors.... Our war is with the armed powers of England, not with the people, not with these provinces." Funny that it never occured to the Fenians to think that people would resent being held hostage for other's crimes.
The proclamation was signed by Sweeney, but, interestingly, he failed to make the crossing.
The Canadian government mustered various forces to deal with them. One of these was the Queen's Own Rifles, at that time hardly better than a militia regiment; Bourrie, p. 130, says it was made up of residents of Toronto, many of them University students. "In all, about 880 very inexperienced Canadian part-time soldiers , under the command of inept officers... arrived... in the early hours of June 2." Rather than wait for the rest of the Loyalist forces, the detachment under Lt. Colonel Alfred Booker attacked the Fenians.
The result was a complete rout of the Loyalists, though with relatively slight losses (listed by Bourrie, p. 131, as ten Canadians dead). It did the Fenians no good, however. Within days the Canadian forces had assembled, and they were much larger, better equipped, and better trained than the Fenians. And the Americans moved to block any Fenian reinforcements from crossing the Niagara river. O'Neill retreated back to the United States (where his men were set free), and the Fenians never amounted to much thereafter. Eventually the U.S. government put a stop to their border raids.
For the aftermath of this story, see "An Anti-Fenian Song."
The Fenians, of course, eventually evolved into other independence organizations. A member of one of those organizations perhaps summed up why they failed so often: They just weren't single-minded enough. Coogan, p. 116, reports a quote from Vinnie Byrne, a member of one of those later organizations: "Collins was a marvel. If he hadn't done the work he did, we'd still be under Britain. Informers and drink would have taken care of us."
That is perhaps too strong; there were other determined leaders in the 1916-1920 period. But the Fenians didn't have a one of those other leaders, let alone a Collins. So they wasted their energy on schemes like this.
For information on the founding of the Fenians, see "James Stephens, the Gallant Fenian Boy." For their one major success in one of their gimmicks, see "The Fenian's Escape (The Catalpa)." For other examples of the Fenians' ineffectiveness, see "The British Man-of-War" and "The Smashing of the Van (I)." - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 2.5
File: FMB100

Fenian Song (II), The


DESCRIPTION: If you happen to walk out Someone in your ears are humming, And they'll ask if you know When the Fenians are a coming.... They dare not 'vade our soil, Nor try to work us wrongful"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1928 (Mackenzie)
KEYWORDS: violence nonballad patriotic
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
May 31, 1866 - Some 1200 Fenians under General O'Neill invade the Niagara area
June 2, 1866 - The Fenian's victory at Lime Ridge near Ridgeway
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Mackenzie 149, "The Fenian Song" (1 text)
Roud #3285
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "An Anti-Fenian Song" (theme)
cf. "A Fenian Song (I)" (subject)
NOTES: Mackenzie: "The so-called Fenian Brotherhood was formed in New York in 1857. Its main purpose, apparently, was to 'set Ireland free,' but among its subsidiary projects was an invasion of Canada from the United States. In Canada there was for a time a good deal of excitement accompanied by the drafting and training of young men for the purpose of sweeping back the threatening tide." Mackenzie thinks this fragment was "probably a Canadian recruiting song." - BS
For additional background to the Fenian invasion of Canada, see "A Fenian Song (I)." For the organization's founding, see "James Stephens, the Gallant Fenian Boy." - RBW
File: Mack149

Fenian's Escape, The (The Catalpa)


DESCRIPTION: The Catalpa, an American whaler, wanders by Perth on regatta day. (Six) Fenians, having spent years in chains, flee for the ship. Although the Georgette tries to interfere with the escape, the Irishmen get aboard and are taken to America
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1957 (Paterson/Stewart/Keeting, Old Bush Songs)
KEYWORDS: rebellion prisoner escape ship whaler
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1876 - The Catalpa Rescue
FOUND IN: Australia Ireland
REFERENCES (6 citations):
O'Conor, p. 55, "The Fenian's Escape" (1 text)
OLochlainn-More 48, "The Fenians' Escape" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fahey-Eureka, pp. 56-57, "The Catalpa" (1 text, 1 tune)
Manifold-PASB, pp. 20-21, "The Catalpa" (1 text, 1 tune)
Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 64-66, "The Catalpa" (1 text)
DT, FENESCAP*
Roud #5480
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Here's Adieu to All Judges and Juries" (tune)
NOTES: This is one of the more successful of the various crazy Fenian exploits.
To start with the prisoners: Thomas Darragh, Martin Hogan, Michael Harrington, Thomas Hassett, Robert Cranston, and James Wilson had been transported for life in 1866 for their role in the United Irish Brotherhood's planned uprising -- not really a fair sentence, given that nothing much actually happened, but the British didn't want any more interference in Ireland.
The Catalpa (a three-masted bark built 1844) alternated between merchant service and whaling until 1874, when she was purchased by John T. Richardson. In that year, under the command of George S. Anthony (Richardson's son-in-law), the ship set out on what was ostensibly a whaling trip.
By this time, the six Fenians had earned their tickets-of-leave (i.e. the right to work on their own), and had been contacted by four rescuers. On April 17, 1876, the ten boarded a rowboat sent out (and commanded) by Anthony. It took them 28 hours to reach the Catalpa, pursued by the mail steamer Georgette, but they made it.
The Georgette later overhauled the Catalpa, and threated to stop her, but Anthony claimed the protection of the American flag, and actually got away with it. The ship made it to New York on August 19, 1876, and was given a hero's welcome at New Bedford a few days later.
Ironically, Anthony ended up in a certain amount of trouble because he hadn't done enough whaling on the trip to cover expenses. - RBW
File: FaE056

Ferd Harold Blues


See Alabama Bound (Waterbound II) (File: BMRF598)

Fergus O'Connor and Independence


DESCRIPTION: Remember O'Connell's victory over Vesey in '29. Don't vote now for "those tithe-eating gentry." "Be advised by the clergy our Lord sent to guide you, And vote for brave Fergus and Sheela na Guira." Send Fergus to London. Repeal the Union.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1832 (Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: Ireland nonballad political
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1794-1855 - life of Fergus (Feargus) O'Connor
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Zimmermann 43, "A New Song in Praise of Fergus O'Connor and Independence" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Battle of Carrickshock" (subject: The Tithe War) and references there
cf. "Daniel O'Connell (II)" (subject: Daniel O'Connell) and references there
cf. "Saint Patrick's Day" (subject of Fergus O'Connor"
NOTES: The context is "The Tithe War": O'Connell's Catholic Association was formed in 1823 to resist the requirement that Irish Catholics pay tithes to the Anglican Church of Ireland. The "war" was passive for most of the period 1823-1836, though there were violent incidents in 1831 (source: The Irish Tithe War 1831 at the OnWar.com site)
Zimmermann: "Fergus O'Connor, before becoming the most prominent spokesman of the Chartist movement in England, was elected M.P. for Cork in 1832 and 1835."
The reference to 1829 and Vesey has to do with the July 1828 election in which Daniel O'Connell defeated Vessey Fitzgerald as Westminster MP from County Clare (see "The Shan Van Voght (1828)").
The last line of each verse is a variation of "Vote for brave Fergus and Sheela na Guira" or "Repeal the Union for Sheela na Guira." Zimmermann's tune is "Sighile Ni Ghadra." The following note is from Andrew Kuntz's "The Fiddler's Companion" site: "'Sheela Nee Guira' was one of the numerous allegorical names of Ireland; and this song['Sighile Ni Ghadhra'] was a patriotic one, though it could be sung with safety in the time of the Penal Laws, as it was in the guise of a love song." - BS
When England pushed Ireland into the Parliamentary Union after the 1798 rebellion, William Pitt had wanted to make a great concession: He wanted to permit Catholics to vote. Parliament rejected this out of hand, meaning that the Members for Ireland ended up being all Protestant. Even had a Catholic been elected, he could not in good conscience take the membership oath, which reviled Catholicism (Golway, p. 100).
But there was nothing in the law which prevented Catholics from running.
In 1828, at the height of his popularity, O'Connell decided to do just that. William Vesey Fitzgerald, a Member for Clare, had taken a government position, and so had to contest a by-election for his seat.
The irony is, Vesey Fitzgerald was "an emancipationist [i.e. he stood for giving Catholics voting rights], a kind and popular landlord... and the son of a Patriot in Grattan's parliament." In other words, the sort of man Ireland needed. But his was the seat that was available. O'Connell ran against him, and won by 2057 votes to 982. (Fry/Fry, pp. 220-221). In 1829, the British Parliament gave in and passed the Catholic Emancipation Act, opening all but the very highest offices to Catholics (though another act raised the property requirement for voting, meaning that most Catholics were still excluded).
Fergus (or Feargus) O'Connor (1794-1855) was one of the first to take advantage of the new conditions. In 1832, he was elected to Parliament from County Cork on the Repeal platform (calling for the repeal of the Union of Ireland and Great Britain). He was expelled in 1835 for being too poor, leading him to found a newspaper, the Northern Star, in 1837. He is said to have gone insane in 1850.
Incidentally, O'Connell would later say that the zeal of men like O'Connor actually hurt the cause of Repeal; they pushed him to bring it up in the British parliament too soon, causing the measure to go down in flames in 1834 (Kee, pp. 190-191).
For a song more obliquely talking about the events of this period, see "The Ass's Complaint." - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 2.5
File: Zimm043

Ferryland Sealer, The


DESCRIPTION: "Oh, our schooner and our sloop in Ferryland they do lie, They are already rigged to be bound for the ice...." The singer describes the provisioning of the ship, the path she follows, the work of sealing. He rejoices as they return home
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1960 (collected from Leonard Hulan)
KEYWORDS: hunting ship travel
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Fowke/MacMillan 16, "The Ferryland Sealer" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 120-121, "Ferryland Sealer" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ryan/Small, pp. 22-23, "Ferryland Sealer" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, FERRSEAL
Roud #4533
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "A Noble Fleet of Sealers"
NOTES: Although this song has been published in several sources, it appears likely that the only source is Leonard Hulan. It has some slight similarities to "A Noble Fleet of Sealers," but seems to be to a separate piece. - RBW
Peacock also has his version from Leonard Hulan. However, he claims a similar "variant" of "this fine old sealing song... was noted from George Decker in Rocky Harbour." Of course, Decker may have learned his version from Hulan who lives about 85 miles as the crow flies up the west coast from Decker. - BS
File: FowM016

Festive Lumber-jack


DESCRIPTION: "I've been around the world a bit, an' seen beasts great an' small... He leaves the woods with his bristles raised... He's known by men of science as the festive lumberjack." The lumberjack's exploits end when his drink money runs out
AUTHOR: Ed Springstad and "a negro called Bill" ?
EARLIEST DATE: 1926 (Rickaby)
KEYWORDS: logger humorous drink money bragging
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Rickaby 23, "The Festive Lumber-jack" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Rick095 (Partial)
NOTES: According to Rickaby's informant, Ed Springstad, this song was composed in Crystal, North Dakota around 1900. From the sound of it, most of the real work of composition was by "Bill." Rickaby also says the song was well-known in Minnesota. I know of no supporting evidence. - RBW
File: Rick095

Fethard Life-Boat Crew (I), The


DESCRIPTION: The Mexico, from America to Liverpool, is "dashed to pieces along the beach of Burrow's lonely shore." The Fethard Lifeboat crew "launched their boat at Fethard Quay ... to save the shipwrecked sailors." The lifeboat itself is wrecked.
AUTHOR: James Mahony of Bride St, Wexford
EARLIEST DATE: 1948 (Ranson)
KEYWORDS: drowning sea ship storm wreck sailor rescue
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Feb 20-21, 1914 - The Mexico wreck
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ranson, p. 44, "The Fethard Life-Boat Crew" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Mexico" (subject) and references there
cf. "The Hantoon" (tune)
NOTES: Ranson: Tune is "The Hantoon" on p. 46.
February 20, 1914: "Nine members of the Fethard lifeboat were drowned when going to the assistance of the Norwegian steamer Mexico.... Eight of the Mexico's crew were saved by the five lifeboat survivors. All but one of the stranded survivors were saved with great difficulty the next day." (source: Bourke in Shipwrecks of the Irish Coast v1, pp. 52-53) - BS
We note that at least four poems were written about this disaster (see the cross-references); one suspects a campaign to raise money for someone's family. - RBW
File: Ran044

Fethard Life-Boat Crew (II), The


DESCRIPTION: Schooner Mexico strikes Keeragh Rock. Nine of the life-boat crew are lost but Kelly reaches Mexico and gets a line to those that reach the rocks. Mexico crew is hauled to shore. One dies "from cold and exposure" before they are rescued three days later.
AUTHOR: Matthew Barden
EARLIEST DATE: 1943 (Ranson)
KEYWORDS: drowning sea ship storm wreck sailor rescue
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Feb 20-21, 1914 - The Mexico wreck
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ranson, pp. 58-59, "The Fethard Life-Boat Crew" (1 text)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Mexico" (subject) and references there
NOTES: February 20, 1914: "Nine members of the Fethard lifeboat were drowned when going to the assistance of the Norwegian steamer Mexico.... Eight of the Mexico's crew were saved by the five lifeboat survivors. All but one of the stranded survivors were saved with great difficulty the next day." (source: Bourke in Shipwrecks of the Irish Coast v1, pp. 52-53) - BS
We note that at least four poems were written about this disaster (see the cross-references); one suspects a campaign to raise money for someone's family. - RBW
File: Ran058

Fethard Life-Boat Crew (III), The


DESCRIPTION: Mexico and its rescuers in the Fethard life-boat are wrecked in a storm on Keeragh Rock on the Wexford coast. "The crew of the gallant Mexico, though terror-stricken, too, They rendered all assistance to the drowning life-boat crew"; 9 rescuers drown
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1948 (Ranson)
KEYWORDS:
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Feb 20-21, 1914 - The Mexico wreck
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ranson, p. 122, "The Fethard Life-Boat Crew" (1 text)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Mexico" (subject) and references there
NOTES: February 20, 1914: "Nine members of the Fethard lifeboat were drowned when going to the assistance of the Norwegian steamer Mexico.... Eight of the Mexico's crew were saved by the five lifeboat survivors. All but one of the stranded survivors were saved with great difficulty the next day." (source: Bourke in Shipwrecks of the Irish Coast v1, pp. 52-53) - BS
We note that at least four poems were written about this disaster (see the cross-references); one suspects a campaign to raise money for someone's family. - RBW
File: Ran122

Few Days


DESCRIPTION: "Well, I pitched my tent on this campground, Few days, few days, And I give old Satan another round, And I am going home. I can't stay in these diggings, few days, few days, I can't stay in these diggings And I am going home."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1922 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad mining
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
BrownIII 644, "Tree in Paradise" (3 short texts; the "A" version combines "Few Days" with a "Tree in Paradise" text; "B" is too short to classify easily; "C" seems to be mostly "All My Trials"; there may also be influence from "Is Your Lamps Gone Out" or the like)
Lomax-ABFS, p. 566, "Few Days" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, (FEWDAYS -- the mining parody)
Roud #15561
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Zaccheus Climbed the Sycamore Tree" (lyrics)
cf. "Indian Camp-Meeting Song"
NOTES: This originated as a hymn, and later was adapted by miners to describe their lives. Since, however, the miners' version took over the hymn in its entirety, simply tacking new verses on the end, we really can't separate the pieces.
Spaeth lists a song by Albert Holland, "Few Days" or "I'm Going Home," from 1854. It certainly sounds like the same song, but I can't prove it. - RBW
File: LxA566

Fhear a Bhata (Fhir a Bhata: I Climb the Mountains)


DESCRIPTION: Song of longing with a Gaelic chorus. The singer asks where is her lover, the boatman. When will she see him? Her friends/other boatmen say he is unfaithful. She waits long, and looks far for word of her lover, fearing she has been forgotten
AUTHOR: Jane Finlayson (late 18th century)
EARLIEST DATE: 1939 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love separation sailor foreignlanguage
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland) Ireland Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
SHenry H834, pp. 289-290, "The Boatman/Fear a Bhata" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 786-787, "Fhir a Bhata" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, FBHATA* THEBOATM*
ADDITIONAL: Bell/O Conchubhair, Traditional Songs of the North of Ireland, pp. 26-28, "Fear an Bhata" ("The Boatman") [Gaelic and English]
Roud #4356
NOTES: The Lesley Nelson-Burns site Folk Music of England Scotland Ireland, Wales & America collection is the source for the translation -- by Lachlan MacBean -- used as the basis for the DESCRIPTION, as well as for the attribution. That site's entry for the song credits Craig Cockburn with the data and includes other important information. However, MacBean's translation, apparently copied from The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Highlands edited by Alfred Moffat (Bayley & Ferguson, Glasgow), pp. 18-19 in the soft-cover edition printed ca 1960, pp. 26-27 in the hard-cover edition printed ca 1908, is written to be sung to the original music and so may not exactly carry the sense of the Gaelic. The translation of the chorus is from a note sent by George Seto whose site includes, among other subjects, Cape Breton Music and -- more to the point here -- an index of published Gaelic songs.
The chorus
"Fhir a bhata, na horo-eile, Gu ma slan dut,
's gach ait an teid thu"
meaning
"O my boatman, na horo eile, Wishing health to you,
And [at] each place, will you come (return) [to me]?"
includes untranslated phrases such as "na horo eile." Creighton and MacLeod, Gaelic Songs in Nova Scotia (National Museums of Canada 1979) refers to these phrases as "Gaelic vocables" (e.g., p 181). My take on this is that they are untranslatable in the same sense that the yodel of a Jimmy Rodgers blue yodel is transcribable into French but not translatable.
Peacock notes that this "is called a milling song ... used to accompany the work of shrinking wool homespun. The wet cloth is alternately kneaded and pounded on a large table by several people either seated or standing. A leader sings the verses, and everyone comes in on the chorus." "Milling wool" and "waulking tweed" is the same process. For a note on the process and the songs see "Waulking" by Craig Cockburn at the Silicon Glen site- BS
In a way, this isn't really a single song, because the translated version has circulated on its own. But it seemed better to lump to prevent confusion. - RBW
File: HHH834

Fhideag Airgid, An


See The Silver Whistle (File: K009)

Fiddle-Dee-Dee


See The Fly and the Bumblebee (Fiddle-Dee-Dee) (File: Lins196)

Fiddle-I-Fee


See I Had a Little Rooster (Farmyard Song) (File: R352)

Fiddler's Bitch, The


DESCRIPTION: In this cante-fable, a captain wagers his ship against a fiddler's violin, betting that he can bed the fiddler's virtuous wife. The captain wins.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE:
KEYWORDS: bawdy fiddle wife seduction humorous infidelity wager
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Randolph-Legman I, pp. 346-347, "The Fiddler's Bitch" (3 texts, 1 tune)
BBI, ZN1521, "It was a Rich Merchant man"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Polly Wolly Doodle" (tune)
cf. "Redesdale and Wise William" [Child 246] (plot)
cf. "The Twa Knights" (plot)
NOTES: The unidentified melody in Randolph-Legman I is the blackface minstrel song "Polly-Wolly-Doodle." - EC
This plot, of course, occurs repeatedly in folklore and mythology (some versions of the account of the love affair of Aphrodite and Ares, first narrated in the Odyssey VIII.266ff., are similar) -- but one may doubt whether this bawdy version has any classical roots. - RBW
WBO reports, on the basis of the British broadside "The Merchant and the Fidlers wife," that "Legman's cante-fable designation is nonsense." - WBO,RBW
File: RL346

Fiddling Soldier


See One Morning in May (To Hear the Nightingale Sing) [Laws P14] (File: LP14)

Field Calls


DESCRIPTION: "Field Call" is a term for a musical segment sung by field workers. Many had lyrics, and some sort of communicative purpose. Others were wordless laments, and are listed here
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: (undatable)
KEYWORDS: nonballad
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Courlander-NFM, pp. 83-84, (no title) (3 texts, 3 tunes)
NOTES: It should be evident that this list of field calls is very incomplete. - RBW
File: CNFM083

Field of Monterey, The


DESCRIPTION: "A bugle horn is chanting now, A chorus far and free, And ev'rything rejoices For the glorious victory." The Americans have won a signal victory, but the singer grieves because her love has been slain in the bloody battle
AUTHOR: Marion Dix Sullivan ?
EARLIEST DATE: 1909 (Heart Songs; a ballad with this title, by Sullivan, was published 1846)
KEYWORDS: battle war Mexico death separation grief
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Sept 20-24, 1846 - Battle of Monterrey (part of the Mexican War). General Zachary Taylor captures the city, but the fight is bloody
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Randolph 665, "The Field of Monterey" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7366
File: R665

Fielding


See Charles Augustus (or Gustavus) Anderson [Laws D19] (File: LD19)

Fierce Alpena Blow, The


DESCRIPTION: "In eighteen hundred eighty, in October, the sixteenth day, The Alpena met her doom." The great ship is lost while crossing Lake Michigan in an unexpected storm. The lifeboats cannot be lowered because of the weather; all are lost
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1932 (collected from Manus J. Bonner by Walton)
KEYWORDS: ship wreck disaster
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Oct 16, 1880 - Sinking of the Alpena and other ships in a Lake Michigan storm
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Walton/Grimm/Murdock, pp. 211-213, "The Fierce Alpena Blow" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Ratigan on pp. 68-69 gives a list of the 13 worst Great Lakes shipping disasters. The loss of the Alpena is #11 on his list. (As a data point, only three of the thirteen seem to be commemorated in traditional song: #2 the Lady Elgin, #8 the Asia, and the Alpena. And none of these songs have a strong hold on tradition.) Ratigan lists the losses as "60 to 101 lives."
Although Ritchie, p. 3, also states that 101 lives were lost, that estimate may be high; if there was a passenger list, it was lost in the wreck. Shelak , p. 124, says that there were between 80 and 101 passengers. Walton/Grimm/Murdock list about 120 lost in the "Alpena Blow," but only "about half" (i.e. about sixty) from the Alpena herself. Berman, p. 233, says that when the Alpena sank, "all lives (60) [were] lost." Thompson, p. 23, says that 22 crew and 35 passengers were aboard. Ratigan, p. 70, apparently thinks the other casualties were people who signed up as passengers at the last minute.
Presumably they were attracted by the fine weather on October 15, 1880. Thompson,p. 23, reports that the weather that day was "gorgeous."
Certainly the Captain, Nelson Napier (mentioned in the song), seems to have been affected by it: The wind was changing (Ratigan, p. 70), and the barometer falling (Shelak, p. 124), but his course was straight across Lake Michigan, 108 miles from Grand Haven (and/or Muskegon, according to Ritchie, p. 3) to Chicago. Napier decided to risk it.
The Alpena itself was 13 years old, so it had faced much bad weather, although it had been rebuilt after just one year in service (being lengthened by five feet; Shelak, p. 127).
Around midnight, the great storm began. The Alpena must have gone down either on October 16 or 17, because the first wreckage was found on October 18 (Thompson, p. 23). The first bodies were found a few days later.
It appears the ship must have sunk at night (either the 15/16 or the 16/17), because "most of the bodies were wearing nightclothes" (Thompson, p. 24). The ship probably broke apart (Ritchie says it must have been "virtually shredded"), because there was a lot of debris, mostly small pieces. The immediate cause of the wreck may have been the shifting of the boat's cargo (Shelak, p. 126).
A note was eventually found saying that "the steamer is breaking up fast" (Ratigan, p. 71; Thompson, p. 23). It does not name the Alpena, but says the ship was going from Grand Haven to Chicago. The signature was so water-soaked as to be minimally legible; it began "George Conn...." It is the only record (if such it can be called) of the wreck, though debris was eventually found along 70 miles of beach (Ratigan, p. 71).
The Alpena was not the only casualty of the storm, though it was apparently the worst loss. . Thompson, p. 24, says that no fewer than ninety vessels were damaged. Shelak, p. 37, says that the storm also sank the Perry Hannah, Josephine Lawrence, Ebenezer, Reciprocity, and Two Friends, but on p. 126 says that ninety boats were wrecked (presumably this is a misunderstanding of the statement that ninety were damaged. - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 2.5
File: WGM211

Fiery Clock Fyece, The


DESCRIPTION: "O Dick, what's kept ye a' this time?... O hinny, Dolly, sit thee doon.... The Newcassel folks hes catch'd a moon An' myed it a bonny clock-fyece." The singer tells of the lighted clock a St. Nicolas's church, and how people were amazed
AUTHOR: Robert Nunn
EARLIEST DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay); Nunn died 1853
KEYWORDS: nonballad technology
FOUND IN: Britain(England(North))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Stokoe/Reay, pp. 82-83, "The Fiery Clock Fyece" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3144
File: StoR082

Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest


See Dead Man's Chest (File: LxA512)

Fifteen Ships on Georges' Banks [Laws D3]


DESCRIPTION: A great storm strikes Georges' Banks in February, 1862. Fifteen ships from Gloucester are caught in the storm; all ships are lost and most if not all of the crews. The sad fate of the families of the lost is mentioned
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1921 (Greenleaf/Mansfield)
KEYWORDS: storm disaster ship sea death
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Feb 24, 1862 - The great storm of George's Banks. Fifteen ships are lost; thirteen of them go down with all hands
FOUND IN: US(NE) Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Laws D3, "Fifteen Ships on Georges' Banks"
Greenleaf/Mansfield 129, "George's Bank" (1 text)
Leach, pp. 781-783, "Fifteen Ships on George's Banks"
Darling-NAS, pp. 182-183, "Fifteen Ships of Georges' Banks" (1 text)
DT 610, GEORGES
Roud #2229
File: LD03

Fifteenth Psalm


DESCRIPTION: "Within Thy tabernacle, Lord, Who shall abide with thee? And in Thy high and holy hill, Who shall a dweller be?" Each verse is slightly modified in order to rhyme.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1812 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: Bible nonballad religious
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (3 citations):
GreigDuncan3 687, "Fifteenth Psalm" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
ADDITIONAL: John Brown, The Psalms of David (?, 1812 ("Digitized by Google")), pp. 43-44, "Psalm XV" [The title page is missing]
John Brown, The Psalms of David (Berwick, 1825 ("Digitized by Google")), pp. 30-31, "Psalm XV"
Roud #6110
NOTES: GreigDuncan3 is a slight expansion of Psalms 15.1 ["Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?]. The rest of that psalm [15.2-15.5] answers the questions., viz., "he that walketh upright...."
The John Brown texts restate all five verses of the Psalm. - BS
This is fairly typical. Metrical paraphrases of the psalms -- indeed, of the whole Bible -- go back to at least the early Christan era, and I seem to recall reading that there was a poetic Scottish paraphrase as early as the fourteenth century.
(A numbering note for those who use the Greek Bible: What is called Psalm 15 in the Hebrew and English Bibles is Psalm 14 in the LXX Greek. It is ironic to note that, although it is among the most popular of the Psalms, there is little agreement on its origin or purpose. - RBW)
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD3687

Fifty Cents


See I Had But Fifty Cents (File: R485)

Fight for Home and Honor, A


See The Homestead Strike (File: Gil198)

Fightin' Booze Fighter, The


DESCRIPTION: The singer reports, "I'm a howler from the prairies of the west; If you want to die with terror, look at me..." and goes on to describe how terrible he is. The chorus replies "He's a killer and a hater! He's the great annihilator!" and so forth
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1933
KEYWORDS: cowboy fight
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Fife-Cowboy/West 35, "Cowboy Boasters" (5 texts, 2 tunes; this is the "A" text)
Roud #11214
NOTES: The Fifes seem to think this is a traditional example of cowboy boasting. I can't bring myself to believe it; it's too contrived. - RBW
File: FCW035A

Fighting For Strangers


See Our Captain Calls All Hands (Fighting for Strangers) (File: Pea416)

Filer, The


DESCRIPTION: Recitation. On a spree, Jim McCloud tells his foreman to cut off his leg, as it's loose. The foreman offers to cut Jim's head (his "weakest part") off instead. Jim answers that a foreman doesn't need to use his head, but a filer does, so he'll keep it
AUTHOR: Probably Marion Ellsworth
EARLIEST DATE: 1941 (Beck)
LONG DESCRIPTION: Recitation; Jim McCloud is a filer of saws in a lumber-camp; a drinker, he's sometime gone for a week at a time. After one of these sprees, he tells his foreman to cut off his leg, as it's loose. The foreman says that's too hard a job for him, and offers to cut Jim's head off instead, "as that is your weakest part." Jim replies that while a foreman doesn't need to use his head, a filer does, so he'll keep it.
KEYWORDS: lumbering work drink humorous recitation
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Beck 99, "The Filer" (1 text)
Roud #8878
NOTES: This, like the other pieces probably written by Ellsworth, does not seem to have entered oral tradition. - PJS
File: Be099

Filipino Hombre, A


DESCRIPTION: "There was once a Filipino hombre Who ate rice pescado y legumbre. His trousers were wide, and his shirt hung outside, And this, I may say, was costumbre." In mixed English and pidgin Spanish, the singer demeaningly describes the Filipino's family
AUTHOR: Captain Lyman A. Cotten
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: political family death
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1898 - The U.S. captures the Philippines from Spain. The Americans were unwilling to grant the islands independence, so many soldiers had to be sent to garrison the islands. Neither side had much regard for the other
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Sandburg, pp. 434-435, "A Filipino Hombre" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: San434

Fill a Pot, Fill a Pan


DESCRIPTION: Fill a pot, fill a pan, fill a blind man's han'; them that hinna canna gie; stane blin' may they be" [or "will hae a cripple family"]
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1901 (Maclagan)
KEYWORDS: poverty begging nonballad playparty
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
GreigDuncan8 1630, "Fill a Reesil, Fill a Pan" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Robert Craig Maclagan, The Games and Diversions of Argyleshire (London, 1901 ("Digitized by Google")), pp. 43-44, ("Fill a pot, fill a pan")
Roud #13070
NOTES: The current description is all of the Maclagan text. The bracketed alternative reading is from GreigDuncan8.
Maglagan, in his section on "Blindfold Games": "This amusement consists in one of the company shutting his or her eyes and stretching out the hand, palm upwards, half open, saying [text].... The whole fun consisted in the absurdity of the articles given...." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD81630

Fill, Bowl, Fill


DESCRIPTION: A servant outwits a king, beds the queen, and marries the princess in this cante-fable. When the king orders the servant to fill a bowl with song, the servant cleverly retells the story of his triumph, until the king relents.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE:
KEYWORDS: bawdy humorous seduction servant royalty
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Randolph-Legman I, pp. 348-350, "Fill, Bowl, Fill" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
NOTES: For folktale references, see Vance Randolph, Who Blowed Up the Churchhouse (NY: Columbia University Press, 1952), pp. 185-186; and his Pissing in the Snow (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1976), pp. 47-50. - EC
File: RL348

Fille de la Garnison, La (The Garrison Girl)


DESCRIPTION: French. A soldier's mistress dresses as a boy to follow him without losing her honor. At an inn, the hostess said "I can tell... that you are a camp follower." When she claims to be a boy the hostess challenges "him" to make love with her.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1959 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage courting love army cross-dressing mistress soldier
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Peacock, pp. 335-336, "La Fille de la Garnison" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: Pea335

Fille Soldat de Montcontour, La (The Girl Soldier of Montcontour)


DESCRIPTION: French. A girl dresses as a boy and joins her lover's regiment. She asks him why he is crying. He has a letter from his mom that his mistress left home seven years ago. She reveals that she is his mistress. They marry with great regimental ceremony.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1960 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage courting marriage army war cross-dressing mistress soldier
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Peacock, pp. 338-339, "La Fille Soldat de Montcontour" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: For notes on legitimate historical examples of women serving in the military in disguise, see the notes to "The Soldier Maid." - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: Pea338

Fillimeeooreay


See Paddy Works on the Railway (File: LxU076)

Fillin' o' the Punchbowl Wearies Me, The


DESCRIPTION: "The fillan o' the punch bowl, That wearies me; The fillan o't up, an' the drinkan' o't doon, An' the kissan o' a bonnie lass, That cheeries me."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1898 (Gomme)
KEYWORDS: courting drink nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan3 599, "The Fillin' o' the Punchbowl Wearies Me" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Roud #6049
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "He's a Bonnie, Bonnie Laddie That I'm Gaun Wi'" (tune, per GreigDuncan3)
NOTES: The current description is from Gomme 2.84 re the "Punch Bowl" game. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD3599

Fin We Gang Up tae London


DESCRIPTION: "London city it is fine ... winna that be fine, When we gang up to London?" "The ladies in London say, How do you do? Quite well I thank you; how are you?" "And when dinner it is o'er The carriage is drawn to the door ... to drive us on thro' London"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: travel nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan3 501, "Fin We Gang Up tae London" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5986
File: GrD3501

Fin Ye Gang Awa Johnnie


See When Ye Gang Awa Johnnie (File: GrD3589)

Finch Horse Trade, A


DESCRIPTION: "Of sturdy pioneers one hears so much," but not all are honest. A farmer one morning finds his best horse missing. He goes to Black Earth to find another. He sees a very similar horse, but without a stripe. He buys it, then finds the stripe growing back
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1962 (Gard/Sorden)
KEYWORDS: horse trick disguise thief
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
ADDITIONAL: Robert E. Gard and L. G. Sorden, _Wisconsin Lore: Antics and Anecdotes of Wisconsin People and Places_, Wisconsin House, 1962, p. 162, "A Finch Horse Trade" (1 text, presumably from Wisconsin although no source is listed)
NOTES: According to Gard/Sorden, the Finch family came to Wisconsin during the Black Hawk War. They were active in the vicinity of Jefferson and Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin (imagine a line between Madison and Milwaukee. It's somewhat south of the halfway point on that line). They often staged "Indian" raids, and hid in swamps. One of their tricks was to steal horses and disguise them with paint. Black Earth, where this event supposedly occurred, is a bit out of their range; it is west of Madison. The song does not mention the Finches, but they were apparently regarded as being responsible.
Gard/Sorden's text appears to be unique, and they give no evidence of a tune, so this may be a poem rather than a song, but I thought it better to include it just in case. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GaSor162

Finding of Moses, The


DESCRIPTION: "In Agypt's land, contaygious to the Nile, Old Pharo's daughter ... saw a smiling babby in a wad of straw ...'Tare-an-ages, girls, which o' yees owns the child?'"
AUTHOR: probably Michael J. Moran (Zozimus)
EARLIEST DATE: 1871 (Gulielmus Dubliniensis Humoriensis)
KEYWORDS: Bible humorous baby
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (4 citations):
OLochlainn, p. 230, "The Finding of Moses" (1 fragment)
ADDITIONAL: Gulielmus Dubliniensis Humoriensis [Joseph Tully?], Memoir of the Great Original Zozimus (Michael Moran) (Dublin,1976 (reprint of the 1871 edition)), pp. 20-22, "The Finding of Moses" or "Finding of Moses in the Nile"
H. Halliday Sparling, Irish Minstrelsy (London, 1888), pp. 514, in a note to "Night Before Larry Was Stretched"
ADDITIONAL: Frank Harte _Songs of Dublin_, second edition, Ossian, 1993, pp. 26-27, "The Finding of Moses" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Little Moses" (plot)
NOTES: OLochlainn: "...Zozimus, who was in life Michael Moran, born ... Dublin, about the year 1794 ... composed a notable ballad on The Finding of Moses in the Bulrushes, which begins On Egypt's plains where flows the ancient Nile, Where Ibix stalks and swims the Crockadile.... It underwent many changes ... and a number of versions are extant. A fragment of one [is presented here]."
Sparling's text, exactly as complete or incomplete as OLochlainn, is in not quite as broad a slang. Sparling also attributes it to "the celebrated blind 'Zozimus' who sang his own songs." A more complete version is Frank Harte's Songs of Dublin: Moses' mother is picked up, by coincidence, to be his nurse.
"Memoir of the Great Original Zozimus (Michael Moran)" has two versions; the first "would appear to be all his own composition" and the second "appears to have been an early effort [by Moran]." In the first, which has two verses, King Pharoah's daughter "tuk it [Moses] to Pharo', who madly wild, Said, 'You foolish girl have you got with child?"; in spite of the efforts of one of the daughter's entourage to dissuade Pharoah he says he'll "search every hole and nook" for the father "and likely I'll find him at Donnybrook." The second, rescued "from the uncertainty of tradition," is much longer (26 rhymed couplets), has no statements at all by Pharoah, and ends with a moral drawn from the life of the boy "which rescued from their bondage the Israel of God": "A conquered nation, though down-trod, it still is never crushed, A Liberator always comes when Freedom's voice is hushed; And so our own dear land, in time we all shall see The Saxon rulers gone - Old Ireland shall be free!" - BS
According to Frank Harte, Moran/Zozimus went blind at the age of two weeks, forcing him into a career in entertainment. He took his stage name from an abbot Zozimus who lived in Egypt. This Zosimus (note the variant spelling) was rather obscure, but there was also a Pope Zozimus, who was involved in the Pelagian Controversy (see Henry Chadwick, The Early Church (being volume I of The Pelican History of the Church), Pelican, 1967, pp. 230-231. Zozimus was pontiff from 417 to 419), as well as a pagan historian Zosimus (see Paul Johnson, A History of Christianity, 1976 (I use the 2005 Borders reprint), pp. 97, 112)
Moran died in 1846.
The story of Moses being abandoned by his parents (who had to hide him to prevent him from being killed) is told in Exodus 2:1-10. The picking of his mother, in the Bible, is no coincidence. His sister (presumably Miriam, but the girl is not named at this time) has followed the baby along the Nile, and when the time comes, offers to find a nurse for the baby. Naturally she chose Moses's own mother (Exodus 2:7-8). - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: OLOc230

Fine Broom Besoms (When I Was wi' Barney)


DESCRIPTION: After singing the besom-selling chorus, the singer recalls wandering far from the home where "my mother's spinnin', Barney at the loom." She dreams of her youth when she danced with Barney. "Now the summer's over... I am tired at last."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1924 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: work home separation
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H17a, p. 60, "Fine Broom Besoms" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #1623
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Besom Maker" (chorus)
cf. "Buy Broom Besoms (I Maun Hae a Wife)" (chorus)
NOTES: The besom-seller's cry, "Buy broom besoms, wha will buy them noo? (Fine heather ringers), better never grew" is obviously very old, and inspired Burns in 1796 to write "Wha will buy my troggin."
The street call isn't really a song, though, and it evidently invited completion, as I am aware of at least three texts with this burden:
* I Maun Hae a Wife, probably Scottish, in which the old besom-maker desperately seeks a companion.
* The Sam Henry text "Fine Broom Besoms," in which the singer misses Barney. This looks to me to be a composite of two pieces; I wish we could isolate the Barney text. It looks very beautiful in the nostalgic Irish sort of way.
* The Besom Maker, a song of seduction, printed as a broadside. - RBW
File: HHH017a

Fine Flowers in the Valley


See The Cruel Mother [Child 20] (File: C020)

Fine Lady Gay, The


See The Wife of Usher's Well [Child 79] (File: C079)

Fine Sally


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)

Fine Times in Camp Number Three


DESCRIPTION: The singer calls his listener to hear two verses about lumberjacks (and then sings ten verses!). He levels some snide comments at dishonest workers, then lists all the workers on the crew (without naming names)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1965 (Fowke)
KEYWORDS: hardtimes logger work lumbering
FOUND IN: Canada(Ont)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Fowke-Lumbering #23, "Fine Times in Camp Number Three" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #4361
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Rigs of the Times" (lyrics)
NOTES: I have to suspect that this is a composite song. The first verse says it's only two verses -- but the version sung by LaRena Clark has ten stanzas. The third is straight out of a Canadian version of "Rigs of the Times." My feeling is that Clark's version of "Fine Times in Camp Number Three" contaminates that with parts of "Rigs of the Times," with which it probably shared a tune. - RBW
File: FowL23

Finest Waitress, The


DESCRIPTION: "The finest waitress I ever did see Is the handsome girl that waits on me... Polite she is to young and old, I'm sure she has a heart of gold." He praises her work, and concludes "May unseen angels ever be Near the fair blonde girl who waits on me."
AUTHOR: Edgar Hamm?
EARLIEST DATE: 1939 (Thomas)
KEYWORDS: nonballad food servant
FOUND IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Thomas-Makin', pp. 250-251, (no title) (1 text)
NOTES: Thomas comments on this piece, "Many a mountain lad thinks on verse." On the evidence, this particular mountain lad didn't think at all -- at least with his brain. - RBW
File: ThBa250

Finikin Lass (Finnigan Lasses)


DESCRIPTION: The singer marries a boarding school bred lady who does nothing but read novels. One day he catches her in the cellar "paying the rent." "I'd rather marry the devil than wed with a boarding school lass." "So beware of the Finnegan lasses"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(1205))
KEYWORDS: shrewishness infidelity marriage beauty clothes humorous scatological wife
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Peacock, pp. 269-271, "Finnigan Lasses" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2382
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(1205), "The Finical Lass," W. Stephenson (Gateshead), 1821-1838; also Harding B 25(652), "The Finical Lass"; Firth c.20(5), "Finikin Lasses"; Johnson Ballads 827, "The Finiken Lass"
NOTES: For a definition of "finikin," specifically "precise in trifles, idly busy," see TheFreeDictionary site. The word is like current "finicky."
There is also a parody at Bodleian, Harding B 11(1206), "The Finiken Man," J. Pitts (London), 1819-1844 - BS
File: Pea269

Finished Letter, The


See Anna Lee (The Finished Letter) (File: R775)

Finn Waterside


DESCRIPTION: The singer wanders out and hears his true love call him to Finn waterside. Her(?) parents are sending/exiling her(?) to America. She says she loves only him. He (or she) bids farewell to the local beauties
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1928 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: emigration
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H240, p. 192, "Finn Waterside" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13548
NOTES: This song, at least in the Henry version, is very confusing; with no indication of speakers, it is not clear whether the girl or the boy is being exiled (let alone for what reason), nor whether the final scene is a parting by the one being exiled or a promise by the other to come along, accompanied by a farewell to the old home. - RBW
File: HHH240

Finnegan's Wake (II)


See Molly McGlocklin (File: RcMolMcG)

Finnegan's Wake [Laws Q17]


DESCRIPTION: Tim Finnegan, never entirely sober, falls from a ladder and cracks his head. Taken home unconscious, his wife holds a wake that soon gets out of control. Splashed with whiskey, Tim awakens and resents being thought dead
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1861 (broadside, LOCSinging sb40523b)
KEYWORDS: injury drink fight party
FOUND IN: US(MW) Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland
REFERENCES (11 citations):
Laws Q17, "Tim Finnegan's Wake" [Laws Q17]
Eddy 146, "Tim Finnegan's Wake" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Gardner/Chickering 169, "Finnigan's Wake" (1 text)
Creighton-NovaScotia 86, "Tim Finnigan's Wake" (1 text, 1 tune)
O'Conor, p. 136, "Tim Finigan's Wake" (1 text)
OLochlainn 91, "Finnegan's Wake" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hodgart, p. 219, "Finnegan's Wake" (1 text)
Gilbert, p. 120, "Finnegan's Wake" (1 partial text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 232, "Finnegan's Wake" (1 text)
DT 528, FINNWAKE*
ADDITIONAL: Frank Harte _Songs of Dublin_, second edition, Ossian, 1993, pp. 28-29, "Finnegan's Wake" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #1009
RECORDINGS:
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, "Finnigan's Wake" (on IRClancyMakem01)
Warde Ford, "Finnegan's Wake" [incomplete] (AFS 4212 A3, 1939; in AMMEM/Cowell)
Jack Swain, "Finnigan's Wake I" (on NFMLeach)
John Terrell, "Tim Finnegan's Wake" (Berliner 1869, 1898)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth b.25(254), "Finnigan's Wake," W.S. Fortey (London), 1858-1885; also Harding B 11(3620), Harding B 11(3619), Firth c.26(209), Harding B 11(1207), "Finnigan's Wake"
LOCSinging, sb40523b, "Tim Finigan's wake," H. De Marsan (New York), 1859-1860
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Irish Wake" [Laws Q18]
cf. "The Bullockies' Ball" (theme)
cf. "Doherty's Wake" (subject)
SAME TUNE:
The French Musician (per broadside LOCSinging sb40523b)
NOTES: Broadside LOCSinging sb40523b: 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: LQ17

Finnigan Lasses


See Finikin Lass (Finnigan Lasses) (File: Pea269)

Finnigan's Wake


See Finnegan's Wake [Laws Q17] (File: LQ17)

Finvola, the Gem of the Roe


DESCRIPTION: "In the land of O'Cahan... Deep sunk in a valley a wild flower did grow, And her name was Finvola, the gem of the Roe." A young man in tartan comes and falls in love with her. Now she is dead (?); the locals grieve
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1938 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: death love
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H786, pp. 139-140, "Finvola, the Gem of the Roe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2291
NOTES: Yes, this song (or at least the Henry text) is as confusing as the description implies. It's not clear what the young man is introduced for, nor even if Finvola dies or is stolen away. - RBW
File: HHH786

Fire Down Below


DESCRIPTION: "There is fire in the lower hold, There's fire down below, Fire in the main well, The captain didn't know." All places where fire has arisen (or might arise), from mast to keel, are listed. It perhaps started in the galley, and "The cook he didn't know"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1940 (Smith/Hatt)
KEYWORDS: fire ship
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (7 citations):
Colcord, p. 117, "Fire Down Below" (1 text, 1 tune)
Harlow, pp. 123-125 "Fire Down Below" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Hugill, pp. 519-522, "Fire Down Below" (5 texts, 5 tunes) [AbEd, pp. 378-381]
Sharp-EFC, XXIV, p. 27, "Fire! Fire!" (1 text, 1 tune)
Smith/Hatt, p. 39, "Fire in the Foretop" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 83, "Fire Down Below" (1 text)
DT, FIREBELO
Roud #813
File: FSWB083A

Fire in the Foretop


See Fire Down Below (File: FSWB083A)

Fire of Frendraught, The [Child 196]


DESCRIPTION: Brothers Lord John and Rothiemay are enticed by Lady Frendraught to stay at Castle Frendraught to end their feud. Their room is set afire by night. Lord John's servant offers to catch him out the window, but it is too late. Lord John's wife is heartbroken
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1794 (Ritson)
LONG DESCRIPTION: The brothers Lord John and Rothiemay are enticed by Lady Frendraught to stay at Castle Frendraught to seal a compact between their feuding families. Their room is set afire by night. Lady Frendraught expresses mild regret for killing Lord John, but none for Rothiemay. Lord John's servant offers to catch him (but not poor Rothiemay) out the window, but it is too late. When Lord John's wife hears the news, her heart is broken.
KEYWORDS: fire feud betrayal brother family trick
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
October 8/9, 1630 - The Frendraught Fire
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (7 citations):
Child 196, "The Fire of Frendraught" (6 texts)
Bronson 196, "The Fire of Frendraught" (4 versions)
Greig #142, pp. 1-2, "The Fire of Frendraught"; Greig #145, p. 2, "The Fire of Frendraught" (2 texts)
GreigDuncan2 232, "The Fire o' Frendraught" (2 texts, 2 tunes) {A=Bronson's #2}
Friedman, p. 267, "Fire of Frendraught" (1 text)
OBB 145, "The Fire of Frendraught" (1 text)
DT 196, FRNDRGT*
Roud #336
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Lord Thomas and Fair Annet" [Child 73] (tune, according to GreigDuncan2)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Fause Frendraught
NOTES: In terms of feud, this wasn't notably worse than much of what passed in Scotland; the survival of the song may be due to its religious associations (this was the reign of Charles I, when Puritanism was on the rise but the king appeared to be so High Church as to be soft on Catholicism).
C. V. Wedgwood writes in The King's Peace, p. 120,
"In 1630 a principal member of Huntly's family [Huntly was one of the leading Catholics] had perished with several companions in a fire at Frendraught, a house belonging to the Crichtons. The Crichtons, though apparently reconciled, were hereditary enemies of the Gordons, and foul play was suspected. If the horrible business had indeed been a murder and not an accident, it was probably the result of personal enmity and nothing more, but a religious motive was suspected. The Catholics told a tragic tale of the heroism of the young victim who has expounded the true faith to his companions as the flames crept up the tower in which he was trapped."
Rosalind Mitchison, in A History of Scotland, second edition, pp. 169-170, says this of the affair:
"[A] famous dispute... lay across Aberdeenshire in the 1630s, the affair of the burning of the tower of Frendraught, part of the Crichton homestead which went up in flames one night in October 1630 with a son of Huntly and Gordon of Rothiemay, and their attendants, inside. It was never established that this was more than a ghastly accident, but the Gordons were passionately resentful. Huntly [the chief of the Gordons] took the quarrel to the Privy Council. The Council investigated repeatedly, tortured a servant or two for information, executed a hanger-on of no great social status, but failed to gain evidence against Crichton of Frendraught. Dissatisfied, Huntley let in broken men from the Highlands to ravage Crichton land, and for years the north-east was troubled by burnings, looting, and kidnappings."- RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
File: C196

Fire on the Mountain, Run, Run, Run


DESCRIPTION: Singing game, with text "Fire on the mountain, run, run, run."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1950 (Creighton/Senior)
KEYWORDS: playparty nonballad
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Creighton/Senior, pp. 260, "Fire on the Mountain, Run, Run, Run" (1 extremely short text)
Roud #4618
NOTES: Probably a lost fragment of something. But with only one line of text, we can hardly tell what. Roud, quite improbably, lumps it with "Jim Along Josie." - RBW
File: CrSe260

Fire Ship, The


DESCRIPTION: In naval euphemisms, a sailor meets a whore, takes her in tow, and empties his shot locker. She steals his money and clothes, and he discovers she has given him "fire down below."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1612 (London broadside, "Watten's Town End")
KEYWORDS: bawdy sailor sex warning whore disease
FOUND IN: Britain(England) US(NW,So,SW)
REFERENCES (7 citations):
Hugill, pp. 171-172, "The Fire Ship" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, pp. 138-139]
Cray, pp. 68-71, "The Fire Ship" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Randolph-Legman I, pp. 237-239, "The Fire Ship" (1 text, 1 tune)
Shay-SeaSongs, pp. 205-206, "The Fire Ship" (1 text, 1 tune)
JHJohnson, p. 61, "The Fire Ship" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 26, "The Fireship" (1 text)
DT, FIRSHIP
Roud #8344
RECORDINGS:
Guy Mitchell, "The Fire Ship" (Columbia 78-39067, 1950 -- a cleaned-up version, needless to say)
The Weavers, "The Roving Kind" (Decca 27332, 1950; on WeaversCD1 -- another cleaned-up version)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Firelock Stile" (plot)
cf. "The Sewing Machine" (plot)
cf. "The Wayward Boy" (plot)
cf. "While Hanging Around Town" (plot)
cf. "A-Rovin'" (plot)
cf. "Ball of Yarn" (plot)
cf. "Boring for Oil" (plot)
cf. "Eleventh Street Whores" (plot)
cf. "Footprints on the Dashboard" (plot)
cf. "The Gay Caballero" (plot)
cf. "Root, Hog, or Die (VI -- Cowboy Bawdy variant)" (theme)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
She Had a Dark and a Rovin' Eye
A Dark and a Rolling Eye
NOTES: Legman has extensive notes on this ballad in Randolph-Legman I. - EC
A "fireship," as the term was usually used, was a small craft set on fire and floated into a larger vessel (or fleet) to set it afire or at least force it off-course. Hence the analogy to a prostitute who spreads disease.
Most printed and recorded versions of this have been cleaned up to some extent. - RBW
File: EM068

Fire, Maringo


DESCRIPTION: Shanty. "Lift him up and carry him along, Fire maringo, fire away. Put him down where he belongs, Fire maringo, fire away"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1884 (Charles Nordhoff's _The Merchant Vessel, a Sailor Boy's Voyages_ 1884)
KEYWORDS: shanty worksong
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Hugill, p. 16. "Fire, Maringo" (1 text, quoting Nordhoff's _The Merchant Vessel_)
DT, FIRMRING
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Fire, Marengo
NOTES: Some dispute on the origin; Hugill says that Doerflinger mentions this as being of Negro origin (but I couldn't find any mention of it in Shantymen and Shantyboys [nor could I - RBW]); however, Hugill himself thinks it is Irish, citing the use of the word "maringo" which he says is found is many Irish folk-songs. - SL
File: Hugi016

Fire! Fire!


See Fire Down Below (File: FSWB083A)
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