Maid of Tardree, The


DESCRIPTION: In this confused song, the singer falls in love with a girl, who also says she loves him. But then he falls in love with another girl. But his "first expectations were blighted." He prepares to emigrate
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1937 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love emigration
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H733, p. 342, "The Maid of Tardree" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #6872
NOTES: There is no doubt in my mind that this song is damaged somehow. But I can't guess how. - RBW
File: HHH733

Maid of the East, The


See There Was a Lady in the East (File: Pea726)

Maid of the Logan Bough, The


See The Foot of the Mountain Brow (The Maid of the Mountain Brow) [Laws P7] (File: LP07)

Maid of the Mountain Brow


See The Foot of the Mountain Brow (The Maid of the Mountain Brow) [Laws P7] (File: LP07)

Maid of the Sweet Brown Knowe, The


See The Foot of the Mountain Brow (The Maid of the Mountain Brow) [Laws P7] (File: LP07)

Maid of Tottenham, The


See Haselbury Girl, The (The Maid of Tottenham, The Aylesbury Girl) (File: K176)

Maid on the Shore, The (The Fair Maid by the Sea Shore; The Sea Captain) [Laws K27]


DESCRIPTION: The captain sees a pretty girl on the shore, and vigorously entreats her to come aboard. At last she does, but then sings captain and sailors to sleep. She robs captain and sailors, then rows back to shore -- using the captain's sword for an oar!
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1859 (Journal from the Ocean Rover)
KEYWORDS: courting seduction trick escape robbery magic shore feminist
FOUND IN: US(MA,NE,NW,So,SW) Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland
REFERENCES (16 citations):
Laws K27, "The Maid on the Shore (The Fair Maid by the Sea Shore; The Sea Captain)"
Bronson (43), "The Broomfield Hill" -- the appendix includes 6 versions (#25-#30) which are this song
Belden, pp. 107-109, "The Maid on the Shore" (1 text, 1 tune)
Leach, pp. 731-732, "The Fair Maid by the Sea Shore" (1 text)
Friedman, p. 403, "The Sea Captain" (1 text)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 28, "The Maiden who Dwelt by the Shore" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #29}
Peacock, pp. 296-297, "The Maid on the Shore O" (1 text, 1 tune)
Karpeles-Newfoundland 28, "The Sea Captain" (3 texts, 3 tunes) {Bronson's #27, #30}
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 158-159, "The Maid on the Shore (The Sea Captain)" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #29, perhaps slightly modified}
Creighton-Maritime, p. 41, "The Sea Captain" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 49, "The Sea Captain" (1 text, 1 tune)
Mackenzie 19, "The Sea Captain" (2 texts, 1 tune)
FSCatskills 75, "The Maid on the Shore" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 136-137, "The Maid on the Shore" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 73, "The Maid on the Shore" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #29}
DT 322 (43?), MAIDSHOR* MAIDSHR2*
Roud #181
RECORDINGS:
Frankie Armstrong, "The Maid on the Shore" (on BirdBush2, Armstrong1)
Omar Blondahl, "The Maid on the Shore" (on NFOBlondahl04)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Broomfield Hill" [Child 43] (plot) and references there
cf. "Drimindown" (tune)
File: LK27

Maid Peeped Out at the Window, The


See The Friar in the Well [Child 276] (File: C276)

Maid Who Sold Her Barley, The


See Mowing the Barley (Cold and Raw) (File: ShH60)

Maid with the Bonny Brown Hair, The


DESCRIPTION: The singer sees a beautiful maiden, "brighter than Venus." He courts her; at last they set a wedding day. But she breaks off the engagement; she has "another more kinder." He laments; he or she or both set out for another country
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (JIFSS)
KEYWORDS: love rejection emigration beauty
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (3 citations):
SHenry H43, p. 394, "The Maid with the Bonny Brown Hair"; H575, pp. 394-395, "The Maid with the Bonny Brown Hair" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
OLochlainn 6, "The Maid With the Bonny Brown Hair" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hayward-Ulster, pp. 39-40, "The Maid with the Bonny Brown Hair" (1 text)
Roud #3032
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Lough Erin's Shore (I)" (tune)
cf. "The Bonnie Wee Lass of the Glen" (tune)
cf. "Erin's Green Shore" [Laws Q27] (tune)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Lass with the Bonny Brown Hair
File: HHH024

Maiden City, The


DESCRIPTION: Derry is the Maiden City, threatened in 1688. Her defenders shouted "No Surrender" and vowed Derry "should be a Maiden still." She rejected "a Kingly wooer" and her defenders won a terrible battle. "The Maiden on her throne boys, Shall be a Maiden still"
AUTHOR: Charlotte Elizabeth (source: Hayes)
EARLIEST DATE: 1987 (OrangeLark)
KEYWORDS: battle Ireland patriotic
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
OrangeLark 39, "The Maiden City" (1 text, 1 tune)
ADDITIONAL:Edward Hayes, The Ballads of Ireland (Boston, 1859 (reprint of 1855 London edition)), Vol I, p. 278, "The Maiden City"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Shutting of the Gates of Derry" (subject: The Siege of Derry) and references there
NOTES: For background on the Siege of (London)derry, see the notes to "The Shutting of the Gates of Derry" as well as "No Surrender (I)." - RBW
File: OrLa039

Maiden in the Garden, The


See Pretty Fair Maid (The Maiden in the Garden; The Broken Token) [Laws N42] (File: LN42)

Maiden in the Mor Lay (The Maid of the Moor)


DESCRIPTION: "Maiden in the mor [moor] lay, In the more lay, Seuenyst [seven nights] fulle (x2)," "Welle was hire mete. Wat was hire mete?... The primerole ant the violet." "Welle was hire dryng [drink]. Wat was hire dryng? The chelde water of the welle-spring." Etc.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: fourteenth century (Bodleian, MS. Rawlinson D.913)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad food flowers
FOUND IN: Britain(England)
REFERENCES (7 citations):
Stevick-100MEL 38, "(Mayden in the moor lay)" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Brown/Robbins, _Index of Middle English Verse_, #3891
Kenneth Sisam, editor, _Fourteenth Century Verse & Prose_, Oxford, 1925, p. 167, "The Maid of the Moor" (1 text)
J. A. Burrow and Thorlac Turville-Petre, _A Book of Middle English_, second edition, 1996 (I use the 1999 Blackwell paperback edition), pp. 236-237 (no title) (1 text, expanded from the brief manuscript form)
Maxwell S. Luria & Richard Hoffman, _Middle English Lyrics_, a Norton Critical Edition, Norton, 1974, pp. 128-129, #138 (no title) (1 text)
R. T. Davies, editor, _Medieval English Lyrics: A Critical Anthology_, 1963, #33, p. 102, "The maiden lay in the wilds" (1 text)
James J. Wilhelm, _Medieval Song: An Anthology of Hymns and Lyrics_, Dutton, 1971, #214, pp. 353-354, "Maiden in the Moor Lay" (1 modernized text)
NOTES: This, obviously, has never been found in oral tradition. But Burrow/Turville-Petre, p. 235, say that the piece "happens to be referred to in a fourteenth century sermon... described as 'a certain song, namely a 'karole'." That's an awfully thin reed on which to base an inclusion, but better to include than omit. Davies, p. 321, does describe it as "popular," which in a fourteenth century context presumably means "folk." Sisam, p. 162, considers it minstrel work.
This is one of the "Rawlinson lyrics," found on a single strip of parchment in Bodleian library MS. Rawlinson D.913. It has several short poems, in both English and French (Burrow/Turville-Petre, p. 235). This particular one has four verses, with only the first two spelled out in full; the last two verses are much abbreviated, although most modern editions spell out the verses.
There is much disagreement about who the Maiden is. Burrow/Turville-Petre, p. 236 mention suggestions of the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, a dead child, and a water sprite. I would think most singers would have interpreted it as the Virgin Mary.
The scholarly discussion of this piece is very extensive. Luria/Hoffman reprint no fewer than four articles, by D. W. Robertson, Jr. [1950], by E. T. Donaldson [1960], by John Speirs [undated], and by Peter Dronke [1966].
Robertson, who points out many puzzles in the poem. believes that the Maid is indeed the Virgin Mary, and points out that the sundry flowers often appear in medieval images of the Virgin, adding that the flowers also implied fleshly beauty.
Donaldson thinks reciters would indeed think of the Virgin Mary but might not seek much allegorical depth in the rest of the images.
Speirs denies that we can be expected to know who the maid is, but calls her a "child of nature" and suggests a link to fertility cults (which strikes me as extremely unlikely).
Dronke absolutely rejects the link with Mary and proposes the water sprite theory based on German folk tales. He thinks the piece a dance song. In his view, the girl comes to dances to fascinate men, but must return to the moor by a certain time, lest she die. The difficulty with this is that there is no direct evidence of these stories in English.
Davies, pp. 320-321, mentions an interpretation which compares this to the world's wilderness before the incarnation of Jesus. This would fit the moor, but hardly the flowers.
Saupe, without expressing a strong opinion of her own, did include this poem in an anthology of Marian literature, and observes that Schoeck, 1951, agreed with Robertson. She mentions an article by E. M. W. Tillyard suggesting that the maid is Mary Magdalene (hardly likely -- yes, Mary found Jesus in a garden, but she was also thought to be a prostitute) or Mary of Egypt (whoever that is). The weakness of this is obvious: The woman of the song is a *maiden* but is never called "Mary." Surely we must work from a famous maiden, not a famous Mary.
At least one high clerical official (the Bishop of Ossory) declared this piece unfit for liturgical use (Davies, p. 320); Saupe mentions an argument by Greene that Ossory rewrote the piece in Latin to make it more Christian -- it sounds as if the melody was too popular to ignore but the lyrics unacceptable.
Probably we will never know what the song is really about. But it does seem likely that at least some hearers thought it referred to the Virgin Mary.
Stevick dates the manuscript "after 1300." Burrow/Turville-Petre, p. 235, says "early fourteenth century," as does the headnote in Saupe. Sisam, p. 162, also thinks it early fourteenth century, pointing out that the poems of the latter part of the century (when the Hundred Years' War was lost and the Wars of the Roses resulted in intermittent civil war) tended to be much gloomier. - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 2.5
File: MSBRDMM

Maiden of Drumdurno, The


DESCRIPTION: "Busy baking for her bridal, Durno's maiden lilts wi' glee." A stranger taunts her for baking too slowly. She wagers she can finish baking before he can build a road. He, the devil in disguise, wins the wager. She flees and turns to stone to escape him
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1930 (Ord)
KEYWORDS: cook food wager marriage trick Devil
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ord, pp. 434-435, "The Maiden of Drumdurno" (1 text)
NOTES: According to Ord, this is a poetic version of a legend regarding the "maiden stone of Bennachie." The tall stone, said to bear the marks of a fleeing girl, is reported to have been created when the condemned girl cried for help. Rather than obtaining rescue from the tempter, she was turned to stone.
The legend may have arisen naturally. The song, I think, is a purely modern composition. - RBW
File: Ord434

Maiden Pined by Derry's Walls, A


DESCRIPTION: A maiden starving in Derry tells "her 'Prentice Boy lover" not to weep for her: live free or die "not like a popish slave." The message is repeated in Derry by a young wife and mother to her husband, and by a widowed mother to her son.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1987 (OrangeLark)
KEYWORDS: battle death starvation Ireland patriotic husband lover mother wife
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
OrangeLark 32, "A Maiden Pined by Derry's Walls" (1 text)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Slave" (tune, according to OrangeLark)
NOTES: See "No Surrender (I)" and references there for information about the 1688-1689 Seige of Derry. - BS
Also "The Shutting of the Gates of Derry." It's perhaps worth noting, in light of the girl addressing her "'Prentice Boy." that it was the apprentices of the town who were first credited with closing Derry's gates. - RBW
File: PrLa032

Maiden Sat a-Weeping, A


See As Sylvie Was Walking (File: VWL014)

Maiden Who Dwelt by the Shore, The


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

Maiden's Grave, The


DESCRIPTION: "What is that crucifix gleaming so whitely, Here in the desert standing so brave? Let us go softly, let us go lightly, To read its inscription, 'The Maiden's Grave.'" No one, save the cross that marks the grave, knows who she was or how she died
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1909 (Deseret News)
KEYWORDS: death burial nonballad
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Burt, pp. 135-136, "(The Maiden's Grave)" (1 text)
NOTES: Reportedly based on an incident of 1904, when the Central Pacific railroad was realigning its tracks. This involved moving one grave of a woman whose history was not know. - RBW
File: Burt135

Maiden's Lament (I), The


DESCRIPTION: The girl laments that her parents have denied her poor lover's proposal of marriage. She bids farewell to parents, friends and foes. "Come all you fair maids like me a-dying, It's now I'm taking my last farewell." She believes her death is near.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1929 (Karpeles-Newfoundland)
KEYWORDS: love courting separation dying father mother death poverty
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Karpeles-Newfoundland 82, "The Maiden's Lament" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2305
File: KaNew082

Maiden's Lament (II), The


See I Never Will Marry [Laws K17] (File: LK17)

Maiden's Lament (III)


See Garners Gay (Rue; The Sprig of Thyme) and related songs (File: FSWB163)

Maiden's Lamentation, The


See A Maid in Bedlam (File: ShH41)

Maiden's Prayer, The


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

Maidens of Locharmuick, The


DESCRIPTION: The singer walks out one morning to the farm at Locharmuick. He is greeted with kisses by a girl in the garden. The "aul wife" brings out a whisky bottle and he drinks a toast to the five "maidens of Locharmuick," those over them and men who are away.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1916 (GreigDuncan4)
KEYWORDS: farming drink moniker
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan4 745, "The Maidens of Locharmuick" (1 text)
Roud #6175
NOTES: GreigDuncan4 quotes a note from Charles Murray, Duncan's source for this song, who had "surveyed Glen Carvie [Strathdon, about 40 miles west of Aberdeen] including the farm of Locharmuick." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD4745

Maidens of Sixty-Three (The Old Maid)


DESCRIPTION: "When I was a girl of eighteen years old... I was taught to expect wit, wisdom, gold, and nothing less would do for me." She rejected a youth as too poor, a duke as too old, etc. By her forties, the suitors were fewer; at (63), she begs for anyone
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1908 (GreigDuncan7)
KEYWORDS: courting oldmaid rejection
FOUND IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Greig #17, p. 1, ("When I was a maiden of sweet seventeen") (1 text)
GreigDuncan7 1377, "The Old Maid of Fifty-Three" (3 texts)
SHenry H679, pp. 255-256, "Maidens of Sixty-Three" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, OLDMD53*
Roud #5643
NOTES: Sort of a combination of "My Thing Is My Own" with "The Old Maid's Song." - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: HHH679

Maidenstone, The


DESCRIPTION: The Devil, to seal a deal with a jealous suitor, wins a bet with a betrothed maiden. She flees and her silent prayer to evade the Devil is answered: she is turned into a stone pillar that reminds maidens to "guard the vows that love has made"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1847 (Thom)
LONG DESCRIPTION: A jealous suitor makes a deal with the devil to damn the betrothed "Maiden of Drumdurno" -- "the beauty of five parishes' -- and Jamie. She makes a lighthearted bet -- that she can bake bread before he can pave a road -- with a stranger for her self, which she loses. Realizing that she has lost to the Devil she runs -- "fast she flies, as fast pursued" -- and is turned into stone in answer to her silent prayer. The stone "bids the maids of Garioch Guard the vows that love has made" Now, "quick the pace, and quick the pulse" of those who wander there alone "atween Pittrodie's haunted wood An' the dowie Mayden Stane"
KEYWORDS: jealousy courting love bargaining wager disguises food Devil
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Greig #55, p. 3, "Maidenstone" (1 fragment)
GreigDuncan8 1916, "The Maidenstone" (1 fragment)
ADDITIONAL: William Thom, Rhymes and Recollections of a Hand-Loom Weaver (London, 1847 (3rd edition, "Digitized by Google")), pp. 58-61, ("And quick the pace, and quick the pulse") [narrative and one verse]
Jeanie M Laing, Notes on Superstition and Folk Lore (Brechin, 1885 ("Digitized by Google")), pp. 63-65, "The Mayden Stane of Bennachie" [narrative and three verses]
Roud #13559
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Standing Stones" (subject: the sculptured stones)
NOTES: Laing: "Those ancient sculptured stones which we find here and there throughout the island, and about the origin and significance of which antiquarians are undecided, have, in many cases, legends attached to them by the superstitious. One of the most remarkable of these is the "Mayden Stane of Bennachie," situated in the parish of Chapel of Garioch, Aberdeenshire.... The 'causey' [road] is said to be still extant, although overgrown with rank heather; and the neighborhood bears the reputation of being haunted."
The GreigDuncan8 note adds this comment to Greig's about the stone: "which has Pictish carvings."
Both Thom and Laing repeat the verse Greig has from Orr. Laing adds two more verses. There may be more verses in Andrew Galloway Fordyce, Reminiscences of the Maiden Stane of Bennachie, published by the Banffshire Journal in 1975. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD81916

Maidin Luan Chincise


DESCRIPTION: Gaelic. The speaker laments that while Leinster and Ulster rose in rebellion, Munster did not.
AUTHOR: Micheal Og O Longain (1766-1837) (source: Moylan)
EARLIEST DATE: 1978 (Toibin's _Duanaire Deiseach_, according to Moylan)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage rebellion
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1798 - Irish rebellion against British rule
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Moylan 102, "Maidin Luan Chincise" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: The description is, verbatim, Moylan's.
Moylan states that his text is not O Longain's original, but a version from tradition. - BS
This is one of those "technically correct" laments: There were lots of hot spots in Ulster in 1798. In Munster, outside of Dublin, there wasn't much -- except in Wexford. Wexford is right on the borther with Munster, but there were few spontaneous uprisings in Munster. But Munster was a backwater. Had the Ulster rebels held together until the French came, or the Wexford rebels raised more of Leinster and moved on Dublin, they might have succeeded. Had Munster risen but all else stayed the same, the effect would simply have been to increase the bloodshed: The British would have pacified the northeast, then concentrated all their forces in the south. - RBW
File: Moyl102

Maids of Australia


See Oxeborough Banks (Maids of Australia) (File: FaE044)

Maids of Culmore, The


See The Maid of Culmore (File: HHH687)

Maids of Downhill, The


DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls wandering by Magilligan strand to Downhill. He describes the shore, the old castle, the fields, the girls. He complains that the famous poets never mentioned Downhill. He would rather be here than anywhere else in the world
AUTHOR: Frances Heaney ?
EARLIEST DATE: 1939 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: home nonballad
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H809, p. 162, "The Maids of Downhill" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13462
File: HHH809

Maids of Mourne Shore, The


See The Maid of Mourne Shore (File: HHH034b)

Maids of Simcoe (Ontario)


DESCRIPTION: The singer urges the girls to remember the loggers while waiting at home with the farmers. He remarks sarcastically on the dangers farmers face. The boys head for (Quebec) to party, then for home. (In some texts a girl at an inn falls in love with him)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1926 (Rickaby)
KEYWORDS: logger separation
FOUND IN: US(MA,NE)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Doerflinger, pp. 241-242, "The Maids of Simcoe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Rickaby 16, "Ye Maidens of Ontario" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 76-77, "Ye Maidens of Ontario" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Doe241 (Partial)
Roud #3289
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Union Boy" (tune, floating verses)
NOTES: There are two places in Ontario called "Simcoe." Arthur Lant, of New York (who sang the version found in Doerflinger), thought it referred to Simcoe *county* (on the southeastern corner of Georgian Bay, and extending down to Lake Simcoe). The town of Simcoe, which is farther from the logging regions, is in Norfolk County in southern Ontario, a short distance from Lake Erie and almost due north of Erie, Pennsylvania.
Fowke reports that this song "is descended from an old English broadside, 'Ye Gentlemen of England, or The Stormy Winds Do Blow.'" - RBW
File: Doe241

Maids When You're Young Never Wed an Old Man


DESCRIPTION: Examples of why young women should not marry old men. A girl married at sixteen, and has lived an unsatisfactory life. Details are given of the old man's various performance problems. The girl notes that she eventually found solace with a young man
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1791 (Herd)
KEYWORDS: age marriage
FOUND IN: Britain(England(North,South,Lond),Scotland(Aber)) Ireland US(Ro) Canada(Ont)
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Kennedy 207, "Never Wed a' Auld Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Butterworth/Dawney, p. 32, "An old man he courted me" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/MacMillan 60, "An Old Man He Courted Me" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 156, "Maids When You're Young, Never Wed An Old Man" (1 text)
Gilbert, p. 72, "Don't Wed an Old Man" (1 text)
DT, NOWEDOLD*
Roud #210
RECORDINGS:
Sam Larner, "Maids When You're Young Never Wed an Old Man" (on SLarner02)
Jeannie Robertson, "Maids When You're Young [Never Wed a Auld Man]" (on FSB2, FSB2CD); "An Old Man Came a Courting Me" (on Voice01)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "An Old Man Came Over the Moor (Old Gum Boots and Leggings)"
cf. "I Wouldn't Marry an Old Man"
cf. "I Wouldn't Have an Old Man"
cf. "No Balls at All"
cf. "My Husband's Got No Courage In Him"
cf. "A Bird in a Gilded Cage"
cf. "The Whirly Whorl"
cf. "The Old Bachelor (I)"
cf. "The Burnt-Out Old Fellow [An Seanduine Doighte]"
cf. "Le Mari de Quatre-Vingt-Dix Ans (The Ninety Year Old Husband)"
cf. "Roll Me From the Wall" (theme)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Scant of Love, Want of Love
NOTES: In their notes to Sam Larner's recording, MacColl & Seeger cite a version from the appendix to the 1791 edition of Herd's "Scottish Songs," which they call a "remarkably close parallel to Mr. Larner's." Without seeing it, I'm hesitant to assign "EARLIEST DATE," but that has the ring of certainty about it rather than careless lumping. - PJS
I'm assured by others that they're the same, and have adjusted the Earliest Date accordingly (the more so as every other version is rather recent). But I'm leaving the comment here because, well, I still haven't seen it.
The problem of this song, incidentally, was common enough to apparently produce some special vocabulary. The unattributed 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue,republished 1971 with a forward by Robert Cromie, defines COURT OF ASSISTANTS as "A court often applied to by young women who marry old men." - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: K207

Maighre an Chuil Orbhui


DESCRIPTION: Gaelic. The singer's wife was stolen and replaced by a fairy woman without his knowledge. In Dublin he meets his real wife whom he eventually recognizes. He joins his real wife.
AUTHOR: Colla Mac Seain (source: O Boyle, citing O'Reilly's _Irish Writers_)
EARLIEST DATE: 1976 (OBoyle)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage reunion disguise supernatural wife
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
OBoyle 16, "Maighre an Chuil Orbhui" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: O Boyle summarizes the text in English but does not translate it. The description follows the summary. He says, at the end, that "the song does not tell us the fate of [the] fairy wife and children."- BS
File: OBoy016

Mail Boat Leinster, The


DESCRIPTION: On October 10, 1918, "the Dublin Mail Boat Leinster was sunk in the Irish Sea" by a German submarine. "The passengers, their life-belts on, unto the boats repair, While cries for help do rend the skies in sad and wild despair."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1946 (Ranson)
KEYWORDS: drowning sea ship wreck sailor war
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Oct 10, 1918: World War I. Leinster with 680 passengers sunk "by torpedoes fired by a German submarine U 123 .... Of the total of 757 aboard 501 were lost" (source: Bourke in _Shipwrecks of the Irish Coast_ v1, p. 32)
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ranson, p. 35, "The Mail Boat, Leinster" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7344
NOTES: Ranson: Tune is "Poulshone Fishermen" on p. 102. - BS
File: Ran035

Mail Day


See Every Mail Day (File: Wa173)

Mail Day Blues


See Every Mail Day (File: Wa173)

Maine Battle Song


DESCRIPTION: "Come, sogers! take your muskets up; And grasp your faithful rifles; We're gwoin to lick the red coat men, Who call us Yankees, 'trifles.'" Loggers and soldiers will drive off the inept British invaders. They will decide the border by battle
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1842 (McCarty, _Songs, Odes, and Other Poems on National Subjects, according to Gray); probably published in newspapers in 1839
KEYWORDS: political soldier
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Gray, pp. 160-161, "Maine Battle Song" (1 text)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Aroostook War" (subject: Aroostook War)
cf. "Maine Soldiers' Song" (subject: Aroostook War)
NOTES: For background on the Aroostook almost-war, see the notes to "The Aroostook War." Of the three songs Gray prints on this subject, all vigorously anti-British, this is the most jingoistic -- I strongly suspect that, had there been an actual battle, the British regulars would have destroyed the American militia. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: Gray160

Maine Soldiers' Song


DESCRIPTION: "We are marching on to Madawask, To fight the trespassers; We'll teach the British how to walk -- and come off conquerors." The British will not be allowed to log. People from all occupations are called to join the forces which will drive out the British
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1910 (Historical ollections of Piscatiquis County, according to Gray; supposedly from 1839 newspapers)
KEYWORDS: political soldier
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1839 - the "Aroostook War"
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Gray, pp. 158-159, "The Solders' Song" (1 text)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Aroostook War" (subject: Aroostook War)
cf. "Maine Battle Song" (subject: Aroostook War)
NOTES: For background on the Aroostook almost-war, see the notes to "The Aroostook War." - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: Gray158

Maine-ite in Pennsylvania, The


DESCRIPTION: "I landed safe in Williamsport in a lumberman's rendezvous, 'Twas there I hired with Jacob Brown as one of winter's crew." The singer serves six months in the wild country, talking of the waters and the great variety of animals
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1926 (Rickaby)
KEYWORDS: logger work river animal humorous
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Rickaby 19, "The Maine-ite in Pennsylvania" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Rick089 (Full)
Roud #7739
NOTES: This is a very strange little song: After one verse about hiring out, which could come from another lumbering song, the singer describes the territory in which he worked. But this description is so exaggerated as to be funny -- "the wild ferocious rabbit"? And Caribou are an arctic mammal. - RBW
File: Rick089

Mains o' Boyndie


DESCRIPTION: "If ye want to learn high farmin'" come to Mains of Boyndie: it takes 14 pair and some odd-jobmen to work it. The foreman for the day is the first to start. The scythe there slashes more in a day than you'd cut with a sickle in a week.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1901 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: farming work nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan3 396, "Mains o' Boyndie" (1 text)
Roud #5929
NOTES: Here is one song that praises, rather than condemns, the conditions at a farm.
GreigDuncan3 has a map on p. xxxv, of "places mentioned in songs in volume 3" showing the song number as well as place name; Mains of Boyndie (396) is at coordinate (h6-7,v7) on that map [near Banff, roughly 42 miles NNW of Aberdeen]. - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: GrD3396

Mains o' Culsh


DESCRIPTION: "I hear ye're gyaun to Mains o' Culsh." The singer will not work there again. You are expected to be in the yoke by half past six. Loanie wouldn't rehire him anyway: "I learned his bairns to curse and sweer" though Loanie swears worse himself.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: farming work nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan3 397, "Mains o' Culsh" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5925
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Lamachree and Megrum" (tune, per Greig "Folk-Song in Buchan," p. 73)
NOTES: GreigDuncan3 has a map on p. xxxv, of "places mentioned in songs in volume 3" showing the song number as well as place name; Mains of Culsh (397) is at coordinate (h4,v98) on that map [near New Deer, roughly 28 miles N of Aberdeen] - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: GrD3397

Mains o' Elrick


DESCRIPTION: "'Twad be a crime, shame, and disgrace, To hear the people say, That the folk o' Little Elrick Works upon the Sabbath day."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: farming work nonballad religious
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan3 361, "Mains o' Elrick" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Roud #5904
NOTES: The current description is all of the GreigDuncan3 fragment.
GreigDuncan3: "Noted [by Duncan] 1905 from Mrs Gillespie. A fragment of a doggerel song made about 1855. The queen visited Haddo House that year, and the servants at Little Elrick were angry because they received no holiday .... The servants took revenge by working on Sabbath, while the people passed to church, a fact alluded to in this verse."
GreigDuncan3 has a map on p. xxxv, of "places mentioned in songs in volume 3" showing the song number as well as place name; Little Elrick (361) is at coordinate (h4-5,v9-0) on that map [near New Deer, roughly 25 miles N of Aberdeen] - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: GrD3361

Mains O' Fogieloan, The


DESCRIPTION: Singer hires on in May at Turra as the lowest labourer at a Fogieloan farm. The foreman and second, kitchen maid and other labourers are named. Times in town are described with drink, fiddlers, and street dealers. He'll be back next May at a hiring day.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1974 (recording, John MacDonald)
KEYWORDS: farming drink fiddle moniker nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
Roud #5148
RECORDINGS:
John MacDonald, "The Mains O' Fogieloan" (on Voice05)
NOTES: Turra [Turriff, according to the notes] and Fogieloan [Aberchirder] are in Aberdeenshire. - BS
File: RcMaoFog

Mainsail Haul


DESCRIPTION: The sailor, broke, goes to a boarding-master and signs up to serve on the "Oxford." He comes aboard to find "sailors... from every nation"; "There wasn't one man that could understand another." At last he jumps ship or is paid off (with the entire crew!)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1951
KEYWORDS: sailor poverty humorous foreigner
FOUND IN: US(MA)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Doerflinger, pp. 117-122, "Mainsail Haul" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
ST Doe117 (Partial)
Roud #653
NOTES: According to Doerflinger, the Black Ball Line ran the Oxford on the transatlantic packet run from her launching in 1836 until 1850. - RBW
File: Doe117

Mairi Laghach (Winsome Mary)


DESCRIPTION: Gaelic: The chorus says the mountains, fountains, dewy dells, and snowy blossoms are sweet but "sweeter is young Mary of Glensmole to me." The singer fantasizes about roving with Mary through the woods. He would scorn wealth rather than give her up.
AUTHOR: John Macdonald (1766-1865) (tune: Lachlan M'Kenzie) (source: _The Celtic Monthly_)
EARLIEST DATE: 899 (Macdonald, "Mairi Laghach. Winsome Mary," _The Celtic Monthly_)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage love nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
GreigDuncan7 1331, "Winsome Mary" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
ADDITIONAL: K.N. Macdonald, "Mairi Laghach. Winsome Mary," _The Celtic Monthly_, vol VII 1899, pp. 8-9 (1 text plus 2 translations into English) (can be seen at the Am Baile highland history and culture site)
Roud #7219
NOTES: The GreigDuncan7 text is the chorus of the translation by D Macpherson. The description is based on this translation from The Celtic Monthly which states that "it is more poetical, but not so near the original as Evan MacColl's" (also in The Celtic Monthly).
The MacColl translation description: The singer says he has often been with Mary and "there seemed 'neath heaven No such loving two!" He would prize her as his bride "far more Than all the treasure Europe has in store" He describes her beauty. The birds singing to them gives them more pleasure than artful music.
Macdonald in The Celtic Monthly says that John Macdonald wrote the song after he saw Mary Mciver (1786-1869), his future wife, for the first time, when she was twelve. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD71331

Mairin Ni Ghiobhalain


DESCRIPTION: Tradesmen, with their tools, come to fix "a new foundation In Maureen from Gippursland" to stop her leak: a blacksmith, saddler, baker, tailor, ploughman and timberman. Each fails. Finally, a big tinkerman, with a soldering iron, fixes her.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan7)
LONG DESCRIPTION: radesmen, with their tools, came to fix "a new foundation In Maureen from Gippursland" to stop her leak: a blacksmith with hammer and anvil, a saddler with needle and thread, a baker with flour and soda, a tailor with cloth and scissors, a ploughman with horse and plough, and a timberman with an axe. Each work "until his sides was sick and sore, And after all his labour she leaked In the place where she leaked before." Finally, a big tinkerman, with a soldering iron, "rosined her, he soldered her ... but after all his labour she never leaked In the place where she leaked before"
KEYWORDS: sex bawdy tinker
FOUND IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan7 1434, "Mairins Gibberlin" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Roud #7269
RECORDINGS:
Bill Bryan, "Marie from Gippursland" (on IRTravellers01)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Auld Mairin's Gibberlin
Mairins Gibberlin
NOTES: Jim Carroll's notes to IRTravellers01 includes the complete text of a "version entitled 'The Jolly Weaver', described as an old Ulster weaving song ... to be found in The Journal of the Irish Folk Song Society of 1906...."; the tradesmen in that text are a weaver with his shuttles and jacks, a sailor with his compass, a mason with his hammer, trowel and plumb-line, and a ploughman "with two ploughshares in his hand." In addition he refers to "a fragment entitled 'Mairins Gibberlan,' described as 'decidedly objectionable', included in The Greig Duncan Folk Song Collection [vol 7]."
There are many examples in traditional song of tradesmen's use of tools of their trade as code for sexual activity. See, for example, "Donnelly," "Anything (II)," "Bill Wiseman," "The Bonny Black Hare," "Coachman's Whip," "Cruising Round Yarmouth," "The German Clockwinder," "The Jolly Tinker (III)," "The Long Peggin' Awl," "Miller Tae My Trade" and "The Thrashing Machine (I)." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: RcMaNiGh

Mairins Gibberlin


See Mairin Ni Ghiobhalain (File: RcMaNiGh)

Mairins McCrie


DESCRIPTION: "Now Mairins being old, and scarcely fit to walk aboot She hired a little girlie to sell her liquor oot, To sell her liquor oot and to serve her with the tea And she sold it to the customers for Mairins McCrie"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1917 (GreigDuncan8)
KEYWORDS: drink age
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan8 1879, "Mairins McCrie" (1 fragment)
Roud #13572
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Bonnie Lass o' Fyvie" (tune, per GreigDuncan8)
NOTES: The current description is all of the GreigDuncan8 fragment.
GreigDuncan8: "The song is distinctly indelicate." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD81879

Major and the Weaver, The [Laws Q10]


DESCRIPTION: The weaver comes home suddenly, forcing the major (who is visiting his wife) to hide under the bed. The weaver goes out wearing the major's breeches, containing money and a watch. He claims the same right to the breeches as the major has to his wife
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1938 (Henry)
KEYWORDS: seduction trick bawdy humorous hiding
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Laws Q10, "The Major and the Weaver"
Flanders/Brown, pp. 91, "Lie Low" (1 fragment, 1 tune, a single stanza which can only tentatively be identified with this song)
DT 522, WEAVWIFE
Roud #1005
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Boatsman and the Chest" [Laws Q8] (plot) and references there
NOTES: The Copper text of "The Little Cobbler" appears to have cross-fertilized with this piece; the two are similar in plot, and the Copper version shares some words as well. But the extreme versions are distinct.
This and similar songs are sometimes traced back to a story in Boccaccio (seventh day, second story: Gianella, Peronella, and her husband). But the story is really one of the basic themes of folktale, and doubtless predates Boccaccio as well as these songs. - RBW
File: LQ10

Major Andre's Capture [Laws A2]


DESCRIPTION: The young gentleman, John Paulding, escapes from a British prison and helps capture Major Andre. American general Benedict Arnold escapes and leaves Andre to be executed. "And every one wished Andre clear, and Arnold in his stead."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1817 (New American Songster)
KEYWORDS: betrayal execution war prison
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Oct 2, 1780 - Execution of Major John Andre on a charge of spying for the British
FOUND IN: US(MA,MW)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Laws A2, "Major Andre's Capture"
Eddy 114, "Major Andrews' Execution" (1 text)
Scott-BoA, pp. 84-86, "The Ballad of Major Andre" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, ANDREXEC
Roud #798
NOTES: The story of Benedict Arnold and John Andre perhaps demonstrates why the American Revolution lasted so long: Neither side could really get its armed forces organized or find good officers to put in charge. In the case of Arnold, that very nearly cost the Americans deeply.
Benedict Arnold (1741-1801) was, according to Flexner, p. ix, a "druggist and disreputable horse trader." But he was also one of the best American officers of the Revolutionary War; he was the key figure, e.g., in the first great battle of the war, at Saratoga (Ketchum, p. 404, reports that he "managed to be everywhere when needed" and lists him first among those responsible for the victory.
What he didn't have was political clout -- or even political understanding. Flexner, pp. xoo-xiii, describes him as delighting in battle -- almost like a knight who enjoyed fighting, or a latter-day Achilles. To his cost, he had none of the political or organizational skills of George Washington.
And he had a gripe. A bullet in the knee during the attack on Quebec had lamed him (Marrin, p. 80), which should have made him a hero -- but his victories were never properly recognized in Congress, and there were questions about his financial dealings (Lancaster, p. 243; Ferguson, pp. 217-218; Marrin, p. 228, describes how easily he fell into debt once he left field command, and Weintraub, p. 206, says he actually faced a court-martial, though he didn't suffer any real punishment).
After being passed over for promotion too many times (allegedly on the grounds that his state of Connecticut had too many generals already; Weintraub, p. 206), Arnold turned to the British. (There may have been more to it than that; Cook, p. 328, writes of how he was making profit off the black market as early as 1778, and in 1779 he married as his second wife Peggy Shippen, who was half his age and came from a family with Tory sympathies -- Andre, in fact, made an ink portrait of her, shown facing p. 202 of Flexner.) Within weeks of his wedding, he was making covert contacts with the British (Marrin, pp. 228-229) -- though he wanted a high price (10,000 pounds!) for his betrayal. This initial proposal was rejected.
Meanwhile, the British had their eyes on West Point. The Saratoga offensive had been intended to slice the northern colonies in two, but had failed. But they could achieve much the same end by capturing West Point, a narrow point in the Hudson River valley. If it were in British hands, they would be able to control the whole Hudson, and prevent contact between New England and the mid-Atlantic colonies (Marrin, p. 229). West Point was perhaps the most strategic point in the whole state of New York.
In 1780, Benedict Arnold asked George Washington to give him control of the West Point fortifications. Washington didn't want to waste Arnold on a post where so little action was expected.He would have preferred to give Arnold charge of his left wing -- an important field command. But Arnold had a pretty good argument: His lame knee had been hit again at Saratoga (Lancaster, p. 221; Marrin, p. 140; Ketchum, p. 403 tells how, after being hit, his horse went down and his leg was broken), and he simply wasn't the same physically. He claimed that field command was too strenuous (Marrin, p. 230).
I've read that he asked for command of West Point under British orders (e.g. Marrin, p. 229), but Cook implies that he had not yet gone over to the British. The other possibility is that he was toying with the British, giving them a certain about of information but not really doing anything to support their cause (this seems to be the situation described on p. 207 of Weintraub). The only thing that is sure is that he would be serving the British soon -- and being called upon to do more than just release a little stale intelligence. If he wanted a traitor's fee, he had to do something that would really help win the war. In short, he had to work out a deal. Which meant talking to John Andre.
Andre (1751-1780) was, according to Marrin,p. 227, "a remarkable person... [H]e was a gentle, lovable man who wrote poetry and enjoyed putting on plays for brother officers. Always cheerful and polite, he had a way of making others want to be his friend." Washington Irving wrote of him "The character, appearance, deportment, and fortunes of Andre had interested the feelings of the oldest and sternest soldiers around him, and completely captivated the sympathies of the younger ones.... Never has any many, suffering under like circumstances, awakened a more universal sympathy even among those of the country against which he practiced" (Walsh, p. 4).
Even George Washington, who had him executed, later said, "He was more unfortunate than criminal, and there was much in his character to interest, while we yielded to the necessity of rigor, we could not but lament it" (Walsh, p. 6). Yet Walsh, on the very same page, notes pointely that "he made a blundering failure of his supremely important mission" and calls it "an incredibly inept performance." And he declares, on p. 7, that Andre was "Not at all the open, accomodating personality he seemed, he was as I see it one of the most calculating of individuals, keenly aware of his peculiar power to impress and fascinate."
Andre was eventually appointed the adjutant of the British commander Henry Clinton, and as such acted as British intelligence chief -- which in turn made him the liason with Arnold.
Arnold by this time was working to weaken the West Point defences (Marrin, p. 230), but the British would need a plan of the fortifications and other details if they were to take adcantage of these weaknesses. (According to Walsh, p. 72, the British even hoped to capture George Washington, which would make the blow doubly severe.) To this point, Arnold had been using a go-between by the name of Joseph Stansbury (Weintraub, pp. 206-207), who helped furnish Arnold's lodgings. But this information could hardly be sent by coded letter. Arnold was using what is called a "book code," which forced him to dig through a volume looking for a code for each word. It took forever (Kippenhahn, pp. 45-46, says that Arnold eventually switched to a dictionary, which made things a little faster, but still too slow -- and not especially secure). For a long description, with drawings, that sort of manual encoding was simply impossible. Someone had to physically collect the plans. Andre was the logical candidate. (Walsh, p. 73, says that Andre was under orders not to carry any papers. ItÕs hard to imagine how anyone could have considered this a viable idea.)
On September 20, 1780, the British ship Vulture dropped Andre off for a meeting with Arnold. Andre was in uniform at this time (Walsh, p. 26). But they didn't just exchange plans; they also talked until four in the morning (Cook, p. 329). Caught in the fire of American guns, the Vulture slipped a short distance downstream, leaving Andre behind (Walsh, pp. 79-81, who adds that the ship suffered some minor damage but no casualties). It left Andre behind, what's more, with the tide going against him; rowing to the ship was out of the question (Walsh, pp, 74-75). The ship in fact didn't go far, but apparently far enough to be out of sight from where Andre and Arnold were meeting (Walsh, p. 82). Walsh also reports (though I supect it is only his conjecture) that Arnold expected a tightening of security, making it impossible for Andre to simply go back to the ship (p. 85). Plus George Washington was in the vicinity, so everyone was especially vigilant,
Andre was close to neutral ground, but either he or Arnold apparently decided he had no choice but to return to the British lines on land, through the American positions. A British sympathizer outfitted him with civilian clothes, and Arnold gave him a pass with a false name (Walsh, pp. 32, 85; he quotes the passes, with the name "John Anderson," on pp. 87-88). It was at this point that Andre became, formally, a spy. Worse, he was an ignorant spy; he needed a guide (Walsh, p. 90), and the guide chose a long and, as it turned out, dangerous route. They were soon stopped by a patrol, and ended up making an unexpected stop for the night (Walsh, pp. 94-95). When they set out the next morning, they were again stopped, though they were allowed to proceed soon after. Later, they encountered an American officer who actually knew Andre's appearance (Walsh, p. 96), but managed to slip by him. Finally Andre left the guide behind and set out on the last leg of his journey. It was then that he was caught.
Sergeant John Paulding (1758-1818) was almost as romantic a figure as Andre; twice captured by the British, he had twice escaped to return to his regiment (Walsh, pp. 99-100, tells how, in his latest escape, he had pretended to be a British soldier and stolen a rowboat to get away. Thus Paulding, we note, was guilty of the very crime for which Andre was hung -- more guilty than Andre, in fact, since Andre was merely out of uniform but Paulding wore a Hessian uniform coat). A force led by Paulding found Andre, seemingly by accident, and captured him with the plans to West Point in his boots. (Walsh, p. 30, says they were actually inside his stockings. One wonders what sort of state they were in by the time the authorities saw them.)
According to Marrin, p. 231, the men who captured Andre were robbers as well as militia; this seems to have been based on Andre's own statement that they probably would have let him go had they found any money (so Walsh, p. 37, while noting that Paulding denied it). But Andre had no cash to give them, so they searched him closely and found the plans. Andre, it should be noted, was taken on "neutral ground," between the lines, so it was formally proper for him to be out of uniform (Walsh, pp. 40-41). Possessing the papers was another matter.
Unfortunately, the papers did not reveal Arnold as the traitor. Lt. Colonel John Jameson, into whose command Andre fell, sent a message to Arnold describing Andre's capture (Cook, p. 330). Arnold managed to flee and make it to the Vulture (Marrin, p. 232). Still, with Arnold gone, the West Point plans safe in American hands, and the whole plot revealed, the fortifications were safe.
Andre was captured September 23. Once he realized his predicament, made no secret of his situation; he seems to have hoped for leniency. He was tried before a court of six major generals and eight brigadiers (Walsh, p. 17, but don't take that as too impressive -- the Colonial Congress made far too many generals; those 14 officers would have been majors and colonels in a proper army -- assuming they were promoted that far; many were not worthy of the rank). Walsh, p. 46, says that Washington wanted the Court Martial to return a verdict quickly. So the trial was very speedy; neither side called witnesses, and Andre had no lawyer or counsel. Andre was tried and convicted as a spy on September 29. All 14 judges signed the paper recommending death (Walsh, p. 48). Washington approve the order and scheduled Andre to be executed at once (Walsh, p. 54) -- though he delayed the sentence for a day during negotiations with the British.
General Clinton tried to have Andre's execution postponed. But the American rebels wanted blood, and were not very courteous anyway (note, e.g., their refusal to parole the British soldiers after Saratoga). Walsh, pp. 55-57, described what amounts to mutual blackmail concealed as a prisoner exchange: Clinton threatened American prisoners, and the Americans would accept no less a prize than the betrayal of Arnold. Neither side would give in on the crucial point, and so Andre went to the gallows on October 2; he was denied a firing squad (Cook, p. 331).
The ballad's praise of Andre and dislike of Arnold seems to reflect widespread opinion. Even the men who condemned and hanged Andre respected him; one called him his brother; Lancaster reports (p. 248) that "Unnumbered Americans" felt deeply about his execution. Lafayette, one of the men who condemned him, called him a "charming man" and said he deeply regretted the sentence (Walsh, p. 61). George III gave his mother and sisters pensions, and made his brother a baronet. Arnold, by contrast, was hated in America and despised in Britain.
By contrast, it was Arnold's incompetence which had caused the whole thing to fail: He talked too long, and he refused to make sure Andre made it home. Had it not been for his failures, the capture of West Point would have gone off as planned.
Despite his failure, Arnold was well rewarded for his treachery: a British brigadier's commission, six thousand pounds in cash, pensions for his family, and land in Canada (Marrin, p. 234). Walsh, p. 73, say that the offer made to him was for six thousand pounds in cash, plus a brigadier's commission, with the total payout rising to twenty pounds if West Point fell -- and that Arnold held out for at least ten thousand pounds, even if things fell through. Andre supposedly agreed during their conference -- but since Clinton never approved Andre's deal, Arnold was paid only the previously promised six thousand.
Arnold proved unable to use the rewards of his treachery; troops refused to serve under him, and in the end he lost most of his ill-gotten gains in bad business deals (Marrin, p.236).
Walsh does consistently try to change the image of Andre, painting him as a manipulative schemer who lied, e.g., about the girl he claimed to be in love with (Walsh, p. 60), and accuses him of briefly losing his composure upon being sentenced to death (p. 61. One wonders what Walsh would do is suc a situation). He credits Andre's ability to make a good sketch of himself to the major's repeated use of himself as a subject (p. 62). It really does seem to be the picture of a man grasping at straws to find a reason to condemn Andre.
This was, incidentally, one of the last major events of the American Revolution in the north. The British navy at this time was at a rather low ebb; you would never know that it was the fleet that, 25 years later, would win Trafalgar. Despite their theoretical naval superiority, the British were in effect fighting two wars, one from New York and one from Charleston. And, by this time, most of the effort was going into Charleston. Had Arnold's treachery succeeded, the war in the north might have heated up again -- but Arnold failed.
Spaeth (A History of Popular Music in America, p. 24) refers to a song called "Sergeant Champe" which has this precise plot, and which was published in 1780 to the tune of "Barbara Allen," but I have never encountered his title in tradition. - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 2.5
File: LA02

Major Andrews's Execution


See Major Andre's Capture [Laws A2] (File: LA02)

Major Special, The


DESCRIPTION: "Oh you come down on this Ramsey, partner, 'specially Ramsey Two, Hmmm, fix it in your mind, buddy, you got your time to do." The Major knows the river too well for convicts to escape. The singer recalls many years in the prison
AUTHOR: J. B. Smith
EARLIEST DATE: 1966 (recorded from J. B. Smith by Jackson)
KEYWORDS: prison hardtimes
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Jackson-DeadMan, pp. 163-164, "The Major Special" (1 text)
NOTES: All of the songs Jackson recorded from J. B. Smith included a large amount of material unique to Smith, but this one has perhaps the highest proportion of all; there is very little recognizable traditional material. As a result, I have listed Smith as the author.
I almost thought of tagging the piece with the "moniker" keyword, since it refers to several of the prison staff that Smith dealt with. But it doesn't really fit the general form of a moniker song. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
File: JDM163

Major, The


DESCRIPTION: Dublin 1798: "The Major" supported Orange "hangman hacks," "told informers what to swear," tried to prevent his Jemmy's execution and finally converted to Methodism. All "who have their catechism well" agree "whene'er he dies [he] will go to hell"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1810 (Cox's _Irish Magazine_, according to Moylan)
KEYWORDS: violence death nonballad political police
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Moylan 165, "The Major" (1 text)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Henry Downs" (character of Major Sirr) and references there
cf. "Jemmy O'Brien's Minuet" (characters)
NOTES: Moylan: "The Major of the title was Town-Major Sirr, chief of the Dublin police, captor of Lord Edward Fitzgerald and Thomas Russell... The Jemmy referred to ... was Sirr's creature, Jemmy O'Brien.... In 1800 he [O'Brien] killed a man near Steevens' Lane in a fit of temper, was convicted of the crime and was sentenced to hang. Sirr tried [unsuccessfully] to 'fix' the trial.... In later life Major Sirr turned to religion and became a Methodist."
For more about Major Sirr see "Henry Downs," "Edward" (III) (Edward Fitzgerald)," "The Man from God-Knows-Where" and the notes to "Who Killed Cock Robin?" (II). For more about Jemmy O'Brien see "Hevey's Mare," "Jemmy O'Brien" and "Jemmy O'Brien's Minuet." - BS
The Oxford Companion to Irish History gives Sirr's dates as 1764-1841. He came from a firmly loyalist family; his father Joseph would for a time be Dublin's Town Major (roughly equivalent to police chief). Henry joined the army at about 14, ending his service in 1791. He went into business in Dublin in that year, but was appointed Town Major in 1796. He held that office until it was abolished in 1808, and retained the title even after that; he continued to serve as a magitrate until 1826. He reportedly became very interested in Irish antiquties late in his life. - RBW
File: Moyl165

Majuba Hill


DESCRIPTION: The singer sighs for "my militia man That sleeps on Majuba Hill" She met her man on Clifton Street on Sunday night and "I let him have his will" He sailed away. She heard a Banshee cry and dog moan one November night and at dawn had news he was dead.
AUTHOR: Hugh Quinn (1884-1956) (source: Hammond-Belfast)
EARLIEST DATE: 1952 (_Rann Magazine_ Summer 1952, according Roud)
KEYWORDS: grief courting sex battle parting death lover soldier
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Feb 26, 1881 - Boers defeat the British at Majuba Hill ("By the second Boer War the battle cry was 'Remember Majuba!'""). (source: "The Battle of Majuba Hill -The First Boer War 1881" at Books on Hector MacDonald site)
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Hammond-Belfast, pp. 38-39, "Majuba Hill" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Hammond-Belfast: The song "recalls the garrison town of Belfast in Victorian times when streets like Clifton Street were thronged with soldiers and female admirers on a Sunday night." - BS
The opening conflict of the (first) Boer War came on December 20, 1880, at Bronkhorstspruit, when "264 officers of the 94th Regiment (Connaught Rangers), marching from Lydenburg to Pretoria, were halted on the march by a Boer commando and ordered to turn back. The lieutenant-colonel in command was given two minutes to reply to the demand. He refused to surrender and was killed by the Boers' opening shots." Most of the other British soldiers were killed as well. (Farwell, pp. 244-245).
The British commander on the scene, Sir George Pomeroy Colley, wanted both revenge and glory. He found neither. He suffered a nasty and unnecessary defeat at Laing's Nek (Farwell, p. 246),then for some reason decided that the Commander in Chief needed to escort a mail wagon; he took with him only six companies. He suffered heavily in a running battle, and then found himself confronted by an entrenched Boer position. At least he had the sense not to attack that; instead, he headed for high ground; his force by this time, according to Farwell, consisted of 490 soldiers and 64 sailors.
Colley's forces reached the position at night, but -- despite the entreaties of his subordinates -- did not order his men to entrench.
On February 26, 1881, at Majuba Hill (properly Amajuba Hill, the Hill of Doves), The British forces were routed and Colley himself killed (van Hartsveldt, p. 4). Van Hartesveld, p. 5, adds that the British took no heavy weapons up the hill, and perhap were exhausted, and the slope of the hill was such that it was hard to defend with small arms.
The Boers lost one (Farwell, p. 250) or two men killed (Pakenham, p. xxix), and perhaps five wounded. British loses were 93 killed, 133 wounded, 58 taken prisoner.
A more conservative government might have kept up the fight; losses were still relatively slight. But the liberal goverment of Gladstone was not imperialist; it gave the Boers something analogous to Home Rule: Internal self-direction as long as they accepted nominal British authority and did not insist on an independent foreign policy (van Hartesveldt, p. 5).
Majuba Day would become something of a holiday to the Boers -- at least until Boers under Cronje surrendered on that day in the second Boer War (Belfield, p. 88).
"If one were forced to say, as in a school examination paper, at what exact moment in history the mighty British Empire began to crumble, it would perhaps not be far wrong to point to that Sunday afternoon in February 1881 when British soldiers, fleeing from Boer farm boys, ran down the steep slopes of Majuba Hill" (Farwell, p. 252). - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 2.5
File: Hamm038

Make Me a Cowboy Again


See Cowboy Again for a Day (File: FCW116)

Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor


DESCRIPTION: Possibly about life in the south (Atlanta?) and the singer's desire to return or a meeting between the singer's lover and girl. Chorus: "Make me a pallet on your floor (x2), Make it soft, make it low, so my good gal won't know Make me..."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1923 (version copyrighted by W. C. Handy)
KEYWORDS: nonballad separation loneliness home return floatingverses sex infidelity
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (4 citations):
BrownIII 291, "Cornbread When I'm Hungry" (2 fragments; the "A" text combines "Moonshiner" with "Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor"; "B" mixes "Moonshiner" with what appears to be a minstrel song)
Handy/Silverman-Blues, pp. 190-192, "Atlanta Blues (Make Me One Pallet on Your Floor)" (1 text, 1 tune, loosely based on this song)
Darling-NAS, pp. 292-294, "Lovin' Babe" (1 text, composite of floating verses including this one)
DT, PALLTFLR*
RECORDINGS:
Mississippi John Hurt, "Ain't No Tellin'" (OKeh 8759, 1930; rec. 1928; on MJHurt01, MJHurt02); "Pallet on the Floor" (on FOTM)
Merline Johnson (the Yas Yas Girl) "Pallet on the Floor" (Bluebird B-7166, 1937)
Grandpa Jones, "Fix Me a Pallet" (King 1069, 1952)
Virginia Liston, "Make Me a Pallet" (OKeh 8247, 1925)
Stripling Brothers, "Pallet on the Floor" (Decca 5367, 1936)
Ethel Waters, "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor" (Columbia 14125-D, 1926)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Chilly Winds" (floating lyrics)
File: Handy190

Make Me More Holy


See Lord, Make Me More Patient (File: AWG052B)

Make We Merry Both More and Less


DESCRIPTION: "Make we mery bothe more and lasse, For now is the time ofd Christimas." All who come to the feast are enjoined to bring some entertainment: A song, a sport, etc. "If he say he can nought do... But to the stokkes then let him go."
AUTHOR: unknown (contemporary tune by Martin Shaw)
EARLIEST DATE: c. 1504 (Hill MS., Balliol Coll. Oxf. 354)
KEYWORDS: carol Christmas food party nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(England)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
OBC 172, "Make We Merry" (1 text, 1 tune)
Stevick-100MEL 98, "(Make We Myrie Bothe More and Lasse)" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Brown/Robbins, _Index of Middle English Verse_, #1866
NOTES: Very possibly not traditional, but widely quoted -- and many of the pieces in the Hill manuscript *are* traditional, so I included it.
A facsimile of the Richard Hill manuscript is now available at the Balliol Library manuscripts resource at the Bodleian web site; go to http://image.ox.ac.uk/list?collection=balliol and scroll down to MS. 354. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: OBC172

Makes a Longtime Man Feel Bad


See It Makes a Long-Time Man Feel Bad (File: LoF291)

Making My Will (Father Abdey's Will)


DESCRIPTION: The singer, who is dying, leaves his entire estate to his wife. The estate is detailed in exquisitely rhymed, exquisitely monotonous detail
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1945 (Flanders/Olney)
KEYWORDS: dying bequest lastwill
FOUND IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Flanders/Olney, pp. 14-16, "Making My Will (Father Abdey's Will)" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MAKEWILL*
Roud #4676
File: FO014

Malahide Fishermen, The


DESCRIPTION: On a calm November 18 "four brave seamen ... took their nets and line." Neptune, Boreas, and Death conspire to "rise an awful squall" and they "were lost here in Fingal" The four are named.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1943 (Ranson)
KEYWORDS: drowning sea ship storm wreck fishing
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Ranson, pp. 14-15, "The Malahide Fishermen" (1 text)
OLochlainn-More 56A, "The Malahide Fishermen" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Malahide is in the Fingal administrative area on the County Dublin coast, north of Dublin city. - BS
File: Ran014

Malbrouck


DESCRIPTION: French language: "Malbrouck s'en va-t-en dguere-re/Marlborough he's gone to war." Marlborough is slow in returning home; he is dead and in his tomb. Details of his funeral are given
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1896 (Trebucq)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage nobility death burial funeral
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1650-1727 - Life of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
1701-1714 - War of the Spanish Succession, pitting France and Spain against Britain, Austria, and many smaller nations. Marlborough made a reputation by winning the battles of Blenheim (1704), Ramillies (1706), and Oudenarde (1708) (he fought a draw at Malplaquet in 1709)
FOUND IN: France
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Kennedy 108, "Malbrouck" (1 text, 1 tune)
Chase, pp. 202-205, "Molly Brooks" (1 tune plus dance figures)
Fuld-WFM, pp. 231-233, "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow -- (Malbrouk -- We Won't Go Home till Morning! -- The Bear Went over the Mountain)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "We Won't Go Home Until Morning" (tune) and references there
NOTES: For the history of this tune, see the entry on "We Won't Go Home Until Morning."
It should be noted that this song has nothing to do with the historical Marlborough.
Chase describes "Molly Brooks" as an American "wearing-down" of Marlborough. Hence the classification of his dance piece here rather than under one of the other Malbrouck tunes. - RBW
File: K108

Mallard, The


DESCRIPTION: "I have et, and what have I et, I have et the toe of a mallard." And so forth, through foot, heel, leg, etc., culminating in the entire bird. "And," we are assured, "good-a meat was the mallard."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1889
KEYWORDS: bird food cumulative nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(England(South)) Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Kennedy 299, "The Mallard" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 16-17, "The Mallard" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #1517
RECORDINGS:
Henry Mitchelmore, "Most Beautiful Leg of the Mallard" (on Voice07)
Bunny Palmer et al, "The Mallard" (on Lomax41, LomaxCD1741)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Red Herring" (theme)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Mullard
File: K299

Mally Leigh


DESCRIPTION: An extravagant description of Mally's beauty and its effect on men. Men turn aside to see her; a countess "pines" for her; nobles "each one thocht his Kate or Moll a drab to Mally Leigh." Even royalty is not immune (but she is true to the man she loves)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1904 (Ford)
KEYWORDS: beauty courting
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 176-178, "Mally Leigh" (1 text)
GreigDuncan4 720, "Mally Leigh" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #6130
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Mally Lee
NOTES: Generally held to commemorate one Mally Sleigh, who is said to have married Lord Lyon Brodie in 1725. I know of no supporting evidence except widespread belief; Ford cites a manuscript of the song "subsequent to 1760." If Sleigh (or Brodie) had any subsequent influence on history, I do not know of it. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: FVS176B

Malone


DESCRIPTION: Pat claims Mick Malone borrowed half-a-crown and "never brough it back." He won't lend him more because Malone "well knows how to borrow But he don't know how to pay." If Pat catches Malone he'll "stop his dirty tricks ... I'll give him cause to moan"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1985 (IRTravellers01)
KEYWORDS: accusation nonballad money thief
FOUND IN: Ireland
Roud #16689
RECORDINGS:
Mikeen McCarthy, "Malone" (on IRTravellers01)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Half Crown
NOTES: The repeated lines here are "A half-a-crown is a half-a-crown, Of course it's two and six." - BS
Every time I read this, I'm reminded of the Blind Blake song "Jones." The feel of the lyrics is much alike, but the item stolen is different (money versus girlfriend), and of course they're very different in style. I guess it just shows how certain emotions exist across cultures. - RBW
File: RcMalone

Mama Don't 'Low


DESCRIPTION: "Mama don't 'low no banjo playin 'round here... Well, I don't care what mama don't 'low, Gonna play my banjo anyhow...." Mama forbids all sorts of things, from jazz playing to motorcycle riding, but the singer is not discouraged
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (recording, Charlie Jackson)
KEYWORDS: music mother nonballad
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
BrownIII 452, "Mama Don't Allow No Low Down Hanging Around" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 21, "Mama Don't 'Low" (1 text)
DT, MAMADONT
Roud #11793
RECORDINGS:
Allen Bros., "No Low Down Hanging 'Round" (Bluebird B-5448, 1934)
Connie Boswell & her Swing Band, "Mama Don't Allow It" (Decca 747, 1936)
Smilie Burnett, "Mama Don't Like Music" (Perfect 13011, 1934)
Bill Boyd & his Cowboy Ramblers, "Mama Don't Like No Music" (Bluebird B-5855, 1935)
Charlie Jackson, "Mama Don't Allow It" (Paramount 12296, 1925)
Riley Puckett, "Mama Don't Allow No Low Down Hanging Around" (Columbia 15261-D, 1928)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Johnny and Jane" (lyrics)
NOTES: The Brown text is very distinct from the common, bluegrass/jazz-type arrangements of this piece; the first verse and chorus are"
Well, I get up in the morning,
See no rain;
Looked in the pantry,
See the same old thing.
Mama don't allow no low down hanging around.
Chorus:
Mama don't allow it,
Sister don't care.
Papa don't 'low it,
Won't have it here.
Mama don't low no low down hanging around.
But the ending is familiar: "Well, I don't care What your mama don't 'low, Gonna have fun anyhow." Clearly the same song, with the popular texts presumably a modern adaption. - RBW
File: FSWB021

Mama Don't Allow No Low Down Hanging Around


See Mama Don't 'Low (File: FSWB021)

Mama Sent Me to the Spring


See Jumbo (Mama Sent Me to the Spring) (File: BrII142)

Mama Told Me


See Old Man Came Over the Moor, An (Old Gum Boots and Leggings) (File: R066)

Mama, Have You Heard the News


See Joseph Mica (Mikel) (The Wreck of the Six-Wheel Driver) (Been on the Choly So Long) [Laws I16] (File: LI16)

Maman Donne Moin un Pitit Mari


See Mamman Donne Moi un Pitit Mari (Mama Gave Me a Little Husband) (File: ScNF123B)

Mamma, Mamma, Have You Heard?


See Hush, Little Baby (File: SBoA164)

Mamma's Goin' to Buy Him a Little Lap Dog (Come Up Horsie)


DESCRIPTION: Lullaby: "Mama's goin' to buy him a little lap dog/Put him in his lap when she goes off...Go to sleep and don't you cry/Mamma's goin' to buy you some apple pie" Cho: "Come up horsie, hey hey (2x)"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1950 (recording, Vera Hall Ward)
KEYWORDS: food lullaby nonballad animal dog horse
FOUND IN: US(SE)
RECORDINGS:
Vera Hall Ward, "Mamma's Goin' to Buy Him a Little Lap Dog" (on NFMAla1)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Hush, Little Baby" (theme, lyrics)
File: RcMGtBHL

Mamman Donne Moi un Pitit Mari (Mama Gave Me a Little Husband)


DESCRIPTION: Creole French. "Maman donne moin un pitit mari. Bon Dieu, quel un homme comme li pitit! Mo mette le couche dans mo lite, Bon Dieu, comme li si t'on pitit!" Mama gave me a little husband. My god, he's tiny! ... The cat mistakes him for a mouse."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: husband wife foreignlanguage animal
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 21-22, "Maman Donne Moin un Pitit Mari" (1 fragment, 1 tune); p. 123, "Mamman Donne Moi un Pitit Mari" (1 short text with loose English translation)
NOTES: Scarborough, in transcribing her first text, notes that Creole French "is no more like correct French than Negro dialect is like ordinary English. The songs are difficult to capture...." I suspect she is trying to say, "I've no idea what this means." If she, who had contact with the informants, did not, I'm not even going to try until we get a better text.
Although Scarborough's second fragment does not make it clear, one suspects that the girl's complaint is not with her husband's height but with, um, certain other dimensions. - RBW
File: ScNF123B

Mammie's Pet


DESCRIPTION: "Let never another young man marry mammie's pet." Her mother teaches her needlework, dancing, and playing the piano instead of baking, brewing, and washing. And the promised dowry? "When the day of payment came, they did them all deny"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan7)
KEYWORDS: dowry marriage warning nonballad mother wife
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan7 1298, "Mammie's Pet" (1 text)
Roud #1098
File: GrD71298

Mammy in the Kitchen


DESCRIPTION: "Mammy in the kitchen cookin' pink beans; Daddie on the ocean dodgin' submarines."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1919 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: food work war technology
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BrownIII 497, "Mammy in the Kitchen" (1 text)
Roud #11764
NOTES: Since this was collected in 1919, it clearly refers to World War I and the German submarine blockade of Great Britain. It is said to have been sung by soldiers in France. It's unfortunate that we don't have more of it. - RBW
File: Br3497

Mammy Loves


See All the Pretty Little Horses (File: LxU002)

Mammy's Little Boy


DESCRIPTION: "Who all de time a-hidin' In de cotton an' de corn? Mammy's little boy, Mammy's little boy, Who all de time a-blowin' Ol' Massa's dinner horn?" The little boy runs, steals away to the kitchen, fusses; Mammy keeps careful watch
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: lullaby food baby
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 158-159, "Mammy's Little Boy" (1 text)
ST ScaNF158 (Partial)
File: ScaNF158

Man Ain't Nothin' But a Stupid Fool


DESCRIPTION: "Yes, a man ain't nothin' but a stupid fool To think he got a woman all by himself... Well, I say, as soon as his back is turned, You know she cuttin' out with somebody else... Yes, man ain't nothing but a crazy fool To give one woman all his pay"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1963
KEYWORDS: love infidelity
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Courlander-NFM, pp. 130-131, (no title) (1 text)
File: CNFM130

Man Behind the Plough, The


DESCRIPTION: A defense of "the man that walks behind the plough." He is glad for his sons to be in school, learning to read and write and sporting round at night, but his strength is failing and he needs them to raise food on the farm.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1961 (Ives-NewBrunswick)
KEYWORDS: farming nonballad age children
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ives-NewBrunswick, pp. 62-65, "The Man Behind the Plough" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #1947
File: IvNB062

Man Behind, The


DESCRIPTION: The singer's father warns, "Don't ever be too forward, lad, but act with modesyt; In battle it's the man in fromt that's always shot... But the general gets the credit, for he's the man behind." Other examples show that it's best to be "the man behind"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1960 (Collected by Shellans from John Daniel Vass)
KEYWORDS: warning humorous soldier clothes food technology
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Shellans, pp. 82-83, "The Man Behind" (1 text, 1 tune)
Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 86, "The Man Behind (1 fragment, tune references)
Roud #7358 and 12812
NOTES: Shellans speculates that this might have originated in Vaudeville. I agree that it has that sort of feeling (or, even more, the music hall or comic opera), but I failed to turn up any versions in web searches. (The fact that the title is a very common phrase doesn't help...).
The Pankakes say that their fragment is sung to "The Wearing of the Green." Not so the version in Shellan -- so, at the very least, there has been folk processing. - RBW
File: Shel082

Man from Conner's Crew, The


DESCRIPTION: The singer, a novice "river hog" in the pinewoods, chances the "Hulling Machine" rapids rather than portage his canoe. Caught, he prepares to die, gamely shouting "Halloo" to Conner's crew as he passes them. One of them rescues him.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1941 (Beck)
KEYWORDS: lumbering work rescue dying logger worker recitation
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Beck 29, "The Man from Conner's Crew" (1 text)
Roud #4063
NOTES: Beck leaves it up in the air whether this was a recitation or a song to which his informant had forgotten a tune. However, it reads more like a recitation, so I've assigned it that keyword. - PJS
This song is item dC42 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW
File: Be029

Man from God-Knows-Where, The


DESCRIPTION: A mysterious stranger joined the men around the fire at Andy Lemon's Inn and rode on into the snow. "Two winters more, then the Trouble Year": the French are defeated. Some time after that the singer sees the stranger hanged at Downpatrick gaol
AUTHOR: Florence M. Wilson (-1946) (source: Moylan)
EARLIEST DATE: 2000 (Moylan)
KEYWORDS: rebellion execution Ireland patriotic recitation
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
May-June 1798 - Irish rebellion against British rule
August-September 1798 - A French force under General Jean-Joseph-Amable Humbert lands in Ireland and is defeated.
1803 - Emmet attempts a new rebellion. The revolt is quickly crushed.
Sep 20, 1803 - Robert Emmet is hanged
Oct 21, 1803 - Thomas Russell is hanged
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Moylan 161, "The Man from God-Knows-Where" (1 text)
BROADSIDES:
cf. "Henry Downs" (character of Major Sirr) and references there
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Oh! Breathe Not His Name" (subject: concealed allusions to Robert Emmet)
cf. "She is Far From the Land" (subject: concealed allusions to Robert Emmet)
cf. "When He Who Adores Thee" (subject: concealed allusions to Robert Emmet)
NOTES: Moylan: "The poem was written in 1918 as a recitation."
Moylan: "Upon hearing of Emmet's arrest, Thomas Russell hurried to Dublin to attempt a rescue." He was taken there by Town Major Sirr. "Russell had been the United Irish organizer in Co. Down. After his conviction for treason he was hanged in Downpatrick on the 21st of October 1803." I am too dense to connect Moylan's dots and make Russell's execution the subject of Wilson's poem. Others, seeing more clearly, make the connection. [Personally, I can connect too many dots -- e.g. an alternate possibility is that Emmet is hanged in 1803, the French are defeated two years later at Trafalgar, and then someone else is hanged the time after that. - RBW] See, for example, "Man from God-knows-where," June 23, 2005, at the Newry Journal site. Also, from the Down County Museum site article on "Thomas Russell" states that Russell was the gaol's most famous prisoner known now to many County Down people as "the man from God knows where" from Wilson's ballad "which generations of school children learnt!"; the museum site has information about Russell's career and documents related to the trial.
Town Major Sirr is a frequent villain in Dublin incidents after "the Troubles"; see, for example, "Henry Downs," "Edward (III) (Edward Fitzgerald), "The Major" and the notes to "Who Killed Cock Robin?" (II). - BS
File: Moyl161

Man Going Round


See There's A Man Going Round Taking Names (File: San447)

Man in Love, A


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

Man in the Moon, The


See Martin Said To His Man (File: WB022)

Man is Free by Nature


DESCRIPTION: "Why vainly do we waste our time, Repeating our oppression? ... See Gallia's bright example; The glorious scene before our eyes, Let's every tyrant trample.... future ages prove this truth, That man is free by nature"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1796 (_Paddy's Resource_ (Philadelphia), according to Moylan)
KEYWORDS: France nonballad patriotic freedom
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
July 14, 1789 - The Bastille is taken, marking the beginning of the French Revolution
1791-1792 - Thomas Paine publishes _The Rights of Man_
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Moylan 12, "Man is Free by Nature" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Glorious Exertion of Man" (subject of the French Revolution)
NOTES: Moylan: "This song may have been written by Thomas Russell." - BS
It does sound like something Russell (1767-1803) might have written, since he was a radical -- reportedly a friend of Wolfe Tone -- hung in the aftermath of Robert Emmet's rebellion. If so, though, he obviously lived to see the promise of the French Revoution drowned in blood. Indeed, it's hard to see how the song could have been published as late as 1796, assuming the author was rational; the Terror had run from 1793-1794, which should have shown how dangerous uncontrolled "populist" movements could be. - RBW
File: Moyl012

Man Killed by Falling From a Horse


See Come All You Young of Wary Age (File: R705)

Man of Burnham Town, The


See The Man of Burningham Town (File: VWL068)

Man of Burningham Town, The


DESCRIPTION: A man of (Burningham) goes to sea; his wife spends her time carousing. He returns to see her out on the town; he sneaks home and sends the maid to announce his arrival. She proclaims her delight, but he beats her with a rope. She promises to reform.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1904 (Sharp MS)
KEYWORDS: infidelity marriage warning return abuse humorous sailor
FOUND IN: Britain(England(South,Lond)) Canda(Mar)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, pp. 68-69, "The Man of Burningham Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kennedy 195, "The Birmingham Boys" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-Maritime, p. 123, "There Lived an Old Man in Dover" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #665
RECORDINGS:
Harry Cox, "The Birmingham Man" (on HCox01)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Man of Burnham Town
In Burnham Town
The Man of Dover
File: VWL068

Man of Constant Sorrow


DESCRIPTION: "I am a man of constant sorrow, I have been troubled all my days, I'll bid farewell to old Kentucky, The place where I was born and raised." Singer describes his hard, rambling life, and bids farewell to his lover, country, and friends.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1913 (Richard Burnett's songbook)
KEYWORDS: loneliness farewell rambling train lament lyric hobo
FOUND IN: US(Ap,SE)
REFERENCES (6 citations):
SharpAp 167, "In Old Virginny" (4 texts, 4 tunes, with the "C" text being this song; "A" and "B" are "East Virginia (Dark Hollow)" and D is a collection of floaters)
Shellans, pp. 26-27, "Constant Sorrow" (1 text, 1 tune, beginning with "Man of Constant Sorrow" but with most of "Fair and Tender Ladies" grafted on at the end)
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 113, "Man of Constant Sorrow" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, p. 260, "Man of Constant Sorrow" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 57, "Man of Constant Sorrow" (1 text)
DT, CONSTSOR* CONSTSR3*
Roud #499
RECORDINGS:
Emry Arthur, "Man of Constant Sorrow" (Paramount 3289, 1931; on ConstSor1); "I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow" (Vocalion 5208, c. 1927)
Roscoe Holcomb, "Man of Constant Sorrow" (on Holcomb-Ward1)
Frank Proffitt, "Man of Constant Sorrow" (on FProffitt01)
The Stanley Brothers, "I'm A Man of Constant Sorrow" (Columbia 20816, 1951)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Girl of Constant Sorrow" (structure, tune)
SAME TUNE:
Girl of Constant Sorrow (File: FSWB128B)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow
Farewell Song
NOTES: The words of this song have the curious characteristic of sounding like floating verses, even though they are not. - PJS
Although Emry Arthur claims to have composed this piece, a significantly different version was found in the Blue Ridge Mountains in 1957. One suspects that, when Arthur claimed authorship, he meant (as many other old-time singers meant) that he put it in shape for collection.
In later years, Richard Burnett was asked about the song. He himself could not remember, at that time, if he had composed it, or copied it, or -- perhaps most likely -- adapted it from something traditional. - RBW
File: CSW113

Man of Dover, The


See The Man of Burningham Town (File: VWL068)

Man of the Earth


DESCRIPTION: "By profession and birth I'm a man of the earth; I burrow in it like a mole." The singer tells of the life of a miner -- often poor, often overworked, often blamed for problems not of his making. He recalls the price paid in blood for "socialised coal"
AUTHOR: Words: Jock Graham / Music: Phyl Lobl (?)
EARLIEST DATE: 1975
KEYWORDS: mining work nonballad
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Fahey-Eureka, pp. 204-205, "Man of the Earth" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: FaE204

Man of the North Countrie, The


DESCRIPTION: "He came from the North, so his words were few." The singer is happy she married him and moved to Limerick. "I wish that in Munster they only knew The kind kind neighbors I came unto" so that there would be no hatred between South and North.
AUTHOR: T.D. M'Gee (source: Hayes)
EARLIEST DATE: 1855 (Hayes)
KEYWORDS: marriage travel nonballad
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Hayward-Ulster, p. 46, "He Came from the North" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Edward Hayes, The Ballads of Ireland (Boston, 1859 (reprint of 1855 London edition)), Vol II, p. 46, "The Man of the North Countrie"
Roud #6548
NOTES: County Limerick is in the north-central area of the region of Munster. - BS
File: HayU046

Man on the Flying Trapeze, The


See The Flying Trapeze (File: RJ19069)

Man That Lives, The


DESCRIPTION: "The man that lives must learn to die, Christ will no longer stay...." Listeners are reminded that their bodies will be food for worms; their lives are grass. They are in danger of hell, and one who ends there, "no physic shall him cure."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1909 (Leather)
KEYWORDS: death Hell religious nonballad carol
FOUND IN: Britain(England(West))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Leather, pp. 195-196, "The Man That Lives" (1 text, 2 tunes)
ST Leath195 (Partial)
Roud #2110
File: Leath195

Man that Waters the Workers' Beer, The


DESCRIPTION: "I am the man, the very fat man, that waters the worker's beer." The man waters the beer to make more profit (he admits to having "a car, a yacht, and an aeroplane") and to keep the workers in subjection. To this end he even uses poison
AUTHOR: Words: Paddy Ryan / Music: Traditional
EARLIEST DATE: 1937
KEYWORDS: drink poison worker humorous
FOUND IN: Britain(England)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Silber-FSWB, p. 29, "The Man That Waters the Workers' Beer" (1 text)
DT, WATRBEER*
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Son of a Gambolier" (tune & meter) and references there
NOTES: I was hesitant about including this song, but it is narrative, more or less, and it does seem to have entered tradition. - PJS
Reading this, I can't help but think of the charges filed against the founder of chemistry, Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794). According to Brock, p. 123, Lavoisier was charged with "having mixed water and other 'harmful' ingredients in tobacco." He was charged based on the testimony of a man whose early scientific work he had shown to be inadequate (Jaffe, p. 70). He went to the guillotine.
To be sure, he was a stockholder of a tax farming company (he had, at age 28, married the 14-year-old daughter of a tax farmer; Porter, p. 414), and this was his real crime (though he did not himself collect taxes, and his wife helped his experiments, according to Porter, p. 414). But it was a terrible loss for France, and an even greater loss for chemistry; as Laplace (himself one of history's greatest mathematicians) said at the time, "It required only a moment to sever that head, and perhaps a century will not be sufficient to produce another like it" (Porter, p.415). Much as I sympathize with the British working class, charges such as these are usually oversimplified.
The song lists three poisons placed in the beer: Strychnine, methylated spirits, and kerosene. Kerosene is a highly unlikely contaminant, since it is a hyrdrocarbon and does not dissolve in water. Strychnine, which is a natural biological alkaloid, is a more plausible contaminant. Methylated spirits are even more likely -- methylated spirits usually refers to ethyl alcohol contaminated with methyl alcohol to make it undrinkable, but in this case probably is intended to mean pure methyl alcohol. This gives the drinker the impression of consuming alcohol, but methyl alcohol is in fact a poison (Emsley, p. 110, says that methylated spirit is more poisonous than bleach). Ironically, the more ethyl alcohol, the less poisonous the methyl alcohol; the ethyl alcohol soaks up the enzyme which otherwise converts the methyl alcohol into lethal formic acid (Timbrell, pp. 196-197). The main effect of methyl alcohol in small doses is to make hangovers far worse, but it can also damage the kidneys and eyes, and if consumption reaches about 70 ml, death will generally follow.
The inclusion of strychnine is much more complicated. For starters, the workers might well notice it -- it is one of the most bitter-tasting substances in existence (Timbrell, p. 227).
Although now known as a poison, it was not always so. Buckingham, pp. 35-47, has notes on the discovery of vegetable alkaloids (which is what strychnine is). It began when it was noted that "Jesuit bark" is effective against malaria (Buckingham, p. 35). It would eventually turn out that "Jesuit bark" contains quinine, the first effective anti-malaria medication (now pretty useless, but it worked fine in the nineteenth century). The incompetent chemistry of the time figured out that a bitter agent was responsible for the curative effect -- but not which bitter agent. It was assumed that most bitter vegetable products -- the vegetable alkaloids -- were active against fevers. One such alkaloid was from the Strychnos nux-vomica tree (Buckingham, p. 36). This was strychnine.
The symptoms of strychnine perhaps explain why it was initially considered a useful drug: Timbrell, p. 155, notes that it heightens awareness, and can be used as a purgative. But it also leads to violent and exhausting convulsions. These are what lead to death -- a painful and terrible death, because the victim remains aware the whole time. Respiration often halts during the convulsions; it can restart several times before finally failing. Death usually comes within three hours of the onset of symptoms; a victim who lasts three hours will often survive.
Apparently it began poisoning people very early on, but it took a century and a half before apothecaries ceased to supply it (Buckingham, p. 46). In the Sherlock Holmes novel The Sign of the Four, near the end of chapter four, we see Watson discuss it in a way which implies it was part of his medical kit. MacInnis, p. 79, tells of an Olympic runner in 1904 who tried to use strychnine as a restorative -- and nearly died of it. Even in 2001, there was a report of a weightlifter testing positive for strychnine (which means, yes, doping agencies test for it!).
It is ironic to note that, if someone really wanted to dose the workers' beer with strychnine, the stronger the beer, the less effective it would be. The reason strychnine causes convulsions is that it opens pathways for especially strong and repeated nerve impulses, leading to convulsions (Timbrell, p. 156). The treatment is to isolate the victim from external stimuli (to prevent the nerves from firing in the first place) and applying a sedative to calm the nerve impulses. Timbrell says that barbiturates are now the preferred sedative, but alcohol would certainly be better than nothing.
If the statement that strychnine was added to workers' beer is based on an actual news report (which I doubt, but I don't know), it *might* have been added in an attempt to keep workers healthy -- it was actually used as a tonic (MacInnis, p. xv). The effect, of course, would have been the reverse. And even if it hadn't been a poison, mass use of alkaloids would have had the same effect as the mass use of antibiotics has had more recently: The bugs would have developed immunity.
I do think adding it to beer at this early date would have been unlikely. It was not until the 1920s that Robert Robinson began to research the structures of the alkaloids; he managed to determine the chemical composition of strychnine (and even, by 1946, to synthesize it; Porter, pp. xxix, 585); until then, getting precise dosages would have been difficult.
To be sure, it was not unusual for pub owners to water beer and then add adulterants. MacInnis, p. xiii, notes the case of levant nut, which caused the consumers to go to sleep. In a place where the company also owns the bars, this might be very popular -- the workers would drink a little watered beer and go to sleep, thus eliminating the need for all that expensive beer and also reduced the number of drunken workers. On p. 46, MacInnis mentions a law case against a man who made a pseudo-beer out of ingredients including opium and vitriol. Bad beer was common -- but not for the reasons in this song.
It is ironic that the song does not mention arsenic, implicated one of the largest bad-beer stories of all time. According to Timbrell, p. 119, in 1900 a batch of glucose used to make beer was accidentally contaminated with arsenic. 6000 people in Birmingham were sickened; 70 of them died. - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 2.5
File: FSWB029

Man to the Green Joe, The


See Four and Twenty Tailors (File: KinBB13)

Man Took in His Bed, A


DESCRIPTION: A man says he is sick to death for love of a girl. She sleeps with him. He says he never loved her, but loves another girl. She says he should leave: she does not value his love. If she has a baby she'll nurse it but send her seducer to the gallows.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1907 (GreigDuncan7)
KEYWORDS: seduction rejection trick rake lie
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan7 1482, "A Man Took in His Bed" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7179
File: GrD71482

Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo, The


DESCRIPTION: The singer rejoices in the happiness he experienced since he "broke the bank at Monte Carlo." The girls follow him, and he leads a carefree life. He sets out to marry "a madamoiselle [who] with twenty tongues swears she will be true."
AUTHOR: Fred Gilbert
EARLIEST DATE: 1927
KEYWORDS: gambling money
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 136-137, "The Man That Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo" (1 text, 1 tune)
Geller-Famous, pp. 124-126, "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo" (1 text, 1 tune)
Gilbert, pp. 237-239, "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo" (1 text)
DT, BROKEBNK*
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(90b), "The Man That Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo," unknown, c. 1890
NOTES: This is one of those pieces that is carried entirely by its tune. The words are banal (so much so that a large number of singers instantly rejected it), but it was quite popular in its day (now, thankfully, over).
Gilbert reports that, in 1891, Monte Carlo hired a man to toss money about in the streets of London, describing himself as the man who broke the bank. Fred Gilbert, observing this spectacle, wrote his song.
According to Geller, the man who tossed the money was Arthur DeCourcy Bower, who died poor, but Geller mentions his hiring by Monte Carlo officials as a mere possibility.
NLScotland claims that the song was instead inspired by the success of Joseph Hobson Jagger (died 1892), who reportedly won a million pounds in Monte Carlo in 1875. - RBW
File: SRW136

Man Who Wouldn't Hoe His Corn, The


See The Young Man Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn [Laws H13] (File: LH13)

Man Who Wrote Home Sweet Home Never Was a Married Man, The


See The Brisk Young Bachelor (File: ShH69)

Man You Don't Meet Every Day, The (A)


See Jock Stewart (The Man You Don't Meet Every Day) (File: R476)

Man-of-War Piece, The


DESCRIPTION: "I have kept my true love company For better than three year; He promised that he'd marry me" but he's left on a man-of-war. If he's slain "in heaven I hope his soul will shine through all eternity"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield)
KEYWORDS: grief love war parting ship sailor
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Greenleaf/Mansfield 45, "The Man-of-War Piece" (1 text)
Roud #7578
File: GrMa045

Man's a Man for A' That, A


DESCRIPTION: "Is there for honest poverty That hangs his head and a' that... For a' that and a' that, Our toils obscure and a' that, The rank is but the guinea stamp, The man's the gowd for a' that." Praising equality, with a final prediction that all will be brothers
AUTHOR: Robert Burns
EARLIEST DATE: 1800 (Currie)
KEYWORDS: political nonballad freedom
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Silber-FSWB, p. 297, "A Man's A Man For A' That" (1 text)
DT, MANSAMAN*
ADDITIONAL: James Kinsley, editor, Burns: Complete Poems and Songs (shorter edition, Oxford, 1969) #482, pp. 602-603, "For a' that and a' that" (1 text, from 1795-1796)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "For A' That and A' That (I)" (stanza form, lyrics)
cf. "He Wears a Bonnet for a Hat" (lyrics)
SAME TUNE:
A Tidy Suit for A' That (Broadside Bodleian Firth B.26(289))
George the Fourth is Coming Down (by John Mayne; see Christoper Sinclair-Stevenson, _Blood Royal: The Illustrious House of Hanover_, Doubleday, 1980, p. 180)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
For A' That And A' That
Is There for Honest Poverty
NOTES: Reported to be based on "The Bard's Song" in "The Jolly Beggars," and written in 1795, making it one of the last of Burns's "big" pieces. On the other hand, Ord has a song ("For A' That and A' That," p. 196) which looks like a model and which he calls an "old bothy song." And there is still another song "For a' that an' a' that" credited to Burns in the Scots Musical Museum (#290). Clearly the history of the song is complicated.
Though that's nothing compared to the use to which the tune is currently put. According to John Baynes with John Laffin, Soldiers of Scotland, Brassey's, 1988 (I use the 1997 Barnes & Noble edition), p. 105, five Scots regiments use this as the tune to announce Commanding Officer's Orders. Off the top of my head, I can hardly imagine a song more inappropriate -- this is an open rejection of authority, after all!
It's possible that this song got Burns in some trouble. According to Stephen Brumwell and W. A. Speck, Cassell's Companion to Eighteenth-Century Britain, Cassell & Co., 2001, p. 66, "Burns was accused in 1792 of joining in the singing of the French revolutionary song 'Ca ira'('that will come').... He excused his behavior on the ground that he was drunk at the time... Nevertheless the revolutionary sentiment is surely expressed in 'It's coming yet' [i.e. this song]." - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: FSWB297A

Mananitas


DESCRIPTION: Spanish: Title means "Early morning." The singer wishes for sun, moon, and stars to help him court, or separate from Marianita. Chorus: "Ya viene a maeciendo Ya la lus del dia nos vio, Ys dispierta amiga mia, Mira que ya amanecio."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: courting separation Mexico foreignlanguage
FOUND IN: Mexico
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Sandburg, pp. 292-293, "Mananitas" (1 text plus free translation, 1 tune)
NOTES: The proper name of this piece is Mañanitas. The accentuation of the chorus is left as an exercise for the Spanish-speaking reader. - RBW
File: San292

Manassa Junction


See The Battle of Bull Run [Laws A9] (File: LA09)

Manchester Angel (II), The


See The Irish Girl (File: HHH711)

Manchester Angel, The


DESCRIPTION: The singer meets a girl in Manchester and promises to marry her. She sleeps with him; his regiment prepares to march. She begs to go with him; he refuses. She offers to buy his discharge; he refuses. She vows to enter a nunnery until he returns.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1825 (broadside, Bodleian Harding Harding B 28(14))
KEYWORDS: courting sex army parting dialog soldier
FOUND IN: Britain(England(South,North))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, pp. 66-67, "The Manchester Angel" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MNCHESTR*
Roud #2741
RECORDINGS:
Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, "The Manchester Angel" (on ENMacCollSeeger02)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 28(14), "In Coming Down to Manchester," W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also Harding B 11(2306), Harding B 25(1206), "The Manchester Girl"; Harding B 28(249), Harding B 25(1801), Firth c.14(196), Harding B 11(2388), Harding B 11(3575), Harding B 15(301a), Harding B 15(301b), Harding B 16(254a), "Soldier's Farewell to Manchester"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Girl Volunteer (The Cruel War Is Raging)" [Laws O33]
cf. "Jack Monroe (Jackie Frazer; The Wars of Germany)" [Laws N7]
cf. "William and Nancy (I) (Lisbon; Men's Clothing I'll Put On I)" [Laws N8]
cf. "The Banks of the Nile (Men's Clothing I'll Put On II)" [Laws N9]
cf. "High Germany"
cf. "The Jacket So Blue (The Bonnet o' Blue)" (theme)
cf. "Oh! No, No" (lyrics)
NOTES: [According to A.L. Lloyd,] "The Angel Inn is said to have stood in the Market Place adjoining Market Sted Lane, Manchester."
Given the large number of ballads with this plot, I was tempted to lump this with one of the others. However, it has enough unique elements, in my judgment, to warrant a separate listing. -PJS
Although most of the elements of this song are duplicated elsewhere, the combination is unique. So is the (frequently Dorian) tune. So I agree with Paul: This piece is unique. There is another song with this title in Sam Henry, but it is distinct (and fragmentary). - RBW
File: VWL066

Manchester Canal, The


See The Calabar (File: HHH502)

Manchester Martyrs (I), The


DESCRIPTION: Colonel Kelly and another man come to Manchester "to free old Ireland from her tyrant's chain." They are jailed. Allen, Larkin and O'Brien stage a rescue. They are taken, found guilty, and hanged.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1965 (OLochlainn-More)
KEYWORDS: execution prisoner rescue political England
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Sep 11, 1867 - Kelly and Deasy are arrested and rescued a week later by 30 Fenians
Nov 24, 1867 - Three of the ambushers are hanged (source: _The Manchester Martyrs_ on the Gorton Local History Group site)
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
OLochlainn-More 76, "The Manchester Martyrs" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3029
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Allen, Larkin and O'Brien" (subject: The Manchester Martyrs)
cf. "The Smashing of the Van(I)" (subject: The Manchester Martyrs)
cf. "God Save Ireland" (subject: The Manchester Martyrs)
NOTES: OLochlainn-More: "The Manchester Martyrs were Allen, Larkin and O'Brien, all three hanged in revenge for the accidental shooting of Constable Brett in the attempted rescue of Kelly and Deasy, two Fenian Leaders in 1867." - BS
We should probably note that Kelly and Deasy, while in British custody, were not really in danger of execution. Thomas J. Kelly, who had been proclaimed chief executive of the Fenian's Irish Republic, and one Captain Timothy Deasy were simply being transported from court to prison, but they were "rescued" anyway on September 18.
In the course of the "rescue," a police sergeant, Charles Brett, was killed. William Allen, Michael Larkin, and Michael O'Brien were convicted of the murder and executed on November 23. The three men came to be known as the "Manchester Martyrs." A later rescue attempt also failed, but managed to kill a dozen bystanders.
Nonetheless, both sides blamed the other, increasing Anglo-Irish tensions. The incident also increased rebel recruiting, despite the fact that the Irish had committed the initial crime and the fact that the British followed the law throughout.
For additional background, see the notes to "The Smashing of the Van (I)." - RBW
File: OLcM076

Manchester Martyrs (II), The


See The Smashing of the Van (File: PGa050)

Mandalay


DESCRIPTION: "By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin' eastward to the sea, There's a Burma girl a-settin', and I know she thinks of me." The soldier, in London, seeing the dirt and the squalor, thinks with longing of the green land and the girl on the road to Mandalay
AUTHOR: Rudyard Kipling
EARLIEST DATE: 1890 ("The Scots Observer")
KEYWORDS: love separation soldier
FOUND IN: Britain
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Fuld-WFM, p. 415, "On the Road to Mandalay"
NOTES: I had to think long and hard about whether to put this song in the Index. It is, of course, composed. It has not been found in oral tradition. But it has been extremely popular, and has been set to music at least twice (once by Oley Speaks, in 1907, and again by Peter Bellamy, to an adaption of "Ten Thousand Miles Away"; the latter version will probably be more familiar to folk fans).
I finally decided to include the piece because it is so familiar, and used in so many contexts, and is one of the "folkiest" of the works of Kipling, who was probably closer to the average lower-class Englishman than any other poet.
It originally appeared in the Scots Observer in 1890, and was published as one of the Barrack-Room Ballads (1892).
I am going to opine, also, that this reveals the nuances in Kipling's beliefs, which few realize. Kipling was an imperialist; he believed in the White Man's Burden. But he did NOT think white men were superior to other "races"; in this song, the white man falls in love -- but does the girl? Or does she simply do what she must to survive? (Compare Gunga Din -- "a better man than I am.") In this sensitivity, Kipling was far ahead of the imperialists of his time (though hardly modern).
The geography here is rather confused, as in various stanzas it appears to be looking from Mandalay, Rangoon, Moulmein, and the road to Mandalay (from Rangoon).
Mandalay was one of the key cities of British Burma (modern Myanmar), on the Irrawaddy (now the Ayeyarwady) where the Myitnge flows into the river. The main road from Rangoon also passes through the town. It was (and is), therefore, the main city of inner Burma. The "old flotilla" sailed the Irrawaddy from Rangoon to Mandalay.
The chorus seems to be set in or near Rangoon, where the "sun comes up like thunder" from across the bay (though the far side of the bay is not China but part of Burma -- Moulmein, in fact. From Moulmein, the apparent setting of the song, the sun *sets* over the bay). - RBW
File: Fuld415

Mandi Went to Poov the Grais


See Mandi Went to Poove the Grys (File: K349)

Mandi Went to Poove the Grys


DESCRIPTION: Travellers' cant. Singer goes to put horses out to graze; a policeman is after the family. The farmer tries to impound the horses; the aunt chases them around the haystacks and steals some hay. Finally the policeman tells them to move on
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1960 (recorded from Frank Copper)
LONG DESCRIPTION: Travellers' cant. Singer goes to put horses out to graze; a policeman is after the family (the daughter remarks, "It's just as Father said; we can't get away"). The farmer tries to impound the horses; the aunt (or the singer) chases them around the haystacks (or srikes the policeman) and steals some hay. Finally the policeman tells them to move on
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage horse family police Gypsy migrant
FOUND IN: Britain(England)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Kennedy 349, "Mandi Went to Poove the Grys" (1 text, 1 tune)
MacSeegTrav 129, "Mandi Went to Poov the Grais" (1 text, 1 tune)
ADDITIONAL: Tim Coughlan, Now Shoon the Romano Gillie, (Cardiff,2001), #82, pp. 280-281, "O, 'Tis Mandi Went to Poov the Grais" [from MacSeegTrav]
Roud #852
RECORDINGS:
Peter Ingram, "Mandi Went to Poove the Girl" (on Voice11)
NOTES: This song was apparently widespread among English Travellers. "Mandi" = I; "poov(e) the grys (grais)" = put the horses to grass. It was common practice for Travellers to camp in an unauthorized place, then let their horses into a farmer's field after dark with the intention of retrieving them before dawn. Often as not, they were caught and the horses impounded. - PJS
For a more general discussion see Coughlan, #74, #78-93, pp. 274-285. - BS
File: K349

Manila Bay


DESCRIPTION: "You have heard about he battle over in Manila Bay, How the Yankees met the Spaniards, fought them on the first of May. Our commander's name was Dewey...." Dewey is praised and Spanish boasting ridiculed
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: Spain battle war navy
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1895 - Cubans rebel against Spain
Feb 15, 1898 - Explosion of the battleship "Maine" in Havana harbor
May 1, 1898 - Battle of Manila Bay. Dewey's fleet destroys the entire Spanish fleet in the Philippines
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BrownII 238, "Manila Bay" (1 text)
Roud #6623
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "My Sweetheart Went Down with the Maine" (theme) and references there
NOTES: This has more than the usual amount of American bluster. It is certainly true that Dewey won a decisive victory and did it at the cost of only eight minor injuries to his men (the Spaniards suffered nearly 400 casualties and lost their entire fleet). However, the Spanish knew the American fleet was much superior -- hence their desperate but unsuccessful efforts to prevent war. - RBW
File: BrII238

Manley Pankey


DESCRIPTION: "Here I stand in the jail house door, Here I'll stand no more. Goodbye to my mother And friends forevermore. My mother she did warn me, She warned me when I 'as young, 'I'll raise you up for the gallows; My son, you will be hung.'"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1947 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: mother warning murder gallows-confession
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BrownII 292, "Manley Pankey" (1 text)
ST BrII292 (Full)
Roud #6636
NOTES: According to the notes in Brown, Pankey was a laborer and musician who murdered his employer, a farmer named Curry. As usual, the song is described as sung by the condemned man before his execution. However, the editors can provide no precise dates or real details, and the song is a scrap with no circumstantial details at all. - RBW
File: BrII292

Manning, The Pirate


See Bold Manan the Pirate [Laws D15] (File: LD15)

Mantle o' Green, The


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

Mantle of Green, The


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

Mantle So Green, The [Laws N38]


DESCRIPTION: The well-dressed girl refuses the singer's offer of marriage; she is pledged to Willie O'Reilly, whose name is embroidered on her fine mantle. He tells her O'Reilly died at Waterloo; seeing how she grieves, he reveals that he is O'Reilly in disguise
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1859 (Journal from the Ocean Rover); before 1853 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 26(417))
KEYWORDS: love disguise separation grief
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
June 18, 1815 - Battle of Waterloo
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MW,MA,So) Canada(Mar,Newf) Britain(Scotland(Aber)) Ireland Australia
REFERENCES (21 citations):
Laws N38, "The Mantle So Green"
Belden, pp. 151-152, "The Mantle of Green" (1 text)
Randolph 94, "The Mantle So Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
FSCatskills 24, "Famed Waterloo" (1 text, 1 tune)
Gardner/Chickering 56, "Fain Waterloo" (1 text plus mention of 1 more, 1 tune)
Ritchie-Southern, pp. 93-94, "Her Mantle So Green" (1 text, 1 tune, expanded by Ritchie from a traditional fragment)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 87, "The Mantle of Green" (2 texts)
Peacock, pp. 555-557, "The Mantle So Green" (1 text, 2 tunes)
Leach-Labrador 130, "Mantle of Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-NovaScotia 30, "Mantle So Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 29, "The Mantle So Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Manny/Wilson 91, "Round Her Mantle So Green (Willie O'Reilly; Famed Waterloo)" (1 text, 1 tune)
OLochlainn 7, "The Mantle so Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Moylan 188, "The Mantle So Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Meredith/Anderson, pp. 33, 214-215, "As I Was A-Walking" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
SHenry H76, pp. 314-315, "The Mantle So Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
O'Conor, p. 38, "Mantle So Green" (1 text)
GreigDuncan5 1033, "The Mantle o' Green" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Ord, pp. 155-156, "The Mantle So Green" (1 text)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 122-123, "The Mantle So Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 463, MANTLGRN
Roud #714
RECORDINGS:
Margaret Barry, "Her Mantle So Green" (on IRMBarry-Fairs, and not the same as the next item)
Margaret Barry & Michael Gorman, "Her Mantle So Green" (on Barry-Gorman1); "Her Mantle So Green" (on IRMBarry-Fairs)
Robert Cinnamond, "Willie Slain at Waterloo" (on IRRCinnamond02)
Marie Hare, "Round Her Mantle So Green" (on Miramichi1) (on MRMHare01)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 26(417), "The Mantle So Green," J. Moore (Belfast), 1846-1852; also Firth c.14(212), 2806 c.15(246), "The Mantle So Green"
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(85a), "The Mantle So Green," unknown, c.1890
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "John (George) Riley (I)" [Laws N36] and references there
cf. "The Plains of Waterloo (I)" [Laws N32] (theme and some lines)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
William O'Roley
The Garlands So Green
NOTES: Ord, in his remarks on this song, notes that green was considered an unlucky color for clothing. I'm not sure what significance that might have. - RBW
See the notes to "The Plains of Waterloo (I)" [Laws N32] for Mackenzie's discussion of Laws N36 as source for "The Mantle So Green" [Laws N38] and "The Plains of Waterloo (I)" [Laws N32].
The ballad is recorded on one of the CD's issued around the time of the bicentenial of the 1798 Irish Rebellion. See:
Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "The Mantle of Green" (on Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "My Name is Napoleon Bonaparte," Hummingbird Records HBCD0027 (2001)) - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: LN38

Many Say I Am Too Noisy


DESCRIPTION: "Many say I am too noisy, But I know the reason why, If they only felt the glory They would shout as loud as I." "Hallelujah, bound for glory... I have crossed the River Jordan, Now I'm safe in Beulah Land." "...In his ranks I still remain."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1924 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Randolph 602, "Many Say I Am Too Noisy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7549
File: R602

Many Thousand Go


See Many Thousand Gone (Auction Block) (File: FJ030)

Many Thousand Gone (Auction Block)


DESCRIPTION: The freed slave rejoices to be done with abuse: "No more auction block for me... Nor more pint of salt for me... No more peck of corn for me... No more driver's lash for me..." (etc.)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: slavery freedom
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar) US(SE)
REFERENCES (11 citations):
Allen/Ware/Garrison, p. 45, (no title; filed with "Hail Mary" on the basis of the tune); p. 48, "Many Thousand Go" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 30-31, "Auction Block" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 279, "Auction Block" (1 text, 1 tune)
Scott-BoA, pp. 238-239, "Many Thousand Gone" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-CivWar, p. 71, "Many Thousand Gone" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, p. 577, "Many T'ousand Go" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 238, "Many Thousands Gone" (1 text, 1 tune)
Arnett, p. 83, "Many Thousand Go" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greenway-AFP, pp. 101-102, "Many Thousand Gone" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 353-354, "Many Thousand Go (No More Auction Block)" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 296, "Many Thousand Gone" (1 text)
ST FJ030 (Partial)
Roud #3348
RECORDINGS:
Pete Seeger, "No More Auction Block" (on PeteSeeger31)
File: FJ030

Maple Leaf Forever, The


DESCRIPTION: "In days of yore, from Britain's shore, Wolfe, the dauntless hero came.... The Maple Leaf, our emblem dead, The Maple Leaf forever, God save our Queen, and heaven bless The Maple Leaf forever." In praise of the heroes and people of Canada
AUTHOR: Alexander Muir
EARLIEST DATE: 1867
KEYWORDS: Canada patriotic nonballad
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Sept 13, 1759 - Battle of Quebec. Forces under Wolfe capture Quebec and firmly establish British rule in Canada, although Wolfe is killed
1812 - Battle of Queenston. British forces under Brock repel an American invasion, although Brock is killed
1867 - Canadian Confederation formed
FOUND IN: Canada
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 111-113, "The Maple Leaf Forever" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MAPLFREV
NOTES: The story goes that Alexander Muir (1839-1906) was out walking in the fall of 1867 when a maple leaf floated down and stuck to his sleeve. It proved hard to brush off, and the phrase "the maple leaf forever" sprang to mind. Eventually he turned it into a song celebrating the new dominion of Canada.
Muir's song was a bit optimistic; the proud dominion he envisioned ("from Cape Race to Nootka Sound") did not exist at the time he wrote, and would not until 1949, when Newfoundland (which includes Cape Race) entered the Confederation. Nor did Nootka Sound enter the dominion until 1871, when British Columbia joined Canada.
The song has proved popular in British Canada, but its complete neglect of Quebec has kept it from any official status.
For background on the Battle of Quebec, see the notes to "Brave Wolfe" [Laws A1]. For Queenston, see "Brave General Brock" [Laws A22] and "The Battle of Queenston Heights." The issue of Canadian confederation led to quite a few songs, especially in Newfoundland; "The 'Antis' of Plate Cove" is typical. - RBW
File: FMB111

Maple on the Hill


DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls the maple on the hill "Where I sat with my Geneva long ago." Now, as he is dying, he bids her, "Don't forget me, little darling, when they lay me down to die"; he must "leave you and that maple on the hill."
AUTHOR: Gussie L. Davis
EARLIEST DATE: 1926 (Recording, Vernon Dalhart); said to have been written 1880)
KEYWORDS: death separation
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
DT, MAPLHILL
Roud #4333
RECORDINGS:
Callahan Brothers, "Maple on the Hill" (Melotone 6-06-57, 1936)
Vernon Dalhart, "We Sat Beneath the Maple on the Hill" (Vocalion 5044, 1926)
(Tom) Darby & (Jimmie) Tarlton, "Maple on the Hill" (Columbia 15591-D, 1930)
Farmer Sisters, "Maple on the Hill" (Vocalion 03104, 1935)
Uncle Dave Macon, "Maple on the Hill" (Vocalion 5158, 1927)
J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers, "Maple on the Hill" (Bluebird B-6065/Montgomery Ward M-4710, 1935; Montgomery Ward M-4969, 1936; RCA Victor 20-3241, 1948)
Holland Puckett, "The Maple On The Hill" (Gennett 6532/Supertone 9186, 1928)
Posey Rorrer & The North Carolina Ramblers, "As We Sat Beneath The Maple On The Hill" (Edison 20005/Ed 52414/CYL: Edison 5615 [as by Posey Rorer's North Carolina Ramblers], 1929; rec. 1928)
Frank Welling & John McGhee, "The Maple On The Hill" (Perfect 5-12-59, 1935; Conqueror 8638, 1936)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Don't Forget Me, Little Darling (I)" (floating lyrics)
SAME TUNE:
Crowder Brothers, "New Maple on the Hill" (Conqueror 8782, 1937) (Oriole 07-02-63, 1937)
Dixie Reelers, "Answer to Maple on the Hill - Part 2"
Dixon Brothers, "Answer to Maple on the Hill - Part 1" (Bluebird B-6462, 1936)
Dixon Brothers, "Maple on the Hill - Part 3" (Bluebird B-6630, 1936)
Dixon Brothers, "Maple on the Hill - Part 4" (Montgomery Ward M-7170, 1937)
Wade Mainer, "Maple on the Hill - Part 2" (Bluebird B-6293, 1936)
Wade Mainer & Zeke Morris, "Maple on the Hill, Part 2" (Bluebird B-6293, 1936)
J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers "Maple on the Hill - Part 3" (Bluebird B-6293, 1936)
Prairie Ramblers, "Maple on the Hill - Part 2" (Perfect 6-09-60, 1936)
Prairie Ramblers, "Maple on the Hill No. 4" (Melotone 7-09-51, 1937)
Don Weston, "Maple on the Hill Is Gone" (Decca 5421, 1937)
NOTES: The Dixon Brothers had an "Answer to Maple on the Hill" and at least two additional "parts" to the song. Mainer's Mountaineers also had a "Part 3." What did the guy do, come back as a ghost?
This song has rarely if ever been collected in tradition, but its popularity with old-time singers (see the recording list and the "Same Tune" knock-offs) eventually made me decide to include it here. - RBW
[Ten] recordings by old-time singers between 1927 and 1936 -- yes, it absolutely belongs in. I call that "being collected from tradition," albeit in a roundabout way. - PJS
File: DTmaplhi

Maple Sweet


DESCRIPTION: "When you see the vapor pillar lick the forest and the sky, You may know the days of sugar making then are drawing nigh." "Oh, bubble, bubble, bubble, bubble, bubble goes the pan." A mention of the sights and sounds of the syrupping season
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1939 (Linscott)
KEYWORDS: food nonballad
FOUND IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Linscott, pp. 238-239, "Maple Sweet" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3737
File: Lins238

Marafray


DESCRIPTION: The people at Marafray are described in unflattering terms: "Bell Lowe she rises in the mornin Wi' a nose sae neat and fine She jabbers and curses ...." "The [end of] term time is comin'" when we'll be paid and have a parting glass.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: farming work nonballad drink
FOUND IN: Birtain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan3 399, "Marafray" (1 text)
Roud #5930
File: GrD3399

March of Intellect, The


DESCRIPTION: "Let schoolmasters bother their brain In their dry and their musty vocation; But what can the rest of us gain By meddling with such botheration?" Examples of people that work very well without esoteric knowledge: must the tailor know Conic Sections?
AUTHOR: Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774) ? (attribution by O Lochlainn in OLochlainn-More)
EARLIEST DATE: 1802 (printed by Hicks, according to OLochlainn-More)
KEYWORDS: commerce humorous nonballad
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
OLochlainn-More 52, "The March of Intellect" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: O Lochlainn's attribution to Oliver Goldsmith is difficult to assess. I'm fairly sure that the song he refers to is Tony Lumpkin's song from Act I of She Stoops to Conquer, beginning
Let schoolmasters puzzle their brain
With grammar, and nonsense, and learning;
Good liquor, I stoutly maintain,
Gives genus a better discerning....
But the song simply calls for drink and roast fowl -- no conic sections mentioned. Did the song go into oral tradition and get modified? If so, why are there no other mentions? Or was it written somewhere along the way, perhaps by the printer Hicks?
If Oliver Goldsmith did write this, it may have been a sarcastic comment on his own experience; Barnhart and Halsey's The New Century Handbook of English Literature (revised edition, 1967) comments of him that his career was "a record of almost unbroken failure in everything that he tried to reach by study or effort: he tried law, medicine, the church, and teaching, and failed in all of them; the only thing he succeeded in was literature, which he did not study and for which he had no technical preparation."
The Handbook adds that "Facts meant little to him." - RBW
File: OLcM052

March of the Men of Garvagh


DESCRIPTION: "We're marching, marching thro' Garvagh town, We're ready to fight for queen and crown, If any man won't we'll knock him down." The singer sees the marchers come by, led by "fighting Phil," and her (?) heart beats loud
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1913 (JIFSS)
KEYWORDS: nonballad
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H17b, p. 180, "March of the Men of Garvagh" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13540
NOTES: The Henry text appears to be composite; the first verse is a marching song (perhaps of Ulstermen opposed to Home Rule late in the reign of Victoria?), while the second and third appear to be the song of a girl in love with one of the marchers.
Garvagh, in county (London)derry, almost due south of Coleraine, was the site of some sectarian violence on July 16, 1813 (sometimes referred to as the "Battle of Garvagh," though it sounds more like a riot) -- but 1813 is during the reign of George III, so there is no reason to mention the queen. - RBW
File: HHH017b

Marche des Animaux, Le (The Animal Market)


DESCRIPTION: French. "One day I go to the market to buy a cock. My cock goes coquelicou, cou, cou." Cumulative for: "My chipmunk, my horse, my cow, my pig, my ewe, my goose, my hen." Chorus: "Jamais je n'en serais jaloux"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1959 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage cumulative humorous nonballad animal
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Peacock, p. 18, "Le Marche des Animaux" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "I Had a Little Rooster" (theme and structure)
NOTES: Re "Mon suisse" as "My chipmunk": or does "suisse" in this case really mean Swiss which goes "souisse-souisse-souisse"? or a play on swine=suide? - BS
File: Pea018

Marching Down to New Orleans


See Marching Down to Old Quebec (File: R519)

Marching Down to Old Quebec


DESCRIPTION: "We're marching down to (old Quebec/New Orleans), Where the drum is loudly beating, The 'Merican boys have won the day And the (British) are retreating." The soldier describes marching, and his plans to go home/to New Orleans/to visit a girl
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1903 (Newell)
KEYWORDS: playparty soldier war battle floatingverses courting rejection Canada
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1775-1776: American attack on Canada. The chief battle of the campaign was fought outside Quebec on December 31, 1775
Jan 8, 1815 - Battle of New Orleans. Although a peace had already been signed, word had not yet reached Louisiana, which Pakenham sought to invade. Andrew Jackson's backwoodsmen easily repulse Pakenham
FOUND IN: US(NE,MW,So) Canada(Ont)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Randolph 519, "We're Marching Down to Old Quebec" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 57-59, "Marching Down to Old Quebec" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST R519 (Full)
Roud #735
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Little Pink" (floating verses)
NOTES: The history behind this song is somewhat confusing. Although America in its early years coveted Canada, and sent troops northward during the War of 1812, Americans never successfully attacked Quebec (for their unsuccessful Canadian campaigns, see, e.g., "The Battle of Queenston Heights").
If the song refers to an actual event, it probably dates to the invasion of Canada by Montgomery and Benedict Arnold in 1775. Montgomery captured Montreal, and rendezvoused with Arnold to attack Quebec, but the assault of December 31, 1775 was repulsed. Montgomery was killed and hundreds of Americans killed, wounded, and captured.
As it turned out, both British and Americans sang about the invasion of Canada, with Americans lauding the capture of Montreal (which they obviously did not manage to retain) and the British celebrating the defense of Quebec.
This confusion may explain why the song was transferred to New Orleans, which was American property and where Jackson did repel a British army (for which see "The Battle of New Orleans" [Laws A7]).
The Randolph version of this piece has more than a little connection with "Little Pink," and may even be the same song -- but at this point it's hard to tell; I've heard a "Little Pink" variant which goes in a completely different direction.
Roud tosses the whole family in with "Coffee Grows." - RBW
File: R519

Marching On


DESCRIPTION: "Old Abe's in the White House, taking a snooze, Gen'ral Grant is a-busting his gut with his booze... but let's keep marching on." Complaints about life in the Union army: Lincoln freed the Blacks but not the soldiers, the rebels keep coming back, etc.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1959 (Warner)
KEYWORDS: Civilwar soldier
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Sept 23, 1862 - Abraham Lincoln issues the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which on Jan 1, 1863 will free all slaves in Confederate-controlled areas
Sept 19-20, 1863 - Battle of Chickamauga (calld "Chickamaugie" in the song). Braxton Bragg's reinforced Confederate army routs most of William S. Rosecrans' Federal force, which is saved only by a desperate stand by George H. Thomas. Although the most decisive victory the Confederates ever won, it is the last Rebel victory of the war, and will be avenged a few months later at the Battle of Chattanooga
Feb 1, 1865 - Thirteenth Amendment, which finally prohibits slavery, proposed by congress (It was declared ratified on Dec 18)
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Warner 130, "Marching On" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MARCHON*
Roud #7475
RECORDINGS:
Frank Proffitt, "Old Abe" (on Proffitt03)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "John Brown's Body" (tune & meter) and references there
cf. "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" (tune & meter)
cf. "Pass Around the Bottle" (lyrics)
NOTES: This song implies that Grant, who was unquestionable a heavy drinker in his younger days, continued his alcoholic ways during the Civil War. Most observers agree, however, that he *did not* drink during the war. Grant was by no means a brilliant general, but at least he was stubborn enough to keep fighting until he won the war. - RBW
File: Wa130

Marching Round the Gum Stump (Marching Round the Fodder Stack)


DESCRIPTION: "Marching round the gum stump, The gum stump, the gum stump, Marching round the gum stump, Rolly roly oh!" "If you want a sweetheart, A sweetheart, a sweetheart, If you want a sweetheart, Choose one and play."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1942 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: playparty
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Randolph 591, "Marching Round the Gum Stump" (1 text)
Roud #7676
NOTES: I have this vague feeling that this is based on, or at least incorporates fragments of, a wren song. But I can hardly prove it.... - RBW
File: R591

Marching Round the Levee


See Go In and Out the Window (File: R538)

Marching Song of the First Arkansas


DESCRIPTION: "Oh, we're the bully soldiers of the 'First of Arkansas,' We're fighting for the Union, we are fighting for the law, We can hit a Rebel further than a white man ever saw..." The soldiers tell how they will show their prowess by defeating the Rebels
AUTHOR: Words: Capt. Lindley Miller?
EARLIEST DATE: 1960
KEYWORDS: Civilwar battle Black(s) slavery freedom soldier derivative
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Jan 1, 1863 - Effectiveness date of the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all slaves in the portions of the U.S. not then in Federal hands
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Silber-CivWar, p. 38, "Marching Song of the First Arkansas (Negro) Regiment" (1 text, tune referenced)
DT, MARARKAN*
RECORDINGS:
Pete Seeger, "Marching Song of the First Arkansas" (on PeteSeeger28)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "John Brown's Body" (tune & meter) and references there
NOTES: The Union first began enlisting Black troops (informally) in 1862. By the end of that year, four regiments were raised, only to have Lincoln shut them down. After the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, however, Lincoln allowed the formation of (segregated) "colored" regiments.
In the end, over a hundred and fifty such regiments were raised. Their performance was mixed -- but this was probably the fault of the (white) officers rather than the Black troops. A large fraction of the officers in the "Colored" regiments were soldiers who had given up on promotion in the white army, and shifted to the "Colored" troops to get ahead.
The "Colored" troops had other reasons for bad morale; their pay was much lower than their white counterparts, and their equipment less good. And soldiers from both sides looked down on them.
A large fraction of the "Colored" regiments were raised from free Northern blacks, but some were taken from freed slaves. If anything, the soldiers of these regiments fought better than their free kindred. - RBW
File: SCW38

Marching Song of the First Arkansas (Negro) Regiment


See Marching Song of the First Arkansas (File: SCW38)

Marching Through Georgia


DESCRIPTION: Sundry boasts, mostly too optimistic, about Sherman's march to the sea: "How the darkeys shouted when they heard the joyful sound.... Yes, and there were Union men who wept with joyful tears... While we were marching through Georgia."
AUTHOR: Henry Clay Work
EARLIEST DATE: 1865 (copyright)
KEYWORDS: Civilwar patriotic
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Nov 15, 1864 - William T. Sherman splits his army (which had conquered Atlanta on September 1) into two parts. One, under Thomas, is to defend Atlanta, while Sherman takes nearly 60,000 men on the "March to the Sea"
Dec 10, 1864 - Sherman's forces reach Savannah
Dec 21, 1864 - Sherman captures Savannah
FOUND IN: US(MW) Australia
REFERENCES (8 citations):
RJackson-19CPop, pp. 126-129, "Marching Through Georgia" (1 text, 1 tune)
Meredith/Anderson, p. 34, "The Battle Cry of Freedom" (1 text, 1 tune, composed of equal parts of this song and "The Battle Cry of Freedom")
Dean, pp. 119-120, "Marching Through Georgia" (1 text)
Silber-CivWar, pp. 78-79, "Marching Through Georgia" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hill-CivWar, pp. 207-208, "Marching Through Georgia" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 278, "Marching Through Georgia" (1 text)
Fuld-WFM, p. 349, "Marching Through Georgia"
DT, MRCHGRGA*
ST MA034A (Full)
Roud #9596
RECORDINGS:
[Byron G.] Harlan & [Roba] Stanley, "Marching Through Georgia" (CYL: Edison 8606, 1904) (Columbia 1776, 1904) (Victor 4217, 1905)
J. W. Myers, "Marching Through Georgia" (Victor 4289, 1905)
Pete Seeger & Bill McAdoo, "Marching Through Georgia" (on PeteSeeger28)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Golden Gullies of the Palmer" (tune & meter)
cf. "The Workingmen's Army" (tune & meter)
cf. "Coxey Army" (tune)
cf. "Marching to Cuba" (tune)
SAME TUNE:
Marching to Cuba (File: BrII237)
The Workingmen's Army (Greenway-AFP, pp. 59-60)
Coxey Army (Greenway-AFP, pp. 62-63)
NOTES: Although Work can hardly be blamed for his cheerful view of the March to the Sea, it was in fact little better than terrorism. Sherman's expressed goal was to "make Georgia howl," and he certainly succeeded; a region some fifty miles across was devastated. (Sherman was, in fact, reviving the chevauchee, the method by which the armies of the Middle Ages destroyed their enemies' agricultural base).
Even if there had been Union men in the region before, there were none left afterward.
"Marching Through Georgia" has been called "the most hated song in the south."
The one other person who hated the song was none other than Sherman himself; he reportedly said, "If I had thought when I made that march that it would have inspired anyone to compose the piece, I would have marched AROUND the state."
Sherman became the most hated man in the south for the rest of his life. It's ironic to note that, when Joseph E. Johnston surrendered the last real southern army to Sherman, Sherman gave such generous terms (to Johnston and anyone else willing to take them) that the North instantly repudiated them. There were loud calls for his removal -- as being too soft! - RBW
File: MA034A

Marching to Cuba


DESCRIPTION: "We're going down to Cuba, boys, to battle for the right, We're going to show the Spaniards that we Yankee boys can fight... While we are marching to Cuba." The victories at Manila Bay and Santiago are briefly mentioned
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: Spain battle war navy soldier derivative
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1895 - Cubans rebel against Spain
Feb 15, 1898 - Explosion of the battleship "Maine" in Havana harbor
May 1, 1898 - Battle of Manila Bay. Dewey's fleet destroys the entire Spanish fleet in the Philippines
May 19, 1898 - The Spanish fleet enters Santiago Bay
July 2, 1898 - The Spanish fleet at Santiago, acting under orders from Madrid, sails out into the teeth of the American fleet and is destroyed
July 10, 1898 - U. S. troops attack Santiago
July 17, 1898 - U. S. troops capture Santiago
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BrownII 237, "Marching to Cuba" (1 text)
Roud #6622
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Marching Through Georgia" (tune) and references there
cf. "My Sweetheart Went Down with the Maine" (theme) and references there
NOTES: The editors of Brown were able to identify this with a piece "Marching to Cuba" credited to Josie M. Galloway, with words by J. H. Dohrmann. Since, however, it is instantly obvious that the tune is "Marching through Georgia," the authorship claims must be treated as slightly dubious.
The military figures mentioned in this song include:
Dewey - George Dewey (1837-1917), commander of the U. S. Navy's Asiatic Squadron from early 1898, he won the Battle of Manila Bay at slight cost: The Spanish lost their entire fleet, the Americans didn't have a single sailor killed
Sampson - William Thomas Sampson (1840-1902), who led the Board of Inquiry into the Maine explosion. He was appointed to command the North Atlantic squadron during the War, and hence was responsible for the blockade of Santiago harbor. His direct involvement in the Battle of Santiago was limited as he was not in the immediate presence of the enemy when the Spanish sortied
Hobson - Richmond Pearson Hobson (1870-1937) helped close Santiago harbor by sinking the collier Merrimac as a blockship.
Schley - Winfield Scott Schley (1839-1909) commanded the Flying Squadron of the fleet blockading Santiago. When the Spaniards attempted to break out, Schley was the senior officer present -- a fact which later led to severe arguments with Sampson over who deserved credit for the victory. - RBW
File: BrII237

Marching to Pretoria


DESCRIPTION: Shanty version sung to the Pretoria tune, though with changed verses, which Hugill says he had to camouflage to print. Cho: "We are marchin' to Pretoria, oh gloria, Victoria. We are marchin' to Pretoria, Victoria rules the waves!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1954 (recording, Joseph Marais and Miranda)
KEYWORDS: shanty army travel Africa food
FOUND IN: South Africa Britain
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Hugill, p.425, "Pretoria" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. ???, "Marching to Pretoria" (1 text)
DT, MARPRET
NOTES: I was surprised not to find this in the index already, considering how common I thought was. From what I could find it dates or at least refers to the Boer or Zulu war. - SL
It is not in the Index because it's not really found in tradition. As best I can tell, it was fixed up by Joseph Marais and Miranda, based on a South African original, and the adaption has been sung very widely at camps -- typically on hiking expeditions. But only starting in the 1960s.
This is the first time I've met the sea version, which may be an alternate adaption.
It would be very interesting to find the earliest version of this, to know the setting (including which Boer War it dates from).
The opening conflict of the (first) Boer War came on December 20, 1880, at Bronkhorstspruit, when "264 officers of the 94th Regiment (Connaught Rangers), marching from Lydenburg to Pretoria, were halted on the march by a Boer commando and ordered to turn back. The lieutenant-coloonel in command was given two minutes to reply to the demand. He refused to surrender and was killed by the Boers' opening shots" (Farwell, pp. 244-245). Most of the other British soldiers were killed as well.
Britain was defeated again early the next year, on February 26, 1881, At Majuba Hill, British General George Pomeroy Colley took his force onto high ground, but failed to create a defensive position; his forces were routed and Colley himself killed (van Hartsveldt, p. 4).
Rather than keep up the fight, the British negotiated, A year later, the Pretoria Convention would end the war. "It gave the South African Republic independence subject to a vague assertion of British suzerainty whatever that might mean" (van Hartsveldt, p. 5).
In the second (1899-1902) Boer War, Pretoria would again be key -- and the site of a lot of marching. On October 30, 1899, after their victory at Lombard's Kop, the Boers marched a number of British prisoners through Pretoria (Belfield, pp. 20-22).
On March 13, 1900, Frederick Singh Roberts captured Bloemfontein, then prepared to march on the Boer capital of Pretoria. He set out on May 3 and arrived June 5 (Belfield, pp. 95-100). That made it possible for British forces to capture Koomati Poort and cut the Boers off from all contact with the outside world (Chandler/Beckett, pp. 200-201). This did not end the war -- there would be two more years of guerrilla fighting, in which world opinion turned against England and the international situation became ever more complicated. But it was nearly the end of the direct military phase (and it earned Roberts an earldom and the command of the British army), and at the time it was thought it would end the conflict; the soldiers must have thought they were making the last big push.
Thus, a march to Pretoria could have been bad news for Britain or for the Boers, depending on the war and the situation. Or it could be about something else. - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 2.5
File: Hugi425

Marden Forfeit Song


See Green Grow the Leaves (File: Leath206)

Margaret Gray


DESCRIPTION: Margaret Gray and her baby bid farewell to Robert Gray as he goes to work in the field. They agree to meet at a neighbor's house. She becomes lost in the woods. Her baby dies. Long after, she finally finds her way home.
AUTHOR: Julia C. R. Dorr
EARLIEST DATE: 1872 (Lippincott's)
KEYWORDS: baby separation death love
FOUND IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Flanders/Brown, pp. 19-26, "Margaret Gray" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST FlBr019 (Partial)
Roud #5440
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Margery Gray -- A Legend of Vermont (author's title)
NOTES: Flanders and Brown claim this piece was well-known in Vermont, and indeed they seem to list two informants. But it doesn't appear to have turned up in any other collection.
Julia Caroline Ripley Dorr (1825-1913) was successful enough as a writer to earn a place in the Dictionary of American Biography, but I checked eight anthologies without finding a single word she had written. Granger's Index to Poetry, which cites some 300 anthologies, lists a few of her poems -- but not one of those 300 volumes includes this piece. Given how wordy this poem is, it's perhaps not surprising. - RBW
File: FlBr019

Margot Evans (Let the Bullgine Run)


DESCRIPTION: "Oh the smartest clipper you can find, Oh hey, oh ho, are you 'most done? Is the (Margot Evans) of the (Blue Cross) line, So clear the track, let the bullgine run!" The singer describes the fast passage of the ship, and hopes Liza Lee will marry him
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1921 (Terry)
KEYWORDS: sailor work ship courting nonballad
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (7 citations):
Lomax-FSNA 29, "The Bullgine Run" (1 text, 1 tune)
Colcord, p. 99, "Clear the Track" (1 text, 1 tune)
Harlow, pp. 18-19, "Clear the Track, Let the Bulgine Run" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill, pp. 344-347, "Clear the Track, let the Bulgine Run" (2 texts, 2 tune) [AbEd, pp. 258-259]
Sharp-EFC, VI, p. 7, "Clear the Track" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, p. 317, "Clear the Track and Let the Bullgine Rune" (1 text)
DT, MARGOEVN*
Roud #810
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Eliza Lee
NOTES: Hugill, following Sharp, claims this is sung to the tune similar to "Shule Agrah" (Lomax says they're the same), though it's not any variant I've ever heard.
Colcord thinks that explains the strange combination of bullgine engine (railroad engine) and low-backed car: Someone from the Margot Evans (the ship in her version, though Hugill has a Wild Cat or similar) heard Irish sailors singers sing it, and adapted it.
The Margot Evans, according to Colcord, was a packet running apparently from Mobile to New York.
Personally, I think the whole song needs a lot more historical study. - RBW
File: LoF029

Margot, La


DESCRIPTION: French shanty. Chorus: "Oh hisse! et ho! Tire larigot, Hourra pour la Margot!" "With a heave an'a ho! Blow the flute boys, O! Hurrah for La Margot!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Hayet, _Chansons de bord_)
LONG DESCRIPTION: French shanty. Chorus: "Oh hisse! et ho! Tire larigot, Hourra pour la Margot!" "With a heave an'a ho! Blow the flute boys, O! Hurrah for La Margot!" Translation is vague, verses seem to refer to Margot as both a ship and a woman and has thinly disguised bawdy lyrics, and several of the repeating words in both the verses and chorus can have different meanings
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage shanty bawdy
FOUND IN: France
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Hugill, pp. 398-400, "La Margot" (2 texts-English & French, 1 tune)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Le Bihor
File: Hugi398

Mari de Quatre-Vingt-Dix Ans, Le (The Ninety Year Old Husband)


DESCRIPTION: French. The singer's father marries her to a ninety year old man. When she complains, her father said that her husband is rich. She would rather have a man that satisfies her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1959 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage age marriage dialog father husband
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Peacock, pp. 298-299, "Le Mari de Quatre-Vingt-Dix Ans" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Maids When You're Young Never Wed an Old Man" and references there
File: Pea298

Maria


DESCRIPTION: "I wonder where Maria's gone (x3). Ear-lye in the morning." "Guess she's gone and I can't go (x3), Ear-lye in the morning." "Yonder she comes and howdy-do (x3), Ear-lye in the morning."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1917 (Cecil Sharp collection); *1907 (JAFL20)
KEYWORDS: nonballad
FOUND IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Ritchie-SingFam, pp. 66-67, "[Maria]" (1 text, 1 tune)
SharpAp 258, "Maria's Gone" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3625
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Drunken Sailor (Early in the Morning)"
NOTES: The similarity to "The Drunken Sailor" will be obvious even from the lyrics -- but since the theme of the song is different, the chorus is absent, and the tune somewhat modified, I decided to classify these as separate songs. Presumably at some point someone put new lyrics to the "Drunken Sailor" melody. - RBW
The 1917 version collected by Sharp -- in Hindman, KY, where many of the Ritchies attended the settlement school -- has a rather different melody; perhaps the words and earlier melody came first, then someone switched tunes to "Drunken Sailor." - PJS
File: JRSF066

Maria and Caroline


See The Folkestone Murder (File: K320)

Maria Barberi


DESCRIPTION: "'Tis not for me to speak aloud On lofty themes. I tell As one among the lowly crowd How young Maria fell." "Swift as a flash a glittering blade Across his throat she drew. 'By you,' she shrieked, 'I've been betrayed." She apparently avoids conviction
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1958 (Burt)
KEYWORDS: murder revenge betrayal
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
April 1895 - Maria Barberi kills Domenico Cataldo, apparently because he would not marry her
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Burt, p. 55, "(Maria Barberi)" (1 text, probably a fragment)
File: Burt055

Maria Bewell


DESCRIPTION: Fifteen year old Maria's stepfather comes to her bed one night and asks to sleep with her. She begs him not to; he persists. Finally his desire is too strong; he lies in wait for her and kills her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1939 (Eddy)
KEYWORDS: incest murder rejection father
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1832 - Murder of Maria Buell by Ira West Gardner. Gardner was later hung, though details of the sentencing were lost in a fire
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Eddy 120, "Maria Bewell" (1 text)
ST E120 (Full)
Roud #4116
NOTES: This song is item dF44 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW
File: E120

Maria Marten


DESCRIPTION: Maria tells her mother she is going to meet William at the red barn. They are to be married next day in Islip. Maria is never seen alive again. After eleven months her mother dreams the body will be found buried in the red barn. The body is found there.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1972 (recording, Freda Palmer)
KEYWORDS: courting murder dream mother corpse
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Aug 11, 1828 - William Corder is executed for the May 1827 murder of Maria Marten (source: NLScotland commentary to broadside L.C.Fol.70(71b))
FOUND IN: Britain(England(South))
Roud #215
RECORDINGS:
Freda Palmer, "Maria Marten" (on Voice03)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Murder of Maria Marten" (subject) and references there
File: RcMariaM

Maria's Gone


See Maria (File: JRSF066)

Marian Parker (I) [Laws F33]


DESCRIPTION: Pretty schoolgirl Marian Parker and her family are preparing for Christmas when the girl is kidnapped from school. "Young Hickman" is arrested and tried after the body is found
AUTHOR: Bill Barrett?
EARLIEST DATE: 1928 (recording, Al Craver [Vernon Dalhart]; also copyrighted in that year, but the Dalhart recording was probably made in 1927; collected by Brown as early as 1930)
KEYWORDS: murder corpse trial abduction
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Dec 14, 1927 - Kidnapping and murder of twelve (eleven?)-year-old Marian Parker
Dec 17, 1927 - Discovery by her father of the girl's mutilated body
Oct 19, 1928 - Execution of William Edward Hickman for the murder
FOUND IN: US(MW,SE,So)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Laws F33, "Marian Parker"
BrownII 254, "Marian Parker" (1 text)
McNeil-SFB2, pp. 68-70, "Little Marian Parker" (1 text, 1 tune)
Burt, pp. 65-66, "(Marion Parker)" (1 text, tune referenced)
DT 731, MARPARK1
Roud #781
RECORDINGS:
Al Craver [pseud. for Vernon Dalhart] & Charlie Wells [pseud. for Carson Robison], "Little Marian Parker" (Columbia 15218-D. c. 1928)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Marian Parker (II)" (subject)
cf. "Marian Parker (III)" (subject)
cf. "Edward Hickman (Marian Parker IV)" (subject)
NOTES: Laws lists a total of four Marian Parker ballads (the others are dF56, dF57, and dE49, "Edward Hickman"). This one, popularized by Vernon Dalhart, begins "Away out in California lived a family bright and gay. They were planning for their Christmas not very far away...."
The 1928 printing, credited to Bill Barrett (though I wonder if Carson Robison may not have been involved), titles the song "Little Marian Parker." - RBW
File: LF33

Marian Parker (II)


DESCRIPTION: Marian Parker, "a sweet little darling," is "lured away from school" so that the kidnapper (unnamed) can demand a ransom. Her father finds her mangled body. The ballad concludes with moralizing stanzas
AUTHOR: John McGhee?
EARLIEST DATE: 1939 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: abduction murder death
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Dec 14, 1927 - Kidnapping and murder of twelve (eleven?)-year-old Marian Parker
Dec 17, 1927 - Discovery by her father of the girl's mutilated body
Oct 19, 1928 - Execution of William Edward Hickman for the murder
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BrownII 255, "The Murder of Marian Parker" (1 text)
Roud #4126
RECORDINGS:
John McGhee, "The Marion Parker Murder" (Champion 15427=probably Gennett 6362)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Marian Parker (I)" [Laws F33] (subject)
cf. "Marian Parker (III)" (subject)
cf. "Edward Hickman (Marian Parker IV)" (subject)
NOTES: This is item dF56 in Laws's Appendix II. Laws lists a total of four Marian Parker ballads (the others are F33, dF57, and dE49, "Edward Hickman"). This one, with no details and an extremely sticky tone, begins "In a home out in Los Angeles Lived a sweet little darling so fair. 'Twas a pleasure her loved ones to be, But her loved ones her joy no more they'll share." - RBW
File: LdF56

Marian Parker (III)


DESCRIPTION: Marian and her sister set out for school. Edward Hickman tells her her father had an accident, and kidnaps her. He demands a $1500 ransom. Her father brings the money, but finds her dead body. The song blames Hickman but does not tell his fate
AUTHOR: Andrew Jenkins
EARLIEST DATE: 1928 (recording, Andrew Jenkins)
KEYWORDS: murder execution trial abduction mother
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Dec 14, 1927 - Kidnapping and murder of twelve (eleven?)-year-old Marian Parker
Dec 17, 1927 - Discovery by her father of the girl's mutilated body
Oct 19, 1928 - Execution of William Edward Hickman for the murder
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BrownII 256, "Little Marion Parker" (1 text)
Roud #4127
RECORDINGS:
Blind Andy [pseud. for Andrew Jenkins], "Little Marian Parker" (OKeh 45197, 1928) [The flip side is also a Marian Parker ballad, "Edward Hickman"]
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Marian Parker (I)" [Laws F33] (subject)
cf. "Marian Parker (II)" (subject)
cf. "Edward Hickman (Marian Parker IV)" (subject)
NOTES: This is item dF57 in Laws's Appendix II. Laws lists a total of four Marian Parker ballads (the others are F33, dF56, and dE49, "Edward Hickman"). This, one of two by Andrew Jenkins and appearing in the Brown collection, has the opening stanza, "Now little Marion (sic) Parker, She left her home one day, She started to the schoolhouse, Her heart was light and gay." - RBW
File: LdF57

Mariann' s'en va-t-au Moulin (Marianne's Going to the Mill)


DESCRIPTION: French. Marianne rides her donkey to the mill to have her grain ground. A wolf eats her donkey as she waits. The miller pays to buy another. Her father asks what happened to the donkey. She says it is St. Michael's day, when donkeys change their coats
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1946 (BerryVin)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage grief death money humorous animal father miller
FOUND IN: US(MW) Can(Que)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BerryVin, p. 76, "Mariann' s'en va-t-au moulin (Marianne's Going to the Mill)" (1 text + translation, 1 tune)
File: BerV076

Marianson, Dame Joli (Marianson, My Lady Fair)


DESCRIPTION: French. A knight calls on Marianson and steals her husband's rings. The husband, coming home from war, is tricked by the knight into thinking she is unfaitful. He kills the child and drags her behind his horse. She proves her innocence, but is dying.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1946 (BerryVin)
LONG DESCRIPTION: French. A man (knight?) calls on Marianson, whose husband is off at the war. He asks her to lend him her golden rings; she gives him the key to her chest, and he takes the rings. He brings them to a goldsmith and has them duplicated. He then meets the lady's husband, who swears his wife is faithful. The man replies that "This I believe, yet disbelieve" and shows the husband the rings. The husband goes home, sick at heart; Marianson show him their newborn son. "A name I'll render to the child, The mother earns renown defiled." He kills the child by throwing it on the ground, ties Marianson by the hair to his horse, and drags her for three days. Then he looks back and asks, "Where are thy golden rings so rare?" She tells him they're in the chest; he looks, and they are there. Stricken with remorse, he asks her what surgeon could save her; she replies that "The only surgeon now would be / A winding-sheet to cover me." He asks her forgiveness; she replies that she forgives him for murdering her, but not for killing their child
KEYWORDS: jealousy virtue courting ring accusation lie questions violence return betrayal murder death children husband wife foreignlanguage
FOUND IN: US(MW) Canada France
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BerryVin, p. 16 (1 text + translation, 1 tune)
NOTES: Although I can't remember where I encountered it, I seem to recall a medieval romance similar to this. Searches on the Internet say that this story was particularly popular in Normandy.
I am also strongly reminded of the story of Griselda in Chaucer's "Clerk's Tale" (which, admittedly, goes back to Boccaccio, and before that perhaps to the tale of Eros and Psyche). There is also the legend which Chretien de Troyes retold as "Erec and Enide," and which occurs in the Mabinogion as "Gereint and Enid," about a husband's unjustifid jealousy. Admittedly it ends with the lovers making peace, and Chaucer's tale of Griselda technically has a happy ending -- but the *true* happy ending in that case would have been to give Walter a taste of his own medicine. Where is Medea when we need her? - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: BerV016

Marie Madelaine (Son Petit Jupon -- The Little Dress of Gray)


DESCRIPTION: French: The singer is her father's only daughter, and he sent her to sea in her little dress of gray. A sailor courts her and asks to kiss her. She is afraid of what her papa would do. He points out that her father is far away
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1966
KEYWORDS: Quebec love courting sea father foreignlanguage
FOUND IN: Canada(Que)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Scott-BoA, pp. 294-296, "Son Petit Jupon" (2 texts (1 English, 1 French), 1 tune)
File: SBoA294

Marigold, The


See The Royal Oak (File: VWL091)

Marina Girl


See (references and notes under) Way Down the Old Plank Road (File: ADR94)

Mariposa


DESCRIPTION: The steamer Mariposa, loaded with general cargo and sheep, runs on shore at Grassy Point, Labrador. "A portion of her cargo is gone up and down the shore, Honestly and hardly earned by the people of Labrador"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1960 (Leach-Labrador)
KEYWORDS: ship wreck sea humorous theft
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Sep 27, 1895 - Mariposa, sailing from Montreal to Liverpool sinks in the Strait of Belle Isle at L'Anse Au Clair (source: Northern Shipwrecks DataBase)
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Leach-Labrador 79, "Mariposa" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST LLab079 (Partial)
Roud #9980
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Old Mayflower" (theme)
cf. "The Teapots at the Fire" (theme)
cf. "The Middlesex Flora" (theme)
cf. "The Irrawaddy" (theme)
NOTES: Leach-Labrador: "The general attitude toward wrecks was summed up for me by one man, who said, 'If the good Lord sees fit to wrack a vessel, we hope it'll be hereabouts; we can use anything on board.'" - BS
File: LLab079

Maritime Memories of Wexford


DESCRIPTION: "Tis often I dream of the old Wexford fleet," "golden memories" of the end of the nineteenth century. "Ah! those were the days of the sailing ship, days of a rare old sport, When the Devereux flag was carried on the ships that sailed from our port"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1945 (Ranson)
KEYWORDS: sea ship commerce lyric nonballad
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ranson, p. 10, "Maritime Memories of Wexford" (1 text)
File: Ran010

Mark Murphy


DESCRIPTION: Mark Murphy from Avondale "could fight and farm and swing his arm and drive this world along, But the only thing he left undone was to try and hold his tongue." He bragged once too often about his boxing and was shown up by a boxer he said he could beat
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1973 (Dibblee/Dibblee)
KEYWORDS: bragging fight humorous
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Dibblee/Dibblee, pp. 103-104, "Mark Murphy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #12454
NOTES: Avondale is inland at central eastern Queens, Prince Edward Island. - BS
File: Dib103

Marksman, The


DESCRIPTION: In '45 the singer fell in love with a maid who wore the Orange and Blue. He inquired of her home: "her index it came from above." Other questions were answered in Masonic code. Bring your sweethearts and "see if yours tells you what my love told me"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1987 (OrangeLark)
KEYWORDS: courting ritual religious
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
OrangeLark 31, "The Marksman" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Inniskilling Dragoon" (tune, according to Orange Lark)
cf. "The Grand Templar's Song" (Masonic symbolism: Aaron's rod) and references there
NOTES: Within the Orange Lodges, "Purple Marksman" refers to one of the Master degree, above "Orange" and "Orange Marksman," of the Orange Institution (source: "The Formation of the Orange Order 21st September 1795" in the anti-Orange Evangelical Truth at NIreland.com site).
OrangeLark has no comment on the code. The song says "if you want to know the secret, go search and you'll see." - BS
File: OrLa031

Marriage Causes Trouble


DESCRIPTION: He says he will never marry, "my sorrow for to double," because you need a house, pots, pans, cradle .... She says she has a house and the other things. He says they'd need two maids for the house and children. She says she'll do everything. See notes.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan5)
KEYWORDS: marriage dialog nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig #147, p. 2, "The Troubles of Marriage" (1 text)
GreigDuncan5 1071, "Marriage Causes Trouble" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Roud #6313
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Lass o' Benachie" (tune, per GreigDuncan5)
NOTES: The current description is based on the GreigDuncan5 fragment. Duncan says, "No more words remembered; only ultimately the woman turns upon the man and cuts him up." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD51071

Marriage of Sir Gawain, The [Child 31]


DESCRIPTION: Arthur must fight a huge knight or come back later and say what women most desire. An ugly woman will give the answer if Arthur marries her to one of his knights. Gawain agrees, leaves it up to her to be beautiful by day or night, and lifts the spell
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1794 (Percy)
KEYWORDS: courting marriage shape-changing royalty magic
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (11 citations):
Child 31, "The Marriage of Sir Gawain" (1 text)
Percy/Wheatley III, pp. 13-24, "The Marriage of Sir Gawaine"; pp. 323-330, "The Ancient Fragment of the Marriage of Sir Gawain" (2 texts, the second being the damaged stanzas in the Percy folio and the first being Percy's reconstructed version)
Leach, pp. 118-123, "The Marriage of Sir Gawain" (1 text)
OBB 19, "The Marriage of Sir Gawain [A Fragment]" (1 text)
Niles 18, "The Marriage of Sir Gawain" (1 text, 1 tune, clearly a form of this ballad but of doubtful authenticity)
DT 31, GAWAIN1
ADDITIONAL: Thomas Hahn, editor, _Sir Gawain: Eleven Romanes and Tales_, TEAMS (Consortium for the Teaching of the Middle Ages), Medieval Institute Publications, Western Michigan University, 1995), pp. 41-80, "The Marriage of Sir Gawain" (1 text)
RELATED: Versions of the Romance --
Thomas Hahn, editor, _Sir Gawain: Eleven Romances and Tales_, TEAMS (Consortium for the Teaching of the Middle Ages), Medieval Institute Publications, Western Michigan University, 1995), pp. 41-80, "The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnall" (1 text, of 853 line)
Donald B. Sands, editor, _Middle English Verse Romances_, Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1966, pp. 323-347, "The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell" (1 text, of 855 lines)
Modernied prose version: Louis B. Hall, _The Knightly Tales of Sir Gawain_, with introductions and translations by Hall, Nelson-Hall, 1976, pp. 155-176, "The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnall"
Roud #3966
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Half-Hitch" [Laws N23] (theme)
cf. ""King Henry" [Child 32] (theme of the loathly woman)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Sir Gaunie and the Witch
NOTES: The theme of the "Loathly Woman" is common in folklore -- indeed, Chaucer/Benson, p. 10, points out that the legend itself (with the sexes reversed) survives to this day in the folklore of "The Princess and the Frog." This is typically traced to the Grimm folktale of "The Frog King" (the first tale most printed editions of Grimm) -- but it should be noted that, in "The Frog King," the princess does not kiss the frog; he in fact transforms when she throws him against the wall! The tale as it is now generally told has clearly done some post-Grimm evolving.
There is a reversed variant now best known as "Beauty and the Beast"; many versions have links to the ancient Greek tale of Eros and Psyche, and some versions even have a sort of a parallel to the story of Janet pulling a rose in "Tam Lin" [Child 39]. But this tale came into English from French; the version most of us know is from Mme. Leprence de Beaumont's 1756 Magasin des Enfants (Jones-Larousse, p. 57) or from Charles Perreault (Pickering, p. 28); the version in Land's Blue Fairy Book is attributed to Madame de Villaneueve.
The "Loathly Woman" is generally a more complex tale, and seemingly known in the British Isles at a much earlier date than either the Frog Princess or Beauty and the Beast. Its origin is somewhat uncertain. One version goes back to the Irish tale of Niall of the Nine Hostages, summaries of which can be found in o hOgain, pp. 377-379 and Ellis, pp. 181-182. Niall was a historical figure of sorts, but OxfordCompanion, p. 388, can offer few hard facts: "Niall Noigiallach... eponymous ancestor of the Ui Neill [O'Neals], reputed to have flourished in the early 5th century. The earliest traditions about his career are ninth century in date, when he is remembered as a raider of Britain."
Most of the tales about him revolve around his difficult relationships with his four half-brothers (although the relationship is somewhat confused. Ellis, p. 182, describes him as being oppressed by his stepmother, who favored her other boys -- yet how could he have older brothers by a living stepmother? O hOgain, p. 377, offers an alternate explanation that he was the son of a concubine, perhaps captured in Britain.)
Only one incident in Niall's career need detain us. He and his five brothers -- who always seem to be together depite their rivalry -- were out hunting, and wanted water. They came upon a hag in the forest (Ellis, p. 182, says she had black skin, grey hair, and green teeth), who offered water to the one who kissed her. Three of the brothers refused absolutely, the fourth pecked her on the cheek -- and Niall kissed her properly and, when she demanded he lie with her, complied. She then was transformed into a beautiful woman and promised him sovereignty in Ireland.
The parallels with this song will be obvious, but the differences are also substantial, and the dating dubious.
The notion of shape-changing, and questions about it, occur in other Irish tales. Curtin, pp. 15-25, prints a tale, "The Three Daughters of King O'Hara." This is a fairly close parallel of Asbjornsen and Moe's "East of the Sun and West of the Moon," but with the twist that three daughters wish for husbands, and all gain enchanted husbands -- two who are enchanted as seals, one as a dog. All three are asked the question that we shall meet below: Would the girls rather have their husbands be men by day and animals by night, or vice versa. The two older girls prefer that their husbands be men by day; the youngest prefers him a man by night and a white dog by day.
There were plenty of English-language parallels. The theme seems to have been very popular around 1400. Gower had a Loathly Woman story in the Tale of Florent in the Confessio Amantis (Chaucer/Benson, p. 872). We find it in ballads in "King Henry" [Child 32]. ("The Half-Hitch" [Laws N23], claimed by some extreme lumpers as a version of this ballad, also involves an ugly woman turned beautiful, but there the man is under a self-imposed oath; the two are not really parallel.)
Yet more famous, and from almost the same time as Gower, is Chaucer's Wife of Bath's Tale. Like "The Marriage of Sir Gawain," this has an Arthurian setting, with a knight raping a woman and being tried for it. Queen Guinivere, granted the right to sentence him, commands that he learn what women want. He finally locates a hag who promises the answer if he will marry her. Being under sentence of death, he agrees -- and learns that what women want is "sovereignty" -- i.e. control. She then offers him a choice: "foul and faithful" or "fair and faithless." (A choice which, in fact, reflects many of the tradeoffs in human biology; evolution has made us mostly but not quite monogamous, making this a very difficult question. Just think of the fraction of Shakespeare involved in questions of cuckoldry.) In the tale, he offers her the choice -- and, satisfied with him, she becomes beautiful and faithful.
(I should perhaps note that a number of scholars think the Wife of Bath's Tale is not the tale Chaucer originally meant for her; some suggest that she was originally meant to tell the Shipman's Tale. But her tale is an excellent fit for her personality; if this hypothesis is correct, one must suspect that Chaucer encountered the Loathly Woman tale while the Canterbury Tales was already under construction -- perhaps from his friend Gower. Chaucer's direct source has never been identified; I suspect he revised -- and dramatically improved, with the "foul or fair" question -- whatever it was that inspired him. Unfortunately, in the process, he made the woman far less of a character; as Hall notes on p. 155, Dame Ragnall -- clever, independent, and refusing to be shamed by things not her fault -- dominates the romance, which is "one of the great stories in Middle English.")
A very brief "catch" on the same theme is quoted by Opie-Oxford2, #206:
The hart he loves the high wood,
The hare she loves the hill;
The knight he loves his bright sword,
The lady loves her will
From about the same time as Chaucer, and even closer to the ballad, is the fifteenth century romance "The Wedding of Sir Gawen and Dame Ragnall" (called "Dame Ragnell" by Sands). It is viewed by Sir Frederic Madden as the source of the ballad.
Neither romance nor ballad is well-attested. We should note that, apart from the dubious piece in Niles, the only extant version of this ballad is the copy in the Percy folio. And that is badly damaged; it is in the section where half of each page has been torn out, so we have only portions of the piece (which may or may not have been sung as a ballad -- even in its damaged form, it is more than fifty verses long, which is very long for an item maintained by oral tradition).
On the other hand, the connection between this ballad and "Dame Ragnall" are hard to deny. If the song is not a recomposition of that romance, it certainly derives from the same immediate source. In the romance (retelling the summary in Sands, pp. 324-325), Arthur meets the huge "Sir Gromer Somer Jour," (a peculiar name -- as Hall notes on p. 157, "Gromer" is probably from the Old Norse "gromr," a boy or youth; "Somer" is English "summer," and "Jour" is French "day." So Sir Gromer is a child's summer day in bits of three languages. Hahn, p. 42, says that his name "connects him with the licensed anarchy of Midsummer's Day").
Sir Gromer threatens Arthur with death because he has given away land that belongs to Sir Gromer. In order to avoid death, he is forced to take an oath to return in a year and answer the question, "What do women want?" Gawain manages to learn what has happened from Arthur, and they set out to find an answer. Toward the end of the year, Arthur meets the Loathly Woman in Inglewood, who will answer the question but only if allowed to marry Gawain. Arthur pretends to refuse -- but then begs Gawain to marry her. Gawain, who comes off far better than Arthur, agrees. Arthur gets his answer, and is saved.
That leaves Gawain to deal with Ragnall, who...
was so foulle and horrible.
She had two teethe on every side
As boris tuskes, I wolle not hide....
WIth grey heris many on.
Her lippes laye lumprid on her chin.
(lines 547-549, 553-554; Sands, p. 339)
The romance is found in only one manuscript, Bodleian MS Rawlinson C 86, which has lost a leaf containing probably about 70 lines after line 628. Sands, p. 325, speculates that it was deliberately cut out due to its indelicate content. The missing leaf contains a portion of the marriage ceremony, but the key question -- "fair by day and foul by night or vice versa" (Sands, p. 325) survives. When they go to bed, she turns beautiful. Gawain, amazed, asks "whate are ye?" (line 644). She replies (lines 658-663)
My beauty wolle not hold:
Wheder ye wolle have me faire on nightes
And as foulle on days to alle men sightes
Or els to have me faire on days
And on nightes on the foulist wife.
Gawain finds the choice too hard, and in lines 677-680, declares:
But do as ye list nowe, my lady gaye
The choice I put in your fist.
Evin as ye wolle, I put it in your hand.
And, of course, since he gave her the choice, she is transformed and becomes beautiful both day and night.
In a rather sad ending, Gawain is said to have loved Ragnall above all his other wives (he went through several, given all the tales about him), but she died within five years.
There is one other interesting sidelight on this: Gawain in this song not only takes on King Arthur's fate but his question. According to Mallory's Le Morte D'Arthur, Book III, Chapter 1 (and earlier versions of the Arthur/Lancelot/Guinivere story), "Merlin warned the king covertly that Guenever was not wholesome for him to take to wife, for he warned that Launcelot should love her, snd she him again" (p. 71 in Malory/Rhys). Thus, since Guinivere was considered the fairest woman in the land and Arthur seems to have wanted her for her looks, Merlin presented Arthur with the same question that Gawain faced: "Fair and faithless or foul and faithful." It wasn't so stark for Arthur; Merlin promised to find him a beautiful (if not quite so beautiful) and faithful wife if he would wait. But Arthur chose "fair and faithless," and of course the consequence was his destruction and the destruction of his dream. Thus Gawain not only proved more honorable than Arthur but more wise.
(Of course, none of this has anything to do with the historical Arthur; for background on that, see "King Arthur and King Cornwall" [Child 30].)
The manuscript of the Ragnall romance is generally regarded as dating from about 1500. The poem itself is probably 50-150 years older (Sands, p. 325, argues it was composed around 1450 and seems to be in East Midland dialect) -- though the very confused writing makes things harder. I observe that, in the first 60 lines in Sands, there the name "Arthur" is spelled "Arthoure," "Arture," "Arthoure" again, "Arthure, and "Arthour."
Sands notes, p. 323, that the romance is generally not regarded as humorous, but "the Dame Ragnell poet seems to have taken delight in grotesque characterization and absurd social situations." He calls the poet an "indifferent artist who could tell a story with sufficient skill to make it effective." And, perhaps, sufficient skill to induce another poet to create a ballad of it.
Several other ballads also derive loosely or from Middle English romance, or from the legends that underly it, examples being:
* "Hind Horn" [Child 17], from "King Horn" (3 MSS., including Cambridge Gg.4.27.2, which also contains "Floris and Blancheflour")
* "King Orfeo" [Child 19], from "Sir Orfeo" (3 MSS., including the Auchinlek MS, which also contains "Floris and Blancheflour")
* "Blancheflour and Jellyflorice" [Child 300], from "Floris and Blancheflour" (4 MSS, including Cambridge Gg.4.27.2, which also contains "King Horn," and the Auchinlek MS, which also contains "Sir Orfeo") - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 2.5
File: C031

Married and Single Life (I)


DESCRIPTION: Singer warns young people of the perils of marriage, tells them to wait until age 21, and be sure of their sweethearts. "When a man's married he ain't his own man... But when a man's single he can live at his ease..."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1916 (Cecil Sharp collection)
LONG DESCRIPTION: Singer warns young people (mostly men) of the perils of marriage, tells them to wait until age 21, and be sure of their sweethearts, who can be deceitful. "When a man's married he ain't his own man...For selling his freedom to buy him a wife...But when a man's single he can live at his ease...he can rove through the country and live at his will/Kiss Polly, kiss Betsy, and he is the same still." He offers healths to the single and married alike
KEYWORDS: age marriage warning drink nonballad bachelor husband
FOUND IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
SharpAp 73, "Married and Single Life" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MARRSING
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Bachelor's Hall (I)" (subject)
cf. "Single Life, A (Single Is My Glory)" (subject)
cf. "Single Girl, Married Girl" (subject)
cf. "I Wish I Were a Single Girl Again" (subject)
cf. "I Wish I Were Single Again (I - Male)" (subject)
cf. "When I Was Single (II)" (subject)
cf. "Sporting Bachelors" (subject)
NOTES: This has parallel content to a lot of other "stay single" songs, but it's separate nonetheless. - PJS
File: ShrAp73

Married and Single Life (II)


DESCRIPTION: The singer warns young men "there is falsehood in the fairest ... a single life's the dearest." But, if you happen to get a wife who is modest, and so on, and let's a man "sit and sing In triumph like a king ... married life's the dearest"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan5)
KEYWORDS: marriage warning nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan5 1066, "Married and Single Life" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Roud #6718
File: GrD1066

Married Man (II), The


See I Wish I Were Single Again (I - Male) (File: R365)

Married Man, The


DESCRIPTION: The singer looks back fondly on seven years of marriage: His wife cares for him (even when he drinks too much), and never questions or scolds. He advises girls to keep this in mind" So, girls, mind you this when you marry."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1937 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: marriage drink husband wife warning
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H701, p. 501, "The Married Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST HHH701 (Full)
Roud #9465
File: HHH701

Married to a Mermaid


DESCRIPTION: Farmer loves a knight's daughter, the knight has him pressed. At sea the farmer falls overboard. As his comrades look for him he pops up and tells them how he found and then married a mermaid. The sailors wish him well. Choruses of "Rule Britannia."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1870 (Broadside, Bodleian library)
KEYWORDS: sailor mermaid/man pressgang farming marriage
FOUND IN: Britain US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Harlow, pp. 174-176, "Married to a Mermaid" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Rule Britannia" (tune and chorus)
cf. "The Merman (Pretty Fair Maid with a Tail)" [Laws K24] (theme of marrying a mermaid)
cf. "Down in the Diving Bell (The Mermaid (II))" (theme of marrying a mermaid)
NOTES: This was obviously based on "Rule Britannia," keeping the tune and popular chorus and replacing all the other text. According to contemplator.com it was credited in the "Scottish Student's Handbook" to "A.J.C." and also appeared in Toser's "Sailor's Songs of Chanties." It seems to have been made popular by [music hall performer] Arthur Lloyd (1839-1904) but I could find no indication that he was responsible for the words. One of the Bodleian broadsides state that it was sung to the tune of "The Revelers." - SL
File: Harl174

Married Woman's Lament, A


See I Wish I Were Single Again (II - Female) (File: E070)

Marrow Bones


See Marrowbones [Laws Q2] (File: LQ02)

Marrowbones [Laws Q2]


DESCRIPTION: An old wife goes to the doctor for a potion to blind her husband. The doctor suggests (eggs and) marrowbones. He says he wishes to die and asks her to push him off a cliff. As she runs to do so, he steps aside. She drowns; he says he cannot see to help
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1874 (quoted in Mark Twain, _Life on the Mississippi_)
KEYWORDS: suicide trick drugs death
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,SE,So) Britain(England(Lond,South),Scotland) Canada(Newf) Ireland
REFERENCES (32 citations):
Laws Q2, "The Old Wife of Slapsadam (The Wily Auld Carle; The Old Woman in Dover; etc.)"
Greig #13, p. 1, "The Wily Auld Carle" (1 text)
GreigDuncan2 318, "The Wife o' Kelso" (11 texts, 7 tunes)
Belden, pp. 237-239, "Johnny Sands" (2 texts, but only the second, with no letter, is this piece)
Randolph 754, "Johnny Sands" (2 texts, 2 tunes, but the "A" text goes with "Johnny Sands" [Laws Q3] while the "B" text belongs with this piece)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 239-240, "A Cruel Wife" (1 text)
Eddy 30, "An Old Woman's Story" (1 text)
Flanders/Olney, pp. 13-14, "The Drowning Lady (The Witch Song)" (1 fragment, 1 tune, which might be either "Marrowbones" or "Johnnie Sands")
Linscott, pp. 255-258, "The Old Woman in Dover" (1 text, 1 tune)
FSCatskills 141, "The Old Woman from Boston" (1 text, 1 tune)
SharpAp 55, "The Rich Old Lady" (3 texts, 3 tunes)
Peacock, pp. 261-264, "Eggs and Marrow-Bones" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Leach-Labrador 113, "A Cruel Wife" (1 text, 1 tune)
Karpeles-Newfoundland 39, "The Rich Old Lady" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-Maritime, p. 122, "Marrow Bones" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 73, "Marrow Bones" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ives-DullCare, pp. 109-110,243, "Cheese and Marrowbones" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownII 182, "The Old Woman's Blind Husband" (2 texts)
Chappell-FSRA 44, "The Old Woman" (1 text, 1 tune)
Brewster 60, "An Old Woman's Story" (1 text)
Doerflinger, p. 281, "The Wife of Kelso (The Wily Auld Carle)" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 51, "The Rich Old Lady" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 274, "The Rich Old Lady" (1 text, 1 tune)
Chase, pp. 130-131, "The Rich Old Lady" (1 text, 1 tune -- with a second verse created by Chase)
SHenry H174, p. 507, "The Auld Man and the Churnstaff" (1 text, 1 tune)
McBride 70, "The Wee Woman in Our Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
Morton-Maguire 35, pp. 89-90,121,170, "Marrow Bones" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kennedy 208, "The Old Woman of Blighter Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
JHCox 157, "An Old Woman's Story" (1 text)
Darling-NAS, pp. 144-145, "There Was an Old Lady" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 173, "Eggs And Marrowbones" (1 text)
DT 344, MARBONES* MARBONE2* MARBONE3* MARBONE4 MARBON5 MARBON6*
Roud #183
RECORDINGS:
Horton Barker, "There Was an Old Lady" (on Barker01)
Harry Cox, "Marrowbones" (on HCox01)
Betty Garland, "Love My Darlin' O" (on BGarland01)
Jimmy Knights, "Marrowbones" (on Voice06)
A. L. Lloyd, "Tigery Orum" (on Lloyd1)
John Maguire, "Marrowbones" (on IRJMaguire01)
Red Mick McDermott, "Marrowbones" (on IRHardySons)
Lawrence Older, "Woman from Yorkshire" (on LOlder01)
Ken Peacock, "Woman from Dover" (on NFKPeacock)
Wesley Smith, "Cheese and Marrowbones" (on MREIves01)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Johnny Sands" [Laws Q3]
cf. "The Keach in the Creel" (tune,according to GreigDuncan2)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Eggs and Marrowbones
Old Woman from Wexford
Dover
NOTES: At one time witches were killed by drowning, and Flanders and Olney connect their fragmentary text (which mentions only the drowning and the husband pushing the wife in) with this phenomenon.
Mark Twain quotes a fragment of this piece in Life on the Mississippi.
The Catskills version has a peculiar ending in which the lady swims to the other shore and survives. Much as we would like this to be a feminist touch, it seems more likely that it was a lapse of memory.
Sam Henry had a text in which the man eventually rescued her. Perhaps there was an onlooker around somewhere?
A number of editors confuse "Johnny Sands" [Laws Q3] and "Marrowbones" [Laws Q2]. They obviously have thematic similarity, and probably have exchanged parts. But the "gimmick" is different in each case; there seems no doubt that they are now separate songs. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
File: LQ02

Marseillaise, La


DESCRIPTION: French language: "Allons, enfants de la Patrie! Le jour gloire est arrive!" The listeners are urged to fight for France and freedom, and drive foreigners off French soil
AUTHOR: Rouget de Lisle
EARLIEST DATE: 1792 (sheet music)
KEYWORDS: patriotic France nonballad
FOUND IN: France
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Silber-FSWB, p. 302, "La Marseillaise" (1 French text plus English version)
Fuld-WFM, p. 354, "La Marseillaise"
DT, LAMARSEI
Roud #11238
SAME TUNE:
The Texan Marseillaise (by James Haines; [H. M. Wharton], War Songs and Poems of the Southern Confederacy, pp. 191-192)
The Swineish Multitutde (1798 rebel song; cf. Thomas Pakenham, The Year of Liberty, p. 173)
NOTES: Summarizing the notes in Fuld:
There are all sorts of ironies associated with this song. To begin with, it wasn't associated with Marseilles; it was published as "Chant de Guerre pour l'Armee du Rhin" (more or less at the far end of France). Even more ironically, the author (Rouget de Lisle, 1760-1836) is reported to have been a royalist, and even to have been imprisoned for his support for the crown.
The song was written in 1792, when France still had a king though it was doing its best to ignore him. France wound up at war with Austria and Prussia. It appears that the association with Marseilles came about because volunteers from Marseilles heard it sung, and then joined in storming the Tuileries (August 10, 1792). - RBW
File: FSWB302

Martha Dexter


DESCRIPTION: Young Martha Dexter and her niece set out to visit the niece's mother. When they come to the river, the water is high and Martha's excitable horse throws her. She drowns. When her body is found at last, the family mourns
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1910 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: death river drowning horse mourning
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Aug 1, 1824 - Death of Martha Decker near what is now Wilawanna, Pennsylvania
FOUND IN: US(MA,So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Belden, pp. 417-418, "Martha Dexter" (1 text)
Roud #4134
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Ballad of the Drover (Death of Harry Dale)" (theme)
cf. "The Mother's Malison, or Clyde's Water" [Child 216] (theme)
NOTES: This is item dG34 in Laws's Appendix II.
My first reaction, upon reading the first half-dozen stanzas in Belden, was that this is basically a variant of a "Marian Parker" ballad. It has that same cloying feel. But, of course, the song is based on an earlier event, and it takes a different direction at the end. The similarity is presumably due simply to the way semi-professional balladeers treat children. - RBW
File: Beld417

Martha, the Flower of Sweet Strabane


See The Flower of Sweet Strabane (File: HHH224a)

Marthy Wept (Mary Wept and Marthy Moaned)


DESCRIPTION: "Marthy wept and Mary moaned, A-weeoing on a willow tree -- tree -- tree, Don't you know? A-weeping...." "What did you do with my Lord? I left him on the other shore." "What did you do with that sinful man...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1932 (Henry, collected from Mrs. Samuel Harmon)
KEYWORDS: religious Jesus burial
FOUND IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
MHenry-Appalachians, p. 190, "Marthy Wept" (1 text)
Roud #12123
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "We're All Surrounded" (lyrics)
NOTES: The reference to "Martha wept and Mary cried" is presumably a reference to the sisters of Lazarus who mourned over their brother in John 11. The mention of a willow is not directly related to Jesus; the word "willow" is not even used in the King James New Testament. The reference is probably to Psalm 137.
The question, "What did you do with my Lord?" seems to be an allusion to John 20:15. The question "What did you do with that sinful man" isn't ever asked in that form, though there are plenty of warnings to sinners. - RBW
File: MHAp190

Martin Said To His Man


DESCRIPTION: The singer says s/he saw various animals performing various activities, some of which are impossible or unlikely (E.g. "Saw a crow flying low"; "Saw a mule teachin' school"). In some versions, the narrator(s) are drunk, competing to tell the tallest tale.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1609 (Deuteromelia; registered as a ballad 1588)
KEYWORDS: contest drink lullaby nonballad nonsense paradox talltale animal bug
FOUND IN: US(Ap,SE,So) Britain(England,Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (9 citations):
Kinloch-BBook XIV, pp. 50-54, "The Man in the Moon" (1 text)
GreigDuncan8 1703, "I Saw a Sparrow" (1 text plus a single verse on p. 401, 1 tune)
Randolph 445, "Johnny Fool" (2 texts)
BrownIII 114, "Kitty Alone" (1 text)
Hudson 128, p. 274, "Old, Blind, Drunk John" (1 text)
Wyman-Brockway I, p. 22, "The Bed-time Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 136, "Hurrah, Lie!" (1 text, 1 tune)
Chappell/Wooldridge I, p. 140, "Martin Said to His Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, HURRALIE* WHOSFOOL*
Roud #473
RECORDINGS:
Martha Hall, "Kitty Alone" (on MMOK, MMOKCD)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Gossip Joan (Neighbor Jones)" (theme)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Who's the Fool Now?
Old Blind Drunk John
Fooba-Wooba John
NOTES: Referred to in Dryden's 1668 play "Sir Martin Mar-all, or the Feign'd Innocence" (act IV). It seems to have been very popular in the century prior to that.
The American versions can generally be told by their narrative pattern, "(I) saw a () (doing something)," e.g. "Saw a crow flying low," "Saw a mule teaching school," "Saw a louse chase a mouse," "Saw a flea wade the sea."
The versions under the title "Kitty Alone" are sometimes a mix of this and "Frog Went A-Courting"; the first such text seems to have been in Gammer Gurton's Garland (1784), which has clearly a "Frog" plot but the form (and some of the exaggerations) of this piece.
I'm sure there are some who have argued that the ancient English "Martin Said To His Man" is not the same as the modern American texts. But there is continuity of verses, believe it or not, and the theme never changes. And there is no way to draw a dividing line. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: WB022

Martin, Tim, and Dan


DESCRIPTION: "Come all ye hustling chanty boys, a lesson take from me; Work steady in the lumber woods and don't go on a spree." The singer advises saving to buy a farm; he recalls learning to work as a logger. Chorus: "Martin, Tim, and Dan, Barney, Pat, and Sam...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1934 (Gardner/Chickering)
KEYWORDS: logger lumbering farming work moniker
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Gardner/Chickering 116, "Martin, Tim, and Dan" (1 short text)
ST GC116 (Partial)
Roud #3698
NOTES: This may be related to some other lumbering song, but with only two verses and an easily-modified chorus, it will be very difficult to identify. - RBW
File: GC116

Martinmas Time


DESCRIPTION: A troop of soldiers forces farmer's daughter to promise she will come to their quarters that night. She arrives in disguise, but the quartermaster sends her away. She leaves her garters and ribbons tied to the gates to prove she'd been there.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan1)
LONG DESCRIPTION: Troop of soldiers forces farmer's daughter to promise she will come to their quarters that night; she has her hair cut off and dresses in men's clothes. She goes to the soldiers' quarters, asking for lodgings for another troop of soldiers, but the quartermaster sends her away, saying there is no more room. She persists; he gives her money, for "tonight there comes a wench." She leaves her garters and ribbons tied to the gates to prove she'd been there, then blows a whistle, saying "you're not for a girl at all," and goes home in triumph
KEYWORDS: sex rape trick soldier cross-dressing disguise escape
FOUND IN: Britain(England(North),Scotland)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Greig #84, p. 2, "It Fell Aboot the Mart'mas Time" (1 text)
GreigDuncan1 161, "The Irish Dragoons" (16 texts, 10 tunes)
Ord, pp. 308-309, "It Fell About the Martinmas Time" (1 text)
DT, MARTINMA*
Roud #2173
RECORDINGS:
Anne Briggs, "Martinmas Time" (on BirdBush1, BirdBush2, Briggs3)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Broomfield Hill" (Child 43) and references there
cf. "The Brisk Young Rover" (tune)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Troop o' Soldiers
File: DTmartin

Martyr John


See The Twa Brothers [Child 49] (File: C049)

Mary Acklin (The Squire's Young Daughter) [Laws M16]


DESCRIPTION: The father of a girl secretly sees her giving a ring to her sweetheart. He confines the girl and arrests the singer for robbery. The girl pleads for her lover and, rather than being transported, he is freed. The two marry and settle down
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1916 (Gray)
KEYWORDS: ring robbery prison reprieve marriage love
FOUND IN: US(NE) Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland
REFERENCES (7 citations):
Laws M16, "Mary Acklin (The Squire's Young Daughter)"
Greenleaf/Mansfield 93, "The Squire's Young Daughter" (1 text, 1 tune)
Gray, pp. 82-84, "Mary Aclon" (1 text)
SHenry H30b, pp. 437-438, "Young Mary of Accland (a)"; H721, p. 438, "Young Mary of Accland (b)" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Hayward-Ulster, pp. 110-111, "Mary Acklin" (1 text)
Mackenzie 40, "Mary Riley" (1 text)
DT 581, MARYRILY
Roud #540
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "William (Willie) Riley (Riley's Trial)" [Laws M10] (plot)
cf. "Lady Elspat" [Child 247] (plot)
cf. "The Footboy" (plot)
File: LM16

Mary Aclon


See Mary Acklin (The Squire's Young Daughter) [Laws M16] (File: LM16)

Mary Alling


See Bonny Barbara Allan [Child 84] (File: C084)

Mary Ambree


DESCRIPTION: Mary disguises herself to join her lover's regiment. When he is slain, she becomes an officer. She leads her men bravely, but is at last captured when her supply officer betrays her. Threatened with death by the enemy, she reveals her sex and is spared
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1765 (Percy; alluded to by Ben Johnson, 1609)
KEYWORDS: war cross-dressing disguise battle reprieve
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Percy/Wheatley II, pp. 232-237, "Mary Ambree" (2 text, one from the Folio manuscript and one touched up by Percy for the _Reliques_)
OBB 165, "Mary Ambree" (1 text)
BBI, ZN468, "Captains courageous"; ZN2826, "When captains courageous, whom death could not daunt"
ST OBB165 (Partial)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Female Warrior (Pretty Polly)" [Laws N4] (plot: lover becomes officer)
cf. "On the First of November" (plot: lover becomes officer)
cf. "The Blind Beggar's Daughter of Bednall Green" [Laws N27] (tune)
SAME TUNE:
The Blind Beggar's Daughter of Bednall Green [Laws N27] (File: LN27)
NOTES: "The Female Warrior" and "Mary Ambree" have many points of similarity; I was tempted to classify them as the same ballad. Since, however, the former involves the navy and the latter the army, I have kept them separate. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: OBB165

Mary and her Servant Man


See The Iron Door [Laws M15] (File: LM15)

Mary and Sandy


See Mary o' the Dee (Mary's Dream) [Laws K20] (File: LK20)

Mary and Sweet Caroline


See The Folkestone Murder (File: K320)

Mary and the Soldier


See The Gallant Soldier (Mary/Peggy and the Soldier) (File: HHH782)

Mary and Willie


See Willie and Mary (Mary and Willie; Little Mary; The Sailor's Bride) [Laws N28] (File: LN28)

Mary Ann


See The Iron Door [Laws M15] (File: LM15)

Mary Anne


DESCRIPTION: "Oh fare thee well, my own true love, Oh fare thee well my dear, For the ship is waiting and the wind blows free, And I am bound away to the sea, Mary Ann." The singer compares his pain at parting to that of a mourning dove or a lobster in a pot
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1860 (broadside, LOCSinging as110580)
KEYWORDS: sailor separation love sea floatingverses
FOUND IN: Canada(Que) US(Ap,MA,SE) Britain(England)
REFERENCES (6 citations):
BrownIII 300, "My Martha Ann" (1 text)
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 142-143, "Mary Ann" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/MacMillan 48, "Mary Ann" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 75, "Mary Ann" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 147, "Mary Ann" (1 text)
DT MARYAN*
Roud #4438
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Johnson Ballads 1111, "My Mary Ann," A. Ryle and Co. (London), 1845-1859; also Firth c.12(366), Firth c.12(368), "My Mary Ann"
LOCSinging, as110580, "Our Mary Ann," J. Andrews (New York), 1853-1859; also sb30400b, "Our Mary Ann"; as109170, "My Mary Ann"; Harding B 15(288b), "My Mary Anne"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Who Will Shoe Your Pretty Little Foot" (floating lyrics) and references there
cf. "Fare You Well, My Own True Love (The Storms Are on the Ocean, The False True Lover, The True Lover's Farewell, Red Rosy Bush, Turtle Dove)" (lyrics)
cf. "The Lass of Roch Royal" [Child 76] (lyrics)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Ten Thousand Miles
NOTES: Cazden et al report that the distinct subtext of "pretty little foot" group "...was written by stageman Barney Williams to a variant of the traditional tune, ascribed to M. Tyle. It was published as sheet music in Baltimore during 1856...."
Don Duncan reports of this version, "The melody is clearly related to the version re-popularized by Ian & Sylvia; Revels lists it in their songbook as having been collected by Marius Barbeau from a Canadian who had learned it from an Irish sailor "around 1850." I&S's "lobster/bluefish" verse is from the Williams version, which apparently was a bit of a spoof; the fourth verse is downright funky:
The pride of all the produce rare,
That in our garden grow'd
Was punkins, but none could compare
In angel form to my Mary Ann,
In angel form to my Mary Ann.
The Library of Congress has at least three song sheets (that is, I found three, one published in Baltimore and two in New York) in their American Memory 19th century song sheets collection... These have almost identical lyrics to the original, but rather than
repeating the final line of each verse (as the original did) they use the first verse as a chorus. "Our Mary Ann," by de Marsan in New York... identifies it as a minstrel song."
It is likely that some badly worn down versions of this song are filed with "Fare You Well, My Own True Love (The Storms Are on the Ocean, The False True Lover, The True Lover's Farewell, Red Rosy Bush, Turtle Dove)"; the latter song is a catch-all for songs of this type that don't mention Mary Anne or have the Roch Royal plot. - RBW
Broadside LOCSinging as110580: J. Andrews dating per Studying Nineteenth-Century Popular Song by Paul Charosh in American Music, Winter 1997, Vol 15.4, Table 1, available at FindArticles site. - BS
File: FJ142

Mary Anne McGuinan


DESCRIPTION: Mary Anne McGuigan: if your "pritties" are good you must spray them again with bluestone. John James leads the dance with her and buys her a blouse of silk. Who will help her fix her house and thresh her oats? She is "swiggin'" her porter.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1979 (Tunney-StoneFiddle)
KEYWORDS: farming dancing drink humorous nonballad clothes home
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Tunney-StoneFiddle, p. 68, "Mary Anne McGuinan" (1 text)
Roud #17843
NOTES: Each verse is independent of the others and of the chorus. Bluestone is sprayed as a potato fungicide. - BS
"Bluestone" in this case is not lapis lazuli, which is sometimes called by that name, but rather copper (II) sulfate, or chalcanthite, a copper mineral (CuSO4.5H2O), also known as blue vitriol. According to John Emsley, Nature's Building Blocks, p. 124, "Copper in the form of Bordeaux mixture(a blue gelatinous suspension of copper sulfate and lime in water) was one of the first agrochemical pesticides, developed to control downy mildew on vines." - RBW
File: TSF068

Mary Arnold the Female Monster


DESCRIPTION: Mary Arnold, for reasons unknown, decides to blind her baby by covering its eyes with beetles held in walnut shells. Her deed is discovered, and she is sentenced to transportation
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1888 (Ashton)
KEYWORDS: mother children injury disability transportation
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
PBB 101, "Mary Arnold the Female Monster" (1 text)
ST PBB101 (Partial)
File: PBB101

Mary Bowed


See While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks AND I Know Moonlight (or something similar) (File: OBC033)

Mary Dear


See I'll Be There, Mary Dear (File: RcGoMaDe)

Mary Doyle


See The Wreck of the Lady Shearbrooke (File: HHH570)

Mary from Dungloe


DESCRIPTION: The singer is leaving Donegal and Mary from Dungloe for America. "It was your cruel father" that drove him from her but he plans to return. "I wished I was in sweet Dungloe and seated on the grass And by my side a bottle of wine and on my knee a lass"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1913 (OLochlainn)
KEYWORDS: courting separation America Ireland floatingverses father
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
OLochlainn 75, "Mary from Dungloe" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MARYDNGL*
Roud #3001
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Bowling Green" (floating verse)
cf. "Shady Grove" (floating verse)
NOTES: The Digital Tradition lists this to the tune of "The Star of the County Down." The version I've heard (admittedly from The Irish Rovers) isn't quite that, but it may be a variant. - RBW
File: OLoc075

Mary Glennie


DESCRIPTION: "Marie Glennie she was there Dressed up like ony doo And aye as she gaed thro' the reel, Says Sandy I'm for you"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: dancing
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan3 623, "Mary Glennie" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Roud #6061
NOTES: The current description is all of the GreigDuncan3 fragment.
GreigDuncan3: "'Local ditty -- about a ball in the Ironside district, dealing with local characters -- perhaps twenty-five years ago" [March 1906].
The following songs are all one or two verses or fragments with a verse beginning "[so-and-so he/she] was there": "Mary Glennie," "Jean Dalgarno," "The Singing Class" and "The Auchnairy Ball." Should two or more be considered the same song? - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: GrD3623

Mary Had a Baby


DESCRIPTION: "Mary had a baby, oh Lord... People keep a-coming and the train done gone." "What did she name him?" "She named him Jesus." "Where was he born?" "Born in a stable." "Where did they lay him?" "Laid him in a manger"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1953 (R. C. Seeger, American Folk Songs for Christmas)
KEYWORDS: Christmas childbirth Jesus religious
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Silber-FSWB, p. 375, "Mary Had A Baby" (1 text)
DT, MARYBABY
Roud #11619
RECORDINGS:
Pete Seeger, "Mary Had a Baby" (on PeteSeeger37, PeteSeeger42)
File: FSWB375B

Mary Had a Little Lamb


DESCRIPTION: "Mary had a little lamb whose fleece was white as snow." Surely you know the rest....
AUTHOR: Words: Sarah Josepha Hale
EARLIEST DATE: 1830 ("Poems For Our Children")
KEYWORDS: animal children
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Randolph 360, "Mary Had a Little Lamb" (1 text, 1 tune, with some unusual words in the first verse)
Opie-Oxford2 341, "Mary had a little lamb" (1 text)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #174, p. 127-128, "(Mary had a little lamb)"
Fuld-WFM, pp. 354-355, "Mary Had a Little Lamb"
cf. Greenway-AFP, pp. 51-52, "Mary's Little Lot" (1 text)
DT, (MARYLAM2* -- if you're broad-minded about what constitutes a version)
Roud #7622
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Mary Had a William Goat" (tune & meter)
cf. "Goodnight Ladies" (partial tune)
SAME TUNE:
Mary's Little Lot (Greenway-AFP, pp. 51-52)
Mary Had a William Goat (File: San336)
NOTES: Reported to be based on a true story. Which seems likely enough; who would make up something so trite?
The Baring-Goulds report a variant by "modern teenager[s]": The response to "Mary had a little lamb" is "And was the doctor ever surprised!" - RBW
File: R360

Mary Had a William Goat


DESCRIPTION: "Mary had a William goat, William goat, William goat, Mary had a William goat, Its stomach lined with zinc." "One day it ate an oyster can... And a clothesline full of shirts." "The shirts can do no harm inside... But the oyster can."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: parody animal food derivative
FOUND IN: US Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Sandburg, pp. 336-337, "Mary Had a William Goat" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Peacock, p. 19, "Mary Had a William Goat" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #4567
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Mary Had a Little Lamb" (tune & meter)
File: San336

Mary Hamilton [Child 173]


DESCRIPTION: Mary Hamilton, servant to the queen, is pregnant (by the queen's husband). She tries to hide her guilt by casting the boy out to sea, but is seen and convicted. She is condemned to die
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1790
KEYWORDS: pregnancy murder abandonment punishment execution
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1542 - Accession of Mary Stewart
1548 - Mary Stewart sent to France (later married to King Francis II)
1561 - Mary Stewart returns to Scotland
1567 - Death of Lord Darnley. Mary Stewart deposed
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber,Bord)) US(Ap,NE,SE,So,SW) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (26 citations):
Child 173, "Mary Hamilton" (27 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's#5}
Bronson 173, "Mary Hamilton" (12 versions+1 in addenda)
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 258-264, "Mary Hamilton" (2 texts plus some variants and a verse of "Peter Amberley" they claim floated in from this song, 1 tune plus some cited extracts) {Bronson's #7; the first short excerpt is from Bronson's #6}
Randolph 26, "The Four Maries" (1 fragment)
Flanders/Olney, pp. 79-80, "The Four Marys" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #7}
Flanders-Ancient3, pp. 163-169, "Mary Hamilton" (2 texts plus a fragment, with the fragment containing parts of "MacPherson's Lament"; 3 tunes) {B=Bronson's #7}
Davis-Ballads 36, "Mary Hamilton" (2 fragments from the same informant, 1 tune) {Bronson's #6}
Davis-More 32, pp. 245-252, "Mary Hamilton" (1 text plus 2 fragments, 1 tune) {Bronson's #8}
Leach, pp. 481-483, "Mary Hamilton" (1 text)
Friedman, p. 184, "Mary Hamilton"; p. 219, "Mary Hamilton's Last Goodnight" (2 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #6}
Creighton-Maritime, pp. 22-23, "Mary Hamilton" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 3, "Mary Hamilton" (1 text, 1 tune)
OBB 83, "The Queen's Marie" (1 text)
PBB 61, "Mary Hamilton" (1 text)
Niles 51, "Mary Hamilton" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Gummere, pp. 159-161+334-335, "Mary Hamilton" (1 text)
Combs/Wilgus 32, pp. 124-126, "Mary Hamilton" (1 text)
Hodgart, p. 138, "Marie Hamilton" (1 text)
DBuchan 33, "Mary Hamilton" (1 text)
GreigDuncan2 195, "The Four Maries" (4 texts, 3 tunes) {B=#6, C=#11}
Ord, p. 457, "The Queen's Maries" (1 text)
TBB 23, "Mary Hamilton" (1 text)
HarvClass-EP1, pp. 117-119, "Mary Hamilton" (1 text)
Abrahams/Foss, pp. 49-52, "Mary Hamilton" (2 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #6}
Silber-FSWB, p. 211, "The Four Maries" (1 text)
DT 173, MARYHAM1* MARYHAM2 MARYHAM3* MARYHAM4*
Roud #79
RECORDINGS:
Jeannie Robertson, "Mary Hamilton (The Four Marys)" (on FSB5 [as "The Four Maries"], FSBBAL2)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Purple Dress
Mary Mild
The Duke o' York's Dother
NOTES: Mary Stewart (the French used the spelling "Stuart") became Queen of Scotland when she was eight days old (1542).
Scotland being the chaotic place that it was, she was only a child when she was sent abroad to marry into and be brought up at the court of France (1548). To keep her good company, four well-bred Scots girls were sent with her to keep her company (it should be noted, though, that none of them was named Hamilton). Her husband Francis II died in 1560, however, and Mary Stewart went home.
There she married her cousin, Henry, Lord Darnley. It does not seem to have been an overly happy match, so Darnley might well have engaged in extracurricular activities. In any case, Darnley was murdered in 1567. Soon after, Mary was (forcibly?) married by the Earl of Bothwell; in that same year she was deposed in favor of her son.
Nowhere in her troubled reign do we find reference to a serving girl's pregnancy; one theory has it that the story arose with the troubles of a Mary Hamilton at the Russian court. Another theory, first advanced by Scott, connects it with members of Mary Stuart's court *other than* the four Maries and Lord Darnley.
It also occurs to me that there is the case of the son of George III, who in due time would become George IV. According to Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson, Blood Royal: The Illustrious House of Hanover (Doubleday, 1980), p. 118, Prince George at one time "had fallen in love with Mary Hamilton, one of his sisters' governesses." Whether this is relevant depends of course on the earliest date of the song. There are a number of mentions in the early nineteenth century. If we can push it before about 1780, then of course this Mary Hamilton is out of the question. Of course George IV's Mary Hamilton didn't kill her baby, but her affair with the Prince of Wales might have influenced the character in this song.
For extensive discussion of the matter (which is, however, rather more theoretical than practical) see Davis-More, pp. 246-248. - RBW
Also collected and sung by Ellen Mitchell, "Mary Mild" (on Kevin and Ellen Mitchell, "Have a Drop Mair," Musical Tradition Records MTCD315-6 CD (2001)) - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: C173

Mary Hamilton's Last Goodnight


See Mary Hamilton [Child 173] (File: C173)

Mary Hebrew


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

Mary in the Silvery Tide


See The Silvery Tide [Laws O37] (File: LO37)

Mary Jamieson


DESCRIPTION: "I loved you Mary Jamieson ... You ken I loved you Mary dear ye needna look sae high The time may come yet Mary when I may pass you by." The singer loved Mary "as a bridegroom loves his bride" -- but apparently unsuccessfully
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (GreigDuncan4)
KEYWORDS: courting rejection
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan4 711, "Mary Jamieson" (2 fragments, 2 tunes)
Roud #6151
NOTES: GreigDuncan4: "Often sung in New Deer district forty or fifty years ago.... Noted 1906." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD4711

Mary L. Mackay, The


DESCRIPTION: About a voyage by the Mackay from Portland to Yarmouth. Driven by a gale, and handled by uninhibited officers, she ran 220 miles in 18 hours. The singer challenges others to best the mark, but admits the voyage was made on the power of Portland rum
AUTHOR: Words: Frederick W. Wallace
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (Canadian Fisherman)
KEYWORDS: ship racing sailor drink storm
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Lomax-FSNA 74, "The Mary L. Mackay" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-NovaScotia 132, "The Mary L MacKay" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MARYMKAY*
Roud #1831
NOTES: This song is item dD50 in Laws's Appendix II.
According to Creighton, Wallace wrote this poem to describe an experience he had aboard the Effie Morrissey in 1913. She believes her informant, Edmund Henneberry, supplied the tune. - RBW
File: LoF074

Mary Le More


DESCRIPTION: "As I strayed o'er the common on Cork's rugged border" the singer meets Mary Le More, distracted. She tells that her brother and friend Connor have been murdered by soldiers and she has no one to avenge them. When troops appear she screams and runs away.
AUTHOR: George Nugent Reynolds (1770-1802) (see Notes)
EARLIEST DATE: before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian Firth b.34(174))
KEYWORDS: grief madness rebellion death brother friend soldier
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
O'Conor, pp. 11-12, "Mary Le More" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 366-367, "Mary Le More" (1 text)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth b.34(174), "Mary-le-More" ("As I stray'd o'er the common on Cork's rugged border"), J. Ferraby (Hull), 1803-1838; also Harding B 11(2350), "Mary-le-More"; 2806 c.15(321), "Mary Le More"; Harding B 11(495), "Mary le Moor"; Harding B 25(1223), "Mary-le More"
NLScotland, RB.m.169(007), "Mary Le More," Robert McIntosh (Glasgow), after 1848
NOTES: Broadside Bodleian Firth b.27(277), "Mary La More" is almost entirely illegible.
The Ballad Poetry of Ireland by Charles Gavan Duffy (Dublin, 1845), pp. 119-120, "Mary Le More" makes the attribution to Reynolds. [A claim backed by Hoagland. - RBW]
See another similar broadside Bodleian Harding B 22(166), "Mary Le More" ("Oh! S---s of B---n, your merciless doings") in which Mary's father, Dermot, is killed. - BS
File: OCon011A

Mary Machree


DESCRIPTION: "The flower of the valley was Mary Machree," whose beauty is described at length. Her soldier love goes away for many years, leaving her pining on the shore. At last, in the winter, he returns to her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1842 (broadside, Bodleian Firth b.25(44))
KEYWORDS: love soldier separation reunion
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
SHenry H485, p. 308, "Mary Machree" (1 text, 1 tune)
O'Conor, p. 154, "Mary Machree" (1 text)
Roud #3231
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth b.25(44), "Mary Machree," Birt (London), 1833-1841; also Harding B 15(187a), Firth c.26(239), "Mary Machree"
LOCSinging, sb30316a, "Mary Machree," H. De Marsan (New York), 1864-1878
SAME TUNE:
Come Home to Me, Love (per broadside LOCSinging sb30316a)
NOTES: Broadside LOCSinging sb30316a: H. De Marsan dating per Studying Nineteenth-Century Popular Song by Paul Charosh in American Music, Winter 1997, Vol 15.4, Table 1, available at FindArticles site. - BS
File: HHH485

Mary Mack (I)


DESCRIPTION: "Oh Mary Mack, Mack, Mack, All dressed in black, black, black...." The singer speaks of love, and engages in a series of unprofitable transactions. Much of the song consists of floating verses, e.g. "I went to the river... And I couldn't get across."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1950 (recording, children of Lilly's Chapel School)
KEYWORDS: playparty nonballad courting commerce
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Courlander-NFM, pp. 158-159, "(Mary Mack)" (1 text); p. 279, "Mary Mack" (1 tune, partial text)
Roud #11498
RECORDINGS:
Hunter children "Miss Mary Mack" (on JohnsIsland1)
Children of Lilly's Chapel School, "Mary Mack" (on NFMAla6, RingGames1)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Swapping Boy" (plot)
cf. "Turkey in the Straw" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Went to the River (I)" (floating lyrics)
NOTES: Not to be confused with the music hall song of the same title, which involves what sounds to be a shotgun wedding. - RBW
File: CNFM158B

Mary Mahoney


DESCRIPTION: Mary Mahoney is a servant maid in Indiantown. She rejects Archie, a "brisk young mutineer." The landlady resolves to help him and sends him to Newcastle to get jewelry. Mary rejects him again when the "gold" rings prove fake.
AUTHOR: probably Larry Gorman
EARLIEST DATE: 1947 (Manny/Wilson)
KEYWORDS: courting rejection humorous ring
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Manny/Wilson 32, "Mary Mahoney" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST MaWi032 (Partial)
Roud #9186
NOTES: Indiantown, now Quarryville, is near the junction of the Renous River and Main Southwest Miramichi River. Newcastle is about twenty miles away, down river, near Miramichi Bay.
Manny/Wilson: "'And THAT'S by Larry Gorman,' he [the singer, Thomas Coughlan] said.... One of Larry's devastating satires, this song is aimed at the 'silly young gaw gaw,' Archie Woodworth, and his unsuccessful love affair.... Sandy Ives ... says several people have doubted Larry's authorship of the song, saying 'It just doesn't sound like him' but we both think it is authentic Gorman." - BS
File: MaWi032

Mary McVeagh


DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls being young and handsome and having all the girls follow him. He loved only Mary McVeagh. Now he is old and fat and tired, but has grown rich. He returns to find Mary -- and finds a girl who looks just like her. Her grandmother was Mary
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1938 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love separation return family mother children age
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H773, p. 229, "Mary McVeagh" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Obviously a piece of fiction -- how many old men would actually admit to being nicknamed "Tubby" and confess that they are completely unattractive to women except for their money? - RBW
File: HHH773

Mary Nail


See Mary Neal [Laws M17] (File: LM17)

Mary Neal [Laws M17]


DESCRIPTION: The singer is on trial for kidnapping Mary Neal. She pleads for him and he is released. She steals some of her father's wealth; they marry and set off overseas. After a near-disaster on the ship, they reject her father's offer of land if they return
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1867 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(3843)); "from an Athlone ballad slip of about 1840," according to Sparling)
KEYWORDS: trial emigration love abduction
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar,Newf) Britain(England(South)) Ireland
REFERENCES (8 citations):
Laws M17, "Mary Neal"
Greenleaf/Mansfield 92, "Mary Neal" (1 text)
Peacock, pp. 216-217, "Mary Neal" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-NovaScotia 80, "Mary Nail" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H55, pp. 479-480, "Charming Mary O'Neill" (1 text, 1 tune)
OLochlainn 38, "Charming Mary Neill" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 582, MARYNEAL
ADDITIONAL: H. Halliday Sparling, Irish Minstrelsy (London, 1888), pp. 321-323, 511, "Charming Mary Neal"
Roud #142
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(3843), "Mary Neal and John M'Cann," J. Harkness (Preston), 1840-1866; also 2806 b.11(66), "Mary Neil" ("I am a bold undaunted youth my name is John M'Cann"); 2806 b.11(259), Harding B 15(41b), "Charming Mary Neal"
Murray, Mu23-y1:044, "Mary Neal," James Lindsay Junr (Glasgow), 19C
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.178.A.2(063), "Mary Neil," James Lindsay Jr. (Glasgow), c.1875
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "William (Willie) Riley (Riley's Trial) [Laws M10]" (tune)
NOTES: A correspondent of Sam Henry's claimed that this was a true story, with the girl being kidnapped to prevent a fight between two rival suitors. Yet another case where we can't prove it false but can hardly credit it, either.
Michael Harron of County Tyrone offers more substantial details. He reports that the ship involved was the Charlotte Douglas, which sank June 9, 1836. Harron has seen newspaper accounts of the ship's voyage, and reports that only three were killed in the wreck. - RBW
File: LM17

Mary o' the Dee (Mary's Dream) [Laws K20]


DESCRIPTION: Mary falls asleep thinking of Sandy. His ghost appears to her, bidding her to stop weeping; his body lies at the bottom of the sea and he is at rest. He warns her that they will soon meet. The cock crows and the ghost vanishes
AUTHOR: John Lowe
EARLIEST DATE: 1798 (The Vocal Magazine)
KEYWORDS: dream ghost separation death drowning
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,SE) Britain(Scotland(Aber)) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (10 citations):
Laws K20, "Mary o' the Dee (Mary's Dream)"
GreigDuncan2 339, "Mary's Dream" (1 text, 1 tune)
Eddy 83, "Mary o' the Dee (Mary's Dream)" (1 text)
SHenry H54, pp. 144-145, "Mary's Dream" (1 text, 1 tune -- the latter added by Sam Henry)
JHCox 147, "Mary o' the Dee" (1 text)
Chappell-FSRA 40, "Mary and Sandy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 246-248, "Mary's Dream" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 65, "Mary's Vision" (1 text, 1 tune)
cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 481, "Mary's Dream" (source notes only)
DT 562, MARYDREM
ST LK20 (Full)
Roud #713
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 17(191b), "Mary's Dream" ("The moon had clim'd the highest hill"), T. Birt (London), 1833-1841; also Firth b.27(534), 2806 c.17(266), Firth b.27(240), Firth b.27(407), Harding B 11(2368), Harding B 11(2369), Harding B 25(1230), Firth b.25(18), Harding B 11(1875), 2806 c.14(49), 2806 c.14(166), Harding B 15(189a), "Mary's Dream"
LOCSinging, as108650, "Mary's Dream," L. & J. L. Appley (New York), 19C
Murray, Mu23-y1:056, "Mary's Dream," James Lindsay (Glasgow), 19C
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.178.A.2(075), "Mary's Dream," James Lindsay (Glasgow), c.1875
NOTES: Although traditionally considered a Scots song (there is a version in Scots dialect, possibly by Allan Cunningham), and often found is Scottish song collections, its grip on Scottish tradition is weak -- I wouldn't be surprised if most are ultimately derived from the Scots Musical Museum. There are a number of printed versions, but traditional collections are mostly from North America. The author, John Lowe, emigrated to the American colonies shortly before the Revolutionary War, and the song was written in what later became the U.S. - RBW
The commentary for NLScotland, L.C.Fol.178.A.2(075) for "Mary's Dream": "The lyrics for this ballad were written in 1772 by John Lowe. Lowe was tutor to the McGhie family, and wrote the song for Mary, one of the daughters. She had been engaged to a surgeon named Alexander (Sandy) Miller who was lost at sea." - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: LK20

Mary o' the Wild Moor


See Mary of the Wild Moor [Laws P21] (File: LP21)

Mary of Ballyhaunis


See The Maid of Ballyhaunis (File: HHH483)

Mary of Sweet Belfast Town


DESCRIPTION: The singer meets Mary. He asks why she frowns. Her lover has "gone over the main And I hear he is married." The singer reveals that he is her lover returned after seven years. They marry next morning and settle, with his riches, in Belfast.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Hayward-Ulster)
KEYWORDS: love separation marriage reunion
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Hayward-Ulster, pp. 70-71, "Mary of Sweet Belfast Town" (1 text)
Hammond-Belfast, p. 55, "Mary of Sweet Belfast Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #6535
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. esp. "John (George) Riley (I)" [Laws N36] and references there
File: HayU070

Mary of the Wild Moor [Laws P21]


DESCRIPTION: Abandoned Mary comes with her child to her father's door on a bitter winter night. Her father fails to hear or ignores her cries, leaving her all night on the doorstep. In the morning he finds her body. He dies of grief and the child of neglect
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian Johnson Ballads fol. 27)
KEYWORDS: death father children family hardheartedness grief
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MW,NE,SE,So) Britain(England,(Scotland(Aber)) Canada(Mar,Newf,Ont)
REFERENCES (21 citations):
Laws P21, "Mary of the Wild Moor"
GreigDuncan6 1175, "Why Did I Leave My Auld Hame?" (1 text, 1 tune)
Belden, pp. 207-208, "Mary of the Wild Moor" (1 text plus references to 5 more)
Randolph 72, "The Wild Moor" (3 texts, 3 tunes)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 107-108, "The Wild Moor" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 72A)
Eddy 88, "Mary of the Wild Moor" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownII 78, "Mary of the Wild Moor" (1 text)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 335-336, "The Wind That Blew O'er the Wild Moor" (1 text, with local title "Poor Mary"; tune on p. 448)
Brewster 45, "Mary of the Wild Moor" (1 text)
Leach, pp. 733-734, "Mary of the Wild Moor" (1 text)
Leach-Labrador 62, "Mary Across the Wild Moor" (1 text)
Mackenzie 61, "The Village Pride" (1 text)
McNeil-SFB1, pp. 132-134, "Mary of the Wild Moor" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sandburg, p. 466, "When Mary Came Wandering Home" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Botkin-NEFolklr, pp. 548-549, "Mary of the Wild Moor" (1 text, 1 tune)
LPound-ABS, 35, pp. 81-82, "Mary o' the Wild Moor" (1 text)
JHCox 148, "Mary of the Wild Moor" (1 text plus mention of 3 more)
JHCoxIIA, #27, p. 103, "Mary of the Wild Moor" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
DSB2, p. 28, "Mary of the Wild Moor" (1 text)
cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 481, "Mary of the Wild Moor" (source notes only)
DT 503, WILDMOOR* WLDMOOR1*
ST LP21 (Full)
Roud #155
RECORDINGS:
Blue Sky Boys, "Mary of the Wild Moore" (Montgomery Ward 8667, c. 1941)
Letys Murrin, "Mary of the Wild Moor" (on Ontario1)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Johnson Ballads fol. 27[many illegible words], "Mary of the Moor," J. Catnach (London), 1813-1838; also Johnson Ballads 1802 View 2 of 2, Harding B 11(3), Harding B 11(2364), Harding B 11(2365), Harding B 11(1501), Firth c.12(443), Harding B 11(4232), Harding B 11(4233), Firth b.25(147), Harding B 15(188b), "Mary of the Moor"; Firth b.27(69), Harding B 26(600), "Poor Mary of the Wild Moor"; Firth b.34(229), Firth c.26(275)[some illegible lines], 2806 c.16(261), 2806 c.14(78), 2806 c.14(13)[some illegible words], "Mary of the Wild Moor[!]"; Harding B 11(2789), Harding B 17(243b), Harding B 25(1538)[some illegible lines], 2806 c.18(252) [some illegible/missing words], "Poor Mary of the Moor"
LOCSheet, sm1882 10438, "Mary of the Wild Moor," Oliver Ditson & Co. (Boston), 1882 (tune)
LOCSinging, sb30333b, "Mary of the Wild Moor," H. De Marsans (New York), 1861-1864; also as108620, as108630, "Mary of the Wild Moor"
Murray, Mu23-y4:018, "Poor Mary of the Wild Moor," unknown, 19C
NLScotland, L.C.178.A.2(072), "Poor Mary of the Wild Moor", unknown, c.1860
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Fatal Snowstorm" [Laws P20] (theme)
SAME TUNE:
Robin's Petition (per broadside Bodleian Harding B 25(1538))
NOTES: Quoted by Laura Ingalls Wilder in chapter 14 of By the Shores of Silver Lake. She does not repeat the sad ending, of course. - RBW
Broadside LOCSinging sb30333b: H. De Marsans dating per Studying Nineteenth-Century Popular Song by Paul Charosh in American Music, Winter 1997, Vol 15.4, Table 1, available at FindArticles site. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: LP21

Mary on the Banks of the Lee


DESCRIPTION: Before the singer leaves Mary to go on the ocean he warns her her not to stay out late on the moors. He writes her a letter but recieves no reply. He returns and brings roses to place on her grave.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1952 (IRPTunney01)
KEYWORDS: love warning separation death flowers
FOUND IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
OCanainn, p. 56, "The Banks of the Lee" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, BNKSLEE*
Roud #6857
RECORDINGS:
Paddy Tunney, "Mary on the Banks of the Lee" (on IRPTunney01)
Sheila Stewart, "The Banks of the Lee" (on SCStewartsBlair01)
NOTES: The description is from the text of "Lovely Banks of Lea" on "Oak - Country Songs and Music," Musical Traditions Record MTCD327-8 (2003) sung by Peta Webb, apparently following the text from Mary Connors. It is longer than Paddy Tunney's. - BS
File: DTbnksle

Mary on the Silvery Tide


See The Silvery Tide [Laws O37] (File: LO37)

Mary Phagan [Laws F20]


DESCRIPTION: Mary Phagan works in a pencil factory. While there she is beaten to death by Leo Frank. An innocent bystander (who happens to be black) is arrested, but then Frank's guilt is established and he is sentenced to death
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1918 (JAFL XXXI)
KEYWORDS: murder accusation factory abduction rape execution lie abuse mother corpse Jew
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
April 26/27, 1913 - Murder (and suspected rape) of thirteen-year-old Mary Phagan at the National Pencil factory in Atlanta
Aug 26, 1913 - Despite evidence that Jim Conley committed the murder, Leo Frank found guilty of the crime and sentenced to death
June 22, 1915 - Georgia Governor Stanton commutes Frank's sentence to life imprisonment
Aug 16/17, 1915 - A lynch mob captures Frank and kills him
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MW,SE)
REFERENCES (10 citations):
Laws F20, "Mary Phagan"
Eddy 110, "Leo Frank and Mary Phagan" (1 text)
Gardner/Chickering 144, "Little Mary Phagan" (1 text)
McNeil-SFB2, pp. 71-75, "Little Mary Fagan"; "Little Mary Phagan" (2 texts)
BrownII 253, "Little Mary Phagan" (4 texts plus 1 excerpt and mention of 1 more; Laws lists only three of these as this song, but this appears to be an error)
Cambiaire, p. 104, "Little Mary Fagan" (1 text)
Burt, pp. 61-64, "(Mary Phagan)" (1 text plus 2 long excerpts, 1 tune; one of these versions blames Conley rather than Frank, and is probably a rewrite); also an isolated couplet on p. 123
DT 774, MARYFAG
ADDITIONAL: Leonard Dinnerstein, _The Leo Frank Case_, second edition, University of Georgia Press, 1987, pp. 166-168, "The Ballad of Mary Phagan" (1 text, from JAFL)
Robert Seitz Frey and Nancy C. Thomson, _The Silent and the Damned: The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank_), 1988; Cooper Square, 2002, pp. 139-141( 3 texts, one from Burt, one from Pearl Flake of Atlanta, and one unidentified; there is also a separate Mary Phagan poem)
Roud #696
RECORDINGS:
Rosa Lee Carson, "Little Mary Phagan" (OKeh 40446, 1925)
Vernon Dalhart, "Little Mary Phagan" (Columbia 15031-D [as Al Craver], 1925) (Romeo 332, 1927; rec. 1925)
Charlie Oaks, "Little Mary Phagan" (Vocalion 15099, 1925; Vocalion 5069, c. 1927)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Death of Roy Rickey" (tune)
SAME TUNE:
The Death of Roy Rickey (File: ThBa163)
NOTES: [This] story was later made into a movie, "They Won't Forget," in which Lana Turner made her debut as Mary. - PJS
I've seen it called "They Don't Forget," though Internet sources seem to indicate that Paul is correct. The stills on the web don't make Turner a very good likeness of Mary Phagan, if it matters. (McNeil, p. 74, says that Turner was "totally inappropriate" in the role, though he gives no explanation. Hollywood would hardly care that the two didn't look alike.)
Although probably the best-known, "They Won't Forget" was in fact only one of many movies inspired by the case, beginning with a contemporary documentary of sorts, "Leo M. Frank and Governor Slaton," which included actual footage of Leo Frank in prison (it could hardly be called an "interview" in the days of silent film!) but largely ignored the actual case. The Turner movie was based on Ward Green's novel Death in the Deep South, which was not intended to be factually accurate. There was also a later TV movie. Books about the tragedy are commonplace, and continue to be published to this day. I have three, which as best I can tell are the most recent serious treatments of the subject still in print; for the list, see the Bibliography
In addition to these three books, Dinnerstein's bibliography cites at least five other books devoted exclusively to the Leo Frank case, and numerous articles. WebFlag lists 13 books about the case, but four are novels and one appears to be more a sociological study than a work about the case itself.
Laws, for what reason I do not know (it may be just one of the many typos in his work), gives the date of Mary Phagan's death as April 5, and this was used in earlier editions of the Index. Gardner/Chickering incorrectly give it as August 5. McNeil reports April 27, 1913 as the date of Mary Phagan's death; I think this is meant to refer to the date on which the body was discovered. A New York Times story (August 18, 1915) quoted by Brown gives a date of April 26. Mary's tombstone says April 26. This is also the date cited in Dinnerstein and Oney. F/T, p. 1, states that the body was found at 3:20 a.m. on April 27; Dinnerstein, p. 1, gives the time as 3:00 a.m., and Oney, p. 18, says it was found at 3:30 a.m.
The date of the murder isn't the only thing that is uncertain. For example, Laws lists the date of the commutation of Leo Frank's sentence as June 22, but I made a note (from what source, sadly, I do not recall) that it took place in August. The June date is correct; Governor Slaton was out of office by August.
There seems to have been confusion over the date of Frank's murder as well.
Even the date of Mary Phagan's birth is slightly uncertain, though this is not a case of modern misprints; it's an early error. Her tombstone says she was born June 1, 1900 (a photo is found in F/T following p. 68), but her mother implied a date in 1899 (F/T, p. 6). The best guess is that she was not quite fourteen at the time of her death. Her family's history is not entirely clear in the sources; her biological father was dead at the time of her murder, but F/T, p. 6, says her father was named John and died in 1911, while Oney, p. 4, says that her father William Joshua Phagan died in 1899 before Mary was born. F/T and Oney also disagree on her birthplace; F/T says Marietta, Georgia, which is where she grew up; Oney claims Alabama, saying the family moved to Marietta in 1900, then to Atlanta in 1907. WebFlag agrees with Oney.
What is certain is that Mary Phagan worked in the National Pencil Factory in Atlanta in 1913. If you're wondering what a thirteen-year-old was doing working in a pencil factory, Atlanta at this time was a very poor area, little more than a big sweatshop; child labor was considered normal (Dinnerstein, p. 8) though it was considered dangerous to let girls work in such places among grown men. But with her father dead, Mary had to work in the factory to make ends meet. Later, Mrs. Frances Phagan remarried -- to John W. Coleman in 1912, according to Oney, p. 4 -- but Mary chose to keep working in the factory; she reportedly enjoyed the job; Dinnerstein, p. 11.
Oney, p. 5, says that Mary had quit school at the age of ten, and her job at National Pencil was already her third. On p. 6, he says that Georgia was the only state that still allowed ten-year-olds to work in is factories. (The first attempt at a national child labor law was passed in 1916; it was not until Franklin Roosevelt's administration that such a law passed court scrutiny. Dinnerstein, p. 7, states that in Georgia at this time, even children under ten often worked illegally in the factories, which were never inspected; some of these children earned only 22 cents a week -- by this measure, Mary Phagan was actually relatively well off. At least she seems not to have been one of the more than 50% of Atlanta children who, according to Dinnerstein, p. 8, suffered malnutrition or work-related illnesses.)
Atlanta at this time was a very rough place; 1905, it is claimed that a fifth of the population had some sort of run-in with the police. The poverty made the city a powderkeg; Dinnerstein, p. 9, thinks this explains the public hysteria caused by the Phagan case.
While in the factory, Mary was murdered.
She wasn't even supposed to be there. April 26 was Confederate Memorial Day, so the factory was closed down and only a few people were in the building (F/T, pp. 4-5). As the song says, she went to the factory to collect her pay.
The body was discovered by night watchman Newt Lee in the early hours of Sunday, April 27, 1913 (Dinnerstein, p. 1). Lee had apparently gone down to the basement to use the "colored" toilet (F/T, p. 32 -- remember, this was Atlanta in 1913, so the facilities were thoroughly segregated. Oney, p. 21, makes the observation that Lee was born a slave -- whatever that tells us).
Lee called the police, who found the corpse of a girl concealed by sawdust and grime so thick that the police could not immediately determine her race, her mouth filled with dirt, her skin covered with cinders (they probably stuck to her as the murderer choked her with her face to the ground), her cheeks slashed, her fingers out of joint, her head bashed in, blood coming from mouth and ears, with a 3/4 inch cord and a strip of her underclothes tied around her neck, and her clothing in shreds (F/T, p. 2; Dinnerstein, p. 2, Oney, p. 18; on p. 391, Oney notes that her clothing was *cut* with knife or scissors, to expose body parts -- seemingly evidence of sexual fetishism). She clearly had fought her murderer, but equally clearly, the murderer had been a brute, and probably a very strong one. The issue in the Mary Phagan case is not whether the murderer deserved to be hung -- clearly the human race would have been better off without him (and I say that as an opponent of the death penalty). The issue is, who was the beast.
The police investigation was inept, leaving much physical evidence unexamined. The police expended a lot of energy, searching subjects' homes and checking time clock records (F/T, pp. 10-11), but showed little intelligence. (F/T, p. 11, notes the interesting fact that the Atlanta police chief would in later years be twice demoted for incompetence!)
The coroner does not seem to have examined the body fully enough to rule on whether the murderer had engaged in anal rape, checking only for vaginal intercourse -- and even there, the results would prove less than definitive.
Mary's purse, described as a mesh handbag, had been taken and was never found (F/T, p. 3) -- a fact which is significant in considering the motive for the murder. Jim Conley would accuse Leo Frank of taking it (Oney, p. 257), but it never surfaced in Frank's possessions. Dinnerstein, pp. 169-171, mentions that a prisoner later claimed that Jim Conley gave him a purse which matched the description of Mary's -- but the account was said by the newspapers to have been discredited, though no explanation was given as to why.
Whoever got it, the purse can't have held much; Mary was paid a few pennies an hour to put erasers in their metal holders (F/T, p. 5, says she earned 12 cents an hour; Oney, p. 5, claims 10 cents an hour). Other employees had been paid the Friday before the holiday, but because the eraser room had been temporarily shut down due to a supply problem, Mary had not been in the plant at the time and did not know about this. As a result, she came in a day late to pick up her $1.20 (F/T, p. 5. Ordinarily, she worked 55 hours a week, but this week she had worked only eight or ten hours; Oney, p. 9). Manager Leo Frank being in the office to compile the weekly production report, she collected her pay from him (he reportedly did not know who she was, according to Oney, p. 27 -- not too surprising, since the factory employed 170 people, mostly teenage girls, according to Oney, p. 16. In the trial, it was shown that he rarely talked to his workers; Oney, p. 215). No one admitted to seeing her again until her body was found (F/T, p. 6).
It was obviously murder, and a brutal one; some suspected rape as well. (McNeil, p. 72, says unequivocally that she had been raped, but it must be repeated, this is unproved.) The claim of rape was apparently was based on the testimony of janitor Conley (Tennessean, p. 3), and also on the fact that there was blood around her genitals (Oney, p. 19), though the limited physical evidence supplied by examiners, as we shall see, would prove inconclusive. The room in which she was found was almost inaccessible; the only ways to reach it were by an elevator, a few shafts from the upper floors which could not be climbed from below, or a plank ladder which led to a long, narrow, minimally lighted corridor (Oney, p. 19). It sounds as if, had luck been different, Mary's body might not have been found for days.
Remember that elevator, because Jim Conley later claimed that it was by this means that he and Leo Frank had carried Mary's body to the basement. Despite this, there seems to be no evidence that her body was ever in the elevator cage.
Support for the theory of rape probably came from the descriptions of Mary Phagan; according to Tennessean, p. 6, she was "a beautiful girl -- four feet, eight inches tall and weighing about 105 pounds. She had long, reddish-blond hair...." F/T, p. 6, says she was considered the prettiest girl in her neighborhood, and Oney describes her on p. 3 as follows: "Eyes blue as cornflowers, cheeks high-boned and rosy, smile beguiling as honeysuckle, figure busty (later, everyone acknowledged that 'she was exceedingly well-developed for her age'), she had undoubtedly already tortured many a boy." This largely matches the description of Mary given by a friend at the Leo Frank trial; Oney, p. 213.
(Two men who sniffed after her actually became suspects in the case, according to Oney: first, a 24-year-old named Arthur Mullinax who supposedly had been attracted to her at a Baptist Christmas pageant in which she played Snow White; Oney, p. 33. There seems to be some confusion about this pageant; F/T, p. 7, says Phagan played "Sleeping Beauty" at the First Christian Church, which doesn't sound like a Baptist congregation. In any case, the police questioned Mullinax but eventually let him go; a sighting of him in suspicious circumstances was a case of mistaken identity; Oney, p. 62. Mary also apparently attracted the attention of James Milton Gantt, a 26-year-old former National Pencil employee; Oney, p. 47. He too came under suspicion, but had an alibi; Oney, p. 62.)
Dinnerstein, p. 12, has a photo which does make her quite attractive, though her hair looks rather dark and I would have guessed her to be older than thirteen. It appears that the photos from this set are the only ones of her available, at least as a teenager; at least, the cover of F/T, F/T, p. 26, and Oney, after p. 278, all show pictures of her in what appears to be the same clothing, though the photos themselves are not quite identical.
People also described her as a "model girl" and said that everyone liked her (F/T, p, 6), though Oney, p. 3, sees a more rebellious streak in her letters, which talk about escaping her circumstances. But she had never done anything that seriously troubled her family; when she didn't come home on time, her mother and stepfather were frantic; when word eventually came (long delayed because the body had been hard to identify and because the Colemans had no phone, so a neighbor had to carry word), Mrs. Coleman literally collapsed over the fate of her daughter (Oney, pp. 23-24). Mary had not until then even been considered old enough to go dating. (In this context, we should probably mention the reports of the medical examiners. Two examiners eventually looked at her body. One thought that she had been sexually abused but found no sperm in her vagina; Oney, p. 234. The other found that her hymen was not intact but, because there was little blood there, did not think it had been broken in the assault -- perhaps evidence that she had not been raped; Oney, p. 237. She definitely was not pregnant; F/T, p. 37.)
The police abused and detained watchman Lee (Dinnerstein, p. 14), and brought to light some inconsistencies in his testimony (F/T, p. 14) as well as finding a suspiciously stained (bloody?) shirt in his trash (Oney, p. 65). He had, however, punched his time clock pretty regularly on the night of the murder (Oney, p. 30), and they finally concluded he was innocent. (Unlike the papers, which at one point declared him unequivocally guilty.) The authorities also used strongarm tactics on fired former bookkeeper Gantt, again without results (F/T, p. 8).
The police had been so incompetent that plant manager Leo Max Frank called in the Pinkertons (Dinnerstein, p. 4; Oney, p. 20, thinks the first men on the scene did a relatively good job, but even he notes on p. 30 that the detectives messed up the trail over which Mary had been dragged, as well as destroying physical evidence when they took the elevator to the basement. In light of their performance, Oney, p. 54, makes the interesting observation that Atlanta's policemen at this time had only a week's training before being given a badge, and the department had no fingerprint expert. This is important, because Dinnerstein, p. 4, says that there were fingerprints on Mary's clothes, and probably in the vicinity, some bloody, but no examination was made of them, even though Frank himself asked if they had been looked at ).
Hiring the Pinkertons may have been a mistake; Oney, p. 62, observes that the Pinkertons at this time were often hired to whitewash businesses, so hiring them was seen as a sign of some sort of guilt. In any case, they seem to have turned against Frank under pressure of public opinion; Dinnerstein, p. 20. Plus they weren't much help F/T, p. 28, notes that an Atlanta ordinance forced them into subservience to the police.
Nothing much happened for a week after the murder: Investigators did haul in seven suspects -- but couldn't offer any real evidence (Dinnerstein, p. 15). Meanwhile, tensions in the community were increasing.
Because of the lack of results, Atlanta Solicitor-General H. M. Dorsey stepped in on May 5 (Oney, p. 92). "Solicitor-General" was the then-current term for what we would now call "District Attorney"; his main duty was managing prosecutions. Dorset certainly brought more energy to the case, but it was hardly his job. (Dinnerstein, p. 154, calls his action "conduct unbecoming a state official.")
Nor was Dorsey the last to intervene -- a coalition including one of the newspapers would hire the William Burns detective agency (Dinnerstein, p. 16). Burns was probably the most famous sleuth of the time (Oney, pp. 102-105), but though he sent a subordinate, he would not personally get involved until things had turned ugly.
In the meantime, there were four competing organizations investigating the Phagan case (Dinnerstein, p. 19): The Atlanta police, Dorsey's office, the Pinkertons, and Burns and Company. It was far more a competition than anything else -- the investigators were actually spying on each other (Oney, p. 108). Sadly, this caused Burns -- the one competent investigator -- to pull out temporarily (Dinnerstein, p. 20; Oney, p. 112). By the time he returned, public opinion was too set for him to do much good.
While police were striking out with their original suspects, Leo Frank, the manager of the National Pencil factory, had come under suspicion. Oney, p. 24, describes Atlanta Detective John Black as a suspicions sort; he seems to have been set off by the fact that it was some hours before anyone answered the phone at the home where Leo and Lucille Frank lived with Lucille's parents. It didn't help that, when detectives came to the home, Frank appeared to be very agitated (Oney, p. 25). Frank's explanation -- which makes sense to me -- is that, when the police came to his door, no one was willing to say what was going on! (Oney, p. 26).
Later, the police put Newt Lee (whom they still suspected) and Frank in a room together to try to shake something loose, but with no results (Oney, p. 69). This somehow caused investigators to suspect Frank even more (Oney, p. 70).
By that time, the papers had roused tensions to a fever pitch. Unfortunately, one of the local papers was a Hearst organ -- and one that had only been part of the chain for a year, so it needed beefing up (Oney, p. 40). Crime stories were a favorite (Oney, p. 41). The Atlanta Georgian devoted over 17,000 column inches to the Phagan case in the first five months after the murder, forcing the other papers to give it attention as well (Dinnerstein, p. 13). The Georgian did not break the story; a sensationalist writer named Britt Craig induced the Atlanta Constitution to publish an extra (Oney, pp. 22-23).
But that was just the opening salvo. The papers competed in lurid coverage (including, e.g., a faked photo of Mary's head on another body; Oney, p. 35); naturally public opinion was inflamed! On the Monday after the murders, the Georgian printed at least eight extras, perhaps more (Oney, p. 37). The Georgian was not actually anti-Frank (according to Dinnerstein, pp. 29-31, only the Atlanta Constitution, which was closest to the police department, accepted police statements without question), but it hardly mattered. The Mayor of Atlanta, under pressure, proceeded to order the police to find the murderer or lose their jobs (Dinnerstein, p. 16). After all, they already had 13 unsolved murders on their books (F/T, p. 27) and a reputation for corruption (Oney, p. 54) -- though they also had a crusading reputation (Oney, p. 59).
Later on, another paper, Tom Watson's Jeffersonian, would prove even more troublesome. Watson called himself a populist, which in practice means that he combined the worst aspects of William Jennings Bryan populism with bigotry, appealing to base prejudices against foreigners, Jews, and Yankees, including the non-Georgian detective Williams Burns (Oney, p. 397. Dinnerstein, p. 95, notes that -- in his early days at least -- Watson was not anti-Black. But that changed as he went from politician to publisher -- he even went so far as to rejoin the Georgia Democratic party, which at that time was still the party of racism and reactionary opinion.). Watson had been the populist vice-presidential nominee in 1896 -- producing a very strange situation, since William Jennings Bryan ended up being nominated for President by both the Democrats and the Populists, but with different vice presidential nominees. The Democrats chose Arthur Sewell, the Populists Watson. (That was the last time -- the only time, really -- that a presidential candidate had two significant vice presidential candidates associated with him.)
According to PresElections, p. 1874, the populists were pretty well skunked in the popular vote -- William McKinley earned 7.1 million votes, Bryan with Sewell (or no specified vice president) 6.5 million, the Populist ticket only 222,000. In Georgia, Watson earned only 440 votes, to 94,672 for Bryan and Sewell. Yet, of the 176 electoral votes for Bryan that year, only 149 voted for Sewell, giving Watson 27 electoral votes. It was one of the strongest electoral college showings ever by a third party vice presidential candidate, and the high point of Watson's political career. Watson was the populist presidential candidate in 1904, but went nowhere in that election.
Since his days on the national stage, Watson had turned into a popularity-grubbing nativist whose message was largely about hate; see Oney, p. 8, and his entry in the Dictionary of American Biography. Watson argued (obviously falsely) that there was no poverty in the early United States (Hofstadter, p. 62n.), but "We have become the world's melting pot. The scum of creation has been dumped upon us.... What brought these Goths and Vandals to our shores? The manufacturers are mainly to blame" (Hofstadter, pp. 82-83; on p. 81, he comments on Watson's behavior in the Frank case). Dinnerstein, p. 119, notes that he called Frank a "jewpervert."
As the above shows, Watson had a way with words -- and his way was to flamingly condemn anything that his uneducated, poor, parochial readers must dislike. As best I can tell, the only thing he had in common with the broad-minded Thomas Jefferson is that both believed in an agrarian society.
The time of the murder was never firmly established (F/T, p. 37). The prosecution's doctor would estimate that she was killed around the time she was given her pay (Dinnerstein, p. 3). However, the forensics of the time had very little to go on -- the examiner's only evidence was the state of digestion of the contents of her stomach, which led him to estimate that she had eaten within an hour of the time she was killed. This worked out to a time between 12:00 and 12:15, which fit the state's case against Leo Frank; Oney, pp. 233-234. But while this might have been the most likely time, the defence brought in an expert who argued that the death might have occurred much later (Oney, p. 262) -- energetic activity could slow digestion, and even if you ignored being murdered, Mary had a fairly busy itinerary on the last day of her life.
The whole chronology is difficult (the following comes from Dinnerstein, pp. 48-49). Two employees said they came in to be paid around 11:45; Jim Conley said they came in around 1:00. Conley said that Mary Phagan had reached the factory before Monteen Stover. Stover testified that she reached Frank's office at 12:05, failed to see him in his office (he may have been hidden behind an inner door, assuming her account is accurate), and left at 12:10. The conductor of the trolley Mary rode to work said she had gotten off at 12:10 at a point about three minutes' walk from her work. Frank was seen at home (where he had lunch) between 1:00 and 1:30. Conley said Frank was at the factory at 1:30. And, as noted, the doctor claimed Mary was dead by 12:15. Obviously these times cannot all be reconciled, and the primary contradictions are between Conley, Stover, and the doctor who estimated the time of death -- all prosecution witnesses.
Quite a few people apparently visited the factory on April 26 (F/T, pp. 11-12). But it was alleged that at the time of the murder (based on the prosecution's timeline, of course) only two men were in the factory -- manager Leo Frank and (Black) janitor Jim Conley. (Frank's stenographer and office boy had both left around noon, shortly before Mary came to draw her pay; Oney, p. 29). The claim that no one else was there was extravagant -- the building was not ordinarily locked (F/T, p. 32), and Newt Lee, during the trial, would state that "anyone" could enter; Oney, p. 202. Plus the building was huge -- four stories high, and it occupied a whole city block. Oney, p. 9, reports that it was big enough to produce an average of 4.374 gross of pencils per week, or about 630,000. And the pencils weren't even all identical; Oney, p. 273, quotes a staff member as saying they made dozens of different kinds of pencil, which meant that it wasn't just one continuous assembly line. The obvious conclusion is that a sufficiently determined person could enter the building, and hide for an extended period if he so desired.
Still, the evidence indicates that Leo Frank was apparently the last person, other than the murderer, to see Mary alive, when he gave her her pay (Dinnerstein, p. 3). He said he heard no signs of a row during his time in his office. This even though a stain, which was said to be a pool of blood, was found in the "metal room" near Frank's office (Dinnerstein, p. 5). Oney, p. 46, says witnesses thought it was new, and that an attempt had been made to hide it. Apparently, though, the only "proof" that the fluid was blood was the fact that it did not dissolve in alcohol. (Oney, p. 47, thinks the blood was Mary's, but it appears no valid testing was done.) Hair was also found there, and one of the other workers in the metal room was sure it was Mary's.
(The claim that it was Phagan's blood and hair turned out to be extremely weak; staff at the factory said that there was often blood there because saws were in use; F/T, p. 35. Plus it was on the path to the first aid station, so people sometimes came in bleeding; Oney, p. 231. In any case, Dinnerstein, p. 234, says that the stain was eventually demonstrated not to be blood. Also, a girl who had worked there with Mary noted that the floor of the room often was spotted with paint and other fluids, and that girls sometimes combed out their hair there -- and that one of those girls had hair much like Mary's; Oney, p. 216. The state biologist would later declare unequivocally that the hair was not Mary's; Dinnerstein, pp. 84-85.)
Given Monteen Stover's testimony that Frank was not in his office around the alleged time of the murder (Dinnerstein, pp. 37-38), Frank was arrested on suspicion of murder on April 29 (F/T, pp. 11-12; Oney, p. 60). He would later be interrogated harshly without his lawyer being present. (In the light of what followed, we have to note that Frank was Jewish and came from New York; Phagan of course was a southern girl.)
Since her purse was missing, it was evident that she had been robbed as well as murdered. Frank, however earned a salary of $150 per month (F/T, p. 37), which was at least five times Mary's income, and no one seems ever to have alleged that his pay was inadequate to his needs. Even if his salary *hadn't* been enough, what are the odds that he would have cared about Mary's $1.20?
No physical evidence was ever found to implicate Frank. The only real evidence against Frank seems to have been his nervousness when informed of the murder and his vigorous attempts to blame someone else (Oney, p. 63. To which I say, What would *you* do if you were falsely charged with murder?)
A number of witnesses came forward to attack Frank's sexual morality. A young man named George Epps said Mary Phagan was afraid of him (Dinnerstein, p. 17). This seems dubious -- given the labor shortage in Atlanta, she could have found other work had she been suffering harassment. Plus the strong evidence is that Leo Frank did not know who she was. Topping it all off -- would she have gone to collect her pay on that day, when no one else was around, if she had been afraid of him? If she were really afraid, she would surely have gone to the factory only when there were witnesses around!
Accounts differed about whether Frank hassled other female employees (and, naturally, when one made charges against him, it got bigger headlines in the papers than when someone denied it; Dinnerstein, pp. 30-31). One "rooming house" owner claimed that Frank had tried to secure a room for part of a day (Dinnerstein, pp. 17-18), though an employee, despite pressure from the police, declared unequivocally that this was not so (Dinnerstein, p. 28). There were rumors, seemingly unsubstantiated, of paedophilia or other "perversions" (Dinnerstein, p. 19).
I would note that Frank had married as recently as 1910 (Dinnerstein, p. 6; F/T, p. 20). His wife was still only 25, described as pretty if plump (Oney, p. 81, though the photo he prints don't make her appear very attractive), and she was said to be quite endearing. One would think that Frank would still have been fairly happy with his wife, and their letters seem to have been very loving. In addition, his wife frequently visited Frank at work, so he could hardly use the factory for lecherous liaisons (F/T, p. 41; Oney, pp. 269, 271, notes that several reliable witnesses reported that these visits were often on Saturdays, when Frank's alleged trysts with other girls took place).
In light of the extensive force used in Phagan's murder, it is worth noting that Frank was skinny and rather frail and probably weighed no more than 132 pounds (F/T, p. 20; Oney, p. 10, says he was five feet six inches and weighed 120 pounds. To be sure, Dinnerstein, p. 136, says he lost 60 points in prison, which is obviously impossible if he started at 120 or even 132. I wonder if this wasn't an error of hearing, at some point, for 16 pounds, which makes more sense and would also account roughly for the difference between F/T's and Oney's numbers). It is likely that he was hardly bigger than Mary herself (F/T, p. 35). The adjective "birdlike" could almost have been invented for him; in his photos, his head seems bigger than all the rest of him. He hardly seemed strong enough to be able to apply that much force. In addition, a few days after the murder, he showed the detectives that his body had none of the cuts and bruises that would have been expected had he been in a fight (Oney, p. 51).
We might note in addition that he was Reform Jew (Oney, p. 597); he was clean-shaven and had attended Cornell (Oney has several photos of him in college). His subject was mechanical engineering (Dinnerstein, p. 5).
Police hauled in a servant of the Franks, and sweated some comments out of her that vaguely supported their theory of the case (Oney, pp. 162-165). Once released, she declared her entire affidavit false (Dinnerstein, pp. 26-27). Given the circumstances, her statements against Frank are clearly unreliable; she had been kept in prison without charge or warrant, and police apparently gave her the impression she would be hanged. In essence, it was a confession under torture.
The strange question is, why wasn't 27-year-old janitor Jim Conley, the other person who was known to have been in the National Pencil factory around the time of the murder, given this sort of attention? Although he was taken into custody a few days after the murder, Oney, p. 118, states that no one even took a statement from him for fifteen days after he was arrested! True, he was eventually questioned repeatedly, but apparently this was because the examiners expected him to lie because he was Black (Oney, pp. 140-141). Instead of the changes in his story being considered evidence against him, they were considered evidence that his final story was true! The prosecution was so intent on making a case against Frank that at one point they formally put Conley back on the street on the grounds that he wasn't even a material witness! (Oney, p. 173).
Dinnerstein, p. 19, and Oney, p. 94, hypothesize that prosecutor Dorsey needed to win a high-profile case for political reasons, which seems likely enough given his rather poor record in past cases; Oney argues on p. 100 that Dorsey intended to use pubic opinion to make it easier to win a conviction. But that still doesn't explain why he went after Frank rather than Conley.
Notes which proved to be in Conley's handwriting were found by Mary's body (Dinnerstein, p. 21), yet at one time he claimed to be unable to write (F/T, p. 26; Oney, p. 119; Dinnerstein, p. 22, says that Frank himself had told police that Conley could write -- he had gotten notes from the man asking for loans). Later, having admitted literacy, Conley claimed Frank dictated the "murder notes," but outside analysts generally felt that Conley composed them to try to divert suspicion (they accuse someone of the murder, and they blame it on a Black -- but seemingly a tall dark-skinned Black; Conley had relatively light skin; WebFlag). Some of these claims were based on racist opinions about Black intelligence, but most were based on sober stylistic analysis. One would come from Conley's own lawyer (Oney, pp. 427-430, 483).
Conley was found trying to wash blood from his shirt (Oney, p. 118, though Conley claimed the stain was rust) -- but no one even subjected the blood to scientific examination! (Dinnerstein, p. 21). Conley was the one who charged Frank with having sexual liaisons at the factory, adding that Frank was physically abnormal -- but doctors testified that he was not (Oney, p. 276). When asked to re-enact the murder, Conley -- who had not been present when Mary's corpse was found or removed -- knew just where the body had lain (Oney, p. 142). To be sure, his final story said that he took Mary's body to the basement after Frank murdered her, so this did not prove his guilt. But it should be kept in mind.
Conley had an extensive record of petty crime (F/T, pp. 37-28, says he had been in prison seven or eight times in five years, and three times in the two years he had worked for National Pencil). His job performance had been bad enough that he had been demoted from elevator operator to sweeper (Oney, p. 119). There was eyewitness testimony that he was drinking in the period before the murder (Dinnerstein, pp. 21-22), and there were other reports of him being drunk on the job in the past (Oney, p. 119). We might also note that he lived with a woman without being married to her (Oney, p. 145, etc.)
Under questioning, Conley changed his story repeatedly (how often depends on how you count changes, but it was certainly three times, and F/T, p. 39, would make it five times). Each recital adding more incriminating statements against Frank (Dinnerstein, pp. 22-25), with his version on the witness stand being even more detailed than the statements to police. His final pre-trial story was that he only helped Frank dispose of the body, plus he was almost the only person to describe actual sexual liaisons in the National Pencil building. He never mentioned the fact (which came out later) that Mary's clothing had been carefully cut up.
The story he told had inconsistencies; the Georgian stated clearly, "Careful study of the negro's story has revealed absurdities in its structure which bring the deed to Conley's door" (Oney, p. 133).
Much of Conley's testimony was contradicted by reputable witnesses during the trial (F/T, pp. 40-41). A senior National Pencil employee testified that Conley often tried to borrow money from his co-workers (F/T, p. 42), which would provide motive for robbery. Two women he claimed to have seen on the day of the murder contradicted his timeline for the encounters (Oney, p. 283). An expert testified that Conley's claims for the time he needed to transport Mary's body was too short to be physically possible (Oney, p. 284).
Conley stated that he repeatedly stood watch while Frank engaged in his sexual activities (Oney, p. 239). Had this been true, of course, he would almost certainly have been seen doing it, and he never was.
We do not know if Mary was raped, but if rape it was, Conley seems the much more likely perpetrator; letters he wrote from prison are pornographic and utterly disrespectful to women (Oney, pp. 390-391. quotes a small sample. They make disgusting reading -- Dinnerstein alludes to them on p. 102, but, even in 1966, apparently didn't dare quote such filth).
Conley was also crude enough to have defecated down an elevator shaft in the factory on the day of the murder (F/T, p. 46) -- an important point, because it proved that part of his testimony about Frank was a lie. He claimed that he and Frank had used the elevator on that day in moving the body -- but if they had, it would have smashed the pile of excrement, which was untouched when the police arrived. This point -- the "shit in the shaft" -- was not brought out until later, but it is still evidence against him.
In summary, here we have a robber, a liar, and a drunk -- yet, somehow, he became the prosecution's star witness.
On the witness stand, Conley would confess to lying repeatedly, and whenever a question came up regarding a matter on which he had not given specific testimony, he "disremembered." Somehow, he managed to remember many details about Leo Frank's misdeeds, but he "disremembered" almost everything else (Oney, p. 249).
After the trial, a witness would come forward to say that he had tried to assault her (F/T, p. 67; Oney, p. 120, reports that he once shot at a lady friend and wounded a bystander).
Mary Phagan's mother Fannie Phagan Coleman eventually brought suit for $10,000 against National Pencil in what we would now call a Wrongful Death case (F/T, p. 74). I can't help but think she would have had a great case -- if Conley had been convicted of murder. I find it incomprehensible that National Pencil did nothing to control or fire this hooligan. It seems the question of why he wasn't fired came up at trial; an officer of the company apparently declared that "trustworthy" Blacks were hard to find (Oney, p. 275).
Eventually a Grand Jury wanted to indict Conley; in fact, a week before Frank's trial, they tried to bring a charge against Conley when they hadn't even been convened (Oney, p. 185). Solicitor Dorsey, who clearly wanted to convict Frank, browbeat them out of it (Dinnerstein, p. 29). At the trial, a Pinkerton agent testified that the police guided Conley to his story (F/T, p. 40). When the time came, Frank was placed on trial for murder, and Conley was primarily as a witness for the prosecution. The trial began on July 28, 1913 (Oney, p. 190).
Due to the high levels of poverty, and the extremely low levels of education, the population of Atlanta is said to have been very xenophobic. Lynchings were common. People even raised the suggestion of "blood libel" -- that Phagan's killing had been a ritual murder. Despite this, jury selection went surprisingly quickly, considering that four of the first seven groups of prospective jurors produces no jurors at all (Oney, p. 195). It took less than a day to form the jury.
The prosecution treated the case very seriously -- Dorsey and his staff evidently knew they had a weak case, so they worked jurors' emotions to the limit. The first witness called was Fannie Coleman, Mary Phagan's mother (Oney, p. 196). She of course had absolutely no evidence to bring against Leo Frank (in all likelihood she had never even seen him before!) -- but she broke down several times on the stand, including when her daughter's bloodstained clothes were brought in; it was a clear attempt to make the jurors desperately want revenge on the murderer. (I can't say I blame them. I would have wanted to avenge Mary, also. I'd just like to have gotten the man who murdered her rather than a scapegoat.)
In addition, the prosecution (plus his lawyer William Smith) had clearly gotten to Jim Conley, tidying him up and, based on his behavior on the witness stand, coaching him on how to present his story (Dinnerstein, pp. 40-44; Oney, pp. 188-189). In the court, he gave a dramatic -- though not very reasonable -- account of how Frank had had him dispose of Phagan's body. And the defence could not shake him (Dinnerstein, p. 45). Having failed, they made little attempt to point up the inconsistencies of his story.
Frank hired top-flight defence lawyers (Dinnerstein, p. 37; Oney, p. 191, notes that no fewer than eight attorneys were present for the defence). But they handled the case badly. F/T, p. 55, suggested that the lawyers simply didn't believe a Georgia jury would convict a white man on the testimony of a black man. Despite the mob baying for blood, they never requested a change of venue (Dinnerstein, p. 57), which was clearly necessary (in fact, the failure to request a change of venue was later used by the prosecution as support for the claim that the trial was fair; Oney, p. 493). Given the Georgia summer heat, it was sometimes necessary to open the court windows, allowing outside demonstrations to be heard (Oney, pp. 210-211). The judge never even cleared the court (F/T, p. 51), except for a brief time when he ordered the women out (Oney, p. 246), which turned the whole thing into a circus. I don't understand why the defence even wanted a jury trial; it cost Frank his life.
The defence did break down the testimony of the first investigators (Oney, p. 208), and of the lead detective (F/T, p. 33; Oney, pp. 218-220). They also largely demolished the testimony of George Epps and Helen Ferguson, young people who vaguely linked Frank to Mary (Oney, pp. 270-271, 273), and Oney, p. 238, seems to think they were ahead "on points," so to speak, when Conley came to the stand. But Conley was the key to the whole case -- the *only* witness or evidence linking Leo Frank to the murder of Mary Phagan -- and they did not break him down. They didn't even object when Conley testified to other misdeeds allegedly committed by Frank (Oney, p. 242. Presumably they thought they would be able to discredit these charges. To a great extent, they did -- but it didn't matter. The jurors got the message.)
When it came time to present a defence, the real disaster began. The defence lawyers had failed to penetrate Jim Conley in cross-examination, but they never presented a real alternative to Conley's claims. They surely could have gone after Conley (who, if Frank was innocent, was almost certainly the murderer). Instead, they spent most of their energy to paint Frank as a saint who would never have done such a thing.
The primary argument seemed to be that Frank had done nothing unusual on the day of the murder (Dinnerstein, p. 48). They did demonstrate the inconsistencies in the times of events as stated by the various witnesses, and showed that Frank's whereabouts were accounted for in most of the two hours around the time the murder was thought to have been committed (Dinnerstein, p. 49). Indeed, a stenographer testified that he had asked her to stay the entire period (Oney, p. 279), but she had other duties. But they made no real use of the limited forensic evidence available, and made no attempt to find more (F/T, p. 56).
And then there were the character witnesses. Under 1913 Georgia law, all witnesses had to be sworn in at the start of the trial. Oney, p. 192, notes that the defence wanted to delay submitting its witness list. Told they could not do so, but allowed additional time to compile the list, they huddled, then turned in the list. They proceeded to offer the names of many prominent Jews and alumni of Cornell, Frank's old college. "Plainly, this list of well over one hundred names was more than just a list -- it was a theory of the defence, one that carried with it the prospect that in rebuttal, the state would introduce witnesses to testify to Frank's bad reputation" (Oney, p. 192).
The main effect of these witnesses seems to have been simply to stretch out the proceedings and irritate all involved (F/T, p. 56). Plus they gave Dorsey the chance to ask all of them more questions about Frank's alleged perversions (e.g. Oney, p. 286). In all this, probably the only defence witnesses who really mattered were the outside accountants who testified that the work he did on the fatal Saturday would have required him to stay at his desk all day (Oney, pp. 277-279) -- he would have had no time for attempted seduction, rape, or murder .
Oney, p. 281, shows a typical example of how the character witnesses were treated. Dorsey took a defence witness who had done distinct damage to the prosecution case and kept asking him about homosexual acts by Frank. As the defence stated, no one could get a fair trial in those circumstances (Oney, p. 282). The judge often struck Dorsey's questions from the record, and the witnesses usually said that Frank didn't do any such thing anyway, but it didn't matter; the insinuation that he was some sort of pervert was kept before the jury's mind.
The whole trial took four weeks (Dinnerstein, p. 52). Dinnerstein's description makes the whole prosecution case little more than a smear campaign, and the accounts in F/T and Oney are only slightly more charitable to Dorsey. Dorsey's tactics were so vile that at times it appeared the attorneys for the two sides would come to blows (Oney, p. 290).
The outcome, in Dinnerstein's view, was inevitable; judge and lawyers had been presented with death threats, and possibly the jurors also (Dinnerstein, p. 60. F/T, p. xix, declare that "The jury were scared, the judge was scared, and the prosecutors were scared"). The prosecution spent three days theatrically summing up the case (Oney, p. 337), reminding the jury again and again that Frank was a Jew (Dinnerstein, p. 53). The defence called for a mistrial (Oney, p. 339), but was turned down. The judge spent mere minutes instructing the jury (Oney, pp. 339-340), and then, only an hour and a half after Dorsey finished shrieking "guilty! guilty! guilty!" like a demented fury as church bells tolled, the jury began to deliberate.
It took the jury only four hours to decide the case (Dinnerstein, p. 55); they reported only two ballots; (Oney, p. 340). To prevent riots, the court had (finally!) been cleared (F/T, pp. 52-53), so there were few people around when the court declared Frank guilty of first degree murder. (Frank would comment, "My God! Even the jury was influenced by mob law" -- Dinnerstein, p 56; Oney, p. 342). Not even Frank was allowed to be present when the verdict was announced, which, according to F/T, p. 53, should have been by itself grounds for a new trial. (The jurors needed to see the accused they were about to convict.) The next day, Frank was sentenced to hang, in a proceeding so secret that not even his wife was allowed to be present (Dinnerstein, p. 57). The execution was scheduled for October 10, 45 days after the sentencing date of August 26 (F/T, p. 54).
Despite the claim by F/T that the jury was scared of the mob, they seem to have been more playful than anything; they had become friends and made up nicknames for each other (F/T, p. 52). From what we know of their deliberations, not one seems to have been bothered by the possibility that they were committing judicial murder.
When the verdict came down, it did much to arouse the nation's Jewish community. There were comparisons to the Dreyfus Affair in France, where a Jewish officer had been falsely convicted of treason on even flimsier evidence (Oney, p. 346; Chapter III of Dinnerstein is titled "An American Dreyfus"). In one sense, the outrage helped -- it brought in more money for Frank's legal defence (Frank's initial defence had cost about $50,000, according to Oney, p. 365, and he of course didn't have that sort of money). But it also caused the xenophobic Georgians to suspect some sort of Jewish conspiracy (Dinnerstein, p. 92). There was a widespread belief that anyone who supported Frank had been bribed. As a result, there was fear in the Jewish community that they would suffer if they seemed to be openly supporting him.
While the verdict convinced the mob, it did not convince Frank's bosses. National Pencil executives still consulted him on policy while in his prison cell (Oney, p. 349).
There was, of course, an appeal -- but the Georgia constitution didn't care about guilt or innocence, or tainted juries; the only grounds for appeal was an error in law or procedure (Dinnerstein, p. 77; F/T, p. 66, remarks that this was the effect of a constitutional amendment adopted in 1906. To put it another way, having bad lawyers was a hanging offense.)
There were good grounds for the appeal. Frank's lawyers listed 115 reasons why there should be a new trial (Oney, p. 349) -- though some of them should surely have been brought up in the first trial. The most dramatic of the reasons: Two jurors had apparently declared Frank guilty in advance (Oney, p. 350). The judge who tried the original case declared in refusing the motion for a mistrial, "I have thought more about this case than any other I have tried. I am not certain of the man's guilt. With all the thought I have put on this case, I am not thoroughly convinced that Frank is guilty or innocent. The jury was convinced. There is no room to doubt that. I feel that it is my duty to order that the motion for a new trial be overruled" (Dinnerstein, p. 79; Oney, p. 364, points out that the jury's verdict, once reached, bound the judge -- he could not overrule them unless there were procedural errors, and the defence should have pointed those out earlier). The flip side is, Judge Roan ruled that his uncertainty should be included in the appeal request. In other words, he felt bound by the law but probably hoped Frank would get a new trial.
F/T, to be sure, have another hypothesis: based on a book published in 1959, they think Judge Roan knew (based on an account from Conley's lawyer) that Conley was guilty. But, rather than inflame public opinion, he denied the motion for a new trial, hoping the furor would die down and that the appeal would clear Frank (F/T, p. 58-59). Roan's brother said something similar about his brother's motives before the pardon commission (Oney, p. 481). I can't see how this is in any way morally superior to the other.
(F/T say on page 74 that Judge Roan died in March 1915 of a blood clot; Oney, followed by Oney, says the cause of death was cancer. There was speculation that the pressure of the trial contributed to his demise. On his deathbed, he wrote a letter appealing for clemency for Frank; Oney, p. 469.)
That left the Georgia Supreme Court. They listened to arguments from the lawyers for four hours, then decided 4-2 not to allow a new trial (Dinnerstein, p. 81). Oney, pp. 368-370, notes that this appeal opened very little new ground, so perhaps it is no surprise that nothing came of it -- though the judges needed 142 pages to say so. But it appears that their ruling boiled down to "it's up to the trial judge." Judge Roan, as we have seen, thought it was up to the Supreme Court. Frank's first appeal was denied because both courts said, "You go first." As a result, a new execution date was set, by a new judge -- April 17, 1914, Frank's thirtieth birthday (Oney, p. 377).
In the period after the first appeal, much new evidence came out. The parties finally consulted a scientist, who said that hairs alleged to have been torn from Mary's head during the murder were not hers (Dinnerstein, pp. 84); those hairs were important to the prosecution's case, but the scientific evidence was suppressed by prosecutor Dorsey (Oney, p. 371), who declared the testimony of his witnesses to be worth more than mere scientific fact (Dinnerstein, p. 85). This was clear misconduct by the prosecution (Oney, p. 370). There was even a witness who said the blood in the "metal room" was probably his.
The "murder notes" that Conley had written and left by the body were shown to have been written on old stationary, stored in the factory basement, not on the current stationary Frank would have had in his office (Dinnerstein, p. 87; Oney, pp. 379-380). Yet Conley claimed that he had written them in Frank's office. The prosecution argued that Frank had dictated the notes to Conley, but there was strong evidence that Frank could not have used the language they contained (Dinnerstein, p. 90); they used words which strongly implied that Conley -- who certainly did the actual writing -- also composed them. This issue would come up again, even more forcefully.
In addition, a number of witnesses changed their story (Dinnerstein, pp. 86-87), with most though not all of them saying that their previous evidence against Frank was false. One of these, George Epps, had been one of the keys to Dorsey's reconstruction of events (Oney, pp, 197-198), and he now accused the police of telling him what to say on the stand (Oney, p. 373). At least seven girls who had testified to Frank's "bad character" changed their accounts, most way that they had been coached (Oney, p. 389, who adds that one testified as she died because she didn't know what "lasciviousness" meant). There were reports of the police having bribed or threatened other witnesses (F/T, pp. 66-67; Oney, p. 372).
Two separate sources, in this period, gave evidence that Frank had not committed the murder (Dinnerstein, pp. 102-105). One was a woman who said Conley had confessed to it while proposing (! -- Oney, p. 395), the other was hearsay testimony from a minister who overheard a congregant saying that he, not Frank, had committed the murder (Oney, p. 396). The minister, C. B. Ragsdale, said he didn't know who had made the comments -- but it obviously wasn't Frank! I suspect both would have been inadmissible in court; in any case, both ended up being retracted. The girlfriend later denied receiving Conley's letters and promises, perhaps under pressure from the prosecutors; the minister also retracted his testimony, claiming that he had been bribed (Oney, p. 398). This ruined one possible grounds for appeal and of course made Frank look bad (F/T, p. 69). The minister involved eventually resigned his pastorate -- after all, he had both sides mad at him!
Other witnesses who changed their stories were threatened by Dorsey with perjury charges (Oney, p. 394). In the end, most of those who recanted would re-recant (Oney, pp. 411-413). None of it mattered anyway; under Georgia law, perjured testimony stood unless the witness were convicted of perjury (Oney, p. 418). In other words, here again, Georgia law did not consider innocence to be grounds for a new trial.
During this period, the famed detective Williams Burns finally took a personal role in the case, showing that Mary's clothing had been cut up in a sexually explicit way, implying "deviancy" on the part of the murderer (Oney, p. 391); they failed to find any genuine witnesses to deviancy of this sort on Frank's part (Oney, p. 392)
It is noteworthy that Conley's lawyer refused to let Conley talk to Burns (Oney, p. 393). Monteen Stover, the young girl who claimed Frank was out of his office at a crucial time (making her one of the most important prosecution witnesses other than Conley) also avoided Burns.
Burns eventually was driven from Georgia; when he went to visit Mary's hometown of Marietta, he was chased from the town (Oney, pp. 401-403). Witnesses for Frank also suffered the wrath of Georgia; Mineola McKnight, who had testified for Frank, was slashed in the face during the appeals (Oney, p. 422).
In the end, Georgia justice refused to act; the judge (not Judge Roan) responsible for deciding on a new trial barred most of the defence's best evidence (Oney, pp. 403-411), and the state Supreme Court promptly concurred (Oney, p. 446).. Frank's lawyers finally appealed to the United States Supreme Court. Reading the description in Dinnerstein, pp. 109-113, it really sounds as if the Court used a series of quibbles to refuse to intervene -- but refuse they did. A first appeal was denied without explanation (F/T, p. 70; Oney, p. 452, notes that the only statement was the single word "denied"). The second appeal (on the broader grounds of habeas corpus) at least reached the full court (Oney, p. 460), but was denied on April 19, 1915 (Dinnerstein, p. 117) by a vote of 7-2, with justices Hughes and Holmes dissenting.
(You have to wonder what might have happened had the case come up two years later, after Justice Brandeis joined the court, but this was 1914, not 1916. Those wishing to look up the case in legal articles will find it under "Frank v. Mangum").
F/T, pp. 71-72, notes that the court would later reverse itself in a similar case: In Moore v Dempsey, in 1922, the court found that irregularities such as those found in the Frank case were grounds for a new trial. But that was later. The 1914 decision left Frank's friends with no recourse but an appeal for clemency.
While that was going on, William Smith, the lawyer for Jim Conley, released a statement concluding that Conley had committed the murder (Dinnerstein, pp. 114-115). This obviously sounds like a violation of attorney-client privilege, but Smith had two reasons for thinking otherwise. First, Conley had never told him what he felt was the truth, so he was not violating a confidence. Smith's declaration, according to Oney, pp. 427-430, was based solely on evidence he had found that Conley had lied (Dinnerstein, p. 115, says that Smith offered "no [single] convincing proof"; he was convinced by an accumulation of evidence).
In any case, Smith felt that to Conley was safe from further prosecution due to the law against double jeopardy; Conley had already been convicted of a lesser charge. In this connection, it is noteworthy that Dorsey declared that he thought Conley should not be punished at all. But the jury needed only twelve minutes to convict Conley of the lesser crime with which he was charged; Oney, p. 385. He was sentenced in February 1914 to a year on the chain gang, and actually served ten months (WebFlag). So Smith made the statement to try to save Frank (F/T, pp. 70, 78). But such was the climate of the time that those convinced of Frank's guilt thought Smith had been bribed; Dinnerstein, p. 115. Georgians by and large dug in their heels and refused to listen to reason.
Smith, like Judge Roan, would carry the Frank case to his death; the last words he ever wrote were a testament to the "innocence and good character of Leo Frank" (Oney has a photo preceding p. 455).
The appeals for clemency came from all over the country; Dinnerstein, p. 118, counts nine governors (many of them southern), at least seven senators, "scores" of congressmen, and many resolutions by state legislatures. F/T, p. 75, says that the state received 15,000 petitions for clemency; p. 86, claims that the governor was sent more than a hundred thousand requests. Dinnerstein, p. 118, claims that over a million people signed one or another petition. Eventually, even vice president Thomas R. Marshall would speak up, though not until later (Oney, p. 491). But the Georgia Prison Commission, claiming incredibly that no additional evidence had come in (Dinnerstein, pp. 121-122), voted 2-1 to deny Frank relief (F/T, p. 78). They did not explain their reasoning (Oney, p. 488), but one suspects that they were influenced by the large crowds who demonstrated against clemency (Oney, p. 486).
That left only governor John M. Slaton, whose term came to an end a few days after Frank's scheduled execution (Dinnerstein, p. 123). He apparently had hoped that the appeals process would drag out long enough that ye would not have to make a decision before his term ended (F/T, p. 70; Oney, p. 472, notes that he did not wish to act on a case involving Frank's lead defence lawyer Luther Rosser, who was technically his law partner, though Dinnerstein, p. 124, notes that the firms of Slaton & Phillips and Rosser & Brandon did not combine until after Slaton became governor; Slaton was a courtesy partner in the new firm and the two had never practiced together). In the end, though, the matter landed on his desk.
As had happened in all these cases, Hugh Dorsey represented the prosecution and a large team handled the presentation of the defence case. The one major new point was the state of the excrement Conley had left in the elevator shaft (Oney, p. 489). This of course demonstrated that a major portion of Jim Conley's testimony was inaccurate.
Slaton examined the evidence more thoroughly than any other judicial investigator, even testing the workings of the National Pencil elevator which played such a large role in the case (Oney, p. 501). The governor spent many days on his decision, apparently knowing that commuting Frank's sentence to life imprisonment would damage his political career and maybe even cause his assassination. (There was apparently no question of pardoning Frank; that would have been too controversial.) Finally Slaton decided to commute the sentence (Dinnerstein, p. 125).
It was, as F/T remark on p. 81, "political suicide." In a folkloric touch, his wife is said to have told him, "I would rather be the widow of a brave and honorable man than the wife of a coward" (Dinnerstein, p. 126). She very nearly was; it took militia to force the crowds away from Slaton's home (Oney, p. 504). He ended up leaving the state for years (Dinnerstein, p. 159), even taking up residence in ruined Romania during World War I (Oney, p. 609). Prosecutor H. M. Dorsey, on the other hand, rode his fame into the governor's mansion. To give him his due, Oney, p. 614, says that he proposed the broadest civil rights agenda of any southern governor of the time.
Slaton's summary of the case brought forward much more evidence than the actual criminal trial, and showed strong evidence of Conley's guilt (Dinnerstein, pp. 126-129) -- most, including Dinnerstein, consider it overwhelming evidence. Slaton pointed out the absolute proof that Conley had lied about using the elevator to move the body, argued that Frank was not strong enough to carry the body as far as he would have had to, and noted that there was not enough blood in the room where Conley said the body was found, and that the hairs did not match (F/T, pp. 86-87).
Slaton knew the commutation would cause trouble, and he prepared carefully for his ruling, trying to move Frank to a safer location (Dinnerstein, p. 126). Decoys were actually used to keep Frank safe on his journey (F/T, p. 86). Slaton also called out the militia -- wisely, since rioters tried to reach his home (Dinnerstein, p. 132); martial law continued until the new governor took office (F/T, p. 89).
The reprieve didn't help Frank much; he paid a high price for being left in custody. Although the commutation of his sentence meant that he was moved to a more pleasant prison, four weeks after he arrived, another inmate, William Creen, cut his throat (Dinnerstein, p. 137) using a butcher knife from the prison kitchen (Oney, p. 547); he would have died had their not been doctors among the prisoners to treat him immediately. Such was the sickness of the time that letters reached the new governor demanding that Creen be pardoned for his attempted murder (Dinnerstein, p. 138). The demagogue who led this campaign, Thomas Watson, publisher of The Jeffersonian, openly advocated lynching Frank (F/T, p. 90), and rejoiced when it was said, falsely, that the knife had been used to butcher hogs (Oney, p. 550).
About a month later, on the night of August 16, 1915 a mob broke into the prison where Frank was housed, where they handcuffed him (Dinnerstein, pp. 139-141). This was no casual break-in; F/T, p. 93, says that 25 men were involved, and they drove seven cars. Oney, pp. 511-524, catalogs some of those involved in planning the operation; they included lawyers, a judge, and a former governor (though none of these took part in the actual raid). One of them, in fact, was the solicitor responsible for prosecuting crimes in the area of the lynching! Naturally, he did nothing to seek the lynchers (Oney, p. 586).
It is evident that the raiders had tools, knowledge of the prison, and a careful plan. Insiders may have had some knowledge of what was coming; Oney spends many confusing pages discussing this, and Alan M. Dershowitz, who wrote an introduction to the Notable Trials edition of Dinnerstein, explicitly states that some prison officials were in on the plan. It took only seven minutes to kidnap Frank (F/T, p. 94).
It was hard for the authorities to call for help; most of the phone and telegraph lines had been cut, and the warden's car's gas line was cut. Clearly, the lynch mob didn't care that they were creating an opening for other prisoners to escape.
The mob then drove 175 miles, over mostly unpaved roads, to Marietta, Mary Phagan's home town (F/T, p. 95). There they hooded and hanged Frank. Inexpertly; his neck was not broken; rather, he suffocated and bled to death after his neck wound reopened; Oney, p. 566. Despite their ineptitude, the lynchers had accomplished their goal; Frank was dead.
At least one witness kicked the body and stomped on Frank's face after he was cut down (Dinnerstein, p. 144). Souvenir hunters cut off portions of his clothing (F/T, p. 97), and photos of his lifeless body were sold for 25 cents (F/T, p. 98). The oak from which he was hung became the site of a perverse sort of pilgrimages (Dinnerstein, p. 145). A local coroner's jury refused to return indictments against men known to have taken part (Dinnerstein, p. 145; Oney, p. 586, says that the local coroner had been a member of the original Ku Klux Klan) -- even though some of the lynch mob actually volunteered to talk to reporters (F/T, p. 105). Only one man had the decency to recover Frank's wedding ring for his wife, and he seemingly had to do so anonymously (F/T, p. 106).
Supposedly the whole incident led to a revival of the Ku Klux Klan in the area (Dinnerstein, p. 150; F/T, p. 95; Oney, p. 607, tells of them openly applying for a state charter in 1915); certainly the Klan was still making pilgrimages to Mary's grave more than half a century later. They also sent a great cross of flowers when Tom Watson died (Oney, p. 615); after all, it was his poisoned pen that had inspired their rebirth.
Is it any wonder that Frank's family took his body north for burial?
It is worth noting that, in this period, Georgia experienced several dozen lynchings per year, and is said to have been the lynching-est state in the Union (Oney, p. 122). In 1915, all but one of the 22 people lynched were Black (Oney, p. 513). The one exception was Frank. Whether innocent or guilty, there is no real question that the reason Frank died is that he was a Jewish Yankee living in Georgia.
More data came in after Frank's death. In 1922, a reporter discovered that there were photos of bite marks on Mary's body, and concluded based on what was known about Frank's teeth that Frank could not have made those bites (Dinnerstein, p. 158; Oney, p. 617). The reporter's reward was to have his car forced off the road; for years, the data was suppressed.
Even more dramatically, in 1982, a witness came forward with evidence that Conley had lied about his part in the affair. Alonzo Mann, a boy who had been in the factory on the fatal day, had seen Conley carrying Mary Phagan's body around the time of her murder. What's more, he saw Conley with the body *on the first floor* and not in the presence of Frank; according to Conley's testimony, he had taken it from the second floor to the basement via the elevator, meaning that he should never have stopped on the first floor, and that Frank should have been with him even if he had (WebFlag). Having been threatened by Conley, Mann was advised by his mother to keep quiet at Frank's trial (F/T, p. 157). He did tell his story to a few people, but for a long time no one, not even the Jewish community, wanted to reopen old wounds (F/T, p. 148). Only much later did The Tennessean become interested and interview Mann. He took a polygraph test to verify his story. (Tennessean, p. 2.) He was also examined psychologically (F/T, p. 150). He passed both tests.
Several of the major witnesses against Frank had interesting careers in the years after his trial. Monteen Stover, the fourteen-year-old girl who claimed that Frank was not at his desk at the time the prosecution claimed the murder took place, would some years later be charged with being the lure in a "badger scam" to extort money from married men who had affairs (Oney, p. 618). George Epps, who had claimed Mary Phagan was afraid of Frank (an odd claim, given that she risked being alone with him when she collected her pay) was sent to a reformatory in late 1913 for stealing (Dinnerstein, p. 86). It was Jim Conley, though, who had a truly extraordinary record.
On November 1, 1915, Conley (who, you will recall, had a common law wife) was picked up in a "disorderly house." He escaped a prostitution charge by claiming he wanted to marry one of the girls -- and he was so popular that the judge and spectators put up the licence fee which he said he could not afford. But he was arrested *three times* for wife eating in the next three and a half months (Oney, p. 612). In 1919, he was injured in an attempt to burglarize a drug store, and was sentenced to twenty years. In 1941, he was arrested for gambling. In 1947, he was picked up for drunkenness. Dinnerstein, pp. 158-159, cites at second hand an obituary notice from 1962. Oney, p. 647, says that there is no record of his death though a witness in 1970 said he had died. WebFlag notes the lack of an obituary or death notice but cites the 1962 date.
A memorial to Mary Phagan was erected in 1915. One speaker went so far as to refer to her as "sainted" (Dinnerstein, p. 136). The inscription was written by none other than Tom Watson, according to WebFlag.
Although we have no absolute evidence for when this song was composed, it seems to be a pretty good reflection of the murderous mood in Georgia. It is also a fairly accurate reflection of the story told at the trial. The list below summarizes factual details listed in the various versions. I have listed the versions which contain each fact. I have also listed which statements are true, false, or disputed.
The versions cited are those of:
Burt1: The first full text of Burt, pp. 61-62, sung by Thelda Barris and collected probably around Ibapah, Utah, c. 1926; quoted by F/T (with incorrect stanza divisions), pp. 139-140. This version is fascinating in that it never mentions Leo Frank, which makes it seem that Newt Lee was the criminal. However, it cannot be an early version of the song, since it mentions Judge Roan and prosecutor Dorsey. The version of Cambiaire, interestingly, also seems to follow this outline, and does not mention Roan or Dorsey.
Burt2: a partial text of Burt, pp. 62-63, from Pearl Flake, who was originally from Atlanta though apparently she was working for Burt c. 1940 when the song was collected. F/T quote this on pp. 140-141.
Burt3: A fragment, printed by Burt, pp. 63-64 with no source listed and repeated by F/T on p. 141.
Cambiaire: From Cambiaire, p. 104. No source information given. The murderer is unnamed, and the trial is not mentioned.
Carson1: Fiddlin' John Carson, as given by Wiggins, Fiddlin' Georgia Crazy, and quoted by Oney, p. 492f.
Carson2: Fiddlin' John Carson, apparently as given in the Atlanta Constitution, August 18, 1915, and quoted by Oney, p. 571f. This seems to be the earliest report of the song, but I suspect the reporter managed to take down only part of it.
Eddy: Eddy, p. 252. A very incomplete text, which Eddy had from Mrs. Lawrence Davis of Perrysville, Ohio. In this, the version is called "Mary Pickford" (obviously an error for the actress, who however was still alive at the time Eddy collected the song!). I suspect fragments of other songs may have mixed with this -- it even appears to say that *Mary* called a policeman. The murderer is not named.
G/C: Gardner/Chickering, p. 144. Sung by Margaret Tuggle of Detroit but apparently learned in Virginia.
JAFL: Journal of American Folklore, 1918; quoted by Dinnerstein on pp. 166ff.
McNeil1: McNeil, Southern Folk Ballads II, p. 71, from Mrs. Artie Waggoner, Creston, Louisiana, 1977. In this the murderer is called "Leo Benton," presumably a mix-up with other ballads of this type.
McNeil2: McNeil, Southern Folk Ballads II, p. 72, from Reba Cheyne, Fort Smith, Arkansas, 1979. A defective version which appears to include primarily the early verses.
The historical details found in the versions are as follows:
* Correctly states that Mary worked in a pencil factory (versions of JAFL, Cambiaire, Carson1, Carson2, Burt1, Eddy, G/C, McNeil1, McNeil2)
* Correctly states that Mary was going to collect her pay (Carson1, Carson2, Burt1, Cambiaire, Eddy, G/C, McNeil1, McNeil2)
* Correctly states that Mary was very pretty (G/C)
* States, probably correctly, that Mary was going to see the Memorial Day parade (JAFL)
* Correctly states that the murder took place on a holiday, in this case, Confederate Memorial Day (JAFL, Carson1, Burt1)
* Correctly states that she went left home around 11:00 on the fatal day; she had the lunch of cabbage and bread that caused the forensics people so much trouble shortly after 11:00 and then set out for the trolley (JAFL, Carson1, Carson2; Burt1 and McNeil2 incorrectly give the time as 7:00)
* Correctly states that Jim Conley was given a year's sentence (though the song implies that Frank and Conley were tried together, which is false) (JAFL)
* Correctly states that the body was found in the basement (JAFL, Cambiaire, Carson1, Burt1, Burt2, McNeil1)
* Correctly states that Newt Lee found her body and was imprisoned for a time (JAFL, Carson1, Burt1; Cambiaire spells it "Nute Lee"; Burt2 calls him "Nemphon"; McNeil1 has "Jim Newt" -- perhaps combining "Jim Conley" and "Newt Lee"?)
* Correctly states that Lee was imprisoned for a time (JAFL, Carson1)
* Correctly states that Mary's mother was wild with grief (JAFL, Carson1, Burt1, Burt 2, Burt3, G/C, McNeil1)
* Correctly states that Solicitor H. M. [Dorsey] was the prosecutor (JAFL, Carson1, Burt1)
* Correctly states that Judge Roan tried the case (Carson1, Carson2, Burt1; McNeil1 calls him "Judge Long")
* States that Mary was murdered in the metal room, agreeing with the prosecution but not the defence (JAFL, Carson1, Burt1; McNeil1 and others call it the "little room"; Cambiaire has "middle room")
* States that Leo Frank called on Jim Conley to carry the body, agreeing with the prosecution but not the defence (JAFL, Carson1)
* States that "the janitor" lured Mary to a dreadful fate, agreeing with the defence but not the prosecution (Burt3, G/C)
* States incorrectly that "the janitor" let Mary into the factory (Burt3, G/C); since the factory was not locked, she would not have needed admission
* States incorrectly that Frank had children (JAFL); that may, however, be a holdover from its source, since the song is based on the "Charles Guitea"/"Murder of F. C. Benwell"/"Ewing Books" family.
* States incorrectly that Mary was "bound both hands and feet" (JAFL, Carson1); there was cord around her neck, but none on her hands and feet.
* States incorrectly that Mary was her mother's "sole support" (Burt3, G/C)
* States incorrectly that "the janitor," rather than Frank, was strung up (Eddy, G/C)
Looking at the versions, it appears that the song exists in three "states." In one, it seems to have ended with the discovery of the body and the police telling Newt Lee that he "must go" (presumably to prison). A second state, associated particularly with Fiddlin' John Carson, brings in Leo Frank, accuses him of the murder, and credits H. M. Dorsey with convicting him, but does not mention the appeals or the lynching. A third state mentions the lynching, though the versions I've seen seem to describe the janitor (i.e. Conley), rather than Frank, as being lynched.
The data is not sufficient to form an absolute conclusion, of course, but this would seem to imply three stages of composition: A very early version, in circulation before Frank's trial; a second completed after he had been convicted (and probably after Conley had been convicted also, given the mention of his sentence), and a third after the lynching. Possibly this last stage involved *two* rewrites, one to add the lynching, the other (perhaps northern) to blame Conley, and these two fused.
And, yes, I know that's an extremely complicated reconstruction based on very flimsy evidence! But how else to explain versions which explicitly blame Leo Frank, explicitly blame "the janitor," and implicitly blame Newt Lee? It's hard to see such changes happening by accident.
Few of the sources I've seen credit this song to an author, but Malone, p. 220, credits it to Fiddlin' John Carson, whose daughter Rosa Lee is credited with the first recording of it. His footnote lists several sources for the murder, but it's not clear how authorship was established. Dinnerstein, p. 121, says that Carson was singing the song at rallies in Georgia in this period -- but his footnote as to sources contains no reference to Carson. Oney, p. 491, cites Fiddlin' Georgia Crazy by George Wiggins as the source of the attribution, and says that Carson sang it during the hearing before Governor Slaton.
Nonetheless, I don't think the evidence quite strong enough to prove that Carson wrote the song (or, rather, the lyrics, since the tune is borrowed). He *does* seem to be particularly associated with the second version, which convicts Frank but does not mention the lynching. It strikes me as likely that he converted the first stage of the song to the second, and the evidence is strong that he made it popular enough that Vernon Dalhart recorded it -- and that, of course made it popular indeed. But I would not wish to bet on whether he wrote the first version. And I strongly doubt that the lynching version is his.
So who killed Mary Phagan? It is unlikely that we will ever be able to acquire any evidence beyond what has already been discussed. Alonzo Mann, the last significant witness, died soon after giving his testimony. Oney, p. 647, says that the physical evidence collected by Hugh Dorsey is gone. WebFlag notes that the National Pencil Company building was demolished June 6, 1994. Even if the family consented to having it exhumed (which seems unlikely), we can hardly hope to learn anything from Mary's body at this late date. Jim Conley's last resting place seems to be unknown, so we couldn't get DNA evidence from him under any circumstances. So all we have is the records of the evidence collected at the time. On this basis, Oney manages the curious summary that "the argument [will] never move beyond Conley's word versus Frank's" (p. 647). That is indeed the key point, but surely we can go beyond "He said, he said" to express probabilities.
(To give Oney his due, according to WebFlag, which reviews Oney's book, Oney is personally convinced that Frank is innocent and Conley guilty.)
Basically, we have three possible murderers: Leo Frank, Jim Conley, or an unknown someone else. There is no evidence for someone else, though we cannot deny the possibility given the ease with which many people entered the National Pencil building. (The one person we know was there at the time, Monteen Stover, seems never to have come under suspicion. Nor does she seem a likely suspect; I mention her only to show that the possibilities have not been fully examined.) However, if it were someone else, why would Conley have implicated Frank? And why write the murder notes if not to divert suspicion? (For this point see WebFlag.) Since Conley is unequivocally known to have carried the body, based on Mann's testimony, and also wrote the murder notes, he surely knew who committed the crime. Since he mentioned only himself and Frank, Conley's testimony strongly implies that either he or Frank did it.
If we look at the classic tests of a crime, "motive, means, and opportunity," we know that Conley had greater motive (either man might have had a sexual motive, but Conley also had robbery as a motive, plus we known that he had quite the sex life). Conley is known to have had the opportunity -- after all, Mann saw him carrying her body! By contrast, there is no evidence linking Frank directly with Mary, though he of course did see her on the day of her death. As for means, Conley was a strong man who could have overcome her; Frank was a weak man who was unlikely to win a battle to the death even with a thirteen year old, and he showed no scars of such a fight.
Also, nearly all testimony against Frank was either perjured (if a witness makes a claim and then denies it, we can hardly treat either claim as reliable, no matter what Georgia law said) or from very questionable sources such as Monteen Stover.
Finally, we have the known facts that Conley was a robber, and a wife-beater, and a drunk. His first accounts of the crime were perjured, and the "shit in the shaft" and the testimony of Alonzo Mann show that his final testimony was also perjured. I can imagine no reasons to commit perjury except to cover up crimes of his own (which must mean the murder of Mary Phagan) or to punish Frank somehow (which is hard to believe, given that Frank had kept him on the payroll despite his repeated petty crimes. Conley should have been incredibly grateful to Frank!)
Unlike Conley, Frank had no criminal record. Yes, he ran a company that was little more than a sweatshop, but that was the law at the time. Oney wonders why there were so many allegations of sexual impropriety against him, but ignores the fact that the witnesses didn't even agree on whether he was a homosexual, a heterosexual paedophile, or a fetishist (and very few people are all of these). Plus most of his accusers were ex-employees who might have carried a grudge. And, while many people claimed to have seen him having illicit liaisons, *no one every came forward admitting to being one of the liaisons*.
As best I can tell from Oney, only one of Frank's alleged conquests, a woman named Daisy Hopkins, was ever mentioned by name (Oney, p. 245; it was Conley who gave her name, and Oney, p. 247, shows that Conley knew nothing about her except a name, though one C. Brutus Dalton also mentioned her; Oney, p. 258). A Daisy Hopkins was brought before the court, and she denied any sexual relationship with Frank (Oney, pp. 265-266), though she apparently wasn't a very convincing witness (Oney, p. 268). Still, William Smith, who apparently knew her, later declared that he didn't believe there was such a liaison (Oney, pp. 436-437).
So my conclusion is that it is nearly certain that Jim Conley killed Mary Phagan. Dershowitz in the introduction to Dinnerstein, Dinnerstein himself, F/T, WebFlag , and the Tennessean all agree with this. It is probably impossible to prove beyond reasonable doubt at this stage, but it is clearly the highest probability. And even if Conley were innocent, he was still guilty of perjury, for which he was never tried.
The next highest probability is surely that, despite Jim Conley's behavior in accusing Frank, an unknown person (probably someone known to Jim Conley) committed the crime. In this case, the unknown person must also have had a hold on Conley. (Not unlikely, given Conley's history.)
Leo Frank is almost certainly innocent. Even if (perhaps a chance in a thousand) he were guilty, the testimony presented at his trial clearly was not enough for conviction. It wasn't even enough for a mistrial. Judge Roan should have declared him innocent and not even sent the case to the jury. But that would very likely have cost Roan his life (and, very possibly, Frank's as well; he would probably have been lynched before he could get out of the state).
After Alonzo Mann came forward, a first attempt to have Frank cleared failed when, amazingly, some of Mary's living relations objected (F/T, p. 153), but a second appeal succeeded. Frank's name was formally cleared in 1986 (F/T, p. .xix), 71 years after he died, an innocent man whose only crime was to be "different." Frank's wife Lucille had remained faithful to him all her life, but died in 1957 without seeing him given the justice he deserved.
Dinnerstein, p. 156, states that "With the Supreme Court so zealous in its defence of civil liberties today, it is extremely unlikely that another Frank case could occur." He wrote that in the days of the Warren Court. But the "convict 'em or else" mentality that motivated so much of what happened in the Frank case persists today, and increasingly the courts and legislatures are re-imposing the sort of "innocence is no excuse" rules that deny appeals not filed in a timely and legally correct way. The old-time singers often added the interjection "Young girls, take warning" to this song. But the real warning may be for us. - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 2.5
File: LF20

Mary Riley


See Mary Acklin (The Squire's Young Daughter) [Laws M16] (File: LM16)

Mary she went out one day


See The Gallant Soldier (Mary/Peggy and the Soldier) (File: HHH782)

Mary Smith, the Maid of Mountain Plain


DESCRIPTION: "Ye maids of Columbia... I beg your attention and now pity me"; he has been wounded by love. He spells out Mary Smith's name to describe her beauty and virtues. He wishes he were Adam and she Eve. He will wander forever if he can't gain her love
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1936 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love rejection wordplay
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H636, p. 235, "Mary Smith, the Maid of Mountain Plain" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9469
File: HHH636

Mary Thompson


DESCRIPTION: "In Manchester in Lancashire A damsel she did dwell, In service a long time she lived, Till this to her befell"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1910 (GreigDuncan2)
KEYWORDS: courting murder servant
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig #148, p. 2, ("In Manchester in Lancashire") (1 fragment)
GreigDuncan2 205, "Mary Thompson" (1 fragment)
Roud #2458
NOTES: The current description is all of the Greig/GreigDuncan2 fragment.
Greig: "Her sweetheart murdered her." - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: GrD2205

Mary Vickery and Connelly Donnelly


DESCRIPTION: Mary runs way from home. Her father thinks her dead. When a woman's body is found it is thought to be Mary. Conley is arrested for the murder. A jealous woman swears she saw him do it. He is sentenced to life. Mary returns and clears Conley.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1958 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: murder prison trial jealousy lie return pardon hiding
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Peacock, pp. 819-820, "Mary Vickery and Connelly Donnelly" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9806
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Return of Mary Vickery
NOTES: "Conley Dabney, sentenced to life imprisonment in 1926 for the supposed murder of Mary Vickery at Williamsburg, Ky., was freed when she returned home on Mar 19, 1927, to clear his name" -- from Country Music Sources by Guthrie T Meade Jr, p. 93 - BS
File: Pea819

Mary With Her Young Son


DESCRIPTION: "Then Mary took her young son, And set him on her knee, Saying, 'My dear son, tell me, Tell me how this world shall be.'" Jesus responds by foretelling his death and resurrection
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1931 (Terry)
KEYWORDS: Jesus religious
FOUND IN: Britain(England)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Bronson 54, "The Cherry Tree Carol" (Item #31 to this song, in the appendix, is this piece under the title "Mary's Question")
OBC 66, "The Cherry Tree Carol" (1 text (separated into smaller parts, the last being "Mary With Her Young Son"), 4 tunes)
Roud #453
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Cherry Tree Carol" [Child 54]
NOTES: The earliest extant version of these stanzas is in Sandys's version of "The Cherry Tree Carol," allowing the possibility that they are an original part of that ballad. But it is certainly not necessary to that ballad -- which is, of course, very episodic.
Of the thirty versions of "The Cherry Tree Carol" in Bronson (not all of which have complete texts), only two have this item in its full form, but many more have a brief section in which Joseph asks the unborn baby about the future. This could well have attracted a separate song on the same theme.
Thus it is equally possible that "Mary With Her Young Son" is a broken-off fragment *or* that it is a separate song grafted in. A. L. Lloyd, in his notes to the recording by The Valley Folk, is noncommittal, and Bronson's treatment is equally noncommittal.
There is, of course, no scriptural basis for any of this; although the adult Jesus repeatedly spoke of his future fate, only the Gospel of Luke mentions any foretellings before his ministry, and even that passage (Luke 2:49, "Didn't you realize that I must be in my Father's house?") is dated to the twelfth year of Jesus's life. - RBW
File: C054A

Mary Wore Three Links of Chain


DESCRIPTION: Floating religious verses with the chorus, "All my sins been taken away, taken away." Sample verses: "Mary wore three links of chain (x3), Ev'ry link bearing Jesus's name." "I don't know but I've been told (x3) Streets of heaven are paved with gold."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: religious Bible nonballad sin floatingverses
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
BrownIII 543, "Mary Wore Three Links of Chain" (1 text plus mention of 1 more)
Sandburg, pp. 474-475, "Mary Wore Three Links of Chain" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5027
RECORDINGS:
George Herod, "Sister Mary Wore Three Lengths (Links) of Chain" (on MuSouth07)
Bradley Kincaid, "Mary Wore Three Links of Chain" (Supertone 9666, 1930)
Dock Reed, "I'm Going Home on the Morning Train" (on NFMAla5)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Oh, Mary Don't You Weep" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Hand Me Down My Walkin' Cane" (lyrics)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
cf. "All Night Long" (floating verses)
NOTES: This is probably a religious adaption of "Hand Me Down My Walkin' Cane." Since, however, it seems to circulate widely on its own, it gets its own listing.
I sure hope I remember that I split them.... - RBW
File: San474

Mary, Mary, Brummagem Mary


DESCRIPTION: "Mary, Mary, Brummagem Mary, how does your allotment grow? You've 'ad some shy knock through workin' at Kynoch's, Althouh you don't mind we all know. You've never seen Arizona and Texas is not your abode, You're just Mary... what lives up Pairsher street"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1971 (Palmer)
KEYWORDS: home work nonballad derivative
FOUND IN: Britain(England(West))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
ADDITIONAL: Roy Palmer, _The Folklore of Warwickshire_, Rowman and Littlefield, 1976, pp. 149-150, "Mary, Mary, Brummagem Mary" (1 short text, 1 tune)
File: RPFW149A

Mary, my dear Mary


See The Wexford (Oxford, Knoxville, Noel) Girl [Laws P35] (File: LP35)

Mary, She Did Dream a Dream


DESCRIPTION: "Mary, she did dream a dream, As she was floating down the stream. When she woke, she gave a sigh, The grey cat kicked out the black cat's eye."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: animal dream fight
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 190, (no title) (1 fragment)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Gray Cat on the Tennessee Farm" (lyrics)
File: ScaNF190

Mary, The


See Captain Conrod (File: SmHa014)

Mary, the Maid of the Don


DESCRIPTION: "Nae mavis nor larkie sang blither than I" but Mary has left the singer and "caused me to roam." "Nae mair I'll herd sheep upon yon hills sae steep But I'll die for my Mary, the maid o' the Don."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (GreigDuncan6)
KEYWORDS: love separation nonballad shepherd
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig #110, p. 2, "Mary, the Maid of the Don" (1 text)
GreigDuncan6 1239, "Mary, the Maid of the Don"; GreigDuncan8 Addenda, "Mary, the Maid of the Don" (6 texts, 7 tunes)
Roud #6265
NOTES: This River Don is in Aberdeenshire. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD61239

Mary, the Pride of Killowen


DESCRIPTION: The singer describes the fine summer night when he emigrated from Coleraine and Mary. He recalls courting her, and says he will never forget the place or the girl He blesses the spot they met.
AUTHOR: Andrew Orr
EARLIEST DATE: 1847 (Derry Standard)
KEYWORDS: love separation emigration
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H26b, p. 250, "Mary, the Pride of Killowen" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13340
NOTES: In this particular instance, the song's author Andrew Orr did emigrate (to Australia). Whether the rest of the song is historical is not clear; it's interesting that he wrote at least one other song (Ann o' Drumcroon) with the same plot but a different heroine. - RBW
File: HHH026b

Mary, the Pride of the Shamrock Shore


DESCRIPTION: Henry returns and finds Mary with a squire. The squire is her true love now since her previous sweetheart "is no more." Henry kills the squire in a duel. Mary kills Henry and recognizes him by a private token. She is sentenced to life in jail.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(699))
KEYWORDS: courting murder prison fight return lover
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Peacock, pp. 630-631, "The Pride of the Shamrock Shore" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Pea630 (Partial)
Roud #9797
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(699), "Mary, the Pride of the Shamrock Shore," J. Catnach (London), 1813-1838; also 2806 c.9(26), Harding B 11(2377), "Mary, the Pride of the Shamrock Shore"
File: Pea630

Mary's Ass


DESCRIPTION: The singer mentions Mary, "a beautiful lass, And the song I will sing is about Mary's ass." She rode the beast, a gift from her uncle, regularly. At last it falls, knocking Mary off, and dies. It is buried, and the bad smell from the Ass Hole described
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1968
KEYWORDS: bawdy humorous animal
FOUND IN: Australia
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Meredith/Anderson, pp. 158-159, "Mary's Ass" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3351
File: MA158

Mary's Question


See Mary With Her Young Son (File: C054A)

Mary's Vision


See Mary o' the Dee (Mary's Dream) [Laws K20] (File: LK20)

Maryborough Miner, The


DESCRIPTION: The singer describes all the places where he has been digging. At Fitzroy River the boss calls him a loafer, so he burns his office and left. He tells further tall tales, ending "I'm a Maryborough miner, and I'm one of the good old time."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1934
KEYWORDS: mining work rambling
FOUND IN: Australia
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Fahey-Eureka, pp. 78-79, "The Maryborough Miner" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Murrumbidgee Shearer" (tune, theme)
NOTES: Fahey's version was collected by A.L. Lloyd, and he suspects Lloyd may have retouched it. The notes to Patterson/Fahey/Seal on "The Murrumbidgee Shearer" make this even more explicit: they declare this to be Lloyd's rewrite of that. - RBW
File: FaE078

Maryland! My Maryland


DESCRIPTION: "The despot's heel is on thy shore, Maryland, my Maryland." The state's heroic history is recalled; the singer wants and expects her to join the Confederacy: "Huzza! She spurns the northern scum! She breathes! She burns! She'll come!"
AUTHOR: Words: James Ryder Randall
EARLIEST DATE: 1861
KEYWORDS: Civilwar patriotic nonballad derivative
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
April, 1861 - Clashes between Massachusetts troops and the residents of Baltimore
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
RJackson-19CPop, pp. 130-133, "Maryland! My Maryland" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-CivWar, pp. 60-61, "Maryland, My Maryland" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hill-CivWar, pp. 195-197, "My Maryland" (1 text)
Krythe 9, pp. 142-149, "Maryland, My Maryland" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fuld-WFM, pp. 355-357, "Maryland, My Maryland -- (O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum!; Lauriger Horatius)"
ST RJ19130 (Full)
RECORDINGS:
Harry Macdonough, "Maryland, My Maryland" (CYL: Edison 2033, c. 1897)
Tandy Mackenzie, "Maryland, My Maryland" (Columbia 80320, n.d.)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "O Tannenbaum (Oh Christmas Tree)" (tune) and references there
cf. "General Lee's Wooing" (tune, subject)
NOTES: James Ryder Randall was a native of Baltimore. At the time of the Civil War he was teaching English at Poydras College in Louisiana. He wrote this poem on April 26, 1861, after hearing of the Baltimore riot; the piece was published in a New Orleans paper on May 5. Randall hoped it would help encourage Maryland to secede.
Randall's expectations were disappointed; Maryland never joined the Confederacy. The Union could not possibly allow it; the loss of Maryland would place Washington inside Confederate territory. The federal government moved quickly to prevent the state's succession. One side effect of this was the riots in Baltimore that inspired "Maryland! My Maryland."
Chances are, however, that Maryland would not have seceded. Baltimore favored the rebellion, but the rest of the state seems to have been Unionist. A fair number of Maryland citizens went south -- Lee's army contained a Maryland battalion -- but more served in the Northern armies.
The reference to the "patriotic gore / that flecked the streets of Baltimore" is, of course, to the Baltimore riots. "Carroll" is Charles Carroll, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. I believe "Howard's warlike thrust" refers to Major John Eager Howard, who led the handful of troops who cut their way out of a British trap at the Battle of Camden (1780).
It should be noted that the sung version of this song does not quite match the written version. In Randall's poem, the internal refrain was not "Maryland, my Maryland"; he used this only in the final line. The internal phrase was simply "Maryland." This was expanded to fit the tune. For a time the poem was sung to the tune "Manormandie," but this was not a success. The "O Tannenbaum" tune is said to have been fitted by a Baltimore girl, Jennie Cary.
Even though Randall's authorship was widely known, a few other names also circulated. Wharton's War Songs and Poems of the Southern Confederacy, for instance, credits it to Lamar Fontaine.
J. Franklin Jameson, Dictionary of United States History 1492-1895, Puritan Press, 1894, p. 541 gives this capsule biography of the author:
Randall, James R., born in 1839, wrote many popular songs in support of the Southern cause, among them "Maryland, My Maryland" and "The Battle-Cry of the South." He became editor of the Constitutionalist in 1866. - RBW
File: RJ19130

Mashering a Doo a Day


DESCRIPTION: Mashering a doo a day Mashering a doo a daddie, O, Mashering a doo a day"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1907 (GreigDuncan8)
KEYWORDS: drink
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan8 1752, "Mashering a Doo a Day" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Roud #13529
NOTES: The current description is all of the GreigDuncan8 fragment.
GreigDuncan8: "Mrs Gillespie does not remember the song, but thinks it may be 'Whisky, punch, and toddy O' [possibly [GreigDuncan4] 918 'Come All Ye Young Men That Want a Wife' which includes the words 'rum punch and toddy O']. The refrain partly occurs in [[GreigDuncan7] 1378 'Come Ye Inksmen' B ["The Old Maid's Song" (I)]. [This] is a refrain, and after each verse ends with the last line of that verse." - BS
I strongly suspect her memory is just a little off, and she is remembering a version of "Whisky in the Jar (The Irish Robber A) [Laws L13A]/The Irish Robber B (McCollister) [Laws L13B]." There are versions of that with a chorus very similar to this. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD81752

Maskin' Rung, The


DESCRIPTION: A maid puts off a young man by saying she'll meet him that night in the woods. She makes a "maid" from a masking rung, branches, and an old widow's clothes. This "maid" smiles but does not speak. When he lifts her skirt he sees he has been fooled.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan2)
KEYWORDS: courting clothes trick
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Greig #173, p. 2, "The Maskin Rung"; Greig #177, p. 2, "The Maskin Rung" (2 texts)
GreigDuncan2 323, "The Maskin' Rung" (8 texts, 6 tunes)
DT, MASKNRNG*
Roud #5868
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Battle of Harlaw" (tune of the chorus,according to GreigDuncan2)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Masculine Rung
The Holland Green
The Hollin It Grows Green
NOTES: Greig: "'masking rung' is defined as a rod for stirring malt in the mash-tub."
A number of the GreigDuncan2 texts have a title taken from the chorus: "For the holland grows, the holland grows, And the holland it grows green. There's nae a tree in a' the wood Like the birk and the holland green." - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: GrD2323

Mason Laddie, The


DESCRIPTION: "Leaning oer a window ...I spied a mason laddie who gave my heart a wound." She compares masons to ministers, millers, ploughmen, cobblers, weavers, and smiths, and prefers "my bonnie mason laddie" to each.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1845 (Whitelaw)
KEYWORDS: love work nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Greig #40, pp. 1-2, "The Bonnie Mason Laddie" (1 fragment)
GreigDuncan3 465, "The Mason Laddie" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
ADDITIONAL: Alexander Whitelaw, A Book of Scottish Song (Glasgow, 1845), p. 119, "The Mason Laddie"
Roud #5883
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Johnny Lad" (tune, per GreigDuncan3)
cf. "Sandy Ower the Lea" (tune, per Whitelaw)
cf. "The Masons" (subject: praise of masons)
cf. "The Bonnie Mason Laddie" (subject: praise of masons)
NOTES: Greig's text fragment is the first and last verses from Whitelaw's Book of Scottish Song. - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: GrD3465

Mason's Bonny Daughter, The


DESCRIPTION: "The mason's bonny daughter, The mason's lassie braw, Hey the mason's bonny daughter, She's stown me heart awa'"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan4)
KEYWORDS: love beauty
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan4 726, "The Mason's Bonny Daughter" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Roud #6160
File: GrD4726

Mason's Daughter, The


DESCRIPTION: Isabel refuses to marry her steward. He drugs and seduces her. She tries to kill her baby in a well. He rescues it. When Isabel admires the baby the steward reveales that it is hers. She murders the baby. The steward cries when she was arrested.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1907 (GreigDuncan2)
KEYWORDS: love seduction murder childbirth baby servant
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan2 196, "Fair Isabel" (1 text, 2 tunes)
Roud #3850
ALTERNATE TITLES:
In Fair London City
File: GrD2196

Masons, The


DESCRIPTION: The singer sees a bridge where masons are working. She praises their work and would give up her fortune to wed a mason. She admires smiths but "if it had not been for oor mason lads ye would all died of cold." She admires soldiers, printers and tailors.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1907 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: work nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig #40, p. 1, "The Mason Lads" (1 text)
GreigDuncan3 463, "The Masons" (5 texts, 5 tunes)
Roud #5644
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Bonnie Mason Laddie" (subject: praise of masons)
cf. "The Mason Laddie" (subject: praise of masons)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Freemasons
From the City to the New Toon
From the Seatown to the Newtown
NOTES: GreigDuncan3: "'Heard at Aberdour fifty-three years ago.'" [counting from 1909?] - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: GrD3463

Massa Had a Yaller Gal


See Don't Get Weary Children (Massa Had a Yellow Gal) (File: BAF904)

Massa Had a Yellow Gal


See Don't Get Weary Children (Massa Had a Yellow Gal) (File: BAF904)

Massacre of Glencoe, The


DESCRIPTION: Glencoe is wakened by cannon. "Naked mothers were shot with their babes as they ran, For the English had risen to murder the clan." Five hundred McDonalds are killed including Flora's Donald. She dies of grief. "The pride of Glencoe" are buried together.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1867 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 c.14(26))
KEYWORDS: battle burial death Scotland
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Feb 13, 1692 - The Massacre of Glencoe
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan1 115, "The Massacre of Glencoe" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Roud #5783
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 c.14(26), "Flora and Donald" or "The Massacre of Glencoe" ("O dark lour'd the night on the wide distant heather"), J. Harkness (Preston), 1840-1866
Murray, Mu23-y1:082, "Flora and Donald" or "The Massacre of Glencoe," James Lindsay (Glasgow), 19C
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.178.A.2(021), "The Massacre of Glencoe," James Lindsay (Glasgow), c.1856
NOTES: GreigDuncan1: .".. 13 February 1692 ...."
When Maclain of Glencoe, a MacDonald clan subdivision, was late in swearing loyalty to the crown, William III's forces, augmented by the MacDonald enemy Campbells killed 38 in Glencoe and forced "countless others into the snow-topped Scottish mountains (where many died)." (source: "British Timeline: Massacre of Glencoe 1692" at the BBC site). - BS
The Massacre of Glencoe remains controversial to this day. The reason is the complicated set of circumstances which led to it. In some ways it was just another case of clan-on-clan warfare (Campbells versus MacDonalds), and by no means the most bloody. But it ended up with a taint of royal favoritism and injustice -- and a deserved reputation as a "brutal crime" (Willson, p. 467).
The story, according to Thomson, p. xv, began "with the violent death of a Campbell chief in 1296[. T]he feud then went on for about 450 years. There were numerous clashes and cullings inflicted by both sides, among which the incident at Glencoe in 1692 just happens to have been the best publicised."
It became known because King William III (William of Orange) approved it.
The problem was that William III, who had come to power by ousting James II, was shaky on the throne. (The "Glorious Revolution" which brought him to the throne had happened as recently as 1689; see the notes to songs such as "Lilliburlero" and "The Vicar of Bray.")
Scotland in particular was restive, and the Highlands most restive of all. "The Jacobite Rising of 1689 had left the Highlands in a turmoil. The government hurriedly built a new garrison fortress at Fort William, at the head of Loch Linnhe, and troops were deployed at several other strategic points. These were men King William urgently needed in Flanders, where he was embroiled in a war with France. How was the problem to be settled?" (Magnusson, pp. 522-523).
"It is probable that the government, and especially the Joint-Secretary, Dalrymple, hoped that the recalcitrance of the Highland chiefs would provide a pretext for a crusade against them" (Mackie, p. 251).
"In the spring and summer of 1691 there were signs of unrest among the clans of the north-west, who had hopes of a French invasion; and the government distributed several thousands of pounds of bribes to keep them quiet, at the same time ordering the suspected chiefs to take an oath of allegiance before the fixed date of New Year's Day 1692. In anticipation of widespread refusals 'letters of fire and sword' were drawn up in the long accustomed form, ordering wholesale ravaging and slaughter" (Clark, p. 269).
"The kingÕs secretary of state in Scotland was now the lord advocate, Sir John Dalrymple, the Master of Stair. Dalrymple was an able and dedicated civil servant, totally committed to achieving the security and stability of the new regime. He saw the Highlands as a constant threat, and was convinced that the only way to establish law and order in Scotland was to make an example of one or another of the recalcitrant clans. He was also sure that few of the clan chiefs would submit to William voluntarily, and started drawing up grandiose plans for an exemplary punitive expedition" (Magnusson, p. 522).
"The time of year was carefully chosen. 'The winter time,' wrote Stair, 'is the only season in which we are sure the Highlanders cannot escape, and carry their wives, bairns, and cattle to the hills.... This is the proper time to maul them in the long dark nights" (MacLean, p. 143).
Not everyone views Stair's behavior in this light. Mitchison, p. 286, suggests that "Stair, in London, in the confidence of the King, wanted to see what negotiation would do. He took over Tarbat's scheme [of settling Highland quarrels by buying up disputed areas for the crown], but did not know or understand Highland issues -- he was impatient with the attitudes of the chiefs to William's sovereignty and did not appreciate their values and way of life.... To negotiate with the chiefs he rightly chose a Highlander who could go among them but unwisely chose a man whom nobody could ever begin to trust. The Earl of Breadalbane had never been known to do anything straightforwardly...."
(Tarbat's career was fascinating, incidentally -- he had gotten in trouble in the reign of Charles II, had wormed his way into favor with James II, but then managed to gain the trust of William III also; Prebble, p. 85. Talk about slick....)
Prebble, p. 87, describes what happened this way: "Joining in the clamour of voices and the prodigal expenditure of ink there came the Earl of Breadalbane, whom few men trusted but all credited with a umique knowlege of Highland robbers and murderers, being descended from a long line of them himself. He had no original proposal. He blandly took Tarbat's, with this difference -- he should treat with the chiefs, he should distribute the money among them. He had a plausible tongue, and he persuaded the King... to give him a commission 'to meet, treat and correspond with any of the Highlanders in order to reduce them to submission and obedience'. But if few men in the Lowlands could be found to trust the Earl of Breadalbane there were even fewer in the Highlands, and for the moment his commission was no more than paper in his pocket. He had not, in any case, been sent the money, and felt no obligation to move until he was."
The continued Jacobite threat (leading to the Battle of the Boyne) made William especially worried about Scotland. He wanted the place pacified, whatever it took. And the battle of the Haughs of Cromdale in 1690 (the real one, not the fictional story in the song of that name) inclined him to be forceful; Cromdale gave the government forces the initiative they had largely lost after Killiecrankie.
In practice, it hardly matters whether Stair preferred to use the carrot or the stick. He prepared both -- and in the end used both. "Tarbat's plan had miscarried because Stair was not the right man to carry it out, but the unity of the band of chiefs was gone" (Mitchison, p. 287). "By the end of the year it was clear that nearly all the clan chiefs were prepared to swear the required oath of allegiance" (Magnusson, p. 522). (It may not have been a sign that their allegiance to the Jacobite cause was waning; MacLean, p. 143, notes that "From his exile in France King James at the last moment authorized the chiefs to swear allegiance to his Dutch son-in-law.")
What happened next is somewhat unclear. What is certain is that the MacDonalds of Glencoe were not liked. Their chief "had fought at Killiecrankie and his men were reputed to be as troublesome as any in the Highlands" (Clark, p. 269). It sounds as if they raided Campbell lands on their way back from Killiecrankie, where of course they fought for the Stuarts (Prebble, pp. 71-72).
"The MacDonalds were thus still seen as semi-barbarian and the Glencoe branch of the family was particularly unpopular for its frequent raids on Glenlyon and Inverary" (Thomson, p. 83). "By the end of the sixteenth century it was agreed that the men of Glencoe were the most incorrigble and troublesome of the gallows herd, and had their land been as desirable and as accessible as Clan Gregor's they too might have come under the Crown's proscription" (Prebble, p. 45). The chief himself had already been imprisoned once, and was accused of executing some of his own men -- a severe crime by Highland standards (Prebble, p. 57). Plus, they had fought with Montrose on behalf of Charles I (Prebble, p. 48) -- though Prebble thinks this was because of the usual rivalry with the Campbells, not true loyalty to the Stuarts. And -- their chieftain was late to submit. (MacLean, p. 143, claims that he was one of only two chiefs -- the powerful MacDonell of Glengarry being the other -- not to take the oath on time.)
Thomson, pp. 84-85, takes a very low view of Alastair MacIain MacDonald, the twelfth chief of Glencoe. "He had spend some time acquiring polish in Paris.... The Glencoe MacDonalds had joined in virtually every raid southwards or eastwards since Alastair MacColla first mobilised the MacDonalds in 1645....
"Numerous mysteries still surround the massacre, not least with regard to the behavior of the 12th Chief.... [H]e had been accused of murdering some of his own men. He had been arrested in 1673 and imprisoned at Inveraray but then escaped." [Prebble, p. 58, says that no one knows how he pulled this off, but notes that it caused quite a stir.]
Thomson continues, "The other mystery about Alastair MacIain is why he made such a mess of his capitulation. He as an experienced campaigner and not a stupid man. Soon after the end of August 1691 he must have received the offer of pardon extended to all Highlanders by William of Orange as long as they reported to their local sheriff by 1 January of the following year. He knew that for him it meant a trip down to Inveraray, yet he left everything to he last minute and then reported to the wrong town, Fort William.... Then after a slow midwinter journey from Fort William to Inveraray he arrived too late and because it was the new year holiday had to wait another three days before being allowed to sign. Since the Sheriff, Colin Campbell of Ardkinglas, had been a heavy recent sufferer from Glencoe depredations it was not surprising that he made Glencoe sweat it out."
MacLean, p. 143, agrees that Glencoe's delay was "partly from dilatoriness and partly through the inclemency of the weather." Few other authorities are so willing to blame Glencoe. Clark, p. 269, says that he arrived late "by accident."
Magnusson, p. 523, declares, "By an extraordinary series of mishaps, Alasdair MacIain Macdonald of Glencoe had missed the deadline for taking the oath of binding loyalty to King William. He was one of the many chieftains who had waited for formal permission from 'the king across the water' to take the oath, which permission did not arrive in the Highlands until 28 December. With time running out fast, Macdonald set out at once and presented himself at the newly-built government fortress at Fort William on 31 December. But there he was told that the military commander could not accept the oath -- only the sheriff at Inverary could do that. Macdonald now had to make the freezing, ninety-five kilometre journey... carrying a helpful explanatory letter from the commander at Fort William. On the way he was stopped by a party of grenadiers who refused to accept the validity of the letter and held him for twenty-four hours. By the time he reached Inverary the deadline had passed.... His oath was forwarded to Edinburgh, but the government lawyers refused to accept responsibility for it."
"Some very underhanded dealings by the clerks of the Privy Council meant that the Council had not been officially informed that Glencoe had taken the oath; and Stair, who had been informed, stuck to it that all that mattered was that the time limit had been passed" (Mitchison, p. 287).
And so the government decided to use Glencoe as an example: they "were a much softer target [than the other chiefs who had not sworn], living in scattered huts at the foot of a glen which could easily be blocked at both ends. According to Dalrymple, they were also 'the only popish clan in the kingdom, and it will be popular to take severe course with them'; in fact, they were probably Episcopalian, if anything. But they were the ideal victims for a terrible and symbolic act of punishment to frighten everyone else into submission" (Magnusson, p. 523).
(The statement that the Glencoe sept was Episcopalian is probably based on the fact that they were part of the Highland Host of 1678 that tried to convert the Lowlands from Calvinism to episcopacy; Prebble, p. 59. However, a Catholic sept might well have supported episcopacy against Presbyterianisn; Prebble, p. 34, agrees with the claim that the MacDonalds were were Catholic.)
The glen was indeed a trap: "Running east to west along the northern border of Argyll, and eight miles in length, [the vale of Glencoe] is a deep scar left by the agony of Creation. It is an arm bent at the elbow, with sinews of quartz and muscles of granite. It is both fortress and trap, for the only natural entrances are at either end -- across Rannoch Moor in the east and by Loch Levenside in the west, and the high passes to the north and south lead ignorant men to higher hills only. Before the building of a road the Rannoch gate itself was frequently closed by winter snows and summer storms....
"Only the people of Glencoe, and the broken men of Clan Gregor who hid on its fringe, knew the paths across Rannoch.... The northern wall of the glen is a rippling, saw-toothed escarpment called Aonach Eagach, the Notched Ridge. It is three thousand feet and more in height, and unbroken except in the west where it twists sharply toward Loch Leven, dips, and rises again.... At the eastern end of Aonach Eagach is the only path to Glencoe from the north, a narrow, crooked path that climbs cautiously from the head of Loch Leven... It is rightly called The Devil's Staircase.... [O]pposite the Devil's Staircase [stands] Lairig Gartain, the green pass to Glen Etive in the south, and this too is no escape from or entrance to Glencoe..." (Prebble, pp. 19-20).
It was neither a large nor a productive territory, which never could field more than 150 swords, and so presumably never had more than about 500 people (Prebble, p. 27). The population seems to have been significantly less than that in 1689, even though the land was good (Prebble, p. 29). The glen did support about a thousand cattle, a major source of food for the winter (Prebble, pp. 30-31). There was no central keep or defensive fortification of any kind (Prebble, p. 28).
Little is known of the history of the MacDonalds of Glencoe. Although Alastair MacDonald was said to be the twelfth chief, we have no list; the number may be wrong (Prebble, p. 34). Indeed, Alastair is almost the only chief about whom we know anything: "He was born late in the third decade of the [seventeenth] century, with the red hair of his family, and he grew to an extraordinary height, six feet seven inches it was said. In his youth he went to Paris, where the sons of Highland chiefs were often sent to lacquer their splendid savagery and pride.... The death of his father brought him home in 1650" (Prebble, p. 34).
"[Alastair MacDonald] took a wife from among the Keppoch MacDonalds who, living to the north of Loch Leven, were the Glencoe men's constant companions in raiding and in war. By her he had two sons, John who would succeed him, and Alasdair Og, Alexander the Younger, a man of eager spirits and a hot temper. There was also at least one daughter, of whom little is known but her existance. John's wife was the daughter of the tacksman of Achtriachan, but Alasdair Og's came from outside the glen. She was Sarah Campbell, daughter of Campbell of Lochnell, great-granddaughter of a Breadalbane Campbell, and niece of the Glenlyon Campbell who would one day come to cut her husband's throat" (Prebble, p. 35).
How much William of Orange knew about the plan is uncertain; Clark, p. 269, says that Dalrymple "laid before the king an order for their extirpation. It is probable that the king did not read it: we know that he often signed papers so hurriedly that he did not know their contents." But whether he agreed with the idea or not, "his signature is still to be seen on the paper" (Clark, p. 269). The sept of Glencoe was to be destroyed.
"Hamilton [the commander of Fort William]... passed on the orders to Major Duncanson of the Earl of Argyll's regiment on 12 February 1692: '...pursuant to the commander in chief's orders for putting into execution the service against the rebels in Glencoe the orders are that none be spared'.
"That same day Duncanson wrote to Captain Robert Campbell of Glenlyon... 'You are hereby ordered to fall upon the rebels, the MacDonalds of Glencoe and to put all to the sword under seventy. You are to have a special care that the old fox and his sons upon no account escape your hands. This you are to put in execution at 5 of the clock precisely.' Thus, like so many war crimes over the centuries, the guilt was spread thinly from top to bottom" (Thomson, p. 85. MacLean, p. 145, has a copy of the written order).
Campbell, being a Campbell, had a grudge against the MacDonalds anyway, and he was not the sort to show mercy: "Captain Robert Campbell of Glenlyon, a kinsman of the Earl of Breadalbane... was sixty years old, an inveterate gambler, and in a notoriously hard-drinking age he drank harder than most" (Magnusson, p. 524).
The way the attack was carried out was particularly odious. The day before, "Robert Campbell actually dined with the head of the sept, who was totally unaware of the plot about to be murderously carried out" (Fry/Fry, p. 180). "Rather more than a hundred soldiers from Fort William, most of them highlanders of Argyll's regiment, were quartered on the valley. After living amicably with their hosts for more than a week they set about the work of massacre" (Clark, p. 269).
"[Campbell's] obedience [to the order for massacre] is even less remarkable when we remember that it was mainly the Glencoe MacDonalds who had caused his ruination by so many raids on his farms. They had also recently burned down the castle of Achallader, south of Glencoe, which belonged to his cousin, Campbell of Glenorchy. What is more surprising -- and this is the main reason why Robert Campbell's reputation has remained so black -- is that if he was aware of the purpose of his expedition to Glencoe for the ten days between arriving there and receiving his final orders, how could he bear to enjoy the MacDonalds' hospitality to hypocritically for all that time? This dishonesty was made even more objectionable by the fact that his own niece was married to one of Alastair MacIain's sons and was living in the glen" (Thomson, p. 86).
"At about five in the morning the next day the Campbells rose quietly and crept toward the homes of the Macdonalds, and in a few swift minutes slaughtered thirty-eight people, including two women and a child of six" (Fry/Fry, p. 180).
The only good news is that the massacre was not as complete as intended. "It was a botched affair -- the passes were to have been closed by Argyll's followers and by troops from Fort William, but many of the victims got through in spite of the bad weather that the high mountains bring down upon the narrow glen" (Mitchison, p. 287). "It was snowing hard, and additional contingents from Fort William and Ballachulish who were intended to block off the escape routes did not arrive in time.
"At five in the morning, two of Glenlyon's officers burst into the house of 'the old fox' at Carnoch and shot him as he was getting out of bed. The sound of gunfire there, and in another house at Achtriachtan, alerted the rest of the Macdonalds, who ran, half-naked, for the icy sanctuary of the hills. Both of Alasdair MacIain Macdonald's sons, and his baby grandson, escaped. Nevertheless, at least thirty-eight of the clan -- men, women, and children -- were systematically slaughtered; many others died in the raging snowstorm" (Magnusson, pp. 524-525).
"Parties of soldiers went from cottage to cottage, slaughtering the sleeping MacDonalds and setting light to their houses. MacIain himself was shot by one of his guests of the night before. A Campbell soldier gnawed the rings from Lady Glencoe's fingers with his teeth. A child of six, who clung, begging for mercy, to Glenlyon's knees, was promptly dispatched. As the massacre proceeded, snow began to fall. Some of the inhabitants of the glen were able to escape in the confusion. Others died in the snow" (MacLean, pp. 144-146).
"The final mystery about Glenlyon is that, given the fact that he did so totally deceive the unsuspecting MacDonalds... why did he not do a better job of exterminating them? ... He had not obeyed his orders very thoroughly; indeed, he had left people alive who could act as witnesses of the way he had behaved. And he managed to lose three of his own men as well... Of the roughly 150 men who took part in the massacre, under 10 per cent were Campbells, but these included the commanding officer, two junior officers and a corporal" (Thomson, p. 86).
"Such was the public outcry that the Scottish parliament was forced to react when it met in March 1693. A committee was appointed to look into the Massacre, but its report was not published and nothing was done. Two years later, as public revulsion showed no signs of abating, a royal commission was appointed to examine the chain of events leading up to the events at Glencoe. It published its report a month later, in June 1695. This time there was no cover-up: the Massacre had been an act of murder, and the government was condemned for having 'barbarously killed men under trust'. There had to be a scapegoat; the blame was laid squarely at the door of Dalrymple, who resigned his office as secretary of states, unrepentant but totally discredited" (Magnusson, p. 525).
"In due course, however, Stair was rewarded with an earldom, while Campbell of Glenlyon was promoted to colonel" (MacLean, p. 147).
"The earl of Breadalbane, who had acted with [Dalrymple/Stair], was charged with high treason, but never brought to trial. That was all that was done to punish the offenders" (Clark, p. 270).
William III "attempted to deny prior knowledge of the plot, but the documents showed otherwise and he was never trusted again in Scotland" (Fry/Fry, p. 180).
"In its immediate object terrorism succeeded, as it usually does. The resistant chiefs made their peace at once. Within a fortnight of the slaughter Colonel Hill had occupied Glengarry and Castle Eilean Donan, and was expecting the submission even of McNeill of Barra. But though the clans yielded to the threat of force the basic cause of discontent in the growth of Campbell power remained.
"William's government to the end of his reign rested on uncertain foundations. Jacobitism remained an open, or openable, question far longer in his northern kingdom than in England" (Mitchison, p. 288).
"The general execration of the deed helped to build up the British sense of justice and humanity. There were still to be scenes of cruelty in the Highlands as long as the Stuarts called their friends to arms; but never again were the worst methods of frontier warfare combined with the worst methods of secret police" (Clark, p. 270).
"Despite William's concessions, Scotland was never reconciled to his rule, and bitterness in England was greatly increased by a commercial failure in 1799" (Willson, p. 467).
It will be observed that the song bears almost no resemblance to the actual masssacre: The first shots were not fired by artillery, and the casualties in the song are exaggerated more than tenfold. You almost wonder if the song might not be about another clan-on-clan massacre. Except -- it blames it all on the English.... - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 2.5
File: GrD1115

Massacre of ta Phairshon, Ta


DESCRIPTION: "Phairshon (MacPherson) swore a feud Against the Clan MacTavish And marched into their land...." His small force quickly disperses to chase cattle. He encounters his rival; they exchange insults, and Phairshon is killed
AUTHOR: Aytoun and Martin?
EARLIEST DATE: 1904 (Ford); reputedly composed 1844
KEYWORDS: feud death humorous
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 287-290, "Ta Massacre of ta Phairshon" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13100
NOTES: Said to be based on an extended party joke, and with about that level of quality. - RBW
File: FVS287

Master Had a Bran' New Coat


See Jinny Go Round and Around (File: R272)

Master McGrath


DESCRIPTION: The great Irish greyhound wins the Waterloo Cup, beating Rose, "the pride of all England." (The two dogs discuss their respective countries. The owners bet large sums. The Irish celebrate the fact that their dog was better than an English dog.)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1926 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: racing dog gambling
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1868, 1869, 1871 - Years in which Master McGrath, a hound belonging to Lord Lurgan, won the Waterloo Cup
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (6 citations):
SHenry H161c, pp. 32-33, "A Ballad of Master M'Gra[th]" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hodgart, p. 215, "A ballad of Master McGrath" (1 text)
OLochlainn 33, "Master McGrath" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hayward-Ulster, pp. 61-62, "A Ballad of Master McGrath" (1 text)
DT, MASMCGR*
Richard Hayward, Ireland Calling (Glasgow,n.d.), p. 16, "The Ballad of Master McGrath" (text, music and reference to Decca F-2604 recorded Oct 4, 1931)
Roud #3041
NOTES: The date and master id (GB-3359) for Hayward's record is provided by Bill Dean-Myatt, MPhil. compiler of the Scottish National Discography. - BS
File: Hodg215

Master of the Sheepfold, The


DESCRIPTION: Cho.: "The Master guards the sheepfold bin/Comes and calls, is my sheep brung in?/And he's calling...for them all to be gathering in." The Master calls the sheep; the shepherd says some are lost, but the rest will come. The Master goes out and gathers
AUTHOR: Sarah Pratt McLean Greene
EARLIEST DATE: 1986 (recording, Art Thieme)
LONG DESCRIPTION: Cho.: "The Master guards the sheepfold bin/Comes and calls, is my sheep brung in?/And he's calling, calling...for them all to be gathering in" The Master calls the sheep; the shepherd answers that some are wan, weathered, lost or good-for-nothing, but the rest will come. The Master goes out on the wind and rain path, lets down the bars to the sheepfold, and gently calls the sheep to come in; they do
KEYWORDS: religious sheep
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
DT, SHEEPFOL
RECORDINGS:
Art Thieme, "The Master of the Sheepfold" (on Thieme04) (on Thieme06)
NOTES: Please pardon a personal remark: this song is unlike any other I've heard in the emotional effect it creates from a spare lyric; the only comparison, I think, is with Blind Willie Johnson. - PJS
Although Art Thieme comments that the song, "means different things to different folks," there is little doubt that it comes from the New Testament images of Jesus and the sheep, e.g. John 10:7-16, especiallay v. 14: "I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me." Compare also the parable of the lost sheep (Matt. 18:12f., etc.). - RBW
File: DTsheepf

Master Watch, The


See The Master-Watch (File: Doy77)

Master-Watch, The


DESCRIPTION: While men are preparing for the seal hunt, an old man reminisces in a long nostalgic monologue about the days when he used to go sealing. He dies at the end of his recital.
AUTHOR: Dan Carrol
EARLIEST DATE: 1940 (Doyle)
KEYWORDS: recitation age hunting
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Doyle2, p. 77, "The Master-Watch" (1 text)
Blondahl, pp. 81-82, "The Master-Watch" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ryan/Small, p. 118, "The Master Watch" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Doy77 (Partial)
Roud #4423
NOTES: The author, Dan Carrol (1865-1941), was a wood carver and poet from St. John's. He seems to have published poems mostly in local newspapers and they have a collection of these at the Memorial University of Newfoundland library. - SH
File: Doy77

Masters in This Hall


DESCRIPTION: "Masters in this hall, hear ye news today." The singer announces the good news "brought from oversea" of the birth of Jesus. The shepherds go to visit the child.
AUTHOR: Words: William Morris
EARLIEST DATE: 1860 ("Antient (sic) Christmas Carols"); the tune is said to be French and to predate the lyrics
KEYWORDS: Christmas religious
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (3 citations):
OBC 137, "Masters in this Hall" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 375, "Masters In This Hall" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Ian Bradley, _The Penguin Book of Carols_ (1999), #51, "Masters in This Hall." (1 text)
RECORDINGS:
Pete Seeger, "Master in This Hall" (on PeteSeeger42)
File: FSWB375C

Matha Grove


See Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard [Child 81] (File: C081)

Matin Je Me Leve, Un (One Morning I Get Up)


DESCRIPTION: French. A young soldier is being sent away for six years; he comes to his beloved's chateau to tell her. She despairs; he says other young men of the village will entertain her in his absence. She says they will never take his place in her heart
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1956 (recording, Mrs. Louis Amirault & Mrs. Sephora Amirault)
KEYWORDS: courting love farewell parting separation foreignlanguage lover soldier war
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
RECORDINGS:
Mrs. Louis Amirault and Mrs. Sephora Amirault, "Un Matin Je Me Leve" (on NovaScotia1)
File: RcUMJMLe

Matt Hyland


DESCRIPTION: A lord's daughter loves Matt. "But when her parents came to know, They swore they'd drive him from this island." The girl bids Matt flee before he is transported. Eventually her father relents, and she bids him come home to marry her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1825 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 c.18(344))
KEYWORDS: nobility love separation exile transportation servant
FOUND IN: Britain(England(South)) Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Morton-Ulster 1, "Matt Hyland" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MATTHYL
Roud #2880
RECORDINGS:
Liz Jefferies, "Matt Highland" (on Voice06)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 c.18(344), "Young Mat Hyland," W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also 2806 b.9(235), 2806 c.15(139), "Mat Hyland"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Young M'Tyre" (plot)
cf. "Erin's Lovely Home" [Laws M6] (plot)
cf. "Henry Connors" [Laws M5] (plot)
cf. "Richie Story" [Child 232] (plot)
cf. "The Kitchie-Boy" [Child 252] (plot)
NOTES: This song has been claimed by Irish and Scottish sources, and I've also heard it sung by English singers. Interestingly, all the versions are very close, suggesting there is some single, recent source. This theory is supported by the ornate language, so atypical of traditional song. But no one seems to know what the source is.
There are several broadsides, at least one dated c. 1825 (though such datings are notoriously unreliable), entitled "Mat Hyland" or "Young Mat Hyland." None match the traditional text commonly sung; they are without exception wordier and poorer poetry. Still, they provide a strong indication that the song originated as a broadside -- though these prints (e.g. in the Bodleian collection) are probably not the original source, as no tune seems to be indicated!
In addition, a manuscript volume called "Songs and Ballads in use in the Province of Ulster...1845" is said by Hugh Shields to contain a version of the song, but I do not know if the dating of the volume is considered reliable. Still, there seems no doubt that the song was in existence by the early nineteenth century. - RBW
File: DTmatthy

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (I)


DESCRIPTION: A child's prayer, asking the apostles for a blessing: "Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John / Bless the bed that I lie on / Four bright angels at my bed / Two at the bottom and two at the head / Two to hear me as I pray / And two to bear my soul away"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1891 (Baring-Gould); original probably from 1656 (Ady, according to Opie-Oxford2)
KEYWORDS: nonballad religious
FOUND IN: US(Ap,NE)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Flanders/Olney, p. 33, "White Paternoster (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) (1 short text)
Chase, p. 209, "The Bedtime Prayer" (1 text)
Opie-Oxford2 346, "Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John" (4 texts)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #548, p. 221, "(Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)"
ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #457, "Before Sleeping" (1 composite text, of a number of children's prayers; it may have inspired some later uses of the text.)
ST FO033 (Full)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Go And Dig My Grave" (lyrics)
cf. "The Little Beggar Boy" (floating verses)
cf. "Old Lead (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John II)" (lyrics)
NOTES: The first two lines of this piece can be dated to Thomas Ady in 1656 -- but could easily have been used in another context. Similar pieces are common e.g. Montgomerie-ScottishNR 95 runs "Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Hold the horse till I leap on; Hold it succar, hold it sure, Till I win o'er the misty moor". Peter and Iona Opie, I Saw Esau: Traditional Rhymes of Youth, # 84, is similar: "Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Joh, Hold the horse till I leap on; When I leapt on I could not ride; I fell off and broke my side" (also in Opie-Oxford2 #347, p. 305); they suspect this is a hobby horse rhyme.
I'm not really convinced, e.g., the Chase and Flanders/Olney texts are the same -- but how do you separate two pieces with the same words and no tune? - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: FO033

Matty Broon's Soo (Tam Gibb and the Soo)


DESCRIPTION: Song with recitation. Tam's wife says they could afford a pig. He goes to buy Matty's sow. Old lovers, they fall to joking; he leaves lightheaded. The sow does not want to follow; when he trips over a stone, it escapes him; he says he likes fish anyway
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan3); 19C (broadside, NLScotland L.C.Fol.70(51))
KEYWORDS: animal commerce humorous escape
FOUND IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Greig #162, pp. 1-2, "Tam Gibb and the Soo" (1 text)
GreigDuncan3 497, "Tam Gibb and the Soo" (3 texts, 2 tunes)
SHenry H671, p. 22, "Matty Broon's Soo" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5879
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(51), "Tam Gibb and His Sow," unknown, c. 1880-1900
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Tam Broon and His Soo
NOTES: Apparently broadside Bodleian, 2806 c.11(253), "Tam Gibb, and the Sow" ("Quo Nell my wife, the ither day"), unknown, no date is this song but I could not download and verify it. - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: HHH671

Matty Groves


See Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard [Child 81] (File: C081)

Maud Wreck


See The Wreck at Maud (Al Bowen) (File: LSRa272H)

Maurice Crotty


DESCRIPTION: Green hand Crotty understands nothing about sealing. When the Dan reach the seals Crotty boxes with a big one until he is rescued. Crotty is thankful the seal's breath smelled of whisky, else he might have been beaten to death
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1900 (Burke & Oliver)
KEYWORDS: fight rescue hunting ship humorous animal
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Peacock, pp. 73-74, "Maurice Crotty" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lehr/Best 74, "Maurice Crotty" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Ryan/Small, pp. 86-87, "Maurice Crotty"; p. 88, "The Spring of the Wadhams" (2 texts, 1 tune)
ST Pea073 (Partial)
Roud #6649
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Grandfather Bryan" (tune)
NOTES: According to Ryan/Small, "1852 is generally known and spoken of as the 'Spring of the Wadhams.'" Seals were found very plentiful in the vicinity of the Wadhams, (islands located in Notre Dame Bay S.E. of Fogo Island), and the majority of vessels were caught in a fearful gale of NNE wind which caused great destruction to the fleet." - RBW
File: Pea073

Maurice Hogan's Song


DESCRIPTION: The singer, now sixty-four, compares the happy "dark depression days" of his youth to the go-go girl, T.V., mini-skirt-changed times he sees now. "O how I long for those bright days"
AUTHOR: Maurice Hogan
EARLIEST DATE: 1977 (Lehr/Best)
KEYWORDS: age lament nonballad
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Lehr/Best 75, "Maurice Hogan's Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Good Old Days of Adam and Eve" (theme) and references there
NOTES: As best I can tell, all the many songs in which old guys complain about young women's casual clothing (and there are many; see the cross-references) come from guys who aren't having the slightest luck with said young women.... - RBW
File: LeBe075

Maurice Kelly


DESCRIPTION: "Maurice Kelly one night when about three parts loaded" is beaten by a ghost. "Twas Kelly's wife dressed up in white to keep him from drinking... he got such a fright he won't stir after night But right after supper goes ... straight off to bed."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield)
KEYWORDS: fight drink humorous wife ghost
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Greenleaf/Mansfield 78, "Maurice Kelly" (1 text, 1 tune)
Leach-Labrador 122, "Kelly and the Ghost" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MAUKELLY*
Roud #16894
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Kate and Her Horns" [Laws N22] (gimmck)
File: GrMa078

Mautman, The


DESCRIPTION: The mautman arrives to demand his pay, "or maut ye'll ne'er get mair." He says it is very good maut, but she complains of the"unruly crew" that "pierc'd my dochter's barrel." (The answer is that kissing is no sin, else so many would not do it.)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1827 (Kinloch)
KEYWORDS: food seduction sex money
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Kinloch-BBook XXIX, pp. 86-88, "The Mautman" (1 text)
Roud #5508
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Kissing's No Sin (I)" (lyrics)
cf. ÒBehave Yoursel' Before Folk" (theme of avoiding public kissing)
NOTES: The Kinloch text of this song seems to be composite; the first part is an argument about seducing an auld wife's daughter, in very irregular meter. It then breaks into a much more regular section stating that "some say kissing's a sin, but I think it's nane ava, For kissing has been in the world When there was but only twa."
Ewan MacColl has a fragment, "Kissing's No Sin," with only that second part, followed by a part about how lawyers and others go kissing. The latter also appears in "The Hog-Tub." The nature of the dependence is not clear to me given the small number of texts I've seen. - RBW
File: KinBB29

Maw Bonny Gyetside Lass


See The Gyetside Lass (File: StoR182)

Maw Canny Hinny


DESCRIPTION: "Where hes te been, maw canny hinny? An where hes te been, maw bonny bairn?" The singer tells of all the places she(?) has looked for him, and the people she has talked to. He describes what he has been doing
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay)
KEYWORDS: questions reunion
FOUND IN: Britain(England(Scotland)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Stokoe/Reay, pp. 156-157, "Maw Cann Hinny" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST StoR156 (Partial)
Roud #3168
NOTES: This is a difficult song to describe; it spends to much time talking about people and places that it becomes almost a moniker song. The Stokoe version, at least, has a curious change in mid-song: After seven verses with the same chorus, the last two use two different choruses. - RBW
File: StoR156

Maxwell's Doom


See Ewing Brooks (Maxwell's Doom) [Laws E12] (File: LE12)

May Colven


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

May Day Carol


DESCRIPTION: The singer has been wandering and will return with a branch of may. It is to celebrate the Lord's handiwork (in bringing forth the plants in spring). The singer wishes the listeners well: "God bless you all both great and small And send you a joyful May."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1928 (de la Mare)
KEYWORDS: religious ritual carol
FOUND IN: US(Ap) Britain(England)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Ritchie-SingFam, pp. 238-239, "[May Day Carol]" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ritchie-Southern, p. 52, "The May Day Carol"; p. 86, "Cambridgeshire May Song" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
DT, MAYCAROL MAYCAR2
ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #18, "Song of the Mayers" (1 text)
Roud #305
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Moon Shines Bright (The Bellman's Song)" (lyrics)
NOTES: The two May carols in Ritchie-Southern are so different that I almost split them. This is a distinct problem with May songs; Roud lumps a great variety (many of them clearly distinct) under his #305. I've split a lot of them, but in the case of the Ritchie songs, I lump them because they have many of the same words plus tunes which, while not identical, look as if they might have come from the same original. - RBW
File: JRSF238

May Day Song


See Padstow May Day Song (File: K086)

May I Go With You, Johnny?


See The Girl Volunteer (The Cruel War Is Raging) [Laws O33] (File: LO33)

May I Sleep In Your Barn To-Night, Mister


See Can I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight? (File: R841)

May Irwin's Frog Song (The Foolish Frog, Way Down Yonder)


DESCRIPTION: "Way down yonder in Pasquotank, Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank, They jump so high they break their shank, The old grey goose went 'yankety-yank.'"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1913 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: animal humorous talltale
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BrownIII 189, "Way Down Yonder in Pasquotank" (1 fragment); also 435, "The Dummy Line" (2 short texts; the "B" version is a mixed text that seems to be mostly this with a "Some Folks Say a Nigger Won't Steal" verse)
Roud #15891
NOTES: This is a confusing situation. I have met this chorus only once in tradition, in the form quoted above from Brown. But folkies will know it from Pete Seeger's "Foolish Frog." That is apparently a tall tale concocted by Charles Seeger based on a vaudeville item called "May Irwin's Frog Song." Hence the title I use. Beyond that I cannot trace the piece.
May Irwin was a notable popular singer who was at the height of her powers in the 1890s; In Sigmund Spaeth's A History of Popular Music in America she is credited with the song, "Mamie, Come Kiss Your Honey Boy" (pp. 265-266), and with popularizing George M. Cohan's "Hot Tamale Alley"(pp. 282, 339) as well as such songs as "I Couldn't Stand to See My Baby Loose" (p. 347) and "Mister Johnson, Turn Me Loose" (p. 285). Her biggest success of all was apparently "May Irwin's Bully Song," written by Charles E. Trevathan; it is indexed as "The Bully of the Town [Laws I14]," though most folk versions are far removed from the May Irwin original - RBW
File: Br3189

May Morning Dew


DESCRIPTION: Winter is pleasant but summer is coming with memories of old times when "we tripped through the heather" The old house has fallen, garden overgrown, and all the neighbors "like the red rose they are faded from the May Morning Dew"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1979 (Tunney-StoneFiddle)
KEYWORDS: flowers nonballad family home
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Tunney-StoneFiddle, pp. 30-31, "May Morning Dew" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MAYMRNDW
Roud #5405
RECORDINGS:
Kitty Hayes, "May Morning Dew" (on IRClare01)
File: DTmaymor

May Peace and May Plenty Her Footsteps Attend


DESCRIPTION: A toast "to the lass wi' the lang pedigree": "to the poor and the lowly she's aye been a friend"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1910 (GreigDuncan8)
KEYWORDS: virtue nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig #155, p. 2, ("May peace and may plenty her footsteps attend") (1 fragment)
GreigDuncan8 1926, "May Peace and May Plenty Her Footsteps Attend" (1 text)
Roud #15446
NOTES: Greig: "Mr Mowat ... gives a verse of a song written in honour of Lord Clinton's mother, and sung at her Majority Banquet in 1857." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD81926

May Pole Song, The


See All Around the Maypole (File: BSoF706)

May Queen, The


DESCRIPTION: "Our Queen up the river And we'll keep her there forever with your yah-yah-yah ... Your Queen down the river ... Our Queen can tumble a pole ... birl her leg ... smoke a fag ... ate a hard bap ... The darkie says he'll marry her Because she is a Queen"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1978 (Hammond-Belfast)
KEYWORDS: bragging ritual nonballad
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Hammond-Belfast, pp. 14-15, "The May Queen" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Hammond-Belfast describes Belfast May Day rituals and children's May Queen parades. "The encounters with rival Queens are always exciting and vituperative. Modesty and restraint are not predominant features of the occasion." - BS
File: Hamm014

Maybe I'll Be Mairriet Yet


See He Wears a Bonnet for a Hat (File: GrD4796)

Maybe I'll Be Married Yet


See He Wears a Bonnet for a Hat (File: GrD4796)

Mayn Yingele (My Little Son)


DESCRIPTION: Yiddish: The father comes home to his little boy, whom he sees "only while he sleeps." The mother tells him that he is a fine boy but he misses his father. But father can only be there while the child sleeps; he must work all day
AUTHOR: Morris Rosenfeld
EARLIEST DATE: 1887
KEYWORDS: work family separation foreignlanguage
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Scott-BoA, pp. 290-291, "Mayn Yingele (My Little Son)" (2 texts (1 English, 1 Yiddish), 1 tune)
File: SBoA290

Mayogall Asses, The


DESCRIPTION: The singer describes a "cavalcade of donkeys" taken to Mayogall. The animals, in all sorts of conditions, are set to carry a load of cabbages to market. The driver convinces the animals to come, where he sells cabbages and animals both
AUTHOR: Words: James O'Kane
EARLIEST DATE: 1926 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: animal commerce
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H130, pp. 26-27, "The Mayogall Asses" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13350
NOTES: When I read this, I get the feeling something has been lost -- it seems completely pointless.
The story of Saul and his father's missing donkeys is told in 1 Samuel 9:3-10:16. - RBW
File: HHH130

Mayor of Waterford's Letter, The


DESCRIPTION: The letter is addressed to the Archbishop of Dublin. It makes the argument for the legitimacy of Henry's claim and ridicules the claim of Lambert, now in the Tower of London. It critisizes the archbishop's silence and asks for reconciliation.
AUTHOR: John Butler (Mayor of Waterford), James Rice, Wm Lyncolle (source: manuscript quoted by Croker-PopularSongs)
EARLIEST DATE: 1487 (quoted in Dr Smith's _History of Waterford_, according to Croker-PopularSongs)
LONG DESCRIPTION: O thou most noble pastour, chosen by God, Walter, Archbishop of Dublin." The song hopes that the traditional closeness between the people of Dublin and Waterford, "now late broken of thy parte onely," be restored. It claims "that Henry vijth is king" by descent on his mother's side, like Christ, and other kings of England. It claims his marriage to Elizabeth [heir presumptive], "maried both by amiable accord" settles the matter. It recounts his claims, including "bull papall ... affirming theis titles." Of the opposition to Henry "if thow be cause for this perversitie ... We know it not; but certaine we can saie, Thou keepest silence, and said not once nay" The claim of Lambert, "now kept in the Tower of London," is ridiculed. "It is tyme for you to be reconciled ... Correct yourself." "Thinke not in us no malice."
KEYWORDS: rebellion England Ireland nonballad political religious clergy royalty Jesus
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1485-1509: Reign of Henry VII (associated with Elizabeth of York until her death in 1503)
1487 - Battle of Stoke. Defeat of the forces supporting Lambert Simbel
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 293-312, "The Mayor of Waterford's Letter" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Thomas Kinsella, _The New Oxford Book of Irish Verse_ (Oxford, 1989), pp. 130-131, "A Letter Sent by the Mayor and Inhabitants of Waterford unto Walter, archbishop of the Citie of Dublin, the Mayor and Citizens of the same, in the time of their Rebellion" (1 text, excerpted from Croker)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Praise of Waterford" (structure)
NOTES: Croker-PopularSongs: The texts of "The Mayor of Waterford's Letter" and "The Praise of Waterford" are included in "the collection of some laborious antiquary about the end of the reign of Elizabeth.... 'Ballad royal,' or rhyme royal, was the name given to the measure in which the ballads or songs about Waterford are written: each verse has seven ten-syllable lines with an a/b/a/b/b/c/c rhyme scheme.
"To the end of his reign Henry [VII] was troubled by Yorkist claimants to the throne and by pretenders... In the autumn of 1486 ... came disturbing news of a pretender, claiming to be the young Warwick, who, it was rumoured, had escaped from the Tower. Lambert Simnel, who had been carefully groomed for this impersonation ...." (Williams/Fraser, p. 171)
Croker-PopularSongs quotes the prose introduction to "The Mayor of Waterford's Letter." It discusses Lambert, "a boy, an organ-maker's sonne, [who] was crowned at Dublin Kinge of England and Lord of Ireland, in the third yere of Henry the 7." The Mayor of Dublin, the governor Earl of Kildare, and Walter, Archbishop of Dublin, then Lord Chanceler of Ireland, were among Lambert's supporters. Among those loyal to Henry VII was the Mayor of Waterford. He sent messages to other mayors to support Henry. In the end "the counterfeit kinge, with his Erle tutor, Walter, Archbishop of Dublin, and many others, wer taken prisoners, and carried to the towr of London...." The Mayor of Warwicke sent a "metrical letter" to the Archbishop of Dublin on October 20, 1487. Croker says "it does not seem improbable that the mayor's metrical letter was sung before Sir Richard [Edgecombe], upon the occasion of his public entertainment by the city of Waterford." - BS
This immensely complex poem (I doubt it was ever a song) is an argument from history supporting the claims of King Henry VII. It is an argument worthy of a very fancy lawyer with a guilty client: There is a lot of stuff thrown out to the listener, most of it completely invalid. This is understandable, for the good and simple reason that Henry Tudor's only serious claim to the throne was right of conquest over Richard III (prior to his crowning, his highest title had been Earl of Richmond, and even that was a shadow title: He claimed it, but another was in possession of the Earldom).
Henry was descended from King Edward III (died 1377, more than a century before Henry took the throne in 1485), but it was through Edward's third son John of Gaunt, and the claim ran through the Beaufort family, children of a woman who was not even John's wife when they were born; they had been specifically excluded from the succession. What's more, Henry VII's mother Margaret Beaufort was still alive when Henry took the throne, so even if his claims were upheld, she, not he, should have been the monarch. (For background on all this, see "The Rose of England" [Child 166], "The Children in the Wood (The Babes in the Woods)" [Laws Q34], and "The Vicar of Bray." The essential point is that Henry didn't have supporters because he had a claim to the throne; he had supporters because it is human nature to form factions and he was the only faction head left other than Richard III.) Little wonder, then, that he was troubled by pretenders!
But the song refers to events long before the time of Henry VII. Croker has some note on this, but there is a great deal more to be said.
"Henry [VII]... is king, by grace, of England and Fraunce, and lord of Ireland": King Edward III had claimed the title "King of France," and started the Hundred Years' War to back it up, and although England had lost all French soil except Calais by 1453 (an event which in fact helped provoke the Wars of the Roses and eventually led to Henry VII's taking the Kingdom), the English monarch continued to claim the title for centuries.
"Moses had... commandment, If a man died without issue male": The song links this to the "daughters of Sulphact in Numery 17." Croker correctly refers this to the daughters of Zelophehad in Numbers 27 (also Numbers 26, 37, Joshua 17:3), and wonders about the chapter numbering in earlier Bibles. The easiest explanation is, of course, that this is an error -- or maybe a combination of Numbers 27 with Joshua 17. In the Greek Old Testament, the chapter is still Numbers 27, though the man's name is Salpaad. It's chapter 27 in the Latin Bible also, but the name is "Salphaad," which isn't far from "Sulphact."
"King Henry the First... he passed his traunce without issue male." Henry I of England (reigned 1100-1135), the third and youngest son of William the Conqueror, had dozens of bastard children, but only two legitimate offspring who lived past infancy: Matilda (sometimes called Maud, as in the song) and William of the White Ship. William, Henry's only legitimate son, died in 1120 in the wreck of the White Ship (Brooke, p. 175).
At this time, England had no law of primogeniture (until William the Conqueror, the Witan elected the new king, from the royal family of course, and William himself had been succeeded initially by his second son William II Rufus, and then by his third son Henry I, even though the Conqueror's eldest son Robert Curthose was still alive at the time both William Rufus and Henry succeeded. For that matter, William the Conqueror in his lifetime was called "William the Bastard," because he succeeded to the Duchy of Normandy despite being illegitimate). What's more, few thought a woman competent to rule. So when Henry I died, there was much debate over the succession.
Stephen, the son of William the Conqueror's daugher Adela, was the male heir closest to the conqueror (see Brooke's genealogy of the Norman kings, and Brooke, p. 39).
Stephen (who inherited the title Count of Blois, hence the description "Earle of Bloyes" in the song) proved an absolute disaster; he was too indecisive to rule, especially with many of his barons rallying to Matilda's cause. In theory, he reigned from 1135 to 1154, but there was civil war for much of that time, and in 1153, Matilda's son Henry of Anjou invaded. (The title Henry inherited from his father was Count of Anjou, hence the reference to his "Earldome of Angeoi" in the song.) A peace was patched up in which Henry became Stephen's heir (Brooke, p. 39); he was crowned Henry II in 1154, reigning until 1189. He was called "Fitz Empress" (son of the empress) because his mother Matilda had for a brief time been married to the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V (who, however, died in 1125, while she was still young. Matilda lived until 1167, so she was still alive when her son became King).
The statement that Henry's "issue raigned King of England... from sonne to sonne" shows this particular item to be a piece of propaganda. Henry was indeed succeeded by his son Richard I (reigned 1189-1199) -- but Richard had no sons (he was very homosexual; see the notes to "Richie Story" [Child 232]), and the throne then passed to Henry's youngest son John (reigned 1199-1216) rather than Henry's grandson Arthur, the child of the son between Richard and John in age. John was succeeded by his son Henry III (1216-1272) , and Henry by his son Edward I (1272-1307), Edward I by his son Edward II (1307-1327), Edward II by his son Edward III (1327-1377) -- but Edward III was succeeded by his grandson Richard II (1377-1399), who was deposed by his cousin Henry IV (1399-1413), who was the grandson of Edward III's third son John of Gaunt even though there were living descendents of Edward's second son Lionel, Duke of Clarence. Henry IV was succeeded by his son Henry V (1413-1422), and Henry V by his son Henry VI (1422-1461).
Henry VI was ineffectual and eventually went insane; his incapacity eventually caused the Wars of the Roses to break out. He was suceeded by Edward IV (1461-1483, minus a brief interruption due to a revolt in 1470-1471), who was the proper heir of Edward III via Lionel, but who -- far from being Henry VI's son -- was his third cousin twice removed. (To be fair, the song may simply be noting that Henry VI was descended from Henry II entirely in the male line, while Edward IV had two female links in the chain. But in fact Edward IV also had a link in direct male line to Edward III; we'll get to that, too.)
The song finally manages to cover Edward IV's descent, noting that Edward was descended from "Leonell" via "the Duke's daughter of Clarence." Lionel's daughter was indeed named Philippa; her son was Roger Mortimer, his daughter Anne Mortimer, her son Richard of York, and Richard's son was Edward IV.
The song draws from the examples of Henry, Stephen, and Edward IV the ironic conclusion that the "female In England shall succeed for fault of the male." This is by contrast to France, where the Salic Law was held to bar succession in the female line (not only were female ruling queens barred, but the royal title could not be transmitted through a woman; Seward-Hundred, p. 21, though Seward describes the Salic Law as an after-the-fact discovery). However, these precedents are mostly meaningless, because Stephen and Henry II were elected kings, and Edward IV, while his claim to priority over Henry VI was based on descent from Lionel of Clarence in the female line, was also descended from Edward III's fourth son Edmund of York in the male line, and -- if you treated the Beauforts as illegitimate, as nearly everyone did -- was Henry VI's heir in the male line once Henry's son Edward was disposed of.)
The song then goes on to seemingly claim that Jesus was King of Jerusalem by female line. But there are two genealogies tracing the ancestry of Jesus back to David: One in Matthew 1, the other in Luke 3. These two genealogies cannot be reconciled, leading some to claim that one is a genealogy of Mary -- but this is simply balderdash; both link Jesus to David via Joseph, not Mary.
It is really, really interesting to note that the song eventually, in effect, gives up its claim on behalf of Henry VII, noting that Edward's title "is fallen to our soveraigne ladie, Queene Elizabeth, his [Edward IV's] eldest daughter liniall; To her is com all the whole monarchie." In other words, Elizabeth -- not "the" Elizabeth of a century later, but her grandmother -- is the woman with the real right to the throne. Which lies at the heart of Henry VII's kingship. Keep in mind that, as noted above, Henry's claim in his own right was pitifully weak.
The one thing Henry could do to bolster his claim was to marry into the real Royal Family. Which he did; he married Elizabeth. There was some slight doubt about Elizabeth's legitimacy (which is why Richard III had been able to seize the throne), but there wasn't really much doubt but that she was Edward IV's surviving heir. (And, since all of Henry's children were her offspring, and every monarch of England has been descended from that union, in fact every King of England since has been legitimate heir. It was only Henry VII who had a problem.)
The song goes one to note six supports to Henry's claim: first, "Gode's provision" (hard to prove either way); second, election by the Lords and Commons (meaningless, since parliament was always tossing the crown back and forth during this period); third, Elizabeth's claim to the throne (his single best argument, but it was an argument for her, not him); fourth, right of conquest; fifth, "the old Brittaine storie." Croker is not sure what this refers to; I think it refers to Henry's Welsh ancestry on his father's side; he claimed to be descended from Rhys ap Gruffyd of Deheubarth (Ashley, p. 625), and before that to Cadwallader and maybe even King Arthur (Henry in fact named his oldest son Arthur to support this claim); and finally, Papal sanction (received in 1486, according to Ashley, p. 627 -- but that, again, was easily changed; in all likelihood, if someone overthrew Henry, that someone would quickly earn Papal sanction also).
Thus every one of Henry's claims to the throne cited in the song is rather weak. Everyone knew that Henry had usurped the throne, and had little strength of his own. Even after Bosworth, there were many people with clear prior claims -- a fact which, ironically, would help Henry, since it made it hard for the opposition to coalesce around a particular potential monarch.
Making everyone's problems worse was the matter of The Princes in the Tower (for details on this, see the notes to "The Children in the Wood (The Babes in the Woods)" [Laws Q34]). Edward IV had had two boys, Edward (briefly Edward V in 1483) and Richard, Duke of York. The elder was only twelve when Edward IV died, too young to rule (Edward IV had died while in his early forties), and Edward's brother Richard of Gloucester had convinced the leaders of the realm to set them aside (digging up a claim against their legitimacy to make it look legal).
Early in Richard's reign, the Princes vanished. Literally. Their fate is a complete mystery; we don't know when or how they died, though there seems little doubt that they did. There are some bones which some have thought are theirs -- but the British royal family has refused to dig them up to allow DNA testing. Odds are that the boys were killed by Richard (or, just possibly, by someone in his official family without him knowing about it), but it was done so secretly that, when the time came, Henry VII couldn't prove who did them in; it's even possible he killed them himself. (It seems pretty safe to say that, had they still been alive, Henry would have disposed of them.) But if Henry didn't know where they were, neither did anyone else. Hence the possibility of pretenders.
And all this was in the aftermath of the Wars of the Roses, in which the crown had changed hands six times (though there were only five kings involved), and every reign had either begun or ended in blood. Henry came to the throne as a result of the Battle of Bosworth on August 22, 1485, where Richard III was killed in a death-or-glory charge. That was late enough in the year that there really wasn't time for another revolt in 1485. But early in 1486, Humphrey Stafford and Lord Lovell rebelled. This revolt was quickly suppressed. (Gillingham, p. 247.)
The Stafford revolt had quickly run into the Heir Problem caused by the mystery of the Princes in the Tower. To vastly oversimplify, there were four potential Yorkist heirs after Edward IV and Richard III died: The Princes in the Tower, if they were alive; Elizabeth of York, their older sister; the Earl of Warwick, who was the son of Edward and Richard's brother George of Clarence (who was born after Edward but before Richard); and the Earl of Lincoln, the son of Edward and Richard's oldest sister. The problem with the Princes was that they weren't available. Elizabeth was hardly a possible Yorkist heir since she was married to Henry.
The Warwick claim was weak; he was alive and his location known (since he was in Henry's custody), but George of Clarence had been attainted and executed for rebelling against his brother Edward. (And, yes, he was guilty, and no, Richard III had nothing to do with the execution!) It was generally held that an act of attainder barred all heirs from the succession; in any case, it was reported -- we don't know how accurately -- that young Warwick was feeble-minded (Kendall, p. 349. Henry VII would eventually solve the Warwick problem by executing the boy. Although there was one interesting sidelight on that: When Edward IV executed George, one of the charges against him was that he had hidden his son in Ireland; Ross, p. 242. That might have set someone thinking.)
John, Earl of Lincoln was in many ways the best candidate -- he was an adult, male, known to be competent, undeniably legitimate, and with no acts of parliament against him. Richard III had in fact appointed him his heir (Kendall, p. 350) after flirting with the idea of Warwick. Unfortunately, Lincoln was also junior in the succession to the Princes, to Elizabeth, and to Warwick, assuming their disabilities were eliminated.
As it turned out, the Stafford rebellion threw its support behind Warwick -- but failed in part because they couldn't get their hands on him (Seward-Wars, p. 315).
The next attempt, in 1487, did better -- not least because it had, or pretended to have, the actual Warwick. This was the first of two significant imposters to arise against Henry: First Lambert Simnel, then Perkin Warbeck.
Lambert was apparently the creation of an Oxford priest named Richard Simons, who passed him off as Warwick (Gillingham, p. 248); Seward-Wars, p. 315, agrees with Croker's notes in calling him an organ-builder's son, from Oxford, and Weir, p. 235, says he was born around 1475 -- the same year that Warwick was born and a bit more than a year after the birth of Richard of York. She notes, however, that she can find no records of a Simnel family in Oxford (or, indeed, anywhere in England at this time); she suspects that even Lambert's "real" name was a pseudonym. Weir, p. 232, says that the original plan was to have him portray Richard of York, the younger of the Princes in the Tower, but the decision to have him portray Warwick was made before Lambert had become well-known.
Williamson, p. 25, offers a possible reason for the change: The conspirators thought that Henry VII had executed Warwick, and so would need to reveal his guilt if he wished to expose them.
Unfortunately for them, Henry was smarter than that; he hadn't executed Warwick -- yet. He was able to answer the conspirators by bringing out the real live earl.
It hardly mattered. Very many Yorkists would have supported *anyone* who might overthrow Henry Tudor. (It's hard to blame them, since one of Henry's acts was to repeal almost every grant of title or lands made since 1455; Williamson, p. 20. That cost the surviving nobles a *lot* of money; little wonder they were resentful!) Lambert was a cause to rally. He earned major support: John of Lincoln (who doubtless intended to use Lambert to get rid of Henry and then intended to take charge himself; Weir, p. 232); Gerald Fitzgerald, eighth Earl of Kildare, the of the family which produced most of the Deputy Lieutenants of Ireland (meaning in effect that he was the ruler of English Ireland -- which, to be sure, was by this time only a small strip on the east coast); and Margaret of Burgundy, another sister of Edward and Richard (Gillingham, p. 249).
It was a situation in which Ireland was unusually crucial in English affairs. The old Duke of York, father of Edward IV and Richard III and grandfather of the Princes in the Tower, had for a time been Lieutenant of Ireland -- and he was unique among Lieutenants in actually doing a good job and treating the Irish fairly; the Irish were firm supporters of the Yorkist dynasty. If Ireland supported a pretender, it meant big trouble for Henry VII; if Ireland rejected the pretender, Henry was probably safe.
And most of Ireland supported Lambert. Williamson, p. 26, reports, "Margaret [of Burgundy] and the English leaders knew without a doubt that Simnel was an imposter.... The Irish lords seem to have believed in him. They crowned him as Edward VI, did homage to him, called a parliament, struck coins and issued writs in his name. Waterford in the south held out for Henry VIII, but for the moment he had lost all the rest of Ireland."
The Archbishop of Dublin was actually responsible for crowning him "Edward VI" (Seward-Wars, p. 316). Hence this song.
Waterford had a strong tradition of loyalty to the crown (a loyalty which had earned it significant privileges), and it stayed loyal to Henry VII, trying to convince the Yorkist Archbishop to come back to the fold -- a not-very-successful quest, obviously. (In fact, it was in many ways a really dumb idea; after all, it was the Tudors who finally really conquered Ireland. And when Henry VIII turned England Protestant, Waterford stayed even more staunchly Catholic than the rest of Ireland, and suffered for it.)
In that context, it is interesting to note than one of Henry Tudor's claims against Lambert was that his entourage included a Lollard, or proto-Protestants (see Russell, pp. 56-57). The story is clearly not true (Henry claimed the guy said something anti-Catholic, dropped dead, and turned black), though it it likely enough that Lollards were against the oh-so-Catholic Henry VII. But it earned Henry more support from the Pope.
The song argues that an English king could not be crowned in Ireland, but while Ireland had never produced a monarch, English kings *had* been crowned away from Westminster -- e.g. Henry III was crowned at Gloucester (Ashley, p. 531), and Edward IV, although formally crowned at Westminster, had made himself king well before that. Indeed, Henry VII had picked up Richard III's crown at Bosworth. Nor had the Archbishop of Canterbury always been responsible for the coronation; Aldred, Archbishop of York, had crowned William the Conqueror (Linklater).
Lambert eventually sailed from Ireland to Lancashire and took an army south (Gillingham, p. 250). Due to a lack of sources, we know very little about the resulting Battle of Stoke (June 16, 1487). Burne, pp. 308-309, notes that there are only two independent sources, Polydore Vergil's history (followed by all the later Tudor historians) and an anonymous herald in Henry's army. The herald was an eyewitness but had a limited viewpoint; Vergil was not an eyewitness, and though he tried to be objective, it appears based on his coverage of other events that it was extremely easy to lead him around by the nose. In any case, both these accounts are from Henry's side.
It seems that the rebels sailed from Ireland to Lancashire (Williamson, p. 27), because they wanted to take advantage of the Yorkist support in the north of England (Richard III had been very popular in the north, and the Yorkists in general were preferred there). The Yorkist force supposedly included 2000 continental mercenaries, assorted Irishmen (mostly poorly equipped), and of course the English exiles (Burne, p. 305). Burne thinks they may have totalled as many as 9000 troops, though they were a very mixed bag; Williamson (who has a very strong pro-Tudor bias) however thinks that they found little support in England. Estimates of their forces made at the time of course varied heavily; Gillingham, p. 252, cites two Acts of Attainder against the rebels, one of which claims they numbered 8000, the other 5000.
However many they were, the rebels did not head for York, where they could probably have expected support. Instead, they headed south. Henry VII gathered an army very quickly, and both sides seemed to be heading for Newark when they ran into each other at Stoke (about three miles from Newark, near the river Trent). The herald, disappointingly, gives us no details of the battle, and Vergil has hardly more, and Burne's map on pl 312 shows them to be irreconcilable anyway. The bottom line is, Henry VII's forces won (with the credit perhaps largely due to the Earl of Oxford rather than Henry; Burne, p. 313); Lincoln was killed, as was mercenary commander Schwartz; Richard III's friend Viscount Lovell vanished, and Lambert was captured (Gillingham, p. 252; Williamson, p. 27; Burne, p. 314). Henry, who rarely showed much evidence of humanity, in this case was merciful and sent Lambert to work in the kitchens (Gillingham, p. 253). Apparently the lad was loyal enough to eventually be let out of the King's service, and he lived until at least 1525 (Poole, p. 15).
Stoke was the last battle of the Wars of the Roses, though hardly the end of opposition to Henry VII. The people of Northumberland murdered their earl Henry Percy for failing to support Richard III at Bosworth (Kendall, pp. 458-459; contrary to the lies Shakespeare told, Richard III was very popular in the north of England, where he had ruled a sort of palatinate in the final years of Edward IV's reign). Henry VII himself executed Sir William Stanley, the man who had won the Battle of Bosworth for him by killing Richard III! (Kendrick, p. 457; Weir, p 236; Poole, p. 18, mentions the suspicion that Henry killed him out to get his hands on Sir William's money).
Henry even went so far as to seize the property of his mother-in-law Elizabeth Woodville (Weir, pp. 232-233, who notes the strangeness of the idea of Elizabeth plotting against her own daughter, while mentioning a theory that Elizabeth believed Henry VII, not Richard III, had killed her sons. But Weir thinks, and I tend to agree, that Elizabeth did not plot against Henry; Henry degraded her just to get his hands on her money).
And then there came Pretender #2, Perkin Warbeck, who (after some indecision about which member of the Yorkist dynasty to impersonate) decided that he was Richard of York, the younger of the Princes in the Tower. He proclaimed himself in 1491, and managed to get the support of Margaret of Burgundy and others. But by this time, Henry had quite a spy network built; Perkin aroused a lot of interest, but never managed to mount a real invasion; he landed in Cornwall with a few hundred men (Weir, p. 238), but ended up in Henry's custody, tried to escape, and was executed in 1499 (Seward-Wars, pp. 320-323). Warwick was executed soon after (Weir, p. 239). Presumably that was after this piece was written; for the story of Warbeck, see "The Praise of Waterford." - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 2.5
File: CrPS293

Mazlim's Mill


DESCRIPTION: "Now I am a bullock driver and I work for Mazlim's Mill, And pulling timber from Vine Creek I've nearly had my fill." The singer complains about the rain and advises listeners that it's better to "turn your bullock out" than work at the mill
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1968
KEYWORDS: work hardtimes
FOUND IN: Australia
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Meredith/Anderson, p. 108, "Mazlim's Mill" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: MA108

McAfee's Confession [Laws F13]


DESCRIPTION: McAfee, the singer, is raised by an uncle after being orphaned. As a youth he runs away and turns wild. Married to a good woman, he has an affair with Hettie Stout and murders his wife by giving her poison instead of medicine. He is condemned to die
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1903 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: murder orphan adultery execution
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Mar 28, 1825 - Hanging of John McAfee
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MW,SE,So)
REFERENCES (12 citations):
Laws F13, "McAfee's Confession"
Belden, pp. 317-321, "McAfee's Confession" (2 texts plus references to 4 more, 1 tune)
Randolph 133, "McFee's Confession" (2 texts plus a long excerpt, 1 tune)
Eddy 129, "McAfee's Confession" (1 text)
Gardner/Chickering 138, "McAfee's Confession" (1 text)
LPound-ABS, 68, pp. 153-154, "Young McFee" (1 text)
JHCox 37, "McAfee's Confession" (2 texts plus references to 5 more, 1 tune)
JHCoxIIB, #6A-B, pp. 133-136, "McAfee's Confession" (1 text plus a fragment, 1 tune)
SharpAp 79, "Macafee's Congession, or Harry Gray" (4 texts, 4 tunes)
Burt, pp. 22-24, "McAfee's Confession" (1 text)
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 136, "MacAfee's Confession" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 630, MCAFEECN*
Roud #449
NOTES: Laws lists this as a native American ballad, but there is British influence; Pound notes that her text concludes with a wish by McFee that he had "ten thousand pounds" to bring her back to life. This may be a moralizing addition, but clearly from a British source. - RBW
File: LF13

McAllum's Lament


DESCRIPTION: McAllum, a poacher, bids farewell to the woods and the game he hunted. He had been trapped by police and shot one man dead. He curses the lairds and laws and warns poachers to "lay aside your guns while you're able and free"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan2)
KEYWORDS: murder poaching prison police
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan2 251, "McAllum's Lament" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Roud #5847
File: GrD2251

McCaffery (McCassery)


DESCRIPTION: A young man enlists in the 42nd Regiment; mistreated by his captain and confined to barracks for a trivial offense, he decides to kill the captain. He accidentally shoots his colonel instead, and is tried (at Liverpool Assizes) and hanged.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1962 or 1966 (collected from Caroline Hughes)
KEYWORDS: army violence crime execution murder punishment revenge death soldier
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland,England) Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
MacSeegTrav 86, "McCaffery" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MCASSERY
Roud #1148
RECORDINGS:
May Bradley, "Calvery" (on Voice08)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Gallant Forty-Twa" (subject: 42nd Highlanders or Black Watch) and references there
cf. "The Croppy Boy (I)" [Laws J14] (tune for Voice08)
NOTES: Hall, notes to Voice08, re "Calvery": "The story in the ballad is true in all its essentials. Patrick McCafferty was born in Mullingar, Co. West Meath, and in October 1860 enlisted at the age of seventeen in the 32nd Regiment.... McCafferty was tried at Liverpool Assizes and was hanged in Liverpool in front of Kirkdale gaol on January 11th, 1862. [ref. Roy Palmer, ed., The Rambling Soldier (Alan Sutton, 1985).]" Yates, Musical Traditions site Voice of the People suite "Notes - Volume 8" - 1.3.03 has a more detailed account. - BS
When I met this song, I was surprised to find a soldier from the 42nd Regiment (the famous Black Watch) being tried in Liverpool; their base is in Perth. The likeliest explanation is that several sources confused the obscure 32nd regiment (which was, improbably enough, the Cornwall Regiment) with the famous 42nd, for which see songs such as "Wha Saw the Forty-Second." - RBW, (PJS)
File: McCST086

McCarthy's Song


DESCRIPTION: McCarthy stops in Pope's Harbour for a bottle at Brian's tavern. He treats all hands and he sleeps it off on the floor. Next morning the landlord wants his money. He staggers to Mrs. Haws who nursed his wounds at no charge. He swears not to return again.
AUTHOR: Michael McCarthy, school teacher at Taylor's Harbour, N.S. (Source: Creighton-NovaScotia)
EARLIEST DATE: 1932 (Creighton-NovaScotia)
KEYWORDS: drink ordeal landlord
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Creighton-NovaScotia 133, "McCarthy's Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST CrNS133 (Partial)
Roud #1832
NOTES: This song is item dH52 in Laws's Appendix II. - BS
File: CrNS133

McCarty's Widow


DESCRIPTION: "It's just a year ago today I took to me a wife, And ever since she's proved to be the burden of my life." The woman licked McCarty to death, but now that he is married to her, the singer vows she won't beat him. He hopes to beat her until she behaves
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1922 (Dean)
KEYWORDS: marriage fight
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Dean, p. 93, "McCarty's Widow" (1 text)
Roud #5490
ALTERNATE TITLES:
McCarthy's Widow
File: Dean093

McCassery


See McCaffery (McCassery) (File: McCST086)

McClenahan's Jean


DESCRIPTION: The singer praises the beauty of McClenahan's Jean. When her father learns that they are courting, he vows "that in merriage we ne'er should be buckled thegither." He wants her to wed a rich old man. The singer casts scorn on her potential husband
AUTHOR: David Herbison? (Tune supplied by Sam Henry)
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love courting father beauty lover
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H81, pp. 430-431, "McClenahan's Jean" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7959
File: HHH081

McClure, The


DESCRIPTION: McClure sails for Naples with cargo of fish. They are boarded by sailors from a submarine who sink McClure with bombs. The crew are allowed to leave and are rescued by an Italian destroyer who take the Captain and crew of six to Cadiz
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1977 (Lehr/Best)
KEYWORDS: war sea ship ordeal
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
May 22/24, 1917 - McClure, out of St John's, captured and bombed by a German submarine off Cape Carbonara, Sardinia (Lehr/Best, Northern Shipwrecks Database)
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Lehr/Best 76, "The McClure" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: LeBe076

McCracken's Ghost


DESCRIPTION: The singer encounters McCracken's ghost at midnight. He recounts the deaths of Irish heroes of the rebellion. He advises: take by force the Reform the English would not yield. You will free "the Green Isle and receive the world's thanks"
AUTHOR: James Hope and James Orr (source: Moylan)
EARLIEST DATE: c.1893 (Young's _Ulster in '98_, according to Moylan)
KEYWORDS: rebellion England Ireland patriotic ghost
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1798 - Irish rebellion against British rule
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Moylan 112, "McCracken's Ghost" (1 text)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Henry Joy McCracken (I)" (character of Henry Joy McCracken) and references there
NOTES: It sounds as if this may have been written with reference to Gladstone's unsuccessful proposals for Home Rule. For background, see the notes to "Home Rule for Ireland"; for Henry Joy McCracken, see the notes to "Henry Joy McCracken (I)." - RBW
File: Moyl112

McDonald's (Is Your Kind of Place)


DESCRIPTION: "McDonalds is your kind of place, Hamburgers in your face, (French fries) up your nose, (Catsup) between your toes. The last time I was there, They stole my underwear, McDonalds (is the place for me/is your kind of place)."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1984
KEYWORDS: nonballad parody humorous
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 38, "McDonald's" (1 text, tune referenced)
NOTES: I make the assumption that, if I learned a kids's song from a source other than my parents or school, it qualifies as a folk song. This seems to fit that bill.
The Pankakes claim that the tune of this is "Down by the Riverside." Not in the version I know! There is similarity, but they are definitely not the same. But I may not be typical. - RBW
File: PFCF038b
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